Hugs and more hugs to all who reviewed and signed on since the last chapter. I hope all of you got my personal thanks. I try to write back to everyone who can receive messages. To all my guest reviewers out there: your reviews are much appreciated for their enthusiasm and insight, so thank you for taking the time! Last chapter before the announcement, so get ready!

Chapter 26

Relianna whipped open the door of the storage closet to see her disgruntled brother standing in front of a grinning Oin and giggling Nella. The air inside the closet was hot and stuffy. Oin stretched from his place on a crate. Nella twisted her neck to pop out the kinks in front of a shelf laden with glass bottles and jars.

"Took you long enough," he said over Relianna's shoulder to Thorin who rolled his eyes. "Well? Is it done?"

Relianna wrinkled her nose.

"How unromantic of you, brother," she said with mock disapproval. "No wonder you still don't have someone."

Instead of answering her with his usual smart remark, he looked pained. His head dropped, and his shoulders slumped.

"Mine wasn't a life worth offering anyone," he said softly with his eyes on the floor.

Her head bend to the side as face crumpled.

"That was thoughtless, forgive me," she said, and she moved in to give him a hug.

He opened his arms, and she held him tightly, stroking his long, blond hair. "Mm, so sorry, Frain," she said into his shoulder. "Anyone would be a fool not to take you."

He held her close, and they swayed back and forth for a moment, both truly looking like two halves of a whole. Then Thorin clapped one hand to his chest and grimaced. He didn't want to interrupt their moment, but this was supposed to be his time after all.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you both, but one more thing needs doing," he said with his hand on Frain's arm.

The taller dwarf looked down with an impish twinkle and took obvious note of Thorin's broad hand gripping his elbow.

"Aye? Do you have some sweet words for me?"

Thorin reined in his flash of annoyance and let go like he had been burned by a hot poker.

"No," he said tartly. Then he gently pulled Relianna away and pulled up his small pouch from the cord around his neck. He untied it carefully and dropped a small gold box in his palm.

"I should have done this earlier," he said softly. His eyes shone in the golden light, and she put her fists to her mouth, her eyes bright. He opened the gleaming box, and she gasped. There, on the tiniest cushion of velvet, lay the diamond and sapphire ring of countless Durin queens. He took the ring, held it up, and moved to put it on her finger.

"Last chance to bolt, sister," Frain said out of the side of his mouth. "I'll hold him off."

She gave him a shove and scrunched her mouth.

"Don't spoil the moment!" she huffed, but it was too late. Thorin glared at him and took her by the hand back to the furthest room, leaving the others chuckling behind their hands.

"Is he always like this?" he asked irritably.

Relianna shrugged with an amused smile on her face.

"Go easy on him for my sake," she said. "His life has been harder than mine. Most of the time he was fighting to stay alive."

Thorin tossed his head to throw off his frustration and approached her again. He stood in front of her and pulled her to him. Tipping her chin, he looked into her eyes.

"You can't go back on your word now," he said, only half in jest. "You promised to take me, and I won't let you change your mind."

She stared at him, seeing a shade of doubt in his eyes. His fear surprised her, but then she remembered all that he had lost and the hazy images of his stricken face last night, and her surprise melted into tenderness. Putting her hands on each side of his face, she leaned in and nuzzled him, rubbing her nose against his nose and cheeks. Then she kissed his face. His eyes closed against her warm breath, and her lips tasted the saltiness of a single tear.

"I couldn't leave you now if my life depended on it," she said softly. She took his hand and placed it on her heart. "I love you, Thorin. I always have. I loved you when you were the brave and handsome prince of my imagination, but now I love you as you really are. What I feel for you now makes those childish daydreams a puff of smoke. I want you to believe that. I need you to believe that."

She pulled back and looked into his eyes. His long lashes were wet with tears, and he exhaled with a soft moan. Cupping his hands underneath her chin, he kissed her with all the gentleness he possessed. Then he picked up her hand and slipped the ring on her finger. She admired its sparkle and held it to her breast. They held each other for what seemed like an age. After taking one last look, she took the ring off, handed it back to him, and closed his fingers over it. His eyes flashed with shock, but then he understood.

"I'll put it back where it belongs until after he's caught," he said, "or better yet, dead." She nodded. "But you're right. It wouldn't do to give you away with mother's ring."

He placed the ring back in the pouch and pushed it under his tunic. Then she picked up his hand and kissed the back of it.

"Never doubt, my lord and king, how much I want to be your wife," she said, and she ran his knuckles across her lips.

His breath caught in his chest, and he struggled to keep his desire at bay. Although passionate, she had no with true experience with physical desire—other than with himself, he noted with satisfaction. He wrapped his arms around her waist, determined to show a better and more self-controlled example. It helped that Frain was down the hall.

"And never doubt how much I love you and how wonderful you'll be as queen."

After a hesitation, she nodded.

"I need to get back to Fili and Kili's fattening-up regimen," she teased. She looked up to meet his suddenly serious eyes.

"I love you as you are," he said quietly, "and anyone who won't accept you can leave."

Later that night, Dwalin, Balin, and the rest of the company slipped down to the infirmary in twos and threes.

"The guards took their uniforms to their quarters," Dwalin reported, "and the spares all have a large notch in one of the ax heads on the upper sleeves. We'll be able to see them clearly enough, but I don't know what we'll do if he comes dressed in something else."

Thorin rubbed his mouth with the tips of his fingers.

"Fili and Kili's reports list who should be there tomorrow night, so we'll just have to watch for uninvited guests. Then he saw Dwalin's hesitation and waved him to speak.

"We've gathered here to plan for tomorrow night," he started, "but he might not wait until tomorrow."

No one moved or made a sound. Thorin put his hands on his hips and looked down at the floor. Frain stood next to his sister.

"Some of us need to stay here and keep watch," he said. Frain volunteered immediately.

"I have to be here anyway," he said.

Fili, Kili, and Dwalin also offered to stay for the night. Thorin said he would stay as well, but the others disagreed.

"You need to be out and about," Balin said. "It'd be suspicious for you to be here."

Thorin started to argue, but Fili put his hand on his shoulder.

"We'll keep her safe," he said strongly.

"Aye," Kili agreed. "No one will get through us."

Thorin breathed through his teeth as he struggled to let go of his fear. It was incredible that he couldn't be there to watch over his future wife. It went against everything he felt and all his upbringing to leave her without his protection. With his hands on his hips, he gritted his teeth. He breathed loudly with his eyes on the floor while he struggled to contain his anxiety and rage. The others watched silently, knowing that they'd feel exactly the same.

"You keep her safe," he said turning to Frain. He walked over and, with an angry jerk, yanked his silver dagger out from the black holster hanging from his belt. The diamond-studded dagger was slim and sharp enough on both sides to split hairs. His future brother-in-law nodded and took the knife, his merriment replaced with deadly intent.

"She'll be with me in the back room," he said. "No one will get past the door."

Thorin's cheek twitched involuntarily. He wasn't jealous of Frain exactly, but he wasn't used to anyone else being so familiar with Relianna. He may be her brother, but his words weren't ones Thorin wanted to hear from any dwarf.

"Very well."

Late that night, while Fili, Kili, and Dwalin were on watch, they heard someone lightly tapping the stone wedge out from under the door. They signaled to each other and crept from their places with their swords and daggers drawn. The door opened slowly, and two dwarves snuck inside. No one made a sound until they were partway in the room. Then Oin and Nella lit the lanterns, and the intruders yelped at the bright lights shoved in their faces. Fili peered at them.

"Hogi? Hogni? What in Durin's name are you doing here?"

The two young dwarves gasped at the sight of swords and daggers at their throats. Their eyes were half-closed with fright, and they were too unnerved to remember to bow. The sight of Dwalin glaring down at them made the brothers clutch each other's arm.

"Prince Fili, my lord," one said, "you told us, you told us to come here, if, if …"

Fili and Kili's eyes opened wide as they suddenly remembered a certain conversation, a most amusing conversation.

"Oh, by Durin, you didn't!"

"Uh, um, aye, my lords, that we did."

"What's going on, Fili?" Frain asked from the end of the hallway. He stood holding Thorin's dagger with Relianna peeking over his outstretched arm.

The princes started laughing, and the others set to lighting the room. Hogi and Hogni shifted nervously, not used to the attention.

"Do you have it?" Kili asked. They nodded and held up a small lump that one of them pulled from his pocket.

"What's that?" Frain asked. The others crowded around to see the frazzled little ball.

"Onkra's topknot," Fili said.

The rest of the night passed without incident, but the next day was full of surprises. Thorin came by in the late afternoon to see Oin, Nella, Balin, Frain, Dwalin, and Relianna standing around two beds. They were so engrossed in their discussions that none of them noticed him coming through the door. When Relianna didn't turn around and give him her usual exuberant hug, he knew that something was very wrong.

"He doesn't lack imagination," Frain said dryly, "I'll give him that. If I ever wanted to learn the art of an assassin, I'd be off to a good start."

Thorin looked over Nella's shoulder and saw a green velvet gown, an emerald necklace and bracelet, a tray with food, and different toiletries.

"What's all this?" he asked.

Relianna jumped with surprise and quickly turned to hug him, but he caught her falsely cheerful smile and held her off. She stepped back and wrung her hands, fearfully assessing his face.

"I said, what is going on here?" he commanded with all his authority as king.

Oin winced and hesitated and Nella bowed her head, but Balin spoke right up.

"Oh, these are Zozer's attempts to kill Relianna today. The dear lad's been busy. We think he was hoping to kill her before he was forced out into the open."

Thorin's eyes widened in horror. He stared down at the beds and ground his teeth. Any one of these would have killed her? No one spoke while they waited for him to control his temper. Finally, he let out a long, slow breath through his nose and nodded.

"What's wrong with the gown?" he asked first, determined to understand Zozer's strategy.

Relianna carefully turned over the inside stitching of the neckline and wrists. He leaned in and saw small metal pricks placed into the gown. They were tipped with poison.

"How did you catch this?"

Relianna pulled on a curl of her hair while she explained.

"The dress isn't mine, Thorin," she said. "It's a maid's gown, but mine has a faint grease stain that they could never get out completely, so Dwalin and Balin inspected it and found the metal pricks. The same is true with the necklace and bracelet."

Oin showed Thorin the small needles embedded in the necklace and bracelet. They were sent with love notes to her and signed with his signature. Thorin inspected the parchment and noted that it wasn't the same quality that he used, but the signatures were forged exactly. He must have gotten an official document from somewhere.

"I knew they couldn't be from you," she said, "because you never used my name."

"Balin," he said with tight control on his temper, "check and see if any recent documents are missing. i suspect someone in the council may have accidentally or deliberately supplied Zozer with what he needed."

"What about the food?"

Nella smiled grimly.

"The poison wasn't in the food, my lord, but in the napkin. It smelled funny, and Frain identified the scent. Perhaps Zozer was hoping that the poison would catch her when she wiped her mouth."

Frain rubbed one temple. The lengths that Zozer went to were staggering. Then he held up a bottle of minted wash to rinse her teeth.

"The toiletries were different. They contain an alkaline liquid that may not have caused much damage at first, but soon she would die from burns."

They fell quiet and watched Thorin's face grow increasingly dark as the enormity of what had happened became clear. In the silence, Frain asked to be excused with his sister and pulled her in another room. He shut the door.

"I know you love him," he said somberly, "but is this all worth your life? We could leave now and have a head start on Zozer. We could get away, change our hair, and disappear."

Relianna hugged herself and shook her head.

"To what end, brother? We'll always be hunted. Nowhere else would we have anyone standing with us, helping us. If we can defeat Zozer, then we'll be free forever. Thorin will protect us afterward. This is our best chance at a life worth living, and I won't give it up."

Brother and sister talked through everything while the others carefully put everything away to save as evidence if need be.

Meanwhile, Thorin paced outside the door, having guessed what Frain was saying. He couldn't blame him for wanting to turn and run from the situation. In fact, he thought himself selfish for wanting to hold onto Relianna despite the danger. When they came out, he turned to her, his face questioning.

"Am I wrong to keep you here, Relianna? It might be safer if you left before tonight."

Walking to him, she put her hands on his chest.

"Are you breaking your promise to me then? Would you choose another to keep me safe?"

In response, he reached for her and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Never, love," he mumbled into her hair, "never."

Pulling away, she smiled into his eyes.

"Then we'd better get ready because we're not leaving Erebor." Then she lowered her voice so that only Thorin could hear. "And I'm not leaving you."

Frain stood behind her, an unfathomable expression on his face.

"I would speak to you, Thorin," he said seriously, and he held open the door to the room.

Thorin nodded, and Frain closed the door once again.

"She's determined to do this," he said.

Thorin eyed him warily, his instincts preparing him for a fight.

"Against your better judgment? Will you stand opposed then and forbid the match?"

His voice was low and slightly threatening. He took a wide stance opposite Frain, and his fists clenched.

Frain cocked his head and watched the King of Erebor prepare to fight for his heart's desire. The irony of his sister having to risk her life to live in peace, choked his throat.

"No, no, I won't," he said brokenly.

Thorin immediately straightened with a confused but cautious look at the young healer who raised a hand to wipe one eye. Then he stepped forward and gripped Thorin's arms.

"My life for hers if it comes to it," he said like one preparing to die. "Promise me. My life for hers."

OK, the next stop is the showdown! Please review and let me know what your favorite moments have been so far! Also, if you have any thoughts for exciting moments for the announcement where all will be assembled, let me know. Thanks for reading.