Bella stumbled back and stared up at Thorin who stared back at her.
"That wasn't me!" she said.
"Bifur," he said grimly.
The scream came again, followed by the thunder of people running to his room.
"Bella! Ghosts!" Bofur yelled from the floor above. "Bella!"
"Oh, heavens," Bella said as she and Thorin got to their feet and ran out of the library.
They dashed up the stairs, Thorin taking them two at a time, while Bella scurried behind him, her bare feet slapping on the wood. A loud crash came from the room that Bifur had settled into.
"Bella!" Bofur called again.
"Coming!" she yelled back.
She ran into the bedroom behind Thorin, only to crash into his back with an 'oof!' She winced, but then darted around his side. Her jaw dropped.
Four large ghosts were flying about the room with anguished eyes and grim features. They jerked and jolted as they tried to grab for Bifur. He yelled and waved what looked like an old walking stick at them. They'd dodge a swing from him and try to dart underneath his flailing arms, only to dodge again when he swung at them. Bofur had jumped into the fray and was madly waving an empty candelabrum at them. The weight of it made him lurch as he'd swipe the ghosts.
"Stop!" Bella shouted. Bifur and Bofur stopped moving while the ghosts continued to swarm. "No, not you, two!" she shouted. "Them! The ghosts! Stop that right now!"
The ghosts glanced at her as one for a moment. Only a moment. But that was all it took for Bella to see that these ghosts were like the ones on the road. These ghosts had no intention of stopping what they were doing, although the despair in their eyes clearly said they wished to.
"God, give me strength," she said under her breath. Absently, she saw that the others had come into the room, but she wasn't sure what to do. Helplessly, she watched as Bofur swung the candelabrum at one of the ghosts who faltered as the candelabrum went through the man's stomach, or where the man's stomach used to be.
"It felt that," she said. "It felt that! Bofur, hit him again!"
Bofur gritted his teeth and swung his candelabrum for England, the ghost visibly flinching as the candelabrum went through his head.
"It slows them down," Bella said excitedly as she approached the ghost. "Do it again!"
Bofur swung again and as the ghost faltered, Bella stepped directly into his line of sight.
"Go through now!" she ordered.
The ghost gave a look of relief and then, with visible effort, ran at Bella and passed through her. She stumbled a bit, but yelled at the others, "Distract them somehow!"
"How about this?" Dwalin shouted. He pulled his pistol and shot one of the ghosts in the shoulder.
The ghost halted, looking confused, and while her ears rung from the blast, Bella darted in front of him. Again, there was a look of distinct relief before the ghost charged through her.
"Next!" Bella shouted, her hands shaking, but utterly determined to end this now.
Dwalin took aim, but Thorin got there first, his shot hitting a ghost directly above his heart. The ghost clapped a hand to his chest, and Bella tripped over her own feet to meet his eyes.
The ghost caught sight of her and surged to her and through.
"Last one!" Bofur shouted.
Bella turned to see Bifur, with a grim expression on his face, thrust the walking stick through the stomach of the remaining ghost.
"Bella!" Thorin shouted holding out his hand.
She grabbed for it, and he flung her in front of the ghost, who met her eyes and lingered for just a moment. The sheer amount of despair in the ghost's eyes made her insides tremble.
"It's okay," she whispered. "It's over. Go on, now."
She could've sworn she saw him mouth the words 'thank you,' but he was gone so quickly, she couldn't be sure.
The room fell silent.
Bella's ears rang; her hands were frozen stiff; and her throat hurt from shouting.
It took Bifur dropping the walking stick to jostle her out of her fugue. She looked over at him and noticed how pale he looked.
"Well. That wasn't normal," Bella said to him. He made a face and nodded.
"Sorry about the wall," Dwalin said to Thorin as he dug the bullets out of the wall.
"Hang the wall," Thorin said looking at Bifur. "Are you all right, private?"
Bifur nodded, rubbing a hand over his face. He shrugged a bit sheepishly.
"They came out of nowhere," Bofur said going to his brother. "I'd just stepped out for a second, and he yelled."
"Did you see where they came from?" Bella asked Bifur.
He shook his head and just snapped his fingers.
"It happened suddenly?" Bella asked raising her eyebrows.
Bifur nodded.
"Did they come out of thin air?" she asked. "Or did they come through a wall?"
He held up one finger.
"The first one? They came out of thin air?" she asked.
He nodded before jabbing his thumb straight at his chest.
"They came out of thin air, and headed straight for you?" she asked frowning.
He nodded slowly.
"Without looking around?" she asked. "Just headed straight for you?" She paused. "Or perhaps whoever was in the bed?"
Bifur nodded emphatically and made the motion again with his thumb, his eyes clear and serious.
"Right," Bella said letting out a breath.
"What are you thinking, lass?" Bofur asked worriedly.
"I honestly don't know," Bella said slowly, staring into space and trying to collect her whirling thoughts. "Spirits don't usually behave like that. If they're called, yes, they'll come. But to just make a beeline straight for a person? Who didn't call them?" She made a face before turning to Thorin. "Whose room was this? Before you left, I mean?"
"Frerin's," Thorin said. "My younger brother." He nodded at the far wall. "That's the master bedroom where my parents slept. He was only a child when we left and was kept close by."
"Hmm," Bella said. "Oh, I wish Gandalf was here. This makes no sense. And if it does make the kind of sense I think it might…" She bit her lower lip. "Well, I hope I'm not right, and I hope Gandalf turns up soon."
"What are you thinking, lass?" Balin asked.
Bella shook her head. "I don't want to say. Not yet. If this happens again, perhaps. But for now, I think I'd prefer to say that these ghosts are not very happy about us being here and leave it at that."
"Very well," Thorin said. He turned to the rest of the company. "Would everyone prefer if we slept in the lounge?"
"And let them think they can push us around?" Kili said shaking his head. "This is our home, uncle and I quite like the room we've picked out. I'm not moving. Love?"
He looked at Tauriel who nodded. "We're fine, Thorin. We don't need to move."
The rest of the company nodded and agreed, even Bifur and Bofur.
"In that case," Bella said. "I'll say good night, and if any more ghosts appear, yell for me."
"Aye, aye," Bofur said saluting smartly at her.
She rolled her eyes at him, but grinned and saluted back.
As she left the room, she slumped a bit and braced herself against the wall with her hand. Support came quickly in the form of a large hand on her waist. She smiled.
"I'm honestly not going to swoon, you know," she said tilting her head back to look up at Thorin.
"Well, I might," Thorin said smiling down at her.
She snorted. "I highly doubt that. You're a tree of a man, Thorin Durin."
"Are you saying that he's thick as a plank?" Dwalin said as he passed by. "Because he is."
"Sod off," Thorin said, curling his arm around Bella's waist, before asking her, "What do you need?"
"Some hot water, I think. For a cup of tea," she said. "I'll go to the kitchen."
"I'll come with you," he said.
Rather than argue with him about her capability to walk down a flight of stairs, she let him walk beside her down to the kitchens.
She headed straight for the kettle they'd used earlier and turned on the gas stove. She leaned against the kitchen counter staring at nothing in particular, her thoughts whirling all over the place. They landed on what Bifur's scream had interrupted earlier and she blushed and bit her lip.
"Yes," Thorin said from where he stood leaning against the counter opposite.
"Yes, what?" Bella said looking at him.
"Yes, we were going to kiss and yes, I'd very much like to take up where we left off," he said staring at her, his lips curved into a small smile.
"Oh, thank heavens," she said in a rush as she walked towards him.
The smile that spread across his face made her heart race, and she had to smile back. He stepped fully into her space, and Bella tilted her head back as his hand came up to cup her face. His thumb slowly smoothed over the apple of her cheek. He leaned down, his eyes firmly fixed on her lips which started to tingle, and she felt warm all over. Her own eyes dipped down to his lips, and the tingles spread everywhere and she placed her hands on his chest to steady herself.
He lifted his eyes up to meet hers as he paused, his lips a mere breath away from her own. The pause continued until Bella rose up on her toes to close the distance.
Alternating heat and shivers tore through her body as Thorin's lips moved slowly against hers. His other hand grasped her waist and pulled her to him. She made a noise and slid her hands up to twine around his neck, her nails sliding through the short strands of his hair.
She clutched at him. She'd never clutched at anything in her life, but there she was. Clutching.
His beard rasped against her skin, and she laughed against his lips.
"Should I be worried that my love-making is tending towards humorous?" he asked, not lifting his lips from hers, the vibration of his voice causing her to arch towards him even more.
"I didn't know that my face could be ticklish," she said rubbing her cheek against his. "I rather like it."
"Good," he said before pressing his mouth to hers firmly.
She rose up as much as she could onto her toes, and Thorin slid his arm lower and hitched her up his body. He moved his thumb to her chin and pressed lightly; she parted her lips, and the kiss became something more.
Bella was seriously considering wrapping her legs around his waist and ordering him to set her down on the counter, when she heard, "Oh, Christ! Sorry, Captain! Sorry!"
Thorin lifted his head from Bella's to glare at Bofur who edged into the kitchen, his hand outstretched and patting the counter, his eyes averted away from Thorin and Bella.
"Just looking for a glass for some water," he continued cheerfully. "You carry on!"
Thorin sighed, and Bella snickered as she pressed her face into his neck. He slowly set her down, and she kept her face pressed against him as he said, "There is a glass an inch from your hand, and if you don't get out of this kitchen in the next two seconds, Private, I'll court-martial you."
"Right-o!" Bofur said before grabbing the glass and zipping out of the kitchen.
Bella let out a loud snicker and lifted her head to look at Thorin. "Well, the entire company's going to know now. Bofur's worse than an entire knitting circle at keeping secrets."
"Does that bother you?" he asked, running his hand over her hair. "Them knowing?"
"Well, I suppose it depends on what they know," she said, looking down. "Did Bofur just interrupt a simple kiss or was it a precursor to… something more? Between us, I mean," she added quickly. "I know that kissing in and of itself can lead to something more in the physical sense. Not that I have much experience in the matter. Or well, any experience in the matter, to be perfectly honest. Please stop me from rambling."
Thorin abruptly lifted her up and pressed his mouth to hers while walking them backwards to perch her on top of the table in the corner. Bella let out a soft 'mmpf!' before kissing him back, her hands gripping fistfuls of his jumper. His hands were gentle but firm as they moved over her back and on her hips to come to a stop cradling her face.
He lifted his head to say, "It's more. Between us and physically. It's more. If you want it to be more."
"Yes," she said breathlessly, her hands restless on his shoulders. "I want more."
He made a noise deep in his throat and pressed his mouth to hers.
They continued on in such a vein until Bella pulled back to say, "You realise there are other people who may wish to use the kettle?"
"They can wait," he growled.
Then he lowered his head back to hers and carried on until the whistle of the broke through.
She placed a hand on Thorin's cheek, and their kiss drew to a close. Thorin pressed his forehead to hers briefly, then let her go. She hopped off the table and hurried over to the stove. She took the kettle off the hob and turned off the gas. She took a moment and then turned to look at Thorin.
He still stood beside the table, but he was turned towards her, looking at her.
"Do you know that I expected Gandalf's medium to be dressed all in black with a fringed skirt and a black veil?" Thorin said.
"It's a popular look for most of us," she said. "You probably didn't expect to find someone who'd been planting hyacinths and wrestling with a recalcitrant bed of creeping roses."
"I did not," he said. "I'm glad that's who opened the door, however."
"I'm glad it was you on my doorstep," she said before making a face. "I must be tired. I'm not usually so twee."
"Neither am I," he said. "Shall I walk you to your room?"
"Yes, please," she said smiling. "But, tea first."
She turned and set about fixing a cup of tea, with more milk than tea to help her sleep. She didn't feel the cold anymore from the ghosts, thanks to Thorin and his kisses.
"I want to go into the mines tomorrow," Thorin said.
"I thought you might," she replied pouring a healthy dollop of milk into her mug.
"You think we'll encounter many ghosts?"
"It's where the accident happened, so yes, I do, I'm afraid," she said. She looked over at him. "I'll be ready."
"So will I," he said, cupping her face and pressing a kiss to her forehead.