Ila was laying on her back in her bed, not even aware of how Thorin had come to be there, on top of her. He hovered over her, his large hands smoothing her hair back away from her face to where it fanned out perfectly on the pillows around her. Ila instinctively turned her head to the side, trying to hide herself from him, and so his lips came down on her jawline instead of her own lips.

She shouldn't be doing this, she shouldn't be doing this, her mind repeated. But her mind was also clouded with pleasure and desire as Thorin was covering her neck in slow, wet kisses. His beard tingled against her skin, which was followed by his tongue that made sure to soothe any of her skin his beard might have scratched. That tongue then darted up to trace her ear and Ila trembled all over. Thorin chuckled lowly and brought a hand to lace in hers and press into the pillow on one side of her head. He nipped at her ear before leaving it to move downward, over her neck and to her collarbone, kissing any bit of exposed skin he could reach. His mane of black waves fell all over her and Ila wanted to plunge her free hand into it and press his mouth deeper into her skin.

Ila's eyes closed instead and she reveled in his attentions, not knowing what else to do. Surely he would stop himself soon, he had to if she were going to remain intact for their wedding night. Ila simply enjoyed herself, telling herself this was but a taste of what was to come.

But as she was relaxing into his touch, her heart flew to her throat as she felt him tugging on the laces of her gown. Her eyes flung open to see him trying to pull her free of her bindings, the laces that ran down the front of her dress and secured her neckline. She gasped, not believing he meant to do what he was obviously doing.

"My king, please…" she pleaded and tried to push him away with her free hand but it was like trying to move a mountain. Her other hand was being pressed firmly into the pillow and she could not budge it.

She was afraid but she wanted it all the same. She stared down in disbelief as his large hand tore open the front of her gown and he pressed his face into her bosom. Ila threw her head back into the pillows and braced herself, squeezing her eyes shut when-

-her eyes snapped open. Her chest was heaving and she nearly shot up in bed. Ila's mind was reeling and it took her a few seconds to realize it had only been a dream. She was alone in her bed, in the nightgown Dwala had forced onto her before she fell asleep.

Ila collapsed back into the bed, wondering what brought on such a dream. It had been so real, she wanted it to be real, and reminded herself that soon it would be. Ila's desire soon melded into anxiety as it always did when she thought of her impending wedding night. Her mother had told her very little on the subject, only that when she was married she would have to obey her husband's wishes in bed. If he did something she did not like, she was to remain silent and bear it until he finished. This was very difficult for Ila to reconcile herself to. What if he hurt her? Was she not to make it known? Thorin was being kinder and kinder to her and she felt it difficult to imagine him hurting her on purpose, as intimidating as he could be at times.

Ila looked towards where a window should have been for what felt like the thousandth time, sighing as she remembered she was underneath a mountain. She was never going to get used to that. Unless…..she would shortly spend her mornings waking in Thorin's room which he told her did have a balcony…

That was very presumptuous of her she knew. Perhaps they would keep to their own chambers and Thorin would only visit when he wished to exercise his rights as husband. Ila had no idea. She was sure he would tell her how things were to proceed in time.

Ila still felt very tired and laid back down, sensing that it was yet very early and she still had time to sleep. She was so unsettled by her dream though, she did not feel as though she could fall asleep any time soon. And there was the peculiar feeling in her stomach and between her legs that the dream had left her with. It was not unpleasant, but difficult to define and very foreign to her. The dream of Thorin's touch had brought on those feelings and the more she thought of him the more they refused to subside. Ila resisted the urge to touch her own body, to glide her hands over herself as he had in her dream. She had the urge, but something about it felt strange and clumsy so she did not attempt it.

Instead, Ila closed her eyes and tried not to think of him, else she would never fall asleep. She wished she had something to read, but her books were mostly still packed up. She and Dwala had only concerned themselves with unpacking her wardrobe until that point, as Ila was overly concerned with what she wore these days. She needed to go pick something out of Thorin's library now that she had been invited to. She imagined it would take her hours to go through all the titles and determine what she wanted to read. She enjoyed history a great deal, but she also loved fairy tales as much as any little dwarf did. She should perhaps be a little bashful about that, but mostly she wasn't. What's more, what little she knew about courtship and love and marriage was due to fairy tales. Now, if only her own marriage would actually play out like one.

A dwarf princess could dream.

AN: I know that was an incredibly short chapter, but I am working on Sunday's installment now since between full time work, full time school, AND a four day pass to Dragon*Con this weekend I don't have enough hours in the day. I considered just putting this off but thought I would post a little teaser instead. :)