CHAPTER 24

Having been thoroughly made the unwilling center of attention, Dwalin bids his King good night and stomps up the stairs to the single room with his exhausted mate trailing after him. The enormous solid wood door's beautiful craftsmanship isn't lost on him but the Kingsman is not interested in admiring it. He pushes it open roughly, leaving it for El to close at her discretion. Sitting upon the edge of the bed, he waits. El gently resettles the door into its frame but does not lock it. That little action, or lack thereof, is enough for the Dwalin to let out a shaky breath. 'At least she will not try anything.' Then again, his unusual One looks unusually jaded. Her normally annoyingly levelheaded self-assured attitude has been replaced with lackluster abrupt facts. He has seen her tired before, often when she was in her growing phase, but not since she reached her majority. The kingsman makes a mental note of it.

For her own part, El had considered attempting to finish their mating but decided against it the moment she saw the bed. She'd stretched herself thin today and slumber gnawed at her like a hungry beast. Her lineages do not always work congruously and today her dragon side exerted more energy than her dwarf body could replenish. 'My wings can fly for hours but my shoulders can not support me for that long... Yet. A minor setback.' She can strengthen her weaker parts, in fact, she looks forward to it. Dwalin's chastity would remain intact... for another night at least. Resisting the urge to rub her eyes, the half-Drake leans her back against the door lazily and waves her hand.

"Go on then."

"Go on and what?"

"Apologize. Beg. Grovel. Whatever it is that you need to do in order to move past this."

"Mahal.

"..."

"... Fine." the dwarf spreads his arms wide "Ye want me to beg?"

"No. I want you to get over it. YOU want me to tell you to beg so you won't feel as poorly about it all. Besides," summoning what little of her magic she can use tonight with a wave, El generates a small block just behind Dwalin. It hits his back and knocks the dwarf forward off the bed and down to his knees. She is too tired to create shackles but this is enough to prove her point. Dropping her pack and strolling over to the bed, she settles in the center with a smirk at the prone dwarf "THAT is how you beg."

"Oi!" the displaced dwarrow whirls around to face his opponent "Listen drake-"

"You have my forgiveness but I have a question."

"This wench will be the death of me." He grumbles under his breath, relieved though he'll never admit it. Throwing his hands into the air at a loss, he implores her to continue "What is it then? What question could ye possibly have for me?"

"It's quite simple really." Fluffing a pillow nearby, the dam makes a little nest for herself "What about me is so horrible that mating me must be done with your eyes closed?"

"..." She has stumped the usually forthright dwarrow. He has no way to recover from her previous words before she is spewing even more ludicrous ones "... Excuse me?"

"Your eyes. They were closed." The dwarf continues to stare in confusion, so the half-drake continues "Your eyes were open when I stripped and mounted you-"

"W-wait, you're not using that word corr-"

"But when you entered me-"

"Lass, sto-"

"And did all that..." she frowns at him with a grimace "MOVING."

"Mahal, strike me down..."

"Your eyes were closed."

"..."

"So... what about me is so horrible that-"

"I heard ye... I heard ye the first time." Dragging a hand down his face, sighing heavily before plopping down against the door, Dwalin searches for words "I.. it wasn't... I was trying to... focus."

"Focus? On what exactly?"

"On just... Just THAT part.. of.. ye." breathing through his teeth, the dwarf clenches his fist repeatedly as he tries to explain "Ye are.. a lot."

"I am only me."

"Yes, that's.. true. But ye... Consist of a lot. Dwarf. Dragon. Weapon."

"One?"

"... Ye were just a child a month ago. Yet... I had to push all that aside to see ye as.. just a dam in my arms with a duty to uphold."

"... So you would have no problem mating me if I were just a dragon or just a dam or just a child-"

"Just a dam!" He nearly shouts in alarm "I shall have nothing to do with mating children or dragons. And it's not... mating. We are not animals for breeding."

"Alright, Fu-"

"Making love. I'd have no quarrels making love if ye were just a dam."

"... I shall not dismember myself just to be what you believe should be attractive to you."

"Nor would I ask. Yer wings, horns, and claws make ye fierce. They protect ye and make ye an asset to my king. Ye needn't change that, lassie. I'd rather ye burn his enemies than cause a rise out of me."

"Ah, so you do not know." Huffing out a small puff of laughter, the girl kicks off the shoes she hates "That makes more sense."

"What now?"

"You do not realize that you already find me attractive.. or rather, you find my strength awakens something... Unnatural in you."

"... Have ye lost-"

"You have held a stone within your trousers since I brought you to your knees."

He'd hoped she wouldn't notice the tenting at his front. There was no denying his lust for her dominance. He tried, but ever since her first attempt to sneak into his bed in Rivendell, each subsequent denial he offered was like a shard of glass digging into his resolve. It had always been there; this disgraceful allure of females who were just a touch too fierce but this was different. This was like a spell, a curse, dragging him into the depth of the strength pouring out of this being. She could break his bones, snap his neck, end his life with no effort at all and yet she could be his.

Would be his.

Already is his own.

"Do you enjoy being on your knees before me?" It is intoxicatingly dangerous. As if she hadn't just felled his king's most qualified guardsmen. His life belongs to the crown and yet something vile within his belly has kept his body on the floor before this dark creature. Even now he does not rise and it sickens him almost as much as it excites him "I can feel your need from here. Why have you fought this union so hard?"

"... Ye did not seek me out for attraction or even simple lust but duty and curiosity." She would dare speak to him, Dwalin, son of Fundin, like he is some fanatic scrambling for her attention. As if he should be blessed to be so lucky as to garner an ounce of her attention. True, the moment Dwalin's eyes settled upon her outside the troll caves he felt his lust for her tear at his gut something fierce, nearly rendering him blind from the intensity of it. Yet his pride makes him rise again and again "Ye... are a lot of things but I cannae look upon my One as a curious half-blood to be bred according to duty or a dark beast to slake my lust."

"Oh?" She asks sleepily, nuzzling the blankets "Is that so?"

"Aye." Steadying his breath, the dwarrow gathers his resolve "I shall not take ye again as such."

"I see." Pushing the blankets away from her middle, the girl crooks a clawed finger at her mate. He grits his teeth but his feet move him forward until he towers over her. Reaching her hands up to pull the dwarf into the bed with her, El gives a hearty yawn "We will have a true relationship then."

"Lass-"

"I know of these things. My time has been short but well utilized. Learning about each other. The likes. Dislikes. Personalities and quirks." Grinning a tooth-filled smile of amusement, the girl leans closer as Dwalin all but shimmies away "I have read of romance."

"... We are on a quest that could very well end our lives. We haven't time for romance."

"Shall I romance you?" She asks, ignoring him. Pulling him down into the bed with her and wrapping her limbs around him. El has not laid with another in some time. In fact, she has not done so since becoming too large to rest up on her bearer's lap. She has missed the warmth "You have no choice in picking your One. That was decided long ago. You will ache for me. You will burn for me. You have no choice but there is something you can do. You can choose to be bound by your lust or a true bond."

"... Are ye even capable of either?"

"Yes. I have felt your lust through our connection, so I know I am capable of at least that much. You are greedy though. You want more." Her words slow as sleep begins to claim her "I can feel adoration... and loyalty but love... I do not know. If you desire 'love' you must love me first and show me. But know this... it is your risk that I may be incapable of loving in return."

Dwalin closes his eyes for a moment, his mind reviewing the possibilities. It's true that his desire for her will never die. It could possibly morph into something more, as their bond will never break. He will forever want to be near her, to protect and care for her, no matter how hard he battles against it. And she will be a loyal companion until the end of his time. At the same time, the dwarrow cannot bear to be seen by his One as only being a duty or outlet for sexual frustration. It would be nothing short of dishonor. His frustrations amount to nothing, as he is no choice anymore but to accept this fate. She is already his.

"We will... court."

"Why wou-"

"Slowly." Emphasizing the word, Dwalin takes a deep breath at the deal he is making. Settling on his back, he tentatively lets his arm wrap around the girl snuggled into his side "Our king will always come first."

"No. Only Thorin. I swear myself to no one else."

"Thorin then. He will always come first but after that, our Union will be a true one. And..."

"And?"

"Ye will never make me submit to you."

"... In public." He scoffs but does not argue. It would make no difference "No more closed eyes? When I romance you, you will look?"

"Yes." Staring into the darkness, Dwalin holds the most dangerous female he has ever met as she drifts into slumber "With eyes wide open."