Chapter 26

The king and queen walked slowly to their chambers, one hindered by his injuries and the other hindered by her growing stomach. Once they finally reached their chambers, Kaleria called for the maids to draw a bath for Thorin. The women hurried to warm the water on the fire and fill the tub nearly full before exiting the bedroom and leaving Kaleria and Thorin alone for the first time in months.

Suddenly, Kaleria was very aware of his presence and couldn't meet his gaze. She busied herself with pulling fresh clothes from his wardrobe.

Thorin was immediately aware of the distance she put between them. "Kaleria?"

"I'm just laying out some fresh clothes." She didn't face him.

He approached her slowly. "Kaleria, look at me."

She froze at the wardrobe, but didn't move.

He reached out a hand and touched her shoulder, turning her gently to face him. She kept her eyes down.

Thorin removed his hand, but remained in front of her. "Are you still angry with me?"

Kaleria sighed and brought her eyes slowly up to meet his. "Not as much as I was."

Thorin nodded. "Do you still love me?"

She reached up and touched his cheek. "Of course I do."

He placed his hand over hers and turned his face toward her palm and kissed it. He held her there afraid she would try to pull away again.

As she watched him, she saw how he had changed over the last few months. His skin was pale, his cheeks sunken in, and his beard had grown longer than he liked.

"Come, now. Get in the bath." Kaleria moved toward the tub and laid a towel on the bench next to it. She moved the bathing oils closer to the tub and when she thought she had everything settled, she turned back to Thorin.

He had removed his shirt, boots, and socks, leaving him standing there in only his pants. Her eyes traced every line of his chest, every familiar scar, and every fresh bruise. The heat rose to her cheeks and she turned her head away.

Thorin had watched all of this and started to laugh. His deep bellow that only a few ever got the chance to hear. Kaleria had heard it before and had been the one to make him laugh like that, but this time she didn't appreciate it.

"What?" She questioned, glaring at him.

"You," he said. "You're blushing."

"I am not! Now, get in the bath."

Thorin smirked, the one that made Kaleria's knees weak. "Turn around."

"Fine, if you have to be modest." Kaleria obliged and thanked Mahal.

She heard the water sloshing as he stepped in. "You're the one being modest. I am your husband, you know. And you do carry our child."

Kaleria huffed. "Is it safe to turn around now?"

"Yes," he chuckled.

She turned slowly and made sure he was sunken into the bath completely before she took her place standing behind him. She took up one of the buckets filled with water and dumped it over his head.

Thorin sputtered as he peeled his hair away from his face and wiped the water from his eyes. "That wasn't very nice."

"Apologies, my king." She replied, her familiar teasing coming back to her.

Thorin leaned back against the tub and relaxed as she began washing his hair. Her nails dug gently through his dark tresses, massaging the oils into his scalp. She took another bucket of water and warned him about it before dumping it over his head to rinse.

She moved to sit on the small bench at the side of the tub and watched him. Thorin leaned back against the tub with his eyes closed, his arms resting on the sides, more relaxed than he had been in nearly six months. Thoughts bubbled in Kaleria's mind, but she was too afraid to speak. How does one talk to their husband after being apart for so long?

"I can hear your mind racing." He spoke softly.

Her eyes looked up to see he had been watching her. He held out his hand, inviting her to take it.

"You can ask me anything. I have no secrets from you." He admitted.

Kaleria took his hand, the familiar feeling of his fingers calming her. "Were you ever scared you wouldn't come home?"

"Yes," replied Thorin.

The bluntness of his confession startled her. "Why?"

"Because for once I was worried about the ones I would leave behind." He rubbed his thumb along her fingers. "When I went after Erebor, it was for selfish reasons. I was ready to die fighting for my homeland. I didn't care if I left Dis and the boys to fend for themselves.

"But this time, all I could think about was making it home to you and our baby." Thorin met her eyes. "Everyday I imagined coming home to you and apologizing for the way I acted in the Iron Hills."

"Don't. I said hurtful things. Things I wish I could take back." Kaleria's eyes teared up.

"We can't change the past, but we can learn from it and move forward."

"Agreed," she said.

Thorin paused for a moment, thinking. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Yes."

"Are you scared to be a mother?" His shoulders grew tense waiting for her response.

"Of course I'm scared. I don't know the first thing about caring for a baby, or raising a child. At least you had practice with Fili and Kili." She argued.

"That doesn't count. I'm their uncle. As soon as they whimpered or cried I gave them back to Dis. This is all new territory for me."

Kaleria giggled. "Then we'll have to figure it out together."

Thorin squeezed her hand. "I love that idea."

Kaleria adjusted her grip on Thorin's hand and grabbed his hand within both of hers. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his knuckles, reminding herself that he was really home. He smiled warmly at her, committing the moment to memory.

After a long moment, Kaleria straightened up and released his hand. She moved the oils and the empty buckets and readied the towel for Thorin.

"I'm going to invite Dis, Dain, the boys, Balin, and Dwalin to dinner. You get out when you're ready." Kaleria tried to move but he caught her wrist to stop her.

He gazed up at her longingly. "You don't want to help me out of the tub?"

Kaleria had regained herself and didn't flush at his implication. "I'm afraid if I helped you out of the tub, we wouldn't make it to dinner."

Thorin pulled her down closer to him. "Would that be such a bad thing?"

His breath tickled her cheek as he spoke, but Kaleria held firm.

"You need to regain your strength."

"I have strength enough," he said before kissing her neck.

Kaleria faltered only slightly.

"Thorin," she warned.

He didn't acknowledge her. He simply kept kissing her neck. Slowly he turned her face toward his and claimed her lips hungrily, like breathing her in and holding her close was all he needed to sustain him.

How she came to her senses, Kaleria did not know, but she placed her hand on his chest and held him at arm's length. Thorin breathed heavily as he looked up at her.

"You, my king, are a dangerous dwarf."

He smiled.

"No smiling," she said. "I'm going to invite our friends to dinner and you are going to get dressed."

"Yes, my queen." His lips still held that smirk she loved to hate.

She grabbed the towel and threw it in his face before walking to the door of their chambers. She exited without another word, hoping to calm herself before she saw the others.