Taking Raven by the hand as she nodded to Tansy's command, Thorin led her to The Blue Jay, rounding around the corner and out of sight on the other side of the Willow Tree.
Ascending the road the same way they had come, Thorin led Raven through the back exit; entering the kitchens, taking the servants stairs at the opposite side, carefully helping her climb so her already hurt body wasn't hurt even more.
At the top of the stairs, Thorin opened the smaller door and led Raven to his chambers further down the hall closer to the main stairs. He was using every ounce of his being to keep his shaking in check.
Opening the wood door to his chambers, Thorin ushered Raven inside and set to work drawing her a bath to help her relax her sore body. Bruises didn't require much medical attention; the body naturally takes care of them. The Dwarf did wet a cloth with cool water first before moving to Raven who currently perched on the edge of the bed, and first gently applied the soft material to the mast bruising on her chin and jaw, being super careful with The Blue Wizard's throat as he gently dabbed the cloth to the wounded areas, fighting to stay calm so his wife could relax her hurt body at his touch.
Raven, who sat super still as a rock, flinched when Thorin gently touched her throat with a dab of the cloth. "I'm sorry. I'm trying to be gentle." He met her eyes to see them brewing with storming thunder mirroring the storming thunder of her heart. She was quiet, a heaviness enveloped her, growing larger. The hot water of the bath Thorin drew sounded good, so he used the bath as a distraction.
Helping Raven to her feet, Thorin walked her over to the tub and felt her body flinch when her eyes took in the bath filling the tub to the brim with inviting hot water. Was the bath too much? "Sweetheart?" He caught sight of Raven's face turning a deep red. "Oh, she has never bathed in front of a male," was his thought. His thought was proved right when The Blue Wizard spoke. "I'm not comfortable with this."
"I can turn around if you'd like." Raven nodded. Thorin respected her wish. After all, his wife bore bruises from being abused by the Blue Jay's owner this morning. Her marrying him was a split-second, life-altering decision to permanently bind herself to him for protection from Aladrin in return. Thorin knew his Burglar would need to get to know him a little bit more first to build trust before allowing him to see her naked.
After turning around, Thorin heard the sounds of garment being removed before hitting the floor with light thuds followed by the sound of splashing water as an indication his wife currently stepped in the tub before his ears were met by bigger splashing sounds to indicate she currently submerged her body below the water's surface. A satisfactory smile played with his lips when a pleasant sigh from Raven tickled his ear drums.
"Okay." Thorin turned around just as The Blue Wizard finished submerging her whole body underneath the water's surface. At first, the hot water was uncomfortable against the bruising, he could see by the way Raven squirmed a little bit, but eventually relaxed from the pain receding once she had adjusted.
"You're very quiet, darling." Thorin used a finger pad to gently trace the bruising along the bottom of her jaw to her throat, watching the storm clouds in her eyes grow stronger from fear as she flinched. "What's wrong?" He pressed a soothing kiss to her cheek. The flinching increased. So Thorin lifted her hand and pressed a soothing kiss to its back, feeling Raven slightly relax at the more subtle approach.
"Is that better?" She nodded her head and Thorin contented himself with relaxing her even more by applying soft gently strokes to the ivory flesh of her inner forearm. His Burglar finally spoke after a quiet moment.
"I've never — I mean no man has ever…" Raven's train of thought turned mental. "Oh for Pete's sake!"
"You've never been with a man before?" Thorin finished his wife's train of thought aloud at seeing her struggle.
"No." Raven wanted to flinch away from the Dwarf, but felt conflicted. On one hand, she was nervous stemmed from the abuse at Aladrin's hands earlier in the morning, in turn, causing fear and anxiety to lift its ugly head. On the other hand, Thorin was currently being patient and hadn't given her a reason to distrust him since he came running after her when she had fled The Blue Jay. He had caught onto her call for help when she had protected him from Drawston and Xiouston last night, and had answered her call from coming to find her, to getting her to calm down and listening to her painfully tell the short tale of what Aladrin did to her in the kitchens, to encouraging her to take a leap of faith in binding herself to him as his Burglar, wife and queen, then protecting her when Aladrin found them underneath the Willow Tree.
In fact, Thorin only gave her reason to increase her trust in him. "It's okay to be nervous," he assured. "We can take the beginning of our marriage slow if that's what you would be more comfortable with."
"I would….I just don't know what to do, exactly." Oh, Raven knew what the first week of marriage entailed alright. But she was not ready to go that far just yet. Her trust in Thorin only grew a little more.
"How about an afternoon nap?" Suggested Thorin, who knew all too well Raven knew what being newly married entailed just by the way her eyes sparkled with fear, but relaxed at his suggestion. He needed her to trust him first before either one went that far. "Sleep helps the body heal. You've been through quite the ordeal today."
There was a knock at the door and Tansy let herself in, carrying a legal document and a pen in her hands. She was exhausted, currently sporting a bruise on the side of her face.
"Tansy." Thorin greeted with a strained voice from the events that had happened since after breakfast. He was exhausted and the bar maid was exhausted too, from the way she spoke with a strained voice.
"I've come to give you and Raven a document to sign and keep for yourself as well as a document for Angren-Adorn." She handed Thorin the piece of parchment and quill, which he took and expertly signed his signature. Raven, now fully dressed, walked up to stand beside Thorin as he took the document and pen from the other woman. "What about Aladrin?"
"Aladrin is the other reason why I'm here. I came to tell you both need to leave Angren-Adorn by tonight. Aladrin is set on his threat and I don't know what he plans on doing." To Raven, the bar maid said, "I have already packed your belongings and staff; they're just outside the door." She showed the king and queen Raven's belongings with a slight movement of her hand, clutching the strings of a bag and the staff in one hand. "Aladrin's plans are a question of when he will carry them out. Currently, he is being held in prison for what he did to you, Raven. The officials are waiting for him to calm down before they set him free."
"We'll leave by tonight. Raven needs rest."
"No later than tonight." Tansy warned. "Aladrin is busy nursing his face from the punch you gave him, Thorin. He won't be attacking any time soon, but eventually The Blue Jay Owner will attack as payback for the punch. So as soon as you two have rested enough, you need to leave. Aladrin's anger is only increasing, and I fear not even the officials will be able to contain him.
After Raven and Thorin signed the marriage document for Angren-Adorn's legal files, the king and queen signed the personal document, Raven signing: Thorin's Burglar, underneath her signature so her husband's advisor, Balin, could have the document for Erebor's legal files. Tansy had left after putting Raven's bag and staff just against the wall inside the room, and now Thorin currently helped his wife change into one of his spare shirts to use as a pajama shirt before pulling his Burglar over to the bed for her afternoon nap.
Thorin already had his coat off and was making quick work of his tunic. Raven turned her head when he began unbuckling the belt before letting his pants drop to the floor with a soft thud. There was a shift in the bed from her husband's weight, soon feeling his hot furnace body pressed slightly against her slim hurt body, a strong arm wrapping around her stomach, pulling her closer with ease. Light kisses from Thorin's lips were gently applied to Raven's bruised neck, eliciting goosebumps to her flesh and drawing a soft moan from her lips.
When his hand found her outer thigh, however, Raven flinched. "I won't do anything you don't want me to do," soothed Thorin. Curiosity got the better of Raven. Giving into her curiosity, Raven managed to get a good look at Thorin's bare upper half.
Wide, strong shoulders esentricated ribbed muscle of his chest down to his stomach, snuggly fitting to the hem of his under trousers with scars and tattoos defining the ribbed muscle of his core, and chest, and his bare arms. So many years of battle and hard work of mining and forging carved into the handsome Dwarf sitting before her, the muscle of his powerful legs had, no doubt, flexed and esentricated the power and speed coursing to Thorin's strong feet when he brawled with Aladrin.
Raven could only imagine what the powerful force of a strong kick would have done to The Blue Jay owner's lanky body if the king had decided to give a good kick to the knee or calf on top of delivering the kick to Aladrin's groin followed by the good punch to his face the Dwarf King had delivered.
Wondering what those powerful muscled legs would feel like against her lower body, heat flushed Raven's face as she looked down at Thorin's lower body.
"What are you thinking?" Thorin asked, noticing her blush. Raven had to be the one to make the move.
"I want to try something." Mustering up the courage, Raven moved to sit atop Thorin's lower lap, hugging his outer thighs with her inner thighs just below his naughty part. Dark Cobalt Blue clashed with Intoxicating Purple as husband and wife held each other's eyes.
Heat swelled to their lower core but neither one budged: Thorin because he knew The Blue Wizard was not ready for that, fighting back the creeping lust trying to crawl into his vision from the corners of his eyes, forcing himself to hold his wife's gaze over giving into the desire of studying how she looked in his tunic swallowing her slim body; Raven because she was wanting to take the beginning of their marriage slow, still being at the beginning of their relationship where she and Thorin just started getting to know one another. The Blue Wizard had suffered abuse at the hands of Aladrin. So deep love was not in the cards yet, just courting; making clear she was only willing to go as far sitting on her Dwarf's lap, watching the lust in his eyes withdraw as confirmation.
Keeping his hands at his sides or keeping hold of his wife's hands, Thorin fought the itching desire to touch her bare knees before moving up her strong thighs to…he mentally shook his head, refusing to think about that.
"What else are you thinking?" He forced himself to keep his focus strictly on his new wife and queen, despite the uncomfortable ache of his naughty part. He lifted a hand to trace the bruising along the Burglar's jaw with the pad of his index finger, watching The Blue Wizard fight the lust just as hard; being the one straddling his lower lap where his Burglar's inner thighs hugged his muscular outer thighs.
"What if our people don't like me?"
"They will, though I can't find a reason why anyone wouldn't like you." Thorin ignored the pain of his throbbing groin, feeling his under trousers growing tight.
Without thinking, Raven moved to straddle the Dwarf's upper lap above his groin. Her heart skipped a beat when she felt the tightness lightly brush the slight curve of her bum. Thorin seemed to notice because he effortlessly scooted her higher, closer to his upper person before clasping his hands together against her lower back. "How can you be so sure?"
The evidence of Raven never receiving a single compliment slammed Thorin's ears so painstakingly clear. He didn't understand, couldn't understand, how no one gave The Blue Wizard a single compliment for her love and kindness and care. He would be the first to give his wife the compliment so she felt seen and to feel like she could take on the wold! "I know, because you're the best woman in the world, with your love, kindness and care you showed to the patrons this morning; and me."
Those purple eyes lit up like Gandalf's rumored fireworks! Raven rewarded Thorin with a kiss of thanks to his cheek.
End of chapter five. Stay tuned for chapter six Friend And Foe which will be more about Tansy and Aladrin.