Epilogue

"I hear congratulations are finally in order for you, lad," old Bofur's merry eyes sparkled as he rolled up a stack of sketches and drawings from the large table in the Stonesmith's planning chambers.

Kili smiled and shouldered a leather scroll case in the place where he normally carried a quiver of arrows. Overall, he was amazed at how happy the people of Erebor were about the news that Lady Nÿr had chosen him…not for marriage, but for a courtship year.

"Who'd have thought, huh?" he said, shy and proud at the same time.

Bofur sidled up to him. "No more bachelor life, though." He tsked. "But what I don't understand is why the wait? Lassies generally want to get on with it…" He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head.

Kili laughed. "It's pretty old-fashioned, isn't it? I'm all for it, though. I mean, we'd really only just met and it feels better this way."

"What he means," Old Dwalin hobbled up. "Is his brother wanted him out of the running, but no lassie in her right mind was going to take the risk." He winked and grabbed Bofur's shoulder for support as he walked past.

Bofur laughed again. "But what I wonder, though, is this: what do you do? Exactly?" He made a face. "Courtship? What does that even mean?"

Kili had to admit he was a little uncertain on that point himself. "Just…get to know her," he said, turning his old friend toward the door. "Find out what makes her happy…help her out."

Bofur stared, even as he walked for the door, looking at the younger dwarf as if he was nuts. "But how's that going to get you any action in the sack? I mean, that's the point, isn't it?"

Kili made a face as if amused but not willing to go further, but in fact, he was at odds with himself: on one hand, he wanted to show his love gently and with reverence...on the other, he had an ingrained urge to claim her with all his strength and passion. That one night in a snow cave was not his idea of romantic pleasure and he was keen to prove that he could do better. "I am soooo not discussing this with you," he laughed at Bofur, shaking his head. He patted his old friend on the back and waved his farewell as he left.

But as he strode from the Stonesmith's meeting, he knew that Bofur had a point. What exactly was a courtship and what was he supposed to be doing to prove his worth?

Fact was, the announcement was made, everyone had raised a glass at the big post-negotiations feast…and then she went back to healer training and he went back to commanding the Erebor Guard and attending all the meetings that his brother didn't have time for.

And there was nothing romantic about that. Not a thing.

But tonight he had a plan. A good one. At least he hoped it was good. He'd gone over it with his brother that morning, who approved the idea, but then carefully wouldn't predict its success.

"You're on your own, there. Not even going to guess." He'd given Kili a shake of the head and then slapped him on the back and sauntered off.

So Kili was feeling out on a limb all by himself.

Other dwarves passed by with polite nods of respect, dispersing quickly down halls and up stairways. The discussions had been long, and many of them were overdue for their supper.

Kili strode to the main hall, then went left at a turn and down a little-used side ramp. Two turns later, he entered one of the busy merchant halls. He scanned the crowd, then spotted Skirfir, out of uniform but casually standing watch at a busy three-way intersection, a pair of crutches helping him keep his weight off his mending leg.

"Doing better today?" Kili asked, eyeing the lad's complicated splint. Skirf's leg had been causing him a lot of pain—a problem for which Kili had great sympathy.

Skirf managed a smile. "Yes, sir. My Lady Healer prescribed sleeping tea…"

"Your Lady Healer," Kili snorted in jest.

Skirfir grinned. He seemed quite pleased that his Commander had been Chosen. But before he could say anything more, a young off-duty page came around a corner, obviously looking for Skirf, and skidded to a halt, bowing quickly to his Prince.

"Speak, lad," Skirfir prompted.

"Sir. The danakha has just left the Elder's Hall," he reported.

Kili raised an eyebrow at the Kuzdhul word. The green lady? Nÿr. Mahal, they've set up a watch and given her a code-name. He suppressed a grin, realizing they'd used green for her beautiful eyes. He approved Skirf's initiative and found the complexity a bit amusing.

But he wasn't about to argue with success.

"Thanks, lad." Skirfir nodded to the page, sending him off. Then he winked at Kili, who certainly knew how to put field intelligence to good use.

Kili's hand on Skirf's shoulder conveyed his appreciation of the news. "Get some dinner and a good night's rest," he said in a low voice. "And raise a flagon for my luck." He made a serious face and Skirfir blushed—but the lad also looked eager for his commander to succeed.

Kili didn't waste time. He headed for the Great Hub. Criss-crossed with open-air walkways and lined with great flights of stone stairs, the inner core of the Lonely Mountain glowed with a beautiful golden light from strings of suspended oil-lamps, and it literally buzzed with people at this time of day. He nodded and smiled as dwarves, lads and maidens alike, recognized him and offered smiles or quick greetings.

But he wasn't looking to get distracted. He was looking for Nÿr. Tall and slender for a dwarf maiden, his intended would be dressed in healer blue and carrying her medic's satchel, and if he knew her, at least one (if not more) medical tomes. If she had just left the Elder's Hall, she should be heading back to the student dorms...

He finally spotted her on a lower ramp, and quickly took a shortcut down. He came up behind her, dodging a group of merchants.

"Nÿr!" he called, striding forward.

She turned, and he caught up, catching her hand in his.

Her smile was serene, lovely, and just for him. He leaned forward for a quick (and properly chaste) kiss. His warrior's heart had the sudden urge for more, but of course not here...not in public.

"Busy day?" she asked, a happy twinkle in her eye.

"Very," he rolled his eyes and hiked his shoulder to show the scroll case. "Renovation planning. My brother always says the dragon had Erebor less than two hundred years, but it will take us twice that to fix up the place—mostly because everybody has to argue every point at least five times."

"So…you're brokering negotiations." Nÿr suppressed a smile.

"Exactly. The miners want to re-open the north spur of the silverlode shaft, the Stonesmiths want a year to shore up the mine entry, and all the Crafthall Master wants is twice as much silver ore as soon as he can get it." He smiled at the luck of having that kind of problem over fears of imminent attack. "And you?"

"Eight cases of gout, three head wounds, and two births."

"Two?" Kili's face lit up. The people of Erebor were thriving and an uptick in new babies proved it. "That's…what, eleven this week?"

"Fifteen. One dozen lads and three lassies."

Kili loved how her face always glowed with a quiet pride when she talked about the newborns. Inwardly, it fed the fire of his need to prove himself to her.

Easy, lad. "You must be exhausted," he said.

"A little." Then her smile disappeared.

"What?"

"I have hours of studying to do tonight," she looked apologetic. "Group exam tomorrow at mid-day."

Kili tried not to look disappointed.

"It wouldn't be so bad," she went on, "Except we have a new class of beginner lasses who," she looked away as if struggling for a diplomatic description. "Are quite young. There's far more chatter and silliness going on in our quarters than actual studying."

Kili grinned. "Then it's a good thing I found you." He reached inside his jacket and pulled out an odd, old key on a blue silk cord. "Are you up for a surprise?"

She raised a skeptical eyebrow, though she was clearly interested. "Only if it involves three hours of reviewing burn treatments." She hiked up the large tome she carried in the crook of her arm as evidence.

Kili adopted his most serious face. "On my honor, I promise." He held the key out to her, brassy and bright in the palm of his hand.

They stopped on the stairway landing and Nÿr took the key, considering it. Finally she looked up with a quirky smile on her face.

"If there is a key, there must be a door?" she teased.

That was all the answer he needed. He took the tome from her to carry it himself and grabbed her hand. Together they headed for the Halls of Learning, not too far from the healer's dorm and the training infirmary where Nÿr spent many of her hours.

But once they reached the busy halls, Kili passed by the well-used main corridors, looking instead for something else. At a six-way intersection, he stopped and pulled her forward.

"This," he said, nodding to an old carving in blue stone. "Is the statue of Joadmun the Apothecary."

Nÿr nodded. "Yes, I know. He wrote The Basic Book of Simples."

"But that," Kili said, turning her left toward a narrow passage that looked like it led to a cleaner's closet. "…is where we're going. But since we don't want everyone noticing…or worse, following," they exchanged a significant look. "We need to wait for a moment when this hallway is clear."

So they stood next to Joadmun's statue and feigned interest in it, and after waiting several minutes, found an opportunity when no one would see them slip inside the little passage.

Together they followed the lamp-lit, narrow corridor, passing a "no entry permitted" sign, following it around three sharp corners and up two short staircases, leading quickly to a single, very old, carved stone door.

Nÿr stared. She could see no keyhole in the usual place.

Kili pointed to an ornament in the center. "There," he whispered.

Nÿr held out the key, slid it into the lock, and then stopped. "What's inside here?" she asked, clearly curious.

Kili smiled and shook his head. "Not telling. You have to see for yourself."

Carefully, Nÿr turned the key until the old lock clicke and the door opened, surprisingly smooth and silent for such old hinges.

And then she gasped as the room inside came into view, gently lit by the oil lamps he'd set and lighted earlier.

He watched her face go blank, then transform in wonder as she took it in, seeing the fireplace, the rug, the bookcases, and the long oak table complete with blown-glass study lamps.

"What is this place?" she breathed.

Kili took her hand and guided her inside. The answer was complicated, but he had already decided not to burden her with its entire history.

"It's a room my mother used when she studied under the schoolmasters. Balin showed it to me years ago." He smiled, trying to keep the rest of the story at bay.

In truth, it had also been used by his Uncles Thorin and Frerin, and it had become Balin's favorite haunt after the dragon years.

It had also been the very place where he and Fili had last spoken to Nÿr's distant cousin Ori before their friend had departed on that ill-fated journey to Moria.

But he and Fili had decided that the room deserved a new life, free from the memory of people long dead.

So they had agreed Kili and Nÿr should share it as a place of their own, away from prying eyes and social expectations.

"I thought we might both like a place with some privacy," he said. "You can use it whenever you want," he went on, nodding at the key he'd given her. "No one's been up here for years. Well, except An's maids—she insisted on sending them up to clean this morning." He watched now as Nÿr turned a slow circle. Had he guessed correctly? Would she like it?

Or was he presuming too much?

Nÿr stopped and stood still, as if mesmerized. "The bookcases…!" she breathed.

He gently set the oversized medical tome on the table. "Which chair do you want?"

She considered the study table and put her hand on the back of the first chair, wood with a comfortable stuffed cushion on the seat. "This one is fine," she murmured, looking stunned. He realized she'd probably never had a room of her own.

He pulled the chair out for her, then stepped around to the chair at the other end, dropping his scroll case from his shoulder and setting it on the tabletop.

"You have reading...I have construction plans to look at." He shrugged. "I thought we could both use the study time," he said.

She smiled. "Both of us, bent over our papers, working into the night?" The idea seemed to amuse her, so he kept going.

Nervous, he showed her the wooden drawers for her paper and pens, even a place for his drafting supplies. He turned up the flame on the table lamp, then searched his pockets for his flint.

He held it up and tilted his head toward the fireplace. "Shall I light the fire?" He hadn't meant to say it so softly, he realized. It had just come out that way. Then again, this would be the answer that told him whether she liked the place and wanted to stay.

She nodded, looking completely speechless.

He smiled in relief and bent to the fireplace and his task. The little fire crackled to light, but before he could stand, he felt a touch on his shoulder.

She knelt beside him, her hands gently cupping his face, and she leaned forward to kiss him.

Not one of those chaste, safe for public viewing kisses, either.

It was fervent enough to slowly push him off center and onto his backside.

"You have studying," he said, not really resisting another kiss.

"You want to stop?" she asked, not really pausing.

And after a week of nothing but proper and virtuous behavior between them, this spot on the plush rug in front of the fire was far too tempting.

"Not," he said. "In the slightest." With that, he acted on his need to claim her...and he didn't hold back. He rose, one strong arm quickly turning his lovely lass to her back and he surged over her. His desire turned to a devouring kiss and he couldn't have stopped if he'd tried. But he was welcomed and she met his kisses with a sureness that fed his warrior's heart...she wanted him, opened herself to him with exquisite warmth, and showed him that she was not afraid to follow his need.

He pulled back then to catch his breath and took a moment to press his forehead to hers and caress her jaw with his thumb, murmuring her name one time, though he was far too overwhelmed for words.

"Hush," she said, her voice deeper than usual. Her hands found the buckle on his bandolier, releasing it, then the clasps on his over-vest and the ties on his over-shirt…

Mahal, the lass knew her way around his gear.

Healer... She'd surely divested many a lad of his battle armor to get to his wounds…

All the better for me, Kili smiled and then stopped her, got the flat of his hand under the hem of her healer's smock and had it over her head in a flash.

She laughed, and together they made rapid work of each other's outer gear—stripping away the clothing that identified them as commander and healer, until they were down to their underthings and saw each other only as lad and lass.

From there on they took their time in a slow, passionate final disrobing of each other, stopping to explore skin and curves and muscle with eager hands and ardent mouths. This room was warm and comfortable, after all. Nothing at all like the rustic, freezing guard room of their first, rushed encounter. And he liked that she had a willingness to show him what she wanted. She made it abundantly clear where they were headed, and Kili was all too happy to oblige, though he genuinely made an effort to hold his strength in check and be considerate.

At least right up until the time that she urged him not to be.

Mahal, lass. Yes...

Kili woke with Nÿr nestled against his shoulder, a soft quilt draped over them. The fire had burned to embers, but it was enough.

Enough for him to see her face, serene and relaxed.

He could survive the rest of this long year, he decided, if what happened next was the thing he hoped for.

He wanted to see her wake up next to him, wanted to know if the closeness he hoped for was really there. Because all the rest of it aside, that was the thing he was missing. Years of fighting and surviving the curse had brought this realization to him. He wanted the passion, yes. But he was also starved for the peace of simple tenderness and privacy to balance all his years of duty and service.

She moved and woke sooner than he expected.

He nearly held his breath.

She blinked at him and her expression went from questioning to…an utterly adorable look of wide-eyed wonder and acceptance. They were here, together, and she liked it. She nuzzled his jaw, and he kissed her forehead. She burrowed closer.

Yes. This is right.

"I love you," she murmured, her voice still sleepy and sated. Her hand reached across his chest and rested on his shoulder with a sweet gentleness that touched his soul.

"And I you," he said in a quiet voice, eyes closing in relief. "So much more than I can say."

They were going to be all right, he realized. And getting on with his life was not going to be so hard. In fact, he had a feeling it was going to be downright interesting.

.

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A/N: THANK you for reading Cursebearers! Hand on heart to all of you and just to keep the momentum going, Chapter One of the second story, Ravenspeakers, is ready for you! As always, leave a note or review-and feel free to PM me if you want! As I re-post this, I'm enjoying the trickle of news about Peter Jackson's new film project, "The Hunt for Gollum" with Andy Serkis...and rumors are that both Viggo Mortenson and Ian McKellan are on board. THE FANDOM WILL LIVE ON! Cheers and ((hugs)) mellyn... -Summer