After my refreshing foray in Dale, and feeling excited over the new dress I was now set to receive, I decided to dash the stifling rules of courtship and visit Bofur in his rooms after hours. As I walked towards our wing of the mountain, I was thankful that Erebor always had its main travel routes quite well lit as I still felt rather unsteady crossing certain bridges and climbing some of the open concept stairwells. When I reached Bofur's door I quietly tried the handle without knocking and, after determining it was indeed unlocked. I sidled inside and shut the door firm behind me, beginning to undo my coat and happily announcing myself as I walked in.
"Bofur, I'm cold! And I can think of more than a few ways you can warm me-"
I stopped mid-sentence when I actually looked up to see a few strange dwarves, seated on Bofur's furniture, staring at me with expressions ranging from bemusement to outright condescension.
"-up." I finished awkwardly, trying to subtlety pull my coat back over my shoulders.
Bofur had jumped up from his spot on the chair and rushed over to me, though I could tell he was biting back a smile.
"Dearest, won't you come meet my guests?" he said, recovering himself quickly.
My face fell and I tried to shake my head very slightly. I was mortified and wanted nothing more than for him to just excuse me so I could get out of there.
Nevertheless he lightly took my arm just above the elbow and led me into the firelight.
"These are some of the leading members of Erebor's restoration committee. They were inspecting this area for structural damages. I'm so pleased you decided to join us so I can make proper introductions." he began, showing no signs of embarrassment.
"This is the woman who joined the company of Thorin along route," Bofur began, letting go of my arm and taking a step away from me. "She saved several of our hides along the way, and also helped fund the journey to reach the mountain before Durin's Day fell."
A dwarrowdam with a rather astoundingly large nose set down her glass of tea and looked up at me with a confused expression.
She uttered something in Khuzdul, glancing at the grey-haired dwarf that sat beside her.
"Common tongue, if you will." Bofur requested somewhat brusquely. "But yes, she also fought in the battle, along with many women of Laketown... They are made of sterner stuff than most." I glanced at Bofur appreciatively and waited until he had introduced the four guests before sidling back out of the spotlight and sitting lightly on the arm of the chair.
"The architects will need to draft up plans for the compromised stairwell." The other dwarrowdam stated once the rather forced pleasantries were finished. "They have concluded their work in Dale for the season, so they should be able to be scheduled within a fortnight. Besides that, this quadrant is in no need of immediate attention."
My ears perked up and I swallowed back my nervousness and spoke out.
"Some of the repairs done within Dale are not sound." I said, earning myself a few hard stares in the process. I tried to explain myself. "Only just this morning a ceiling had collapsed."
"That is not possible." The younger of the two males stated, adjusting his eyepiece. "There must have been human workers involved."
I frowned. "I believe this ceiling in particular was entirely of dwarven make."
The large nosed dwarrowdam tutted and spoke once more in their tongue, this time with a rather sharp tone. Bofur shot her a glare but held up his hand to calm her.
"She knows not of what she speaks." The other woman said, looking at Bofur.
"She knows well enough." Bofur said firmly. "It might be wise to send an inspector back to the city-"
"If the master of Dale sees our work as unfit he can bring it to us himself." The greyed dwarf grumbled. "As it is, they are getting far better than they deserve. What our king was thinking sending them to the city before attending to our own needs is beyond me."
The others nodded and then began speaking of the complex arrangements being made to restore support beams in the main entrance halls while they finished their tea. Bofur caught my eye and raised his eyebrows, nodding towards the door when the others weren't looking. I stared at him blankly for a moment before getting the hint. I scrambled to my feet.
"It's late, I must be off." I announced suddenly. "...An honour to meet you all." I sidestepped towards the door, half waving and half curtsying to the group, before turning and ducking out into the hallway.
I returned to my rooms lamenting my seemingly inherent ability to create awkward situations.
An hour or so later when I was lying in bed, still trying not to cringe at the memory of my foolishness, I heard my chamber door. I sat up, though I suspected who it was.
Bofur stepped into my room, barefooted and wearing a simple grey shirt and pants.
He leaned against my door frame and studied me, an eyebrow raised and a small smirk on his lips.
I groaned an apology and flopped back down, burying my face in the pillow.
"Tonight of all nights, eh lass?" Bofur chuckled as I felt him sit down beside me and place a hand on my back.
I turned and peeked up at him through my hair. He reached up and brushed it away from my face, sliding his fingers through it as he did so.
"Forgive me?" I asked, not knowing if my impropriety would get him in trouble in any way if his 'esteemed' guests decided to stoop to the level of gossiping.
"Nothing to forgive." He said with a smile. "Are you still cold?" he asked, his voice lowering somewhat.
I grinned and sat up, then slid my icy hands up his shirt and onto his stomach. He sucked in a breath of air and grabbed my wrists to still them.
"I'm always cold here." I said with a smile, struggling to move my fingers to a fresh patch of warm skin on his abdomen.
Bofur, still holding firm onto my wrists, pulled them away and then eased me down onto my back, placing my arms above my head and effectively pinning me down as he climbed over top of me.
"Maybe I should get you some more blankets." he said softly, leaning down to place a slow kiss along my jawline.
"I think a dwarf would be a more effective bed-warmer." I replied, trying to squirm out of his grasp.
"Do you now?" Bofur teased, shifting so that only one hand was holding my arms down, his other now free to trail along my body. "You know what I think?"
"Hmm?" I murmured, biting back a gasp as his hand slid up between my legs.
"I think you're a bad influence."
He brought his lips down to mine and began kissing me lightly, teasingly. Yet still my wrists were pinned, and each time I dared to deepen the kiss he would pull back just slightly. I felt him smirk against my lips. He was doing this on purpose. His free hand travelled back up my side then along my neck and into my hair. I moaned into his mouth and tried once again to free my arms, but to no avail.
He unexpectedly broke the kiss and sat up, his heated hazel eyes filled with unspoken promises.
"...You know I cannot stay." he said, though his body seemed to wish otherwise. My own body was thrumming with frustrated energy and I clenched my jaw. If he wanted to play unfair, then game on.
I watched as he got to his feet, trying not to scowl at the proud smile he was evidently trying very hard to bite back, yet as he began to leave my room I got up and followed him.
"Well, I think I'll just take a bath to help me sleep." I commented nonchalantly once he had stopped at my chamber door and turned to bid me goodnight. He nodded somewhat disinterestedly yet his eyes widened when I proceeded to pull off my nightgown, casually tossing it on the back of the chair.
I allowed his eyes to rove over me for a moment before I stepped up to him and slid my arms around his neck, pressing my naked body close against him. This time I was able to kiss him the way I had been yearning to. His hands slid up my bare back but before he could fully take hold of me, I pulled away with a hidden grin.
"Goodnight." I smiled sweetly, opening the door for him and pushing on his chest until he had stepped backwards a few paces into the hallway, too flabbergasted to resist.
I shut the door promptly on him with a satisfying click, locking it for good measure with a smug grin, before I turned and sauntered back to bed.
It was only after I was wrapped back up in the covers and my excitement had died down that another thought came to mind:
Thank goodness no one else had been in that hallway.
The following week passed relatively peacefully for most of the inhabitants of Erebor. Bofur and I, however, had begun a relatively cruel game of sorts that involved trying to make each other as hot and flustered as we possibly could without any actual gratification as we adhered to the 'rules' of courtship.
It was a rare occasion one evening that we found ourselves at a late dinner with much of the company, along with a small crowd of boisterous, loud dwarven men and a few women. I was sitting next to Bofur, admiring his features in the candlelight, when I thought to exact my revenge for when he had accosted me that afternoon - pressing me back against the wall of an empty hallway, engaging me in a quick but heated kiss before abruptly carrying on his merry way without so much as a word of farewell.
I scooted right close to him, which I knew wasn't of much concern since the benches were packed anyway and we were crowded closely on all sides. Then I leaned in to speak into his ear, which I would have had to do regardless since it was hard to hear over the conversations of everyone else. He paused attentively, leaning in slightly to catch my words, and I breathlessly whispered my desire for him, making sure my lips brushed against his ear as I told him I wanted him right then.
I grinned as I saw his hand twitch at my bold declaration, the sudden movement spilling ale over the rim of his tankard. His face, however, remained mostly impassive besides the slight quirk of his moustache as he tilted his head to look at me.
I bit my lip slowly to hide my grin, but kept my eyes locked on his, watching as they deepened and filled with desire. I then subtly dropped my hand below the table's edge and onto his thigh.
He remained confident and seemingly unaffected as he responded to something Gloin had said from across the table. I moved my hand a little higher, rubbing very slowly. Bofur cleared his throat and I felt him tense as I rubbed higher still. I leaned into him again, making sure to keep my face pleasant so as to not cause any suspicion of my devious words.
"If we were alone, I'd let you have me right here on this table." I smiled as I noticed his grip tightening on his cup.
He shot me a small glare, shaking his head ever so slightly before having to reply to something Bifur was pestering him about. I gave his upper thigh a final squeeze before excusing myself, feeling somewhat triumphant as I felt Bofur's wanting gaze follow me out.
My retribution was short-lived, however, as the following morning I had just opened my door to my chambers to head to work when I found myself face to face with my beloved. He smirked and pushed me back inside, closing the door behind us and then pressing me up against it.
"You are the most conniving… the most wicked..." he growled, lacing his fingers through mine and then pinning my arms up against the door. I smiled luxuriously, but I was not about to let him get the upper hand.
"You are a dirty, teasing, flirt." I retorted before he could finish speaking, lunging forward and biting his lip somewhat roughly. He made a noise of admonishment and then passionately claimed my mouth. I wrapped a leg around his hip, pulling him even closer.
"I believe we are at an impasse." I remarked as we paused for air.
"What do you suggest we do then?" Bofur asked, planting another kiss on my collarbone.
"Pretend we've fallen ill and stay in bed together for a week?" I suggested with a grin.
"That wouldn't work." he said with a chuckle, releasing my hands and placing his own on my waist instead. "Us dwarves don't just fall ill, you know."
I pouted, grabbing onto his coat. "Well, then I can play ill and you can say you have to tend to me."
"Oh, I could think of a few ways to tend to you." Bofur commented with gusto, gripping my sides for emphasis. "But, rules are rules." With that he let go of me, stepping back a few paces so that I could straighten up.
My hand, however, had already travelled down to the door handle and, with a devilish grin and a resolute look at Bofur, I slowly turned the lock.
"Oh no you don't, not this time." I said as Bofur raised his eyebrows at the noise of the bolt clicking into place. I started forward and put my hands on his chest, pushing him back towards the entrance to my bedroom.
I knew his will was all but gone, as if he'd have wanted to stay rooted to the spot, no amount of pushing on my behalf would have budged him. He smirked as he allowed himself to slowly be guided backwards, weakly protesting the whole while.
"You're terrible you know." he admonished, causing me to smile. "I've never met a lass with such disregard for rules. You'll get us both in trouble."
"Oh dear. I suppose you'll have to punish me then." I replied with a sultry grin as his back legs bumped into the side of my bed. I shrieked when his hands took hold of my middle and he suddenly swung me around and tossed me back onto the mattress.
"You can count on it."
As a few more days passed by, I continued to fill my time with cleaning and restorative work with my assigned dwarven team. I was also able to release some energy during a few more rounds of secret combative training with the king's daughter.
During my off-time, usually starved for company now that Bofur all but refused to visit me in my chambers (since he knew that his willpower could be too easily broken behind closed doors); I began to spend more time in the common room adjacent to Balin's chambers. As royal advisor - both pre and post dragon - he had taken up residence in his old chambers; the largest of the apartments in this wing of the mountain.
One of his duties was to play host to the nobility in order to remain up-to-date on the latest gossip and news, which basically meant that he allowed guests use of the common room during all hours of the day. Servants, or in the current case Dori (who seemed to have self-appointed himself as steward of this part of the mountain), kept the room well stocked with firewood, food, and drink, which meant it was always a welcome place to go when the solitude of my own rooms got me down. At times, a member of the company even dropped by, and when Bofur and I could be together, that was our meeting place of choice due to its ease and proximity to our own rooms.
During one such evening, I had curled myself up on a chaise lounge close to the fire. There were only a handful of other dwarves in the room, and as I didn't recognize any of them, nor they me, we kept to our own - which meant I had a chance to busy myself with the book I had so greatly desired, but had been putting off reading due to its less than gripping subject matter.
A few chapters into the book, I felt a hand fall on my shoulder, and looked to see familiar gloved fingers resting on my sleeve. I tipped my head back and smiled up at Bofur, who matched my smile and moved around. I sat up, giving him room to slide in beside me before I leaned back, resting on him now rather than the lounge. Before he could even speak, I cut him off.
"Listen to this." I stated, and then looked down at the book with no small degree of ceremony.
"1248, The Third Age of the Sun: During the conquest over the Easterlings at the hands of Minalcar, Regent of Gondor, it was found to be that the evaporating pools, once established and fortified during King Hyarmendacil's reign and occupation of the Sea of Rhún between 1015 and 1149, The Third Age of the Sun, had been maintained in adequate working order and had, since the subsequent rule of Gondor, been continuing their production of salt at upwards of 50 tons per annum for the purpose of trade with the Northmen and tribes of the Far East."
I read with as much interest as I could feign, and when done, I spun around in my seat so I could look at him with raised eyebrows.
"Well, I for one will never take my salt for granted again." he stated sarcastically.
I shrugged. "Well, it was probably the most interesting passage I've read so far." I said, crinkling up my nose before resolutely setting the book down.
"What are you doing tomorrow?" Bofur suddenly enquired.
I glanced at him, biting my lip. "Same as today... do I have other plans?" I asked quizzically, wondering if I had forgotten something.
"A date. With me. Tomorrow night." he stated casually.
"A date?" I repeated, a smile growing on my lips.
Bofur grinned. "Well we haven't really had the chance to have a proper one."
I grinned at him, my curiously piqued. "Alright then. So, what will we be doing on this date?"
Bofur tapped his nose. "It's a secret, and don't be asking me more questions, I don't want to spoil it."
The next day, I took the liberty of forgoing my cleaning duties for the afternoon, once more reminding myself that I was not technically being paid for my work, so I could likely come and go as I pleased without too much inconvenience to the already fully-staffed cleaning team. I was anxious to get ready for my first real date and dashed back to my rooms when I was through for the day in order to begin preparing. I noticed when I arrived that a stack of extra folded blankets had been left just inside my door and assumed Bofur had spoken to Dori about not having enough to keep me warm during the night. After spreading them out on my bed, I retreated to the bath for a long soak.
Méra had not yet completed the new dress I'd commissioned of her, so after much deliberation, I decided I'd wear one of the short dresses I had first come to own in Erebor. It was a peculiar decision on my behalf, but I only possessed the one proper long dress and I had worn it both during the memorial days and coronation - occasions that harboured mixed emotions and sad memories. I wanted tonight to be an entirely new memory, and a good one at that, besides, I knew Bofur enjoyed seeing my legs and so my knee-length dress would give him plenty opportunity to admire them if he wished.
I donned some newer, dark grey, wool tights, then rummaged until I found the dress I had in mind. I hadn't even worn it yet; it was a deep purple hue and had slightly longer sleeves than some of the others, reaching midway down my forearm. I placed a brown leather belt around my waist and pulled on my matching brown boots. Then I completed the outfit with a blue knit scarf that Ori had recently given to me. I left my hair down, pulling it over my shoulders, and then I just paced about my rooms, waiting for Bofur's arrival and feeling inexplicably nervous.
I jumped when I finally heard his familiar knock on my door. Everything we had been through to this point had been so unofficial, yet now here he was, calling on me for a formal date. I took a deep breath and then went to open the door, forcing myself to smile calmly as I did so.
Bofur grinned, taking up my hand and kissing it.
"Would the lady care to accompany this humble miner on a date?" he asked jovially.
"I'd be delighted." I responded with a small laugh.
Bofur then looked both ways down the hall, and after confirming we were alone, he stepped inside and quickly shut the door.
"Just real quick... I can't help myself, you look lovely." he said as he took advantage of our privacy and pulled me down into a real kiss. I smiled as we broke apart and lazily draped my arms over his shoulders.
"Are you sure this is alright?" I asked, looking down at my motley outfit. "I know it's not formalwear... you didn't tell me what we were doing, but if I'm underdressed I can change."
"No, it's perfect." Bofur insisted. "I hoped you wouldn't wear anything too fancy. Since this is our first real date, when I look back on it, I want it to have been with the real you, the girl I fell in love with."
"What, are you saying I'm not fancy?" I teased.
He shook his head and smiled, reaching a hand up to entwine my hair in his fingers
"I'm saying that you don't need to be. I've seen you dirty and travel-worn, bloodied and in armour... You can wear oddly-sized clothing and lovely dresses and men's travel garb and rich elven gowns... and no matter what, you have never been less than beautiful in my eyes."
I blushed and looked down, somewhat abashed at his seriousness. I kicked his toe lightly, unsure what to say in response to such candid flattery.
"Ready to go then?" he asked after directing me into another lasting kiss.
I nodded and began to move towards the door.
"You'll need your coat." he told me, stalling my progress.
Once I was properly adorned, we exited my chambers and Bofur picked up a rather full-looking bag that he had left outside the door. He hoisted it over his shoulder and then we set out into the mountain. I found that in the more populated areas, the sight of Bofur and I together in an official capacity drew almost as much attention as when I had been first noticed by the newcomers as the only human in Erebor. Now, however, I felt none of the embarrassment I had when I was alone. Bofur and I chatted idly as we walked, too absorbed in each other to care about what the world thought of us on our slow, meandering way through Erebor. We went from passing gossiping groups of nobles, to teams of workers restoring the lower levels, to single scouts so busy with their work that they didn't give us more than a passing glance.
Finally, we were well and truly alone, and it slowly became evident that Bofur was leading me far from the beaten track. Regular hallways became less structured, more craggy, and flawlessly polished stairwells turned into uneven holes descending haphazardly down into the darkness. Deeper and deeper we trekked, and I became aware of the eerie sensation that the weight of the world was now above us. The absolute lack of air movement disguised the fact that the temperature had gradually decreased during our descent, yet I began to notice a numbing coldness develop in my toes and nose. For the most part, however, my thermal layers, paired with my growing curiosity, kept my enthusiasm and energy levels up.
I was interested when we picked our way down and entered an area so cool that the moisture in the air could not help but freeze. As we carried on I began to worry that my feet would slip out from under me and send me unceremoniously to the ground. This, I noted ruefully, would give me a plethora of new bruises when I was just finally healed from the battle. Eventually, the ground levelled out for a moment, where Bofur grabbed my arm to steady me before guiding me to a bench carved out of the cave wall. He set his lantern down on the bench beside me, and then knelt down and busied himself with rooting around in his pack as I took a moment to catch my breath.
Bofur first pulled out a pair of mitts. I raised my eyebrows but donned them without question. If he hadn't told me where we were going yet, he wasn't going to now.
He then produced a torch which he preceded to light with a striker, its powerful brightness causing me to shield my eyes for a moment, yet before I had even adjusted to the new light level, I was bid to hold the torch so Bofur could rummage in his bag once more. Finally he pulled out two sets of leather bindings which rattled and clattered as the metal teeth woven through them were freed from the confines of his bag.
"These..." He paused a moment and rose to untangle them from each other in better light, "...are called crampons." he explained, and then went about fitting the leather over my boot. A series of cross-pieces kept the metal from riding up over the bottom of my soles, and once the fastenings were tied tight over my toe and around my ankle, the metal teeth pointed downward, where they would bite into the ice to give purchase on the slippery surface. He then fastened some onto his own boots, which made me wonder just how slick and dangerous our course might be, if even the sure-footed dwarves took such precautions down here.
Bofur took back the new torch along with his lantern as I grabbed my own, and we then continued our journey along the passageway. The walls and ceiling dipped and bowed, sometimes expanding and other times narrowing so low that I needed to stoop down. As we carried on, I appreciated my quirky outfit choice more and more as a longer dress would have become rather burdensome to deal with while trying to keep my footing. The dwarves really were at home down here though, as Bofur didn't seem to have that problem at all.
"Watch your head." Bofur warned as he made his way forward.
Finally, after squeezing through a relatively narrow opening where we had to turn sideways to get through, I was told I could stand up straight again, and as I did my lips parted in wonder as my eyes drank in my new surroundings.
"Wow." Was all I could articulate as I lifted my hand to place it on the wall of the cavern, which was covered with a layer of solid ice. We were in an ice cave, a sight that I was sure few humans ever had the opportunity to see.
I cast my eyes upwards and marvelled at the sight. Our lanterns illuminated the infinite tiny facets of ice that had grown upon the roof of the cave, causing the entire surface to simply glitter as if imbued with millions of shining gemstones. Bofur stood alongside me, and when I glanced at him I found he had been staring at me with as much wonder as I had for the natural beauty of the cave. I smiled self-consciously and he beckoned me onward with a small grin.
"Follow the cave along. I'll be right behind you."
I took a few steps forward, the clack of metal on stone muffling and causing me to look down, where I realized that even the floor was covered by a thick layer of smooth, clear ice. After carefully pacing further into the cave, I began to weave my way through a few massive ice stalactites and stalagmites, some melding right into each other from ceiling to floor, forming impressive frozen columns. Here, Bofur stopped me for the first time, taking his lantern and placing it amongst a collection of the tallest where the flickering lantern light caused their shadows to dance about while sending light refracting around the room. He then tapped his fingernail against a few of the smaller stalagmites growing up from the ground causing unusual, yet lovely, muted chimes to fill the air as the vibrations travelled through the pure ice structures.
Bofur then guided me into a small adjoining chamber where we had to climb an incline in order to enter a different cavern that Bofur explained was in a higher level of the cave system. He ascended first, and then fed a rope down for me to use. Even with the crampons, the rope was good planning on his part, as without it I doubted I could have made it up.
Here, the ice was thinner, and the air warmer. Stone poked through in sections, and its colourations could be seen even beneath the ice. Up close to the icy ceilings, a million tiny tear-drops hung in perfect suspension where rapid thawing then freezing had locked them in place. Along the walls, rounded ice nodules of varying sizes had also formed due to different patterns of melting and freezing. Bofur stopped me again, to show how these nodules acted as magnifiers to the stone trapped below, showing in perfect, enhanced clarity, the mountain's wealth of gold and gemstones set in the marble.
"Bofur, this place is beautiful." I exclaimed as I beamed at him.
"Close your eyes a moment." he said, stepping towards me with a smile.
I obeyed and felt my lantern being gently taken from my hold. After a moment, two warm hands grasped my own mitted ones and Bofur instructed me to open my eyes. When I did so I could see nothing before me, no movement, no light or shadow, nothing whatsoever. If Bofur had not still been holding my hands, I would not have known he was just before me.
"Only this deep in a cave can you experience total darkness." I heard him say with a slight appreciative edge to his voice. I grinned and took my hands from his, bringing one up close to my face and waving it in front of my eyes. Nothing was detectable. It was absolute blindness. I heard Bofur take a step.
"Does it frighten you?" he asked, and his breath on my face told me he was now closer to me than before.
"Should it?" I responded quietly. I could hear in stark relief the light music of small droplets of water dripping throughout the cave, Bofur's quiet breath in front of me, my own heartbeat in my ears. When his lips finally pressed against mine, it was with perfect precision, and the sudden sensation after being bereft of all senses sent a shiver down my spine.
"This isn't even the best part." he whispered, his hot breath sending a second shiver as he stepped back and, after a final moment of dark silence, flint struck metal and brilliant sparks flared out, catching in the oil soaked torch which blazed back into life. The lanterns soon followed, and with the cave once again lit merrily we made our way further onward.
At the back of the ice caves our path changed to a steep upward pitch. From out of the ice, what could have been an ancient, worn stairway seemed to weave up into the crevice above us. We stopped here to remove our crampons, as from this point on the ice gave way to stone once more.
"How long were the dwarves in Erebor before Smaug came?" I asked, curious as to whether this was some lost, unused passageway from another age.
"The mountain kingdom was founded by Thrain the First, in the year 1999 of this age. That puts it at around a thousand years old, though Durin's folk left the mountain for some time between then and now, only returned with Thorin's grandfather Thrór, some four hundred years ago. Then Smaug kept everyone out for over a hundred years more... so if you're asking how a place as beautiful as this could go forgotten, that's what did it... blimey, I sounded like Balin for a minute there." He raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips momentarily.
"You must be getting old." I jibed, which caused him to laugh heartily and swat my behind.
"Come on then. You should have no trouble keeping up with an old geezer like me."
I did have some trouble. In fact, I was beginning to think that going uphill was my nemesis. Yes, there was a 'stairway', if it could be called that, but it was steep, and the steps had been worn unevenly over the long years, so one step could be twice as tall as the next. As we climbed, the moisture that clung to the steps that eventually added to the frozen floor below had grown from a trickle to a constant stream cascading down the stairs, but the rough surface of the rock kept our footing sure. Further still, the water had worn pools along the side of the stairs, lazily spilling from one to the next as it flowed steadily downward. Here, Bofur and I stopped to drink and catch our breath.
"Not much further now." Bofur assured me as he dug out a metal cup from his pack, despite the fact that he had a canteen strapped to his belt. I cocked my head curiously as he dipped the cup into the underground stream and held it up for me to inspect. The water was the clearest I had ever seen, and if not for the line where it filled to in the cup, I would have doubted whether it was there at all.
"Snow from the mountain's peak is filtered through miles of stone before it gets to this point. This is the cleanest water you will ever find in the entire world."
I took a sip and was immediately refreshed, draining the cup before handing it back to him.
"We dwarves joke that if the elves had water so pure, maybe they'd lay off the wine a bit." he commented with a roguish smile.
"What about all the ales and beers you drink?" I asked, smiling innocently back at him. He glared at me in mock severity and handed me another cupful before we continued onwards.
When Bofur had promised it wouldn't be long, he hadn't lied. Only another twenty steps and we made it to the top of the climb. The workout had warmed me thoroughly, so it took me a moment to realize that we could no longer see our breath, signalling that the climate here was in fact much warmer than in the ice caves below. The sound of water dropping and echoing up ahead made me eager to see what Bofur had in store for me next. After another narrow tunnel - Bofur once again warning me against head traumas - we exited into another vast cave system which stretched out before us, its low hanging ceilings riddled with stalactites of solid stone suspended over the shores of one of Erebor's large underground aquifers.
Sporadic water droplets from above caused tiny ripples on the glassy surface of the lake, the only movement in the otherwise perfectly still environment. Bofur made his way forward, extinguishing the torch before he busied himself with pulling a thick section of canvas off of what I realized was a wooden rowboat. On the front of the boat, a metal pole rose up to curl into a hanger for Bofur's lantern. After dropping his backpack under the seat in the stern, he slid the craft down the shore and into the water.
"I'm hoping this boat ride is a tad more romantic than our last few..." he mentioned as he held out a hand to beckon me forward. I took it and allowed him to guide me into the boat, taking up a position in the bow of the craft.
"At least this time you don't have to ride in a barrel of fish... and we don't have a rampaging dragon on the loose." I remarked with a smile as I sat down in the stern and steadied the craft.
Bofur grinned then pushed us off backwards before nimbly leaping into the front of the boat. As we drifted out into the main depths, the lantern light shone down over the gunwales of the boat, hit the surface of the water and danced out across the cave walls bringing the whole place to life.
With silent strokes Bofur turned us around and rowed us to the centre of the lake, where he halted our momentum, shipped the oars, and gestured to the light source I had cradled carefully in my lap.
"Put that out." he instructed.
I obeyed without question, and then watched with interest as Bofur raised a cylinder of metal from the body of his lantern up over the glass so that only the slightest glow of ember was being emitted, just enough for me to barely see the outline of his form. He carefully slid down off his bench and into the open bottom of the boat.
"Now come here." he said next, his voice now quiet. He held out his arms and guided me off my own seat, helping me settle with my back against his chest and my knees tucked up - as it was a relatively small area. "Lean your head back on my shoulder and look up." he whispered in my ear. I shuffled down a bit to get comfy and then let my gaze wander to the roof of the cavern.
"What am I supposed to be looking at?" I asked quietly, as I could see nothing but darkness above.
"Just watch, and be very quiet."
After a few moments of intently watching what I thought was nothing at all, I wondered if my vision was playing tricks on me when a few small pinpricks of light appeared in my field of view. Yet then the entire cave ceiling lit up in a star field of tiny, shining lights.
I sat up with and made a loud gasp of astonished wonder. Immediately all the lights were extinguished and I was left staring at nothing more than darkness once more.
"What the-" I began but heard Bofur chuckle behind me and then felt his arms encircle my waist.
"I said quiet." he chided as he pulled me back against him.
"What are they?" I asked in a hushed voice, setting my head back on his shoulder once more and scanning the ceiling, waiting for the lights to reappear. I let myself relax as Bofur's arms tightened around my waist.
"The simplest translation would be… ah… glow-worms." Bofur whispered somewhat reluctantly, as if revealing the source of the lights as a worm would dash the romantic notion of it all. As a daughter of Laketown, and not some highborn maiden, most creepy crawly creatures did little to frighten me (not counting the monstrous Mirkwood spiders), and I was only more intrigued. When I continued staring upwards in wonder, Bofur quickly explained more.
"Insects are attracted to all manner of lights, and the glowworms take advantage of that. Most of them up there are probably in the larval stage, which shine the brightest. They spin a nest for themselves and then hang threads of sticky silk beneath them. Then they just wait for their light to attract some food..." Any further details were cut off as the glowworms began to reveal themselves once more, until finally the ceiling blazed with a million greenish-blue pinpricks. It truly did look like a secret portal to the night sky far above us.
This time I remained quiet and simply smiled up at the ceiling - which seemed no less magical even after learning the source of the lights. This place was a sanctuary, pristine and untouched, the perfect, secret home for its shy bioluminescent inhabitants.
"It's funny," I began as quietly as I could, turning my head slightly so my lips were nearer to Bofur's ear, "even after the journey, after being to Rivendell and Mirkwood, the grand halls of Erebor... I think this is the most beautiful place I've ever seen."
Bofur did not respond, instead he gently slid out from behind me and reached to turn up the lantern so that it sent a wave of golden light over the boat, and I noticed that the glowworms directly above us winked out in response to the change in their environment. I pushed myself back up onto my seat thinking we were about to leave, but instead Bofur knelt down in front of me.
"I know we haven't known each other all that long," he began, taking up my hand. "but I've made up my mind... and nothing now can change it." His expression grew soft as I stared down at him in slight confusion. "I love you." he went on. "You've brought me back to life... Every single day I marvel at your candour, your fearlessness, and I know you never believe it, but your beauty, both inside and out." he added with a fond smile which I returned.
"I want to share a life with you, to teach you my language and customs. I don't want you to feel like an outsider any longer. You belong here... and I belong with you." He took up my other hand and I frowned slightly as he looked down for a moment, drawing a breath before meeting my eyes once more.
"Which is why I wanted to ask you... well, you'd be doing me an honour if you'd consider - what I mean to say is..." he faltered but then shook his head slightly. He cleared his throat and then softly spoke my name as he squeezed my hands. A grin split his face and he found his words again.
"Will you marry me?"