Hey guys! Happy New Year! Hope you all had a great New Year and are having a good 2025 so far. I know for some places, things aren't going so well at the moment, and if I have any readers in those areas, I hope you are all safe and my work can bring a smile to you, I love you all xx

Also, before we begin, I have to make a few notes;

1. I'm not sure how much this chapter will be triggering for some people. There are some sensitive topics in this about LGBTQ, if you would rather not read for your own mental health, or because of personal/religious beliefs, I can completely understand.

2. For a while now, I have been getting PM's from artists wanting to make artwork from my stories and while I am flattered by this, and would love to have artwork made, I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline. I am not in a position to be able to afford to pay people to do things like this for me, so I would appreciate it if I didn't get anymore people asking to collab to do art for me. If anyone is ever wanting to do that anyway, without wanting any payment, then just send a message and I'll give you my socials to send to, but that is your choice, as like I said, I'm not in the position to pay anyone unfortunately.

Review Responses;

LairaCapulet – I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! I also loved the bit with Aiden protecting his mummy. As for Sophia allowing Aiden to have the dagger, we'll have to wait and see. After all, to Sophia, he's still her five year old little boy.

Crystal-Wolf-Guardian-967 – I'm glad you loved the previous chapter, here's the next one for you xx

Chapter 13

After a while of looking at Erebor, Thorin manages to pull his gaze from the mountain, deciding we need to find a way off this cliff. We quickly find some steep stairs, so steep that we have to climb down, with even Gandalf has a little difficulty, Aiden now riding on Bifur's back. It takes quite some time, but eventually, we finally make it to the bottom where we walk on some more before stopping in a small clearing by a river.

After Gandalf and Thorin are certain we will be safe, being a few days ride ahead of the orcs, we sit and take stock of what we have left, almost all of it having been left behind in the goblin caves. Thankfully, Oin had the sense to pick up the medical supplies so that Oin and I can take care of any injuries.

I also managed to grab mine and Aiden's packs so that we had a change of clothes, perfect for right now. And we were, thankfully, able to keep our otherworldly possessions out of the goblins hands. Somehow, they were distracted enough to not search through our bags.

Once camp has been made, the dwarves instantly take advantage of the river to clean up. I take Aiden a little further up the river so I can bathe in privacy and check him over for any injuries. Dropping our packs, I kneel in front of him and gently take his face in my hands.

"Are you alright, carino?"

He nods. "I think so. My arm hurts a little."

Gently holding his left arm, I roll up the sleeve and see a long scratch, about 3 or 4 centimetres long, dried blood covering it. Luckily the scratch isn't too deep, but deep enough to cause some problems if it isn't seen to.

"We'll get it cleaned up, don't worry." looking at his innocent face, I move some hair from his eyes, regret and guilt filling my whole being. First he gets injured when he fell the other day, and then facing the Stone Giants, to fall through a chute into Goblin Town, almost tortured and then to be chased by orcs and wargs. No child should have had to see what he has seen the past few days. "I'm sorry Aiden. . .I'm so sorry. I should never have let you come with us. I should have made you stay in Rivendell where you were safe."

He quickly shakes his head. "No, mummy. I wanted to come. It was scary, but I dint wanna leave you."

He then puts his arms around my neck, snuggling his face into my shoulder. I sigh as I hold him close.

"Love you, mummy."

I smile as I run my hand over his hair. "I love you too, carino." Pulling away, I kiss his forehead. "Come on, let's get cleaned up.

He nods and once we're undressed, I take off the bandages on his hands and knees and smile, glad to see that they are healing well at least. When I let him go, knowing I'm right behind him, he runs straight into the river with a giggle, causing me to smile as I wade in after him, after grabbing some soap and a cloth. Laying the supplies on the boulder beside us - a large boulder which separates us from the males, who are by now splashing away – I sit on the river bed, leaning against the boulder and smile as I watch my son splash about, relieved he hasn't lost his childlike innocence from what happened.

Pulling him to me as he swims over, I settle with him leaning against my chest and hold him close for a few moments, just relishing in this moment, in the close bond he and I share. Once we have had a cuddle, I take the soap, lathering it thickly and washing our hair then our bodies. Lastly, after retrieving a clean cloth, I carefully use it to wash away the dried blood, grime and dust on his cut, causing him to cry out a little.

"Everything alright, lass?" I hear Bofur asking.

"Yes, Bofur. Just cleaning a cut on Aiden's arm."

"Is he alright?" Kili's voice pipes up, concern in his voice.

"He's fine, aren't you, Aiden? My brave boy."

He gives a watery smile. "Yeah!"

I hear the males chuckling away. After cleaning his knees and hands, we finish and get out. Wrapping his cloak around him, I take mine and use it to dry myself off before dressing in black leggings and my black positive vibes tank top, smiling as I remember the company's reaction to the revealing shirt. Luckily, the dwarves seem to be over it now, since I wear it a lot during training.

Turning to Aiden, I use his cloak to dry him off, careful when drying his arm before putting a salve on the now clean, slightly bleeding arm and then wrap a bandage around it before leaning down and loudly kissing it better, causing him to giggle. Deciding that his hands don't need tending to any more, I put some more salve on his knees and wrap them before getting him dressed in brown trousers, the ones Dori had finished mending, and a green tunic.

"There, all done." I say with a smile.

"Sophia, are you decent?" I hear Fili's voice.

"Yeah, it's okay."

He walks over, looking better now he is clean, his blond hair dark from being wet.

"Are you both alright?" he asks in concern.

I smile at him. "We're fine, don't worry."

He nods. "The rest of us are finished and were about to head back to camp. Do you want me to wait for you?"

"No, thank you, Fili. I need to stay and wash some clothes anyway, so I might be a while. Could you take Aiden back for me, though?"

He smiles. "Of course."

I hug Aiden and kiss his head before he takes Fili's hand and the both of them head back. I smile as I watch them go before taking our clothes and the soap and begin to wash them in the river, the events of last night going through my head.

Ever since the stone giants until facing Azog, that strange sensation has been there none stop, driving me insane. I wish I knew what it was and why it was happening to me. As everything runs through my head, I then think about those corrupted files on my tablet and phone, which I haven't deleted, could there be a connection between the two?

I shake my head as I take the now clothes and lay them out in the sun to dry.

"Sophia?"

Looking up, I see Thorin standing behind me, cleaner than earlier, so I know he's taken advantage of the river like the rest of us, but can see him favouring his ribs, a hand covering them.

"Have you got Oin to see to you yet?" I ask him, worry filling me.

"No. I've told him to make sure everyone else is seen to first."

Grumbling away about stubborn males and their pride, I reach into my pack and pull out some supplies.

"Sit and take off your shirt."

I sense him more than see him stumble in surprise. "Pardon?"

I give him a look. "It's clear you're not going to let Oin see you any time soon, so since I am a healer myself and I have already seen to my son, I shall now see to my next patient." I then pat the ground next to me. "Now, sit and take off your shirt. I'll just get some more supplies from Oin."

Standing, I walk back to camp and up to Oin to ask for some supplies.

"Finally got Thorin to give in?"

I tilt my head slightly. "More or less."

He nods after giving me the bandages. "Good. Make sure to get yourself looked at, lass."

I just smile before returning to Thorin, stopping as I reach the river and look up, he has taken his shirt off like I said, but my breath catches in my throat as I look at his bare back. Looking over his wide, broad shoulders, his skin and muscles rippling and tensing with movement, a full, black raven tattoo covering his back. I swear my heart had stopped. I shake my head, inwardly scolding myself for acting like a lovesick teenager before walking over and sitting in front of him, laying the supplies next to me.

"Here we are. Now, let's see what damage that Warg di-"

Looking up, I freeze again, feeling all the breath leave me. If the sight of his back had left me speechless, then seeing his bare chest had left me brain dead. I swallow as I look at his broad, muscled and hard chest, thick dark hair covering his chest leading into one line down the middle of his stomach and disappearing into the waist line. Feeling his chest against my back in Rivendell was one thing, but seeing it. . .it certainly made my stomach flip.

The sound of Thorin clearing his throat pulls me out of my coma like state.

"Like something you see?" he asks.

Blushing, I glance up to see him grinning slightly, a teasing glint in his eyes. I clear my own throat before reaching my shaking hands out to ascertain the injuries he has. Obviously, I can see the puncture wounds where the Warg's teeth had bit into him, but from how he was favouring himself, I just had to make sure his ribs aren't broken. As soon as my fingers touch his warm skin, I feel a thrill rush straight through me. Pushing those feelings aside, I gently but firmly press down on his chest and abdomen.

"Does this hurt?"

"Only slightly." He replies, grunting as I press down on a particularly tender spot.

"It doesn't hurt to breathe does it?"

"Not all that much."

I pull my hands away and pick up the salve. "Well, luckily I don't think you've broken anything, most likely bruised. I think Gandalf might have healed you in that sense when he revived you. So, we can be thankful for that."

I hear him hum in agreement as I rub some salve over his cuts and bruises, ignoring him watching me.

"How is Aiden? I saw the bandage on his arm. Is it bad?"

"Luckily his wound is not too deep that it needs stitches, like his knees. But still something I'll be keeping an eye on."

He nods. "Good. And mentally? He's not suffered much that way, has he?"

I pause for a moment before sighing as I take the bandages and wrap them around his chest, tight enough to keep his wounds covered, but not enough to restrict his breathing or movement.

"I don't know. Children are resilient, as you well know. Like I've said before, he's already been through a lot in his short life before coming here, but nothing like this. If the nightmares come back. . .then I'll know."

"He's prone to nightmares?"

I nod as I sit back on my heels. "Yes. He's not had them for a few weeks luckily, which is how I thought he was healing. But after last night. . ." I sigh as I look down, my hands curling into fists on my knees. "I shouldn't have brought him with us. I knew we would be facing dangers, and if Gandalf hadn't have arrived when he did. . ."

After a few moments, I feel fingers slide under my chin and raise my head so I'm now looking into Thorin's blue grey eyes. I never realised just how much they resembled a swirling storm.

"He is safe, Sophia. Alive and safe. Take comfort in that. Would he have been safer in Rivendell? Yes. But, you had no other choice but to bring him. If what Galadriel says is true and. . .and you find your way home at the end, of course you'll want him with you. You are doing all you can as a mother to protect him while on this treacherous journey. And as I have said before, we are all going to make sure nothing happens to him. We will not let any harm come to that boy, or to you, while you are with us. This I swear."

I could hear the hesitation in his voice when he mentioned about me going home. I know he doesn't want me to leave and I'm still making my choice about it.

I just smile. "Thank you, Thorin."

He smiles back before frowning.

"What?" I ask in confusion.

He reaches up and brushes his thumb across my left eyebrow, causing me to wince in pain. When he pulls his hand away, there's some blood on his thumb. Reaching up, I also touch it and see the blood. Oin's words about me getting seen to now make sense. His hearing my be going but his sight is still sharp as ever.

"Huh, I didn't notice that. Must have got it when were escaping the goblins."

Reaching for a cloth, I pick it up along with my bottle, but Thorin takes them from me.

"Here, allow me."

He wets the cloth before raising it and gently cleaning the cut. Like he did with me, I sit and watch him.

As ever, I am surprised with how gentle he can be, with how strong he is. But, I'm now starting getting used to just how gently he can. However, I'm still not used to that gentleness being directed at me as he tends to my injury.

As I think things over, I look over his handsome face, with his soft, stormy eyes, gentle expression as he tends to me and his strong jaw hidden beneath his beautiful beard. I foolishly wonder what it would be like to kiss a man with such a beard.

"There. It is not deep, so it should heal on its own." he says softly.

I smile as he pulls the cloth away. "Is that your professional opinion, Master Healer?"

He smiles back, not just his usual small smiles but a full one, one where I can see white from his teeth. I swear I just swooned.

"Hmm. Maybe not professional, but I have seen enough scrapes such as this on my nephews to know it will not kill you."

I giggle a little as I look down, taking the cloth back. "Thank you, Thorin."

I feel him raise my head again so I'm looking at him.

"No, thank you for staying by my side on the mountain. I remember seeing you before darkness took me. I appreciate you being there. . .more than you know."

I smile, my heart skipping a beat as I feel his hand go to my neck. "You're welcome."

We stay in that position for a while, just looking at one another. I swear I saw his eyes drift down to my lips, but it was for such a split second I think I imagined it, but I know he is waiting for me. He's leaving the ball in my court. Dropping the cloth, I place my hand on his arm and slide it up to his shoulder as I lean closer.

"Sophia. . .are you sure?" he asks, wanting to make sure I make the right choice.

"I've never been so sure of anything in my life. When I saw you face Azog, I thought. . .I thought I was going to lose you. I don't want to lose you before we've had the chance to take this anywhere. Even. . .even with the thought of home ahead. . .I worry about you, too. I don't want to hurt you by leaving."

He gently places both hands on my neck, using his thumbs to swipe away tears I had not known had fallen.

"Sophia, I would rather spend the short time we have together, then go the rest of my life not knowing what could have been. If you have to go, then I will honour your decision. However, I hope I can persuade you to stay."

I just manage to smile before he closes the gap and presses his lips onto mine. The moment he does, I let out a sigh as our lips move with each other. They're so soft, warm and loving and the passion I feel coming from him. . .it's almost overwhelming. They say that you should see fireworks when kissing, and I can certainly see them. My heart beating like the hooves of wild horses.

We slowly pull away after a few moments, letting our foreheads rest against each other as we catch our breaths. I can't help the giggle that slips out, causing him to open his eyes and look at me.

"What?"

I smile up at him, blushing slightly. "Nothing. It's just. . .I was wondering what it would be like to kiss you with your beard."

He smiles softly back. "And?"

I reach up and run my hand over his short beard. "Very nice. So nice I want to do it again."

He chuckles as one of his hands goes to my waist, making me gasp as he pulls me into him. "Then, who am I to stop you?"

I grin as I press my lips to his once more, my arms going around his neck where my fingers play with the hair on the back his head.

Once we've finished our second kiss, we just sit and hold each other for a while, relishing in the moment we've just had. As he held me, I couldn't help but think about David. When we were first together, he acted like a true gentlemen, treated me like a queen. And then, a few years later, it was like a flip was switched and he became someone I feared, someone I couldn't trust. Would that be the same this time? I know Thorin said that dwarves hold women in high regard, but it still scares me.

I feel his arms around me tighten, as if to comfort me.

"You're so tense, Sophia. What's wrong?"

I pause for a moment, wondering what to say before I sit up and begin explaining all of my fears, telling him everything that happened with David, how he used to treat me and Aiden, the gaslighting, isolation, the abuse, down to he being the one Aiden and I was running from before coming here. I can see the anger coming to his face the more I talk, his body going tense.

Once I finish, and he realises why I am afraid of relationships, he gently takes my face in his hands, his thumbs lovingly stroking my cheeks.

"You have nothing to fear with me, Sophia. We have said before that we dwarves respect women and children, no matter the race. You will not come to harm with me, this I assure you. If you would allow me to, I would take care of the both of you, I would take Aiden on as my own and teach him all he needs to know. I will love you for the rest of our lives, if you stay. Let me prove this to you. Once this is all over and we have the mountain back, allow me to court you, prove my love to you and show you just how much you mean to me."

I smile as I just watch him, feeling the sincerity and love in his words, knowing I can trust him. I then think of the decision I have been making, the words Galadriel told me. She said, the answers I seek will be found at the end of my quest. But, have I found them sooner? The answers I wanted were how to get home. What if. . .what if I've already found it? Found my home with Thorin. Could my future, my life, now be with this dwarf who I had met just a few months ago? As I look into his eyes, feeling all the love and passion he has. . .I believe I have my answer. I don't need to wait until the end. . .I'm home.

"I will. I'll stay."

He looks surprised at this, although hope and elation shine in his eyes. "Y-You will?"

I nod. "I will. Not only is Aiden so much happier here, but so am I. I hardly had anyone at home, all my family are gone. But here, I have a new family. I have all of you."

He smiles wide, wider than I've ever seen, before he pulls me into a tight embrace. I hold him just as close.

"That you, Sophia." he kisses my head. "You'll always have us. I am so relieved to hear you say that. I promise, I will make sure you will not regret choosing to stay."

I just smile. "I know you won't."

He's smiling softly at me as we pull away. He reaches up and gently strokes my left cheek with his fingers, before he looks at my hair, a curious look on his face. I frown at him, wondering what's on his mind.

"In our culture, we place a braid in the hair of the women we court, so that others will know they are unavailable. I was hoping, you would allow me to do the same to you."

I nod, the smile never leaving my face. "Of course. I would like that. But, I would like to clear some things up in my mind, before we do this."

He looks curious. "What is it?"

"In my world, in the other world, we have already been through this sort of. . .era, timeline. In those times, women were expected to just stay at home, doing everything like cleaning, cooking, doing most of the child care. I don't want that in a relationship. I understand with us, there's the possibility of becoming queen, but apart from that, I want to be my own person. Not being told I have to do this or I can't do that. Can you assure me that I will have that? To still be able to keep my independence?"

He smiles. "You have nothing to worry about, Sophia. Your independence is one thing I love about you. You're not expecting to spend every minute of the day with me, although I wouldn't mind that if you did." I giggle at this. "You will never be told what you can or cannot do, however, you will be taught how to behave as one of your standing. Can you handle that?"

I smile as I nod. "That I can do. I understand there are rules I will need to abide by."

With that, I raise my hand to pull my hair from it's tail, but he reaches up to stop me before going back and pulling the hair tie out himself, making me groan and close my eyes as his hand go through my long brown hair, massaging my scalp. Massaging my head is a big weakness of mine.

"I think this is the first time I've seen you with your hair down."

I smile up at him. "It's easier to manage in a tail."

He smiles as he continues to run his hand through my dark locks. "I like it down."

I just smile as he leans down to capture my lips in a kiss, before he takes some hair on the left side of my head and expertly weaves a braid into it, taking out one of his beads, he clips it onto the end, running his thumb proudly over it.

"There. Perfect."

I smile down at the braid. "It's beautiful. Do I have to do the same to you?"

He shakes his head. "You do not."

"But, could I? If I wanted to?"

He smiles softly at me. "You can if you want to."

I smile as I lean up and undo the braid he had taken the bead from before I do my own braid. It's not nearly as neat or expertly woven as his was, but it will do. Maybe I could ask him to teach me how to do a nice one, a better one. I finish it off by using my hair tie to tie it off at the end.

"Done. It's not as good as yours, but it will do."

He smiles at it before looking at me, taking me into his arms once more. "It was done by you. That makes it perfect."

I swear I swoon again before he kisses me once more, his hand going to the back of my head as I wrap my arms around his neck. If the rest of my life is going to be like this, then it's going to be worth staying here after all.

Finally managing to take our hands – and lips – off one another, I pick up the clothes, which are now dry after our make out sessions, we walk back to camp, hand in hand. I smile as I look around and watch the dwarves grooming each other, though everyone staying within their family units.

Balin if the first to see us. "Ah, there you two are. I was just about to sen-"

I watch with an anxious smile as he notices us holding hands and looks to our hair.

"What's going on?"

This causes everyone to stop what they're doing and look up at us. Fili's eyes go wide, sitting up straighter, as he stares at the two of us.

"Uncle, is that. . .is that a courting braid in her hair?"

"It is." He says as we sit on a log together.

After that confirmation, the dwarves suddenly let out cheers and congratulations, causing me to blush and smile, not used to the attention. That's when Aiden walks over, putting his hands on my knees.

"Mummy, does courting mean you and Thorin are together?"

I smile gently as I run my fingers over his cheek. "It does, carino."

He turns from me and looks to Thorin and I can see the fear in his eyes, as can Thorin as he holds his arms out, waiting for Aiden to go to him before he lifts him and sets him on his lap.

"You have nothing to fear, Aiden. You and your mother are safe with me. I won't hurt either of you. Nor will I let anyone else hurt you. I promise."

He looks to Thorin for a moment before wrapping his little arms around his waist, resting his head on his chest as Thorin holds him close, placing a kiss to his head. I can see everyone else wondering what we're talking about, but I don't mention anything and seeing a need for privacy, neither does anyone else.

Pulling my bag close, I turn to Aiden. "Come on, let's get your hair brushed."

He climbs down from Thorin's lap as Thorin turns to me. "Would it be okay if I did yours?"

I smile at him. "Of course, you don't have to ask."

He smiles and gets his comb before standing behind me to begin with my hair as I brush Aiden's, which has now reached beyond his shoulders.

"I'm going to have to cut your hair the next chance I get, it's getting long." I say as I run my hand through his locks, which has reached his shoulders.

It takes a few moments for me to notice that the campsite has gone silent, Thorin's brushing has also stopped, and looking up, I blink in surprise as I see the dwarves staring at me with a mix of emotions ranging from shock to horror, Thorin looking at me the same way, though his is more contained.

"What?" I ask, wondering what I could have said to insult them.

"Y-You'd cut the lad's hair?" Bofur asks.

This takes me aback, not used to hearing the tone of horror in his voice.

"Well, yeah. He's always had his hair short." I answer, still not seeing what is wrong by this.

At seeing my confusion, Balin takes pity on me as he clears his throat, causing me to turn my gaze to him. "In our culture, to shave your beard or your hair would be a sign of shame and dishonour."

Recognition hits me instantly. To them, me talking about cutting Aiden's hair would mean I am ashamed of him in some way.

"Oh, right, I see. Well, that's not my intention at all. Most humans always cut their hair. In fact, where I'm from, around eighty to ninety percent of males have short hair, saying that long hair is too effeminate for men."

Aiden looks up at me here. "Mummy, can I let my hair grow? I want it to be long like theirs, and have fancy braids and shiny beads like they have!"

I look at him in surprise for a moment before I have to swallow down a lump in my throat so I don't start bawling. Ever since he's been old enough to realise what was happening with his father and I, he has been terrified of men, not wanting to go near his father, a doctor or anyone. It had been a hard road the past couple of years. But, since coming here, he has been able to, with the help of the company, slowly get over that fear and accept these males to the point he wants to imitate their hairstyles.

Still smiling, I lean down and kiss his head. "If that's what you want, then long hair you'll have."

He cheers, causing us all to chuckle and he allows me to finish brushing his hair, Thorin continuing with mine, before we eat dinner.

As we're eating, we also watch Mulan on my tablet, which by some miracle has survived everything we had been through, as well as my phone. I just smile as I watch the faces of the others as we watch. After these past few months on the road, they are still fascinated with my otherworldly technology. As we're watching, I do worry as they see Mushu, but other than a few grumbles, they say nothing. I have to admit, I am relieved about that. Although, I had better make sure not to put on any of the other dragon movies I have. I think Mushu is enough for now.

The movie soon ends and as my tablet is passed to me, the dwarves talk about it almost excitedly. I knew that would be a favourite among them, what with the action in it. I wonder if I should show them Gladiator. . .maybe one night, when Aiden is fast asleep.

"Can we watch another one, mummy?" Aiden asks me from where he's sitting with Kili.

I smile. "Maybe another night. It's now way past your bedtime."

"Aww! Can I stay up a little longer?" he groans, snuggling closer to Kili.

I just grin. "No sweetheart, now come on, say goodnight."

Standing and holding my hand out to him. He gets up and after hugging everyone goodnight, comes over and takes my hand before we walk over to where our bedrolls have been set up. He looks up at me as we sit down.

"Can you sing to me?"

I smile. "Of course I can. Do you want the mountain song again?"

He shakes his head, wringing his hands nervously. "No. Could I. . .could you sing me the river song?"

I think for a moment in confusion before I realise which song he means. I have not sung that to him in a long time. Mainly due to his father.

I smile as I lean back against the boulder behind me. "Okay. Cuddle close. Scooch in."

He giggles as he lays down against me, cuddling Simba as he just looks up at me with so much love and happiness in his eyes, I'm choked up for a moment before clearing my throat to sing, knowing the others are listening.

"Where the North wind meets the sea,
There's a river full of memory.
Sleep, my darling, safe and sound,
For in this river, all is found"

Seeing him already asleep, I lower him down and gently tuck him in, though I continue to sing as I brush my hand over his head lovingly.

"In her waters, deep and true,
Lie the answers and a path for you.
Dive down deep into her sound,
But not too far or you'll be drowned.

Yes, she will sing to those who'll hear
And in her song, all magic flows.
But can you brave what you most fear?
Can you face what the river knows?

Where the North wind meets the sea,
There's a mother full of memory.
Come, my darling, homeward bound,
When all is lost, then all is found."

Leaning down, I gently kiss his forehead before getting up and joining the others by the fire.

"That was a lovely song lass." Balin says with a smile.

"Aye. Although, why was the lad nervous when asking for it?" Bombur asks.

I give a small, humourless, smile as I sit next to Thorin, allowing him to wrap his arm around me.. "That song is from a movie, one I have on the tablet actually, and it's a movie about two sisters, a queen and a princess. Aiden's father didn't like him watching those movies, because he believed they were too girly for him. He didn't want his son to grow up to be a "sissy". However, Aiden likes those movies, so we would watch them together, in secret, when his father wasn't around."

There's a pause.

"What's a sissy?" Ori asks.

I hesitate for a moment, wondering how I'm going to explain this to people, who probably have never even heard of same sex couples.

"In the world I came from, sissy is a very derogatory and insulting word for a man who likes another man, romantically."

Everyone looks to me in surprise for a moment.

"You have people like that?" Kili asks, his eyes wide in surprise.

I nod. "We do. The right term for them is homosexual. Homosexual is split into two, gay, which are men who like men and lesbians, who are women who like women. There's a whole community for them, which are called LGBTQ plus."

"What does it stand for?" Fili is next to ask.

"Lesbian, gay, bisexual – which is someone who likes men and women, transgender – which is someone who believes they were born the wrong gender. So a man would become a woman and vice versa. And the last one is queer, which I've never been a hundred percent about as it is. Gays and lesbians sometimes use it to explain themselves or some people who believe them to not be "normal" use it. That one gets confusing for me."

They nod at this, although I am pretty sure I have blown their minds with this.

Bilbo looks to me. "And plus?"

"The plus is for the many others that they couldn't put into LGBTQ. I can't remember them all, but I do remember two others. Pansexual and asexual. If you're asexual, it means you have no sexual feelings and are not attracted to someone sexually and pansexual means that you attracted to someone, regardless of their sexuality or gender. I identify myself as pansexual. Well, I do now at least."

"Now?" Gloin asks.

"At one point I thought maybe I was lesbian, or even possibly bisexual, as I was in a relationship with my girl best friend. I was sixteen at the time, so I was exploring my sexuality. However, that relationship didn't last long as I had not long since gotten out of another bad relationship with some guy I had a crush on in school. I wasn't ready for a serious relationship, so we broke it off, but continued being friends. Then, when I was nineteen or twenty, before I had met Aiden's father, I was in a short relationship with a transgender person, male to female, and then became aware pansexual was a thing and realised it all made sense."

I couldn't believe how open I was to just pour all this out, especially to people I had only met a couple of months ago, even when some of my close friends didn't know. But, the company made me feel as though I could open up. They weren't being judgemental, even though nothing such as LGBTQ was a thing here, at least from what I'm getting from them.

This made me love them all the more, especially Thorin. I was worried to say all this to him, but luckily, he still accepts me, considering how his arm around my waist tightened jealously when I spoke of past partners. I just smiled at this, leaning against him to reassure him they didn't mean anything.

"That all sounds very intriguing, my dear." Gandalf says, speaking for the first time.

"Intriguing, but it can be dangerous."

"What do you mean?" Nori asks.

I take in a deep breath. "Some people from these communities are more often than not targeted by others, for being different or "choosing" to be something that goes against another persons religion or believes. People have often been killed because of who they are."

There are looks of horror and disgust through the company at this.

"That's not right!" Kili exclaims. "To kill someone for being who they are!"

I give a tight smile. "It isn't. But, unfortunately it happens."

"Do you know someone it's happened to?" Dwalin asks me.

I go quiet for a moment, lost in my own thoughts.

"Sophia?"

Hearing Thorin's voice, I pull myself from my thoughts and see the others looking over me with concerned looks. I clear my throat before standing.

"It's getting late, I'll be getting some sleep. Goodnight."

A chorus of goodnights sound as I walk to my bedroll and cuddle with Aiden, smiling as he cuddles into me. Holding him close, I lay my head on my rucksack, which I'm using as a pillow, and go to sleep.

I soon wake to crying, screaming and a slap to the face. Opening my eyes, I see Aiden thrashing about, his eyes still closed, lost in nightmares. I instantly sit up and pull him close as the others also wake up.

"Shh, it's alright now, carino. You're safe now."

His eyes snap open as he wakes up, sees me and throws himself at me. I hold him close as I run my fingers through his hair, making soothing noises before singing his mountain lullaby, which soon sends him to sleep again. The others also settle back down after sending concern glances to Aiden.

"Is he alright?" Thorin asks as he sits beside me.

"He's fine. I was worried about this."

He reaches a hand out and runs it over Aiden's head, which causes Aiden to lean into it. Thorin and I smile at this.

"He is strong, just like his mother."

I smile up at him, causing him to smile back as he kisses my head.

"I am sorry if our words earlier upset you. We did not mean to cause you any distress."

I smile at him. "It's okay. You weren't to know. There's nothing to apologise for."

He nods.

"Get some rest, Sophia."

I just nod as I lower my head to place it on Aiden's, my heart feeling warm. I smile as the last thing I feel is Thorin's arm slipping around my waist and holding me tight, my head falling onto his shoulder as sleep calls me.

Well, there you have it, Sophia and Thorin are finally a couple! Hope you all enjoyed it!

Translations;

Carino - Sweetjeart