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Bella dozed in and out of consciousness, curled up in Thorin’s coat among the mounds of gold that filled the treasury. From where she lay, mere feet from his searching for the wretched stone that lay hidden in her pocket, she could see Bofur approaching with two bowls of food.
He knelt beside her with the bowls and placed them down into the two divots in the pile of gold where the bowls had been placed the last time…and the time before that.
“How are you feeling?” He asked her, lingering where he knelt.
“My legs are getting better and I feel much more present than before. Less confused.” She told him, extricating herself some from her cocoon and sitting up slightly.
“Did Oin come to change your bandages?” He asked, rearranging Thorin’s coat so it covered her bandaged legs once more.
“Mmhm '' She nodded. “An hour ago, he said I may even be able to walk short distances soon.”
“What’s going on here?” Thorin suddenly loomed over both of them.
Bella could see Bofur tensing out of the corner of her eye. She reached up for Thorin’s hand and ran her thumb over his knuckles.
“Bofur brought us food and was checking to make sure Oin had come by recently.” She smiled softly up at him.
“Has he been by?!” Thorin growled, head snapping around as if looking for the healer.
“He was here an hour ago, Amralime.” She assures him. “Sit with me and eat.”
“Well…” She watches him hesitate, glancing back at where he had been searching through the massive treasure hoard.
“Love, I need your help. I can’t hold myself upright to eat, you might as well eat as long as you’re helping me.”
Thorin sighs, giving in. He moves behind her to take up the position that he has had twice a day for the last week. With her between his legs, propped up against his chest so she could eat. She hands him one of the bowls and props the other one between her chest and her hand.
Bofur takes his leave from them as Bella coaxes food into Thorin and herself. She wasn’t being entirely untruthful in requesting his help, she just didn’t need as much help as she requests now. But, from his lap, Bella is in the perfect position to offer him bites and coax him into continuing to eat whenever he stops.
This manner of ritual is how she has been keeping the king of the mountain alive for the last week since Smaug died and Thorin descended into whatever madness has overtaken him.
The only two things she has been able to get him to focus on have been the mountains of treasure and her well-being. She doesn’t mind his obsessing over her as long as he still listens to her, and isn’t that the key?
As she finishes the last scoop of food in her bowl, Thorin retracts from behind her. Keeping his hands on her shoulders, he moves to the side and eases her body back down to the ground. He tucks the edges of his coat around her and presses a searing kiss to her forehead.
“Try to sleep some,” he murmurs.
“You know I won’t be able to,” she whispers.
“Try, I’ll be right here.” He caresses the side of her face before withdrawing back to his search.
She watches him go and settles in to keep herself awake. Bella had not been able to sleep without nightmares since the goblin caves. The only thing that staves away the dreams is another body at her side. Now with her injured and Thorin not caring for his own health, the symbiosis of their predicament helps them both.
She can’t sleep alone without having nightmares.
He won’t let her sleep beside anyone else.
He won’t sleep without her making him.
So the simple solution is that they must rest together. On nights when she is fighting the night terrors, she will sleep half on top of him, cradled in his arms. On nights when he can’t rest because the pull of the gold is all he can feel, she will hold his ear to her heartbeat and run her fingers through his hair till he falls asleep.
He stands up from his hunched searching to bring her something. It's a golden bangle studded with emeralds with intricate designs of dwarven craftsmanship. He is explaining to her how the clasp works with such a warm and loving expression when she hears someone approaching.
They both turn to look as Dwalin comes over a mound of gold.
“Thorin, the Master of Lake-town is at the gate.” He calls out.
“Ah, the welp has come to collect his reward for the pittance he provided. Very well. Bring him to the throne room.” Thorin practically growls. “Let us see what he really deserves.”
As Dwalin walks away, Thorin turns back to her.
“Shall we move you to your cushion in the throne room?” He asks, so kindly she can almost forget the veil of obsession she desperately wishes wasn’t ever-present in his eyes.
She nods in confirmation and Thorin double checks she is wrapped well in his coat before scooping her up and making his way out of the treasury. As he walks, she can only remember all that had led them here and bury her face into his shoulder to try and forget.
From riddling in the Dark with Gollum to hiding in Mirkwood with his ring, she had never expected what would happen in this very room with the dragon. He had demanded she hand over the golden treasure she had brought with her, the ring. Already singed, she had watched him wind up to blow more fire at her and in a moment of pure spite had decided he could have the stupid thing if he cared so much.
She had thrown it deep into his mouth and when the fire hit it, he had exploded. The blast had thrown her back into a wall, braking her ribs and bruising pretty much everything else along with a nasty concussion. Not to mention the nasty burns littering her body.
She peaks up from Thorin’s shoulder only to spot one of the massive chunks of dragon flesh that they hadn’t figured out how to move yet and quickly buries her head back into his shoulder.
She can vaguely hear quiet soothing noises from Thorin and can’t help but smile to herself. She knows that she should be more worried about whatever is wrong in Thorin’s head but she is honestly too tired from the long journey and too relieved to be included as one of his obsessions.
She is all too aware that if he somehow broke from the madness, the affection she is currently receiving would likely disappear. She would go back to being the unwanted outsider and be forced to return to the shire alone.
They enter the Throne room and Thorin ascends the steps. There, right beside his throne is a slightly raised platform with the fluffiest cushion they could cobble together on it. It reminded her a lot of a small bed. Thorin settles her down on it and adjusts his coat to lay over her more like a blanket.
Every time he brings her here, it reminds her of laying on a day bed. There is a large pillow on the edge of her little bed that butts up against Thorin’s armrest. If she scoots her head high enough up on the pillow, he can run his fingers through her hair. Which also acts for her, as a way of making sure that he doesn’t rise from his throne. Whether to prevent him from threatening someone or storming off, it doesn’t matter, it works either way.
This particular time, she shifts to sit up as much as she can with her broken ribs by leaning up against the armrest. Thorin frowns at her as she shifts but doesn’t say anything. He merely adjusts his coat so the bandages on her legs and feet aren’t visible.
She gives him a small smile and while he doesn’t return it, he does run his hand over her hair as he sits on the throne at her back. He places his arm carefully on the rest behind her so as to help support her back without putting pressure on her healing ribs.
Balin makes his way to stand on the stairs in front of them and looks back at them. Likely waiting for some signal that she can’t see. With a nod back at them, Balin turns back towards the massive doors at the far end of the room.
“Bring them in.” He announces. Dwalin and Dori open the large doors to reveal a number of people.
At the front of the pack were Fili and Kili, obviously leading the group inside the mountain. Just behind them walked the Master with his wretch of a companion. The part of her journey where she had to put up with his slimy advances to make sure they wouldn’t be denied food is certainly a part she hopes to someday forget.
Behind those two were Bard and Thranduil. She didn’t know why it looked so natural for two people who should have nothing in common to be walking together. They looked as if they had walked side by side like that hundreds of times before.
Altogether, the whole group was weird and brought up bad memories.
Fili and Kili led the group up to right before the stairs, signaling for them to stop, the two princes continued up the stairs. Fili moved to stand on the other side of Thorin while Kili flopped down right in front of her little bed and leaned his head back gently on her knee for a moment before looking back at the assembled group of far too-tall males.
“Speak,” Thorin demands.
The Master of Lake Town steps forward slightly and straightens his far too-small lapels.
“We approach the Great King Under the Mountain to request the agreed-upon payment for providing for your company during your stay in Lake Town.” The obese man proclaimed and Bella couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
“That would be difficult to do, seeing as you never specified a price,” Thorin states. She can hear the agitation thinly veiled in his voice. “That explains why you’re here, but what could cause the great elf king himself to grace us with his presence?”
“I told you that awakening the dragon would cause carnage.” Bard cuts in. “You went into the mountain and a great rumbling was heard from the mountain but no dragon came out. We saw dwarves fixing the front gates and came to see what happened to the great beast.”
Thranduil tosses a look at Bard before speaking up.
“I came to see who has earned the title of DragonSlayer and to barter for a certain set of jewels.” Thranduil runs his eyes over those up on the platform and his eyes stutter as they pass over her.
She can feel Thorin beginning to seath at her back and cuts in.
“Does it count as dragon slaying if he exploded?” She asks, stunning every non-dwarf in the room.
“What is that supposed to mean?” The slimy one asks, she thinks his name is Alfred but to be honest she would rather not know.
“Smaug didn’t die by sword or spear. He exploded.” She shifts to sit up higher and winces.
Both Thorin and Kili jump into action to help her adjust on the cushion. Thorin holds her bodily while Kili adjusts the coat on top of her.
“I think we understood that part, what did you mean by exploded?” Bard interrupts the royal fussing happening around her.
“I mean there are chunks of dragon all over the treasury. Some of them are so big, we haven’t figured out how to dispose of them.” She paused. “If you’re going to ask the how, well, that is for me to know and you to ponder for eternity.” Her eyes glint with mischief even as they are tinged with pain.
Now fully settled, the sons of Durin go back to their spots in front of and beside her.
“You expect me to believe that the girl killed the great beast.” The Master exclaims.
“You do not have to believe anything, fact does not rely on your belief of it.” Fili sternly replies before Thorin can blow up at them.
Between herself, Fili, Kili, and Balin, they may very well make it through this meeting without everything falling to shit.
“If you think her so incapable of the feat, we could go find a new beast and you can face off with it this time,” Thorin growled.
Or not.
“Thorin, it would be ridiculous to believe that a single hobbit would live against a dragon, let alone come out victorious.” She soothes. “You did not believe I would even muster the courage to face the dragon when we met.” She moves her outside arm to tangle briefly with his fingers.
“Then I got to know you.” Thorin leans toward her, saying it almost conspiratorily.
“But they do not know me.” She leans slightly towards him. “So, it is only fair that they would be ignorant as well.”
“I suppose,” Thorin muttered but his body language relaxed and it was like a silent breath was let out by everyone else in the room, finally relaxed.
“Now that that is…” Thranduil pauses, “resolved. I offer my congratulations for your victory and the services of my healers for any injuries you may have sustained.”
She could feel Thorin stiffen behind her and speaks up before he could lash out.
“I’m sure Oin would be happy to discuss the progress of my healing and discuss possible treatments.” She hurries out, gripping Thorin’s fingers tighter to keep him seated.
“That still leaves the matter of your dept to Lake-town.” The master pipes up, and the naisle tone of his voice almost makes Bella want to cringe as it sends a dart of pain through her still very much concussed head.
“Balin with go over the costs of every single item we have been billed for. I’m sure with his help, you can settle on fair compensation.” Fili responds, glancing over at his uncle.
Thorin reluctantly gives a small nod and with that, Balin ushers away the Master and his slimy aid into an adjoining room. Down one support member, Ori moves to take his master's place on the steps ahead and pulls out a scroll to continue taking notes of the proceedings.
“Bard, would you now like to tell us why you’re actually here?” Bella asks. Every head in the room turns to her but Bard just gives her the tiniest of smiles.
“I’ll never be able to hide anything from you, will I, Mistress Baggins?” Bard sighs.
She shakes her head and smiles at him.
“I’ve been approached by a majority of Lake Town. They wish to Rebuild Dale and so I have been sent as the heir to Girion to request the treasure from Dale that the dragon stole upon its occupation.” Bard states, standing taller.
“Commerce flowed freely between Dale and Erebor,” Fili says. “There would be no way to distinguish which coins are which.”
“Do you mean to say that you will not help?” Bard steps toward them.
“I did not say that.” Fili places a hand on Thorin’s shoulder when it seems like the dwarf is going to launch himself at the man for the slight. “Merely as any written account of the exact figures in your coffers before the dragon came have likely been burnt or lost to time, we should discuss instead in terms of what your people will actually need to accomplish the task.”
Thorin moves to say something and Bella quickly pulls his hand and means to fake a flinch but finds that the sudden movement pulls a real one from her.
Thorin is quickly redirected and knelt before her, gently nudging Kili out of his space.
“There is still the matter of the jems to discuss.” Thranduil reminds the group.
Bella can see Fili stiffen but Thorin barely reacts.
“You can discuss trivial matters with my heir. I am done here.” Thorin’s voice booms as he gathers her into his arms.
As they leave the room, Bella can see Fili and Kili exchange a look and visibly relax.
Once they are out of Thorin’s hearing range but still within that of her sensitive ears, she hears an exchange.
“Why have you not diposed him if he is incapable of making the decisions required of the throne?” Bard asks.
“Bella has been able to keep him controlled. We are giving her a few more weeks to try and snap him out of it, but after that, we’ll have to…” That's all she hears from Kili before she is out of hearing range.
Surprisingly, Thorin takes them to their rarely used bed in the royal wing instead of back to the treasure hoard. He putters about the room, after laying her in the bed. Gathering every plush fur and pillow that he could find. She falls asleep before he finishes doing whatever he is doing.
She wakes to a barely lit room and Thorin’s bare chest to her side. Looking around, she finds that he had propped her up on all sides with the furs and cushions before laying down beside her with her hand in his. Clenching her teeth through the pain, she lifts her free arm to pull one of the many blankets so that it’s covering him too.
His eyes flick open and move to her face. He gives her the softest smile and for a moment she thinks in the dim light that his eyes look clearer. But that can’t be, if he were himself he wouldn’t stay in the bed with her let alone smile at her.
His free hand reaches up to cradle her face and she leans into it, enjoying the moment. She doesn’t know if she wishes for him to be better so that he will be the king he wants to be or to stay sick so that she can continue to have these moments with him.
“Go back to sleep, Bella.” He kisses the hand in his hold and rubs her cheek bone with his other. “The world will hurt less once you wake.”
As she dozed back off to sleep, she could almost swear that she felt a feather light pressure on her lips.
When she wakes again later, she is alone. Pushing up in the bed, she finds a glass of water and a bread roll on the nightstand beside her. Munching on it, she wonders where Thorin went. She’s not technically supposed to be walking on her own but she needs the bathroom and he’s not here.
She slowly eases down to the floor and gingerly allows some of her weight to sit in her feet. It’s painful and she doesn’t feel overly sturdy on wrapped feet instead of bare sturdy hobbit soles but it's enough that she can at least make it to the bathroom.
She succeeds in using the bathroom but as she leaves the chamber and finds that Thorin is still not there, she gets curious. Using the walls for support, she makes her way to the door of the suite. Finding nothing in the hall, she makes her way back towards the gate.
The closer she gets, the louder the noises become. It almost sounds like a battle. Making it to the front gate, she finds that it has been smashed with a giant bell, and on the other side, a massive battle is being waged.
Are those orcs?
How long has she been asleep?
Either way, she creeps to the edge of the former gate and peeks out at the fighting. In the far-off distance, she sees Thorin, Fili, Kili, and Dwalin on goats headed up the giant peak that makes up Ravenhill.
She doesn’t know why but she feels like they are about to do something stupid. So in keeping with tradition on this cursed quest of theirs, she goes to bail them out of it. She slowly starts picking her way around the battlefield when she realizes this is going much too slowly. On the edge of the battle, she spots a ginger dwarf on a giant Goat.
She waves and gets his attention.
“Oy, what's a wee Lassy like you doin' in a battle such as this?” He swings down from the goat to stand equal with her.
“I’m sorry, but I need to borrow your goat.” She tells him.
He gives her a once over and she rolls her eyes.
“My dwarrow are about to do something incredibly, I can feel it in my broken bones. I need your goat so I can make sure they don’t die in the process.” She informs him, taking the reins of his goat.
“Which ones are your dwarrow?” He asks, incredulous.
“The royal ones!” She yells and tries to scramble on top of the goat.
She feels hands on either side of her ribs and hisses but they lift her onto the goat.
“Then you better go save them.” the ginger dwarf says, settling her foot in the stirrup. “Tell them Dain says they better live because I don’t want to be King.” He smirks and smacks the goat’s hindquarters.
The goat takes off and she steers toward Raven Hill. She makes it to the top of the hill and keeps the goat charging forward across the ice.
Up ahead she spots Thorin lying on the ice with Azog bearing down his sword on top of him. Bella can feel in her blood that he’s about to do something stupid.
She charges forward and slams the orc off of Thorin and keeps going until the Orc has been thrown off the cliff side. She watches as the orc falls and cringes when its drop is stopped by its chest being impaled on a spike of ice.
She sneers at it before guiding the goat back toward where Thorin is beginning to rise.
“Bella, how did you get here?” He asks, bewildered.
“Dain says don’t die.” She tells him. “Where are the boys?”
“That elf, the redhead saved Fili from being impaled by the defiler. They were facing off with Bold the last I saw. I assume Dwalin is with them.” He tells her, unsteadily getting to his feet.
He puts his hands up behind her and heaves his body on top of the goat. With an arm on either side of her, he takes the reins and steers the goat toward the other battle. When they arrive, they find Bolg dead on the ground, Dwalin and Fili talking close together, and Kili and Tauriel standing much closer than casual acquaintances would allow. There is also a blond elf knelt over the orc’s corpse removing something from it.
She feels Thorin stiffen behind her and wraps her hand around one of his wrists. He settles marginally and moves them forward to join the group.
“I know your ribs are bothering you, you can lean back on me.” He mumbles right into her ear.
“To be honest, I’ve got so much adrenaline in my system that I can’t feel a thing.” She lies.
Their conversation is interrupted by Kili throwing himself against the side of the goat and Bella hisses as he knocks her bandaged legs.
“Numb with adrenaline, huh?” Thorin leans around her and raises his brows at her.
“Bella, did you notice? Thorin’s not crazy anymore!” Kili excitedly tells her, though she is careful to not disturb her injuries again.
“Kili” Thorin gives a vaguely scolding tone but they all know his heart isn’t in it.
“It’s true, Bella. He led us into battle.” Fili joins them.
“And did none of you think to tell me where you were going?” She asks.
The dwarrow all shuffle nervously and she just sighs.
“Belladonna,” Thorin says from behind her. “I apologize for all that you suffered in my madness.”
“It’s all right, I didn’t mind looking after you.” She tells him, not looking back at him. She looks up and spots something.
“The eagles are here!” She exclaims.
Later, in the med tents, Bella is sitting with her Dwarrow as the medics see to their injuries. They somehow made it out without losing anyone. Though all of them have some form of injury or another. She had insisted that the other be seen before her so Tauriel is finally unwrapping her legs to check on her burns.
“Why would you run out onto a battlefield with injuries like this?” She asks, applying a burn creme to her legs.
“I just knew one of them was about to get themselves killed, and I didn’t get them all the way here to let them die now.” She clenches her teeth at the frankly debilitating pain.
“Check her concussion and her ribs too,” Oin says from behind the elf, both of his arms being wrapped and thus useless for practicing medicine.
“Belladonna, I must once again apologize for the actions I took in my madness,” Thorin says from his cot across the tent.
She wants to sigh but refrains because she knows exactly where this is going. He’s going to give her her reward and then tell her to book it. As soon as she has healed enough to travel she would be sent on her way back to the shire as if she was even remotely the same person as the one who left all those months ago.
“I told you it’s okay.” She mutters, preferring to watch Tauriel rewrap her legs than to make eye contact with the hoard of Dwarrow in the tent with her.
“But it's not!” He snaps and she glances up at him to find he’s clutching his hair.
“Uncle.” Fili reaches over from his cot to place a hand on Thorin.
“I did not make my intent clear.” He is practically pleading but Bella doesn’t understand why. “I gave no gift, you wear no braids. I have dishonored you in the highest regard.”
“Thorin, what are you talking about? You gave me plenty of gifts.” Bella tries to ask. Now she’s really confused, but looking around at the dwarrow around her they all seem to understand. He has done something but she doesn’t know what.
“I gave you trinkets and baubles, no gift of my own hand. I treated you as my Azyungal but gave no promise.” His pleading devolves until he almost looks like he’s going to cry.
“Balin, I don’t understand.” She turns to the older Dwarf, trying to ignore the shaking of Thorin’s body. Kili moves over to his uncle’s cot and leans on him lightly.
“Thorin had been treating you as one would someone they were courting and in some cases, one they are already married to. It is a great dishonor toward you, especially as such a respected member of our community. The fact that you were gravely injured while it happened means you could ask for anything from his beard to his life.” Balin explains.
“Oh, Thorin.” She tries to slip out of her cot to comfort him, but Tauriel, who is now checking her ribs, holds her in place. “What can I do to fix this?”
He stares at her for a moment.
“This isn’t for you to fix, I am the one who shamed you.” Thorin tries to move toward her but stays as Kili puts more weight on him.
“You were sick, I was the one who was manipulating you.” She argues.
“Manipulate? You could not move, I picked you up and moved you wherever I felt like you should lay. You should have been in a cot in the infirmary, and instead, you were lying on mountains of hard cold gold.” He argues back. It feels as though he wants to shout the information at her, to make her understand but he keeps control of his voice.
“I understand, you feel like you misled me and you regret having shown me such affection. It will not matter once I am gone.” She tries to assure him.
The sound that comes out of his throat sounds like a wounded animal, almost like a whimper.
“You think I regret the affection I showed you?” His voice cracks in an uncharacteristic moment of weakness.
“Don’t you?” She shoots back.
“I regret not showing you the respect you deserved as I pursued you. I wanted to take care of you but that is no excuse not to follow the proper protocol. I have been in love with you for months.”
Every person in the tent is completely silent as that bomb sinks in.
“Oh,” Bella says, briefly breaking the quiet. She watches him longer as he curls further in on himself. “What if I gave you a gift of my hand?”
Every Dwarrow jaw in the room drops and Tauriel flashes a small smile up at her.
“You would give me a gift of your hand?” He asks, there is a little note of hope in his voice that she has heard so many times over the course of the quest as she saved the Dwarrow from certain doom.
“If you’ll have me.” She shoots him a small smile.
“Always.” He grins back brilliantly at her.
Thorin attempts to lurch toward her but is quickly wrestled back to his bed by Fili, Kili, and Dwalin.
“Maybe we should leave the passionate embraces for after our wounds have healed.” Bella chuckles. “But I can give you this.”
She pulls from her pocket a small leather-wrapped parcel and hands it to Tauriel who dutifully passes it along to the king under the mountain. He opens it, examining the book inside.
“Is this your sketchbook?” He asks. After she nods, he opens it and pages through the drawings. “How have you held onto it this whole time?”
“It stayed dry with that binding and I always kept it in the inside pocket of my coat. I did the binding and all of the drawings, though I can’t claim to have made the paper or tanned the leather.” She starts to ramble.
“It’s perfect.” Thorin smiles, looking up from a sketch of Fili and Kili. With the smiles, shared all around, Bella can be truly assured in thinking that the worst is now finally behind them.