The Fifteenth Member (Thorin Oakenshield/OFC)

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Since I couldn't go anywhere, I decided to nose around his room. There wasn't really anything special in his dresser, just undergarments or casual clothing. His closet was another matter. It was filled with official royal robes. I didn't dare try any of them on though. They wouldn't have been anywhere close to fitting anyway. What really caught my attention was something big covered in a velvet green cloth in a corner. I pulled the cloth off gently to reveal a beautiful golden harp. Despite the many years spent untouched, it still gleamed in the dull light. Leaving the harp uncovered, I decided to search through his nightstand instead. There, I found several unopened jars of polish and a few rags as well. Making a mental note of that, I searched the bathroom for soaps. After several minutes of looking, I found an unused bar of lemon-scented soap and several shampoos in the far back, covered with more cobwebs than the others. I overlooked them at first but when I discovered the only other ones were meant for men so I picked them up.

"Rose, apple, lavender, lily, jasmine, and chocolate. Ha! No wonder Thorin never used these! They're for women!" It took me some time to figure out how to work the taps and eventually filled the tub of hot water. After ten minutes, I managed to get off the dress. The laces on the back gave me some trouble and by the time I got in, the water had cooled quite a bit so I warmed it up. As soon as I got in, I realized that I didn't have a comb.

Thorin?

What's wrong?

Do you have any idea where I can find a comb?

There should be one in the bottom drawer of your nightstand, under a towel. I was going to give it to you later but you can have it now if you really need it.

Thank you, have you left the mountain yet?

No, but we're almost done suiting up. You'll hear us leave, trust me.

Ok, I love you.

I love you too. With a sigh, I hauled myself out of the tub, dried my tail, and walked out to the bed. Just as Thorin promised, there was a comb waiting for me in the bottom drawer. It had a beautiful mother-of-pearl handle encrusted handle with emeralds and rubies on one side and sapphires and amethysts on the other. The golden spines were close together so they wouldn't miss any knots.

Oh Thorin..... It's lovely! Thank you so much! I was close to tears.

I'm glad you like it, think of it as one more way for me to apologize. We're about to leave now, if you want to see it, then come to the window on the right of the bed, overlooking the front entrance. I rushed back to the bathroom, grabbed the dress and, holding it up against my body, rushed to the window. I saw the dwarves all dressed in full armor huddled against the walls to the main entrance. My brow furrowed, how were they going to get out? A flash of gold caught my eye and answered my question. I giant pendulum made of gold with carvings of dwarves dressed in their armor swung towards the makeshift barrier. With a giant crash, it broke through the rocks like nothing. When it swung back, all of the dwarves ran forward, forming a pair of lines with Thorin leading them both and Fili and Kili by his sides. I watched them until they were out of sight. I pressed my palms against the glass in an attempt to see them one more time but to no avail. Taking a deep breath and banishing the tears, I picked up the comb and went back to the tub to find that the water had cooled......again. Groaning, I heated it back up again and stepped in. I relaxed and grabbed the soap. I spent a long time scrubbing my tail down, especially the fins at the end. I took great care to get in the tiny gaps between my scales where dirt tended collect up. When that was done, I picked up the lavender shampoo and lathered it up in my hands. I began to comb into my long hair. To say it took me a very long time to get the knots out was an understatement. It took me at least half an hour to get it at least decent looking.