In Time

Chapter Twenty-Three

He looked around, gazing up at the trees that seemed to go on forever. "What is this place?"

"It's just a wood, Thorin. A place to come and think, or just let your mind wander wherever it might go. I come here now when I have trouble sleeping and need to put as much distance between myself and everyone else as possible."

"You have trouble sleeping?"

She nodded, looking over at him. "Why do you sound so surprised?"

"Because you are the most serene person I have ever met," he told her, drawing her up against him. "Nothing seems to trouble you."

"Plenty troubles me," she said, slipping her free arm about his waist. "I came up here quite a bit when you and your nephews first arrived."

"Did they give you a hard time?"

"No. Only you did." She held his gaze. "You were a difficult patient in the beginning, you know. Very angry and very frustrated and while I understood, it didn't necessarily make it any easier to hear."

His eyes softened. "I am so sorry for anything I said then, Amara," he murmured. "I was not in my right mind."

"I know. And you are absolutely forgiven. You were in terrible pain, engulfed in guilt, and angry at everyone and everything around you. And that's not why I brought you here at all." She slipped her hands free to catch his face between them. "So, I do not want you feeling guilty about what you said or did in those first few weeks, because I, of all people, understand where those words came from."

"I will always feel the guilt I carry over what I have said and done," he told her softly. "How can I not?"

She bit back a sigh and shook her head. How did she convince him that it would be all right for him to forgive himself, when everyone else around him already had? His people, his nephews all made that very clear to her. They loved him, respected him, would still do whatever he asked of them, and yet...

"Come. We're almost there." She pulled away to lead him once more. The path rose and wound about until they were up on a high promontory. "This is what I wanted to share with you, Thorin."

As she spoke, she led him to the edge, were rocks ringed the edge like a natural barrier. In the distance, Rivendell's main waterfall spilled from high above, into a large pool that glimmered like a polished opal set into the earth. To the east, the sun's rays had just begun to stretch like golden fingers across the paling sky. As those rays touched the earth, Thorin came up behind her, easing his arms about her waist to pull her against his chest. He said not a word, his thumbs brushing lightly against her stomach. She leaned against him, smiling as he pressed his cheek against hers and murmured, "Abnâmul..."

"Isn't it? I love the sunrise."

"I meant you, amrâlimê."

Her eyes stung at his whispered words, her hands coming down to cover his. His arms tightened about her as the sun broke over the horizon to streak the sky coral and gold. The golden fingers reached to the ends of Middle Earth, or so it seemed, and somewhere, in that distance, stood the Lonely Mountain. Thorin's home. Soon to be her home.

Dawn broke, the light bringing the world to life as birds began their morning songs. She leaned her head into Thorin's cheek and said, "My mother once told me that the birds sing in the morning because it is their way of letting their partners know they survived the night. It's a song of hope, of a fresh start to a new day. I don't know if it's true or not, but I've always rather liked the idea that it might be."

He gave her a gentle squeeze. "I thank you for sharing this, Amara."

"It's always been my favorite spot in Rivendell," she said, her throat tightening as tears stung her eyes, "and I will miss it."

"We have sunrises in Erebor, you know. And I will gladly watch one with you any morning."

She turned toward him. "Even if it means a short night's sleep? When you've had too much to drink?"

"Even then." He nodded. "Not that I had too much to drink, mind you."

"Of course you didn't." She smiled as she met his gaze. Even a short night's sleep and too much mead the night before couldn't make him look bad. He was simply too handsome. The morning light caught the amethyst in his hair, the smoke inside it swirling slowly. "I love you."

His eyes softened once more and he leaned in to brush her lips with his as he whispered back, "I love you, too."

Amara hated to break that soft, teasing kiss, but she knew he wished to depart Rivendell in only a few hours, and so she pulled back. "We should make our way back. I still have a few things I need to pack."

"We can come back, you know," he told her as they made their way along the path toward the palace once more.

"Oh, I know. But it is such a long journey, I doubt we will do so often. Especially once we have children."

"I say we come back more often then and let them splash in the fountains as well."

"You just want to see Elrond crack, don't you?"

"It might be a sight to see."

"You are evil, Thorin Oakenshield, do you know that?"

"Tell me I am wrong, though."

"If only I could."