In Time

Chapter Thirty-Five

In the distance, three figures emerged on the road from Dale—two far taller than the third, so she assumed it was Thorin, Dwalin, and Balin. The raven let out a soft cry, alighting from its perch to soar off against the sky.

She pushed away from the parapet. Yes, Thorin had been so very busy these last few weeks, and so had she, that by the time they finally did see one another, they were both far too tired to do much more than a perfunctory goodnight kiss before collapsing into bed at night. And while she absolutely understood and honestly, she was worn out just as much with getting the infirmary up and running and getting her assistants trained, she still missed him to a certain extent.

With that, she went back below, to their chambers, which now at least had a bed and a few furnishings. But, there was also a bathing chamber, and she smiled as she set about heating water for a certain soon-to-be-king who deserved a bit of pampering.

She was still in the bathing chamber when she heard the sound of a door closing and Thorin said, "Amara? Are you in here?"

"I'm in here," she called back, stepping back from the last candle she'd lit.

"What are you—" He appeared in the doorway and smiled as he leaned against the doorjamb. "What are you about?"

"I've been running like mad, trying to finish what needs be done before the infirmary is actually up and running, and hopefully before anyone needs it, so I rather figured I earned a nice long soak in a hot bath." She gestured to the large, black marble tub in the middle of the equally black, marble bathing room. "There's room for two, if you're interested."

His gaze went to the tub, where steam curled away from the water's surface to waft up into the air. "There is nothing I would like more, amrâlimê," he said, coming fully into the room.

"So, join me then."

A low sigh bubbled to his lips as he closed the space between them and slid his arms about her waist. "I cannot. A messenger arrived not an hour ago. Thranduíl and his entourage have arrived in Dale and will be here at any moment."

"Oh." She couldn't keep the disappointment from her voice, nor could she ignore it as it rolled through her like a spiked ball. "I just thought... since we've both been so busy, we haven't even had time to think about planning this wedding and—"

"I know." He leaned in to brush her lips with his. "Once he leaves and once we get the bulk of what needs to be done out of the way, we can do that. At the moment, Erebor is in no condition to host a wedding as it is."

He kissed her once more then turned to go back into their bedchamber. She pressed her lips together, her eyes stinging with unexpected tears. She had looked so forward to them just spending a bit of time together. They'd both just been so busy... they needed some time together.

With that, she followed him into the bedchamber. "Thorin?"

"What?"

"Thranduíl can wait a bit, can't he?"

"He can, but why make things more difficult than he probably already will? I'll sleep more soundly once I have the Arkenstone back and his blessing has been given to Kili." He reached for her hand, caught it, and drew her into his arms. "Believe me, I would far rather be here, in that tub, with you naked and wet and possibly astride me. But..."

"Oh, don't say but."

He smiled as she sank against him, her forehead coming to rest against his shoulder. "I know." He wrapped his arms about her, pressing a kiss into the top of her head. "But, I also know—I just know, the moment I so much as tug off a boot, and someone will be pounding on the door to tell me His Majesty has arrived and is expected to greeted as if he was a god."