When Thorin was alone in his chambers at night, the only thing he could think of was a raven haired, azure blue eyed elf who had well and truly captured his heart and his mind, whether she knew it or not, but what he may not have realised, even during the time that she had been staying in his Palace was that she too thought mostly about him during the time when she was able to be on her own whether it be in the gardens or in her room, and Thorin's feelings for her were growing stronger by the day.
"It seems to me that King Thorin; to use a phrase of the humans; is well and truly head over heels in love with the Lady Briella" Kili remarked to Balin and Fili, both of who nod in full agreement. "Aye, can't remember a time when I saw him even half as happy as what he was when he was in her company; even asking her to sit closer to him at mealtimes especially if it was not usually seen to be the done thing" Balin replied, still amazed that someone with such innocence was able to soften his impenetrable heart.
It was true. Working in the mines then the unforeseen attack by Smaug and the subsequent life that Thorin had spent trying to reclaim his homeland before finally succeeding with the help of a Hobbit no less, had more or less made him a little hardened to the outside world but since he laid eyes on Briella, all that changed and while they may not know each other as well as what perhaps Gandalf would have liked to see happen, Thorin ordered a special ring be made from the diamonds and metals that had been found quite recently inside the mines.
"I plan to ask Lord Elrond for his permission as it is the decent thing to do when making such an important visit" Thorin calmly explained to the wizard when he paid what was becoming an increasingly rare visit, "And when the moment is right I plan to ask her but the one thing I would very much like to see happen is that Briella and I are completely alone at that moment; nobody, not even guards are hanging around simply because Gandalf it would be unfair on her to feel as though something so personal was being so closely seen".
Knowing from past experience that it was difficult to try to dissuade Thorin once his mind had been made up regarding something, well anything if Gandalf was being one-hundred-percent honest, the wizard simply nodded and went along with the plans, accompanying him to Rivendell before returning to the Shire, where he would find that the hobbit, Bilbo had been in possession of the Ring of Power for a number of years now, though the primary reason for Gandalf's return was for Bilbo's 111th birthday, which in true style for Bilbo was one the town wasn't going to forget in a hurry.
"King Thorin this is indeed an unexpected surprise" Arwen said as she realised who the man on the back of a brilliant black horse was. "I apologise if I startled you Arwen; I can assure you your father is aware of my arrival" Thorin replied as he effortlessly hopped off the back of the horse as an elf took it away to the stables, leaving Arwen to escort the king of the Erebor dwarves to where her father sat waiting. "So Thorin it seems Briella's made quite an impact on you" he said, "So much so you return after three weeks".
Thorin had to laugh at Elrond's little jests, "Indeed she has left quite the impression Elrond" he said as he sat beside Elrond, "And it is the reason why I am here. I admit that I have not known Briella for all that long but it feels inside as though we have known each other longer than what we actually have" he paused as Elrond listened intently to his words, "The reason why I return to Rivendell just three weeks after Briella's return from my home at Erebor is to be seeking your permission to ask for her hand in marriage".
It wasn't often that Elrond was stunned into silence but this was one of those times. For years most of Middle Earth had believed Thorin was not the kind to want to settle down with anyone, much less an elf, but Elrond could see the earnestness in Thorin's eyes and hear the genuine tone of his voice as he spoke, so there was no reason that Elrond could see as to why he would stand in the way of a potentially happy and very long marriage, but he did wonder how his daughter, Arwen, was going to react to the news.
"Oh father that is wonderful; King Thorin asking your permission to marry Briella" Arwen said, joy in her voice even if it was kept at a level only Elrond could hear. Nodding, Elrond agreed, saying that it was down to Arwen to tell her of the news, and Arwen knew that while it would be difficult to let go of one of her closest advisors, even if Briella was beneath her socially, there would be no better person Arwen would want to see her going to be with than Thorin, and despite her reservations, it seemed that the Lady Galadriel agreed.
Before the week was out, Briella had left her home in Rivendell behind to start up her new life in the formerly Lonely Mountain, making sure to keep her ears covered in public, though Thorin saw there to be no reason why she shouldn't be proud and show them off. "I know only too well exactly how dwarves feel about elves Thorin" Briella replied when he asked why she chose to keep her pointed ears under her long dark hair, "Many of them have been told tales of how the Mirkwood Elves from where you know I originate had turned away".
Not meaning to but happening to overhear that last piece of the conversation, Balin, hearing how little Briella thought of herself in the tone of voice she was using, decided to make it as his own personal mission to help Briella overcome her fear of social judgement, and although it was going to take a lot of time, before Balin was done with her, Briella would no longer care what people thought of the fact that she came from Mirkwood before living in Rivendell under refuge from Thranduil, who even then had maintained quite the reputation for being a nasty sort.
