~ Warning for triggers: this chapter features prostitution. So if it might trigger anyting with you, don't read! ~
You wouldn't have reached the city of men until tomorrow but thanks to the pranks of two idiot princes, you had reached it today. They had 'accidentally' pushed you and Thorin in a pond together, and the King didn't think it was funny at all. After helping you out he narrowed his eyes and told everyone they wouldn't be resting again that day, he made the company travel faster then before. His punishment had taken it's toll on the company and everybody was thankful that they could lay down on the ground.
The cash of the company had ran low and they didn't seem able to catch food either. Thorin and Balin were discussing what to do next. 'We can try hunting again. Maybe we'll be successful today' Thorin said. But Balin shook his head. 'I don't think that will work, we will need money to be able to buy some supplies in the village of men. Maybe some of us can get a job here to earn some money' he suggested. Thorin crossed his arms and huffed.
His man had already earned money by following him on this quest, they shouldn't have to work for it. But Balin was right, it would be the best thing to do. 'Fine, we'll do it your way.' Thorin walked back to the rest of his company with Balin in his wake. Everyone silenced when he came into view, his sister-sons hiding behind Bombur. At least they knew they had been wrong for pulling their prank on him. He would make sure they would understand that this sort of thing held bad consequences.
'We've come far but our money is running low,' he began, feeling guilty he needed to ask this from his man, 'we will need to find work in the village of men. Everyone who can work should try to find a job. The more who will find something, the sooner we can leave.' The company nodded in agreement. 'Who will stay here to watch our supplies?' Bofur asked. Thorin hadn't thought about that yet... 'I will laddie, I'm afraid I won't be that much use in finding a job' Balin joked. Thorin placed a hand on his friend' shoulder.
His eyes crossed yours, and it suddenly hit him. You would leave hi... the company today. Gandalf had already told him that you would leave as soon as you reached the city of men. Thorin' face turned into a grimace and Balin looked at him worriedly. 'When will you leave?' he heard himself ask. The company started muttering and sharing confused looks. 'How do you mean they will leave?' Fili asked. 'Aye! They proved their worth, didn't they? Why do you still want them to go?' Kili asked.
He glared at them and it was enough to silence them. Thorin wanted to speak but you beat him to it. 'Kim and I will go on another quest of Gandalf's. We will follow another road' you explained. The dwarfs exchanged looks and Thorin could tell no one wanted to see their women leave the company. 'But what if you'll get in danger? What if you get hurt?' Dori asked worriedly. 'Aye, you can't leave on ya'r own, it won't be safe' Bofur joined in. 'Exactly, this is not even your world! Who's idea was this?' Nori said angrily.
Thorin raised an eyebrow at this. Even Nori decided to stick up for you. The women had really found their way into his company's hearts. And as much as he hated to acknowledge it, there was one of them in particular who had found her way into his. You turned your attention back to Thorin and looked him straight in the eyes. 'Kim and I will help you to earn money today, we weren't supposed to leave until tomorrow, so if it's alright with you we will stay until then...' Thorin stopped himself from eagerly nodding his head, he wanted you to stay so that you would be safe in his company.
But he wouldn't say that out loud, of course. 'You can do whatever you want' he said and turned around to lead his men to the village. Behind him you rolled your eyes and earned a pat on your back from Kim. When would that stubborn dwarf finally act normal towards you? 'Maybe he is just afraid being nice to you would kill him?' Kim whispered. 'I thought we were going on that quest to make sure he wasn't going to die' you muttered back.
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After a few hours, some of the members had found a job for the day, some hadn't. You returned to camp disappointed, you couldn't find a job because nobody wanted to hire a women. It was frustrating but there was nothing you could do about it. Bombur and Bofur were talking when you returned. 'Nice to see you back lass, you couldn't find a job either?' Bombur asked. You shook your head and sat down across from them. Suddenly Kim came back running and waving. 'Oh dear God, what now?' you asked yourself.
She sat down next to you with a guilty look on her face. 'What have you done?' you asked suspiciously. Kim looked down, avoiding your eyes and nervously playing with a string of grass in her hands. 'Well, I found a job for the two of us... but... I...' she said nervously. You raised an eyebrow and pouted. 'Do I want to know what kind of job you found for us?' you asked. You weren't sure what she had found for the two of you but you were sure you wouldn't be to happy about it. But you wanted to help with the money issue so you would do almost anything for them.
'Well... it's kind of like... oh, you're going to be so mad at me...' Kim buried her head in her hands. She took a deep breath and looked you straight in the eyes when she continued. 'I found us a job as whores.' Your mouth dropped and you looked at her in disgust. 'YOU DID WHAT?' a voice bellowed behind you. Kim's face dropped and she turned white, you turned around to look at a very angry looking Thorin. His face literally looked like it would explode any minute.
'I-I just t-thought... you n-n-need the m-money... so-o-o...' Kim stuttered. Thorin looked down at her and you actually felt kind of sorry for her, no matter how shocked you were yourself. 'If you want to disgrace your body like that then that's fine, by all means! But I won't stand by and let (y/n) come near that place! Did I make myself clear?' he semi-shouted at her, trying to control his anger. You stood up and looked at Thorin. 'I'm sorry but I can decide that myself, I don't need you to tell me what to do.'
Thorin looked at you in disbelief. 'Are you seriously considering taking that job?' You weren't sure what to answer. Of course you didn't want to do it, but you also didn't want Thorin to think he could boss you around. Even though he was the leader of the company. 'I'm not saying I want to do it, I'm just simply stating that you shouldn't be telling me what to do.' He huffed and turned around. 'I'm the leader and you will listen to me. I'm warning you. Don't come near that place tonight!' He walked away leaving you standing with a crying Kim attached to your shoulder.
'I'm so sorry. I just thought...' she cried. You swung your arms around her and pulled her closer. 'Don't mind it. What time do we have to start working?' you asked. Kim pulled back a little and looked at you in confusion. 'You mean you want to do it?' she asked not believing what she just heard. You nodded. 'Yes, I won't let myself get bossed around by an arrogant, stubborn dwarf. We just need to make sure Thorin won't be back before we leave to go to work.' Kim nodded in agreement.
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It had been a hard day for all of them but Thorin was pleased to see they had enough money to buy enough supplies to last for a few weeks. The smell of cooked deer already spread around camp and he had to admit he was hungry. But they still had to wait until it would be done. He decided it would be a good idea to count the members, just to make sure everyone was here. 1,2,3...12 dwarfs, 13 including himself, the hobbit, the wizard, and... 'Where are the women?' he asked gruffly.
Of course they wouldn't be here in time. (Y/N) apparently wanted to annoy him at every chance she got. He knew she sat close to the other members just to annoy him. Not that it really annoyed him, she was free to sit anywhere she wanted, but he preferred her sitting next to him. That didn't mean he was in love with her, he just didn't like it if anyone else touched her. That was completely innocent, love had nothing to do with it.
'I think I heard them mentioning something about working tonight...' Bofur said. Thorin's eyes widened and he left without saying another word. In the corner sat a smiling wizard and Bilbo eyed him up and down. 'You have something to do with this, don't you?' Gandalf chuckled. 'No, this time I didn't. But I think that something good will come of all of this.' Bilbo looked concerned but he decided he wouldn't follow Thorin to find out where the women were. He wouldn't want to be there if Thorin was ready to explode with anger.
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You felt disgusting. The outfit you wore was much to reveling and you felt like a piece of meat. A hand slapped on your bottom and you jumped a little at the contact. The men were whistling and looking at you with hungry eyes. You tried to hide your exposed skin by covering it with your arms. 'Nooooo! Let us see your body whore! Who wants to see it lads?' a bald, old man yelled and threw his ale over you. You had made the wrong decision by working here. You just wanted to let Thorin know you could make your own decisions, you didn't actually want to do this for money. But there was no way you could leave now.
Another man jumped on top of the table with you and grabbed you by your wrists. 'Let us see that body of yours!' he said and pulled you closer to him. He stank of ale and sweat, you felt like you would throw up if you would have to smell this for another minute. Somewhere in the distance you could hear the door to the place open and close. Great, more man, you thought. From the corner of your eye you could see the same happening to Kim. You could tell by the look on her face that she regretted her decision as well. The man who was holding you took a hold of your hand and moved it towards the bulge in his pants, when suddenly a calloused hand grabbed his wrist and stopped the movement.
'I pay for the whole night, no matter what it costs' you heard a gruff voice say, but you didn't dare to look up at him. Some man moaned disappointed when you were pulled down the table by a strong hand wrapped around your wrist. The man on the table moaned in frustration, still standing on the table. The man dragged you up the stairs and to a room in the corner of the hallway. You were fighting back tears because you knew what was going to happen. If only Thorin would be here, this wouldn't have happened. He would have never allowed it, you thought as you entered the room.
You sat down on top of the bed and prepared yourself for what was to come. The man slammed the door closed and sighed heavily. You could hear the key turning and you knew the room was locked. There was no escape now. Slowly he turned around but your face was lowered towards the ground. You heard his footsteps coming closer and your body froze. You braced yourself to get touched but the only thing you felt was something warm being wrapped around you. Carefully you opened your eyes and you saw what was covering you. A fur coat.
A warm, calloused hand landed on your cheek and stayed their for a while. 'Why did you do this?' a weak voice asked. You raised your head to meet Thorin's eyes, staring straight back at you. There were a lot of emotions in those eyes which were normally closed of from his surroundings. You were shocked to see him like this. You only knew him for six days now but he had never opened up to you like this, and you hadn't expected him to. There was worry in his eyes as he looked into your eyes to find the answers to his questions.
'You needed the money and I just thought... I just wanted to show you that I can make my own decisions. It's kind of childish looking back at it now... But... I just...' you tried to explain. A tear formed in the corner of his eye and it slowly rolled down his face. You were shocked to see that. The movies and the book had showed Thorin as a non-emotional kind of guy, maybe he did have emotions but he rarely showed them to others. His thumb stroked gently over your cheek as he places his forehead against yours.
'We did need the money but I don't want it if it means you have to do this to yourself... Did... did you...' but he wasn't able to finish his question. You started crying and he pulled you close to him, his arms wrapped tightly around you. 'I'm so sorry that you had to do this. Just tell me who touched you and I will have their heads for this' the protectiveness was evident in his voice. You sobbed in his arms but managed to shake your head a little. He stroke the back of your head and he gently kissed your hair. 'None of them will get away with this' he stated.
'N-no one to-touched me T-thorin... You were on time' you sobbed. He sighed in relief and pulled you closer to him. He stroke your hair and rocked you in his arms. 'It's alright lass, you're safe with me.' Slowly he pulled away and laid you down on the bed. Gently he tucked you in beneath the blanket, you still wearing his fur coat. He pulled a string of hair from your face and tucked it behind your ear. He stared down at you lovingly, his eyes still glistening with tears. 'You need to get some sleep. We can stay here until the morning so you will have plenty of time to rest.'
You opened your eyes and looked up at him. 'But the money you paid? You needed that for...' you started but Thorin placed a finger on your lips, silencing you. 'Don't worry about that. Go to sleep and I will handle that in the morning.' Thorin turned around to sit on the chair across the room but you grabbed his hand. He looked at you and smiled. 'Will you keep me warm?' you asked with a soft voice.
His heart warmed up at that and he could feel his stomach twitching. Maybe he had been lying to himself. Maybe he did have feelings for you after all. He couldn't describe the feeling he felt when he first saw you. Neither could he explain how he felt when he saw you standing on that table, surrounded by the lowest of man in this village. He nodded and walked around the bed to lay behind you. Carefully he snuggled up behind you and wrapped you tightly in his arms. You sighed happily and he chuckled. This felt right. This was where you belonged, in his arms.
'I feel safe in your arms' you muttered, half asleep. He smiled and pulled you a little closer. 'You must go to sleep, azyûngal.' You frowned but didn't ask what it meant since you felt asleep soon after. Softly he stroked your hair while you were fast asleep in his arms. He had never noticed how fragile you looked when you were asleep. He still hadn't given you a weapon to defend yourself with, afraid that you might actually hurt yourself on accident. He laid his head down on the pillow and buried his nose in your hair. Your hair smelt like roses and daisies, it calmed his anger down.
He would get up early tomorrow morning, before you would wake up. He would make sure those man got what they deserved for touching his One.