Warrior's Heart

Chapter Twenty-One

Darkness stretched across the plains leading to Erebor and Arielle's gut twisted as her gaze alit on the desolate area where she'd come so close to losing Thorin not once, but twice. The Lonely Mountain rose as a blacker blackness, as not even the moon offered up any light. Her mouth went dry, her stomach hurt, and yet the coach continued to draw closer to the Erebor's entrance.

Without thinking, she reached for Thorin's hand, smiling as his fingers curled about hers and he gave a gentle squeeze. "It's all right, love," he murmured, his thumb grazing along hers.

"No," she whispered, unable to tear her eyes from the entrance. It was still crumbled, still somewhat in ruins, and beyond the piles of rubble, Erebor itself was even darker.

"You will see."

She swallowed hard to clear the roaring of her blood through her ears, to try to calm the roiling in her belly. It didn't help. The baby kicked then, and for a horrifying moment, Arielle thought she might be sick. Pressing her free hand against the elbow (or knee or foot) prodding her side, she whispered, "Easy, little one..."

Thorin's hand covered hers and he leaned closer to whisper, "Everything will be fine, Arielle. I promise you it will."

"You cannot promise such a thing."

"Yes, I can." He pulled both hands from her and slid an arm about her shoulders to pull her up against him. "Trust me, princess."

"Thorin," she pulled away from him, shifting on the bench to turn toward him. It was dark, she could only just make out his features simply because they were paler than his hair, his brows, his beard, "you have no idea what will happen when we go inside. You didn't the last time we were here. Why should this time be any different?"

"Because I am different." He turned slightly toward where Tiriana slept peacefully across from them. "I know what to expect when we go inside, and I didn't before. Who knows, perhaps if you'd been here when we first arrived—"

"Are you blaming me for what happened?"

"Of course not." He faced her once more. "But, had you been here, perhaps you might have seen it before it could nearly consume me."

"I did see it and you refused to listen to me."

"Arielle, listen to me," he reached across to cup her face in his huge hands, "I promise you, it won't happen again. We've already decided what I'm doing with the treasure in there, remember? Dale. Erebor. Laketown. I haven't forgotten."

"Well, what if we go inside and find the folks of Laketown have claimed Erebor for themselves?"

"That will not happen. Dáin has been keeping watch over everything. I've been in touch with him while we were in Rivendell."

She sighed. She wanted so much to believe him, but at the same time, her memory of what happened the last time was still so raw, so fresh, that the thought of walking through that entrance chilled her to her core. Only this time, Tiriana would not be safely miles away, should Thorin go mad again.

But at the same time, she had to believe him, had to trust him. She curled her fingers around his thick wrists. "I'm still scared."

"You needn't be, love. I won't hurt you. I won't hurt Tiriana. I promise you both, I won't." His thumbs grazed along her cheeks so lightly, she only just barely felt his touch. "I promise you, Arielle."

"I'm holding you to this, Thorin."

"I know. And you can." He smiled as the coach bounced to a halt. "You will see. You never need fear me again, princess. I promise you that."