Warrior's Heart

Chapter Twenty-Two

The apartments for Erebor's king and queen had also been renovated and cleaned and Arielle breathed a sigh of relief when she stepped into the main chamber. The walls were polished black onyx over the mountain stone, detailed with ornate sigils in gold. A fire blazed on the black marble hearth, warming the entire chamber and she bit back a sigh as she reached to unfasten her cloak. 

She smiled at the furnishings—they were simple and not anything like would be found in Thranduíl's chambers in Mirkwood, or anywhere else in the royal family's apartments. She could only imagine her father's expression, should he ever venture out to Erebor. 

Footsteps came softly behind her and she peered over her shoulder to see Thorin carrying Tiriana, her head on his shoulder, her eyes closed, over the threshold. She'd jammed her thumb firmly in her mouth, a habit she only recently acquired. 

"Where are the bedrooms?" she whispered, coming over to smooth Tiriana's hair away from her forehead. 

"Down this corridor." He nodded to the hallway to the right of the hearth. "Hers is the last one on the right, ours will be the second to last one on the left. The nursery adjoins our chambers."

"Convenient."

He grinned. "Dwarves are nothing if not practical." Tiriana sighed in her sleep, wriggling against him. "Let me put her down and I'll give you the tour I neglected to give you the last time we were here."

"What if she wakes? She'll look for one of us."

"She is sound asleep, but if you like, I can ask one of the maids to keep an ear out for her."

"Maids?" 

"Dáin took the liberty of hiring servants. Not many, but enough to keep things running smoothly in my absence. We'll have to see about bringing a nurse in."

"I could always ask Makaela to—" She paused as Thorin shook his head. "You don't want her here?"

"I don't want her here." He started down the hallway toward the bedchambers. "In Mirkwood, she made it plain she did not care for dwarves. I will not have someone like that around our half-dwarf daughter."

"Made it plain how?" Arielle followed him. "I'd never seen her anything but attentive to Tiri."

"When the Orcs breached Mirkwood's borders and you went off with Legolas and Tauriel, she showed her true colors."

Arielle's gut kinked. "Did she do something to Tiriana?"

"No. She would no longer walk Middle Earth if that was the case." 

"Well, then how do you know?"

"I just know." He paused just outside the door to what would be Tiriana's chambers. "I would rather her nursemaid be a dwarf."

"Well, what if this nursemaid has no love lost for elves?"

"I don't think that will be a problem."

"And if it is?"

"Love, it won't." He pushed open the door. "Trust me."

She bit back a sigh. "Dwarves can be just as judgmental as elves, you know."

"But I am their king and they would never think to disparage his daughter for being half-elf."

"That you know of."

He didn't reply at once, but instead crossed to the large, comfortable looking bed on the far side of the room. Princess Tiriana's chambers had been decorated with a little girl in mind, with plenty of butterflies, pink stones, gold and silver sigils on the walls. Arielle smiled as her gaze alit on a nod to her woodland elven heritage, a mural of Mirkwood, done to look as if she could step right into the kingdom if she so desired.