An Unexpected Romance

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Anything?" Thorin's voice boomed through the air, echoing off the stone walls around us.

"Nothing!" Came Dwalin's reply, cool and crisp and just a little angry.

I bent over panting, hands on my knees, for a just a moment. We hadn't stopped since the overlook, and the sun was almost kissing the horizon.

"If the map is true, then the hidden door lies just above us." Thorin said from beside me.

"Up here!" Came Biblo's bell-clear tones. "Up here!"

"You have keen eyes, Master Baggins." Compliment Thorin, gazing up at the stair-case like stones.

Climbing them was not fun. There was lots of stretching and jumping involved to get from one step to the next. And then, we had to scale the slope of a hammer the statue was holding. My legs were about ready to give. By the time we reached the top, everything around us was bathed in the golden light of sunset.

I walked to the edge of the rock on which we stood gazing out at the vast Earth before us. I could see Lake-Town, it's silhouette standing out from the fiery sky, and I wondered what Kili was doing.

I shook my head and walked to Thorin's side. He was staring up at the stone, like it would just transform before our eyes.

"This must be it." He whispered. "The hidden door."

I took his rough hand on my, lacing his thick, scarred fingers with my thin, calloused ones. "We made it, Thorin." I said, leaning my head on his shoulder. "We're home."

He placed his chin on top of my head, pulling me in for a hug. I inhaled the unfamiliar scent of his new clothes before the smell I was accustomed to appeared from underneath. "I can't wait to show you my Grandfather's Throne, and the Great Forges, and the Dwarfish Armories, and so much more. Oh, the wonders that are held within this mountain.."

"Your mountain, Thorin. You are the King." I whispered.

He planted a rough kiss on my forehead before turning to face the rest of the company.

"Let all those who doubt us.. rue this day!" He cheered, holding up the key. A wide smile was present on his face, like I had not seen for a long time.

"Right, then." Dwalin grunted. "We have a key."

"Which means that somewhere.." I said, running my fingers across the stone. "There is a key-hole."

"'The last light of Durin's Day.. will shine upon the key-hole." Thorin murmured.

I wasn't really listening, though. I had fallen to my knees, searching for the key-hole. It was no where to be found. I checked every nook and cranny twice. Dwalin was doing the same on my right, but he was having about as much luck as me.

"The last light, the last light.." I whispered, using my nails to desperately rake away loose stone. Maybe it needed to be, I don't know, uncovered? I glanced behind me and noticed with alarm that the sun was riding low on the horizon now, leaving almost no time for us to find the key-hole.

And then Nori was beside me, tapping away with his spoon, and Dwalin was kicking the stone as if it would succumb to his will and I was clawing and scratching, ignoring the pain of my fingernails breaking and the blood from the skin that had been scraped off my fingers.

"We're losing the light," Thorin urged. "Come on!"

And the three of us kept beating and tapping and clawing, but to no avail.