One That Got Away

Chapter 6

Fili woke up first. He kept his eyes shut. It was a dream. I dreamed we found a way to Mara but it was only a dream. He opened his eyes and blinked at the unfamiliar ceiling. He sat bolt upright and looked around the room excitedly. Mara! He kicked Kili in the side and his little brother jolted awake.

"Ehnguh?" he said wildly.

"Ki, remember last night?" Fili demanded.

"Of course I do. We went through a magic door in the Catacombs and got to Mara's world, took a flying carriage without horses to her house with the magic door and we caught her and uncle kissing in the hall." Silence. And then the two bounded up and crept down the hall. They peered into one room which was empty except for bookcases lining the walls and pillows on the floor, and another, where Andy and David were tangled under blankets. Next they found the Twins room. A cacophony of white and black with two empty beds. The last door on the hall was painted blue with green splatters. They shared a look and pressed their ears to the door.

"What are you doing?" came two eerily soft voices. The Boys jumped as the Twins stared at them, dressed in black and white, watching with a muffin each.

"Uncle Thorin and Mara slept in here last night," hissed Kili. The Twins shared a look and crept up to the door. The four listened.

Thorin woke up to the sound of voices, but they were far off and indistinct. He wanted more time to sleep. he didn't want to face another day without Mara. Especially after such a lovely dream. She had been so real and certain and there. He was so happy to see her but she was so broken. A nightmare and a dream. His own mind was turning against him. But he needed to get up. Erebor needed him even if he wanted to fling himself from the highest peak of the Misty Mountains. He blinked open his eyes and looked at the stars overhead. He frowned. Why was he outside? No...painted stars. Constellations.

He looked next to him and saw Mara's small form there. She was wearing his blue tunic, twice her size, hair half braided and curling around her tattooed scalp. He slid his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. Pink light filtered through her curtains and filled the room with floating light. She mumbled in her sleep and pressed closer to him.

"Natuathane...wake up, Mara. You need to wake up...dawn has come the day awaits," he said softly and she mumbled something under her breath. "Wake up...Mara." She blinked blearily up at him, golden eyes shimmering in the morning light.

"Thorin?" she said in a lost voice. "I thought it was a dream..."

"No, no, Mara. I'm here with you," he said softly pressed gentle kisses to her brow. "I found you." Mara seemed to approve of this sentiment because she pressed closer and caught his lips in hers. There was a moment of gentle silence as the stillness of dawn wrapped itself around them and stole away their kisses. Mara suddenly let loose a small laugh and Thorin stopped.

"What?" he asked gently, worried he had embarrassed himself.

"I used to be afraid of kissing you," she admitted and he raised a brow.

"Oh?"

"Yes. I was young, a child. I was so worried you would reject me or be..." she turned pink. "Rough and harsh and dark and I would end up being ruined and scared. I was afraid of you and what any sort of...relationship between us might do to me."

"You were...afraid of me...I scared you," said Thorin in a hoarse voice, going pale.

"No! No no no no," and with every word she peppered his cheeks and nose with kisses. "I was afraid of myself. Of what my own emotions would let me do. I was a kid. I'd never been in love before and I-"

"In love?" Thorin interrupted. Mara turned pink. "You said in love," Thorin grinned pressing his forehead to hers.

"Maybe," she teased, their lips inches apart.

"No, definitely," he said in a hushed voice stealing away another kiss.

"Yes...definitely," she agreed. There was a loud retching from the door and she sighed. "Twins."

"Boys," Thorin snarled at the same time and climbed over Mara and out of the bed. He flung the door open and saw Kili strangling Fili while the Twins egged them on. They all froze as the door opened.

Kili did not want to start his day choking his brother. Fili did not want to start his day being choked by his brother. The Twins did not want to start their day by doing anything other than destroying the Durin princes in a round of Grand Theft Auto. None of them wanted to start their day being glared at by an angry, shirtless man with eyes of brimstone glaring at them. He was, in fact, wearing pants, but that did not take away from the fact that he was an imposing six foot two.

"Explain," he snarled in a voice like thunder over a mine field. The Twins bolted first, fleeing to the safety of the kitchen and Kili wasn't far behind. He tripped on his brother's ever so carefully extended leg and went crashing down the stairs with a shout, waking up David and Andy. Fili scrambled after his brother on all fours, rolling down the stairs after him. Just as David opened the door, tying on his bathrobe, Thorin shut Mara's and rested his forehead on the wood. He breathed deeply, ready to return to the bed with Mara but she popped up behind him and kissed his cheek. She had pulled on a new shirt, this one also ripped down the sides and a pair of shorts.

"Come on, the house is up, we're up," she said tossing him a huge shirt.

"But," he said, almost a whine looking at the bed.

"I'll get you some pants, don't go back to sleep, or I'm going to teach Fili and Kili how to blow up clothes with bleach," she threatened and left the room. He tugged on the shirt and looked in the mirror. It had a picture of several angry looking women with black hair and makeup. The letters 'BVB' was written on the top in white. He sighed and looked at her ceiling. He knew those stars. Those were the stars of Arda. "Got 'em," Mara said walking. "They might be a bit tight, but they should work all the same. What's up?" She looked at the ceiling. "Oh...yeah."

"You painted these?" Thorin asked, taking the pants from her.

"Yeah...first art I've done since I was really little," she said in an empty voice. "But no one else knew them and I wanted them there...something to help me sleep."

"You were haunted by us," Thorin said softly.

"Haunted...that's a good word for it. Ghost of the past...it might have all been a dream," she sighed looking up at her ceiling. Thorin walked over, adjusting his shirt over the pants and put his hands on her shoulders. She turned and looked up at him.

"We are not ghosts or dreams or hauntings. We are Khazad of Erebor and when we go home, you will be there with us...yes?" he asked gently. She looked in his eyes and smiled, true and real and followed by tears in her shimmering eyes.

"Yes."