The Three Women Of Durin

The King Under The Mountain

The three girls shared a glance, all of them aware of just who was at the door. Everyone in the company appeared to have shrunk a little, their eyes distant as brothers shared glances and comforting smiles. Did he really have this effect?

Everyone appeared to silently flow into the hall like a silent stream, Bilbo sticking out as he rather loudly excused himself through the small crowd, trying his best to get to the door. Once Bilbo had managed to get close enough, he latched onto the handle, pulling with all his might to reveal the King with no mountain.

Rosie could feel the emotion in the room as Thorin turned his head and smiled at Bilbo, before looking up at everyone else. His movements were graceful and his voice rumbled from somewhere within his chest with an accent that reminded Rosie of paper edges and inky pens.

"Gandalf," He said, a hint of playfulness laced in his voice, "I thought you said this place would be easy to find," He said walking in and locking eyes with the tall wizard. Despite the height difference Thorin looked at Gandalf slow and steady, a soft crease at the corner of his eyes. "I lost my way, twice...wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for that mark on the door," He said, unbuttoning his cloak and letting it fall from his shoulders, catching it in his fingertips at the very last possible second, not caring for the spluttering of broken sentences that now fell from Bilbo's mouth.

Rosie found herself still looking at Thorin's figure, following the loose lines of his outfit, from his strong shoulders down to his thick boots and back up again when she found his eyes staring steadily back at her. He then moved closer to her, and Rosie felt her heart speed up ever so slightly, forgetting all about the fact that she stuck out like a sore thumb in Bilbo's cosy home.

"Here," Thorin then said holding out his coat to her. Rosie stared at it for a second, confusion causing her to freeze up. "No?" Thorin then said, his eyebrows a mix of furrowed and raised, "Do you not speak common tongue?"

Rosie once again only stared at the coat that he was holding out to her. Tentatively, she reached out and grasped her fingers around the soft material, only a few inches from where Thorin's own hand was intertwined with it. Thorin then let go of the coat and turned around in one movement, and Rosie became aware of all the eyes now on her and the cloth that she still held out in front of her.

Zoning out on what happened next, Rosie turned to her friends and questioningly raising the material in the air. Neither of her friends said anything, however, Cece jerked her head to the right where, but a foot away, was a coat rack. Rosie stared at the coat rack, to the coat and the back to Thorin, opening her mouth ever so slightly, clearly offended.

"Thought as much, he looks more like a grocer than a burglar," Rosie heard as she carelessly threw the coat in the direction of the coat rack, not really caring where it would land. Turning around she watched as the company was now filing back down the corridor towards the dining room, her friends doing the same. They were just about to disappear around the corner when Rosie grabbed each of their wrists and yanked them, rather harshly, backwards.

"What the hell?" Frankie muttered as she stumbled back into a cabinet which rattled in response.

"Aren't we going to go follow them?" Cece asked pointing down the corridor that everyone had just disappeared down.

"Are we going to follow th- no! We're not," Rosie spluttered out staring at her friend. "Did you just see the way he treated me...I don't need to take that!"

"So, what? He probably thought you were a maid?" Frankie said, brushing down her pants, "I think that's the last thing we need to worry about right now."

"She's got a point," Cece said, folding her arms awkwardly, visibly uncomfortable.

"Okay, okay...come on let's get a cup of tea and talk about this in the kitchen."