All I've ever known

7

Mivera closed the door to Dis's room gently behind her and turned to Thorin. She smiled,"Thank you so much for taking me to Esgaroth today, I had a great time." She lightly slapped his shoulder,"Fine then I won't apologize." He smiled, he was glad he got to see this side of Mivera.

She turned to walk away and he walked up to her side. She looked at him curiously,"What?" He answered calmly,"I'm walking you to your room." She just rolled her eyes,"Men.", and continued walked.

When they rounded another corner, Thorin asked,"How do you get along so well with Dis?" Mivera smiled up at him,"I used to have a little sister." He felt bad for bringing it up again, he just had no idea how to talk to her. Before he could think of anything else to say, they stood in front of her door.

"Oh I almost forgot!", Thorin whisper-shouted. He reached in his pants pocket and took out the small box and handed it to Mivera. She looked at him while she took it,"What's this?" He replied flatly,"The ring." Her eyes flickered to see he was already wearing his and she nodded,"Right. Goodnight Thorin." He nodded his head curtly,"Goodnight Mivera." And she went into her room.

Thorin walked down the halls aimlessly, he didn't feel tired at all. Somehow he ended up in the library. He was just sitting, staring at a flower centerpiece in the table when Balin and Dwalin came in.

They stopped dead in their tracks. Dwalin looked down at Balin,"He's smitten." Balin nodded,"Aye. You go talk to him, I've got work to do." Dwalin nodded and watched Balin go, he made his way over to Thorin.

When he sat down, Thorin did not even acknowledge his presence, all he did was stare at the flower. After a few minutes, Dwalin got impatient. He cleared his throat and Thorin flinched,"Ah, hello Dwalin. I didn't see you siting there." Dwalin smirked,"I know." There was a pause before Thorin sat up straight,"Is there anything you need?" Dwalin just shrugged,"I just need you to admit you're smitten." Thorin scoffed,"I am not smitten."

Dwalin rolled his eyes,"For Durin's sake Thorin you've been staring at a flower for the last half hour." Thorin squared his shoulders,"I have not, I've just been lost in my own thoughts." Dwalin nodded and said slowly,"Of Mivera?" Thorin sneered,"No, actually. Of my grandfather." Dwalin's shoulders slumped and he sat forward,"Sorry lad." Thorin nodded,"What do you think has gotten into him?"

Balin answered from behind Thorin,"It's called the dragon sickness." Balin walked to the table and put a book down,"It's somewhat of a gene amongst the line of Durin. It's an over powering list for wealth and gold."

Thorin strained to see the book,"Is their a cure?" Balin shook his head sadly,"No, the person infected must cure themselves." Thorin roughly stood up from the table and stormed out the library. He ignored anyone who tried to talk to him and made his way out of the mountain, he needed fresh air.

He sat on a bench far secluded from the rest of middle earth. He had known about this bench since he was a small dwarfling and has come here many times as a place to sit and think, and on some occasions let out his emotions. He sat with his head in his hands, worrying about his grandfather.

Thorin just sat their for a long time. He felt a hand place itself on his shoulder. He assumed it was either Frerin or Dis so he said with an annoyed tone,"No, I cannot play right now." The hand was removed,"Good thing I did not ask then?" He looked up startled to see Mivera.

"What are you doing here?", he asked. She sat down next to him,"I sometimes come here to think. I was just on my way here when something strange happened." He turned his head toward her,"What?" She furrowed her brow,"A very rude dwarf came storming by me and nearly knocked me to the mud." He looked up at the trees,"That's terrible." She nodded,"Isn't it?" Thorin couldn't help but laugh at her joke,"Sorry, I just came here to get some privacy." She nodded, stood up, and walked away.

Thorin was confused, why did she just walk away? He stood up from the stone bench and walked back through the foliage. He looked up and down the dirt path but didn't see her. He quickly dismissed it and sat back down on the bench, believing that she had things to do.

He sat there with his head in his hands and his eyes closed for who knows how long. He thought about many things. The Arkenstone, his father, his grandfather, the marriage, Mivera, anything under the sun. For the the most part his thoughts about Thror were of concern. He did not want to lose his grandfather to the sickness, but he could feel him slipping away.

A sweet, warm scent filled Thorin's nostrils and he jerked his head up. Next to him on the bench were three freshly baked honey cakes. His brow furrowed and he looked around. Thorin stood up from his bench and looked up and down the dirt path again but saw no one. Now thoroughly confused, he sat back down and tentatively picked up a cake.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, well beside the fact that his favorite sweet suddenly appeared out of thin air, Thorin took a bite. The cake was a perfect mixture of crunchy and soft, and the honey was warm and sweet as it slid down Thorin's throat. He smiled to himself, whoever made these knew how to cook.

Thorin finished off the remaining two honey cakes in no trouble at all. He was still wondering about who sent them, but the pleasant comfort he had from eating them made his wondering subside a bit. He stretched his arms up and leaned his back against the tree that the bench was connected to and put his feet up on the other side of the bench. He only sat there mere seconds before his eyelids became heavy and drooping. A figure entered his line of vision just before he fell asleep.

When his eyes finally opened it was most likely midnight, he did not know he was that tired. He swooped his legs down to the ground, but something tangled in them. He glanced down to see that a light blanket had been put on him snuggley, he also noticed that the plate from the honey cakes were gone.

Strongly confused and still a bit tired, Thorin grabbed the blanket and stumbled through the dark back to the mountain, following the lights. He snuck quietly through a back door, and walked as quietly as he could to his room.

He turned a corner and ran into a servant,"Oh pardon me." The servant bowed,"Forgive me my prince I did not see you there." Thorin nodded his head and began to walk around him. The servant called out,"I am personally delighted for tomorrow my prince, I wish you good tidings."

Thorin turned around and tilted his head,"What?" The servant bowed his head,"I said I am personally looking forward to tomorrow, I wish you good tidings." The servant bowed low to the ground, and turned the corner. Thorin shook his head and went back to his room, what was tomorrow? Why would the servant wish him good tidings?

The thought struck him when he was in front of his door. Tomorrow was the wedding. Now it made sense why he couldn't find anyone today, they were all helping put together the event. Thorin did not mean to slam his door, but he did. So forcefully that the note that was stuck in between the two doors became crumpled. Thorin would not have seen it at all if it hadn't made that crumbling sound.

He picked it up off the floor and unfolded it carefully, he smoothed it out as best as he could and sat on his bed to read it. The ink was a dark clear contrast to the near white paper, and the handwriting was very neat. It was evenly spaced and beautifully curved, and it said,

Hope you get to bed safely and you enjoyed your honey cakes, sorry I didn't wake you up, you seemed so exhausted I didn't have the heart to wake you. Get some sleep, pleasant dreams.

Mivera

Thorin stared at the paper in his hands. Mivera had been the one to bake him honey cakes, and judging from her previous endeavors with Dis it most likely took a while. He smiled to himself and folded the note up, gently putting it on his nightstand. He was back asleep before his head ever reached the pillow.