Springtime at the Lonely Mountain

At Midnight

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Here is the next chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it!

Warning: Thorin and Ása seemed to forget their proper upbringing for a few moments, so there is some NSFW content here and there ;)

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„Are you sure about this?" Asked Ása's red-haired maid Jutta, who was standing in front of her, looking worried. As far as everyone was concerned, Jutta was exactly who they thought she was - just another lady's maid who came to Erebor together with Ása. Only a handful of dwarves knew, or suspected, that her real task was to protect the young lady... with any means necessary. Since their arrival to Erebor the two dwarven women have become very close, and Ása was glad for having a companion like Jutta by her side.

„Absolutely. I need to go. It is really important," Ása tried to sound serious and determined, but she blushed a bit and cleared her throat in a hopeless effort to hide her embarrassment. One look at her confidante's face told her that Jutta was suspecting something.

„Important. I see," answered Jutta after a significant pause. „Since there is clearly no point in convincing you to do the sensible thing, at least let me follow you. The feast has not finished, and there will be lots of very merry dwarves everywhere. You know that I can assist you in case of any trouble."

„Thank you, Jutta," Ása smiled to her companion warmly and took her hand. „You are wonderful. I sincerely thank Mahal every day for bringing you here with me from the Iron Hills. I don't know what I would do without you."

„You would probably get lost in those old corridors, just like you did on you first day here," Jutta grinned.

Ása chuckled.

„I'm happy you were there to save me from that misery. You stopped a diplomatic incident, you know? A daughter of Iron Hills found dead of starvation in a forgotten corridor. That would have been a serious reason for war between two dwarven kingdoms!"

„Oh, spare me! You were still munching on those blueberry cookies you'd bought in Dale!" Jutta laughed. But then she looked at Ása with concern.

„At least... take this," she reached into one of many hidden pockets in her maid's uniform. A moment later, she procured a sturdy, double-bladed knife with a dark red leather handle. „Just in case."

Ása's eyes widened. "Your... your knife? No, I can't..."

„Yes, you can and you will! You were properly trained. You know how to use it. And I expect you to, if something happens."

Ása nodded. She knew that her friend would not part with her favorite knife lightly. And Jutta was quite fond of knives. She had been schooled by the best warriors in the Kingdom of Iron Hills for the sole purpose of protecting Ása in Erebor. On the surface, all the dwarven kingdoms had friendly relations with each other, but there were lots of diplomatic forces and dangerous undercurrents on the wide seas of dwarven politics. And in the time of peace, politics was the real battlefield. Ása suspected that there were some fractions in both kingdoms that would prefer to see her removed from her current position. As the official ward of king Thrór, she was a living and breathing warranty of sorts, ensuring stable cooperation between these two realms. If she „conveniently" disappeared one day, it would stir quite a few ripples in those deep waters. It would certainly ruin amicable relations between Erebor and Iron Hills. She could already imagine the aftermath. Unending accusations from both sides, broken trade agreements, dissolution of dwarven alliance or even war, if the meddling parties were determined. Quite a snowball effect. Ása sighed. It seemed she had no choice in this matter.