An Unexpected Journey

Chapter Fifty-Three: Only Have to Ask

"This is your room my lady," the townswoman said showing Thalia where she would be staying, she watched the woman curiously; it was rare to see a woman travel alone with so many men and she wondered which man Thalia belonged to. 

Thalia tried to ignore the looks that some of the Master's guards gave her as she stepped into her room, she felt uncomfortable and made a mental note to be careful when she was alone; she didn't trust anyone in Laketown. 

"I'll have a couple of the girls come and run you a bath," the woman continued with a smile, it was rare that they had such important guests and she was sure that they wouldn't be here long before they moved on to somewhere much nicer. 

"Thank you," Thalia murmured smiling, a bath sounded wonderful after their trip from Mirkwood and she knew that while their stay in Laketown would only be for a couple of days, it would be much better than their stay in Mirkwood. 

The woman left Thalia alone, only stopping to bow to Thorin as he walked into the room; he was a little on edge about their host and didn't want to leave Thalia alone. 

Thalia dropped her things onto the floor in a neat pile before she moved to sit on her bed, she looked at Thorin knowing that he had come to see her for a reason; she guessed it had something to do with their host. 

Thorin slowly closed the door, he didn't want anyone to hear their talk and he wasn't overly fond of the attention that she was getting from the guards; he had no idea what was going on but he knew that the Master couldn't be trusted. 

"You don't like him," Thalia guessed watching Thorin, she didn't have to be physic to know what was going on in Thorin's mind right now. 

Thorin nodded his head, he didn't know what it was about the Master but he had a feeling that there was a reason that the town looked like a strong wind would knock it down. 

"I want you to be careful," Thorin murmured moving closer to Thalia, he had only just gotten her back and he didn't wish to lose her again; she was important to him and he wanted to protect her. 

Thorin had spoken softly to Dwalin and had asked his close friend to keep an eye on Thalia, he didn't want any trouble while they were in Laketown and he didn't want to cause problems before they had gotten what they wanted. 

"Thorin," Thalia whispered getting to her feet, she knew where he was coming from and she didn't blame him; it was clear that the guards of this town hadn't had to answer to anyone in a very long time.

"Promise me," Thorin pleaded softly, he moved closer to Thalia wanting to make sure that she was going to be okay; he had no idea what was waiting for them in this town especially with the Master insisting on throwing them a dinner that very night. 

Thalia's blue eyes searched Thorin's face, she slowly nodded her head wondering what he had planned; she wished that she had telepathy sometimes and she was sure it would be useful. 

"I'll be careful," Thalia promised taking Thorin's hand, she stepped closer to him wishing that there was something more that she could say that would reassure him about all of this. 

Thorin took a deep breath, he had a bad feeling about the man that ran Laketown and he had no intentions of overstaying; the sooner that the company were rested and restocked they would be leaving again. 

"What are you going to do about Kíli?" Thalia asked gently, she knew that Thorin's youngest nephew wasn't going to be ready to travel when they left and she worried what Thorin planned to do about Kíli if he wasn't recovered in time.

"I do not know yet," Thorin replied simply, he looked down at Thalia knowing that he couldn't have asked for a better partner; she would make a wonderful Queen and he hoped to make that a reality soon. 

Kíli would be desperate to continue on with the journey and Thorin would hate to stop him, however the last thing that he wanted was for Kíli to hurt himself more than needed; he would leave his nephew behind if that was what was needed. 

Thalia only nodded her head, she wasn't going to push it since they were going to be in Laketown for under a week and she was hopeful that she'd be able to properly treat Kíli before they made their move. 

"I've been thinking," Thorin started nervously, he had no idea how Thalia would take his question and he was hoping that she would be pleased with what he had been thinking about. 

They had been courting for nearly three months now and Thorin was pleased with the progress that had been made; he wished to take more steps forward in that department. 

"That sounds dangerous," Thalia joked smiling, she could see that he was nervous and she hoped that things weren't going to get awkward; she searched the dwarf's face hoping that it was some good news for once. 

Thorin opened his mouth to say something when the door opened and two women entered, they ignored the dwarf while they set about preparing a bath for Thalia. 

"It doesn't matter... it can wait," Thorin murmured wanting to talk more to Thalia in private, he wasn't sure of the protocol since her father was a God but he knew what he wanted to do. 

Thorin had no idea what to expect when they reached the mountain and it was going to be dangerous even if they didn't have to factor Smaug into their problems; he wanted to have something set out in case something did happen and he was killed. 

Thalia raised an eyebrow at Thorin, she nodded her head as a small smile formed on her lips guessing at what Thorin wished to talk about; she was still working out how things worked in Middle Earth but she guessed it was something like the middle ages in her world. 

"I will leave you to bathe," Thorin mused gently, he didn't want to disturb her and he knew that she deserved a rest; he would wait for another time to ask Thalia his question for which he hoped that she would have a positive answer. 

Thalia sighed, she doubted that Thorin would wish to wait long to speak to her; she could only hope that he was prepared for what would happen if she agreed. 

"I will see you at dinner," Thalia murmured peeking at the women that were preparing her bath, she didn't want to feed them any gossip that could get back to the Master. 

Thalia wasn't sure what the man was up to but she knew that he wanted to get his hands on the treasure that lay inside the mountain by any means necessary. 

Thorin nodded his head, he turned to leave wanting to get some rest before they had dinner; he could only imagine the trouble that his nephews were going to cause sooner or later. 

Kíli might have had a bad leg but he was bound to be causing trouble with Fíli later on, Thorin wanted nothing more than to make sure that they didn't break something. 

"And Thorin... you only have to ask," Thalia teased softly, she could see what Thorin had wanted to ask her and she was certain that it wouldn't be long until he did; she smiled at him as he stared for a moment before leaving her to his bath. 

Thalia took a deep breath, she closed the door behind Thorin and turned her attention to her bath; she was going to relax for a couple of hours before she was forced to deal with the vile Master again. 

Thalia wasn't going to be letting her guard down anytime soon, she wanted to make sure that the company was prepared for what lay ahead of them in the mountain.