Urs

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.

Thorin lazily traced the dwarven ruins on Alina's shoulder her, he smiled softly as he read them, they said Thorn her nickname for him. Alina scrunched up her nose, yawned and opened her eyes, violet meeting icy blue.

"Morning husband." Thorin smiled

"Good morning my Queen."

"I would have loved you even if you were not royalty." She spoke softly, her eyes sparkling with happiness.

"Now we have a kingdom to claim."

Alina nodded and brought her lips to his, which he returned eagerly as they began to repeat some of the night before.

Alina emerged an hour later, dressed in light amour and supporting a dwarvish braid of marriage, Thorin having a matching one. She noticed the others stood at the window.

"I say we should leg it and slip out the back way." Nori suggested

"We are not thieves or cowards." Alina responded, the company turned and bowed their head to her, and she nodded in return.

"I agree with Alina, I'm not running from anyone beast or no." Dwalin spoke

"There is no point in arguing. We cannot pass through the wilderland without Beorn's help! We will be hunted down before we ever get to the forest. Ah Bilbo there you are, this will require delicate handling, we must tread very carefully. The last person to startle him was torn to shreads." Gandalf explained

"That Gandalf is incorrect I startle him all the time but then again I am probably the only one who can." Alina smirked walking out of the door sitting on the wooden stools as Beorn chopped wood with a giant axe. She almost laughed when Gandalf and Bilbo emerged from the house looking quite nervous.

Gandalf called "Good morning." Beorn ignored him and swung the axe again, Alina bit back a laugh, "Good morning." He said a little louder.

"Who are you?" Beorn asked

"I'm Gandalf, Gandalf the Grey." He replied

"Never heard of him."

Alina couldn't help it she snorted out a laugh, Beorn turned towards her "Hello Urs." She giggled, Beorn's lip twitched and nodded in her direction

Gandalf began to explain "I'm a wizard, perhaps you have heard of my colleague Radagast the Brown, he resides in the southern borders of Mirkwood."

"What do you want?"

"We simply wanted to thank you for your hospitality, you may have noticed we took refuge in your lodgings here last night." Gandalf pointed revealing Bilbo who looked quite alarmed

"Who is this little fellow?"

Alina moved in front of Bilbo "Someone I'd appreciate remaining unharmed, his name is Bilbo Baggins, he is a hobbit of the Shire."

"He is not a dwarf is he."

"No he is a hobbit and you know how I feel about dwarves behave yourself, Urs it isn't polite, you are not Thranduil." Alina chasted him, he hung his head slightly in shame

"We've had a bad time of it, goblins from the mountain."

"What did you go near goblins for, a stupid thing to do." Beorn replied

Alina finally got annoyed "Gandalf I've had enough of this, sissy footing about, Beorn we need your help, we are a company of fifteen and we need to get to Mirkwood also to avoid Azog, I am calling in the favour you owe me."

"You have changed; Alina you are bolder."

"I am a Queen now I cannot be meek, also thirteen of our company are dwarves, including my husband and his sister's sons."

"I do not like dwarves."

"And I do not like strawberries but we have to live with it. Boys." She shouted and the dwarves trickled out finishing with Thorin "Do we have a deal, old friend?"

Beorn didn't answer her question but gave them food and drink.

"So you are the one they call Oakenshield, tell me why does Azog the defiler hunting you?" Beorn asked

"You know of Azog how?" Thorin asked

"My people were the first people to live in the mountains, before the Orcs came down from the North. The Defiler killed most of my family, but some he enslaved not for work you understand but for sport, caging skin changers torturing them seemed to amuse him." He replied

"I'm sorry I couldn't prevent it or stop him." Alina spoke her eyes filled with pain.

"You were his prisoner too, you tried to free us all and for that I thank you and I do not blame you." Beorn said touching Alina's head softly

"There are others like you?" Bilbo asked

"Once there were many,"

"And now?"

"Now there is only one." He replied softly "You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn."

"Before Durin's day, yes." Gandalf replied

"You are running out of time."

"That's why we must go through Mirkwood."

"There is a darkness that lies of the forest."

"Yes Thranduil." Alina muttered causing Thorin to smirk

"Foul things creep beneath those trees. There is an alliance between the Orcs of Moria and the Necromancer of Dol Gul Dor. I would not venture there unless in great need."

"We will take the elven road, their path is still safe."

"Safe, the wood elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin, they are less wise and more dangerous but it matters not."

"What do you mean?" Thorin asked

"These lands are crawling with Orcs, their numbers are growing and you are on foot, you will never reach the forest alive. I don't like dwarves, they are greedy and blind to lives they deem lesser than their own … but Orcs I hate more, what do you need?" Beorn asked

Later Beorn spoke to Alina when she was sitting alone smiling at Thorin interacting with his nephews"Alina anything you need, with in my power I shall answer."

Alina smiled "Thank you, we may need it, war is coming Urs I can feel it, the darkness is beginning rise again and it terrifies me."

"It terrifies us all. For a dwarf he truly loves you."

"Yes and I love him."

"Then I am happy for you."

"We must all search for some form of happiness to light up the darkness ahead."

Six down two to go

- The Archfiend