Thorin left her quarters in the early morning to bathe and get a change of clothes. Once she was dressed Kaylea went down to the dining hall to see if she could find breakfast for Hector and herself. As Thorin had predicted there were still a large number of Dwarves sitting around the tables. Some were carrying on conversations, others were sound asleep in their seats. Kaylea moved down the main table, filling one plate with breakfast for herself, another with slabs of meat for Hector. Looking around she saw Elrohir sitting at one of the smaller tables his only companions a few sleeping Dwarves. She moved to join him, putting Hector's plate on the floor next to her chair.
"Is that coffee?" Kaylea asked, nodding toward a large euer at the Elf's elbow. Elrohir nodded.
"It is indeed," he replied. He reached for a mug at the seat next to him and cleaned it off with a napkin, then poured her a cup of the strong brew. Kaylea sipped at it, surveying the room.
"Looks like I missed quite a party," she said, starting on her breakfast.
Elrohir looked up at her through his eyelashes. "I was going to ask where you disappeared to last night, but it is all over you." The Elf chuckled. "I should say the King Under the Mountain is all over you."
Kaylea laughed. "That obvious, is it?"
"Oh, yes. I hope you did not hurt him."
Kaylea shook her head. "No, but I am going to be sore for a few days," she smiled at the Elf's pained expression, leaning forward conspiratorially. "And he has the most amazing..."
Elrohir quickly held up a hand. "I am going to stop you right there. That is already far more than I ever wanted to know about Thorin Oakenshield." He pushed his plate back and poured himself another cup of coffee. "Thank you so much for putting that in my brain. So, what are you up to today?"
"Thorin is going to show me his kingdom," Kaylea replied. "I am quite looking forward to it. The only Dwarf city I have ever been in is Moria and that is a very dismal place now."
Elrohir nodded. "I was here many years ago, when Thror ruled under the mountain." He looked around the room. "In those days this place was a sight to behold." Kaylea held up her cup and he refilled it. The Elf looked thoughtful.
"When you are touring the treasury make sure you admire something," he said.
Kaylea frowned, sipping at her coffee. "Admire something? Like what?"
"Thorin will want to give you something," Elrohir told her. "For saving his life and because he is in love with you. Dwarves love best that which they create with their own hands. Pick something out or you may get a necklace with enough precious stones to choke a warg."
Kaylea shook her head. "I had not thought of that, but I'm sure you are right. There must be some nice swords down there."
Now it was Elrohir's turn to laugh. "That will never do! The king will want to give you something spectacular, it will have to be jewelry."
It was Kaylea's turn to make a pained face, she had no interest in jewelry and never had occasion to wear it. The two of them sat in silence for a time as Kaylea finished her meal. When Kaylea reached down to pick up his plate Hector stood, looking pointedly at her. She nodded to him and got up to follow him out, Elrohir also stood and they walked out into the Hall of Kings together. The big wolf trotted off toward the main gate, scattering the Dwarves who were working on repairs. He had enough of being indoors. As Kaylea and the Elf walked out into the hall they saw Thorin appear on the other side and start towards them. He was accompanied by Balin and Gloin.
"He is taller," Elrohir said softly, looking sideways at Kaylea. She nodded.
"Hypersensitive to boosterspice is my guess, though I have never heard of it making you taller," she said. "Just my luck." Kaylea watched Thorin approach thinking they had not really talked about how they were going to play this. Her natural inclination was to keep their relationship quiet, but this was Thorin's kingdom so she would follow his lead. Thorin smiled broadly as he reached her, he swept her into his arms, lifted her off her feet and kissed her.
Not keeping it a secret then, Kaylea thought as she kissed him back, enjoying the feel of his beard against her face. She glanced over at Elrohir who was watching with no little amusement. If you were sleeping with the woman every man desired why would you want to hide it?
"Are you ready to see the glories of Erebor, my love?" Thorin asked.
Kaylea smiled at him. "I thought I saw those last night, my king," she replied. Balin and Gloin burst out laughing, smiling into their beards. Thorin laughed too, he pinched her through her tunic. "I mean my kingdom, of course." He looked over at Elrohir. "You are welcome to accompany us, master Elf."
The tall Elf inclined his head. "Thank you your majesty, but I believe I will take a walk in the fresh air and visit with my kinsmen from the Woodland Realm before they begin their journey home." He bowed to the Dwarf king. Thorin nodded to him and turned back to Kaylea.
"Shall we begin?"
Erebor was vast, an underground city that could house many thousands. What Kaylea had seen so far was just the ceremonial halls and guardrooms, now Thorin led her into the city proper. Already there were many Dwarves about working to clear the rubble left by the dragon and make the city habitable again. Kaylea asked many questions, she was most interested in how the city functioned. How was water distributed? How did they manage waste? Where were the stores kept? Thorin loved the way she seemed fascinated with the engineering of it, and enjoyed explaining it at great length. Dwarves love to talk about their works and Thorin was no exception. Occasionally Kaylea would make an observation how something could be done differently, or more efficiently. Thorin wondered at her, but then remembered she commanded armies in her own land and had no doubt survived many sieges and done much rebuilding. He was hoping he could remember all her suggestions when he noticed Balin scribbling away in the little notebook he carried, he looked up at Thorin and smiled at him. As they moved through the city Thorin stayed at Kaylea's side, holding her hand or guiding her with his arm around her waist. Every now and then he would sneak in a kiss. Thorin caught Gloin rolling his eyes but he did not care. He was happy, it had been a very long time since he felt so content.
They encountered many work parties as they traveled through the city. One was repairing the water wheels that powered the forges, another was cleaning out the vast storehouses. Dain's people had brought many supplies with them, these were the first to go into the newly cleaned rooms.
Kaylea was pointing out a couple of spots in the storehouses that needed to be sealed to keep out rats when she paused. "How many will you house over the winter?" She asked Balin. The old Dwarf shook his head.
"I am not sure," he replied. "Some of Dain's people wish to stay and many are already on the road from the Ered Luin, my lady."
"You had better get some stores laid in quick," Kaylea replied. "Get with Bard and have him negotiate the deal, he is sure to get you a better price. The treasure of Erebor is legendary." Balin nodded his agreement, it was an excellent idea. He looked at Thorin who also nodded his agreement, this tour was making him more determined than ever to convince Kaylea to marry him.
It was shortly after this they came to the treasury itself. A vast, high-ceiling hall with bins as big as horse stalls filled with gold coins and gold objects of every description. Thorin could see the surprise on Kaylea's face. He had spent so much time down here in the last months he had become used to the scale of it. Looking at it now he wondered how it had ever had such a strong hold on him, to the point he had gone back on his word and nearly thrown poor Bilbo off the front gate. Ever since he had recovered from his injuries he had been free of any desire for it, it was like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. All trace of his dragon sickness was gone, when he looked at the treasure hoard now all he saw was a tool to rebuild his kingdom.
"So, this is what you can do with one of the rings of power," he heard Kaylea say softly. Thorin looked at her sharply, then smiled. "Is there anything you do not know about Middle Earth?"
She grinned at him. "I do not know much about Dwarves, but I am learning." She reached over to stroke the side of his face, Thorin caught her hand and kissed it, smiling broadly back at her. He led the way down into the treasury.
"If you turn all this into bricks it will be much easier to store," Kaylea said, as they were walking among the bins. She seemed to hesitate after she spoke, then turned to Thorin. "Well, the coins are more practical," she said lightly. But Thorin had already made the connection. In fact, all three Dwarves were looking at each other, calculating the increase in value if it was no longer in marked coin.
"Start on this as soon as the forges are operating," Thorin said. Balin was nodding, already working out the best weight for the bricks, writing busily in his notebook. Kaylea just shook her head, Erebor was about to get much richer.
Past the gold storehouse was a series of smaller rooms, each filled with bins and drawers and chests full of precious stones, jewelry and fine artifacts. There were spools of silver and gold chain, necklaces, tiaras, bracelets, all manner of ornament. Kaylea was mindful of Elrohir's advice but she had honestly not seen a single thing she desired, except for a couple of swords back in the armory. In one room Thorin filled a small pouch with beads for her hair and handed it to her. "As I promised," he said.
They went into yet another room, this one filled with long drawers. Thorin pulled open the first drawer and heard Kaylea gasp. There were two dozen stones in it, of various sizes. They sparkled blue but seemed to glow with a light of their own, the blue shifting to more white, like tiny Arkenstones.
"What are these?" She asked, turning one with her finger.
"Those are moon sapphires, my lady," Gloin replied, looking into the drawer. "Those you see are all we have ever found."
"This is all quite overwhelming," Kaylea said as she closed the drawer, shaking her head. "I do not think I could look at another jewel. To my uneducated eye, they all look very much the same."
Thorin smiled patiently at her. "You have not yet seen the rings, my lady," he said, moving to the next cabinet. "Maybe you can find something for your left hand?"
He pulled open a long drawer filled with a variety of rings. There were many set with spectacular single stones, any of which he would be proud to see on her finger. On the right side of the drawer were a dozen rings in a different style, stylized animal motifs cunningly worked, with a bit of an Elvish feel to them. There was one with a wolf, holding a white stone in it's mouth.
Kaylea tried to look away quickly, but Thorin was watching her closely. "Which one spoke to you, my love?" He asked softly. Kaylea put her finger on the wolf ring.
"This reminds me of a story from my childhood. At the end of the world a wolf swallows the moon."
Balin was also following her gaze. "Ah, that is Nafi's work," he said. "Those are very old. It is said they were made for a prince of Numenor who never took delivery"
Thorin chuckled. "Do all Dorsai have such a close relationship with wolves? One fights beside you, you are named after them, they are part of your stories."
Kaylea looked at him, her eyes taking on a faraway look. "I had not thought of it that way. I suppose we do, they have been our companions for much of our history." She smiled remembering. "It was actually here in Middle Earth that people started calling me Wolf, because of my companion."
Kaylea closed the drawer. "Where to next, my king?"
Thorin had thought the tour would be over after the treasury, but Kaylea wanted to see the mines. They trooped down to several shafts that had been active when Smaug came, Kaylea asked many questions about the works and impressed the Dwarves, not only with her familiarity with mining techniques but also that she never once lost her sense of direction underground. By the time the party returned to the Hall of Kings it was late in the afternoon.
Kaylea turned to Thorin and bowed. "With your permission, your majesty, I will take my leave to check on my horse. I will need to let him out to get some exercise."
Thorin nodded, then moved closer so the other Dwarves could not hear. "And after that?"
Kaylea smiled at him. "Perhaps a private dinner? In my quarters?" She put her hand inside his coat, running it over the thin fabric of his shirt. Thorin felt his body stir at her touch.
"An excellent idea, my love," he said. He kissed her, longer than he should have but she tasted so good. He watched Kaylea stride away across the Hall before turning to Balin.
"Who is our best jewelry maker here?" Balin thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up.
"Kral, one of Dain's men. He is in the Houses of the Healing with a leg wound," he said. "His work was much sought after by the Elves."
Thorin nodded. "Perfect. Find out if he wants to work. I have a commission for him."