Thorin's POV

On this final day of celebration, the presumptuous dwarrowdams were relentless. I could not shake them off no matter what I tried. I did my best to be polite, but it was truly beginning to get under my skin. I did not want them, any of them. From across the room, I saw Y/N making her way to me with a smile on her face. From that moment, my mind was made up. I would announce to all of Erebor that I intended to make Y/N my queen, if she would accept.

I made an excuse to get away from the females falling over me and met Y/N. She bowed and I rolled my eyes. "Hello, Y/N. I need to speak with you, if you have a moment." She nodded, a smirk playing at her lips. I lead her out to a balcony. She immediately went to the railing and leaned on it. "What can I do for you my love?" she asked in a quiet voice she reserved for me. When we were around others she was her usual boisterous self. In my usual manner, I spoke before I thought and answered, "Marry me."

Your POV

"Marry me," he said looking at me intently. I was in such a state of shock, I nearly fell backwards off the balcony. "Thorin? Do you realize what you just said?" I choked out. "Of course. I was under the impression that I made my intentions clear. I would have no one else by my side, Y/N. I love you so please, marry me?" From inside his royal robes, he pulled out an elaborately decorated bead. It was silver encrusted with red jewels all around it. I felt tears stinging the back of my eyes. It wasn't until that moment that I realized how serious he had been about making me his queen.

"Yes," I whispered. "Yes?" The tears were flowing freely now. "Yes!" I threw my arms around him and kissed him with every ounce of passion I could muster. When we parted, Thorin chuckled and said, "I was hoping you'd say that. Now, I just need to rebraid your hair and attach the betrothal bead." I turned my hair to him and couldn't wipe the smile from my face as he braided my hair again. I remembered my father telling me what it was like to be in love and what had happened to Milah.

I knocked on the door to my father's cabin. "Come," came the reply. "Y/N, love what can I do for you?" he asked when I entered the room. He had a map on his desk and a compass in his one hand. "Papa, what does love feel like?" I was 17 in mortal years and was curious about many things. Out of them all, the topic of love fascinated me the most. He looked at me with a pained expression. "Love? Love is like nothing I could ever describe. When you first fall in love, you feel an aching in your chest like your heart will explode. Looking at your true love is the most beautiful sight in the world and the thought of losing them is almost too much to bear."

He looked down at the hook that replaced his left hand. "Have you ever been in love, Papa?" "Aye, lass. I have. Her name was Milah. She was beautiful. I met her once when we made port in the Enchanted Forest. We instantly fell in love and she left everything behind to be with me." I had sat down in the chair across from him, leaning forward eagerly. "What happened to her?" He smiled sadly. "She left behind a husband. A coward who couldn't fight for what he wanted. The next time I saw him, he was different. He had powerful magic. He ripped out her heart and crushed it in front of me. Then he cut off my hand to get the magic bean I had. Lass, never fall in love. You'll only get hurt in the end."

As Thorin finished my braid, I couldn't help but think that my father was wrong. Love may come with challenges and sometimes it may end badly, but not always. I turned to face my fiancé with a grin on my face that just would not fade. He kissed me and said, "I believe tonight would be a good time to announce it." He took my hand and lead me back into the ballroom. We passed the princes as soon as we entered. It seemed they were avoiding dwarrowdams again. I giggled and then recoiled. Engaged for five minutes and I was changing already. I didn't giggle.

Thorin's POV

My nephews were the first to catch a glimpse of the betrothal bead in Y/N's hair. "Congratulations, Uncle. Y/N or maybe we should call you Aunt Y/N?" Kili said teasing. Y/N glared at him and made to kick him. I pulled her away and lead her to the middle of the ballroom. "Sorry to interrupt the festivities, but I have an announcement to make. I have asked Lady Y/N of the Enchanted Forest to stay by my side as my wife and the future Queen of Erebor and she has accepted!"

For a moment, there was silence. Then, the entire hall broke out in cheers. Y/N had a stunned expression on her face which changed slowly into a smile. Thranduil approached us with a genuine smile on his face. "My congratulations to you both and to your kingdom. And Lady Y/N? Consider saving my life as your apology."

Y/N let out a thunderous laugh, making tears well up in her eyes. "Thank you, Thranduil. I do believe you have broken my betrothed," I joked surprising myself. Y/N gave me a playful smack on my arm and continued to smile. We stood talking to Thranduil for a bit before Dis came and pulled my beloved away from me again. "Your family seems almost as taken with the young lady as you yourself. I do hope that she has a plan for that despicable woman from before. For all of your sakes." With that he left me to my own devices. I could not remove the smile from my face.

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