Beers clanked, music played, and the guests laughed and sang merrily as the feast wore on into the night. It was already midnight and the revelry showed no signs of slowing. Another year of successful trade between the cities of Erebor and Dale was the reason for this get-together.

Thorin took another swig of his beer, quietly observing the room. Men and dwarves alike were engaged in conversations and what appeared to be drinking games.

The silent dwarf's younger brother, Frerin, returned to sit beside him, sweaty from the last dance.

"Cheer up, brother!" Frerin thumped his older brother on the back, "Someday, you'll have to host such parties! Might as well try to enjoy them."

Thorin grinned half-heartedly. "I am enjoying it. I'm enjoying my beer here where I'm comfortable."

"You ought to be mingling," Frerin urged him, "How are you supposed to carry on the line of Durin if you have no children?"

"I'd happily leave that to you," Thorin replied, taking another mouthful of his drink.

"Or to Dìs," Frerin added, pointing to their sister, who was locked in the arms of some handsome young dwarf as they danced.

"Indeed," Thorin grunted, displeased with the scene.

"Come along!" Frerin cried, "One dance!"

"No, I…" Thorin stopped. Across the room, someone or something had caught his eye.

A flash of platinum hair and blue dress appeared through the crowd. The music stopped and the flash became a woman.

She laughed gleefully and applauded the musicians as they began their next song. Her dress was a navy velvet with gold trimming. She was thin and small but seemed to glow. Tired from her first dance, she merely swayed in place, her hair following like branches of a willow tree.

Her eyes were gray like the moon on a lake at night. And only then did Thorin realize too late that he had stepped close enough to see the color of her eyes.

He looked back at where he'd been sitting. Frerin sat there, mouth open and eyes wide. When he turned back, the eyes of the unfamiliar human woman were already upon him.

The dwarf froze in terror for a moment before he held out his hand, "Er.. Thorin, my lady."

She placed her hand in his. Her cheeks grew pink. "I know your name, son of Thrain. I am Marryn of Dale, my lord."

"Marryn," Thorin echoed, "I came to ask you for the next dance."

Marryn grew redder and looked over her shoulder at her companions that Thorin hadn't noticed. Before they could react, she looked back at the dwarf and said, "I'd be honored, my lord."

"I shall await you here, then, Marryn," he said her name quietly. He clumsily kissed the back of her dainty hand.

The dwarf then turned and went back to his brother's side, ignoring the delighted tittering of Marryn's friends.

"What did you say to her?" Frerin asked as Thorin took a large gulp of his abandoned beer.

"I asked for a dance," Thorin said breathlessly, not sure he believed it had really happened.

Frerin guffawed. "You didn't! You know you can't dance."

"I know," Thorin grumbled, "Why didn't you stop me?"

"You seemed to go into a trance," Frerin said, suppressing his laughter, "You rose from your seat and would hear no more from me."

Thorin placed a clammy hand to his hot forehead. "She'll think me a fool," he lamented.

"From the color in her face, I would have said she was quite charmed by you," Frerin encouraged him.

The song was beginning to wind down and Thorin's stomach knotted up. He glanced at the agreed-upon meeting place and saw Marryn waiting there already.

"What do I do?" he hissed.

"Just go," Frerin said, "Look at her and not at your feet and don't stop if you misstep."

Thorin nodded and took a deep breath. He weaved through the crowded hall to where Marryn was waiting, just as the song ended.

"For a moment, I worried you had changed your mind," the lady mumbled, afraid to meet the dwarf's eye.

Thorin chuckled uncomfortably, "It is you that should've changed your mind. I regret to tell you that I am a sorry dance partner."

Marryn smiled at him and laughed a little. Thorin, encouraged by this, smiled and offered the young woman his hand again. She placed her hand softly in his and he led her out as the next song began.

Though the top of his head reached only to about her chin, he was broader and made of a sturdier stuff. At first, the dance consisted of a simple series of steps and turns. As they danced, Thorin forgot his discomfort and looked only into Marryn's gray, smiling eyes.

They hooked arms and spun, Marryn's hair flowing like the sail of a fast-moving ship. She laughed, a pleasant tinkling sound like unto that of wine glasses toasting at a wedding.

They kicked their heels and clapped and stomped and if Thorin made a mistake, neither he nor his partner noticed. With a final move, the dwarf grasped Marryn's waist, she jumped and he spun her around once, causing her to squeal delightedly, and gently brought her back to the floor as the song ended.

The room burst into applause. Thorin took Marryn's small hands in his and the two of them laughed breathlessly.

"'Sorry dance partner,' indeed!" the lady laughed, "I cannot remember when I've so enjoyed a dance."

"No, nor I," Thorin chuckled.

She gazed down at him and he up at her for a while, both caught in a situation they hadn't anticipated.

"Well," Thorin said finally, "I suppose I shouldn't keep you from your friends. Though I am not overly eager to part from you."

"My friends are likely concerned with other things," Marryn replied, "I would be more interested to learn more of this Thorin, if you would allow it."

"I can think of nothing I'd like more," Thorin said, "Except to learn more of the lady Marryn in return."

As he led Marryn off to the side, he looked behind her back at his brother and father. Each of them watched him darkly, showing no sign of approval.