A/N I do not own the hobbit or any of the Tolkien world. I only own my own characters and the Brimir family/Dhom. Also I give credit to Shakespeare from which I took some (a lot of) inspiration from.
Chapter One: Two Households
It was widely known within the dwarf community of Middle Earth that the family descending from Durin and the family descending from Brimir did not get along. While both families where both alike in dignity, they each possessed a grudge against the other. One which was passed down from father to son, mother to daughter. Each generation coming from each family was taught to hate and loathe the other.
It was uncertain as to when, where, or how the feud started. Some say it was Durin and Brimir themselves who began the quarrel themselves. But despite how many generations back the quarrel had begun, it continued on as each family raised their young to hate the other. The Brimir's called the Durin's greedy and arrogant, while the Durin's labeled the Brimir's as pompous and conniving. While most would say "to each his own", these two families prefered the phrase "kept to your own".
Due to their anathema, it was established that each family did their best to avoid the other. Neither family paid tribute or acknowledgment to the other kingdom. The Durin's ruled from Erebor in their mighty mountain that stood alone while the Brimir's ruled from Dhom, their own stronghold in the far North region of the Grey Mountains. Neither ever set foot in or near the other's kingdom. They would even go so far as to lengthen their journey by several days travel just to avoid even looking upon the other's lands.
While the families did not get along with each other, they did however get along with the other dwarven kingdoms. Therefore, the two families were bound to run into each other every once in awhile. On these occasions each house kept to themselves when an event called for both parties to be invited. As a result, each family usually took a side or corner of the premise and stayed within their own territory until the remainder of the party. Although, while words were not exchanged, sneers and glares were exchanged steadily from across dining halls, ballrooms, and tournaments.
As a result of their avoidance over the centuries, it became difficult to for each house to identify another by their appearance. And so it happened on frequent occasion, that a dwarf from each family would find themselves in conversation with each other. And on a frequent occasion, these conversations would be considered quite pleasant. That is until the point of the conversations when they exchanged names.
Every child of each house was taught to memorize the names to loathe and avoid. However, as each family grew, so did the list, and some names were forgotten. And as families became entwined with other families through matrimony, the defined line of the when the hatred began and ended within each family line became more hazy. It was because of this phenomenon that two youth from each family met and because of their ignorance to which house the other belonged, they found themselves intrigued by the other.
Thorin gazed around the room with a look of boredom and disinterest. He had just recently escaped from the clutches of a group of rather too desperate dwarrow maids who had been hovering by his side since he first entered into the room. This had become a repeated occurrence since he had become of age only a few years ago and he was beginning to grow weary of it.
Many of the maids were beautiful, he could not deny that, but they were all dull and in too many cases, dim witted. He wanted someone who could converse with him and bring their own opinions and ideals into the conversation. Too often they agreed with anything he said and while many would say that was a blessing, he found it boring. It was not that he wanted a person who would butt heads with him all the time, but all the same, he wanted someone to challenge him and correct him when he was in the wrong. He knew kings were not always perfect, despite what people saw from afar. If people truly looked close enough they would see a man with flaws with a corrective woman beside him. A king was only as good as his queen.
The room was too noisy and too warm for his liking and when the moment presented itself, he slipped out of the main hall through a side door leading to the gardens. The sun had fallen behind the horizon hours ago, leaving only the silver light of the full moon to illuminate his surroundings. The noise of music and laughter, while now muffled, was still louder than he wanted and he made his way farther away from the building. He breathed in the crisp cool air as a chilled breeze flowed past and cooled his face. He continued walking, enjoying the solitude that he was rarely allowed and turned the corner when a bend in the gravel path formed before him.
His steady pace came to an abrupt stop when he spotted the silhouette of another person just ahead. He could make out that it was a woman, a dwarrow maid given that her auburn hair was left to loosely fall down her back. Any other specific features were lost to him as the shadows cast by the surrounding hedges blocked any light from reaching her face. The girl paused in her step and began to look around. Thorin could only assume she had heard his approach. He let his body fall back against the wall he was standing near and let the shadows consume him as the girl turned fully around to look behind her.
He held his breath, counting the seconds as she blindly searched for the source of his detected noise. For what seemed like an eternity the girl finally turned back around, seemingly content that she was not being followed and began making her way farther down the path. Thorin did not move from his hidden position until she made it to the end of the path and turned to go down another. Intrigued, Thorin moved from his hiding place and quietly followed in the direction she had gone.
As he turned the corner she had disappeared around, a slight disappointment came to him as he found the path empty and the girl no longer in sight. Just as he began his debate of trying to track her down or continue on his own way, he heard a light splash of water, like a small stone being tossed into a pound. His ears perked up and at the sound of a similar splash, he followed in its direction. As he walked down the path he heard several more light splashes, each one becoming louder than the previous.
Finally, as he came to the very end of the hedge row, it opened up to reveal a small open field with a small body of water laid in the middle. He stayed in the shadow of the path as he caught sight of the girl not far off as she stood before the water, tossing small stones into the water.
As she threw the last stone in hand, she turned to retrieve another handful from the small beach she was standing on. With no vegetation to cast shadows, Thorin could now clearly see her face as the moonlight illuminated her entirety. Her hair was much brighter than he originally thought. Although still not quite as red as his cousin Dain, it still glowed in the moonlight like the darkest shades of a dying fires embers. Her skin was pale, even for a dwarf, but it suited her. A pleasant smile or content adorned her face as she bent down to choose another handful of rocks. As far as facial features it was still too dim to make out any specific details but Thorin proclaimed her quite pretty.
He continued to watch as she examined a rock before tossing it back to the ground to choose another. As he continued to watch her he found himself becoming relaxed as he watched her. Her movement was surreal. Each extension of her arm and bend at joint was a graceful motion. Like a perfectly executed dance step she moved with the fluidity of a calm flowing river.
He could not provide himself an explanation but there was something about her that intrigued him. Perhaps it was the fact that despite the wedding celebration taking place inside, she sought out solitude as he did. It could have been the fact that he had been present to numerous events that had the same guests as tonight yet he had no recollection or knowledge of who she was.
"It is rude to encroach upon one's solitude without making yourself known," she said aloud.
Thorin startled at her voice. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he had failed to realize that she had become aware of him. Had he made a noise? Was he visible? He looked down to find himself completely covered in the darkness. There was no possibility she could see him. Yet, as he looked back up to her he could see that she was staring directly at him from where she was lowly squatting to pick up a rock.
"No need to hide in the shadows, unless perhaps you are a shadow yourself and would be lost in the light," she said thoughtfully, tilting her head to one side. "But then again, I have never heard of a shadow without a body, so perhaps you are a ghost?"
She flashed him a smile and he felt his heart skip a beat as her face lit up with a mischievous look, as if she knew something that he did not. Slowly Thorin took a step forward into the moonlight. As he came into view, she slowly stood and took him in.
"You should be more afraid if there are ghosts lurking around you," Thorin commented as he took several more steps, closing the gap between them.
He stopped a few steps away, not wanting to make her feel too uncomfortable. They were strangers after all. She crossed her arms and looked at him, contemplating his words.
"Perhaps," she said slowly, then added, "but seeing as you are no ghost, there seems to be no reason to be afraid."
"And what makes you think that I am not a danger?" He asked in a teasing tone.
She looked him up and down. "Are you a dangerous man?"
Thorin unconsciously straightened up under her examination.
"No," he answered. "But that does not mean there are not dangerous men in this world."
She smiled mischievously, obviously amused by his statement.
"I think I can handle myself but I do appreciate the concern."
She turned away from him and began walking down to the water. He watched her go for a moment, unsure as if he was invited to follow or if it was his cue to leave. When she glanced behind herself to him, he took it as an invitation and followed after. It only took him three long strides before he was in step with her.
"How did you know that I was there?"
She kept her eyes set on the body of water before them as she answered. "You may want to reevaluate your skills in stealth. While still commendable, you overestimate the lightness of your step."
When she finished her explanation, she threw a stone into the pond and they both watched the ripples spread out across the still water until they disappeared. Thorin's first thought was that he should be offended by her words but he was surprised when he was not. She had been refreshingly honest and he could not help but like her for it. Instead of responding, he plucked a stone gently from her hand. Where the tips of his fingers brushed against hers, a tingling sensation lingered and numbed any feeling that he had sensed earlier. He looked to her face to see if he could identify a similar effect on her.
He was met with hazel eyes that twinkled with an unidentifiable expression. Seeing her up close, he noticed that while her arms and neck where a constant pale pigment, her face did in fact have the smallest amount of pigment from a splatter of freckles that painted a galaxy of constellations across her cheeks, nose, and forehead.
He thumbed the pebble in his hand noticing that the feeling had returned to his fingertips as he felt the smooth surface of the stone. He flipped it around in his hand, noting the perfect roundness to it. A stone of perfect symmetry.
Not taking his eyes away from hers, he drew back his arm and skipped the rock across the water's surface. At his movement, her eyes followed the rock's direction, her lips moved just ever slightly as she silently counted the skips.
Nine, ten, eleven.
The moment the stone lost momentum and slipped beneath the water's surface he saw it. It was but a glimmer before it faded but he had seen it, and he was pleased with the results of his talent. Despite the simplicity of the activity, she had been impressed. She looked at him with a renewed measurement as if to reexamine his continence.
"Are you sure you are not a ghost or a shadow?"
He quirked an eyebrow.
"What makes you say that?"
"I have never met a man able to skip a stone that many times. So surely you cannot be just a man as you said before," she explained
Thorin smiled.
"Ah, but it seems that it was you, not I, that deemed me not a ghost or a shadow," he pointed out.
She opened her mouth as if to counter his accusation but recollection appeared on her face and she closed it. Instead she smiled and nodded.
"Perhaps I was wrong to rule them out so quickly," she admitted.
Thorin nodded.
"Now the question is, am I a ghost or a shadow?"
She looked at him closely as if truly pondering his question. "Well your dark complexion of hair goes better with the idea that you are a shadow rather than a ghost."
She stepped forward and reached out with both hands. One hand grasping his own hand while the other was placed against his chest, right where his heart beated beneath his skin. Her hands only lingered for a few beats before she withdrew herself by taking two steps back and he prayed to Mahal that she had not felt his heart long enough to notice its quickness in pace when she had stepped so closely. Then he noticed the faint pinkness that seemed to bloom across her own cheeks and he felt slightly more relaxed that he was not the only one who had been affected so easily by a thing such as proximity.
"Most ghosts tend to not have a heartbeat and are cold to the touch. You have a strong heartbeat and no ghost could possess even that faintest of beats. For if it were to have one, then it would be alive, and if it were alive, it would not be a ghost. You also poses a warmth to your hands. And everyone knows that a ghost can only emit coldness. Again our first option is eliminated. That makes two for two. You sir must be a shadow," she determined.
Thorin chuckled at her reasoning and conclusion. "Do you meet many ghosts and shadows to have learned all this."
She gave him a wickedly amused smile. "I have met a handful in my time."
"While it seems a good enough conclusion, I see a flaw in your logic."
She raised an eyebrow at his statement.
"And what, pray tell, would that flaw be?" She asked coolly.
Thorin smiled, emboldened by the ease in which he was able to converse so freely with the dwarrow maid in their banter, he took a step forward. Slowly, he raised a hand to her chin and tilted her face up towards his before gently placing a chaste kiss on her lips. Her lips were soft and smooth against his. It was such a pleasant sensation that he struggled to pull himself away. But propriety fueled his self control to not indulge further and he pulled his lips from hers far too soon than he wanted.
He watched her carefully as his hand remained under her chin, his thumb slowly caressing her jaw as he watched her eyes flutter open and gaze up at him. To his pleasure there was no disdain in her face. Instead, he was quite pleased to see the same desire to repeat the action mirrored in her own eyes. A smirk graced his lips.
"Would a shadow be able to do that?" he asked as his smirk grew.
She was quite for several breaths. Either too stunned to speak or too focused on other things than to finish their conversation. After a moment, she seemed to collect herself and let her eyes refocus back to his eyes rather than his lips as she spoke .
"If not a shadow, then what are you?"
Her question was barely above a whisper.
"I hope it is not too much of a disappointment," he said as he let his smirk turn into a humble smile, "but I am merely a man who can but skip a stone seventeen times."
She looked at him with a hint of confusion.
"I believe it was only eleven," she contradicted. "You're a man, not a god."
He laughed at her words. "Shall I prove it to you?"
She gave him a skeptical look but held an arm out towards the body of water as a silent challenge to prove himself. He smirked again then began to search for another, perfect stone. He could not help but smile again as she crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently as she watched him search the ground. Finally he spotted it. A flat smooth stone in the most perfect circle he had ever seen. He picked the stone up and brushed off the dirt as he weighed it in his palm. It was perfectly weighted and balanced. He shot her a grin then walked to the edge of the water. Just as he began to draw his hand back, an idea came to his mind.
"What do I earn when I do it?" He asked as he turned back around to look at her standing slightly higher up on the bank.
"You mean if you do it?"
"When I do it," corrected Thorin confidently.
She thought for a moment then shrugged. "Proof that you can skip a stone seventeen times?"
Thorin shook his head. "No, that will not do."
She raised her brow. "Then why don't you tell me what you want."
He smirked then thought carefully. "I want another kiss."
Despite her obvious efforts to hide it, he saw her blush even in the dim darkness of the night. She cleared her throat and brushed a strand of hair behind her shoulder carelessly as she placed an facade of indifference upon her face.
"If that is what you wish," she said casually, not meeting his eyes as she folded her arms and inspected her nails.
Thorin grinned and turned back around. His heart was pounding wildly. He had spent entire summer days with his brother down by the lake skipping stones. They had always competed against each other and Thorin had always won. He had not lied when he said he could skip a stone seventeen times. He had done it a dozen times this past summer and yet never in his life had he felt that he would be disappointed if he only skipped it sixteen. But this was more than beating his brother he reminded himself as he remembered the feeling of her lips against his. He could already begin to feel the disappointment he would receive should he fail to feel those lips against his just once more.
He quickly shook his head as he tried to focus. He would not fail. He wanted that kiss too much. He pulled back his arm, took in a breath, then released both breath and stone as he slung his arm forward. He watched with bated breath as the stone skipped across the water.
One, two, three.
He had never seen a rock move so quickly with each skip it seemed to not lose any velocity.
Eight, nine, ten. Splash, splash, splash.
The rock was more than half way across the lake. With each skip his heart beat faster
Fifteen, Sixteen. Splash, splash, thud.
Thorin watched in disbelief. The ripples and waves caused by the rock settled, leaving everything in silence as Thorin stared out across the water to the opposite shore. He could not believe it, he had skipped the rock over the entirety of the body of water only for it to land on the opposite shore just inches from the ebbing water. The thick silence that had settled over the scene was broken when a light snort of laughter sounded behind him.
He turned to see the dwarf maid with her hands pressed against her mouth as she tried with no avail to suppress her unrefined laughter. After a few more attempts to keep her giggles contained inside of her, she burst into a fit of laughter as she took in Thorin's shocked expression. She hugged her sides as she bent over, falling to the ground as her legs collapsed beneath her.
"That would have been seventeen!" Thorin quickly defended, not happy with being laughed at.
His statement only seemed to make her laugh even harder as she shook her head and wiped the tears of laughter that formed at the corners of her eyes. Slowly, after several attempts to contain herself she calmed down and looked at him. Unfortunately, his disgruntled frown and displeasure within his eyes seemed to only refuel her laughter again.
As her laughter filled the air once more, Thorin let out a low growl of frustration.
"That is not fair, I ran out of water, even if it had stopped it still would have been seventeen," Thorin defended quickly.
She looked up at him, shaking her head.
"It still doesn't count," she replied between the occasional small fit of laughter.
Thorin let out a low growl and stalked towards her. Seeing his change in demeanor she shot up to her feet.
"What are you doing?" She questioned quickly as she moved into a more defensive stance.
Thorin stopped just short of her, ignoring her worried look as he searched the ground for a stone. He picked up a potential rock and weighed it in his hands before throwing it back to the ground, dissatisfied with its lack of smoothness. The dwarrow maid watched Thorin closely as he glared determinedly at the ground, his eyes moving every which way, not leaving a stone unnoticed as he searched again. A smile graced her face as she watched him work for a moment before taking a step forward and placing a hand on his shoulder.
He paused in his search and straightened up, looking at her curiously as she smiled at him. She was touched that a man would be so determined to earn a mere kiss from her.
"I have a deal for you," she said softly.
She watched as his face softened from frustration to integument. Satisfied that she had his interest she bent down and picked up a stone and placed it into his hand. It was certainly not perfect. The stone was slightly rough and while relatively flat, it was more oval than circular and felt unbalanced. She curled his fingers around the stone as she looked up into his face.
"If you can skip this stone seventeen times, I will owe you double the reward."
Thorin studied her face. He watched as the corner of her mouth quirked into a smirk and he wanted nothing more than to claim her lips right then and there. But he restrained himself. He had not earned such a privilege, at least not yet. He weighed the stone again.
"Make it triple," he bargained.
The girl chuckled then held out her hand to shake on the deal. Thorin grasped it, but instead of shaking it, he pulled it to his lips and placed a kiss on her knuckles. When he released her hand he marched back down to the water. Without stopping to think he put all hope into Mahal and his fate and threw the stone. He watched it skip three times then turned to face the maid as he continued to keep track of skips. With each splash as he examined the girl before him. Her hands were clutched together at her chest, her knuckles turning white in anticipation as she kept her eyes glued to the body of water. He took a step after each splash, never letting his eyes move from her lips as he watched her count. With each splash her lips silently formed the number.
Eleven, twelve, thirteen.
At sixteen he was in front of her and the moment the seventeenth splash sounded his lips crashed down onto hers. As her hands automatically flew up to his chest he barely registered the splash of one last skip before the water feel silent as his new record was set at eighteen skips. His lips moved with hers as he pulled her closer, deepening their kiss. He felt her hands move up and wrap around his shoulders. Both of them holding onto the other, refusing to be the one to break away first.
It was the lack of oxygen that forced them to finally break away simultaneously. Each of them breathing heavily as they gazed at one another. As his breath caught up he closed in again, this time starting much more gently and slowly. His hand wrapped around her waist while his other caressed her cheek then slid down to her neck to pull her in closer. Just as he felt her body lean into him a voice calling out a name caused her to break away, a panicked look taking over her flushed face as she stepped away from him.
"Asha," called an older feminine voice.
She turned towards the hedges in the direction of the voice only to turn back to face him when he took her hand in his. Her eyes were wide with worry, as if she were afraid to be caught with him.
"I am sorry, I have to go," she said quickly as pulled her delicate hand from his and began to hurriedly run towards the voice calling out her name.
Thorin lurched forward, grabbing her arm to stop her.
"Wait," he pleaded. He had not seen this girl all night during the festivities and was worried that he would not see her again. "Tomorrow night, meet me here again around the same time."
"Asha," the voice called again, this time much closer.
She looked in the direction of the hedge before sparing him one last glance and nodding a confirmation in acquiesce to his request. Satisfied with this answer he let her go and watched her run off towards the hedge to be lost in the darkness of shadows as she entered the maze of shrubbery.
"Asha, there you are. You have been missing all night," he heard the woman reprimand.
He listened as he heard the girl began to give an apology before she was cut off.
"Never mind that, you should not be out her alone. Should your mother find out you are out here and with out your escort she would have be tarred and feathered!" The woman reprimanded. "Honestly, tonights escort was the finest of young man you could ask for and yet you would still rather wander off in solitude than stay in his company."
Thorin frowned at the older woman's words. Who was this young man? Why was it important that she need to stay by his side? At the thought of her in accompany with another man he found a strange tightness in his chest. Confused by the odd feeling he searched for reasons as to what would cause this discomfort.
Jealousy? No. That would be ridiculous, he thought.
He hardly knew the girl let alone had any right to lay claim to her. He had barely spent more than thirty minutes with her. He knew nothing of her. He had not learned where she came from. Had not learned anything of her social standing, although judging by the craftsmanship of her dress he could guess she was of some noble birth.
But he did not know that for sure, he quickly corrected.
They had merely had a small banter, made a wager, and he skipped some stones.
And shared a kiss, his mind reminded him. Yes, and shared a kisses to be exact and she still owed him one more kiss.
At this thought he could not help but smile. A kiss he would claim tomorrow night and several others if she would let him. With his spirits renewed to a higher level, he moved back down to the water's edge and sat down on the bench that looked out across the water. As he thought about the girl that intrigued him so easily, his mind reminded him of one more thing. The one and only thing he knew about her. Her name. Asha, the woman had called her Asha. He let the name replay in his mind over and over again as he laid down on the bench and let his mind wander and roam in fantasies he hoped to come true with a girl named Asha.
Thorin stood at the waterfront waiting impatiently. He had tried to seek her out throughout the stronghold if it were just for a glimpse of her but there was no sign or trace of her among the crowded halls and high trafficked corridors. The day had seemed that pass by at an unseemly slow pass. It had been like waiting for for the spring to begin the day after the autumnal equinox. Gloomy and long.
He paced back and forth as he counted each minute that passed by. He had arrived earlier than the previous night in hopes that she would come early as well. But soon it became the time that they had agreed upon and long after that time, he still found himself standing alone by the lake.
In a fit of disappointment and anger at himself for letting himself hope too much, he chucked the stone he was holding in his hand at the still water. The stone made a loud sloshing noise as the stone immediately broke through the waters surface and sank without a single skip. Thorin's shoulders sagged in defeat and he felt weary. He had woken early that morning still laying on the hard bench after staying up late, thinking and then eventually dreaming of Asha. Now it was late again and he was weary of a long day of waiting. He walked over to the bench and sat down without looking and set his hands on either side of him as he felt the smooth granite beneath his fingers.
His right hand found a mar in the smooth stone and he absentmindedly let his finger follow the crack until they grazed something other than cold granite. He looked down at bench to discover an envelope lying on the seat next to him, a small stone placed atop to keep it from being blown away. Slowly, he picked each item up placing one in each hand. The stone was similar to the one Asha had placed in his hand the night before. Not perfect, but good enough to skip.
Eagerly he moved his attention to the note. Breaking the wax seal that held it closed, he unfolded the parchment as quickly as he could without tearing the paper. The writing was perfect penmanship. Each letter carefully drawn and paired to form words that his eyes hungrily read.
To my midnight shadow,
For I do not have another name,
I must apologize for my absence tonight. In my hurry to leave combined with my eagerness to see you again, I had forgotten that my family was to departe first thing in the morning to return home. I only remembered such things as I laid my head down for the night. I express my deepest disappointment that my remembrance did not come sooner and we could have met once more this morning before departure. As it is, all I can do is hope. Hope that perhaps one day we shall have the chance to meet again as I am still indebted to you. I believe that debt consists of one kiss.
As I am not one to let my debts go unpaid I can only hope that someday, Mahal will bring us back together so that I might repay that debt and perhaps also earn your name. Until then, keep this stone as a token of my favor. I know that it is not perfect in shape, or in balance, and that its surface may seem rough like the stone you first chose but in my experience perfect is not necessarily the best. For it was not your perfect stone that won my heart but the second blemished stone that did. It is for this reason that I have hope that this stone, which is more like the second, will prove more lucky.
Until we meet again, however long it may be,
Asha
His emotions switched with each sentence. First he was worried that she was to tell him that she did not want to see him. Then he was relieved that she had not intended to stand him up but was unable to meet him as she had left that morning. Immediately he began to chastise himself for leaving the bench so early that morning. Had he stayed longer he could have perhaps caught her when she came to leave the note. But he could not let his thoughts linger on the disappointment when she had expressed her hope to see him again. Then finally he felt a indescribable joy as he read the words stating that he had won her heart.
He read her note three more times before lying back on the bench to gaze up at the stars filled sky. His mind wandered and focused on his mental recollection of every detail of the previous night. He let out a small audible chuckle that echoed into the night as he made a conclusion. He may have won her heart, but she had stolen his.
Hey everyone! So I am breaking a rule of mine and posting another story before I finished my other one. I have had this idea in mind for awhile now. This is obviously AU and while it has tragic theme I will say that its not a full tragedy. This story plays more as a prequel to another story that I have been working on that I have been debating on if I should post it or not. This story will be short, less than ten chapters but the story will continue on. I have a Hobbit and post hobbit that may turn into two post hobbit stories depending on how interested people are. I am posting this early for two reasons. The first to see if anyone is interested and the second, to hopefully help my writers block for my other story. This story is a ThorinXOC story. The next will continue with them but add a KiliXOC with slight FiliXOC then the last two will be all of them. Anyways, let me know what you think, and give me some input on any thoughts you have. I am trying to capture different types of relationship and couples within this series in hopes that everyone will find one they like or better yet like them all.