AN: I've been really taken with the Smaug stories I've read, so when I saw how few there were I decided it was time to write my own. Please review, they inspire me to update faster! I'm open to plot suggestions as well.
It was a warm day in Dale, the summer in mid-swing with a soft breeze sweeping through the entire city. It was in the wealthy district of the city that a young woman was walking beside her father. An armored guard trailed behind them, providing the protection the aging father no longer could. Nor did he need to, not when he was Benrir, the richest merchant in all of Dale, and entirely capable of buying whatever he didn't have.
As the pair meandered the streets the girl tugged her father's arm. "Do you know the date today, father?"
Benrir replied easily, "the 2nd."
The girl hummed, tapping a finger on her chin. "The 2nd? Oh my. I have lost track of the days again." There was a smile hidden in her tone.
He smiled back, familiar with the game she was trying to play. "Have you really, Nalene? Or perhaps there's something you intend to ask of me? Remind me of a certain occasion?"
"Well, now that you mention it…" Nalene trailed, pretending to think hard. "I just remembered a special date this month. On the 26th."
Beautiful, his daughter might be, but lucky for him she completely lacked any sense of subtlety. He'd be dead before she ever managed to successfully lie.
"The 26th?" He feigned confusion before nodding solemnly a moment later. "Quite right, dear. I have an important appointment that day. How kind of you to remind me."
"What?" her playful tone turned indignant. She immediately stopped walking, tugging her father's sleeve. "Father! How could you forget!"
"Ah-" He wondered if his teasing was ill-timed, but it was too late now.
"My birthday!" she wailed, seeming to wilt as she stood. "Your own daughter's birthday! It happens every year!"
A few faces in the crowd turned towards them then, curious about the sudden outburst. Benrir nodded good-naturedly at any who met his eye, unruffled by his daughter's evident distress. He was used to Nalene's talent for the dramatic.
He patted the hand on his arm placatingly. "I was just teasing," he assured, gently pulling her into a walk again.
Almost immediately the tears dried in her eyes, and her anger all but melted away. "Oh?" she perked up. "So you've started planning then?"
"Planning? No, not yet." Benrir ignored his daughter's upset frown. "If you have some idea's you'd like to share with me, however…"
Her eyes lit up, as he'd expected. "Well, you know last month Crisara had this fabulous ball. It was the ultimate event. People still talk about it, you know."
"Do they."
"They do! Just the other day Lady Rena was telling me that her niece met her fiance there. Isn't that romantic?"
"Quite." Benrir scanned the nearing store fronts, looking for the familiar sign. It was right around this square, if his memory wasn't failing him.
Nalene prattled on, oblivious. "Well, as wonderful as that is, and of course I'm very happy for Crisara, to finally have something nice happen for her," Nalene's voice lowered to a conspiratory level, "you remember what that horrible boy did to her- breaking her heart like that."
A flash of red and gold caught his eye. There it was!
Benrir held up a hand, waving his guard forward. "Utterly despicable," he agreed mildly, only half remembering the old scandal that'd overtaken the city. It'd been the same old story, a boy and girl falling in love with poor consequences. He was lucky his daughter was sensible enough not to fall prey to that sort of thing. He lead his daughter beneath the store archway.
"You know I never saw what she liked about him," she continued. "I told her right from the start, 'Crisara, you could do so much better than him' but I'm afraid she was too blinded by love for him to see what was quite clear to me."
"Indeed. But you'll need to tell me the rest of this tragic story later, because we've arrived," he said, stopping below the store's sign. Nalene finally seemed to catch onto her surroundings, catching sight of the tailor's shop with wide eyes. "I have business to attend to," he continued as Nalene took in the storefront, which showcased shimmering gowns and fine lace. "I thought you might like to pick out a new gown, for whatever festivities you're scheming of."
Nalene bounced on the soles of her feet, beaming. "Really?"
"Yes, and Berund will accompany you." The guard from before came to stand at his side.
Nalene didn't miss a beat- guards had been following behind her for as long as she could remember. But as her father was turning to leave, she suddenly remembered her point from earlier.
"Wait! I never got to tell you-"
He turned around with chastising look. "Nalene, I should be going. You can tell me later," he promised.
"But this is important," she hurried. "I'll be quick. I just wanted to tell you that I know what I want for my birthday- it's just I need to have to most memorable party, father. Seventeen is a very special age isn't it?"
"Every birthday of your's is special," he agreed cautiously, remembering his earlier words.
"So it's not too much to ask for then," she continued eagerly. "See, I was thinking, a way to make my birthday the best ever... if I arrived wearing the jewels of a royal. Some wonderful old queen or princess from long ago. That would be magnificent wouldn't it?" She smiled up at him hopefully.
"Royal jewels?" He paused with a frown, "where did this come from?"
"Weren't you listening?" she cried, clasping her hands together. "How am I to compete with Crisara's ball without them? I need them, I wouldn't ask if I didn't!"
"Need them?" he repeatedly sceptically. It was an expensive gift she begged for. But then again he couldn't have expected less. He himself had been born into wealth, he'd married into wealth, and he'd raised his children into wealth. Was it such a surprise then, that his daughter would beg for a queen's jewels?
"For my birthday," she pleaded. "Didn't you agree it was a very special day? Besides, could you imagine- me, in a queen or princess' jewelry?"
Her wide-eyed hope was what broke his reservations. "Very well," he conceded. Nalene squealed in delight. "You'll have your jewels." After all, what evil could a few gemstones bring?
He turned from his daughter's smiling face to his guard's. He gave his parting words of, "Bring her home before dark, Berund," and left his grinning daughter behind.
It took Benrir almost a week to purchase her present. Erebor had been the obvious place to find suitable jewelry, but even there it would be no common task to obtain the jewel's of some past royal, dead or not.
He had to call upon old friends, all while wearing his best, with his eldest son accompanying him, to charm his way to an audience with King Thror. He'd heard of the wealth of Erebor, and had traded with them for decades, but even now the halls of the mountain kingdom awed him. Like everyone, he'd heard the rumours of the vast chambers filled with treasure, and King Thror's covetousness had not been exaggerated. Only with his immense offering price, sweetest words, and humblest attitude had he been able to walk away with any of the King's jewels.
The fine gold and gems were nested into a well-wrapped package, worth a price even he would pause at. They were for his only daughter though, and he had promised. He intentionally brought with him extra guards. To carry such exquisite treasures without the increased protection would have been an irresistible taunt to the gods.
He hadn't been home long before his daughter came bounding down from her room. "Back already?" she greeted. But her focus wasn't on him. She peered behind him, towards his bags, looking for a package that hadn't been there when he left.
"Business went well," he said, tutting at her expectant expression. He shook his head. "It's a birthday gift," he reminded her. "And you won't get them a day before."
She pouted and pleaded with him after that. He had to shoo her away from his bags. She did as she was told, but for the next few days she spoke to him curtly, and came up with excuses to avoid their usual afternoon walks.
Her brothers, who came and went from the house, noticed as well, and made efforts to tease her. "Princess Nalene," was heard a dozen times a day, much to the girl's growing annoyance. "The only queen without her crown jewels," her eldest brother lamented one morning.
But when Nalene wasn't bearing the brunt of her brother's teasing, she was gloating to her friends.
"I'm not sure who they belonged to," she sighed one day in the marketplace when a friend, Lara, asked. "It's a part of the surprise, I suppose. He won't even let me see them. I have no idea how I will coordinate them with my gowns. What if I can't get them to match?"
The other girl frowned sympathetically. The two girls had planned an outing for the day, and they were blessfully left to themselves for the day- the guards a few feet back hardly counted as company, even if they unfortunately had to walk a little closer in these parts of the city, where certain undesirables would also be wandering.
"If they're royal they probably match with everything," her friend said, browsing through the silk stand. The merchant was boasting about the quality of his goods, pointing out his finest wares. "Queens and princesses would of had more gowns than even you, Nalene."
"I suppose," Nalene stood next to Lara, uninterested in the merchants slogans, still distracted by her jewelry woes. She scrunched her nose at the merchant, who was still blathering on. He'd obviously noted their clothing and was trying to land a pricey sale.
"Perhaps the beautiful young lady would like a new gown, to match these jewels you speak of…" he suggested, waving a hand over a nice blue shade. "This one was traded from the farthest corners of the Haradrim desert-"
"I already have that color," she interrupted. She turned towards Lara, cutting the merchant's reply off. "Are you ready to continue?"
"I was thinking about the scarf stall-" Nalene was saying as she swiveled around. But she hadn't been paying attention to the crowd that has grown around her, and turned right into the chest of someone else.
For a second she was embarrassed and about to utter out an apology. Then she noticed how close the man had been standing, and he still refused to stand aside. "Excuse me…" she began, trepidation growing. He swept his eyes over her appraisingly, and Nalene tensed beneath his cold gaze.
Behind her Lara suddenly spoke up, a warning in her voice. "Do I need to call the guards, Nal?"
Her threat had the intended effect. The man stepped back quickly and his eyes flickered around warily. He must have caught sight of the guards, who stood not too far away and ready to intervene, because he hunched his shoulders.
"Apologies," he said, not sounding apologetic at all. With a quick dip of his head he retreated into the crowd. Nalene breathed a sigh of relief, and Lara stepped closer, standing on her toes to watch him flee.
"That was odd."
"No manners at all," Nalene agreed, trying to shake off her discomfort. How long had he been standing there? "Now about those scarves?"
By the end of the day the girls had visited most of the stalls and found things they liked. Nalene admired her new trinkets greatly, but her run in with the stranger had ruined her day. For the rest of the outing she'd felt watched, and more than once she wondered if she'd seen the man again, lurking behind her.
But her guards were never too far behind, and she knew her father only paid for the best. Besides, with the dull way most of the poor people dressed, it was hard to differentiate between one or the other. She was probably being silly.
