I'm FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Exams are done, most of them went alright, the last one (this morning) was crap and I'll count myself lucky if I get a nine out of twenty, but they are done(for now at least... let's hope I don't have to take the make-up exams in August), and it's VACATION TIME! Which means... Writing time! I promised it, here it is, and not even an hour late (I said on the 9th, it's 00:21 on the 10th, but who cares?)! The famous story behind the dagger, or why you shoudn't interrupt a Duel of Honor!
For those who haven't read my story "The Light of Ithilwen", it might be confusing, since it refers to events tied to the LoI verse - Ithilwen's existence and identity, for example. So I would suggest reading at least the first few chapters of the Light of Ithilwen in order to understand this one-shot.
The next chapter of the Light of Ithilwen should be up in one or two weeks folks ;)
Usual disclaimer: I own only the computer on which I write this story. The internet connection belongs to my parents, the HP cast to JKR, the LotR cast to Tolkien. I like to think that the plot, or at least the turn I put on the usual "Some HP cast lands in Middle-Earth"-plot is original, but I'm not sure.
Ithilwen frowned, barely keeping her frustration contained. Her anger wasn't directed at the setting, for she loved the dwarven architecture, and the mines she and her mother were currently visiting were a wonder of sculpture and carvings. No, her anger was spurned by her host. Or rather, her host's son.
She knew the dwarves weren't expecting them. It should have been Halbarad, for he was the Dunadan's usual ambassador to the Dwarven Nation and he had planned to come as soon as he had heard about the rising number of orcs attacks on King Gloìn's lands. But he had been injured in a raid, and the healers had forbidden him any kind of travel for at least two months. His leg had been literally shattered when a cave troll had stepped on it. And so someone had to go in his stead. It had been decided that Ithilwen, as the Heiress of Gondor, and future second in command of the Kingdom, would need to have a good relationship with the leaders of other nations. She was already close friends with the monarchs of Rohan, as well as with others clan chiefs all over Middle-Earth. Gilraen, it had been decided, would go with her. Just to be sure. It was known that Dwarves were… reluctant to say the least, about allowing women in war councils.
She had thought Halbarad had been exaggerating. She had been wrong. Very wrong. If anything, he had underestimated the situation. King Gloìn, while skeptic, was polite enough and knew better than to allow his reservations to show. His son Gimli, however, did not, and that was the reason behind her aggravation.
They had arrived in the northern mine (the meeting had been arranged there since it was the closet dwarven setting to the place where most of the attacks had taken place) two days ago, but the real talks were only about to begin. The Council had been called, and now they were all sitting around a round table in the Great Meeting Room. King Gloìn was just done introducing them when his son, who had arrived shortly before the meeting, stood up in protest.
"My lord father" He started, gaining the attention of everyone. "Why, do I ask, are you allowing women to attend this war council? War is the resort of men!"
"Watch your tongue, Gimli!" King Gloìn barked. "The Lady Gilraen and the Lady Ithilwen are here to represent our allies, the Dunadan! Insulting them is not going to gain us their help!"
"Pardon me, my Lord Father, but while I could accept the Lady Gilraen's presence, for words of her wise counsel has reached us, but I cannot accept a child!"
"My daughter is no mere girl, Gimli son of Gloìn, and you would do well to remember that!" Gilraen snapped. "She is of the line of Isildur, Second in Line to the Throne of Gondor, Apprentice to Gandalf the Grey, raised in the House of the Elves, Friend of Rohan, Honorary Member of the House of Rohan! Remember that before you open your mouth next time!"
"She might have these titles, but in my eyes she is nothing but an inexperienced child who has nothing to do in matters of war!"
"Mother" Ithilwen said in an even tone, using the formal address she had been taught to use in such situations. "I believe the slight was against me. As such, I should be the one responding to it, if King Gloìn allows me."
The Dwarf simply nodded. Maybe, if he had known just how knowledgeable the Dunedain was on his people's traditions, he would have interrupted her. But he didn't, and she stood up, facing the prince.
"Gimli son of Gloìn" she started in perfect dwarvish, causing the assembly to gasp. "You have insulted my age, you have insulted my experience. Gimli son of Gloìn, you have insulted the Honor of my forefathers. You have insulted the Honor of my teachers. You have insulted the Honor of my fellow Dunadans. You have insulted the Honor of Gondor, of Rohan, of the Elves, of all the people who have asked for my council in times of war, of all the people who have fought by my side. But more importantly, Gimli Son of Gloìn, you have insulted my Honor as a fighter! My Honor has been slighted. I demand reparation. I demand a Duel!"
It was one thing to call her a child. He was one-hundred-and-twenty-three, so she could accept that he saw her as nothing but a child. It was another altogether to call her inexperienced in matters of War! She had fought many, both with her fellow Dunadans, with the Rohirrims or with some of the Wildmen. She had fought side by side with some of the best fighters out there. She had killed many, both orcs and men. She had planned sieges, she had learned politics with the best of them. Insulting her abilities in the field was an insult to every single teacher she had had. To all her fellow fighters. To all the people who had trusted her to watch their back. And she would not stand for that.
She could have stayed silent, or asked for a public apology. She would probably have gotten one, if only because Gloìn would have made his son apologize. But it wouldn't have changed Gimli's (and probably the other council members's) opinion of her.
When she had been told about their travel plans, she had raided every library she could find for books on the dwarven culture. One tradition in particular had caught her eyes, since she was looking for ways to prove herself worthy of attending the war council. The Duel of Honor.
The entire room, with the exception of her mother (though she could tell she would be hearing about it later) was staring at her like she had grown a second head. Not only had she spoken to them in their language, a language known only to a select few humans (Gandalf – who had taught Ithilwen, Gilraen and Aragorn – and Faramir where the only one the dwarves knew about), but she had demanded reparation for the slight against her Honor in perfect accordance to their ancestral rite.
"Honored King Gloìn, my daughter has spoken. Her Honor has been slighted by your son. She has asked for reparation. She demands a Duel. What says you?"
Gilraen's words echoed in the silence of the room, soft-spoken though they had been, and shook the King out of his stupor.
"Lady Ithilwen's Honor has been slighted. She demanded a Duel and as King of the Dwarves my word is Law. As King of the Dwarves, I recognize her right to demand a Duel. As King of the Dwarves, I say that the Duel will take place now. As King of the Dwarves, I say that all weapons are allowed. As King of the Dwarves, I say that the first blood will design the winner. Lady Ithilwen, Daughter of Gilraen, do you agree to the terms of the Duel?"
"I do"
"Gimli Son of Gloìn, do you agree to the terms of the Duel?"
The prince was still shocked by the situation, but he quickly got over it and hurried to answer.
"I do"
"Then let us move this Duel to the Main Hall."
Gloìn's word was law in the Nation of the Dwarves, and the Council followed the two Duelists to the Main Hall, Gilraen walking beside the King, talking in fast whispers. And as soon as they reached the Hall, the spectators formed a circle around Gimli and Ithilwen, anxiously waiting for the King to start the Duel.
Ithilwen's face was impassible even as she shed the blue over-robe she was wearing, revealing the black leggings and blue long-sleeved tunica with a leather body armor she was wearing underneath. The shedding of the robe also revealed the sword hanging on her hip and the staff strapped on her back, as well as the two daggers strapped on both of her legs. Gimli for his part had three small throwing axes on his belt, and a massive combat axe on his back.
"May the Duel… begin!"
No sooner had the words left Gloìn's mouths that Ithilwen sprang into action. The clang of metal against metal was heard as her sword collided with the axe Gimli had barely managed to bring up in time. The next few minutes, only that sound could be heard since Gimli's defense was seemingly impenetrable. On the other hand, Hermione's fierce and quick attacks made it impossible for him to go on the offensive. It could have gone on forever, if a guard hadn't rushed into the Hall, yelling about an attack. As it turned out, they didn't even need to ask him for more information for, following him, a platoon of Orcs rushed into the room.
Everyone stopped short, even the two duelists.
The orcs were looking at the duel, the dwarves and their guest were looking at the intruders, and no one moved until an orc fell over, dead. A dagger sticking out of his throat. A throwing axe two inches deep into his forehead.
Everyone, be they dwarf, Dunedain or orc, turned to stare at the Prince of the Dwarves and at the Heiress of Gondor… and wisely took a step back. They were pissed!
"No one" the young woman growled, "No one has the right to interrupt a Duel of Honor! Couldn't you have waited a bit?"
That said, she turned back to Gimli and started to attack him again. Nothing would interrupt their duel.
Even as fights started all around them, even when their mother/father started to fight, they didn't interrupt their duel. The most they did was to quickly slay any orc stupid enough to get between the two of them.
That was, until they both noticed an orc archer taking aim for the King of the dwarves. They were the only one who had seen him, and as such they were the only one to act. At nearly the same time, two weapons went flying. Only a few milliseconds separated the two. The dagger hit first, burrowing itself into the archer's heart. The axe came second and hit at the exact same place, causing the dagger to shatter on impact. Everything stopped around them as the dwarves killed the last orcs. Everyone was, again, staring at the pair. Everyone had seen the dagger hitting the orc first. The Dunedain Princess had saved King Gloìn's life. She had definitely proved her valor to everyone there.
Everyone watched as she whirled around to face Gimli, her face blank but her eyes burning with something that made the dwarf take a step back. With a swirl of her hand, a small cut appeared on his cheek.
"I win" she said in the language of the dwarves. "And you, Gimli son of Gloìn, owe me a new dagger."
So? What do you think? Did it live up to your expectation? Did you laugh while reading it? There's not much known about the culture of the Dwarves, but I think that, since they are a very combat- and crafts-oriented race, Honor would have a high place in their culture. And saying that someone doesn't deserve to take part in a war council because of alleged "inexperience" would be a grave insult. I also don't really know what opinion the dwarves have on women: the only time they are mentionned is when Gimli is telling Eowyn that you don't see them often. I extrapolated on the overall men-dominated world Tolkien created for the LotR series. The only woman we really see fighting is Eowyn. Arwen is seen helping Aragorn and fighting back Nazguls, but other than that, not much. Even Galadriel, despite all her powers, had only a spectator's role in the War of the Ring and never fought herself. No woman was invited to Elrond's council either, and I haven't seen any among the Rangers of Ithilien or the soldiers of Gondor. Also, I watched the amazing fanmade movie "Born of Hope" which tells the story of Arathorn, Aragorn's father, and the only girl fighting with the Dunadans is having some trouble with the other men and usually conceals her gender when fighting ennemies.
As such, I made the Dunadans more accepting of strong female figures than the ordinary men. They are also a smaller folk, so every able fighter is valued, no matter their gender. Theoden accepted the fact that Ithilwen was a fighter, but won't allow Eowyn to join the fight: Ithilwen he cannot control, but his niece is too dear for him to risk, even though Rohan seems to have a greater number of swordwomen than Gondor if Eowyn's words in the Two Towers are to be believed ("The women in this country learned long ago that those who don't live by the sword could still die upon them")...
Well, that was the technical part xD
What I really want to know is if you liked this, so please read and review!