Chapter Six:
"You know, I still don't see the point of you two interfering with your uncle's personal matters," Aerchkaleya piped up, walking alongside the younger of the two princes. Honestly, she was worried their mischievous smirks were going to become plastered on their faces permanently.
Fili looked over at her and informed her, "We aren't interfering in Thorin's personal matters. We are simply involving ourselves in a situation and taking the initiatives it would take our uncle too long to take in a very unique and undefined, yet incredibly obvious and complicated matter, without him knowing."
Ark stopped walking for a moment, which stopped the other two, put her hands on her hip and scolded the elder prince, "That is the EXACT definition of interfering! Honestly, you two. Did you ever think that maybe it isn't a returned… whatever you claim it is? Hmm? For all you know, it isn't even that!" Fili raised an eyebrow at her, while Kili chose to look at the ceiling, avoiding eye contact with the brunette Fae, and she realized, "You two went and got him drunk off his dwarven ass and interrogated him on it, didn't you?"
Kili was trying his very hardest not to laugh, while his brother said nonchalantly, "He just happened to have had some particularly strong ale and a bit of wine when we happened to be there. Now, would you get over it? It's late, and we have to be in the forges tomorrow morning."
Aerchkaleya shook her head and realized she was fighting a loosing battle, that the sister-sons of Thorin Oakenshield would continue to meddle in the king's life till the end of their days. It was unavoidable, and a waste of breath to try and persuade them otherwise. Giving them both half a smile, she dismissed the topic, "Fine, go get some sleep. Kili, would you mind?"
The younger prince nodded and told his brother he'd see him in the morning before walking off with the Fae girl, escorting her out of the royal wing and towards her rooms. The blonde prince watched them suspiciously before turning and heading to his own rooms, choosing not to read too far into his brothers life at the moment.
The city was nearly empty, a few guards on duty and scattered dwarves returning to their homes. It was late, and most were already preparing to sleep when the Company had started dinner, after practically dragging Bilbo and Frodo to the Council room, interrupting another meeting to show Thorin who there newest residents were. That had been interesting, simply presenting Bilbo, and Frodo. Dinner had been a whole event in its own right.
Bumping his shoulder against her, like he would do when he wanted to draw her out of her thoughts, Kili told her, "A letter came from my mother today."
"Oh?" Ark smiled lazily as they walked at a leisurely pace, asking, "What did she say?" She knew that he missed his mum quite a bit, that the past few years had been quite hard for him as they hadn't gotten to see her as often as he would have liked. Though, Ark knew that as soon as his mother arrived with the last caravan, that the royal family would probably never spend that much time away from each other again.
The younger prince smiled at the topic and told her, "She said the caravan was making good progress, they should be here by month's end. And that they picked up someone along the way." Ark's brow raised at the mention of an addition and her One continued, "She's a friend of mine, Gatena. Owns an inn with friends down in Bree, gave us work and a place to stay a few years ago."
Ark thought for a second before asking, "Isn't she the one who gave Fili the necklace he refuses to remove?" Kili confirmed that, and she smiled, chuckling, "Oh dear, I do hope your mother hasn't frightened the life out of her yet. I quite want to meet her, she sounds very interesting."
The pair had arrived at the Light Bridge, and Kili crossed with her. Ark said nothing, it wasn't uncommon for him to cross with her, and most times it was late at night, so not to arouse any suspicions.
They walked in a comfortable silence through the wing, before Ark spoke up, "You want to tell them." She glanced and saw the look of determination and thoughtfulness on her prince's face. The answer was 'yes', she knew that. She knew he wanted to just tell everyone and wanted everyone to just accept it and be happy. Aerchkaleya did too, it was more difficult than he knew to withhold affection from him at any point in time, but she also knew that people wouldn't just 'accept it' or be very happy. Life didn't work that way.
As accepting of her as the dwarves were, she was still something strange and foreign to them. Her clothes were strange and she was sure that some were still very uncomfortable with it. Bilbo could barely look at her all night because of it. The fact that she was a Fae, and the heart of the mountain, still made people treat her different, like she would destroy the mountain if they did something wrong. And Thorin. He was a whole problem in himself. To him, she was still an obstinate child, who had no respect for authority. She had no doubt in her mind that he considered her on the same level as elves most of the time.
She had tried, to improve his impression of her. She'd been very respectful, or tried to be, and hadn't caused any trouble, well, not much. But, to Thorin, it seemed she was still the petulant little Fae who had trapped all the guards in stone three months previous.
Kili stopped walking, as did she, and turned to her, his eyes pleading as he told her, "I know you are trying to protect me, but Aerchkaleya, I don't want to be protected from this. I care about you very much, and I want people to see you and know that you are mine. You aren't the Heart of the Mountain, or the Arkenstone, or just a Fae to me. You're mine, my Aerchkaleya, who can calm a screaming child down with just a few words then turn around and tell off the King under the mountain without flinching."
She did love him, it wasn't that. Aerchkaleya care about him more than she could ever say. But, she had always been a bit too stubborn, and a smidge too protective. She didn't want to cause a rift between him and his uncle, or between him and his kingdom. Ark knew what it was like to loose everything, she knew what it was like to be alone while still surrounded by kin. It was not a feeling she would wish on her greatest enemy, let alone her One.
Her heart broke as she placed her hand on his cheek, wishing that she could allow herself to say yes, but rather told him, "Kili, you are my One, you know better than anyone that there is no force in all of Arda that could change how much I care for you. But, I know the feeling of being alone in a kingdom full of people, of being isolated in a crowd. It is something I never want you to feel."
The look on his face was like being punched in the stomach. He was hurt, she knew it, and she hated it so, so much. But she- "The council is demanding that my brother and I begin courting soon." Her heart froze. No, no, no! He was angry now, a bit at her, but mostly at the council as he told her, "They are adamant that we start towards continuing the line of Durin. It is upsetting enough to them that Thorin refuses to worry about producing an heir, that he has us."
Aerchkaleya remembered this, when her nephew Daephrin had taken the throne. How his brother's children had been pressured to court. She remembered how scared for her nieces she had been, and how when it had gotten out of hand she had given the council a piece of her mind. But, then, she was the Heart of the Mountain, she was known then, and her authority respected, especially as their aunt, their protector.
She couldn't watch that again, much like she couldn't watch him be outcasted because of her. There was no way she could watch someone try and catch his attention either, Fae were highly possessive in that manner. He had pulled away from her, and Ark crossed her arms across her chest, finally asking him, "Do you think they will begin introducing their daughters and nieces into your life?"
Kili glanced at her, leaning against the wall, sighing, "They already have." Her head shot up, her temper flaring as Kili told her, "At council meetings, as we are leaving, they are waiting there and force an interaction. One practically shoved a girl into Fili." The younger prince watched as his One clenched her fists, trying to remain as level headed as possible, but it was clear she was failing.
He hadn't wanted to force her hand on the topic, he knew her fears, and knew that, even though she wouldn't admit it, she was afraid of what they would think of her, and afraid that any friend she had made would leave. But, in the past week, it was apparent that the Council would soon begin trying dig up laws that required them to marry soon for some ridiculous reason determined to extend the line of Durin as soon as possible. It was one of the reasons he hated politics so much.
Running a hand through her hair, Aerchkaleya let out an irritated sigh. Kili watched her, watched as she closed her eyes and bunched her nose up for a moment, meaning she was trying to calm herself down. He watched as she bit the inside of her lip slightly, and he knew she was worried. Then again, he was worried too. Not just that she was too stubborn to realize the severity of the situation, but that she would do something brash, like she had a tendency to do.
Ark groaned and conceded, "Fine. But, Kili, you have to remember, the biggest difference in Fae and Dwarven culture is the process of courting; courting barely exists to Fae. When we have our One, we have our One, and a marriage isn't considered necessary, neither is courting. And, that's the complete opposite of dwarven culture. Dwarves have a whole bloody process! You have to court, be proper about it, and then you have to be married, but you can't be married until you finish courting, and that has a whole timeline and requirement of it's own! It's just plain confusing."
Kili sighed, and reiterated, "Aerchkaleya, I know. I know you aren't used to it, and that it's complicated and frustrating. It's just as frustrating and tedious for me. But the Council if very determined, and Ori said that a couple were in the library the other day, looking for old texts of old laws that involved the royal family and courting."
Clenching her jaw she grabbed his hand and yanked him with her as she stomped towards her room, telling him firmly, "Over my dead body." The prince bit his lip, trying his best not to laugh at just how irritated his One was over the entire thing.
Authors Note: Hey guys! Sorry this took me so long. But here is my incredible explanation that has had me away from my computer:
So, in high school, I had a boyfriend Troy, and we dated kinda on and off, but for most of junior and senior year, we were together. Anyway, when college ame around, I was balancing a full class load AND a full time job, and we kinda split, and I take full responsibility for that since I pretty much ignored him (which, I still feel kinda bad about).
ANYWAY, I'm in sophomore year, and everything that's gone down has been pretty good and due to an inheritance and recent repairing the relationship with my family, I finally got to relax and cut down to part time at Starbucks.
Let me just say that Troy was and always will be my first love. And with the down time I finally got, I managed to reconnect with him, and we've been dating again. I'm continually kicking myself for letting him go and wondering why I was dumb enough to do it to begin with, because he is absolutely amazing.
SO: He proposed! And not like 'oh yeah will you marry me', no. He was all freaking out. He proposed on the anniversary of the day he asked me out, not the date, but the day he officially asked me to be his girlfriend. Just the fact that he remembered blew me away. And at first, I didn't know he was proposing, he just was taking me on a date and that was his reason and I was just thinking 'oh how sweet he is being romantic' and didn't think anything of it.
He took me for a picnic at this little park by my old house, which my family still lives in, and it's cute because I used to meet him there all the time. And, he packed my favorite things, I didn't even knew he knew. So we ate, and I have to say, he was pretty calm about it, so I REALLY didn't expect anything. After we ate, we went for a walk through the field behind the playground bit.
I have to admit, I'm such a cheese ball, I always told people it would be super romantic if a guy proposed by kneeling to tie his shoe and came up with a ring. I honestly don't know if I ever directly told Troy, but he did just that! And I'm not much of a speech person, and he didn't need one, just asked me 'Wanna do me a favor and marry me?' It sounds dumb and cliche and high-school, but to me, it was perfect and course I said yes!
AND AND AND, he went a step further, and assumed I would say yes, we went over this little hill, and everyone was there! All my family and friends and it was this adorable little party. I was a blubbering mess. Not to mention, not only did he pick the perfect ring, the party was just perfect. there were mason jar lights, kinda vintage-y table clothes and people brought just random dining room chairs and my cousins brought a few recliners in their truck- it was a total hipster, hippy, vintage cozy party with more of my favorite food. The entire damn thing was perfect.
AND THERE IS MORE: See, the whole time during the date, I had something to tell him, and of course because I'm me, I was kind of a nervous wreck about it, so at the party, Troy kinda pulled me aside and asked me and was a little panicked that maybe i wasn't happy. So I totally reassured him I was and told him what I was trying to tell him...
So, FYI y'all, I'm pregnant.
Yup. Knocked up, mah eggo is preggo, preggers, with child, whatever way you wanna say it. He was thrilled in case your wondering.
More news? Found out this morning at my first sonogram thingie that it's twins. FREAKING TWINS. Okay that it just a tad scary but kinda happy?
AND MORE NEWS, it just never stops, I got a job offer for an Architectural firm. Since I finish my AutoCAD classes all in a month, I'm techically done, and so I'll be doing that, planning a wedding and pregnant. Oh, and even though my great aunt passed, she left us an early wedding present: a fully paid off house in the same city I live in. And in her letter, and I quote, "I know I'm gone, dear, but I am completely sure that one day you will be marrying that nice Troy I met at your sixteenth birthday. Call it my woman's intuition. But, I hope that when you two move in in you newly-wed bliss, you'll have peace of mind that a house will not be a monetary concern. So, enjoy your bedroom, and fill all the others with little ones."
Not even kidding. My great aunt Cecelia predicted the engagement... Love that woman, god rest her soul.
So yeah. In summary: had boyfriend, didn't, had again, got engaged, also preggo, also new job, also house, and now am planning wedding.
I'll still write though! It's my stress release, so maybe chapters might slow down, but they are coming! Love you guys!
