Chapter Nine – Urbem-Upon-Celdium
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"It's a good idea to have your own books with you in a strange place" ― Cornelia Funke, Inkheart
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A few days before they were due to set off Moe was absent from his shift, causing great concern for Lyra. In his place a royal guard was sent, informing both Lyra and Kili when they enquired that he had fallen ill to the River Flu. Lyra felt deep fear at the idea of the illness, having seen the full extent of it when she had dropped off the supplies to Oin all those months ago.
However, when she visited Moe at his house he told her not to fret too deeply and that he'd be on his feet again in no time. "Just means you'll have to go on this mission without me Luke," he told her, patting her knee affectionately. "But you make sure those lads don't cause you to much trouble…" Moe seemed to mean something more than what he was saying and Lyra felt deep discomfort at this.
Nonetheless she tried to not worry for her partner and friend and instead prepared for the journey to Urbem-upon-Celdium. Soon enough the time came where a company consisting of the two princes and herself plus ten additional dwarven guards set out from the lonely mountain to the city of men.
Thorin came down to the entrance of the mountain to bid the party farewell and wish them a safe trip. The king embraced each of his nephews heartily and in khuzdul gave, what Lyra assumed, was an official safe journey to the party of dwarfs. As they began to mount their horses Lyra was surprise to find the king approach her specifically.
"You have proven to be a reliant addition to the guard and a good friend to my nephews it would seem," the king told her seriously. "Perhaps your luck will extend to giving wise council to those who are reluctant to follow duty." The king glanced at his dark hair nephew before retreating from the entrance somberly.
Lyra did not know what to think of King Thorin's words and decided not to let them worry her to much; she knew she must protect the prince and that was her place.
The procession of dwarfs and one single human moved from the cover of the lonely mountain and travelled down the great road that led to Dale. They were positioned so that there were five dwarfs to the front and five to the back, with two abreast where it allowed. Lyra found herself riding behind the princes by herself and she was glad as she was having a small trouble with the horse.
Lyra had not ridden many horses in her life and so was struggling to control the boisterous mare she was seated upon.
"Woe girl," muttered Lyra, patting the beast in a hope to calm her and get her to trot at a steadier pace.
"Having trouble with your horse Luke?" Kili asked, looking over his shoulder and smiling in a lopsided grin at his guards struggle. "I thought you were a farm boy!"
Lyra rolled her eyes at the prince. "We dealt in small produce, not plowed fields," grumbled Lyra, frustration getting the best of her. The prince, laughing, pulled back beside her and reached over and put a placating hand on the mare, who instantly calmed down.
"What are you, a wizard?" Lyra announced in confusion as the horse began to move at a smoother pace.
"You just need a gentler hand, don't you girl?" Kili told the horse, sniggering at Lyra's put-out expression. The rest of the ride to Dale consisted of Kili trying to teach Lyra to ride a horse properly with Fili and the rest of the company adding in here and there tips and suggestion. There was much laughing as Lyra fumbled through her riding lesson, but it was all meant in good humor and so Lyra did not begrudge being the butt of the joke.
They passed Dale without incident before midday and Fili, not having talked much with Lyra before the trip, began to question her about her family in idle conversation. "We live on the edge of town," she told him as they made their way of through the south gate of the city. "There will be a turning in a little bit, and if you follow that for a few miles you will come to my families' modest cottage."
That evening they settled on the banks of the river on the west side between the water and the trees of Mirkwood. As the moon rose above the campfire and the pot of broth sat cooking upon the flame, a thought passed Lyra's mind.
"What is the date today?" she asked to no one in particular.
"It is almost the end of April, perhaps the twenty-forth," answered Fili who sat a few meters to her left. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, I have missed my birthday," she muttered, "I am one year older and I didn't even know." Lyra laughed dryly at this idea but shrugged at thought, not really caring for such markers.
Kili sat up from his position by his brother with surprise. "That is awful!" he announced, getting to his knees. "How old are you now?"
"One and twenty," Lyra mused, not thinking much of her words.
"You are one and twenty? I'm surprised, I thought you were barely out of the human childhood, perhaps sixteen?" Kili said in confusion.
Lyra cursed herself inwardly, forgetting that she was pretending to have a much younger age to hide her femininity. "Just because I have not grown a beard," she bristled, trying to distract from her sudden disconcerted disposition. She could not believe she had made such a slip up in the continuity of her woven tale of lies.
"Kili do not be so rude," scolded his brother, rolling his eyes at the lack of tact the younger displayed.
Kili did not seem disheartened by this news, but instead gave Lyra a strange kind of expression. A similar look, she would note later, that Moe had given her before she'd left for this quest.
"I just assumed you were born after the reclaiming of Erebor…" Kili told her, frowning. "Your family was in this area at the time?" There was clear apprehension in his voice and Fili looked up at interest to the query.
"They were, yes," Lyra said gently. She watched Kili squirm for a while as he reframed from asking that which he wished to know but knew was none of his business. Eventually, after having been handed a bowl of warm stew and all were eating peacefully, she put the prince out of his misery. "My parents perished in the dragon attack on Escargoth when I was but four and my sister was ten," Lyra said soberly.
Kili looked as grave as she had ever seen him. "I am sorry," he told her sincerely, and Lyra noticed with some surprise that he seemed to understand and personally take upon the responsibility of the dwarfs in regards to the attack.
Lyra took his words for what they were and no more was mentioned of the dragon that night.
The dwarf company crossed the great lake with no incident the following day but decided to forgo visiting lake town, not wanting to get held up in customary greetings and politeness. The boat delivered them on the bank of the east side and the horses and gear were unloaded.
"Why do we not take a boat down the river?" Lyra asked Kili as they were mounted and began the ten-day journey south-east to Urbem.
"The river runs slowly;it would most likely take us twice the time to reach the city," he explained. Lyra understood his meaning but the saddle sores were already creeping onto Lyra and she wished they had at least considered a boat.
The journey as a whole was uneventful. The company did not deem it too necessary to stop and wash when they came upon little streams or bodies of water, which Lyra didn't mind at first; that was until her monthly bleed began. Before then she had been discreet in doing her business and getting changed, and nobody had made any notice of her goings on. They were dwarfs and she was a human; maybe humans were just very prude.
So when her period reared its ugly head as they rode along a dusty road on an especially warm day, uneasiness crept upon her. She knew they were not due to stop for hours yet and if she were to wait then a puddle of blood would be seen upon the horses saddle when she was to dismount. Seeing a thicket of trees and bushes she seized the opportunity and swallowed her pride.
Lyra urged her horse on forward so that she was riding besides the princes and in the most dignified manor she could muster, she lent over and muttered in Kili's ears. The prince looked upon her in sympathy and amusement, and pulled his horse to a stop, indicating for the entire party to do so.
"Lets… erm, take a moment," Kili told the group who huffed unhappily and complained at the hold up. Lyra gave Kili a thankful look and dismounted quickly, subtly grabbing her cloths from the saddlebag and hurrying to the woods. It didn't take her long to sort herself out and on her return found some of the company looking at her with amusement. She mounted her horse quickly and the company continued on their way.
Fili looked over his shoulder with mirth. "Feeling better?" he asked him with a smile.
"Ah, don't worry about it lad," came a voice from the back.
"We all shit ourselves sometimes!" said another, and with this the entire company erupted into laughter. Lyra tried her best to melt into the saddle and her red face did nothing to quiet the laughter that followed her for a next few days
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The group was travel worn, dirty and in a sorry state to behold indeed. Thus, when they approached the gate of Urbem-upon-Celdium they found the guards hesitance too allow them entry; thinking them a group of the unsavory kind. When Fili stepped forward with the royal seal of Erebor they were quickly led through the city, to the center where the palace was situated.
Urbem was a wealthy city; a large trade town and the only sizeable cluster of civilization for miles. The inhabitants had an almost exotic nature about them, being so far from others that they had developed a self-contained system of cultures. As the procession moved through the city the aroma of spices and herbs filled the air, and colorful curtains in shop windows and covering stall from the sun meant a rich experience for the senses. The houses were not dissimilar to that of Dale but much older and made of lighter, paler stones than that of her home city. The city seemed so much warmer than their northern home due to the easterly wind that came upon them from the desert land.
There were many people mulling about on the cobbled streets; more than Lyra would have expected. She noticed a large proportion of people were carrying weapons and that there were many groups of men, meeting on corners and huddled at the edge of the road, sneering at their group as they rode by. The thick atmosphere took on a new meaning when Lyra noticed how unwelcome a company of dwarves seemed to be.
The city was positioned on a type of hill on the parting of the river Celdium that led south to the Sea of Rhur and north to the Iron hills. They seemed to move higher and higher the closer they got to the palace, entering different rings of classes with metal gates, each time the architecture would get more elaborate and expensive. They were directed away from parts of the city a number of times due to 'construction', but evidence of that was sparse and this confused the company. Eventually found themselves at the palace.
The palace itself was under construction. Lyra knew that in the last sixteen years since the reclaim of Erebor that Urbem had taken on a new lease of life and that wealth flowed greatly through the rivers that it sat upon. The redoing of the old palace, which had seemingly fallen into disrepair, was to be expected.
"They are strengthening their defenses," Lyra heard Fili say to Kili as they were helped from their horses by a page. Seeing Lyra's confused expression Kili leaned over to her and began to explain the position the City found themselves in.
To the north was the Iron hills and Erebor, and to the west the elves. It was the last stronghold of man before the great eastern expanse and for that it had touristic appeal for scholars and learned beings. To the south, however, there was nothing between them and the mountains of Mordor. Were the kingdom of Orcs to decided to march upon the city they could do very little to protect themselves upon such an onslaught.
They were distracted from their conversation when the page asked for them to follow him to the throne room. They entered the palace though a large archway of white marble and into a long hall with a high ceiling. Unlike the dwarven architecture that Lyra had grown used, to the entire place was made of white stone with rounded edges and lots of natural light. At the end of the hall sat a throne made of ostentatious yellowy gold that held none of the charm King Thorins throne had commanded.
The hall was not empty. Although there was no king seated on the throne, there were two men standing in the center of the room deep in conversation. There was a tall, leering looking man and well-dressed handsome one.
"May I present the princes Fili and Kili of Erebor and their travelling companions, my liege," spoke the page clearly as he bowed and stepped aside to present the party. He then addressed the company. "Sirs, I present to you the crowed Prince of Urbem, Edvard and the royal advisor Raskip." The page bowed once again and moved to stand by the door.
"The princes of Erebor," the prince of Urbem announced, shock written on his face and his jaw caught in a tense, almost angry motion. "What a surprise!"
Fili and Kili bowed low out of respect to the prince and four nobles moved together to shake hands and exchange uncaring pleasantries.
"You must be travel weary, please let us sort out some rooms for you and your companions, and then you may present yourself to the King and princess," Prince Edvard told them. "I have quarters in the lower parts of the palace for your soldiers and for your highnesses we can have the guest suites in the royal apartments-"
"We'd like to remain on the same floor," Fili interrupted. The prince did not like being interrupted.
"Very well," Edvard spoke after a moment. He beckoned the page to approach them and muttered something in his ear. The prince was typically very good looking, with a height of six foot, broad shoulders and a thick back. He had hair styled long; gather in a honey brown pony tail at the nap of his neck. His face was pleasant apart from a curl on his upper lip that spoke of displeasure; most like from being in undesirable company. Lyra was sure that he permanently had this expression upon his face.
The company followed the page and after a few staircases and corridors, not even a fraction as many as Erebor Lyra mused, they reached their rooms.
Lyra was directed to the room next door to Kili's and the same was said for Fili's guards. The rest of the company were much further down the corridor but still on the same floor. Lyra entered prince Kili's chambers first to check for any hidden dangers and when she deemed it safe permitted him to enter.
Lyra unfortunately could not immediately clean up as the prince needed guarding at all times, so herself and Moe's very somber replacement Sal, took it in turns to put their belongings away, wash up and change. Soon enough Sal had returned and so Lyra went to her room just around the corner from her royal charge.
The room was relatively bare. There was a basin to the side that was full of hot water and a mirror placed above it. The bed was small and rickety and the floor bare stone; the meager decorations and bed sheets were a much to be desired mustard yellow. Her quarters at Erebor were much more grand.
Lyra washed the grime off her face and body from the two weeks of travel like a snake shedding it skin. It was a happy feeling that Lyra very much basked in. She donned her Dale guard uniform that she wore when she guarded the prince and, having taken Moe's instructions weeks ago, put her bow on her back and a quiver of arrows at her hip.
She was ready to guard the prince.
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Fili and Kili were dressed in some of the finest robe of satin and silk. Both of their chambers had baths for them to clean off in and so they smelled of lavender soap and their hair was oiled and smooth. Kili in particular looked well cleaned, knowing he had to make a good first impression on his hopeful-betrothed.
Lyra followed the princes along with the other guards to the throne room where they had been received before. This time, however, when they entered the room was at court. The noble lords and ladies stepped to the side of the room to make a path for the dwarf princes and Fili and Kili, side by side, made their way to the seated king.
The king was a fat man. He had a balding head and the hair that was left was a soft grey. His face was round but it had a jovial spirit about it, with laughter lines at the corner of his eyes and a strong chin that spoke of his nobility. He was dressed in colorful satins of bright purples and yellows and large jewels adorned his neck and fingers of blue sapphires and emeralds of green. Upon sat his head was a crown of the same yellow-gold of the throne.
"The princes of Erebor, welcome!" announced the king, and as one the hall bowed and curtsied to the dwarf royalty. "You are much earlier than we expected you, but you are welcome all the same."
"I thank you your majesty," Fili told the king with a bow and a charming smile. "I am Fili and this is my brother Kili."
"Ah yes," said the king, smiling brightly. "Then may I present to you my son, who I believe you have already met, Edvard." Edvard stepped forward from where he was standing to the right of the throne and gave a small bow of respect. "And who I know, you are much more eager to meet, my daughter Ilithia."
The princess Ilithia moved from around a group of handmaids who had been shielding her from sight, and gave a pretty and perfect curtsy. Lyra admitted to herself that the tales of her beauty had not been exaggerated and that she was indeed very lovely.
"It is a honor to meet the princes of Erebor," the she said in the sweetest, gentlest of voices. Ilithia was dressed in a gown of white silk, bejeweled with diamonds and gold lace that revealed a womanly figure bellow. She had soft skin and rounded cheeks, red lips and dark eyes. Her hair was a rich blond that sat at the bottom of her spine, falling in soft ringlets. The most interesting thing, Lyra noticed, was how short the lady was; not even five feet tall.
"The honor is all mine, Princess," Kill told her with a flamboyant bow. "I have heard tale of your beauty, and they do not do you justice."
"We are to hold a ball tomorrow night in your honor, if you are to agree to it," the king announced, causing excited murmuring amongst the lords and ladies present.
"That would be marvelous," Fili said jovially, and moved forward to converse with the king about their journey and the early nature of their arrival.
"I would like to take this opportunity to ask for the hand of Princess Ilithia for the first dance," Kili declared charmingly, taking the princesses hand and bowing over it respectfully.
"That would be most pleasing," the princess told Kili more quietly, blushing prettily at the attention. "And I would like to offer my company tomorrow morning to show you my home."
Kili smiled warmly at the princess and moved away to join his brother and the king.
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Sorry it took me a bit of time to update! What did you think of this chapter? Anything funny going on in Urbem? What do you think of the prince and princess?What about Lyra's little accident? Thanks!
