The next morning Noor walks out of the tent. All the men jump up, standing there, looking at their feet. "We will be leaving now" she says coldly. "Thorin, you will come with me in the carriage."
Thorin, whoms head is throbbing from the mede and the sleepless night, wants to decline at first, but he sees the warning looks from the others, so he does as she says. He sits down in the carriage, not knowing where to look, just knowing that he does not want to look at his angry wife.
"So other women again." She says. "And again in the presence of my relatives, humiliating me. Have you ever heard of discretion, Thorin? You should try it; it means that you do what you want, just without anyone knowing it."
"I swear it was your brother bringing her to me." Thorin says weakly.
"I know it was him and I also know that this was one big set-up." She calmly says. "But that does not change the fact that you slept with another woman again, even though I had sex with you this morning, and that you will be having a child with her soon." She sighs.
"Now tell me, what do your laws say about the position of bastards?"
"Eeeh, I, eeeh, I don't know, I would have to ask Balin."
"Then we had better get him in here, wouldn't we?"
Thorin orders everyone to halt and waves at Balin that he is to join them in the carriage. Balin sits down, causing him and Thorin te be squeezed in a seat that is really only suitable for one person, both looking at anything but Noor.
"Tell me Balin, and tell me honestly, what do your laws say about royal basterds? What is their position?"
"Well my dear, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We could keep everything quiet, or the elf might loose the baby. It is not yet said that the baby will be marked as royal basterd."
"I believe I asked you something Balin. You would do well to answer me." Noor says coldly.
"Right, eeh, yes. It all depends on what Thorin does. If he marks the child as his, or if the child spends a reasonable amount of time in Erebor in Thorin's presence, then the dwarven counsel might see the child as the next in line for Thorin's throne. But if Thorin does not officially acknowledges the child, or only sees the child outside of Erebor, well, then the child is not seen as an official royal bastard and will never have any claim to the throne, even if everyone knows it is Thorin's child."
"I know enough now" Noor says. "The both of you, get out of my carriage and send Melo in."
And again everyone halts and the two dwarves switch places with Melo.
"My dear brother Melo. " Noor starts. "I have a feeling that you knew about the plan, but were not too happy about it. Am I right?"
Melo just nods, already familiar with his sister's good instinct and her cunning revenge if she is lied to.
"And you also know that father wants to break me and Thorin and Kili and Giselle up to get rid of the oath he swore, don't you?"
Melo nods again.
"Then tell me, why does he wants to annul his oath? It is not very costly, but does give him the benefit of being able to trade mythril with the dwarves."
"It is not as simple as that. His allies are happy with the arrangement, for they want to help the dwarves and profit of the trade, so he can not just end the alliance with the dwarves. That would be the easiest thing to do, as he knows the threat of the orcs is gone."
"Then why Melo? Why does my own father treat me is such a way that I can never come to live with my family again, but also alienates me from my husband, making it almost impossible for me to stay in Erebor?"
"His position is unstable. The nobles are upset that he has already given two of our princesses to the dwarves, which they see as inferior, and has also pledged an allience to them. And father needs the nobles, as the treasury is almost empty. And your wedding contract state that if you leave and Thorin is to blame, he owes father a very large amount of gold."
"Empty? Father has so much gold that it is able to sustain the complete royal family for at least six generations without any further income!"
"I don't know exactly what has happened, but I know bad investments were made. Please Noor, don't denounce the family, you taking your birthshare would bankrupt the kingdom!"
"Hmm, denouncing and claiming my birthpart, I had not thought of that." She ponders.
"Really, after mother heard of father's plan, she is afraid you might, leaving her pennyless."
"Mother knows?"
"Yes, the whole family knows. Our sisters were only allowed to visit you so they could report on everything that is going on in Erebor."
"So instead of just asking for funds, you have all betrayed me! Did Djabriel know?"
"No, he did not, but please don't judge us too harshly, especially Giselle. She wanted to stop, but father had already heard rumours about her and Kili and he threatened to refuse a marriage between them if she did not comply."
But Noor does not want to listen to him anymore, and again everyone has to stop as Melo gets out of the carriage. Then she sits there alone, thinking of what her next step should be. She knows she can not go back to her parents, but she also does not want to stay with Thorin, as he has betrayed her once more. The other times she could understand, as they were either in a fight or they had not yet consumated their marriage, but this time? She had clearly told him to be carefull, but he had not been discrete at all. And now there was a child coming.
However, she would have to stay with Thorin, if only for appearances, otherwise she would have nowhere to live, no kingdom she could be royalty of.
- And there is no other royal family wanting an already used woman for one of their sons-, she thinks practically. Besides, if she is really honest to herself, she has to admit that she loves Thorin, despite all his faults; his pride, his easily awoken anger, his coldness and his belief that because he is king, he can do anything he wants. –Does he feel the same about me?- she wonders.
But what to do with that child? Thorin has already lost a child once, she does not think she has the heart to take this one and sen dit away from him. But she also does not want the child to endanger her position. The child of an elf whore who is probably taken into slavery must not be allowed to take the place in the Durin line that her children or Kili should take.
But then an idea dawns on her, sparked by what Djabriel told her. A way to fix almost all of her problems at once. Except for the problem of what to do with her family. Should she denounce them and claim her birthpart, effectively ruining them as her birthpart is her part of the families fortune at the time she was born. A forune she knows to have diminished greatly, therefore taking practically everything if she denounces them. And what to do with Giselle? Her and Kili are to come live with Thorin, which means that she would have to see Giselle everyday, something she is not really looking forward to. But would Thorin allow her to refuse Giselle, and therewith Kili, living with them?
As they ride on, Noor keeps thinking, weighing her options, but as they arrive she has only concluded that she will go to Erebor with Thorin and take the pregnant elf, Djabriel and Melo with her. Melo was as short as her, fitting in with the dwarves, and he could become her eyes and ears over time.
She gets out of the carriage, looking coldly at the others, and sees to her surprise that Dis, Kili and Giselle are standing there, looking astonished at Noor looking at the men while they look at their feet. But she does not care, and says to her father: "Make sure the whole family and Djabriel are gathered in the sitting room within half an hour." After which she walks away to tell her ladies to pack her belongings.
Thorin stands there, not knowing what to do. He wants to go after Noor, but he has bever seen her so calculatedly angry, and it terrifies him. This whole ordeal had the potential of becoming a widespread scandal, possibly toppling his throne, forcing him to hand it over to Fili. But then Melo puts his hand on his shoulder and says: "Come with me, we are going to talk to Djabriel."
Thorin, relieved that someone offers him an out, follows Melo. They arrive at Djabriel's rooms, and their host immediately sees that the whole thing has come crashing down. Melo explains to him what has happened and what the deceit of Noor's family entails.
Thorin hears the story, and gets more and more infuriated as he hears how they have used both him and Noor. But he knows starting a fight is not going to help him now, and that something has to be done before Noor leaves him.
"Well" Djabriel says. "You were all stupid to start it and even more stupid to get found out by Noor. You know how angry she will be and you know how calculated she can be. In that way she sometimes really reminds me of a snake, especially if she squeezes hey eyes and uses that special, cold voice."
Thorin wants to say something to Djabriel for talking about his wife like that, but he knows he is right, he had seen it in the hunting tent. But not a snake, more like a panther, looking at it's prey but waiting with the final attack, enjoying the fear of the prey too much.
"I think she will denounce you all and take her share" Djabriel continues, interrupting Thorin's thoughts on skulking panthers. "And she will probably not want to see Giselle anymore, so there's one more problem for you Thorin. But let us go to the family room and see what she is up to. Thorin, you had best come, whatever she is planning will probably affect you too."
They enter the family room, and see that everyone, including Kili who is looking rather ennoyed that he has been disturbed, is already sitting there, waiting for Noor. By the looks on their faces, Djabriel knows that Chedir has told them everyting, and as one man they turn to him:
"Djabriel, you have to do something. If she denounces us, we are finished. For what we have done, she has a legal right to denounce us. And this is partly your fault. You helped her figure out what was going on, betraying us."
"Don't speak to me of betrayal. This is all your own fault. Who does something like that to their own beloved daughter?! You know that Noor loves you all deeply, and you know she is not easily angered. But you have pushed her so far that she is now, endagering not only your kingdom, but also Thorin's."
He wants to continue, but Noor walks in.
"My dear relatives" she starts. "How lovely to see you all gathered here."
"Noor please" Noura starts. "You have to understand that.."
But Noor interjects. "I don't have to understand anything" she says. "First you have given em away to the first man coming to ask for my hand, without consulting me first I might add, and now you betray both me and my husband, leaving me practically homeless."
Thorin's head jerks up as he hears his wife basicly saying that she is leaving him, but he has no chance to say anything, as she continues:
"I am forced to go back to Erebor, but I shall take Djabriel, Melo and the elf whore with me. I shall speak to Thorin later about what to do with Giselle. This means father, that your oath is still standing, and don't think I will let you out of it."
"Thank you daughter, I know I have done wrong for you, but it warms my heart to know that you still consider us family."
"I am not finished yet, but of course you are only worried about the money. Well you can keep it; I have no need for it and I do not wish poverty on your subjects."
A collective sigh of relief goes through the room, but Giselle starts sobbing:
"Noor please, take me with you! Don't seperate me and Kili!"
Noor looks at her in disgust and says to Djabriel and Melo: "Gather what you need for a week, the rest will be sent to Erebor." Then, she walks away.
Then, the guests all gather at the main entrance to leave. Noor has decided she does not want to travel by horse for a week, so Djabriel, Melo and her will take a boat back. But then Thorin steps in:
"No matter how angry you are, I am not going to let you travel by yourself, I am coming with you."
"Suit yourself" she says, and gets on the boat, sitting in a room with Djabriel and Melo, excluding Thorin from their deliberations.
Noor sits relaxed on one of the sofas in the cabin while Djabriel and Melo have made themselves comfortable in the large armchairs. "I have the following plan" she says, "But I will need your help."
"First sister, I need to know if you have truely forgiven me, or I shall not be able to live with myself."
"Relax Melo, I have. I only have one favourite brother" she smiles, and then continues:
"Thorin is going to have a child, and no matter what he has done to me, I can not take it away from him. He has lost a child before and I am not willing to do that to him again."
"So it is true about the other basterd?" Djabriel says
She nods "Yes, it is, but the child is death."
"But I can not have a basterd becoming an official heir and threatening my position, so the child has to be raised somewhere else, but not too far away. The Mirkwood elves would be perfect, and they would probably like the mother of the child back, as I suspect she is one of those elves that have been taken in to slavery. However, the relationship between Thranduil and Thorin is still not very good, so a stronger bond has to be created. And that is where you come in Djabriel."
"Me?" he asks surprised
"Yes you. You have always wanted an elf as a wife, and I could probably arrange one of Thranduils daughters for you, forging an alliance. Between Erebor and the Mirkwood mind you, not father and the Mirkwood.
Djabriel thinks for a while, and then says: "Alright, I am up for it."
Noor smiles as yet another part of her puzzle is complete.
"And me? Where do I fit into all of this?" Melo asks.
"I don't exactly know yet, but I need you by miy side, as things between me and Thorin will get difficult and everyone will probably take his side."
"Don't be too sure of that" Djabriel says. "Dis has found out what has happened and is now furious with both Thorin and Dwalin."
"True" Melo says. "I have heard Fili getting upset with his uncle last night."
"Yes, but they might get upset at me more for not wanting to bring Giselle yet, causing Kili to stay with her and not them."
"Kili will be back. He is his uncles heir and personal advisor, Thorin will not allow him to stay in your father's realm."
"That is the only thing I don't know how to handle yet. I know Kili has to come back, but Giselle's betrayel is just too big. We have spent so much time together, and I have shared so many secrets with her, and now it turns out she was just spying on me."
Melo wants to interject, but Noor stops him. "Don't say anything about her being forced. She knows that if she had told me we would have found a solution together."
Both men say nothing, knowing that Noor is right.
Over the next few days they keep talking about possible solutions, ignoring Thorin. But the night before they reach Erebor, Melo goes to talk to Thorin.
"I am sorry brother in law, for everything that I and my family have done to you."
Thorin looks up. "That's a bit late, isn't it? You have ruined my marriage and ruined my chances of having official heirs of my own."
"Come on, my sister will turn around, I think. Untill now she always has."
"Yes. But untill now she did not have a family that betrayed her and the infidelity of her husband become public, did she?." Thorin says, almost sounding hopeless.
"No, she didn't" Melo hesitantly admits. "Just go and talk to her. I will get Djabriel in my room so you have her room to yourselves."
Thorin nods and gets up. "Get on with it then."
Melo calls for Djabriel, who immediately gets up and walks over to him, leaving Noor alone.
Noor is still lying on the sofa as she hears a knock on the door. She looks up and sees Thorin standing in the doorway. She gets up and says: "What do you want Thorin? I am busy."
"I want to know what I can do to make this right" he says. "I want to know what you expect from me."
"You want to know, do you? Well, the plan is as follows." And she explains the whole plan to him, also telling him that they will lead seperate lives from now on.
"But what about my heirs Noor?" Thorin says. "I am king, I have to have heirs. I understand you don't want me to acknowledge the child, but if you send Kili away I am left with just Fili, and he is not likely to get married, and you refuse to try to make an heir of our own, so I will be left without any heirs." He tries to persuade her in a rational way, not wanting to expose his true feelings to the possibility of her mocking him.
"So it is all about heirs for you? Bring Kili back then, but not Giselle." She says.
"No, no, you have to trust me if I say that it is not just about heirs. And you know Kili will not come back without Giselle."
"What is it about then? And how can you expect me to let her live in my castle?" she starts shrieking now.
Djabriel and Melo, sitting in the next room, hear it. "There it is."Melo says. "Once she stops being like a snake and starts shouting you know it is over soon." Djabriel smiles, knowing Melo is right.
But Thorin does not know Noor well enough to know this, and he finds himself in a thight spot. "I don't know Noor, but I need Kili back, you have to understand that!"
"I don't have to do anything" she shrieks again. "The only thing I have to do is picking up your garbage so my reputation is not tainted by your bastard child! And try to live with your betrayal! How could you have been so stupid Thorin? You know how elves are, and yet you still had the urge to fuck not one, but two of them while everyone could see! And within days the rumours will start spreading in Erebor. I already had to leave my ladies in waiting behing to do some damage control but I doubt it will be enough. Imagine how that makes me feel, everyone knowing you have a child with someone else!"
"Was it really that bad?" Djabriel asks Melo.
"You know how Andwar's hunting parties are. It is basically everyone hunting in the day and everyone fucking some hired women at night." Melo says. "And in that tent, of course everyone can see everyone."
Thorin tries to take Noor's shoulders to force her to look at him, but he does not realise how angry she is untill she slaps him, leaving a bright red mark on his left cheek. She gasps for air as she sees what she has done.
His eyes turn darker from the anger the pain on his cheek brings on, and his first instinct is to hit her back. But he doesn't. He takes her shoulder again, and tries to look into her eyes. As she turns away, he grabs her jaw and forces her to lok into his eyes.
"You have to understand that it had nothing to do with you, it was the mede and the women. And i understand that I have created many problems for you and I will fix them. But don't ever, ever, hit me again!"
She sees the dark anger in his eyes and says nothing and just looks at him in disdain, shrugging his hands of her. But he takes her shoulders again. "Look at me" he says, and when she doesn't, he bellowes "Look at me!"
"He does have courage" Djabriels says when he hears Thorin screaming at Noor. "I don't think I would have the balls to yell at Noor if she is so upset."
"And that is why he is the Kind Under The Mountain and you are not" Melo replies, laughing.
"I love you Noor, I truely do. I know I have not been a good husband, or perhaps even a nice one, but I love you and I will do anything to make things go back the way they were. Tell me what to do, tell me what you want, and you shall have it. Even if it is my whole fortune, you shall have it. Anything to make you mine again!"
She looks at him, stunned by him telling her that he loves her. She has never said it to him, and he has never said it to her, untill now. She is trying to find out if he means what he says or if it is just a way to get her to stop being angry. She does not want to look in his eyes to find out, as she is afraid to show him her own doubt and hurt. She sighs, not knowing what to do, and sits on the sofa again, looking out the window.
"Come on Noor, what do you want from me?" Thorin says softly.
"I don't know, i really don't know." She sighs. "I can fix everything for appearances, but I don't know if we can fix us and what we are going to do with Kili and Giselle."
"Then let me fix us. Allow me to be your husband again, and I promiss to make you happy."
"You have said that before Thorin, but I know you will want other women again. How can I be your wife if I have to feel afraid for how you may publically humilate me everytime you leave?"
Thorin holds his face in his hands, knowing she is right. He just needs sex when he drinks too much; it is not his intention to humiliate her. "I know, I know. And you are right I can't make that promiss, but I can promiss to always love you and treat you with respect."
"Hold on" Djabriel says. "We are now going to hear a man getting his wife to agree with him occasionally straying! This must be a first in history!"
"Idiot!" Melo says. "It is not uncommon among royals. Everyone knows kings are special!"
"Thorin, I don't give a fuck what you do, just as long as no one knows. I do not want to be the laughing stock of Erebor. And besides, your promiss does not do anything about Kili and Giselle."
"Then trust me if I say I will never make you a laughing stock. And for Kili and Giselle: we still have a couple of weeks, we will figure something out that makes you happy."
"And you are going to bring the elf to Thranduil and arrange a marriage between one of Thranduil's daughters and Djabriel." She says
"Thranduil has daughters?"
"Yes, he is just very protective of them and mostly keeps them from the outside world."
"How do you know this?"
"There is one thing you should always remember: I know everything!"
"I know you do, so you must also know that I will do everything in my power to make you happy again, and give you everything you want."
"This gives her a fine opportunity to get some new jewelry" Djabriel says. "She has got him right where she wants him."
"You know she already has that, right?" Melo says. "She is his wife and therefore shares what he has. I know my sister, she just wants to be happy. And strangely enough I think he can make her happy."
Noor sighs. She is torn because she knows that she loves Thorin as well, but she does not want to give in to easily.
"Now tell me" Thorin says in his deep voice, kneeling next to her. "Deep inside, and I mean really, really deep inside, in a place that you don't want anyone to see, is there not love for me?"
She knows he has seen her doubt, has seen what is really inside of her. She looks at him, his normally emotionless face now has a hopefull smile on it, and she sees in his eyes that he speaks the truth. A tear rolls down her cheek, and he wipes it away with his thumb.
"I know both I and your family have hurt you" he says. "But please tell me that you love me and that you will give me a chance to make it up to you."
"You know I have no other choice Thorin, it is not like I have anywhere else to go."
"Should you choose not to forgive me, then please know that I will give you everything you need to make a new life for yourself, with the same standards that you are used to. Don't stay with me because you have to, but forgive me because you love me."
But she is still in doubt, having to choose between heart and ego, untill he kisses her. Softly, while holding her jaw in his hands, he kisses her. And she kisses him back, hesitantly at first, but then loving.
He lets go of her and takes some blankets. "Come with me" he says, and he leads her on to the deck and spreads one of the blankets out. He lies down, and says: "Come lie in my arms and look at the starts with me."
As she does, she sees a clear sky, filled with thousands of stars. "How did you know this?" she asks.
"I have had enough time to look at the sky the last couple of nights."
She sits up, leaning on her elbows. "You know we are not magically going to be happy now, right? I am not going to look like a woman who just forgives her husband for everything."
"I know, but lets be happy in this moment" he says. "No one can see us here, not even the captain. And when we are in company again, you can be angry at me for as much as you like, just know that I will love you in return."
And he kisses her again, softly and full of feeling. And when they have sex, it is tender and loving, not with an orgasm as a goal, but with being close.
Djabriel laughs. "You know your sister is having sex on the deck of this right now, don't you?" laughing even harder as he sees Melo's sour face. "It must be her way to get revenge at you!"
"O shut up" Melo growls at his cousin. Not knowing what else to say, he just goes to bed, unable to get the gruesome image of his sister and Thorin out of his head.