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The Oathkeeper and her Majesty
Thorin felt his eyes heavy and dry. He swallowed an equally dry throat and sensed something dripping down his back. An involuntary tremble shook his body and he tried to raise his head in order to see around, but to no avail. "Eilin?" He croaked.
No response.
He tried again and this time he heard his voice resonating. "Eilin?"
He blinked several times to clear up his vision and slowly he recognized that he was kneeling upon a wet stony floor inside the large, dark, humid cavern that reminded him so much of his recent nightmares.
So this was another dream?
He tried to move his hands, but the sound of chains rattling ominously registered faster than the pain which tore through his wrists. He looked up sharply and immense pain tore through his shoulder-blades and upper back. That was not quite right. Inside a dream he never felt pain, furthermore so excruciating. He looked around him. Both his arms were chained to the walls by thick shackles.
How in the name of heavens did he end up manacled between these walls in the middle of bloody nowhere? The last thing he remembered was approaching that accursed stronghold after learning that it had almost captured his son. Then he recalled nothing until he woke up to this….this…whatever this was. He observed his surroundings trying to understand if there were any doors or windows in this dungeon, but saw none. He made an effort to move his legs, but his body was so tightly stretched that it was impossible for him to move more than a couple of inches in each direction. Hardly enough to allow him to gather the momentum he needed in order to break his chains.
However his famous stubbornness and his need to be free wound him up to find a way around this impossible situation. If there was one thing that Thorin Oakenshield feared in life that was imprisonment. Any kind of captivity mental or physical was pure torture for him, so finding himself in such restraints was causing him to become gradually manic. So his initially careful efforts to measure the leeway he had available between the chains and try to find a good holding on them, ended up after several failed attempts to eruptions of testosterone filled wrath which he tried to vent on his chains to no avail. His superior strength that was so renowned amongst his kin did little to weaken his manacles. The more he tried, the more they became tighter on his arms and pulled them further apart until the pain became so unbearable at his back that he howled in pain and recoiled.
"For fuck's sake…." He cursed as sweat dripped steadily down his back and all over his face.
"I thought I taught you well and good how not to blaspheme son."
The well-known quality of that voice kicked all the air out of his chest with one thwart and Thorin found himself gasping. "Father?" He hissed.
Silence reigned in the shadows.
Thorin's brows creased in disbelief. "Father?" His voice was strained.
No answer still.
Thorin's arms pulled both chains simultaneously and they rattled angrily once more, before stretching him so viciously that he moaned in pain. "Fuck!" He repeated, half hoping his father would intervene again to set his manners straight.
He didn't have to wait long. "No matter how bad you feel right now, learn how to control your emotions and don't allow vulgarity to take over your genteel nature!"
"Are you fucking kidding me right now?!" Thorin spat between his teeth.
"Temper son…temper…" Thrain's voice was calm.
"Come out so I can see you!" Thorin pulled the chains furiously, but only managed to flare up the pain on his shoulder-blades.
No reply came this time.
"Come out!" Thorin thundered and his long hair whiplashed his face as he tried to free himself once more. He waited with baited breath for some response.
None came.
"Father, come out here or I will curse so fucking hard I will make your ears bleed!" He yelled, gradually becoming more frantic both at his captivity and at his father's audacity to scold him instead of helping him go free.
Complete silence…
Thorin eyes stung and began burning with the precursors of tears. Something that made his brows meet angrily. Those imaginary restraints and his father's teasing shouldn't have been enough to draw tears from him. He was more than two hundred years old with ample experience at the hard side of life. So why did this nightmare bother him so much? Was it those chains that he hated whole-heartedly? The fact that someone managed to imprison him, or his father's nonchalant voice and unwillingness to reveal himself? He didn't know what it was, but the moment he felt the first tears springing from his eyes and rolling down the side of his nose, his anger drew back enough to allow his despair to make an appearance.
"Come on dad…" The young Prince Thorin made an impromptu appearance from the edge of time and took him by surprise. As he kneeled there, looking at the Longbeard sigil sawn at the knee of his leather trousers….as he observed the sweat that dripped from his bearded chin staining the geometrical shapes, he felt desperately out of place and time. He inhaled deeply and heard his breath reverberating upon the stone walls of his prison.
"I haven't heard you speak to me this way in ages. You don't know how much I have longed to hear you call me that." Thrain's voice sounded much closer this time.
Thorin inhaled sharply and looked up. "Dad?" His eyes squinted as he tried to make out the skeletal outline that stood a couple of feet away from him.
Thrain kneeled down and the fading light from the torches sketched his features to Thorin's dismay. He looked so old, so disheveled, and full of wounds. He seemed to have been emptied somehow. As if his strong and resilient body had somehow been sucked out of his skin, leaving behind a crooked carcass with a few grey hair and a flea bitten beard. The only thing that still remained untouched in his destroyed face was the battle tattoo on his forehead.
"Are you alive? Is this a dream?" Thorin's anger dissipated under his need to talk to his father.
Thrain's figure shrank away from the light of the torches fearfully. "I am not alive son."
The hope in Thorin's eyes blew out like a candle, leaving behind it only darkness. "This is a dream…" He whispered.
"I don't think you are very well my boy. This isn't exactly a dream." Thrain said and crept over to him.
Thorin cringed in his need to pull away from this specter. This was not his father, just a creation of his imagination, inside a nightmare that he didn't know how to wake up from.
"What is it then?" Thorin murmured and saw his dad's crooked fingers approaching his cheek. Every single thread in him was screaming to get away, but his chains were not allowing him.
"A sentence." His father replied and his fingers skimmed Thorin's skin.
He shuddered expecting them to be frozen and rough, but instead they felt warm and a well-remembered soothing sensation came to sweep the fear away and cover him with an unexpected feeling of peace. Very similar to what he felt when his father used to hug him before tucking him in bed. His eyes closed and his lips parted as more tears escaped against his will. He turned his head and placed a trembling kiss on his father's palm. "I am so sorry I abandoned you." He said and the long forgotten emotions set him adrift a merciless sea of guilt.
"But you didn't. You always searched for me. You are still searching for me, even now that you are captured inside your own mind by the magic of the same cruel darkness that stole my life." Thrain said.
"I wanted so much to find you, yet I failed." Thorin whispered defeated.
"I was taken from you, by the same filth that is also trying to take you away from your family. Beware." Thrain frowned and his fingers clutched Thorin's jawline.
"Tell me what to do to get out of here!"
Thrain shook his head. "That is something that you have to figure out on your own."
"You never found the exit out of your prison, did you?" Thorin's eyes welled up with fresh tears.
"I couldn't. Even though I knew I had you and Dis still alive back home, I still couldn't find the way out. I got trapped in my mind by the darkness for so long. I couldn't break my chains and then I was too far gone to find a way in real life. Don't let that happen to you my boy. You are too smart for that. Too brave….fight it!" Thrain's jawline flexed.
"How? I cannot even pull on these chains, without them tearing my back apart!" Thorin spat and closed his eyes against the assault of his unbridled emotions that he had always been keeping under a tight grip all his life.
Thrain pressed his forehead against his and it was strangely warm. "You will find a way. You always find a way. My son shall find a way to prevail this menace. You will succeed where your grandfather and I failed. You always do."
"I don't know how to do it dad." His voice was weak.
"Instead of fighting against your chains, maybe you should find a way to make them release you, before it is too late." Thrain said quietly.
"Before it is too late?" Thorin murmured, feeling a dreaded sense of finality following those words.
"You have made oaths in your life that you must fulfil my son! Pledges to protect your family! They need you as much as you need them. You are an oathkeeper…go back and live up to your vows!" Thrain gritted his teeth.
Thorin closed his eyes and tried to regulate his breathing which had become erratic. When he spoke his voice was coarse, but resolute. "Am I dying?"
Thrain's eye looked at him solemnly.
"Not in here in the world of dreams. Out there in real life, am I dying father? Is that why you are here?" Thorin repeated.
Thrain looked away and his hand clutched his son's cheek lovingly. "I am here because you called me…me and all the others that are waiting in the dark to speak to you."
"Once upon a time there was a kingdom, a beautiful one
Surrounded in darkness of an ancient war
They say there was a king, this wandering soul
Who's cursed by a demon, forever…"
Eilin couldn't finish her song. Her enchanting voice stopped with a breathy exhalation of anguish and her eyes overflowed with tears for the hundredth time since she woke up next to him. She reached out and caressed his bandaged hand gently.
"Hey…everything is going to be okay." Rhiannon's voice softened the edges of Eilin's pain.
"I cannot even sing for him without breaking down in tears." Eilin dabbed a cloth under her swollen eyes gently. Ever since she found him unconscious in front of Dol Guldur she hadn't slept at all, apart from a few hours this morning alongside his pillow, but even that repose was cursedly interrupted by her nightmares. Three times she woke up calling his name, certain that he died whilst she was sleeping.
"I am sure he heard your song and he is smiling in there." Rhiannon pressed her hand.
"I don't think he can hear me." Eilin said quietly and a sob broke free from her throat.
"Come-come. You are talking as if he is gone even though he is still here with us." Her best friend stroked her hair tenderly.
"He is burning up." Eilin's apprehensive gaze fell on her husband's pale features and then at his chest that was undulating quickly with his irregular breathing.
Rhiannon touched the back of the King's hand. "He is not warmer than he was last night. You heard what King Thranduil said. He is fighting off the poison that is running in his veins. The Elves have worked their magic on him. He is going to recover."
Eilin entwined her fingers through his gently and caressed the wounded tip of his forefinger carefully. "I didn't even notice his hand swelling up. I was so caught up in our fights and then so dedicated in resolving our misunderstandings that I didn't notice his bloody hand was twice the size it was supposed to be." She sounded mad at herself.
"No one noticed. Not even Lord Balin who is the most meticulous when it comes to the King's well-being." Rhiannon said gently.
"He didn't tell anybody he was feeling unwell. Why?" Eilin's brows creased as her eyes glanced wretchedly at his pallid countenance.
"I am sure he spared you the knowledge to stop you from worrying to death. I don't know why he didn't speak to the others though." Rhiannon sounded tentative.
"Probably didn't want them choking him with their solicitude. It's so like him." An empty outline of a smile appeared at the hairpin of her mouth.
"He is surrounded by over-worriers I think." Rhiannon reciprocated the smile.
Eilin stroked his hair gently. "No, simply by people who love and want to help him, but he prefers to do it alone. He chooses to do almost everything alone even though he cannot and mustn't try to carry more than his share. Look at the results of his pigheadedness now."
"Lord Elrond said the poison from that black blade was potent enough to kill a Mûmakil. It was only because of the antiquity of the blade that King Thorin suffered only such minor side effects. He was solely lucky." Rhiannon gaze fell at the bed.
"Minor?" Eilin's voice croaked.
Rhiannon pressed her lips apologetically.
"He is in a comatose state, burning up and we don't know when and if he is going to come back to us. Minor?" Eilin's eyes burned through her.
Rhiannon looked away.
"What about the black mist that surrounded him a few moments before he lost consciousness? Have you forgotten about that? Elrond told me that apart from the old poisoned blade my poor husband also fell victim to Sauron's black magic." Eilin spat angrily.
"Which is debilitated though. King Thorin was lucky once more. The Deceiver's strength without the One Ring is so weak that it didn't manage to kill either him or Lord Durin." Rhiannon tried a nervous smile.
"My baby boy had help in order to escape that darkness, but my husband didn't. That monstrosity hiding behind the Ash Mountains may have succeeded in finishing at least half the job." –Eilin's hand began trembling above Thorin's from the surge of the emotions that were throttling her- "I swear to you Rhiannon. If my man dies from this I will march up to Mordor and destroy the filth of Barad-dûr myself!" She spat vehemently.
Rhiannon inhaled deeply and her eyes teared up. "I know."
Eilin tried to control her breathing and the tears that sprang fresh from her eyes. Then she gazed back at Thorin's ashen mask and her countenance became miserable once more. "Then I will join him." She murmured.
Rhiannon's brows creased. "You have three children to take care off."
"Dis sees them as her own children …." Eilin closed her eyes and propped her forehead on his cheek. Her hand covered the side of his face and caressed it tenderly.
"Be serious!" Rhiannon chastised.
"I am." –Eilin whispered- "I cannot live without him."
Rhiannon's arms enwrapped her lovingly. "I am here to take care of your babies too. The whole of Erebor will be there to raise them up, but they don't need us. They need their mommy and daddy. They need you."
Eilin sniffled and her quivering lips touched Thorin's warm cheek. "I know."
"You are a mother now, not only a wife. You have your children to think of above all. Do you think your husband would have enjoyed hearing you declare that you'd abandon your babies to join him in death?" Rhiannon's hands clutched Eilin's shoulders.
"He'd probably scold me like no tomorrow if he ever heard me speaking like that." Eilin's lips formed a distressed smile.
"Well, I am here to do it for him. Forget about self-sacrifice and all those noble ideas that fill your beautiful head. You are a mom. He is a dad. You have three lovely children who need you here with them. If one of you cannot be here, then the other must fill the place of both." Rhiannon rejoined as calmly as possible even though she wanted to slap Eilin back to reason.
The Queen released an exhalation of suffering on her husband's face. "You are right."
"Then what are you going to do?" Rhiannon yanked Eilin around.
Eilin gazed at her with unspeakable desolation. "I will stay here to take care of our babies."
Rhiannon's lips formed a pained smile. "That's it and we will all be here to help you."
A sob of anguish escaped Eilin.
"But above all he is going to be here to help you, okay?" Rhiannon hurried to add and nodded towards the bed with raised brows.
Eilin's body shuddered hard. "You believe that? "
Rhiannon frowned with determination. "Of course!"
Eilin's eyelids fluttered and another surge of tremors froze her spine. She turned and touched Thorin's temple with her lips. "Did you hear that my heart? You are a dad now. You are not allowed to rest yet. You have to come back and take care of your babies. You have to come back and take care of me." She murmured breathlessly.
Rhiannon gritted her teeth. "Exactly…."
Eilin nodded and her fingers clutched his jawline selfishly. "Do you hear me Thorin? You have to come back for me and our children. We love you so much…" Her words paled in front of the feelings that were choking her. Her fight for breath burst forth in a gush of moans that Eilin couldn't control. She held onto him like a barnacle as her body emptied all the anguish she felt.
Rhiannon held Eilin in a tight hug, trying to sooth down her suffering for a long time as the Queen's body quivered hard under her wails of despair.
Eilin didn't know how long she cried with his face held tightly between her hands and her trembling lips ghosting his, but soon her tears slowly dried out leaving her body weak and overcome. Only then was she able to address Rhiannon again with a raspy voice. "Can you please go and check on Durin? I haven't seen him since this morning when he came to say good morning to his father."
"Lady Arwen and her niece took him for a ride in Mirkwood to help get his mind off things. They are still with him." Rhiannon placed a gentle kiss on Eilin's cheek.
"Thank you. Do you have any news from Dwalin and Erebor?" She closed her eyes and leaned her head on Thorin's shoulder, after making sure that he was well tucked in under the quilt.
"He hasn't returned yet." Rhiannon replied softly.
"Make sure when he arrives to come see me immediately." She muttered.
Rhiannon. "Yes, my dear. Why don't you get some sleep too? You look exhausted. I will stand guard for him. Don't worry."
Eilin shook her head and clutched Thorin's hands tightly. "I will sleep right here. I want to feel him. I want to make sure he is breathing."
Rhiannon's eyes filled with sadness. "Want me to make you something to eat or drink?"
"No." Eilin exhaled.
Rhiannon smoothed back her hair tenderly. "You wish me to remain?"
"No, go find my baby boy and look after him for me." Eilin whispered.
Rhiannon pursed her lips and watched her affectionately for several moments before deciding to leave her. She walked to the door quietly and closed it behind her with many tears of staining her eyes and the cruel grip of fear squeezing her stomach.
When Eilin opened her eyes again it was much darker and the beautiful lanterns in the room had all been lit up. Her eyelids fluttered for a few moments as she tried to focus. Them her fingers squeezed around the tourniquet that was on Thorin's hand and she gasped. She looked up at his face straightaway and when she observed several silver tendrils trapped on his forehead by small beads of sweat the glistened like diamonds under the soft hue of the lights her heart lost its beat.
"My beloved?" She breathed and her hand smoothed away his hair, aching to feel his temperature. When she felt the warmth of his skin brushing against her fingers she moaned his name and her face broke in despair once more. "Thorin? Can you hear me?" She stood up eagerly and leant above his head. She wiped away the few sweaty beads that hadn't been enough to bring down his temperature, but awoke a small flare of hope in her heart.
His body was fighting off the poison. He hadn't given up. She enclosed him on her bosom and touched his ear with her lips. "I know you are fighting this. I know you don't want to give up my heart. I am right here with you." –Her hand seized his frantically- "We will not leave you alone in this. Not even for a moment. Why didn't you talk to me? Why didn't you tell me how awful you were feeling? I would have helped you. Can you feel my hand?" -She kissed his pointy ear and squeezed her eyes tight- "Please show me that you can feel my hand…." She held her breath, waiting for a sign. She counted inwards and tried to distinguish even the slightest sign from him.
There was no response.
She exhaled and a deep frown formed on her eyebrows, but she gritted her teeth against the misery that threatened to overtake her. She was here to help him overcome, to support him and their children, not break apart on him. Her hand twisted firmly around his and she nodded, coming to a decision in her internal debate. "Yes you will be fine. I know you will. Thorin Oakenshield doesn't just keel over and die. You are my pillar, but so am I yours. Your children are waiting to see you, do you hear me? Dis has Rhianaye and Thrarin and they don't know what a big mess you are in right now, so shape up and come back to us quickly because they miss their daddy okay? As for our brave little Durin, he is more like you than you'd ever wish him to be. Stubborn to the bone, brave beyond words and loyal to a fault. He didn't want to go back to Erebor when Elrond brought you to the Elven Realm to heal you. He insisted to stay here and help. No one was able to tear him away from you, except from little Celebriel and her aunt Arwen. You must thank them when you wake up for drawing his attention away from your deteriorating state long enough to keep him sane. Do we have a deal?" She spoke to him quietly, with a doting motherly tone he would have probably silenced with many kisses had he been awake. And as she murmured words of love and devotion to his ear her hand was cooling his slightly sweaty brow with a clean wet cloth.
Over and over again she placed it on his forehead, cheeks and his inner arms while cooing to him words of eternal devotion. She checked on his swollen hand, but didn't take the tourniquet off. She wanted to allow Oin to do that for her when Dwalin brought him back from Erebor. She continued her gentle scolding and affectionate attentions, slowly forgetting her hopelessness. Those few beads of sweat had given her so much hope even though his temperature didn't feel as cool as she would have wished it to be. On and on she went strengthened by the confidence that he hadn't given up. It was the soft knock on the door that stopped her from buzzing around him like a bee, checking on everything and straightening out his covers constantly. She looked up sharply and frowned. "Come."
The door opened up and Dwalin entered with a fierce hastiness that overtook his surroundings. "How is he?!" He bellowed.
Eilin's face lit up. "I just felt the first droplets of sweat breaking on his forehead just now, but keep your voice down." –Then she turned with a sweet, but sad smile towards Balin who stumbled behind his brother- "Thank you for coming back so quickly."
"How is he lassie?" The old advisor hurried next to Thorin.
She recognized the anguish in his features and her heart went out to him. "Both Lord Elrond and King Thranduil said that he is fighting off the poison. He is slightly sweaty which is amazing news!"
Balin closed his eyes and gripped Thorin's good hand tightly. "He got trapped in there by the Abhorred Dead, didn't he?"
Eilin covered his hand with hers. "He is going to be okay."
Balin looked up at her hopefully. "I know lassie."
"We've all seen him come back from the dead once…" Her voice failed her.
"More than once." Dwalin crossed his arms and looked at the floor dejected.
Eilin nodded. "He is going to come back again. He has a family to take care off, he has three children, a kingdom, an Alliance….I will not allow him to leave." Her voice filled with newfound determination.
Balin emptied himself on a chair next to her and gazed crestfallen at his King.
"Do you believe me Lord Balin? I will not allow him to leave!" She hissed and her eyes burned with a fiery fortitude that Balin had not been expecting.
"I believe you my girl." -He exhaled and a ghostly smile formed on his lips- "You said he is sweaty?"
Eilin touched his brow with her lips. "His temperature feels slightly better than it was this morning. I have to inform Lord Elrond about this."
"Not right now. Give Oin the opportunity to see him first. He is waiting outside." Dwalin said.
Balin looked up at that. "Nevertheless we won't let him in until we have spoken of something that is of utmost importance and only meant for your ears my Lady."
"Very well. I am listening." Eilin scowled.
Balin gave a guarded look at his brother who walked and stood sentinel by the door. "We have a bit of a crisis between Erebor and the Elven Realm taking place at the moment and we need your assistance."
"What kind of crisis?" She sounded incredulous.
When Balin made sure no one was going to listen in on them he gave an attentive look at the unconscious King and then revealed a scroll from the inside pocket of his vest. "Before befalling sick to Sauron's darkness our King gave some rather risky orders that could create a conflict in the Alliance and unfortunately he is not awake to take them back."
"What orders?" Eilin's hand tightened around Thorin's in order to get support from his presence.
"Add to that madness, that he gave them to the most impossible person in Erebor!" Dwalin grumbled.
Balin signed and raised his brow at Eilin. "Lord Gloin's son, Gimli. He is a feisty youngling with an itch to create trouble with the Elves. He hates their guts. He has already gathered enough masons from Erebor and Dale to build a new city. He is ready to march with a division in order to launch an attack and nobody can stop him since the order was given to him straight from the King."
Eilin lifted her hand to stop them. "What did Thorin tell him to do?"
Balin hesitated for several moments before opening the scroll and passing it over to Eilin. "The demolition of Dol Guldur." He said flatly.
She took it and began reading attentively. When she finished she gave it back to Balin. "My husband did very well." She said impassively.
"Lassie you don't understand…." Balin tried, but she interrupted him.
"That place almost killed my son, it has almost claimed my husband! I am sitting here holding his hand praying for him to come back to his children, not knowing if he is going to live or not. All this misery befell my family because of those cursed ruins! Let Lord Gimli bring it down to the ground. I don't ever want to see it again. I don't want it to be near my family!" Eilin spat.
Balin's eyes darted fearfully to Dwalin who inhaled deeply. "The whole Northern Alliance might be depending on this order my girl. I understand that Thorin acted instinctively because he wanted to protect you and his children, but his decision was based on emotions, not reason. Commands such as these that affect the whole Kingdom should be taken by King Thorin, not your Thorin. Can you at least listen to me sensibly? Thorin couldn't heed my advice, because he was obviously affected by the blackness that escaped this place. You are more distanced and much more rational than him."
"And much less stubborn." Dwalin raised his brow.
"Don't patronize me. I am not in the mood." -Eilin warned and Dwalin pursed his lips, but remained silent. Then she turned to Balin- "Why is the Alliance depending on this order? Doesn't the Elven Realm wish to eliminate this threat from its borders too?" Eilin gritted her teeth and forced herself to hear out Thorin's most precious advisor by overlooking her personal feelings.
"The Elven King is not at par with this decision and I don't blame him. Dol Guldur is ancient, it belongs to Thranduil's forefathers. Its very grounds are saturated with Sauron's evil. Do you believe that bringing it down will help you eliminate that shadow from Mirkwood?" Balin said quietly.
Eilin sighed deeply and caressed Thorin's hand.
"No matter how many armies Thorin unleashes towards this place, the ground under it, the very rocks, the dirt it sits upon will still carry the command of darkness. Nothing will bloom there and the rays of the sun will never brighten it up. If the immense strength of the Lady of Light cannot penetrate the secrets it hides behind its evil walls, do you think our masons or our army are going to defeat it? Its malevolence crawled out of those ruins and found your husband in his bed. It attacked him inside the safety of our city. Its corruption is embedded in the very depths of the ground it sits upon. Noble and brave as Thorin's original plan may have been it will accomplish nothing more than anger Thranduil, who is being informed by his people that the King of the North was getting ready to launch an attack at a stronghold that belongs by rights to the Elven Realm, without informing him prior. Do you think that is the wisest command your husband has ever given?" Balin tried to reason.
Eilin felt her throat growing dry and looked at Thorin's closed eyes. She reached out and caressed his forehead affectionately. "I comprehend what you are telling me, but as you said before Thorin acted on emotion and I cannot blame him."
Dwalin came over and sat on the other side of the bed. His eyes fell faithfully on the King's pallid countenance. "I cannot blame him indeed. He was probably suffering from the effects of Dol Guldur far before his decision to attack it, but none of us knew."
"I am sure he did." Her forefinger caressed the thick veins on the back of his hand.
"Neither can I blame him lassie, but Thranduil might. My job is not to assess this sensibly in his stead. We need to sustain the Alliance, which he created with so many sacrifices. We cannot allow such a hasty and tactless command create a rapture between the newfound trust and friendship of our kin with the Elves. We need their allegiance as much as they need ours and currently their King is full of suspicion against our King. We need to find a way to settle Thranduil's worries and stand down Lord Gimli who is rubbing his hands gleefully at the borders of Mirkwood right at this moment." Balin rejoined.
Eilin closed her eyes. "How can we do that my Lord?"
Balin placed the scroll on her lap. "By revoking Thorin's orders."
Eilin looked up at that sharply. "Very well then do so."
Balin pursed his lips and looked at Dwalin who scratched his beard uneasily. "You see lassie, none other than the King himself can revoke his own orders. In his absence his closest of kin must take over according to the law of the Elders."
"So ask Prince Fili to sign. I am sure he will do so if you present your arguments as logically as you have done with me." Eilin shrugged.
Balin sighed. "The only one who is entitled to revoke the King's orders in his absence is his heir, not his nephew."
Eilin scowled. "Therefore Durin."
"Who is underage. He cannot legally sign any papers in his father's stead." Balin rejoined.
Eilin rubbed her forehead. "Are you trying to tell me something that I am missing my Lord? If so please do it because I am too exhausted for this."
Balin pursed his lips and looked at his hands. "In the King's absence and if his heir is underage, the Queen gains full authority over the kingdom. Presently you are in full command of the North lassie."
The silence that befell the room was heavy. Eilin looked up and was unable to utter a single word to respond to what she just heard.
Dwalin rubbed his forehead awkwardly.
Balin leaned over when he saw Eilin awestricken and bereft of speech. "Your signature is the only one that can stop Lord Gimli from marching with our army against Dol Guldur and creating a breach in the trusty friendship between Thranduil and Thorin. It is you the Elven King wishes to talk to in order to set things straight about what King Thorin has done behind his back. You are the only one who can stop your husband's orders, not to mention the only one who can restore his good reputation to the Elven King."
Eilin swallowed heavily and felt the whole world collapsing impressively upon her shoulders. A feeling that she had never experienced before. Hadn't Thorin told her how difficult it was to take on responsibility of so many people not so long ago? How ironic was it that a couple of days later she landed in the very same position, but was far less equipped to deal with the immensity of it all? "I cannot do that." –She murmured feeling absolutely terrified at the prospect of having to deal with all this in Thorin's stead- "I cannot…no…I am just a simple tavern maiden. I don't know anything about politics. I don't know how to rule. You have this all wrong. Ask Dain to take over, ask Fili. Hell even my son will do a better job than me." She said quickly, trying desperately to find a way out of this.
Balin pressed his lips and crossed his arms. "You are not a tavern maiden. You have been our Queen for the last decade. Now it is time for you to act like one. Our King married you and placed you next to him for a reason. Not only to bear his children, but also because he trusted that you would rule wisely in his stead."
"Don't put words in his mouth when he is not here to rebuke them!" She chastised.
"Thorin always trusted your levelheadedness and your sense of justice immensely. He told me that you'd make a much wiser ruler than him." Balin added.
"You are lying just to get me to sign…" She tittered.
"I never lie." Balin frowned.
"He's always trusted you Eilin. I know that too. Now you must take over for him." Dwalin intervened.
Eilin paused for a few moments. "What if I sign this paper and he wakes up to learn that I countermand his command? He is going to be mad at me."
"So let him be mad then." Balin shrugged.
Dwalin threw a loving glance at Thorin hair and smirked at Eilin.
"You think it is as simple as that. You think all this is funny?" Her eyes thinned.
Balin reached out and gripped her shoulder. "I trust in my Queen to make a prudent choice that will save the precious Alliance her husband created by the sweat of his brow. He spilled his blood in order to rule the North and you mustn't allow one emotional decision to destroy everything that he had worked for all these years. Now think of everything that is on the line and understand that only you can undo this. Only you can restore the proper balance. If your husband wakes up and becomes mad that you actually saved the Northern Alliance and his friendship with the Elven King then so be it, don't you think?"
Eilin felt her lips uplifting in a smile of disbelief. "So be it? You think it is easy to overrule Thorin Oakenshield's commands, make him mad and then find a way to pacify him?"
"It is certainly not easy, but who better than his wife to do all of the above?" Dwalin joined in with a caring smile towards his friend.
"Especially since his wife has the legal right to sign in his stead and is given the blessings of the Seven." Balin added.
"The Seven know of this mess?" Eilin looked at him with dread.
Balin pursed his lips. "Yes and they will support your decision to override the King's command in his absence."
Eilin felt the world coming to a standstill and she looked at her husband. She swallowed heavily and pressed his hand tightly.
"I know this is hard for you lassie, but remember we trust in you." Balin squeezed her shoulder.
"My signature, right?" She looked up.
"To save the Alliance and the good graces of your husband with the Elven Realm, yes." Balin nodded.
"And a talk with Thranduil?" She added.
"He has already requested it when he found out about the army that is being prepared to march. He just respects your grievance. Basically he waits for you to reach out to him." Balin replied.
Eilin felt herself curling inwards and jerked Thorin's hand, urging him silently to wake up and help her.
"Thorin had always been the vanguard of Durin's Folk. Always standing in the front lines ready to take the first blow for all of us. You must become his wingman at this moment. Will you sign my Queen?" Balin pressed.
Eilin gritted her teeth and her hold on Thorin's hand became even tighter, searching for silent support. As she deliberated on her choices and on a way out of this, Dwalin and Balin were exchanging troubled glances. It took her a long time to come to a decision and it was not easy on her. "I will command the temporarily discontinuation of the Dol Guldur march until I have time to read Thorin's orders in more detail and discuss this with king Thranduil. Then you shall have my final decision on the matter, unless my husband wakes up first. Will that do?" She said quietly.
The brothers smiled. "Yes, my Lady."
"Bring me a clean scroll, a quill and a red candle. Also bring in Lord Oin. I need him to see Thorin's hand immediately. I trust the Elfish medicine, but I trust ours more. No matter how much Erebor dreads the rupture of this Alliance, I dread my husband's ill-health more." -She said with an authority she didn't think she had in her. She carefully removed Thorin's royal ring that bore his sigil and looked at Balin- "What are you waiting my Lord? For Gimli to march at Dol Guldur? You wanted me to stop all this, didn't you?"
That set the old advisor into action. "Clean scroll and quill. Immediately my Lady."
Eilin turned to Dwalin. "Lead Lord Oin in please."
Dwalin smiled at her cunningly. "Very good my Queen."
Eilin's lips formed a ghostly smile as she caressed Thorin's ring. Then she stood up and kissed his brow tenderly. "Will you ever forgive me for stepping in your boots my love?" She whispered and her heart skirted at the dampness of his skin that felt slightly cooler now. She wished to imagine that her determination to take command in his stead was somehow helping him fight off the sickness. Possibly so he could wake up and scold her for trying to become a ruler in his place. She decided to voice that thought. "I am about to overrule your orders. If you hate me doing that wake up and stop me!" She challenged him quietly.
He didn't respond.
She pressed his hand and caressed his cheek affectionately. Then her lips ghosted his and she delighted when she felt his sweat staining her. "I am doing it because I love you more than my life and I need to protect your work. I am doing it to protect you. Please find it in your heart to forgive me." She whispered and pecked him gently. Then she straightened and licked the saltiness of his sweat from her upper lip.
That is when Oin entered the room with an urgency that didn't go well with the fixed resolve she felt inside for what she was ready to do. "He went and did it again, didn't he?" The old medical genius said and dropped his leather satchel on the floor.
"Will you shut it old man and have a look at him?" Dwalin pointed at the bed vexed.
Oin bowed deeply at the Queen. "What happened my Lady?"
Eilin lifted up Thorin's hand and kissed it emotionally. "Serious infection from an Orcish blade that was forgotten through the centuries in Dol Guldur. The Elves believe that it caused most of his health issues, but it was Sauron's dark magic that eventually blew him out. He is fighting both the infection and the after effects of the darkness that touched him."
Oin began unwrapping the bandage the Elves had placed around Thorin's hand. "He is sweating though."
"Just barely and it only just began. The Elves had used their magic on him, but he was hardly able to swallow any of their medicinal brews." Eilin sat down and held Thorin's forearm protectively as Oin check his hand. The scar on his finger had bled on its own slightly, and the Elves had placed several herbs on it to control the infection.
"Hmm…" -Oin rumbled and reached behind his back to retrieve a bowie knife- "All is well and good with elvish medicine, but sometimes more crude measures needed." -He looked up at Dwalin- "Bring over that lantern. I need its fire."
Eilin felt her heart dropping. "What are you going to do?"
Dwalin brought it over and uncovered it. Oin cleaned his blade thoroughly with a wet cloth and then rubbed it all over with the reminders of the herbs that were in the tourniquet. Then he placed it above the strong flame. "I will open up his wound." He said flatly.
Eilin's body squeezed tight defensively. "What?" she paled.
"We need to give the infection a way out in order for him to have a chance to heal quicker. You said he is in a comatose state fighting the touch of darkness so the last thing he needs is to fight a bloody infection as well. This one at least will be easier to control once I release all this puss." Oin said unemotionally.
Eilin bit her lower lip hard. "Will it hurt him?"
"Much less than he is probably hurting right now." Oin rejoined and took the knife out of the fire.
Eilin's countenance plunged when she saw the heat of the bright orange blade.
"Do you want to go out until I finish?" Oin looked at her thoughtfully.
She pulled Thorin's head on her bosom protectively. "No, I am staying right here with him. Dot it." She said.
Oin grumbled at Dwalin. "Come here and hold my cone so I can hear what's going on while I do this!"
Dwalin obliged with a sign of impatience. "Get on with it you old troll."
Eilin felt terrifyingly mesmerized by the blade that touched Thorin's swollen finger and kissed his temple. "Hang on my heart. I am right here." She murmured and tightened her body in his stead, as if expecting the blade to cut her own skin.
What happened next was impressive to see and something she'd not easily forget. The moment the blade slashed through his skin, a mass of yellow and pink ooze almost exploded out of it and stained both Oin's tunic and Dwalin's trousers. Eilin yelped and pressed her lips on Thorin's forehead. "Shit…." She murmured, bewildered.
"Bloody hell, I should have expected that." Oin spat while Thorin's finger spewed all his sickness upon the floor. A foul stench filled the air and Eilin gagged and closed her eyes tightly.
Dwalin rushed to open up the window. "Bloody Elves….his fever at least could have been easily controlled had they done this sooner." He barked.
When nothing else was coming out of Thorin's finger on its own accord, Oin pressed the wound, forcing it to expel more. "Ah…I feel relieved watching this." Oin murmured mesmerized.
Eilin's eyes flew open when she felt Thorin tense slightly under her. "Oin, wait!"
Dwalin turned around quickly.
Eilin looked up. "I felt him clenching while you were pressing his finger! I know it was not my idea. He is still in there, possibly feeling everything that is happening!"
Dwalin loomed above his best friend, vexed. "Of course he is still in there and I hope he is feeling everything. He is worth all that pain for not speaking a word to me!"
Eilin's jawline flexed. "Oh, come on now."
Oin looked at Dwalin. "Take a mop and clean out the floor or else this stench of death will kill us all."
Eilin kissed Thorin's cheek firmly. "This sickness had been trapped inside him all this time and I didn't know."
"I swear when he wakes up I am going to slap him upside in the head!" Dwalin grumbled.
"If he wakes up." Eilin looked at her husband tentatively.
"Oh you bet he will and then he will have to deal with the whole of me!" Dwalin grumbled and began wiping the floor.
Eilin wanted to laugh at those words, but her fear choked that laughter. She enfolded him close to her heart as Oin began cleaning the wound and dressing it up again.
"We will do this again tomorrow." Oin rejoined.
"Again, why?" She frowned.
"We will do it as many times as is needed to get this filth out." The old Dwarf said flatly.
That is when the door opened and the moment Balin came in, he gagged. "What in the name of Mordor is this foul smell!?"
"That is the stench of his infection." Oin said and placed the medicinal herbs back on the wound, after making sure it was clean.
Balin waved his hand around. "It smells like death."
"Bloody elves didn't want to take the responsibility of slashing open the King of the North. You mark my words that is why they didn't do it, not because they are unaware of this method." Oin said angrily and began dressing the wound with a clean bandage.
Eilin's fingers entwined through Thorin's slightly sweaty mane. "Do you think he is in pain?"
"Not really. He seems to be out cold." Oin shrugged calmly.
She felt slightly unnerved by Oin's detachment and decided to voice that. "You don't sound concerned that he might be suffering."
Oin pressed his lips and checked on his thorough work as Balin lingered above his shoulder. His answer was an indignant huff.
Balin decided to speak for him. "This man stitched up your husband when his guts were spilling all over the golden floor of the King's Halls a decade ago. Do you think he'd flinch by slashing open his finger?"
Eilin cringed and a strong shudder rode down her back. "For two days now he has been out cold. He didn't show any reaction to what the Elves where doing to him. He even had a difficulty swallowing their medicinal brew. This is the first time since he went out cold, that I felt any kind of reaction from him. It was brief and probably only instinctual against the pain Lord Oin was offering him, but I felt it."
"Don't ever doubt that he will finally wake up." Balin said nonchalantly and placed the clean scroll, the quill and the red candle on the table for her.
Her eyes filled with dread as she looked at it. "He was attacked by Sauron's magic. People don't return easily from such assaults, Lord Balin. I have the feeling I am the only one here taking my husband's condition seriously….apart from the Elves."
"That is because neither you nor the Elves have seen what me, Balin and Dwalin have. This man literally returned from the dead." –Oin grumbled- "His torso was torn apart and I could see his internal organs as he painted the ice waterfalls bright red with his blood. His heart had stopped beating and he was not breathing, yet he came back! Sauron's stupid magic will do nothing to him. He will come back sooner rather than later and then we'd better all be prepared for the impact, because he's going to be moody."
Eilin exhaled roughly through her nose and closed her eyes. "Oh, I am sure about that." She murmured, remembering that her final words with her husband had been their argument about him and Ith. They never had the chance to talk about it before he decided to fall unconscious. The inevitable discussion between them scared her. However the prospect of seeing him opening his beautiful azure eyes and looking at her again, even crossly was a relief for her heart. She wanted him awake and safe with them once more, despite his nasty mood or the things that he'd hurl at her the moment he remembered how she reacted at the river shore. Not to mention about recalling his orders for Dol Guldur. Oh, he'd be mad at her indeed, no doubt.
"We may seem more casual about Thorin's health than you would expect, because we have all seen him go through hell and return from it. He is too hard to die lassie." -Balin held the chair for her courteously- "Now are you ready?"
Eilin licked her lips and walked over to the table. "Yes, thank you."
"You need assistance in writing it?" Balin crossed his hands patiently.
"Write what?" Oin asked.
"Don't interfere with the Queen's business. Concentrate on the King." Dwalin snapped as he cleaned the floor fastidiously.
Eilin's gaze lingered on her husband for several moments and then she picked up the quill. "Allow me a few moments." She said with a steady voice.
The advisor bowed gallantly and went over to sit by the King. Eilin looked at the empty scroll and felt her stomach dropping. She was the wife of the King, not a true Queen. Eleven years ago she first stepped at Erebor with her hood drawn low over her eyes and bereft of speech. Right now she was holding the fate of the Northern Alliance in her hands, but also the reputation of her husband. She was in heavy disbelief that what she was experiencing was real and not one of Rhiannon's story with Eilin at the role of the noble heroin who just came over to save the name of the most renowned King. She inhaled deeply, leaned over and began writing.
When she finished she read it multiple times without noticing that Oin finished his job and left the room. Then she placed her signature at the bottom of the paper and with a trembling hand wrote under it. "Eilin Longbeard, Queen of Durin's Folk." She felt this title closer to her heart than all the rest as it contained the name of her son. She then spilled some red candle wax under it and used Thorin's ring to seal it. With one last look of apprehension at her creation she turned to Balin. "Do you wish to read it?"
Balin held it with reverence. "I trust my Queen with my life. Do you allow me to depart my Lady so I can give your orders to the Seven?"
Eilin rubbed her forehead. "Certainly. Please make sure my children are okay when you return home."
"They are under Dis' care, worry not." Balin smiled widely.
Eilin's lips formed a faded smile. "Then go, before I change my mind and tear this scroll to pieces."
Balin bowed and shuffled out of the room quickly.
Eilin looked at Dwalin who stood like an angel above Thorin. "Aren't you going to go?"
"No, he needs me and so do you." Dwalin stated calmly.
Eilin's lips turned down and she leaned her forehead on her crossed hands. "I don't believe I just terminated one of Thorin's orders."
"You have some nerve. No one has ever done something like this before. This is a first for him and for Erebor." Dwalin smirked.
Eilin looked up in dread. "I am doomed."
"Oh, yes you are. He's going to reprimand you…." The bodyguard continued.
"I know…" she exhaled defeated.
"…hard…" He added relentlessly.
"Don't remind me…" She frowned and covered her eyes feeling the tentacles of apprehension licking up her spine.
"You did well." Dwalin's voice became quiet.
Eilin peeped between her fingers. "What?"
"His name is on the line. You just saved the Alliance and his status. His order was rushed and not well thought. He is lucky to have a wife like you, ready to save his sorry ass." Dwalin smirked and gazed at Thorin lovingly.
Eilin sighed in relief. "And lucky to have such a loyal friend as you."
Dwalin hesitated for a moment with a deep frown forming on his brow. "He is going to be okay, never doubt that."
Eilin stood up and hurried back to the bed. She sat next to Thorin and leaned down to kiss his cheek. "I am so afraid for him…"
"Have some faith." He pressed her small hand in his large one and she felt her heart thudding in her ears.
She drew Thorin's hand up and kissed it gently. "Let him come back and I will hear every single reproach he has to give me for what I did, I don't care." She murmured upon his skin and felt her back shuddering hard.
Dwalin's mouth formed a rare doting smile that Eilin missed.
They both remained above the King long after the sun had set and when Dwalin finally decided to retire for the night the Queen was already asleep next to Thorin's pillow.
As for their dreams, even though hers were chaotic images of what had taken place the last few days, his was the same lucid nightmare that had drawn him in so deep, making him unable to discern dreams from reality anymore and stopping him from waking up in Eilin's arms.
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