Disclaimer: I do not own The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings. They belong to J. R. R. Tolkien. Any Quotes seen in this are taken from the Peter Jackson movies and I do not own them either. I also do not own anything Charmed related either and anything related to the Camp Half-Blood chronicles belong to Rick Riordan.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Lady Harga.

"Why am I doing this again?" Thalia asked softly as she tried to get comfortable, she had been unable to say no to Dís when she had shown up that morning shortly after the twins had headed off to their lessons for the day. Boria held back a smile, she didn't blame her mistress for being rather uncomfortable in this situation; the ladies that they were dining with weren't entirely her cup of tea either.

Most of them had attempted to court Thorin at one point or catch his attention in hopes of taking the position of Queen when they had all returned to the mountain. It wasn't a secret that most still desired the role that now belonged to Thalia and the most notable was Lady Harga; the daughter of Lord Khîm who thought that she was perfect for the role.

"It is important for the ladies of the court to see their Queen," Dís stated firmly from her seat, she had planned the lunch that she was throwing perfectly and in time it would be Thalia that would be expected to hold such important functions. The ladies that were in attendance this lunch-time consisted of the daughters and wives of some of the more powerful dwarves that held positions in Thorin's court. They were the ones that Thalia would spend a lot of time around when she became Queen Under the Mountain; it was them that might one day fill her inner circle and become her close friends.

"They see enough of me… I don't however, see enough of Thorin," Thalia grumbled quietly so only Dís and Boria could hear what she was saying, she didn't know any of these women and she felt rather self-conscious about how they all seemed to be eyeing her. Dís rolled her eyes, she didn't trust her older brother and his betrothed to be alone in the same room as one another; the last thing they needed was another child to be born before they were wed. The two women were silent for a moment as lunch was served, there was soft music playing in the background and everyone that was in attendance seemed to be enjoying themselves and quite relaxed.

"Lady Dís," greeted a voice as a dwarf approached the table were Thalia and Dís were eating, she ducked into a deep curtsy and kept her eyes down for a moment before rising. The dwarf slowly rose back to her feet and Thalia couldn't help but take in the amount of gold that seemed to be woven into her blonde curled hair and that sat around her neck. Dís stared at the dwarf that was before her, she was a little curious about what had made her approach them considering her father's dislike for how things were working out in court at that moment.

"Thalia… this is Lady Harga," Dís introduced gently, she had no idea why Lord Khîm's daughter would approach them when the family had been so desperate to have her named Queen; a title that now belonged to Thalia. There was silence for a moment and Thalia wasn't sure what to say to the dwarf especially considering how much her father seemed to hate Thalia with a passion because she held Thorin's heart.

Lady Harga's brown eyes swiftly moved to the woman that sat beside the King's sister; she couldn't help but eye her wondering what was so special about her. Thalia was not a great beauty as herself and the woman was of the race of men, she just didn't seem like the most suitable match for the King Under the Mountain.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Thalia," Lady Harga mused although it didn't go unnoticed that she didn't offer any title to the woman that would-be Queen in her place. Dís pursed her lips knowing that she couldn't scolded Lady Harga when Thalia didn't really hold a title yet; most just called her Lady Thalia right now.

"I have heard the great stories about you… though I must confess that you aren't what I expected," Lady Harga commented with a smile, she had been expecting someone more like Lord Gloin's wife than who was sat before her now. Lady Tutrena was a force to be recommend with and no one wanted to get in her way when she was on the war path; the same couldn't be said for the woman before her.

Thalia seemed rather breakable and Lady Harga couldn't help but feel like the council were all fools to even consider allowing someone so meek to become Queen Under the Mountain. It made her think of the children that now sat in line to the throne and how they would have inherited their mother's weaknesses.

"As I have heard about you, and I confess that you aren't what I had pictured," Thalia replied sweetly back, she hadn't been able to ignore the talk about Lady Harga especially considering how much her father hated her. Lord Khîm was always a source of tension these days and Dís tried her best to keep Thalia up-to-date with everything that went on in court when she heard gossip from her ladies.

A smile formed on Lady Harga's face and she seemed to take that as a compliment instead of the slight insult that Thalia had offered to her. Thalia was rather relieved to find that Lady Harga wasn't as much of a threat as she had feared; compared to Dís, the dwarrow looked rather plain and had clearly stuffed herself into a dress much too small.

The purple dress was covered in gems that had been sewn into the bodice and it was clear that it had been chosen because it was close to blue; a sign that she wasn't quite ready to give up on the idea that she could marry Thorin. Thalia had opted for a red gown with a hand-beaded collar, she had done her best to look the part for such an occasion and she knew that whatever she wore would soon be copied around court anyway. Lady Harga didn't linger and headed back to her table, a plan forming in her mind and she was sure that if enough people were to side with her then she would have what she wanted.

"Just as pleasant as her father," Thalia whispered for only Dís to hear, she didn't know what it was about Lady Harga but she had a feeling that she was going to be a massive thorn in her side. She didn't know what she could really do about Lady Harga but she doubted that she would be able to really do anything that would dissuade her from whatever it was that she was planning. Thalia didn't trust Lady Harga or Lord Khîm further than she could possibly throw them, she knew that if things were suddenly to change for her or the twins then they would be responsible for it.

"Even more reason for people to see the you that helped win back this mountain," Dís told her gently, she knew that Lady Harga wanted to be Queen and there was no way in Durin's name that she was going to allow that to happen. As far as she was considered, Lord Khim and his family had too much power as it was when it came to the council; the last thing that they needed was Lady Harga getting her hands on the throne.

Thalia peeked at Dís wondering just what the dwarrow was planning, she had been kept busy with the lessons that she insisted upon as it was and she couldn't imagine what more she could possibly do. The wedding wasn't for another few months and with everything that was going on in Middle Earth at that moment; Thalia couldn't help but feel like everything was building up to something.

"Don't worry about it now… just enjoy yourself," Dís encouraged with a smile, she had everything at hand and she knew that things were going their way even if they couldn't see it. Thalia held the support of the people and that was what mattered right now, something that Lady Harga couldn't say for herself; she wasn't very well liked outside of her group of friends.

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