Coming Of Age – Chapter 35
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Later that afternoon, everyone gathered for an afternoon meal, Oin had given Frerin and Jor a brew for their head sores.
Feeling much better, Jor was able to come down and partake in the afternoon meal as he sat next to his twin.
"Goodness, what happened to your tiny beard?" Lee asked him.
"Don't want to talk about it, sis." Jor groused at her.
She laughed as she shook her head, "I guess it will grow back sometime next year!"
Jor gave her a push, almost knocking her out of her seat.
Lee laughed at him as she sat back in her seat.
Queen Nur came in and looked at Lee and Jor and gave a start as she kept gazing at them.
"Goodness!" She held her chest. "I …you two…I can't tell you two apart!"
Lee and Jor exchanged a grin.
The cousins looked at them and saw that Nur was right; unknowingly Lee and Jor were wearing the same colored shirt.
Thrain who was sitting at the far end of the table looked at them and pointed, "That is JoraLee."
Thorin shook his head, "Father, that is my wife. See her ear, she has a scar."
They all laughed.
"How did she obtain the scar?" Jor asked. "It was not there when I left."
"Long story short, we had a small accident with the dagger." Thorin explained quickly.
"Dagger? One of our daggers? Lee never missed." Jor shook his head.
So Thorin was compelled to explain to him about the accident with the accident.
Thrain shook his head when his son was done. "Why is it that when there is an accident with you Lee, there is a weapon involved? Especially those confounded dagger? What is so special about the daggers? May I see them?"
Thorin shook his head quickly as he tried to tell his father that it was a bad idea when two daggers wheezed by him in quick succession and thudded right in front of Thrain on the table, almost scaring the older dwarf to death as he quickly scooted his chair away from the table.
"Oi!" Thrain yelped.
"Lee! Jora!" Thorin yelled at them as he glared at his wife.
The twins grinned.
"I'm all right, just jolted my heart a bit, but I'm all right." Thrain's eyebrows remained above his forehead in astonishment as he pulled one of the daggers out and examined it. "This is exceptional work indeed, sharp, very sharp." He tested the blade and nodded approvingly.
"How many have you made?" He asked the twins.
"Jor and I have one each, Thorin, and the now each cousins have them. But we have a few more at home." Lee replied.
"And you keep them in your boot?'
She nodded.
"At all times?"
She nodded again.
Thrain stood up suddenly holding both daggers and walked to the doors and opened them.
"From this day forth, when we sit down to sup, we will not have any daggers or any other weapons here on my table. You will all bring forth and remove them and hand them here before the guards."
One by one, Thorin, Oin, Gloin, Balin and Dwalin surrendered their daggers to the guards who took their daggers from them nervously and placed them on a small wooden table by a wall before they closed the doors again.
"Serves you right for throwing them at my father!" Thorin teased Lee as he took a bite of bread from his plate.
Lee arched a brow at him and looked away from him without saying a word as she continued to eat. She was tempted to throw something at his smug face but she remembered to act mature as she observed the queen and the king, the cousins, her twin.
She was no longer a child.
She must remember that she was now a Queen Regent to her twin's King of Nogrod of Mount Demount. And so, she must act accordingly.
"Lee, are you all right?" She looked to see Thorin watching her with concern.
She nodded, "I'm fine." She grabbed his hand suddenly and gripped it as if he was her lifeline.
It all came crashing down on her all of a sudden; her new duties, this training Thrain wanted her and Jor to learn, this union with Thorin, the Durin family.
She felt as if she could not breathe! She looked about her;
Queen Nur, her mother in law who had been wonderful to her, like a mother. If her mother had been alive, she would have been just like Nur, and she and Nur would have gotten along famously.
Frerin, a younger brother who had taken an instant liking to Jor had become good friends.
Balin, a brother more than cousin, a confidante and an advisor, he had seen much more than her young life had. She would trust him without question, just like Thorin had.
Dwalin, another brother, she knew was someone whom she had come to know had a very compassionate soul but no doubt could be relied upon if help was needed.
Gloin, yet another brother she had come to trust and respect, she would gladly have in battle or be part of her new kingdom, he was wise and not afraid to speak his mind, one she knew he could advise her in court matters.
Oin, ah! He was someone she most wanted to be in her kingdom, a very skilled healer, a warrior. She knew she had hurt him deeply when Mored threatened her father using them but she had talked to him in private and they had made peace. She had told him she had not blamed him at all. She was not mad at him for disobeying her. He had done the right thing. She was thankful he had done the right thing. Oin was very glad for he was quite perturbed for a while, his heart was unsettled. Now they had remained for the longest time, the best of friends.
In fact, they all were, till the very end. They were brothers and sister. They were each other's confidante
"Lee?" Thorin had leaned near her when she held his hand tightly.
Lee felt at peace as she thought of her father and her Uncle Crimm; she knew they were gone and yet they were always there guiding her and Jor on the right path, and the safe path.
The Durin family was her safe path, the Nogrod the right path.
The Durin family was there to keep her and Jor safe.
She looked at Thorin and smiled, "Everything is all right, Khazad-zukin."
The Nogrod, well, they were now the rightful path to Jor's kingdom, his heritage. Soon he will claim his rights. Now, he had much to learn. And King Thrain of Durin was perfect to guide him.
Thrain was like a father to her now. Lee knew she could go to him if she had any queries of matters of the kingdom, Thrain was vastly knowledgeable in the affairs of the kingdom and this she was glad.
He allowed the twins the use of the Durin Library. They were to be studying in the morn while Thorin and his cousins worked on removing the gold from under the palace.
Thrain was with them every step, guiding them, there were many questions, and he answered as many as he could.
The twins had proved a delight to teach for the absorbed the learnings quickly.
Thrain was impressed with them as they earnestly applied themselves and were quite smart as well, he began to love them as if they were his own for in truth they were orphans and still quite young.
In the afternoons, they met in the fields beyond the palace and gardens. It was a large clearing where the dwarves come out for practice with their weapons.
Today, they were to practice with the long sword.
Gloin was the most proficient with this weapon so he was chosen to teach Lee and Jor how to use it.
Thorin and the others were there to assist.
Lee did not like the long sword for it was quite heavy for her. When Gloin hit the sword she was holding, it came off her hand.
"You must grip it harder, Lee." He advised her.
"I am Gloin! Quit smacking it out of my hand, you did it deliberately!"
"No I did not!"
She threw her sword down on the grass and pushed him down the grass, "There! How do you like that!"
"Lee!"Thorin exclaimed as he approached her. "You can't do that! Gloin is just trying to show you. Pick the sword up and do it again." He then walked away.
"I don't like that sword! It is too heavy! I can't weld it." She blew out in frustration as she glared after the back of her husband angrily.
Gloin who had gotten up, picked her sword and said patiently, "Look, heft it around, swing about it…I know you are mad…um, just think it's Thorin you're about to whack at, that you are very mad at this moment! Just try it again." He said patiently.
Lee nodded and hefted the sword and adjusted the grip so that it felt comfortable in her palm and began to swing around, then she began to swing long arches over her head.
"Lee, watch the swing…"Gloin was observing her as well as Jor as he and Frerin were parrying with each other.
They were doing a much better job than Lee.
Lee turned to listen to Gloin just as he said 'swing' when she lost control of her grip of the sword in mid-air.
Lee screamed out, "Watch out!"
They all turned to look at her as she pointed at her flying sword but they saw the sword sailing down towards Thorin and hit him on his head, luckily the pommel end of the sword struck him.
A loud thud and he fell hard on the ground and was knocked out cold instantly.
"Thorin!" She screamed again as she ran towards him, fearing she had killed him, her heart thudding loudly.
By the time she reached him, Oin was there already, as well as a huge lump growing out of his forehead.
"Is he?" She was crying as she held his hand.
The others had surrounded him too by then as they muttered amongst themselves, looking on with concern.
Oin shook his head, "He is knocked out, luckily for you. What were you doing anyways?"
"I…I…was getting use to the sword, just like Gloin said to do, and I lost the grip and it flew out of my hand," she waved her hand wildly about her. The cousins and Frerin scooted away from her in a hurry to avoid her just in case.
"Is he going to be all right…?" She looked at Oin with tears in her eyes.
As if answering her, Thorin groaned out loud, "Ohh.." he blinked as he tried to opened his eyes, "Wha…wha…my head." He moved his hand and touched the big lump and groaned even more. "Tell me this is not Lee's work."
"I'm so sorry Thorin!" She cried as she put her head on his chest and sobbed.
He put his hand on her, "Tis all right…just stay away from me…head hurts…"
"Would be if I have that big giant goose egg on your forehead!" Frerin laughed. Dwalin gave him a hard push causing him to fall on the grass but Frerin was laughing so hard he didn't mind at all.
Gloin glared at him, "All right Jora, take him out there, you two can keep on practicing till we say you're through."
Jor nodded and ran out into the clearing, Frerin running after him and soon the clanging of swords sounded.
Oin laid Thorin on the grass, "I'm sure he didn't mean it…when he wakes up, he won't remember what he said. We'll just leave him here, sleep and rest, he'll be fine."
"Are you sure? Shouldn't we move him back to his room?" Lee asked.
"Nay, let him breathe some fresh air." Oin began to move off from him.
"I'll stay with him, then." Lee said, her voice still worried.
Gloin shook his head, "No, you are coming with us. We'll get you a lighter sword, Lee. He'll be fine."
Lee stood up and looked down on her husband and reluctantly left him and followed them.
…..
Later at the Dining Halls…
"Dare I ask?" Thrain looked at Thorin battered face with an arched brow.
Nur shook her head as she looked at Lee's reddened face, she knew without a doubt that Lee had something to do with her son's condition.
"The long sword was a little too heavy for Lee, your Majesty." Gloin explained to the King.
Thrain looked at him expectantly
"So we gave her the short sword," he took a quick drink from his mug.
"The short sword, I did wonder when I found it sticking on the grass between my legs, very close to my nether region." Thorin said calmly. He picked up his wine and raised it to Lee and drank.
Nur almost choked on her wine, "Great Mahal! Perhaps we should stick with the dagger, Lee. At this rate, Thorin might not live through the entire training or maybe you should stay indoors dear."
"Your Majesty!" Lee exclaimed with embarrassment, he face redder than earlier.
The cousins were laughing deeply, shoulders shaking hard.
"Maybe I should give up this weapons training altogether!" Lee cast her head down. "I'm completely hopeless."
The cousins stopped laughing completely as they began to shake their heads.
"Not at all Lee! Look at you with our dagger!" Balin said.
"Absolutely, so accurate with it, I'm not quite good with it." Dwalin shook his head.
"So much better than I am! I'm all thumbs with it!" Gloin agreed with Dwalin.
"Deadly," Oin said.
Lee looked at them as they nodded assuringly at her.
"Lee, today is just the first day, you're not expected to be efficient on your first time." Thorin tried to console her as well.
"Thorin is right, I was not good with the axe, and it is much heavier than the long sword, Lee." Frerin said smiling at her. "It takes much practice. And much muscle to built on the arm."
She smiled back at him, feeling much better.
"You won't be welding the axe, Lee." Gloin said.
"Yes I am," she said. "If I am going to learn, I want to learn all of it. I just need to strengthen my arms."
"Be that as it may, I don't want to be wedded to a woman with much more muscular arms than I have," Thorin said as he eyed at her.
She was about to argue with him when she realized that he was teasing her, she couldn't resist when she picked up a piece of bread and tossed it over to him which he caught it smartly with his hand.
She smiled as she looked at him then he was not looking at her but behind her when she felt a several pieces of bread pelted on her head.
"Oi! All of you!"Thrain was yelling at them. "You know better! Or you'll be going to your room without…oh goodness what's the use…you're all grownups." He sat down and began eating, shaking his head.
They all laughed as they stopped pelting at each other and began eating as well.
"At least the big bump doesn't seem to stand out like those scratches on your faces," Nur pointed.
"Say, I have been meaning to ask you Thorin," Balin asked. "Where did you get those scratches anyways?"
Thorin shook his head as he leaned back on his seat and looked over to Lee and arched a brow and made a claw motion with his hand behind her view.
Balin narrowed his gaze, "You were being clawed by a warg? Is that what you are trying to say?"
Thorin rolled his eyes up and shook his head.
"I don't understand, Thorin. What happened then?" Balin persisted. "We were at the tavern last eve, and we didn't hear about a warg…was it huge? Lots of claws?"
Lee almost choked on her food this time as Thorin leaned forward and patted on her back gently. Lee batted his hand away.
Finally, Lee couldn't hold it any longer and said, "Not that it mattered but Thorin and I had a little…difference of opinion last eve that resulted in a very harsh argument that led to a scuffle and it ended with a few lacerations on his part and among other resulting answers"
Gloin shook his head and was thoroughly puzzled, "Did you mean both of you had a fight, and Thorin ended up being scratched but something else happened?"
She nodded.
"Well, why didn't you just say so?" Balin nodded. "No need to talk about it in a roundabout way and …oh…OH! I see!" Balin's face began to reddened!
Gloin also reddened instantly as his brother began laughing as well as Dwalin. Although Gloin muttered under his breath as he grinned, "Never knew you had that in you, Lee."
Thorin shook his head as Lee put her head down with embarrassment.
Thrain and Nur smiled widely with understanding.
Thankfully, Jor and Frerin looked on in confusion.
….
End of Chapter 35