Several dishes and side dishes later, helped to get down by tankards of ale and wine, the party moved to the main feasting hall inside the Mountain, as even with their strong security scheme there was no real guarantee that there would be no occurrences in the woods after nightfall.

The thirty minutes stroll was welcome as a means to help digestion, but coaches were provided for the ones who wanted them, mostly elderly ones, smaller children, some women and some who ate too much and were unable to walk at all, like Bombur. He took a seat beside Ferumbras, who held Kim in his lap, the little dwelf nodding off and dribbling on his sleeve.

"This little princess seems to be fond of you, Master Ferumbras! She is quite friendly as a rule, must be her elf blood, but I never saw her cling to someone as she's done with you lately."

The hobbit moved a hair strand out of her closing eyes and smiled.

"We've spent a lot of time together in the garden balcony, as it is a little hard for me to accompany my kin in all their rambles and scrambles, even if they have patience to wait for a limping fellow."

"What a shame that you travelled so far to be stuck inside the Mountains, from what I know about our burglar I deem hobbits quite love the open."

"Ah, well, we do, but I found out that the Mountain can be quite interesting, too." His eyes wandered around, as if searching for something, absently. "Actually, fascinating."

A dwarf hopped down from a wagon ahead from them and waited until they reached him.

"Is Kim giving you much trouble?" The babysitter asked with a fresh smile in his face. "You can always handle her back to me if you get tired."

"I've told you already, Leri, my problem is with my leg, not with my arms. I could hold a dwarf all day long if…" Stopping in mid-sentence, Ferumbras diverted his eyes back to the little girl in his arms. "… But I should say 'dwelf', I think."

Leri held the side of the wagon to keep his pace with them, entwining his fingers in the ribbons that decorated it for the occasion.

"I'll be right here if you get tired, anyway. I'm still amazed that you answered the call for the battle, though. It was very courageous."

The hobbit dismissed the praise with a weave of his hand.

"If my cousin Bilbo had the courage to face a dragon alone, I'd be ashamed to back off from a couple of orcs when sided by the finest of Erebor's army, plus all those elves and rangers and whatnot."

"Even so…"

"And then, I was not in the middle of the fray, actually, I was just in the healers' tent, helping with the wounded."

"Aye, but I heard that you fought an orc with just a scissor. If this is not courage…"

"Leri! It was simple self-defence! I'd hit that nasty thing with a conkers rod if I had nothing else at hand!"

Bombur gave his contribution.

"I understand you, Master Took. I've done some damage with my cooking ladle, when needed."

"You see? Courageous like a member of the Company, that's what I say!"

Ferumbras sent the young dwarf a smiling gaze and shook his head, amused.

"You are helpless…"

000ooo000

The wide stone halls were decorated the best the dwarves were able to, considering it was supposed to be a hobbit party. The absence of flowers was bypassed with candlesticks cast with green varnish and rose-shaped candles on every table. Bilbo thought it excessive, too much metal and too much work where a simple strand of wheat would be enough, like had been done in the glen. But, it would not be him to judge his hosts' tastes on decorative issues, as they were offering a three day long party to make even the Old Took to get agape.

"I still don't know how I'll face your father." Drogo whispered to Primula, adoring eyes set with a bit of worry. "It is not like we had a proper courting, you know."

"Drogo, we… we wasted too much time in the Shire not looking at each other the way we should. It took us too much time to see what must have been plain to see to everyone around but us."

"Still, I haven't presented my intentions to your parents and…"

"And what else? We have had lots of perfectly respectful strolling in the fields since I know myself as a person."

"That's true, but…"

"And I can't remember how many cakes my mom and yours have exchanges in last decade, or how many times our fathers have helped each other in their farms."

"Yes, you are right, but…"

"And how many times did we dance together at parties?"

"But nothing was formal!"

Primula humphed.

"Details. If you stick to them, you'll get nowhere."

The corners of Drogo's mouth uplifted as he leant down to kiss her brow. His free hand trailed down the side of her body and reached subtly for her flat belly.

"This is not a detail."

"No, it is not, it is a gift."

"People will gossip."

"Drogo, we had a proper wedding, with the traditional exchange of vows, and had it written down on a parchment with the signatures of six witnesses in red ink. What is there to be gossiped about?"

With a sigh, Drogo gave up.

"You are right, my wife. And I'm better get used to it, it seems."

Primula rested her head on Drogo's shoulder, a smile in her face.

"I'm happy I have a wise husband."

000ooo000

Lily couched lightly and took a sip of honey mead, which seemed to calm her throat a little. Picking at her meat, nothing really tasted that good for her that day. It was not envy, it was just… whish. It was hard not to think about Thorin when attending a dwarf wedding party, even if it was not a dwarf wedding and if the rites were so different from the dwarven ones. She knew them, Thorin had said all the words and the meaning of everything that was to be said and done that afternoon, in the old temple, after he gave up his gold and got rid of the gold-sickness. There was no witness but the very rock of the mountain, the flesh od Erebor, and it was enough for them; nor had there been any feast but a couple of improvised pizzas when they finally got back to the headquarters, Thorin's house. No, it was Kíli's house now. And, unlike Primula, she did have no seed of her beloved one to carry home. Only a bead in her hair, a bead adorning a braid.

"Tz wz neez cvd!"

"What?" Lily had been fingering the bead in her hair, absently, and hadn't noticed the pair of dwelves that found seat at each side of her.

"What my manner-less brother is trying to say through a ton of food is that this bead was nicely carved. And I must agree."

Still a little confused by the sudden presence of her young cousins, but glad for having something to keep her mind away from her remembrances, Lily just had to smile.

"Thank you." She continued to finger the bead in her braid, unable to leave it. "Your granduncle made it."

Knee reached for said braid across her shoulder, taking it from her hand and from Frérin's view.

"Fine craftsmanship." His eyes narrowed a bit, focusing on the piece of silver he held. "It has a heavier core, made to endure, but perfectly blended with the outside layer, so it won't flake off; yet, it is at the same time soft enough to be finely carved and hard enough to endure use with no wear to be seen."

Lily was so absorbed by Knee's precise description of her bead that she didn't notice the robbing fork in her plate.

"I'm glad it had no damage in the transposing from here to there, and back, so to say. I have so little from him, I'd be very much distressed if anything wrong happened to one of the few keepsakes I have."

Knee let her braid roll on his hand before placing it again on her right shoulder, opposite to him.

"I've spent the last seasons at perfecting beads; I hope I'll be able to make something that fine in a short time."

"Mhhsgohh."

"Whaaat?" Lily turned right to her other cousin, who hurried to swallow his mouthful before making himself clear.

"I'd set the carvings with gold, and perhaps some gems."

"Fré! Why must you always speak to Lily with your mouth full? Mom will throw you into the dungeons if she notices it."

The copycat of Kíli with blue eyes gestured with his fork, apologizing.

"So I can answer her faster, it would not be nice to have her waiting!"

"And answers that she can't understand are worse than to wait some moments to get them!"

Frérin made his best puppy eyes to Lily and took her hands in his.

"I apologize from the depths of my hearth for the inconvenience of my lack of manners when talking to you and eating at the same time. I have to say in my defence that all I wish is to provide you prompt answers to clarify any doubt you may have on any issue regarding life, the universe and everything!"

So amazed she was by Frérin's speech that Lily didn't notice the fork that stole her meat, this time form her left side.

"Frérin, no need to apologize this way, I understand it was just hurry, ok? But try not to speak while eating, yes? Girls don't use to like it."

Frérin blushed and let go her hands, and Knee took them in turn, making her face him.

"Wrong call for this one, he insists that he'll never take a wife."

"But why?"

"Because he's the spare."

Lily frowned.

"And why would that be a matter?"

Frérin made Lily turn back to him, his lips suspiciously shining with fat.

"Because I'll be Knee's warlord, and there are few girls who would be willing to marry someone who will always be at life risk in defence to the king."

"Well, I think a girl who doesn't commit with the needs of the kingdom doesn't deserve you, and that's all. When you find the right girl I'm sure she will commit. If not, you'll know she is not the right one."

"That sounds sensible. But would I be at ease when I have to travel or go into patrols and dangerous tasks, thinking that my One will be at home worrying about me?"

Knee pulled Lily to his side again.

"This is ridiculous, and I have told him. When he finds his One, there will no force in Middle-earth to keep him from her, I bet my beard!" The Earthling looked at his bare chin and muffled a chuckle, much to his embarrassment. "Hey, you know what I mean!"

"But she is right, we should bet other things than beards, at least for now."

"Better not to bet brains, you don't have any to spare!"

"As if you had any to use at all!"

The brothers continued to provoke each other, never letting Lily in peace until she was about to grab them by the scruff and bang their heads together to see if they calmed down a little. Is used to work with Fíli and Kíli, so it was bound to work with them, she supposed.

"Can't you both perform your particular was somewhere else?"

"Your wish is a command!"

With that each of them took a last piece of meat of Lily's plate and made for an escape. Noticing too late her lovely cousins had fished all her venison roast bit by bit while distracting her, Lily jumped from her seat and dashed after them.

"You brats! Just let me put my hands on you!"

The lads laughed like deranged as they ran from Lily, who quite unashamedly grabbed the hem of her gown to make it easier to run after the dwelves. They swerved and diverted, deviating from people and beverage carts, making it difficult for her to find them in the dancing crowd, until she finally lost them.

"Lily, flower, dear, what are you doing?"

Ellen asked to her upset niece while twirling in Kíli's arms.

"I'm going to kill a pair of sons of yours, but don't thank me yet!"

"What did my heirs do this time?"

Kíli wasn't sure if he really wanted to know, but it was better to know in advance what was the prank of the day.

"One does not simply call my sister a puppy and get away unharmed, and the same can be said about ones who steal my meat!" (1)

Still fuming, she stopped close to the table where Leri was keeping an eye on the little ones while talking merrily to some of the hobbits. She didn't notice when Fíli came to her and almost jumped back when he pulled her sleeve to get her attention.

"Fíli! You startled me! What can I do to help you?"

The blond dwelfling shook his head.

"Nay, Aunty, it is me who wanna help you!"
Swallowing a laughter at his insistence in calling her 'Aunty', Lily knelt down to talk to him eye to eye.

"And what can you do to help me, little one?"

"I can ask Kim if she can ask Hazel to find Knee and Fré for you, if you promise to remember that I'm not that little anymore."

"What?" She frowned. "How?"

"Promise?"

"Aye, I promise, Fíli, I'll try to remember it. Now, how can you and Kim help me?"

The lad shuffled on his feet.

"See, me and Kim play with Hazel, because Mister Radagast said she has to exercise a little, not too much, but a little anyways; so, we play search-and-destroy, that is, I hide myself and Kim sends Hazel to find me."

"Oh… you mean, you play hide-and-seek with the bunny?"

"No, no hide-and-seek, I mean search-and-destroy, because Hazel hits me with her paws when she finds me, and Kim tickles me, so I really try to hide very well so they don't find me!"

"It makes sense…"

"So, what if we ask Hazel to seek-and-destroy Knee and Frérin? She is very good at it!"

With a vengeful look in her eyes, Lily nodded to her young cousin.

"Aye, so be it. Hazel seeks, and I destroy!"

Fíli ran to his sister and urged her to them with the rabbit in her arms.

"Kee! Kee! Come help Aunty!"

The girl slid down from Balin's lap and came running with the enormous rabbit at her heels and a sesame biscuit in her hand.

"How Kee help?"

Lily took the little one in her arms.

"Kim, can you tell Hazel to find your older brothers?"

The dwelfling nodded, with a wide smile.

"Aye, Hazy is smart, Hazy find Knee and Fré, Hazy find all-all people!"

"So, darling, then do cousin Lily a favour and tell Hazel to find them. When we find them you both can help me to 'destroy' them if you wish!"

"Can we?" Fíli's eyes shone in anticipation.

"You have my word!"

"Me too!" Lyn offered, thrilled by the chance to tickle her brothers with an adult's consent.

Kim squirmed herself down from Lily's arms and knelt down beside the rabbit, whispering some incomprehensible gibberish of her own into Hazel's ear. Said rabbit sat down on her hinder paws and sniffed the air, log ears turning here and there like directional antennas. Within minutes, she dropped to the floor and made a bee line to a wide table where an assortment of candies and sweets were waiting to be declared free territory. Lily let Fíli and Kim follow Hazel directly and made and arch, intending to surround the brats and cut a possible escape route. Lyn took the opposite arch as soon as she perceived Lily's movement, a mischievous smile on her elf-like face.

Kim was too excited to keep herself quiet and giggled madly as Hazel looked back, indicating their prey should be close. Lyn had the idea of 'flushing the game' and let out a loud 'Gotcha!' when she finally spotted her brothers. It worked.

Hearing Lyn at one side and seeing Fíli and Kim coming directly to them, following the brown rabbit, the Royal Double Trouble left their hiding place under the sweets table and ran to the other side, now and then looking behind to make sure their hunters were left behind.

As soon as she spotted them, Lily's vision tunneled and she saw nothing else but her targets. Really nothing, not even the huge cake shaped like a dragon that was being carried to the sweets' table by two waiters from Bombur's staff. The cake had been the result of the combined efforts from Bombur himself and Revin, the candyman, who patiently made each scale that decorated the dragon out of fine, transluscent hard candy colored strawberry red and sprinkled with gold dust. Those crackling sugar scales had ben fixed one by one on the savory cake with a special frosting, granting the soft fruit filling would keep inside it and not moist the scales. The wings were a work of art in themselves, and the suggar glazed eyes of the beast could daze any heedless one. The whole violent outrage to diet rested surrounded by a bed of golden nut caramels shaped like large coins.

But Lily didn't see it.

Nor Knee and Frérin and their sisters and brother who chased them.

Not that Lily had not been warned…

"Watch out the dragon!"

She looked back over her shoulder and cried to whoever tried to make her aware.

"There was only one dragon in Erebor, and it was blinded by me!"

Lily's angry answer had barely left her lips when the collision route found its end, Knee and Frérin trying and failing to slide under the cake tray and Lily trying and failing to stop short before smashing her face on the dragon's side. The unbalanced waiters came down with cake and candy and all, and the mess was completed by the Trouble Triplet that was unable (or unwilling, only Mahal knows) to stop their momentum before becoming part of the sweetest guests of the party. Fíli almost succeded into keeping himself out of the mess, but as he swayed on his feet, two steps short of the first patches of icing, flapping his arms to gain balance, Kim collided with his back, sending both of them as a final dressing to the post-modern cake decoration.

"This is not fair!"

This time it was Lily to complain, only to be followed by the boys.

"And this is not right!" Said Knee.

"And I agree!" Was Frérin's final say.

As if it were not enough, Hazel triumphantly hopped on the cake pile and tapped Knee's nose with her paws, repeatedly.

"LILY! LILYYYYY!"

Iris all but dragged Bilbo behind her, their hands still tied by the bunch of ribbons and a look of despair in her face.

"Oh, Sis…"

Lily hid her face in her caked hands, ready to receive the scolding of her life, warm tears of shame and regret flowing down her creamy cheeks.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Iris, I'm so sorry, I messed everything, your party should be perfect and I messed everything…"

Her sobs were loud enough for Lily not to hear her cousins calculating the results of the incident.

"Sweet Mahal, Amad will make us peel potatoes until our beards grow long!"

Frérin considered the prospect with downcast eyes, but Knee's opened wide at the worst scenario.

"Oh-oh, she can do worse!"

"Oh, no! Don't say it!"

"She can send us to dust the library again!"

With that both fell back on the frosting, defeated under the weight of Hazel.

"Lily, Sis, look at me!"

The dwarrowdam obeyed her younger sister, regret clouding her deep sea blue eyes, a candy scale clinging to her side beard braid.

"I'm so sorry, Sis, it should be a party to be remembered forever and…"

"And you think it will not?"

Lily's chain of 'sorrys' was interrupted by a bone crushing hug and a giggle that dissolved her bad feelings, and soon both sisters were laughing like madmen. Bilbo managed to find a handkerchief in his pocket and started the fruitless task of removing cake icing from his sister-in-law's face, and from his wife too. When he noticed he was actually spreading more cake on her face than removing it, the hobbit gave up and begun to laugh with them.

"Iris, will you ever forgive me?"

"Come on, Lily, it is not like a photographer would take a pic of the cake, is it?"

"You are the best sister in the world, do you know?"

"And I will miss you so much!"

"Me too!"

They embraced again with a new spring of tears. Bilbo shook his was and nibbled a sugar scale.

000ooo000

One of the good things of having a double wedding party is that some other things come double, too. A bit boring when it comes to speeches and vows and signings of papers, but nice when it comes to certain items, like cakes. If both couples had planned so, their weddings would not bring them as close as it was happening, as now even the cake was the same. After what possible cleansing was done, both of people and of the floor, the cake meant for Drogo and Primula to cut was brought to the sweets table, and both them and Bilbo and Iris held, with their bound hands, large cake servers made of silver and decorated with gold designs, and with a triumph smile cut it at the same time.

To add a final touch, Radagast made a shrill whistle and Iris's garland of autumn leaves started to move, actually to fly away from her, revealing the silk flowers it was made of. The brown wizard smiled at himself, delighted that the leaf insects played their part so well.

Although this cake was not as specially designed as the destroyed one, it didn't leave anything amiss, be it in size, taste and beauty. Knowing the hobbits' affection for flowers, Bombur and Revin decorated it with icing ribbons and flowers, and the nut and honey filling was simply delicious.

"Always have a backup."

"I remember Marco saying it."

"Yep, he just didn't have a backup of himself."

Wolfram tapped her sister's shoulder, supportive; he missed his former brother-in-law, but knew she was happy now.

"See, they'll throw the bouquets now. Go ahead!"

"No, darling, unlike you I'm not able to love again, not the way I loved Ruby. Leave the bouquets for the younger ones, they have more use for it."

"Funny, it is me who is called Dwarvenhearth and it is you who are unable to overcome the loss of your One."

"Ellen, I don't have the stamina to start a relationship anymore, stop to pester me!"

"All right! I believed myself out of business for a long time, but then…"

"Hey, aren't they tied anymore?" Wolfram noticed Bilbo was not visible beside Iris, but it could mean anything.

"No, the ribbons are cut right after they cut the cake, Beryl explained their uses to me so we wouldn't mess the whole thing. That's why the unmarried males are there along with the girls, unlike the uses in our former culture."

"Your former culture, it is mine still. Look, there they go, it looks like both brides will throw the bouquets at the same time."

"Hah, who will…"

Her comment was cut short by the uproar of the single crowd, even if several of them were not that interested to be the next in line to get married. To many a dwarrowdam disappointment, none of them landed in their waiting hands, rather finding their ways to the most unlikely persons to be expected.

Ferumbras looked at the berries that colored the bouquet in his hands and felt himself blush like a tween. All at the same time he swallowed dry, crunched the bouquet closer to him as if to hide it from view and looked somewhat left and up, only to meet a pair of dark candid eyes under light brown eyebrows, and quickly looked back to the bouquet in his hands, not knowing what to do with it.

The wheat strand bouquet hit Leri in the face and he grabbed it out of reflex, not really realizing what he was doing besides to protect himself. Bringing it closer to his chest so it would not entangle in his light brown beard, his eyes gazed down to his right, to be met by the other bouquet earner's, and then back to the golden strands in his hands, as quick as he was able, begging Mahal that none noticed where he had looked to.

"I, ah, I must see the younglings…" he stated to no one in particular.

"No, you don't."

Aredhel's firm voice startled the babysitter.

"Pardon me?"

"Figwit and my cousin Culuin decided to make a candy camp with the little ones under the tent they made with that curtain over there." She pointed to a corner where movement could be seen under a wide tapestry. "When |I thought they would not be able to deal with two dozen dwarflings, all Elrond's children dived under the tent and are, seemingly, having a lot of fun. I just can't figure who is having more fun, the children or the elves."

As usual in her presence, Leri felt himself a bit awkward.

"But, it is all right, isn't it? To have fun? Elves do have the right to have fun, once in a while, don't they?"

Aredhel lowered her night dark eyes to the vivid dwarf lad, considering him.

"The ones who have the hearth for it, yes."

Leri looked down at the wheat strands in his hands and took in a deep breath.

"I..."

"Come, Leri, dance with us!"

Beryl grabbed his hand and dragged him into the fray, a circular dance led by the hobbits that most of the dwarves and some of the rangers joined already, but Leri's eyes wandered here and there and found rest only in a pair of big brown eyes that followed him inconspicuously, and that he acknowledged shyly, not sure of how to deal with so a courageous person, feeling himself so little, opposite to someone who had already fought goblins and orcs.

"And there goes our girl…"

Wolfram looked sadly to the direction he saw his younger daughter run, hand in hand with her husband, laughing, blissful. (2)

"Yes…" The elf that was his sister leaned on his shoulder, a distant look in her eyes. "And in two days there from will come a woman. And she will not be 'ours' anymore, she will be her own, and happy for being one with the one she loves."

The green wizard sat down on a nearby chair and leaned heavily on his staff, feeling far older than his forty-eight years.

"Why do I have to lose all women I love?"

"What?"

He heaved a sigh.

"You didn't know our grandma; she has gone when I was ten years old, but I remember her vividly, she was old but so… lucid. Then Mom, along with Dad, and you know how it was. Then I lost Ruby. And then you, from all people, had to find the map and move to Middle-earth, and now Iris, and…" He frowned. "Weird. I have no uncles, nor brothers, nor sons. I had my mother, my sister, my wife, and my daughters. Two of them are dead and two of them chose to live in another universe, and… and I have a selfish wish that Lily doesn't find anyone so soon, do you understand?"

"Brother, I…" Ellen fought for the right words; she had been almost three decades away from her family, so… "Lily lost too much already. I'm happy to see that still she can smile, that she is able to lead her life on, that… But she'll always have a part of herself missing, just as you have never been the same after Ruby, you know. As much as I wish for Lily to find someone and be happy, I know how the hearth of a dwarf works. She had her soul entwined to Thorin Oakenshield's, she will find happiness with none else, but… he is dead, so…Don't worry, it is a sad thing to say, but she won't find anyone else, nor soon, nor late."

"I wish her to be happy, it is not that I don't…"

"She will. At least, happy like Dís, or like you."

"Then it is fine. By the way, it was kind of you not grounding your children for the mess with the cake."

"It was nothing. The only ones with the right to demand a chastisement were Iris and Bilbo, and they didn't. Why would I? Now, come, time to dance."

"But I don't…"

"I'm not asking!"

With that she grabbed her brother's hand and ran with him to join the dance.


1 – If you don't remember why it is not wise to call Iris a puppy, see Loyalty, Honor, and a Willing Heart, chapter 14 – Underhill s/9253058/14/Loyalty-Honor-and-a-Willing-Heart

2 – If you are comfortable with M-rated scenes, you can see Bilbo and Iris first night at What the Owl didn't See, chapter 4 s/9622758/4/What-the-Owl-didn-t-See