That's what he wants, someone who can please him, someone with experience. How am I supposed to do that? That wedding is in three days! I can't learn to be good at sex in three days! Can I? I learned to ride a horse in a day. How hard can it be? Maybe I could ask somebody. But who? Certainly not Dis. I don't want to even think about the two of the together much less have it described to me! And Sarna is in no position to help and the lads would be in the way. I'm sure Caileen can't help. Maybe it should be a dwarrow. Bombur? No, he's too busy in the kitchen. Gloin? No, he'd probably just tell me how wonderful Alva is. . . . Do I ask Bofur? Nori maybe? . . . . No! That is just too weird. . . Why is this happening? . . . I thought we were supposed to wait until we found our one! . . . But, why is it my problem? . . . Why couldn't HE wait? . . . It's not my fault . . . It's his . . . I haven't done anything wrong! . . . If he wants someone who is certain to appreciate his warhammer, he can just go marry one of the damn blue ladies!
Not knowing what else to do, Amalya went back to her roots and made her way to the sparring rings. The first soldier she saw, she grabbed and ordered him to go to the cold springs and tell Captain Galen that his son was in the healing halls. She asked for a warhammer, found a ring with a dummy, and began swinging. The dummy did stand for long. Even after it fell, Amayla kept taking shots at it, getting a small measure of relief as the splintered wood flew everywhere, narrowly missing her face. It was not until there was nothing but kindling on the ground that Amayla stopped to breathe.
"Captain?" came a familiar voice, forcing Amayla to look up. "Is everything alright?"
"No Farrak, it's not," Amayla replied, throwing the hammer down and walking away.
Farrak turned to his fellow guards, "Where's the general?"
.
.
Amayla found herself marching blindly throught the halls of Erebor. She didn't see the stares of the dwarves she passed, tears blurring her vision. She missed the dwarf who was waving to her.
"Amayla? Is that you?"
"Nori?"
"Aye. What's wrong lassie? Why are you crying?"
"It's nothing Nori."
"it is something Amayla. What did Dwalin do?"
"Why would you say that?" asked said almost completely blubbering by now.
"Because its three days from your wedding which is supposed to be the happiest day of a dam's life. If you're crying now, it has to be something Dwalin did."
"Its just that . . . he said . . . and I'm not . . . and . . ."
"Slow down lassie, you're not making any sense. Just tell me. I'll try and help."
"Would you really Nori? Would you help me?"
"Of course, Amayla. You know that. I'd do anything for you." He put his arm around her and found a quiet spot to talk. "Now what can I do to help?"
"Would you have sex with me? Show me how?"
Nori immediately dropped his arm from around her shoulder, pushing away as if he was burned. "MAHAL AMAYLA! No! Of course not! Why would you ask me that?"
"Its for Dwalin, it's what he wants."
"What Dwalin wants?! I guarantee you lassie, that Dwalin does not want that! He would have my beard if he knew we were even talking about this!"
"No, it's true. He said it. I just want to make him happy, so I need somebody to teach me."
"Lassie, you need to get ahold of yourself. No more talking about this, at least with me. Take a few breaths and we'll figure this out."
Amayla nodded and took some big breaths, blowing out after each one.
"Better. You need to talk to Dwalin . . ."
"No. I can't. Not right now," she cried out, sobbing starting up again.
"Alright, alright. No worries. How about Sarna? I'll walk you over there."
"No. Gorlen cut himself and had to get stitches. She's on bed rest. It's kinda crazy there right now."
"Then Dis. She'll fix things."
NO! NOT DIS! I CAN'T SEE HER RIGHT NOW!"
Startled by Amayla's outburst, Nori tried to calm her down again. "Then how about Ilna? She's a fine dam."
"Ilna?" Amayla sniffed.
"Aye. She puts up with Bofur and Bifur. I'm sure she can help you."
Amayla just nodded okay and let herself be lead away.
When they reached Bombur's quarters, Nori spoke quickly and quietly with Ilna before rushing away.
Amayla immediately felt better in Ilna and Bombur's cozy quarters. "Bila is at my mother's right now and Bombur is down in the kitchens, so it's just us dams. I'll get some tea brewing. After last night, I can't imagine you wanting anything stronger." Ilna stated as she handed Amayla a handkerchief.
After blowing her nose, Amayla remarked, "I haven't met your daughter yet."
"That picture on the wall is one that Ori drew for her last year on her 8th naming day celebration. She is a sweet heart. Takes after her father. She can't wait for your wedding. It'll be her first."
"She is adorable," Amayla said as she handed back the picture. "I just hope that there is a wedding."
"Amayla! Now we'll have no talk about cancelling the wedding. I won't put up with it! You and Dwalin are each other's ones. You can't throw away what Mahal has destined for you. Now start talking! What is going on?"
"It started last night when the blue ladies told me something about Dwalin, about his nickname."
"The warhammer?"
"You know?"
"Aye. I heard that back In Ered Luin. Now first of all, you shouldn't let anything those blue ladies say get into your head. They are the biggest bunch of nattering ninnies that Mahal ever let loose on Arda! Second of all, Dwalin loves you and that's all that matters!"
"But you don't understand. I've never been with a male and he's this . . god! How can I possible measure up?"
"You don't Amayla. Marriage is not about measuring up. Its about trusting and loving your spouse."
"But even he said that he wished I wasn't a virgin!"
"He said that? To you?"
"Well not to me. He said it to Galen. I just overheard him, clear as day."
"I see. And what else did he say?"
"I didn't hear anything else. I was . . distracted."
"So you have no idea of why he said that?"
"Not really."
"And did you ask him why?"
"No."
"What did you do?"
"I left and took my frustrations out on a sparring dummy, with a warhammer. It didn't help as much as I hoped it would. And then I ran into Nori and asked him if he would . . . you know . . . make me not a virgin. He said no and brought be here."
"Oh Mahal Amayla! Poor Nori! There's no telling what Dwalin will do to him if he hears that."
"Well, what else was I supposed to do? I just want Dwalin to be happy. I'm scared I might lose him."
"Alright lassie, now listen up," Ilna said, standing in front of Amayla and waving her finger in front of her nose, "You may be a legendary warrior, and a wonderful leader, but you are horrible when it comes to matters of the heart! You lost ten years with your one because you didn't share your heart with him. Do NOT make that mistake again. Even if it's something bad, you must tell Dwalin what you're feeling, even if it scares you. It's not fair to either of you to hold things back. Do You Understand?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Now about this whole warhammer thing. I have one word for you - relax. It doesn't matter how many dams Dwalin was with before he met you. What matters is how he feels about you now. I know a little bit about this, I wasn't a virgin when I married Bomber."
Amayla was startled by Ilna's admission, "Really? How? Why?"
"Aye. I was always a curious young thing, so a friend and I tried it. It was fine. Nice enough," she shrugged. "But when I met Bombur, let me tell you, it was completely different." Ilna paused and smiled. "Our wedding night was wonderful, glorious! Nothing like when I was with my friend. And I'm sure it will be the same for you and Dwalin. He loves you and you love him – right?"
"Aye. I do."
"Then stop thinking the worst, and trust your feelings for Dwalin. Tell him what you heard and give him a chance to explain himself. That's what you would want him to do for you, isn't it?"
"I guess so."
"No guessing!"
"Yes ma'am."
"Good, now drink some tea. It's one of Dori's special blends. Not sure which one, I swear that Dwarf has more special tea blends then all of Erebor combined!"
After both enjoyed much of their tea, Ilna started talking again. "You need something to take your mind off all this mess. Something to calm you down. Do you knit perhaps? I'm sure Ori could teach you."
Amayla almost spit her tea out at that remark. "No Ilna. I do not knit! I do like to sing sometimes, but only to my horse. She's the only one that doesn't run and cover their ears when I sing. It's probably only because she's tied up, though."
"I did hear something about that! I thought they were exaggerating," Ilna laughed.
"Unfortunately, they weren't."
"Well shame on them! If singing to your horse makes you feel better, you should go do it when you finish your tea. I'll tell Dwalin where to find you."
"Good idea. You are brilliant Ilna!"
"I know."
As she was leaving, Amayla turned to ask one final question, "Ilna, do all dams get so bossy after they're married?"
"Aye, we do. It's one of the benefits of marriage," she replied, with a cheeky wink.
.
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~~~~~~~ Back at the Cold Springs ~~~~~~~
"Stop your worrying. You'll only make things worse," Galen advised Dwalin.
"But what if I scare her, or worse yet, do something to hurt her?"
"That's not going to happen my friend. Amayla doesn't scare easily," he said chuckling.
"You're laughing at me now?"
"Aye. I'm laughing that the big, scary general of Erebor fears his wedding night!"
"Shaddup you, or I'll throw you back in the pools – bare or dressed!"
.
Just as both finished dressing, a guard came in with word of Gorlen in the healing halls. They both took off immediately. All of Galen's worries vanished when he found Gorlen sitting on a table, swinging his legs, a piece of candy in one hand and Oin's trumpet in the other. But instead of holding it up to his ear, Gorlen had it up to his mouth, blowing through it as if it were a real horn.
After a brief consultation with Oin, Galen picked up his son to carry him home. Dwalin went along after a promise of food when they got there. But before any food could be prepared, Galen had a discussion with Sarna.
"What do you mean that Amayla didn't talk to Dwalin? She promised that she would after she told you about Gorlen!" Sarna yelped struggling to sit up.
"Amayla didn't tell us. A guard did. We never saw Amayla. Sarna, what's going on?"
"I'm not certain exactly. All I know is that she was upset about things she heard at the party last night. She was going to tell me more when Gorlen got hurt. She promised to talk to Dwalin. It's not good that she didn't!"
They turned at a knock at the door.
"That's probably Amayla now, Sarna. You rest and stay calm!"
But instead of Amayla, Farrak came rushing in and stood at attention in front of Dwalin, "Permission to speak freely General?"
"Aye, Farrak, what is it?" Dwalin replied.
"Its about Captain Amayla, sir."
Dwalin spoke up, "What about Amayla?"
"Sir, I'm worried about her. She was down in the sparring rings. Used a warhammer to destroy a dummy. Absolutely obliterated it. I was surprised to see her working with it. She usually sticks to swords. Anyway, I could tell that she was upset and when I asked her if she was alright, she just said no, and left. The only other time I've seen her act that way was when General Ardru and Haimla died."
"Do you know where she is?" Dwalin asked, tensing visibly.
"No. She raced out of the sparring rings so fast, I couldn't follow her. I thought I'd better let you know. I finally tracked you down here."
"Well done, Farrak," Galen said.
"Mahal! What is going on?" Dwalin growled, rubbing his head in frustration.
"Sarna said that Amayla was upset about something but before they could talk much, Gorlen got hurt. She was supposed to talk to you after finding me," Galen explained.
"Well then where is she? And what is she upset about?!" Dwalin replied, standing and starting to pace.
"My guess is that she's at her quarters, your office, or with Princess Dis. You go to her quarters, I will go to your office. If she's there, I'll take her home. Farrak, you put out the word to keep an eye out for her. If you see her, escort her to her quarters. Do not let her out of your sight!"
"How would I do that, sir?"
"Doesn't matter laddie. Tie her up if need be. Lock her in my office and come find me if you have to. Just don't let her get away!" Dwalin shouted. "GET MOVING!"
.
.
Dwalin's panic began to rise when Amayla was not at her quarters. Strider tried to calm the frantic dwarf, "I'm sure she's fine. She can handle herself. She probably just needed some time alone to think."
"She doesn't need to think! She needs to talk to me!" Dwalin responded, pounding on the table.
He sprang out of his chair when Galen walked in, only to slink back down when he saw that Galen was alone.
"I think we need to check with Princess Dis," Galen suggested.
Strider nodded in agreement as Dwalin sighed heavily, "Just want I didn't want, Dis getting involved."
"Nieven, Ithram you stay here in case she returns. If she does, one of you make sure she stays and the other can come find us," Strider ordered as he left with the two dwarfs.
.
.
The three of them were startled to have Fili open Dis' door, and were even more surprised to see Kili and Thorin at the table with Dis.
Thorin sensed the tension and immediately stood up, assuming his warrior stance, "Dwalin, what is it?"
"Any chance that Amayla is here?" Dwalin asked, desperation written all over his face.
"Amayla? No, why would she be here?" Dis asked. "What is going on?"
"She's mad at me about something. By Durin's beard, I swear I don't know what. But I can't find her anywhere. I just want to talk to her!"
"Did you shoot a bear?" Kili asked, smirking, before getting smacked in the head by Thorin.
"Where have you looked?" Dis asked calmly.
Galen gave her a complete run down.
"So no one has checked with Caileen? She's probably there. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about," Dis stated firmly.
"I'll go check!" Fili immediately volunteered.
Dis smiled and nodded, "Fine Fili, take your brother, and go see if she's there. If she is, bring her back here." Turning to Thorin, she added, "I also think it would be a good idea to alert the guards at the front gate, make sure she hasn't left the mountain and stop her if she tries."
Thorin turned to Galen, "Make it so. Also alert the royal guards to keep an eye open. Anyone that spots her should bring her to Dis' quarters."
As Galen and the two brothers walked out, Nori made his way in. He went straight to Dis, not noticing Dwalin sitting in the corner. "I need to talk to talk to your highness. It's about Amayla."
"Amayla! Do ya know where she is? I need to talk to her!" Dwalin shouted as he rushed towards Nori.
Nori blanched upon hearing Dwalin's voice. He slowly backed up until hitting a wall, "She's not ready to talk to you right now Dwalin."
"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Dwalin roared.
Nori raised his two hands in front of him, as if that might calm the agitated dwarf. "Listen Dwalin. She's upset. She's acting a little crazy, saying things that I'm sure she doesn't mean. Asking things that she would never truly expect a friend to do. I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding between the two of you. But rest assured, she was fine when I left her. Perfectly fine, perfectly untouched."
"Mahal's balls Nori! What are you talking about? Just tell me where she is so I can go to her!"
"You can't do that Dwalin, at least right now," Nori stammered.
Dwalin grabbed Nori by his shirt and lifted him up off the ground, feet dangling, until Nori was nose to nose with him, "AND WHO'S GOING TO STOP ME?" Dwalin growled through clenched teeth.
"DWALIN, PUT NORI DOWN!" Dis yelled exhasperated.
"Nori, just tell Dwalin where Amayla is!" Thorin added, rubbing his temples more.
"Is that an order your majesty?" Nori asked.
"If it brings an end to this yelling, it is!"
"How about if I just tell you, your majesty, and then I take my leave?" Nori begged. Thorin simply waved his hand in agreement.
Dwalin never took his eyes off the pointy-haired dwarf as he made his way over to their king. He watched Thorin's eyes grow round in disbelief as he listened to Nori. The two whispered briefly as Nori shook his head vehemently, hand on his beard. When they finished, Nori side-stepped around Dwalin who never stopped glaring at him, before ducking out the door. His footsteps could be heard clearly as he took off running down the hallway.
"Thorin?" Dis asked, as she looked to her brother who was holding his head in his hands, face tied up in a severe grimace.
"THORIN, I SWEAR TO THE GODS, IF YOU DON'T TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON, I'M GOING TO BREAK SOMETHING, PREFERABLY OVER YOUR HEAD!" Dwalin exploded.
"I will tell if you promise to listen, quietly, and after give Dis your axe."
Dwalin complied, all the time frowning at his best friend.
"For some unknown reason, Amayla thinks that you want her to have sex with someone one else before your wedding. She asked Nori, who of course, said no. He took her to Ilna and left her there."
There was no sound, the only movement being Dis shifting Dwalin's axe behind her back.
Finally Dwalin broke, "WHAT? . . . HOW? . . . WHY?" The roar could be heard throughout the mountain. Dis' guards threw open the door to see what was happening, but Dis called them off with a wave of her hand.
"WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?" Dwalin asked, throwing up his hand in frustration while pacing the floor.
"You are supposed to wait, Dwalin. Ilna will talk to some sense into her and then you two can talk. If you go rushing after her before she's ready, you'll only make things worse," Dis advised, speaking softly.
"HOW CAN THINGS BE ANY WORSE? MY ONE IS ASKING OTHER DWARROWS TO HAVE SEX WITH HER THREE DAYS BEFORE OUR WEDDING!"
Dis tried a different tactic, putting her hands on his shoulders and drawing his head in for a gentle head bump, "It's going to be okay, Dwalin. I promise. Amayla loves you. Hold on to that."
"I've waited so long, Dis. I can't lose her now," he said, tears filling his eyes.
"And you won't. Now sit down. Have you had anything to eat?"
"No, Galen and I went to the cold pools first thing," Dwalin muttered, still pacing.
"I almost joined you there," Thorin added, rubbing his temples.
Dis gently led him to a chair and pushed food and tea in front of him. "You too Strider. You look positively green." Dis stated, looking alarmed.
"It was his first true Dwarven celebration. Gloin challenged him to a drinking contest. He did quite well for a man," Thorin remarked.
.
The four of them sat in silence for a few minutes, Dwalin chewing on a sausage, while all Strider wanted was some plain bread. When there was a knocked on the door, Thorin got up to answer it, as surprised to see Ilna standing there as she was to see the king.
She immediately dropped into a curtsy, "Excuse me your majesty, but I was told that Dwalin might be here."
Upon hearing his name, Dwalin shot up, "Aye, I'm here. Is Amayla alright? Where is she?"
"She's in the stables . . "
"The stables? NO! Is she going to leave? You shouldn't have let her go there! I've got to stop her!" Dwalin cried, frantically pushing Thorin out of the way to get to the door.
"DWALIN HOLD!" Ilna shouted, causing the the startled dwarf to freeze at the tone in her voice.
"She is only brushing her horse as she waits for you. She wants to talk, but you can't go running in there all out of control. The two of you need to talk calmly. Can you do that?" Ilna stood with her hands crossed in front of her, blocking Dwalin's exit.
Dwalin let out a deep sigh, "She's waiting for me? She really wants to talk?"
"Aye. But I'm not letting you past me until you calm down," Ilna threatened.
"How about if I go with him, Ilna? I promise to keep him under control," Thorin asked, bowing to the dam.
"Just see to it that you do, your majesty!" Ilna responded, eyes narrowed at her king.
"And I'll go too, m'lady. Thrandruil would have my head if I didn't," Strider added, moving to stand next to Dwalin.
"Alright," she agreed. But before stepping aside, Ilna put her hand on Dwalin's arm and looked into his eyes. "She still loves you very much."
"And I her," he replied before marching out the door, followed closely by Thorin and Strider.
.
When the door shut, Dis looked at Ilna and motioned for her to sit down, "It seems you have quite a story to share."
.
.
It didn't take long for the three to reach the stables, both Thorin and Strider having trouble keeping up with Dwalin's pace. They heard her before they saw her. While Thorin and Strider both grimaced, trying to cover their ears, Dwalin made a bee-line for the noise. He stopped short as he saw her, brush in her hand, stroking her horse.
"Going somewhere luv?" he asked softly.
Amayla set down her brush, before turning to him, tears immediately filling her eyes, lips drawn tight to keep from trembling, "No."
Dwalin slowly approached her, "Good, because I'm not in the mood for a ride, and nothing would stop me from following you."
"I love you," she whispered and he strode forward, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her hair.
"And I you, amrâlimê."
Without letting her go, Dwalin asked her softly, "So can we talk about why you feel the need to ask Nori to have sex with you?"
"Please. Just not here."
"Come on. I know the perfect place," he said taking her by the hand.
They walked out to where Thorin and Strider were waiting.
"Is everything alright?" Thorin asked, looking between the two of them.
"Aye, it will be. Just need to talk things through," Dwalin replied to Thorin before turning to Strider. "We're going to our new quarters for some privacy. Don't even try to argue with me. If you care about Amayla's happiness as you claim, then you'll give us the space that we need."
Strider looked to Amayla who mouthed the word "please" to him.
"I suppose since there's only two more days before the wedding that there's little harm in it. Let's just not tell Thranduil about it. Agreed?" he asked, looking at all three of them.
"Agreed," they all answered.
As the couple left them, Thorin turned to Strider, "Come along, I think we both could use a visit to the cold pools."
.
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**** NOTES *******
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Yep TOWG - Amayla had to go there. Poor Nori. Hope he hangs on to his beard!
I had to mess them up, but as you can see, I'm not going to drag it out another ten years! I think I rewrote this chapter four times. I had lots of ideas about Amayla's reaction and who was going to knock some sense into her. I was actually a little surprised that it ended up being Ilna. Its always interesting when the story takes me down unexpected paths. But I'm happy with it. I like Ilna. Anyone who is smart enough to marry Bombur is alright in my books!
And of course the drinking game between Gloin and Strider is an homage to LOTR - TT EE and the drinking game between Gimli and Legolas. Strider didn't fare quite as well as Legs.
