Dwalin and Amayla settled onto the sofa in front of the cold fireplace in their quarters.
"Amayla, you are my one. I couldn't love you anymore, you must trust that and be willing to talk to me. Whatever is bothering you, you can tell me."
"I love you too and you're right. I've been told that many times in the last two days. And that was my intention, but then I heard what you said to Galen and I panicked."
"What did you hear me say?"
"That you wished I wasn't a virgin."
"Did you hear anything else?"
"No. You were sitting there with no shirt on, so I was kind of distracted," she admitted while rubbing his arms.
"Distracted huh?" he replied, smiling proudly.
"So is that what you really feel? That you wish that I had experience like you? Because that's not me. That's not the way I was raised! And apparently, I'm not supposed to try and learn how in the next two days."
"I know lassie. And honestly the thought of you being with another drives me mad."
"But I'm not supposed to be bothered that you're the Warhammer of Ered Luin?"
"Where did you hear that name?"
"At the party. Some of the ladies from Ered Luin were laughing about it."
"I supposed that was Tia and her lot?"
"Aye. Were they lying?"
"No. They weren't. But that was a long time ago Amayla, before I met you. Notice that I was the Warhammer of Ered Luin, not Erebor. But if it would make you feel better, you can ask me anything you want to about it. I won't hide anything from you."
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"So, why did you, the first time?"
"I was a little over 100. Thorin knew of a smith in a village of men that always had work in the spring. We had been going for several years. We would make plows, hoes, rakes, scythes, nails and even horseshoes. It was pretty good work for a month or so. We would stay in his barn. One year, the smith's widowed sister was staying with him and she took a shine to me."
"Wait, are you telling me that your first time wasn't with a dam?" Amayla asked incredulous.
"It wasn't. She was a wee bit taller than me and quite buxom, nice round figure for a woman."
"I don't need all the details!"
"Well she kept making excuses to visit the forge while we were working. Bringing us food and water."
"Did you have a shirt on while you were working?""
"No, usually just an apron. It was hot in the forge."
"Argh. No wonder she kept coming by."
"Well she was fairly attractive and I was young, away from Balin's influence, and I was . . horny. So I accepted what she was offering."
"Dwalin!"
"Ask Thorin. She was very assertive. He'd say that she took advantage of me!"
"I am not asking Thorin about it."
"Yeah, you're probably right about that. Anyway, she was my first. The next year when we went back, she had married somebody and moved on. Never saw her again."
"Were you sad about it? Did you miss her?"
"Honestly, I probably wouldn't have minded picking up where we had left off, but I didn't really miss her. Haven't thought about her in ages. She'd be really old for a human."
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"Ok. But that doesn't explain the warhammer."
"Well, after that experience, I was willing to do it more. Thorin and I were traveling quite a lot, guarding caravans, looking for work all over the west; but Thorin liked to spend the winters with Dis and the lads and there usually wasn't any work to be found in the winter; so, we were almost always back in Ered Luin by Durin's Day for the celebrations. There was always plenty of drinking and dancing and one time I sort of hooked up with a widow. Her husband had died at Khazad-dum; so, it had been awhile for her. We got together and had our own private celebration. And she told her friends about it, Tia being one of them. Next year, a different dam cornered me and after that the nickname was born."
"Did this go on every year?"
"No, not every year. Sometimes we didn't make it back in time or I was on guard duty. One time Fili was sick, so I sat with him so Dis could take Kili."
"But it happened a lot?"
"Aye, I guess you could say that."
"Did it happen more than once with the same dam?"
Dwalin paused to think for a moment, "Aye, I suppose so. But not too many times. And I never had more than a single night with any of them."
"What about Dis?" Amayla whispered.
"What about Dis?" Dwalin responded, stroking her hair.
"One of the blue ladies said that you and Dis . . . "
"What? Me and Dis? We're family!" Dwalin answered, stiffening in his seat.
"But you're not that closely related."
"Maybe not be blood, but Dis is near to a sister to me!"
"Well, Tia implied . . "
"I don't care what that she-wolf implied. Dis and I never had any relations! In fact, what Tia may be referring to are the times when Dis would cart me home if she didn't like the dam I was with. She did that to me on more than one occasion. And rightly so," he admitted.
"So you and Tia never," Amayla asked.
"NO! Please give more credit than that!"
"Well you said that I could ask you anything!"
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"Aye, I did. Feeling better?"
"A little. Why'd you tell Galen that you wished I wasn't a virgin."
"I never said that exactly. I said that I was worried about it and it would be easier if you weren't one."
"That's pretty much the same thing, Dwalin."
"If you had stuck around to eavesdrop on the rest of the conversation lassie, you would have heard me tell Galen that I was worried about hurting or scaring you."
"Yeah, sorry about that. So what did Galen say?"
"He made fun of me, the swine. And then he told me to relax because you didn't scare easily."
"He was wrong about that. I was scared out of my mind that I would disappoint you."
"The only way that would happen is if you didn't tell me what was scaring you."
"Aye, I promise I will. Did Galen tell you anything useful?"
"Just to stop worrying so much."
"Ilna told me to relax."
"I guess that is the best advice."
"But what if I really am bad at sex Dwalin?"
"I don't think we need to worry about that, luv."
"I can't help worrying! What if I'm a complete failure?"
"Tell me, do you want to be good at it?" Dwalin questioned her.
"Aye. I want to please you."
"And when have you ever failed at something that you really wanted to do?"
Amayla thought for a moment, "Well, I really like to sing and you know how good I am at that."
Dwalin looked at Amayla with horror, "Ok, lass, now I am worried!"
Amayla was ready to cry when he broke into a huge smile, making her realize that he was only teasing, "Luv, nobody is that bad at sex!"
She swatted him on his chest, "You are a big, fat meanie!"
"And I keep telling you, I am not fat!" he replied, kissing her head.
"But seriously Dwalin, what if I'm no good at it?"
"Let's give it a little test then, shall we?" Dwalin suggested as he bent over and kissed Amayla deeply, drawing her close, one hand roaming down her back to bring her even tighter to his chest. He pulled away, and rubbed her lower lip gently, "And how does that make you feel, Amayla?"
"Mmmmm, like I just want to get closer you and I never want it to stop," she whispered as her hand tangled itself in his beard.
"And that's how I'm sure that you'll be just fine, Amrâlimê," he murmured as he bent down to kiss her again.
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As they both stopped to breathe, Dwalin asked if she had any more questions.
"When was the last time you were with another dam?"
"That's an easy one, luv. That was back in Ered Luin, before we left for Erebor. Do you really think that I could be with someone else after finding you?"
"Really?"
"Aye, I love you, Amayla. Maybe some other dwarf would have all sorts of flowery words to tell you about the moon and the stars and all that stuff, but that's not me. All I can say is that you are my one, and always will be."
"And you are mine. I should never have doubted that." Amayla moved in for another kiss which was readily returned.
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As Dwalins lips moved from Amayla's down to the hollow in her neck and headed further down, Amayla's hands worked their way up from his beard, to his ears, and finally to the top of his head. "Dwalin? Can I ask you one more question?"
"Anything luv," he mumbled.
"How come you're bald?"
Dwalin pulled back immediately and looked at Amayla flabbergasted, "Really Amayla, you're going to ask me that right now?"
"You said that I could ask you anything, and I've always wondered," she shrugged.
"Aye, that I did," he grumbled, sitting up and putting one arm around Amayla.
"I had normal braids when I was younger, but in one of the first real battles I faced against orcs mounted on wargs, one of the wargs charged at me and when I ducked out of his way, his teeth managed to catch my braid, yanking me back. He then took the chunk out of my ear before I could turn and put my axe in his throat. I was so mad about it that I shaved off braid and most of my hair. I wasn't going to let that happen again. I left a mohawk down the middle."
Amayla pulled back, squinting at him, trying to imagine that.
"It made me look fierce," Dwalin stated. "But constantly shaving my head was a hassle. And I met a woman in a village out west that offered me an ointment that she said would remove the hair for good so I wouldn't have to shave anymore. I tried it. It felt like bugs were crawling over me, stinging me, but when I washed it off, the hair was gone and never came back. At first, I kept the mohawk, but that became a hassle so I used the ointment on my whole head."
"Interesting. But how did this woman know that you didn't like to shave your head?" Amayla asked accusingly.
Dwalin grimaced, "Do you really want to know, luv?"
"Nevermind! Forget I asked!"
"Are you sad that I don't have any braids for you to put in?"
"Not really. I'm not great with hair, obviously, and as long as you have this beard that I can play with, I'll be perfectly happy."
Dwalin let out a small groan as Amayla ran her fingers through his beard, marveling at its softness. "You know lassie, we are alone and there's only a couple more days until the wedding, maybe we could practice a little for the wedding night?"
"Mmmm, that sounds like a wise decision," she murmured as she met his lips with hers.
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But just as Dwalin pulled Amayla onto his lap, they were interrupted by a knock on the door, followed by a familiar voice.
"Brother? Are you in there?"
"I am really going to kill him this time!" Dwalin growled.
Standing at the door, was Balin and Amayla's two elvish guards. Balin looked obviously sorry to be there but Ithram spoke up immediately, "Lady Amayla, King Thranduil is in Dale and requests your presence there as soon as possible. He sent this note."
"Is everything alright Amayla?" Balin asked as Amayla began to frown while reading the note.
"Everything is fine Balin. I'm just running short on time. I need to purchase a few things before I go Dale. Speaking of which, I need to see Thorin. Do you know where he is?"
"We caught him and Strider as they were coming out of the cold pools. He was heading to the throne room. He's scheduled to hear petitions for the next few hours," Balin replied.
"Perfect. I have a petition of my own for him. He owes me money!" Amayla stated.
"Lassie, I have plenty of money. No need bothering Thorin," Dwalin insisted.
"Luv, I'm not using your money to purchase things I need to give you for a wedding gift," Amayla answered.
"Well, if it's for me, go bother Thorin!" Dwalin chuckled.
"Dwarfling!" Amayla chided him as she reached up to give him a kiss.
"I'll escort you Amayla," Balin said while extending his arm. "I should be there with the King. Brother, do you want to come along?"
"No. I think I'll be heading back to the cold pools," he sighed.
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********** NOTES ****************
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I promised that I wouldn't drag it out, and I didn't. I think they might just be good now. But we'll see! Onward to the wedding. I have a couple of good surprises planned for that.
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TOWG: During the party I had one of the blue ladies hint that Dis knew why Dwalin was called warhammer. It was subtle, maybe a little too subtle.
