27. Royal heir to the Line of Durin
Year 811 of the Second Age:
Early in autumn, Crown Princess Ragnhild of Khazad-dûm gave birth to a new heir to the Line of Durin. A son, as so often happened among the Dwarven race.
"Oh, Mahal," Ragnhild pretended to say in horror at seeing her little son, "you just had to inherit those impossible hair curls from me, darling?"
The carefully wrapped baby made a thin wail from her arms, as if saying that it was not his fault, just as Durin entered the birth chamber with a very proud, joyful smile over becoming a father.
"This is the best gift of our marriage so far, beloved Ragnhild."
Many had prayed for that Ragnhild would not be blessed with a daughter, only to be reminded of her first child that had been lost in that horrible miscarriage thanks to the House of Frost. If the second child sired on her by Durin had been a daughter as well, it could have been a cruel reminder of the first daughter who had never gotten to live long enough in the womb to quicken as the absolute proof of pregnancy.
"Ingvar," Durin said as what he wanted to name his first son, gently holding the infant in his hands. If Ragnhild desired the newborn infant to be named something else, this was the last moment she could protest.
"I am fine with that name… Hinata, are you alright?" Ragnhild asked at seeing how Hinata made a face of displeasure.
The eastern Dwarrowdam had two months left to her own childbirth, yet it still had surprised many that Durin had managed to knock up both his legal wife and concubine only a few weeks after each other. Not that it had bothered the two female lovers, they only saw it as a shared joy in the relationship.
"No worry about me. Just that Rurik is starting to kick me again as a sign of waking up from a nap. Noisy kid already, can he not sleep at night instead of keeping me awake half the time that I desire to sleep?"
Hinata did not doubt that she was carrying a son to Durin as well, the Maker would be horribly heartless if she was blessed with a daughter and how such a situation would make painful memories of what could have been with the daughter Ragnhild had been meant to give life to.
"Oh, good. That attempted poisoning that caused your little one to be lost, did not manage to make you live through the horror and grief of a stillbirth."
"Grandmother!" Durin said in surprise at seeing that it was Queen Dowager Freja, who had arrived to meet her newest descendant. His parents, uncle and aunt by marriage was still outside the door, clearly wanting for Freja to be the first family member after Durin to see the new heir.
Freja did not speak, as she looked over her great-grandson when Durin handed her the little one. She trusted the healers, who had tended to the birth, that the boy was healthy outside a minor worry that Ragnhild's womb could have been damaged by the poison and making it more difficult for her to get pregnant in the natural way, but she wanted to see for herself.
"I would suggest that we keep a close eye on him as he grows up, given the fear that your health would be damaged."
The royal married trio did not doubt what she was hinting to. A royal heir that was sickly in health would be unlikely to be a strong king in times of war because a Dwarven King was expected to be a skilled warrior, leading his troops in battle and possibly also face his own difficulties in continuing the dynasty in the marriage bed.
This was why the royal Dwarven families laid such great importance on a wife having good physical health from the start, and why they were so protected by bodyguards and loyal servants after the wedding. Had Ragnhild been poisoned to the point of that her fertility had been badly damaged and that she would never give birth to a living child or having all her pregnancies end in miscarriage, Hinata was the one who could carry the burden of giving the Line of Durin new heirs from her body.
"Everyone did their best to ensure that the poison would not leave any damage in my body or ability to carry offspring from my womb, there is nothing else to do now when it has already been six years," Ragnhild spoke in a quiet voice. She had been greatly traumatized by the event that had led to the miscarriage of her daughter. which explained why it had taken her nearly two years before feeling brave enough to try again for a new child.
"Ragnhild, we will always mourn the loss of the princess who should have been five years old this summer. But you have a living son now, that will need your care and attention. You will always miss her, but he need you the most now since you are the only one who can nurse him unless we find a wet nurse for little Ivar," Skadi spoke up. She could understand her daughter-in-law well, for she and Vern had lost a second son as well in a stillbirth only a few years after Durin, the protracted birth being fatal for the little boy despite the healers doing anything they could to help her deliver. In the long run Skadi was left with a scar across her stomach, the reminder of the desperate attempt to bring out her child alive, and a womb that could not accept more pregnancies for all of that the healers had been so careful when cutting her up.
"Now, dear ladies, try to enjoy this moment instead of thinking of the past," Frerin suggested, as Tora got to hold little Ivar. Even Tora had been affected by the lack of heirs outside Durin until now, as the soul of a Dwarrowdam born in a male body she had no way of giving Frerin an heir, and by not being related to the Line of Durin at all, she could not give him an alternative heir by adopting a blood relative as their child. A new King from the Line of Durin had to be able to prove his lineage as a descendant of Durin the Deathless, or risk being viewed as a unlaw usurper.
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Naturally, the birth of Ivar had to be celebrated with the whole realm, as he was the first heir in a new generation and successor to Durin as a future King of Khazad-dûm.
"Their royal highnesses, Crown prince Durin, crown princess Ragnhild, Honoured Lady Hinata!"
For seven days, in a symbol of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, there would be a big event with prayers of gratitude for the new prince, ceremonies where the whole royal family would be present, and free food and drink for Durin's Folk to enjoy on behalf of the little prince, who would not be able to take part of feasts like this until next autumn when he was one year old and able to eat the same food as adult Dwarves.
"I hope that the crown princess and her newborn son will be allowed to rest and be bothered too much…" Celebrimbor commented as he got a tankard with beer to drink.
"No worry, master Elf, she only needs to be present for the naming ceremony where King Vern and the priest will tell our Maker the name of the wee one. A Dwarrowdam fresh from the birthing bed needs all the rest she can get to recover, future Queen consort or not."
Celebrimbor said nothing. Having grown up as the only child in his generation from the House of Fëanor and not being close to his more distant relatives until they had arrived to Middle-earth in Exile, he did not know much details of childbirth.
His aunt Maedhros had not been a good choice to ask due to the risk of said question being a trigger for the horrors she had suffered in Angband, he had not met Aredhel after that she followed her brother Turgon to the hidden city of Gondolin and Galadriel had married Celeborn but not had her daughter until the Second Age.
Idril had lived nearly her whole life in Gondolin and been cut off from contact from the rest of Beleriand until the Fall of Gondolin. And Finduilas died as a maiden, as far as Celebrimbor knew, he had known both her and her fiancé Gwindor in Nargothrond but they had never married before their deaths.
"And both my mother and aunt by marriage remained with grandmother Nerdanel in Valinor, so I could not ask them either…"
Ugh, he had lost that festive mood thanks to his own thoughts about the past. Refusing a new tankard politely from the Dwarves at his side, Celebrimbor went to be alone for a bit. Still, he took one unopened bottle of eastern-made wine with him, just to get a taste of it.
At the same time, Narvi had also escaped the celebration for a bit, for a rather different reason. As the birth of a royal heir was a big social event, the strict rules about mourning tended to be a little more relaxed in order to not isolate the mourning family from society altogether. And she had just found out that Odin had tried to plan out this evening for her.
"Just because I am four years away from being able to marry, it does not mean that I want a betrothal now!"
Not that Narvi disliked that suitor who had showed up out of the blue and asking for a dance now when she was not restricted by the mourning for a few days, but she did not want to think of such a life-changing thing as marriage now.
The library would be empty by now, and hopefully be a sanctuary for an hour or two before she joined the feast again.
Naturally, she did walk straight into someone, as Narvi did not keep her eyes on where she was going.
"Oh, my apology, miss Narvi."
Khelebrimbor. It seemed like he had wanted to get away from the celebrations as well.
"Are you taking a break from the fun as well?"
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Somehow, after wandering around in the higher levels, they ended up at one of the rare balconies where the open night sky was visible.
"A fine night with the full moon and no clouds. Perfect for viewing the stars."
The eastern wine was good in taste, with spices to get a little extra flavor and the bottle was big enough for them to share.
"You know. As a Dwarfling I was actually jealous on my father. For that as a merchant, his job meant that he would be traveling around different places to sell and buy goods."
There was an almost longing tone in her voice, as Narvi spoke of her past.
"One of my secret dreams have always been to travel. To places in other parts of the world, to share my skills as a stonemason with other people and learn from them in return. To get new inspiration…"
However, as a Dam, Narvi was unlikely to leave Khazad-dûm for a journey again. She had moved there as a possible bride for the future Durin II, and seen that chance vanishing between her fingers. The trip to Ost-in-Edhil with her family had been for Loki's sake, in the hope of giving her sister some pleasant memories before her death.
"Then… would it be strange if you exchanged letters with someone?"
She did not miss the unspoken meaning Celebrimbor was trying to say.
"And at the same time using the new alliance between our realms? Why not, it could be a new step towards not being bound by the past, proving that your family legendary friendships with the Dwarves of long gone Belegost and Nogrod can still be reawaken in this new Age, with new generations than those before us."
By grasping their respective lower arm instead of a common handshake, it was a silent agreement about staying in contact.
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Author note:
Ingvar is an Old Norse name meaning "protected by Yngvi".
Rurik, according to the 12th-century Primary Chronicle, was a Varangian chieftain of the Rus' who in the year 862 gained control of Ladoga, and built the Holmgard settlement near Novgorod. He is the founder of the Rurik dynasty, which ruled the Kievan Rus' and its successor states, including the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Tsardom of Russia, until the 17th century
As the legal wife to the future Durin II, Ragnhild holds the title of crown princess. With Hinata as a royal concubine and the shared lover of both Durin and Ragnhild, I imagine that her title would be Honoured Lady as a sign of respect
If anyone is confused, Skadi underwent a Caesarian operation at her second childbirth but the boy sadly was stillborn due to Skadi suffering complications during the last month of her pregnancy
Tora, as a transgender male-to-female in a society without access to modern Sex reassignment surgery, would likely only have castration as the closest way to becoming a Dwarrowdam
According to the Silmarillion canon I follows, Celebrimbor is second-cousin to Maeglin, Idril and Gil-galad (House of Fingolfin), alongside Finduilas and Celebrían (House of Finarfin)