Chapter Sixty-Five: An Open Secret
It was a remarkably pleasant experience to wake up in Erebor with his arms around Emelia. Kili had been awake for well over two hours, but he could not find it within himself to move just yet. At some point in the night, after waking each other up three separate times before tiring each other out once again, Emelia had wrapped her arms around his middle and not let go. She was usually a fitful sleeper, more twitchy than calm and prone to erratic limb throws, but just then she was sleeping like a rock, mouth popped open and brow perfectly smooth.
He knew he only had a few moments before he needed to get dressed and leave, but he couldn't help but let himself sink into the bed just a little bit deeper as he closed his eyes, relishing in the moment. Kili pulled her closer to him, hands trailing down her shoulders and down to her lower back as she slid her right leg over his hip.
Emelia let out a deep sign and opened her eyes.
"Good morning," She said, pressing herself just a little bit closer to him.
He briefly considered telling her that she sounded like a bullfrog in the morning and that he thought it was one of her most endearing features, but quickly thought better of it.
"Why are you awake? It is well before dawn."
"How can you possible know that?" She asked, words slightly slurred as she started the process of waking up fully. It would take her a while and he knew she would slip in and out of sleep several times before she was finally awake enough to start her day.
Kili smiled, looking down at the top of her head as she shifted and squirmed in place. He tapped her back and waited for her to tilt her chin up to look at him. She would not be able to see much in the near total darkness of her bedroom, but he still pointed to the circular cutout above her door.
Emelia didn't understand what he was pointing to at first, her eyebrows bunching together as she struggled to see. The sky ports existed only in the upper rooms of Erebor, reserved for only the most important of dwarves and their valued guests. The vast majority of dwarves did not miss the look of the sky, the soft glow from the moon or the blades of sunlight that most other races in Middle Earth craved, but they had discovered long ago that it was stifling for outsiders to so far beneath the earth without any hint of the world above them.
She lifted up her own hand and mirrored his motions, delicate fingers lacing with his much larger ones.
Emelia flipped his hand over and kissed his palm. It was a gesture he had done to her several times, on impulse more than anything, but never imagined the effect it would have. His entire chest seemed to explode and he suddenly felt much hotter underneath the thick covers.
"Do you want me to run you a hot bath before I leave?" Kili asked, leaning back from her ever so slightly before he got caught up in the feeling and spent the rest of the day with her. He kissed the side of her head and threw his side of the covers back, pulling away from her and standing up. His clothes were strewn all over the floor, discarded the night before and left forgotten.
He found his pants and pulled them on and handed her his shirt.
She pulled it on and rolled up the sleeves before she fell back against the pillows.
"There's plumbing?"
"Of course. What do you think this is, some human village?"
"Rude," She said, although he could tell she wasn't even the slightest bit offended. She rolled over in bed and snuggled into his now empty space, burying her face into his pillow. He stared at her for a moment longer, committing the whole moment to memory despite the fact that it was wholly unnecessary, before he turned away and walked into the privy chamber.
It was smaller than the one in his rooms, which he sincerely hoped would soon be hers as well, but it still had all the necessities. The large stone tub, carved out of the rock, was big enough for both of them to fit in comfortably. He pushed that thought out of his mind and turned the ornate gold faucet on, letting it run for a moment to warm up.
Back in the bedroom, he could hear Emelia start to get out of the bed.
"Good morning, Emelia."
Kili froze.
"Good morning, Dis, how are you?" Emelia said, voice wavering. She was never good at hiding her emotions, one of the things he cherished the most about her as it made it remarkably easy for him tell what she was feeling. Now, with her voice higher than normal and her words tinged with fear, he could tell that she was drowning in panic.
He could understand.
His mother was intimidating at the best of times.
"There is no need to be nervous," His mother said, voice coming closer and closer to the privy chamber. Kili kept his back to the door, intently focused on the half full tub. He was a grown dwarf, and yet, at the mere thought of getting caught by his mother, he felt like a little boy once again. "Kili."
"Ma," Kili said, keeping his back to her. "You're up early."
"So are you." Dis stepped closer, pushing open the ornate door just so. "Married life treating you well?"
Kili tried to cover up the sound of choking on his own spit but failed spectacularly.
"How can you possibly know that?" Kili asked, whirling around. His mother leaned against the doorframe, arms folded across her chest and mouth quirked up into a knowing smirk. Behind her shoulder, he could see Emelia hovering, eyes wide.
"I am your mother. How you thought you could keep something from me is a matter far more concerning than the two of you deciding to elope."
"We didn't…" Emelia started, only to trail off when she realized she had no way of ending that sentence that wasn't a lie. Kili could see every possible emotion on her face as she cycled, passing through panic and fear and slight annoyance, before circling back around again.
"I see the braids in your hair and the rings on your fingers as plain as the nose on your face," Dis said, shooting Emelia a look over her shoulder as she walked further into the privy chamber. She ushered Kili aside and bent down over the tub. She dropped her fingers into the water and swirled them around for a moment before she stood back up. "This water is far too hot."
"I had not finished yet," Kili said, recognizing the petulance in his voice.
"Finish getting dressed," She said, completely ignoring him. "Thorin is in his study and would like to speak with you."
Kili's first thought was to explain his actions, to try and weasel his way out of his mother's impending disappointment. But then he remembered himself. He remembered that he felt no shame for his choices and would do them again a million times over. If not for the customs of his people, he would have proudly paraded Emelia around for all to see, braid on full display.
Emelia stepped into the privy chamber to join them, holding a dressing gown tightly around her body to avoid any undue slip. She held his shirt up to him, holding eye contact for a long moment as he stepped closer to her.
"Kili," She said. She spoke to him softly, placating even, and he realized that he was being paranoid for no reason.
It was only his mother, after all, and he knew Emelia well enough to know that she could hold her own with the best of them. So he sighed and nodded. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, unabashed by the look his mother was giving them, before he stepped out of the privy chamber to find the rest of his clothes.
"I will try and find you for midday meal," He said, speaking to them both. Emelia smiled at him, the gesture dazzling, and he felt his chest explode in a warmth that made it hard for him to leave.
He finished tying his shirt and pulled on his thick cloak, glancing back at the privy chamber once more before he moved to the large double doors and left the two of them alone. The moment he stepped out of her room, unseen so early in the morning, his mind moved towards Thorin. He supposed he couldn't avoid him forever, as much as a part of him wanted to, so he pulled his fur cloak a little tighter around his shoulders and walked towards the study.
Emelia and Dis stared at each other after Kili left, both unwilling to break the silence for several minutes until Dis finally finished messing with the bath water.
"I have heard that humans have a decreased tolerance for extreme temperatures," Dis said, moving forward to help Emelia step into the bath. It was uncomfortable at first, until Emelia remembered that that discomfort was hers and hers alone. Nudity was not viewed the same in Middle Earth, as had been demonstrated to her numerous times by elves, so she slipped off the dressing gown and stepped into the near scalding water.
She was thankful that Dis turned to look away until she was safely ensconced in a cocoon of bubbles. The water smelled strongly of something Emelia could not identify, but it was pleasant none the less, and she had to fight the urge to lean back and sink into it completely. If for nothing else, than to avoid the inevitable earful she was likely about to get.
She wasn't scared, necessarily, as she did not think Dis would actually yell at her, but she did have the sinking suspicion that the older woman was disappointed in her.
A prospect all the more terrifying to Emelia.
Dis sat down on a stone stool next to the bath and folded her hands in her lap, staring at Emelia in a way that made her feel distinctly see through.
She sank down into the bubbles just a little bit more, parsing through all the things that she could say that might diffuse the tension. If it could even be described as tension. From her view, Dis looked endlessly pleasant as she sat there, happy even, if Emelia wasn't reading too much into it, and all the discomfort she felt might have been entirely made up.
"It wasn't our intention to lie." Emelia cringed right after she said it, because it was, of course, a lie in of itself. It was exactly their intention to lie, obfuscate, and avoid telling the truth at all costs. Now that she was staring at Dis, she could see how silly that was. She immediately tried to backtrack, stumbling and fumbling over her words until Dis took pity on her and touched her shoulder.
"I am not upset, nor am I remotely surprised," Dis said, lips quirking up into a smile. "My sons have always been reckless, but Kili has taken that particular trait to new heights as of late. I had hoped, given the gravity of their quest, that he might have moved past it, but here you are."
Emelia bristled, although she did her absolute best to not let her offense show on her face.
"I am not a reckless decision," Emelia said, keeping her tone as even as possible.
"Forgive me, that was not what I intended to imply," Dis said, giving her shoulder a tiny squeeze. "You are both young. You, especially so, and I know that such decisions are often borne out of passion and love, rather than logic. Kili knew he would need to hide this relationship upon his return to the Mountain, and yet he did it anyway. He knew, if Thorin or the Clans did not approve, that his vows to you were sacrosanct, validity by our traditions be damned. He knew he would not be able to live here, with you, and yet he did it anyway. I do not find such commitments to be taken lightly and I believe my son feels the same."
"I'm…"
"There is no need for apologies, if you were so inclined, nor do I need to hear you try and muddle your way through whatever hollow excuse you might have. You married my son because you love him and he loves you. That is the only reason I care about."
Emelia stared at her, mouth open like a fish.
"Well, I suppose…"
"Emelia, please. I was young and impulsive once and my family reacted in a similar manner when I came home married to a common foot solider and not any one of the numerous Lords and their sons who asked for my hand."
"Mirwi," Emelia said, leaning closer to the edge of the tub. "You eloped?"
"We did," Dis confirmed, a small smile on her face. "Thorin and Frerin were murderous, but I would not take no for an answer when I presented him."
"I'm going to be a bit of a harder pill to swallow, I think," Emelia said, although not in a way that was putting herself down. It was a simple matter of biology. She was not a dwarf and would never be a dwarf. If Kili were average in anyway, it might not be such an issue, but as it was she could see that she might be a hard sell to the Clans. There was a small cloud hanging over them, an unspoken possibility that neither of them had really engaged with in full. They might not be able to have children. For royals, that was an untenable prospect.
She still wanted to wait. But over the course of their journey back to Erebor, she had come around to the idea a bit more. It excited her, even, to think about she got her hopes up that in the coming months, after they were officially married, they might be able to start trying. The thought that it might not even be possible made her feel nauseous.
Emelia sank down into the bubbles just a little bit further.
"You very well might be. Which is why I am here to help you," Dis said, standing up and turning around. "Now, give yourself a good scrub and put on the clothes I lay out on the bed. When you are finished, I would like you join me in the communal kitchens."
Dis left the privy chamber without giving Emelia an opportunity to respond or argue.
Not that she would.
She was distinctly aware of how much schmoozing she was about to have to do. She would need to impress people that, by her own cynical estimation, would never be impressed by her. It felt futile and she gave into her own insecurities for a moment before she remembered herself. Emelia grabbed the nearest glass bottle and hoped to high heaven that it was some sort of soap. She made quick work of finishing her bath, smiling at the new cacophony of smells that assaulted her senses.
As she stood naked in the middle of her room, dripping wet as she had been unable to find more than a square facial towel, she realized that she was now alone in the Mountain for the first time.
Her hands shook.
It hit her then.
Really hit her, like a truck careening off the highway and slamming right into her.
The night before she had said she was happy to be home, but her word choice had been more for Kili's benefit than her own. Home was a tricky subject for her to puzzle out in her mind. It couldn't still be her family's house back in Alaska. It couldn't be Bag End. She worried, briefly, that there might not be anywhere at all. So she turned to trying to find a different way of thinking of it, of trying to find workarounds that she could use to feel the most comfortable.
But she didn't need to.
Because at some point during the night, the mental gymnastics that she worried she might have to engage in became not needed at all.
She was home.
Emelia ran her hands over the over the still messed up covers, smiling at the indention of where Kili's head had been on the pillow the night before. There was just a little bit of warmth that lingered. She tapped the pillow and turned back to the clothes Dis laid out for her. The dress was thick and made from a deep blue fabric with silver threads. It was beautiful, but also impossibly complicated to put on and Emelia could not help but feel like this was her first test.
And she would not be intimidated.
After fifteen minutes, she finally emerged, red faced and out of breath but no less victorious.
She was proud of herself, smug even, until she realized, the moment she stepped out of her room and out into the cavernous royal wing, that she had no idea where the communal kitchens were. That was her second test, she was absolutely certain, and she hitched up the bottom of her floor length dress and marched towards the stairs, determination coloring every step as she descended deeper into the Mountain.
Thorin's study was needlessly warm, oppressive even, and Kili felt fresh sweat spring up on his back the moment he stepped inside. Thorin sat as close to the fire he could get without curling up in the flames. He had been colder since the doctors took his leg and he never seemed quite able to warm himself up enough to get comfortable.
Kili turned his back to him and went to the nearest shelf the moment the door closed behind him. It was laden down with the books that Kili could distinctly remember Thorin reading a few of them to him and Fili when they were younglings. Those memories seemed like a lifetime ago and he felt a fresh blade of anger slice through his stomach at the difference between the uncle in his memories and the uncle sitting by the fire.
Emelia had encouraged him to be open minded.
Forgiving, like she had been, although she did not say so in so many words.
Kili's eyes moved along the bookshelf, hands clenching into fists when he saw the set of little metal soldiers.
Someone had taken great care to bring them from the Blue Mountains and he could not help but feel just a little bit of affection for his uncle at the thought that he had seen to it.
Kili picked up the soldier nearest to him and held it up in front of his face, turning it back and forth. The blue and red paint had chipped over the years and the maker's mark from Bofur's whittling knife were just barely discernible. But they were still the same little soldiers Thorin and Dwalin used to describe great battles with. They were the same little soldiers Fili and Kili had tried to hide all over the Blue Mountains only to have Balin bring them back.
"Are you hungry?" Thorin's deep voice cut across Kili's thoughts, startling him for only a brief moment before he was able to recover. Kili tucked the soldier into the palm of his hand and turned back to Thorin.
"I am," He said, hoping that he sounded agreeable despite the anger and frustration ebbing and flowing just below the surface.
"I have asked the cooks to prepare a roesti."
Kili did not smile.
Roesti, a cheesy revelation, was his favorite food.
And Thorin knew it. Kili tried not to feel like he was being bribed, but roesti was not a breakfast food and it took several hours to prepare. Thorin was going out of his way to be nice, to remind him of things he loved, and Kili knew that he should not be upset about that fact.
Kili sat down in the seat opposite his uncle and tapped the toy soldier against his leg.
The silence that stretched between them was nearly unbearable, but Kili did not dare to break it. It was not his responsibility, as far as he was concerned, and Emelia's urging of being open minded aside, he was not willing to lay out the roadmap to forgiveness.
Thorin would need to navigate that on his own.
So Kili sat in the silence, stewed in it and made himself more unhappy than he needed to, just so that Thorin would be forced to take the responsibility Kili so desperately craved from him. He did not relish in the anger her felt for him over the last year. In fact, Kili felt certain a part of him had withered up inside him at the strain, but he absolutely refused to give in and forgive him without some sign that Thorin understood the pain he had caused.
"Did Emelia settle in?" Thorin asked and Kili thought it incredibly bold of him to bring her up, all things considered.
"She did," Kili said. Despite the seriousness of the circumstances, he had to fight against the dirty joke that popped up in his mind immediately. His mother had refrained from ripping his hair out, as he was sure she wanted to, but he did not count on Thorin tempering his anger as well.
Kili was tempted to tell him just because.
Just to needle him.
Thorin sighed and pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders. "I know this is not a conversation that you have looked forward to." Kili snorted. "But, I do not want to live with such animosity between us."
"So how do you propose we settle this?" Kili asked, an edge to his voice that he did not think was going away any time soon. "Because from my perspective, an apology, if you were going to give one, is a piss poor offering in exchange for the last year."
"It is all I can give. I cannot give you back the time you lost with her, or heal the wounds I have caused, but I can tell you that I will do anything I can…"
"I don't need you to grovel, Uncle," Kili said. "I need to know that you will do nothing to hinder our happiness."
Thorin finally looked up and Kili was alarmed to see the pure pain written all over his face.
"I would never, Kili," Thorin said, the sincerity almost bowling Kili over. "I know that the last year might have changed your view of me, but I have only ever wanted happiness for you. You are my family, my heir, my blood, and I want nothing more than for you to experience all the joys of life that were denied to me. I wanted to reclaim Erebor for that reason, but somewhere along the way I lost sight of that."
And just like that, every desire Kili had to drag it out evaporated into dust.
He felt a prickle at the back of his eyes and he was appalled to find that he felt the sudden urge to cry.
Kili tapped the soldier against his leg faster, the conflicting emotions overwhelming him. He wanted so desperately to stay angry, to keep drawing out the moment until Thorin understood what the last year had been like for him. He thought he would feel better if Thorin knew how dark his thoughts had gotten, how he spiraled lower and lower in on himself and felt buried alive by his own depression. He was still not entirely certain that his fortune would not turn and he had to remind himself every single time he held Emelia that he wasn't going to wake up with his arms empty and his heart ripped in two. He had thought he would not forgive Thorin until he understood.
But he was wrong.
He was so very wrong and he realized, in that moment, that if he remained committed to his desire to get his own satisfaction from his uncle, he would only succeed in causing himself and the rest of his own family more pain.
Thorin leaned forward and grabbed the hand holding the soldier.
"I love you and your brother like you are my own sons," Thorin said, giving Kili's hand a strong squeeze. A soft knock interrupted him before he could say something else, and Thorin let them in with a whistle. Kili felt his mouth water the moment the steward stepped in with the large roesti pan. It was set between them on a small table and Kili, forgetting any and all propriety, picked up the iron spoon and scooped up a large bit of crispy, cheesy potatoes before the steward even left the room. "Good?"
Kili nodded, mouth full.
He swallowed the oversized bite and dove in for another, feeling just a little bit of relief at the normalcy when Thorin picked up his own spoon and started to eat as well.
"Emelia mentioned that you and she want to get married," Thorin said, voice a forced sort of casual that instantly made Kili suspicious. "Odd, considering that the two of you are already married."
Kili choked on a chunk of molten cheese.
"You know? How does everyone already know?"
"The pair of you did not do a great deal to hide it." Thorin took the soldier from Kili's hand. "I remember when Bofur made these for you and Fili. You were barely five, and now, you're a married man."
"Ma told you."
"No. But I am not surprised she was able to figure it out as well." Thorin flipped the toy over and looked at it, face contemplative. "You do not have to look so stricken. I am not mad. I've given up on stressing myself out over such things. I think you'll find it does wonders for your happiness, if you find yourself similarly inclined."
"But do I have your blessing?"
"You know that it is not my blessing to give for our Clan," Thorin said, the slightest hint of mirth making its way onto his face. "But, as your King, I am more than happy to offer my support. And as your uncle, I am overjoyed. Emelia told me last night that you proposed. Perhaps she thought she was being sneaky, but I could tell the moment you stepped foot back in Erebor."
"We thought we were being subtle."
"Near miss." Thorin took another large bite of roesti, a smug smirk on his face. "I assume she is currently starting the task of trying to get Clan approval."
"She is," Kili said, voice brimming with pride. She would soar through it, he was absolutely certain.
"Then there is nothing more to do for now. Unless, of course, there is a chance that she is already with child."
"No, there is not."
Thorin raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. He held the toy solider up. He smiled, the gesture saccharine sweet and dripping with sentimentality, and handed the toy back to Kili. He could tell there was a great deal more that could be said, more that they could ruminate over until their relationship was returned to what it had once been.
But it was unnecessary.
Kili tucked the toy solider into his front pocket and picked up the spoon again, smiling to himself when Thorin did the same. A comfort settled over them, a familiarity that reminded Kili of all the years they spent doing the exact same thing in the Blue Mountains, and he tucked into his favorite food with the knowledge that his life in Erebor was going to be as he had always imagined it.
"You said a week tops," Emelia whispered out of the side of her mouth, leaning sideways to speak to Kili. It was unreasonably cold and, in spite of having about a million large fires burning around the audience chamber, and Emelia hunkered down in her thick coat so far, she looked like a furry snowball.
She had lived in Erebor well over a month and she was no closer to getting Clan approval than when she arrived.
She could feel herself getting antsy, but she was distracted from it for the time being by the celebration of Thorin's official coronation. She was, at the very least, allowed to stand next to Kili as his betrothed. The word felt stupidly formal, but it afforded them just a little more time together than they would have had if they remained entirely unattached to the majority of the residents in the Mountain.
She felt Kili grab her hand and give it a squeeze.
"I never worded that as a promise," Kili said, leaning down to whisper in her ear.
"They hate me."
"They do not know you," Fili said through his bright smile, nodding at some of the dignitaries that passed them by. The moment they were gone, the smile fell and he sank just a little bit. "Only three more hours."
"You should consider this practice, Fee. It will be you one day."
"Not unless I can convince Thorin to do the impossible."
"Which is?" Emelia asked, almost hesitant to know the answer.
"Spend more than five minutes alone with a woman without attempting to spontaneously combust."
"He can't be that bad," Emelia said, bending her legs into a slight curtsy for the two noble dwarves in front of her. "He's a king and not totally tragic looking. Wooing women shouldn't take much, his disagreeable nature entirely aside."
"It is not a matter of skill, but a matter of desire," Fili said, leaning around Kili to wiggle his eyebrows at her. "In that, he and I are very much the same."
"What?" Emelia blinked, unsure of what Fili was trying to tell her before it hit her and she blushed crimson at being so stupid. "Oh."
"Fili, Kili, happy Durin's Day," A loud voice boomed from behind them, startling all three. They turned around in tandem and each did their best to appear pleased to see Dain lumbering towards them. He had been uncomfortably pleasant about the whole thing and Emelia did not believe for a second that he wasn't just the slightest bit disappointed that all three of them had lived. She kept that thought to herself, however, and smiled at Dain and his son as they approached. "What a day! I never thought I would live to see our line restored and on this day, of all days!"
"Indeed, Cousin," Fili said, words trailing off as he was swooped up into a tight embrace. Emelia buried her smile in her coat when she heard his back crack.
"Gloin, bring yer boy. Thorin said he would have seats saved for us up front, but we all know how his brain works!" Dain shouted, still squeezing the life out of Fili. Dain dropped Fili and turned on Kili next and Emelia dropped his hand just in time to avoid being pulled into the embrace as an unfortunate bystander.
Gloin appeared on Fili's other side and rolled his eyes at the display, Oin at his back along with a dwarf that Emelia did not know. Fili seemed excited to see him, however, and clapped his shoulder like they had known each other all their lives. "Gimli," He said, pulling the younger dwarf away from his father as he lowered his voice conspiratorially. "Kili and I have not seen you since we returned."
"Cargo in tow, I see," Gimli gestured, not unkindly, to Emelia.
"Hi."
"I am Gimli son of Gloin, at your service."
"Emelia Kinsington Montgomery, at yours," She said, inclining her head to him.
"Did you enjoy the quest?" Emelia blinked at the clear bitterness in his voice, confused as to why he would have such an animus to her in spite of never having met her before.
"Ignore him. He is just upset that his father actually cares about his well-being and decided to make him stay home."
"Thank Durin Thorin doesn't have that same hang-up about you and Kili," Emelia said, hoping she used the phrase right. "I might have had to fall in love with Dwalin. The horror."
"Thank Durin indeed," Fili said, smirking at her before he turned back to Gimli. "Now, you, join me for a drink tonight and you can regale me with all your misadventures of escorting the elderly and infirm from the Blue Mountains. I am sure our quest pales in comparison to yours."
Gimli groaned and threw off Fili's arm, but he still followed him to the seats at the front of the room all the same. Dain, Oin, and Gloin soon followed, leaving Emelia and Kili behind to greet the last of the stragglers as they all filed inside. Her face hurt from smiling so much, but she kept doing it anyway. When the last of the dwarves were inside, she turned to Kili and crossed her arms over her chest. "A week, Kee. A fucking week."
"I know, Em. They are proving more stubborn than I thought."
"Really? Dwarves being stubborn, who could have possibly seen that coming?"
"It is not all bad. Clan Gragnan has already given their approval. And Clan Yrsin seems likely to as well."
"That's one and half out of seventeen."
"That's one and a half more than you had a month ago," Kili said, the start of a shit-eating grin making its way onto his face. "And besides, I thought you enjoyed all the sneaking around we've been doing."
Emelia rolled her eyes as she leaned forward and gave him a socially acceptable kiss on the cheek. "You're the worst," She said, hand dropping down to grab his as they started to walk inside and take their seats.
"I know."
"How long will this ceremony take?" She asked, forcing the smile back on her face as she caught sight of a few of the more gossipy dwarves watching her.
"Three hours. But it will give you plenty of time to make your case," He said, pulling his hand out of hers without explanation. He pushed her towards the dwarves, only offering a simple shrug before he disappeared into the crowd and left her alone. She sighed and squared her shoulders, plastering on her most charming smile, and walked towards them. She had done this song and dance more times than she could count over the last month.
And she was still no closer to getting their approval.
She caught sight of Kili smirking at her from the other side of the room just before she greeted the Clan leaders.
She rolled her eyes again.
There were three Clan leaders in front of her and she would not leave their side until she had four and a half approvals. The task daunted her, but she would not take no for an answer even if it meant pestering them for the next year. She would get her yes. Emelia would be relentlessly stubborn in that regard, more so than the dwarves in front of her, and she would get her yes from each and every one of them if it was the last thing she did.
It might have to be.
Because she woke up that morning with an unfortunate new time clock hanging around her neck.
Emelia could not say that she was panicked, per se, but it certainly was not a relaxing feeling to discover, well before she ever planned or intended, that she was, possibly, maybe, potentially, very much pregnant.
Huh, can't see what could possibly go wrong with this lol.