For WritersMonth2021

Prompt: Arranged Marriage

Thorin's wife has been an ongoing character in my fics, but this is my first time writing something from her point of view.

Well, at least that's over with.

Shurri, daughter of Sindre, thought to herself. She nodded at the assembled nobles as the King Under the Mountain escorted her to their wedding feast, careful of the unaccustomed weight of her crown. Her eyes took in the glittering hall, the hundreds of guests; she was still getting used to the scale in Erebor. The halls of her father in the Grey Mountains had always seemed so grand, until she came here.

"To the Queen of Erebor! Long may she live!" The King's chief counselor held up his glass as she reached her seat.

"The Queen of Erebor!" The shouts rang out around the hall. Shurri raised her glass and drank.

Queen of Erebor does have a nice ring to it, she thought. The child I bear will be King here. Almost makes up for being forced to marry a man like Thorin Oakenshield.

The negotiations for her hand had begun more than a year ago. Shurri well remembered being paraded in front of the King's representatives, like some prize filly. There was much talk of her dowry, of what Erebor would guarantee in return. King Sindre was eager to make the match, he felt dark times approaching and needed an alliance with Erebor to ensure his kingdom survived. Shurri was under no illusions, she knew a princess was required to marry whoever her father chose. But she always assumed any suitor would at least make of show of wooing her. She never set eyes on Thorin Oakenshield until she arrived in Erebor, contract in hand.

It was an awkward meeting. Thorin looked her up and down, took the contract and told a servant to show her to her apartments. Shurri was distinctly unimpressed. He bore no resemblance to the likeness she had been shown. He was on the tall side and had good taste in clothes, but she saw nothing else to recommend him. Not to mention he wore the shortest beard she had ever seen among Dwarves, her own was longer. As she made her way through the palace she could see the men's heads turn as she passed, feel their admiring gazes. Shurri held her head high, she had long enjoyed the reputation as the prettiest princess among all the Families and she was always careful in her choice of dress and jewelry to make sure she kept it. The great King Under the Mountain might not have seen anything he liked, but the other men of Erebor surely did.

The feast went on long into the night, twelve bells had already sounded when the King and his new Queen headed up the stairs to their apartments. At the gallery Shurri paused, not sure what to expect.

"Your majesty, may I ask that we postpone consummating our marriage until I am between the moons, when I might conceive a child?"

"Of course," Thorin said, relief in his voice. "I am glad you understand this is a purely political arrangement. We must both play our parts."

"My part is to bear you an heir," Shurri said, looking down at her feet. She wasn't attracted to this man at all, but still felt a bit disappointed he wanted nothing to do with her.

Thorin laid a hand on her arm. "I have already told you my heart is given to another," he said. "But I hope we can become friends."

"We must get to know each other first," Shurri replied, with a curtsy. "Good evening, your majesty."

Back in her apartments, her maid helping with the heavy wedding dress, Shurri realized she also was relieved not to have to spend this night with her new husband. It would have been very weird, since they hardly knew each other at all. Things would have been different if she had been allowed to marry the captain of her father's guard, whom she had loved for years.

But one day, my son will be King of Erebor! And that was a very comforting thought indeed.