Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is not my own, yadda yadda yadda. I'm not making any money off of this. (Though I wish I could.)
Our attention was suddenly diverted when someone cleared their throat, loudly. Thorin turned, face passive, to look at a very broad-shouldered and scarred dwarf with pale red hair that was braided tightly to his skull. His beefy, tattoo-covered arms were crossed, both of his bushy eyebrows narrowed. Thorin inclined his head slightly towards the dwarf.
"Lord Uskal Stonefist," Thorin said, "From the Blue Mountains."
If looks could kill, I would have been dead the second he laid eyes on me. I glanced briefly at Thorin before inclining my head towards him and giving the best smile I could offer, at the point in time, which probably was more like a grimace.
"Lord St…" I barely managed to get out before the dwarf slammed his massive fist down on the table. I could hear the stone creak under the strain. To my credit, I did not flinch. Well. Maybe a little.
He snarled a word I could barely decipher in dwarvish. It was not something pleasant, I gathered, by the general reaction of those around me. Thorin's face immediately hardened, Dain's eyebrows shot up, and Dis looked outraged. Even a few of the dwarves who had been standing around Uskal looked mildly surprised.
"You dare call your king a fool?" Dain snapped. Uskal let out a harsh snort, reminiscent of a bull readying to charge.
"Vagabond, you mean. A king of fools. A king of thieves and peasants," Uskal snarled. "King indeed. And where has this king been all these years while those of us in the Blue Mountains and even your Iron Hills, Dain, scrapped and rebuilt? Wandering on fools' errands, no more. And here, you retake our kingdom of old and instead of hiding it away as the precious heirloom it is, you fill it with this," He waved his hand at me, "Filth. The likes of Man and Elf, those whom have harbored jealousy and hatred for us as long as our forefathers can account! And no less, the same faithless dogs that abandoned your forbearers'. And now, hear tell, you are planning take this… daughter of Man as your wife?"
There were a few nods and shouts of agreement from the dwarves at the table. Thorin's jaw worked under his beard and I knew he was struggling not to let his anger get the best of him.
"You shut your bloody mouth!" Dain snapped, take a few steps towards the unruly dwarf. "Or I'll shut it for you!"
"You of all people defend him, Ironfoot?! The one who swore an oath of vengeance on those damned pointy eared sprites?! The same Ironfoot who threatened to haze and burn the realm of man should they ever get in the way of our business!?"
A few of the dwarves behind Uskal stepped forward, their hands fisted tight. Shouts and threats were being called out in both common and khuzdul and the noise was suddenly deafening. I stepped back a few paces to give Thorin room and stood even with Dis, who seemed relatively at peace despite all the arguing and thinly veiled death threats. She gave a mild shake of her head as if to tell me not to worry.
"Shazara!" Thorin finally roared. He had flung his cloak off of his shoulders and suddenly he was King. I could not place directly what it was that set him apart from the others. He wore similar garments, his perhaps even a little more careworn since he was still wearing his favorite cloak that I had stolen so many times throughout our trip, and physically he was not any more muscled. Compared to Uskal, he was actually a little small. But he had a presence. An authority.
All talking ceased and each of the dwarves lowered their hands, if only a little.
"I will not have you come into my halls, ones that I have won at a dear cost without your help, Uskal Stonefist, son of Ulef, and have you insult me or my own. I owe you no explanation for my doings nor do I expect you to question them. I am Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain, son of Thror, and I can trace my lineage back through my fathers to Durin himself. If that did itself did not lend credence to my title as King, then take a look around you. I took back the Lonely Mountain. Without the help of you and yours, but with the help of those whom you call filthy and faithless. If it were not for this daughter of man," He motioned at me, "I would not be standing here. Nor would my sister-sons. So if I want your opinion, Uskal, and believe me I do not, I will ask it of you."
Both Dis and I winced at that last part. He had been doing so well until that last statement. Uskal had almost deflated until Thorin had spoken of his opinion. His face turned red and he took another step forward.
"If this is the madness that your line brings, then perhaps you and your sister-sons would have been better off dead." Uskals voice was dangerously low. There was a suddenly flurry of motion and suddenly Dis was on him, punching him with all the might she could muster. She was yelling at him in a mix of common and dwarvish, something I noticed that a lot of them did, despite having an aversion to speaking Khuzdul in front of non-dwarves.
"You filthy son of… rukhs! I'll shove iklal… thakal… ubzar… lukhud!" She growled between punches. Uskal had immediately gone on the defensive, batting away her punches and grunting whenever she'd land a solid one. Thorin, Dain and I rushed forward to grab her before the other dwarves decided to do more than just argue and shove one another.
Thorin and Dain dragged a cursing Dis off Uskal, who had a few of his brethren helping him to his feet. Uskal shoved them away and took a few steps towards Thorin. I stepped in front of him.
"Alright, enough. We all need to sit down talk this through. Nothing is going to get done if we all keep yelling and shoving and…"
Uskal was sneering at me and before I could get another word out, he had casually backhanded me. Stars exploded in front of my eyes as I fell and flew backwards a few feet to the sound of an angry roar and the shuffling of feet and scrapping of chairs. In the moments it took my eyes to regain focus, Uskal had stomped his way in front of me. Quicker than I would have given him credit for, he reached down and snapped my up by the front of my shirt.
"You! What magic do you have, sorceress? Corrupting the sons of Durin and conspiring behind their backs!" He hissed.
Thorin, Dain, and Dis were standing behind Uskal, the same few dwarves that had helped him standing in their way.
"Put her down," Thorin growled. He was well and truly angry now. It was not a voice I had heard since he was the Other Thorin. It made me go cold and I focused instead of Uskal.
"I have no argument with you, Lord Uskal. I have no magic, and I am not trying to steal anything." I answered, as passive as possible. I tasted blood on my lip and could feel my lip swelling. I was pretty sure I had bitten my tongue, too.
"Liar." He growled, his face now inches from mine. He tightened his grip on my shirt to the point that I couldn't breathe, and he raised his other fist. After my few near death experiences and the damn-near PTSD panic I felt when unable to draw breath was enough to trigger me into action. Instinct took over and I quickly reached in my jacket and pulled a cleverly hidden dagger Fili had given me some weeks before. Uskal jerked back in surprise at the glint of steel but not quick enough to avoid catching the tip of the dagger across his face. Blood welled up and began to trickle down his face. Had he not jolted, I may well have blinded him.
I stepped back, partially crouched, dagger in one hand, and watched the dwarf before me warily, heart in my throat.
His hand came up to the cut on his face and he glanced down at the blood. He looked back at me with hatred in his eyes.
"I will kill you for that," He snapped.
"You will do no such thing," Thorin snapped, coming to stand between us. He had a bloodied nose and his shirt was ripped but was otherwise unharmed. The dwarves who had dared oppose him were on the floor. Guards had rushed in at some point during the scuffle and suddenly the room was a lot more crowded.
Uskal glanced around him, noting that he was very much outnumbered. He turned to face Thorin.
"She is an outsider, and she pulled steel here, in this room where weapons are forbidden. Either of those were enough for a death penalty once." Uskal stated, accusingly.
"And you offered harm to my Queen. That is high treason. Also punishable by death." Thorin answered coolly.
"You are not yet married," Uskal snapped. "And she is still. An. OUTSIDER!"
He charged forward, throwing all his momentum forward. Uskal threw his arm back, meaning to land a punch on Thorin, but Thorin side stepped him, grabbed his outstretched arm and flung him around. His own fist came up and he laid a solid blow to Uskal's jaw. There was a loud crack and Uskal landed flat on his ass.
Thorin glared down at the dwarf who was staring up at the king with disgust.
"There will be war between you and I, Thorin-King," He snapped, his words waspish and mocking.
"So be it," Thorin answered. "Guards, get him the hell out of here."
Uskal's people moved in to haul him to his feet. Guards stepped forward, barring steel, and began to escort him out. Dain was at the head of the group, glaring menacingly. I had a feeling he wanted to do quite a bit more than just escort Uskal out.
Thorin glanced around.
"If any of you feel as he does, either step forward to fight me as in the ways of old, or leave with him."
There was slight shuffling before a little less than half of those present gathered their things and followed the dwarven lord out. Thorin's face did not change, though both Dain and Dis glanced at him to gauge his reaction. I could practically feel the tension and rage radiating from him.
"I thank you, kith and kin, who stand by me. I ask now that you all go to your rests. The bell will toll when dinner is to be served. Tonight we welcome guests into our halls."
There was much bowing and nodding to this, everyone very subdued after the fight. As soon as the room had cleared out, Thorin immediately turned to me. He cupped my face in his hand and very carefully brushed his thumb over my lip.
"Once again you pay for my foolishness." He said softly, with a sigh. I reached up and took his hand.
"I'm fine," I smiled at him, trying not to wince as the motion pulled my very swollen lip. "What the hell did I walk into?"
Thorin let out a long sigh and glanced at Dis. Her lips were drawn into a thin line. It was obvious she was still very angry over the death comment. They both glared at each other for a moment and I rolled my eyes. I tugged Thorin's hand and headed towards the table. He hesitated for a moment before he allowed himself to be led back to his seat. He plopped down unceremoniously into the chair. I could see how tired he was already and wondered if he had really been in this room all day. Dis followed behind and sat to Thorins left while I pulled up a chair to sit directly in front of him.
I took Thorin's hand again and looked over the raw and bloodied knuckles. I grabbed a cloth from the table, dabbed it in one of the untouched and undoubtedly alcoholic beverages and began to wipe clean the blood there. He huffed but knew better than to argue with me. Dis seemed surprised momentarily, then smirked, her stony façade breaking momentarily.
"So. What the hell is going on? I feel like I'm missing something."
Before Thorin could speak up, Dis answered.
"The second he got here he was dragged off into this hall for a meeting with all the lords of the dwarven realms. Some begging for loans or grants, some merely here to kiss arse and get in good graces with the sons of Durin once more. A fair amount were demanding to know just what in Mahal's good name was Thorin thinking, making peace with the elves, and offering not only quarter to Men, but also offering to rebuild their towns… Free of charge, no less." She glanced at Thorin, who was leveling her with an irritated look. She crossed her arms over her ample chest, seeming to be asking for an explanation herself.
"I owe them no ex…" Thorin started.
"It was my idea." I interrupted, dropping Thorins' hand and tossing the cloth on the table. I leaned back and threw a hand in the air. "We all would have been royally screwed if we hadn't all ended up joining forces. As for everything else… Offering up the one piece of jewelry that Thranduil wanted that no one was going to miss wasn't exactly a hardship, particularly if it meant that provisions would be provided. We aren't exactly prepared for winter. We'd make it, I'm sure, but not without using every last resource we have and screwing ourselves over in the long run. And as far as Bard's people were concerned… They risked everything to help us on our way and to help with the fight against the orcs." I finished.
"Not only that, but more than half were convinced he was positively daft for taking you as a wife," Dain started, walking back through the doors of the hall. The three of us glanced over at him as he made his way over and grabbed a mug and plopped down.
"Had they even..." Thorin started.
"They did not even stop to listen to a word Thorin said. Not that it would have mattered to that bullheaded Stonefist. But it may have helped relieve some of the tension." Dis replied. Thorin thunked his head back on his chair and let out a long exaggerated sigh. Dis held back a smirk and I had a feeling she was purposefully interrupting him just to rile him up.
"So basically, everything that happened here is my fault." I said flatly.
"Welcome to being a member of royalty, lass," Dain answered, taking a long draw of his drink.
"May I speak now?" Thorin asked sardonically, glancing between Dis and I. Dis bowed her head dramatically.
"Of course, my king," She answered, sweetly. Did I mention that I was really beginning to like her?
"Thank you," Thorin looked at me. "Do not blame yourself. As I told you before, nothing you suggested was anything I would not give freely to secure the future of our people. I have done worse things to keep my own safe."
"So what do we do now? Is… Oos…cool? Us..skull?" I fumbled over the way they pronounced the name, part of the sound seeming to be almost swallowed, the ending much harsher and nearly spit out. Thorin raised a single eye brow and without his facial expression changing at all, I knew he was amused at how badly I butchered the name.
"Is whats-his-butt really going to declare war on us over this?" I finally asked. Dain snorted into his drink and Dis glared at him. Thorin let out a short puff of air.
"Possible."
"He could have just been blowin' air out his arse to save face." Dain pointed out.
"Or he could be entirely serious. There is much contention over the entire affair. Between the Elves, the Men, and, no offense meant, Talya, but you as well." Dis stated.
"Granted, I get that. No offense meant, " I parroted Dis, "But you guys are really stubborn, ridiculously so. And I know you aren't fond of change or sharing your customs. Or your space. Or, really, anything… But you can't afford to play that game right now. You just can't. We need each other. We need to make alliances and prepare for the coming years. This was bad enough… But whats to come? It's worse."
Dain and Dis were watching me closely. Thorin glanced in their direction.
"What do you know of it, lassie?" Dain asked after a long pause. I tried to conjure pictures in my head, tried to think of anything I could remember, but my head was suddenly filled with a loud buzzing. It was bad enough to make me feel faint. I close my eyes and leaned forward.
"Talya?" Thorin must have called me more than once because he was suddenly squatting in front of me, one hand resting on my knee, the other balanced on his thigh.
"I'm okay. Just been a long few weeks." I forced a smile before glancing at Dain.
"There is something worse than orcs on the horizon. Something that every race is going to have to raise up and fight against. Not now. Not even in the next ten years. But in our lifetime." I almost said 'your' lifetime. My memory on what was to come was all but gone… But I knew it would not occur for another sixty years, give or take. I would most likely be gone by then while Thorin would be but middle-aged. My stomach churned at the thought.
"Let us retire for the time being. We have but another hour until the dinner bell tolls and I am sure you would like to change out of your traveling attire." Thorin said, still watching me with concern. He stood and offered me a hand. I took it and he gently eased me to my feet. Dis and Dain watched, both apparently in deep thought. They nodded to us and watched as we made our way out of the hall and towards our rooms.
If anyone is wondering, Dis is threatening in very broken words to shove something cold and steel really deep where the light does not shine.
