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.)
The carven doors of the yet another stone hall lay before us, a pair of guards flanking either side. From within, the dull sounds of voices could be heard over the scrape of chairs and clanking of mugs. Thorin surely felt my hesitation, as he offered me a smile and settled a hand against my lower back. He nodded succinctly to the guards and they pulled the doors open for us in sync. I braced myself and tried not to look as miserably done with people as I felt. I let out a long breath and, with one hand on my sword and the other tucked in Thorin's offered arm, took my first step into the hall.
The dull roar grew, though it was not nearly as overwhelming as I had anticipated. While the hall was large and there were definitely a lot of people… dwarves… what have yous'… there, it was not as cavernous and crowded as I had feared. In hind sight I realized it was probably impossible – not to mention impractical- to have the entire population of Erebor dining in the same location. Thinking back to what little I knew about the dining habits of medieval populations, which, I'll admit, was practically nothing, I figured it would be the higher echelon, the wealthier, the more powerful, that attended feasts like this while the rest gathered in their own halls.
While a fair share of those gathered turned to watch (and maybe stare) as Thorin and I made our way through the center of the room, a good portion also were too busy chatting away to pay us much mind. Now and then a hearty 'Well met', 'At your service', or 'My king!' would be heard and at each, Thorin would incline his head. He managed to make it look regal each time. I would probably get a kink in my neck.
There were thirteen tables total, four rows with three tables abreast each, and another set at the head, raised slightly on a dais. They were roughly hewn and probably ten or twelve feet long each and I wondered if they had been thrown together using whatever scraps of wood had been available. Not that much could be said for the seats, either, as they were not much more than stools. Waste not, want not, I suppose.
I took in the crowd, eager to find familiar faces. Here and there I thought I caught sight of dwarves that had travelled from Mirkwood with us, though it was hard to be sure. Coming near to the head of the table, however, I was pleased to find some of our company awaiting us with Bombur, Balin, Gloin, Oin and Gandalf being absent. Finally home, and having bathed and dressed, now in clean clothes of better repair, they were certainly looking happier and more content than I had perhaps ever seen. It made me think back to the feast we had in Rivendell, when I first realized just how handsome Thorin was. It made me smile.
As we walked around the table to sit at the two chairs obviously saved for us, my eyes caught sight of Bard, Bain, Sigrid and Tilda at one end, with Bilbo, Fili, Kili and Ori, who was sketching on some scraps of parchment, settled near. The children were laughing at something the brothers had said and Bilbo was looking almost forlornly at the empty spot in front of him. I smiled warmly in their direction.
"Ah, there they are!" Bofur called with a grin, his head popping up from the conversation he had been having with Dori and Nori. The other two smiled in greeting. "Hope you two did not get too distracted. Our poor hobbit here is going to waste away to nothing if we do not sup soon!"
Bilbo looked up at the mention of hobbits to glare at Bofur but caught sight of us instead.
"Oh, Tayla. Thorin. Thank the stars. Perhaps you can keep these two," he jerked his head at Fili and Kili. "From reliving every embarrassing moment of the journey."
"Oh come now, Mr Boggins," Kili retorted with a raised eye brow and a smirk. "They are absolutely tickled at how horrified you were to find out first hand what a poison ivy rash on one's backside felt like!"
Thorin and I glanced at each other in amusement. He pulled my chair out for me, thought did not attempt to push it in as I sat. Good. I always felt awkward trying to settle into a chair as it was being pushed under my butt. I was capable of scooting myself, thank you. Immediately, the others took to passing us flagons and pitchers. I sniffed hesitantly at a couple of them before choosing one that I was hoping was water.
"Well, we could always talk about how Kili's lady love was pretty sure he was a eunich." I retorted as I settled down. Thorin pulled himself in next to me, flicking his cloak out from under him with a flourish. He looked at me with an eyebrow raised, as if to ask, do I want to know?
Kili sputtered and Fili practically howled with laugher. Bard threw a dirty look at me when Tilda innocently asked what a eunich was.
"How did you even…." Kili started, but the words died on his lips when I gave him a levelled look. He grumbled in exasperation and I beamed at him and took a sip of my drink. Yup, fresh cold water. From an actual mountain spring. Take that, Poland Springs.
"Hold on, what did we miss?" Nori asked, finally coming to realize that something was happening that, apparently, was far more interesting than the map Dori was pointing at.
"Kili is a eun…" Fili started, but the words abruptly died as something round pegged him in the head. He immediately brought his hand up to rub the rapidly reddening spot and found Bard glaring daggers at him, all the while gesturing emphatically at Tilda.
"She didn't say I was a…. you know." Kili pouted.
"She implied it," I said in an almost sing song voice.
"Oh, good. Food." Bilbo cried suddenly. Ori began to pull together his drawings, pausing only long enough to pass a small bundle along to Tilda. She squealed in delight.
"Thank you, Master Ori!" She said, leaping up to hug him. Surprised, he hugged the child back almost awkwardly, with a panicked look on his face.
"You are most welcome," Ori replied after a moment.
"What is it that you drew to elicit such a response?" Thorin asked, slightly bemused. While the child had often showed outright fascination with the dwarves and had dutifully thanked them when they had offered her small trinkets or toys on the journey to keep her occupied, she had never been demonstrative with her affections.
"A bunch of ill.. illis… illustrations?" Tilda answered, glancing at Ori and her father to see if she had said it right.
"Yes," Bard answered, amused. "It seems she was most taken with the fairy tales you told her,"
Dwarves with platers pilled high began to settle the food on the table and for a moment, all talk ceased as everyone gathered began to serve themselves. When I spotted Bombur's signature mushroom dish he had made for me on more than one occasion, the answer to his conspicuous absence was immediately resolved. Thorin passed me the dish without me having to even ask. I was practically drooling.
It was awhile before the conversation picked back up again as we were all far too busy shoveling food in our mouths. Thorin and I had seemed to work out a fair partnership. We both piled our plates with different things and picked at each other's food. Except the mushrooms. At this point, I wasn't sure if Thorin outright didn't like mushrooms, or if he just didn't touch them out of fear of my wrath, but either way, it worked well. Twice the space and all the food!
"So, about those drawings. I think you would approve, uncle." Fili said after a long while, setting his flagon down after having taken a long drink. He wiped at the corner of his beard, then crossed his arms. "Tilda was very adamant about the looks of each of the characters."
"Aye, from the length of… whats her faces' hair…" Bain grumbled.
"Rapunzel," Tilda and Sigurd said in tandem. They smiled at each other and broke out into giggles.
"To exactly how the beast should look." Kili finished with a huge grin.
"Uh-oh," I muttered softly. I glanced at Thorin, trying to suppress a smirk. I had a feeling I knew exactly where this was going.
"Indeed. I think you both will find it quite… apropos." Bard said. He held out his hand to Tilda, who had caught the tone of the conversation and was just pleased as punch to be a central part of the adults' conversation. She gladly held the drawings over. Bard flipped through them a moment before settling on a page. He handed it down the table.
Bilbo, who had up until this point been far too distracted by the prospect of, and the following consumption of, food, that he had hardly kept up with the conversation. He glanced up as he sipped on his mug of ale and caught sight of the picture and immediately choked out a laugh, effectively spraying Kili.
Thorin snagged the drawing before it sustained any damage and rolled his eyes slightly. He glanced down at the picture once with mild interest before recognition suddenly bloomed.
"What in…?" He blustered, immediately looking my way. I grinned sheepishly. He held up the drawing and I tried desperately to hold in my laugh. Tried being the key word. In this, I failed. Tears immediately sprung to my eyes and I had to hold on to my ribs as I laughed. Thorin huffed, though his eyes were shining with mirth.
The picture was very detailed and I wondered how much was Tilda's imagination an how much was Ori's embellishments. Belle and the beast were dancing together, hands clasped, a gown trailing out from Belle's frame, a few scars and a tattoo hinted at. The Beast was in a full suit, or what would pass for one in this age. Horns, fangs, tail and all.
All in all, Ori did a damn good job turning Thorin into the Beast.
