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Chapter 19

~X~

Meanwhile, as all of this was going on in the throne room, outside the large wooden doors Amara had been pacing a hole in the stone floor. She could only imagine what her poor mistress was going through in there, either now being forced to agree to a marriage to the prince, or possibly getting herself in trouble by refusing his offer. All the others had left the area, heading back to the Lady's Chambers to pack their things and claim their gold in compensation, yet she had refused to leave, wanting to be near her friend.

She was so busy fretting that it took her a few moments to recognize the loud voices coming down the hallway and heading right for her. But when she did, her head whipped around and her eyes grew wide.

"I don't give a flying fig where she is!" came the adamant tone of Lord Darmin, stomping down the hall with Gloin doing all he could to diplomatically appease the angered dwarf. There were several guards following along as well, doing their best to keep the newly arrived dwarf lord and his three sons safely corralled. "I demand to see my daughter at once!"

"If you will just give me a few minutes to see if the king…" Gloin continued, having to move rather quickly to keep up with the Grey Mountain lord.

"No, I will not wait a moment more! I will see my daughter this very second! Is that clear?" he shouted. Yet, as he turned to look ahead, he suddenly spotted the frantic maid standing in front of him. "Amara?" he questioned, his eyes lighting up with delight. "Amara! Where is Réann?"

Amara was overjoyed to now have support, for she was certain that her mistress was indeed in need of such a thing. Yet, she couldn't help but let her eyes stray to the handsome figure of Gimrin, the sight of him stealing away all her words.

"Hello, Amara," Darmin's second oldest son greeted her, a wide grin spreading over his lips. "I…I've missed you."

"Hello to you as well, Gimrin," she replied, giving a graceful curtsy as her heart melted at his confession. "It has been a while, has it not?"

"You two can do this later!" Duffin grumbled, stepping forward and placing his hands gently on Amara's shoulders. "Where is Réann? And please tell me she hasn't agreed to marry this Dwalin fellow yet."

"D-d-dwalin?" Gloin asked, almost choking on the words as the idea was rather shocking to him. "You believe your daughter has aligned herself with Commander Dwalin? Lord Darmin…I fear you have been quite misled." He then reached up and scratched his head in wonder. "That, or I've been completely left out of the loop."

"Amara," Darmin pressed, ignoring Gloin's protests. "Please, tell us what's going on."

"I…I hardly know where to begin," she professed, all her worry and concern flooding back in on her. "But…but just now, the prince chose his bride…and he chose Réann! She's in there right now, being pressured into Mahal knows what!"

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Darmin roared. He had come all this way in such a short time to discern if her love for Dwalin was justified, yet he had not imagined finding his only daughter now being forced into a marriage she didn't want. And before any of the guards could stop him, Darmin pushed Gloin aside and stormed towards the doors. Lifting his foot before him, he slammed his steel-toed boot against the wooden barrier, the latch giving way and swinging open with a crash.

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Fili had just finished speaking his official proposal, still down on one knee as he waited for Réann's reply, when the doors to his right burst open. All present were instantly on alert, with Thorin and Dis shooting up from their seats, and everyone else reaching for their weapons, ready to protect their king.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" Thorin demanded in an authoritative tone, looking at the flustered Gloin who came rushing through the doors behind a furious looking dwarf – one that looked vaguely familiar to him. Erebor guards swarmed in right behind, forming a semi-circle around the intruders, their weapons out and pointed at the four dwarves and one dwarrowdam.

"I was just about to ask the same question!" Darmin growled, his eyes landing on the blond dwarf kneeling before his startled looking daughter. "Réann, come away from there this instant! I will not have you bullied into a marriage simply to seal a treaty…or to appease some barbaric custom of succession."

"Lord Darmin…I think there's been some mistake," Amara whispered, recognizing the dwarf kneeling before her mistress as the commander from Réann's description. "I…I believe that's Dwalin doing the proposing."

"Nonsense, he looks nothing like the Dwalin I knew," he answered back, his eyes scanning the crowd and landing on the true son of Fundin. "That's Dwalin…or my eyes are lying to me."

"Father?" Réann gasped, able to find her voice at last. "What…what are you doing here?"

"Saving you from a fate worse than death, it would seem," came Duffin's reply, the dwarf storming over to where she stood and pulling her away from the still frozen prince. "And exactly who is this?" he demanded, gesturing rudely to Fili, apparently having heard what Amara had said. "Is he Dwalin, the seducer of innocent lasses…or the troll prince?"

"WHAT?" Dwalin barked out from atop the dais, stepping forward as he gripped the axe in his hand menacingly. "And just who are you to go insulting me, as well as the crown prince, that way? Care to come up here and say that to my face, you puny upstart!"

"Gladly!" Duffin replied, handing Réann over to his father's waiting arms as he drew his blade and took a step towards the dais.

"HOLD!" Thorin commanded, stopping all in their tracks. "I demand to know what is going on, and what you're doing bursting into my throne room like a pack of wargs! SPEAK!"

"This is Lord Darmin, of the Grey Mountains," Gloin broke in, gesturing to the dwarf now holding Réann in his protective embrace. "He…he came to fetch his daughter, or so he claimed at the gates. Yet, for some reason he seems to think that she is being courted by…by Dwalin!"

"Please, Lord Darmin," Fili spoke up, rising to his feet at last. "I believe I can explain everything."

"I certainly hope someone can," her father huffed. "For I would very much like to know why my daughter wrote to me, claiming to have found her One in this dwarf," here he gestured to Dwalin. "Only to find another on his knee offering her his proposal bead!"

"Adad! Please, stop!" Réann was able to get out at last, completely fed up over being shuffled around from her brother to father and not allowed to speak. "This is all a terrible case of mistaken identity!"

"Or just a terrible mistake!" Gimrin added, he and Taurin still standing beside their father, with Amara's hand securely within his. "I say we simply take our lasses and get out of here, now!"

"WILL YOU ALL JUT BE SILENT!" Réann practically screamed, wrenching herself free from her father's hold and taking a few steps away from them all. "I can explain everything, if you would simply listen!"

When all was indeed silent, she took a deep breath and began to speak.

"Adad, I know I wrote to you, telling you that I had found my One…and while that part is true, it turns out that the dwarf I thought was named Dwalin, was instead, Prince Fili." Here she turned and walked over to where he stood, his proposal bead still in his hand. Wrapping her arms around his, she leaned her head against his shoulder, gazing at her father and brothers. "This is Fili, crown prince of Erebor…and the dwarf I love."

"But…but I thought you had no interest in becoming his bride, Réann!" Taurin spoke up at last, his young mind reeling at all the information being tossed about. "You said you'd never marry someone who had the manners of a troll!"

Here a few snorts of laugher were heard from behind the throne, with Nori and Bofur doing their best to compose themselves.

"Apparently I've said a lot of things I'm now forced to rescind," Réann said with a heavy sigh, looking up at Fili apologetically. "But you all have to believe me, when I assure you that this is the prince, and he's the one I wish to marry."

"So…you are not the one who has been sneaking around and helping my daughter?" Darmin questioned, pointing at Dwalin?

"Nay, that was never me," the bald warrior confirmed. "It was Fili all along, only he chose to use my name as a cover, due to the fact that he wasn't supposed to be meeting with any of the dams before it was deemed proper by the council."

"Wait…so if you're not the older dwarf my father thought you were," Gimrin piped up, pointing at Fili. "Then who exactly is your brother?" For he was suddenly reminded of the fact that Réann had mentioned in her letter that Amara had been keen on being introduced to the supposed Dwalin's brother.

"Umm…that would be me," Kili answered, raising his hand and stepping forward, though hardly understanding why this was of any concern. "I'm Prince Kili, though for the sake of the ruse, I did pretend to be an older dwarf named Galin. But I'm Fili's younger, and only, brother."

Well, this didn't sit well with Gimrin at all! It was one thing when he imagined Dwalin's brother to be older and past his prime, but now to see the dwarf in question was young and good looking…well, that was too much for the love-sick dwarf.

"This is the dwarf you wanted to be introduced to? And did that introduction take place? Are you now wishing to be courted by him…and not me?" Gimrin demanded, looking down at Amara with hurt and betrayal in his eyes.

"Now hold on!" Kili protested, bringing his hands up in a gesture of defense. "I've never met this lass before today, I swear! And while I think she is quite lovely, and I'm sure very nice, she is not really my type. You see…I'm kind of partial to red-heads."

"It's true, Gimrin!" Amara was quick to assure him. "At least the part about me never having met him before…I have no idea if Prince Kili truly likes red-heads or not. I too thought that Dwalin…er…I mean…Prince Fili's brother was named Galin, and much, much older."

"Amara didn't know anything about this whole thing," Réann also confirmed. "In fact…I only found out who Fili really was a few minutes ago. It all began as an honest mistake, Adad, but things just kind of got out of control."

"Which is all my fault," Fili said. "I wanted to tell her sooner, but the timing was never right and then I couldn't for fear that the other dams found out I had been spending time with one of the candidates behind everyone's back. I could have caused contention among the clans, and that was the last thing anyone needed…or wanted. I take full responsibility for this entire mix up, and I beg your forgiveness for in any way misleading your daughter as to who I was."

"So…all this time you were secretly meeting with him?" Darmin asked, confusion now replacing his look of rage. "And everything you wrote in your letters…they were about the prince?"

"Yes, though at the time I didn't know it," Réann nodded. "It really was an innocent mistake. One made by both Fili and me, but thankfully it has been rectified and everything's now out in the open."

"And as such," Dis spoke up, gracefully coming down the steps until she was standing between the lord of the Grey Mountains and her son and his love. "I think it might be best if we all adjourned to a more private place to further discuss this. Don't you agree?"

Dis' calm and authoritative manner had the desired effect, and with a nod of approval, Réann's father and brother were persuaded to be led to Thorin's private council chambers. After everyone had taken a seat around the large table, with the rest of the nosey company not wishing to be left out and having followed them in, Thorin opened the discussion.

"Lord Darmin," he began diplomatically. "Mistakes have been made, by both my nephew and your daughter…and regretfully by me as well." When Fili turned a shocked look at his uncle, he held up his hand for silence. "I never should have allowed my councilors to force my heir to choose a bride when he had no desire to do so. Bringing all the dams here was the wrong way to go about finding a mate for Fili, though I must admit that things turned out far better than I ever imagined they might. Despite it all, it would appear that your daughter and my nephew have indeed found one another, both being blessed by Mahal by the gift of their Ones."

"Is what he says correct, Réann?" Darmin asked in all seriousness, turning to face his daughter. "Is Prince Fili your One?"

"He is, Adad," she confirmed as she gazed up at Fili with all the love in her eyes.

"And before you ask," Fili added. "She is my One as well. I have no doubt whatsoever in my mind or my heart."

"There, you have it right from each of their lips," Dis smiled, gesturing towards the beaming couple. "And as everyone knows, you can't go against Mahal's will."

"True…though if it meant my daughter's happiness, I would certainly try," Darmin said with a sigh of resignation. He then looked over at Thorin, giving him a rather sheepish grin. "It would seem that I stormed all the way here and kicked in your door for nothing, My King."

"Not for nothing," Thorin chuckled. "It was rather a dramatic display, one that showed your love for your child and her best interest. Thus, I will forgive you for such an…unlordly display."

"You have my thanks, Your Majesty," Darmin said.

"And I truly hope none of this will damage Erebor's relationship with the Grey Mountains," Réann asked, her eyes pleading for it to be so. "Or the treaty?"

"Of course not," the king confirmed. "For Erebor is in need of good steel to use in our forges, and I am looking forward to discussing the proposal in detail with you, Lord Darmin, seeing as how you are now here and all. In fact, it saves me a trip."

"Your generosity and forgiveness shall forever be legendary in the Grey Mountains," Darmin told him appreciatively. "For after the arse I made of myself this day, I would have assumed I would rot in the lowest dungeons for the remainder of my days."

"If by now I have not placed my two nephews there for even worse offences…I believe you have nothing to worry about," Thorin chuckled. "What say we forget all about this silly misunderstanding and start anew?"

"It would be greatly appreciated, King Thorin," the lord of the Grey Mountains agreed.

"Then, may I officially welcome you, and your sons, to Erebor," Thorin smiled. "It is also my wish that our two kingdoms become ever stronger with the forging of a trade agreement…and a marriage."

"Oh…about that," Fili interjected, standing up and pulling Réann to her feet beside him. "I actually never got your answer on that."

"You're right!" she gasped. "We kind of got interrupted, didn't we?"

"Then why don't you rectify that now, and this time with Réann's family in audience as well?" Dis suggested, eager to have this whole thing sealed in stone.

Fili was only too happy to comply, and pushing the chairs out of his way, he once more got down on one knee, holding the shiny bead up for her to see.

"Réann, daughter of Lord Darmin of the Grey Mountains, and the love of my life…will you officially accept my bead and agree to be my wife, thus making me the happiest dwarf in Middle Earth?" he asked, though this time adding in a few extra words for good measure.

"I absolutely will, Fili, son of Flinn, crown prince of Erebor," she told him with a big smile. "I will accept it with all my heart, even if you now come with a crown and a title, whereupon I fell in love with you for your sterling qualities alone."

Returning quickly to a standing position, he proceeded in the customary manner of sectioning off a length of her lovely blonde hair and weaving it into the appropriate braid worn by a dam who was spoken for, placing his bead at the end for all to see. But when Fili cupped Réann's face in his hands and gave her a very passionate kiss, the whole room erupted in cheers, clapping and loud whistles – mostly from the conglomeration of dwarves standing by the wall.

"Well, sister," Duffin said in resignation. "I suppose I will have to apologize to your now betrothed. For maligning his character and calling him a troll." Here he held out his hand to Fili. "Will you accept my deepest regrets over the matter?"

"Of course, I will…Brother," Fili grinned, only too eager to make nice with his future wife's family. He then gave a jerk of his head towards Kili. "And trust me, after living with this knucklehead for the past seventy plus years, I've been called a troll on more than one occasion."

"Keep talking like that and you'll be called a lot worse!" Kili huffed. "And who are you calling a knucklehead anyway? You're the one who spent the past several weeks pretending to be Dwalin!"

"Something I'm still not very happy about, mind yuh!" the bald warrior grumbled. "Although, if Réann here bothered to do any asking about me, I suppose anything she heard only made you look good, Lad."

"Indeed," Amara commented, still sitting as close to Gimrin as the large wooden chairs would allow. "In fact, when I plied our guards for information about the commander, it turned out he's quite popular with the dams."

"I am?" Dwalin asked in surprise. Then he schooled his expression to one of serene confidence, giving Balin a wide grin. "Told you I was a hot commodity, Brother."

This had all of them laughing and soon everyone was talking, getting to know one another and all around having an entertaining evening. Dis called for one of the chamberlains and instructed them to get some guest rooms set up for Réann and her family, expressing her hope that they planned to stay for a nice long visit.

"We hadn't expected to stay at all," Darmin reminded her. "In fact, the plan was to be halfway back to the Grey Mountains by now, with both Réann and Amara in hand. Still, I suppose that isn't going to work anymore, is it?"

"What is going to happen, Father?" Réann questioned, having never figured a marriage to the prince would truly come about.

"You will have to remain here, of course," Fili insisted, unable to imagine being without her. He then glanced over at her father and three brothers. "I mean…if she wants to."

"I do, Fili…honestly I do," she assured him. "But its not solely up to me. I must take my family's wishes and needs into consideration as well."

"As you should," Thorin nodded. "Yet, we would hope they would be open to the idea of you staying here, properly chaperoned, until the wedding day. I know you two have spent some time together, but I'm certain there is much more about each other you'd like to know."

"That's what the chaperone is there to prevent," Duffin stated, clearing his throat as he gave Réann and Fili a stern look.

"Duffin!" Réann gasped, turning red in the face. "I can't believe you said that!"

"Well, someone needs to, especially after the way you two have been looking at one another all evening," he pointed out. "You're my only little sister, and I won't see you dishonored…by anyone!"

"And I'm sure the prince has no intentions of doing so," Darmin broke in, placing a warning hand on his oldest son. "If he's anything like his uncle, then I would say his character is impeccable." To this the king gave a nod of appreciation.

"Yeah, and if anyone needs watching," Taurin spoke up with a wide grin. "I say you best keep your eyes on Gimrin and Amara! They've been holding hands this whole time under the table!"

"TAURIN! You little snitch!" Gimrin barked out, pulling his hands up and placing them on the tabletop, though he was fooling no one, especially with the way both he and Amara now refused to look anyone in the eye.

"Perhaps it's time we all called it an evening," Balin suggested, fearing a sibling war might break out at any moment. "We can discuss more of the legalities in the morning over a nice warm stack of griddle cakes. How does that sound?"

"Great to me!" young Taurin sang out, licking his lips in anticipation.

"Fine with the rest of us as well," Darmin agreed.

"Could we have some refreshments sent to your chambers tonight?" Dis asked, not sure if their guests had stopped to eat before they rode into Erebor. "We can't let you all go to bed hungry."

"That would be very kind of you, Princess Dis," Gimrin nodded. "I fear we were more interested in getting here in time than stopping at the nearest tavern."

"Then I will have food and drink brought up to you within the hour," Dis promised, rising from her chair and heading out to see to their needs and comforts, grabbing hold of Bombur – who had slipped in along with the others – as she went.

"Follow me, and I will show you to the guest quarters," Balin offered, taking his duty seriously.

"Then we wish you a pleasant evening, King Thorin," Darmin told him with a bow. "And thank you again for being such a gracious and forgiving host."

"Very soon, if my nephew has any say in the matter, we will be family, Lord Darmin," Thorin reminded him. "And if your people fight half as well as you did with my Grandfather Thrór at Azanulbizar, then I say you and your kin will make a fine addition to it."

"Again, you flatter us, My Lord," Darmin smiled. He then turned to his children. "Shall we?"

"May I have some time with Réann before she retires for the night?" Fili begged, not yet ready to be parted, even for a few hours.

When Réann's father raised his eyebrow, and Duffin actually dared to growl a bit, Thorin was quick to step in.

"I will see that they are well supervised," he promised. "And that she is safe in her own chambers within the hour."

"Very well," Darmin nodded, giving Duffin a slight shove towards the door. "I trust you to see it done, King Thorin." And then they were gone, with Amara giving Réann a quick hug before following after them.

"I suppose I'm now the one who has to watch them like a hawk," Kili grumbled, looking none too happy about it.

"No, it wasn't you I had in mind," Thorin revealed, his eyes instead going over to where Nori stood by the wall. "I thought perhaps my resident spy needed something more to occupy his time, seeing as how he apparently had nothing better to do than assist Fili in his little charade."

"WHAT?" Nori was insulted. "Me, reduced to playing nursemaid for a couple of amorous lovers? Don't you think that's a bit beneath my skillset?"

"Perhaps," Thorin agreed. "But your future employment will now depend on how well a job you do. Let them out of your sight for even a moment and you might be reduced to resident chicken plucker for Bombur in the kitchens."

This had Bofur and the others laughing heartily, all thoroughly entertained by the idea.

"This is downright humiliating," Nori mumbled, pushing off the wall and stomping over to where Fili and Réann were grinning widely. "Well, come on, you two. And don't you even think of trying anything sneaky, because I wrote the book!" The three heading for the door amid snickers and snorts.

"Ten gold pieces says Fili moves up the wedding day just to get Nori off his back," Dwalin whispered to Thorin.

"I'll take that bet, old friend," the king chuckled, the two shaking on it.

Well, it looks like everyone is going to be getting what they want. Especially Fili and Réann.

Now we just have to wait and see how long Nori is tortured by playing chaperone before the wedding. ha ha.

Guest Reviews:

Emrfangirl: NORI! You ate all the popcorn? Rude! As you guessed, Réann's family did show up and try to make a mess of everything, but it was circumvented by their love. ha ha. Yeah, her dad was a bit relived that it wasn't Dwalin who was going to be his son-in-law. Darmin can intimidate Fili...but not so much with Dwalin. ha ha. No, sorry, not enough time for any of the other dams to cause trouble. And no there will be no love connection for Thorin and Dola. Ship them all you want, but you would have to write it, not me. ha ha.

Guest: Well, aren't you the sweetest! You followed me from Phantom Land? I do miss my Erik, but really, I'm finding that Mando is very much like our dear O.G. He hides his face, has a very dry sense of humor, and a heart as big as the great wide open. I'm having fun writing for him. I will be posting for the Mandalorian under ThatOtherWriterGirl, so look for me there when I do begin - I'll need a couple more weeks to get enough chapters written ahead to be able to start. **** Now, back to Fili. I didn't want there to be any long drawn out angry scene, and really, she was almost (ALMOST) as much to blame as he was, so it was only right that she forgave him. And now you do know what Daddy and brothers had to say about it all. ha ha. Only a couple of chapters left now...let's see if I can give everyone a happy ending, OK? Thanks again for your support. T.O.W.G. (FP33)

Travelbug: Glad you enjoyed her reaction to all of this. And now did you like her father and brothers' reaction? We are nearing the end here, just a few more chapters to go. I will miss my latest characters, as I do all of them when I finish a story - but that means on to new characters! I too favor Enthralled, seeing as how it was a bit AU than our normal Fili and Kili setting. And though there won't be a sequel, trust me, Fili and Kili's kids cause a whole LOT of trouble. ha ha. Yep, Baby Yoda is the cutest thing around these days, who can't help but love the little green tike? Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. T.O.W.G.