Wow! The feedback for my last chapter was amazing! I thank each of you for the kind words and thoughts on this story. I am having a lot of fun with it and your reviews/favs/follows keep me going. This chapter is a shorty, but it is clearing the way for some much good stuff :)
Many of you are making the connections between the characters in this story and those in Pride and Prejudice. I can confirm the following: Thorin/Mr. Darcy, Signi/Lizzie, Fili/Mr. Bingley, Lifa/Jane, Dis/Georgiana and the not-flirty side of Caroline Bingley, the dreaded aunt/Lady Catherine, and Ana/Anne. Some characters coming up may serve as dual roles or there may be more than one character representing different aspects of their personality and role in the story. I hope that makes sense and answers a few questions.
Please forgive any errors. After posting the last chapter I found an embarrassing amount of mistakes (including one instance in which I replaced "Dale" with "Erebor"). Knowing me, I will most likely not correct them, so let me know if the typos cause any confusion.
Enjoy :)
You shall not, for the sake of one individual, change the meaning of principle and integrity, nor endeavor to persuade yourself or me that selfishness is prudence, and insensibility of danger, security for happiness. – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice.
Signi walked in a slow circle around Lady Dis, hands behind her back and studious frown on her face. The King's sister stood battle ready with legs apart and her toes facing forward. In her right hand was a wooden sparring sword.
Dis was not pleased a week prior when Signi met her in the abandoned watchtower on the western side of the mountain and informed her that she would be using the wooden blade instead of a proper sword. Fili and Kili had not used such a thing since they were babes.
"You do not have the strength to even lift a sword, much less wield one," Signi had snapped when she heard enough of the lady's whining.
A week later, she was still standing in position waving the wooden sword around in what Signi called "strengthening exercises." She was beginning to wonder if it was a mistake to ask the girl for assistance.
Signi continued to circle, pausing now and then to raise Dis' elbow or to remind her to keep her toes pointed toward her imaginary opponent.
"Remember, your stance is more important than the breadth of your swing. All of the strength you are gathering now would be in vain if you don't get the position right."
Signi ignored the cacophony of angry muttering and huffing that poured from Dis as she circled once more.
Finally satisfied with the lady's progress, Signi paused in her rounds to fetch a wooden sword of her own. Slowly, with an almost predatory gaze, she took her stance before Dis. Steeling herself, Dis squared her shoulders and held her sword aloft and ready to block the first strike. Signi moved quickly and unexpectedly with a backhanded swing that took Dis completely off guard. Dis was mortified to find herself on the ground with Signi standing above her grinning like a cat that got the cream.
"First rule, never anticipate an attack. Instead of assuming that the first strike would come from your left, expect to defend yourself on all sides. Your opponent will not follow some choreographed routine."
"I thought the first rule was 'remember your stance'," grumbled Dis. Taking Signi's hand, she allowed herself to be pulled to standing and brushed off the seat of her trousers. She was horrified on the first day when Signi demanded that she change into trousers and a tunic. If this first attempt was any indication of her swordsmanship skills, Dis found herself quite thankful to not be tangled in her skirts.
Signi rolled her eyes and took position again. "Second rule," she swung her sword again, easily sending Dis' blade clattering across the stone floor of the watchtower. "Your weapon is an extension of yourself. The moment you forget that you will be disarmed."
Gritting her teeth, Dis fetched her sword once more and aimed a wild swing at Signi. The girl ducked the blade smoothly and thrust her own sword forward, its tip poking Dis lightly in the belly.
"Third rule: keep your arms close. Don't try to swing too wide. It leaves you open to attack and exposes your most vulnerable spots."
"My abdomen would not be a vulnerable spot if I were wearing armor," grumbled Dis.
Signi attacked again. Dis was able to successfully block two swings before her sword was knocked out of her hands.
"And do you think you will have the luxury of armor when you are travelling back to Ered Luin?" Signi asked as Dis positioned herself again.
"I might," she replied obstinately. "Thorin wears his armor when he travels, why shouldn't I as well?"
Signi gave a derisive snort and swung her sword fiercely. "The king would sooner send a legion of guards for you than allow you to deck yourself for battle."
Dis successfully parried the blows that Signi unleashed on her, grunting against the force behind each angry swing the girl made.
"And that is exactly why you are my instructor and not my brother," Dis panted.
Seeing and opportunity, Dis lunged forward, prepared to sink her sword into the softness of Signi's belly. But even when distracted by angry thoughts on the king, the girl moved out of the way just in time and sent her own sword up to disarm Dis once more.
Frustrated, Dis swung her foot out at the wooden sword and sent it clattering across the ground.
"I am seeing much of the king in his sister tonight," teased Signi. "Have you given up already?"
Dis' face was burning at the sheer impertinence of this young girl. Sword in hand, she faced Signi, prepared to hold her ground – or at least her sword – at all costs.
"When you can successfully disarm me, we will move on to real swords," said Signi, her face calm and breath modulated as she administered a series of short, fierce blows.
"Challenge accepted," ground out Dis.
The sun was hovering on the horizon and the dark blue of dusk was settling heavily on top of the remaining light. But still the ladies continued. Dis was getting much surer with each attempt. She managed to get a few more swings in with each round before being disarmed or mock stabbed by Signi. Determined to send the girl's sword flying across the stone, Dis decided to try an underhanded tactic.
"My brother stares," she said as she ducked a blow to her neck. "Have you noticed?"
Signi's hand faltered slightly, but she quickly regained her hold and narrowly blocked Dis' swing.
"I have not," she replied.
Dis smirked knowingly. Signi may be an expert at voicing indifference, but her face gave a very different response.
"It is true," Dis continued, her sword moving faster than before. "And he speaks rapturously of you singing in the firelight."
Signi's sword slipped again. Swinging her arm too wide, she sent a wild and obvious blow toward Dis, which was easily blocked.
"In fact, yesterday evening he informed me that he was quite lost in thought thinking of a set of 'fine brown eyes'."
If Signi was shocked by her sudden disarmament, she did not seem more surprised by it than this revelation that Dis had revealed.
"Oh surely not!" she exclaimed. "Do not jest with me in such a manner. I have far too much else concerning the king to worry about."
Dis chuckled at the poor girl's miserable expression. While she had not lied to Signi, she did leave out much of the context of the King's conversation. He did admit, after much wheedling on her part, a small attraction to the girl. But he also adamantly stated that his attraction was nothing more than a passing fancy and he would not seek her attentions in such a fashion that would give her hope of a relationship that could never happen.
"I am sorry, that was not very nice was it?" Dis said, extending her hand as a peace offering.
Signi grumbled under her breath, but shook Dis' hand anyway. "It was an effective strategy. You shall be able to use a real sword with our next practice," she consented.
"If we can get one," laughed Dis. "I can only imagine Thorin's reaction when he finds me in the armory."
"Better you than me," said Signi with a scowl. "My mother did not allow me to bring mine with me. She and the King would get along quite well on the matter."
It was unfortunate that Thorin was being so ridiculous, thought Dis. He was not always so protective of dwarrowdams. He had never supported putting ladies on the front lines like Dain did, but he had allowed them to prepare themselves for self-defense. Even Dis in her younger days had been quite proficient with a bow. She suspected that the mountain had a lot to do with this change. Ladies were few within Erebor, and ladies that he admired were even fewer. Being the stubborn old dwarf that he was, Signi's refusal to comply would only make him worse.
The sky had reached the point of inky darkness, but neither lady made a move to return to the mountain and prepare for dinner. They stood at the battlement, overlooking Dale and its flaming torchlight reflecting on the lake below. Erebor's massive braziers were also burning brightly, the yellow light reaching high above the mountain to where they stood.
"Have you given any thought to what I said the other day?" Dis asked quietly.
Signi did not ask her to clarify. With a stiff nod, she said, "I have and I am heeding your advice, but I do not know how long I will be able to do so."
Dis made a concerted effort not to roll her eyes. Signi was a stubborn as the king it would seem. "Why does Dale attract you so?"
"Dale is certainly not what I would call attractive," Signi answered wryly. "But the city is failing. It is starving. The people live in squalor. How can we sit in the mountain, counting our gold, when there are so many with nothing?"
Dis sighed. "I do see your point, but it is not Thorin's fault that Dale's citizens have no food or work. I should not reveal the nature of state affairs, but my brother has offered more than enough gold to rebuild Dale ten times over and their king, as he calls himself, refuses each time."
"But gold does not feed hungry mouths," said Signi, her voice taking the exasperated tone of someone tired of explaining the obvious. "Gold has no value when there is nothing to buy. Gold cannot build homes if the laborers are too weak or too few to build. Gold cannot heal the sick if there are no medicines to heal."
Dis pondered this, surprised that she had not come to such conclusions on her own. For dwarves, gold was the life force of their communities. A dwarf always knew where gold held value and how to seek the necessities of life instead of waiting for them to arrive on their doorstep. King Bard would not have the alliances of Erebor. He would not have the trade routes either. And with it being just two years after the fall of Smaug and the Battle of Five Armies, he would not have the manpower to rebuild the great city to its previous splendor.
"What do you suggest that the king do instead?" She asked.
Signi knitted her eyebrows together in thought. "I would suggest offering to provide laborers to help rebuild the city, providing the supplies as well – which they can pay back when their markets and tax system are established, and allowing their craftsmen a place in our own markets until the city is rebuilt."
Dis' eyes widened in surprise. "My, that is quite an ambitious endeavor. And have you made this suggestion to the king?"
"Of course not," snorted Signi. "He would not hear of such a thing. His Majesty is a good and noble king, but I am afraid that his pride would not allow him the freedom to seek counsel with 'foolish girls'."
"Perhaps you are right," nodded Dis. She would not let the matter go undisclosed before the king, but she also knew that Signi would have no part in offering the advice directly to him.
Thorin remained in the shadows as Signi and his sister finally made their descent down the stairs of the tower and returned to the mountain. He had not intended to spy on them. This particular tower had been his favorite escape as a child and remained so as king. In an effort to find a few moments of reprieve, he sought the cool night air and a birds-eye view of the neighboring kingdoms. It was a shock instead to find his sister battling Signi with beginner's swords.
He watched in admiration as Signi disarmed his sister time and time again. Her movements were steady and fluid. Balin had mentioned that Dain allowed ladies to train with his men, but never had he expected to see Signi spar with such skill. She was no expert and her opponent was inexperienced, but Thorin found himself wondering how far her skills actually reached.
Whatever pleasure he had while watching them was soon erased when Dis began speaking of his attraction to the girl. He did not know why he ever trusted her promises of keeping the strictest confidence on any matter.
Signi was not pleased with the idea it seemed. An unfamiliar emotion, something between anger and pain, flared through him when she begged Dis to quit teasing her. It appeared that she found the thought of him as unappealing as he did she. For some unknown reason, the king found himself bristling at her words.
Thorin knew that he should not have stayed so long, but his voyeurism had reached far beyond the point of denial. He continued listening as their conversation changed once more. He did not know what Dis had spoken to Signi about, but he suspected that it had something to do with his demand to stay away from Dale. Could she not see that it was dangerous? As king, he did not need to explain the motives behind his actions. His people knew that he did everything with their best interests in mind, and yet this young girl who was not much older than Kili, made every effort to defy him.
Her suggestion to Dis was honest and insightful. She spoke from a perspective outside of their race. Thorin did not understand her reasoning behind the idea – what else would provide such things to Dale besides gold? Thorin was giving Bard the freedom of choice: the choice of trade, the choice of alliances, the choice of respect amongst his own people.
He remained in the night air several minutes after the ladies departed. Turning Signi's words over and over again in his head, the king wondered how she would react if he applied such a method. He was not sure how Bard would take to such an offer, but Signi might respect his wishes to stay away from Dale if he made the attempt.
With more confusion than the desired clarity he sought in the tower, Thorin finally made his own slow descent down the stairs.
"We received word from mama today," said Lifa, drawing Signi's attention from the book she was reading.
"And what news does our dear mother send," groaned Signi.
"It has been nearly two months since we last saw our family," chastised Lifa. "Surely you can at least seem a little happy to hear the letter."
Signi rolled her eyes and hid behind her book once more. "We have received a raven each week from mama and each one is as tedious as the others. Surely you can paraphrase and leave out any reference to husbands."
With a chuckle, Lifa shook her head. "If I left out reference to husbands, there wouldn't be letter to paraphrase"
"Very well," grumbled Signi, tossing her book aside. Sitting on the edge of her bed, she absent mindedly unbraided and re-braided her hair as Lifa described their mother's newest prattle.
"It seems that Elin has become quite interested in learning to use a sword. She is spending hours on the training grounds, but father says she has yet to disarm an opponent."
Signi snorted. "It's not the broadsword she is interested in wielding down there."
"Don't be facetious," said Lifa, wrinkling her nose at her sister's tasteless joke.
"It's true and you know it!" Signi argued. "She is barely 30 and mother is already putting thoughts of marriage in her head."
She was right. As Lifa skimmed the letter again, she noted that her mother mentioned many of the soldiers that Elin had been training with by name, often detailing their handsome features or family ties. As the baby of the family, she still behaved too much like a child to have any sense of propriety with these dwarves.
"What else does she say," said Signi, breaking her sister from her thoughts.
"Well, she asks how you are faring in your pursuit of Gimil."
"Let me see that!" howled Signi, flying across the room and attempting to wretch the letter from Lifa's grip.
Lifa giggled wickedly as she ran to the other side of the room, quoting their mother's words as she danced just out of reach.
"A marriage with Gimli would certainly secure our house and our livelihoods when your father is in his grave (which could well been sooner than expected). He is rumored to be such a wild lad that only Signi and her headstrong ways could appeal to his interest…"
"Has the woman no sense decorum?" cried Signi, finally yanking the letter away. "He is ten years my junior!"
Lifa fell onto her bed, kicking the surface as she laughed at her sister's horror.
"What does she mean by this?" Signi asked sharply. "…as Lifa is presently receiving the Crown Prince's attentions…"
Lifa stilled her laughter and sat up slowly to face her sister, her face blazing. "Mama is projecting her desires on me, that is all."
Signi narrowed her eyes. "Something gave her the idea that the prince has taken an interest in you. What have you told her?"
"Is it so unfathomable that Fili would have taken an interest in me?" Lifa snapped, not meeting her sister's glare. All of the fun from before was lost now that the conversation had turned on her.
"Of course not," said Signi, her eyes widening in surprise. "I just don't understand how mama came to know about this and I did not."
Lifa rolled her eyes, but relinquished a slight grin. "I don't dare hope that I have a chance with him," she confessed. "But we do spend a great deal of time together and I do enjoy his company."
"Shall I start calling you 'Princess' now so you can get used to it?" teased Signi.
"Oh don't even!" exclaimed Lifa, throwing a pillow at her sister. "He is going to be king and will marry one of the fine ladies of Ered Luin."
Just then, a knock sounded on the door. Throwing her sister a questioning glance, Signi moved across the room to greet their guest. A servant stood on the other side of the door dressed in the blue tunic worn by the royal family's staff. Without a word, he handed Signi a large glass bottle with a note attached to it and turned to leave. Closing the door, Signi walked slowly to where Lifa still sat on her bed. A wicked grin spread across her face as she read the note hanging neatly on the bottle.
"Someone certainly has an admirer," she teased, handing Lifa the bottle. "Dorwinion wine. It is supposed to be the finest wine this side of the Misty Mountains."
Lifa did not need to read the signature to know from where the gift came - Fili's distinct writing clued her in right away. Blushing furiously, she felt her stomach flutter as she read the note again.
Signi watched her sister with a self-satisfied smirk. "I would like to hear you tell me that the prince does not plan to marry you while you drink that wine."
Ok, now I shall reveal that I know nothing about swordsmanship and that this lesson was based on everything I have learned in the movies. Hopefully it was realistic enough to suffice.
Thorin was being a bit of a creeper! There will be more interaction between our lovebirds next chapter, I promise :)