Chapter Fifteen: Always Together
Leah knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep much, not with all the upcoming activities on her mind. And all the memories she'd lost previously, all seemed to want to come to life inside her head. There were sights, sounds and smells all wanting to be free. She sat on the edge of the four poster bed, studying the ornately decorated, yet still simple, bed chamber. And then as she took a glance down at the furs which covered the bed, a shiver raced through her whilst she remembered her loving making with Thorin. He was so gentle, yet dominant and strong in his actions. In the years she'd been sexually active, Leah could honestly say that she'd never had sex like that which she had with Thorin. Every movement was heartfelt and all he wanted was for her to experience the best pleasure he could possibly give.
Her mind then fell upon the prophecy which Gandalf had spoken about their children. They would have a son and daughter, who would go on to be rulers. More than likely, Leah thought, it would be the son who would rule. Did that mean she would die happy and be laid to rest alongside Thorin?
As the questions and thoughts of the future spun around her head, Leah began to feel slightly dizzy and the bright white light flashed before her eyes as it did when she 'travelled'. It was blinding and so warm against her face that she shielded her eyes with her arm. When the light had disappeared and the dizziness had shifted, Leah finally opened her eyes.
She was stood in a dark room where the only source of light was a fire burning in the corner. Thorin's deep voice hit her ears; he was singing. It was a light hearted song, telling of the times of being a young dwarf boy, and learning of all the different precious gems and metals beneath the earth. Leah smiled, falling in love with his singing voice, just as she'd fallen for everything else about him. She'd only ever heard him sing on one other occasion and that was when he was bathing alone in the river. That song had been during a time when his heart was heavy, heavy for the long journey before him to re-claim Erebor and his love for Leah, which back then he doubted highly was requited.
Thorin stopped singing suddenly. Leah tensed and backed away, not wanting to interfere with any timeline she'd been sent to. "I was wondering when you would come," Thorin said through the darkness, and gradually his form appeared.
Leah looked upon the regal form of her future husband. He had a few more silver strands running through his wavy locks she noticed, and his beard was slightly longer. But then as his form shifted from behind the seat he'd been sat in, she saw the most beautiful sight. There, cradled in his strong arms, were two wrapped bundles.
"I knew you were coming; you spoke about it often," Thorin said softly, smiling at Leah. Leah felt tears begin to well in her eyes as she saw Thorin holding the babies so protectively. "They were only delivered but two nights ago." She could see their pink faces peeping out from the soft blankets, and each one had a thick tuft of dark hair.
"Where am I?" Leah asked, referring to the future version of herself.
Thorin sighed. "You had a very difficult labour and are still resting in the healing chambers. I dare not say too much."
"W...what happened?" Leah asked, becoming scared of the answer. "I came from the night we were going to find Azog. When is this?"
Thorin's face became more stern in its expression. "I was warned not to tell you about your future as Gandalf is aware of the consequences of doing so. But I feel you need to know. Your difficult labour was due to our children being half dwarf. Your body found it hard to deliver them naturally as Oin pointed out that your hips were not quite wide enough."
"Are you telling me I had a caesarean?"
"If that means there was intervention and they were cut from you, then yes," Thorin replied, his face seeming to blanch of any colour. "I cannot see you go through that again, my love."
Thorin turned around and disappeared back into the darkness of the room, carrying the newborns with him. He placed them down into their shared crib and then stood back before Leah. "You have endured so much for me over the years," Thorin said sadly.
"Endured?" Leah asked, her brow crumpling.
"Not only the birth of Rachel and Thrain..."
"Rachel and Thrain?" Leah asked, cutting him off. The sound of her children''s names being said caused her to step back, and in that moment she felt tears of joy fall down her cheeks. "Thorin, that is all I need to know. They're healthy...and loved."
Thorin nodded. "Oh, yes, they are most certainly loved. Especially by you. You found out you were expecting them six years after we wed."
The room began to disintegrate and the bright white light flashed again before her, temporarily blinding her. Leah cried out loudly at the dazzling light and as it faded, she blinked hard to try and see what was happening before her.
She was stood on the balcony of one of the many halls inside Erebor. Beneath her hundreds of dwarves were stood with their head bowed as two young dwarves stood before all of them next to what looked like a throne. In fact, Leah instantly recognised it as the throne Thorin had sat upon when he was in the midst of the Dragon Sickness.
To say that Leah was standing up quite high, she could make out the two figures quite clearly. A man and a woman. And as soon as her eyes focussed on them, she knew in her gut who they were. Rachel and Thrain. Her son bore such a striking resemblance to his father; his posture, his hair, and even his voice as he began to speak. He even had the gold crown upon his head that Leah had seen Thorin wear when he re-entered Erebor.
"Today is the day which marks the final rest of our mother, Queen Leah. She will be laid next to our father, King Thorin, and they will take up their place with our forefathers," Thrain announced.
Then Rachel spoke. Her voice was higher in pitch, but still firm and authoritative. Leah could see her long, dark brown locks which fell down past her shoulders in waves, with small braids throughout. She had the regal presence of Thorin, but the gentleness and femininity of Leah. "Our mother came from a distant land, giving up her former life to be beside our father despite so much opposition. But everything they faced, it was always together. There was never a truer and more selfless love than that of our mother and father, and I am so proud that my brother and I are a result of that. They took back Erebor and made sure it re-gained its former glory."
Another dwarf then walked to the front of the hall and stood beside Rachel and Thrain. He had long, greying hair and braids in either side of his moustache. As soon as he opened his mouth to speak, Leah instantly recognised who he was. "Leah was an incredibly loyal and bold woman who committed her whole life to serving Erebor as its Queen, but also to my uncle and my cousins. I first met her while on a quest with my brother, uncle and a Company of other honourable and brave dwarves, to take back Erebor. As my cousin, Rachel, just said, she was indeed from a far land. But she made a new life here with us all, leaving her family behind to forge a new one with us. It may have been Thorin who was born to lead us, but Leah, through her love for him, adapted to become one of the greatest rulers that this kingdom has ever known. Erebor became her true home and she fought for us, always keeping the needs of all at the centre of everything she did. Even when she lost my uncle four years ago, becoming the Queen Mother, she still remained central to the rule of this kingdom, helping Thrain to take the throne. May she forever rest peacefully alongside King Thorin."
All the dwarves bowed their heads in unison at Fili's words.
Leah was absolutely dumbfounded at what she was seeing before her. Was this really her? Had she really gained all this respect? She felt no sadness inside her, apart from when it was mentioned that Thorin had passed four years previously. The only other emotions she felt were pride for her beautiful children and contentment that she'd actually made a difference somewhere.
Suddenly Leah sensed someone standing beside her and when she turned, she looked into the unmistakable dark eyes of Kili. His hair was completely grey and his beard was long, having fully grown in since she last saw him. "I know you are scared, Leah. I remember those days vividly enough, but you should be proud of what you achieve," Kili told her. "Your rule with Thorin was, of course, not without its challenges. But you raised my cousins well."
"Did I die happy?" Leah asked, beginning to feel some sadness creep into her heart.
"I would say so. You were ready to meet again with Thorin. You lost your spark when he passed."
Leah looked down, knowing that feeling. She'd already experienced life without him once when she went back to her home world and was without her memories. The sensation was as if nothing no longer made sense; there was a numbness which could not be cured. Only Thorin was the cure.
"Take care of them for me, Kili," Leah told him.
"You have been asking me that for years, but they rarely need my help," Kili chuckled.
Leah looked at Kili and smiled, then looked down at the crowds of dwarves, spotting Fili. "I love you and Fili, too. Never forget that," Leah said.
Kili chuckled. "You never allowed us to forget."
White light burned in front of Leah's eyes and she travelled again. She braced herself, feeling the sensation of dizziness return. It lasted approximately fifteen seconds, and then she sensed it was safe to open her eyes. She was standing back in her bed chamber in Erebor, only this time there was a figure sitting in the chair in the corner of the room.
"Are you still adamant in your intentions?" Gandalf asked.
"Azog still needs to die, Gandalf. But I know that time can't be changed. I saw my children, and the way they spoke about me..."
"Now you see. Women are not regarded as high in social standing with the dwarves, but you... Leah, you change history."
"You know the future. Thorin said about me enduring things for him," Leah asked, pushing for further information. "And it wasn't just the birth of Rachel and Thrain. And why do I name my daughter after my sister? Doesn't she come through? I want to go back and fetch her from our world."
"You must stop asking so many questions," Gandalf demanded. "Knowing too much of your future can lead to dire consequences. I fear you may have already tread too far."
Leah sat down on the bed and looked at Gandalf straight in the eyes. "You know more than you're willing to say," she said, sounding so much like Thorin when he'd first met Gandalf again in Leah's home world. "You know why I have this power and won't tell me what's happening."
Gandalf got to his feet. "All I know is that you are destined to rule alongside Thorin."
"Well, why am I seen as so different to all the other dwarf queens who have ruled before me?" Leah asked, growing frustrated. "All the stories I've been told of the dwarves and they're always about the males. No women are mentioned."
"It is just that. You show the dwarves that women can be strong. Dwarf women are becoming scarce and do not make themselves known to the outside world. But you help change that."
Leah smiled. "I basically bring feminism into Middle-earth?"
Gandalf smirked. "That is only part of it. I know you are strong willed and minded, and when I have tried to persuade you to stay here, it is not because I do not believe you could fight. You have supported Thorin's Company to the point of nearly being killed, and proved a vital member yourself. But you do not acknowledge your own importance in this. You have a far bigger part to play than you know."
A knock then came to Leah's door. She called them in, and instantly felt her stomach flutter at the sight of Thorin.
"I shall leave you two alone now," Gandalf said.
Thorin bowed his head in respect to Gandalf as the wizard left the room. He walked over to Leah and stood in front of her. "Are you sure this is what you wish to do? We will find Azog in time," Thorin insisted. But as he looked at Leah, he began to frown, sensing that something else was on her mind. "What is it?"
Leah looked up at him as she still remained seated on the edge of the bed. This man before her truly was her destined partner. The future she'd seen showed her how united they'd always been through their lives, and even when Thorin died, Leah had still kept his legacy alive for the remaining four years of her own life, handing it on to their children. "I saw our future, Thorin," Leah said softly. "I saw our children, and my own funeral. They're beautiful."
Thorin couldn't help but smile upon hearing these words. "They take after the beauty that is within their mother."
"I don't know about that. I thought Thrain looked more like you than me."
"Thrain?" Thorin asked. His voice had gone quiet, almost breaking at the sound of his son's name. Thorin swallowed hard. "Before the quest to claim Erebor back, I...I would never have ever imagined in my wildest dreams that I would be sitting so close to the cusp of being a father and a husband. I gave up all hope that it would come to me."
"Your life can change so drastically within seconds," Leah said. "Just one small thing can send so many events spiralling into motion. But Thrain is one handsome kid." Leah laughed at that, calling him a 'kid'. "And Rachel was everything I always wanted to be. The way she spoke was so confident and forthright. But she actually looked a bit like my sister, too. I named her aptly."
"May I ask something of you?" Thorin asked.
"Of course. Anything," Leah replied.
"I'm well aware of your customs, but also wish to remain true to my own. I have not had time to go and find a stone to be cut..."
Leah smiled broadly, knowing what he was about to ask her. "Yes, I will. You know that I've promised myself to you, Thorin. Nothing could stop me staying with you."
"For now, I wish to offer you this." Thorin held out his ring he normally wore which bore his family crest. He'd put it on a long golden chain for her as no doubt it would be too big for her. Leah lowered her head and let him place the chain around her neck. "I promise that when we return you will be given but the best of any of the jewels beneath this mountain. I will have a ring cut for you. May I braid your hair? As a sign of our courtship and engagement?"
"I'd be honoured," Leah replied with a broad smile.
Thorin sat beside Leah on the bed and slowly took three locks of her hair and began to braid them slowly, entwining them, one over the other into a gradual pattern. Leah felt her scalp tingling with excitement and anticipation. His hands brushed against her face very gently as he moved down her hair. Leah reached up and put her hand against his. "I love you, Thorin."
Thorin smiled and continued with the braid and when finished, he took a small clip out of his pocket which was inscribed with dwarf runes, and made sure it secured her hair in place. He then leaned forward and kissed her. Leah wound her arms around his neck and felt him place his around her waist. They continued kissing for a short while until Thorin stopped and placed his forehead against hers. "I swear to love and protect you with my dying breath," he whispered.