Here's the next chapter, was out of town most of the week for work...and I'll start ramping up work again next week, FYI...so I'll try to get to writing and posting when I can :)

Another long chapter~~a happy and funny one ;) and more details on dwarves daily living, which I enjoy writing about (I'm hoping you all don't find it too boring ;))

See if you can find the reference to something Aidan does, that I put in to fit with Kili's character! ;)

Chp 42

The dining halls weren't that far away, but they took their time getting there, still walking hand in hand. Many dwarves were bustling about and passed them on the way. Most stopped to bow to Kili and or exchange pleasantries with him. Kili was even pleased to note that these dwarves were even having appreciative expressions for Tauriel now, and that made Kili smile. Finally they entered the royal dining hall and Tauriel could see it was a long way from its resplendent past, but there was still an air of royalness about the room.

Looking about, there were a few tapestries which had been hung back up on the walls and she saw that most depicted the things that dwarves value- jewels, gold, hunting, feasting and fighting. They were beautifully decorated with intricately embroidered patterns though, she thought. Massive intricately carved wooden tables were placed in a u shape in the middle of the room. Benches were placed on both sides of the end tables, but in the middle, there were carven chairs only on the back side.

Some dwarves had already taken their seats and were chatting animatedly. Kili walked with Tauriel to behind the tables and as he passed, the dwarves rose from their seats and offered quick bows to the pair. When they reached the back, Kili directed Tauriel to a finely carved chair made of dark brown wood. This just happened to be the seat next to the finest chair present, obviously made for the king it was, darkest wood almost black, with diamond slivers added in its carved lines and beautifully upholstered with silken fabrics in shades of blues and purples. Kili helped Tauriel into her seat and then said, "Excuse me My'lady, I need to check on the preparations, I shall be back soon." Tauriel returned his sweet smile with an "of course."

Elves are such observant creatures and Tauriel is no different. When she sat down, something slightly started pointing her leg and she let out a little chuckle when she remembered she still had that little dagger in her pants pocket. She shifted slightly, so that it wasn't poking her anymore and went back to observing all the dwarves hustling and bustling about. She guessed that there could be about a hundred dwarves seated in this room, so thought there were other dining halls for those not of the royal line, or special guests and emissaries. Gloin and Oin were already seated, they were one chair away on the other side of Kili's chair, from where she was. She caught their eyes and they both nodded and smiled at her to which she returned.

Water glasses had already been filled so she decided to try some, it was crisp and very cold, which she found she enjoyed and many enticing smells were reaching her nose and she too, and started to feel a slight twinge of hungriness in her. She watched Kili from her chair, how he casually worked his way around the room, laughing and smiling...oh, how she loved those special cheeky smiles he shared with just her though, she thought. Other dwarves were streaming into the room and looking for seats or chatting with friends, she observed, and thought, this room will fill up quickly. Observing all the comings and goings, she didn't realize a tall dwarf and another beside him had approached her from the side. "Lady Tauriel of the Mirkwood Realm," he said as he bowed, "May I please introduce myself? I am Twain of the Iron Hills. And this is my brother, Dwain. We wanted to offer our thanks for all that you have done in helping our kin restore our homeland; and for protecting and healing our heir apparent." And this other dwarf also bowed. Tauriel noted the pair were younger dwarves, maybe not as young as Kili, but still had that glint in their eyes from not being too war-weary and having seen that much carnage. Fair haired and stately looking, for dwarves, like Kili she thought. She rose from her seat and put her hand on her breast and bowed her head low, when she lifted her head up, she said, "It was very much my pleasure," she smiled and sat back down. Twain continued, "We would be very much interested in speaking with you sometime about your kin. Now that Smaug is vanquished, there is so much opportunity to re-establish relations with other lands and peoples of Middle Earth." Tauriel quickly thought that there could be many dwarves, and others, that could have less benevolent designs on capitalizing on the very fact that Twain mentioned; but from this pair, she sensed a genuine interest and friendliness about them. "Yes, of course I would enjoy that. But, please remember, I was only Captain of the Guard, most of my time was spent fighting and learning weaponcraft, I have little experience in matters of political affairs," she blushed. "Captain of the Guard?" they both surprisingly remarked, "That is a very proud and accomplished feat for one so young," Dwain remarked, "Are there many female elves that train so vigorously such as yourself?" he asked. "Well, Master dwarves, for one, I have been on this earth for about five more centuries than yourselves, and, well...yes...in my home of Mirkwood, we are used to having to defend it against all manner of foul creatures, so even the females do learn basic fighting skills. In other Elven realms, I believe most female elves tend to fairer and refined things, of which I know little of." The dwarves just stood there in amazement that one so beautiful and fair could be have lived that long and seen so much, compared to their lives which they had thought had many adventures and experiences.

Just then Ori and Balin came by. Ori asked, "May I take this seat, Lady Tauriel?" She nodded and Ori sat in the seat to her left. Balin came up and gave Twain and Dwain resounding headbutts in turn and said, "Ahh, I see you lads have finally gotten around to introducing yourselves to our fair maiden here. Everything ye heard about her and her deeds this true. Why I'd even say she could best me, in a battle, twer to come to that," he chuckled. Tauriel was coming to learn that joking around was the way with dwarves, so she replied, "you AND Dwalin on your best days!" All three dwarves had a very hearty chuckle and Tauriel too laughed quite loud. The pair of brothers, still laughing, bowed to her and Twain said, "Yes, we will talk more soon. Please enjoy the feast." With that they both walked away hearty smiles on their faces and found seats on one of the benches, near the middle. Balin smiled at Tauriel and patted her shoulder, "That's it lassie, you're a quick learner." She smiled back and watched him take the seat one seat away, on the opposite side of Kili's chair.

Most dwarves had settled into their seats she noted and the smells were more intense now, and she found herself wondering when they were going to bring in the food. Presently, a very happy, but tired looking Bilbo along with Dori came into the room and Ori waved to them. They came the long way around all the tables and sat in the seats to the left of Ori and started chattering with him immediately. Tauriel also noted that Kili was back in the room and making his way around to his seat but still stopped to talk with many dwarves, clapping them on the back and heartily laughing with them. As Tauriel observed him, she thought, "Oh I so love the way he laughs with his whole body and tilts his head back when he laughs," and at that moment she tried to suppress a shiver that ran through her whole body, that had nothing to do with being cold.

He finally made his way to his seat and sat down and turned towards Tauriel with a smile. She looked at him and said, "you look terribly tired my'love. We should get you to bed right away, but I know how important this dinner is." He smiled back and reached out under the table for her hand, upon finding it, he gave it a good squeeze and said, "yes, yes...my bed is calling me...but a surfeit of food and drink is what I desire presently," he yawned. "Are you hungry, my love? Bombur has found some special things for you and will be bringing them soon."

Just then, about ten dwarves laden with trays of appetizers of bread and cheese and soup briskly came in the room and started serving those in the middle tables. Tauriel observed that all of the dwarves that were served started devouring their food, even Kili who had been given a large bowl of some thickly tan colored broth. Tauriel looked to her left, Ori and Dori and the others had already picked up their spoons and were loudly slurping away, but she caught eyes with Bilbo who was tucking a handkerchief he had into his under his chin and sat patiently with his spoon in hand. He leaned way back in his chair, motioning for Tauriel to do the same, she did and he said from two seats away, "dwarves are the most loyal creatures on Middle Earth...but they have horrid table manners!" Tauriel giggled and he said again, "remind me to tell you one day how twelve dwarves arrived at my little hobbit hole one day and cleaned my larder out completely, in one feast!" She laughed again and Ori and Dori who had caught on to what to Bilbo was saying started laughing hysterically and clapping Bilbo on the back. Most others were unaware of their guffaws as there was plenty of happy conversation and other loud banter in the room, as the others seated were also receiving their food.

Bombur himself waddled towards Tauriel with a tray full of things that most dwarves wouldn't touch, let alone eat. He bowed when he reached her, "Tis not much of elvish faire we have right now My'lady, and for that I'm truly sorry. I hope to have more greens and fruits soon," he winked at her. She knowingly smiled back and said, "no, this is just fine Master Bombur, everything looks delicious." With that he walked up and down the tables making sure everyone was enjoying the first course. She looked down and tried to decide what she was going to try first. There were some greens and orange roots with an oily type dressing on them, a few small round things that were a bright shade of red, some strips of meat that were very light in color bathed in creamy yellowish gravy and some wafer thin breads with a drizzle of honey and berries on them. She decided to try the greens, they were tasty she thought, and the dressing had flavorful taste. She looked around, everyone else was enjoying the first course and their conversations with their neighbors.

Kili leaned over and said, "I'm glad this is your first...umm...exposure to a dwarven meal. Usually they can get pretty raucous, but I think most are weary from the long day and our stores are pretty sparse right now, so normally we would be enjoying a six or seven course meal, and for a celebration, even more! Actually, I don't know how Bombur was able to produce this much food for tonight. And there are four other dining halls too! He certainly has outdone himself and I must congratulate him. How is yours?" Tauriel finished chewing her bite of greens and replied, "yes, this salad is tasty. We are used to finding all the edibles we need from our foresthome, so it looks like Bombur has done a good job in replicating it. I have not tried the meat yet, but the sauce accompaniment has an interesting smell."

Just then a dwarf came and stood on the other side of the table that Tauriel and Kili were at and asked, "Prince Kili, would you care for some wine?" He smiled at the dwarf, "Absolutely!" and slid his mug closer to the end of the table. After filling Kili's mug, he looked at Tauriel and said, "Maiden Tauriel, would you like some?" She also smiled at him and said, "Yes please." After filling her mug, he proceeded down the length of the table and Tauriel was not surprised to see that not one dwarf, nor Hobbit, refused his offer, until his jug was empty and he disappeared out out the large doors. Kili was looking at Tauriel and she realized he was waiting for her to try the wine. She picked her mug up and took decent swig. Coughing a little as she swallowed, Kili couldn't help but let out a little chuckle. After she felt all of it go down she could feel a little air coming back up and she couldn't help to let it out. Coughing again more because she was startled by that strange physical sensation she again looked over at Kili and he was obviously trying very hard to stifle the fit of giggles that had come over him. She had a strange urge to punch him in the arm or something...but decided against it. Instead, she was able to get out, "that...was...dwarven wine? It is not at all like our elvish wine." Kili still smiling a goofy grin replied, "Welllll...Tis really more of ale. Thick, bubbly, frothy with chewy bits in it, is how we like ours. I remember the wine we had in Rivendell, very light...almost like drinking fruity air," he chuckled. "Yes, that sounds more like what ours tastes like," and she had a bit of a sour face so she grabbed her water and took a good gulp. At least that tastes like it's supposed to, she thought, so cold and crisp, unlike other water she had had in her life.

The server dwarves entered the room again this time laden with slabs of meat and gravy and roasted potatoes and orange roots to which the dwarves stomped and clapped at the sight and smell of their next yummy course. Kili took his portion and dug in right away. Tauriel leaned over and asked, "When were you in Imladris? I mean Rivendell. What was it like? Thranduil never let me visit other realms. I heard it was one of the most beautiful places in Middle Earth." Kili started as he chewed, "Well. I don't remember too much. We were running away from that Orc pack and Gandalf had found this secret entrance. We followed until it led us into a hidden valley. I just remember the buildings had so many holes in them, twas like sleeping out in the open air! The food was pretty good. But the best thing I remember was the outdoor baths they had. They had these spraying things that I swear, got into places on my body I never knew to wash before," he said and smiled honestly. It was Tauriel's turn to giggle, "Kili," she said, "those are fountains. They are usually not for bathing." He gave her a puzzled look and she said, "They are just for decoration." He still had an expression on his face like he didn't understand, so she just sighed and smiled at him. Balin leaned over to speak with Kili, so Tauriel went back to her meal. She finished all of her greens before moving on to the meat. She poked a large section with her fork and dipped it in the gravy and tried it. It was rather good, some type of bird she thought, she couldn't place the type though. The gravy was also nice, creamy tasting with some herbs that tasted like Rosemary. She set about finishing the rest quickly.

Ori leaned over and said, "What do you make of all this, Lady Tauriel?" She finished chewing her last bite of meat, "To be honest Ori, I thought dwarf celebratory meals were a little more raucous than this," she replied and she took a large gulp of her water to wash it all down with. Ori smiled and said, "Tis true, I think it has just been a long, tumultuous day...just wait until Kili's coronation coming up in a few weeks. But...Ask Bilbo here about the perils of inviting dwarves to dinner-he knows all about when dwarves are hungry and left to their own devices," he laughed heartily and they both looked over at Bilbo who was happily getting as much as he could on his fork to shove into his mouth, when he noticed Tauriel and Ori both looking at him. As he had just stuffed his mouth all he could reply was "Huh...Whazzasgunnaon?" Tauriel and Ori continued to laugh while poor Bilbo just sat there chewing his food in bewilderment.

After many days without eating properly, Tauriel could feel herself getting full after this small amount she had eaten, but still wanted to try her dessert. They were thin sheets of some kind bread with what looked liked honey and nuts on them. She chewed a bit of and instantly realized this was her favorite part of the meal. The bread seemed to melt in her mouth and the addition of honey and nuts reminded her of things she gathered and snacked on from her foresthome. It was so scrumptious she ate them slowly, until the last bite was gone. She drank her last bit of crisp water and then sank down in her seat and almost felt a little sleepy. She looked around and everyone else too was seeming rather drowsy. The conversation had died down a bit and the last empty main course plates were being taken away. Just as these dwarves were whisking these plates out of the room, other dwarves were coming in with dessert ones. Kili, of course, was served first so Tauriel peered over and saw what looked like a thick brownish orange cake-like bread with a brown glaze over it and some thick golden pudding on the side. He dug into it right away with a smile on his face but also pretty drowsy looking eyes. The others were receiving theirs and Tauriel smiled as Bilbo looked completely overjoyed at this last course.

As the dwarves were finishing it with the last swigs of their "wine" Balin stood up and clincked his fork against his mug. He started talking when all the conversations died down, "Please let us all stop and give thanks to Bombur and his team for whipping up this fine, albeit abridged meal." The dwarves stamped their feet, gave 'ere ere's and clapped to Bombur who was standing by the doors with his staff to which they all bowed. Then Balin continued, "We do thank everyone again for coming to our aid in our time of need and helping return Erebor to dwarven hands! Let's all raise our mugs to honor the memory of those not here-Thorin, Fili, Dain and every one of our fallen brothers!" Everyone in the Hall raised their glasses, whether there was anything left in them or not and said, "Aye!" Balin continued, So...after we all get a good night's rest, tomorrow you have big decision to make. We would love for everyone to stay as there is much to do here, so meet us in the Great Hall in the morning to get your assignments...but...we understand if you feel the need to return to your home and your families. Or, you can just stay until Kili's coronation in a few weeks...it's up to you, and we thank you again for your service and sacrifice!" Kili and everyone in the Hall stood up and clapped. Tauriel thought it was a nice gesture and thought of the many things that would be keeping her busy soon.

Just then, a messenger dwarf came running in to the room. It made everyone apprehensive and stayed standing. Balin took the message, read it and smiled and waved his arms, "All...we've just gotten word that our kin from the Blue Mountains will be arriving some time tomorrow!" All the dwarves laughed and clapped, relieved that it was some "good" news for a change. Most started leaving the dining hall then, but some again wanted to come over and talk with Balin or Kili, so Tauriel felt obliged to stay too. She drifted over to talk with Ori, Bilbo and Dori who were standing by their chairs. Tauriel casually asked, " So, these dwarves coming from the Blue Mountains, more kin coming to help out?" Ori had a strange smile on his face and stammered, "Well...yes...but Kili's mom will be among them too." Tauriel felt her breath catch and she gulped even harder than she did earlier in the day!

Did you find the reference?

It was when Kili tilted his head back and laughed...that's exactly how Aidan does it! And that shiver that Tauriel had... Is how it makes ME feel, when he does that! :) Hugs until next time!