To Market, to market

Fili – 50, Kili – 45

The lads of Dis's life were outside, packing their ponies with all they would need for the journey. They were on their way to Whitecrest, a man village. Every fall, a large market and festival were held in Whitecrest to celebrate the harvest. Dwarves and Men from all over the Blue Mountains would go to the festival. There would be merchants selling anything and everything to be found in Middle Earth. There were always a wedding or two during the weeklong festival and contests of all kinds.

Dis pulled out a wooden box from a secret place in her room and opened it. It was full of coins. She took most of the coins out and put them into a pouch. She stuffed the pouched into the bodice of her dress and put the box back into its secret compartment. She always kept a few coins in the box, for those times they might be desperate for food, but the rest, she had been saving all year for the purpose of the festival. She had some very specific things she wished to purchase this year.

"Dis, my dear," Joli called out. "Are you ready to go?"

Dis looked around her house, making sure everything was in its place and all the fires out in the hearths. Satisfied that she was leaving her home in good condition, she joined her husband, brother and sons outside. Joli assisted her onto her pony.

"Move out," Thorin's voice rumbled. He led the way. Joli and Dis followed him and the boys came up last. Dis could hear her sons talking and making plans for what they wanted to see and do this year at the festival. The family had been going to the Whitecrest fall festival every year since before Fili was born.

Dis thought back to the first time she had gone. She and Joli had been married for a year by then. She met with several girls who had just gotten married themselves. They had enjoyed each other's company, talking about married life and each gushing about how much they loved their husbands. Every year they went back and Dis had sought out the other ladies. The next year, one of them had a newborn babe in her arms and the others were all expecting. The following year, it was more babies and as each year passed, Dis was eager to meet up with her friends to see how much their children had grown. It wasn't until her ninth year of marriage that Dis had finally been able to show off her swollen stomach to her friends. They all gave her plenty of advice and the next year, they had cooed over the tiny Fili.

Every year, she saw these women age and their children grow. Within twenty years, her friends had grandchildren. Those women had since passed away with their short human lives. Their grandchildren had children now and none of them knew Dis any longer. It was so odd to see the changes each year brought. Dwarven lives moved at a much slower pace, and the passage of time had done little to Dis. She looked much like she had when she married Joli almost sixty years ago, save some curves to her hips and a few streaks of silver in her hair.

They reached the outskirts of Whitecrest by the end of the day and made camp. The following day, they went into Whitecrest for the first day of festivities. There wouldn't be much today. The real festival would begin tomorrow. So today, the family walked around the market, inspecting all the goods.

Dis gave Fili and Kili a copper coin to buy some treats. Years ago, they found a bakery that made the most interesting flat, crispy biscuits. The baker called them crackers and he had them in various flavors. It was tradition to get a bag of these crackers and they would snack on them while they walked the market.

"Oh, I got a good flavor, try this Kili," Fili said, breaking his cracker in half and giving it to his brother.

Kili popped the entire thing into his mouth. He grinned and nodded. "Mmm, gingerbread. I like that one, Fee. It's my favorite."

"I thought you said the anise flavored one was your favorite," Joli laughed.

"They both are," Kili's grin grew wider.

They passed clothiers, apothecaries, jewelers, book sellers, metal-work shops, cobblers, brewers, chandlers, and all sorts of other shops. Bofur brought his cousin Bifur every year to set up a stall and sell Bifur's amazing toy creations.

The two dwarves bowed when they saw Thorin approach them. Well, Bofur did, Bifur nodded his head in a funny way.

"It's always good to see the fine craftsmanship of the dwarves of Ered Luin represented here at the festival," Thorin said. "Your booth looks a fine as ever. I wish you success this week in your sales."

"Thank ye," Bofur said. "Bifur's gone all out this year and has some of his finest work yet." He turned to Fili and Kili, "What about you, lads? Got big plans for the festival this year?" Dis, Joli and Thorin started to move away from the stall, headed for the next one.

"Do we ever," Kili smiled. "Adad said we can participate in some of the competitions this year."

"Thorin's going to compete in the smithy contest and Kili and I will be assisting him," Fili said.

"I wish you luck, then. Stop by once in a while and keep me updated," Bofur said.

"Thanks Mister Bofur," Fili smiled. "We'd better go, before they leave us." The boys caught up with their family, not wanting to get lost or left behind in the huge market.

They found Dori and Ori had set up another stall. Dori had the largest herb garden in Ered Luin. With Ori's help, they grew and dried herbs that were used for teas and medicine. Dori sold some of his special herbal teas as well as just packages of herbs. He did well. Well enough that he had been able to hire his brother a good tutor. Ori had ambitions to be Thorin's official scribe. The old dwarf who served as scribe now in all of Thorin's official business, was mostly deaf and his hand shook when he wrote, making it difficult to read. Thorin had promised Ori that after Durin's Day, he would be named the new scribe.

They bowed when they saw the royal family approach. "Prince Thorin," Dori said. "I hope your journey here went well."

"It did, Dori, thank you," Thorin said. "Are there any other merchants from Ered Luin here?" Thorin asked.

"Aye, my Lord," Dori said, "There's half a dozen of us, at least."

"Good," Thorin nodded. "I hope your time here in the market is profitable for you."

"Thank you, my Lord."

The following day was truly exciting. The festival was in full swing. The market place was packed. Dis took out a few of her coins and put them in a pouch that was fairly accessible to her and the rest she hid away. Years of going to the markets had taught her to be shrewd and wary. She knew how to bargain. Dwarves were famous for their bargaining. They understood the value of their money and would pay no more than they felt it was worth. You also never tried to rob a dwarf of his money. There were always a few each year who were foolish enough to try, but would find themselves at the end of the day with a swollen face and a few teeth fewer.

Dis had one very important purchase to make this year. She had saved extra money specifically for it. She quickly found the best clothier in the market.

"How may I help you mistress dwarf?" the merchant woman running the stall asked.

"I'm in need of a cloth of deep blue," Dis said.

"Deep blue? It's a hard color to find. The dyes to make such a color are expensive," the woman said.

"I am aware of the value of such a color," Dis said. Most of the time, she did not miss Erebor, a home she hardly remembered, but there were times like this that made her miss her homeland and rank. She would never have to bargain for cloth that would be used to outfit the royal family.

Blue was common enough in cloth that her family had some blue clothes, mostly used for showing off their rank, but what she wanted today was more rare. Fili and Kili had been attending Thorin's official meetings for several years now, learning their places as princes, heirs and future leaders of their people. Most of these meeting were informal and consisted of a small company of civil leaders in the village, but once in a while, important visitors would come, and at such times, the leaders dressed in their best to welcome the visitor and impress them. Thorin had several outfits of deep blue that he used for formal occasions, and Dis had a dress of deep blue that she kept tucked away in a cedar box, but Fili and Kili had nothing in the color to show their rank. It was time they did, and so Dis was prepared to bargain for what she needed.

"I do happen to have some cloth of a lovely blue," the merchant woman said. She opened a box and pulled out a ream of blue fabric. "Now Mistress Dwarf, what do you think of that?"

Dis looked at the cloth and rubbed it in her fingers. It was very nice, but not as deep in color as she had hoped. "I was hoping for something of a darker blue," Dis said.

"Oh, yes, of course," the merchant said. She put the ream back and pulled out another. The blue cloth being held out now was so dark, it was almost black. Dis took a corner of it in her hands and felt it. It was a good weight and the weave of the cloth looked fine. She held it up to the sunshine and looked at it. It was dark blue, just what she wanted.

"Yes, that is very nice," Dis said. She was ready to bargain now. "I'll take five of your arm's length of the cloth."

"Five?" the woman said in genuine surprise. "You royalty or something?"

"Yes," Dis simply said. "Now, five length's please."

"Very good," the merchant woman stared at Dis for a while, unsure if the dwarf had meant what she said about being royalty. "That will be seventeen gold coins."

"Seventeen? No, I don't think so. I won't pay more than nine." She knew nine was way under price, but it was better to start low.

"Nine? Nay, Mistress Dwarf. This is the very finest of material and of the richest blue. Nine would be cheating me. How about fifteen gold coins?"

Dis gave her a look like she was thinking. "I still feel that is overpriced. Perhaps if I was purchasing all your blue fabric, I would be willing to pay fifteen, but for what I am buying compared to what you have, I think ten would be a better price."

The banter went on until they settled on twelve gold coins and seven silver. Dis was satisfied with the price. She knew that blue cloth was expensive, and was prepared to pay more, but she would not let herself be over charged because the woman thought her a simple minded dwarf. The merchant measured out what Dis asked for and wrapped it in a brown bag and tied it with some twine.

Dis would make her sons tunic from the cloth. This Durin's Day, they were expecting a visit from her cousin Lord Dain of the Iron Hills and Thorin was bound and determined to show his cousin how well the exiled dwarves of Erebor were fairing in the Blue Mountains. Their parade of their prosperity would begin with a greeting in their most formal clothes. It was time for Fili and Kili to be dressed in their family's colors.

Dis put her purchases away among their things in the camp. Then she went to find her lads. As expected they were all out at the competition grounds. There were three days of competitions. The first day was a day of brute strength. That meant lots of wrestling matches. There were other games as well to show off one's strength. One of them involved tossing a huge log as far as they could. Of course, dwarves were incredibly strong and the tossing the log wasn't hard for them, but it wasn't a game they were often involved in, and they did not know how to properly toss the log for the game rules and so by the rules, no dwarf won, although Dwalin managed to throw a log farther than anyone else.

Another game involved throwing a ball the size of a man's fist that was made from iron. Again, the object of the game was to toss the ball as far as possible. The dwarves did much better in this game than the men. Fili and Kili tried all the games and competed in a few wrestling matches. They did well among men, but were middle ranked among the dwarves, which was hardly surprising considering their age. They were nothing in brute strength when up against older dwarves like Thorin and Dwalin.

The third day was a competition of weapons. Kili and Thorin were the only dwarves to represent their race in the archery contest and Kili won second place behind a very excellent archer among men. Kili was good natured about it and listened to the winner as he praised Kili and gave him tips on being more accurate.

Usually, the worst of the fights between the two races happened on the day of the weapons competitions. Dwarves often won, but the men did not like it and would try to find some way to disqualify them to keep them from winning. The best winnings and the worst of the fights were over the bets that were placed for the various competitors. Dis never approved of such bets and made sure her sons knew better than to gamble like that. Royalty did not place bets. Of course, Thorin's eyes twinkled and knew his was wise never to let his sister know of the bets he would place.

The fourth day of the festival was competitions of craft. Thorin had competed before, but this year he had Fili and Kili with him and he felt their chances of winning to be greater than in years previous. Fili and Thorin had been working together for over a decade and knew each other's strokes and patterns in each other's work and could anticipate the other's strikes on the metal. Kili handled the bellows and the fetching of tools. He was very attentive and didn't often need to be told what the others needed. He could see their needs and provide the tools before they could even ask. In the end, they won a prize for finest work, but not the largest volume of work in the allotted time. Thorin was quite satisfied as he would rather produce work of fine quality rather than simply turning out high numbers of poorly made things. The work he had created during the competition sold well, and quickly. He had a few more coins in his pocket than before. He gave a small sum to the boys, for their help, and they were allowed to spend their money as they wished. The rest of their share of the profits, he would give to Dis to save for them.

Joli participated in a carpentry competition. They did not do this there, but brought in their finest work to be judged. Joli was hands down the finest carpenter, but the judges were all from the man village of Whitecrest and they would not award a dwarf a prize over their own carpenter. Thorin, Fili, Kili and Dis were all very upset, and while it hurt Joli's pride, he said it didn't matter. He received several nice commissions from others who had seen his work and judged it to be very fine. His prize would come in the payments he would receive for his work.

Of course, the women of the festival were not without their own competitions. Pies and jams were put up to be tasted by judges of both dwarrowdams and women. Fine sewing was also a category to compete in. Dis knew she was not good enough of a seamstress to compete in that category, but she always put in a pastry into the pie competitions. She never won. She figured, as a princess, her just knowing how to cook, make preserves and sew were impressive enough. She did not need to win a competition. Her lads all assured her that she made the best pies and jams and she appreciated the compliments from her husband, sons and brother, even when she knew there were many others who were much better. Bombur's wife, Izzy, usually won one of the food contests each year. She had truly perfected sour cherry jam.

Each evening was filled with music and dancing, usually within their own camps. Fili and Kili loved to play their fiddles and dance with the lasses, although there weren't many their age. Dis and Joli danced together often and Thorin would stand by and watch the proceedings, except for one time. On the final night of the festival, a pretty dwarrowdam from one of the other villages dared approached Thorin.

"Pardon me, Prince Thorin," she curtsied low, "I hope you would not find me improper, but I believe you could do with a jolly dance. Would you honor me and be my partner in the next quadrille?"

No one had ever approached Thorin like this before. He was shocked, but he was also very pleased. The lass had nerve and he appreciated her boldness. "Lass, I would be most pleased to dance with you. You must first tell me your name, though."

"Forgive me, my Lord. I am Fragh, daughter of Farur," she smiled.

"Stay with me, if you will, and we can visit until the dance," Thorin said. She stood by him and they watched the current dance. Fili was dancing with his lass-friend, Thora, and they were laughing. They didn't know the steps well and Thorin thought maybe he had better ask Dis to teach the boys how to properly dance. He sighed, had they been in Erebor, dance lessons would have been a part of the things they would have learned as princes.

"My Lord," Fragh said.

"Thorin. You may call me Thorin."

She smiled. "Thank you. Thorin, if I may be so bold as to speak my mind, but I have watched you this evening, and I see you to be very handsome. Any dwarrowdam would love a dance with you, but you stand so somberly and only watch. However, once in a while, I see you smile and you have a kind smile and I thought to myself, I want to be the source of one of your smiles. A jovial dance would be just the thing."

Thorin couldn't help smile now. He was flattered by her words as well as her audaciousness. "Lass, you are a bold lady and I have to say, thank you for being such. I cannot form any kind of attachments, though."

"An attachment, however much I would like it, is not what I seek," she gave him a cheeky smile. "As I said, I only wish to see you smile and be jolly."

The dance that was going on ended and the music began again.

"If that is your wish, then it is granted," Thorin grinned at the brazen lass and he walked her to the dance circle. The musicians played a lively tune and Thorin remembered he enjoyed a good dance and it was made better because it was with a lovely lass. They danced and laughed and when it ended, Thorin felt happier than he had in a long time. He walked her back to where they had met and he bowed to her and she curtsied back.

"My Lord, Thorin," she was panting from the dance, "you are a most wonderful partner. More lasses should know your talent."

Thorin laughed. "Oh, you are a flatterer and I like your confidence. If you would, join me for an ale and we can visit for a while." Thorin fetched two ales while Fragh found a log they could sit on and talk, while watching the entertainment.

"You speak like my brother-by-wed. What village are you from?" Thorin asked.

"Kibilin. Who is your brother?"

"Joli, son of Tola. He is from Ered Atrev."

"Ha! Then he is my great-uncle. My mother is his eldest sister's daughter. There was quite a large difference in age between my grandmother and him. By the time he was born, my grandmother had already raised my mother, his niece, and seen her married. He and I are near the same age, although we hardly ever saw each other growing up. I had no idea he married the sister of Prince Thorin of Erebor."

Thorin smiled. "Aye, that he did. My sister is Dis. Do you see the lady over there, black hair, dancing with the dwarrow with golden hair?" he asked. She nodded. "That is my sister and Joli."

"He has hardly changed," she smiled. "And your sister is a lovely dam."

"That she is. And do you see those two young rascals just there?"

"Why, one of them looks just like Joli the last time I saw him!" Fragh laughed. "Is that his son?"

"It is. And the dark haired one next to him is his younger brother. Fili and Kili," Thorin pointed.

"The princes? I have heard of them. Prince Kili won an archery contest, if I remember correctly."

Thorin nodded. They talked on for a while longer. Thorin took her to be reintroduced to her cousin, Joli, and they chatted a bit, catching up on the family news. Fili and Kili came to meet their cousin and they laughed and talked late into the night. As the dance started to come to an end, Thorin asked Fragh to dance once more, which she accepted.

"Do you come to this festival every year?" Fragh asked.

"Aye, we do," Thorin answered.

"Can you make me a promise?" she asked. Thorin raised an eyebrow at her and she laughed. "Each year, I would like to dance with you. Can I count on you for a dance next year?"

"You are the most brazen lass I've ever known, besides my own sister. No one would dare ask such a question of me, but you," he was grinning, "you ask and I can only say yes, I will make you that promise. I will dance with you every year for as long as I come here."

"Then I look forward to next year. Thank you, Thorin, for a very enjoyable evening," she curtsied at him.

"The pleasure was all mine, I assure you." Thorin bowed and kissed her hand. "See you next year, Fragh."

"Next year."

At the end of the festival, they all went back with full packs and light coin purses. Dis was happy with the purchases she had made of items that were not easily found in Ered Luin, and Thorin had had a good dance with a promise for another next year.

Today is Bilbo and Frodo's birthday! In their honor, my cardboard cutout of Thorin and I will be hosting a Hobbit Day party in my home. There will be good food, apple cider, and plenty of chatting. Have a wonderful day and may the hair on your toes (or your beard if you are a dwarf) never fall out.