MASQUERADE
Chapter 7
The Man watched the great King of Erebor from beneath his procured mask which he had secured from a dwarf who had ventured out of the main hall. Said dwarf was currently hog tied and sleeping in a dark corner. It seemed, to the Man at least, that Thorin was not at all pleased with the nights proceedings for he kept his gaze fixed firmly at the bottom of his tankard and spoke little to any other who approached him. He watched as the King was smacked upside the head by a dwarf woman wearing a lioness mask and his face twist into a comical mixture of shock, disbelief and happiness all at the same time. The Man shuddered.
So used he was to seeing Thorin glaring at anything that moved that seeing joy on his face sent shivers up his spine.
The Man had spoken the truth when he had told his dwarven accomplice. He had taken care of many kings in his lifetime. They were always the same. Greedy and self-centred, a desperate need to protect their lives or that of their kin. Any who fell outside that bracket were not considered. This was most true among dwarvish royalty, none more so than the respected line of Durin. The Man remembered well the torched trees and the crumbling buildings as he and his family had tried to flee that day.
Smaug had destroyed Dale in naught but seconds and the Man knew exactly why that terrible beast had come to their home. It sought the gold within the halls of Erebor, gathered greedily from the depths of the mountains by dwarves. Dwarves who were never truly satisfied with what they had, who sought more and more and more until the time when reality would take it back. Not once had the dwarves returned to Dale to aid the villagers who lay dying amongst the flames or children who were trampled to death.
He had sworn that day to never return to Dale.
Thus far he had kept his word but the job offered up to him had been too sweet a temptation to resist. Add to that the promise of enough gold to make his trip worthwhile well, he couldn't disagree with that.
-x-
Ori was very confused.
A rare feeling for the young court scribe but a real one nonetheless. Since they had settled in Erebor Ori had found himself in the company of Dwalin with increasing regularity. To his surprise he was finding that he rather enjoyed the time he could spend with the older dwarf and found himself looking forward to their next meeting or spontaneous run ins in the hallways. One would go as far as to say that Ori considered Dwalin to be a rather handsome looking dwarf. He was not scared of the muscles nor the tattoos, his gruff attitude meant little to Ori who saw it as a front and add to that the fact that Dwalin could not seem to stop flirting with him.
At least that's what Ori hoped Dwalin was doing.
The older dwarf had never expressed an interest vocally in Ori. Nor had he given any physical indication that he wished to court Ori. Thus the younger dwarf had concluded, much to his dismay, that perhaps he was reading too much into Dwalin's behaviour. It was customary for dwarves to declare to the one they treasured that they were courting, unless an affair took place first. Affairs were torrid to say the least, kept secret until the two dwarves involved were very sure that they were willing to bond for life.
Ori was very sure that he wanted Dwalin for life. He had met no other dwarf that compared.
The constant flirting was giving Ori cause to wonder if Dwalin simply wanted an affair to make sure his feelings were true. Ori knew in his heart that he truly could not handle that. He was an honest dwarf, Ori, and he would not sneak around in the shadows. That was more Nori's thing.
As such when Dwalin's flirting continued during the night of the party Ori found he could not take it anymore. He had watched Dwalin flirt constantly whilst they were alone but as soon as Thorin had escaped to their table the behaviour had stopped, driving a knife through Ori's chest. It was then that Ori truly knew, Dwalin was not serious about bonding to him. When Dis moved to join them Ori found he truly could not take any more, found his footing and fled as soon as the news of Bilbo had passed from the princess' lips. He ignored Dwalin's voice that called his name and the stares that followed him; he merely bolted for the courtyard and tucked himself away into the darker corner.
His breath was coming in short gasps and each short burst caused pain to ricochet through his chest. So it was as his brothers warned him, he was young and naïve – fool to think that a dwarf such as Dwalin would choose him.
"Aulë lad you run fast!" an all too familiar voice said. Ori just about jumped out of his skin and made to dart away again but one hand braced itself against the wall beside his head and then Dwalin was oh so very close that Ori could smell the scent of melted metal. "What is going on Ori and please, do not make me ask ye again"
Ori refused to meet his gaze. How could he tell the truth of the matter? A vocal rejection would only make things worse. "Please Mister Dwalin do not ask the questions you do not want the answers to" he pleaded softly.
A low growl sounded and Ori looked up to see Dwalin's face, his mask hanging limply in his hand. Dwalin reached out a hand and removed Ori's mask, set them both gently on the floor and moved forward, capturing Ori's lips with his own. Ori balked, unsure of what to do and unwilling to make the situation more complicated than it was. His body had other ideas though and soon he was kissing Dwalin back, one hand twisting in the front of his tunic and the other wrapped around the other dwarf's neck. Dwalin ran his tongue over Ori's lips and when entrance was permitted, delved into Ori's mouth, deepening their kiss so much that Ori moaned low in his throat.
Reality however soon made its cruel existence known and Ori broke the kiss, pushing against Dwalin's chest (he completely ignored the fact that it was toned and he would rather like to run his hands all over its surface) to stop him from continuing.
"What is wrong Ori?" Dwalin asked, his voice soft once more. "You have returned to that 'Mister' business again" he added harshly, his eyes narrowing.
"I will not engage in an affair" Ori hissed angrily, shoving Dwalin back as best he could. The tattooed dwarf was twice his size after all. "I find them to be unsettling and yet all you have shown me is that is all you desire!"
Dwalin's jaw dropped. Then he set it and his eyes were ablaze with something Ori could not name. "That is how you see me?" he growled. "A dwarf who thinks of you for only the pleasures you'd offer between my sheets?"
"I . . ."
"I will tell you what you cannot see with your own eyes little scribe" Dwalin said, so much hurt in his voice that Ori wanted to whimper and hold him close. "I intend to court you Ori, brother of Nori and Dori. I wish to bond with you for the rest of our days and let me assure you that it will never be only about the physical"
This time Ori did whimper for he swore he could see something like tears in his beloved's eyes. "I have been waiting for you to tell me that since we first returned to Erebor" Ori whispered. "My brothers thought me naïve, well Dori at least"
"Dori has no room to talk" Dwalin grunted, laying a hand on Ori's hip and leaning the other against the wall. "Grumpy old goat should keep his nose out of other's business especially since I know who he was running around with in his younger days"
"How?"
"Balin is a great source of knowledge, one has only to ask for the answers they seek" Dwalin said simply. He smirked at Ori, leaning forward to kiss him once more. "You are not object then to my courting of you?"
Ori whacked him on the nose for that one. "Of course not" he said sharply. "You may be my elder Dwalin but sometimes you are denser than our great King"
"Yes he is proving to be rather difficult isn't he?" Dwalin murmured, dropping his head to nuzzle in the nook between the column of Ori's throat and the juncture of his shoulder. "Once he sees Bilbo and the two have a nice – ah, chat all should be fixed should it not?"
"Perhaps we could lock them in the cleaner's room!?" Ori said excitedly, flapping his hands wildly to make his point. Dwalin pulled back and stared at him incredulously. "All they need is the right push do they not?"
"As attractive as it is you trying to play matchmaker my scribe I think ye best be leaving the mischief to Kili and Fili so we can have a bit more time alone" Dwalin said heatedly, pressing his lips to Ori's once more.
-x-
Balin was an old dwarf; a very old, wise dwarf to be precise. He had lived many years and had seen many things; as such the affairs of the heart were no stranger to him. He too had dealt in the tides of love once; she had been worth every dunking he had taken. She was a beautiful dwarven lass who had been a seamstress in Erebor, called Lellyra. A sweet thing she had been, content to sit back and watch others than join in on whatever action could be had. Balin loved her for it. It had not taken long for their union to take place and soon after she was with child.
Balin had been overjoyed.
Then, as with what happened to all good things in this world, Smaug came and ripped Erebor to pieces – taking Lellyra and her unborn child with him. Balin had barely survived himself, cursing himself for being left behind. For a long time he ranted at the gods, wondering why he had been left alive when his beautiful wife and child had been taken so early and with such cruelty. He got his answer when Thorin summoned him for the quest to reclaim Erebor. Balin knew this was what Lellyra would have wanted, peace and a true home once more.
Besides someone had to make sure Thorin didn't try to be a hero and get himself killed.
So when Balin heard from Dis that Thorin was now aware of the hobbit's presence but that said hobbit was avoiding Thorin's company he was not at all pleased. He made sure Bilbo knew about it by flicking his ear when he finally managed to corner the hobbit at the table he'd been hiding at.
"Why do you hide from your feelings my friend?" Balin asked shrewdly.
"Why did you flick my ear?" Bilbo retorted, rubbing the offended spot.
"Because you are being foolish" Balin answered, as though it were the simplest thing in the world. "Truly young hobbit, do you not see how Thorin cares for you?"
"If by cares you mean that he wishes to throw me from Erebor so that wargs may feast upon my flesh then sure Thorin wants to declare his love from me from the peak of the mountain" Bilbo muttered sarcastically. "Ouch! Balin again?!"
"Yes, until you open your eyes and truly see Thorin for what he truly is" Balin sighed, settling himself into a nearby chair. "Did you know that our good king, despite all his wonderful qualities, cannot hold his liquor?"
Balin chuckled when Bilbo's mouth dropped open so far he could see his chin beneath his mask. "Are you making fun of me Balin?"
"No, merely giving you the facts you need" Balin replied. "Even Ori can hold alcohol better than Thorin; I know this for our good king saw fit to drink his way through the old stash of aged ale he found in Thror's chambers and I found him blabbering upon the floor like a newborn babe"
When Bilbo did not respond Balin continued. "All night he called for you, asking for a stack of letters he had locked in his drawer. Even the next morning when the hangover was fresh and his headache real he still talked constantly of you, his regret for his behaviour and his feelings towards you"
"Balin I betrayed him" Bilbo said quietly.
"Warg tits!"
". . . I beg your pardon?"
"Hmm perhaps I should have Oin check your hearing master hobbit" Balin mused. "I believe I said warg tits!" he added, a little louder this time. He ignored the scandalised looks from the table next to theirs. "Now that we have that settled I feel I must enforce that you did the right thing taking the Arkenstone, had you not Thorin would have been consumed"
"The Arkenstone was Thorin's most prized possession. . ."
"And his greatest downfall!" Balin interrupted, flicking Bilbo's ear for good measure. "All I can recommend is that you talk to him, just talk to him and you will hear what you need to put your heart at ease"
"Fine but do not expect a miracle . . . ow! Must you keep doing that?!"
"I can't get away with doing it to my brother anymore so allow an old dwarf his moment" Balin chuckled.
Whatever the hobbit had to say next was drowned out by the tolling of a bell. Balin let out a deep sigh and hefted himself to his feet, staring down at the confused Bilbo.
"What was that for?" Bilbo squeaked.
"That is the bell that will herald Thorin's speech" Balin said. "Come, it is time you saw our king face to face once more"