Coming Of Age – Chapter 27
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Dwalin's bad feeling proved right;
It was very late in the evening when he felt a soft bare body crept into the bed in the total darkness and came to lay next to him.
He tried to protest but a hand on his mouth silenced his protest as another began to unbutton his shirt. A soft moan from the soft body pressed against him was heating him as she ran her hand all over his hair, "Shh…let's not make any sounds. Just enjoy our bodies as we entwine together."
He nodded faithfully as she continued with her hands.
Once she had fully unbuttoned the shirt, she spread the shirt apart and marveled at his chest hair, for he had a lot. She frowned again but shrugged; she was not into manly chest hair but for this one time, she would endure it. She thought to herself that once the prince had been compromised, he had no choice but to severe his ties with that metal maker daughter and wed her. And she would make him shave a bit of this excess hair. Um…well, make that more, lots more chest hair.
Never knew Durin men are that hairy! But the things I have to sacrifice for the family, for the gold; her eyes gleamed in the dark at the thought of the amount of gold she would soon have.
He was rather handsome, that Prince Thorin. Gruffidel thought to herself as she continued to run her hand through his hairy chest and slowly made her way down to his pants and smiled as she heard his breathing quickening.
"You like this, don't you?" She felt him nodding.
She ran her hand within his pants…hmmm…more hair...goodness they are a hairy lot!
At least, the Nogrods fellas back home were not that hairy, some of them are very smooth, a few smattering of hair but that was it and she had like it. She was more than satisfied with them; oh yes. Gruffidel smiled widely as she recalled some of the young men she had lain with.
"Um…"
"Sh…don't talk, remember?" She said softly as she began to pull his pants down
"Yes, but perhaps you should know I am…"
She set back up to put her hand to his lips, "I said, quiet."
"I know but I want to know who you are...my enchantress…"
"Why Thorin, it's me Gruffidel…your soon to be wedded wife, once we're joined, there will be no going back to that plain metal maker daughter you think you are wedded to." She said confidently as she began to assault him below his waist again.
He squirmed a bit as he tried to protest as she straddled over him, he realized she was not wearing anything beneath some gauzy material. He tried to shove her off him but she held firm as her bare thigh clutched tightly onto him.
He grunted as he said in a strangled voice, "I think this is as far as I am going to play."
Gruffidel frowned at his words, not understanding his meanings as a strange sound of metal striking against something and soon, a flame was lit. She looked to her left where a glow was beginning to brighten. There were three dwarves standing against the wall in the far corner of the room!
Gruffidel screamed out loud but was shut off when a big hand clamped her mouth. She turned to look and her eyes widened as big as saucers, if it could be bigger when she saw that it was not Prince Thorin she was on top of but a cousin whom she did not know.
In fear or embarrassment, she tried to extricate herself from her position but as she struggled, she tripped over her diaphanous robe and landed on the floor by the bed, rubbing her rump.
Dwalin was hastily fumbling, trying to pull his pants back on as his cousins laughing in the corner.
"What is this?" Gruffidel demanded angrily as she looked from them to Dwalin who was smiling at her.
"What do you think, Princess?" Balin returned.
"This is supposed to be the Prince's private chambers." She replied, trying to sound dignified.
"Now, how did you know this is the Prince's private chambers?" Balin returned as he exchanged glances with Oin and Gloin, who shook their heads.
Caught in her own mistake, she tried to recovered, "Well, anyone knew that the…the...doors with the sign…outside…well…He invited me into his chambers earlier."
"Oh, he did, did he?"
"He did." Gruffidel nodded her arms across her chest.
"Funny, the prince is in the Princess' room, asleep with the Princess ThoraLee his wife as we speak." Balin said, Oin and Gloin nodded, smiling.
Gruffidel, caught in her lies and her face red, shook her head, "Well, he must not be able to get away from her. I must have thought it was tonight. Maybe, it must be tomorrow eve. Well, I must be going. It is late now." She turned to leave and tried to open the door but Oin had beaten her to it and opened the door for her.
"Good eve, Princess, you might want to dress uh, more appropriately. There are men here abouts." Oin grinned.
Gruffidel snapped her head at him as she glanced at herself, and saw that she was revealing a lot of herself and turned to see Balin and Gloin smiling back at her in a very friendly way. She tried to cover herself as best she could but it was futile, any which way she was revealing a lot of skin about her.
She harrumphed at them and walked away from the chambers as the guards who were posted along the hallway tried not to stare but were seen laughing as Gruffidel tried to walk proudly off.
Balin, Dwalin, Oin and Gloin, upon seeing her disappearing down the stairs, began to guffaw out loud.
"That was the most fun I've had in a long time!" Oin nodded.
Dwalin giggled, "Indeed, I feel young again!"
Gloin laughed, "We are still young but I know what you mean. I feel like a dwarfling."
Balin nodded, "Well, I feel I could skip all night long!" To prove it, he jumped up in the air and kicked his short legs out and landed neatly on the floor with flair.
His cousins laughed through the night.
Dwalin was still laughing as he said, "And I have something to tell Thorin and His Majesty, but it can wait till the morrow." He gave a big yawn and said, "I am plump worn out. It is time for bed." His other cousins nodded as they left the chambers to return to their rooms.
…..
It was early morn, after they had their morning meals when the Nogrods met again in the Receiving Halls. The Durin family were there again to meet them, including ThoraLee.
Gruffidel refused to look at the cousins at all.
Standing before King Thrain was a Durin guard who was currently on his knees.
"This guard was found wandering around the Receiving Halls, inquiring the whereabouts of the gold and the Arkenstone. Now, I ask you cousins, "Thrain looked at Oin, Gloin, Balin, and Dwalin. "If you're a Durin guard, you would know, under oath, the location of the gold and the Stone wouldn't you?" the cousins smiled and nodded.
The guard paled as he glanced over to where Gul Mored stood.
"Let me ask you, who are you? Who do you really work for?" Thrain asked him sternly.
The guard shook his head.
"Very well. Guards! Take him to the dungeons, he will be sentenced to death in the morn by beheading." Thrain had raised his hand up and was about to put it down as a final gesture when said guard looked at Mored, "He made me do it!"
Gul Mored sputtered as he came forward, "Look here Thrain! I did not! He would accuse a King! Guards take him away! Do as your King bid!" The guards came and dragged the man who was screaming curses and foul words at Gul Mored but he paid him no heed.
"Well, that was unfortunate. Why would I want to do that? I want to foster a good alliance with you, Thrain. A good alliance." Mored was waving his hands about him. "I want to make good the contract our fathers had signed. I feel it is important for our kingdoms, eh Thrain?"
Thrain did not answer.
"And this union?"
Mored glanced at his daughter, "Gruffidel? Well, she still wants this union. She is still young and a maiden and…"
"Ahem…if I may, your Majesties…"Dwalin stepped forward, his face was red but determined.
"Father! Now is not the time to talk about the union!" Gruffidel tried to pull at her sire's plump sleeve but he was shaking his head, "Not now, my dearest, I'm trying to work out for your best interest and future, just stay back." He tried to brush her off.
Thrain frowned as he was getting a head sore with so much talking about him.
He stood up and in a loud voice, "Silence!"
Everyone obeyed him, even Gul Mored.
"Good," Thrain smiled. "Now, Dwalin you may address the Halls first. I would like to hear what you have to say?"
Dwalin stood before Thrain nodded, "Thank you, your Majesty. I just want to point out to his Majesty, Gul Mored that his daughter is not a maiden."
"WHAT!" Gul Mored screeched as he turned to face his daughter.
"Wha…What is the meaning of this! Thrain! Your people dare sullied my daughter's honor?" Queen Pri waddled before the King.
Thrain nodded at Dwalin, "Care to explain?"
Dwalin nodded and with Balin and his two other cousins as witnesses, explained to them the incident the night before. Gruffidel's face was as red as crimson with shame when Dwalin was done. Her father and mother's faces were furiously red with embarrassment.
Thorin was smiling, he reminded himself to thank his cousin for his 'bad feeling' and how right he was. Lee arched a brow at her husband as she smiled widely. Thorin held her hands tightly as she whispered to him, "You owe your cousin a lot of gold for saving your beautiful behind."
Thorin laughed as he nodded, "I might offer him the hand of the Princess Gruffidel, if he'll have her later."
Lee laughed heartily as she bent her head into the crook of his neck.
Gruffidel embarrassment turned to anger when she saw their intimate gesture; she thought she should be the one that should be standing close to the prince, not that metal maker daughter!
She stomped her feet within her gown but no one paid her any attention.
"Gul Mored, I think we do not have any more transaction to conduct. If you would, we do have personal family matters to attend to."Thrain said.
Gul glared at Thrain but the expression was wasted as Thrain had turned his attention to other matters.
"Very well, Thrain, I will return when the time is right. The contract, Thrain, remember, the contract." Mored patted his breast pocket again.
Lee leaned over to Thrain and whispered something to him and then straightened again.
"Mored, before you leave, I would like to see this contract again, if it you don't mind." Thrain requested.
Mored eyed him narrowly, Pri came to stand beside him and they talked for a moment. Mored shook his head, then finally nodded.
"Very well, no tricks." Mored warned him.
Thrain arched a brow at him, "Now, what kind of tricks would I employ?"
"You might alter the contract or something."
"I most certainly will not!" Thrain exclaimed angrily at him.
"Very well, but we will look at it on a table." Mored said suspiciously.
"Very well." Thrain said. He wanted to say more, but held his tongue.
They all moved to the dining Halls, now cleared of dishes and such.
The Nogrods stood on one side of the long table while the Durin family stood on the opposite side. Thrain and Nur were standing next to Lee, who was standing beside Thorin and then his brother and cousins.
Mored removed the old parchment paper from his breast pocket and spread it out on the flat surface of the table.
Lee began to read the writings; it was in Cirth. It was written as such :
King Thror II was most grateful to Gul Morel IV whose service to the Durin during the civil war was received with gratitude and in return would reward him his daughter's hand in wedded union and the share of Durin's gold if it was found. The Arkenstone as well, would be equally shared.
Signed Thror II of Durin
And Gul Morel IV of the Nogrol
As Lee read it, she saw the errors and smiled. Then she looked up and said to Thrain.
"Your Majesty, if you would have a servant brought forth a blank parchment, inkpot and a quill?"
Thrain nodded and turned to a servant with Lee's strange request.
While they waited, Lee turned back to Thrain and asked him,
"Sir, your father, King Thror was he King Thror I or II?"
Thrain looked at the old parchment and then at her and grinned and replied, "He was Thror I."
Thorin, at first was puzzled, saw the contract and began to smile but he was still puzzled as to what she wanted with the other items.
As soon as the servant came back with the requested items. Lee walked to the end of the table as she placed the blank parchment and inkpot asked him to write the word Durin on the blank parchment, which he did so. Satisfied, Lee turned to Gul Mored and asked him to write the Nogrod's word.
Of course Mored protested as Thrain laughed, "Come on Mored, a simple word. Surely you can write your ancestral name."
Mored turned to Lee who was holding the quill, snatched it from her hand and dipped it roughly into the inkpot and tried to look over the parchment and began to write, shakily, the word, Norgrol. Not Nogrod.
Everyone, in the Durin family saw it, and gasped, and began to chuckle.
"What? What is so amusing?" Mored asked angrily as his wife and daughter looked confused.
Then Thrain turned to his guards, "Guards, kindly get these people out of the palace and those so-call servants with them as well."
"Yes, your Majesty!" his guards came around to obey his orders.
Mored, still confused tried to protest at being manhandled, "What is the meaning of this?"
"Meaning? Why, whoever you are, you are not a Nogrod. You just wrote Nogrol. You did not put the two slash across the here. You don't know the Nogrod's name."Thrain paused.
"I don't know who you are," Thrain continued. "But your charade is over. I'm giving you a chance to leave here and never darken the Durin Halls ever again. Next time, there will be no leniency on you or your family. Do I make myself clear?"
Gruffidel, angry that her family was exposed, in desperation grabbed one of the guards' short sword and ran after at an unsuspecting Queen Nur who had her back to the whole thing but Lee saw sudden movement turned and saw Gruffidel holding the sword up as she was about to strike the queen, instinctively raise her own hand up to block the blow as her palm was sliced by the sword.
"LEE!" She heard her name as she fell backwards but as the sword continued to come down at her, Lee twisted her body over quickly to her left and began to get up using her bloodied hand on the wall as support as she tried to get away from Gruffidel, she braced herself from Gruffidel's next attack . But it never came. Lee turned to look and saw five pairs of daggers sticking on Gruffidel's body. She lay dead as the sword clattered loudly on the bare floor. Lee looked over to where Thorin and his four cousins, their breath barely heaving as they looked at her in shock. Thorin rushing toward her as she ran to him, they held onto each other hard.
"Gruffidel!" Pri screamed her name as she ran to her body. Pri sobbed hard as she gathered her dead daughter to her.
Mored was nowhere to be found.
"Guards, get them out of here…"
"Your Majesty…Look!" A guard was pointing at the wall.
Everyone looked at the direction the guard was pointing, it was the bloody wall Lee had smeared while she getting up; her blood had been absorbed into the wall and now words began to appear!
The words looked imprinted into wall now and everyone could read it;
King Mon I of the Nogrod defeated in the civil war against the Durins, willingly accept all blame for the deaths of his people. From this day forth, he will no longer seek the fortunes belonging to Durin and his descendents thereof.
The Arkenstone, previously known as the Járkarstân also is and always have been the rightful owner of the Durin heir and family. The Nogrods or any of its descendents will never pursue or claim any part of the Járkarstân.
Only the true heir of the Nogrods will reveal this contract for all to see and to reveal the true intent that any descendent of the Nogrods will not break this treaty. Unless, the Durins and the Nogrods entered an alliance amicably shall this treaty be voided.
Signed King Durin IV of the Durin
Signed Gul Mon I of the Nogrods
…
"Lee…the carved contract, it's here. We found it. Nay, you found it. Wait…your blood...it revealed the secret. It says that only the true heir will reveal this contract. That means you are a …" Thorin was staring at her in amazement.
"I'm a Nogrod? "
…
End of Chapter 27