Coming Of Age – Chapter 38
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Durin's Day. A day was celebration for all the folks of Dale and Erebor.
A huge feast was set up in the palace in honor of Thorin's and ThoraLee's union. Well, as everyone knew they were wedded, this was their 'official' union day.
Also on this day, King Thrain announced to all that JoraLee was officially recognized as the rightful heir and King of Nogrods and ThoraLee the Queen Regent. Thorin was now acknowledged as Prince Regent to ThoraLee.
The twins had decided to choose for the Nogrods new colors of green and amber, a match to their eyes.
At first they could not think of any colors the twins could agree upon until finally in frustration, Thorin, who was glaring at her, saw her eyes and blurted the colors of them. Thinking that they would argue about it but the twins found that they really liked the colors. So now, the twins, regally attired in green and amber that matched their eyes stood before the astonished people of Dale as they bowed to them.
The Durin family wore their gold and blue with the gold helmet and gold anvil of Durin, stood with them.
It was a simple yet grand ceremony. The wedding was even more expected by the people of Dale for they all thought Thorin and Lee made a perfect couple.
As they sat in the Grand Halls in Erebor, everyone, of course, was invited to the palace. But the guests of honor to the ceremony were none other than little Bels and Nuin. They were in their best clothing made, of course by Bels' mother.
Little Bels' dress was a pale green long flair sleeves with wide skirts. Nuin's was a pale green tunic with black pants, a smaller version of what the Princes were wearing.
ThoraLee's wedding gown was green and amber with gold and sapphire lining along the hems of the bottom of the gown and the edge of her long sleeves. JoraLee was similarly attired but only green and amber with black pants.
Dis was in a happy mood to see so many people around her, she was under the watchful gaze of her nurse while Nur enjoyed the feast.
Earlier that morning, Lee and Jor along with Thrain, Nur, Thorin and Frerin and sign a long agreement, whereby if anything happened to the twins, Thrain would have the authority to take over the reign of the Nogrods. After Thrain, came Thorin, then Frerin, then Dis with Nur's overseeing her until she reached her adult age of 81, and which ever children Nur had here after.
If JoraLee were to wed and had children, they would be heir to the Throne of the Nogrods.
If ThoraLee and Thorin had children before Jora produced children, Lee's children would inherit the Throne.
If Jor and Lee had children at the same time, ThoraLee insisted that JoraLee's children inherit the Throne.
It was a very long Will but it had to be worded carefully and precisely so there would be no contest to the will in the future from anyone, any children who were not Nogrods. It was an ironclad Will.
Both royal families signed the Will, witnessed by the four cousins. It was then put in the safe compartment where the Arkenstone was kept in Nur's quarters.
Back at the feast, Thorin was grinning happily. Now everyone, everywhere knew he was wedded to his ThoraLee.
He felt as if he was newly wedded to her!
"You look simply beautiful tonight, rúzín." He rasped as he found he couldn't keep his eye from her, he picked up her hand and began kissing her knuckles. "When can we leave?" He said softly to her.
Lee's cheeks were inflamed as she said, "The feast just began, Khazad-zukin!" She tightened their hands.
"Maybe if we leave unnoticed…"
"Thorin!" Balin smacked his back as he came to see him and Lee to offer a toast to them.
Frowning, he picked up his goblet and accepted his toast and drank with his cousin.
Lee leaned over and whispered to him, "Be nice." And drank to Balin's toast.
Soon after, one by one Dwalin, Oin, Gloin, Frerin, and Jor toasted to the happy couple.
Thorin was rubbing her leg while they were toasting them so softly yet teasingly that Lee was beginning to feel the urge to rush everyone away too!
Then Thorin began to lean close to her so that his arm was pressing the side of her breast, so much so that she began to press against him as well while she stared at him, her green eye darkened to match his eyes.
"Thorin…"She whispered urgently at him. "I can't wait…" She was tightening her hold on his hand.
Thorin swallowed hard as he nodded and looked around and saw that everybody was busily talking and they didn't seem to be paying much attention to them so…
"Come on...if dash away now." Thorin stood up and held his hand out to her and she quickly grabbed it. They looked around and began to walk towards the direction of their quarters when a good natured merchant from Dale came up and congratulated to the couple. Thorin and Lee thanked them and trying not to sound rude, they tried to inch their way away from him but the man was a talker, and he kept talking to them as Thorin and Lee nodded at him politely but not exactly listening to him as they kept moving.
Then another, and another…
All through the evening, they were stalled from heading to their quarters.
Finally as the hour was drawing late, the citizens began to leave, Thorin and Lee were able to more than four paces without being stopped by someone as they glanced at each other and hurried along.
Smiling happily they ran along the hallways leading to their doors and found the handles did not move.
Thorin turned it again, it wouldn't budge. Lee tried it, it didn't work for her either.
"I bet Jor has something to do with this!" Lee exclaimed.
"Your bedroom!" Thorin looked along the hallways to their left, to another set of doors.
She smiled as they headed back and tried the handles; it didn't budge.
Frustrated, Thorin glared at her, "I'm going to find him, and make him open the doors. Wait here."
She nodded.
He ran down the stairs to the guest rooms where Jor was staying but there was no one within.
He thought maybe, his brother Frerin was involved in this, after all those two had become thick as thieves!
Thorin tried Frerin's quarters; no one was there either.
Where could the two be? He decided to return to his quarters.
"I can't find Jor or Frerin." He shook his head.
"What about your living quarters?" Lee suggested.
He nodded and together, they headed along.
When they arrived there, the doors were closed and locked as well.
Thorin was feeling extremely angry, "This is both our brothers, I just know it."
He walked back to his rooms and began banging against the doors with his shoulders.
"Be careful, dear…I don't want you hurt on our wedded eve." She grinned.
"I'm fine. When I have this confounded door opened, I'll make sure you and I are the only ones that have the keys to this room as well as yours. Blasted Frerin! And Jora!" He exclaimed loudly.
Lee shook her head as Thorin continued to bang against the door until it finally crash opened! Thorin fell within as the door broke down completely.
"Well, at least you managed to get it opened." She helped him propped the door back on its frame.
As they entered, they realized something else was not right …through the weak moonlight streaming in from the tall windows, they saw the room was completely bare! All the furniture was removed! Thorin's bed, dresser, desk, chair, everything was gone.
"Dear me!" Lee was laughing as she looked about her, her laughter echoing around her in the empty room, making her laughed more.
"This is not funny Lee!" Thorin walked about him as he tried the connecting door and found it unlocked, he walked through and shook his head, his hands on his hips.
Lee had walked into her room and looked about her; her bedroom was bare as well.
"Where do you suppose we shall sleep tonight?" Thorin raised his arms about him.
"We can go to one of the guests' rooms or here on the floor." She suggested.
"My wife will not be sleeping on a hard floor on her first wedded night." He pointed as he gathered her to him.
"Your wife does not mind where she lay as long as she is with her wedded husband."
"To the guest room then." He released her but held on to her hand as he pulled her along.
But that proved to be not an easy task for all the guests' rooms were locked as well!
"Wait, did you not say you went to Jor's room? And Frerin's room?" Lee asked.
Thorin smiled, "Yes and they were unlocked, come, let's go!"
Laughing they ran until they reached the closest on which was Jor's…of course, it was…locked.
"Let's try Frerin's, although I suspect it is probably locked as well." Thorin said.
Five minutes later, they found that it was.
"What now? I am up for any suggestion, and I am getting wary of this. I am ready to just lay right here." Thorin said.
Lee walked to him and laid her head on his shoulder, "I am too."
Thorin was thinking of several ways of skinning both their brothers when suddenly he remembered the one room he hoped they had not thought of!
"Lee, I just remembered the one place no one knew there was a bed."
Lee looked at him with a frown, she couldn't think of one.
"Come with me, you will soon know." He grinned as he grabbed a wall torch and began to descend the stairs.
Lee smiled when she saw where he was headed to.
"The basemen!" She exclaimed.
Thorin looked back to her and nodded, "They would not know about it."
Hand in hand, they made their way down several stairs until they came upon the landing leading to the door.
Thorin tried the handle, and it was unlock!
Lee giggled excitedly; finally they had outsmarted them!
Thorin quickly lit the wall torches and soon the room was softly lit as they stared at the bed as though it was beckoning to them.
Lee smiled shyly at it as she recalled those late night she had lain with him. She glanced up and saw that Thorin was recalling those days as well, his eyes were darkening as he watched her intently.
"My beautiful ThoraLee," he whispered softly as he raised his hand and stroked her cheek gently, he saw her green eye darkening.
He picked her up and lain her on the bed and lying with her, he leaned down and kissed her softly. "Rúzín…"
She nodded as she raised her hand and stroked his beard, "Khazad- zukin."
Kissing her deeply, he held her hand up above her head, she tightened their hold as she responded to his passionate kisses, "I love you Thorin, eternally."
"And I love you, my ThoraLee…forever till the end."
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The next morn…
"They are not in there?" Frerin poked his head in and shook his head.
"Nay, the door is broken though," Jor looked at the broken door in wonder as it was quite a thick piece of wood. "He was determined to get in."
Frerin looked at the splintered hinges, "Father will not be pleased when he finds out."
"What the…?" the younger dwarves turned around suddenly to find their four cousins staring at the crooked door. "What happened? Did they have another physical altercation?" Gloin's eyes were wide as saucers.
Frerin and Jor shrugged, "We played a prank on them last night. But as for this physical altercation…I don't think they fought, well…they are not within."
The cousins hurried within the room and saw it was barren.
"Where are the furniture? Where is Thorin's bed?" Balin turned to Frerin and Jor.
The two grinned, "We hid them."
"How did you…no, I don't want to know. Where are they?" Oin demanded.
Jor shrugged, "We do not know, they are not here, nor in Lee's room."
"Wait, did you two hide her things too?"
The two nodded.
"Of all..! Great Mahal!" Oin was sputtering as he shook his head. "You two shall find them, then, you will put their things back in their rooms or your father will hear about it!"
Frerin and Jor slumped their shoulders, "But we don't know where they went?"
"What about the guests rooms?" Dwalin suggested.
Jor shook his head, "We locked all the doors."
"All of it?" They nodded guiltily.
"My word! Where could they be?" Dwalin began to look panicked.
"I'm sure they will show up eventually." Frerin offered.
"Let's go, I'm hungry." Dwalin said.
Balin glared at his brother, "Really, Thorin and Lee are missing and all you can think is your stomach."
"I can't think on an empty stomach."
"Well, I'm hungry too." Jor said. "I'm sure they had a late night."
"For your sake, they better be all right." Balin glared at the two. "All right, let's go eat. I'm getting hungry too."
Gloin and Oin shook their heads at the two young dwarves before they turned and headed to the Dining Halls.
Of course when they arrived at the Dining Halls, Thorin and Lee were not there.
Thrain and Nur, however, were breaking their fast.
The six dwarves sat quietly down as the servants served their breakfasts.
They were quiet as they ate.
Thrain looked at one by one suspiciously but could not find anything the matter until he looked closely at his youngest son who looked guilty as he tried to eat.
"Frerin," Thrain began, Frerin almost jumped out of his seat as he looked at his sire. "Why, what is the matter with you?"
"Me? Nothing Father, nothing is the matter. Is something the matter?" Frerin dropped his fork and nervously picked it back up.
Nur looked closely at her son as well, then at Jor and saw he too wore the same look. "Hmmm…What is going on?"
The cousins did not look up as they kept their heads down as they busily ate.
"STOP!" Thrain exclaimed loudly. The cousins stopped eating as they looked at Thrain apprehensively.
"What. Is. Going. On? And don't tell me nothing, all of you have never eaten so quietly before. There is mischief abound and about, and it has all your names on it. I want to know or you'll be mucking pony stalls for the rest of the week, all of you."Thrain threatened.
The cousins shook their heads and pointed at Frerin and Jor, "Ask those two, your Majesty."
Thrain looked at Jor and then at Frerin.
"JoraLee?" Thrain prompted.
Jor looked at Thrain with an arched brow, "We locked Thorin and Lee out of their rooms."
"What?" Nur exclaimed.
Quickly, the two mischief makers told them what they had done the night before.
"All their furniture?" Nur whispered in disbelief. They nodded.
"Dear Mahal!" She paled as she shook her head. "Where are they now?"
Jor glanced over to Frerin, "We don't know. They were not in their rooms, as we hoped they would be."
"What ever possess you two to do such a thing to your brother and sister? On their wedded night?" Thrain shook his head as he rubbed his face slowly.
Jor and Frerin did not answer as they kept their heads down.
"Are you sure you locked all the guests' rooms?" Nur asked, just to be sure.
They nodded.
"Where could Thorin…?" Nur did not finish her query as the two 'missing' people finally made their appearance holding hands, looking happily at everyone.
Thorin and Lee greeted them happily as he held her chair out for her. And then he sat next to her.
"Where…how..?" Frerin looked at his brother as he couldn't' continue his sentence.
Thorin arched a brow at his younger brother and said, "Why Frerin, you looked perturb, what is the matter with you?"
"Did you sleep well, brother?"
"Of course I did!" He looked at his wife lovingly. Lee returned his look softly.
"On a bed?" Jor asked.
"Jor!" Lee exclaimed at her brother.
"I..I..mean did you sleep on a bed?"
"Jor, that is not appropriate to ask."Balin shook his head.
"She knows what I mean."
Thorin nodded at Jor, "Yes, we did sleep on a bed, after spending half the eve looking for one but you and my brother overlooked one place. And no, I am not telling you two where it is."
Lee nodded her head in agreement.
Frerin and Jor exchanged looks and shrugged their shoulders, they knew their plans had failed.
"Ah well, sis, we tried."
"I know Jor, better luck next time." She eyed him and grinned.
…..
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End of Chapter 38