So sorry for the slow update! Work was crazy this last week...Some fluff to lighten the mood. A longer chapter than usual.
The first years after the queens death passed slowly. The dwarves of the Blue Mountains looked upon their king in worry, seeing more grey streaks in his hair every month and never seeing him smile again. Thorin had become like one of the stone statues guarding the gates. Sometimes, Balin found him in his rooms, speaking to himself. The old advisor worried, but as he talked to Dis, the king´s sister smiled secretly. Thorin and Dis had bonded even more in their shared grief, for both had lost their loves in life. Dis knew about Brann and sometimes, Brann could make herself noticeable by sending breezes through Dis´s hair or over her face. Her connection to the world of the living was stronger now that she had the practise. In the beginning, she only stayed with Thorin for a third of a day, but with the years, her soul grew stronger. Brann was not strong enough to hold the connection to more than one person at once. When she spoke to Thorin and communicated with Dis, she often had to regenerate for long moments afterwards.
Now, Thorin was in bed after a long and straining day. He held the necklace in his hands and smiled as Brann joined him in his mind.
It is boring here. Thorin chuckled as Brann sighed.
'Can I do something?' Thorin whispered into the dark.
Do you have something particular in mind? Brann asked playfully.
'What did we use to do...in the past?' Thorin winced as he adressed this painful topic. Brann was silent for a long time, but then she laughed quietly.
We used to talk until we almost fell asleep. Then you woke me up placing kisses onto every inch of skin you could reach. Afterwards...well, after...you know, I was either that tired that I fell asleep or I was wide awake. You sang to me when I could not sleep. Branns voice drifted into a sad tone. You have not sung to me for so long.
'I can sing for you now.' Thorin mumbled.
Humming...
'I beg your pardon?' Thorin smiled into the dark.
Once, many years ago, you sang a song about Misty Montains and gold. It was a sad song, but it was so beautiful. You hummed the refrain...I never forgot...your humming had sent shivers through my body...Brann paused. Thorin could feel a light weight on his chest, it felt as if Brann had snuggled against him.
'Alright...' Thorin chuckled. He began humming the song of the Misty Mountains and put his love for his wife into every single tone. The necklace glowed in his hand and a strange feeling of warmth flowed up his arm and into his heart. It was comforting, but it was not enough. Thorin fell asleep after his voice became hoarse from the pain and grief. He was dreaming of Erebor that night. He wandered the halls of green marble and walked into the throne room. Everything looked like it it had been before Smaug had come. As he lifted his gaze towards the throne, he could see no arkenstone above it, but he could see Brann standing beside the throne, clad in her royal outfit in Durin blue and wearing her crown. She was young again and smiled at him as he approached her. She held out her hand for him, but before he could touch her, Thorin woke up.
Thorin was tired and grumpy as he walked into council. Balin and Dwalin looked at him in worry. Thorin was grumpy and ill tempered since Branns death, but today he also looked pained. Balin winced as he remembered where he had senn this pain last. In the eyes of Thrain. After Thorins mother had died. Thrain had never been the same again. Even his children had not been enough to pull him out of his grief. Balin had witnessed this once and he would be damned if he let that happen again.
The time passed and before Thorin knew it, the royal twins celebrated their sixtieth birthday. By now it was obvious that the twins aged more like dwarves. Oin was sure that they would also have the lifespan of dwarves, much to Thorins relief. He was not sure if he could cope with another loss so soon. But today, the mountain celebrated the birthday of the royal twins. Belladonna had come to visit, as well as Dwana and Nain. They had come to visit for the twins birthdays with an armed caravan from the Iron Hills. Dain, Thorin Stonehelm and Mya excused themselves, but they had to react to the threats from the East. The Easterlings had become bold and the dwarves of the Iron Hills had to demonstrate strength to not be evils next victim.
Thorin sat at the huge table with Dis, Dwana, Dara, Levek and his daughters, as well as Fili, Kili, Gimli, Thror and Nain. He suddenly felt old.
You are still the best looking dwarf at this table...in this room...no wait! In Middle Earth! An amused voice sounded in his head. Thorin could not fight a slightly smug expression and nearly grinned as Brann scolded him for it. He nearly missed Dwanas stories from the Iron Hills.
'Do you believe it? There are merchants everywhere! They even follow you to your rooms and harass you until you shut the door!' Dwana shook her head. 'Once, I wanted to surprise Thorin and I opened the door, naked...I swear you will never see one of these sneaky merchants in our wing again...'
Dis, Dwana and Dara roared of laughter while Thorin would have loved to cover his ears. The youth had not payed any attention and for that, Thorin was thankful. Dwalin chocked on his ale from his place behind the king and glared at his daughter with a scolding look. He did not want to hear such things about his little daughter.
At the same time, Gwen was fighting her own battle. Two female dwarves from Ered Luin had tracked her down and had forced her into a females conversation. They were barely older than Gwen, but they thought that they had it all. Worse, they thought that Gwen had nothing, due to her human heritage.
'I had classes with master Keiron.' one of them bragged. 'He is the oldest and wisest scolar south of the Iron Hills. Where did you get your education, lady Gwen?'
'I got my education in Attika.' Gwen rolled her eyes.
'But...Attika is a school for males!' the other ladies exclaimed and starred at Gwen as if she was mad.
'I know, I was there for a year before they found out.' Gwen grumbled and enjoyed her prank on the two snobs.
'Anyway...' the blonde lady of Ered Luin tried to change the subject. 'My husband and I are trying for another dwarfling. We were so lucky that we already have little Damir.'
'My husband and I take our time.' the other one answered. 'We do not want to rush anything. What about you, Gwen darling? Is there a special someone in your life?'
'No.' Gwen answered and resisted the urge to roll her eyes as the other two ladies exclaimed their pity in a big and loud Awwwwwwww.
'Do not worry, Gwen darling, one day you will find a nice dwarf who is willing to marry you.' the blonde one remarked arrogantly and something inside of Gwen snapped.
'You know, I think its remarkable that you two are still friends. I would never forgive my friend if she had snogged with my husband.' Gwen remarked cooly and looked at the blonde lady. She had talked to Nori this evening and had learned some juicy things about their kin in Ered Luin. She had not planned to use this information, but the two arrogant ladies were beginning to go on her nerves.
'My husband?' You and my husband?!' the blonde one snarled and glared at her former friend.
'I thought you knew? Upsss...' Gwen rolled her eyes and left the conversation before it would get out of hand. Nori waited for her behind a pillar and shook his head.
'Nice.' he commented and earned a grin from the princess.
'They deserved it.' Gwen snarled. 'And the blonde´s husband deserves it, too. Males are scum.'
'Tss, tsss, tsss, princess.' Nori shook his head with a wide grin. 'You will find your match.'
Laughing quietly, Nori disappeared before Gwen could throw something at him. The princess walked back to the table to have some cake as Zial unpacked one of Thrors presents. It was a book about medical herbs from Gondor. It was one of the books Zial had wanted to have for years, but the markets had not offered this one. Thror had talked to one of the merchants of men from Gondor to get one of those books. He had packed the book into dark lavender colored paper and had wrapped it with silver bands. He knew exactly what Zial liked without asking. Gwen was not the only one who realised that.
Little Thror loves our daughter. Thorin nearly jumped several feet high as he heard this sentence in his head. Do not panic, dear husband. This is a good thing. Look how happy she is...
Thorin frowned deeply as Zial hugged Thror and watched Daras son blush furiously. Promise me that you will let him live. Brann whispered in Thorins head and the king felt a soft breeze near his temple. We will see, he thought grimly.
It is a gift...to grow old with someone who takes care of you. Who makes you a better person. Who keeps you from stumbling in life. Branns voice sounded in Thorins head. I wanted to be this person for you and I am sorry that I left too soon. I am so sorry.
Don't be. Thorin closed his eyes and focused on the people at his table. None of them noticed his inner turmoil. Brann would always be the one who would look out for him. Even if she was not really there.
Meanwhile, Dwana and Dara were talking about their husbands. Levek was about to leave the room to drink with Bofur. He did not feel comfortable around royalty. He said goodbye to his son and the other dwarflings.
'Levek is in his midlife crisis.' Dara complained halfheartedly. 'He actually dyed his grey hair! I was responsible for this grey hair and they were mine to remove!' she exclaimed and made Dis laugh.
'By Durin, is he wearing Thrors tunic?' Dis asked Dara as Levek passed them clad in a tunic a tiny bit too small.
'Nope.' Dara smirked lovingly. 'But the tunic caresses his hard abs and his toned muscles.'
The ladies started chuckling again and Thorin felt out of place. He thought that Levek looked dashy in his tunic. The dwarf was in a good shape, why not show it? As Thorin heard laughter in his head he rolled his eyes.
Thorin was about to leave, as an old council member blocked his path and practically shoved a young female dwarf into his arms. The king could actually hear Brann frown and smirked. The council had proposed a new marriage to Thorin a few years ago, not out of disrespect for Brann, but out of fear for their king´s sanity. In dwarven terms, Thorin was not old yet and the other dwarves wanted him to find comfort in a female's arms. Thorin had nearly suffered a stroke as Brann had started to yell and curse in his head. Lateron, his wife apologised and quietly told him that if he wanted to, he could take another wife. She only wanted him to be happy. Thorin had closed his eyes and had tried to imagine Brann in his arms. Never he would take another wife. His heart belonged to his wife, as well as his body and soul.
The king looked the young dwarf up and down and frowned. She was neither beautiful nor elegant and she looked back at him with huge frightened eyes. Her father left her with the king and the poor thing did not utter a single word. With a sigh, Thorin walked her to the buffet and offered her a muffin. It showed then, that the young dwarf was also clumsy. One of the muffins slipped out of her hands and as she tried to catch it, she smashed it right into Thorins face. Thorin could only glare at her and as the girl tried to get the icing out of the king´s face, she only made it worse. Soon, Thorins face was covered in icing. Thorin nearly went insane from the loud laughter in his head.
Oh! That one is great! I like her!
I think Thror will soon start to court our daughter. Thorin could hear Brann rub her hands in anticipation. Over my dead body, he thought and swore that he felt a slap at the back of his head. Soon, she will be grown up, with a dwarf husband at her side who loves her and with many many dwarflings...
'To Mordor with that! Nobody will have sex under my mountain!' Thorin exclaimed before he could help it. As he realised what he had said he did not even have to wait for Brann to laugh, he had to laugh himself. Dis, who had entered his room, smiled at the sight of her brother laughing. She had to remember this, because it did not happen much in the last years.
In fact, Dis worried about Thorin. Her brother had begun to send out scouts for his father. Thrain had gone missing decades ago, but his body was never found. Thorin was sure that their father was still alive and was almost obsessed with the search for him. One day, Thorin would leave his mountain to search for him himself and Dis already dreaded that day. But not today.
'Thorin, brother, will you accompany me to the training ground?' Dis asked quietly. 'Our dwarflings are training and we have not watched their progress in a long time.'
Thorin nodded slowly and followed his sister to the lower levels. As they reached the arena, Dwalin was kicking Fili and Kilis behinds. The two young dwarves were panting heavily, but the captain of the guard did not even sweat. The older dwarf threw insults at the heirs of Durin and Dis winced.
'We should tell Kili that the oh so brave captain fainted during his birth.' she remarked, smiling at the memory. 'Maybe that will shut him up.'
'He is trying to awaken the boy´s fighting spirit.' Thorin told his sister and smiled at her frown as Dwalin said something about the boy´s mother. He wondered how long it would take until Dis would kick Dwalins behind out of the arena. He was about to tell his sister to calm down as he noticed two dwarves standing behind a nearby pillar. A cold shiver ran down his spine and he walked closer. He jumped as Brann suddenly talked to him.
Do not go there! Brann warned him, but the king did not listen. As he walked around the pillar he froze. 'YOU!' he shouted and charged at Thror, who was kissing his little Zial. 'Get off her this instant! Who do you think you are?!'
'I am the one courting your daughter.' Thror tried to defend himself, but he only made things worse.
'You are courting my daughter and did not ask for my permission?!' Thorin roared and stomped forward. He could feel a cold breeze tug at his hair, but he ignored it. Zial stepped into her fathers way before he reached her beloved.
'Adad. We would have told you after the year of courting was over. This is our business alone!' Zial tried to sound calm, but she was nervous. She looked at the empty space around her father, hoping to catch her mothers presence.
'I will not let you being courted by some...miner´s boy!' Thorin yelled and heard Brann gasp. In reality he did not care for the rank of Zials future partner, but Thorin would not accept Thror as his possible son in law easily.
'My mother is of high birth, no matter what you did to her!' Thror dared to throw into Thorins face and the king could hear Brann sigh in defeat. Stupid boy.
'You and me. Arena.' Thorin growled at Thror and smirked as the boy paled.
'No! Adad! This is ridiculous!' Zial tried to intervene, but it was too late. She silently asked her mother for help, but only a cool breeze moved over her head, in a comforting way.
Thror followed the king, eager to prove his worth. He would never win against Thorin in a fight, but he would not recoil like a coward.
'Are you willing to fight for her?' Thorin asked Thror mockingly.
'Zial is not a prize to be won.' Thror answerd and Thorin smirked. Correct answer.
Brann was awfully quiet in his head and Thorin resisted the urge to aks her what was wrong. He threw a wooden sword into Thrors arms and took an offensive position.
'Defend yourself, then.' Thorin smirked and attacked.
Blow after blow rained down on Thror, who had difficulties defending himself against the taller, stronger and determinated king. Unlike Dwalin, Thorin also used his head while fighting. His fighting style was not one of pure strength and brutality, it was also thought through. Thror struggled and cursed as the king's sword scrapped his arm. But he did not give up.
Zial was standing at the rim of the arena, with her hands covering her mouth. Soon, the whole royal family and also Thrors parents watched the fight. Levek was about to give the king a piece of his mind, but Dara held him back. She knew that it was Thrors fight to win.
He fights well. I think that he would be perfect for Zial. Thorin growled into his beard and grumbled his answer silently.
'He is Daras son. He will never be good enough for our daughter.' Thorin grinded his teeth and swung his sword at Thror, who barely ducked.
He is a good dwarf. And he loves Zial. Also, she loves him. Who are you to deny her her happiness?
Brann sounded sad and Thorin bit his lip. He had to admit that he liked Thror. Thror was honorable, honest and loyal. He was more like his father than like his mother. And even Thorin, in his stubborness, could see that he loved Zial. A blow near to his head made him realise that he was musing and not focusing on the fight.
Look at our daughter. She fears for you both. She does not want either of you to lose because she loves both of you.
Thorin turned to Zial who looked back at him with big eyes. In this moment, Thorin could see it. He could see the concern in her eyes and the love she felt for her father and her love. Her eyes reminded him so much of Branns that he let his guard slip. Thrors attack surprised him and the experienced warrior king stumbled. He could have regained control, but suddenly, Thorin knew what to do. He lowered his sword and gave Thror the opportunity to strike. And so he did. Thror blew the sword out of Thorins hands and held the pointy end to the king's chest. A surprised groaning went to the crowd of onlookers. The boy had defeated their king!
'You win, master Thror.' Thorin panted lightly.
Thror looked at him as if he could not believe what just happened. He did not say a word, not even as Zial ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
'I deem you worthy to take care of my gem. Do not betray my trust.' Thorin told the young dwarf and walked out of the arena. He could see Dis and Dwalin smirk. Of course, the two knew what he had done, they knew that he had lost on purpose, for they knew him too well.
Thorin felt a soft breeze at the back of his head, but as he turned around, he felt real arms wrap around his neck.
'Thank you, adad.' Zial whispered into his ear and hugged her father tightly. 'I love you.' Of course she knew, too.
The king smiled and pressed his daughter close. 'I love you, too, my gem.'
He watched Zial run back to Thror and nodded at him, receiving an understanding nod back. Zial would be in good hands, he was sure of it.
You are the best adad I could have wished for my daughters... I love you.
Again, the king smiled at his wife's words.