.
THE COURTSHIP OF THE SPARROW-HAWK
Chapter 18 – Commitments
.
It was days before the King's counselors requested an audience with the royal family—and in that time, Kili and Eila were content to keep to the privacy of their rooms. The outcome of the legal matter was irrelevant, Kili was determined to stand beside his beloved. What was truly at stake was where the happy couple would live out their days. With that being the most pressing question on his mind, Kili sought his brother for advice, but was startled by how difficult to find the dwarf made himself.
"Did you think he would sit idly by and let the courts decide your fate or your marriage?" Queen Nur answered after his fifth visit to his brother's office.
"He did once before," Kili said with no small amount of bitterness in his voice.
The Queen raised an eyebrow at him. "You're nervous. Don't let those nerves decide that your brother is to blame for your arranged marriage."
Kili shook his head, sighing in reluctance. "I know. I know. I handed that responsibility over to him, I'm aware." A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, and he added, "I wouldn't call it blame either. It'd be more like thanks."
"Ha!" Nur crossed her arms. "Your thanks would be misplaced…"
"My head is riddled with confusion," Kili shook his head again. "Thank you, Nur, for finding my One."
"You're welcome," She grinned with a bob of her head.
But the time for an audience with the King finally came and Eila gripped Kili's hands nervously, ducking behind him as much as she could manage while everyone stood around the table of the King's assembly table.
"This document is not fraudulent." King Fili held the paper above his head.
An eruption of low murmurs ran throughout the room.
"However," Fili raised a hand and all voices fell silent. "The signature is."
Bran looked flabbergasted, hands fidgeting in front of her.
"And the date has been conveniently corrected after minor disrepair to the parchment." Fili held out the document to a dwarf in spectacles standing beside him.
"I am Grom," The dwarf said simply. "And I have been a lawyer for two hundred years in the Blue Mountains. I have inspected this document more than a few times and have come to the conclusion that the signature is a very well-done forgery."
"That's a lie!" Bran shouted, pointing her finger at the lawyer. "What a pathetic attempt to persuade—"
"The lawyer from the Blue Mountains is not finished!" Fili raised his voice at her, fixing her with wide eyes. "And if you will not keep your mouth shut in respect, then at least keep it shut so as not to condemn yourself to further charges of misconduct."
Bran's mouth snapped shut.
"But it is such a forgery as cannot be made except by one with a similar name," The lawyer went on as though he hadn't been interrupted. "And we have summoned a witness to attest to this. Come forward, lad."
The lawyer opened his hand to wave it toward the crowd and all eyes turned to see who would step forward.
"I am Kili." The red-headed dwarf, no older than ninety, stood tall. His handsome beard was plated and rested on a broad chest. "Son of Mali. And though my name is similar to the Prince's," He bowed low in Kili's direction, "it is only in written form. The pronunciation, however, is much different—Kaeli."
Kili felt Eila's hand squeeze his elbow and he released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in.
"This fine lass," Kaeli went on to say, inclining his head toward Bran, "approached me about a year ago to begin a courtship. I'm a man of trade, but I'm not ignorant of the desire to have a family. I had no idea where she'd gone off to, not until I was summoned here. Lady Bran has deceived herself into believing she could accomplish something much bigger than her abilities. I ask you to treat her with the same decency as any other subject who has been led astray," His kind words were not lost on the crowd and even Bran looked absolutely ashamed, "and forgive her misconduct by way of penance made in marriage."
"Do you mean to say," All heads turned to the speaking Grom, "that you still wish to marry this…" He obviously wanted to use a foul word, "lass?"
"Do you intend to charge her for the crime of forgery as well as the breaking of an oath?" Kaeli asked calmly.
All heads turned to King Fili, who shook his head. "If you will have her, then I see no reason not to encourage her to fulfill her commitment to you."
Bran rose shakily to her feet, eyeing the red-headed Kaeli as though he were a servant of Morgoth come from the deepest pit to drag her down with him.
"Well, there you have it, Lady Bran." Fili crossed his arms, and Kili did not know how his brother was able to keep the smugness off of his face. "You have two choices. Either marry the honorable Kaeli and live out your days with him in the Blue Mountains, or else become a dung-shoveler in the service of Erebor's prisons." He sat down in his chair, ushering all others to sit as well. "It's your choice."
Kili and Eila had taken the cue to be seated along with the rest, but the shocked and mystified Bran stood where she was, biting her lip, eyes flitting between Fili and Kaeli.
Kaeli eyed her with gentleness and Kili immediately thought that the dwarf was too good for her.
"I will…" Bran curtseyed low, dropping her gaze to the floor. "I will go with my intended."
.
I'm sorry, guys, I don't know where else to go with this. I had intended to draw it out, giving it some breathing space between different conflicts, but honestly… The Hobbit fandom has burned me and I don't have much umph for it anymore. It's not any of you—holy canoli! No way, ya'll are the nicest fans around—it's the movies. I was so disappointed by the last movie that it killed my creativity in this area.
Now—That's not to say that I'm done with this story (heaven forbid! It's still got legs, so I intend to run a little longer) but I need help.
I need your help.
I need some happily ever after prompts—fluffy, happy, Eila/Kili, Fili/Nur ideas. All I need is a sentence and I can run with it. I promise, I'll give closure to this story, but like I said, I need help.