Ila was sitting up in bed, looking at the food the servant had brought and laid on the table. The mere smell of it was off putting. She was all by herself, Thorin having left to attend to his usual duties for the day and Dwala having taken her many dresses down stairs to wash and hang. It was painfully quiet as a result, and Ila turned back to the book in her lap, determined to make the time pass. It was written in Elvish, which she knew very little of, but had wanted to learn more. And if this was any indication of the amount of time she was going to have on her hands for the next six months, then she should be a prodigy by the time their little dwarf was born.
She flipped a few pages but could not get interested in it. She looked up and towards the door. Thorin had promised to send Kili to keep her company, but that had been three hours ago. She was sure he was busy, though she knew not with what. Now that she thought about it, she had little idea of how he spent his time. She knew he must be in the arena and then have breakfast, but what else did he do? Surely he had better things to do than keep her company. She hoped he was not put out that Thorin had told him he must pay her a visit. She was sure whatever he did it was more interesting than sitting with her, pregnant and practically an invalid as far as her husband was concerned it seemed.
Ila sighed and leaned back into the pillows. Dwala had helped her dress before she left, but Ila still felt poorly so she stayed in bed. She'd asked Dwala to bring Sam to her once she was done with the laundry and Sam had his walk. As Ila had guessed Thorin did not want to share quarters with a puppy, so Dwala let him sleep with her now. She missed her puppy, though he was growing so fast she wondered that he could be called that anymore.
A knock came at the door then and Ila sat up and straightened her clothes and hair to make sure she was presentable. Once she was satisfied, she called,
"Come in!" and sat straight against the headboard trying to look like a proper lady dwarf.
The doors opened and in walked Kili, looking around for her. When he spotted her he smiled widely and bowed lowly.
"Your highness," he said. "I am at your disposal, by order of the king." He said happily.
Ila smiled in return. "I do not wish you to be ordered here against your will for the sole purpose of my entertainment—"
"I would gladly come, I assure you my queen."
"ILA!" she said smiling.
"Ila," Kili replied with a bright smile too. "How do you feel?" he asked as he pulled a chair close to her side of the bed to sit.
"I feel…better than I did this morning. I am still a bit queasy though." She replied.
"Well, I suppose we will have to put your bow training off for a little while then." He said.
"Oh, Thorin says I am not allowed to train until after the baby is born." Ila said touching her belly. "He is very afraid that I will do something to lose the baby, hence my being confined to our rooms for just feeling uneasy."
Kili was disappointed to say the least, but he made sure not to show it. "Oh, well I suppose uncle is right, it is only six months. And then we can get you back into shape," he said, winking to make sure she knew it was a joke.
Ila's eyes widened. "So you think I'll need it?" she said but was joking too, and Kili laughed.
"No, no of course not." He assured. "What are you reading?" he asked and took the book from her lap.
"It's in Elvish. It's poetry, I think. I do not read it very well, but it looks like I have a lot of time to get better." She said.
"Elvish?" He said, turning his nose up. "Why this?"
"Because I'm not in the mood for history, and it's romantic."
"Is it? How do you know if you can't really read it?"
"I can read some of it." she said.
"I've never been much for poetry," Kili said.
"Well I would think not."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because you are a male! And a young one. The only dwarves that like poetry are females and old males." She said.
"Oh, so you mean uncle likes poetry." Kili said.
"No! I mean much older dwarves than your uncle. And if I know him as well as I believe he does not care much for it either."
"How did he win you over then?"
"Hmm?"
"How did uncle win you over then if he did not recite poetry to you or play you love songs on his harp? Or shower you with jewels every day?"
"Well he did give me the most spectacular set of blue diamonds, but that was a wedding gift."
"But how did he make you fall in love with him?" Kili asked.
Ila thought this was a funny line of questioning. What was he getting at?
"Kili…...are you smitten with someone?" she asked slyly.
Kili blushed. He'd been caught, he couldn't be caught just yet. Actually, she didn't have to know he was caught at loving her…
"Well, perhaps."
"And you want to know how to make her fall for you too?" she asked.
Kili smiled bashfully. "Yes, yes you've caught me Ila."
"Oh!" she said, giggling excitedly.
"Who is it?" she asked, and immediately hoped it was not Dwala. While she knew that Dwala and Dwalin were meeting every night (Dwala could keep nothing from Ila, at least not for long), she knew that they were keeping it a closely guarded secret at the moment. She would have no one speaking ill of her handmaiden or saying that those Iron Hills maidens were not as ladylike as any in Erebor.
Kili had to lie. He just had to. She didn't know that many females in Erebor, he could pretend it was someone she'd never met.
"I can't say. Uncle wouldn't approve…..but I, I can't help myself." He said, his face the most serious she had ever seen it. She felt her heart might break for him, the sincerity in his eyes was so great she felt for certain that he meant what he said. That he loved this dwarf, whoever she was, powerfully. She silently prayed that it was not Dwala.
"Kili…" Ila nearly whispered, "it's not Dwala is it?" she asked nearly holding her breath.
"No, no it's not Dwala." He said.
Ila exhaled, relieved. While Kili was young and handsome, and a prince, she did not believe he was right for Dwala, or that Dwala could be turned from Dwalin.
"Well then," she began, "the first thing you should know is that you cannot make someone fall in love with you. Your uncle didn't make me fall in love with him." Ila said. "The two of us are just lucky enough to have an arranged marriage that turned out to be a perfect match. We are extremely fortunate in that, although I admit at first I had serious doubts." She said with a smile.
"Oh?" Kili asked.
"Yes," Ila blushed. "He was very distant and cantankerous. I thought he didn't like me at all and for a while I thought I would have a very unhappy life here. But then as we got to know each other, everything changed." Ila said. "I believe it was your mother that gave him the best advice, which was that he should spend as much time with me as possible before we were married."
"So…..I should spend time with her and hope that she falls in love with me too? Is that your advice my queen?"
Ila chose to ignore the continued use of 'queen.' She supposed he would simply call her what he called her.
"Well, yes. You may only think you like her, you may only think you know what she is like. I didn't like your uncle at first but that's because I didn't know his true nature, nor he mine. It may work the opposite way as well. You may get to know her and find you are not in love with her after all." Ila said.
Kili pondered that, but knew he loved her despite what little he truly knew. He continued giving her clues to his love's identity but in a way that Ila did not make the connection.
"There is another small matter…." He began and Ila listened intently. "I believe she is in love with someone else."
Ila's face fell a bit. "Oh, well that is a problem indeed." She said very seriously.
"If her heart already belongs to another, then don't you think you should leave her be?"
Kili made a face to suggest he did not agree, but did not say so.
"What of the poor soul that loves her back, if you were to steal her heart from him?"
"What if he does not truly love her? What if he only loves the idea of her? What if she is but another possession to him? What if she deserves a better match?" he insisted.
"How can you know those things? How can you know his heart?" Ila countered.
"I cannot. I only know mine. And it belongs to her." He said with a finality that made Ila stop herself.
She looked down at her hands and thought for a moment, knowing she could not win an argument with someone so lovesick.
"Well, I hope that if you two are meant to be that she finds her way to your arms. And if not, that someone else does who will make you even happier." She said sweetly and sincerely, and Kili knew he couldn't tell her now. In time, when uncle became too busy for her or tired of her, and her heart was broken and lonely, he would tell her and she would find her way to his arms, as she had just said. But for now, he would do as she said, and spend as much time with her and getting to know her as he could.
"Thank you, Ila. That is a sweet prayer you said for me."
"It is a prayer, and my sincere hope for you Kili."
"I know. But enough about me," he said taking the book and holding it up to read. "You wanted to learn Elvish better I believe."
And Kili began to recite the poetry for her, so horribly they both laughed more than Kili talked, as he made good on his order to entertain the queen for what would be the remainder of the day.
Elsewhere in the palace, Thorin had decided that to thoroughly cure his hangover he had best sweat it out. That always worked for him, and he needed to visit the arena anyway. Thanks to last night's drinking binge he had not gotten up early enough to go first thing, and while Dwalin had as was his usual ritual, he gladly accompanied Thorin for a second round. Thorin had sparred with Dwalin countless times through the years and they had fought side by side in nearly as many battles. He was his preferred sparring partner and they often used the time to catch up with one another. That was Thorin's other reason for asking Dwalin to go to the arena with him- he had something to ask him.
The two of them were sparring with wooden practice swords, which was probably a good thing, because Dwalin nearly dropped his when Thorin asked,
"So, how long have you been sneaking about with Ila's handmaiden?"
Dwalin huffed, or coughed, or practically growled in response at first, then found some actual words.
"I don't sneak about, I'm far too big for that don't you think?"
"You know what I mean. I know why she was absent my wife so much before I threatened to send her home. I dare say the improvement in her behavior is out of fear of being separated from you as much as it is being separated from her lifelong friend." Thorin said knowingly and very matter of fact.
Dwalin knew he was caught, and would never lie to Thorin.
"I told her not to come find me until her lady was to bed every night, her duty is most important of course." Dwalin admitted.
"Yes," Thorin smiled as he dodged Dwalin's advances, which were becoming much faster and insistent as the conversation progressed. "And what after hours duties does she have?"
"Stop that," Dwalin said. "I would not say such things about Ila,"
"Ila is married and your queen, neither of which applies to Dwala," Thorin pointed out.
"And she's done nothing she shouldn't. She's made it very clear I am to get nothing but kisses unless I marry her," Dwalin said and sounded a bit disappointed without even meaning to. He couldn't help that he wanted her like he wanted air to breathe.
"AND?" Thorin asked.
Dwalin scrunched his face up. "And…what?"
"Has that thought crossed your mind?"
"What thought?
"Marrying her you old troll?"
"I reckon it might've. I mean, if you can get married—although Ila was forced…"
Thorin brought his sword down hard on Dwalin's who barely deflected him in time.
"Are you asking for my blessing then? Being that I am king I must give it…" Thorin asked.
Dwalin mentally paused to consider that, though his limbs kept meeting Thorin's movements in the dance of swords they were in the middle of. He honestly had thought of it, which was crazy, because they had been courting for barely more than a week. But he had been taken with her from the moment he laid eyes on her, which had rarely happened to him, and every time it had before as soon as he began to get to know the maiden he was immediately turned off. But Dwala was not like most dwarf maidens, who were typically very proud and held often much too high opinions of themselves, and or found him to be too rough around the edges (even for a dwarf, which was saying something) and standoffish.
But Dwala was as sweet as honey and innocent as a little lamb. And she was so generous of spirit, never thinking of herself, only what she could do to make Ila and even him happy. She was loyal and polite, and strong and honorable as any dwarf maiden in all the kingdoms of their people he was sure. And he was sure that he wanted her for his wife, no matter how little time had passed since they met.
Dwalin let Thorin get the upper hand and bring his sword to his neck.
"Yes. Yes I suppose I am." He said solemnly.
Thorin just stared at him for a moment, making sure he had heard him right, then lowered his sword and let it fall to his side.
"Well, I never imagined I would see the day." He said.
"Nor I that you would not only take but love a wife. Yet you do." Dwalin answered.
Thorin's face grew into a wide smile and he and Dwalin grabbed each other by the upper arms and brought their foreheads together. Thorin slapped him on the shoulder hard a couple of times, then they parted and walked slowly from the arena.
"So, when will you tell her?" Thorin asked.
"You mean when will I ask her?" Dwalin corrected.
"You know, as king I could command her to marry you,"
"No, I'll only have her if she wants me." Dwalin said firmly and Thorin smiled, shaking his head.
"I admit, I am not entirely sure what you see in her. But if she makes you happy-"
"There is much more to her than you think. In time I think you will come to like her." Dwalin said, not that he cared what Thorin thought of her. He only cared about what he thought, and he thought she was wonderfully perfect.