Brili, daughter of Dis, sister to Fili and Kili, and niece to Thorin (son of Thrain, son of Thror), King under the mountain, was what most of her kind would call odd. If one were to ask, no one would have anything specific to point to that had earned such a label.
At least none they were willing to mention.
She wasn't as hardy as most dwarven women, boasting softer features and bright blue eyes that sparkled like grey-blue gemstones when the light hit them the right way. She had no beard save a few faint whiskers under her ears, which was unnatural for her age. While most girls her age were already able to start braiding their beards into their hair and searching for potential suitors, Brili remained relatively beardless and running through the forests around the Blue Mountains, exploring the area around the mountain with her brothers, or, as of late, by herself.
The third and most certainly strangest, however beautiful, thing about her was her hair. Most dwarves have dark hair: different shades of black, brown, or red. Even if a dwarf was considered to have light-colored hair, it was usually no lighter than a stalk of wheat; her brother Fili was one of those fair-haired folk. Brili, on the other hand, was born with hair like gold spun from morning sunlight. It shimmered and fell in ringlets down her shoulders and past her waist. If rumors were to be believed, she'd inherited her tresses from her great-great-grandmother.
Fortunately, these oddities were oft overlooked in the mountains, for Brili was generally a good-natured, if slightly restless, soul. She loved to laugh and sing along the tunnels of the mountains, bringing a smile to most who overheard her voice echoing through the vast stone walls. When not wasting her time singing or pouring over whatever fantasy book she could get her hands on, she could be found waiting eagerly for her brothers to escort her outside the mountainside castle they called home. And, above all else, she waited for her uncle to return with tales of his adventures in the land of men.
Brili had a borderline unnatural obsession with the world of men.
But Brili wasn't thinking about her uncle's adventures at the moment. No, her only thought was figuring out how she would sneak past the guards before her brothers arrived from their hunt with Uncle Thorin. She crouched low by the entrance with a furrowed brow and slight pout twisting her features. If Fili found out she had snuck outside the mountain again, he would likely assign a guard, sentry, or who knows what to tail her movements throughout the mountain. No, she couldn't have that. Usually, she would try to buy the new guard's favor, but someone, without a doubt it was Fili or maybe even her mother, had given the new sentries specific instructions not to fall for her charms. It made for a very frustrating and tedious time without Kili to take her outside.
Really, it's no wonder that she'd been so bored.
"Uncle is going to kill you," a voice murmured beside her.
Brili almost toppled out of her hiding spot in a panic before a steady hand kept her head down.
"Kili!" she hissed, pulling her brother into a one-armed hug. "I've missed you!"
While she hugged him, she briefly looked around his shoulder to determine if her uncle or eldest brother was around. Brili knew they would not be pleased with her for being without an escort. She didn't fancy being punished with another embroidery class. "Where are…?"
"I went on ahead. We'd better hurry and get you inside before they get here," her brother answered with his usual smile playing on his lips. "So, how'd you get stuck out here this time? I'm guessing you used the door by the pantries?"
Brili's flush could have served in lieu of a confession.
"I've lost the key," she mumbled bashfully.
Kili smirked, flashing an old iron key in front of her nose. "You mean this one?"
"Where did you find that? I swear I looked everywhere for it!" she exclaimed, grasping the key with relief. She was sure she had lost it forever! Her smile faltered a little when she watched her brother narrowing his eyes at her.
"Down by the riverbank," he said tellingly. Oh no... She attempted to fix the situation with a toothy grin. "Brili, I've never taken you that far before. What are you thinking wandering off through the woods like that? And without a weapon on you by the looks of it. I'll be in enough trouble if Mum or Uncle find out I've been bringing you out here."
"I'm sorry, Kili," she appeased, gesturing around her with a wide smile. "It's not my fault that there is nothing to do at home. Will you please tell me all about you and Uncle's journey?"
He ruffled his sister's hair. "You'll find out later. Now, get inside before someone catches you. Try to keep me out of trouble, please. Mum already thinks I'm a delinquent."
Brili beamed and planted a kiss on her brother's cheek. "Thank you, noble sir!"
He watched her slink off into a cluster of grass behind him. "Oh! Brili," he called quietly, watching her poke her head out of the reeds. "Blessed birthday!"
She smiled widely again. "Thanks!"
~o~
Dis smiled at her brother as they shared a brief embrace in the halls of Ered Luin. It took only a moment for her to study the look on his face before she thought of Erebor. She thought about her long-lost home often… How could she not? She wished she could have raised her children in those halls. She felt Thorin's longing for home before he would ever say a word.
If things went right tonight, then there was a chance that her dreams were closer than she'd previously thought. She was no fool; she knew her brother was planning something, even if he refused to let her in on his secrets.
"I trust everything went well?" she asked, pulling away from Thorin before fixing her sons with a stern look. "The boys behaved?"
"Mum, c'mon now. We are grown dwarves," Kili protested, planting a kiss on his mother's forehead. A moment later, Fili smiled and followed his younger brother's example.
She clucked her tongue and embraced both her sons. "Yes, yes, so you've told me. Now, are the arrangements made? Did your hunting trip go well?"
Thorin nodded his head sagely. "Yes. We can begin preparations."
Dis nodded in approval, unable to hide the smile from growing on her face. "We can discuss more before dinner. The three of you need to rest and, by the looks of things, wash up before dinner."
But before they could be ushered away from the entrance, there was a resounding crash above them. It was not the kind of crash that one might hear during a life-threatening scenario, more like the sound of a door being thrown open and carelessly left to slam shut. Before he could react, Thorin had the wind knocked out of him as something collided into his midsection.
"Uncle! I've missed you!" Brili announced, releasing him after another brief squeeze around his middle. "Welcome back!"
Pulling away, she held her hand out so Thorin could place a sweet into her expectant palm. The girl had been born with a love for sweets. Biting back a laugh but unable to hide his mirth, he placed a small, velveteen pouch into her waiting hand. She directed her attention to her brothers with a toothy grin over her plunder.
"Fili, I'm so happy to see you," she greeted with a one-armed hug. (The hand holding the bag of candy would serve no other purpose than to carry her newly gotten gains.)
"You haven't been up to any trouble, right?" the eldest sibling asked, pulling away, leaving his hands on her shoulders with a smile.
Brili flashed him an innocent grin that Kili saw through instantly; then again, he'd been the one who helped her sneak back in, so he might be biased. He stretched up, raising his arms in the air with a jaw-cracking yawn. He was dog-tired, and that was no understatement. He had no plans other than a nice, long nap before what was promised to be a magnificent supper.
Mid-yawn Brili struck him with a hug around his waist and began to squeeze him so tight he was worried something would burst. With an annoyed grumble, he waggled free from her clutches.
"Kili," she greeted with a grin, releasing him from her grip and wrapping her hands around the bag of candy. "You three must tell me all about your adventures."
He'd promised her outside that he would anyway.
Dis chose this moment to intervene. "And they will, child, but not here and not now! Go on upstairs so that you can be prepared for your feast tonight. Mahal, sixty years old… Where has the time gone?"
"Mother," Brili groaned. "Birthday feast? I told you last fortnight that all I wanted was a quiet night in with Uncle—"
Thorin cut her off before his sister could get the chance to respond to the girl's complaints. "Go on and get ready, Brili. I'll tell you plenty of stories over dinner. There is a surprise for you tonight."
At the mention of a surprise, everyone's face lit up into a smile. All but Kili's, whose face fell ever so slightly. Brili didn't notice this and perked considerably over gifts and surprises. A few birthdays before, she had been given some great gifts from her brothers, such as a new sword from Fili and a set of knives from Kili, all of which she accepted gratefully. Uncle Thorin had given her a bow to practice with. She never understood why; her bow work was frankly disastrous.
She wondered what spectacular gift they could have for her this year that excited them all so much.
"Very well, Uncle, I will see you at dinner." In a fluid movement, she turned about face and prepared to head up the stairs she'd come barreling down from minutes earlier.
"Ah, Brili," Thorin called after her as if he'd just remembered something he'd best not forget. "Leave your sword outside your door tonight. I'm going to send for it to be sharpened."
She arched a brow in response. "That's not my surprise, is it? I can have my blade sharpened any time, you know."
He laughed, his eyes glimmering with excitement. "No, gemstone, we've something much better planned for you this year."
That telltale grin returned. "I can't wait!"
They all watched her bound up the stairs, taking them on two at a time. Once she was out of sight, Kili looked at his family in disbelief before turning to Fili.
"We aren't telling her tonight!"
His brother regarded him with surprise, watching their mother and uncle walk down the hall in the opposite direction, excitedly making plans. Fili wasn't as blind as Kili thought him to be, though sometimes he really wished that he was.
He knew that Kili had been taking Brili out of the mountain without permission and taking her to the practice yard despite their mother's insistence that it was no longer a suitable activity for a growing lady. He wanted to be angry that his brother was lying to him and thwarting their mother's attempts to prepare Brili for the realities of becoming an adult. Still, he honestly wasn't angry at all. It was one of the things he loved about his sister.
Well, what was done was done, and there would be nothing that would change it now. Perhaps it was good that Kili had let her hold on to her childish daydream a little longer.
"Aye," he confirmed. "Uncle wants to see this through as soon as possible."
"But it's her birthday," Kili argued. "Can't we wait a week?"
Or a month or another year?
Fili shook his head. "She will be fine, Kili. On the other hand, we will be strung up from the rafters by our mother if we aren't ready in time. I suggest you get a move on. Just what were you doing for so long? You've been back for well over an hour."
That shut Kili right up.
~o~
As promised by many people throughout the day, Brili's birthday dinner was a marvelous culinary affair.
The halls were decorated to spare no expense, and the food was exquisite; hams and roasted fouls, sausages and beef roasts, potatoes, and carrots, freshly harvested corn, mushrooms, beets, and tomatoes were all meticulously laid out across the banquette table. With all of this food and drink and merriment to go around, one would hardly expect to find anyone who wasn't in high spirits.
But, of course, there was one partygoer who was thoroughly not enjoying himself: Kili and his practically full plate.
He'd been so hungry this afternoon when he'd got home. Now, he could hardly look at all the food and drink without an uncomfortable sensation swelling up in his gut. He shot his mother another sour look and blamed her for his lack of appetite for the umpteenth time this evening. All he'd wanted to do was warn Brili about what was coming, but every time he tried to get close to her, he'd been chased away by a flock of maids all but nipping at his heels. He was sure he saw his mother watching them run him off, too.
Now, instead of enjoying his meal with a clear conscience, he was riddled with guilt and could only glower at his fellow guests.
Beside him sat Master Dwalin, Thorin's oldest and possibly most loyal compatriot, and beside Dwalin was his brother, Balin, their tutor when they'd been young enough for lessons; they'd taken the brunt of his bad mood. Well, the majority of the irritable looks, at any rate. As per Thorin's request, Brili was seated at the head of the table for the festivities. He would offer his usual seat to his nephews and beloved niece every year on their birthdays.
On the days when he was gone, the seat remained empty.
Swallowing nervously, Kili leaned over his plate to peruse the rest of the guests. Maybe, just maybe, the person he'd been dreading decided to— Nope, at the opposite end of the grand table sat the only three invitees who were not in any way related or particularly close to the line of Durin, Bombur, Bifur, and finally, at the opposite head of the table, Bofur. But Kili already knew that, didn't he? Still, he kept checking every few minutes, hoping they'd disappear like a bad dream and Kili could eat in peace.
Fili laughed as Brili made a joke or flattered him with some silly tale, drawing Kili's attention back to his sister. She was dressed in the finest silks today, a beautiful pink and cream-colored gown that she was practically glowing in. If it weren't for the occasional quirk of her eyebrow, Kili would never know how annoyed she was. His sister shared his passionate dislike for courtly fashions. She had been washed, brushed, and powdered so that she was barely recognizable from the girl he helped smuggle in earlier in the day. He gave his mother another anxious look before tossing a carrot across his plate.
He would really regret not eating something later.
"This was wonderful!" Brili announced contentedly as she pushed her plate away and leaned back in her chair. "What's for dessert, Uncle?!"
Thorin shook his finger at her and smiled. "After your gifts."
"Sit up, Brili!" Dis scolded as she peered down the table. "We have guests!"
Brili sneered but did as asked, accepting a gift from the small pile beside Fili.
"From Oin," she announced, offering the older dwarf an appreciative smile, the perfect picture of diplomatic grace. That moment of sincerity was gone instantly as she ripped the box open, pulling a small harp from inside. Her jaw went slack. "Oh… I mean, thank you."
"You should learn to play an instrument," Fili offered, earning himself a warning glare from his increasingly irritable sister. He sighed and handed her another gift. "Just saying, is all."
Kili grimaced at his plate again. It was his. His mother, brother, and uncle had all given him specific instructions on what to or not to give Brili as a gift this year. He was smart and chose something on neither list, but something he knew she would love anyway.
It had cost him no small sum to have it imported as well.
"Chocolates!" she chirped delightedly, about to leap across the table to thank her brother. A warning glance from Dis caused her to rethink this decision, and she politely nodded to him instead. "I mean, thank you, Master Kili. They are my favorite sweet."
Well, if that wasn't a dig. He hated being addressed so formally.
~o~
Brili's frustration visibly grew with each gift she opened. Needle and thread, new swatches for curtains, new gowns to wear, a tea set, all things you gave to dull girls who hardly ever left their rooms or did anything exciting. Even Kili's gift had been lackluster at best, as if he had purposely picked the one item she would have enjoyed that wouldn't get him into trouble. It was all so boring. And she's tired of her mother scolding her every other moment like she's some sort of misbehaving dog.
It was her birthday, wasn't it? She should be allowed to slouch if she damn well wanted to.
She thanked the last person for their gift without looking up at them. The little wooden doll was beautifully carved but she didn't recognize the name of the person who had given it to her. Nope, she'd never heard of this "Bofur" before, probably a friend of her uncle's. If she couldn't identify them, she would hardly bother addressing them. She doubted she would be seeing them again after this meal.
Oddly, she couldn't recall receiving a gift from her uncle or Fili. But with these boring gifts, she only wanted to skip dessert and curl up with her new box of chocolates.
"Well, thank you all for your lovely gifts," she said with no sincerity.
Honestly, she was just glad that it was all over.
Thorin and Fili stood up on either side of her, interrupting her. She stopped speaking abruptly, withering slightly at the strained look on her eldest brother's face. Had he eaten something foul? She peered at her uncle, who had his eyes only on Fili. Okay, Uncle Thorin looked okay… She looked at Kili only to find him looking a strange shade of green, like he was about to vomit. Not him, too!
What in Durin's name was going on?
Thorin cleared his throat, prompting Fili to take a nervous breath. "Um, Brili, as you know, we lost our father before you were born. So, um, he can't do this… I mean! Normally, he would be doing this, but since he's not—"
Thorin rolled his eyes, mercifully interceding on Fili's behalf. "We have one last gift for you, gemstone," he said affectionately, handing her a small but intricately carved box. Brili took it with trembling hands, her brother's anxiety beginning to spill over to her. "Open it."
She lifted the lid, honestly not sure what to expect, only to let out a sigh of relief. With how Fili acted, she half expected a venomous snake to spring out at her. Instead, she pulled out the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen: pink and white gems clustered over a large, palm-sized gold locket attached to a gold chain. Smiling brightly, she popped the latch on the locket to find hand-drawn pictures of her brothers inside. Oh! They must have commissioned Moira in the village square to draw the portraits. Moira was an incredible artist. She would have to thank her personally later.
With a smile that practically lit up the whole room—and caused Kili another round of nervous indigestion—she beamed at Fili. "It's wonderful! Thank you, brother!"
"There's a note," Thorin suggested, directing her attention back to him, "at the bottom of the box. Perhaps you would like to read it aloud?
Brili plucked a small folded piece of paper from the bottom of the box with little interest. She was unsure why she'd been asked to read the letter aloud. She very much hoped Fili hadn't written anything too embarrassing. With a sigh, she unfolded it and began to do as her uncle asked.
"I, Bofur, of Ered Luin, formally request an audience with Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, to ask for his niece, Brili's—"
Wait, that couldn't be right…
She blinked and shook her head lightly, certain that the firelight had just been playing tricks on her. Blimey, there may have been something wrong with the food after all... She was clearly misreading this—
Fili chose this moment to speak up. "We've found you a husband."
The table burst into a round of cheers and a flurry of applause. Funny, why did everything sound so fuzzy? Like she had dunked her head under water… She followed Fili's telling stare down the table where a dwarf with braided hair and an interestingly arranged mustache was rising from his seat.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait… Did he really just say husband? No, this must be some sort of dream.
It was a dream, right?
"Brili," her mother hissed with a gentle swat to Brili's shoulder to attract her attention, "stand and greet your fiancé!"
Time began to slow to a crawl as it finally dawned on Brili that this might not be the work of food poisoning as she so desperately wished it to be.
She tried her best to find her feet to stand, she really had, only, her legs felt like they had been filled with wet plaster. She had the distinct impression that if she tried to stand, she would find that her legs had turned to jelly, and she'd topple over. All she could seem to manage to do was sit there, staring dumbly ahead with the stupid box in one hand and the locket in the other.
The dwarf in question—her fiancé—began to make his way to her end of the table. His arrival was delayed by other members at the table offering him their heartfelt congratulations. However, with every step closer he took, the closer Brili's limited composure came to snapping. Time, once moving so slowly what felt like a few breaths ago, now rapidly speeding up and bringing forward an incredibly shocking and painful revelation.
Her family wanted to get rid of her and pawn her off on some strange dwarf she'd never even met before.
When he was a mere few steps away, and all eyes were squarely on her, she finally found the common sense to rise to her feet and backed away, frantically pulling her skirts up to her knees as if they might save her. She wanted to scream or explain to this strange dwarf that there must be some mistake; her family would never do this to her, but all that managed to escape her was a horrified moan.
The entire hall erupted into tiny murmurs.
The dwarf chuckled kindly, even a little sheepishly. "I understand this is a bit of a shock, milady," he soothed gently. "I mean you no harm."
She attempted to draw in a breath, trying as hard as she could to say anything. Still, it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room like her lungs had turned to iron and could no longer inflate. The stranger reached out to take her hand, and her now-tingling limbs moved backward of their own accord. She stumbled until she found herself pressed against the wall, shaking her head in disbelief.
"No…"
Ah, yes, finally. There was her voice. Once her family heard that she was not happy with this arrangement, then surely they would change their—
"Brili," Thorin ground out through his teeth. "Enough of this. This is Bofur, your future husband."
There was that word again. Husband. She looked at Thorin with wide and desperate eyes. But she'd just told him no, didn't he understand that?
She didn't want this…
"Uncle Thorin, please, I don't…" A hand reached out to steady her. "I said no!"
By the time it dawned on her who it was that was trying to steady her, it was far too late. She finally dropped the box, which clattered to the floor just as her open palm made contact with Fili's face. Her strike echoed sharply like the crack of a whip. Behind her, a serving girl gasped, dropping a tray of empty dishes.
The hall was now as silent as a tomb.
Before he could reach for her again—the shock of her strike still evident in his eyes—she sidestepped past him and fled, her skirts raised past her knees so that she couldn't trip and fall. She would surely be punished for such a foul display if they caught her now. She had struck her brother, the heir to the throne. She frantically flung the banquet hall doors open, letting them crash open to echo through the room and surrounding passages.
How could they do this to me?
She could hear voices calling her name, but her feet mercifully didn't stop until she reached her chambers and yanked the heavy oak door open, finding safety in the confines of her stone bedroom. Before allowing anyone to invade her bedroom, she jammed the wooden bolt into place on her side and backed away from the door. She wouldn't come out until they took away this ridiculous proposal.
And now that she was finally alone, locked safely away, her grief finally had a chance to catch up with her.
It was the one thing she'd been unable to lock out.
~o~
Fili was the first to reach her room and began pounding on the door.
"Brili, come out!"
Okay, that didn't go as they expected it to. Yeah, the marriage part was a bit of a surprise, but Brili had to have known this was coming sooner or later. Their mother had been much younger than Brili when she'd married their father, also a relative stranger. Dis married their father to secure a home for her and Thorin, to help the wandering people of Erebor.
And, Fili is more than sure she hadn't pitched a fit over it like Brili had just done.
Kili's fast footsteps could be heard momentarily before he practically collided with the door. "Bri? Hey! Come out!" He turned to Fili as if he'd only just noticed he was there. "Is she all right?"
The eldest brother shrugged. "She won't answer me."
They both shared a glance and listened intently for any signs of movement. All they can hear are the muffled sounds of her crying. After a few more moments and some guilty shuffling, Kili knocked on the door again.
"Brili, let us in," he called out, pressing his forehead against the door. "Jeez, you're acting like we've sentenced you to—"
He was interrupted by glass shattering in the same spot where his head had thunked against the door. If the door hadn't been there to block it, she'd have clocked him good. Fili let out a resigned sigh, rubbing his stinging cheek. They were not going to get anywhere with her acting like this. It would be better to let her sleep through the night and try to speak with her in the morning. He placed a hand on his younger brother's shoulder and steered him from the door before their sister started throwing more objects at her door.
"Tell Mum and Uncle that she's safe in her room. I'll keep watch over her tonight."
"But, Fi," Kili argues, his eyes darting back to the closed door, "I can't leave her like that…"
"She's fine. I'll be here if she needs anything. Let everyone know she's all right, okay? I'll speak to Bofur tomorrow."
With one last glance at the finely carved barrier between them, Kili nodded, walking down the steps to where a crowd had begun to form around the stairwell. Fili let out a puff of air as he recalled that day in his youth when he had snuck out of bed to sneak into his newborn sister's room to watch over her. His mother had been surprised to find him in the room sleeping in the chair beside the cradle, but he would sneak in several times that year to keep watch over his new charge.
So, without a second thought on the matter, he sat on the floor leaning against the door, humming absently to himself. After what felt like ages, Brili's crying stopped, and he knew she had finally fallen asleep.
"G'night, Brili. 'M watching over you," he mumbled sleepily before finally giving in.
It would be a long day tomorrow. He was sure of it.