Chapter Fifty Eight: Vows and Promises

Notes: This is a BIG chapter! I look forward to seeing everyone's reactions 😁

Gen and I pushed open the heavy doors to the throne room and then all three of us hurried down the stairs. I damn near fell down the steps as I rushed towards the throne, where our loved ones finally came into view. Once I finally saw Thorin, I felt relief wash over me, even if Gorur stood behind him. I locked eyes with him and by the way his face shifted colors, I knew he had to be involved in what happened that morning.

Thorin took a step forward, realizing that there was something wrong with my expression. As I got closer he could see my ripped and wet dress and disheveled hair.

Gorur cleared his throat and said, "You're here early, Lady Lydia. Eager to complete the ceremony?"

I took the sword from Gen's hands and pointed it at Gorur, making everyone gasp and take a step back. I huffed for air and said, "Do you want to explain why Murin just attacked my sister and I while Falur stood watch?"

Thorin's expression hardened as he turned to look at his advisor. Rage was already ignited in his eyes. "Yes, I would like an explanation as well."

Gorgur hesitated, probably weighing his options. Did he think he could get away with a lie? What would happen if he admitted the truth? Either way, the most gentle sentence would be imprisonment, the worst sentence would be whatever Thorin was plotting when his eyes were ablaze like that. Everyone in the throne room stared at him. Other dwarf leaders, the company from the journey, and the Durin line stared at him, waiting for an answer.

He sighed and folded his arms in front of him. "Alright, I admit there may have been a plot to remove the hobbits from Erebor."

Thorin's fists balled up and he growled, "You have seconds to explain yourself and beg for mercy." The angry energy radiating off him alone could have killed a man. I was about ready to hand him the sword and get the hell out of the way.

Grogur kept a level head surprisingly, considering Thorin was probably already planning his death. "We could have allowed one hobbit, perhaps, but having two running around and mucking up the Durin succession was when we needed to step in. Obviously, Lydia was more of a threat than Genevive who is purely content with sleeping with royalty instead of trying to marry into it." I could feel the heat coming off Gen as eyes turned to her. "Mahal forbid if every line of Durin be infected by hobbits and elves. Is the kingdom to have no successor of true dwarf blood?"

Dis shook her head confused. "What? I'm fully aware of my Kili's usual fascination with that elf, but are you insinuating that Fili and Miss Genevive are…?"

Thorin ordered, "Everyone out except Grogur and the advisors! Bring Falur and Murin here as well!" We looked at each other unsure for a moment before everyone quickly started shuffling out of the throne room. Thorin grabbed my hand, indicating I should stay as well. Balin and Dwalin stood silently as we waited for the room to clear.

His expression hardened and darked as he looked back to Grogur. "Because you were so worried about the Durin line you decided to resort to attempted murder against one of the heroes of Erebor." He stepped towards him until they were face to face, his voice low but full of acid. "I gave my life to protect Lydia the last time her life was threatened by someone and that worm Azog died by my hand. You saw me go on that never ending search to try and find her after the Battle of Five Armies. We did everything we could to bring her back from the brink of death when she got sick. Do you think for one moment that I would celebrate your attempt to 'preserve' the Durin line?"

Grogur straightened his back like he was a soldier addressing his general. "The three of us knew that Balin and Dwalin were too biased to do what was right for the kingdom." Dwalin stepped forward to argue with him but Balin held him back. "We knew you were also too blinded by affection to do the right thing."

"The right thing?" Thorin growled. "If this is the end of the Durin line, so be it. There are plenty of other noble lines that can take over rule if neither of my nephews sire an heir. This entire plot was idiotic." He continued in Khuzdul until we heard the creaking of the door.

We all turned and looked, seeing guards leading Falur and Murin down the stairs to join us. Falur limped his way in, leaving a small trail of blood that ran down his leg. He was smart and left the dagger in his leg to keep himself from bleeding out but moving around on that leg while the knife was still in was probably doing some damage. They were led to Grogur's side, looking significantly more nervous than Grogor himself. Their eyes went between Thorin and I.

Thorin crossed his arms and stepped to the side. "The three of you will be taken to the dungeons to await your fate, which will be decided by the queen once we are married and she is crowned. Take your time now to bow and grovel to her and hope she grants you mercy because you will receive none from me."

My eyes grew at him, surprised he was giving me the opportunity to decide the fate of the men who not only threatened my life, but also my sister's. Falur, despite his injury, fell to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground. Murin also got down on his knees but bowed his head. Grogur did not move. The two who kneeled rambled and begged for their lives, explaining it was a huge mistake that they will never forgive themselves for. My spine was stiff, having never been in this kind of position before, having men so much my elder beseeching me for my good favor.

I looked at Grogur and said, "Do you have nothing to say, Sir?"

He said simply, "I will not compromise my honor when I acted in the way I thought was best for this kingdom. It was not personal, my lady." He did bow his head to me. "I am grateful for what you and the company did to take back Erebor, but I can not approve this relationship and marriage you have with my king."

Old Lydia, the one who worked at the Prancing Pony and didn't know anything about dwarves, would have considered kicking him into the depths of Erebor. I was not that same person anymore though, I was a happily in love person that had gotten to see the best and the worst of the world. Beyond the fact that I didn't want any more blood on my hands, I knew he was being honest with me. They had the best intentions for the kingdom and unfortunately they didn't believe that included me. That only motivated me to prove them wrong.

I responded, "Grogur, I would have much preferred having this conversation with you before you acted out against me and my family." I turned to Thorin. "I am done speaking with them, I will make my decision after the ceremonies, as you said."

He nodded and waved for the guards to take them down to the dungeons for holding. Falur continued to beg as the three of them were removed from the throne room. The silence that was left behind when they were taken away seemed much louder than his begging.

I closed my eyes and leaned into Thorin's chest, relieved that my assassins were found and removed so I could finally feel safe again. He pulled me closer and cradled the back of my head. I could feel the tension leave his body as well, his anger simmering down.

Balin took Dwalin's arm and said, "We will go fetch everyone and bring them back for the ceremony. Excuse us." They hurried off, giving us a few moments to decompress before we had all eyes on us again.

"I assume it was Falur that did that to your dress?" he asked.

I pulled away a little to see the damage and there were indeed a couple large rips that ran across the back of the dress, behind my knees. I was grateful those knives didn't hit me, if they had gotten me there I don't think I would have been able to run away from them and I wasn't sure if Gen would have been able to fight off both of them.

He offered, "If we need to postpone anything so that can get fixed-"

I shook my head and grabbed a hold of his hands. I was so glad to have had a little power in the ceremony but that was taken away from me as well. Even so, the thought of postponing and something else crazy happening was not something I was willing to risk.

"No. I don't want to wait any longer. Plus," I started laughing a little, "I was thinking I was looking a little too polished anyway. Dis and Gen were saying you weren't going to recognize me with my hair looking neat as a pin and dressed up like a perfect doll."

He gave me a soft smile. "You always look perfect." He led his lips to mine, his mustache and beard tickling my face. "You do look extra special today though. It's like you stepped right out of my day dreams when I used to imagine your life here in Erebor."

His words eased whatever pain I had in my heart over the dress. I had never felt like I needed to be perfect for Thorin, so there was no reason to start. I stepped back and took in what Thorin looked like. Though I had seen him all dressed up before, there was even more detail in what he wore that day. There was beautiful silver detail stitched into his robes that matched the details of his crown. All across his coat were intricate and beautiful stars as well. His belt was also encrusted with jewels and did well to show the shape of his body under all those layers. His raven and silver hair was braided away from his face, though a lot was still left loose which I preferred. Beads were woven into his beard as well. My heart rate increased at how incredibly handsome he looked. If I didn't know who he was I would have been too intimidated to talk to him. He looked untouchable in the way that made me so excited that I was actually allowed to touch him.

"You look like your truest self. Regal, powerful, and so handsome." I was certain he had appeared to me like this in a few of my own dreams.

"Did you notice the stars?" he asked, pointing to them on his robes. "I requested that this was added as well." He opened up his coat to show me the lining and there was silver embroidery that made it look like the night sky. Along the bottom was also embroidery of beautiful purple plants that I immediately recognized as lavender.

As soon as I realized the significance of both, the stars and the lavender, tears sprung from my eyes. I gently ran my fingers over the flowers and tried to hold back more tears as my heart filled up to the brim.

Thorin could obviously tell by the look on my face that I understood, but he was so eager to tell me about the thought he put into his garment. "I know I have yet to fulfill my promise of your own constellation, but I hope this will suffice for now. And I know that lavender has always made you think of home, and I know the rest of your family besides Gen couldn't be here so I hoped something like this would be a nice gesture."

I heard our wedding guests file back into the throne room so I quickly wiped my tears away and looked up at Thorin with so much love and adoration. Seeing him break probably all sorts of royal wedding protocols just to do that for me touched me deeply. Any residual disappointment I had about my dress was gone in an instant.

Balin approached us and cleared his voice, slowly picking the book of ceremony off the throne. "Excuse me, Thorin and Lydia. The plan was for Grogur to perform the ceremony, I can do it in his place if that's alright."

We both nodded and held onto each other's hands. I had been nervous all morning about getting my vows right in front of all those important people but with my eyes on Thorin, I felt steadied and secure. If it wasn't perfect, what was he going to do? Not marry me? It was far too late for him to run away from me.

Once everyone was gathered back in the throne room, Balin cleared his voice and started the ceremony, speaking in their tongue as was customary. Thorin very quietly translated it for me, which also caught me off guard since we were both meant to be entirely silent. I did appreciate it though, since during practices I had only gotten a rough translation from Grogur just so I could have a general idea of what was going on. The way Thorin translated it for me was so beautiful though. It was so dwarvish in the way they did not use flowery language, but the directness of it was oddly heartfelt. Phrases like "soul's companion" and "treasured love" made my heart swell.

I was sure I was crushing Thorin's hands as the time for the sacred vows came near. One benefit of learning the vows in Khuzdul was that Balin taught me what we were swearing to each other, so I could mean the words with all my heart. It also meant that when Thorin spoke his part, I knew what promises he was making to me.

In his own tongue, he looked me in the eyes and said, "Lydia Barclay, I offer you everything that I am able to give, my body and soul, my name and my love. It has always belonged to you. I swear that I will honor you with my actions and words in a way that you will always know that I love you. You will have me as a partner that will be by your side for the rest of our lives and beyond. I will protect you. I will stand with you. I will adore you. Will you accept me?"

My insides had melted into a hot puddle and I was once again fighting back tears. I nodded and responded, "Yes, my love."

Even if I didn't know the translation, his words wrapped around me like a warm blanket. I felt his voice cradle me, lulling me into a loving stupor. Thorin has always felt like a safe house to me, somewhere I could always run to when I needed to feel protected, but his vows made me feel like I was finally home.

I gulped and my voice shook as I realized it was now my turn. "U-Um…" I wound my fingers through his tightly, took a deep breath and recited the same vows. I had spent so much time focusing on the pronunciation but I decided to trust my practice and focus on saying the words so he could feel the vows as much as I did.

In Khuzdul I said, "Thorin Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain," his eyes grew in surprise, "I offer you everything that I am able to give, my body and soul, my name and my love. It has always belonged to you." A tear or two rolled down my cheeks and I smiled at him sweetly. "I swear that I will honor you with my actions and words in a way that you will always know that I love you. You will have me as a partner that will be by your side for the rest of our lives and beyond. I will protect you. I will stand with you. I will adore you. Will you accept me?"

Thorin certainly broke protocol when he pulled me forward, running his hand across my cheek and back into my hair, and kissed me in a way that made my knees turn to jelly. The air in my lungs fizzled and I felt warmth rush to the tips of my fingers and toes.

I had entirely forgotten about the crowd around us until I heard them chuckle at Thorin's eagerness.

Balin laughed and shook his head. "We're not quite at that part yet, your highness. Do you accept Lydia Barclay's vows?"

He pressed his forehead to mine, his smile so brilliant and bright like a moon over a calm sea. "Yes, of course."

Balin hurried through the rest of the declarations and readings before Thorin and I could do anything else to break tradition. Luckily it seemed like the crowd was entertained by the deviations instead of putting up an uproar about it.

Thorin kept translating for me, not taking his eyes off me for a moment. I tried to concentrate on what he was saying, but it was impossible to focus when his lips were reciting such lovely words to me. We could have been standing there for a few minutes or a few hours, I wouldn't have known, I was entirely mesmerized.

I was knocked back to reality when Fili and Kili stepped forward with the marriage sash. It was a white fabric that was embroidered with silver patterns that reminded me of Thorin's tattoos. They wrapped it around us and we faced the crowd.

Balin set down the book and put his hands on our shoulders as he recited the final part of the ceremony.

Thorin whispered, "May their devotion to each other be as strong as their devotion to Erebor. May the two of them bring strength and prosperity to all of dwarf-kind. May the god of creation and the god of death protect and love King Thorin and his wife Queen Lydia from this moment on. Bow to your king and queen!"

I watched everyone in the crowd stoop deeply to the both of us and there was a moment of silence, a sign of respect and servitude to us, before they all stood up and started cheering. It was so loud I could feel my bones rattling in my chest.

Still wrapped in the shawl, Thorin pulled me into his arms and kissed me again. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders as he lifted me off the ground and spun me around. The guests rushed forward to congratulate us. I leaned back from the kiss as he lowered me back to the ground and made out a small, "I love you" before we were swarmed by everyone. They gave us slaps on the shoulders and heartfelt hugs.

Among all the chaos I felt the reality slowly sink into my skin. We were now married, sworn to each other in a way that no one would ever be able to refute ever again. People certainly would still have their negative opinions of a hobbit marrying their king, but they could not refute the fact that we were certainly husband and wife. There was not an ounce of sadness in my whole body, I was overflowing with joy that I belonged to him and he belonged to me.

Happiness didn't seem like a big enough word. I was his wife. His queen. His love. And he was my everything.