#dwarrowdame

“Once Nori comes back, we can finalize our plan.  No use in trying to figure out the details when we don’t even know where the place is.”  Gloin offered the words of wisdom.  Murmurs of agreement rippled through the group of dwarrows.

I glanced over at them from my spot in the windowsill.  Whether on purpose or not, I’d been excluded from the discussion.  Or, at least, never invited to participate. 

Not that that was important.  I had no experience to offer them, so it made sense for me not to be asked my thoughts on the matter.  Even if they had, they wouldn’t have liked anything I had to say.  Part of being a voice of reason, I assumed.

Blue eyes rose to meet mine as Thorin raised his head from their plotting.  He jerked his head minutely, silently motioning for me to join him. 

I complied, weaving around Fili and Dwalin to stand by at Thorin’s side.  He placed a broad hand on my back, drawing me flush against his side.

“What?”  I asked softly, fidgeting with the laces of my shirt as I peered over at the sheet of paper they’d begun sketching a layout on.  “You need a woman’s touch or something to whatever chicken scratch that is?”  I motioned to the mostly unintelligible lines.

Thorin grinned, shaking his head.  “No,” he murmured, leaning down slightly so only I could hear, “I just wanted to have you next to me.”

“Ah,” I nodded, laying my head against his shoulder.  “That’s an acceptable excuse too.” 

He chuckled, dropping his hand from my back in order to intertwine our fingers.  “I’m glad I’m not intolerable to you.”  The smile vanished as his face became serious.  “I know I haven’t been the easiest person to be around lately.  We’re so close to Erebor…Closer than I thought we would ever get.  And the hardest part is yet to come still.”

I squeezed Thorin’s hand.  The closer we had gotten to Erebor on this journey, the more Thorin’s moods turned dark.  A shadow of something I didn’t recognize, but knew deep down I didn’t like, would flicker across his face. 

I had heard the whispers around the fire at night.  Of gold-sickness and the Arkenstone.  The madness that afflicted Thorin’s family, and was almost certainly the reason why Erebor had been lost. 

He worried over it.  Was determined not to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather.  But feared that he would fall just the same. And that trial had not yet come to pass.  It loomed in front of him now that we were in Laketown. 

“I will always be by your side, Thorin.  You’re stronger than your past, amrâlimê.”  I promised, trying to reassure this dwarrow who already had enough burdens to bear.  “I trust you.” 

A shadow of a smile appeared on his face as he looked at me.  “Mahal forbid I do anything to break your trust.” 

~~~

Nori’s arrival back brought a flood of new intel.  Apparently, the armory was housed in the local jail, and the only access point that wasn’t in full view was a single small window on the second story.

“Are there any guards around it?”  Thorin inquired, his hand still grasping mine.  “Where is it located?”

“Far as I could see, there aren’t any guards in the place.  It’s off a ways from the main bits of this floating slag heap, but the window’s on one of the canals.  Doesn’t seem te get used much though.”  Nori traced a finger down the map, delineating the canal in question.

Dwalin nodded silently, arms crossed over his chest.  “How are ye suggestin’ we get in this place then?”

The grin that Nori wore sent chills down my spine. 

“Oh, nothing difficult you know.  Just a running start and a strong hand.”  He shrugged, “for what I have in mind, you’ll need to be on the bottom.” 

The murderous look Dwalin sent Nori’s way had the rest of us cracking up into stifled giggles.  Nori being Nori, he had worded the sentence into an innuendo.

“Thorin,” Dwalin hissed, leaning over me to murmur in Thorin’s ear.  “Ye canna be serious ‘bout lettin’ ‘im plan this.” 

I looked over at the dark haired dwarrow beside me who wasn’t doing a thing to hide his smirk. 

“Out of all of us, he has the most experience breaking into places.  We need that iron, Dwalin.” 

Dwalin sighed heavily.  “Ah know we do…” 

Thorin clapped a hand onto his friend’s shoulder.  “There is a reason why each dwarf is here with us.  Nori’s talents have a use, no matter how he happened to come by them.  Now,” he turned to the rest of the gathered dwarrows.  “We leave here at nightfall.  Then once we have the weapons, we head for Erebor.” 

Erebor.  The word echoed through the group.  The shining star at the end of this long journey. 

~~~~

Miraculously, fourteen dwarves and a hobbit went unnoticed in the streets of Laketown as we made our way to the armory. 

A fog was rising from the dank canals and spreading over the city, which helped our cause somewhat. 

But nothing could stifle our heavy footfalls and mutters. 

“Shh, keep it down.”  Dwalin hissed at Bombur as we hid along the side of the armory while waiting for the pair of guards to wander away on the other side of the canal.

“As soon as we have the weapons, we’ll make straight for the mountain.  We cannot delay any longer.”  Thorin muttered, giving Nori the nod as the guards disappeared from sight.  “Go, go, go.” 

The dwarf clambered up the backs of the company, using them as human stairs to get high enough to slip through the window.  And, just as he’d told us earlier, Dwalin was on the bottom, giving Fili a boost to act as the last stair.

Once he was through, Thorin nodded to Bilbo.  “Next.” 

The hobbit repeated the maneuver, awkwardly springboarding off the dwarrows to haul himself through the window. 

“Bofur.  Then Kili.  Then me.”  Thorin directed, then turned to me.  “You stay down here with the rest.  Keep an eye out for the guards.” 

“Okay,” I nodded, “but are you sure about Kili?  He’s got a wounded leg, remember?”  I watched as Kili practically crawled up the last ‘step’ and had his brother practically shove him through the window.  Thorin didn’t even turn around to see it. 

“He’s fine, Estel.  Kili’s gotten himself scraped up more times than I can count.  He’s perfectly capable for this.”  Thorin brushed my concerns off with a nostalgic smile and a shake of his head before he made his own ascent and forced himself through the small window.

Well, I couldn’t say I didn’t warn the dwarrow, but regardless, I hoped he was right. 

With Thorin safely inside the armory, the rest of the company disentangled themselves and stood warily alongside the building. 

“Did Nori mention the best way out of here?”  I voiced the thought that struck me suddenly.  “I know he said they were coming out that door at the bottom, but where are we going from there?” 

I looked around at the rest of the dwarrows.  It wasn’t like we were going to be inconspicuous with our newfound weaponry. 

“To the mountain, of course.”  Dori whispered, and I tried not to roll my eyes. 

“Yes, I know that part.  I was talking about how fourteen dwarves all carrying swords are going to sneak through Laketown without being noticed.” 

“We’ll manage.  It won’t be the first time for---”  Balin’s calm reassurance was interrupted by an ear-splitting crash from within the armory. 

We all stared at each other in horror for a moment before the sound of approaching footsteps sent us scrambling. 

Thorin.  I had a split second to worry before all hell broke loose.

“Run!”  Dori yelped, only to stop short when a guard came around the corner and put a pike to his throat. 

“Halt!”  He barked, motioning over his shoulder and drawing more guards over to us. 

“Keep yer head down an’ stay close.”  Dwalin hissed under his breath to me as we were pushed forward. 

I nodded once, watching as Fili maneuvered himself to flank me as the guards marched us around the corner and past the wagon we had all hidden behind a few minutes ago.  The armory door was ajar and the guards stopped us from going any further. 

One left us, peering through the door.  “We’ve got a group of the dwarves here, Davrel.  I assume they’re the companions of yours.” 

I rose up on my toes, trying to see past him into the building.  There had been no noise of a struggle once we had been apprehended, so I assumed there had been no choice but peaceful surrender. 

“Git down.”  Dwalin growled, catching sight of me trying to peer around him.  He twisted slightly so he could grab my shoulder and shove me back down. 

“Keep quiet!  Another word and I’ll be seeing which of you can swim.”  One of the other men who surrounded us threatened, looking directly at me. 

I looked away quickly, trying to subtly hide myself behind one of the larger dwarrows as my heart began to pound. 

Almost instantly, I found my mind wandering to what would happen if they found out I was a woman.  What they would do differently to me. 

The existence of dwarrowdames was a very closely guarded secret.  It had become apparent to me very quickly that they—I should say we—were rare.  And then Thorin had explained further the status given to their womenfolk because of that.  That we were treasured and were to be protected at all costs.

So for a human man to learn what I was….I had heard too many stories about the curiosity of men about women. 

A shudder went down my spine, and I suddenly found myself grateful that I’d had the foresight to change back into my original outfit before we left Bard’s house.  The skirt would have been a dead give-away as to my sex.  Not that there weren’t other obvious things about me that screamed ’female’.

While lost in my thoughts, I didn’t see the quick, subtle hand motions Dwalin made to the rest of the group, catching the eyes of those who didn’t see to make sure they did. 

Don’t let them know E. is woman.

A commotion in the armory had us all watching as the rest of our group was led out at swordpoint.  I restrained myself from trying to catch the first glimpse of Thorin, allowing myself to be shielded behind Dwalin as they were herded into our midst.

“Think that’s all of them?”  The last man out of the building asked to the guard who was leaning against the doorframe. 

He shrugged his shoulders, spitting onto the wooden walkway.  “Looks to be.  Sure are plenty of them.”

“Aye.  Won’t make the Master happy at all…”  He dropped his voice, the rest of his sentence unintelligible.  The other one grimaced, straightening up and grabbing hold of his pike.  “Move along, now!”  He ordered, and we were funneled down the boardwalk.

Dwalin was almost immediately grabbed by one of the guards, who kept a tight hold on his arm as if they expected him to make a fuss.  I drew back, trying to keep hidden in the middle of the crush. 

Fili had moved up in the group, arm wrapped around Kili, who was limping.  Obviously, his wound wasn’t just a mere scrape like Thorin had tried to play it off as. 

The further into the city we went, the more people were gathered.  Whispers followed us as we were led straight into the heart of the floating city.  Speculations as to who we were and what we were doing. 

And then, we were shoved through the crowd and before a towering building that loomed imposingly over the town and its occupants.

I was given a push that sent me stumbling, almost tripping over the uneven planks.  Strong hands caught me, steadying me against a familiar broad figure.  But just as quickly, Thorin released me, shooting a glare over at a man who I guessed had pushed me. 

“Thorin—”  I whispered, but he shook his head. 

“They cannot know what you are.  Stay silent and beside anyone but me.”  He murmured quickly, taking a step away from me and allowing Dwalin to take his place. 

I shivered as his warmth retreated.  Snowflakes were falling gently from the sky, heralding the beginnings of winter.  I didn’t fully understand why I couldn’t be associated with Thorin.  He was obviously trying to keep my sex hidden from our audience, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t stand at his side.

The place where I felt the safest in this town.

“What is the meaning of this?”  A new, irritated voice called out, and all eyes were drawn to the pair of men emerging from the building before us. 

“We caught ‘em stealing weapons, Sire.”  One of the guards spoke.

So this was the Master….This bloated, overfed man who so obviously rung this town dry of anything it could produce. 

“Ah!  Enemies of the state, huh?”  He peered out at us, pulling his fur-trimmed robe closer around him as a gust of wind blew through the square.

“A desperate bunch of mercenaries, if ever there was, Sire.”  The second man spoke in a drawl, prowling out from behind the Master like a cat.

Dwalin bristled.  “Hold your tongue!”  He strode forward, drawing all eyes onto him.  “You do not know to whom you speak.  This is no common criminal.  This is Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror!”  He introduced his friend as though we had reclaimed Erebor and ruled from it.  The names of Thorin’s forefathers rang in the crisp air.

Murmurs erupted from the crowd as Dwalin said the last one.

As I stood, watching Dwalin defend my husband, Thorin stepped past me, coming to join him in the middle of the circle.  Passing by his friend, Thorin inclined his head, exchanging a look before facing the Master. 

“We are the dwarves of Erebor.  We have come to reclaim our homeland.”  His deep baritone thrummed through the square, prompting a whole new round of excited mutters from the crowd.

Butterflies erupted in my stomach upon hearing those words spoken aloud for the first time.  Suddenly, everything seemed…real.  Like until this moment, this entire journey—and what we were planning to accomplish—didn’t exist. 

Thorin began walking, locking eyes with members of the crowd.  “I remember this town in the great days of old.  Fleets of boats lay at harbour, filled with silks and fine gems.  This was no forsaken town on a lake.  This was the center of all trade in the north!

“I would see those days return.  I would relight the great forges of the dwarves and send wealth and riches flowing once more from the halls of Erebor!”

The crowd cheered around us, and I watched as the Master exchanged a look with his black-robed companion.  But they were forgotten by all as Thorin gave the crowd hope for their future.

This.  This was who he was meant to be.  It was so easy for me to see how comfortable Thorin was in this situation.  The ease with which he spoke to these people who struggled to eke out their existence. 

He was no princeling brought up on tales of grandeur and riches.  He had fought tooth and nail to earn his position and do right by his people.  He had walked miles in the same shoes as these folk.  Thorin had always chosen the hard path over the easy. 

That is what earned the respect of these people around us.  Why they so easily warmed to him.  They recognized the kindred soul who understood their hardships.  Who was so different from their current leader who leeched off their hard labour for his gain.

Thorin met my eyes as I watched him from behind Gloin.  He smiled minutely, not giving away any hints to those around us who might be watching.

“Death!  That is what you’ll bring upon us!”  Bard’s voice rang through the air, and he shoved his way through the crowd, passing by me and stopping in front of Thorin.  “Dragonfire and ruin.  If you awaken that beast, it will destroy us all.”

Thorin stared him down for a heartbeat before he turned slowly back to the crowd.  “You can listen to this naysayer, but I promise you this; if we succeed all will share in the wealth of the mountain.” 

He was unruffled; confident in the crowd’s reaction to his words.  But there was still the oliphant in the room.

If.  The word we treaded so carefully upon.

“You will have enough gold to rebuild Esgaroth ten times over!”  Thorin boomed, and the crowd erupted again into cheers.

Balin leaned over to whisper in my ear, unable to keep from smiling.  “Laddie’s in his element now.”

“It’s in his blood.”  I murmured back.

Bard turned to look at the crowd, casting his gaze over them with furrowed brow.  Like he didn’t understand why Thorin’s promises were so well received. 

How could they not?  This was something straight out of a fairy tale—a king returning to reclaim his stronghold and the riches within.  I was willing to bet this was the first glimpse of hope these people had seen in a long while.

“All of you!”  Bard entreated.  “Listen to me, you must listen!  Have you forgotten what happened to Dale?  Have you forgotten those who died in the firestorm?  And for what purpose?” 

Women began to shake their heads, gazes cast down to the ground.  The men looked staunchly ahead; reliving the tales that had been passed down from their fathers.

Bard swung about to look back at Thorin.  “The blind ambition of a Mountain King, so driven by greed, he could not see beyond his own desire!” 

Thorin’s sapphire eyes turned ice cold; his jaw set as if he couldn’t trust himself not to speak out. 

The Master cleared his throat, reminding us all that he still existed and was watching this whole exchange.  “Now, now.  We must not, any of us, be too quick to lay blame.”  He shook his finger like he was telling off a naughty child.  “Let us not forget, that it was Girion, Lord of Dale, your ancestor, who failed to kill the beast!” 

“That’s the pot callin’ the kettle black, right there.”  Gloin muttered to Dori, who nodded. 

“Aye, he’s just as much at fault.”

Beside the Master, his lackey nodded sagely.  “It’s true, Sire.  We all know the story.  Arrow after arrow, he shot.  Each one missing its mark.”  He tsked sadly, managing to not look sorry at all while doing so.

“You have no right.  No right to enter that mountain.”  Bard’s voice was quiet as he looked down on Thorin.

Mutters ran through the dwarves.  I bit my lip, silently disagreeing with his words.  He did not understand what we had all gone through in order to reach this point.  What we had fought or outrun.  What demons we had battled in our minds.

And that was only on this quest.  What I knew about the fall of Erebor and all that happened afterwards only scratched the surface of what really went down.  The struggles that each and every one of these dwarves had faced.  How they had suffered and struggled to make a living hundreds of miles from where they had been born and raised.  I could never truly understand, having not been there that day.

Thorin met his gaze easily.  “I have the only right.”  He murmured, turning away from the man to address the Master.  “I speak to the Master of the men of the lake.  Will you see the prophecy fulfilled?  Will you share in the great wealth of our people?”

I fully expected the greed of the man to present itself instantly.  How could he turn away such riches?  But he hesitated, and my heart dipped in my chest. 

Thorin asked him again, voice deepening into a command.  “What say you?”

“I say, unto you….”  The Master swallowed hard before throwing his hands out wide, “welcome!  Welcome and rise!  Welcome, King Under the Mountain!” 

The crowd erupted into cheers.  Bard was the only person who seemed disappointed that the Master approved of Thorin.  He stood with his back to me so I couldn’t see his expression, but he certainly wasn’t cheering with the rest of the townsfolk. 

“Come!  Join me in celebrating your return and continued success on your journey!”  The Master invited, grinning broadly.  “Dine at my table before you set out for the mountain.” 

We all exchanged looks.  Balin shrugged.  “I’ve never been one to turn down a good meal, particularly now.”

“Probably a good bit of ale, too.”  Bofur chimed in, and with that, we filed up the stairs and into the Master’s house.

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Her eyes narrow upon your’s, as if reading your mind she leans closer. Dís' dark lashes flutter, sending her blue eyes shimmering beneath the afternoon sun like a water surface reflecting the flight of swallows. Beguiling and constantly alive with change. "You want a kiss, dont you?” She inquires, her voice dropping to a sensually husky tone.

Angling in you nod, unable to look away now that she has on Other Business First Dís voice. “You know me so well.” since your night of love making the sporadic kisses youve shared have been recorded in a sacred place in your mind.

She moves closer and youre just about to close your eyes and taste her again when her finger lands over your lips. “Earn it,” Dís huskily murmurs. Her smile confident. Her eyes calculating.

And you? You were so wet seeing her sharp eyes focusing solely on your lips. But you nod. “And how may I serve you, my lady?”

She regards you a moment before her smile turns wicked with mischief."Fetch me water?”