"Thorin's Dream of Love", a short story by Gratiana Lovelace, Sept. 14, 2013

Ch.2 (PG-13): The Elven King's Tribute

"Thorin's Dream of Love" (ficlet), Ch.2 (PG-13):  The Elven King's Tribute, September 29, 2013 Gratiana Lovelace

(This is an original ficlet by Gratiana Lovelace, All rights reserved;  The characters from "The Hobbit:  An Unexpected Journey" are owned by Warner Brothers, no copyright infringement intended)

[From time to time, I will illustrate my story with my dream cast of:  Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, Luci Griffiths as Lady Kiralin, Jeffrey Thomas as King Thror, Mike Mizrahi as Prince Thrain, and Lee Pace as King Thranduil, etc.]

Author's Mature Content Note:  "Thorin's Dream of Love" is a story of romance and intrigue set amidst the backdrop of Middle Earth.  As such there will be some passages in this story involving heartfelt love scenes (R rated) and some passages involving highly dramatic moments.  I will label the maturity rating of those chapters accordingly.  Otherwise, the general rating for this story is PG or PG-13 due to some mature situations and topics.  If you are unable or unwilling to attend a movie with the ratings that I provide, then please do not read the chapters with those labels.  This is my disclaimer.

Author's Recap from the previous installment:  On their quest to regain Erebor, Thorin Oakenshield slept and remembered an earlier time of ease--before the dragon Smaug devastated their town Dale and claimed their fortress Erebor, and all the gold that lay within.  Thorin dreamed of Lady Kiralin, of the night when she came to him as their secret romance blossomed.   His dream continues.

"Thorin's Dream of Love" (ficlet), Ch.2 (PG-13):  The Elven King's Tribute

Prince Thorin knew that Lady Kiralin would be gone before he  would awaken the next day.  But expecting a thing and wanting a thing are very different.  Prince Thorin knows that  it would not do for him to be seen favoring her, nor her to be seen favoring him.  Erebor court protocol is such that Lady Kiralin as his servant noble--or as the sister of his manservant--Prince Thorin should not trifle with her.  And yet their meetings in secret are not trifling at all.  Thorin stretches out his hand over the indentation in the bed where she had lain cuddled up to his side when their lovemaking had finally abated--having sated their love, for now.  The bed is still warm from her presence and from their lovemaking.  He knows this is how their meetings must be. Though a Handmaiden of Durin as an unmarried woman, Lady Kiralin is not of royal blood--her brother is his man servant noble, afterall.  He must accept that it is the way of things.

Thorin rises from his bed naked and puts on his dressing gown before the early morning servant will enter with his breakfast.  Walking over to the window of his bedchamber, Thorin views the landscape of Dale in a hazy mist that seems to engulf it--only the roof tops of the taller homes can still be seen.  It is as if Dale is not even there--their beautiful city [(2) right]  and its hardworking people are hidden from his [sight] as if they did not exist anymore. 

[P] He shudders at the thought.  Being of royal blood, Prince Thorin has always known that foresight was a gift bestowed upon some. But the haze eradicating Dale before him disturbs him--in a way that he does not understand as of yet.   This is not a good omen for The Elven King Thranduil's visit today.   What a tedious thing that will be, thinks Prince Thorin--the Elves will make a begrudging show of respect and he and his father Thrain and his grandfather King Thror will pretend that they do not notice.

There is a soft knock at Prince Thorin's bedchamber door.

Prince Thorin:  "Enter." He sighs without turning from the window, his back is still to the door.

Two women enter--one young and one much older.  They are mother and daughter. One woman carries with her a pitcher of warm water for Prince Thorin's morning freshening and the other woman carries a tray of food.  Smelling the food, Prince Thorin turns around--a bit taken back by what he sees, the old woman Dwarf named Helga and the young Dwarf maid, Lady Kiralin.  Helga carries the tray of food, stooped over as she sets the tray on a nearby table.  Kiralin's eyes are firmly cast downward, not looking at Prince Thorin--though his eyes cannot be removed from her face and from her form.