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

Ch. 9 (R) & 10 (PG-13): New Beginnings and Heartrending Decisions

“Thorin’s Dream of Love”, Ch. 9 (R) & 10 (PG-13): New Beginnings and Heartrending Decisions,  October 27, 2013 Gratiana Lovelace

(This is an original fan fiction story by Gratiana Lovelace; All rights reserved;  The characters from “The Hobbit:  An Unexpected Journey” and “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” are owned by Warner Brothers, no copyright infringement is intended)

[From time to time, I will illustrate my story with my dream cast of:  Richard Armitage as Prince Thorin Oakenshield, Lucy Griffiths as Lady Kiralin, Jeffrey Thomas as King Thror, Mike Mizrahi as Prince Thrain, Lee Pace as King Thranduil, Graham McTavish as Lord Dwalin, Orlando Bloom as Prince Legolas, Evangeline Lilly as Captain Tauriel, Ken Stott as Lord Balin, Hugo Weaving as Lord Elrond, and Adam Brown as Gralin, 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:  After the devastation of the dragon attack on their beloved city of Dale in T.A. 2770, the Dwarves of Durin seek a new homeland.  So Prince Thorin and Princess Kiralin begin their lives in exile--as everyone must.  It is a hard scrabble existence thrust upon the still proud race of Dwarves that will test their fortitude.  And for Prince Thorin and Princess Kiralin, their new reality will test their capacity to love.

“Thorin’s Dream of Love”, Ch. 9 (R)--Their Hearts are Tested Beyond Imagining as They Begin their New Lives

Gone.  Their lives, their homes, their planned futures are gone.  What was once their beautiful city of Dale [(2) below left] rising on the hillside near their Mountain fortress of Erebor, has been reduced to a smouldering rubble of ruin [(3) below right] with the attack of Smaug the dragon.  And the Dwarves of Durin must start again to survive and ultimately to reclaim their homeland and their power.

Prince Thorin and Princess Kiralin have been so busy in these early days and weeks and months of their marriage helping others acclimate to their new reality once they reached the Blue Mountains [(4)] where they would settle, that they have not had a moment to adjust to it themselves. 

Indeed, the newlylweds have had but a few stolen moments of intimacy when there is little privacy to be had.  They live with their extended family of King Thror, Prince Thrain, Prince Frerin and Princess Dis, and Princess Kiralin’s family in a small two story cottage granted them by their brethren Dwarven kingdom.   And this house they only accepted grudgingly, and only after their people’s needs for shelter had first been met with a small newly formed village they built and named Gilead [(5)].   Gilead was situated on a nearby hill before the Blue Mountains. And though Gilead was no Mountain of Erebor, it will become their home. 

And with that process of making a new home, the Dwarves of Durin ply their crafts and skills--with even Prince Thorin working a metal forge [(6) right] to earn their keep.  And Princess Kiralin helps the women adjust as they remake everything they had lost--from clothes to earthen ware dishes--with some of their products being sold for food and coin.  Slowly, methodically, the frugal Dwarves rebuild their financial security--though it does not come close to approximating their wealth at Erebor.