Springtime at the Lonely Mountain

Promises

Ása never saw herself as a good wife material. Her upbringing had clearly shown her that a dwarven lady who was to marry a dwarf from a noble house needed a certain set of skills. And she lacked quite a few of them. Even though she had learned, or at least tried to learn everything that a young dwarven lady from a noble house should know, she never knew how to match the right jewels to a dress, neither how to lead polite and extremely dull conversations with other ladies at tea parties. Without extensive yawning, of course. She was hopeless when it came to exchanging the newest court gossip. And trying to remember who married whom, how many children they had and when their birthday was... It was simply too boring for her. She didn't care about how to make the servants properly polish silver - she didn't see the point of having neither servants nor silverware, to be honest. On top of that, she simply couldn't be less bothered by things like knowing how to decorate a dwarven hall in the most fashionable way or other similar nonsense.

On the other hand, if anyone asked her about the difference between blue tit and great tit - she could talk about these birds for ages. And about any other animals or plants for that matter. She already knew where exactly one could find the largest lingonberry bushes in the woods in the vicinity of Erebor. Ása tried to remain close to nature whenever she had a chance to do it. But what noble dwarf would even think of marrying a maiden who'd rather roam the forests or gallop her pony through the wilderness instead of planning formal events or embroidering fine shawls every single afternoon? Spending time alone and outdoors was very unladylike and generally frowned upon in the dwarven society.

That was why Ása decided that marriage was not for her. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life closed off in some vast dwarven hall with thousands of dark chambers, not being able to see the sun nor feel the fresh wind on her face. She quickly learned how to present her "disadvantages" to any potential suitors that Lord Grohir, her father, together with her stepmother decided to throw at her back in the Iron Hills. Usually, after one or two meetings, most of these young gentledwarves left her alone... much to the despair of her father and his wife, of course. Since the situation hadn't changed for quite a few years, Lord Grohir tried a different approach. Having an unmarried daughter of a certain age still at home, especially since dwarven women were so rare, was either a sign of her serious shortcomings or his ineptitude. As a seasoned politician, Lord Grohir attached great importance to appearances and came up with a plan that would kill two birds with one stone. He decided to send Ása away to Erebor to play the role of a political pawn. This way he could both strengthen his position and get rid of "the problem", as his wife referred to the situation (meaning: "Ása"). Lady Esta was not keen on having her stepdaughter around, unnecessarily reminding her husband about his dearly departed first wife. With Ása out of the picture, they could also finally start thinking about a financially (and politically) beneficial match for their son, Ása's younger half sibling.

This arrangement suited Ása very well. She planned to gain more independence, away from her stepmother's harsh supervision. She knew she was expected to dutifully bow and nod on official occasions whenever she was asked to, and she learned to play that role sufficiently well. Apart from that - and her studies - she was left to her own devices... whenever the stern Lady Barba looked the other way, that is. Unfortunately, this didn't happen as often as Ása would have liked.

The young dwarf maiden imagined that this was how the rest of her life would look like and she already started to get used to it. And then everything changed. She hadn't planned for meeting Thorin and falling in love with him. The prince of Erebor, of all people! At first, she suspected it was just a fleeting fancy on his side, a bored heir to the throne killing time by trying to charm yet another dwarven maiden. Unexpectedly, it turned into something completely different. Even if her heart kept beating to the rhythm of the young prince's name, Ása was well aware of the current political situation and dwarven customs regarding royalty. They did not marry whomever they wished - their spouses were chosen for political benefits, power and influence they could bring to the realm. The rulers of Kingdom of Erebor already had all they wanted from the Iron Hills through their latest agreement. The one she was a part of, ironically. Besides, she was convinced she was not the right person to be a proper prince's wife and a potential queen in the far future. Last but not least, her fate was only for the king Thrór to decide. She was his ward now, with Lord Beldrum and Lady Barba appointed as her guardians. From what she heard, the king had already some plans regarding her future. Ása was bound to obey him, both by honor and by the agreement between Erebor and Iron Hills, the kingdom of Grór, Thrór's brother.