"Thorin's Journey: An Unexpected Love", Ch. 5 (PG-13, S): Slipping Away from their Wedding Feast, October 25, 2015 by Gratiana Lovelace (Post #820)

(an original fan fic story, copyrighted by Gratiana Lovelace, 2015; all rights reserved; no copyright infringement intended) [(1) story cover image]

[From time to time, I will illustrate my story with my dream cast of: Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, Cate Blanchett/Liv Tyler as Sulisha Weaverdale, Ken Stott as Balin, Graham McTavish as Dwalin, Dean O'Gorman as Prince Fili, Aidan Turner as Prince Kili, and and others as noted, etc.]

Author's Content Note: "Thorin's Journey: An Unexpected Love" is a story of romance and intrigue set against the backdrop of JRR Tolkien's Middle Earth. As such there will be some passages in this story involving heartfelt love scenes (S) and some passages involving highly dramatic moments (D). 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 tense 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: With Thorin Oakenshield's wedding to Sulisha Weaverdale having unexpected complications in the person of the Council of Erebor proposing an alternate bride in the Iron Hills Princess Bethelwyn--and King Thorin categorically rejecting that notion--Thorin's and Sulisha's wedding was celebrated with much joy. However their wedding feast is now the scene of some continuing drama regarding whom among the Princes of Durin that Princess Bethelwyn will be betrothed too. When all King Thorin and Queen Sulisha want to do is to begin their marriage as husband and wife.

"Thorin's Journey: An Unexpected Love", Ch. 5 (PG-13, S):
Slipping Away from their Wedding Feast

From his guest of honor head table vantage point at his and Queen Sulisha's wedding feast, King Thorin observes the Iron Hills maiden Princess Bethelwyn interacting with his nephews Prince Fili and Prince Kili. The boys [(2)] are falling over themselves trying to capture the princess' sole attention by bowing copiously, offering to get her punch, wanting to dance with her, etc.

King Thorin leans over to his new Queen Sulisha and notes wryly.

King Thorin: "I did not realize that the boys would be providing our entertainment this evening." King Thorin's eyes are tiredly bemused. One can be expected to contain their relations only so far, before stronger measures are required to keep the general peace.

Queen Sulisha: "Hmm." She smiles knowingly. "They are smitten with Princess Bethelwyn from the Iron Hills. And why not? They are all young and fun loving. And she is pretty and vivacious. I think that she will lead them on a merry chase."

King Thorin: "Indeed! And whose heart will she tempt into matrimony? Prince Fili's or Prince Kili's?" And King Thorin [(3)] is glad to have dodged that arrow. Only his new Queen Sulisha matches King Thorin's sensibilities.

Queen Sulisha: "I am not certain. But what I have no doubt is that they will find Princess Bethelwyn a handful." She purses her lips, remembering the dreamy eyed gushing maiden who attended her this day, just before the wedding.

King Thorin: "Ah ha! Do you have something to tell me of the metal princess?"

Queen Sulisha: "Husband, if you do not stop referring to her in that manner, you will slip and call her that to her face one day." She gently admonishes her new husband in a wifely way.

King Thorin: "I relish the prospect, wife." He intones mirthfully.

Queen Sulisha: "Ha ha ha ha ha! You wicked man!" She [(4)] teasingly smiles at her new husband.

King Thorin: "Hmmm. Not yet. I but await your command, My Queen." He purrs deeply. Queen Sulisha blushes at her husband King Thorin's intimation. This week leading up to their wedding, they have been apart--in terms of their living arrangements. And they have each keenly felt their absence of comfort in each others' loving arms. Then he leans closer to her and whispers further. "Would that we were alone at our home this moment--and were wearing naught but our crowns of state, and our smiles."

Queen Sulisha: "Thorin!" She swats at his arm playfully for his naughty suggestion. But then again, she is not wholly opposed to his line of thinking--even if they do not have their crowns. But they can not just abruptly leave their own wedding feast. Can they?

Suddenly, their reverie is broken as their squabbling nephews Prince Fili and Prince Kili walk toward them to seek their Uncle King Thorin's judgment regarding Princess Bethelwyn [(5)].

Prince Fili: "Uncle King Thorin, I beg you let me court the Princess Bethelwyn! She is divine! She has the face of an angel, and the body of a goddess. And her long golden flecked hair is just as it should be." For in Fili, the Dwarven gold sickness [(6)] is in the form of blond or near blond Dwarven ladies.

King Thorin winces at Prince Fili, then he turns to Prince Kili waiting for a similar outburst.

Prince Kili: Not good with words describing Dwarven ladies--but Prince Kili knows what he likes--he blusters. "Not fair, Uncle King Thorin! Fili gets all the Dwarven ladies. I want some, too."

Their Aunt Queen Sulisha rolls her eyes.

King Thorin: Noticing his wife's reaction, King Thorin asks. "My Queen. Do you have a suggestion to make about this dilemma?" The boys lean forward to hear her comment.

Queen Sulisha: "I do. But I fear that our nephews will not like it." The boys pout--as only sixty year old adolescent Dwarves can.

King Thorin: "Well? Please share your wisdom upon the matter."

Queen Shulisha: "Prince Fili and Prince Kili. You have a bigger hurdle to overcome than each other, before either of you might be allowed to court Princess Bethelwyn."

Prince Fili: "What? Who?" He looks around the room

Prince Kili: "I knew it! That troll Dunthur has sneaked behind our backs to find favor with our princess."

Queen Sulisha: "True, another suitor might be on the horizon for the princess. But you must first obtain permission to court her from the Iron Hills Ambassador Gehrain who is acting as the princess' guardian while she is here. And then..."

Prince Kili: "And then?"

King Thorin: Interjecting to move the boys along, King Thorin finishes. "And then you need to ask Princess Metal... Kkhhh..." Queen Sulisha shoots her husband a warning glance. "I mean, Princess Bethelwyn whom she prefers."

Prince Fili: "She will prefer me. For I am older and more experienced."

Prince Kili: "You are older by only five years! It is not fair!"

King Thorin: "Be that as it may, this is our wedding feast. Now please leave us to try to enjoy our meals."

Prince Fili: "Yes, Uncle King Thorin." He bows.

Prince Kili: "Yes, Uncle King Thorin." He bows.

King Thorin: "Will they never grow up to be Dwarves of maturity?"

Queen Sulisha: "Given them time--thirty or so years."

King Thorin: "I am not a patient man. I would have the boys be sensible now."

Queen Sulisha: "Oh? And is being sensible something you prize highly, My Love." She has a twinkle in her eyes.

King Thorin: Gazing upon his wife with a curious eye, he smiles and asks. "What is it you suggest?"

Queen Sulisha: "Only that it is probably not sensible--nor polite of us--but may we go home now?" She smiles.

King Thorin: "You are tired?" He winces--because Thorin is so, not tired.

Queen Sulisha: "Only as a ruse to let us take our leave. The wedding feast may go on without us."

King Thorin: "I knew that I married wisely." He smiles broadly. Then he stands up and the room quietens down. "My wife Queen Sulisha and I thank you for sharing in our joyous wedding day. We hope that you will continue to enjoy the feast in our absence."

Lord Assendrix: "And the spirits." He has begun to drink himself senseless. Though some would argue that he was senseless before the drink.

King Thorin: "So we bid you goodnight." King Thorin waves to their guests as he helps Queen Sulisha stand.

The guests murmur their well wishes, their thanks, some even their disappointment that the royal couple is leaving early. Then one person--no one knows who--interjects what many are thinking, but none would breach decorum to voice.

Guest: "Atta boy, Thorin. Go get her!"

Queen Sulisha's mouth drops open in shock for the breach of etiquette. But King Thorin quickly ushers her out of there--which was their purpose all along.

***

And then after Queen Sulisha changes into a more suitable dress for riding her horse, she and King Thorin ride their horses back home to their cave in the mountain. Or so she thought. But then Thorin takes an unusual and circuitous path and they end up at a cottage by the lake. She gives her husband a quizzical look.

Thorin: "Suli, I could not be certain that the wedding feasters would not travel to our cave home and think to have some fun at our expense." Wedding night crashers can turn up at the most inopportune times.

Sulisha: "And you wish us not to be found?" She smiles.

Thorin: "Exactly! At this moment, all I want is you, Suli."

Sulisha: "And all I want is you, Thorin."

Thorin: "So I arranged for us to spend a few days in this secluded cottage. It is fully stocked with provisions. And our clothes and other necessities are also here."

Sulisha: "You have thought of everything, My Love."

Thorin: "Almost everything." He raises his eyebrows sheepishly. She looks at him quizzically. "I forgot to bring our night things."

Sulisha: She blushingly pinkens at his statement. Then she decides to have fun with him. "Oh? Do we not have candles to light in the darkness?"

Thorin: "No no. We have candles."

Sulisha: "What is the nature of our bedding? Or are we to lie upon the bare floor?

Thorin: "Again, no. We have a bed with sheets and blankets." Thorin gazes at her smoulderingly, his fingers twitching to unbind her from her riding gown.

Sulisah: "Hmmm. Then I fail to see the problem." Her eyes smile brightly with bemusement. And Thorin catches her teasing tone.

Thorin: "I do not see a problem either." Thorin removes his tunic, revealing his bare muscular torso as he strides toward Sulisha [(7)].

Sulisha rushes into her husband's arms and they kiss each other with loving abandon. Their mouths opening eagerly for their tongues to tangle so deliciously as their breaths comingle, tasting of the sweet wine from their wedding feast. Just as eagerly, their hands explore their newly wedded intimacy and tenderly caress, then they set about to unburden themselves of the rest of their garments.

Piece by piece, their clothing falls away and drops to the floor--or is flung haphazardly upon the end of the bed by Thorn. Then finally they are skin against skin, heart beating to heart, lips to lips--and everywhere else--as they consummate their marriage.

Then when Thorin and Sulisha fall asleep at last several hours later--exhausted, sated, delighted, and content--it is only the flickering flames of the waning hearth firelight that bear silent witness to their love. And in sleep, they dream of the possibilities of their new life together--of creating a permanent home, of their children, of legacy, and perhaps, of Erebor.

At some point, a small gray finch flies into their bed chamber window, and perches itself upon their window sill that was left open for them to enjoy the cooling night air. But a gray owl seeing the unguarded finch, silently swoops down and catches it in its talons as it flies away. Not to be so easily vanquished, the finch changes to a small mouse and bites the owl's leg. Startled, the owl loosens its hold upon its captive just enough that the mouse drops rapidly to the ground. Then the mouse twirls around and transforms into a gray finch again, spreading its wings and flying toward the Elven city of Rivendell--to meet its master.

To be continued with Chapter 6

References for Ch. 5, October 25, 2015 Gratiana Lovelace

1) Revised: My "Thorin's Journey: An Unexpected Love" story cover art I created is comprised of two images:

a) A cropped and masked head shot of a beautiful portrait drawing of Thorin Oakenshield by the talented artist Yanagoya of Thorin holding the Arkenstone found here http://rebloggy.com/post/the-hobbit-yana-art-thorin-arkenstone/41711190148 ; with the Thorin portrait face being in the image (cropped and masked by someone else, unknown) is of the talented actor Richard Armitage who portrayed Thorin in The Hobbit trilogy of films.

b) A cropped section of a screen cap of the Elven cave that I made from the first trailer for THDofS serves as the background image.

c) story cover image link for Wattpad: https://gratianads90.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/thorinsjourneyanunexpectedlove-storycover_oct0815gratianalovelace-256x401.jpg

2) Fili and Kili "At your service" gif was found at https://secure.static.tumblr.com/8e435e47d385d94df23393fcbcbfe14a/x8fe1ob/iu6nhjdl6/tumblr_static_tumblr_static_cqn2lb4rq3sokcckos8k40oo0_640 (dot) gif

3) Thorin in Crown is Richard Armitage in BOFA on Erebor Battlements Jun2815 by TheArkenstone-uk-viaShebaKay

4) QueenSulisha of Durin in crown is a combination image:

a) of Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian in Robin Hood (2010) and was found at http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/05/07/article-1273120-09527871000005DC-346_306x302.jpg and

b) of a beautiful silver crown that I/Grati manipped gold ; with the original beautiful silvery crown designg by Kelly Graham Designs and was found at http://www.kellygrahamdesigns.com/images/jewelry/circlets/C181a4.jpg

5) The painting of a young lady that represents Princess Bethelwyn in this story was a previously lost Leonardo Da Vinci work. Peter Silverman and Catherine Whitney wrote a book about that discovery that was reviewed in the Washington Post by T. Rees Shapiro (May 04, 2012), with the lady in the painting described as:

"She was Bianca, the illegitimate daughter of a Milanese duke, and was to be married to the duke's army commander. Da Vinci created the portrait in honor of the marriage." Here is the link to the Washington Post book review where the painting graphic was found: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/leonardos-lost-princess-one-mans-quest-to-authenticate-an-unknown-portrait-by-leonardo-da-vinci-by-peter-silverman-with-catherine-whitney/2012/05/04/gIQAtUB91T_story.html ;

6) The Dragon Fever, also known as gold sickness in The Hobbit is described at http://fanlore.org/wiki/Gold_Sickness

7) Young Thorin drawing (Grati decreased blue to simulate firelight) is by the talented artist Aegileif and was found at http://www.deviantart.com/art/Thorin-410300632

Blog story link for TJAUL with embedded images, Ch. 5:

https://gratianads90.wordpress.com/2015/10/25/thorins-journey-an-unexpected-love-ch-5-pg-13-s-slipping-away-from-their-wedding-feast-october-25-2015-by-gratiana-lovelace-post-820