#the lady dis never got to see her boys kili and fili again.... nor her brother..... i think about her constantly.

[doe-eyes-dekarios]

Do you ever just remember Thorin Oakenshield and cry?

[ruthoakenshield]

Worthless Little Shadow (chapter 7)

Worthless Little Shadow (Chapter 6)

As they finish their conversation, a knock is heard at the door. Dis gets up and answers it. She closes the door and comes back to the table. "Thorin is ready for the council meeting. You boys had better get going." she tells them. "Balin, I will send the raven to go inquire and search for the two guards who helped Shadow escape." she tells him.

Balin nods. "You two ladies have a lovely day. We will see you both for lunch." Balin tells them as he gets up. He comes over to Shadow and gives her a wink. "Don't worry about how this will turn out, Lass. You are welcome here and we will not send you back to your father, nor will we send you out of the mountain. Spend the day with Dis and have her show you around the mountain until Dwalin or I have some free time. I'm afraid Thorin will keep these two lads busy for a while until we can get this all worked out and can prove to him your story is true." Balin tells her as he gives her a small hug.

She looks up at his face and gives him a small smile. "Thank you Master Balin for your help and your kindness." Shadow says quietly. "Any time, Lass. I am here if you ever want someone to talk with." he says and pats her cheek affectionately.

Balin heads for the door, "Come on Gents, lets get going." he says. Dwalin comes over and gives Shadow a smile. "It's good to finally hear ya talkin' Lass. I hope ye will sing for us again sometime." he says with a twinkle in his eye. Shadow blushes and says, "We shall see, Master Dwalin." he grins and gives her a wink and a pat on the shoulder, then heads over to his brother.

Kili gets up and comes over to Shadow. "Don't worry, Little Shadow, everything will work out. Just keep being you and give Uncle time to warm up to you." he says and gives her a hug. She smiles and hugs him back. "Thank you, Kee for finding me and helping me." she says quietly. He puts his head to hers and says, "You make my brother happier than I have ever seen him. I am glad he found his One and I can't wait to have you as a sister!" he grins.

Shadow chuckles and Kili heads for the door.

Fili stands up last and just looks at Shadow for a moment. He takes her hands and kisses each of them then holds them to his chest. "I wish I didn't have to go to these meetings today. I had wanted to show you around Erebor when we got back." he sighs. Shadow puts her forehead against his.

"You can show me your favourite haunts perhaps when you finish for the day. I am in no hurry, my love, I will wait for you however long I have to." she tells him.

Fili sighs and looks into her green eyes. "I love you SO much Ghishavel, thank you for not running when you realized who I was." he tells her quietly. She giggles.

"Well I couldn't exactly run when you had me in a tight grip on your pony." she replies.

Fili grins. "Stay with me always?" he asks her. "Yes, my Lion Prince, I will stay with you always." she tells him and kisses him so soundly that he is left speechless.

 They hear chuckling from behind them and Kili calls out, "Come on 'Lion Prince', get your rear in gear or Uncle will have your head for making us late for council." Dwalin and Balin chuckle and Fili gives Shadow a peck on the cheek and heads out to the meeting.

Dis chuckles as she watches the interaction between her oldest son and his love. It reminds her of her late husband. Fili looks a lot like him and she sees a lot of her in Shadow. She comes over to Shadow after the Dwarrow leave and she says, "Come, lets go for a walk and I will show you some of Erebor while we talk and get to know each other better." Shadow smiles and nods.

The two dwarrowdams head into the hallway and Dis introduces Shadow to the guards who were assigned to protect her room. They smile politely and welcome her to Erebor. Then Dis shows Shadow to the throne room and lets her look around. After that, she takes them to the market place and they have fun wandering the market and admiring all the wares. Dis takes Shadow over to her favourite corsetmaker and insists on getting several more corsets in various colors to go with the dresses the dwarves bought for her. "They don't understand some of the things we ladies need." she chuckles. Then they head over to the booth that sells undergarments and night clothes. Dis helps Shadow pick out more underclothes and some night gowns. Then they head to the food vendors and grab some fruit and cheese, honey cakes  and a bottle of mead and head out of the market.

Dis takes her to the library and grins when she sees Shadow's face light up a the mention of Erebor having a library. "Do you enjoy reading?" Dis asks. Shadow smiles a big smile and says, "Yes, I did a lot of reading when I was locked in my rooms." Dis introduces Shadow to Ori, who shows them around the library and explains how things are organized and what all he has done to restore the library. Shadow is amazed by it all and is quick to praise him for all his hard work and how lovely the library looks. 

Ori blushes at the praise and thanks her. He shows them to a table and lets them sit and talk and eat their mid morning snack. "Shadow, what are the names of the guards who helped you escape?" Dis asks as they eat. Shadow tells her and sighs. "I wonder if they are even alive any more. Father doesn't suffer those who betray him to live for very long. Father pretends to be kind and good natured on the outside, but once he lets you into his inner circle, he reveals how mean and cruel he truly is. I doubt he even bothered to search for me. He always told me I was worthless and good for nothing. He blamed mother for me being a girl and not a boy. As if she had any control over it." Shadow said sadly.

Dis sighed. "I am so sorry you were treated like that. When Thorin finds out what has happened to you, I'm sure he will not be happy and will understand why you ran. One thing he does not tolerate is a woman of any race being improperly treated and abused. You will be safe here, Sweetheart, if anyone ever raises a hand to you in anger he and my boys will see that they are punished severely. The dwarves of this community do not tolerate abuse of our women." Dis assures Shadow. 

"Were you close to your mother?" Dis asks. Shadow nods. "Yes, I miss her terribly. She would've loved my room. Amethysts were her favourite. They remind me of her." Shadow tells her. "She hated the name father chose for me." Shadow says. "Amad always told me I was NOT worthless and that I was NOT good for nothing. She always told me she wanted to name me, Davi, which means 'cherished'. She always called me that when Adad was not around. 

"Shadow, which name would you rather be called. It seems my boys' nickname is what Dwalin and the boys refer to you as, but that was because no one knew your real name. You won't be able to go by that though once you are introduced to Thorin, the council, and the mountain as Fili's intended. How would you like to be called? Raca or Davi?" Dis asks. 

"I can choose?" Shadow asks as she looks at Dis in wonder. Dis chuckles, "Yes, my dear, you can choose. If there is a different name you wish to be called in public, then let me know." Shadow thinks for a bit. She considers what Dis just told her about how dwarves here view their women. "Dis, do you think Fili would like it if I was called Davi?" She asks.

Dis gives her a warm smile, "He would love it, Sweetheart. Since he does obviously cherish you!" Dis replies. 

"Then I would like to be known as Davi." Shadow informs Dis. Dis nods, "What would you like as a surname?" Dis asks. "I don't know." Shadow replies. 

"What was your mother's name?" Dis asks. "Lenora Ironshield" Shadow replies. Dis' eyes get huge. "Your mother was Lenora Ironshield?!?" Shadow looks confused and nods.

Dis thinks a moment. Then she says, "Normally when a Dwarrow or Dwarrowdam is introduced formally, her first name, surname, and family lineage and titles are given. Thorin's is: Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain, Son of Thror, King under the Mountain. But for you, I will make a case we use your mother's side since your father has behaved so poorly. If you wished to disown him, no one would bat an eye about it and you would still be considered a princess through your mother's lineage. I remember hearing about her once, before she met your adad.  She was a highly respected Dwarrowdam in her former community. I am surprised her father agreed to the marriage. Had he known what he was putting her into, he never would've agreed to the marriage." Dis tells Shadow.

"So let's have you introduced as: Davi, daughter of Lenora Ironshield, queen of the Rhun Mountains, granddaughter of Dolana Lavafist, queen of the Iron Mountain, and intended of Fili, son of Dis and nephew of Thorin, King under the Mountain." Dis suggests.

Shadow's face lights up and she nods. "I like that. We can figure out a surname for me later, I've done nothing noteworthy deserving one." she tells Dis. 

"Come, let's go send a raven to look for your guard friends." Dis says and they pack up their snack and thank Ori for showing them the library and Dis takes Shadow out to Raven Hill to send the bird to find her friends and see if they are alive.

Davi is amazed at the size of the birds. "I never realized how large the Ravens of Erebor are! They are such beautiful birds!" Davi exclaimed. A few of the ravens squawk and one hops onto Davi's shoulder and preens her hair adjusting one of the flower pins Dis had put into it. Davi freezes when the bird hops onto her shoulder and she looks at Dis a little frightened. Dis chuckles. "Loni said your hair pin was coming out and he decided to fix it for you." Dis explained. Loni rubs his head against Davi's face affectionately. Davi chuckles and says, "Thank you Loni. You are a nice raven." It squawks something to Dis and Dis chuckles. "Loni wants to know why you are so thin." she says. 

"Loni, my father rules the Rhun Mountains. He is a horribly cruel dwarf and abused both my mother and I. When my mother died, he locked me in my rooms and starved me. That is why I am so thin. Two guards, who were friends of mine, helped me to escape. That is why we sent the raven to search for them. If they are still alive, I want them to come here and be my guards as a reward for their help." Davi explains. 

Loni squawks again and rubs against Davi. Dis chuckles. "Loni wants to know if he can be your raven. He likes you and wants to stay with you if you will allow." Dis explains. Davi looks up at Dis confused. "Why? I can not understand what he is saying unless you translate for me. How did you learn what they say?" Davi asks.

Dis chuckles. "It is something those of the line of Durin are able to understand. Once you marry into the line of Durin, Mahal will bless you with the ability so you and Fili can communicate by sending messages to each other using the ravens if you are separated for a time. He will eventually have to do trade negotiations with other kingdoms and things like that and won't always be at your side. He will need you to run things with Kili's help while he is gone." Dis explains. 

"Oh." Davi says quietly. Loni rubs against her cheek and squawks quietly. Dis giggles. "He wants to know if you are going to marry Fili and be queen one day." Dis says. 

Davi giggles. "We will see, Loni. He only just asked to court me this morning." Davi explains. Loni flutters his wings and preens making Davi giggle. "What are you doing, Loni?" She asks. He squawks again and Dis translates. "He is preening so he looks nice for you." she chuckles. 

Davi blushes and asks, "May I pet you Loni?" He looks at her and bobs his head. Davi reaches up and gently touches his head. He closes his eyes and makes a funny little sound. Davi runs her fingers down his back and gently pets his wings. "Oooh! Your feathers are SO soft!!!" she says. Loni perks up his head and puffs his chest feathers out. Dis chuckles. "You just gave him a very high compliment." she tells Davi. 

Davi giggles. "Would you like to join us as we walk around Erebor, Loni?" she asks. Loni bobbs his head and stays perched on her shoulder as Dis leads them out of Raven Hill. They make their way back after telling the guard to send word to them immediately when the raven returns with news of the guards. He nods and they head back into Erebor. They talk with each other and Loni as Dis translates for Davi when Loni wants to tell Davi something. 

They walk around the halls and Dis shows Davi some of her favourite places. They stop in the grand ball room and the music hall. Loni asks if Davi can play any instruments or sing. She giggles and tells them she sings and plays the harp. Loni fluffs up and asks if she will play and sing them something. Davi nods and they walk into the music hall. Dis shows Davi one of the gold harps and Loni hops onto the top of it and watches as Davi sits and makes sure the harp is in tune. Then he flies down to her shoulder again and nestles into her neck. 

She sings the song she sang earlier. The one her mother sang to her as a babe. The music and her beautiful voice flowing out through the doorway and into the halls of Erebor. Everyone who hears it pauses and closes their eyes, mesmerized by the haunting voice and melody. Thorin hears it in the Council chambers and stands. He hollers for them to be silent so he can hear it clearly. Dwalin and Balin grin, knowing who's voice it is. Fili's jaw drops when he hears it and Kili smirks.  They are all surprised when Thorin gets up and walks out of the council chambers without another word. He follows the sound of the music and his nephews and Balin and Dwalin also join him in the hall. The music and voice stop however, before he can find out where it came from. 

Thorin looks around, frowning hoping the music starts up again, but it doesn't. He growls and heads back towards the council chambers. Kili and Fili, Balin and Dwalin all smirking behind him.

When Davi finishes the song and leans the harp back into it's position, Loni nuzzles his head against her neck and squawks quietly in almost a purr. Dis giggles and tells Davi, "Loni says you have a voice like a beautiful songbird. He says he has never heard anything so beautiful before and that he hopes you sing more often." Davi blushes and pets Loni again. 

"Thank you Loni. That song was one my mother sang to me when I was but a little dwarrow pebble." Davi explains. Loni makes another sound and Dis says, "He wants to know if you know any other songs." Davi nods and says yes, but I don't want to sing any more right now. Can we see some more of Erebor?" Davi asks. Dis nods. 

Dis leads them out of the music hall and down further. They can hear hollering and yelling and Thorin's booming voice coming from behind one of the doors. Davi looks at Dis with a frown. Dis chuckles, "That is the Council Chambers." she says. "You will find that is a common sound coming from there on a daily basis." she tells Davi. Davi huffs, "Not if I can help it." she mumbles. Dis chuckles. "When Fili is king, You and he will be in there and can handle them however you like." Dis says with a chuckle. 

She begins to walk again and Loni looks around as he perches on Davi's shoulder. They walk down some steps and Dis leads them to the royal Bath house. She shows Davi where to go to change and tells Loni to wait in the hallway. Loni does and once they have changed and wrapped in a towel, she calls him to enter. He perches on Davi's shoulder again, careful not to sink his claws into her bare shoulder. He flies onto one of the benches and turns to face away from them when they settle on a pool to enter and slide out of their towels and slip into the pool. 

Loni hops over to them and perches on the edge of the pool next to Davi. Dis and Loni and Davi talk for a while and enjoy each other's company. After a bit, their bellies begin to grumble. "Loni, will you go see if it is time for lunch? We will go change and meet you in the hallway outside the bathhouse." She tells him. He squawks and flies off. "What did he say?" Davi asked as they got out of the pool and wrapped up in towels. 

"He just said, 'as my ladies wish'." Dis said. "Come, let's see what Bombur made for lunch for us." They both giggled as their stomachs made funny noises as they dressed. 

They entered the hallway and Loni flew down onto Davi's shoulder. He squawked and then nestled down onto Davi's shoulder and leaned against her neck. She giggled. "I love your soft feathers, Loni." she said as she reached up and petted him. He made his funny purr sound. Dis chuckled. "He likes your soft hair and warm skin." she tells Davi. "Loni said that everyone is meeting in the Royal dining chambers for lunch. So we had better go meet them there." Dis informs Davi.

They head for the Dining hall and Davi stops at the door. "Dis, will Loni be allowed into the dining hall? I don't want to upset Thorin. He already seems to dislike me." Davi asked nervously. 

"Loni will be fine, Davi. Thorin will understand. His raven followed him all over Erebor for months until they got used to each other. That raven can find him in the deepest parts of the mountain faster than anyone." she tells them. Loni squawks and nestles Davi's hair making her giggle. "Will you sit on my shoulder while we're eating though?" she asks him. He squawks and shakes his head. "No, he says he will sit on the back of your chair so you don't upset anyone." Dis tells you. 

Dis, Loni, and Davi enter the dining hall and everyone looks up. Thorin is scowling and his eyes open wide when he sees a raven on Little Shadow's shoulder. Fili grins and comes walking over. 

"Well hello there my beauties!" he tells the three of you. Dis chuckles and gives him a hug. "We went to Raven Hill and sent the raven to find the two guards. Loni here decided to be Davi's raven." she tells her son. He looks confused. "Davi? Amad, I thought you said her name was Raca?" Fili asked. Davi giggled. "It is, Fili, but my father picked the name. My mother hated it because he chose the name to spite me. Mother always wanted my name to be Davi because she cherished me. She knew dwarrowdams were rare and that I was not worthless like my father thought. I decided I no longer want to be called Raca. I want to be known as Davi." Davi explained. 

Fili grinned, realizing the significance of the name change. He nods, "Davi it is then." he says and give you a peck on the cheek. He reaches out to give Loni a pet. "Hello Loni. Are you enjoying your new friend?" he asks the bird. It squawks and rubs against Davi and she giggles. Fili grins. "Well good. I'm glad you like her. You are welcome to be hers till the end of your days." he tells the bird. The bird bows and gives a quiet, short squawk. Then nuzzles against Davi. 

Fili chuckles and takes Davi's hand and leads her to the table. Thorin watches the whole exchange silently and looks at Dis with a raised eyebrow. She glares at him and silently tells him to keep his trap shut about it. He frowns and nods. He watches as Fili leads Davi to the table and motions for her to sit between him and Kili. Loni hops onto the back of the chair and Kili looks up and grins. He reaches up and pets Loni. "Heya Loni! You hungry?" he asks. The bird squawks quietly and Kili chuckles. "She doesn't know about that yet. We'll make sure to tell her though." he tells the bird. It squawks again quietly and Kili chuckles. 

Bombur and his crew bring out the food and everyone is served. Fili leans over to Davi and tells her, "You look stunning in that dress, my Love. Loni says it is the Raven's favourite color on you." Davi giggles and blushes. "He is so soft. I love feeling his feathers rub against my neck when he nuzzles me." she says quietly. Fili chuckles. "Don't forget to give him treats. That's how you keep them happily serving you for their whole life." he suggests. 

Davi looks surprised. "Fili, what do they like for treats?" she asks.

"They will eat almost anything. Bugs, worms, any kind of meat scraps, but sweet berries are a treat for them and will keep them especially happy." he says grinning. 

Davi nods. She picks a blueberry off her plate and hands it to Loni. "Here, Loni. Have a treat. You've been good company for me and Dis this morning." she says. Loni makes his purring sound and gently takes the berry and flies down to the floor to munch on it. 

Thorin rolls his eyes and looks at Dis. She glares at him and raises an eyebrow. He sighs and goes back to eating. The boys ask what all they did this morning and Dis shares what they saw and did. When she mentions the music room, Thorin's ears perk up. "What were you doing in the music room?" he asks. 

"Loni wanted to know if I played an instrument or sang, sir." Davi said shyly. "So I showed them what I could play. He asked me to sing for him and Dis, so I did while I played." she says. "I'm sorry if I wasn't supposed to be in there. I thought it was okay since Dis showed me it." she apologized quietly. 

Thorin's eyes got huge. He looked at Dis who was giving him a stern look. "It is fine. What do you play, if I might ask?" Thorin said, curious now. 

"The harp." Davi replies quietly. "Thorin looks over at Fili wide eyed. Fili just smirks. "And do you sing well?" Thorin asks. 

"I sing, Sir. Whether it is well or not, I do not know. Loni and Dis seemed to like it." Davi replied shyly. Loni flies over to Thorin and lands on the arm of his chair. He squawks quietly to the king for a moment and then Thorin's eyes get big. He nods and gives Loni a piece of meat from his plate and Loni flies off to the floor to eat it. 

"Your raven has said he wished to be your personal raven and that you have accepted him." Thorin says to Davi. She nods. "Is that ok, sir?" she asks. Thorin nods. "If Fili is in agreement, it is fine with me." he says. Your raven says you sing beautifully. Will you sing and play something for us when we finish eating?" Thorin asks. 

Davi looks panicked for a moment, but Dis, Fili, Balin, Dwalin and Kili all grin and nod. Davi looks back at Thorin and nods. "If that is your wish, I will sing and play you something." she says quietly. Thorin nods. 

There is a knock on the dining hall's door and Dwalin gets up to answer it. He returns with a large, old raven on his arm and he brings it over to Dis. The raven hops onto her arm and squawks quietly into her ear. Her eyes get huge and she looks at Dwalin and Davi. "What is it, Dis?" Davi asks. 

"The guards are still serving your father and have read the message from the raven. He says he sat on a tree nearby listening to the guards talking until he found the two we sent him to find. He said they are the only ones who read the message. They told him they would be happy to come serve at Erebor, but we will have to request their services before they could leave. 

Thorin looks confused. "Dwalin why was a raven sent to look for two guards? What is all this about?" he asks frowning. Dis looks up at Dwalin, who nods and she begins to tell Thorin what all they discovered this morning. Thorin is irate that anyone would treat one dwarrowdam that horribly, but two treated like that he was absolutely livid. Especially when he finds out who her mother is.

It took a stern look from Dis to finally silence him enough for her to finish her explanation of how these two guards are eye witnesses to what happened to Davi and her mother.  She explains that if Davi's father finds out these two guards are the ones who helped her escape, that they would be put to death instantly. 

Thorin frowned. "Davi, why would these guards risk their lives and the wrath of their king to help you escape an arranged marriage that would take you away from your father's abusiveness?" he asked. 

"Because they disliked what my father had done to my mother and I. They faithfully served my father only because of their concern for my mother and I. None of us knew anything about the prince I was arranged to marry. The guards knew my parent's marriage was an arranged one, they witnessed the abuse my mother and I both suffered at his hands. It angered them to see us treated the way we were, but there was little they could do to stop it. The guards did not wish that kind of an arranged marriage for me and knew I feared that kind of marriage more than anything. I asked them to help me escape and they did. Had I been allowed to converse with Fili ahead of time, I would not have ran and willingly married him and been happy to get away from my father, but I was not allowed to know anything about him or even who he was!" Davi explained. “My father will pass the kingship to my cousin since my father has no sons. My cousin hates how I and my mother were treated and I believe the soldiers who helped me escape must still be serving Adad because they hoped to hear how I fared or else they await the day my cousin assumes the throne and this rule from hell ends with my father's death. 

Thorin growled. "I see. And now you want me to request these two guards come serve here where they could help you escape again?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.  "Sir, I have no desire to run away from here. I have been treated with nothing but kindness by your family and the servants." Davi replied. "I promise you they will be your faithful and loyal servants. I just ask you treat them well. They have been through enough as have I." Davi pleads. 

Thorin nodded and rubbed his beard. "Dwalin what are your plans for these two guards should I agree to this?" Thorin asked. 

"They are to be Davi's and Fili's personal guards." Dwalin replied. "They are loyal to her and have already agreed to come should they be summoned." 

"I will think on the matter." Thorin replied. 

"I see you wear Fili's courting braids and beads. Have you agreed to the arranged marriage, then?" Thorin asks Davi.

She looks over at Fili, and he sees fear in her eyes. He quickly gives her hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze. She calms and he turns to his uncle. "We have decided to court, Uncle. I wish to marry her, but am leaving it up to her. She has been through enough abuse and mistrust, I want to give her time to get used to me and my family and Erebor. If at the end of the courting timeframe, she decides not to marry me, I will let her go. If she decides she wishes to marry me, then we will let you know." he tells his uncle. 

Thorin frowns. "Fili, we made an agreement with her father..." Thorin starts to say. "And her father broke that agreement, Uncle, and didn't have the decency to notify us until I was half way there! He released me from the agreement, let us keep the dowry and told me I was free to marry whom I wished." Fili reminded Thorin. 

Thorin growled. "And what am I supposed to tell the Council when they find out the missing princess is here? What am I supposed to tell her father?" Thorin asked. 

Davi's eyes got huge and she looked at Fili with such terror in her face he feared she would bolt. He calmly stood and took her hand. He pulled her into his embrace and held her trembling body. 

"Now is not the time for this Uncle." He said and calmly ushered Davi out of the room. Loni saw them head for the door and he flew over to them and rode on Fili's shoulder as they left. 

Once they were out of the room, Fili ushered Davi to a nearby balcony that over looked the western slope of Erebor. He sat with her and let her cry. He held her and told her he would handle this with Thorin. He asked her what she wanted them to do about her father. She told them not to tell him she was found until the two soldiers were safely in Erebor. She told him to have Thorin request their permanent presence here in the mountain to guard the Crown Prince and his One Immediately. She suggested they send the same raven back to her friends with a message that she is safe and happy in Erebor. That she is Prince Fili's One and she is requesting them to come guard her and her Prince immediately, but not to tell anyone but the two guards and that no one but the two guards see this message. 

Fili agrees to tell Thorin. Loni hops down onto Davi's lap and nuzzles her hand. He squawks quietly and Fili chuckles. Davi looks up at him and Fili tells her, "Loni hopes you still choose to stay here in Erebor and that he hopes you will give Dis time to make Thorin come around."

Davi giggles. Fili stands and tells Loni to stay here with Davi for a moment. He goes back into the Dining Hall and tells his mother what Davi said. She nods and starts railing on Thorin. He growls back at her and she gets fed up and grabs him by the ear and drags him out the door. He is growling at her and yelling at her to let go of him. She winks at Davi as they walk by. Davi looks confused. Fili comes back to Davi and everyone from the dining hall is following Dis, knowing what is coming and wanting to see it happen. Fili whispers to Davi and explains what happened after they left and what is going to happen. She giggles. 

They follow to the practice arena and Dis kicks everyone else out except those from the dining hall who followed them. Everyone sits in the royal box to watch the entertainment. Dis rails at Thorin telling him what an idiot he is being and so on. She presents her case to Thorin and requests he allow her son to court Davi. He grumbles about it and she goes at him with her Battle axes. He defends himself with his sword and they go round and round and round until Dis gets her way and Thorin yields to her demands after she drops him at the edge of her blades for the umteenth time. He is growling, but caves and she gets her way. Everyone cheers and she drags Thorin up and smacks the back of his head with the flat of her axe. He rubs his head and frowns and growls at her."Go tell them!" she orders. He growls and she threatens to beat him again if he didn't go tell them.

He grumbles and goes to tell Fili he has his blessing to court Davi. Fili and Davi beam at him and thank him. He grumbles a 'you're welcome.' and they all follow Dis to the music room. Thorin is confused for a moment. "You asked for music after lunch. Well lunch is over, so now you get your music." she states. 

With that she leads Davi over to the harp and helps her get settled. Loni perches on Davi's shoulder and nestles and squawks quietly into her ear. Davi giggles and looks at Dis. Dis tells her Loni just says he can't wait to hear your pretty voice again. "What should I sing for Thorin?" she asks Dis. 

Dis thinks for a moment, and asks if she knows The Misty Mountains song? Davi nods. "Sing that." She says, "then go right into the song you sang earlier." Davi swallows nervously and closes her eyes and begins to play the harp and sing.

Everyone's jaws drop at the sound of Davi's voice. Thorin especially is astounded. Her voice takes him back to the night they sat in Bilbo's hobbit hole and reminds him of all he succeeded in accomplishing and all who helped him do it. Then she begins to sing the song her mother sang to her and he is taken back to his mother singing it to him and to his siblings. When she finishes the song, there isn't a dry eye in the room.

Balin stands and comes over to her and takes her hand. He places a gentle kiss on the top of it and thanks her for the lovely music. He winks and then heads to his and Dwalin's suite.

One by one the dwarves thank Davi for her music and head to their suites until only Fili, Dis and Thorin are left.

Thorin stands and slowly walks up to Davi. He looks down at her and reaches out to grasp her hand. She hesitantly places it into his large hand and he gently pulls her over to him. He wraps her in a gentle hug and thanks her for the beautiful music. He apologizes for being such an ass to her and asks if they can start over. She looks up at him and nods, surprised by his about face in attitude. He smiles at her and kisses her hand and nods to Dis and Fili. Then he goes to his chambers and thinks how he is going to make this whole situation work for Davi so her and her guards stay safely out of reach of her horrible father.

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[ruthoakenshield]

Worthless Little Shadow (chapter 6)

Worthless Little Shadow (chapter 5)

The next morning Little Shadow woke up in a huge, soft comfortable bed. She laid there thinking how odd it felt after being on the run for nearly two and a half months now. She had gotten used to sleeping on the ground, in the cold and it felt odd to be in a soft bed again. She wondered how long she would end up staying here in Erebor before they would find out and drive her from the mountain. At least she now had decent clothes and two heavy cloaks to take if she had to run again. 

She looked around the room. It was decorated with all kinds of purple amethyst stones and gold and silver embedded into the woodwork and furniture and it reminded her of her mother. She missed her dearly. 

Little Shadow got up and slipped her feet into soft fuzzy lined slippers and wrapped herself in a thick housecoat that Dis had put at the foot end of the big bed. She wandered around the room and admired the different decorations. She wondered if this Fili was the dwarf her father had arranged for her to marry. He said something about heading to a kingdom to marry a princess, but the princess disappeared. Was he talking about her? 

She tried to remember what he had said next. Something about receiving a raven messenger telling him that his future bride had disappeared, that the father had looked for her and that he had freed Fili to find a different bride. 

If it was her father, she doubted he looked for her all that hard. He had always hated her. Mad that her mother never gave him a son to continue the lineage and now he would have to turn the kingdom over to her cousin as an Heir. Her father beat her and starved her after her mother had died in an accident and when that didn't work, he sold her off to whomever would take her. She wondered how desperate Thorin was to send Fili off to marry her not having ever seen her nor corresponded with her.

Would she have run if she had gotten the chance to meet Fili or correspond with him before arriving for the wedding. He didn't seem to happy about the arranged marriage either. If she was the one he was supposed to be marrying, how will he react when he finds out? Will he be mad and start to beat her like her father did when she refused to go through with the wedding arrangements? Will Thorin?

Shadow started to become very afraid thinking about all these 'what if's' she wished she had someone she could trust to talk to. It had been so long since she talked she wondered if her voice would even work anymore. She poked her head out into the sitting area to see if anyone was in there. She didn't see anyone so she closed her bedroom door and began to hum a tune her mother used to sing to her when she was a little girl. 

As she sang, she started to get ready for the day. She looked in her wardrobe at all the pretty blue, green, purple, silver, and teal dresses Fili and Dwalin had bought for her. She wanted desperately to wear her purple dress that Kili had bought her, but he had bought it for the celebration tomorrow. So she grabbed the teal dress and looked at it. It was pretty. It had gold embroidery along the hem, the waist line, cuffs and collar. Small teal and purple stones were sewn into the patterns of the embroidery and sparkled as she moved the gown. She laid it on the bed and took out a set of undergarments and then the pair of black slip on shoes. She found an undertunic to wear with the dress like Dis had shown her how to do. She liked how it looked so she decided to go wash up. 

Shadow hummed along to her mother's tune in her head as she washed her face, neck and chest. She brushed her teeth and combed out her hair. Unsure how to style such short hair, she just left it as it was. She looked in the mirror and wanted to cry. She missed her long hair. She had cut it to spite her father after her mother died and had hoped it would be a deterrant to him marrying her off. She had planned to run away long before he announced the arranged marriage, but he had kept her under lock and key. 

After her father had whipped her, a guard who witnessed it, took pity on her and helped her escape. He told her to go to Rivendell and seek sanctuary with Lord Elrond, or go to Lothlorian and seek sanctuary with Lady Galadrial.

He gave her what coin he had and wished her luck. 

She looked into the mirror and cried. She wished her mother had never married her father. But she, too had been arranged into the unhappy and loveless marriage. Her mother never told anyone about the beatings she suffered at her husbands hand. He was always careful to place the blows where her clothing would hide the evidence. Same went for his treatment of Shadow. 

She splashed cold water on her face to wash away the tears and began to sing her mother's song again to try to comfort herself. 

************

Dis met Balin in the hallway of the Royal wing as he hurried with a paper in his hand. "Good Morning Balin! What is your hurry?" she asked. He stopped and gave her a bow. "Good morning Dis. I have some news on the missing princess. Where is Fili?" he asked. She told him he was still asleep. 

"Dis, will you go wake him and Kili and have them meet me in my study as soon as they can?" he asked. Dis frowned and nodded. She hurried off to go wake the boys and get them ready to meet with Balin. 

Balin hurried back to his and Dwalin's suite and found Dwalin just had come out of his room to have breakfast. Dwalin looked up at him and Balin held up the parchment from the raven. "Come, brother, we need to have a talk with Dis and the boys!" Balin said. 

Dwalin frowned. He grabbed the bowl of fruit and some honeycakes and carried them to Balin's study. The two brothers had just sat down when Dis and her boys entered. "Dis, lock the door, I don't want anyone walking in on this conversation." Balin said. 

He explained to Fili and Kili their suspicions and that Oin confirmed that Shadow had been not only starved, but also whipped and beaten prior to them finding her. They explained how they noticed how well she danced and suspected she was not just a peasant girl. Balin told them he had written a message to the father of the missing princess asking him for a description of the lass and whether or not they wanted the dowry back, and asked where they had searched for her and why Erebor was not informed.

"I just got this response this morning." he says and shows them the parchment.

                  Dear master dwarf, 

 I apologize for not informing you of my daughter going missing. We have focused our search to a day's ride around the castle   and did not find her. You may keep the dowry as an apology for the inconvenience of the prince's aborted trip to meet her. Again, my apologies for not letting you know about her going missing sooner. It slipped my mind until I got your raven and I realized that in my worry, I had forgotten to tell Erebor about it.

 My daughter, Raca, is 4'6" tall and has shoulder length black hair. (She cut it to spite me after her mother's death.) She has green eyes and is very thin as she refused to eat after learning of her mother's death. Please if you find her in the Caravans coming into Erebor, inform her that we want her to come home, unless the prince still wishes to marry her. I will understand if he does not. 

 Thank you for your letter, and again, my apologies.

          Belial Ironfist, King of the Rhun Mountains

Kili and Fili looked at each other with jaws hanging open. It was her! "How in the world did she get half way across Middle Earth in the amount of time it took me to get halfway to the Sea of Rhun and then meet up with the caravan a month out of the Blue mountains?" Fili asked. "Why did she run?" he asked Balin with worry etching his face. "Why didn't she te......" he trailed off.

Dis looked at him puzzled. "Honey, what do you mean? Why didn't she what?"

"Ohhhh nooooo!" he exclaimed suddenly realizing that she knew who he was now. "She heard me tell Uncle about what happened when we arrived at the gate! No wonder why she flinched and whimpered when I was talking to Uncle!" he said as he put his head into his hands. "She realized it was me who she was supposed to marry and didn't say anything! Balin, what are we going to do?!? I love her!!! I WANT to marry her!!!" he moaned. "If she finds out we know, she is gonna run again! I can't let her do that! I can't lose her! She's my One!" he moaned. 

Balin, Dis and Dwalin all looked at each other clearly worried for the situation now that they know what is going on.

"Tell you what, Laddie, I think the first thing we need to do is to sit down with Shadow and talk with her. She seems happy in your presence despite knowing you were her arranged husband. Perhaps she has decided she likes you now that she has gotten to know you. Maybe if you actually would ask her for permission to court her and go through that process with her, she may be more open to marrying you instead of doing it as a forced marriage. But we need her to talk with us and answer our questions. I have no intention of sending her back to her father if he truly did treat her the way we think he did, but he seems to place the blame for her weight on her shoulders. We need to know if it is true she refused to eat, or if he was truly starving her." Balin explains. 

"Once we have all the facts, then I will have a meeting with Thorin to explain everything. He is under enough stress right now and I won't bother him with this until we know exactly what happened and why." he assures Fili. 

"What about if she tries to run?" Kili asks quietly as he tries to console his brother. 

"I have asked Dwalin to keep an eye on her and to show her some of Erebor to keep her entertained so she can't run on us till we get this worked out. Expect Thorin to keep you two busy so Fili can't spend much time with Shadow until we get can get things sorted out." Balin warns the boys. They nod sadly. "Ok, Balin." they reply quietly. 

"Come on now, let's go and see if the Lass is up and wants some breakfast." Balin says as he stands and puts the letter into his coat pocket. They all stand and head for the door. Balin unlocks it and they head down the hall to Shadow's door. Balin knocks and no one answers. He opens it and peeks in. He can hear music and opens the door and they all follow him in. They stand in the sitting room for a few minutes trying to figure out where the pretty music is coming from. 

Kili finally starts walking around the room quietly listening. He waves Balin over to the bedroom door. "Someone is singing!" he whispers. They listen for a minute and Balin chuckles. "I haven't heard that song in a VERY long time! Amad used to sing it to Dwalin when he was a wee pebble of a dwarfling!" he sniggers. "Come away from the door and let Dis go and see if she is ready for breakfast." They quietly walk back over to the rest of the group and Balin tells Dis to go and see if Shadow is ready to come have some breakfast." 

Dis heads to the door and knocks. The music stops and no one answers. She knocks again and calls out, "Shadow, dear, it's me, Dis. May I come in? I was wondering if you were ready for breakfast or if you needed any help getting ready. 

The dwarves see the door open a little and Dis slips into the room. About 15 minutes later, they come out and the dwarves' jaws drop when they see Shadow in her dress. Dwalin nudges Fili and Fili takes a hard swallow. She is wearing the teal dress he had picked out for her. She looked stunning in it. His Amad had put Shadow's hair up in a twist around her head so it looked like a little crown. She had placed little flower hair pins into the crown of hair and woven a silver ribbon through it. 

Balin came over and grinned at her. "You look lovely this morning, dear Little Shadow! Do you like your new clothes?" he asks. She blushes and drops her head and nods a little as she looks at the floor. He chuckles and whispers to her. "Look! You stunned the rest of them speechless!" he grins. He watches her tilt her head up just enough to peek out from under her lashes and she grins when she sees their stunned expressions. She quickly ducks her head again and Balin chuckles again. "Come, lass, you must be hungry." he says as he guides her over to the dining table and they all sit down. 

Dis calls a guard over and has him tell Bombur to bring up enough breakfast for them to Shadow's room. He hurries off to do her bidding and she rejoins them at the table. 

Balin smiles at Shadow and says to her, "When we arrived, lass someone was singing in your room. Was it you? It sounded lovely! I hadn't heard that song in a long time! Our Amad used to sing it to Dwalin when he was a wee pebble of a dwarfling!" he says with a grin. Dwalin's face turns pink and Shadow covers her mouth and giggles. Earning a chuckle from Dwalin. 

"Aye, lass, if it was you singin' ya have a lovely voice! You should use it more often. We'd all love to hear it." he says softly with a genuine smile. Shadow ducks her head and looks at her hands. 

"Amrâlimê (my love) was it you who was singing?" Fili asks as he takes her hand in his and gives it a loving, gentle squeeze. She looks up at him and nods. "It is beautiful, my love, why do you hide it from us? Why do you not talk?" he asks her. She sighs, and looks down at their hands. "I was afraid." she says quietly.

Fili gets up and pulls her to stand. He leans down and places his forehead against hers after tilting her chin up. "I love you, Ghishavel, please, don't be afraid of me or my family. I know you know I was the prince who was arranged to marry you. And although I do not understand why you fled, I am willing to hear your tale. I still want to marry you, Amrâlimê, but I wish to leave the choice up to you. You are my One, and if you'll have me, I'd like to court you and do this properly like normal dwarrow do instead of according to an arrangement our kings have made. What do you say? Will you let me court you? Will you share your tale with us here so we can understand why you fled?" he asks quietly as he holds her hands. 

Shadow keeps her eyes closed when Fili raises her head to face him. She feels him place his forehead against hers and he begins to talk to her. When he tells her he loves her and still wants to marry her but is willing to leave the choice up to her, she looks up at him surprised. She begins to be afraid, and she knows he can see it in her eyes, but when he says he wants to hear her tale and her reasons for running and doesn't seem angry or upset, she looks back down at their hands.

He has intertwined his with hers and she can feel the heat from his seeping into hers. He has brought their hands up to their chests as he spoke to her and she looks up into his eyes again when he asks to court her. She sees the love he has for her and how concerned he is for her. She sees worry in his eyes and she swallows hard. When he asks her what her answer is, she thinks back to how he has treated her, and she realizes that not once has he treated her like her father had done. She realizes she feels safe with him and she opens her eyes and looks into his again. She nods.

"Ghishavel, let me hear you say your answer. Please, my love, you have such a beautiful voice. Please do not hide it from me." He pleads. Shadow blushes and looks at him. "Yes, you may court me my Lion Prince." she says quietly. He beams and kisses her forehead. "Thank you, My Little Shadow." he says and pulls her into a hug. Kili is bouncing in his seat and Dwalin chuckles, "It's about time!" he teases them and everyone starts to laugh. 

Fili has Shadow sit down and he parts a section of her hair and begins to weave in his family's braid first, and then a courting braid. He clips both braids with their respective beads he had carved for his One. Ironically, he has used Sapphire chips in it and they looked stunning against her teal dress she wore. Next he moved to her other side and repeated the two braids on that side. Clipping them with the other two beads. She looked down and held the beads up so she could admire them. She turned them and traced her finger over the carvings on them. She looked up at Fili and smiled.

He grinned and asked her if she liked them. She nods, and he raises an eyebrow. "Yes, Fili, I love them. Sapphires are one of my favourite stones." she says quietly. He grins and kisses her cheek. "I'm glad you approve." he says then sits down next to her back in his chair. "Now, my love, will you share your story with us?" He asks quietly as he holds her hand and plays with her fingers. 

Shadow sighs. "I don't even know where to begin." she says sadly. "Lass, why don't you begin by telling us about your family." Balin says gently. "You already know about all of us, tell us about yours." 

Shadow closes her eyes and sighs. "My mother was about my age when she was forced into an arranged marriage with my father. He was cruel and abusive. He was always careful about where he would land his blows, making sure they would always be covered by her clothing. When she got pregnant with me he stopped beating her.

After she had me, though, he began again because she did not produce a male heir for him. He hated me and called me Raca, which means 'worthless and good for nothing'. He often beat me as well as Amad. I was always afraid when he was around. As I got older a couple of the guards, who watched me grow up, became friends with me and would give me a heads up when he was coming so I could prepare. 

When Amad died in an accident, he began to lock me in my rooms and not provide me with food. Sometimes my guard friends would be able to slip me food so I could have something to eat. When he announced that he was going to marry me off to some prince from up north the day after Amad died, I became very afraid. I didn't want to be forced into a brutal and loveless marriage like my mother was. I cut my hair short to spite my father and hope the prince would refuse to marry me." Shadow explains with a quiet voice. 

"Lass, how long was your hair before you cut it?" Dwalin asks curiously. "It dragged on the floor, Master Dwalin. Amad never cut it other than to trim the split ends." Shadow told him. His eyes got wide. "What did your father do when he saw you had cut it?" Dwalin asked. 

Shadow dropped her gaze and played with Fili's fingers for a moment. "He made two guards hold me and he tore my dress in the back and whipped me with his horse whip. He refused to let anyone tend to my wounds for three days." Shadow replied.

She looked up at Fili when she felt his hand grip hers tighter. She could see he was grinding his teeth trying to control his temper but the anger in his eyes deceived him. "Do not be angry, my love," she says quietly. "I deserved it. I should not have cut my hair. I was trying to mourn Amad's loss and the news of him selling me off to a prince I had never met, was too much for me." 

"Sweetheart, no one deserves to be horsewhipped for such a thing, even if it was done out of spite." Dis tells her. "And he should've allowed someone to tend to the wounds. You could've gotten a very bad infection from them not being cleaned and treated!" she said calmly. 

"Lass, Oin said you had bruises on your belly when he went to clean all the cuts and scrapes you had when they found you. How did you get those?" Balin asked.

Shadow closed her eyes for a moment and took a few shallow breaths. 

Twice I tried to escape. Some of the guards were sympathetic, while others betrayed me and my father caught me the first time I tried to run. He beat me and those were what was left of the bruises he gave me.

The second time I tried to escape my friends who were guards were working that night, they guided me through the castle and gave me their fastest pony. My one friend told me to make for Lothlorian or Rivendell and beg them for Sanctuary from my abusive father. He told me Lady Galadrial ruled in Lothlorian and Lord Elrond ruled in Rivendell. He gave me what coin and food he had and bid me to make haste as the prince was to arrive in two days. 

So I ran, and my pony carried me to the Gap of Rohan where it fled one night. I then carried my pack and followed the Greyflood river until it split in two and followed the right fork. There I met with the caravan near the Fords of the Bruinen." she tells them. 

Dwalin laughs. Causing Shadow to look up at him puzzled. "So that's how she got to where we were, Fili, She had a two day lead on you!" he teased.

Shadow looked at Fili and raised an eyebrow. "I had wondered how you managed to escape when I was half way to your home and then make it to where the caravan was. You had the two day head start!" Fili told her. 

She giggled. "I'm sorry I made such a mess of things. Had I known how nice you were, I may not have ran. But no one even let me communicate with you before we met and I feared being sold to be a slave and a punching bag for someone else like Amad was." Shadow said quietly and hung her head. 

"I understand now why you ran, Gehyith, I am not upset and promise never to raise a hand to you. Anyone who does will be severely punished. Dwarrowdams should not be treated the way you and your mother were. You deserve to be loved and cherished and pampered. You are a treasure to be honored and protected. Not abused and beaten and whipped." Fili said as he stroked Shadow's cheek. 

"So now what do we do? Where do we go from here?" Shadow asks as she looks at the rest of the dwarrow sitting at the table. Just then there is a knock at the door. Balin chuckles. 

"Now we have some breakfast." he grins. 

"It is good to hear you talking, Little Shadow." Kili says between bites of eggs and honey cakes. "You really do have a pretty voice to listen to!" he says with a grin. Shadow blushes. "Thank You Kee." she replies. 

 Once everyone was done eating, Balin asked Shadow, "Do you think the two guards who helped you escape would be willing to vouch for you if we sent them a note using a raven? Thorin will want a third party to confirm what you told us is the truth." 

Shadow sighs, "IF they are still alive, they MIGHT, but they may also fear rebuttal if my father finds out they helped me." she replies. 

"Lass, do you think they would be willing to move here if we offered them a position as palace guards? They could be your personal ones since Fili is the crown prince, and should you agree to marry him, you'd be the crown princess and one day queen."  Dwalin asked. 

"IF they are still alive, I believe they would jump at the offer mister Dwalin. They disliked my father but continued to serve because of me. I do not know what became of them once I left." Shadow explained. 

"I will send a Raven to inquire whether they are still alive, and guards at your father's home, and if they are not, to find out where they went." Dwalin tells Shadow. "IF they are still there and are alive, I will offer them the position and when they arrive, will assign them to be your personal guards." he tells Shadow. 

Shadow beams and says, "OH!!! Thank you mister Dwalin!" he chuckles and nods. 

"Now that just leaves how do we tell Uncle?" Fili asks. 

"Leave that to ME!" Dis says with a twinkle in her eye. Kili and Fili get HUGE grins on their face and Balin and Dwalin look at each other and also start to grin. Shadow looks at everyone confused. "Why are you all grinning like that?" she asks. 

"Because no one tells Amad 'NO'." Fili tells her, "Not even Uncle Thorin... our King!" Shadow looks at Dis and Dis just smiles smugly. "Don't worry, Sweetheart. Fili will be courting you with Thorin's blessing by the end of the day." she says and the two boys cheer. 

Shadow just chuckles and shakes her head amused.

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