The gradual increase in light as I neared the end of my solitude was such that when I finally reached the end of the corridor there was no bright flash to shake me from my serenity, only a smooth, gentle transition. The runes no longer danced across my vision, but the tingle - the feeling of magic - remained.

I emerged from the tunnel into a circular chamber and made my way towards a pair of columns - two of many that ringed a stone dias at the center. The outer ring was for witnesses to the ceremony, the inner for close family and participants, and I was relieved to see that the outer ring was deserted. I had requested that it be kept small and intimate, after all.

Passing through the stone pillars, I saw many familiar faces smiling out at me, and I couldn't help but smile back, almost overflowing with a mixture of happiness and nervous energy. The Company - our family - had split into two groups to take their places at opposite sides of the circle behind the groom and bride - positions of honour traditionally given to the ascendants - parents, grandparents, and so on, of those being wed. Bofur stood near the center, backed by his brother and cousin, along with Gloin, Oin and Dwalin.

I made my way to my place across from him, and quickly acknowledged those on my side of the circle; Dori, Nori and Ori, along with Méra. I also noticed, to my surprise, that Barís stood with Méra as well. I wondered why she would want to include herself in the ceremony - as we weren't all that well acquainted with each other. Dain suddenly cleared his throat, however, and I had no time to linger on the thought. I turned to face the centerpoint of the alter - an anvil of light silvery metal - and beyond the anvil, Bofur.

His eyes danced as his gaze fell upon me and he gave me a beaming smile, which I happily returned. He was dressed sharply, in a long fitted coat of rich indigo overtop a midnight black tunic with silver adornment about the collar. Around his waist was a thick, dark leather belt, and he wore new boots of a similar rich grain. I was somewhat relieved to see that he had decided to forgo his hat, and his long hair was left undone, hanging in shiny loose curls over his shoulders.

Everything seemed set to begin, and yet before the ceremony could even get started I noticed Balin lean forward to whisper into Dain's ear. The king regarded what his advisor had to say for a moment, and then nodded. Balin hastily stepped around the king to address the congregation.

"In rare circumstances when regional variants of Khuzdul exist between couples to be wed, the most commonly spoken variant was often used. I believe this tradition to apply now, and, as such, since we all can understand the common tongue, I move that the essential parts of the ceremony be held in the language of the bride, so as to ensure full understanding of what is being agreed upon today."

He bowed his head and stepped back among the rest of Dain's loremasters, drawing attention to half dozen unfamiliar and regally dressed dwarves that I hadn't noticed during my arrival. No doubt their presence was required for officiality, though I still felt slightly perturbed to have these strangers at our otherwise private affair.

"Do the bride and groom support this motion?"

Bofur raised his eyebrows to me, questioning. In all my tutelage about the wedding traditions, I hadn't even considered the possibility that the entire ceremony would be held in Khuzdul - it was apparently so obvious that no one even thought to mention it to me beforehand, so Balin's request now gave me my only chance at understanding what was going on at my own wedding. I was also taken aback by the formality - I had thought surely, despite their strict, overly thorough contracts and agreements, that this would be much more elegant, and from what I had been told it would be, but this was unexpected.

"Yes…" I agreed tentatively, and then more assertively "Yes of course."

Bofur then added his own assent, flashing me a quick wink as he did so.

"Members of the tribunal," Dain addressed those behind him. "Those in favour?"

His own hand rose, along with four others - Balin's included.

"Those opposed?"

The remaining three rose their hands, and one of them grumbled something almost hostile under his breath.

"Stow it, you miserable, old-" Dain began tersely, only to be cut off by Barís.

"Dain!" she admonished, which prevented the king from any further descent into profanity.

"Thank Durin I can't hear half of what you say through your beard, Róka." he slipped in before moving on, earning him a glare from his wife's direction. "Right then, motion carried. Let's get this started."

The ceremony began with a chant sung by one of the ancient dwarves that had officiated the celebrations of Thorin and his nephews, one of the dwarves that had agreed to translating the wedding into the common tongue, and yet what he sang must not have been considered essential, as he sang it in its natural form. Truthfully, I was glad it was kept untouched; even without understanding, I knew the complexity of the verse would have been wasted in another language.

I was not completely in the dark, however. With what little I knew of Khuzdul, I managed to pick out the name of their creator, and some reference to the long sleep and eventual awakening of the dwarven forefathers and their wives (I had heard these words describing the tunnel). Mostly, though, I allowed myself to simply appreciate the moment, and its significance. My gaze moved from the loremaster back to Bofur and I found him staring at me. I grinned at him as I revelled in the fact that the look in his eyes - a look of love and sincerity and happiness - was meant for me and me alone. I could only hope he felt as lucky as I did in that moment.

All too soon the singing was over, and after a minute of reverent silence, Dain stepped forward and brandished from his robe a forge hammer of the same luminescent metal as the anvil. He held it high above his head, and those gathered in witness formed a closed circle about us, a union of our two families that would protect and support us in our married life.

Dain lowered the hammer and Balin stepped forward with a scroll - the marriage contract we had agreed upon during preparations for the wedding. Thankfully, all involved had agreed to keep it rather short. He adjusted his spectacles, cleared his throat, and then read the preliminaries of the contract aloud:

"The courtship of the two parties present began on the 29th day of Yavannië by the Steward's Reckoning, to use a calendar familiar to both parties, whereupon the groom, as a representative of the Company of Thorin Oakenshield, accepted a bejeweled necklace from his intended. The necklace was of moderate value, white silver, with diamond set within it, and worth a total of 20 gold pieces, but as the Company would have fallen short of their goal of reaching the mountain without this token, the value of said necklace was re-evaluated by Thorin Oakenshield to be worth a sum of 200 gold pieces, to be held in trust and drawn from the treasury of Erebor as the groom sees fit. Courtship braids were not woven at the time of this arrangement, but owing to the nature of the circumstances under which the engagement was enacted, these were withheld until such time as was necessary to present a public display. The courtship braid of the bride was removed for a short period by force and treachery, and was replaced promptly thereafter. Does the congregation accept the terms of this marriage?"

"We do." Dain answered for everyone - it was rare that anyone ever disputed a contract, and so it had become commonplace to simply push on rather than waiting for objections. To be fair, our contract was not exactly truthful in the course of events; I had given the necklace directly to Balin after all, whom I assumed had passed it along to Bard in payment for his smuggling services. In reality, I had been told the intimacy Bofur and I shared in Laketown could have been viewed as the start of a contractual courting relationship in the eyes of the dwarves, but everyone had agreed that this marriage was breaking from tradition enough as it was, and so to adhere to the newer and more accepted guidelines, the record would simply show that an exchange of goods was agreed upon to officiate our courtship.

I had found drawing up the contract a rather harrowing overall, and had almost begun to long for the simplicity of a purely human wedding, but Balin had ensured that I was present for the entirety of its writing and had explained in great detail all of the required inclusions and exactly what they meant. He reminded me that dwarves would never see fit to purposefully mislead those to whom their contracts pertained - for which I was grateful, even if I found it rather exhausting.

At the beckoning of the king, Bofur and I stepped in closer together, the anvil now between us and Dain. The king's voice then echoed throughout as he addressed the assembly with greater enthusiasm.

"Your sleep is ending. The awakening is upon us! Who will stand with the bride and groom, to forge their life anew?"

Bombur stepped forward from the circle to stand next to Bofur, and Méra took her place at my side. Another chant reverberated through the halls, led by the loremaster but this time echoed by the entire host. The reciting of the Seven Dwarven Blessings, Balin had told me their meaning once prior, so they remained in Khuzdul for the ceremony.

Mamahdûn Mahal ku' muha sullu khama akrâzu Sulladad.

Mamahdûn Mahal ku' muha kâmin, abbad ra hanâd.

Mamahdûn Mahal ku' muha îbin ra ritîh ni kurdû id-abad.

Mamahdûn Mahal ku' muha khazâd ra barraf haded.

Mamahdûn Mahal ku' gashara khazâd atrâb d'amzur îbin ra ritîh ni kurdû id-abad.

Mamahdûn Mahal ku' mahgayada dûmmâ tur naddanhu.

Mamahdûn Mahal ku' mahgayada mayasthûn ra mayasthûna.

When the final blessing fell silent, Bofur turned to me and brought his hands to my hair to undo my courting braid, marking the end of our unmarried courtship. I then unwove his, taking the strand of my own blonde hair that had come free from it and tucking it into his pocket with a small grin.

Dain then produced two rings, holding them out for all to see before placing them atop the anvil.

"The metal of these rings was mined this very day, straight from virgin stone. The metal of these rings was smelted and cast from the same vein. These rings are united, eternal and absolute, as they have always been, and as you will always be in the eyes of the maker. If you enter into such a union willingly, place your hands next to the rings."

We faced each other across the anvil, our hands on the anvil with the rings between them. Dain addressed Bofur first.

"Like the Mithril upon which you forge this bond, let your marriage be strong, stronger than tempered steel, and yet let your patience for each other be as malleable as copper, that you may bend but never break."

Bofur placed the ring upon my finger, and then Dain turned his head to me.

"Like the Mithril upon which you forge this bond, let your marriage be worth more to you than any wealth in the world. Let it shine like polished silver for all the world to see its splendour, and let the love you hold for each other never tarnish or grow dim."

I slipped the ring onto Bofur's finger, and then once more Dain held up his hands, this time displaying the set of marriage beads to adorn the new braids we were to create.

"Let the knots you weave be labours of love, like that of the maker weaving gold through the earth. Let them be a symbol of your new lives together, worn proudly to be celebrated by all who see, and to be sealed by those that bear witness here today."

Dori stepped forward and set before us a small wooden stool. I sat down and wondered if it was included in our ceremony alone simply because of my height, or if it was allowed for all couples; to give them a moment's rest and their partner better access to their hair. At any rate, I was grateful for the chance to sit while Bofur stepped close to me and began a new plait in a small section of my hair. He spent longer on it than he did my courting braid, and I became curious as to whether he was doing a different design. When he was nearly done, Bombur received the new bead from Dain and brought it forth to his brother. Bofur indicated he was finished with a gentle squeeze on my shoulder, and then I got up and allowed him to take my place on the stool. I nervously stepped up to his side. Méra had allowed me to practice braiding in her hair a few times, and Kari had even given me some instruction as well, but I still lacked confidence and hoped I didn't make a mockery of this important public display. With a steadying breath I tentatively reached out and began separating a few pieces of Bofur's hair. Thankfully his was much less tangly than the princess's wild red locks, and so I found that I was able to complete it quite neatly. Méra than stepped forward with the metal bead and helped me to secure it onto the end of Bofur's braid.

Once we were finished, Dain bade us to stand in front of him once more.

"Before this congregation, the bride and groom have given their consent and have declared their marriage by the braids that now adorn their hair, and by the giving and receiving of rings. As King Under the Mountain, I now proclaim that they are husband and wife, and my word is absolute."

Dain once again brandished the hammer aloft, and then shouted something in Khuzdul before striking the anvil. The sound filled the cavern, and with it the sound of cheers from those gathered around us. Bofur leaned in to kiss me, but instead I turned my head and put my mouth close to his ear. I then recited the line I had painstakingly memorized in Khuzdul just for him.

"Ni dûmzu zâmkhihi zahar, ni kurdumê zasamkhihi azhâr." I knew the words sounded strange coming from my lips, but the meaning behind them was perfect. In your Halls I will find a house, in my heart you will find a home.

Bofur's hand came up and rested on my cheek as I tilted my head back to look at him. The surprise in his eyes, and the warm smile on his lips, indicated that I had said the phrase properly enough for him to understand. Without further preamble he guided me into our first kiss as husband and wife.

Our companions held back to give Bofur and I a few minutes alone as we left the chamber, hand in hand, on our way to our formal dinner.

As we entered a deserted hallway, I let out a happy sigh of relief. I had been excited, but also anxious throughout the ceremony, and felt a tension leave my shoulders now that the most intimidating part of the wedding was over.

Bofur slowed his step and I looked to him and smiled somewhat ruefully.

"That all passed in a blur." I commented, squeezing his fingers. "Thank goodness we kept the guest list small, Dain and the loremasters made me nervous enough."

His smile faded slightly, but I didn't notice at first.

"This isn't the way I was brought down." I remarked, wondering if Bofur had been ushered to the ceremony under as much pomp and circumstance as I had been. "How far is it back to Balin's common room from here? I'm famished!"

Bofur stopped walking and the look on his face gave me reason to pause.

"What is it?" I asked through my teeth, my stomach dropping, but he held up his hands to indicate that I shouldn't worry.

"Not a problem... more of a hitch... well, not so much a hitch as a trifle, really."

"Just tell me!" I demanded, stepping towards him and grabbing his collar with both hands.

"There was a… stipulation for Dain agreeing to marry us, and so quickly at that..."

"Bofur!" I demanded, thumping on his chest. There had already been far too much vagueness to the details of my own wedding, and now that we were nearing what I guessed to be the home stretch, I was running thin on patience.

"Alright alright!" He exclaimed, pulling away from me and throwing his hands up in defeat. "You know how you wanted only close friends at the celebration, just like at the ceremony?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, a suspicion starting to form in my mind. He took this as a cue to continue, though he took another calculated step away from me as he did so.

"There may be more than a few - Let's just say we won't be able to fit everyone in Balin's rooms."

"...How many more?"

"Ah…" he counted on his fingers for a moment, then nodded. "A few hundred… no more than a thousand surely."

My jaw dropped open in shock and my arms fell limply to my sides. Bofur hurried on.

"There was no way for Dain to hold a wedding on such short notice while still keeping it a secret! And you know, some of our friends, they do love to gossip…"

At this point I shut my mouth, grinding my teeth slightly, as I placed my hands firmly on my hips. Before I could say anything, Bofur, seeing the fury grow out of my momentary surprise, continued his rushed explanation.

"And after the kerfuffle in Dale, Dain was keen to smooth things over with Bard - to keep things quiet, so in kindly agreeing to break thousands of years of tradition on our behalf, he asked that the wedding be a symbolic affair. A communion, as it were, between the humans of Dale and the dwarves of Erebor, to rebuild together and strike a lasting peace. Naturally with that being the case we had to invite the townsfolk…"

"People from Dale?" I bemoaned, panic once more overwhelming the small flash of anger I had felt at being kept in the dark. Sure, Bard and his family knew of my unique situation, and I may not have minded their attendance so much - it would be nice for someone to actually appreciate the handfasting ceremony, after all, but it was the potential scores of other humans that could be in attendance that now had me fretting.

How many still blamed the dwarves for losing their homes and loved ones, and how would they react to one of their own marrying one of them?

How many would look to me as a source of potential wealth? Would they seek to exploit me? Would they turn on me if I didn't help them?

How many had I deceived in my brief stint as Eleanor?

How many might have misinterpreted my friendship as something more…?

Needless to say, I was so stressed about the assembly that Bofur needed to talk me down from the precipice of simply running back to my rooms and pulling a pillow over my head until everything was over. Even then, it was only after he had promised me that we would be at or around the head table for the entirety of the first evening, and that the citizens of Dale would be seated so far distant that we would be safe in our anonymity, that I allowed myself to be led further on through the mountain.

Bofur was right in his assessment as to the scale of the wedding, and much to my chagrin he led me back out onto the golden floor of the Chamber of Kings to the sounds of a party already much underway. Dwarven weddings were such a celebrated occasion, after all, that it would have been remiss for the host to let his guests go without food or drink - lots of drink - even if they were not among those few invited to participate in the sanctity of the official marriage ceremony. King Dain, as host, did not disappoint in this respect.

Also, true to his promise, Bofur was also right that there would be so much space between us and the farthest guests that there was little chance of someone from Dale recognizing me. In fact, I was quite certain the townsfolk had yet to even enter the hall. Far from the head table, I could make out incoming guests being bottlenecked into a queue at the entrance by members of the so-called honour guard that had escorted me to the ceremony.

I turned to Bofur to ask, but he had been watching me closely with a twinkle of amusement, and seemed to anticipate my question.

"To prevent a stampede." he explained, his eyebrows raising before he grinned mischievously.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I asked, narrowing my eyes playfully. How anyone could revel in such large crowds, with such a potential for chaos, was beyond me.

"I'm enjoying watching you." He winked and placed a hand on the small of my back. "Come on love, let's put our feet up shall we?"

We took our seats at the head table as the hall continued to fill. Our first drinks of the evening were brought out along with a complement of sweet and savoury delicacies, and as there was some time before the first main course of dinner was served, many of the higher ranking guests that were already in attendance took the opportunity to come up and offer their congratulations, or even to present us with gifts.

I sat a little straighter when I noticed Dís approach us. Even in her mourning, her natural regality was so potent that it was hard to not feel intimidated by her. Perhaps it was simply due to her bloodline, but I still felt an innate desire to try and impress her, despite our somewhat tumultuous previous encounters. I smiled and stood up to greet her as she stepped up to the table. Bofur, who was midway through draining his tankard, seemed to suddenly realized it would be uncouth for him to remain sitting while I stood to receive a guest, and so scrambled to his feet as well - though not before sloshing the rest of his beer all over the table in his haste.

I shot him an unheeded glare, yet he simply smiled and bowed his head in welcome.

Dís appraised us with a calculating stare, her eyes as sharp as Thorin's ever were. Finally she spoke, her gaze softening as she ran a hand along our table.

"I had always imagined Fili getting married in these ancient halls…" she mused with a wistful sigh. After another moment, in which Bofur had attempted to mop up some of his drink, he spoke up with some surprise.

"What of Thorin? I would have thought he might have been the first to marry here."

Dís let out a small laugh. "Alas, Fili was far more eligible than my brother ever was" She looked down at the table, growing introspective as she spoke more quietly. "You know, I don't think there was enough space for anyone in that dwarf's heart but himself and his burdens."

"Perhaps there was enough space for a very small person." Bofur commented offhandedly. I shot him a confused look, but he had picked up another mug, mine perhaps, and busied himself in taking a deliberately slow drink from it. I looked to Dís, who's brow was also furrowed in confusion. When Bofur chose not to elaborate, however, she gave her head a tiny shake.

"There was a time when I would have given you a talisman for luck," she began, her eyes suddenly saddening, "but I no longer put faith in such items. As my brother used to say 'we make our own luck.'"

With a small parting nod she took her leave of us, and we both returned to our seats. In the lull between Dís and the next well-wisher, Bofur leaned towards me and idly mentioned "You know, I had a bracelet that I thought was lucky once."

I turned to him fighting to suppress a grin after Dís' more somber words. "Oh really? A superstitious dwarf? Who would have thought." I mused quietly, raising one eyebrow in mock-disbelief.

"Now now, don't tease." he chided while breaking a tart in half and popping one piece into his mouth. He finished chewing, then explained further. "I really did think it was lucky when I was a lad. Wore it so often my folks started to joke that it was stuck."

"I don't suppose you still have it?" I asked, sipping at my drink and surveying the room.

"Nah. Lost it to this bloke on a wager actually." he told me, rising once more to clasp arms with his brother, who was now approaching with his wife.

"Not so lucky after all, then?"

"You'd be surprised, it seemed to have rubbed off on me - remember Stumpy the troll on the battlefield?"

"You named that poor creature?" I asked, somewhat horrified, turning to face him as our guests politely waited.

"Well, you've got to have a sort of detached sort of humour at those sorts of things, or they tend to drive a person mad…" Bombur nodded safely, but Bofur, seeing my expression unchanged, had the tact to backtrack to our previous conversation. "And anyway, the next month this lucky sod met Melvna, so you can make of it what you will."

"Telling the story of that dreadful bracelet again, are you Bofur?" The dwarrowdam chided as she picked up on the last bit of the conversation.

"Oh come now…" Bofur began defensively, but he was cut off.

"Bofur, be a dear and go help your brother find the girls, will you?" Melvna told him with a dismissive flick of her hand. I was impressed by her tone - it was just enough of a question not to insult, yet the command in it was clear. Bofur looked about to resist, but a fiery stare from his sister-in-law sent him packing, though not without trying to get in one last word to Bombur as they went.

"Maybe meeting Melvna wasn't so lucky after all." He grumbled with wounded pride as they ambled off, just loud enough not to be under his breath. Bombur put a consolidating arm around Bofur's shoulder, but in doing so shot a quick glance back at us in a silent attempt to distinguish himself from the opinions of his brother.

My face reddened, and I hastily fumbled out an apology for my new husband's attitude. Melvna laughed and waved it off, coming round the table to take Bofur's vacant chair. She sat down heavily, her hand on her rounded middle.

"Don't worry my dear. I've known him long enough to know he meant no harm. The exact opposite of his brother, that one - a right flare for the dramatic."

"Has he always been like that then?"

"Aye, though I get the sense from Bombur that he's tamed down quite a bit since meeting you."

"That's tamed down?" I asked with amusement, gesturing to where Bofur now stood on one of the tables a ways off to get a better vantage.

"Oh he's just excited! And I would wager you are too." she observed, noting the look of fondness that now settled onto my face as I watched my husband walking down the table with single minded determination in his quest, apologizing the whole way as he forced people to pick up their food and drinks.

"Marriage is like an anvil." Melvna continued when I looked back to her. "At first it rings. Then it is always there. It is solid. It is quiet. Like a husband should be."

I smiled as I heard Bofur shout the names of his nieces in a singing voice.

Melvna tutted but her eyes were mirthful. "Well, perhaps you're marriage will be a little less quiet than mine."

I laughed lightly as I agreed, and Melvna studied me a moment, her expression becoming just slightly more austere.

"He is steadfast though. I've not come across many dwarves as reliable as he, save for his brother perhaps, they were both raised with a mind for loyalty, and honour. He has pledged his faith to you now, and so you shall have it til the end of your days, likely to the end of his as well."

The weight of her words struck me and I nodded somewhat solemnly, my thoughts suddenly spurning into overdrive. Melvna, however, was observant - unsurprising after raising twin daughters.

"What is it dear? I can tell you've got a question stuck behind your teeth. Best just be out with it, we are family after all, your words are safe with me."

I had lost sight of Bofur, but wherever he was I was sure he was causing some sort of ruckus. Knowing he was well out of earshot though, I decided to be frank.

"Can Bofur have more than one… One?" I bit my lip, my worries growing as I voiced them aloud. "Is this even a real wedding if his marriage before was to last forever? And even if it is, would you not think that Bofur was being un-faithful to…"

I fell short, realizing with helpless dismay that I knew next to nothing about Bofur's first wife - not even her name. Not only that, but Melvna was kind to me, and here I was questioning a trait that she believed Bofur embodied without a doubt.

"I'd not trouble myself with all that, dear, it was an age ago. We might live longer than men, 'tis true, but we still feel the slow drag of years. And truth be told, Bofur seems more alive now than he has in all the time since losing her." She reached out to put a hand over mine. "Who knows - maybe there's more than one path for each of us to take, or maybe things are different when it comes to dwarves and humans. Bofur wouldn't have chosen this path unless he was certain of it - and sure of his love for you, so take comfort… At the end of the day we're all just mere mortals trying to interpret the will of the creator, and everyone seems to have their own opinion on that, don't they?"

I gave her a small smile, appreciating her words more than she could know. Suddenly she sucked in a breath and shifted slightly in her seat.

"This one's got a mighty kick." she said in explanation after seeing my worried expression. She surprised me by then taking up my hand and pressing it against her belly. My eyes widened as I felt a distinct pressure roll across my palm. "I suspect it's a boy." she added fondly. "Strong and stubborn, and late."

I smiled at her. "That does sound like a boy." I remarked with a chuckle as I withdrew my hand.

Melvna visited with me awhile more, and then excused herself. "I'm glad we got a chance to get to know each other better - just us sisters, without the men." she added with a knowing smile. "I really should be off to fetch my girls though." she explained, rising from her seat.

"You knew where they were this whole time?" I asked, marveling at her shrewdness, and also at her desire to just spend time with me alone.

"Oh of course!" She winked. "I figured it would give the lads an excuse to go have a pint together while we chatted. Don't fret, I'm sure they'll be back soon!"

With that she excused herself once more, and left me alone to face the queue of folks waiting to congratulate the bride and the absent groom.

Balin was the next friendly face that I encountered.

He followed a pair of older dwarves a short while after Melvna left, and while I thought I recognized them as part of the restoration planning committee Bofur was a part of, our interaction left something to be desired, so a true friend was a welcome sight.

The older dwarf approached the table and deposited with great ceremony a gift elaborately bound in soft silk. I grinned up at him, already guessing the contents based on the size and shape.

"Books?" I asked, genuinely excited after reading the dull subject matter in the only book Bard had managed to scrounge up for me thus far.

Balin, seeming to sense my train of thought, held up his hands in mock apology.

"I noticed your personal library seemed rather limited, but alas, search as I may, I just couldn't seem to track down the first two volumes of Salt Procurement in the Rhûn Region. I'm sorry, but these will have to do."

I laughed as I untied the ribbon holding the fabric together and it slid away from a pair of heavy, leather-bound books.

I read the spines, or at least one of the spines - the other had no discernible words and seemed far older.

"Balin, is this a book of children's stories?" I asked with growing fascination, flipping to the list of tales within and reading off a few titles. A few even seemed vaguely familiar, though I wondered how the written verse might differ to those told to me as a child.

"The next book is less entertaining, but no less educational." He interrupted before I could get too far into The Rhymes of a Rhosgobel Rabbit. I cast him a reluctant look, but his eagerness showed from under his bushy eyebrows, and so I closed the first book and tentatively opened the other, careful of its fragile pages, only to notice their contents with fascination.

Runes.

I flipped through the first few pages, and then came to the first of many with runic lettering on one side of the page, and common on the other.

"Balin, what is… I don't understand?" I asked, looking up at him questioningly.

"Ancient contracts between Erebor and Dale, lass. Written out in runes first, and then transcribed for humans - of course, you would be the first to see them in their original form; there were copies made just in common for the eyes of men."

I shut the book quickly, casting a conspiratorial glance around at anyone nearby.

"Balin are you mad?!" I hissed, hands still pressed down on the book cover. "Only a week ago you would barely teach me a word of Khuzdul, and now you're giving me the tools to learn to read it?"

Balin held up his hands again, this time a sincere apology. "Now now - hear me out. As of today, you are one of us. Not just metaphorically - but by law. As Bofur's wife you are as much a part of our world as any dwarrow you could find. As such, it's only fitting you be taught to read, as any young dwarf or dam would be."

I must have looked skeptical still so he continued to try to explain the situation.

"The king has given it his permission. We both feel that you may find this book useful in the future, both for the skills you gain, and from what you can learn from the content itself. Many important deals were struck long before Smaug reigned supreme."

Finally convinced, and hoping to avoid an impromptu history lesson, I let out a pointed sigh of relief, and then flashed him a smile. "Thank you, Balin, this means a lot to me." I reached out and grabbed his hand for a moment, hoping he knew that I understood the magnitude of his gift. "Though, perhaps I'll stick to the rabbits, at least until the wedding is over."

I tucked the book of contracts back under the fables. Perhaps he thought I was still frazzled, as just before he left he mentioned that I was free to leave at any time, and that it wasn't uncommon for the bride and groom to abandon the head table for hours, if not days at a time during weddings. It was one of the reasons why the whole affair lasted as long as it did.

I thanked him once more, and then welcomed the next dwarf in line, wondering where in the world Bofur could have got to.

A quarter hour later, I looked around and still saw no sign of the groom. More than enough time had passed for him to down a pint or two (or more) with his brother, and so I decided that after seeing only another handful of strange dwarves, I would take Balin's advice and abandon my station for a while. After all, I knew hardly a fraction of the well-wishers we had seen that day, and if some of them were just here to curry favour, I reasoned that it couldn't hurt to let them squirm a while in waiting for our return.

I made my apologies to those at the forefront of the line, and then stole off to see if I could find Bofur, or anyone I recognized for that matter.

I saw no sign or sound of my new husband near the front of the hall, and so struck a course through the assembly towards the back. It was slow going as I was stopped every few moments to receive words of congratulations, sometimes even toasted as dwarves filled their cups upon seeing me. Eventually the dynamics of the crowd changed and I was surrounded more by humans of Dale than by dwarves of Erebor.

I was about to turn back, reasoning that Bofur likely wouldn't have strayed so far from his dwarven comrades, when I did finally bump into a familiar face - or rather, a familiar face bumped into me - literally. I hissed in protest as a large foot trod on my own and the large form of a man nearly knocked me off balance.

"Watch it!" I snapped, stepping back to glower up at the numbskulled idiot that had collided with me. I was met with a toothy smile. "Oh! Hall! It's you."

"Eleanor! I didn't see you there." he replied happily and without apology, oblivious to the fact that I was grimacing over my hurt toes. "Wow, next to you I just feel shabby… wait, maybe you've overdressed? Though I guess this is just an exhibition of sorts. I mean, have you seen this floor? I've heard the dwarven king has a bit of a flare for the dramatic, so I guess there's no harm in dressing to the occasion."

My frown turned into more of a glower, but I wasn't able to get two words in as Hall continued to babble without having the social intelligence to see that his words were doing more harm than good.

"I've only just arrived, did I miss the whole ceremony? Granny made me late, she's not coming I'm afraid, kept going on and on about the old ways and racial-"

His explanation was cut short as Bard suddenly stepped up beside him, nodding at me cordially.

"Oh, Bard, fancy seeing you here." Hall remarked enthusiastically, clapping him on the shoulder.

"I've just come to offer my congratulations to the bride." Bard commented, with as much a smile as I'm sure he was able to muster.

"Oh!" Hall exclaimed excitedly, standing on his tiptoes and peering over our heads. "Where is she? I've missed most of the hullabaloo, haven't even seen who it is yet... I imagine she's rather short..."

Bard met my eyes, a confused frown creasing his forehead. I felt my face grow warm and opened my mouth in attempts to explain. I had barely stammered a word when I felt a hand on my back.

"There you are!" Bofur's voice rang cheerfully in my ear. "They're looking for us at the head table."

Bard cleared his throat. "As I was saying… congratulations." He reached out and offered his hand to Bofur, who happily shook it.

I peered up at Hall. His eyes fluttered from Bard, to me, to Bofur, and then back again, his blonde eyebrows slowly rising into his hairline.

"Eleanor, you're- it's you that's been married? To him?"

"That's not her name." Bofur retorted rather clippingly. "And yes, allow me to present my wife-"

"Wait, no, hold on just one moment." Hall interrupted, looking more confused than ever.

"Hall, this can't come as much of a surprise." I added with a gentle smile.

Bofur nodded, though his harm tightened somewhat about my waist. "Aye, it was only a few days ago that you saw her here. Twice in fact."

Hall rubbed his chin. "More than that actually… I could have sworn you were just a hallucination… again… though I should have known better, all the others ended up turning into piles of rock. Hah, you should have seen the look on Bard's face when I mistook him for one of my servants!"

Bard, who had grown to look increasingly uncomfortable throughout the whole exchange, finally spoke up once more. "You didn't know she was living in the mountain?"

Hall shrugged as he looked back to me, his hands out apologetically. "Of course I had heard of a woman living in Erebor, but I didn't know who it was. To my credit, I'd been a bit preoccupied, being a prisoner and all." He shot Bofur an unwarranted glare, as if he blamed any and all dwarves for his imprisonment. "So you haven't been living in Dale… here I thought you were just becoming a slob. You should see the state of your house. It's dirtier than a dwar-" He caught himself before anything more slipped out, but only just, and then cast a quick and somewhat nervous look about as if he were beginning to realize he was rather out of his element.

"Oh do go on." Bofur goaded, his voice dangerously sweet, his eyebrows raised higher than usual.

I turned to look at Bofur somewhat imploringly and imitated Melvna's unquestioning tone as best I could. "Bofur, I'll meet you back at the table in a moment, I think one of us should get back there to receive the gifts."

He looked about ready to object but I narrowed my eyes. "I'll be right behind you." I added more firmly but with a smile to ease the demand in my words.

Bofur eventually acquiesced, though not without a dramatic groan and roll of his eyes. He spun, nodding to Bard politely and ignoring Hall altogether before he sauntered off and left me to speak to my human companions. Before I could say anything, however, Bard excused himself as well - likely wanting to flee the scene before we could make him feel even more awkward. So I was left standing in front of Hall, shuffling my feet as I began to tell him I was sorry.

"For what?" he asked lightly before I could finish.

"For… the dishonesty." I said, meeting his eye. "You and your family were so kind to me, and all I gave you in return was lies and deception."

Hall grinned. "Well, that's a tad dramatic. We all have our secrets, and I like a woman with a bit of mystery about her… To be fair, I always knew you were hiding something." he added with a small shrug.

I looked at him a moment. He seemed very nonchalant all the sudden, and I wondered what he was thinking.

"Everything will be different now." I remarked softly, studying his expression for any hint of hidden emotion.

"It will." he agreed, impossible to read.

I did not have a chance to probe further, as suddenly we were surrounded on all sides by women - Hall's three sisters.

"There you are! I thought you were going to find us drinks." Adelaide commented, grabbing hold of Hall's arm.

"I did one better!" Hall chimed, having undergone a drastic shift in attitude after our last words. "I found a barmaid." He gestured to me. "A rather overdressed barmaid at that… oh, and the bride - she's the bride too."

The news, delivered in such an offhand manner, seemed to sink in at different speeds for those assembled - at first happy looks to see me, and then stunned silence as the gravity of what he had said sank in.

"I thought it was a dwarf wedding…" Mabel ventured, clearly a bit slow to catch on. Her eyes then trailed over me and settled on my face before lighting up in recognition. "Eleanor! I hardly recognized you… Wait, you're the-"

"Mabel, it is a dwarf wedding, dear." Adelaide cut in with a roll of her eyes. "A dwarf to a human, don't you pay any attention?" she explained, looking at me with some curiosity but, thankfully, no hint of judgement. Out of all their family, I wasn't surprised that she so quickly took the news in stride.

"You know, for a time I had thought…" Rosalin's eyes darted back and met her brother's for a moment, then she looked back to me and shook her head just slightly. "Nevermind, it's of no concern now."

"Thank you all for coming." I exclaimed, sensing the moment of potential awkwardness and wanting to spare Hall any more hassles this evening. Mabel, seemingly recovered from her initial confusion, came in for a hug which I returned gratefully.

"I love your hair!" She held me back at arms length and looked me up and down. "And your dress!"

"Indeed." Rosalin agreed as she slowly stepped forward and around me to see the back of my wedding gown. "We must get your tailor."

"Tailoress, actually…" I amended, somewhat taken aback by their sudden focus on my attire. Given some of the family's previous judgements levied against their current hosts, I was a little hesitant to mention that the dress they were admiring had been made by none other than a dwarf.

Adelaide had joined in on the admiring and drew in close, leaving only Hall standing at a more normal distance, and with his sisters preoccupied, his cheerful disposition had slipped back into one of practiced neutrality.

"The embroidery is flawless." Adelaide announced while inspecting the stitching.

"And this fabric!" Mabel added while running her hand along my arm. "Come on Eleanor, don't be coy! At least give us her name!"

With such praise of the work, I figured there could be no harm in mentioning the maker, and so I acquiesced.

"Her name is Méra." I began with a smile.

"Surely you don't mean Princess Méra?" Mabel cut in before I could elaborate.

My silence was answer enough, and even Rosalin seemed to regard me differently in light of this new information.

"I knew you were too composed to be a simple barmaid." she stated shrewdly.

I hadn't the willpower to tell her that I really had been a lowly server at a ill reputed Inn for the better portion of my adult life.

Hall chose this moment to rescue me from his sisters. While the praise and admiration had been more than welcome, I felt I could do without the judgement of character, even if it was positive, and thankfully he picked up on that.

"If you ladies are quite through clucking about her like mother hens, I actually would like to get a drink."

His gentle admonishment caused the girls to regain some composure, and with more than a few more parting compliments they withdrew, allowing Hall and I a final moment together. Awkwardly grasping for something to say, I indicated towards the far wall between two of the giant pillars, just past where stone steps rose up out of the golden floor to the raised portion of the hall.

"The bar is set up back there… cider, right?" I asked with a small smile.

Hall grinned slightly and nodded. As he moved to walk by me, he paused and clasped a hand on my shoulder.

"I don't care what my sisters say, I still think I preferred you as a barmaid."

With that, he vanished into the crowd.

I returned to the head table with somewhat conflicted feelings after my interaction with my friends from Dale.

On one hand, the whole affair had gone much better than I had anticipated it could go. Bard had been as stoic as always, but he and his children knew me for who I really was, and so their judgement I feared less. Hall and his family, though, had taken it in stride rather well, I thought. Maybe such scandalous news was common in the courts of Gondor.

Why then was I feeling uneasy?

I knew it had to do with Hall. It almost angered me how he had acted so carefree about my deceit. He didn't shout or cause a scene, he didn't leave in a huff, in fact he didn't seem to care much at all. So why did I care? If he really was my friend, why didn't it matter to him? Maybe he no longer considered me a friend at all...

Bofur seemed oblivious to my plight, and so I was able to dwell on it in secret while welcoming the last few remaining well wishers for the time being. The hall was nearly packed full now, and so shortly after the last pair of dwarves visited our table, a deep echoing bell sounded, and my brooding was put on hold as the organized celebration began in earnest.

Trolleys laden down with mountains of food were wheeled in, setting our mouths watering. The masses were to be provided with large dishes of food, more the size of troughs. Their contents were to be passed around and shared, spilt, grabbed at, stolen, likely thrown, and sometimes trodden on, as befitted the style of the dwarves - it hadn't taken me long to realize they seemed to to treat all meal times the same no matter if they were dead sober or draining the bottom of the barrel.

At our table we were waited upon by Dain's personal entourage of servants and chefs, and as a result it was a much more civil affair. Tasting platters and appetizers were laid out around us - buns and breads in numerous varieties; some with cheese and garlic baked in, some with oats, some made of corn, even one that smelled of mushroom but tasted nothing like it, which I nibbled at and decided to avoid thereafter. Cured meats and cheeses made up another tray - though even with the wide selection available, I noticed with curiosity that there was no blue cheese to be seen, which was strange as I had thought it a delicacy among the high and mighty and my hopes of finally trying it were dashed.

Entrees were delivered by hand, one by one, and were cleared away as we finished. We were treated to venison pasties with golden, flaky crust, steaming grilled salmon on a bed of cooked herbs, roasted chicken with the skin crisped to perfection, lamb shank so tender it fell off the bone, currant stuffing with chestnuts and onions, the last of the winter yams swimming in butter, and a thick bean and bacon soup that warmed me to my core.

It seemed like my cups never depleted of water and wine, no matter how much I drank, though thinking back on it I could never quite remember anyone ever filling them - such was the skill of those in the employ of the king of the dwarves.

As the first of the candles began to burn low, another bell boomed out to silence the masses. Dain rose to his feet from a table nearby to address the crowd. We stood as well to thunderous applause and cheers as he introduced us, officially and for the first time, as husband and wife. Once the noise settled to a dull roar, he continued. "Right then, dessert will be served soon, as you all well know, so don't go pulling your beards out yet. First, a bit of human tradition to spice things up!"

We stayed standing as Ori and Nori brought up a long length of rope and a bucket of water. Raising our hands, my left and his right, Nori tied a loose knot about our wrists with deftness that only one who had broken free from many many rope bonds could achieve, and then Ori took great delight and ceremony in dunking our hands down into the bucket so fast that a splash sloshed out onto the table. Nori hauled him away by his collar and cuffed him upside the head, and Dori rushed to mop up his brother's mess before it could cause any real damage, all while laughter and more applause filled the hall.

"Ori so help me, if you got water on that dress I'll flay you alive." Méra spat, pointing threateningly at him as she wandered over from her father's table to join us, looking down into the bucket as we waited for the ropes to swell. "So you'll be stuck like that until-?"

"When the rope dries we'll be able to pull our hands back out." I told her with a grin.

She drew up alongside me and leaned close. "Should make for an interesting night… though the way you humans are rumoured to carry on in the bedroom, I'm sure you'll figure it out." she added, flashing a knowing wink towards poor Ori who was still near enough to hear and was now turning a deep shade of red.

A moment later, we withdrew our hands and were well and truly bound together. More cheers followed, and Bofur - ever the showman - took my hand and held it aloft to show off. The bucket was removed, the tabletop cleared, and the celebration began again in earnest.

Dessert was a simple affair compared to the elaborate fixings we had been served earlier, which I was thankful for as with the amount of food I had eaten already, I was already regretting how tight I had Bifur make my corset. Frozen berries with cream to start, followed by hot drinking chocolate and a light honeyed pastry.

I was halfway through my sweets when I began watching Bofur out of the corner of my eye, trying to suppress a grin at the thought of him struggling to eat and drink with his left hand - I had purposefully arranged the handfasting so that I would still have my dominant hand free while his would be bound, so that I could laugh at his antics. He, however, seemed to be having absolutely no difficulty with it, which I found mildly infuriating - was there anything physical that dwarves weren't good at?

"You're staring." He observed, a throwback to a conversation we had had in another time, another place, and I added terrific peripheral vision to the list of admirable qualities he possessed. His lip curved up into a smile and he glanced over to me.

"What are you thinking so intently about?" Bofur asked, continuing along the same vein as our long-ago encounter by the campfire, and so I told him.

"Home. Our home." I leaned in and placed a kiss on the side of his cheek. "And how lucky I am to be here right now with you."