“Thorin’s Journey: An Unexpected Love”, Ch. 1, October 09, 2015 by Gratiana Lovelace (Post #811b)

Dear Readers,
I realized that with my decision to extend my short story for a few chapters, that it will be easier for readers to find the story chapter if it is a free standing post–rather than embedded within a pot pourri post (#811) . Hence the reason you see this story again, and why I labeled this Post#811b.
Cheers!  Grati ;->

“Thorin’s Journey: An Unexpected Love”, October 09, 2015 by Gratiana Lovelace (Post #811b)
(an original fan fic short story, copyrighted by Gratiana Lovelace, 2015; all rights reserved)
[(1) story cover image]

“Thorin’s Journey:  An Unexpected Love”, Ch.1:  An Unexpected Love

Gazing lovingly down upon Sulisha’s sleeping form, Thorin stands at the edge of the bed in his rustic cave home bed chamber near the blacksmith’s forge building where he works as a blacksmith in the Blue Mountains. The waning embers from the hearth

illuminate his bed chamber in a soft glow. His love Sulisha is tall for a Dwarven lady, though not reaching above his shoulders with him being a very tall Dwarf man–her long softly haired legs curling around the bed sheet tantalizingly revealing and teasing him about her alluring nakedness. Her pink lips puffing out with each breath, inviting him to kiss her. Thorin is also naked, preparing to join her in their bed. Thorin wants only to delight in their mutual desires and in their loving tenderness.

Sulisha and Thorin have only recently entered into an understanding that they will make a life together, make a family together. Their romantic couplings are new and exciting for one such as he who has sacrificed all to keep his Dwarves of Durin community whole after their losing their homes and their lives when the dragon Smaug took Erebor from the Dwarves of Durin 169 years ago. And Thorin had not allowed himself to even think about living a normal life until all of his peoples were first helped to build new lives in the Blue Mountains, Ered Luin [(2)] . Thorin could not have imagined that seeing to every person and every family’s needs would be so all consuming, but it was.

And then she providentially came into his life one rainy day three months ago in Thorin’s 196^th year, when her horse went lame because it threw a shoe. So Thorin reshod her horse for her. Suli, as he calls her affectionately when they are alone, is not a princess–nor even a high born lady. She is the daughter of tapestry weavers, destined to be a tapestry weaver herself, an artisan, as she is now at the age of 150 years. With Sulisha being born after Durin’s exile from Erebor, she knows nothing of Erebor and of life as it was in Dale but what she has been told.

Though Dwarven tapestries are prized for their artistry and for their historical representations, and their cultural symbolism, in his old life as Prince Thorin, Sulisha and he would never have met. Prince Thorin would have merely appreciated a tapestry from her skilled hands as one of the many beautiful objects surrounding him in the Erebor Palace.   With walls of precious lapis lazuli,  the grandeur of Erbor was so stunning that even the snobbish Elves were in awe.

Thinking back on it now–his former princely life of 169 years ago–Thorin feels that the Dwarves of Durin’s centuries of wealth and power might have caused them to become too complacent about the real threats to their existence that the then world of Middle Earth posed. Of course there were the wretched Elves to contend with as trading partners–them also providing security with their realm bordering Durin’s stronghold of Erebor, in exchange for the precious minerals mined from Erebor’s incalculable depths. The Dwarves tended to ignore the men of Laketown–so contentious were the humans amongst themselves. And then there were the evil ones that plagued all of Middle Earth–the annoying goblins and the nefarious Orcs, among others–who were all believed to be orchestrated, if not controlled, by the oppressive Necromancer. So in reality, a little thing like a dragon drake was the least of the Dwarves worries–until it became the worst of their nightmares.

Sulisha’s family had fled from their villa in Dale, managing to take only a few dozen skeins of tapestry thread with them–as examples of quality and color that they needed for their future tapestries–including a spool of mithral thread. For it was the tapestry weavers who were also tasked with creating the intricate designs of the mithral vests that leant them their superior strength against piercings by any metal.

Sulisha’s family had been wealthy merchant artisans, and they were able to reestablish themselves within their new home in the Blue Mountains. Not everyone of Durin folk were so fortunate–including Thorin, who plied his blacksmith skills for creating artfully crafted metal scrollwork for grand homes, as well as, shodding horses. Thorin gave all of his profits to his people, and saved little for himself–and his people revered him for it.

But in recent years–as more and more of Durin’s people were returning to prosperity, they sought to encourage their one time prince and now their acknowledged king to assume leadership over them again. And with Thorin eager to see his people’s place in Middle Earth restored to the prominence that they once were envied for, he was also now also turning his thoughts to his own future.

And Sulisha figures in his plans for the future. They will wed and beget children who will become the next generation of Durin’s rulers. And Thorin feels it is fitting for his intended bride Sulisha to be of the people, and of the new generation not bound to the old memories of Erebor–allowing her and them to be open to possibilities for creating their own and their people’s futures. Thorin will need these hopeful Durin Dwarves to establish the new kingdom of Durin.

And with looking to the future,Thorin cannot help yearning for something of the past–in order to build upon their legacy. And so Thorin met with the wizard Gandalf at the Prancing Pony tonight. The wizard is long known to Thorin and the Dwarves of Durin–but more for Gandalf’s magic tricks, than for him practicing diplomacy. In fact, Thorin has just returned from their auspicious meeting that he realizes will chart his future course. And his thoughts reflect upon the evening’s outcomes and what it will mean for the both he and Sulisha.

Thorin slides into bed behind his love Sulisha and she snuggles into him in her sleep.

Thorin: “I have returned to you, Suli.” Thorin whispers as he pulls back her mane of glorious brunette curls and kisses her behind her delectable left ear. He then tightens his hold upon her as he pulls her flush against himself–his ardor increasing as their bodies mold themselves against each other.

Sulisha: “Hhhhh!” She sighs contentedly.   “You have been much later than I thought you would be, your Majesty.” Her voice lilts pleasingly, softening her chiding of him as she impishly addresses him by his title. “Will our marriage be thus? Me completing whole tapestries while waiting for you to return to me?”

Thorin: “Ha ha haha ha ha ha!” He laughs deeply as she wriggles around in his arms to turn and face him. “With you as my enticement, I will always return to you.” His deep voice smoulders with desire.

Then Thorin and Sulisha kiss each other with loving abandon–quite forgetting about wizard meetings until long after their loving desires are fulfilled. And yet still she persists as they cuddle after.

Sulisha: “Will he take you from me?” Sulisha asks worriedly.

Thorin: “That is what he proposes.”  Thorin admits soberly.

Sulisha: “Ohh!” She sighs in disappointment as her lip trembles. She belongs to Thorin now–heart and mind and body and soul. And she cannot bear the thought of their parting.

Thorin: “Now, now. Our leave taking is still uncertain.” Thorin soothes. “The wizard will return again in two months after he has finished some preliminary planning.” And after the wizard consults with the Elves on some translation. “So you and I will have time for our nuptials next week and then taking a long wedding trip visiting our people spread amongst the Ered Luin.”

Sulisha: “They are not our people, they belong to themselves.” Sulisha bites he lower lip wincingly.

Thorin: “Yet, you will become their queen when we marry.”

Sulisha: “I do not wish to be queen. I only wish to be your wife, Thorin–and to have you as my husband.”

Thorin: “And so you shall. But please let me revel in having you as both my wife and my Queen–when I did not think that I would ever have either.”   He tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear and then kisses the tip of her nose.

Sulisha: “And I will give you sons and daughters, so your legacy will be secure.”

Thorin: “And I will rejoice in such gifts of our marriage.” He peppers her face with light kisses.

Sulisha: “And I will keep you so happy that you will never want to leave me.”

Thorin: “You have already succeeded in your quest to vanquish me, My Love.”

Sulisha: She blushes. “I did not pursue you. You pursued me.” She states demurely.

Thorin:   “And it has been a happy chase.” Thorin grins broadly.

Sulisha: “And I am happy to be caught.” Sulisha smiles shyly, then yawns in her sleepiness. Thorin then yawns as well.

Thorin: “Suli, My Love, let us rest our weary eyes, for morn will soon be upon us when the new day dawns.”

Sulisha nods and lays her head upon Thorin’s broad chest. Their breathing slows into restful patterns as they fall asleep in each others’ loving arms.

Thorin feels that the future yet holds a few uncertainties for he and his people–especially when the wizard returns, and if Gandalf’s price is to exact payment for his service by appealing to Thorin’s hope for their legacy. But for now, Thorin and Sulisha will hold fast to each other–and to their unexpected love.

To be continued with Chapter 2

 

 

References

1) My “Thorin’s Journey: An Unexpected Love” story cover is comprised of two images:
a) The drawing of Thorin Oakenshield by a talented artist whom I have yet to discover their name–with Thorin being in the image of the talented actor Richard Armitage who portrayed him in The Hobbit trilogy of films.
b) A cropped section of a screen cap of the Elven cave that I made from the first trailer for THDofS.

2) For more about the Blue Mountains, please visit:
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Blue_Mountains

3) N.B.: The characters of Thorin Oakenshield and Gandalf the wizard are found in the works of JRR Tolkien, The Hobbit, and other tales. The character of Sulisha is of my own creation.

P.S.Thanks to Guylty for sharing about the provenance and the identity of the Thorin portrait drawing in the comments below. I quote her here also for your convenience:
“That beautiful artwork is part of a larger piece by Yanagoya. http://rebloggy.com/post/the-hobbit-yana-art-thorin-arkenstone/41711190148 Do click! Your breath will be taken away because your crop leaves out some very, very good bits *coughs*. It’s my all time fave Thorin fan art. Stunning!”

P.S. again:And you’ll notice that Ania  (Thanks!) also commented about this particular head shot mask, which was what I had seen on  twitter.  Here is the link that Ania provided:
https://thearmitageeffect.wordpress.com/2013/07/11/still-thorin-thursday-somewhere-so-feast-your-eyes/