Chapter Text
The announcement had been formal. As formal as could be expected when it came to the Heir of Erebor. Thorin, King Under the Mountain, had decreed that Prince Fili had more than proven himself with his deeds in reclaiming the Lonely Mountain, in his actions in the Battle of Five Armies, and he was of marriageable age.
There had been a banquet held, as the royals usually tended to do so as to parade potential brides or grooms about and let them have the pick of the litter. You hadn’t had much pinned on Prince Fili actually giving you the time of day.
But he had. It was a nice first meeting, when you thought about it after the fact. Prince Fili was courteous, polite, considerate; all the things expected of someone in as prestigious a position as his. It was nice, but boring, and yet somehow your exchange that night had piqued his interest.
He began tentatively pursuing you. It was so hesitant and subtle at first that you had perhaps wondered if maybe courting you wasn’t his intention. As short amounts of time spent on tours of Erebor turned into his first gift given, you knew it all for what it really was.
Well.
“How fortuitous! Truly, what luck we’ve struck,” your father, Guildmaster for the mines back in the Iron Hills, exclaimed when an official letter came one early morning proclaiming the Crown Prince’s intentions towards you. “This calls for a feast!” he cried once more before sweeping from the room to tell the whole mountain the news. You left him to it to get ready for a meeting with the prince.
“It is good to see you,” Prince Fili greeted warmly, his smile soft and welcoming as you strode towards him later that morning. “How fare you this morn?”
“Well, my prince, thank you for asking,” you inclined your head respectfully, and Prince Fili held his arm out. You took it, and the two of you made to stroll from the room before a shout brought you both up short.
“Fi! I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” another dwarf admonished, trotting up to Prince Fili. He had a wide grin spread across his face, and though he sounded annoyed, he looked genuinely happy to see the prince. “Ah, hello there. You must be Fili’s intended?”
“Kili,” Prince Fili intoned, unimpressed. Oh. So this was the younger prince.
You inclined your head respectfully to Prince Kili. “Aye, I received his letter just this morning.”
“I helped him write it, did you know?” Prince Kili said cheerfully, rocking on his feet.
“Kili, please,” Prince Fili sighed, his eyes averted. He must be embarrassed for you to know this.
Prince Kili’s unrestrained behavior made you want to smile. Seeing as the exchange so far was not to Prince Fili’s liking, you refrained. “Did you? My thanks, Prince Kili.”
That was your first meeting with the younger heir. Despite the apparent discomfort it caused Prince Fili, you had rather enjoyed it.
Due to your being chosen as the intended of the Crown Prince you remained in Erebor, the others who had come in the hopes of being chosen returning to their own hills and mountains. If you thought that their absence would make Erebor more peaceful, you were wrong. Traditionally the courting would last several months, and yet the entire mountain was abuzz with gossip and preparations. You had been outfitted for an entirely new wardrobe befitting your elevated status. You were assigned servants. You were burdened with lessons to groom you for your position as the future Consort to the Crown Prince.
Despite how busy you had become as of late, Prince Fili always made it so that the two of you had time during the day to spend with each other. He was as genteel, thoughtful, and sweet as ever, always asking after you and your day. He learned your preferences when it came to anything from beardstyles to modes of travel. He was, to put it simply, the perfect fiance.
Prince Fili was the perfect fiance, and yet it was Prince Kili whose time you ended up enjoying most. Whom you looked most forward to seeing.
Occasionally Prince Kili would intrude upon the two of you like a gale, bursting into the room and bringing with him the sunshine from behind the clouds above the mountain in his wide smiles and glittering eyes. He seemed to enjoy pestering Prince Fili, complaining of his inattention, and joking of a jealousy over your being his big brother’s focus so often. He would usually challenge you to children’s games, which you secretly found just as much excitement in as he did, though you pretended to be grudgingly indulgent. Prince Fili would then be waiting off to the side, shaking his head fondly, and always thanked you for being so good with going along with his little brother’s whims.
Prince Kili was so very much the opposite of the Crown Prince. Truthfully his presence was like a balm to your mind, so often numb with matters of the mountain, and of the mild, courteous manner in which Prince Fili treated you. Prince Kili was all mirthful chuckles, brash comments, and wild energy, always trying to pull you along his current.
“I apologize for my brother’s behavior again,” Prince Fili muttered, not for the first time, as Prince Kili bid the both of you goodbye, a hand raised and waving as he walked away, finally granting Prince Fili mercy from his antics. “He is so very lively.”
Yes, he was.
The wedding day was something to behold. King Thorin spared nothing to make the celebration of Prince Fili’s marriage truly memorable. It was, after all, the first joining in Erebor since the mountain had been reclaimed.
You stood up on the dais in a cavernous room large enough to hold the crowd of hundreds of guests, all come to pay their respects to the King Under the Mountain and the Heir to the Throne. King Thorin himself presided, conducting the affair in his deep, ever-solemn voice, reciting the words for all to bear witness as you were joined in marriage to Prince Fili.
King Thorin stepped up to the both of you, your hands clasped between you, and began tying a ribbon of deep, blue silk, the pattern of the House of Durin stitched perfectly all down its length, before stepping back to begin finishing reciting the words that would officially bind you together with Prince Fili. Across from you the Crown Prince stared down at your silk bound hands, then glanced up to offer you a gentle smile as Thorin spoke.
“Do you swear fealty to my heir – Crown Prince Fili, son of Dis, daughter of Thrain, son of Thror – to the crown he will one day wear, to the good of this kingdom and all her subjects?”
For a fleeting moment your eyes strayed from Prince Fili’s calm expression and over to Prince Kili, off to the side in his proper position as Second Heir. His eyes were alight with happiness and pride as he gazed towards you both, towards his brother, and you swallowed thickly.
“Aye, I swear all,” you breathed, your eyes finding Prince Fili again.
If your grip happened to not be as firm as his, well, you nor your husband made mention of it.