Masquerade - Prologue

MASQUERADE

Prologue

Thorin stared incredulously at the heavy parchment in his hand for a moment and then up at his nephews, who were fairly beaming with pride. Thorin’s eye drifted back to the parchment and then back to his nephews, to the parchment and to his nephews and then – with nary a sound – lay down the parchment for good and interlaced his fingers and fixed his nephews with a stare that would have sent any reasonable dwarf running for the hills.

“Boys . . .” he began slowly. “This . . .”

Their twin grins didn’t fade however and Thorin was seriously beginning to regret his decision, very quickly. “Kili, Fili when I gave you permission to organise my annual day of birth celebrations this is not what I had in mind”

The blonde dwarf nodded. “We know Uncle” Fili said cheerfully.

His brother mirrored the gesture. “We know you too well” Kili added.

“Which is why –”

“In order to throw the party of the year and be known as the best nephews a king could ask for”

“- We elected to ignore what you had in mind” Fili finished, smiling widely.

“I am not having a – what in the name of Durin is this?” Thorin finished gruffly. “Honestly you two, I gave you this task in order for you to show some responsibility not for you to turn this into some horridly lurid elvish thing!”

It appeared, hours later when Kili and Fili had given him every infuriatingly logical answer with a broad smirk and when Dis had made her presence known before endorsing the idea, that Thorin was fighting a losing battle. The boys scampered off with mad gales of laughter and Dis turned to her brother, one shapely eyebrow tilted in amusement. Thorin glared at her.

“Oh lighten up brother” she crowed, hands on her hips and a cheeky smile that was clearly inherited by both her sons. “It would do you and Erebor good to have a good party”

“It is not the party I have a problem with it’s the manner of said celebrations”

Dis snorted. “It is not as elvish as you would like to think, your Royal Stubbornness” she warned him, wagging a finger at him. “Besides all else it will give me a chance to meet this charming young hobbit that has ensnared your heart” she added cheerfully, making for the door.

Thorin spluttered. “He does not have my heart sister!”

“No but you have feelings for him, despite threatening to throw him from the walls of Erebor – yes I do know about that so don’t even give me that look – and I wish to see my brother happy instead of being a pompous grouch for the rest of my life”

With that said Dis stalked proudly from Thorin’s royal chambers and left the King spluttering and indignant on his throne. With a resigned sigh, he never could out-argue Dis – Thorin grasped the heavy parchment that had been used as invitation for his year of birth celebrations and snorted. A masquerade party? What in the name of Aulë was that?