Through
Different Eyes
Author: wanderingsmith
apr 2014
Summary: ch1- Ears: Gimli and Legolas snipping at each other let
slip old secrets.
ch2 - Mithril: Beauty may be in the eyes of the beholder, but
worth is in the soul of the giver.
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer: I ain't got no money, and nobody'd be daft enough to
pay me for this. As it is thought, so let it be said; you make the
toys, I play with 'em.
AN: because who can resist turning other characters into
'shippers
and since it was those two and Lumelle's
Contractual Obligations that led me to this 'ship that is
eating my brain.. it's fitting they get a cameo in it :)
Goto Chapter 2: Mithril
Chapter one: Ears
"-you pointy-eared elf!"
"Master dwarf, I must point out that had he survived the battle of
the five armies, your last king's consort would have had *pointy
ears*."
"An elf?"
Both Gimli and Legolas jumped in surprise, turning to the halfling
that had sneaked up on them. And then they both laughed, confusing
Frodo.
Gimli was the first to catch himself enough to give an answer,
"Thorin Oakenshield would have rather walk bare as a babe through
Gundabad than share so much as kind words with any elf!"
"Through Mirkwood, even."
Even Frodo understood why they both snorted at Legolas' rejoinder.
But looking from one to the other, he frowned all the more at their
agreeing with each other, "But... you both agree that his..
consort?" he'd read the word in some of his uncle's books, but it
was still odd not to simply hear 'wife'; or queen, in this case,
"Would have had elvish ears?" Between his uncle's stories and
meeting Gimli himself, he would have been certain they would never
marry any but a fellow dwarf...
"Elves are not the only creatures with pointed ears, master hobbit.
And Thorin's kin honour the one he would have wanted at his side,
even if he never got to present his suit."
Remembering the king's fate, Frodo understood the dwarf's quiet
pride in that assertion, realizing the reason he'd not heard of the
king's 'consort' was that he hadn't officially had one, rather than
the secrecy of dwarves. "Well that's.. very honourable.. but who..
what.." Were there perhaps Men who had pointed ears?
He watched Legolas and Gimli look at each other, both suddenly
seeming uncomfortable, though for a moment Frodo was glad they
agreed, even if on such an odd thing, since it heralded the chance
that perhaps the snarling matches of these first few days from
Rivendell would eventually fade.
"Master hobbit.. you had perhaps not noticed that your own ears
are.."
"Oh! Well, yes, but I... " Frodo's mouth dropped when he realized
what Gimli was actually trying to hint at, "A hobbit?? But I've
never heard of a hobbit travelling so far.. though I suppose some of
Merry's kin might have not said-" Though certainly uncle Bilbo would
have heard if anyone else had travelled in the same parts he'd
chronicled...
Shrugging with obvious discomfort, Gimli sighed before muttering,
"Lad. If he-" Frodo's goggled even more at the pronoun, "-Chose not
to tell you.. I suspect perhaps it would be best if we left it at
that." Still shocked, Frodo hardly even reacted this time to see
Gimli give the elf an almost conspiratorial look, "You had a fair
point, Elf. I will refrain from using those words."
Chapter
Two: Mithril
Summary: Beauty may be in the eyes of the
beholder, but worth is in the soul of the giver.
AN:
from the book
"The wealth of Moria was not in gold or
jewels, the toys of the Dwarves; nor in iron, their servant....
Its worth was ten times that of gold, and now it is beyond
price; for little is left above ground, and even the Orcs dare
not delve here for it."
from LOTR: fellowship of the ring (2001)
Gandalf: "Bilbo had a shirt of Mithril rings
that Thorin gave him."
Gimli: "Oh, that was a kingly gift."
Gandalf: "Yes! I never told him, but its
worth was greater than the value of the Shire."
When there was a moment's pause in the dirges in the air, Frodo
hurried to break the silence that had fallen around the fire. "Is
something wrong, Gimli?" Aragorn was a few paces away, staring at
the moon as he smoked, and everyone else long gone to their
bedrolls, but Gimli had been staring seemingly right at Frodo for
the last two songs, and Frodo was unnerved by the thoughtful watch.
The dwarf grunted in what might have been an apology, which Frodo
would have appreciated for what seemed quite rude behaviour.
"Gandalf.. he under-spoke. Mithril's worth is actually quite
incalculable, being as it is impossible to get more. Even the
smallest pellet is only ever bartered for the direst need of the
holder, and as such might fetch a Shire.. or a loaf of bread." He
pointed at Frodo's chest with his pipe, "That pretty shirt would
have been a treasure of the house of Durin, an un-priceable legacy
of memories that could never be compared to any mere gold."
Words like incalculable and un-priceable were odd to conceive of, to
be sure, but he could understand the worth of a legacy of memory,
let along the inheritance of a clan. Though he hesitated, thinking
of his uncle, still he knew the old hobbit would agree with him
here, "Oh. I. Well then, you-" he reached inside the neck of his
cotton shirt to tug at the precious metal, silently offering to
return it, pausing when Gimli's hand flew out and waved him off.
"Ach laddy, dinnae fash yersel. That isna why I spoke. The king may
give whatever he chooses. I was more thinking of something my 'adad
said from time to time. And.. well, if that had been given to a
dwarf, they'd have known that such a priceless treasure could only
be an offer to court.. or more likely an offer to *complete* a
courtship."
"Court? Wait.. you mean- UNCLE??" Frodo stared at the dwarf, the
quest for once completely eclipsed from his mind at the thought of
uncle Bilbo and...
"Aye."
The dwarf looked utterly calm and certain, but.. "But... he never
said!" Not one word, not in his book, not to Frodo! ..Though, it
might explain how long the hobbit's un-lessened grief has endured.
Gimli looked regretful suddenly, perhaps remembering that he'd
planned, when they'd spoken of King Thorin before ever going to
Moria, not to disclose his consort's identity. "'Tis possible Bilbo
didn't know. Not being a dwarf.. likely not knowing even what
mithril is."
"But.. wouldn't ... wouldn't the king have.. *said* something??"
Although.. there was that time Tom the miller's son had chosen a
courting token that was not obvious enough and Milly had thought it
merely a strange gift. Frodo remembered it had taken a week of his
friends browbeating the boy before he finally 'fessed up. He did not
remember the king Bilbo described as sounding skilled at admitting
he'd been misunderstood.
"Well, as to that. That had to come from Erebor, and they were only
in Erebor for a small time before.. well," Gimli's lips tightened,
"I don't know how much your uncle told you of the king just before
the battle."
The silence stretched between them as Gimli stared at him sombrely,
and Frodo thought of the terrible words he remembered in that story.
Terrible when he'd thought the story merely of two friends. Now...
"He told me... or he wrote the story. Said the king was not himself
and refused to negotiate. And Bilbo couldn't think of any way to
avoid bloodshed but to betray him."
"Aye. My father and others of the company say the gold drove Thorin
mad. Like his grandfather before him. As for Bilbo... they
understood why he did it," The dwarf seemed to deliberately shake
off the gloom and he looked at Frodo with a kind smile before
standing, "And they and their kin, along with what's left of
Thorin's kin, will always welcome you as the king's adopted son.
Father used to hint that one could view them as betrothed, really. I
wonder if that coat was what he meant."
AN: there *may*
be another 'chapter', but not even slight promises offered
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