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“Please? You promised!”
“All right,” Sigrid sighed. “One more dance. That’s it, then you’re going to bed with Auntie Tilda and I’ll hear no more about it.” As her two children cheered, the music struck up and she smiled. “This one’s from Lake Town, where Mummy used to live! I’ll teach it to you. Now Kendra you go with Daddy, and Frerin, you come with me.”
Fíli looked at her fondly over their daughter’s head as they lined up with the rest of the assembled guests. He looked so handsome she felt her heart could burst. She could hardly believe it had been eleven years since they wed. Their son came first, sooner than anyone really had expected; he turned ten at the winter solstice. Kendra was a gentle five-year-old, still all stumbles, but Fíli helped her line up all the same.
“You ready? Here we go!” When the refrain started again she chanted the instructions in time. “Bow to your partner, just like that. Then you take their hand. Good! One step forward, one step back, take their other hand - nice. Stomp your heel and tap your toe, then around again we go!”
Frerin was a quick study, she noted. He was so smart, just like his father. He would make a good king. Just like his father. Sigrid looked over to Fíli who was laughing, swinging Kendra around by her arms, the torchlight glimmering off his newly-bestowed crown. King Thorin II Oakenshield had reigned for fifteen years after the defeat of Smaug the Terrible, but he had never quite been the same after the injuries sustained at the Battle of the Five Armies. He succumbed to illness, and today the kingdom celebrated Fíli’s coronation. She was a queen now. Fíli was a king.
“Now let’s change our partners - yes, Daddy comes with me. You go over there with her, do it all again.”
Fíli put Kendra back on her feet and she did her best to thwart every effort Frerin made to properly do the steps. “You look positively stunning,” he whispered, turning her around.
“You’re not so bad yourself, my King,” she teased. “All right, Frerin, back to me.” They went through the steps again one last time, and when the music wound down, Frerin gave her a hilariously over-the-top bow. “Why thank you so much for the lovely dance, Frerin,” she said, trying desperately not to laugh as she curtseyed back. “Now time for bed.”
“Awww! Come on, Mum, just one more. Please?”
“Yesh,” Kendra echoed blearily, rubbing her eyes. “Jus’ one mo’?”
“I think not,” Fíli answered, pointing towards the door. Tilda leaned against the doorframe and waved. “Go with Auntie Tilda. Nope, no arguments.” He bent down and kissed each of them, and Sigrid took her turn as well. “There will always be more dances.”
“Good night, my loves. Be good.”
As Frerin led Kendra away, Fíli slipped his hand into hers. The musicians started another song, slow and sweet, and he pulled her close against him. “I am so glad I have you,” he murmured. “I don’t think I could do this without you by my side.”
“Oh hush,” she scolded gently, melting into his embrace despite herself. “Don’t ruin our first dance of the night by being so serious. We’ve been serious all day.” And they had. It was always somber, the transition between reigns. The celebration afterwards had been happy to be sure, but Sigrid and Fíli had spent more time apart than together as they greeted all the guests. Now her feet and back ached, but she was going to take full advantage of this quiet moment.
“Very well, my queen,” he answered, pressing a kiss to her jaw.
Sigrid giggled. “Much more of that, my king, and you’re going to have to leave your party early.”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a promise.”
Fíli laughed heartily then, the first truly full laugh she’d heard out of him since before Thorin had fallen ill. He spun her around and yanked her back into his arms, and she was this close to throwing responsibility out the window and dragging her husband upstairs. She would have, too, except just then she heard a high-pitched wail echoing through the huge doors to the Great Hall.
“Mummy!” Kendra sobbed. Heads turned as she toddled her way over, chubby hands pushing aside the delicate skirts in her way. “Mummy, I don’ want to go to sleep! I’m not tired!”
Sigrid stifled yet another laugh as Kendra yawned so wide she nearly fell over. “All right, love, come here.” She hauled her daughter up into her arms and gave her a huge snuffly kiss. “Let’s go upstairs. Maybe we can find a story to read.”
“Night night, sweetie,” Fíli cooed and pressed a kiss to Kendra’s forehead. “I’ll be up before too long,” he added lowly.
“Is that a threat?” Sigrid teased as she turned towards the door.
“It’s a promise.”