My Lady Dís

Chapter 4

After breakfast the next morning, Dís had someone point her back to Tauriel's rooms. She and Callon spent the morning playing in the baby's room. After the child had a nap, Dís strapped her into the sling, and they set out to wander. Dís decided the best place to start was at the bottom, so she took a random path that seemed to take her down to the lower levels.

Here, there were apartments and shop fronts. Dís was pleased to know there was a market. Further down, she began to smell the familiar tang of fires and melted ore. She retraced her steps. The last thing she wanted at the moment was to be distracted by forging. Back on the shop promenade, Dís wandered among the stalls and permanent store fronts. The elves had all sorts of goods on display from delicate, nearly invisible bracelets of tiny metal rings to intricately woven cloth. Dís couldn't help but be impressed. The slow passage of time for elves meant they had centuries and millennium to perfect their crafts, and it showed.

While Dís stopped at a jeweler to look over her wares, Callon hummed to herself and babbled nonsense. There were plenty of things for her to look at and she seemed to be enjoying herself. The jeweler came out of the back of her shop when Dís stopped to look. She was surprised to see what her customer was.

"You're . . . one of the dwarves the king brought!"

Dís nodded. "Yes. I just wanted to have a look at your pieces here. They are very delicate."

The woman nodded. Callon began kicking her legs into Dís' ribs. Since the child was facing front, she could see what Dís was seeing, and it did not interest her.

"Callon, stop that."

The jeweler frowned at the child. "Is that . . . Captain Tauriel's daughter?"

"Yes. The captain asked me to look after her."

"Oh," she said, her tone clearly indicating she didn't believe Dís. Callon kicked Dís again.

"Callon, I asked you not to do that."

"Gram, we go?"

"In a minute."

Dís picked up a bracelet made of leaf shaped links. She held it up to the light, and Callon giggled since it changed the angle she was looking at. Dís was impressed by the faint gold veins etched out on both sides of the leaves.

"How much?"

The jeweler named her price and Dís nodded. "Will you accept Dwarf gold?"

"Of course," she said. Dís paid her and the woman went into the back of her shop to wrap the bracelet.

"Gram, go," Callon insisted.

Dís reached back and gave her a swat on the butt. "Stop kicking me."

"Nana!"

Dís turned around. Tauriel was indeed coming their way, and she looked annoyed. There were several guards with her. She stopped in front of Dís and looked around.

"Lady Dís, I was just summoned down here. Did something happen?"

Dís sighed and took her package from the jeweler who was now looking a bit ashamed as she realized the two women knew each other.

"Apparently, I'm kidnapping Callon," she said dryly. Tauriel's face turned red and she glared at the shop keeper. She pointed at Dís.

"Does this woman look like she's kidnapping my daughter? And if she was, why would she be so far inside the city?"

"No, Captain," the jeweler shook her head, and the guards that had accompanied Tauriel looked annoyed at her as well. "It's just—"

"No. Wasting my time for this is wasting King Thranduil's time," Tauriel snarled at the jeweler. "Whatever she just bought, give her half of it back because you likely over charged her."