the romance of mîm
written for day 3 of khazad week, combining the prompts “courtship” and “petty dwarves”. major character death warning.
mîm and his wife, from the beginning till the end.
Spring
Mîm courted Ahrâm under the Maker’s stone halls of Nulukkizdîn and under the branches of the Earth Queen’s forest.
Mîm was young then, yellow in his beard and song in his breast; and so too was his love, a golden maiden with a laugh like the two great rivers that joined before the halls. He had not much to give her, for none among the Clanless had great wealth in those days, but he bought her fish that they cooked together with wild garlic and herbs they had foraged, and they searched together through the caves for gems and hunted in the forests for game, for Ahrâm’s heart was unrestrained and she longed for adventure. Like many of the Clanless, Ahrâm loved the forest near as much as the stone, and when Mîm saw her beneath the leaves one dewy morning, snowdrops braided into her hair and beard, he knew then for certain that he had found his heart’s companion.
Mîm returned to his modest forge that day to make a ring.
Summer
Mîm wedded Ahrâm on the day that Arien soared highest in the sky, and the whole basin of the Narog seemed to sing with glorious life. All of the Dwarves of Nulukkizdîn danced with the bride and groom, and as they spun and stomped and circled each other, Mîm shouted in laughter for the unrestrained joy of it. The Dwarves feasted upon freshly caught fish, wild boar and berries and beer, and that night even the fireflies emerged to dance in shared delight. As he carried Ahrâm to their marriage bed, Mîm knew that no two people in Arda had ever been so happy as they.
Autumn
Mîm and Ahrâm brought forth their first child one cool and damp night, and they welcomed Ibun with the Maker’s blessing. He was small even for their kind, but perfectly formed, and Mîm kissed his tiny forehead in love and deep relief for the health of his wife and son. Outside the caves, the rain began to fall faster and harder, but Mîm and Ahrâm were safe and warm in the home that they had made together with their child, as Ahrâm brought him to her breast for the first time.
Winter
Mîm lost Ahrâm in winter. It had only taken seconds for the hunter’s arrow to strike her, but days for Mîm’s love to succumb to her wound. An accident, the Elf responsible had said, a terrible accident, and had offered Mîm and his sons much weregild. Mîm would be a wealthy Dwarf, now, but what cared he for wealth, when the greatest treasure in his life had been snatched away to the Maker’s Halls? What cared he for beauty, or abundance, or art? Mîm wished to lay down beside Ahrâm and die with her.
On the day that Mîm and his sons buried Ahrâm, the ground was frozen almost solid, and it took a great number of Dwarves to dig her grave. All of Nulukkizdîn shared in the mourning, for all had loved her, and sang many dirges while Ibun and Khîm tore their beards, but so great was the grief of Mîm that he could make no movement or sound. And it was said that that day, his heart withered and died within him, and never again did it bloom.
