Disclaimer: I don't own anyone except Delilah, Linwe, and the baby.
It was an Autumn morning, just like any other when it happened. I had been going to the library for my job so I could have a little money to survive off of. I had been wearing an outfit that was fit for a librarian; a soft knit sweater in warm hues of brown and red with a grey woolen scarf wound around my neck and chin while my legs adorned a pair of black skinny cut jeans I'd bought on sale just the other day. It was by no means an outfit for which I had been expecting to call out to people to see me. And my hair was none too inviting either, pulled in a tight bun at the top of my head by a hair barrette I'd gotten from a vintage swap meet during the summer. I'm just not an inviting person.
The city I live in is a big one, with many skyscrapers of a dull, grey concrete, some having been molded into elaborate shapes and animals that walked from window to window. The sidewalk was riddled with trees and grass patches along with old, worn P.O. boxes and fire hydrants. The streets were always lined with a slew of cars and motorcycles and bicycles of varying colors. The city at that time of year was always beautiful, with the red and orange leaves blowing around on the dusty sidewalks riddled with cigarette butts and trash left over from late night parties.
The library had been something that you wouldn't believe, tall, strong and beautiful with two large lions made of stone guarding the entrance with sharp snarls curling their lips back from their large teeth. It stood higher than I can even imagine but every wall inside was lined, floor to ceiling with books. Books I'd read, books I needed to read, books I never wanted to read. It was a great, round building, and on the inside it was so grand. It had two stories, the lower one was for fictional works and the top level was for things like biographies and autobiographies. It was a beautiful place. The shelves were something to marvel at as well, a deep brownish red mahogany that graced every wall with elaborate carvings in some of them. A lot of the books were so old they had to be handled with such care that if even one person slipped up and opened them wrong the dust sleeves would crumble into dust. There were some leather bound books from ages ago that were still lent out and some scrolls that were only allowed to be read in certain areas of the library under the careful eye of the library's curators.
Now the people of this city were not the regular people you see today. No. We had dwarves and elves and hobbits. Along with goblins and orcs and Men. The elves were a magnificent race, tall and slender with pointed ears and fair features. Many had long blonde hair while others were not quite so graceful with brown hair instead. But they all shared a knack for being beautiful. The elves were the ones who ran the library. They kept watch over it and made sure that the books they chose were of only the best quality. A great thing about this library is that on the two floors there were a pair of pub/cafe` things that a few hobbits had set up with the elves' permission. The pubs had the best coffee and brews. I still remember going into them on my breaks and drinking some of their famous hot coffee and tea. Of course, I'm a hobbit myself, it's only natural that I seek company among my people. The hobbits were quite different from the elves. They were rather short in comparison, often called halflings because we were half the size of an average man and always ran around without shoes on. They were well known for having curly hair and hairy feet they were a right wonderful bunch.
The dwarves were hard to place. They did so many odd jobs around the city that they had been dubbed the city's handymen. They could be seen often times on construction sites and driving plumber's vehicles. Or even in forges near the edge of the city and carpenter shops or toy were a strong, sturdy bunch, often having beards that were braided in elaborate ways or were held in certain ways with beautifully carved beads of varying materials. The were a proud race, always standing up for themselves no matter who is talking to them. When they worked they had never settled for anything less than perfection by the time they finished. Although the dwarves were commonly seen as the handymen of the city there had been a security firm that many of them worked for when they weren't doing odd jobs around town. It was called Erebor and was just a few blocks down from the library.
There Erebor building had been magnificent, taller than even the library with the building's trademark twin dragons standing guard at the entrance, coiled and snarling much like the library's lions. The building was cemet for a while coming up from the ground but after ten or twenty feet it cut off and the cement was replaced with large, tinted window panels. Not very many people had been inside it at the time, at least not anyone outside of the dwarves that worked there and the ones who ran it. All meetings were held outside of the offices at whatever location had needed security. The owner of the firm was a stern dwarf, with black hair streaked with grey known by the name of Thorin. There were whispers of him wanting to retire from working as CEO of Erebor Inc. and leaving it to his only heirs Fili and Kili who were by no means ready to be taking on anything like owning Erebor.
The boys- as they were often called among the common people- were by no means very dwarf-like. Although they carried remarkable dwarf qualities they also bore very elf-like qualities. They were both tall. Taller than any dwarf I'd seen other than Thorin's right hand man, Dwalin. And they were both fair seeming, the younger of the two- Kili- not wanting to have much of a beard while Fili kept his short and groomed nicely.
And the boys were just as different from each other as the two were from their own race. Kili was always mucking about, causing trouble wherever he went and always looking for a new adventure while Fili was left to clean up after his brother, making sure if anyone needed to be paid off that they got their money in full. And even in appearance they were different. Kili was dark toned and had kind, bubbly eyes while Fili was light toned with soft, understanding blue eyes. they were the perfect balance for each other and were quite well adapted to city life, often being spotted walking about the streets with each other and a number of dwarf and hobbit girls trailing behind them. The elves found their business to be brutish and unneeded and often left them alone. They had been much like local icons of Dale- that's the name of the city- and had gotten quite a reputation for themselves, earning the names of "The Lion Prince" and "The Fox Prince".
But this story isn't about the princes. Well not REALLY anyway.
Anyway that day at work was relatively boring. There had been a new shipment of ancient elvish scrolls that needed to be documented and put into the appropriate sections of the library with the other scrolls. On the scrolls were written old recipes for different remedies to ailments and poultices for wounds that had long been passed down by the elvish race. They were quite the hassle to get ahold of, or so I had been told by the owner of the library's son, Legolas. There were days when the young elf would come in and work with me on some of the older pieces, sometimes he'd have lunch with me and we'd spend all day teasing each other and some days just reading books in silence. Legolas had long since been married off to an elvish woman from the town over and would often times tell me about her as we ate in the downstairs pub, where his father wouldn't see us.
The downstairs pub was owned by a kind, young hobbit by the name of Bilbo Baggins. He was so friendly and would often times let me have the drinks for free so long as I snuck him a book or a map after hours. He loved reading about far off lands and would often talk to me about them if Legolas was not in the library. He'd tell me of how he always wanted to travel and how as soon as he earned enough money he would pass Bag End (that was the name of the pub) off to his nephew, Frodo, and run off to some distant land to see the dragons that flew high over head. He was an adventurous type, although amongst the other hobbits he'd been known as "quite respectable". Being the owner of a very number of restaurants he'd nicknamed The Shire and still having time to sit down and write stories and read and dream about going over the sea to wondrous new lands.
That day hadn't been out of the ordinary, Thranduil, the curator, had come in to see the progress on his library and had brought Legolas and his daughter-in-law with him. I was most surprised to find that she was pregnant, and quite so too she'd grown to nearly double her regular size around her belly and was waddling rather than walking. Although she was still a beautiful woman. I was almost jealous that a woman could look so gorgeous and be that far along with child. Legolas informed me that they were to be having a girl which was exciting news! And then the four of them went on their way, investigating each and every book shelf before stopping at Bilbo's pub for lunch while I went back to sorting through books, having already finished the scrolls by then.
The cart I used to push wasn't too awfully heavy but it was a bulky thing, with heavy rubber wheels that only barely went the way they were supposed to and a creaky wooden frame that was warped and smelled of maple syrup and pizza. but it carried a lot of books and the wheels moved smoothly, although turned the wrong way many times when I was pushing it. At the time it was heavily laden with books that had just been returned the night before and all of the books were from areas in the library. I wouldn't be needing to go to the gym that night.
"I'll have Samwise's head for this." I mutter to myself as I struggle to push the heavy cart through the hallways of bookshelves. My partner, Samwise Gamgee, had flipped a coin with me to decide who had to push the cart and who got to have lunch with Thranduil and his family. Him being the luckiest hobbit in all of Dale got to have lunch with the elves while I got stuck with running around the great marble hall that is the Mirkwood library. It's nothing to complain about though, I get paid by how many hours I work and not during my lunch so I guess you could say I beat Sam with this one.
I slow my pace as I approach the shelf I had been looking for, taking a few of the volumes from the cart and putting them in their appropriate places on the soft mahogany. As I'm holding one of the thicker books in my hand I glance up to where it belonged; four shelves above my head. I take a moment to glance around the hall to make sure there is no one there to see me attempt at getting the book up there on my own. After I am satisfied that no one is near enough to see my feeble attempt I lock the cart into place down by the wheels and begin to climb up between the cart and the shelving unit, my feet and hands gripping onto the slick wood the barely enough to keep myself from falling to the hard floor.
As I almost reach the shelf I'm going for I can feel sweat beading on my palms and forehead with effort. This isn't something I'm used to at all. I whisper to myself about being almost there when suddenly the lock on the cart comes undone and my leg starts to slip. I let out a terrified squeak as I grab onto the shelf and hold my body rigidly in place. I've never been much a fan of heights so I normally leave all of the shelf stocking to Samwise while I sort and document things mostly. The book in my hand slips out and I can hear it fluttering to the floor before thudding hard on the wood below, that would be a deduction from my pay. But I'm not worried about that as my heart rate increases and my breathing becomes rapid. My grip tightens on the bookcase and my eyes refuse to look down at the fallen volume, staring at the bookbindings in from of them to keep my body distracted. I can feel my fingernails digging further and further into the lacquered mahogany as my fear takes hold of me even more, making me whimper uncontrollably in an attempt to ask for help,
"Hey! Are you alright up there?" A surprised voice saunters into my ear as I start to grip at the wood with my toes as well. I can't answer the man who is talking to me, all I can do is stare ahead of me and feel my grip beginning to loosen on the boards, "Do you need help?" I can't tear my eyes away from the books to see who is addressing me but I can give him a quick, frightened nod.
There is no response for some time and I begin to fear that he is going to tell the curator about my mishap but before my thoughts become reality I feel a gentle, if calloused, hand touch the back of my thigh,
"You're going to have to let go." I shook my head at whoever it was and he chuckled quietly to himself, "If you want me to help you you're going to have to let go, little hobbit." I try to pull my hands away from their place on the shelf only to begin to feel sick to my stomach and to be wrenched back to the comfort of the wood,
"I-I can't." My voice sounds shrill and mouse-like as I answer the stranger who is so kind to help me,
"Yes you can little one." There is a slight chuckle in his voice, like he has had to do this many times to a younger sibling, "You just have to trust me." He grabs the back of my ankle gently between his two calloused fingers and rubs them gently against the tendon. It is a reassuring action that helps me begin to build up the courage to let go,"I'll catch you, little one. You just have to trust me. Do you trust me?"
There's a certain quality in his voice that is drawing me to him and his hand is so warm and inviting,
"I-I can't even see you." My voice is shakey as I try to converse with him, "Ho-how can I trust you if-if I can't see you?" The man chuckles again and rubs my ankle once more between his warm, calloused fingertips. I can feel my feet relaxing the more he touches me and speaks to me,
"You can trust me, little one. I will catch you." I take a deep breath and swallow dryly as I begin to loosen my fingers and toes from the mahogany boards. My breath is still shallow and nervous as I close my eyes and begin to lean off of the bookshelf. I squeal frightenedly and pull myself back to the bookcase, holding my body closer to it and squeezing my eyes tight so I can't see anything beyond the brightly colored swirls behind my eyelids,
"If I fall you will catch me?" I ask once more for assurance as I grip the bookcase tightly between my nails and under my toes.
The man chuckles again and squeezes my ankle once more before his hand disappears,
"Cross my heart." There seems to be a sincerity in his words that I have not heard in a long while.
I take one last, shaky, deep breath and swallow once more before I finally let go of the bookcase. I let out a frightened squeak as I fall through the air for longer than I had expected, only to be caught by a pair of strong arms under my legs and behind my shoulders. My eyes have been closed the entire time and when I first open them I catch the sight of the bookcase I'd been clinging to. It was much farther up than it had seemed a few seconds ago. After examining the bookcase my eyes travel to the man who saved me. Only it isn't a Man at all. It is none other than the Lion Prince, Fili Durin of Erebor Incorporated,
"There you go. Safe and sound back on solid ground." He smiles kindly at me and his blue eyes sparkle with something I can't quite place as he sets me down on the ground. All I can do is gawk at him and try to for a coherent sentence in my head,
"O-oh my God." All I can manage to spurt out as I stare disbelievingly at him, "I-I'm so sorry. This must've been a big inconvenience." I pause as I study his puzzled expression. What should I do? I have to make it up to him! "L-let me buy you lunch. Please to pay you back for catching me." I can't help but look up at him. He's much taller in person than one would expect from looking at photos of him,
"Oh, no it's quite alright-" Before he can continue to deny me the Thranduil, Bilbo, Legolas, and Samwise all gather near the end of the bookcase,
"What's happened here?" Biblo is the first to speak up, scratching at his curly, blonde hair. To be honest I feel a bit embarrassed to have been caught like this by my friends, coworkers and boss. I can feel my face reddening as I stare at the four of them,
"Lilah, have you been crying?" Legolas takes note of something that not even I had noticed I'd done. I reach up and wipe some of the smudges from under my eyes as I look back at the book on the floor and the bookcase,
"I-I got stuck, trying to put a book away." I let my head drop as I catch Thranduil's less than pleased gaze,
"You're alright, child." Bilbo's voice is comforting as he comes up next to me, grabbing my shoulders gently and turning me away from the elves and the dwarf that are still standing by the bookcase, "Sam can you clean this up?" Bilbo points to the book on the floor and the bookcart, urging the younger hobbit to finish my job.
Bilbo is gracious enough to walk me all the way down the stairs to the restaurant and sits me down next to Linwe, Legolas' wife, before walking off to get me a warm mug of tea. I keep staring up at the second level, wondering what Thranduil would be discussing with Fili after I had left them,
"Do not worry." Linwe reaches across the table and pats my hand, "He will not do them any harm." She gives me a reassuring smile and leans back in her own chair, sipping at her tea while I stare absently at the polished stone floor.
He was so nice to me. Why was he so nice to me? He didn't even know me,
"Here you are." My thoughts are interrupted by Bilbo bringing me a warm mug of relaxing tea and a freshly baked tart from the back, "A nice cuppa and tart to help with that anxiety." After he put the tart and tea in from of me I find him sitting across from me, staring intently at my silent form as I myself stare into the mug of brownish greenish tea.
There is a long passing moment of silence as Bilbo seems to gather the right words to say to me,
"What happened up there?" His voice draws me back from my tea watching and I look at him then back to the balcony from whence we had come earlier,
"I-I got stuck, trying to put one of the books back on the shelf a-and Fili helped me get down." Bilbo nods slowly and smiles,
"And that's why they call him the Lion Prince." I glance at him and pick up my mug. He smiles at the puzzled look on my face and decides to explain, "Ever since he was young, Fili has always been the more noble of the two Durin brothers. He's always taken time to stop and help anyone he can."
I smile to myself and take a sip of my tea. I'd always had a bit of a crush on him. Not a romantic crush though, I'd always wanted to be his best friend when I was younger. He seems so friendly and inviting, how could anyone not want to be friends with him?
"Delilah are you alright?" Legolas and the rest of the group from the balcony had come down now, even Fili is amongst the elves, trying to look as respectful as he can as he smiles down at Legolas and I,
"Yes, Legolas, I am quite alright." I smile weakly at him and he smiles back, patting my leg kindly and rubbing my knee much like Fili had done to my ankle earlier,
"Good. I would not want my favorite hobbit to be hurt." I smile at him and wrap my arms around his neck, hugging him softly,
"I was so scared." I can't help but whisper into his ear and he hugs me back with a soft, caring sigh,
"I know, but you're alright now." His voice is a whisper just like mine and his arms grow tighter around my waist as mine tighten around his neck. Thranduil clears his throat to separate Legolas and I. We let go of each other quite quickly and I turned my attention to Fili, who is standing between Legolas and Thranduil in proximity to me,
"I want to thank you, Fili, for catching me." My voice is soft and innocent sounding as I smile up at the caring dwarf, "I do not know for how much longer I would have been able to hold onto that shelf."
Fili chuckles and scratches behind his head bashfully,
"Oh, it is quite alright, little one." He kneels down next to LEgolas and takes one of my hands in his, "And I am sure you would have been able to hold on until somebody helped you down, had I not seen you." It is then that I catch his scent. He smells sweet, almost like a fresh baked apple pie, and his eyes really are of the deepest blue that I have ever seen.
After thanking him again and saying that I owe him something Fili went on his way. And soon after Thranduil, Legolas, and Linwe follow, leaving Bilbo, Samwise and I by ourselves to finish eating and clean up some of the tables. Thranduil had been so gracious to let me have the rest of the day off to get over the anxiety attack that I had, but not after Bilbo had worked him over about it several dozen times.
It had been quite the eventful day at work after all.
Author's Note: Okay I'll admit for an opening chapter this was a bit long but it just did not want to end. I hope you guys like it enough to maybe let know about some things you caught in it? Or maybe just let me know that you liked it? I don't know. It's four AM, you crazy kids just do what you want.