Disclaimer: I own nothing
THEN I SAW A FIREMOON AND WISHED FOR YET ONE MORE
Kili had assumed that he might never see Tauriel again. He'd told her things that he'd only ever shared with Fili; he had fought beside her and had given her a gift, a promise. But even banished he'd known how her heart had lain with her people. He couldn't imagine living in a forest; could she ever imagine living under stone? It'd been a nice thought, desperate words and a dream to hold with him whilst he'd watched his uncle go ever mad and had faced Orcs and a dragon.
When he'd seen Fili go down under an Orc's hammer, Kili hadn't expected to live.
But they both had, he and Fili. They'd lain for many days unmoving in the healer's rooms. Kili woke first and was greeted by the sight of Fili, his face heavily scarred, lying so still. Kili was sure, in a moment that crushed his heart, that he was lying in one of the great tombs of Erebor. Had he been entombed by mistake?
Then Oin bustled in and Kili's eyes cleared and he saw his surroundings for what they truly were. Oin smiled when he saw Kili awake and trying to sit up, despite a very deep pain in his leg.
"You'll rip my handiwork if you carry on like that, lad."
"Fili, is he-?"
"Living and breathing, just not moving. He needs the time to heal without this kind of behaviour," Oin replied pointedly, getting Kili settled back down again. "'Tis a pity the She-Elf isn't here now to keep you on the narrows."
She-Elf. Kili thought of red hair and firemoons and arrows and swords and blood dripping from a cut across her cheek. He thought of bars between them and a precious stone passed from one hand to another. Thinking of her made his eyes hurt.
"Tauriel. She lives?"
Oin was peering closely at Kili's eyes, pressing his fingers to Kili's neck and nodding to himself. His ear-trumpet was hung from a strip of leather around his neck. Of course it was. Kili reached out and pointedly tugged on the trumpet. Oin smacked his hand away but obligingly held the trumpet to his own ear once he'd finished checking Kili over.
"Tauriel's alive?"
"Better than you are. She's been keeping an eye on King Bard's children for him as he pulls that kingdom of his back together. I'll wager she'll be back here once she's finished gathering herbs for Bilbo."
"Bilbo?!"
Perhaps Kili was sleeping as Fili was and this was all a dream. Oin sighed and took a seat beside Kili's pallet as he explained – yes, the hobbit was still among them. Thorin was currently sleeping as Fili was and Bilbo was watching over him very carefully, he was being a great help to all the healers. Fili had been awake for a little while before he had succumbed and as the Crown Prince, he had pardoned Bilbo. Now of course Dain's advisers were trying to position Thorin's cousin as the King Under The Mountain. Dain himself had refused the honour, calling such an idea a great offence to his cousin. Kili smiled at that, Dain had always been fun. Kili had good memories of playing games with him, learning how to throw an axe and enjoying the way Dain had always talked to Thorin, mocking but affectionate, like family.
His advisers sounded almost as bad as some of the Elves. King Thaundail hadn't yet gone back to Mirkwood though continued to irritate everyone, including his own son. King Bard was giving a better account of himself, though he gave every indication of not actually wanting to be King at all. His people, excepting those that preferred the Master, were all for him though and King Bard was not a Man to let his people down. Like his ancestors of old, he was rising to the challenge.
There was a noise at the door and one of Bard's daughters entered. She looked tired but her gaze immediately went to Fili before she noticed Kili's wakeful state. Her eyes brightened and she dipped into a quick curtsey.
"It's good to see you awake," she told him.
"Sigrid," Kili remembered aloud. "You're helping Oin?"
"She's taking care of your brother," Oin replied for her. "Means I can focus on your uncle and you, mores the pity."
Sigrid smiled as she began busying herself with a bowl of water, soaking a cloth and wiping Fili's face with it. She didn't seem put off by his scars. Kili eyed her as Oin began a fresh series of tests on him, to check how he was doing.
"Your leg is still broken, the bone needs time to set and regrow," Oin told him, explaining the pain in Kili's leg. "I'll wager all of you hurts in one way or another. You need rest. I'll not have you prolonging your own recovery, you're not a dwarrow anymore."
Yes, there had been an incident or two in Kili and Fili's youth when they'd been impatient to leave their sick beds, only to leave them too soon and make themselves worse. Well Kili was desperate to get out of bed now but at least here he could see Fili and get all the news from Oin. Once his leg was better, he'd hop around if he had to. At least one Durin had to be on their feet.
Kili's stomach erupted with growls at that moment, Oin shook his head. "You'll be starting slow there too."
Kili pulled a face and settled for watching Sigrid tend to his brother until a tray from the kitchens was delivered. There was care in Sigrid's concentration. Kili tried to remember when Fili might have earned the presence of a princess who probably should have been helping her father establish his rule. Kili tried not to think about Tauriel, the fact that she apparently hadn't gone back to King Thaunduail's retinue.
The soup that was presented to Kili smelled wonderful and Oin helped him sit up so that he could begin drinking it. There was a little bread too – Kili recognised Bombur's work – and a flagon of sweet water. It was all pretty plain and Kili couldn't gulp it down as quickly as he'd have liked due to Oin's watchful eye but it was delicious and filled him pretty quickly. He also felt exhausted, that combined with the state of Fili sharply reminded Kili of how very close he'd come to dying.
He lay back suddenly; Oin checked his heartbeat and clucked to himself.
"You sleep, all's taken care of here," he assured Kili. "I've heard tell that your mother is making the journey here as we speak."
Kili smiled sleepily. Of course she was.
Kili dreamed of a firemoon, the one he had told Tauriel of, Elvish prison bars between them, both of their voices and faces wondering. The sky was dark and beautiful and the moon was huge and Kili couldn't stop looking at it. When he woke, feeling stiff and even sorer somehow, Sigrid was asleep in her seat beside Fili and Tauriel was sat beside Kili. His eyes went wide and he blinked hard but there she was, her long red hair falling down her back, her swords strapped behind her, her eyes intent on him. Her mouth quirked upward when she saw him wake.
"Welcome back, princeling."
Kili smiled broadly, his hand twitching towards her but not quite connecting. It had felt different behind bars or before a battle, when life had seemed incredibly short and urgent. But now the battle had been won and he was a Dwarven Prince and she was an Elf Captain and he'd almost lost his uncle and brother, life felt delicate in a very different way. How could a Dwarf approach an Elf? How could anyone? Tauriel's gaze roved over him as though she was checking he was well. It warmed Kili thoroughly.
"You killed many Orcs," she told him.
Kili's smile became a beam, "I'm told you did too."
"Of course."
"Oh, of course."
They were both smiling, Kili realised, at each other. It felt like the sort of moment in which he ought to press his hand to hers and tell her how much he wanted her by his side forever, as much of forever as a Dwarf could pledge to an Elf. But for all his brash recklessness, Kili knew that Tauriel had lost a lot already – her King had banished her, many of her friends and warriors were dead. Despite the promise made, the stone she still possessed, he did not know if he could ask her to leave her home, to lose it, for his sake.
He pressed his fingers to the edge of his pallet, close to her knee. Her eyes noticed the movement and her knee canted closer. Kili warmed again.
"Your King is still here," he broke the silence.
Tauriel nodded, her face a shadow, "Now that Bard is King of Dale and your uncle King Under The Mountain, there are many treaties and debts to speak of."
She turned towards Fili's pallet, to where Sigrid who looked so young as she slept was sat dreaming too. "And I am honoured to serve King Bard."
Oin had mentioned that she'd been taking care of Sigrid and her siblings. It didn't seem like work that an Elf would enjoy but Tauriel was not just any Elf. There was something affectionate in the changes in her expression, Kili had spent enough time staring at her to be able to read her well and he could see that she cared for Bard's kin. Perhaps that was why she'd spent time here before, to look after Sigrid.
"Fili'll be sorry he missed this, a pretty girl taking care of him and sleeping beside him," he murmured.
Tauriel smiled a little more, "It's a purpose she chose for herself."
Kili's fingers flexed and flattened, his heart hammering fast and hot but he spoke anyway because he couldn't not say this, "I'm glad yours brought you here too."
Tauriel turned back to him, her eyes keen on his face. Then her hand touched his, a cool embrace that did not end, even when Kili fell back to sleep, the night sky rising to enfold him once more.
When he woke in the morning, he would have been convinced it'd all been a fever dream, only Tauriel was sat talking to Sigrid, sharpening a knife and discussing when King Bard would next be visiting the Mountain. Kili watched her unabashed and attempted not to dream.
Bilbo was Kili's chief visitor that day. He looked tired and worried as he entered the healing room. Kili grinned happily and beckoned him closer when Bilbo didn't seem inclined to venture nearer.
"Bilbo! Stop hiding over there, I can't get to you so you'll have to oblige me for now."
Bilbo looked startled but hurried closer, looking Kili over. "Oin told me you broke your leg."
Kili grimaced and gestured to his well-strapped leg, it still hurt but Oin was giving him herbs for the pain whenever it was possible, "I'll be right as rain soon, I've not looked in a mirror yet so I've no idea what scars the battle gave me but I can't complain."
Bilbo shook his head, "You're...I thought for sure we'd lost you and your brother both and-."
Bilbo wasn't looking happy at all and Kili gestured him for him to come closer so that he could grasp Bilbo's forearm, "You didn't, we're both here and so's Uncle. I know you're watching over him despite how he treated you. You're the prince among us, Bilbo."
Bilbo looked flustered and overwhelmed now, "No, no, I just didn't want him to...he was so angry with me and I made things worse."
"You tried to prevent a war, Bilbo. Fili and I know that, even if Uncle didn't," Kili told him firmly, because he and Fili had discussed it in whispers after Bilbo's banishment. "Fili pardoned you and I do too, in case anyone tries to use Fili's sleeping as an excuse to overturn it."
He squeezed Bilbo's arm. Bilbo and Uncle Thorin had clearly had eyes for each other. Kili and Fili had talked about that too, the excitement of seeing their uncle so interested in someone and in someone so brilliant. Then everything had fallen apart and well, now it didn't have to, did it?
Bilbo still looked overwhelmed but he squeezed Kili back and patted his chest gingerly before looking over at Fili. "Oin thinks your brother will wake up soon."
Kili grinned, glancing over to where Fili slept, without Sigrid beside him now. He looked peaceful, even though one of his arms had been broken and the other fractured. Kili missed talking to him. Once Fili had woken up, they'd be able to spar together too. And probably attend a lot of meetings in Uncle Thorin's place. Kili wasn't looking forward to that but he was a Durin and with Uncle Thorin still healing, he and Fili needed to stand in his place, especially since their mother hadn't arrived yet.
What would she make of Sigrid and Tauriel?
"Tauriel's been gathering herbs for you," Kili remarked. "For healing?"
Bilbo nodded, his expression fond. "She's been a great help, her knowledge of the plants around here has been invaluable."
"And she's been helping Bard with his children."
Bilbo looked at him with a knowing raised eyebrow, "When she hasn't been sitting with you."
Kili smiled because it was still a good thought – Tauriel watching over him. Bilbo's look became even more pointed as a result, Kili shook his head.
"She's got her duties and enough losses. I can't ask her to leave Mirkwood."
Bilbo's expression became understanding, "That's very noble but surely it's her choice to make. And besides, her banishment hasn't been lifted."
Tauriel was often sat by Kili's bedside. She asked him about Dwarven customs and traditions, about how the Dwarven warriors trained and what the intricate beaded braids meant in their hair and beards. She told him about how Dale was progressing with Bard as its King, how so lives were being pieced back together. She told him about King Bard's bow and how he'd slain the dragon and yet how many Elves and Dwarves still wished not to ally with him because he was a Man. She didn't say it but Kili expected that both Dwarves and Men looked at her askance too.
He kept his hand close to her and hers stayed near him too.
They didn't speak of what they'd spoken of before. There were too many dead between them now and Fili and Uncle Thorin still had not awoken. But Kili looked at Tauriel and fancied she looked at him in the same manner. She hadn't returned his runed stone yet. It was enough to continue to warm him.
Oin poked and prodded him but seemed content enough to let Kili heal and let Tauriel help him. Bilbo often visited and seemed friendly with Tauriel who smiled almost fondly in her own way at the hobbit. They spoke of the herbs they had been gathering and mixing together; both of them had been working hard in the healing rooms.
Balin came to visit Kili and said it was good to see him awake. Dain was only stewarding the Mountain until Kili was well enough to rule in his brother and uncle's stead. Kili felt a clench in his throat, he had never wanted to be King Under The Mountain, that was never to be his crown and he'd always been glad of it, but he was a Durin and he knew duty and family and he would steward until a true King awoke.
Balin looked at Tauriel curiously but dipped his head towards her and thanked her for her work in the healing rooms and for keeping Kili still enough to heal. Tauriel dipped her head in return; both of them ignored Kili's reaction.
Sigrid was often there too when she wasn't helping her father or helping in the healing rooms too. She sat beside Fili, tending to his injuries, murmuring so quietly that Kili couldn't hear her words. He thought that sometimes she sang but he had to sleep too and so often missed her songs.
Soon Kili was able to hobble to meetings and did so with Tauriel at his side. Dwalin walked him to and from the meeting hall, bristling with weapons and eyeing Tauriel with a steely look, but he only remarked that Kili had been sleeping too long and now had to work like the rest of them. Dwalin was apparently looking forward to resharpening Kili's hand-to-hand and weaponry skills once Kili was well enough.
Kili kept a bow, quiver and knife at hand during each meeting. A King should never look ill-prepared.
King Bard attended many meetings, as did King Thaundil who fluctuated between looking at Tauriel intently and ignoring her entirely. Kili's jaw tensed and he wanted to tell the Elf King exactly what he thought but he was Crown Prince and he knew from what Tauriel had told him of the world beyond Erebor now that no race could stand alone. It was painful but true.
Dain attended every meeting and at the first one attended by Kili, formally handed over leadership of Erebor to him, "It was an honour to carry the crown for you, archer."
It'd been Dain's nickname for Kili since he'd been a tiny dwarrow and it made Kili smile now. He clasped Dain's forearm and accepted his respectful head nod. He also noticed how Dain's advisers glowered behind their polite expressions, he was sure that Balin had noticed too.
"And Captain, you're to be the youngling's close guard? I hear your service in battle does you credit."
Kili forced himself not to instantly react to Dain's words – it was news to him but a good idea, having Tauriel be his close guard, the one who would ensure he came to no harm. It was a position that Kili had been sure he would one day hold when his brother became King. And it would speak well to have an Elf, not a Dwarf, in such a role. Dain knew exactly what he was doing, the crafty bugger. His advisers were probably having fits under their skins.
Tauriel nodded, apparently coming to the same conclusions, "An honour I am glad to accept."
Kili felt warm all over and managed not to beam. King Thaundil did not look particularly pleased. Kili had been told before that gloating was not good diplomacy but that hadn't stopped him before and it didn't know. He turned to King Bard.
"King Bard, your daughter's been a blessing to the healing rooms."
He clasped King Bard's forearm, a gesture the Man returned without much hesitation. Perhaps he knew the implications of it – Kili was giving respect, to King Bard and his race. He had seen the Men of Dale at their worst and best and he knew that he wanted King Bard as friend and ally. If the Master took control again, it was unlikely to benefit the Dwarves of Erebor. Together, the Men and Dwarves could be formidable. Kili knew it was what Fili would have aimed for as well.
"She has her mother's skill with people," King Bard replied, pride showing through his weary expression.
"And her father's determination."
King Bard accepted the compliment with a slight smile and Kili turned to the others who were attending the meeting. Most he could trust absolutely, everyone else he had to treat carefully. He nodded to Balin and let his old teacher begin. Kili still found meetings dull but he knew he had to listen; he always had done, even as he'd fidgeted and chattered to Fili. You never knew when a scrap of what was said could be the key to a great many problems.
So Kili listened, not showing the pain he felt in his leg and many bruises and scars. Tauriel stayed at his shoulder as there were discussions on the repairs currently going ahead in Erebor, the food situation, the burials of the dead, how King Thorin was faring. King Thaundil asked for the treasure his people had been promised.
There was an audible whisper of weapons and immediate rebukes. Kili swallowed down his own instinctive anger. The longer the argument went on for, the worse it would grow. Ill feeling ended badly and Elves did not suffer from dragon sickness; they only wanted what they felt they were owed. And the longer King Thaunduil stayed, the worse these meetings would be, the worse Tauriel would feel.
"It is not yet my gold so it cannot be my choice. When my brother awakes or my mother arrives, it will be decided."
That seemed to calm many and the meeting continued. Most meetings ended up being similar, anger and frustration warring with eagerness to each attendee's own people lifted high. Kili wished for the Dwarves to take their rightful place, for everyone to see and know their glory. But he could not shut the others out; he couldn't be like Uncle Thorin.
After each meeting, Dwalin and Tauriel walked him back to his chambers, grander than any he'd known before. Tauriel slept in quarters next to his, ready to defend him if she needed to. She chided and mocked him for how he pushed himself too hard, his health still blastedly fragile. But she clasped his hand in hers and looked at him as she had done before.
Kili slept each night warmed through.
Fili woke with a start and Kili was immediately sent for. His brother was sat up, wincing as he moved his long-stiff limbs. One of his hands seemed to be entangled with Sigrid's but they let go quickly and Kili only silently smirked at his brother, too happy to mock him about that for now.
Fili's face lit up when he saw his brother, "The battle's improved your looks, Kee."
Kili snorted, "And you've never looked better."
They grinned at each other and Kili found a way to sit beside his brother's bed and manage a hug that didn't hurt either of them. Sigrid smiled happily at them, her eyes dancing. Oin bustled around them, checking Fili's wounds and asking questions to test his head. Kili wrapped a hand around Fili's arm and felt Fili do the same to him. His brother was back, he'd woken up. Kili was no longer the Mountain's only Crown Prince.
"Mum's on her way," he told his brother.
Fili looked as happy as Kili felt at that news. They'd missed their mother; it'd been so long since they'd said goodbye to her before the whole quest had begun. Erebor wouldn't truly feel like home until she was there too.
"And Uncle Thorin?"
Kili relayed the news of Uncle Thorin's healing sleep and Bilbo's constant presence and just what meetings Kili had been attending in his brother's place. Fili looked suitably apologetic and swore Kili wouldn't have to face them alone for much longer. Kili squeezed his brother's arm.
Fili glanced over at where Tauriel stood at the door, where she'd been since assisting an impatient Kili into the healing room. He smiled at her.
"You've been watching my fool of a brother."
Kili turned to see Tauriel's quiet smile, "I've been watching King Bard's children. There is little difference."
Fili laughed as Kili looked around for something to throw. Sigrid smiled, taking out some sewing as the others began to talk more of what Fili had missed. Kili watched as Fili drew Sigrid into the discussions and wondered how long it'd be before the pretty Daughter of Men was wearing certain braids in her hair.
Everything happened quickly after that. Fili was soon well enough to attend meetings and ensured that the Elves were paid the gold they had been promised. King Thaunduil did not show much gratitude, only sniffing in a way that implied he'd been left waiting and he didn't appreciate it. He looked at Tauriel before leaving the meeting in a sweep of fine silky robes. Kili could sense Tauriel's tension and his shoulder twitched in the only gesture he could give as she stood behind him.
After the meeting, he convinced her to take him outside so that he could at last lift his bow and begin to practice once more. He needed to regain his strength and find a way to fire arrows even as his leg healed, just in case. Tauriel practised with her Elven bow, her sight keen and her words wry as Kili's aim and strength were noticeably lacking. Kili was pointed in return when one of Tauriel's arrows didn't quite hit its target. It became a new part of their routine.
Sigrid continued to spend time with Fili. The two of them were never unchaperoned and Balin was definitely keeping an eye on them. He didn't seem against it though, good. Kili smirked to himself; a Daughter of Men and an Elf for Erebor's Princes. It was going to be a scandal, though the political smartness of such betrothals couldn't be denied either.
Sure enough, Sigrid appeared with a couple of courting braids in her hair, tied off with fine metal beads that Kili could tell instantly were Fili's handiwork. King Bard, coincidentally, visited the mountain for a meeting that day. Balin ushered him in to speak with Fili. No raised voices were heard and it was announced that Fili, Crown Prince of Erebor, was now courting Princess Sigrid of Dale. It would be a long courtship, as Dwarves expected, with the expectation of a betrothal after some months and an eventual marriage.
Sigrid looked happy enough and Tauriel looked pleased for her. It was a good political match and a boon that Fili and Sigrid held some affection for each other already. Few royal matches could boast of such a thing.
Kili poured his brother a drink, "To your long and happy courtship, brother. I hope she knows what she's letting herself in for."
Fili clanked his goblet against Kili's with a wide happy grin, "And to your long and happy courtship, should you ever decide to truly speak your mind and get on with it."
Whatever Kili was going to say to that was forgotten with the news shouted beyond their room that Princess Dis had arrived. Kili and Fili got to their feet and rushed, as well as they could, to greet their mother. Dis, looking regal despite the many layers she was wrapped in and not looking tired at all, wrapped her arms around them both and inspected their injuries.
"I see you've been giving Oin many more grey hairs."
"Every day," agreed Fili easily, not letting go of his mother. "But we get let out for good behaviour."
Dis' sharp eyes caught sight of the courting braid that Fili was sporting in his long fair hair and arched both eyebrows, "Good behaviour?"
Food and drink was supplied in the great hall and the Company all came to talk with Thorin's sister, giving their account of their great adventure and all news of Thorin's condition. Bilbo, somewhat shy and nervous, was introduced. Dis looked him up and down quickly and drew him in for a sudden engulfing hug.
"My brother is a trial that you have weathered much more than you should done. I thank you for not knocking his fool head from his body as he so clearly deserved."
Wide-eyed Bilbo choked out a laugh, "Thank you?"
Kili and Fili exchanged grins and laughed as Dis sat Bilbo next to her and wanted to know more about him and just what her brother had done. She rolled her eyes at the stories of Bilbo's banishment and nodded in approval at her sons' repealing of it.
"I have raised good sons," she stated, accepting a refilled goblet. "And am grateful to Mahal for placing a hobbit in my brother's path."
There was a cheer from the Company and Kili couldn't stop grinning, especially when Dis slapped a hand to the table decisively and called for Fili's beloved to be brought to her immediately. Bofur disappeared with a twinkle in his eye as though he'd been waiting for such a command.
"That twist to the braid and those fastenings," Dis said quietly to her eldest son. "She's not just a political match."
Fili shook his head, his eyes warm, as Sigrid entered; her frame thin and worn and something anxious playing under her careful expression. She was wearing a plain dress as she'd been working in the healing rooms and blood doused her cuffs and hems. There was no jewellery adorning her, not like a Dwarf at all. It made the beads in her hair stand out all the more. She dropped into a curtsey.
Dis studied her intently, "So you're the girl chosen by my Fili."
Sigrid smiled a little, keeping her eyes on Dis, "And he's the Dwarf chosen by me."
Dis laughed brightly at that and beckoned Sigrid forward, "Tell me about Dale and how you and it fare."
Sigrid sat beside Dis, Bilbo sending her encouraging smiles from Dis' other side as she talked about her family, her long dead mother, how she'd been working in the healing rooms, how she'd tended to Fili and remembered his kindness to her during the Orc attack on Laketown. Dis patted her hand.
"And now you're to be Princess Under the Mountain, if my son treats you well enough."
"My sister's looking forward to having him and Kili as brothers," Sigrid revealed.
Kili smiled, he hadn't thought of that, "And I get two sisters, a wonderful bargain."
The meal continued and Kili and Fili watched Sigrid talk to their mother, seeming quite comfortable beside her until Dis stood, declaring it was time for her to visit her brother before she expected to gain an audience with her cousin Dain.
"With me, boys."
Kili and Fili obediently shuffled behind her, still not as quick and graceful as they had been as they healed still. Dis didn't speak immediately, she seemed thoughtful as she walked, her hair and beard charms tinkling loudly. Kili didn't feel as though he was holding his breath but he was hoping for his brother and for how it would bode for him and Tauriel in return.
"There's not much of her," Dis declared at last to Fili. "But what's there is strong. She'll bind us closer to the Men; none can complain you've chosen a disadvantageous marriage, though many will claim she'll darken the bloodline or not bear you strong enough kin."
Kili frowned at the thought of such gossip. Sigrid was strong, their mother had said it herself, and Fili's blood was stronger still. Their children would be handsome.
"We've talked of such things," admitted Fili. "Oin thinks there's no reason to believe she can't bear heirs."
"Though it could cost you both," Dis pointed out bluntly, stilling and looking keenly at her eldest. "It is a risk."
"Aye, a worthy one."
Mother and son looked at each other for a full moment, then Dis buried a hand in Fili's hair, his courting braids, and drew him close so that their foreheads rested together. The chance of sorrow ran richly through every Durin's veins too, Dwarves loved fiercely, unendingly, and stood like mountains through grief and pain. They knew when happiness was worth grasping and forging. Kili pressed a hand to his brother's shoulder and stayed quiet.
Dis pulled back abruptly, her eyes bright, "I'll meet her father."
"You'll like him," Kili told her as they began moving again. "He didn't yield to Uncle Thorin."
"And," Dis slanted a pointed look towards her youngest. "I'll meet your girl-Elf too."
Kili coughed and Fili laughed, nudging him as they walked, "I didn't need to tell her, brother. Stores of the two of you are being carried far."
"Stories of the Elf with the red hair who killed Orcs until none were left standing and then carried the youngest Durin heir to the healing rooms. She became your close guard and worked to save Dwarf lives despite the words muttered against her."
Kili couldn't help smiling. That was his Tauriel. Dis clipped him hard round the ear.
"I've also heard you haven't told her yet of any intentions."
Fili grinned, his courting beads shining tauntingly. He hadn't wasted any time. Kili shook his head.
"Her losses-."
"Were great, as all who suffered here have lost. But she is here, not with her King. She guards you and asks for nothing but to stay at your side. Yet, she is not here now, likely because she knows of the importance of Dwarven families and so has given me time with my sons."
Tauriel had disappeared after Kili had gone to speak privately with Fili about his courtship with Sigrid. Maybe she was sparring, or talking to the Elves or taking care of Bard's children. Maybe she was waiting for Kili somewhere. Kili smiled involuntarily.
His mother sighed. "Many will condemn you and Fili for your choices of betrothed. It is a battle we must all be prepared for. Our line cannot survive in isolation; we can honour our traditions while also furthering our people through new paths. Many will disagree. Time is not a luxury, Kili, how can you have not learned that, here?"
Kili thought of the sky he so frequently dreamed of, the firemoon, the warnings of trouble brewing that Gandalf had left in his wake, the tomb that he'd thought he'd awoken in. He thought of the words and wishes for stars and moons that had passed between himself and Tauriel.
He thought of Tauriel.
She was stood outside, looking upwards, her swords and bow at her back. Kili looked at her for a long sustained moment, his fingers curled around the beads that now inhabited his pocket. He unevenly stepped forward, leaning heavily on a cane.
Tauriel did not seem surprised to see him and waited for him to reach her side. He reached for her hand. Her skin was still cool, Kili still felt warm at her nearness. Her eyes were steady on his, steady and affectionate. He could read her well now.
"I'm glad you're here."
Tauriel squeezed his hand, "I could not let another suffer as your close guard."
Kili squeezed her hand back, so many words bubbling up through him. He wanted to thank her for all she'd done for him, the sacrifices she'd made. He wanted her to know that he wanted her there, at his side, at his back. He wanted her to know.
His voice was quiet, "I couldn't ask you to lose your home too."
There was a long moment as Tauriel looked at him. Then she shook her head, "Loss and gain are as twins now."
Kili's throat bobbed, his heart burned, and "I am to be a gain?"
Tauriel smiled in that slight manner of hers and squeezed his hand again. Kili drew his free hand from his pocket and cupped several beads. Ordinarily he would have forged them from metal but his injuries hadn't allowed that. So he had been whittling away at them over the past few weeks, to keep his hands busy, his thoughts wandering and overtaking their shape. They all described the heavens, stars and moons, a couple included leaf designs as well. Tauriel touched the beads and raised her gaze to Kili's, a question clear in her eyes.
"Captain Tauriel of Mirkwood, I would seek firemoons with you until I am taken to the Grey Havens."
Tauriel's mouth moved again and Kili's heart seemed to be hammering so fast as she leaned in and pressed her cool lips to his. The kiss was firm and became exploratory and Kili tried his hardest not to drop the beads. It was difficult to concentrate when Tauriel's tongue was making such strides against his. Eventually, they both broke for air and Kili looked at her, dazed and fit to burst with a warm happiness that he wanted to wrap around her forever.
Tauriel grasped one of the beads like a warning, "My years are different to yours."
Kili nodded, "And mine must seem like the passing of a season to you but I will treasure every moment under the sky that I spend at your side. A season can always be worthwhile."
Tauriel dragged a hand against his jaw and stared at him. She looked like she was drinking him in. Then she pressed a familiar stone into his hand. Some of the runes it bore matched those that Kili had carved onto the wooden courting beads. Perhaps Tauriel had noticed.
"A promise," she reiterated.
It wasn't Dwarven tradition but it was theirs. The warm happiness felt like it was glowing and Kili's smile stretched before he moved to kiss her, holding the stone tight in his fist.
"You will braid my hair."
It wasn't quite a question and surely Tauriel knew the intimacy of asking a Dwarf to do such a thing. Her bright challenging eyes said that she did. So Kili cleared his throat and produced a comb from his coat pocket.
"You may be the first Elf to ever wear a Dwarven braid."
Tauriel settled herself on the ground. Perhaps anyone would see them and perhaps Kili should request that they continue somewhere a little more private but under the sky, the stars they had spoken of together, it seemed right to him. So he began to comb through Tauriel's long red hair, sectioning some off to braid. He chose a simple design, braided the hair tightly and fastened it off with one of the moon beads. Now any who saw her would know she was courting. Tauriel ran a hand over the braid and rose elegantly to her feet, plucking the comb from his fingers.
Her intent was clear. Well then. Kili turned around and closed his eyes a little, to enjoy her closeness and the sensation of the care she was taking. He did not recognise the braid that she chose to create but she had created it and that was what mattered.
"Your people will be angry."
"So will yours. My mother's looking forward to it."
Dis had once chosen a man not deemed worthy of a Princess. She had married him anyway. Her eldest was courting a Daughter of Men; her youngest hoped to marry an Elf. Perhaps Uncle Thorin would be furious. Perhaps how often Bilbo tended to him might mean otherwise. It should.
"Your elbow was slipping yesterday; you didn't hit as many targets."
"I hit more than most Elves."
"Most."
They stayed outside together, watching the sky, talking occasionally, Tauriel's cool hand holding Kili's warm one, their feet upon a new pathway, until Fili came to find them.
-the end