Dwarven Kili, Elven Fire Chapter 1
A long time ago, in the Northern lands of Ered Luin, there lived dwarves in the far North, and elves further South in the villages of Duillond and Celondem. Laureth was an elf of Duillond, and was quite content with her life as she was. She had never married or had children. But one day, her life would be changed forever by events that none could have ever foreseen.
Laureth like to wander, and sometimes she made it as far as the gates of Ered Luin that led South into The Shire. She was wandering that day, very near where the roads met that led between the South roads that would take her home, and the road that led North into the lands of the dwarves, and the goblins, for they had moved in recently and showed no signs of leaving. That was when she and her escort Darian saw it, a band of goblins attacking what was left of a band of dwarves. Darian, being a stalwart elven warrior could not stand by an let any creature be murdered, be they dwarves or otherwise. He drew his bow, and shot the goblins as quickly as he could.
Unfortunately, when the goblins were dead and the two elves reached the dwarves, everything was dead. Or so it would have seemed. For when they approached, the oddest of sounds began to come from near the bodies of the dwarves. It seemed to come from near one dwarf in particular. It was only when they saw her clearly that they realized that it was a her. She had died hand in hand with another, but the sounds were clearly coming from near her. When the two elves moved the woman what they found beneath her was a distraught, crying dwarf baby.
She and the male dwarf had died defending their child, Laureth thought. She could not help but cry at seeing this loss of life. She reached down and took the crying baby in her hands. He was inconsolable, clutching tightly in his hand a brooch he had apparently torn from the dwarf woman's clothing. His little brown eyes were red with tears and his little brown curls were dirtied with mud. He clung to Laureth with all the might he could muster, and she fell in love with this tiny dwarf almost immediately.
"What do we do with it?" Darian asked.
"We must take the child with us." Laureth said.
"Take it with us?" He questioned.
"Indeed. We cannot leave him here, and we cannot go any further. This place is rife with goblins." She said.
"So it would seem." He replied.
"I will send a letter to the settlement in the North when we get home." Laureth said.
Laureth and Darian returned to Duillond. She sent the letter to the dwarf settlement, but made no mention of the dwarf child, which no one ever knew. For she had decided that when she had found him and taken him, he was her child. She named him Naur, Fire. And he was her beloved son, and would be until his death.
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So Naur grew up in the safety of Duillond, a safe haven where he was well loved and accepted. He grew tall and fair for a dwarf, and also became strong and sturdy like a fine dwarf. He had become a great archer, even among elves, and he loved to adventure and hunt, but only within the confines of his home. However, it was not long before he realized that he was not like everyone else in that elven haven. He was different. And as he grew older, the elves began to treat him as if he were different.
He asked his mother why this was. "It is because you are not an elf, like me. You are a dwarf."
"What is a dwarf?" Naur asked.
"Dwarves are small, sturdy creatures that live in tunnels and love to dig for treasures." She said.
"I don't like tunnels at all." Naur said.
"And yet, you are a dwarf, it is as simple as that." She said.
She told him everything. About finding him, his past, the death of his real mother and father. At first it didn't seem to phase him, and that was fine enough for Laureth, who didn't really care to say much more about it. But then things changed again. At the age of seventy-two, while still young for a dwarf, Naur was no longer a child, and he had made a decision.
"Mother," he said to Laureth as he came into their study one day. "I wish to meet other dwarves."
"You wish to do what?" She said, somewhat taken aback.
"I wish to meet other dwarves." He said again.
"I thought it may come to that some day." She said. "I will arrange an escort for us to go into the mountains to the East and find the dwarves."
"You aren't mad at me, are you, mother?"
She motioned for him to come and she held him close to her. "You are my son, Naur. I knew this day might someday come. You want to know about your own, and that is good. Such a thing would never make me angry."
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A month later, Darian led an expedition into the Eastern mountains to find the dwarf settlement. When they found it, Naur and Darian went to the library there to see if there was anyone who could tell them where Naur brooch had come from. Naur had worn it around his neck since his mother had told him about his true origin. Now they handed it to an elderly looking dwarf in the library by the name of Balin, who examined it for some time. Then there was a gasp and a look of recognition upon the old dwarf's face.
"Do you know this brooch?" Naur asked.
"I do indeed," said Balin. "But it would be best if I consult someone else, just to make certain as to the origin."
"Alright." Naur said to the old dwarf.
"I will be right back, I promise you." The dwarf said, and he hurried out.
In all truth, they did not have to wait long, as soon the older dwarf was back, and following him was a regal looking dwarf with a serious look upon his face.
The serious looking dwarf said, "I am Thorin, son of Thrain, heir to the throne of Erabor. Where did you find this brooch?"
Naur was a little taken aback by the brusqueness of the dwarf but replied, "When my mother found me, she said I was clasping this in my hand."
"Your mother? And who is she?"
"Laureth, an elf of Duillond."
"An elf of Duillond!" Thorin said. "May wonders never cease. And how did you come to be clutching it?"
"I was a baby when she found me amongst a murdered band of dwarves. Among them was a woman, my mother. She was already dead, but I survived. Mother took me home with her and raised me as her son."
"That's an interesting story." Thorin said. "Let me tell you one. That dwarf woman was my sister, Dis. She and her husband died on that road. We got that letter from the elves telling us where we could find them, but they said nothing of any child."
Once again, Naur was astounded. His mother had been a dwarf princess? Which made this dwarf...His uncle? "I swear to you, everything I have said is true. Why would I lie to you?"
"Because that would immediately make you an heir of Durin. A prince." Thorin said. "How do I know that this is not some sort of elven plot? What is it that you want from us dwarves, elf?" He said, glaring at Darian.
"We don't want anything from you." Naur said before Darian could bite back at the dwarf. "I came here because I wanted to see people like me, just once. Now that I have, I'm not sure I like it. Darian, maybe we should go."
So the young dwarf and the elf left the dwarf settlement unfulfilled. Then again, what had Naur expected? He had spent his life living among elves. He acted like an elf, talked like an elf, fought like an elf. Yet he was not an elf. He had left the brooch behind. It was not his. If anything it belonged to that ridiculous king. Anyway, he would never be back to see that place again.
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When Fili had heard that something of his mother's had been found, he could not help but ask his uncle Thorin what it was.
"Her brooch. The elves brought it back today."
"But they say there was a dwarf with them," Fili said. "Is this true?"
"It is." Thorin said. He sat in the large chair in the study, he seemed especially tense to Fili. Since they had lived together for all of Fili's life, Fili knew when Thorin was worried about something.
"So what's his story? What was his name?" Fili asked.
"I never got his name."
"Why not?"
"I'm pretty sure it was some kind of plot to get riches from us."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because they claim he was your mother's son."
"What?!" Fili said. "Could it possibly be?"
"No Fili."
"But you remember the letter mother sent before she died. She had had the baby. While she and father were at Thror's Combe."
"I remember."
"Then you can't say it's not possible."
"Fili, they were all killed. Just because we didn't find the body of your brother doesn't mean that he's still alive. The goblins probably carried him away and ate him."
"You don't know that, Thorin. And his name was Kili. Do you remember? Mother gave him that name in the letter." Fili was a little upset now. How could Thorin so easily dismiss this? "I am going there. I am going to go and see for myself if it is true."
"Don't do that, Fili."
"Why not? What are you afraid of? That it might be true?"
"No." Thorin said despondently. "That it might not be true. I am trying to protect your feelings, Fili."
"I can take care of myself, Thorin." Fili said, and then he went to his room to pack a few things. The next day he left. He didn't know it, but Thorin was, in fact, following behind.