Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
Chapter one
Kíli was tired. He was so tired.
He sat on the edge of his bed and combed his fingers through his beard. It seemed so long ago when it had just been a little scruffy thing.
He looked at his boots. They were well made, his eyes traced the decor around the edges.
He sighed. Gimli had left for the Undying Lands with Legolas a few months ago. He missed his friend already.
He pulled off his boots and got ready for bed. Times like this were when he missed his family the most. His mother had died a few years before the War of the Ring had started.
To think, that little ring Bilbo had found so long ago would cause so many problems. Thinking of the War made him think of Balin, Oin, and poor Ori. Gimli had told him after the war. Well, he had suspected something might have happened to them after the message birds he sent didn't return.
He, however, had his hands full with the steadily growing orc populations, And could not go to see what was wrong. Anyway, however good a scribe Ori had been, he had never been great at replying to letters.
He wished it could have been different. If only Thorin had never fallen under the spell of the dragon gold. If only they had allied with the armies of men and elves in the first place. So much death would have been spared. His brother, uncle, maybe even some of the men and elves.
Thinking of elves made him think of Tauriel. They had loved each other dearly, but he had his duties as a king, and she had her duties as a protector of her lands. Thankfully he had never had to marry, there was Dain's son, Thorin Stonehelm, to take over if anything happened to Kíli. Dain had been killed in the fighting of the War.
Kíli combed the braids out of his hair. It was mostly grey now.
If he could do it over again, he would change a lot of things. Kíli thought wistfully.
He huffed in amusement. The old saying went,' If wishes were fishes, there would be no water left to drink.' That certainly was true.
He pulled the covers over him and laid his head on the pillow.
He entertained the idea. He would most definitely change Thorin and Fíli's deaths. He would court Tauriel.
After all, if he saved his uncle and brother, he would most likely not have to become king. He would then be free to pursue his love. But then it wasn't really love in the beginning, it was only after the years had gone by, and he had spent more time with her that he had started to truly love her.
He would never have the crushing responsibilities of kingship on his shoulders, he would go visit Bilbo and his nephew Frodo in the Shire, maybe even stop by Rivendell, to see Lord Elrond. Or maybe Gandalf would be there. He had not seen the old fellow in a very long while.
A little voice inside him asked, " If you could go back, and do it over, would you? Would you risk the chance that you might fail? That you might have to go through everything again? Just for a chance at saving them?" Yes. Yes, he would.
As he fell asleep, his last thought was that he was tired. So tired. Then, there was darkness. Peace.
Well, that was a short chapter. Don't worry, it was the introduction. Those are always short. Well, almost always. Actually, maybe that's just for me.