Reina groaned as she woke up that morning. Her training with her cousins and Dwalin the day before had left bruises, and just about every muscle ached.

Not that Reina ever complained. It was part of training to be her father's heir.

However, she would be thankful if she could manage to get a day off, soon. Maybe she could get Kili to go on a hunting trip with her.

Reina stretched before getting up and making her bed. No use slacking now, despite being sore in places she didn't know existed, and having more bruises than freckles.

Heading into the kitchen, Reina was surprised to find that her Aunt Dis wasn't already up and making breakfast. Or that the boys weren't throwing their food at each other, like every other day that she had spent in that household; despite their age, they still acted like little dwarflings, too young for lessons.

In fact, though the sun was already above the mountains, it seemed she was the only one up at this time.

Reina stopped, her reflexes shifting from safe and sleepy to wide awake and cautious. Something wasn't right about this situation. Either it was the boys' idea of a joke, or she was about to be attacked by something dangerous.

Something dangerous turned out to be the kitten she had rescued a week before jumping on her head from the top of the cupboard.

Still, there was something off.

Reina wracked her memory, trying to remember if Dwalin had said anything about a day off for today. She didn't think so, but then she focused more on cleaning her sword than the chatter her cousins kept up at the end of their lessons. If he had mentioned anything about a vacation, she would not have heard it.

Reina decided to check the boys' room. If they were asleep, she could fool them as justice for all of their pranks over the years. And if there was something wrong, the boys would be good backup if it came to battle.

Looking into their room, Reina smirked. Both Fili and Kili were sound asleep, tangled about each other as usual. This would be too easy.

While getting a bucket of ice cold water from the well in the back garden, Reina still felt like she was forgetting something important about the day, but she couldn't figure out what.

She stopped in the doorway to think for moment. Her senses and reflexes, well developed through training, did not find anything out of the ordinary. She did not feel like there was really anything wrong anymore, just that something was different; that she was missing something.

Reina doubled over laughing at the looks on her cousins' faces when they woke up drenched and freezing in bed. Payback for pranks innumerable was sweet indeed!

"Time to get up, boys. Don't we have training today?"

Kili groaned, and threw himself back onto his soaked pillow. Fili just shook his head, water spraying out from his hair.

"No, Reina; weren't you listening to Dwalin yesterday? He gave us the day off."

"Oh, really? Whatever for?"

"You can't possibly have forgotten, cousin! It's Ori's favorite holiday, after all!" Kili waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.

Reina's mouth made a perfect O as she remembered.

"Oh, no."

Ori really liked her. And not just as a friend. Reina did not share that affection to that degree. He was fun to talk to, and he taught her how to sketch some things properly, but he was just a friend to her. They weren't even of age! Reina wouldn't begin to consider such things until she was of age, after she took her vows as an heir of the line of Durin.

Both of her trouble-making cousins just grinned at her despair. There was no way after their early-morning bath that they would let this go.

Sure, they would be protective of her when she came of age, but until then, they could tease her as much as they wanted.

And that was just the way they liked it.