Chapter 1: Surprise in Laketown
Thorin sighed as he closed his eyes, relishing in the feeling of the wind in his long hair. He was on his way to Laketown; the Master had invited him and his nephews to come celebrate the fifth anniversary of Smaug's defeat. Fili and Kili were seated on either side of him in his large boat, and the towers of Laketown were rising in the distance.
"Everything alright Uncle?" Kili asked, hearing his sigh. Kili had fared the best out of all of them through the Battle of the Five Armies, coming out only with a thick scar cutting through his left eye and ending at his chin, and an arrow wound in his right leg. The arrow wound healed quite well, but he will have the scar for life.
Fili, on the other hand, did not fare quite as well. An arrow had damaged his lung, making it hard for him to breathe at times, and talked with a slight wheeze when he was tired or cold. A rock had also fallen on his left foot, giving him a distinct limp.
"Aye Kili, I am alright." He answered his young nephew. Kili shrugged and went back to looking at the water, probably dreaming about the elf he fancies, Tauriel. At first, Thorin was strictly against this relationship, but after he saw how happy she made his nephew and that she was nothing like her heartless cousins, he allowed Kili to keep seeing Tauriel, not that he could really stop him if he tried. Soon, he came to think of the young elleth as a daughter, and she confides in him as a father, seeing as she never knew hers.
They soon entered the dock of Laketown to be greeted by Bard, the Master. "Thorin! How are you my friend?" Bard greeted him, coming to shake his hand when he had stepped off the boat, Fili and Kili tailing him. "As good as can be expected I believe," Thorin answered in his usual gruffness.
"Excellent. And Fili and Kili, I expect you to be well?" The two heirs of Durin bowed to their old friend. "Yes Master Bard, quite well," Fili answered for them, being the oldest. "And your mother?" Bard inquired after Dis, Thorin's sister. "She is still trying to take over my job, so I guess everything is going just fine." Kili said with his quirky smile. Kili was Thorin's chief soldier, second only to him in the army of Erebor.
Bard smiled, "I am guessing that you three are hungry? Let us go eat then." As Bard led the three dwarves through his town, Thorin marveled at how it had changed since the fall of Smaug. Instead of the gloomy, suspicious atmosphere, Laketown now burst with color, the citizens of it alive with joy that the shadow that the dragon had cast on them was gone.
The man and the three dwarves feasted well into the night with the rest of the town. Kili and Fili laughing along with the younger elves and men, and Bard and Thorin conversing with the older, wiser groups that remembered the older days, before Smaug had come. As the night wore on, Thorin found himself alone, content to watch his nephews and enjoy his pipe in silence.
Thorin was grinning at Fili, who was trying to impress a young woman, when a small girl weaving through the crowd caught his eye. Unlike the others in the square, this young girl wore dirty, grey rags that hung loosely on a thin frame. She had long, stringy brown hair that hid most her face from Thorin, but he could tell that she was extremely malnourished from her thin frame and pale skin.
Thorin watched as she snuck up to an apple cart at the end of the square, waited until the vendor's back was turned, grabbed and apple, and took off running through the crowd. Thorin thought that the girl might get away, but she was too slow. The vendor saw her running with one of his apples in hand, and took off after her. Thorin made a split second decision, and hurried after the two. Little did he know that decision would affect his life forever.
AN: Okay, I know what you're thinking, "Finish your other stories first, then start a new one." I just want to say, I am NOT abandoning my other fics. I have just been extremely busy lately and don't have much free time anymore.
This plot has been rolling around my head for a while now, and I finally decided to do something about it. Tell me if i should continue, kk? I love all my wonderful followers and reviewers, and I want to thank my Kili for all the love you have shown me in these past weeks. I love you sis and am so grateful God put you in my life.
So yeah, I'm done getting emotional now. R&R won't cha? Constructive criticism only please, and I fully welcome any ideas or plot lines you guys might have. I might not use them, since I already have an idea where this might go, but I still love the fresh ideas you guys have. Remember, I won't continue this unless you guys seriously want me to.