Disclaimer: I do not own The Hobbit. Never will.
A/N: NO FLAMES! Not accepted.
Chapter One – Little Warrior
Thorin was at a loss. Here he sat in front of the fire in his sister's house a tiny child curled up on his lap fast asleep after crying herself hoarse. She'd taken comfort in her Uncle as she had just been told by her Aunt that her father was not coming home. Dis had explained the same to Fíli and he had taken it better. Curling up by Thorin's feet and crying for a little while. But soon he had gone to bed and vowed that he would protect his mother and little brother from any harm. With Thorin being their first line of defence.
"What of your cousin, Fíli?" Thorin had asked.
"I'll protect Karla too!" The toddler exclaimed wielding his wooden sword like his Uncle did with his real one. Thorin had smiled and sat down on his chair watching Fíli practice the swings that his father had taught him. It was then that Karla had run out of the room where Dis had told her of Frerin and she had crawled into Thorin's lap and sat there crying, while Thorin held her.
Karla was very small for her age. Fíli had been born in the summer and Karla had been born on mid-Winter's eve. In the middle of a blizzard. Frerin banging on the door of Dis' house, where Thorin had been for dinner, his brother proudly announcing that he had been gifted with a daughter. A Princess. Thorin had gone to the Forge the next door and fashioned a tiny circlet. Silver and gold twined together. Born six months apart the pair were like twins. Both had the same rolling blonde hair their father's possessed and the same big eyes, though Fíli's were blue and Karla's were brown. Thorin knew that this little girl needed protecting, she had been told of the horrors of the world and she would soon learn that it was real. Nothing was certain in this world. The only thing Thorin was certain of was that little Karla would become a Princess with a fierce and protective essence. She would be just as fierce as her father, as protective as himself and yet as loyal and as loving as her Aunt was. Dis would never disobey her King – whether be family or not. Karla would be the same.
Fíli stared at his Uncle. Sword training. Karla stood a little ways away a quiver over her shoulder, filled with arrows and her bow was in her hand, one end in her hand the other end pressed gently to the dirt. Why she had chosen the bow, Fíli didn't know but what made him feel better was that she had also said she wanted to wield either a short sword or knives. Dwalin approached her and held out a smaller sword than the one Fíli held. When Karla took it, she instantly wrapped both hands around the hilt and Dwalin instructed her on the correct way to hold it.
"Both hands on the hilt, that's it. Right hand at the top…right now feet, shoulder width apart…good. Now sword point up…up, up! That's it, Lassie, that's it." Fíli watched for a moment before Thorin cleared his throat to gain his nephew's attention.
"Do I have your attention again now, Fíli? Shall we begin?" The boy nodded and slowly Thorin taught him to parry, to thrust, to block. All the moves he'd need in a battle. Dwalin never once yelled at Karla and after they'd finished she was smiling.
"You and I can go to battle together, Fíli! You and I and kill Orcs together! We can protect Ered Luin!" She chattered happily on the way back to the house. Fíli ignored her. She was a girl. Girls didn't go to war or battles. He knew his mother could fight, he'd seen the collection on Axes in her room. But Karla? She was a Princess! Every one said so! Princesses do not go to battle. Karla had her bow slung over her shoulder and her quiver rested next to it. That was the only weapon that was truly her's; she never let Kíli touch it though. If he crawled near it she'd move it out of his way and hand him a blunt one and he'd be happy to chew on the end of it. Karla wasn't supposed to be learning sword fighting though. She'd never get to use it. What was the point?
Fíli made such a point to his Uncle a few days later, at sword training again. Thorin frowned and glanced up at where Dwalin was teaching Karla the finer art of sword fighting. Thorin admired Dwalin's patience. He smiled softly.
"Your cousin deserves to know what her father knew, Fíli. Just as you do. Frerin was skilled with both a short sword and a bow, whereas your father, Baldas, was skilled singularly with the twin blades. Don't worry Fíli; she'll probably never get the chance to use it." Thorin said; Fíli ducked his Uncle's hand as it went to ruffle his still too-short-for-braids hair. Karla had got her first braids just last week. Of course although being born 6 months earlier his hair grew slower he'd get a beard though – she didn't even have that starting of one – Fíli at least had fluff. Still the boy shrugged and continued training with his Uncle. Occasionally hearing Dwalin compliment or correct Karla on something. Until the quartet were stopped by a loud sneeze. They looked at each other before Karla started off towards a bush that stood by the edge of the training ground. She appeared a moment later with a small dark-haired child in her arms. Kíli had followed them. He was rubbing his nose as tears fell from his eyes. Karla sat the child down on the ground and knelt down in front of him as Fíli made his way over.
"What's wrong, Kíli?" Karla asked; when the other boy joined them.
"I wanna watch." The child replied.
"Kíli…you'll be learning soon enough." Fíli said.
"Just wanna watch." The child repeated.
"Who do you want to watch, Kíli?" Thorin asked joining the trio.
"Karla and Fíli." He said. Thorin nodded. He pointed over to the fence.
"You go and sit over there and watch from there all right?" Kíli nodded and Karla – taking his hand – led him over and lifted him to sit on the rung just down from the top so he could hang on. Shaking her head and smiled she returned to her training and Fíli to his, Kíli watched until he began to fall asleep. Then Karla had to take him home. She excused herself from training and said she'd train harder next week, as she took Kíli home he smiled up at her and told her that she and Fíli were warriors like Uncle Thorin. She smiled.
"And someday, Kíli, you too will be a Little Warrior." She told him, giving him a kiss on the forehead before telling him to go inside and have a nap.
