And I'm back lovelies! Hopefully after this chapter we can really get the ball rolling. The days are being counted down until Bilbo rescues them. I will tell you that I will not deviate from cannon much with Laketown but I will add some things. Hope you enjoy! :)
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Kili woke to his name being called and at first he was confused. Who would be calling his name?
"Kili. Kili, wake up!" He recognized the voice now that he was gaining consciousness.
"Fili? What is it?" They had spoken over the past few days as well as the rest of them. The elves didn't censure their speech to each other.
"Do you think that elf will come by tonight?"
"Why?"
"Do you think she has the keys?"
"No. She doesn't have the keys. Another elf does. She's the guard captain, not the jailer. "
"You wouldn't know it by the way she comes here every single night."
"Even if she did have the keys there isn't any way she would give them to me, you know."
"What makes you so sure about that?"
"She's the Captain…of…the…Guard that's why."
"She likes you." Fili responded.
"Well if she didn't like me then she wouldn't talk to me."
"Yes, but I think she really likes you, or at least is starting to do so."
"No, brother, did they hit you in the head recently?"
"I'm serious, Kili. People are starting to notice."
By people he meant the other dwarves and by other dwarves he could possibly mean Thorin. And Kili knew how Thorin felt about elves, "It's nothing."
"Yeah. I've seen you flirt with girls since before you knew what flirting was. If you used the elf then maybe we could get out of here."
"No. And she's not just 'the elf'. Her name is Tauriel."
"Touchy, little brother? If you aren't going to use her then you should stop talking to her before Thorin gets too suspicious." His tone was not harsh, merely chiding as he warned his brother.
Even though everyone was in close quarters Kili and Fili were talking softly as to not let the others hear their conversation.
"Fine." Kili told him, but had no intention of doing so. They were friends. Nothing more. If she chose to stop coming then it would be done, but as long as she came to him he wouldn't turn her away. It did strike him as curious as to why she would talk to him and go out of her way to do so when there were others of her kind she could use for companionship.
That was not what he intended on talking with her about tonight. If she came at all. His brother was right though. He really should stop talking to her. He didn't want to make friends with someone he may have to face on the field of battle, should war be brought to them.
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Tauriel made her way down to the prison and past the cells, glancing at the prisoners one by one and they looked at her as well with an air of suspicion erring on disapproval. She ignored them but felt their gazes on her back which was an unsettling feeling. She felt her steps quicken as she neared Kili's cell but when she came to a stop in front of it she found him sleeping and disappointment well inside of her. It took quite a bit of willpower to turn from his cell and not wake him and just as she started to take another step his voice startled her, "What's your favorite color?"
She turned back to him, confused, "What?"
"I thought elves had good hearing, what else would those pointy ears be for?" He teased. "What... is…your… favorite… color?" He asked her slowly.
"Why are you asking about that?" Of course, she had no answer for that, not that she didn't appreciate colors, just that no one had ever asked her which color she favored over others.
"I'm curious. Mine changes. First it was silver, then gold, which are really obvious choices for dwarves, but now I find the color red really beautiful. Not the red of blood or rubes, but the red of a sunset or sunrise." He was watching her carefully, "Although I didn't really like red until I came here."
Tauriel let the corner of her mouth curve upward at the obvious compliment, "You have a way with words that not many of your kin do."
"Many thanks, m'lady. My brother says I talk too much for my own good sometimes."
"You have a brother?" Tauriel sat down on the steps next to his cell. They spoke quietly to each other for the most part during their meetings and it was easier for her to sit than to stand at times.
"An older brother, yes."
"And where is he?"
"In one of these cells actually. His name is Fili, he's blonde with more of a beard than I have. He's a cell over, or above, I'm not really sure as I can't see out of mine."
"He's your brother? Do you have any other family?"
"Here or elsewhere?"
"Both, I suppose."
"My uncle Thorin is here somewhere, but you probably know what he looks like."
"He's your uncle? So that makes you a prince then?" This new piece of information was a surprise to her. She wouldn't have guessed him for a prince except in his manner of speech.
"Sort of, I suppose. My older brother is really the one who is groomed for it, at least more than I am. Our mother is his sister.
"So it's just the two of you then?"
"I wouldn't want it any other way. We look out for each other. I couldn't imagine life without him to be honest, even if he is a nosy sasbijabmîn. "Kili said the last part a little louder and heard a snort in response.
"I can see you get along well."
"Most of the time, yes, sometimes no, but it's like that with family."
"I wouldn't really know. My parents died a long time ago and I have no siblings."
"I'm sorry." And he found that he really did mean it.
"You shouldn't be sorry. I was taken in by Thranduil when he could have left me to be alone. I am grateful for that."
Kili felt the conversation begin to take a serious note, "You never did answer me."
His subject change was not lost on Tauriel but she knew that the conversation about such personal things needed to end where it had, "About my favorite color?"
"So what is it? Green? That's all you wear."
"If you hadn't noticed we do live in a forest and must blend in with the surroundings, yes? I have other clothes."
"I won't believe it until I see it." He teased her.
"Perhaps I will come in something different tomorrow night. I might surprise you." She found it easy to tease him back.
"You have already surprised me, Tauriel."
She felt a shiver run down her back when he said her name, like a silken caress. "Silver and Blue." She answered, "Like the night sky."
"You and your stars again I see."
"Goodnight, Kili." She told him before getting up and walked back to her quarters with a small smile on her face.
"Goodnight, Tauriel." He called softly after her, knowing that she could hear him as she walked away back to her rooms.
"Be careful, brother." He heard Fili's voice after a minute or two.
"I'm always careful."
He heard a rather loud snort at his comment. "Whatever you say."
"Goodnight, brother."
"Goodnight."
Kili went to sleep with a smile on his face, eager to get to tomorrow.
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Tada!
Ugh! I just love this couple!
Leave a review if you want to, if not, then I will see you next week! Or perhaps before then. Arrow is coming back on and it will probably prompt me to write some more.
Sasbijabmîn- Dwarvish for "to spy". I couldn't find the word I wanted and that was the closest I could come.
