AN: see end of chapter.
New Uncle, New Bead
The minute that they entered the Mirkwood kingdom, Fili was acutely aware that something was wrong. It was too quite, too few elf guards besides those that had arrived with them. He could see the she-elf called Tauriel was tense as she led them to the dungeons. Her eyes kept flitting about, as she if she were waiting for something to jump out at her. She stayed her course, however, shoving Bofur into the first cell. It was clear she was following Kili's instructions as she strategically placed the dwarves just far apart enough so that it was impossible for them to make any contact with each other. It was still baffling to Fili that Kili had done this to them.
Mahal, it was baffling his brother was alive, a dream that he thought was dead a long time ago. Yet there he was. Fili could have recognized that dwarf anywhere, the hair, the eyes, the bead. The voice was different, as were the clothes and overall air and personality, but it was undoubtedly the baby brother he had mourned.
After the day they had lost him, Fili had often dreamt that he was still alive somewhere, that he would be playing out in the clearing one day and Kili would just step out of the bushes, or that he was safe and tucked away in the Iron Hills, or wandering happily in the Shire, and one day, on his travels with his Uncle, they would reunite and everything would be the way it used to be. Sure, he had stopped imagining such stupid things, come to terms with the fact that his brother was dead, but this was a situation that he had never considered before.
Tauriel took Thorin by the shoulder, jostling him into the nearest cell. "I demand counsel with the king!" He shouted as they continued to move on. Fili could hear him pound on the door, kicking the bars of the cell. Tauriel clucked her tongue and rolled her eyes, an oddly flippant gesture for an elf. Fili and Balin were the only ones left now, and when they reached the next stop, he knew it belonged to him. Unlike his uncle, he stepped in the prison willingly, though he still made verbal protest.
"Where is my brother? What did you do to him?" Tauriel looked him over for a moment, about to say something, when a terrible shout echoed throughout the halls, causing her to twitch slightly, her eyes widening. A different voice was yelling in response, though slightly muffled. Without thinking, it seemed, Tauriel tossed Balin into the cell next to Fili's, and dashed off.
After a brief struggle, Fili gave up trying to see where she going, falling onto the floor, frustration beating through his veins. It didn't matter that he had found Kili again, for now his brother resented and hated the family he was born into, and had barely cast Fili a second glance. It also didn't help that the Company was trapped in Mirkwood, for how long, he didn't know.
"Balin?" he called, flinching as he heard another yell from somewhere in the halls. He had to wait as he heard the older dwarf getting closer to the wall their cell's shared. "It is him, right? Thorin and I aren't just being desperate and seeing him where he isn't?" There was another pause.
"No, laddie. That was Kili if I ever saw him, no doubt about it."
"He's so…different," Fili sighed, fumbling around with his hands with very little purpose. "It's just…strange."
"Aye." Balin understood, always listening. "I doubt that after all this time he would be even similar to the sibling you lost. He's been raised a new person, an elf for that matter. Who would've thought?" Fili cracked a smile, thinking on it for a minute.
"Maybe Kili is still in there though. The one I grew up with. We can bring him back, make him remember." The silence seemed to stretch out forever.
"Fili." Balin wasn't tender anymore, rather nervous and cautious, causing Fili to sit up slightly. The dwarf was usually so sure of himself, giving the best advice the prince had ever heard, but he seemed so reluctant to speak, like he was terrified to interject his thoughts. "Did you ever consider…well…think that he might choose this over you and Thorin?" Fili's eyebrows jumped together, not properly comprehending these words.
"What do you mean? Why wouldn't he come back with us, if given the decision?" He could almost feel Balin trying to work out the response. A few times the dwarf in the adjacent cell began speaking and stopped at the first syllable. Finally, he seemed to have worked out his response.
"He ran away, lad, no matter what Thorin keeps saying. It was his choice to run into those woods, and nothing is going to change that. Perhaps, this is a second chance for him. He might want to stay here and continue the Mirkwood life." Fili shook his head, though he knew Balin couldn't see him.
"Even if he doesn't remember us, how can you pick elves over your kin?"
"The elves are his kin now. He said he has a new uncle..." Balin cut himself off.
"No, keep going!" Fili insisted. "Say it."
"He said he has a new uncle, a new family. Fili, you have to be prepared that he might have a…different brother." In that simple sentence, he felt his insides crumple, the way it did that morning in the snow. The momentary joy he had when he first laid eyes on Kili was completely absent now, and he could even picture the replacement sibling now, just like him but an elf. And an elf was what Kili wanted now.
He could kill over this.
"The King Thranduil wishes to see you." Tauriel had snuck back, almost completely silent like all elves. Fili jumped at her voice, leaping to his feet, and pressed against the bars of the cell until she opened them. Tauriel was staring at him critically, her lips pursed and body tense. After a moment, she nodded in the other direction, back the way they had entered.
Thorin was already out of his own cell, standing just a little ways off, watching him with his ice blue eyes. As a child, Fili had been afraid of looking at his uncle because of those eyes. Now, he was afraid of looking at his uncle because Fili didn't want to see the disappointment in his face. Instead of that look, however, Thorin barely smiled, nodding in recognition.
She led them past the remainder of the empty cells, winding along the path to the throne room. Tauriel was radiating frustration, her brow furrowed, corners of her mouth turned down, and green eyes glinting in the light. Fili looked over his shoulder at Thorin, surprised to see him walking with his eyes glued to his feet. His shoulders were hunched and tense, his large hands balled into fists, and Fili could see the muscles tensed under the dingy blue flannel undershirt that Thorin wore now. As if sensing his nephew's gaze, Thorin looked up.
The moment their eyes locked FIli turned back to face forward. It wasn't just his uncle's irises; the prince hated eye contact in general. Luckily, none of the other creatures in Mirkwood seemed to want to look at him. At least there was that.
Thandruil was waiting for them on a great throne of antlers, seated upon it with an air of superiority as he towered above them. The king even had stairs to get down from the great seat. Say what you would about dwarves and their vanity, Fili thought, at least they keep their thrones on the same level as the rest of their people. The elven king was dressed in lavish silver robes, a crown of branches resting on his head of pale blonde hair. Like Fili's uncle, Thranduil's eyes were absolutely piercing, causing the prince to immediately avert his eyes as Tauriel took her place beside the throne.
That's when he noticed him, standing slightly behind the elevated chair itself, partially in the shadows, was an elf that could only be described as a younger and more sinister looking version of Thranduil himself. He had the same hair and eyes, though his face was not as long and emotionless, and he wore no crown on his head. He too was dressed in silver robes, and he seemed to be placed strategically, as to view the conversation that was about to occur, but not contribute to it.
"So," boomed the king, an eyebrow raised as he rose from his seat and began slowly gliding down the step. "This is the brother."
"Would you have me here if I weren't?" He could have described Thranduil's expression as a wince, but it contained a smile. The king had made his way to the floor now, standing before them, and even at ground level, he was enormous.
"You have a smart tongue, dwarf. You should watch it before I cut it out." Thorin opened his mouth to protest, but Thranduil continued. "I can see the pair do not bear much family resemblance. You look nothing like him." It was true, of course. Fili had taken after his father, with the gold hair and bright eyes, while Kili bore much more resemblance to his mother and Thorin, dark eyes and hair, with a resting brooding look.
"I don't see how such a comment is relevant," Fili responded, though he knew it was a useless statement. The elf would control the conversation, and the relevance of what he wanted to say would not be considered in such an environment. "We are here to talk about my brother's presence in your kingdom, not my appearance compared to his."
"I want to know what my nephew is doing prancing around like an elf in your forest, pretending to be one of you, raised like one of you!" Thorin's voice was already out of control, rising and dripping with venom and contempt. Thranduil seemed completely unfazed by his words, however, retaining his calm and underlying vicious persona.
"I could ask you the same thing, Thorin son of Thrain son of Thror. I doubt you sent him here to be adopted." Fili bit his lip, bracing for impact.
"Do not mock me, elven king. I am not interested in your games." Thranduil walked forward now, ignoring Thorin entirely, as if he were speaking to no one at all.
"But I do see that it was for the best that you drove him away. He seems much happier here, do you not agree?"
"How can he know what is happier when he does not remember the times where his heart was fullest?" Fili interjected, not wanting for Thorin to explode. His uncle was visibly fuming once more, his upper lip curling in a sneer.
"I've heard bits and pieces of your brother's story, Fili son of Dis, and I assure you that whatever allusion of nostalgia you are looking at your childhood through, it is false." Fili was beginning to understand his uncle's hatred for this elf. There was something about him that under his skin, invading every pore of his body, making Fili feel full of rage.
"You know nothing of my childhood, nor will you ever." Thranduil chuckled, a sound that should have been merry, but came away slick and cold. He was razor focused on Fili now.
"I know that your brother was treated as an inferior compared to you, never favored by your uncle, criticized and critiqued for his personality and interests, and beaten down constantly, and when he tried to resist your uncle finally snapped-"
"You will not speak of him as if you know him! Kili is not yours. He was never yours. You took him in because you wanted to dangle him in front of me and use him as a tool, not because you ever cared for his wellbeing! Do not pretend tha you have shielded him from the danger that is me!" Thorin was full on shouting now, advancing against Thranduil, and though he was miniscule compared to the elf he had the ferocity of a wolf. Thranduil took a step forward as if accepting the challenge.
"If Kili has no memory, how would you know of any of that?" Fili pointed out, before guards inevitably dragged off Thorin. Thranduil's head snapped to look at him.
"He has other ways of accessing those times of his life. He is just not aware he is doing so."
"Don't speak in riddles, King of Mirkwood." Fili's voice was strong and powerful, and with it he was able to lure him away from Thorin, relieving the tension that was building between them. "How can one speak a memory, without remembering it themselves?" Thranduil took a moment, and at first Fili thought he was pondering the subject, save for the twinkle forming in the elf's eye, a twinkle that frightened Fili more than he would like to admit.
"Tell me, how old was he when he ran?" Fili shifted uncomfortably.
"That isn't important," Thorin snapped, keeping both eyes on Thranduil at all times.
"Twenty," Fili answered. "It was his twentieth birthday when it happened." He saw Thorin sigh, obviously upset at the spilled information. Thranduil smiled ever so slightly, alarmingly.
"According to his recorded date of birth, when Kili arrived here he was just over twenty-two." Thorin and Fili exchanged a worried glance.
"What are you trying to say?" Thorin was almost apprehensive.
"I'm saying it is pure ignorance to label the heirs to your status, son of Thrain." From a fold in his robe, Thranduil drew a fine silver chain, and on it, a silver bead: Kili's bead. "It gives other enemies the confirmation they need to punish your bloodline as they wish." Fili was attempting to work out this statement in his head, though Thorin was clearly focusing on one thing.
"Where did you get that?" He spoke through gritted teeth, eyes so intense they could freeze the hottest fires.
"Your nephew told me to give it to you, as he has a new bead to wear, and won't be needing it anymore. He also tells me that he has no desire to speak with either of you, or see you again." Thorin lunged, but before he even had the chance to lay a finger on Thranduil, a flash of silver and hair caught him from behind.
The elf who had stood in the shadows held Thorin back with ease, an expression pleasure on his cold face as he twisted the dwarf's arms behind his back. "I'll kill you!" Thorin yelled, as loud as possible, struggling.
"I'm afraid that if there is any killing going on in this kingdom, it will be mine to deal out." The elf responded coolly. Thranduil was no longer looking so confident and smooth, looking at the other elf with warning.
"Legolas."
"Shall we start with your nephew, perhaps?"
AN: So that's all I have for this installment. I hope you enjoyed it. Thus far I have stuck to my release schedule of a chapter every other day (hooray)! If you liked this story and want to get notified when I put the new chapters up, click the follow button. Also, if you fancy, leave a review! I love hearing what you guys think, and it really makes my day when I get to read the things you guys respond with. Until next time.