A/N: Hello again everyone! So as a counter to the last chapter which was pretty emotional this one will not only give you hope for the happy ending that I promised but also a little bit of light relief for you all. It was very interesting writing something humorous for the Hobbit, pretty sure it's my first time in fact so hopefully you all enjoy it. I enjoyed writing these three new additions to the story! :)
As much as it breaks my heart I do not own the writings or the characters of The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings, they are the wonderful and exclusive workings of J.R.R Tolkien
It was absolute darkness that Fíli woke to. Laying on his back his eyes slowly opened and he turned his head to the left then right, trying to make out some form of light but there was none.
"Hello?" He called, frowning slightly when his voice echoed back at him. He pushed himself to his feet slowly and ran his hands down his front, his fingers sliding over the soft fabric telling him that wherever he stood he wore his small clothes.
A small blessing, he supposed.
Fíli turned in a circle slowly, praying that his eyes might spot even a pinprick of light that he could move towards, anything that would be better than the nothingness he was currently in. After seeing nothing Fíli placed his hands on his hips with a huff, not knowing what to do next.
A flickering of light appeared in the corner of his eye and he turned around quickly to find a ball of golden light floating just ahead of him. With a small grin he stepped towards it with his hand out stretched, only to hesitate when it moved backwards. When it didn't move he took another step forwards only to have it move back once more, as though he was expected to follow it. Licking his lips nervously and looking around Fíli decided to follow and see where the golden ball led, after all what else was he to do?
In no time at all the ball stopped and allowed Fíli to close the gap, and to his surprise as he got closer he realised that it had come to rest against a wall. He placed a palm against the cool marble and watched with wide eyes as the ball stretched and twisted before it formed a large mirror, and despite the slight warning in his heart that it was a bad idea he stepped in front of it.
The mirror stayed blank before suddenly it rippled and an image of his bedroom came into view, overlooking his bed and a distinct head of brown hair in the middle.
"Kíli" he breathed as he ran his fingers over his brothers' form. The image shifted again and he quickly withdrew his fingers, letting out a small whimper at the sight of his brothers disappearing form.
It was replaced by another picture which made his heart ache with loss.
Kíli's face.
Fíli felt his breath hitch in his throat as he looked at his beloved. Tear tracks stained his face and Fíli could see that tears were still leaking from red puffy eyes that were closed against the harsh reality Kíli had suddenly been thrust in. There were bruises under the eyes that Fíli loved so much and Kíli's cheeks were smattered with red spots from his prolonged crying. Licking his lips he let out a quiet sob as he rested his head against the image of his brother, allowing the fingers of his left hand to trail softly over the only link he now had to his brother.
"Oh my Kee," he whispered brokenly, "I am so sorry I left you. It was always meant to be you and me against the world, but I guess that that time was shorter than we thought." He pressed a soft kiss to his brothers' forehead, smiling softly as the image of Kíli shifted slightly as though Fíli had truly kissed him.
"I don't regret saving you Kee," he whispered with devotion. "I would do it all again because I would never let anything happen to you my love."
"No," a voice suddenly said from behind him. "You never would."
Fíli turned in fright at the voice and as he laid eyes on the dwarf in front of him he couldn't help that his mouth dropped open in shock.
"Adad?"
The last memory Fíli had of his father was the last time he had seen him; walking out the door behind Thorin with his sword strapped to his back to get rid of a pack of Orcs that had been spotted near town. That had been the night everything had changed, and yet here his father stood before him looking exactly the same as when he had walked out the door all those years ago.
Víli stood there with a soft smile on his face and Fíli couldn't help but stare greedily at his father, committing every detail to memory lest he turned out to be a figment of his imagination.
"Come here son." Víli said kindly, holding his arms out for a hug.
Fíli flew into his fathers' arms and hugged him tightly, burying his face in his fathers' neck and inhaled deeply relishing the scent of smoke, apples and cinnamon that he had never though he'd smell again.
Víli let out a chuckle as he hugged his son just as tightly, running a hand over the golden hair that rivalled his own for length. He had watched over his family since the night he was taken from the ones he loved and he was proud of the dwarves his sons had become, but being able to hold his oldest, his golden treasure was a gift he never thought he'd get again.
Finally Fíli pulled away, his hands still clasping his fathers' shoulders tightly as a smile lit up his face.
"I've missed you father," Fíli said quietly "I have missed you ever since you last hugged me."
Víli clasped his sons' face gently in his hands and pressed a kiss to his forehead before resting their heads together.
"And I have missed you my son. Dark has been my life since I left my sun, moon and world but you are here now, and I could not be more proud of what you have become." He whispered, thumbing away a tear that strayed from the bright blue eyes before him.
Fíli couldn't help but give him a watery smile as Víli threw an arm around his shoulder and started guiding them forward, and gasped in shock as the darkness dissipated to be replaced by marble walls as far as the eye could see, sturdy wooden doors cutting into the gleaming stone.
"Where are we?" Fíli asked as they passed yet another door, his eyes barely having time to take in the carvings that adorned the walls as his father continued to lead them onwards.
"Welcome to the Halls of Waiting my son," Víli said with a grin as he swept his free arm outwards. "Also known as the Halls of Our Fathers, or my personal favourite the Halls of Boring Marble That Really Needs Some Colour."
A startled laugh left Fíli's lips as he looked at his father in shock. "Who in the name of Mahal calls it that?!" He asked utterly bewildered.
Víli snorted and shook his head, unable to fight the smirk overtaking his face. "You will find out soon enough my son, don't you worry. Ah here we are." He said as they stopped outside a door and gave Fíli a grin.
"And what's in here?" Fíli asked nervously.
"Someone who wants to meet you."
Víli pushed the door open and walked inside, leading Fíli into a brightly coloured room with tapestries and paintings lining the walls. In the middle of the room was a long table, the centre brimming with fruits, vegetables, meats and bread, and the sides decorated with gold plates and goblets. The seats were luxurious, a deep mahogany velvet with beautiful oak frames, but none of that registered to Fíli. His gaze was fixed on the figure standing at the other end, and he watched with wide eyes as she turned.
Fíli was sure he had never before seen someone as beautiful as the being he was looking at right then, mentally scolding himself and changing his decision to second most beautiful as no-one could ever compare to Kíli, but he felt his breath forced from his body regardless. She had long golden hair, the colour putting all the gold in Middle Earth to shame and it was broken by a ruby and emerald studded circlet on her head, her dress was a shimmering blue and green and it trailed behind her as she turned to face him. Her face broke into a wide smile when she laid eyes on the two dwarves and moved towards them only to roll her eyes when Víli, quickly followed by Fíli bowed to her.
"What have I told you about bowing to me you silly dwarf?" The lady in front of them asked in amusement, shaking her head as she spoke.
"Probably something important but I was undoubtedly too caught up in your beauty to notice my lady." Víli responded with a smirk before turning to his bewildered son.
"Fíli allow me to introduce the Lady Yavanna, one of the Makers of our people."
Fíli's eyes grew wide before he turned back to look at Yavanna in shock, and realising his stunned staring was likely to be considered rude he ducked his head, focussing at his shoes as he willed his embarrassed blush away.
Yavanna laughed, a beautiful peal of bells as she cupped Fíli's face in her hands, a thumb lightly stroking his cheek before pressing a kiss to his forehead.
"It is wonderful to meet you, dearest Fíli," she said quietly, her blue-green and amber coloured eyes shining with love as she looked at him. "You and your family have been the focus of so many here for many years." She guided him forwards towards a seat at the other end of the table and pulled the chair out for him, looking at him expectantly.
"Please, take a seat and help yourself to whatever you desire. You must be hungry."
Fíli wet his lips and looked to his father, only to see him nod in encouragement as he took a seat on his left. Taking a deep breath Fíli sat down, and sighed in relief when Yavanna sat next to him at the head of the table. He watched as she took a handful of berries and grapes and placed them on her plate before tearing off a small portion of bread that his father had placed onto his along with meat and other vegetables.
"Why am I here?" Fíli asked nervously. "Don't think me ungrateful for the food because I am, but…" he trailed off uncertainly "Is this it? Is this all there is to the afterlife?"
"Would it be so bad if it were?" Víli asked his son as he wrapped an arm around him.
"Well no, I suppose." Fíli confessed "but I was always led to believe there was more to it than this."
"That's because there is sweet one." Yavanna said kindly. "No one was meant to die this night my child, yet for some reason danger and trouble always follows you and your brother around. If your father and Frerin were alive today they would undoubtedly have their work cut out for them, as your Uncle and mother do now."
"Frerin?" Fíli asked with a frown. He went to look at his father only to have his attention captured by a golden haired dwarf seated in front of him. Even though he had never met his dead Uncle before Fíli knew with certainty that this was exactly who sat in front of him now, and he could immediately see why everyone compared the two of them. Whilst his father had his hair and Kíli's brown eyes, Fíli was spitting image of his Uncle, from his golden hair and bright blue eyes, right down to the mischievous smirk that was currently on Frerin's lips.
"It's good to finally meet you, little lion" Frerin said with a wink. "Watching over you and your brother has been like a full time job for many of us here, especially when you manage to give my siblings the slip. But you've managed to provide us all with plenty of laughs over the years and for that I thank you."
A hearty chorus of cheers erupted from the table and Fíli's eyes widened in shock at the sudden appearance of dwarves who hadn't been there seconds ago.
"Cease your rabble rousing you bunch of miscreants and fill your faces!" Víli yelled at the group of Dwarves with a grin before turning back to his son. "Your ancestors, both of the Durin line and my own have been watching over you, your brother, Uncle and Mother since you were born, and before that in fact. As Frerin said, watching over you and your brother has been a like a full time job but it is something we all enjoy doing, getting to see you grow up as you have."
Fíli watched as the dwarves around the table tucked into their food, thankful that the food stayed on their plates rather than on each other as was often the case at feasts and he wondered if it had to do with Yavanna's presence. Ignoring his food for the time being he turned to Yavanna once more, watching her watch over his ancestors with a smile as she popped some grapes into her mouth.
"If I was not meant to die," Fíli said slowly "then what am I doing here?"
Yavanna fixed her eyes on the young dwarf beside her and placed a hand over his, squeezing it gently.
"Do not fear my child, you will return to your family soon enough as your part in Middle Earth's tale is not yet over" she said with a smile. "In the meantime eat and talk with your family. All will be explained in time."
"Fíli!" Frerin called his nephew's attention away from Yavanna and onto himself. "Tell me," he started with a cheeky grin.
"Do you think 'Halls of Boring Marble That Really Needs Some Colour' is a suitable description of this place?"
Fíli couldn't help the laugh that escaped as the rest of his ancestors let out varying exclamations of horror.
