" Maybe we should get up to one of the plateaus, that way at least we have an overview of our surroundings and are somewhat protected from the wind." Tauriel suggested as she scanned the surrounding area for a place to stay.
" Good idea..." Kíli answered and pointed to a place above them. " See, that one up there? I have been there before, it should do." Then he looked back at Tauriel. She hadn't slept in days and honestly, climbing might not be the wisest thing for her to do right now. Some might call him reckless, but with her he wasn't. He knew that she could very well take of herself, and even of him too if he failed to do so himself once in a while, but he also knew that she needed help with being, almost, human.
" We should ask for water and maybe some food first..." He said then, " If luck is on our side, Bard's people can help us."
" They do not have much..." Fíli mentioned as he stepped up behind them. " They will not share their food with the ones who caused them so much trouble."
" We should try at least, afterwards we will know more in any way." Tauriel suggested.
And so they started for the tents of the humans, Fíli ahead, Kíli and Tauriel following.
As many people as they asked, they all could not help. They barely had enough for themselves and the little they had, the three of them would not take away.
Resigned, they went back to where they had come from. But to their surprise, someone was waiting there for them. As they got closer, they realized that in fact it was three persons and not just one.
" Here, take this..." One of them said as they had gotten close enough. He handed over a box, another one a jug. " Don't tell Thorin that it was us..." And he hurried back towards the mountain.
" He will realize what he did soon enough, just wait..." The other one said and gave them a small wink before heading back as well, together with the third one.
" Who was that?" Tauriel asked, half in disbelieve and half in amusement.
Kíli looked at Fíli for an answer and then back at Tauriel. Both shrugged apologetically. " Some of our kin who obviously know us better than we know them."
" Told ya they love you already..." Kíli smirked and raised an eyebrow at Tauriel.
While this, Fíli had opened the box only to find bread, a few pieces of chicken and seed cake.
" Where did they get all this? It's only been about a week since the battle!" He asked in surprise.
" Never underestimate hungry dwarves..." Kíli answered in surprise and awe.
" This is very generous of them." Tauriel looked at the food with interest.
" Alright let's get up to the plateau and then eat!" Fíli said and started for the path leading up.
It didn't take them too long since it was not very high and the path was easy to follow.
Finally they sat down with their backs against the wall of the mountain.
" So is this what you normally eat?" Tauriel asked curiously. If she would get to stay here indeed, she wanted to know everything she possibly could.
" Well, yea... Just usually it's a lot more." Fíli responded with a slight smile.
" Didn't you eat before?" Kíli wanted to know. He had no idea about how elves lived.
" Uhm... I would most likely eat at feasts... Or at any special occasion... But not on a daily basis!"
" You will have to now. But that's a really good thing, I love food!" Kíli laughed. " You will enjoy it, it's very entertaining too."
They finished their meal in silence, but since it was not too much the silence didn't last long enough to be uncomfortable.
Sighing, Fíli got to his feet. " I suddenly feel like I had not just slept for a whole week... My eyes will barely stay open! I better lay down." With that he moved a few feet away and took his place near a rock rich he leaned against, facing away from them.
Kíli was completely sure though that his brother was just as awake as he was, but if he wanted to sit alone then be it that way. The though that he might have wanted to give them a little privacy for the first time since they had woken up did not occur to him until a few moments later.
" I do indeed feel a lot better..." Tauriel remarked suddenly, " I underestimated the importance of water especially."
" I noticed..." Kíli said, somewhat amused, " It all must feel pretty weird to you..."
" Not weird, just different. But I like feeling alive." She smiled and leaned her head against the stone wall, looking up into the sky.
Kíli followed her gaze and a smile came to his lips too once he saw the countless stars in the otherwise black sky.
" You should rest..." He finally said. " It's been far too long that you've gone without."
" I am resting..." She laughed, confused at his request.
" No, I mean you should sleep!" She was just too adorable when she was confused.
" Oh... Well, what do you mean by sleep?"
" Do elves not ever sleep?"
" Sort of... They rest, occasionally. Just sit or walk and concentrate on their thoughts."
" So you have never really slept? Ever?" He chuckled slightly. " It's the easiest thing indeed, believe me..." Honestly he did not know how to explain to her how to sleep. It was like explaining to someone how to see or how to breathe. " You will feel a lot better."
Even in the dark he could see the slight blush creeping up her cheeks.
" I feel foolish..." She admitted, "... for not knowing such an easy thing."
" No, please don't! Please don't feel embarrassed or foolish or such thing around me. I would need to feel embarrassed at the count of how many times you had to save my life. But I don't because with you I know I don't have to be." He was being completely serious, yet he smiled.
" Fine..." She said and smiled back, " I won't feel embarrassed about my utter inability to act like a decent mortal being." It made him laugh in return.
" You have me to help you out with that after all..." He winked at her. " But now, lay down."
" Why?"
" Because you need to sleep, seriously Tauriel, I don't want you to pass out suddenly, which is very likely going to happen if you do not rest."
She really did not want to worry him, so she obeyed and lay down. " Is it supposed to be cold and uncomfortable?" She asked sarcastically.
" Actually, yes." He answered in the same tone, just to tease her back.
She looked up at him and grinned. " Then everything is alright..."
Without thinking much about it, he moved her so that her head way lying in his lap. The moment he touched her side though, he could feel her whole body flinch. Her face showed an expression of utter pain, which she tried but failed to hide.
" I-I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to-..." He stuttered, worry in his voice and eyes.
" No no, it's alright, you did nothing wrong..." She reassured him, smiling slightly. After shifting a little, she was resting comfortably and looked up at him.
" What about your side? From what I saw on your face it hurt really badly..."
" It's nothing... Just still healing, like the rest. There is no need to worry."
" The rest? What happened to you out there...?" She could not count the expressions on his face, but worry and shock were clearly among them.
" I will tell you tomorrow..." The smile on her face seemed to make him feel better.
" Alright... Now, close your eyes."
She just could not bring herself to do it.
" What is it?" He asked.
" I'm afraid that once I open my again I realize that this all was just a dream... That it's not me walking in starlight in another world, but you..."
He smiled slightly, as this was the reason he would not sleep that night. " I promise you, once you open your eyes, I will be here."
Sighing, she closed her eyes indeed, but Kíli continued to look down at her. Even with that little scratch on her cheek, she was the most beautiful he had ever laid eyes upon. Others will not understand it, he knew that, but he did not care. They would never need to understand, as he claimed her to be his only.
Just looking down at her filled him with such joy and peace... But eventually he could not withstand the temptation and so leaned down to breath a feather light kiss to her lips. It made his heart leap and his whole body tingle in a way that nothing before had ever been able to. In this very moment he knew he would never have enough of this feeling. He would never let her go.
She kept her eyes closed, though he could tell that she had a hard time doing so.
" Just concentrate on your breathing..." He said as he leaned back against the wall again. " Calm..."
" Talk to me..." She said softly, " Tell me something."
And he did, he told her about the journey to the mountain, from the very beginning to the very end. Somewhere around time he talked about how they met Bilbo, he unconsciously started playing with a strand of her hair which was spread all around them. Eventually once he came to the point where they escaped the prisons of Mirkwood, her breathing had evened out and she had curled up in a small ball around him.
Smiling to himself he stopped his story and watched her for some more time. He would never be able to give her what she deserved, but he would happily spend the rest of his life trying.
Meanwhile...
Thorin was still surrounded by many fellows, even at such a late hour. But he could not concentrate on anything that way said. Except for the one thing that kept running through his mind in circles.
Fíli was right, ever since he had woken up he had not been himself, but a cold, heartless monster. That lay very vivid in front of his eyes now. With his behavior he had not only hurt everyone around him and eventually himself too, but he had also proven that he had not learned from his past mistakes. He had done it once already, had acted on his biases and only realized it as it was almost too late. The first time it had been Bilbo, now it was Tauriel. The same thing, just with a different person. He would certainly not let it end that way. She had not only saved Kíli, but also Fíli and him, in fact, she had even saved them multiple times. She had saved is life, but also the future of his folk and kingdom. If she looked like an elf or not, one needed incredible courage and selflessness to do what she did. And after all there had to be a reason why she had turned her back on Thranduil. Over the last few hours, he had picked up some conversation about how she had raised arms against said king and for that, Thorin liked her already a whole lot more.
She had saved them all and she was not asking for anything in return except for a reckless dwarf child that happened to be his nephew. She made him happy and Thorin could not ask for more.
So why was he acting like such a... cabbage?!
Tauriel might not be a dwarf, but she definitely had earned her place in this kingdom.
Completely interrupting the conversations that were going on around him, he ordered to search for them instantly.
It was not until after dawn that someone suggested looking for them on the plateau.
The first ones to reach it then couldn't suppress a chuckle and some sense of irritation.
Lying closest to them was a mess of brown and much red hair, all curled into each other. It looked utterly amusing.
" Don't wake them..." Fíli said from the side, grinning at the bunch of people who just had reached the plateau. And so they just stood for mere minutes, whispering and chuckling.
Eventually Fíli asked, " What has brought you here?"
" You uncle, he ordered for you to come back."
" I am not coming back without my brother. And he will not go back without Tauriel."
" Aye, and that is why all three of you shall come back!"
Surprised Fíli stared for a second, then walked over to his brother. He couldn't decide on whether he should be nice or simply make a really loud noise. He decided to go for nice for now, as it was not just his brother sleeping at his feet. As careful as he thought necessary, he shook Kíli awake, eventually loosing his patience though. " Kíli... Kiiiiiiiiiiilllliiiiiii!" He said very loudly, startling is brother out of his sleep.
" What IS IT, Fee?" He asked, half sleepy half annoyed, looking up through a curtain of hair.
" We have guests..." He chuckled.
At once Kíli was completely awake and sat up only to look into the grinning faces of his friends.
" Before you ask, Thorin wants to see the three of you back in the mountain."
" When?" He just asked, looking down at Tauriel who was still out.
" He said as soon as we find you..."
" Alright..." Kíli sighed and turned to wake up Tauriel.
It took him a good couple minutes until she at least seemed to wake up. She really must have lacked some sleep, he thought to himself.
" What is going on?" She mumbled, still more asleep than awake. Her voice was clouded with sleep and her eyes were barely open wide enough to see Kíli's face above her.
He smiled at the sight; he could definitely get used to waking up next to her. " We are going back..."
" Into the mountain?" She asked, doubtingly.
" Yes, indeed." One of their 'guests' said.
Her eyes opened all of sudden and she sat up, once she heard the foreign voice.
Fíli could hardly stand straight as his laughter makes him fall against someone else. " You two are so very entertaining in the morning..."
Without wasting more time, they went down the path and towards the temporary entrance into the mountain.
" What more does he want from us?" Tauriel asked.
" You will see." That was the only answer she got.
In the first hall Thorin awaited them already.
" Before anyone asks a single question I want to speak to Tauriel." He simply said, without any facial expression.
Confidently Tauriel walked on towards him as the others stopped in their step. Only Kíli followed, but Thorin shot him a glare. " Alone. You wait here with the others."
And with that Thorin marched off, Tauriel following behind him.
To be continued...