A big thanks to all the awesome people that reviewed and liked my story. I edited the line spacing, so the text is now easier to read. I apologize for not thinking of that sooner, and want to thank a great reader for the suggestion! Please Comment and Enjoy!
Kili was startled awake by his brother shaking him.
"Kili," fili whispered in a stressed tone, "Wake up!"
"What is it?" Kili asked, rolling over and swatting his brother's hand off of his shoulder.
"Wake up!" Fili persisted.
Finally, Kili stood up and let his tired sight adapt to the dark. He grabbed his bow and strapped the quiver of arrows to his back.
"Is it my turn on watch already?" Kili yawned.
"No." Fili admitted.
"Did you see something?!" Kili panicked quietly, looking around for any sign of trouble.
"Um…worse," Fili sighed.
"Oh, spit it out, Fili!" Kili groaned, becoming irritated with this already.
"It's the elf," Fili said.
"What?" Kili sighed, feeling rather let down after expecting an all out assault, "What about her? She is still alive isn't she?!"
"Unfortunately. Make our trip faster," Fili muttered, earning a whack to his arm.
"That's not funny. What's wrong?"
"I think she's awake. I was on watch and I heard her start crying."
Kili's face went flat.
"That is why you woke me up at this foul time in the middle of the night?!" Kili dropped his bow back to the ground with a growl.
"I don't know what to do! She likes you better anyway!" Fili said, pushing Kili toward Lillaith, "So, you go fix it!"
Before Kili could protest, he was already too close. Any argument would be useless. He quietly sat next to where Lillaith was laying. He paused for a moment and then put his hand on Lillaith's shoulder.
"Lillaith?" he asked quietly to see if she was, indeed, awake.
Before he could say anything else, Lillaith instantly sat up, threw her arms around Kili's waist, and sobbed into his shoulder.
"I was rather hoping we were past the crying part of the trip," Kili sighed, returning Lillaith's embrace, "I'm no good at this sort of thing, but why don't you tell me what's wrong. Okay?"
Kili tilted her chin up and looked into her sad, blue eyes. He gently wiped away the tears that ran down her face, and waited for her to say something.
"I…I do not know what is wrong," Lillaith choked out between sobs, "I am just…afraid! I can not even match this fear with words."
"Come here," Kili said, pulling her back to him, and holding her close against his chest, "I'll take care of you. Don't be scared. Soon, we'll get to Rivendell, and you'll be safe."
Lillaith sighed happily at the thought of being safe in Imladris. She went on talking about it for a short time. She had never been there but she heard that it was very beautiful.
"It is rather nice," Kili admitted softly, "Though, not really my type of place."
"You have been there?!" Lillaith asked, as the sadness left her face and her eyes lit up with curiosity.
From then on, the conversation turned to Kili explaining to Lillaith all about the valley of the elves, and how he ended up there. Lillaith loved every word of his stories, and they tended to put her mind at ease. He did, however, leave out the more dangerous parts of his tales. She was already afraid of traveling in the mountains, so he didn't want to scare her further with the full truth of past events.
"Fili," he called back over his shoulder, "I'll take me watch now. You get some sleep."
It didn't matter that he offered that, because when he looked back Fili had already curled up and fallen asleep next to the sparking embers of the fire. Kili rolled his eyes and went back to talking to Lillaith. She had fallen asleep as well, though. She was still holding onto Kili, with her head on his shoulder. Kili just shrugged and kept holding her while he watched over the small campsite.
Kili sat there and thought more about his current "adventure". This elf confused him. As one of Durin's folk, he knew that he was supposed to hate the elves. They never helped anyone, really, and they always just kept to themselves. The elves had always seemed almost condescending toward he and his kin. Not Lillaith though. While most elves were hardened with stern wisdom and hundreds of years of wars and kingdoms, she still seemed so innocent and sweet; she was like a young rose that had yet to endure a harsh winter. He admired this innocence in her. It never failed, yet, to make him smile.
The rest of the night passed quietly. Fili and Kili continued to rotate shifts throughout the night. Usually, whenever one would wake the other to switch, it was almost silent. The last time, however, Fili had a question preying on his mind.
"Kili?" he asked in a whisper.
"Yes?" Kili whispered back.
"Why do you suppose that she likes you so much?"
"I…I don't know. I don't think she does like me all that much though, so don't make anything of it."
"Doesn't like you all that much?!" Fili scoffed, "You can't stand up, because she attached to your waist, Kili. You had to toss a rock at me to wake me up, because you won't move her!"
"I don't want to wake her, is all," Kili shrugged.
"Oh, please! You. Like. Her." Fili teased, "It's very obvious. The way you talk to her and look at her! And all of those bright smiles she gets from you!"
"Fili, it's nothing. Really. I'm just trying to be friendly. I don't mean anything by it." Kili sighed, growing quiet.
Fili rolled his eyes and sat on a nearby rock to watch over the camp. Kili just looked down at Lillaith. He didn't really like this elf…did he?
