A/N: So chapter 6, eh? Well, ain't that an accomplishment for me. Can't believe I'm actually being consistent. Anyways, haha, a good surprise this chapter! Also thank you all for the love and support this story has gotten!
Love you all!

Disclaimer: The usual

Black Speech = Word


Chapter 6


One Fortnight Later…

Khadinah sat quietly on her bed, her eyes slightly sad. Many talks with Thorin about her father had occurred in the past two weeks in her stay. She had learned everything about her father and more. She learned all of his likes, dislikes, hobbies, ideas, everything. She learned what people thought of him, his family, and who loved him. Thorin would speak of him like a brother and Khadinah couldn't help but wish to cry each time they spoke. Speaking of her father only made it so much harder for her to realize he had been dead for sixty-two winters.

And soon…it would be sixty-three.

Durin's Day was approaching quickly, meaning a new dwarven year was to occur. It was the only dwarfish holiday she celebrated, in fact, it was the only holiday she celebrated. Her dark elf heritage held no holidays and she followed both religions and mythos closely. She prayed to Mahal and Anphera nightly, and would find in the mornings her prayers unanswered. She would simply pray for peace of mind for her father's death, but it seemed that both would turn their heads to the side. They would cast away her ideas and hopes.

This morning however, she would go and pray to Anphera. Khadinah had always felt closer to the dark elf "goddess" than Mahal. She did not know why, but perhaps it was because she felt less dwarfish, and it created a strain perhaps. She had learned from Gandalf both religions and ways to follow, but she never grasped the dwarfish traditions. She simply felt…left out of them.

Khadinah sighed and pushed the fur covers of her bed off of her body, stretching her legs slightly. She wore a simple night shirt that fell right above her knees. Dís always insisted that Khadinah wear a sleeping gown, but every time she refused graciously. Wearing a night shirt was what she was used to. She would wear it in the shabby inns that housed her on harsh nights. She just grew used to them and found it hard to adjust to such…royal living. She wasn't even royalty, she was just…royalty's friend.

Kadinah threw her legs over the side of the short, wood-frame bed. She silently wished for a less comfortable bed, for she did not wish to leave it. But she needed to attend to her duties as a daughter of Anphera and as a sparring partner of Kíli (which was Thorin's suggestion). So, she would force herself out of bed and into the light of day. She did not wish it, but she had spent all of her life dealing with exactly that: not getting what she wished for. It was just all too normal for her.

Khadinah walked over to a wooden wardrobe that stood a little taller than herself and cocked her head slightly. How in the world did they have access to all of this spruce and oak wood? she thought dumbly. But then she smacked her face in embarrassment. They're surrounded by forest, ya dumbass.

She simply shook her head with a smirk on her face and opened the wardrobe. Her simple traveling outfit was folded neatly inside, her black boots set nicely next to the stack. Seeing as how Khadinah refused to wear anything but traveling clothes, she wasn't surprised that the stack and boots were the only things visible in there. Unless…she thought. Suddenly, she checked each darkest corner of the wardrobe, satisfied she hadn't found a secret dress Dís had snuck in.

A light chuckle surpassed her lips as she pulled her night shirt over her head. Her black curls got pulled up with the neckline and she knew it was off once the mass of hair fell onto her newly bare back. Khadinah had never worn a slip or anything of that sort. What she wore underneath her clothing was simply her skin. She found more garments to be useless and restricting.

She looked down then, admiring her body slightly. She like her body really, as it was not thin, but it was not fat. She was built from years of harsh conditions. She looked all dwarf in build. Her shoulders were broad for a female, but it was normal. Her chest was too large for her liking, but she had gotten used to it after all these years. Khadinah did not sport the dipping waist of every female that seemed to come across her in her travels. She was straighter (with a small dip of course, but it wasn't all that attractive to men) in the waist, her abdomen built into muscle. It was something most dwarrowdams had. But a lot were on the thicker side and had rolls instead of muscles. The only part of Khadinah that could be appealing to a man or dwarf (never an elf) was her bottom half. She had large thigh and calf muscles and accompanying them was a round backside. She took pride in that part of her body. But she would always feel a bit awkward, for she was not soft like a women. She was built strongly like a man.

Shaking her head, Khadinah reached out and grasped the leathers and tunic she usually donned. The tunic was much like a man's own would be. It was gray in color and held zero designs. The sleeves were non-existent and allowed for all to see her built arms. Khadinah slipped the tunic up and over her head, using her hands to pull her hair from the neckline. The shirt's neckline traveled straight across, reaching the base of her neck and never dipping. She then grabbed her leather pants, the pale brown complimenting the gray nicely. Whilst she wore the clothes of a man, she did like to be a little classy in her style.

The leathers were a little tight and Khadinah cringed. Someone washed these damn trousers incorrectly. Someone who obviously didn't know how to wash leather. Khadinah rolled her eyes and shook it off. She could always get another pair, even if they could be expensive. She shook her head and pulled the trousers the rest of the way up, tucking in her slightly long shirt only a little.

Khadinah's eyes then spotted a gray corset and black, metal belt. She snorted at the idea of someone getting her in a corset. Never in my lifetime, she joked lightly. But the belt interested her and she would never turn down a nice looking one either. So she picked it up and adjusted it accordingly on the waist-line of her trousers. Satisfied with its weight and elasticity, Khadinah finally and quickly put on her slightly heavy boots. She used to train with ones lighter but then found heavy boots made much more progress with getting faster. So she had these black ones custom made years ago.

Finding herself to be fully dressed for the day, Khadinah took a final look around the bedroom, making sure everything was in place, for she hated being messy.

The room itself was quite large for her standards, but nothing compared to Kili's. Khadinah found the room charming in a sense with its size, finding it kind of quaint. It held room for her large, wood-frame bed, which sat against the stone wall opposite her mirror and wardrobe. Then to the wall left of her bed, a round little table with two chairs (not terribly comfy, but could be after a long training session) sat stilly. A platter that had been brought in this morning sat, untouched by Khadinah. There were days where her dwarfish appetite kicked in, but most days, she went without food, for dark elves rarely had food to eat, so they adapted. Khadinah, she held both appetites and it really was random.

To the wall opposite the table, a large open entryway and terrace were located. Curtains of a royal blue and gray mix covered the entryway to the terrace and gave Khadinah some privacy. She wasn't against it, instead, she loved it! She used to sleep under the stars, so she found it comforting that she could simply keep a little slit in the curtains, and she could feel at home.

Strange. The term 'at home' was strange. Khadinah had never had a 'home' per say. She really just traveled and never settled. In fact, a fortnight would be the longest she would ever stay in one place. She would revisit of course, but she never stayed long. Nature and being in the open just felt right. She didn't like being cooped up in a house, or village, or kingdom, or whatever you preferred. She liked lying against Eziluk and watching the stars above with a fire crackling and her eyes drooping shut. This thought caused Khadinah's dream state to fade and her eyes to become watery. But she quickly dabbed her eyes with her fingertips and shook her head. Prayers now, memories last.

Khadinah breathed in deeply and let out a long exhale, calming herself down and finding peace once more. Her turquoise eyes no longer held a look of remembrance and sadness. They were not emotionless, but emotion seemed to be invisible. She was hiding them, that much was true. She was digging a make-shift grave for them until she could take the time to actually bury them.

She began walking and then exited her room, the dark oak door to the left of her mirror. She had requested to simply bathe in the public baths, for she didn't want to feel like royalty, her room was perhaps already too much. But she was content at the moment and that was rare for Khadinah.

Her eyes swept the hallway before seeing not one guard on duty. Probably switching roles at the moment, she thought to herself before shrugging inwardly. She closed her door then, turning back around and taking a left down the stone hallway.

Khadinah listened intently as her boots made contact with the smooth stone floors. She listened to the picks attacking stone far beneath the ground. She listened to the wind whistling by as she walked by a window in the wall, one that was something she passed everyday. She listened to the faint sound of chatter and carts moving as the farmer's market was just ending today. They would go back to their fields and come back in a fortnight with the last of their crops and trades before hunkering down for the winter months. It was something that Khadinah looked forward to.

She looked forward to the winter. It was her favorite time of each year. Each winter, she grew one year older. Each winter, she was reminded of how she had to persevere. Each winter, she was reminded that only a few hours after her birth, both of her parents were dead. Each winter, Eziluk would keep her company. Why was it her favorite time if these horrible things happened to her then?

Because harsh realities make one stronger.

Each winter, she got stronger.


Khadinah sat silently in a dark area of the forest. She knew that dark times were approaching and it only showed with the blackness of the forest. The sun was high in the sky, yet, even the moon didn't seem to shine in this area. It was quiet. No birds, nor insects chirped pleasantly. It was unnerving to say the least. But Khadinah was used to the darkness, the evil that spread through the lands little by little and might one day rule again. But it might not be beaten this time. No, this time, Khadinah knew that it would leave a scrape on Arda and that scrape would fester into a wound one day. Just give it enough time without being taken care of.

Khadinah faced a tree, a symbol for the woman who supposedly created and started the dark elves.

Her name had been Anphera. She was once a Mirkwood elleth who was supposedly blessed by the Valar themselves. She was beautiful with her moonlight-pale skin and midnight black hair. Her eyes apparently were the bluest things one would ever see. But, whilst she was beautiful, she was corrupted by Sauron. She had fought in many wars and came in contact with the darkness one too many times. She grew evil and created a band of followers that spoke Black Speech in secret. She had attempted killing a human king at the time, the name of him never being recovered in the history. The king of Mirkwood at the time, having found out about this treachery, banished Anphera and her followers. They fled to a mountain range, 200 miles east of Gundabad. It was named Khänshólē and thus, the "evil" mountain grew.

Anphera and her followers used their elvish magic to go into the forbidden dark arts. They focused on raising the dead, making more orcs for the evil cause in the whole of Arda, and becoming more "loved" by Sauron. They all became blind to the fact that Sauron never wanted them. He just had wanted their abilities. Years passed and as the new "dark elves" (not the ones Tolkien referred to as "unwise" for not going through with the Great Journey and none like Eöl and his kin) emerged as a threat, everyone became aware. Everyone, men, dwarves, and elves alike all became knowing of the threat in Khänshólē. Anphera was still their leader and had been such for an age now. The second age was dark and these new forms of elves ruled it. They were Sauron's puppets, who was Morgoth's puppet.

They went through a metamorphosis one could say. Their skin turned dark, black as night. Their hair thinned and turned as dark as their hearts. Their pupils became white or very bright blue, their scleras became black as well. They thinned and hollowed, souls non-existent basically. For the entirety of The Second Age, the dark elves changed into a menacing people. And they grew as well.

Anphera had a son and two daughters, the two girls being twins. How could one so unable to love now due to the darkness within conceive? Gandalf never told Khadinah. But he did say that love is not needed to procreate. The only thing needed is the will to do such a thing. When the first generation of pure dark elves all turned 200, the final battle of the Ring (until the Third Age) had gone and passed. Anphera, along with the kin that had first betrayed the good hearts of Arda, fell in battle, watching as Isildur cut off Sauron's finger. Thus, Anphera's son, took the reins and the story continues as one might expect.

Why should Khadinah pray to Anphera, then?

Because Anphera made large mistakes and was simply a pawn in the dark game of chess. But…Khadinah couldn't deny the darkness that grew a little each passing day. Grain by grain. So, she would pray to the woman who started it all and hope that perhaps, Anphera would take a little bit away.

Khadinah bowed her head, her butt resting on her heels. Her palms laid themselves upon her calves and she breathed in deeply. She needed to do this correctly. Simply for respect and simply because she hated doing things incorrectly. The words she would need to speak though…they were words that Gandalf had advised her not to use.

"Anphera, lady o' darkness," Khadinah started speaking in Black Speech, the words rolling effortlessly off of her tongue. But they tasted bitter to her and she wished she could simply hurry and then wash the taste out of her mouth. "I beg help, my creator, my leader. I ask of ye to do me one favor. I ask for ye to lessen my burden o' this darkness. I ask fer ya to use the little light in yer soul so ye may lift a little of this weight off my tired shoulders, my lady. I ask these things of you, and I pray, you are resting peacefully wherever you may lie," she spoke quickly and quietly, her voice probably sounding like a jumble of words should someone pass her. Black Speech was not a graceful language like Sindarin. Nowhere near it.

Khadinah sighed and pressed a small kiss to her palm before pressing her palm to the dark bark covering the tree. She must've pulled away too quickly, for she gave a slight hiss as she felt the sharp wood pierce her skin lightly. Her turquoise eyes traveled down to her palm and saw a little bit of blood dribbling out of a thin cut. But it wasn't red.

Blood ran black in her veins.


Khadinah crossed her arms, a smirk twitching at her lips. Kili stood in front of her, his hands on his knees and a pant escaping his body multiple times. His sword was somewhere thrown across the ring where they were sparring and practicing. Her schedule had proceeded to be the same for the last week. Spar for an hour right after midday, then practice for another until luncheon. Khadinah found it fitting to do it that way as she could evaluate him first then tweak things later. It definitely seemed to help him.

"You've gotten better," Khadinah praised her brunette friend, popping a hip out slightly as she looked down and studied a few spots of dirt on her boot. "Ya still don't block two swords well enough, but we'll be addressing tha' today anyways," she seemed to wave off as an afterthought to herself.

"Easier said…than done," Kili took a pause between the four words he managed to utter out. His face was slightly contorted as he turned to look up at Khadinah's face. One side was lifted slightly, his left cheek up and his left eyebrow down. It made him look even more tired than he probably was.

"Maybe, but ya are getting better. Ya lasted a good half an hour 'fore fallin' apart," Khadinah said truthfully.

Kili gave a groan an fell backwards on his rear. He seemed defeated.

"Only half an hour?"

"Aye," Khadinah nodded her head. Kili groaned and let the top half of his body make contact with the dirt below.

"Ugh, I'll ne'er get anywhere near as good as ya," he dramatically proclaimed, the back of his left hand resting on his sweat covered forehead. His dramatics simply made Khadinah laugh lightly and conjure a smile on her face.

"Oh, now I wouldn't be so sure of tha', Kee," Khadinah said, sticking a sword in the ground and leaning on it slightly. Kili, she had noticed, was strong in sword fighting and archery. In fact, Khadinah found he was better than most when it came to archery. She would study his posture and form and she then realized that he had trained a long time by someone also skilled in the art of bowery. Most likely Thorin, as he was a talented dwarf who knew the crafts of war. "Yer strong in many aspects, but ya just need a wee bit more practice," Khadinah said simply, giving him the facts and deciding not to sugarcoat anything.

Kili huffed and sighed, moving his forearm to cover his eyes from the blistering sun that beat down upon the pair. Khadinah simply smiled at the image of Kili. He had seemed like the little brother she had always wanted. She thought of Eziluk as a protector and friend, someone she could confide in even if the warg couldn't respond. But Kili was different. He responded, he listened, he spoke, he acted. He wished and wanted for her attention, and Khadinah would be lying should she say she didn't like it. In fact, she thrived in it. Did it make her feel bad? Not one bit, for she returned that attention to the dwarf who became like a little brother to her.

"C'mon Kili, get up," a rough voice boomed unintentionally. Khadinah's ears perked slightly and she turned with a smile to see Dwalin, brother of Balin and best friend to Thorin.

Khadinah, in the fortnight of residing in Ered Luin, had become introduced to many that stood behind Thorin with a fierceness she dare not tempt. Balin was a kind dwarf who was younger than Thorin, yet looked much older. He had helped her with earning her keep (as she had told Thorin she would not stay without working a little) by asking her to sort things in the library and other somewhat trivial tasks. Dwalin, was younger than Balin, only by a couple years though. He was rough at first but he soon warned up to Khadinah a few days ago, for he appreciated her training Kili and allowing him time off. She liked both of them as well, and found them good company to keep. But she mainly stuck either by herself or with Kili.

"Master Dwalin," Khadinah smiled and placed her hands on her hips, throwing a scolding look towards the older dwarf, "I thought I told ya tha' I would be training with Kili today."

"Aye, ya did lass." Dwalin nodded, his tattoos upon the top of his head turning lighter in the light. "I ain't gonna train 'im. Just wanna see how he fares against ya," he said simply, walking over to Kili and kicking him lightly in the side to stir him from his spot on the ground.

"Ugh," Kili groaned, causing Khadinah to stifle a laugh by coughing.

"Get up ya lazy sack o' potatoes," Dwalin said, giving Kili's shoulder a slight nudge with the front of his boot. "Or I will kick ya again and I won't hold back."

That seemed to cause Kili to move at such a speed Khadinah had not seen before. She cocked an eyebrow as Kili stood once again, his sword in hand. "Now why can't ya use tha' speed whilst training?" Khadinah teased, causing Kili's face to flush in embarrassment. Dwalin let out a hearty laugh as he stepped out of the ring to simply spectate on the edge. His arms crossed and he held a scrutinizing expression already. They hadn't even started yet!

Khadinah pulled her sword from the ground and unsheathed her other from her belt (earlier, she had stopped by her rooms to retrieve both swords before coming to spar). She spun her right one slightly, angling it for a better grip. Her feet staggered slightly, her right foot in front. Her body was relaxed, not a single muscle taut. And then, she shot out, not bothering to wait for Kili to make the first move.

He was expecting it, pleasantly surprising Khadinah. His sword came out and blocked both of her swords as they crossed, the broadside of his weapon facing her. A smile grew upon her face as Kili pushed her back with his sword. A look of concentration appeared on his features and Khadinah felt a swell of pride, inflating her ego tenfold.

Khadinah slowly circled Kili, her eyes taking in where he was weakest. One sword high, another low, she thought calmly, seeing that he wouldn't be able to block both. She cocked her head to the side and as she circled him, her mind was running possibilities like no tomorrow. Go too high and you possibly hurt yourself and him. Go too low and you risk the same. Have to find a medium.

Khadinah's eyes sparked then and she darted towards Kili, using only one sword really. The other was like her shield whilst she attacked with her right. Kili caught her sword with his and spun it lightly, causing her right sword to become immobile for a second. Kili used that second however to try and land the "killing blow" but Khadinah was smart. She raised her left sword, catching Kili's sword. Her knees bent slightly under the weight he was putting into the attack, but to fix that, she spun slightly. This caused Kili to stumble as Khadinah was no longer "holding up his weight". She stood suddenly and held both swords at her side as Kili stood. He turned around and charged at her.

She only caught a flash of brown hair before she was thrust into combat once more. Kili aimed to swing at her side, but Khadinah batted the attack away with her left sword, feeling a little bit of backlash from deflecting a powerful thrust. Kili seemed to recover instantly and tried to trick her. He acted as if he was going to swing high, but then changed his trajectory suddenly and swung low, aiming for her ankles. It was a trick Khadinah had taught Kili. She wasn't about to let the student beat the teacher with their own tricks.

Khadinah side stepped Kili's attack, his sword swinging right in front of her legs. His momentum then carried him slightly and he had to sidestep to stop himself from falling. But it was all the distraction Khadinah needed.

She took her chances then, calculating how things would play out should she do this correctly. Khadinah took a lunge towards Kili, batting his sword away from his too loose grip, then spinning behind him and holding her swords to his neck and to the back of his knees. This act rendered him dead should he ever face it in battle.

"Dead," Khadinah said simply, breathing heavily. She stepped away from Kili and sheathed both of her swords, her blood pumping fiercely in her ears. This round had been much faster and much more calculated than their half an hour round. That round was simply slower so Khadinah could gauge Kili's reactions to certain moves. But this was pure sparring and Khadinah loved the blood rush she got from fighting.

She watched Dwalin as he clapped his hands, a look of satisfaction gleaming in his dark eyes. A smile appeared on her lips and she turned towards Kili as he turned towards her, sword newly in hand. He was leaning on it now, catching a breather, but the gleam in his eyes told her the unspoken words that made her smirk.

"Round three, my friend?"


The dwarf stood quietly, his blue eyes scrutinizing each movement the two dwarves made in the sparring ring. They gauged how well each did in response to the other. They watched as the two seemed to "dance" in the fight, their skills seemingly matched. But the dwarf realized that the female was superior in skill after a few more movements and the ending of their little spar. Her two swords were an interesting choice, as he himself used that choice of weaponry.

Her dark skin and mass of black curls also made him intrigued. Not to mention her eyes. His eyesight wasn't the best, for he was a dwarf. But there was one angle where she seemed to stare right at him, all the way up to his perch in the mountain. He soon realized she was taking a breather and looking up. She couldn't have known he was there, could she? It didn't matter. The angle gave him a better look at her eyes and the deep turquoise color they possessed. They were bright yes, but they seemed deep at the same time, much like his own. Who she was? That was a question the dwarf would soon have answered.

But for now, he simply watched as his brother and the female jumped into a spar once more.


A/N: First fight scene ever, and meh, it was okay. Needs some work I think.
Also, more in depth detail about the dark elves that resided in Khänshólē and not the ones Tolkien deemed "unwise". Two completely different race of people.
And I wonder who that last POV belonged to? The sarcasm is real lol. But seriously, who's excited? Me! Anyways, haha, love you all!

Love,
P❤