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Chapter 11: The Strong – Part 2

They sat by the tremendous fire, Calandra's eyes locked solely on the bewitching constellation above as Fili stroked her hair dotingly as she rested her head in his lap, treasuring the time he finally had with her. The years that had passed seemed excruciatingly long without her; he had thought they would have been reunited much earlier and on much different terms. Fili couldn't help feeling his fear churn in his stomach at the thought of Cal going to the war.

She had told him what had happened when she and her sister fought to retrieve the Grey Mountains and what they had faced. But something inside him begged him to tell her to run and leave them to their own fight, for she was being too selfless to sacrifice hers and the safety of her soldiers for those who had not come to her aid in the battle for Ered Mithrin. Although he wished he had, looking upon her solemn face now gazing at the stars, he could see that she had hardened, becoming rough around the edges, building up a solid defense between herself and the world around her, only to let in the few she truly trusted. The weight that she carried atop her shoulders as she tried to rebuild her once great kingdom was evident, he knew the look, and his uncle wore it every day of his life since Erebor had been lost.

Fili comprehended that seeing things in combat could change one completely, for they were sights that would burn into your memory and haunt your dreams, never to let you forget the horrors you had witnessed. He furrowed his brows, golden locks falling around his face as he looked down at her. He wished he could take it all away, the pain, the memories, but he knew that was not possible. No healer in the world could repair the damage that had befallen his love.

Although Fili was thankful for some of it because he could see the ferocity it had built looming beneath her calm demeanor, waiting patiently to be let loose and wreak havoc. She had changed through the years, becoming braver, more confident and accepting in the role of being a leader people could look up to, a powerful, strong woman is what her past shaped her into. There was a fire behind her eyes when she met his gaze, her heavy lashes batting as she came out of her bemusement.

"What are you thinking about?" Fili whispered to her as he watched her fingers play with the long chain around her neck, its pendant resting beneath her clothes, out of his view.

"Dragons." Calandra's grip around her necklace tightened and she pulled her pendant out from beneath her wool tunic and laid it upon herself.

With wide eyes, Fili watched as her scarred hands released the adornment, as he finally recognized what it was. His fingers came up to touch the curve of the long tooth. "Where did you get that?"

Calandra looked him hard in the eye then pursed her lips and features changing. "Where do you suppose I got it from?"

Fili's mind wandered; perhaps she had been given it as a gift for becoming the Queen of the Mountains. Calandra watched as Fili tried to come up with some logical explanation of her ownership of such an accessory. She had not told him of her fight with that dragon Scatha, she was unsure whether to trouble him anymore with her past but deep down she knew he needed to know as she watched his features became grief stricken as he finally put together the pieces of the puzzle.

With a smile softening her face, Cal reached up and placed her hand against his cheek, trying to bring him comfort. "Would you like me to tell you?"

Without hesitation Fili nodded. Calandra sighed as she withdrew herself from the warmth of Fili and sat up straight; she pulled her necklace over her head and handed it to him watching as his eyes raked over it then gazed back at her. "Do you recall what I said about the drakes coming to assist the dark king when we took back our homeland?"

Once again he nodded, watching her look back to the stars. "Well when the drakes came, they brought a great black dragon. Scatha the Worm, they called it, for it had neither wings nor legs, only two clawed arms. He came from the North, beyond the mountains in seek of blood and treasure, he only found one out of the two. When the dark king realized this he sought counsel with The Worm and asked for its help, in return he would give as much bountiful gold as Scatha wanted. So he agreed, but when my sister cut Rognvald's head from his body, Scatha went insane finally realizing there was no way he would receive his treasure."

Cal's eyes snapped back to Fili when he wrapped his strong hands around hers, giving her a comforting smile.

The battle raged on, the orcs and goblins on their way to defeat as her people drove them out of the mountains with victory written across their faces. That was when it came, slithering out from the highest peak towards them, setting trees ablaze as it slunk down. Calandra wielded her father's mighty axe, her muscles tight as adrenaline pumped through her veins, pushing her to finish the war.

The sounds of the dragon's cries became astoundingly loud as it emerged before the army, causing destruction with every swing of its long tail and biting at anyone close enough. The scent of blood and the cries of her men filled her ears as she was knocked to the ground as her men began to flee in herds from Scatha the Worm. Its flames licked the sky as it cried out as the dwarves ran for their lives. Calandra pulled herself to stand, gripping her axe so tightly her knuckles blanched.

She was alone as the dragon gazed down upon her, its wide mouth open with its countless teeth bearing, its tongue tasting the air around it. Tasting her… With that she drew back her double sided axe and spun, the edge of the blade slicing off The Worm's tongue as it gave an ungodly noise, screeching in pain which rapidly turned to fury and then he was hunting her.

Through the rocks Calandra ran, hopping over them, sliding between the ones closer together until she came to a halt beneath an overhanging ridge. Her breathing raged as she tried to calm herself enough to come to her senses, before this war she had never seen a dragon, she knew not of how to kill them. But they seemed to be injured just as people were, she thought as she visualized the way it cried out when she cut off its tongue.

Her breathing all but stopped when she heard the huffing of air being inhaled and exhaled. The thoughts in her head quickly mingled together and she thought of the only way possible of killing Scatha.

"I have to cut off its head." Cal breathlessly spoke to herself as she propped up her weapon in her hands ready to strike. It couldn't be that difficult, Scatha was large but not as immense as most dragons, if she could get behind the damn thing and use all of her strength then she could end all of this. At least this was what she thought till she realized, half way through fighting it among the rocks as it coiled and sprang at her, she had little to no energy left.

Her incursions grew more desperate as the creatures tail came forward and knocked her off her feet and sent her tumbling down a rocky hill, she came to a beaten stop lying flat on the ground, her head growing numb in the back where it made contact with the ground. Cal reached up to touch it and was not surprised her finger tips came back red.

As The Worm slowly slithered down towards her, eager to collect its pesky dinner, she gripped the handle of the axe as it rested just above her head on the freezing ground and waited as it came forward. Just as it began unlocking its jaw to swallow her whole she drew her axe forward and planted it firmly in the creature's skull which caused it to begin squirming and writhing in agony, screeching out as it could not take out the hostile object.

This gave Calandra just enough time to get to her feet and run around the serpent-like dragon, she pulled out the twin dagger she kept sheathed in her boots, and dug them into its scales and began mounting the creature as it tried to get away from her. Once she reached the handle of her axe she wrapped her legs around The Worm's neck and pulled her weapon free and began hacking away at its neck, the creatures blood spurting everywhere as she did so.

Scatha suddenly fell to the ground, jostling Calandra so that she lost her grip and tumbled off but she did not cease her actions until the dragon's head was clean off, lying separate from its still twitching body. She breathed deeply, a boundless power filling her as she bent towards the serpent's mouth and scored out a tooth.

When she finally stood, sheathing her daggers once more in her boots and placing her axe back in its holding place upon her backbone, a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time washed over her as she strode back to her people where they waited for her return. And when she did, they cheered, louder than anything she had ever heard as they bowed before their almighty queen who had just slain one of the most vulgar monsters in all of Middle Earth.

Calandra turned back to look at the man she adored, noticing his eyes were wide as saucers she squeezed his hand in assurance, The Worm had done little to her, a few cut and bruises nevertheless she was thrived. The sleep she had dipped into once in the healers' tent seemed endless, as she slept for almost a fortnight.

"Fili, my love, please do not look at me like that." She leaned forward and pressed a fervent kiss to his parted lips and drew away to gaze into his stormy eyes.

With a deep breath Fili leaned forward to press his forehead against hers, his fingers interlocking with hers. His brows drew together as he realized how much he had missed in his woman's life, how much he had been absent for, it nearly broke his heart that she had to endure it all alone.

"I wish I could have been there." He spoke softly but sadly. It nearly broke Cal's heart as well.

She shook her head wildly, moving away to watch him. "I would never wish such a thing, so many died, we nearly died." Calandra waved to the tent her sister resided in.

"I am glad that you were not a part of that, I could not have survived if I'd lost you." Her words were quiet and her fingers trailed along his jawline, heating the skin she touched. Somehow her words pulled at the strings of his heart, a truth laid behind them he realized. If she had lost him or he lost her, they would no longer feel that life was worth living for they were each other's one. The one they were destined to be with and could not live without, it was an eternal bond they shared.

As a silence fell over the two, Fili edged closer and enfolded his strong arm around her and she leaned into his embrace. Her head nuzzling into the crook of his neck as she placed a gently kiss against his throat. His senses spiked at the simple touch and he had to restrain himself from taking her right there in the dirt before the flames.

"Fili?" She breathed against his flushed skin, raising gooseflesh where her lips trailed. Cal silently pleaded for him to do something as her fingers came to trace over the fabric of his light brown tunic, savouring the feeling of his rippling muscles beneath it.

"I cannot, Cal." Fili shook his head, regretting his words as they came out but knew that he could not have her on the eve of battle, it was almost like admitting defeat and saying that they may both perish amongst those fighting.

Calandra pulled away, her delicate brows furrowing as a hunger raged behind her shadowed eyes, causing Fili to groan at himself. "Why?"

"I will not make love to you on this night, not until the war is over and you are back safe in my arms. It drives me wild but I feel its best." His heated blue eyes grazed over her as she pouted for a moment mumbling about twenty years without a touch but bobbed her head in acceptance, crimson strands falling around her shoulders as she took his hand in hers and pressed it to her lips before kissing him keenly.

Their bodies hummed with energy just being around one another and the self-control the two were using was legendary as their kiss deepened before Calandra pulled away, breathing drastically, thankful for the cool night's air to keep her from catching fire just at his embrace.

"Would you hold me until daybreak comes?" The queen before him asked and he more than happily nodded, scooping her up into his resilient hold and carried her back to her tent, peering in to check to see if the coast was clear. Clothes lay strewn across Joelle's side of the shelter; she was curled into Kili beneath a cover over her bed, sound asleep.

Fili treaded forward, lying Calandra down on her extravagant bed before shedding his over coat and climbing in to pull her slight body into his hard lean one. Her head rested atop his chest as he kissed her flowing tresses, urging her to fall asleep for war would soon be upon them and they had but a few hours till first light. Cal clenched her hands in Fili's shirt as she held onto the feel of him and his warm, sweet scent whilst he held her against him protectively. Then, sleep took her.

The sky had not lightened yet when Fili's eyes opened to slits. He groggily peered around the room, Kili was still lying in Joelle's bed, his chest openly exposed as he sprawled out but Joelle was no longer there. With a weary feeling he sat up in the small, somehow comfortable, cot that was meant to be Calandra's bed, seeing her slowly dressing.

She tightened the strings of her leather breeches, slipping on her heavily buckled boots. Cal pulled over a thin, ghostly grey linen shirt, slipping her chainmail over her head that hung about the tops of her shoulders and to her hips in a snug fashion that still provided movement. Over top she strapped a well-built, light steel overlaid corset, the embellishment of a few mountains indented in the plating.

"You should wear more armor, your grace." Fili's husky voice broke the silence in the tent as Cal whirled about to face him.

A smile graced her features as she took in his sleep disheveled face. "If I wear too much then I shall not be able to move on the battle field, it will slow me down and make me an easier target."

Fili's thick sandy brows furrowed at her, the woman he had met twenty years ago never would have known something like that, nor would she had ever thought about having to wear armor let alone go to battle.

Seeing the worry cross his face she lowered herself to the bed beside him, leaning in to press a loving kiss to his lips. "I'll be fine, you'll see." Her fingers combed back through his tangled mane as he closed his eyes.

"How do you know that?" Vivid scenes plagued his mind; seeing her crawling through the dirt, leaving a trail of scarlet in her wake seemed to be the gaudiest. "Why did you have to leave the safety of your home? You would not even be in this mess if it weren't for me and my ass of a brother."

Calandra's hand allayed its caressing and she moved away, slightly upset and shocked at that. But on some level she knew it was partially true, they had been the final push to get her and her sister to do something meaningful. Although for years she had been getting ravens from villagers near the mountains, the people she now led today. She had done nothing to help them in their time of need, but she would not fail them this time, not on this day.

A sparse, thoughtful smile slid across her face. "Whatever happens today Fee, has nothing to do with our paths crossing or the paths of our siblings. Aulë will watch over us, I know it. And if that isn't enough for you, know this; whatever it is you are imagining might happen to me out there, stop. As I've told you I am not the same woman you used to know."

There it was again, like a sudden blaze of courage, rage and honor, sparking her eyes and lighting her soul up. Fili had never thought he'd see anything like it.

"I can take care of myself," her hand clasped around his, holding it securely in her grasp. "I will slaughter our enemies and lay waste to their evil and all that they stand for. Worry about yourself for a change, will you, please?"

The silence that fell over the tent was stifling, Fili couldn't come up with a single word, how could he not worry about his one and only? Worry was what he did best; he'd been doing it all his life with Kili. But surely enough he managed to raise his stormy gaze upwards and nod at her.

"Terrific, I've got a council meeting with the others; I suppose I'll see you out there." She rose to her feet once again, pausing for a moment as she laced up the final components of her armor and laden herself with weapons.

Cal paused on her way out of the tent, fingers clutching the thick sheltering fabric, dark strands dipping over her shoulders. "Fili, don't do anything senseless out there. If you cannot listen to anything else I've said then please listen to that at least." Then with a deep sigh she pushed walk the door cover and disappeared into the darkness.