…..No excuse….

I have absolutely no excuse for why it took me so long to update this story.

Thank you all who have remained with me in this …..Horribly long wait, and I promise to try hard to keep you guys out of suspense.

Anyhow, I hope you guys enjoy this Chapter, and please review!

Chapter 11 – The Long Dark

"We now have but one choice." Gandalf said as he relit his staff. "We must face the long dark of Moria." He said grimly. Everyone checked around, gathering their bearings. Frerin lifted a hand to his head, flinching as he pulled it away, blood staining his fingertips. Kiliel quickly grabbed a handkerchief and handed it to her cousin, who gratefully accepted it as he began to dab away at the blood.

"Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world." Everyone glanced around nervously at those words, but followed the Grey Wizard dutifully none the less. They arranged themselves so the Hobbits were in the middle, while the rest surrounded them.

"Quietly now. It's a four day journey to the other side. Let us hope that our presence may go unnoticed." The ascended the stairs and entered a cavern of walkways and bridges. Frerin stared in both awe, and sadness. He recognized the craftsmanship it had taken to build this kingdom, and to see it in such a state tore at his heart. He also knew, that in another lifetime, this place could have been his home.

They followed Gandalf throughout the cavern, passing doorways to pitch black halls and climbing numerous staircases. Soon, Frerin recognized the signs of old mining areas, ladders attached to the walls, and buckets attached to chains still suspended in midair. He paused as a glint in the wall caught his eye. Lifting his hand, he traced the thin silver veins that traveled through the wall, a thrum of energy coursing through him the moment he touched them. Vili gave his cousin a look before he noticed the wall.

"By Durin…is that…?" He whispered. Gandalf turned back to them.

"The wealth of Moria was not in gold, or jewels….but mithril." He finished, lowering his staff the edge of the walkway. Everyone followed his gaze, mouths falling open as they gazed down what could only be described as a deep chasm. Pippin placed his hand on Merry's chest when it seemed he would lean too far forward. Lori gave an audible sigh.

"Now I understand the accounts in the Library." Everyone glanced at the half-dwarven scholar, he looked up at them before gazing back down. "They all said the dwarves of Moria dug too deep in their greed." Mili scoffed.

"Understatement." She whispered to Kiliel, who could merely nod in response. Gandalf lifted his staff once more.

"Bilbo had a shirt of mithril rings that Thorin gave him." Gandalf explained. Gimli gasped.

"Oh, that was a Kingly gift." He exclaimed.

"Yes!" Gandalf replied, a moment later adding. "I never told him, but its worth was greater than the value of the Shire." Everyone shared a look at the Hobbits, whose eyes had gone wide, especially Frodo's.

The two days later, or what they assumed to be two days, given they had no true indicator of the time, the group found themselves climbing a very steep staircase. Or at least they assumed it was a staircase. Frerin found it quite odd that dwarves would build a staircase so ridiculously steep, as even he with his added height had trouble climbing the stairs without holding onto the step above him. The Hobbits suffered the most, being the short of the group. Pippin nearly slipped when he stepped on a misplaced notebook, had Merry and Lori not caught him and pushed him back up the stairs.

When Gandalf and Frerin finally reached the top, Frerin stayed by the stairs and helped to pull the rest up while Gandalf inspected the path ahead. Or more accurately, the paths. There were three doorways, the one on the left leading downwards, the one in the middle staying at the same level, and the one on the right leading upwards. Gandalf stood before them for a long moment. Vili took notice just as he helped to pull Aragorn up.

"Everything alright, Gandalf?" He asked quietly, not wishing to disturb the wizard too much. Gandalf did not answer for a long moment, then without facing them, quietly muttered.

"I have no memory of this place." The fellowship shared worried glances.

They all made themselves comfortable, while Gandalf sat by the entrance to the pathways, thinking. Vili and Mili sat with Sam, teaching him a game their mother had taught them which essentially had them wrestle each other's thumbs. Lori sat close to Merry and Pippin, paying little attention to their hushed conversation as he diligently sketched his surroundings. Frerin sat below Aragorn and Boromir, gazing at their torchlight. Gimli leaned against his axe, right below Gandalf. Legolas stood by the Ranger Holding his bow to his chest. Frodo leaned against a wall, watching Gandalf.

Kiliel sat by the stairs, rubbing her arms as a shiver passed through her. She had never felt so confined before in her life. Unlike her fellow Dwarves, she could never see the comfort in staying underground. Like her mother, she yearned for open skies. In Erebor, she was free to leave the mountain as she pleased. In here, she felt trapped beyond reason.

She shivered yet again, when a cloak was suddenly draped across her shoulders. She jumped a little before looking up at the ginger haired Son of Gondor.

"You seem cold, my Lady." He said softly as he sat down beside her. Kiliel gave a small smile, too polite to decline the offered cloak even though she knew it would not help her feel better. Boromir watched her for a moment.

"Forgive if I seem too forward, my Lady…" Kiliel looked up at him then, an awkward smile on her face.

"Please, just Kiliel is fine. 'My Lady' seems…too formal given the circumstances." She added. Boromir gave a quite chuckle.

"Very well, my… I mean, Kiliel. Forgive me if this seems forward, but I have noticed that you do not wear your hair like most of your brethren." She immediately felt her hackles rise. It was true, she rarely wore her hair in a dwarven style, mainly because it would slip out of the desired braids before the end of the day. Instead she opted to wearing her hair in an elvish style, similar to that of her mother.

"Yes. I…prefer to honor my mother's heritage by wearing my hair like this, rather than my Dwarven culture." She answered hesitantly, holding the cloak closer to her body. Boromir gave a weak nod.

"I… From what I have heard, I understand that Dwarves also use courting braids, yet….I see you have none." He probed. For a split second, she felt very tempted to glare at him, and refuse to answer. But, something inside her felt moved that someone other than her family took an interest in her, and she found herself answering the man's unspoken question before she could stop herself.

"I'm…not considered as a…potential wife…given my heritage. Most of the Dwarves within Erebor still hold a grudge against the Elves. Thus…no Dwarf has ever payed me mind." She finished, looking down at her feet. There was silence for a few moments.

"Well, then it would seem that all of the Dwarves in Erebor are both blind and foolish…" Kiliel glanced at the man beside her, as his face morphed into a smile. "…If they are unable to see your beauty."

Kiliel felt her face heat up at the implied compliment, and she hid her face behind a curtain of hair. Boromir smiled gently at her, as he continued to watch her face.

Frerin glanced up from the torchlight as he noticed Frodo move to speak to Gandalf, but his attention strayed to his auburn haired cousin and the Gondorian Man. He frowned for a moment watching the two of them speak. When Boromir whispered something that caused Kiliel to blush, Frerin felt a sense of unease sink into his bones. Aragorn noticed his disquiet and followed his gaze.

"Does he not meet your approval?" Frerin jerked as he turned his gaze to the Ranger. He was gazing down at him with a knowing look. Frerin sighed.

"I don't….It's not Boromir I fear." Frerin sighed again. "I fear for Kiliel." Aragorn raised an eyebrow. Frerin looked away for a moment. "The dwarves in Erebor have never been kind to my cousin, due to the identity of her mother. Of course, there were never any whispers, since that would be considered treason, but that did not stop fathers and mothers from warning their sons away from her. Kiliel has never known a true relationship…" He paused here and looked back to the two of them, where he suddenly noticed that Kiliel was wrapped in a cloak, and Boromir's back was now devoid of his cloak.

"And you fear that she may rush into something?" Aragorn finished. Frerin shook his head.

"No….I'm worried she may get her heart broken before it has the chance to heal."

Legolas had watched them from the moment Boromir had stood from his seat beside Aragorn. He felt a pang of an unfamiliar emotion seize his heart when Boromir placed his cloak around her shoulders, and yet another when his Elven ears picked up the conversation. When she explained why she had no courting braids in her hair, Legolas felt something akin to….dare he say….relief? The moment Boromir's words brought a reddish hue to her cheeks, an unfamiliar heat spread throughout his body, and he found his hands clenched around the wood of his bow.

He barely heard the Prince of Erebor and Aragorn's conversation, only catching the tail end thereof. He glanced back at her, taking in the shy smile on her face, and the way her brown eyes seemed to hold the light of stars in them, even so far underground, and how soft her auburn tresses looked, as if he could card his fingers through them with ease as he…

He shook his head, suddenly aware of his thoughts. What was he thinking?! This was Tauriel's daughter! His oldest friend (at least he hoped she still saw him as that) would never forgive him if she heard of his thoughts. He shook his head once more for good measure. Best such thoughts be put far in the back of his mind.

A cry from Gandalf, had everyone turning their attention to the Grey Wizard as he gestured with his head to the left side doorway.

"It's that way." he said cheerfully. Merry smiled as he got up.

"He's remembered." He said, pulling Pippin up.

"No." Gandalf replied, leaning his staff downwards to light the way. "But the air doesn't smell so foul down here." He said, placing his at back on his head. "If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose." And with that, Gandalf began to lead them down the tunnel once more.

When they reached the end, Gandalf lifted his staff, causing it to brighten and light up their surroundings more. The Dwarves were once again stunned speechless.

"Behold…the great realm and Dwarf-city pf Dwarrowdelf." The Fellowship all stopped to gaze at the vast hall with countless columns.

"There's an eye-opener, and no mistake." Sam whispered. Lori grabbed his sketchbook and immediately started sketching, his charcoal flying over the paper as they continued on.

Gimli's eyes flicked from one thing to another as he studied the great hall, mind wondering to what it might have been… when something caught his eye, off to his right. There, before an open door lay the remains of more of his kin, and from within the room itself, a light lit up a worrisome sight.

"Lori, Vili, Frerin, come look!" He called, before running for the door. His cousins followed without a second thought, even as Gandalf called after them. The room was filled with even more remains. A single beam of moonlight lit up a tomb. Gimli kneeled down and studied the design on the tomb.

"Frerin, lad, do you recognize this?" He asked, pointing to a particular symbol, showing the clan of origin. Frerin kneeled next to him, studying the symbol.

"Blacklock." He stood again, reading the inscription on the tomb. "It would seem Thamlok, Son of Gelrok, thought he would take a chance." He said quietly. Vili scoffed.

"Fat load of good that did him." He sneered.

"Show some respect, brother dear. He was a dwarf, after all." Mili said as the rest of the fellowship followed. Lori spotted the remains of what appeared to be a scribe with a large tome in his hands. He reached down and pulled the tome from the skeletal hands, blowing away the dust and opening the book, pages falling out as he did so. Gandalf handed his staff and hat to Pippin, leaning over Lori's shoulder as he read.

"They have taken the bridge and the second hall. We have barred the gates….but cannot hold them for long." He paused for a moment. "The ground shakes. Drums….drums in the deep." Lori frowned as he turned the page, where a seemingly last entry was written.

"We cannot get out. A Shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out." Here Lori stopped reading, too alarmed to read further. Gandalf read the last line, looking up at the fellowship.

"They are coming."

Creak

BANG!

Everyone jumped and turned to the youngest Hobbit, who stood next to a now headless skeleton which sat on the edge of a well. Only it did not stay there for long. The skeleton started to tilt backwards into the well, taking a metal bucket and chain with it, making a huge racket on the way down which echoed throughout the halls. There was utter silence as they waited with baited breath for the noise to stop. Then even more silence as they waited for any sign that something else may have heard it. When silence followed, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"Fool of a Took!" Gandalf reprimanded, making his way over to the Hobbit who still held his staff and hat. "Throw yourself in next time, and rid us of your stupidity." He finished, taking his things from Pippin. At the put out look on his face, Mili felt sorry for the lad and stepped forward to pacify the irate Wizard.

Boom