Disclaimer: I don't own The Hobbit or the Lord of the Rings, I only own Nàin and the characters that I have come up with and their stories.

Chapter 13
Betrayal

"Can you tell me a story?"

Nàin smiled down at her son, gently sitting back down at the edge of the bed. Fili was still in their chambers, waiting for her to return so he could question her and she dreaded it, hence why she felt relieved that Thor had some troubles falling asleep.

"Of course…" she said, gently tugging the covers close around him. "There once was a king and queen who ruled a large kingdom together. Everything they did, they did together and they were very happy."

"What did the kingdom look like?" asked Thor with intrigued eyes.

"It was a large kingdom buried underneath of the ground. There was only one entrance, and only those who had the key could enter through that door. And once you entered, you would find yourself in a kingdom consisting of nothing but vast halls held, with large pillars of stone holding up the ceiling; pillars so high that you could not even see where they ended. And all around you, the halls would be held lit up by large fires. Dwarves lived everywhere, roaming the large halls and crafting magnificent things."

"Like Erebor?" asked Thor.

"Yes, but just a little different," said Nàin. "You see, Erebor has several entrances. And it's in a mountain, not underneath of the ground. We would know if someone walked over our mountain, after all. No, it was not like the Lonely Mountain at all, for its hallways were magical."

Thor's eyed widened; "Like the Elves' magic?"

"Exactly – only better," smirked Nàin, winking down at her son who smiled. "Everything was wonderful and exciting. Except that the King and Queen had a secret. Not from each other, but from their people. A curse lay on the King. And one day, that curse was activated and the King fell into a deep slumber. The Queen was horrified and sad. She cried herself to sleep every night. Until something appeared before her. A Darkness; an enemy. It had big, yellow eyes that… that were curious and held a sort of kindness in them, yet they were also frightening to her. It showed itself to her so it could tell her a secret."

"What secret?" asked Thor.

Nàin gently placed a hand on Thor's cheek before she continued, "It wanted to tell her that it knew and that it had been living next door to them for all these years… But most importantly, it had to tell her that it could help the King wake up again."

"How?"

"Well, she had to promise him something. She had to, in secret, become its bride and give birth to its child. Only then would the Darkness wake the King up again. And so she did, not knowing that the curse had been put there by the Darkness itself a long time ago, just so it could use the Queen in such a manner. Ten months later, the Dwarven Queen gave birth to the Darkness' child, and the Darkness took the child from its mother and disappeared. The Queen was mortified to have lost her child, but ran up to the bedroom of the King and found him wide-awake."

"So the story ends well?" asked Thor with intrigued eyes, stifling a yawn.

"The King asked her what she had done to make her cry. You see, he was worried she would have done something horrible in order to wake him up again – because they loved each other so much. And although the Queen had done something horrible, the Queen did not tell the King so."

"She was afraid that the King would stop loving her," whispered Thor with wide eyes.

"Exactly," replied Nàin. "And so, the King and Queen lived on happily, not knowing that something was going to happen to their kingdom in the future because of what the Queen had done; because the Queen had betrayed her King… She had lied… And there are always consequences when you lie…"

"What happened to the kingdom?" asked Thor, stifling another yawn.

Nàin put on a smile on her lips, shaking her head, "You are too tired to hear it. I suppose you'll hear the rest of the story tomorrow."

"No, I'm not tired at all," mumbled Thor before stifling yet another yawn.

Nàin chuckled at her son, leaning down to place a kiss to her son's forehead, "How about you help me come up with an ending tomorrow night, huh?"

"Okay," breathed Thor, shifting around under the covers to find the right spot to fall asleep in. "I want it to end well though. All your stories end well."

Quietly, she stood up and blew out her candle. A saddened smile was on her lips, which Thor could not see as he was already asleep. The darkness engulfed her as she walked across the room to the door. Before she exited his room, she whispered to herself, "I hope you're right…"

With her back against her son's door, she took in some deep breaths. Fili had told her he wanted to talk to her after she had put Thor to sleep. Usually, Fili would come with her to put their son to sleep, to tell him a story and cuddle a bit, – it was one of the many things Fili adored to do with his son – but he had not come with them that evening. And Nàin had a feeling she knew why; lying to Fili about the Orcs had not been the best idea she had ever had. Though it had felt like the rational thing to do then, she did not feel like it was anymore. Yes, she had anticipated Fili growing mad with her if she did lie to him, but she had also anticipated him freaking out if she had told him the truth from the very start. He had already been so scared to leave her alone, and he was already so stressed about her being pregnant during the travel back home, that she was afraid that he might do something stupid if he knew there had been Orcs in the woods talking to her.

Though he had to know the truth. And it was now or never.

With hesitant steps, she entered their chambers, avoiding to look at the guard down the hall who had curiously been watching her as she leaned against her son's door.

Fili was sat on her chair in front of her mirror and make-up desk. Where she would usually sit when her maids Jytina and Sillina would pamper her or help her get dressed, something she was in need of now that her stomach was growing again, at an alarmingly fast rate as well.

"Fee?"

He looked at her through the mirror first, before he turned around in the chair to face her.

"What is it you've been keeping from me?" asked Fili quietly. "Something tells me it's not something as innocent as you having pains… Because you've been telling me about that."

Nàin looked away from her husband and sat down on the bed, as far away from him as she could. She was not sure why she felt better staying away from him, though she figured it had something to do with feeling more secure telling him the truth from a distance. Not that she was afraid he would lash out, but because it simply felt safer. She would simply not be so close to him when he found out she had lied to him.

"Remember when we were travelling back home to Erebor? During the second last day when I had to go into the woods to pee?"

Fili blinked once before nodding his head, "Yes, I remember."

"I wasn't alone in the woods."

For a couple of seconds, Nàin could clearly see a darkness overtake his eyes. A darkness she, unfortunately, recognized from Thorin's eyes. Thorin's eyes on a bad day.

"Fee?"

"What do you mean?" he asked with a monotone tone to his voice.

"There were Orcs there-" She paused as Fili abruptly stood up, beginning to pace back and forth in front of her.

"Go on."

"They talked to me."

"That's not possible. They don't know the common tongue, nor do they know Khuzdul," he said harshly.

"Well, they did know the common tongue. And I know what it sounds like, I didn't believe it either at first. But it… I heard it. They were talking to me. And they told me… They…"

"Yes?" asked Fili, coming to a stop in front of her.

"They said that they were the ones from the… colony-thingy up north… And that they don't want to harm us. They just… Want to live, I think."

Fili stared at her, "You believed them? They are Orcs, Nàin. They tried to murder uncle Thorin. They kidnapped my grandfather, your son's great-grandfather. They slaughtered your father. And you believe something they tell you? Just like that?"

"But Fili – they could talk our language. They took the time to learn, that has to mean something, right?"

"Yeah, that they're tired of not understanding what we say and do during battles! They're not trying to become a civilized people, Nàin! They are Orcs. Do you hear me, Orcs."

Nàin looked down at her hands, lost for words. All she knew was that her heart did not believe his words, and it bothered her so much that she could barely look at him.

"They said something about their master possibly hearing them… and they felt frightened about it. Like they didn't want to be found," she said quietly before looking up at him. "That's why I think that the Orcs you're killing out there, are trying to get to them. 'Cause like you said, it's weird and Orcs have never tried to be civilized…"

"Nàin…"

"But I think these Orcs are different. Maybe we happened to get right in the middle of something here-"

"Nàin!"

She stopped talking and stared up into his eyes, seeing the annoyance and the betrayal in his eyes.

"I don't care what you think of the Orcs, even if it's completely wrong of you to think like that, not to mention dangerous… But you didn't tell me… You didn't tell me that the Orcs were there. What if they hadn't been as 'friendly' as you're telling me? What if they wanted to follow us? What if they had hurt you or our unborn child? You didn't tell me. You didn't let me protect you."

"Because I didn't need protection and because I knew that they weren't going to do anything," said Nàin. "They wanted to tell me to let them be, and in return they let me go. I was okay-"

"But what if you weren't? How can I…"

"What Fili?" she asked quietly, barely not wanting to hear what he had to say.

"How can I trust you if you can't even tell me that?"

Nàin stood up, gently taking his hands in hers, "You can trust me, because I am yours. You can trust me, I promise. Besides, we always tell each other the truth, even if it takes a long time to, right?" she said, trying to smile at him. "You kept the Orcs even being up there from me for a long time. But you told me and I was alright with it. Because you eventually told me."

"This is different."

"How?" she declared.

He removed his hands from hers, looking her deep in the eyes, "Because you not only lied about having been in danger, but you let our unborn child get in danger as well. And for what? Because you were curious about the talking Orcs!"

"Fee-"

"No. I don't want to hear it," declared Fili, looking away from her, his eyes filled with emotions and unanswered questions, yet the darkness she had seen in there, the darkness from Thorin's eyes, was evident as well. And it scared her even more than the words that he uttered after a while, "I need some time."

Without looking at her, he turned away from her and exited the chamber, leaving her standing by the bed, alone. Her lips were still parted from having wanted to call after him, though her voice had not worked and had let him get away from her. And when the door closed behind him, she flinched.

A single tear rolled down her cheek…

5 months later

Dear Nàin and Fili,

It has been so long now since we met, and yet I have not forgotten a single moment of our journey together. In fact, I would rather like to re-live it again. Life in the Shire seems boring compared to the life I had with the Company of Thorin Oakenshield. Though I am not complaining! To be home again, to sit beside the fire in the evenings with my pipe and some tea, is not completely wrong after all. I rather enjoy it still. But it feels lonely as well. The Hobbits in the Shire do not look at me the same anymore, as they know I have been on an adventure. Gandalf is sure enough not looked upon in the same way anymore. Instead he is now officially a "disturber of the peace". What an odd folk we Hobbits are, but that is who we are, yet I cannot say that I am not proud to be a little different from them.

Speaking of Thorin, how is he? And how is Kili? I have sent them both letters as well, as have I sent Bofur and Balin some letters, though I would like to hear it from you as well, as they, especially Thorin, may not be truthful to me so to not worry me.

And how are you? If my heart tells me no lies, I would assume there are many tiny little Dwarves running around the Lonely Mountain already? At the very least, I do hope there are. I can see no one else, but you, my dear Nàin, being a loving and caring mother.

I hope to hear from you soon,

Yours truly,

Bilbo Baggins.

She smiled, gently putting the letter back down on the desk before her. She gently placed her hand on her stomach which was, with less than a month to go, huge. Her midwife had told her the exact reason for it, though she had not yet told Fili. In fact, there were a lot of things she had yet to tell Fili. Though he, unless Thor was around, never really spoke to her anymore. He needed time, that she knew and understood, but he was taking a lot of time, and she did not want to give birth while he was still mad at her. Yet how was she going to get him to talk to her if he avoided her? Even during the evenings, Fili always made sure that he went to bed after Nàin had fallen asleep or was too tired to talk, and he always made sure that he got up before she did in the mornings. It hurt her, to say the least, though she knew not what to do about it. Instead, she prayed to Mahal that something else would come up that would make him talk to her, that something might happen, or that someone might interfere. It all reminded her too much of when Fili and Nàin were on bad terms at the beginning of the quest for Erebor, and with those memories once more awakened, her heart felt even more burdened.

Taking out a pen and a piece of paper, she began to write an answer to Bilbo. It had been the first time she had heard from him and all in all, she was completely thrilled that her friend had not forgotten about her yet. Of course, she had not thought he would either after such an adventure, though one could never know.

The door to the office opened, and Thor, Fili and Kili entered. They were laughing at something, which made Nàin smile.

"Hey," she greeted them, only getting a smile back from Kili and Thor.

Kili lifted Thor up to sit on Nàin's desk, while Fili went to sit in front of his.

"We got a letter from Bilbo, you want to read it?" asked Nàin with a smile, looking over at her husband.

He glanced her way once, looking at the letter she reached out to him once, before snatching it from her with a forced smile, though never looking her in the eyes. Thor did not notice, though Kili grimaced the way he always did lately when he was in the same room as the two of them.

"You too? Me and uncle got one too. I think the rest of the company did too," smiled Kili, standing beside Thor, making sure he did not fall off the edge.

"It's very sweet of him, right?" asked Nàin, looking over at Fili, though not getting an answer.

She looked down at the piece of paper where she was going to write her answer, though she suddenly felt at a loss for words and decided to wait with a reply. Her heart ached too much with Fili being so close to her, ignoring her. For five months he had not hugged her or touched her. The closest they had come to physical contact was during dinners, when his arm occasionally brushed against hers due to their chairs being so close to each other.

"I think I'll go to dinner," she said. "Anyone else coming?"

"Me, me!" exclaimed Thor, reaching out his little arms to her.

She smiled, stood up, and lifted Thor from the desk. Kili stiffened, "Should you be carrying Thor while, uh, pregnant?"

"I'm pregnant, not badly injured," joked Nàin before shaking her head. "I'll be fine. You two coming?"

Fili stayed quiet while Kili shook his head, glancing at his brother, "We'll come soon. Just gotta do something first."

"Sure," said Nàin, glancing over at her husband, "could you begin writing a reply? I thought it could be nice if we both wrote separate replies to give him more to read?"

Fili nodded his head, not looking up at her, "Sounds great honey."

It was a monotone reply and he used a word for her he never actually used, yet at it was at least a reply and some sort of acknowledgment of her.

"See you soon," said Kili as Nàin and Thor left, a saddened look on Nàin's face.

When the door closed behind them, Kili turned to Fili, "When are you going to start talking to her again?"

Fili calmly put the letter back down on his desk, retrieving a pen, some ink and some paper from a drawer before looking up at his brother, "When I want to."

"I think you've given her enough punishment, Fili," he argued. "It's not healthy like this."

"She lied to me," said Fili, looking up at his brother. "I need to have her and my children close to me, and I need to know that I can trust what they say."

At the look in his eyes, the dark look in his eyes, Kili stepped back a step. Fili did not notice though, but instead diverted his eyes down at the letter he was writing in front of him.

"Fili, you feeling alright?"

"Perfectly fine. Just… feeling betrayed."

Kili nodded his head, seeing the look. The look Nàin had seen a while back in Fili's eyes as well. The look they recognized from Thorin…

"Anyway, I think the new training sessions for our troops is a good idea. We gotta take out those Orcs someday, right?"

"Just, don't tell Nàin about it," said Fili, pointing a finger at him. "She thinks they're innocent."

Kili nodded his head, scoffing slightly at the word innocent before turning serious, "Right, I won't tell her. Just like last time when you lied to her."

"Thank you Kili," said Fili, looking away from his brother. "You can go eat, I'll be there shortly. Oh, and, on your way down there, could you tell Bofur to start the repairs in the lower levels of the mountain? We're nearly there, but we need some extra repairs on some of those rooms."

"Sure thing, Fee…"

He stayed put for a while, simply taking in the new way his brother acted and looked before he turned and left. He needed to discuss this with Nàin; badly. Though he did not know where to start…

Lots of anger from Fili's side here, but there's a reason for why he's acting slightly irrational. You'll see in the upcoming chapters ;)