Chapter 14—Inheritance Gained

"This is absolutely mad," Bilbo muttered to himself, still pacing a full minute after agreeing to accompany them. "Stark raving mad, I can't believe I'm agreeing to this again…"

"And yet here we are," Kíli smirked, and Tauriel elbowed him as if to say don't try our luck. The dwarf just cocked an eyebrow in amusement at the agitated hobbit. He nodded at Fíli, who seemed to share his amusement more than Tauriel did, and they just watched Bilbo pace for a few minutes.

Finally, it was Fíli who took pity on their friend, reaching out and placing a hand on the hobbit's shoulder.

"Bilbo, there is yet one more part to this story you haven't yet heard," Fili cut in gently. "And while it hasn't much to do with our new quest, we…" he flicked his gaze to Kíli and then back, "we think you'll want to hear it anyway."

Something in Fili's tone got Bilbo's attention, and he stopped moving long enough to glance between the two lads, one serious and the other grinning. He ran a hand through his short curls with a huff, forcibly calming himself. "Very well, yes, tell me the rest."

Kíli sat back, clapped his hands once, and answered. "Well Gandalf had given us a mission, but we had yet to finish the one we were on."

"The ruby," Bilbo's eyes were wide with understanding.

The younger Durin nodded. "That's right, the Heart of Durin. We returned it to its rightful owner."

There were few things in life of which Kíli thought he was certain anymore, but this was one of them: he would never forget the day he finally returned to Thorin's Halls in Ered Luin after a nearly two-year absence.

He and Fíli made the two-day journey from Duillond to Thorin's Halls in just over one; they decided to forego making camp at all the second night, the leagues melting away beneath tired feet. Both lads knew they couldn't keep up such a pace for long, but neither felt like sleeping. The terrain changed quickly as dawn neared, the river valley giving way to rugged foothills. Fíli and Kíli skirted these as much as they could, intimately familiar with the territory enough to know safe paths through the hills.

Just as the sun rose, they topped the final rise and looked out over the small valley.

"Fee," Kíli whispered, stunned by the sheer relief that floored him then. Fíli squeezed his shoulder and gave a breathless laugh. The sun cast golden light on the mountain face that housed their childhood home. The carved Main Gate stood proud—not quite as ornate as Erebor, but every bit as elegant—and the sounds of a waking city reached them even from over a mile away.

Kíli had to bite his lip hard to resist the urge to drop his pack and run the last mile. Beside him, Fíli seemed to be struggling against the same instinct, so Kíli laughed out loud and pulled him forward by the arm.

"Come on, nadad, Mother awaits us!"

Of course, Kíli had been slightly wrong about that; Dis had not, in fact, been waiting for them at all. The only correspondence she had received from Dain regarding her boys was a missive just after the battle telling her they were lost; so when the doors to her receiving chambers were unceremoniously slammed open, followed by three very out-of-breath dwarves—a guard and two young lads—the Princess of Ered Luin was momentarily shocked into silence.

First it was by the complete lack of decorum, but the moment her gaze settled on the intruders, her rebuke died on numb lips, and she simply stared.

Mahal, she's beautiful, was all Kíli's overwhelmed brain could manage.

They stood, all three, facing one another for nearly a full minute before Fíli spoke.

"Mama?"

The single word echoed in the completely silent chamber, snapped Kíli's attention to his brother for a moment. He hadn't heard such vulnerability from Fíli toward anyone but him since…well before they left on the Quest.

Dis made a distressed noise and all three Durins began moving toward one another at once. They met in a tangled heap of limbs and reassurances.

"How is this possible?"

"Ma, we're here…"

"Mahal, we missed you!"

"Dain said—"

"He was misinformed."

"He didn't send you another letter after he found out—?"

"No…"

Fíli growled a vicious insult in Khuzdul that made their mother gasp and pinch his ear hard, while Kíli laughed.

Finally they all pulled away, Dis holding them at arm's length. "Let me look at you," she said, blinking back tears. Kíli grinned at his brother as they stood and let her look them over, head to toe. "You look well enough," she finally declared, sounding a little surprised.

Fíli smiled warmly. "You don't think we'd let each other starve, do you?"

Kíli snickered. "I'm sure it has less to do with that and more to do with the three weeks we spent traveling with a lass who can actually cook."

Fíli blushed in spite of himself, glaring at his brother as Dis cocked an eyebrow. She did not take Kíli's bait, however, but smiled at both her boys and drew them toward her private receiving chamber, motioning to her guards on the way out.

"Tell me everything," she said.

Chairs were brought and they covered the basics, including the horror of Thorin's death. She deserved to know, Kíli felt. When they'd conveyed what they'd seen and added the details they'd heard from Ori, she stood and walked apart. They let her reflect on her brother's death—on the gold sickness and his sacrifice.

"It is better, I think, that we stay away from Erebor," she said quietly, after several moments. "I would not challenge Dain's right to rule it. He may have it and all its cursed history."

Kili was silent, aware that she mourned her beloved brother. She turned back to them with a sad smile. "And my heart is glad that the Mountain does not have you."

She held out her arms then, embraced them both one more time and dried her damp cheeks as she chivvied them into baths, ordered up a feast with all their familiar, favorite foods, and called for a roaring fire in her hall's hearth. Hours later, after much storytelling and impossibly full stomachs, they sat in plush chairs by the fire and it was Fíli who cleared his throat.

"We are not staying," Fili told her gently. "Gandalf feels we'll just attract assassins and orcs; and if Ered Luin is to have any peace, we should not linger here."

Kíli watched his mother's expression go from stunned to indignant to understanding. She said nothing, then chose her words carefully. "Thorin would have had you ruling in his place—if not in Erebor, then here. He was of the opinion that it was the line of Durin's honor and duty."

Kíli found himself grinning.

His mother looked at him, brows drawn. He knew she sometimes doubted his sense of propriety—or lack of it. But Kíli didn't care.

"Thorin's sense of honor and duty is one reason we're here," Fíli said with more gravity. He reached into an inner pocket, and holding something carefully in both hands, stood to go down on one knee before his mother.

"He gave this to me, for you." Fíli opened his hands, revealing the faceted, deep red ruby, sparkling and glowing as if lit from within.

Their mother gasped. "Is that…?"

"The Heart of Durin," Fíli confirmed. "Balin and Gandalf both recognized it. It lay in that dragon horde all this time. Thorin found it. By rights, it belongs only to you."

As Kili watched, her amazement turned to sadness. She reached out and lightly touched the ruby with two gentle fingers.

"Don't worry," Fíli murmured. "I cleansed it of dragon stench in the sacred waters of Mirrormere."

Her wide eyes went from one son to the other. Kíli nodded. "We were there. I watched him do it."

Fíli took her hand then, carefully transferring the red jewel to his mother. "Thorin meant for you to claim the throne of Ered Luin," he said. "If that's what you want."

Kíli watched them look at each other and he could see his mother struggle with the idea. Abruptly she stood.

"I raised you to rule after Thorin…" she whispered to his brother.

Fíli stood and shook his head. "My path lies elsewhere. I know this." His hands came around hers and closed over the ruby. "The Heart of Durin bestows the right to rule to the Daughters of his line…"

Kili stepped forward to stand beside his brother. "And your willing heart is just as loyal," he said to her. "Just as honorable."

Their mother's eyes were moist with tears again. "I wonder that I am dreaming. Both of you, appearing from out of nowhere when you'd been reported…" She shook her head. "And now this?"

"Gandalf," Kíli said gently. "Says to expect him here before the next full moon. He intends to see you crowned in a royal ceremony…so start planning." His mother blinked at him and he smiled. On impulse, Kili wrapped his arms around her, pressing his forehead to hers. "Amad…you always worried that we were following Thorin and not our true destinies in life. But now…"

She leaned toward Kíli, one hand cupping his jaw. "But you will be so alone…"

Fíli barked a laugh. "Alone? We have each other. We'll be surrounded by Dunedain."

Kíli nodded and his smile went shy. "And our amrâmilê…"

Their mother's eyes went round and Fíli quickly filled her in.

As Kili watched, she quickly embraced his brother. "I begin to see Mahal's purpose,"she said. "Your coppersmith will Choose you and you will marry her. She will bear the next Daughter of Durin and inherit this stone." She held out the ruby that they had brought her. "After all, I am past the time that I might bear a daughter, even if your father were still here."

They all looked at each other in silence for a moment.

Then she smiled. "I will pledge this to you, my golden son," she said to Fíli. "I will claim Ered Luin, and when my time is done, this stone will pass to your own daughter—to the child of my firstborn, blood of my blood."

Fíli looked down at the stone in her hand, then kissed her hand and nodded, as if accepting the responsibility. How he would explain this to Arin, Kíli did not know.

Then she turned to him, yet Kíli wasn't entirely sure how she was taking the news about Tauriel. He held his breath.

"Do you know," she said with sudden lightness. "That old Egil—my mother's grandfather's brother—lived his days beside a lass named Guilin, elf of Eregion? I know naught more of her than her name and I've no idea whether she still lives. Perhaps your Tauriel knows."

"You are not angry with me?" Kíli murmured, eyes wide.

His mother gave him one of those tolerant really? tilts of her head and snorted. "You are alive because of her. She has earned a place my heart, inùdoy. Someday, I would meet her."

Bilbo was smiling unabashedly. "Oh lads, you made it back to your Mother. That is…" he petered off, unable to put into a single word what was racing through his mind and heart. But they were both nodding and Tauriel had a radiant smile on her face, and he knew they knew exactly what he meant.

"It is," Kíli agreed. "It was a truly delightful four days we spent there with her."

"I'm sure I can't imagine ever leaving her again, were I in your position," Bilbo added, brow furrowed. Both lads shrugged at that.

"We couldn't stay; it was bad enough that the guards who found out started the gossip mill within minutes of our arrival," Fíli said. "Mother had to make an announcement asking them all to remain silent on the matter, making them understand that our survival must stay secret from our enemies and even most of our allies."

"So we stayed," Kíli said, "Just long enough to see her instated as Queen of Ered Luin officially, Heart of Durin in hand, and then we left." Kíli stopped and looked at his brother. "We'll establish a line of communication and trade as soon as we get the forge up and running. We'll not be out of contact like we've been the last couple of years. Mother found that an...acceptable arrangement."

Fíli laughed at that, and added, "It took a bit of convincing for her to let us go, it's true."

"I hardly blame her," Bilbo muttered, and his guests nodded in agreement. There was silence for a few moments, punctuated only by the sound of the crickets singing in the early dark. Kíli and Tauriel sat on the grass, fingers still tangled together as they seemed to hold a private conversation with only their eyes. Fíli leaned back against the ivy-strewn wall behind the garden bench, looking up at the stars, and Bilbo stood against his small wooden fence, studying them all.

They seemed so much more peaceful than they'd been only hours ago when they arrived; a bit peaked and travel-worn still, to be sure; but as though a weight had been lifted, and it occurred to him how much they had counted on his acceptance of them and agreement to accompany them on their journey.

As if he could've said no.

He straightened a moment later, a question occurring to him. "But you were alone in Ered Luin, you two," he looked at Kíli and Fíli, who smiled. "When did you meet up with Tauriel again? What of Arin, Briar, and the boys? Where are they?"

A/N: Thank you thank you thank you for reading and following! We appreciate each of you more than we can say! Don't forget to leave a quick review or PM if you feel so inclined-we love hearing your opinions and feedback!

Don't forget Summerandblue is a writing team! You can check out our individual work at summerald and BlueRiverSteel on this site.

We definitely put the "co" in "co-writing" this chapter, as we wrote it together, rather than our usual practice of switching off chapters, so...credit where it's due, we both worked on this particular chapter!

Cheers to all of you,

Blue and Summer!