**A/N: If you're up for it, the music prompt for the opening scene: Full of Fire by Jess Chambers. Listen free on youtube or bandcamp.**
Chapter 14
Fili, King of the Lonely Mountain, had taken himself to Erebor's Western Terrace at the end of the day and called ravens himself. It had been four days since they'd had a message from his brother, and as the sun set and the last ravens departed for their roosts, Fili was no wiser about his brother's whereabouts or safety.
He sighed, excused his guard, and ambled distractedly through the halls of Erebor, ending up alone in his study. He pulled out a sheaf of reports, tried to read them, but really only stared at the words. He was worried, he finally admitted, berating himself for thinking that letting Kili leave Erebor was such a good idea. He fought the urge to arm up and go after him.
It's times like this when an Eagle would come in handy, he grumbled, wishing he could call one to his hand like a raven.
But of course he couldn't.
Heavy hearted, he put his elbows on his desk, then his head in his hands.
He had no idea how long he sat there feeling sorry for himself when he felt her hands on his shoulders.
"An…" He reached up to rest his hand on top of hers. Of course she knew where to find him when he was low.
She said nothing, but her beautiful eyes told him she knew what bothered him. Her hands were gentle and soothing as she sat on his knee and framed his face, bending to kiss his ear.
"My love…?" she whispered.
"No ravens. Not since the new moon." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "What have I done…" he murmured. He closed his eyes, making a fist and resting his forehead against it. "I'm the world's absolute worst brother."
She shook her head and stroked his jaw. "I don't believe that. I've seen you," she smiled sadly, "full of fire, blazing a trail across everything for him…for all of us. You are not one to gamble with lives, Fili."
He looked down at her hand, hearing her words but feeling like he was mired hip-deep in a swamp. He put an arm around her—she had, over the years, become the voice of practical reason when it came to many things...including his nadadith.
"The truth," she said quietly, straightening his braids. "Is that he is two weeks away. You know it can be days between ravens when there's that kind of distance. They could be delayed by a storm…nothing more."
Slowly, Fili nodded and rested his forehead against hers. "How do you always know when to throw me a lifeline?" he asked, pushing her hair behind her ear. She was wearing hoops strung with emeralds, their color glowing in the lamplight. He raised an eyebrow. "And why am I always so taken with your ears?"
She drew him close and tucked his head against her cheek. "Because you're you," she smiled.
His lips found the place below her ear. She smelled like evening sage out on the northern slope. Mahal… He savored the moment, appreciating her love and her presence. He was truly blessed, he recalled for easily the ten thousandth time, to have discovered this amazing lass singing in his halls all those years ago.
"You want to see me full of fire," he murmured between sloppy kisses, making his way to her mouth. "Then show me the trail to our bed…"
Under that same sunset, Kili and Nÿr rode ponies in the pouring rain. They'd made it down the Lominrâd with no incident save for passing elven carvings grotesquely defaced by evil vermin. About halfway through they had crossed a wide chamber that might once have been a pleasant place to stop and rest. The sound of dripping water showed the broken remains of basins for catching underground springwater. The filth had been cleared away, but what had once been a bas relief scene depicting a temple in Gondolin had been re-worked into horrible creatures conducting a brutal fight ring.
Nÿr had gasped at the sight of cruel imagery.
Kili had simply pulled his hood up, limiting his vision to the floor in front of him until they had passed once again into a narrow tunnel.
He'd remained quiet afterward, his guts unsettled. He could almost hear the raucous shouts of goblins echoing off the stone…fight, fight, fight…! It was just as well that no one could see his angry glower in the dark of the underground passage.
Two more hours of steady walking and it was over—they emerged out of the western gate into a thick forest with sunlight slanting through the trees.
"Welcome to the western side of the Misty Mountains," Elrohir had said, smiling.
Kili had pushed his hood back, breathing in the fresh air.
"Ghelekhur aimâ!" Kili said in relief. "Our thanks, my Lord." He smiled gently at Elrohir as the tall elf passed and touched his shoulder.
Kili's raven friends and a fresh contingent of Rivendell elves with a string of sturdy ponies awaited them just past the western gate. The dwarves mounted up and followed the elves and men, who preferred to walk the steep trail down. As they continued toward Rivendell, dark storm clouds came and went, bringing light snow flurries now and again, but Kili was heartened to ride beside Nÿr as the trail led through a healthy forest of fragrant cedar. Corax, Orkk, and the young hen Alq flew escort and Kili's heart lifted at the sight of them swooping past and circling back in joy.
But as they descended into the foothills, the light snow flurries turned to heavy rain, soaking everyone with a chill damp.
"Na vedui!" Elladan called back to them, a good hour after dark.
"What's he saying?" Bendin asked. Skirfir rode beside the worried lad, just behind Kili and Nÿr.
"We are here," Kili translated. "This is the last hill down to Rivendell." He peered out from under his hood into the dark rain and shook his head. "But have a care, lads." He pointed to the dropoff on their left. "This trail follows high above a swift moving river…and it's a long way down to whitewater." He looked over his shoulder to see Bendin nudge his pony a little closer to Skirf's and smiled.
The trail beneath the pony's hooves changed then from mud to cobblestones and then to clean granite slabs. Torchlight illuminated a pathway that crossed a sloping bridge and wound into an enclave of houses and halls, and Elladan halted the ponies in the middle of a broad courtyard of flagstones.
Several elven grooms, cloaked against the rain, came forward. "Le suilon!" they called to Elladan and Elrohir.
"They will tend your ponies and bring your bags," Elladan shouted to Kili through the downpour. "Get your people inside!" He pointed Yanu up an L-shaped stairway to a brightly lit door under a steeply pitched porch roof.
"Our wounded," Kili asked. "Can you take us to them?"
A blue-caped elf shook his head. "They are well—and long asleep."
Kili looked ready to argue.
"Just a quick visit to assure them," Elrohir intervened. "Take them up please, mellon."
The blue-caped elf agreed. Nÿr was off her pony and following with more energy than Kili felt, and he gestured to Bendin to come along. Skirfir was of course, right behind. He trusted that the Bruns brothers would be cared for—besides, they had passed through Rivendell before and knew their way around.
Yanu led them up the stairs, eyes wide at the splendor of Rivendell, even in the dark.
Inside a pair of wide doors, they found a foyer. Tuilind, looking warm and dry, came quickly to them, clasping hands with Nÿr.
"They are both much better," she assured her friend, then turned to embrace Yanu, her beloved. Kili helped Nÿr slip off her soaked cloak as she took Bendin by the arm and went inside. Kili and Skirfir shed their outer gear and followed more slowly.
Inside, they found Embur's bedside next to Bofur's. Both were asleep, but except for light bandaging looked perfectly fine. Embur's face was less swollen, and other than scratches and an eye patch, she looked like her regular self.
Bendin went to his sister's bedside, grasping her hand and shamelessly waking her.
"Mahal's bucket, Ben," she murmured, a sleepy half smile on her face as she scrunched her nose and reached out to touch his sopping hair. "Go take a bath!"
Kili suppressed a grin and checked on Bofur. Predictably, the old miner was snoring, mouth open, with the little flask Kili had loaned him clutched tight in one hand.
He turned to see Nÿr nodding her head to quiet words from a healer elf and noted that she swayed on her feet. When the elf-healer bowed to her, hand on heart, and withdrew, she turned and took a step sideways, having stumbled over her own boots. One look at her tired face told him she was the one in most need of care and warmth.
"Skirfir, can you look after Bendin tonight?" he asked pointedly.
Blinking, Skirf nodded. "Of course."
Kili didn't waste time. "See that you both get baths, food, and sleep," he nodded to Skirf but didn't wait for an answer.
Instead he turned to Nÿr. "Your patients are in better shape than you are," he said, scooping her into his arms and carrying her out. He took it as a sign that he was right when she didn't object…grateful that others pointed the way across the foyer, down stairs, and through a series of passages. A door was held open for them, and he carried her inside a warmly lit chamber with a stone floor, high bed, roaring fire, and steaming bath. Their elf guide withdrew, closing the door to the rain and wind outside.
"Oh Blessed Mahal!" Nÿr squirmed from his arms, clearly intent on the bath.
Kili helped her out of her wet gear and into the warm water, then left his own clothing in a sopping pile and joined her.
"Clean again," Nÿr murmured, leaning against him after a good scrub. "I was beginning to think I'd never get this clean and warm."
"And sleepy," Kili teased. They nibbled on tidbits of apples, elven bread, and cheese (because of course, elves thought eating while bathing was perfectly natural) and before long she was indeed drifting off to sleep. Kili managed to stay awake long enough to encourage her out of the bath, and together they dried off with plush towels.
They found the bed, then, neither one caring that they had no nightclothes. Neither were they interested in anything more than sleep. They climbed in, burrowed under downy covers and snuggled together in complete exhaustion.
"Say goodnight," Nÿr mumbled, sleepily holding Kili's hand over her lower stomach and the growing little dwarfling within.
Kili slowly kissed her forehead. "G'night to both of you," he whispered. They closed their eyes, their exhaustion mixing with their great relief and sending them into deep, untroubled sleep.
The next morning, Kili awoke alone. Dappled sunlight shone through leaded glass windows, but the place was far more quiet than any dwarf abode.
"Nÿr?" he called, sitting up and looking around. Across the room sat a tray of half-eaten breakfast and a teacup obviously used and abandoned. Off to check on her patients, he decided, yawning.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed, his feet dangling a good two feet from the floor. He frowned and looked about, wondering if his lady wife had left their room without a stitch of clothing…
Then he spotted the rack with dry clothes from their own packs, freshly laundered and laid out. He dressed, finished the food Nÿr had left, and took himself outside to get his bearings.
Fresh air, the scent of wood fires, and the sound of the valley's waterfalls greeted him. A pair of red birds chased each other across the scene, and in the trees high above, Kili heard the good morning quork of a raven. He looked up to see Corax launch himself after the red birds, smiling at the sound of bird calls echoing around him.
Rivendell… He never thought he'd see this place again, and yet here he was.
The porch of the little guest house opened to a wide courtyard with a long, curved railing overlooking a fern canyon and waterfall. The sun was out and a slight, cool breeze blew up from the lower valley.
He slowly followed a meandering path past artfully trimmed trees and bushes full of winter berries. He remembered this valley because of course he'd been here once before, yet it was just a little bit different: he could feel it in the air, sense it from the stone under his feet. The season had changed from autumn to winter, and Elrond Half-Elven, so long the Lord of Imladris, had departed Middle Earth.
His sons resided here now. The brothers.
Kili turned his face into the gentle breeze, thinking of his own brother. He could almost step back in time, step back to that day when he and Fili had both come to this place…such innocents in those days. Two green lads who'd never faced anything more frightening than a couple of trolls stealing Shire ponies for their dinner.
He also remembered Fili fussing at him to clean up and do his laundry…when that was the last thing a young lad in a new place wanted to do. He'd also been highly distracted by the elven maids. He smiled and snorted at himself.
They were sweet memories, but it also felt like a stab in the heart to recall himself and Fili from that time, knowing how much had happened since. His fascination with elf maids had led him to flirt shamelessly with a captain of the Mirkwood Guard…and that story had not gone the way his younger self might have imagined.
Kili shook off that line of thinking and looked west. He spotted the sacred fountain they'd once bathed in and winced. He did regret their lack of manners from that first visit. He would make no apologies, mind. But he wouldn't be throwing food or letting Bofur make campfires out of the furniture this time around. He smiled at the memory of Bombur feasting on sausages, then looked up the hill to a terrace higher above. Thorin…
The last time he'd been here, they had been with Thorin.
His eyes found the sweeping stairs down from the terrace and he could almost imagine that his uncle would come stomping down, grumbling about elves and demanding they pack up and go.
And then he heard voices—real voices, actually. He turned to see Elladan come around a large berry shrub, talking politely with a strange dwarf.
No, not a dwarf, he realized, as the slimmer fellow, nearly as tall as Kili, looked back at him with a small, curious half-smile.
Kili couldn't help himself. He stared.
The hobbit stared back in mild confusion.
"Bilbo?" Kili finally breathed, looking at the face that both was and was not the dear hobbit he'd once known.
"Ghelekhur aimâ!" = may good be upon us (source: the Dwarrow Scholar website)
"Le suilon!" = a formal welcome (Arwen Undomiel website)
Please be sure to drop me a note as a review or a PM...! Who could Kili be seeing?
Hint: I have a Pinterest board with some great fan art that I've found inspiring...just google Summer Alden Pinterest to see it. I also found a great piece of conceptual art that to me is a ringer for Embur, complete with a bit of Bombur-like thick red braid near her jaw. Take a look! It's the Durin's Day board. (And don't worry, Summer Alden is an alias...not my real name.)
And thanks once again to the creative consultant team...who didn't beta read this time around (busy holidays) but provided much appreciated moral suppport! Mwah to BlueRiverSteel, Cassandrala, and Jessie152!
Hope you enjoyed! -Summer