The sight that greeted them upon entering the fortress was horrifying. Dead bodies lay everywhere, and a heaviness was in the air. The wargs had long since left, with no one to control them they went in search of live prey. It was unnerving, and the entire company opted to stay together. Slowly they walked deeper into the ruins, nothing but corpses in sight.
When they came to a stair leading down Gandalf motioned for Thranduil to wait up top with the elves and some of the dwarves as lookouts. The rest followed him deeper into the cold building. There was more and more blood caked into the ground, and the air grew only more foul the further they walked. Looking ahead, they spotted the end of the blood trail, a battered door at the end of the hall. It stood partially open, leaving visible a still form on a bench surrounded by death. Kili lurched forward with a cry, staggering when Gandalf knocked him backwards.
"No, Kili. Not yet. She may be dangerous." Kili looked at him in confusion, his eyes showing a rising horror as Gandalf motioned to the bodies surrounding them.
"You think she did this?" he whispered. "How? Her magic heals, not kills."
"I have seen a similar corruption before, a power warped when its bearer is utterly broken. Not broken in body, but in spirit. I must go in alone and find out the extent of the damage. I will not risk her attacking one of our own by accident." Thorin came forward and pulled Kili to him.
"We will wait, Gandalf. But hurry." They all sat together outside the door well within earshot should they be needed. Gandalf went in alone, pausing his approach to take in the flicker of darkness around Lithuen's hands and the wounds trailing her body.
I felt the hand on my arm and reacted instinctively, lashing out with my power before opening my eyes. So I was startled when I felt an answering power from this new opponent, and looked up to a familiar face.
"Gandalf!" I cried, searching his face before breaking down in wracking sobs. "Gandalf, they killed him! They took my Kili." I took in his look of shock and understanding as he gazed at the carnage around us. "I didn't mean to," I whispered, ashamed. "They killed him, and I was just so angry." He came forward, wrapping me in his embrace.
"Things are not as bad as they seem," he said gently. "You might look around and see what you find." I leaned back to stare at him in confusion as he motioned to someone in the shadow of the doorway. My view of this new person was blocked as he went to meet them halfway, but I caught the whispered words, and struggled to make sense of them. "Be gentle, she thinks you're dead." Then Gandalf retreated, leaving the one person I wished most to see standing in front of me.
Eyes shining with tears, Kili held out a hand to me, calling my name like a prayer. I stared, unwilling to believe my eyes, unable to move for fear that this apparition would disappear. He walked the last two steps separating us and put his hand on mine, the sudden warmth making me gasp for air.
"Kili..." I startled myself when a hysterical giggle burst out, and I lost control, laughing through my tears. "They lied," I choked out, laughing again. The darkness in my hands retreated, changing back to gleaming gold and healing the wounds. Just as the sight of my beloved was healing my heart. I threw myself at him, sinking into his embrace. He whined when I started to pull away again, an unfamiliar fluttering in my stomach. I looked down to see it jutting out unnaturally, and turned to Gandalf in confusion. He moved forward, all three of us now staring at the twin beacons of light shining from my belly.
"You are going to be a mother," he said calmly. I felt dizzy, his words ringing in my ears. I looked to Kili, my rising panic echoed in his eyes.
"Are they alright Gandalf? Did I keep them safe?" He placed a hand over the lights and nodded smiling.
"They are strong."
"Like their father," I whispered, giving Kili's hand a squeeze.
"And their mother," he replied, looking at me with such intense love I thought I might burst. Gandalf left the two of us then, exiting the room to give us a quiet moment.
"She is safe and healed," Gandalf said to Thorin and Fili. "A grave misunderstanding on her part led to her fall, but the reuniting with Kili has driven off the darkness. A typical ploy of the orcs, of course. They told her he was slain, and she believed them. With nothing left to live for she turned, and it is luck that led us here today. Much longer and the darkness would have killed her." He paused a moment before adding, "and the babies." Thorin jumped to his feet, the others staring in shock.
"Kili's going to be a father?" he asked incredulously. A soft smile filled his face and he couldn't help himself as his feet carried him into the room, Fili and the company following. He strode toward the happy couple, beaming with joy at this most perfect of outcomes. Gathering them into a hug, he whispered words of love to them both. Fili grabbed his brother's hand, grinning ear to ear.
"Knew you had it in you," he smirked cheekily. "I can't wait till mother hears about this." Suddenly Thorin cursed.
"Your mother will be there already when we get back. Mahal help me, she'll have my hide for this." Everyone laughed, and hurried to leave now that we had a reason to get home fast.
If the ones who had been left up top were surprised to see me strolling out hand in hand with Kili, they were stunned to see the now obvious bump shining with light on my torso. When asked how I had managed to keep them alive I laughed. "Mothers instinct I suppose. I didn't even know they existed, but my body took over, collecting the last pure remnants of myself to protect them." Not wanting to linger, we hurried to mount up, talking all the while as we headed for home.
The journey north was far easier now that we had such a large escort. We reached the head of the elven path less than a week later, and stopped for a moment to look upon the mountain rising in the distance. Thanking the elves once again, our smaller party continued on the last part of our trip together. As we were riding Kili drew closer to me, pressing something into my hand. Something small, and cold, and round.
"How did you find this?" I gasped, staring down at the ring sitting hidden in my palm.
"You dropped it as you were leaving camp...that day. I kept it safe for you." I wanted to hug him, but settled with squeezing his hand gratefully as I slipped the ring into a pouch on my belt.
"This means the world to me, thank you." He smiled and turned my hand, kissing the back of it. I was glad that he didn't ask about it's significance, I wasn't prepared to lie anymore about this. I knew that my part in the journey of the ring was now over though, with children coming I would not be allowed to go on any more dangerous trips. I resolved to keep it hidden until such time as I could pass it to Frodo, in keeping with my memories.
The next day saw us reaching the mountain just past noon. A grand reception awaited us, with a familiar looking head of dark hair at its front. I could see Thorin trying to shrink into his saddle at the sight of his sister, and I giggled at the thought of anyone who could actually frighten him. As we neared the waiting group I looked to the side and saw Kili looking almost as nervous, and then I remembered why he would look that way and felt a knot in my stomach.
The formidable woman that was Dis came striding up to Thorin looking furious, and I tried to hide behind Kili as we all dismounted. We could all clearly hear her shrieked accusations as she poked her brother in the chest with a forceful hand, and I caught snatches of his muttered apologies. My head jerked back in their direction at her next growling words. "You let my son wander off after some trollop unprotected! At his age he should be looking for a fine dwarven woman to court, not be gallivanting around unsupervised with strange girls!" During this speech Kili had started towards her, pulling me along with him when I stopped. He looked back at my fright, smiling reassurances, but I was terrified.
"She will hate me," I whispered. I tried to pull away, but we were too close and she caught sight of us. Opening her mouth to speak, she looked at my nervous expression as I cradled my stomach, and then to her son who was staring at me lovingly, oblivious to her glares. Her eyes narrowed, following my now down turned gaze to the growing lights in my belly. I looked up to Kili, love in my eyes despite my fear of rejection, and he placed his hands over mine before turning to his mother. Her gaze changed to one of utter disbelief.
"Kili, my son. Is this...are they...is she...?" She seemed at a loss for words, and Thorin grinned behind her.
"Yes mother, they are mine, all three of them. And they are safe, despite being held prisoner by orcs for the last month. I would have no other. Just as she saved my life, I have now saved hers." His brilliant smile was suddenly echoed by Dis, and she swept forward to hug the both of us. I was stunned by her sudden change of heart, and squeaked in protest when the hug turned just a little too hard. Stepping back, she took me by the arm and began ushering me inside, leaving an amused Kili and company behind.
"We need to get you situated right away then my dear. Oh the preparations, I cannot believe my son left me in the dark for so long. We have a wedding to plan, children's rooms to build in the royal halls, and you must be officially presented to the kingdom of course."
"You're not mad?" I asked confusedly. She stopped to take in my overwhelmed expression and laughed. "No, not at you dear. Not really even at my brother or my sons, they never really knew how to deal with matters of the heart. I suppose I should have expected it from them really." I laughed then and let her lead me to Kili's room, where I would now be permitted to stay as his official betrothed.
Note: The company may be super relieved to have Lithuen back now, but the men that came with them will not forget the horrific massacre they witnessed. This may come into play later on. Thank Mahal, the ring is safe. Kili was much too consumed with finding Lithuen to become corrupted by it, but I think it still may have had an affect on his emotions at the time. Dis finally comes into the story. She will have a large influence on Lithuen's introduction to dwarven life and customs, being the only female of the royal family left.
Note2: I am currently working on the next chapter, hope to get it up soon. It will mainly be a fluff piece, I'm tired of angst for the time being.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: I received some concerns regarding my OC being too mary-sueish/lacking depth. After going back and re-reading the beginning for myself I am in complete agreement. I therefore made some changes to hopefully reflect a better depth of character. Changes are as follows. Chapters 4 and 7(now 4-5 and 8-9 respectively) have been split into two parts, with more content added to each bit. Also some wording has been changed in chapters 5(now 6) and 6(now 7) to slow down the building relationship between Lithuen and Kili. It was going too fast with no reason as to why, so I am making it take a little more time. Most notably, the kissing scene has been removed for proprietary reasons, with their first kiss now being after the battle. For those that have read this far, thank you for the support, and I hope these changes make my character more enjoyable to read.
Update: Added two new conversations to chapter 11. Thorin/Lithuen and Bilbo/Lithuen.