A/N: I'm sorry for the late update. I was traveling over Friday and Saturday and thus didn't get the chapter up. Please forgive me. I will have chapter 22 up on Tuesday. For now, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 21

Fili set Sigrid's letter down on his workbench next to the pile of diamonds and the smallest mithril wire he could find. "You said she missed me," he said to Rork. "I think that was an understatement."

The bird cocked its head to the side. "That was the message she bade me give you."

Fili tapped the parchment, taking a deep breath. "What should I do?" he wondered aloud. He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to drop everything and head to Dale right now. To saddle Onyx himself and ride as if wargs chased him until he reached Sigrid's house so he could… So he could… What exactly?

"Just mate with the woman and be done with it," Rork croaked.

He rubbed a hand down his face. "By Mahal, I wish it were that simple but it's not." Part of him, an increasingly bigger and eager part of him, looked forward to their wedding with utter glee. The other part of him vehemently loathed it, dreading what was expected of them that night and the awkwardness that it would entail. For all that he might love Sigrid, he wasn't confident enough in his feelings to be able to admit it out loud. Writing to her about it was one thing. Saying it was another Balrog entirely.

"What's not that simple?" The door slammed.

Fili whipped Sigrid's letter off his workbench and shoved it into a drawer, locking it quickly before his brother could get more than a glimpse of it.

"Is that from Sigrid? I bet it is. What does it say? Something good I'll bet considering she wrote me my own letter instead of just telling me what she wanted in yours." Kili grinned at him and came to lean on the bench, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "And you know, your panic to keep it out of my sight."

"It's not your concern Kee," Fili grumbled and picked up the mithril wire and pliers, intent to work on Sigrid's circlet. He went over to the forge to heat the mithril enough to be able to mold it and cursed when he realized it wasn't near hot enough, not for working with the precious metal.

"I'll bet considering you're hiding it from me," the younger prince said, slinging an arm around Fili. "What'd she write?"

"She said for you to bugger off."

Kili stumbled back, a hand going dramatically to his chest. "I'm wounded, Fee. Really I am. To think you don't trust me with your lady love's words."

Fili rolled his eyes, adding the special fuel to his forge to create the heat he needed. Kili stripped off his tunic and threw it on the couch across the room after seeing what his older brother was doing.

"I think you've taken too many wounds to the head," Fili sniped. Kili just shrugged at the comment. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Nothing much. Just reminding you that you need to get some sleep tonight. You have to show Card around tomorrow, starting early in the morning."

Irritation flared inside Fili, almost as strong as it had been before Rork brought him Sigrid's letter. The Southron had shown up in Erebor, claiming to have an interest in opening trade between the mountain and the nations far to the south. "I'll be ready," he said. "I just need to make the basic shape for this first at the very least. I'm so behind on the work."

Kili nodded and watched Fili work for a while. When Fili reached to draw the now softened length of mithril out of the forge, he said, "Did she tell you she loves you?"

Fili jerked, missing the wire and brushing his bare arm against the metal, hissing at the new burn to his skin. "What?" he asked, being more careful this time. Coming to his bench, he picked up a second set of pliers and started twisting and rounding the metal, molding it around the basic stone bust he used when shaping circlets and tiaras and the like. He worked quickly while the metal was still malleable.

"At least, I assume she does. She hasn't said anything to me but she did write us separate letters this time. I can only assume it's because she has secret things to tell you."

Fili didn't respond for a while, concentrating on creating the right shape for the circlet. When it was how he wanted it and the metal too cool and hard to work anymore, he set his tools aside and sat on the stool.

"She's not sure how she feels," he confessed quietly. "Neither am I for that matter." His hands flexed as he thought of how she'd written about missing him. He was terrified that this was all lust, that once it burned out, they would not have any affection for each other. That they would grow to resent each other and the trap their marriage would become.

Kili stepped around the bench and wrapped his arm around Fili's bare shoulders, drawing his older, yet shorter brother, into a hug and pressed their foreheads together. "If I were to guess," he said carefully, "I'd say she does or is at least on her way to loving you. I doubt your marriage will be without proper affection, given the right amount of time."

"Thank you, Kee," he said. "Mahal willing you're right."

Kili stepped back. "Of course I'm right. Now go to bed. I can't wait to watch you suffer shepherding the Southron around the city tomorrow."

Huffing a laugh, Fili banked the fires in his forge for the night, knowing he'd be back at the first opportunity to continue work on the jewelry for the wedding, specifically Sigrid's circlet. While not intricate, he wanted to get it just right. He hoped she would appreciate the effort he put into making it as comfortable as possible for her, as he would do his best to make the rest of their lives together comfortable.

Fili stood in his place at Thorin's side the next morning, waiting for Card to show his face in the throne room. He really just wanted to either go back to bed, get back to work in his workshop, or saddle Onyx and head to Dale to see Sigrid. The Southron's claims for opening trade were ridiculous after all. This was all just a waste of his valuable time.

Finally, the human strolled in, dressed in what was possibly some of his kingdom's best finery, all deep reds, bright yellows, and dense black in flowing loose clothing and a strange wrapped hat he'd never seen before.

Balin stepped forward to perform formal introductions for the morning. Fili kept his expression neutral, holding the mask he'd developed over decades while wanting nothing more than to run this posturing man out of the mountain and as far away from Sigrid as he could. Instead, he was stuck here in the guise of establishing diplomatic relations.

Once Balin and Bilbo had finished the boring nonsense words, Fili stepped forward to offer his services as a guide around the mountain for the day until the meeting that would be late that afternoon when trade would be discussed. Card accepted, of course, and they set off towards the main halls of Erebor.

It didn't take long for Card to start in on him. "Judging by your beard, you are quite young for a dwarf, aren't you?" he asked all innocent.

Fili resisted the urge to tip his head to the side and fix the man with a deadpan look as he would have if he weren't trying to play nice for Thorin's sake. "I am of age for my people," he said. "I keep my beard short in respect as a sign of grief for those lost during the Battle for Erebor when the orcs attacked shortly after Smaug's demise."

"Ah yes, the dragon. The one you woke and sent to destroy Esgaroth."

"Smaug destroyed the city on his own," Fili said. "We have since done all we can and continue to aid the citizens that survived and made peace with them."

Card hummed noncommittally but did not comment further on the city that was still being rebuilt, this time with better materials that would withstand the environment better than the rotting wood that had made up the structures.

The day continued in such a manner as they wandered. The man made observations specifically designed to try to irritate or provoke Fili, from comparing his height to those of the humans in Erebor's market, to the slow progress of repairs in some areas of the mountain, and finally, the general cultural differences Card perceived.

It wasn't until shortly after lunch that Card found what it was he sought. They were near the kitchens when a dwarf slapped Nori across the face in the middle of the hallway. "Nori, son of Kori, I Challenge you for Lira's hand."

Fili watched as Nori slipped his knives back up his sleeves from where he'd been palming them at the first sign of trouble. The thief turned spymaster cocked an eyebrow at the dwarf. "You sure you want to do that?" he drawled lazily.

"Aye, I'm sure."

Nori gave a short, quiet laugh. "Then I will enjoy wiping you into the floor. I'll see you in the south training yards in ten minutes." He walked off with a swagger to his steps.

"What is happening here?" Card asked, having stopped to watch, his interest obvious. With no other choice, Fili answered truthfully of the situation. "So, if anyone wishes to marry one intended for another, they issue such a Challenge?"

"Yes," Fili said and stared at Card, waiting for the inevitable.

It came as Card swung quickly, slapping him smartly. He didn't even flinch under the hit, his joyous fury coursing through him in angry, delighted waves.

"I Challenge you, Prince Fili, for the hand of the Princess Sigrid of Dale," Card said.

Fili grinned, showing far more teeth than was probably strictly necessary. "I accept your Challenge," he said, "and to show there are no hard feelings, you may dictate the terms of the match." It was a risky move, he knew, but he could also not be faulted if relations with the Southrons fell apart because of the incident.

"Then we shall meet in one week's time, before the mountain's gates when the sun is at its highest," Card said.

"I accept," Fili said. "Now, I'm afraid I must leave you in the hands of another. Tradition dictates we no longer have contact with each other until the start of the Challenge. I shall lead you back to the throne room where Balin will assign you a new guide." He turned on his heal, satisfaction burning brightly inside him. Not only could he be rid of Card in a week, but now he could spend the rest of the day working on more important things, like Sigrid's jewelry. Perhaps he'd take a short break though, and go watch Nori wipe his Challenger into the ground while barely lifting a finger first. It would undoubtedly be an amusing match.

"Sigrid is going to kill you," Kili said gleefully.

Fili snorted and winced as pain flared across his nose, eye, and cheekbone. "I wonder if she won't just laugh herself sick." The smile that tugged at his lips hurt as well.

"Now why would she want to kill your brother for winning a Challenge for her and getting a black eye and split lip in the process?" Bilbo asked. "Seems like she should be flattered."

Thorin draped an arm across the hobbit's shoulders. "I'd imagine she'd be angry at him for depriving her of the opportunity to beat the man herself," he said.

The fight with Card the day before hadn't lasted long. It took a few minutes for Fili to get used to the fighting style the Southron used, resulting in a boot to the left side of his face and thus the bruising and split lip. Dripping blood from his lip and with one eye swelling shut, Fili retaliated swiftly, sending Card stumbling back but keeping his sword up and ultimately failing to defend himself when the pommel of Fili's sword struck him on the side of the head, knocking the Man senseless. He'd left Erebor that morning, shamed and furious.

Now, the entire Durin line and the Company walked up the streets of Dale, laughing at Thorin's remark, none louder than Fili. When Sigrid had invited Fili and his family to dinner, it was quickly decided that the entire Company and their families would come too. Family didn't end in blood after all. Looking around at them all, he wondered if he should have suggested they not invite everyone. He was afraid he'd made life very difficult for his intended.

It was too late now though. They all turned to the gate and let themselves in, heading for the door. A maid answered it, eyes wide as twenty-two dwarrow, dwarflings, an elf, and a single hobbit entered at her invitation.

Tilda bounded into the room and immediately found Kili, talking a mile a minute at the younger prince and Tauriel. Bard entered the room soon after, admonishing her gently and welcoming the large party to his home.

"I believe Sigrid will be here in a moment," he said as he led the way to the dining room. Fili stayed at the back of the group near Nori and Lira. The former gave him a knowing, wicked smirk which Fili ignored. When they passed the hallway that led to the private family rooms, he ducked down it, a finger to his lips when Lira caught his eye. She smiled and winked as he moved down the hall. He entered her room after receiving permission.

"Did you leave a piece of him for me?" Sigrid asked when he closed her door quietly behind him. She turned in her seat at her vanity, having seen his appearance in the mirror, and grinned widely at him.

"I'm afraid not," he said. "He left this morning once he could handle being on his horse without losing his breakfast." He stepped forward and wrapped her up in his arms.

"Well that's hardly fair," she said and wrapped her arms around him. "I wanted a go at him too."

"I've missed you," he murmured and kissed her deeply, ignoring the pain searing through his bruised face. Her hands clutched at his shoulders as she returned the kiss with equal enthusiasm from her seat. She sighed and he took advantage of her slightly open mouth, licking his way past her lips and reveling in the feeling of her tongue brushing against his. He surged into her mouth again and again until some of the desperation faded from his blood. He retreated, pulling her tightly against his chest as he pressed his lips to her forehead. "Mahal let this be love," he prayed against her skin. She hummed in response.

"If it is the timing couldn't be more perfect," she said. He bent and kissed her again, gentler, sweeter, slower before releasing her.

He chuckled. "If it is, Kili is going to be impossible to live with. Did you know he told me I must love you months ago? Before you fell ill?"

She grinned at him as he took hold of her hands carefully and drew her to her feet. She reached back and grabbed one final hairpin to finish securing the last curl of her long hair at her nape. "For someone who has a hard time focusing on a single task he is very insightful."

"He just sees the little things, not the bigger picture is all. Makes it easier to piece a puzzle together faster."

Fili sighed and rolled his eyes as Sigrid jumped and glared toward her doorway. "Master Nori, do you ever knock?"

He stepped into the room and shut the door. "You might as well know now. I've been given leave to tell you anyway at my own discretion. I'm Erebor's spymaster. It's my job to be places I'm not supposed to be. I make a point of it. Now you two better leave separately. I was sent to find the young prince. We can tell everyone he was using the privy to save your reputation, Your Highness."

"Thank you, Nori," Fili drawled as he took the final hairpin from Sigrid and slid it into place in her hair. He kissed the corner of her mouth and she reluctantly left the room, a sweet smile on her lips.

"So you don't love the lass," Nori said, his voice bland but obvious curiosity in his eyes.

"I didn't at first," Fili said, "I don't know if I do now but I'm having difficulty identifying what I feel."

A knife appeared in Nori's hand and he flipped it absently. "I find it odd how willing you were to enter a courtship not based on love and yet you absolutely cannot stand the thought that His Majestic Broodingness may have married The Burglar for anything less than love."

"Leave it alone Nori," Fili growled. He had never outright said anything to anyone about Thorin's marriage to Bilbo but he had never acknowledged it more than was required. Of course, Nori would have noticed it though.

"He's his One, you know." Nori flipped the knife and caught it before sending it into the air again. Fili froze. Nori nodded as if the prince had spoken. "Aye, he is. Not many know. Probably just them, Dwalin, Balin, and me. Don't even think your ma knows, but it's true."

"Thorin never said-"

"And when has King Grump ever spoken about his feelings without it being dragged out of him?" Nori smirked, giving his knife a complicated twist that sent it tumbling over his shoulder and into the hand behind his back. "That doesn't matter right now though. What does, is that you've been willingly and at times enthusiastically playing the part of a besotted suitor with someone you supposedly don't love when the very idea of a political marriage is the worst thing you can think of. Take some time. Think on your reasons but not right now. Dinner's ready and I'm starving."

Fili followed Nori out of the room, barely realizing he did so. After Nori made their excuses when they reached the dining room, they took their seats. Sigrid gave him a questioning look even as she touched his hand beneath the table. He smiled at her, shaking his head. He'd think on it later as Nori suggested.

"You've been beaten Bilbo," Kili crowed. "This is a better spread than when we met you in the Shire."

The hobbit glared at the younger prince. "Yes, well, I wasn't expecting thirteen dwarrow to show up on my doorstep demanding dinner, now did I? With warning, I would have given you all a proper supper."

Thorin leaned over and murmured something to Bilbo and the hobbit grinned up at the tall dwarf next to him and Fili wondered how he could have missed it. Of course, they loved each other. He could see that now. But then, he'd spent almost three entire years trying to ignore any interactions between the two, believing their marriage to be a lie. He had never watched them. Never acknowledged the way Thorin's entire countenance changed when he focused on Bilbo. Never acknowledged the way Bilbo's grin lit up his face when Thorin brushed a soft kiss along his cheek. Had very pointedly never watched any kind of physical interaction between the two, sometimes choosing to completely turn away or childishly close his eyes rather than witness it.

Now, as they all dug into the admittedly delicious dinner Sigrid had made –and wasn't it a wonder that she'd made it all herself- Fili took the time to study them and the way they interacted for just a few moments. He'd been blind.

"Are you all right?" Sigrid whispered to him, grey-green eyes concerned.

"Yes," he said and tore his eyes away from his uncles. "Just thinking about something Nori said."

The dinner continued with various raptures being sent her way. When the table was cleared, Sigrid ducked into the kitchen and, with a little bit of help from the household staff, she returned with numerous desserts. The dwarrow cheered and dug in with a will. She retook her seat next to Fili and cut him a slice of a cake.

"Try this," she urged, handing him the plate.

He took a bite and moaned in delight. "Whatever this is, it's better than that amazing cinnamon bread." He demolished the rest of the slice slowly, savoring the sweet honey and cinnamon flavor coupled with the creamy layers. He looked at Balin. "I need an amendment made to the marriage contract. Sigrid has to make this at least once a week."

"That's not happing. It takes three days to make!" she said with an incredulous laugh.

"What's it called anyway?" Bilbo asked all but licking the crumbs off his own plate from his serving of the golden cake.

"Medovik," Sigrid said. "It's a honey cake my mother used to make." Here she looked at her father. He smiled sadly at her, nostalgia bright in his damp eyes.

"No one has made it since before she died," Bard said. "It seems fitting that something as joyous as a wedding would bring it back into our home."

Sigrid looked down at her lap, obviously pleased at her father's approval.

"Mum used to make this?" Tilda asked in a small voice. Bard wrapped an arm around her and pressed a kiss to her head.

"It tastes just the same," he assured his youngest daughter. Fili made a point of not noticing the choked sound of the man's voice or the tears openly streaming down the young girl's face as she took another small bite, a look of concentration in her eyes, as if she were trying to remember the cake from when she was a toddler.

"Fit to celebrate a wedding indeed," Dis said to shift the sense of solemnity in the air. "As such, I believe I am expected to pass judgment on the meal, am I not?"

Bard nodded. "If you find something wrong with Sigrid's ability to keep a good home for your son, it would be grounds to call off the engagement."

Fili took Sigrid's hand under the table, surprised slightly at the strength in which she gripped his fingers. He recognized the nervous set to her jaw as she watched his mother.

"You made all this yourself?" Dis asked.

Sigrid sat up straighter. "I made it willingly by my own hand and give it freely in hopes that you will find my abilities adequate and worthy to the future care of your son as we prepare to start a life together," she said and Fili wondered if she'd consciously worded her response so closely to those spoken when a courting gift was given by a dwarf or if her people had similar rituals.

Dis looked at her son. "Fili, you are the one who shall marry this woman. How do you judge her worthiness and adequacy?"

He smirked across the table at his mother. "I judge her favorably, Amad. I find no fault in her abilities and await our marriage with poor patience."

Dis inclined her head. "There you have it, Your Highness," she said to Sigrid. "You seem more than capable of feeding my son. You have my approval."

Tilda cheered and the rest of the table joined in and the evening continued on a much lighter note. Fili pulled Sigrid into a kiss in front of everyone present, ignoring the good-natured jeering from the Company and the grumbles from Bard and Bain and the giggles from Tilda.

After dinner ended, Fili and Sigrid stepped outside into the garden. The fading sun cast golden tones across the city, bringing the shine back to the stone that made up the majority of the buildings around them. A tree stood in the yard, one of the few that had survived Smaug's desolation but only barely. Bain had built a bench that now resided beneath the branches. Fili brushed away some fallen red and gold leaves before he and Sigrid sat. He kept hold of her hands, ever conscious that Bard could see them by merely looking out the window.

"Two weeks," he said, rubbing a thumb across the knuckles of her hands. "Are you ready?"

She drew a shuddering breath and exhaled quickly. "I'm not sure. We started this with the intention of marrying even though we were only friends. As much as I'd like to honestly be able to say that I love you, I still just don't know," she admitted and the tightness around her eyes, the way her brow furrowed, and the way her lips pulled outward but not up in a parody of a smile seemed to convey fear, sorrow, and apology all in the same moment.

Fili squeezed her fingers gently. "There is passion between us," he said and smirked at the color that rose in her cheeks. "Mahal knows restraint around you, even with only the illusion of privacy-" his eyes glanced toward the house where he could just make out Bard's looming presence "-is becoming more and more difficult, but there is still not what I would call love, as much as I would like it to be. At least, I don't think there is." Nori's advice to think on his ease in proposing the idea gnawed at the back of his mind as if he were missing something important. He shoved the feeling away, focusing again on Sigrid.

"It's not too late," Sigrid said. "You can still walk away, try to find a nice dwarrowdam that sweeps you off your feet."

He chuckled softly. "You could too, you know."

She snorted. "Not if I want to keep my reputation intact." At his perplexed look, she said, "Human women can't break an engagement without being seen as lesser, damaged goods, for surely it wouldn't be the man's fault, only her own selfishness, foolishness, or lack of propriety that could bring her to do so. If a man ends an engagement, well, it just wasn't a good match."

"Humans have such strange ideas," he said. "If you ask it, I will call it off though, to save your reputation."

Sigrid smiled, her head bowing as she stared at their joined hands. "No, I don't think I want to call it off," she said after a few moments of thought. "I think there is still hope for us to find love with each other. It just may take a while."

Fili nodded. "Then I have something for you, although from what I understand, I'm doing this quite late by your people's traditions." His hand went to his pocket and he fiddled with a little box there as he spoke. "Dwarrow never declare themselves engaged, only showing it through our braids. I didn't realize that humans differed. I fear I neglected to even ask you to marry me that night."

"You sound as if you are about to propose," Sigrid said with a grin.

He slid off the bench, moving until he knelt on one knee in front of her. "I suppose I am. Sigrid, Ibrizinlêkhê, will you marry me?" He held up the box that Bard had given him months ago, displaying the simple gold band he had taken the time to repair and polish.

She laughed. "Of course I will, Dearest Fili," she said and reached to tug him back onto the bench next to her. He stood instead, pulled the ring from the box, and slipped it onto her finger. He covered her hand with both of his and bent to kiss her chastely before taking his spot by her side. Sigrid examined the ring as he took his seat, her brow furrowing as if trying to puzzle it out, why a prince with all the wealth of Erebor at his disposal would give her something so simple when, even among her own people, precious gems were perfectly acceptable and not ostentatious.

"Your father gave that to me. He said you would appreciate having it."

Sigrid covered her mouth and leaned forward when realization hit her, still staring at the ring on her now trembling hand. "Mum's," she whispered and he almost missed it, muffled as the breathy word was by her fingers. When tears started slipping down her cheeks, he gathered her into his arms, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"Ibrizinlêkhê," he murmured as he held her while silent tears dripped down her face.

When she'd gained some control again, she sat back upright and wiped her eyes and nose on a handkerchief. "I'm sorry. There's just so little of her left," she said. "Just this and a pair of earrings that I have, I think, and I plan to give the earrings to Tilda when she turns sixteen. She's growing to be the spitting image of our mother. It seems only right. Now I'll still have something of hers."

"You must take after your amad as well," he said. "Tilda looks so similar to you."

"So everyone tells me," she said and wiped away a few more tears. "I don't see it."

Fili cupped her face in his hands, drawing her forehead to his. "No matter what happens between us, know that I think you beautiful in your own right."

"Even without a beard?"

"Even without a beard," he assured her and drew her into a sweet kiss, uncaring if Bard looked on in that moment.

A/N: Thank you for the kind reviews. Please leave more if you have time. I look forward to hearing from you! Happy reading!