Kíli grabbed a spare piece of food. " This is calling for revenge..."
The moment he threw it at the people sitting in front of him on the other side of the table, utter chaos erupted. Mostly everyone was done with their food and thus, everything that was still lying on the table was from now on suitable to be used to attack.
Both Kíli and Fíli next to her were already engaged in attack and defense, and as she looked around she found that everyone had joined in except for Bilbo and Thorin.
The moment they caught her looking at them, Bilbo quietly pointed under the table and then disappeared to exactly there. Thorin leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms in front of his chest and sighed. When she looked at him in question, he simply shrugged.
There were two possibilities now: either she could hide under the table until it was all over like Bilbo, or get engaged in the fight like everyone else.
The decision was taken from her when she saw a piece of bread clashing against Kíli's head. Instinctively she grabbed the closest object which happened to be the very same piece of potato and threw it in Bombur's direction, who happened to be attacking Kíli in that moment. She was not one to hide anyway.
A piece of fish hit her shoulder, leaving an oily mark on her new clothing. But who cared about clothing; this was war! A second later someone hit her right in the middle of her chest with something she did not even recognize, but it left another mark. Something else hit her, an apple, right on her cheek bone. She let out a quiet hiss, it really stung. But she would not yet give up.
The other side started an attack, and she found herself pairing up with Kíli and Fíli. Unfortunately they were in the minority, as Bilbo and Thorin did not do much for support.
Tauriel became the the major target, being hit by almost every food on the table.
Kíli on the other hand tried to defend her the best he could. Even though they only so few people, the shouting and laughing was almost louder than thunder.
Something knocked her ale over, causing it to shower both Tauriel and Kíli right next to her.
Narrowing her eyes, Tauriel grabbed an apple and hit a mug on the other side, covering half of their opponents in ale. Kíli turned to look at her with a smirk and admiration. It was only once second he did not pay attention, but already a piece of something that had become unidentifiable hit him in the head. With an angry glare he turned around again and grabbed an apple to follow Tauriel's example.
Tauriel felt something tapping her knee under the table and she looked down, finding Bilbo looking at her. " Is it over yet?"
" No..." She laughed and an idea shot through her head. " Bilbo, could you try to scare the other side only for a short moment? Since you are the burglar, I assume you can move quietly!"
" Uh, yes, well I could sure do that..." He answered, somewhat unsure about the idea.
" Please, Bilbo, we are in the minority and I would feel bad if Kíli lost twice in one day!" She asked with a smile.
" Fine, I will do it... Only wait a moment..." He disappeared further under the table and Tauriel sat straight up once more, blocking something that was flying her way.
She leaned closer to Kíli and whispered something to him, then did the same with Fíli. Both nodded, much to the confusion but not distraction of the other side.
The game of attack and defense continued until Bilbo got to stand behind the other side, without being noticed. The only ones who could see him were the ones who were part of the plan anyway. He nodded at Tauriel, who in return shot Kíli and Fíli a short look. All three of them stopped throwing. Confused the other side continued the attack for a short time only, but then stopped. " Are you giving up yet?"
" No." Kíli smirked and that moment made an incredibly loud and uncomfortable noise behind them. The short second of distraction and shock was wisely used by the three of them and they started their counter attack, completely overpowering their enemies.
Still confused, all of them raised up their hands and yelled that they'd give up.
Satisfied, Tauriel, Kíli and Fíli sat back down in their chairs and laughed. Bilbo came back to his place next to Thorin and sat down.
" That was amazing, thank you!" Tauriel grinned at him.
" I could not let my friends down after all..." Bilbo responded sheepishly.
" Hey, are we not your friends?" Ori complained.
" Oh yes indeed you are, you were simply not quick enough to ask me for help!" Bilbo responded calmly and with a smile.
" By my beard, who even had this idea?" Glóin asked roughly.
" Me..." Tauriel smirked at them, " I am sorry, but this is how battles are won..."
" We shouldn't let the lass enter any battle unless it's for our side..." He laughed in return.
" We should not engage in any battle..." Thorin commented, making everyone fall silent, but then his voice got friendlier, " But indeed having Tauriel around is clearly at our advantage."
Kíli grinned at Tauriel once he processed his uncle's words. She returned the gaze with a smile and a wink. " You look like you have bathed in food."
" So do you my dear..." He answered, laughing, and picked a piece of food out of her hair.
" You look worse than I do!" Fíli commented once he looked around at his brother and Tauriel. " Actually it is up to Kíli to be the one who's hit worst. Now it appears to me that you might actually might be the new favorite target."
" She's Kíli's lass, of course she is the new favorite target!" Said Dwalin as if it was the most obvious thing ever.
" How dare you, hitting on a girl!" Kíli complained to his friends, making Tauriel chuckle. Even though Kíli was the youngest, he still had manners.
" By my beard, Kíli, she's not that type of girl, now stop acting like one yourself!"
Obviously Tauriel knew what they meant, and even though she took it as a compliment for being tough, it still hurt her for some reason. Was this really how people saw her? Not that being seen as a warrior was bad, in fact she preferred it to anything else, but somehow it still bothered her. She chose to ignore it for now.
Instead she watched Fíli fetch most of the now empty mugs and carrying them over to the barrel. She took the remaining ones and brought them over as well, all the while she could feel Kíli's eyes following her as conversations continued.
Fíli handed her filled mugs which she then carried to the table and passed on to the already waiting dwarfs.
Once she sat back down again, Fíli placed her filled mug in front of her before sitting down himself.
She had not gotten to drink much of the previous one and by now her clothing was soaked in ale anyway. But now she had eaten after all and so she took a sip of the rather cold liquid. It had a different taste to it than the one she had tried before, yet she liked it somehow.
Looking around, she realized that most mugs were empty again, standing on the table again. Out of the corner of her eye she observed Kíli and had to smirk as she found him doing the same.
" Are you sure about drinking this?" He asked quietly.
" I like it at least!" She answered and confidently continued to sip her drink.
" If you say so..." There was a certain worried undertone to his voice, but she really did not know why he would worry about this. She was on her first mug after all, while the others were already entering round three. Still she did not want to worry him and thus reached for his hand under the table, giving it a gentle squeeze before interlacing their fingers.
" Mahal, the food fights will have to stop once the women are back..." Fíli sighed.
" I'm happy for 'em to come back, ya know, but then the quiet will be gone..." Glóin sighed. " My little lad is better than quiet though..."
" Are there many children coming here?" Tauriel asked Kíli quietly. She did not want to embarrass herself by not knowing anything about the rest of their kin.
" Quite a few I'd say..." He looked at Fíli in question, " What do you think?"
Fíli nodded, " I think it will make quite the difference to have the women and children back here..."
" At least I will not be the only woman anymore..." Tauriel chuckled, " Even though I have been in good company ever since."
" Why thank you, I am happy to hear that!" Fíli smirked and earned himself a nudge of Kíli's elbow.
" Your mother, what is she like?" She asked curiously.
" The princess?" Balin asked from the other side of the table.
" She's one kind of a lass, that be sure..." Bofur chuckled, causing Thorin to glare at him.
" Mahal, she'd love you if only you were a dwarf..." Glóin said.
Tauriel looked at them with interest but also with amusement. " If I was a dwarf?"
" She doesn't think too good about any other race... Like our dour king here, they're siblings after all."
" I am sitting right in front of you." Thorin said calmly, but with a hint of dangerous humor.
" She will still love you!" Kíli assured her, coming back to the topic.
" Why would she?" Tauriel wondered and tried to be rational, " After all, I still do look like an elf, which makes it quite obvious that I am not a dwarf, then I am certainly not a lady and most likely not what she had in mind for her son at all."
" First of all you do not need to be a dwarf to be absolutely awesome and lovable. Then, why do you think you are not a lady?"
" Being a lady does not mean running around in dresses and act like a chicken..." Fíli commented, causing his friends to laugh.
" Well, I am most certainly not a chicken." Tauriel smiled. " But what difference does it make, she will not like me for so many reasons, I could not even name you all."
" And even if, why would it bother you?" Thorin asked, much to her surprise. " I did not like you, and as far as I remember the three of you did a perfect job making me change my opinion rather quickly."
" You know Dís... She had no burglar to change her morals beforehand." Balin said.
Thorin looked at Bilbo at his side, who was suddenly very interested in the place in front of him.
" If she says a bad word about you, I swear by my beard we'll make it right. You're quite alright and make that lad next to you happy, she'll see that." Glóin nodded at Tauriel.
" Very happy..." Kíli repeated quietly and winked at her.
" Thank you all." She said with a smile, happy that they seemed to have grown pretty fond of her.
" If I was you, I'd rather worry about the other maidens..." Ori suddenly remarked, " Kíli, you know how they act around you and Fíli... If they get to know that now one of you is eternally out of the game, there will be some hatred coming her way..."
" They'll be jealous as chickens... Their chances to become a princess just have been reduced to half!"
" Become a princess?" Tauriel asked irritated.
" Where does the lass live?!" Dwalin grumbled.
" If you are to marry a prince, you by definition become a princess, that is the way it is. And lemme tell you, there are quite a few maidens who wish this fate to be theirs." Balin explained patiently.
Tauriel looked at her ale, quietly, and sipped on it. She had honestly never thought about these topics, and still she refused to. This was yet too far out of her mindset.
" However, it means more opportunities for you, brother!" Kíli chuckled. He wanted to change the topic, as he could tell it made her feel uncomfortable.
" Don't be silly, Kee, once mother is back she will start matchmaking again, I do not have the luck to choose."
Thorin listened to their conversation quietly, thinking about his nephews. He knew his sister's matchmaking very well and he also knew how neither Fíli nor Kíli could ever stand it. She would pick the strangest fellas, having his poor nephews put up with their greed for fame and status.
" You may choose whoever you think is suitable to make you happy, Fíli." He finally said, " Your mother's meddling should not be a priority in your choice, and you most certainly do not need to make me happy either."
Bilbo smiled to himself. He was proud of Thorin, he really was a good uncle. He tried, really tried to be there for them. And for some reason this made Bilbo happy. Under all the gloominess and discipline, his friend truly had a loving heart, at least when it came to those close to him.
" Thank you..." Fíli responded respectfully. This was not only his uncle speaking, but also his king.
" Poor mother... She does not even know what is awaiting her." Kíli chuckled.
" Neither does the rest of them!" Bilbo added, smiling and looking around at everyone.
" And neither do we..." Tauriel muttered under her breath and finished her ale. She was definitely not going to drink more of this, it made her gloomy and caused her to feel weird.
" Are you alright?" Kíli asked concerned, giving her hand that he was still holding a short squeeze.
" Yea..." She responded, " This ale only causes me to feel weird."
His eyes displayed pure empathy and comfort, " I am so sorry, amrâlimê... You did not drink much of it though, so you should feel better quickly."
Her lips pulled up in a half smile and she moved closer to him, unnoticed by the rest. His presence was comforting.
" Why did you drink all of it in the first place if it makes you feel bad?" Fíli asked, entering their conversation.
" It tastes good..." She answered, shrugging, " And I did not know that it would do this to me."
" Nah, don't you look so sad laddie!" Dwalin said to her from the opposite side. " These fellas will sing ya a nice melody!" He looked around the small group, everyone cheery at the idea of a song.
Tauriel's face brightened up. Music, she had definitely missed it! Kíli gave her a nudge and a smile which she returned.
Bilbo's eyes light up with an idea as he leaned closer to Thorin, " You should sing the one I last heard at my fireplace! Unfortunately I did not get to enjoy it as much as I would have liked..."
Thorin raised his eyebrows at Bilbo first, then at Balin and finally looking all around the table.
" Oh you will like this..." Kíli said to Tauriel, who all of sudden did not feel as gloomy anymore.
It started a soft humming, getting louder with every second. The deep, and incredibly calming tune had something about it that made her shiver, in a positive sense. The humming went through her body, and she could feel it from her nose to her toes. For minutes she listened to deep voices telling the story of the lonely mountain, and it almost made her sleepy, feeling so peaceful and calm on the inside. This was so different from the songs she had heard before, yet it felt familiar.
The voices faded into humming and finally the humming faded into silence.
" This was beautiful..." She smiled to herself, but a short moment later cringed ever so slightly. The funny feeling in her stomach had turned into a rather annoying pain and from time to time she would feel dizzy for a second or two. Yet, it was nothing she could not handle and thus it stayed unnoticed by her companions at first.
" What are planning to do tomorrow?" Thorin asked his nephews while the group broke up into small arguments between fewer people.
" I will be obediently following your instructions as always..." Fíli answered with a sarcastic undertone to it and grinned at his uncle and Bilbo, " Cannot leave your hobbit to do all the work by himself."
" He is not my hobbit!" Thorin frowned.
" Just let them have it, trust me, just let it go, it's for the better..." Bilbo sighed and Thorin chose to believe him, looking at Kíli expectantly.
Kíli in return looked at Tauriel with raised eyebrows, and only got a shrug as answer.
" I wouldn't dare to interfere I your planning, but you might want to wash your clothes and take a bath... Both of you." Fíli commented chuckling.
" It is not our fault that someone started a food fight!" Kíli said in defense.
" You started it, Kee..."
" No I did not! I only did what I had to do by defending my love! It was not me who hit her with a potato in the first place!"
Fíli snorted, shaking his head in amusement and Tauriel wanted to do the same, but the ache in her stomach turned into a piercing and tearing pain which made it difficult to smile decently. This had never happened to her, but then again she had never really been eating or drinking a lot besides the usual elvish foods.
Kíli pushed a strand of hair that had come loose out of her face, " What is it? Please, Tauriel, you are worrying me..."
" Really Kíli, I can handle it, it's alright!"
" You are pale as snow and your hands are cold... If it was me with that look on my face you would know what I mean. It's not alright, I can tell!"
" Maybe you should bring her back to your room..." Thorin suggested calmly. " We are about done here anyway."
Tauriel frowned in despair, " Please, I am alright really!"
Kíli knew he would not even get her to admit it if she was close to passing out, and even less would he get her to leave if he did not carry her out himself.
" Alright, we came together and so we should leave together..." Fíli said with a glance at Kíli. " I will go back to my room with you."
" This is really not necessa-..." She was cut off by a new wave of pain which made her grid her teeth. Alright, maybe she was not fine. Something was, in fact, seriously wrong with her.
To be continued...
Finally I got to finish this chapter! I was so busy the last days, so this is just a fun chapter :) I promise the next one will be more interesting for you though...
Hope you still enjoy it, let me know about any thoughts! :D