Gandalf and his horse halted so suddenly that it nearly threw Bofur off of the saddle.
The dwarf failed to hold back the yelp that rose in his throat at the action and instinctively reached up to grab his hat before it could fly off of his head, his dark eyes distinctly reproachful as they moved to lock on the wizard's face.
"Ya know, when I said I wanted a break a while back, I was sorta hopin' that I didn't mean that I wanted ta be thrown off of the bloody horse," he said pointedly.
Gandalf ignored him, as he had done for most of the ride, and simply stared off into the distance, his brow furrowed. Bofur turned in his seat in time to see Magan and Eldwyn come to a halt a few feet behind them, their own expressions troubled beneath their helms. The dwarf caught a brief glimpse of Primula and Adamant's confused features behind the Rohirrim's restraining arms and managed a small, relieved smile of his own.
Thank Mahal I'm not the only one who doesn't know what the blazes is going on.
"They changed their course," Eldwyn called finally. "Why would they go to Edoras?"
"Why indeed," Gandalf murmured grimly.
Bofur stiffened at the wizard's tone and glanced up again to demand to know what was going on, only to have the words die in his throat when Gandalf abruptly turned his horse around and fixed the two Men with a steely-eyed glare.
"Why has Fengel moved his forces to Helm's Deep?" the wizard asked.
"I- He fears the power of Saruman," Magan replied hesitantly. "Fengel King thought that the fortress at Helm's Deep would give him a better chance of defending himself from is enemies."
"Then tell me," Gandalf continued. "If the king is so worried about an attack from Saruman, why would he allow almost half of his army to leave him in order to patrol the Wold?"
"The King recognizes that not all of his citizens have had the chance to retreat with him into the fortress," Eldwyn snapped. "He sent us so that we could provide them with a safe escort into the fortress."
Bofur shivered at the sight of the frown that seemed to have taken up a permanent position on Gandalf's brow. One look at Primula, Adamant, and the Men of Rohan showed that he was not the only one who was becoming uneasy at the wizard's obvious displeasure, although it seemed to the toymaker that the Men were rather more anxious than the lasses of the Shire.
"How kind of him," Gandalf said dryly. "Although, forgive me, but I failed to see any inhabited villages on the Wold during my travels."
"You must have arrived after we had already evacuated them, then," Eldwyn countered, his voice remarkably steady despite the obvious fear in his dark eyes.
"Perhaps," the wizard mused. "Tell me, Men of Rohan, how long have you been travelling the Wold on this mission?"
"No more than a month," Magan admitted before Eldwyn could say anything.
"And have any of you been back at Helm's Deep since you first set out?" Gandalf presssed. "Surely you must have family waiting for you back at the fortress- have you been able to see them at all?"
"No," Eldwyn muttered reluctantly. "We have not."
Gandalf nodded as if he had expected this and directed his intense gaze at the toymaker in front of him. Bofur shifted uneasily beneath the wizard's sharp, knowing blue eyes, suddenly dreading the question that he could practically feel rising onto the wizard's tongue.
"Bofur," Gandalf said slowly. "While you were with the Rohirrim, did you see any civillians? Were there any children or any elderly people, anyone on foot? Was there anyone with the Rohirrim who was not dressed in armor?"
"Well, I didn' really get a good look," the toymaker began uneasily.
"Bofur," Gandalf interrupted.
"…No, I didn't see any civilians," he sighed. "Everyone that I saw was a trained warrior."
The wizard nodded again and edged his horse closer to the Men of Rohan. Magan jerked back unconsciously and nearly had his horse backing up as well, only to have the motion halted by Adamant's firm hand on the reins. Eldwyn didn't move, his features set like stone as he met the wizard's grim gaze.
"Now tell me," Gandalf growled. "What is Fengel planning?"
"He wants to avoid a war with Isengard," Eldwyn explained.
"How?" the wizard pressed.
"By offering Saruman a deal," the Rider sighed.
"What kind of deal?"
"Fengel King learned from his advisors that the White Wizard is seeking a hobbit that left the enchanted woods of Lothlórien with an object of immense power," Magan broke in. "Our King figured that he could convince Saruman not to attack him if he offered him the hobbit in exchange for peace."
"His advisors told him that the Halfling would be heading South," Eldwyn added. "Fengel figured that the traveller would have to cross through the Wold since the lands on the other side of the Anduin are far more dangerous. He ordered the Lady Feodwyn to take half of the Rohirrim and comb the Wold in search of the hobbit. She… We were not aware that Lord Thengel would be among those who were rumored to accompany the Halfling. If she has ordered the Rohirrim to go to Edoras instead of Helm's Deep…"
"Fengel will be furious," Magan sighed. "Although I cannot say that I blame her."
"I can," Eldwyn snarled. The hobbit in front of him flinched at the sharpness of his tone, but the Rider ignored her. "The Lady's sisters are still in Helm's Deep, along with Lady Maecwen's husband, my kinsmen. If Fengel King cannot take his anger out on Lady Feodwyn, he will punish her sisters and my kin in her stead. I will not stand back and watch my people die for the sake of one Halfling and a prince that couldn't be bothered to stay and look after his kingdom himself."
Magan stared at the other Man as if he had gone mad, his eyes flashing with something like temper as he opened his mouth.
Bofur didn't even wait for him to say a word.
"I'm sure it's easy for you ta think that the life of one hobbit is worth less than the lives of a couple of your kin, 'specially since ye don' know the Halfling like I do," Bofur began slowly. "But I can assure you that if there was even a chance of your king's plan succeeding, there would be more dire consequences than the loss of one mere hobbit. This quest that he has taken, that we all have taken, isn't just for our sakes. Do ye really think that I would agree ta leave my brother and his children an' my cousin an' my home if I didn' believe that this quest was more important than anyone's individual happiness.
"An' if you wanna talk about kin," he continued harshly. "Then I will tell you that I consider every member of that Company to be my honorary kin, an' perhaps some of them will be true kin one day, Mahal willing. Do not talk to me of putting your kin over everything else, not when my kin and I are prepared to sacrifice everything for the sake of beings that we have never met."
Eldwyn was silent following the dwarf's speech. His dark eyes were keen as they studied the dwarf that sat stiffly in front of a smug wizard, his shoulders slumped in weary defeat.
"…Where do you want us to go, Wizard?" Magan asked when the other Man remained silent.
Gandalf was silent for a long moment, his expression thoughtful. Finally, he gave a sharp nod and turned his horse back to the rolling plains ahead of them, his staff clutched tightly in his hand.
"We ride to Edoras to head off the Rohirrim," he declared. "Something tells me that Saruman will not be willing to wait for your King's plan to come to fruition before he attacks, particularly since the one that Fengel seeks is far from his reach."
The wizard's companions nodded with varying degrees of willingness and understanding and spurred their horses into motion moments after Gandalf set off again.
*Bagginshield*Bagginshield*Bagginshield*
The Rohirrim finally stopped to make camp after night had settled across the Wold in a thick blanket of darkness.
Kíli slipped off of Illiandur's horse with a low grown, his eyes widening slightly even as his legs buckled beneath him. Strong hands caught his shoulders before he could fall and a low, amused chuckle reached his ears. The dwarf bit his lip to keep from smiling and allowed Illiandur to steady him for a single, heavenly moment before he forced himself to step away, his hands moving to tug at the hem of his tunic before he accepted the pack that the Man had handed down to him.
"I didn't realize that dwarves were so skilled at riding on horseback," Illiandur noted dryly.
Kíli raised his eyebrows and resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at the Man.
"I'll have you know that I am very good with ponies that are a proper size," he huffed. "Dwarves aren't meant to ride on top of these bloody giants."
Illiandur simply laughed and looked up as Thengel and Fíli moved to stand next to them, their shoulders hunched slightly beneath the combined weight of the packs that the elves of Lothlórien had provided them with and the thicker blankets that the Rohirrim had pressed into their hands shortly after they had stopped for the night. Kíli barely held back a smug smirk when he saw Fíli stumble with a small grimace.
"Have a bit of trouble with the horses, brother dear?" he called sweetly.
Fíli merely raised his eyebrows, unimpressed, apparently oblivious to the chuckles that Illiandur had failed to hold back. Thengel shook his head with a small, wry smile that faded within moments. Kíli felt his own smile fade in response, his thoughts flying back to thoughts of the golden haired woman that several of their companions had chased across the Wold hours before. He wondered for the thousandth time what had made the horsewoman send them away and wished that he had been able to go after with Ori, Dwalin and Gimli.
Illiandur wouldn't have left Thengel, though, the youngest prince of Erebor reminded himself. And it's not like I could have left Fee behind…Besides, what kind of dwarf would I be if I left my brother and my One alone?
Then again… Uncle Thorin sort of let Bilbo go off on his own… Although, the circumstances were kind of incredibly different in his case.
And it's not like Illiandur actually knows that I'm-
"Kee?"
Kíli jumped at the sound of his brother's voice and the feel of Fíli's warm hand on his shoulder, his mouth curving into an automatic smile in response to the concerned glances that Illiandur and Fíli were sending his way. Thengel merely glanced at him with raised eyebrows before slipping away to help several of the Rohirrim set up camp. The Horse Lord paused to help the Rider that had taken Dori from Feodwyn, his free hand gesturing towards a small huddle of Riders that had already formed several feet away before he began to lead the wincing dwarf and his companion in their direction.
"Thengel was just telling us to find a group to sleep with for the night," Fíli explained once Kíli had turned back to look at him. "Doesn't look like they're the type of blokes to pitch tents, but Thengel said that the men were going to get a few fires going to keep the Orcs away."
Kíli frowned at that and cocked his head to the side, his expression quickly morphing into another smile when the gesture made Illiandur smile slightly.
"How exactly is a fire supposed to keep Orcs away?" he asked.
"The Men of Rohan often choose to separate into smaller groups with multiple fires in order to make the enemy think that there are more of us than there really are," a passing Rider explained, his armored shoulders bent beneath a bundle of wood and the familiar worn wool of a knapsack. The Man paused to offer Kíli a cheerful grin and a wink. "Don't you worry, lad. No Orcs are going to get the best of us."
"Thank you," Illiandur growled before Kíli could say anything. The Man of Gondor blushed at the smirks that Fíli and Kíli flashed him in response.
"…And he's not a lad," he grumbled after a few moments.
The Man of Rohan nodded slowly and continued past the trio after sending another wry grin over his shoulder in Kíli's direction. The prince choked back a laugh at the thunderous expression on Illiandur's face and readjusted the pack that had been slung across his own shoulders.
"He seemed nice," Fíli drawled. "Now, about where we should sleep for the night-."
"This way," Illiandur grunted. The Man turned without another word and started off in the opposite direction than the one in which the other Rider had gone. Kíli bit his lip and nearly choked on a laugh when his brother roughly nudged his arm with a wide grin.
"I like him," Fíli muttered.
"I'm not sharing him," Kíli whispered.
"Wasn't going to ask you to," the oldest prince retorted. The heir of Erebor carefully pried a small leather satchel out of the inside of his tunic and shook it in front of Kíli's face before tucking it away once more. "I've got my own bead to carve."
Kíli smiled slightly and trudged after Illiandur and his brother, his fingers slipping between the folds of his own tunic to play with an identical pouch that suddenly seemed to weigh far too much for its size.
I need to tell him…
Illiandur left the brothers shortly after setting up his sleeping mat with a mumbled comment about helping Thengel figure out what was going on. Fíli and Kíli frowned at each other and shrugged simultaneously before pulling their pouches out of their tunics in nearly identical movements that had been known to scare those who didn't know them. Kíli paused and craned his neck to look over Fíli's shoulder as his brother carefully allowed a half-carved rose bead into his palm, his eyes widening slightly when he saw the tiny oak leaves and intricately-carved roses and-
"What kind of flowers are those?" he whispered.
"Black poplars," Fíli sighed. "I… I asked Bilbo- They represent courage, and I… I just figured since she's brave- not that she seems to know that, of course, although I have no idea how she can't know that since she's absolutely amazing and- Shut up, Kee."
"I didn't say anything," Kíli managed to choke out over the laughter that was bubbling up in his throat. "Although if you plan on making any speeches like that, oh future King of Erebor, we might need to have a little talk with Balin-."
Fíli snarled something in Khuzdul and half-heartedly attempted to stab his brother with a carving tool before refocusing on his bead, only to perk up when Kíli shook his own jade stone into his hand.
"…Is that even a tree?" he muttered.
"Yes," Kíli growled. "It's a… It's Númenórean."
"Ah," Fíli hummed. "And… how do you know what anything Númenórean looks like?"
"I saw an engraving of it on Illiandur's scabbard and I asked him," Kíli huffed. The youngest prince bit his lip again and shifted uneasily on top of his sleeping mat. "…Do you think the stars are alright?"
Fíli hummed again and gently lifted the bead in front of his sharp blue eyes in order to get a better look. Kíli all but held his breath as he waited for his brother's verdict, his eyes flickering with unwilling admiration across the half-finished sprawling limbs of the tree and the rough outlines of arches of tiny stars interspersed with miniature arrows and-
"Butterflies?" Fíli choked. "You decided to put butterflies on your courting bead?"
"…Is there a problem?"
"I- You- I'm just sort of wondering why you thought that butterflies would be a great choice?" the older prince managed.
Kíli glared at him and snatched the bead out of his brother's fingers before the other prince could utter another word.
"I… Don't laugh, but… do you remember those butterflies that mum used to show us in Ered Luin? The ones that were orange and black with the white speckles?"
Fíli's smile widened but he nodded with all the solemnity that he could muster.
"Don't you remember how one of the Men who came to the Mountains for trade called them 'monarchs'?"
His brother nodded again, his features a touch more solemn than they had been before.
"I just… I grew up waiting for those months when the butterflies would come. They always seemed to free and happy, but at the same time there was something regal about them despite the fact that they were barely larger than my fingernail. And, ah, when I… When Illiandur rode away from me because of Thengel's comments about him being half dwarf and I first saw his hair… all I could think about were those damn butterflies and how much he reminded me of them."
"Why?" Fíli murmured.
"Because, to me, he is just as beautiful and regal as any 'monarch'," Kíli sighed. "Because he deserves to be happy and free, and if he can find both of those things with me, I will be the happiest person to ever walk across Middle Earth."
His brother stared at him in silence for several long moments, his fingers curled with tender protectiveness around his pale pink bead.
"…You're going to be writing all of my speeches for me whenever I'm king, I hope you know that, Kee."
Kíli rolled his eyes and playfully shoved his brother before turning back to his stone. The brothers quickly descended into silence, their tools carving into their stones with a delicacy and tenderness that probably would have surprised any casual observers. Kíli smiled as he always did while working on a project, trying to ignore the dark knot of worry that quivered in his gut at the thought of what Illiandur would say when he finally told the Man about his desire to court him. Obviously, the prince was thrilled that the Man of Gondor had finally started to talk to him and even seemed to enjoy spending time with him, but he couldn't help but worry that Illiandur's friendliness would disappear-.
"Both of you are carving now?"
Kíli jerked at the sound of Illiandur's voice and flashed a quick, panicked glanced down at the stone in his hand to ensure that the movement hadn't caused him to scratch the stone's milky-green surface. He sighed in relief when he saw that the surface was still smooth aside from his designs and glanced up to catch Illiandur's apologetic grimace before the Man settled beside him on the ground. Fíli looked up from his stone and offered the two a small smirk before turning back to his work, his smile widening when Kíli hastily threw his bead back into its satchel.
"That brother of yours has been carving every night since we left Lothlórien," Illiandur explained. "And now I find you carving as well. Tell me, Master Kíli is this a dwarf thing?"
"Uncle Thorin was carving as well before we left the Anduin," Fíli muttered.
"Was he?" Illiandur blinked in obvious surprise. "By the Valar, I never noticed."
"Well, he couldn't exactly be very obvious about it," the blond prince of Erebor huffed. "Bilbo was with him every night, and he would have known what Thorin was doing the minute he saw the bead in his hand."
"Then why were you so open about your carving?" the Man pressed. "If these stones are gifts for the hobbit, surely he would have noticed your work as well?"
Fíli froze at that and looked up at Illiandur with wide eyes before he began to laugh, his laughter only growing louder when he caught sight of the look on his brother's face.
"Oh, Mahal no, these aren't for Bilbo," Fíli choked. "By the Valar- Could you imagine the look that Uncle Thorin would give us if we were to give these beads to Bilbo?"
Kíli's shoulders shook with laughter at the thought, his nervous smile only widening when Illiandur turned to glare at him.
"Dwarves," the Man growled. "Do you have to be so damned vague about every-?"
"They're making courting beads," Dori grunted.
The trio started and whirled around just as the white-haired dwarf limped toward them, his arm wrapped around a weary Thengel's waist in a silent request for support. The Man of Rohan smiled at Dori's words and glanced at the two younger dwarves with a familiar mischievous spark in his eyes.
"Courting beads?" the Horse Lord repeated wryly. "By the Valar, I didn't expect there to be romance on this mad venture."
The Fíli glowered at him in response and tucked his bead away before either of the new arrivals could get a good look. Dori's eyebrows rose at the movement, his pale eyes sharp and alert beneath the pain that Kíli could still read in his gaze.
"Dwarves carve beads for those that they desire to court," the older dwarf explained, his voice lowering into a pained hiss when Thengel helped him to sit on the hard earth between Fíli and Illiandur. "Most of the time, the type of stone that the dwarf uses symbolizes what they want for the one that they love, while the carvings that are etched into the stones are meant to show things that the dwarf admires about their intended along with symbols that identify the dwarf who carved the stone in the first place."
"We didn't choose the stones," Kíli blurted out before he could stop himself. "Well- Not really. I mean, I probably would have chosen a stone like this even if it hadn't been given to me and I think Fee would have too, but… I mean, we couldn't exactly say no to the Lady Galadriel and-."
"Galadriel gave you these stones?" Illiandur murmured, his brow furrowed with the same frown that had marred his features ever since Dori had brought up the subject of courting beads. "Why?"
"She has the gift of prophecy," Fíli huffed. "She probably saw that we would need them… at some point."
"What do the stones mean?" Thengel pressed.
"Who are they for is probably a better question," Dori grumbled.
The Horse Lord huffed and waved his hand dismissively, his brown eyes nearly glowing with long-absent amusement at the way Dori's frown deepend in response.
"Please, anyone with eyes already knows the answer to that question," Thengel chortled. "So tell me, Master Dwarves, what do your stones mean?"
Kíli glared at the Man, his irritation and anger fading slightly at the sight of the bright, almost desperate gleam of amusement in Thengel's eyes.
"...It's jade," he explained with a sigh. "It's usually used to attract love and money, but it can also be used as protection against accidents and misfortune."
"Are you implying that your lover needs protection from something?" Thengel asked casually, his smile widening wickedly when Illiandur visibly stiffened at the word 'lover'.
"No," Kíli mumbled with a hesitant glance in Illiandur's direction. "It is only a promise that I will do all that I can to… stand by their side and protect them, if they would let me."
"Rose quartz," Fíli broke in quickly, his hand reaching out to press against Kíli's shoulder in a quick, silent gesture of support. "It, ah, it's a love stone that's used to help people realize their self-worth. My… One doesn't seem to realize how precious they are and I want them to see how much they mean to me… and to others."
Kíli's brother paled beneath Dori's intent gaze, his shoulders tensing when the older dwarf shifted closer to him with a pained grunt.
"…I think that you and I have to have a little talk, my lad," Dori observed casually.
Kíli nearly laughed at the wide-eyed, panicked look that Fíli shot in his direction, only to freeze as well when calloused hands deftly plucked the small leather pouch out of his hands. The youngest prince of Erebor whipped around with a low noise of protest, his eyes widening in horror even as Illiandur gently shook the pale green stone into his palm. The Man of Gondor stubbornly ignored Kíli's hissed demands that he return the bead and carefully lifted the gem closer to his eye.
"This… This is the tree of Númenór," he murmured.
Kíli swallowed thickly and bobbed his head in a nod that Illiandur was too stunned to notice.
"…Yes," he croaked when the Man of Gondor still didn't look away from the stone.
"And the arrows… Of course, I keep forgetting that you're an archer," Illiandur murmured faintly. "Are those- Those are butterflies, aren't they?"
"Yes."
The Man of Gondor took a deep breath and carefully slipped the bead back into its satchel. He managed to return the leather bag to Kíli's waiting hands without once looking in the dwarf's direction before clambering to his feet.
"…Excuse me," he mumbled. "There are- I need to…" His voice trailed off and he shook his head, not even bothering to finish the sentence before he turned and walked away.
Hey all! I'm so sorry that it took so long to get this up, but, hey, better late than never, right? Hope you all are having a great new year so far! I'm going to try and see if I can get another update in before I head back to college on Sunday, but we'll see what happens. Thank you all for being so awesome and patient with me so far, and I really hope that you liked this. I couldn't resist throwing some more angst in here (sorrynotsorry). Also, I know that we haven't really seen a lot of Bilbo and Lobelia lately, but I'm going to try and get this thing moving towards its first Battle before I focus on them too much, mkay?
Thanks again to everyone who has read/reviewed this! You guys rock!