CHapter 26: A Night Of Well-Mannered Frivolity
I couldn't resist the title! Whoever can guess where it's from can have some of my lolly snakes!
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Plenty of Fíli POV, so I hope you enjoy!
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"So…" Ira turned to look at Khayl from where she was seated right beside her and Kíli peeped over the female's shoulder. Khayl expected Fíli was watching from where he was seated on her other side. "Why's the fete held in a forest?"
"What do mean?" Kíli asked, scrunching his face up in confusion.
"I mean what I said," Khayl rolled her eyes. "I would expect something like this to be held in mountain halls or among the stone."
Ira glanced back at Kíli and the both shrugged, neither knowing the answer nor having worried about it before. Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, it was Fíli who answered their question.
"Kíli and Ira are too young to remember," he said in a solemn voice and prodded at a half-eaten pudding. "Kíli was only two when we held the first fete here, and I was seven."
Khayl stayed silent, wondering as to the relevance behind the ages.
"Our father had died in a battle against humans who were adverse to us settling here. We grieved for him, and then we celebrated his life."
"That must have been hard for one so young," Khayl said softly. Fíli smiled sadly, the red lamps making his hair glow like fire.
"It was, and Thorin saw how distraught our mother was. A fete is an old tradition, but uncle began the tradition of it being held in the forest, away from the stone in which our loved ones were buried. He decreed that the celebrations should be full of joy and peace, a time to put aside old hates so that our dead would wish to walk among us again, if only for a night," Fíli smiled and tilted his head back, gazing at the starts that were just visible between the thickly knit leaves. "The idea is that by being away from the entombed, they would have to seek us out rather than just enjoy the festivities from where they lay."
"That's… very sneaky," Khayl said, but couldn't summon the desire to be filled with ill will against it amongst such light hearted company. "Drawing the dead away from their resting places just so you can see them again. Has it ever worked?"
"I believe…" Fíli began, rolling his head around so that he glanced at her lazily from the corner of his eye with that same serene smile on his lips. "I believe that their spirits come amongst us to join in our celebrations. Tonight the younger dwarves will remain behind and we all attempt to glean a little something from them, whether it be courage, knowledge, skill or empathy, we all ask our loved ones for something come midnight."
"What do you ask for?" Khayl asked Fíli softly, their conversation nearly lost beneath the tumultuous revelry that surrounded them.
The prince stared of into the trees where the shadows were so thick you could almost touch them, and he sighed.
"Forgiveness."
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From the moment she had walked into that clearing and stepped into the firelight Khayl had possessed the rapt attention of every young, eligible male present. Some weren't even young or eligible.
Her hair was like wild, untamed dragon fire in the red light, and for the first time Fíli had seen it hung loose and long about her shoulders. Her braids still fell from her temples and her hair was still meticulously pulled back from her ears but there were still elaborate knots and loops hidden all throughout the thick mass.
It made an astonishing contrast to the forest green and gold of her dress which stood out among the blues, purples and reds of the rest of the dwarves. And it did wonders to emphasise all the finer points of her body…
Khayl looked so lost and confused amongst the rest of the dwarves, her face standing out amongst the crowd as she stared all about her, trying to drink everything in. A number of males were openly watching her now, many of them with dark expressions on their faces that could mean no good to a young lass.
For some reason unbeknownst to him Fíli the sight of it caused him to clench his teeth and clench them he did. In fact, so hard did he grit his teeth that he could feel his jaw pinging, even through the aching. Then someone stepped about and took Khayl's arm, pulling her through the crowd. Fíli went from aching teeth and a clenched jaw to openly growly deep in his throat in less than a second.
"Fíli?"
Fíli whipped around, ready to deal with whoever was disrupting him, but then he choked off the growl mid sound as he came face to face with his little brother. He stared for a moment, confused as to what had just happened.
"You alright?" Kíli asked. "Only, you were making strange noises…?"
"Yeah, fine," Fíli replied hoarsely. He attempted to clear his throat and the sound of it gave him an idea. "Just trying to clear my throat. Ale went down the wrong way."
Kíli seemed to buy this and turned his attention away from his brother, before spotting friends
"Ira and Khayl are here!" he cried with all the exuberance that Fíli was used to, and Fíli glanced up, forgetting that it had been Khayl who had caused his little… moment. But now he saw that the figure, whom his mind –strange thing as it was – had decided was a threat to Khayl, or himself, he wasn't sure, was actually Ira dragging Khayl through the crowd towards them. Internally he cursed the folly of his instincts and, not for the first time, wondered what on earth was wrong with Khayl in order to make him react to her in such a way. It certainly wasn't normal, whatever it was that they had.
"Ira looks wonderful," Fíli said, though his addled brain warned him it probably wasn't a good idea. Indeed it was right, as Kíli's head snapped around and his eyes narrowed in a ferocious kind of way that indeed spooked Fíli. Especially as it was his brother who glared at him in such a way.
But it was as a rain cloud passing and then Kíli seemed to realise who it was that he was on the verge of snarling at and his eyes cleared, though he continued to look slightly puzzled. He awkwardly clapped Fíli on the shoulder.
"That she does," he replied eventually, though Fíli wasn't paying him an ounce of mind. In fact, his thoughts were whirring about what he had just seen. For certainly Fíli had seen jealous dwarves react before, but was that what he had looked like just moments ago? Over Khayl? What possible reason could there be for him to react in such a way?
It didn't make sense, none of it. How, or why, could the very sight of Khayl being touched or looked at by another cause him to completely loose himself? And why was it that when she glanced in his eyes, if only for the fleetest of glances, something burned through him with all the ferocity of a lightning bolt? Though it wasn't quite as bad as it had been previously; now that he was seeing her more and more often he was becoming accustomed to the sensation, and it appeared to have dulled to a terrible aching. It was an improvement, of sorts.
The females approached and Kíli stood, holding out an arm for Ira, who sat beside him gratefully. Khayl hesitated before she slipped into the seat next to Ira. Coincidentally it was also beside Fíli, who was now wedged in by an overly large, ginger dwarf on one side and a beautiful dwarrowdam who frustrated him to the halls of Mahal and back. He tried to shimmy towards the stranger a little but was jostled back, and was now even closer to the red head. They were nigh on pressed together now with the number of dwarves trying to cram onto the benches for food. Fortunately they were practiced at ignoring one another's presence by this point.
Eating was a joyous affair, though fractured by jokes, stories, laughter. But then the time came to clear side the food and for the ale, wine and other spirits to be drawn forth. Those who hadn't utterly gorged themselves swept a partner to their feet and whirled away to the dance floor. Kíli offered Ira his hand and they allowed themselves to be whirled away in the stamping, clapping, shouting crowd. Khayl and Fíli remained at the table, spaces around them opening and being filled with alarming rapidness. The constant whirlwind of half-recognised faces was enough to tire one thoroughly.
Khayl was halfway through a tankard when a young male finally bolstered his courage. He swaggered up behind where she sat, and she raised an eyebrow at him, her tankard halfway to her lips. His confidence wavered. Fíli curled his lip imperceptibly at the dark haired youth, before collecting himself and staring down at the table in rapt fascination, reciting every verse of an old ballad to help calm himself.
From the corner of his eye he saw Khayl shoot a glance at Mila, who had her eyes narrowed and was watching her, and then down the rest of her ale in one. She took the lad's hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet before escorting her towards the dance floor.
Fíli watched in a detached kind of fascination as Khayl whirled through the crowd with grace and poise. She allowed no emotion to creep onto her face as she danced and exchanged meaningless conversation with her partner. Fíli downed another ale and forced his eyes to seek out his brother who was merrily monopolising Ira who spun and danced with an immense smile on her face. When he glanced back again Khayl had changed partners and was in the process of being passed along again.
On and on the dancing went, with many a respite for refreshments of the alcoholic kind and when Khayl finally managed to escape she flopped down beside him, sitting closer than was probably feasible. Fíli had a feeling that she was using him as some kind of deterrent to the other males, not that the snarling in his chest had any complaints about that. But by this time his head was buzzing and everything seemed to lag a little.
"You don't look like you're having fun," Khayl commented, prodding his shoulder. Her touch was weak, but it nearly pushed him over sideways regardless. Her words seemed strangely accented, like the way she sometimes spoke when she was overly excited or frustrated. She smelled like… apples. Fíli hummed a non-committal response, his blurry mind not wanting to tell her that he'd been perfectly content sitting there trying not to wrap his hands around the throat if every male that touched her. It was something that still refused to make sense to him, but in his inebriated mind it no longer mattered.
"The elders are all leaving," Khayl remarked after a moment and Fíli looked up to see that what she said was indeed true. All of the dwarves who were either still children or not regarded as 'mature' youths were disappearing back towards town, many of them leaning against one another for support and still singing rowdy songs.
"Must be near midnight," Fíli commented absently. Khayl closed her eyes as there was a distinct change in the music playing. She glanced over and noted that the band had changed to a group of younger dwarves.
"What do we do?" she asked quietly, watching as all of the young dwarrow paused and just stood still, many grouped in tight groups or standing alone.
"Just close your eyes and open your heart," Fíli replied. He had a chance to see Khayl's slightly furrowed brow before his own eyes slid shut and his head dropped to his chest.
"Father… Father forgive me…" he begged in his mind.
He sat in peace for a moment, allowing a sense of wellness to overcome him and flood his senses. Fíli wished he hadn't drunk quite so much so that he could experience the full effect of it, but he had needed to drink to distract himself from murdering all those who touched the dwarrowdam at his side.
The prince opened his eyes and looked at her, immediately becoming entranced. Khayl looked up at the sky somewhere above, her eyes closed and her face incredibly peaceful. Then, as though she sensed someone watching her, she glanced down, her mouth opening slightly as she caught sight of him watching her.
Later Fíli would never be able to explain why he did it. He personally blamed it on the ale and the atmosphere surrounding them. He would never admit that she just looked so beautiful and that his body was burning with … a need, for something.
They were so close together that it was a small matter to close the distance between them and tenderly press his lips to hers. Khayl moved into the kiss and Fíli, encouraged, brought up one hand to cradle her cheek. Her lips were so incredibly soft beneath his, and tasted like the sweet mead she had been downing like water that evening. Fíli couldn't resist the loud hum that echoed through his chest and up his throat. He felt… whole, even through his hazed brain.
They pulled away for a moment and Fíli shuddered. As soon as his lips had left hers his entire body had felt leaden and like it was on fire. Only the places where his hand touched her cheek and his knee brushed against her thigh were cool and pleasant. His head swam horribly.
"That is… strange," Khayl murmured, staring at him with puzzled eyes. She raised one hand and laid over his on her cheek, but not before he saw it shaking like a leaf. Khayl looked up, leaning into his touch and stared straight into his eyes for the very first time, and the two of them held the gaze.
Fíli was now familiar with sensation of being stabbed through with a bolt of lightning, but he had never ridden it out before. The longer he held her gaze the more it seemed to spread through his body, replacing the burning there with a more pleasant sensation that was like the burning but … not. The weights began to life from his limbs and he saw Khayl as though there was a brilliant golden light shining down over her.
Fíli's breath caught in his chest and his heart pounded rapidly before slowing and resuming its normal, sedate pace. He gulped and tried to draw words into his mouth to explain exactly what he was feeling…
"Khayl- Khayl I… what's going on?" He all but whimpered, seriously regretting having drunken so much, though Khayl seemed to be making him twice as hazy as any alcohol. Khayl continued to stare at him like he was a spirit of something. Then she swooped in and ensnared his lips in a searing kiss. Instantly cool, prefect bliss spread through his body, though his heart began doing somersaults again. He kissed her back just as fiercely and when they pulled away again he pressed their foreheads together.
They sat like that for a long moment, willing their heart rates to come back down and for oxygen to go back into their lungs. There was nothing else but them in the world.
That is, until a warg howl echoed through the forest.
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Sorry for the wait. I intended this to be out a few days ago but this chapter seriously did not want to be written. I hope it worked out alright… I'm actually really nervous about whether or not you guys will like it (Or hate me killing the moment…). Please tell me if you did!
Please forgive any stupid mistakes. This chapter is raw, since I tried to edit it but all the words kinda just swam together… Oh well!
Thanks to my spectacular reviewers luvgirl101, Dalonega Noquisi, unicornsinpink300, bloodyrose1294, Kiligirl32 (Fíli'sGirl32) PurpleFairy11, Wolves of Midnight, MaxRideandPercyJackson4ever and Knowing Grace! You guys are such awesome supporters!
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