Chapter Twenty-six: Return to the Stargazing Rock
They made camp and went in opposite directions to hunt. Lina sat down for a moment on a rock and took a deep breath.
'Kili was right, you need to forgive yourself. He said he understands, and it was years ago. I can't do anything to change the past.'
She stood and listened to the leaves rustling in the breeze for a moment before readying her bow and continuing down the well-trodden deer path.
She followed tracks for hours and looked near all the streams, but found nothing. As the sun started to set she made her way back to their camp. Kili was waiting with a small doe, and looked up at her approach.
"Nothing?" He asked.
"Plenty of old tracks, but no deer." She confirmed.
"I think that people have overhunted the area, don't you agree?"
She nodded and sat beside him.
"It's good to be out here again, isn't it?" Kili asked a few moments later.
"Yes, it is. Even better to be here with you." She replied, and Kili kissed her cheek.
She sighed in contentment as she laid her head on Kili's shoulder that night, the fire crackling.
"When I was little, I was scared of storms, and so my mother would sit up by the fire with me and we would look for pictures in the fire, and tell stories about them." Kili said.
"I used to go out to a little hill near Minas Tirith and watch the clouds at sunset. They always fascinated me."
They shared little bits of similar information until the moon rose and the stars shone brightly.
"There's Elemmírë, one of the stars that Varda created before the Awakening of the Firstborn." Lina said, pointing.
"It reminds me of your eyes." Kili said.
She blushed a little.
Kili put an arm around his One as they went to sleep.
'It's time. I would have asked her months ago, but traditions.'
A few days later Kili strode up the familiar hall to Thorin's old office and knocked. He was on the most important visit to his uncle in his life.
"Come in!" Thorin called.
Kili opened the door. "Uncle, I need to ask you something."
Lina returned to her old home from riding Thalion and found a note on the floor, as though it had been slid under the door.
She picked it up and read the short message.
Amrâlimê-
Meet me at the gates tonight.
Kili
She went to the gates just after sunset and found Kili waiting for her. He smiled, took her hand, and led her out.
"I thought we'd go stargazing tonight." He said.
"Oh, good idea! We haven't been up there since before I left." Lina said.
They climbed the mountain, following the trail they had worn out on their many treks up and down. They reached the old rock and climbed up.
They looked out over the rugged landscape and Kili went on one knee beside her. Lina turned to him, heart pounding.
"Lina, I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life in your company. Will you marry me?"
He held out a hair bead. It was the most beautiful bead Lina had ever seen, made of bronze. On one side was a silver scroll, and little obsidian footsteps led around the bead to a jagged piece of sapphire, shaped like a mountain range. A little further around the bead were three engraved figures; a man and a woman dancing and a man playing a violin. It told the story of their meeting perfectly.
"Oh, Kili." She breathed. "With all my heart."
He put the bead on the end of her courtship braid and kissed her, holding her close as her heart felt fit to burst with love. The stars shone above them, and her soul was complete.
Fili saw the silhouette of his brother on top of the mountain rise and kiss Lina as he walked home from the paddocks and felt very happy, knowing that with this Lina had overcome her past once and for all.
He saw them both the next day, Kili looking prouder than Thalion himself. Lina ran over to Fili, her silver eyes shining like the bead in her hair.
"Fili I have the most wonderful news! Kili and I are going to be married!" She squealed, hugging him tightly.
"That, Lina, is the best news I've ever heard." He said truthfully and hugged her back. "And that bead is almost as pretty as you are."
She blushed a little.
A few days later they set out with the caravan of travelers, bound for Erebor. Lina, Kili, and Fili rode in a group, taking it in turns to lead Edencuil.
The wagons, riders, and people on foot made slow progress, which gave Lina time to work with Edencuil. She now rode him for short periods, and was quite proud of his willing personality, so like his father. As they neared Hobbiton, Fili suggested that they ride ahead and see Bilbo.
"Good idea, Fili! Let's go." Lina said, trying Edencuil's lead to the back of Thorin and Dis's wagon.
"Uncle! We're going to see Bilbo!" Fili called, and they cantered off.
They trotted along the road up the hill to Bilbo's round green door, and left the ponies at the gate.
"Fili, Kili! How wonderful to see you! Do come in, make yourselves at home." Bilbo said with a smile.
They did so, settling down in the cozy living room.
"How's that book of yours coming, Bilbo?" Kili asked.
"Oh, not too well, I'm afraid. My confounded relatives keep coming in looking for gold and Lobelia Sackville-Baggins stole my silver spoons last week." He said.
"What a pity. You can always burgle them back, though, can't you? I mean, Hobbits should be easier to steal from than Dragons." Kili said.
"Oh, I did. And it was much easier." Bilbo replied. "Now, what have you rascals been up to?"
"You'll be pleased to know that I am going to marry Lina." Kili said proudly.
"Do you indeed? Well, all the happiness in the world, I'm sure." Bilbo said with a smile. "Have you got your eye on anyone, Fili?"
The corners of Fili's mouth twitched slightly in the beginnings of a smile, and he shook his head.
"No, Bilbo, I'm afraid not. Someday, perhaps, but not yet." He said.
Bilbo nodded.
"You'll find her eventually. I've given up on the matter myself, but I'm sure you have a pretty lass waiting for you somewhere." He said.
They chatted for a long time until Fili said that they should be getting back to the caravan.
"Give your uncle my regards!" Bilbo called after them from the door.
"We will!" Kili called back, and they trotted away.
"How was our friend Mr. Baggins?" Thorin asked when they rejoined the caravan.
"He was well, Uncle. He sent his regards." Fili replied.
"We'll camp on the edge of the Shire tonight. I plan to cut across Dunland through the Gap of Rohan and skirt Mirkwood." Thorin said.
Fili nodded in agreement.
"Good plan."
They camped that night by the bank of the Brandywine River. Kili and Lina went hunting.
Kili searched for tracks by the water, and followed them into the trees. He crept through the brush, seeing the deer at last, stepping carefully over leaves and twigs. At last he had a clear shot and readied his bow.
An arrow whistled through the air and hit the deer before Kili could shoot, and he looked in surprise to see where it had come from.
"Oh, was that your deer? Sorry." Lina said, stepping out from behind a tree.
"It's fine. That was good shooting." He replied.
"My thanks." Lina said.
They skinned the deer together and took the meat back to camp, where it was recieved gratefully by several families.
They sat down by the royal family's fire when they had finished distributing the meat, Kili holding Lina close to his side. They watched the sparks spiraling up into the night, and Lina pointed out a few stars and constellations in the dark sky.
Fili watched them from across the dancing flames, smoking his pipe. He smiled at their happiness, and recalled Kili's conversation with him before he proposed to Lina.
~Flashback~
Fili heard a knock at the door and opened it to see an unusually nervous Kili, who sat down by the fire, brow furrowed in thought.
"Is something wrong?" Fili asked, concerned.
"No. Well, yes...no." Kili said. "Urrg, I don't know. Not wrong, exactly, but I need some help."
"Explain." Fili said, taking a seat opposite his brother.
Kili sighed and began speaking.
"I'm sure you know, but Lina is my One. I've loved her since the first day I saw her, and I want to marry her. I have Uncle's permission, but I don't know what to say."
Fili nodded.
"I understand, although I'm afraid the only help I can give you is to speak from the heart. Just tell her how you feel, and I'm sure she'll accept you."
"But will she? What if she doesn't? I couldn't go on if she says no. She's everything to me, my hope, strength, and support. If it weren't for hearing her voice in Laketown, I might not be alive!"
Fili started at this information.
"What?" He asked, a litle sharply.
Kili explained that he had heard Lina's thoughts in Laketown when Tauriel was healing him, and also explained his seemingly delirious utterances.
'So that's what he meant. I could have sworn he was talking about that Elf. I see. If Lina thought that she must have been there, too. I wonder if she heard, and that's why she tried to leave after the battle.' He thought.
"Kili, I wouldn't worry. If you heard her thoughts then she is undoubtedly your One, and I'm sure she must have realized it as well. Have you made a bead?" He asked.
Kili nodded and pulled the bead out of his pocket, handing it to him.
Fili turned the bead over, looking at it from all angles. It was made of bronze, which would match Lina's hair very well.
'The silver scroll must represent the letter Grandfather sent when we settled here, and the footsteps would be her journey, and the sapphire is the Blue Mountains. Ah, and look, there we are dancing, and Kili playing the violin in the background.' He thought, smiling.
"You did an excellent job, Kili. I'm sure she'll love it, and I know she loves you." He said, handing it back.
"If only I knew that was the truth." Kili muttered.
~End Flashback~
Fili went to saddle Whisper for the day's ride, and as he rounded the end of one of the wagons he bumped into someone.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry." He apologized, reaching out to steady the person.
"It's quite alright!" A girl about his age replied as she swept a lock of black hair away from her face. "My name's Mora, daughter of Frar."
"Fili, at your service." He said with a bow.
Her hazel eyes widened.
"Oh, Your Highness, forgive me, I didn't realize." She said, her cheeks flushing pink.
He held out his hands placatingly.
"Please, just Fili. It's perfectly alright." He said with a small smile.
"Mora, help me with the ponies!" A male voice called.
"That'll be my father. I have to go." Mora said.
Fili nodded and they parted ways, Fili smiling to himself.
He untied Whisper from her stake and saddled her, joining Lina to the side of the caravan.
"What has you smiling so dreamily, Fili?" Lina asked as he approached.
"As long as Kili isn't around to tease me, I suppose I can tell you. A girl bumped into me this morning, and I...well, I like her." He replied.
"Who was she?" Lina asked.
'I never thought Fili would be attracted to a girl. He always seemed annoyed with them trying to catch his eye all the time. I wonder why this one's different.'
"I'd never seen her before, but she said her name was Mora." He told her.
"I believe I know her, Fili. Not very well, but I worked for a woodcutter when I disappeared and often delivered wood to her father, Frar. He's a carpenter. Straight black hair, hazel eyes, slightly shy look about her?" Lina said.
"Yes, that fits her perfectly! What a coincidence that you know her. Well, what do you think of her?" He asked.
"She's a very good person. She can be shy at first, but once you get to know her that all disappears. She's very generous, kind, and hardworking. I saw her stand up to a full grown Dwarf who was telling off a little boy for no reason. I was going to say something, but she got there first. She walked right up to him and gave him a glare worthy of your uncle. I didn't hear what she said, but the meaning was pretty clear." Lina recounted, remembering her admiration for the girl's bravery.
She glanced at Fili and saw him smiling. Could he really have a crush on Mora?
Kili trotted up just then, and Lina didn't mention Mora, knowing that Kili wouldn't keep his mouth shut about it if he found out.
'Well, I wish him luck with her. I don't have anything against her, but she is a carpenter's daughter.' She thought, then scolded herself inwardly. 'You're no better than she is. Father was a blacksmith, no higher or lower then a carpenter in society. If I can marry Kili then I'm sure there isn't a problem with Fili marrying Mora, if it ever gets that far.'
Well, it looks like love is brewing for Fili.
Thanks for reading, guys, I really appreciate it. I might make a sequel...if you guys think so. Don't worry, it won't be ending for a while, just planning.
Please review, I like to know what the readers think of the story!
Thoronsul Belegmegil