A/N – Hope you all enjoyed the fluff because all Hell is about to break loose… I feel like I should mention that I really do like all of the characters, so even if it seems like I am making some of them harsh, they will probably turn around… except Alfrid, I don't like him lol
Kíli POV
I finished carving my last arrow that would be needed for our hunt. Tauriel would return from Mirkwood soon and I could not wait to surprise her with the news. Hunting was an exciting activity and I finally received permission from Uncle to take her on the trip. She had been absent for a week, but she could not delay her reports to her Kingdom any longer. I gathered the arrows and tucked them away into my quiver before leaving to find Fíli.
My time with my brother had also been cut short as of late. He had spent several days over the past month in Dale in an attempt to keep peace with Bard. At least, that is what he told Thorin. I knew he was simply eager to see his beloved. I finally found him on the balcony overlooking the entrance and jogged to meet him.
"What are you doing up here?" I asked him.
"Watching for Dain," he explained. "He will be arriving soon."
"Dain?" I scrunched my face. "It feels as if he had only just left. Why does he wish to return so soon?"
"I do not know," he shrugged. "Thorin did not say. I would not worry though, we have had peace since he left a month ago. I do not think he desires to harm that. Where are you going?"
He glanced at me and noticed that I was armed. "I am to accompany Tauriel on a hunting expedition when she returns."
"Do you truly believe that she will want to leave on another trip after just getting back?" Fíli laughed.
"Of course! My lady is a free spirit," I admired. We stood together watching the road leading to the mountain. "How is Sigrid?"
"She is well," he began chuckling. "Tilda was quite saddened to learn of your engagement. The little one is quite fond of you."
"I hope she does not hurt," I became concerned. During my time around the young girl, I had thought that it had been obvious that our age was too great in distance to give any thought to love. Had I given her false reason to believe that I loved her?
"No," he chuckled. "Sigrid is certain that she will forget all about it very soon."
"How does that Alfrid fellow cope?" I changed the subject. "Has his mind broken from his time in the dungeons yet?"
"He is a stubborn man, we question him weekly but he refuses to budge. Perhaps he is not the coward that I thought he was."
"Oh no, he is a coward all right." I scuffed. "I would bet everything I own that he would crack if we threatened him with the gallows."
"No doubt," he agreed before spotting the riders entering our view. "Dain is near, I should go inform Uncle."
I nodded as he turned to leave. I remained at the overlook for nearly an hour longer until I finally saw the red horse racing towards the mountain. I smiled as I watched her urge the horse faster, clearly enjoying the freedom of the ride. I spun away to rush to the stables to retrieve my pony. At the rate she pushed the horse, they would be here in no time.
"Hello ol' girl!" I greeted the pony who came jogging at the sight of me. I smiled and I patted her neck before leading her from the pastures to find my saddle. Some of her stablemates called for her to return but it seemed that she had missed our adventures as she eagerly trotted beside me. I tugged at my rope to slow her but could not bring myself to scold her for the behavior. "I will make certain to take you out more often."
I promised her and flung the saddle onto her back. By the time I was finished, Tauriel entered with Armand breathing heavily by her side.
"Are you going somewhere?" she asked in surprise.
"We are going hunting," I smiled. "That is, if you are up to the ride? And poor Armand for that matter."
"Do not let him deceive you," she chuckled and patted the horse's sweaty neck. "I tried to slow him long before we reached the mountain, but he refused to obey. He has enjoyed the opportunity to stretch his legs."
"How was your visit to Mirkwood?" I asked as I walked to her, desperate to close the gap that had been left between us since her departure.
"It was joyful, I was greeted by my former guard and they even invited me on a few tasks. It seems that their anger has dispersed over my departure," she told me happily. As I watched her eyes, I could see a sparkle that had not been there before. I had not realized how much her former home had meant to her and I had thought only of the sorrows that the forest had brought her, having grown up as an orphan and pushed into a life of training to forget this sadness. I did not realize how dear that her old comrades were to her. I lifted my hand to trace her fingertips with mine.
"And King Thranduil?" I asked nervously, recalling the tensions from her previous visit. However, my fears vanished as a smile grew on her face.
"If I did not know him any better, I would say that he was happy to see me." The twinkle grew within her eye and I smiled to her before closing my fingers around her hand. Her skin left my fingers tingling, as if it had been years since they have last felt her touch.
"I am glad, my love." I pulled her head down to mine to carefully rest my nose upon hers. Her scent filled my senses and I could smell the fresh air of the forest on her clothes. "I have missed you."
"Ni gellweg an gin cened," she whispered. I repeated the phrase in my mind in an attempt to translate it.
"You are joyful to see me?" I guessed.
"I think you are becoming well versed in Sindarin, master dwarf," she smiled.
"Nah," I chuckled. "Lucky guess."
I stretched my legs so that I could reach her lips, but she tensed immediately and pulled away from my hold. My heart began to throb in fear that I had done something wrong, but the sound of footsteps approaching brought me to understanding her purpose for stepping away. I too stiffened as a guard entered the stables.
"Prince Kíli," he addressed me with a bow.
"Just Kíli," I corrected him.
"The King requests ye'r company," he said.
"For what purpose? We are about to leave on a trip that he demanded," I said curiously.
"I was only informed of his desire to speak with ye'. I know not the purpose." I nodded to him and he took his leave. I met her eyes for a glance before tying my pony to a post. She followed my lead and tied Armand beside the mare and followed me as we walked from the stables.
Tauriel POV
I followed Kíli into the throne room to find a large gathering. The King laughed alongside his cousin from the Ironhills while the rest of the dwarves circled the throne around them. I counted all twelve dwarves who I have known since our first meeting in Mirkwood, along with a few whom I had never seen before. When I noticed the dwarrowdam, Galila, amongst them I began to assume these unfamiliar faces belonged to Dain's crew. I moved to stand by Dís, but her frightened expression stopped me from joining her. My heart swelled nervously as the dam furiously avoided my gaze. Had I done something wrong?
I stood back from the circle of dwarves. They all seemed alight with joy, all except for Fíli who looked absolutely miserable. Similar to his mother's behavior, he chose to avoid all eye contact and furiously stared at the ground. I began to worry for the calling of this meeting.
"So what is so important that could not be postponed until after the hunt?" Kíli had his bow in his hand and arrows at his side.
"Kíli! Good, you are here," Thorin exclaimed. Kíli's expression twisted in confusion at his uncle's excitement. The King walked to him to place his arm around his nephew's shoulder to drag him to the throne. "We have been discussing your achievements."
"What achievements?" Kíli raised his brow in question.
"Modest lad, is he not?" Thorin laughed as he asked his cousin. I suddenly became fearful of the close proximity between my dwarf and the King. Kíli has spoken of his unstable mind as of late, and in this moment the King was acting more strangely than I had ever witnessed. "He became our savior many times on the road. Shot arrow after arrow into warg skulls he did! You should have seen the path of orcs in the great battle that were slain by him alone! This lad has made me proud!"
Thorin boasted to the dwarf Lord as he hugged his nephew to his side. I watched the light in Kíli's eyes glow as he processed the praise and I began to realize just how deep his insecurities dwelled. To see his happiness sprout was a sight to behold, however the King's strange attitude forbade me to see the sincerity of his words.
"You have met Galila, have you not?" Thorin asked him as he held out his hand for the dam to take. She placed her hand into his and he guided her to stand near my Kíli. The fear began to evacuate my heart as the anger rushed forth as she placed herself far too closely to my dwarf.
"Aye, it was a short passing," he answered as he glanced at her. The dam did not appear pleased as she took in his appearance and my temper was becoming difficult to maintain.
"She is a fine maiden with the strength of ten rams!" Thorin complimented the dam.
"Okay," Kíli seemed unfazed by the information.
"My sister-son," Thorin dropped Galila's hand to concentrate his speech on Kíli. "As you know we have been conflicted as of late. The elf here has created many difficulties…"
The enchantments of the King's praises began to wear from Kíli's face and his expression turned sour at these words. He opened his mouth to argue but was silenced as Thorin held up a hand to demand his patience.
"I am well aware of your friendship with the elf and desire only your happiness, nephew." Thorin promised. I began to feel uneasy. Kíli believed every word that passed his uncle's lips, however I could see the glossy shine over the King's eyes and I feared his sanity had been lost. "Lord Dain does not approve of our ambassadors presence here, but worry not my nephew. We have come to an agreement to put all of our troubles behind us. We have found a way to unite our kingdoms once again!"
Most of the room erupted in cheers, while Fíli and Dis remained unfazed. I glanced at the rest of the company to find that most had joined in the hollering, while the rest glanced to me in sorrow. I glanced at them in question but they quickly averted their eyes.
"Your cooperation in our peace is a necessity to its success. Are you willing to help?" Thorin put his hands on both of his nephew's shoulders. Kíli's expression was alight with joy and I could see the honor he felt to be chosen for this task.
"Of course I'll help," he said excitingly. "What can I do?"
"A union between our lands will grant the peace we deserve for the rest of all days," he explained.
"I do not understand, Uncle?" the excitement began to fade from his eyes.
"You will marry Galila."
My heart fell cold within my chest and I looked to Kíli. The color drained from his face and he staggered backwards a step to place distance between him and the dam. He gave a quick glance of guilt in my direction but did not linger, for his attention snapped back to his uncle.
"What?" He said in disbelief.
"A marriage of royalty," Thorin answered proudly, oblivious to his nephew's distress.
"Uncle…" I could see him begin to shiver slightly. "I cannot."
His voice was so quiet that it was even difficult for me to hear. Thorin either did not hear or simply ignored him because he continued to rave about the betrothal. I glanced at Fíli who struggled over what action to take. I could almost see the battle raging in his mind as he glared at his uncle. I dared to look to their mother, but a tear slipped from her eye as she watched the scene helplessly. This only brought more fear to my heart, the strong dam would not stand by and watch this scene without having fought against the King's wishes. Her tears indicated her failure to prevent this madness.
"Thorin!" Kíli raised his voice to gain his uncle's attention. "I cannot… I will not help you. Not this time."
"What?" Thorin growled in surprise. The excitement of the room began to vanish.
"I apologize my Lady and offer no offence," he turned to Galila who stood in shock and if my eyes were true the dam appeared relieved by his refusal. "But I will not marry you."
"Kíli… What madness do you harbor to deny my request?" The glare in his eyes would have been enough to place fear in Thranduil's heart, yet strangely Kíli stood straighter and more confident as he faced the maddened King. "This will fix everything Kíli! Dain is threatening to cut off all contact…"
"I've already given my heart away," he said sternly. My heart trembled, yet somehow he no longer looked afraid. He stood strong as faced his uncle. Whatever the outcome shall be, the secrecy ended tonight.
"To whom, may I ask…" his uncle's voice was quiet, but it was laced with enough anger to send shivers through my body. His eyes flicked to me and I began to suspect that he already knew the answer. After a few moments Kíli finally turned his head away from his Uncle's angry glare to look directly at me.
"Tauriel."
Review Replies
Iracebeth Irons – lol well I am deeply saddened that I have brought you to hate Thorin, I can promise that in the end he will be an enjoyable character again but we have quite a ways to go before that happens. You are probably going to have a tough time reading the next chapter but just remember that I only do happy endings for the characters I like and I do indeed like Thorin ;) Alfrid also has a bigger play in the story but that also won't be revealed for a while. Glad you enjoyed the ring scene!
LordKíliel – Glad you enjoyed the chapter! Thorin is going to be… difficult for a while longer but, I already said this but I shall again, I like Thorin and I only do happy endings for characters I like :D Longer? Lmao! Those were two of my longer chapters XD 3000 words is the general amount that I write per chapter.
Nenithiel – A good ol' yuppers somes up all of my answers to your review lol Until he shakes it, these problems will continue. Glad you enjoyed the ring scene!
kansa – That darn stone… I might have to incinerate it! lol Alfrid will pop up again later for he is not done meddling for he is indeed a little slimeball XD Kíli's ring is left up to the reader's imagination, mostly because I don't know what dwarven or elven rings are supposed to look like. I'm assuming the rings for the boys are simpler, like our own wedding rings but that's just my theory.
KHB123 – Don't we all? Lol
WoodElfJedi – I didn't think Fíli or Kíli would be mad at Bard since they were there to witness everything and they could see that Thorin was in the wrong and Bard was being unjustly tried against. The Arkenstone never really left, it was only temporarily moved lol The reference to confetti was in one of your former reviews, I think you tossed some confetti around after the engagement lol My apologies, capitalization has been fixed!
awesomebri66 – Poor Sigrid indeed :( Thanks for reading!
LisaG16 – Gotta love those happy scenes! Now have some angst! Lol I am so sorry! Figrid is going to experience some technical difficulties for a while, but the electrician is on the job! Disregard if that made no sense, I might be a little tired XD
Hobbitpony1 – Dain has finished with most of his issues as of this chapters, he will be less angering after this. Glad you enjoyed the ring scene! Omg I think you just solved the story… Kíli: Here Uncle, have a Snickers… Thorin: Why?! Kíli: Cause you get a little dragon crazy when your hungry.
mfaerie32 – Figrid will be a bumpy road for a while unfortunately. I figured Tauriel doesn't have many items to give and with all of Kíli's gifts she would feel as if she wasn't giving enough to him so the ring was something that she wanted to be perfect. Don't fret over Dain, after this chapter he only gets better, or less intrusive I guess I should say lol
Ani-maniac494 – I will say that we have not seen the last of Alfrid but it will be a while before he leaves the brig lol Thorin is going to be… troubled for a while but I do like his character, and the character's I like get happy endings :D Glad you enjoyed the ring scene.
MegSkoomaPirate – They are completely adorable! Lol Don't worry too much over Dain, he will become more enjoyable, or less annoying after this chapter :D