Sweet Revenge

Fili felt...strange.

Odd, even.

Was he being paranoid?

No, no. He HAD seen the way people were looking at him. Noticing him. They weren't laughing at him exactly, but there seemed to be a definite air of amusement whenever he entered a room or walked down a long stretch of hallway.

As if they were whispering and talking about him. Had he done something wrong? Was his tunic on inside out? Perhaps he had food in his teeth? He kept stopping to check himself over but found nothing amiss, so unless someone WAS playing a strange joke on him, he had no clue why everyone was acting the way they were.

He slipped into the library and went straight to the quiet, royal section, hoping for friends and answers.

Luckily, for him, Rana and Thorin were sitting together, quietly going through parchments and books in search of something.

"Uncle," Fili licked his lips nervously and looked around him, "does everyone seem to be acting strange today?"

"In what way?" Thorin glanced up at him as he handed a sheet of paper to his wife, who began to read over items he had listed.

"Just...well, everyone seems to be acting slightly odd. I feel like most of Erebor knows something I do not."

Rana let out a small chuckle and shrugged.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Brambles, we all just-"

'Wait.'

"What?!" Fili looked at her, his body freezing up when he realised what she said.

Rana just arched her smooth, elegant brow and queried, "What is wrong? You look as though you've seen a ghost?"

"You-you called me Brambles! No one calls me that," he turned to his Uncle, not realising how high his voice had become, "why did you tell her?!"

Thorin looked back down at the documents he had been searching over, but Fili could SWEAR he still saw a small smile.

"I didn't."

Before he could ask what he meant, Rana interrupted with another little amused laugh.

"Everyone knows, Fili," she said pointedly but that did nothing to stop the terror creeping in and squeezing Fili's heart.

"...everyone who?"

Xx The Princesses room xX

"Mummy," Thora pointed at the book her mother held and prodded the little sketch on one page, "what is he doing?"

"I think he's being a very silly frog indeed and drinking tea WHILST he's swimming!" Dru sounded scandalised and smiled as her daughter giggled at the way she described the scene, "AND he's forgotten to take off his jacket! It's going to get all wet! What a VERY silly frog indeed!"

"Mummy, you're funny!" Thora snuggled into Dru more and shuffled on her knee so she was sitting comfortably again, "do you think WE could have some tea and go swimming?"

"One day. I think-" Dru was interrupted as the door joining her daughter's room onto their own suddenly swung open and Fili came in, looking like he was just about ready to burst a blood vessel.

"Dru!" He stood a few feet in front of her and glared down, "you told EVERYONE my name?!"

Now Dru could have pleaded ignorance and tried to deny it.

She could have said, 'what on earth are you talking about?'

But his wife got that sparkle in her eye. And then, she grinned in a very predatory manner.

"I told everyone how you GOT your name. Brambles."

Long ago, in Ered Luin...

"Kili, grab that spade for me, would you?" Fili turned to his brother but kept his hands on the weed that refused to budge.

Kili rolled his eyes and looked to his sister.

"Dru, we need the spade-"

"Hang on!" His little sister called out as she dug earnestly into the fresh earth below, "I'm getting some worms for the hedgehogs!"

"Piglet, they can get their own worms, we need the spade to get up these weeds!" Fili reluctantly let go, not surprised when the strong root fell back into the dirt for safety, "I thought you were supposed to be helping us anyway?!"

Dru, seven years of age, covered in dirt and loving every moment of it, gave her brother a surprised look.

"I AM helping! I asked Mam if she wanted me to get rid of all the worms and give them to the hedgehogs and she said it'd be a good idea!"

Her two brothers just stared blankly at her for a few moments before Fili let out a heavy sigh.

"Got get the other spade from the shade, please," he signalled for his brother to move and decided to tackle the next issue they were to deal with, "I'll start on these brambles and YOU can de-weed."

Reluctantly, Kili got up and sauntered away to the garden shed, where Fili just KNEW his little brother would try and skive as he 'searched' for the spade.

"Are we going to pick berries again?!" Dru asked excitedly as she pulled out one long, fat worm from the dirt and place it in her bucket.

"No, it's the wrong time of year for them. Mam just wants the centre of the bush out and then trimmed back so we don't get caught on it all the time."

Fili stood up and took a step back as he gazed at the top of the brambles. He'd have to be careful not to get his tunic caught when he pulled the top layer off or he'd never get free!

He'd just reached out and grabbed the safest parts to ensure he wouldn't get splinters in his hands when his little sister called to him.

"Fili-"

"In a minute, Dru," he huffed and took a step back as he pulled part of the bramble bush off violently, "let me finish this."

"Fili, wait!" She whined again and he just decided to ignore her, "it's important-"

"Not, NOW," he punctuated the 'now' with a vicious tug at the next stem of brambles, "Piglet, in a minute!"

"But Fi'-"

"Can you hold one for just-"

Whatever it was he was going to say was cut short when he stepped forward and his foot met...nothing.

The sickening dread filled his stomach as he lost his balance and fell forward.

Right into the brambles.

Thinking as quickly as he could and wanting nothing more than to save his face, he tucked and rolled himself to the side.

Shielding his face with his arms he continued to twist himself away and finally landed on the sharp patch.

Letting out a cry of pain, he threw his arms out and tried to find some steady ground to push himself up.

He'd saved his face from the damage.

But his backside and legs had taken the brunt and he could feel every little prick and scratch in his skin.

"Ow, ah!" He cried out and took deep breaths as he tried to wiggle himself free.

"Fili, you stepped in Peter's rabbit hole!"

His little sister hurried over and looked down at him, her hands worrying the bottom of her curls as she pondered what to do.

"Oh, you knew this was there?!" He growled and managed to get his hands and feet placed down, but couldn't quite push and disentangle himself.

"I tried to tell you!" Her bottom lip wobbled and she crinkled her nose as she toed his shoe, "are you ok?"

"No! Ah!" He cried out in pain as he shifted and threw his head back to cry out, "Bloody Mahal!"

"HUH!" Dru gasped in shock at her brother, "FILI, YOU SWORE!"

Somehow, his little sister waiting around and questioning his anger outlets was NOT helping.

"Fili?!" Another voice joined the proceedings and Kili appeared with the spade he'd been sent for, "what happened?!"

Dru turned to Kili and stuck her finger up her nose as he explained.

"Fili fell down Peter's home and he went WOOSH through the air and landed and now he's stuck and then he swore and-"

"Oh, just get mother you two!" Fili cried out and settled for lying back and trying not to move so much until he could actually get help.

He did feel the first bit of embarrassment creeping in, but it was currently overtaken by the splinters in his buttocks.

Later that evening...

As Fili laid on his front, his pillow clutched to his chest, he couldn't help but pout at his current situation.

His mother and Kili had managed to pull him up from the brambles, Dru bravely tugging him free as thorns stuck into his tunic. The walk back to his house was short but painful and his brother told him he was 'walking like an old man without his cane!'

Once inside, Dis had ordered Fili up onto the kitchen table, making him lay down on his stomach with his trousers around his knees.

The embarrassment had grown tenfold as she got tweezers and medicine and began to remove every splinter she could.

The only shining light had been when Dis had banned Kili and Dru from entering until she was done because their laughter was 'upsetting her poor little lamb'.

Though he was sure he'd heard HER laugh at some point also.

After he'd been ordered to rest and laid sprawled out on his bed, his problems began.

Kili was allowed to see him because it was him room also, but Dru had managed to sneak her way in when she produced a picture she'd drawn of him to 'cheer him up.'

He would have liked it except it was a rather strange caricature of him with his backside wrapped in a thick bandage.

Still, he grudgingly took it.

"Thanks, Piglet," he grumbled into his pillow but his little sister plonked down on her knees in front of his bed and glared at him.

"STOP calling me Piglet! Or I'll call YOU names!"

Fili sighed and turned his head to look at her.

"You haven't got any names for me," he pointed out and smirked at her little pout.

"I do!" Her lips went into a thin line as she thought and thought about WHAT names she possibly had for him.

"How do your brambles feel?" Kili called out from his side of the room, holding out his lyre as he lazy fingered the strings.

"Shut up," his brother grumbled and would have been content to end it there but...Dru suddenly beamed at him and pointed one podgy little finger excitedly.

"Brambly bottom!" She let out a giggle and continued to point, "Fili's got a brambly bottom!"

"Oh, you can shut up too!"

"She's right you know, all Brambles," Kili began to laugh with his sister and then suddenly, that was it.

As though a silent communication passed between them, they BOTH pointed fingers at him and began to chant happily, "Brambles! Brambles in his bottom!"

In a fit of anger, Fili attempted to push himself up and began to rant and rave that he was 'going to get them and sort them out!', but, of course, as soon as he tried to sit up, he cried out and threw himself back down on his bed.

Since he was stuck where he was, he choose instead to grab his pillow and threw it as far and hard at his brother and sister.

But alas, it was too late.

From that day onward, the name 'Brambles' was uttered at him well into his sixties. He could only hope that Dru and Kili would eventually forget it one day.

Xx Back to Erebor xX

"Daddy, do you still have splinters in your bottom?" Thora asked innocently, her fingers idly grabbing the ends of her mother's hair and twisting them around.

Before her daughter could knot the ends (and raise her father's exasperation) Dru turned with a sweet smile and leaned close to talk quietly with her daughter.

"Can you go to your bookshelf and pick out three books to read now? One for me to read, one for daddy and one for you, go!"

Thora quickly hopped off her mother's lap and rushed over to her little bookshelf, but Dru knew she'd be there for a few minutes, picking out the 'perfect' stories for them.

"Dru," Fili let out an exasperated sigh and opened his arms out, waiting for an explanation, "how could you-"

"Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud. Everyone knows my name because of you and Kili and Tauriel have ones. It'd be unfair if you didn't have one," she slowly pushed herself up and smiled at him, "Besides, revenge is sweet."

"Revenge?! I haven't done anything!" He took a step closer and waited for the justification and she folded her arms over her chest and cocked her head to the side as she glared at him.

"WHO was it that wouldn't help me when I forgot King Thranduil's name?" She sounded a little too smug as Fili suddenly looked away.

He muttered something quietly but Dru had heard him and poked his nose with her forefinger.

"Yes! That's right, YOU!" She pressed down on the tip of his nose and wiggled it until he swatted her hand away, "now, I hope you've learned your lesson."

"Lesson?" He questioned her and grabbed her wrist when she attempted to poke him in the nose again.

She merely took a step forward and swiftly planted a kiss on the tip of his nose instead.

"Yes. When your wife asks for help," she nodded at him, pushing her point across, "help."

Fili WAS going to argue but...she had a point.

He'd expected her punishment. He just hadn't expected it to be so sneaky and had to concede.

One all.

XXXXXXX

Hey! Good news, my laptop is fixed!