Chapter 6
Kili dropped out of his war ram's saddle with ease and handed the reins off to a waiting hostler. "Lord Bard!" he called with an easy grin as he walked over to the Man.
"Prince Kili," Bard greeted with a quick nod of the head. "Welcome back to Dale."
"Thank you," Kili said as he looked around them. "How are repairs going?" A group of men and dwarrow worked nearby, repairing the old guardhouse next to Dale's main gates. From what Kili could tell, the work was progressing as well as he could have expected.
"Well enough," Bard said and nodded for Kili to follow him out of the training yard. "Your dwarrow engineers and craftsman that arrived with your last caravan have been a very strong addition to those already here. The work has started going a lot faster, thanks to the increased number. Faster than I would have expected."
Kili grinned. "The same has been the case in Erebor. That's what happens when you get dwarrow that are actually trained to build and repair homes instead of just soldiers being directed by one or two that know what they're doing."
They walked into the town proper and started heading toward the residential areas nearest the markets where most of the repairs were being done. The sounds of hammers, saws, shouts, and other general construction noise permeated the entire city as dwarrow and men worked side by side to bring the once great city back to life.
"How many cultural misunderstandings do I need to address?" Kili asked as they passed a group of men leading a horse and empty sledge in the opposite direction. They would make the journey to either Mirkwood, where Thranduil had graciously allowed them to take any usable deadfall they could find, or to the quarry to the east where stone had originally been excavated for Dale's construction.
"Surprisingly, none," Bard said.
Kili's eyebrows rose. "And how many personal misunderstandings do I need to address?"
Bard's normally stoic expression cracked slightly, the corners of his lips lifting just a touch. "You don't need to worry about that," he said. "Your man Bifur took care of any problems handily enough."
Something inside Kili released and he felt himself breathe just a bit easier. He'd suggested Bifur and Bofur alternate as head engineer in Dale. Some of Thorin's council hadn't liked the idea and had protested against it vehemently. In what Kili felt was a rare display of trust, Thorin overruled all of them and told Kili to arrange things. Tension eased out of him knowing he hadn't made the wrong choice.
"I don't seem to remember Bifur speaking much when you stayed in my home back before..." Bard trailed off.
Before Smaug burned Laketown. "He wouldn't have," Kili said. "You remember he had an ax stuck in his forehead, right?" Bard nodded. Kili continued. "According to Oin, it had put pressure or damaged the area of Bifur's brain that allowed him to speak Westron. He's always understood it, but for some reason he couldn't remember how to make his mouth form the words. He could only remember Ancient Khuzdul. When the ax came out during The Battle, the pressure was relieved and he was able to speak Westron again. Instantly according to Bofur."
"Interesting," Bard said and he truly sounded like he thought it. "Did the ax make any other changes?"
"I didn't know him before but Bofur said he started losing focus easily or he'd do strange things, like eat plants. He could still work as one of Ered Luin's leading toymakers though."
"Toymaker, huh?" Bard asked as they came to a building surrounded by scaffolding. Men and dwarrow alike climbed on and off it, lugging stone and mortar and tools. "He makes a fine engineer."
"He has his mastery in it," Kili agreed. "That's why he makes such fine toys. You should see some of his more complicated ones. I had one as a little dwarfling, little more than a pebble. A raven that would actually glide for quite a distance. The wings would gently flap and everything."
"We could use some toys here," Bard remarked absently as a couple of children raced by. His youngest was among them, the little doll she'd clutched tightly the night Smaug had attacked still firmly in hand.
"I'll talk to the toymaker's guild, see if they want to open a stall when the markets are ready for such commerce. That is, if you'd like dwarrow shopkeepers in Dale alongside your own people. As I understand, that's how it was before Smaug arrived."
"It was," Bard said as they watched a pair of dwarrow heft a stone into place while a man checked to make sure it was aligned properly with the rest of the wall. "I think that would be something we should explore once we're ready. Are there other craftsmen you would suggest having in Dale?"
"Not many of our people have arrived that aren't absolutely necessary for day to day life. Mostly masons and woodworkers. A few cooks, smiths, and some tailors might be a good idea though."
Bard hummed as they moved on to the first market. Some women worked within the first store, removing all the refuse that had accumulated over the decades. Outside, a dwarf chiseled away at damaged stone, the tink, tink, tink a counterpoint to the women's laughter. "I think a toymaker or two might be necessary as well. It's been some time since our children have had any sort of joy."
Kili couldn't help a small smile. "I'll speak to King Thorin and the guilds, see when and whom they would like to send. I'll have a list by the time I return."
Bard glanced down at Kili. "You surprise me," he said. "Granted, I didn't know you hardly at all when you first rode a barrel into my life, but, injured as you were, there was something about you that didn't exactly lend to the idea of a diplomat."
"I was trained from a young age on how to assist King Thorin in running our kingdom," Kili deflected.
"That's not what I mean," Bard said, shaking his head. "Anyone can be told how to try to better relations, or so I've been informed, but you seem to have a certain talent for finding solutions that would benefit both our kingdoms with ease."
"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean then," Kili said with a chuckle.
Bard's eyebrows tilted down a bit, as if he couldn't quite believe Kili didn't realize what he did so effortlessly. "You chose the engineers to head Dale's repairs, correct?"
"Well, yes," Kili said.
"Of all the dwarrow I've met in the last year, Masters Bofur and Bifur are most at ease with their position. Master Bofur interacts with dwarrow and man as if there were no difference, treating them all exactly the same. Master Bifur's patience is unparalleled in all the workers, willing to show our young men the most basic of tasks again and again with only a slightly confused sound as prompting to do so."
"They're the obvious choices," Kili said with a shrug, "and, honestly, until the caravan arrived a month ago, they were the only engineers in Erebor that I knew personally. Lord Dain of the Iron Hills had sent some but I didn't know them from Durin I."
"And yet you didn't even think to replace them when the caravan arrived."
"There wasn't a need to. They're working fine with your people and mine, they know the project better than anyone I would consider sending in their place, and they're good at what they do."
"And your confidence in them just further proves my point," Bard said.
Kili still didn't quite understand, but he let the matter drop as they looked inside another dilapidated but intact store. It even had a new wooden door. The hinges looked as if they'd been created in Erebor. Good.
Bard's eldest daughter was on her hands and knees, a bucket of filthy water next to her and a scrub brush in hand. She'd rolled up the long sleeves of her blue dress to her elbows and the skirts of her dress bunched beneath her shins, half soaked behind the sopping wet apron she wore. Tendrils of her hair had escaped the careful knot at the back of her neck and stuck to her face. A few smudges of grime smeared her face and bare arms. Kili was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to decipher the original color of her apron if he tried at this point.
"Sigrid, my girl," Bard called when he saw her. "What are you doing here?"
"Work that needs done," Sigrid replied without looking up. "Honestly, Da. We've talked about this. I will go where I'm needed."
Kili barely caught Bard's amused huff. "I mean why are you here alone and not at the guardhouse training as you told me you would be this morning. I'd expected you to be there when Prince Kili arrived."
Sigrid froze in her furious scrubbing of the floor before slowly lifting her eyes up to Kili's. "Drat," she murmured before placing her brush in the bucket and hastily climbing to her feet. She dipped a quick curtsy as soon as she had her balance. "Your Highness," she said.
Kili smothered the grin that wanted to betray his amusement. "My Lady," he replied, nodding to her in return and purposely ignored the blush spreading across her cheeks. "You seem hard at work. Might I assist?"
"That's quite all right," she said and glanced down at herself. "As you can tell, it's rather filthy work and I'd hate for you to ruin your clothing." She crossed one arm across her midriff, clutching at her elbow and fingers fiddling with the stained, rolled sleeve of her dress. "Besides, the others will return shortly. They just left for fresh water."
"Are you certain?" Kili asked.
"You do have help?" Bard asked at the same time.
"Quite certain," Sigrid said. "I'm sure they're on their way back now," she added, giving her father a pointed look. Bard returned it with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sure you have other, greater matters that require your attention in any case."
Kili frowned a little. "The work you do is as worthy and honest as anyone else within this city," he said. "Cleaning these stores and preparing them for commerce will help the economy and thus your city. Never doubt that."
"Thank you, Your Highness," Sigrid said and her eyes looked to the side of him bashfully. "I will keep that in mind."
Just then, three girls toting buckets of clean water entered the shop behind Kili. "Lord Bard," they chorused and dipped small curtsies with varying degrees of wobble.
"Ladies," Bard said with a nod of his head. "I'll leave you to it then," he added with a glance back at his daughter. "You'll be at dinner?"
"Yes, Da."
"Good girl. Don't work too hard."
"Someone has to do it!" she called after them as they left the store.
"She's very practical, your daughter," Kili said, his mind already turning towards his brother and how very practical he could be. The rare times he ran into Sigrid, the more Kili was sure that she was Fili's One. There was no doubt in his mind that they were made from the same whole.
"A little too practical at times," Bard agreed as they continued their quiet tour through the main areas of the city, observing the repairs and progress so Kili could report them back to Thorin.
Confusion reigned when Kili returned to Erebor and it didn't take long to realize why. A party of Mirkwood elves headed by their far-too-serious Prince milled about as dwarrow bustled around them to take their horses and argue over who would take their baggage to what rooms and if they should even be hosting the party or if they should make them wait outside the Mountain.
Sensing an inter-kingdom incident if someone didn't step in and quickly, Kili passed over the reins of his war ram to an hostler and strode up to the group of dwarrow milling about and arguing.
"Enough," he snapped. "You will take our guests' belongings to the diplomatic wing. One of you will send for Captain Dwalin and Master Balin and have them meet you there. They will organize everything from there. When you have done so, ask Captain Dwalin to meet us in the Great Hall. Send another runner there now to warn Master Bombur and the kitchen staff of our visitors. Go. Now."
The group bowed collectively with murmurs of "Your Highness" dropping from their lips before they dashed about to do as Kili ordered.
"I apologize," Kili said, coming to stand before the elf prince and his entourage. "I'm afraid we were unaware of your arrival."
"I'm afraid that may have been our fault," the prince said and cast a glare at an elf behind him. The elf looked away and went paler still if that were at all possible. "We apologize for arriving unannounced."
"No matter," Kili said. "If you will follow me, I'll show you to your rooms. Once you are settled, our kitchens will have a meal prepared for you. After you are adequately fed, we can discuss the purpose of your visit."
The prince's eyebrows smoothed from their displeased glower and he tipped his head in a small sign of acquiescence.
"If you'll follow me," Kili said and turned slightly, holding an arm out to indicate their direction. The elves stepped forward collectively and Kili walked next to the blond prince.
He left them at the diplomatic wing where Balin waited for them. With a nod, Kili promised to return within an hour to escort them all to dinner before making his way to the royal wing and a bath. He worked quickly, knowing if he didn't, he risked insulting Mirkwood's surprise delegation with his tardiness.
He did take the time to search briefly for Tauriel. She wasn't in her rooms, the library, or any of the easy to reach locations he would normally find her. He thought briefly that maybe she'd altered her shift for guard rotations but didn't spend much more time thinking about it as he slowed his approach to the diplomatic wing. He'd almost reached it when Balin caught his attention.
"Any idea why they're here Laddie?" Balin asked quietly.
"Not a clue," Kili said as he checked to make sure his hair was in better order than it usually was, his official braids worked into the length and the clasps in their proper places. "I'll find out soon enough."
"Want any help?" Balin asked.
Kili paused. Normally, he would say yes, but if he did, he knew Balin would either accompany him or call Fili to do so. Both of them were already overworked with helping reestablish Erebor and all its inner and outer workings. He could handle one delegation from Mirkwood, couldn't he?
"If you wouldn't mind seeing if Ori has some free time to take notes on whatever this is about, that would help, or any other scribe really. I'll take care of the elves."
Balin's smile lifted his beard a bit. "You'll do well with this," he said. "You seem to get along better with their kind than the rest of us anyway."
"Fili doesn't have any problems with elves and you're the most diplomatic dwarf I've ever met," Kili protested.
"Aye, that may be true, but tolerating someone and actually getting along with them are two matters altogether. Now, off you go. Get them fed. Conference room nine will be ready for you once you've all eaten."
Something tightened in Kili's chest. "I'll do you proud," he said and shoved the strange, cloying feeling in his throat away.
"You already do," Balin said. "Never worry about that." He patted Kili's shoulder and walked away.
Feeling a bit bereft and alone and, admittedly, a bit overwhelmed with the sudden realization of just how much Balin trusted him in this, Kili cleared his throat. He took a moment to straighten his coat before turning to enter the diplomatic wing to search for the elves to take them to the Great Hall for dinner. Even though most dwarrow now had access to their own kitchens, many still ate there. Kili understood why, considering most of their families wouldn't arrive in Erebor until the last caravan arrived in another year and a half or so.
Conference room nine looked the same as all the other conference rooms, down to the old, uncomfortable chairs and the scarred, stone table.
Kili listened to the trade agreement being read in Westron by one of the elves, reading along as best he could with his still-growing knowledge of Sindarin. He scowled and marked something down on a parchment next to him to check later, unsure of the translation of one word. According to the oral translation he was hearing and his own mental translation he was making from the paper in front of him, something seemed a bit incorrect. He debated adjourning the meeting after the elf finished reading the document but pushed the thought aside. He was almost positive he knew what he was reading. It wasn't the first such spot he'd noticed.
Finally, the elf reached the end of the document and retook his seat.
"Thank you," Kili said with a nod to the elf. "Now, perhaps I've been given a different draft than the one that was just read, but I believe some of the numbers differ slightly between our documents." He smiled and looked directly at the elf. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched another elf twitch minutely in her chair. The prince sitting across from him shifted his gaze from Kili's face to that of the elf who had read the contract.
"Is this true?" he asked.
"May I see your copy, Your Highness?" the elf asked, holding out a pale, perfect hand. Kili handed his copy over, trying not to feel self-conscious of all the notes he'd scribbled in the margins and in any space he could find amongst the flowing script. His cirth was flawless, his handwriting perfect, even by Balin's standards, but he knew what those symbols spelled. Luckily, there was no way any of these uppity elves could know what he'd written. Even if they could read cirth (unlikely) he'd used his and Fili's shorthand. Only they knew it and had been using it for decades now. Not even Nori knew how to read what they wrote.
At least, Kili didn't think Nori had broken their code yet. It was hard to tell.
Would he get in trouble for teaching it to Tauriel? It wasn't proper khuzdul after all, but rather a bastardized version of it and it was only written, not spoken.
He shoved the thought to the back of his mind to think on later. He'd have to talk to Fili first anyway.
The elf who had read the contract (Kili really needed to learn their names) hemmed and hawed for a bit as he tried to decipher Kili's marks without any success. Finally, he nodded. "Yes, this is a different draft. Please forgive me. We changed a few things before our arrival and I must have brought the wrong copy."
Every single instinct inside Kili demanded he scoff at the weak excuse. He tamped down on the impulse and inclined his head. "An understandable mistake," he said instead. "Might I have your copy to review so I might familiarize myself with the changes?"
The elf hesitated. "I'm afraid this copy has all my personal notes on it," he said and picked up the draft from which he'd been reading. Kili didn't comment on how close he held it to himself so that Kili wouldn't be able to see anything. "I'll have another made up for you. Might we reconvene in the morning?"
"I'll have someone show you the way directly after breakfast," Kili said as he held out a hand for the copy he'd originally had. It wouldn't hurt to keep a hold of it and go over it with Bilbo or Tauriel later, just to be sure he was translating it correctly. "Let's adjourn for the evening."
The elves gathered their papers and such before standing and leaving. The prince held back, nodding for his people to continue when they paused to wait for him. Once the others were gone, Prince Legolas turned to Kili.
"I trust you've recovered from your injuries?" Legolas asked.
Kili handed his papers over to Ori who quietly promised to make sure they reached Kili's desk before leaving.
"As you see," Kili said and lifted his arms out to his sides for a moment. The snide remark itching to burst from him lurked on the edge of his mind. Balin would throw Kili into the deepest, dankest abandoned mine he could find if he messed up at this point. "It was a near thing." He pushed away the memory of a deep voice speaking of love for him, his brother, and his mother. He still hadn't found the right time to broach that conversation with either person. "Tauriel managed to pull me back from the Halls, or so I'm told."
Legolas nodded. "I trust she is well?" he asked. For all his (probable) advanced years, Kili still managed to hear the undercurrent of accusation Legolas tried to hide in his question.
"She is," Kili said, and, feeling charitable added, "She will probably be in the Great Hall about now."
"Will she?" Legolas asked and looked toward the door, already leaning toward it.
Knowing Tauriel might want to see her friend, Kili smothered a sigh. "I can show you the way, if you like."
Legolas nodded and his throat worked to swallow. "I would appreciate that greatly," he said. "I have missed her."
They didn't make it out of the hall with the conference rooms before they ran into Tauriel. Kili grinned at her, unable to resist the feeling of complete adoration he felt for her. She smiled in return, a softer, gentler expression than his. Then her eyes shifted to the elf next to him and her smile faltered, shifted, fell and the stoic mask he remembered from that day on the beach fell into place.
Would it hurt relations with Mirkwood if he were to throttle Legolas?
Probably.
"Your Highnesses," Tauriel greeted them both a bit stiffly. Kili swallowed back the growl rising in his chest but couldn't quite quell the glare he shot at Legolas. Luckily, the elf had taken a step forward to greet Tauriel, putting Kili out of his line of sight.
"Tauriel," Legolas said and his tone changed, becoming lighter and acquiring actual inflection. So the princeling wasn't completely monotone. "It is good to see you."
"What are you doing here?" Tauriel asked, her eyes flickering to Kili for reassurance. He nodded slightly and stepped back a bit. He would wait for her to ask for his help.
"We are here to negotiate a trade deal with Erebor," Legolas said.
"You normally do not take part in such tasks. Why are you here?"
Legolas's head ducked down a bit, the image of an adolescent caught in a lie. Just how old was he in elvish terms anyway?
"I have news for you," Legolas said. "Is there somewhere we could speak alone?"
Tauriel looked to Kili. He raised an eyebrow, silently asking if she wanted to speak to the other prince alone. She nodded her head a bit and he stepped forward again. "There is an empty office just this way," he said and indicated down a passage that branched off the ever-widening tunnels they'd been following. He led them to the empty room and opened the door. Legolas entered without looking at him. Tauriel stopped and took Kili's hand, giving it a small squeeze.
"I've missed you," she murmured.
His grin returned and he stretched up on his toes. She bent to help accommodate him and he brushed a kiss against her lips. "I missed you too, Amrâlimê," he said. "I'll wait here and we can get supper once you're finished with your conversation."
She brushed a little of his hair away from the side of his face before stepping into the room behind him, fingers trailing across his arm as she went. He settled against the wall to wait.
Less than five minutes later the door opened and Tauriel left, her face set in the same stoic mask he detested as she breezed past him, heading away from the Great Hall and supper, and probably toward the royal wing and her rooms.
Kili turned into the room and glared at Legolas who just stood staring at the doorway, his own expression as stony as Tauriel's had been.
"What did you tell her?" Kili demanded. Legolas's bright silver-blue eyes shifted to him unblinkingly.
"The truth," he said and swept out of the room towards the Great Hall and his own evening meal.
Growling, Kili hurried after Tauriel, intent on finding out what had happened.