Chapter 8
"So, the Midsummer Festival," Kili said to Fili as they rode back to Erebor. He reached into one of his saddlebags and pulled out one of the delicious ham and cheese pies they'd sampled earlier that day after they'd met Sigrid in Dale's markets. "Do you think we can convince Uncle that it's something we should attend?"
Fili didn't respond.
"Fee?"
Still nothing.
"Fili!"
Fili startled and looked over at Kili. "Sorry. Did you say something?"
Kili fought to keep the grin off his face. To mention Sigrid or not? Probably not. Fili would only get defensive and then trying to convince him to go to Dale's Midsummer Festival would be almost impossible, even if Sigrid would be there.
"Where's your head today?" Kili asked instead. "Ever since we left Dale you've barely said two words." He took another bite of his pie.
"You'll spoil your dinner with those," Fili said.
Ah, deflection. Not Fili's strongest tactic but Kili didn't press. He knew what Fili'd been thinking about, in general terms. Sigrid was now of age to be courted. And, as Fili had pointed out only days before, she wasn't so young looking anymore. The slightly coltishness of girlhood had completely vanished. Her too-thin features from when they'd first met and that first winter sheltering in Erebor had vanished beneath a healthy filling-out brought about by three daily meals that included more than just fish and what little could be foraged or bought at the cheapest prices in Laketown's markets. Her muscles had toned and the curves of her body stood out more beneath a finely tailored dress befitting her station.
Fili had always liked lean figures.
Kili rolled his eyes at Fili's remark. "I'll be fine. Now, do you think we can convince Uncle that a trip to Dale during their Midsummer Festival would be good for relations between our kingdoms?"
Fili shrugged. "You tell me. You've been more the ambassador for our people than I have lately."
"That's all inside Erebor," Kili protested. "He's had me showing the few visiting dignitaries around. Most of them are from the Iron Hills so it's not like it takes a lot of time or tact anyway."
"You manage Thranduil's people well enough."
"Tauriel's influence," Kili said, unable to stop the smile from crossing his face at the chance to mention his One's name. "She's helped me know how to interact with them. But that's not the point."
"I'm aware," Fili said. "Ask him. See if he'll let you go."
"Lady Sigrid invited you as well," Kili said.
Fili scowled. "I don't have time," he said.
"You deserve a day off," Kili interrupted before Fili could start listing his many duties.
"And today was?"
"Checking on the welfare of our people in Dale's markets," Kili said. "At least, that's the excuse I gave Balin."
Laughing, Fili shook his head. "All right. If you can get Uncle to let us go, I'll come along."
Tauriel met them in the stables when they returned to Erebor. Kili slid from his pony's back, tossing the reins to a waiting stablehand without looking. He jogged to meet her, catching her around the waist and lifting her easily. She laughed as she leaned over to tap foreheads with him.
"I missed you today," he said and set her back on her feet.
"I missed you too," she said and kissed him.
"I missed the peace and quiet," Fili grumbled good-naturedly as he walked by, the bag with all Kili's purchases slung over his shoulder. "You two really need to find a more appropriate place for this. What would Amad do if she caught you at this?"
Kili paled a little, his head whipping around so he could fix his brother with a horrified stare. "Don't tell her," he begged.
"I'm pretty sure she already knows," Fili said as Kili and Tauriel fell in step next to them. "There aren't many in the mountain that openly associate with her. Amad knows all of them and she knows the rest of us aren't reckless enough to put courting braids in her hair without their family knowing beforehand."
Kili glanced at Tauriel. She smiled at him. "She does know."
"She does?" His voice did not squeak, no matter how hard Fili snickered next to him.
"Yes. We speak often. Did you not know?"
Kili gaped at Tauriel. "I didn't think you'd even met yet!"
Tauriel shrugged, a secretive little smirk dancing around her lips.
"Oh no," Kili moaned and buried his face in his hands. "What horribly embarrassing things has she divulged about my childhood?"
"Nothing as of yet," Tauriel said. "She said she'd leave that to Fili."
Fili cackled and shoved the saddlebag into Kili's hands. "Well, there was this one time when Kili was just learning archery," he started.
Kili gasped theatrically. "You promised you'd take that to your grave!"
"Did not," Fili said, his grin entirely unrepentant.
"Now I must know," Tauriel said, her smirk matching Fili's. "Please, go on. What happened when he was first learning archery?"
Fili opened his mouth to continue but Kili stopped him. He reached into his saddlebag, grabbed the first thing he found, and shoved it into Fili's mouth. "No! Absolutely not! You are not telling that story. You tell it wrong anyway."
Fili spat out the apple fritter with which Kili had just assaulted him. Trying not to gag, he pushed it back into Kili's hands. "Never give me anything that tastes, smells, or even sounds like apples ever again," he groaned.
"As long as you never tell that story."
"Fine," Fili said and reached into the saddlebag, stealing a roll studded with dried strawberries, apricots, and raspberries. He bit into it, trying to rid himself of the horrible taste of apples. "Doesn't mean Uncle or Dwalin or Amad won't. They were all there."
Kili cursed.
"Don't let Amad hear you say that. She'll smack you upside the back of your head."
Kili ignored him . "Great. Now I have more people to bribe."
"I'll leave you to it," Fili said. "I think I'm going to head to the training grounds, hide from Balin and whatever dam has decided to try to court me today." He left.
Kili and Tauriel continued toward the royal wing, climbing one of the numerous staircases throughout Erebor.
"How was Dale?" Tauriel asked.
"Interesting," Kili said. "Apparently, they're throwing some kind of festival soon. Would you like to go?"
"A festival?' Tauriel asked, her eyebrows rising. "I don't recall the people of Laketown holding any sort of festivals in the last few years and they haven't held any since Smaug died."
"They didn't have the funds in Laketown," Kili said and scowled. "The Master taxed them all into poverty and wouldn't do anything that took money from his coffers. Dale's people have been too busy working on repairs before now."
"That I can believe," Tauriel said. "The first festival they've had in recent human memory. I would imagine they would indulge more than usual. We should go to support them."
Kili's grin widened and he hopped up the last few steps ahead of her. He turned and leaned forward, sliding his fingers into her hair and kissing her. He felt Tauriel smile against his lips before she let her hands rest on his hips.
"I'll take any advantage the stairs offer me whenever I can," he warned her when they parted. "I refuse to always be standing on my tiptoes to kiss you properly."
"I encourage it," Tauriel said and leaned forward to kiss him in return, humming in delight when he licked at her lips before pulling away.
"Come on," he said and tugged on her hand to lead her further up the stairs. "I have an uncle to find to ask permission to act as an emissary to Dale during their Midsummer Festival, along with my boring older brother."
They left Erebor early the morning of the Midsummer Festival. Oddly enough, Fili opted to walk.
"He must still be excited that he doesn't need his cane anymore," Tauriel said as she and Kili turned down the road to Dale.
"But why take the mountain path?" Kili wondered as he reined his pony around a slow-moving cart filled with crates and parcels. One of the personal delivery businesses that had cropped up in recent months for dwarrow or humans that wanted goods from one of the cities but didn't want or have time to make the trip themselves.
"It's a beautiful morning," Tauriel replied and shaded her eyes to look toward the eastern horizon. The sun was still low on the horizon but it still reflected off the distant Long Lake.
"It is indeed," Kili said, noting the bright golden-red tones in her hair and the extra brightness in her emerald eyes.
Noticing his regard, Tauriel smiled and bent from her position on horseback, kissing him on the cheek before straightening. "You're sweet," she said.
"I know one royal tailor that would disagree with you," Kili quipped.
"If you would stop antagonizing Dori every time you saw him," Tauriel sighed.
They continued to chat during the ride to Dale, enjoying the early morning and the breakfast Bombur had packed for them. When they finally reached the city, they left their mounts at the main guardpost and made their way toward the city's center on foot. Around them, humans and dwarrow talked in laughing tones. Children of both races raced around underfoot, small banners streaming behind them. Overhead, banners crossed the street in bright colors. Flowers grew in every window and any spot of earth to be had. Delicious smells wafted on the slight breeze that kept the day from becoming too hot.
Kili and Tauriel wandered the fair, sampling the food, examining the wares, and, in Kili's case, checking with the dwarrow vendors and patrons, making sure they were being treated properly. He also stopped to chat with some of the human stall owners and workers, making sure the dwarrow of Erebor were behaving themselves.
"They're a good bunch," one woman said as she passed over a couple of small rolls studded with dried fruits. "Haven't had nor heard a complaint of any of your people, Your Highness. It's a good day to be had by all."
"Glad to hear it. Good day to you ma'am," Kili said with a small smile before he turned away. He handed Tauriel the second roll before starting to tear chunks off the one he held and popping it into his mouth.
"All's well?" Tauriel asked as they meandered towards the heart of the city. They'd heard there were to be competitions to be had in the old arena that had just finished repairs early that spring.
"So far," Kili replied. "I think we've missed most of the sword fighting competition," he added, looking at the sun's position. It was some time after midday and the sounds drifting from the arena grew and grew.
"That sounds like quite the match," Tauriel said. "Care to see who's fighting?"
Kili nodded and they made their way to the stands just in time to see Fili dart toward Sigrid in the middle of the ring, leaning in close with a smile on his face.
"Cheater," Kili laughed when Fili landed a hit against Sigrid's ribs.
"How so?" Tauriel asked and winced on Sigrid's behalf.
"Using his pretty face to his advantage," Kili said.
"Pretty is he?" Tauriel asked. "I hadn't noticed." She tangled her fingers in his hair as they watched Sigrid and Fili dance around each other, darting in with swords raised. "Clever of her," Tauriel remarked after a few minutes of watching Fili continue to score points.
"What?" Kili asked and shouted in astonishment when Fili stumbled and Sigrid scored a point.
"That," Tauriel said. "She kept turning so he'd have to pivot on his bad leg. She exploited the weakness to get the upper hand."
"Too bad he's tiring too late to do her any good," Kili said as Fili slashed at Sigrid and scored another point. Sigrid retaliated and the two traded a few more blows before coming together again, Sigrid's sword connecting with Fili's side but Fili coming out with the upper hand, his sword pressed to her throat.
The two separated, Sigrid dropping her sword in surrender, and left the ring to dwarrow cheers and human groans.
"Come on," Kili said. "Let's go say hello."
He led the way through the crowds until they reached where Dale's noble family and Fili were just coming together to talk. Kili darted forward and jumped on Fili's back, almost knocking him over. "Fili!" he shouted as he connected with his brother and knocked him to the ground.
"Prince Kili!"
Kili looked over at where Tilda rushed toward him even as he shifted to take any weight that might be pressing against Fili's hip.
"Lady Tilda!" He said with the widest grin he could muster. "Did you see my brother almost lose to your amazing sister?"
Fili twisted and shifted underneath Kili, grappling. Kili only put up a token amount of resistance. "I did not almost lose," Fili grumbled.
Kili laughed. "Keep telling yourself that Brother," he said and wriggled his way free from his brother's grasp. Standing, he gave Tilda a hug. "How are you, Littlest Bardling?"
Tilda giggled and launched into speech. "I'm fine. How are you? Is Tauriel with you? There she is. Hi Tauriel! Did you know Prince Fili gave Sig a puppy?"
"A puppy?" Kili asked with delight and glanced at his brother. Fili could protest all he wanted. He had feelings for the eldest Lady of Dale. The slight blush beneath his beard was proof enough of that. "Where?"
"Da has him. Come on, I'll show you." She grabbed Kili's hand. He let her pull him along, glancing back at Tauriel in amusement. Would their children be as boisterous as Tilda? Could they even have children? Did Tauriel want children? All questions for later, he supposed.
Bard stood nearby, conversing with a woman. At Tilda's approach, the woman excused herself. Bard held a little cloth-wrapped bundle.
"I want to show Prince Kili the puppy, Da," Tilda said as she bounded up to her father. He pulled the cloth aside to show the dog's face, giving his daughter a rare, small smile.
Kili felt something ease inside him. If Bard was having a good day then the Midsummer Festival was an obvious success. Good. Both their peoples needed some joy. Though the mountain was reclaimed and both cities were almost finished rebuilding, the absence of loved ones still gaped in many hearts.
He looked at the dog, prepared to ooh and aah over some small pup but paused when he noticed exactly what Bard held. Behind him, he could hear Fili and Sigrid approaching.
Laughing, Kili turned to them. "Fee, you gave her a Mountain Hound?"
"It's the runt of the litter," Fili protested mildly.
"I want a ride on it when it's full grown!" Kili demanded and reached out to pet the sleeping pup's head.
"What?" Bard looked sharply at Kili.
"Joking," Kili said and raised his hands in innocence. "Only joking." He winked conspiratorially at Tilda, just to keep Bard on his toes. Tilda giggled but Bard scowled again.
Tilda turned to Tauriel to show off the puppy and Kili heard Fili excuse himself so he could go prepare for his next match. Kili and Tauriel remained with Bard and his family to watch the last few rounds of the competition.
When Fili entered the ring for his next match, Kili glanced at Sigrid, curious as to her reaction. She kept her hands on Magnus, wrapped around the puppy in his sling. She leaned forward eagerly as the fight started and Fili darted in and ducked under his opponenet's first swing. When Fili struck his first point, she cheered loudly, drowning out half the dwarrow near them, Kili included. When Fili stumbled on his bad leg, she lifted a hand to her mouth before relaxing when Fili drove his blunted blade up and into his foe's ribs, scoring another hit.
Kili almost laughed. For all Fili's protestations the other day, it seemed Sigrid may see the Golden Crown Prince of Erebor as more than a friend. Kili watched her as the fights continued, more and more sure with each match that Sigrid at least held some regard for Fili.
Finally, and, as Kili expected, Fili won.
Fili accepted the prize money and waved to the crowds.
"And now, Your Highness, who will you show your favor to this day?" the man who had awarded Fili the money asked.
"I'd forgotten that or I would have entered," Kili murmured.
Fili grinned and Kili shifted. He knew that grin. Fili was up to something.
"Why, to my brother Kili of course!"
And there it was. The crowd murmured, some a bit uneasily at Fili's words. Kili didn't react as eyes darted between him and Fili until Fili decided to put everyone out of their uncomfortable speculations.
"For him to give to his One as I have not yet found mine-"
Kili resisted the urge to laugh but did glance at Sigrid pointedly when Fili looked their way. The message apparently didn't get across.
"-and will show none other my favor." He lifted a hand and motioned for Kili and Tauriel to enter the ring and join him. Applause and cheering erupted as they entered the ring. Fili handed over a thick sheet of paper - a voucher for dinner at the finest inn as well as one for a young and talented jeweler from Erebor. "Enjoy yourselves, on me," he said.
Kili accepted the gift. "Many thanks, Brother," he said grinning and he leaned up to kiss Tauriel. She bent obligingly to kiss him back. Quickly, he wrapped his arm around her waist and shifted, tipping her back into the most exaggerated kiss he could with such short notice.
The crowds reacted as he expected and Tauriel laughed silently in his arms until he swung her back up to standing. They left the ring and hung back as Fili spoke to Bard.
"With your permission, My Lord Bard the Dragonslayer, I'd be honored if you'd allow me to continue to escort Lady Sigrid for the remainder of the festival, if I may?"
"Come on," Tauriel coaxed even as Kili resisted the urge to dance in joy. Would he even need to do anything to help his brother figure out that his One was standing right there with the puppy he'd given her that morning? It seemed rather unlikely.
"This might be easier than I thought," he remarked to Tauriel as they waved to Tilda and returned to the rest of the festival. "He's half in love with her already."
"Then let them be," Tauriel suggested. "Time will tell if they are meant to be together."
"It took very little time for me to know," Kili told her as they walked down Dale's crowded streets, eyes tracking movements of those around them, searching for anything that would hint at descent among the festival-goers. Everyone seemed happy and amicable, as they had all morning.
"When did you know?" Tauriel asked curiously.
Kili hesitated and ended up bumping his shoulder against a young man's arm by accident. He apologized quickly and looked up at Tauriel. "Promise you won't laugh?" he asked.
"I make no guarantees," she said, an amused smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.
"Do you remember the day we met? When you appeared out of the trees and took down, what was it, three massive spiders on your own?"
"Five," she corrected as she paused to admire a bouquet of flowers, fingers running along the petals of an orange lily. "I killed five spiders that were all coming to eat you for dinner."
"How could I forget?" Kili asked and shook his head. "Anyway, when I first saw you, I didn't think anything of it, even when you killed the spider literally trying to gnaw its way through my boot. It wasn't until you refused to give me a dagger and instead impaled the next one, that I even took more than passing notice of you. Then you shoved me over to the rest of the Company and I was forever lost to you."
"And you decided the best thing to do was try to insist I should put a hand down your trousers once you saw your brother being disarmed?"
Kili flipped a coin to the flower seller and picked out the orange lily she'd been admiring. He reached up and tucked it behind her ear before catching her hand in his. "I made you smile though, didn't I?" he asked and kissed her knuckles, grinning when she giggled and bit her lower lip.
"Why didn't you take notice of me until after I'd killed the second spider? I had just saved your life?"
He laced their fingers together as they started walking again. "I may not have taken the time to notice if you were male or female before you said anything," he said. "Dwarrow save each other all the time in battle. We don't really put a lot of stock into owing life debts and other such things other races seem to deem highly important."
Tauriel laughed loudly and Kili grinned in return, making sure to commit the sound and the way she looked. As soon as she calmed, he said, "I thought you weren't going to laugh."
"I never made any guarantees," she said in response, another chuckle escaping her. "Do you still have trouble telling ellith from ellon?"
"No one has had to correct me since," he said. "I call that a bit of a victory."
She laughed again and they continued to meander through the crowds.
A few months after the Midsummer Festival, Fili dragged Kili out of the mountain with him on a rare morning of free time. Tauriel, unfortunately, had duties to attend to in preparation for Durin's Day. Being the tallest person in Erebor did have her in demand when it came to some of the decorating and Bofur wasn't shy about approaching her to take shameless advantage of her desire to make Erebor her home.
"Where are we going?" Kili asked as he followed Fili along a dirt track along one of the mountain's spurs.
"To help Sigrid train Magnus," Fili said, glancing back at Kili.
"Magnus?" Kili asked, something in his stomach starting to sink in dread.
"Her dog," Fili explained. "I got it for her after one of her suitors attacked her-"
"He what ?" Kili demanded.
"Attacked her. Don't worry. She's fine. But she was shaken at the time and mentioned that having a dog might help. So I got Magnus for her and we've been training him since. Today we're going to start working on him actually being a guard dog instead of just an intimidation."
"You're going to teach her dog to bite me, you mean."
"Not you in particular," Fili said. "Anyone she tells him to. Don't worry, I brought the padding the palace trainers use for this." He jostled the pack on his shoulder as if to remind Kili of its bulky presence.
"When I said you didn't take time to have fun anymore, this isn't what I had in mind for you to do."
Fili just shrugged. "You wanted to spend time with me. Well, here we are." He topped a rise where part of the mountain spread out in a small plateau. Sigrid and her growing puppy sat on the ground, playing with a length of rope together. She glanced up at the sound of their boots shifting on the dirt.
"Prince Fili!" she greeted happily and then noticed Kili. "And Prince Kili. It's good to see you."
"I'd say the same but I'm worried about being roped into being your dog's chew toy today," Kili said, eyeing Magnus. He was much larger than the last time he'd seen the dog. Magnus wouldn't fit in a little sling to be carried around like an infant anymore, that was certain.
Fili nudged him. "Ignore him, Lady Sigrid," he told Sigrid. "He just likes to complain even when he's volunteered for something."
"Volunteered?" Kili sputtered.
Fili turned and lifted his eyebrows in a rare, silent plea. "Please Kee," he whispered. "She was really scared that day."
Kili heaved a sigh of resignation. "All right. Fine. Give me the suit. I'll be the chew toy for the morning." When Fili handed him the bag, a wide smile on his face, as he murmured his gratitude, Kili couldn't stop a small smile in return. If he only managed to spend time with Fili by being his One's dog's new aggression outlet, he would take it. For now. Fili owed him though.