Chapter 22 - Choice 11 : Alright, why not!

- "Alright, why not!"

Aghäte grabbed Kíli's hand, who was smiling at her. She got up with his help and then followed him. They quickly went into the living room to put down the bowl and the glass. In the room, Fíli was chatting with the brothers Bofur, Bifur and Bombur. They told Fíli they were going for a little walk before going to bed. He smiled at them, telling them to hurry so Thorin doesn't see them. It wasn't a good hour to walk around Erebor. During the night the mountain was very dark. That's why they each took a torch with them.

After long minutes of walking down the halls, Aghäte wondered where Kíli could take her. She couldn't resist questioning him.

- "Where are we going?"

- "What do you mean 'Where are we going?'" He asked, surprised, stopping. "I thought you knew where we were going!"

- "But you went ahead! And I remind you that it was you who wanted us to walk around Erebor to take our minds off!"

Seeing him totally lost, Aghäte sighed.

- "What an idiot …"

- "Hey !" he got angry.

- "We could have walked for hours like that!"

Aghäte couldn't help but laugh at the situation. Kíli quickly joined her.

Once calmed down, they looked around. Aghäte recognized the place. She had already been there the day before.

- "Oh I have an idea! There is a room I saw yesterday that you might like!"

- "Great! I follow you!"

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived in front of the right room. Kíli had harassed Aghäte to find out what was in this room, but she didn't tell him.

The front door of the room was thick and high, but luckily for them it was ajar. They both sneaked inside. The dwarf watched the room intently as the half-human lit a few torches and floor lamps. The room was large and deep so she turned on the minimum to see it in its entirety.

- "A theater!" Kíli shouted. "It is impressive! I didn't know there was one here!"

He rushed to the stage as Aghäte sat in the front row after the room was lit up. At the speed with which he ran, he almost put out his torch. She laughed to see him so happy.

- "If you weren't spending all your time looking for the Arkenstone, you might see that there are plenty of interesting rooms here!"

- "We'll have plenty of time to find them once we find it," he said, sitting down on the edge of the stage, facing Aghäte.

- "We will see plays here when Erebor gets back on its feet! Is Prince Kíli a good actor?"

- "Of course ! With Fíli, we had fun playing dwarf pieces when we were little."

- "It's true? Show me! " she exclaimed, applauding excitedly.

- "To serve you, my lady!" He said, exaggerating a curtsy. "But I couldn't do it alone. Join me."

The young dark hair dwarf got up on his legs and stood in the center of the stage. Aghäte hesitated at first then she ended up joining him, after putting Fíli's jacket on the seat where she was sitting. She walked to the middle of the stage and waited for Kíli to finish thinking. He seemed to be searching for a play. Aghäte interrupted him before he suggested anything.

- "Um, I won't know the piece …"

- "Don't worry! Don't move and do as I say! I start: Once upon a time, there was a dwarf princess who lived in a tall, dark and cold elven palace. Um, you're the dwarf princess," he said, pointing at her.

- "I suspected it," she laughed.

- "That's obvious now, but when I played with Fíli, I was always the princess," he grumbled. "Right, I continue: Guest in appearance but prisoner in reality, the beautiful princess spent her days locked atop a tower. She had grown her beard and her hair since she was locked up, thinking she could use it to escape through the window. However, she was caught with each attempt to escape."

- "But what do you want me to do?" She asked, crossing her arms.

- "Shhh! Take a chair and get on it. I keep going," he said as Aghäte quickly set the chair up on the stage. "One day, as the princess looked out of her tower window, she heard a melodious sound that she was no longer used to hearing. Using an iron pickaxe, a dwarf struck a big stone just below."

Aghäte was on the chair, leaning over as if she was looking down. Kíli pretended to dig for ore.

- "The princess asked him what he was doing here," Kíli said.

- "Hello Master Dwarf!" she said, playing her role. "What are you doing here, in a kingdom which is not yours?"

- "I'm looking for precious stones, dear lady," he said kindly, mimicking taking off his hat and bowing. "And what is such a beautiful lady doing in an elven tower?"

- "I-," Aghäte began, thinking about how to continue the story. "I am taken prisoner by a tall and proud elven king. Hmm …"

- "Ask the dwarf for help," Kíli prompted her.

- "What?" Aghäte exclaimed. "But she can fend for herself, can't she?"

- "But you break the whole scene there!" He moaned, stamping his foot. "At first, the story says she already tried to escape but didn't succeed."

- "But what more can he do? She's in a tower and he's downstairs," she argued, shrugging her shoulders.

- "In the story, he asks her to throw her long beard out the window and he climbs up to her!"

Aghäte couldn't help but burst out laughing. Kíli took offence and stopped talking.

- "But why did you take this story? I don't have a beard!"

- "I thought we could have changed the story and taken your hair instead!"

Aghäte was laughing, but Kíli seemed to get even more angry. When he told her about her hair, he took a lock of her hair in his hand and pulled it a bit. Except that Aghäte was still standing in the chair. She didn't have time to tell him to let her go. She lost her balance. The chair rocked from side to side before Aghäte fell forward. Kíli tried to catch her but they both ended up on the ground with a loud din, which echoed throughout the theater.

Lying on his back on the ground, Kíli checked that Aghäte was fine. A little stunned by the fall, she was then on him, her head on his chest.

- "Ouch… It hurts to fall from the tower," she said, raising her head.

Her eyes looked at the dwarf below her. Aghäte could feel Kíli's heart beating particularly quickly. Their cheeks began to heat up. Kíli smiled and extended his hand to Aghäte's cheek.

- "You can't help doing as you please," he said with an amusement tone.

- "It's your fault, it's always your fault!" she said.

- "Me? My fault for what?," he asked with a mocking smile.

- "You're always trying to get me angry!" she shouted, slapping her fist on the dwarf's chest.

- "Really?" He laughed.

Aghäte didn't understand what he wanted to know. Between their position and the dwarf's hand stroking her cheek, she felt more and more uncomfortable. She didn't know what to say to him. Seeing the mischievous smile on his face, she could guess Kíli was waiting for an answer.

However, she didn't need to answer him. When they saw someone approaching the scene, they separated. They recognized immediately who it was: Thorin. Without waiting to be at their side, he spoke up.

- "What are you doing there? Have you seen what time it is?", he said in a tone half tired - half angry.

- "We were having fun playing a theatre piece, uncle."

- "Now is not the time or the place to have fun Kíli," he said harshly, staring at his nephew.

- "Excuse me. It's my fault," Aghäte said, getting up and down the platform to face Thorin. "I'm the one who showed him this room."

Kíli also went down from the stage and joined Aghäte. Respecting his uncle's silence, he said nothing. Thorin finally sighed.

- "Get out of here. Both."

- "Alright," Aghäte said.

- "Thanks uncle! I'm going to walk Aghäte back to her room and I will go to bed."

They quickly walked past Thorin. Aghäte got Fíli's jacket back and they left the room almost running.

Until they came to Aghäte's room, neither of them dared to speak. As she opened the door, she felt the cold inside. Then the painting came back to her mind.

- "Do you want to come and see your mother's painting? I've finished restoring it."

- "Oh yes!" he exclaimed as he entered the room without Aghäte even entering.

He rushed over to the painting and watched it closely. As for Aghäte, she closed the door. Then, she went to relight the fireplace. Once the fire rekindled, she put Fíli's jacket on a chair and walked over to Kíli's side.

- "My mother was so beautiful when she was young! Uncle Thorin looks so young too! And uncle Frerin has more beard than me in this painting even though I'm older than him …"

Aghäte let him examine the painting without speaking. Besides, she knew he was self-conscious about his beard so she preferred not to intervene.

- "When my uncle gets the Arkenstone and we rebuild Erebor, my mother will come back here. I'm sure she'll be happy to meet you. Especially when she finds out you saved my life in Lake-town. She'll hug you," he said, turning his shining gaze to Aghäte.

- "I didn't do much. All credit goes to Tauriel," she smiled slightly at him. "Besides, I hope she's doing well."

- "I don't think you need to worry about her. She seems to know how to defend herself."

Aghäte turned her head towards the painting and Kíli did the same. After a few minutes, Aghäte broke the silence.

- "How does the tale of the dwarf princess end?"

- "Um, a lot of things are happening. There is a fight against a troll, against the Elven King and even against a dragon!"

- "I guess that's why you played it all the time with Fíli."

- "Yes!"

- "The story ends well?"

- "Hmm, kind of. The princess and the dwarf end up being turned to stone side by side."

- "What?" she shouted, turning sharply to Kíli. "B-but that's not a happy ending!"

- "They choose it. They would rather stay side by side for eternity than live apart. Besides, in stone, that's great for dwarves," he smiled slightly.

- "I don't like this ending at all!" she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kíli burst out laughing. He patted her on the head like he would a child.

- "Alright, I must go. It's late and tomorrow I guess we're going to have a lot to do."

Kíli removed his hand from Aghäte's head to get Fíli's jacket. After wishing her good night, he left the room. Aghäte lay down in his bed and quickly fell asleep.

.

Continued in chapter 23