Disclaimer: I don't own any familiar characters, and or anything pertaining to the world of the Hobbit. All, but my ocs, are owned by J.R.R Tolkien (who probably hates us for doing this to his work).

Chapter 38

Fili was tired.

Between weeks of meetings, hearings, and spending time with his soon-to-be fiance, Fili was exhausted. It seemed at times that he was having an out of body experience, watching his life slip by right in front of him. Without the only part of his day that brought him any light was his walks through the marketplace. Though they weren't mindless walks, he knew the path he was taking. He knew who he would stumble by. But he couldn't help himself, Fili had to see her. His life in those weeks after Lord Hamrus and Lady Tearsa had arrived had been dull and dark. Magdalen had been a source of light, something Fili had grown quite dependent on.

Yet it had been his fault they had been in this situation in the first place. Fili had known of Lady Tearsa's coming when he had kissed Magdalen. He couldn't help himself. She was everything he had ever wanted, she wasn't afraid to stand up for what she believed in. She was passionate about her work, and she was protective over the ones she loved. She was like a fire, and he wanted to reach out and touch it. It was like his soul was connected to hers, from the moment he saw her he couldn't help but find himself near her. Though he would admit, in the beginning, it may have been out of mistrust of her.

The look she had given him in the arena when Tearsa called out to him, made his heart shattered into a million pieces. He wanted nothing more than to forsake his proposal, grab Magdalen by the hands, and run into the wilds. Where no one could stop them from being together.

You're the one who's stopping you and Magdalen from beginning together. He thought bitterly.

Fili groaned running his hands through his hair. The stars above his balcony seemed to stare down at the prince in pity. He had been a fool, and he had been the one to hurt her. He had to move on, he was going to marry Tearsa now. Fili's fist tightened around the stone rail, he was the crowned prince and he had a duty.

"Fili?"The familiar voice of his uncle called out to him.

Fili glanced over his shoulder watching as Thorin emerged into the moonlight from the darkness of his room. Thorin nodded to his nephew as he joined him at his side. Resting his arms on the balcony Thorin took in the beauty of Middle Earth. Neither spoke for a moment relishing in the beauty of the moonlight. Thorin looked over Fili with one thick raised eyebrow.

Dwarves are not particularly good at emotional interactions. They were made of stone, weak stone crumples and become dust. Or rather that was Thorin's thought for a number of years. Though in recent years Thorin had come to realize how barbaric that was.

"You seemed rather quiet in today's dealing," Thorin questioned.

Fili remained quite staring out at the night sky.

Thorin continued, "In fact, you've been unusually quiet this last week."

Fili straightened up. "I've not been quiet, I've been reserved. Letting you, Lord Amrus, and his brother figure out the future of this kingdom. My future. Without me." Fili finally snapped.

He looked out into the valley that knelt before the mighty mountain. The lights of Lake Town glowed off in the distance.

Thorin sighed. "I have only ever wanted to look out for you and your brother's happiness. Everything I have ever done is for you. This marriage will secure your future Fili. Tearsa will make a good enough queen and with the support of the grey mountains, no one will ever question your rule."

Fili stared at his uncle, he had always known his uncle had loved them especially since the battle for the lonely mountain. The battle was something that he did his best to keep off his mind, it always made his scars itch thinking about it.

"Perhaps I don't wish to marry like you." That wasn't a complete lie, Fili had never really thought about marrying.

Thorin shoved the idea away quickly. "Fili you don't want to be a lonely king."

"I won't be lonely, I will have Kili and his children like you have Dis and us." Fili protested.

Thorin laughed shaking his head. "We both know Kili's children won't be eligible for the throne."

It was true, Mahal forbid there ever be more Kili's in the world, their mother's heritage would make them ineligible to be his heirs. Fili pressed his lips together. A thought slipped from his lips that was meant for his mind only.

"What if I want to marry someone else, Uncle?" The words froze Thorin in his place.

"Fili..." Thorin searched for the right words to say to his nephew.

Fili shook his head, pushing himself away from the balcony. "I know I have a duty."

Thorin reached out to him, but let the hand hang in the air. "I know you and Tearsa don't know each other now, but eventually you'll come to like each other. Even maybe love each other one day. Like your Ugmil 'adad and Ugmil'amad. Their marriage was rearranged, and they had a long happy life together." Thorin tried to comfort Fili.

Fili wasn't comforted, but he gave Thorin a small smile.

"Maybe you're right." Fili began walking away.

He was not.

Kili was not as completely clueless as he seemed. In fact, he knew a great many things. For example, he knew that everyone in the kingdom knew about his relationship with Tauriel, though he cared little. He knew all the back channels in the mountain. He even knew that a guard named Rogelio was having a torrid affair with one of his mother's maids. Kili also knew that his brother was hiding something from him. But, what he was unsure.

Though Kili was currently on a mission to discover the undiscovered.

He wouldn't call what he was doing stalking, as he followed Fili at a distance as he wandered through the market. But others would.

Kili really had only his brother's best intentions in mind. Well, that and he was noise. At first, Kili thought that following his brother had been a whole waste of time, that was until Fili disappeared into a small shady alleyway. His brother had always been the more sensible one out of the pair. So why was Fili dashing into allies in the middle of the day? Kili was going to find out.

Pushing his way through the crowded corridor, Kili maneuvered his way to the edge of the alley. Perhaps his brother was meeting with Spymaster Nori about something, it wasn't uncommon for the Spymaster to want to meet in strange places. Nori has a taste for the dramatics. For a split second Kili thought that he should feel guilty for following his brother. What Fili did was his business, not something for Kili to stick his nose into. That thought quickly past as Kili peeked his head around the stonewall. Though he did not find his brother and the Spymaster. Instead, he found the backs of a few dwarrow and dwarrowdams, and the top of a familiar blonde-haired woman. Kili's jaw slacked at the scene before him.

A white stoned fountain was built out from the wall hidden way in the valley of the buildings and caverns of the marketplace. Much to his surprise, Magdalen balanced on the lip of the fountain, waving her hand around dramatically. Kili could see through the dwarves, dwarflings crowded around the base of the fountain enthralled with every word she said. Leaning against the wall, out of view was his brother. Just enthralled with the storyteller as the children.

"The giant began to descend the beanstalk as Jack furious cut it with his sword." The children gasped sitting on their knees.

"She does this every day during our lunch," A voice said behind him. Kili turned to find Ori. He pointed to Magdalen, who was too consumed in her story to notice she was being watched.

"It started off as just a few dwarflings… and then grew into this." He pointed at the gaggle of dwarflings sitting at Magdalen's feet.

Kili smiled watching as the children erupting into cheers as Magdalen's Jack defeated the giant. Looking to Fili, Kili saw life in his brother's eyes that he hadn't seen since Ered Luin.

"He also does this everyday," Ori added, watching as Fili took in Magdalen's movements a small smile tugging at his lips.

"He never approaches her. I think he's afraid she'll just punch him." Ori paused. "He's probably right." Kili looked between Magdalen and Fili. Magdalen gave a deep bow as the crowd cheered for her. Fili among the loudest supporters. Kili had always wondered what was going on between the two of them. He waved it off as nothing more as a simple attraction. Fili had flirted with dwarrowdams before, but he had never been serious about them. Much to his amazement Kili swear he saw a flash of something he had only seen looking at their family. A deep-seated love.

Don't be ridiculous, he thought to himself.

Perhaps it wasn't so ridiculous, whatever had been happening between his best friend and his brother had been brewing for a while. In a strange way, it made sense Magdalen and Fili seemed to fit together like a puzzle. Magdalen's impulsiveness complimented Fili's controlled demeanor, she seemed to bring out the best in his brother. Kili found himself cheering for Fili and Magdalen, had they even realized they had feelings for each other. Magdalen certainly had, that explained why she had seemed so off.

A horrible realization rained on his sudden burst of happiness. Fili and Tearsa's engagement, that's what had been a matter with Magdalen. Whether or not Fili had known, he had broken Magdalen's heart. Kili watched as Magdalen stepped off the fountain the crowd around her dispersing. He searched for Fili, for a moment, only to find him gone along with the other dwarves.

"Come to see the show." Magdalen beamed for the first time in weeks at Kili. His heart glowed to see the smile of his friend once again.

Kili elbowed Ori "He couldn't stop telling me all about this mysterious storyteller, and all of her beauty. I had to come and see for myself." Kili winked.

Magdalen rolled her eyes linking her arm with his. "Yes, yes I can speak to her beauty." She said flipping her hair. "But I've also heard that she has a mean right hook."

Ori chuckled to her side following the pair. Kili glanced over his shoulder, and he could swear he saw a glimpse of his brother. Kili gave a small smile to Magdalen, as she led them back to the library chatting away. Though Kili couldn't listen, he was thinking about what he would say to his brother the next time he saw him.

He knew the one thing he wasn't going to say to him.

You are screwed.

Thorin hadn't stopped thinking about his discussion he and Fili had. The happiness of his family was a burden Thorin gladly bared. Had he put Fili's happiness aside when Thorin had agreed to meet with Lord Harmus? Fili was so eager to win his approval that he would do anything for his uncle. Thorin had been excited for Fili to meet her, hoping the two would click together. Tearsa seemed like a perfect match for his Fili. She was bright and well mannered. He had heard stories of her abilities with an ax, though he had yet to see it for himself.

Though when Fili finally met Tearsa, it wasn't the love fest he had been expecting. On Tearsa's part, she seemed thrilled to be at the young prince's side. While Fili played the part of an eager fiance, he wasn't as thrilled as his counterpart. But Balin had reassured him that his parent's relationship had started off on a similar note, and that left Thorin with a little peace of mind.

Unlike the peace and quiet, he was trying to get now. The light pacing outside of his door was beginning to get to him, Thorin's fist curled around his pen. The moment's in his study was the one time Thorin ever got time to himself to think, to contemplate, to relax. The pattering of feet was getting to him. Thorin slammed his fist down, cradling his face in his hands.

"Come in already, Miss Magdalen!" He shouted in frustration.

He heard a small yelp, before his door cracked open Magdalen's head peeking in. She smiled nervously at him as he waved her in. Timidly Magdalen waltzed into his office. In all the time that he had known her, he had never seen her so quiet. He found he didn't enjoy it.

"Miss Magdalen, is there something that you need?" He questioned his tone not as harsh as it had been a moment ago.

Magdalen twiddled her thumbs, glancing between him and the door.

"How did you know it was me?" Magdalen said seemingly dodging his question.

Thorin sighed. "There is no dwarf in this mountain that is so light on their feet, Miss Magdalen."

Magdalen hummed moving around his office, brushing over various objects he had collected over the years. Thorin laced his hands together leaning forward to watch the girl. "Magdalen is there something you wanted to speak about with me?" Magdalen brushed a piece of hair out of her face, sitting in one of the chairs seated in front of his desk.

"Thorin I was wondering.." She trailed off, her eyebrows knitted together as her words died.

"Well, it's just.." Thorin was growing more frustrated by the second.

"Please Miss Magdalen, speak." Thorin rushed her.

Magdalen rolled her head, clearing her throat. Her eyes not meeting his. "I want to travel outside the mountain." Her voice never wavered.

"If you wish to travel to deal, you have simply asked Dwalin. He would have arranged something." Thorin brushed off returning to the papers in front of him.

"No, I want to visit Bilbo in the Shire." Thorin froze looking up from the documents in front of him to meet Magdalen's intense gaze. Thorin tilted his head studying the girl in front of him, no matter how well he thought he knew her she always surprised him.

"Mr. Bilbo offered before he left, and I miss him so much. He made the Shire seem so desirable that I just can't resist anymore." She said firmly as if she needed to reassure herself. She wasn't lying, she had missed the riveting conversations she shared with the hobbit.

Thorin sat back in his chair, rubbing his beard. "Why all the sudden, if I may ask? Fili and Tearsa's courtship will be announced soon, you'll miss out on the celebration."

Magdalen closed her eyes, letting out a deep sigh. "I think it's time I see the world my grandfather loved so much."

Thorin could see a sweep of sadness in her deep eyes, though what from he could not place. He ran his finger over his pen, rubbing his lip with his other hand. "Give me some time to think on it." He finally said.

A forced smile graced her lips. Magdalen shot up, giving Thorin an informal nod.

"Thank you, Thorin." And with that, she left.

Magdalen was a mystery, and her sudden wanderlust for Middle Earth puzzled him. But the thought of traveling outside of the mountain seemed to lift her darkened mood. Thorin would never admit it, but Magdalen's well-being concerned him. If a journey to the Shire would help her, he wouldn't object to it.