Here is a short deleted scene between Maia and Fili, right after the chapter "Windows of the Past." This is when Fili starts teaching Maia knife lessons, but in secret. There is a strong chemical stir between them at this point.

Aiming the Knife

The travel down the mountain hill of the lonelands was a slight struggle. Maia was still flushed with warmth from last night with Fili. While riding the pony through the forest, unaware of the words exchanged in between the dwarves, Maia kept thinking about her practiced "night watch" with Fili, talking to him practically all night while gazing into the starry sky. About braids and cowboy boots. Knives and guns. Friends and family.

She especially remembered when Fili described his mother.

"My mum was considered stronger than even many dwarf men," he had told her, after their discussion with weapons and beads. "Feisty and headstrong, but kind and wise. She's like Kili, in a lot of ways, but without much of the recklessness. Adventurous, though. She never minded the open skies and the wild forests, even when she lived in Erebor. She was also considered the most beautiful of the dwarrow dams in her time, though her beard was shorter than most."

"Her beard?!" Maia nearly fell over.

He chuckled at her dumbfounded expression."Aye, our women also have beards."

"You're kidding!"

Fili flipped the knife in his hand casually, smiling at her a little wickedly. "I am serious. The women of our race are few, but when they are seen, they are often mistaken to others as the men." He leaned toward her, while Maia also leaned to listen. "There is also this saying among the other races that there are no dwarf women," he said with raised eyebrows, "and that they just spring out of holes from the ground!"

Maia laughed aloud at that, and Fili laughed with her, but not before scoffing with a wave of his hand. "Which is, of course, ridiculous!"

Maia then paused, studying him a little curiously. "Are beards considered an attractive appearance in your race?"

Fili smiled at her gently. "On a dwarf, aye."

"What about a human?" Maia picked up the locks of her hair and pulled them over her jaw and her upper lip, grinning at him cheekily. Fili burst out laughing again, and Maia joined him, tears in both their eyes.

"Well, does it look good on me or what?" Maia joked, still holding the hair against her face. Although something in her fluttered while waiting for his answer. "Would I make a pretty good-looking dwarf like this, Fee?" She called him the nickname Kili gave him. She didn't know why this question mattered, but she was really curious to know what Fili really would think of her. She never thought too much on her looks recently, until now.

Fili just looked at her with a gentle expression. He then smiled, his blue eyes twinkling as he reached over and took her hand away. Her hair fell from her face and swept over her shoulder like a curtain, revealing her smooth face once more. His fingers brushed her smooth chin ever so lightly, but enough to send heat through her bones.

"I think," he said slowly, "I would not change any of your looks. This way, I can see your face."

Touched, Maia swallowed and nodded. When gray eyes met blue in that moment, they had not realized that the sun was already appearing on the horizon. In the morning, for once, Maia did not feel awkward at all. She felt...beautiful. Fili made her feel like that.

Thinking about it now, Maia may have already knew that. From the dream she had a week ago. But from the way Fili described his mother, Dis-long raven-black hair and sapphire eyes like Thorin, bearing the wisps of a black beard along her jawline-she recalled to her shock that she may have seen Dis.

When she looked ahead, she saw Fili riding beside Kili. Her heart ached when seeing Kili look so down. He seemed to ride further away from Thorin, who kept his gaze stoically up front. Maia blew through her lips in frustration. Guess neither uncle or nephew were going to have a talk for a long while. Whether it was pride, or uneasiness, or maybe both, Maia hoped for both their sakes that they put their stubbornness aside and get over the problem quickly.

Fili then glanced back. When his eyes met hers, he smiled. Maia smiled back, feeling herself glow.

Late in the evening, Maia lay awake, staring up into the open sky of stars, feeling a mixture of fascination and wakefulness. Having napped most of the day on Gandalf's horse, she couldn't sleep.

She stood up, listening to everyone snoring around her. Kyle and Lori were passed out on either side of her bedding, their long day of riding through the wilderness having exhausted them. Listening for any sounds in the night, hearing nothing but crickets and owls, she fished out her pepperspray from her bag, tucked it into the pocket of her jeans, and started walking out. Wearing a tank top, she didn't bother bringing her jacket. It wasn't that cold out tonight.

The air was cool at nighttime, even when it was in the summer. Maia only wanted to take a short walk from the camp, avoiding the eyes of the watcher, who happened to be Kili.

She kept thinking about two things: what would truly happen when they reached Erebor and what had happened the night before between Fili and her. Her hand brushed tree bark and picked at it, before closing tightly.

"What are you doing, Maia?" she whispered to herself.

"Maia, where are you going?"

Maia jumped around in surprise to see Fili coming to her. "God!" she gasped, trying to calm her heart. "Sneak much?"

Fili held up his hands, smiling. "Apologies. Sneaking is practically second nature to me."

Maia raised her eyebrows at him and put her hands on her hips. "Oh, really? Thanks for coming clean!"

"Seriously, Maia, what are you doing?"

Maia shrugged and paced the ground, her foot kicking away some leaves and dirt. "Couldn't sleep. I needed to think. Does Kili know you're out here?"

"Aye, and he knows you are, as well." Sighing, Fili stepped forward exasperatedly. "Maia, it's dangerous to be by yourself, away from camp. Especially when you are not armed."

"I'm armed." She pulled out her pepper spray for him to see. Fili frowned.

"What is that?" he asked.

"Pepper spray. Spray this into your eyes and you'll be feeling a whole world of pain." She pocketed it like sheathing a sword and patted it. "They're pretty damn effective during an assault. Trust me."

Amazed, Fili chuckled and shook his head, rubbing a hand across his beard. "Impressive tool, Miss Dainson, but I don't believe a little bottle of chemicals will be a match for a pack of orcs when they pop out of the tree and charge you in numbers with weapons of defilement. What you need, my lady, is a blade. But then again, you are a woman."

She blinked at this. "What's that supposed to mean?" demanded the offended Maia.

"It means that fighting is no place for females," said Fili mildly. "It's unnatural and a bad mix."

Maia scoffed in disgust, glaring at him. "Unbelievable!" she exclaimed. She pointed at him. "You….are unbelievable! Would it shock you if I said that my world has plenty of kick-ass female fighters, or that maybe I learned some self-defense? The main reason girls learn how to fight is to protect themselves, just like the guys." She didn't mention that it's been a while since she actually practiced self-defense.

"The men can protect the women," insisted Fili, eyes narrowing.

Shaking her head, Maia crossed her arms and boldly stepped forward until she was up close to Fili, who was looking up at her without waver. Like the look of a prince. "But then what would protect the women from the men?" she challenged him.

Fili shook his head briefly, frowning up at her. "You know the Company and I would never harm you," he said quietly.

"It's not you and the dwarves I'm worried about, or even Bilbo or Gandalf," argued Maia softly, "it's the rest of the world. Orcs. Bandits. Rapists. Thieves. Monsters. Whatever the hell you've got out here. The point, Fili, is that while we're on this journey, I don't want to be helpless if either me, Kyle, or Lori is in any sort of trouble. Somebody told me that the best way to protect somebody is to teach them how to protect themselves."

"And who would this wise speaker be, Miss Maia?" said Fili slowly.

Pause. "My dad," she answered.

Jaw clenching, Fili stepped closer to her face with eyes of blue fire. "The father who left you?" he said softly.

Maia's gritted her teeth. "Yes, Fili, the kidnapped father who left me and my family for God only knows what…..but in this case, he is right."

There was a long pause between them, dwarf and human meeting each other's glares within a breath's distance of each other. Though Maia struggled to keep the hard facade, her annoyance still flaming, but she wasn't sure which of them would break first.

Then Fili smiled. "Then I guess we better get started, my lady." He stepped back and walked away toward a tree, saying, "How about a knife-throwing challenge?"

Maia was surprised. "Right now?"

Fili turned, unsheathing a knife from his belt, flipping it twice over in his hand before catching the handle. Then he flipped it to the blade and offered her the hilt. "Right now. What say you, Lady Maia?"

Maia smirked and accepted the knife. It seemed a little heavier than it looked. "Since when am I a lady?" she said. "It's not like I'm royal, or aristocratic."

"Well, you force me not to call you 'miss,' and you are right," explained Fili, as he was pulling out his knives one by one, handing a few over to her. "Lady Maia suits you better. Your wisdom earns you the title, and your beauty."

"Flattery's not gonna win you this game, Prince Fili," she warned him playfully. "You already fooled me once. What would your uncle say?"

Fili shrugged. "Nothing, if he does not know." Without warning, he threw the knife at the side. The blade embedded in the tree trunk fifteen feet away with a thud.

Amazed and slightly shaken by its lethal dexterity, Maia pointed out, "Don't you think it's hardly fair you've had plenty of practice with this?"

"Humor me with your aim and we will talk about practice," came Fili's smug reply.

Maia widen her eyes at him with mock-astonishment, before turning toward the tree with the stuck knife. Knowing she was not as expertized as the blond dwarf beside her, she extended her arm with one eye open to aim the knife toward her intended target, which was to be within an inch of where the other blade embedded.

She threw the knife. The blade landed narrowly three feet from Fili's knife. Not as deeply, but at least it remained stuck into the tree.

"Not bad for a beginner," praised Fili, circling around her to view her toss from around her shoulder. She could feel him very near the base of her back, his presence sending thrills up her spine. "You have a strong throw, but you are too tense in the arms and legs. Your feet are off-balanced."

Maia shook her arms to loosen them. "I'm a little rusty."

Fili tilted his head at her. "You mean you have done this before?"

She shrugged casually. "Maybe once or twice. But we definitely play a lot of darts back at home. My mom, when she's painting, uses darts to pop balloons filled with paint over a large white canvas to create a portrait of crazy illustrations. Sometimes me and Kyle join her."

Fili nodded, clearly impressed. "You have the skill, though it could use a few corrections. Let's start with the basics. Are you right-handed or left-handed?"

"Both."

He looked up her in surprise. "Really?" She nodded with a small smile. "What a coincidence! So am I."

"Huh. Makes sense. You use twin swords. After seeing you fight with them, you'd have to be good with both hands."

"Agreed, though I am more curious to see how your hands work. I have seen you with a pen, but not with a blade. What would be your most well-used hand?"

"Um…right."

"Then your left foot should be within a shoulder's width more up front than the other. Here..." He placed his large hands over her hips to turn them slightly. They were rough and warm. The ghost of that touch lingered to her face...Maia blushed and focused on her eyes on the tree ahead, trying not to seem nervous as he continued to adjust her body position the right way, his hand lingering to her arm. "Now relax your arm, but so much that it should fall limp. The blade, whether it be sword or knife, should be the extended part of your arm, the reach of your hand, and the compass to your mind. But strength and direction comes from the shoulder..." His other hand slid up her back until covering the base of her right shoulder, causing her to shudder. "The fluency depends on how you hold your weapon. Place your forefinger along the spine of the blade..." His hand then moved along her arm dangling at her slide, sliding along the little hairs that tingled from his fingers, until they covered her hand, moving her smaller forefinger in place. "Relax them slightly, but don't release. That comes later, when you have focused directly on the mark you have chosen. Keep your eyes and your mind directly on the mark. Never waver." His hair and bearded mustache brushed her other shoulder, as dwarf and human looked ahead, though their focus was not entirely on what they both saw. "Do you see it?" he whispered.

"I see it," whispered Maia, not looking away she directly her focus solely on her previous target...only her mind slowly made it become something other than just a spot in a tree. It was as though her mind was slowly forming into another one, looking through the eyes of her teacher. Of Fili.

She let him guide her arm, which bent and moved upwards at a ninety degree angle, perpendicular to her shoulder. Then he tilted her wrist backwards, keeping her toes facing forward. "When you throw, remember to snap your wrist forward and flick your finger when you do," he told her, gripping her wrist briefly. "The rest relies on your aim and the strength in your bicep. The finger along the knife will help give you a straight aim and, depending on your momentum, will hit the target without spinning."

Fili then stepped back slowly, giving her room. The air felt cold without him there. "Remember to breathe," he said, "aim, and then...release!"

Maia threw the knife, putting all muscle, her mind, and her will into her arm, remembering to flick her wrist and relaxed her fingers.

The blade landed with inches next to other knife, penetrating the bark almost as deeply. Such a sight sent a deep heat of excitement through her legs and arms, and Maia let out a thrilled laugh. Fili was smiling, also letting out a breath. He looked equally as excited as she. "With more throws, you will find yourself doing it..." He looked at her, taking in her happy state with joy, feeling his own heart lift at the sight of her, and breathed, "Naturally." He tried not to think about what the knife represented for him. It made matters too painful for him to bear. She looked even more beautiful when in triumph.

Maia turned to smile brightly at him, an excited frenzy radiating through her. "A few more?" she asked. She then noticed that he was staring at her, looking happy and...something else. "Are you okay?"

Blinking, Fili nodded and cleared his throat, before taking out another knife. "A few more rounds," he agreed, "and then more for other nights in private, if you don't mind. You can surprise your brother and sister."

"And the dwarves," added Maia with a smirk.

If Kili was teaching Kyle some archery, then it only made sense that Fili teach her a few skills of his own.

That and, as she watched Fili throw his own knives, Maia liked to watch the strange fluency of his actions. How his muscles seemed to show, yet somehow revealing more graceful sleekness that nearly matched his younger brother's as he threw his blades with relaxed familiarity. The sight was intense. When his knife landed on his intended target, puncturing through the bark until the hilt itself almost touched the surface with a THUD, she felt a throbbing tingle flare between her legs. Oh, God. She let out a breath. Now she was really glad that that these would be private lessons, because if Kyle and Lori saw her be this way now, they wouldn't let her hear the end of it.

"Your turn," Fili said, turning toward her, his triumphant grin evident. He looked like a true warrior now, and short or not, it felt like she had a mountain to climb with this one.

Maia blinked and then swallowed the dryness in her throat, before nodding. "You're on," she replied. Fili bowed at her slyly and gestured toward the tree in invitation. She rolled her eyes with a twitch of her lips and turned, tossing her hair back over her shoulder and rolling her neck. Yeah, she can relax. She can be her own boss. She can do it again.

They would continue their lessons at nighttime, and no one else...except Kili...needed to know.

For now.

Trying to ignore Fili's intense gaze on her back...then again, allowing it to fill her with adrenaline, she turned around and threw her knife.

THUD!

Maybe I should change the rating, because what I just love how sexy the way things are playing out between these two;) Am I right?