6

It started going poorly almost right away. As soon as Celegorm returned from the river with his brothers, he was greeted with cat-calls and an assortment of bawdy observations.

"What a pretty lass… er, I mean lad," Gloin chuckled, raising his mug of ale and saluting the smiling Elf.

"Can I interest you in a drink? Oh, wait, I can't, she's spoken for. He, I mean he is spoken for," Nori poured Celegorm a drink all the same and handed him the goblet with a very wide smirk.

"Thank you," Celegorm took a cautious sip of wine, eying the Dwarves suspiciously. He'd begun to realize that he was the butt end of a joke he did not quite understand and he searched for Fili. The young Dwarf promptly hid his face inside his large mug of ale.

"We didn't know you were getting hitched," Dwalin chortled. "Who's the lucky lad? Can't be that little shit, he's not even old enough to know how babies are made," Dwalin pointed to Fili. "Besides, you'd have really ugly children together."

The warrior laughed heartily and clapped his brother's back. Balin rolled his eyes tiredly, but he too was smiling and it was contagious, really. Several others joined in and Kili was snickering by his brother's side.

"Hear that brother? Dwalin thinks your Elf spawn will be an eyesore."

"Shut your mouth. Look at him, he's getting angry," Fili gulped an uncomfortable sip, watching Celegorm and not liking the way the Elf frowned one bit.

"Hold on. What in Mandos are you all on about?" Celegorm asked, his voice loud enough to be heard over the raucous laughter. "It's the gods damned hair, isn't it?" he pointed to his head.

"Oh, aye… it's the hair," Fili heard Bofur saying and he sank further in his spot, wishing to become as small as he felt. "Although I must say, you look very fetching in it and I mean that, lad, not just taking the piss like these oafs," Bofur added, giving Celegorm a sympathetic smile.

"Oh, I see," the Elf nodded. He turned on his heels and crossed the little distance separating him from where Thorin stat with his nephews.

Fili could not quite bring himself to look up and meet Celegorm's eyes when the Elf loomed over him.

"Will someone explain this to me?" Celegorm growled. "Thorin, will you at least have the decency to not smirk in your beard and tell me what this means?"

"Apparently, you've fallen prey to the shamelessness of my nephews again," Fili saw his uncle picking his words carefully. "They've gone a bit too far, though, and you've a right to be angry. But sit and let them explain."

Both Fili and Kili shot Thorin wide-eyed looks, wishing that he'd tried to diplomatically smooth things over. But it was their uncle they were pinning their hopes on after all and diplomacy had never been his strong point.

"I'll stand right here until one of you goddamned tells me what you've done to me!" Celegorm retorted.

Fili felt his angry gaze on him and raised his eyes, cringing under Celegorm's thunderous expression.

"I… er… it was just a joke and I didn't mean to… I'm really sorry," he stammered.

"Quit mumbling and tell me," Celegorm's frown deepened and he shifted impatiently. "Right now! What is this?" he tugged on the longer braid Fili had put in his hair. "What does it mean?"

"Um… it's. Ah, how should I say it…? It's a hair style that Dwarf men plait the hair of their betrothed in after they promise themselves to each other. As a… um, a sign that the person in question is spoken for. The woman in question, to be more precise," Fili squirmed and averted his eyes as he saw Celegorm's countenance darkening with each word he spoke. He'd really blown it, just like he'd known he would when Kili suggested the foolish idea to begin with. Fili very badly wanted to empty his mug over Kili's idiot head and then bash him with it repeatedly.

"The woman, huh? Spoken for?" Celegorm muttered to himself, the back of his hand pressed over his mouth. "WHATEVER POSSESSED YOU TO BELIEVE THAT I AM YOUR WOMAN TO MARK IN ANY WAY?!" he shouted at Fili suddenly, leaning over him with a look so venomous that Fili recoiled, dropping his drink and spilling it all over himself.

"I… I didn't mean to… I thought…," Fili gaped at the terrible change he saw in the smiling, friendly Elf who'd always treated him so affectionately. Celegorm was furious and the sight of him like that made Fili wish the earth would open up beneath him and swallow him whole.

"It doesn't matter what you meant or what you thought or what you didn't think," the Elf straightened himself and schooled his face into a calmer expression with visible effort.

"It was just a joke! What's wrong with you?" Kili glared at Celegorm.

"I am not amused," the Elf hissed between clenched teeth. "And the joke is over," he turned back to Fili. "Since I don't think you want to marry me anymore than I want to marry you, this is where we break up," he said, sneering at Fili.

Celegorm's eyes were so cold on him that Fili shuddered. Try as he might, he could not think of a way to right the foolish thing he'd done or how to react in the face of very real anger. He kept expecting Celegorm to burst into laughter, clap his back and tell him that the joke was on him. Instead, the Elf continued to loom over him and looked at Fili as though he were worth less than the mud under his boots.

"Please let me take out the braids!" Fili blurted before he could think better of it.

"Oh, no. The pretty braids are staying. They'll be a good reminder of what I really am to you," Celegorm smiled icily. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have had more of your childishness and stupidity than the most patient Elf should ever have to endure. I am not patient and this is where I draw the line!" the Elf growled, turning on his heels and stomping away. "Don't you dare follow me!" he barked at Fili when the young Dwarf sat up to run after him and somehow convince the apologies to quit getting stuck in his throat.

All the others had stopped talking and they watched Celegorm stalk off. One of the twins caught his brother's arm and Celegorm said something to him, gesturing angrily, then shoved his brother off and disappeared into the night.

"Well, looks like the wedding's off. The bride just ran away in a hissy fit," Dwalin chuckled, but even he had the sense to do so only after the Elf was out of ear-shot. His brothers, however, were not, and Fili found himself at the receiving end of more hateful glaring.

"Well done, boys. You've really messed up now," Thorin grumbled.

"But it was just a joke! I don't know what got him in such a snit, we've made fun of each other before. I diss him all the time and he just insults me back, that's how it works," Kili said, making both his older brother and his uncle give him scathing looks.

"You're such an idiot, Kili! I should have never listened to you."

"You're the bigger idiot for having listened," Thorin shook his head. "You two always have to push people and test their patience and then you have the gall to wonder what went wrong. Especially you, Fili… You pride yourself in being more understanding and open-minded about other people than I am. Don't bother denying it, I know you believe that. But it's all airs and make-believe. You don't understand anything and you know nothing about that Elf who's friend you pretend to be. If you had any sense and you could see past the length of your own nose, you'd know that under his laughing and joking demeanor, Tyelkormo is very proud, just like the rest of his kinsmen. He hides it and takes your foolishness in stride for the sake of maybe seeing at least one of you grow up to be worthy of his friendship someday, but it is clearly not this day. And there is only so much insult a person can take before it becomes unbearable. I can't blame him if he's finally had it with both of you."

Fili's heart sank and sank and sank even further and his shoulders slumped. He hadn't been at the receiving end of a scathing lecture from Thorin in a long time and it only added to his guilt.

"Well done, you make me very proud as well," Thorin waved them both off with a disgusted look and sat up, turning his withering glare on the rest of his errant company. Not even Dwalin challenged his anger, although he was probably not the only one who didn't quite understand what the fuss was all about.

Fili sat dejectedly and wondered how in the names of all the gods it had all gone so poorly. Thorin's words hurt more than a whipping when Fili knew he had nothing on his side to deny them. But even worse than that, he had let down a friend. Celegorm had trusted him and the young Dwarf resented himself for betraying that trust the most. Thorin was family, he would give Fili chances to prove him wrong, but, just like Thorin had said, the Elf was a stranger and perhaps Fili did not understand him at all. But he wanted to!

With that in mind, Fili sat up, unmindful of his ale-soaked clothes or Kili's attempts to coax him out of silence.

"Where are you going?" Kili whispered.

"To find him, where else?"

"I'll go with you."

"No, you are staying right here, it's your fault we're in this mess anyway. Tyelkormo is my friend, not yours. I have to do this on my own."

Kili slunk back with a dejected look and in the back of Fili's mind a warning went off, telling him that he had also managed to hurt his brother. But he grit his teeth and set off in search of Celegorm.

Fili passed by Thorin who said nothing, but at least he did not have so much disappointment written on his face. Nori opened his mouth to say something funny, but Fili silenced him with a hard look. The whole company was at fault for treating someone who had only ever served them well with such disrespect. Fili decided to have a talk with some of his companions and ask them to be more mindful of their manners.

But determination did not get Fili past Celegorm's brothers. Amrod and Amras intercepted him as he hurried in the direction he had seen Celegorm last.

"Just where do you think you're going?" the elder twin hissed. "Turn back and mind your own business."

"But I have to find him. I have to apologize ," Fili recoiled under the angry look on the Elf's face. There was another one who had always been friendly and with a smile at the ready in answer to everything.

"No! You leave my brother alone!" Amrod growled.

"I must find him and try to right this. I cannot let a foolish prank come between us. Please tell me where he is."

"No! You will leave Tyelkormo alone and give up this absurd notion of friendship between you. You know nothing about him and I won't stand the barrage of insults you and your people hurl at him anymore. At all of us, for that matter!" Amrod's eyes narrowed and Fili saw the Elf's hands clenched at his sides.

"Peace, brother," Amras touched his twin's arm gingerly. "One of us frothing at the mouth is enough. You and I need to keep our wits about. But Ambarussa is right," Amras turned to Fili. "You go too far with your jokes, all of you."

"I mean to speak with my people and tell them how much it dishonors them to disrespect our allies and friends," Fili declared resolutely.

"That is well. But I doubt that your people will listen, knowing their nature and how much their care for pride when it is not their own," Amras nodded.

"But I must speak to Tyelkormo first!"

"No, you will not!" Amrod insisted.

"You will not, especially not right now," Amras added. "Brother, you stay here, you are too worked up to be reasoned with. But I think Fili should at least know why this prank has turned into such a disaster, while others before it have always been welcomed with a laugh. Walk with me?" the Elf said to Fili.

The young Dwarf agreed and followed Amras in silence, until the light of their camp no longer shone on their faces and the only sounds around them were the songs of summer insects.

"Will you please help me? You all have every right to be angry, but please give me an opportunity to fix it? I do not merely pretend that you are my friends and the last thing I ever wanted was to hurt Tyelkormo," Fili appealed to the Elf again.

"Alright. For my part, I believe that you are fond of my brother, as he is of you. But tell me, do you even know what 'Tyelkormo' means?"

"His name? No. I am sorry, but I do not speak a word of your tongue."

"You wouldn't… I will tell you what my brother's name means. Mother called him 'hasty riser' after he was born, because she knew he would have a formidable temper as he grew. You think Curufinwë and Carnistir are the foul-tempered ones in our family, but Tyelkormo is the quickest to anger and the longest to hold a grudge. You see him so warm and playful and reliable and he is all that, but get on his wrong side and you will see him ice-cold, ruthless and deadly. He has killed for less than the insult you gave him this night."

Fili's eyes widened and shards of ice tore through his stomach.

"He won't kill you, of course," Amras laughed. "But you have to understand that the smiling golden lion is also the most prideful and quick to bite of us all. You must keep this in mind if you wish to be his friend."

"I… I see now. I think I do. But does that mean Tyelkormo has kept his temper in check all this time and pretended to take no insult?"

"Heavens, no! He really likes you and he knows you mean well… once he's gotten past your Dwarvish reluctance, that is. You've appealed to his protective nature in a way that I have only seen him manifest toward us, his kinsmen. And that says a lot. But it also gives you the power to hurt him."

"I do not wish to hurt him."

"I know that. But listen… We are not ourselves right now, my brothers and I. There is a lot of anger and anxiousness and worry and helplessness that put us on the edge these days."

"I can see that. I know you are worried about your father and your brothers. That is why I wanted to distract Tyelkormo from his gloomy thoughts. I should have never listened to Kili, a prank was the last think Tyelkormo needed… although, he could have also used a laugh."

"Yes, but not at his expense. You don't even know what a terrible insult it was to have Tyelkormo called a woman and worse, someone's possession. He may be a shameless flirt, but that does not mean he is anyone's whore."

"I never said or thought that!" Fili stomped his foot. "This is getting way out of hand."

"Agreed. And it's happening because we are under a lot of stress. You don't know why, not entirely. But I think you should know, if you really mean to comfort my brother."

"I do. And I want to know."

"But first, you must promise me that you will not say a word of it to anyone. Not your uncle, not your bother. Absolutely nobody."

Fili chewed his lip thoughtfully, wondering if he could make such a promise.

"They will know later. When father returns, he will tell us all. But until then, I need your word," Amras insisted.

"Alright. I promise. I will not tell a soul. Except Tyelkormo, since he knows and you are telling me this secret for his sake."

"Of course," Amras smiled.

"So… what is it?"

"The Necromancer, Fili. Both the wizards and father did not want any of you to know that the Necromancer is Sauron. None other than the Dark Lord himself."

Fili sucked in a deep breath that did not want to come back out. His head swam and he thought his ears did not work properly.

"Who? What?" he mumbled.

"Sauron. Gandalf and Radagast discovered what hides behind the name of the Necromancer in Dol Guldur. That is why Gandalf has drawn us into your quest. That is why he needed us to journey to this part of the world. We did not know it in full until we were in Beorn's house, but the wizards wanted us to go with them and be their guard as they try to confront the Dark Lord. But father did not take all of us with him. He wanted me and Ambarussa and Tyelkormo to stay with you and make sure you are all safe and sound when he comes back to us. He told Thorin nothing because he feared your uncle would do something foolish and lead you all to your deaths. But now I fear that the wizards have led my kinsmen to their deaths. Something has gone amiss, we all feel it, and it takes every ounce of control we have over ourselves to stay here and not flee south. So you see? Does it make more sense why our tempers hang by a thread and we are in no mood for pranks?" the Elf sighed and fell silent.

As for Fili, he sank to his knees on the grass and tried to process the enormity of what he'd just heard. The Dark Lord had risen again? And a handful of Elves were supposed to confront him? Were the wizards mad? Or murderous?! Had they caught both Elves and Dwarves in a web so full of danger and so much bigger than Fili could imagine? All he knew was that madness would take him if his brother would rush into certain death and he could do nothing about it.

Fili turned to Amras when he sat by his side and put his hand on the Elf's arm, part in an attempt at comfort and part to anchor himself into the reality of that evening. He felt that the Elf's words had drawn back a veil and Fili had taken his first glimpse of the terrible nightmare beneath.