So this is the first time I've had the guts to dip my toes into the Middle Earth arena.

Lord of the Rings has been my comfort book/movie/happy/sad/everything since I was nine years old, so when the Hobbit came out I was obviously over the moon about it...only to be crushed when there were so many severe issues with the canon of the movies.

HAVING SAID THAT.

The movies were cinematic masterpieces (98% of the time. Some of the CG was just BAD) and it was wondrous to see it all on the big screen. I also very much did find the casting to be simply marvelous.

So I'm a coward who's trying out the Hobbit before I try to write anything for the original trilogy. I did not actually change many of the movie plotlines. I just played around with the characters and introduced a host of Elven OCs, because most of this happens from Legolas's point of view and he would (obviously) know the names of his own warriors. This is my first time writing such a large number of OCs, so I'm a little nervous about that. They are just supporting characters, but they also have big roles simply because of the POV.

So you guys gotta let me know how I'm doing, kay?

SPOILERS: There are not actually any for this chapter. It all takes place before the book The Hobbit. Spoilers will begin in chapter two, but honestly, if you haven't read the book, what are you doing reading this?!

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW TO UNDERSTAND THIS:

-Dwarves age slower than humans do, which is why this seems to drag out over such a long period of time.

-Their age of maturity is (for some reason) called their "majority". No, I don't know why. My mom thought I had forgotten the word maturity. I have not. That's just...the word. For some reason. Go figure.

-Since they age slower, they are more childlike for a longer period of time. Another point my mom got confused on: she thought they were acting far younger than their age when in reality, it just took that long to grow up.

If you have any other questions, feel free to post in the comments!

Hope you enjoy!

Oh, If I Had Only Known (I Would Have Held You Tighter)

Legolas tipped his head back against the wall and blew out a long breath.

He was bored.

The delegation from the Woodland Realm had been in Erebor for less than one full day and he was already more than prepared to simply go hide at the summit of the mountain until they could go home.

If one more dwarf made some snide comment about "snooty elves", he would not be responsible for his actions.

Except you would, chimed the little voice in his head that sounded like his father. Because you are the Crown Prince of the realm and expected to behave with the dignity according to your station.

Legolas groaned softly, prying himself off the wall and forcing his spine to straighten. He looked around the massive chamber that the entire delegation and what felt like the entire population of Erebor had been crammed into. It truly was magnificent, he had to admit. There were none quite like the dwarves of Erebor when it came to craftsmanship.

He absently swirled his flute of wine in one hand as he slowly walked the perimeter of the room, doing everything in his power to go unnoticed. He had no desire to speak with anyone at the moment. All around him, elves and dwarves were giving forced smiles and stiff bows, obviously wishing they were anywhere else at the moment.

Legolas rolled his eyes.

He did not see the need for these grand "welcome celebrations" that Thror insisted on throwing every time a delegation arrived. They were grandiose, wasteful of time, and simply painful for everyone involved.

"At least the cakes are good," the prince muttered to himself as he drew to a halt by the desserts table. He reached for a slice of one of the elegant baked goods resting towards one end when a light tug on the edge of his tunic startled him.

He looked down, finding the tiny hand curled into the embroidery, and tracing it back up the little arm to a small face with wide, sparkling dark eyes and a gap-toothed grin.

"Could you path me a piethe of cake?" whispered the dwarfling from under the table, glancing side to side furtively. "Pleathe?"

Legolas was instantly enchanted by the dwarfling's lisp. The fact that the little rascal was clearly in his nightclothes and had snuck into the party to steal cake was also very amusing and highly reminiscent of Legolas's own childhood.

"I might," he said, unable to contain a grin of his own as he met those wide eyes. "But I should like to know the name of the one I am committing such a crime for."

The dwarfling giggled, scooting a little closer. "I'm Thorin!" he said proudly. "Thrain ith my da. And Thror ith hith da!"

The son of the Crown Prince, Legolas realized. No doubt driving his caretakers mad as they try to find him without disturbing the King…

Another tug on his tunic pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Tho? Will you?" Thorin blinked up at him.

Legolas grinned. Then he swiped a piece of cake, wrapped it in a napkin, and glanced side to side himself as subtly as he could. No one was watching him. So he quickly rolled under the table to join the little one.

Thorin squealed happily—albeit quietly—as Legolas handed over his spoils and set to with great gusto. The cake vanished in an impressively short amount of time, and Legolas couldn't contain his mirth as he had to help the dwarfling clean his fingers and face.

Once he was clean, Thorin decided that Legolas's lap looked far more comfortable than the hard floor and crawled over and plunked himself down in it. He caught one of Legolas's braids in his tiny hands and started playing with it as he babbled away about everything and nothing, as small children are wont to do.

Legolas blinked down at him, nonplussed, for a few moments before acknowledging with a wry twist of lips that this was apparently just his life today. So he pulled the rest of his hair over his shoulder, laughing softly at the dwarfling's delighted gasp, and set to weaving little braids into the rascal's dark mess of hair.

Upon learning his name, Thorin decided it was far too long and promptly shortened it to merely Las. Legolas had been unable to bite back his laughter that time, but fortunately no one was near them and they escaped detection.

They sat there for a while, until the sounds of the party began to slow, and little Thorin's eyes began to droop. Legolas started to hum the melody his mother always sang to him, rocking back and forth, and in no time at all, Thorin was asleep against his shoulder, one thumb in his mouth.

Legolas smiled down at the little dwarfling, something warm and protective rising in his chest at the peace and innocence of his sleeping face.

Then he crawled out from under the table, taking care not to wake his precious burden, and went to locate the lad's caretakers.

(Who were indeed utterly frantic at having somehow lost the grandson of the King Under the Mountain)

Legolas leaned against the wall and glared up at the ceiling.

Another afternoon filled with politely insulting words thrown by elf and dwarf alike, and yet another night filled with stiff smiles and snide remarks, disguised as a celebration of allies.

Ugh.

He drained his glass in one long gulp.

He hated these parties.

He was pacing the perimeter of the room—as was his wont at these gatherings—when he noticed a strange ripple in the tablecloth of the dessert table. A smile tugged at one corner of his mouth as he carefully made his way over, staying in the dark corners to make sure no one spoke to him.

As he drew level with the table, he could hear little voices, giggling and scolding each other.

"Sh, Frerin!" Thorin whispered. "You're too loud!"

"Loud!" agreed the happy, energetic voice of a toddler.

"Sh!"

Legolas laughed lightly, crouching down and rapping his knuckles softly on top of the table as he lifted the edge of the cloth and peered under. "And what are you young rascals doing under there?"

Both dwarflings froze in place, eyes wide and guilty, chocolate smeared all over their fingers and faces.

Legolas bit his lip hard to keep from bursting out into laughter.

Then Thorin lit up like a bonfire. "Las!"

Legolas smiled broadly. He hadn't been sure if the little one would remember him. "May I come in?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Thorin reached out, grabbing onto his sleeve and dragging him under the table. "But we hafta be real quiet, okay? We're s'posed to be in bed, but we wanted some cake!"

"Cake! Cake!" agreed the tiny dwarrow beside him. There was such similarity in their dark eyes and tangled curls that Legolas knew at once they were related.

"And who is this handsome young fellow?" Legolas asked, reaching out to pull the little boy onto his lap and tickle him, reveling in his sweet laughter.

"That's Frerin," Thorin said proudly. "He's my little brother and I love him very much. But he can't do a lot. But I love him anyway!"

Legolas smiled at him. "That's very noble of you, Thorin," he said.

The little dwarf beamed at him. "I am noble," he agreed. "I'm a prince!"

The elf snorted in laughter. "Yes, you are," he said.

Thorin grinned. He scooted closer, plopping down on the leg unoccupied by his brother as he started to catch Legolas up on everything that had happened since they'd seen each other last.

Legolas let him ramble, just as amused as he was the last time. Frerin was more than happy to cuddle up to the elf, chewing contentedly on the ends of his hair and watching Thorin wave his arms with rapt attention.

The night ended very similarly to the last time they'd done this, only this time Legolas had a very young toddler completely asleep in one arm and a very sleepy dwarfling complaining that "'m not tired, don't need to sleep" clinging to his other hand and yawning every other step.

He returned them to their panicking caretaker and was once again showered with her tearful thanks. He bit back his grin and graciously accepted.

But when she tried to take Frerin from him, the little dwarrow woke up. He looked up at Legolas and his big eyes filled with tears. He whimpered softly, reaching out for him.

"Oh, little one," he smiled at him, leaning over to gently tug on an errant curl that fell across his forehead. "I will see you tomorrow, yes? Go to sleep now."

He sniffed, blinking slowly at him. Then Frerin waved sleepily as he snuggled his head against his caretaker's shoulder, whose entire body sagged with relief.

"Thought for sure there'd be a screaming temper tantrum there," the elderly dwarf woman muttered, gripping Thorin's hand and holding him upright as he dozed off against her leg.

Legolas grinned, more than a little amused. "Little rascals, aren't they?" he said with a little laugh.

She groaned. "You don't know the half of it," she said. "But they seem to have taken a real shine to you, princeling."

Legolas's eyebrows went up at the title. "It would seem you know my name, but I do not know yours. Might I be given this honor, my lady?"

The dwarrowdam snorted ungracefully. "Don't bother with all those fancy words with me, laddie. My name's Shadi. And I get the feeling we're gonna be seeing a fair amount of each other these next years, so we might as well lose the formalities now."

Legolas grinned, delighted at her no-nonsense attitude. "Well, Shadi, then I look forward to seeing you again at our next gathering.

She rolled her eyes. "Mahal help me."

Legolas laughed out loud.

There were strange creatures appearing in the Greenwood.

Small animals were found dead, the cause of it appearing to be some strange poison.

Thick, impossibly massive spider webs were spanning the branches of the trees to the south.

The trees whispered instead of sang, and there was a cold, dangerous feel to the air down there.

There was something seeping into their forest.

Legolas's next meeting with the Prince was far less discreet.

Apparently, the lad was old enough to attend some of the shorter official duties of his father and grandfather, and as such was present for the wood elves' arrival. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets, yawning and kicking at rocks on the ground, clearly bored out of his mind.

Legolas swung down from his stallion, already having to bite back his grin. His little friend was much taller now, nearly reaching Legolas's waist.

Thror stepped forward, offering the usual dry, far too grandiose greeting, but was cut off quite abruptly in the middle.

"LAS!"

Thorin had apparently started paying attention and realized who, exactly, it was that was standing before the gates. The young dwarrow sprinted forward, leaping into his friend's arms.

Thranduil's eyebrows flew up, Thror and Thrain gaped at them, and Legolas burst out laughing, catching the excited dwarfling and embracing him tightly before setting him back on the ground and kneeling before him with hands on his shoulders to still his bouncing.

"I am glad to see you as well, mellon nin," he said, laughter in his eyes and voice. "But perhaps we should wait until the official greetings are out of the way first, yes?"

Thorin's eyes got very wide and then he flushed very red and it was all Legolas could do not to burst out laughing again.

Thorin turned back to his father and grandfather with the air of one going to his own doom. "My apologies, Your Majesty," he said formally, bowing to Thror. "My apologies, my Lord." He bowed to his father. "My Apologies, Your Majesty," he turned in place, bowing one last time to Thranduil.

Thranduil inclined his head gracefully. He knew very well who the young dwarf was, having heard Legolas's fond stories over the last few years. "There was no harm done, young Prince," the Elvenking said gently.

Thorin slumped with such obvious relief that Legolas had to snicker again.

Thorin was allowed to attend only the dinner at the celebration before he was shuffled off by Shadi with much complaining.

Legolas watched him go, quite amused by the exasperated look the elderly dwarrowdam threw at him over her shoulder. She pointed to the dwarfling and then the elf-prince and then the dessert table and then narrowed her eyes.

Legolas was barely able to stifle his laughter in time, but he nodded, wordlessly assuring her that he would find and take care of the youngster when he undoubtedly snuck back in, probably with his brother.

Sure enough, less than an hour later, Legolas spied two pairs of little feet disappearing under the dessert table. He grinned, pushing off from his hidey-hole against the wall and making his way over. He glanced side to side to make sure no one was watching him and then rolled swiftly under the table. He pushed his hair back over his shoulders and turned to face the two dwarflings, one of whom was grinning wildly at him and the other one was just blinking, wide-eyed with shock.

"Who're you?" Frerin tilted his head, frowning as fiercely as he could.

"My name is Las, tithen pen," Legolas said, holding out a hand and smiling at how seriously the youngest prince took his hand and shook it. "I'm a friend of your brother's."

"Oh!" Frerin immediately grinned at him. "Then I like you."

Thorin snorted out loud as Legolas laughed in delight.

"Well, I like you, too, Frerin," the elf told him.

Frerin nodded at him like that was the end of the conversation, then crawled over to sit beside the elf, leaning against him as he ate his cake with happy little humming noises.

Thorin shook his head at his brother, but there was visible warmth in his eyes every time he looked at him.

"So what have you been up to these last years, mellon-nin?" Legolas asked him, capturing one of Frerin's hands to wipe them off before the dwarflings ruined yet another of his fine tunics. He didn't care, but the seamstress back in the Woodland Realm had given him the lecture of a lifetime when she saw all the chocolate stains on the silver embroidery.

Thorin gasped in excitement. "Right! You don't know yet. I've started warrior training! I'm going to be a warrior!"

"Are you, now?" Legolas grinned at him. "Well, that's a very noble aspiration."

"Aspi…what?" Thorin tilted his head.

"Desire," Legolas simplified. "An aspiration is something that you desire to attain, or to be. You aspire to learn how to fight, so your aspiration is to be a warrior."

"Oh," Thorin nodded. "But Dwalin is my teacher, and he's so stern! He never lets me get away with anything…"

Legolas got comfortable on the floor, occasionally cleaning Frerin up and reminding Thorin not to be too loud as the elder prince regaled him with stories of all the things he'd missed since last he saw them.

At the end of the night, when he returned them to Shadi, Thorin was still going.

"…and then he said that I did well! Can you believe it?! Dwalin actually gave me a compliment! I nearly collapsed; I was so shocked!"

Legolas chuckled as Thorin sprinted ahead of them to give Shadi a great big hug.

The dwarrowdam ruffled his hair and held her arms out for Frerin, who frowned at her and cuddled closer to Legolas.

"None of this now," the elf chided gently. "I will see you in the morning, tithen pen. Alright? But you must go with Shadi, now."

Frerin turned great big, watery eyes on the prince, but he was unmoved, simply raising an eyebrow. Frerin pouted, but obediently held out his arms for Shadi and went with no more fuss.

"Good to see you again, laddie," the caretaker said with a smile. "And I thank ye for keeping these rascals out of trouble."

Legolas snorted. "I'm not so sure I'm keeping them out of trouble as much as simply teaching them how to not get caught, but you are welcome."

Shadi laughed and Legolas grinned.

"See you tomorrow!" Thorin darted in and hugged his waist, tight.

The prince hugged him back, and then watched as the caretaker took her charges down the hall, Thorin still practically dancing alongside her, gesturing as he told her all about their night.

Legolas went back to the banquet with a wide smile.

The Princess was dead.

Legolas was still reeling from the shock of Thrain's blunt and harsh manner when he spoke of the death of his wife.

Thorin wasn't with the greeting committee.

He wasn't at dinner.

He wasn't present in the diplomatic meetings, even though by all means he should have been old enough at that point.

And not a single dwarfling was to be found beneath the dessert table or anywhere else for the full duration of the banquet.

Legolas was so distracted that at lunch the next day his father finally dismissed him. With a quiet but heartfelt Hannon le, Ada, Legolas fled.

He searched high and low, but he could not find the young Princes anywhere. Finally, he ran into Shadi.

"Shadi!" he sighed in relief. "Please, I cannot find Thorin. Have you seen him?"

The old dwarrowdam's shoulders sagged. "Aye," she said heavily. "I reckon he'll be in Princess Dis's nursery. Him and Frerin don't leave often."

Something in Legolas's heart went cold. "Princess Dis?" he echoed.

Shadi's shoulders slumped further. "Aye," she said again. "We told Her Highness her body couldn't handle another babe, but…" she shrugged. "Durin's folk are hardy and stubborn. There was little we could do to dissuade her."

"Ai Valar," Legolas said weakly, sagging against the wall and dragging his hand down his face.

Shadi nodded. "I think it would do them good to see you," she said quietly. "If you wouldn't mind."

"Where?" Legolas demanded.

She told him, and then he was running.

He managed not to knock the door off its hinges as he went flying through it, but it was a close thing.

Thorin looked up at him from where he was sitting in a rocking chair, watching Frerin and a very young little dwarrowdam play on the floor, and the tears in his eyes broke Legolas's heart. The prince dropped to his knees and held out his arms and the dwarfling flew into them, hiding his face in his shoulder and crying as though his very heart had been torn out.

"Oh, penneth," Legolas murmured, feeling grief sting his own eyes. He rocked the lad back and forth. "I am here, Thorin. I am here."

"She's gone," Thorin cried, his whole body shaking with the force of his cries. "She's really gone…"

Legolas closed his eyes and held him tighter. "I am here," he repeated, at a loss of what else to say. "I am here."

It took Thorin a long time to settle down, but at last he calmed. He sat very close to Legolas on the floor and the elf kept a strong arm firm around his shoulders.

Frerin had come over with teary eyes and a demand for a tight hug, which Legolas more than willingly gave, but his tears did not last long. Legolas suspected it had more to do with Frerin seeing his brother cry than any real understanding of what had happened.

Then there was a little tug on the edge of his tunic and Legolas was looking down into big, dark eyes, a tiny little mouth cheerfully gumming away at the expensive embroidery.

"And who is this lovely lady?" the elf asked softly, gently scooping the little girl up in his arms. He settled her on his lap and rubbed their noses together, making her giggle and press her little hands against his cheeks.

"This is my baby sister, Dis," Frerin said seriously. "I love her lots! She's really loud sometimes, and she can't talk, but she gives great hugs."

Legolas's heart lightened when he saw Thorin smile helplessly at his sweet little brother and precious little sister.

"So, what have I missed since last I was here?" the elf asked the younger Prince, cradling Dis in one arm as the other wrapped itself once more around Thorin's shoulders. Thorin leaned into him, resting his head on his shoulder as Frerin's eyes lit up.

"I'm gonna make everyone stop fighting!" the little prince said, jumping to his feet. "Everyone in the whole world!"

"Oh?" Legolas raised an eyebrow. "And how are you going to do that, tithen pen?"

"By talking!" Frerin said, crossing his arms and looking very self-important. "Everybody knows that people only fight because they don't know how to talk to each other."

And Legolas had to laugh a little bit, even as tears stung his eyes. "That is very insightful, Frerin," he said, swallowing hard. "I wish more of Arda's people saw it as clearly as you do."

Frerin nodded.

Then he began to describe with great enthusiasm the lessons his tutors had been giving him recently. Thorin chimed in every now and then but he stayed mostly quiet, soaking up Legolas's comfort and strength and occasionally smiling at his brother or sister when they did something especially adorable.

Dis contented herself with tugging gently at the elf's braids, babbling to herself in that language only the very young understand.

And though this visit was void of much of the lightheartedness that Legolas had come to associate with his dwarflings—his dwarflings, where did that come from? —he was grateful for it nonetheless.

The trees to the south began to snarl instead of whisper, and their leaves grew black and twisted.

None dared venture anywhere near Dol Guldur anymore.

Legolas knew what was happening.

While he had not been old enough to ride with the Last Alliance, he well remembered the repercussions of Sauron's darkness in his woods.

And the exhausted grief in his parents' eyes was enough to warn him of what was coming.

On the next visit, Thorin was once again a member of the greeting party, and he grinned widely at Legolas, who winked at him.

Once all the official nonsense was out of the way—and Legolas really almost did burst out laughing when Thorin caught his gaze and then dramatically rolled his eyes and pretended to collapse—and the Greenwood delegation had been ushered through the doors, Legolas heard a bright laugh.

It was the only warning he got before Frerin literally threw himself off a staircase and came flying at the elf through the air.

"LAS!" he shouted.

Legolas quickly dropped his pack in order to catch the dwarfling, grunting as he crashed into his chest.

"Frerin!" he cried, taking a few steps backwards to accommodate the lad's impact. "By the Valar, I do believe you've grown another foot!"

The dwarfling giggled delightedly, leaning up and hugging the elf's neck tight.

"I missed you lots, Las," he admitted in that shameless way that children have.

And Legolas's heart very nearly melted. "I missed you as well, tithen pen," he said softly.

Another set of arms slung themselves around Legolas's waist from the side. "Didn't you miss me?" Thorin blinked up at him, exaggerating wide and teary eyes.

"Not even a little bit," Legolas responded cheerfully.

Thorin gasped dramatically. "Treachery!" he wailed, stumbling back with a hand over his heart. He collapsed onto the floor, sending Frerin into a fit of laughter.

Legolas dimly acknowledged that the three of them had been left alone in the entry hall, with no witnesses save the guards, most of whom were trying very hard to bite back their smiles.

"Come on, you," Legolas chuckled, leaning down to haul Thorin to his feet. "We've a banquet to get ready for."

Legolas did not see Dis until the feast that night. She and Frerin were too young to join the celebrations officially, and while Thorin was, he was not allowed to stay the whole night. He was sent away with Shadi once the moon had reached its peak.

But that was not going to stop him from sneaking back in, as Legolas knew well, and he was fairly certain that the lad would bring both his siblings with him.

"It really is a miracle you three haven't been caught yet," Legolas said, highly amused as he slid under the dessert table to a very familiar sight—three dwarflings, thoroughly chocolate-stained fingers and faces, wide, guilty eyes until they realized who it was.

Thorin grinned at him, wiping off his own face and fingers with a napkin and leaning over to do the same to Frerin.

Legolas was very impressed.

Dis just lowered her head, blinking at him.

"Ah, the lady must not remember me," Legolas smiled warmly at her and sketched a little half-bow from his seated position. "My name is Las, Lady Dis. We met on the Greenwood delegation's last journey here."

Dis blushed, shyly extending her hand. Legolas kissed it with great flamboyance, delighting in her soft giggle.

Thorin groaned at the dramatics, rolling his eyes.

Legolas snickered at him, getting an elbow to the ribs as payback, and Frerin just shook his head at all of them.

"So how goes the warrior and diplomatic training?" the elf asked, taking a slice of cake off the full plate he'd brought with him.

Thorin and Frerin's eyes sparkled as they went off about all the different things they'd been learning, Thorin speaking of all the styles of battle he'd been studying and Frerin chiming in with his political and diplomatic studies. From Dis's groan and dramatic collapse against Legolas's side, they weren't going to run out of words any time soon.

Legolas grinned, tugging Dis into his lap and unraveling his braids so she could play with his hair.

She gasped, delighted, instantly getting to work.

As the boys talked, gesturing excitedly, and Dis gently tugged at his golden locks, that familiar warmth surged in Legolas's heart.

He had missed these three, and it made his heart glad to see them again.

The Greenwood was growing darker and more and more evil creatures were crawling through her trees. Legolas and his warriors found themselves driven to the end of their endurance again and again, battling the darkness. They had to pull their borders back a fair way, retreat to their mountain halls, and the defeat tasted of bitter ashes.

It was many years before he saw his precious dwarflings once more.

On their next meeting, Thorin had passed his majority and stood taller than both his father and grandfather. He even had the decent beginnings of a full beard. Frerin had not yet reached his majority, but he couldn't have been far away. He was only half a head shorter than his brother and already sported a small beard himself.

Legolas worried for only a few moments that they would no longer wish to speak with him. They were Princes of their realm, now, and the Dwarves of Erebor and the Elves of Greenwood had never been great friends.

But he needn't have worried.

As soon as the official greetings were out of the way, both lads' faces cracked into wide smiles and they hurried straight to Legolas, embracing him warmly and chattering away a mile a minute, interrupting and talking over each other, and Legolas burst into glad laughter, holding them tightly. They eagerly volunteered to guide Legolas to his guest chambers, even though he knew the way well by now.

But he was pleased with their company, nonetheless.

They were almost there when a joyful cry rang out behind them.

"Las!" Dis was running towards them, dark hair flying behind her and dark eyes sparkling, a wide smile on her lovely face.

"It cannot be little Dis!" Legolas cried, catching her up off the ground and spinning her around, smiling even wider at her laughter. He set her down and knelt before her, hands on her shoulders. "It cannot be the little Dis," he continued, "because Dis is only a small thing, not this stately Lady of the court I see before me!"

She blushed and swatted his shoulder but dove back in for another hug. He squeezed her tightly and then released her.

She smiled broadly at him. "It is good to see you, Las," she said, emotion clear in her eyes. "We have missed you dearly."

"Aye," Thorin agreed, his voice deep and strong. "It has been too long, my friend."

"I think we're a bit past friends after all these decades," Frerin demurred with a smile. "Let's go with brother, hm?"

"Agreed!" Dis laughed, clapping her hands. "That seems a fitting title."

"Indeed," Thorin smiled widely, gripping the stunned Elf's shoulders with both hands. "It fits, does it not?"

Legolas blinked at them, utterly blindsided. Tears stung his eyes and he blinked them away rapidly.

"Aye," he said, laughing hoarsely. He swiped at his eyes. "Aye, 'twould be my honor."

Later that night, Legolas was overjoyed to find that all three children of Thrain were old enough to stay the night through at the celebration.

"No more hiding under tables!" the elf laughed, reveling in how red Thorin's face was.

"Oh, be silent, you," the prince grumbled with little malice.

They laughed and ate and drank together. Legolas could not recall a diplomatic journey he had ever enjoyed quite so much.

After the meal was through, the siblings led their elf high up to a corner of the mountain he'd never been to before.

Ravenhill, they called it.

They lay on their backs and watched the stars, sharing stories and laughing and naming the constellations. Legolas told them many of the tales that went with the beautiful lights as they were known to his people, and Frerin and Dis were quick to fill him in on their own people's legends.

As the night passed, first Dis and then Frerin fell asleep, the former's head on Legolas's shoulder, the latter slumped against his brother.

Thorin and Legolas spoke softly as not to wake them, though neither were ready to go in just yet.

But at last, they had to, each with his respective burden.

This last visit lasted nearly a fortnight, and the four siblings went riding, hiking, or down to the market in Dale nearly every day. They spoke and laughed and simply enjoyed each other's company and Legolas knew now without a doubt that there was nothing he would not do for these precious, precious children that he loved so dearly.

When it was time for the Elves to leave, Thorin, Frerin, and Dis rode out with them, as far as the gates of Dale. The four siblings-by-heart said goodbye with great reluctance and greater affection, and the younger two scrambled up onto the battlements, eagerly waving after them until they could no longer see Legolas. He found himself smiling nearly the entire journey home.

(He did not know it was the last time he would ever seem them whole and happy and innocent. In years to come, he would look back upon this day and wish that he had held them tighter)

There we are!

Chapter One. I hope you all liked it!

This story will have five chapters in all and four are already written. They just need to be formatted and posted.

Five is done up to the final battle, so I just gotta get that part finished and we'll have a complete story!

Loved it, hated it, please let me know! Your feedback is a genuine joy to receive and I do so love being able to refine my writing.

Love you all! See you in chapter two.