A/N: I tell you what, I'm excited, I've enjoyed writing these chapters, I mean, I shattered now and about to take my backside off to bed but I've had some fun. A lot more going on in this chapter, I tried breaking it down, but I like it just the way it is. So, a bit lengthy, a lot wordy, lots of descripties. Enjoy!

Weapons

"You did what you had to do Aurora." I nod at him and he grasps my shoulder in comfort, I may come across as bitter or something along those lines at times. But remember that I have faced many evils, fought many battles to know this quest will not end well. I opened myself up by telling them the truth about me as well. Something of which only five people knew of before this morning.

My foreboding and worry over the quest however, whether that be aimed at Bilbo, Gandalf, or the dwarves, I do not know. But they need a wakeup call and if I am the one to give them that rude awaken, then so be it. "Until then, I think its best you get some air, this is the most people that you have been around in months, of which haven't tried to kill you that is. I think being in such close quarters is beginning to get to you." I sigh and my shoulders slump, no doubt giving away the weight I have on my shoulders and when I say weight, I mean that and never a burden.

"I'll sort my things before going out, I'll make sure I have stock of what I need, should we proceed with this journey and all." I pat his hand before moving away to my room.

"Aurora?" Gandalf calls quietly before moving forwards, bending down towards me. "I understand the turmoil you are going through, but I assure you, if Bilbo decides to come, it will be for the best. For both of you." He says leaving the air of mystery as he returns back to the kitchen.

"Always full of riddles that wizard." I murmur to myself as I enter my room, of which is of small size, then again considering mother didn't have much time, space or choice when I suddenly came along, she had to convert the only room at the time that would be suitable for me into a living space.

So, yes, it's small it's mine, I just have a problem with closing the door, Gandalf calls it Claustrophobia, fear of being confined in small spaces. I call it hell. But that is partially down to being held prisoner for a few months and that was five years ago. I still have trouble thinking about it, let alone talking about it.

With the door open, I move around my room, pulling clothes and necessities from here and there, when I feel rather than see, a presence fill the doorway. Turning, I spot the dark-haired Prince, Kili.

"Kili?" I question softly, pulling his gaze to me, of which had been travelling around my room. Taking everything in that he could. "Is there something I can help you with?" I ask as I quietly pack away some clothes before looking up at him.

Clearing his throat, he moves to enter my room, but quickly steps back, cheeks flushing a little. "My mother, spoke about you often, in the short time that she knew you." I stop as he says this. "She spoke about your dedication, spirit and honour. But most of all your sense of judgement." I gaze at him as he speaks, his brother then appears behind him. I watch as Kili unconsciously makes room for his brother, leaning against one side of the doorframe so his brother can lean against the other.

"My mother, is probably the only person on this earth who can speak sense to Thorin, she's a force to be reckoned with." I chuckle knowingly.

"I can't argue with that, in the short amount of time that I knew her, got to truly know her, she gave me a hell of a good impression of just how much of a force she is. In both the literal sense, seeing as she knocked me on my butt a couple of times, but in the political sense too. She's more aware of things, sees things that others wouldn't. Fights for what she believes regardless of her status. And I admire her for that."

"Mother was brought up the same way our Uncle was, however she had us, we kept her grounded and it calmed her where as Uncle hasn't. Our mother very rarely leaves the mountain and so hasn't seen much of the world since the sacking of Erebor, Uncle has left multiple times. He was there when Erebor was attacked, battled at Moria and fought for a home for his people. The world has hardened him." Fili explains and Kili nods along with him. "He may seem like a heartless, stone cold person to you now, but you don't know him like we do. He is our Uncle and King, sometimes he forgets he can make a choice between those two some days, forgets he's a person just like us. He carries the weight of our people on his back and is only trying to do best by us."

"We're not making excuses for how he has reacted to you, to the knowledge of you and who you are. The many beings of you." Kili grins cheekily at the last part and Fili huffs a little laugh too. "Granted, he could've handled it better but don't let what you see of him here and now, be the only impression you have of him." He nods to me, a lock of his brunet hair falling in front of his eyes as he does.

"We may have just given him a word or two on what we think of how he handled your arrival, not to mention the contracts for you and your brother. I know it seems like he sees you both as outcast and are expendable to him. But we don't and we apologise for not speaking up sooner and defending you, we were under the impression that Bilbo was aware of this quest and prepared for it, so imagine our surprise to find that he isn't and of course, we were not expecting you." Fili admits.

"I appreciate you stepping up and speaking out against your Uncle for me. Not a lot of people, er, sorry, not a lot of dwarves will. Balin and your mother, are pretty much the only ones who haven't turned me away or spoke down to me. It's partially one of the reasons I never pursued my heritage, knowing I would then have the very people who scorned me, suddenly changing their minds because they know the truth about me."

"We've always believed to never judge a book by its cover." Fili smiles at me.

"We believe more when an individual shows their loyalty, honour and trust." Kili says before ducking his head. "You've shown that in your love for Bilbo, not to mention that you've just made yourself vulnerable to us, by revealing to us who you are. That shows courage." His face is serious, but I can see the admiration in his eyes.

"Not many would have the guts to stand up to Thorin, nor physically put him in his place either. You've put yourself out on a limb to us, opened up to us. It seems only fare that we take that trust you've given us, you've earnt ours. As Kili said, you have courage and a heart of gold. You may not be willing to follow Thorin but know that we follow him, his heart is in the right place as is ours." Fili hands over something and I flick my eyes down to the item in his hand. Kili does the same, extending a hand over and revealing an object to me.

"What this?" I ask as I approach them.

"This is one of my daggers, it was a gift from Thorin himself. He forged it too. When I earned his trust and respect, he rewarded me with this when I finished my training from him. I am gifting this to you, on a temporary basis. Because you have earned my trust and respect for what you have said and done this morning."

"And this, is my own dagger, gifted to me in the same manner that Fili received his. Forged by Thorin too. I want to gift you this, not just because you have earned my respect and trust. But you have shown me so much already of yourself, to a stranger. You have courage, a heart of gold but you have a fire that burns so fierce inside of you." Kili explains and I feel my heart flip a little and my stomach feels funny, like a million butterflies have suddenly come alive inside of it. I look up at them in disbelief.

"Take them, these gifts, as a sign of our loyalty to you." Fili asks.

"If you call, we will answer. You have our word."

I can do nothing but stare at them in shock, my arms are still crossed over my chest, but they shake a little.

"You would gift me these items, of which mean so much to you, to a complete stranger?"

"You proved yourself to us last night but further helped us make our decision by what you've said this morning. We've already agreed to this, they are yours, until this quest is over, until we can forge our own for you. As a proper show of our loyalty to you. We ask nothing in return."

"Well, just don't lose them." Kili says, as an after thought and for a moment I think he is serious, until I see the smirk on his face and twinkle in his eye. A laugh of disbelief escapes my mouth before I can stop it.

"I, I don't know what to say, thank you doesn't seem good enough." I tell them, before moving forward an inch more, admiring the beautifully crafted daggers in front on me. I take in every single detail of them, of their similarities and differences, their beauty and lethalness.

"You don't have to say anything, just know, that if you do not join this quest, we will answer your call." Fili places his dagger in my hand, along with its sheath.

"Even if it pulls us from this quest, your call, is far more important, you have already expressed how much you do for this world, how much evil you fight every day you're out there. The mountain will still be standing when we get back to it." Kili finishes, following his brother by placing his dagger and sheath in my other hand.

I stare at them, suddenly feeling like I'm looking at them for the first time, like I am seeing them in a different light. And it hits me. I'm filled with gratitude, no one else has every pledged their loyalty to me, at least not in such a short timescale of knowing me either. It just further shows that they are nothing like their Uncle. Speaking of.

"What of Thorin, surely, if he sees these on my person or notices them missing from you, what will he do? What will he say?"

"He can think whatever he wants, but us doing this, shows how much we think of you. And he will respect that. Being Prince's." Yeah, don't remind me. "But also descendants of Durin, we would not part with such items of meaning, if we did not have a reasoning behind it. One good enough." Fili says, somewhat brushing away a potential outburst from his Uncle.

"We believe in you, Aurora." Kili says softly but firm. Anchoring his words into my mind and soul. "And if we believe in you and have made this decision, with those gifts, we wouldn't have done it lightly. We are sons of Durin, a gift from us, is a statement to others. You are one of us." My heart hiccups.

"This symbol here." He cups my hand in his gently and I try to ignore the warmth of his palm and almost glare down at the symbol he points to. "Is our family crest. If you were to show this in any of the dwarven kingdoms, they would know you are a friend and ally to the sons of Durin, that you are an important person, that we hold you of high interest in our eyes. If you were to walk in and ask for help, showing this will grant you that."

"That's a lot of power behind it, I gather."

"Being sons of Durin, comes with perks but we also hold the burden of this power. Sometimes, we feel it unnecessary to carry it, but many dwarven kingdoms have never seen us, their Princes or Thorin, our crest is a reminder for them. You bare our crest now." He finishes softly, his breath puffing gently across my face, reminding me of how close he is. I look up, though I can not stop the heat rushing to my cheeks and gaze back at the eyes in front of me.

"Use it wisely." I hear Fili advise me but I'm lost in the earthy brown eyes in front of me, all the while my heart and stomach are doing so many flips and turns, it's a wonder that my whole body hasn't begun shaking from their disobedience.

"I will." I answer him back, my voice firm and full of promise. Kili smiles at me and the heat in my cheeks slithers its way down my neck. "But I still can't process this, believe the items you have gifted me, knowing the meaning behind them. You ask of nothing in return, but I must. For I will do the same for you, should you call." I turn my gaze slightly to Fili, who has a smirk on his face that he tries to hide. "I will answer." I feel Kili's hand grasps mine a little firmer before he drops it and steps back to his brother.

"My honour and manners will not let me takes these gifts lightly. And if my mother was here, bless her, she'd nag my ear off if I didn't show my thanks." My face turns slightly at the thought of Belladonna chewing my ear off for lack of manners, knowing how she has raised me. The brothers chuckle at my expression. I turn and place the daggers into their sheaths before gently depositing them on my bed. "If you think your mother is a force to be reckoned with, you should've met my mother, especially when she's on one." I shiver slightly in memory as I turn back around, and they tried to hold their amusement in.

"She sounds delightful." Kili says and I give him a look that has him gasping with laughter and even Fili, obviously the more mature and elder of the two has trouble hiding his laugh behind a cough.

"A ray of sunshine." I murmur, smiling at my own words. "Now then, my Prince's." They immediately straighten and all amusement drops from their faces. "Oh, not a fan of that I assume?" I ask and they nod slightly. "Alright, if the Princesses." I tease as I walk past them, looking back to see deadpanned expressions on their faces, I giggle. "Would ever so kindly follow me." I say exaggeratively as I head to the spare room, to where a lot of the dwarf's belongings and my own, have been stored.

"I think I prefer her when she's putting Uncle in his place." I hear Kili mutter.

"I heard that Little Princeling!" I call back to them and Fili guthaws in return though probably more from his brothers reaction.

"Hey!" Kili calls back with indignance, though he's quick to follow me. I chuckle as I bend down in front of my belongs. Pulling out my sack full of weapons, I lift the heavy assortment and move towards the table at the back of the room. "Bit uncalled for." He teases me back in return.

"It suits you brother." Fili's teasing voice tells him as he enters the room.

"You got an emasculating nickname for him too?" Kili pleads as he bends down to my eyelevel and I giggle back at him, shaking my head as I focus on my weapons rather than his puppy dog expression.

"Oh, I'll sharp think of something but for now, I think Princess will do." He straightens up and points to his brother in victory.

"Ha! You hear that brother?!" Kili taunts his brother, though I can't see him, I'm sure Fili gives his opinion back to his brother because Kili gasps in mockery, raising a hand to his heart. "You wound me brother."

"Now, now children." I tell them, no doubt stopping a potential play fight that is brewing. "Stop messing around and choose something." I use the length of the table, almost the size of the one in the dinning room. And unravel the sack, which is essentially a rolled-up piece of waterproof material. I watch as the roll unfolds, the momentum of it carrying it all the way to the end with little effort of my end.

Clunking sounds are emitting every so often as the heavier weapons hit against the table, before it comes to a stop, the clasps that would hold the roll together and caught flipping over the edge and dangle above the floor.

"Durin's beard!" I hear Fili gasp in wonder, Kili huffs a laugh in disbelief at what he sees.

"Brother, I think she has more weapons than you!" Kili laughs again, coming around the other side of me to admire the vast and wide variety of weapons that I have on display. "I didn't know that was even possible." I hum softly.

"It always takes people by surprise." I say, taking pride in their expressions. I note every weapon on the table. From pocketknives, daggers and short swords, to hammers and axes, mini cross bows and knuckle dusters. Well, I could go on, but you get the point. I'm well prepared. "Over the years, I've learnt that my sword, bow and arrows." Kili perks up at the mention of the bow and arrows. "Can only do so much, whether that be for a small fight or full on battle. There are creatures out there that wield these items too and therefore expect their opponent to use the same ones as them."

"You don't say?" Fili asks seriously in return as he picks up and looks over one of my knives.

"I learnt the hard way unfortunately." I sigh but I'm surprised when both brothers straighten to their full height at look at me with concern. "I learnt to adapt, I needed to switch my game up. If they were expecting their opponents to be wielding the same weapons as themselves, then they were trained to fight that way. So, as I travelled, I would task myself with researching other weapons and then procuring them, whether that be by smithing and forging them myself or paying for them to be made or bought."

"Were you hurt?" Kili asks me, his brother nodding in agreement to his question. The question takes me back to that dark place, where my lesson was learnt on many occasions in my hours and days of captivity.

"I learnt my lesson." I say quietly, as I pull myself from my memory. "Bad things happen and sometimes you can't prevent it. No matter how hard you fight it. I was captured." I hear the intake of breath, a sharp hiss of a sound, coming from both brothers. "It felt like years." I croak as my emotions catch up to me but then I feel a presence in the room that calms me.

"When in reality, she was missing for five months." Gandalf answers for me. "She was younger then and still new to her role as a Guardian. None of the training that she was given would've prepared her for what happened. But none the less, we, several of the other Guardians and I, could no longer feel her presence or find her light. We thought the worst. Which only encouraged us further, to keep searching for her."

"I was captured by orcs." I murmur, my fingers tracing the shape and feel of my wrist guards. "I was tortured, to say the least, and then some. I felt myself getting weaker, every time I fought back, but I knew that before long, they would tire. So, I fought back less and less. I refrained from using my powers, knowing they would keep depleting my energy, right when I would need it most. Just when they thought they had broken me; I used the remainders of my energy. Pulled up every inch of power from within me and let it out."

"You must understand that Aurora's power are a natural part of her. They come to her as easy as it is for us to breathe. Her withholding of her powers, is like her not wanting to breathe and it meant there was a build-up of power within her. And eventually, that power reached it's limits and needed to be unleashed. The reason why we couldn't see her light is because she has the ability to hide from us. When she unleashed that power, her light was so bright, she shone like the sun."

"I collapsed a mountain, trapping myself inside, but also killing the small army of orcs that resided there."

"Thunder Valley! That's not far from the Blue Mountains." Fili gasps in disbelief and I finally find it in me to turn around. All this time I had struggled to tell Bilbo and yet, as hard as it may look, I felt at ease being able to tell the Princes.

"We heard stories, of a mountain collapsing there. That the explosion was so loud it could be heard all the way to the Iron Hills. We felt the rumble and quakes all the way from home. We figured it had been an ancient dwarf settlement long forgotten, caving in on itself. I remember Uncle telling us." Kili recalls his eyes following every curve of my body in concern, assessing for any injuries I may have, even if it is years later.

"It took us several days to dig her out. Took five wizards and an army of elves to dig her out. She was the only survivor. Or so we believed." My gaze hardens and Fili pulls himself forward, standing in front of me protectively, where his brother moves closer to my side. Still searching my body for injuries.

"You mean the filth responsible is still out there, alive?"

"Unfortunately, though not for lack of trying to change that. I'm not an a vengeful fellow but even a wizard has his flaws."

"He's out there, somewhere, one day I will find him. And I will kill him. Not because of what he did to me but what he has done to others and what he continues to do. He lives and commands in the shadows, has others do his work for him, whilst he waits for his time. I'd imagine, that this is one of the reasons that Gandalf has urged your Uncle the march upon the mountain." Gandalf nods and finally, his reasoning hits home and I find I can't be too angry with him. I want that bastard vanquished from this world too.

"He serves a higher power, I believe. Someone who is darker and eviller, who lurks in the shadows too and remains unseen. But he will not reveal himself to us, so I fear of what will come." Gandalf trails off and lets the brothers ponder on his words for a moment.

"Who is the orc?" Fili asks but I shake my head.

"You needn't worry about him for now." I tell him firmly and he looks back at me, ready to argue just like his brother next to me. "The time will come when I can tell you his name. But I fear revealing the truth will lead others to more disbelief. So, for now." I grasp their shoulders comfortingly and in thanks to their concern. "I urge you to pick your gift." I pull their shoulders gently and guide them back to the table, Gandalf sighs heavily and walks away, accepting my decision, for now.

"Are you sure?" Kili asks me.

"Do dogs piss on trees?" I reply without thinking, a little sarcastically too and his brothers burst out with laughter. Kili shakes his head for a moment before chuckling. "Come on, pick something, one of this lot has to appeal to you somehow annnnnnd-." I trail off. "There's a name and a potential story that comes with everyone. So, pick wisely. Some are way better than others."

"Well, then brother, you heard the Lady." I turn and glare at Fili, who grins cheekily at me. "Hurry up and choose!"

"Now listen here Princess." I point a finger at the blond princess, who lifts his hands in mock surrender, cheeky grin still on his face. "Enough of that Lady crap, you here."

"Yes, M'Lady." He retorts, before scarpering to the other end of the table the second I looked ready to pounce.

"Oooh, just you wait Princess." I threaten and he chuckles, bowing in return. "Cheeky bastard." I mutter to myself as I watch him flit around inspect some knuckle dusters.

"Don't mind him." Kili whispers to me. "If he causes too much trouble, simply ask for my services, I have years full of embarrassing moments, the best blackmail at the ready for you."

"Now, you. I like you now!" I cheer up instantly!

"Kili, at your service!" He stands back and bows over exaggeratedly before straightening back up, but the moment he does, there's a twinkle in his eye. "M'Lady." He guthaws before ducking under the table and popping out at the side before I can take a swing at him.

"You're a little shit, you know that?!" I cry out, slightly appalled at the nickname they've bestowed on me.

"I'm your favourite, we just agreed to that." He replies, not even the slightest bit concerned that I might vault over the table after him.

"Shut up and pick your gift, before I change my mind."

In the end, Fili picks up a set of knuckle dusters. He tries them on, surprised that they fit him, considering how slender I am compared to his thicker frame. I turn to look at Kili, who looks torn between a set of modified wrist guards and a compact crossbow.

"It's funny." I say, after nearly ten minutes of watching them debate over which weapons, they'd prefer. "You've both chosen or leaned towards items you can use in close combat." I move to Fili, as Kili is still debating between the two he's favouring. Even going as far as explaining to himself the benefits and uses of both, as if to further help him decide. I just shake my head at him.

"Fili, you've chosen a set of knuckle dusters. These ones are my favourite. I got a bit creative when I fashioned these." I say as I take on from Fili and place my fingers through the holes. "I found, when I was younger, I couldn't always pack the punch some of my opponents could. I needed a solution to that and came up with these.

"There's a small bump, no bigger than a lady bird, on the side of the duster, nearest to my thumb. "By clicking this button here." I point to it to show him before pressing said button. "It unlocks the mechanism that's holding the plates in place." The button disappears.

"Plates? To what?" Fili questions, curiosity peaked.

"These." I clench my fist and turn away from him slightly before making a sharp jab out in front of me, punching out into the empty space. Four sharp and thick spikes pop out of the top of the thick band of the knuckle. I turn back around and show Fili, whose face lights up with child like joy.

"The plates shift up and lock in place to form the spikes, they won't retract, no matter how hard you push against them yourself, or how hard you hit your opponent. My first try with these, I found that the slightest bit of pressure would make them collapse back in or you would have to constantly press the button every time they hit something."

He takes my word and copies my technique with the knuckle duster he has. A small giggly squeal escapes him as he gets the same result as me.

"Once you no longer need them, there is a similar button, on the inside, on the palm. That releases a lock." I demonstrate but hold the button down, we hear a click and the spikes retreat just as quickly as the arrived.

"As you can see here." I show him the holes where the spikes are homed as I hold the button down still. "By holding the button down, once they spikes retract, you can see the insides of the knuckle. Another plate, sits on top, to prevent them from releasing themselves back out." I release the button and the plate closes on top, masking the holes and making them look like a normal set of knuckle dusters.

"Amazing." He breathes as he copies my demonstration and I chuckle.

"They are good, pack a lot of punch when need. I nicknamed them Thunderstorm." He looks up in question at the name. "Because the bring the storm every time I use them." He chuckles to himself.

"Thunderstorm. I like it. I will use them well. Thank you."

"You're welcome, though." I trail off as I pick up another knuckle duster. This one being a single one and used for my dominant hand only. Fashioned from fingerless leather gloves that rise halfway up my arm, sitting just before the elbow. "That you didn't choose this one." A metal plate sits snuggly on top of the leather, looking like a wrist guard.

"What's different about this one?" He asks as he stores away his chosen gift from me.

"This." I say before raising my arm and making a fist, as quick as lightening, four blades spring out. Scaring Kili at the quickness of the action. He stares at me, a mixture of horror and admiration on his face whereas Fili looks at it in glee. "The blades extend out, measure up to three inches, it doesn't seem much, but they are sharp and lethal. Due to those reasons, they only extend when there is full pressure on the switch, which is a lever in the padding of the palm. In other words, the tighter the fist the better." Releasing my first, the blades retract, the noise making Kili jump.

"Does this one have a name too?!" Fili asks eager as he comes around and removes the sleeve from me.

"Quicksilver." I tell him and he looks up at me, with the same puppy dog expression that his brother gave me minutes ago. "Don't look at me like that, you've already chosen. No exchanges or refunds."

"Dammit." He curses to himself before putting Quicksilver back in its place. I chuckle at him before walking over to Kili.

"Have you decided yet?" I ask his, as I pull a metal hoop, the size of an apple from the roll, I flick up a small latch, one that is non-existent, unless you know where to look. Before shaking out the several sharp and jiggered, flat looking arrow heads, they swing open from their hidden place. This one is best for throwing. I flick my hand again and the heads jerk back to their hiding places. I place the safety switch back and place the hoop back to where it belongs.

"I'm torn." He says after a moment of warily looking at the hoop I'd just played with.

"I can see that." He pulls a face and I giggle. "Your choices are the compact mini crossbow or the wrist guards."

"I think I need a demonstration." He says after a moment, a look of mock consideration on his face as he teases me. "To better my decision, seeing as my brother charged in without any of the facts, that he would need to choose."

"You just want to know which one has the hidden tricks?"

"You're not wrong. But I am curious as to how they work. I've never seen a cross bow like this, much less used one. I prefer a proper bow myself."

"I do too. However, it is hard to make a normal standard sized bow, compact without it defecting. I was able to do that with a crossbow but found that it was still too big to hide on my person. I needed something that can be easily hidden but still have enough power to either kill or hinder my opponent. As you can see, it simply looks like slim block of wood." He nods. "If you flick this latch here." I show him the latch and flick it.

"It unlocks the limbs. The handle drops out and the wings unfold." I pull down the handle, hearing several clicks as it extends and locks in place. "Everything is sealed inside of the block; others may mistake this as firewood." I pull out the wings, listening as they click into place. "The bowstring is here, underneath, you simply unhook it, fling it up and over the wings to here, the loading strip. You latch it here. And then pull this piece here back." Demonstrating as I go, he watches every movement with intense focus.

"This is now set, see how taught the string is?" He nods. "At this size and factoring in the the size of the arrows, there shooting range is about fifty meters. Less depending on the weather, direction of aim and where you are shooting from."

"And the arrows?" I pick up the quiver. Just a bit bigger than a tobacco pouch and hand it to him, he laughs in disbelief as he opens it and pull one of the arrows out. "They're tiny!"

"Depending on your target and your line of fire. They do the job." I pick up the practice arrow. In similar size to the real ones, except completely wooden, save for the tip. A ball fashioned from the scraps of my leather gloves and filled with sheep wool. It is harmless, when not in close confinement nor aimed in the wrong place.

"I'll show you. Can you stand over there by the front door? Oh, and you see that small cushion to your left?" He follows my command and walks up to the front door and then points to the cushion in question. "Yes, pick it up and hold it up towards me."

"Oh, please, miss and hit his head." Fili chuckles behind me, the distance between myself and Kili is about eight yards.

"Hush, don't be nasty." I scowl at him playfully. "Ready Kili?" I call and he nods his head. He has the cushion extended out in front of him and chest level. I quickly aim and fire with practiced ease. The twang of the string echoes around the room, as does the yelp from Kili. I chuckle at him as his brother jogs to him.

"I felt that, even, through the cushion." He says, now holding the cushion up against his chest, as he leans against the front door having been pushed against it from the force of the shot. "I barely saw it, one minute I'm standing upright, the next the cushion is flung into my chest and I'm forced against the door."

"Small but mighty." I tell him as he replaces the cushion and retrieves the dummy arrow. He walks back with his brother, who is shaking his head, trying to keep his laughter to himself.

"Indeed. A fine piece of work and an excellent weapon too." He silently asks for the crossbow to assess it more, his brother looking over his shoulder too, curious about the device as well.

I pick up the wrist guards, they're wider than your average set but then again they're more than just a set of wrist guards. Seeing the movement, Kili averts his gaze from the crossbow and looks at me as I finish putting the guards on.

"And the wrist guards?"

"These are more of a defensive weapon, I've occasionally used them on the offensive if I've misplaced my weapon or have been disarmed, now looking at them, what do you see?"

"The metal of the guards, are a lot wider than what they should be, normally they are the width of your wrist and arms." Fili's first to comment.

"They're thicker too, wait, is there, another set of plates underneath?" Kili places the crossbow back onto the table, along with the pouch as he bends slightly to assess the metal plates on the guards.

"Yes, the metal, happens to be mithril, but I have disguised it by covering it with the hide of a boar. Their skin is thick, but when conditioned and treated the proper way, it is nearly impenetrable, the process is time taking and extensive, if I were to fashion these, for say an army, it would take me years." Both of their eyebrows disappear up for a bit.

"Now, Fili, when I showed you Quicksilver, I told you there was a latch in the padding of the gloves yes?" He nods. "It's similar with these, expect when I press it, it acts more like a button, it activates the plates, and they stay in place." I back away a little before demonstrating, the plates, that are hidden underneath to top layer of plates of the guards, unfold and swing out, just like a bird ready to take flight. They shift and lock in place, on each wrist guard.

"Woah!" They gasp together.

"They look like-."

"Shields!"

"Yup. And the perks are that you can still use a sword, they won't hinder your performance. And because they are lightweight and made of mithril too, you barely realise you have them on. But also if you link them here." I bring my arms straight out in front of me, extend my right arm enough to allow them to link and lock into place, creating one solid shield instead. "You have a full shield, depending on which hand is your dominant, mine is the right. You see that small black dial at the right-hand side of my right hand Kili?" He nods and places his fingers on it.

"This one yeah?" I nod.

"Normally I would twist the dial first and then link the plates, but this works as well, if you turn the dial towards you, until you hear a click." He does as requested. "This has now locked the plates in place properly which will now let me do this." I wiggle my left arm out from under the plates, my wrist wrappings no longer attached to it. "I now have freedom to use this hand to fight, or vice versa."

"They're truly amazing!" Kili breathes but noticing I want to dismantle the shield, steps in and helps me by retracing each step until the guards are back to their original state.

"They've aided me in many battles, big and small. Let's hope they do the same for you, should you pick them."

"Do they have names too?" Fili asks, silently fingering a knuckle duster from its place on his body.

"Each one of my weapons do, mainly from after a battle. The crossbow, is the Tiny Terror." I chuckle to myself. "I tend to have a little bit too much fun when using it, once or twice I've given my position away because I've been too busy laughing at my opponent's confusion." Kili's eyes light up, probably trying to place himself in a similar scenario.

"And my shields. Together they are my Saving Grace, apart, they are Wildfire and Frost Bite. On the left, you can see that it's slightly darker in colour than the other, because I managed to fight through fire with my left hand once."

"The plates can withstand it as does the hide because of how I treated it, it takes a higher temperature to melt mithril too. And they are strong enough to be able to punch through ice, the front plate that isn't connected to the larger plates, the one that covers the fingers. It will take the brunt of the force and not break itself nor your fingers." I quickly show them before detaching the guards and placing them back onto the table.

"Looks like you have a hard decision to make brother." Fili tells him and Kili hums in agreement.

"As much as I'd like to stay and watch you choose, I've wasted enough of this morning as it is. I'm even surprised we've managed not to wake Bilbo but then again, he had a lot of excitement last night. I'll leave you to it and which ever you chose Kili, I hope they serve you well."

I walk out of the spare room and head back to my own, I quickly set about in finding some socks and suitable shoes, not wanting to go into Bilbo's room and disturb him. Once equipped, I make my way towards the door, grabbing my lightweight coat along the way, ignoring several faces of confusion but before leaving the house, I call back softly.

"If I don't see you later today, I wish you the best of luck. Otherwise, I'll see you soon." And with that I shut the door and hop over the fence, leaving several dwarves confused in my wake, including one dark haired Little Princeling, who is now staring at my back as I disappear from sight, from his position by the front door. Wildfire and Frost bite firmly held in his grasp, a small smile on his face before he heads back into Bag End.

Go on, tell me how I've done. Any good?