Thranduil is my dad!

To say that I was shocked was an understatement. There had been a small part of me that had guessed it might be him, but I had thought myself childish for thinking so, a girl wishing for fairytales.

After scouring through my memories, I realised that it made sense. Like a missing puzzle piece finally slipping into place. In my memories dad had been called a lord, he'd worn a crown, he commanded himself in a way that befitted royalty. But most children think their father's are like King's. How was I supposed to know that it was the truth and not the distortion of old memories?

And then there was the fact that Lachlan was actually Legolas. It felt almost rude if I was being honest. How was I supposed to compare to my twin when he was a millennia-old elven warrior, and I had never even completed university? It did not feel fair. I was hit by the sudden urge to call him by the nickname I'd used as a child. He would forever be known as Legolassie or simply Lassie.

I had no idea why my first instinct when finding out my twin brother was alive was to tease him. It was probably the shock of finding out. Like when manly men start getting emotional and start insulting their friends instead. Not that I was manly, or a man, but the sudden emotion that gripped me was so fierce. Thinking about how Legolas would react to the nickname had made me laugh and helped me to cope with the overwhelming feelings.

They were so close. We simply had to get through Mirkwood and I would see them again. Would they look the same? I doubted my dad would have changed much because he was already a full grown elf. But Legolas was a child last time I saw him. He would look completely different. Would I even be able to recognise him? Or would he be able to recognise me for that matter? My stomach tightened at the thought of my own family staring at me and seeing a stranger.

I also decided that under no circumstances would any of the dwarves find out. Obviously, they would find out eventually, but hopefully, I would have thought of a way to soften the blow by then. The dwarves had warmed up to me–liked me even–If they found out that I was, in fact, Thranduil's daughter, I don't know what they'd think. I especially did not want Thorin to find out. What if he decided that I was no longer worthy of courting Kili? I was the daughter of an enemy King, after all.

A king! Which makes me royalty by association, doesn't it.

How could I be royalty? I was one of the most inelegant people I knew. I couldn't walk in a straight line at times. Simply ask any of the dwarves and they would back that statement up. This whole time I thought I was punching above my station because Kili was a dwarven prince. Now it turned out we were on equal footing. Both were second-born heirs to the throne. The thought made my head spin.

I'm surprised I got any sleep last night with the way my thoughts chased each other in circles. Mum's presence probably helped some. Her warm, familiar weight next to me was the stability I needed. I woke up feeling more refreshed than I had in ages.

Soft sunlight streamed in through the curtains on the window. The air was warm against my skin. A welcome feeling after spending so long outside. Sleeping on a proper mattress also did wonders for my back.

When I turned away from the window, I noticed that my pillow was suddenly occupied. A tiny, ginger ball of fluff had taken residence there, basking in the residual body heat.

"Hello there," I breathed. "Aren't you gorgeous."

The kitten gave me a high pitched meow in reply and I nearly melted. I slowly reached my hand towards its little face. It looked at me apprehensively before leaning closer and sniffing my hand. Its little nose gave a twitch and it deemed me worthy, rubbing its face against my hand. A cat version of a hug. A blessing.

Invitation accepted, I stroked its tiny head. The fur was so soft and I could hear it purring. I couldn't stay here forever though and with great reluctance, I made to get up. When I stopped stroking it, the tiny creature looked offended and made to follow me.

"Oh I can't just leave you here can I?" I smiled, scooping the kitten into my arms and placing a kiss onto its forehead. "I'm going to call you Clarence."

So Mum, Clarence and I made our way out. We wandered into the other parts of the house, discovering sleeping dwarves as we went. Some alcoves contained cows and sheep, all chilling in their own little spaces. When we got to the sitting room we found Gandalf staring into the dwindling coals of the fire. He heard us come in and turned in our direction.

"Ah good morning, your highness," he said, directed towards my mum.

I looked around quickly, hoping no one else was around to hear him say that.

"Mithrandir, it is probably best if we stick to just Elinneth while we're around the company," said mum.

Gandalf nodded "Yes, yes you are quite right. Elinneth it is."

He stood up from his seat by the fire as we approached him. "Leah, my dear. It seems as though the mystery of you is finally revealing itself. I trust your naneth has brought you up to speed."

"She definitely has."

"I never met you during your first life. That is why I did not recognise you for who you are. Though I have since become acquainted with your brother, Legolas," said Gandalf.

"My boy, Legolas, how is he?" mum's voice was tight.

Gandalf turned back towards my mum, a twinkle shining in his eye. "Oh Elinneth, my dear, he has grown into a fine ellon. Strong and kind-hearted. His skill with a bow seems quite unparalleled."

Mum's eyes shone with unshed tears and a proud smile spread across her face. Gandalf grasped mum's shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"Now" he sighed, "We must face the task of introducing ourselves to our host. I fear that he will not be welcoming of us. I have been mulling over the best way to approach him"

Mum did not seem too fazed by the task. "I've been Beorn's guest for some months now. I think I may be able to sway his favour towards you."

More people began pouring into the sitting room, yawning and rubbing sleep out of their eyes. Thorin caught my gaze and I saw the corners of his mouth twitch upwards. "Of course you would find an animal to bother."

Mum turned towards me, laughing at Thorin's words. "Yes, that would be Leah through and through."

"I'm not bothering him," I said "He loves me." Clarence purred, confirming my statement. Mum simply shook her head.

We waited until everyone was awake before going out to see Beorn. Mum convinced Gandalf that bringing the dwarves out in groups of two was a rather terrible idea. It made Gandalf frown but he conceded that we should try a different way. I also told them that they shouldn't say 'at your service' to him. I remembered in the book he had gotten annoyed, saying that there was no service the dwarves could offer him.

It was decided that Mum, Gandalf, Bilbo and I would be the first ones to go out and greet Beorn. A mixture of familiar faces and decidedly non-dwarves to help settle the skinchangers nerves.

The sound of an axe dropping and wood splitting, alerted us to the presence of our host. Bilbo was rather nervous beside me. His nose was twitched in the way he did when he was anxious about something. Conversely, I was beyond excited, bouncing on the balls of my feet.

Clarence was still in my arms as we made our way outside. Bilbo got a little panicked when he saw and told me I should put him down. He was scared that I would offend Beorn by touching his animals. However, Clarence wasn't the most co-operative of cats. He resolutely refused to be put down. It seemed that I would be his new perch for the time being.

We left through the front door and wound our way around the house. As he had been rudely locked out of his own house, Beorn had decided to busy himself with chopping wood. It took a moment for my mind to comprehend the sheer size of him. Knowing he was around 9ft tall did not prepare me for actually seeing a 9ft tall man. I would probably only reach his hip. Even the axe he wielded was taller than me. My mouth dropped open in wonder. I quickly shut it as Clarence headbutted my chin.

"Good morning, Beorn," said Mum cheerily.

Beorn swung his axe down, cleaving a log in two. He left the axe buried in the tree stump below and looked towards mum. He raised an eyebrow when he saw me.

"Good morning, Elinneth," he walked towards us before sinking to one knee. Until he was almost at eye level with me. I felt a little self-conscious under his gaze, and I stroked Clarence's face so that I had something to do with my hands. Beorn smiled at the gesture. "Who is our guest?"

"This is my daughter, Leah. The one I was telling you about," Mum said, resting her arm across my shoulders.

Beorn broke into a grin. "So you have found each other. That is good," he said. "Your mother has told me all about you, little elfling."

I let the 'little elfling' comment slide. Everyone was little compared to him.

Beorn's gaze drifted to the orange fluff ball in my arms. "It seems you have made a friend," Clarence responded to Beorn with a mixture of meows and purrs. Beorn looked to be listening very intently. Then he chuckled at whatever the cat said to him. "Usually, I let my animals name themselves. However, this little kitten has said that he will not respond to anything other than the name you have provided for it."

"He just looked like a Clarence to me," I smiled shyly.

"I like those who show kindness to animals, little one," said Beorn. Then he straightened up to his full height, looking at something behind us.

"It seems that there are more people to introduce," Beorn huffed.

Beorn was not at all pleased about the idea of 13 dwarves staying in his house. However, Mum, Gandalf and I managed to soften the blow. In the end, it was the presence of orcs that caused Beorn to let us stay. He despised those creatures above all others and would rather deny them their prey than give it to them.

He provided us with breakfast at his very large table. My feet swung below me, very far off the ground. There was all sorts of food spread out before us. Breads, fruits, cheeses. I nearly moaned aloud when I shoved a piece of still warm bread into my mouth, You should never underestimate the power of a good loaf.

Of course, there was no meat, though. Beorn was a vegetarian, after all. I could see the dwarves internally moaning at that fact, but thankfully, none of them spoke up or we would probably find ourselves getting kicked out.

During the rest of the day everyone decided to better acquaint themselves with the surrounding area. Beorn himself gave Bilbo and me a tour of his lands. One of the things he showed us was his honey pastures. I won't lie, the giant bees terrified me. They were cute from a distance, but as soon as they started flying too close I would nope out of there. Beorn laughed at my distress and told me that there was nothing to be afraid of. One flew onto the end of his finger and he held it out to me.

"They are quite friendly little one, nothing to fear," he grabbed my hand with his free one and placed the humongous bee right into the middle of it.

At first I was not a fan. The buzzing sounded aggressive and my mind was telling me that it was a threat. When it didn't do anything sinister, I managed to calm down somewhat. It was kinda fluffy and seemed to be happy. The bee stayed in my palm for a few more seconds before flying off to a flower.

Even though I knew that they were friendly it still took a lot not to flinch back from them when they flew too close. Me and flying insects would never get on it seemed.

The day wore on, and soon, the sky was a rich amber colour. We came back inside, and Beorn offered to have water brought in for me to bathe. I nearly cried at the thought of a hot bath. None of the others got such an offer. Instead, Beorn simply pointed to the river outside and told the dwarves to use that.

I could have declined graciously, but instead, I laughed at the dwarves' insulted reactions and followed after Beorn. He had buckets of water brought in by an assortment of animals. Mostly dogs, but there was also a cow and a sheep. It was a strange sight to see a bunch of animals carrying a swinging bucket in their mouths. Then he heated the water by a fire.

The bath was a very large wooden tub that Beorn placed in mine and Mum's room. He upturned one of the buckets to create a step for me and left the room, followed by a train of animals. Clarence had, reluctantly, been placed on the bed. He only surrendered when Beorn had a stern word with him.

I sighed as my body sank under the surface. After spending so long in the cold, the heat from the water was like heaven. I used the soap that the elves gave me. The smell was divine. So much so that I may have been overzealous with how much I used. I may have resembled a prune when I got out, but I was the nicest smelling prune you would ever meet.

oOo

We spent several days in Beorn's home. The days were filled with preparation, training and a well-deserved rest. Though my mind was anything but restful. Learning the truth about my family seemed to be the trigger I needed. It opened up the floodgates, and a cascade of memories flowed out, unblocked and unhindered. I would do something inane and normal, like making a bed, and suddenly I would find myself plunged into a memory.

Legolas and I hiding from the maids under bed sheets. My dad tearing the sheet away to discover us in a fit of giggles.

The two of us bounding along a bridge, nearly bowling people over, determined to find out who the best runner was.

Sneaking into a meeting to see what humans looked like and getting disappointed when they looked like us.

My dad sat on a throne smiling down at me, lifting me onto his lap and placing his crown upon my head.

Mum scolding us for painting on the walls and being sent to the kitchens as punishment.

It happened more and more as time went on until they truly felt like they belonged to me. No longer a stranger's memory but mine. It reached a point that when I thought of my family, it wasn't Dad and Lachlan that came to mind first, it was Ada and Legolas. I felt a strange knot of guilt at the thought, like I was somehow forsaking their memories, replacing them. But the truth of it was that I had never actually met Dad and Lachlan, not really. I had memories of them, but they belonged to the Leah that had come before me. The one whose body I had slotted into.

But that also meant that the original Leah and Lachlan were never separated. Their souls had gone together to whatever afterlife there was on earth. That thought brought me some comfort.


The dwarves weren't as comfortable around Mum as they were with me. There was a bristle of tension when she was around. They hadn't quite worked out what she was like as a person, and their usual suspicion reared its head.

If I am being honest, I was getting sick of the side eyes and conversation halts when she was around. I was just about ready to clip them around the ear and knock some sense into them. However, Mum, calm as anything, simply smiled my way and told me that she had an idea.

The dwarves sat around Beorn's table, sipping on milk and water, conversing lightly amongst themselves. When Mum strode in with grace and purpose, somehow completely unhindered by the huge barrel she carried over one shoulder. She slammed it down onto the table with a hearty thwack and I heard liquid slosh inside. Mum reached over to Nori, stole the cup from his hands and drained the contents before turning the tap and drawing a draught from the barrel.

"Hey!" Nori protested while the others looked on in pensive silence. Mum simply lifted the cup to her lips and downed it in one. A single drop escaped and she wiped it before it could drip off her chin.

"Thought you could all do with something a little harder than milk," Mum patted the top of the barrel. "There's honey mead for whoever wants it."

After a beat of silence, a cheer ran through the room and there was a mad scramble for the tap. Mum smirked at me over the top of the dwarves' heads and I had to suppress a laugh.

The dwarves wasted no time downing their tankards. It spilled out the sides and dripped into beards. Bombur slammed his cup down and released the most ungodly burp I had ever heard. A raucous laughter filled the room, followed by several of their own burps in reply.

"Oh goodness, it's like when they were at my house," Bilbo said, sliding next to me on the bench.

"I'm quite sad I missed that. I imagine it was quite the scene."

"Oh, most definitely. Nearly gave me a heart attack, they did. Though my crockery did survive, somehow," Bilbo grinned.

"Aren't you going to get a drink?" I said, pointing to the barrel. Dwarves pushed and shoved each other to get to it.

"I'm not getting into that. I'll get trampled," he said. "I'll just get something when the queue dies down."

"There might not be much left."

He looked longingly but shook his head. "No, it's okay. I'm fi–"

"Master Baggins," Thorin appeared behind Bilbo's back, startling the Hobbit. He held two tankards in his hands.

"I thought I told you to call me Bilbo from now on."

Thorin swallowed hard. "Bilbo," his voice was low, lingering on the name "This is for you."

Thorin offered Bilbo the tankard. Bilbo grabbed for it, his fingers grazing Thorin's for a split second. "Thank you, Thorin. You didn't have to do that."

"Think nothing of it," Thorin said all too quickly. "It can be a thank you for putting your life on the line for me."

"I would do it again in a heartbeat," said Bilbo earnestly.

"Right," Thorin coughed.

Then slipped away without another word to the other side of the table. Bilbo watched on before twitching his nose and taking a tentative sip of his mead. It took a concerted effort to hide my smile.

"For you, my lady," Kili sidled up on my other side and slid a cup in my direction. Some of the amber liquid splashed out and hit the table.

"Careful," I smirked, lifting the cup and taking a gulp. The sweet taste of honey mingled with the sharp bite of alcohol, and I pursed my lips. "Whoa, that's strong."

"Yes! Strong and delicious," Kili took several big gulps and sighed in satisfaction. A sheen of mead coated his bottom lip, and his tongue flicked out to capture the moisture. My eyes followed the movement, unable to look away from his mouth.

I knew I'd been caught when his mouth twisted into a smirk, and he winked at me. Heat bloomed in my cheeks, and I turned away, though my traitorous heart was loud enough for us both to notice.

When I looked up, I found Bofur leaning across the table towards Mum. "That was some mighty fine drinking there, Lady Ellen."

"Why thank you, Master Bofur," she said with a grin.

"Oh, none of that Master crap, just call me Bofur," he waved her off.

"Okay, Bofur, you may call me Ellen."

"Well then, Ellen, care to make this more interesting?"

Mum leaned forward and placed her chin in her hand. "What did you have in mind?"

"Drinking competition. I've never beaten an elf before. I think this is my time to shine," he said.

Dori frowned, "Oh Bofur, I don't really think Lady Ellen will want to–"

"Deal," Mum said with no hesitation. "But I think we should have something a bit stronger."

Mum climbed out of her seat and went off in search of that 'something stronger'. A drumming of hands ran across the table, and bets were already being flung.

I turned to Bofur and laughed, "Dude, my mum is going to wipe the floor with you."

"Yes, Bofur, if you wanted to beat an elf at drinking, you should have asked Leah," Kili said.

"Hey!"

"You can't say anything when you know it to be true," his eyes shone with mirth.

He had me there. Though, I still frowned and kicked him in the shin.

Bofur stretched his shoulder. "You shouldn't underestimate me. I've got a stomach of dwarven steel."

"We shall see about that," said Mum, dropping an oversized wooden carafe onto the table. I could smell the spirits from here. It nearly made my eyes water.

"What's this then?" Bofur said, sniffing suspiciously and recoiling.

"A spirit of some kind. Beorn makes it out of potatoes," Mum said, placing two smaller cups on the table–the closest to shot glasses they would find in Beorn's house–and pouring a good amount in each.

"So do we go until the other yields?" she asked.

Bofur smiled and lifted his cup "We go until someone passes out." He downed it in one and screwed his eyes closed in what might have been regret.

And so the competition began. Though competition made it sound like Bofur had any kind of chance. He went toe to toe with Mum for a good while but he started to feel the effects a hell of a lot sooner. He started swaying in his seat, slurring his words, reaching for the cup and missing by a mile. All the dwarves cheered him on but he was flagging pretty hard.

"I," his heavy breath turned to a burp. "I 'hink am winnin', ya know."

Mum downed another shot. She didn't even grimace. I had never been more proud. A huge grin stretched across her face "Oh, I'm sure you are. I'm starting to feel a little tipsy."

"Ha, ligh' weight," he said.

Then Bofur's eyes drooped shut, and he slumped backwards, nearly falling off the high bench. He was caught by Bombur and Oin before he could cause any damage.

"Ellen is the winner!" Kili called out.

A mixture of cheers and groans filled the air as bets were won and lost. Though why anyone would bet against an elf was beyond me. I leaned over the table, quite a bit of a stretch, and gave Mum a high five. Bifur then clapped her on the back. "Good show, lass. You can drink with us any time."

Mum clinked her cup against Bifur's. "Cheers to that."

Bofur was set down in the corner to sleep it off while everyone else stayed up and drank some more. Albeit a lot more slowly this time. The alcohol and show of strength seemed to have broken the tension between the dwarves and Mum, and they finally let her into the fold. Though with the direction Thorin and Mum's conversation was going, I may live to regret them getting more comfortable with one another. They had found common ground talking about the highs and lows of raising children.

"Uncle, please stop. I'm begging you," Fili pleaded, looking ready to get down on his knees.

"No," Thorin said, with a slight slur, "I am having a riveting discussion with Lady Ellen here and shall continue to do so. Right, where was I?" He turned back to Mum, his eyebrows furrowing for a moment. "Oh yes, so they were running through the halls, as naked as the day they were born. They gave half the court the shock of their lives and laughed while doing it. Though they soon stopped laughing when they realised they'd locked themselves out of their chambers. I found them shivering and banging on the door."

A titter of laughter flitted through the room, and Kili buried his head into his hands with a deep groan.

"So, were they naked a lot?" Mum asked.

"All the time, it was quite ridiculous."

"Leah was the same! I could not keep clothes on her for the life of me."

"Mum!" I did not appreciate this parental heart-to-heart at the expense of Fili, Kili and me.

"We would just find clothes in the grass, and she would be halfway up a tree somewhere free as a bird."

I had no way to argue this, as I had memories from both Middle Earth and Earth of similar incidents. But it did not stop the feeling of mortification as Thorin howled in laughter and several other dwarves joined in.

"Her brother was more the opposite, a bit more prim and proper. But Leah was feral as a child. Always covered in dirt. Always had leaves in her hair."

"That reminds me of Kili, actually. There was this one time…."

And on it went. Kili just held my hand to support him through it all.

It took well over a day for Bofur to recover from his drinking session. He woke up bleary-eyed and shaking, cursing whatever concoction Beorn had distilled. A few other dwarves woke up with hangovers and complained about headaches, but most were well-seasoned drinkers and sprung back relatively quickly. Mum was almost annoyingly fresh-faced in the morning, and I don't know how she did it


I found myself sitting in the grass surrounded by dogs. Most of them were lying on their backs, soaking up the sunshine. Two of them, however, were battling to sit on my lap. They nearly knocked me over in their attempt. I could hear Beorn laughing good-naturedly behind me. He was on a bench whitling something out of wood. The dogs had been following him but had moved onto me when he sat down.

"I only have so many hands," I said while almost getting headbutted by the two dogs.

"Rana, Leif, give the girl some space," said Beorn, clearly amused.

Rana immediately backed off and laid her head in my lap instead. Leif did the same, but only after giving my face a quick lick.

The sound of steps alerted me to someone approaching. When I looked up, I saw that the footsteps belonged to none other than Kili. He smiled down at me and my pile of dogs.

"You look like you're having fun," he said

"I got accosted by dogs."

"I see," he laughed, then he extended a hand down towards me. "Would you like to take a walk with me?"

I nodded before reaching for Kili's hand and grasping it firmly. He hoisted me up, being careful not to jostle the dogs too much. They let out a little groan as I moved them, not happy that I was leaving. A few of the other dogs lifted their heads up at me as if asking where I was going.

"I'm not going too far, don't worry," I told them.

I allowed Kili to lead me away. We walked through Beorn's gardens, marvelling at the beautiful flowers. Dori was sitting on a bench next to Ori, fussing about the younger dwarf. Ori simply wanted to write in his book and kept waving his brother off. Dwalin, Gloin and Fili sparred in the middle of an open field, and Oin watched on while he prepared poultices from Beorn's herb garden. Bilbo sat on a bench with a book in his hand, the one I had found in the car. His face had become alarmingly flushed, and he flicked his eyes around to see if anyone was around.

"Are you enjoying the book, Bilbo?" I said, suppressing a smile.

Bilbo's face shot up with wide eyes, and coughed. "It is a little…unexpected."

I hadn't checked the contents of the book before I let Bilbo borrow it, but I started to suspect that it might have been a bit more 'adult' than the poor Hobbit was used to. "I have a different book shoved into the bottom of my bag. It's mythology. I think that will be more your speed."

Bilbo dropped the book onto the bench like it may catch fire. "Thank you, Leah."

Kili guided me past everyone else until we couldn't see them anymore. He moved us towards a copse of trees where you could hear the sound of the Anduin river rushing past.

Where was he leading me?

Through some trees, we came to a little meadow. It was full of wildflowers of all shapes, colours and sizes. In the middle of it sat a large blanket and a basket of food.

"I thought you would like a picnic," said Kili, looking at me to gauge my reaction.

"Who knew you could be so romantic?" I said with a smile stretched across my face.

"I'm always romantic."

I leaned forward and captured his lips with my own. He gasped slightly before deepening the kiss, grabbing the back of my head so that he could tilt my head to a better angle. My own hands found their way into Kili's hair. He made a rough sound at the back of his throat when I tugged slightly.

We pulled away, gasping. I smiled giddily at Kili, and he did the same back. His eyes roamed over my face.

"Sasakhabiya abnâmul, amrâlimê" he whispered

His words took my breath away, and I wasn't even sure what most of them meant. He could have been saying that I looked like a tree, but I still would have smiled at him. "Did I ever tell you how much I love it when you speak Khuzdul?"

"No, you haven't, but I'll keep that in mind," he said with a heated gaze before gently kissing me again. "Ghivashel sanâzyung," he whispered into my mouth.

His words made me deepen the kiss once more.

At one point, we actually managed to break apart for long enough to sit down on the blanket. Kili had brought a mixture of foods with him. Including cheese scones, grapes, bread and many cakes. Beorn was quite the baker, it seemed. His speciality being honey cakes.

"Something has been bothering you, Leah," said Kili, stretching out next to me.

His face was kind and I could see the concern in his eyes. I hadn't been hiding my worry very well, it seemed. "You found your mother. I thought you would be over the moon. But it looks like something has been weighing heavy on your mind."

I looked down, not able to keep looking Kili in the eyes. He'd be able to see straight through me if I lied and said nothing was wrong. My hands drifted towards the ground, picking up flowers. They seemed to move of their own volition and began to twist the flowers together.

"I am happy that I found Mum. So happy." I braided the flowers together, adding more as I went. "It's just…she told me things about me, and it's huge . So hard to wrap my head around." I realised that I was actually making a flower crown. Mum used to make them for me when we would go for nature walks.

"You can tell me anything, Leah. You know that, right?" Kili covered my hand with his. I looked up at him and met his gaze. His face was so open and earnest. I knew that he was being genuine.

"I know. I want to tell you so badly, but at the same time, I'm terrified. What if I tell you, and you start thinking differently of me?" Why did things have to be so complicated?

"Don't be foolish. Nothing would ever make me think differently of you," he said with a smile, "I mean, you're already an elf from another world who also brought someone back from the dead. Is this new information any more outlandish than that?"

"I guess it's not as crazy as that," I conceded with a small smile.

Kili looked like he was waiting with bated breath. If he was anything like me, he was currently coming up with a ton of worst-case scenarios right now. I should give him at least some information so he wouldn't freak out.

"It was about my family," I said, returning to my flower crown. It was nearly finished, and I only needed to add a few more flowers. "My dad and my brother. They're alive, and there's a very big chance we will meet them on this journey."

Kili turned so that he faced me more. "Seriously! Mahal that is amazing, Leah. You get to see your family again," Then his eyebrows drew together in thought. "Does that mean that you're a woodland elf then?"

"Yes, it does," I muttered. "That doesn't change the way you think of me, does it?"

Kili quickly rectified his expression so that it was happy. "Of course not. You're still you, even if you did once live in a tree."

"I didn't live in a tree, you loser," I said.

"That is not what your amad told us the other day."

"Oh, shut up," I said, giving his shoulder a shove.

I looked down at the masterpiece in my hand. The flower crown was complete. I didn't know the names of the flowers but I thought they looked pretty. Reds, pinks and yellows. Delicate petals and sprigs of green. I turned to Kili with a smile, kneeling up so I could place the crown on top of his head. I heard his breath catch.

"You look beautiful," I added, positioning it so it sat perfectly.

There was a faint blush on Kili's cheeks. His eyes were warm as he looked up at me. "I will treasure it always," he said, his voice low.

Then one hand grabbed my face and the other held my hip. He brought me closer to him and kissed me.