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Brine was awakened by a strange rattling sound that made her body vibrate. She slowly turned her head while holding a whimper. Bilbo's silhouette was beside him. Their eyes met briefly. Brine saw Bilbo's lips moving, but the pain in his head was so great that he could not resist it any longer, and he gave way to the darkness that had been with him for too long, in his opinion.

When she opened her eyes again it was night. She was inside a cave, and the heat of the fire was reaching her from some distance away. She stood up slightly.

"Gandalf?" The wizard was sitting beside her with his eyes closed and smoking his pipe. When he heard her voice he turned towards her and smiled.

"I hope you have rested." Brine smiled and nodded slightly. "The wound on your leg." She began to say Gandalf but did not go on. It was not necessary. Brine looked at it and saw something dark spreading through it. "I've only been able to hold the infection, but I can't cure it." Brine looked away.

"Thank you for everything."

"I've done nothing compared to what you've done." At that moment Phil entered the cave. "Fili!" Gandalf greeted the dwarf and invited him to join him. Fili came up to them with a serious look on his face. When he saw Brine with her eyes open, her face relaxed although the seriousness did not leave him. "Fili has been looking out for you all this time," said Gandalf as he stood up and gently tapped Fili's back and walked out to take some of the broth that Bombur had prepared.

"Thank you very much, Fili." Brine smiled. A strange feeling came over him as he knew that he had been worried and looking out for her. Fili just nodded without saying a word. "I promise to take you these days in return." Brine joked as she winked at Fili. The dwarf's response was to look towards the exit of the cave.

"Who are you?" Fili asked seriously after a while. Brine didn't answer. "Who are you?" Fili repeated again.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Fortunately for Brine, his false beard hid the pallor of his face.

"I know you're Pip." Said Philli with a dark shadow in his eyes. That was enough to confirm what Brine feared most. Fili knew her secret. Brine stared at him.

"Fili, please. It's not what you think." Anyone could know what was going on in Philli's mind. Brine knew him well. He stood up and walked towards him, falling down in his attempt. Her eyes met his.

"You have to tell him the truth, Pip," Fili said his name with contempt as he got up to leave the cave. "Or I will."

Brine got up as best she could and followed him slowly as she shouted for him to wait. Fili ignored her and walked away from her and the group. Frustrated, Brine sat on a nearby rock while she drowned out a scream in her throat.


Brine waited until everyone was awake and eating breakfast to go out and join them. Her limp was milder although she was still not fully recovered. As she got closer to the group, she began to receive greetings from all the members of the company. From all but Fili, whose blue eyes were set hard on her. Brine gave her a look of regret, but Fili kept throwing her towards Thorin. She had to do it before he did.

"I need to tell you something." Brine said. The whole group fell silent.

"Tell us, boy." Said Balin.

"Yes, Pip. Are you all right?" Kili asked.

"About that." Once again, Brine looked at Fili, wishing he'd changed his mind. Fili had an upright posture and, like the others, he waited to hear what she had to say. Brine sighed and began to tremble. "My name is Brine." She said as she shed her false beard. The dwarves watched her paralyzed. It was Thorin who stood up and faced her.

"Who the hell are you?" Thorin's tone was harsh and cruel.

"I am the future queen of the Blue mountains." Brine stepped forward to answer Thorin before he asked his next question. "I only intend to help you. Please believe me." Brine exclaimed. "My father fought beside your grandfather at the Battle of Moria." Thorin stirred within himself as he ordered the group to gather their things. Without saying anything, Brine began to help the dwarves but Thorin turned to her.

"You stay here."

"You can't do that to me! I've come too far with you. Let me stay until the end." Brine shouted as she chased Thorin through the camp.

"Why? So you can steal my treasure? So you can lead the revolution against my people?"

"I swear to you on my honour and on my family's honour, Thorin OakenShield, that I will serve you like no other. My people will never revolt against yours." Brine said after a long silence. She knew that for the dwarves there was nothing more important than the honour of a lineage. Thorin held her gaze for a few moments until he decided to end the conversation. Brine watched as the dwarf walked away.

"Understand this." It was Balin. "He has been betrayed by many." Brine nodded as she picked up Balin's bags.


After several months of expedition, that was the first time that Brine felt alone. She noticed how everyone was looking at her, but no one was saying a word to her.

"Are you a princess?" Brine was surprised to hear Ori behind her. Nori was quick to scold him.

"Take it easy." Brine smiled as she slowed her pace and caught up.

"Of course she's a princess." Kili joined them. "Haven't you seen how beautiful she is?" He smiled. Brine couldn't help but blush.

"And are all dwarf princesses like you?" Ori asked curiously again. A silence fell between them and Brine remembered what she had hidden all that time.

"No, Ori."

"Ori!" exclaimed Kili. "That's not right."

"Whatever. Ori, my mother was an elf, so I'm not like any dwarf."

"But you're still beautiful," Kili muttered.

The dwarves kept talking to Brine until they reached their new stop: The house of a skinwalker. Sometimes Brine looked up from the road and found Fili'scold eyes on her. At first, she had greeted him with a timid gesture, but when she saw that Fili's surly attitude remained, she decided not to make a big deal out of it. Along the way, Brine had time to tell Kili her whole story and why she had decided to join the company.

"So you don't want to rebel against Thorin?" Kili asked as she sat next to Brine.

"Why on earth have you become obsessed with that idea?" Brine asked indignantly. "Of course I don't want to do anything against him." At that moment Fili approached them.

"Kili, Dwalin is looking for you. He says he needs your help." His tone was boring, but his eyes were fixed on Brine.

"With what?" Kili asked without moving.

"With something about burden-sharing." Brine could tell a mile away that Fili was looking for an excuse to get Kili away from her.

"Kili. He's asking you to stay away from me." Brine explained in a bitter tone.

"Don't talk nonsense, Brine. Fili would never say something like that." Kili replied quickly.

"But he does hint at it." Brine murmured, casting a quick glance at Fili to see his harsh gaze on her.

"Fili?"

"You can't trust her, Kili!" Fili exploded at Kili's questioning gaze. "She's been cheating on both of us during this time!"

"Fili! How can you be saying this?" Kili felt hurt and disappointed.

"Listen to me. I'm sick of all your accusations. I told you why I did it. I won't justify myself anymore." Brine confronted Fili by approaching him. She had to raise her face to link her eyes with him, as Fili was a head taller than she was.

"You don't even have to do that." Kili approached them, positioning himself next to Brine.

"Don't you see, Kili? She has elf blood." Fili didn't raise his voice or anything. "Remember how they betrayed our people at the Battle of Moria?" He left the words in the air. Outraged, Brine stood up as she excused herself to Kili. She was quite hurt by the attitude of the dwarves. With much disguise she walked to the outside of the house.

The cold evening breeze blew lightly into her face. She hadn't felt it for months and hadn't realized how much she missed it. She sat down on the cold grass and lost herself in the many stars that adorned the sky that night.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" Brine looked down and met Kili. She nodded as she turned her attention back to them. The two of them remained silent for a long time until Kili decided to break it. "I'm sorry about before with Fili."

"I'm used to it." Brine replied. Kili looked at her waiting for an explanation. "It's always been like that, Kili. There have never been any nice words for me. They've always been insults and scorn."

"Brine I" Kili felt very guilty about his big brother's attitude.

"The thing about Fili was nothing compared to the things I've heard about myself." Brine tried to laugh but only got a little smile.

"Brine, I don't want to ask something I should not but... Why are you so interested in helping us get Erebor?" Kili did not take his eyes off her. Brine looked at him for a moment. Should she tell him all about her marriage of convenience? Would Kili be able to understand her? Could he help her find a solution? Brine's head kept spinning and deep down she wished it was not Kili who was asking her, but Fili.