Thank you to all the readers! I would love to get some feedback. I know this is a sweet story with a small plot, but I hope that it will be read nonetheless. Have a nice day ! :)

Chapter 4 : Mandolin

I recommend listening to Mandolin Concertos by Vivaldi for this chapter.

Selis took Fili back to his bedroom. They walked silently, hand in hand in the still quiet halls of Rivendell, their naked feet making no noise on the smooth stone floor.

Fili looked inside the bedroom, and Kili was still sleeping.

He stood on the threshold with Selis wondering when he would next see her. His worry must have been written on his face, because she raised her hand from his hand to his forearm and said softly:

"Tomorrow morning, I will come again, if you want me to…"

"Of course, I want you to" he answered smiling at her.

Then, she did something she had never done before. Selis stepped closer to him, her chest brushing his arm for a second and kissed him softly on the cheek. And then, she was gone.

Her lips were warm and soft against his bearded cheek. He could still feel their shape on his skin hours after she had left.

Fili was slightly reassured by her actions. He knew she would come back to him, but there would always be a fear in him that she would not. He could not control her, like he could not control the wind or rain, he thought.

The dwarf stepped back into the bedroom and closed the door quietly behind him. He closed his eyes and remained a moment in silence next to the door.

He was startled by Kili's voice, as his younger brother sat up suddenly on his bed.

"So that's why you have been all distracted and dreamy lately!" the dark-haired dwarf said grinning.

"Kili! You scared me! You've been spying?" Fili frowned.

"No, I woke and did not see you there, so I waited and saw you come back with a tiny elf. Uncle won't be happy about it" he teased.

"She's not an elf, and uncle does not have a say on this" Fili told his brother firmly, in a serious voice that made him seem older than he was. He felt protective of Selis and their relationship. It was his own business to mind, not anyone else's.

"Calm down, brother" said Kili, getting up to stand next to Fili "I didn't see her ears, I confess. But I could see that she was very lovely, so I thought she must be an elf."

"That she is. Lovely that is" whispered Fili, his voice and mind very far away for a moment.

After a moment of silence, Kili shook his brother's shoulder.

"Middle-Earth to Fili!" he said, grinning "So, did you meet her in Rivendell?" he added, curious.

Fili sat on the edge of his bed, and Kili did the same so that the brothers were facing each other in the now bright bedroom.

"No, I met her before" answered Fili vaguely.

He was relieved and glad to share his happiness with his brother. But he was scared at the same time to reveal Selis' existence to their travelling companions, especially his stern uncle who would not approve of such an acquaintance.

Mixed relationships between different races were not common, and usually frowned upon. Thorin would probably think that Fili was getting distracted from the Quest that was so important to him. Fili did not want to disappoint his uncle, but all other things seemed meaningless compared to when Selis was at his side.

"Please, don't tell anyone about her, Kili" he pleaded "She's … important."

Kili's eyes widened at his brother's request. He had never seen Fili like this, so disturbed by a woman's presence. But he could see that Fili's feelings were sincere and deep, so he nodded.

After the brothers got dressed, they joined the Company for breakfast.

They ate and laughed, all feeling relaxed after a good night's rest. Gandalf's eyes were twinkling, and he whispered softly to Fili:

"The wind is quite warm and agreeable this morning, don't you think?"

"Aye" answered Fili, grinning, his gaze lost, not seeing Bofur staring at him with a curious expression on his face. The young blond dwarf seemed so lost and far away from all of them.

It was Thorin's deep voice that called Fili back to reality.

"Fili? Did you not hear Dwalin calling all of us to practice?"

"Sorry, Uncle" he quickly got up "I'm coming." And he followed Kili to retrieve their weapons from their bedroom.

Kili was intrigued and slightly disturbed by his brother's behaviour. Usually, Fili was the one in charge, the oldest, more responsible one that leaded his little brother. Kili felt oddly alone, and a bit jealous at the same time.

None of the Durin's brothers had ever been in love until now. There had been some clumsy kisses with some dwarf girls back in Ered Luin, but nothing serious. And though being the youngest and more carefree of the two, Kili had the insight to suspect that his brother was falling in love with the mysterious girl with white-blond hair.

The Company spent ten days in Rivendell, Thorin waiting for the moon shape and light to be right, so that Lord Elrond could read the map and its indications about the hidden door to enter the Lonely Mountain.

On the night when Thorin left with Gandalf and the elven lord to read the map, all the members of the Company knew that they would afterwards lose no time and leave in a hurry. They would have to do so if they wanted to reach the Mountain before Durin's day.

During their stay in Rivendell, almost every morning, an hour before dawn, Selis would come and wake Fili. They would wander around the city, watch the sun rise, talk or just enjoy each other's presence.

The young dwarf was amazed at the many places of Middle-Earth that Selis had seen. He marvelled at her description of the wide delta of the Anduin, and the way the water's colour kept changing before it melted forever in the wide sea.

And Selis listened eagerly when Fili told her about his home in Ered Luin, inside the mountain, the gems, the jewels, the comforts of their houses. Selis had never been inside a mountain. She always had to stay outside, wherever the wind was blowing, so life in the Blue Mountains seemed fascinating to her, even if she thought she would miss the sun and air on her face too much to live inside a mountain.

When he returned from his meeting with Gandalf and Lord Elrond, Thorin told the Company they would be leaving the next day, before dawn. That way their departure would go unnoticed and they would not risk the elves stopping them in their Quest.

Fili was sad to leave Rivendell, not because of the comforts of the elven city, but because he would not get his daily morning encounters with Selis and it would be more difficult to find time just the two of them, when they would be on the road again.

The nymph had assured him the day before that wherever the Company would go, she would always find him.

Fili and Selis had got considerably closer with each morning spent together in Rivendell.

After a hard day of continuous walking in the high hills that stood at the threshold of the Misty Mountains, everyone was very tired. The dwarves were all happy to rest their legs and share a warm stew around the fire.

The Durin's brothers left to gather enough wood for the fire to last the entire night.

They were walking silently in the fading light, piling the branches in their arms, when Kili asked in a careful voice:

"Fili?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you ok? I mean… now that we've left Rivendell and your… lady friend."

Fili turned to see his little brother's worried face. Kili was worried about him. He was worried he would be sad to not see Selis every day. Fili felt a rush of love for his brother all of a sudden. Kili was such a caring, sweet dwarf, even if sometimes reckless.

Fili stepped forward and put an arm on his brother's shoulder saying, in a reassuring tone:

"I'm fine, Kili. It's not as if I'll never see her again."

"Aye, but not for a very long time" said Kili "And you'll have to get back to Rivendell. Do you think Uncle will allow you to?"

Fili frowned and put his wood back on the ground. He then sat up on a rock and invited his brother to do the same. Kili seemed to think Selis was living in Rivendell, and Fili did not correct him, to better preserve her secret.

"I think I can decide for myself who I want to spend some time with" said Fili in a firm voice, and there was an unusual new steadiness about him that Kili had never seen before. In that moment, it was clear the blond brother was the oldest.

"But what if we die on this Quest?" asked Kili in a small voice, seeking words of comfort from his big brother.

"It is always a possibility" stated Fili, frowning "But it will not end this way. We both have much to live for."

As he said this last sentence, Fili was smiling at Kili, his eyes shining with a strong happiness and confidence.

"I think you like her. A lot." said Kili grinning, his smile wide and teasing.

Usually, Fili would shrug or tell his brother off for teasing him so about a girl. But not this time. This time, Fili stared at the growing darkness in front of him and there was a grin on his face when he stated quietly:

"I think you're right, little brother."

And it felt so good to tell Kili that he was in love, to share his happiness with his closest kin.

Kili grinned wider and asked:

"Why does she live in Rivendell if she's not an elf?"

"She does not live in Rivendell."

Kili frowned, his face puzzled: "But where does she live?"

"That's not my secret to tell" stated Fili simply. "But I can tell you that I will see her soon, and that makes me very happy."

"Here, in the wild?" Kili was puzzled.

"Aye"

There was a silence where Kili was left to ponder his brother' strange revelations about the girl with the grey eyes. Fili could see that his brother was disturbed by his words and wanted to know more, so he offered:

"Would you like to meet her? If she's fine with it, of course."

"I'd love to!" Kili said immediately. Both brothers loved that fact that there were things they shared only with each other. It was their private relationship, and they both cherished it.

There was another moment of silence and peace between them. They waited until the sun had set completely.

"Fili?" said Kili again, his voice small.

"Hmm?"

"I miss Mum."

Had they been on a short trip around Ered Luin, Fili would have teased his little brother endlessly for such a statement. But they were in the wild, had left the secure and beautiful elven city behind them, were travelling with their stern uncle for months, and their journey had been and would be a dangerous one. So Fili sat closer to his brother and put an arm on his shoulder, and said:

"I know. Me too."