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Happy Tuesday everyone (in one hour anyway).

Chapter 22

~X~

The group talked for a while, but it was quickly decided that the ladies had other interest besides drink and spectacle watching. Flinn would have much rather stayed with his father and the rest of the males, but Sier did not wish to hamper their visit with King Bard and his son, by having to mind a very inquisitive and rambunctious dwarfling. Thus he was cajoled into joining his mother, Dis and Tilda, as they went from shop to shop, examining cloth, dresses and all kinds of exotic items. At first Flinn didn't seem to mind, everything being so new and exciting that he hardly cared what he was looking at. The little booth that sold buttons had been his favorite, where Sier allowed him to pick out several sets of shiny gold buttons, much to his delight. But as they continued on, soon his feet began to drag a little, and after visiting the eighth stall that sold fabric, he was done.

Sier took pity on him, and since she had already purchased all she would need to make several more coats – having had the goods bundled and scheduled to be delivered to Erebor with the next courier – she told Dis and Tilda to go onto the next few shops without them.

"What would you like to look at?" she asked Flinn, waving her arm out as if the world was his oyster. The little tike spun around in circles, fixing his eyes on a brightly colored wooden stall that displayed all types of food, candies and treats.

"There!" he begged, his little tongue already sticking out as he licked his lips in anticipation.

"Very well," she smiled, willing to reward his excellent behavior thus far with some sweets. It did not take long for him to pick out three different types of confections, all of them certain to keep the little dwarrow awake and wild all night. "Anything else?" she asked, knowing that everything she purchased would be metered out judiciously.

"And….that apple!" he stated, pointing to the biggest and juiciest looking one at the stall.

"Oh?" well this was odd. Her son was never one to choose fruit over sweets, but she was not about to complain. Handing the apple to him, she quickly paid for their items, and turned around to ask him where he wanted to go next. But, much to her shock, the lad was nowhere to be seen! "Flinn!" she called out, perhaps panicking a bit too quickly, but still he was one four year old dwarf in a sea of strangers. "Where are you?"

"Here, Ama," came his voice, not too far away, but still much too distant for Sier's peace of mind.

She spotted him quickly and rushed to his side, ready to scold him for running off, but when she saw what he was doing, her words of rebuke died on her lips. Her kind hearted son was feeding the apple he had asked her to buy to a very sad and undernourished grey pony. The poor beast was hitched to a dilapidated old cart, and looked as if it had not been fed a decent meal, nor brushed or cared for, in a very long time.

"He looked hungry," Flinn told her, giggling a little as the soft nose of the pony tickled his hand while it carefully nibbled the apple.

"Yes, he does," he nodded, thinking she would very much like to give his owner a piece of her mind. "That was very nice of you to want to feed him." Sier reached up and stroked the animal's neck, feeling badly as her hand got caught on several uncurried tufts of hair and sticker burs lodged within. "Who would be so cruel as to mistreat such a beautiful steed as you?" she whispered, making sure her son did not hear her sorrowful tone.

"HEY!" came a gruff shout from behind them. "Get away from there!"

Sier jumped, startled by the harsh words, spinning around to see a large man, with a shaggy beard and long hair, stomping towards them. He did not seem happy at all.

"We…we were just petting him," she insisted, taking a step back and pulling her son to her side protectively.

"Well he belongs to me, and I never said you could, so stop it!" he bellowed, placing himself between them and the pony. "You and your brat need to move on, and leave other people's property alone!"

"Can't you see that he is half starved?" Sier persisted, not willing to let this go. "You need to take better care of him, and brush him too."

"Listen up, you little mountain whore," he scowled, leaning in so that Sier had to pull back to avoid his rancid breath. "You just mind your own concerns, ya hear? And the next time I see you and your little rat touching my things, I will make ya pay by touching something else that belongs to me, if you take my meaning."

Sier drew in a breath of shock, hardly daring to believe that he had just said something so foul and crude to her…and if front of her son! She watched as a wicked grin spread over the man's face and she could feel the hairs on her neck begin to rise. She was not a violent dam by nature, but this man made her want to scratch his eyes out! How dare he?! She had just opened her mouth, prepared to deliver a severe tongue lashing – as well as a swift kick to his tender spots – when she heard her name being called from down the way. It was Bofur.

"Sier! Sier!" he yelled, rushing up to her quickly, completely out of breath. Not giving the man before her any notice, he scooped up Flinn and grabbed hold of her hand, urgently tugging her back the way he had come. "Hurry, you have to see this!"

"What is it?" she asked, unwilling to merely walk away and allow that sod of a man to have the last word.

"It is Fili…he is going to fight in the square!" Bofur informed her with a wide grin on his face.

"WHAT?" Sier cried, instantly forgetting all about the wretched man and allowing the insistent miner to lead the way at a now hurried pace.

"They were having demonstrations with weapons in the square, and one of the men challenged Fili to fight," Bofur told her. "At first he declined, but the man would not let up, and he even called into question the honor of all the dwarves of Erebor. Well, that settled it right then and there, and Fili accepted. They are going to duel it out any minute now…you don't want to miss this!"

As they weaved their way back through the crowd, they happened upon Dis and Tilda, coming out of a little jewelry shop. When Bofur hurriedly explained about Fili, the five of them stepped up the pace, coming to the square just in time to see Bard standing in the middle of the makeshift ring, laying out the rules of engagement. In front of Fili stood a man twice his height, with muscles the size of barrels, and his bare chest sporting a plethora of strange and vile looking painted symbols. To the crowd, Fili must have looked like easy pickings, but the twin swords held tightly in each hand, and a huge grin on his face said differently. Apparently, Nori was using this to his advantage and was on the side, taking bets from anyone with enough coin to make it worth his while. The hefty pouch he was now sporting told Sier that Nori stood to make a small fortune, if things went his way. She truly hoped that he had bet on his friend to win…for that was the only outcome that might set her racing heart to rights.

"Adad is going to fight him?" Flinn asked, allowing his mother to take him out of Bofur's arms as they moved to stand next to Bain on the small dais, allowing them a better view.

"It…it would appear so," she breathed, not sure she liked the idea at all.

"Will he win?" Flinn's voice was a mixture of pride and fear, not sure what he thought of the idea of his adad in battle.

"I hope so," she murmured back, her eyes glued on the father of her child.

"Don't worry, Flinn," Bain spoke up, giving the little dwarrow a wink. "I have seen your da take on plenty that were bigger and stronger than this fella. He will be just fine."

The crowd quieted down as Bard began to speak, his deep booming voice carrying through the square.

"This is only an exhibition fight, everyone walks away with their limbs intact, is that clear?" Bard stated, pointing his finger strictly at the two opponents. "The first to disarm the other will be named the winner. On my signal the fight will begin." He then stepped back, giving the two grinning combatants plenty of room.

"Come on, Fili!" Kili yelled from the side lines, obviously just as excited about the fight as his brother appeared to be. "Show him what Erebor warriors are made of!"

"Yes, little dwarf," the big tattooed man agreed in a taunting voice. "I would very much like to see what color you bleed."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Fili laughed, side stepping with his feet as his hands clenched and unclenched around the hilts of his swords. "But I fear your desires will have to go unsatisfied."

At that they saw Bard's hand fall, and immediately the man lunged forward, striking out as Fili effortlessly jumped aside, spinning around as he let the flat part of one of his blades smack his opponent on the rump, causing the crowd to cheer. This, of course, angered the man, and he gave a loud roar as he attacked once more.

Things went on like this for quite a while, the big man lumbering back and forth while Fili moved as if made of air, avoiding most every one of his strikes, blocking others, and landing a few harmless assaults of his own.

Loud shouts rose from the crowd, and more money passed hands as Nori continued to take wagers, a wide grin never leaving his lips.

Sier was beginning to feel a bit lightheaded, not having expected this day to turn out like this at all. Yet Flinn was having the time of his life, seeing his adad for the first time pitted against a real foe, instead of Dwalin in the training ring back home. He cheered, yelled, and called out his adad's name, while his mother just gripped him tighter and tighter as the battle raged on.

"Oh, for Mahal's sake," Dis finally called out in a somewhat exasperated tone, after many long tense minutes had passed. "Just finish him, Fili! Quit dragging it out and just disarm the braggart already!" She was apparently not at all worried over the safety of her son, and seemed almost bored with the whole thing.

"Yah, Fili!" Kili called. "You have fooled around long enough. Take him down!"

Fili heard their calls and looked over long enough to give them both a wily grin. To the crown prince, it reminded him quite a lot of fighting with the three trolls they encountered on the north road, during their journey. As long as he kept clear of the behemoth's longsword, he could keep this up all day. Yet when he caught sight of Sier, and seeing the look of terror in her eyes, he nodded in agreement. He had been toying with the big buffoon, letting him feel as if he was at least holding his own, but it was time to end this. His smile vanished, and his eyes became as hard as the steel that was currently spinning around in each hand. It took less than ten more moves, and just as many seconds, before the two-ton man was lying flat on his back and staring at the sky. His long sword having been ripped from his grasp, and now resting five feet away. A round of cheers came from the crowd, led by an exuberant Kili, Bofur, Nori and Dis. Sier, on the other hand, was still having a hard time remembering how to breathe.

"Adad!" Flinn called, wiggling out of his stunned mother's arms and running out to launch himself at his victorious father. Fili transferred both swords into one hand and scooped his son up with the other, grinning at the look of pride in the youngsters eyes. "You won, Adad! You won!"

"Did you ever doubt that I would?" he asked, laughing at the beaming little dwarrow.

"Never!" Flinn assured him, throwing his arms around his neck as he gave him a big hug.

Bard stepped up and took Fili's arm, holding it, and his two swords, high in the air.

"I hereby declare the victor to be Prince Fili of Erebor!" he called out, once more receiving a loud round of cheers and applause. "May our dwarf allies always be as strong and honorable in battle as they were today."

When the crowd finally calmed, and Nori had paid out some of the bets he had taken, keeping the lion's share of coins for himself, Fili sat Flinn down on the ground beside him. He made sure to keep him close as he stretched out his hand in assistance to the still dazed man lying on the ground.

"It was a good fight," he said. "No hard feelings?"

At first the massive fellow just stared at Fili's offer of goodwill, but finally he reached out and accepted the help up. Rubbing the back of his head as he stared down at the dwarrow before him.

"Looks like I got a few things to learn about the skill of dwarves," he mused, sounding a bit sheepish after the words he had boasted earlier.

"And I would be honored to fight beside you any day, my friend," Fili stated, slapping him on the side of his arm in a friendly salute.

"Aye…I would as well," he nodded, genuinely impressed with his opponent's skill and his manners. "Good fight." He then limped away, nursing not only his sore back, but his slightly stinging pride as well.

Fili watched him go, and then took hold of Flinn's hand, leading him back over to where the group was waiting. His brother was grinning with pride, as was Bofur, Nori and Dis, having never doubted him for a moment. But Sier just looked pale, most of the color having drained from her cheeks.

"Did you see him, Ama?" Flinn asked, bouncing up and down. "Did you see Adad beat the big old man?"

"Yes…yes I did," she assured him, doing her best to sound steadier than she was. Sier had watched many fights like these, both when she was with the Firebeard clan, as well as in Himros, but this time it had felt different. Never before had she been gripped with such fear, such worry. She had complete faith in Fili's skills with a sword, having seen him in practice with Dwalin and his uncle on several occasions. And yet, for some reason when he had been out there, pitted against such a massive opponent, her heart had practically stopped beating. When had Fili become so dear to her? When had his safety come to matter so deeply?

"I hope I did not upset you," Fili apologized, suddenly worried that her stricken expression was all his fault. "But I could not allow that fellow to taunt the dwarves of Erebor, and not go unchallenged. The honor of the mountain was at stake."

"No…I understand," she told him, lying through her teeth. Fighting to save lives was one thing, but just to prove a point, well, that made no sense to her at all. Still, dwarves in general were a stubborn and proud lot, she knew that, and the males of her species carried more than their fair share of both. She might never fully understand, and maybe she didn't have to…she just needed to accept it. "I am sure the king would be proud of you for your valiant display."

This seemed to brighten Fili's expression and he turned away to accept the slaps on the back and hearty praise from others who had gathered around. All the while, Tilda had kept a close eye on Sier, watching her reaction with a knowing smile, filing away all her thoughts and keeping them to herself.

Whoooohooo, Fili won! As if we ever doubted he would.

Hope Nori made a bundle betting on him.

What do you think of the mean guy with the poor grey pony?

If you are all good boys and girls and send in your reviews quickly, I MIGHT be tempted to treat you with a bonus chapter since the last two were on the 'shorter' side -by some standards. ha ha.

Guest Reviews:

Mjean: Thanks for the kind offer...and no, so far no one has said anything close to your line. "it is all mine now...mine I say...my precious."