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Chapter 109

Amrâlimê = My love

~X~

At first Kili paced…then he fretted…and lastly he sat down and stewed. Yet before long he realized that he still had a job to complete, and hoped that the familiar work of tending the ponies would help calm his nerves. So Kili was busy working out a rock from his mount's hoof with his pick when Tauriel approached quietly from behind.

"Kili?" she began, her voice sounding somewhat unsure. "Your brother said you wished to speak with me?"

"I…ummm…yes," he nodded, setting the pony's leg down and straightening up to his full height, which was still a head shorter than her…but he didn't mind one bit. "Yes, I do." He opened his mouth to speak again, but before he could, his pony nosed him in the back, quite strongly in fact, almost throwing him off balance. "All right, all right," Kili muttered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the little sugar lump he always treated her with after he was done grooming her. "I didn't forget."

The little pony nibbled at the offering with a happy nicker, causing Kili to smile at her warmly.

"She seems very fond of you," Tauriel noted, walking up and stroking her between the eyes. "What do you call her?" she asked, the little pony enjoying the attention.

"Ummm…you'll laugh if I tell you," Kili told her, looking away.

"No, I will not," she assured him, waiting patiently for him to speak.

"Sugar," he said at last. "I know it is kind of a sissy name for a war pony, but it's her favorite treat, and really, she just looks like a Sugar to me."

"I do not find that strange at all," Tauriel stated, eyeing the pony in an appraising manner. "I named my horse CélebGil…which means Silver Star."

"That's pretty," Kili told her, liking the sound of that. "Why did you name him that?"

"On the night he was foaled, one of our most beloved stars shone exceptionally bright, looking almost silver," Tauriel explained. "I named him after that star." She was quiet for a moment, watching Kili with great interest. "Kili…I get the feeling that I need to apologize to you again. That we did not settle things during our talk today."

"No!" he stated, almost too emphatically. "I mean…no, you have no reason to be sorry at all. It was I who misunderstood things, and I'm the one who owes you an apology…perhaps more than one."

"Oh?" Now Tauriel was very confused.

"Yes…you see, when we spoke this afternoon, I didn't realize that you were referring to the incident during the sparring session," he explained. "I want you to know that I never once felt slighted by that, you won, fair and square, and I admire you greatly for your skill in battle."

"You do?" Tauriel could feel her heart lighten at his words.

"Of course!" Kili's smile grew as he saw her brighten at his revelation. Oh, how he loved the way her eyes sparkled, rivaling the stars themselves. "Most dwarrowdams are taught to protect themselves, and no dwarf would ever look down on a lass for being a competent fighter. While you…well, you put just about everyone I have ever seen to shame. I'm highly impressed…honest." And that was no lie, for he was…very much so in fact. How could she ever imagine that he would be anything but proud of her skills? She could win every battle between them from now till the fall of Mordor and he would always walk away grinning. She was perfect in every way, and the only thing that would make her better in his eyes…was if she were his.

"Well…thank you, Kili," Tauriel said, looking down at her hands as she blushed slightly. She had been complimented before on her fighting prowess, but for some reason, receiving such praise from him was different. It meant so much more. "I am very pleased to learn that you did not take offense, as I feared you had. Yet, if this was not what you thought I was apologizing for…what did you think I meant?"

"Ummm, well, that doesn't matter anymore," Kili said, waving off the question. "Or…at least I hope it doesn't." He took a step closer, reaching out with shaking hands as he took hers in his own. "Tauriel, amrâlimê," he whispered, looking up at her longingly. He couldn't believe he had said that out loud - just called her his love - and yet, he would never take it back…not in a million years.

"I…I don't know what that means," Tauriel confessed, though from the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes, she allowed her desperate heart to hazard a guess.

"I think you do," he grinned, taking a deep breath as he pressed on. "Do…do you remember when we talked the other day…and I told you that a dwarf will wait his entire life for the lass that Mahal has deemed his one?"

"Yes," Tauriel nodded, her breath catching in her throat as she felt the warmth of Kili's fingers wrapped around her own. Oh, why did his touch feel so wonderful? "I…I remember." She found that her voice was a bit weak, and if Kili was about to say what she prayed he was, she was not sure she would be able to speak at all. Could this truly be happening after sixteen, long years?

"Well…the other day, when we battled…I…you see, what happened was…" Yet Kili never got a chance to finish his sentence, for just then his brother came running up.

"Kili! Tauriel!" he called, his voice and expression one of urgency. "You need to come quick! We've spotted the enemy!"

"Now?" Kili looked at Fili with eyes of disbelief…was he serious?

"Where?" Tauriel asked, her mind quickly shifting into defense mode. "How far?"

"One of the scouts spotted a group of them about a mile away," Fili explained. "If we leave now, we can intercept them before they reach the mine entrance and possibly get some information out of them to aid in the attack." He then gave Kili a look of pure sympathy, telling his brother he would never have interrupted him this way if it had not been of dire importance. "I…I will wait for you back at the camp…but, you must hurry." And then he turned and ran back the way he had come.

Kili had already been quite flustered, and anything he had planned to say was now lost to his jumbled mind. He looked up at Tauriel, giving a heavy sigh of regret. He opened his mouth to apologize, yet a finger on his lips halted him.

"It will keep, Kili," she told him, a smile gracing her rosy red lips. "I am not going anywhere, and I will not press you to say any more when we do not have the time. I have an idea what you mean to say, and I can wait."

"I wish I was so sure that I can," Kili huffed, feeling completely deflated after having at last worked up the nerve to speak. But she was right. This was not something that could be discussed in a few stolen moments…he would have to wait until another time. He only hoped it would come quickly.

"Come, Fili and the others are waiting," she insisted, pulling at his hand. "Let's go save those prisoners and then we will have all the time in the world to talk."

"Yes…all the time in the world," he repeated, praying that her words would prove true, for that was exactly how long he wanted to spend with her.

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Within minutes, the small group of leaders were belly down on the ridge of the hillside, watching a party of orcs trudging towards the mountain range.

"There are eight of them…no, wait…nine," Tauriel stated, her eyes best suited to seeing in moonlight. "Yet they do not seem to be heading in the direction of the main entrance."

"Oh…then where are they going?" Kili asked.

"My guess is to where Glorfindel said he found the hidden door…the one he investigated before it shut on him, almost trapping him inside," the elf lass revealed.

"Well, if he got in…maybe we can too," Fili suggested. "Yet if we ride down there in full force, they'll see and hear us coming. We need to do this quietly." He then turned to Bain who was beside him. "Tell your men to wait here, mounted and ready to ride on our signal - we will instruct our soldiers to do the same. If we take only a few with us now, we might be able to get close enough to either follow them inside the secret door, or discover how to open it ourselves."

Bain nodded, signaling for Dunner and another to follow him, while a third man ran back to inform the others of the plan. Fili then rose to his feet, careful to keep low and out of sight as he led the remaining party forward, down the hill and through the sparse trees. Tauriel pointed out the best way, leading them through the tall grass and away from anyplace they might be easily spotted. Kili, Dwalin and Nori followed behind, with Bain and his two guards bringing up the rear.

Fili felt a surge of adrenaline as they got closer and closer to their goal, yet he couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear as he thought of his two lads he had left back at the cave. Bofur and Oin would protect Flinn and Frerin, he knew this, as would the handful of dwarves and men assigned to guard the wagons and camp. Yet, they were his sons…and Fili could not shake the sense that leaving them behind was a big mistake. Yet what else could he do? He couldn't abandon the mission and remain with them, nor could he have kept them at his side.

Fili simply had to trust his friends, and keep his mind on the mission at hand. Then, when it was all over, he would take his little lads back home to Sier, who was more than likely worried sick. Telk would have delivered his message by now, and he worried what she must be thinking.

"Look…they are heading towards that outcropping of stone," Tauriel whispered, pointing to where the enemy could just barely be made out in the darkness. She had her bow out and an arrow nocked and ready to go, prepared to shoot upon Fili's command.

"Is that where the secret door is located?" Fili asked.

"Yes…we must get closer," Tauriel hissed, doing her best to strain her eyes to see what trick they might employ to open it, yet the angle was wrong and too many of the orcs were blocking her view. As the eight of them crouched behind some large boulders, they heard the scraping of stone on stone. And before their eyes, a door suddenly appeared in the side of the mountain, allowing the orcs to enter.

"Quick! Before it shuts behind them!" Fili insisted, slipping around the boulder and skirting along the side of the mountain, until they came to the opening. It was not large, but big enough for a full grown man to walk through without having to stoop over, and much to their delight, it was still open. "One at a time," Fili whispered, unsheathing his twin blades as he peeked around and into the dark tunnel. "I'll go first, then each of you follow one at a time, just in case it's a trap."

"I'm coming with you," Kili insisted, also pulling his blade and stepping closer to his brother. "We do this together."

Fili knew arguing was pointless, so he nodded and slowly headed in, the sound of the retreating enemy making its way back down the tunnel to his ears. Thankfully, it appeared they were getting farther and farther away, and not doubling back to attack. They had slipped in unnoticed!

"The way is clear," Fili whispered back, gesturing for the rest to follow. Dwalin was next in line, flanked by Nori and then Tauriel, who had just slung her bow across her back, and pulled out one of her throwing knives.

Each one approached the door carefully, doing their best to keep quiet and not trip over each other in the darkness. Now dwarves are normally very much at home underground, yet their trek through Mirkwood many years ago, had made every one of the company quite skittish when it came to spider webs. And that is exactly what Dwalin and Nori ran into when they stepped to the side of the tunnel to allow the others to enter. Needless to say, it caused quite a reaction, as the two dwarrow began to flail around, their arms batting against the sticky threads that attached themselves to their faces. And while they were smart enough to keep from crying out, their radical movements caused them to trip some hidden lever, one that was apparently attached to the door.

"NO!" Fili hissed as he saw the stone door begin to shut just as Tauriel made to enter. He and Kili grabbed hold of the stone and did their best to force it to remain open, but they were not strong enough.

"Tauriel…take my hand!" Kili gasped, grabbing hold and pulling her through just in the nick of time, watching as the door shut in Bain's face. The force of his action caused the she-elf to stumble and fall on top of him. The two landed with a thud as the cavern was encased in darkness, with not even a small shaft of light peeking around the now closed door.

"Ummm, sorry about that," Nori whispered. It was unclear if it had been him or Dwalin who had triggered the unseen mechanism…but he knew he was at least partially to blame.

"Are you all right?" Kili asked the elf who had landed on top of him, apparently not at all upset by their positon. In fact, if he had his way, she could stay there forever. Yet now was not the time, nor the place, for such thoughts…still the dwarf prince let out a sigh of disappointment when she made to rise.

"Yes, are you?" Tauriel questioned, assisting him to his feet.

"Never better," he said with a wide grin, though he was not sure if she could see it. "I'm with you in the dark…what could be better?"

"Save it for later, Kili," Fili scolded, elbowing him in the side as he felt his way over to the closed door.

"Bain?" Fili called as loudly as he dared against the solid stone. "Can you hear me?" When there came no answer, he tried again. Yet the wall was too thick and no sound could penetrate it. He then turned and instructed everyone to feel around, hoping they might find a way to reopen the door. However, after searching for nearly fifteen minutes, and discovering nothing, Fili told them to give up.

"What do we do now?" Dwalin asked gruffly, though he managed to somehow sound just as contrite as Nori.

"We'll have to make our way through the mountain and find the main entrance," Fili instructed. "I can only hope that Bain does not waste as much time trying to get in, as we just did trying to get out. With any luck, he is halfway back to where we left our soldiers and heading for the entrance to the mine as well. We need to get there as quickly as possible without being captured."

"Easier said than done," Nori pointed out, though no one else seemed to have any better ideas.

"Easy or not…it must be done," Fili said with a sigh. "Glorfindel said it took him nearly a day to ride around the mountain range to the main entrance. We have to reach it before then if we are to be of any assistance to Bain and our warriors. Now, come on, we can't let them have all the fun."

And so they began to head down the dark tunnel, feeling their way through the inky blackness as they made for what they hoped was an exit.

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~XXXX~

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"Will this one do?" Gimli asked, tossing the bound up dwarf on the stone floor at Dis' feet. "He didn't really even put up much of a fight."

"Blacklock weakling," Bifur nodded with a huff of disgust, crossing his arms over his chest and giving the struggling captive a glaring look.

Dis smiled at both dwarrow, giving them a nod of thanks for their fine gift. She then pulled out her dagger and squatted down beside the fellow, grabbing hold of the long hairs at his chin and laying the blade across it.

"Now, this is quite the fine beard you have," she complimented, watching as his eyes grew wide with fear. "I would certainly hate to see you lose it…or something else." At this she let her dagger drift south, causing the steel to scrape along the fabric of his inner thigh. Now the dwarf was squirming in earnest, sounds of fear and desperation fighting to get out through the gag they had in his mouth. "Oh…you wish to talk, do you?" Dis asked in a sickeningly sweet tone. "Wonderful, for answering all my questions is the only thing that will save you from a great deal of pain and humiliation. All of this will depend on your responses and how pleased I am by them. Do you understand?"

The captive gave an enthusiastic nod, telling Dis that she had indeed gotten through to him. So, holding up her blade in a warning gesture, she pulled the rag from his lips, allowing him to speak.

"Now…where is the king and the others you have captured?" Dis asked.

"I…I…" the dwarf stammered, apparently rethinking his decision to give out the information.

"I warned you," Dis sighed, pulling her dagger across the beard that was still in her iron grip. When the sound of hair being sawed off met the ears of their prisoner, he quickly changed his tune.

"WAIT! Wait, I'll tell you!" he cried out, desperate to keep his beard…and other things. "Hagen ordered us to take the king and his party to the dungeons."

"Were they harmed?" Dena broke in, stepping forward to stand beside Dis, the second dam looking almost as menacing as the first. "Are they wounded…or were any of them killed?"

"No…we put all five of them in the cell," he assured her, his eyes never leaving the steel weapon at his chin. "They were unharmed as far as I could tell."

To this, Dena gave a sigh of relief and moved to embrace Gimli, the two of them overjoyed to hear that Gloin was alive.

"Who is in charge of this heinous act of treason? Who would dare to invade Erebor?" Dis continued, wanting as much information as she could glean from him.

"Hagen…son of Lord Haken, of the Rhȗn Mountains," he revealed, now quite eager to please the dangerous dam.

"That low-down, good for nothing, orc filth!" she hissed, obviously not happy about this information. "After all the trouble my brother has gone to make peace with that Blacklock piece of caragu!"

Gimli and Bifur's eyes flew open in shock, not used to hearing such words from a dam. Yet, after seeing their princess also threaten to cut off this dwarf's beard, as well as his male parts, they realized they should hardly be surprised by her language.

"How many of you are there in the mountain?" Gimli demanded, needing to know what they were up against.

"Over a hundred by now," he admitted. "We had to wait until the soldiers were out of the mountain before we could enter in full force."

"Where did the soldiers go?" Was Dis' next question.

"We…we had the king sign an order sending them to the Iron Hills as an escort for Lord Dain," he stammered.

"I knew they would never have left without good reason!" Dis told those standing around her. "Erebor's soldiers are loyal to their king."

"Yet, that still does not help us, for they are now almost a full day's ride from here. How do we get them back?" Sier lamented.

Dis seemed to contemplate her daughter-in-law's words before turning back to her captive.

"What is this Hagen after? What is his ultimate goal?" she demanded.

"He…he plans to lay claim to the kingship…he wants to rule Erebor," the now very worried dwarf answered. "Hagen demands that the king give up the location of the Arkenstone."

"Thorin would never turn the king's jewel over to any thieving Blacklock!" Gimli spat, making a threatening move towards the prone dwarf, causing him to flinch in fear. "The mountain belongs to the sons of Durin! Only a Longbeard will ever sit on the throne of Erebor!"

"Not if they can find the Arkenstone," Dena reasoned. "With it, even a Blacklock might be able to convince the other clans to back him as king. We have to make sure they do not find it."

"How? Since only two know where it is hidden," Bifur reminded them, knowing that Thorin had decreed it be secreted away for everyone's protection, fearing that its power might grow to affect others like it had him. "Thorin and Balin…and they are both prisoners."

"We will have to find a way to get to them, then," Dis said with a stern nod of her head. "But how can we when they are in the dungeon?"

"I think I know a way," Bifur grinned, causing Dis to look hopefully at the toy maker.

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Bard had just sat down in his most comfortable chair, with a pipe in one hand and a book in the other, ready to enjoy a peaceful night of reading. Yet before he could take one puff on the Longbottom Leaf, Tilda came bursting through the door.

"Da! Come quick," she gasped, apparently having run some distance to find him. "A flock of ravens just arrived from Erebor and they are making a terrible racket. They're calling for the king!"

Ravens from Erebor…demanding to speak to him? Well that was odd, yet nothing he intended to ignore. Perhaps there was news from the rescue party? And as he jumped from his chair and made to follow, he felt fear grip his heart. Please, don't let Bain be hurt in any way, he prayed silently as he ran.

When they reached the aviary, the two dwarves who were assigned to care for the birds who carried messages from their city to Erebor, were in quite the tizzy. All around were black corvids, squawking and flapping their wings, speaking in a language that Bard could not understand.

"My Lord," the dwarf named Olev began, doing all he could to calm the ravens down. "They keep saying that no one listens in Erebor. That no one has been on duty to receive their messages all day. That is not right, for there is always supposed to be someone to care for the birds…always!"

"Do you think there's trouble?" Bard questioned, his gaze turning towards the window that faced the mountain.

"I do not know," he admitted, petting the bird that rested on his arm, doing all he could to ease its concern. "Yet, this one carries a message from Prince Fili…and he was unable to deliver it."

"From Fili?" Bard was instantly worried once more.

"Oh, Da…what if it's bad news about Bain?" Tilda gasped, covering her mouth with her hand in fear.

"Let me see it," Bard demanded, holding out his hand for the piece of parchment.

Olev hesitated for a moment, knowing that it went against protocol to hand a message over to the one it was not intended to. Yet a nod of acceptance from Simek eased his fears, and he did as directed.

The king of Dale took it and opened the seal, scanning the missive quickly as his eyes grew wide.

"Flinn and Frerin have stowed away on the mission!" he said out loud, the shock of such news hitting him right in his fatherly heart. He could only imagine the worry and fear this was causing the blond prince. This was news Sier needed to know, and yet the ravens claimed they could not deliver it. What was going on in Erebor?

"Little Flinn and Frerin?" Tilda repeated, looking over her father's shoulder as she scanned the letter herself. "How could that have happened? Oh, poor Sier!"

"Olev…do what you can to tend to our honored guests tonight, see that they are well fed and cared for," Bard ordered, bowing slightly to the large black corvid he knew to be Simek, lord of the ravens. "For first thing in the morning, I will have great need their services. I will return before dawn with what I require to be sent. Something is not right in Erebor, and I intend to find out what it is!" And folding up the note, he stuck it in his pocket and headed out of the aviary, Tilda hot on his heels.

"What are you going to do, Da?" she asked, having to practically run to keep up with his long strides.

"I don't fully know yet, but I intend to be at the gates of Erebor before the first rays of light come over the mountain in order to find out what is going on!" He looked over at his daughter and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Best put on a pot of strong coffee, daughter….for it's going to be a long night." And taking his leave, he headed for the soldiers' barracks, eager to inform them of his plan.

Whoohhoooo, First of all, Kili and Tauriel are pretty much on the same page now. No official words were said, but she gets the idea and he didn't think she looked too upset by the thought. Now they just have to get through this little thing with a few orcs and BLAMMO...LOVE!

And Dis got her prisoner and she really knew just what to do to get him to talk. I think Bifur and Gimli cringed a bit at her methods. ha ha.

And now we have Bard in the mix. Smart ravens! What will happen now?

Guest Reviews:

Guest: I think Dis is looking forward to getting a prisoner too. I hope Gimli and Bifur take the time to wrap it up all pretty with a bow for her. ha ha.

Emrfangirl: First of all, your idea about Thorin pretending to be Dwalin made me laugh. Unfortunatly, he never gets in a situation where he has to love up on Bergie...or tell his friend what happend later and then get his face punched because of it. ha ha. Dis is indeed terrifying, and agreed...why WOULD Nori take a key on a mission? Glad you enjoyed Frerin thinking his five little sticks would warm them all night. He is so cute.

abc: Yes...Kili did TRY to get his feelings all out in the open. Darn that luck that kept it from happening. Dis is doing well, and yep, Thorin is stuck in his own dungons. Dwalin WOULD get a kick out of it, if it were not like treason and stuff. ha ha. I do love the ravens...they are so helpful and sweet. And you want a headless dwarf by the end of all this, do ya? I will see what I can do. Thanks

Guest: Thanks for the WOW.

Guest: Well...I think it all stems from me hating to wait. I hate to wait for other people's stories to post...so why make you all wait too long for mine? I'm a people pleaser I guess. Hope you liked this one!

Aranel Mereneth: Dis is the best for sure! I mean she GAVE us Fili and Kili! That dam can do no wrong. And I am happy you like the ravens too. They are fun.

Feu d'Argent: (for chapter 105-108) Yes, you can do both. Be terrified AND like the plot. ha ha. I will never stop spoiling you...until the story ends that is. 'suck it up and blurt it out'? Oh man, that had me laughing. Fili would indeed loose his mind if he saw Sier all kicking butt and taking names. ha ha. oh man, that would be funny if Tauriel thought courting beads were some frilly thing and that Kili was trying to sissy her up. was the Rocky joke becuase he was once made of stone? ha ha. Your Gatsby party sounds fun...glitter it up gal! I think I can find a reason to put Tauriel in a dress eventually. Thank you so much for ALL your reviews and your kind words!