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Chapter 16

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Several days after leaving Erebor, King Thengel and his returning men were intercepted by an Eored of Rohan, riding hard in the direction of Erebor. This unnerved the Horse Lord, for he could only assume this meant there was trouble in his realm. Yet, when the captain, a man named Haffa, delivered his urgent message, Thengel was elated.

"A SON?" he gasped, a proud smile gracing his lips. "Yet, my wife was not due for several weeks still. Are they both well?"

"Very much so, my lord," Haffa assured him. "I am told it was quite a shock to the queen as well, yet they do say babies have no sense of time and come when they wish. Still, you have a fine healthy son, and Lady Morwen is doing quite well. We came to alert you in hopes of you returning all the sooner."

"I thank you for your efforts, and I will indeed be hastening our pace in order to see my new son and heir all the sooner," Thengel assured them, all prepared to signal his men to ride once more. Yet, he was halted by his captain clearing his throat, getting his king's attention. "Yes, Falsted?"

"I was thinking, My Lord," he spoke up. "Perhaps those in this Eored might know of the Lady Jade's cousin," Falsted suggested, gesturing to the new group of riders assembled in front of him.

"Ah, yes, thank you for reminding me," the king nodded, turning back to Haffa. "Might there be a soldier in your ranks with the name of Brayden? A man who hails from a village between the Dunlands and the Gap of Rohan?"

"Yes, I have a soldier by that name," Haffa stated, looking perplexed by this inquiry. He quickly turned and called out the name, whereupon the man in question came riding forward.

"You have need of me, Captain Haffa?" the man asked, appearing uneasy about being singled out for an unknown reason. His eyes grew even wider when it was the king himself who chose to answer his question.

"I am led to believe that you have a cousin, that goes by the name of Lady Jade, is this correct?" Thengel asked.

"I…I do have an adoptive cousin who is called Jade, though none of our family were high-born, My Lord, thus the title of Lady confuses me," he stammered. "Is she in trouble or in any danger? For I have not had word of her in some time and was indeed becoming concerned."

"It is my privilege to inform you that she is indeed well, and currently living in Erebor," the king stated.

"EREBOR?" Brayden gasped. "How in Middle Earth did she end up there? My mother informed me that she journeyed to the Blue Mountains, but said nothing about a trip to Erebor!"

"She is a dwarrodam, is she not?" Thengel chuckled. "And many dwarves live in the Lonely Mountain…so why not her?" At his words, several within earshot began to murmur and whisper amongst themselves, obviously intrigued by the idea that female dwarves did indeed exist.

"Aye, My King…yet, well, to me she was always just my cousin, I can't say the fact that she is of another race hardly ever crossed my mind," Brayden admitted. "What is she doing in the dwarf kingdom, if I might ask."

"Apparently being courted," he informed the man. "For I was informed that she was consort to King Thorin's heir…Prince Fili."

"WHAT?" This news nearly had Brayden falling off his horse, something that was quite unheard of in the Rohirim. "She is to be married?"

"This is what I was told," Thengel nodded. "I take it you are shocked by this news?"

"Very much so, Your Majesty," Brayden nodded. "And the idea of her in a strange place, all alone, worries me greatly."

"Then I suggest you take a few weeks leave and go see for yourself that she is well and being taken care of," Thengel offered, turning to address his captain. "Falsted, you will be recognized by the king and his soldiers, thus I am sending you and a small contingent of men along with him. Not only will this aid in being granted an audience, but be safer for you all upon returning."

"Yes, My King," Falsted said with a bow of his head.

"Thus, I wish you success," Thengel told them, nodding to each in turn. "Yet, I have delayed long enough, and now wish to return to my wife and son. May we all be granted the swiftness of the Mearas," he said, speaking the common words of farewell for his people, before kicking his mount into action and calling for those around him to ride.

This left Falsted, Brayden, and seven others behind, watching as the riders disappeared over the next rise.

"It will be several days ride back to Erebor," Falsted said, turning his attention to the young soldier. "I would hope that during that time you might be willing to inform me as to how a beautiful dwarrowdam found herself being raised by men. I am willing to bet it is an interesting tale."

"I would be happy to relate our family history, Captain Falsted," Brayden nodded. "Just as long as you are willing to tell me all you can about my cousin's condition and living arrangements with the dwarves. I know she is of their kind, but to my knowledge, she was just as ignorant of their customs as I am. I would hate to think she is being taken advantage of in some way."

"That did not appear to be the case, though I met the lass only briefly," he surmised. "Still, I will leave the final say in your hands. Just please, do not cause a diplomatic issue with the King of Erebor…we just managed to form a friendly alliance with the dwarves, and I would hate to see it all undone by the actions of an outraged relative."

"I will do my best," Brayden promised. "Yet, I will not stand by and see my cousin mistreated in any way or forced into some commitment she does not wish."

"Then let us be on our way, for the sooner we arrive, the sooner you can have your mind set at ease," Falsted suggested, raising his hand and signaling for the others to follow, the nine of them now heading back to the Lonely Mountain.

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Back in Erebor, Fili was quite delighted with the amount of time he had been able to spend in Jade's company, and her reactions to his attention. Gone was the silence and avoidance she had offered him days before, and in its place was smiles and laughter, as well as hours of pleasant conversation. Fili was more than pleased.

He was also happy that his brother's wound was healing nicely, allowing the dark-prince to be up and about, with the aid of a walking cane. Still, Oin assured them all that his gate would improve, and the limp would vanish altogether if he continued to exercise it. Kili was only too happy to do so, already quite fed up with lying around doing nothing.

Thus, several days later - as Fili and Jade enjoyed a lovely picnic at the base of the eastern slope of the mountain - they were not overly surprised to see Kili heading towards them, cane in hand. What did have them perplexed was the group of five youngsters that were following behind him. Fili was a bit reluctant to have his private time with Jade disturbed, especially since he was still trying to work up the courage to ask her for a kiss, but he simply had to know what his brother was up to.

"Has Uncle assigned you a few young guards to make sure you don't trip over your own feet and fall on your face, Naddith?" Fili called out jokingly.

"Ha ha, very funny," Kili replied sarcastically. "No, I was actually helping Dwalin with training today and he suggested I take these lads out and teach them some tracking skills."

"Tracking, eh?" Fili smiled, knowing that all the years he and his brother had spent hunting in the Blue Mountains had made them two of the best. "And what did you have in mind for these young warriors?" He took note that not only were there a few junior cadets among his group, but their cousin Gimli as well, the youngster having just started formal weapons training upon arriving in Erebor with his mother. Gloin had been proud as a peacock when Dwalin had deemed him ready to begin working with axes, his father's weapon of choice.

"I thought a bit of hide and seek would be a fun way to begin," Kili grinned, folding his hands over the top of his cane and leaning on it as he stared at the two of them. "And since I'm a bit limited with mobility…I thought perhaps you would like to help us out."

"Me?" Fili balked, looking over at Jade, who sat beside him on the blanket. "Can't you find someone else to take the lads on a merry chase?"

"Come on, Cousin Fili," Gimli begged, having been looking forward to trying out some of the basic skills Kili had already taught them. "We want to hunt something…or someone."

"You can't let them down, now can you, Nadad?" Kili said, attempting to guilt him into it. "And we can make a game out of it. We'll say that you are an orc…"

"HEY!" Fili protested, looking quite affronted.

"…who has captured the fair maid," he continued, gesturing to Jade. "And we'll see how long it takes these cadets to find you." He then looked up at the sky, gauging the time by the position of the sun. "We'll even give you a head start, but only if you get going right now."

"But we're having a picnic!" Fili continued to protest.

"Time's wasting," Kili warned him.

"Now wait…" Fili groused.

"Come on! We can't let them win, can we?" Jade squealed, leaping to her feet and dragging Fili up with her. "We have to hide!"

And while Fili had originally been dead-set against the idea, suddenly sneaking off and finding a secluded spot with Jade had its appeal. And since she was tugging at his arm, he really had no choice in the matter anyway…so he went. The two headed off into the small wooded area to their left, losing themselves among the trees and tall grass, stopping only long enough for Fili to attempt to cover their tracks…after all, they couldn't make things too easy for the lads.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Jade questioned as she watched him brush away their footprints and break a few twigs and branches on a bush in the opposite direction they were going.

"Back in the Blue Mountains," he informed her, taking her hand as they waded into a small stream, heading up river a bit before exiting on the same side of the bank. "Kili and I would play games like this one all the time, seeing if we could track each other down and how quickly."

"And who won?" Jade pressed, giving a squeak as Fili lifted her into his arms and then proceeded to step lightly across several rocks, not letting his feet touch the ground or leave any tracks in his wake.

"At first, mostly me, but after a while, Kili got better at this sneaky stuff and then it usually ended in a tie," he confessed, setting her down as they made their way through the tall grass. When he found a nice spot, he indicated that they should sit down, effectively hiding themselves among the reeds. "This should offer them quite the chase."

"So now we just wait?" Jade questioned, raising on her knees just a bit to peek over the grass. "Shouldn't we keep moving?"

"Nope," Fili said with a shake of his head. "That would only alert them to our location faster. Sometimes it's best to hunker down, stay silent and wait for them to pass you by or give up. Besides, I was just about to ask you a question before Kili and the others so rudely interrupted us."

"Oh, and what was that?" she inquired, still a bit distracted by the idea that someone was currently hunting them.

"I wanted to know if…well, did I offend you the other day when I was walking you back from the healing halls?" he stammered, the idea having been eating at him for a while now.

"Offend me…how so?" Jade had managed to convince herself that it was all in her head, and that Fili certainly had not meant to kiss her that day, but still, she continued to hold on to that small glimmer of hope.

"By…by being so bold as to assume you might actually have wanted me to…to…" But before he could get the final words out, there came the voice of one of the cadets, not too far away.

"I bet they exited the water here!" one shouted, causing both Fili and Jade to freeze. "Let's go this way!"

"They've found us!" Jade hissed, grabbing Fili by the shoulders and pushing his back against the ground, her body all but on top of his.

"Jade…" Fili whispered, his tone one of warning, but she wasn't listening.

"Shhhhh, stay quiet!" she ordered, covering his mouth with her hand as her eyes darted around them with excitement and fear. It was all a game, sure, but it still had both their hearts beating a bit faster at the anticipation of being found.

Fili was now in a great deal of discomfort, not only because a rather sharp rock was digging into his back, but because he had a beautiful dwarrowdam laying on top of him. And while Jade was apparently unaware of the effect this was having on him…Fili was not. Mahal, she was literally going to kill him.

"They're going to find us!" Jade squeaked, her voice injected with panic, her body moving only slightly, but it was enough to cause Fili to let out a low moan around her fingers that covered his mouth. It was this sound that drew her eyes to his, and the heated look she saw there apparently caused her to consider their current position in a whole new way. "Oh…my," she gasped, quickly removing her hand and doing her best to disengage from the position she was in. Unfortunately, this only seemed to excite the prince beneath her more, and before she could rise off him, his arms came up and wound around her, holding her in place.

"Jade," Fili whispered, yet his voice was deep and husky, his pupils almost completely dilated by now. "You should truly remove yourself…and yet, I can't seem to let you." And it was the truth. He had found himself longing for this very thing for days now…weeks even, and yet he knew the dangers of allowing such intimate contact, especially when the prospect of them being discovered was so high.

"What…what should I do then?" came her question, her wide eyes searching his for direction.

"Kiss me?" he suggested, it being top of the list for his personal desires. Several others came a very close second, but he knew that they were completely out of the question.

Jade opened her mouth and then shut it, only to open it again as she fought for the correct words to respond. Yes, she wanted to comply, to lean down and do just as he asked, but on the other hand, she knew just what dangers surrounded this idea. They were only pretending to court, acting out a play for everyone's benefit, but at this very moment it was just the two of them. There was no one to impress, no one watching, thus making such an action something they alone would share. Dare she? Would it ruin everything…or make it a hundred times better?

Unfortunately, Jade did not get the chance to find out, for right then a red-headed lad stomped into their small hiding place, giving a triumphant shout as he spotted them.

"Ah-Ha!" Gimli cried. "I found you! We win!" He then turned and called for his companions to join him, all of them racing over and surrounding the couple who were still laying on the ground. "We claim victory, rescuing the fair maid from the evil orc!" And leaning down, they assisted Jade to stand, leaving Fili staring up at her as if they were still completely alone.

"Nicely done, lads," Kili complimented, having arrived a few moments later, being hampered by his limp and use of the cane. Yet, when he saw the odd expressions worn by those they had sought as prey, he grew silent for a moment, as if trying to decide how to proceed. "All right, your lessons are over for today," he informed the cadets. "Why don't you escort the Lady Jade back to the mountain, while I assist my brother in fetching what's left of his picnic we interrupted. Now hurry, before I decide to make you all do the fetching and toting for us."

At this, the lads began to scurry off, keeping Jade protectively in the middle of the group, each one talking over themselves as they regaled her with the details of how they found them. Jade did her best to smile and nod along, pretending to be hearing every word, yet her mind was still on Fili's unexpected request, and the way he had been looking at her. And as she turned and glanced back, she could see that the expression he wore had not changed.

Now Jade was really confused!

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"So, Nadad," Kili began once Jade and the cadets were out of earshot. "Did we interrupt something, or is that just one of your many daggers you have hidden there in your trousers?"

Kili's words and joking tone snapped Fili out of his thoughts, causing him to glare up at him in disgust.

"Must you be so crude?" the blond prince grumbled, rising to his feet and dusting himself off. "And yes, as a matter of fact, you did interrupt something…both times in fact! First during our picnic and then just now!"

"How was I to know you two would be smooching?" Kili huffed, gesturing to the section of grass that had been laid flat by their bodies.

"We weren't kissing! Or at least we never got the chance to start before you and your persistent cadets found us! I thought you said you would aid in my quest to discover my feelings for Jade…not hinder it!" Fili accused, stomping off in the direction of where his abandoned picnic still lay.

"Hey! I got you two off alone for a bit, didn't I?" Kili called after him, limping along somewhat slower as he followed. "It's not my fault you did a horrible job at hiding your tracks and the lads found you too soon."

Fili stopped and bowed his head as he let out a long sigh.

"I'm sorry," he stated, turning around and waiting for his brother to catch up. "I'm not mad at you. I'm just really frustrated right now, and you were the only one to take it out on."

"I know," Kili nodded, not taking offence. "And from the state I found you, I'm surprised you didn't punch me."

"I considered it," Fili laughed. "But you're already injured, and we can't have you down with a broken jaw as well, can we?"

"Mahal no!" Kili gasped, his hand reaching up to grip at his chin. "Besides, it would be a true crime to damage a face as perfect as mine!"

"You're impossible, you know that, right?" Fili asked with a roll of his eyes.

"And you wouldn't want me any other way, would you?" Kili grinned, throwing his arm around Fili's shoulders. "Now come on, I'll help you carry in your picnic supplies, while you tell me everything that happened. And please…don't spare the details."

Well now, the game of hide and seek almost took a very romantic turn...too bad Gimli learned his lessons too well and found them. ha ha.

So, Cousin Brayden is on his way to Erebor...what fun could that bring to the party?

And those two really can't catch a break, can they? First Dis, then Kili and now Gimli. Who else would like to break up their chance for kisses? Thorin?

Guest Reviews:

Aranel Mereneth: I will keep posting as quickly as I can! And sorry, dumb is hardwired into the Durins from birth. No fixing stupid. ha ha. As for Thorin's lost princess...well...we'll see... Thanks.