"…for he is such a disagreeable man, that it would be quite a misfortune to be liked by him."
― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

"Why haven't you brought my nephew to me?!" shouted Thorin, his voice echoing in his sister's parlor. It was not the cowering maid's fault that Fili had yet to arrive, but the king's patience was wearing thinner by the minute.

"Sit down, Thorin," barked Dis. Giving the girl a gentle smile, she dismissed her with a small nod before turning on her brother. "Seriously, Your Majesty. Have you lost all ability to control yourself while I was gone?"

"I called for your son more than an hour ago," he said with a frown. He could not fathom his sister's indifference at Fili's absence.

"I imagine that his attention is dutifully occupied," she said with a shrug.

Thorin's expression darkened. "Yes, I imagine that it is," he growled. Standing quickly, he strode toward the door with heavy, purposeful steps.

"Don't you dare!" shouted Dis, hurrying after him into the hallway, but the king made no attempt to slow down. Thorin did not stop in his pursuit until he reached the door to Gloin's home. Dis trailed behind him, her breath coming in puffs as she tried to keep up with him.

"Leave the poor girl alone," she hissed, grabbing Thorin's arm to drag him away from the door

Scowling, Thorin yanked his arm out of her grip. Without knocking, he threw open the door to Gloin's font room and stormed in. Lifa sat alone near the fire in a wingback chair, her blue eyes wide as she stared back at her intruders.

"My King," she gasped, dropping her needlepoint from her trembling fingers to the table beside her as she stood and attempted to curtsy.

"Where is he?" Thorin thundered, his eyes wildly searching the room for Fili hiding behind the sofa or under the table.

"I'm sorry?" squeaked Lifa.

"My nephew, Prince Fili," he said, stepping closer to Lifa so that he was glaring down his long nose at her. "Where is he?"

"I-I-I don't know," stuttered Lifa, her gaze not meeting his.

Narrowing his eyes, Thorin beared down on her, searching her face for any indication that she was lying to him.

"I don't know" she said again more forcefully than before. "I haven't seen him all afternoon."

"I don't believe –" he began.

"Leave her alone," snapped Dis, grabbing him by the back of his overcoat and drawing him away from Lifa. "He is not in here."

Thorin allowed his sister to pull him into the hallway, but did not tear his eyes from Lifa's flushed face until Dis rounded on him.

"What are you thinking, shouting at the poor girl like that," she snapped, her hand fisted in the lapel of his coat.

"She is not being honest," he growled.

Dis scoffed, gripping his furs tighter as though she wanted to throttle him. "I believe it is my son you should be growling at, not this young lady. Go check the training arena once more. He loses track of time down there."

Thorin's scowl deepened. Prying his coat out of her grip, he turned and stomped down the corridor to find his nephew.

The silence was stifling as Lady Dis sat in her parlor and waited for Thorin to return from his second sweep through the mountain searching for Fili. Hiding a smile behind her teacup, she surveyed the young lady sitting primly in the sofa across from her. Lifa was truly a beautiful girl, the perfect companion in height and feminine demeanor to counter Fili and his proud strut. But at the moment she was meek, which was not something that Dis had anticipated. Lifa was careful not to meet her host's eye, allowing Dis the opportunity to watch her openly as she chewed nervously on the inside of her cheek and fidgeted with her gold bracelet. On the table between them sat Lifa's tea, cold and forgotten.

"Your bracelet is lovely," said Dis, breaking the weighty silence. Lifa flinched when she spoke, her breath catching audibly, before she looked up at Dis with a sheepish expression.

"May I?" asked Dis, gesturing toward Lifa's wrist. She hoped that the smile she was giving the girl was an encouraging one. Such smiles did not come naturally to the Durin family.

Biting her lip, Lifa obliged, extending her arm across the table so Dis might take her hand and get a closer look at the bracelet.

It was narrower than most dwarven pieces, almost as dainty as elvish jewelry, but the design was distinctly dwarf made. Dis recognized the knotted design to be that of the house of Durin, but not that of the direct heirs. Inlaid between the gold lines was green opal from the heart of the very mine beneath them.

Dis smiled, releasing Lifa and sitting back in her seat. "It is Erebor made, is it not?"

"Aye," answered Lifa softly. "It was my grandmother's."

"Did your grandmother live here?"

"She did. She was sister to Lord Gròin and Lord Fundin. She left Erebor when she married Norin of the Iron Hills."

Dis nodded in response. She wracked her brain of any memory Gròin and Fundin's sister, any tidbit to keep the conversation going. Lifa had barely spoken since being brought to Dis' parlor – not that she blamed the poor girl.

Clearing her throat, Dis regarded Lifa as she continued to stare at her feet with pink tinged cheeks.

"I apologize for my brother's behavior," she said."

Lifa nodded, but still refused to meet Dis' gaze. "It is no worry, My Lady," she said quietly.

"Perhaps not," Dis said skeptically. "But that does not give Thorin the excuse to act like an animal – King or not."

Lifa finally looked up with a slight frown and her brow furrowed. "I understand why the king is angry," she said slowly. "It is not Fili's fault –"

Just then, the door to the parlor opened, making Lifa yelp as though she expected the Thorin to come storming in brandishing the Orcist.

Dis gave Lifa a humored glance as she rose to meet her son. "Fili, my goodness, it is good to see you," she said, meeting him near the door. Her eyes lingered on his collar which was tucked under on one side as though he had put his tunic on in a hurry. His braids were smoothed, but perspiration dampened the strands around his forehead, making the little hairs curl like a halo.

"Mother," he said happily, wrapping her tightly in a hug and pressing his lips to her cheek. "It is so good to have you home. I have missed you these six months"

"Yes, I could tell by how quickly you came to see me," she teased, laughing at his brief sheepish expression. As quickly as it appeared, he replaced it with a frown.

In a motherly gesture, Dis moved her had from where it rested on Fili's shoulder to his collar, straightening it so that it lay smooth against his neck. "So serious," she said softly so only he could hear. "Don't try to look too much like Thorin, it might stick. "

Fili's frown remained in place, but his eyes twinkled at her comment. "I believe that is the intent," he replied.

Dis rolled her eyes, but bit back the retort that threatened to surface. She missed her boys and their carefree exuberance. It seemed like just yesterday that they were children leaving Ered Luin, rune stones in hand, promising to slay a dragon for her. So much had happened in just three years, but Dis could not reconcile that the young dwarf standing before her was the next king of Erebor. If only Thorin had a son of his own to save hers from such a fate.

"Come," she said, taking Fili's hand, aware that his attention had already moved to the redhead standing nervously across the room, "Sit and visit with Lifa and I so we can come up with an excuse for your absence. Your uncle will be raging like a bull when he returns."

Thorin's anger with Fili had yet to fade when it was finally dinner time. His friends had years of practice dealing with the king's mood swings, so it was no surprise to him that they gave him a wide berth at the table, clustering instead around Dis at the other end.

He knew Fili was lying to him. Thorin had returned to Dis' rooms after scouring the mountain once more to find his nephew visiting with the ladies as though he had been there all afternoon. The story Fili gave him, that he had joined Kili and Gimli in Dale at the last minute, was absolute rubbish, but Thorin could not prove otherwise.

He glared down the table at his nephews' smug expressions. They were skillful liars, much like their mother, and they knew that Thorin was not clever enough to catch their slippery tales.

To his left, the door opened and Thorin fixed his piercing gaze on the late arrival. Signi slipped into the room, her eyes darting down the length of the table. The king's lip curled when he realized that she was trying to find a seat closer to Dis.

With an almost unperceivable growl, he kicked the chair next to him out from under the table and gave Signi a jerky nod toward it.

Her face was pale in the firelight, but she held her chin up and moved to the chair with measured steps.

"I have had enough of liars and meddlers tonight," he spat, gesturing with the hand holding his wineglass to his family at the other end. "You are honest – impertinent, but honest. Tell me something to distract me from this crowd."

Signi's eyebrows rose, but her lips remained pursed in a frown.

Thorin gave a long sigh. He instantly regretted his poor attempt at starting a conversation. With a dismissive wave, Thorin began tearing into his meal, not waiting for Signi to reply.

Dinner was a quiet affair on Thorin's end of the table as he and Signi each remained silent while the others joined Dis' conversation. Thorin half listened to his sister as she spoke of their friends and family still living in Ered Luin. With some prodding from Dwalin, she talked about the long journey through the shire and along the East Road. In the years before Smaug, the caravans from Ered Luin would take a northern pass along the borders of the Grey Mountains. Following the Battle of Five Armies, orcs swarming Gundabad made that road impassable. Taking the East road doubled their journey, but it was the safest option. When Dis mentioned her gratitude for the elf maid that escorted them around the woodland king's realm, Thorin shot his nephew a bristling glare. Kili grinned like a fool, ignoring his uncle's displeasure.

Despite Dis' animated retelling of her travels, Thorin spent most of the dinner watching Signi glare holes into her plate as she picked at her food. What few attempts he made at conversation were cut short by her curt replies. Her eyes were mutinous and her mouth was pulled in a taut frown. Signi spent much of her time in his presence frowning, but never had the king seen such an expression of unrestrained anger.

He realized that his foul mood must have rubbed off on her and the gruff way he had ordered her to sit beside him had been misconstrued.

"I apologize for my rashness," he said low enough that only she could hear. "I have not the talent to converse easily with others, especially when my patience has been tried by all those I trust."

Signi nodded solemnly. Thorin sighed with relief, taking her action to be understanding.

"Nor I the talent to follow orders given without thought or reason," she replied with nonchalance. "Perhaps you should take it upon yourself as I have and practice."

Thorin snapped up his head, his eyes boring into hers. Signi's expression had smoothed, but the tone her voice had taken was scathing.

Before he could retort, Signi rose from the table, nodding politely to those sitting closest to her, and moved to one of the benches in front of the fire. As dinner was over and the plates were being cleared, the other dwarves followed her suit until all but the king had settled around the fireplace with their pipes.

Thorin scowled as he continued to watch Signi. All of the frowns from before were gone, but her shoulders were tense and her jaw clenched when she thought no one was watching. He did not know what her cryptic words meant. If she was referring to his rude demand earlier in the evening, he could forgive her. But if she was referring to orders he had issued specifically for her protection, he would sooner lock her in the mountain than allow her ignore his authority. Her safety was not to be trifled with, not even by herself.

Thorin finally tore his eyes away from Signi when Dwalin began leading the dwarves in song. It was a festive number that they all knew, and soon the whole group was singing loudly. The king remained in his chair as the others sang, slouched and with a slight smile. He was finally allowing himself to relax until his sister spoke.

"Lady Signi," said Dis from her seat between her sons. "My brother tells me you are a lovely singer. You must give us a song."

Signi raised her eyebrows and turned slowly to Thorin. "Your brother has exaggerated my abilities, I assure you," she said.

"I do not lie," he growled from the table, his lip curling at Gimli and Kili's snickers. He had revealed this fact about Signi after a long interrogation from his sister. He had not, however, expected her to share this revelation before all of his family and friends.

"You do have a lovely voice," he added quietly.

In the firelight, Signi's flushed cheeks glowed. Thorin considered for a moment what she would look like in the roaring hot light of the forges, her skin encased in the golden glow and a fine sheen of perspiration. It was not an unpleasant image.

Signi hesitated, her eyes searching as she tried to decipher the king's ever changing mood. Thorin stilled his expression. He may have allowed himself to enjoy her company and her talents, but he would not have the others in his company know this dangerous territory that his thoughts had been turning to of late. Signi was intriguing and infuriating all at once. The great Thorin Oakenshield had not the time or patience to contemplate such a lass, but if he did – if – Signi would no doubt provide his mind ample occupation.

The other dwarves spoke at once, each adding their own compliments on top of the king's and encouraging her to sing. Knowing when she was beaten, Signi finally rose before them, wringing her hands.

"Do you have any requests?" she asked.

"Sing your favorite," said Dis with an encouraging smile.

With a nod, Signi cleared her throat and began to sing. It was a quiet song with no accompaniment, but her voice held clear and true.

Well I recall his parting words

Must I accept his fate

Or take myself far from this place

I thought I heard a black bell toll

A little bird did sing

Man has no choice

When he wants every thing

We'll rise above the scarlet tide

That trickles down through the mountain

And separates the widow from the bride

Man goes beyond his own decision

Gets caught up in the mechanism

Of swindlers who act like kings

And brokers who break everything

The dark of night was swiftly fading

Close to the dawn of day

Why would I want him just to lose him again

We'll rise above the scarlet tide

That trickles down through the mountain

And separates the widow from the bride *

By the end of the song, Signi's voice begun to waver with emotion. Her audience remained silent through the final note, save for the discreet sniffs from several of the company and Dwalin honking loudly into his handkerchief.

Thorin could not see his sister's face, but he was sure that she felt the gravity of the words more acutely than even he did. After losing a husband, brother, and father to war, and nearly losing her sons and other brother, Dis was the rock of the family. Some compared her to a pillar standing strong in the gale force winds of war, but Thorin believed that she was solid like the granite foundation holding the very mountain to the earth. Nothing could wretch Dis from the ground as she stabilized the family she had built upon it.

Signi continued to stand before the group seemingly unsure of what to do next. "Would you like me to do another one?" she asked hesitantly, her worried eyes trained on Dis.

With a weak laugh, Dis rose and walked to where Signi stood. Without warning, she wrapped the girl in a tight hug. Signi's eyes were wide above Dis' shoulder, but after a few beats, she rest her hands lightly on the lady's back.

"You truly are a lovely singer," Dis said as she pulled away. "You must sing us another, but make this one a happy song."

"I can't believe you did not get caught," said Lifa that night as the girls readied for bed. She was dressed in her long white nightgown, seated at the vanity as she brushed her coppery hair.

Across the room Signi was still in her dinner dress, propped up on pillows with her nose buried in a book.

"There was nothing to catch," she said, not lifting her eyes from the page she was reading.

Lifa rolled her eyes. "You are lucky that Fili found you in time. I have heard about the king's temper. He does not let those who defy them off easily."

"Let him find out. Then he can send me home and I can be free from this prison."

"Don't start that again," groaned Lifa. She had not heard Signi mention the Iron Hills in more than two weeks, which was a reprieve from the constant whining at the start of their trip.

Signi tossed her book aside and sat up straighter in the bed. Her expression was challenging. "What is there for me in Erebor? I don't care about riches, I am not allowed to fight, I can't even leave the bloody mountain. "

"You have the library," said Lifa, smirking at Signi's darkening expression. "And the king."

Signi narrowed her eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Lifa shrugged. "I was hoping you could tell me. You are the one who sits with him at dinner every night."

With a frustrated growl, Signi jumped off her bed and shoved her feet into her boots.

"Where are you going?" Lifa asked, puzzled by her sisters's sudden action.

"Out," snapped Signi as she stomped out of the door.

Lifa chased after her, skidding to a halt in the hallway. "You know the King doesn't want us wandering at night. You're bound to get caught"

"Good!" shouted Signi over her shoulder.

Signi's footsteps clumped loudly on the stone as she walked through the deserted halls, but she made no effort to quiet her heavy steps. She had no destination in mind. She just needed to get out of her stifling quarters to clear her head.

So much had happened that day. Between the shock of Dale and Thorin's moodiness, Signi found her own thoughts on the king to be too soured to care about his blasted rules.

"Mahal," she muttered into the dark corridor. "The king as stubborn as a damn ox."

"I wouldn't let him hear that," said a voice behind her.

Spinning around, Signi caught sight of a set of brown eyes twinkling in the faint torchlight.

"Dammit, Kili," she hissed, rubbing away the soreness in her chest where her heart had stopped just moments before. "You shouldn't sneak up on someone like that."

"And you shouldn't be roaming the halls alone at night," he retorted.

Signi looped her arm in his. "I am not alone. Let the king say I broke his stupid rules now."

The prince frowned at her words. "Surely you must know that Uncle does not make such rules without good reason."

"If the king has a reason for imprisoning me, I know not why," she grumbled. "Surely you would have some insight."

Kili shook his head and scrunched up his nose. "I am afraid not. Thorin's thoughts are an impenetrable as this mountain."

"So only a dragon could break down his gates?" Signi joked.

Kili chuckled. "Exactly."

"Hmmm," muttered Signi, with a sidelong glance at her companion. "I suppose it is time I learned how to breathe fire."

The prince's barking laugh echoed down the hall, earning a series of shushes from Signi. A guard immediately came around the corner to check on the noise.

"Is everything all right, m'lord?" he asked Kili, his stiff gaze fixed on Signi as though she was holding the prince at sword point.

"Yes, yes. We're fine," said Kili, waving his hand dismissively.

The guard continued to stare at Signi until Kili cleared his throat irritably. With a short bow, he turned and returned to his post, his armor clinking with each step.

The pair fell into a fit a giggles as soon as he disappeared around the corner, each attempting to muffle the sound in their sleeves. When they composed themselves enough to walk, they continued moving down the hall.

"Where are you going?" Signi finally asked. She had not noticed it at first, but Kili had a large pack and bedroll on his back.

His smile instantly disappeared and was replaced by an unreadable expression. He was slow to answer, his brow furrowed as he considered his words.

"I am going out for a bit. Down to Esgaroth and maybe a bit beyond that," he said.

Signi pondered this answer. It was more cryptic than his usual responses, which was far more annoying than it should have been. She thought they had a developed a nice friendship.

"Does the king know that you are leaving?" she asked.

Kili snorted. "I am sure he does now," he said, gesturing toward the spot that the guard had appeared. "It does not matter. He cannot stop me."

Signi's eyes widened in surprise. "Why would he try?"

They had reached the gates before Kili responded to her question. "I told you before that my uncle has not forgiven me for my distraction during our journey."

Signi nodded, remembering that conversation from her second day in Erebor.

"She is out there now, in Esgaroth waiting for me. We do not have many opportunities to see one another. Even now, she is chancing her own king's wrath by spending a few extra days outside of the woodland realm."

His words took Signi by surprise and she was not able to stop her gasp before it escaped. She had not expected his distraction, as Thorin considered it, to be outside of their race. And if she was to take his mention of the woodland realm as any indication of the lady's background, Signi definitely did not anticipate her to be an elf. Mahal, no wonder the king did not approve.

Kili was not fazed by her reaction. Very few knew of his unusual relationship and none approved. Fili and his mother tolerated it, but dwarves were not a welcoming race – especially in the case of elves.

With a sad smile, he clapped her on the shoulder and turned to leave. The guards did not stop him, nor did they question his departure. Signi watched him walk across the bridge and down the path toward Dale. It pained her that he might mistake her shock as judgment.

When his form finally disappeared down the sloping road, the darkness masking his journey, she allowed the guards to close the heavy doors and returned to her room.

*Scarlet Tide – Alison Krauss, Cold Mountain Soundtrack.

Did you think Signi was going to get caught? She was lucky this time, but she might not be so fortunate next time ;)

This chapter was pretty tough to get out. I keep wanting to work ahead on the more interesting bits. There wasn't much Lifa and Fili in this chapter. I will make up for it in the next, I promise. They are too cute to not write about!

Let me know what you think. I live for reviews and I thank each and every one of you for the wonderful feedback I have been getting :)