Thank you so much for my awesome reviews!
Sorry for any mistakes in this chapter.
NB – many young hobbits are named in this chapter – most are children of Kíli's first friends in the Shire and most of the others have minor parts in the LOTR and the Appendices, so they're not massively important for this story bar this scene – I just could not help myself as it was so fun to write, thanks to ShivaVixen for the idea!
Read. Enjoy. Review.
Chapter Seven # The Day Before the Storm #
The next morning dawned bright and sunny, and Kíli woke much earlier than usual. The sun was barely showing itself above the soft rolling hills of the Shire, throwing pinks and oranges over the otherwise green landscape when he snuck out of the door to see if he could source some food for breakfast before the others woke.
Kíli had woken up ashamed of his nervousness and timidity the night before, and he was determined to be his usual confident self. Of course, it was a lot easier to think that while everyone else was still fast asleep.
To his surprise, he was not alone outside.
"Kíli…" Thorin greeted him with a warm smile.
He smiled back, trying not to look too shy. For goodness sake, this was his uncle! "Good morning, Thorin. Did you sleep well?"
Thorin inclined his head into a graceful and majestic nod. "I did, thank you. Did you? I believe we displaced you from your bedroom…?"
"Oh, I was fine. I hope I'm not disturbing you?"
"Not at all." Thorin insisted emphatically. "So this is where you grew up?"
Kíli nodded. "Yes sir."
Thorin winced. "Please, do not call me sir. Thorin is fine."
"Alright, Thorin." Kíli smiled. "I was just on my way to source some breakfast for everyone."
"From where, might I ask?"
Kíli gestured down the hill. "Just from the family down the hill. The Gamgees are always up before first light, and Bell is an incredible baker."
"I see…" Thorin nodded, before turning his piercing gaze on Kíli. "You spoke with Fíli for hours last night… Did he tell you anything of me?"
"He told me a few stories." Kíli affirmed, breaking eye contact with his uncle.
"I must admit to you, Kíli, that I do not find it easy to express my emotions. However, I am very relieved to find you alive and well. I have missed you greatly these past two decades." Thorin's even, majestic voice cracked open like a coconut, revealing the pain in the dwarf's voice.
Unsure of how to respond, Kíli smiled a little. After a few moments, he gathered the courage to quietly say, "I'm usually not too bad at expressing my emotions. But then again, usually I know what my emotions are…."
Thorin gave a little laugh, staring at Kíli for a long moment, before stepping forward and hugging him tightly.
For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, something seemed to click inside Kíli's head.
He felt safe with Thorin, and he had felt whole with Fíli.
It was strange, because he had not realised that he had felt endangered or broken without them.
From the strength of the ghost of love that had welled in Kíli's heart during the previous night's conversation with his brother, Kíli could tell that once upon a time, Fíli had been his world. Similarly, the almost strong sense of security that accompanied this foreigner's embrace seemed to back-up Fíli's claims that Thorin had once been his protector, his guardian.
He returned the embrace wholeheartedly, offering with a smile. "I'm glad that you came."
Thorin grinned back. "I am glad that you think so. I want you to know that you were never forgotten, Kíli. And I am very, very glad that you chose to come with us." Then Thorin took a deep breath. "This hobbit of yours…"
"Bilbo…" Kíli felt his defensive side flaring up instantly.
"Will he tell others of our intentions?"
"Not if you don't want him to." Kíli defended angrily, before making his tone milder. "I meant to ask, is this quest a secret?"
Thorin looked at Kíli with interest. "Not exactly, no. But the fewer people who know, the safer we are."
"With your permission, there are three people I would like to tell. They would tell no one." Kíli tried to sound as proper as Bilbo always did, wanting to impress Thorin.
"Saradoc, Paladin and Esmeralda?" the dwarf guessed. As Kíli blinked stupidly, Thorin smiled. "Fíli told me of your friends last night. As long as they do not compromise the quest I see no reason why you cannot tell them. We informed our own kin of our purpose." Thorin finished quietly.
"Thank you." Kíli smiled appreciatively. "Would you like to come with me? To get the breakfast?"
Thorin smiled again, though something told Kíli that the smile did not grace the dwarf's face often. "I would like that very much. I was disappointed that I did not get to speak with you properly last night, though I would not have denied you and your brother the opportunity to talk."
"That's settled then. Oh, are any of the others early risers? Bilbo will know where I've gone, but…"
Thorin smirked. "Though they will all wake upon command, the earliest riser among them is Fíli, and he will sleep until the ninth hour if he goes undisturbed."
"Well that's alright then." Kíli grinned, striding down to the front gate. "Shall we go?"
As Thorin nodded, Kíli led the way down the hill towards Number Three with butterflies in his stomach.
"Do you usually rise this early?" Thorin asked with interest, and Kíli shook his head with a laugh.
"No, not at all! But I couldn't stay in bed this morning." He admitted readily. "I appreciate you granting us a day to put things in order, and I'm sorry that I left so quickly last night….I was a little overwhelmed."
"I do not blame you – we are not the most subtle bunch." Thorin cleared his throat. "I would like to apologise for last night, for attacking Master Baggins. I should not have reacted so rashly."
Recognising that Thorin's apology was rare but unable to brush off an attack on his father so easily, Kíli bowed his head. "I'm sorry for attacking you, too. Oh, here we are."
Thorin remained a few steps behind Kíli as they approached the door.
A small toddler, Hamfast's youngest daughter, responded to Kíli's knock. The smile that appeared on her face as she saw Kíli slipped into an expression of pure shock and she gasped.
"Sam! Oh, quick, Sam, it's a real dwarf! Kiwi's brought a real dwarf, oh come quick!"
"Hey!" Kíli cried playfully as the toddler's brother came running.
Little Sam was only nine years old, and his brown eyes widened at the sight of Thorin. "Oh, a real dwarf!"
"What does that make me then?" Kíli pouted melodramatically.
"You're a dwobbit!" Marigold looked at Kíli as if it was the most obvious thing in the entire world. "You're not a proper dwarf and you're not a proper hobbit, so you're a dwobbit."
"Oh, that will do wonders for my confidence." Kíli scolded teasingly, making the young children giggle as they eyed Thorin with fearful curiously.
"Can we help you, Master Kíli?" the little boy asked politely.
"You can indeed. My friend Thorin and I would like to see your mother, please." Kíli asked confidently.
"Alright, I'll just get her for you." Sam nodded, before squeezing his eyes shut, throwing his head back and yelling as loud as he possibly could "MAMA!"
Kíli laughed, glancing at Thorin's mildly shocked face.
"She's on her way." Sam smiled sweetly.
"Samwise Gamgee! What have I told you about yelling in the house? Oh, good morning, Kíli. What can I do for you this morning?" Bell asked as she came closer with another daughter, pausing as she saw Thorin.
"Bilbo and I have some unexpected visitors and we have nothing to feed them." Kíli explained gently. "I can trade you two deer for two dozen of your sweet bread rolls?"
"Two deer?" Bell looked impressed, despite the wary way she looked at Thorin. "May, run and get me two baskets of rolls, please."
The girl nodded and ran into the kitchen, and Bell studied Kíli seriously.
"You're trying to get rid of the deer, aren't you?"
Kíli nodded. "There's nothing wrong with them at all, but Bilbo and I will be going away for a while, and they won't last until we get back."
"Ah, I see." Bell nodded, looking at Thorin with her hand gently resting on her youngest's shoulder. Kíli did not comment when she pulled Marigold slightly away from the door.
Kíli smiled gently as May returned with the baskets. "I'll bring the deer down later."
"Thank you. If there's anything else that you need don't hesitate to ask us."
If Kíli had waited for a moment after he thanked Bell, he might have heard the frantic whisperings of the two little Gamgees, but he did not wait, so he did not hear anything.
"It is very peaceful here." Thorin stated as they started back up the hill.
Unsure of exactly how to respond, Kíli opted for agreement. "It is."
They arrived back at Bag End rather quickly, and Thorin opened the door for Kíli helpfully, but he chose to remain outside.
Kíli poked his head out of the kitchen window to peer at the older dwarf, who was smoking his pipe with a serious expression.
"Y'alright, laddie?"
Kíli jumped and turned around to face Dwalin. "Oh, yes. Good morning."
"Mornin'." Dwalin returned with an amused expression.
"Breakfast?" Kíli forced himself to keep his chin up despite his nervousness creeping in. He could not remember ever seeing such a fierce figure as Dwalin.
"Please…" the warrior bowed his head and Kíli smiled, grabbing a plate.
"Sweet bread rolls are all we've got, I'm afraid." He explained, but the dwarf smiled.
"That's not a problem."
Kíli glanced out of the window, unsure whether or not he should re-join his uncle.
"Ah, Thorin… Let me guess, you don't know whether or not to go back out?" Dwalin supposed, and Kíli nodded.
"What should I do?"
Dwalin snorted. "That's a good question. Your mother's the only one who knows how to deal with him all the time. Stay in 'ere, lad, I'd like to talk to you."
Kíli grinned and nodded, sitting down in at the kitchen table opposite Dwalin. "What about?"
"Well, I haven't seen you for two decades. And I'd like ta give you a friendly warning."
"Oh, alright…" Kíli frowned slightly.
Dwalin leant forward intently. "Balin would have my head if he heard me telling you this, he thinks it's not my place to say, but I think you should know, and your uncle and brother aren't talking."
Kíli understood instantly. "I won't tell anyone. Except maybe Bilbo."
Dwalin snorted, despite his serious demeanor. "I'm glad you're honest. They both blame themselves, for what happened all those years ago. Thorin blames himself for telling you to run and not hide, and for not reaching the pair of you in time. And Fíli blames himself for not being able to hold onto you."
"But…you said he was still a child himself?" Kíli's frown deepened.
Dwalin sighed heavily. "He was… he most certainly was. I said the two blamed themselves, but I didn't say they were at fault. So if they act a little strangely, bear that in mind. Though don't-"
"Tell them you said anything? I won't." Kíli promised with a sad smile.
Dwalin nodded with a wink. "Now, I've heard that you're not too shabby with a bow and arrow."
"You've heard correctly." Kíli grinned, though he wondered just how much Fíli had told the others. It was not as though anything had been a secret, he did not know why he felt a little betrayed –
"Don't worry; all your brother told us was that the bow's your only weapon, and that you've been happy here these past years…After that, he refused to tell us anything else and disappeared back into that room you were both in to sleep."
That fact comforted Kíli strangely and he smiled. "Oh…"
"You've grown up well, for a dwarf raised by such a creature." Dwalin commented, and something told Kíli that the crude statement was a compliment.
"Uh…thank you?"
Dwalin laughed, and Thorin walked back into the room, addressing the warrior directly, though he smiled at Kíli.
"We shall make use of this day to further prepare for the road ahead."
Dwalin bowed his head in agreement. "What do you have in mind?"
"Sharpening the weapons, making sure that our supplies are fully stocked, resting for those who have come from further away." Thorin suggested. "And of course, allowing Master Baggins and Kíli to conduct whatever errands they have."
"Thank you." Kíli told Thorin gratefully, and the older dwarf bowed his head.
"You are most welcome. Get everyone up, Dwalin." Thorin ordered.
Soon the kitchen and dining room were full of dwarves and a bleary eyed Bilbo, though Kíli was quick to notice who was missing. It took no effort at all to slip unnoticed out of the busy kitchen to his bedroom.
Fíli appeared to have been the only dwarf to have slept there and Kíli watched his sleeping brother for a long moment.
The golden haired dwarf was lying on top of Kíli's bed, but he was so close to the edge if he sneezed he would topple off. Clutched in his hand was the little wooden bow that Kíli had left lying atop of his bedside table, the one he had been found with.
Kíli smiled softly, before walking over and putting a hand on Fíli's shoulder, ensuring that his brother would not fall as he called out to wake him up.
"Fíli-ah!" Kíli yelled as Fíli's hand flew up towards his throat threateningly.
The wide blue eyes softened and then looked horrified. "K-Kíli?"
"Uh, yes?" Kíli stepped backwards slightly as Fíli hastened to sit up.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Fíli gasped, retracting his hands quickly. "I was dreaming, I…I thought yesterday was the dream…"
"Well, it wasn't…" Kíli grinned, quickly getting over the shock of being accidently attacked.
"I'm sorry." Fíli repeated, and Kíli strengthened his smile.
"Don't be. Thorin said to wake everybody. Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, I did…" Fíli smiled, though he did not look as if he had.
"I hope you like sweet bread rolls, it's all we've got…."
Fíli looked at Kíli curiously. "I do…you stole some for me once, from our mother. You were no more than a toddler and I was sick, so she said I couldn't have one. When you saw me crying, you crept into the kitchen, stole a whole plateful and snuck them back into our room."
"I did?" Kíli smiled.
"Yes." A wave of nostalgia came across Fíli's face as he swung his legs out of bed.
As the entire company finished eating, Kíli watched Bilbo from the corner of his eye. His hobbit, his father, was trying his best not to be nervous, but every time Kíli's eyes lit up at some new revelation, Bilbo's eyes grew sadder. At each of Kíli's questioning glances, the hobbit would smile at Kíli comfortingly; something that Kíli appreciated even though he knew it was forced.
Finishing his own bread roll, Kíli turned to his brother.
His brother. That sounded nice.
"I'm going down to see Saradoc, Esme and Paladin to explain what's going on, would you like to come?"
"Oh I see, he's the only one pretty enough to not scare your friends away?" Bofur teased, and Kíli sent a teasing grin back.
"He's related to me, so obviously."
His response cause the dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf to all laugh, and Kíli felt his heart brighten.
"I'd like that." Fíli nodded with a grin.
"I'm not sure that Kíli's companions could handle all of you at once, Master Bofur." Gandalf chuckled, and Kíli raised his eyebrows.
"They could! They just have smaller houses." He defended, and Bilbo rolled his eyes.
"I have to agree with Kíli there, they would probably handle that better than I did."
Feeling much more confident than he had the night before, Kíli led his brother down the road to Esme and Saradoc's nearby house, grinning at his brother in excitement as he knocked on the door.
Fíli looked almost nervous as the door opened.
"Kí- oh…" Esme's eyes widened at the sight of Fíli and her mouth dropped open.
"Hello Esme." Kíli greeted cheerfully. "This is Fíli, my brother."
She blinked, and Saradoc appeared before her, looking just as shocked as his wife pointed at the golden haired dwarf. "Fíli…Kíli's brother."
"His…what?"
Looking at his slack-jawed friends and Fíli's awkward stance and growing blush, Kíli stifled his laugh. "I have a strong sense of déjà vu…"
"Oh, be quiet and get in the house, you stupid dwarf!" Esme rolled her eyes, stepping aside to allow them into her house.
It took Kíli all of ten minutes to describe the events of the previous night to his friends, and when he finished, there was silence.
"So…you're going?" Esme swallowed, hugging her arms around her waist.
Kíli's face fell and he saw Fíli bow his head out of the corner of his eye. "Not forever."
She looked up and Saradoc swallowed. They spoke in fortuitous unison. "We'd go with you, but…"
"Merry." Kíli smiled. "I know."
Esme blinked rapidly and then threw herself at Kíli. He hugged her back tightly as she whispered in his ear.
"I'm happy for you!"
"Thank you." He replied, his throat feeling thick even though he was not saying goodbye.
Not goodbye, not yet!
"We'll come by at sunrise tomorrow morning." Saradoc promised.
"Thank you. Where's Merry, I wanted to explain…?"
Esme sighed. "He ran off with the Frodo and the Gamgees. They were heading to Paladin's, I assume you're going their next?"
"Yes…" Kíli sighed, a little disappointed. Out of all of the hobbit children running around the Shire, Bilbo seemed closest to Frodo Baggins, who would listen to his stories with those big blue eyes and beg for more elvish lessons until the cows came home. Kíli however, was closer to little Merry, Frodo's more adventurous friend and Saradoc and Esme's son.
Esmeralda and Saradoc had named him Merry's guardian, should anything ever happen to either of them, and the day they had told him had been among the best days of his life. If Kili had a little brother figure in his life, it was Merry.
Esme pointed a finger at him. "I don't care if Merry's run away to Brandy Hall for a month - if you leave before telling Merry I will murder you."
"I couldn't leave without telling Merry." Kíli assured her, though he could not help but tease her. "I love him more than I love you."
Saradoc snorted. "That much is obvious."
As it turned out, Merry was not at Paladin's house. In fact, though Fíli and Kíli spent the entire morning looking in all of the usual playing places, they saw no children. Not one.
Kíli was intrigued to discover that this was not too unusual for Fíli, and became distracted by learning about the culture of his people (and the unfortunate lack of children), so by the time he reached Bag End, he had all but forgotten about the mystery.
Bilbo busied himself throughout the day with packing and the like, as well as arranging with the Gamgees to look after the house in case of a visit from the Sackville-Bagginses while they were away. The rumour was planted that Kíli's family had appeared quite by coincidence in the neighbourhood, and that Kíli and Bilbo were travelling with them to visit Kíli's true home.
Late in the afternoon, while all of the dwarves were on various errands, a tiny hobbit child made its way into Bag End, sat down in the middle of the living room, and started to cry.
Bofur was the first into the room, quickly followed by Bilbo and Kíli.
"Pippin? What are you doing?" Kíli frowned, approaching the wailing toddler, who was little more than an infant.
Throwing back his head, Peregrin Took howled, allowing Kíli to pick him up as the tears trailed down his cheeks.
By the time all of the dwarves and Gandalf had convened in the room to try and see what was going on, Kíli's shirt was soaked with Pippin's tears as he desperately tried to console the child.
"Sh, Pip…" Kíli urged the toddler, who looked up with wide eyes.
"Doors!" he whimpered, and Kíli nodded.
"Yes, dwarves. They're nice dwarves, though."
"All here?" Pippin wondered with a sniff, and Kíli nodded.
"Yes, they're all here." Happy that the boy seemed to be calming down, Kíli opened his mouth again, but Pippin screamed loudly.
"NOW!"
Suddenly the door burst open, and a gang of hobbit children toppled in, led by Merry Brandybuck and Frodo Baggins.
To Kíli's absolute shock, they charged at the company.
Pearl Took launched herself at Bofur, grabbing the both of his legs as tightly as she could while her younger sisters attacked themselves the legs of Dwalin and Fíli. The six young Gamgees split into pairs and latched onto the next three dwarves – Balin, Bifur and Ori.
Frodo himself threw himself at Thorin – Kíli admired the child's courage, though he suspected that Frodo had only looked at the intimidating dwarf's legs and not his shocked but glaring face. Milo Burrows eldest son fastened onto Nori's legs, while his younger brother and sister secured Dori.
Hugo Boffin's two children managed to grab onto Dwalin's legs, while Óin and Glóin found themselves 'restrained' by the Cotton children. Estella and Fredegar Bolger grabbed onto Bombur's leg.
The dwarves looked absolutely stumped as to what to do – Dwalin tried shaking his leg to detach Paladin's daughter, but she held on with high pitched screams.
"Merry, Pippin, go!" Frodo yelled as Thorin started to try and pull him off of his leg.
Suddenly Pippin's hands clamped over Kíli's eyes and a small hand grabbed his and started to try drag him towards the door.
"Come on, Kíli!" Merry yelled as Kíli refused to move.
"Let go at once, all of you!" Bilbo yelled, sounding aghast.
"Come on!" Merry cried, and a yelp and a crash from the other side of the room told Kíli that the tiny children had toppled one of the dwarves.
And as amusing as that was…
"That's enough!" Kíli yelled, and Pippin's hands instantly dropped from his eyes. Kíli stared down at Merry, who did not let go of Kíli's hand, though he had the decency to stare down at his feet guiltily. "Meriadoc Brandybuck, you have two minutes to tell me exactly what is going on or so help me-"
"We're res-king you!" Pippin's sister Pimpernel piped up, looking up at Kíli with wide eyes.
"Rescuing me? From what?" Kíli frowned.
"The doors." Pippin whispered, burying his head into Kíli's neck.
"They're going to take you away from us!" Merry cried, his lower lip wobbling.
"What?" Kíli shook his head. "What are you talking about?"
"May, Sam and Marigold heard you. You're leaving us with them, but you wouldn't leave us, so they must be taking you away!"
"Oh… Now this is exactly why I spent the whole morning looking for you, so I could explain this properly." Kíli scolded mildly. "I didn't think that you'd do…this. What is this, anyway?"
"We're rescuing you." Frodo repeated, before smiling at Bilbo. "And then we're going to come back and save Bilbo too."
"Oh, thank you." Bilbo raised his eyebrow.
"Did you stop to think for a second that maybe I want to go?"
"W-what?" Merry's mouth dropped open and he backed away as the hobbit children released their captives in shock, with a few notable exceptions.
"Why would you want to go?" Pearl blinked, if possible tightening her grip on Bofur's legs.
"Because the dwarf you, Pervinca Took, are clinging onto is called Fíli, and he is my brother. Frodo, you're currently attacking my uncle."
"No!" Merry yelled, tears springing to his eyes. "No, no! They can't have you back, no! You're ours now, Kíli!"
Kíli crouched down and Pippin scrambled out of his arms, scampering over to his eldest sister. "Merry, you asked me yesterday about my dwarf family. Well, this is it, or part of it. I have to go on an adventure to see my family home, but I will come back."
Merry swallowed and Kíli glanced outside at the setting son.
"But I'm glad that you all came, because I need you to do something for me."
"What is it?" Pimpernel, Paladin's middle daughter blinked her big blue eyes at Kíli. "We'll do it!"
"Can you keep a secret?" Kíli stage-whispered, and the children all nodded eagerly, while the dwarves looked on. "Now, Bilbo and I are going on a journey with the dwarves, but it's going to be a very important journey, almost an adventure-" at this point Kíli was interrupted by several gasps "-and I need you to tell everyone that there's nothing suspicious about the dwarves. It's very important that no one knows that this is a proper adventure, alright?"
"We'll keep the secret!" Pearl declared, and the others nodded vigorously.
Kíli grinned. "Perfect! Your parents will be worrying; you should probably all run along home or you'll blow your cover!"
Reluctantly the children nodded, before hugging Kíli one by one and leaving until only the Tooks, Frodo and Merry were left.
"I don't want you to go." Pearl protested as she squeezed Kíli tightly.
"I'm sorry, Pearl." Kíli smiled at her and stroked her hair gently. "I'll bring you back presents."
"Oh, presents!" Pervinca giggled excitedly, flinging herself at Kíli.
"Me too?" Pippin hoped as he received his cuddle, and Kíli laughed.
"Of course, you too."
A reluctant Frodo left with the Tooks, but Merry refused point blank to leave, instead pressing himself up against the wall of Bag End.
When Kíli walked up to him, Merry turned his head away.
"Merry-"
"No!"
Kíli winced. "Merry-"
"No! You like them more than you like us, and you've only seen them for a day!" the child yelled, wrapping his arms around himself the same way his mother did when she was upset.
"That's not true!" Kíli protested, crouching down next to his best friends' son.
"They can't just arrive here and suddenly take you away, it's not fair!" Merry cried, suddenly throwing his arms around Kíli's neck.
Kíli shrugged apologetically at the dwarves as Merry cried into his shoulder. "How about you stay here with me for a while this evening? Then you can see that the dwarves are really quite nice."
"Can I?" Merry looked up at Kíli with big blue eyes.
Kíli glanced over at Thorin, who nodded once. "Yes. I expect your parents will come and get you when they miss you."
Merry nodded, tucking his head into the crook of Kíli's neck and glaring at all of the dwarves.
"I hate them." He growled with uncharacteristic anger.
"Merry, that's not polite." Kíli scolded and the child curled up further against his side.
"I have to tell the truth!" Merry muttered grumpily.
Kíli bit his lip and looked sheepishly at Fíli, who smiled and took a step closer.
"You're angry at us for taking Kíli away?"
Merry nodded.
"And you will be sad when he's not here?"
"Yes…" Merry scowled.
"Well, you took Kíli away from us for twenty one years. That made me very sad." Fíli said softly, and Merry blinked, the bitterness disappearing from his eyes.
"You're Kíli's brother? Why did you leave him here in the Shire?"
"There was an accident." Kíli explained quietly. "They thought I was dead. They never thought to look in the Shire."
Merry gasped. "You thought Kíli was dead for twenty one whole years?"
"Yes." Fíli nodded.
"That would be horrible." Merry tightened his grip around Kíli's neck and the dwarf choked.
Loosening Merry's little hands, Kíli smiled down at the child sadly.
"It was." Fíli murmured.
"Promise you'll be less than twenty one years?" Merry pulled Kíli's chin down to look at him.
"I promise that I will try." Kíli nodded with a smile, poking Merry's nose.
"There's a spider in your hair." Merry pointed out, and Kíli brushed his fringe with a light shudder.
"Did you know, Merry, that Kíli used to be so afraid of spiders that he once ran for three miles from a spider that didn't actually exist?"
"That's silly!" Merry giggled.
For the rest of the evening, final preparations were made and embarrassing stories about Kíli were thrown around like Bilbo's dishes. It did not take too long for Merry to forget his anger enough to be intrigued by the dwarves, and he soon seemed far more comfortable than Bilbo or even Kíli did. He even went so far as to scramble onto Bofur's lap when Kíli disappeared into the bathroom.
Saradoc and Esme did arrive halfway through the evening, but they too stayed well into the night. Kíli was very grateful. He knew full well that they were only there to judge the characters of those that he would be travelling with, and he was glad when they seemed to decide that his family were worthy.
By the time the Brandybucks left, Merry was yawning excessively.
"Can I come with you?" he pleaded as Kíli passed him to his mother.
"No, you can't." Kíli laughed softly. "I need you to be the big boy, the ringleader for the mischief makers of Hobbiton while I'm gone."
"Oh, alright." Merry yawned. "I can do that…"
"Good…" Kíli chuckled.
"Well, hobbit children are adorable." Fíli decided as the door closed.
"And very odd." Bofur added.
"I had no idea they would do that…" Kíli admitted.
"Normal hobbit children wouldn't have." Bilbo said quietly. "But their parents were the first hobbits in the Shire to get over their prejudices against others... As children, they accepted Kíli for who he was regardless of his race and they taught their own children to do the same. Like any hobbits, they're still shy of outsiders, but I think that the fear of Kíli leaving was far worse than the fear of dwarves."
Kíli stared at the door thoughtfully.
Tomorrow, his world would change forever.
Tomorrow, he would leave his home, his friends, his family…
Tomorrow, there would be no turning back.
Kíli smiled to himself.
He could not wait for tomorrow.
So, Kíli's excited right now, but what will happen on the quest, and what will happen when he actually has to spend a whole day WITH the dwarves?
Some of the children bit is relevant later on, I won't tell you what but it's there for a purpose other than pure adorableness :P I hope it wasn't too silly?
We've had our first awkward Thorin chat – there will be both nice Thorin and douchebag Thorin in the not too distance future.
From this point on, the story will get a little darker, and also it will also feature all of the company so I hope you like it!
There are so many people reading this story that I get nervous when I update that you won't like it :) so do let me know what you think if you have a few moments :) Thanks for reading!
