Kili, King Under The Mountain

by Sirene71

This a continuation of my other story "Kili Cannot Be Dead." It picks up directly where the first story left off- all of the line of Durin had been killed in BOFA but Aule the Valar would not let that stand...the one most worthy to rule was returned...Kili of course! I intend for this to span many years of his rule. This def. includes Tauriel- I luv fluffy/happy Kiliel ships!

8. Chapter 8

Hello~~our next little chapter! Please enjoy

:)

Chp 31

They walked in silence the rest of the way down the hall until they reached a room where there was an overlook. She recognized this as the room Kili was in the other day when she saw him by a balcony. She looked over the balcony out towards a cavernous space. Light and airy from a few openings in the ceilings she looked down and saw what must have been close to one hundred dwarves hurriedly busying themselves with loading gold and treasures into large buckets on wheels. Busy in their tasks, they didn't even notice the elf and diminutive dwarf at the top of the stairs. "Pretty amazing, huh Tauriel?" Ori asked. Speechless for a few moments, she replied, "wow...all the glittering and sparkling reminds me of the stars I gaze at at night." Ori was looking up at Tauriel in amazement. "From as much as I've read about elves, I just never would have believed it- this amazing horde of all kinds of the most wonderful treasures...and it looks like stars to you?!" he spoke, still dumbstruck and shaking his head. "Well, Master Ori, what is a treasure to you, may not be to others. For us, the stars ARE treasures beyond measure. They are a special gift from the Valar which make them more precious to us than anything of material worth." Ori still seemed amazed that one could ignore the gold and riches below, but just shrugged happily and said "okay." As Tauriel said the words though, her brow darkened and she thought to herself, unfortunately, she knew of one elf that DID value certain gems above many things- her King.

Roused from her depressing thoughts she saw Ori waving to someone. Looking down was the Hobbit, Bilbo, smiling and waving them to come down. Tauriel and Ori descended the long staircase and finally arrived at ground level. "Well...what does an elf think of all this stuff, I wonder" Bilbo asked. "As I told my friend here," she said looking down at Ori, "it certainly is beautiful. And I can see why many races desire it. But it is just not in our being to hold value in things of the like." Ori just shook his head, but Bilbo smiled and nodded, "I understand Tauriel. We hobbits do value our possessions, so, I can see why the beauty and allure of gold and treasure would cause some races to war with each other over it. But, for me...give me a cozy chair to put my feet up, a well stocked pantry," he coughed and looked at Ori; to which Tauriel could have sworn Ori had an embarrassed look on his face. Bilbo continued, "a large garden, endless wine and ale, a hearty stock of Old Toby, and great friends and family to enjoy it with-that's what I consider treasure." Tauriel and Ori smiled, all three lost in their own thoughts.

The other dwarves there, although busy, some finally took note of the unusual grouping standing close by the treasure and had scowling looks on their faces as they went about their tasks. Gloin was there, directing all the dwarves moving busily about but Bilbo didn't recognize any of the other ones, so he quietly asked Ori, "who are these other dwarves?" All three scanned the vast chamber, they could see large dwarves dressed in green outfits staged at the entrances to the chamber; the rest of dwarves that were busily moving about with wheelbarrows were in light tan, comfortable clothes. Ori leaned in close to the other two (Tauriel, for her part, had to bend down to be closer to other's heights); "The ones in green are guards appointed by Dwalin to watch over these others in tan who are going through the treasure. Obviously all the dwarves here came with Dain from the Iron Hills. Others from our own clans will be arriving soon, but with so much to do, we must use Dain's men to help out right now. Kili had Dwalin pick out the ones most loyal to the line of Durin. Those are the ones dressed in green, the soldiers' attire; and they are making sure their is no thievery going on as the treasure is being sorted. The rest are truly Dain's men, the ones in the light tan colors." Tauriel noticed that it was the ones in that color that were giving her the most scowls, so she tried to ignore them.

Bilbo picked up on the color references and inquired further, to which Ori replied, "yes, in dwarven culture, color of attire does matter, it helps denote status and career. Green is traditionally our professional soldiers and warriors color of choice. The royal line favors blues, blacks and purples; as they are the hardest dyes for us to obtain, and conveys a certain status. Red is also a status color- and reserved for those in our most important fields, such as the ones who have dealings with other races, like traders, and those dealing with gold, money and other things of worth. And those in shades of brown are, well...are workers, builders, blacksmiths, and the like." Bilbo looked up and down Ori and said, "hmm...I guess I never really thought about it...but, yes...Dwalin's attire is quite different from Bifur's I suppose. What do your colors mean, light greys and violets?" Ori looked somewhat dejected and said, "well being a scribe, or such other "soft" pursuits, is not viewed very highly in our culture, to put it bluntly," Tauriel patted Ori on the shoulder and said to him smiling, "To my people, knowledge of the past is of the utmost importance. Books are treasures almost as equal as the stars. Plus, I know you to be a strong and brave fighter." To this, Ori stood straight with a self important smile on his face and felt a little better. Bilbo replied, "that's interesting- for us hobbits...we don't care WHAT color our clothes are, just that they are comfortable!" They all had a good chuckle over that.

Ori heard someone calling his name over all the noise of busy dwarves in the room. He looked over his shoulder and saw his brother, Dori coming down the stairs. He gave a slight bow to Tauriel when he arrived at the trio's position. "Lady Tauriel, I see you have gotten the clothes I prepared for you. They seem to be fine-fitting, and that makes me glad. I kind of, er...had to guess at your proportions," he smiled. "So I have you to thank Master Dori- well, a hearty thank you I do give. These are very comfortable (not quite like her elven-made wear she thought- but she didn't let on), thank you so much!" Dori gave her another bow and smiled, "well, fine lady, not just me- Kili had me go into Laketown to search out some better fitting clothes for you...but I did mend and hem them a little bit, here and there," he smiled. "It is very much appreciated, Master Dori," Tauriel said and bowed to him.

"Yes, my brother knows all about the colors and attires to which we were discussing previously," said Ori. Dori looked excited at the prospect of talking about some of his favorite things, but then slapped himself in the forehead abruptly, "darn it all...I would love to stay and chat...but much to prepare for," he winked, "oh and Balin needs you right away in the Throne Room Ori...he said to bring lots of paper and quills." Ori sighed, "I guess I won't be able to go on a tour with you today. Perhaps another time," he sighed again, and hurried off. Bilbo looked up at Tauriel and said, "Well, it looks like it is just us-would you like to accompany me, m'lady?" "Sure," she smiled down at him.