Three years later, on Fíli's twenty-first birthday, the entire kingdom of Erebor was buzzing with life and energy. This was to be a great event in the kingdom- for the two princes would be making their first public appearance in all the many years since the royal halls had been closed off. A great celebration was to be held in the royal hall itself, the entire kingdom and even visitors from outside of the mountain had been invited, and it was all to celebrate one thing- the naming of Prince Fíli as heir to the throne of Erebor.
Fíli, of course, had wanted this ceremony done in private, and Thorin would not have protested; however, hundreds of years of tradition dictated that the ceremony must be performed in public, and despite the obvious issue Thorin had to acknowledge the sense in this. Erebor's citizens wanted to see their future king for themselves.
The night before the coronation, there was barely a soul in Erebor sleeping. The excitement was running high throughout the kingdom, and even the royal halls were not peaceful that night. The servants hurried about, preparing the halls for the coronation which were to take place in just a few hours. So busy were the servants throughout the hall that the silent cloaked figure that slunk through the doorway nearly went entirely unnoticed.
Nearly.
"Where d'you think you're goin'?" A voice hissed directly next to the cloaked figure's ear. The man jumped back in alarm, his hood falling back to reveal Kíli, whose dark eyes were wide as he stared at Nori.
"If you're uncle was here you'd have been caught already," Nori frowned critically. "Haven't I taught you anything?"
Kíli sighed. This venture had only been his fourth time sneaking out of the royal halls. Nori had been helping him, but it was quickly becoming apparent that Kíli wasn't quite an expert in sneaking around yet. "I did everything right this time," he protested, unable to keep a chilDísh pout from his face.
"Wrong. You didn't check to see that you weren't being followed- that's one of the most critical things of all. And," Nori sighed, looking as if he were in pain, "the most basic."
"Well, I'm sorry. I know, I ought to focus. I just have a lot on my mind, especially about today…" Even though it really wasn't the time, Kíli couldn't help the tiny smile that spread across his face at the thought of the events of the upcoming day. Nori rolled his eyes.
"Sure. And you can just stay holed up in your room for the rest of your life, of course…"
"I'm sorry!" Kíli exclaimed, not even the Nori's obvious exasperation completely sobering his good mood. "I do want to continue sneaking out. Although…" He grinned again. "Maybe after tonight there'll be no need to."
Nori rolled his eyes at the young prince. "Sure. But your uncle will have your hide anyway, especially if he finds that you aren't in your room this morning… in two minutes."
Kíli's dark green eyes widened in alarm, and Nori simply smirked as the boy promptly bolted away with barely a hasty farewell called over his shoulder before he was gone.
Kíli sprinted down the corridor, passing alarmed servants and calling good mornings as he ran. He reached his bedroom just in time, for only seconds after he Díscarded his cloak at the back of his wardrobe Dori's sharp knocking sounded at the door.
"Prince Kíli?" He called, and Kíli leapt across the room and onto his bed, rolling around so that his sheets twisted into a Dísorderly mess, as if he had really slept in it.
He tugged his boot off and Díscarded it under his bed, and only answered after Dori's second inquiry for him. "Yes?" he called, remembering too late to Dísguise his voice with the syrupy drone of the recently awakened. He winced at his own absentmindedness, hoping he hadn't given himself away.
"Sorry to wake you, sir," said Dori, and Kíli winced when, after a considerable degree of tugging, his boot flew off of his foot and across the room, knocking over an unlit candlestick on his desk. The two objects fell to the floor with a clatter, and Kíli could picture Dori's bewildered face on the other side of the door.
"Ah, it's alright, Dori," Kíli called, hastily replacing the candle on his desk and shrugging off his heavy coat and shirt in one go. "I've been up for hours, really."
"Ahh…" Dori trailed off as Kíli, attempting to change clothing while concealing his previous attire under his bed, tripped and fell to the ground with a crash and a muttered Khuzdul curse that wasn't quite quiet enough. "Well, I just wanted to remind you that it's time to get ready. The halls will open soon."
"Of course, Dori," Kíli returned, pulling himself up and attempting to go on as if nothing had happened, kicking the coat under his bed with no small degree of animosity. Hastily, he brushed off his dress coat and trousers, checking himself over in the mirror to ensure that he hadn't put anything on backwards. "Believe it or not…" he said, taking no more than ten seconds to strap up his boots and straighten his red tunic before pulling open his bedroom door with a bright grin. "I was just about to go out."
Less than ten minutes later, Kíli was once again tearing through the hall, laughing brightly as he passed the busy servants around him. Somehow he managed to avoid colliding with anyone in the crowded hallways- somehow, with all the bustle going on, the serving staff seemed to have tripled its usual size, although Kíli supposed that was to be expected from a party- a real party! He had never been to a real party before!
"Oi, where you off to, Kíli?" Bofur called merrily as Kíli nearly collided with him when the toymaker turned a corner. Kíli simply laughed, hardly pausing a moment.
"Haven't you heard, Bofur? It's coronation day!" And then Kíli was off again.
All around him, he was witnessing thing that couldn't remember having ever seen. People around him were stringing up banners, setting up tables and arranging seats all around him for guests. As Kíli burst into the hall that the party was to take place in, he was awed to find Gloin and Dwalin each carrying up two huge tankards of ale and setting them on one of the tables. These were all relatively mundane occurrences, all necessary in preparing for a celebration, but to Kíli they were all knew- he had never seen them before.
And army of men each carrying a stack of at least ten plates marched by, and Kíli had to stop and watch- who knew that Erebor had even had so many plates? He couldn't help but wonder why anyone would ever need so many Díshes- certainly why the royal hall would even have so many in their possession. This was the first party that Kíli could remember; the first one in years.
In delight, Kíli continued sprinting around the room, stopping every so often to inquire as to what this did and what that was used for. Many of the people he questioned but up with his inquisitiveness generously, but with some level of amusement; and Kíli couldn't help but think that they didn't understand. Didn't they see how big of an event this was? For years, the royal halls had been empty of nearly all life aside from the royal family and their most trusted servants; it had been pure isolation. And now, that was all coming to an end- the halls were being opened up to the public, and for the first time, Kíli would be actually allowed to have real interactions with people whom he hadn't grown up with his entire life. Finally, he would actually be able to see the world; and he wouldn't have to sneak out to do it.
Fifteen years; for fifteen years of his life, Kíli had been isolated from the world. And now, for the first time in… well, forever, that was coming to an end. And he couldn't be more ready. How could he not be excited?
"Kíli!" his mother exclaimed after he nearly collided with poor Groa, Gloin's wife, as she carried a pile of cloth taller than her head across the ballroom. Dís, who had been trying to help direct the servants as to where to put the numerous decorations, was regarding Kíli sternly, but her eyes shone with amusement. "Calm down before you hurt someone!"
"I can't, mum!" Kíli exclaimed, seizing his mother by the hand and twirling her around the ballroom. "I'm just too excited, I can't even hold still!" Dís laughed openly now as her son spun her. Kíli paused and grinned widely. "D'you like it? I've been practicing my dancing for tonight." He smirked mischievously. "Just imagine me, mum. I'll be the handsomest one there- put all the other boys to shame! All the ladies will be falling over themselves to dance with me, the charming, mysterious prince Kíli!"
Dís laughed. "Kíli, darling, I think a bit more practice might be in order before tonight. Spin the ladies like that and they'll simply twirl right away!"
Kíli snorted. "Hopefully Fíli will be there to catch them, in that case." For the first time all morning, he fell silent. "How… how is he?" he asked after a moment, and Dís sighed softly.
"Fíli is very nervous. This is as much his first public appearance as it is yours… and he has much more to worry about."
"Of course," Kíli nodded. Being christened heir and all had to be wearing on his brothers nerves. "He'll do fine, though, of course. I know he will."
"Of course he will," his mother sighed. "Everything will be fine. Your brother just has… a way of allowing his nerves to get to him."
Kíli nodded wordlessly, playing with the end of his shirt. His mother caught his movements and slapped his hand away. "Have you any idea how long it took to hem that tunic specifically for the coronation? One tear and you'll regret it for the rest of your days, little boy," Dís scolded. Kíli held up his hands in surrender, laughing as he jumped back.
"Alright, alright mum, I'm sorry!"
Dís smirked, waving her son away with a hand as her attention was unexpectedly diverted to a crooked banner on the other side of the room. "Don't knock anyone off the mountain, Kíli!"
Kíli resumed his wandering, his questioning and his exploring; but he found that after the conversation with his mother about Fíli, his heart simply wasn't in it as much anymore. He still never saw his brother- on the rare occasions he did come out of his rooms, he never spoke to him, and Fíli never even glanced his way. It was clear to Kíli was his brother wanted nothing to do with him whatsoever, and so Kíli left it at that. However, did that mean that it didn't hurt a bit every time his name was mentioned? Well, of course not.
He wasn't lulled into a melancholy by any means, but even so Kíli soon found himself wandering away from the party preparations and into the portrait rooms in which he clearly recalled spending so much time as a child. As a young boy he would talk to the pictures- pretend that they were his friends. He remembered that he used to tell them secrets…
He paused at each portrait, recalling the names that he had given each figure in the many afternoons he had spent here. How lonely he had been… but he shook off the haze of memory, reminding himself that that wasn't the case anymore. The royal halls were being opened today- after fifteen years. Kíli knew for certain exactly what this meant; his days of being along were over.
Tonight was going to be his night. He was going to be noticed, he wasn't going to be alone anymore- and he didn't even care whether or not Fíli glanced his way. His brother could be left to his own isolation if he wished, Kíli wasn't going to interfere.
Far on the other end of the royal halls, cut off from even the servants' quarters, Fíli was just as restless as Kíli- but for an entirely different reason. Today should have been a joyous day; instead, it was the day that he had been dreading for months.
He knew exactly how this day would end; he had lived it in his dreams a thousand times. He would lose control- somehow he would lose control, his powers would slip out, and it would all be over. That was Fíli's greatest fear, and even though he knew that fear was his enemy he couldn't escape it.
"Fíli, darling…" his mother said softly from the other side of the room. Fíli spun around, surprised, and regarded her with his cool blue eyes. "It's almost time," Dís said quietly, taking in her eldest sons nervous face and his hands, which she could tell were shaking slightly no matter how Fíli tried to hole them still.
"You shouldn't be nervous."
"How can I not?" Fíli asked quietly, turning his gaze towards the floor. "I know… I know that if I fail, if I lose control, then everything will be ruined- I'll be ruined, you'll be ruined, uncle will be ruined, and Kíli…" He bit his lip. "I can't let that happen. I need to control it, I need to. How could I not be nervous?"
His mother took a few cautious steps towards him. "I believe in you, Fíli. I know that you're capable of doing this." Tentatively, almost as if attempting to touch a frightened animal, she reached out a hand. It took Fíli a moment to realize what was happening, but the moment he did he jumped back. He didn't miss the hurt on his mother's face, and it hit him like a pang in the chest. Sometimes, he really would love nothing more than to simply hug his mother.
But he couldn't. He couldn't risk hurting her. He could never hurt her. He could never hurt anyone.
He had to control it tonight. If he didn't, then he would hurt everyone; he knew that. So he would be strong; he would be brave. He would conceal the magic, he would keep himself closed off and emotionless. He'd put on a show for the masses- because he knew, one wrong move… one wrong move… it would all be over.
Slowly, he turned his gaze up to meet his mothers, and his face was firm and steady. A small smile crept across Dís's face. "There's my good boy," she murmured, and it was clear that she wanted to do something- hug him, kiss him, even touch his hand- but she simply turned, and she was gone.
Fíli gave her a moment to walk away before he steeled himself with a deep breath. Finally, walking purposefully to the doors, he threw the open and strode out into the corridor.
It was time and even though Kíli was nervous- no, terrified was the better word- he could feel fire running through his blood and he knew that this was his chance. This was his dream- this was his chance to live. It was just for one day- tomorrow, everything would be back to normal, and his life would be dark again. But for today, everything was perfect. For the first time in forever, he was free.
It was time, and he was ready. He'd show them exactly what they wanted to see. He knew how to be the model prince. Today would be hell, but he knew that he could deal with it. He'd do it for Thorin's sake, and for the sake of Erebor. They would not know- he would conceal, he would not feel, and they would never, ever know. And in a day, it would all be back to normal.
For the first time in fifteen years, the doors connecting Erebor's royal halls to the rest of the kingdom were opened.
AN: Sorry I took so long to update! A huge thank you to everyone supporting this story so far- you guys are the reason I write! Next chapter: Smaug the… seductive?