"So, little sister, when are you going to just forgive him?"
Ovila silently turned her gaze onto Chalrim to pin him with her worst glare, but he'd been seeing that glare for many years and was unfazed.
"He's been apologising for the past two days."
Stubborn silence.
"Can't you be the better person? You two always bicker and you get your own back and then everything sorts itself out."
Hazel eyes narrowed and Chalrim just sighed and patted her head.
"Steal something of his and give it back in forty years, just stop making the poor thing suffer – he looks like a kicked puppy."
"I did kick him."
Chalrim stared at his sister and he sighed heavily. "How are you two even courting? It has to be the most twisted courtship in the history of courtships."
"That's what Mister Bofur said," Ovila shrugged and stood from her place at the dining table. "Good idea, though, Chalrim," she smirked and kissed his cheek as she left the kitchen.
"What? What good idea? Ovila? What are you doing?"
The door shut and Chalrim looked at his children for answers, but they just laughed and turned back to their breakfast.
"Whatever happens, we had nothing to do with it."
Ovila was walking down the street, clasping her cloak at the base of her throat as she did, and she quickly made her way to the other side of town. She did frown when she a saw a horse being stabled at the inn, because, as far as she knew, no rangers were visiting and Hilda usually knew about those sort of things. The thought was quickly shaken away as she continued on and was soon letting herself into a house she knew as well as her own. She made sure to be silent as she shut the door and slid off her shoes, hiding them behind Thorin's large boots.
Bare feet made no noise on the stairs as Ovila climbed them quickly, hearing Thorin's grumbling voice in the study beside his bedroom, and she quickly went into Kili's bedroom. It was still a dump and her plan faltered for a second, because how, exactly, would he tell if she'd taken anything? He probably didn't even know what he had, apart from his bow and his arrows, but even she wouldn't go as far as to take those, just as she knew he would never touch her weapons. Something mostly meaningless, but missed would be the best thing and she picked her way through the mess of the room in search for something that met her criteria.
"The time to retake Erebor is nearing, Thorin."
The sudden, unfamiliar voice and its words made Ovila freeze, her eyes widening slightly. Retake Erebor?! That wasn't even possible, not with Smaug guarding the legendary city, and it had to be a death sentence to even attempt it. She forgot her current mission to move closer to the door and she opened it a crack so better to hear the conversation happening.
"I can sense the forces of darkness rising and Smaug must be stopped," the voice continued and Ovila bit her bottom lip tightly. Fear and uncertainty pounded inside of her like a drum and she didn't like where this conversation was going. "The journey will be perilous and long," the unfamiliar voice stated calmly and she frowned deeply. "You must travel over the Misty Mountains, through the Mirkwood, and then you must face the dragon, are you prepared?"
"I have been waiting for this day for many decades," Thorin replied in his grumbling voice and Ovila frowned deeply and pressed closer to the crack in the door to hear more. "I shall gather a force and we shall take back our rightful home."
"How many will be willing to help your cause?" the unfamiliar voice asked and Ovila's heart leaped, tripping with fear and excitement and anticipation.
"I'll find out soon enough," Thorin answered calmly. "My nephews will be most stubborn in insisting they come along, though, I know that much."
The excitement vanished to be replaced with horrible, suffocating, smothering terror and Ovila was moving before her reeling mind made the conscious decision to do so. The voices continued speaking, though the words were unimportant to her now, and she stuffed her feet into her shoes, before racing out of the house and barrelling towards the training grounds. She nearly took down Nori and Dori, but she didn't even stop to apologise in her search for Kili, her Kili, and she couldn't lose him. The quest to retake Erebor was practically knocking on the doors to Mahal's Halls and she couldn't let him go, because she didn't quite know what to without him.
People stared as Ovila ran through the training grounds and Kili yelled in shock when her arms were flung around his neck and her body slammed into his forcefully. He staggered back, landing on his rear, and she just clung to him with all of her strength. She gasped for breath, face pressed into the crook of his neck, and she breathed him in. He couldn't go to Erebor, he just couldn't. She got this horrible sinking feeling whenever she thought about it and she couldn't lose him.
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, just – just – I'm sorry, Kili, I'm so sorry," Ovila rambled and Kili stared at her like she'd finally lost her mind. "I love you, you know, I know I've never said it, but I do and I don't know what I'd do without you, you know that, don't you? I'm so sorry, I'm sorry," she babbled and he uncertainly patted her back in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.
"What's happened?" Kili asked with a frown and Ovila stared at him, biting her bottom lip, eyes big, round, and full of what looked fear.
"She heard something she wasn't supposed to."
It was that stupid voice again and Ovila shot up and spun around to see a tall, thin Man in grey robes and he wore a pointy grey hat on his head. He had a long, white beard that fell to his waist and he gripped a wooden staff in one hand. Despite his stern words, he was smiling slightly and the smile just grew at the defensive stance she took. He had bright blue eyes that glittered with amusement and he chuckled softly.
"You must be Ovila," he stated and her eyes narrowed. "Eavesdroppers never hear anything they wish to."
"I wasn't eavesdropping," Ovila denied. "I was looking for something and happened to overhear your conversation."
"What's going on?" Fili frowned and he and Kili stood either side of Ovila. "What did you hear, Ovila?"
"Your uncle will tell you that," the stranger answered and three sets of suspicious eyes fell on him. "Just know it's a quest of a lifetime."
"A quest?" the brothers repeated and got excited little glints in their eyes that Ovila glared at.
"Stupid boys," she grumbled and the brothers looked at her. "You don't even know what it is and you're ready to throw yourself into the fray!"
"What is it then?" Kili asked, eyebrows raised, and Ovila hesitated.
"It is not her quest to tell," the stranger answered calmly and looked at her curiously. "I shall see you in a year's time," he stated. "Perhaps you shall have made up your minds."
Fili and Kili agreed, of course they did, and Ovila was torn. She wanted to go, wanted to fight for the city her father used to speak so lovingly of, for the city of her ancestors, but the thought of failing, of losing those she'd come to love, halted her excitement and stirred fear deep inside her. It slunk through her veins like a venomous snake, poisoning her with the terror, and she hated it. She had horrible nightmares of being lost in the Misty Mountains, of Goblins and Orcs, of strange, twisted creatures creeping through the trees to attack them while they slept, and she hated herself for her cowardice.
So many people Ovila loved and cared for agreed to go on the quest for Erebor after Thorin made his request for volunteers. There was Dwalin, Balin, Bofur, Bombur, Bifur, Dori, Nori, and even Ori and she'd been furious at Ori for volunteering. All he had was a slingshot, but he wanted to record the adventure, write their quest down so that it might never be forgotten, and she called him an utter fool. Gloin and Oin volunteered themselves too, as did Gimli, but Thorin turned him down on account of his age and Gloin insisted Gimli stay home with his mother.
"Master Thorin," Ovila said quietly, knocking on his open study door, and Thorin looked up from his maps with a deep frown, his heavy brows furrowed over his flint eyes. "Might I have a moment of your time?" she asked with a politeness he hadn't heard from her since she and Kili broke a vase during one of their spats.
"Sit down," Thorin ordered gruffly and Ovila shut the door and sat down in the chair opposite him obediently. "What is it, Ovila?" he asked bluntly and she frowned into her lap.
"I'd like to accompany you on the quest to reclaim Erebor," she announced and lifted her gaze to his. "You currently have thirteen members, which is an unlucky number, so I'd make fourteen and it wouldn't be unlucky anymore," she reasoned and he sighed slightly. "I know you're going to say no, both on account of my age and my gender, but I can fight, you know I can fight, and I want to help."
"Ovila," Thorin sighed and she squared her jaw stubbornly. "You want to go because of your friends, because of Kili?" he asked and she nodded. "Ovila, I know your worth in a battle – you proved that many years ago – but you and Kili both will be distracted if you are both present," he stated and she frowned at him. "Say we come across an Orc party and you have a choice: save Kili or save Oin, whom would you choose?"
"That's not fair," Ovila retorted, anger trembling in the undertones of her voice, and her eyes glinted. "If you were given the choice to save Fili or Balin, whom would you choose?" she challenged and Thorin's eyes flashed momentarily.
"It's different-"
"No! It's not!" Ovila argued furiously, frustrated, and her hands curled into fists in her lap. "You have a conflict of interest, just as I would, and you know it."
"But I will be able to look at things with a rational mind, something you nor Kili possess when you're around each other," Thorin replied in a hard voice and Ovila nearly screamed in frustration. "If you have one of your spats on the journey, it'll create unneeded tension within the group."
"I promise I won't lose my temper with him, I swear it," she was nearly begging, letting her pride go for just a moment, and Thorin sighed and rubbed his temples tiredly. "Please, Master Thorin, please let me go with you."
"I'm sorry, Ovila, but the answer is no," Thorin stated firmly and Ovila glared at him. "You may go."
"May I indeed?" Ovila shot back venomously and stood so sharply the chair scraped across the wooden floorboards. "Thank you for your time, Master Thorin," she spat with a mocking curtsey and left the room in a whirlwind of anger and indignation.
The door shut with a sharp snap and Ovila quickly left the house with rage prickling through her. She didn't even say goodbye to a startled Dis as she made her exit and she fingered the hilt of the small axe at her hip. It'd be so easy to just fling into the window of Thorin's study, but that would just be foolhardy, childish, and idiotic. The thought comforted her a little, though, and she sighed heavily, slowing her angry stride slightly. There was nothing to be done. She couldn't disobey Thorin, no one disobeyed Thorin, despite how much she wanted to, and she rubbed her hands down her face tiredly.
A hand slid into Ovila's and tugged her to a stop. She turned her head to see a grinning Kili and he hadn't stopped grinning since he'd found out about the stupid quest. It both infuriated and saddened her and she silently slid her arms around his middle to give him a tight hug. He chuckled softly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders tightly, and she rested her head on his shoulder. She sighed into the crook of his neck, closing her eyes, and he twined the ends of her long hair around his fingers absently.
"You're not still worried about Erebor, are you?" Kili asked quietly and Ovila just sunk heavier into him. "You have to look on the bright side of things," he stated and she snorted. "We are going to get married in Erebor, we'll be the first ones, and our children will grow up in Erebor."
"Only after you and everyone else have risked your lives to get there," Ovila grumbled and Kili laughed.
"Ovila, we have to do this and we'll be fine," he said firmly and she frowned slightly. "You understand, don't you?"
"Yes, I don't want to, but I understand why you and Fili have to go," Ovila sighed and lifted her head to look at him. "I wish I could be with you that's all," she said softly. "I'm going to be so scared for you while you're gone."
"So, ask Thorin-"
"I just asked him and he said no on account of our relationship," she frowned and Kili mirrored the expression. "He fears that, if we get attacked, we'll be concerned with one another's safety than anything else and he also thinks that, if we get into one of our arguments, it'll create tension in the group that need not be there."
"You're really just going to stay behind? You won't follow us? That doesn't sound like you," Kili teased and she just gave a limp shrug. "You really don't like this, do you?"
"I have this awful feeling whenever I think about it, Kili, like something horrid is going to happen and there'll be nothing we can do to prevent it," Ovila murmured and he let her lean into him with a soft sigh escaping her. "I'm just being silly."
"My mother's the same," Kili answered. "I think it's a girl thing."
"Thanks," Ovila muttered dryly and he just laughed. "I do love you," she whispered suddenly, looking up at him, and his face softened.
"I love you too," he promised.
Ovila couldn't stop the smile that formed on her lips at those words and she silently leaned up and pressed her lips to Kili's. He chuckled softly into the kiss, pulling her closer to him, and her arms looped around his neck gratefully. His kisses still sent heat sweeping through her like a tidal wave and she wrapped her fingers into his hair to keep him with her. How could she ever live without his kisses? How she'd lived without his kisses before their first was a mystifying conundrum and she never wanted to be without him. He was hers. He was all she'd ever wanted before she'd even known she'd wanted him and his touch banished her fears, just for a little while. If she lived, he had to live, because they'd always been together and nothing could ever change that.
I'm not wholly sure if I like this chapter, but I've been staring at it for the past three days and figured I'd post it and see what you all think. Thanks, as ever, for the reviews, alerts, and favourites, means the world :D