A Tale of Swords and Memories

1. Imagine suffering from amnesia and Fili doing everything to get your memories back.

2. Imagine falling into the river in Mirkwood and falling into a deep sleep (like Bombur did in the book). While you're sleeping Fili insists on watching over you.

A low groan left your lips, your head lolling to the side as you began to emerge from unconsciousness. You simply lay there for a moment, an exasperated yet quiet sound escaping your lips as your brow furrowed as you willed yourself to begin moving.

Every single part of your body felt undeniably heavy, like it was weighed down with lead bricks.

But, there was one part of your body that seemed to be rather active and was protesting rather noisily as you lay there. Your stomach grumbled, almost painfully so, and when you began to regain proper function of your limbs, you lifted a hand and rubbed at the offending body part. By the Valar, you werehungry.

"Oi!" A voice suddenly broke through the air, evidently shushing the rest of the voices that had filled the air around you. At first, you hadn't noticed them in your nearly incapacitated state but now realized just how silent it was, "Y/N's waking up!"

Oh, they said your name. That was something new.

After a few more moments of struggling, you finally were able to begin to draw back your heavy lids. And as soon as your eyes began to flutter, you felt someone shift beside you and a warm hand gently touched your face, "Y/N?"

When the battle was fought and won, you found yourself staring up into a pair of immensely blue eyes. They were so clear and bright, shinning in the dim gloom around you; so full of relief and happiness.

They were beautiful, you decided immediately, a pair that you had never seen before in your life but wouldn't mind seeing more often.

"Y/N…" A voice said, evidently the one of the owner of the pair of miraculous eyes. You briefly allowed your eyes to flicker from the blue orbs above you, taking in the rest of the face and found that it certainly wasn't displeasing in the slightest. Andhe, evidently, was smiling up at you from beneath a blond mustache braided over his top lip. His rough fingers stroked over your cheek, drying you back to the present world. "You're awake."

"Well, I am now." You breathed, a soft furrow in your brow as you glanced down at his hand before you were sitting up, pushing this stranger's arm away from you as you went. Your eyes stayed locked on his for a few moments and saw a flash of mild confusion wash over him as you resisted what,evidently, were his affections. "Though people tend to do that after sleeping awhile."

"We never thought you would wake up." Now that you were sat up, you could see that numerous dwarves that sat around in a clearing, their eyes shinning in the dim light that still illuminate the forest.

However, the one who had spoken was on your left.

His hair was a dark brown, almost black as the shadows that populated the forest. His eyes were equally as dark, his pupils almost black in the night. And you had never before seen his face, just as you didn't recognize any of the others peering back at you.

You subconsciously shifted, slowly pulling your leg closer to you so as to not alert the group of strangers you were with. There was a knife in your boot you knew, having kept one there for years incase of instances such as this; strangers andabduction.

It wouldn't be much, the simple little, edged weapon, your palm wrapped around the hilt. You couldn't possibly fight them all off, for you had no clue as to the location of your bow and there was a rather intimidating bald dwarf sitting across the clearing, sharpening a pair of heavy-looking axes that rested in his lap, the whetstone in his large palm scrapping repeatedly over the metal. You wouldn't stand a chance.

"And why wouldn't I have woken up?" You asked, brow furrowing slightly as you shifted, easing the knife out of the sheath in your boot.

"Well, lass. When you fell into the river… And you stopped breathing… We weren't…" A white haired dwarf spoke now, his tone gentle as if the subject was tender. He then sighed heavily, allowing his eyes to flicker towards the blond dwarf at your side. "We weren't sure if you were still among us."

Feeling only another bit of confusion sweep over you, you narrowed your eyes at him, feeling unease settle into your system as the strange group continued to stare at you. There were fourteen of them, you counted. Thirteen dwarves and some other small, strange creature that was small and short like a dwarf but lacked the overall heft and beard of the Maker's children.

Scrambling to your feet suddenly, you brought the knife out of its hiding place and immediately grabbed at the dark haired dwarf, your arm wrapping around his throat as you pressed the edge of your tiny blade into his skin.

"No one move!" You growled, eyes wide as they danced across the expanse of the group. And they didn't, instead choosing to send you looks of confusion and concern.

The dwarf in your arms tensed, eyes going wide for a moment as he held his hands up in surrender at your sudden attack. And yet, even he seemed more startled than fearful of you.

"Y/N?" He asked, uncertainty in his tone as his eyes flickered up and he gave you a nervous smile. He also laughed nervously, "What are you doing?"

"How do you know my name?" You growled, tightening your grip on him slightly and pressing the knife closer.

He simply tilted his head back slightly in an attempt to keep the weapon as far away from himself as possible, suddenly sensing that perhaps, something was off. "I would certainlyhope I knew your name after we've been traveling halfway across Middle-earth together for almost a year on a quest to reclaim Erebor."

You paused for a moment at that as you vaguely recognized the name, "Erebor?"

"Lass, what are you getting on about?" Another dwarf asked, tilting his head slightly while he offered you a humored grin, the ears on his ridiculous hat flopping precariously. "You look just as lost as Thorin did when he couldn't find Bag End!"

"Yeah, Y/N." Your eyes shifted to the blond from before, a furrow in his brow as he watched you with concern. "What are you doing…?" His tone was laced with barely there worry.

Shifting slightly in place, you nervously licked your lips, allowing your eyes to drift back over the group.

"Are you alright, lassie?" The white haired one spoke again, sitting forward slightly in his seat when he saw the strange look in your eyes.

For a moment, you were amazed. You had held a knife to one of the groups' companions and none of the others had failed to even reach for a weapon, save for the large tattooed brute who had stopped eyeing you awhile ago. Why hadn't they even tried to stop you?

"You are acting a bit strange." A ginger dwarf grumbled from where he was puffing away on his pipe. The dwarf beside him, who evidently had an ax stuck into his skull, just barked out what you assumed was agreement in Khuzdul.

"No." You growled back, tightening your grip slightly around the dwarf's neck. He just tilted his head back further and huffed out a breath, his hands coming to rest on the arm latched around his throat. "How else would one reasonably respond when one wakes up in the middle of a bloody, dark forest surrounded by a group of strange dwarves!?"

"Keep your voice down." This dwarf had hair that was black like a raven's feather, streaks of silver flowing through the dark waves. He raised his eyes from where he had been staring at the ground, all the while inhaling the sweet smoke from his pipe. "We do not know what lingers in this forest."

"Did you just say strange dwarves?" The blond asked you, pulling your attention away from the growly beast across the fire. "Y/N, we've known you for almost a year."

Gazing at him for a long moment, you dug around in the recesses of your mind, trying to put a name to his face but found that you could not.

And you watched as his face slowly became more concerned, a frown pulling at his features as he watched you. There was a strange blankness in your eyes, an emptiness that lingered there as if you didn't know him.

You certainly didn't remember this journey that they kept mentioning.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Your voice quivered slightly, fear of this strange talk creeping into your head. "Nor do I know any of you."

"What?" The one with the hat spoke up from before, his lips curling up underneath his mustache as he shot you an incredulous look. "Quit playing, Y/N. It was funny for a minute-"

"What if she's not playing?" It was now the strange little, beardless creature who spoke up. "Gandalf mentioned something about an enchanted river… And she did fall in."

It was quiet for a moment, the dwarves looking back and forth between you and the tiny creature.

"You don't suppose…?" A silver haired dwarf began, rubbing his chin in thought. The others just continued to watch you, narrowing their eyes in thought as they took in your rigid form and how you held their companion so desperately, so fearfully. As if they made one move towards you, you would strike. He was supposed to be your hostage, after all.

And something struck you then… Gandalf?

"Gandalf… as in the maddeningly unhelpful wizard that came trouncing around my home one day, completely unannounced?"

"Yes, he tends to do that." The beardless creature spoke, his tone a bit dry as he pursed his lips. "And it sounds as though… we know the same Gandalf…?" He said, his face taking on a very thoughtful look, his eyes on you the entire time. "What is the last thing you remember?"

Waking up that morning a short while after dawn, as you always had. You'd had some bread and butter for breakfast - no, wait - your aunt had let you open a new jar of strawberry jam because you and your uncle had had a healthy sale at the market earlier in the week. After breakfast, you'd gone out to the forge where Uncle was already fast at work, hammering away on a glowing hot piece of metal that you knew would soon be formed into a breastplate for one of the town's guards. The heat from the forge had been unusually warm, the warmth from the sun creeping through the holes in the wooden roof overhead. After your mid-day meal, Uncle had sent you out, bow and quiver in hand, to collect fresh game for the evening meal. When you returned, there was a man sitting on a stool beside the entrance to the forge. He bore a set of gray robes and a tall pointed hat.

Then, he bade you a hello and then asked you a series of very disconcerting questions about whether it was a good evening or not, to which you only stared back at him with your mouth puckered in an 'o' while your brow was set in a heavy furrow, your mind struggling to keep up with his fast and rather one-sided banter.

To which you replied with a slow, "Good evening…?" and he introduced himself as Gandalf the Gray, who was evidently a wizard, which was a new bit of information that you hadn't known up until then. Naturally, you had to invite him in for dinner, as was proper when hosting a guest. And then, the strangest thing happened.

He pulled you aside out into the forge afterwards and told you about the quest to reclaim Erebor, the lost city that had once belonged to your father's forefathers. And then there was the question as to why he would tell you any of this information and he simply asked that you would join the traveling troop, an extra hired hand to help ward off any foul creatures while also keeping the group fed with your excellent hunting skills.

And that was it.

"He told me about the quest." You said quietly, fading back into reality after a moment of quiet. "And that's it." Your brow furrowed as your grip faltered, your arm loosening around the dark haired dwarf's neck. Easing back up to your full height, you couldn't help but continue to frown.

"That's really all you remember?" The blond asked you again, suddenly looking so disheartened; so disappointed.

And suddenly something inside of you softened slightly at the look in his eyes as you nodded your head, "I'm sorry but that's all."

"How do we help her get her memory back?" The dark haired one you had been using as a hostage asked, his hand subconsciously rising to rub at his throat before scratching at his chin.

"I imagine that the wizard would know." The dwarf with the axes muttered, glancing up briefly from his work, his voice thick with a strange accent.

"Yes but that could take weeks." The same young blond protested, "And who knows how long before we clear Mirkwood and reach Dale where we are supposed to meet him."

"Then I suppose that we'll just have to start over." The white haired one mused, a hand stroking down his thick beard. "My name is Balin, lassie. And this brute next to me," He clapped the bald, tattooed dwarf on the shoulder, earning himself an annoyed look, "Is my little brother, Dwalin."

"At your service." Dwalin grumbled, not even hesitating in his work as he continued to sharpen the ax in his lap.

You simply gave a slow nod of your head, uncertainty in your eyes as you allowed them to rove over the rest of the group to land on the strange little creature from before.

"Bilbo Baggins." He offered and when you continued to just stare at him with curiosity, his lips twitched and his hands fidgeted, "A hobbit of Bag End." A hobbit. Wow, okay. You'd only heard tales of the smaller creatures but hadn't ever seen one in person.

"Pleasure to meet you." You said quietly, bobbing your head politely, the hobbit returning your gesture.

When realizing it was his turn, the silver haired one pipped up, "I'm Dori and these are my brothers, Ori and Nori." He pointed at them.

"Hello." The one who was evidently Ori offered you a soft smile before waving. Nori didn't say anything but offered you a small quirk of his own lips before tilting his head in greeting.

"Greetings, Y/N. My name is Bombur." The roundest dwarf of the group gave a polite bow of his head, "This is my cousin Bifur." He gestured to the dwarf beside him, the one with the ax in his head, "He doesn't speak the Common Tongue due to his injury. And the dwarf with the hat over there is my brother, Bofur."

He winked when you looked at him, "Hello, lass."

"Gloin," The large ginger dwarf barked, his thick arms crossed over his chest. When the older white haired dwarf beside him failed to speak, he elbowed him hard in the side.

"What?!" He clutched tightly to the ear trumpet he held in his hand.

"STATE YOUR NAME FOR THE LASS." Gloin leaned over and nearly bellowed in the poor dwarf's ear.

"Oh!" He exclaimed in understanding, "Oin!"

You turned your head, having nearly traveled across the entire expose of the circle, yet the two on either side of you had remained quiet.

"Fili…" The blond one sighed out in disappointment, his eyes staring unseeingly into the fire.

"…and Kili." The dark haired dwarf on your left said, nearly mimicking the one who was evidently his brother or cousin. Either way they were related with their very similar names.

"At your service." Both of them chimed in unison, their voices sounding nearly drained of energy.

And finally, your eyes rose to the dark haired dwarf across the fire, the one puffing away on his pipe, having acted like he had ignored everyone up until this point but when silence filled the air, he looked directly at you.

"Thorin Oakenshield." He took another long drag from his pipe, "Fili and Kili are my nephews."

Taking a moment to process all the information, you just stared down at the forest floor between your boots. Sniffing your nose, seeing as how you had only just then noticed that it was cold, you sat back down on the bedroll that you had awoken on, sheathing your tiny blade as you went.

"I'm Y/N." You began after sighing. It only felt appropriate to introduce yourself like you would with any other stranger you met. "And I'm a orphaned, half-breed blacksmith who was bid to join a quest to reclaim a lost dwarven kingdom." You said quietly, raising your knees so you could hug them to your chest.

"Yes…" Fili murmured quietly from his place beside you, sadness evident in his eyes, "We already know."

As the next few days passed by, you seemed to fit in well amongst the group. Most all of them seemed to be rather comfortable around you, despite your reluctance to share those same feelings.

You almost always found yourself shoulder to shoulder with Kili, the dark haired dwarf seemingly able to talk endlessly for hours about anything and was your first friend of the Company. And on his other side was Fili, who was, in fact, his brother like you had suspected. You felt you knew him, the blond dwarf. There was something about him that felt strangely enough familiar in the black void that had consumed what was evidently the last year of your memories.

With Kili separating the two of you as the three of you walked along, you knew that Fili watched you. He had been sneaky at first, only doing it once in awhile but the longer you traveled with the Company, the more you noticed it. He would always feign as though he were listening to something his younger brother had to say but his eyes were always on you as the three of you plodded along in a line.

It wasn't until Thorin called his eldest nephew up to the head of the group at one point that you decided to ask the dark haired dwarf about it.

"Kili?" He had hummed in acknowledgement, "Why does your brother stare at me so often?"

The dwarf was quiet for a minute, his lips twitching momentarily and you could see that there was a storm of uncertainty brewing behind his eyes, "What are you talking about?"

"He's always watching me. Makin' sure I don't go off all by myself." You explained, gauging his expression, "Always checking to make sure that I've gotten enough to eat? That my bedroll is always in the center of the group so I'm safest?"

"He is fond of you is all." Kili tried, shrugging absentmindedly, "Before you lost your memory, all three of us were pretty close. Always watching each other's backs. We would always talk to pass the time." The dwarf then turned and looked at you directly, "You were like my sister."

This news took you aback slightly, your eyes searching his own pair and all you saw was honesty.

"He's just a little bit… uncertain around you now. Knows that it's still you and everything…" Stepping closer, the dwarf slung his arm over your neck, drawing you closer to his side in half an embrace. "He's just got to start over is all."

You just glanced up at him slightly, your brows drawing together, "What do you mean 'start over'?"

"Uhh…" He sighed out, biting his lip for a beat as he realized his mistake. Nonetheless, you watched as he steeled himself to continue his explanation, his eyes on his brother walking at the head of the group. "Fee… was a bit more… fond of you than the rest of us…"

You continued to frown, "Okay… Like how fond?"

Kili just licked his lips, his eyes still straight ahead on the blond, "He loved you, Y/N." He said quietly, his tone holding a strange sense of sadness. "And not like a brother-loves-his-sister kind of love. I'm talking about hair-braiding love." His hand that was draped over your neck picked up the lone braid that had been tied into your hair, the origin of it having been a mystery since you had awoken.

A sigh escaped your lips, "Again, Kili. I was raised by my human relatives and have forgotten everything dwarvish that has thus far been explained to me on the journey. I don't knowwhat the braid means."

At those words, he let out an annoyed grumble before releasing his hold on you so that he could look you directly in the face, "It means that he had intentions to marry you, Y/N."

You felt your cheeks drain of all color as he pinned you there beneath his gaze, eyes wide with shock before the brunet was stalking off, the rest of the Company passing you by in your state of awe. That is until Dwalin grabbed hold of your collar and dragged you along with him so as you wouldn't be left alone in the forest to ultimately fend for yourself.

A few hours later, the Company stopped for the night, using what was left of the sunlight to try and find their way through the gloom.

And it was now your turn to watch, your jaw working as you gnawed on a tough piece of jerky that had been offered to you. Because, evidently, the group was running precariously low on food and this was really all that they had left.

He was handsome enough, you supposed. Nicer to look at compared to the human boys back in your village. Broader than most of them. His hair was a mane of messy braids and waves; it would no doubt be pleasant to run your fingers through it. His blue eyes always seemed to glimmer with a pinch of mischief and his smile was always wide and dimpled.

And he was kind to you, that was to say the least. He'd evidently been carrying your bags for you through most of Mirkwood since you had woken up, having not remembered what you had brought with you and procured upon the quest. He was brave and strong as well, you had noticed; very intelligent, too.

What Kili said had been bothering you all day; the whole thing with the braid and the… courtship nonsense.

It all seemed to unbelievable and completely unrealistic, only something that you had only read about in children's books. The idea of finding and marrying your 'one true love'. Even when you were little, it had sounded like absolute rubbish.

But now, every once in awhile, when you would catch Fili staring at you, you could see it then, in those beautiful, blue eyes. And you thought that perhaps, love was not such a foolish thought as you had once believed.

He then rose from his place beside his brother, handing Kili his pipe after one of the other dwarves - Gloin? - asked him to go get firewood. Honestly, you were still trying to get everyone's name down but you knew the two brothers as if they were night and day.

As you watched him go, someone loudly cleared their throat and your eyes found that it Kili who was trying to get your attention. He had his own pipe dangling precariously from his mouth, using neither of his hands to hold it in place, smoke billowing from his nose as he stared over at you, his eyelids heavy from the haze of the pipe weed.

When he caught your eye, he jerked his head in the direction of his brother and you could only frown, tearing off another bit of jerky. Failing to move and follow his request, he raised an eyebrow at you, leveling you with mild glare.

Feeling apprehension sweep over you, as well as a quiet growl of annoyance, you slowly rose from your bedroll and was just about to follow the dwarf into the darkening forest.

"Take your sword." Kili reminded you quietly and you just paused, taking a moment to glare him before you stooped down and picked up your discarded sword, the weapon foreign in your palm. "Never know when you'll need it."

"Yeah, it would be useful…" You grumbled to yourself as you stalked after Fili, "If I knew how to use the bloody thing."

And it was the truth. You had no idea how to use a longsword but had evidently procured one on the quest along the way. And evidently, you had been taught to use it yet you had no recollection after you had fallen into the river. Yet, you still strapped it around your waist, just as a precaution.

It was still light enough out that you could follow him without problem through the trees. Though it wasn't like you couldn't successfully follow him even if you couldn't see him. You were brought on this journey solely for tracking and hunting after all.

You simply remained back, your feet silent on the forest floor as you stalked after him. After about a minute of walking and stopping to momentarily stoop to pick up firewood, the blond stopped before he was dropping his pile before pulling a small ax from his belt so he could begin hacking away at a smaller, fallen log.

You didn't make a sound as you leaned against one of the thicker trees in the edge of the small clearing he was in.

Wordlessly, he just began to work, his back towards you as he repeatedly began to strike the dead tree. You just watched him for a moment, your lips pursed in contemplation. There was a lot you wished to ask him but at the same time… it was terrifying.

You made up your mind then, deciding that it would be best if you just talked to him about it. Perhaps it would restore your memories.

So, you cleared your throat.

Fili spun around to face you, eyes wide as he held his ax aloft in preparation to strike. However, when he realized that it was just you, he took a moment to breathe before he lowered his arm. His lips then twitched upward slightly, his eyes shinning in the gloom before he turned back to his work and began to hack away once again.

"Still as quiet as ever, Y/N."

"I would hope so…" You began, just continuing to lean on the tree for a moment, "Considering that it feels like I was just back at home, stalking and hunting like I have been since I could walk."

"Animals didn't even stop making noise." He commented quietly, "Still never ceases to amaze me how you to that."

"A loud hunter goes hungry." You replied in turn.

"I suppose they do." Fili murmured, never ceasing in his work. It was quiet for a moment between the two of you, the only sound was the wood breaking beneath the blade of his weapon. However, when he continued to just feel your eyes on him, he paused briefly to glance back at you, "Is there something you needed?"

"I just… It's not safe to wander off alone. Especially in this forest." You glanced around at the ever darkening trees before sighing quietly, your shoulders slumping with defeat, "And… I suppose that I wished to speak with you."

"About what?" He went broke off what remained of the tree he had been lopping off, only to start back up on another section. When you remained silent, he looked back at you for a moment. "Did Kee set you up to this?"

"He said a few things this afternoon." You reached up with your free hand to ruffle through your tangled hair, your gaze flickering to your boots. "About… how we were." Glancing up, you met his eyes then and the tenderness that blossomed in those blue irises caused your cheeks to flush slightly. "You know, before the river. And he told me… what the braid means."

"What of it?" He asked quietly as he turned away. If it wasn't for the near silence of the forest and your sharp hearing, you wouldn't have heard him.

"I just-I just wanted to know if it was really real." Your own voice shook slightly with nerves, "Did you really… love me?"

He stood stock still for a moment, his shoulders tight before he turned to look back at you, his eyes holding a very familiar sadness, "More than anything else in this world and the next."

You winced slightly at his words before dropping your head to look at the leaf covered, forest floor. "I was afraid you might say that."

"You have no idea how much I miss you, Y/N." He sunk his ax into the tree and left it there, the handle sticking upright. "When you fell in the river… And we fished you out, you were so cold and pale. I was so scared that we'd lost you." His voice cracked slightly and you lifted your eyes, surprised to find that his own pair was glassy with tears. "Oin did everything. Said you'd be fine after we got you breathing and warm again. But, you didn't wake up. And I carried you and watched over you while you slept, not wanting to miss you waking up so that you wouldn't be so scared when you did. But, Oin was only partially right." Licking his lips, he blinked and a tear ran down his dirty cheek, "And I've lost you in an entirely different way now."

Your heart nearly shattered at his words. He sounded so sincere, so pained. And you were the cause of all of it.

"And I still love you, so, so much, Y/N. You have no idea." He was suddenly in front of you and was taking your hands into his. They were rough you noticed, very calloused; so strong but so gentle with you. And very, very warm. "I'll start over if I have to. Because… I know it's the same you and it's the same me. But, this time around, I'll have loved you from the very start." One of those very same hands rose to gently cup your cheeks, his thumb running over the soft skin that he found there. "All I need is a chance, Y/N."

You just stared up at him for a moment, that same tenderness lingering in his eyes once more as he cradled your face in his rough palm, one corner of his mouth curled upwards as he admired your lovely yet dirty face.

And your mouth ran dry at the love you saw there and you allowed all his words to sink in. He really did love you.

"Kiss me." You whispered, your eyes briefly lingering on his lips.

"W… What?" He breathed right back, blinking a few times as if to clear the haze he had just been in. He must not have heard you right.

"I remember reading a book a long time ago, when I was child. It was about a princess who fell into an everlasting sleep and only true love's kiss could awaken her from her slumber." You explained quietly, your free hand raising to lightly rest on his chest, your fingertips just brushing the soft, tawny fur of his collar. You suddenly wished to awaken your memories, for both your sake and Fili's. "Perhaps it could restore my-"

You didn't get a chance to finish your sentence as he was taking your face into both his hands and pressing his lips against your own. It about knocked the breath out of you, the pleasant feelings that were bubbling force as you slowly and rather uncertainly began to return the embrace. It was strange to kiss him, the act foreign but it wasn't as though you hadn't ever kissed the pelt master's son back in your old village. It was just different.

His mouth was a firm pressure that soon softened, gentling his actions so as to draw you in. You made your own mouth pliant, allowing him to take the lead for he seemed to be the veteran between the two of you.

After a few more moments of your mouths carefully brushing each other, Fili drew back, still holding your head in his hands.

And you searched his face, waited for the memories to return to you and you felt something building up inside of you; something euphoric. But then it stopped and you were simply left to stare up at him, the void in your memories still in place.

He could sense that your old self had not returned, having seen the hope die in your eyes when you realized that nothing had changed. "Nothing?" He whispered, his thumbs still gently stroking your cheekbones.

You just lightly shook your head, a sadness gripping your own heart. For you wanted to love him back just as he loved you. But, that would take time.

"I'm sorry, Fili."

"Then I'll just have to wait." He offered you a smile, though, you could tell that he was disappointed. "I've waited nearly eighty years to love you. What's a few more?" With that he leaned forward and pressed his lips to your brow, lingering there for a moment before he was drawing back to pick up the discarded ax and firewood before he was returning to camp.

You simply watched him go, a soft furrow in your brow as you subconsciously rested your hand upon the hilt of your sword, the motion feeling natural to you but you failed to notice.

"Bloody spiders!" You growled as you tore through the silky strings encasing you.

You'd just been woken from what you assumed was a paralytic, toxin-induced slumber, given how heavy your limbs felt as you tried to move them. You weren't sure how long you'd been asleep, been encased by the huge spiders that had jumped the Company one afternoon.

"I hate this damned forest!"

"You aren't the only one, lass." You were suddenly hefted from the rest of the silk cocoon and placed upon your shaky legs. You looked up to give Dwalin your thanks but found that there was no time, for the spiders were angry that their food was alive and was attempting to escape.

He was suddenly shoving you behind him, pulling his axes from his back as he prepared for the battle to ensue with the venomous beasts.

You just drew your bow from your shoulder and hastily began to fire at your attackers. Your aim was thankfully steady despite the rest of your body's weakness from the venom and the arachnids began to steadily drop, your arrows protruding from the center of their clustering of eight, large eyes.

Soon, there were more dwarves around you, having escaped from their own sticky prisons and had also joined in the fight. You briefly counted them, finding that all thirteen of them were present, both the princes appearing behind you suddenly, keeping watch over your backside and deterring any of the beasts from coming closer. You felt much relief when you realized they were okay.

And suddenly there were elves coming out of the trees, helping to destroy the beasts but you knew about the Mirkwood elves. You'd had a rather thorough scolding by none other than Thorin himself when you had asked why the group didn't justask the elves for help. And he had snapped, telling you how horrible and dishonorable they were. How you should have known that they were your enemies but what surprised you the most was when Fili had barked right back at his uncle, reminding him that, "She can't remember, Uncle!"

Thorin then served himself a slice of humble pie, having forgotten of your memory impairment for a brief moment, his rage for elves momentarily causing him to glaze over that little detail. He didn't say a word the rest of the night and had apologized the next morning.

Suddenly, you were knocked into from the side, sending you falling to forest floor in a heap. Your bow clattered away from you and your sword was flung from its sheath, luckily, it landed just to your side.

You winced slightly from the jolt of pain of hitting the ground, knowing that you would be sore tomorrow. No doubt bruised.

And suddenly, there was no one around you. No dwarves, no elves.

Just you and one huge spider that was clicking at you as it crept closer. You began to panic, your eyes darting back and forth in search of your bow. But all you found was your sword.

The steel glinted back at you in the gloom of the forest, what little light peeping through the trees catching in the silver. You could see yourself perfectly reflected in it, the edge razor sharp and completely lethal. You hadn't even taken it out of the sheath to look at it before now. And it certainly was a beautiful blade, one of fine craftsmanship you noticed.

Reaching out, you hesitantly picked it up from where it lay in the leaves. The grip felt familiar you noticed, as was the weight and balance as it sat in your palm.

"No, you hold it like this, Y/N." You heard a familiar voice echo in your head. Subconsciously, you gripped the weapon tighter and turned back over to face your foe, both hands now gripping the leather hilt. "There's a good lass."

You realized that it was Fili who was talking to you. No,teaching you. It was as if he were placing his hands over your own, ensuring that your grip remained steady and strong.

And suddenly, it was all bleeding back into your mind at once, like a river breaking the damn as all your memories came rushing back.

Meeting the Company at Bag End. Your pony, Flower. Many grumblings from sleeping on the rock hard ground. Many days spent traveling on the back of your pony, your poor rear the victim of the assault. Learning proper Khuzdul from both Ori and Balin. Learning Khuzdul swears from the princes. The incident where Fili and Kili nearly drowned when crossing the river. The bloody trolls. Procuring your sword from the troll horde. Rivendell. The bloody elves. A warm, proper bath. Telling Elrond off when he asked you to wear a dress to dinner (but you complied anyway). Your first kiss with Fili during sword-training. The thunderstorm and the mountainside.Bloody Azog. Bloody eagles and your fear of heights. Hungry. Being chased by a bear which was in fact a man. Big bees and another warm bath. Lounging in the sunlight with the princes. More kisses. Hair braiding. Mirkwood. Hungry and thirsty. River.

How simple of a thing to trigger your memories. Holding the sword that Fili had found for you in the troll horde.

Now with your memories restored, with a mighty battle cry, you plunged your sword up into the arachnid just as it leapt at you. Pushing it off of you, you were wrenching your sword free from its exoskeleton, a triumphant and breathless, if not cocky, smile upon your face.

And that's when the elves began to close in on you.

When you saw them approach, you decided to retreat, spotting the rest of the group just across the long clearing you were in. Sure, now you remembered all your sword training but you weren't going to take on an elf for Mahal's sake.

"Fili!" You called out when you began to jog back towards them, the smile still upon your face.

He finished off the last spider that was plaguing him before he turned to look at you. And you began to run, the grin growing even more as you ran towards him.

And when you got close enough, you were taking his face into your hand and pulling him down so that you could kiss him, both of you breathless from the fight. Instantly, the familiarity and love that you had felt so strongly before had returned and was nearly ten-fold, having been pent up however long you hadn't had your memories while traveling with the Greenwood.

The blond instantly responded, eager for the intimacy that you were giving him. You kissed him with all the passion that you were suddenly feeling, your limbs no longer heavy, your body feeling more elated and euphoric instead.

And when the two of you drew apart, you still remained close, a hand in his hair at the back of his head so that you could rest your forehead against his own.

Your eyes met his, the y/e/c irises lightened with an old light and familiar light that he so easily recognized. His beautiful sapphire gaze pierced your own and again, you were overwhelmed how astonishingly radiant they were.

"I remember everything, my love."

And in your state of distraction with your beloved dwarf, your sword was suddenly wretched from your hand. Instantly, your fuse was lit as you turned from Fili, an angry glint filling your irises as you looked at the brunet elf that glowered down at you.

"I'll have that back, please and thank you." You growled up at the taller creature, your eyes narrowed dangerously. Your sword was one of your most prized possessions after all.

When the male failed to respond you lunged at him, intending on retrieving your weapon yourself, but you were held back by Fili's strong arms, the dwarf behind you chuckling as you began to belt out every swear that you knew in Khuzdul as you fought against his grip.

He could only sigh but nonetheless, he was smiling despite the grave circumstances. He was just happy to have the old you back, "Aye, that's my girl."