A soft morning breeze brushed gently through their hair which caused them to wake up very early the next morning. Kate found herself still snuggled up close to Thorin.

"Good morning," he whispered and gently stroked her cheek. She leaned in for a kiss until they reluctantly got up to dress again.

She watched him and chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

She stepped closer and reached for his hair. Carefully she picked some leaves out of it and giggled, "I thought it might be a bit too suspicious with these in your hair."

He chuckled and caressed the back of her neck until he pulled her into another kiss again. Once they broke he said,

"Nevertheless we should continue with our training tonight."

Kate nodded and whispered, "Alright—now, I will go first. I'm certain some of the others are already awake and—I don't want them to know. Not yet."

"I suppose that would be wise. Now go, we'll meet at the balcony," he replied and smiled before she turned around and walked up through the garden and into the main building.

"Where have you been?"

Kate nearly got a heart attack as she entered her room and found her sister sitting in her bed.

"What are you doing here, Lindsey?" she breathed and watched her confused. The young one leaned against the headboard of the bed and watched her older sister suspiciously. "I couldn't sleep last night and—I just wanted to talk a bit, but you didn't come back from training. So, where have you been?"

"I—I couldn't sleep and—and I was outside," Kate tried to explain without revealing the truth. She really didn't want any of them to know about Thorin and her, for she was not even certain what exactly it was.

"Alone?" Lindsey asked with a cocked eyebrow and a cheeky grin.

"Uhm—yeah?"

Both fell silent until Kate added, "Why couldn't you sleep?"

Lindsey shifted a bit as she replied, "First I was thinking about my birthday. You know—I have no idea what day we have. Am I already eighteen or will I be within this week? Even today? I don't know—that made me feel sad. I was so happily looking forward to that day and now—"

Kate lowered down next to her and pulled her into a tight embrace and placed a soft kiss on top of her head. "I'm certain Gandalf or Lord Elrond might know what date it is today. How about you go and ask them?"

Lindsey chuckled. "Wow, I thought about all possible ways to find out but I didn't think about that!"

They chuckled until Kate asked curiously, "Fili and you—you are happy together, aren't you?"

The young one nodded with a warm smile on her lips. "He's handsome, funny and—I simply love to watch him and Kili together. And—well, he treats me like his Princess. Which I am, to be precise."

"You always dreamed about your own Prince and now you have one. That's amazing," Kate chuckled and ruffled through her sister's long black hair.

"And what about you? You never wanted a King—"

"Who says I have one?" Kate asked with slightly blushed cheeks. The room was not that much lighted by now so Lindsey missed her sister's pink cheeks.

"At least he's warming up with you. Who might have thought that he gives you sword-lessons? And you don't go on each other's throats that often anymore. I think that's a good sign!"

Kate nodded with a smile and snuggled up to her sister.

The Company met at the balcony for having breakfast together. Lindsey and Kate both entered and while the young one lowered down between Kili and Fili, Kate lowered between Bilbo and Bofur. She could see that Thorin watched her for a second with an admiring look, but Balin began to talk with him and so he led his attention back to his old friend.

Kate's gaze drifted to Lindsey and Fili. They looked so unbelievable cute together and she saw that they were both still a bit awkward.

'Young love—'Kate thought with a warm smile and began with her breakfast.

"Thorin, I was looking for you! On a word, please!" Gandalf's voice boomed up. None of them had seen him the past days and already wondered where he might be. Especially Bilbo seemed to be relieved to see the wizard again.

"Whatever it is you have to say, I'm certain you can tell us all," Thorin replied determined. Gandalf cast a glance along the Company and finally nodded in defeat as he began,

"I advise you to move on as soon as possible. The best would be in three days. That's when I'm in a council with Lord Elrond. You should take that chance to leave so you won't risk being stopped by anyone."

Thorin thought for a moment before he shifted a bit. "If Lindsey is feeling better we can move on—"he cast a glance at the young girl awaiting her answer.

"Uhm—I think three days are fine."

"So be it," Thorin looked up at Gandalf who seemed to be satisfied with the decision. He turned to leave the balcony again but Kate got up and approached him.

"May I ask you something?" she whispered and he bent down to her.

"Everything, my dear."

"Do you know what date it is today?"

He chuckled before his warm, blue eyes rested on her. "I do, indeed. It's the second of July."

Her eyes lit up and a smile curled her lips. "Thank you, Gandalf!"

He nodded and finally left the balcony. Second of July meant it would be Lindsey's eighteenth birthday on the next day. Kate turned and lowered down at the table again.

"What did he say?" Lindsey asked.

Kate shrugged as she replied, "He doesn't know—"

Lindsey nodded a bit disappointed, unaware that Kate was already mentally planning a surprise for her sister.

At late afternoon Fili and Lindsey slowly walked up to their secret hiding place high above the valley. It was a very warm day and she leaned against his chest while he gently stroked along her arms.

"Can I ask you something?" she whispered and he nodded. "Is Kili fine with—well, with you and me?"

"Of course he is! Why shouldn't he?"

She shifted to look into his eyes until she shrugged. "I just thought—maybe he feels a bit lonely while we're together up here."

Fili chuckled and caressed her cheek. "Though we share a lot of time with each other, he accepts that I want to be with you sometimes. I mean, it's not as if he'd be alone. He has the whole Company to entertain them and he loves it."

Lindsey felt a wave of relief wash over her. It was by now that Fili placed his hands on her waist, shifted a bit and finally she felt his hands run through her hair. She closed her eyes and enjoyed it until he took some strands of hair and began to braid it slowly.

Lindsey's heart pumped faster and a smile showed up on her face. Once he finished the braid he took a small hair clip made of crystal in the form of a butterfly and attached it to the braid. Finally he placed a kiss on the back of her neck. His beard scratched a little and caused Goosebumps to cover her body.

She carefully took the braid in her hand and watched it with amazement. "That's beautiful—"she breathed and examined the clip. The sunlight refracted in it and the butterfly shimmered in rainbow colors.

"My mother gave it to me once. Kili has one as well. Our mother made them for us, so we can give them to the person we—we—like a lot," he explained a bit nervously.

Lindsey turned and looked into his eyes while her hand caressed his cheek. "It's the most wonderful gift, Fili—"she whispered before closed the gap and captured his lips in a long and gentle kiss. Once they broke it she asked, "Do you have another hair clip?"

"Hmm, yes. I have one made of leather with a silver ornament. Thorin gave it to me while I was still a dwarfling. It belonged to my father. Why do you ask?"

"Can I see it?"

He nodded and reached into his pocket to reveal a clip just like he had described. She took it and examined it for a moment. Suddenly she turned and knelt next to him. She could feel her heart nearly breaking out of her chest. Slowly she reached for his hair with trembling fingers.

Fili watched her and could see how nervous she was. She took some strands and whispered, "I never did this before."

He smiled encouragingly and finally she began to braid. Once she finished she attached his father's hairclip to it. His heart was racing and he watched her so full of amazement while his hand reached for his new braid.

"That's perfect," he whispered before he captured her lips in a deep kiss.

"Damn—"Kate grumbled as Thorin disarmed her the third time in a row. That he chuckled about her misery didn't make it any better. "Stop it!" she snapped.

"I thought you like the sound of my chuckling," he said with a cheeky grin. "Tell me, are you angry?"

"Angry, frustrated and—oh, I practiced so hard and I just can't manage to disarm you," she sighed while he approached her.

"Anger is perfect for sparring, but you should still concentrate. If you're in trouble on the battlefield and you let you mind wander—it means more trouble to you."

She frowned but he raised his sword again and charged for her. She blocked his blow with a fast move. Their swords clashed in air over and over again.

They were not aware of the young couple watching them from a hiding place. Lindsey wanted to watch the sparring of her sister, so Fili and she were hiding above the meadow.

"Your uncle is a good fighter—and they seem to be a bit closer as well. Did you hear what he said about his chuckling?" Lindsey whispered with a cheeky grin.

"Aye, and he wants her to become a perfect fighter," Fili replied and shoved her before he gestured down to the fighting pair.

Thorin managed to disarm Kate once again. She grumbled even more and picked up her sword.

"All right, maybe we should stop for today?"

"No! I'll make it!" she replied determined.

A grin appeared on his face. "Fine, let's make a little competition."

"Competition?" she asked curiously.

He nodded and approached her even more. "If I disarm you once more, I will ignore you for the rest of our journey—"

Her eyes grew wide in shock until he leaned in closer to whisper into her ear, "But—if you disarm me next time—"

Lindsey and Fili were dying to know what he whispered to her. Kate seemed to be happy about her price and they both raised their swords again and attacked. This time it took them a bit longer until Kate whirled around, ducked from his strike, tripped him and finally managed to disarm him. His sword dropped to the ground a couple of feet away.

"Yes!" she cried out in triumph. He chuckled and picked up his sword. He slowly turned to look at her. She grinned cheekily and said,

"I guess you owe me something—"

He approached her; his hand gently stroked the back of her neck until his lips finally met hers in a long, deep kiss.

"I knew it!" Lindsey whispered happily and gestured Fili to leave.