Kili's POV

The dwarf prince watched as the young elven princess turned over so that her back faced him, and he sighed quietly as her breathing evened out. It both amazed and grieved him that someone so fair and young, especially for an elf, would have to go through so much pain.

'It is so strange that most dwarves, myself included,' he thought guiltily, 'usually think of the elves as a pure, cold, untouchable race who ignores the call of the weak and feasts in their halls while others starve outside their gates. At least,' he thought, frowning, 'that is how Uncle always put it when he would speak to my brother and I of the destruction of Erebor and the greediness of the elves. But this elf… she's different. She tried to help us when no one else would, and she's saved me more times than I can count.'

"Could it be possible that we've misunderstood your people all this time?" Kili asked aloud, staring at the princess' dark curls.

An unexpected voice spoke up from behind him, making him jump. "It is very possible, Kili, son of Dis. However, do not be fooled by our lady's kind heart. Her kin—the Wood Elves, in particular—are a suspicious and dangerous folk, less wise than their kin in the West." The started dwarf rolled over to see the Grey Wizard standing next to them, watching the pair with deep sadness in his grey-blue eyes.

"How long have you been standing there?" Kili managed, afraid that the wizard had heard Aeyera's confession, and that she would think that he—Kili—had betrayed her trust.

"Do not worry, Kili," he said gently. "For although I heard her story, I turned my attention elsewhere once the two of you entered a more private area of conversation. You still have her trust," he said, smiling down at the sleeping girl, "and rightly so. Am I to assume that she also has yours?" he asked, raising one large, fuzzy eyebrow.

Kili nodded quickly. "Yes," he said, his voice catching.

The wizard bent down, watching the princess to make sure she was really asleep. Deciding that she was oblivious to him words, he spoke to the prince, saying, "You should know, Prince, that the trust of Elves is not lightly given. Especially for those who have been through this kind of pain. I am older than the creation of Middle Earth," he said, "and yet I have known very few Elves who trust any with their story when they have gone through this kind of pain. Fewer still who would entrust their life to a dwarf."

"Why do our races not get along?" Kili asked. He had never known what the true reason was; he had assumed that the anger between the Dwarves and the Elves came from the siege of Erebor, yet now he knew this was not the case.

Gandalf settles himself in a chair, leaning his staff against the wall. "In the First Age," he began, "the Elven king Thingol, of whom Lord Elrond is a descendant, asked the Dwarves of Belegost to forge the Nauglamír. This was a great and precious necklace which the Elven king had set with one of the Silmaril, making the necklace the fairest of all objects in Arda." The wizard sighed, staring off into an age old beyond recounting. Kili listened, enthralled. Never had he heard this tale before. "However, the Dwarves who forged the jewel became envious and greedy; once finished with the necklace, they demanded that in exchange for their work, they be paid with the Nauglamír. They would accept no other form of payment. The Elven king, who would not part with his treasure, replied in an incompetent manner, saying that he would not part with the gem. In their anger, the dwarves slew him, taking the Nauglamír back to their lands with a very different tale." Kili thought back to the scrolls he and his brother were forced to read as dwarflings; of the wicked elves who had withheld promised payment and slaughtered the dwarves in their care. Only now did he see that perhaps the history he had learned was wrong. "The two races went back and forth, the Elves seeking vengeance on those who had killed their king, and the Dwarves trying to take the Nauglamír for themselves. In the end," Gandalf said sadly, tired, "many centuries later, it was Elwing the White, mother of Elrond of Rivendell, who threw herself into the sea to escape the Sons of Fëanor, who tried to take the jewel from her. As she fell, she was transformed into a great white bird and flew to her husband Eärendil. However, the Nauglamír was lost, and had been for many an age."

Kili was stunned. "B-but," he stammered, "how would you know all of this?"

"Because I was there!" He said, as if genuinely shocked that the dwarf hadn't guessed it sooner. "I am older than the beginning of Middle Earth, as I previously mentioned. I have seen nations and peoples older and more mysterious than any that still walk on this earth perish by fire and water and blade. I have seen entire forests grow and wither, and I have seen the mountains being raised from the sea. I am very old, master dwarf. And yet, once again, it has never been heard of that an elf—a princess, no less—would trust a dwarf prince, one whose Uncle is a bitter rival of her father's."

"She's not like other elves," the prince said softly.

"That I know," the wizard said, amused. "Most elves would not come within a league of a dwarf, and yet there is one lying not a foot from you."

"Why me?" Kili asked, confused and tired. "What makes me so special?"

The wizard looked briefly conflicted but leaned forward all the same. The prince copied his movements, sitting up carefully to avoid waking Aeyera. "A month ago," the wizard said carefully, "immediately before your company was attacked by Azog the Defiler, I confronted our princess. I had intended to do it sooner, but due to… unforeseen circumstances, including her injuries and my being delayed in Rivendell, as well as other delays that stretched back even before those, I was unable to do so. While we were being chased by the Wargs and Orcs, I asked her a question, not knowing that she had already answered it nearly two centuries before." The wizard paused, looking down at the she-elf lying asleep on the ground.

"And what… what was the question?" Kili asked, incredibly interested.

The wizard suddenly stood. "Let us not speak here," he said. "Come with me."

Kili quickly stood and followed after the wizard, who led him to a fenced in courtyard outside. It must have been only nine or ten at night, and the moon was bright, bathing everything in silvery light. The stars were alight, and Kili glanced up at Durin's Crown, one of the Dwarves' most prized constellations. The wizard gestured towards a fountain in the center of the yard, which had several wooden benches placed around it.

The wizard sat, arranging his robes so that they wee not caught on any stray splinters, and Kili sat on a bench opposite him. "Please continue," he said.

"I asked her to protect the Line of Durin, at all cost," Gandalf said sadly, ignoring the shocked look on Kili's face. "Of course, I was unaware of how far her actions would go—had already gone, rather. I also was unaware of a… new development."

The dwarf frowned. "Development?" he repeated.

The sorcerer nodded, straying from the topic. "Yes. You see, elves only love once in their life, and they are similar to dwarf women who, if they are unloved by the one they wish to be with, will chose to be alone. Princess Aeyera is one of seven elves to be born in the last two centuries, and she is the youngest of all of them. Each of the other six has found their spouse for life—of the seven, four were female, and three were male. Elves generally take a spouse between the ages of fifty and one hundred; others whose to remain unmarried. For the princess, however, I fear that there are no others."

"What does this have to do with the princess wanting to protect us?" Kili asked, raising an eyebrow. He rubbed his hands together unconsciously; although it was summer, it was quite chilly, especially this far to the East, where winter comes early. It was not as if he was uninterested about Aeyera's story, on the contrary: he very much wished to understand the elf-maid better. This, though, was not how he wanted to find out.

The wizard continued as if uninterrupted. "She believes that she was unable to find love because of her torture and physical appearance—which has changed as of late, if you've noticed." Kili nodded in agreement. She did not look to be the same young girl she had been at the beginning; she looked to be nearly his own age now, although her height had not grown. "And thus she has been unhindered in her duties for the last century or so. Until now."

Kili looked up, conflicted. "Please stop," The young dwarf asked, gripping his right hand in his left. "I don't want to hear this."

"Why?" the wizard answered, raising a bushy eyebrow.

"Because… because if she wanted me to know this, she'd have told me herself," he answered, voice strong.

The wizard smiled as crickets and bullfrogs began to sing again. 'They must have been frightened by us and kept quiet,' Kili thought.

"You are quite remarkable, for a dwarf," he said, smiling happily as he patted the dwarf's shoulder affectionately. "I am happy to say that Aeyera was right in trusting you: you are quite an honorable young prince. I am, however, going to explain her vow to Durin's line, simply so you know what is going on. I believe that both your uncle and brother have already guessed her intentions and are both confused and grateful to her. However, I am now beginning to understand the gravity of what I asked of her and am regretting bringing her on this quest at all."

"What? I don't understand, you're an age-old wizard, you've lived on this earth since the beginning, how have you not seen every scenario play out a hundred times in history?" Kili asked, confused and… angry, for some reason. A feeling of protectiveness bubbled up inside him, much like the protectiveness he had for his brother, except this was stronger, and circled around the princess.

"I did not understand," the wizard snapped, growing taller as the creatures of the night fell silent, "because no elf has ever before fallen in love with a dwarf."

Kili froze, mind whirling. 'She's in love with a dwarf? Who?' He kept his mouth shut, however, listening.

Gandalf sighed and hunched over, leaning heavily on his staff. "She already felt the deaths of your kin on her shoulders because she was unable to help you the day Erebor was lost; she felt that she had to make up for her failure by helping your company now. However, she seems to have fallen in love with one of you, and love… love is a very dangerous and powerful thing."

Gandalf continued. "I have seen kingdoms fall because of it, and the princess knows this. That is why she has never mentioned it before, why she is so quiet all the time: she's focusing all her energy on protecting you and your kin rather than being distracted by love. When I asked her to protect you, I was unaware that she had already made a promise to do so. I fear now that what I have done may cost Aeyera her life."

"How do you mean?" the dwarf asked, suddenly afraid. 'Elves cannot die, can they? They all sail away when they've had enough, that's what Aeyera said…'

"Our elf is somewhat… mentally unbalanced. No, she is not insane," the wizard added as Kili started, "but there is a shadow of madness growing in her mind. This is due to the torture she endured in the dungeons of Dol Guldur, and had I been aware of it, I would have never asked her to come. I did not know of the horrors that haunted her until this very night when she spoke of them to you, and now I see that she is in very, very grave danger."

"How so?" Kili asked, mouth dry.

"She, if what she says is true, has been stabbed by a Morgul Blade," the wizard said.

Kili though back to his conversation with Lord Elrond in Rivendell and nodded. "Elrond said the same while we were in Rivendell," he said softly. "And Aeyera spoke of it to me just now."

Gandalf closed his eyes, looking more tired than anyone the dwarf had ever seen. "Then my fears are confirmed. The closer we come to the fortress of Dol Guldur, the more the wound will effect her until she either retreats to the Undying Lands or passes on, where then her soul will find its way to the Halls of Mandos in Valinor."

"But… she said that Arathorn, the ranger, had healed her," Kili pressed. "Until a year later, when she began passing into another world. What does that mean?"

Gandalf looked greatly troubled, and he remained in silence for several minutes before speaking again. "It means that if she dies, her blood will be on my hands. I have know her since before Erebor fell," the wizard said tiredly, looking down at his hands as if already seeing them coated in scarlet. "She would not leave her friends to carry on alone. That is why I must ask something of you."

Kili nodded. "Anything," he said, voice breaking. He hadn't realized before just how much he cared about her.

"Protect her," Gandalf said, watching the dwarf with his silvery eyes. "She already works to protect your kin from the evil at work in this world. You must work to protect her soul from the darkness at work in her mind."

Kili was stunned. "How can I do that?" he asked.

"Be a light," the wizard smiled. The two sat in silence, bathed in starlight as the night wore on. Nearly an hour later, a strange grunting, panting sound came from far outside the gate, and Kili turned his ear towards it, listening. "Something's there," he whispered.

"I know," the wizard said gravely. "It's Beorn. Go inside," he said to the stunned dwarf. "Make sure that our elf doesn't have anymore nightmares tonight. Do not worry," he added as Kili leapt to his feet, "she has had no more thus far."

Kili nodded and went quickly inside, working hard to keep from waking any of the others. As he lay down next to Aeyera, he gazed down at her, sighing. "I will protect you, princess," he whispered. "I promise."

-o-

I looked around, searching desperately for the one I loved. An elven archer rushed by, and I grabbed his arm, hard. "Where are the princes of Erebor?" I growled, keeping his arm in a vice-like grip.

The archer, whom I now recognized as the stable boy who worked at the palace when I was a child, bowed his head, awed by my appearance. "Princess, I do not know where they are—" he started, swinging his bow and hitting a oncoming orc in the side of the neck, breaking its spine and killing it instantly.

"Are they alive?" I yelled, throwing a knife at another goblin and burying it up to the hilt in its neck. "Tell me they're alive!"

"Aeyera!" I turned to see my brother and released the archer, running to him. He grasped my arms and pulled me to the ground as a goblin three times my size swung a battle-axe, which would have cut me in half had my brother not interfered. Legolas quickly ended the foul creature, fire burning in his eyes. "What are you doing here?" he asked, frightened for me. "You said you would stay with—"

"Something came up," I snapped, throwing another knife at large Warg about to lunge at Dwalin. He nodded, and I rushed to his side, fighting back-to-back with him as Legolas moved on, searching for Tauriel amidst the chaos. "Dwalin, where are the princes?" I asked desperately. "Where are Kili and Fili?"

"With Thorin!" he bellowed, swinging his axe with deadly precision. "They're with the king!"

I looked around desperately, searching the battlefield for any sign of the one I loved, and finally I saw him and his brother standing back to back in front of Thorin, one armed with a bow and the other with a sword. With a yell, I began fighting my way through the carnage, struggling to reach them.

A memory was fighting to resurface; a vision I had once had, but I wouldn't think about it. 'Not now,' I thought desperately. 'Not here.'

Yards away from the trio, I caught a movement from the corner of my eye, and without hesitation, I leaped forward, catching the point of the arrow on my bow. I cursed and looked down at the ruined weapon before swinging it onto my back and drawing my long knives. Fili, thankfully, had taught me to carry and use throwing knives in addition to my fighting ones, something that I was incredibly grateful for as I began fighting alongside my beloved and his brother, protecting the king as I had promised so long ago.

"Kili," I panted, bringing my knives up and blocking a sword stroke meant for his neck. With a yell, I kicked the orc away and sliced his throat open, raising my arm to shield my face from the black blood that spurted out of its corpse. "Get your family, and get out of here!"

"No, not without you!" He yelled. As I turned to yell at him not to worry about me, his yellow-fletched arrow pierced the head of an orc about to take mine off, and I turned my attention to the matter at hand.

"I'll be fine!" I yelled, elbowing an orc in the throat and slicing the hand off of another, gagging when some of its blood came in contact with my mouth. Seeing that the youngest prince was unrelenting, I turned to his brother, keeping one eye on him and one on the fight. "Fili!" I yelled desperately, hope for the line of Durin fading more and more by the second. "Get your brother and get out of here, please! I will be fine, I promise; I'll protect Thorin and keep him safe, just go!"

His blue eyes met mine for a second, and the next thing I knew, one of his knives flew past my face, missing my ear by a hair's breadth and killing an orc that had snuck up behind me.

"Pay attention to the fight, princess!" Thorin's voice came from behind me. I glanced back to see him fighting Bolg, the son of Azog the Defiler. The dwarf king was winning, however, and my heart felt lighter knowing he was, for the moment, somewhat safe. "Do what you can to protect my nephews, I'll be fine!" For the first time in a long time, I sensed no trace of darkness in him, and hope began building inside me once again that everything would be okay.

It was short lived. Seconds later Fili cried out, and I turned to see him, face twisted with pain, breaking off the shaft of an arrow stuck in his shoulder. He continued fighting, his right arm not nearly as strong as before. I moved to stand next to him, providing strength where he could not.

We continued for what could have been hours before Kili yelled in agony. I whirled around to see him clutching at his chest, which was soaked in blood. "NO!" I screamed. He looked up and met his brother's gaze before a terrifying look crossed over Fili's and he began fighting with renewed vigor, obliterating anything that came near to his baby brother. I leaped forward and steadied the prince, shaking and no longer thinking of the battle.

"I'm fine," he grunted, face twisted in pain. "We have to protect Uncle."

I nodded and together we continued fighting. We began cutting through armor as if it were paper, shredding flesh as though it were autumn leaves. As Kili gasped again, this time because of an arrow that punctured his upper arm, all reason left me, and I screamed, standing and attacking anything that came near to him. In minutes, the orcs had formed a loose semicircle around Fili, Kili, and I, trying to end us. I continued fighting, oblivious to any wounds I received.

'Protect, protect, protect,' The word echoed through by entire being with every beat of my heart and I suddenly became aware of the blood streaming down my face, mixing with the sweat and tears already there. I didn't care.

The goblin ranks began thinning out as the battle wore on, and the king was still alive. I could see Dwalin fighting his way towards us, and I began to have hope that we would survive this.

That is, until I glanced around, just in time to see Fili fall to his knees and then onto his back, several arrows in his chest. Kili was by his side, holding his brother's head in his lap, not fighting. I moved and stood above them, fighting off enemies from all sides, and suddenly, a great shout rose up from all sides.

I chanced a glance upwards and saw something I'd never thought I'd see again: a flock of Giant Eagles, headed for the battlefield. I could feel my energy draining rapidly, and I began cursing orcs, swearing under my breath.

I felt feverish and weak, but still I fought, struggling to protect those closest to me. An enormous eagle, the king, if I remembered correctly, began picking off the orcs closest to me, giving me a bit of breathing room as all the other orcs turned to fight the giant bird off.

I fell to my knees beside the brothers, forgetting about the battle and the king and caring about nothing but my beloved who now had a gaping wound in his side; the armor on his left side had been completely torn off, giving my eyes complete access to the mangled and bloodied flesh underneath. He lay on the ground facing his brother, weeping. One glance told me that the golden haired dwarf was dead, and my heart broke at the sight of my love weeping over his brother's body. Kili was gasping for breath as he wept, eyes struggling to stay open. I brushed his hair back, crying and begging him to stay awake.

"I'm so sorry," I cried, bowing my head as tears streamed down my face and onto the blood soaked ground under me. "I failed you both, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," I wept.

He gasped, voice watery, and I pressed my forehead to his, my hands covering his and his brother's, which were clasped tightly together. "No, you didn't," he croaked, brown eyes locked on mine. "You did your best, and that is enough. I have kept my promise, I have kept you safe."

"W-what?" I whispered, confused and angry and lost.

"You're safe," he gasped, smiling faintly. "Nothing else matters now."

I looked up briefly in time to catch the eye of Thorin, who was scanning the field for his nephews as he fought the pale orc's heir. Nothing could compare to the look of shock and grief that crossed his face, and the scream of agony that tore from his lips nearly made a new wave of tears burst from me.

"But you're not," I cried, "I failed you."

"Don't say that," he whispered. He struggled with something in his pocket, and I looked down as he pulled his Runestone from it, pressing it into my hand. "You saved me," he whispered. Hesitating for a moment, he looked up at me. "Please… give this to my mother for me…"

"Don't say that," I shook my head, refusing to give up. "You will make it home, I promise, you'll give it to her yourself, you—"

"Aeyera," he whispered, eyes on mine. He raised his hand and brushed my face as a tear slipped down his cheek. I leaned into his hand, gripping it tightly. "I love you," he gasped, shuddering. "I love you."

"Kili," I cried, hugging him tighter. I pressed my lips to his, begging him to stay with me. "I love you, please, please stay with me!"

He coughed, choking on his own blood, and I began begging and crying hysterically, terrified of being abandoned.

"Please," I cried. "Please!"

"Tell Uncle…" Kili gasped. "He didn't… fail us…" Taking one last, shuddering breath, the prince, my beloved, fell back, eyes staring blackly at the sky overhead.

I stared at him in shock, still not believing that he was gone. "No," I said, shaking his shoulder, "NO!" I shrieked. "No, Kili, no, please!" I screamed, pulling his body to my chest. "Please, no!" He didn't move. I pressed my hand to his chest, praying for a heartbeat. There was none, and I broke, the dam containing my grief shattering. I sobbed, cradling his limp body in my arms. "I love you, I love you, I love you," I cried, keeping my forehead pressed to his. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

-o-

I opened my eyes, tears streaming down my face as sleep left me. I knew with utter certainty that this had no more been a dream than my memory had. This was a vision, a vision of the future. Very few elves receive them, one being Elrond of Rivendell. I looked over to see Kili lying beside me. 'Beloved?' I wondered. 'Yes,' I thought. 'Visions don't lie.'

I stood and walked into the garden, where early morning sunlight washed everything clean. I made it to the center of the garden before falling to my knees, face in my hands, weeping. "How many times must I fail?" I asked aloud, shaking.

A voice—Kili's voice—spoke softly in my head. 'Visions don't lie,' it said gently. 'But what they show is not written in stone.'

-o-

Alright, once again I'd like to thank you all for reading this, it means alot to me :) Also, I updated tonight because tomorrow morning I am leaving for three weeks and will be unable to reach my computer until late the night of the 23rd of July. Look for an update before the 30th, and I hope to see all of your usernames soon! Also, I love constructive reviews, so feel free to give some :)

See you all soon!

-KT