Ch.17: The Great Figures

It was the eve of their departure from Imladris, and Fili found that he could not sleep. And while he found it oddly comforting that he could not be plagued by another of those horrifying night terrors, he thought bitterly that he may prefer it to the uncertainly that lay over him now like a sopping blanket.

Why was he having such terrible nightmares? Could they be a warning of some kind? Or was he simply so troubled by day that his worries followed him into the night? Shifting and cavorting into terrors indescribable?

What was it that so plagued his uncle? Why had his character been so strangely altered by this journey?

Why was the Hobbit sneaking about at late hours? Leaving secret notes for the Lady Eily and keeping to himself at all other times?

Why had his brother returned to their quarters so happy, when for near a week he had stewed over the Lady Eily's rejection of him?

So Fili laid awake, smoking in the dark by the open doorway and contemplating dolefully as Kili slept sound and contented beside him.

It was Nori and Ori fumbling in the hallway outside who pulled his attention outward, the brother's secretive mumbling stirring his interest. The two conversed in Khuzdul, and it was not hard to understand why.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea," Ori whispered, his timid voice sounding nearly childish.

Fili could hear the subtlest rattle of metal.

"Don't fret; it's just a few keepsakes! None'll miss 'um or be the wiser," Nori chirped casually, padding the loot in rags to muffle the clanking sounds as he stuffed it into his pack.

Fili smirked a little: it was no bother to him if the elves came up one candelabrum (or more) short at table.

"Please be quiet Nori!" Ori whined, "The Princes are asleep and you're being too loud!"

Nori scoffed, "Fili sleeps as deep as Dwalin! And Kili'll be sleepin' the sleep o' the satisfied dwarf tonight I'd wager!"

"What do you mean?"

Fili was suddenly interested, and covered the bowl of his pipe, not wanting the small patch of light to be visible from the hall.

"The Lady Eily was helpin' Dori bag up the tools earlier. He said that Kili came up and asked they be left alone, but Dori got a glance of 'um looking mighty friendly. And all night the lad's been sugary as pie. If I had to wager, when we return from the mountain it won't be seven summers before Kili is leading a row of raven haired dwarrowlings through the halls like a line of ducklings."

Fili had ceased to listen, looking over at his brother, whose smile was barely perceptible in the scant light from the hall.

Ori and Nori had soon stuffed their booty away, and left to seek their own quarters down the hall.

It would seem that Kili and Eily were seen to be courting by the rest of the company. And Fili had no reason to doubt it. Her initial rejection of his brother made sense now that he understood his uncle's pushy advances, but the misunderstanding was sure to be smoothed over eventually, at which point there was no reason to reject Kili. He was brave and good hearted and believed in friendship and valor and honor. And Eily was everything Kili could want; he had never cared much for beards anyway.

It was a fine match. Even Fili would have to admit it.

All the more reason she should be safeguarded from his uncle.

Yes, Fili assured himself. This was as it should be. He had to protect Eily for the sake of his brother. That was why he was so worried for her; she would likely be his sister-in-law someday. He had to safeguard his brother's One from their uncle's short sighted plot. He could love her and keep her, if only as a sister. He could swallow the rest surely. He was just being a good older brother to fret over her as he did. That was why he was rising to leave.

He tapped the remaining bit of leaf from his pipe bowl and stowed it away carefully in his pack.

Had Fili waited to question his brother he would have known that the Lady Eily had rejected him. That Kili's kiss had been a stolen one. Had Fili thought harder on the nature of Moon Runes he may have discerned what it was that Bilbo was doing, and would surely have warned him against it, for the Hobbit couldn't possibly have any conception of just what awaited them outside Rivendell. He would have suggested a different road, a different plan.

But Fili did not know the whole story, and while knowing any of this may have made Fili react differently, as it was he found himself sneaking down the hall he'd seen so often in sleep.

And in a moment reminiscent of his dreams and nightmares he knocked on her door.

She met him fully dressed, just as he was.

There was no need to address the fact that neither of them had slept, or that both were fully dressed, hair combed and braided, for it was mere hours until the party was scheduled to depart, one dwarf short, while the gray of dawn still hung in the air.

She took a steadying breath and leaned against the wall, awaiting his words diplomatically.

"I know you plan to leave, and take the Hobbit with you," Fili stated flatly, direct as always.

The lids of her eyes widened ever so slightly, but if she was shocked she gave little away.

"You've told Thorin then?" like him she was direct.

"No."

This did seem to surprise her.

"Then you come to warn me? Turn back now and my Hobbit and I will be spared his wrath?"

Fili crossed his thickly muscled arms over his wide chest, "Of course not. I figured it out some time ago; you and your burglar are not so sneaky as you both think. I was with you when you found that pen, if you recall."

Eily scoffed a bit at that, "Indeed… so is that why you've come to warn me? Because of our friendship?"

"Yes," Fili breathed, stunned and no small amount insulted that she could think otherwise.

"What exactly do you take me for?" he rasped, the offense sticking in his throat.

The dwarf girl seemed small just then, weakened by doubt, without answer. It would seem hurting him caused her some pain.

Fili exhaled sharply, until now his breaths had been steady, but he was unnerved and tense. He did not want to be found here alone with her, not now that his uncle desired her and his brother had claimed her. But whenever their eyes met…

He didn't want to be alone or even near her ever again after this night.

"I came to warn you of my uncle. Though I see now that you know of his ploys, and that you no longer think Kili a part of them. I am glad to know both. Please understand that the company is unaware, for my uncle intends to keep his plans to himself, and I thank you for keeping your troubles discreet, and not involving the others. I have known of your plans to flee with Bilbo, but I warn you, the road is dangerous..."

Her eyes turned flinty, "It would have been foolish to seek aide from a pack of dwarves sworn to Thorin himself. And besides, I know more of the evil you face than you do Fili."

He held up his hand to stay her, "Be that as it may, you alone are not enough to face it. Take your Hobbit with you if it suits you, we can manage without him, probably far better than you can. I understand your intention of having the Hobbit follow us for a time and leave us after Rivendell, as it will detract from my uncle's suspicions that the two of you may be in confidence, but I caution you to leave Rivendell as soon as you can. I know you cannot go to our home in the Blue Mountains, so I assume you and Bilbo will take the road, head back to the West. Perhaps go back to his home in the Shire. My family would not think to look for you there. It would give me time to convince my uncle that your courtship with Kili is for the best."

She'd ceased to lean against the wall, and fidgeted tightly at his words.

"My what?"

The dwarf girl's manner was confused; her eyebrows knit together, her shoulders tightened as she drew a step closer, her eyes steady and questioning.

Fili sighed agitatedly, turning his gaze away with no desire to face her, "The whole party knows of it, you needn't be discrete with me."

"We are not courting," Eily stated flatly, defiantly, "I've accepted no courtship from anyone."

For Fili, this made the conversation abruptly unbearable. His stomach summersaulted and convulsed.

He could worry, even care for a friend. But he did so much more than simply care for Eily, he could not deny that.

For his brother's One he could go a step further, he could love and shield that person as though they were Kili himself.

But Eily it seemed was not his brother's.

"Then…" he simply stared at her, confused and bereft of excuses.

Eily was not entirely certain what was going on inside her. It was a familiar feeling, one she had fought down many times now, but for some reason the way he looked at her now made it all the worse: more confusing, more hopeful.

She wanted to correct Fili out of pride, tell him he had discerned incorrectly, that she and Bilbo fully intended to travel to the Lonely Mountain, and not hide away from Thorin in the West. She wanted to be honest with him, as he was one of the last friends she had in the world, and could not bring herself to lose her trust in him. But she could not tell him of the Arkenstone, even if he was her friend, even if he did believe her. Better to let him think that she and Bilbo were planning to abandon the quest; planning to run back and hide in the safety of the Shire.

So she let him believe his own story, that she was afraid of this "new" Thorin and his influence, that she was taking her Bilbo and running away.

To let him believe what was untrue was not the same as lying… was it?

But she could not let him believe she was courting his brother, even if doing so would afford her some protection from Thorin.

There was a long, strained silence.

Fili sighed as one defeated, "Even so, I am sorry you must do this. Please take comfort in knowing I understand your plight, and will do what I can for you, because you are my… you are my friend. And I could wish for nothing more than unity with you."

He turned as though to leave, and for some reason she felt her heart going with him.

"Fili wait!" she grabbed his wrist and held firm, "I'm sorry for all of this, but most especially for my behavior. You are my friend, truly. Please know that after this night my trust in you will never falter again; for you are the only dwarf who has ever expressed friendship or love without thought to my dishonor or to my ancient name, and I am grateful for it."

He smiled broadly, his eyes kind and knowing.

But there was something else there, something that spoke to her, compelled her against what she felt would be an unlivable loss. And she found herself drawing closer to him.

His eyes widened for a moment, searching her face, and the world seemed to slow in the instant their eyes met, but he did not stop her, simply watched as she drew nearer.

There are moments in life where the mind goes quiet, and some deep secret part of an individual takes hold to put them on their path. Described often by some as "seizing the moment."

For Fili, this was a wholly different kind of moment.

He stared at her, and in the brief moments it took her to cross the arms width between them his mind spun and flashed with tens of millions of thoughts, but he could do nothing.

He did not try to stop her (though he knew he should want to), nor did he draw away, his eyes simply closed as their faces neared one another, and he sighed softly when he felt her lips meet his.

For the briefest instant Eily thought she might have made a mistake, may have misread the signs.

Until she felt his gentle sigh against her lips: their connection was so sudden and so visceral it was as though a thousand words were exchanged in an instant.

Then there was only Fili.

He wrapped his arms about her and held her to him tightly, their bodies melting together like hilt and sword. The rough grain of his mustache and beard rubbed her face red as their kiss deepened and she sucked gently on his lower lip as his tongue worked its way into her mouth.

He tasted of pipe smoke and strong wine and her hands pulled hungrily at his leathers as he ground his hips against hers shamelessly. Even under his armor and tunic she could feel the hard muscle of his back as his hands snaked up her body and took a possessive fistful of her braids.

When he finally came up for air her hands tugged and played gently with the braids that framed his smiling face.

And his blue eyes sparkled as he laughed, quietly and contentedly at his foolishness for trying to deny such a simple, easy, natural thing as this. He planted small kisses across her cheeks and nuzzled his nose against hers. They stood like that for some moments, bodies close; foreheads leaned gently together, smiling and giggling and tugging and fussing with each other's braids, muttering sweet senseless words to one another.

"The sun will be up soon," Fili murmured with a tinge of remorse in his voice.

Eily was quiet.

"I must leave; the others will wonder where I've gone."

She sighed almost painfully; thanks to Kili's proposal of courtship she could not reveal her affection for him to the others without creating a rift in the company (even if she did not have concerns about Thorin), nor could she tell Fili of her quest despite her fondness for him.

But while she could not reveal her affection in the open, she could not alter it either. This was not the same as Kili; in her mind the two were not comparable. For Kili this quest was an adventure, but for her and for Fili, for them it was destiny. It was the reclamation of a throne, a people, a way of life. A dire responsibility and a heavy weight on their lives.

"I care very deeply for you Fili," she said, kissing a soft line across his jaw.

"As I do for you," he held her face still so that he might gently kiss her forehead, smelling her hair.

He held her like that, her face nuzzled into his throat, his lips grazing her forehead, for a moment he even began to sway them gently, comfortingly.

"This quest will not last forever," he said, "You go with Bilbo, stay safe and warm in the Shire. Eat, drink… plump up for me,"

She punched his ribs playfully.

He grinned broadly, unfazed by the hit, "And I will come for you. And we will settle this matter of Erebor and courtship… as I am afraid we have rushed over a few of the formal steps," he smiled rather smugly.

Her head was once again resting in the nape of his neck, "Will you tell them?"

"I'll have no words spoken against your honor, nor will I allow personal difficulties to effect the quest. You and I are a small matter, everything will be easier once we retake the mountain, you will see."

Eily wanted to believe him, but she worried about what may happen as they drew closer to the mountain, she didn't want to imagine the sons of the elder line of Durin turning in on one another, or the shame that would fall upon Fili should her subversion be discovered, "Promise me you will not tell them, until the quest is ended."

Fili was confused as to why she should worry so, but consented, "I promise, I will not tell them about… us?"

His last word was a question: are we a "we?"

"Yes," she confirmed, "Us."

And though the secrets she kept were painful, she knew now more than ever that she must protect the elder line from all harm. For her fate was even more bound to it than her mother's blood would otherwise indicate.

Fili let out a long breath, adjusting her messed braids slightly as she tugged his leathers back into place. When the two regained their neat appearance Fili bowed low, smiling widely.

"My Lady," he smirked, and departed with a graceful sweep.

Her smile beamed after him as she slowly closed her door, watching his broad back and his strut-like gait back down the hall to his room.

She watched through the open crack of her doorway as he encountered Dwalin in the hall, embracing each other in their excitement to recommence the journey. She closed the door on their booming laughter quietly, wondering how it was that the daughter of the mountain could have found herself connected with the son of Durin, how doomed that bond seemed to be, and yet how incredibly undaunted she was by it.

She fingered her lips softly, remembering the gentle scratch of his beard on her face.

As happy as it had made Fili to have his feelings requited (elated really, boundlessly happy), it altered his guilt in regards to his brother in an unforgivable way. He did not feel as guilty as he knew should. Before Eily had requited his affections his feelings had seemed illicit, unbidden, and filthy. Now his guilt was self-imposed rather than natural. He often had to remind himself to feel it when his thoughts wandered back to his Lady. Really Fili could not be blamed for feeling as he did (or so he liked telling himself); Eily was his One even if vows of love had not yet been exchanged. Still he loved his brother, and that bond and his own honor were sharp reminders of his betrayal.

He understood the prudency in keeping his relationship with Eily a secret until the end of the quest: with everyone, (including Kili) seeing Kili's proposal to Eily as valid even if it was in a sort of limbo, it would be a black mark on her honor to reveal that it was in fact Fili she had accepted, especially after he had not made any public declaration or offered any formal gift. Dwarves like to hold all things in the open amongst each other, secret courtships were not considered romantic or advisable (especially between one so noteworthy as Fili, Thorin's heir apparent and a disgraced dwarf who until a moment ago was thought to be courting his younger brother). Not to mention incurring his uncle's rancor as Fili was still the only member of the party in his uncle's full confidence and the only member besides Gandalf to know of his postponed courtship offering.

However, betraying his brother in so intimate a way and then not being able to come clean made it all the worse.

He had said goodbye to Eily only two days ago, and already he felt strained by keeping conversation with his brother. He could not imagine how uncomfortable he would be by the end of the journey, when he would have to hope that Kili would understand.

Until then he tried to busy himself by watching the road ahead, which climbed ever further into the mountains, soon it would be little more than a narrow path in the stone.

Fili imagined that the only reason his constant distraction and overall edginess had gone unnoticed was because of the Hobbit's behavior.

The party seemed to grow ever more agitated with Bilbo as they progressed. The Hobbit had nothing but complaints for mountains; disliking the thinning air, cold stone, and intemperate weather. He made no secret of how he preferred the haven of the elves, inciting grumbles and snorts of derision from the rest of the company. Fili imagined the Hobbit was doing this so that when he left the company they would be mostly glad of it, and not wonder where he had run off to or even care. Fili had begun to accredit much more cleverness to the Hobbit, though he still wasn't sure if it was well placed (little did he know that Bilbo was not nearly so clever as that, and sincerely disliked uncomfortable travel and was rather put out by the way the other dwarves treated him).

Gandalf did occasionally remark for Bilbo to hold his tongue, but the wizard had seemed out of sorts since shortly before leaving Rivendell, speaking little and responding to even less.

Fili wondered what had the wizard so on edge, and just when it was that Bilbo would finally run off to join Eily again. He wanted to push his pony into a trot to move alongside the Hobbit to ask him when he planned on leaving them, but the company had traveled close together and he dared not risk being within earshot of Thorin, whose ears were uncommonly sharp for a dwarf.

Overall though the company traveled without major incident for about a week, and finally Fili could restrain himself no longer. They were riding through a summer storm, apparently common in these mountains, and the wind and rain gave Fili what he felt may be his only opportunity to converse with the Hobbit in relative secrecy.

"I must ask what you think you are still doing here Master Burglar," Fili croaked into the squall.

Bilbo's small face paled ever further, "I don't know what you mean, I've signed a contract to-"

At this Fili leaned in close, "I know Eily is waiting for you."

Bilbo's eyes darted to Fili's grave face, his expression a sad attempt at denial.

Fili ignored it and continued on, "I would rather you not make her wait any longer, my uncle's retainers will be nigh to Rivendell by now. Just how long did you two intend to wait?"

Now Bilbo did not seem to be trying to hide anything, rather he seemed confused, "She told you?"

Fili's frowned deepened; he had hoped she would have at least told Bilbo of them, "Of course."

Bilbo seemed disbelieving, "Then… why would you ask that I venture back to Rivendell when the quest lies ahead?"

"Because I-" and then the breath caught in his throat. Eily had never intended to go West at all. She full intended to make her way back to the mountain, and the damn fool thought she could use Bilbo to help her get there. That's why Bilbo had her pen, that's what all their secret cavorting had been about.

She had lied to him.

And like a lovesick fool he had told himself pretty stories about settling matters between his kin, of coming back to her and making a life. When all along she had deceived him, deceived everyone, trailing behind them unprotected and practically unguided like some wandering child. Worse: a stupid, lying, beardless little cur of a child.

His jaw clenched painfully, and he took a fistful of Bilbo's shoulder with more dwarven strength than he should have, or intended to.

The Hobbit winced and squeaked quietly with pain, but said nothing as Fili leaned in, his voice a venomous whisper,

"Leave tonight. Take her back to Rivendell, or the Shire, or any damned place. But get her back over the mountains to safety, or I shall go to my uncle, and see what fate he deems fit for betrayers. But know this, whatever punishment, I'll happily doll it out myself should you not heed me."

With this he released the Hobbit, and pushed ahead of Bofur to trail just behind his brother.

Bilbo was grateful for the wind and the rain then, for they concealed his shiver.

Eily pulled her cloak about her tightly, the wind constantly tugging and working its way beneath the heavy fabric to chill her body, sending shivers up her spine and making her muscles clench and hair stand on end. Dwarves may be naturally hardy, but that did not make them impervious to discomfort.

Again her pony tripped in the darkness, and Eily gripped the reigns tightly from anxiety. She was still not a skilled rider, and though this elven pony was durable and surefooted, it did not do well in this scant moonlight on this tapered path (she could only pray the animal did not injure itself in the dark).

Normally she would not have traveled long at night, but she had not seen a marking from Bilbo in some days, and she began to worry that she may have missed one and lost their trail. So she pushed the pony into the wee hours up the narrow causeway that served as a road up into the mountains, eyes peering about for a sign, any sign that she was on the right track.

She had waited four whole days to follow them, and while she now thought that may have been too long, it had at the time seemed nothing if not too eager. In truth she was inexperienced in such matters and had no real knowledge of tracking as she was not a hunter, using only snares to catch the occasional small creature. But Bilbo had left an abundance of markings in the beginning, giving her a confidence in herself and her map that she now knew to be faulty. She had managed at least to pack enough supplies, snatching a rather generous amount of food and gear from the Lord Elrond's stores and affixing them to her "borrowed" pony without attracting the attention of a single elf (of course, the Lord must have given an unspoken sort of permission for such a thing to have happened now that she thought of it).

There was a doom of thunder and she grimaced a little when she looked up the trail, the rolling rumble pulling her attention up, deeper into the mountains where the altitude generated its own weather. She had felt the mist thickening in the air all day, drawing up around her as she moved up the slope of the rock face. It seemed a great storm was brewing up there in the mountain pass, even in the dark of night she could feel the pressure in the air and almost see the darkening clouds covering up the moon.

Another clap of thunder broke the quiet to confirm her fears.

She hoped Gandalf had led the party true, and that they were waiting the storm out someplace safe.

"Come on!" Gandalf cried over his shoulder, though much of his words were lost in the howls of the wind.

Bilbo winced, the rain beating into his face making him squint ahead. Occasionally Bofur would cast his hand back without looking, tapping him on the stomach or shoulder to confirm either that he was still there behind Bofur or that Bofur was still there in front of him (he couldn't be sure which).

The ponies were being led by hand now; hours ago the pass had become too narrow to ride safely, and Bilbo was pushed to the back of the company between Bofur and Dwalin, both of which seemed to have taken Bilbo on as their personal burden once the pass had narrowed. He was soaked, freezing, could barely see or maneuver and every step he took in his slippery blindness could very easily lead him careening down to a jagged and bone breaking death (also, nobody on this journey seemed to like him at all).

He was utterly miserable.

"We must find shelter!" Thorin snarled into the elements, his lips drawn over his teeth in defiance of the cold rain and screaming wind.

Those who heard him could only have agreed, but most did not, the wind was simply too aggressive.

"Look out!" Dwalin howled, and again only half the party managed to hear him.

But what they all heard was the scream: booming and elemental as the thunder itself, but entirely different.

All eyes cast out across the mountain pass, and it was only due to the light cast by a bolt of thunder that they saw it, a shard of the mountains themselves coursing through the air and coming directly at them.

It collided with the mountain face some few hundred feet above them, sending boulders and bits of rock the size of everything between ponies and teaspoons raining down over them. They could only hug the wall and try to shield their heads under the uneven rock face as the bulk of the great stone whooshed past them into the crevasse below.

Bilbo stood frozen to the wall, his stare blank and helpless. He could hear members of the company cry out, but could not make out what they said as he gaped helplessly at the massive figures that seemed to spring to life from the mountains themselves.

The great figures lurched ungracefully, discharging that horrible scream as they collided with one another again and again, launching great heaps of the mountain into each other.

Bilbo could not imagine what forces it could be that would drive such creatures to combat any more than he could at what it was that put life into them. Only that he was frightened and awed and wanted desperately to go home.

He felt Dwalin grab at the back of his jacket, hauling him so that his back was flush with the stone.

He watched the stone of the path crumble from beneath his feet, and could only stare out into the storm, pale and blank and utterly terrified.

**Author's Note: Thanks to followers and reviewers, you're all lovely! Sorry this chapter is a bit on the short side but I want to get back into updating once every week.

Hopefully everyone found this chapter acceptable, I struggled with how to do it but I finally decided it had to be Eily who kissed Fili (because the poor guy could never do it himself since he cares about Kili so much). Also please bear with my mixing of the books and movies so liberally. These next few chapters will have a lot of the books sequencing of events with a lot of the movie's flourishes.

As always I welcome thoughts, and I hope you'll check back in next week for chapter 18! **