.
THE COURTSHIP OF THE SPARROW-HAWK
Chapter 3 - Attentive
.
"Love Someone" Jason Mraz
It had been four days since their conversation on the roof, but Eila no longer had any doubt that Kili had her best interests at heart. It was astonishing to her, really—aside from her mother, no one had ever treated her in such a way, as though her opinions mattered and her interests weren't foolish.
Kili had been incredibly busy with his royal duties, but he'd had enough time to send her various gifts throughout the day and had been adamant to spend time with her in the evenings. He'd turned it into something of a game: sitting in front of the fireplace asking questions until she was certain he knew everything about her.
Well, almost everything. Eila was careful to guard specific parts of her history for fear of the questions that might follow, but Kili was no simpleton—he was aware that there were things she wouldn't tell him just yet, having remembered her saying that she preferred silence to lies, but he didn't press her for the information, much to her relief.
They would speak together late into the evening before parting for separate rooms, though Kili always looked as though he were waiting for an invitation to stay. And Eila was having trouble finding a reason not to give that invitation…
And while she had her own duties, it was hard to ignore the downpour of gifts that would greet her once she had returned to her chambers: Canvases and paints, elaborate easels and brushes, musical instruments of all shapes and sizes—as though Kili weren't sure what she would need, but had every intention of making available to her all that Erebor had at its disposal.
And then there were flowers.
In her heart of hearts, this was the gift that brought Eila the most pleasure. She could remember picking wildflowers with her mother as a young lass, thus the bouquets Kili had delivered to her only jogged the best of her childhood memories. Had it really been so long since she'd touched the pedals of a spring blossom? Yes, it had; her father had banned all sorts of color and beauty from their house…
In the afternoon on the fifth day, Eila passed Kili in the outer hall to their quarter of the royal chambers. He nodded to her with a grin and looked surprised when she caught his arm with her hand and flashed him a brilliant smile.
"Are you heading out or coming in?" She asked.
"I think that depends on your answer to the same question." He said with a curious expression.
"If you have things to do, don't let me keep you from them." She said, feeling her cheeks warming again. It was embarrassing that her primary response toward him was to blush.
"The Princess is more important to me than 'things'," Kili shrugged.
Eila shook her head, but couldn't help herself from smiling—it amused her that he would so easily shirk his responsibilities, something she would have been disciplined harshly for in the Iron Hills—and she looked at the ground. "I wanted to thank you for the flowers."
"Ah," He nodded. "Those weren't a gift, by the way."
She looked at him in confusion.
"They were a down-payment on that painting you promised me." He winked at her.
If it was his intention to overwhelm her with joy, then he was succeeding—she thought her heart might burst in her ribs! She was silent, not from lack of words, but an overabundance of words, and Kili seemed to sense her excitement and leaned in to kiss her.
This time when he went to kiss her cheek, she turned her head and caught his lips in hers. His eyes fluttered open in surprise, but then closed again when he understood it wasn't a mistake. Oh, Mahal, she had fully intended it…