Hello friends!

The "Night with the Lads" was moved a day early this week so you all get an early upload. A quick callout, I am now aware that Estel was not an adult during the events of the Hobbit, however, twenty-one year old me did not know that and I am too lazy to invent a new best friend for my character. So, for all intents and purposes, I've aged everyone's favorite ranger a couple of decades.

Hope you enjoy and please feel free to give any feedback you would like. (Especially if you've read the original!)

Best!

The Valley of Imladris: Five years later…

Morning meant sunlight filtering through the gossamer curtains of her quarters.

Was it morning already? It felt like she'd only just gotten to lie down.

She'd returned late the night before from a solo training exercise. By the time she'd gotten through the gates, untacked her pony, Borias, and rinsed several days worth of grime off in the communal bathhouse it was well past midnight. So what on earth was she doing up so early?

She sat up in her bed, fluffed her feather pillow, and yawned, extending her limbs and working out a kink that had settled between her shoulder blades. With a grateful, however sleepy, smile she looked around her living quarters that were housed on the main grounds of Lord Elrond's estate. Her room was small, much smaller than any elf maiden's would be but that suit her just fine; she was considerably smaller than any elf maiden.

She set her feet on the warm floor and stretched her arms out one last time. It had been a long time since she had stepped foot on the cold stone floors of the mountain. Her once vivid memories of that place growing blurrier as time went on.

This was home now.

Her arrival in the Valley of Imladris had been nothing short of a miracle. After she'd crossed the river to escape the Blue Mountains she spent several days traveling through the wilds alone, hiding from the main roads by crossing through the forest where she could and taking the roads at night when she couldn't. Not long after her escape, a few days at most, she'd run out of food and fresh water. She'd eventually collapsed from exhaustion and distress, or maybe a combination of both, just outside of a small town that she didn't even know the name of.

She was found by a strange, but fortunately kind, wizard clad from head to toe in grey. He brought her to an inn, giving her food and shelter before trying to determine who she might be. This was where Brili may have employed a bit of trickery on her part; she told the wizard that she hadn't the foggiest idea who she was. She claimed that she suffered from memory loss and that she had been living with one of the various nomadic tribes that crossed the wilds for a while. According to her tale, she left the tribes to embark on a personal journey to learn more about her history.

Fortunately for her, the wizard, who she learned was named Gandalf, believed her story without question. He had even offered his assistance by bringing her to Rivendell so that she might use their expansive library of tomes to try and spark her memory. The kindly wizard had even been disappointed to learn that her search had turned up empty. Of course it had, she had no history she wanted to find. (Brili had even managed to spill an unnecessary amount of ink over her name on the family tree when she'd found it in a history of Dwarven leaders.) With no other recourse, and no other place for her to go Gandalf put her in touch with the ruler of the elven city: Elrond.

Even that had been good enough for Brili but it turned out that fate had more in store for her.

Lord Elrond had taken her in and gave her work as a attendant in exchange for housing her. It was an honest work that left her with a serious appreciation for all of the dwarves that had served under her and her family back in Ered Luin. Fortunately, Elrond was very gracious to his attendants and—provided they completed all of their duties as instructed—gave them free reign of the grounds in their spare time. Her favorite haunt quickly became the practice yard. (Closely seconded by the communal baths made up of several natural hot springs.) After only two seasons working as a serving girl, the esteemed lord had finally pieced together where his newest charge would shine brightest.

One afternoon, Brili soaked and sticky with sweat from trying her hand at one of the dummies in the training yard, Elrond had approached her with someone else in tow. The results of their discussion that day ended in Brili being tutored by the youngest, and according to Elrond the finest, ranger that Rivendell had to offer. Her instructor very quickly became Brili's most cherished friend and confidant.

Nearly five years after departing Ered Luin and her family, Brili had finally found the life she'd been longing for all those years ago.

Smiling warmly over the memory, she pulled a worn leather jacket off of her settee where it had been draped haphazardly. Aragorn, the ranger who had been charged with her training, had given her the garment on her first day of training; she held it close, breathing in the sweet, earthy scent of leather. Her training days were far from easy, no one had actually prepared her for the amount of work that went into become a warrior. Still, she was happy to say that the hours of sweat and toil had been worth it. She couldn't imagine going back to her old ways.

She shrugged off her nightdress and replaced it with a pair of cotton pants and a dark brown tunic. All of her tunics had a large hood and cowl sewn in so that could hide her face if she needed to, making it easier to hide in the shadows or hunt. Of course, she had no reason to hide or hunt here so she left her disguise down.

After slipping her feet into a pair of leather boots she left her room in search of breakfast. To her surprise, poised in front of her door was a man with dark hair and blue eyes. His clothes were just as well worn as hers were but his posture demanded respect, giving him the look of a king. The face looking back at her was one that she had come to know well in her time with the elves as he was the one who had taken her under his wing.

Ah, so that's what had woken her up.

"Were you planning on sleeping all day?" Aragorn complained, though his tone was tinted with good humor.

She wrinkled her nose up at him. "Actually, yes."

"When did you return?"

"Late last night," she answered, locking the door to her chamber and putting the key safely in her pocket. "Did you not get the terrain map that I left for you?"

"Saw it first thing this morning. Looks accurate so far but I'll do a more formal review when I have the time."

Surveying was not her strong suit so she had no doubt that he would find plenty to correct when he did get a chance to review it.

"Missed me that much then? I was just going to grab something to eat."

He redirected her towards the main estate with his hands on her shoulders. "I'd skip breakfast if I were you. Elrond has asked me to bring you to his study. Says he needs to speak to you."

What could Elrond want to speak with her about? "Oh? Did I do something wrong?"

Aragorn shrugged his shoulders but gave off the distinct impression that he knew more than he was going to share with her. It wouldn't surprise her if he knew the nature of Elrond's request, in fact, she would be more surprised if he didn't. Rather than worrying herself anxious over it, she settled into an even stride with Aragorn and enjoyed the scenery on the way to Elrond's study. She couldn't imagine anything going wrong in a place like this.

When they'd arrived at the ornately carved door Aragorn knocked firmly to announce their arrival.

"Enter," Elrond's voice called out. He looked up from his desk, a pile of parchment scattered across the polished wood, when they walked in. "Ah, Brili, I've been expecting you. How was your surveying exercise?"

She bowed out of respect, her recently chopped hair falling over her shoulder and tickling her cheek. "As successful as one would expect with my experience. You sent for me, my Lord?"

He smiled, waving Aragorn out of the room and rising from his seat. "That's correct. How long have you been living here?"

"Nearly five years, sir."

"Mmm, yes, you've been studying under Estel for how long now?"

"Four years, give or take, it wasn't long after my arrival."

"You've found your training to be satisfactory, I trust?"

She nodded her head enthusiastically. "Absolutely, sir. You were right, your ward is a natural instructor."

Elrond gestured for her to follow him out to the balcony, which she did without complaint. From where they stood, almost all of Rivendell could be seen. She felt very lucky to be have been accepted among the elves so readily, well, most of them that is. There were more than a few whispers and snide comments when she had arrived but those were growing few and far between now that some time had passed. She was sure that training under Aragorn had some influence there. If she'd remained a wash girl she doubted that she would have the same reputation that she currently enjoyed.

Her life had turned out much better than she'd ever dared to dream it would.

Elrond cleared his throat, interrupting her thoughts. "I am glad to see that you've become accustomed to living here. Aragorn has told me that you are a good study."

She bowed her head. "I am very grateful, Lord Elrond. If there is anything I can do to repay your kindness—"

He cut her off with a wave of his hand. "None of that. You've more than earned your stay here. If it is your wish then you will always have a home here. Though, I am curious. When you'd first arrived you had no memories of your past. Has that changed?"

Ah, yes, that little lie… "No, sir, I'm afraid not. But, if it's all the same, I think that I would rather look ahead towards the future now."

"Mmm, yes, a wise decision." He paused for a while, eyes not on her but the crowd below, and when he finally spoke again he managed to startle her. "Do you remember the wizard Mithrandir?"

Who?

A smile twitched in the corners of Elrond's lips when he saw her confused expression.

"Gandalf," he clarified.

Oh, that's who. "Of course, I do! I owe him my life. How is he?"

"He's well, I suppose. However, it is time to repay your debt of gratitude to him." He turned to look at her. "Where he is going I do not know but he requires an escort and he has requested that you join him as his guide."

What would he need a guide for? Well, that part didn't really matter, it would give her some good field experience, a chance to put her training to the test.

"When does he expect me? Is this contracted work?"

"The meeting has been arranged for one month from now. He would like you to meet him in a town called Bree, west of here, past the marshes. I will have the contract sent to your quarters."

West? She didn't much like the sound of that. Ered Luin was also to the west. Still, if this town was just past the marshes then she shouldn't run into too much trouble. But if she wanted to get there on time then she had some serious preparations ahead of her.

She would need to leave as soon as possible.

She nodded her head solemnly. "I'll begin to prepare at once. Thank you, Lord Elrond."

"Best of luck, Ranger."

She bowed again before rushing out of the room, practically barging into Aragorn on the way out. In his hand was a folded up piece of parchment. Ah, yes, that would be her contract. The moment he'd handed it to her she unsealed it and began reading the details, the pair hovering over the document just outside of Elrond's door. The request was pretty straight forward: Gandalf was looking for a guide to escort him from Bree to a town called The Shire where they would collect a guest and she would escort the pair to Imladris. The pay looked decent considering that she'd only be working with them for about a month, give or take. It should be an easy job.

Aragorn was grinning tellingly at her. "Your first job."

She matched his smile and, with a lilt of humor, said, "I suppose your review of my map will have to wait."

~o~

Her leg was bouncing so much that the cutlery was jangling in time with it. Aragorn watched her from the corner of his eye, his face almost completely hidden by his hood. Even in her full disguise—hood, cowl, and mask—he could easily guess the expression that was on Brili's face.

He nudged her bouncing leg with his boot. "Quit it before the pub thinks that there's an army advancing on this town."

Her leg stopped bouncing but that nervous energy travelled straight to her finger which began to erratically tap against the table.

"Nervous?" he asked, puffing on his pipe if only to give his hands something to do.

Not that he had to ask, it was obvious. He'd overseen his fair share of freshly minted rangers taking on their first paid work and they usually behaved the same way. That was a good thing, it meant that they weren't stupid enough to assume that they know everything. It was the ones that started out with all the swagger on earth that often didn't return afterwards.

Brili's hood shifts in the affirmative. Nervous? She was worse than nervous.

"It's a very easy job," he reminded her, their voices just barely audible to the other across the table. "Your survey exercise will have been harder."

Yes, he was right and she knew that, the job was essentially a straight line. Really, she couldn't screw this up even if she tried to. All she had to do was travel the East Road, a normally safe, well-travelled road, with two people one of them being a wizard. Brili couldn't imagine why Gandalf would even need a guide at all.

The door to the Prancing Pony squeaked as it opened just before the shop bell tinkled, announcing a new patron. Both rangers cocked their heads slightly to stare down an old man wearing traveling robes with a pointed hat that matched his grey beard. That would be him.

"Pardon me," he greeted when he'd made his way to the table and sat down. The serving girl was at his side immediately to take his order. "Ah, yes, supper and some water for me."

Neither Brili or Aragorn spoke until she'd departed. Once she was gone, Brili greeted him quietly. "Good evening, Gandalf. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

He looked exactly how she remembered him, absolutely no surprises there. Everything was the same from the long grey beard to those shining blue eyes that whispered of magic and untold tales. Tales that she very much hoped he would recount in the days ahead while she worked for him. To think that she'd have the opportunity to repay her debt to him like this, serving as his guide through the wilds that he'd once had to save her from.

Again, Brili couldn't help but marvel over the fact that her life was entirely different than what she'd ever imagined it would be.

"Yes, I'd say it has been. You are hardly the same girl that I met five years ago. You've changed, though I'd say that's not entirely surprising given your new line of work. Have you reviewed the terms of our arrangement?"

"I have, but I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with this Shire that you speak of."

"A lovely place," he assured. "I'm sure you will find yourself quite comfortable there."

"And you need me to escort you from this Shire back to Imladris?" He nodded. "May I ask why? I mean no disrespect, but you are a wizard and the East Road is usually safe."

"Surely you have heard the rumors of dark activities as of late. Wargs prowling the main roads and rumors of orcs. My companion will feel best with someone with your experience accompanying us."

Seemed legitimate to her. Nodding her head she slid the signed contract across the table to him. He reviewed it briefly, noting the signature on the bottom before handing it back to her for safekeeping. "Excellent. Very well then! I'll see to our accommodations for tonight and then we can set off for the Shire first thing in the morning."

~o~

As Gandalf ate his meal, the pair of rangers excused themselves. Aragorn would be returning to the valley without the girl and he preferred to travel the roads at night. The wizard smiled as he mused over his suspicions and puffed on his pipe. When he'd met her, the mysterious dwarf girl had suffered from an unfortunate case of amnesia. According to her, she wasn't even sure what her real name was but that she'd overheard the name Brili once and adopted it as her own.

However, he was rather smug to admit that he may have recently unraveled the mystery of her identity for her. During his many meetings with Thorin Oakenshield he'd overheard tales about the missing princess of Durin. The famed princess had vanished from her homeland not long before he'd met Brili. A coincidence? He thought not.

He of course did not share his suspicions with Thorin on account that he wasn't completely certain that this Brili was the missing princess. Rather, he hired her as a guide specifically to confirm her identity. If she was the lost princess, the girl with a missing past would finally be reunited her family and the line of Durin would ultimately place more trust in him, hopefully earning a few points in his favor to support his plans to bring the company to the Valley of Imladris to decipher that damned map.

He was also ill-inclined to share his intentions with Brili. She had been so hellbent to uncover the truth of her past when he had first met her. He didn't want to get her hopes up only to let her down if it was not true. He'd let Thorin's company, Fili and Kili in particular, determine if she was their missing princess when they gathered a few nights from now.

Still, he had a strong feeling that it would be a fine surprise for everyone involved.

~o~

They reached the Shire with the sun climbing high in the east. It had taken two full days of travel to reach the town. Brili had enjoyed her time with Gandalf; he made for good company and fine conversation. Still, she very much hoped that the way back to Rivendell would be a bit more exciting than her employment thus far. So far, Aragorn's assurances that her training assignments would be more challenging than this assignment were proving to be disappointingly accurate.

"Welcome to the Shire," Gandalf announced pleasantly, dismounting his horse and Brili followed suit and slid off of her pony. "I think you will find this place to your liking."

"Well, I'll be damned…" she murmured quietly.

She'd never seen a place quite like it before. It was quaint, like the hamlets near Rivendell that she'd visit on occasion. Only, unlike the hamlets, everyone was normal sized for once, well, normal to her at any rate. Briefly, she worried that the wizard had brought her to some sort of hidden dwarf town but was relieved to notice that the inhabitants of this village had a strong aversion to footwear.

No dwarf she'd ever seen had feet like that.

"I thought you might feel comfortable here," Gandalf mused, leading the way down the main road.

Brili gripped Borias's reigns tightly as she led him to a hitching post where Gandalf was doing the same to his horse. Gandalf and his horse stuck out like a sore thumb whereas Brili and her pony fit in perfectly. Well, perfectly aside from her rather suspicious looking attire at least.

"What is this place?" She noticed that the women did not have beards either. Phew, definitely not a dwarven town.

"It is the Shire home of the illustrious hobbit."

"A what's-it?"

"Hobbit, my dear. A fine and friendly folk. Now, I have some solitary business to attend to here. Just up ahead there should be a confectionary cart. I encourage you to visit it. Are you as fond of sweets as I recall?"

Was she ever. "Where did you say this cart would be?"

He chuckled, his shoulders rising and falling, before pointing towards the busiest section of town. "Just over there by that large crowd. That's the marketplace. You can usually find Rosalind's cart surrounded by children."

"Seems simple enough," she answered, pulling her cowl down but leaving her hood and her eye mask in place. "When shall we meet?"

"This evening, I anticipate," he answered absently, like his focus was somewhere else entirely. "There will be a house with a green door. I'll leave an identifiable mark for you. I recommend waiting until sundown."

Sundown, got it. She nodded her head before turning her back to him and making her way towards Gandalf's recommendation. The marketplace here was very different from the one back in Ered Luin. Most of the vendors here were selling their wares out of wheelbarrows and hastily crafted carts. Hobbits, it seemed to Brili, were not concerned with the same austere construction standards that her homeland was. Besides the simplicity of the place, it was the same as any other marketplace; sellers called out to patrons and eagerly pocketed coin for their goods, ladies gossiped in groups, children ran underfoot.

She was starting to wonder if Gandalf was fibbing about the pastry cart when she spotted a gaggle of children of all shapes, sizes, and ages surrounding a finely crafted cart that was painted rose red with yellow trimmings. It was the nicest cart in the square honestly. She approached it curiously, standing at least a head taller than the tallest child there, to take a peek at what was on offer. She wasn't even remotely prepared for what she saw: candies, caramels, molasses drops, lemon cakes, little pastries dusted with sugar on top, jams, honey pots, loaves of fresh bread.

Her mouth immediately began to water in anticipation.

This was not to suggest that Rivendell was completely devoid of sweets. However, the elves were simply much more conservative with their sugar intake. Sure, Brili could gorge herself on a full plate of sweets every night if she liked but she'd run their supply dry before too long. The elf that runs the kitchens would hunt her down over that kind of behavior so Brili had learned to modify her appetite for sweets very quickly upon her arrival in Rivendell. But here? Well, she would only be staying for a day, she could buy the whole cart if she chose to…

So that's exactly what she did.

She bought every single sweet treat that this vendor had on offer, leaving behind the finely baked loaves for the denizens of this little town. The keeper, a plump, red headed hobbit, was absolutely delighted to have sold the vast majority of her inventory in one transaction; the children were inconsolable. From the stall, Brili set off to wait for Gandalf somewhere away from all of the hustle and bustle of the marketplace. Just outside of the main square she found a hill that boasted an old oak tree with ample shade. It was the perfect place for her to settle in for the day and enjoy her snack.

By the time the sun had begun to set, her clothes and cheeks were dusted with crumbs and sugar and her tummy was more than sated. With a happy hum, she tucked the burlap satchel full of hard candies into her traveling pack and folded the remaining cakes into neat, paper wrapped parcels to enjoy on the way back. Finally, brushing the remnants of her afternoon meal off of her clothes, she rose from her perch and decided that it would be a good time to search for the meeting place. At first she decided to just roam the streets near the marketplace to see if she could find him there. She wasn't really sure where to go after that though…

Just as she began to consider turning back for their steeds and waiting for Gandalf there she spotted a glowing silver arrow etched into the wood of a road sign.

The house was not at all hard to find thanks to these markers that she was sure that Gandalf had created to guide her to their meeting place. As she marched up to the front door, green as promised, she noticed with a frown that beneath the handle he had carved a Dwarvish rune. Annoying; she stopped reading runes and speaking Dwarf when she'd met Gandalf and never told him that she could read runes. Oh well, it must have just been an assumption on his part and one that was not entirely incorrect, she supposed. Looking around to make sure that the roads were empty, she lowered her hood and untied her mask so that she could greet her new charge properly.

Raising her fist, she politely rapped on the door.

After a few moments with no answer she knocked again. Just as she had begun to worry that she had gone to the wrong place and was about to step away from the door it finally cracked open. A shaggy mop of fair hair was the first thing to greet her before the man it belonged to followed it. A man who was quite obviously not expecting company as he was wearing his dressing gown.

Surely Gandalf would have told him that she'd be coming?

"Um, hello?" he finally ventured after a moment of tight silence between them.

"Hello," she answered, keeping her voice friendly but still professional. Luckily, her tone did not convey even an of the nervous excitement she felt. "Is he here yet?"

"Huh? Is who here?"

"The wizard, of course," she answered, taking a gamble and crossing the threshold into his home. After all, he'd left the door open. "He told me to arrive around sundown. I might be a bit early."

The hobbit stammered unintelligibly at her as Brili followed her nose to find his kitchen. A kitchen that was about to succumb to the stench of burnt fish if someone didn't flip that! Moving quickly, she did the sensible thing and flipped his dinner over to cook on the other side. If he noticed her efforts then he didn't say anything about them.

"There isn't a wizard here, not since this morning," the hobbit finally told her. "You've missed him."

Oh good, she was worried that she'd gone to the wrong place. He must not have finished with his errands yet. She turned to the homeowner and nodded. "I see, I'll wait here for him then. Do you want me to plate this? It's going to char before long…"

That got him moving, he quickly sidled up beside her and began arranging his supper on a plate. As he worked he kept glancing over at her nervously and Brili found it rather odd that he didn't ask her any questions about her experience or what route they would be taking. In fact, he was acting as if he wasn't even sure why she was there at all.

"Do you…?" He began looking around for an extra plate.

She smiled, warmed by the gesture. "No thank you, that's very kind of you but I've already eaten."

"Oh, good." There really wasn't much to share anyways.

He sat down and prepared to dig in, Brili kept herself busy by wandering over to what she presumed was the formal dining room. It was a nice house, spacious but still cozy; clearly well maintained and lived in. She had forgotten what it was like to be surrounded by things built with her height in mind. When the doorbell rang they both startled a little but the hobbit had literally leapt out of his seat like it had been replaced with hot coals. He looked at Brili with an expression that suggested that he was under duress.

Brili was starting to understand why Gandalf had hired her, this fellow was quite jumpy.

"That should be him," she baited, nodding her chin towards the door.

As he got up to answer the door Brili took the liberty of examining the fireplace in the living room which had a number of decorative trinkets. Small ceramic figurines of hunting dogs and ponies were tucked snuggly together and bookended by two small vases of fine quality. Unable to fight her curiosity she carefully lifted the figurine in the center of a smiling hobbit girl holding a basket of flowers. It was exquisitely crafted and painted flawlessly.

She heard the front door opening.

"Dwalin," a voice announced from outside, "at your service."

Brili's heart nearly plunged into her stomach the moment she'd heard the name 'Dwalin' and the figurine that she'd been holding slipped out of her hands that had suddenly gone slack. The porcelain hobbit went straight for the floor and shattered upon the impact. Brili didn't notice, her suddenly empty hands instinctively flew towards her hood and cowl to cover some of her identity.

"Uh— Bilbo Baggins, at… yours?"

Her heart began pounding against her rib cage and the sound of her blood pumped loudly in her ears, making it difficult to hear what they were saying. She was sure that whoever was at the door had just said their name was Dwalin. If that was true…

If it was who she thought it was then she was in a serious bind.

She pressed herself flat against the wall of the living room, hoping to get a quick look at the new guest. All she could make out was a bald head but that was enough. His head was littered with some very familiar tattoos and there was no mistaking that bulky frame. What was he doing here? Was this some sort of weird coincidence? For a second time, her heart plummeted into her belly as the question popped in her head: had she been somehow compromised?

Okay, this was obviously not the time for questions, she had to get out of here before he noticed her or, infinitely worse, discerned her true identity. Suddenly her hood and cowl didn't feel like enough of a disguise, as if the fabric had become invisible and that one glance from Dwalin would reveal who she was. With trembling hands she reached into her side pocket and grabbed her mask to cover her eyes as well. She made quick work of tying the leather cord to her hair tie to secure it in place. It still didn't feel like enough…

She wanted to move towards the door but she wasn't sure if there was a way to the front door that didn't cut through the kitchen. While their host—Bilbo, she believed he'd said—was looking around the room for her Dwalin had helped himself to his meal.

One wrong move and he'd see her.

When the doorbell rang again a bit of sweat had begun to form on her forehead. She could hear a chair scraping against the floor and footsteps thunk across the kitchen, closer to the pantry. Perhaps she could sneak past now? No, it would be better to try and find another way to the door. Not even trusting herself to draw a full breath, she began to slide across the wall to the opposite end of the living room. She'd try to reach the door from the other side.

Now there was a second familiar voice coming from the kitchen that caused her knees to tremble so much that Brili could barely keep herself upright. Another one of her uncle's cousins, Balin, had arrived. Unable to begin to string together anything that even resembled a coherent thought, she relied on her instincts to guide her into the dark hallway.

All she had to do was reach the front door, open it, and bolt. It would be dark by now so she should be able to use that to her advantage once she got outside… She stalked slowly, her legs so unsteady that she had to pause between each step to regain her balance, towards the round front door.

Her heart pounded in her throat as her trembling fingers brushed the brass handle.

She'd head straight for Borias and flee this town.

Just as she finally got her sweating hand to wrap around the doorknob, the bell chimed again.

She stumbled backwards with a few soft but still audible thumps. The last thing she wanted was to be noticed so she clumsily edged further in the recesses of the house to take refuge in the darkness. She slipped into the first open door she came across and pressed herself against the wall. She could hear the hobbit grumbling loudly but whatever he was saying was completely lost on her.

She had to get out of here, she didn't even want to imagine who was there now.

The front door opened with a creak.

"Fili."

No.

"And Kili"

By Mahal, please no. I'll do anything…

Brili had to hold her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming.

"At your service."

This was not a coincidence, this was a trap.