Thanks to RivvyElf over at Ao3 for beta reading this chapter!

Please enjoy this latest update and feel welcome to share any feedback. :)

I plan on updating at least once in December before the holidays kick into high gear.

Thank you for reading, friends!

- Kim

"Again."

Brili should have been surprised when an actual snarl burst out of her as she lunged for Aragorn with her wooden practice sword, but she wasn't. He was trouncing her, and she'd long passed her self-awareness and patience threshold for the day. For the umpteenth time that afternoon, he easily slipped past her, which caused her to tip over and waste valuable practice time readjusting her stance after landing.

"And again," he demanded humorlessly.

His tone was so dismissively calculating, and it pissed her off. Still, she gripped the unpolished hilt tighter than she needed to and swung out to tap his side. He dodged her easily, no effort wasted on his part. She desperately tried to save face and slid into the dust to double back and attack from behind. Still, her efforts were wasted as Aragorn lazily flicked her dummy sword to the ground with his.

"I sincerely hope you did not sign up for the mock tournament."

Yeah, this session was over.

"Arwen wouldn't allow me to compete past the qualifiers," Brili grumbled, tossing her weapon down by her feet. "Something about my head injury."

"I am astounded you even made it to the qualifiers with form like that."

She glared at him over her shoulder. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I asked you."

"You are in rare spirits this afternoon."

"Yeah," she mumbled, returning to unwinding linen wrapping from her left hand, "and if you know what's good for you, then you'll leave it alone."

"Because I am oft threatened by a girl that stands as tall as my waist?"

"I'll bite you," she warned, an empty threat, and they both knew it.

Aragorn would throttle her if she even tried.

The two of them cleaned up the area they'd been working in quietly, soft grunts uttered in exchange for communication. Not that there was anything Brili had wanted to talk about. It had been four days since Kili had shown up next to her healing room bed and her subsequent discharge from the healing ward. After her brother's unwelcome visit, Brili had hoped that Lord Elrond would contain the plague of dwarves, but it turned out to be a futile wish. She saw them everywhere now. On her way to the baths, the kitchens, the gardens, and even the library had been invaded by Balin and Ori.

She just wanted them to leave already so things could return to normal.

"Well," Aragorn called out from across the room, interrupting her brooding, "let's hear it."

Brili sighed and gave her mentor an exhausted look. "Let's hear what?"

"Do not trifle with me. You had better form your first week of training."

He was right… She'd wasted her time and his with that practice session. The least she could do was explain herself. "It's been a week."

He raised a brow. "Is this regarding Elrond's honored guests?"

"They haven't bothered me once since we got back… Well, there was that one time when Kili showed up at my bedside, but he left almost right away…"

Aragorn stooped down to pick up the practice shields and set them to rights. "I thought you had no desire to see them."

She frowned, her thumb brushing her recently shaved chin thoughtfully. "No… I mean, I don't… I would prefer not to see them at all…"

"Then I fail to see what the problem is."

Because it seems like they gave up a little too easily…

"They are planning something…" she said slowly as if she were testing the idea.

It didn't seem like a stretch of the imagination to assume… She had a stubborn streak that went deeper than some mountain valleys, and she was sure it was inherited from her family. For them to just let this all go so easily felt… wrong, not like she had done something wrong but like she would be blindsided by them any moment now.

"I highly doubt that."

She shook her head, her assertion growing more confident as she dwelled on it. "No. No, they are. This, my being here, isn't something that they would accept without a fight…"

"What is there for them to accept? You are a grown woman, are you not?"

"I was a grown woman when they tried to marry me off, in case you've forgotten," she said sourly.

"This all sounds rather far-fetched," Aragorn assured.

When Brili looked up at him, it looked like he was planning on saying something else, but a shuffling sound near the practice area caused him to pause. Both rangers looked over to spot Arwen bustling toward them at a remarkable pace. While Arwen was no stranger to physical activity, Brili had always found that Elrond's daughter was the only person she knew who could maintain a decent sprint without a single hair falling out of place.

So she was amazed to notice that Arwen looked slightly disheveled for the first time since knowing her.

"There you are…" Arwen huffed, roughly grasping Brili by the shoulder and pulling her away from Aragorn's side. "I've been looking all over for you. You need to come with me with haste."

"What?" Brili cast a nervous glance up to Arwen. "Why? What is happening?"

"There is a small group of dwarves in my father's office at present. They seem to believe that you are their lost princess and attempting to arrange your departure."

Brili's heart plummeted. They had been planning something. To make matters worse, they'd taken the fight over her head and to the master of these lands. If she wanted to save herself, she needed to hurry. Without giving Arwen another thought, Brili sprinted down the corridor with all the grace she'd lacked during her afternoon practice session.

By the time she'd arrived at the ornately carved doors to Elrond's office, she was all but certain that she was already too late. She allowed herself to rest for a count of ten before she forced the doors wide open, not even bothering to knock, which, in hindsight, would have probably been the better approach. When she'd pushed the doors open unannounced, Elrond was the only one who looked even remotely surprised to see her. Thorin looked as if he'd been expecting her arrival any moment, while Kili dared to face the door with a smug expression.

Fili was the only one that looked even remotely apologetic.

"Bri," he began with a hand stretching out placatingly, wordlessly urging her to reign her temper in, "we were just—"

"I know exactly what the three of you are doing," she seethed around her suddenly erratic breathing and the thudding from her chest. "Get. Out. Now."

Elrond cleared his throat. "Ah, yes. I'm glad my daughter was able to find you. Brili, these dwarves claim that they are connected to your—"

"They know nothing about me."

She shouldn't have interrupted Elrond like that. It was bad form.

Thorin folded his arms over his chest, glaring down at her like she was some child who needed to be chastised. "I think this little game of yours has gone on long enough."

Brili ignored him, staring at Elrond desperately. "Whatever they tell you is a lie; I don't know these dwarves. I've never spoken with them before my assignment."

Please, for the love of Mahal, believe me.

Elrond sighed, rubbing his chin in thought before turning towards his desk to retrieve an open tome. When he turned around, Brili recognized it immediately. It was a book from the library chronicling a detailed history of Dwarven lineage. It happened to be the book that she'd defaced upon arriving in Rivendell. Elrond's finger hovered over a dark ink splotch on the page next to Kili's name.

"They claim that your name has been doctored from the record. This is not a tome I have looked through, so I can't say for certain."

His tone was telling. Suppose she weren't in such a horrible position already. In that case, she'd almost be worried about what would happen when the head scribe learned that one of his meticulous records was defiled without his knowing. Brili swallowed, the action uncomfortable because her throat had gone dry.

Running a trembling hand over her head, she meekly whispered, "What are you going to do with me? I don't want to leave…"

Elrond didn't have to speak for her to understand that he would not be able to grant her request. She hadn't been in the room when it happened, but she did not doubt that Thorin had made some pretty impressive threats. Undoubtedly, he bandied around his title as Durin's ancestor more than once. Nothing would bring Elrond to quicker action than the threat of diplomatic upset.

"What have you done?" she asked Thorin, not bothering to turn and face him.

"My duty as your kin," was his unwavering, firm reply. "I will be arranging for you to return home. You've caused no small amount of distress in your extended absence."

A shuddering laugh escaped Brili, almost too quietly for anyone else to hear. "So that's it then? I'm to be locked away again…"

"You are not being imprisoned, girl."

"You will have to treat me as such. Because if you don't lock me up, then I will leave. And I will never stop… No matter what you do, how many times you drag me back there. I will find my way out of that mountain again, and again, and again."

She had more tools in her arsenal now than when she'd first left home. A frightened, sniveling princess had been able to escape that mountain, so she did not doubt that, as a ranger, she'd have no problem doing the same. The only problem was that once she escaped, she'd have nowhere safe to go. She wouldn't be able to return to Rivendell. With that in mind, if she could, she would prefer to convince Thorin and her brothers that their best course of action would be to allow her to remain here. She turned to face him, prepared to match her uncle's glare for glare.

Her uncle was not, and likely never would be, regarded as a tender-hearted dwarf; years of battle-hardened grit had tempered that gentleness out of him. The pride that ran through the line of Durin ran deepest with him, and his compassion was reserved for those who had lost their home when Erebor was taken decades ago. Thorin had lost too much to afford the luxury of kindly sentiments. So the expression on his face, while not exactly tender, held more emotion than Brili had ever expected to see. His jaw was tight but not with anger; his brows pinched but not in frustration.

He looked… relieved.

As if he'd heard her train of thought, he said, "I never thought I'd hear you argue with me again… as frustrating as it is. I'm glad for this."

The girl who had left home wanted to hear nothing but those words. However, Brili was no longer that girl. The woman that Brili had become knew better than to wrap herself up in the empty words of others. He wasn't going to trick her again.

"Spare me your empty words." Thorin's eyes widened, but she did not allow him to speak. "I mean it. I will not return to the mountains. I don't care who you send for me. I'll be able to find my way out of their reach."

"Oh?" A telling smirk, more familiar territory. "You think so?"

Hmph, think? I know so.

"I do."

"Mmm…" Thorin's thick fingers mussed his beard, the look on his face growing grim. "I did not want to have to resort to this…"

"Pfft, resort to what? There's nothing you can do about it." Some of her confidence was returning. That was a good thing. She needed all the confidence she could get right about now. "Send whatever envoy you can think of my way. You could send an army, and it still won't be enough."

He nodded. "You're right about that. You've always been far too clever for your own good, girl. Still, I think your brothers should be capable of reigning you in. Don't you think?"

"Ha! I'd like to see them try!"

Kili visibly bristled. "You couldn't outsmart me if you…"

"Uncle," Fili interrupted his younger siblings with a hand on Kili's shoulder, "you don't mean that…"

Kili paused, his face scrunching up before going completely slack. "Wait a second… You don't mean we're bringing her home, do you?!"

Thorin regarded his nephews with a somber expression. "I did not want it to come to this, but your sister makes a good point. I would not entrust this task to anyone but the two of you."

"But the—"

Fili was interrupted by Thorin clearing his throat loudly, a warning nod towards Elrond, who wasn't even doing them the courtesy of pretending not to listen. "I understand that you may find this decision regrettable, but I don't see another way to ensure Brili's safe return."

And thus, for the first time in five years, the three siblings ganged up on Thorin.

Brili's objections were the most audible, with her voice becoming rather shrill compared to her brothers. Kili's were by far the most distracting, as he flailed his arms around emphatically and pointed at his sister accusingly. Fili, as expected, was the most logical of the three but couldn't be heard over the squawking of the other two.

After a few gratingly loud moments where the three of them desperately tried to argue over the others, Fili roughly grabbed the collars of Brili and Kili's shirts and dragged them away from Thorin. With a curt 'stay put' to the two of them and a suspicious glare towards Lord Elrond, he managed to excuse himself and Thorin to stand just outside the door. Brili and Kili stared after them incredulously, the silence between the siblings thick and tense.

Finally, Kili murmured, "I can't believe you've managed to ruin this for me…"

The sensible thing for Brili to have done would have been to ignore what he said. Her training had helped desensitize her and turned her into a neutral canvas. Her success as a ranger revolved around her ability to think first and then act based on rationale and facts. Feelings were no longer supposed to be a driving force for her; she thought she had shed them like a second skin.

All of Aragorn's hard work seemed ineffective regarding Brili's frustrations with her family.

She tackled Kili, knocking him to the floor only because she'd managed to catch him by surprise. The pair rolled into a grappling heap on the ground, rolling into Elrond's desk in a flurry of growls, flailing limbs, objectionable language, and one loud thump. At one point, it looked like Kili may have the upper hand until Brili kneed his sternum and wrangled him back down. In the end, Brili had succeeded in pinning Kili down, crushing his ribs tightly with her knees.

Panting, Brili reared her fist back but could not strike him.

"WHY?" she roared in his face, unable to keep her emotions in check but still unable to bring herself to punch her brother. "WHY?"

The brown eyes glaring at her were so dark and angry that they nearly broke her. "Why what?"

Why had they found her? Why wasn't she allowed to stay in Rivendell? Why had it all come to this after she'd worked so hard to protect herself and start a new life?

Why had they even forced her hand in the first place?

Any one of those questions would have sufficed. Instead, all she could manage was a feeble, shuddering murmur. "I was finally happy again, and the three of you just—"

Two gentle hands on her shoulders pulled her upright before she could finish. Half expecting to see her uncle or Fili coming to Kili's rescue, she turned only to see Elrond's impartial gaze staring back at her. The elven ruler did not remove his hands, two solid weights helping to bring Brili back to baseline. Behind his lips were no admonitions, no commands to bottle her anger; his eyes held no rebuke.

"You are angry," Elrond told her quietly, his voice calm like two dwarves hadn't just scuffled under his very nose. "It is never wise to act in anger, as I'm sure my ward has coached you numerous times."

She'd have honestly preferred it if he'd scolded her. "I apologize, my lord, for causing a spectacle in your office."

A flicker of amusement flashed across his face, gone a moment later. "If you believe this to be the first fight to have broken out in this office, then you must think me a very dull indeed."

"What will you do with me?" She didn't want to know the truth. Still, she had to ask. "Will you allow them to take me? I want to stay here…"

"If you are the royalty they claim you to be, then I fear that complicates matters."

She frowned, chewing on her lower lip thoughtfully. Thorin had no way of proving that she was their princess definitively. Would it be plausible for her to continue to deny any relationship with them? No… Her uncle would likely bring forward multiple witnesses to corroborate his claims. Not to mention that she would never have attacked a stranger like she'd just done moments ago. She'd already spoiled her lie there.

She'd already left one home… It wasn't fair that now she would also have to leave this one.

"If I might interrupt."

Gandalf's arrival was not expected, but, in hindsight, she shouldn't have been surprised to see him. The wizard was the most meddlesome man she'd ever met. Fili and Thorin stepped into the room behind him, their faces reflecting their discomfort.

Gandalf looked at Elrond genially, indicating that he was mighty pleased with himself over something. "Lord Elrond, a word, if you don't mind. I believe these four require a little privacy."

Brili would have much preferred that they had stayed. Unfortunately, the wizard and the Elven lord vacated the room side-by-side, murmuring to the other in hushed tones. Gandalf winked at her conspiratorially, his bushy eyebrows tickling his cheek as he did so, just before he'd shut the door behind them. If he hadn't saved her life five years ago, she'd really consider throttling him for all of this…

Thorin cleared his throat loudly. "The wizard has made a suggestion. One that I am not inclined to consider if it were not for your brother's insistence, Brili."

He would be sorely disappointed if he expected her to speak with him. Doing her best to put on an air of boredom, she leaned against Elrond's desk. There wasn't much in the way of weaponry on it, not that she'd expected there to be… Lying open was the tome she'd defaced a few years ago, a quill pen… That might do. She could try to stab someone in the eye with it…

Fili stepped forward. "According to Gandalf—"

"Mithrandir," Brili corrected snootily. Not that she regularly referred to him by such a name, but she wanted to ensure that her family learned whose side she was on now.

And it was not theirs.

An annoyed glare was all that her behavior earned. "Whatever he's called. The wizard says that you've been training as a ranger. He had originally hired you as a guide."

And he still owes me money for that.

"What of it?"

Fili glanced nervously at Thorin as if he'd never outgrown the insatiable need for his mentor's approval before answering. "He suggests that you should join the company."

Well, that was unexpected. The idea itself wasn't exactly outlandish. She could see where Gandalf had come to that conclusion. What was unbelievable was the fact that her uncle and brother seemed to be entertaining the suggestion. At least considering it enough to mention to her.

She glared at Fili mistrustfully; it had to be a trick. "What's the catch?"

If her brother was bothered by her lack of faith in him, he did not let it show. "No catch, Bri. You can come with us to retake the mountain, or the three of us will return home to Mother."

Her jaded glare shifted towards Thorin. "And what do you have to say about this?"

"I dislike it. However, ensuring you do not pull another disappearing act will be easier if you are with us."

"You have got to be kidding me!" Kili's tone was incredulous, and his face red with anger. "I had to train for months for this, and now she's allowed to join without a second thought? After what she's done?!"

"Kili," Fili warned meaningfully, "it's either this or you, and I return home to Mother with her in tow."

That shut him up quickly, but not quickly enough for the damage to have already been done. Anger and indifference wrapped around Brili like protective armor as she lazily picked dirt under her fingernails. Her family had done nothing besides try to stifle her and force her into the role of some doting wife to a dwarf she'd never met before. And they had the stones to accuse her of wrongdoing.

"Really, Kili? What I've done? That's rich coming from the mouth of a snake, isn't it?"

If Fili hadn't intervened, Kili would have knocked her to the floor. With a loud thump, both brothers collided with each other as Fili worked to restrain his incensed younger brother.

"That's enough, Brili," Thorin scolded, his icy eyes fixating on her in a way that made her shift uncomfortably. "Fili, Kili, step outside for a moment. I believe that I am owed a conversation with your sister."

I don't owe you shit.

"That's an excellent idea, Uncle," Fili agreed. "Come on, Ki, I think Bombur's made lunch by this time."

As Fili dragged a grumbling Kili out of the room, Brili briefly contemplated if she should attempt to leap off the balcony or one of the windows adorning Elrond's office. After a few mental calculations, most of which ended in at least one broken limb, she decided defenestration was not wise. It was still an enticing prospect, though.

"You should know that he was the one hit hardest by your disappearance." Brili shifted her head just enough to regard Thorin out of the corner of her eye. "In fact, he nearly sliced me in two the first time I attempted to disband the search party."

Don't do it. Do not engage. He's looking for your weak spot.

Her tense fingers gripped Elrond's desk with enough force that the wood groaned softly under the pressure. Her jaw was clenched so tightly that she was sure she'd crack a tooth soon if she kept it up. In her peripheral vision, she watched Thorin approach the desk and rest a loosely closed fist next to the tome from which she'd attempted to erase her existence.

He was far too close for comfort. Brili pushed off of her perch to put some space between them.

"Do you intend to punish us with this coldness until the end of our days?" When she did not answer, he smiled ruefully, his eyes never leaving the stain of ink that had engulfed her name. "I see, just as stubborn as your mother was at your age."

It would hardly be sufficient even if she'd been silent as a punishment. Still, that was not her goal. This was no punishment; it was self-preservation, a desperate attempt to rebuild the wall that was crumbling to dust despite every effort she made to repair it.

Her uncle continued to speak as if her silence was as natural to him as a spirited exchange. "I am not sure if I can trust a dwarf in my company that refuses any attempts at civil communication. How am I to gauge if you have the necessary experience to hold your weight if my questions fall on deaf ears?"

"I've no interest in your stupid quest," she huffed rudely.

Shit.

"Oh? Why did you travel west to the hobbit's home if you had no interest?"

The floodgates had opened. Once Thorin had an inch, he would take a mile; her brothers, too. Brili was doomed from the moment they'd walked into the hobbit's home. She sighed heavily.

"I already told you it was an accident. If Gandalf had told me you'd be there, I would have turned the work down."

Thorin looked up, regarding her carefully. "You had no intention of ever returning? Or doing us the simple courtesy of informing us of your fate?"

"Does an escaped convict write to the warden?" Some of the tension was easing out of her shoulders, but her legs were still coiled and ready to flee. "It made no sense for me to return, not with the bounty on my head."

"Bounty?"

"Don't act stupid, Thorin," she warned lowly, "you sold me the night of my birthday. Tell me, what did he offer you? Gold? An army? What was my life worth?"

He sighed before saying, "Bofur offered nothing in exchange for your engagement. He's a miner, not a nobleman."

"I see. You were so desperate to be rid of me that you took even the lowest offer. That's a shame, but I think I'm worth more than that now. You may want to raise the price."

"You have misunderstood the situation entirely."

She laughed humorlessly. "No, I really don't think I've misunderstood—"

"People began to talk, Brili," he interrupted, speaking over her. "They asked your mother and me about your plans for the future. You had no discernible trade, no interests outside of sword practice, or whatever book had captured your attention at the time. With this quest soon to be underway, it made sense to see you settled down as soon as possible. Bofur was chosen not for what he could offer us but for what he might be able to offer you."

Lies. All of it.

"I want nothing to do with him," she spat.

"Well, you may find that difficult as he is a member of my company now, and you will soon be a part of it as well."

"I've already told you that I don't care about—"

"I am left with few options, Brili," he countered. "On the one hand, I could send you home with your brothers, jeopardizing my company and the outcome of this entire journey. On the other, I take you with us, jeopardizing your life. Do either of those options sound favorable to you?"

"Or you could leave me here."

It was worth a shot anyway.

Brili did not recognize the dark, murderous look that passed over Thorin's expression like a storm cloud. For just a moment, he didn't even look like her uncle.

"I would sooner fall by my own sword before I allowed a member of my kin to remain in the clutches of elves. Such a disgrace to the line of Durin is unacceptable."

It was at that moment that Brili understood that she would be going with them to retake Erebor. However, not her skills or wit had earned her a spot in the company. No, she would be just as much a prisoner out in the wild with his company as she would have been in the mountain.

"Your brother is right, though; we cannot afford to lose anyone this early on in the quest. You will be joining us to retake your homeland. I suggest you prepare yourself accordingly."

She would join the efforts to retake Erebor only because her uncle would not allow anything or anyone to interfere with his goal.