For a long time she just stood there, trying to comprehend the words and stared at Elrond. What was he trying to say? That she was going to die? At least it relieved her that it didn't seem to mean that Fíli would get hurt, or the rest of her family. And she also knew that she wouldn't tell her husband about it at the moment. Maybe not at all.

"We probably have to assume there will be another battle in which Gundabad will be fully destroyed. But it does not say when it will be or when or how you might die. The Orcs that attacked us were from Gundabad as well" so it was true and she would die. "I know prophecies cannot easily be eluded but I think we should still try. Perhaps you should stay somewhere where you are in safety and should it come to that battle not fight. After all, you still are like a daughter to me" she gave a little nod even though she was not convinced

"But I mean it says my help is very much need that the real gets destroyed. And maybe if I try to flee and get to safety that's exactly how I will die. And the last thing I want is to cower and live in fear for the rest of my life."

"I understand. But you should let your family know and discuss what to do" she couldn't even nod again and only asked if she could leave because it was getting a bit too much for her. He agreed and only after she left she realised that she still was holding the parchment. Either the Elf hadn't noticed she had it or was alright with her taking it. Without detours she went to their room where she found Fíli. After she opened the door he got up from the armchair and she couldn't help but throw herself into his arms, feeling tears in her eyes suddenly. She knew how mean it was that she would break his heart so soon because she knew very much what he would be going through if she told him. That made her consider if she even should let him know at all. But she knew that she definitely would tell Kíli first and even ask him if it was a good idea to talk to her husband. For a while they hugged and she buried her face against his chest while he softly stroked her hair.

"Will you tell me what's bothering you?"

"It's nothing" she evaded, feeling bad for the lie because it felt wrong to say

"But I can see you are worried and shaken"

"Well, I'm just really happy to have you. I was just thinking again about how I almost lost you because Elrond reminded me of it" it wasn't exactly a lie. But she wasn't sure if he believed her but at least he didn't say anything anymore. When she let go of him, he saw the parchment in her hand and looked at it

"What's this?" giving a shrug she considered what to say so she stayed silent for a while "Is it the reason for the way you are feeling right now? What happened? What is it and what does it say?" when she still didn't answer, he cupped her face "Please talk to me. Tell me, I just want to help you in whatever way I can" he leant his forehead to hers.

"I'm sorry… I don't think I can. At least right now, so maybe later. I think I need some time" slowly he gave a nod but wanted to know again if the parchment and what was on was responsible for her behaviour. "Yes" she whispered

"Don't you worry now. We can do this. Whatever it is. Together" he took her hands giving them a squeeze. But she wasn't sure about it, in fact even doubted it greatly because she knew there was nothing to do. It made her, however, decide right there and then that she wanted to talk to her husband about the prophecy when she was ready. Whenever that would be. After all there were things he had to promise her.

"What did my brother want with you anyways?" she inquired to distract them both

"First, he gave me a lecture about how I should take very good care of you and to make you happy and I would dearly regret it if I as much as hurt you" she smiled at that even though it also made her feel bad because he couldn't protect her. Not this time.

"Yes, Kíli did the same before our wedding. Ere he got me to the throne room, he pulled me aside and said something along these lines too. It only made me more nervous even though I knew I'd never hurt you"

"I didn't even know this" he chuckled "Well, after he was done, Aragorn wanted to set up trade relationships with Erebor because he found we better do this right now as long as we both are here rather than with delegates in a while. We didn't discuss the details today though. I hope you're not against this"

"Not this time" she grinned

"I also offered to give them a sum to help with the rebuilding of the cities"

"That's a good idea. Like this we can put the gold to a good use. And more of that damned gold finally leaves Erebor" he only nodded and pulled her back into a hug "Also I wanted to tell you how good you look in those clothes. Don't get me wrong, I love it when you wear Dwarvish things as usual but our clothing fits you really well too. Maybe even better"

"Same goes for you" she snorted

"You do know that a great amount of my dresses were made in Dale and not Erebor?" her husband muttered something incomprehensible before he asked how long she planned to stay here in Gondor.

"I can't say really. What about you? Do you want to leave as soon as we can?"

"We just need to discuss the trade relationship in the following days but then I'm ready. Maybe if you wanna leave before, Kíli could go with you"

"No, that's fine. I can stay a few days longer. It's my brother after all. Even though a part of me can't wait to get back home. I guess you're feeling the same" he nodded

"Well, then is there something that you want to do while we're still here? Or if we're underway?" she knew a lot of things she wanted to do. Like finding out more about the prophecy and also catching up with the Hobbits a bit more and meet Arwen. And maybe even tell her loved ones of the prophecy. Then she started to feel weird again because somehow these things felt like something she had to do before she died and also hated the fact that she would hurt everyone around her with her death and the knowledge it was going to happen. All she knew was that she wanted to spend the time she had left as happily as possible. To her relief there was a knock at the door that pulled her from the negative thoughts. Only now she realised how physically close she still had been to Fíli but now pulled away from him so she could open the door. The visitors turned out to be Aragorn and Arwen. Now she forced the bad thoughts down for good and to appear happy because the last thing she wanted was her brother getting worried too or her future-sister-in law to meet her like this. She made a fake deep bow to her brother.

"Your most royal highness" she spoke

"No worries, I'm still Aragorn to you" her brother laughed and she couldn't help but do the same "Well, I'm here because I waned you to meet my fiancée, Arwen"

"I'm very pleased to finally meet you. I'm Lhindril, Aragorn's sister, as you surely know. And congratulations for the betrothal I suppose"

"Thank you. And then you must be Lhindril's husband?"

"I am. Fíli, at your service" she held out her hand but he simply bowed, then still took the hand and shook it, making both the women smile. "Should you see a dark-haired Dwarf with little beard who is about my size that would be my most annoying little brother and full-time nuisance Kíli"

"Oh come on. I thought you loved your brother. Now you speak of him like that? Fie" she said in faked shock

"But it is the truth, right?"

"Alright I think we better leave you discussing that in peace before anyone wants to insult the new king. At least right on front of me" Aragorn explained with a little chuckle "And once you're done, you're cordially invited to dinner" after a short nod at his sister, Aragorn and his fiancée left and Fíli and Lhindril followed them immediately. This time there were a lot more people in the dining hall and she wondered if it maybe was a feast for the coronation. Many of the tables were already full and for a moment she worried they wouldn't find room but as it seemed, her brother was prepared and could sit at one of the biggest table with the other members of the Fellowship, Faramir, Éowyn, Elrond with his children and some people from the council. As soon as she saw the twin sons of her adoptive father, she smiled and as it seemed they saw her too and waved her over, insisting she had to sit with them so that they could catch up. Luckily, Kíli had taken a seat next to Elrohir so that Fíli too joined them without much of a discussion.

"Well, little one?" Elladan asked immediately "Did you think you could just disappear like this again"

"Exactly" his brother on her left agreed "You just disappeared without a word. And a few months ago when you returned you didn't even bother to find us. You owe us something"

"I asked for you. Elrond said you weren't there" she defended herself.

"Where have you even been all these years?" they just ignored her question but she was pretty much used to that. And they talked so much that often you couldn't even get a word in between with all their questions.

"Did the thought of marriage cross your mind at some point? We'd still be free" she let out a deep sigh and rolled her eyes. Did no one explain these two where she lived now and what her life looked like? Well, she did realise that part of it was her fault too because she really could have written them at some point. Or even visited. To be fair, she did write Elrond but after he didn't reply at some point she somehow had forgotten about it.

"Take that back immediately, you pointy eared goat" Fíli protested who of course had heard all of it.

"Why? If you're interested, get in line; Dwarf. We were here first" Elrohir, who had always been the louder or the two, joked.

"Get in line? Did I hear that right? I have no idea who you two bastards are or who you think you are but you will stay away from her" he even jumped up and before Lhindril could say something, he tried pulling her away from the Elves "Come on, let's go. These guys are only bothering us" she broke away and shook her head.

"No, it's fine, Fíli. This are my friends. I grew up with them in Rivendell, they're like brothers and they know it too. Though they are a bit crazy but it's not my fault"

"Who do you call crazy?" by now a lot of people were looking at them.

"And you know this cretin?" he pointed at Fíli, making her gasp

"That's enough" her husband shouted and now it seemed like he was about to attack the Elves. Luckily, she was faster and stopped him

"Wait, love" then she turned to the brothers "And you two should pay more attention to what you say. This is my husband" this obviously surprised the two

"Really?"

"We had no idea. Sorry" the last part was directed at her husband

"Elves" Fíli muttered "of course they couldn't think before talking" at least he sat back down

"But honestly, Lhindril. A Dwarf, huh? Weren't we good enough?" she only shook her head and threw a glare at Elrohir.

"I could ask my wife the same. Elves? I never thought she had to grow up with such people. I do feel sorry for her"

"Oh come on, Fíli, they don't mean it"

"I didn't know Elves could even do jokes and be funny. I thought they only are serious all the time and never smile" she reached over, taking his arm and giving it a squeeze, as it to show him that she was with him. He even got up and came over to her, cupping her face and giving her a little kiss as if to make matters clear for everyone. Then she asked him to sit back down and that everyone would please just forget about this. Fíli did listen but sat down right next to her and then pulled her into his lap. She didn't mind really but of course the Elven brothers exchanged a glance and it wasn't before long that a comment followed.

"So it seems the great Dwarven king takes orders from his wife?" ere her husband could say something she told the Elf to shut up and if they thought it still was funny they were mistaken. After a short while of silence she decided to change the topic and asked them what news were there from their sides.

"Well not that much but we have something to tell you, now that you're old enough"

"Do I even wanna hear it?"

"It's about our mother. After all, you always asked where she was and why we thought that your father's death was our fault"

"Go on" she said, actually interested in what they would have to say now.

"A couple of hundred years ago our mother was abducted by Orcs during a journey" Elladan started and she already thought she didn't like the story too much. His brother continued

"We could save her a couple of months later but she had so many wounds to recover from and lost her joy in life. So she soon left for Valinor. After that we wanted revenge on Orcs and often rode out to find them and kill a few of them"

"We did that for quite a long time and often we were accompanied by others. Dúnedain to be exact. And well the last ride did not really turn out as we wanted it to and after that we almost stopped"

"That last time…." she started, having an idea what this was about "That's when my father and I were there, right?" oddly she didn't feel as bad as she thought she would have

"Indeed. But it's not all. I mean we assume that our father mentioned the prophecy?" Elladan continued, making everything even worse by mentioning the thing that currently bothered her most. And to her dismay the Dwarves now spoke up

"What prophecy?" they asked almost in unison. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. Why did this stupid Elf have to mention it right away on that day already?

"You didn't tell them?"

"Well no, I only learned of it such a short time ago and I needed time to deal with it first and digest it. I wanted to wait with letting them know. Thank you very much" she angrily got up, pushing away from Fíli and disappeared into their room. She was glad that she didn't cry because she had had enough of that in the past weeks. As she thought it wasn't before long that the door opened and someone sat down next to her on the bed. Without thinking, she leant against her husband and hugged him.

"The parchment you had earlier… I suppose I am right to assume this is said prophecy?" she only lowered her head a little bit but it seemed to tell him everything

"What does it say?" only now she noticed Kíli standing in their room and shot up. Slowly he approached them and sat down on her other side on the bed too.

"I'm sorry but… I can't talk about it. Not yet. I need some time"

-oOo-

She was glad that they immediately respected her wish and didn't probe further but assuring her they were here for her if she needed them. They even gave her some time alone and the following day they pretended nothing had happened but she knew it still bothered them. And she wasn't much better, not just having to digest it but also considering how she wanted to tell her loved ones about it. Somehow, she found that having someone else know would make her feel better, she knew she had to tell someone and already knew someone perfect for the task. But still it took her a lot of conviction to finally knock at the door when she arrived. Kíli seemed surprised to see her but just let her enter wordlessly.

"What is bringing you here?" he asked after sitting down on the chair. She just took out the prophecy and held it up a bit

"This" before starting she sat down as well. Then she explained what Elrond had told her before citing the prophecy again as best as she could. He listened intently and after the last sentence his face got darker.

"Does that mean… that… we'll lose you?" she couldn't do more than nod and instantly, he hugged her. "I am so sorry to hear this." he said quietly "Is there nothing you can do against it?" she shook her head and explained the thoughts she had already told Elrond, that fate would find a way to fulfil the prophecy anyways. "Believe me, knowing that… hurts so horribly but how will Fíli feel in contrast to me? How did he react to it?"

"I… haven't told him yet. In fact, you're the first person I told"

"Well, I feel honoured. Even if it aren't good news."

"Now don't pretend I don't care about you because I do. More than you might think, you are one of the most important people in my life" he nodded and hemmed and hawed for a while before he continued

"When will you tell my brother?" she took a deep breath and shrugged "Do you want me to do it?" again she shook her head

"No, I think I have to do that myself. And I have to tell my brother. Maybe I should do that right now. Will you accompany me?"

"Of course. So Aragorn first?" after her nod, they got up and left the room, instead finding her brother's chambers. In contrast to Kíli, her brother didn't seem surprised to see them but she already felt how it somehow was harder to be telling him about the prophecy too. Still it went surprisingly well but she couldn't imagine what it would be like once she had to tell her husband. Obviously, Aragorn was shocked by what he was hearing and too asked if there was nothing to do to save her because there just had to be a way.

"I don't know. Maybe not. We know how prophecies work and one way or another they fulfil themselves. And I understand how hard this must be for you, maybe even worse than for me"

"I wouldn't say so, after all it is about you. It's your life we're talking about" Kíli reminded her who had been quiet the whole time until now. But still she was glad that he came with her. For a while they were silent and then Aragorn asked who else she had told already.

"Only you and Kíli" she admitted "And to be honest I dread telling Fíli"

"I understand. I understand very well" he tried to comfort her "When did you want to do it? Now?"

"I'm not sure. It might be best to do it but I'm not sure I can do this"

"We can accompany you if you like and it helps?" Aragorn offered.

"Thank you but I think it should be fine if only Kíli comes. Nothing against you, Aragorn but maybe I just prefer a smaller round. And I don't even know if I'll do it now"

"Of course. Do you prefer to stay here and talk, about anything, or would you rather return?

"I'm not sure. Maybe I'll go and lie down a bit" she admitted

"Then do that" he gave her shoulder a squeeze "I hope you can get some rest and I promise that I will not stop searching for a way to save you" she gave a sad nod and let her brother-in-law bring her back to Fíli's and her room. Quite understandably, Kíli looked rather gloomy and she also felt quite the same. And just talking about the prophecy had made the negative feelings come back again. When they arrived at the room she felt weird to see her husband's happiness and Kíli seemed surprised too and a part of her felt bad for having to ruin that sooner or later. To her dismay, Fíli noticed that something was up before anyone had even said a word and wanted to know what had happened.

"We can talk about hat tomorrow" she said and when she imagined his reaction again her stomach clenched. And that just was her imagination, doing it for real sure would be even worse.

"Lhindril, tell him. Now" the younger Dwarf insisted and she knew from the fact he used her real name that he was serious. And she understood. Her husband had the right to know. Fíli looked at her questioningly "Shall I leave you two alone?" Kíli asked compassionately but no one said a word, so he decided to leave himself, probably to give them more privacy. She couldn't tell if she would have rather had him around or not. Maybe it would have been good if he could have continued for her in case her voice broke. But now it was too late and he had already left and closed the door

"What is this about?" Fíli asked, now not as happy as before. He must have realised it was nothing good she had to tell him. Before doing something else, she sat down on the bed and pulled him with her.

"It's about the prophecy… Fíli, I'm going to die" he looked at her in confusion and shock but she couldn't blame him

"How… do you mean that?" the whole situation was quite odd because usually he was the one who had to support or comfort her but today she would have to do that. If that even was possible. She only had to do this once before when he had had a crisis shortly after his coronation and he as afraid to fail everyone who looked up to him. But this time it was worse because there was nothing good about the situation, nothing to be done. And no consolation for him. "Tell me that's just a bad joke" he was a bit louder and grabbed her shoulders. It seemed he wasn't sad yet. Only angry and maybe scared. Carefully she cupped his face and kissed him.

"I am so, so sorry. But it is no joke. I am going to die. I don't know when but it could be soon" he only shook his head

"I can't believe that. I don't want to believe that"

"But it is he truth. Believe me, I too wish it wasn't true. According to the prophecy I will fall in a fight against Gundabad. But at least the realm will fall because of that.

"I don't care about that. There haven't been any troubles from Gundabad in decades. And I won't have it. That's not worth it, I will not sacrifice you pointlessly"

"It's not pointless and you know prophecies, there is no way to stop them from happening"

"There is. There will be. You have to leave. Go somewhere safe and hide. Somewhere where the enemy can't find you"

"That cannot work. If I did, I might die on the way there or in another way. It was predestined. Please, my love, accept the fact that there most likely is nothing to save me. But instead of succumbing to sadness I want to enjoy the time I have left with you as good as I can. Please" even though it was not her fault she felt like she betrayed him and felt tears in her yes. After all she really could try to flee but somehow, she preferred to die in battle rather than being ambushed somewhere and to die all alone

"And if we went together? We could be together and I can protect you. We could do this"

"Listen, I could not lose you too because of me. And you have to be there for your people. Please, promise me you'll be there for them. For me" his only reaction was to lower his head and she lifted his chin as he so often did when he wanted her to promise something "Promise me. No matter what happens, you have to survive and become happy again. At least try to. Do you hear me? I don't want you to live in sadness"

"Do you really think I could ever smile without you, let alone be happy? You felt that yourself when you lost everything or thought to have to lost it. Or do you think I would have wanted, had I died, that you hide in your room all day and won't talk to anyone? Would I have wanted that you run off and do some stupid things that could kill you because you wanted revenge?" the longer he talked, the louder he got and his anger was very visible.

"Please, don't do that" she asked but got interrupted

"Do you even have an idea what you're asking of me? What this is doing to me that you won't even consider trying do something" shaking her head she leant her forehead to his

"I am certain that it would never work and I still would be leaving you and might not see you ever again, so what does it matter"

"At least I'd know you are safe" he said

"How? How would you know that, Fíli? Maybe you think I am safe in Rivendell but in reality I was abducted, tortured and killed painfully. And you would hate yourself for letting me go like this. This isn't what you want, is it?"

"But it would be a chance for you to survive and continue your life happily"

"Happily? I agree with you that without I couldn't be happy anymore. And yes, I know how it feels when you think you lost everything. But do you know what? I would have preferred that over you suffering"

"So now I don't matter to you? But I care about you and I don't want lose you! I can't do it and so I will give everything that you will survive, do you hear me?" he suddenly was shouting and she felt tears in her yes

"Don't ever think again that I don't care about you. You have no idea what you mean to me. And secondly, stop yelling at me" she didn't care that she was shouting herself

"Stop yelling? And what are you doing?" of course he wasn't quieter either and got louder instead as he progressed.

"We really should be quiet or we will wake all of Gondor" she hissed

"Now you care about them more than about me?" she scoffed

"Well, if you start behaving like this, yes"

"If that's the case what are you still doing here?" she stared at him in shock and considered his words but then she gave a nod and got up

"Very well" she grabbed her stuff, not just what she'd need in the next few hours but everything she had packed for the journey. While doing so, she avoided looking at her husband and then left the room. After she did so, the anger was done and she got sad instead. A part of her wanted to go back and talk about it but she doubted that would be possible right now. How could they have ever let it come that far? They had agreed to never let a fight happen and would tell each other if they noticed they were getting emotional and just postpone the talk to another time when they felt better. Oddly, she only started crying when she had reached Kíli's door and was knocking. For the second time that evening, he opened the door and this time he seemed shocked.

"Mahal, what happened?" before saying a word, she fell round his neck, almost making him fall "Easy there. Take a deep breath. Do you want to talk about it?" she wasn't sure what to say and held him for another while before he brought them to the bed, carefully setting her down on it and closed the door. He offered he some water and after downing it, she started telling him what had happened after she told his brother of the prophecy, her crying getting worse again. A bit helplessly, Kíli tried to comfort her after wards "I am sorry to hear this. But it's not your fault. Fíli really is a blockhead for reacting the way he did. If you want, I can talk to him tomorrow. We could tell him you left and headed for Gundabad to destroy them before they could hurt you. Because if he's scared something will happen to you he'll forget all the anger and when you return to him he'll only be happy to have you back" she wasn't sure if that actually was his plan or just a joke.

"I'm not sure it would work. He really seems to be hating me right now. He told me to leave"

"I know he said those things and is very upset right now. But he still loves you above all else. Maybe he wanted you to leave because he was scared of hurting you or making the fight worse and he didn't know how else to end it" she gave as shrug and asked if he was fine with her staying or the night. Because she didn't want to bother her own brother who surely wanted some time for himself or with Arwen. "Of course. Stay as long you want. Do you want me to find somewhere else to sleep or shall I sleep on the floor?" she looked at him

"It's your room. If someone sleeps on the floor it's me. You definitely don't have to leave unless you don't want to share"

"Are you sure about sleeping on the floor? We could just try to find you another room" she shook her head

"That's alright. I am used to sleeping on the floor even though I haven't done it in years before that journey. And I'd rather not be alone tonight" he smiled but knowing Kíli she knew it wasn't a real smile.