Chapter Text
A familiar orange sun fell slowly behind the blue mountains, the dying rays casting a warm glow on a typical scene; three dwarf warriors were in their final hours of training for the day, yet as they had grown up with fighting as a basic skill, one could say they considered it more a passtime than a task.
These dwarves were siblings, and heirs to a kingdom they had never seen. Thorin had raised his nephews and niece to be fighters, as no king or queen of dwarves could reign without a good skill in battle. Called by their people as the Lion, the Raven and the Fox, all three had claimed their own weapons and mastered them before learning others as well. With skills in swords, bow, and knives, the young Line of Durin had become a force to be reckoned with. Growing up under the care of their uncle had taught them all the dangers of the world, as Thorin told them stories of orcs and goblins late at night, the little family gathered around their fireplace. They knew their place amongst the dwarves, and as royals, Thorin demanded that they act with respect and dignity. They would listen to that on occasion.
In some minds one might think that the addition of a sister would settle two brothers, maybe give them some manners, but in the case of dwarves, this meant very little. Kaia would trudge through the mud and she could down her ale as quickly as any. Much to the displeasure of innkeepers, she frequently set down her thknives on a table for supper, and on many occasions, when the three walked in or out of a place, they left trails of muddy footprints in their path.
All this is to say that Kaia added a great deal of chaos to the mayhem that already followed the name of Durin. The three types of fighting at work in the same yard could be taken as an excellent example of the explained chaos. Were they anything less than experts with their weapons, there could have been great danger in the manner which the heirs of Durin chose to train. Fili moved his twin swords through the air as though they were a part of him, knocking arrows out of the air as his brother fired them. Kili, between shots, was dogging knives as they hit targets just behind him.
“You’d better stay on your game!” Kili shouted with a smile, “I don’t fancy losing an eye.”
Another knife thudded into the target behind Kili as Kaia flashed him a wicked grin, “Who knows, it might improve your looks.”
“Both of you!”
The youngers turned back to their eldest brother, “Come on, now, we’ve still a few more minutes of light.”
Kili laughed and pulled another arrow from his quiver, “You know, brother, you’re starting to sound like-”
“Thorin!” Kaia took off running when she saw their uncle nearing the gate. Behind her, her brothers shared a knowing look as they followed her.
Their uncle had taken place as their father when they were young, always trying to fill a spot he never quite could. Fili and Kili still held onto fading images of golden hair and a bright smile, but Kaia could barely speak when the orcs took her father from her. From the moment Thorin carried her back into the house after the attack from the horrid creatures, he had always had an instinct to be, well, a bit overprotective over his niece. The siblings had a tight bond with one another, and Thorin wanted little else than to keep the three safe, but Kaia had stolen the old warrior’s heart all those years ago.
He raised her to be strong, and fierce like his own father had brought him up. He wanted her to defend her own name, and not rely on the strength of her brothers, though that never stopped them from stepping in when they might not have been needed. Thorin pushed her to become skilled in many things, so that his niece could stand on her own two feet, and she quite exceeded his expectations. Kaia was a well trained fighter, capable with a sword, a master with throwing knives, and a decent cook, though that would have been putting it kindly. Thorin wanted greatly a good life for each of his sister’s children, but Kaia he treated as his own.
“Fifteen days late and you finally return.” Kaia smiled as Thorin unclasped his cloak.
“I told you I would be gone two weeks,” He said, his eyes flicking up to meet Fili’s briefly, “I had business to attend to.”
The glance did not go unnoticed by either Kili nor Kaia, “Is there something we should know of?” Kili asked.
Thorin took a breath, “Inside, all of you. I have much to tell you.”
“Erebor?”
Kaia set the last plate of supper on the table as Kili questioned their uncle. The misty mountain was a tale Thorin told often, and in great detail. How the dragon Smaug had stolen their home years before, and left the dwarves with nothing.
Fili set his ale down in front of him, “You’ve told us that you’d go back for so long but, I hadn’t thought it would be so soon.”
Kaia took a seat across from Thorin, next to Fili as Thorin continued, “The foretellings are coming to pass. The dragon has not been seen for sixty years, and some are beginning to grow in desire for the mountain. For it’s worth.”
Kaia frowned, “They wouldn’t dare enter. The mountain belongs to the line of Durin. They cannot just decide it is for taking.”
“And yet that exactly is beginning .” Thorin said, turning to the fire. “Erebor must be reclaimed. By the rightful kin.”
“By us.” Kili interjected.
Thorin froze, his ale still in his hand, just inches above the table. He took a breath, and finally let his hand drop the mug to the wood with a thud.
“Yes, it is time that Durinfolk reclaim Erebor,” He stood, walking to the fireplace. “I had hoped I could convince you three to stay here.”
Kaia’s eyebrows pulled together, confusion and concern both responsible. She glanced between her brothers, whose faces looked similar to her own.
“Thorin,” Kili stood, going to join his uncle at the mantle, “How can you expect this of us? You’ve always told us of the wonders of the mountain. I always thought you’d want us there.”
Thorin pulled out his pipe, the worry in his eyes aging him in the light of the fire, “Do not misunderstand me,” he said, “I want very much for the three of you to join me one day inside the mountain. But the journey alone will be dangerous, and then there is the matter of facing Smaug.”
“Who could be dead.” Kaia stood, following Thorin to the fireplace, “Why would you ask us to stay behind? The training with Dwalin, the lessons, what was all it for if not to walk alongside you to take back our land?”
Thorin sighed once more, turning away and settling into his chair, “I know it is much to ask.” he said as he beckoned the siblings over, “I suppose I knew what your answer would be, but it was worth trying.”
Kili’s head whipped back and forth between his uncle and his siblings, “Then do you mean-”
“I suspected you three would be thick-headed and try to follow me.” Thorin’s eyes bore into the fire, and were the logs not already burning, he would have set them ablaze with his eyes alone. “And as much as I’d rather keep you three here in the blue mountains, I know it would take an army to do so.”
Thorin didn’t miss the small chuckle that rippled through each sibling, but he chose to ignore it, “But I’d rather bring you with me, well trained and prepared than have you all chase behind without a proper cover against the cold.”
Any argument they might have offered was lost in the low whistle of the wind outside and the crackling of the fire.
“But,” Thorin said, the smoke from his pipe creating an eerie haze around him, “understand, this is no game. You must take this seriously. I know not yet how many will come, but it matters not. We are leaving with four heirs of Durin and we will arrive with four.”
All three only nodded, no words were exchanged after their uncle’s request. It was a silent promise, that they would agree to the terms he put forth if he let them accompany him. Kaia looked back to their fire, watching as it slowly moved and danced over the logs. Even now, she could nearly hear Thorin humming like he used to when she was a child, and it grew louder in her head until she realized she was indeed hearing it now.
As he looked into the flames, as though searching for a memory, Thorin was quietly singing the old tale of Erebor. Kaia would often happen upon this scene late at night; her uncle, pipe in hand, sat in his chair, singing quietly to himself. She knew it was a thing of habit, this song. Any other occasion that called for music, such as entertaining their few rare guests would involve his harp, or Fili and Kili’s fiddles. Even Kaia would sing, but she realized she herself had picked up her uncles habit when the tune seemed to come out of her mouth as though it were magic.
As Thorin sang about the misty mountain, and their forgotten gold in the halls of Erebor, Kaia sank back further into her chair. Perhaps it was that he had so often only sung this song to lull his sister’s children to dream late at night when they were younger, but the low hum was dragging her closer to sleep.
She thought she’d won the battle against her own fatigue, but when she opened her eyes, both of her brothers were gone, no doubt in their beds dreaming of what they might do on this journey. Thorin however, still sat with his pipe, the fire all but dying with only a few glowing embers remaining.
“They’ve gone to bed.”
Kaia sat up a bit straighter, “I hadn’t meant to fall asleep.”
“I’m surprised you were able to.” Thorin stood, “I should have thought you would have been ready to run out the door.”
Kaia chuckled, “I think I’d lose my way seeing that I’ve never been to the lonely mountain.”
Her uncle only sighed again before looking up at her, his dark eyes meeting her own. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance I could sway you to stay here?”
Kaia raised an eyebrow, “Did you try and persuade Fili and Kili a second time?”
“You know I worry about you.”
“Why? You’ve never fret over my brothers like you do me.”
“They weren’t left in this world without a father before they could speak.”
Kaia grimaced at the old story she’d heard but never remembered, “We were all young.”
“You all still are.” Thorin reminded her. “You three will always be children to me.”
The idea amused Kaia, herself and her brothers at a good hundred years, maybe each with children of their own, with Thorin still worrying over the three all while pretending like he didn’t have such a concern with them.
She stood, deciding to finally give in and head off to her own bed when Thorin spoke, “On this quest, you must be careful.”
Kaia didn’t move, her back towards her uncle, but all her attention on his words, “I will.”
“And listen. To myself and to Fili and Kili. They only want to keep you safe, as do I.”
“You all dote on me too much. I’m no princess.”
“But you are just that. One without a throne as of now.”
“I’m in no need of saving.”
“No.” He agreed, “But all the same, you ought to keep yourself safe.”
“I will.” She said again.
“We leave in three days time.” He said finally, standing.
Kaia took one more look back to the hearth, the fire now nothing more than smouldering coals and gentle wisps of smoke. Then she went off to bed and dreamed of a burning city and a mountain overtaken by flames.