Chapter Text
The company had been walking for days, fighting off orcs that came into their paths as they went. Needless to say, they were ready for a break and they needed to rest and stock up on supplies, so they stopped into a small town to get everything they needed. Upon entering, they asked a local where they could sleep over for the night, and he mentioned the local inn.
They scuffed themselves in to be greeted by the innkeeper, an elderly male dwarf.
"Hello and welcome! What can I do for you this evening? Torin at your service." He said, bowing deeply. The company returned the gesture (and the words), and Thorin cleared a way for himself to the counter.
"Evening. We need beds for fourteen." Gandalf had yet again wandered off somewhere.
"I can arrange that. Will you be okay sleeping in rooms for two or do you need private ones?" There was muttering amongst the company, and Thorin spoke up again.
"Two one-person rooms will be fine, the rest of us will share." Torin nodded and turned to get the keys, but before he could, Balin spoke up.
"I couldn't help but notice that you offer blacksmith services as well. Would you mind if we used your forge and tools for our weapons?" The others perked up, their hopes rising at in sharpening their weapons with proper tools and the chance to fix a few broken ones as well.
"Of course, it's no problem. I'll have my daughter light it up and run it so it's warm enough to work on while I show you your rooms. Y/N!" He yelled, and the company exchanged glances. It was quite unheard of that dwarrodams worked forges, and your name was not a traditional dwarf name either, but they shrugged it off. Especially Fili and Kili were excited to meet this daughter, as they hadn't met many dwarrodams of their age.
A faint answer sounded from upstairs, and Torin took a step back from the counter. The reason revealed itself to the company in a matter of minutes, as someone landed on the counter with steady feet and jumped down with a continuous motion. Every movement was swift but unhurried at the same time, and not once did the balance of the newcomer falter. The woman blew a tuft of hair off her face and spoke cheerily.
"Hello, I'm Y/N, good evening." Her eyes shined in the light of the numerous lanterns, and the eldest of the group noticed instantly that this was not an ordinary dwarf. Her movements were too swift and her mannerisms were off. But the youngest of the group didn't mind and greeted her with enthusiasm. Torin wasn't having any of that and quickly stepped in, sending warning glances at the youngest. He wasn't going to let some random young dwarf just come in and snatch his daughter. Not that Y/N showed any interest, but he knew how the minds of young dwarrows worked.
"Darling, would you light the forge for our quests?" You rolled your eyes at the question.
"Again? It was on only yesterday and lighting it is really boring." The dwarves stared at you with their mouths agape, they had never encountered a daughter that had the guts to argue so bluntly with their father, and even worse, in front of quests. Torin, however, seemed only slightly annoyed.
"Please." You rolled your eyes again and walked down the stairs with heavy and lazy steps, yet no sound seemed to come off your feet.
The company watched you go with suspecting eyes, something was off about you. Torin caught on and his eyes grew colder as he noticed some of his quests expressions turn grim and he decided to speak up.
"Yes, her mother was an elf if that is what you are thinking. If the fact that my One was an elf bothers you, feel free to find another place to stay in." He gestured to the door, tone polite but voice ice cold. He was not going to be judged in his own home. The company exchanged glances, and Thorin was about to leave when Balin stepped in and spoke for the whole group.
"It is not a bother, we'll get settled in our rooms now." Torin relaxed slightly and muttered something about warming bathwater and left the room, leaving the company.
There was muttering between the dwarves that they didn't want to stay there, but Balin pointed out that there were no other places to stay in for miles so this was their only chance. Carrying their belongings in their rooms, they left the doors open so they could still talk to each other. They settled in, chatting amongst themselves when you appeared at the top of the stairs and knocked on the first door.
"I'm sorry to bother you but the forges are now hot and ready to use." A few dwarfs (and Bilbo) muttered their thanks to you, but you didn't move yet, you observed them for a moment. They noticed you, and send glances in your direction and you felt a little bit uneasy, but you knew you were safe. No dwarf would touch a woman without her consent, ever. Humans were a different story, and usually with humans staying in you stayed upstairs, out of their sight. And minds.
After a while, you spoke again to the surprise of the dwarfs.
"Someone brought up my mother in the conversation." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. No one said a word until Dwalin spoke up.
"How do you know that?" He suspected that you had been eavesdropping, but you tilted your head and didn't allow his hostile tone to get to you.
"I recognize when my father is thinking about her. Especially when someone has brought her up in an unflattering tone." Your eyes were cold and you scanned their faces, trying to find even a speck of remorse. Some of the dwarves looked slightly shameful, and you sighed and shifted weight from one leg to another.
"My parents taught me never to be ashamed of my blood, but it's not easy. There is always someone who will despise me because of it." You looked up at the spot you knew your father's bedroom layed upon and sighed.
"Every dwarven colony we went after my mother's death turned us away. And most of the elves didn't want us living there. Lord Elrond was the only one to welcome us both, but I knew that my father didn't feel at home there, so we left. And came here. Sure, we could have separated, I could have gone to Rivendell and he could have found a home somewhere else to stay, but after my mother and my brother, we wanted to stay together." You pulled off a curtain on a wall to reveal a small painting of an elven woman with your hair and eyes.
The company understood that your mother had to be dead, as your father had spoken of her in the past tense, and their hearts wrenched, especially the ones that had already found their Ones as the pain of losing them was nothing they could even describe to fathom.
"You might think why I'm telling you this, but the truth is, I just want someone to understand the sacrifices and losses my father has gone through." You sighed deeply, and the company was silent. Kili, however, was curious about your brother. Your father hadn't mentioned him, and the expression you had worn when speaking of him hadn't been nice.
"What about your brother?" Your eyes hardened as you looked at him.
"Gloki? He's a completely different story and there is a reason my father does not speak of him. You see, as we were visiting a colony in the north, they welcomed my father and him in with open arms, as my brother has inherited most of our father's dwarven features. My father didn't want to leave a young girl alone in the world, so he refused, but Gloki decided to stay. Not only did he tell my father that he was done with us, spoiling his good name, but he also said that he wanted nothing to do with us. He said that he wished that he had a different mother, and that broke my father." You took a staggering breath in as the memory still stung inside of you. The company was in shock. They had never imagined that someone in their kin could behave in such a manner, insulting their mother (even if she was an elf) with such words.
Dori was the first to recover and decided to stir the conversation into other topics.
"Do you think your father is ready with the bathwater? It's getting quite late." You smiled lightly and nodded.
"Oh, yes the water is ready. I'll take you there, I told my father that he could go to bed. He isn't young anymore." You walked down the stairs and let Dori inside the bath chambers, telling him to ask you for anything you needed.
The rest of their stay was rather uneventful, but you and the older prince managed to get some time alone to talk. He was intrigued by your mannerisms and how you carried yourself with a stance that could have passed as royalty but you assured him that you were a normal woman, nothing unusual about you. But Fili didn't feel like that, he felt that you were an extraordinary woman and that he would love to spend more time with you. Every moment he was away from you, even if you were in the same building felt like a gnawing sensation in his chest and it only got worse when they left the inn and continued on their journey.
After a month of suffering, he decided to talk to Balin, to ask him what on earth was going on. Balin had laughed for multiple minutes before explaining to Fili that he might have found his One. Fili was suspicious, it was rare to find your one at such a young age, but as time passed his heart pained even more and he had to admit that Balin might be right. Even after claiming the mountain and fighting in the battle, you rarely left his mind and he spoke with his uncle about the matter, who was surprised but pleased and agreed to invite you and your father to live in Erebor.