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Chapter Text

Chapter 1—Preliminary Interviews

It was a time-honored tradition that when a young dwarrow of royal bloodlines turned the age of 100, he would be expected to marry. If not already attached to a female dwarrowdam, then the dwarf’s wife would be chosen for him. A conclave would come together, presenting the eligible dwarrowdams, who were all high-class, noble dams that came from the best families, seven in total, one to represent each of the dwarf clans.

And that is how Fili found himself grumbling to his uncle about the potentially disastrous months ahead of him. Thorin himself had escaped the traditional courtship by leading his people to safety after Smaug desolated their kingdom and engaging in war against orcs. He also made it known that he was more interested in reclaiming their homeland than settling down in Ered Luin with a wife and dwarflings of his own.

Somehow, to Fili’s chagrin, his uncle was exempted from the rule.

But Fili, at Thorin and the council’s insistence, would be forced to go through the entire conclave. The dams were usually princesses or noble ladies themselves, often with as many brains as a thimble, Fili judged. He just couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t be allowed to choose another dwarrowdam besides the seven that showed up.

Sure, he had the first 99 years of his life to figure it out, but he had been busy himself. And, to be honest, none of the lasses that he had ever met had caught his eye. And so, he was planning on resigning himself to a completely loveless marriage, at least at first. He knew that there was every chance that the dam he ended up marrying would grow to care for him and he would grow to care quite a deal for her in time, but still…

The main reason why he had even agreed to it, even with all the complaining, was so that Tauriel and Kili could finally marry. The council had said that if Fili married first and to a dwarrowdam only, then Kili and Tauriel would have their permission to marry after.

Fili only snorted at the comment—The two lovers were practically married anyway. It would only make their relationship official, and their children legitimate.

But still, Fili would do it in a heartbeat for his little brother and the elf maiden that had so easily captured Kili’s heart years ago. They were completely committed to each other, and Tauriel, was not only loyal to Kili but to the entire royal family. She had since become a member of Dwalin’s guard and protected Lady Dis. She had even thwarted a plot to assassinate Thorin.

Tauriel would be one of the guards that watched over the noble dwarrowdams that were due to arrive. Fili was hoping that Tauriel would be honest with him on the kindest and least dim-witted of the female dams that would flock to Erebor for the interviews, meetings, and balls to get to know him. The only official time that he would be able to see them was during balls, and even then, they would be surrounded by everyone. It was hardly a time for him to get to know any of the lasses that came. Still, he hoped for a dam that his mother would agree would be good for him—a dam that could challenge him, yet be supportive of him. That’s what he needed.

Thorin himself had already told Fili that a year after he married, he would abdicate the throne to him. He wanted to live the rest of his years in peace and harmony, with no more big decisions to make, so he would hand the job over to Fili. Fili felt this was a bit unfair since his uncle was not that old. And still, Fili knew that he would accept because it was what he had been raised to do.

He looked around at Kili, Tauriel, Dis, and Thorin around the dinner table and listened in to the conversation.

“The dams are all coming tomorrow, then?” Thorin asked, slightly glancing at Fili, who only seemed to sigh and poke at his food, even more. He didn’t like having to do this to Fili, but his nephew had not found a lass on his own, and so, the council deemed that a marriage was due, and, of course, their line, hopefully fruitful at last.

Dis also glanced at her eldest son, feeling slightly pensive, and said, “Yes. All seven, though I believe those traveling from Orocarni will be here a little bit more in the evening.”

Thorin stiffened at the idea of delegates from the Red Mountains attending the meetings. He wasn’t sure how he felt about one of those combative, blood-thirsty lasses marrying Fili. And yet, although the conclave was tradition, in the end, Fili would be the one to choose from the seven available dams.

“Are you sure you haven’t found your one yet, brother?” Kili asked quietly. It was how Kili had managed to get out of the whole thing. Several dams had tried to strike his fancy, but when Tauriel figured out the belief that there was only one other dwarf or creature out there for a dwarf, then she used that as a way to get the dams to back off of her dwarf.

“I’m sure,” Fili said, taking a bite of his food before giving a swift smile to Kili in thanks.

Dis looked over at Fili and then at Kili. “Not every dwarf is fated to find his or her one, my dear. These things are rare, but that doesn’t change Fili’s responsibilities to wed and have children.”

Fili only continued to eat dejectedly, trying to ignore the enthusiasm in his mother’s voice. How embarrassing, that she was so involved in the process.

“Fili,” Thorin commanded suddenly. Fili steeled his resolve and kept his back straight as he stared at his uncle.

“Yes, uncle?”

“I expect you to treat each dam with respect and honor. None of this moping about while they’re here, understand?” Thorin only gave him one of his majestic glares.

“Aye, uncle. I’ll do my best to look the proper image of a future king.” He ended his statement sarcastically and Thorin only narrowed his eyes further.

Dis interceded. “Of course, Fili, this doesn’t have to last that long. You can choose the one that strikes your fancy the most when you meet her.”

Fili looked at his mother and said, “I doubt that will happen.”

“Do you have such little faith in dwarrowdams?” Tauriel asked quietly, before adding in, “Perhaps an elf or--”

Thorin grunted as his eyes narrowed at Tauriel who only smiled mischievously at King Thorin. She knew how to press his buttons, even after all these years.

“Kili likes the lasses that are taller than him, not me, thank you,” Fili replied, nodding at Tauriel in thanks. Tauriel was quite talented at diffusing situations between the three dwarves. And often, she didn’t resort to violence, like Dis did.

“So, shorter than you then?” Tauriel asked, actually sounding quite interested in the prospect of finding a dwarrowdam for Fili.

“No, no, no...” Fili started to say, realizing that Tauriel was looking forward to the idea of being a matchmaker, but his mother bowled over him.

“Keep an eye out on them, Tauriel. They don’t know how close you’ll be with Fili at first—I’m sure that you’ll be able to tell me how they really are in private.” Dis commented to her, feeling enthusiasm ride over her. She was going to like dressing down all these dams that were coming to Erebor for her son’s hand.

Fili only looked between the two females with wide eyes and a concerned expression on his face. His eyebrows were furrowed slightly and his lips pursed. He wasn’t sure how to respond.

“Balin and Dwalin will help too, of course, with the rest of the company. I believe that between all of us, we’ll be able to give you a good recommendation as to which dam will be the most agreeable to marry,” Thorin commented quite seriously.

Fili was torn between wanting to laugh in derision at their words or running far, far away.

“Remember, Fili, what the conduct is--” Dis began to say. This was getting to be too much for poor Fili.

“Just keep them away from me too, amad! I don’t want any of them trying to trap me in a marriage!” Fili answered, his hands in the air, “May I be excused now? I need to...”

“Look your best?” Dis’ eyes roved over him critically. “Yes, I think that’s for the best.”

Fili gaped at his mother and then shook his head. What did it matter what he looked like? None of the lasses would see him for the first two weeks unless they sought him out, and they were to be barred completely from the royal quarters. They would only be staying in the guest quarters on the level lower than them.

He decided not to comment though, and stood up as quickly as possible, practically running to his rooms.

It wasn’t as if he didn’t want to marry. He knew that he did—he longed for a companion, but he didn’t have much hope that he would be able to find the lass he needed in the seven representatives that came to the meetings. But, there wasn’t much hope. Thorin and his council had decreed that he would be married in the next three months, and so, he would do their will, no matter how much it bothered him. He would never let his family, and especially his uncle down.
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It was just over a day later that Dis walked into a large waiting room, followed by Lord Balin and Lord Dwalin, and a few others—Nori, Dori, Ori, Bofur, and Gloin. They were going to be conducting initial interviews with each of the lasses. The rest of the time there, the lasses would be going through other tasks—diplomatic relations, war tactics, mine inspections, and other duties that would teach them about the mountain and the running of the kingdom alongside their potential husband.

There were seven young lasses gathered around the room. There were two groups of three and a lone lass, off to the side, standing against the back wall. She looked as though she didn’t want to be there at all, while the rest of the lasses were still chatting with one another. The lass against the wall inclined her head to Dis and then dropped into a polite, albeit stiff curtsy. She then crossed her arms again and settled herself in an armchair, still separate from the rest of the lasses.

Dis waited for a few more seconds before suddenly, as if they had just realized it, the rest of the lasses all stood up at once as if suddenly realizing that she was finally there.

They stood and gave curtsies as one whole group, and apologized profusely.

“It’s alright, my dears. I’m glad to see that you’ve all made it here in one piece. As you know, I’m Lady Dis. One of you, in three months, will be my daughter by marriage. In the next three months, I hope we can all get to know each other quite well and become good friends.”

Dis looked from one dam to the other. With a critical eye, she took in their clothes and appearance. The lasses all smiled at each other kindly except the dam that sat in the armchair, still apart from the rest of the group.

Dis narrowed her eyes. If she remembered correctly, that lass was from the Ironfist clan.

“This morning,” Dis continued, her eyes sweeping over the rest of the dams gathered, “we will be meeting in private to interview each of you. Please wait your turn, enjoy some tea, and take refreshments. After you are finished, you have the rest of the day free for your leisure.”

Dis stopped and cleared her throat. She then looked between the dams and warned them, “Be warned, though. Any of you who wish to trap my son in a marriage by seducing him will be automatically disqualified.”

There was a deathly silence as the dams all turned bright red, except the solo one, who only laughed silently at the looks of horror that her peers had on their faces. Dis wasn’t sure what to think of this Ironfist lass, who was so very different, it appeared from the rest of the group.

“Brynn, dear. You first.” Brynn, a lovely dam with dark brown hair gathered around the nape of her neck stood up and exited the room, followed by the seven dwarves who trailed after her and Dis.

“Blimey, she’s lucky.” Freya, from the Firebeard clan, broke the silence. Freya was a lass with hair the color of a wildfire. She had a lovely beard and dark brown orbs that twinkled behind a set of intelligent and shrewd eyes. Her red beard dangled under her chin in an impressive braid that was laced with rubies.

“I heard they grew up together,” the tiny, blond beauty stated. Her name was Iona, and was the lass chosen from the Broadbeam clan. She and the princes were distantly related by marriage, it was said. Her light blond hair was even fairer than the crown prince’s. She had bright blue eyes that managed to bring out a naivete and innocence that one could hardly find fault in. Of course, she managed to use that wide-eyed innocent look to the best of her ability.

“Maybe he hates her then. I mean, I could hardly stand her, and I was just with her for a few minutes. Can you imagine?” Dark hair, a dark brown, thin goatee, and dark eyes—she was a Blacklock through and through. And, quite mean, it appeared.

“I didn’t catch your name,” the lass sitting in the armchair said suddenly, looking at the dam with disgust written all over her features.

“Siri, at your service,” the black-haired dam replied, before firing back, “I’m sure that you would know that if you tried to talk to someone else.”

The dam stared at the Blacklock lass, and then just shrugged, as if she wasn’t worth her time.

“Full of yourself aren’t you?” Helle commented, another lass with dark brown hair as she looked fully at the dam in the armchair. “What’s your name?” Her lip curled as she took in the modest and dated blue gown that the lass wore.

“Raela is her name,” Erika commented, giving a slight wink to the dam in the armchair before turning to the other dwarrowdams. Erika was the only one that Raela knew, although she had heard of several of the others by name. Their settlements were right next to each other in Orocarni, and so, they had met each other quite often growing up.

“That’s right. Raela of the Ironfists, at your service.” Raela put a hand over her chest and gave a slight bow to them.

“Perhaps we can do you a service and get you a new dress,” Siri commented with a loud laugh from the rest of the dams except Erika and Iona, who only looked at Raela in kindness. Raela only smiled at Siri’s taunt, showing her teeth and the fact that the slight hadn’t bothered her in the least.

Siri turned her back on Raela in reply.

Lady Brynn’s interview took over twenty minutes, and then, one by one, they were all called back in some specific order. Finally, it was just Erika and Raela sitting together.

“I can’t believe your uncle managed to get you to come,” Erika commented to the dam sitting by her. After Iona had been called in, Raela left her armchair to sit next to Erika.

Erika only knew it was because Raela was quite shy, and she wasn’t around a lot of nobledams a lot. She was probably feeling a bit out of place.

“I didn’t have much choice,” Raela commented, fingering the skirts of her gown as she tried to smooth out any wrinkles.

“It will be alright. The prince will choose someone else, and then we can both get back to Orocarni.” Raela only nodded, not believing what Erika had said. Erika was more like the other dams than she was like Raela.

They had all heard tales of King Thorin and his nephews, with their company of dwarves, a halfling, and a wizard, reclaiming the kingdom of Erebor for the Longbeards. Prince Fili was the type of dwarf that most of these dams dreamed of marrying.

Most of them, except Raela.

The door opened only a few minutes after a silence descended between them. “Lady Erika.” It was a gruff, male voice that said it. He was looking at the two dams and he had no hair on his hair but a fine beard on his face. Raela only smiled at Erika who shrugged apologetically and then stood up and left the room.

Raela was left to her thoughts as she stared at fire with dying embers, waiting to be called into the parlor last and wondering how she was going to get out of this mess.

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Lady Dis spoke comfortably to Lady Erika who was sweet and kind, and very refined. While she was a member of the Stiffbeard clan, her beard was quite thin, and she was a lovely little thing with light brown hair.

Perhaps Fili would like this one, she thought to herself.

She exchanged some parting words with Lady Erika, and then the young dam left the room. They were all quiet until Dwalin broke the silence with a gruff statement.

“She said all the right things, didn’t she?”

The dwarves only nodded. Gloin especially approved of the conservative lass.

“One more to go, and then I’ll start some training with them tomorrow,” Dis said. She turned to Balin, who was sitting to her right.

“Please let Lady Raela in for me, Balin.” Balin only nodded.

The dwarves had all taken turns welcoming the lasses and seeing their responses to the different dwarves helping them.

Bofur even got a pinch to his bottom from one of the dams. He was so taken aback by a noble dam acting in such a manner, that he was quiet throughout her entire interview afterwards.

Balin walked through the small hall and entered into the room. That was the lass there, sitting at the table by herself. She held her hands together and looked small in that large room all alone.

“Lady Raela,” he said. She stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. Her eyes softened at him and she stood up, almost tripping over the chairs and her skirts. She smiled at him and he offered her his arm. She hesitated and then took it. He led her into the room, where there was a table that Dis and the advisers sat around. She was to sit in the chair in front of the table. It almost felt as if she was marching to her death, except, one way or another, she really didn’t care what they thought of her.

Dis took in the sight of the young dam. Her gown was outdated, but clean and modest. Her hair was cut to her shoulder blades with longer braids hanging down in an interesting style. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of her hair, to be honest—most dams kept their hair long as it was a sign of their pride and lineage. And hers was slightly shorter than Fili’s. She had broad hips and a large bosom, but she still seemed to lack the softness of the other dams. She looked Lady Dis straight in the eyes, and it almost made Dis uncomfortable to see this young dam meet her gaze so openly.

“How old are you, Lady Raela?” Dis asked, doing her best to hopefully make the dam feel welcome.

“Does it matter? I’m of age.” Dis blinked slightly at the response. All the other dams had told her their ages easily enough. She had said it politely, but the rest of the dwarves around the room began to fidget in their chairs. One did not refuse to answer the Lady Dis’ questions.

“Yes. It matters. Is it so wrong to ask a dam her age, especially when you may be my future daughter-in-law?” Dis replied to the young dam.

“Then may I ask how old you are, my lady, if you’re to become my future mother-in-law?” Raela shot back, an eyebrow raised at the older dwarrowdam, almost as if she was challenging the princess.

Someone coughed behind Dis, Nori, by the sound of it, trying to cover his laughter at the disrespectful question.

Dis decided it would be best to move on.

“What is your chosen craft dear?” Dis queried, hoping that the smile was still plastered on her face.

“I don’t have one.” Ori’s quill faltered once again on the parchment. He looked at Dis who was still staring at Raela in annoyance.

“Come, my dear. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Dis told her, feeling her temper starting to rise. The gall of this dwarrowdam.

“If I had a chosen craft, I doubt I would be ashamed of it, my lady. But I do not have a chosen craft. I’m frankly, unskilled at many things.” Raela replied, her head held up high and meeting Dis’ eyes. She was telling the truth, from what Dis saw.

“Then you have nothing to offer the kingdom, skills, besides raising my ire?”

A smile flickered across Raela’s face “Apparently not.”

“Then, why are you even here?”

“My uncle asked me to come. So, I came.” Raela said simply with a small, fond smile on her face. She liked her uncle then. That was good.

“You were raised by your uncle?” Dis asked, hoping that perhaps there would be some common ground that this lass had with Fili.

“No. My father passed twelve years ago, with my mother following shortly after. I was already of age. He’s only recently taken guardianship of myself and my brother.” Dis closed her eyes. Of course, she had almost forgotten. She knew that already. Balin shared a glance with her and Dwalin.

“How old is your brother then?” Dis asked her, trying to remember the lad’s age. After all, the lad was the future leader of the Ironfist Clan.

“11”. Raela stated.

Dis looked up and stared at the lass in the eye. Her green eyes were bright and intelligent.

“If you only came because your uncle commanded it, do you wish to be married to Fili?” Dis asked abruptly, wondering if there was anything positive she could tell Fili about this one.

“No,” Raela replied. The dwarves around the room shifted once again. One of the dams wasn’t even interested in marrying Fili. So why was she even here?

“Then you’re wasting my time, aren’t you?” Dis inquired, feeling satisfied that this lass was finally somewhat forthright with her.

“My lady, you’re the one who asked me to come in for this interview. And to be frank, you’re the one who made me wait for over two hours to meet with you. And I will continue to attend because it is expected of me, even if I have no desire to marry your son.”

Dis stared at the lass with a perplexed expression on her face. “Why?”

“Because my uncle would be displeased if I didn’t at least follow the protocol.” She shifted suddenly and then glanced at Balin. “My uncle won’t hear about what’s being said in here, will he?”

Dis didn’t answer.

“You have our discretion lass,” Balin answered, looking at the spunky lass in a new light.

Raela looked at him and nodded her head, “My thanks, Lord Balin.”

Ori was continuing to write everything down on the parchment. Raela sat patiently, waiting to answer any more of the questions that Dis posed to her.

“What do you think of your uncle making you come here?” Dis finally asked. It was obvious she didn’t want to be there. But she liked her uncle enough to agree to the conclave.

Why?

Raela looked around the room and then at Dis, finally, for the first time looking uncomfortable.

“I feel like an object, more than a person. It doesn’t seem to matter what I say or what I want. I’m here because it was commanded of me, like all the lasses here. And I feel as if I will be paraded around like a prize. To be honest, I think it’s completely distasteful.”

Dis narrowed her eyes and said, “It’s a time-honored tradition, Lady Raela.”

“That doesn’t make it right—that I may be forced to wed someone that I have no desire to marry. I wonder if Prince Fili might feel the same way.”

Dis immediately smoothed her features. The nerve of this lass!

There was something that she said that struck Dis’ nerve. She knew that Fili was completely against the idea of marrying someone for a political alliance. Dis couldn’t intercede on her son’s behalf; Thorin and the council had decreed it.

Dis realized that the silence had stretched longer than she intended. “Very well, Lady Raela. Anything else that you may want to add?”

Raela paused and then shook her head no.

“Alright. I do assume that you’re older than 55, correct?”

She nodded her head. That was the age of consent and adulthood for dwarves.

“Are you older than 100?”

She shook her head this time, silence filling the room. Dis stared at her and was still curious about the younger brother. Perhaps he would provide some common ground. She decided to ask one last question.

“Will your brother attend the schoolhouse here while he is present?”

“I believe so, my lady,” Raela replied directly.

“Well, it is a good school. Does he usually attend a school or is he tutored by a governess?” Dis asked, feeling her maternal instinct come out. The lad had never known his mother, after all.

“I tutor him, usually,” Raela responded.

“How nice. And what do you teach him?” Dis asked, curious about the lass, who appeared softer than what she first expected. (Or perhaps it was just for her brother).

Raela hardened her gaze at Dis’ nosy question. “Reading, writing, languages, maths, geography, history, and weapons.”

Dwalin scoffed slightly.
Dis looked over Dwalin and said, “Oh go on cousin. I know you want to ask it.”

“Are you skilled enough yourself to be teaching the lad how to use weapons?” Dwalin asked the lass with his arms crossed over his chest.

Raela only shrugged, once again. “I know the mechanics, Lord Dwalin, but I’m doubtful we’d find as renowned a warrior as yourself in all of Orocarni.”

There was a deep silence that followed her statement. Balin smiled at the lass brightly, and Dwalin, surprisingly, blushed at her compliment.

“He’s more than welcome to train with me, Lady Raela.” Dwalin told her gruffly. “After his schooling, of course.”

Raela smiled at the dwarf and Dis was astonished at the transformation that came over the young dwarrowdam’s face.

She was prettier than Dis initially thought, and her smile practically lit up the room.

“I’m sure that will make him the happiest little lad, Lord Dwalin. My thanks to you for the offer. I will have to run it past my uncle though.” Raela said. Dwalin only flushed slightly at Raela’s reaction and grunted something inaudibly.

Dis looked once again between the lass and Dwalin. She cleared her throat.

“Well, then.” Dis looked over the lass and commented, “You are more than welcome to leave and enjoy the rest of the day, Lady Raela.”

Raela stood up and gave a short curtsy to Lady Dis and the present dwarves before practically sprinting out of the room.

They remained sitting as Raela left and after a few moments, began conversing quietly amongst themselves as Dis sat with her hands in her chin, pondering over something.

“Lady Erika, then,” Gloin said loudly, bringing everyone’s attention to him. “She’s the most appropriate, that’s for sure. Had all the right answers, and comes from the best family.”

“Except she’s a Stiffbeard,” Nori replied, and visibly shivered, “You can trust the stiff’uns.”

“Well, then, Nori, which one would you choose for Fili?” Dis asked, looking over at Nori with a curious expression. She agreed with Gloin. So far, the one that she felt would suit her eldest son the best was Lady Erika.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Nori gestured his chin out the door, “Lady Raela, of course. Blimey, Lady Dis, she managed to piss you off good and well, didn’t she?”

Dis bristled slightly. She felt that she had handled the lass quite well considering the dam’s poor attitude about everything.

“She has no respect for tradition.” Dis sniffed to them.

“She respects strength though. You heard what she said about Dwalin.”
Ori piped up, glancing at the bald dwarf while still taking notes. “I liked her the best too.”

Dis blinked slightly and then stared at quiet, sweet Ori.

“You too, Ori?” Ori felt himself flush and put his quill down.

“Aye, for Fili, of course. She doesn’t want to be here, and he doesn’t want to either. He’d like honesty like that.”

“But--” Dis protested, looking around the room. They all—except Gloin and Dori—were nodding in agreement with Ori’s words. Only Gloin and Dori disagreed, who were by far the most conservative ones.

“Balin?” Dis gasped slightly, looking at her cousin in betrayal. “With that compliment for Dwalin, I thought that he’d like her, but you too?”

“Dis,” Balin answered quietly, “she’s the only one that addressed us each by name, knowing who we all were ahead of time. She’d be excellent for diplomacy. She was the only one who even took a second glance at me in kindness. She offended you, yes, but she’s a good lass, I know it.”

Dis only shook her head. “Well, thank Mahal it’s Fili’s choice in the end, we can only recommend names.”

Dwalin, who had been uncharacteristically quiet since Raela left commented, “Also, Dis, she was the only one that refused to be intimidated by you. I’d say that is something Fili would like—a lass not too afraid of his amad.”

Dis only grunted and then dismissed them all with a wave of her hand. It was now time for her to brief Thorin, Fili, and Kili on her first impressions. Balin would be there too and would no doubt mention Raela. Dis only sighed in exasperation.
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“And, that’s it, so far, Thorin. Most of them are quite lovely and ladylike.” Dis said casting a smile at Fili and Kili. Tauriel was also sitting around Thorin’s office, along with Balin. Kili sat next to her and Fili was staring into the fire with a brooding expression on his usually handsome face.

“Most?” Thorin asked his sister, an eyebrow raised in humor. Dis was always honest, so if she used the word ‘most’ instead of ‘all’ then there had been at least one who had managed to not give a good impression.

There was a silence that stretched until Dis answered, “Yes. Most. There is one lass who refused to give me her age, told me she had no craft or talent and that it was an outdated and pointless tradition.”

Thorin only raised both eyebrows this time and glanced at Fili, who was still sitting in his armchair, not listening at all.

“Which clan?” Thorin asked curiously.

“Ironfist. She has an interesting haircut too.” Dis replied as she settled herself to sit in a chair across from her brother.

“Raela?” Thorin guessed off the top of his head. He was never the greatest with names, and although he knew her father, he never had the opportunity to meet the dam before. “Her uncle is polite but quiet around me.”

Kili looked at his uncle and then gestured his chin toward Balin.

“What do you think Balin?” Kili asked.

“They all seem like good lasses, even Lady Raela, Thorin. Dis is only upset because the lass managed to turn her own words on her. She has a little brother, quite young, who is here with her. Dwalin has already offered to give the lad some lessons in weaponry.”

“Dwalin likes her too then?” Thorin said, staring at Dis fully. “Why didn’t you tell me that? Dwalin is hard to please, you know that.”

“She would be eaten alive by the council, Thorin. She doesn’t want to be here, she’s only here because her uncle requested she participate. Plus, she complimented Dwalin—you know how arrogant he can be, especially regarding young, pretty dams.” Dis answered.

“She’s pretty then?” Tauriel asked, curious about this old-fashioned courtship that poor Fili was having to endure.

Dis refused to answer, taking solace in the fact that Fili wasn’t paying attention to any of the words that had been spoken.

Meanwhile, Balin only smiled and nodded his head in answer for Tauriel.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2-Skipping Geography

“Today we are learning about geography. Now, to have diplomatic relations with our allies, we must first know where all their kingdoms are located. I expect you all to at least know the major dwarf settlements already. Today, we will be learning about human and elf kingdoms as well.”

There was a loud groan that rang up through the small classroom where they all sat. Each of the lasses sat at a table with a large piece of parchment in front of her eyes. There was a pot of ink and quills for them to use as well.

Dis was lecturing them on the importance of grace and not complaining while Raela had to stop herself from openly scoffing at the dams in the classroom with her.

It had been a week since they all arrived, and their lessons had started. Most of the things they had learned, such as deportment and the history of the dwarf race were all reviewed. But Raela had already learned that the nobledams with her were incredibly whiny and practically insufferable. She sighed as she rapped her fingers on the table, zoning out as Dis began recounting all the different human kingdoms, specifically the ones that were worth knowing—Haradrim, Rohan, Gondor, and, of course, Dale.

Several dams held that same glazed look that Raela remembered seeing several times before when Helle, of the Stonefoot clan, raised her hand.

“I beg your pardon, Lady Dis, but what is the importance of knowing the human kingdoms again?”

Dis took a deep breath, and Raela could practically see her counting numbers in her head as she tried to calm down. That was something that Raela had learned from the others over the last week—Lady Dis hated to be interrupted. And for a group of dams that were used to being the ones in charge of their own clans, the experience was excruciating for them.

Dis’ eyes flashed in irritation. “Lady Helle, we must know where our allies are.”

“But our menfolk will just take care of it, won’t they?” Iona said, her eyes wide and soft, like usual. Raela had no idea how she managed to always find herself with eyes as wide as saucers. She was positive that Lady Iona practiced the expression in the looking glass as much as possible.

Dis glanced around the room, and said, in slow, patient words, “It will be important, during diplomatic meetings, that you know who each person is by sight, and that you know where they hail from, both in name and in physical location. It would not do to offend.”

Dis’ nostrils were flared slightly. Poor Lady Dis.

Raela would almost feel sorry for her, but she was the one putting them all through hell, so she spared her any sympathy.

Instead, she saved it for herself.

“Now, who can tell me the name of one of the elf kingdoms?” Dis looked around at the lasses gathered, changing the subject suddenly. Perhaps she felt it was best to just get on with the lesson. Some of them looked honestly surprised at the question while a couple of dams even had looks of disgust on their pretty faces.

“Well, there’s the Mirkwood or Greenleaf elves,” Siri answered, a smirk crossing her face. She was extraordinarily clever and was well aware of it as well.

“Aye, and the Rivendell ones,” Erika answered this time. They were looking pleased with themselves and their answers. The rest of the lasses all agreed and then looked at Lady Dis in expectation.

She asked, “Are there only two or are there more?” It was a quiet question and several of the lasses gulped audibly. They all knew the answer and furiously began speaking when Raela piped up, tired of the idiots in her group.

“Lothlorien or the Golden Wood. There’s also Lindon, although the only parts around there now are the Gray Havens. There were several other kingdoms in the history of the world, but those are the only settlements of elves remaining.”
Raela closed herself suddenly. She had not realized that she spoke aloud.

Dis looked at her in surprise and the rest of the dams were all staring at her as if she had grown a second or even third head. Raela shifted her back straight and leveled her gaze at them all. Only the elf maiden, the rumored lover of Prince Kili, and one of the guards in the room, beamed at her openly.

Dis looked at her shrewdly, and said, “I had no idea that there were still elves in Lindon.”

She looked at Tauriel, who only nodded at Raela’s words and answered, “Lady Raela is correct. There are few remaining who help those elves to cross the havens.”

There was an awkward cough that came from one of the dams, and a few of their heads shifted together and they began talking quickly. Raela felt herself flush at the words that she heard from their mouths in Khuzdul.

Elf-lover; barefaced bitch and her favorite, know-it-all. She suddenly stood up and told Lady Dis, “I won’t be staying for this lesson, milady. I can draw an accurate map of middle-earth with my eyes closed and half-asleep. I don’t need this.” She then left the room without waiting for an answer from the Lady, who was gazing at her with a surprised expression when she left the room.

She was angrily stalking back to her room when she realized that she couldn’t show up there now. Her uncle would send her right back. She paused and leaned against the wall, her eyes closed, trying to stop tears of frustration from rolling down her cheeks. She hit her fist against the stone wall.

She hated being here. She told herself she wouldn’t participate at all. Instead, she had drawn attention to herself. She should have bit her tongue, but she hated when dwarrowdams were so dim-witted and judgmental over others. She breathed in deeply and then when she opened her eyes, the elf maiden was right there in front of her.

“Lady Dis sent me to bring you back, Lady Raela.” The elf had long, pretty auburn-colored hair and she was so tall and delicate—but there was a toughness to her features as well. Raela could easily see how Prince Kili could have fallen in love with her.

Raela shook her head. “No, I’m not going back today. I’ve had enough.”

“Where will you go then?” Tauriel asked quietly, looking down the hallways. Nobody was in that part of the kingdom right now—the dwarrow were all training, in meetings, or at work. The dams were either at work or in their homes and the dwarflings were most likely in school.

“What do you eat in Orocarni?” Tauriel broke the silence. “I don’t mean to be forward, but I’ve never met a dwarf from the Red Mountains. And I do like food.”

Raela recognized the maneuvering. She was suggesting the kitchens—a place where Raela could hide away for the rest of the day without anyone knowing. She felt a surge of gratitude for the elf.

“There are few different things that we eat in our settlement. Perhaps Master Bombur won’t mind if I borrow some of his supplies?” Raela asked her with a small smile.

“I can assure you, that Bombur won’t care at all. He is a lover of food, and I’m sure would love to learn a new dish or two to add to his repertoire.” Raela nodded at the elf and then the two walked to the kitchens together.

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It was easily the most pleasant afternoon that Raela had for a long time. As she kneaded the dough that she was working on, she chatted merrily with Tauriel, Master Bombur, and Alina, who was Bombur’s wife.

She worked the dough steadily in her hands as she spoke to them about the ways that they used the dough in cooking and baking in her settlement. Raela learned how to cook from their manor’s cooks, who took pity on her when she tried to make a cake for her father for his birthday. It tasted horrible, she informed them. And her father begged the cooks to teach her something so that she could never poison him again.

As she was kneading the dough, the doors to the kitchen opened wide and some chattering male voices were heard. Raela practically winced, hoping she hadn’t been found out by Lady Dis or her uncle, but instead, she heard a little voice cry, “Rae-Rae!” She felt a thump on her leg suddenly as she looked down at the little lad wrapped around her skirt.

“Hello there, nada’dith. What are you doing here this afternoon?” Raela asked her younger brother. He was tiny. As he was not quite twelve, he was still on the smaller side of young dwarflings. In a year or two though, he would begin to sprout up quickly enough. He had dark brown hair, and green eyes that were the same shape and color as her own. His smile was mischievous though as he looked at her in adoration.

“I need suste-- what’s that word again?” Rang, Raela’s little brother asked over his shoulder to the two dwarrow that had accompanied him into the kitchens.

“Sustenance.” A nice-sounding voice replied to the lad. Raela glanced over her shoulder to follow her brother’s line of sight and instantly stiffened at who she saw there.

It was the two princes who accompanied Rang into the kitchens.

She steeled her resolve and forced herself to calm down.

Instead, she only looked at her nadadith and asked, “Exactly what kind of sustenance? Nothing too sweet before supper, I hope?”

Rang only widened his brown eyes and shook his head no in what he deemed was an innocent manner.

Raela pursed her lips at her younger brother’s feigned innocence. He was such a little liar at times.

The two princes remained so quiet that Raela wondered if they had already left. Technically, she wasn’t even supposed to see Prince Fili for the first time until another week when there was a ball in honor of the nobledams visiting.

And she had already glimpsed him and his brother!

Tauriel smiled at the dark-haired dwarf who stepped forward. Raela continued kneading the dough in hopes that the two princes would go away.

He looked at her intently, leaning against the wooden kitchen counter on one elbow, and asked, “So you must be Lady Raela then?”

Raela looked at the dwarf out of the corner of her eye. She then looked down at her little brother and said, “Rang, you didn’t tell me that the new friends you’ve been training with are Erebor’s princes.”

His eyes widened even more. “They are?” He looked between his sister and the two brothers and then, with a huge grin exclaimed, “Amazing!”

Raela refrained from commenting, and instead, settled her brother on the counter in front of her with Master Bombur’s permission. She was well aware of a discussion behind her between Bombur and Fili, the prince that her uncle wished for her to marry, even though he knew that she thought the whole thing was ridiculous.

She gave her brother a snack, one of the bread pockets filled with meat and cheese she had just finished making.

“You may have one, and a piece of fruit. And no sweets, Rang, understand me?”

He nodded and bit into his food. Raela continued speaking to Alina, who was taking studious notes over the whole process for Bombur’s book of recipes.

“Shouldn’t you be with my amad in a class right now, Lady Raela?” It was Kili, once again, who asked the question. Apparently, he didn’t notice the awkward tension that had settled in the kitchen. And for some reason, he liked to look at her.

And that wasn’t creepy at all.

“I should, yes. But, I told her I was done for the day and I left.” Kili looked at her with wide eyes and glanced at Tauriel, who only nodded at Raela’s words.

“In Lady Raela’s defense, the whole thing was rather ridiculous.” Tauriel added, and continued, “She even managed to teach your mother something new today. I’m not sure how her ladyship felt about it though.”

Raela’s face was beet red at that. So much for staying under any scrutiny. And now she was to be the target of some of those nasty dams! Oh well, she’d been through worse.

She handed a bread pocket with meat and cheese to Rang and asked him to give it to Prince Kili. Kili exclaimed a thanks and she held out another one for him to run to Fili.

She didn’t turn around but she heard him say, “Thank you.”

She wasn’t sure if he was saying it to her or Rang, and she didn’t care to find out.

She continued to teach Alina the process of the bread, pulling it apart finally, showing her the strands of the bread that indicated that it would rise after a couple of hours.

She was aware of her audience still and looked slightly annoyed and put out when she saw that Rang was now settled in Kili’s lap, eating a muffin. Kili himself was sitting down on the floor, only a few feet away from her.

There was a silence when Kili broke it. “Why is your hair so short?”

Raela paused her kneading, feeling herself stiffen once again, and she heard Fili, to the side of her, not so far away this time say with a warning in a deep, slightly hoarse voice, “Kili.”

“What nadad? I’m just curious.” Kili attempted to placate him. He still looked at Raela with open curiosity in his eyes. She knew her hair would get questions. So far, everybody had been too polite to openly ask.

“Why is your beard so thin?” Raela, turned to look at the prince with a glare. Kili looked at her with surprise in his eyes and he smiled slightly.

“I’m an archer. Wouldn’t do to have too full a beard, would it?”

There was a silence again when Rang began to say, “It’s short because...”

“Rangvaldr!” She fully turned to look at her brother, with her eyes wide in warning.

He looked at her sheepishly and said, “Sorry namad.”

“It’s alright. Let’s just not tell your new friends all of our secrets.” Raela commented, shaking her head slightly. Her brother was so young and had no problem telling people he just met whatever he wanted. She looked up and for the first time, made eye contact with Prince Fili. He stared back at her, almost curiously and she turned her back to him as calmly as possible.

Dammit it all, why did he have to be handsome?

“How’s your training, Rang? Are you learning a lot from Lord Dwalin?” Raela questioned her little brother. She didn’t want it to be too quiet in the kitchen—she felt as though they were staring at her enough as it was.

“Aye, he and Kili and Fili are very strong. They are learning me much.”

“Teaching me, nadadith.”

“Sorry, teaching me much.”

“Teaching me a lot.”

“Oh, right. Teaching me a lot.”

Raela nodded her head as he repeated the words in the correct sentence back to her. She gave some more instructions and then, her brother said something else that surprised her.

“Why can’t you train with me, Rae-Rae? I miss you.”

She smiled at Rang, who stood up and then flung himself at her. It was obvious that she wasn’t spending enough time with her little brother. She noticed Kili and Tauriel were speaking quietly but Fili was still watching her with an odd expression on his face.

“You know why, nadadith. It’s only for a few months.” She put a hand on his face and pulled on one of his braids—the braid that indicated his status as the head of his clan. She touched her forehead to his own and then felt his hands grab the fabric of her gown.

She wasn’t sure how he would respond to her reassurances when he gasped suddenly and said, with a loud whisper, “Rae-Rae, there’s an elf in here.” His hands left her gown, and an index finger trembled as he pointed it at Tauriel.

Raela only looked at her brother and began to laugh, quite suddenly. Her laughter filled the kitchen. Young dwarflings always managed to make her laugh—they had no sense of propriety or situational awareness.

“Aye, Rang. This is my dear friend, Lady Tauriel.” Kili said, overhearing the conversation between the two other siblings. He gestured to Tauriel at his side.

“You’re a lady too?” Rang asked, his brown eyes wide in curiosity.

“Aye.” Tauriel nodded at him softly, her eyes bright and compassionate toward the sweet little lad.

“Well, I’m Rangvaldr, at your service.” He gave a little bow to the elf-maiden. “But you may call me Rang, all my closest friends and allies do.”

Raela’s eyebrows raised at his words. That was a much different introduction than she was used to her brother giving. She wondered who had introduced themselves to him in that manner or where he had picked it up from.

He gasped again and Raela was a bit worried for him, reaching for the meat cleaver to protect him, when she noticed him pointing to Tauriel’s sheathed daggers.

“You’re a warrior!” He exclaimed as his eyes widened even more.

Blimey, how did he manage to get them so round? Was he practicing with Lady Iona?

“Aye. Daggers. Do you have a weapon of choice, young Rang?” Tauriel asked, now kneeling in front of him. She pulled them out of the sheaths at a nod of permission from Raela and showed the elvish weapons to the young dwarfling.

“Not yet. Namad is quite good with a--” he was cut off by Raela’s hand covering his mouth quickly. He looked up at her with his brown eyes curious.

“What did I say about giving away all our secrets, nadadith?” Raela practically growled at her much younger sibling. He had no problem chattering about anything and everything. He had to learn discretion at some point, right?

“Sorry.” He apologized again cheekily. He then looked at Tauriel, who was kneeling in front of him still. She was taller than him and his eyes narrowed in on what was exactly in front of his line of sight.

He then said, to add to Raela’s further embarrassment, “How will you feed your bairns? You have no boosoom.”

Raela gasped slightly at his comment, and then scolded suddenly, “Rang! That is rude. You do not say things like that, especially to someone you just met.”

Tauriel only looked perplexed at the exchange and unconsciously looked down at her chest. She crossed her arms over her breasts, her lips set in a grim line.

Raela was telling Rang exactly why it was rude to comment on a lady’s bosom, when she heard the sound of deep, sighing breathless noises. She looked over toward Tauriel, who was glaring at Kili, who was laughing openly at the entire exchange. Raela only shook her head and apologized to Tauriel.

She noticed that Fili’s shoulder’s were shaking as well, and he had a hand over his mouth. He finally surrendered to the hysteria, after he looked one last time at his brother before bursting out into laughter himself. It was a booming, loud laugh that Raela thought at any other time she wouldn’t mind hearing. Kili’s laughter doubled as his brother joined him.

Raela immediately, and without a second thought about it, turned herself onto the two amused princes, who were setting a terrible example for her brother.

“You two! Stop that laughing or you’ll only be setting a bad example for him.” She raged at them suddenly, her eyes fierce and her hand on her brother’s shoulder. Poor Rang looked confused as he stared between his sister and the two laughing imbecile princes.

“Apologies, my lady,” Kili said, his hand on an empty counter space. Somehow during the whole exchange, most of the kitchen staff had managed to leave with an impressive amount of stealth. “But, I must say that your little brother is highly entertaining. Don’t be too hard on him, he’s a good lad.”

She practically growled at Kili, and then pulled her apron off and threw it at the counter. She then took Rang’s hand.

“We are going to have a lesson on appropriate language, nadadith.” She nodded her head at Tauriel in apology. Tauriel only pursed her lips and glared at the now openly laughing brothers.

Raela was forced to pass the crown prince to leave.

Fili composed himself as they approached the exit, and said, “Yes, I believe that would be a good idea. Plus, I believe you should teach Rang the proper word is bosom.” Fili’s eyes met Raela’s in stare. His deep blue eyes sparkled in amusement. Raela huffed at him and said something about annoying princes and stalked off with her brother in tow.

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Fili lay in bed that night, staring at the stone ceiling. He couldn’t sleep.

He could only think of the encounter that afternoon with Lady Raela.

What an interesting dwarrowdam.

Her hair was different, but it didn’t bother him so much. She wore it down, because it was so much shorter than other dams, but it was quite lovely still. It framed her face, which he had only managed to glimpse a few times, very well. Her face was quite attractive—she had some freckles, sun-kisses, as his mother would have called them, on her nose and cheeks. Most nobledams hated any blemishes on their skin, but he thought they didn’t take from her appearance at all.

And then there were her almond-shaped eyes, almost an emerald green, framed by long dark eyelashes that shrewdly looked over him.

He could tell that she was uncomfortable from the moment that she realized that he and Kili had entered the kitchens. From what his mother had said, the one dam that did not cooperate with her was Lady Raela of the Ironfist clan. She was quiet, almost too quiet her mother said. She refused to participate in discussions and she hardly ever interacted with any of the other ladies.

Dwalin, though, and a few others said that she made quite an impression on them. But, she was too independent, and she hated the idea of being forced into a marriage. So, he hadn’t thought about her or any of the other dams too much, to be honest.

And now, he remembered every single thing about those twenty minutes in the kitchen. Her brother adored her, which he was impressed to see. There was a large age difference between the two of them, it was obvious, but she doted on him.

And he was a good lad—he, Kili, and Thorin had spent the better part of their training the last five days with the dwarfling who worked hard and was quite advanced for his age. Dwalin had commented that Raela trained him with weapons, but unless she was a warrior by craft, there was no way that the lad should have been as skilled as he was. Unless he was naturally talented, of course.

Thorin had no problem with dams being able to defend themselves—in fact, he encouraged it. But to have active female dwarves as a part of their army, well, that was unheard of. Dwarrowdams would be too much of a distraction, in Thorin’s opinion and the dwarves would think about protecting them more than anything else.

Fili shifted onto his side, trying to close his eyes to sleep. But, sleep evaded him. There was something off about the whole encounter with the nobledam. She was stiff, but she was still kind and polite to him. She had, after all, sent her little brother with some food to give to him. But the way she told her brother not to give away their secrets—now Fili wanted to know what those secrets were.

And by ignoring him, it made him want to talk with her even more. It was obvious that she wasn’t interested in an arrangement, just like Fili wasn’t.

Perhaps that is what drew him in.

Although, it could have been something else altogether. After all, she had a lovely figure, with hips that were begging to be held, and a nice bosom (he smirked at the word). There was also the way that her eyes lit up in annoyance and her lips pursed in disapproval.

Those lips… Fili groaned to himself and turned himself onto his stomach. For the last one hundred years, he had managed to stay chaste. He knew that he couldn’t go around playing with any lass that he found attractive, and while there had been a kiss or two, things had never escalated in the physical or emotional sense.

And now, after only being in this dam’s presence for a few minutes, he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

Not to mention that she was the dam that wanted nothing to do with him either? Perhaps that was the problem. She was a challenge, and that’s what he wanted.

His mother had asked why he was so quiet at supper and he had given a token reply. Between him, Tauriel, and Kili, they had agreed it would be best not to tell his mother that he had unofficially met the nobledam already.

Of course, she was the first (technically the second since he had grown up with Brynn), and he had five others to meet and judge. It had only been a week, and he still had eleven to go.

He closed his eyes and tried not to think of those green eyes and dark red hair, but he failed miserably.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3—Gambling with Nori

Raela was lectured by her uncle four days earlier for walking out on Lady Dis’ class. He commanded that she would present a correct map of Arda to the lady and apologize to her, which she did.

Dis stiffly nodded and accepted the parchment of the neat, accurate map, but didn’t acknowledge Raela at all after that.

This did not disappoint Raela too much since she rather didn’t care at all what Lady Dis thought of her.

The lessons were incredibly boring, so very droll and proper. She was glad the day was over. In just two days, there would be a dinner party and ball, the first of three. She hoped that she could think of an excuse to ditch it, but knew that she would be expected to attend. She was, after all, one of the guests of honor.

Rang, too, would be going, which perked her up a great deal. With him spending time with her, she did not doubt that most of the dwarves would stray from her as a dancing partner.

She was in her robe and nightgown preparing for bed when a knock was heard on her door. She had a separate bedroom from her uncle and brother, of course. But the chamber was adjoined to the parlor that they shared. The knock was coming from a second door that accessed the hall. Someone was knocking on that door. They did not want to disturb her brother and uncle, it appeared.

She looked warily at the door and hoped to ignore it since she was tired and wanted to sleep, but the knock was loud and insistent.

Then she heard a voice, “Raela! Open up, please.” The voice was slurred and sounded far too awake.

It was Erika. It was a good thing it was Erika. If it had been anyone else, she may have bashed their heads in.

Raela opened the door, and Erika, followed by Iona came in, giggling. Raela looked at them with her eyebrows raised.

“Keep your voices down! My uncle and brother are close by.” Raela said to them, annoyed at the giggling dams.

The two dams stared at each other and then burst into fits of laughter. Raela looked closer at the two dams and smelled something strong and fermented on them.

“Oh dear,” Raela said, looking between them, feeling uncomfortable. “You’re both knackered, aren’t you?”

“It was just a little bit of a drink. Just a couple of sips.” Iona said softly, hiccuping, attempting to use her thumb and index finger to show Raela how much drink she had.

“Yeah, and a few more,” Erika said and then burst out giggling. Iona joined her and the two ran to Raela’s bed where they proceeded to start jumping up and down. Raela was now more concerned than annoyed. That wasn’t typical behavior for dwarves or dwarrowdams, especially nobledams that were as tightly wound as Erika was.

“Who gave you the drink?” Raela asked, her eyes narrowed in irritation and care.

“Oh, just Helle, you know. Oh,” Iona hiccuped again, “and Siri. They said we were being too stiff! Can you imagine?” She let out a shrill sound and then continued to bounce on Raela’s bed before falling off in a heap on the ground. Erika began laughing and pointing her finger at Iona’s fall before joining her. They both began giggling even harder than before.

Raela only sighed, before glancing at her bed in open longing and then went to her dresser, pulling out nondescript traveling clothes—trousers, a blouse, and a long cloak. Perhaps that would hide who she was, especially if she kept the hood over her hair.

She went to the changing screen and cringed as she heard a tinkle of glass and some more girlish, high-pitched noises coming from the area where she had left the indisposed dwarrowdams. She then changed as quickly as possible. She then grabbed the dams by their arms and escorted them out of her room. She couldn’t leave them alone while she tried to figure out a way to fix what happened. Iona and Erika could not show up to their classes tomorrow completely toasted. Dis would lecture them all about proper behavior, and she had no intention of hearing it.

Raela knew that there was a tavern in the lower part of the mountain. While she heard that it was a bit seedy, she also knew that it was where Master Bofur, Bombur’s brother frequented. And if she could find him, perhaps he could find Bombur. After all, Bombur was the master brewer, and he had to know of something to help them. Of course, the healers were a backup plan, if they couldn’t figure out anything else. But, they would most likely tell Dis, whereas Raela was sure she could bribe Bofur into silence.

But where to put the two dams while she was gone?

The answer came to her immediately—Freya and Brynn. The two were a lot nicer than Raela initially realized. In fact, besides Siri and Helle, they weren’t all bad. Just a little annoying, which was to be expected.

Brynn and Freya each had ladies' maids, which Raela did not have, and they spent a lot of time together. So, Raela escorted the now rabidly chatting dams to a few rooms down the hall, hoping that nobody was awake or if they were, they weren’t hearing the echoing off of the stone walls.

When Freya opened the door with wide eyes when Raela knocked and took in the state of the three dams she immediately opened the door.

“What happened to them?” Freya demanded of Raela as she let them into her room. She was also dressed in her nightgown and robe.

Raela shrugged at Freya’s question. “They said they shared a drink with Helle and Siri. They’re acting like complete imbeciles.”

“Hey!” Erika said, “That’s not very---” She cut herself off with a loud burp. Iona looked at her and pointed, laughing at her once again, this time very loudly. Iona had a snorting laugh that was not endearing to the sweet-mannered, pretty lass that Raela was becoming familiar with.

Freya groaned and then knocked on the door that adjoined to Brynn. Brynn was in her bedclothes as well and walked in. She tried to help Freya lift them. Eventually, the two of them settled the lasses in armchairs close to the fireplace. Iona was trying to touch the fire and Erika was sitting with her head on the floor and her legs on the back of the chair.

Raela sighed.

“I’m going to try and find something to sober them up. Hopefully, my uncle doesn’t figure out that I’ve slipped out.” Raela commented and then turned to leave.

“Be careful, Raela,” Freya said sharply, looking over in some concern at the dam. “This time of night...”

“We’re in Erebor. I thought there was no crime here?” Raela said sarcastically with a wry grin. Freya and Brynn just rolled their eyes and waved her away. She patted the knife she had sheathed in her cloak and left the room.

She had directions to the tavern. While Raela didn’t speak often, she listened. She had heard several things about this tavern that existed in the lower levels. It was owned by Master Nori, and it featured Master Bombur’s brews. It was open late, and, if her luck held, then she wouldn’t run into anyone who could recognize her besides Master Bombur or Master Bofur.

It took her longer than she realized to get down there. She wasn’t familiar with Erebor all that much yet. It was deep, down in the mountain, situated by the mines strategically. Most of the miners would get a drink there after a long day’s work and then head home. For some of the dwarves, she had heard, it was their home.

She made sure the cloak still covered herself and she hoped that Bofur or Bombur or another friendly face would recognize her without calling out too much attention to who she was. As she entered the establishment, she noticed that there weren’t just dwarves in there, but dams as well.

Most of the dams were dressed in a very revealing manner that was not appropriate in the least. She steeled her nerves and slouched a little, to appear nondescript. She walked up to the bar and ordered an ale from the bartender, who was a dark-haired dwarf that she didn’t recognize. She then looked around the room, wondering how she was going to find Bofur or Bombur in this mess.

It was overly crowded, a hot, humid mess of bodies upon bodies in chairs, drinking, gambling, and conversing with each other. She felt the walls close in on her slightly. She breathed in deeply and then took a sip of the drink. She felt better immediately and looked around the bar to see if she recognized any of the dwarves.

Suddenly, she felt a large looming presence at her side. Her hand went to the side of her cloak that held her dagger. She glanced at the shape from the corner of her eye. She gave an immediate sigh of relief as she noticed it was Lord Dwalin. He looked her over, with an eyebrow slightly raised in curiosity, and called for an ale himself. She sipped her drink, wondering how in the world she was going to tell him her dilemma.

“Why are you down here? Bored in the guest quarters?” It was a command, more than a question. Perhaps she had been followed by a royal guard after all.

“I need something.” She answered as directly as possible.

“From who?” She shrugged slightly.

“I don’t know.” It was an honest reply. She thought that Bombur would be able to help her, but she wasn’t sure.

“Someone trustworthy?” Dwalin asked, barely opening his mouth.

“Please.” She answered again, keeping her eyes lowered as a bartender passed them.

He nodded, finishing off his ale in one deep gulp, and then stood up. She stood up as well and pulled the cloak tighter around herself.

“I’ll make sure nobody will hurt you. There’s a back entrance.” Dwalin said, leading her out of the tavern.

She followed him closely and they walked out of the bar. Raela did her best to ignore a couple of dams and dwarves that were standing too close together at the side of the tavern. Dwalin gave them a pointed stare and they took off suddenly.

Raela felt herself blush and followed Dwalin. It was an almost hidden door, near the back of the tavern. It looked as if it led to the cellar. There were several male voices talking and then a silence before a few chuckles broke out. But when Dwalin and Raela entered the room, she felt a hush of silence fall. She kept her cloak on and she heard someone complain about newcomers to Dwalin.

Dwalin told that person to shut it, and when he gestured for her to approach, she did so very cautiously.

Around the table were stationed a half dozen dwarves. And they were, it appeared, to be playing a card game. There was Bofur, Nori, Bifur, Ori, a red-haired dwarf that resembled Lord Gloin, and of course, Prince Fili.

She wanted to groan at her luck. He only looked at her in curiosity, putting his cards face down on the table. The rest of the dwarves followed suit and she felt herself grow irritated at their awe-struck expression at being caught gambling.

“How may I help you, my lady?” Her eyes narrowed in displeasure at Master Nori, the proprietor of the pub. “It isn’t often we have ladies frequent my establishment.”

“I was hoping that Master Bofur could help me.” Bofur looked at her confused, with a pipe in his mouth, and watched her. He nodded at her to speak.

She continued to speak. “Do you know of any, uh, concoction that could sober up a dwarf? Or at least mask symptoms of a hangover?”

The dwarves looked between themselves curiously.

“You don’t look drunk.” It was the red-headed dwarf who said it. He even sounded like Lord Gloin. It must be his son Gimli.

“How astute of you.” She snapped at Gimli. Gimli immediately shut his mouth.
She ignored Dwalin’s chuckle behind her. “I’m not getting it for myself.”

She cleared her throat and turned to look at Dwalin. She would have to report it to him.
“There are a couple of the nobledams that are currently...indisposed. I wish to help them with their recovery.”

Dwalin looked at her and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked over at Bofur who only nodded.

“I know what you need, but you have to tell us the whole story, lass,” Bofur said, pointing a finger at her. “Tell us everything.” Nori agreed to the terms and nodded his head at her.

Fili continued to watch her, silently as ever. She noticed that his brother was missing. He was probably with his elf lass.

She sighed and Ori stood up and brought a chair over for her.

“Thank you, Master Ori,” she said quietly, before settling into the chair. She tried not to stare at Fili, who was now sitting directly across from her.

“Why do you need it again?” Nori asked, prompting her.

“I was about ready to retire to my bed, when two dams knocked on my door, giggling like idiots and telling me that they had a wonderful drink or two or three or whoever knows how many damn drinks. They got it from two other dams who are here for the conclave. I gathered that they were having supper with them. It’s obvious that they were taken advantage of, and I have no wish for Lady Dis to harp on any more about ladylike conduct tomorrow if they show up completely knackered.”

“Who were they?” Ori asked slightly, wondering if the lass would bite off his head. Ori was so kind though she couldn’t be upset with them.

She bit her lip and shook her head, glancing slightly at Fili who only stared at her again.
Couldn’t he look somewhere else?

“I don’t think it would be right to tell you who was taken advantage of. I believe they deserve their privacy--” Raela answered.

“You misunderstood him, Lady Raela,” Nori interjected, “Who are the lasses that gave them the drink?”

She shifted and then looked at Fili, sitting across from her and then it all fell into place. Of course, they wanted to know who used a drink to compromise the two dams and make them look like idiots.

If they could do something like that with a competitor, they could do it to obtain their prize, couldn’t they?

“Siri from the Blacklock clan and Helle from the Stonefoots.” She replied, looking at Nori.

Nori looked at Ori, who had pulled out a little black book of parchment and wrote it down swiftly.

“Are you alright?” Fili asked suddenly, looking over the dam, his eyes roving over her face and figure. “Did anyone recognize you on the way down? Or in the tavern?”

She opened her mouth to answer when Dwalin cut her off.

“Nobody was giving her any trouble in the tavern when I spotted her. In fact, with that cloak on, nobody would know that she was a dwarrowdam. They’d only see it when they catch her beardless face.”

She only smiled sardonically at him and turned to Master Bofur. “I held up my end of the bargain, sir. The tonic and directions, please.”

He nodded at her and Nori stood up and walked over to the kegs. Next to all the kegs was a shelf that held various brews. Bofur pointed out a couple to Nori in a whispered conversation. Nori only turned his head slightly to look at Raela with a slight grin.

She didn’t trust that Lord Nori one bit.

Conniving ass.

She cleared her throat and warned them, “If you give me something other than what I am promised, I swear that I will find a way to hurt you.” Raela had her back turned to Fili. She missed his amused grin at her words.

“No need for that, lass,” Bofur said, holding out the tonic for her. He gave her the directions and then handed it to her. She murmured a thank you to him when Nori coughed.

“How much do I owe you?” Raela asked. She pulled a small pouch of gold from the inside of her cloak.

Nori sat down once again at the table and winked at her while rubbing his beard with one hand.

“Now that depends, lass.” He licked his lips and put his hand under his chin. “What else can you give me besides gold?”

“A strong kick to your groin, assuming you have anything there to begin with.” There were hearty guffaws and appreciative laughs at that comment.

Nori himself was even grinning openly at the lass. Oh yes. This one would make an excellent queen.

“I can charge you in gold or you can tell me about your hair.” She stiffened and then looked around the room. Fili shot a warning glance at Nori, who ignored the crown prince.

A silence fell around them, and instead of answering his question, she only said, “Here. Ten gold coins. Probably more than this whole junk tavern is worth, anyway.” And with a quick flourish of her cloak, she was gone, the coins scattered all on the ground.

Fili looked out the door after the lass and began to rise when Dwalin shook his head.

“I’ll follow from a distance and make sure she gets back to her wing alright. I have a feeling that she’s armed anyway. She’s a clever dam.” Dwalin followed after Raela, leaving the cellar behind.

Nori looked around the room pensively and then said, “Don’t look at me like that, Ori.”

“It was a rude question.” Ori insisted on telling him. Growing up with Dori needling him on everything rubbed off on Ori. No wonder Nori had rebelled so badly to get out from under Dori’s thumb. But, Ori felt himself correct in this instance. He didn’t have to ask Raela about it.

“She answered it though,” Nori answered thoughtfully.

Fili looked up sharply at Nori’s words, a questioning look on his face.

Nori stared at him and said, “Seems a touchy subject. And why do dwarves or dwarrowdams usually cut off their hair or beards?”

There was an elongated pause when Bifur answered, in Khuzdul, “Shame. Dishonor.”

Nori only nodded his head. “Exactly. So, now we have to figure out what exactly happened to her.”

“Give her some privacy, Nori,” Fili commented, shaking his head. It was obvious that she didn’t want to talk about it, and he saw something in her eyes flash that wasn’t just anger. Grief, perhaps. It was a sensitive subject to her.

“You know I can’t do that, Fili. It’s my job to know everything about these dams and their families. The Ironfists are the most tight-lipped. I am, however, surprised to see her sticking up for those other dams. She doesn’t want to be here, obviously, but she’s still helping those that need it. Very interesting.”

“What about the Stonefoots and Blacklocks?” Bofur asked, “If they’re trying to compromise the dams, they could compromise Fili.”

Fili looked annoyed at the conversation. It was like he wasn’t even present. He shuffled his cards and glared at the two. They ignored him.

Nori just shook his head. “Seems like an underhanded technique. Fili is well-protected though. Interesting though, because while Raela came here to help those dams that were compromised by the drink, she’s also protecting those two lasses. Dis wouldn’t stand for that type of sneaky, conniving behavior from Lady Helle and Lady Siri.”

“Fili, don’t fall in love with any of those dams,” Gimli said in earnest, shaking his head and thinking that the business was far too confusing for his own good.

“I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that,” Bofur said slyly. Bifur grunted in agreement, before signing something to Bofur. He glanced at Fili, who was still looking at the door that Raela had left mildly.

“No, I don’t think we do,” Nori replied as well, sharing a glimpse with the miner and warrior.

************************************************************************************************************************************

Raela made it back to Freya’s room undetected. She knocked quietly and entered quickly. She peeled off her cloak and Brynn came over to help her with the tonic. She took a few drops of the tonic, mixing it with the water she was given by Brynn. They then both helped Freya administer it to the two lasses.

Both Iona and Erika fell asleep rather quickly after that. Raela bit her lip, wondering how they were going to explain their presence in rooms that were not their own. But, Freya told her that she would make excuses that they stayed up late studying and then just fell asleep. They were all in their majority, and while they did have male guardians still, they were very relaxed as long as they were with other females.

Raela only nodded and then headed off to her room to finally fall asleep that evening. She lay in bed, cursing herself for losing her temper at Master Nori’s questions.

Why was it so important to know what happened to her hair?

Were they worried that she was no longer virtuous?

Who the hell cared?

All they wanted her for was a glorified breeding machine for their future king. It didn’t matter anyway, because she didn’t want to be a queen. She only wanted to return to Orocarni with her brother and uncle after this mess and to help get her settlement back to the way it was before.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4—Dancing with Royals

Nobody was in trouble from the evening two nights earlier. Both Iona and Erika sobered up quickly and were none too worse for the wear the next morning, only slightly tired from staying up longer than usual. Helle and Siri had looked particularly surprised to see them in high spirits. It was obvious to Raela why Erika and Iona were targeted—they were the favorites.

Or at least, they were Lady Dis’ favorites.

Raela sat at the dining table silently, as the dwarves and dams around her chatted amiably. She was wondering why she was even there in the first place and how pointless the whole ordeal was. Of course, most of these dams were hoping to find a match, regardless of whether it was Fili or not. Some had, to Raela’s surprise and amusement, even set their eyes on the consummate bachelor, King Thorin, who was regally sitting at the head of the long dining table. He was speaking to his nephew Kili with a warm smile on his face.

“Raela?” her uncle asked. Aron looked concerned at Raela’s disinterest. He was the younger brother of her father. And while her father was a warrior of immense strength, Aron was the exact opposite. He wore spectacles, which were of course, rare to find, and was much more interested in books than warfare.

She gave him a reassuring smile. He was only fifty years her senior and could have passed as an older brother on close inspection. Rang sat on her other side, engaged in conversation with Lady Dis, who happened to like him a great deal more than she liked Raela.

It was excruciatingly awkward when the royal family and Erebor’s courtiers and noble families arrived. Dis led Fili by the arm to meet each of the lasses and their families. She pretended that she had never seen him before when Dis approached with her son. She gave a low curtsy, offered him a proper introduction, and then proceeded to introduce her uncle. Rang greeted Fili with a hug to the legs that almost knocked him to his knees. He had a genuine smile on his face though, when he greeted Rang. Rang gave Fili a “warrior’s” handshake and showed it to Lady Dis, who was instantly smitten with Rang.

And so, that is how Dis ended up sitting right next to Rang instead of next to her brother and sons.

It was obvious that she was seated the furthest away from Thorin and his nephews because she was the least favorite to win his hand. Not that she cared one bit though.

Raela wore a gown of velvet blue that had sapphires in a floral pattern all over her bodice. Erika had sent a lady’s maid over to help her dress and the maid had insisted on a corset to accentuate her figure even more.

And then the maid had no idea what to do with her hair, so she only braided the front two pieces and then pulled it back as much as she could, in a half up, half down style, with the longer braids slightly dangling in the back.

Supposedly it was an honor to be sitting with the king’s family for dinner. All the families of the nobledams sat at the head dining table while there were several other courtier and noble families seated in different areas around the room. Raela poked at her food, sighing once again and Aron only shook his head slightly at her attitude.

He had asked her to do it. Aron had informed Raela several months ago that he needed her to be taken care of in a good marriage. And so, since she had no prospects in Orocarni, off to Erebor they went. She sat up straighter when she heard a silence fall around the table. There was the chink of metal being placed on the opulent dining table. She looked over to see the head of the table to see the king and princes stand up and leave. The rest of the guests followed the group into the dance hall for music and dancing.

It was a beautiful ballroom. The stone floors were lit with candles in sconces, and there were many drapes lining the walls in a nice pattern. There were several small tables, settees, and armchairs for guests to make themselves comfortable. There was even a bookcase or two as well. Off in a corner, on a raised dais, was a small band that began to play some music.

Aron, the traitor, immediately excused himself and engaged himself in a discussion with some dwarf or another and Raela found a seat for herself and Rang close to the bookcase. There were several sofas and armchairs. It was set off in a corner. She felt that perhaps nobody would find her over there.

Rang sat properly next to his sister on a sofa, with a look of disgust on his cute, innocent, face as many of the dwarves began to dance. Raela only smiled at the little lad in amusement.

Then, to her surprise, they were soon approached by King Thorin. She didn’t find a decent enough hiding spot.

Thorin smiled at her and Rang.

“Lady Raela, am I correct?” Thorin inquired, looking over the lass in mild curiosity and politeness.

Raela immediately stood up from the sofa and dropped into her lowest curtsy.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Raela, of the Ironfists, at your service.”

He smiled at her in greeting and then to her surprise, greeted Rang warmly, giving Rang the “warrior’s” handshake that she also saw him give Fili earlier. Oddly, Raela felt slightly jealous that her brother did not share it with her earlier.

“It is good to see you, my fellow warrior. How do you like the party?” Raela couldn’t help but smile at the sight in front of her. King Thorin, on a bended knee in front of a young dwarfling lad. It was as if they were peers, which, Raela guessed from a certain viewpoint, they would be one day.

“It’s boring,” Rang answered, his voice deadpan and completely serious.

Raela’s eyes closed at her brother’s rude remark, but she opened them when she heard a few chuckles coming from the king.

“It is rather boring, isn’t it? These types of balls and parties are not my favorite thing either. However, others like them a great deal, including my sister.”

“Well, I’m not letting anyone have a dancing party like this when I get to be in charge. Or if I do, I won’t be going.” Rang told Thorin stubbornly.

“Rang!” Raela chided him quietly. She couldn’t find it in her heart to be too mad at him though. After all, she felt the same way. He had probably picked up the attitude from her to begin with. She winced at that thought. She would have to set a better example for him.”

Thorin was still chuckling at Rang’s words and then responded, “Would you like to come and sit with me, Rang? I would like your company, very much. Perhaps we’ll find a bit more enjoyment if we’re together. That is, if you don’t mind, Lady Raela.” Thorin stood up from the kneeling position in front of Rnag and glanced over at Raela in question.

Like she could say no to the king of Erebor.

Raela glanced at her little brother, who was smiling widely at King Thorin, and only nodded before saying, “It is fine with me, your highness. But, I believe my nadadith needs to be in bed within the next two hours.”

Thorin nodded at her words in comprehension. “Of course, my lady. I wouldn’t dare keep him up too long. It’s not good for growing dwarflings.”

He then took Rang’s hand in his own, and the two of them strolled off. Raela only tried to suppress the annoyance that was coming to the forefront. Damn it all, Rang was supposed to keep all the dwarves away so she wouldn’t have to dance.

Immediately, there was a dwarf at her side. She vaguely recognized him as one of the dwarves who had been at the tavern only a couple of nights earlier.

“Gimli, my lady. My father wishes me to dance, and you look as amused at the prospect as myself.” Gimli grumbled to her, feeling slightly annoyed.

Maybe she should have felt offended that Gimli was only dancing with her because his father wished him to, but at least he was honest with her.

Raela found herself smirking. Sounded like they were kindred spirits. She let him guide her to the floor and they took a turn dancing to a waltz. He asked her about Orocarni and the Ironfist settlement. She asked him about Ered Luin and growing up in a completely different area than what she was used to.

The dance ended after a few minutes, which she was thankful for because it appeared that Master Gimli, the son of Lord Gloin, was indeed a very bad dancer and had stepped on her toes several times.

She looked around the ballroom. Her uncle was still conversing with Lord Balin, it appeared, and she sighed slightly as she watched the two princes dancing. To her surprise, she saw Fili dancing with Helle, who looked smug beyond belief. Prince Fili seemed content and very personable throughout the affair.

She returned to her previous spot, and found an armchair in a far corner, next to one of the bookshelves. She randomly grabbed a book from the shelf and pulled herself into the chair before beginning to read.

After all, she had nothing else to do during the dance.

And so, that’s what happened. Nobody approached her, considering her rumored shrewish nature. Several dwarves noticed that she was so engrossed in her book, that it appeared that she had no desire to dance or engage anyone in conversation.

She was finally approached after about an hour by a noble dwarf. He wore fine clothes and had hair that was reddish brown. He had a long beard and dark brown eyes. There were crinkles in his eyes, and he smiled at her politely. He asked her for a dance and she put her book down. Her uncle would be mortified if she refused an outright request to dance from a noble dwarf lord.

He led her onto the dance floor, their arms entwined, and asked her name, which she told him shortly. This dwarf, who did not tell her his name, began to speak as he pulled her into his arms to begin to dance.

“What’s it like in Orocarni?” He asked her curiously.

“It’s in the east and it’s mountainous.” She replied. Although she was forced to dance, it didn’t mean that she was going to enjoy conversing with the dwarf. Plus, his eyes hadn’t looked above her chest yet.

“Like here?” The dwarf’s eyes flitted to her face, giving her a calculating expression, and then once again skimmed her breasts.

“No,” Raela said shortly. She hated when dwarves couldn’t give dams proper respect and attention. She might as well have not been speaking at all for all the attention this dwarf was giving her voice.

“There’s only one mountain here. It’s a whole range in the east. We’re the furthest from you, in the most southern part of the range.” She explained to him with an impatient bite to her voice.

“Oh. Um...what do you like to do for fun?” He asked, trying once again to look at her face.

Mahal, was he still sucking on his mother’s tit or something? Why was he so focused on her breasts?

She glared at him harshly for the insipidly stupid comment and his disrespectful stare.

“Avoid. Idiots.” She said slowly and clearly, hoping that he realized that she was about to lose her temper with him.

He cringed slightly. The message was received.

He then coughed and continued to speak, “You know, I’m looking for a wife too.”

“Well, isn’t that nice?” Raela replied sarcastically, glaring at him once again.

He spoke quickly after that, as if in a rush to get all of his words out. “There’s a betting pool going around on who Fili will choose for his wife and you’re on the very bottom. If you don’t mind being married to the future Lord of the Iron Hills, I’m sure we could work something out.” He glanced at her face before his eyes wandered to her chest once again.

The Lord of the Iron Hills? Oh. Dain’s son.

She stared at him and then laughed out loud boisterously. Several people dancing around them even stopped their dancing to stare at her.

She leveled her gaze at him. “Thorin Stonehelm? Is that who you are? You know it’s rude not to introduce yourself to someone.”

She looked at him and continued to speak, hoping to make things very clear for Dain’s idiot son. “I’ve heard about your reputation, my lord, and I can assure you that I will never marry someone like you. You would not be happy with me as a wife. Should I be flattered at your words or the fact that you haven’t looked me in the eye for longer than five seconds at a time? Yes, I have breasts. Do I have a stain on my dress?” She asked the last question mockingly.

She watched his face turn several shades of red before settling on a dark, red color.

And to her dismay, he dared to pull her tighter in a grip that was far too familiar.

“You’d be better off with me than any other dwarf. I know just what to do with a dam...” This time he looked her in the eyes and she saw the ill-concealed lust in them.

His hands began to slip down her waist, before settling on her bottom, which he proceeded to squeeze.

She felt a surge of anger wash over her and before she could even realize what was happening, they were passing by one of the stone pillars in the room. She yanked herself out of his grasp, grabbed the back of his head when he was in shock, and with all her strength, slammed his face into the stone pillar.

He yelled out in pain while the music stopped and she heard the movement of dancing feet slow.

“I would rather marry an elf than a dwarf like you.” And with that statement, she stomped off out of the ballroom, leaving Thorin Stonehelm in a heap on the ground.

There were whispers of scandal as Raela left the rooms, several dancing partners just standing around the room.

Aron only groaned as he looked at the aftermath. While young Thorin Stonehelm most likely did deserve the punishment, this was one of the reasons why Raela didn’t have any prospects in Orocarni.

He stepped forward, helped up Stonehelm, and apologized immediately to the younger Thorin and his father about his niece’s violent behavior.

Dain, however, looked more amused than anything else.

“Serves you right, lad. Letting your hands wander like that. Never had a lass break your nose before, have you?” Stonehelm moaned in pain as his hand covered his nose. He was seeing stars and ravens in his vision.

Dain continued to chortle as Oin rushed over to take a look at the streaming blood coming out of Stonehelm’s now crooked nose.

“She’s crazy. I didn’t do anything.” Stonehelm tried to protest, while Oin fussed over his nose in a corner. He was led into an armchair and was sitting down. The blood from his nose was streaming onto the stone floor. Stonehelm glared at Aron who visibly blanched, wondering how he was going to regain control of the situation. True, he was on his niece’s side of things. She deserved more respect than that. But he would have to talk to her about her temper.

“What happened?” This time it was the king who asked the question. He had approached quietly with Rang. Aron immediately grabbed Rang, and excused himself. They then both left, following Raela.

The king was accompanied by Dwalin, Balin, Nori, and his sister. Fili and Kili also joined them. Thorin waved them off immediately though, telling them to go and make sure the rest of their guests were entertained.

Thorin Stonehelm glared, and said, “I was only dancing with her and exchanging pleasantries with the lass, and she went ballistic on me. Slamming my face into that stone pillar.”

Dwalin snorted. “Nori was right there, lad, dancing himself. He heard everything and half the ballroom saw where your hands went. You’re lucky that lass didn’t do anything else to you. She’s not one you want to mess with.”

“Sent a real message to anyone else as well,” Nori murmured with a grin. This evening was turning out far more entertaining than he had wagered.

Stonehelm only glared at Dwalin and Nori, holding the bloodied handkerchief to his nose. Thorin closed his eyes in remarkable patience before opening one and staring expectantly at Dain.

“You’ll apologize to Lady Raela tomorrow,” Dain ordered, quite sternly, his cheerfulness disappearing. His son was a young, stupid idiot. But he had to learn somehow.

“I will not, adad.” He said, staring at his father petulantly. “She’s the one that broke my nose. She should be begging me for an apology.”

“You can’t treat ladies like you would peasants,” Dain said sternly, wishing that his son could have a bit more common sense. “That lass is trained to defend herself against unwanted attention. Don’t let your hands wander if you don’t want to get your nose broken.”

“Or your eyes,” Nori commented as an aside.

Thorin left suddenly after that, followed by Dis. They spoke together in a quiet conversation. Thorin felt annoyed that he had to do so much damage control. But they needed to hear what Raela said and to see if she would continue forward in the conclave.

Dwalin followed behind Thorin and Dis as they quickly made their way to the guest quarters of their Ironfist visitors. One of Erebor’s servants answered the door and immediately let the king in.

Rang was bouncing on his feet, trying to talk to Raela, and Aron stood up immediately.

“Your majesty, my lady. Please, forgive Raela. She...” Aron said, stopping, and trying to find the right words to describe his spirited niece.

“I can speak for myself uncle.” She was sitting on a settee in the parlor, with her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at the king and his sister. Aron winced at the look she had on her face. Honestly, it wasn’t as if Raela hated Dis and Thorin. It was just the face that she always wore when she was in a temper.

“Raela...” Aron closed his eyes in practiced patience.

“Exactly what did Stonehelm say to you?” Thorin asked. He watched as Aron gave Rang a treasury of stories to keep him occupied while they spoke.

“He told me that I could marry him,” she informed them, rolling her eyes at the prospect. “He told me there was a betting pool and that I was at the very bottom. He didn’t know that I could care less who the hell Prince Fili chooses to marry, as long as it’s not me, and then he pulled me far too close to him and groped my bottom. First, he couldn’t even keep his eyes above my chest, then he had the gall to become so familiar with me without my permission. I didn’t think, and for that, I’m sorry. But I will not apologize to him.”

Dis only sighed, with her eyes closed. And looked at her brother, then asked the king in a strangely, restrained yet calm voice, “A betting pool, Thorin?”

“I can’t control Nori, Dis,” Thorin said, shrugging his shoulders slightly.

“What’s a betting pool, namad?” Rang asked, bouncing up to her in his pajamas. He looked eagerly at the king and his sister. Raela only shushed him and said that she would tell him when he was older. He looked highly disappointed.

“I’m sorry that he offended you with his words and actions. Dain is my cousin, and Thorin is his son. He is a bit of an idiot, I’m sorry to say, but he is rather harmless.”

Raela shifted and said, “Well, I suppose I shouldn’t have laughed in his face when I figured out who he was and told him I would never marry him.”

“Oh, Raela!” Aron said. He had not heard that she managed to provoke the dwarf lord.

Raela interjected suddenly, “What? Thorin Stonehelm is a nasty womanizing dwarf who has slept with half of the population of the Iron Hills. I would never marry someone like him. I’ve heard of his reputation all the way in Orocarni.”

Thorin straightened up a bit, and then asked her, curiously, “And what have you heard about our reputation here in Erebor, my lady?”

She straightened and then replied, “I’ve only heard that you’re a good and just king. We’ve heard of your company’s quest and the honor that was regained as you reclaimed your homeland. But nothing about you personally, though I doubt I would repeat it to you, even if I had heard ill of you.”

Thorin instantly felt himself relax at her words with a smile.

“Please, Your Highness,” Aron began to say, “I will discipline Raela. If you wish to expel her from the conclave, that’s fine. But, don’t throw her in the dungeons.”

“The dungeons?” Thorin asked, looking confused at the query.

Raela sat up straight and looked ahead.

“Oh, dear. You were only defending yourself.” Dis said softly to Raela. Raela raised her eyebrows.

“It’s a punishable offense in other settlements, including the Iron Hills, for a dam to attack a dwarf in such a manner,” Aron said to him mildly. “I was not sure of the law here.”

Thorin only looked over Raela shrewdly. “You are not at fault. And I wouldn’t dream of you being expelled from the conclave. From what I’ve heard, you’re a capable dam who would make an excellent queen.”

She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at his comment, almost as if she was offended. He looked at her, somewhat surprised. He turned his attention to her uncle.

“Why are you making your niece do this, Lord Aron? It’s obvious that she doesn’t want to marry Fili.”

Aron stared at Thorin straight in the eyes. “I’m afraid that there are no prospects for her in Orocarni, nor would I want for her to marry one of the clans there. She needs a good, proper dwarf who will respect and understand her, and there are no other nobledams among us Ironfists. I thought that maybe she might hit it off with Prince Fili.”

Raela commented, “Unlikely”, under her breath quickly.

Thorin only nodded and said, “Sounds like the exact same reason why I am making Fili go through these meetings. Perhaps things will work out between you two.”

Raela’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “I doubt that, your highness. I wouldn’t make a proper wife, princess, or queen.”

Thorin looked at her with a smile, and then Dis asked, “Did you get a chance to dance with Fili tonight, Raela?”

Raela looked startled and then didn’t answer the question. Aron looked at Thorin though and answered for his niece with a shake of the head.

“Traitor,” Raela said to Aron, who only smiled at his niece mildly.

“Oh, that won’t do. That hardly seems fair.” Thorin commented, feeling amused at the situation. After seeing firsthand what the lass did to Stonehelm, he had the feeling that she would be an excellent match for his older nephew.

And he had heard so much about her from Dis, who disapproved of the lass, that he couldn’t help but feel that she was the one.

“But, I have to help put...Rang to bed,” Raela said, casting her eyes around the room to make an excuse.

Aron replied and said, “I’ve got it covered. You go and have fun.”

Raela knew that her uncle could be a real bastard at times, but right now it was infuriating.

“Come now.” Thorin commented, offering her his arm in a gentlemanly manner, “You’ll come back with me to the ballroom. I’ll dance with you, and then everyone will see that you’re still in good standing. And then, you have to promise to dance at least once with Fili.”

“But...” Raela tried to find another excuse.

“Go, Raela,” Aron said tiredly as he moved across the room to pick up Rang, who had fallen asleep during the adult discussion.

He then looked between Dis and Thorin. “I trust that she will be escorted home, correct?”

“Aye, we’ll make sure that no harm comes to her,” Thorin said, still holding out his arm to Raela. With a sigh, Raela took King Thorin’s arm. Dis trailed behind them as they left, a scrutinizing look on her face.

Raela felt her face turn bright red as she was led, almost against her will into the ballroom. She was happy to see, to her delight, that the room hardly noticed when she returned. She was immediately pulled into a dance with King Thorin, and that seemed to catch the attention of the rest of the room. After all, Thorin did not dance often, and here he was, dancing with the lass that bashed in the face of his cousin.

She wanted to duck her head at all the attention and whispers surrounding them, feeling her face turn beet red, but Thorin commanded her in a quiet voice, “Keep your head held up, Raela. You honestly did nothing wrong.”

She allowed him to lead her in the dance, and when the music finished, she excused herself from Thorin’s dancing arms as quickly as possible and sat down at the nearest table where Freya and Iona were sitting.

They congratulated her on breaking Stonehelm’s nose. The idiot had told the exact same story to both of them as well—that they were on the bottom of the so-called betting pool. But, to her surprise, he didn’t try to grope either of them, it appeared. She must have needled him with the offensive laugh. Oh well.

She watched on the dance floor. Erika seemed to be having the time of her life dancing with the miner, Bofur. Brynn was dancing with Fili, looking quite comfortable in his arms and he had an easy smile on his face.

She felt something in her chest at that dimpled smile. Strange, she thought to herself. Perhaps she was becoming ill.

Iona and Freya distracted her from that feeling by asking her what it was like to have the king’s attention. They giggled as Raela turned bright red and told them that it wasn’t a big deal, but from what she could tell, the king’s arms seemed quite strong and well-muscled through his formal clothing.

This led to the three of them giving naughty looks to each other as if they shared a horrible secret.

Raela continued to watch the passerby and watched as Freya and Iona were claimed into dances as well. Still, most of the dwarves kept their distance from Raela, most likely not wanting their noses broken themselves. She figured that most of them probably had their theories as to why she attacked Stonehelm. She didn’t care a jot what anyone else thought about her though.

She felt a dwarf approach her after an hour. He sat down in the armchair next to her. She glanced over at him and instantly was on guard.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said blandly, looking her over in that openly curious look. She put a hand on the stray wave that had managed to break out of her hair, and she pushed it behind her ear.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

“What do you mean?” Fili asked, genuinely curious.

“Like I’m a puzzle.” His eyebrows furrowed in concentration at her query. He wore breeches of a dark, charcoal gray color and a light green tunic that was tucked into his breeches. He wore no visible weapons, and a matching gray dinner coat as well. His hands went under his chin and his elbows rested on his thighs.

He was quiet for a long time after that, and Raela ignored him. He was so silent that at first, she thought he had left her without a proper goodbye. When she looked up again, he was staring at the dance floor, as though he was thinking very hard to himself.

“I can’t figure you out.” He finally told her. He looked her straight in the eyes and it was the first time that she realized his eyes were a steely blue—the same color as both his mother and his uncle.

“There’s nothing to figure out.” She countered to him, putting her arms over her chest in a defensive gesture. She didn’t want him trying to puzzle her out or think about her at all, to be honest.

“Are you cold?” He asked suddenly concerned, watching her movement and she shook her head no.

He frowned again and then sighed.

“Well, my mother told me that I’m to dance with all of the nobledams that came here for this stupid conclave. You’re the last. Will you join me in a dance?”

“What a tempting offer.” She remarked sarcastically, with her eyes wide. She then shot him a glare and said, “No.”

She felt quite done with dancing for the night. Why couldn’t his uncle count?

He felt his lips twitch in an effort not to smile.

“You’re doing a very good job of pretending that you’re not interested in me,” Fili said boldly, a cocky smirk gracing his features.

“Why would I be interested in you?” She asked once again, looking him fully in the face, and then she continued to speak. “The only reason why I’m here is because my uncle is trying to look out for me and I’m attempting to respect his wishes for me.”

He nodded slightly, and said, “That’s what my uncle is trying to do for me as well. Perhaps we have more in common than you realize.” He paused and then asked, once again, “Join me in a dance, please?”

She shook her head at his request, and said, once again, “No. Go dance with someone who wants to dance with you. Perhaps you should try your own mother.”

He chuckled at her words. Oh, was she a feisty one. She was only pulling him in more, didn’t she realize that?

He decided to change the track of the conversation. “Did that tonic work?” He was very curious as to exactly who the lasses were that were so sick two nights earlier, but he still had no idea. They all seemed to be perfectly fine tonight.

She looked at him in some confusion at his sudden redirection of their conversation. Her expression cleared and she answered him.

“Aye. They were fine in the morning—just a little more tired than usual is all.”

He nodded at her answer, and then continued, “Nori—I know he offended you that night. He is my uncle’s...well, I guess you could say that Nori is very good at finding things out about people and dwarves. He’s just a tad annoyed that he doesn’t have much information on you. That’s why he asked about your hair.”

She shrugged at his words and felt a stinging in her eyes. Her hair.

Why did everyone have to mention it? So it was shorter than most dwarves and dwarrowdams, who cares?

They all knew that she had been shamed or dishonored. Now they wanted to know the exact details.

He watched as she stiffened in response to his words and he sighed again.

“You’re not making this easy, you know. I’m supposed to dance with all of you. You are included in that since you’re the nobledam of the Ironfists. Come on, Lady Raela. Please take some pity on me. Just dance with me so this evening can be over and done with.”

She sighed and looked around the room, noticing that nobody was paying a lot of attention to them, thankfully. She nodded suddenly, accepting his offer.

He stood up at her quick nod and held out his hand to her. She wavered and then took it. She almost wanted to pull away immediately. His hand was warm, strong, and sure. He helped her up and then he led her to the dance floor.

He put one hand on her waist and took the other in his dominant hand to lead her. The music was low and quiet, and he noticed that she was staring anywhere else than at him.

“What do you think of Erebor?” He asked quietly, hoping to prod her into a conversation. For some reason, his heart was pounding wildly in his chest. He frowned slightly.

“It’s a fine kingdom,” she replied softly to him, her eyes not quite meeting his.

“Have you been able to explore at all?”

She shook her head no, and he noticed that if anything else, she appeared to be clamming up even more. Did he offend her?

“Where did you learn how to defend yourself like that? Dain, Stonehelm’s father, was impressed.” Fili asked her, genuinely curious. He witnessed what she did, and he didn’t know exactly what had transpired. He figured since his uncle danced with her upon returning to the ballroom that it was Stonehelm’s fault. That didn’t surprise Fili in the least.

“My father taught me.” Her whisper could barely be heard over the thrall of the music.

“He must have been a good warrior, then.” She only nodded at him. He found himself trying to speak to keep his thoughts under control. He was feeling warm, all of a sudden. Those green eyes were so bright and beautiful. In the candlelight, they sparkled even more.

Having this lass in his arms was tempting him in ways that he had never experienced before. She fit perfectly in his arms as if she was made to be held by him. He wanted to trace his hands on her curves, curious about the reaction that would get from her. He stopped his thoughts immediately though. He felt a bit of shame at himself for thinking of something so intimate with this lass.

He could see the annoyance on her face, but he also saw something else. Was it a spark of attraction for him too?

The music ended and he slowly moved them to a stop. He was reluctant to let go of her, hoping to chase this curious feeling down to see where it led. There was cheering and whistling from the crowd. More than half of them were deep in their mugs, and the musicians started up another song. He looked down at her, and she stepped away from him quickly, pulling herself out of his arms.

“If you’ll excuse me, Your Highness, I’d like to retire now.” He nodded and reluctantly stepped back himself. He wasn’t sure what was happening to him, but he knew for sure that something had changed for him during that dance. None of the other lasses had managed to strike his fancy, and here was the one lass that had no desire to marry him, that had a quick tongue and always an angry expression on her face…

He thought of how pretty she was, and how she had managed to bash in Stonehelm’s face. He thought of the way that she had gone out of her way to help some of the other dams and the way that she took care of her little brother.

So why was she clamming up?

He watched as she left the ballroom in a hurry, Dwalin following behind her to make sure that she made it back to her quarters safely. He wanted to know as much as he could about the lass, but instead, he was forced to stay behind in another dance.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5—Self-Defense

Dis cleared her throat to the dams that were gathered around her. They were assembled in her morning room and had just helped themselves to an afternoon tea after their lessons for the day. It was just four days after their first ball, and several of the dams now fancied themselves as front runners for Prince Fili’s affections.

Raela snoozed through half of their lessons (more on diplomacy and the councils that Fili was required to attend as the king) while the others paid rapt attention to the lectures. They had been invited to Dis’ chambers for the afternoon while many of the lasses giggled as they tried to catch a glimpse of Fili.

And, oh dear, was Raela tired of hearing about “handsome, gentlemanly Prince Fili”. It was all the dams talked about now! She had admitted, quite grudgingly at first, that Fili was indeed a fine-looking dwarf (excepting his beard) but the rest of the dams were speaking of him as if he were Durin the Deathless himself!

She sighed softly, hoping that the lessons were done for the afternoon. She was feeling tired and she wanted to get back to her chambers to spend some time with Rang.

Instead, Dis asked for the maids to clear the plates, cups, and utensils. And, if on practiced cue, the door to the morning room opened and Lord Dwalin entered, followed by two of the royal guards (both male). Raela looked up in surprise, wondering what in the world was going on when Dis stood up, giving the dwarrowdams a bright smile. The rest of the ladies stood up as well.

“Well, now. I thought it would be good for us to get out of the mountain. The day is warm, and the sun is bright. I believe a little exercise would do our minds and our bodies some good, don’t you?”

Raela felt a smile tugging on her lips at Lady Dis’ words. A stroll outside in the fresh air sounded like a splendid idea to her. She gathered her cloak immediately, while the rest of the dams complained slightly, saying that there was still a chill in the air and that they might be seen by men or worse.

“The men and women of Dale are our allies. They know what dwarrowdams look like. Come now, stop complaining, and let us be on our way,” Dis said, leading the group out of her morning room. There was no stopping Lady Dis when she had her mind made up.

The guards and Lord Dwalin, all heavily armed, followed the group closely. Lady Dis exited through the main gates, and the lasses followed as she traveled east along the base of the mountain, pointing out Dale to them and then Esgaroth in the further distance. She then continued north and pointed them toward Raven Hill. She began to walk quicker in silence, and in no time at all, they stood looking up from the base of the hill.

Raela thought it seemed an eerie, drab sort of hill, and a chill feeling came over her looking up at the small peak.

“It was there on Raven Hill that my brother and sons defeated Azog the Defiler and his progeny, Bolg. They were all injured terribly,” Dis said, leveling her gaze at every dam, “and it is only because of the grace of Mahal, with help from Gandalf the Gray and King Thranduil, among other elves, that they are alive.”

She turned to look them in the eyes, once again. Her own eyes shone with surprising fragility. “I know that there are those who believe that dwarves do not need allies, but I will tell you right now, that I would have lost my entire family without them.”

There was a solemn silence that followed Dis’ words and they trudged along the base of the hill. Dis stopped them just short of the hill, and they found themselves amongst a patch of trees.

“I’ll give you all a few minutes to look around, and then we’ll head back.”

Raela breathed in deeply and sighed. She then smiled as she looked around her. There wasn’t much to the landscape—they were too far north for that. But she appreciated the stark beauty around her. They were able to see the horizon beyond those hills, and the skies were a bright blue. She felt tears sting her eyes as she looked up at the beautifully lit, bright blue sky.

How she missed those open skies, almost more than her parents. She heard Dis call the dams back to her, and they began to make the stroll back to Erebor.

It was on the way back, that they saw a large storm of dust in the distance—a group of men on horses it appeared. They were coming from the south, from Dale. Raela and the dwarrowdams stood to the side, and Lord Dwalin, along with the two guards positioned themselves in front of the dams, especially Lady Dis.

Raela looked around her, taking in her surroundings. There was some sparse vegetation, but besides that, there was nowhere to take cover. They were coming from Dale though, it appeared, so they were most likely allies.

The group of horsemen—around seven, turned straight toward the dwarves when they saw them. Dwalin hailed them suspiciously, and the leader of the humans, a tall, solemn man with light brown hair narrowed his eyes.

He led the rest of the group to where the dams stood, and said, quite cautiously, “I wish you wouldn’t have seen us.” He then pulled out a long, wicked-looking knife.

Several of the dams screamed as the humans followed their leader, leaving their horses. Raela took in her surroundings quickly—there was nowhere to hide, so they had to run or fight. They would be easily overtaken in their current condition unless they managed to get those horses to spook and flee.

She had an idea.

Raela stepped on Erika’s foot as she stepped back. Erika looked at Raela, her eyes wide with fear and a questioning glance.

“When they attack, run. Lead Lady Dis and the others to safety.” Raela said to her quietly. Freya, who was standing the closest to Erika, gazed sharply at Raela.

“Rae--” Erika started to say, but thankfully, Freya grabbed the other dam’s arm and squeezed it tight before nodding at Raela in understanding. Raela felt relief that at least Freya trusted her enough with some sort of plan.

“Make quick work of them boys, then we’ll be on our way.” The leader of the men said to his comrades.

The humans then attacked. Lord Dwalin and the guards were skilled and managed to hold off the men from the dams, but it was obvious that they were outnumbered, besides having a longer reach. The dams, with Freya and Erika in the lead, pulling along the other dams, including a bewildered Lady Dis were running quickly back towards the mountain to sound an alarm.

Already, Raela heard a groan of pain from one of the dwarven guards. She ran, as quickly as she could, ducking to the side toward the horses, mindful of the rocks, ash, and soil that littered the ground.

Scare them off, she thought to herself, scare them off.

And so, she made the sound of a whistling arrow with her teeth and then proceeded to smack several of the horses in the ass, one right after the other. They began to spook each other. A couple reared their hind legs at her, but within only a minute, they were all galloping off into the distance. Now they wouldn’t be able to catch up to the other dams.

She then heard the shouts from the men, angry shouts that their horses fled into the distance.

She turned around—two men were approaching her now. Only Lord Dwalin was alive but on his knees. He was injured on his shoulder. There was blood leaking through his armor on his lower abdomen. They approached her with loud, threatening steps.

“Run, Raela,” Dwalin growled at her, ordering her to save herself. Well, Raela couldn’t do that. She happened to like Lord Dwalin, who was a nice enough sort. And she had seen the way that Freya looked up when Lord Dwalin had entered Dis’ morning room just an hour earlier. He used one of his axes to stand up, and looked at her, almost beseechingly.

Raela was impressed. It was obvious that Lord Dwalin had taken care of most of the men and the two had ganged up on him, probably with his back turned while trying to help one of the other dwarrow guards. She did not doubt if he wasn’t injured, he would be able to take care of things himself.

But, he was injured.

She looked around the empty horizon and one of the men smiled at her.

“I thought female dwarves had beards, Connor. Will you take a look at this one?” The man was tall and thin, with black hair and even blacker eyes. Raela would have placed him in the Blacklock clan if he had been a dwarf. He was as mean as any in that clan as well, it appeared. He was the leader, with a knife as long as his forearm. Raela vaguely noticed blood on the blade. She swallowed deeply.

“Aye, Flynn. She’s got a mighty fine figure. Cute thing too. I wouldn’t mind seeing what’s under those clothes a little closer, would you?” This man was slightly shorter, but burlier, with larger muscles. He had brown hair almost the same color as Rang’s hair. For some reason, this made her inexplicably angry.

How dare this man with the same color hair as her beloved little brother talk to her in that manner?

Raela didn’t take a step back, she only straightened her back. Meanwhile, Dwalin only cursed the men and walked slowly towards them. He would die protecting Lady Raela. After all, dwarrowdams and females, in general, were always protected, regardless of the injuries that a dwarrow was suffering from.

Dwalin saw Raela reach into her cloak. Perhaps she was armed. He wouldn’t be surprised.

What happened next, did shock the experienced warrior.

“Helping us by getting that cloak off lass? That’s mighty nice--”

The taller, svelte man was cut off by the quick barreling of the dwarrowdam, straight into his chest. He was knocked over quickly by her solid weight. The other man, the shorter, burlier one, reached for her, but she moved to the side quickly, and kicked out the back of his legs, by his knees. He fell on his knees, on the barren, solid ground. She put a strong, solid arm around his neck and looked at the taller man, gingerly standing up right in front of her, his hands held up in surprise.

Dwalin was also in a state of shock and had stopped his lumbering to join her. It appeared that the lass had everything in control. He gave a ragged breath though, and took another step, although he was still a good twenty feet away from her.

“You can fight, huh? Good for you lass.” The taller man said, speaking to her imploringly. The shorter, stronger man clawed with his fingers at her arms. She was slowly crushing his windpipe, and it was obvious that he was having a difficult time getting out of her grasp.

“One step closer and I’ll slit his throat,” Raela said in a demanding voice. Dwalin looked up sharply at the tone of her voice.

“I doubt you have the guts for it,” he said, taking a small step closer, “wouldn’t want to get those pretty hands of yours dirty. Plus, he’ll outlast you. He’s stronger, I can tell...”

He was cut off suddenly, once again, when the knife flew quickly from her right hand, straight into his forehead with a sickening thunk, impaling his skull and killing him on impact. He keeled backward, on the ground. The other man, noticing that the lass was not armed and had removed one of her hands from his neck, moved hard against her hands. He also found that he could speak hoarsely once again.

“You have no weapon lass,” he croaked at her, “I have no weapon. Just let me go and I won’t...”

She looked down at him and once again felt sickened at the sight of his hair.

“I don’t think so,” Raela replied.

She moved both her hands to the side of his neck and with a quick snap of her hands in the opposite direction, she broke his neck and let him fall to the ground to join his comrade. She almost didn’t want to look up and see Dwalin’s expression. Instead, she moved to where he still stood, picking up her knife on the way, and pulling it out of the dead man’s forehead. She cleaned it on the dead human’s tunic as well. He was leaning weakly against his battle axes.

But, he didn’t say a word.

She helped to lift him, and asked, “The others?”

“Dead, unfortunately.” He gasped and then said, suddenly, “It might be faster if you leave me behind to get help, Lady Raela. ”

“I don’t think so. I’ll never leave an ally behind. You have at least three injuries that I can see, maybe more. I’ll help carry you.”

He nodded and then with a strength that he didn’t realize she possessed, she carried the majority of his weight over her right shoulder.

He did his best to help as he could, but he was still reeling from what he saw. He had noticed her say something to Lady Erika and Lady Freya when the men approached, and then the stupid lass had scared off the horses. Then, she attacked and killed the last two bandits, all on her own, one with her bare hands.

He didn’t care what she told Dis in their first interview, but he would be damned if she wasn’t a trained warrior of some sort.

And he was sure that if Fili wouldn’t marry the lass, then he would himself.

He was vaguely aware of the sun beginning to set. They weren’t far from the front gates, but they were still a good mile and a half away, and the air was beginning to grow chill as it always did in the summers. Raela was from most southeastern part of Orocarni. She was not used to harsh, cold weather, and he felt her shiver involuntarily through the thin cloak she wore, even as she carried most of his weight.

He was going to have some words with this lass when he felt better because he wanted to know exactly how she had learned to fight the way she did.

It was slow going but after only fifteen minutes, more hooves were heard, coming towards them.

Raela looked up to see several dwarves, all guards or members of Erebor’s army looking at Raela holding up their grizzled leader in surprise and awe.

Fili was there as well, at the front of the procession, and his gaze zeroed in on Dwalin, practically on the back of Raela. He barked orders for them to relieve Raela and she thanked the dwarves, and told them of the injuries that she could see.

Fili then turned toward her. “Were you injured?” He asked, his eyes grazing over her body from head to toe, looking for any bleeding or problems as he sat astride his pony.

“Nothing too horrible, I believe,” Raela answered him mildly.

“Where were you attacked?” He asked, looking off to the east. “My mother mentioned Raven Hill. Are you feeling well enough to show me?”

She looked at him hesitantly, seeing his hand held out for her. There were no spare ponies. He was expecting her to ride with him.

She only grumbled impatiently and nodded. After all, she did need to show him where the men attacked them.

“I’ll show you,” she murmured as he helped her settle onto the saddle in front of him. “Don’t let your hands wander though. I don’t bloody care if you’re a prince.”

“My lady,” he whispered into her ear, her back pressed up against his chest and one hand lightly holding on to her waist while the other was on the pony’s reins, “I wouldn’t dare mess with you after seeing what you did to my poor, idiot cousin.”

She snorted at his comment and he sat up, saying, “Half of you go back with Dwalin. Make sure he gets to Oin. The rest of you come with us. I would like to see the spot where they were attacked. We need to make sure those guards’ bodies return with us in one piece so that we can sing them into the halls.”

He then pulled on the reins and gave an order to his horse and they cantered over to the spot. On horseback, it was a much quicker journey, and Fili was soon off the pony, looking at the tracks.

He stood, looking at the bodies that Raela had killed, and asked her, “Did the guards and Dwalin kill all of them?”

She looked uncomfortable, and answered, “I killed those two.” She pointed. “Lord Dwalin was injured quite badly. While he was trying to defend me, I was forced to defend myself.”

Fili looked at her sternly and then asked, “Why did you stay behind? Why didn’t you leave with the other dams.”

“They had horses. I figured the only way to make sure that the men didn’t overtake the rest of the dams was if we could spook those horses and get them to run off.”

Fili gave her a calculating look. “So you decided to sacrifice yourself? And the men attacked you when they saw their horses run off?”

She began to nod and then stopped suddenly. “No. They said some, inappropriate things to me, and then, I attacked them first in surprise.”

Fili only nodded, hoping to hear more about what happened exactly from Dwalin when he was feeling better. He had already heard from Erika that Raela was the one that told them to run back, as quickly as they could. He had never seen his mother so out of breath or red-faced before, and she told them exactly what had happened.

And that was when Dis realized that all the dams were present and accounted for except Raela.

And poor Rang, who had just finished training with Fili, Kili, and Thorin, overheard. He had immediately burst into tears, and Dis had been doing her best to keep him calm ever since.

Fili mounted the pony again and gave orders for the corpses to be brought back to Erebor. He then sent another rider to Dale, to inform King Bain of the encounter. He helped Raela back onto his pony and tried to ignore the flutters in his stomach at the lass sitting so close to him.

They immediately took off back to the mountain. From this section of the plains surrounding Raven Hill, it would take a good twenty minutes or so to get back to the front gates. After only a minute or two, Raela moved slightly against his chest, and to his surprise, he saw that she was beginning to drowse. It was only the early night still, but he figured that she was tired from the adrenaline rush of a battle.

She shivered slightly in her drowsiness against his chest, wearing only a thin, cotton cloak. He removed his thicker one from around his shoulders and put it over her.

She didn’t say a word, so he knew that she was asleep. He tried to keep his mind on other things as they rode back to the front gates, but all he could think about was his panic at hearing that Raela had been left behind.

What those men could have done to her bothered him more than anything. He knew that she was most likely in capable hands though, considering Dwalin was with her. He was half afraid of finding her in the woods dead and wondering how he was going to break the news to Rang when they intercepted her and Dwalin on the way back to the mountain. He had never felt more relieved in his life.

He smiled slightly at the lass who was trying to stay awake in his arms. Blimey, he wasn’t expecting to fall so hard for one of the lasses that came to the mountain for his hand. And he had to feel this way about the most difficult one.

The one that was carrying his cousin on her back, refusing to leave him behind.

The one that caused a distraction so that the rest of the dams could get away.

The one that…

That phrase kept coming back to him. “The one”.

His eyes widened in understanding and everything suddenly seemed to fall into place. She was his “one”. The one that had been created, just to be with him. His other half, that he had been missing, body and soul for his entire life until now.

All of a sudden, he felt a warm, peaceful feeling wash over him that had everything to do with the dam in his arms. She felt amazing in his arms because that was where she was supposed to be.

He felt her fidget underneath his touch suddenly and saw a look of annoyance pass over her features in the light of the torches at the front gate.

He frowned slightly.

Now, if only he could convince her that it wouldn’t be so bad to marry him. He had a feeling that the hardest part of the upcoming months was still ahead.

********************************************************************************************************

Fili insisted on getting down first. He held a gentlemanly hand for Raela and helped her off the pony. They usually took the ponies to the stables first, but they were in the front gates because they had news to give.

She suppressed a tiny yawn, annoyed at herself for managing to drift off to sleep in Prince Fili’s arms. Ugh. He was so annoying sometimes. However, she felt it was impossible, of course. Between the steady heartbeat and deep breathing of the prince and his pony’s even canter, she knew that anyone would have fallen asleep after her ordeal.

She revived herself to see Aron and Rang rushing towards her. She knelt to reach for Rang immediately, who was openly sobbing.

“Rae-Rae. I thought the bad men had got you.” He said to her, pushing his face into her shoulder, soaking the cloak she wore with his tears.

“Shh...I’m here. It would take more than a couple of bad men to get me. I’ll always be here. Don’t you worry.” She patted his hair and looked up at Aron who only stared at them through his spectacles with open relief on his face. She helped herself up into a standing position and Aron pulled her into a rare hug himself.

“Thank Mahal you’re alright.” He whispered to her, “We were so worried.”

She paused, and said, “I had to fight, uncle. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. If you had to expose yourself, I don’t care. It’s more important that you’re alive and well.” He told her, his hands on her shoulders as she nodded.

She nodded at him and then, felt herself extremely warm. She noticed the dark green cloak that was placed haphazardly over her own cotton one. There was a soaked spot on it from Rang’s sobbing.

She recognized it immediately and scowled. That interfering prince had given her his cloak while she slept. Damn it, he must have realized that she fell asleep in his arms. Now he was going to be even more cocky.

She pulled it off, and handed it quickly to Rang saying, “Return this to Prince Fili for me, please Rang.”

He nodded happily and ran off to the prince. Raela felt her cheeks turn pink and her uncle only smirked at her slightly.

He sang a song to her quietly, “Riding on a pony, with Prince Fili...”

“Please uncle, don’t start.” She practically begged him, her face still blushing.
He only nodded and then said, “Only because you’ve had such an ordeal. You weren’t injured too badly, were you?”

“I don’t think so,” Raela replied. “I have some pain in my ribs, but I just want to get back to our rooms and take a bath.”

Aron nodded at her words and proceeded to lead her and Rang, who had returned with a toothy grin toward the visiting quarters. She looked over her shoulder to see Fili, who staring after her, quite openly again, his cloak draped over his arm. She unconsciously felt her cheeks turn pink and she looked away.

Why was it that when he looked at her like that, she felt so exposed? Like he could see through her?

It didn’t take long for them to return to their quarters. Raela opened the door to her bedroom and stepped inside. She took off her cloak and began pumping hot water into the tub. She felt a stitch in her side and stopped. Most likely bruised ribs, she thought to herself, and she kept pumping. When she had enough hot, steaming water in the bath, she peeled off the layers of her dress and eased herself into the tub.

She practically moaned in relief and began thinking about what she had done. She had killed two men—she didn’t feel too guilty about it. It was not the first time that she had killed. But, it had been a very long time since she had been in a battle, and she had never, ever used her own hands to kill a person before. She stared at them as they began to tremble and she felt the sobs start to come.

*************************************************************************************************************************************
Thorin was sitting next to Balin in the healing halls. Oin was tending to Dwalin’s injuries when Fili came in, followed by Kili.

“How is he?” Fili asked, looking over their cousin.

Dwalin opened one eye and said, “He’s fine. Don’t talk about me like I’m not here, lad.”

Fili only smiled sheepishly, and said, “How am I supposed to know that if you’re sleeping, old dwarf?”

Kili snickered and Oin sent them both death glares. The two sobered up immediately, knowing that the old healer had no problem throwing people out of his infirmary.

“His shoulder was dislocated, but it’ll be fine after some rest.” Oin began, and then said, “But he took several stab wounds to his chest, which he is lucky didn’t puncture anything important. And a few wounds to his liver, which will heal with time.”

He looked over Thorin and nodded, saying, “You can question him if you want, Thorin. But don’t bother him too much.”

Balin looked between the two and Fili and Kili settled themselves comfortably in a couple of chairs to hear the full story of what happened from Dwalin.

“They came on horses. I stupidly hailed them. They were going in a different direction and I--” he gasped, suddenly and Oin gave him a look, “I’m fine, Oin. Just a pinch.”

He continued, “The idiots got off of the horses and then I saw Lady Raela move from the corner of my eyes. That lass is as sharp as they get. She was looking for exit routes or places to hide. Instead, I saw her whisper something to Lady Erika, who only looked surprised. I noticed that Lady Freya seemed to understand what was going on though. The man told me he wished that we hadn’t seen them and then he pulled out a long knife. That’s when the dams all ran off and the men attacked.

“They got Taren immediately, and Geir took out one before he was quickly killed. I took out four, and then they got me good. Two attacked me from behind while I was fighting two others. I killed the two in front of me, but my life was saved when they heard the horses run off.”

Dwalin began to laugh and hacked clutching his chest. “Blimey, Lady Raela had smacked all those horses’s asses and scared them off. They were long gone. I told her to run, but she refused. They—well, they told her that they were going to rape her, and she attacked first. Barreled into the chest of one, knocking him on his back. The other she kicked out from behind his legs and then she got him in a chokehold. She keeps a knife in her cloak, it looks like. Told the one that she was going to slit the other’s throat, and he told her she wouldn’t do it, so she threw that dagger straight into that man’s forehead. It was an accurate shot and he was killed immediately. The other one began to fight her and she snapped his neck with her hands.”

“Then, she refused to leave me behind and insisted that I not walk, no-nonsense, thank you please sort of thing. And that was it.”

Dwalin paused and Thorin looked at his old friend with a slightly dark expression. “She’s a trained warrior, Thorin. Or she’s at least knowledgeable and smart enough to figure out those things. But she’s been trained. I’m not sure if she lied and it’s her craft, but...I think it would be wise to have her either teach the dams something or to have her keep her training up.”

Thorin looked up and asked, “Why would she lie about being a warrior?”

“Maybe she’s not,” Dwalin commented, “but she told me that she would never leave an ally behind and the way she duped those men. Even I thought at first she was just going for a weapon in her cloak when she blindsided the one into a tackle...”

He trailed off and Thorin exchanged a look with the other dwarves in the room with him. They all nodded and Dwalin eventually closed his eyes before falling asleep.

They all left together, except Balin, who worried over his brother.

Kili glanced at Fili and Thorin, who were still in the halls. “So, she killed those two men?”

Thorin only shrugged, and said, “I believe Dwalin. Her brother is advanced in combat for his age and she admitted to being his teacher. She may have more experience than she’s let on.”

Thorin then began to walk back to the royal quarters. “I would like to speak to her about it. Perhaps tomorrow. She is probably exhausted.”

They continued to walk until they found their way into the quarters. Fili and Kili immediately gave their mother hugs and Dis asked, quite suddenly, “Is Raela alright?”

“Aye, she helped Dwalin take out those men, amad,” Kili answered softly.

Dis only closed her eyes and sighed in relief. “That poor little mite. She must have been so frightened.”

Thorin exchanged an amused expression with his nephews. Neither “poor little mite” nor “frightened” seemed to accurately describe Raela from what they knew of her.

“I’m sure Rang will not wish for her to be out of his sight. I find it so sweet how much he loves and looks up to his namad.” Dis said with a sigh.

Fili sat down on a chair and stared into the fire, thinking of his own revelations that evening.

“Fili,” Dis asked, “Was Raela injured at all?”

“She said nothing too bad, Amad,” Fili answered quietly, looking over his mother, perplexed at her anxious demeanor.

Ah, he realized suddenly, Amad felt guilty that the rest of the dams ran off and Raela was left behind, even though it was by Raela’s own design.

Dis immediately stood up and cleared her throat before saying, “I’m going to make sure she’s alright.”

“Amad,” Fili started, following her out of the quarters, and feeling slightly panicked at his mother’s fussiness, “I’m sure she’s alright. You don’t need to pester her.”

Poor Raela was going to be the one that she hovered over for a while. Dis was not one to be stopped though.

She marched her way through the halls, and Fili followed feeling awkward. He passed a couple of the lasses who were potential marriage partners, who only looked up at him in surprise, some composing themselves enough to flutter their eyelashes at him. He did his best to smile and greet them politely but focused on keeping up with his stubbornly determined mother.

She arrived at the door of the quarters for the Ironfist leaders and knocked. Aron answered, looking somewhat surprised.

“My lady, your highness?” He asked, stepping back from the door before looking in between the king’s sister and the crown prince.

“I’d like to make sure that your niece is indeed in one piece,” Dis informed him plainly.

He blinked and then said, stepping to the side, “Of course. Please come in.” They were led into a modest sitting room. There was a roaring fireplace with several comfortable-looking armchairs and a sofa. Aron pointed to a seat in welcome.

Aron knocked on another door that adjoined the front room while Fili smiled at Rang, who was asleep on one of the sofas by the fire.

“Raela, Lady Dis would like to see you,” Aron said into the door that was adjoined to the parlor.

“Coming.” They heard the answer, sounding almost annoyed from the other room. Fili smiled to himself. It sounded like she was fine alright.

Several minutes passed while Aron, Fili, and Dis exchanged a few pleasantries. Dis mentioned her gratitude that Raela was back and seemed to be okay. Aron pointed at his nephew and gave him a wistful smile.

“He wished to stay awake so Raela could read to him before his bedtime.” Dis gazed lovingly at the young dwarfling.

Aron then frowned, looking at a pocket watch. He must have realized that some minutes had passed since he had informed Raela of their visitors.

He stood up and walked over to her door, saying, with a warning in his voice, “Raela.” There was a pronounced silence before she answered.

“Uncle...I...” She, for the first time that they had heard in the three weeks they had known her, sounded distressed.

Dis immediately stood up. “Here, I’ll let myself in. Raela, dear, I’m coming in. Is that alright?”

There was a pregnant pause, and then the answer sounded resigned, “Aye. Please, and thank you.”

Dis immediately entered the room and with a quick snap, shut the door behind her.

She was surprised at what she saw. Poor Raela had only half of her dressing gown on and had tears down her face as she tried to pull her other arm through her sleeve. She held up the gown against her chest, and said, “My side. It hurts. I can’t put this on...”

Dis immediately sprang into action, and instead of helping the lass to maintain her modesty and put the gown on, insisted that she leave her arm down. She immediately went to the door, opened it slightly, and began to order her son around while Aron looked on, concerned.

“Fili, go find a healer. A female healer, thank you. And ask Bombur to send up some food and tea for her.” She looked at Fili, who had frozen. He looked alarmed, and Dis was surprised to see, very worried.

“Is she--?”

“I don’t know dear. But, do what I say and then get some food yourself. I’ll see you in the morning.” Dis commanded him.

Dis then closed the door shut on her son who looked as pale as snow. How interesting. She looked at Raela who was struggling to sit up in her bed. The poor lass had proven her worth today, that was for sure.

She helped Raela into the bed and helped her to pull up the covers and then gasped at the bruising she saw on the pale torso in front of her.

“Oh, dear. That doesn’t look good. Why didn’t you tell Fili you were injured? And he said that you rode with him back to the site!” Dis exclaimed, clucking her tongue slightly at the bruising on the ribs.

She gritted her teeth, not used to being mothered, and said, “I didn’t think it was that bad. It hurts now, though. Probably just some bruised ribs. Maybe a sprain or two. I’m sure I’ll be feeling better in the morning.”

To poor Raela’s dismay, there were a couple of broken ribs, most likely from one of the horses that she had ducked that was kicking at her. It was amazing that she had managed to stay on her feet at all. She figured it was due to her adrenaline from fighting. She had seen it happen before.

She was pampered in bed, a couple of hours later after eating a stew. Dis had left only a few minutes earlier after practically forcing the soup down her throat. Raela supposed that the matron of the Durin line wasn’t too bad as long as she wasn’t provoked. She had a hot water bottle against her side and began to drift off to sleep.

And then Raela began to dream.

She dreamed of Fili—his lips kissing her own and his hands roaming all over her body. Her dream self welcomed his touch as he lightly caressed her breasts and then helped her to undress. Suddenly, in her dream, his clothes were off as well, and he pressed her body into the soft mattress underneath them, kissing her on the lips, the neck, the hollow of her throat, everywhere. She was making sounds that she swore she would never, ever make and all of a sudden, their bodies joined together.

And then, all of a sudden, she awoke.

She shivered slightly, a light sweat on her skin. The fireplace in her room was still lit. She turned to her side, with her knees together, hoping that the ache in her lower belly would subside.

Once she got her breathing under control, she wondered about the dream. She could say that she had never, ever had a dream like that before.

She thought of how Prince Fili’s body looked in her dreams and she almost sighed. She struggled to clear her mind. Instead, she kept thinking about the dream and that feeling that she had.

Eventually, as she lay down in her bed, hoping to get back to sleep but fearing what her unconscious mind would show her, she fell into a fitful sleep.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6—Mining Inspections

The next morning dawned too bright for Raela’s liking. She had not slept well. She hoped that whatever it was that was happening to her would stop because she didn’t need, uh, inappropriate thoughts to creep up any time that she saw or thought of the crown prince.

There was a knock on her door after several minutes. She called for the person to enter. It was Aron and Rang. Following behind them was a sweet and innocent-looking lady’s maid. Raela felt relieved because she was not sure how she was going to manage to get up or get herself dressed. Her side was still in a terrible amount of pain.

“Lady Dis sent me to help you dress, my lady,” the lass said to her with a curtsy. Raela nodded at the maid in thanks and then answered Aron’s query about her health. He looked relieved, once again, that she was perfectly okay.

“King Thorin would like to speak with us in his office after breakfast. So get dressed, and then I can help escort you if you need it,” Aron said. Rang was sitting on Raela’s lap, speaking to his sister in his normally cheerful voice. He got up when Aron prodded him, saying that Raela needed to get dressed. And then, to Raela’s surprise, her little brother even winked at the lady’s maid as they left. Raela felt her mouth open wide in surprise.

From whom did he pick that up? The lady’s maid only smiled and answered that her name was Brenna when Raela inquired kindly.

Raela then nodded and winced as she sat up. Between her own strength and the maid’s, they were able to get her to sit up. The maid then helped Raela dress for the day and even did her hair. She insisted on one of Raela’s nicer day gowns since she was meeting with the king in only a little bit, after all.

Raela cooperated quite well with the maid, she thought. She then broke her fast with Rang and Aron, who joined her in the parlor. The maid had managed to lead her into the room and then with a quick curtsy, left them to their meal.

Aron watched Raela carefully throughout the meal and almost bristled as he watched his niece reach for her side and wince in pain.

“He commanded you to see him in HIS office. That’s rude, seeing as you were the one injured.” Aron bit out at her as he helped her up and they set off toward the king’s office.

“It’s alright uncle. I think I’m just stiff, is all. I feel better already after walking a bit.” And so, the three of them, including sweet Rang walked to the office where Thorin held many of his council meetings. The guards knocked and insisted on checking them for weapons. They then opened the door and Rang bounced inside first. Raela followed at her uncle’s insistence and almost flinched when she saw that Fili was sitting in the office with the king. Balin and Kili were there as well and waited silently as Aron helped Raela to sit in a chair.

Thorin frowned and said, “I’m sorry to make you come here. I did not think it appropriate to go to your quarters.” Thorin started by apologizing.

Raela nodded in understanding at Thorin’s concern. She did her best not to look at Fili lest she have images from her dream come to the forefront.

“King Bain had requested that we meet with him in Dale. I’m sending Fili to speak with him, and we’d like to hear about everything that happened yesterday.” Thorin told her softly, watching her curiously. He had a stern gaze, but it was not judgmental in the least.

Raela looked over Rang, and said, “Is there somewhere that my little brother can go? Some of the things that were said to me...”

Kili looked her over swiftly, and suggested, “Perhaps he can play with one of Bombur’s lads? Would that be alright?”

Raela looked at her uncle, who nodded approvingly at the plan. Kili gave Rang his hand, and the two left to find Master Bombur and his wife, Alina. Raela watched them leave and with a slight nod from Aron, began to speak.

“Well, we were taking a stroll.” Raela ducked her head slightly. “We stopped at Raven Hill and were just turning around from there, maybe only a quarter mile south when the men came. They attacked Lord Dwalin and our other guards, Mahal rest their souls. I told Lady Erika to get the rest of them to run. Lady Freya overheard me. I spooked the horses,” she winced slightly, thinking of how her adrenaline had masked her getting kicked by a horse. But dwarf bones were strong, and their race was hardy, she should recover in only a little time.

“There were some shouts and when I turned around, I saw that two men had taken out Lord Dwalin from behind, like the cowards that they were. Then, they made some rather lewd comments to me, and I attacked first to throw them off guard. One of them I killed by throwing my knife into his skull and the other, I broke his neck with my hands.” She finished her story with her hands in her lap as if it were the most normal thing in the world. She leveled her gaze solely at Thorin, determined not to look at Fili.

There was a prolonged silence.

Aron looked at King Thorin openly and Raela breathed in deeply, wondering what was going to happen next. Raela’s eyes wandered to the crown prince, who was sitting across from her, next to Thorin. Fili was still staring at her, as he always did; as if she always seemed to puzzle him. She took her eyes off Fili’s expression and looked at the King once again. He was stroking his beard thoughtfully.

Balin broke the silence. “How did you learn to fight like that, lass?”

Raela shifted in her armchair and then winced slightly at the twinge of pain, hoping none of the dwarves had caught on to her weakness.

“My father trained me to defend myself.” She answered routinely.

“Lass, between what you just told us and what we saw you do to Thorin Stonhelm...well forgive me if I don’t quite believe that’s it. I know your father was an excellent warrior, but you seem to have a keen insight into battle. Dwalin even said that you sounded like a commander when you spoke to them also.” Raela blinked her eyes slowly and once again, leveled her gaze at the king.

She remained silent. Aron took off his spectacles, rubbing them with a handkerchief, and then placed them back over his eyes.

“Is my niece in any trouble?” Aron asked mildly.

“No,” Thorin answered, and then continued to talk, “I only wished to know why she lied to my sister when she told her that she didn’t have a craft.”

Raela’s eyes flashed, and she pursed her lips before steeling her resolve. “I did not lie.”

“You’re a trained warrior. Dwalin saw it immediately. The ability to problem solve like that while you’re on the defensive and take out two men who were at least several hands taller than you—well that means that you have been trained, and not just for self-defense. You could have left that man alive, Lady Raela, but instead, you broke his neck with your bare hands. You’ve killed before.” Thorin accused her.

Fili made a slight noise of discontent at Thorin’s charge.

Thorin barely repressed his smile in time. Balin caught Thorin’s eye and was smiling quite openly. Oh yes. Fili liked this lass quite a bit. He didn’t seem to appreciate how Thorin had just spoken to her.

“What do you know about our defenses in southeastern Orocarni?” Aron asked King Thorin pointedly, taking the attention off Raela who remained silent still.

Thorin looked at Balin.

“Not much,” Balin replied, almost grudgingly. “There are only rumors. Your brother was a skilled and crafty warrior, of course. We remember fighting alongside him. There are usually large armies, of course, and fierce fighters. Being so close to the Eastern lands, it doesn’t surprise me that you all have large armies. The Ironfists in particular are known for their hand-to-hand combat skills. It does not surprise me that Lady Raela knows how to kill with her bare hands.”

“We have never had a large army, in the traditional sense of the word,” Aron said quietly, glancing at Raela who gave a small nod at her uncle to continue. Thorin caught the nod, interested in why she was permitting her uncle to continue speaking.

“Then how have you managed to hold off the rest of the clans? I know that there is infighting among you. And you, of the four clans in Orocarni, are the most disdained.” Thorin told him bluntly. Fili winced slightly at his uncle’s tone of voice. Thorin was never one for subtlety.

“Have you heard of the Eagle Riders?” Aron asked softly, looking at them in curiosity.

“They’re only a rumor,” Thorin said, waving a hand to dismiss Aron’s question. He stopped though when he saw the serious expression on the dwarf’s face.

“They used to exist,” Aron stated. “There was a pact made many ages ago between the first queen of the Ironfists and the eagles. Not Lord Gwahir’s eagles, of course; these are a lesser breed, but still noble, intelligent animals. In exchange for a safe place where they could create nests and lay their eggs, they would allow the queen and her followers to ride them into battle. They were a practically unbeatable force.” Aron said with a sad smile on his face.

“I’ve heard of the eagle riders, but I thought they were a myth,” Balin stated, sounding excited. Thorin frowned slightly. He narrowed in on the phrase “used to exist”.

“Only our dwarrowdams were permitted to ride the eagles. Unfortunately, one of the dams turned traitor. She destroyed the nests, and eggs and even killed some of the eagles while they slept. We broke the contract, and the eagles left us. The dwarrowdam escaped, but we believe that she was working for Mordor. Since then, our tensions with the rest of the clans have become more fragile. The orcs and humans move in on us now, a little more each year.”

Raela looked into the far corner of the office at her uncle’s words.

“May I ask what this has to do with Lady Raela?” Thorin asked, glancing at Aron slightly.

“Raela is technically a trained warrior, as she is their former commander.”

There was a stunned silence, and Raela felt her cheeks blush slightly at the surprised looks on the dwarf’s faces. Fili steeled his surprise into a kind smile when she looked at him, and if possible, she felt her cheeks redden even more.

Damn her hormones.

“How long did you command them?” Balin asked, his voice a whisper.

“Since the moment I came of age,” Raela replied, her fingers touching her hair slightly in an unconscious gesture. “My mother commanded them only until I came of age, knowing that it would be my responsibility. Technically, I have no craft anymore.”

“But that’s incredible. You rode eagles into battle!” Fili commented, looking at her warmly.

“I was taught how to survive, more than anything.” She replied to the crown prince. “It was rare for us to be attacked like I was yesterday, but my instincts kicked in and I remembered what to do.”

“That is very interesting,” Thorin said, warming up to her immensely. He would need to have Nori reach some contacts in the Ironfist settlement to corroborate her background, but he couldn’t see why they would lie about it. After all, it wasn’t as if they existed anymore.

“So you have been formally trained then?” Thorin asked with a smile. Oh yes, she would make a fine companion alongside Fili. She would also, no doubt, bear strong heirs as well.

Thorin positively beamed at Raela. Raela only raised her eyebrows in response, not quite sure why the king was looking at her so happily.

She answered him, “My father oversaw my training. He was an outstanding warrior, Your Majesty, which I’m sure you would recall.”

“Aye, we remember fighting alongside him at Azanulbizar.” Thorin replied to her, still in deep thought it appeared.

“I have a proposal for you,” Thorin said quietly after a moment. Raela glanced at him, quite surprised.

“While it is obvious that you know what you are doing, I wonder if you would be able to do me a favor.”

She looked at him curiously. Thorin wondered if this was a good idea or not, but he loved the idea of meddling in his nephew’s personal affairs, especially if it meant that Fili would choose this lass. She was quite lovely, in his opinion, and would make an excellent wife, mother, and queen.

“Lady Tauriel needs someone to spar with. Someone as quick as she is—Lord Dwalin said that he hadn’t seen any dwarf move as fast as you in a very long time.”

“I would be honored to train with Lady Tauriel,” she replied, looking at her uncle. Aron nodded his approval.

“It would do you good, Raela. You haven’t picked up a weapon besides that knife in a long time.”

She nodded and then watched as Thorin continued to speak. Kili had just entered the office again, this time without Rang, and sat in the empty chair next to Fili, who was watching Raela still.

Kili smiled at his brother’s facial expression.

Raela noticed that Kili was quite tall for a dwarf. Perhaps the height difference then between him and Lady Tauriel wasn’t that noticeable. And although he was a good three or four inches taller than Fili, you could tell that Fili was indeed the older brother.

“I would also like for you to teach a class to the nobledams on self-defense. You are well-versed in what to do. And while we’ll be doubling the guard when you ladies go places, I feel that it would be best if they were aware of the best way to guard themselves against danger.”

She pursed her lips slightly. Thorin suppressed a smirk.

“I suppose I have no choice, Your Highness, although I do not fancy myself a talented warrior like Lord Dwalin.”

“That’s fine, Lady Raela. Prince Kili will help you.” Kili smiled at her broadly, and then bowed, “At your service, my lady.”

She grunted slightly, and then said, “It will have to wait until I am fully recovered.”

“Of course, Lady Raela. I believe you have a class to get to today unless you’re still not feeling completely revived.” It was Balin who said that this time, a twinkle in his eyes. She sighed softly and pretended to look faint.

“I’m afraid I am not up to class with Lady Dis today, Your Majesty.”

“It is a good thing you’re a better warrior than an actress, my lady,” Kili said, jokingly. Aron chortled at the younger prince’s joke while Fili continued to smile at her warmly.

Aron excused himself, saying that he was going to pick up Rang and had some business to attend to. He left the room, leaving Raela to be escorted back to their quarters by someone else. Thorin smiled at the wily dwarf. He then looked at Raela, who began to stand up and cringed slightly.

“You’re in pain. That won’t do,” Thorin said, frowning at her, feeling concerned over her injury.

She waved a hand at him. “It will be fine. It’s worse when I’m sitting still though. I need to walk around for a bit, I think.”

Thorin looked at Raela with a pensive expression and then turned to look at Fili and Kili.

“Lads, why don’t you show Lady Raela the mines and forges? I’m sure she would be interested in seeing them.”

Raela frowned at the random change in topics while Fili nodded his head in agreement. Kili also nodded his head and then grinned at Lady Raela openly. Raela was startled a bit at Kili’s expression while Fili offered her his hand to get her to stand up, and then, offered her his arm. She gave him a distrustful glance but took it all the same, and they followed after Kili, who practically bounded out the office door.

“Fili,” Thorin said sternly, as they turned to leave, “Make sure that Lady Raela is back in her rooms by tea. I believe that your mother and the rest of the noble ladies were planning on surprising her with a visit.”

Fili and Raela exchanged a look with each other and Fili nodded before leading her out.

*********************************************************************************************************************************************************

Raela tried to keep track of where they were going as Fili and Kili led her through the mountain, swerving through various hallways and tunnels until Kili eventually stopped after about ten minutes. It was a labyrinth of stone that Raela was sure she would never figure out how to get back out.

She had not spoken at all to Fili since they had left his uncle’s office. She was trying not to think too much about how well-muscled his forearm felt entwined with her own.

There was also that dream from the night before that was still bothering her.

Kili had entered a passage. A few minutes passed, and then of the room, came Lady Tauriel. She positively beamed as she saw Raela and asked her how she was feeling.

When Kili told her what their uncle had commanded, she had only laughed.

Raela broke her silence with Fili while watching Tauriel and Kili.

“I must be missing something,” she murmured to him, “The mines and forges?”

“It’s a secret,” Fili said to her playfully. “After all these long days of our acquaintance, you trust me, don’t you?”

She tried to stifle her laughter but failed. His smile only widened at her.

They exchanged no more words but were soon farther into the mountain than Raela had ever seen. She looked around, and more than anything, felt warmer than she had before.

Fili led her into one of the tunnels that were practically invisible to the naked eye, following Tauriel and Kili. She stopped short and looked around the room.

It was a cave, the somehow, opened into a watery cavern.

“A natural hot spring,” Tauriel said. She pulled out some items from a small pouch that she had carried with her.

“Come, you and I will have a nice, long soak and then I’ll treat that wound of yours,” Tauriel told her with a smile. “We’ll have you feeling better in no time.”

Tauriel reached for her dress, to pull it off, when Kili interrupted her, “Love!”

Fili groaned at the same time that Kili stopped her, with his hands over his eyes.

She shook her head in Raela’s direction. “You dwarves are so modest. It’s just a naked body.”

Raela looked at Fili and Kili in confusion. “Uh..where will you two be?”

“See that outcropping of rock?” She looked in the direction that Kili pointed. It was quite tall and very wide. It made a barrier that conveniently divided the springs into two sides.

“We’ll be on the other side of it. We can’t leave you two alone, in case something were to happen, but we promise that we won’t peek. Plus, it’s too dark in here, I’m sure we wouldn’t see anything anyway.” Kili said, once again winking in her direction.

“That’s not the point,” Raela practically growled at him. Fili pulled Kili to the side before Raela could hurt him, and they began walking onto the other side of the rock. Tauriel was already beginning to strip, and Raela went to join her but was only halfway out of her dress.

She could hardly raise her arm.

“Come, I’ll help you,” Tauriel said. When Raela hesitated at Tauriel’s boldness, the elleth asked, “Unless you’d like Fili to help instead?”

Raela then cooperated with Tauriel.

When the dwarrowdam slid into the water, she sighed softly at the heat of the natural spring. Somehow, inexplicably, she was already starting to feel better.

She let her head drift back onto the warm, still water and felt Tauriel sidle up to her.

“Feels good, doesn’t it? I swear it has some sort of healing properties, but I don’t know what exactly.” Tauriel informed her. They were both sitting with their backs against the outcropping of rock. The gentle heat and wave of the spring soothed Raela’s sore ribs.

“We have springs like this in Orocarni,” Raela told Tauriel quietly. “Anytime someone was injured, we would whisk them away into the water, and it seemed to help speed their recovery.”

Tauriel nodded and whispered, “You’re my favorite, you know. I hope that you and Fili can work something out.”

Raela blinked and then, laughed out loud. “No dwarf in his right mind would want me as a wife, Lady Tauriel. I’m too independent.”

“Don’t be so sure, Raela. By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you, how do you know so much about elves? Most dwarves and dwarrowdams don’t care to learn anything.”

Raela mulled over the question. And then, she yelled across the cavern.

“Oi, Prince Fili? Is it alright if I tell Lady Tauriel what I told your uncle?”

There was a silence, and then his deep voice reverberated off the cavern walls, cutting through the silence and her, it seemed. For some reason whenever he spoke, her heart seemed to start beating faster.

“That should be fine. Tauriel knows all the secrets.” Fili answered.

She looked at Tauriel and sighed before saying, “I was an eagle rider of Orocarni.”

“But, I thought that was a myth,” Tauriel told her, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

Raela shook her head. “No. I have flown over all of Middle-earth. Sometimes we would fly to just map the world better; sometimes we’d fly to battle. I’ve been in the skies since I was a wee lass, with my mother.”

Tauriel gaped at her answer, her mouth open at the news.

Kili was a bit more annoyed. “What? Are you serious? You’d better marry her now, Fili.”

Then Kili’s voice was suddenly cut off with a splash of water. It sounded as though Fili had dunked him underneath the spring. Raela felt her cheeks blush at Kili’s words while Tauriel openly grinned at the dwarrowdam.

“Seriously,” Kili said after only a few moments, coughing a bit. “I’m gone for maybe five minutes to escort Rang somewhere, and you find out this, Fili. That’s huge. The eagle riders were amazing! All those stories—hey Raela, could they come and join our army?”

“No. The eagle riders are now extinct,” she said wearily. “I’m one of the few remaining, and I’d appreciate it if it was kept secret.”

Kili only nodded and then, she heard him whisper something to Fili, who, in a deep voice that she couldn’t quite hear, replied. Hearing that deep voice though called to her and she closed her eyes against the humid springs. She let herself drift off to sleep as she sat with her back against the rock.

*************************************************************************************************************************************************

When she opened her eyes, Fili was there in front of her. She opened her mouth to call him a lecher.

Instead, she felt herself beckoning to him with her finger. She then turned to swim away, but he caught up to her quickly, and she found herself laughing. He held her close to the same rock she was leaning against, his arm between her naked back and the rock; his eyes hot, with beads of condensation on his face.

“I always get my prey,” he told her, whispering it in her ear. She felt his teeth tug on the same ear and she moaned at the contact, instantly feeling aroused. He pulled back with a grin, and she felt her face flush at the sensual gaze he was giving her. He then proceeded to kiss her.

And she had no problem returning the kiss, with her arms around his neck, her hands gripping his hair. Her hands drifted down to his chest, which was exposed above the water, the blond hair wet and plastered to his skin. She took his lips in her own, deepening their kiss.

She felt his arms encircle her completely and then reached down to grab her bottom, pulling him tight against her. She felt his arousal against her core and she involuntarily moaned against his lips. His beard scratched against her smooth skin, but it made the friction and tension between them even more intense.

She looked at him, and said, “Fili.” There was a warning in her voice since he was slightly laughing at her expression.

“What, love? Do you need something?” He tried to sound innocent.

She narrowed her eyes, and said, “I never would have married you if I knew you were such a tease.”

He smiled against her lips, and commented, “You know I love to see you all riled up.”

***************************************************************************************************************************************************

Raela felt herself awaken suddenly. What in all of Middle-earth was that all about? She felt her breathing was even, but it was as if she had seen something.

Perhaps a daydream? It couldn’t possibly be a vision of the future, could it? She shook herself once again, before completely dunking herself in the water. She needed to get these thoughts out of her mind.

Tauriel was floating herself, and it appeared that she hadn’t noticed anything amiss.

What a strange morning it was.

She hadn’t come to Erebor looking for any friends, and now it appeared that she had several in the nobledams, Tauriel, some of Thorin’s company, and perhaps even King Thorin himself, she mused to herself.

And the princes, well—they were likable enough. Prince Fili would make a good husband for whichever dam he chose, but she still had no desire to wed anyone—whether it was Fili or anyone else. She did not want to be forced apart from Rang. He was all that she had, and she wouldn’t allow a suitor to take her away from him, even if he was a future king.

Tauriel sat up and looked at Raela. “Oh, you’re awake! That’s good. Kili and Fili left to give us some more privacy, I think. And they’re scrounging up a place for us to have an early luncheon in secret. I’m telling you, Lady Raela, I think that Fili likes you quite a bit.”

Raela tried to ignore the words that Tauriel spoke.

It was getting harder and harder to ignore her thoughts on Fili, which had become stronger ever since that first encounter in the kitchens. Before it had been easy to hate the faceless prince.

Tauriel brought over some healing herbs and spoke some words in Elvish as she touched Raela’s broken ribs. A feeling of mending came over Raela. She immediately felt better.

“That’s incredible,” she said, as she got out of the water, drying herself the best she could. She put on her, corset, stays, and dress with no problem whatsoever and put on her slippers. Tauriel only accepted the thanks with a small wave, as if it was no big deal.

“How did you find these springs?” Raela asked her, starting to ring out her hair with her hands, winding her braids back into place.

Tauriel looked at her and said, “I stumbled on them by accident. I was sore, and I needed a place to rest that wasn’t my quarters.”

“Oh. Don’t you have a bath?” Raela asked her eyebrows furrowed.

“Aye, but isn’t this place magnificent?” She nodded at Tauriel’s words.

The elf continued to speak. “Thorin had mentioned hot springs that he remembered as a child but he couldn’t find them or remember exactly where they were. He even said one was medicinal and helped with aches, so I was poking around and found it. I showed it to Kili, who told Thorin and the others.”

Raela looked around the cavern in wonder. It was a remarkably beautiful place. And, because of her new elf friend, she felt completely healed.

“Come, I bet they’re waiting for us now,” Tauriel said. Raela followed her out of the cave, hoping that her hair had dried enough.

Fili and Kili were standing with their backs against the walls next to the cavern entry. They both looked up at the females leaving the room, their hair and beards slightly damp still.

“Took you long enough. Let’s go,” Kili said, looking over Raela and Tauriel, “Nori will let us have lunch at his place in the back room.”

Raela raised her eyebrows as she reluctantly took Fili’s proffered arm once again. “You mean the gambling room?”

Fili chuckled at her words and Kili stared at her openly. “How’d you know that?”

Fili shook his head slightly and told Kili, “Never mind, nadadith.”

Kili shrugged his shoulders before he and Tauriel led the way to the tavern by the mines. But, as they got within sight of the pub, a group of giggling dams was passing by to enter the mines.

Fili suddenly yanked on Raela’s arm, moving her to the side. There was a small little shopfront, selling textiles, it appeared. Fili ushered Raela in there, and he pulled her close to him, hiding behind large bolts of cotton and silk. He looked out the window and saw his mother talking to Kili and Tauriel.

The rest of the nobledams were watching in interest.

Fili looked down at Raela, who was trying to see over his shoulder and around the bolt of fabric. She was a good two or three inches shorter than him. Fili thought to himself, the perfect height of a lass to kiss.

She suddenly stared right back at him and he felt himself fluster a bit. He smiled at her, and without saying a word, she surprisingly smiled back at him as well.

“Is it all clear? I can’t see past your big head.” Raela told him bluntly.

His lips quirked up into a grin. One of the things that he liked about Raela was her honesty.

He looked out the window once again. His mother and the dams were gone, and Kili was signaling to him that it was all clear.

“Aye, looks like it. Those poor miners.” Fili replied to him.

He led her out of the storefront, hoping that nobody was watching them too closely. After all, Raela wasn’t supposed to see him besides at balls. Yesterday had been out of the norm. Today, his uncle was just playing matchmaker for him, for which he was exceedingly thankful. He didn’t have to go about his normal duties, which was nice, and he got to spend a few hours with his one.

Raela chortled slightly, and then said, her gaze openly curious this time, “You don’t want to be married like this, do you?”

He hesitated, and then replied, “I didn’t think so.” He cleared his throat before continuing with his thoughts, “It does make things easier, but I feel a bit like I’m the prized bull, to be honest.”

She nodded and said, “And what about the poor heifer that you choose?”

He laughed aloud at her words. He loved her humor.

He then eyed her, and said, while walking into the back door of the bar, “You seem to be the only dam that doesn’t wish to be here. The rest...I don’t know. They scare me a bit.”

“Oh, don’t be like that,” Raela chided him gently. He pulled out her chair and then sat next to her at the table where Tauriel and Kili were already eating.

“Honestly,” Raela said, helping herself to some of the meal in front of her. “Iona is sweet, even if she’s a bit calculating behind that pretty facade; Freya is clever as a whip; Brynn is kind and honest, which is always a good thing; and Erika is practically perfect.”

“What about you?” Kili asked, “Or the other two?” He had no qualms about eavesdropping on their conversation. Raela only smiled at him in reply.

She sighed and said, “I don’t like Helle or Siri. They’ve been rude to me, mostly because it’s obvious that our family has very little gold and my face is too smooth. And, they drugged some of the other dams. I don’t appreciate when someone uses underhanded tactics to sabotage someone else.”

She shrugged and then began to eat.

“Aye, what about you?” Tauriel said, “You had kind things to say about the others besides those other two.”

“What about me?” Raela asked with a smile, shaking her head at their question. “I thought you already knew--I’m too honest; too blunt; too demanding and too independent.” She looked Fili in the eyes, and said, “I would not make a good wife to anyone, I’m afraid. Plus, there’s my nadadith. There’s no way I would ever leave him behind.”

Kili looked thoughtful as he ate. Fili himself was mulling over her words, pondering over his chances to convince her to marry him.

“You’re at the top of the betting pool,” Kili blurted out. “Don’t give up so easily.”

Raela’s mouth opened wide in shock at his words, her face blushing once again. Fili kept a smile to himself. He very much liked how her cheeks turned red so easily.

“Are you serious? There’s a betting pool? I thought Stonehelm was only joking!” Raela exclaimed to them in surprise.

“They place bets about everything,” Tauriel said. “They’re even wondering how many of the lasses will try to take up with a noble dwarf instead.”

“Oh, that’s all of them!” Raela said with a small laugh. Fili froze, looking at the dam next to him. The transformation that came over her when she laughed was astonishing. He couldn’t help but feel that when she had that relaxed, smiling expression, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his entire life.

“Well, except Erika.” Raela looked at Fili soberly, and said, “I think she’s falling for Master Bofur. They danced so much at the ball, and she looked uncomfortable with everyone else.”

Kili’s jaw dropped and Nori, who had just come in with some alcohol, pounced on the news.

“Seriously? A nobledam for Bofur, I never...” Nori said, stroking his beard thoughtfully.

“You cannot say anything. The Stiffbeards are very proper about nobility and commoners not mixing. They even have this stupid idea that a commoner’s blood will weaken the children. Her mother wants her to marry the prince. They can’t know...” Raela said to Nori, and the others earnestly.

“Bofur does have a title. He helped to reclaim this mountain, you know,” Fili said, pondering to himself.

“Aye, but he’s not a prince. Choose someone else, your highness. If you do that, it will sting her parent’s pride, but then Master Bofur, if he cares about her like she seems to do for him, would be in a much better position to ask for her hand.” Raela told them all.

She began to eat her soup, oblivious to the looks of surprise on everyone’s faces.

“Well, if Fili has to choose, and it can’t be you, Erika, Helle, or Siri, who would you recommend?” Nori asked her, sitting on Fili’s other side, watching her with interest.

Raela looked up and said, “Well, what does Prince Fili want in a wife?” She laughed and shook her head, “I’m not going to tell him who to marry! That’s his problem.” She then dug in more steadily to her food.

Nori, Kili, and Tauriel all exchanged meaningful looks as Fili pondered her words. She was his one, he was sure of it by now. But, perhaps she had no idea or didn’t feel the same way. His mother said that he could just cut off the meetings by choosing the one dam that he liked the most.

She had struck his fancy. But would it be fair to bully her into the arrangement?

She had to know that there was a possibility that he would choose her, didn’t she?

Kili, to his dismay, voiced his same thoughts. “And what if Fili decides to choose you, huh?”

Raela stopped eating and said, “I can’t leave my brother. And I would make a poor wife to any dwarf.”

Fili felt his heart drop.

Perhaps if he could talk to his uncle...but then, his mother would have to know and his brother as well. It might be good to come clean about his feelings, to know that what he thought was true or not. After all, Kili knew that Tauriel was his one, perhaps he could help Fili figure it out in regards to Raela.

There was one thing for sure that he knew though. Raela was stubborn, but he was too. And the dam he was going to choose was going to be her.

Now, it was just up to him to woo her.

Perhaps he would need his mother’s help after all.

**************************************************************************************************************************************************

Fili made sure that Raela made it back to her quarters in one piece and with minimal onlookers or eavesdroppers. He was quite confident that his whole excursion with her had been completely subtle.

He bid her good evening, which she returned with a brilliant, bright smile and he felt a part of him turn into a puddle.

She was just so beautiful, especially when she stopped going around and scowling at everyone like she usually did.

He went back to Thorin, to see if any errands had to be done for the rest of the day. Thorin was happy to see Fili in such good spirits and tried to stop the grin from popping up on his face while Fili was still there.

He and Balin exchanged pleasant glances though, when Fili was excused.

The king was going to have to join Nori’s betting pool. He normally hated gambling, but if the look on Fili’s face and the set of his shoulders meant anything, he knew exactly who Fili would choose as his lady wife.

That evening for dinner, Fili sat with his brother, Tauriel, Dis, and Thorin. Their discussion was light, but Dis and Thorin both noticed that Fili’s appetite seemed slightly less than usual, and he was quieter than normal.

“So, yes. It was quite good seeing the mines, though some of the dams complained about their gowns getting too dirty. We missed Raela, of course. Poor dear, laid up in bed all day by herself,” Thorin glared at the rest of them in warning. It wouldn’t be good to let Dis know that the correct protocol had been broken by the king himself. After all, Fili could have been up to anything with Raela while they were together.

Dis continued, missing her brother’s majestic glare, “But she seemed to be in good spirits when we all came to visit her. Of course, a couple of the dams put up a bit of a fuss. I had to remind them that she was the only reason why we were all alive and well in the first place! Well, her and Dwalin, of course!” Dis rambled about, talking to Thorin.

Thorin only nodded and then said, “Did you visit Dwalin as well?”

“Aye, he was blushing quite a bit at the attention. I think he likes Lady Freya. She’s a fiery one though, and she has a good head on her shoulders, even though she is a lot younger than Dwalin. I just can’t see her with Fili though.”

Dis sounded a bit upset at the thought and then perked up, looking at her son, “There is Lady Erika, though, Fili. Now she’s a--”

“She’s crazy about Bofur,” Tauriel commented, remembering Raela’s earlier words. “Her parents wouldn’t approve of the match though.”

Dis blinked and said, quite disappointed, looking over at Fili once again, “Oh...That won’t do at all.”

Thorin looked displeased, his mouth a thin line. “What’s wrong with Bofur? Not good enough for the Stiffbeards?”

“He has a title, but he’s not born nobility. They might take issue with it. Plus, aren’t Erika and Freya here for Fili?” Kili asked, looking between his family members.

“Fili,” Dis said, as she saw the glare that Fili shot his younger brother, “Are you alright?”

He nodded, and then hesitated, before taking a deep breath.

“I am going to marry Lady Raela if she’ll only have me.”

Dis looked slightly taken aback, with her mouth open in shock. “Raela? Oh Fili, are you sure? She doesn’t want to be here, and she may resent you. That is not a good foundation for a marriage. You can take as long as possible to decide--”

“That’s why I need to persuade her to marry me.” He looked up at his uncle, “Could you possibly convince her uncle to give us custody of her brother? I think that’s the main issue, Thorin. She told me she can’t leave him.”

Thorin and Dis exchanged a look. “You’re too young to take guardianship of him, Fili.”

Fili scowled, and said, “Well, then I guess I won’t be getting married at all then.” Thorin grunted at Fili’s stubbornness.

“Fili, why her? Couldn’t it be any of the other dams?” Dis asked, sounding fretful. She had grown to like the lass a great deal in the last few weeks, but the truth was she was still rather...difficult.

Why had her son chosen the most prickly one?

“No. She’s my one, amad. I know. I’ve known it since I first saw her.” Fili said, very quietly looking at his plate. He then looked up at the stunned looks on his uncle's and his mother’s faces. Thorin had no idea that Fili was that attached to the lass. He just knew that his nephew liked her a great deal.

Kili and Tauriel both smiled at him broadly.

“I knew it,” Kili said softly. “I knew since the first time I saw the two of you interact.”

Fili glanced at his mother and said, “I know that she’s not the easiest one, amad. But that’s not who I want in a wife. She cares about others and she loves her brother dearly. She’ll be good for me and the kingdom.”

Dis only sighed and continued to eat her food.

“Well,” Thorin said, “She will be training with Tauriel and I asked her to help with a self-defense class for the rest of the nobledams. And perhaps King Bain wouldn’t mind meeting her and hearing her side of what happened, since she was an eyewitness after all...”

He gave Fili a swift, calculating look. Yes. This would be a good idea.

“But you want me to see Bain tomorrow afternoon, I thought,” Fili said, looking at his mother first. “Wouldn’t that interfere with classes?”

“Do the classes matter all that much anymore, Fili? It seems wrong to not give the other lasses a good chance, but it appears your opinion won’t be swayed anyway. I agree with Thorin. Take her with you tomorrow.” Fili nodded at her words, gratitude filling his heart.

“Thank you, amad,” he said, nodding to her. He stood up and kissed her on the forehead before leaving the dining room. Dis felt her chest constrict slightly. Her sons were getting older and they would both be married soon.

Hopefully, her son could be happy with his one.

**************************************************************************************************************************************************

Fili stayed awake that night, staring at the ceiling of his room and thinking of how he could approach the subject with Raela. He felt as though she was becoming more comfortable around him, but he had no idea how to convince her to marry him.

His eyes drifted close and he allowed himself to fall asleep. His dream self looked down at his wife, who was lying in their bed, lying on her side. She had a hand on her swollen stomach and was fast asleep. He was quietly changing out of his clothes and attempted to slip into their bed, wearing only his sleep pants. He didn’t want to wake her. She needed all the rest she could get at the moment. Oin had said that it wouldn’t be long until the babe was due.

As he slipped under the covers of their marriage bed, she shifted and moaned slightly, turning toward her husband. He pulled her to his chest and mumbled a quick apology while kissing her on the forehead, and rubbing her belly softly.

She surged forward and kissed his lips with her own. He hummed, a sound rumbling deep in his chest. It had been far too long since he had seen his beautiful wife.

“Fili,” she said, as they broke apart from their kiss. Her dark red hair framed her face, quite messy, and her eyes were glazed with desire. “You didn’t think you could slip into our bed without waking me, did you?”

Fili tipped her chin toward him and kissed her with fierce longing. It had been far too long. “I didn’t wish to wake you. You need your rest.”

She shook her head, “No, I need you. I was so relieved that the raven came back saying you were alive, but it’s not the same as seeing you in person.” She weaved her hands through his hair and he only nodded. “I’m not trying to be too attached, but--”

“Shh..it’s alright. I know. I’m so very happy to see you too.”

Her eyes shone in passion and love, and she moved over him, her legs straddling his pelvis. He held on to her waist and she removed her nightgown. His hands instantly found her curves and began to touch her. He held himself up on his elbows and he groaned as she rubbed herself against his core.

“Raela,” he said, hardly recognizing his voice. He needed his wife. It had been over six months—he had traveled to a council, but because of her condition, she had been unable to join him. His hands once again greedily roamed her stomach, immense pride filling him at the thought that she was carrying his seed within her womb. She leaned down and kissed him passionately and all rational thoughts completely fled his mind at the sensation.

Fili woke up with a start.

His breathing was heavy and he cursed the arousal that he felt. He willed it to go away, trying to think of anything else besides Raela. Whenever he closed his eyes though, all he thought of was her beautiful figure, her touch, and her kisses. Her voice and moans of pleasure racked through his mind. He had to do something—she was haunting him in his sleep now.

He had even had a daydream about the two of them coupling earlier that morning in the hot springs.

Curse it all. He had to figure out a way to marry this dam!

Chapter Text

Chapter 7-- Problem Solving

Fili met with Raela early the next morning at her guest quarters. She was dressed, and while she looked quite exhausted, she was still very attractive to Fili. Her face was a bit more pale and drawn than he had seen before, and there were some darker circles under her eyes. Her eyes still shone brightly though, and her hair looked just as soft and put together as usual. She wore riding clothes today, dark gray leggings, and a light blue, long-sleeved tunic tied at the waist with a thick leather belt. The boots she wore clung to her calf muscles.

Fili did his best to keep his eyes focused on her face; the long skirts of a gown seemed to cover her shapely legs better than he realized. He gave her a nod in greeting, hoping that his gaze was not too obvious. She gave him a grim smile in return, and she stifled a yawn.

“Ori and a couple of others will be joining us,” Fili reassured Aron. The older dwarf was looking between Raela (who appeared quite disinterested, glaring at her fingernails) and the prince who seemed more awkward than usual. He had a stiff set to his shoulders and wasn’t quite looking at Raela like he usually did.

Aron was not a stupid dwarf.

Any dwarf, intelligent or dumb, could see that Fili was constantly watching Raela. At the ball, for example, while Fili may have danced with the other dams, his eyes constantly strayed to where Raela sat reading her book the entire time.

Fili liked Raela, although Aron had no idea what the young prince saw in his niece who was always glaring and scowling at everyone she met. Aron had a feeling that Raela returned the sentiment as well, though she would probably kiss an elf or an orc, before admitting it to anyone, let alone herself.

“That’s fine,” Aron told Fili and then turned to Raela.

“Have a nice trip, Raela.” He smiled at her broadly, happy to see that Raela was getting out of the mountain with the prince. Perhaps this side trip would show Raela how much she liked the prince.

Raela narrowed her eyes at Aron’s words. She was a clever lass and she knew that he was teasing her.

Fili turned to leave, and Aron signed to her, in Iglishmek, “Make sure to kiss him.”

She signed right back to him, “Go to Mordor.”

Aron laughed and waved goodbye to her. Fili held the door open and looked over his shoulder, wondering why Aron was laughing so heartily. Raela stomped over to him, and Fili let the door shut behind him.

She turned on him immediately, “Why do I have to go with you again?”

“Because Dwalin hasn’t recovered enough to leave his bed yet, and Bain wanted to know exactly what happened from an eyewitness. That leaves you.” Fili was quite pleased that he managed to answer her question with a completely straight face.

She huffed slightly, and then Fili asked with a grin, “Will you be missing my mother’s class all that much?”

She snorted, and said, “Hardly.”

“Maybe you should be thanking me then.” He gave her his best smile. Her eyes softened slightly, and she began to return the smile before shaking her head abruptly, her dark red locks swaying from side to side.

“Not likely,” she replied and began stalking towards the stables.

When she arrived, she was greeted by Ori and Bifur in the stables. There were some more guards with them as well, who happened to look at her with open admiration. The tale of how she had managed to kill two human bandits had spread far and wide.

She scowled even more at their stares. But it wasn’t until Fili sent a glare their way that the dwarves who were openly admiring Raela turned their faces away.

She reluctantly allowed Fili to hoist her up onto her pony. He gave her another smile as he did so, and it showed off his dimples. She once again, found herself flustered for a moment.

“I can see you’re warming up to me, my lady,” he teased her, winking slightly at her reaction.

She didn’t reply but just did her best to look forward.

The fact was she liked this teasing dwarf. It was hard to see him as a future king when he was so jovial. He didn’t appear stern at all, unlike his uncle.

They traveled in relative silence down to Dale. Ori rode his pony on one side of Raela while Fili was on the other. Ori asked Raela several questions about Orocarni and her family history there. He wanted to know more about the Ironfist clan in general, but she was generally tight-lipped about the clan. Instead, she deflected the questions back on him and heard all about his brothers and his late mother.

“Your brother enjoys spending time in the library. He can’t seem to get enough of the books, Lady Raela.” Ori informed her with an approving smile. He enjoyed Rang’s company and the lad had a natural curiosity that it was obvious his uncle and sister encouraged. He wasn’t afraid to ask Ori questions or to help him around the library when he had the time.

“Good,” she replied, “I’m glad to hear that. Too many clan leaders are woefully ignorant of the knowledge and power that is found through books and history.”

She glanced at Fili as she said it, and then pointedly jabbed, “Too much brawn, not enough brains.”

Fili barked in laughter at her slight and grinned like a madman. “You judge me harshly, my lady. I’m far more interested in books than many of my peers.”

She narrowed her eyes at him in genuine curiosity.

“That doesn’t surprise me.” She admitted to him quietly and he felt his heart soar. She didn’t say anything else but sat comfortably in her saddle as they rounded the bend into the gates that led to Dale. There were several guards keeping watch, with their weapons visible and gleaming in the sunlight.

Fili rode forward to the front of the group, to greet the guards.

Bifur took Fili’s place on Raela’s side. She watched Fili from behind and admired his riding. He was quite good on that pony. And his physique, even from behind was something to be loved, she thought. She caught herself blushing and then willed herself to look anywhere else besides at the crown prince.

Damn him.

Why did he have to be handsome?

Why couldn’t he have been an old, gray dwarf with wrinkles and a rotund figure?

Instead, he was made of hardened muscle, with his chest and shoulders broad. His smile undid her every time it flashed in her direction and his eyes pierced through her soul.

She sighed to herself as they continued through the gates. It appeared that the guards did know Fili and exactly why he was there. She followed the rest of the company into a stable, where they tied up their ponies for a fee. She went to pay for her pony with her gold when Fili beat her to it.

“You’re here because I asked you to come. I’ll take care of it,” he told her with a soft smile, and his hand over hers. She felt a chill down her spine at the physical contact and she nodded. He released her hand and spoke to the young man in familiar tones. He then offered her his arm, which she found strange. However, she couldn’t find it in her to deny him. He was just being courteous after all.

He led her away from the stables.

“Bain’s house is rather ordinary considering his status. He and his wife, Helena, don’t like to cause too much of a stir. They try to be just regular neighbors for the others. That’s why Bain is liked so much. While he’s a good leader, he doesn’t lord above them in all matters. Most of the people of Dale deal with things themselves. Bain steps in to help—he judges matters and his sisters help the people to make sure that all their basic needs are met. It’s a good system that works for the humans.” He told her, shrugging his shoulders slightly.

She looked around the streets. It wasn’t a large kingdom or city, by any means, but it appeared that Dale was quite well off. And hearing that Bain didn’t tax his people into poverty—well, that made her happy to hear. She had heard too often of human and dwarf leaders doing that. They would tax their people to pay for their expensive lifestyle. Her grandfather had done it. And now, the Ironfists were the poorest clan around. The only thing that kept their people going was their pride.

She followed Fili, trying to ignore the tingling feeling in her arm that was linked with Fili’s. Fili strode up to a large house and knocked on the door. They were greeted by a servant, who let them in while giving them suspicious glares. His eyes settled on Raela, who refused to be cowed by the servant's gaze. The servant blanched suddenly at the stare that came from Raela, who had narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips in annoyance at the uppity servant.

Who was he to judge her or any other dwarves?

The servant cleared his throat, and said, “King Bain will receive you in the morning room.”

“Perhaps King Bain should get better servants,” she informed the servant, as he turned to leave. “Or do you always greet dwarf guests in that manner?”

He blushed slightly, and said, “It is a most inopportune time, my lady. Forgive my..ah..rudeness.”

Her gaze softened and she said, “It is no import to me how you treat guests. But others may not be as kind or understanding as I am.” She then followed after the servant, and Fili only smiled at the servant.

“She’s right, you know. It doesn’t bother me that you look down on me. I could care less...my uncle though...don’t treat him with that type of attitude.” Fili informed the servant and then followed after Raela and the others. The servant cleared his throat and then looked quite alarmed as Bifur took out a dagger and said something to him in Khuzdul before entering the morning room.

Bain looked a little stressed out when the company of dwarves entered his room.

“Fili, is this about the bandits from a couple of days ago?” He asked, staring around the room. Fili nodded and then looked immediately concerned. Bain was a tall human, with dark hair and a beard. He was young still, just a little over thirty, at the oldest. He had a slender build but was muscular as well. And Raela thought he appeared to be worried about something or someone, perhaps.

“What is it Bain? Are you alright?” Fili asked immediately and then looked around the room.

“Is it Helena?” That was Bain’s wife.

“No...” He sighed, and then looked around, “It’s Tilda.” Raela watched as Fili’s face grew serious and concerned.

“What happened?”

“Those bandits? I think one of them may have hurt her. She hasn’t said anything but yesterday she was withdrawn. I sent her to Sigrid last night and she never made it there. We don’t know what happened to her.”

Fili looked serious and told Bifur, in Khuzdul, to start looking for Tilda. Ori followed Bifur out the door.

“Let’s talk about the bandits. This might be related, Bain. What happened?”

“One of the taverns was robbed in the late afternoon a couple of days ago. Tilda was having luncheon with her friend...the bartender.”

“Anders?”

“Aye. Anyways, Anders was hurt, badly. And Tilda...she didn’t tell me what happened but I think one of them may have compromised her.”

Raela stiffened at his words. Fili felt her as he sat on the sofa. Technically, it probably wasn’t the best conversation for a lady to hear. But, he had a feeling that Raela was much tougher than regular nobledams.

“How many men did they say?”

“Seven.”

Fili looked at Raela, and said, “Forgive me, Bain. This is Lady Raela. She was a witness to the attack on my mother and the other dwarrowdams. How many did you kill Raela?”

“Two. Lord Dwalin took out four and another guard took out one. So, that would be seven then.” Raela answered, looking King Bain in the eye.

“So, then where would she go if nobody took her?”

Raela had a sinking feeling in her stomach. It sounded as though Tilda did not want to be found. She had a dear friend of hers, an eagle rider, who had been raped by a dwarf in Orocarni. He and his friend had forced themselves on her.

It was a few days later her friend was found dead in her home. She had taken her own life.

Raela’s mind raced, feeling pain that she had been unable to help her friend. She cast around the large house. She wouldn’t want to do it here—it would cause too much pain for her brother.

And if she was well-known in the town, she would have to be in a private area. So where---it struck her suddenly.

“Where is this tavern?” Raela asked the king, standing up suddenly.

“The Dragon’s Inn,” Bain replied, looking at her interested in what she said.

She immediately stood up, and Fili followed after her.

“Raela,” he started to say, “what’s going on?”

“She doesn’t want to be found right now. She wants space. But she needs support. Do you know this Anders guy?”

“Aye. He seems a decent fellow. He brews pretty well.”

She nodded and Fili led the way to an inn on the far edges of the town.

“We’re closed,” a voice said as Fili and Raela entered the tavern. “Oh, your highness. I apologize. It’s just that, we had a break in a couple of days ago and...”

Fili held up his hand, and said, “It’s alright Anders. We’re looking for Tilda though.” Anders, who had brown hair and a smooth face, sighed slightly.

“I didn’t want her to be alone.” He moved out from behind the bar, and Raela saw that his arm, from his shoulder to his wrist was bound thickly in a brace.

Fili nodded and said, “Your king is worried sick.”

Anders nodded and Raela spoke up, suddenly, “I’d like to see her.”

“Uh...” Anders replied, “Who are--”

“Oh just tell me which room she’s in.”

She then looked at him fully, and said, “You’d better marry her soon too, you dolt. If I was her brother, I would probably have run you through already for taking advantage of her.”

Anders eyes widened and he said, “Hey! That’s none of your business! And, I’ve already asked for her hand and she told me no.”

Raela shook her head as she started up the stairs. She had heard what he called to her.

She replied, turning at the top of the stairs to look down at him.

“Well, then you should have tried harder.”

Fili felt himself smiling at her words. So that was the key to winning Raela's heart?

***************************************************************************************************

It was a dingy inn, and to be honest, Raela thought that this Tilda, the younger sister of the king here, could do much better. She knocked on the door of the room that Tilda was staying in and heard a quiet, “Enter.”

Raela opened the door. A beautiful young woman sat on a bed, looking out the window. Her light brown hair was shining in the sun filtering in through the open window. Suddenly, Raela felt she was intruding on a very private moment.

“Hello,” Raela said softly. Tilda stiffened immediately. She didn’t know who the lass was, but she knew that she was proud. She could see the stiffness of her back. She turned to look at Raela. Her eyes widened in surprise.

“Uh, hello?” Tilda replied, wondering who the lass was.

“I’m Raela, at your service. I guess you could say I’m an acquaintance of Prince Fili.”

Tilda nodded and Raela came a little closer and sat down on a chair, about five feet from the bed.

“We came to visit your brother about those bandits that attacked this tavern a couple of days ago, and your brother was anxious and worried about you,” Raela commented. “So, Fili and I came here. We heard that you were good friends with that Anders fellow. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. Your brother mentioned that he thought you may have been...” Raela’s throat felt dry.
How could she say the word?

“I haven’t been compromised, at least, not in the way he thinks,” Tilda replied dryly.

“Oh?” Raela asked, “Begging your pardon. I’ll just...”

“No, I wouldn’t mind the company.”

Raela sat back down and stared at Tilda.

She was a beautiful, young, human woman.

“Anders said that you won’t marry him.”

Tilda smiled enigmatically.

“I can’t,” she said softly, looking at Raela. “It’s complicated.” Her voice was a whisper. Raela noticed where her hand drifted—straight onto her lower abdomen.

“Oh,” Raela said and then glared slightly. “Well, then. That Anders had better marry you then.”

Tilda laughed slightly, and then said, “Bain thinks I’ve been compromised, but I’ve only recently found out that I’m pregnant. About two days ago, actually. And I told Anders right when the bandits came into the tavern. He was hurt, getting me to safety.”

“So, why won’t you marry Anders?” Raela asked, sounding confused. And then it clicked into place.

“He is only a friend then?”

Tilda nodded. “I...I fell in love during a trip to Rohan. I was there with Bain, and I don’t know how we managed to keep it a secret from everyone, but I had to say goodbye to him.”

“Well, then that man...”

Tilda shook her head, “He can’t...he’s married. A political marriage, and he’s unhappy. His wife is a harpy, and horrible to him. But, he’s bound to her by the law. And, I’m just here...”

Raela shook her head, and said, “Well, then.” She swallowed and asked, “How far along are you?”

Tilda looked up at her. “About three months, I think. At first, I thought I was just imagining things, but then I went to a midwife who I knew could be discreet and she told me that I was pregnant.”

Tilda had tears in her eyes. “My brother—he thinks I’m an angel. He thinks I’m still a little girl. He’ll be so disappointed. And Sigrid—she and her husband have been unable to have children. What a slap in the face to her.”

Raela looked at Tilda, and she felt her heart clench for the lass. Raela would have never found herself in her position, but she felt compassion for the young woman. She sat on the bed, next to Tilda and pulled her into a hug.

“Why won’t you accept Anders’ proposal?”

“Anders is a good man. But Bain would never approve.”

“What do you want to do?” Raela asked her, looking at her boldly in the eye.

“Me—I don’t want this babe. I know I made a mistake.”

“Your sister, then? Could she raise the babe for you? Where does she live?”

“They live in Esgaroth.”

Raela nodded and then said something that had been on her mind since she met the young woman.

“Alright, listen here. You are strong.” She put her hands on Tilda’s shoulders. “You are going to get through this, no matter how painful it seems. I see a few options for you. You are not completely alone. First, you can marry Anders and people will overlook an early birth. Second, you can give the babe to your sister to raise, if both of you agree. Third, you can just have the babe yourself, and raise the child on your own without any help. It would be hard, but you can do it. You may have a difficult time from the people of Dale, but I do not doubt that your brother and sister would still support you.”

Tilda looked at her, completely flabbergasted. “But, the thing you have to do with all of those options—you have to tell your brother and sister. They are your support. Family is more important than anything.”

Tilda dried her eyes, and then said, “Who are you again?”

“I’m one of Fili’s prospective brides,” she told Tilda. Tilda looked at her with a gaping expression on her face.

“There are others? I’m surprised he hasn’t just chosen you yet,” she informed the dam.

Raela only looked at her and said, “He knows better than that. I’ve already told him that I won’t marry him.”

Tilda looked at her, flabbergasted. “If I met a man like Fili who was interested in me, well...”

“It sounds like you already did, but he just happens to be married,” Raela replied dryly.

Tilda blushed and then said, “I know, I’ve been an idiot. I just didn’t know what to do,” she told her.

She then looked Raela fully in the eyes, “Thank you, Lady Raela.”

Raela only nodded. “I was worried that you were indeed compromised like your brother thought. I had a friend that was and I was too late helping her. I saw Fili’s concern for you, and I knew that he cared about you a great deal.”

Tilda blushed slightly and nodded at Raela’s words. “Now, come one. Let’s get you back to your brother. He’s probably worried sick about you. You all can decide what the best course is. But you—you need to be the one to ultimately decide, Tilda.”

She nodded and Raela helped her gather and pack the few things that she had. She watched as Tilda sighed and looked around the room.

“You can’t stay in here, you know,” Raela said, looking quite amused.

Tilda snorted, annoyed, and said, “Thank you, Lady Obvious.”

Raela smiled in reply, feeling relief that she had not found Tilda dead. That it had not been too late. True, Tilda was carrying a child out of wedlock, whose father was married in Rohan, but still, it could have been worse.

Fili looked up as he heard two sets of footsteps on the stairs. Tilda, followed by Raela. Tilda smiled at him tentatively.

“How are you Fili?” She awkwardly hugged him and he patted her back. It was amazing how much taller she was than him now.

“Worried about you. Are you alright?”

Tilda looked at Raela, and then back at Fili, before murmuring, “I will be.”

Fili looked in between the two females and then, the three left the tavern, bidding farewell to Anders who waved to them from the bar. Tilda blushed at his attentions. The three of them walked to Bain’s house and Tilda slipped in, with Fili and Raela behind her.

There were footsteps heard, pounding from another room. It was Bain.

“Tilda! Blimey, sister. What did you think you were doing? How could you scare me like that?”

“I’m sorry Bain,” she murmured into his ear.

Bain turned to Fili and demanded to know where they had found her. Tilda, though, turned the attention from Raela and Fili to herself.

“I have something I need to tell you, Bain,” Tilda said.

Bain closed his eyes, and said, “Tilda—I--”

“We should go,” Raela said, interrupting Tilda and Bain. “It was an honor to meet both of you.”

Tilda smiled openly and looked at Raela and Fili confused.

Fili looked at Raela and said, “Lady Raela, we have not discussed the details of what happened to the dwarrowdams.”

“I told the king that there were seven bandits. Seven men were killed. We were defending ourselves and I can see that King Bain is a wise king who would not fault us for that. We should let him speak with his sister.” Raela stared at Fili with a slight glare.

He looked her over and then, to her surprise, nodded.

Bifur, Ori, and the other guards were waiting for them outside Bain’s house. They walked to the stables together. Once again, Fili had offered his arm to Raela and she walked with him toward the ponies.

When they were situated and on their way back to the mountain, Fili asked what had been on his mind since he first saw Raela heading down the stairs with Tilda.

“How did you get her to come down?”

Raela hesitated and then replied, “I supposed I told her she was being ridiculous and that her family loved her, no matter what.”

Fili’s face was pale. “Did they hurt her?” Her voice was deep, and there was a slight growl to it.

“No,” Raela replied. “It was a coincidence that she was withdrawn at the same time that happened. I only hope she makes the right choice.”

Fili stared at her and said, “You’re not going to tell me what did happen to her, are you?”

Raela looked at him and said, “It’s not my story to tell.”

Fili then smiled at her, his face beaming. “So, you’re not a gossip.” He sounded relieved.

“Excuse me?” She asked, sounding highly affronted.

“Anders told me everything. About how she’s pregnant and the father is already married to another woman.” He sighed, sounding worried.

“So you test me to see if I would tell you what she told me?” She asked, her eyes narrowing at his assumption.

“Uh...”

“How dare you.”

“I just wanted to know if you would pass on that information.”

“Of course not! It’s private, you idiot. Did you think that I would? Did you think that I would tell the whole kingdom about how a lovely lass made a terrible choice and how her choice will define her for the rest of her life while the man gets away with being unfaithful to his wife and possibly destroying her future chances? Did you think I would find joy in that? Do you think that little of me?”

Fili stilled, and he closed his eyes, realizing he had made a terrible mistake.

“No,” he said, “I didn’t--”

She didn’t speak to him but continued to ride to Erebor, a grim line to her mouth and, surprisingly, watery-looking eyes. He felt a pain in his heart. He had been an idiot.

“Raela. Please, I didn’t mean it like that. But, there have been so many noble dams that I’ve met that would relish in that information--”

She shook her head at his words and refused to acknowledge him after that point. Instead, to his surprise, she kicked her heels into the pony that she rode, so that it was leading the rest of the guards on the way to the mountain. If she hadn’t been clear before, she certainly was now.

She was very angry with him. And he couldn’t help but think that he had lost any chance he had with her after that idiotic moment.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8—Another infuriating ball

Fili sat around the large, grand hall as the supper was served among all the families gathered. They had now been in Erebor for half the time that was allotted to the conclave of female dwarrowdams who were trying to succeed in gaining Fili’s affection.

They all believed that they were the front-runner, except Raela, who didn’t care in the least, it appeared. It bothered Fili that she didn’t seem to feel for him what he felt for her. But he tried to give her time. Was it possible to find your one in a dam who had no interest in you whatsoever?

He knew it was possible, of course. And he had only pushed her further away after that disastrous trip to Dale. He was glad that Raela had spoken to Tilda, of course. But he cursed himself by bringing up the fact that he had tested her to see if she was a gossip like the rest of the dwarrowdams that he met during the conclave.

To be honest, they all weren’t horrible. In fact, he was a good friend of Brynn and he thought Erika was a nice enough lass alright—but they were all different from Raela, which is who he wanted as his wife.

He had caught sight of her a couple of times in the last ten days since the trip to Dale. Mostly it was as she was leaving the training area after teaching the rest of the nobledams self-defense or training with Tauriel.

Tauriel was impressed by Raela’s apparent skills. She used a mace, she had told him, and was strong, but nimble and quick. Not as quick as Tauriel, of course, but much faster than the average dwarf. And very light on her feet, too.

Not that it mattered what Raela was like since she refused to even look at him whenever they passed by. Thorin and Kili had noticed, no doubt, as she had at least acknowledged them, but were wise enough to not mention it to him.

And now he sat, trying to maintain a polite conversation with the lasses surrounding him. He would be expected to dance with all the lasses once again. He did not doubt that Raela would put up a fight about it. And even if she did dance with him, she would refuse to make conversation with him the entire time.

He felt a dark cloud come over him. And he immediately regretted, once again, what had happened on the road back to Dale. What hurt him the most weren’t her words or jabs at him. It was the quick flash of hurt that went across her face.

He had hurt her feelings. And even though he tried to apologize, she probably saw him as the idiot, noble dwarf that he was—oblivious to everyone but himself.

The supper was finished far too soon for Fili’s liking. The tables were swept to the side, and musicians began to play a song. Thorin cleared his throat and looked at Fili pointedly. Fili only nodded, without any grumbling, and found the first nobledam he could, who was Siri. He didn’t like her much. She was cold and calculating and her smile was false.

But he figured that he would get the dance over with and then hand her over to another dwarf quickly. Then he would go through the rest of them while working his courage up to ask Raela to dance with him.

**********************************************************************************************************************************

Raela looked up when she heard the music playing and tried to ignore the aching rage in her head at the sight of Fili asking another nobledam to dance. She bristled slightly at the feelings and pushed them deep down.

Aron had commented that she had managed to be in a towering temper over the last week and a half, ever since she returned from Dale. She had only glared at him in return. Aron of course, smiled, only proving his point, and told her to behave herself at the ball that evening.

So, she sat in an armchair, looking every inch the nobledam she was supposed to be while glaring at any dwarf that walked past her. Needless to say, she was not planning on dancing that evening.

Her anger at Prince Fili had waned, of course. While she was frankly annoyed at his assumption of her being as narrow-minded and mean-spirited as her peers, she had for the most part gotten over it. No, what bothered her the most was the fact that she cared what he thought of her. It had hurt, when he tested her—that he didn’t trust her.

And that, in itself, was the problem. She had let him in. The last six weeks had been one interesting turn after another, but little by little, she realized, she had started to form some attachment toward the prince. She genuinely liked him, as a friend of course.

Unfortunately, that was not okay for her. She was not going to allow herself to be dragged into a marriage with him if he didn’t trust her. She also didn’t want to be his friend if he was just going to marry some other dam and completely forget about her.

Of course, it wasn’t like they had become friends or anything. Only a few civilized conversations and one pony ride together did not mean that they had anything at all like a friendship.

But, she thought that they had understood each other. And apparently, they hadn’t. She chewed her bottom lip as Rang asked her a question about one of the dams that was hanging on a dwarf’s arm. It was Helle.

“Why is she laughing like that?” Rang whispered to her in a question. “It sounds funny.”

Raela glanced up from her book and down at Rang. “It’s how some people laugh, Rang. Don’t let it bother you.”

“But it hurts my ears,” Rang whined, squirming in his seat.

“You can’t control what other dwarves or people do or say, Rang. But you can choose to ignore them.” Raela told him with a smile, returning to her book.

“Ah. I assumed that my nephew did something wrong.” Raela closed her eyes and steeled her expression.

King Thorin.

Rang looked up at the king with a smile. He had snuck up behind Raela. He smiled at her kindly and then greeted Rang just as enthusiastically.

“May I take your chaperone, Lady Raela?” Thorin asked good humor on his features.

She was quiet and then nodded once. “That’s fine, your majesty.” She then returned to her book.

Thorin passed by her, and put a hand on her shoulder. “Just a warning, Lady Raela. Fili is expected to dance with all of the nobledams, once again. The only person who may scare him more than you is his mother. I’m afraid you’ll have to stop ignoring him for at least a short time.”

Raela felt numb at Thorin’s words. What an interfering, know-it-all dwarf.

She huffed and said, “Then he can dance with his mother, for all I care.”

Thorin’s lips twitched, and Rang pulled on his arm and the two were off, who knew where. Probably to get away from all the idiots in attendance, including herself.

She sighed.

Oh, why did she have to agree to Aron’s terms? Why didn’t she tell her uncle to just screw himself when he told her about this stupid proposal? She felt herself scowling once again.

This time, someone else approached. The person lounged in a chair next to her—a person wearing a dress that was much longer than the average dams.

Raela smiled slightly at Tauriel. She was one of the few people that she didn’t mind in this forsaken mountain. She had a good head on her shoulders, even if she was sleeping with the idiot younger prince. Raela liked Tauriel—she was good with her daggers and she helped Raela with regaining her confidence with her weapon.

“Lovely evening, isn’t it?” Tauriel commented, a wry look crossing her features.

Raela only scoffed at Tauriel’s words, before saying, “Aye, if you like dancing with idiots.”

Tauriel glanced at her and said, “I happen to like my idiot dwarf. He means well.”

Raela shook her head and said, “Kili has a good heart.”

Tauriel looked at Raela, confused at her words.

“I thought Kili annoyed you to no end.”

Raela shook her head and said, “Kili is the younger brother. He’s more careless, with not as many responsibilities. But he is a good sort.”

Tauriel hesitated, and said, “Fili is too, you know.”

Raela shook her head, and said, almost in a whisper, “Please. Don’t try to convince me of how good a dwarf Fili is.”

Tauriel hesitated and then said, “You are my friend. I will respect your wishes. Now what is it that has captured your attention so easily?” She pointed to the book that Raela held.

Raela told her about the stories (children’s stories) that were in the volume. They were in Khuzdul, so Raela was only able to give Tauriel summaries of each tale, but it took up time. And during that time, she could ignore the fact that Fili had danced with every dwarrowdam except for her. She steeled her nerves, knowing that he would bother her soon for a dance.

She sat for another several minutes ignoring the onlookers and dwarves passing her by when she felt his presence next to her. She ignored him, hoping that he wouldn’t be too stubborn about dancing with her. She was annoyed with him and with herself—as soon as he had sat, she knew it was him. He was a bit more graceful than the average dwarf, and he always seemed to take a little time to settle himself into the chair. He also had a distinctive scent—reminding her of pine, stone, and fire.

She scowled at herself.

He didn’t speak to her, and she refused to start the conversation, so she continued to read, noticing that she hadn’t turned her page in quite some time.

“I haven’t read any of those stories for a while,” he broke the silence. She didn’t look up. She knew that if she looked up, she wouldn’t be able to say no to those beautiful eyes of his. She pointedly turned the page and she heard him sigh.

She hoped that he would stand up and leave. Instead, he remained sitting next to her. It was another minute later that he broke the silence, once again.

“We just received word that Tilda was recently wed.” Raela nodded her head at the news. She still felt her blood boil at the idea of that man in Rohan, having no consequence for impregnating a young, unmarried woman while he was married to someone else. Of course, it was a man’s world, unfortunately, and most of the time females were treated as inferiors.

“I’m sorry Raela,” his voice was quiet and almost pleading. It hurt her to hear him sound like that.

She stiffened immediately, and replied, finally looking him straight in the eyes, “You have no reason to apologize.”

She then went on the attack. “You are the crown prince of Erebor. The future king of your people. You can do and say whatever you want.”

“Do you think that little of me?” Fili asked, turning her own words on her.

“It’s the truth, plain and simple. You are far more powerful than I am. You should not be apologizing to me.” She turned another page, too quickly while her hands shook. It was better this way, to be angry at him.

He looked at her, slightly perplexed. “You’re trying to make me angry, aren’t you?”

“Why would I do that?” Raela asked in mock surprise. “To get you to leave me alone? Why, I couldn’t possibly do that to his royal highness, now could I?” She finished with a cold stare at him and then averted her eyes when she saw the slight confusion and sadness in them.

He sighed and replied to her, “I’m apologizing because I should. You are different than the other dams, and you didn’t need to prove it to me. I know that. I knew that in Dale. I was a complete idiot. I still am an idiot, you know.”

She huffed in agreement but refused to look up and meet his stare. If she looked up, she might forgive him, and she couldn’t possibly do that.

“And, I wish that you would at least talk to me again. Because I’m finding myself missing your conversation. But, you want nothing to do with me right now. So, if you’ll excuse me,” he stood up and then bowed to her. She looked up at him, her eyes heavily guarded against his words and his demeanor. “I’ll leave you to your engaging book. Have a good night, Raela.”

She forced herself to stay sitting in her armchair. She felt tears prick her eyes. It was awfully hard to stay upset at that dwarf. But to her the alternative was even worse—lose her freedom and independence; lose her brother; and lose her heart.

********************************************************************************************************************************

Fili bristled in anger at Raela’s words as he left her sitting on her own. His mother approached him as he got something to drink, and she asked why he had not danced with Raela.

“I’m not going to force her to dance with me, amad.”

Dis looked at Fili and the dam just sitting in the armchair, reading a novel during a lively party. He took a drink of his alcohol.

“Well, the other dams--”

“I’ve danced with the others. Good night.’

And to Dis’ shock, Fili left the ballroom, exiting as quickly as possible from one of the more subtle exits. She blinked her eyes and walked over to Thorin, who was teaching a game to the young dwarfling, Rang.

Thorin watched Fili leave and then shrugged his shoulders at Dis, in no mood to contemplate his nephew’s moodiness. It was obvious that something had happened between him and Raela. And Raela, it appeared, was not the forgiving type.

Dis stared in Raela’s direction, her hackles raised in defense of her sweet Fili.

“Dis,” Thorin warned slightly looking her over from the table. “Let them be. They’ll work it out.”

Dis sighed and hoped that he was right.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Fili slammed the stone door behind him when he made it to his quarters. He paced back and forth in his room, angrily going over the conversation in his mind. He should have stayed just to try and make her jealous. He doubted it would work though—he had already danced with all the other dams and he watched her the entire time. Her eyes had only strayed to Tauriel when they spoke and then back to her book. Not once were they looking in his direction.

Mahal, what was he going to do? He already felt his self-esteem ripped into shreds by the lass. She refused to accept his apology and was still angry with him. He knew that as dwarves they held grudges, but this was getting ridiculous. Was she expecting him on his knees to beg her forgiveness over one, small slight?

He growled slightly at the thought. Of course, he wouldn’t do that, he was a prince, wasn’t he? And then he stopped where he was and shook his head. She had said that same thing, hadn’t she?

He kicked the leg of his desk and huffed, still upset about the last week. What was he supposed to do? He knew that she was his one, dammit, and he wasn’t going to let her go anytime soon. But it seemed the harder he tried to apologize and talk to her, the more she slipped away from him.

He remembered her words to Anders “Well, try harder.”

Damn it all. She was going to be the death of him. He naively thought that it would be easier now that he knew that she was his one. It was harder though—more difficult, because he constantly thought of her, and his soul felt like it was being ripped into shreds when she verbally attacked him this evening. His chest hurt every time she refused to look him in the eyes.

He shouted in anger, and then all of a sudden, Kili’s voice rang out.

“Woah, Fili! Calm down.” Fili looked at his younger brother, feeling slightly annoyed at his interruption.

“What?” Fili asked, sitting down on his bed, and finally taking off his dinner coat.

“Looked like you were pretty upset after talking to Raela.”

Fili only grumbled something, and said, “I just don’t think I understand dwarrowdams at all.”

“Female elves aren’t much better.” Kili replied, and said, “So, did she accept your apology then?”

Fili only stared at Kili, “What do you think nadadith?”

Kili cringed. He had been the only one that Fili informed of the conversation with Raela on the way back to Dale. While it was a stupid comment from Fili, he agreed that this was getting blown out of proportion.

“I thought it would be easy if I found my one. That she would know also, and we would immediately wed… I know it sounds foolish, but,” he sighed and said, “I know I love her, but why does she have to be so damn difficult and grumpy?”

“You do realize that our mother was the same way with adad, right? At least from what Thorin says.” Kili replied, feeling slightly amused at the situation.

“She doesn’t want to marry at all, Kili. She doesn’t want to leave her brother. How can I convince her to stay here with me when she’s so close to him?” He asked quietly, looking at his hands.

“You’ll be able to convince her uncle of a marriage contract, that’s for sure,” Kili commented. “You could always do it that way and then she wouldn’t be able to say no.”

Fili looked at him horrified, remembering the words that she had said only twenty minutes earlier. About how he was a prince and future king and could do whatever he wanted. He knew that was not the route to go down with Raela.

“I couldn’t do that to her—she’d hate me.”

“She already hates you, doesn’t she?” Kili asked, looking at Fili.

“Of course, she doesn’t hate him,” Tauriel said. Kili had left the door open and Fili glared at Kili while Tauriel closed the door behind her.

She smiled mischievously and commented, “I assume you wanted this discussion to be private.”

Kili gaped at his lover and said, “Tauriel. How much did you hear? I mean, she’s not his...”

“It’s obvious that she is.” She looked at Fili with something akin to compassion. “She’s my favorite, Fili. And I hope you work things out.”

Fili only grunted. He did not want to have this conversation with Tauriel present.

“Well, she’s not amad’s favorite. I think amad would prefer anyone besides Raela. But she is Thorin’s favorite as well.” Kili said, pondering over something. “I just don’t get her. She’s always scowling and angry, it seems. And lately, it’s all been aimed at Fili. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he was an idiot with what he said to her, but she should just get over it.”

Tauriel then surprised Fili. She kissed Kili on the forehead, and said, “Of course she’s angry at him.”

She then turned to Fili, “Have you thought that the reason why she’s so upset with you is that she likes you more than she wants to?”

Both Fili and Kili looked at her with dumb-founded expressions. Kili opened his mouth to protest when Tauriel shushed him.

“Her only way to protect herself from her growing feelings is to lash out at Fili. It’s her only defense.”

Fili’s mind began working and his heart pounding again. Did she like him? Exactly how much did she like him then?

Because she spewed vitriol at him over the past week. That must mean that...Fili suddenly smiled at Tauriel and then said, “Really?”

“I think so.” Tauriel looked at Kili and then back at Fili, “Come about twenty minutes early to your training appointment. And then you could probably catch her before she leaves. Maybe she’ll even let you spar with her.”

Tauriel smiled openly at Fili, whose eyes lit up at the thought. Since he had heard that she was the former commander of the Eagle Riders, he knew that he wanted to test her skills. He smiled at Tauriel. Kili and Tauriel bid him goodnight, leaving him to his thoughts and plans for the next time that he would see Raela.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************

Aron didn’t say a word to Raela and Rang as he collected them from the grand hall and the three of them walked back to their guest quarters.

Aron stayed up, sitting in their parlor as he listened to Raela put Rang to bed, helping him into his sleep clothes, and then read him a story. She then bid him goodnight, before kissing him on the forehead. She had to pass through the parlor to get to her adjoined quarters which was precisely why her uncle waited for her in there.

She closed the door to Rang’s room quietly and walked down the hall before entering the parlor cautiously.

“Raela,” Aron said quietly. “Why are you pushing him away?”

Raela was too tired to act surprised at his question.

“I don’t want to leave Rang,” she said quietly.

“You’re not his mother. I know it seems like it, since...” Aron trailed off. He meant since Raela had been the only female present in Rang’s life since he could remember. Raela’s mother had died shortly after giving birth, leaving an infant dwarfling in her and Aron’s care.

Aron continued, “He likes you. A lot. It’s obvious to everyone. One of the other clans asked to leave since it was already so obvious that he prefers you to anyone else.”

Raela remained standing, demure and quiet as was expected, and listened as he finished. “Don’t you want to be happy, Raela? You have to stop punishing yourself for all that happened. None of it was your fault.”

Raela stayed silent and then asked, in a quiet voice, “Is that all, uncle? May I be excused to retire for the night?”

Aron sighed, rubbing his eyes and then he just stood up. He put his hands on her shoulders, and said, “Your parents wanted you to be happy. My brother didn’t expect you to give up your entire life for your kingdom or your nadadith. Just—think about that, alright?”

She nodded quietly and then slipped into her chambers. She tried to ignore the dull headache that seemed to be growing stronger and the tears that were threatening to slip down her cheeks. She couldn’t do what her uncle asked. Everyone she had loved at one point or another was gone. Rang was her brother—she would never leave him. She never wanted him to feel like she had felt—unwanted or unloved; no longer worth the pain or effort.

And that’s how it felt with Fili. He would be happier with someone else. Someone who would not argue with him and who would be a regal queen. A dam who was demure and knew how to please others with her gratifying words and manners.

She told herself it was easier this way—ignoring the feelings that seemed to keep growing stronger with each passing day for the crown prince. She only had to last six more weeks and hopefully, she had offended him enough this evening to get him to stop seeking her out. He was so earnest and kind—she did not deserve a dwarf like him as a spouse.

She let herself dream of him though, and those dreams were just getting more vivid and realistic, it seemed each night.

Eventually, those dreams were all that she would have left of him. He would end up leaving her behind as well.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9—Weapons Training

Raela huffed slightly, feeling breathless. Tauriel had managed to back her into a corner quite well.

Taureil pulled back and Raela turned her face up to the ceiling, letting her breaths calm down. Tauriel was an excellent warrior, and Raela was still getting back into shape. At least if she had to be bested, it was by an elf and not a dwarf.

Raela smiled a bit at Tauriel. She reached for a towel to pat the sweat that had accumulated all over her face body, especially her face. Her cheeks always flushed whenever she did any physical labor at all. It was her body’s way of getting rid of all the heat—through her cheekbones.

“You don’t know how much I appreciate you training with me,” Tauriel said to Raela. “I’ve been going against all of those that will fight me for over 18 years now. I know all their moves.”

Raela only smiled and said, “It’s nice to pick up a weapon again. It’s been almost a decade for me.”

“What happened?” Tauriel asked, and then quickly backtracked, “If I may ask?”

Raela took a drink of water, and then said, “My eagle was killed. He was noble and strong. And I let him down. After we were disbanded, the eagle riders,” she added to Tauriel as she saw her look of confusion. “Well, I didn’t have a reason to fight. I could have joined the Ironfist army, but to be honest, my uncle preferred I didn’t. So, I took care of my mother and helped out with other things until my brother came along.”

She stopped speaking suddenly and then smiled at Tauriel. “But, it’s good to know that I still have those instincts. I’m glad I killed those men as quickly as I did. I don’t know if I would have outlasted them, and with their long reach...”

“Were you scared at all?” Tauriel asked. “I heard they threatened to rape you.”

Raela shook her head. “I wasn’t afraid for myself. But, I guess you could say I worried about Rang there for a few seconds and then told myself there was no way I was going to be raped or killed without at least clawing their eyes out.”

Tauriel looked a little stunned at her answer and then gave her a beaming smile.

“Any chance I can get you to change your mind about Fili” Tauriel questioned, with a teasing tone to her voice.

Raela shook her head and said, “I’ll ask you the same thing about Kili? You should come and stay with us in Orocarni.”

“Maybe someday,” Tauriel said. “For now my heart is in Erebor.”

Raela smiled at her answer and said, “You know half of the dams I’ve met hate you, just because of how much he loves you.”

Tauriel only grinned at her wickedly. “Aye. And I rub it in their faces any chance I can get.”

Raela stood up and picked up her mace. It was a good weapon, but it wasn’t as well balanced as her other mace had been. Still, she had to learn to fight on her feet better. Riding an eagle or pony into battle had its distinct advantages. She wouldn’t have that edge anymore.

They rushed forward quickly. Tauriel smiled. She used her duel daggers against Raela, and most of the time, the dwarrowdam had no trouble parrying her with her mace. It was longer than the usual mace, and she used no shield. The force of the two-handed weapon was strong against Tauriel. Tauriel was quicker and taller than Raela.

But Raela’s quick feet, upper body strength (common for dwarrowdams), low center of gravity, and balance, really made her a nice little opponent for Tauriel. The only thing that Tauriel had going for her at the moment was her own physical body’s endurance was slightly hardier than Raela’s. And Raela had been rapidly improving.

Raela ducked Tauriel’s blow and then moved to the side quickly. She aimed to kick out Tauriel’s feet from underneath her when Tauriel danced out of her way quickly.

They were interrupted by a trio of dwarves who had entered the training area. They stood to the side, arms crossed, and watched the two females battle it out. They continued to drive and parry each other, quite equally until Thorin whistled loudly with his two fingers in his mouth.

“Is anyone else going to get a chance to train?” He looked slightly annoyed at Tauriel and Raela. Raela pushed a sweaty piece of hair behind her ear and smiled ruefully at the aggravated king.

“My apologies, your majesty. I did not know that a warrior such as yourself required such dedicated training.” There was a twinkle in her eyes as she said it.

Thorin’s lips twitched into a smile at her sarcastic flattery. “Is that what you said to Dwalin when you first met him? I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s why he likes you.”
She laughed and then turned to Tauriel. Tauriel had already reached Kili who was talking to her quietly.

Fili watched the conversation between Thorin and Raela, annoyance clearly on his features. Raela did her best to ignore him. Her heart fluttered though, and she was well aware that she was covered from head to toe in her sweat.

How ladylike. And then, she asked, “Doesn’t Rang usually train with you?”

“Your uncle insisted he stay with his this afternoon. He is refusing to do his work in the schoolhouse.” Raela sighed and then nodded at his words.

“Well, then. I suppose I’ll go and relieve my--”

“Wait a minute Raela,” Thorin said suddenly, looking at her with a shrewd expression. “I’d like to see you fight a dwarf.” When he turned around, Kili was already gone, along with Tauriel.

It was only him in there with Fili and Raela.

He suppressed a smile. That elf-maiden. She was a conniving female, that was for sure.

“Well, Kili is gone. I suppose you’ll have to fight Fili.” Raela widened her eyes and glanced at the crown prince.

“Come now, Lady Raela. I know you’re angry at him. Just take it all out on him. I’d like to see your skill set.”

“I would not wish to hurt the prince, Your Majesty.” Thorin glanced at Fili, who looked seriously affronted at her comment.

He then openly laughed.

“If you land a blow on Fili, then I will pay you 500 gold.” Raela’s eyebrows rose at the offer.

“And if I don’t land a blow on Fili?”

“Nothing. It’s a win-win for you. Not so much for me or my nephew, I’m afraid. Come now. Do you require any rest?”

Raela looked at Fili who was, once again, watching her like she was something that he couldn’t quite figure out. She didn’t like that expression. It made her confused and her heart flutter.

She shook her head, and said, “No, I’m ready to go.”

“You don’t need another mace?” It was Fili’s voice that asked the question. She had never seen him so casually dressed down before. He was in his training clothes, with his looser-fitting trousers and a tunic that was rolled up to his sleeves. The tunic opened up into a v-neck that showed off a little bit of blond curly hair on his chest.

She swallowed hard. There was nothing that a dwarrowdam liked more than hair on a dwarf’s body.

And she—well, she doubted that Dis would approve of her training attire. She wore pants as well (she couldn’t train or fight in a skirt!) and the tunic that she wore was sleeveless, which was common clothing for their clan.

She looked down at the mace and weighed it in her hand, thinking of Fili’s question. He must have noticed that she wasn’t quite comfortable with it.

“It will have to do,” she said. “It was the best one I could find in the armory.”

“Is that your primary weapon?” Thorin asked as he settled to the side. He watched as Fili entered the training area with his duel swords. Fili looked at her curiously once again, as if he was anxious to hear her answer.

“I know enough of most weapons. My greatest weapon was flying on an eagle into battle, as I’m sure you would agree. The mace is the one that I am usually the most comfortable with.”

Thorin nodded at her words and then motioned for Fili and Raela to begin. They faced each other, and all of a sudden, he attacked. He just used one sword—the other was still sheathed on his back. He used it quite calmly, and she had side-stepped quickly, bringing her mace down on him but he was already gone.

He had stopped fighting immediately. He looked at Thorin.

“This isn’t a fair fight, Thorin. She’s been training for over an hour already.” Raela felt her ire rise.

How dare he presume to know what she could or couldn’t handle?

She attacked, quite hard against him. This time he held up his second sword in a look of surprise as he had barely stopped her from hitting his shoulder. That would have hurt, he knew, from seeing the trajectory of her weapon.

They both vaguely heard Thorin’s laughter in the background. Raela decided it right then and there—that king was a right bastard.

Fili fought as controlled as he could against Raela. He didn’t wish any harm on her at all. Her face was red though, and he could tell that she was still angry with him. But he kept pressing forward. He wasn’t sure if it was his pride as a warrior or the idea that he wanted to show his one that he could protect her that made him so relentless in his battle against her.

She parried him well enough though, and was quick with the swings of her mace. But, she was on the defensive. She was so quick though—much quicker than he or Kili or Thorin—that she kept slipping through his attacks with ease.

She was going to tire though—he knew it and, he could tell by the wary glance on her face, that she knew it too.

“How about we end this?” Fili said to her, stopping and signing to her for a truce.

Neither of them had noticed that Thorin had left in the middle of their battle.

“I want that 500 gold,” Raela spat at him.

“And I want you to forgive me and speak to me again,” Fili answered, his voice so quiet she doubted that she would have heard it except he was standing so close to her.

He then continued his proposal, “If I win, you forgive me and let me talk to you. If you win, you can get that gold from Thorin and ignore me for the rest of your time here. And I won’t bother you or seek you out.”

He swallowed, knowing that he would keep his word regardless of the outcome. He knew that he could defeat her though. And if Tauriel was correct, then she liked him a whole lot more than she was letting on. Perhaps as much as Fili liked her?

He hoped so. It would make it a lot easier if that was the case.

She mulled it over in her mind, feeling slightly humiliated at his proposition. But then, she nodded her head once in understanding.

They clashed again. Fili had the upper hand. She wasn’t an idiot. She knew it from the beginning. She may have been able to defeat him in battle with only a single sword, but that chance was slim. And here, with him using both of his swords against her, well, there was no chance. But, her pride demanded that she try to at least get some of that gold for her people. Even if her uncle didn’t come home with a bride price for her, at least there would be some gold to pay for food.

Fili never aimed for her body, she could tell from her dodging—only the mace in her hands. She had to admire the sheer strength he exhibited as he fought against her. And he wasn’t holding back, at least, not anymore.

He liked her. Her head felt woozy at that thought. Why in the name of all that is good, would he like her? Did he like suffering and pain?

She didn’t want to know the answer. At first, she thought her uncle was exaggerating what he had told her the night after the ball a couple of days ago. She thought it impossible that he would like her more than a friend. She thought her feelings were accelerated (or at least increasing beyond her control). But he was so earnest when he gave her that proposition. It gave her pause.

She hadn’t noticed with his increasing attacks and her attempts to just keep dodging, that he had backed her into a corner. She flushed as she felt her back hit the wall behind her. Damn. It was the same corner that Tauriel had backed her into.

Still, she had her mace. She raised it at him.

He only raised his eyebrows at her, and said, “Nowhere to go.”

She thought to herself of the best places to kick him (including the groin). But then, she realized that Thorin hadn’t called for the battle to end. When she looked over to where the king had once stood. There was nobody present. Her eyes narrowed at him.

“I didn’t realize he was gone until just a few moments ago either.” He protested to her, holding up his hands. He then sheathed his swords and said, “So you forgive me--”

She attacked. She pummeled him, completely dropping her mace in the process. Her hands would be more useful against him, she had decided.

Of course, with his strength, he only laughed and shook her off. He held both her hands in his own, with a firm grip, and backed her up, once against the wall.

She huffed in annoyance. “Not willing to give up, even if you’re cornered?” He said it to himself. His eyes were so very blue and she noticed that his face was close to her own. He smelled nice—a little sweaty, but with an underlying scent of smoke and stone. His beard was shorter than usually thought attractive in a dwarf. And his mustached braids—ridiculous, but still…

She looked him in the eyes and noticed that he was just staring at her. Then one of his hands let go of hers, and she felt shock hit her from head to toe as his hand reached up and lightly touched her face. His touch was gentle, although his hands were tough—probably rougher than was usual for royalty.

“I forgive you,” she heard herself whisper to him, her mouth completely separate from the rest of her body at the moment. He smiled at her words but did not reply.

Instead, he lowered his head to hers and kissed her.

She felt an electric shock rip through her as his lips made contact with her own, but then, even more shocking to her semi-aware brain, she felt herself relax in his embrace. Her lips pressed back eagerly against his own, and her hands moved to the front of his tunic, where they gripped the fabric tightly. She pulled him closer to her and she felt his arms and hands encircle her waist completely.

She stifled a moan as his tongue prodded her lips and she opened her mouth, eager for him to engage her further. She felt her breathing become erratic and she was very warm. And she began to feel an ache within the deepest parts of her.

And at that moment, a memory flashed through her mind.

Her father’s dying face.

The pale, drawn face of her mother.

And when she cut off her hair in the shame of being unable to keep her family’s honor.

She gasped suddenly and pushed him away from her. She was breathing deeply and wasn’t looking at him. Her eyes pricked with tears at the images that had flown through her mind.

“Raela,” Fili said softly. His hands were on her shoulders, and he looked concerned. Worried.

She steeled herself against his gaze.

“Are you alright?” He asked, once again. This time his hand drifted to her cheek, where she noticed quite upset, he brushed away a few of her tears.

“Did I hurt you?” He asked, his voice husky and concerned. She shook her head and cleared her throat, “No.”

She tried to get the feel of his hands and lips on her own out of her mind, instead, she just shook slightly.

“I should go,” she said quietly, looking into his earnest, concerned expression.

“Please, don’t,” Fili said, looking at her expectantly. “I apologize for being so forward, but… Raela, I believe I’m in love with you. I want you to be my wife.”

She stared at him, feeling shock course through her. Of course, after that kiss, she knew that she shouldn’t have been that surprised about his feelings.

She shook her head, and said, “I can’t--”

“Is it Rang? I’m sure we can work something out with your uncle. Perhaps Rang can stay with us, so that way we can help him learn to be a good leader for your clan.” Fili said, trying to assure her.

She shook her head, once again. “It’s not that.”

Fili deflated, and said, quite distantly and confused, “Alright.”

“My hair—Fili, don’t you realize that it’s short because I cut it off myself in shame? I can never forgive myself for what happened. And I don’t deserve to be happy. I have to take care of my brother. It’s the last thing she told me.”

Fili looked at her, slightly confused.

“I have to go.” She moved to leave and made it to the door without any footsteps following her.

“I’m not going to give up on you,” he told her boldly, looking at her from across the room.

She glanced back at him and said, just as quietly, “I think it would be the best course for both of us if you did.”

And then, she opened the door and was gone.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10-- Diplomacy 101

It had been three days since the training incident. And, try as she might, Raela could not get the ending of that training session out of her mind. She remembered everything—what Fili said, the way his hands felt on her waist, the taste of his lips against her own.

She also remembered what he said to her—he was falling in love, with her, of all people! And he wanted Raela to be his wife.

She was tense the last three days, waiting for her uncle to tell her that he had just received a marriage contract from Lady Dis and that she would be expected to sign it. Instead, there was no change in the routine at all. She continued the lessons that Lady Dis expected her to attend, and she kept her head low. She had stopped her training sessions with Tauriel, saying that she needed some time to heal.

Tauriel had only looked at her with a calculating expression. Raela did not doubt that Tauriel would have it figured out. She wasn’t afraid of training with Tauriel, but of running into Fili again.

She had not seen hide nor hair of him since their disastrous conclusion (at least it was a disaster to Raela). She could not believe that dwarf’s stupidity. He could have any single dam that he wanted, only the one that he wanted was the one that didn’t want him.

Did he like pain?

She scowled at the thought as she picked a loose thread off of her skirt. She was sitting on a balcony, overlooking a large room, overseeing a grand council. She and the other dams would not be participating, of course, but they were there to observe. Knowing their allies, and their habits was important.

Thorin, Fili, and Kili were present, speaking to Ori, who would be the scribe for these meetings. Raela tried not to look at the blond prince. But she couldn’t help it. The rest of the dwarrowdams were having a difficult time letting their eyes stray from the king and princes.

They wore their ceremonial armor, plated armor on their bodies and they even had their weapons on them. Fili carried his twin swords and Kili, his sword instead of his bow and arrow. Thorin carried Orcrist. Instead of helmets, they wore their crowns.

Thorin’s crown reminded Raela of the wings of a raven while Fili and Kili’s were coordinated in the same design, only slightly smaller. Raela swallowed. She was Fili speaking to his uncle, and then, to her surprise, his gaze drifted to her own. She turned away immediately, sitting down suddenly in the chair that was given to her on the side of the balcony. The rest of the dwarrowdams, besides Erika, joined her in sitting and fanned themselves stupidly.

“Raela,” Erika said. She hesitated and then grabbed her hand. She squeezed it tight.

She then, to Raela’s surprise, whispered, “How long have you been Fili’s favorite?”

She just looked at Erika with a pained gaze and Erika nodded at her. They were not best friends. But, they had known each other well enough. Erika had heard about what happened to all the eagle riders, and after what had happened to her father and mother. Raela falsely blamed herself for much of her family’s misfortune.

“And your dwarf?” Raela asked quietly.

Erika looked slightly pained and told her, “I don’t think he even knows I exist.”

“Of course he does. He’s not stupid though, no matter what he probably tries to make others think.”

And then, like that, their conversation ended. The rest of the dwarrowdams were seated on the west balcony overlooking the meeting and a procession of dignitaries came in. First were the representatives from the dwarf kingdoms and clans. Then came the human allies—there was a stern, dark-haired man who hailed, apparently from Gondor. Denethor, the son of the steward, Ecthelion. He looked almost bored, but Raela could tell that he had a shrewd gaze and was taking everything in, including the rare dwarrowdams in attendance. Then a fair-haired man, one of the horse lords of Rohan no doubt. He was very tall, with blond hair and bright, blue eyes. Then came King Bain from Dale. He, of course, looked the most comfortable of all the humans present, knowing the Erebor king and princes since he was just a teenage boy. A little halfling came next, along with what appeared to be a man, dressed all in brown.

It was the first hobbit that Raela had seen before and she was surprised, most of all, by his feet. They were large and did not appear to belong to the rest of his body. And they had curly, furry hair on them. Behind the two men and the halfling, another shape emerged. He was a man as well, but bigger, taller, and far hairier than the other men put together. He had hair all over his face and bushy eyebrows, and honestly, one of the most brutal expressions Raela had ever seen.

She felt a shiver down her spine as she remembered the story of the reclamation of Erebor—a man who could change into a bear. Beorn—that must be him. He had saved Thorin’s life and, along with Lord Gwahir and his eagles, managed to turn the tide of the battle.

And then, there seemed to be a change in the atmosphere. The men, dwarves, and others seemed to greet each other somewhat warmly. Thorin had even given a beaming smile to the halfing and embraced him (that must be Bilbo Baggins, their thief) and then shook Beorn’s hand.

There was a strained silence and in swept two elves—only two. One looked around the great room with a pleasant expression. He had blond hair and was tall and very graceful. He looked almost cheered to be present. The second elf though, looked as though he smelled dung or some other rotting food in the room.

Raela bristled, and she knew who that arrogant elf was the moment she saw him. The second one had to be King Thranduil of the Woodland Elves.

She was almost humored by the expression on his face. She wondered how much of it was just for posturing and how much of it was real. She had a feeling that he detested King Thorin, and by the way Thorin’s lip curled in response she would say that the feelings were mutual. But the other blond elf was happily speaking to one of the men politely. Her eyes zoned in on her uncle who was sitting next to the steward’s son. They seemed to be conversing quite well with each other.

The proceedings started soon after, and Raela followed the proceedings with some interest. It was the first time that she had seen a council of allies between elves, men, dwarves, and a hobbit. The first blond elf was named Glorifindel. He was a representative for Lord Elrond of Rivendell. He didn’t speak much but seemed to be taking everything in with an interested expression.

They all spoke, taking turns. From what Raela gathered, things were getting quite devastating. Gondor was practically under siege from the threat in Mordor. Easterlings and orcs were attacking everywhere from Orocarni to Mirkwood and in between. Dunlendings and orcs were constantly fighting the Rohirrim, growing bolder and bolder. The man in brown was named Radagast the Brown, and he came with news of growing darkness in the wilds where he roamed.

Animals, plant life, water—everything was becoming corrupted to one extent or another. He also mentioned something else.

“And, the blue wizards, Alatar and Pallando are missing. We have not heard from them in quite some time. Saruman the White is concerned and is wondering if there was any news from them.” Radagast looked around eagerly while jittery in his seat.

“The blue wizards rarely came to speak with us dwarves,” Siri’s father replied after some silence. “I do not remember the last time that they were seen.” He shook his head at the answer.

Raela remembered the last time that she had seen the wizards. They seemed to be rather close with one another. She had only met them a handful of times. They intimidated her—there was a lot of power within them. Usually, they were kind, but there was something strange about them. They weren’t regular men, but higher beings, she had heard. And there was something about the raw power that they had at their fingertips.

She just knew she never wanted to get on their bad sides.

“They were at my brother’s funeral. Almost thirteen years ago.” Aron stated to the table. “But, I have not seen them since.” Several of the dwarves looked uncomfortable at Aron’s words. This was another reason that the Ironfist clan was so strange—they took the advice of the blue wizards and looked to them for counsel.

At Aron’s words, Raela noticed Fili’s eyes flicker to her quickly, and then, just as fast, back to the round table where the rest of the delegates sat.

Raela folded her hands under her chin and continued to watch the proceedings. Thorin spoke of the growing armies of the orcs and the Easterlings. Lord Glorifindel told them of Lord Elrond’s premonitions of a dark future, with much death and war.

The council wasn’t to just complain to each other about who had the worst issues. But they met every year to ensure that their alliances would still hold. And they would continue to meet every year until they were unable to meet again.

“I don’t see the point of this,” Helle’s father said. He was a dark dwarf, with shrewd, bright eyes and an ugly scowl on his face. “No one will come to our aid out in the east, and you expect us to help all of you as well?”

Thorin opened his mouth to reply when Siri’s father, once again spoke up. “We no longer have the eagle riders to defend our settlements. Our armies are stretched thin enough against the Southrons, the Haradrim, the Easterlings!”

“We’re all stretched,” Thorin answered, looking at the two dwarves, sitting and staring at the Longbeard king angrily.

“It’s our armies defending the whole of Orocarni. The Ironfists and the Stiffbeards have little that they can give now that the Eagle Riders are gone.” Helle’s father finished, shooting Aron a pointed nasty look.

“You’re only angry that you can’t have them as part of your army like you were threatening me with. How do I know that you’re the one that bribed one of the riders to betray the eagles?” Aron retorted, and then continued, “Your complaints are ridiculous. When war comes, it’s not going to just be in one spot. The enemy is too strong and large, and his arm is already stretching, covering most, if not all of our lands. We’ll all have to do something, wherever we are.”

“We won’t defend your settlement when it’s overrun. Your clan has lorded over us for years because of your eagle riders. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was your niece that killed the eagles and eggs. She was their commander after all.”

“Lies,” Aron said, waving a brief hand at the Stonefoot’s accusation. “She was tending to her ailing mother when it happened!”

“Enough,” Thorin commanded when Siri’s father opened his mouth to retort. Thorin looked at the humans, who appeared mildly interested in the conversation, and the elves who were openly fascinated with the discussion.

“This is why we can’t get anything done during our clan meetings. I’ll settle this—Aron is correct. Everyone will do their part. This is not just something that we’ll have to handle in Erebor. It will be everywhere if Lord Elrond is correct. And from what I recall of meeting him many years ago, I doubt that his information is false. And for the Ironfists having no honor—where were you or your father, when I called for aid in Anzanulbizar, to take back Moria? Rangvaldr the II came to my aid with a battalion of three hundred strong dwarves. He fought alongside me, and my brother. He and the other Ironfist dwarves protected Frerin’s body when he fell so that we could give him a proper burial. It was the last time that I saw him, but he came to our aid. He recommended that I pull back. He was the one who told me to give myself some time before I tried to reclaim Erebor. And he was right. I have nothing but respect for him and the Ironfist clan, after what they did for me and Frerin. So, enough of this fighting. We have matters to discuss still.” The dwarves were completely silenced by the king’s speech.

Raela felt tears prick her eyes at the memory of her father that Thorin had shared. It sounded like her adad, to give advice and counsel when it wasn’t asked for (he had done it enough times to her growing up, she knew what he was like). And after all, hadn’t she done the same thing to Tilda? She must have picked up that nosy trait from him. But it was also in line with his character to defend a dwarf’s body with his own. And to command his army to do the same.

Raela pulled herself together and when she looked up, Aron was looking at her with a small, sad smile. He liked hearing what Thorin had to say as well. She focused her attention on the hobbit, who was standing on his chair, to give a report.

“Nothing going on in the shire. No corruption, except when we found that someone had stolen some of our old Toby. I thought there was going to be a mob about that. But no, nothing strange since thirteen dwarves invaded my home eighteen years ago.”

Bilbo looked pointedly at the end of the table where Thorin sat. Fili sat on his right, and Kili on his left. The three smiled rather indulgently at the halfling. Raela blinked—they all had the same smile. Fili had those dimples to go with it though, and that made him all the more handsome in her opinion. She cursed herself as she remembered that kiss and the way his hands caressed her waist and then the way his hand brushed across her cheek to clear the trail of tears.

She put her head down, and closed her eyes, trying to keep the memory from invading her even more. While she had been dreaming of him for a while now, nothing in those dreams haunted her like that kiss he had bestowed on her. And she remembered how she had reacted—it was instinctive and he felt so good.

It felt right that he was kissing her and that she was in his embrace. She belonged in his arms, kissing him deeply. She shook her head and tried to think of something that would clear her mind of her rather erratic, inappropriate thoughts towards the crown prince.

She looked up at an interjection of anger. It was Lord Dain who was growling at the blond elf king, Thranduil.

She had missed what was said, but she heard Iona say. “So rude. I don’t understand why King Thorin would want to be allied with such an individual. And an elf, no less!”

“Aye, you can tell they hate each other,” Siri replied, pointing to the glare that Thorin was giving Thranduil.

“You don’t have to like your allies, but you do need to respect them.” Raela felt herself saying quietly.

“But elves?” Helle looked at Raela with a wicked glance. “Ah, that’s right. You are an elf lover, after all.”

Raela ignored her. “I’d rather ally with elves than orcs,” Freya replied, glaring at Helle. It was strange to see such an ugly expression on Freya’s face. She was usually so congenial.

Siri shook her head. “They look weak. We should ally with strength, no matter who it is.”

Raela’s spine tightened at her thought and she replied to Siri straightaway, “Even orcs or evil humans or Sauron?”

“Whose to say what’s right and what’s wrong? To me, there’s only power.” Siri retorted, challenging Raela with a stare.

“What about freedom? Would you enslave your people to have the most power, no matter the source?” Raela asked her. Her eyes darted to the rest of the dwarrowdams who were watching the exchange.

“By having the most power, my clan won’t be in a position of weakness or slavery. It’s the strong that have the power and the liberty while the weak are enslaved, Raela.” Siri replied. By this time hardly any of the dams were paying attention to the proceedings as they sat on their balcony. Even Dis, who disapproved of the dams talking while there was an allied council in progress, was listening intently.

“I think anyone would be a fool to ally themselves with someone based solely on strength. Sauron is evil, plain and simple, as are orcs. And if you think that they will give you power over others, then you’re a fool. You’ll only become an enslaved tool yourself.”

Siri blanched at the slight. “At least I’m not a poor, washed-up commander with no more purpose. I’ve always known my purpose in my clan. But you don’t have one anymore, do you? Poor Raela, who lost her father, eagle, power, and mother, all within..what was it, a year?”

The sharp retort hurt and Raela stopped herself from physically blanching at the barb. She turned her head to watch the proceedings and then, couldn’t quite stop herself from saying, “I know what it’s like to have true freedom—to roam in the skies, to feel the adrenaline of battle. I’ve seen the whole of Arda and I’ve had good friends. Indeed, I may no longer have a purpose in my clan,” she looked at Siri and Helle, “but I do know what that independence feels like. I will never sacrifice the freedom of my clan for the power of only a few.”

And, then that was the end of the conversation. Dis looked at Raela approvingly. She had not been informed that the former commander of the Eagle Riders was this dwarrowdam before this morning. No wonder she knew how to defend herself in battle. Dis thought of her words. More importantly, she was very concerned about the words of Siri and Helle. All relations with the dwarves of the Red Mountains were rough—they were far more combative and stubbornly angry than the Broadbeams and Firebeards.

She had warmed to the Stiffbeards and Ironfists over the last two months. They were good lasses, deep down. But there was something about Helle and Siri that set her, and Fili, she could tell, on edge.

There was a break called. It was customary for the council to only last until luncheon, and then after, the guests would be able to do as they wished. The proceedings would continue tomorrow morning, and then the day after would be the final meeting for the year.

Raela stood up with the rest of the chatting dams, and Dis watched her keenly. Yes. More than anything else that she had heard Raela say, that conversation with Siri and Helle was very telling. She would be an excellent leader. And she could finally see how well she matched with Fili.

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Fili was walking with his brother, uncle, and Bilbo. Ori and Balin also strolled behind them. There would be a large supper that evening, planned to celebrate Bilbo finally coming to visit Erebor after all these years. It was obvious that the hobbit had aged a bit more than the rest of them, with a little bit of gray starting to creep up in his hair. There were some wrinkles too, very few, but noticeable still.

“So, what happened to Dwalin again?” Bilbo asked, sounding concerned about the grumpy dwarf.

“He was injured defending a group of dwarrowdams from a thieving band of men,” Thorin answered him, as he led the way to Dwalin’s rooms.

“Injured? Dwalin? How bad was it?”

“He was outnumbered and they fought dirty. He’s lucky he’s still alive,” Balin answered and they made it to the door of Dwalin’s quarters. Balin knocked and then entered. They saw Dwalin sitting down on a chair, with his shoulder still wrapped in a sling. He was smiling at a little dwarf lad who was on the floor, playing a game of some sort with him.

“Dwalin!” Bilbo said, “How is it that human men got the best of you?”

“Not my best day. Good to see you, Bilbo.” Dwalin replied. The lad at his feet looked up and stared at him straight in the eyes.

“Have you married and had children, Dwalin?” Bilbo demanded to know, disarmed to see a young dwarfling in the same room as Dwalin.

There were a few laughs and Thorin replied, “No.”

Thorin kneeled next to the little lad, and said, “Rang, this is my dear friend Bilbo. He is one of the bravest people that I know.” Rang stood up and gave the proper greeting to Bilbo, who was quite astonished at seeing such a small dwarf.

For some reason, he thought they were all born with thick beards and rude manners.

Apparently, not.

“Goodness.” Bilbo straightened, “It’s an honor, Master Rang.”

“It’s a long story, but Rang is a good friend of mine,” Thorin said, winking slightly at the lad. He smiled at Thorin and made his next move against Dwalin, who grunted at the little dwarfling’s skill with the marbles.

“His uncle was in the proceedings, and his sister was forced to attend and watched as well, so, I was the one that got to watch him,” Dwalin said. He sounded cranky about it, but based on Dwalin’s tone, Bilbo knew that he was just pretending to be annoyed. He was a big softy after all.

“Which one was his uncle? Please don’t tell me that it was the one that was going on and on about the point of the meeting?”

“No. Aron—the Ironfist clan leader.”

“Oh, the one that you mentioned about his brother...” Bilbo trailed off and looked at Rang in understanding and compassion. “Ah...”

“So, what are all the clans doing here? Aren’t you the head of all of them?” Bilbo asked, curious about the politics involved.

“Usually it’s just Thorin present at these councils. There is a...ah...conclave of meetings going on right now, actually,” Balin said, glancing furtively at Fili. Kili snickered slightly.

Bilbo looked confused. Ori answered, “The council is trying to marry Fili off.”

“Oh? And who’s the lucky lass then?” Bilbo asked, grinning slightly at the embarrassed look on Fili’s face.

“No idea. There are seven of them to choose from.” Ori replied, shuddering slightly.

“Seven?” Bilbo asked, “My apologies Fili. It sounds frightening.”

Fili only shrugged and said, “We’ll see what happens.”

Rang was doing a good job of ignoring the adults in the room while playing. Bilbo joined the game while chatting with the rest of the dwarves. It was an hour later that Fili and Kili had left and another dwarf, accompanied by a female dwarf entered the rooms.

“My thanks, Lord Dwalin, for watching my nephew,” Aron said as he looked at Rang with an indulgent smile.

“Not a problem,” Dwalin said, inclining his head at Aron. Rang hugged Dwalin, and said, “Thank you Lord Dwalin. Feel better!” And then, as quick as a flash, he followed quickly out the door after his uncle.

Bilbo stood up and helped to clean up the game that they were playing. It was a mix of chess and something that used small, stone balls. It was an easy enough concept, and it required some strategizing, but it managed to keep the lad’s attention.

“Thorin,” Bilbo straightened and looked at the female dwarf who had been patiently waiting for the other dwarf and his nephew to leave the room.

Thorin looked up and said, “Bilbo, this is my sister Dis. I don’t believe you had a chance to meet her last night when you arrived.”

Bilbo bowed and said, “An honor to meet you, my lady. And my humblest apologies for those pair of lads that you have.”

Dis cracked a smile at his comment. “They’ve always been pranksters. Dis, at your service.”

She then turned her attention to Thorin. “Why didn’t you tell me that Raela was the former commander of the Eagle Riders? I thought they were just a legend.”

“Eagle riders?” Bilbo whispered to Dwalin and Balin.

“We’ll tell you about them later,” Balin whispered back.

“She asked us to keep it discreet. We did our best to honor her wishes.”

Dis huffed and said, “There was an interesting conversation during the proceedings between Raela and Siri, mainly. Helle had the same ideas.”

“What kind of conversation?” Thorin asked, his eyes narrowing.

“About power. And how there is only power, no good or evil.”

“Lies. What about Melkor? And Sauron? Durin’s bane? Orcs?” Thorin demanded.

“Aye. Raela called them out on it. She said she wouldn’t risk her clan’s freedom for more power. She also said that most dwarves would rather be dead than enslaved.”

There was a silence that descended and Bilbo asked, “Makes sense. So Raela is the sister of that nice young lad?”

“Aye. She’s one of the ladies that Fili could have as his bride.” Dwalin answered.

“If only she’d have him,” Thorin said under his breath.

“Why wouldn’t she have him? He’s a nice enough fellow,” Bilbo commented, sitting on the sofa.

Dis nodded approvingly. “Of course, Fili is a catch. For some reason, Raela does not wish to be wed, I believe.”

Bilbo shrugged his shoulders and said, “Ah. Well. Nothing to be done for it then, huh?”

Thorin only replied, “We shall have to see. Now, how about tea?”

Bilbo winced and said, “I may have agreed to have tea with Lord Glorifindel and King Thranduil.”

Thorin grumbled and said, “You are the honored guest, more than anyone else, I believe.”

Thorin sighed and said, “We shall see you for supper then. I’ll have a guard come and find you.”

Bilbo nodded and continued to speak with Thorin and the others until it was time for him to have tea with the elves.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11—Family History

Fili paced back and forth in his bedroom. He was going to speak with her. He had to talk to her—to figure out what was going on in her head.

Did she not feel the same for him? If that was the case, then alright—he would have to win her affections still.

But he had a feeling that wasn’t the case. He had a feeling that there was something else that was holding her back from giving in to him.

Tauriel had arranged for a luncheon with him and Kili. He heard a knock at the door and went to open it. Kili and Tauriel stood, arm in arm, waiting for him to come out. He closed the door behind him and followed them out of the halls into one of the royal parlors. When they arrived, it wasn’t just the elves in there—but Raela as well. She sat stiffly in between the two elf lords, who looked up in slight interest at their arrival but then turned their attention back to the dwarrowdam. She spoke to them quietly, and they were asking her questions.

“So these are lesser eagles, then, you would say?” Glorifindel asked.

“Yes,” she answered. “Just like the people of Rohan ride horses and it’s said, can speak to them, that’s what we're like with the eagles.”

“Was it the dwarf language?” Thranduil asked. Fili had never seen the king look so interested before.

“No. Quenya.”

“You know Quenya?” Glorifindel’s eyebrows raised slightly.

“A little. Not a lot—but enough to give commands, of course.”

Thranduil turned his attention to Tauriel when she entered and said, “Are they taking care of you?”

Tauriel sat next to Thranduil, with Kili next to her. Which meant that Fili was to sit next to Lord Glorifindel. They took their seats gracefully and a servant came by with a luncheon as Fili listened to Tauriel answer the questions about her health.

It was then that Thranduil turned his attention to Kili. “When will the two of you be married?”

Kili leveled his stare at Thranduil. “After Fili marries. That’s what the council decreed at least.”

“Will they go back on their promise?”

“I don’t care if they do. I still intend on marrying Tauriel and even Thorin approves.”

“Yes. It just took him almost twenty years,” Fili said, his lip turned up in a slight smile. They ate their food together, actually speaking in a tense, but friendly atmosphere.

“Do you miss your home, Lady Raela?” Glorifindel asked. “From what I can recall, it’s a lovely area.”

She smiled slightly and said, “Aye. I do miss it. But, Erebor is quite charming.”

“Do you have any siblings?” He asked.

“My younger brother. He’s not yet twelve. Lord Dwalin was watching him for us so I could attend the proceedings.”

“And what did you think of them?” Thranduil asked. Fili was quite interested in the apparent wonder that the two elves had with Raela. It was most likely because of her former position. Not many people—humans, elves, or dwarves, commanded army units from the back of eagles.

“I think that things are going to just get worse, but we should not wallow in pity. We should prepare.”

Glorifindel smiled. “You’re not scared?”

She shook her head. “There’s always opposition, isn’t there? We have to choose who we’ll oppose and stick to it. The Ironfists are not as strong or rich as we used to be. My grandfather was rumored to be quite corrupt and gold-sick. I worry that...some may be enticed by the offers of the enemy. We will have to stand firm as their leaders.”

Thranduil nodded and then replied, “Your father was the one that King Thorin mentioned then?”

She nodded and said, “Aye. That was him. He was so young still, but his father had died early. He told me he went to Thorin’s aid because he thought that they had a good chance of reclaiming Moria. But he said that as soon as he arrived he thought it was a vain hope. He told me that Thorin Oakenshield was a mighty warrior and an excellent leader. And what King Thorin said was true—my father liked to put his large nose in other clan’s businesses and tell them what to do, whether they wanted to hear it or not.”

“When did he pass, if I may ask?” Glorifindel asked quietly.

“Twelve years ago,” Raela answered with a saddened look on her face.

“What happened to the eagles?” Thranduil questioned. She sighed and picked at her food. Fili felt his anger bristling. How dare they question her so much that she couldn’t even eat.

Thranduil’s eyebrows raised in surprise. Fili had let out a disgruntled noise that sounded similar to a growl. Fili only glared at him.

“One of the dams under my command broke the oaths. She killed several eagles, invading their nests and smashing their eggs with her mace. My eagle was murdered.” She ended her sentence and then continued to pick at her food. After her statement, the elves retreated politely to a conversation with the princes and Tauriel.

The elves stood up and left, excusing themselves to say they had made arrangements to speak with the humans present, especially the steward of Gondor’s son, and would see the halfling, Bilbo for tea. Raela stood up to leave as well, and Fili stood up at the same time.

“May I escort you back to your quarters?” Raela looked at him warily, but then gave a curt nod of approval. Fili soared at her nod and together, they left Kili, Tauriel, and the parlor behind.

**************************************************************************************************************************************

Raela wasn’t sure what to think of Fili escorting her to her rooms. It had been several days since their last encounter. It was a coincidence that she managed to eat lunch with him. The elf lords had sought her out, asking for her company. They had indeed flattered her, saying it was an honor to meet a former eagle rider, and that if she didn’t mind, perhaps she could answer a few of their questions.

She found herself escorted to that parlor and was even more surprised when Fili, Kili, and Tauriel managed to come in as well.

She sighed softly as she glanced out of the corner of her eyes at the blond prince. He no longer wore his ceremonial armor or crown but was still dressed in his formal clothing. He wore an off-white tunic, and a matching navy dinner coat and trousers. He looked as handsome as ever, and she wasn’t sure what to think of him insisting on escorting her to her rooms.

She was still trying to figure out what to do when they arrived a little too quickly. Aron and Rang were in the parlor when they arrived. Fili looked slightly uncomfortable at the company, but it made Raela feel much more cozy. He wouldn’t kiss her again if her brother and uncle were present. And that made her feel in more control of the situation. Because, if he were to kiss her again, she was positive that she would agree to anything else that he wanted from her, including a marriage.

She shook her head and offered for him to stay in the parlor. Rang smiled at Fili and welcomed him. Aron, however, looked at the two of them shrewdly, and to Raela’s dismay, insisted that he and Rang go somewhere else to study.

Rang suggested the library, and Aron agreed that it was a good idea. Raela’s eyes widened at her uncle, who only gave her a slight grin and a shrug of his shoulders.

That bastard, she had decided right then and there. She scowled as they left, and Fili sat next to her on the sofa.

He asked then, “I have something to speak with you about.” She tensed, quite visibly, and he continued to speak. “I know that the proper channel would be to go through your uncle for his permission, but I also know that he would insist on you marrying me, most likely. And, I want it to be your choice.”

From inside his coat, he pulled out a parchment that was rolled tightly and sealed with the king’s insignia.

“Fili,” she began to say softly, “I really can’t”

He held the contract in his hand limply, and looked at her, making eye contact for the first time that afternoon. She almost blanched at the wary, and guarded look in his eyes.

“Will you at least tell me why?”

She pulled at a thread in her skirt, and then swallowed, deeply.

“Hold on. I need to get something to drink.” She stood up and went to the kitchen where she moved around a little and brought a bottle of strong alcohol and a couple of glasses with her. She opened the aged wine and poured herself and Fili some to drink. She downed her glass, quite quickly and closed her eyes tightly.

“I suppose it starts with my parents--” She didn’t want to tell him. But, didn’t he at least deserve an explanation for why she rejected him?

“My parents were quite in love. They grew up with one another, you know. And as soon as they both were in their majority, they married. I came along, about twelve years after. And then, there were no other children."

“I was rather close with Aron as I grew older. He’s a bit younger than my father. But he moved away to study. It was just me and my parents."

“I became the commander of the eagle riders, as was my right, as soon as I reached my majority. There weren’t many wars or battles to fight—only a few skirmishes here or there. We mostly worked on communications with other lands, and mapping the world around us. My father, though, eventually called for aid."

“We met him in battle, along with his men against several hundred orcs. According to one of my father’s advisors, he was betrayed. They were trying to defend the northeast edges of our settlement, and I was too late. We turned the tide of the battle, but my father was already dead. He had been hacked to pieces by several orcs.” She swallowed a drink of the wine again.

Fili saw tears in her eyes.

“I brought back his body, and my mother wept over him for days. And then, she told me the news. She was expecting a babe.” Raela looked Fili straight in the eyes and continued to speak, “I think Rang is the only reason that she stayed alive for as long as she did. I don’t know if you have the legend of the other half of your soul, but I believe that my parents were each other’s ones, their other halves. And without my father, my mother’s body began to deteriorate and wither.”

She blinked back tears of shame.

“I became so angry with her. I was called back to Orocarni to help take care of her, to aid her. And while she was dying, my bond with my eagle, Feylan, was severed. I felt so much pain. It didn’t take long for the message to get to me—the eagles were already gone by the time that I was able to make it out to the nests.”

“My mother stayed alive enough to give birth, and she named Rang after father. And then, she too passed away.”

“Raela,” Fili said, reaching a hand to touch her arm. She was openly crying now. “I was so unhappy. I was angry at her, at father, at the dwarrowdam that betrayed me. I was furious with Rang, who, I believed at the time, had taken my mother from me too. And then, I was alone, with only a small baby to take care of. My little brother.”

She sniffled and said, “I’m still ashamed of how I thought of him at first. He was such a small, annoying, blubbering thing that constantly had to be held and fed. The wet nurse could only do so much for him, so I was left to take care of him when he wasn’t being nursed. It only took a couple of weeks though. And one day, it just clicked. How could I be angry at such a sweet, small little thing? He wasn’t at fault. But, I will always feel horrible about those first few weeks, Fili. I can never leave him behind.”

“My mother—when she passed, she told me to take care of him, because he was the future of the Ironfist clan. My parents had prayed for a son for many years, and when he finally came, neither of them or myself, were there for him.”

She sniffled, and Fili said, “If it makes you feel better, I detested Kili at first when he was born.”

Raela found herself laughing slightly, “And how old were you?”

“Five”

She laughed drily, “I was 86.” She shook her head and said, “There was no excuse. But, I will atone for everything by helping him grow to be the dwarf he needs to be, just like my father. I may not have been enough for my parents, but I will make sure that Rang makes them proud.”

“And, I can never forgive myself for how I felt about him. I blamed him for everything. I know it wasn’t his fault now. I should have been stronger. Perhaps if I could have...”

“Hey,” Fili said sharply, “You just said that you don’t blame Rang, but you blame yourself?”

She looked at him in surprise. “I don’t believe that at all. These things happen. We’re mortal, after all. We are born, we live and eventually die. Some sooner than others, and some, later. It doesn’t make it your fault.”

She shook her head. “I was too late coming to my father’s aid. I was too late with my eagles. I was too late to save my mother.”

She looked him straight in the eyes and said, “And, I can’t marry you. I don’t want to be in the same position as my mother—forced to sit at home and wait for word that my husband died in battle. No. It’s for the best.”

She stared at him with a watery smile and said, “You’ve been very kind, and I feel more for you than I wanted to. But, our lives are on separate paths. I will make sure that Rang grows to be the leader that the Ironfist clan needs—a strong, just dwarf. And you will marry, father children, and be the king that all of the dwarves in Middle-Earth need, alongside a beautiful queen.”

“I want you as my queen, Raela.” Fili said, sharply, and continued, “I have no problem giving you space to think about things, but I will have to choose a dwarrowdam in four weeks, and I will only choose you.”

She crisply stared at him. “Please, just choose someone else, Fili. For both our sakes.”

He shook his head at her words. “No. You mentioned that your parents were two halves of one being. I feel that way about you. You are my missing half and I will marry you or I will not marry at all.”

“What about Tauriel and Kili then?”

“They’re practically married already,” he said, waving his hand away. “Imagine how angry the council will be that my heir would be an elf-dwarf hybrid.” He smiled slightly and then took a drink of the wine.

She narrowed her eyes at him. He put up his hands in surrender. “Just think about it, Raela. Don’t punish yourself for things that you had no control of. Let it go, and forgive your feelings. And about Rang—your brother adores you. Anyone with eyes can tell. I’ve already spoken to Thorin. We’ll have to speak to your uncle still, but there’s a good chance that we can get Rang to stay here with you. Thorin has grown attached to him. He could learn a lot from Thorin. I know that I did.”

He then leaned forward, putting the glass of wine down on the table, and said, “That was a very good glass of wine. Thank you.”

He then leaned toward her and pressed his lips softly against her own. She breathed in deeply and allowed herself to respond. This would be the last time, after all. She was not going to marry him. He pulled away, all too soon.

And she noticed that he had the biggest grin on his face. “You love me.”

She bristled. “I do not. I may just enjoy kissing you. That’s all.” She straightened her skirts, doing her best to ignore the cocky smile on his face. She yelped slightly when his lips pressed a kiss against her cheek.

He whispered into her ear, “I’ll take it.” Before giving her another kiss and excusing himself from the quarters. She whimpered slightly when he left feeling the emptiness in the room without him present.

Perhaps she did like him, after all. Maybe, just maybe, she was starting to love him. She bit her lip and let out a growl of frustration. That dwarf knew how to get under her skin and in her dreams.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12—A Call for Help

It was the last day of the council. Several members would be leaving the next morning. Tonight, there would be a grand banquet and celebration to congratulate the alliance on another allied council without any bloodletting during the discussion.

Both Fili and Raela were left thinking quite a bit over the last two days.

Fili had openly told Raela that he believed that she was his one, and based on the look on his face and the kiss that they had shared in her quarters, she believed that he wasn’t going to back off any time soon. It would only be a matter of time before Lady Dis and her uncle intervened to make sure that the marriage occurred.

At first, when he told her that he believed she was his one, she believed him to be slightly crazy. After all, he could just be saying those things to her to have her warm his bed, but from what she had glimpsed of Fili, he did not seem like that type of dwarf.

And she remembered other things that her mother had told her. Her mother, when she was still quite young, took it upon herself to teach Raela how children were conceived and born. Raela was quite horrified by the concept and idea of what her parents had done to produce her. It must have shown on her face because she remembered her mother’s laugh and the way that she hugged her close. She had told Raela—you will not be so horrified when you meet your one.

And now, Raela did not feel horrified when she thought of Fili in that way. Her dreams were increasing. She dreamed of him constantly. Sometimes she would catch herself staring at him from across the room, watching the way that his body moved and as he interacted with others. She recalled her mother telling her that if she ever found herself dreaming and daydreaming about the same dwarf, constantly, then he was most likely under her skin, and much deeper—in her heart and soul.

Raela felt a shiver work down her spine. She was caught thinking of Fili and her mother’s words again. He might have been her one. She didn’t wish to be a queen or to leave Orocarni. But, she could see herself doing it for him. Leaving Rang still was out of the question. He was too young. Their uncle was a good dwarf, very honorable, but he wasn’t the strongest around. He couldn’t ensure the safety that Raela could since she was the one who was a trained warrior. And, with the tenuous relations that her clan had with the other clans in Orocarni, well, there was a chance that one of them may try to take over their settlement.

Raela watched as Fili moved to speak with one of the humans. She noticed that he, along with Thorin and Kili, only moved their eyes in upward movement to speak with those taller than them. Of course, it wouldn’t do to show any weakness against their allies, even if they were there a part of their joint coalition.

If she and Rang could stay in Erebor, then Rang would receive all the training that he needed to be a future clan leader from King Thorin himself (and Fili and Kili too, of course). She could stay and marry Fili, perhaps, and Rang could stay with them until he was old enough to defend himself. It would be difficult to say goodbye, but she knew that she would see him still.

She turned back to look at Fili, who was now staring at her with a small smile on his face. Blast him, she decided. It seemed like he always knew when she was thinking about him. She reluctantly smiled back at him. His attention was called away from her, and he walked over to the human king, Bain, who had hailed him.

Raela realized her heart was fluttering and she scowled slightly at the feeling. She was getting tired though—tired of fighting the feelings that were within her. As she grappled with shame for her past and her growing feelings for the prince, she wasn’t sure what she was going to do.

She turned to leave the council room and headed off to find her brother.

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Fili felt hope flare in his chest at the look that Raela had just sent him. It was contemplative, and there wasn’t a scowl anywhere near her face until she noticed him looking at her. Perhaps he would be able to persuade her after all. He felt his heart lighten at the fact.

He understood now where she came from. Fili and Kili’s father was killed when Fili was only seven, and Kili was two. There were only a few, vague memories of him that Fili had. Kili had no memories whatsoever.

Raela had grown up with both her parents there. And to lose both her parents and her position as a commander in a year—well, that sounded like a lot for any normal person to handle. Not to mention that her eagle had been killed. He had spoken a little bit about it to his uncle. It was rumored that the eagles and their riders shared a strong bond. Often the eagle chose its rider when they were still quite young.

And, there was the fact that she had practically become a surrogate mother for her younger brother after her parent’s deaths. No wonder she was always scowling at everyone and everything. She didn’t want anyone to get close to her.

Tauriel had been right on with her assessment—she only wanted to be close to Rang. She had tried pushing Fili away, and apparently, Fili was correct in assuming that he only needed to wear her down. Well, he was going to show her that he wasn’t going anywhere. He had found his one, his queen; his future wife, and the mother of his children, Mahal willing. He wasn’t going to let her go anytime soon.

After all the delegates left, Fili would dedicate all of his attention to courting her and speaking to her uncle. He had only three and a half weeks until he was supposed to choose his wife, and Mahal be damned if it wasn’t going to be Raela. He knew that she would accept. He could see it in her face. She felt more for him than she liked to let on. He admired that she was able to hide her true feelings from him so well. He felt like an open book when it came to Raela.

He would have to convince his mother to allow them to sit close to him tonight during the banquet. There would be some entertainment and dancing as well. He honestly didn’t know what to do for the other six dams so they wouldn’t feel slighted. He felt, though, that it was best that they keep their distance at the moment. A few families had mentioned his attachment to Raela, and Thorin had only waved away their concerns, saying that they were both warriors and they only spoke platonically. Lady Raela had already told everyone that she could that she had no interest in marrying Fili and Fili would only be a fool to choose the one dwarrowdam who didn’t want to be married to him.

He smirked. No longer was she of that feeling though. He sighed and began walking back to his quarters to entertain his guests for a little longer before they left.

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Raela sat at supper, right next to the elf lords and Tauriel. Aron sat across from her and Rang on her other side. Aron was speaking quite well with Lord Glorifindel, and almost in awe that the legendary elf who had been resurrected was now speaking with him. Fili was several chairs down from her, but he gave her a swift smile when she arrived.

And, on Rang’s other side, was the little halfling, Bilbo. Rang had complimented him on the dagger that he wore openly on his belt. Raela, too complimented him on it.

“Oh, thank you. It has saved my life a time or two. I didn’t think I needed it tonight, you know, but Thorin said you never know when danger could appear.”

Raela only nodded at his words. So Thorin was suspicious of his guests or was it something else? She didn’t have all the information, so she didn’t know. Thankfully, she had a dagger strapped to her thigh under her gown. And, of course, she had her hands. They were the Ironfist clan for a reason. All children, ages ten and up learned hand-to-hand combat. And while most dwarves relied on their weapons and their armor to survive, the Ironfists also used their bare hands.

“Does it have a name?” Rang asked Bilbo curiously. He was obsessed with weapons, and this little one, of elvish make, was so shiny and pretty.

Bilbo hesitated and said, “Yes. I named it Sting.”

Raela smiled. “Why Sting?”

She noticed that a silence had gone over the entire room.

“Well...we were in Mirkwood.”

“No, no, no,” Bofur said suddenly. “How about we tell it together, old friend?”

“Fine, fine, fine,” Bilbo said waving his hand. “How about you start, Bofur?”

Raela’s eyes strayed to Erika, who was watching Bofur in mild amusement, just like everyone else. But Raela could see something else. Her hands were in tight fists and although she tried to appear calm at his voice, she kept tucking a stray hair behind her ear nervously.

Bofur began, standing up to the side. They were, after all, eating their desserts.

“We were traveling through Mirkwood. And Gandalf the Gray had left us with only one piece of advice—Don’t leave the path. And, Beorn the coarse-haired--” There was a deep, rumbling laugh at Bofur’s title for Beorn. The bear-man was laughing at himself though, so he didn’t seem offended.

“Beorn had told us, not to drink from the water. That it was corrupted. So, Gandalf the Cheerful left us at the borders of Mirkwood. And we started on our path. But, strange things began to happen.”

There was a deep silence that followed. “We came across a stream, and all of us made it over without touching the stream, except my dear cousin, Bombur. He fell right in! Now, Bombur fell asleep and slept for almost three days straight!”

“And our benevolent king, although annoyed that a member of his company was dreaming instead of walking, would not leave him behind.” Raela glanced at Thorin, who only watched Bofur with an interested expression.

“We all took turns carrying Bombur but we were getting hungry and thirsty. And we kept seeing things. The woods, you see—they play tricks on your mind. The path suddenly ended, and we were walking around in circles, eventually. We were fighting and arguing about which way to go—thirteen, grumpy, hungry dwarves and one, hobbit.” Bofur said, pointing to Bilbo.

“I was trying to get all their attention,” Bilbo said, standing on his chair, “But they just kept arguing. And then, Bombur woke up and started talking about the amazing food he had in his dream to eat. And, that made all of us a tad annoyed. But I tightened my belt, and I decided to climb a tree. You see..the forest was sick. The corruption has now been driven out, but it was playing mind tricks on us. So, I climbed up the tree, and I finally breathed fresh air. We had been in Mirkwood for several days—not sure for how long, exactly mind you. But from the top of that tree, I first glimpsed the Lonely Mountain. It was one of the most beautiful sights I’ve seen, standing out against the mist. I called down to everyone that it was so close! But nobody responded.”

Bilbo looked around the table that was paying the two storytellers rapt attention. “I began climbing down when I was struck by something, hard. I fell and lost consciousness for a short while. But, when I awoke, I was wrapped in something white and sticky and stringy.”

“I managed to reach Sting, and I cut myself out. I then saw what I had been stuck in—spiderwebs.”

Rang gasped loudly.

“These were the largest, ugliest spiders you’ve ever seen.” Bofur said, “Ugly, bulbous bodies; long, hairy legs; large, beady eyes. They had managed to take us by surprise. We were all stung by them-it made us sick and weak and in our weakness, they spun their webs around us. We didn’t know how to escape. And they were content to leave us where we were for a while.”

Bofur stopped, the silence prevalent throughout the hall, and then continued, “Until they decided to eat Bombur.”

There was a sharp intake of breath. “I couldn’t allow that to happen,” Bilbo said.

“Poor Bombur. Always last except in that case.” Thorin commented, a wry grin on his face at the memory of Bombur always complaining about being last.

“I distracted them with a song and by throwing rocks in the opposite direction. Then, one by one, I cut the dwarves free. The spiders came back, too quickly and we fought them.” Bilbo said, and then continued, “They hated the sting of my sword, and that is why I named it “Sting.”

There was a round of applause at the naming of Bilbo’s sword. Most of the dwarves named their weapons and looked at them as friends.

“But, what happened next?” Rang asked, looking between Bofur and Bilbo. He was easily the most enthralled with the story, being the smallest and youngest person in attendance.

“Ah,” Bofur said, “We were overwhelmed still. And if it wasn’t for the intervention of the Greenleaf elves, who wanted us as prisoners for trespassing, the spiders would have probably killed us all. So, instead, we were taken as prisoners by the Captain of the Guard and the Prince of Mirkwood.”

“That’s not very nice,” Rang said, scowling slightly. Raela only smiled slightly at his concern.

“You don’t think so, Master Rang?” Tauriel asked, “I did save them from the spiders after all.”

“You were the Captain of the Guard?”

“Aye.”

“She and Prince Legolas took us captive and threw us in the dungeons. But she had saved Prince Kili’s life. He was dragged away by spiders you know, and unarmed.”

Rang looked alarmed once again. Raela put her hand on Rang’s and squeezed it tight in comfort.

She looked pointedly at Bofur, and the miner, who saw Rang’s trembling bottom lip, stopped abruptly.

“But it turned out alright. Kili was good enough to ask Lady Tauriel to search his trousers. And we ended up escaping, but that is a different story, Master Rang.”

Rang, once again looked at Raela while everyone else began talking afterwards. “Why would Prince Kili want his trousers to be searched?”

Bilbo gave a disgruntled noise as he overheard Rang’s question. Kili, who was sitting across from Bilbo lit up. Raela just groaned at her brother’s innocent curiosity.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older, Rang,” Kili said slightly, winking in Raela’s direction. Blast it all, even Aron who was sitting right next to Kili, was laughing into his napkin at the question.

What was it with these male dwarves and their amusement at improper questions from dwarflings?

“You will not,” Raela said, while glaring at her uncle, feeling her cheeks light up. And then, she couldn’t restrain herself.

She turned to Tauriel, and said, “Please tell me he didn’t ask you to search him.”

Tauriel smiled, and then responded, “I’m afraid the exact words were,” Tauriel’s voice dropped a couple of octaves in a perfect imitation of Kili’s voice. “Aren’t you going to search me? I could have anything down my trousers.”

Raela’s mouth opened wide, “He didn’t.”

“He did,” Fili said, listening to the conversation. He looked highly amused himself. “I heard it, as did the majority of our company.”

“How did you respond?” Raela asked quietly.

“I said, “Or nothing.”

Raela put a napkin over her mouth to hide the laugh that bubbled up at the whole conversation. Poor Rang was thankfully, engaged in conversation with the halfling. Bless Bilbo’s heart. Raela would have to do something as a thank you to the hobbit for telling a wonderful story and keeping her brother amused.

The rest of the evening would pass quickly, but Raela found herself enjoying the party. Both of the elf-lords were kind to her. And she was introduced to the steward’s son, who was very happy to meet her as well. He told her of the stories that he had heard as a child from the governess and his mother about the dwarrowdam eagle riders of Orocarni. He said it was an honor to meet her and she may have blushed at his kind words.

Fili kept his distance that night. Raela found herself a bit put out, but since she had slighted him so many times in public, she completely understood why he was keeping to himself and visiting with others that evening. Instead, she was sitting with Rang and her uncle, conversing with Denethor and Lord Glorifindel when Nori sidled up to her uncle with Lord Dwalin.

Dwalin looked at Raela in some concern. Raela paused slightly and pursed her lips. What was going on?

Nori whispered something to Aron, who looked alarmed and glanced at Raela. He nodded his head and made his excuses to the elf and human lords and then, left with Nori. Dwalin sat by Rang, and Rang immediately engaged him in some conversation.

It wasn’t too much longer that Lord Glorifindel and Lord Denethor drifted away from her and Rang. Her brother was reading a book that Dwalin had brought for him. Dwalin sat in an armchair right next to Raela.

She looked at him cautiously. “Is everything alright?”

Dwalin cleared his throat and said, “From now on, you are to have a guard on you at all times.” She looked startled. “There are new rooms that have been prepared for you and your family. I’ll make sure you get there. I hope you don’t mind, but we have you sharing a room with Tauriel until things get sorted.”

Raela blinked her eyes and began to protest. “We know you can handle yourself, Raela. It’s Thorin’s orders though. Would you like me to escort you to your quarters?”

She looked at Rang, who was stifling a yawn. No, he wasn’t stifling a yawn. He was already fast asleep, his chin dropping to his chest and the book falling from his hands. Raela reached for him, and she pulled him up. She held him close, and his head lay on her shoulder. He was still so small that she could easily pick him up and take him.

She nodded at Dwalin, who said, “Do you want me to take him for you?”

She shook her head at his words.

She felt slightly worried as Dwalin led them through the halls, into the royal quarters. They went up a set of stairs and Raela found herself in a hallway made of stone. On the walls were painted scenes throughout history—from the creation of Arda to their maker Mahal crafting dwarves to great battles and settlements raised. Raela looked interested in the stonework and paintings. She shifted Rang in her arms, and Dwalin arrived at a door that he knocked on.

“Enter,” the male voice said softly.

It was Thorin with Aron and Nori. Aron opened a door quickly, and she followed him into the room and the tiny bed where Rang would be sleeping. Raela helped her little brother out of his boots and socks and tucked him in. She watched, with bated breath as he almost awoke, but then turned onto his other side, mumbling and falling back asleep. She pulled up the blankets against him tight and then left the room, closing the door with a silent click behind her.

“What happened?” She asked, feeling slightly alarmed that their quarters had been moved.

Thorin nodded at Nori who said, “Your quarters were invaded and destroyed, Lady Raela. All your clothes were cut through and ruined; any jewelry you had was stolen. No combs, soap, or anything left. They destroyed it all and then left you an uncouth message on your looking glass.”

Raela stiffened and said, “May I see my room?”

“No.” Thorin answered, and said, “It’s getting cleaned out and I don’t want you to get so upset by it--”

“I won’t faint,” she answered sharply.

“Of course, you won’t,” Thorin replied drily. “I’m more concerned about you hunting down and killing whoever did it.”

“Do you have any suspects then?” Raela asked, sitting down on the sofa. Dis entered the room with a soft knock at her question and Nori only shrugged.

“There are a few. It was pretty vengeful. I’m thinking a jealous dwarrowdam that has figured out that you’re Fili’s favorite.” Nori replied softly. “We’ll look into it. But for your safety, it’s best if you stay in the royal wing.”

“It was just my room then?” Raela asked. Dis sat next to her on the sofa. She had a small box in her arms. She turned to Raela. “I found some things for you to wear the next couple of days until you can buy some more things.” Raela stiffened immediately and tried not to glance at Aron who practically winced. They didn’t have a lot of gold—having to get Raela a brand-new wardrobe would hurt them financially.

Raela felt herself bristle in anger. “Thank you,” she told Dis and asked Nori, “And what is being done about the culprit?”

“We’ll find out and King Thorin will decide the judgment.”

“I hope they’ll make restitution. Several of those gowns were owned and worn by my late mother as well.” She said it, the ire in her voice barely controlled.
Dis only startled slightly.

“And the jewelry? Gifts that work hand-crafted by my father for my mother. Eventually, they would have gone to Rang for his future bride.”

“I’m sorry Raela,” Thorin said quietly. “We’ll do our best to recover everything that can be salvaged.” Tears pricked her eyes. She nodded at his words.

There was another knock on the door. In the room, entered Fili and Kili.

Behind them, stood a man with a long gray beard, clothed in gray robes.

Thorin looked surprised. “Gandalf. What are you doing here?”

“I bring ill tidings, King Thorin. We must take counsel.” Fili looked at Raela grimly.

“Come now, Raela. Let’s see you in your room. You’ll be sharing with Tauriel. I know the two of you have grown close. Hopefully, that will be alright?” Raela felt numb at the words. She nodded at Dis. The two dams excused themselves from the quarters where her uncle and brother were staying.

She heard Thorin bid a farewell to Aron and Rang, along with his nephews and Gandalf, also left. They headed toward the left, while Raela and Dis headed to the right.

“I’m sorry about this Raela. I can’t believe that a nobledam would be so malicious. Even your underlinens were destroyed.” Raela felt herself blush at Dis’ words. Great. Now she had even more clothes and things to buy.

She sighed. They didn’t have the gold to buy all that she would need. But there was no way that she would admit it either.

Dis led Raela to the room and knocked. Tauriel answered, and Raela entered, holding the box of borrowed clothing close to her chest.

Tauriel smiled at her as she entered. Dis bid her goodnight and then, she left Raela and Tauriel together in the room.

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Dwalin and Nori eventually found their way into Thorin’s office an hour later, after they had exhausted Aron of all the questions they had.

Guaranteeing Raela’s safety, as Fili’s future bride was very important. But, with Gandalf currently arriving, most likely to bring ill news as usual, well, the evening really couldn’t get much worse.

The whole company was gathered, including Bombur and Bilbo when Nori and Dwalin finally arrived.

They looked around the room and Thorin asked, “Any headway on who the culprit is?”

They shook their heads. “Still think it was one of the jealous nobledams. They can have a mean streak a mile wide. Crazy and vengeful, most of them.”

“Except Freya, right brother?” Balin asked with a slight snicker. The rest of the group laughed slightly and Gandalf looked up.

“What’s this?” Gandalf asked, sounding slightly concerned.

“One of our visiting nobledam’s quarters was broken into. All of her clothing, bedding, and pillows were slashed. All her jewelry, combs, and beads were stolen. We’re looking into it. We think it’s another dam.”

“Why get involved?”

“Fili’s just turned 100, Gandalf.”

Gandalf perked up suddenly and looked at the golden prince. “The conclave?”

“Aye.”

“I wish I was here sooner,” Gandalf replied.

“Is she the favorite then? The one that left with Lady Dis when I arrived?”

Everyone stared at Fili who visibly sunk in his chair at all the attention. He shrugged, trying to keep his face straight, but his face was bright red.

Gandalf smiled. “Which clan?”

“Ironfist.”

“Ah. One of the better ones from Orocarni, at least.”

The rest of the group only nodded.

“What’s happening?” Dwalin asked the group at large, now that Gandalf’s interrogation of Fili was over.

Thorin exchanged a glance with Fili and Kili. “There’s a dwarf that’s been collecting the rings of power that were owned by each clan head. It’s rumored that he now has all seven, and his been sent on a mission by Sauron to begin recruiting members for his army.”

There was a slight pause, and then Dwalin swore. His arm was still in a sling. He wouldn’t be able to leave to face this threat.

“Where?”

“Forces are moving here.” He pointed all the way northwest—Ered Luin. “They’ve attacked the Broadbeams first, and they held strong, but they need their clan leader. The whole mountain will be completely under siege in a couple of months.”

“We need to send aid,” Thorin said. “We should get there quickly, especially on ponies. And we can take aid and rest in Rivendell—Lord Glorifindel’s already given his approval. King Thranduil will give us safe passage as well.”

“And I will go along as well. I have heard..a terrible rumor. I already spoke to Saruman about it, and Radagast. But, I believe they have managed to subdue one of the Blue wizards and that they are channeling his power.”

Thorin nodded at Gandalf’s words. He looked at Fili. “Tomorrow, we’ll send a notice to all the clan heads that the conclave has been canceled due to war. Perhaps some may wish to join us. The dwarrowdams and their families will be welcomed to stay in Erebor until you return, but they are not required to.”

Fili nodded. It was his duty as the crown prince to lead their army to help the clans in Ered Luin.

“When will we leave?” Fili asked solemnly, looking at Gandalf.

“A day or two to prepare. No more than that.” Gandalf replied, looking at Fili. Fili nodded at his words, and then, the rest of the company continued to go over the plans. Which route they would take; how many supplies they would need?

Bombur was already bustling to the kitchens.

“You should stay here,” Thorin said to Bilbo. “They’re close to the shire, my friend.”

Bilbo only sighed, and said, “You’ll be here then?”

“One of us has to stay here. Fili must lead the army. Can you see him going without Kili? And where Kili goes, Tauriel also goes. She will watch out for both of them.”

“Balin, Dwalin, Bilbo, and I will all stay in Erebor to make sure things are safe here. We have to make sure that our future queen is safe, and it appears that someone is targeting her already, before a formal betrothal.”

Fili scowled at Thorin’s words, but couldn’t find it in himself to deny Thorin.

“Anyone else who wishes to stay, may.”

“Gimli will come with me,” Gloin grunted.

“Aye, and you have the three of us,” Dori said, pointing to Nori and his brothers. Nori looked at Dwalin.

“Are you capable of figuring out who tore apart Raela’s room?”

Dwalin only grunted. He was annoyed that he was now in the mountain, on babysitting duty because of his hurt shoulder.

Thorin looked at Dwalin critically. “You can’t go with that shoulder.”

Dwalin only sneered at the comment.

Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur had all been discussing something in the corner when Bofur said, “Well, then. That’s settled.”

He looked around the office and said, “Me and Bifur will be coming. Bombur will be staying here. Alina is expecting another babe after all. I told him that he needed to make sure that she was taken care of.” Bombur looked slightly annoyed and Thorin only smiled slightly.

“He’s right. Take care of your wife and your sons. And welcome a new bairn in a few months.” Balin said a bright smile on his face. Balin had always been a fool over babies.

“The rest of you, get out and get some sleep. We’ll discuss some more things tomorrow.” Thorin turned to Balin.

“I need you, to write out an announcement about where Fili will be going.” Balin nodded. Thorin and his nephews, with the occasional input from Gandalf and Dwalin, made plans for when they would leave.

Chapter Text

Chapter 13--Farewells

Raela awoke the next day, wondering where she was when she spied a second bed in the room. The room was larger than hers, but the bed was smaller. She sighed softly and rolled to her side.

She saw Tauriel still sleeping in a bed next to hers. Raela closed her eyes, attempting to hold on to the dream she just had.

She and Fili had been in a much larger bed than the one that she was currently in, and he had done some things to her that had filled her with a longing to be touched in places that had never been explored before. She only hoped that Tauriel had not heard her or slept through it if she made any of the noises of pleasure that her dream self was emitting.

She sat up. The gown she wore was large, but sleeveless, like most gowns. She reached for her robe when she heard Tauriel ask.

“Those tattoos--” Raela looked around and stared at Tauriel.

She continued. “I’ve seen them before—like when we were training. What do they mean?”

“All masters of their craft get something to identify them. Warriors have tattoos, usually. That’s why Lord Dwalin has tattoos all over his head. I think he has the names of those he fought with, inked on. I have my levels of training and my eagle's name.”

“Only on your forearms?”

“You can have them wherever.” Raela looked at Tauriel and said, “I won’t lie. I’ve wondered if King Thorin has them—and exactly where.”

Tauriel and Raela laughed quite naughtily with each other as Raela stepped behind a dress screen and began to dress. She then stepped out and combed through her short hair and redid her braids. Tauriel watched her with rapt attention. It was slightly disconcerting.

“Sorry,” Tauriel said. “It’s just that no other dwarrowdams would allow me to even speak to them. I’m glad that you’re my friend.”

Raela smiled back at her and said, “Me too.”

They then left the rooms. Raela was dressed in a blouse and skirt since she still had to go shopping for a new set of dresses. They walked to Aron and Rang’s room. Raela entered and Tauriel followed behind. Rang was still in his clothes from the night before, looking very rumpled and grumpy.

“No! I want Rae-Rae!”

“Rang!” Raela said, immediately stepping in to save her uncle from her little brother’s laser stare. “Enough of that. I just had to stay with my friend Tauriel last night.”

“I thought you had left me,” he said quietly, tears filling his eyes.

“Never,” she said, “now, come on.” She took the clothes from her uncle’s outstretched hand and she ushered Rang into his room, where she told him, in no uncertain terms that he was to change his clothes and get ready for the day and that she would help him with his boots.

She left the room with a soft click.

“You can always get me, you know,” she said to Aron.

“I know. I think you’ve spoiled him a bit though, Raela.” He replied, looking at her with an amused expression.

She shrugged her shoulders and said, “How could I not? He’s adorable.” Tauriel agreed with her, nodding her head earnestly at Raela’s assessment.

“We’re to head down to breakfast. King Thorin has an announcement to make. Does it have to do with Fili coming to visit you a couple of days ago?” Aron asked. Rang left his bedroom and Raela quickly helped him into his boots and helped the lad to lace them up.

Raela looked confused. “I don’t believe so...”

“Hmm..and then, you have to go to a shop and get some clothes, I’m afraid.”

“Uncle, you don’t have to pay for it--”

“Yes, I do. You hardly ask for anything, and we have more gold than you realize.” He said earnestly. “So, after breakfast, go down and get yourself into a shop and find some new clothes.”

He looked at Tauriel and asked her, “Can you make sure she buys clothing that flatters her?”

“Hey!” Raela said to her uncle, waving a hand in his face. “What’s wrong with what I usually wear?”

“Nothing at all. Your clothes are just as charming as you usually are.”

“Ha ha,” Raela said, as Rang took hold of her hand and then they all marched down to the great hall for their breakfast.

When they arrived, they gathered their food and noticed that there seemed to be a somber mood around the entire citizenry. This was not about Fili’s future wife then, like Aron was hopefully predicting.

Tauriel looked confused as well, and then she saw a man, dressed all in gray who made a beeline for her.

“Mithrandir,” she said suddenly. “What has happened?”

“Kili will fill you in on it, I’m afraid. And who is this lovely young dwarrowdam?”

He looked down at Raela and it felt as though he was looking through her.

She gathered her thoughts and said, “Lady Raela, at your service.”

“You’re a member of the Ironfist clan then?”

“Aye, I am.”

“And the former Eagle Rider commander?”

She was a bit more hesitant and looked at him suspiciously before saying, “Aye...”

He smiled at her. “Never fear my Lady. I make it my business to know these things. Many say my nose is usually too far in the business of others and I always bring bad news. Gandalf the Gray, at your service.”

“Oh.” She said, and then, because she had already introduced herself to him, nodded dumbly.

There was a rustling of chairs suddenly. Gandalf sat down abruptly next to Rang, and asked the lad’s name. Rang was always cheerful and polite, and he was not uneasy at all about Gandalf. Thorin stood up at the head table and a silence fell across the room.

“Dwarves of Erebor, esteemed brothers, sisters, and guests—I have grave news. There is a threat in Ered Luin. I’m afraid that our settlements are under siege from a deadly enemy.” Thorin looked at Fili. She felt her heartache and jumped into her throat.

No. He couldn’t.

“Prince Fili will lead our armies to help relieve the stress of our brothers in Ered Luin. Lord Dain will help us here in Erebor with the security of our mountain.” Raela felt her heart pounding and her eyes sought Fili’s.

He looked very stern and proud—much different than the dwarf that she had come to know and love.

Wait..love? Was she sure? When exactly did that happen? Just because he was her one, didn’t mean that she was in love with him, did it?

Raela focused her attention on Thorin’s words. He was still speaking. “--conclave will have to be postponed. Any of the dwarf clans that traveled for the conclave are welcome to our hospitality for as long as possible. If you wish to join our army, please contact Lord Dwalin. Prince Fili and his troops leave tomorrow morning.”

Then Thorin sat down and Raela felt nothing. She picked at her breakfast as the roar of voices around her seemed to dim. She felt Aron reach over and pat her on the shoulder. She lifted her head and tried smiling at him. She was sure it came off more as a grimace.

Just as she was getting attached to the idea of Fili, he was going off to battle. She didn’t look at the head table. She didn’t think that she could. She knew that she couldn’t make this about herself. Some families were in danger in Ered Luin, and it was Fili’s duty to see to their safety and help those clans. Thorin even had his settlement of Longbeards that still lived there as well!

She worked on eating her breakfast still, not aware that several families were murmuring to themselves. Lord Glorifindel and a few others would ride with Fili to battle. There were some of Bain’s men that would be sent as well. It was a grand chance to prove that their alliance worked, Gandalf was informing Tauriel and Aron.

She was sure that Fili would be alright. But, what if he wasn’t? What if an arrow took him? Or he was blindsided in battle?

The answer was already right in front of her—she would return to Orocarni. She could not commit to a dwarf, regardless of whether he was her one or not if there was a chance that he would not return to her.

And what if he did die in battle? Would she regret that she never told him directly of her feelings that she had desperately been trying to conceal since she first met him in the kitchens? He was so shy that afternoon—completely unsure of her. And she was so guarded around him. How did they manage to become friends at all? And now there was the possibility—no, she knew. She knew that she loved him.

Raela stared at the now cold bacon and mealy porridge on her plate. She loved the crown prince of Erebor, who would become king after Thorin, assuming that he returned to the mountain alive. She stood up quickly and excused herself.

She always felt that she managed to have great control of her emotions. But, since she had met Fili, she found that was not the case. She told herself to make it to her room before she broke down. The guards let her into the hall, and she quickly walked into the rooms she shared with Tauriel, locking it behind her. Tauriel had the key after all.

She pushed the back of her hand against her tears and closed her eyes tightly. Her back was to the stone wall right by the door. She couldn’t breathe. All she could see in her mind was her father’s death. Except, it wasn’t her father this time who had died in battle, but her Fili instead. Blood all over his chest; one of his strong, glorious arms ripped off his body; his neck twisted at an odd angle; and his blue eyes lifeless, staring at the sky as he lay in the dirt and mud.

She began to sob.

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It took her about an hour to calm down. She then steeled her resolve and washed her face. Her eyes were a bit swollen from the crying. Her uncle would not mention it though. First, she would go see what she could do to help Master Bombur in the kitchens with preparing food for the army. Then, she would go to the blasted shops with an escort to help her find some new underlinens and a few dresses, at least. And then, she would find Fili, even if it was the last thing she did.

She grabbed Rang, and then they went to the kitchens where Bombur put her to work helping to dehydrate some of the fruits and vegetables. Rang ran errands for them. Then, Tauriel found Raela and reminded her that they were to go to the shops and that Aron had asked Tauriel to accompany her.

And in the shop, she was poked and prodded by one of Master Dori’s apprentices. She came away from the shop with four dresses, underlinens, and a new nightgown and robe. She paid with Aron’s borrowed gold, cringing slightly. She hated spending so much on herself. Her parents, while they were the leaders of their clan, raised her to be more thrifty than the average clan leader. She was not spoiled, by any means.

She and Tauriel walked back to the room and she put away the clothing. They were altering a few more dresses for her, ones that Tauriel insisted that she get.

Raela sighed softly and then looked at Tauriel.

Tauriel looked at her in question. “Raela?”

“I need to see Fili.” Raela made up her mind. There was no way that she was going to let him go off to battle without at least showing him her feelings.

“Is there any way that I can see him in private before he has to go?” She was begging. She could tell by the sound of her voice.

Tauriel looked at her in pity and then nodded. “This passage will take you directly to his room.” Raela gasped slightly as the wall to the side of Tauriel’s bed opened. “It will be the third doorway on the right. Just put your hand against it and speak Fili’s name and say open in Khuzdul. It will open for you.”

Raela nodded and said, “Thank you.”

“Wear that blue dress too,” Tauriel said, her voice sounding slightly entertained.

Raela only blushed and looked at the dress that was the color of sapphires. “You think so?”

“Aye. It fits you beautifully.” She nodded and then sighed, stepping behind the dress screen to put it on.

She heard Tauriel leave the room, no doubt to continue with preparations. But Raela was feeling a desperate need, a call to speak to the dwarf that she loved. She had to tell him how she felt.

She opened the wall as she saw Tauriel do it, and then, made her way down the dark stone passageway.

She found the third doorway on the right. If someone else was to come in there while she was waiting for Fili...but she found herself not caring. She only hoped that he wouldn’t be too upset that she had invaded his private, personal space. She knew that she would be infuriated. Perhaps she could make him feel better about it though. She walked into his neatly organized quarters. There was a desk and dresser on one side. There was a wardrobe and a bed in the middle of the room. There was also a shelf full of books. The room opened into a lavatory and dressing room.

She cast around for a place to sit and wait for him. Not the bed. That would be too forward. And the chair by his desk looked too uncomfortable. But he had an armchair across from the small fireplace. She sat there, bringing her knees under her chin as she waited for Fili to return.

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Fili was in conference with his uncle and several others throughout the day. Kili and Tauriel would be overseeing the gathering of all the supplies. They were to leave before mid-morning. Thankfully, a few others were riding out with the dwarves.

Bain contributed several members of his army, and Lord Glorifindel would join them as well since they were heading to Rivendell anyway. Gandalf would also be very helpful of course. The delegates from the Broadbeam and Firebeard clans would be traveling with them as well since they were the clan leaders of the groups that were directly under attack.

It was now the early evening, and they had been planning all day. Fili stifled a yawn.

Thorin looked up at him and said, “We’ll finish this. You...” Thorin looked around the room and said, “Perhaps you should get some rest.” Fili nodded at Thorin and excused himself. First, he would find his mother, to ensure her that he would be okay. Then he would get some food and try to get some sleep. He had only slept a few hours this morning after hearing Gandalf’s news. Last night was rough—first someone had destroyed all of Raela’s possessions by invading her room and then Gandalf brought ill tidings.

He should see Raela too, before he left. But he didn’t want to be rejected by her one more time. He loved her so much. He had every intention of returning and marrying her. He sighed softly. He went to his mother’s room and she hugged him, without saying anything. She knew that it was his responsibility to lead the army. She only kissed him on the forehead and told him to try and get some rest.

He then left and made his way to his quarters. He took out his key and unlocked the door. He stepped inside, feeling exhausted and tired.

He felt surprised, more than anything when he got to his room, and someone was already there.

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Fili stopped short after he had closed the door behind him.

“Raela?” He asked quietly.

She only smiled and said, “I apologize for coming into your rooms without your permission, but I wished to speak with you before you had to leave.” She tried to keep her voice strong, but it wavered slightly at the end of her sentence.

He walked his way forward and dragged his office chair next to the fire so that he could speak with her.

He grabbed her hand and asked, “Are you alright?”

She nodded and then, so quiet he could barely hear it, she added, “Be safe. Please.”

He stared at her. His free hand drifted to touch her hair, usually something that was only reserved for husband and wife. He touched the ends slightly and then he let go.

She continued to speak. “Be aware all the time. Don’t let anyone take you by surprise, please.”

He smiled slightly and said, “It sounds like you’re worried about me, Raela.”

She felt herself blush and her eyes did not meet his. His hand brushed across her cheekbones.

“I will do my very best to return.” She nodded once again, quite shyly.

“We have a tradition, in Orocarni.” She looked at him and he stared back at her, contemplatively. “The dwarrowdams have a responsibility to give a blessing to our menfolk before they go off to battle, to remind them that we are waiting for them after the war is over.”

Fili was completely still and looked beyond shocked at her words.

She took a deep breath, and asked, “Will you let me give you that blessing?”

She felt her face blush slightly at her forwardness, and based on his reaction, he knew exactly what that blessing entailed.

There was a long silence and then Fili asked, “Are you sure that you’d like to do that?”

She nodded her head at him. “If it will protect you, then I think I’d do anything. Well, besides hurt Rang, but I know you would never ask me to do that--”

She was cut off by her thoughts from the kiss that he was giving her. She responded in kind to his passion, weaving her hand through his hair. His arms were on either side of her shoulders, leaning against the armchair that she currently sat in.

“Will you marry me then? Will you wait for me, here in Erebor?”

Raela nodded. “My mind and heart were coming to that conclusion anyway. I think the news that you will be leaving is making me a bit more soft towards you.”

He smiled openly and said, “I knew that I just had to wear you down.”

She nodded and his fingers traced the lines of her face. She stared at him and he looked as if he was struggling with something.

“Fili?”

“Marry me, Raela.”

“I said that I would when you return.”

He shook his head. “Tonight.”

It was her turn to be shocked. He explained himself. “I can’t leave you pregnant without some sort of legal protection for you and the babe.” She opened her mouth to cut him off, to tell him that the chances of the two of them conceiving were very slight. He put a finger to her lips though.

“I know. I know the chances are slim, but it’s still a chance. And, someone inside Erebor is targeting you. I want you protected while I’m gone. We’ll tell only those that need to know. We’ll keep it discreet, and when I return we can have a formal celebration.”

He smiled at her and said, “Let me marry you tonight Raela. That way things can be done in the proper order and you can still give me that blessing without risking dishonor.”

“Who in their right mind will marry us, Fili?”

“Thorin, of course. He’ll take care of you in my stead. And there will have to be a witness. I’d ask Kili, but he’s going to be with Tauriel all night, probably.” He was talking to himself.

He looked at her. “I’ll come and get you in three hours. Alright?”

She only felt herself nodding. “We don’t have to Raela. We can wait. But, I won’t accept your blessing...”

She only blushed. “It’s fine. Three hours then.”

He nodded at her and he gave her one last kiss in front of the wall that led to the secret passage. He took her hand and with his own, he mumbled a few words in ancient Khuzdul. He placed her hand on the stone wall, with his own on top. The door glowed for several seconds.

“Now you won’t need to say my name to get in here, or any of the doors that lead to my chambers.” He kissed her and then, let her go. She walked back to her quarters through the secret tunnel.

She spent the rest of the evening with her uncle and brother.

She helped to put Rang to bed after supper and spoke with her uncle.

“I’m still undecided. Thorin asked personally for you and Rang to stay. He says that there’s a good chance that Fili will choose you upon his return as his bride. What do you think?”

Raela thought quickly as Aron continued to speak. “He also mentioned that he doesn’t mind mentoring Rang for a year. You can use that as your excuse to stay here if you’d like.”

She glanced at Aron in the parlor. “If you wish for me too. You won’t miss us?”

“It’s getting dangerous in Orocarni. I think you’d be very safe here. Thorin likes you a great deal.”

“Someone broke into my rooms here.”

“Aye, but I think it was one of our neighbors back home, Raela. Probably a member of the Stonefoot or Blacklock clans. They’ve never liked us all that much, especially since your father was in power. Rangvaldr made several enemies because he was a good leader, and was incorruptible. I worry about what others in Orocarni have been corrupted by.”

“You have a good night though. Try to say goodbye to Prince Fili if you haven’t seen him already.”

“I have,” Raela replied, trying to keep her expression as neutral as possible.

“Oh,” Aron asked, his eyebrows raised, “And did he make you an offer of marriage?”’

She didn’t answer but pointedly ignored the question.

“Bah!” He threw up his hands dramatically. “Thought that I’d ask, at least. Never mind. Good night Raela.” Aron said, heading toward his rooms as Raela let herself out.

Sharing a room with Tauriel had its perks—like a bit more independence from her uncle. Aron was not too strict. Raela was in her majority, after all, but he was still quite protective of her honor and virtue as he should be.

Raela went back to her room. She remained in the blue gown. She also took the one hair clip she had, and her dagger and put it in her reticule. She had picked up a navy blue, felt drawstring pouch at the shop today as well. It was an important part of the blessing that she would be giving Fili before he left. She had hoped that he would answer in the positive. And he certainly had—and given his terms in the agreement. The only time that the Ironfists turned a blind eye to premarital intercourse was during the blessing ritual. She thought that he would be okay with it—most dwarves were. She was surprised that he had offered to marry her tonight though. Either way, she was going to make sure that he returned to her alive, if she had any say in it. She put the small pouch in her reticule with the dagger and her hair clip. She then hesitated as she reached for the necklace that she wore. It was the betrothal gift that her father had given to her mother.

She pulled it off. The chain was made of pure gold, and it was simple links. But the brooch was a beautiful red ruby, set in what looked like a golden rose. It was far too feminine for a dwarf, but it was a part of her. She would have given him something else, but everything else had been stolen. This was her favorite piece of jewelry though. She stuffed it in the reticule and then tightened the string.

She breathed deeply and sat on her bed until the next hour slowly went by.

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When Fili entered her room, she was lying on her stomach in her bed, her ankles crossed and in the air as she read a book. Fili caught sight of the bare skin of her ankles and felt himself blushing. He was going to see more of her tonight after they spoke with Thorin but she still looked beautiful.

She stood up suddenly. “Are you sure?”

He strode to her in the middle of the room and pulled her into a hug. He leaned forward and kissed her and said, “More than anything else at the moment. You’re the only thing that’s clear to me.”

She nodded at his words.

“Come on. We’ll go the covert way to Thorin’s office. I told him to expect us.”

It was late in the evening, but Thorin was still up.

Fili took her hand and led her through a winding path. Raela held her reticule tight in her hand but had slipped it into her cloak that she wore. Fili smiled at her when he came to a door and murmured something in Khuzdul. The door once again glowed faintly and he entered. Thorin was in there, with Lord Balin.

Fili led her in.

Thorin looked between the two and said, “Ah. I thought it might be about this.”

Fili pulled a contract from his coat and handed it to Thorin. Thorin looked over the contract with Balin, who took out a monocle to take a closer look. They read over it together.

Then, to her surprise.

Thorin signed it.

“Your turn, Raela. Look over the contract and see if you have any issues. Try to think of what your uncle might protest.” Raela nodded and read the contract.

“No arranged marriages for any future children,” Raela said to Fili.

He nodded and Thorin only sighed, crossing out the paragraph.

She looked at Thorin. “My uncle says that you will be mentoring Rang for the year.”

“Aron is worried about your safety. Rang stays with you, wherever you go, Aron said.”

Raela nodded and then continued to read. She came across the section with the bride price.

She pointed it out. “You’re joking.” She looked at Fili in surprise.

He smiled at her. “If I had known I could have just bought you off we could have settled this awhile ago.”

She glared at his words. Thorin and Balin laughed slightly at the interaction.

It was as if they were married already.

“The bride price was set high already. When my sister heard your argument with Lady Helle and Lady Siri about power, and heard the attack on you coming from a poor clan, well, she hunted down Gloin who managed to talk to Aron about it. Your grandfather was gold sick and taxed your clan quite a bit?”

“Aye.”

“Well, this is for them. There’s a separate account that you will have for yourself as Fili’s bride.”

“We don’t accept charity, King Thorin.”

“Of course you don’t. That is why this is a bride price. Fili will be taking you from your family and clan. This is their compensation.”

Raela sighed. Her clan could use that gold, after all.

She nodded and then, with a flourish of the quill, signed the line.

And then, Fili signed as well. And just like that, they were married.

“What brought this on?” Thorin said, rolling up the parchment and putting it in a locked box behind his desk.

Raela blushed slightly and Fili didn’t say a word.

“It’s alright.” Thorin said, “I know about the blessings, Raela. It’s a part of your culture and you need not be ashamed that we’ll judge you. Fili did the right thing though, if he was to accept your proposal. We couldn’t risk you being left unprotected here.”

She nodded at Thorin, feeling highly embarrassed still.

“Thank you, uncle. For your consent and this.”

“You’re welcome. Your mother, though, is going to be furious. She’s been wanting to plan a royal wedding for years. She might kill you.” Thorin said, looking at him in bemusement. Balin brought out a bottle of wine and poured glasses for the four of them.

“As long as she doesn’t do anything to Raela,” Fili replied, lifting his glass and the four of them drank congratulations to the newly married couple.

“I can promise you that I will watch out for my new niece.” Thorin smiled, openly at Raela. “Welcome to the family.”

She nodded. Thorin turned to Fili.

“You need to be up before 8:00.” He clapped Fili on the shoulder and then pulled him into an embrace. And then, in a quiet voice, that Raela couldn’t make out, whispered something soft to his nephew. Fili nodded.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Raela. I’ll speak to your uncle more to make sure that Rang and you will stay in Erebor.” Raela thanked him and then, allowed Fili, her new husband to lead her down the hall.

“Where are we going?”

“Where we’ll end up living when I return. It has a larger...well, everything. But we’ll be more comfortable in there. And nobody should bother us.” She only found her heart soaring.

“That’s what took me a while. Figuring out where we could go so that we wouldn’t be interrupted or that others wouldn’t stumble on us. And then, with Thorin, I just told him that I needed to speak with him. I should have known that it would have been Balin with him. They’ll keep it quiet though,” he said softly. He put his hand up on the wall, and it lit up.

She walked in, patting her cloak to make sure that her reticule was still present. The room was dark, so Fili lit a torch in one of the sconces and then got a fire going in the fireplace. It was their bedroom—the same bedroom that she had seen in her dreams since she had met Fili. She looked surprised. But, it was the same bedding—the same details, including the design on the sconces and the fabric and color of the curtains wrapped around the bed poles.

She turned to look at him and said, “This is a nice room.”

“Aye.” He said. He reached for her and she stopped him with a shake of her head.

“It’s not just intercourse, you know.” He smiled at her response.

“I’ve only heard about the blessing ritual. I don't know all anything else about it.”

“You sit there.” She said, pointing at the bed. He sat and watched her as she took off the cloak. She removed the reticule that she had and put it on the armchair.

She looked so beautiful in her blue gown. It clung to her breasts and torso tightly and then fell around her hips as it should have.

She then sighed and said, “I’ve never done this before. My mother only told me what to do...”

He smiled and said, “It’s alright. I think I would have been highly jealous if you had done this for someone else.”

She pulled out the dagger, necklace, and hair clasp out of her pouch and laid it on the armchair as well.

“First, I’m supposed to give you something that means a lot to me, so that you will be reminded to come back and return it to me.” She stepped forward and held out the necklace. He took it from her and smiled.

“I’ve noticed that you wear this one a lot.”

“It was my mother’s betrothal gift.”

He nodded and then she said, while grabbing her hair clip, “Something to guard your head, whether you wear it in your hair or not.” She dropped it into the drawstring pouch.

“Third, a part of me that will protect you.” She grabbed her dagger and pulled a thick strand of her wavy, red hair. She then cut the curl off. She bound it tightly with a string. She then held it to her lips and said, “Oh Mahal, our maker. Please protect this noble dwarf, so that he will return home to his family.”

She put the hair in the pouch and then she held out her dagger. “Last, but not necessary is usually a new weapon. We usually forge them ourselves, but I didn’t have time.” He took the dagger and the pouch from her with a smile and said, “Thank you.”

He turned to put the dagger, the pouch, and the necklace down. When he turned back around, she began to undress. He watched her as she removed her dress, and was only in a white, sleeveless shift. He took a closer look at the tattoos that he had only seen once before when she was training. She reached for the hem of her shift and removed it and her underlinens quickly.

He felt his breath catch as he looked at his beautiful wife. “And to preserve your legacy, I offer you my body, so that you have a chance to father children before you are taken from this world.”

He breathed in deeply and he struggled to look her in the eyes. She was beautiful. Every inch of her was glorious. He stood up and walked to her, touching her gently on the arms. She held a blush on her face, as she had just undressed in front of her new husband. He smiled gently at her and kissed her. She responded by deepening the kiss and reaching for his tunic. He allowed her to help him remove it before he continued to kiss her. He then pulled away from her abruptly.

“Do I have your permission to touch you?”

Raela raised her eyebrows before asking, “How much of that offer did you miss, Fili?”

He laughed at her sarcastic response and said, “Do I have your permission to touch you? Everywhere?”

She looked slightly confused and then she realized that this might be part of his tradition. The Longbeards were so respectful of their females that it wouldn’t surprise her.

“You’re my husband. Of course, you can.” She said, a smile lighting her face. Her hands traced the muscles of his chest and shoulders. He had tattoos marking him as a warrior. They were found on his upper back though. She felt something within her fall away at that.

Here was her husband, a powerful, strong, dwarf that held her so gently in his arms. His lips were on her neck now. She let out short gasps. She was feeling light-headed and something was tightening inside of her at the touch of his lips and hands. She said his name in a whispered voice and he replied by increasing his ministrations.

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She lay curled against him. After they had consummated their marriage, they had both fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep. She felt herself awaken with the urge to use the lavatory.

The problem was her husband had tightened his arms around her waist and groaned something along the lines of “No.”

She stifled a smile. Her husband.

Yesterday morning she was in tears that he was leaving. And now, she was waking up to him.

She shook him off and stood up, wrapping her cloak around her (she had neglected to bring a nightgown or robe), and walked to the facilities. She hummed to herself softly. The looking glass showed her crazy hair and she smiled. Probably from Fili’s hands rubbing through it all night. She then sighed and washed her hands and walked back out of the lavatory.

Fili was on his side, watching her like a predator as she made it back into their bed.

“What time do you think it is?”

“Probably around 6.”

“Only a couple of hours then,” she said. She felt tears prick her eyes.

Why did he do this to her?

She allowed herself to be pulled into his arms. “Love. I’ll be alright. And with your blessing, there is no chance that I will fall in this battle.”

“Don’t be so arrogant.”

“I mean it,” Fili said seriously. “I will return to you as soon as I can. Then I will shout it out to everyone that we are already married. I’ll even risk my amad’s wrath.”

Raela smiled at him and sighed before murmuring. “Just...be vigilant.”

“I will. I promise.” He smiled tracing her jaw with his finger. “Is there a chance that I can get a second blessing before I leave though?”

She smiled and said, “Only one ceremony. But, I believe that since we’re married, we are allowed to enjoy each other’s company as much as we’d like.”

He beamed at her and said, “And, my dear wife. Is that something you’d like before I leave?”

“Very much so.”

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Raela watched from afar with Aron and Rang while Fili and Kili led their army. Riding at the front with them was one of Bain’s commanders, Gandalf and Lord Glorifindel. Perhaps he’ll be taken care of just fine after all.

Fili had explained to her already about their ability to speak to ravens, and so she held on to hope that news of him wouldn’t be too far away.

He had led her back to her chambers just in time. As soon as she had changed into her nightgown and dressing robe, Tauriel had also arrived. Raela only smiled at Tauriel, who said, very openly that she had been with Kili all night.

Raela only replied with a smile. Fili had also explained to her that he and Thorin wanted to keep the marriage as quiet as possible, for her safety while he was gone. Whoever had invaded her rooms was still at large, and most of the clan family’s daughters were staying behind in Erebor. She would be okay, Fili promised her. But, he gave her one of his daggers as well to wear on her at all times. And, he had gifted her a set of gold marriage beads.

He told her that he wanted her to have them, even though it wouldn’t do to have her wear them in her hair at the moment. She had only kissed him in gratitude, fingering the engraved insignia on the beautiful beads.

He would be back. There was something that told her all those dreams that they had would need to come true still. So, she would wait for him, as patiently as possible, until he returned to her arms.

Chapter Text

Chapter 14—Under Siege

Aron had left three days after Fili and Kili and the armies rode west. Raela was kept busy, taking care of Rang. She had started to teach him again, and the teachers at the schoolhouse asked her if she would be willing to stay on and help with the other children.

She passed the days, weeks, and months helping the young dwarflings with their schoolwork, attending Lady Dis’ teas, and helping in the library as the head while Ori was away with Fili. She had become quite close with the remaining dams, besides Helle and Siri, of course.

She and Freya liked talking about books. Iona and Raela enjoyed helping with the children. Brynn had a penchant for cooking and baking. And, well, Erika was good at all those things. Dis was led to believe that Erika was sad over Fili’s departure, while Raela knew the truth. Poor Erika was in love with the miner, Bofur. She had seen them talking, dancing, and singing together a couple of times. Dis did her best to cheer up the lasses over her son’s departure.

Raela was fine during the first two months after Fili had left, except she noticed that she was beginning to get sick around certain smells and foods. And, almost exactly four months after they had married, the all-day nausea had left.

And instead, she was vomiting.

She was also beginning to feel faint around the mountain but ignored the symptoms. She realized that she was pregnant, but she wasn’t an idiot. She could hide it for a while still.

And so, she did. She continued to do her work, while rushing to the lavatory when needed to vomit and then would continue as if nothing had happened. Rang had caught her puking one morning so hard, that she had passed out. She had awoken quickly enough to tell him, hoarsely that she was fine.

Still, it wasn’t a surprise that Thorin eventually came to see her, about four and a half months after Fili had left.

“Thorin!” Rang said with a happy yelp as Thorin entered their quarters. Raela had moved into the second apartment that had been given to Aron and Rang. They were well protected in the royal wing of the mountain.

Thorin glanced at Raela and then, said to Rang kindly, “Lord Dwalin has been wanting to see you. Let’s go find him, shall we? Is that alright Lady Raela?”

She nodded at Thorin. Thorin left and she wondered exactly what she was going to tell the king. “Surprise, I’m pregnant! So much for keeping the marriage a secret!” She may have felt some shame too, that she had not told him sooner. Her dresses were beginning to feel a little tighter around her waist as well, although she couldn’t keep any food down.

Thorin returned relatively quickly. Dwalin was with him, along with Balin and Rang. Rang asked Dwalin if he would be willing to see his room. Dwalin answered in the positive and they bounded off.

Thorin told Raela to sit down and so she did.

“Are you alright? I was told by someone that you were looking pale. They were worried about you.”

“May I ask who?”

“Lady Freya mentioned it to Dwalin.” Raela only smiled slightly. Now, that was an interesting relationship. She wasn’t sure if it was completely platonic or what, but the surly dwarf was sure hard to read. And Freya said that she felt he was one of the most idiotic dwarves she had ever met.

“I’m pregnant,” Raela said in a rush. “I’ve suspected, but I thought I was just feeling upset about him leaving. But my dresses are getting tighter in my midsection, even with all my...ah...” She put a hand to her mouth and breathed in deeply.

That’s it. She couldn’t keep it in.

She tried to whisper an excuse but she stood up suddenly and rushed off to the lavatory where she barely made it in time to lose all of her supper in the privy. She blacked out slightly, her head pounding hard from the stress and her throat scratchy. She stood up slowly, so as not to fall, and then washed out her mouth and swished it around before spitting it out.

Thorin looked concerned when she came back into the parlor. “You need to see a healer,” he said grimly. “We need a confirmation, and then we’ll have to figure out what to do with you.”

She looked at him in shock and covered her arms over her stomach protectively.

Thorin only smiled grimly. “You’ll have to be protected, and things here in Erebor are beginning to slip through my grasp. We have too many leaders from different clans here still. Your uncle, the Firebeard and Broadbeam leaders were the only ones to go home or with Fili. I fear that there is something else at work and the attack in Ered Luin is only a distraction.”

Thorin looked pointedly at her and said, softly, “And, if they found out exactly how close you are to Fili and about the babe, then, well, you would be a target. We can’t risk you or the babe.”

Raela nodded her head and then asked, “Well, then where will you send us?”

“I am not sure. I have an idea. No place that anyone would think to find you. Would you go though?”

She nodded slowly. “As long as Rang comes with me. But, I don’t know how far I can travel quickly while puking constantly.” Thorin and Balin both grimaced. She looked up and then saw Dwalin standing in the doorway. He said something to Rang and then Dwalin looked at Thorin.

“When did Fili marry?”

“The night before he left,” Thorin answered, looking swiftly at Raela.

“Blimey, Raela. You’re a damn good actress. I had no idea...” Dwalin said suddenly.

“Nobody is supposed to. A healer will know, but we will have them keep it discreet.” He looked at Balin. “I want the healer paid in extra gold to keep it quiet, and I want the examination to be in your rooms.”

Raela nodded and Balin immediately left.

Thorin waited with Raela and asked her a few pleasantries. While it was true that he liked the dwarrowdam a great deal, he didn’t know much about her at all. He hoped that Fili did. But, some things could be learned with time as well, of course.

“So you’re 98?”

“Aye. My uncle is only 140. So, he and I were quite close. He was away a lot though, until my father passed. He was studying out west.”

Thorin nodded and then said, “You should have told me sooner about this, Raela.”

She sighed and said, “I didn’t think it was possible. I knew that there was a slim chance but with how slowly we dwarves procreate.”

Thorin only nodded and looked slightly amused. “Fili was born exactly 8 months after his parent’s wedding.”

She looked shocked. “My parents waited years for my arrival.”

“Well, it doesn’t surprise me. You’re both young and you're each other’s ones.”

He grinned and said, “And, another heir for the throne.”

“Bah.” Raela said, “Is that all you dwarves care about? Heirs?”

“Well, I didn’t have any of my own, so yes. And you, my dear niece, are carrying a future king of Erebor.”

“Or princess,” Raela said. “I was the firstborn. Please don’t get excited though, Thorin. If I’m not pregnant, then I am most likely dying.”

HE laughed heartily at her words. He enjoyed her self-deprecating sense of humor. Fili also had a deadpan voice like that when he was in a mood. He wondered if that was what had attracted her to him in the first place.

Balin entered the room with a knock. Dwalin was still keeping Rang busy. Thorin and Balin went to join them while the healer, a female, followed Raela into her room. She asked Raela a few questions and then asked her to lie on the bed.

After the humiliating exam was over (at least Raela thought it was humiliating) the healer told her that she was indeed pregnant from what she could tell. Raela breathed a slight sigh of relief. A child so soon in the marriage, without her husband even present would be difficult. But wasn’t that the purpose of the blessing? To protect the warrior and to continue his legacy?

She left her room after the healer was done and she changed back into her clothing. As she entered the parlor, Dwalin was already gone and Rang was sitting looking very sleepy in Thorin’s lap.

Thorin smiled—a big, huge grin that she had never seen before. He may have been more excited about the prospect of a child than Raela was.

“We need to act, Thorin,” Balin said. “You’ve heard what Nori’s man said. They’ll want to move against you, and soon.”

Raela looked concerned. “Fear for yourself, niece. If they find out that Fili is your husband, and the father of your child, then they will do their worst to you. And I have no wish for Fili to come back home to a dead wife and babe. We need to get you out of here.”

She nodded. “Whose moving against you?”

“The Blacklocks and Stonefoots. They are the ones who are attacking Ered Luin. Tauriel and Kili recently went undercover. They emptied their settlements in Orocarni while are attentions were all turned toward the conclave.”

“Where will we go?”

“Pack a bag or two for you and Rang—clothing only, Raela. Traveling clothes. Balin will show you the secret exit from this room.” Raela looked surprised and Thorin chortled.

“All the rooms here in the royal wing are interconnected by the tunnels. It’s just knowing where the entrances are.”

She nodded and stood up. Rang stood, rubbing his eyes slightly. The poor dwarfling was exhausted.

“Just a little bit longer, Rang. Then you’ll be able to sleep.”

He nodded and followed her as she went into her room.

“30 minutes, Balin. Get her to my office in thirty minutes.”

He nodded and then left.

Raela changed quickly into an informal blouse and trousers along with a cloak. She didn’t pack much—just a few changes of clothing and a heavy coat. It was still early fall, but the evenings were getting colder. She certainly hoped that wherever Thorin was sending her, they could get to quickly enough.

She bustled into Rang’s room after only a few minutes. She handed her bag over to Balin. She pulled more clothes out for Rang—he was younger and would get dirtier far more easily. He also packed a couple of toys and weapons, to hopefully keep him occupied while they were gone.

“Come on, Rang. We’re going to go on a trip.” Raela said quietly, taking his hand in her own. She led him out into the parlor and then tightened the cloak around his neck. His curly hair was flattened on one side and he was starting to drift off to sleep.

“Where’re we goin’?”

Raela only gave a small smile. “It will be an adventure. Lord Dwalin is coming with us too.”

Balin nodded at them nervously, and put a finger to his lips. He locked the door that led into their quarters. “We need to stay quiet. Thorin wants to get you out as quickly and quietly as possible.”

She nodded, and Balin went into her room. He pushed his hands against a wall and said a word quietly. The wall lit up and suddenly there was a doorway. Rang’s eyes grew wide.

They walked out into the hidden passageway and followed Balin’s quiet footsteps. Balin came to an expanse of wall and put his hand against it. There was a slight mark on it. It lit up, and they entered into Thorin’s office.

**************************************************************************************************************************************

“I don’t understand why you want me out of the mountain! They won’t dare move against you, Thorin.” Dis said, feeling put out and annoyed that her brother had roused her from her bed. She was already worried sick about her sons. They hardly heard from either of them—Thorin and she had both discussed that someone was tampering with the messages from the ravens.

“Anyone of the line of Durin is in trouble, Dis. Do you think they will spare you as a hostage? Plus, you will be needed where you are going. Dwalin and Bilbo will only be able to help so much.”

Dis gave Thorin a piercing look. “What is that supposed to mean, Thorin?”

The wall to the right of Thorin’s desk lit up suddenly, and Balin entered, pulling along Rang who was rubbing his bleary little eyes, and to Dis’ surprise, Raela.

Dis watched as Thorin watched Raela carefully, as though inspecting her for damage. He then turned his gaze back to Dis.

“Dwalin will be accompanying Bilbo and you to the Shire. You will be safe with Bilbo. The Shire is well-protected. Most eyes pass over it. Raela and Rang will be going with you as well.”

Raela started and said, suddenly, “That is a long journey. We will barely reach there before winter begins if we are lucky...”

“And we’ll have to stay there until winter thaws out. Yes, Thorin. Exactly why are you sending us away?” Dis asked, looking at her brother shrewdly.

Thorin sighed and put a hand to his head. “The Orocarni clans mean to move against me. I don’t know where the Ironfists stand in this either. I just know the others are making some plans to subdue and take the Arkenstone from me. They will go after anyone that is in line to the crown.”

Dis looked confused. “What about Raela?”

Bilbo glanced furtively at Raela. He had just heard the news and was as surprised as Dwalin that she had managed to keep her marriage and pregnancy as quiet as she had.

Balin and Dwalin were looking at the ceiling.

Thorin cleared his throat and said, “Dis. They would use Raela as a hostage as well.”

Raela’s eyes just widened at Thorin’s words. The great king of Erebor was afraid of his younger sister.

“I know Fili cares for Raela a great deal, but that doesn’t mean that you have to uproot--”

“We’re married,” Raela said, looking Dis straight in the eyes. She cleared her throat, her cheeks pink, and continued, “We married the night before he left.”

Dis’ mouth was opened wide. She put a hand to it and then looked between Thorin and Raela. She decided to be angry with Raela.

“How dare you coerce my son--”

“It was his idea. I agreed it was the best course.” Raela replied, an eyebrow raised.

“Without my approval?”

Raela only nodded and said, “Or my uncle’s. But we did have King Thorin’s approval. That was lucky.”

Dis turned on her brother. Thorin glared in annoyance at Raela, who only shrugged her shoulders.

“How could you do it, Thorin? Marry them like that?”

“They’re both of age and are crazy for each other. I know you would have liked an actual ceremony, but it’s too late now.”

“Too late?! What do you mean it’s too late? We’ll just keep it quiet. Nobody will know, and then the marriage can truly be legitimized when Fili gets back.” Dis said, wringing her hands together anxiously.

“It is legitimate,” Raela said coldly to her mother-in-law. She looked at Dis and pulled out a chain from the inside of her shirt. On the chain were the gold marriage beads that Fili had given her.

“I can’t wear them openly, since we were trying to keep it quiet...” Dis’ eyes widened and acknowledged the beads with a nod.

Thorin had managed to overcome his fear of his sister by pulling out the marriage contract from his secret lockbox in the wall.

“Here’s the marriage contract.” He said, handing it to Dis.

“Better to take it with you, I believe,” Thorin said quietly.

Dis unrolled it and read it. “Fine.” She covered her eyes and said, “Why couldn’t he have told me?”

Raela bit her tongue. Fili probably didn’t want to bother with the backlash he knew his mother would have against him. Well, he had another thing coming when they met again. After she kissed him, she was going to punch him for making her the one who told his mother about their arrangement.

“Alright, we’ll go to the Shire.” Dis said. She looked over Rang. “Will Aron be alright with that?”

Thorin hesitated and said, “I don’t know. He was keeping in touch for a while there, and then over the last three weeks, I stopped getting any missives at all from him.” Raela’s eyes narrowed in concern and glanced at her brother, who was currently sleeping against Lord Dwalin’s chest.

Thorin sighed and said, “You should get going. You’ll stop in Esgaroth, Mirkwood, the usual places. Beorn will take you in. And in Rivendell, they’ll help you out. You’ll need to try to get Raela to the Shire before she's too far along. I suppose I trust the Rivendell elves though, if you can’t go any further.”

Raela nodded at Thorin’s words, and turned to leave when Dis said, very quietly, “Far along?”

“Aye,” Thorin said, feeling amusement at his sister’s now pale face. “Didn’t I say something about removing anyone that is in line for the crown? Meaning that Raela is expecting a babe that could, one day, be the king?”

Dis only nodded and said, “That’s why you want me to come, more than anything.”

Thorin nodded. “I’m not sure how many hobbit females will be able to help with a Dwarven birth.”

Raela’s face turned pale at his words. That was what she had tried not to think about too much. The only dwarven birth she had attended was when her mother delivered Rang and then, died only a few hours later. Raela had no desire to die yet. She had just found her One.

She needed to see him again.

“Very well,” Dis said. She turned to Bilbo. “Thank you, Master Baggins, for offering your home.”

“Of course, my lady. Whatever I can do to help you stay safe.”

Thorin said a farewell to his sister, pulling her tight. He patted Rang on the back as he slept and then embraced Bilbo, who was turning to leave. Raela turned to leave as well when Thorin grabbed her.

To her surprise, he pulled her into an embrace as well.

“Stay safe, my niece. You carry a hope and dream for the future, true. But you, yourself, are just as important to me. Be careful. I’ll try to get word to Fili to find you in the shire. I don’t believe the conflict will carry on much longer. He will be needed with you more than here.”

Thorin then looked at Dwalin. “Protect them Dwalin.” Dwalin nodded at his words.

Raela only acknowledged Thorin and said, “Stay safe, Your Majesty. And thank you.” She then turned and followed Dwalin, Bilbo, and Dis out of Thorin’s office, and eventually, out of the mountain.

Chapter Text

Chapter 16—Reunion

Their Maker must have been smiling down on them. Fili groaned as he turned toward his army. They were exhausted, but the battle was finally over. They had managed to kill the leader, a Stonefoot dwarf who was a distant cousin to the current clan head, Lord Rone. He had managed to get his hand on some of the dwarf rings of power and was difficult to defeat. But with the help of Gandalf, Lord Glorifindel, and Lord Elrond’s sons, who helped join the battle later on, he was killed, and his army was decimated.

Fili, Kili, and the army had stayed behind to help rebuild part of the settlements that had been destroyed in the aftermath. Winter had come early to that part of Middle-Earth, and it was believed to be best for all that the army stay put in Thorin’s Ered Luin halls.

And now, Fili was about to lead his army home. They were to stop outside the Shire first—for some reason he was unable to get many ravens through to his uncle. But Elrohir and Elladan had told them that they had heard the word. Bilbo had stopped in Rivendell on the way home, and Thorin requested that Kili, Fili, and the company visit while they were out.

So, that was the reason why Fili was in the Shire, waiting to see if his friend was home. He followed behind Gandalf, who was also wanting to see Bilbo, apparently curious at Thorin’s orders. Kili and Tauriel followed behind as well. They would send a message to the rest of the company when they made sure that Bilbo was home. No use in them all barging in unexpectedly (again) if he wasn’t even there to begin with.

To be honest, Fili wasn’t even sure that Elladan and Elrohir were even serious to begin with. Half the time Fili couldn’t tell if they were joking or not—they seemed to be quite happy and carefree, considering that they were stuck-up elves.

Gandalf turned down a small path and they walked up to Bilbo’s quaint, but cozy hole in the ground. Gandalf knocked with his staff on the door while Tauriel had a beaming smile as she looked around the Shire with wide eyes, taking in the beauty of the rolling, green hills.

“It’s beautiful,” she said softly, staring at the scenery around her.

Kili only smiled at his love and Fili agreed verbally, that it was quite pretty, although he preferred stone mountains instead. Fili nodded at several hobbits who were walking past Bag-End. They only averted their eyes and shuffled off faster.

Tauriel smiled slightly and said, “It looks as though you all made an impression.”

“Nay,” Kili answered Tauriel, taking her hand in his own and squeezing it tight. “More like Bilbo showing up after his adventure did it.” Fili and Kili both chuckled appreciatively, remembering Bilbo’s reluctant acceptance of a grand adventure.

The door opened to reveal Bilbo who appeared to be happy, if not a bit perplexed to see them.

“Come in, come in, my friends,” Bilbo said, stepping back suddenly and smiling at them all. Gandalf patted the halfling on the head. Fili and Kili both openly embraced him.

“I’m assuming that all business was taken care of up north?” Bilbo asked, closing the door behind them suddenly with a slight click. He was pulling on the collar of his well-tailored shirt as if he were nervous.

“Aye. Took a bit longer than we expected,” Kili said. “But it was resolved, eventually, with minimal casualties on our side. Ori got a nasty scar on his face and that’s about it. So what are you doing back here? Did you get tired of our uncle and Erebor?”

“Uh...not quite,” Bilbo said, looking over the two dwarves shoulders. There, standing behind them, were a large, tall dwarf and a shorter dwarrowdam with dark hair that had only just entered into the foyer area.

“Amad!” Kili said, sounding shocked. Fili’s eyebrows only raised as they looked in between Dwalin and Dis in open curiosity. Thorin would not send his only sister away unless something was going on in the kingdom.

Dis wrapped her younger son in a warm hug and said, “I’m so happy to see the both of you.” Tears were filling her eyes. “I’m so glad you made it out alright.”

She held up an arm to Fili and, although feeling surprised and a bit confused as to why his mother was in Hobbiton of all places, he wrapped an arm around her and allowed himself to be hugged.

“What’s going on?” Tauriel asked, “If I may ask? It was dangerous coming out this way. You would have been safer in the mountain.”

“Erebor’s been compromised. It’s not safe at the moment. Or at least it wasn’t, last I checked. At least, not safe for Dis or Raela.” Dwalin commented, his arms crossed over his chest as a small grin played on his lips.

Fili was shocked. “Raela’s here?”

Dis’ lips pursed, “Aye. And when were you going to tell me that you married her? When you got back from Ered Luin?”

Kili only laughed openly at Dis’ accusation.

As if Fili would get married without telling him.

Fili’s eyes widened and his face turned white. “That was supposed to be kept quiet,” he replied.

All of a sudden, Kili realized that his brother did not deny their mother’s accusation.

“You got married?!?!” Kili sounded more than betrayed. Fili winced. He looked beseechingly at his baby brother.

“Thorin and I were worried about her becoming more of a target, so we kept it a secret. I’m sorry Kili. I really, truly am.”

Tauriel only smiled widely at Fili’s admission. She had a feeling that Fili was missing Raela. Now it made even more sense why he was more withdrawn than usual. He wasn’t just missing the lass that he liked a great deal. He was missing his one, his wife.

Gandalf had a wide grin on his face as he watched Kili shake his head in angry petulance at Fili’s words. “When did you marry?”

“The night before we left,” Fili said quietly. He turned to look at Dis and Dwalin. “Where is she? Rang is here also, correct? I don’t understand. Thorin said he would watch out for her while I was gone. What happened?”

“The mountain was compromised. Thorin is holding it together, politically and with the might of Dain’s army, but, they’re running into some trouble. There was a risk that Raela would become a hostage.”

“But nobody else knew...” Fili said, still not comprehending why his wife was uprooted from Erebor. How was his uncle supposed to watch out for her when he was still in the Lonely Mountain and she was here in the rolling hills of the Shire?

“Fili,” Dis said in a placating manner. She touched his cheek slightly, noticing his worry beginning to creep up in his voice. It must have been a product of being the older, more responsible sibling. He was always worrying over one thing or another.

“You’ll understand when you see Raela. Now come, tell me about what happened. Your wife will be back in an hour or two. Rang has made a couple of new friends here. They’re good lads, and Raela takes him over to play most afternoons.”

Fili nodded and allowed his mother to fuss over him as she pulled on his arm. He turned and looked over at Dwalin, concerned. Dwalin only nodded and left Bag-End quietly to find Raela.

Dis led him to the sitting room and Bilbo poured them some tea. Kili, Tauriel, and Gandalf all reached eagerly for the biscuits and sandwiches that the hobbit had laid out for them.

“Tell me everything that happened,” Dis demanded to Fili. Fili’s eyes widened at his mother’s tone of voice. She had been concerned, there was no doubt. And, there was a slight reprimand coming, he was sure.

“But, didn’t you get any of our ravens? We sent them out every couple of days with news of the battle.”

“No,” Dis said shortly. “That was one of the main reasons why Thorin thought it was best for us to leave. The messages and ravens were being tampered with. After two months, we stopped getting them from you. We only had news that you had arrived and that was it.”

Fili looked outraged and then, began to recount his story, with Gandalf, Kili, and Tauriel filling in details.

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Raela was at the market, buying a few things for Bilbo’s home. Since she, Rang, Dis, and Dwalin now lived with the hobbit, she believed it was her duty to help him as much as possible. Usually, this meant that she would occasionally cook or clean his lovely hobbit hole. Most of the time that meant that she would stop by the market to buy food. She knew how much Bilbo enjoyed his mushrooms, so, she made sure to always buy some for him while she was shopping for other food as well. Rang was chattering in her ears the entire way about his new friend, a lad named Bruce, who was an adorable hobbit of the age of 14. They played together quite well and Raela liked the little lad’s mother well enough, although she was a chatty thing that liked to play pretend matchmaker, mostly speculating on any available hobbit lasses who would have poor, strange, Bilbo Baggins.

Rang, who took on the adventure out of the Shire with all the grace of a much older dwarf, was getting very excited at the thought that Raela would be having a baby any day now. He kept telling everyone he met that he was going to be an uncle one day, sticking his chest out in pride as he said it. He also mentioned that he would be as good of an uncle as the great king under the mountain, Thorin, and his uncle, Aron. She noticed the way most of the halflings mouths thinned in disapproval and how they moved on quickly in the conversation when Thorin Oakenshield’s name was mentioned.

Still, one of the gardeners, a farmer named Maggot, liked her business because she bought up as much as she could from his stand. She knew how much Bilbo liked mushrooms, and she was becoming partial to them herself.

She held a large, woven basket over her stomach, full of mushrooms, potatoes, and carrots.

It had been almost exactly ten months since she had married. The bairn was due any day now. The little lad or lass was a temperamental little thing, sometimes keeping her up for hours at night kicking, rolling, and swimming around in her womb acrobatically. She was positive that was all Fili’s fault. Rang carried a much smaller basket of withered, but still edible apples, in his arms and he was still talking her ear off about what she should name the baby.

He had handled the news well that she and Fili had married when she eventually told him, only a few days after they left Erebor. He had already asked far too many questions about exactly how the babe had managed to get in her stomach. And now, he was going on and on about how she should name the babe after him—Rangvaldr the fourth. She had to tell him, in a laughing voice, that she couldn’t steal that name. It was possible that could be his own son’s name one day.

Rang had taken a very serious view of this news, telling Raela that when he grew up he was going to be like King Thorin, because he agreed that women were bad news and too much trouble. Raela had only thinned her lips at that comment, thinking that if dwarrowdams were that much trouble, why was Thorin so excited about adding another little babe to his family?

Overall, the small group of five had lucked out on their journey to the Shire. There was only one spot of trouble they encountered, and it was handled quite well with the help of a band of traveling elves from Rivendell.

They had been in the Shire for three months now. She was getting ready to have her babe, and she was scared to death. There had still been no news from Fili and Kili and she was beginning to get worried that no news was going to come from them again. She did not want to raise this child on her own. She sighed and then was hailed by Dwalin who came stomping towards her.

He had a look of disapproval on his face as his eyes narrowed in on the basket that she carried on her protruding stomach. He took it immediately from her, without any word, and looked at her wares. Raela felt that he was grumpier more than usual because of two possible reasons: first, he was all healed up but stuck in the Shire, playing babysitter duty (his own words). He had already told Dis that if they hadn’t heard from the lads by the first day of summer, then he was going to go and track them down in Ered Luin, all by himself. The second reason that he was no doubt crankier than usual, at least in Raela’s opinion, was because he was missing a feisty, bright redhead who called him an idiot most days.

At least in Raela’s opinion, when he met Freya again, he just needed to kiss her senselessly. After all, it had managed to work for her. Dwalin had only stammered a quick denial, his cheeks tinged pink.

“Mushrooms, carrots, material, and taters.” He made a face at the lack of meat.

She only laughed and said, “I can carry that you know. Plus I need the fabric to make a sling for the bairn so I can have my hands free.”

He looked her straight in the eyes as she had managed the babe. “Fili’s here.” She felt her heart pounding hard in her chest at his words and she heard herself gasp. Rang tightened his grip on her hand and squeezed it tight. When she glanced down at her little brother, he gave her an encouraging smile.

She shook her head slightly. “He is? When?”

“About an hour ago. Took me forever to track you down. I always get so damned lost above ground.”

“Damned is a bad word, Lord Dwalin.” Rang said, disapprovingly, shaking his head at the dwarf’s cursing.

Dwalin bore his teeth at the lad, knowing that he had been caught. Rang only smiled at him cheekily in return.

“It is a bad word to use Rang.” Raela said, pulling out some gold to trade with the farmer. He thanked her for the patronage and wished her good health, pointing to her stomach. She only nodded and then quickened her pace, leading the way back to Bag-End.

She felt a pain in her lower back but immediately ignored it. The babe had dropped already, so she knew that the pain was most likely related to that.

“Slow down, princess.” She turned to glare at Dwalin, who was striding behind her, bringing up the tail. “He’ll still be there, Raela. The only reason why he isn’t out here looking for you himself is because his mother and Gandalf are speaking to him. Be warned though, Kili and Tauriel are also there. Though, for once I’m glad the elf is here. I’ve seen her work miracles with those healing herbs.”

Raela felt that shiver of fear through her body, once again. It was normal to have some anxiety about expecting a babe, wasn’t it?

They made their way up to Bag-End. Dwalin opened the door and let Rang and then Raela in before shutting the door with a click. He looked out the window and then locked the door.

Raela frowned at his actions. “You never know when there might be spies. You know how careful we’ve had to be,” Dwalin replied. She watched as Rang ran into the kitchen and could hear him squealing a welcome and a couple of male voices reply. Dwalin only nodded at Raela and stepped into the kitchen, following the lad. She didn’t want to see Fili in there and see his reaction in front of everyone else. He had a right to know that she was expecting before the rest of his companions did, right?

And just like that, he was there. He looked a bit thinner in the face as if he hadn’t had as much to eat. That was most likely from army rations. She knew of some leaders stealing portions from other soldiers, but she knew that if anything, Fili and Kili had most likely gone without for their men. His bright, golden hair was a bit dirtier and more unkempt than usual. But it was still him. She smiled widely at him and practically flung herself at him, wincing at her stupidity as she felt another slight pain in her lower belly.

She looked up at him, rubbing her hands on his beard and touching the beads of his braids. She then flicked the beads on the end of his mustache. He smiled at the gesture, knowing that she thought his mustache was silly.

But then, she said, so quietly he barely heard her at first, “I was so worried for you.”

He pressed his forehead against her own and tightened his hold around her waist. He buried his face, his nose into her shoulder, and took in a deep breath, feeling at peace to be near his one again.

He mumbled into her ear, “I’m sorry. Amad just told me that they haven’t been getting the messages.”

She nodded and rubbed his beard once more, which was far more unkempt and longer than she was used to seeing. He usually kept it neat and trimmed.

His hands tentatively reached down and touched her stomach.

She stiffened and said, after a long pause, “I was surprised. I knew there was a chance, but still.”

One hand drifted to her face, and he gently turned her face to look at him. She looked into his eyes, where she saw surprise, but also genuine happiness. “I now understand why Thorin had you whisked away here.” He looked over his shoulder. Rang was engaging everyone else in conversation in the kitchen as he devoured biscuits left and right.

“Where have you been sleeping?” He asked her, wanting some privacy with his wife. She grinned at his words and tugged on his hand, pulling him along with her down the hallway. He tried stifling a laugh as he realized Raela, who was usually so quick and graceful, waddled very slowly while she carried a child.

His child. He felt a shiver down his spine. He was going to be a father.

He didn’t think he’d ever been more surprised when he saw her standing just inside Bag-End, looking apprehensive and a bit anxious, with such a large, protruding, abdomen. He knew immediately that she was expecting his bairn.

She opened the door of the room where she was staying and walked in. Fili shut it with a quiet click behind him. When he turned back around, she was looking at him anxiously, once again, with her teeth nibbling her bottom lip.

He reached for her and pulled her in close to him. He breathed in her scent. And then, he kissed her fervently, his hands gripping her hips and pulling her as close to him as possible while they were still dressed. She moaned into his mouth and responded to his kiss, nipping at his bottom lip and deepening the kiss. Her hands tightened on the fabric of his tunic. She then quickly put a hand on his chest and pushed him gently away from her. She was quite breathless.

“You can’t kiss me like that when everyone else is awake,” Raela informed him seriously, hoping that her breathing would even out soon. She reached up and touched his beard, once again. She then winced, with her hand reaching down to touch her lower stomach. Another twinge of pain.

“Are you alright?”

“Just kicking a nerve,” she replied. “He’s ornery. Must get that from you.”

He only smiled widely, ignoring his lovely wife’s barb. How he loved this dwarrowdam—she was always going to keep him on his toes, and humbled.

“Do you think a lad then?”

She shrugged. “I suppose it could be a lass, but you know it’s more likely to be a lad.”

He nodded and held her close, before leading her over to the bed where she had been sleeping alone. He helped her into the bed, and then joined her, pulling her to him.

“Tell me what happened while I was gone.” She nodded at the serious look on his face and began to speak.

She told him about Thorin’s worries and she punched him in the shoulder when she remembered that she was the one that had to deal with Dis’ wrath at first.

“But, your amad isn’t too bad,” Raela said, curling her toes slightly as she leaned against Fili’s chest. Fili sat against the headboard of the small bed that Raela slept in while she was between his legs, with her back against his chest. His hands were brushing through her hair, which she wore down still. His hands always managed to find their way back to her stomach as well, where he lovingly caressed where their babe lay, nestled deep within her womb. “I guess we reached an agreement while we traveled here. She said as long as I made you happy, then all was well. And I think when my belly began to grow she started to soften a bit more. She doesn’t mind the idea of a grandchild, I believe.”

Fili still felt awe that he was going to become a father, so soon. No wonder Thorin had given the message to Rivendell, and told him to get to the Shire. And since he was now in Hobbiton, he would stay here until Raela gave birth and would remain with her and their babe until she would be healthy enough to travel again, no question.

She was stiff when she mentioned the babe. He felt it in her back and shoulders. “Be honest with me, Raela. Are you unhappy with a bairn, love?”

She sat quite still, and he was surprised to hear her sniffle slightly. “I’m frightened. I don’t want to die.”

Fili thought hard as to what she was talking about and then, remembered, “Your poor amad.”

Raela nodded. Fili only held her close, hoping to give her some comfort with his physical presence.

“You told me that she was weakened with the loss of your father. I will be here. I doubt my amad or a midwife will let me be in there with you, but I won’t be far. I’m not leaving you anytime soon, so don’t you dare plan on leaving me, Raela.” He said into her ear.

She turned her head and said, “Sometimes we can’t control things like that.”

“Don’t give up. Plus, we have Tauriel here too. We’ll make sure she has kingsfoil, and she’ll take care of everything else. I can even bring in Oin, if you’d like.” Raela looked appalled at the idea of the older healer present during the birth of their child.

And she told Fili as much. Fili only laughed and said, “It’s fine love, if that’s how you feel. I’m sure most of the army needs to move on anyway. We can’t just have a dwarf army stationed outside the Shire for a few months. That would undo all the hard work in keeping this a secret for as long as possible.” He sighed softly, and said, “As much as I would love to stay with you in bed all day, I have to go and speak with Dwalin.” Fili said to himself in an aside.

He glanced at her and her hand was caressing her stomach.

“Do you want to sleep a little?” He asked, noticing that she looked worn and fatigued.

She shook her head and said with a small smile, “No. It’s alright. Just help me up.” He nodded and then, helped heave her off of the bed.

When they turned into the parlor, where the rest of the group was gathered in front of a roaring fire, Rang was talking nonstop to Kili. Tauriel and Gandalf both beamed when they saw Raela, and her pregnant stomach. Raela only smiled and said hello with a blush on her face, not used to having the attention on herself.

Kili’s jaw practically dropped when he finally noticed Raela’s belly.

“You’re going to be an ada? I’m going to be an uncle?” He asked, pointing at himself with a broad grin on his face. Fili only smiled openly at his brother. Kili’s broad smile was always so hard to ignore.

“Do you forgive me for not having you at the wedding? Are you planning on forgiving me for not telling you sooner?” Fili asked mildly as if Kili’s forgiveness was a requirement for him to become an uncle.

Raela only scoffed at her husband’s deceptive little act. She was going to have to watch that.

“Of course, nadad!” He jumped up and gave Fili, and then Raela tight hugs. Raela smiled, as Fili quickly forced his brother away from his wife, noticing that Raela’s hand had once again drifted to her midriff.

Fili fussed over her until she sat in the chair that he deemed comfortable enough for her. She shot him an annoyed look.

Gandalf only chuckled slightly at the exchange and continued speaking to Dwalin. Fili approached them and said, “Dwalin, I need you to take the army and go back to Thorin. From what I’ve been reading of these messages, you’ll need reinforcements.”

“Thorin told me to protect them, Fili.” Dwalin said with his eyebrows raised. Although it was a babysitting assignment, he took any order from the king as law. However, he was itching to get back to Erebor to see his brother and Thorin, of course.

Nobody else at all.

“I’m sure Freya will still be there Dwalin,” Raela said, a slightly teasing grin on her face. Dwalin scowled once again at his princess. “Just remember the advice I gave you.” Fili looked between Dwalin and Raela in question as Dwalin’s face turned red. He grumbled something about interfering women while Dis also laughed slightly at Raela’s words. Fili decided to ignore the aside.

“Kili, Tauriel, and I can handle it. Neither Raela nor I are going anywhere until she has the babe, and then it will still be several weeks until she can travel. We don’t need the whole army camped outside of the Shire waiting. That will lead to questions, and I feel like we should still try to keep this as quiet as possible, especially since we still don’t know everything that’s happening.”

Dwalin looked torn.

“You’re the only other one I can trust, Dwalin.” Fili told him pleadingly. Dwalin nodded at the crown prince in understanding.

“Of course, lad. You send a message from a raven here. It will take a while, but they’re more trustworthy. Tell Thorin to expect us.”

Fili nodded and then turned to the elf that he considered his sister. “Tauriel—do you think you can be prepared to help Raela?”

Tauriel nodded and then smiled. “I’d be honored.”

Dis interrupted angrily though. “There will be no elf magic near my grandchild,” Dis said, shooting a glare at Fili, Tauriel, and then Raela, for good measure.

Raela raised her eyebrows in a challenge. But before she could retort, Fili stepped in.

“Amad, it will only be if Raela or the babe need it,” Fili said, beseechingly. “You weren’t there when Tauriel healed Kili. She saved his life. And if she can save Raela or our child, then I will gladly let elf magic near them.” Fili looked at Tauriel and then once again turned to his mother.

“Besides, Raela will need your help as well.” Dis looked pleased that her son had included her while Raela only glared at him.

“Perhaps you should ask Raela how she feels?” She said to the room at large. Nobody was paying her any mind except Bilbo, who pushed a lovely bowl of stew into her lap.

She thanked him profusely.

She then continued to stare daggers into the back of Fili’s head while he tried to placate his mother regarding Tauriel. Well, he was going to have to try and smooth things over a little bit with his wife.

Gandalf interrupted Raela’s thoughts. “Congratulations. I will be happy to see a new young dwarfling. I’m afraid that I cannot stay for long though. You will do well, Princess Raela,” Gandalf said, looking her straight in the eye.

He continued to speak, “You are your husband's equal, and you will both rule Erebor with grace, dignity, and justice. I do not doubt that you’ll both be needed very shortly.” He said it so seriously, that it sounded like he saw the future itself.

Raela nodded at Gandalf’s words and then looked slightly confused at Fili. Fili only shrugged his shoulders.

“Tomorrow, then,” Fili said, “Let’s bring the company to see Bilbo. Raela,” he looked at his wife. “I might have you and Rang stay in your rooms. I’m not sure how much I want it to get out that you’re with child, even with those that I trust.” Dwalin nodded approvingly at Fili’s words.

“You, Kili, and Tauriel will stay with Dis, Rang and Raela then?” Dwalin asked. Fili nodded his head.

“I’ll send a raven tomorrow. I can encrypt it for Thorin. But, I’ll let him know that you’re on the way. If the mountain seems to be overrun, go ask for help from Bain or go straight to the Iron Hills for help from Dain.”

“Dain’s still in Erebor. That’s probably the only thing that’s keeping Thorin in charge. Most of the Orocarni clans have brought in more and more dwarves, as apparent refugees, but they are trained warriors, according to Thorin. Crime has been rising in Erebor since their arrival. The only clan that hasn’t brought a show of force is Aron. Thorin hasn’t been able to get in touch with him at all.” Dwalin murmured. Fili glanced at Raela, who had a serious expression on her face.

“We can call for aid from the Ironfists still,” Raela commented calmly, “if we can only get in touch with--”

Her eyes widened and she looked at Gandalf. “Master Gandalf, I have a favor to ask of you.”

Gandalf leaned forward in interest as Raela asked him for the favor.

Chapter Text

Later that night, Raela sat by Rang’s bed, reading him a story from one of Master Bilbo’s books. Rang was all tucked in, and was yawning tiredly. Fili watched from the doorway. Everyone else had already bid them goodnight, and he was now just waiting for Raela to finish putting her brother to bed. Fili felt a surge of love and appreciation for Raela, watching her with her brother.

Perhaps that was what had first attracted him to Raela—seeing how much she cared for the lad. He knew that she at least had a heart and cared for her brother. He had only hoped that she would be able to have half of that appreciation for him, and he would be good.

Now, as he watched her with her round stomach, talking to Rang quietly as he drifted off to sleep, he couldn’t help but think of her with their own son or daughter. He hoped that he would be able to witness it often in the future.

He stirred slightly as she quietly backed away from the bed, almost struggling to get up from her kneeling position by her brother. Fili almost laughed aloud. He had never seen her so bulky or clumsy before. He made the wise decision to not laugh at his temperamental wife’s figure and clumsiness. Instead, he walked over to her and helped her stand up. She blew out the candle in the lantern by Rang’s bed and watched for a few seconds as Rang mumbled something in his sleep, and then turned over suddenly.

She gave a sigh of relief as Fili tucked her arm into his own, and he led her out of Rang’s room, closing it with a quiet click behind him.

She beamed at him and leaned her head on his shoulder.

“Do you think we will both fit in bed?” She asked, her bright green eyes teasing him. “I may have to ask Master Baggins to find somewhere else to sleep.”

Fili raised his eyebrows and then kissed her softly. “I think we should at least try it out tonight,” he smiled at her and led her into their room.

As soon as the door was closed quietly behind Fili, Raela had attacked him. Her mouth on his, giving him a deep and passionate kiss; her hand wound through his hair tightly and his back pressed against the door.

She moaned softly as he touched her waist and then settled his hands onto her hips.

He looked at her after pulling away and then teased once again, “Eager, aren’t we?”

“You’re not the one with raging hormones and no way to relieve them,” Raela protested. Fili reached his hand around her waist and pulled her in tightly. His other hand grazed her breasts. He stopped though as her eyes closed at his touch.

“It’s obvious that you haven’t been taken care of, my dear wife. Shall I rectify that situation?”

She glared at him quickly as she realized that he wasn’t touching her anymore.

“If you don’t I will be forced to kill you and find another husband to tend to my needs.” She said it with such a straight face he would have been scared if he had not known her better. But, he did know her.

“You just don’t like it when I tease you,” he said to her with a small grin, holding her close. She began to protest once again before he finally made good on his promise and took excellent care of his wife’s needs.

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Raela laid in Fili’s embrace on the small bed. Their reunion had been just as enthusiastic and passionate as she imagined and Fili did not seem at all perturbed by her large, pregnant stomach. If anything, it seemed to only increase his ministrations.

She sighed in satisfaction and then turned to put her face on his chest. He was still awake. She could feel his hands readjusting themselves. One was on her lower back, and one was combing through her soft red hair.

“I’m glad you’re back.” She whispered to him. He smiled down at her tiredly.

“As am I. I’m happy to be back in time. I should have been with you all along, to pamper you and help you however I could.” He smiled at her mischievously. “In all the ways that apparently only I can tend to.”

With all the surprises of the day, he still hadn’t asked her one thing. “I should have asked you earlier. Your journey here? Was it alright?”

She nodded and said, “We didn’t run into any trouble until we got just outside of Rivendell. There was an orc pack—a small one, but there were enough of the bastards to give us some trouble. Thankfully, Dwalin, Bilbo, and Dis took care of the majority of them. Rang even got his first kill. There were still too many of them left but several elves, led by Lord Elrond routed the remaining orcs. They had been out looking for us. I’m afraid that’s my fault. I was quite sick for a while. At first,I had a tonic from one of the healers in Erebor. But only a couple of weeks into the journey, in my clumsiness I broke it. Elrond managed to give me some herbs and a new tonic to help keep down my food once again, but until we were in Rivendell, traveling was difficult.”

His lips curved into a frown, disappointed that he had been unable to take better care of his pregnant wife. “You shouldn’t have had to travel at all.”

“It’s alright.” She told him, peering up in his eyes. “You’ll just have to make it up to me. And if we have another child, then I suppose I can be extremely demanding and ornery, just for you.”

“Even more ornery than you already are? Is that even possible?” He asked in a teasing tone of voice.

He was cut off as she smacked him lightly against his arm. He chuckled at her reaction. Her eyes were narrowed at him in annoyance. She huffed slightly and turned her back to him once again.

She felt his arm go around her waist and settle once again on her large stomach. She grumbled at the change in position. She was comfortable, but then her stupid husband... It was so hard for her to get comfortable these days.

“I love you,” he whispered into her ear from behind her. “I don’t know what’s going on with Thorin or in Erebor, but I promise that I will always love you and take care of you.”

She smiled slightly at his words and turned her head back towards him again. He shifted onto his back, and put his arms open wide. She awkwardly turned toward him, putting her head against his chest. She felt his arms settle around her.

He always breathed so deeply. She could feel the steady breaths of his lungs and the thrumming of his heart. She sighed and found herself finally lulled to sleep by his relaxing nature.

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It was three nights of pure bliss in the Shire, enjoying one another's company once again. They had only one night before he left to consummate their marriage, and they both agreed it was best to take advantage of time with just the two of them before the little one arrived. After those first two times of experiencing intercourse with her husband, Raela hoped there would be others. And she certainly wasn’t disappointed. They tried to keep their reunions as quiet as possible, mostly for the sake of the other residents, but especially for Rang, who slept in the room right next door to the bedroom that Fili and Raela shared.

Rang was almost as happy to have Fili back, even though he did scold his new brother for not asking his permission to marry Raela. He had even drawn out his own dagger, passed down from his father, and pointed it at Fili in a threat, telling him that if he even dared to hurt his namad, that he would kill the older dwarf.

It was amazing how quickly children picked up on the habits of their elders.

The rest of the company had arrived the morning after Fili, Kili and Tauriel showed up. Dwalin had gone to get them, at Fili’s request, and Fili explained to them what was going on when they showed up.

Gandalf had already left that morning, as soon as the sun was up.

When Bofur asked exactly why Fili and Kili weren’t going to go back with the army, they shared a glance between them. Fili trusted these dwarves more than anything. However, if one of them were caught and interrogated at all, they risked speaking of Raela’s condition, which would complicate things further.

“We’ll be heading to Erebor in about six weeks. We have things to do here.” Dis said, answering for her lads suddenly.

Fili only nodded. “We’re waiting for correspondence. Gandalf asked for us to stay here until we heard back from him.” Fili bit his lip, slightly in frustration.

He disliked leading his comrades on like that. It was what Gandalf had told him to say though.

Nori only raised an eyebrow. He could sniff out a lie from leagues away. Probably because he was such a good liar himself.

To Fili and Kili’s relief, Nori didn’t say anything.

Fili continued to give them orders. “Travel fast. Take aid with the elves, both in Rivendell and Mirkwood. And, Beorn as well, of course. That will help. The ravens haven’t been able to get through, so Thorin won’t know you’re coming. When you get to Erebor, send in reconnaissance to make sure that Thorin is still in power. If he’s not in power, then you can pledge allegiance to the new leader, but remember that we’re coming. And we have a plan to out muscle the Orocarni dwarves.”

Dwalin nodded at his words.

He gave one last request to Dwalin. “Protect Thorin. And don’t tell anyone where we are, please.”

“Of course. Best of luck, Fili.” He nodded his head at Fili. They gradually left after a few minutes with some good-byes and took off. Bilbo accompanied them several miles through the Shire before returning back to Bag-End later that evening.

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Fili’s eyes watched Raela as she shuffled slowly into dining room. She had slept in at Fili’s insistence. She had roused when she heard Rang come into their room (a habit that she decided that she needed to break at Fili’s look of chagrin the first morning that Rang woke them up). This morning, however, Fili, had intercepted Rang and convinced him that he would help him with what he needed first thing in the morning.

Raela was feeling some pain in her lower back since early the night before. It was on and off though, and she eventually fell asleep, so she forgot all about it.

She sat next to Fili in a chair and looked at the food at the table with disinterest. Fili looked at her in some concern. He watched as she stiffened, her spine straight, and Fili noticed, a hand drifting toward her lower abdomen.

His observation of Raela was interrupted by Bilbo.

“Raela, would you like some tea?” Bilbo asked, pouring her a cup. She usually appreciated the tea first thing in the morning. The door opened and Dis came in, smiling and laughing with Rang. It was chilly out still, but they had gone for their morning stroll as usual. It was one of the best ways for the young dwarfling to get his energy out.

Raela took a small sip of tea and then put the cup back down on the saucer quietly. As if using all of her strength, she stood up and began to walk out of the dining room without another word while Dis and Rang were speaking to the others loudly. She slipped out of the room quietly. Tauriel watched her in concern, as well as Fili. Nobody else had seemed to notice her slow movements. She turned a corner and Fili heard her footsteps padding down the hall. He looked at Bilbo and thanked him for everything and excused himself as well.

He got up and walked down the hall. It appeared that Raela had not gone very far. She was sitting on the wood floor, still several yards from her room, her legs stretched out in front of her. Her neck was leaning back against the wall and she was facing the ceiling, breathing heavily.

“Raela,” Fili asked, feeling quite alarmed. He immediately kneeled down beside her and grabbed her hand.

“I’m dying. I know...” She said, almost breathless and panicked.

“Shh...” Fili replied, putting a hand on her face. She opened her eyes and gazed at him. He had never seen her look so afraid before.

“You’re not dying. Where does it hurt?” Fili asked, concerned. He did not know a lot about the work involved with bringing a child into the world, but he did know that it was supposed to hurt. Perhaps the little one would be joining them today.

“My back. And my legs.” Fili furrowed his eyebrows. She winced and then let out a loud yelp. Tears filled her eyes.

“I can’t do this.” She choked out a slight sob while shaking her head.

“Yes, you can. You’re strong. Let me go get my mother and Tauriel.” Fili said, attempting to stand up and walk down the hall.

“No. Don’t leave me.” She pulled on him tightly. He immediately stopped trying to stand and kneeled down beside her once again. He put his arms around her, feeling alarmed at the tension in her body. He whispered into her ear that he loved her and a few other words of comfort as he rubbed her lower back gently. He then heard some footsteps coming down the hall.

“Namad? Are you okay?” Rang asked, looking worried. His little eyebrows were furrowed and if Fili wasn’t mistaken, he was glaring quite openly at him.

Raela tensed. She did not want her brother to see her looking as weak as she was.

She didn’t give an answer. Fili glanced at her and then at Rang.

“Rang, will you get my mother and Lady Tauriel for me please?”

Rang’s eyes widened and he gasped, clapping his hands together in excitement.

“It’s alright. Raela is having the babe. Hurry now, and then you and I will have a chance to talk.”

Fili told him with an encouraging smile.

Rang took off at a sprint down the hall.

Raela winced as she heard her little brother scream for the entire room and probably the rest of the Shire, “MY SISTER IS HAVING HER BABY!!!!”

As Fili held her at that point, Raela noticed that he was trembling slightly. She pulled back and looked at him. He was laughing at Rang.

Raela growled at him, the pain forgotten and only annoyance and anger flashing through her mind.

“Is this really the time for you to be amused with my brother?” She demanded at him.

“And that is why our men-folk have no use in the birthing rooms.” Dis said dryly, looking between Fili and Raela in some amusement. Poor Raela’s face was drawn and pale and she had beads of sweat on her forehead as she glared at Fili angrily.

And her husband was still laughing at the young dwarfling.

“Shoo, Fili.” At this, Dis actually made a shooing motion at her older son, eager to get him away.

“Tauriel and I will take care of this. I’ve already send Bilbo off for the hobbit midwife. You and Kili keep Rang distracted. And keep yourself distracted as well. I’ll come and find you when it’s over.”

Fili looked at his mother in surprise, suddenly coming to the realization that she was going to make him leave. He did not want to leave Raela. He knew it was the common practice that fathers were not present at the births of their children, but that didn’t mean that he liked the idea of his wife having to go through the process alone without his support.

“But,” he said, protesting his mother’s commands, reaching for Raela.

“No. We don’t need her to be distracted. You go on.” Dis said, her hands on her hips. Tauriel was helping Raela stand.

Fili nodded and leaned forward, kissing Raela softly on the lips. “I love you. You can do this.” He whispered into her ear, and touched her face gently. And then he let her go.

“Mahal, Raela. Where are the pains? How long have you been feeling them?” He heard Dis ask Raela.

“My back,” Raela replied. “Since early last night.” Fili watched as they led Raela to the bedroom where Bilbo designated as the birthing chamber when they first arrived. It was his mother’s old dressing room.

Dis looked over her shoulder and saw Fili still standing there. He eyes were lined with worry and his face tightened as Raela let out a moan of pain.

She gave her son a look of compassion and then shut the door right in his face. Fili was left to find his brother and brother-in-law while his wife was giving birth.

*****************************************************************************************************

It didn’t take Bilbo long to get back with the midwife. She was an older hobbit, with wispy gray hair but she had a commanding voice. Dis only told her that dwarven births were usually longer than human or halfling births.

The midwife pointed out though, that babes were all made the same way, and they all came out the same way, so she knew what she was doing. She had Raela sitting up on the side of the bed, hunched over slightly.

She told the midwife she felt as if she was being split in two and the midwife only nodded grimly.

“Back pain? Nothing in the front?” The midwife gestured to her own body in order to check on the progression of the labor.

“Front..legs...” Raela ground out from her teeth.

“The child’s head is down then, which is good. But its face is up, toward the ceiling, instead of down. Still not in position. We will have to try and coax him or her to turn around.” The midwife didn’t say it aloud, but it sounded as if this was going to be a long labor.

And so, for the next several hours, Raela gasped and moaned through the pain as Dis and Tauriel attempted to comfort her. The midwife instructed her on several positions, changing them constantly to see if the child would flip for her. The midwife had left after eight hours. There was still no major changed in Raela’s labor—only that the contractions were getting harder, longer and more intense for her to handle.

The midwife insisted on Raela resting. So, she laid on her side, her legs scissored to the side of her, and a hand on her lower belly. Dis watched her in some concern. She then nodded at Tauriel and told her that she was going to get them something to eat and to see if she could get some tea for Raela.

When Dis walked into the dining room, Bilbo was playing a game of Conquers with Rang. Kili and Fili were sitting in arm chairs. Kili was reading, but Fili only looked into the fire, broodingly with his chin resting on his hands.

Kili noticed Dis first, hitting Fili in the arm. Fili looked up and then stood up suddenly, his face pale and eyes wide.

“Amad--” Dis shook her head immediately.

“We’re still waiting on the babe. It usually takes longer with the first Fili. She’s doing well though.” Fili sighed and then sank back into his chair, closing his eyes.

Rang left the table and then, to Fili’s surprise, walked up to him and joined him in the chair.

“It will be alright, nadad.” Fili smiled slightly at Rang’s words, adjusting his arms so that he could loosely hold and comfort Rang. Kili smiled openly at the show of affection from Rang.

The tea kettle whistled, and Dis took the platter of food from supper and the tea to the birthing room. The midwife was back.

Tauriel was talking to Raela in a low whisper.

The midwife glanced at Dis.

Dis approached Raela, and with the gentlest voice that she could muster, asked, “Raela, love. Are you feeling up to eating?”

Raela shook her head as she opened her eyes slightly. She coughed slightly, saying, “No, thank you.” She squirmed slightly then, and breathed deeply all of a sudden. She had been panicked for almost the last several hours, completely on edge, frightened and anxious. Any stranger could tell that the poor dam was scared to death. And that never helped to speed things up when it came to birthing children.

Now though, Raela looked almost serene, as if she were ready to face her fate. “Try to relax Raela. I know it’s easier for me to say it than for you to do it. But you’re not doing yourself any favors by tensing so. It’s alright to be afraid. All dams are when they give birth. But you are much younger than your mother was when she had Rang. And Fili is here, and will be here for a while still. You will not lose him. You can do this.” Raela nodded at Dis’ words of encouragement before closing her eyes once again in exhaustion.

The midwife looked at Dis with eyebrows raised.

“Her mother died shortly after giving birth to her brother,” Dis whispered to Tauriel and the midwife.

The midwife only nodded in understanding and said, “Let her rest. The babe will come. No use in forcing him or her out.”

The females all agreed. They decided to join Raela in sleeping. Dis insisted that Tauriel and the midwife find beds while she slept on the sofa in the birthing room. Dis told them that she would alert them if anything happened.

*********************************************************************************************

Only a few minutes after midnight, something did happen.

Dis awoke to a sharp sound and drowsily sat up from the sofa where she laid. She watched as Raela completely woke up with a loud gasp of pain. Dis watched, a little perplexed at first and then completely remembered where she was.

Raela gave several more short gasps of breath and a grunt or two of pain.

Dis was up immediately, and put her hand on Raela’s. “Do you feel like you need to push Raela?”

Raela only grunted, but looked Dis in the eyes and nodded. “Shh..I have to go and get the midwife. Keep breathing in short gasps.”

She nodded as Dis ran out the door. She ran right into Fili, who, apparently, was still awake even though she had told Tauriel to order him in to bed.

“Is she alright?” Fili asked, attempting to look around his mother’s shoulder, into the dark room where he heard Raela’s harsh breathing. “I heard her--”

“Not now, Fili. The midwife, Tauriel—where are they sleep--” She was cut off when a loud cry of pain filtered out of the open room.

“You left her alone in there!?!” Fili asked, his face turning sternly towards his mother. And then, to Dis’ dismay, he ran off, straight into the birthing room. She stomped a foot on the floor, trying to decide whether she had time to go in and drag her son out of the room. Another cry of pain and Fili’s soothing voice indicated to her that she did not have the time to do that and get the midwife and Tauriel. She would have to have Tauriel drag him out then. She had to get the midwife, after all, so she ran off to find her.

Fili was next to his wife, and he held her up into a sitting position. “Shh...it’s alright, love. I’m here.” Raela only grunted in reply and let out a shout of pain, arching her back suddenly. He immediately rubbed her lower back, trying to think of something that he could do to help her!

“First this babe doesn’t want to come. Now, he or she can’t wait to get out. What a little bastard. He must take after you.” Raela growled out. Fili ignored the jab as he looked over his shoulder. There was no way that he was planning on leaving his wife by herself. But he didn’t know how to help her!

To his relief, both his mother, Tauriel and the midwife all returned rather quickly, rushing into the room. The midwife began barking orders as Dis shut the door. Dis glanced at her son, but then, decided that it was more important, once again to help with everything else that would need to be prepared.

Raela was visibly calm next to Fili, although her entire body was shaking under his touch. He was holding one of her hand in his, and was concerned about the almost violent trembling. He tried asking the midwife but she shushed him and said it was completely normal at this stage. Fili was only bewildered and continued to hold his wife’s hand in an iron grip.

His other hand was still on her lower back, rubbing at the pain that she felt. It felt like forever, but after only a couple of minutes, they had everything they needed. The midwife lifted the sheets that covered Raela’s legs, told her it was time and then, instructed her in her pushing.

Raela only looked at the midwife, feeling annoyed that she was being made to wait while the midwife insisted on speaking to her.

She felt a wave of pain though, while the midwife was still speaking, and she began to push. She squeezed Fili’s hand as hard as she could. She was buoyed by his confidence in her, the words of comfort that he spoke to her. By the time the second contraction came, she was pushing with everything she had.

The midwife asked her to stop, quite sharply, which she did, wondering if something was wrong. The pain that she was feeling, after all, could not be normal, she thought to herself numbly. She noticed, at that moment, that Fili’s eyes were no longer on her own, but on the midwife. And not so much the midwife, but between her legs. The midwife asked for one last push and Raela gave it, feeling a sudden release of tension. Her legs quivered and she breathed in heavily, feeling immense relief from the burning pain she had just experienced.

It took her a moment or two to realize that there was a soft cry filling the room. Her eyes opened and her lips curled into a tired smile.

At least the babe was alright.

“A boy,” the midwife said, looking between Raela and Fili. “Looks like his father, it appears.” Fili smiled openly, and then turned toward Raela, giving her a full kiss on the lips immediately after. She was slightly stunned at his response. She thought he would be completely disgusted. After all, it was not considered appropriate for dwarves to witness the births of babes, whether they were the father or not.

Raela felt herself completely awake, knowing at once it was the adrenaline from the physical exhaustion of giving birth that made her feel so energized. The midwife handed the babe immediately to her, pushing the top of Raela’s nightgown down to expose her chest and putting the naked babe immediately on top. Then, the midwife put the gown and a blanket back on top of Raela as she began to help relieve some of Raela’s pain.

She stared down at the babe on her chest in awe. He was absolutely beautiful.

The midwife was correct. He did look like Fili. Raela smiled gently at Fili, looking up at him. Fili had a finger on the babe’s cheek. Raela was so enthralled with her newborn son, that she didn’t even notice that it had been several minutes since everyone had left the room except Fili.

“I’m proud of you,” Fili murmured to her, giving her a kiss once again. “Thank you.”

She smiled at him tiredly, and replied, “I know it’s not...approved of. But, I’m glad that you were here.”

“I am too,” Fili said, his lips curving into a smile. “I don’t know why it would be considered inappropriate to miss the miraculous birth of your own child.”

Raela soon fell asleep after that.

******************************************************************************************

Fili left the birthing room, holding his newborn son in his arms and walked into the parlor. He knew that his mother, Tauriel, Bilbo and Kili would all still be up. Dis startled and Fili said, “I waited until Raela fell asleep. She’s exhausted, of course. But she fed him, and I think he should probably sleep for a little while in some arms.”

Dis came up to her son and kissed him in the cheek. “Don’t think that I’ve forgotten that you slipped into the birthing chamber when you were supposed to stay out. A breach of tradition it was.”

Fili gave her a lopsided grin and said, “Hey, Kili.”

Kili looked at his brother and smiled back. “Yeah.”

“When Tauriel gives birth, make sure you’re there. It’s amazing.”

Dis spluttered as Fili grinned at her.

Tauriel laughed and said, “For elves, both father and mother are supposed to be present when giving birth. It’s supposed to help make it easier for them to come in to the world.”

“Fathers are present here for labors as well,” Bilbo commented. “It wasn’t that surprising that Fili raced in there.”

Dis huffed, but Fili placated her, by handing her the little bundle in his arms. Her eyes immediately softened as the babe, who was still asleep, yawned.

“Oh, my son has a baby.”

“Amad,” Fili groaned.

“He looks so much like you Fili,” Dis commented. The little lad opened his eyes slightly at his grandmother’s comment, and then closed them again when Dis quieted suddenly.

“We will have to see what color eyes he ends up with though,” Dis said. “He might have Raela’s eyes.”

“Have you thought of a name yet?” Kili asked, smiling over at his mother and his nephew. He was so adorable.

“Of course,” Fili said. He smiled at his mother fondly and said, “Both Raela and I agree that Frerin is the perfect name for him.”

Dis gasped softly, and then tears filled her eyes as she looked at her sweet, grand babe.

“Frerin? Are you sure? I mean, Thorin and I, are both honored that you would name him after your unc--”

“Of course amad.” Fili sat, watching his mother as she also sat with the babe. She then realized that she was hogging him. Fili waited as she bossily told Kili how to hold the babe, and she cautioned not to drop him.

Fili only laughed and said, “It’s only because Thorin dropped you a time or two when you were a babe.”

Tauriel and Bilbo both laughed aloud as Dis chided Fili.

“So, that’s what happened, is it?” Bilbo asked, mockingly. He pulled out some of his finest wine to celebrate the birth of the babe with the dwarves and Tauriel. He poured several glasses to everyone, besides Kili.

Kili was holding the babe timidly, almost deathly afraid that he would drop the poor lad.

“Congratulations Fili,” Bilbo said and they drank to the new lad.

They all drank and then Fili sat next to his brother on the sofa and said, “Don’t worry Kili. You won’t drop him. You’re his uncle! When he hates Raela and I when he is older, he’s going to come to you for advice.”

Kili gave Fili a small smile. “You think so?”

Fili only nodded in return. Bilbo was filling glasses once again and asked, “So, Frerin was your brother then? I believe I heard a reference to him during the last council.”

Dis only smiled. “Yes.”

She then turned to Fili. “Is that why you decided on Frerin? Because of that story of Raela’s father and his army defending Frerin’s body?”

Fili nodded tiredly. “I think that’s part of it. We wanted to give him a name that had meaning for us both. I agreed on it, even though Raela told me that I had the ultimate say in it, of course.”

“Is that another dwarf thing?” Tauriel asked, her eyebrows raised as she looked over at Kili.

Kili shook his head, while Dis nodded.

Fili only smiled. “I told her that we could name another son after adad.” He smiled at Dis. “After all, Rang has Rangvaldr taken for his future children.”

“Rang!” Kili shouted aloud, and then the babe started to stir and cried softly. “Oh! Whoops...shhh...little one.”

Baby Frerin immediately fell back asleep to Kili’s gentle noises and rocking as he moved the lad to rest his head on his chest.

“Rang is going to flip when he finds out! Should we wake him now?” Kili whispered as loudly as he could without waking the babe.

“No,” Fili said promptly, shaking his head, “Raela wants to introduce Rang to babe in the morning.” Fili turned to his mother. “Do you mind helping with Rang in the morning if I am too busy with Raela and Frerin? If they’re both sleeping I can help him...”

“Nay, it’s fine,” Dis said. “That lad has a special place in my heart. It’s almost as if he’s my third son, to be honest.” She smiled and said, “And now, I have a grandson. How happy your father would be, if he was here now.”

And with that proclamation, the hobbit, the elf, and the three dwarves sat with the newborn babe, basking in his innocence and love for a few more hours.

As they all made their way back to their rooms, Fili stood and walked with his little lad down the hall, holding him to his body in order to keep him warm.

He quickly entered the room where Raela slept. He watched his wife as she slept in bed. Fili adjusted the babe against his chest, sat in a large armchair with his feet up and gathered a blanket around himself and the babe as they drifted off to sleep in the peace of a brand new day.