Hobbit 1. It's a Terrible Love

Thorin and Company were led through Rivendell to a balcony where they feasted. Though the elves mostly ate food from the ground, "rabbit food" as the dwarves liked to call it, they were greatly happy to have food in their bellies and a safe place to rest. Songs were sung, lilting in the beautiful way elven voices do, and not even Thorin could deny their beauty. It was true that he was unhappy in staying with the elves, but he did remember his courtesies. The Lord Elrond was as noble and as fair in face as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer. It proved difficult to dislike the elf, though many of the older dwarves had tried.

Gandalf assured Thorin that after a few days to show the well manners of the dwarves they would be on their way. Of course Gandalf had a plan all his own, but he did not share it with Thorin in that moment. After speaking with the wizard Thorin warned the rest of the Company to behave their best, which was not an easy thing to accomplish for a dwarf.

They were given a room with beds to rest in, and many were thankful to sleep on something other than the ground. Bilbo especially, who had never before left the comfort of his hobbit-hole. But he had always yearned to meet an elf, and he was most happy at staying in their company for they were very lovely people.

The sun had fallen and risen anew, and they woke warm in their beds and with high spirits. The smell of food drew them to the balcony where they had previously feasted the night before, and they were given a hearty breakfast. Lord Elrond joined them and he and Gandalf spoke quietly to one another, in both the common and elvish tongues. Though Gandalf asked one question that captured all their attention:

"When will she return?"

Bilbo stopped mid-chew and looked to the wizard, wondering what he was talking about.

Elrond smiled softly before taking a sip of wine. "She should arrive before we feast again at noonday," he answered.

"Who is it you speak of?" Thorin asked, watching Gandalf carefully.

"Someone who may be of assistance in your quest."

Thorin sat his drinking cup on the table though he said nothing. The Lord Elrond excused himself after he had finished and Thorin turned his stern eyes towards the wizard.

"I will not welcome an elf into our company," said Thorin in a low voice.  
"And nor would I expect you to," Gandalf said pleasantly. "She is not an elf."

"Who is she then?" Thorin asked less harshly, though not any kinder.  
Gandalf drank his wine and ate more food, and Thorin's patience grew thin as he waited for an answer.  
"I am afraid I cannot tell you, nor can you ask."  
"Why would I offer a place in my company to a woman I do not know, a _woman_. I will not be responsible for another, your burglar is already proving to be too much."

Gandalf's own eyes turned stern as he listened to the dwarf. "There is more to Mr Baggins than you know," he said crossly.  
"That says nothing of this woman."  
"She has seen more battle than than most in this company and she has traveled the path you will take. She has taken the path through Mirkwood, she has been a guest to the Elvenking. She is fierce in battle, and she is strong of mind and heart, though she has little kindness to give to others. Should you give her a chance you would see she is much like you. That is all I will speak of the matter at this moment in time."

Gandalf stood telling the Company he would return to them at midday.

The dwarves were left to entertain themselves, which can be a terrible thing when they grow bored, though their interests where peaked when they saw someone ride into Rivendell.

Gandalf stayed true to his word and returned at exactly the moment it became noon, hurrying them towards the bridge they'd crossed to enter the elf place. They saw Elrond standing before a person in a deep red cloak, hearing them speak in the elvish tongue. They recognized the deep voice of Elrond, though they did not know who the lighter, sweeter voice belonged to.

"Eleni!" Gandalf cried rushing towards them.  
"Gandalf," they clearly heard a woman's voice say. Small hands with long, slender fingers were around the wizard's back briefly as the two greeted one another. "I was unaware you would be visiting."

"I did not come alone," he said standing back so that the dwarves finally saw the woman. She had long dark hair that curled around her face, which was lovely with a strong jaw and sharp cheekbones. Her large gray eyes took in the sight of the dwarves before she turned back to Gandalf.  
"I see that now," she said, amusement in her voice though her face was clear of all emotion. A young ellon took the woman's cloak and they saw she was wearing a dark brown skirt, a loose white shirt, and a vest the same color as the skirt. Though what they took the most interest in was the sheathed sword and the dried blood on her hands and clothes.

"Come," Gandalf said placing a hand on her back, "I would like to introduce you to Thorin and Company. Here is Thorin Oakenshield, and Fili and Kili, and Dwalin and Balin, and Nori and Dori and Ori, and Bifur and Bofur and Bombur. And last is Bilbo Baggins, our burglar." They all bowed as their names were said.  
"A hobbit," she said confused. "An odd choice to accompany a group of dwarves, though something tells me they did not choose him."

Gandalf smiled and chuckled though the woman's face remained placid. In fact, Bilbo thought, she is not so lovely as I had first thought. Her face was stern and her eyes were hard, a smile would brighten her face splendidly, though Bilbo did not think she was one to smile often.

"This is Eleni," Gandalf said with a hand still around the small of her back. She was much shorter than the wizard, though she was a good head taller then Thorin.

"A pleasure to meet you all, now I have not eaten in two days and would very much like break my fast." She held her skirt and moved briskly up the stairs. She cleaned her hands before she ate, her skin free from the blood that had previously stained it. The dwarves gathered round her and began eating themselves, and though they asked many questions of her she gave very evasive answers.

"Now I suppose we should discuss you coming along on our quest," said Gandalf after they had finished.

"No agreement have I given for her to join us," Thorin said gruffly.  
"This is the first I have heard of your adventure, not to mention the thought of joining you. Though I am sure you have an adequate reason for objecting my coming with you," said Eleni, her hard eyes trained on Thorin.

"I know nothing about you..."

"I assume you know all there is to know about your burglar," she interrupted rudely.

"That is beside the point. Hobbits have soft hearts, they are more trustworthy."  
Her gaze deepened to the point where she was now glaring. Kili hid his smile as the woman met his uncle's hard stare with an even more severe one of her own. Fili watched amused, never knowing another person who would willingly challenge Thorin.

"More trustworthy than a woman who lives in the company of elves, you mean." It was no question, nor did it require an answer.

"You live with them, you call them friend, how am I to trust you?"  
"What reason do you have not to?" she challenged.

"I have every reason not to trust you," said Thorin, his voice growing louder. "I know nothing about you."  
"You know everything about me, Thorin Oakenshield," she replied, "you are just not aware of it." Her voice was even and lethal, and her gray eyes were severe. She stood from the table and returned to her chambers, bidding none of them goodbye.

"I like her," Kili said with a smile. Thorin glared at his nephew, whose eyes dropped to his lap. He turned his gaze to Fili, expecting him to be smirking at his brother, though Fili's eyes were turned to where the woman had left to. Looking around the table Thorin saw that most of the dwarves had watched her leave, though Gandalf was giving him a stern look.

"She would be of the utmost assistance if you would let her."  
Bilbo, having grown weary of their company, took it upon himself to explore Rivendell. He came across many elves, who greeted him with a lovely smile. He found a set of stairs leading to a large room and he slowly climbed them looking at the decorated walls and the paintings that hung on them. Gazing around himself with wide eyes he slowly made his way to the top of the stairs. To his left he saw a large statue holding something, and upon moving closer he saw that on a flat rock in the statue's hands lay a great sword broken into six pieces.

He stood in front of the statue, the top of his head barely reaching the rock tablet it held in its hands; he had to stand on the tops of his feet to see the shining steel of the blade.

"It is the sword of Elendil," he heard a light feminine voice say from behind him. He turned to see the woman, Eleni, standing in the shadows behind him. "The sword that was broken, or better known as Narsil." He looked back to the broken blade and then up at the solemn face of the statue which held it.

"What great deeds has it done?" Bilbo asked looking back at the woman. Her dress was lighter than her previous skirts, it flowed around her as though the fabric were made of air; a dress made by elves.

"It was wielded by Elendil, The High King of Gondor and Arnor. He fought and died in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, have you heard of it?" she asked, peeling her eyes from the sword to look at Bilbo.

"Only briefly, milady," he said uncomfortable under her melancholy stare.

"The King died at the hands of Sauron," she said turning her eyes back to the broken sword. "His son Isildur took up his father's sword, breaking under Sauron's foot, and he cut the ring of power from the enemy's hand."  
Bilbo was almost in a daze as he listened to the way her airy voice lilted over the words she spoke. "What became of him?" he asked. "Isildur?"

"The ring destroyed his heart, leading to his death." Her voice was far away as she lifted her hand to touch the hilt of the sword, her fingers just barely brushing against it before pulling her hand back.

"And his son became King," Bilbo finished. "Was the ring passed on to him?"

"No, the ring was lost. And Isildur's line died with him."

When Bilbo looked back up at her he saw her eyes trained on him. She seemed to search for something in his eyes, making him squirm beneath her gaze. She turned her eyes back to the sword before she beckoned him to follow her. They retreated down the stairs and then into the sunlight. He could hear the loud voices of the dwarves, and she walked to where they came from.  
"Do you think it wise to join your Company?" she asked as they neared the others.

"I was told the journey would most dangerous, and it has proven so."

"I suppose it has," she said quietly. "Though there are more dangers to come from the road you are taking."  
"If you have been that way before, and you do not fear the risks, then I would like very much for you to come."  
She looked back at him with a raised brow and he blushed under her long gaze. He noticed a slight lift of the corners of her mouth as she continued walking, the Company now coming into view.

"Lady Eleni," Balin called cheerfully. "I thought perhaps Thorin had frightened you away."  
A chuckle sounded in the back of her throat. "It takes more than an arrogant dwarf to frighten me."  
Thorin's glare hardened though she met it with a look of complete uncaring. She sat beside Bilbo and Ori, who blushed so severely she had asked him if he were alright, causing the others to tease him.

Gloin had asked her, rather, he ordered her, to explain her previous state when she had arrived.

"A small band of orcs, nothing serious."  
"You don't think that is serious," Thorin exclaimed angrily.  
She turned her eyes to him and shook her head. "No, not really."  
The sleeves of her dress ended at her elbows, revealing a long scar on the back of her arm that disappeared beneath the fabric. Eleni caught Bilbo staring at it and he blushed, mumbling an apology.  
"Have you had many dealings with orcs?" Balin asked, attempting to lessen Thorin's anger.  
"I've had enough," she replied ruefully.  
Her answer led to more questions, which she answered as truthfully as she dared. She spoke of her travels, choosing which tales to tell; she spoke briefly of Mirkwood saying only that it was dark and dangerous within the trees, she spoke of Rohan and Gondor and even of the town by the lake only days from the Lonely Mountain. She left out many of the orcs she had come across, and the men who would have taken advantage of her. Though many of the dwarves, namely Thorin, Balin, Dwalin, Dori, and Gloin, remembered many of the times she spoke of, though the times were before she should have been born.

Before any of them could ask for an explanation they heard a loud cry and running feet.

"Osu'Nys!" a young boy yelled running towards them. His dark hair went to his chin and he had the same gray eyes as Eleni.  
Many of the dwarves, Fili, Oin, Nori, Bofur, Thorin, and the hobbit, looked to Eleni and saw her smile. Bilbo saw that he had been correct, a smile did transform her face into something beautiful. She stood and held her arms out as the boy ran to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Estel," she said smiling as she held him. His head was pressed into her chest and she had an arm around his back and her other hand cradling his head.

"Did you kill any orcs?" he asked excitedly in the elven tongue.

"Many," she answered in return.  
The dwarves all watched as the boy took her hand and led her away, continuing to ask her things in a language they did not understand. This greatly angered Thorin, for he bore no love for elves. But he still knew little of her, though what he did know he did not like. Looking at her face he would say she was no where near thirty, though she had told them of times that would place her age near sixty.

"I thought her name was Eleni," Bilbo asked Gandalf, who had been sitting quietly beside him.

"It is," the wizard replied after a rather long pause, something Bilbo noticed.

"What was it her son called her?" Bofur asked.

"Her son?" Gandalf asked in surprise. "She has no children."

"Are you sure," Bofur asked trying to see the two again, "he looked just like her."

"Oh you refer to Estel, he is not her son," Gandalf said before he blew a smoke ring into the air. "It was an elvish word meaning sister of his father. He is her nephew, and she loves him dearly."  
They could still hear the excited chatterings of the young boy and the soft replies of his aunt. Many of the dwarves were in awe of her, for there were not many who disagreed so strongly with Thorin and left unharmed. And the way she held herself, as though she were bearing a great burden; a silent strength in her spine. Though there were a few who were not yet taken with her; namely Thorin, Dwalin, and Gloin. Though if her tales were to be believed, she knew the path they would journey, and her knowledge would be needed.

* * *

_So this is an idea I've been playing around with, and depending on how many people are interested in it I may actually continue it. Her name is Eleni (the elvish word for star), but that is not her real name, and that will be revealed later. Along with her heritage, if you have not already figured it out [she is not a Mary Sue, I promise]. I will give a hint, her nephew is important, and Estel is not his actual name. Please tell me whether you are interested in this, so that I know whether I should continue it. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy.  
_


	2. And I'm Walking In

"Did you see him again?" Estel asked after they had returned to his room.  
"Yes of course, he invited me. Perhaps next time you would like visit him with me," she said brushing the hair out of his eyes.

"Can I mother?" he asked looking to Gilraen. "Osu'Nys has said so much about him. Please, I know how to fight."  
"I know you do, Estel," Gilraen said giving Eleni a stern look. "Perhaps when more years have passed."

Estel's shoulders slumped though he agreed. He bid his mother and his aunt goodbye before going off to practice his sword fighting.

"You should know better than put those ideas in his head," Gilraen said as she began pacing.  
"You cannot keep him here forever, he will leave in at least ten years time to follow in my brother's path."  
"Yes, but can we not just keep him a child for now?"  
Eleni nodded knowing Gilraen was frightened of her son living in the world, what with who his father had been. They both turned at the sound of a small knock to see Gandalf outside the door.  
"I have need of your company, Eleni," he said motioning for her to follow.  
They walked side by side, Eleni not having the patience to wait for him to speak. "I will not go with them, nor do they wish for me to."

"There are some who would be grateful to have your knowledge and skill, and the certainty of having someone who knew the way," he answered softly.  
"I have only just returned, Gandalf. Am I not allowed to live my life in peace?"  
"You can should you wish for it, though deep in your heart I know you do not."  
She grew irritated at his being right, there was nothing she loved more than an adventure; and a dangerous one at that. It was a life she and her brother were born to live, being who they were. It was the life her nephew was given, though she agreed with his mother on wishing for him to remain in Rivendell where he was safe.  
"I assume you know of what it is Thorin seeks?"  
She nodded. "I have seen it, though only pieces. He is so angry, Gandalf. It will destroy him, and the others."  
"Perhaps that is why I have asked you to accompany us."  
"You aren't aware of why you wish for me to be apart of this, are you?" she asked incredulous.  
He smiled guiltily at her and she rolled her eyes.

"You would have me risk my life for them, when they would do nothing of the sort in return for me?"  
"They will grow to care for you, just as I have. As did Elrond, and the lady Galadriel, and many others who you have met."

She scoffed at his words, straining to keep her strides even so as not to out pace him. "And if I don't wish for them to care for me?"  
"Then I would suggest you continue to be rude," he said in return.  
She looked at him sternly though it quickly turned into a small smile. "I am not good at," she trailed off fluttering her hands, unable to find the words.  
"Perhaps they will teach you how to care for others again."

She sighed wearily, knowing there was no way to win an argument with the wizard; or any wizard for that matter.  
"Join them for supper, get to know them. You are more than aware I do not take no for an answer."  
The corner of the right side of her mouth curled into a half smirk, knowing the truth to his words.

"Alright, but I will promise you nothing. As of this moment I am not going with you."  
"Then I hope they will change your mind."

She laughed then. "How often have you known me to change my mind?"

The dwarves, minus Thorin, Balin, Bilbo and Gandalf, were sitting on the balcony to the room they'd been given. Dori still attempted getting Ori to try something green, though Ori continued to refuse. They had cooked most everything over a fire, though not everything tasted good when cooked, and most were sitting with full bellies talking and laughing. Bofur was roasting a sausage link and he looked to his brother when he heard creaking. Bombur was holding a plate of food and sitting on a small wooden bench. Smiling Bofur took the link and calling his brother, he tossed it to him. A loud creak sounded before the bench broke under Bombur's weight sending all of the dwarves into roaring laughter. Bofur rolled on the ground unable to sit upright and saw the hem of a dress pooling on the floor.

Many of the others noticed the new person and looked to her face to see her lips pursued slightly as she tried not to smile. Eleni walked further onto the balcony and helped Bombur sit up before sitting quietly beside him. Dwalin moved his feet to give her more room, though really he sat up to stare at her with untrusting eyes.

"It is good to see you again, Lady Eleni," Ori said quietly, always using his manners.

"Thank you, Ori, it is good to see you as well," she said with a nod of her head.

"Does this mean you are coming with us?" demanded Gloin.

Eleni sat quietly staring at the fire before she answered. "No, I only agreed to join you for supper."

Bofur gave her a plate of food, mostly the greens they would not eat, and they watched as she ate a mushroom.

"Milady," Ori said.  
"I am no lady, Ori. You may call me Eleni."  
Ori smiled at her remembering his name. "Eleni," he said trying the name out on his tongue, "how many orcs have you come across?"

She noticed that all of the dwarves were watching her, waiting for her answer and she sighed heavily. "More than a woman probably should have."

"What were you doing to have come across an orc pack?" Dwalin asked gruffly.

"Visiting an old friend," she answered though she did not say more.

"Was your friend worth the risk of traveling in the wild?"

She turned her sharp eyes on Dwalin and saw in the flickering of the fire the scar that ran across his face. "He saved my life once."  
Dwalin nodded to himself, satisfied with her answer. She continued eating the bowl they had given her, and many of them continued to watch her.

"Do you normally journey alone?"

Her eyes met Fili's, who looked at her in much the same way as Thorin did though not as hostile. "Most of the time."

"It is not safe for a woman to travel the wild alone," a gruff voice said.  
Eleni looked to her right to see Thorin glaring at her. She held his gaze briefly before turning away, knowing he would see it as an insult.

"He is right," Balin said. "There are many men and creatures out there that would do you harm."

"And many have I come across, though I can handle my own."  
Bilbo walked from behind Balin to sit on Eleni's other side, smiling in greeting as she offered him the remainders of her food.

"You speak of the wild as though you have traveled it many times," Balin said studying her.

When she turned her head to look at Balin, Fili, who had been watching her silently since she had joined them, noticed a thin white scar running from her neck across her collarbone and beneath the fabric of her dress.

"I have," she answered softly.

"Perhaps you would like a companion to accompany you in the wild," Kili said with a smile on his face.  
Eleni turned questioning eyes to Kili before she looked away uninterested. Fili watched as his brother's smile was replaced with a smirk. Kili was unused to women not being charmed by him, and he saw Eleni as a challenge.

Thorin watched the woman, looking for a sign as to who she was; it frustrated him that she had said he knew of her, for he did not remember any such woman. "How old are you?" he demanded.  
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly. "How old do you think I am?"

It was not the answer he asked for, and he was not used to people knowing who he was and challenging him so. Fili watched Eleni, seeing her straight back and the regal way she held her head high, wondering if she knew she was talking to a king, for she did not behave as though she did.

"From your face I would guess twenty but you have spoken of things that would have me believe you were at least sixty."

They all turned to her then, studying her face. She looked to see them all watching her and she stood smoothing out the skirt of dress. "I am need of rest, I am pleased to have met you all." She walked towards the set of stairs but a gruff voice halted her steps;

"You did not give an answer," Thorin said.

She turned her head and Fili saw a flash of the scar that ran from her neck to her chest. "I have not been sixty in fourteen years," she said before retreating down the stairs, leaving them all to stare after her.

"Is she coming with us?" Bilbo asked Thorin.  
Thorin turned his eyes from where she had gone to look at Bilbo and then he looked to others. "We should all sleep, we leave in the morning," Thorin said before turning away from them.

Bilbo had wanted Eleni to come with them if it was true she knew the way. The hobbit was not alone in wanting to have someone who had traveled the path they would take, who knew the dangers they would face because they had already faced them. Though they would not disagree with Thorin and instead climbed in their beds to sleep before they would continue on with their journey.

They woke the next day and put food in their bellies, before saving as much as they could to bring with them. They gathered their things together in their packs before making their way to the edge of Rivendell. They saw Eleni's nephew sitting on a tall rock as he watched the animals in the trees.

"You are leaving?" Estel asked.

Thorin nodded though he did not speak.

"No one knows," the boy said understanding why they held their tongues. "Osu'Nys," the boy said smiling.  
They all turned knowing Eleni would be there, though none of them had imagined she would look as she did. Her long dark hair blew in the wind as she rushed quickly towards them, wearing a thin white underdress and a blue robe that draped from her shoulders and trailed behind her. Her feet were quick as she moved down the stairs, unaware of the way her breasts bounced with each step though all fourteen of the Company had noticed, and then she was brushing past all of them to stand before Thorin.

He looked from her face to dress and then back to her face. Her eyes were on his before she turned to Estel. "You should not sit up there," she said sternly.

Estel rolled his eyes. "I won't fall this time."  
She gave him a hard look and he climbed from the rock he was on to stand beside her. She turned back to Thorin who was waiting impatiently for her to speak to him. "Move quickly over the mountains, do not linger. The caves are never as unoccupied as they may seem."

Thorin gave her a long look, taking note of the sincerity in her gray eyes. Seeing her in elf's dress he could almost think she were an elf if not for her ears. She was no dwarf, nor a hobbit; leaving her to only be a human, though she claimed to be seventy-four. If he were to believe her, and she was right he had no reason not to, she be would one of the last of the Dúnedain. Looking at her solemn face and the proud way in which she held herself he wondered briefly if she were royalty. He saw the way she held Estel to her chest, her hands on his shoulders, protecting him.

"Thank you for the warning," he said though he did not sound it.

"I hope you find what it is you are after," she said softly as he led them out of Rivendell. The dwarves all bid her farewell, bowing as they passed her. Estel laughed when he saw the younger dwarf with the short dark beard wink at Eleni. Fili smirked when he saw her look of almost disgust at his brother's flirtations. He held her eyes and smiled as he bowed, feeling her gaze on his back as he walked past. Eleni looked quizzically after Fili, who she knew for his blond hair – it was uncommon for dwarves. She looked to Bilbo and saw his smile and she gave him a small one in return. Bifur said something to her in Khuzdul though from his bowing and hand gestures she assumed it was something polite, or as polite as a dwarf could be. She quickly noticed that Gandalf was not among them and realized he must have been called to council. She watched the Company until the last person was lost from her sight and she turned to her nephew to see him looking after them as well.

"Why did you not go with them?" he asked. He looked up at her and she was struck with how similar he looked to her brother.

"It is not my journey," she said. Eleni received many looks from those she passed, for she was only in her night clothes having rushed to warn Thorin of the path she knew he would take.  
The remainder of the day passed slowly and Eleni assisted Estel in his sword fighting, seeing how quickly he learned. They then set up targets in the trees before they practiced shooting them; immensely proud of how well Estel wielded a bow.  
"I see you have not changed your mind," Gandalf said from behind them. Eleni turned to see disappointment in his eyes and shooed Estel to go find his mother. "They are in need of your help."  
"You did not tell me you planned on leaving them to face Mirkwood alone."  
"Would that have changed your mind?"  
Eleni looked away from the wizard as she thought. She had been glad to return to Rivendell, to see Estel. But she yearned for more, she ached for it. She had been raised in Rivendell with her brother and they had often ventured into the wild together. She was meant to dwell in the wild, it was in her blood no matter the danger. She remembered when she followed her brother as they hunted orcs and had seen him die.  
Gandalf watched as her fingers traced the scar on the left side of her collarbone lost in thought. He knew of the many scars that marred her body, having healed a few of her wounds himself, though pain had never proved a deterrent for her.

"Do you believe they will see this quest through to the end, or do you only hope?"

"A little of both perhaps," he answered honestly for he did not fully know.

"If I do this," she said looking at him and seeing a spark of joy ignite in his eyes, "you will keep a close eye on him as he gets older." Gandalf nodded knowing she spoke of Estel. "If something were to happen that would require him to reveal himself and take back our kingdom, you are not to ask for it. It will remain his choice."

The wizard placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her his word, though neither of them could have known what would happen in the years to come, nor the great role her nephew would be forced to play.

"Alright," she said making up her mind. "I will join them on their quest."


	3. Its Quiet Company

_Bones will be shattered_

_Necks will be wrung._

_Beaten and battered_

_From racks you'll be hung._

_You'll die down here_

_and never be found._

_Down in the deep of Goblin-town._

The Great Goblin sang cheerfully. The dwarves fought pointlessly against the rough hands of the goblins as their weapons were taken and their bodies were prodded with ruthless fingers. One goblin held Thorin's sword, and unsheathing it, shrieked and threw it away from him in fear. A bone chilling silence fell over the goblins before the Great Goblin's voice broke it:

"I know that sword," he said cowering on his throne, "it is the Goblin cleaver. The Biter."

Anger and hatred spread through the goblins, and many of the dwarves were whipped and they were all war clubstruck relentlessly.

"The blade that sliced a thousand necks. Slash them, beat them, kill them! Kill them all!"

Thorin ducked and held his arm up to lessen the blows from the whip but another goblin crashed into him sending him sprawling on his back. There were two goblins holding his arms, keeping him immobile no matter how he fought, and another hovering over him with a blade.

"Cut off his head!"

Thorin was left staring at the goblin holding a dagger, never imagining that this would be his end. Suddenly a light, white and pure, soared through all of Goblin-town knocking the dwarves and goblins off their feet, and many goblins off of the platform. After the light went out there was little more than the light of a few flames, leaving the town in darkness. Slowly the lights began to flicker back to life, revealing Gandalf in the shadows. The dwarves and goblins slowly sat up, disoriented from the strange magic of light. They all looked to see the wizard towering over them, and behind them they saw the shorter figure of Eleni with her quiver at her back and her sword in her hand.

"Take up arms," Gandalf orders. "Fight. Fight!"

Hope renewed the dwarves struggled with fervor and grabbed their weapons as the goblins began attacking again. A few goblins charged at the wizard who cut them down, and he moved aside so Eleni could assist the dwarves in fighting. Her sword cut several limbs off goblins, severed a few bodies completely, and beheaded many, affording some of the dwarves time to right themselves and draw their weapons. Thorin had thought, angered, that she would be a burden in the fight they would now face, but watching the savage way she killed the goblins in her path he could not deny her skill.

"He wields the Foe-hammer, the Beater," cried the Great Goblin of Gandalf's sword. "Bright as daylight."

The Great Goblin seized his club and raised it high.

"Thorin!" Fili yelled to catch his uncle's attention.

Thorin turned and raised his sword, catching the blow of the club sending the The Great Goblin reeling backwards and stumbled off the edge of the platform.

They continued fighting the goblins as they continued to swarm around them. Many of the dwarves had looked to Eleni, thinking of her needing protection, though they quickly realized she needed it not. Her movements were fast, sometimes unseen, and her time in the wild had made her a vicious swordsman; so sure of her ability with a sword was she that she did not hesitate, making her a terrifying foe, and a wonderful ally.

"Follow me," Gandalf said. "Quick," he urged.  
The dwarves ran hot on his heels, battling the goblins as they fell from above or charged from ahead, or ran from behind. Those in the front used part of a railing to knock the goblins in front of them from the platforms, they then dropped the railing as they turned a corner and began cutting through them with their swords and axes.

They ran across a bridge and upon Thorin's command they cut the ropes, sending the bridge towards several goblins who were attempting to swing onto the platform the dwarves were on. They continued on, Eleni fought beside Thorin as they slayed the goblins trying to overtake them from behind. They came to another bridge and started across it when the Great Goblin jumped though the path in front of them, forcing them to halt.  
"You thought you could escape me?" The Great Goblin asked slamming his club down causing Gandalf to fall back, and then he swung it at the wizard who barely kept his feet as he jumped out of the way. "What are you going to do now, wizard?" sneered the Great Goblin.  
Gandalf righted himself and stabbed the goblin in the eye with his staff before slicing his sword though its belly.

The Great Goblin fell to his knees holding his stomach. "That'll do it," he said before Gandalf slit his throat. The Great Goblin fell forward causing the bridge to crack from his weight. The wood beneath them began shaking and groaning before they fell.

They slid down the slope of the mountain, tearing through other wooden platforms before coming to the edge and plummeting to the ground. If not for the close walls of the rock slowing them down, they surely would have died when they hit the bottom. As it was, they were all thrown off their feet and then held down by broken wood pieces that fell on them, as well as other bodies crushing them. Eleni was crushed beneath Thorin and Fili, one over her stomach and the other over her legs.

"Well that could have been worse," Bofur said looking at Gandalf who had stood and brushed himself off.  
Moments later the Great Goblin fell on top of them, crushing them further.

"You've got to be joking," Dwalin yelled.

The few who were not held under the goblin were left to help the others who were. Fili was stuck under one of the Great Goblin's arms, and Thorin's feet were under its shoulder. They felt something moving beneath them before they heard a very irritated voice:

"Get off," Eleni grumbled, barely able to breathe.

Fili wriggled his way from under the Great Goblin's arm and helped Thorin, who he saw was now face to face with Eleni.  
Thorin had pulled himself trying to get his legs free and found himself looking at Eleni's hard eyes. He grabbed Fili's hand and was slowly pulled free, though he'd kicked the woman in the stomach in the process.  
The air was knocked out of her and she coughed as Fili grabbed her arms and pulled her up, wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her. She held her stomach where Thorin's foot had connected, still coughing, and pushed her way out of Fili's arms. Gandalf helped her down from the broken pile of wood and they heard Kili call his name. They all turned to see hundreds of goblins racing down the edge of the Mountain after them, and they frantically freed the others who were still stuck and began running. They followed Gandalf as he led them, the sounds of the goblin's screams and screeching echoing around them, and soon found themselves racing towards the light of the sun.

They exited the mountain, blinded briefly from the bright light, and they ran down the slope of the mountain. The going proved faster at such a steep descent. They continued to run, wanting to be as far from the goblins as they were able, and stopped a far way off from where they'd left the mountain.  
Gandalf counted the dwarves to ensure they had all escaped, and came last to Eleni, though he realized they were one short. "Where is Bilbo?"

They all looked around them seeing that the hobbit was missing, many grumbled of the burden Bilbo had proved to be and how they would not go back into Goblin-town to find him.

"I think I saw him slip away when they first cornered us," Nori said quietly causing them all to look at him.

"What happened exactly," Gandalf ordered. "Tell me!"

"I'll tell you what happened," Thorin said gruffly, "Master Baggins saw his chance to escape and took it."

Many of them looked down upset, and a few made noises of despair.

"He has thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door. We will not be seeing the hobbit again. He is long gone by now."

Their spirits fell as they realized that they had truly lost their burglar. Eleni looked to Thorin, seeing his angry eyes, and wondered what it was about Bilbo he did not like.

"Here I am," a voice called and they all turned to see the hobbit.

A few cheered at Bilbo's arrival, proclaiming they had thought him lost, though not all were as relieved. "How on earth did you manage to get past the goblins?" Balin asked suspiciously, for he had been the look-out and had not seen Bilbo come.

Gandalf saw a flash of gold in Bilbo's hands before the hobbit put it in his pocket. "What does it matter? He's here now," Gandalf said, Eleni noticing the queer look the wizard gave him.  
"I want to know," demanded Thorin, staring at Bilbo with hot eyes. "Why did you come back?"

"I know you doubt me, and you're right, I do often think of Bag-End," Bilbo answered shrugging slightly. "I miss my books, and my armchair. You see, that's where I belong. That's home. And you don't have one, it was taken from you. But I will help you take it back, if I can."

They all looked on the hobbit with satisfied happiness in their eyes, minus Thorin who was still giving Bilbo a hard look, though it was nowhere near as hostile. And Eleni, who had agreed to the quest at Gandalf's request, caring little for any of them; or so she convinced herself. The hobbit proved to have a great heart, as soft as it was, and courage beyond anyone's first assumptions. And even Eleni, who did her best to steel herself from caring for most everyone, was touched by the hobbit's loyalty and caring nature.

"Does this mean you're coming with us?" Ori asked, his voice hopeful.

Eleni looked at Ori seeing his smile and then to Thorin seeing his eyes harden again. "I suppose I've changed my mind," she said to him.

"Any particular reason?" Thorin asked, untrusting.

Eleni looked from Thorin to Gandalf. "You know Gandalf enough to be aware he does not take 'no' lightly."

Thorin continued to watch her, studying her face. She was a better fighter than most of them, not many of them had ever been this far out in the world though she had. But he had seen a look in her eye, a strange glint as she'd been fighting, almost as if she enjoyed it. Seeing her before him, blood on her hands, her black curls loose around her face, she looked rugged and untamed. She had the same feral look in her eye that many of the rangers he had come across bore, a look that showed how the wild had changed them. And he could not trust her for he did not know her.

"Another contract could be written up," Balin said smiling at the woman, he knew they needed her knowledge of the land. And possibly her unwillingness to follow Thorin blindly, Balin knew of Thorin's stubbornness the most and thought her own strong head would be of good use, if not humorous to watch the two argue.

"You can speak of this later, now we should keep moving. The sun will set and the goblins will not be so deterred from giving chase," Gandalf said.

They hoisted what little things they still had and made to continue on. Those nearest Eleni smiled and told her they were glad to have her with them. She felt an arm slide around her waist and she turned sharply to see Kili smiling at her.

"I'm glad you changed your mind," he said before releasing her. She looked after him with strong distaste, and Bilbo chuckled when he saw her face.

"How is your stomach?" she heard from beside her.

Fili watched her face seeing her confusion. "From where Thorin kicked you," he clarified.

"Oh," she said softly, her fingers brushing over her right side. "I'm alright, it is of no concern," she answered walking further in front him.

He stared after her, knowing very well that when he had pulled her from under the pile of wood she had been clutching her left side, not the right.

Only moments later the sounds of howls filled their ears, causing them all to turn in warried fear.

"Out of the frying pan," muttered Thorin.

"And into the fire," finished Gandalf. "Run!"

They ran through the trees as fast as they were able, though the dwarves and hobbit were on short legs. Gandalf and Eleni, who even in a dress ran faster than the wizard, were quickly out pacing them. They could hear the snarls and growls of the wargs as they came closer, and they knew they would be overtaken. They reached the edge of a cliff and had nowhere to turn but towards the oncoming attack. Several riderless wargs burst through the trees, their mouths open, their teeth bared. The dwarves turned their weapons on the beasts, killing them, and Eleni loosed several arrows killing some but mostly to halt the wargs long enough to give those near the wargs time to defend themselves.

"Get in the trees!" Gandalf yelled.

Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin and Gloin were in a large pinetree with thick branches; Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and Thorin were in another; Dwalin and Balin had climbed a slender tree without many branches to sit; Gandalf, who was a good deal taller than the others, was in a tree they could not climb; and Eleni was with Kili and Fili.

"I will stab you in face," she threatened when she felt Kili's hands around her waist. He held his hands up in mock surrender at her glare and she quickly scaled the tree without trouble. Kili elbowed Fili, who was snickering at her uninterest in his brother. They sat with Fili and Kili on one side and Eleni on the other. Looking down they saw Bilbo tugging his sword out of a warg's belly instead of in a tree.

Once Bilbo had freed his small sword he looked up only to realize that he was too small to reach any of the branches. The sounds of more wargs reached his ears sending his heart into a frenzy, as well as the dwarves who were yelling at him to get in a tree. "If only I could reach!" Bilbo thought desperately. When suddenly he felt someone wrap their arms around him and pull him onto a branch.  
Fili and Kili were deciding who would go down to get him, none too happy at the risk, when they felt the branches begin shaking as Eleni climbed back down.

She wrapped her legs around the lowest branch and swung herself upside down, exposing her legs, and swept Bilbo into her arms. Estel had loved when she did that in Rivendell, though Bilbo was much heavier than her young nephew. Kili offered the hobbit a hand, which Bilbo gratefully took, and Eleni grabbed Fili's outstretched hand, though not nearly as welcome as the hobbit.

A series of wargs came and began throwing themselves at the trees, though unable to climb them. A band of orcs emerged from the trees, one in particular capturing everyone's eye. Thorin looked at the orc in complete shock, his blue eyes wide and his mouth agape.

"Azog."


	4. I Can't Fall Asleep

Thorin stared at the pale orc in absolute shock, unable to believe he was still alive. The others stared at the large orc, seeing his white skin and the many scars that covered nearly all of him, and they all saw the metal limb where his left forearm should have been that ended in three lethal spikes.

"Do you smell it?" Azog spoke in the dark orcish language, "the scent of fear. I remember your father reeked of it, Thorin son of Thrain."

"It cannot be," whispered Thorin numbly.

Gandalf shifted in the tree causing Azog to turn his eyes from Thorin. In doing so his eyes, which were almost as white as his skin, landed on a familiar face. The dwarves saw the orc's confused astonishment when he saw Eleni, and then a crazed glee ignited behind his eyes. Fili looked down to see Eleni, her face hard and brutal, though he could see the slight tremor in her hands as they held the branch.

Azog smiled then, a gruesome sight full of sharp teeth. "Those two are mine," he said pointing from Thorin to Eleni, "Kill the others," he ordered.

The wargs then leapt at the trees with a savage ferocity, causing the dwarves to cling to the bark as they began shaking. Some cried out as the beasts jumped, their gaping mouths full of sharp teeth just missing their feet. They were trapped in the trees like animals while the wargs and orcs were the hunters.

Gandalf grabbed a pinecone near him and lit a flame by magic before tossing it to the ground, fire erupting in the grass causing the wargs to halt. Gandalf lit another pinecone before tossing it to the dwarf nearest him, and some of the others held cones to the flames before they all threw them to the ground. One well-aimed fireball ignited a warg's fur causing it to run howling as it burned. The heat from the flames as they spread on the ground rose to warm those in the trees, as well as the smoke making it difficult to breathe.

The wargs resumed leaping at the trees, tearing at the bark with their teeth as they tried to grab the dwarves. The trees began shaking and groaning as the onslaught proved too much, and the dwarves were forced to jump from tree to tree to escape from the beasts below as the trees fell. They came to the last tree on the edge, the one Gandalf had climbed, and it too began groaning. They felt horror beat in their hearts as the tree fell over the edge, but some few roots held taking them all off their feet as the tree crashed and hung from the cliff.

Many of the dwarves were hanging from the branches, holding on with their sweat slicked hands and tired arms, several were barely holding onto the trunk, limbs dangling over open air. Gandalf was at the very end of the tree between branches, able to somewhat sit without fear of falling. Ori fell, catching his brother, Dori's legs, causing Dori to begin slipping down the branch he was holding.

Thorin noticed none of that; his eyes were trained on the pale orc who'd beheaded his grandfather, who should have been dead. He stood from where he laid on the trunk, tightening his grip on his sword as he began charging. Azog was surprised at first, and then he welcomed the chance to break the line Durin waiting for the dwarf to reach him. With a roar he urged his warg forward, and Thorin had the breath knocked out of him when the warg's paw struck him in the chest throwing him off his feet.

Those in the trees watched in agonized fear as Thorin stood again, and then watched as Azog raised his mace and struck Thorin in the face. Balin cried out as Thorin hit the ground, unable to move fast enough to escape the jaws of Azog's warg.

Dwalin tried to stand but his feet slipped and he grabbed a branch as he fell, now dangling from the tree.

Thorin cried out in pain as its teeth bit into his mail, raising his sword to cut its snout before he was thrown through the air. He landed on his back unable to move or breathe, hearing his friends calling for him and the laughter from Azog.

Azog turned to the orc next to him and gave the order for Thorin's head.

The orc came into Thorin's view holding a sword, and he was left again thinking of his end. He felt the steel of the blade on his neck as the orc prepared his mark. Thorin reached for his sword desperately though it was too far from his reach, and he was left watching as the orc raised the sword and brought it down. A small shape collided with the orc and they both fell away from the dwarf. Thorin looked to see the hobbit stabbing the orc in the chest, before the world darkened and he saw no more.

Bilbo stood and moved in front of where Thorin lay, holding his small sword in front of him. An orc atop a warg charged at him and Bilbo slashed his sword cutting the beasts jaws, falling back from the force.

Fili had reached Kili, who had been dangling from a branch, and they charged into the ranks of wargs and orcs, killing all in their path. Dwalin too had managed to climb back onto the trunk and ran into the fight. Eleni had a leg slung over a branch and her shoulder resting against the trunk, loosing her arrows as best she could without falling. She killed a few orcs atop wargs, though her arrows did little to halt the wargs for more than a few moments. Though after her shoulder slipped from the trunk, loosing her arrow on a path she had not meant, narrowly missing Fili who had turned to her in surprise, she slung her bow over her shoulder and ceased firing.

Dori was now grasping the very end of the branch, his gloves barely holding on. With a cry he and Ori fell toward the darkness below. They landed on something still yelling, seeing that it was an eagle.

Azog had his eyes trained on the hobbit, hatred burning in his eyes. Bilbo backed as far as he could away from the orc, though with the fire still crackling and burning and a fallen tree behind him, Bilbo could go no further. Bilbo had just given up hope when a loud screech sounded, calling every one's attention. A great eagle wrapped its talons around a warg and flew before dropping it off the cliff.

Several eagles swooped low tossing wargs and orcs from the cliffs, and plucking dwarves from the tree. The eagles flew, creating gusts of wind that swirled around those on the ground. One eagle flew low and grabbed Thorin, and Fili and Kili watched as the eagle rose and their uncle's wooden shield fell to the ground.

Azog roared in fury, watching the eagle carrying Thorin fly away. Another eagle flew past the orc and plucked a fearful Bilbo from the ground before dropping the hobbit onto another eagle's back; nearly landing on Eleni who grabbed the hobbit to keep them both on the bird's back.

The eagles continued to grab the dwarves before they had collected all in the Company, and flew far from the edge where Azog was, and they heard his loud roar of defeat.

The sun rose signaling a new day, though they could not feel welcome for it. They looked at Thorin to see him still laying in the eagle's talons unmoving, their hearts sinking.

Bilbo lay on his belly feelings Eleni's warm stomach on his back as she laid over him. He savored the feeling of safety in knowing she was there; there was something about her wildness that he liked. As though no danger could harm her for she was too untamed. Bilbo knew that was untrue, he saw the scar on her arm and knew she had been hurt; he knew she was no greater than the dwarves, though he fancied himself to think she was if only to lift his spirits.

The eagle holding Thorin placed him gently on the top of a flat surface on a hill, though he still did not wake. Gandalf jumped from his eagle and rushed towards Thorin, and the others were placed back on their feet and they stood and watched. The sound of Thorin's breathing was a great joy to his friends as relief flooded through them.

"The halfling," he said looking up at Gandalf.

"It's alright," the wizard assured Thorin, "Bilbo is here, quite safe."

Thorin stood on wearied legs, shoving the hands away that helped him up, and faced Bilbo.

"You," he said gruffly. "What were you doing, you nearly got yourself killed?"

Bilbo looked at Thorin in shocked silence, no longer relieved the dwarf was alright.

"Did I not say you would be a burden. That you would not survive in the wild. That you had no place amongst us."

Bilbo looked down crestfallen at the dwarf's harsh words.

"Never have I been so wrong in all my life," he said taking the hobbit in his arms.

The dwarves cheered at the sight and saw Bilbo's look of disbelief before he smiled.

"I am sorry I doubted you," Thorin said after he'd released Bilbo.  
Bilbo shook his head. "I would have doubted me too. I'm not a hero, or a warrior. I'm not even a burglar."

Many of them chuckled at that, though Bilbo had proven his use. Bilbo watched as Thorin's eyes left his face and widened at what they saw behind him.

"Is that what I think it is?" Bilbo asked turning to look at what had captured Thorin's eye.

The dwarves followed as Thorin walked to the edge to get a closer look.  
"Erebor," Gandalf said as they all stood staring at the Mountain, their quest's destination. The thought of gold ran through the dwarves' minds, though it was the dragon who ran through Bilbo's. They turned from the sight of the Lonely Mountain to continue on, and Thorin's eyes landed on Eleni. She was the only one who hadn't moved closer to the edge for a better look, and her gray eyes were staring at him intently. Her gaze was not hostile, though he could almost feel its weight. One thought ran through his mind as he looked back at her, though he did not speak, not yet.  
Gandalf led them down the Carrock, which had steps carved into it making the descent easier. They reached the bottom of the steps and were left facing the river Anduin. They all took a moment to clean themselves of the blood on their skin. Eleni knelt down and looked into the water seeing speckles of blood on her neck and the top of her chest from the attack on the goblins, and washed it off. She looked down examining her skirt and shirt seeing spots of goblin blood, but knew it would not likely come out, though it was barely distinguishable on her brown vest. She felt someone at her side and looked up to see Fili.

He noticed the blood on the side of her neck, and bending down he dipped his hand in the water before running his wet fingers down her throat, almost tracing the scar that ran along her skin. He smirked at the look she was giving him before standing and walking towards his brother. Kili glared at him, having seen her face which had not been as disturbed as when he himself had shown her affection. Though it was Bilbo who noticed that even though she had not been as put off, she was still unhappy with it. Her brows were furrowed as she wondered, not for the first time, what exactly it was she had agreed to.

She stood and met the sharp eyes of Thorin when she turned.  
"He knew you," said Thorin, no more trusting of the woman than when he'd first met her. Though now he had seen her use in battle.  
"Yes," she answered, meeting his hard gaze without flinching.

"How?" he demanded, no longer lenient with what she was willing to tell him.

She looked away from him towards Fili and Kili, where the two were talking and smiling, and Fili briefly met her gaze before she turned back to Thorin. "I was hunting an orc pack that had destroyed a camp near to mine."

"What were you thinking?" he asked incredulous of her stupidity.

Her eyes turned hard at his tone and her nose turned up as though she were looking at something that disgusted her. "I was not alone," she said crossly. "I accompanied my brother and a few of our men."

He was left to stare at her, noticing for the first time the small scar on her neck and chest. Her fingers brushed against it when she saw him looking at it, he looked back at her face when he realized he'd forgotten courtesy. "Is there anything else you would like to know?" asked Eleni, her voice cold with anger.

He shook his head and she walked past him to where the others were. He followed after her and looked to Gandalf to see him watching the woman. The wizard cleared his throat to get their attention.

"I always meant to see you safe over the mountains, minus a few setbacks, I have done it. I have a few pressing matters to attend to, but I may look back on you all before your quest is through."

The dwarves groaned and complained saying things such as; "You're leaving us!" and "What could more important than taking back Erebor?" as well as few "You can't just leave us!" The dwarves had all begun to think that Gandalf would continue with them until the very end, and always be there to help them when help was needed.

"Enough!" yelled Gandalf gruffly. "I will not leave you this very moment though should you continue to complain I might come of mind to disappear this instant!"

The dwarves settled quickly after that, not wanting to upset the wizard anymore.

"Probably I can help you out of your present plight, and I need a little help myself. We have no food, and no baggage, and no ponies to ride; and you don't know where you are. I have not been in these parts for years, and Eleni has never had a need to have been in this particular area so she will be of little help to you at the moment. There is a man who remains to be the only person who lives here, it is he who we must go to for aide," he said without looking at the woman. If he had he would have seen her roll her eyes and seen the smirk that formed at the corners of her mouth, and understood that she did in fact very much know where they were and who it was they were going to meet.

"Who is this man you are taking us to?" Thorin asked, remembering the last time Gandalf had led them to a friend it turned out to be elves.

"His name is Beorn and you must all be very polite when I introduce you. I shall introduce you slowly, and you _must_ be careful not to annoy him, or heaven knows what will happen. He can be appalling when he is angry, though he is kind enough if humored. Still I warn you he gets angry easily."

"That is who you are taking us to now?" asked Bilbo unhappy.  
"Couldn't you find someone a bit more easy tempered?" asked Dori, equally unhappy though more worried about upsetting the man.

"Yes, Bilbo, it is. And no, Dori I could not. Beorn is a trusted ally. If you must know more he is a skin-changer."

"A skin-changer!" said Bilbo now extremely put off.

"Yes," answered Gandalf with sigh. "Sometimes he is a man, and a very large one at that, and sometimes he is a bear."

"Bear?" squeaked Ori, positively frightened.

"Yes a bear," said Gandalf having enough of the questions. "I will speak no more of this matter, it is settled. Follow me if you wish to have a place to stay and food to eat," he grumbled walking away from them. The Company had no choice but to follow, for they truly did have no idea where they were.


	5. Without A Little Help

They walked for hours before they rested and the dwarves whispered quietly, as quiet as a dwarf could be, about the man Gandalf was taking them to. Fili and Kili were huddled together speaking excitedly, while Ori was complaining softly about the bear-man, terrified that they would be eaten, which caused Dori's uneasiness to grow. Bilbo was sitting next to Bofur who was telling Bombur and Bifur of what it would be like to be mauled, and Bilbo was quickly growing anxious. Eleni stood near Balin, who was the look-out, and he asked her of her time in Rivendell.

"It is where my brother and I were raised, as our forefathers had been before us."

"And your father was not an elf," Balin clarified, not entirely understanding.

"No," she said with a smile that barely curled on her lips, though Balin saw it, "we stayed in Rivendell while he lived in the wild. Until my brother and I came of age, then we joined him."  
"And he allowed that?" Balin asked incredulous and her smile grew.  
"I did not give him much of a choice."

Balin laughed at the image of her as a headstrong young woman that played through his mind. "Your brother was older than you?"

Her smile slipped from her face and she was quiet for a moment. "No, he was younger than me."

"Was?" Balin asked quietly. He watched her face slip back into her previous iciness, no ounce of mirth left.

"What was his name?" asked Thorin from behind them, having listened as they spoke. She did not turn to him though he saw her back stiffen from his question. From beside her Balin watched her hand brush against her stomach, lost in thought.  
"Will you tell me nothing of yourself?" Thorin questioned angrily, his loud voice stilling all others  
"No more than you need to know," she answered, turning to him with stony eyes.

He raised himself and moved to stand in front of her, meeting her glare with his own. "You do not get to decide what I need to know, I do. And I am telling you to answer me," he ordered.  
"And I am telling you no," she said in return, her eyes cold and her voice unrelenting.

"Why is that?" he hissed.

"There are many people who wish me dead, Thorin Oakenshield. After facing death I have decided that I rather enjoy living." Her voice was low and dangerous, and he was reminded briefly of a cat spotting its prey.

"Perhaps it is time we continue on," Gandalf suggested.

Thorin took his eyes from the woman and turned to the wizard. He nodded before looking back to Eleni, only to find she had already stalked away from him.

After a time Thorin walked beside Gandalf. "I will not answer your question," the wizard said guessing what was on the dwarf's mind.  
"I do not trust her, Gandalf. She's dangerous."  
"Only when she needs to be."

Thorin looked up at the wizard confused, and Gandalf looked down at him with a small smile.

"When you come to know who she is you will also know her nephew, and that is something she is not willing to allow at the present moment."

"Who is she?" Thorin asked. He had passed the point of wanting and he found himself needing to know the answer. "Who is her nephew?"

Gandalf turned to him then, his eyes wide with alarm. "You will never ask that. Promise me!" he said in a hushed voice. Gandalf turned away from him after he gave his word, though Thorin was now more confused than before.  
"Gandalf," he said.  
"When he comes of age, when he can defend himself. When he is no longer child, she may not be as vicious," Gandalf said, hardly speaking to Thorin. Though the wizard turned to him with a solemn seriousness in his eyes. "If she believes your knowledge of who he is poses a threat to him she will kill you without hesitation."  
Thorin looked over his shoulder to see Eleni walking beside Kili, giving him an irritated look. Fili walked close behind, his eyes raking over her figure, chuckling at his brother's failing charm.

"I do not want her in this Company," Thorin said turning back to the wizard.

"She will prove to be of help, and it will be much needed if you choose to listen."

"I do not trust any of their safety in her presence, Gandalf."  
The wizard sighed heavily at his words. "Would you not do the same for Fili and Kili?" he asked Thorin.

"Of course," Thorin said with conviction, "but she is different."

"How so?" asked Gandalf. When Thorin could not find an answer, he continued. "Your nephews can defend themselves, they are trained and they have fought. However little experiences they have, they are no longer children. Estel is but ten years, and there are many who would kill him; there is a reason he is being hidden, and she has given up everything to ensure his safety."  
They continued on in silence, Thorin pondering what Gandalf had said. He had seen the fierce way in which she loved her nephew, he could understand it; he respected it.

Gandalf watched Thorin's face, weary of the dwarf's stubbornness. "I told you," Gandalf said interrupting Thorin's thoughts, "she is much like you."  
"How so?" Thorin asked curious.  
"You have seen your kin fall in battle, as has she. Your nephews were raised under your care, as was hers. And you are both royalty without a kingdom, only you are reclaiming yours while it will be Estel who reclaims theirs."

Thorin looked to Gandalf unsure of what to say, now aware he had realized she was of noble birth without knowing it. He looked back at Eleni to see Fili walking at her side, Kili having given up and was sulking a little ways in front of them. A flash of her teeth showed her amusement at something Fili had said, and he watched her say something to his nephew in return, to which Fili gave a large smile. Ori was at her other side, and Bofur and Dori were at her back; all speaking to one another.

Fili moved in rhythm with her strides, watching her face. She was unlike any woman he had ever met, or heard of. Her time in the wild had made her uncultivated, untamed. She was hard and cold, unrelentless at times. She was a warrior, more so than many of the dwarves in their company. And she was beautiful. Unlike Bilbo who was used to women with full smiles and round faces, Fili was used to dwarf women, as few as they were, with beards and gruff voices. He'd seen her bare legs when she hung from the tree to reach the hobbit, they were as pale and hairless as her face. She had seen the world, she knew its dangers, and she was only a few younger than he and his brother. And yet she loved deeply, he'd seen it in the way she cared for her nephew; similar to how he cared for Kili. So he watched her, captivated by the primitive air about her as she scanned the trees around them. Watching her, he didn't think there was another woman like her.

It wasn't until the middle of the afternoon that they finally came to the edge of Beorn's land; patches of flowers, of different kinds, were spread along the ground. Soon after passing those they came to a very high hedge they could not see over, not even Gandalf at his height.

Gandalf looked at them very seriously. "Better if you wait here," he said. "When I call or whistle is when you should come, but only in pairs, and about five minutes between each pair of you. Come on Mr Baggins," Gandalf said before walking along the hedge with the frightened hobbit following behind.

The two came to a gate and found a walkway leading to a very large house. As they walked a few horses trotted up to them, staring at them with strangely knowledgeable eyes. And then the horses trotted away towards the house.

"They will tell him of our arrival," explained Gandalf to Bilbo, who was walking very close behind the wizard.

A huge man with thick black hair and great arms was standing near the house waiting for them, the horses at his side. "And here they are," he said in a great booming voice, "they don't look dangerous. Off with ya," he said to the horses. He came towards the two strangers towering over Gandalf, and poor little Bilbo's head barely reached above the man's knees. "Who are you and what do you want?" he questioned gruffly.

"I am Gandalf.."  
"Never heard of 'em," the large man growled before turning to Bilbo.  
Gandalf introduced the hobbit, who bowed low in greeting and righted himself on shaky legs.

"Now I know who you say you are, what do you want?"

"To tell you the truth, we lost our luggage and nearly lost our way, and are rather in need of help, or at least of advice. We have had rather a bad time with goblins and orcs in the mountains."

"Goblins?" said the big man less gruffly. "O ho, so you've been having trouble with _them_ have you? What did you go near them for?"

Before Gandalf could answer the sound of rustling reached their ears and the three turned to see who it was; Gandalf had not given a call, nor had five minutes passed. Gandalf gave Eleni a severe look when he saw her come into view.

Eleni had listened to Gandalf's directions and rolled her eyes irritably at them. Several times had she tried speaking of Beorn to Gandalf, and each time the wizard would answer crossly that he would not talk anymore about it. She allowed enough time to pass that Gandalf and Bilbo should have met Beorn before she began walking through the hedge.  
"Where do you think you're going?" questioned Thorin grabbing her arm. "Gandalf has not called for us."

She placed her hand over Thorin's pulling his hold from her arm before continuing on. She met Gandalf's angry eyes before looking to the large man.

Beorn gave a great laugh before addressing the wizard. "You should have brought her with you earlier."

"You must forgive her," Gandalf said, throwing another glare towards Eleni, "she was very excited to meet you."  
"I'm sure she was. I wasn't expecting you to come back so soon, Arael."  
Gandalf looked to Beorn in utter shock when he heard Eleni's true name.

"Come in all of you," Beorn said. He placed a large hand around Eleni's back and led them through the house and then outside where they sat on wooden benches while Gandalf began his tale.  
And so the wizard did, though every now and again he would increase the number of their party. And every time Beorn would stop him and then more dwarves would come in. A few time Beorn would turn to Eleni and ask her if it were true, and she would nod quietly before looking back to Gandalf, who now realized he should have listened to her himself.

Gandalf finally came to the end of their tale where the eagles had rescued them, and all in the Company were now present, and Beorn had paced around in excitement from the story. Gandalf had been very clever in how he introduced the dwarves, for the interruptions had really made Beorn more interested in the story, and the story had kept him from sending the dwarves off at once like suspicious beggars. Beorn never invited people into his house, if he could help it. He had very few friends and they lived a good way away, and he only invited a few of them to stay at his house at one time.

Beorn praised Gandalf's story, if it were true, for not even Eleni's word had convinced him yet.  
"May I ask a question?" Bilbo asked timidly.

"Go ahead," Beorn ordered.

"What was it you called Eleni?"

"Who is Eleni?" the large man questioned, much to everyones extreme confusion.

"She is," Bilbo said pointing to her.  
Beorn laughed again. "Oh that one, she is Arael."

They were quiet for a few moments, staring at the woman.

"That name sounds very familiar," Balin said and many others, mainly the oldest dwarves, nodded their agreement.

"Of course it does," Beorn exclaimed. "She is the daughter of Arador, the Chieftain of the Dúnedain. Well he was until he died, then it was her brother, Arathorn. I never met him."

The dwarves stared at Eleni astonished, and Bilbo was left confused for he did not know what Beorn was speaking of.  
Thorin was not surprised to learn she was of the Dúnedain, it was the only explanation for how she could be seventy-four. But he realized how foolish he had been to have not realized _who_ she was; she carried her heritage in her movements. He had been blinded by her wild nature and had forgotten the proud way in which she carried herself; her back straight, her head held high, her audacity to speak her mind.

"You are the heir of Isildur," said Thorin, revealing who she was to those who had yet to figure it out. And now he knew who her nephew was and of all the dangers he faced because of it; now understanding why she had refused so strongly to tell them of herself. He was the heir to the thrones of Gondor and Arnor, and as his father's sister so too was she.


	6. It Takes A While

Beorn gave them food and beds to sleep in; his animals moving around them expertly as they arranged everything, to the dwarves' delight and awe. Beorn told them tales of the wild lands on this side of the mountains, and especially of the dark and dangerous wood; the terrible forests of Mirkwood. The dwarves listened and shook their beards, for they knew they had to pass through the woods and that it would be the worst of the perils they had to face before they reached the dragon's stronghold.

Though the large man also told them stories that made them laugh, and many clutched their sides from too much laughter.

The dwarves did not ask how he knew Eleni, and Beorn did not offer the knowledge. There was a time when he'd first found her that he did not think she would live; it was not his tale to tell.

They sat at the table in chairs much too large for them, holding cups bigger than their heads. Eleni knew Beorn had made it all, she had stayed with him for some time.

He departed from them with a warning; "You should not venture out until the sun is up, on your peril."

They smoked and drank and grew very sleepy, and a long time after Beorn had left they moved to their beds, happy to not sleep on the ground.

The next morning, barely after dawn, Gandalf woke and sat for breakfast. It took him a few moments to notice Eleni standing by the table, having already eaten, petting one of the dogs.  
"You mean to track him," she said quietly not turning towards him. "You will not have much luck in coming across him but you may find where he went."  
"Have you tried to follow him before?"

She was quiet a while and Gandalf finished eating. "He found me, I was too hurt to move, he is very fast."  
Gandalf stood and grabbed his staff before moving towards the door.

"Would you like for me to join you?" she asked softly looking up at him.  
He stared down at her solemn face, wondering if there was a time she had ever smiled often.

"They will come to rely on you when I have departed. You should stay with them, get to know them," he offered with a smile. "Let them come to know you."

She rolled her eyes and wished him a good travel, reminding him of Beorn's warning. She continued roaming around the house, familiar with its grand carvings on the chairs and walls, and doorways. Beorn had taught her how to carve patterns in the wood during one of her visits, the evidence was on the chair he kept specially for her. She slipped out of the front door when she heard the sounds of the others waking.

It was full morning when Bilbo awoke. Bofur had fallen over Bilbo, having not seen him, and had rolled down with a bump from the platform onto the floor.  
"Get up lazybones," Bofur said, "or there will be no more breakfast for you."

Up jumped Bilbo. "Breakfast!" he cried. "Where is breakfast?"

"Mostly inside us," answered Gloin, who was with the other dwarves moving about the hall; "but what is left is on the table."

And that was where Bilbo went, very pleased to have something in his belly.

"We have been looking for Beorn since the sun came up; but there is no sign of him anywhere," said Dori.

"Where is Gandalf?" Bilbo asked with a stuffed mouth.

"He's probably gone off somewhere," grumbled Thorin.

"And Eleni?" asked Bilbo not remembering seeing her face.

"She went with him most likely," mumbled Kili, still sore over how she treated him.

"No, she would have remained here," said Thorin.  
"Maybe she's outside," Bilbo offered causing them all to look at him. "I mean, she has been here before," he said uncomfortably.

"How do you know that?" asked Balin, who had taken a liking to the woman.

"Beorn knew her," Bilbo explained. "He told her he hadn't expected her back so soon."

"He was the friend she had returned from visiting," said Dwalin, remembering the blood on her hands when they had first seen her in Rivendell.

Bilbo nodded as he continued eating, tasting the sweet honey in the food. When he finally had his full he got down from the large chair and joined the others, though he noticed something odd; Kili was next to Ori but Fili was no where to be found, Bilbo could not remember a time when the brothers were not together.

Fili had slipped out after Bilbo said she might be outside, thinking that if she were to be anywhere it would be in the open. He walked on the path, going past the stables, not seeing her with the horses or any of the other animals. He had almost given up finding her when he heard a low buzzing and remembered the bee pastures. He walked past the hedge and over to the bee house that had several large square cubbies, seeing Eleni's skirts on the other side. The was a large bucket at her feet half filled with honey and he saw her hands were covered in it as she scooped it out of the stalls. She noticed him and he saw her surprise, having been completely relaxed moments before and was now tense.  
"Hello," he said in greeting.

She narrowed her eyes at him as though she were searching for something in the way he stood there. "Hello," she said back.

He smiled though she turned away to collect more in the bucket. He stood at her side watching her scrape the walls of the wooden stalls and plopping the yellowish sticky fluid in the bucket.

"What are you doing?" he asked stilling her movements.  
She turned to him with furrowed brows. "Harvesting honey," she said slowly as though he might have trouble understanding.

"I can see that," he responded blandly, "but what are you _doing_?"

She sighed before raising her hand to brush the hair out of her face, but seeing the sticky substance covering her skin she dropped her hand and looked at him.  
"This is the task Beorn gave me when I first stayed with him. It is what I do every time I visit." She looked at the strand of hair hanging in front of her face and gently blew it to make it move, though it only fell back in her face.

Fili felt her grow rigid as he tucked the hair behind her ear, his fingers brushing against the soft skin of her cheek. He smiled at her face, though not as hostile as when looking at Kili, it was still perturbed.

She looked at him, not liking how close he would get to her. "If you think of behaving like your brother.."  
"I have no intention of flirting with you like Kili," he said interrupting her. She gave a last hard look before turning back to the stalls and scraping more honey in the bucket. "You won't be opposed to my affections, in fact, I'll even make you blush."

She turned to him hearing the confidence in his voice and seeing it in the smirk on his face. "Is that so?" she asked amused despite herself.  
"Definitely," he said his voice low. She continued to stare at him and he saw her mouth twitch before she turned away, though he saw the forming of a smile on her lips.

She continued to harvest, enjoying the warm breeze and the sound of the bees buzzing around her. Though she could practically feel Fili's eyes on her as she worked. "Are you planning on watching me until I am finished?" she questioned as she came to the last row of stalls.

"Perhaps until I get to know you," he answered in return.

She looked over her shoulder at him to see he was standing in the same spot. "And why is that?"

"I do not know much about you, and I would like to," he answered honestly.

She looked him over briefly, seeing the signs of his being a dwarf; his large feet and hands, his short stature, his beard. Though his face was not what she would expect from a dwarf. "I don't know much about _you_ either. You could tell me of yourself."

He looked at her taken aback, not having expected her to ask about him. "What would you like to know?"

She glanced over at him and shrugged. "Everything."

And that was what he told her. He told her of how Thorin had raised both him and Kili, teaching them to be fighters. "Thorin did not let him practice archery for months after that."

"Did he really?" she asked unbelievingly. Fili smiled as he nodded, enjoying how open her face was. "In the backside?" He chuckled as he nodded again. He was delighted to hear the sound of her laughter, a sound that was both sweet and childlike.

She tried not to laugh but the thought of Kili shooting Thorin in his behind proved too much. She turned back to the stalls and saw she had yet to start harvesting from the first one in the last row.

"What about you," Fili asked as he watched her bend down to put her handful of honey in the almost full bucket.

"What about me?" she asked without turning.

"How did you come to meet Beorn?" he asked, the first question to enter his mind.

She turned her head to look at him and he could see the reluctance in her eyes. "It is not a pleasant story," she admitted.

"So tell me anyway," he said with a shrug.

She sighed before resuming her movements of scooping the honey out of the stalls. "An orc pack pillaged a town near to the camp my brother and our men had made. The men and children were killed, the women were raped and then killed." She was quiet for a long while, scraping the walls of one of the stalls, though Fili continued to stand behind her waiting; he was much more patient than either his uncle or his brother ever were.

"As Rangers of the North it was our duty to protect the innocent, and so as Chieftain my brother led our men on a hunt for the pack."

"You went with him," said Fili.  
She nodded though she did not turn to him. "We were few though great fighters, but it did little. Only five of us survived and my brother was not one of them."

Fili thought over her words, hearing the sadness in her voice when she spoke of her brother. "You said you were great fighters, I saw you in the Goblin-town I know that to be true. How is it you were overtaken?" Fili asked.

She turned to him then. "Not even the greatest warrior has much hope in defeating the pale orc," she replied ruefully. She was quiet for a few moments then, her words echoing in his mind. "I realize now that Azog had been looking for Thorin, who had stayed in the town's inn for a few nights. But we were only sixteen, what chance did we ever have of defeating him."

Fili stood behind her, hearing the anger in her voice, the regret. She finished the last stall and set about wiping the sticky residue off of her hands. Long were the moments she was quiet, though to Fili, whose thoughts were consumed in what had befallen her, it didn't feel like much time at all.

"I watched him die," she said softly. "An arrow pierced his eye."

"Your brother?" Fili asked, not knowing who she was speaking of.

She looked at him, and he was surprised to see the despair in her eyes. "He was my Kili." She smiled a small, sad smile and Fili realized why she did not like his brother; he reminded her too much of her own.  
She continued cleaning her hands, her mind lost in her memories, before she threw the rag over her shoulder and lifted the bucket. He took the bucket from her seeing the flash of irritation in her eye, though she let him carry it when she saw that he would not be told no. They walked slowly back towards the house, just passing the hedge when he spoke again.  
"None of that answers to how you came to know Beorn."

She breathed heavily weighing whether or not to tell him, though she could find little reason not to. "My brother ordered our men to retreat, hoping not to lose us all. Only four managed to escape and he fell shortly after."

"You said five," Fili corrected.

"Those that did not flee either fell in the fight or were taken captive. All of the men were killed. They were lined up like pigs to be slaughtered." Her voice was low with anger.  
"That still does not make five."

"It made a difference to Azog that I was a woman," she answered.

He realized that she had been taken by the pale orc, captured and possibly violated. He no longer wanted to know the rest of her story though he couldn't fathom not hearing its end. "How so?" he asked.

"Because he is Azog the Defiler," answered Eleni, seeing Fili's wince at her harsh words. "I struggled too much for him, and he decided only to kill me," she said to reassure him.

_She remembered the feel of the large orc straddling her waist as he squeezed her throat, remembering the feel of the metal spikes as he drove them through the soft flesh of her belly. She could still see his smile as he slowly stole the life from her, though he hadn't counted on her will to live. She reached for the knife she kept strapped to her calf and embedded it in his arm causing him to release her throat with a roar. She coughed as she tried to breath and rolled quickly away from him toward the edge of the hill they were on. Her lungs burned and her stomach screamed with every movement, though she did not stop. Her body cried out in agony as she rolled down the hill, rocks cutting into her flesh as she struck them, before she lay still at the bottom. She heard a harsh command and then the sound of wargs as they ran down the hill aiming to kill her. A loud roar sounded and a huge black shape charged at the beasts, driving some off and killing the others. The sound of the orcs retreating could be heard from their cries as they grew farther away. Eleni was left crumpled at the bottom of the hill, her body aching, her stomach bleeding._

"I do not remember much of our journey back here, only that when I woke up Beorn was a man. I remained here for almost a year until my wounds healed, and then joined my nephew in Rivendell."  
They reached the house and she took the bucket from him, and they were left standing next to each other not knowing what to say. Thorin had told him and Kili that they knew nothing of the wild, and hearing her tale, seeing her guarded eyes, he knew he didn't.

She gave him a last look before she disappeared around the house. Fili went back inside, unsure if he was happy now that he knew more about her. He did not see his uncle follow Eleni, and if he had he might have seen the anger on his face.

Thorin had noticed Fili's absence and went outside to find him. It wasn't until he neared the hedge that he heard his nephew's voice as he told the woman of his and Kili's childhood. She laughed at what Kili had done, and he remembered the pain of the arrow in his flesh.

He listened as Fili asked her of her knowing Beorn, and Thorin had followed quietly behind them as she spoke. Realizing her encounter with Azog had been because of him. Though he did not think on that too much, for he saw the way Fili looked at her; as if she were a new toy he couldn't wait to figure out how to play with. And so when Fili went inside Thorin followed her.

She heard footsteps behind her and she turned expecting to see Fili again and instead was met with Thorin.  
"He is the heir of Durin," he said quietly. "After me it is he who will reign." Eleni looked at Thorin confused, and her confusion ignited his anger. "He is nobility, he will be a king. And _you_, you are nothing," Thorin hissed. He turned from her and stalked back to the house, leaving her in shock at his outrage. It was not until he reentered the house, seeing Fili sitting next to Kili, that he remembered who she was. That he realized he was wrong. If she were a man she would have been the Chieftain, she could reclaim her throne. Though she was not a man, and therefore she could not. But she was as noble as Fili, as he himself was.


	7. To Settle Down

_**It's hard to accept yourself as someone you don't desire,  
as someone you don't want to be.**_

_**Give me to the rambling man  
let it always be known that I was who I am.**_

_**Rambling Man by Laura Marling**_

* * *

Eleni joined them some time later, much to the relief of a few who had thought she'd left them. Thorin watched her, his gaze not hard though it was heavy and it weighed on her. She met his eye and he had expected to see some spark of anger, though there was an absence of feeling; as though he had never said anything.

They had already eaten the lunch the animals set out for them and she picked through the scraps that were left, feeling some of the dogs or sheep brush against her in greeting.

"What are we to call you?" asked Ori fiddling with his knitted gloves.

"As you have been," she answered simply before moving about to do other chores.

Without their host or their wizard the dwarves were left to occupy themselves, though they did not dare partake in anything that would provoke Beorn's anger. They drank and smoked, told stories, laughed loudly, they were in high spirits. Though as the sun moved across the sky they began talking of where Gandalf could be and if he would return before the sun set, remembering very clearly the warning Beorn had parted from them with.

"What is that?" exclaimed Gloin causing them all to look and draw near.

"It's nothing," Ori said his cheeks a deep red. "Give it back," he cried as Gloin snatched the paper away from the younger dwarf.  
Looking over their heads Eleni saw it was a drawing of a woman with a long sharp face, high cheekbones, and long curly dark hair cascading around her face. But it was the eyes that Eleni had really noticed; they were severe, almost inhuman in the feral light that shone within them. The woman looked dangerous, lethal, as though one mis-word would bring about death.

"Is that really what I look like?" she asked seeing a long scar on the drawing's collarbone, realizing it was of her.

"It is a very good drawing of you," Dori said looking from the page to Eleni.  
And it was, it looked just like her. Eleni had not liked the animal look about the woman before she realized it was her, she did not remember when she had become the person in the drawing; a person she did not want to be.

Fili and Thorin both watched Eleni's face as she looked at the drawing of herself; both uncle and nephew knew she was unhappy with it though it was Fili who recognized the reason why. Earlier he had seen her in a way he had not thought possible, she had looked sad and vulnerable. Thorin did not know where her dissatisfaction came from, he only recognized it.

Kili watched his brother, trying to see what Fili did that he didn't. It had always been Kili with the charm, to get the girl. Women said he was the more handsome one in the family, his looks more resembling Thorin. And Eleni was a woman – a bitter, cold, battle-hardened woman who cared for little more than her nephew; and possibly her family's kingdom, though Kili was unsure for he had yet to see that desire in her. In that moment Kili realized just how similar to Thorin she really was, and both he and his brother greatly admired their uncle. Yet Fili was the only one in their family who she was not opposed to speak with, or even look at. And Kili did not understand why that was.

"You are a very good artist," Eleni said quietly handing the paper back to Ori who was still blushing though he was now smiling too. She couldn't have resisted smiling in return even if she had wanted to, Ori was by far the kindest of the dwarves as well as being the youngest. She just hoped that as the years passed and changed him that his kindness would remain.

She continued busying herself: making beds, sweeping the dirt the dwarves had brought in from the floor, cleaning dishes. It was what she always did when she visited Beorn, she took up his housework while he would do whatever it was he did. He often asked her to stay with him, enjoying her quiet company. She knew he would never admit it but she thought perhaps he grew lonely sometimes, at least for human contact. She supposed she was pleasant enough company, for Beorn often invited her to visit. Remembering the drawing she thought it might be because she was less of a person than most, her time in the wild having changed her to become more reclusive and selective over those she would befriend.

She turned from making one of the last beds when she heard a small "pardon me" from behind her and saw Bilbo.

"I thought you had said the line of Isildur had died with him," said the hobbit quietly, though those near had heard and stilled so they could listen.

She looked at Bilbo, seeing him shrink under her gaze, though she also saw curiosity and genuine caring in his eyes. "I lied," she said simply.

After a moment Bilbo said, "because you do not trust me," sounding hurt.

She sighed before ceasing making the bed and fully turning to look at him. "I did not know you, and even if I had that is a part of me I do not give lightly."

"Because of Estel," Gloin said.

Those who saw her face were taken aback by the murderous look in her eye, almost fearful of it. Gloin, who was known for his large mouth, was suddenly wary of what it was he had spoken.

"That is something she will not answer," spoke Thorin, "nor will any of you ask it again." He looked to Eleni to see her dangerous face, a look he knew had often crossed his own when either Fili or Kili were in danger. She turned back to the bed and resumed making it, though her movements were rough and sharp and no one wanted to go near her. She left them when she had finished, the door slamming as she went. They all looked to Thorin and he shook his head to tell them they were not to question what had happened.

As the sun began to set the dwarves and the hobbit began worrying about where Gandalf had gone to, hoping he had not left them already, and without saying goodbye. Though just as the last light from the sun fell below the horizon did the door open to reveal the wizard who was speaking quietly with Eleni. She still did not look happy though she was not as frightening as before. Though they quickly forgot about her previous look and rushed towards the wizards.

"Where is our host, and where have you been all day?" they all cried over one another.

"Hush!" said Gandalf. "I have not had a thing to eat since breakfast and will answer nothing until I have supper."

Balin sat beside Eleni who ate little from the table and handed her a large parchment. "This is the contract," Balin exclaimed. "It covers everything including your share of the treasure."

Eleni raised her eyes to meet Thorin's, seeing that he was watching her face closely.

The dwarves were forced to wait until after Gandalf had eaten, and then he took out his pipe. "This is a splendid place for smoke rings," he said, and they could get nothing more out of him for some time. His smoke rings were marvelous, green, blue, red, silver-grey, yellow, white; big ones, little ones; little ones dodging through big ones and joining into figure-eights, and going off like a flock of birds into the distance.

And finally Gandalf told them of his doings that day which consisted of him following Beorn's bear tracks as far as the Carrock, but then they had disappeared into the river. And by that time it was getting too late for him to follow them far. The trail went straight off in the direction of the pinewoods on the east side of the Misty Mountains where they had hid in the trees from the wargs.

While Gandalf told the dwarves of his doings Eleni looked over the contract reading Balin's neat scrawl that covered her sixteenth share, which she truly cared little for, and funeral arrangements should anything befall her. Her brows rose when she read the possibility of incineration, though she said nothing for it was a logical possibility; the last part of their quest was the dragon after all. She saw that Balin covered her duty along the quest, which was to lead them from Mirkwood to Erebor; which she considered reasonable for she was the only member who had been through the wood. She also saw that should anything happen to her along the way that Balin had written her share would fall to Estel; that was the part she came back to over and again before she signed it; she wanted nothing more than to leave Estel something in her death and she knew the treasure of Thror was great, even just a sixteenths share.

What she had not known was that the day she had been harvesting honey was when Balin drew up the contract, and that Thorin had read it over to see that it was in good order. It was after she had stormed out of the house when Gloin mentioned her nephew that Thorin told Balin to have the treasure go to Estel should peril befall her; knowing in her death that was what she would want, for it was what he would want for his own nephews.

After Gandalf had finished his tale the dwarves continued to sit at the table with ale and pipes, enjoying the warmth and safety of Beorn's home. They sang songs, and Bofur, Dori and Nori played their flutes and Eleni sat quietly listening to their music as did Gandalf.

Fili watched her, seeing a small smile lifting the corners of her mouth as she listened. And then Gandalf would whisper something to her and she would turn, loosing all mirth, and whisper something in response.

"Where did you come across that?" Dwalin asked pointing to the scar on her chest.

"Where did you come across yours?" she asked instead of answering, much to Dwalin's amusement.

"This one," he said pointing to the scar on his right brow, "came from an orc tryin' to take my head. And these," said Dwalin pointing at his arm, "is from my time in battle. I got more in places you don't need to see. Now you."

She smirked before pushing her hair further from her shoulder to show the scar more, and they all saw that it started just below her jaw. "An orc tried to take my head too."

"How far up your shoulder does it go?" Gloin asked, though he asked as politely as he could, still remembering the look she had given him earlier.

She pushed the sleeve of her dress further back, exposing her shoulder, to show that it ended at the beginning of her arm. Gandalf looked at the thin white line, remembering how much blood she had lost before he healed her.  
"And this one," Dwalin said lifting her arm to look more at the purplish mark that ended at her wrist.

"I was twenty-six when my brother came of age to join my father in the camps, and I made our father agree to let me join him. My brother and I were sent to scout and we came across three men," she said while her fingers traced the scar on her arm. "They were not honorable," she said looking at Dwalin, and he knew that meant they wanted to rape her. "They were the first people my brother and I had ever killed."  
To that the dwarves began to talk about their first battles, though Thorin remained quiet as he watched the woman. He often turned to look from her to Fili, who at some point moved to sit beside her. Thorin watched as Fili would put his mouth next to her ear as he whispered something. The first time she had flinched, both at his nearness and from the feel of his warm breath against her skin. Though Thorin began to notice, after over an hour had passed since Fili had sat next to her, that her head would almost imperceptibly tilt towards his nephew when he would lean close to her. Though when Fili met his uncle's hard stare after he had pulled away from Eleni, enjoying the smell of outside on her skin as they spoke quietly to one another, he shrank back from her.

After the night had drew on and turned very late they all retired to the beds that had been set up for them, though Eleni's bed was separate from theirs, in a corner where Beorn left it for whenever she would visit.

The next morning they were woken by their host himself, and he was very glad to see them.

"So here you all are still," said Beorn. He picked up the hobbit and laughed: "not eaten up by wargs or orcs or wicked bears yet I see"; and he poked Mr. Baggins' waistcoat most disrespectfully. "Little bunny is getting nice and fat again on bread and honey," he chuckled. "Come and have some more."

So they all went to breakfast with him. Beorn was in a particularly good humored mood, and set them all to laughing with his funny stories. Eleni smiled softly at the stories she had already heard, though she enjoyed seeing him such good spirits.

He then explained that he had traveled, in bear form, to where Gandalf had claimed they had come from, and seeing the burnt glades that part of their story had been true. He then found a goblin wandering in the woods. From him Beorn had got news: the goblin patrols were still hunting with the orcs for the dwarves, and they were fiercely angry from the death of the Great Goblin, and also from the number of orcs and wargs killed from the wizard's fire. And now the goblins had allied themselves with Azog.

They spent all that morning busy with preparations. Beorn provided ponies for each of them and two horses for Eleni and Gandalf. He gave them food that could last them for weeks with care, and he supplied them with skins for water.

"But your way through Mirkwood is dark, dangerous, and difficult," he said. "Water is not easy to find there, nor food. Nuts are about all that grows there that are fit for food; in there the wild things are all dark, queer, and savage. I will supply you with bows and arrows, but I doubt very much whether you will find anything in Mirkwood that is wholesome to eat; or drink. There is one stream there, I know, black and strong which crosses the path. That you should neither drink from, nor bathe in; for I have heard that it carries enchantment and a great drowsiness and forgetfulness. And in the dim shadows of that place I don't think you will shoot anything, wholesome or unwholesome, without straying from the path. That you MUST NOT do, for any reason.

"That is all the advice I can give you. Beyond the edge of the forest I cannot help you much; you must depend on your luck and your courage and the food I sent with you. At the gate of the forest I must ask that you send back my horse and my ponies . But I wish you all speed, and my house is open to you, if ever you come back this way again."

The dwarves had thanked him of course, with many bows and bouts of "at your service". But their spirits sank at his grave words, and they all felt that the adventure was far more dangerous than they had thought; even if they passed all the perils of the road, the dragon was waiting at the end. It was then that every dwarf, even Thorin, was immensely grateful Eleni had changed her mind and had joined them.

Which was why, while the others were continuing to gather all their things together, that Thorin spoke quietly with Eleni.

She turned when she felt someone at her back and then straightened when she saw it was Thorin.

"I wanted," he said though he seemed to change his. "What I said to you the day previous..."

"Oh," she said interrupting him, "there is no need to apologize."

He paused not understanding. "Why is that, because you understand?" he asked, hearing the sneer in his voice though he had not meant for it to be there.

"No," she answered slowly in response, "though I do understand, perhaps more than anyone else here. But that is not why." She finished rolling her pack and she moved to help Ori who was struggling with his.

"Then what is?" Thorin asked following her.

"Are you sure you wish me to be apart of your Company?" demanded Eleni as she turned back to him.

He was taken aback by her question and the intensity behind it. "Of course."

"And you will listen to me? You will follow my guidance?"

"Of course," he said again though she interrupted him a third time;

"I warned you against the mountain pass and yet you took it anyway, completely disregarding my help. And you would have died had Gandalf not intervened."  
He was surprised by the anger beneath her voice and the guilt he almost felt.

"You care little for what I have to offer though you would have me apart of your Company in a position where you _have_ to listen to my guidance, and as of yet you haven't. So no, I do not want your apology."

"Why?" he asked feeling chastised, and angry with her for making feel as such; he was a king and she did not treat him as though he were.

"Because I don't care what you have to say," she responded simply, finishing helping Ori before walking away from him. He stared after her not knowing how he felt or what he should have said. He was angry at her arrogance, at her incivility that allowed her to treat him as though he were beneath her. Though he had given her no reason to show him respect for he had not respected her, and therefore he understood her irritation.

Fili had listened to Eleni's angry words and saw the way Thorin had stared after her looking lost, something Fili had never seen on his uncle's face before. Thorin had always seemed sure of himself, confident in everything he did. He did not understand what Thorin had done to provoke her anger, but seeing Thorin's face Fili knew his uncle was at fault. But more than that, Fili did not understand the way watching Thorin look after Eleni made him feel.

Kili stood next to his brother also having heard Thorin and Eleni's exchange, though it was Fili he was really watching. He saw the confusion on his brother's face and knew it was due to Eleni; he had seen how Fili spoke to her, the way he put himself as close to her as he knew she would allow, and then he would push closer. Kili relied on his charm to capture a woman's attention, watching Fili with Eleni he realized his brother gave her no choice.

Soon after midday they ate with Beorn for the last time, and after the meal they mounted the steeds he was lending them.

"I expect you to visit when you return to Rivendell," Beorn said standing next to her with a large hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him with a serious look in her eye, one that matched his own. "I would not miss the chance, if I should come back."

He smiled down at her and squeezed her shoulder before releasing her and stepping back. She was at the head of the Company, and bidding him many farewells they rode off through his gate at a good pace.

* * *

_I'm sorry this one took longer, I had a little trouble with it. I tried very hard to stay true to the character's personalities from the book and the movie, but I'm just not sure if I've done them justice. So if there's anything that's just glaringly "wrong" please let me know so that I can fix it. Or if you have any questions about Eleni that I haven't answered yet. Thanks for reading, I hope you are enjoying it._


	8. My Shivered Bones

_Anger and loathing swarmed in her gut as she gripped the heavy weapon in her hand and moved forward. Her eyes were trained on the small figure lying on the ground that she had left unable to move, and satisfaction swelled within her when she thought of killing it. Planting her feet she smiled down at Thorin, seeing blood on his lips as he struggled to move, though a hard strike against his spine had left him unable to. She looked into his eyes, wide with pain and fear as he realized this would be his end, and a pleased growl sounded in the back of her throat as she raised the mace. Her arm was as pale as the moon and wrought with scars, and pleasure coursed through her as she brought the mace down onto Thorin's head._

She jerked awake gasping for air, her heart pounding in her chest erratically. She looked about her to see that the others were still sleeping, and that from the dark sky above her she knew dawn was still far off.

"Eleni," she heard someone whisper. Turning she saw Bofur, who had been on watch, standing near her. "Is everything alright?"

"It was just a bad dream," she told him. He looked down at her and she knew, in the light of the moon, she must look shaken for him not to say something humorous. "I'm afraid I won't be going back to sleep. You rest, I'll take watch," she said standing. He patted her shoulder before laying down where she had been before, and she rested her back against a tree as she listened to the sounds of the night. She felt a warm breath at her back, blowing her hair from her shoulder and into her face and she turned to see glowing eyes from behind a tree. It rubbed it's large black head against her shoulder and she smiled in spite of herself at Beorn's greeting. He sat beside her and she rested her head against his warm fur thinking of her dream.

She had lied to Bofur, it had been no mere dream. Nor was the one she had after meeting Thorin, when she saw him being buried beneath the Lonely Mountain looking no older than he did now. What had surprised her about that one was who was there, and those who weren't. She had been looking through someone's eyes, she never foresaw things from her own, though she did not know who's, and beside them was Gandalf and Bilbo. Thranduil had been there as well, and a solemn looking dark haired man she thought might have looked familiar. And standing around the tomb where Thorin lay were the rest of the Company, looking very despaired and weary as though they had been in battle and Thorin was the cost. But neither Fili or Kili were there, which she found odd for they were his nephews.

Many thought the gift of foresight was just as that, a gift. But they were wrong, and many of the Dúnedain who had it would agree when Eleni said it was a burden; she thought perhaps she were lucky to have yet to see her own death.

And so she sat against Beorn, warmed from the heat of his body, thinking of what she had just seen. She remembered the pale arm holding the mace and knew Thorin's end would come from Azog. What she did not know was when, she never saw that. She knew it to be at the most within a few years, for Thorin had still looked as young as he did then. But that did little to assure her, for why would Bilbo have been present when Thorin was buried, the hobbit should have returned to the Shire by that time. She grasped for answers, not liking the ones she found, and when the sun began to peek its head over the horizon she was no closer to understanding than when she first woke.

Fili woke with Eleni in his arms and he wrapped his arms tighter around her and buried his head in her neck. His eyes shot open when he felt the rough feel of wool on his cheek, and he saw Bofur's sleeping face instead. Fili pushed him away with a shove, jolting the other dwarf awake. Fili looked for Eleni and saw her sitting against a trunk with her eyes glued to Thorin's face. He felt something hot churn in his stomach as he watched her looking at his uncle, but something about the look on her face worried him; she looked concerned and sad, and she looked as though she had not slept.

That had been the second night they had stopped and rested, and when they woke and ate a small meal to break their fast they started out again. Fili steered his pony next to Eleni's horse, and for most of the day he watched her face waiting for when she would look to Thorin; though she did not turn her gaze towards Thorin again. She spoke little to the others, mainly when they spoke to her, but she kept her horse before theirs and rode ahead.

She hardly acknowledged Fili riding beside her, though when she would look to her left she would always see him, and beside him was Kili. The brothers talked and laughed and told stories sometimes to Eleni, though mostly she paid no attention.

The sky began darkening as the third night came upon them and Thorin bid her to keep them moving, for Beorn had said that they should reach the forest-gate early on the fourth day. It was well into the night when the sky was a beautiful deep blue that they stopped and rested. Eleni laid down beside Gandalf, who had guessed her troubles though he did not ask what she had seen, though she did not find much rest. She could hardly close her eyes without seeing Thorin's face, which was stark with fear and unbelief as Azog brought his mace down. She dreamt once, for not very long, and it had been she – with her thin arm and reddened scar holding her sword, her long dark hair cascading around her – aiming the sword at Thorin's heart. She woke with a scream in the back of her throat, knowing it had been a dream and was not real, though she still struggled to stop shaking. And when Thorin knelt beside her to ask her what it was she could not help the relieved feeling that swelled within her to see him alive. She relieved Thorin of his watch, brushing his concerns aside, and sat against a tree with her knees pressed against her chest.

"What am I to do, Beorn?" she whispered when he sat beside her, whining slightly in response as he nestled her with his furry head. She laid against him listening to his heartbeat as she thought of what to do. She could not tell Thorin; she couldn't imagine knowing she only had a short time to live, and to come to such a horrid end, she could not give that burden to Thorin. She did not think she could tell Gandalf; he had more pressing matters and she knew the wizard would not be able to do anything. There was nothing she could do but keep silent and suffer the knowledge alone. Beorn left her again before dawn and this time she wrapped her arms around his neck as she said goodbye, wondering if she would see him again.

This time when they all woke Fili was not the only one to notice the circles beneath her eyes; Thorin had woken and looked to see Eleni sitting where she had taken his watch and realized she had not woken Fili to relieve her. They readied themselves quickly as they made to continue on, and they reached the edge of Mirkwood by midday. They dismounted the ponies Beorn had let them ride and sent them on their way back to his home. Though the dwarves had grumbled half-heartedly and Gandalf was quick to scold them to remember their promise to Beorn.

"What about your horse then," said Gloin. "You don't mention sending that back."

"I don't, because I am not sending it," Gandalf answered.

"What about _your_ promise then?" demanded Dwalin.

"I plan to keep it. I am not sending the horse back, I am riding it," Gandalf answered crossly.  
They knew then that the wizard was leaving them at the very edge of Mirkwood, and they were in despair. They begged and pleaded offering Gandalf more gold and silver if he should only stay.

"Enough," called Thorin silencing them all. He had been the only one to remain silent besides Eleni, who had barely spoken in the days they'd left Beorn. "He has carried us this far and we should be thankful. He has earned his share time and again but this is not his quest, and we have no claim to his time." Thorin looked at them all seeing their loyalty and courage, the very things he prized most in those he considered friend. Though his gaze came to Fili and Kili and he stared long and hard at them. He had been reluctant to have them join him on this quest, knowing very well the dangers that laid ahead and continued to press upon them. He knew he might perish before the quest was finished and if that were to occur then it would be Fili who the quest would fall to. Fili and Kili were similar in many ways though they were very different; Kili was not weighed down by his responsibility such as Fili, Kili was not the next in line should Thorin die, Fili was. Fili was not able to be as reckless and careless as his brother, though Fili had the task of following Kili to ensure his safety. These were his kin, these were the last line of Durin behind him. And he found himself, as he had since they had left Beorn's house, wondering if he should not send them home.

"May I request of you one more thing?" he asked Gandalf who raised a brow in question. "Would you see my kin home from here..."

"What!" both Fili and Kili cried before Thorin could finish. Thorin sighed and opened his mouth to speak but Kili beat him to it.

"You can't send us home," he insisted.

"He's right," said Fili, "we've come too far now, we're too close."

"This is the worst of our plight yet, and after that is the dragon. We still have far to go."

"It isn't fair," said Kili sounding as young as he was, "we fought with you, we've come this far and we'll see it through."

"You will not," exclaimed Thorin.

The others were left to stand awkwardly as Thorin and his nephews argued, knowing they had no place to intervene.

"This is my quest, _my_ burden. I will not have you apart of it if it means your lives."

"We signed the contract we know the dangers, we agreed to them," Kili said.

"This is our quest as much as it is yours, and it is not yours to burden alone," said Fili.

Thorin was brought up short; it was so much what he himself would say. Looking at Fili Thorin could see himself in his nephew's eyes, in the way he stood. He was every much the dwarf prince Thorin had been. Thorin was left with an impossible decision, letting them continue or sending them back would hurt them, there was nothing he could do.

"He will take tonight to think on it. You will have an answer in the morning." They all turned to look at Eleni. She felt Fili and Kili's hard eyes on her, unhappy with their uncle and the possibility that she might take his side, though Thorin looked at her utterly relieved.

They rested again that night, though not well. It seemed to them that a silence had drawn in upon them as they laid beside the edge of the dark wood. Birds sang less and there were no more deer; not even rabbits were to be seen.

Eleni took watch again, and she sat against a tree though Beorn did not sit beside her. Instead Thorin sat at her side, equally unable to find rest. The two sat side by side consumed in their thoughts, both thinking of death, though it was whose death where their thoughts differed.

When day broke they all rose and packed their things, filling their water-skins, and they were left to face the forest-gate.

Gandalf left them with the warning to keep to the track, the fourth time that warning had been stressed. The dwarves were despaired at seeing the wizard off, though Fili and Kili were glad to not be joining him as he left. Thorin had given them a dark look after he agreed to their remaining in the Company, and they could find little joy in it. They each shouldered the heavy packs and the water-skin which was their share, and turned from the light that lay on the lands outside and plunged into the forest.


	9. Wait Til the Panic's Out

The moment they walked beneath the forest-gate it was as though the light had been sucked out of the world, leaving a strange deep green glow to surround them. They stood with the gate at their backs and looked, as well as they could, at the path they would take. Thorin and Eleni were speaking quietly with one another, and Kili looked to see Fili watching the two with narrowed eyes. Though his brother had tried to brush it off Kili knew the sight of her and their uncle so close upset him.

Thorin had been asking what she would do with his decision had it been Estel, and he had been of age. Though she assured him that neither Fili or Kili would turn back now, it did little appease him. However, she admitted that she would not allow Estel to have joined the quest but she did not think she would have much of a choice, already her nephew was as hard-headed as she was; looking back at his nephews and seeing them whispering to each other, he felt immensely grateful that they had one another. And hearing that Eleni would feel the same as he should she be forced to make his decision almost lessened his unease.

They walked one after the other with only a little room beside them on the small path. Even those with the best of eyes could barely see the person in front of them. It was silent and eerie, and the wood felt as dangerous as they had heard it to be.

Thorin walked behind Eleni, wondering how she had suffered this path alone. He placed a large hand on her slender shoulder to capture her attention and she turned her head to look at him as she continued walking forward.

"Perhaps I should lead," he said, not wanting her to be the first person that met any danger should they spring from behind the trees. Her brow raised and he found himself continuing, though the moment the words left his mouth he regretted them. "I am the leader of this Company, I am responsible for everyone here even you." Her brow rose higher and now he could see a small smile playing at the corners of her lips, though he could not stop the words from leaving his mouth. "As a member of my Company it is my duty to protect you; it is my duty as a king and as a man."

Her smile widened and he realized it was the first time her smile had been more than a smirk since the moment she saw Estel in Rivendell. Though there was a light in her eyes that was both amused and dangerous.

"I was unaware _my_ duty on this quest involved you protecting me," she said pleasantly though he could tell from her eyes she was unhappy with him. "My king," said Eleni, her voice laced with sarcasm, "please, take us down the path you have never traveled full of dangers you know not of."

Though he tried Thorin could not seem to find anymore words, and so he stood looking at her for she had stopped walking to face him, and he felt the others at his back listening closely to her words.

"Do not let my breasts fool you, given the chance I would fell you in battle." He heard Dwalin scoff behind him, and Thorin might have as well if not for the memory of the savage way in which she cut through the goblins. "You should know," she said taking a step closer to him so that her words would only be heard by him, "there is one danger within these trees that you have met before. I will not be of much help should you come across it, not when I am in your Company."

He nodded knowing she spoke of the elf king and she stood staring at him. "You have been this way before?" he asked and she gave a curt nod. "Then pardon my misgivings, I would be honored to follow your lead," said Thorin trying to be polite, though it was not something he did often. She stared at him a moment longer, her eyes hard and heavy, before she turned away without another word and he was forced to follow so as not to lose sight of her.

"And to think," Dwalin said from behind him, "you two were just getting along."

Fili walked with a slight smile on his face, hardly feeling guilty for the pleasure he felt at Thorin being in Eleni's bad graces again. Kili elbowed his older brother before walking past him, and little Bilbo walked behind the two brothers.

They walked quietly, barely speaking, and they heard strange noises from within the line of trees on either side of the path that often set their hearts racing. They never saw what made the noises, they could hardly seen anything at all. But the nastiest things they did see were the cobwebs: dark dense cobwebs with threads extraordinarily thick, often stretched from tree to tree, or tangled in the lower branches on either side of them. When Balin asked why there were not any on the paths Eleni told them that they would find no dangers on the path for it was made by the elves and their magic still lingered. Dwalin grumbled at that, bearing no love for elves, though he quickly quieted when Eleni chastised him by asking if he would rather not be protected from the creatures that dwelt in the woods.

They continued moving until the light in the forest grew dimmer and then they lay on the ground huddled together as night fell, stealing all light. Ori had begged for a fire after darkness surrounded them though Eleni had refused, and Thorin bid them listen to her and so no fire was made. Eleni sat next to where Thorin slept and his back was pressed against her leg as she took watch. Many of the dwarves and Bilbo had waved their hands in front of their faces though their hands remained unseen. Nothing at all could be seen in the dark of the wood, except for the eyes; small and large gleams, pairs of yellow or red or green eyes would stare at them from a little distance. Then they would slowly fade and disappear and slowly shine out again in another place. And sometimes they would gleam down from the branches above them; and that was the most terrifying, so they often did not lay on their backs. The worst eyes that watched them were horrible pale bulbous sort of eyes. Ones Bilbo guessed were those of an insect.

When the wood began to glow green again was when Eleni woke them to continue moving. Two more days they traveled, hating the wood more with each hour. The path wove in and around tree trunks, someones going steep and other times going down, though mainly it was level going. The second night when Ori asked for a fire more of the dwarves asked with him.

"Is there any danger?" Thorin asked Eleni.

"None that will venture on the path," she responded. And her words settled it; if there was no danger due to a fire then a fire they would have.  
The dwarves rested near the warm flames though Eleni sat a little ways back, almost unseen in the darkness around her. And soon the dwarves learned why. The fire drew hundreds and hundreds of eyes all around them, though the creatures were careful never to let their bodies show in the flicker of the flames. Worse still it brought thousands of dark-grey and black moths, some nearly as big as their hands, flapping and whirring around their ears. They could not stand that, so they gave up the fire that Eleni had told them not to light in the first place, and sat the rest of the night and dozed in the enormous uncanny darkness.  
And then again the next night, which Eleni kept look-out for as well. Not many paid mind that Eleni had been taking watch all night for the past few evenings, never sleeping, though she spoke harshly to those who did ordering them to rest. She had not slept since she had dreamed Thorin had died by her hand, and if she were able she would not sleep again. She knew she had to sleep soon for it seemed as though her entire body were weary and every step seemed to consume all her strength. But every time she closed her eyes to rest she would see Thorin laying crippled on the ground staring up at her in fear. And so she sat in the lightless dark keeping watch, though should anything have come their way she would not have been able to see it for there was nothing too see.

The sound of leaves rustling caught her attention and a sick feeling swelled in her stomach; it was the feeling one got from falling asleep when they were on watch. Her head jerked up at the sound, her mind slamming into awareness, and she felt fur brush against her cheek as she moved. She did not know every creature in the forest though she knew none ventured onto the path, and yet that did not stop her from grabbing the dagger she kept sheathed on her calf.

She felt something encircle her wrist as she brought the dagger down and Eleni was momentarily afraid before she realized it was a hand.

"It's me," she heard a deep voice whisper, feeling the breath on her face.

"Fili?" she asked recognizing his voice. "You are supposed to be sleeping."

"You were supposed to be on watch," he said in response still holding her.

She clenched her teeth to quiet her response, knowing he was right. "How long was I asleep?" she asked after he released her wrist.

"Most of the night," said Fili and she could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Why did you not wake me?" she asked crossly, irritated at both him and herself.

"You have not been sleeping," he answered sincerely. "I came to replace you so you could rest but you had already fallen asleep."

"And so you sat beside me all night?" she asked flustered at his interest.

"Your head laid on my shoulder, I did not want to wake you," he said and she could hear the smile in his voice again.

"Why did you not wake me?" she asked again, though she did not know what else to say and she felt confused by how it made her feel to know she had slept against him all night.

"I tried at first but you only mumbled something about a mace. Where you dreaming of Azog?" he asked softly remembering when she told him of being captured by the pale orc.

She did not like the tender way in which he expressed his concerns over her. "Yes," she answered though she did not tell him that she was dreaming of his uncle dying. She felt his fingers brush against the corner of her mouth. "What are doing?" she asked.

"You were drooling," he replied wiping the remnants from her mouth. "It is not often you get the chance to see someone drool. It is an intimate thing," he said, his voice low and thick.

She felt something pool in her stomach as his fingers trailed over her skin. She knew he had not been able to see her as she slept, for she could just barley make out the fur on his coat where she hadn't been able to when she had woken.

"I told you I would make you blush," he whispered as his fingers traced her face, feeling the heat from her skin.

Thorin laid barely a few feet from them impressed. Women were usually charmed by Kili's looks and his carefree attitude and smile. But his older nephew was more like him than he'd thought, Thorin was not one to flirt. When a woman caught his interest for any reason he would simply tell them, and usually a woman would comply under his heated gaze. Though Thorin did not believe Eleni would give in so easily to Fili's affections, but he could tell there was something about his nephew that had piqued her own interest. But Thorin did not think her interests pertained to Fili in the way Fili was fascinated by her. At least not yet.

Fili stood smiling down at her before waking the others, and they continued on. Fili had refused Eleni's offer of taking watch that night, and they all saw her startled look before it turned into a scowl; she did not keep watch that night nor the one after. The dwarves then rotated who would be the look-out, and the person on watch would hear Eleni wake from her nightmare though she would brush aside their concerns. Most often Fili would lay beside her, though at first Eleni would take refuge at Thorin's side, but after a few days she gave up and slept beside Fili. On the night it came to be Fili's watch, after over a week had passed since they had entered the wood, he wrapped his arms around her and held her to his chest after she'd startled awake. She was completely rigid as he kept her pressed against him, and he could feel the heat of her gaze and was glad that it was too dark to see her face, but she eventually relaxed in his hold as sleep took hold of her again. He sat against a tree enjoying the feeling of her in his arms, and he felt his groin stiffen at her nearness; glad for her being asleep as well as the complete darkness that hid his arousal.

Days and days had passed and they continued on without end; and they were usually hungry for they were extremely careful with their provisions. Even so, as days followed days and the forest seemed just the same as the day before, they began to get anxious no matter how Eleni tried to assure them they were halfway through the forest. The food would not last forever: it was in fact already beginning to get low. They had tried shooting at the squirrels, and they wasted many arrows before they managed to bring one down on the path.

"They do not taste pleasant," Eleni warned. But they told her that they were so hungry it did not matter, though when they roasted it, it proved horrible to taste, and they shot no more squirrels. They were thirsty too, for they had none too much water. This was their state when one day they found their path blocked by running water flowing fast strong and colored black.


	10. It Takes An Ocean

"Water!" Ori cried with glee and walked towards the dark river.  
"No," Thorin and Eleni yelled at the same time, and Thorin grabbed the younger dwarf and pulled him back. "Do you not remember Beorn's warning of this water?" he asked harshly shoving Ori behind him. Poor Ori then moved to stand behind his brother Dori, who could only pat Ori on the shoulder. They had all momentarily wanted to drink from the river; their mouths were dry and their lips were beginning to chap.

"How are we to get across?" Bilbo asked straining his eyes to see the bank on the other side. There was a bridge that went across the river, but it had rotted and collapsed and was of no use to them.

They stood staring in front of them, barely seeing much for lack of light.

"We could throw someone," offered Gloin.

"With a rope tied to a tree on this side so that they could tie the end of it over there and we could climb across," said Kili causing Gloin to nod at him emphatically.

"How are we going to row someone across," asked Oin confused, "we don't have a boat?"

"_Throw_," said Gloin louder in his brother's ear, "I said we could throw someone across."

"Oh," Oin said understanding. "Who are we throwing?"

"Bilbo is the smallest, he would probably fly right over the water," said Gloin.

Poor little Bilbo's eyes widened as he listened and he shook his head looking at the dark water they wanted to throw him across. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up to see Eleni standing behind him.

"We won't be throwing Bilbo," Balin said unhappy with the thought.

"Why not?" asked Kili.

"Would you risk him falling in?" Thorin answered gruffly, greatly wishing they would use their heads. He looked for Bilbo and saw him standing with his back pressed against Eleni's front and her hands over his chest as she held him against her; Thorin noted that it was very similar to how she had held Estel in Rivendell, as though he were safe just by being in her grasp.  
Though that may not be the case in every danger, Bilbo did feel more secure with Eleni's arms around him. Most happy to know she would not let anyone throw him, and not many would refuse her should she threaten them. And though Bilbo did not know if Eleni would arm herself to protect him, she would have; there was an innocence and a naivety in Bilbo that reminded her of Estel, who had yet to see the world, and she would not chance Bilbo falling in the water.  
"Then how do we get across?" demanded Gloin, though when he looked to Bilbo and saw Eleni's hard eyes he knew they would not be tossing the hobbit.  
"There is a boat against the far bank," said Bilbo suddenly. He stepped from Eleni's grasp to kneel at the brink.

"How far away do you think it is?" asked Thorin, for by now they knew Bilbo had the sharpest eyes among them.

"Not at all far. I shouldn't think above twelve yards."

"I had thought twenty," said Eleni squinting against the deep gloom of the light in the forest.

"Twenty or twelve makes no difference," said Thorin, "we cannot jump across nor wade through."

"Can any of you throw a rope?" Bilbo asked.

"And if the boat is tied up?" Thorin asked.

"I don't believe it is tied, though I can't be sure in this light," Bilbo answered.

"Even if it weren't I hardly think we could hook it," Thorin said curtly as he tried to see the boat on the other side.

"You won't throw him," Eleni said, her low voice a warning.

Thorin looked at her and then to Bilbo realizing there were not many options of getting across. "Fili is the youngest and still has the best sight," he said. "Come here Fili, and see if you can see the boat Mr Baggins is talking about."

Thorin turned to Fili when he felt his nephew at his side, though he was greatly surprised to see blonde hair.  
"Kili," said Fili emphasizing the "k" in his brother's name, "is the youngest." Thorin gave his nephew a small apologetic smile but Fili turned irritably towards the water to see if he could spot the boat. He stared long and hard at the place Bilbo had pointed to, his eyes slowly starting to make out a large shape.

"Poor Fili," Eleni said quietly as she stood next Thorin. "This would be the second time you misnamed him."

Thorin looked at her bewildered. "And when was the first," he asked indignantly.

She looked at him and he could see the amusement on her face. "He told me of the stone giants. You called him Kili."

Thorin deflated a little, now remembering that and the looks on his nephews faces after. He gave her a stern look when he saw her lips purse as she held her laughter at bay. It was then Fili said he thought he could see the boat, and Thorin could see a smile on his nephew's mouth when he was given a rope. Fili looked up at Eleni and she couldn't help but return his smile; Thorin's mistake was far too humorous for her not to find it funny. Thorin's sigh sounded more like a growl and Eleni covered her mouth with her hand so as not to laugh, though Kili was now outright laughing at his uncle as well as a few other dwarves who were snickering.

"You should be glad you only have Estel so you wouldn't confuse him with his brother," Bofur said causing them all to laugh, though Eleni did try not to.

Thorin stared ahead irritated though he did not yell at them; there had been little mirth to find after they entered Mirkwood so he decided to let them enjoy it. Even if it was at his expense.

A large iron hook from one of their packs was fastened on to the end of the rope, and Fili balanced it in his hand for a moment and then flung it across the stream.

It splashed as it fell in the water. "Not far enough, a couple of feet and you would have dropped it on the boat," said Bilbo. "Try again, I don't suppose the magic is strong enough to hurt you if you just touch a bit of wet rope."  
Bilbo flinched and held his arm where Eleni had hit him. Her brows were furrowed and her eyes were sharp with a strange kind of fear. "_Don't_ touch it," she ordered Fili before bending down and ripping part of the fabric at the end of her skirt. Fili held the part of the rope that wasn't wet and she tied the piece of her skirt near to the end of the rope where the hook was.

Fili then held the ears of the knot she had made before throwing again."

"Steady, you have thrown it right into the wood on the other side," said Bilbo. "Draw it back gently." Fili hauled the rope back slowly, and after a while Bilbo said: "Carefully! It is lying on the boat; let's hope the hook will catch."

It did. The rope went taut and Fili pulled in vain. Kili came to his help and then Oin and Gloin. They tugged and tugged, and suddenly they all fell over on their backs. Bilbo and Balin seized the boat as it floated across the river towards them, very careful now to not get any of the water on them. Fili looked up at Eleni, having fallen on his back at her feet, and she turned her head to the side, reminding him of a bird, as she stared down at him. Her hand was small in his as she helped him up, and it did not surprise her that he kept a hold of her longer than necessary. What surprised her was how empty and cold her hand felt when he let go.

"Who will cross first?" asked Bilbo shaking Eleni from her thoughts.

"I will," said Thorin," and you will come with me, and Fili and Kili, and Balin. That's as many as the boat will hold at a time. After that Eleni and Oin and Gloin and Dori; next Ori and Nori, Bifur and Bofur; and last Dwalin, and Bombur."

"I'm always last and I don't like it," said Bombur. "It's somebody else's turn today."

"You should not be so fat," said Thorin crossly, the day would end in little more than an hour and he wanted to be across the stream and over with it. "And since you are you must be with the last and lightest boatload."

Without oars they were left with throwing another rope to other side and pulling the boat along. The first boat reached the bank and after they had all planted their feet on shore they shoved the boat back to the other side. Fili helped Eleni out of the boat when they had pulled themselves across; one hand held hers and the other was around her waist. It astounded him how someone so strong could have a body so fragile; he could hurt her if he held her too hard, making her bones crush together beneath his hand. She could feel the heat of his hand on her skin through the fabric of her shirt, and her flesh prickled when he released her and the cold air touched where his hand had been.

Thorin brushed past the two, casting them out of their reverie, to shove the boat back across the water so the others could get over. Fili joined his brother in helping the other boatload out, and Eleni moved to stand beside Thorin.

"I am unsure if this boat is guarded," she said quietly and he almost did not hear her.

"You did not cross the river when you came through here?" he asked.

"No, I used the bridge."

Thorin looked at the rotted bridge, knowing it had been many years earlier when it was of use. He bent his bow and fitted an arrow should there be any hidden guardian.

"When did you come this way last?" he asked.

"Many years ago, though only a few from when my father died. Often we traveled through here, and more often we would be guests of the elven-king. The Dúnedain were given leave to use this path, their guests were not."

He heard the warning in her voice, and he understood that she was telling him that the elves would show them no kindness for being with her. And he wondered if she were enough of a friend to the elves for them to show her kindness should they find her in their company.

At last the final two were at their side of the river. Dwalin scrambled out, holding the coiled rope on his arm, and Bombur, who was still grumbling, was getting ready to follow. There was a flying sound of hooves on the path ahead, and out of the gloom came the sudden shape of a flying deer. It charged into the dwarves and knocked them off their feet, then gathered itself for a leap. It would have made it to the other side, but Thorin had been the only one to have kept his feet and his wits and loosed his arrow.  
Before they could shout in praise of the shot they heard; "Bombur has fallen in! Bombur is drowning!" from Bilbo. Bombur had stumbled, one foot on land, when the deer had leaped past him. He had fallen into the dark water while the boat span slowly off and disappeared.

They saw his hood beneath the water, and threw a rope with a hook towards him. His hand caught it, and they pulled him to shore. When they laid him on the bank he was already fast asleep, and they could do nothing wake him.

They stood over Bomur cursing his clumsiness, but he continued sleeping with a smile on his fat face. They were a gloomy party that night, the thought of the venison meal they could have had if the boat had not gone down the river played through their minds. Eleni was concerned over the state in which Bombur would wake, should he wake, though she was unsure for she had never known anyone to have fallen in the water.

The gloom stayed with them as the days passed, the path on their side of the river proved as similar as the one they had come from. They were all beginning to think they would never find their way out of the forest, and now they were burdened with carrying the heavy body of Bombur which they took in turns of four.

"We are very close now," Eleni said trying to assure them that their plight was almost through. Though they looked at her and saw the many packs on her back, and then at those who were carrying Bombur, and they were not comforted.

Thorin had grown exhausted of the forest, so unhappy was he that all words he spoke were harsh and cruel. Six days after they had crossed the river Thorin had had enough and he halted them.

"Someone must climb a tree and have a look around," he said.

Of course "somebody" meant Bilbo, for though Eleni was lighter she was taller than them all; Bilbo was the smallest of all of them and it was therefore deemed his task. And so little Bilbo climbed the tallest tree that overhung on the path, though it was slow going for he had never had much practice in climbing trees. He heard the others call up to him to see if he had reached the top, and he called down when he had.

"What do you see?" they cried.

"The forest goes on forever and ever in all directions!" he called down incredibly miserable. They were all despaired at this news and they complained as if it were Bilbo's fault for what he had seen. And then they turned on Eleni.

"You said we getting closer," many whined as though she were to blame.

"We are," she said before they interrupted her.

"There were trees everywhere, there was no end," said Bilbo who was glad that the dwarves had left him alone.

"I assure you, we have under a week before we are through with the forest and only a few days until the trees thin. And there are animals to shoot down and eat that taste much better than the ones here."

"But there's trees everywhere," Bilbo insisted.  
"It is because we are in a," but she did not get to finish for the dwarves then began talking over her and one another. Many looked at each other and complained to one another before looking back to Eleni. She took the packs from her back and threw them on the ground before stalking off a little ways up the up to rid herself of them. She sat down wearily, thoroughly exhausted. She was sleeping through the night without seeing Thorin's fearful face, but that was because she was so tired at the end of the day. They had all forgotten, even she, that she was a woman and was weaker than them all. And yet she had been burdened with both carrying Bombur on her turn and the packs when it wasn't.

Fili sat beside her and saw her eyelids drooping and realized what they had forgotten. She laid her head on his shoulder and curled her legs up and her body around him, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder as he settled against a tree. He was struck again by how much smaller she was then them; her waist was narrow and her hips were round and soft with flesh, her shoulders were small as well as her hands; _she_ was narrow. Where dwarves, even their woman, were wide and stout, she was willowy. He had been surprised when she curled herself against him but he knew if she had not already been falling asleep she would not have. But still he took pleasure in falling asleep with her in his arms before they would have to wake and continue on.


	11. Not to Break

Eleni was warm and comfortable when she woke, her head laying on something soft instead of the ground. She jerked into a sitting position, waking Fili, when she realized she was laying on him. The sun had just risen, she knew, for there was a dim light beneath the trees again.

"'G'morning," he said sleepily, his arm still around her waist. He smiled at the irked look on her face before he smoothed her hair where she had been laying her head on him. Her brows unknitted and she looked at him in surprise, and his smile might have grown if not for the brief flash of pain he saw in her eyes. "What is it?" he asked releasing her.

Her face hardened into her usual stony look. "It's what my brother used to do," she admitted.

"Eleni," he said softly.

"We should wake the others," she said in response as she stood and left him. She wanted to distance herself from him, from the concern in his eyes. It made her stomach churn and her skin heat, she didn't like it.

After they had all woken, excepting Bombur of course, they were painfully aware of how hungry they were having eaten the last of their food the night before. And then that they were parchingly thirsty, and after their treatment the night before Eleni offered them no comfort. The only relief they found came from Bombur, who woke suddenly and sat up trying to figure out where he was or why he was so hungry; he had forgotten everything that had happened since they started their journey that May morning long ago at Bilbo's house.

He sat down and wept when he heard there was no food, for he felt very weak and wobbly in the legs. Bombur wailed as he told them of the dreams he was having; of the pretty forest with a woodland king and all of the foods he couldn't describe. But Thorin was quick to silence the fat dwarf for they were all hungry and were all angry at having to have carried the fat dwarf so far.

Eleni was the only one to know what Bombur was talking about was actually true, many times she and her brother feasted with the elves in the woods surrounded by the glow of their fires. They were fond memories and her spirits almost lifted, though she knew the others would not see the small joy in it as she had and so she said nothing. There would never be joy for the dwarves, they bore no love for elves and elves had no love for them. She still was not sure in what manner Thranduil would take finding her in the company of dwarves, no matter if he had deemed her a friend. Or his youngest son, who she herself had deemed a friend to her people.

There was nothing now to be done but to hoist their empty sacks and packs, and trudge along the track without any great hope of ever getting to the end before they lay down and die of starvation. Many of those who had yelled and cried at Eleni for her proclamations of almost being through with the forest, wished then that she would reassure them again; she didn't, and she knew they wanted her to tell them everything would be alright and that in less than two days they would find animals to hunt and eat, and then three days after that they would reach the end of the forest, but she didn't for she was still unhappy with their treatment of her. And many of the dwarves, namely the younger ones, wanted to apologize for speaking so harshly with her for they knew she was right, and they knew she would lead them out of the forest. Though not all felt the same, a few of the older ones were still sore with her, thinking she did not, in fact, know where they were.

This they did all that day, going very slowly and wearily; while Bombur kept on wailing that his legs could no longer carry him and he wanted to lie down and sleep. "No you don't!" they said. "Let your legs take their share, we have carried you far enough."

Bombur sobbed some more as he continued to walk after them, very slowly, though the others were very grateful not to have to carry him any longer. They all breathed a sigh of relief when Bombur stopped complaining.

"Who's she?" he asked taking notice of Eleni for the first time since he woke.

"She is Eleni, a Ranger of the North," Thorin said. He felt her eyes on him and realized it was the first he had called her a ranger; it was not something many people said kindly.

"And what is she doing with us, is she part of the Company?"

"She is the only one who has traveled through these woods and she is leading us to the other side," Thorin explained hoping to be done with Bombur's questions.

"When did she join us, where did she come from, how well does she know this path, does she know when we'll be finished with the forest?" Bombur began asking, and a few of the dwarves, namely Dwalin, Gloin, Oin, Nori, and Bifur grumbled about her saying they were almost through with the path.

"And we will find food," Bombur said happily looking to the woman, not noticing her now angry face.

"So she says," mumbled Gloin.

"But our burglar went to the top of a tree and saw that the forest never ends," Dwalin said gruffly throwing Eleni a glare for what he believed was false hope.

"So are we not almost through?" Bombur whined and the dwarves shook their heads in agreement that Eleni was wrong.

"Are you kidd..." she started but stopped and turned to face them all. She had been at the front, where she had been since they entered the wood, and they all stopped and noticed the glint in her eyes and the scowl on her lips.

"Well then explain why Bilbo only saw trees that never ended," demanded Dwalin.  
"I tried to," she yelled at him and he looked at her taken aback, "but none of you listened! We _are_ almost finished with this forest and I think when we are that I will leave you to the remainder of your quest and return to Rivendell."

"What," cried Ori and Bilbo.

"You can't leave us," said Kili causing Fili to look at him surprised. Kili had kept his distance from Eleni since they arrived at Beorn's, Fili did not think his brother liked her.

"I most certainly can," she said harshly. "And I will rip up the contract when I do for no gold of yours do I need," she said to Thorin who had opened his mouth to oppose. "I left my home to help you, I left my nephew to assist you through these woods and this is how I am thanked. Never again will I think kindly of dwarves after this, and if any of you say another thing about the end of this forest I will slit their throat," she said before turning and continuing down the path.

The rest of the Company followed behind thoroughly chastised. They had forgotten she had first said no to accompany them, and then changed her mind. And she had helped them without complaint, without thought of receiving a share of the treasure; a contract having been drawn up only after they had reached Beorn's.

"Has she been very helpful?" Bombur asked quietly so she would not hear, though she still had. The angry woman had caused him to forget all his prior whinings.

"I suppose she has," answered Thorin just as quiet.

"Of course she has," said Fili speaking louder than the others. "If you," he said looking at his uncle, "had listened to her warning about the mountain pass we never would have needed her help in escaping from the goblins. And then she aided us in our dealings with the wargs and orcs before they chased us in the trees. I am sure she is the main reason Beorn let us stay as his guests and eat his food, and she harvested the honey that went into making the food we took with us. And she has led us all this way through the forest, making sure I did not touch the water from the river though Bilbo said it might not hurt. She will continue leading us and we _will_ leave the forest in a few days like she says, and perhaps if you all were to apologize she might continue with us," Fili said before walking further ahead by her side. His back was straight and his head was high and they could see the irritation in his gait; he very much resembled his uncle in that moment, knowing he was right and was angry that anyone thought otherwise.

Eleni's brows were furrowed as she looked at him walking at her side. "You're welcome by the way," he said still sullen. "I know you won't thank me."

They walked quietly some time for a while, hearing Bombur as he began to complain about being hungry and of the meal he had been dreaming of.

"I thank you kindly," she said softly, surprising Fili. He looked over at her and saw a small smile gracing her face. He returned her smile gladly and continued to walk at her side.

Many of the dwarves had caught up with Eleni sometime while they had been walking to apologize and she gave them curt nods. Gloin and Dwalin could do little more than mumble incoherently about how she had been generous to have joined them and how they greatly wished she would continue with them to the end. They looked at her meekly under her stern gaze, but they both smiled when they felt the weight of her gaze lighten as she continue to stare at them.

Not long after Bombur suddenly refused to go a step further and flung himself on the ground. "Go on if you must," he said. "I'm just going to lie here and sleep and dream of food, if I can't get it any other way. I hope I never wake up again."

At that very moment Balin, who was a little way ahead, called out: "What was that? I thought I saw a twinkle of light in the forest."

They all looked to see a red twinkle in the dark a long way off; then another and another sprang out beside it. Even Bombur got up, and they hurried along then. The light was in front of them and to the left of the path, and when at last they had drawn level with it they saw that there were torches and fires but they were away from the path.

"It looks as if my dreams were coming true," gasped Bombur puffing up behind. He wanted to rush straight off into the wood after the lights.

"A feast would be no good, if we never got back alive from it," said Thorin.

"But without a feast we shan't remain alive much longer anyway," said Bombur, and Bilbo heartily agreed with him.

"We cannot leave the path," Eleni said looking at Thorin.

"She is right, both Gandalf and Beorn warned against it," said Thorin in agreement.

To that Bombur began speaking of his dream feast and of the wonderful foods he dreamed the elves were eating. "I bet they are eating it right now, and if we don't hurry it will all be gone."

Many of the dwarves then agreed with Bombur and begged to go towards the lights, but Eleni continued to refuse. Kili and Fili as well as young Ori were in agreement with Eleni, as well as Thorin and Balin, but they were far outnumbered. And when Bombur began speaking of food Kili and Ori soon agreed with Bombur.

"Who is willing to venture into the forest then?" Thorin asked quieting them all. No one wanted to run the chance of being lost and never finding his friends again.

"We could all go together," Bombur offered and many voiced their agreements. Thorin sighed realizing they would not be told no.

"I will _not_ leave the path," Eleni told them. "You may if you wish but I will not journey out to find you when you lose your way. And it is very possible you will never find your way out, or you may come across many unpleasant things that will keep you from leaving."

A few dwarves lost the desire to leave the path after her hard words. "But milady," Bombur said nicely, "aren't you hungry?"

"Or course I am, but we are close enough to other foods that leaving the path is not the last option."

"Well I for one am starved," said Bombur, and he was for he had only been dreaming of food rather than eating small bits for six days like the others. "When I do find the feast I will not be sharing any of it with you," he said and with that he stepped from the path and into the woods. Many of the dwarves held their breath expecting something to leap out at him, but nothing did and so the others followed.

"Would you really leave them on their own?" Fili asked when he saw Eleni not following after. She raised her brow and nodded shortly. "Would you really leave _me_ on my own, because I will follow them."

She looked at him incredulous before looking away with a look of worry on her face, but still she did not move. "Oh Fili let go," she ordered when he grabbed her arm and pulled off of the path. She yanked her arm to get it away from him but his grip stayed firm and she was forced to trail behind him as he followed the others.

After a good deal of creeping and crawling they peered around the trunks to see many elvish-looking folk, all dressed in green and brown, sitting in a circle. There was a fire and torches fastened to some of the trees around them; but most splendid of all: they were eating and drinking and laughing merrily.

The smell of the roast meats was so enchanting that they all got up and scrambled forward into the ring with the one of idea of begging for food. No sooner had the first stepped into the clearing than all the lights went out as if by magic. They were lost in a completely lightless dark and they could not even find one another, not for a long time at any rate. They blundered frantically in the gloom, falling over logs, bumping into trees, and shouting.

When they finally got themselves in order they counted themselves to see they were all there, but Eleni was not. She was the only one to have remained where she was when Fili had let go of her and entered the ring. The dwarves spoke quietly about which way they had come from, all their running around in circles had gotten them hopelessly lost, and they greatly wished not to have to ask Eleni though they were left with no choice.  
"Do you remember which way we came?" Thorin asked.

They heard her skirts as she turned around and began moving back, and the dwarves were left to scramble after her so as to follow and not lose her. Many times they heard her harsh grumbling of "idiot dwarves" and other rude things that they did not begrudge her for. They were all tired from wasted energy and lack of food and Bombur began whining again.

"My legs are so tired I just want to lie down and rest," he said in a most gratingly annoying voice.

"Fine," Eleni yelled startling many of them and causing them to jump, "we will rest here until morning." She grabbed Thorin's hand from her shoulder and threw it away from her; they had to hold onto the person in front of them for fear of losing them.

They had not been lying long when Dori, who's turn it was to take watch first, said in a loud whisper: " The lights are coming out again over there, and there are more than ever of them."

Up they all jumped too see, and sure enough there were more lights not far away. It did not matter that Thorin ordered only Bilbo to step forward into the light, when the elves saw Bilbo the lights went out and they were left in the dark again. It took longer for them to find one another than before, but eventually they did and again Eleni was not with them.

"Oh no, she said she would not follow us and now we're lost," moaned Ori devastated to have lost their guide, especially now that they were further from the path.

"She's here," Thorin's voice said in the dark.

It had not been a difficult thing to find the dwarves, they made a great noise as they yelled for one another in the dark. Thorin had quickly given up running about and was standing still trying to get their attention when he felt a hand brush against his back.

"Is there a reason you let me join your quest, because as of yet none of my guidance has been heeded," she said from behind him. He turned and grabbed her arm, noting that it felt odd, and pulled her to his side. Though he had not understood her gasp for he was not holding her too hard, but he had quickly forgotten when he resumed trying to round up the others together.

"How do you know?" cried Bilbo upset. "If she did not follow us we may never find her again. Oh we have to go back and find her, we should never have left the path just as she said."

"I have her by the arm, Mr Baggins," Thorin told him crossly.

"Oh," Bilbo said embarrassed, and Balin patted him on the shoulder.

"That is not my arm," Eleni said, her voice a low growl.

Thorin then realized what is was about her arm that had felt strange; it was very soft where he should have felt her small muscles and bone, and he noted that it was very round in his hand. He quickly released her; "My deepest apologies," he said his cheeks burning, thankful it was completely dark at the moment. He heard snickering behind him and recognized it to be Kili's, and then an oof as Fili punched his brother.

They settled down again for the night, Eleni telling them they had gone much farther from the path than before. They were inclined to beg her forgiveness for their current predicament, but she hardly cared. She strongly did not want to remain off the path, knowing of many of the creatures that dwelt in the wood, but several of the dwarves had already fallen asleep from exhaustion. She laid beside Fili and listened to every rustle of the leaves, every breath of wind, trying to hear the danger before it found them. She was sick to her stomach as she laid for what felt like an eternity when she heard something that made her blood run cold. She sat up slowly trying to listen for it again, and she felt Fili wrap his arms around her as his mind slowly came into awareness.

She strained her ears and held her breath trying to listen, praying she had been wrong. But then she heard it again; a strange clicking noise, something that sounded like two things hitting each other over and over. She knew of one thing that made that sound and she opened her mouth to scream.  
Fili felt her body stiffen and he heard her suck in a great amount of air, and then she made a small gasping noise in the back of her throat.

"Eleni," he said holding her as she fell back in his arms. "Eleni," he said again greatly worried shaking her slightly though she did not move nor did she make another sound.


	12. And I Won't Follow You

_So I wrote this very differently from how it happened in the book, because I saw in the Hobbit video diaries a few small pieces of this scene. So this is my take on this scene based from the little snippets I saw, and I will be doing the same with the barrel scene. Just so no one is too worried, there's nothing seriously wrong with Eleni; it's just she's human and they do not recover as quickly as dwarves. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoy._

* * *

The sound of Fili calling for Eleni woke a few of the dwarves, and to their horror they found themselves unable to move. Some creature was standing over each of them wrapping something sticky around them, and when the captives struggled to move they would feel a sharp pinch and they would know no more.

Fili had sat up holding Eleni in his arms still trying to wake her when he felt something hairy brush against his hand. He grabbed one of his swords whilst cradling Eleni's limp body before he heard a sound that was a mix between a squirt and a whoosh, and then she was gone. He ran blindly towards where Eleni had been pulled to, calling for his brother to help, and nearly tripped over her. He knelt down and ran his hands over her and pulled the sticky strings that were covering her body. He felt something above him and raised his sword, unable to see in the dark of the forest, and felt a sharp pinch in his arm. He called as loudly as he could for his brother before he collapsed on top of Eleni losing consciousness.

The spiders carried them very far though most, if not all but two, were not awake for most of the journey. Many of those who had not woken were jolted into consciousness when the spiders let them drop from their backs onto the hard ground. It was quickly learned that squirming and thrashing around did nothing but make the spider's webs stick to them more, and in some cases of a few poor dwarves it stuck to their noses and they had a hard time breathing.

"It was a struggle, but worth it," said something with a sort of thin creaking voice. Those who did not know what the creature was that spoke were scared, but the fear was greater in those who knew it was spiders. "What nasty thick skins they have, but I'll wager there is good juice inside."

"Aye, they'll make fine eating, when they've sat a bit," said another.

"Don't let 'em sit too long," said a third. "They're not as fat as they might be. Been feeding none too well lately, I should guess."

"Kill 'em I say," hissed a fourth. And it took a great amount of courage for poor Ori not to whimper at hearing that. "Kill 'em and hang 'em for dead."

"They're dead now, I'll warrant," said the first.

"That they are not. I saw one a-struggling just now. Just coming round again, I should say, after a beautiful sleep. I'll show you."  
With that one of the fat spiders crawled into the middle of the dwarves to the fattest bundle. Those the spider crawled over, those that were awake anyway, tried not to recoil from the feel of its legs as it moved over them. Of course the largest of the dwarves was Bombur, and the spider nipped hard at his nose. There was a muffled yelp inside, and toe shot up and kicked the spider hard, which made the creature curl its legs up as it fell to the side; much to the amusement of the other spiders.

"You were quite right," they said laughing, "the meat's alive and kicking!"

"What about that long one, it was mighty thin? I bet it's good and dead now," one spider said.

"You're right," said the spider as it uncurled itself and started toward the tallest of the bundles. The dwarves all sat still trying to think of who it was they were talking about, and then they knew; Eleni. The spider crawled back over the dwarves to reach the woman, stepping on many of the dwarves as they laid still wondering what to do. "I think I'll have a little taste just to see," the spider said as it reached her.

At that the dwarves that were awake began wriggling and thrashing trying to call attention away from Eleni, even if it were onto them. Dwarves were known for many things; their greedy love for gold, their selfish love for themselves. But they were also known for severe loyalty to those they considered a friend, and it was that trait that saved Eleni, though she was not awake to be grateful for it.

Just as the spider turned its back on Eleni and towards those behind him a stone flew through the air and struck the spider on the head, and it dropped to the ground with all its legs curled up.

The next stone went whizzing through a big web, snapping its cord, and taking off the spider sitting in the middle of it and it fell to the ground dead. After that an angered panic spread through the spiders and, forgetting about the dwarves lying in webbed bundles, they looked around for the assailant. The dwarves could see nothing but the dark thick strands in front of their faces, and they did not know who it was that was coming to their aid. Until a loud voice started to sing.

_Old fat spider spinning in a tree!_

_Old fat spider can't see me!_

_Attercop! Attercop!_

_Down you drop!_

_You'll never catch me up your tree!_

The song was not very good, but it was all little Bilbo could think of on the spur of a very awkward moment. The dwarves felt their spirits rise at the sound of the hobbit's voice, though they were still unable to escape from the webs.

_Here am I, naughty little fly;_

_you are fat and lazy._

_You cannot trap me, though you try,_

_in your cobwebs crazy._

Sang Bilbo's voice though it sounded much farther away than it had before. It was true, Bilbo was farther away than he had been before, leading the spiders as far from the dwarves as he could before he doubled back. He truly was unseeable for he was wearing the ring Gollum had dropped. Running as quickly and quietly as he could he made it back to the tied up dwarves. He looked for a certain dwarf before he began the process of cutting him out, thankful to see he had found the dwarf he'd been looking for.

"I have never," Thorin said as Bilbo helped the poison wearied dwarf stand, "been so glad to see someone in all my days."

Bilbo thanked him uncomfortably before he looked for the next one he wanted to release before working to get all the others free. He finally found the one he was looking for, and Thorin had already started cutting one of his nephews out, though Thorin moved slow feeling sick and ill from spider poison.  
Bilbo started to slice through the thick strands when he heard a muffled yelling from somewhere to his left. "Thorin, get Eleni out," he said before leaving Eleni still wound, and moved to the panicking dwarf.

Thorin left Fili to cut the rest of himself out as he moved to where Eleni laid slightly curled up. He made a long cut down the middle and began pulling it open hearing her take a deep breath as cool air rushed in.

"We are not on the path," was the first thing she said. Her voice was thick and the circles under her eyes were dark, and unlike Fili she did not try to move.

"No we are not," he agreed as he continued to pull the webs off of her.  
"We should not have left the path," she said quietly.

He sighed as he pulled her into a sitting position. "I know, and I am very sorry." And he meant it, he truly was sorry for not listening to her.

He pulled her out of the webbing and had to wrap an arm around her waist as her knees buckled. He looked to Fili and saw him pulling Kili out, and Bilbo who was helping Dori and Ori who was helping Gloin. He sat her down and moved to cut another dwarf out, who turned out to be Dwalin, and then saw Eleni sitting next to bundle as she slowly and weakly began cutting through the webs. Thorin moved to her side and helped her free Nori, who was just starting to come around again.

"Spiders," Eleni said in a small whisper.

"Yes, they were spiders," said Thorin moving on to Balin.

"Spiders," she said again after Thorin had freed him.

"We should have listened," he told her, "I will never apologize enough for disregarding your guidance." He was tired and ill and he did not want his face rubbed in the mistake they had made. He turned when he felt her pulling his shirt and he saw her swaying on her feet.

"Spiders," she said again and this time he realized she was not saying 'I told you so', but that she was warning him. He turned just in time to see the spider launch itself in their direction, and he unsheathed Orcrist, breaking the webs that were stuck to the hilt and the sheath, and stabbed the spider's belly. He looked around him and saw that most of the dwarves were freed, thanks to the help of their hobbit.

"Now we see you, you nasty little creature!" the spiders said as they raced towards the group. "We will eat you and leave your bones and skin hanging on a tree!"

"Stay back," Bilbo yelled. "Stay where you are!" he warned as the spiders came running on their many legs.

The dwarves armed themselves and were all prepared for a fight, and a fight it seemed there would be. Though Thorin noticed, still holding Eleni by the waist, that she was fairing worst. He pulled her after him as they ran to escape the spiders, too wearied to take them all on.

In the end Bilbo could think of no plan except to let the dwarves in on the secret of his ring. "I am going to disappear;" he said. "I shall draw the spiders off, if I can; and you must keep together and make in the opposite direction."

Eleni saw him slip on the ring and she gasped along with the dwarves, though she was the only one to know what it was. Soon Bilbo's voice began calling "Attercop" and "Lazy Lob" which angered the spiders so greatly they lost their wits. The dwarves huddled together in a knot, and sending a shower of stones they drove at the spiders on the left, and burst through the ring. Thorin was slowed too much dragging Eleni behind, who could not for the life of her keep her feet, and he finally wrapped an arm under her round bottom and lifted her as he ran. To her defense she held her sword and stabbed at the spiders that chased behind them as best she could, though she was quickly fading.

Every now and then they had to turn and fight the creatures that were overtaking them; and already some spiders were in the trees above them and throwing down their long clinging threads. It was a most terrible business, and seemed to take hours. But just when Bilbo felt that he could not lift his hand for a single stroke more strange laughter sounded around them. Eleni, who had been drifting on the waves of unconsciousness as Thorin held her, woke with a start. Elves, beautiful and terrible in their loathing of the spiders, streamed out of the trees and began killing the creatures. A she-elf with red hair loosed arrows at those in the trees before brandishing her swords and cutting through those on the ground. Many of the elves were killing the spiders in a similar manner, and the spiders soon retreated in fear. And then the elves turned their weapons on the dwarves, who were very unhappy to see them.

Thorin placed Eleni on her feet, and she crumpled to the ground. He stepped to the front holding Orcrist, glaring at the elves in front of them.

"You are far outnumbered dwarf," an elf said, sneering at the word 'dwarf'.

Fili, who had knelt beside Eleni the moment his uncle set her down, cast his eyes around making sure none came near. Kili too stood near Eleni, protecting her though he was almost as weary as she.

"What are dwarves doing in our king's lands?" an elf asked though the dwarves stayed silent and continued to glare heavily at the elves who had just saved them.

Fili saw movement out of the corner of his eye and he turned to see a flash of red hair before the a she-elf knelt beside him. "Arael?" the elf asked.

Fili was so shocked that the elf knew Eleni by her real name that he did not react when the elf raised Eleni's chin to better see her face.  
"Hello Tauriel," Eleni answered with a small smile etched with exhaustion.  
The elf looked taken aback by both Eleni's greeting and smile. "What right do you have to greet me as a friend when _this_ is the company you keep?" Tauriel asked appalled and disgusted.  
"The same right you believe you have in addressing me as though you are my equal," responded Eleni.

Tauriel might have smiled, had almost smiled, at Eleni's teasings for it was something they had often done to one another, but Fili moved and the elf looked at him and hostility clouded her eyes once more.

"Legolas," Eleni said and Fili heard the fondness in her voice. Looking up he saw an elf with long blonde hair and dark brows, and a handsome face. Something hot churned in his stomach as he looked at the elf, seeing Eleni's smile as she too looked at him. The elf gave her the smallest of smiles, which only she saw for she knew him, though she also knew him to be very unhappy with her.

"He will not be pleased," the elf warned.

"I am very aware of that," Eleni said looking up at him. Thorin stared at Eleni with such strong hatred in his eye that Tauriel stood with a hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Then you know he will now see you as an enemy of our people."

"I am aware of that too," she said softly in return.

Legolas moved faster than Fili, still ill from the spider poison, could follow and he had blinked and Eleni was gone. He stood with a shout of surprise and the red haired elf Tauriel pushed him back to his knees. Legolas had scooped Eleni from the ground and thrown her over his shoulder, much to her disapproval.

"He won't do for a surprise as great as seeing her with them," Legolas said in the elven tongue. "I will take her ahead, arrest them and lead them to our gates. Blindfold them," Legolas said as an afterthought before walking away from the group with Eleni on his shoulder. Fili looked after Eleni despaired, and many of the other dwarves did too. But Thorin was glaring severely at her, enraged at her being so familiar with their captors. He was not the only one infuriated with her, though she had told them many times that she had been a guest to the elvenking. Thoughts of Eleni, good or bad, were on most of the dwarves' minds as the elves bond them in a long line and blindfolded them before they were led blindly through the forest.


	13. Into the Rabbit Hole

"You are not the same woman who left here years ago," was the first thing Thranduil said after staring long and hard at Eleni, though the forest elves did not know her by that name. His dark brows had risen when Legolas told him of the dwarves, though the hobbit had not been seen for he still wore the ring.

"I suppose the years have changed me," Eleni said in response, taking a sip of the earthy drink that had been given to her. She felt its warmth in her belly and her vision cleared. The elvenking looked as he had when she first met him, his son had aged only slightly as he matured. The forest was still as eerie and green, the gate into their home was even the same, there was the same reddened glow of the torches on the walls of the cave; everything was the same except for the way the elves looked at her, as their enemy. And the moment she agreed to lead the dwarves through Mirkwood she knew the elves would never welcome her again; she hadn't needed to foresee it to know that. And the unbearable sameness of everything around made her realize all the more how much she had changed, for she was the most different.

"Should you tell me the reason they have come through my lands I may pardon you your wrong doings," Thranduil said generously with a smile. Though his smile fell and anger flashed in his eyes when she said nothing, though he composed himself and smiled once more. "And here are your friends now. Perhaps their tongues will be more loose than yours."

Eleni did not turn to see the dwarves being led through the caves, but she could hear their sounds.

"Welcome Thorin son of Thrain son of Thror, King under the Mountain," said Thranduil cheerfully, making the dark look in Thorin's eye look unprecedented. "How very kind of you and your friends to visit, but I don't remember offering you an invitation," said the elf king.

"No invitation was needed," answered Thorin, "we did not mean to trouble you." His voice was level and polite, but the look in his eye was anything but gracious.

"If that were true then why did you and your friends three times try to attack my people at their merrymaking?" asked Thranduil.

"We did not attack them," Thorin said, his voice low. "We came to beg because we were starving."

Thranduil pondered this for some time before finally asking; "What brought you into the forest at all?"

At that Thorin shut his mouth and would say no more. Thranduil's eyes grew sharper when none of the others dwarves answered him either.

"And here I was so hoping you would answer me, for you see it does you little to hold your tongue," said Thranduil kindly. It seemed the more frustrated he became the sweeter his words sounded. "I have already spoken with Arael about your doings here."

At that Thorin turned his eyes to Eleni, glaring at her so severely she could nearly feel his eyes stabbing her.

"And what have you come to learn?" asked Thorin in a growl. It was very unfortunate for him to have asked in such a manner, for Thranduil had not revealed that Eleni told him nothing. And that now whatever the elf king said would fall onto her as blame, though she had done nothing wrong. Had Thorin only asked what it was _she _told them, Thranduil would have had no choice but to answer she had told them nothing. Eleni stared at Thranduil thinking this, knowing how clever he was, and also knowing it would take a long time before Thorin would ever trust her again; though she did not think he ever would even given years.

"You have come through the forest to get to the Lonely Mountain," Thranduil cooed. It was the blackening of Thorin's eyes and the scowl on his face that told the elf king he had spoken true. "However do you plan to defeat the dragon?"

"Did she not tell you that?" Thorin hissed glaring at Eleni.

"She told me nothing of the sort," replied Thranduil honestly. "What a shame too, to find her in your company. And to think we had spoken of her wedding my youngest son."

Fili looked at Eleni, seeing her eyes were on the prince, Legolas, and a sharp pain spread through his chest. He felt cheated and lied to, he was hurt. Kili saw the look on his brother's face, and found himself hating her for causing Fili such pain. Thorin too hated the woman, more so now than before, he realized he had been right in not wanting her near his oldest nephew; she was not to be trusted. Many of the dwarves, even those who still thought well of Eleni, now begrudged her for her friendship with the elves, though they did not know she was no longer a friend. They honestly did not know just how much Eleni had given up to help them, nor would they come to learn it.

Thorin turned his eyes back to the elf remembering clearly the moment when Thranduil had refused to help him and his kin at Moria. And he said nothing.

"Well I suppose I shall save you the trouble of the dragon," the king said smiling pleasantly. "Until I have answers to all of my questions you shall remain here, and your release will depend upon how well I fancy those answers." He motioned to the elves behind the group, and the dwarves were seized and then led further through the caves, where they were imprisoned in separate cells far from any of the others. The dwarves left and they bestowed upon Eleni a great insult; not a single one of them looked back at her as they were led away, not even Fili though he could not find it in him to be angry, he was too despaired.

Only after the dwarves had left did Eleni speak, wanting answers more than putting the dwarves' minds at ease. "I was not aware elves were one to lie," she said bitterly.

"No lie did I give," Thranduil said, a triumphant smile on his face. He was pleased to see that he had succeeded in turning the dwarves against her, hoping to have her talk.

"I do not recall speaking of marrying Legolas and from his face I can see he doesn't either."

"It has been spoken of. Your marrying," he said looking from his son to Eleni, "would unite our people with yours. And the children you bore would be Isildur's heir, the heirs to the throne of Gondor. It was a way to unite all the East, a way to bring a full and total peace to all of Middle Earth."

Eleni was quiet as she thought over all the king had said, though there was still one thing that she did not understand. "Again, I do not remember speaking of this."

"And never did we. Your father and I spoke of it often."

"Until he died you mean," Eleni said harsher than she had meant; and she regretted her tone when she saw his eyes narrow.

"Yes, that most was unfortunate. There was little time to speak with your brother before he too died. Oh," Thranduil said as he watched Eleni's eyes darken and her face contort with rage, "that is what has changed you." His voice was soft and, had Eleni been in the mind to notice, there was understanding in his eyes.

"I will tell you nothing of their plans," she said, her voice hard as stone.

"Nor would I expect you to. It is one of the many things I admired about you; your loyalty. Even to those who don't quite deserve it." Legolas was at her back when his father motioned for him to take her. "Tell me," Thranduil said rising from his throne and moving to stand before her, "what happened to you Arael? I thought we were friends?" His voice was low and gentle and there was a false sadness in his eyes.

Eleni stared up at him, her eyes hard and searching. There was no smile on her face, no laughter in her eyes; Thranduil could see that there wasn't anything left of the woman she used to be. That woman had died and was buried with her brother, and he wondered if that was where she would remain.

"As did I," she said finally, her voice barely a whisper. "But alas we were both wrong."

With that Legolas led her through the caves and into a cell, where she would remain until Thranduil found it in his heart to release her. In Thranduil's cell Eleni was no longer part of Thorin's Company, whether the dwarves gave him answers did not matter, the elf king would not release her until he desired too. Though Eleni no longer believed the dwarves would ask for her to be released, and why would they, she had given them no reassurance that what Thranduil had said was untrue. She would not trust her either, and so she could not begrudge them for their anger with her.

Fili sat in his cell thinking over the elf king's words, and trying to recall Eleni's face to memory when she heard. He had seen her eyes widen, but she had turned to the elf prince before he could truly see her face. He could clearly remember the fondness in her voice when she said the elf prince's name, the fondness on the elf's face when he saw her. He had known she was friends with the elves of Mirkwood, she reminded them often enough. But he had not known how close she was with them, and it greatly upset him. He had just started seeing the softening of her eyes when he would touch her, believing her to hold him somewhere close to her heart if not _in_ her heart. Now he did not know what to think, and his mind and heart were confused and wounded. Which was why when he heard her voice echoing through the stone tunnel, and then realized she was being imprisoned the same as they were, he did not call for her. He did not let her know he was near her, he did not let himself though he wanted to. He wanted her to tell him Thranduil had been lying about her betraying them, he wanted her to tell him that she would not in fact be marrying the elf prince. But what he really wanted her to explain was what it was he felt, and if she felt anything of the sort in return.

Eleni sat in the dark of her cell wondering if she would ever see the sun again. She had not seen little Bilbo among the dwarves and figured he may try to help them escape, though she did not know if Bilbo would help her too should the dwarves tell him of what Thranduil had said. It was then, after Legolas had left her, that she realized she may never see Estel again. She sank to her knees in the greatest of despairs, one she had not felt since she watched her brother still and move no more. She sat huddled against the stone wall, fighting tears of defeat away, refusing to let them fall; she was Arael daughter of Arador, the heir of Isildur, and she did _not_ cry. And so she stilled herself and let her exhaustion take over and felt herself fall into sleep, though sleep she did not find.

_She looked into Thorin's blue eyes which were wide with pain and fear. She felt the weight of the mace as she raised it high over her head and brought it down on the King under the Mountain, but then a sword met the strike and the mace sank into the earth beside Thorin's head. She roared in anger and turned her pale eyes to see a woman with a sharp face and long dark hair glaring at him with severe gray eyes. The woman raised the sword as she swung her mace, shattering the steel as it struck. The woman fell to ground from the reverberations and reached for Thorin's sword, but she stepped on the woman's arm and smiled when she felt it tear from socket. _

Eleni woke gasping, still feeling the pain in her arm from where Azog had wrenched it from its socket. She had spent nights and days seeing Thorin as he died, and now she realized she wasn't seeing Thorin's death. She struggled with wanting to know if that were the moment she would die, and the need to not know. She had lived for seventy four years without seeing her death and she greatly wished what she had just seen was not her end. Her heart continued to race and she wrung her hands together to stop them from shaking.

"Eleni," she heard a voice echo through the cave behind the door to her cell. A wave of relief flooded through her and her heart almost lept in her chest at the sound of his voice.

"Fili."

* * *

_So this one was shorter than the others, but I am in need of suggestions. I am going to have her and Fili talk while they are in the cells, and in the book they were there for two weeks. So I need help on what to have them talk about it, so I would greatly appreciate any ideas and suggestions you have. I mean I would GREATLY appreciate any help I can get, cause I'm not sure what to make them say to one another. Thank you all so much._


	14. I Said I Would

_To make up for the shortness of last chapter, I made this one longer. I just want to thank all of you who reviewed, they were very helpful. And more will be talked about next chapter, cause it takes a few more days before they can get out. So her "marrying" Legolas will be discussed then. Also, I want to make clear now, all of the things she feels towards Fili right now is friendly. There is nothing romantic at this point for, later there will be but not right now. On her part, but Fili is feeling more than she is by the way of romance. But she will start feeling something either next chapter or the one after, so relatively soon. Thank you all again, and I hope you enjoy this chapter._

* * *

He hadn't been able to keep himself from calling out to her, not when he heard her make that awful gasping sound, not when he knew what it meant. She had woken him as she startled awake from a nightmare many times before, most of the nights she had been with them in fact. Many were the nights he would hold her until she would relax enough to find rest again, and never did he ask what she dreamed; she wouldn't tell him. He heard her call his name in return, imagining the complete and total relief that sounded in her voice at hearing that he was near; what he did not know was that he had actually heard it for she was truly comforted at hearing his voice.

He did not answer her, and she did not know what it was he wanted her to say; if he wanted her to say anything. And so they sat in silence, knowing the other was close by but neither knowing what should be said. Long were the hours that silence reigned, breakfast came and passed and still no words were spoken. They remained quiet until the day's second meal was brought to them.

"Fili," Eleni called.

"Hmm," was his reply and she could tell his mouth was full.

Eleni found herself at a loss for words again, and she no longer understood why. She could honestly say she had no care for what Thorin thought of her, or any of the others except possibly Gandalf. But for some reason she did not want Fili to be angry with her. And yet she could not say the words that would bring peace between them.

Fili swallowed what was in his mouth and waited for Eleni to say more, but she did not. She was sitting in her dark cell with a plate of food in her lap as she tried to think of what to say; she had been right when she told Gandalf she was not good at these things.

"What did the elf king ask you before we were brought before him?" Fili finally asked. At first he almost asked what it was she told the king, but he did not want to accuse her with his words; he could nearly see the way her eyes would have hardened and her mouth would have grown tight in irritation, refusing to answer. So he chose his words carefully, and he was given an answer.

"He did not ask me much," she admitted. "Only that I am no longer the person I used to be." She was glad to hear his voice, that he was willing to speak to her. She knew if he was Thorin, or even Kili, that they would refuse to acknowledge her; in that way Fili was different, he was kinder and more forgiving but he was just as cruel when he had been wronged. He was nothing like her, she was hard and cold.

Fili was silent for a while, thinking over her words. Eleni began to lose hope that he would speak with her any longer when she heard his voice again; "Elves are good folk," he said.

She sat in confusion trying to understand what he was saying. "Yes," she agreed.

"They give food to their prisoners, there are not many who would give the same treatment."

"No there are not," Eleni agreed.

"They are honest," Fili said at last and Eleni then knew the meaning behind his words, what he was not saying.

"Yes they are, though they often twist their words to mean something different," said she.

Fili was quiet again, and she was left to sit in the dark of her cell waiting for him to answer; should he want to. She realized that he hadn't needed to let her know he was there, that he _chose_ to reveal his presence though he had no reason to trust her. She hardly showed him or any of the others kindness and even then she was often short with them, though it was true she did not like all of the dwarves, there were a few some she did count as friend; as much of a friend as she was able to have.

"If the elvenking had said you told him of our purpose in his woods, would that have been a lie?" Fili asked after several long moments. Before she could answer he continued; "But by saying he had spoken with you he made us believe you had betrayed us."

Fili listened for her answer but she did not give one, though he knew his words were true. What he did not know was why she didn't defend herself, to him at the moment or to the Company at the time. He found himself abhorring the elvenking, for more than abandoning his uncle in his time of need. Again they were quiet, though the silence did not weigh on them as much as it had before. It was well after supper and into the night, when the sky would have been blackened, that next they spoke.

There was little more for either of them to do but sit in the dark and sleep most of the day. They were like cats in that small rests would befall them, and then night fell and sleep would not find them.

"Are you awake?" Fili called out and waited for her to answer.

"I think I may have slept most of the day," she responded ruefully. She had been trapped within the walls of her cell, no sunlight, no wind. Not even enough space for her to pace back and forth from the length of it. She was unused to having to remain in one place for so long, especially when all around her was blackness. She was bored, incredibly so. Her legs ached to walk, even run, and her body yearned to do something other than sit in a dark cell.

"Would you tell me how you came to know the elves?" Fili asked equally as bored. He had never been one to sit back but instead he charged forward; he was as wired and fidgety as Eleni was.

And so she did. She told him of when she and her brother left Rivendell to join her father in their camp, and he sounded amazed when she told him she had been only twenty-six. The fastest way, of course, to get around the forest of Mirkwood was to go through it; many years previous before even her father had been born, Thranduil had given the Dúnedain leave to use the path she had taken Thorin and Company on. And that first time her brother and she had traveled it they were invited to feast with the elfking, who gave them a glorious feast she had never seen the likes of since.

"Have you ever seen any of the creatures off the path?" Fili asked.

She was quiet for a moment as she thought, and Fili thought maybe there was an unpleasant memory that lay in the answer to that question; but what he did not know was that Mirkwood held some of the only memories she had that had always been good, until now.

"Yes I have, but that is a different story."

"Does it not have to do with the elves?" he asked.

She smiled at the memory and Fili could almost hear it in her voice. "No, it has to do with my brother and I and our heart for adventure."

Fili had trouble imagining when she had been younger, all he could see in his mind was the strong unbending woman he had come to know. But at the memory of her fighting the goblins, of the light in her eyes as she cut through them, he thought maybe she had looked more like she did then.

They heard the sounds of voices as they echoed closer, and then their doors opened and the day's first meal was given to them; they had talked all night without realizing it. They ate quietly, their bellies very happy to have food in them, and their bodies happy to have water again. Wood-elves were very gracious to even their greatest enemies, so long as they had captured them first.

It was a long few minutes after breakfast before either one of them spoke again. "Would you tell me of you and your brother?" Eleni asked sitting with her back against the door to better hear him.

Fili thought for a few moments of what to tell her; she knew his father had died when they were young, leaving his uncle Thorin to raise them. She knew Thorin, so without him having told her she knew Thorin was strict, and yet he had told her that as well.

So he told her of the parts of the quest she had not been apart of; the arrival at Bilbo's hobbit-hole, Kili's face when he first saw Bilbo which had made her laugh quietly. He told her of the trolls and how even though all thirteen of them fought they had still been caught and put in sacks, which had smelled so foul he had thought he would never stop smelling it.

She was not surprised to hear that Bilbo was the one who had thought to waste time, nor was hearing that Gandalf had come back and used the sunrise to turn the trolls to stone. However, there was one part of the story that she was, not surprised at, but curious of.

"What were you and Kili doing to have let a troll steal your ponies?" she called.

Fili was quiet for a long while. "It was," he started in an attempt of defense, "a mundane task." The tinkling of Eleni's laughter echoed through the stone and he could not keep himself from smiling at the sound.

"So you are not one to do something that is less than worthy of your time," she teased in a serious voice.

He rolled his eyes in his dark cell, and his cheeks were warm from embarrassment; Thorin had questioned him and Kili on how they misplaced the ponies as well.

"And what happened next?" she asked to change the topic of their conversation, knowing he was uncomfortable with it from his quietness.

And so he told her of the troll caves, where Throin found Orcrist and Gandalf found Glamdring; and Bilbo was given Sting, though the hobbit had named it when he was fighting the spiders on his own. He hadn't been surprised to hear she knew of Radagast, it only made sense that after her time in the wild she had come across the strange wizard at some point in her life. Though she had not known of his Rustibelle rabbits that had drawn off the wargs that were hunting them. And Gandalf had led them to a tunnel path that led them to Rivendell, and that was when they had met her. He had already told her of what had happened between when they left the elf stronghold and when she came to the Goblin-town, so now she knew all of their journey.

He did not tell her all of their tale in one sitting, at some point one or both of them would slip into slumber – one time Fili had fallen asleep in the middle of a sentence. He did not finish telling her of their travels until well after dinner, and they slowly settled back into an uneasy sleep. Eleni woke once, feeling her shoulder wrench from its socket as Azog stepped on it, though she was looking at both she and the pale orc from behind; and she did not know who's eyes she was looking through.

"Are you alright?" Fili called, having been awake before she woke. She did not answer him for a very long time, and he thought perhaps she had fallen asleep.

"Do you think we will ever get out?" she asked, though he almost did not hear for her voice was so quiet.

"Of course we will," he said with conviction. And he truly did believe it, though she did not feel the same. And he could tell she didn't by how long it took for her speak again.

"Do you think I will ever get out?"

He was taken aback by her question, until he remembered the way in which the dwarves had parted from Eleni in. Fili found himself hating the elfking so strongly, for causing Eleni to believe they would leave her to remain here.

"I will not leave you behind," he told her, and in her cell she smiled softly at his words. "You will leave with us, and I will make sure you see Estel again."

Her smile grew, she had not known it but it was what she needed to hear. She sat with her back against the cold stone feeling more at ease than she had before, though her spirits were still rather low. And as the days continued to pass they grew even lower; as did Fili's, he did not have as much conviction of them getting out of their prisons as he had before. They continued to speak with each other, and slowly they began to learn more about the other and the reason they were like they were. Fili told Eleni of the pressures Thorin placed on him as the next in line, and how he could not behave in the way his brother did. It was because Kili was not as weighed down by the burden of being the prince of Durin that he could be as reckless as he acted. Which, as his older brother, Fili was left with the responsibility to follow after Kili on whatever his little brother decided to do.

Eleni could hear how much Fili loved his brother just from the way he spoke, as though there was a smile in the sound of his voice. She understood what he meant of the pressures weighing and wearing out the urge to act carelessly, she had seen it in her brother; and she told him so.

"What were you like, when you were younger?" Fili asked sitting with his back against the door.

"I was like any youthful person in that I wanted to see the world and everything it had to offer. Even the unpleasant things."

Fili smiled and closed his eyes trying to picture her face, though he could not see her how he wanted. Her eyes were not as severe, her face not as sharp. And so he listened to her voice as she told him of how she and brother had left the path hoping to come across something behind the trees; and they certainly did, though they had been prepared from what the elves had told them lay in the woods. They traveled together, they fought together, they loved the thrill of imminent danger together; he was reminded strongly of he and Kili, and he was saddened when he clearly pictured the pain in her eyes when she had spoken of her brother's death. He wanted to hold her again, if not to comfort her than to comfort him and the thoughts of losing his own brother. He knew then that it was her brother's death that had changed her, that she could no longer be herself when her brother was not with her.

Over a week had passed since they had been imprisoned, though to them it felt as though it had been an eternity. They were still given food and drink, and they were very fine to taste , but the darkness was suffocating them both.

Eleni was slowly coming out of a troubled sleep when she heard the door to her cell open and the painful glow of a torch blinded her; it had been the first light she had seen since being locked in the cell. The glow of the flames flashed on long golden hair. "I did not know it was a prince's duty to visit his father's prisoners."

"It is my duty when they are my friend," answered Legolas before kneeling beside where she sat.

Eleni stared at his face, slowly becoming used to the light. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to ask the same of you." Eleni looked away from him but he pulled her chin so she would look at him again. "You must have known we never would have forgiven you for joining them."

"It is not for them that I agreed to their quest, and nor did they ask for me to."

"Then why did you agree?" Legolas asked, remembering a day when he found her and her brother sleeping a far way off the path in the trees with hardly a scratch on either of them.

"Gandalf asked it of me," she finally admitted.

"Why did you not tell my father that, surely you knew he would understand and have offered you pardon?"

"I do not want his pardon nor did I want it when I first agreed to this quest. Losing the friendships of you and your kin is great tragedy to me, but that did not hinder me before and it will not now."  
Legolas was quiet as he knelt before her holding her chin, many times she had visited with her brother, and many times did he go to visit them. He could have loved her, for the rest of her short life knowing losing her would have destroyed him. But he still could have, because the life in her was so viable he had never been able to resist her. Though that was not the woman before him, and even the woman she used to be never returned those feelings. He sighed before standing, staring down at her upturned face a long while before moving to the door.

"Legolas," she said stilling his feet. He turned back to her to see her standing behind him, her eyes wide with pleading. "You know of my brother's wife?" He nodded and waited for her to continue. "You know," she stopped uncertain of whether to continue.

"Of their son," he finished for her. Legolas knew of Aragorn, but his father did not; at least not at that moment.

"Should you come across him at some point in his life," she whispered stepping closer to him, her wide eyes alight with worry and fear, "would you care for him in my stead?" He was taken aback by her request, as though she knew she would not live to see her nephew grow. "Would you," she stopped releasing a breath. "Please," she begged.

Legolas stared hard into her eyes, seeing how much she loved the child, the boy who held all she had left of her brother. "Should I recognize him I will treat him with the same care I have for you," he said giving her his word. He saw the relief flood through her as she released the breath she had been holding. Legolas stared at her a moment longer, wondering what it was about the dwarf in the cell near hers that had captured her interest so fully.

He closed the door and began walking back towards his father's throne room; never would he have imagined how similar in appearance Aragorn would be to his aunt, for in the years to come when Legolas would meet the boy he would recognize him immediately.

Fili had sat silently listening to the elf speak with Eleni, hearing the familiarity in both of their voices. But all jealous rage left him when he heard Eleni ask for Legolas to care for Estel, when he heard the despair in her voice.

They were both startled greatly at hearing a familiar voice outside of their doors, and then hope flooded through them both. It was their hobbit; he had followed the elf prince through the caves and had finally found them.


	15. But Then I Saw

The first thing he noticed was that there was light in his cell, a warm flickering of torches. The next was that he was woken by a sound and looking about him he realized it had come from his door being opened. And then he saw Eleni, bathed in the orange light, wearing a dress similar to the elvish one she had worn in Rivendell; it hung from her shoulders dipping low over her chest to reveal the round shape of her breasts, and stretched over her hips before it draped to the floor. He had stood the instant he saw her, and he stepped towards her and she towards him letting the door fall closed behind her.

He watched the light of the flames flicker on her dark hair, as it cast a golden hue on her pale skin, as it gleamed in her eyes. He closed his eyes as her fingertips ran along his face and through his hair, gently pulling it, brushing over his eyelids, tracing his lips. He kissed them lightly as he opened his eyes to look to hers, seeing they were clouded with desire such as his were. He pulled the dress from her shoulders letting it pool at her feet, seeing her body as he had only briefly imagined before. His eyes took in every scar before he traced with them with first his fingers and then his mouth. He started with the one on her neck and then moved down her body until he reached the last one on her calf.

He was on his knees looking up at her, seeing first the dark curls between her legs and then her breasts, and then her face. He pulled her to the ground capturing her mouth and then he settled on top of her between her legs. She ran her hands over his chest after she pulled his shirt over his head, all the while returning his every kiss, they're tongues now waging war. Her hands ran along his chest until she reached the laces of his pants and he kicked them off hurriedly before pulling her legs around him.

Her voice was a whisper in his ear as she moaned his name, her nails digging into his back and her legs wrapped tight around his hips. Her own name passed from his lips many times as he moved above her. They continued in this way for a long while, until a searing pleasure spread in his groin. His moan was loud as unparalleled spasms tore through him, feeling her own as she tightened around him. He stilled on top of her, breathing deeply and feeling the rapid rise and fall of her chest beneath him. She brought his face up to hers and kissed him, and he folded into her embrace enjoying the feel of her willing, open mouth.

Fili woke breathing heavily, a slight shiver in his spine. He ran his hands over the front of his trousers feeling an area where they were wet, and nearly groaned at the discovery. It took him a moment to realize that he may have made noises as he dreamt, and that Eleni might not have been asleep; and so he listened for any sign that she was awake, and he was relieved when he found none.

Though at the time he did not consider that she would be sitting very quietly so as not to let him know she was awake. She had heard his soft moans as she sat unable to sleep, and it had taken her some time to learn what they were. It wasn't until she heard her name that she realized it. And so she was left to hear the sounds of his desire as he dreamt of her, his voice a low growl that caused her heart to flutter and a heat to spread between her legs. Her face was aflame as was the rest of her; she felt as though her entire body was flushed. She closed her eyes and slowed her breathing, willing the feelings away, though at first she could not keep at bay the image of Fili as he made those sounds or what it was that was on his mind as he made them.

They remained quiet the rest of the night and after breakfast was given, and only then did they speak when Bilbo came back to them with a message from Thorin. Their spirits had been lifted when they heard Bilbo's voice, thinking he had left them, and now they were left to wait until the hobbit found a way to help them escape. Eleni had tried to think of a way out of the king's lands without being noticed, though she knew of no way. Though she did offer Bilbo to look further in the caves, for she knew no chance of escape lay outside of them. Bilbo had been glad to hear that they were so close to one another; the others were spread all throughout the caves. And the little hobbit wondered if perhaps the elves had put them together for a reason; what Bilbo did not know was that Legolas had done just that, for he had seen the way the dwarf seemed to care for his friend.

It had taken some time but eventually Bilbo found the cell in which Thorin was being kept; he was in the deepest parts of the caves where hardly any air moved and no light was to be found. Thorin had become so lowspirited in the near two weeks they were imprisoned that he was thinking of telling Thranduil of his treasure and his quest, and to offer the elvenking a piece of the treasure. But hearing little Bilbo's voice had strengthened Thorin's heart, and he thought no more of ransoming their release with a part of the treasure, at least until Bilbo failed to think of something clever. Thorin had a very high opinion of Bilbo, for it was the hobbit who had saved them from the spiders, and it would be the hobbit who saved them from their prisons. Who would save _all_ of them.

"Do you have any plan of getting us out?" Thorin asked.

"Not yet," answered Bilbo honestly, "but Eleni said to look deeper in the caves so I will start there."

"Do not speak to me of that traitor," growled Thorin.

Bilbo was taken aback, for he had not been there to hear what the elf king had said. "What has she done?" he asked.

"She told our enemy of our quest, and now I bet she dines with him and makes light of our imprisonment." Thorin had let his hatred of Eleni grow until it was black in his heart, thinking she had and was still betraying them to the king while they were rotting in dark cells.

"Use your head, Thorin Oakenshield," Bilbo said crossly after some time. "She warned you many times the elves would not welcome you, and nor would they welcome her just for the inconvenience of being in your Company. And to add salt to his injury he found her in _your_ Company, Thorin."

Thorin was surprised at the hobbit's harsh words, and the reminder that she did in fact tell him those things, on more than one occasion. She had even told him that she was a friend of the elves, something in which he had forgotten. "Then where is she?" he asked.

"She is in a cell by Fili," Bilbo replied. "Now, if you are done speaking poorly of our guide, who has done nothing but try to help us since she decided to join, I will give the others your message." And with that Bilbo bid Thorin a good day and left.  
So Bilbo was left with the difficult task of finding a way to get them all out, which he had to do alone for there was no one else to help. They were all very hopeful and positive the hobbit would find a way, though Bilbo himself did not nearly feel the same; he did not like having everyone depend on him.

Fili could not bring himself to call out to Eleni, for he still did not know if she had heard him. And Eleni herself could not find any words for she kept hearing Fili's throaty voice as he said her name, and the sounds of his pleasure. But Fili could hardly take the silence, and there was still a question that had been plaguing his mind since the moment they had been imprisoned; he just did not know how to ask so that she would tell him, and he found himself needing to know the answer.

"Eleni," he called and waited for her to respond. "What was it the king had said about you and his son?" he asked after she had. She was quiet for a long while, a good and painful long while that Fili thought he had ruined his chance of ever learning the answer. Which despaired him because he _needed_ her to answer.

"He spoke of my marrying Legolas," she said at last. She had hoped not have to answer that particular question, though she should have known that she'd have to. She did not enjoy how confused hearing Thranduil say that made her, for she wondered how different her life would have been had she married Legolas; if even by chance her brother might have lived if she had.

"Are you to marry him?" Fili asked, hoping her answer was no, praying for it to be. It was not because he could see a future with her, as his wife and the mother of his children, but it was the possibility of seeing her as such. He was starting to see, more so now that he knew her, that maybe she could be the one; for Thorin had made that clear to both Fili and Kili that they should never marry for anything but love. That was the reason Thorin had yet to marry for he had found no one he loved, it was true he had been with women and he cared for a few, but he did not love them. Fili greatly admired his uncle, and there were moments when he saw that Thorin may be lonely, but Fili thought it was right to wait for a woman you would love with every ounce your being. What would a life be with someone if you didn't, and so Fili hoped Eleni would say no so he could see if she were that woman for him. And he knew that was selfish, he knew that very well, but he could not help himself.

"I am no longer the woman he wanted his son to marry," she said after some time.

"Would you have wanted to marry him?"

She was quiet as she thought of her answer; and she honestly did not know. She had clearly seen how her mother and father loved one another before she had died, it was in the way they looked at one another, in the way they touched. Eleni had waited to feel the way her mother did when someone would touch her, as though she never wanted them to let go; but in her seventy-four years she had not found it. Not even in Legolas, and so she supposed that was her answer and that was what she told Fili. Only a few hours later she was roused by the sound of her door opening, and when she looked into the hall she did not see anyone.

"Bilbo?" she whispered wondering if perhaps he still had on his ring. And she had been right, it was the hobbit. For it had taken her so long in answering Fili that Bilbo had found them a way out. She stepped out of her cell and almost ran into Balin, and heard Bilbo shut her door and lock it again before he moved to Fili's. After he got the two out he told them to follow quietly, and so they did. They moved through the caves collecting more dwarves until finally they were all at Thorin's door.

"Upon my word!" said Thorin, when Bilbo whispered to him to come out and join his friends, "Gandalf spoke true, as usual! A pretty fine burglar you make, it seems, when the time comes. I am sure we are all forever at your service, whatever happens after this. But what comes next?"

Bilbo saw that the time had come to explain his idea of riding inside of the empty barrels the elves used to receive goods, and his fears were quite justified; there were many cries of "what" and "you can't be serious" in spite of their danger.

"We shall be bruised and battered to pieces," said Ori.

"And drowned too, for certain!" said Dori.

"We thought you had got sensible notion, when you managed to get hold of the keys. This is a mad idea!" said Gloin and many voiced their agreement.

"Very well," said Bilbo very downcast, and also rather annoyed. "Come along back to your nice cells, and I will lock you all in again, and you can sit there comfortably and think of a better plan – but I don't suppose I shall ever get hold of the keys again, even if I feel inclined to try." Bilbo now thought he understood the frustrations of Eleni, it was not fair to be subjected to the dwarves' grumblings when they themselves had no ideas.

That was too much for them, and they calmed down. In the end of course they had to do just what Bilbo had said, and so they followed the hobbit down into the lowest cellars. There was little time to lose. Before long, as Bilbo knew, some elves were under orders to come down and help the butler get the empty barrels through the doors into the stream. These were in fact already standing in rows waiting to be pushed off. So they all found a barrel they would fit into and they curled themselves as small as they could inside the barrels so they would not be seen. This was a much easier task for Eleni for she was very slender, where as the dwarves were very broad. But eventually they all managed to crouch down and hide and when the elves came to push the barrels into the river they all jolted as their barrel splashed into the water. They drifted on the current beneath the caves, and soon they came to the opening where they drifted towards sunlight.

The dwarves had been right in their worries of their being battered, for the river was not smooth and after they had escaped and stood in their barrels the fierce rapids threw them against the sides. They were all drenched to the bone shortly after being pushed into the water, and as they moved violently down the river their barrels began filling with water as it sloshed inside. The sun was blinding after so long in the dark, and the air was cold to their wet skins. After a few hours of sloshing around the barrels they came to a creek bed where they were able to climb out. Fili wrapped an arm around Eleni's waist and pulled her out, her skirts very heavy now that they were wet. In setting her down he realized that he could completely see through her white blouse and he stared at her chest a moment before moving her hair to cover her breasts so the others would not see them.

Thorin looked around him not recognizing where they were and realized there would only be one person who did, though Bilbo had realized it first.

"Which way are we to go?" the hobbit asked looking at Eleni.

Not many of the dwarves had realized she was with them, and luckily those few who did were the ones who had had the most faith in her. But they all looked to the woman, and many of the dwarves were glaring heavily at her.

"When did we decide to bring her?" demanded Dwalin gruffly.

"You do realize we never would have been captured had you all just listened to me when we were in the forest," Eleni said just as harshly.

"You betrayed us to the elves, I will listen to nothing more you have to say," said Dwalin and many voiced their agreements.

"You will listen to what she has to say for she is the only one among us who knows the way to go," Thorin said in her defense. She looked at him surprised but the look in his eye was no friendlier than Dwalin's. "Which way?" he asked rudely.

She gave him a long look before sighing. "That depends on where you want to go," she responded. "That way will take us to Erebor," she said pointing to the north. "And that way will take us to the Lake-town where they will have a place to stay and food to eat," she said pointing North-East.

"We will make for the town. Lead the way," he ordered Eleni.

Her eyes narrowed and something dark churned in her eyes but Fili touched her arm and she turned towards the Lake-town and began walking leaving the others to follow behind.


	16. Your Shivered Bones

_This chapter did not happen quite the way I wanted it to. And I did one of the things I abhor fanfiction writers doing; and that is taking something a preexisting-character was supposed to do and having my character do it. But it made more sense in the way that I wrote her that their arrival in the Lake-town would unfold the way it did. So I am sorry for that, and just know that I wasn't too happy doing it. But besides that, I hope you enjoy. Next chapter will be full of Fili and Eleni as they can now bond face to face. _

* * *

Eleni kept them walking at a brisk pace for hours, not feeling sorry in the slightest for any of the dwarves save Fili and Bilbo, and he was hardly a dwarf. She could hear their grumblings of her presence and she kept her shoulders back and her head high as she led them closer to the town. They were still a few hours off when Thorin ordered her to let them rest, and even then she did not stop. She had continued on, farther than her own weary body wanted, and she would have carried herself on nothing more than her outrage if Fili had not asked her; if he had not begged her saying please. She had looked to her right where he had kept pace with her, where as the others had been walking a good ways behind, she saw his exhaustion and only then did she rest.

After seeing the two had stopped Kili joined his brother, where he sat on his brother's side glaring at the woman. Fili laid on his back breathing heavily, thoroughly worn out from her pace. Thorin himself had continued after her if only to yell at her, but even he did not have the energy to move much farther. They were all battered and their sides were colored black with bruises from the rough ride in the barrels, their legs shaky from not being used in a long while, so when they finally stopped and sat down many of them fell asleep. The sun had just started its descent and they had all fallen asleep, not even a look-out was placed they were all so weary.

Fili woke with an arm slung over her waist and his face buried in her hair, his mouth pressed against her neck. Her head was turned towards his and her cheek rested against his temple, one hand holding his arm as she slept. Though she woke when he released her waist and she sat up, gently pushing him off of her, and he was too sleepy to notice that she was not disturbed with waking so close to him; her mind had been too sleep fuddled to take note of the way she woke, and when she became more aware she had already forgotten. Though she did notice that sometime during their time in the barrels his braids had been disentangled and his blond hair hung plainly around his head.

The others woke shortly after, and they moved at a much slower pace; their legs and stomachs aching with every movement. Eleni continued to lead them and Fili continued at her side, but Kili was now walking at his brother's side and Thorin was very close behind as were the others. She quickly noticed that Fili and Bilbo were the only ones who would speak with her, the others ignoring her completely except to glare. Even Thorin would not address her but often he would ask questions of his oldest nephew who would in turn have to ask Eleni for he did not have the answers.

"How far from the town do you believe we are, Fili?" Thorin asked for a third time since they woke.

Fili sighed heavily and turned to Eleni to ask, but his irritation at the two vanished when he saw the gleam in her eyes. She walked to a large rock and sat atop it, brushing her hair over her shoulders to keep it out of her face. The others looked at her confused, for they had only just stopped to rest less than an hour ago. Fili's shoulder slumped in defeat when he realized she would go no further.

"What are you doing?" Thorin asked harshly, irritated at the now careless look on her face.

"You will reach the town in a little over an hour if you walk straight that way," she said pointing towards the way in which they had been moving.

"You do not plan on coming with us?" asked Bilbo unhappily for she was the only one among them that he could actually speak with without the conversation turning to gold. Bilbo was not the only one distressed at that thought; Fili, of course was, as was Ori who was the gentler one of the dwarves, and Balin for he did not truly believe she would have betrayed them.

"No, Bilbo I do not," she said leaning back against the rock with her eyes closed. "It is obvious I am no longer needed or wanted any longer."

"We have not yet reached the Lake-town," said Thorin who also was not ready for her to leave just yet, for he still did not have the answer for what it was she had actually said to the elf king.

At that her eyes opened and she sat up looking at Thorin with her brow raised. "So you are saying I should waste more of my time in leading you to the town, when you can very well get there on your own, and all the while listen to your not very hushed voices as you speak illy of me?" she asked as though it was a surprise, which greatly irritated Thorin.

"Well what is it you plan to do now?" asked Dwalin gruffly, not entirely put off by the idea of her leaving them.

She looked at Dwalin and gave him a smile, and though it was lovely on her face the look in her eyes made it look incredibly wrong; she appeared as though something had snapped inside of her mind, as though she was slightly unhinged, and it greatly disturbed many of them to see that look on her face.

"I plan to rest here a few moments longer and then I will return to Mirkwood and tell Thranduil the only reason I joined your quest in the first place was at Gandalf's request, and perhaps he will pardon me for having been in your company and I will no longer be an enemy to the wood-elves," she said pleasantly as she continued smiling at Dwalin. He was growing uncomfortable looking at her face and feeling her eyes on him. Though he and all of the others grew confused at what she had spoken, for she had said she was the elves' enemy not their friend.

"Did you not tell him that before?" Thorin demanded. His blood ran cold when her eyes turned to his, and he could see behind the facade she wore that a blackening storm was churning behind her eyes ready to strike.

"Your quest is not mine to discuss, not even when asked. I am appalled at your thinking that I am without honor."

"You have given me no reason to believe you had any," said Thorin and her laughter tinkled through the air sounding shrill and crazed. He looked to Fili and saw his nephew was now looking very worried as he watched Eleni.

"I have given you every reason," she said standing, and suddenly she was the woman he had met; hard face, set jaw, angry eyes. The storm in her eyes had broken and her wrath was now raining around them – and it was long overdue. "You have no idea how much I have given up in joining your quest, how much I will continue to give up as we go further," she said moving to stand in front of him, her voice raising slightly with each word. "I have done nothing but try to offer you help and you have done nothing but refuse to listen. I told you what would happen should we leave the path, what would happen should we encounter the elves, that I had been a friend to them but would be no longer since I had joined you. Did you listen to me then, no of course you didn't!" Her voice was now as dark as her eyes, and many of the dwarves were feeling guilty and afraid. "I agreed to this quest, I signed the contract and I will see it through. So the least you all can do is shut up!" she nearly screamed at them, and even those who still did not quite forgive her found themselves nodding to appease her.

She pushed past Thorin causing him to take a step back, and she continued on in the direction they had been going. At that moment, still hearing her loud voice echoing in their ears, not even Fili walked at her side; instead he and the others walked a good few yards behind her.

"I don't see what she got so upset over," whispered Gloin. "She's the one who betrayed us." Bilbo felt the urge to pull his hair out when he heard; Gloin was a prime example of the manner of dwarves, stubborn, untrustful, and arrogant.

"I bet she hadn't even been in a cell," voiced Dwalin.

"She was in a cell," mumbled Bilbo as he walked ahead to rid himself of their idiocy.

"She probably ate with the king every night, enjoying his magnificent feasts," whined Bombur, still sore over the dreams he had in the forest.

"They threw her in a cell a little after us," said Fili harshly. "Mirkwood had been full of only fond memories for her, one of the only places she could say that about, and she gave that up by being _loyal_ to us. She told the king _nothing_," hissed Fili. "It is your own stupidity in why you were fooled by his twisted words." And with that Fili finally quickened his pace to walk beside Eleni, and they matched each other stride for stride incredibly irate from the others.

The others were left to walk behind, surprised again by Fili. He was not one to say much, for he was one of the youngest, nor was he one to frustrate easily; he was very kind and outgoing, cheerful and adventurous. Thorin watched as the two walked together wondering what had happened while they were imprisoned that had strengthened his nephew's faith in the woman.

Eleni had been correct, it was only a few minutes after an hour when they finally arrived at the Lake-town, though it had felt much longer for their legs were weak and their stomachs aching. They did not go unnoticed and they were met at the head of the bridge by guards.

"Who are you and what do you want?" ordered the captain of the guards.

"Thorin son of Thrain son of Thror, King under the Mountain!" said Thorin in a loud voice, and he looked it too, in spite of his torn clothes and his now unbraided hair; his eyes were dark and deep. "I have come back. I wish to see the Master of your town!"

"And who are they?" the captain questioned motioning to the group behind Thorin.

"These two are my sister's sons, Fili and Kili of the race of Durin. The others are great friends of mine who have traveled far and long, as well as a hobbit by the name of Bilbo Baggins who has traveled with us from the west. And a woman Eleni who has been our guide."

Eleni did not miss that Thorin did not include her with his friends. At the declaration of a woman being among a group of dwarves the captain of the guards looked at the group to find the woman in question and took in her sharp face and long curly dark hair.

"A woman is a strange guide, especially one as young as she," said the captain.

"She has traveled very far and lived most of her years in the wild. She is one of the last of the Dúnedain, a Ranger of the North, Daughter of Arador and heir of Isildur," replied Thorin without care of revealing who she was, hoping it would greatly anger her.

The captain's eyes widened as he looked back to the woman and then he removed his hat and held it to his chest as he got down on a knee and bowed before her. "Lady Arael, your great deeds are much spoken of here. Often your father and your brother as well yourself kept enemies from our lands, we are grateful for your presence."

The dwarves all cast a look at Eleni seeing a small smile on her lips as she looked at the man bowing before her. Again, they had forgotten who she was and the weight in which it carried.

"You are most kind," she said gently and the man turned his eyes to hers. He looked much older than she, though she was much older him. "There is no need to bow before me, when really I am nothing," she said looking at Thorin, reminding him of his harsh words at Beorn's.

"You will always be welcome here," the captain said voraciously. "And any friend that joins you."

The dwarves waited for her to laugh and say they were no friends of hers, for they had not treated her as friend, but they were surprised when she did no more than thank him. He then led them to a great hall that shone with many lights.

"The Lady Arael has come again," said the captain when they reached the Master of town who sat at the end of a table in a great chair.

"Please," Eleni said before the Master could even blink, "there is no need for formalities."

The Master smiled at her and settled back in his chair, having prepared to stand and greet her. "You are as lovely as the stories say."

"Thank you," Eleni said with a smile, looking very much like the woman she had been when she first visited the town many years ago. "You look just like your father."

The Master laughed overjoyed, having heard of the woman and her brother who had helped his father battle a large pack of orcs planning to pillage their town many years before he himself was born. "It is a pleasure to have you, milady. And your friends," he said noticing the dwarves behind her.

"One in particular," said Eleni. "Thorin son of Thrain son of Thror King under the Mountain."

Silence fell over the hall and Thorin looked at Eleni surprised to hear her speak so well of him after how he had spoken of her. Many jumped up from their seats, including the Master of the town who sprang from his great chair. But none rose in greater surprise than the raft-men of the elves who were sitting at the lower end of the hall.  
"These are prisoners of our king that have escaped, wandering vagabond dwarves that could not give any good account of themselves, sneaking through the woods and molesting our people," they cried.

"Is this true?" asked the Master looking from Thorin to Eleni.

"It is true that we were wrongfully waylaid by the Elven-king and imprisoned without cause as we journeyed back to our own land," answered Thorin in a loud voice. "But lock nor bar may hinder the homecoming spoken of old. Nor is this town in the Wood-elves' realm. I speak to the Master of the town of the Men of the Lake, not to the raft-men of the king." His chest swelled with pride, looking very much like the king he was.

The Master hesitated then looking from the dwarves to the raft-men; the Elvenking was very powerful in those parts and the Master wished for no enmity with them. He also did not think much of the old songs that told of the King under the Mountain's return, but they were the friends of the Lady Arael and he did not think it wise to refuse them. The matter was settled without him; the news had spread from the doors of the hall like fire through the town. People were shouting inside the hall and outside it. Some began to sing snatching of old songs concerning the return of the King under the Mountain; that it was Thror's grandson not Thror himself that had come back did not bother them at all.

The Company was then given seats at the tables and large plates of food, which they gladly ate as they listened to the towns folk sing and cheer. They were all in good spirits as the people of the town serenaded them, as they filled their empty bellies with food and wine. Eleni had left them to sit near the Master of the town where they spoke for a long while, and those who noticed wondered again if she would tell him that they were no friends of hers; for it was then they realized how terrible they had behaved and nearly all of them regretted it.

When night fell and drew along she returned to the table and stood at the head of it beside the seat in which Thorin sat. "A house has been prepared for us," she said looking down at him and he in turn looked up at her. Nodding he stood and bid the many people a good night and gave his thanks for the wonderful hospitality that had been bestowed upon them. Loud cheers followed them as they were led to the large house that was being given to them.

"Beds have been made for all of us and they are spread in the rooms in groups of twos and threes, though there is one room that has one bed that is for you," Eleni said as the door to the house closed and the voices were now muffled behind the walls.

She moved towards the hall where the rooms were and Thorin grabbed her arm, feeling how small it was in his hand. "You are a lady, that room will be yours," he said, and though he had tried to make it sound like an offer his voice was hard and it came out as a demand. He released her arm and moved around her to a room he would share with his nephews.

"Thank you," he heard her say but when he turned back to her she was closing the door to her room. He continued through the doorway and was met with Fili's hard eyes as his nephew sat on a bed. The candles were extinguished and they laid beneath the covers on their beds, sleeping for the first time in almost a month on something other than the ground.


	17. They Didn't Want Me To

_I would like to thank the guest, Windr, for their wonderful review. I wish I could have thanked you personally, your review meant so much to me, it's one of the kindest I've received. _

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They all slept through that first night, even Eleni with her nightmares. And many of them slept all through the next day - those who had gotten battered around the most and those who had been the most waterlogged - and they were all immensely grateful for their beds and the comfort that assured them they were truly safe. The only time any of them crawled from beneath their warm blankets was to eat the food that had been prepared for them.

Eleni left her room for the first time a little after noonday, and she was given food and drink and after a bath was drawn for her. She leaned back in the wooden basin letting the warm water soothe her tired muscles. After the water turned cold she wrapped the sleeping gown around her, tracing the three jagged scars on her belly before tying it around her waist. She walked quietly back to her room, her long hair laying wet around her shoulders, hearing the loud sounds of the others snoring. Walking through the doorway she saw to her surprise Fili laying on the left side of the bed asleep beneath her covers. She stood under the frame of the door staring at the sleeping dwarf in her bed before closing the door and laying beside him.

It was not until the sun fell past the horizon that Fili woke, not having meant to fall asleep. She was turned away from him on her side, her back warm against his chest, her hair smelling of flowers, in a different dress than she had been wearing when they arrived in the town. For a moment he wondered if he was in fact sleeping next to Eleni, but leaning over her he saw her sleeping face. He rolled onto his back, feeling the warmth of her body beside him after having imagined its feel while in a dark cell.

She woke a few hours later with her head on his chest and his arm wrapped around her back. She blinked against the sleepiness, the flame from the candle beside the bed bright and painful. She laid her head back on his warm chest, his heart a steady beat in his chest lulling her back to sleep.

Eleni woke and was surprised into awareness when she saw the left side of the bed empty. She looked to see Fili sitting at the foot of the bed trying to re-braid his hair, but it kept tangling and he would have to start again. She continued watching him, seeing he was growing frustrated at his hair.

"Would you like help?" she asked softly.

He turned to her to see her slightly sitting up watching him. He nodded and she pulled the skirts of her dress up and settled on her knees behind him. His eyes fell shut as she ran her fingers through his hair, gently pulling it as the tangles came loose. She took the front of his hair and tied it behind his head, and he leaned his head back as she began braiding the right side of his hair, keeping the two braids as they had been before. He could feel her breasts against his back and he sat so they would press against him as she breathed.

"Why did you come here?" she asked quietly.

He turned to her and did not see the look he had been expecting to see; there was no disgust, no offense, no concern. She looked peaceful as she stared at him waiting for his answer. "Thorin was snoring too loud for me to find rest."

"So you came to my bed?" she asked with a soft smile.

He was surprised at the soft look on her face, wondering if maybe this was what she had looked like before her brother died. Though the gentle look on her face disappeared when he brushed his hand against her arm, and it was replaced by hard eyes and a set jaw. She finished the second braid that hung in front of his ear as his uncle's did. She started braiding the left side of his hair, but she was having difficulty for she was not accustomed to using her left hand more than her right. And so she swung her leg off the side of the bed and sat facing his side.

His heart stuttered when he realized that her legs were spread around him; one off the side of the bed with her knee against his thigh, and the other around his waist behind his back. The second thing he noticed was that her dress had ridden further up her leg and he could now see her smooth pale skin in the light from the candle. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and saw she was concentrating on his hair rather than in the way she was sitting, not noticing what he had. Though he felt her hands still when he placed his hand on her leg, feeling its smooth hairlessness under his fingers. He pulled her leg until she was pressed against his hip, seeing her eyes darken at the contact. For a long moment he almost forgot his dream hadn't been real, not with the way she was looking at him. After a while she resumed finishing the first braid and started forming the second. He shifted slightly, pushing further against her spread legs, hearing the change in her breathing, feeling the change in his own and the tightening in his groin. She hastily finished the last braid and he kept his hand on her leg, keeping her in place after she had finished. He felt her breasts against his arm as she breathed, and he saw a caged look in her eye letting him know he was pushing her too hard. He looked at her, seeing her eyes were no longer severe as caution filled them.

"Would you allow me to return the favor?" he asked seeing her brows knit together. "It would keep the hair out of your face."

He released his hold on her leg and she moved away from him, righting her dress to cover her legs. He looked at her, his eyes hard and searching, seeing that his nearness had affected her. But he also saw that she didn't quite like the feelings he stirred in her. He brushed her hair behind her ears and she turned her head so that he would not brush his fingers against her face. Though when he pulled his hand away her hair fell back in her face. Before she could refuse he pulled her towards him and onto his lap, and she turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, he saw the irritated look on her face he had been waiting to see. He smirked at her before turning her head so it faced forward, and he began the process of ridding her long hair of tangles. It was a long while before he could run his fingers through her hair smoothly, and he could see from her back that she was relaxing as he did. Unlike with his hair he gave hers a part slightly off center, and began braiding the front most part of her hair on the right side and then did the same on left; and braided the two together over the back of her head. He took the rest of her hair, the bottommost layer that did not get in her face, and ran his fingers through it. Her eyes were closed and her face was smooth of all care, so at peace was she that when his lips found her neck her head fell back on his shoulder exposing her neck more.

In that moment, seeing her face softened and gentle, he had entirely forgotten what he had dreamed of in his cell had not in fact occurred. And so he continued to kiss her neck, tracing the scar that ran along it with his tongue until he reached her jaw. He had a hand around her middle, his hand resting over her ribcage, holding her tight against his chest.

"You should return to your room," she said, her voice barely a whisper. But it was enough to make him cease. He opened his eyes and saw hers filled with anger and uncertainty, longing and frustration, and quite possibly fear. He continued to look at her, wanting nothing more than to kiss her, and yet he did nothing. He moved her from his lap and stood, leaving the room without a second glance back.

Eleni watched him leave, knowing if he were to ask she would not be able to refuse him. The door fell shut behind him and she laid back on the bed, her breathing ragged, her flesh aflame with desire still feeling his hands on her. She lay on her back staring at the ceiling, not able to think clearly enough to figure out what had happened. Her thoughts were turning and swirling in her head, muddled from the fact she could still feel his mouth on her skin. She stared hard at the ceiling, willing it to give her answers, trying to steel herself against what she was feeling so it could not hurt her. But her eyes grew bleary and gave up still frustrated and blew the candle out, casting her into darkness.

Many of them stayed inside over the next few days, gathering their strength and fattening themselves on the food that was offered them. They could hear the people of the town outside singing, some old songs some new, and if a dwarf showed even a nose they would cheer. Though some few did venture into the town, those who felt the most well such as Fili and Kili and sometimes Thorin. Ori felt well too but he blushed when all the people would look at him and he stayed inside until his brother would go out. Eleni continued to stay in her bed looking out of the window at the familiar town on the other side, and if she tried hard enough she could almost feel her brother at her side as he had been the last time they had come to the town. It took a few days more before she could leave the house, her brother's memory too near for her to find joy. She walked through the town and many people, young and old, stopped to ask if she remembered their parents or grandparents, and more often than not she did. Though there was one man, old and weathered and blind from age, that she had met when he was a child; and his smile had been so overjoyed when she called him by name that she almost felt happy.

Fili saw Eleni enter the hall and Thorin, who was nearest the door motioned for her to join him. His uncle had much more civil towards her as of late, for he recognized that she had in fact done nothing wrong at all during their journey. Fili watched the way his uncle offered his drinking cup and then how he watched her drink from it and handed it back. Kili was on his other side, two women fussing over him and flirting, charmed by Kili's easy smile. The woman on his lap shifted her weight and leaned against his chest, kissing him as he had let her do for the past few days since he'd first left the house. Fili realized a moment too late his mistake, and when he shoved the woman off his lap and stood searching for Eleni he saw that she had already gone. His uncle too had stood, but only when Eleni had stalked out of the hall, and Fili shrank under Thorin's violent gaze, ashamed.

Thorin had been so sure Eleni would hurt his nephew that he did not even consider Fili would hurt her. And yet that was exactly what he had done. He could see Fili had not meant his actions, but that was something his oldest nephew had yet to learn; everything comes with a consequence. Thorin took note that Fili's hair was braided again, and though he did not know for sure, he thought Eleni might have done it for her hair was braided too. He did not believe Fili knew just how intimate a thing that was to dwarves, at least not yet anyway. It was something men and women did when they loved one another; be it a sibling, a parent, or a spouse.

Eleni returned to the house, there must have been something about the look on her face for no one stopped her, and crawled back into her bed. She longed for her brother so she could talk to him, so he could tell her what it was she was feeling. Her stomach was churning and her face was hot, her eyes felt swollen as though she had rubbed them too hard. The next day she left early in the morning so as not to see any of the others though Thorin was awake. He accompanied her as she went to speak with the Master of the town of them staying a week longer, which the Master graciously agreed to.

"He did not mean it," Thorin said as they walked back to the house. Eleni looked at him with unbelieving eyes and he held her arm so she would stop.

"I have given him no reason to believe I had any interest."

"You have given him every reason to believe that," said Thorin surprised. "You do not like many of the others, nor do any of them know you as well as he does."

Eleni looked at him unspeaking for a long while, and he could almost see the thoughts swimming in her mind. "It doesn't matter," she said finally and turned from him. He stared after her, seeing her nod to those who called her name, though she did not smile.

When he returned to the house he found her sitting with Dwalin, who had apologized for his behavior every day since they had arrived. Going deeper into the house he found Fili with Kili as they whispered quietly in their room.

"You should not apologize," Kili said, "what have you done to wrong her?"

Fili was quiet a few moments as he thought, and Thorin hoped Fili would see that he had in fact done something wrong.

"Many things I suppose," Fili answered finally. "You would not see them as wrong for you don't know her well enough."

"What is it about her that you've taken such a liking to?"

Thorin stood silently outside the door listening, wondering that himself.

"She's different. She is a fiercer warrior than you and I, than many of the others. She has seen more of the world, been hurt more times than I. She's wild and adventurous," Fili said, and Thorin could see it. He could see that her strong heart and willful spirit was attractive to Fili, who was young and also as adventurous she was. But there had to be more, and Thorin was not wrong. "But she's sad. She's lost without her brother, and she hid herself away so she could never be hurt like that again. But I can see it sometimes, I can see who she used to be. She was as kind and loving as she is mean and reproachful now. She's just sad."

Both uncle and brother were shocked at Fili's words, having never seen Eleni the way he had. Kind and loving were words neither of them would have ever used to describe her, and yet hearing them from Fili's mouth they fit.

"What will you do?" asked Kili, realizing Fili cared for Eleni far more than his brother even knew.

"I don't know," sighed Fili. "She pushes me away, she won't let me near."

"Perhaps she is afraid you will hurt her." Both brothers turned at the sound of their uncle's voice. "You already have," he said and Fili looked down shamed. "Maybe she just needs time."

The next few days passed and they were all fitted into new clothes, Thorin looked the king he was and his nephews his heirs. Eleni too was fitted a new skirt, blouse and dress; her skirts a deep green, her blouse white, and her vest as black as night. An emblem was made and sewn over her right breast of the flag of Gondor; one of the highest honors they could have given her.

She and Fili would speak briefly, never for very long, and never did they touch. She spent most of her time with the hobbit, who found her company much of a reprieve from the dwarves and she felt the same about him. They were drawing to the end of the second week since they had arrived in the town, and the sky was blackened and the night was deep. Peace could be found in the stillness of the world outside, and the snores of those inside; but peace was not found by all.

A scream woke them all from their peaceful dreams. Thorin was the first to Eleni's side, followed closely behind by Fili. Her eyes were wide, tears wet on her cheeks, her hands on her throat, her chest moving rapidly at her ragged breathing. Thorin stared into her terrified eyes wondering what it was she had seen that had caused her such fear.


	18. It's a Terrible Love and

_To the guest, Windr. Thank you so much again. Your review was an absolute joy to read, I don't think I can thank you enough for how thoughtful it was. I'm very glad you're liking Thorin more, he does play a rather important part in my character's life as you will see in this chapter. And it almost hurt to have Fili with that other woman, but it does have a purpose for later. It is so good to hear that I'm portraying her emotions well enough to make them so natural; that's every writers goal. He has to reearn her trust, but you will see in this chapter that there is a new problem he's going to have to overcome. Thank you so much again, it meant so much to me. Oh by the way, her birth name is Arael. So there are people who know her by that name when she met them when she was younger. She only started going by Eleni after her brother died, to protect Aragorn which was I believe eight years before the start of the Hobbit. Going by the book time at least, Aragorn was older in the movies. So she will only be called Arael when there are people who knew her before her brother died. _

_I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I had a lot of fun writing all the different emotions. _

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"Out, all of you," Thorin ordered when he saw that her tears had not come as she slept but that they continued to flow free. "Close the door," he said to Fili, and his nephew reluctantly obeyed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," Eleni said quietly still holding her throat.

Thorin hushed her and wiped the tears from her cheeks but more fell and he gave up. "What happened?" he asked placing a hand on her small ones around her throat. He knew she had not been merely dreaming, Gandalf had told him as much before the wizard left them. She looked at him and he saw her trying to harden herself, but her chin quivered slightly and she failed. She shook her head and laid back down turned away from him.

"I did not mean to wake you," she said softly but he would not give up that easily. With a sigh he climbed over her and laid so they were face to face, giving her no choice but to look at him.

"Tell me what happened," said Thorin gently, seeing now a side of her only Fili had seen. He could see the refusal in her eyes, which thankfully had ceased crying.

"It isn't fair to you."

"This isn't fair to you," he insisted much to her surprise. He had not realized how callous he had behaved towards her that his kindness was now a shock. "I won't leave until you tell me."

He was rewarded by a flash of irritation in her eyes, a sight that almost made him smile; he did not like seeing her this vulnerable, it was unnatural.

"I wouldn't know where to start," she said finally, a little grumpily.

"Start from the beginning. The first thing you saw since we met."

She sighed turning her head away but he pulled her chin back so she would look at him. "The first was when I met you."

"You saw something that first day?" he asked taken aback and she nodded.

"It happened when I saw you," she said and then quieted. His hand was still under chin keeping her facing him, and he ran his thumb along her jaw. He could see it in her eyes that she did not want to tell him, a few times she opened her mouth to begin but then she would change her mind. He waited as patiently as he could, wanting nothing more than to shake the answers out of her, but he waited. And he waited. "You were being buried, beneath the Lonely Mountain," she said at last stilling his thumb on her cheek.

He laid unmoving in complete shock, so still was he he hardly even blinked. When he could breathe normally again he looked at her but she would not look at him.

"You saw this?" he whispered and she nodded. "Do you know when?"

"I never know the time," she admitted. "You looked as you do now so I would guess within a few years." It was a relief to finally tell someone what she had been seeing, but she hadn't wanted it to be Thorin; as unfair as it was to her, it was cruelty for him.

"Is that why you did not want to join us?" he asked after a while.

She thought for a moment, having not given it much thought before. "I suppose. But I kept seeing it every time you were near and I thought perhaps that was fate's way of telling me that would happen if I did not come."

He felt such a burning guilt swim through his veins when he realized she had agreed to be their guide if only to keep him alive; she left her home, Estel, just to see him live. And he had been unkind and ungrateful, proving he might not deserve the sacrifice she gave for him. But there had been something else in her words. "You thought it was," he said unsure. "Does that mean it wasn't?"

She could see he was greatly upset at learning she had agreed to his quest for him, and she wished she had not told him anything. But when he looked at her she could see he would not let her refuse to answer him. "No it wasn't," she agreed.

"You saw more. Did you see when I," he said but he could not finish. He couldn't say the words "when I died", they would not form on his tongue.

"Yes," she said so soft it was only a breath, and he felt it more than he heard it. His eyes were closed as he tried to will the emotions away, and she wished she knew how to comfort him.

"When?" he asked, his voice breaking.

"Before we entered Mirkwood."

"Your nightmares," he said realizing that every night she would wake with a start it was because she was dreaming of him dying. His hand was still cupping her face and he felt her nod. "How?"

"Thorin," she breathed and he shook his head.  
"I want to know," he said firmly opening his eyes to look at her, seeing her eyes were full of tears. "I want to know how I," he broke off and clenched his jaw fighting his own tears, "how I die," he finished.

"I can't," she said shaking her head.

"Tell me what you saw," Thorin said, harsher than he meant.

She shook her head again. "Thorin, that isn't,"

"Please," he interrupted her, nearly begging her to answer. She looked at him, and he wiped the few tears that leaked from her eyes.

"You couldn't move," said Eleni finally. "And you were so scared as you looked up at me, and I just,"

"As I looked up at you?" he asked appalled.

"I only ever see things out of other people's eyes," she explained and he nodded for her to continue. "It was Azog. He was angry and thrilled at killing you, and you were just so small as you laid on the ground."

"You couldn't look at me," Thorin said remembering the days they traveled from Beorn's to the forest-gate.

"I didn't want to see that look on your face, and I saw it _every_ time I looked at you." She wiped her own tears away. "And so I thought that maybe I was being shown why I should not join your quest."

"Your threat to leave us after we got out of the dark wood," he said and she nodded.

"But that wasn't," she started and she stopped to wipe more tears away, and he saw that she could not make them stop. "I wasn't seeing your death," she said finally.

He stared at her confused wondering what it was she was talking about. And then he knew. "You will die to save me," he said and she looked at him, her gray eyes sad and weary. "I thought you said Azog brought his mace down on my head?"

"I met his strike and it hit the ground instead. I saw that while we were in our cells."

Thorin looked at her, seeing her tears, realizing she was seeing herself die to save him and he been cruel to her after Bilbo had helped them escaped. He realized she had be right; he had no idea how much she was giving up to help him.

"What did you see this night?" he asked, very much not wanting to hear the answer.

"I thought perhaps it would be like with you," she said her voice thick with tears, "and that something would happen and it wouldn't," she broke off trying to keep her sobs at bay. He released her face and wrapped his arm around her waist, offering as much comfort as could be had. "I was you," she said looking at him. "You tried so hard to save me, but you couldn't move." He pulled her to his chest, her tears searing his neck. He held her as she cried, and he apologized over and over and over again. She had not joined their quest for Fili or Bilbo or Gandalf, she did not swallow their unjust treatment of her for Fili or anyone else; she had done it for him. In that moment he realized Fili had been right, she was loving, more than he had ever realized.

The sun rose and the day began, though Thorin still had not returned to the room he shared with his nephews. Fili opened the door to Eleni's room and saw, to his great surprise, them asleep in each other's arms. Eleni's head was underneath Thorin's chin, her small body wrapped in his large arms his big hands on her back, her own arms around his waist. Fili stood in the doorway unable to look away, to stop the pain swelling in his chest to see them so close, knowing it should have been _him_ holding her. Knowing if he had not made the mistake of finding the comfort Eleni was not yet ready to offer him in another woman, that it would have been him instead of Thorin.

Kili reached around his brother and closed the door, watching as Fili retreated back to their room not knowing what to say to him. Never before had he seen Fili so enraptured by a woman before; sure Fili had been with a woman before, several in fact, but never had they affected him as Eleni did. Kili didn't know if there was a woman who would ever affect Fili in this way again, not after what his brother had said about her the day previous.

When the two finally did come out of their room, a little after the day's second meal, they could tell something had happened for Thorin did not speak, not even once. And in return neither did Eleni, and rarely did he leave her side that day; when night fell she ordered him to his own bed, unwilling to share hers again. Though when she woke the next morning she could have sworn she could still feel warmth from someone's body on the side of the bed next to her.

They continued quietly for a few more days, enjoying the joyful proclamations from the townspeople and the food they were given. Many of the dwarves, the hobbit included, were growing fat again. Thorin asked Eleni to accompany him to see the Master of the town about their departing, and the Master agreed to providing them with a large provision of food, ponies, and boats to ride up the river with.

"You should sleep in your own bed tonight," she said as they walked back to their house. She was proven right when she saw a look of almost embarrassment cross his face. They continued quietly, reaching the house well after supper, and found the others together smoking and drinking.

"We leave on the morn," Thorin said before they all retired to bed.  
Eleni did not feel as though she could rest and she asked one of the women who had been serving them since they arrived for a bath, and one was drawn for her. She tried to relax in the warm water but she could find no peace. Fili had hardly spoken with her, though she could see his regret in his eyes and she knew he had not meant what he did. She also knew he should not feel as guilty as he did for she was right when she told Thorin that she had given Fili no indication she was interested, therefore he had nothing to regret. Even if seeing him kiss that woman had affected her, had turned her green with a jealous rage she had no right to feel. Her thoughts were so consumed with Fili she did not notice the water had turned cold until she started shivering, and even when she tied the sleeping gown around her she did not feel warm.

She walked as quietly as she could back to her room, the others having fallen asleep a while earlier. She turned to the hall where the rooms were just as Fili left his room. They stopped a few feet from each other, neither knowing what to say or do. They stared at one another a long while, the passing of time shown in her drying hair. Fili watched her, seeing that she was not angry with him as he had been thinking, though it took him a great deal of courage to even move near her. He took a step closer, waiting for her to flinch or move away but she did neither, and so he stepped closer again and again until their chests just barely brushed against each other as they breathed.

She stayed her place waiting for him to move, and was surprised at the rate in which her heart increased when he did. Her breasts grazed his chest and she remembered his hands on her body, his mouth on her neck; she found herself wanting him to touch her again, and struggling with the need for him not to. But his hand was warm when he placed it over the tie on her hip, burning through the thin fabric as its heat ignited her flesh. If he pulled the string, even slightly, the knot would unravel causing the dress to open and fall from her shoulders; something they were both very aware of.

He stepped even closer, her body flush against his, his hand holding her hip firm, their mouths inches apart. She would have let him kiss her, she may even have let him do anything he wished, yet she didn't. Hurt spread across his face when she stepped back, though he never would have guessed the reason why; it had taken a second to feel sorrow replace desire, only a moment for her remember the feel of Azog's hand around her throat and then as she saw through Thorin's eyes her body still and move no more, and so she stepped back. She let Fili believe she was still upset with him, let him believe she did not care for him as he thought she did, she let him think anything so long he would not hurt as much as she did when her brother had died; that pain was something she would not give Fili, and if he knew she cared for him her death would hurt him, and she couldn't do that to him.

And so she walked quietly around Fili, walking into her room and closing the door without looking back at him; for she knew if she did she would tell him him everything, and that knowledge was something she could not burden anyone else with. The knowledge she held, of her end and of Thorin's, weighed heavily on her, suffocating her under its weight. Which was why in the earliest hours of the morning when Thorin came into her room as he had every night since she shared her burden with him, she let him lay down beside her; taking comfort in that there was someone who understood the pain that throbbed with every heartbeat, the pain neither of them were willing to show to anyone other than each other. They saw the weakness in each other, the fact that they were not always so strong, yet strength was what was expected. The sun rose as a new day dawned, provisions were given, the ponies traveled alongside the lake, the dwarves, hobbit, and woman traveled in boats. The last part of their journey had finally come; they were going to Erebor.


	19. I'm Walking with Spiders

The days were cool, even chilly on the water, the winds were cold and the leaves were falling fast; autumn was now getting far on. They rowed two days up the Long Lake before they hit the River Running, and then they could all see the Lonely Mountain towering before them. The stream was strong and their going slow, the only sounds other than the singing of birds were the sounds of the oars as they dipped into the water and then raised out of it. Not even Eleni and Thorin could deny the beauty and peacefulness of the world around them; lifting their spirits slightly. Thorin's thoughts were on his home as he remembered it, with its beautiful decor and shining gold; and then his thoughts were on the gold and jewels, and then on the Arkenstone.

Eleni's thoughts were nowhere near treasure nor Thorin's home, it was on her own. She thought of Estel, who she no longer believed she would see again, on Gilraen who had become like a sister to her over the years. And then, naturally, she thought of her brother. They were one, she was him and he was her; they traveled together, they fought together, they had always assumed they would die together. But he was dead and she was alone. Though she thought it mattered no longer for she too was going to die. And then her eyes landed on Fili and pain would fill her chest as longing coursed through her; she wanted to tell him what she had foreseen, that him kissing that woman was nothing, that she did have feelings for him if he would only be patient enough for her to accept them. She wanted to do all of this if only to have him hold her, to comfort, to protect, to love, she just wanted him to look at her again. But she wouldn't, it was selfish and it would hurt him, and so she turned away from him.

Fili had not looked at her since she had backed away from him, he did not speak to her, he did not stand near her. He no longer knew what to do; he had seen the desire in her eyes, he had seen the way his touch had ignited passion within her, but then a flash of fear filled her eyes and all craving was replaced with resignation as she stepped away from him. He was crestfallen to discover that she would not let herself feel anything for him, it hurt him to realize that she did feel something towards him when he saw her refusal to admit it. But it hurt him more to see the way she and his uncle would look at one another, as though the weight of the world was crushing them both, to see the way they spoke to each other, hushed and urgent as though their words could not fall on any other ear but their's. He figured it had something to do with what she had been dreaming of, not believing them to be only dreams, and then it hurt to know she had shared it with Thorin rather than him.

They docked that first night and Eleni laid away from the others staring at the night sky.

"What do you think happened?" whispered Ori concerned. "She hasn't spoken since that night," he said referring to when she had woken them all with a scream.

"I wish I knew," said Bilbo knowing it had to have been something terrible to make her so afraid, and many of the others nodded their heads in agreement.

"Maybe she was dreaming of something that had happened during her time in the wild," Bofur said looking at her dark figure lying on the grass.

"You best not let Thorin hear," warned Balin. Thorin had told them all they were not to say anything of that night, neither a question nor a hint. They all looked to Eleni's left to see Thorin laying beside her, where he seemed to spend most of his time.

Kili looked over at Fili to see his brother staring hard at the two figures lying away from their group, but then Fili turned on his side and laid facing the other way. Kili sighed knowing his brother was upset, and he would have found Eleni at fault, _should_ have found Eleni at fault, but he didn't. He had seen her look at Fili, her face a mask of longing and sadness, and all anger and hatred toward the woman would disappear; her actions proved to be hurting her as well and Kili couldn't find it in himself to be angry at her for it.

They rowed all through the next day, the dwarves sitting like royalty as the men labored, the Mountain growing ever larger the closer they moved to it. Songs were sung, flutes were played, laughter was created; even Thorin was growing cheerful again. And though Fili tried not to look at her his eyes would find her, seeing the falseness behind her smiles where pain dwelt. When night fell and they drew their boats on a bank, Eleni walked a little ways from where they settled for the night and laid on her side facing away from the light of their fire. It was not long before she felt Thorin's large warm body at her back.

"You cannot hide from them forever," he said gently curling himself around her as he placed an arm over her waist.

"I can too," she said stubbornly and he smiled slightly, seeing more of Fili in her than he had before. She was firm in her ways, she did what she believed was the right thing without questioning her actions, and above all else she cared more than she let show; in that way she was just like him as well.

"They wouldn't want you to," said he, his eyes growing heavy. "They miss you," he said and she snorted. "They truly do. I do not think they knew just how much they came to rely on you, on the place you would come to have in their hearts. You are more than just our guide, you are our friend." He pulled her closer hearing her scoff and knowing his words touched her. "We are all sorry for the way we treated you, and the things we said. We could not apologize enough."

"Do you say that now that you know," she asked bitterly.

"No," he admitted after a few moments. "Your kindness to us when we arrived in the Lake-town, as well as Fili's words made them realize that."

"Fili's words?" she asked and he smiled.

"He called us idiots for being fooled by the elf king into thinking you had betrayed us. He said you gave up one of the few places full of only good memories by not betraying us."  
She lay quietly not knowing he had come to her defense, it being possible the dwarves would have turned against him too for defending her. She may have smiled if Thorin had told her that earlier, but it only hurt her when she drew his face to mind, when she remembered their talks in the caves, when she remembered how he moaned her name.

"He cares greatly for you," Thorin said quietly in her ear. The sound of the others as they talked or laughed or snored drifted lazily towards them.

"I know," she whispered and he tightened his arm around her. "I don't want to hurt him."

He had been proven right that she was distancing herself, not only from Fili, but also the others because she knew of her end. "You are hurting him now," he said and he felt her sigh in defeat.

"What am I supposed to do?" she asked turning her head to look at him. "I can't tell him."

"No," he agreed, "but you can't let him continue thinking you do not care for him. That would be an even greater pain to him." In that moment she looked so exhausted, so defeated he wanted to tell her to leave; to return to Rivendell and her nephew, taking Fili with her; anything to make her even remotely happy again. But he knew she would refuse, for that was the person she was, and so he did not say it.

"Would it?" she asked after taking a moment to think over what he'd said. She had not considered that her dying without him knowing how she felt might possibly hurt him more. "I will die, I will be at peace, and he will continue to live knowing that I cared for him. What if we even loved one another, I would die and he would be left alone."

"Like you are now without your brother," said Thorin now understanding. "Oh, Eleni," he said smoothing her hair away from her face. "It would torment him for the rest of his days not knowing if you returned his feelings. Which you just admitted to me that you do. It would hurt him to lose a woman he loved who loved him in return, but he would have that to hold on to. Should you tell him nothing, you will leave him nothing."

She lay quietly for a long while, realizing he was right. "This would have been easier if he felt nothing for me."

"This would have been easier if you had not been the only woman he could feel something for," he said in return.

"What do you mean?"

"You are strong, and willful. You're kind and you love, though you hide it. You have lived in the wild, you have grown to be wild. He is a dwarf with a heart for adventure, you _are_ an adventure. You frustrate him, you don't give in, you are not easily charmed by his flirtations. You are a fierce warrior who loves the thrill of battle."

"Is that all," she said unused to anyone saying those things about her, let alone growing to care for her because of them.

"Well, you are beautiful, especially to a young dwarf. Actually, to most dwarves. Most men in fact." He smiled at the stern look in her eye from his words. She rolled over and he continued to look at her. "You should tell him," he said finally.  
"I'll think about it," was the last thing he heard before he fell asleep.

Late the next day they reached the place where the ponies were waiting to meet up with them, and they banked the boats and disembarked. They packed all they could of the provisions onto the ponies and whatever was left was made into a store under a tent. The men from the Lake-town refused to spend the night so near the shadow of the Mountain, and so they left.

Eleni sat against a tree a few yards away from the group as she took watch, having volunteered for it. By this time she knew the different sounds of their snoring, how she did not know but she did. It had been hard to find rest with so much noise at first , but she gradually grew used to it. She looked up at the sound of approaching feet thinking it to be Thorin, but she was greatly surprised to see Fili instead. She stood when he motioned for her to follow, wondering what it was he would say to her that he needed to take her further from the others.

He stopped walking and turned to her waiting for her to reach him. "You know I care for you," he said simply. He saw he had taken her by surprise, and she did no more than nod. "I know you care for me." Her eyes widened even more and she shook her head. Frustrated he stepped closer and grabbed her shoulders, holding her tight against him, hearing the rate of her breathing increase. "I _know_ you care for me, don't you dare lie to me." Her small hands were flat against his chest, so small set against his broad shoulders. "Admit it," he said staring hard into her eyes.

"I can't," she whispered and she took a step back when he released her out of shock.

"You don't deny it?" he asked and she shook her head. "You care for me?" he asked and she nodded. "Then say it," he said nearly begging.

"I can't." Her voice broke and he turned from her baffled.

"Why not!" he yelled turning towards her again and she shook her head again. She backed away when he came near but he moved too quickly and he caught her arm and shook her. "Why not?" he asked through clenched teeth, unable to give her time any longer.

"Because I can't," she said angrily pushing against him but his grip on her arm was too tight.

"I am trying to love you," he said harshly, stilling her completely. He looked at her, seeing surprise and joy, and sadness and fear; seeing she did in fact care for him in the way those words affected her. "I am trying to love you," he said again, his voice gentle, his hand loose on her arm. "Why won't you let me?" he whispered.  
She stared at him, warring with herself on what to do. She did not realize how much she was hurting him by pushing him away, it was something she did not want to do and yet telling him anything at that point would hurt him worse. But the feel of his hands on her again was burning her, filling her with wanting. And so she told him nothing. Her hands, which had been flat against his chest, cupped his face and brought his lips to hers.

* * *

_There are many days that are not fully accounted for in the book, so I will using those to further develop her and Fili's relationship. As well as her and Thorin's, so the pacing might be slower than the book. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed. _


	20. It's a Terrible Love And I'm

They started early the next morning, calling on Eleni to lead them once more; for they were not facing the Mountain's gate, nor were they traveling to it. They made north-east to the great spur of the Mountain the map had pointed them to. The dwarves moved quietly behind her enraptured by her, never before having seen her chart a path she did not know; many times she stopped and looked over the land before them, looked at the ground under her feet, tested the wind. It was slow going, and they all grew wearied from the rolling of the hills and the many times they would stop and start again.

But Eleni led them to exactly where Thorin had asked, and they made their first camp on the western side of the spur. Fili took watch that night, their being so near the Mountain that first night set all their nerves on end and many slept restlessly. Eleni did not let Fili kiss her again, and Fili did not ask it of her, though she did let him hold her as she slept; her head comfortably under his chin, his body softer than the ground. He sat holding her all night, amused that she had only laid against him after the others had fallen into slumber. Most of the night he was tempted to kiss her as she slept, remembering the feel of her mouth on his. He had kissed many women and was used to them folding themselves into his embrace and letting his tongue do whatever he pleased; but Eleni did not comply with his wants, she demanded her own and it was a battle he was only too pleased to wage against her.

Not many had high spirits, they trodded forward in gloom knowing they were reaching the end of their quest and that a terrible end it may be. Neither Thorin nor Eleni could feel safe about the dragon, for she had not seen that the dragon was dead; and so caution and dread filled them both too. No songs were sung, no flutes played, no joy found, they followed after Eleni until she stopped and her and Thorin spoke quietly.  
"The further I take you on the western spurs the further we go from the Front Gate," she said quietly. "You said you wished to have someone scout the South, the best time is now." She was not happy with the thought, thinking it an unnecessary danger bringing them too close to the dragon, and she greatly hoped Thorin would see it too.

Thorin nodded and stepped away from her to look at the others. "Fili, Kili," Thorin called to his nephews causing Eleni's face to morph into one of surprise and then of refusal. "We will spy the lands South near the Front Gate. Mr Baggins too."

"Me too?" Bilbo asked unhappily.  
"Yes Mr Baggins, this is the part of the quest you were brought for. You will come with us," Thorin explained.

"Balin knows the land as well as you," Eleni said causing Thorin to turn to her angrily; it had been some time since she had blatantly disregarded Thorin's orders.

"This is my quest," he said darkly.  
"And we have things to discuss," she said just as angrily.  
He stepped closer to her, his face a mask of rage. "You have no place questioning my orders. You may be royalty amongst your people, among other people, but you are nothing here."

"What we must discuss can only be spoken of by you and I," she said before turning her back and stalking a ways off, giving him no room to refuse.

"Balin you will join them," he growled before stalking after her.  
The others sighed a little sadly, having been hoping the peace between the two would last; but it was quickly becoming apparent that they were too strong headed, too prideful, too arrogant to ever have peace with one another. Fili, Kili, Balin and Bilbo said goodbye to the rest of the Company before making their way south.

Thorin reached the place Eleni had stopped to see her furious eyes. "Is there a reason you have gone against my word, again?" he asked, his voice raised.

"Is there a reason out of all thirteen of the others you chose him?" demanded Eleni.

"This is about Fili?" he said bewildered. "They are my nephews of course I sent them. No right do you have to question that."

"Of course I have a right," she yelled stepping closer to him, "when you are doing this to spite me."

"To spite you!" he nearly roared. "How could sending him to scout the Front Gate be out of spite?" he questioned angrily. She did not answer him, and the longer she remained silent the more he thought she might be correct in her thinking; he had noticed her absence from his side the night previous, he had seen the way Fili looked at her again with eyes barely concealing his passion for her.

"You are willingly putting them danger. You do not know if the dragon keeps watch on all who venture near, you cannot know if he won't see them or smell them; he would know the smell of dwarves. You are taking more risks than you should."

Thorin stood staring at her trying to understand what worried her. "We do not die from the dragon," he said as though she were stupid. "You saw that. There is no harm in this, it is a simple scouting."  
"No," she said through clenched teeth. "_You_ and _I _do not die from the dragon, I saw nothing of the others in my dreams. Fili and Kili were the only ones I did not see when you were being buried, everything you have them do is a risk."

Thorin was left feeling empty and confused. "You did not see them?" he whispered.  
"No," she answered quietly and they stood in silence for a very long while. "I'm sorry," she said taking him by surprise.

"What for?"

"I suppose it would be best to continue having them do as they've been doing, it would seem strange for them not to partake in activities for the young," she admitted though still unhappy with how close they were venturing to the dragon.

"You are worried, as I should be." She looked at him seeing the anger had left him. "Though you do not love them both," he said seeing her look rattled and he smirked. "Did you tell him?" he asked thinking her sudden worry for Fili spawned from her admitting of her feelings for his nephew.

"No," she said flustered.  
"Then why do you blush?" he teased unrelenting. "You must have said something."

"I said nothing," she told him honestly, trying to keep herself from growing more bothered. He continued to look at her, searching her face with his eyes. She took a step back when he stepped forward, but he continued to advance and he stood close to her. His eyes were dark and heavy, his mouth turned up as a smirk, very much like Fili's always was. She remembered the feel of Fili's beard on her cheeks, how rough it was against her soft skin, how cool the clasp on the end of the two braids that framed his mouth were against her chin. She had not meant to kiss him but the feel of his hands on her had proved too much, and before she had time to think of what her actions would mean she had crushed her lips to his. When she finally thought of how poor a choice she had made, her hands were in his hair and his tongue was in her mouth.  
Thorin watched her eyes glaze and pupils dilate as her lips parted just slightly, realizing just what it was she had done. He felt something warm gather in his chest as he continued watch her, seeing when her mind returned to the present. "We should return to the others," she said breathily turning from him; seeing his own eyes looking very much as hers had.

The four returned a few hours after they left, seeing that Eleni and Thorin had not harmed one another. Fili and Kili had walked a little ways ahead of Balin and Bilbo, and Fili told his brother of what had happened last night. Kili's brows rose when he heard that it had been Eleni who had kissed him first, though he smiled at his brother's elaborate descriptions of what she had tasted like of how her tongue felt against his own. He did not think Fili saw just how much he was growing to care for Eleni, and it made Kili both happy and sad; for Eleni was taking much of Fili's time which Kili was unused to having to share.

Balin told Thorin of the smoke they had seen coming from a dark cavernous opening in a great cliff-wall. "The dragon still lives," Balin said and a darkness seemed to shadow their hearts at the thought. Thorin nodded gravely and began walking in the direction Eleni had been taking them before they had stopped for the others to scout the Front Gate. They followed behind him suddenly very weary, without any spirit to keep them going. The sun started to sink lower and Thorin called them to stop.  
"We will rest here for the night," he declared and a few of the dwarves tensed thinking Eleni would go against him again, but she stayed silent. "We shall begin to search for the door on the morn, and those who do not toil in search parties will assist in moving the camp further west."

They ate quietly, sat quietly, and then they slept quietly; even their snores seemed to grow quieter at the nearness of the dragon. Come the next morn they ate and readied themselves to work; Fili and Kili, Dwalin, Dori and Nori, Bifur and Bofur, and Gloin and Thorin went to search the mountain-side; while Balin, Ori and Oin, Bombur, and Bilbo and Eleni would move the camp.

Between the fifteen of them Thorin and Eleni were the obvious leaders, and so whichever group one of them was in the other would be in the second group. Fili bid Eleni farewell, surprising her with a chaste kiss on her cheek before he left; smirking as he looked at her stern eyes over his shoulder.

Eleni and Balin walked a ways forward to find a place for their camp to remain, the others packing their provisions and ponies. After a few hours they had moved their camp to a long valley, and on this western side there were fewer signs of the dragon's marauding feet, and there was some grass for their ponies and horse.

It did not seem as though much time had passed before the sun began to sink in the sky and the others joined their camp tired from traveling up the sides of the mountain. Exhaustion settled over them and they all soon slept, only to have to rise the next day and do the same.  
Bilbo poured over Thorin's map, pointing at places he thought the dwarves should explore in hopes they would find the door. But every day they came back without finding it. There came a day when Bilbo realized that somewhere high above the cliff at the valley's head must stand the secret door. And so he told Thorin they should search for paths up the mountain-side, which proved to be rather dangerous for the dwarves when any sound they made could bring the dragon to where they were.

Eleni would look over Bilbo's shoulder trying to follow along the things he pointed out, seeing he was greatly enjoying the map, but she did not have the patience for it. Often she would join the group to explore further up the Mountain, and often Thorin would assign her the party Fili was in hoping to appease her. And though no kisses were shared, no touches were felt, no conversations were had, many of the others could see that there was something between her and Fili and that something was changing between the two; and it came from Eleni. She would put distance between herself and Fili, opting to walk closer to his brother if only to keep away from him. And they could see the confusion and hurt on Fili's face from her actions, but they also could see her unhappiness from them too. She wouldn't look at him, she hardly spoke to him, finally Thorin caught on and had her go with the other party but he would give her a hard look letting her know he did not like her treatment of his nephew.

One day, when night was falling and they descended the Mountain to return to camp, Fili grabbed Eleni and held her behind. "Is something wrong?" he asked irritably.

"Of course not," she said trying to shake his hand off her, though his grip stayed firm.

"You're lying," accused Fili hoping to provoke her anger if only she would feel something towards him, but she was tired and she did little more than sigh. "Why won't you tell me what it is that upsets you?"

"I can't," she said weakly trying to push him away.

"Yes you can, you're just not trying," he accused seeing shock mar her features.

"Is that what you think? Do you honestly think I'm just not trying hard enough? You have no idea how hard this is."

"How hard what is?" he said barely able to keep himself from yelling. "You won't even speak to me, instead you speak with Thorin. Do you have feelings for him, is that it?" he asked confused and upset, no longer knowing what to do to get her to talk to him.

"How can you say that?" she asked utterly appalled.  
"You tell me nothing," he said through clenched. "I give you everything, I am trying so hard but you give me nothing."

"Because I can't," she said again, trying to make him see she meant that she couldn't tell him. "Why can't you see that?"

"Because I love you," he said as though it were obvious, though from her wide eyes it did not look as though it were. "Because I am falling in love you. Stop pushing me away." She looked at him and he saw her eyes fill with tears, and his heart fell when she shook her head. "You are not falling in love with me," he said no longer sure of how she felt, no longer sure of anything. He could tell she was becoming despaired and she shook her head again causing him to step away from her. She reached for him but he moved back again, knowing if she touched him that he would forgive her. "You led me to believe you returned what I felt," he said, his heart beating painfully in his chest. "But you feel nothing." He turned away from her and began walking in the direction of their camp.  
"Fili," she called after him and he heard the tears in her voice, heard the desperation but he did not turn and he did not stop. "I'm not saying no."

He stilled at those words though he kept his back to her. "Then what are you saying?"

She almost flinched at the defeat she could hear in his voice, at the sadness she had put there. "I'm saying I can't."

"Why not?" he asked and she stopped in front of him causing him to turn to her, the tears glistening in her eyes visible in the setting sun. "You saw something," he said knowing it to be true, even without her having to answer.

"I can't," she whispered, her voice not strong enough to make it any louder and she looked at him, so torn over what to say.

"Why not?" he demanded loudly, uncaring of the dangers at raising his voice too loud.

"Because it hurts," she said shocking him into silence. "It hurts every day and it never stops. I can't eat, or sleep, I don't want to wake up anymore and have live with this. I," she said her voice breaking, "_I_ hurt. And I can't breathe, because it's too hard. I am trying, I'm _trying_ not to hurt you and it is killing me to know I am. But knowing what I do, me loving you will hurt you more and I can't do that to you."

"Why can you not just tell me?" he nearly begged, hating to see her so close to crying and not knowing what to do to make her tears go away; not knowing what had given her such pain. She shook her head and he almost screamed in frustration. "What could you have possibly seen that you loving me could hurt me?" he asked.

She saw the moment when his anger and frustration subsided, she saw when the thought crossed his mind and he realized that was what she wasn't telling him. And then she saw the pain in his eyes when he saw the answer in hers.

"Say it," he whispered and she felt her tears scalding her skin as they ran down her cheeks. "I need to hear you say it." He watched as her shoulders shook though she cried in silence, and he felt his own tears burning in his throat. "No," he said refusing to believe it. "It's not true." His heart broke when she could no longer keep her sobs silent, realizing she had known this for weeks and kept it hidden inside of her. He pulled her to his chest feeling her shake against him, she did not wrap her arms around him but she let him hold her. "No," he said again, wrapping her so tightly in his arms she could have shattered. "I won't let you die."

Thorin stood a good ways down the Mountain, having heard their angry voices. It saddened him to hear how much Fili had grown to care for Eleni, to hear Eleni cry as she fully let herself realize she would die. In that moment, hearing Eleni's raw pain in the sounds of her sobs and hearing Fili's empty promises, Thorin wished they would not find the door. He wished so greatly that they would fail in the quest so that Eleni could return to her home, or for her to return with Fili and Kili to their home in the Blue Mountains. He wanted anything but to see how much this quest would come to destroy them, at how little a chance they were be given at life; for they were both still so very young. And hearing Fili sooth her tears away, seeing how great his care, possibly even love, for Eleni was, Thorin knew no amount of years would replace the hole she would leave in his nephew. And so he quietly retreat back to their camp, his spirits sinking so low he almost thought of giving up, and waited for when Fili and Eleni would return.


	21. Walkin In Its Quiet Company

**_I looked to you _**  
**_You stole my life_**  
**_but here it is, the simple task_**

**_Save me..._**

**_Torch Song by Shady Bard_**

* * *

Fili and Eleni returned to the camp not even an hour later. A change could not be seen between the two, except that the spark of mischief in Fili's eyes was gone, and that they slept at each other's side. It was a strange sight seeing Fili and Eleni laying on the ground, for Thorin was on Eleni's left and Kili was on Fili's right. Seeing them the others wondered if possibly Eleni had joined the Company for Thorin and his nephews, if they were the ones who would need her the most.

It was not until the morning after that a change was noticed, and though not all saw it and those who did didn't completely understand it, it was there. The day's first meal was eaten, plans for the day's activities were made, and then they set out preparing for the day. Fili and Eleni whispered quietly to one another and Eleni looked at him in shock causing Fili to give her a coy smirk before kissing her cheek and joining Kili as they traveled up the Mountain once more.

Eleni had looked at Fili as he climbed, often times he would look back and smile, until Ori politely asked for her help and she turned away from him reluctantly. Fili had remained quiet for the rest of the night, barely speaking with his brother, and she thought she had upset him too greatly for his eyes even looked sad. But they had woken that next morning, his hand over her waist, and she had seen his smirk when she opened her eyes. What none of the others had seen was when Fili bent to whisper something he had run his hand up her side and ran his thumb along her breast, the mischief back in his eyes.

She found Bilbo sitting with the map in his lap as he looked over it again, pointing at the place he wanted them to go to the next day. He stood and smiled at her and she was struck at how innocent Bilbo still was, and how much she so hoped he could keep that. It was then her eyes, as they so often did, traveled to the circular shape in his pocket. Bilbo's hand brushed against it when he saw her eyes on it.

"May I see it?" she asked quietly.

Bilbo almost reluctantly took the ring from his pocket and held it up for her, watching as her slender fingers took it from his own.

"Isildur's bane," she breathed holding it.

"So it is the ring Isildur cut from Sauron's hand?" Bilbo asked having thought of it before when he first found it.

"Yes."

"I suppose it is yours," Bilbo said after a long while, his voice and face very unhappy. But when he looked up at Eleni he saw her gray eyes wide, her pupils greatly enlarged, and her face empty of all color as she stared at the ring in her hand.

_She was looking up at a tall man with dark hair hanging down to his shoulders, gray eyes wide as he stared at the ring she held in her hand. His jaw was strong, his face handsome and rugged, a regal grace in his spine. The ring was heavy, heavier than it should have been, and it called out to her; just as it called out to the man before her. She felt something reach towards her mind, raping her with its presence. _

"_Eleni," a seductive voice whispered in her mind. _

She startled with a gasp still feeling that presence in her mind, her flesh chilled with fear. Bilbo was staring at her in shock, realizing she had seen something.  
"No," she said, her voice shaking almost as much as her hand was. "I have no claim to this, it is yours." She placed the ring in his hand and stepped back staring at him waried, her eyes still wide.

She stayed away from Bilbo for the rest of the day, and Fili found her sitting in the same position she had first sat in.

"What did you see?" he asked knowing something had happened in the way she was curled into herself as she sat.  
"It was nothing," she said without looking at him and he knelt in front of her.  
"I won't let you push me away any longer," he said finally capturing her attention.

She looked at him and he could see a fraction of the fear that had taken hold of her hours earlier. He continue to kneel before her until she was ready to speak. "It was not about me," she said.

"Was it about one of the others?" he asked and she shook her head.

"It was Estel. I thought he was Arathorn at first, he looked so much like my brother," she said remembering Aragorn as she had seen him, wondering who's eyes she had been looking through for they had been incredibly small. She was called back to the present by Fili's hand cupping her face.

"Did something happen to him?" Fili asked worried she had seen her nephew's death and relief filled him when she shook her head.

"I am unsure why I saw it, nothing happened to him." His thumb traced her cheek, warming her with his touch. She saw his eyes move from hers to her lips, and her breathing hitched at remembering the feel of his mouth on hers. His thumb ran across her lips, separating them with the force of his touch, and she heard the change in his breathing as well. Seeing how she affected Fili, to see the way in which he desired her, made it so difficult to pull away; and yet she did, breaking them both out of their reveries.

"You're pushing me away again," he said leaning closer to her, frustrated at seeing she wanted him as much as he wanted her. "I told you, I won't let you."

"Fili," she said wearily, and in that moment he heard just how much she wanted to give in. "You know why I can't, why _we_ can't."

"I know why you think we can't," he said smiling. "I told you that too, you won't die."

Eleni rolled her eyes and sighed. "You can't say that, Fili. I know what I saw."

"And I know I won't let you die," he insisted patiently. "There is nothing in the world that would stop me."

"Fili," she whispered, his name upon her lips making his hands twitch with wanting to touch her. But he stilled when he felt her hand on his cheek, he was surprised at her touch, reveling in the feel of her hand on his face, and yearning for her in a way that almost hurt. They stayed where they were a while, and when she next spoke the sun had dipped low over the horizon and night had fallen. "I want to believe you."

"Then believe me," he said.

"What if you can't?"

He stared at her trying to find the answer she wanted in her eyes, but he found nothing. And so he told her the truth. "I will love you while I have the chance," he said with a small smile at seeing how those words delighted her. "Maybe you would love me too," said Fili smirking as he leaned his face closer to hers though she turned her head away. He waited for her to tell him that she couldn't, making an excuse to continue pushing him away, waiting for his chest to ache from her words.

"The others are watching," she said, and confused, Fili looked to where the rest of the Company was to see them looking at the sky or the ground or each other; looking incredibly guilty of having been spying on him and Eleni.

He looked at her seeing no refusal in her eyes, a soft smile on her lips, though she still did not look quite happy. Though he knew she may not ever look happy for she was not convinced he would save her, but he truly did believe he would. So he stood offering her hand and they walked the little ways towards the others, who still tried to pretend they had not in fact been watching the way he and she looked at one another.

It was well into the night after they had all fallen asleep, Eleni was just drifting into the land of slumber when she felt something touch her cheek softly and she brushed it away sleepily. She settled again and began falling asleep once more when she felt something soft on her other cheek so she did the same as before but she then felt it on her forehead and then her nose and then her chin. It wasn't until she felt cool metal on her skin and something rough tickle her neck that she realized what it was. And when it finally touched her lips she took Fili's head in her hands and pulled him closer, feeling him smile against her mouth. Her back arched on its own accord when he settled on top of her, his weight pressing her against the ground, her body burning from his touch, her every nerve electrified. There were no smiles, no gentle touches; she could hardly breathe from how heavy he was on top of her, from his tongue as it fought against hers, from the feel of his arousal against her hip, from the sound of his muffled groan when she shifted her hips and rubbed against him.

If they had not been surrounded by the others or out in the open he might not have been able to resist having her then, and he knew she'd let him. He knew from the way she had opened her mouth, how her body would arch to press closer to his. Her hands were in his hair and his roamed her body causing her gasp when he found her breasts. They continued for a long while, breathing as much as they could through their noses though it was proving difficult, and when they finally ceased they laid against each other gasping. Fili rested his cheek against her neck, feeling the rapid flutter of her heartbeat in her vein, his own heart pounding in his ears. He wouldn't let her die, he couldn't, not now when he could so clearly see a life with her.

Day by day the Company would set out in parties searching the Mountain-side and each day would end with no promises of the door being found. Night by night Fili and Eleni would steal kisses after the others had fallen asleep, often times coming very close to where they had to force themselves to stop; his mouth on her breasts through her shirt, his hands on her bare legs which were spread around him, her hands running along the skin beneath the waistband of his pants. But they always stopped whether she did or he did; and it was painful to sometimes when they had come so close.

Eleni wondered if this is what her mother had felt when her father would touch her, as though he were consuming her; every time his hand brushed hers, every time he placed his hand on her arm or her back or her waist, every time he looked at her it was though he owned her. She tried to believe Fili when he said he wouldn't let her die, she wanted it so much she almost did. But there were moments when she couldn't, when she looked at Thorin and remembered exactly what she had seen and she couldn't let herself hope to live. It was in those moments Fili would come near, that he would look at her with heated eyes and she would forget everything.

Days passed and nights ended and autumn drew further along coming to and end, and many were losing all hope. But one day, Fili and Kili and Bilbo returned to camp with great excitement. Thorin stared at his nephews in question and his spirits lifted, as did all the others, at what Kili told him.

"We found the door."


	22. Quiet Company

The next morning they set out towards the southern most part of the valley where Fili, Kili and Bilbo had traveled the day previous. Naturally Bombur did not fancy himself a large climb so he stayed behind with the ponies and stores and Bofur, being his brother, stayed with him. The others climbed the rocky steps towards where Bilbo told them a ledge would be, and they were momentarily surprised when they found the ledge; across it they could carry no bundles or packs, so narrow and breathless was it, with a fall of a hundred and fifty feet beside them on to sharp rocks below. Upon Thorin's order they took a coil of rope and bound it tight around their waists and began the slow process of creeping along the ledge. Looking down they saw the tiny speck of their camp below, a sight that chilled many of them especially poor Ori who tried his hardest not to look down.

They followed the ledge until it opened up to a small steep-walled bay, unseen from below or afar for it was so small. It was not a cave, it was smooth and upright, but without a joint or crevice to be seen, not even a key hole; and yet they did not doubt that they had found the door at last. And then they began the process of making another camp in the grassy bay, bringing some of the stores up on ropes, as well as Bofur.

"I am too fat for such fly-walks," Bombur said refusing to come up, and so they left him down in the other camp with the ponies.

Down the same way they sent more of the active dwarves such as Fili or Kili to exchange such news as there was, or to take a share in the guard below. Then, as the hours and days passed, they searched every crevice in the smooth face of the rock for where the door was hidden but they found nothing. Others explored the ledge beyond the opening and found a path that led higher on to the mountain but they did not dare to venture very far that way; out there a silence reigned, broken by no bird or sound except that of the wind in the crannies of stone. They spoke low and never called out or sang, for danger brooded in every rock.

It was when Fili had been lowered down to take over watch that Thorin asked Eleni to go further up with him, having seen just how quiet she could be in her every move, seeing the ranger in her. They went farther up the path than they had dared to before, and Eleni almost vibrated with anxiety at the dragon finding them and the excitement of the danger, until she felt Thorin's hand on her arm. She turned to him knowing he did not wish to go any further and she was almost disappointed to have to turn back again, but when she looked at Thorin those thoughts fled from her mind.

Thorin had been unable to find rest the night his nephews and the hobbit found the door, too excited and restless over it having been found. And so he saw what it was Fili and Eleni did when the others slept, saw how they clung to one another in a way they should not yet be allowed. Thorin had not noticed anything amiss at first, the sounds of snores covering their soft noises. But he heard a gasp and turned to see her shirt untied and her breasts exposed as Fili's mouth kissed and suckled their rosy peaks, as his beard rubbed them raw. Eleni stared up at the night sky trying to control her breathing, stifling every sound that gathered in the back of her throat, her fingers in his hair. Thorin watched as a shudder went through her, as her back arched slightly, as gasps fell from her lips, as her eyes fell closed when Fili moved to her other breast leaving the other exposed to Thorin's eyes. He was surprised at just how much he wanted to take her breast in his own mouth, at how much he wanted to make her writhe beneath him. Thorin rolled over when Fili moved to Eleni's mouth, not wishing to see any longer.

That was what Thorin was thinking about when he stopped her, and he knew she could see what he wanted in his eyes. He knew what he was to her, a reminder of what was to come, the only person who truly understood how hard each breath was when her last breath was coming soon. It bound them together, they were one and the same. So he stepped closer and grabbed her waist so she could not move away, his hands holding her as though she might break under his touch; and feeling how careful he held her she almost thought she might.

"Uncle?"

Thorin blinked as awareness settled over him, staring into Eleni's wide eyes, thoughts of what he had been about to do finally reaching him and he released her. She stepped away from him and turned her back on both him and his nephew, her breathing shallow, and Thorin felt shame flood through him so he turned from her and silently returned to the camp by the door.

When she felt him at her side she brought her hands to her chest so he would not see how much they shook, but Kili did. He wrapped his arm around her back in a sort of hug as she tried to slow her breathing.  
"He did not mean it," he tried to explain. She looked at him with wide eyes filled with confusion. "He's upset and afraid, he needed someone." She nodded and turned away, and he continued to offer comfort until her breathing finally leveled and her hands no longer shook.

She knew he would not tell Fili for it would do no more than upset him, and Kili had seen no harm in what had happened for he truly did believe his uncle had just been distressed. She was a coward for her hands had not shook from unwanting, they had shook because she did; she let Kili believe his uncle had been the one at fault, that she was a victim, but she was a coward and she was ashamed.

Like Kili, none of the others noticed her disquiet, not even Thorin. But Fili saw it when he was pulled back up the next day. Eleni had been correct, Kili did not tell his brother what he had stopped and so Fili did not know what had happened. So later that night, when all the others were sleeping, he gathered her in his arms and captured her mouth with his own. He felt her relax after a few moments and so he continued to kiss her, his lips never straying from hers. Eleni had been afraid that she had been wrong in her wanting of Fili, that Thorin had confused her feelings, but when Fili kissed her all thoughts of Thorin vanished, all thoughts of death; there was nothing but him.

The days continued much the same, the winds growing more chilled, their spirits sinking ever lower, and the door remaining sealed.

"Tomorrow begins the last week of autumn," said Thorin one day, almost having given up all hope.  
"And winter comes after autumn," said Bifur in Khuzdul for the ax in his head left him unable to speak in the common tongue.  
"And next year after that," said Dwalin, "What is our burglar doing for us? Since he has got an invisible ring, I am beginning to think he might go through the Front Gate and spy things out a bit!"

Bilbo heard this and began to feel very miserable and hardly slept at all that night. The next day the dwarves all went wandering off in various directions; some were exercising the ponies down below, some were roving about the mountain-side, and Bilbo sat by the door all day.

Bilbo soon saw the sun beginning to sink low over the horizon. He went to the opening and there pale and faint was a thin new moon above the rim of the Earth. At that very moment he heard a sharp crack behind him. There on the gray stone in the grass was an enormous thrush, and suddenly Bilbo understood. Forgetting all danger he stood on the ledge and hailed the dwarves, shouting and waving. Those that were nearest came tumbling over the rocks and as fast as they could along the ledge to him, wondering what on earth was the matter; the others shouted to be hauled up the ropes, except Bombur of course: he was asleep. And Bofur who was giving his watch to Eleni, they too stayed down below. Quickly Bilbo explained and they all fell silent and stared hard at the door waiting.

The sun sank lower and lower and their hopes fell. It sank into a belt of reddened cloud and disappeared. The dwarves groaned, but still Bilbo stood without moving. Then suddenly when their hope was lowest a red ray of the sun escaped like a finger through the opening in the bay and fell on the smooth rock face. There was a loud crack and a hole appeared suddenly about three feet from the ground.  
"The key!" cried Bilbo. "Where's Thorin?"  
Thorin stepped up and drew the key on its chain from round his neck and put it to the hole. It fitted and it turned. Snap! The gleam went out, the sun sank, the moon was gone and evening sprang into the sky.

Now they all pushed together, and slowly a part of the rock-wall gave way. A door five feet high and three broad was outlined and slowly without a sound swung inwards. They stood for a long while discussing what was to be done, none too greatly pleased with the thought of going down where the dragon was.

"Now is the time for our esteemed Mr Baggins, a hobbit full of courage and resource far exceeding his size – now is the time for him to perform the service for which he was included in our Company; now is the time for him to earn his reward."  
"If you mean you think it is my job to go into the secret passage, O Thorin Thrain's son Oakenshield, may your beard grow every longer," Bilbo said crossly, "say so at once and have done! I might refuse. I have got you out of two messes already, which were hardly in the original bargain, so that I am already owed some reward. But somehow I don't think I shall refuse. I think I will go and have a peep at once and get it over. Now who is coming with me?"

He did not expect a chorus of volunteers, so he was not disappointed. Fili and Kili looked uncomfortable but the others made no pretense of offering – except Balin who was rather fond of the hobbit. He said he would come inside at least and perhaps a bit of the way too, ready to call for help if necessary.

There were stars coming out when the hobbit crept through the enchanted door and stole into the Mountain. After a while Balin bade Bilbo "Good luck!" and stopped where he could still see the faint outline of the door. Then the hobbit slipped on his ring and crept noiselessly down into the dark. He was trembling with fear, but his little face was set and grim. Already he was a very different hobbit from the one that had run out without a pocket-handkerchief from Bag-End long ago.

The others stood a very long time, an agonizingly long time to which they doubted poor little Bilbo would ever return. After some time longer they heard rustling within the opening, and out came Balin holding the hobbit who in turn was holding a great two-handled cup.

It was midnight and clouds covered the stars, but Bilbo lay with his eyes shut, gasping and taking pleasure in the feel of the fresh air again. And hardly noticing the excitement of the dwarves, or how they praised him and patted him on the back and put themselves and all their families for generations to come at his service.

The dwarves were still passing the cup from hand to hand and talking delightedly of the recovery of their treasure, when suddenly a vast rumbling woke in the mountains underneath. Up the long tunnel came the dreadful echoes of a bellowing and a trampling that made the ground beneath them tremble.  
Then the dwarves forgot their joy and their confident boasts of a moment before and cowered in fright.

Smaug had woken and found the cup Bilbo had taken was missing. And he was in a terrifying rage. The dwarves heard the awful rumor of his flight, and they crouched against the walls of the grassy terrace cringing under boulders, hoping somehow to escape the frightful eyes of the hunting dragon.  
There they would have all been killed, if it had not been for Bilbo once again. "Quick!" Bilbo gasped. "The door! The tunnel! It's no good here."

Roused by these words they were just about to creep inside the tunnel when Fili gave a cry: "Eleni's still down there."

"My cousins! Bombur and Bofur – we have forgotten them, they are down in the valley!" Bifur said.

"They will be slain," cried Ori

"And all our ponies too, and all our stores lost," moaned Gloin. "We can do nothing."  
"Nonsense!" said Thorin, finally recovering his dignity. "We cannot leave them. Get inside Mr Baggins and Balin, and you too Fili and Kili – the dragon shan't have all of us. Now you others, where are the ropes? Be quick!" Fili was none too happy leaving Eleni's fate in any other hands but his own, but he listened. Thorin's voice had been firm and the dwarves were reassured into moving quickly on his orders, going about as fast as they could in the desperate attempt to save the three below.


	23. Terrible Love

Bofur had just laid down to rest, having been awake for many hours, when he heard the sound Smaug had made. His eyes shot open and he looked to Eleni to see her eyes wide and her face pale as she stood unmoving in fear. It took a moment before she lept into action, and seeing the fierce look on her face gave Bofur the heart to help her pack their provisions and tools into bundles. Bombur had woken with a yell but he was still shaking.

"I won't be able to go up to the others, the ropes aren't strong enough," he said panicking and Bofur tried to soothe his brother whilst helping Eleni tie the bundles.

"Hush, Bombur!" Eleni yelled quieting the fat dwarf. "Now help." So Bombur stumbled quickly to his feet to please her and began tying the stores in bundles wrapped in blankets, cloaks, or anything else they could find. They could do little for the ponies, who they knew could not be saved, but they had all run at the sound of Smaug's wrath so it was of no point to worry over them.  
It was then the end of one rope landed on the ground.

"You first, Bofur," Eleni ordered and he tied the rope around his waist and was hauled up.

Another rope's end fell and Bombur whimpered so Eleni irritably tied two bundles to it. But when the next rope fell she grabbed the fat dwarf and pulled him towards it.  
"Oh I can't, Lady Eleni," he insisted. "Please don't make me."

Tears were rolling off his chubby cheeks and she slapped him hard across the face. "You will be pulled up on the ropes even if I have to tie it around your neck," she yelled with a ferocity that may have even frightened Thorin, and Bombur quickly agreed. She tied the rope around his waist, making sure the knots were secure before tying another few bundles to another rope that fell.

Bofur was hauled up safely, the winds around them going wild and the sounds of the dragon's roar echoing around them. The next rope brought up bundles, and the next had to be pulled by them all and they realized it was Bombur. Thorin let go of the rope leaving the others to continue pulling him up, hoping to get Eleni up there quickly. He almost screamed in frustration when he felt that the rope was lighter than her weight should have been; he didn't want the provisions, he didn't want Bombur, he wanted _her_.

"Dori," he yelled over the loud howling, "get this one and the rest of you take Bombur and the stores and get inside."

Thorin dropped the last available rope praying Eleni would be on it. Eleni did not think she could spare any longer and though there were two more bundles she grabbed the rope and held on as tightly as she could as she climbed. Thorin felt her weight, saw her shape, and hauled with all his might as fast as he could. The others were dragging the bundles inside, breathing heavy from hauling Bombur's weight, and a few turned back to help Thorin.  
"Get inside!" he yelled but he was barely heard over the sound of Smaug's wings, which he remembered from the first time he'd heard them and knew the dragon was close. He pulled viciously on the rope and grabbed Eleni's hand before pulling over the edge and towards the door. They caught a glimpse of the dragon's massive shape before they were inside, and Thorin threw himself on top of her as the dragon's flames licked the mountain-side. His hot breath shriveled the grass before the door, and drove in through the crack they had left and scorched them as they lay hid. Flickering fires leaped and black rock-shadows danced. Then darkness fell as he passed again; now in pursuit of the escaped ponies.

Thorin stayed on top of her, her belly to the ground, both of them slightly in pain from minor burns on their skin; but they were safe. Thorin did not understand how Fili could hold her so tight, he was almost disgusted with how small she was beneath him, with how easy it would be to hurt her with only his hands. He knew she was a woman, it was very obvious, and yet sometimes he forgot; but feeling how fragile she was, he was almost disgusted with the might of his own hands as he held her. He raised himself up on his arms trying not to crush her and felt her slide from beneath him.  
"Are you alright?" Fili asked running his hands over her face and then down her body searching for anything amiss though he could see nothing in the blackness.

"Yes," she said breathlessly and he gathered her in his arms and crushed her against him. She was grateful for the complete darkness for no eyes could see them, and she wrapped her arms around his waist taking comfort in his embrace. He released her only to cup her face in his hands and kiss her; he held his mouth to hers their lips remaining closed and their tongues in their own mouths, it was a simple kiss but it was one that spawned from fear. Fili did not know how she was to die, she had not told him, and so he had sat in the tunnel with Kili restraining him from going back out, thinking then was when she would die, thinking he would lose her. He pulled back when he heard Thorin's voice, resting his forehead against hers, her hands running along his chest.

"That'll be the end of our poor beasts," said Thorin. "Nothing can escape Smaug once he sees it. Here we are and here we shall have to stay, unless anyone fancies tramping the long open miles back to the river with Smaug on the watch."

That was an idea not a single one of them fancied so they stood as much as they could and crept further down the tunnel. They went a long ways before they stopped and sat huddled together. Eleni laid her head on Fili's shoulder, his arms around her and his cheek resting on the top of her head, and there they lay and shivered though it was warm and stuffy, until dawn came pale through the crack of the door.

When morning came the terror of the dwarves grew less, they realized that dangers of this kind were inevitable and that it was no good giving up their quest yet. Nor could they get away just now, as Thorin had pointed out. Luckily Eleni had been of such quick mind that she saved enough of their stores to last them for some time.  
They debated long on what was to be done, but they could think of no way of getting rid of Smaug – which had always been a weak point in their plans, as Bilbo felt entitled to point out. Then as is the nature of folk that are thoroughly perplexed, the dwarves began to grumble at the hobbit.  
"What else do you suppose a burglar is to do?" asked Bilbo angrily. "I was not engaged to kill dragons but to steal treasure. Did you expect me to trot back with the whole hoard of Thror on my back? If there is any grumbling to be done, I think I might have a say."  
After that of course the dwarves begged his pardon. "What do you propose we should do, Mr Baggins?" asked Thorin politely.  
"I have no idea at the moment – if you mean about removing the treasure. Getting rid of dragons is not at all in my line, but I will do my best to think about it. Personally I have no hopes at all, and wish I was safe back at home."

"Never mind that for the moment! What are we to do now, today?" Thorin said impatiently.  
"Well, if you really want my advice, I should say we can do nothing but stay where we are. By day we can no doubt creep out safely enough to take the air but in the meanwhile everyone ought to be well inside the tunnel by night. Now I will make you an offer; I have got my ring and will creep down this very noon and see what he is up to. Perhaps something will turn up. 'Every worm has his weak spot,' as my father used to say, though I am sure it was not from personal experience."  
Naturally the dwarves accepted the offer eagerly, already they had come to respect little Bilbo, and now he had become the real leader in their adventure. When midday came he got ready for another journey down into the Mountain. He did not like it of course, but it was not so bad now he knew what was in front of him. Had he known more about dragons and their wily ways, he might have been more frightened and less hopeful of catching this one napping.

It was a very long while before the hobbit returned, during which the others had been shaken by a terrible noise that seemed to sound through their bones. They walked quickly towards the door to breathe the cool air thinking their burglar had fallen to an ill fate. The next noise they heard was what they knew to be the dragon breathing his flames. And so great was their surprise when they saw Bilbo run through, though he fell in a faint the moment he stepped out. They all rushed to him and revived him and doctored his scorches as well as they could. In the meanwhile his friends did their best to cheer him up; and they were eager for his story, especially wanting to know why the dragon had made such an awful noise and how Bilbo had escaped.  
But the hobbit was worried and uncomfortable, and they had difficulty in getting anything out of him. Bilbo sat and thought of all he'd said to Smaug and regretted some of it. He told them all he could remember, and he confessed he had a nasty feeling that the dragon had guessed too much from his words of the camps and the ponies. "I am sure he knows we came from Lake-town and had help from there; and I have a horrible feeling that his next move may be in that direction."  
"Well it cannot be helped, and it is difficult not to slip in talking to a dragon, or so I have always heard," said Balin anxious to comfort him. "I think you did very well, if you ask me – you found out one very useful thing at any rate; he has a soft spot in the hollow of his breast. It may be a mercy and a blessing yet to know of the bare patch in the old Worm's diamond waistcoat."

That turned the conversation, and they all began discussing dragon slayings. While the dwarves talked Bilbo sat quietly and his foreboading grew. At last he interrupted them. "I am sure we are very unsafe here," he said, "I feel it in my bones that this place will be attacked again. Smaug knows now how I came down to his hall, and you can trust him to guess where the other end of the tunnel is."

"You are very gloomy, Mr Baggins!" said Thorin.

"Smaug will be coming out any minute now, and our only hope is to get well in the tunnel and shut the door."

It wasn't until Eleni gave her agreement to Bilbo's words, hoping more to put him at ease than belief in his despairs, that the dwarves at last did as he said, though they delayed shutting the door – it seemed a desperate plan, for no one knew whether they could get it open again from the inside, and the thought of being shut in a place from which the only way out led through the dragon's lair was not one they liked. Also everything seemed quiet, both outside and down the tunnel. So for a longish while they sat inside not far down from the half-open door and went on talking.

The talk turned to the great hoard, causing Thorin to loose himself in thoughts of the Arkenstone, the Heart of the Mountain. But the enchanted desire of the hoard had fallen from Bilbo. All through their talk he was only half listening to them with one ear cocked for any beginnings of sound without, his other was alert for echoes beyond the murmurs of the dwarves, for any whisper of movement from far below. Darkness grew deeper and he grew ever more uneasy, though this time Eleni too felt something dark weighing on her.

"Shut the door!" he begged them, "Shut the door before it is too late!"  
Something in his voice gave the dwarves an uncomfortable feeling, and when Fili looked to Eleni he saw the same look on Bilbo's face, and so he voiced his agreement with the hobbit. Slowly Thorin shook off his dreams and getting up he kicked away the stone that wedged the door. Then they thrust upon it, and it closed with a snap and a clang; they were shut in the Mountain.  
And not a moment too soon. They had hardly gone any distance down the tunnel when a blow smote the side of the Mountain like a crash of battering-rams. The rock boomed, the walls cracked and stones fell from the roof on their heads. They fled further down the tunnel glad to be still alive, while behind them outside they heard the roar of Smaug's fury.

Smaug had left his lair in silent stealth, quietly soared into the air, and then floated heavy and slow in the dark towards the west of the Mountain, in hopes of catching unawares somebody there. After he was satisfied there was no one left to bother him he made for the Lake-town, rising in fire.


	24. I'm Walking In

_To make up for not posting a chapter yesterday, I made this one longer. I hope you enjoy it, cause the next chapter may not be as "nice" as this one. As a few of you know, I have not fully decided exactly how I want to end this story. I wrote another hobbit story and kept Tolkien's original ending and killed my character as well, but I don't know if I want to do that in this one as well. I kind of want to see where the story would go if Fili were to survive, so I'll make that clear now; I'll only change Fili's death, I'll keep Kili and Thorin dying. But right now I'm leaning more towards having Fili live, just to do something different. So if you're cool with that please let me know so I'll be aware how many people will be on board with that. And if you're not please let me know so I'm aware of that too. I'll do a tally before I post the next chapter and I'll go with whichever has the highest numbers of votes. Thank you._

* * *

Long was the time they sat in that darkness not daring to move or speak, long enough they felt suffocated from lack of air and could bare to sit no longer. Though upon returning to the door they found that it had been covered with fallen rocks, leaving the only means of escape through the hall where the dragon lived.

"We are trapped!" said Ori miserably. "We shall die here."

"'While there's life there's hope!' as my father used to say," said Bilbo who was feeling strangely light of heart. "Anyway the only way out is down. And I think this time you had better all come with me."

In desperation they agreed, and Thorin was the first to go forward by Bilbo's side.  
"Now do be careful!" whispered the hobbit, "and as quiet as you can be. There may be no Smaug at the bottom, but then again there may be. Don't let us take any unnecessary risks!"

And so they crept forward in the dark and cringed at every noise they made thinking the dragon would send his fire through the tunnel and that would be the end. And even though both Eleni and Thorin knew that would not be the case, they could not help the fear that crept into their hearts when they thought of the dragon finding them. But there was no sound to indicate they were heard and so they continued. Near what Bilbo assumed was the bottom he slipped on his ring, though it was so dark they were all invisible, and went ahead.

Eleni walked close behind Thorin with Fili at her back when they heard the hobbit's sound of surprise before they heard a great clatter. Thorin grabbed Eleni, catching her shirt, to still her just as Fili did, and all the others huddled together and stood without moving. Though the air was warm it was cool on Eleni's bare breasts and, once again grateful for the complete darkness, elbowed both Thorin and Fili releasing their hold on her. It was Fili who reached for her again and his hand brushed against a hardened peak and he smirked when he realized what had happened. Eleni was not amused in slightest, Thorin and Fili had both grabbed her shirt which had loosened the ties on her blouse and the top part of the fabric opened so her breasts were exposed. She pushed Fili's hands away every time he reached for her, knowing very well the smirk that was on his lips. Though they both stilled when they heard the small voice of the hobbit.

"Light!" Bilbo cried. "Can anybody make a light?"

"Sh!" the dwarves hissed thinking the hobbit daft for his noise. Though Eleni rolled her eyes knowing Bilbo would be so stupid as so call out if there was a dragon there.

"Aren't you going to make a light?" she asked Thorin quietly after a few silent moments and he turned appalled to the sound of her voice and reached to where he thought her face was and placed his hand over her mouth pulling her back to his chest. Though she was taller than him he was far stronger and she could not break his hold on her and she eventually gave up struggling and stood in his arms listening to Bilbo growing frustrated as he started screaming for a light. In the end Thorin finally gave way and ordered Oin and Gloin to return to where they had left their bundles.

"What does he need a bite of?" they heard Oin ask.

"A light," Gloin hissed in his brother's ear. "He needs a light."

A small pine-torch was lit and given to the hobbit but on Thorin's order the rest remained where they were. They saw the little dark shape of the hobbit start across the floor holding his tiny light aloft. Every now and again they caught a glint and a tinkle as he stumbled on some gold thing. The light grew smaller as he wandered away into the vast hall; then it began to rise dancing in the air. Bilbo was climbing the great mound of treasure. Soon he stood upon the top, and still went on. Then they saw him halt and stoop for a moment; but they did not know the reason.

They continued watching the small shape of the hobbit, which was growing smaller as well as the glow from his torch. When suddenly the light went out.  
Faintly the dwarves heard his small cries, though the only words they could catch was "help!"

"What on earth has happened now?" asked Thorin.

"Well it certainly is _not_ the dragon," hissed Eleni rudely before snatching a torch from Gloin and stalking off after it was lit.

"Come, one of you, get another light or two!" Thorin ordered unhappy with Eleni's treatment of them. "It seems we have got to go and help our burglar, and quite possibly our guide should she run into trouble."  
"It is about our turn to help," said Balin, "and I am quite willing to go. Anyway I expect it is safe for the moment."

"I don't very much remember her," said Bombur remembering when she had threatened harm to him if only to get him up the ledge to safety, "but she seems to care a great deal for us."

Thorin was startled by the fat dwarf's words, seeing that they were in fact true; her harshness a moment previous was obvious to him now to be concern for Bilbo.

"Only a bat and a dropped torch, nothing worse," Bilbo said when the dwarves had made their way to him and Eleni. The dwarves were inclined to be grumpy at being frightened for nothing. But the mere fleeting glimpses of treasure which they had caught as they went along had rekindled the fire of their dwarvish hearts; and when the heart of a dwarf is wakened by gold and by jewels, he grows suddenly bold, and he may become fierce.  
The dwarves indeed no longer needed any urging. All were now eager to explore the hall while they had the chance; and willing to believe that Smaug was away from home, at least for the time being. Each now gripped a lighted torch; and as they gazed, first on one side and then on the other, they forgot fear and even caution. They spoke aloud and cried out to one another as they lifted old treasures, caressing and fingering them.  
They gathered gems and stuffed their pockets and let what they could not carry fall back through their fingers with a sigh. Thorin was not least among these; but always he searched from side to side for something which he could not find. It was the Arkenstone; he did not know it had already been found, and now rested in the pocket of a hobbit.

Eleni stood beside the hobbit staring in awe at the treasure, never having believed it to be so great. Unlike the dwarves she felt no pull towards it, no more than any other man; and sure it was fine and wondrous but she had never been the kind of woman to adore things of elegance. Bilbo thought that may have been why he enjoyed her company so much, she was nothing like the dwarves in their lust for gold, she had spent too long in the wild to have her heart captured by such trivial things. Though she did recognize its beauty, and the dangers it placed in the dwarves.

Now the dwarves took mail and weapons from the walls, and armed themselves. Dwalin carried a large elvish blade and a belt to Eleni, and she thanked him before tying it around her waist, immensely grateful to have a weapon once more. When she looked up after finishing she met Fili's eyes before noticing his bare chest.

Fili and Kili had found new clothes and mail and eagerly stripped their dirty shirts for the clean ones. Though he looked to Eleni, having been stealing glances at her, and saw her tying a belt around her waist with a sheathed sword hanging from it. It was good to see her armed again, it was natural. And he smiled when she looked up and met eyes, knowing she had been stealing glances at him as well. Though it wasn't until her eyes trailed over his chest that he realized he still had not redressed. Many women had confessed they did not prefer how hairy dwarves were, and though he would never admit it he had always wondered if Eleni would be one of them, and watching her as she looked him over he was almost nervous for her reaction.  
Though Fili worried for nothing, for Eleni's eyes trailed over the thick blond hair that covered the top part of his chest and then along the thinner hair that ran down the middle of his stomach to where it thickened once more as it disappeared beneath his pants. It was that hair Eleni found herself aching to run her fingers through, and when she finally brought her eyes back to his he could see she was aroused by the sight of him. His breathing deepened from the look in her eye, from her flushed cheeks, until she turned away.

"Do you need a minute to finish yourself?" he heard Kili tease. Fili looked over at Kili, and followed his brother's eyes to see the bulge in the front of his pants. Fili rolled his eyes and turned away from Kili, who was now laughing, and finished putting on the new shirt and mail and swords.

"Thorin!" Bilbo cried aloud. "What next? We are armed, but what good has any armor ever been against Smaug the dreadful before? We are not looking for gold yet, but for a way of escape; and we have tempted too long!"  
"You speak the truth," answered Thorin, recovering his wits from the lure of the treasure. "Lets go, I will guide you." Thorin walked confidently ahead; his shoulders back, his head high; a prince returned and now king. Though all the old adornments were long mouldered or destroyed, Thorin knew every passage and every turn. They climbed stairs and passed through long halls, once coming to the great chamber of Thror, and at one point the roof sprang high above their reach and a white light shined from somewhere above their heads. As they came through yet more doors at the further end a sound of water fell upon their ears and the gray light grew suddenly more full.  
"There is the birth of the Running River," said Thorin. "We will follow it."

Beside the channel of water ran a stone-paved road, swiftly along this they ran, and round a wide sweeping turn, and before them stood the broad light of day. A bitter breeze blew with the threat of oncoming winter. After their long time in the stewing depths of the dragon-haunted caverns, they shivered in the sun.

"It seems to be late morning," Bilbo said, "and so I suppose it is more or less breakfast time – if there's any breakfast to have. Do let's go somewhere we can sit quiet for a bit!"  
"We ought to make for the old lookout post at the South-West corner of the Mountain," offered Balin.  
"How far is that?" asked the hobbit.

"Five hours march, I should think. It will be rough going. There is, or was, a path that left the road and climbed up to the post. A hard climb too, too, even if the old steps are there."  
"Dear me!" grumbled the hobbit. "More walking and more climbing without breakfast. I wonder how many breakfasts and other meals we have missed inside that nasty clockless, timeless hole?"

"Come, come!" said Thorin laughing – his spirits had begun to rise again, and he rattled the precious stones in his pockets. "Don't call my palace a nasty hole! You wait till it has been cleaned and redecorated."

"That won't be till Smaug's dead," said Bilbo glumly. "In the meanwhile where is he? I hope he is not up on the Mountain looking down at us!"  
That idea disturbed the dwarves mightily, and they quickly decided that Bilbo and Balin were right.  
"We must move away from here," said Dori. "I feel as if his eyes were on the back of my head."  
"It's a cold lonesome, place," said Bombur. "There may be drink, but I see no sign of food. A dragon would always be hungry in such parts."  
"Come on!" cried the others. "Let us follow Balin's path!"

And so they did. They went along the stone path by the river until they saw the path that left the road as Balin had said on the other side of the river. Eleni sighed realizing her skirts would get wet and grow heavy but she was surprised when she was taken off her feet and into Fili's arms. He carried her, one arm around her back and the other under her legs. She was lighter than he thought she would be, she always was, and it always surprised him how small she was under his hands, and yet she was strong enough not to break when he held her tight. The water was cold when he stepped into the river, causing him to shiver as he moved deeper until it was up to his thighs, wetting the very ends of her skirt. He climbed onto the rocks at the other side and stood holding her in his arms as they looked at one another face to face. Eleni was usually so careful not to let the others see anything that happened between them, but being so close to him had made her forget the reason why. It was Kili who stopped the two from kissing in front of the others by clearing his throat, and so Fili set her back on her feet. A small quirk at the corners of her lips let him know she was thankful for his help and he gave her his own small smile before climbing higher to where Balin and Thorin and Bilbo already were.

After a short way of climbing they came upon the path off the road and traveled up it, stopping once to eat breakfast and then they carried on. In the late afternoon they finally came to the place Balin had told them, and for that they were all relieved for they did not think they could go any farther.

"Here we can now lie hid and sheltered for a while, and can see much without being seen," said Balin.  
"Not much use, if we have been seen coming here," said Dori, who was always looking up towards the Mountain's peak, as if he expected to see Smaug perched like a bird on a steeple.  
"We must take our chance of that," Thorin replied. "We can go no further today."

At that many of them threw themselves down and slept, but the others sat near the outer door and discussed their plans; but after hours of talk they could not figure out where the dragon had gone to, but a great many birds gathered.

Seeing how exhausted they all were, Eleni offered to take watch. After a few of them voiced their disapproval, seeing that she too was tired, they settled and fell asleep. Eleni sat by the outer door listening to the others snoring from the center of the dell a little ways away from her. Though she did not expect it, she was also not surprised, when Fili walked from his spot by his sleeping brother and sat by her.

"You should rest," she said softly, but when he wrapped his arms around her shoulders she let him lower her to the floor.

"I can rest in a minute," he said, his voice muffled against her neck. Her eyes fell closed when she felt his tongue along the base of her throat and as it traveled down her collarbone, tracing the scar that ran along it as he so often did. They had been in the tunnel for only two days but it had felt like a lifetime, and not once did he kiss her; and Eleni was surprised to find herself craving his lips on hers. She pulled his head towards hers and captured his mouth, feeling him smirk against her lips though it quickly disappeared as their kiss deepened.

He was surprised to find that her tongue was not fighting his but instead she was letting him do as he wished, and he reveled in the complete control he had as he tasted her mouth. That was until he felt her loose the shirt he had tucked into his pants and trailed her hands up his chest to run her fingers through its hair. He continued to kiss her feeling her left hand flat against his right breast while her right hand trailed down his stomach to the waistband of his pants. He groaned when he felt her gently pull the hair beneath the waistband, pressing himself against her hip. If the others had not been so thoroughly exhausted from the day's climbing they might have woken from his moan as her hand went lower.

She felt his cheeks warm against her skin and she smiled as she ran her fingers through the hair just above his swollen manhood. There were so many things she wanted from him in that moment, so many things she could not have for they were not wed, knowing they should not even be doing what they were at the moment for that very reason. And so she was satisfied to feel his hips buck as he rubbed against her, listening to him pant as he buried his head in the crook of her neck. He mumbled her name against her neck as well as many other words in Khuzdul, and all the while she played with the hair on his chest and the hair beneath his pants. He shifted himself so that one of her legs was between his and he thrusted against the place between her leg and her pelvis, causing her such an agonized aching of wanting him inside her. He lasted barely a few moments longer before he shuddered against her, flattening her to ground with the weight of him.

He laid against her breathing heavily feeling her remove her hand from his pants, feeling how hot his face was. That was not what he planned when he had first sat beside her, he had not expected anything other than to kiss her. "Would you like me to return the favor?" he asked thoroughly enjoying the idea of that.  
"No," she whispered and he stilled on top of her. He sat up and stared down at her questioningly, nervously. "I don't want that," she said shaking her head.  
"What do you want?" he asked worried over her answer. Never before had a woman made him feel so insecure, and yet Eleni did.

She was quiet for a long while as she stared at the ceiling above. From the light of the moon he watched her face, seeing the different thoughts flick across her eyes. "I want you," she said finally.

He knew what she meant and he knew how much it cost her to admit that aloud, to not only herself but to him. He kissed her softly before rolling off of her. "You should rest, I'll wake you in a few hours." She turned her head to look at him and he could see the relief in her eyes that he had known she would not let him take her unless they were wed. He gave her a small smirk before telling her to go to sleep. He laid next to her as she slept and doubt filled his mind; as hard as he tried he could not convince himself she had been honest in her admitting that she wanted him. It was not clear to him how a woman like her could ever love him, not only because she was of man but because of who she was. She should have married a man of nobility, and though he was the heir to a kingdom he was still a dwarf – he was short and hairy, and dwarves were not known to be pleasing to the eye, let alone their unpleasant behavior. So he laid beside her trying to believe her, but after two hours he still couldn't. And after another hour of finding the courage to do it, he slipped his hand under her skirt and relief flooded through him when he felt how wet she still was; realizing she was in fact aroused by him. He rolled onto his back with a smile on his face, until he woke her a short time later. If he had not been so tired himself he may have let her continue sleeping, but his eyes kept falling closed and so he woke her before kissing her once more and falling asleep.

Eleni had not needed to wake the others when morning came, after so long in the darkened tunnel the light of the sun woke them all. Not once through the night was a sign or sound of danger heard, but ever more thickly the birds had gathered. Bilbo noticed the old thrush that had been by the door, but they could not understand what the bird was so obviously trying to tell them.

"I cannot follow the speech of birds, it is very quick and difficult. I only wish he was a raven!" said Balin for there had once been a friendship between the ravens and Thror's watchmen, the ravens having learned to speak the tongue of men, some ravens of which Balin knew himself.

At hearing this, the old thrush took the sky and flew away.

"We may not understand him, but that old bird understands us I'm sure," said Balin. "Keep watch now, and see what happens!"

Before long there was a fluttering of wings, and back came the thrush; and with him the most decrepit old bird. He was an aged raven of great size. He alighted stiffly on the ground before them and bobbed towards Thorin. The old raven had come with a message, and a very important one at that.

"Behold! The birds are gathering back again to the Mountain and to Dale, for word has gone out that Smaug is dead!"


	25. A Quiet Company

_**Six thoughts at once I can't focus on one  
Seven days a week but my life has just begun  
So caught in emotion that I'm overcome  
As I'm falling down I come undone.**_

_**Sometimes I feel like I'm alone  
Sometimes I feel like I'm not that strong  
Sometimes I feel so frail so small  
Sometimes I feel vulnerable  
Sometimes I feel a little fragile**_

_**Fragile By Delta Goodrem**_

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They left the old lookout post and made for the Front Gate five hours away. The old raven had told them of the man Bard who shot the dragon out of the sky, and of how Smaug had landed on the town of Esgaroth. The Lake-men thought to find amends in the treasure, but they were not the only ones to know of the dragon's death; the elvenking and his men were also on their way to the Mountain. It was that news that sent the Company back to the Front Gate, and as they travelled they explored the caverns once more to find that the Gate was the only entrance. Thorin had also requested of the raven to send word to his cousin Dain that he and his men would come forth.

They reached the Front Gate and began making plans to fortify it; tools were to be found in plenty that the miners and builders of old had used; and at such work the dwarves were still very skilled. Though neither a hobbit or a woman knew such skills and so they sat together and watched the dwarves work. Bilbo noticed that Eleni's eyes would often stray to Fili, watching the way his muscles moved beneath his shirt as he lifted stone or used any of the other tools. A few times Fili would catch her looking at him and he'd smirk at her before continuing his work. Kili had noticed as well a few times and it made him smile to see that she did in fact care for his brother, for he had noticed that she no longer pushed Fili away and that he happier now that she wasn't.

As they worked the ravens brought them constant tiding. In this way they learned that the Elvenking, Thranduil, had turned aside to the Lake, and they still had a breathing space. Better still, they heard that three of their ponies had escaped and were wandering wild far down the banks of the Running River, not far from where the rest of their stores had been left.

"Fili, Kili" Thorin called after receiving this news. "They will lead you to where our ponies are. And bring back as much of our stores as you can." He waited for Eleni's refusal, he saw it in her eyes, but she remained quiet.

Fili walked to where Eleni sat and kissed her soundly on the lips, not caring that she did not want the others to see, not caring that he did not want the others to see. And they did see, all thirteen of them, though they quickly turned away when Eleni wrapped her arms around his shoulders and returned his kiss. But only Thorin realized the meaning behind it, it meant goodbye should anything happen while he was away, for she did not know when she was supposed to die. A few moments later Fili joined his brother and together they left the Mountain, Fili turned once to look at Eleni and he could not even offer her a smirk. Though Kili had turned to look at her as well, and upon seeing her sad face, he gave her a silly smile and waved emphatically causing her to bite back a smile of her own.

The hours passed, the days passed, and they all noticed the melancholy look in her eye and this time not even Thorin understood it. Eleni sat watching the stones the dwarves put in front of the Gate grow higher and higher feeling something clawing at her chest. It had taken a day to realize it was a sense of doom hanging over her like a cloud, and she wondered where it came from. A malicious foreboding was growing inside her heart, and she may have felt it sooner if Fili had left eariler; as it was, she started feeling it after he left. So she sat beside Bilbo while the others braced the Front Gate feeling something dark racing towards her. Without Fili she could hardly sleep, she barely ate, she felt as though she could not breathe; she needed him, to talk to, to hold her.

Thorin noticed she wasn't eating, he noticed she wasn't sleeping, what he did not know was why. And so one night when he was on watch after the others had fallen asleep he grabbed her arm and took her further into the Mountain.

"We will die soon," he said having figured it out a few hours previous. He sighed heavily when she nodded and leaned against the wall at his back. "Will you tell him?" She remained silent for a long while and he knew her well enough at that point to know she was thinking.

"I can't do that to him," she said finally.

"Why not? He loves you, he deserves to know," he said not understanding her reluctance. She looked at him in shock thinking he would understand, hoping he would for she needed someone who did. In the moonlight she looked so defeated and sad, and he knew; "You love him too." He knew he was right from the gathering of tears of her eyes.

"I shouldn't," she said miserably. "I should not have let him, I shouldn't have let me. I just," she broke off covering her face with her hands trying not to cry. He gave her silence, he gave her time to control her tears, he gave her the patience he did not have. "It wasn't supposed to happen this way."

"No, it wasn't," he agreed before pulling her to him. His hands were light on her back as he soothed her, though he could never take away her pain, just like she could never take away his no matter how hard he tried to believe she could. He had tried for days, weeks even, to stop himself from feeling the way he did, knowing she was not his to care for; knowing she did not care for him. Realizing their deaths would be upon them sooner than she had thought, he was scared and sad. He wanted someone he could say he loved and as the only woman he placed that on Eleni, and he knew it was unfair.

She felt so weak in his arms, knowing he was far stronger than the way in which he held her, but in that moment as she stood in his arms she felt fragile. She was lost and afraid and he was offering her comfort, so she took it. His hand cupped the back of her head and he pulled her mouth to his, and she let him kiss her, and she kissed him in return. He was even gentle in how hard he pressed against her, afraid to break her if his hands held her too tight.

They never knew who moved first, looking back on it it almost seemed as if they came to the conclusion together, for the next thing they knew he was sitting with her straddling his waist, her skirt hoisted to her hips his pants pulled down to his knees. Their every sounds were muffled beneath their desperate mouths, her tears warm on both their cheeks.

He knew as he moved within her he never should have taken her away from the others, that he never would have been able to control himself. He knew they were hurting Fili in an unforgivable way, yet no thoughts of actually stopping ever crossed his mind. Her voice was a breath, a whisper, but it held the knowledge that she was not with him; it was not his name that fell from her lips, it was not him she was seeing behind her closed lids. He felt her tighten around him bringing him over the edge with her, reality crashing around them as pleasure faded. She laid her head on his shoulder and he felt her tears through his shirt as she realized what they'd done. He ran his hand up and down her back, realizing if given the chance he would have her again. There were still so many things he wanted to do with her, so much of her body his hands and mouth wanted to explore; but she would never let him. It was a moment of weakness she would never give in to again, though they did not have the time to see.

She stood, and he closed his eyes at the feel of sliding out of her, stiffening slightly once more, but when he opened his eyes again she was gone. He went back to the others seeing they were all still asleep, though Eleni was curled in a ball next to Bilbo. He sat and kept watch the remainder of the night thinking of what had just happened, of how he enjoyed it and how he regretted it. It had never been his intention to feel anything for Eleni, and sometimes if he thought about it hard enough he did not think he truly did. But he was scared in the knowledge that his end was coming soon, and if not for her he would be completely alone. And even though Fili knew she was to die, Thorin knew Eleni felt the same.

The next day the dwarves continued working, and the day after that. Eleni hardly spoke, and if she did no kind word fell from her lips. Fili and Kili were gone four days, and in those days the ravens came and went with messages; the joined armies of the Lake-men and the Elves were hurrying toward the Mountain. The gate was blocked with a wall of squared stones laid dry across the opening. There were holes in the wall through which they could see, or shoot, but no entrance. They climbed in or out with ladders, and hauled stuff up with ropes. Fili's feet landed with a thud and he immediately looked for Eleni, but his joy at seeing her was short lived when he saw her face; there was no smile, no kindness, not even to him. She recoiled from his touch, her eyes would not meet his, she would not speak to him. It took a long while for him to understand, and it wasn't until night fell that he thought perhaps her death was coming soon. He rolled over to face her and met her eyes, seeing such pain within them he could not keep himself from reaching for her. She flinched when he cupped her face and she shook her head when he moved his face closer, and so he pulled back. He laid running his thumb along her cheek, until she finally succumbed to exhaustion, and even after he laid awake staring at her.

The next night the glow of torches could be seen from Dale. "They have come!" called Balin. "And their camp is great. They must have come into the valley under the cover of dusk along the banks of the river."

That night they slept little. They saw a company approaching in the pale light of the next morning. Before long they could see that both men of the lake and elves were armed for war. Great was the newcomer's surprise to see the Gate blocked with a wall of new-hewn stone. As they stood pointing and speaking to one another Thorin hailed them: "Who are you that come as if in war to the gates of Thorin son of Thrain, King under the Mountain, and what do you desire?"  
But they answered nothing. That day the camp was moved to the east of the river, right between the arms of the Mountain.

The next morning a company of spearmen was seen crossing the river, and marching up the valley. They bore with them the green banner of the Elvenking and the blue banner of the Lake, and they advanced until they stood right before the wall at the Gate.

Again Thorin hailed them in a loud voice: "Who are you that come armed for war to the gates of Thorin son of Thrain, King under the Mountain?"

This time he was answered by Bard, a man Eleni recognized from the town. Bard requested a piece of the treasure, a request that was not unreasonable for it was Bard who had slain the dragon, but Thorin refused. Eleni heard the arrogance in his voice, the lust the treasure had placed in his heart. Thorin would wage war before he agreed to give any portion away, all he needed to do was wait for his cousin Dain to arrive.

Now the days passed slowly and wearily. Many of the dwarves spent their time piling and ordering the treasure; and now Thorin spoke of the Arkenstone of Thrain, and bade them eagerly to look for it in every corner.  
"For the Arkenstone of my father," he said, "is worth more than a river of gold in itself, and to me it is beyond price. That stone of all the treasure I name unto myself, and I will be avenged on anyone who finds it and withholds it."  
Bilbo heard these words and grew very afraid, wondering what would happen if the stone was found – wrapped in an old bundle of tattered oddments that he used as a pillow. All the same Bilbo did not speak of it, for as the weariness of the days grew heavier, the beginnings of a plan had come into his little head.

Eleni sat beside Bilbo, not knowing it was he who had the Arkenstone though she would not have been surprised to learn that the hobbit did. She hardly even looked at the treasure, at anything really. She sat feeling dread weigh on her heart as well as guilt. She did not notice when others spoke to her, when they touched her, she was consumed by the pain that came with each heartbeat; knowing her end was coming closer. Though she did notice when Bilbo left, and she stayed awake for hours waiting for him to return and met him when he did.

"You had the Arkenstone all along," she whispered realizing what he had done, and she was rewarded by a look of scared guilt as it filled his eyes.

"The Elvenking wished me to apologize for him. He said you only needed to have told him Gandalf had asked and he would never have imprisoned you. He regrets his actions, and should you forgive him he would like to have you as a friend once more."  
Eleni looked down at the hobbit and nodded before laying back down. Bilbo stared down at her wondering what had upset her so greatly, and if anything could be done to help her. Her sad gray eyes haunted his dreams as he slept, more so than thoughts of his betrayal being discovered; for it was unnatural to see Eleni look anything but strong, to see her weak and sad was almost as terrifying as Throin's wrath. But still he slept, somehow forgetting all worries until the morning.

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_So I don't get too many upset reviews, what happened will be resolved peacefully. And Fili won't find out until after Thorin is dead, and all the reviews said Fili should live so I will have him live. Thank you all for reviewing._


	26. It's Terrible, Love

She had days, and not many of them. That was the first thing that crossed her mind when she woke, the second was that Fili was still laying close to her. An ache filled her chest at what she'd done to him, at what she was going to still do; no matter what she did she would always hurt him. She brushed the hair out of his face causing him to stir before she stood and looked for Bilbo. When she finally found the small hobbit the sound of trumpets rang loud in the camp startling the others from sleep.

Fili watched as she walked closer to the treasure and then sat down wearily on it and waited. He stared after her wanting so much to take her in his arms, but she was pushing him away again. When he turned away from her he met his uncle's eyes, which were hard as they searched Fili's face, they were guilty.

Eleni paid little mind to what happened next; she did not notice Thorin's complete shock at realizing Bard had the Arkenstone, nor did she notice when Bilbo stepped forward and admitted his betrayal. She looked up when Thorin roared in rage, to see him holding the hobbit high above the wall of stone planning to throw poor little Bilbo off. She heard Gandalf's voice and saw Thorin drop the hobbit on the wall as though Bilbo had not saved his life four times. But she did not listen to the demands of a share to which Thorin answered he'd give Bilbo's, instead she watched Thorin, seeing a dark glint in his eye; seeing the Arkenstone had ignited the lust for gold in Thorin and now it was blazing inside of him, he had forgotten he was supposed to die, instead he thought of his cousin who was marching for them and how he might take back the Arkenstone without giving up any portion of the treasure.

She hardly took real notice of anything until she felt her skin burn where someone placed their hand, and even without looking up she knew it was Fili; she had waited her whole life to find someone who's touch lit her soul, and then she found that someone in a dwarf. She was a whore, and a coward.

"What is it?" he asked kneeling in front of her, seeing the lack of care in her face. "Eleni," he said taking her head in his hands and making her look at him, "tell me what happened."

She looked at him and smiled, he saw the sadness in that small smile, the pain in her eyes. "You were a fool to ever think you could save me," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"I've told you countless times, I will not let you die," he said still holding her face in his hands, afraid he was losing her already.

"Maybe you should," she said so quietly he thought he had read the words from her lips.

Fili no longer knew what to say to her, not recognizing the woman he was looking at; she was broken, defeated. Even if he saved her from death he did not know how to save her from this, from herself.

She sat without moving for the rest of the day, and often the dwarves would steal looks at her to see if something had changed; but she hardly even seemed to breathe. Thorin no longer cared for anything save his treasure, Fili did not know what to do, and no one knew her as well as they. So they watched her all day realizing just how much they had grown to enjoy her company, realizing she was in fact a friend. They realized this knowing they could not do anything for her, for it was her mind that was in turmoil.

Night fell and they slept as well as they could, huddled together to escape the chilled winds that blew. Eleni woke with a gasp an hour before dawn, the wind had shifted west sometime as they slept, and she knew – she had hours. When the sun rose and everyone woke they noticed her pale face, her deadened eyes. Taking one look at her Thorin knew their end would come that day, and he was not wrong. Cracks of thunder and the wailing of wind was heard as well as shouts from the camp a ways away. Thorin's cousin Dain had arrived with his army and he joined the elves and men in the battle against the goblins and orcs.

The dwarves in the Mountain grabbed weapons and mail and armed themselves looking for Eleni and saw her prepared for battle as well; much to their great relief. Thorin, who's heart was free of the gold in that moment, took her hand and squeezed it, feeling the bones shift beneath his hold. They looked at each other breathing together and a thought clicked in Fili's mind on why she had told Thorin instead of him. Eleni and Thorin stood staring at one another for a long while before the stone wall fortifying the gate was broken and then they charged; they charged to their deaths.

"To me!" Thorin cried, "To me! Elves and Men! To me! O my kinsfolk!" His voice shook like a horn in the valley.  
Down, heedless of order, rushed all the dwarves of Dain to his help. Down too came many of the Lake-men, for Bard could not restrain them; and out upon the other side came many of the spearmen of the elves. Thorin drove right against the bodyguard of Bolg, but he could not pierce their ranks. A large, pale orc had caught sight of the dwarf king and slowly made his way towards him, killing everyone in his path with a swing from his mace.

In the heat of the battle Eleni had lost sight of Thorin, and she ducked as an orc swung its weapon at her head, and impaled her own in its stomach. She continued to cut through the goblins and orcs surrounding her as she looked for Thorin, and finally spotted him just as Azog reached him. She struggled to reach him, killing everything in her path, realizing by doing so she would die and yet she could not stop herself from trying to save him. She saw Thorin raise his sword only for Azog to shatter his arm with a strike from his mace, and then he struck Thorin again taking the dwarf off his feet. Eleni saw that Azog had hit Thorin's spine, knew he could no longer move, knew stepping forward was suicide, and still she struggled on.

Thorin stared up at Azog realizing Eleni had been right, realizing she had seen this exact moment many times, realizing he would die. Watching Azog lift the mace, watching as the orc smiled down at him before dropping his weapon, Thorin wished Eleni would not intervene; he wished she would let him die so that she could live. But a flash of black in his vision and the sound of the mace hitting the ground let him know his wish was not granted.

Azog roared staring at the woman he had failed to kill years ago, seeing her eyes were both hard and terrified. He lifted the mace once more and swung it as hard as he could at her, hearing the sound of her sword shatter and watching her fall from the force of it.

Eleni stared up at Azog seeing his smile as he moved closer, and moved back trying to get away from him and ran into a warm body. She glanced over her shoulder to see she had backed against Thorin and she saw his pained eyes, but more than that she saw his sword. She reached for it, and even before it happened she knew it would, and she screamed as her arm was torn from its socket under Azog's heavy foot. A growl sounded above her and she felt Azog get to his knees, straddling her waist, and felt his hand on her throat. She could not move her right arm but with her left she clawed at the hand stealing her breath, hearing her heart pound violently in her ears. Her chest burned as she tried to breathe, she panicked when she couldn't, and all the while Azog smiled down at her as black dots began to dance around her vision.

Thorin screamed and yelled as he tried to move, tried to save her. He could feel nothing of his body, could not feel Eleni being suffocated over his torso. He heard Azog's low growl of satisfaction when Eleni stopped moving, when her eyes closed and her hand slowly fell from holding his. Thorin felt tears in his eyes from realizing she was dead, that she had tried to save him knowing she would die. Hardly even a second after Eleni ceased moving Azog roared in pain. Thorin looked at the orc and saw a sword in his belly, Azog stood, stumbled, and turned revealing Fili standing behind him. The pale orc charged and Fili drove his sword through Azog's chest and then pulled it out and took his head. Fili stood breathing heavily as he looked down at Azog's body, and then his eyes found Eleni lying broken over his uncle.

Seeing the way Thorin and Eleni had looked at one another before they charged to battle, Fili realized Eleni had been seeing Thorin's death as well. Cold seeped into his veins as he stared down at the woman he had fallen in love with. He raised his sword and killed another goblin that raced towards him before turning back to her. He fell to his knees and took her in his arms, her head fell back exposing her already bruising throat, and his head dropped and his forehead rested against her neck as tears scorched his cheeks.

"Fili," he heard his uncle's voice and felt something flutter weakly, faintly against his forehead. He lifted his head to look at his uncle and saw him crippled on the ground, but still very much alive. Fili kissed Eleni's cheek before laying her on the ground and grabbing his sword he began cutting through the goblins and orcs trying to avenge Azog's death. Fili would not have been able to fight them off himself, and so greatly relieved was he when he felt his brother as his back. They fought as hard as they could, slaying many of their foe before they heard a roar of pain at their backs. Upon turning they saw an orc standing over their uncle, twisting the spear that was embedded in Thorin's side. Kili reached the orc first and tackled him to the ground. Fili was overcome by goblins and could not turn back to see his brother for several long minutes, and when he finally did he screamed as Kili crumpled to the ground. He charged forward killing the orc that had wounded both his uncle and his brother, and after a long struggle that resulted in a deep gash on his side Fili finally killed it. Fili then stood alone defending his brother, who was wheezing, and his uncle who was fading in and out of consciousness, and all the while Eleni lay dead at his feet. Fili was quickly overtaken, and many arrows pierced him before he too fell. He felt his brother grasp his hand and they held onto one another as the battle raged on, and then a goblin stood over him and raised its spear. The last thing Fili heard was a large roar before darkness took him and he knew no more.

The battle waged on and many lives were lost, but in the end the goblins were driven away and a solemn victory was won. The dead were gathered, the goblins and orcs tossed mercilessly to the side. Thorin lived barely a day longer before he too succumbed to his injuries as his nephews had. Thorin was buried in a tomb beneath the Mountain, the Arkenstone laid on his breast. His nephews were buried as well next to Eleni, and many solemn things were thought when looking upon her grave; for it was then the dwarves knew she had joined their quest to die for their leader. The hobbit left the dwarves and with the wizard he traveled back to his home, stopping to stay with Beorn a great while, and the large man grieved the loss of Eleni heavily. Then Bilbo and Gandalf passed through Rivendell where Bilbo saw Estel and wept at realizing Eleni had never gotten the chance to see her nephew again. The hobbit returned to his home where he spent many of his days in solitude before finally joining the elves in Rivendell for many years.

It was an unhappy dream, a sad one. But as all dreams go, it ended. And with the dream being finished consciousness was gained, and woman with dark hair and sharp gray eyes startled awake gasping for air.

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_This felt like the best way to end this chapter, so I'm very sorry for how short it was. But the next chapter will explain everything. Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. Especially Windr, thank you again for your kind words. I'm glad you're liking Kili more, he's finally over the fact that she's not interested in him. I can't even explain Thorin, I have no words for him sometimes. But what Eleni and Thorin did will be more explained in upcoming chapters, Thorin's part next chapter and hers later. I'm glad you're enjoying her and Fili's super intense moments, I feel exactly the same way writing them. But her reason for not doing anything with Fili will be explained when why she did it with Thorin is explained.  
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	27. But I'm Walking In

"Shh," Gandalf said smoothing the hair back from Eleni's face as she coughed and gasped trying to breathe. It took her a few long moments of wheezing before her breathing calmed and she was able to lay back down. Her hand went to her throat and she winced as she swallowed, and Gandalf almost winced himself seeing the movement of the deeply purple skin. When Beorn had first carried her to him, the wizard had not thought she was alive; her tiny puffs of air so faint, her heartbeat so weak.

"Gan," was all she managed to say before her throat constricted. Her voice was so thick and ragged she did not recognize it as her own.

"Sh," he said again, "just breathe." He watched as thoughts flew through her mind, seeing such confusion on her face, such pain. "You never thought you would live," he said realizing she had foreseen this.

"I thought," she broke off wincing and swallowed again. "I saw Fili fall." Her eyes widen at that and she wheezed again as her breathing deepened from fear.

"He is not dead," Gandalf assured her, though what he did not tell her was that Fili had been gravely wounded and may yet still die, but she seemed to read it in his eyes.

"We were buried, and you," she winced again, "and Bilbo left."

"Not everything you think you saw was true." He offered her a cup of water and she slowly drank it, her face a mask of pain. "You must have dreamt some of it."

"Thorin," she croaked though her voice sounded better.

Gandalf sighed with the burden of telling ill news. "He will not live much longer," he said sadly and watched as tears gathered in her eyes. "You knew," he softly. "That's why you came."

Eleni laid on the bed confused and sad, despaired; she was alive, but she could find no joy in it. Gandalf watched her for a moment before standing and helping her up.

"He has been asking for you since the moment I told him you were alive."

No amount of preparation could have helped her from the horrid sight of seeing Thorin, King under the Mountain, crippled and dying; not even seeing Bilbo in tears. Nor was she prepared for the look of complete relief on his face when he saw her.

"I did not believe him," Thorin said smiling when she sat beside him. Her right arm was in a sling and her neck was heavily bruised, but she was a beautiful sight in that moment.

"Are you in pain?" she asked and tried to hide her wince as she swallowed though he still saw it.

"I can't feel anything," he answered dishonestly; he was cold, unbearably cold. "Have you seen him?"

She shook her head as she looked over his body; his chest was bare from where they had tried to clean his wounds, and there were several and only a few of them were not severe. Tears welled once more in her eyes as she took in his injuries, knowing he would succumb to them. "You're alive," he said giving her a soft smile even he did not believe. "Do not cry for me."

"I couldn't save you," she said hoarsely, tears thick in her already swollen throat.

"You didn't have to." He wanted to hold her, to soothe her pain away, but he could not move. Even if he lived he would never move again.

"I failed you," she said, and he ached to simply hold her hand hearing the sound of her bruised voice.

"As did I," he said much to her confusion. "Never did I try so hard not to love someone, and to fail so miserably."

She ground her teeth to keep her chin from quivering, running her fingers along his hand proving that he could not feel it. She fought her tears, pushing them deep within her until her eyes no longer glistened with them. "Why now? Why tell me now?"

"Because I'm dying," he said and she almost flinched at his honesty. "I want someone I can say I loved, and I put that all on you."  
"That isn't," she said but he interrupted her.

"It is. I was afraid and you," he trailed off smiling at her. "We're the same, you and I. There's no one for me but you."

She opened her mouth to speak but he did not give her the chance.

"And there is no one for you but Fili," he said finally speaking his nephew's name as Fili applied to her. "But just in this moment," he said sadly, "can you pretend that isn't true."  
She looked at him feeling so confused and despaired, so helpless with not knowing what to say. But looking at him, seeing the pleading in his eyes, she could not refuse him. "Of course it isn't," she said and he smiled before gasping lightly as his lungs started failing. But she did not cry. "You are stubborn, and arrogant, conceited and high strung. But you are noble and loyal, you love fiercely and you are strong."

His gasps grew louder and his body started shivering, but still he smiled at her. She forced her own smile and began smoothing his hair out of his face where it clung to his sweaty forehead. And she did not cry then either. She shifted her weight and leaned across his chest before kissing him, tasting metal on his tongue. She could feel him quivering as she lay over him, feel the air on her cheek as he breathed raggedly through his nose; feeling his tongue on hers knowing he at least could feel that. She pulled back slightly, still laying on his chest, feeling him shake beneath her, and continued to stroke his hair.

"I love you," she said softly as she smiled. And still she did not cry. His mouth twitched as he tried to smile but his body began convulsing, his wheezing rapid and strained, seeing new blood at the corners of his mouth. She held him down with her body, smoothing his hair, telling him over and over again how she loved him, until he moved no more. She ran her thumb along his cheek as she stared at him, and only then, placing her head on his chest to hear that his heart no longer beat inside it, did she cry.

Gandalf stood outside the tent listening to them talk; having guessed she cared deeply for Fili for he was the one she had thought of first. And listening to her as Thorin died, Gandalf realized something painful; something he did not think he could tell her. While she had been unconscious, thought never to wake again, she had bled for less than an hour; and only after the woman who had checked her body for wounds told him it was not her moonblood did Gandalf realize what had happened, and listening to her and Thorin was when he realized it had resulted from her being with Thorin. Gandalf did not think too long on why she had been with Thorin rather than Fili, and instead on whether he should tell her. But in the end, listening to her weeping, he knew he never would.

When Eleni was finally able to cease crying she left Thorin's tent, finding Gandalf standing outside. She was led to Fili's room, upon her request, and she almost cried again at seeing his own bare chest revealing his wounds. The hair that had aroused her so, was now matted with blood; a deep gash on his side, an arrow wound on his left shoulder. She had dreamed many arrows struck him, but in truth only one had. Kili lay beside his brother, a cloth soaked in blood from where he had been speared. Neither one of them was awake, and so she sat by Fili's side alone in her grieving.

She stayed beside him for two days before he woke, her throat now only sore and raw and colored green and purple. She had been looking at the flame of the candle beside his bed when she felt his hand twitch in hers, and upon looking at his face she saw his eyes were open. He stared at the ceiling blinking slowly for a long while before he took notice of the woman holding his hand, and when he did he stared at her in shocked awe.

"Eleni," he breathed unable to understand. "You're alive," he said and tears of relief filled his eyes and she tried to smile but her chin quivered and she couldn't. "What is it?" he asked raising his hand to touch her face.

"I thought I lost you," she whispered before bringing his hand to her lips and kissing his fingers.

"I thought I lost _you_," he said smiling. He cupped her face in his hand and she placed her own over his, seeing the moment when he remembered the others. "Kili?" he asked and she could see the fear in his eyes at what she would tell him.  
"He has not woken yet," she answered honestly, forcing her eyes not to look to where his brother lie so Fili would not know he was there. He had stopped bleeding the day before and they were hopeful he would live, but they were still unsure. But of course Fili saw him, and Eleni held him down as he tried to reach him, trying to keep him from hurting himself more. And then she held him as he cried, in fear for his brother and for the loss of his uncle. She rested her cheek on the top of his head as he laid against her chest, grateful he could not see her own tears as she grieved his uncle as well.

Kili woke late the next day and Eleni left the tent so they could speak; so Fili could tell Kili Thorin had died. She breathed the cool air and turned when she felt a large hand on her shoulder.

"I thought this time you were dead," Beorn said with a small smile she couldn't help but return.

"Tired of me already? You haven't even known me for a decade."

Beorn touched her face gently, she was so small. "You're sad."

"I think we all are," she said simply, almost shrugging before she felt a sharp pain in her right shoulder.

"That gray wizard told me to find you, said you'd want'a be there."

Eleni followed Beorn until they reached the Front Gate to which he bid her farewell and she followed a very solemn looking Balin. It wasn't until they had gone deep into the Mountain when she realized where she was being taken.

"They will not be pleased to haven't been told," she said quietly walking in step with Balin.  
He sighed gravely before answering; "They are not well enough to move just yet, and if they were told they would refuse to stay in their beds."

She stood beside Gandalf and Bilbo and watched as Bard placed the Arkenstone on Thorin's breast, realizing she had foreseen this exact moment through her own eyes.

"There let it lie till the Mountain falls," Bard said. "May it bring good fortune to all his folk that dwell here after."

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_I will continue this up until her and Fili die so I will have to do some research for just about every chapter now, and it might take longer than it usually does to get chapters up. And they might be a little shorter than I normally make them. I hope you all continue to read my story, and know that because I let Fili and Kili live that I'm going to have to deviate a lot from what Tolkien had written. Thank you all for reading.  
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	28. It Takes An Ocean Not to Break

_To the guest Renee, thank you so much for your review. It's so good to hear that you thought Thorin's death was well written, I had not planned for her to be there when he died at all. You're right, I started writing the chapter planning to kill Kili but I just couldn't_ do it; it would have destroyed Fili.

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"What's troubling you?" Fili asked staring at her solemn face as she laid next to him. She had returned almost an hour after she had first left, looking more sad than when she'd first gone. He had at first welcomed the feel of her next to him when she curled up beside him, but he realized quickly after that something was wrong.

"It's nothing, go to sleep," she said quietly.

"Was this what you had been seeing?" he asked wanting to know if the fear of losing her was finally finished.

"I did not know you would save me," she said answering his unasked question.  
He lay quietly beside her, feeling her fingers running along his still bare chest; though there was no swell of desire, no heated glances, it was simply her way of reassuring herself he was there, his way of knowing she was alive. But something was stuck in the back of his mind, a fleeting glance. But her nails on his skin lulled him to sleep and he forgot.

It took months before either brother was able to sit as their wounds slowly healed, and then more months after that before they could stand for long moments of time. Eleni assisted the healers for both Fili and Kili, and it warmed Fili's heart to see Eleni and Kili getting along. It had been a long many months previous that he had remembered the look her and Thorin had shared, the one that made him realize Eleni had been seeing Thorin's death as well as what she thought was her own. But he never spoke of it, not when every time his uncle was mentioned she looked as though she had been struck.

Dain would visit Fili often and discuss many things about his kingdom, for Fili was now the King Under the Mountain. The first had been the dividing of the treasure and Fili had agreed to giving Bard the promised fourteenth share now that his uncle had the Arkenstone in his possession. Many worries were settled when Bard's share was granted, and with it the Lake-men and the elves left Erebor as well as Bilbo and Gandalf. Fili had almost been afraid when Gandalf asked if she was accompanying them as they would pass through Rivendell when they were taking Bilbo home; for her face had been pained for a long while before she declined. And though Fili was relieved she cared enough for him to want to stay, he felt guilty for being the reason she wasn't returning to see her only living family.

But that had been months ago and though both Fili and Kili were healing and growing merrier, Eleni remained sad and removed. Every night before they slept he would ask her the same thing;

"What is it?" to which she gave the same response;

"Nothing."

Fili began making preparations for restoring Erebor, with the help of Balin who was now the only one who had ever seen it. Charts and papers filled with drawings and plans of what to remove, what to rebuild, and what to change, all laid out on a table he would sit and ponder over. Kili was always at his side, though his younger brother grew bored after a long time, he still stayed. Balin as well, hoping to restore the dwarf city to its former glory. Eleni hardly paid any mind to the plans, sitting in a chair out of the way, barely responding to what was asked of her, hardly living at all.  
Kili spent much of his time watching her, wanting to know the thoughts that consumed her, wanting to help her and his brother who suffered as he watched her pain. Kili spent many days wondering what it was that was hurting her when he remembered something he had put aside thinking it unimportant, but now, now that one of them was dead, Kili wondered if that had been the answer the whole time.

"You're not telling me something," Fili said one day as he studied the drawings Ori had done of what the main hall would look like.

Kili looked at his brother, seeing that Eleni had left with Balin some time while he had been lost in this thoughts. "I am not sure if I should," Kili admitted.

That stilled Fili and he looked up from the plans to see his brother's wary face. "Spit it out," he said sounding very much like Thorin, which made it all the more difficult for Kili to speak.

"I was witness to something," Kili said slowly trying to find a reason why he was wrong, but he could find none.

"To what?" Fili questioned patiently.

"I hadn't thought much of it at the time, but now seeing her so," Kili trailed off unable to put a word to Eleni's behavior.

"You know what troubles Eleni," Fili said completely forgetting the plans before him and focused on what his brother was saying.

"I believe so," Kili said and Fili nodded for him to continue. "Before we found the door I came across her and Thorin and it looked as though," Kili again let his words hang.

"Looked as though what?" Fili asked losing his patience.

"I thought Thorin was trying to kiss her but I think I may have been wrong on her part."

Fili sat completely still as he thought of all the times he had seen his uncle look at Eleni, had seen the longing in Thorin's eyes but had brushed it aside. He remembered her silence, her pain when he had returned from fetching the ponies, the guilt in Thorin's eyes.  
Kili watched shock and rage and despair mar his brother's face realizing he had in fact been right. Kili almost regretted saying anything when seeing his brother so at war within himself, when thinking of Eleni's misery the past months. He could not call Fili back when he stood, not even when he stalked out of the room. Instead Kili remained in his chair wondering if he had just ruined everything.

Eleni returned to the room she had been staying in, no longer staying with Fili now that he could move about, and saw him sitting on the edge of her bed. "Fili," she said quietly seeing something was wrong.  
"Thorin," Fili whispered and looked up at her to see her eyes widen. "You and he," he stopped unable to finish. His face was distorted as he tried to the force from his lips. "Did you," and still he could not speak the words.

"Fili," Eleni said as she realized he knew.

"Don't," he said shortly. "The word I want to hear is no so if you cannot honestly say that then shut up," he said harshly no longer looking at her. He felt something break within him when all that met his ears was silence. "You did," he accused.  
"Fili," she said her throat thickening with tears.

"You laid with him," he yelled looking at her. He stood and moved in front of her and she stayed her ground though he could see the quiver in her spine. "You slept with Thorin," he growled and she could do no more than nod. "You _fucked_ my uncle!" he roared and backed her against the wall, a hand on each side to keep her from escape. "Look at me," he ordered. "LOOK AT ME!" he screamed and her eyes met his as a sob escaped her lips. He stared hard at her seeing her tears, seeing what he now knew to be guilt in her eyes. He hit the rock wall beside her head before leaving her, her weeping echoing around him as he left, his side burning from too much strain.

None strayed near him over the next few days, Kili even kept his distance at seeing Fili's face a mask of rage. Fili would pour over the plans to restore his kingdom but he would grow unfocused and scatter the papers in an uproar before returning to his room. It was Eleni's absence that proved to Kili he had been right, and it was the kind of right he could not feel pride in for both she and his brother were hurting.

She had kept to her room the days after he had screamed at her for what she had done. Feeling the weight of her guilt suffocating her as it had for months. She hardly ate or even moved, instead she lay in her bed under a blanket of her own self-inflicted misery. She had been coerced into a bath and had just put her sleeping gown on when a knock sounded on her door. Upon opening it she saw a ragged looking Fili on the other side and resignation filled her.

"You should go," he said simply before turning on his heel and leaving her to stare at the empty space he had once stood in shock. It wasn't until the day after, when he returned to her room to find it empty, ran outside the Front Gate to see her figure a tiny smudge on the horizon that he realized how much he did not wish for her to go. And yet he did not go after her, instead he retreated back to the plans for his Kingdom, he retreated back into the position of being king knowing the only woman he would ever want to be his queen was leaving as he had asked her to.

Two weeks later, after one night a guest of the Elvenking, after many missed meals from lack of appetite, after many days of walking beneath a thick canopy of leaves, after many sightless traveling through a winding path when sleep could not be found after the sun set, after days of non-feeling, after months of being devoured by guilt and self hatred, a friend was finally found.  
Rounding a corner past a tall hedge a large man with thick muscled arms covered in black hair came into view. "Arael," he called cheerfully. She smiled at him in greeting but her chin quivered and a whimper escaped her mouth before she began sobbing. Beorn rushed towards and gathered her in his thick arms, not having seen her this broken since her brother had died, and wondering if there was enough of her left to ever be whole again.

* * *

_I know I said what her and Thorin did would be resolved peacefully, but know that this was not what I had planned originally; it was what made the most sense. I promise this will be resolved. As you may have noticed, and if not then I'm telling you, the story is now under the M rating. That is because I don't want to get it taken down like my last Hobbit story and that I want to have more intimate scenes for later. I have been staying fairly "clean" with the sensual moments and I would like to not have to be so conscious of them, so if you have a problem with scenes being too M rated then let me know and I'll keep them as I've been doing them. If no one has a problem with it I'll just go all out (to a certain extent). Thank you all for reading.  
_


	29. Can't Fall Asleep Without a Little Help

_Renee: thank you again for your review. I'm glad you like how I ended up doing it, and he'll eventually forgive her but it may take awhile._

_Mya: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. He had more than enough reason to me mad._

* * *

_**I can live with your ghost  
if you say that's the most that I get**_

**_Send Me the Moon by Sara Bareilles_**

* * *

Beorn grabbed the round tub he'd made when he had first found Arael, when she was too weak to bathe herself, and stripped her of her dirt caked clothes and put her in the warm water. He picked the sticks and leaves out of her messy tangled hair before washing it. The water had turned completely brown within moments of pouring it over her hair and she had to stand naked in the cold as he dumped the dirty water and warmed some more. She stepped back into the wooden tub and wrapped her arms around her knees as she shivered, feeling Beorn run his fingers through her tangled hair. In the end he had to cut its ends, it being too knotted to salvage, and it barely concealed her breasts as it fell over her shoulders. Though it curled beautifully when it dried, framing her lovely despaired face.

"Something happened," Beorn said after he had wrapped a blanket around her nude body, having no clothes for her to wear and her own being too dirty to even clean.

"Doesn't it always," was her reply and her voice sounded so dead Beorn did not know what to do other than leave it alone.

"You should rest," he offered, seeing the dark circles beneath her eyes, but she shook her head. "Eat something?" he asked and again she shook her head, but he gave her no choice, her cheekbones were sharp where they stuck out of her gaunt face, having lost much weight from not eating. She slowly ate the honeyed biscuit he placed in front of her and waited for her to finish.

"The honey needs to be harvested," he said and she followed after him with a bucket to help. When night fell he gave her a single biscuit and ale before leaving her to retire; knowing very well she wouldn't. And so he was not surprised to return at dawn to find her sitting in the chair he had left her in. She would have sat there all day staring at nothing if he had not placed small knife and a block of wood in her hand. When night fell again she had carved, in full detail, a wooden figurine; she had worked hard without thinking and was left staring at a figure with large hands and too big feet and two braids on either side of his head and another two framing his mouth. Beorn watched as tears welled in her eyes as she looked at what she had done before she viciously threw it into the fire and curled into herself on her bed. Beorn sighed heavily before leaving her once more, hearing the moment she began to weep when she thought he had left.

Her tears had dried leaving her to feel empty and used as she laid quietly listening to the wood in the fire crackle as it burned. Thoughts of Fili flooded her mind and she drowned in them unable to push them away, until well into the night she heard a scratching on the door. A loud thump sounded when something hit it and it continued until Eleni got out of bed to open the door.  
"I don't want to," she told Beorn when she saw his massive black shape staring down at her. He pushed against her with his head before kneeling on the ground for her to climb on his back. She stood in the doorway holding her ground before he roared angrily causing her to agree. His fur was warm against her skin as she held onto him, the air chilled around her as he ran. They came to a small hill where he knelt so she could slip down and she stood shivering against the coming-winter wind realizing for the first time she was not wearing clothes. It took a few moments to remember Beorn had tried to salvage her skirt and shirt but he had not been able to, and that she had been nude for two days. She looked down at herself, seeing her skin was milky in the moonlight, wondering how she had not noticed that. Beorn laid on his side and she curled herself into his thick fur as she looked up at all the stars, seeing the shapes her and her brother had learned so many years ago. She stared at the small twinkling balls of light until her eyes grew bleary and she opened them to find that the sun had risen.

"Tell me what happened," Beorn said and she turned to see he was now a man, and though he had seen her without clothes many times before she brought her knees to her chest to cover herself.  
"I would not know where to start," she answered honestly.

Beorn looked at her closely, studying her, seeing how slender her waist had become from the weight she had lost. "You could start with the fair-haired dwarf," he said surprising her. "You did not leave his side, not even after he had woken. You love him," he said watching her face for emotion though he saw none.

"It does not matter," she said quietly wrapping her arms tighter around her legs.

"Everything matters," he said correcting her.

She shook her head. "Not this time."

"What happened?" he demanded.

She stayed quiet awhile before answering. "I fucked his uncle," she said bitterly and Beorn could see her guilt, her regret.

"Did you love him too?" Beorn asked to which she laughed, a high-pitched shill sound that was as unnatural as it was horrible to hear.  
"No," she said looking at him with her gray eyes full of tears. No more words were spoken as they sat on the hill, the air cold as it swirled around them, winter coming upon them fast. Beorn saw her shaking and he offered her a hand to help her stand, seeing her skin raised in many bumps from the cold. After an hour of walking he sat her in front of a fire with a blanket wrapped around her.

For the rest of the winter she stayed beside the fire wrapped in a blanket, often whittling little figurines. Beorn watched as her work grew in number seeing the odd shape of dwarves and then a large piece of wood she had yet to begin working on. She made Dwalin and Balin, Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur, Oin and Gloin, Dori, Nori, and Ori, and Kili. She even made little Bilbo with the round shape of the ring in his pocket. She then spent almost two weeks creating Erebor from the large piece wood, carving the main gate and the hidden door, the spurs on the side, the look out post. It was nearing spring when she made Thorin and Fili, putting in more work on getting them just right, and when the snow had thawed and trees began to bud was when she had finished.

Beorn stared over her shoulder on the first day of spring, seeing the figurines she had spent so much time crafting, the detail she had put into each one proving she cared more about them than she had been willing to show. Her hair had grown longer and now covered the rosy peaks on her breasts, and now that it was spring Beorn could sheer the sheep and use the wool to make her clothes.

"Where are you?" he asked seeing all the members of Thorin's company besides herself.

"Where I should have been," she said simply and Beorn knew she meant she should not have joined them.

"Would you like to go back?" he asked and she looked up at him after she had made her decision. He spent the next week preparing for them to leave, him only to see her arrive safely, and her to remain there. His sheep mostly stayed indoors, it still being too chilly for them to have been shorn but he needed their wool. At the end of the week she was clothed for the first time since she had come to his home, and though the dress only ended at her knees she was thankful for the time he had spent making it for her.

It took them a little less than a week to arrive, spending many nights with her on his back as he ran over the land. She turned to him to bid him farewell, seeing that he too was sad at her parting, and it took her a great amount of strength not to cry. Beorn placed a large hand under her chin, stroking her cheek with his thumb, staring hard into her eyes seeing she was slowly mending. It had pained him to hear her choked sobs as she crafted Fili, but her tears had ceased when she'd finished him. Her hips had widened to their normal size as he gave her more food, her breasts grew fuller, her eyes warmed. He had kept her busy all through winter, hardly giving her a chance for her mind to wander, but was surprised at how sad he was for her to leave. He bent low and she wrapped her arms around his neck as she hugged him goodbye. No words were spoken, there were none, they were each other's closest friend; hers having all perished and him not favoring companionship. But she turned from him before she would cry and walked across the bridge into the elven stronghold where Elrond was waiting for her.

"Osu'Nys," she heard a boy cry and she held her arms out as Estel flew into them. She fell to her knees holding him to her chest and she breathed in the smell of her brother's son, reveling in having him near once more. "I thought you'd never come back," he said wrapping his arms around her as tight as he could.  
"You've grown," she said holding him away from her to look at him, seeing he was more muscular, though not by much, and taller than when she had left almost two years ago.

"Your hair is different," said Estel holding the curls in his hands. "It's not as long," he said finally realizing what had changed.

"Yours has gotten longer, perhaps I should cut it."  
"He won't let me touch it," she heard a feminine voice say and looked up to see Gilraen smiling as she came down the stairs. They held each other tightly, their love for Arathorn and now Estel binding them together. "I never thought to see you again," Gilraen whispered as tears burned her eyes.

"I could never have left him," Eleni answered though she would have, if Fili had not asked her to leave she never would have returned. The two women stepped apart and smiled at each other before laughing at seeing the tears shining in the other's eyes.

"Welcome home," Gilraen said and Eleni smiled for the first time in almost a year though she still felt a splinter of pain in her chest.

That pain would prove to never leave her over the next few months as the season turned warm into summer. She would smile and laugh as she played with Estel, as she helped him train with both sword and bow, as she and Gilraen spoke of what she would do now; but never did she speak of Fili. Instead she would lie awake at night and thoughts of him would overcome her and try as she might she could not rid herself of them. One night she woke from dreaming of Fili as he had brought himself to a finish against her leg, the sound of his voice panting her name in her ear, and even her breasts felt swollen with the need for him. She buried her head in her pillow and fought the needs of her body. She did this every night, her mind betraying what she wanted by dreaming of Fili, by imagining, as she had when they had done it, that it had been Fili she had laid with. Night after night she would wake from those dreams, an ache between her legs she had more trouble fighting, until one night she finally succumbed and gave her body what it craved.

This was her state on a warm summer day when the sun was hot on their backs and the breeze smelled of flowers.

"Keep your shoulders back," she said and watched as Estel straightened his spine as he held his bow. He whooped loudly when the arrow hit its target and she smiled and clapped at his victory and he gave her an exaggerated bow.

"And now to kiss the lady I rescued," he said in a deep voice trying to sound like a warrior before walking to her and standing on his tip toes to kiss her cheek.

Eleni smiled as she chuckled before he pointed to something behind her. "What is that Osu'Nys?" he asked. She looked over her shoulder to see a small black shape high above and watched as it circled before landing on the wall next to her.

"Roäc?" she asked unbelieving as she looked at the old raven who had first came to speak with Thorin when he told them Smaug was dead.

"Arael of the Dúnedain, daughter of Arador," he said in greeting and in that moment, seeing the bird she knew came from Erebor, she forgot about her nephew who did not know who their ancestors were. "I bear a message from Fili King under the Mountain," he cawed and her heart beat loudly in her ears.  
"What is it?" she asked unsure if she truly wanted to know. Roäc held out his right leg and she saw a small rolled paper tied to it. Her hands shook as she undid the bow and then as she unrolled it. It was no bigger than her hand, which was still too large for the message that was written on it. In a lovely script written by the hands of a king were only four words, words that stilled her heart in her chest.

_Come back to me._


	30. Takes A While to Settle Down

_**All of me  
why not take all of me**_  
_**Can't you see  
I'm no good without you  
Take my lips  
I want to los****e them**_  
_**Take my arms**_  
_**I'll never use them**_  
_**Your goodbye left me with eyes that cry**_  
_**How can I go on without you**_  
_**You took the part that once was my heart**_  
_**So why not take all of me**_

**_All of Me by Billie Holiday _**

* * *

They had spent that winter reconstructing the Front Gate and by the time spring had come around it was completely restored to how it had looked before the dragon had come. Many dwarves had traveled to Erebor when word had been spread that the dragon was slain and a new king sat upon the throne. Fili had been raised knowing he would be king if Thorin had no heirs and so he had been prepared for kingly duties, he was not however prepared for his people to bow before him and hail him as their king. Though he had swelled with pride, it was a hollow feeling when he knew Eleni was so far away; knew how far the only person he wanted to share his feelings with was.

Fili had sent Kili to see if Bard was doing well reconstructing his ancestor's town of Dale, and when Kili returned with Bard's request of assistance Fili sent as many of his men as he could spare.

"That is not a decision Thorin would have made," Balin said.

Fili's teeth ground together at the sound of his uncle's name, the anger churning in his stomach as it so often did as of late. "Do you deem it a poor one?" he asked for he valued Balin's opinion over many others.

Balin smiled before answering. "I would say it was a decision Thror would have made, a kingly one."

Fili's heart lightened and a small smile graced his own face but it quickly fell.

"You miss her," Balin observed and was proven right when Fili looked at him, seeing sadness in the young king's eye. "It's alright that you do," the older dwarf said trying to console him.

"No it isn't," Fili said shaking his head. "Not after what she did, what he did," he said unable to say his uncle's name aloud.

Balin looked at Fili in sympathy and understanding. "Perhaps what they did is not as black and white as it seems."

"What do you mean?"

"You know Eleni had been seeing her death?" Balin asked and Fili nodded. "It is likely she had seen Thorin's as well," said Balin and again Fili nodded. "It was an impossible situation for them both, there was nothing that could have been done to stop it and they only had each other to share the pain of their fear with. I do not believe your uncle would have willingly hurt you if his own hurting had not blinded his judgment."

Fili felt the anger leave him and he deflated under the weight of uncertainty, no longer knowing how to feel.

The passing of months had proven that Fili would be a just king, one who cared greatly for his people. And though he bore his duties with honor, his brother could see an emptiness in his eyes that had not been there before Eleni stepped into his life.

The days were just growing warmer when Kili could no longer keep his thoughts to himself and cornered his brother. "Tell her to return," Kili said seeing surprise on his brother's face.

"I need to speak with Dain about his returning to the Iron Hills, I do not have time for this," Fili said trying to step past Kili.  
"You cannot be angry with her forever, you love her too much to be without her."

"You don't know what you speak of," Fili said ready to shove Kili out of his way.  
"She did not mean to hurt you," said Kili trying to reach his brother a different way.  
"Of course she didn't but that does not change what she did."

"Then what will?" Kili asked stepping in front of Fili who had tried to sidestep him.

"If she hadn't done it," Fili said irritably before sighing and leaning his back against a wall. "If she had told me what it was she was feeling so she would not have betrayed me."

"But she did," Kili said confused, though his words had confused Fili. "She pushed you away, she would not let you near," he said repeating Fili's words from the Lake-town.

"I don't have time for this," Fili said not wanting to hear his brother's words, having already thought them himself.

"You need to make time," Kili said raising his voice shocking his brother into silence. "You cannot keep living this way, you are hurting yourself."

"I am not the one who did wrong, Eleni is the reason I hurt. So is Thorin," he said, spitting his uncle's name, pushing his brother aside.

"Why," Kili called after him, "because he was afraid, because he knew he would die? Or maybe it was because uncle needed someone to understand, someone he could love? Is that why he hurt you?" Kili asked stilling Fili.

"You should not speak of things you know nothing of," Fili said hoarsely.  
"What they did was not about you," Kili said trying to make his brother see what he already had. "They were afraid, and they only had each other."

"She had me!" Fili yelled stepping closer. "I was there for her, I loved her," he said growing despaired. "I gave her everything and she threw it away. She should have told me what she was feeling, that she was afraid, I could have helped her."

"How?" Kili demanded. "She didn't want you to know, she did not want you to feel anything for her so you would not hurt when she died."

"She didn't die," Fili cried not seeing what Kili wanted him to.  
"She thought she would," Kili said quietly. "She wanted to spare you from the pain she felt over losing her brother, you would't let her. You forced her to let you love her and so she did. She tried to push you away but you _would not let her._"  
"Why are you telling me this?" Fili asked wanting to speak of this no more, the pain being too much for him to bear.  
"I asked her why before she left," Kili admitted.

"And what was her reason?" Fili asked bitterly.

"Nothing she and Thorin ever felt for one another would matter in the end, she thought they would both die. But you loved her, and what you and she did mattered," Kili answered nearly repeating the words Eleni had said to him.

"Why?" Fili begged. "Why did anything we do matter? I told her I would love her while I had the chance, it should not have mattered."

"Because you wouldn't die," Kili said simply, "she would leave you to mourn her and she knew exactly how hard living was after someone you loved died. And she couldn't do that to you."

"That doesn't answer for what they did," Fili said quietly not looking at his brother.

"There is no answer," Kili said honestly. "She did not mean for it happen. She took solace in the only person who truly understood how afraid she was. You know her well enough to know she will never forgive herself for it."

Fili stood feeling tears in the back of his throat, trying to will them away.

"She loves you," Kili said and Fili clenched his jaw when he felt tears well in his eyes. "Tell her to return."

It had taken many long moments after Kili left before Fili could compose himself and speak with Dain. Fili thought over his brother's words, confused on whether he should remain as angry with her as he was. Trying to decide if being angry with was worth it for Balin had been right, he missed her. He missed seeing her smile, he missed making her laugh, he missed the feel of her beside him, the feel of his mouth on hers – the taste of her flesh – he missed loving her; she did not make it easy, he did not always know if she returned his feelings, but knowing she did and seeing her need for him etched into her face set his heart racing in a way it never had before. He missed her.

And so after a few days of realizing this he sat with a quill in hand as he tried to think of what to write to let her know he wanted her to return, to let her know he had not wanted her to leave. He did not want his message to be given from a raven, he wanted it from his hand. Five letters he wrote, and all lay strewn across the room in crinkled balls. In the first he had accused her of laying with Thorin and he refused to say that again. The second he had barely written a sentence before he began tearing it apart. The same happened with the other three though it had taken him a few weeks to give up on his fourth for it spoke of things that were too intimate for a letter. And then another week to give up the fifth, which sounded too desperate and needy.

His mind was filled with thoughts of her; her pain, her anger, her laugh and smile, her lovely stern face, her breasts, her scars. He sat at the little desk in his chamber thinking of what to say, calling to memory the reason he loved her, but the feel of her beneath him began invading his thoughts. He felt himself stiffen when he thought of the last time he had kissed her, when she had run her hands along the hair on his chest and beneath his pants. He closed his eyes and tried to will those thoughts away as he thought of what tell her but instead he saw her face, filled with longing for him as she had been that night. He thought of her hand beneath the waistband of his trousers as he slipped his own beneath them. His head fell back and a moan escaped his lips as he imagined it was her touching him. His hand moved faster when he thought of how she gasped when he'd kissed her breasts, when he would take a nipple between his teeth – he groaned as a shiver of pleasure coursed through him, his movements fast and rough – how her back would arch when he would squeeze and knead the other – he sucked air through his teeth as his hips lifted off the chair only to come back down – of how he had run his fingers between her legs feeling her desire for him in how wet she was – warmth filled his hand as his body jerked, his moan loud in the quiet of his chambers. He leaned against the back of his chair and wiped his hands on his pants before reaching for a piece of parchment only to see it had already been written on. He tore an empty part of it off and grabbed his quill before writing four words that would tell Eleni exactly what he wanted. He ran through Erebor before finding Balin with the old raven.  
"I have a message I want you to send to Arael daughter of Arador of the Dúnedain. You will find her in Rivendell," he said breathlessly holding the small paper he had rolled up.  
Balin smiled before finding something to tie it to the raven's leg and then the bird was on its way. The older dwarf saw the fire in Fili's eyes that had been missing for many months, a lightness to his face.

Fili knew it would take a week, maybe two, before Roäc would reach Rivendell, and then it would take months before she would arrive; if she chose to come. Kili could see anticipation on his brother's face as summer turned to fall and the leaves began to change color. By then plans had been made to restore the great throne room of Thror, which would now be Fili's. Fili would pace his chambers, sleep unable to find him, as he worried whether she would come. Often times Kili would sit at the edge of his brother's bed and listened as Fili voiced his worries, assuring his elder brother she was on her way.

Fili had just left Ori, who was drawing up plans for the throne room, when he saw Balin running towards him.  
"Roäc," Balin wheezed trying to catch his breath.  
But that was all Fili needed before he ran for the Front Gate, catching Kili's attention who ran after him, where any visitor would be. He stopped and breathed heavily as he searched the many people, most being dwarves others being men from Dale, trying to find her. His eyes landed on a large man with thick arms covered in black hair and he thought Beorn had come to tell him she had refused. But Beorn stepped aside to see Dwalin speaking animatedly with a woman who's back was turned to him, her dark hair shorter than he remembered.  
"Eleni," he said casting silence around him, for the he was the king and he had spoken.

The first thing she noticed when she turned was the crown upon his head, and then the fine fabrics that he wore; he looked like a king. But when she turned her eyes to his face she saw he looked the same, relief and happiness on his face as he stared at her in awe.

The others watched, unmoving, as the two stared at one another for a moment longer before rushing forward. Eleni's hands cupped his face as she kissed him and his own hands were around her back pressing her as close to him as he could get her. The dwarves, men, and skin changer all turned away as the moments grew longer and the kiss only deepened. Some saw the glistening of their tongues, many heard the soft moan that sounded in the back of both Fili and Eleni's throat at the feeling of the other against them. A long while later they pulled away, resting their foreheads together as they drank each other in. He could see it in her eyes that she loved him, and though he had not yet forgiven her he could not deny that he loved her too.


	31. My Shivered Bones Wait

"Eleni," he said cupping her face in his hands, feeling that she was at his side once more; where she belonged. She stared hard at him, their foreheads pressed together, searching his eyes for any sign he did not want her there. He stroked her cheek with his thumb seeing her hesitation, hoping to soothe it away; he still had not excused her of her actions but he knew he never wanted to be parted from her again.

"Fili," she said though it sounded more like a question, showing her fear that he had changed his mind.

"You came back," he said still in awe over her willingness to return for he had been the one who'd asked her to leave.

"Of course I came back," she said and he could hear the complete honesty in her voice, all worry leaving him when he saw saw the uncertain smile on her face.

He pulled her face to his and kissed her again, feeling her body arch to press closer to his. A sigh left them both as though a great weight had been lifted and they were relieved at the freedom.

"The Front Gate has been restored," she said when they had pulled away, having noticed how lovely the front hall looked now; noting the absence of the horrid stench of Smaug.

"It took all winter," Fili said staring at her face, saving its ever feature to memory. "Ori has drafted plans for the throne room."

"Your throne room," she said with a small smile and he smiled in return. She took the hand he offered her and followed him as he showed her the various things they were doing; restoring broken stairs, rebuilding the more damaged ones, the hall where they feasted had been complete cleaned and tables and chairs built; food being shared between the men of Dale and the dwarves.

They passed through a wide circular stone passageway, several doors to the right, and one large door at the end of the hall. Torches hung and burned on the walls and Fili pointed to the door closest to the one on the end;

"You will stay here," he said and she saw two dwarves making a bed, a large round tub in a corner, a crack in the ceiling where a small beam of sun came through.

"It is perfect," she said truthfully with a smile.

"It seemed so," Fili said before leading her out of the door and towards the one only a few feet from hers. "And here are my chambers," he smirked showing her a large room with many torches on the wall, a large table covered in parchments, a bed, a hearth on the far right. He watched as she ran her fingers through the fur of his blanket, her eyes taking everything in.

"Why?"

She stilled hearing his question, knowing exactly what he referred to though he said no more than one word. "What do you want me to say?" she asked wearily, already losing the hope that he would ever love her again.

"I want to know why it was him."

"We were going to die,"

"I know," Fili said interrupting her. "I know you saw your death and I know you saw his. It bound you together."

Eleni was struck by his words, recognizing them for she had been the one to say them. And then she realized Kili must have told Fili what she said. "What is it you want from me?" she asked no longer sure of what he was asking.

"What led to it, there must have been something," Fili insisted. "What did you and he speak of before you laid with him?"  
She looked at Fili in surprise but upon seeing the determination on his face she thought back to that night. "I was upset," she said remembering. "I could feel the day I had been foreseeing was coming upon us and he pulled me aside when he realized it."

Fili listened to her words and nodded in understanding, remembering Kili telling him their uncle had been afraid. "So that is when you," he said trailing off, having seen the pained look in her eye when he said aloud she had laid with Thorin.

"No," Eleni said trying to remember what they had been talking about that night. Fili watched her as she thought, silence settling around them until she broke it. "He asked if I would tell you."

"You spoke of me before laying with him," Fili said in shock.

"We usually did," she said not paying attention to Fili as she sorted through her memories.

Fili stood staring at her no longer knowing what to think; he had never considered Thorin speaking with Eleni of him. "What did you usually say?"

Eleni sighed pulling earlier conversations to the front of her mind. "He didn't understand why I pushed you away when it was so clear you cared for me. And then he insisted that I should tell you what I foresaw, seeing that me trying not to hurt you was actually hurting you more."

He felt as though he had taken a blow to the stomach; never had he imagined that Thorin would have been the one to help Eleni come to terms with both his feelings for her as well as her feelings for him.

"Fili," she said quietly, taking notice of the shock and distress on his face.

"That does not explain why you and he," Fili trailed off not being able to find the words anymore.

"I can't answer that," she said thinking it would only hurt him more.

"I want to know _why_ you did," he said thinking she had misunderstood.

"Fili," she sighed.  
"I won't ask again."

She stiffened at the threat knowing him being king she could not refuse him if he ordered her to. Though it took a long moment before she realized he had not said it as a threat, he was telling her.

"I'll never mention it, it will only be a distant memory," he said clarifying what she had just realized.

She thought, for a long while, her lips making the shape of words only to change her mind and say nothing. "Death was upon us and we were afraid. We knew how we would die, that I would not be able to save him and he not be able to save me."

"He knew you would die for him," Fili said having thought Thorin had not known, as obvious as it was that his uncle had.

"Of course," she said not understanding.

"But you spoke of me before."

"I was despaired at what my death would do to you because you loved me, because I," she stopped jolting him out of the lull of her speech.  
"Because you love me," he finished for her. "But that doesn't.."

"He offered me comfort," she interrupted. "He let me be weak. He let me be broken and afraid and I let him," she said, her voice full of tears. "_I_ laid with him." It was the first time she had actually spoken the words.

"And Thorin?" Fili questioned wanting to get her mind away from what she had done, seeing it hurt her too much.

"He knew he would die," she said trying to make Fili see, trying to make him understand so he would not begrudge Thorin any longer.

"So did you," said Fili, wanting a different reason. Eleni was the only person who give the answer, for Thorin himself was dead and could speak no more.

"I had you," she said and her voice broke. She stared at him, tears shining in her eyes. "He only had me. He was," she raised her arms in a helpless gesture before lowering them to her sides.  
"Afraid," he finished. "He was afraid of dying, of dying alone." Fili almost staggered before his back met the wall and he leaned against, finally understanding. He had made what they did about him and it never was; it was about them – their fear, their pain, their understanding and admitting of their weakness to only each other, that she would die for him and he would not be able to save her.

Eleni stood by the bed watching his eyes fill with tears, seeing the pain of realizing his uncle had been weak in that moment and that he could not hate Thorin for it. She stood, her heart racing with anticipated dread, waiting for him to look her, seeing despair in his eyes when he finally did.

"Why did you not tell me?" he asked before he remembered why she hadn't. "I didn't give you a chance. Eleni," he said desperately.  
"No," she said shaking her head. "You don't get to forgive me, I don't deserve it. You shouldn't," she said stumbling over her words.  
"I don't," he admitted. "I may never forgive you but I won't blame you for it."

She stared at him not understanding, hating herself as she had been for a year and not understanding why he didn't hate her too. "Why not?" she whispered.  
"Nothing you did was ever about me," he said stepping towards her. "You joined the quest for Thorin, you continued with us so that you could die for him. That wasn't about me. Nothing was about me until you loved me, and by then you and Thorin knew and were already tied together." He ran his thumb underneath her eyes, wiping the tears she had not known she shed. "I saw your pain, you did not do what you did to hurt me. It wasn't about me it was about you." He kissed her cheek before pulling her to his chest, knowing she still did not understand. But she wrapped her arms him and they held each other, something they had not done in a year.

"Fili," she said quietly, her mouth by his ear.

"I won't ever ask you that again," knowing exactly what she would ask from the question in her voice. He felt her sigh in relief, realizing she had been afraid he would tell her to leave for the truth she told him. "I can't live without you," he admitted and he felt her smile against his cheek.

"I love you," she whispered, tasting the sweetness of those words on her tongue. They were almost as sweet as the sound of him saying it.

He pulled away from her to stare at her with wide eyes, her having never said those words to him, or any other words of the like. He searched her face, seeing her honesty, and she saw his eyes darken slightly.

"When we are wed I will have you on your back screaming my name." His voice was barely above a growl and she felt her chest flush as her breathing deepened.

"In front of the hearth," she said her voice low, "on this blanket," she said fingering the wolf-fur blanket that lined his bed.

He smirked at her, feeling a tightness in his groin, before he pulled her to him and capturing her mouth.

* * *

_I'm sorry for how short this is, we're moving this weekend and I've been busy all day with packing but I wanted to give you all something. I probably won't be able to put anything up until at the earliest Sunday, but most likely it will be on Monday. Although, I promise there will be an intense moment (or two) between them, and then I think I'll do their wedding in the chapter after (and their first time). Thanks for reading.  
_


	32. Follow You Into the Rabbit Hole

_Renee: thanks so much (again) for your review. I'm so glad you liked the last chapter. The end bit between them two was my favorite. It took me some time to formulate what she would say in response to his questions, so it's a relief to hear that you liked it. _

_To all others, thank you all for reading. The move went fine, I'm a little tired and now have a ton of boxes to unpack. So I may get another chapter up tomorrow night, but I might have to research some stuff for it so it may take longer. _

* * *

In the end a knock sounded on the door causing them to pull apart, faces flushed with desire.

"You may enter," Fili said brushing her hair away from her face before turning towards the door.

"Dwalin wants to discuss improving the Mountain's defenses out at the Front Gate," Kili said noticing their glowing faces. "Should I tell him you will be a moment?" he asked smirking at the two.

Fili chuckled before shaking his head. "No, the sooner our defenses are built the better," he said sounding very much like a king. He nodded to his brother before turning back to Eleni who was staring at him with slight amazement. "This will take most of the day. I'll see you at supper." He kissed her cheek before going with his brother, who cast a look back at Eleni and winked causing her to smile at his antics. She was glad to see the playfulness still in Kili's eye, having thought losing his uncle, almost losing his brother, as well as almost dying himself, would have extinguished it.

Dwalin, who was now Fili's battle advisor, showed Fili where he believed they should start, which was outside and up the mountain; where the goblins almost overran them during the battle. Fili joined the war-hardened dwarf in trailing over the rocks and looked to where he pointed when he told him of how to secure it, all the while nodding in agreement. They then climbed down, Fili's side burning as it usually did when he strained it too much, and discussed plans for refortifying the Front Gate.

Fili sat in a chair at the front of the table looking for Eleni as they ate, growing worried when she did not come. "Have you seen her?" he asked his brother who sat on his left.

Kili shook his head. "Not since I got you."

"Perhaps she is walking around," offered Balin and Fili nodded his thanks before taking a drink of his wine, a gift from the people of the Elvenking.

The meal concluded and Fili hurried back to his chambers, not stopping to do more than acknowledge those who hailed him. He threw open the door to her room finding it empty. He then opened his, dreading it being empty and Eleni having left him, to see her curled up on his bed sound asleep. He heaved a sigh of relief, not realizing how afraid he was to lose her again.

"Is she here?" Kili asked from behind his brother, having followed after Fili when he saw the distress barely masked on his face at her absence from the dining hall.  
"Aye," he said before closing the door on Kili leaving him face to face with the wooden door.

Fili laid beside her on the bed, curling himself around her resting his cheek on her neck as he wrapped an arm around her waist, realizing how much he had missed the feel of her in his arms. Pulling the sheets over them both he allowed himself to drift off into sleep, feeling the warmth from her back against his chest.

He woke to gray eyes staring back at him, her fingertips soft on his cheek. "G'morning," he said sleepily smiling softly.

"What will you do today?" she asked quietly as he took her hand and kissed her fingers.

He sighed before answering. "Ori wishes to discuss the plans for the throne room."

"That sounds very boring," she teased.

"It is," said Fili, his mouth on her neck as he pressed kisses against her skin.

"We must go to breakfast," she said laughing as he continued to trail kisses along her neck and jaw.  
"We can eat here," he mumbled.

"Can we?" she asked and he finally brought his head up to look at her.

"I am the king," he said kissing her lips, "I can eat where I wish."

She smiled slightly as she thought over what he said. "Go tell someone we wish to eat here," she said motioning towards the door.

He kissed her once more, smiling at her before leaving. He returned moments later and crawled to where she was sitting up and held her down with his weight. "I love you," he said staring down at her as he hovered over her. She opened her mouth to respond and he pressed his lips against hers, surprising her as his tongue slipped into her mouth.  
And that was how Dori found them; their tongues waging war, her hands in his hair, his arm around her back and the other hand kneading one of her breasts as she arched into his hold. They broke apart when Dori cleared his throat, thoroughly uncomfortable from what he had just witnessed.  
"Thank you, Dori," Fili said uncaring of what the other dwarf had just seen as Dori placed the tray in his lap.  
"I made you tea, Eleni," he said kindly smiling at her before bidding them both a good day. Eleni looked at Fili who in turn looked at her before they laughed and began eating.

And that was how the first month went; they would dine in Fili's bed before he would partake in his kingly duties, Eleni would usually stay with Dwalin helping him figure where their defenses should go often times taking over that while Dwalin would assist in plans for refortifying the gate. She and Fili would see one another again when they supped but he rarely went to his room after for he still had more plans to discuss. He was either usually too tired to do more than kiss her goodnight or she was already asleep when he returned for the night. But they would wake every morning feeling the warmth of the other, desire blooming only for the day to begin and leave them wanting.

They were left only sharing a heated kiss before the day's first meal was brought or Fili was called away, too tired at night to share another, passion in every glance they shared throughout the day; a passion that did not go entirely unnoticed.

"What will you do now?" Kili asked as Fili left the dining hall after supper. He had seen the way Fili and Eleni had looked at one another all throughout dinner, and he was not sure how much more the two could take before they would be overcome with desire in public.

"Bard wishes to discuss plans for regrowing crops to which I am thinking of sending Bombur," Fili said as he walked through Erebor.

"I could talk with him," Kili offered halting his brother's steps. "If that is all you will be speaking of I'm sure I could handle it."

Fili stared at his younger brother not knowing what he was planning. "It's nothing I am incapable of doing," he said turning from his brother to again walk towards the main hall where Bard was waiting.

"I am sure you have other pressing matters to attend to," Kili said walking in stride with Fili once more.

"And what would those be?" Fili questioned stopping once again to wait for his brother to speak.

"Eleni," he answered simply, shocking his brother into silence. "Go," Kili insisted, "I will speak with Bard and tell you what I decided on the morn. Enjoy your night." With that Kili left him staring at his back still in shock, until Fili began walking to his chambers barely acknowledging there were other people near him. He closed the door when he entered the hall, a sign that warned against disturbing him, and threw open his door only to slam it shut. Eleni was sitting at his desk looking over a few parchments she and Dwalin had drafted in the candlelight.

"Do you need something?" she asked ready to move in case he needed to find a specific paper. She barely had time to blink before he rushed towards her and pulled her against him, capturing her mouth in a desperate kiss. "I thought you were speaking with Bard," she said in between kisses.  
"Kili is speaking with him, I have the night free," he answered before laying on top of her on the bed. Her nails dug into his back, his hands in her hair, her tongue in his mouth his tongue in hers. They did nothing more than kiss for a long while, enjoying the freedom of taking their time without interruption. His lips left hers and he kissed his way down her neck, his tongue leaving a wet trail over her collarbone and he began pulling the laces of her shirt as he kissed the skin above it.

"Stop," she said breathlessly and he stilled above her.

"Is something wrong?" he asked looking at her seeing nothing but desire on her face.

"You said last night, when we are wed you will have me."

"Yes, and I will," he said before loosening the laces more, but her hand over his made him stop.

"Is it your intent to have me on this night?" she asked.

"No, I will not have you until we are wed," he answered knowing something was the matter but his need for her too strong for him to care. He kissed her breasts through her shirt, hearing her small moan at the contact.

"What if I asked you to," she breathed and he ceased moving. "What if I begged you."

He then realized what it was that was troubling her, realizing her need for him was stronger than he had thought, almost as strong as his need for her.

"I would tell you no."

"I don't think it works that way," she said with a smile and he smirked before taking the peak of one of her breasts in his mouth and sucking it, a breath escaping her lips. "Fili," she sighed and from her tone he knew it was not just a sound of pleasure.  
"Do you wish for me to stop?" he asked hovering over her face.

She looked up at him and he could tell she was undecided. "No, and that is the problem. I _don't_ want you to stop," she said and something stirred in his groin at the need in her voice, at her need for him.

"I can please you in other ways," he said kissing her lightly before pulling her skirt up and trailing his hands over her smooth legs.

"What are you doing?" she asked against his mouth.

"Giving you what you want," he answered, his hands moving along her thighs as he spread them around him.

"But we are not wed." Her heart was racing as his hands moved further up her legs, her breathing deep, her face flushed.

"I'm not giving you that," he said smirking at her, a smirk that held mischief in it.

"Then what are you doing?" she asked, her skirt pulled to her hips exposing her before him. She watched as his eyes trailed over the place between her spread legs, the air cool against the sensitive skin.  
"Giving you exactly what you want," he answered, his voice gruff and his eyes dark, before he shifted himself further down between her legs.

"What are you doing?" she asked sitting up, his head hovering over her womanhood.  
"Lay back," he ordered though she did not. "I promise you, you'll love it." She was looking at him in shock, completely put off by the idea though she trusted him and it made her refusing what he asked difficult. "Lay back," he said more gentle, placing a kiss on her knee. She gave him one more unhappy look before laying back and he smiled before placing one of her legs over his shoulder, hearing her breathing become more labored, and then he hooked her other leg over his other shoulder, completely baring her before him.

"You're sure this is what I want?" she asked and he kissed the inside of her thigh.  
"If you would relax," he said kissing her thigh again.

She sighed and tried to think of something to say. No man had ever done what Fili was about to do, had never come that close to her. She felt the heat of his breath between her legs and she held her breath without meaning to, shivering when she felt his beard rough against the soft skin between her legs. He had said he would make her scream his name when they were wed, and though they were not wed he did make her scream. He had not stopped his ministrations when she had come the first time, nor the second; he ran his tongue along her womanhood, penetrating her, tasting her, finding the place that had made her shudder after only a minute. He had not stopped until she was writhing on the bed, her legs still over his shoulders, her hands in fists clenching the sheets, his name on her lips as she came for a third time. And then he stopped, feeling from the shaking of her legs that she was exhausted. He smiled and kissed her thigh, his beard soaked with her arousal.

"Tell me you did not love that," he said as he moved to lay beside her, wiping his beard on a sheet.

"I didn't love that," she said still breathing heavily.  
"Tell me you never want me to do that again."

"Don't ever do it again."  
He smiled at her and she gave a small quiet laugh.

"You couldn't have enjoyed that," she said, and when he kissed her she tasted salt on his tongue; she tasted her.

"I enjoyed that three times," he said smugly before he shifted uncomfortably.

"You really did, didn't you," she said impressed looking at the bulge in his pants.

"It's almost as good giving it as it is receiving," he said with a smirk.

Her brows raised and her smile slipped away. "Am I supposed to," she trailed off.  
"No, but then again I tired you out," he said shaking his head. "One day you will, but until then I can please myself," he said smiling at her and her brows rose higher. He untied his pants, his eyes never straying from hers.

"Pull them down more," she ordered and he smirked before complying, his pants now above his knees.

She stared at his face and watched his eyes glaze as his hand wrapped around himself, and then as his hips raised slightly as he moved his hand.

He kept his eyes on hers, having never finished himself in front of woman before, enjoying the twitch of pleasure that shot through him when her eyes trailed to his lap to watch his movements. He almost moaned when she laid her head on his shoulder, her eyes back on his, her hand running along his hips. He barely lasted five minutes once her hand touched him, her touch searing his skin.

She watched his face as he came, his eyes closed and a groan left his mouth, which she swallowed with a kiss. He pulled his pants up and she settled on his chest, both fully satisfied and now tired.

"I love you," she said and he kissed her forehead, his arms wrapped tight around her.

"We'll talk more on the next morn," he said sleepily.  
"About what?"

"Wedding preparations," said Fili with a lazy smile. "I don't know how much longer I can last without you."

"Was that you asking for my hand in marriage?" she asked before she yawned.

"Does that mean you say yes?" he asked though he knew the answer.

And though he knew the answer she still said it anyway; "Yes."


	33. Love, I'm Walking In

_Since Tolkien got the dwarves' names from an Icelandic poem, I have followed the viking customs for weddings (though I left out some things I didn't think were necessary). This chapter would not have happened without the help of Lady Tolwen, who found an essay on how Viking's constructed weddings, as well as helped formulate how to adapt that to Tokien-verse.  
_

_I decided to leave out their wedding night, and that will be all of next chapter and it will be mostly smut. So if you are opposed to that then you can skip the next chapter, cause that's all it will be. And if you are okay with heavily M rated love, then you will enjoy next chapter._

* * *

_**Nine months later **_

"You will be wed tomorrow," Gilraen said smiling as they entered the bathing room.

"She will be more than wed," Ivorwen, Gilraen's mother, said teasingly to Eleni.

"And hopefully a son will be conceived," said Dís with a small smile.

Eleni smiled faintly before turning away from the three, unknown to them she was not a maiden. To the left of the room a fire was blazing, making it pleasantly warm, and rocks were being heated in the flames. The women in the bath house bowed to her, for when the sun rose the next day she would be made a queen. Eleni nodded to them, as Fili told her was expected, having never thought to be seated on a throne.

Gilraen and Ivorwen moved to stand at her back to undo her hair, which Fili had insisted on braiding, and Dís stood at her front. Eleni raised her arms as the woman who she considered her sister, the woman who had been a mother to her, and the woman who would become her mother, began to undress her.

"A symbol of the loss of your former, unwed, self as you step into a life of marriage," Dís explained as she untied Eleni's robe pausing at the sight of the scars on her belly but graciously turned her eyes away. Eleni wondered briefly what look would pass Fili's face when he first saw them, a thought she found entirely unpleasant.

They were led to an even smaller room and were seated before several of the heated rocks were brought in, and water was sprinkled on them to create steam. Sweat gathered on her brow as the steam caressed them with its warmth.  
Dís had told her that the steam bath symbolized the woman's being a maiden was washed away for the on the next day she would be a maiden no longer. Though from the way Dís had looked at her, Eleni did not think Fili's mother thought she was untouched; though what Dís did not know, nor did Fili, was that it had been Thorin who had made her unpure.

She leaned back against her chair and closed her eyes, sweat and steam rolling down her skin, listening to the three women tell her of what her life would be like with Fili; the duties she would need to perform, how she needed to keep him both emotionally and sexually pleased, Ivorwen making sure to clarify that Eleni could no longer run in the wild for her place was at her husband's side, Dís telling her how she knew Fili to be. Eleni imagined herself living as they had with Fili at her side, but there was something about each picture that was unnatural; she did not know how to be loving and mothering, how to be wifely. She knew it was only her nerves, that the wedding being the next day was setting them edge, but she was nervous and frightened of not being the wife Fili required, not only as a king but also a man.

...

_**One month earlier**_

She ran her fingers through her wet hair ridding it of tangles before she tied her sleeping gown around her. Her bath water had already been removed and she was now alone for the first time since she woke, having spent most of her day with her nephew, Gilraen, Ivorwen, and Dís. Now that the final month before their wedding was upon them neither she nor Fili were allowed to see one another as part of tradition. She supposed it was a blessing, many times they came to when their other means of pleasure did not withstand their lusts and it took all they had to pull away. But she missed him, achingly so. She missed him holding her, his hands in her hair, him telling her of his day or him asking of hers.

As though her wanting could be felt through walls her door opened and Fili stepped through and closed it behind him.

"You cannot be here," she said quietly though her body betrayed her when her heart beat faster.  
"I know," said Fili nodding though he stepped closer.

"You are not supposed to see me until the wedding."

"I know," he said again before standing at her side. He turned down the sheets on her bed and then pulled them over her as she laid down. Her eyes followed him as he moved to the walls of her room and extinguished all the torches, casting the room in complete darkness when he put out the last one. She listened to the sound of his feet coming closer before she felt him slip beneath the sheets beside her.

"You are not allowed to touch me," she said, and by tradition he was not.

He was quiet as he lay beside her, the only sign he was near was the sound of his breathing. "Can I hold you?" he asked after a long while.

"You shouldn't," she said though she was already reaching for him. He wrapped his arms around her pulling her tight against his chest, her head buried in the crook of his neck, their bodies flush against each other. Though there was nothing carnal in their touch, no heated glances, no labored breathing, no stolen kisses. They simply laid in each other's arms.

...

It had been finding the two holding each other as though it had pained them to have been separated those few days that made Dís realize her son had truly found a woman he could not live without. Before she had been unsure whether Eleni would be a good wife for him; having seen the scar on her neck and chest, and the one on her arm, and the fact she was not a dwarf. Though dwarven women were few it was unusual for a dwarf to marry a woman of different race, though Eleni being of the Dúnedain she would live for most of Fili's life. But she did understand, after asking Kili of how much she loved her eldest son, and seeing even her youngest son had taken a liking to her too, so she accepted it.

And so after Eleni was plunged into cold water, completing the cleansing, and was brought back to her room Dís bestowed upon her a most loving gift.

"I wore this before my wedding," she said giving Eleni the circlet that had been a token of her virginity before she had been wed. "Had I birthed a daughter of my own I would have passed it on to her. I know it is not your custom."

Eleni took the circlet as though it was made of glass, a look of awe on her face. "Should I have a daughter it would be a joy to see her wear this," said Eleni quietly, gratefully.

Dís smiled and blinked away her tears before patting the young woman's arm and moving behind her to comb her hair. She noticed a sadness befall the young woman as she removed all of the tangles and her hair began curling as it dried.

"He loves you," Dís said thinking it was only the natural nervousness of a bride, though when Eleni looked at her, eyes full of tears and said;

"Yes I know, everything is alright"

that Dís realized something else was the matter. She smiled at Eleni and agreed that everything was alright before leaving and, even only knowing Eleni for a short while, fetching the one person she knew could help the woman.

...

A knock sounded on the door and Eleni quickly wiped beneath her eyes before opening it, seeing Beorn on the other side. Upon seeing him her eyes filled with tears and she turned away so that he would not see them.  
"I've seen you cry many times, Arael. Tell me what it is," he said gently placing a large hand on her shoulder. He watched her sigh and try to speak but she couldn't, it wasn't until after a long while of her silence that he finally left her.

He returned a short while later, much to Eleni's surprise, though the person who stepped from behind him did not surprise her in the slightest. He closed the door on those in the hall before turning to her.

"It is the night before our wedding, you cannot see me," she said, her voice hoarse from trying not to cry.

"I will not leave until you tell me what it is," Fili said without moving closer, giving her distance.

She shook her head, her jaw clenched to keep her chin from quivering. "I am well, it is nothing."  
"It is obviously something," he insisted. "Are you having doubts, is this too soon?" he asked hoping more than anything that was not it. He did not think he could bare if she were to answer yes, and so a relief that almost made him sink to the floor in joy flooded through him when she shook her head again. "Then what is it?"

She looked at him, her eyes so pained and distressed, he wondered how Beorn thought he could help her. "When my father died Arathorn said that he would be the one suitors must appease before he would consent to my being wed. That there was no man good enough."

Her voice shook with the tears she was trying to keep at bay, and it was then Fili understood and it tore at his heart when he did.

"My dreams are coming true," she said, tears finally slipping from her eyes. "Ones I didn't know I had, ones with you. But my brother is no longer here, he's missing it," she sobbed. "He is missing everything and I just," she stopped to cover her face with her hands, inhaling he could hear her tears in her breathing. "I need a moment," she said lowering her hands to look at him once more, "to miss my brother."

He nodded before stepping closer and taking her in his arms, feeling her shake against him as she allowed herself to cry. It was only a few moments, but it was all she needed before she stopped crying and settled down once again.

…

Estel walked through the middle of the vast group of people; dwarves, elves from both Rivendell and Mirkwood, men from Dale and the Lake-town and the Dúnedain from Rivendell, as well as a small hobbit who was a great friend to both the bride and groom. In the young boy's small hands was a sword which had been used many times and held great meaning. He walked until he reached just outside of the Front Gate where Fili stood, garnered in royal blue with his golden crown atop his golden head.

Fili gazed at Eleni as she was led towards him, her dress a pure white stark against her long dark curls. The stitching, unlike on dwarven clothes, was tight against her chest and hips, the work of her people; her sleeves ended at her elbows though the backs of them cascaded airly to the ground in the style of the elves; though the embroidery stitched across her chest was of dwarven fashion – showing all influences in her life. Atop her head was a bridal crown woven from straw and wheat, wreathed with lovely flowers Beorn had brought from his garden. The woman he was marrying had been untame when he met her, wild from living in the wilderness; seeing the flowers on her hair looked so natural. Beorn was large at her side as he led her to Fili, the only man left she would ever consider family besides her nephew. She looked up at him and smiled when she was finally standing at Fili's side with Estel on her left, and he smiled down at her with tears in his eyes, something very abnormal for the strong bear-man. She turned her eyes to Fili as Beorn walked to stand with the others, seeing the dwarf she had fallen in love with and the king she would marry and love more.

Oin stood behind them, as a sign-reader he would call upon Mahal to bless the two as they wed. "The bride's gift," Oin exclaimed and Estel held the sword out for his aunt to take, giving her a large smile as she did so.  
"A sword made from my father's hand," she said, and looking upon it Fili realized it was the sword she'd had when he first saw her, the sword she had always used. Her gift held all her love for him in it, and he took it from her hand and held it out to see; its blade was the beautiful curve of a sword of elves, the hilt held many symbols and runes not known to him, and looking up they shared a smile.

"The gift from the bridegroom," Oin said, a new trumpet in his ear and a smile on his face having heard her words and knowing Eleni to have given Fili her own sword.

"The ax of the great king Thror," Fili said holding out his grandfather's ax. It was dwarf custom for the husband bestow upon his wife the ax of his ancestor which he himself had to find, and after some time Fili had located Thror's beautiful ax with carvings and runes. Eleni's small hands brushed against his as she took the ax from him and their eyes met in a heated stare until Oin broke it.

"Now you will exchange rings," Oin declared.

As per tradition Fili placed Eleni's ring on the hilt of the sword she had given him and held it out for her, watching as her slender fingers lifted the ring and put it on her finger. She then placed his ring on the hilt of the sword to which he too put his ring on his finger. Her hand rested on his atop the hilt of the sword, their eyes locked on each other.

"In the name of Mahal," Oin exclaimed loudly, "I bless these two as dwarf and wife."

A loud cheer rang out among the crowd as Fili kissed her soundly on the lips, and the two laughed at the small "ew" from Estel. Fili had never seen a more beautiful smile on her face than the one he saw when he pulled away. Their friends and guests followed along excitedly as they went to the dining hall, which had been completely restored and was decorated beautifully for the occasion and the tables lined with food and drink. The guests waited quietly as husband and wife shared the bridal-ale, which Beorn had supplied the honey to brew the mead with. Eleni held the drinking bowl in her hands and held it out for her husband, and placing his hands over hers, Fili brought it to his lips and took a sip, his gaze never leaving her own. And with his hands still over hers his wife brought the cup to her own lips and drank from it. The two were then led to their seats, and as king he sat at the head of the table with her by his side.

Fili stood and took the hammer Balin offered him, having found it too with Thror's ax, and knelt beside the chair in which Eleni sat.

"With the hammer of Mahal, let our Queen under the Mountain be blessed in her offspring," said Oin and Fili placed the hammer in her lap. He gazed at her from where he knelt, his eyes burning, his hand scorching where it touched her leg. The hammer was taken and the feasting began, though she could still feel the weight of Fili's eyes; both wanting nothing more than for the day to end so that they could go to bed as husband and wife.

* * *

_Renee: It means a lot to me that you review, so I have no problem responding to yours. I honestly don't know how I make it as erotic as it is, it might be my word choice and my sentence structure. But I opted to keep things more filtered until their actual first time, that way it's more intense and emotional when it happens.  
_


	34. An Ocean Not to Break

_Mya: Thank you so much.  
Renee: I'm very glad you enjoyed the wedding, a lot of time and research went into making it. Writing Beorn makes me realize how great he is and that he should have been talked about more. I figured it would be natural that she would miss her brother in that moment, cause a wedding is a big deal and he was supposed to be there. I wasn't sure if I wanted her to be a virgin before Thorin or not, but then I decided as a woman of nobility she probably wasn't all that sexually active. So Thorin stole her virginity, and it almost broke my heart. _

_I hope you all enjoy this chapter, it's been a long time coming._

* * *

After feasting and dancing, watching a few of the dwarves wrestle, which Dwalin won, it was well into the night and it was now the time in which the marriage would be consummated. The guests, who were still enjoying the festivities, cheered as the couple was led towards the king's chamber, Eleni secure in Fili's arm as he walked. Kili, Balin, Gloin, Dís, Gilraen, and Ivorwen followed the two as the six witnesses tradition called for. Carried over the threshold to their room Eleni saw a fire blazing in the hearth and the wolf-fur blanket laid out in front of it; Fili having remembered her specifications on where he would take her, making her smile. He set her on her feet and stood at her front as the six stood around them and bore witness to Fili removing the bridal crown from her head. The six then smiled and left, having seen the traditional symbol of sexual union, leaving with many jests at the expense of the two though they were staring at one another intently not paying the others any mind.

Fili and Eleni stood breathing heavily as they stared at one another, waiting for the door to close and them to left alone. As soon as the lock clicked Fili advanced and backed her against the wall capturing her lips in an urgent kiss, having not done so for a month. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders as she opened her mouth for his tongue, sighing as she felt his tongue rough against her own. A long while they reveled in the feel of each other's mouths, his hands running along her sides to graze her breasts, which ached for his touch, teasing her. He pulled her towards the fire before staring down at her dress, wanting nothing more than see her bared before him.

"How did you get this on?" he asked not seeing how to remove it, it being too tight around her chest to pull over her head.

She smiled as his eyes roamed quickly over her chest trying to find a way to take it off. "They sewed it around me."  
He looked at her and upon seeing the agreement in her eyes he tore the fabric and her dress fell to the floor. His eyes first fell upon her breasts, which fit snuggly in his hands, their peaks raising from the cool air. His gaze went further down and landed on the scars on her stomach, having thought Azog had only impaled her with his spikes leaving three small scars; her scars, however, were long and they went in a circle from Azog twisting his metal forearm causing her extreme pain.

Eleni waited as Fili continued to stare at her stomach, her heart racing as she watched his face. She shivered when she felt his calloused fingertips run over the scars before he went down on one knee and placed a soft kiss on each one; his beard tickling her belly. Her breathing hitched when he turned his eyes back to hers, his blue eyes blazing with desire. She removed his crown, letting it fall to the floor, and pulled his shirt over his head. She then undid his belt when he stood once more, and he stepped out of his pants leaving them both bare.

He watched as her eyes trailed down his chest, remembering the feel of her hands in his hair, and then as her eyes went lower; stiffening as her eyes took him in. Her hands were featherlight on his chest and he throbbed at the heat of her touch and unable to resist her any longer he lowered her on the fur blanket, it being delectably soft on their skin. He trailed his mouth and tongue down her neck and over her chest until he found a hardened nipple and he took it between his teeth, hearing her gasp. He squeezed and kneaded her other breast as he nipped and sucked the other, feeling her wriggle beneath him.  
"Fili," she moaned as his mouth moved to her other breast.  
He answered by sucking her nipple long and hard, her back arching at the sensation, her breathing deep and fast.

"Fili please," she begged and a painful twitch coursed through him and he found his need as great as hers. He spread her legs around him, running a finger between her legs to feel how wet she was – nearly dripping with wanting – before hovering over her on his hands and knees. She stared up at him, her chest rising and falling rapidly as he held himself up with a hand on either side of her head.  
Eleni ached with the need for him, her body buzzing with wanting his touch; she could tell from the chill of air on her spread legs that she was wet, and the cool air only made her want him more. He lowered himself slightly and she felt his arousal firm against her thigh, a growl in the back of his throat sounded at the contact causing her breathing to deepen even more. He placed his hands underneath her knees and pulled them further up his sides, spreading her legs more as he hovered near her entrance. Her hips raised slightly as she sought him out and he granted her wish, and his own, as he entered her; their bodies igniting as they both gasped.

His body was short as that of a dwarf, his hands and feet were the size of a man's, as well as his manhood; he filled her completely. Fili rested himself on his elbows, one arm under her head, as he pulled out, his chest rough against her breasts as he entered her again. He did this over and over, his pace increasing, his movements growing rougher, her hips meeting his every thrust bringing him deeper. Her nails dug into his back as she clung to him, her mouth against his shoulder as her release built, his thumb moving in circles between her legs as he continued his movements. His other arm was around her back keeping her close to his chest, his mouth by her ear, his breath warm as he panted her name, her own moans muffled against his shoulder.

Her lips parted and her teeth dug into his skin as her finish swelled within her, from the rough uncoordinated thrusts of his hips his own was coming quickly. They lasted a few moments longer, but her tightening around him as she came sent him over the edge and he removed his hand from between her legs to hold himself up, his hand clenching the fur in his fist as a moan escaped him; their mouths finding each other as their climax slowly ebbed away, leaving them to breathe heavily as they laid back on the soft blanket.

He rested his forehead on hers as he stayed on top of her, stroking her hair, her fingers on his face and in his hair. He mumbled something gruff and growling as was the language of the dwarves against her mouth.

"What does that mean?" she asked breathlessly.

He smiled and rolled off of her and laid on his side facing her. "I love you," he said this time in the common tongue.

"And I love you," she said returning his smile.  
"A throne has been made," he said running his hand over her stomach. "And a crown."  
"I never imagined I would be a queen," she said softly placing her hand over his as she thought.

"I never imagined I would find you," he said kissing her shoulder. Her skin was golden from the light of the flames, her dark hair flickering red.

She rolled on her side and their noses touched slightly as they looked at one another. He pulled her against his chest and wrapped her in his arms, sleep finding them not long after. She woke on her back, her legs spread wide, and Fili's head between them as he loved her with his tongue. Her body twitched in pleasure and her back arched as a moan escaped her lips. She felt him smile as his tongue entered her, realizing she was awake. Her head fell back and her neck arched, upon opening her eyes she saw her vision was level with the floor. Fili's grip on her thighs tightened to the point of a pleasurable pain as he pushed her legs further apart, his tongue running over her as she moaned enthralled, his name barely quieter than a scream as it erupted out of her. Her body shook as she reached her finish, his tongue buried deep in her core as his mouth gently sucked causing her to bite back a scream of agonized pleasure. Her spasms had died down and her body ceased twitching before he released her, and she lay panting as he laid back down beside her; his own desire clear in how hard he was.

"I could grow to used to waking to that," she said with a small smile and he chuckled before kissing her, his beard damp against her skin.

"I told you I'd make you scream," he said smugly, moving to settle on top of her. His brows furrowed when she pushed him off of her, wanting nothing more than to find his own release. He tried again but her hands were firm on his chest as she pushed him on his back, wondering if she thought she was required to do the same he had done to her, and opening his mouth to tell her she was not.  
She took that moment to capture his lips and slip her tongue into his mouth, feeling him smile. Though his smile disappeared when her hand wrapped around him, and she ran her thumb over his head causing him to groan, much to her satisfaction. His eyes widened when she released him and swung her leg over his hips; straddling his waist. She could tell from the look in his eye that no other woman had done this, and she took pride in that she was the first to please him in this manner. He watched her intently as she lowered herself onto him, his lips parting slightly at feel of her warmth surrounding him.

He resisted the urge to sprawl her on her back and plow into her, the only way he'd ever taken a woman, wondering just what it was she would do. His heart beat faster as she placed her hands flat on his stomach and he gasped as she rolled her hips bringing him deeper. He met her eyes and held them as she continued to move her hips, his hands now firm around her waist as he moved her faster. His gaze strayed to her breasts and he watched them bounce, his hips jerking at the sight. She took note of this and placed her hands behind her on his thighs, her nails digging into the soft skin, letting her back curve and her head fall back as she let him to set the pace in which he moved in and out of her. Her back was bent leaving him only able to see her breasts, and from the way she had angled herself her breasts bounced heavily. He pulled her hips, delving deeper inside her, and thrusted roughly seeing her breasts jump wildly. He did this over and over causing her breasts to jerk, his hips thrusting upwards as heat gathered in his groin.

His moans filled her ears causing her to smile, her arms taut as she held herself up at such an odd angle. She knew from his rough movements that he was close to coming, feeling her breasts rise and fall every time his hips bucked; from the sounds of his groan she knew he loved the sight. His hands tightened around her hips and he pulled her roughly against him as he thrusted violently upwards causing a moan to escape her own lips as she was filled with the warmth of his release. She sat up, her nails leaving the skin of his thighs, and laid down on his chest, which rose and fell rapidly beneath her.

"Oh," he breathed unable to find any other words and she smiled against his chest.

"I did not think you would enjoy it that much," she said honestly and a chuckle sounded deep in his chest.

"Your breasts," was all he could say and they both laughed knowing he had very much enjoyed the sight of them. "I believe that was worth waiting for," he said contentedly wrapping his arms around her.

She shifted her weight and he groaned when her hips moved, him being completely soft inside her, and she stilled as she settled against him.

"You nearly yelled," she said teasingly and Fili felt his cheeks warm when he realized she was right.

"You were right," he admitted, running his hands along her sides.

"About what?"

"Taking you on this blanket," he said whilst running his hands over her legs which were still spread around him.

"Of course, the feel of the fur on my naked body as you took me so hard I screamed," she said raising her head to look at him, feeling him start to stiffen inside her. He smiled and she kissed him, moving her hips forward causing him to moan as he hardened even more. Her tongue warred with his as she slowly moved until he was ready to take her again, and this time he rolled her on her back and had her much like he did the first time.


	35. Company

_Mya: thank you so much, I'm very glad you think so._

_Viper: thank you!_

_Renee: Thank you. I noticed that pattern too so I refused to follow it. It wasn't that I didn't know what to say it's just that aren't very many different words to use; where usually I could find a synonym for something, there just weren't very many. But I took your advice and I did go back and change that scene a little bit (and you were completely right, I noticed that kind of repeated myself a few times.) So thank you again._

* * *

As the king Fili was not able to stay with his wife the next day and instead spent most of it discussing further plans for Erebor with Ori and his brother, along with Balin who's advice Fili requested. Though when it came to sup Fili saw Eleni again standing in the doorway of the dining hall, her golden crown gleaming on her dark hair. She and Dwalin were speaking intently, having decided to build stationaries on the Mountain where bowmen could shoot down the advancements of the enemy. But her eyes flicked to his direction and she straightened as she realized her husband was near. He smiled and walked to her, taking her hand in his own and bringing to his lips.

"Was your day well?" he asked before taking her from Dwalin's side, who was smirking at the two, and leading her to where they would dine.

"It was," she answered, looking softer at his side. "We have drawn up where the defenses will be placed."

"Any more on the Front Gate?" he asked holding her arm as she sat before he took his own seat.

"Dwalin and Bifur have been discussing a gate ensteeled with metal that can be raised and lowered."  
Fili nodded before taking a drink of the mead they would share for remainder of the month and offered it to her, watching as she drank.  
"And your day?" she asked setting the cup down and turning to him.

He was struck by how natural being married to Eleni was, as though they had been meant for this life. "Plans have been crafted for finishing Erebor, which we believe will take a few years longer," he answered as they began to eat. Their quiet reverie was broken as the others sat near and their attentions were stolen elsewhere. The meal ended much to soon and Fili was called away for other duties and they parted unwillingly; Fili returning to his study and Eleni to their room.

Night had fallen hours previous when Fili was finally able to return to their room, finding Eleni tying a robe around her wet body. "If only you had come a few minutes earlier," she said smiling running her hands through her hair.

"Here," he said motioning for her to come closer as he sat on their bed. She fit comfortably on his lap as he began to rid her damp hair of tangles. He braided the hair that fell in the front of her face on both sides of her head before braiding them together at the back. He then took the rest of her hair, braiding it as well on both sides of her head before interweaving the two plaits and the first making one large braid that trailed down to the middle of her back.

When he had finished he wrapped his arms around her middle and rested his chin on her shoulder, feeling her lips on his temple briefly. They sat quietly, being alone for the first time since they had first woken. "Would you like to see your throne?" he asked nipping her shoulder. He saw the corners of her mouth were raised and he turned her before standing with her in his arms. She laughed surprised before wrapping her arms around his shoulders as he led her out of their room and out into their kingdom, nodding to those they passed though they continued on without stop.  
He set her on her feet when they reached the archway that led to the throneroom, which had been completely restored to its former glory, and took a torch from the wall before leading her in. Eleni stared in awe at what the flickering of the flames showed her as they moved along the walkway, how high the ceiling went before she could see no longer, the beauty of the marble of the pillars around them, and then they reached the steps to the thrones. They were both made of the same lovely green marble, with gold plaited patterns of dwarven fashion marked around the base. She took his hand and lifted the ends of her robe as they walked up the steps before Fili sat her on her throne. He held the torch in his hand and looked at her, seeing the nobility in her facial structure, in the fierceness of her eyes. It was not common for a queen to perform duties that were the king's, nor was it usual for a woman to partake in decisions for battle; Eleni was not the traditional woman, nor was she an average queen – she was his queen, his woman, and he loved her.

"You look beautiful up there," he said raking his eyes over her figure.

"Sit beside me," she said with an inviting smile and he placed the torch on the floor before sitting on his throne at her side.

Seeing her hair braided, a soft smile on her face as she looked at him, she looked like the woman she used to be. "I love you my queen," he said lowly, seeing passion ignite behind her eyes.

"My king," she said, her voice as light as a feather. He stirred at the look in her eyes, craving her as he had been as of late every time he looked at her. She stood and stepped down from her throne before stepping to his, the flickering of the torch casting a golden light around them. He pulled the tie of her robe and let it fall from her shoulders to pool on the floor, her lovely body exciting him to full length. She undid his pants before mounting him, hovering over his lap – and losing his patience he raised his hips and entered her, feeling she was not yet as aroused as he was. He captured her mouth wrapping an arm around her waist as he moved slowly, his thumb stroking the small head between her legs feeling her grow wet after a few moments.

Her hands held the back of his throne, her hips rolling to meet his thrusts, his mouth on her neck gently sucking her skin. Her body moved in a relaxing rhythm, his shirt rough against her raised nipples, and then the world turned on its side. She blinked a few times to clear her vision, his arm tightening around her waist to bring her closer.

"Fili," she whispered as the world began spinning, though he mistook it for a sound of pleasure and hardly noticed when her mind left her; but she was stuck between two worlds, pleasure filling her as her finish drew near, and a fuzzy image that grew stronger as Fili's pace grew faster.

_She was sitting in a chair with long hairless legs spread around her. Her eyes were glued to the place between the parted legs, dark curls framing the dark pink skin. A groan sounded and she watched the legs quiver as pain coursed through the woman._

Fili had pulled her braid to arch her neck as his tongue and teeth grazed her flesh. Her legs were quivering as her hips thrusted against him faster, her release building. He gripped her waist and held her still, slowing her, and she moaned unhappily as the sensation of coming ebbed away. She knew he was aware of how close she was and that he also knew from her body's shaking that she wanted him to take her hard and fast, but she knew he wouldn't; not that time. Her arms, she realized, were now around his shoulders as she tried to rub her chest against his rough shirt, her breasts aching to be touched.

_A scream echoed in her ears as she stared between the woman's legs, seeing a small dark head crowning. "One more," she ordered. _

"_I can't," the woman said, exhaustion sounding in her voice. "Please," she begged._

"_Just one more," the woman's husband said soothingly, "and it'll all be over."_

_The muscles in the woman's thighs tensed as she screamed through clenched teeth pushing as she had been told. She grabbed the shoulders of the baby and helped the woman, the child now completely free of his mother's womb as she held him. The boy's cries sounded throughout the room, a beautiful noise to all their ears. She looked up at the new parents for the first time to tell them they had a son, and she saw Fili smiling as he kissed his wife; as he kissed her._

Eleni's mind returned to her and Fili and she was shaking as she moaned having finally reached her release, feeling the warmth of Fili's as he groaned against her chest. Her heart was racing as she slumped against his chest, her cheek on his shoulder.

"Eleni?" he questioned when she continued to lay against him breathing heavily. His worry grew when she did not respond and he pulled her upright to see tears shining her wide eyes, shock etched in her pale face.

She opened her mouth to speak but she could form no words. Fili cupped her face as he sat up, running his thumb under her eyes feeling they were damp.

"What is it?" he asked. "What did you see?"

She looked at him and he saw too many emotions on her face to know whether what she had seen was good. Her lips formed a word but her voice was too quiet for him to understand. It took a few more moments longer before she could speak.  
"We are going to have a son," she said, her voice full of tears.

It took a moment for her words to resignate and he was floored when they did. "When?" he asked breathlessly.

She shook her head. "I'm not sure." They stared at one another before they both broke into large smiles, he kissed her lightly before wrapping his arms around her. They sat like that for a while longer, the flames from the torch flickering lowly as it began to burn out. He wrapped her robe around her, his hands pausing at her stomach, wondering if she was already with child, before they returned to their room.

_**Five months later**_

After the first three months of expecting her to become pregnant they gave up waiting and decided it would happen when it did. They fit into the rhythm of man and wife as well as king and queen, learning they could not always take their time loving each other and sometimes had to finish quickly. All of the stairs in Erebor were now fully restored, allowing them entrance to different parts of the kingdom where they were beginning to start restoration of.

"Are you feeling better?" Dwalin asked as they walked up the Mountain to see the progress of their defenses.

"I am now," she said weakly, taking the hand he offered her as she climbed over a boulder.

"Perhaps you should rest," he offered seeing her colorless face, which had been green at breakfast; as she had looked for a little over a week now.  
"I have been resting for days, I need to see the sun."

And so they continued walking, Eleni quickly growing tired as they climbed.

"If want to know what I think," said Gloin, who had been assisting Dwalin with the gate, which was now finished. "You sound very much like my wife did when she was pregnant with my son, Gimli," Gloin said with pride at his son.

Eleni smiled thinking of his son, who was loud and boorish like his father. But Dwalin saw her smile slip away as shock filled her eyes.

"She moaned and complained for days of feeling unwell before we learned she was with child," he continued but quieted when Dwalin elbowed him. They both looked at Eleni seeing her shock morph into a surprised joy.

Fili had been hours away from the dining hall, exploring new areas of Erebor that they could now reach, and so he as well as Kili had missed supper. And it was getting well into the night when he finally returned to his chambers, having gotten some bread and mead and eaten quickly with his brother. Upon entering their room he saw Eleni in a tub of water, her hair – which she now kept as the elaborate braid he had done a few months previous – was wrapped in a bun so as not to get wet. He smiled before stripping himself of the day's clothes and walking to the tub. She moved forward as he climbed in behind her, settling her in his lap with her back against his chest.

"It has been a long day," he admitted as he wrapped her in his arms.

"It's been a good day," she said quietly and he trailed his hand down his side and pushed her legs apart. "We can't," she said softly as she felt him grow hard.  
"Of course we can," he answered, kissing her jaw.  
"No," she said sitting up feeling both his arousal and his hand as he teased her. "I meant that we _can't_," she insisted, facing him with hard eyes for not listening.

"And why is that?" he questioned wanting nothing more than to make love to his wife. She did little more than raise a brow at him and he sighed before thinking of the reasons why they couldn't.  
She waited as he thought and saw the surprise in his eyes when he stumbled over the thought. He stared hard into her eyes, searching for the answer, and smiled when he saw it. His hand moved over her waist to rest flat against her stomach, and her own smaller hand rested on top of his.  
"We are going to have a son."


	36. Terrible Love and I'm Walking In

_Four months later_

Eleni missed Gilraen and Estel, who had returned to Rivendell a month after the wedding, and wondered how much more he had grown. Those thoughts always led to wondering what kind of mother she would be; something that never left her feeling happy.

Dís however was overjoyed that she would live to see her grandchild's birth, already age was catching up to Fili's mother. But Eleni was more than grateful for her advice.

"You will grow even larger as the baby does," Dís said sewing clothes for her grandchild as she had insisted on doing.

"Will my breasts feel better as the baby grows?" Eleni asked, her breasts aching as they had been as of late.

Dís chuckled. "They feel as though they will burst, don't they?" she asked and Eleni nodded. "I'm afraid they hurt until after the baby is born."

"They will feel like this for that long?" Eleni asked unhappily as she rubbed her round stomach, still in awe that there was a child there.  
"Yes," Dís said smiling. "But now that you no longer feel sick your desire for my son will grow."

Eleni's hands stilled on her belly as she thought of the older woman's words. "Can we still do that?" she asked.

"Of course, and you will want to," Dís said nodding to herself as she continued to sew, remembering her own pregnancy. "And Fili will as well."  
"Even though I look that this?" Eleni asked uncertain. She had never cared for her looks before, she knew she was pretty but it did not matter to her. Though now, being married to Fili, she felt awkward with her stomach growing larger; she enjoyed looking at her protruding stomach and knowing her child was in there, but she did not know how Fili felt when he looked at her, when before she could tell her body had excited him now it did not seem to.

"You would be surprised at how beautiful he may find you," Dís said seeing the concern in the young woman's eyes. "You are with his child, you may never be more beautiful to him than you are now."

Eleni looked up at Fili's mother to see her kind eyes and she gave her a small smile, though she was still not convinced.

That night Eleni sat at Fili's side as they dined, and as he did every night, he rested his hand briefly over her stomach before kissing her. He now not only had to make preparations for more restorations, which were coming underway, he also had to prepare for his son; he had quickly grown tired after the first month of her pregnancy, busy with many things that kept him up late and woke him early.

"Is everything alright?" he asked Eleni concerned, seeing her face grow pale. He took note of the hand on her stomach as she blinked, frightened tears shining in her eyes.  
"Yes, of course," she said, her voice steady, though he knew her too well be fooled. "I just," she trailed off and he watched confusion cross her face before a flash of alarm ignited in her eyes and she stood excusing herself as she left the dining hall. Fili stood to go after her, almost as fearful as his wife.  
"You sit," his mother ordered as she stood. "I will go see to her." And with that Dís marched out of the main hall and after his wife, and he sat fidgeting in his seat wondering what had happened.  
It took a few moments of walking for Dís to reach where Eleni leaned against a wall.

"Something's wrong," Eleni said, her voice and eyes full of tears. Her hands were shaking as they rested on her stomach, her face white from fear.

"Eleni," Dís said calmly, placing a hand on her new daughter's arm, "tell me what it is."

Eleni took a few deep breaths, blinking rapidly to get rid of her tears. "There's a flutter," she said, "it's something bad, isn't it?" she asked, her hands running over her rounded stomach.

"Where?" Dís said and placed her hand on Eleni's stomach. Eleni moved her hand lower and Dís felt what had frightened her. "Oh Eleni," Dís breathed. "This is not bad."  
"It's not?" Eleni asked quickly, impatient for an answer.  
"No," Dís soothed, cupping Eleni's face with her other hand. "This is a good thing."

Eleni stared at Dís waiting for Fili's mother to tell her what it was, feeling her body quivering as she felt something in her stomach twitch again.

"He's kicking," said Dís and watched her words sink in and as relief flooded through Eleni's gray eyes. Eleni smiled overjoyed and Dís smiled in return as she continued to feel the tiny kicks.  
Fili left the table after supper and turned the opposite way from his study to go to their room.  
"I thought we were going over more plans," Kili said following after.

"I will be there in a minute," Fili answered as he rushed towards the hall to his chambers. He burst into the room to see Eleni sitting on their bed with her hands on her stomach. He fell to his knees before her and took her face in his hands.  
"Has something happened?" he asked staring hard at her, looking for despair.  
"It's the baby," she said softly.  
"Is something wrong?" he asked feeling terror squeeze his heart. Eleni looked up at him and smiled as she shook her head. "No, it's the baby," she said emphasizing the word baby. He looked at her stomach before turning his eyes back to hers not understanding. She took his hand placed it on her swollen belly and he waited trying to understand what she was doing. He felt a small thump on his hand, he would have missed it if he had not been focusing so hard on it.

She watched shock splay across his face when he realized what he had just felt, and then saw joy fill his eyes as he looked up at her.

"Our son," he whispered, tears thick in his throat. She nodded and he let out a breathy laugh before kissing her.  
Kili stood in the doorway watching his brother and Eleni in their happiness, it finally sinking in that he would be an uncle. "Can I feel it too?" he asked timidly and Eleni nodded before holding her hand out for him. He missed the kick the first time, though the second one he felt on his fingertips and he laughed. "There's a baby in there," he said astounded. He had never really thought about children before, let alone where they came from. But seeing Eleni's belly, which was round but still small, and feeling the tiny kick he wondered when he would have his own children.  
"That is your nephew," Fili said placing his hand on his brother's shoulder. Kili nodded standing and Fili took his place, kissing first Eleni and then her belly before they both left to return to Fili's study where Ori, Balin, Dwalin, Bifur, and Gloin were waiting.

_One month later_

Eleni woke lying on her back, the only way she could lay that the baby wouldn't kick her for. She turned her head to the side as she settled to fall back into slumber when she felt the bed shake slightly; hardly noticeable if not for the soft grunts that sounded in the quiet room. She opened her eyes, the dim light of the torches on the wall still too bright for her tired eyes, though she saw that the place next to her was empty. Her mind jolted into awareness as her eyes sought out her husband, who she had fallen asleep beside, and saw him sitting on the edge of the bed. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she stared at his bare back, seeing his right arm moving, but then he moaned and she realized what he was doing. She laid still as he finished himself, hearing pleasure and frustration in his sounds, until his body tensed and she heard him gasp. He stood pulling his pants up and crawled beside her, seeing she was awake. He kissed her lightly before rolling on his side away from her.

"Do men often stray from their marriage beds when their wives are pregnant?" Eleni asked quietly as she Dwalin, Kili, and Gloin returned from outside. Her round belly kept her from climbing to see the progress of their defenses, but she stood at the bottom as they yelled down to her.

"Some do," Gloin said carelessly without a thought. "It's a long nine months. Ow!" he yelled whipping around to face Dwalin who had punched him. He angrily turned to where Dwalin pointed to see a distressed looking Eleni and his anger left him as he realized what he said.

"Fili is not that kind of man," Dwalin said giving Gloin one last vicious look before patting her on the shoulder.

"Or dwarf," assured Kili, glaring heavily at Gloin as he walked by Eleni's side; where Fili had asked him to stay until their son was born.

Eleni turned to them and gave them a small smile. "Thank you for being honest with me," she said before walking away slowly holding Kili's arm, her legs and feet tired from her extra weight.

She began to notice subtle changes in her husband, he would grow distant from others, his tone curt, he would hardly touch her; and then one morning would dawn and he would be himself again. This happened often over the next two months, and not once did he ask for her; he took it upon himself to please himself, thinking his wife weak in her pregnancy. Though he learned, as he always did, she was stronger than he assumed.

"You could always talk to me," she said one night when he returned to their chambers, having seen the signs of his desire building unable to find a release.  
Fili sighed placing his hands on her round belly, feeling the thump of their son's kicks. "I cannot ask that of you," he said dejectedly though he wanted to more than anything.  
"Of course you can," she said turning his face towards hers. "Unlike you I don't become grumpy when I'm aroused."

His brows raised as he looked up at her. "And are you now?" he asked having never thought she would be.  
"I have been for months," she said quietly running her hands through his hair as he knelt in front of her.

"You've said nothing," he remarked as he stood, seeing something flash across her eyes before she masked it.  
"Neither have you," she said softly, almost shyly.  
He did not like the uncomfortable look in her eye, and it took him a few moments longer before he understood. He pulled the laces of her dress seeing clearly the unease that told him he had been right and cursed himself for not seeing it before. "My desire for you hasn't changed," he told her as her dress fell to the floor, "only that I can do nothing with it."

"That cannot be true," she said unbelieving, unhappy that he was looking at her unclothed.

"Oh but it is," he insisted, the proof in the stiffening bulge in his pants. "These," he said running his hands over the few marks that lined her stomach from it stretching, "these I love." And he knelt again to kiss them before he stood. "And these," said Fili running his hands along the sides of her breasts, "have you noticed they've grown?" he asked.

"I've hardly noticed anything else," she admitted. "They are sore."

"Are they?" He heard her breathe uncomfortably as he ran a thumb over one, seeing it in her eyes that they hurt.

"They are ready for a baby," she said twisting to get away from his touch, though he persisted.

He smirked before taking a nipple in his mouth, seeing from her face that was what they were aching for. He pushed her on the bed before continuing to suckle one while kneading the other, roughly squeezing and pinching hearing her sounds of enjoyment. He moved his mouth to her other breast and ran his hand down her side and between her legs, feeling she was in fact aroused. He berated himself for not having spoken with her sooner, something that had left them both in agonized wanting. His thumb stroked between her legs as his fingers acted in place of him, listening to her moans grow more frequent.

Her back arched as much as it was able with her swollen belly, her breasts delighted in receiving what she had not known they craved, his fingers buried deep within her giving her what she knew she wanted, her legs quivering as she soared over the edge. She laid on her back with him between her legs gasping for air, having not felt that for months.

"Don't ever think you're not beautiful," he said kissing her stomach before laying beside her. She smiled slightly at him, her fingers light on his face.  
"What about you?" she asked softly and he shrugged before undoing his pants and sliding them down over his hips. She watched as he took himself in his hand and began stroking, a thought crossing her mind. "Fili," she said and he turned his head towards her as his hand continued moving. She placed her hand over his wrist stilling his movements.

"What?" he asked impatiently wanting to continue.  
"Stand up," she ordered and he stared at her incredulous. She nudged him until he complied and stood.  
"What are you doing?" he asked confused.

"I can't lay on my stomach," she explained before getting down on her knees in front of him.  
"Eleni, you don't," he said but she interrupted him.

"I know," Eleni said smiling assuredly before running her hands along his thighs, hearing his breathing deepen.

He looked down at her, her hands blazing against his skin. He had imagined her doing this, several times in fact, but he had never thought she would. His jaw dropped but no sound left him, her mouth warm around him, her tongue rough against his sensitive skin. He resisted the urge to thrust into her mouth, shuddering when her teeth brushing against him.

She felt his legs quiver the further she took him in her mouth, his head grazing the back of her throat, his hands in her hair as he moaned. He barely lasted a minute longer, his knees shaking as he came, crying out her name. He helped her stand then laid her down before rolling on his side and taking her in his arms.

"That is almost as good as what you do," she said and he kissed her, his hands running over her stomach. They lay quietly for a while, happier than they had been in a long while.

"Two months longer," he said breathlessly, feeling their son kick beneath his hand.

* * *

_Renee: I'm glad you enjoyed the throne scene, I liked making her the one to completely lose herself in the sex. I don't ever take offense to critiscim so long as the person is respecting me enough to help me with my writing, rather than just being mean. I'm glad you think it's better, it's still not quite the way I want it but I may go back after a few days and then rework it again._


	37. The Panic's Out

_Renee: I'll start by saying I had just finished this chapter when I got your review, I'm so glad I saw it before I posted it. I'm glad you liked the last moment, it was one of my favorites between them. I was excited to write this chapter, I've been waiting to give them a baby. To answer your question i do not have a tumblr, I've been very tempted though.  
_

* * *

**_Three weeks later_**

Eleni stirred feeling something on her belly and hearing something faint. It took her a few moments before she realized she was hearing a slight whispering as a hand stroked her stomach, and a few moments longer before she could understand what was being said.

"Your grandmother made you a little bear, as black as Beorn. Your mother loves him very dearly. He's a very big man and an even bigger bear, but he's really very nice."

She smiled at hearing Fili talk to their son, his head resting on her stomach as he whispered quietly.

"We're all very excited to see you, your uncle Kili can hardly stop talking about the great warrior you'll be. It's alright if you're not, you may be more like Ori. But your mother and I will love you no matter what."

Eleni listened without moving, knowing this was between him and their son. He continued rubbing her stomach, the baby was still as though he was listening too. It was a long while before Fili spoke again.

"I love you," he whispered. "I promise I'll do my best to be a good father. I remember only vaguely my own and my uncle loved Kili and I, but he was hard on us. I won't be like that, I'll let you know you can make mistakes. That you don't always have to be strong."  
Tears sprung to Eleni's eyes as she listened to the sadness in Fili's voice, to the tears in it.

"Not even your mother is, though don't ever think her weak. She is the strongest woman you'll ever know. But she loves so fiercely, she'll be a good mother." Fili kissed the last place his son kicked before moving to lay beside his wife, seeing she was awake.

"You will be a great father," she said softly.  
"What if I'm not?" he asked, voicing the concerns that were growing as large as her stomach.

"You've cared for Kili his entire life," she said and he shook his head.  
"It's not the same," he insisted.  
"You love me," she said and he looked at her confused. "I did not make loving me easy, but you did. You will be a great father," she said, filling his eyes with tears.

He tried to blink them away but he couldn't seem to keep them at bay. "What if I said I was afraid?" he asked quietly.  
"I would tell you that I was too," she answered and he pulled her to him, holding her tight in his arms. He reveled in the feel of her, her round stomach against his side.  
"Maybe he could stay in there for another nine months," he said and she gave a small laugh.

"We'll get through this," she said kissing his cheek, soothing his fears.

_A month and a half later_

"Are you sure you feel well?" Fili asked again causing her to roll her eyes.

"Yes," she said irritably, "your mother said the same thing happened to her. Go, look after the reparations I will be alright."

Fili gave her a hard look, not wanting to be farther than an hour from her after the false labor pains the night previous. Though he reluctantly agreed after feeling the heat of her own irate stare and bid her and his brother farewell; her moods having been greatly changing as of late. Though the further he moved through Erebor, the hours passing as they continued walking to end of the Mountain, the more he felt uneasy as though he never should have left her.

Eleni sat tiredly on the bed, longing for the feel of the sun on her skin having been kept inside for many days. She placed a hand on her lower back and slowly stood, her back aching more and more the larger her stomach grew, and began walking for the door.

"Where are you going?" Kili asked alarmed. "Is something wrong?"  
"Yes," grumbled Eleni pushing him aside, "I have not felt the sun nor the wind in a week and I am losing my mind."

"You cannot go outside," exclaimed Kili watching her waddle as he followed her out into the hall.  
"I cannot stay in here," she said, the need to feel moving wind overcoming her with an urgent need. She felt a sharp pain in her lower stomach and she winced before she kept moving, it subsiding a few seconds later. After an hour, to which Kili gave up and carried her, she sat happily beside Dwalin feeling the warm winds of late summer. Dwalin was telling her that half of the stationaries had been built and anchored to the Mountain, and that the pulley system for the Gate was being constructed. Kili watched her closely seeing her wince occasionally as she had the night before, though seeing she was not alarmed he stayed his tongue. Her brows furrowed and she grunted softly holding her stomach as a contraction tore through her.  
"Eleni," Kili said moving quickly to her side when he saw the pain lasted longer. Her breathing was heavy but it evened out a minute later and she brushed aside his concerns. Though hardly ten minutes later she gasped as she felt another contraction and again she waved his worries away. He watched a twitch of pain cross her face several times over the next hour, wondering if the pains from the night before had not in fact been a sign of labor, and then she moaned.  
"Gloin get the midwife," Dwalin yelled helping Eleni stand, that contraction having been not even five minutes after the last. "Do you need me to carry you?" he asked worriedly.  
"No," she said and they almost believed her from the look of relief on her face. "I think I just need to stand."

Though hardly four minutes later she nearly whimpered as another spasm went through her, needing Dwalin to help her stand.

"We are taking her inside," Kili ordered looking very serious, something he did not look often. He scooped her in his arms before carrying her towards the Front Gate, feeling her tense as she moaned only three minutes later, this time it lasting for almost a minute. He saw the midwife, a short young dwarf woman with red hair, and he followed her towards the room they had prepared for Eleni. Ten minutes later and he set her on the bed, having held her through three spasms hearing her cries. "I thought you said she was not in labor," Kili said harshly to the midwife.  
"From what I was told it did not sound like it," she answered shortly helping him sit Eleni up on the bed. Eleni grit her teeth and groaned holding her stomach, making Kili panic at the fact that she was about to birth his nephew.

"I have to tell Fili," he said realizing his brother was hours away near the end of his kingdom.

"Don't leave me," Eleni pleaded, and once Kili looked at her wide fearful eyes he found that he couldn't.  
"Dwalin get Fili," he yelled and heard Dwalin's agreement before the older dwarf began running. It was then Kili thought that they needed a better way to get through the Mountain, for it would be hours before Dwalin reached Fili and then more hours before Fili made it to them.

"I need your help," the midwife said and Kili moved to the she-dwarf's side. He placed Eleni's foot in the foothold on the end of the bed, seeing her womanhood bared before him.  
"What is that?" he asked alarmed at seeing his brother's wife as he was.  
"That would be the water," the midwife said having seen many women's water breaking before. "Have you never been with a woman?" she asked seeing his shocked face as he continued to stare between the queen's widely spread legs.

"Of course I have," he said embarrassed before moving to Eleni's side once more. "Everything'll be alright," he assured her as he stroked her hair.  
"Fili won't make it," she said before she cried out in pain, this one lasting two minutes.  
"No," Kili agreed, "he won't."

"This isn't what I saw."

…

Dwalin, after running for two hours, finally reached the back of the Mountain where Fili was. He leaned against a wall as he tried to catch his breath, looking for the king.

"What is it?" Balin asked seeing his brother in a panicked state.

"Where is the king?" he asked between breaths.

"He returned to his study a few hours ago," Balin said wondering what had happened.

"He's not here!" Dwalin yelled gaining the attention of those around him.

"Tell me what is going on," Balin ordered his younger brother as he started running back the way he came.  
"The queen is having the baby," he called back and Balin stopped shocked.

Dwalin continued running, his heart beating painfully in his chest. He ran across Ori after an hour and hailed the young dwarf.

"Is everything alright?" he asked quietly as Dwalin huffed and puffed, his hands on his knees with sweat pouring down his face.

"No," Dwalin growled. "Tell Fili Eleni's having the baby," he said knowing he would not make it to the king faster than Ori could.

"She's having the baby?" Ori asked excitedly before worry marred his features. "I'll go right away," he said before running as fast as his short legs could carry him.

By the time Ori reached Fili's study, where he had just left to see to the reparations when Dwalin found him, two more hours had passed and poor Ori was tired out. He burst into Fili's study hardly able to draw a breath.

"Have you seen to what I asked?" Fili questioned without looking up, his eyes trailing over plans for his son's room. "Ori?" Fili asked finally looking up when he was given no answer. He took one look at Ori's red face and wide eyes before leaping to his feet and running to where Eleni was.

"I missed it," he said upon seeing his brother's awed face outside the room his wife was in.

"Twenty minutes," Kili agreed, five hours having passed since Eleni had been placed on the bed.

"How is she?" Fili asked and saw a queer smile on his brother's face.

"Your wife?" he asked and Fili nodded confused. "She is well, very tired but well."

"My son?" Fili asked moving towards the door.  
"Go see," Kili said and Fili gave his brother one last searching look before entering the room.

Eleni leaned against many pillows on the bed, her face a mask of joy as she stared down at the tiny child in her arms. She looked up at Fili and smiled before beckoning him closer. He was surprised to see short golden hair atop the baby's head, his hair.

"I thought you said he had dark hair," he said watching the baby's small mouth sucking his wife's nipple as he fed.

"He will have dark hair," she said stroking the baby's cheek.

Fili stared at the infant in shock, a thought crossing his mind, and then he lifted the blanket that was wrapped around his child. "I have a daughter," he said astounded. He sat on the edge of the bed, wrapping an arm around Eleni's shoulder, and stared down at his little girl.  
"What shall we name her?" Eleni asked before moving her daughter to her other breast.

Fili was quiet a while as he thought, running his fingers lightly over his daughter's head. "My mother had wanted a girl," he said absentmindedly. "She had a name chosen, Nali. I always liked it."

"Nali," Eleni said feeling the name on her tongue. "It's perfect."

"Yes she is," Fili said still in shock though very pleased. He turned his eyes from the child to look at his wife, seeing the joy in her eyes – a mother's joy – and kissed her soundly on the lips.

* * *

_I chose her name from the poem Tolkien got the dwarves' names from, it was even in the same line Fili and Kili's were in. (Part of why I chose it) Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.  
_


	38. It Takes an Ocean Not To

_Et Eärello Endorenna utúlien. Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar-metta - Out of the Great Sea to Middle-earth I have come. __In this place will I abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world._

* * *

_**Your skin, your skin and bones  
turn into something beautiful.  
You know I love you so.**_

**_Your skin, your skin and bones_**  
**_turn into something beautiful_**  
**_You know for you I'd bleed myself dry._**

_**Yellow by Coldplay (Sara Bareilles version)**_

* * *

"I made this in chance that, well," Dís said indicating that Eleni had birthed a daughter rather than the son she had foreseen.

"It is beautiful," Eleni said fingering the little dress made in the color of Fili's royal blue.

Dís smiled as she looked down at her granddaughter sleeping in her mother's arms. "Fili told me what you consider naming her. It was my grandmother's name, a good woman. A strong dwarf."

"I hope she will inherit some of that," Eleni said running her thumb along her daughter's hand as she held her finger.

"If she's anything like you," Dís said with a smile stroking Eleni's dark hair.

Eleni's heart warmed at the way in which Dís mothered her, it having been a long time since her own mother had perished. "I love the little Beorn you made her."

"He is very excited to see her," Dís said having seen the large man who had arrived the day previous. "And you," she said as an afterthought.

Eleni smiled before standing, placing her daughter on the bed to put her in the dress, waking her from her sleep. "Shh," Eleni soothed before she started singing.

_Et Eärello Endorenna utúlien. Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar-metta._

It was most uncommon for the tongue of elves to be spoken, or sung, in a dwarf's kingdom; though Eleni's voice lifted and lilted, calming her daughter, and it fell so naturally from her lips it was nothing but lovely. But it was not an elvish song, only sung in their tongue; it was Elendil's oath, a song Estel knew very well from the many times she sang it to him; a song she knew from when her father had sung it to her.

That was not the first time Fili, who had entered the room without being noticed, had heard her sing that song, though it touched him deeply still. She had told him what the words meant, the words of a king, a promise. Love swelled in his heart as he watched his wife care for their daughter, something that came so naturally to her, something he was still learning. His hands seemed too large to hold her, strong enough to break her if he held her too tight.

"Are you three ready?" he asked revealing his presence, earning him a smile from Eleni as she finished dressing their daughter.

"Yes we are," Eleni said lifting her from the bed and moving to show Fili her new dress.  
"She's beautiful." Fili smiled as she pulled his finger to her mouth and began sucking on it. He looked from his daughter to his wife and kissed her lightly before looking back at their child.  
"Are you ready?" Eleni asked softly to which he nodded.

The ceremony for the naming of their daughter was held in the throne room, Kili, Dís, Beorn, and those who had been in Thorin's Company were there. Eleni placed their daughter in the crook of Fili's left arm and with his right hand he made the symbol for Mahal over her little head. She laid in Fili's arms looking up at him with her mother's gray eyes and he smiled down at her.

"In the name of Mahal this child is blessed," Oin declared loudly. "What is her chosen name?"

"The name of my mother's grandmother, a good and just queen; Nali," Fili said looking out at his family and friends, seeing their happy faces; even Dwalin and Gloin were smiling. He then looked to Eleni and they shared a smile before turning their eyes back to their daughter.

For the first few months Nali slept beside Fili and Eleni's bed in the wooden bassinet Dwalin and Kili had made for her. Their days quickly fell back into routine, though Beorn had stayed a little while to see both Eleni and her daughter. Fili was usually awak when Nali fed during the night, an arm around Eleni's shoulder as she nursed. When Nali began to sleep through the night her bed was moved to the room Eleni had first been given, with a rocking chair Kili had made for Eleni to sit in; it was sturdy and she loved the gift dearly, though Kili was not at all a craftsman and it was not pleasing to look at.

Eleni woke one night to a soft gurgling she knew to be Nali's and she rolled towards Fili's side of the bed to see him sitting with his back against the bedframe and Nali laying on his bent legs, giggling at the way Fili made the little bear dance.

Dís had seen the yearning for the outdoors in Eleni's eyes and they had arrived at a routine that allowed Eleni to resume strengthening their defenses with Dwalin while Dís watched Nali, and every few hours Eleni would return and feed her. Dís came to love Eleni as her own child, seeing in her the woman her son had fallen in love with, greatly enjoying how they would talk while Nali nursed. A few months after giving birth, walking up and down the Mountain and over a great many stairs, Eleni had lost most of the weight she had gained while she was with child. Fili had noticed her insecurities with her body when she was pregnant, and even after, which his mother told him was a normal thing; she also was sure to tell him that it was his duty to show Eleni he still desired her.

And so over those first few months after Nali was born Fili would kiss his wife, his tongue lingering against her own, leaving him stiffened painfully at how much he truly did desire her. The midwife who had birthed his daughter had explained to him that for three months he should not take Eleni to bed, her womanhood still healing from labor. And so he waited impatiently, refusing to pleasure himself so that he could fully enjoy his wife when the time came. So while he waited for that time, his desire growing larger by the day, he forced his mind on other things; his duties as king, as a father, as a brother.

"Nyr has a lovely beard, wouldn't you say Kili?" Fili asked one day while writing a letter to the Elvenking, who's son had come to Nali's naming ceremony as well.

"I suppose so," Kili said awkwardly as he thought of the midwife, the young dwarf woman with the auburn hair.

"She has been a good friend to Eleni, she has taken a great liking to the she-dwarf," Fili said looking at his brother out of the corner of his eye, seeing his small smile and his reddened cheeks.

"Yes, Eleni has told me."

Fili smirked as he thought of the day when Eleni had brought to his attention that his brother was showing interest in the young midwife. "She would make a good wife," Fili noted as he continued writing, and if Kili had been paying more mind to his brother rather than to thoughts on Nyr he would have noticed what his older brother was doing then.

"I suppose she would," was what Kili said, thinking of her red hair that she kept in a long braid, and the short beard that covered all of her jaw but her chin.

"She is a very lovely dwarf," said Fili no longer able to write for he was trying not to laugh at the silly smile on Kili's face.  
"She is," Kili agreed before it dawned on him what Fili had done. "It is concerning how interested you are in someone other than your wife," he said embarrassed.  
"I was simply making a statement," Fili said holding up his hands in surrender before beginning to write again.  
Kili fidgeted in his seat as he struggled with wanting to ask to ask his brother and not wanting to hear his brother's teasing. "Do you think a woman like Nyr would welcome my affections?" he finally asked, already seeing the smirk on his brother's face. Though when Fili turned to him there wasn't a drop of teasing in his face.

"She would be a fool not to," Fili said honestly. "If you want my opinion, I think she may find you of interest too." Fili watched a smile spread across his brother's face before Kili masked it and looked at him seriously, something Fili chuckled at before turning back to the letter.

"How many more days now?" Kili asked knowing it pained his brother to not be with Eleni.  
Fili sighed before answering; "Exactly three days until it has been six weeks since Nali was born." It had been a long while since he had been with her, and it being so close to when he could have her again was weighing him down with longing.

Though the three days passed and the hours drew on slowly until he could join her for bed, thinking now the only thing to stand in his way of finally getting what he had been craving would be Eleni herself. She could still hardly stand him seeing her unclothed, though nothing delighted him more. When he finished for the night he stalked towards the hall to his chamber, quietly peeking into Nali's room to see her fast asleep, before bursting into his chambers to see Eleni tying her sleeping gown around her.  
"Fili," she said softly and he rushed towards her and captured her lips, forcing his tongue in her mouth, already hardened fully. She released a breath at the feel of his firm hands holding her, having craved him as well. But she still pulled away when he reached for the tie of her gown, turning around to move away. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back to his chest, his hand holding the wrist that covered the tie. "I will tear this off of you," he growled causing something to flutter in her stomach.

"Fili," she said and he released her when he heard the reluctance in her voice. She watched as he hastily removed his shirt and then his pants, seeing the proof of his desire clearly.

"I need you," he said desperately, throbbing painfully. "It has been over a year since last I had you and _I need you_." He moved to the bed and pulled the sheets down. "Get in the bed," he ordered, barely able to restrain himself from throwing her onto the bed and taking her whether she was ready or not.  
She stared at him concerned, seeing the frustration and the yearning his eyes.

"Get in the bed and take your gown off," he said before moving towards the wall. He began putting out the torches, casting the part of the room they hung on in darkness; he wanted to see her while they made love but if darkness was what she needed to let him love her then he would give her darkness. He reached the last torch when he felt her hand on his arm, stilling him as he reached to put it out too. Her breathing was deep as she stared at him, the flames flickering around the desire in her own eyes. And he watched as her slender fingers pulled the tie loose and the dress fell from her shoulders to the floor.

"Oh," he breathed as he stared at her, seeing she was even lovelier than he had imagined. His eyes moved over her breasts, still swollen with milk, then to her stomach which new lines were drawn into from it stretching and shrinking, and then to her long shapely legs or more importantly what was between them.

She found that she could no longer deny him what he wanted, knowing she was being petty to worry over how her body now looked would affect him; but all doubts were extinguished when she watched his eyes rake over her, seeing him raise even more, seeing in his eyes that it was paining him.

"I don't think I can last long enough to please you," he said honestly looking back up at her face.

"You can please me in other ways," she said softly, running her hands along his chest. "At least until you are ready again."

He had been right, he had not lasted but for a few minutes after entering her – though after he kissed his way down her body, pausing at her stomach to press his lips against each individual line, and then settled between her legs. He brought her to the edge before ceasing the flicking of his tongue and she moaned unhappy when he kissed his way back up her body, her finish ebbing away without having reached it. He paused at her breasts this time, knowing should he take a nipple in his mouth her milk would come, and upon tasting it he found that it was not entirely pleasant. But he had always loved her breasts, with his hands or mouth, and so he continued suckle one while kneading the other.

She twitched beneath him at the feel of his mouth and hands on her breasts, having always enjoyed the way he lavished them. She could not stifle her moans as his mouth moved her to other breast and the feel of his lips around it, aching with the need for him inside of her again. A while later he finally released her breasts and moved back to her mouth, tasting the bitterness of her milk on his tongue. This time it was her who barely lasted a few minutes when he entered her again, though she came twice more before he finished. They laid together, their bodies sticky with sweat, their breathing labored, fully satisfied for the first time in over a year.

"I love you," she whispered and he smiled before kissing her softly.  
"I love you," he said in return. "Tell me you know I find you beautiful, that I desire you."  
"I know you do," she said quietly, cupping his face and running her thumb along his cheek.

"Then what is it?" he asked not understanding where her insecurities came from.  
She shrugged before answering. "I do not always find myself as desirable."

Fili stared at her astounded before sitting up and staring down at her. "How can that be possible?"

"My body is different than it used to be," she said uncomfortably, not wanting to speak of this.  
"Yes, you look like a woman," he said earning himself a sharp look.  
"Do you mean to say I did not used to?"

"Of course you looked like a woman, but you were very thin and sharp. Now you are soft and warm, and you are not much bigger than you used to be," he said running his hand along her side. "But if you must know, I think you are beautiful. Perhaps more so now."

She gave him one more searching look before huffing and laying across his chest. "I never thought I would be a woman who needed a man to tell her she was beautiful to actually feel it," she grumbled causing him to chuckle. "What is it you have done to me?" she asked lifting her head to look at him.  
"I made you love me," he said simply, almost smugly. She scoffed before laying her head back on his chest, though she smiled because he was right. She was as different from the woman she had been when he first met her as her body was; but he was wrong, it wasn't because she loved him, it was because he loved her.

* * *

Ali: thank you, I'm glad you thought so.  
Renee: She will probably be a daddy's girl, and their son will most likely be a momma's boy. I cannot wait to do more Kili, I have such plans for him.


	39. Break, Company

_Sorry this one took a bit longer; I started a story with Thorin as the love interest. So I am now alternating between this story, a story with Thranduil, and the Thorin story. But the more reviews I get the faster I put chapters *wink wink. hint hint* _

_Renee: She does really need her own son, cause Estel's growing up and he's about to be an adult. I'm glad you enjoyed the Kili matchmaking, I loved writing it. I enjoyed writing him in this chapter too. _

_Khagun/Khagam - mother/father in Khuzdul_

* * *

Eleni looked up surprised at the door being thrown open but she relaxed when she saw it was Kili. "What is it?" she asked upon seeing the unhappiness on his face. She saw from the flicking of his eyes back and forth that he was considering whether to tell her.

"I saw Nyr today," he said quietly, coming to sit beside her on the bed. He was so used to seeing Nali being fed that Eleni's exposed breast did not affect him as it used to.  
"Did you?" Eleni said pleasantly, not understanding Kili's despair.

"Yes I brought her flowers," he said quickly without looking at her, not wanting to see the teasing on her face.

"Did she like them?" Eleni asked, knowing very well Nyr had for she had just left hardly ten minutes before Kili came.  
Kili was quiet a while before finally looking at her. "I am unsure, I want her to."  
"Oh Kili," Eleni said cupping his cheek. "You really like her." She smiled when he nodded pitifully.  
"I have never acted like this before," he said, his brows furrowed.  
"Like what?"

"A fool," he exclaimed. "A love-struck fool."

"But you are a love-struck fool," Eleni said causing him to stare at her astounded. "She is different than any woman you know; she is immune to your charm, your being a prince does not matter in her feelings, she is a strong dwarf woman you would be lucky to marry." Eleni knew that these things were what was bothering him, further proof in the slumping of his shoulders.

"I guess I am," he said quietly and she smiled sympathetically. "Why did you fall in love with Fili?" he asked surprising her.

"I do not think it would be the same," she said not entirely knowing the answer to that question.

"Well you are both very," he trailed off trying to find the word, "independent."

Eleni took a few moments to think and Kili stared at his niece while he waited. "I think most of the reason I loved Fili was because he loved me," she said finally. "He is warm and kind, caring and brave and loyal. He doesn't always think before he speaks or leaps into action but he is very honorable. There are not many men who are all of those things, the way I used to be."  
Kili listened, seeing why she loved his brother. "The way you are coming to be again," he said softly, earning himself a smile. "Can I ask you something else?"

"Of course," she said as she pulled her drowsy daughter from her breast and began burping her, and absentmindedly Kili pulled her dress back over her breast to cover her.

"Do you find me handsome?" he asked finally, almost stumbling over his words. He chanced a look at her to see if she would make fun and saw her biting her lip to not smile.

"By dwarf standards probably not," she admitted. "But maybe," she said before trailing off, staring hard at him. "Here, hold Nali."

He held out his arms and his niece was placed in them, her tiny body snug in large arms. She looked up at him with large gray eyes, so similar to her mother's, and she smiled her sweet toothless smile.

"Sit on the edge of the bed," Eleni order and he stood confused before sitting where she pointed.

He felt Eleni settle behind him and then her fingers as they took down his messy hair. His heart warmed as he realized what she was doing, and what her actions meant.

"How you let your hair get like this is beyond me," she grumbled trying to unknot his hair. It was a long while before she could run her fingers smoothly through his brown hair and then she sat back and thought of what to do. She decided to give him the same two braids that hung in front his ears as Fili's did, but she made another two braids on either side of his head with the hair that Fili typically tied back, and then she brought the four braids and the rest of the hair that gathered in the front of his head and tied it back fastening it with a clip. "There," she said when she was finished, moving around to his front to see Nali had fallen asleep.

"Does it look better?" he asked handing Eleni her sleeping daughter.  
"You say that as if it could look worse," she teased before taking Nali to her room for the night. "Kili," she said turning around to face him again. He looked up at her seeing her struggling to make the words she wanted to say leave her mouth. She opened her mouth to speak but sighed and smiled softly. "I think you look very handsome," she said at last, though he could see in her eyes that wasn't what she had wanted to say.  
"Eleni," he called after she turned to take Nali back to her room. She too waited as he formed his words. "I love you too," he said and he saw from the gathering of tears in her eyes that was what she had wanted to say, though she nodded and left the room quickly after. Fili had told him that he reminded Eleni of her brother, and that it hurt her sometimes. And he could see, in moments such as the one that had just occurred, she had loved her brother dearly and that it had destroyed a part of her to lose him. But then there were moments, namely when she was with Fili, where he could see she was starting to mend. He smiled to himself before leaving the king and queen's halls to go to his own, stopping at his brother's study to bid him goodnight before he did.

It was another hour before Fili left his study, having spent most of it with Balin, Dwalin, and Ori going over more plans. Their defenses were almost completely constructed and starting the next month the steel enforced gate would be put in place on the pulley system at the Front Gate.

"I don't think I have ever seen Kili's hair look so nice," he said leaning his back against the wooden tub. "Not even our mother could make him sit still long enough to do something with it."

"He is serious in his liking Nyr," Eleni said, her head on his chest with his fingers running through her wet hair.  
"You care for him greatly," he commented, having seen from how much she and his brother were beginning to see of each other that he was right. "That does not have to be a bad thing."

She sighed against him, the beads from the end of the braids that framed his mouth cool on her forehead. "I know it doesn't," she agreed. "I do," she said though she was unable to say more and it frustrated her.  
"Perhaps with more time you may even call him your brother," Fili said quietly knowing she was thinking of Arathorn. "But we do not need to speak of these things," he said pulling her to sit higher on his lap.

"What is it you would like to speak of?" she asked coyly, knowing exactly to what he was referring to.  
"I do not want to speak of anything," he answered smirking before pulling her head towards him and capturing her lips, feeling her smile against his mouth. He leaned further back as she raised herself on her knees and settled with a leg on either side of him. Water splashed on the floor from their movements, spilling over the sides of the tub from each thrust. He ached to have her on her back and so he wrapped an arm around her waist and stood, staying inside her as he walked to the bed and settled them both on the sheets.

_A year and a half later _

"Khagun!" Nali yelled as she flew onto the bed. "Khagam, Khagun ge' up," she said waking both Eleni and Fili.

"What is it?" Fili asked rubbing his eyes as Nali settled on his lap. Her first word had been father, and Fili's smile had been wide on his face.

"Uncle Kili has ta talk to you," she said wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek.  
"Khagun, I hungry," Nali said crawing over Fili's lap to settle in her mother's arms.  
"Go see what Kili needs, I'll see you in the dining hall," Eleni said bending low to kiss Fili before taking their daughter to eat.

"Has something happened?" Fili asked when he found Kili in his study.  
"It's good," Kili answered smiling. "I would like to ask my king's permission to court Nyr," he said proudly.  
"She has consented?" Fili asked knowing his brother and Nyr had been growing close. "And her father?"

"Yes, her father has given his consent" Kili answered.

"Why is he not here?" Fili asked confused. His confusion grew when Kili smiled shyly.  
"I have not asked her yet, I was wondering what I should say."  
Fili smirked at his brother's red cheeks, knowing how Kili would stammer over his words when he asked Nyr. It never ceased to amaze him how much the she-dwarf affected his little brother. "You could start with telling her you love her," he offered before motioning for Kili to follow him.  
"I would not know how to say it."  
"It's simple," Fili said clapping his brother on the shoulder, "you just say it."  
"That's what you did with Eleni?" Kili asked unconvinced.

"In a way," Fili said slowly, thinking of how he had begged Eleni to let him love her. "She proved very difficult, but she was well worth it."

Kili contemplated his brother's words, seeing how happy his brother and Eleni were. "I suppose I could just tell her."

"I would first complement her," Fili said before pushing Kili towards where Nyr and Eleni were talking. He smiled encouragingly to Kili when his brother looked back wary, but he watched as Kili walked to where Nyr was and kissed her cheek softly causing her to blush. "He wishes to court her," Fili explained when Eleni reached him.  
"Has he gotten her father's approval," she asked and he nodded before he led her to where their daughter was eating.

"Can I be a bear?" Nali asked looking up wondrously at Beorn.  
He gave a hearty laugh before ruffling her hair. "No little star you can't, but when you're older maybe your mother will let you ride on my back."

"Can I!" Nali asked excited looking to Eleni who was giving Beorn a stern look.  
"When you're older," she said before wiping the crumbs from Nali's mouth. "I see you got here safely," she said to Beorn as he bent low to wrap his arms around her.

"Took me less than four days," he boasted happily before shaking hands with Fili.

"We are glad to have you," Fili said knowing Eleni was happy to see him.

They finished the day's first meal and Fili bid Eleni and Nali, and Beorn a good day before leaving to see to those who were finishing the gate. It was hours later before he saw Kili again, and from the broad smile on his brother's face he knew his day had been good. "She agreed then I presume," Fili said teasingly.  
"Yes she did," Kili said happily.  
"Congratulations brother," Fili said hugging him tightly. "Now don't mess it up," he ordered with a smile and Kili laughed.

"When have I ever messed anything up?" he asked looking offended, though they both began laughing moments later.


	40. This Quiet Company

_Renee: Thank you so much for your review, it made my day receiving it. I tried to incorporate them all, but there's so many. So it's great to hear that you think I'm doing a good job. I'm glad you can see how much I respect Tolkien's work cause I try to stay as true as possible to his creation as I can, just because I love it so much. I just loved doing Kili last chapter, he's so sweet and youthful. I'm glad I could introduce you to their song, I heard it and just fell in love in with it. If that's your cup of tea I'd suggest Bon Iver if you haven't heard him already; I think he is just the bees knees (to quote my grandmother). I would also recommend listening to the Birdy version of Terrible Love, it's very different from The National but it's beautiful in its own right. _

* * *

_A year later _

"How many days does Kili plan to remain absent?" Eleni asked as she slowly lowered herself on the bed.  
"I honestly haven't the courage to go to his room and ask," Fili said laying his head on her stomach. It had been three days since last he had seen his brother, three days since Kili and Nyr's wedding. Catching his brother as he took his wife to bed was something Fili greatly did not want to happen.

"Can you imagine if we had had three days together?" Eleni asked running her fingers through his hair.  
"We wouldn't have been able to move I would have taken you so many times," he said smiling. "Do you think this is it?" he asked placing his hand flat on her belly and feeling a tiny kick.

"Nali has already said she loves her little brother. Do you think she has the gift of foresight?"

"I have never known you to call that a gift," he said moving to lay beside her.

"What if she does?" Eleni asked, not wanting her daughter to have to carry that burden.  
"Then she does," he answered simply. "Other than a few scars and memories, I'd say you have turned out wonderfully." He smiled at the disbelieving look in her eye before kissing her softly, wrapping her in his arms as they settled for the night.

"I'm very glad you have decided to return to your duties," Fili said when Kili walked into his study the next day.  
"I have the perfect wife," Kili said happily, coming to settle in a chair as he thought of Nyr.

Fili rolled his eyes chuckling as he sorted through papers. The dwarves he had sent a few years previous to help Bard and the Lake-men rebuild Dale would be returning at the end of the week, the town near his kingdom beautiful and restored. If Ori's math was correct, once the dwarves returned, Erebor may fully be reconstructed within five years.

"In that, I must tell you, you are wrong," said Fili.  
Kili was silent for a few moments before he answered; "That's very true," he said quietly and Fili smiled. Kili had had a hard time keeping his tears from falling when Eleni had first said she loved him a few months ago, and seeing her own tears had made keeping his at bay all the more difficult.

"Nali has declared that her little brother will be the best brother ever," Fili said repeating his daughter's words from a few days before.

"I wonder if she will be like Eleni was with her brother," Kili said absentmindedly before realizing what Fili's words actually meant. "Did she see it?" he asked wondrously.

"We are unsure," Fili admitted. "Eleni does not think Nali truly understands and I think she may be right."

"What does she think it was?" Kili asked wondering how Nali had seen it.  
Fili sat back in his chair and looked at his brother. "She said it was a dream. She came to our bed so excited saying how great he was, his hair dark like Eleni's his eyes blue like mine."

Kili smiled at the look on his brother's face, full of amazement and excitement at the prospect of his son. "That's the baby Eleni saw herself give birth to," Kili said remembering when Fili had told him what Eleni had seen a few years ago.  
Fili nodded before shaking his head to clear his thoughts as his mind returned to the plans for the week. Though what he had not accounted for was Eleni going into labor a month early.

"You really do not need to be worrying so much," Eleni said as she sat against the pillows on a bed, Nyr sitting beside her.  
"I don't see how you're _not_ worrying," he said panicking slightly at her being in labor.  
Eleni rolled her eyes unable to feel sympathy with her husband at the moment. "I cannot image you being at Nali's birth," she grumbled before she felt a contraction and she placed a hand on her belly, a noise sounding in the back of her throat.  
"That was less than five minutes from the last one," Fili said rushing to her side, seeing the pain on her face last for over a minute. "So this is," he said trailing off looking to his brother's wife.  
"Yes, this is when I start watching her," Nyr said smiling gently at Eleni before lifting her dress over her knees. "And there's the water," Nyr said as Eleni's water broke, wetting the towel that was placed underneath her. She watched the muscles in Eleni's thighs tense as she felt another spasm.

Hours later and Nyr was able to the baby's head, Eleni's dress pushed up over her hips and waist, her green eyes glued to the place between the queen's legs.

"It's alright," Nyr heard Fili soothe, he had calmed when the actual labor began and comforted his wife notably as pain coursed through her. Eleni screamed and Nyr held her legs as she pushed, seeing the baby's forehead and the dark hair matted on it.

"One more," Nyr ordered, knowing from the limpness of Eleni's legs and from how long she had already been pushing that she was quickly growing exhausted.

"I can't," Eleni said, the defeat sounding in her voice. "Please," she begged.

"Just one more and it'll all be over," Fili said brushing the hair off of her damp forehead, more in love with her than he ever had been. She looked at him and he smiled softly when she nodded weakly, her hand tightening around his as she began pushing.  
Nyr heard Eleni scream through clenched teeth as she pushed, the head now completely visible, and she helped Eleni – knowing she was too tired to push again – and pulled the baby's shoulders to get him completely free.  
Fili kissed Eleni's cheek as she slumped against the pillows, their child's cries sounding in their ears.  
"That," Eleni said softly, "is what I saw." Fili smiled feeling tears burn his eyes as he kissed her.

Nyr held the baby seeing that it was boy, her nephew now that she was married to Kili. She looked up to tell Fili and Eleni they had a son and saw him kiss his wife happily.

"It's a boy," he told Nyr before looking at her, completely shocking her from how he knew. "My heir," he said laughing joyously before standing and coming closer. "My son," he whispered upon seeing the boy's face, tears thick in his voice.

"Can I see him now, Khagun?" Nali asked whispering, peeking around the door an hour later.

"Yes," Eleni said softly as she stared down at the dark haired infant, one hand holding the skin on her breast in his tiny fist as he sucked on a nipple.  
"What da baby doing?" asked Nali as she crawled into Fili's lap, who was also watching his son feed.

"That's his food," he explained to her, shifting her to sit more comfortable between his legs.

"He eats Khagun?" she asked looking very worried. "Khagun is he eating you?" she asked, directing her question at her mother since her father could answer for his laughter.  
"You used to do this too," Eleni said smiling.  
"I ate you too?" Nali exclaimed wide eyed not understanding. "Khagam dat isn't funny," she said looking up at Fili.

"He's drinking," Fili said once he stopped laughing. "Khagun has milk in there that he drinks," he said pointing to Eleni's breast.  
Nali stared hard at Eleni's chest, Eleni having untied her dress leaving both breasts exposed. "Khagun are you like a cow?" she asked and Fili snorted before laughing again.  
Eleni recovered from her shock before trying not to laugh herself. "I guess I am," she said smoothing her daughter's blond curls out of her face. "I think your Khagam should braid your hair."  
Nali looked up at him excitedly before she turned around so he could fix her hair.

"Have you thought of a name?" Eleni asked softly.  
Fili's hands stilled, a braid half done entwined in his fingers. "Not yet," he answered honestly. The first name he had thought of had been his uncle's, though he was not sure if Eleni would find it agreeable. He looked over to his wife to see her stroking their son's cheek, her face full of love, and he wondered if that would change should their son be named after him.

* * *

_So I have been wondering what to name their son. The first thing I thought of was Thorin, which would make their son Thorin II who is already a character in Tolkien's work (he's Dain's son) Since Dain had been the King under the Mountain since both Fili and Kili died, I could just make it so Thorin II is Fili's heir. Or I could make Fili's son someone else, which I would need a name for. I was thinking maybe having him named Thror II, cause Thror had been a great king up until he got all crazy with the Arkenstone. So I will ask you, what do you think I should name their son?_


	41. Won't Follow You

_I would just like to thank everyone who made a suggestion, I am truly grateful for all contributions. Thank you so much._

* * *

"His naming ceremony is tomorrow, Fili," Eleni said as she ran her fingers through his hair as he laid against her chest. Their son was fast asleep in the bassinet that had been Nali's, his hand holding the small blanket Eleni had made for him. "We have to name him something."  
Fili continued to lay on her chest, her heartbeat a soft sound in his ear. He struggled with wanting to broach the topic of his uncle and not wanting to see the hurt on Eleni's face when he did. He shifted to lay face to face with her, stroking her hair which had been undone for a bath. "Do you know the first name that I thought of?" he asked. She looked at him expectantly, and as he had thought sadness filled her eyes.  
"Thorin," she whispered and he nodded. "You would have named him," she broke off unable to say his name again. Fili was left wondering if Thorin had meant more to her than she had admitted, though her next words answered no. "His name could have been passed on if I hadn't,"

"No," Fili said quickly, hushing her guilt. He could still see the pain and self-hatred that had been there when he first found out, that had not lessened with time. He kissed her gently before pulling her to him. "I only meant that as a first thought, it be more appropriate for Kili to do. I have never been my uncle's king, Balin even said it. He said I was more like Thror, before the Arkenstone blackened his heart."

Eleni looked at her husband, trying to find the accusing and anger that had once been there, though she found none. "Are you thinking of naming him Thror?" she asked and she saw the slight lifting of the corners of his mouth.  
"It is all I could think of," Fili admitted. He thought of the stories his uncle had told him and Kili of Thror, of the great king he had been, of the wealth he had brought his people. Until the Arkenstone had been uncovered Thror had been a just ruler, a compassionate one.

"We could name him after you," Eleni said with a small smile and Fili laughed at the idea.

"Can you imagine?" he asked causing her to laugh as well.  
"We would have no hope for taming him, sharing a name with you." She let him pull her closer, his hand in her hair and the other around her back. "I love you," she said softly and smiled when he said it return. They slept for a few short hours before their son woke hungry; their son, Thror II.

_Five years later _

"Khagun!" Thorin yelled crying as he ran to Nyr. "Nali and Thror scare me," the small child said sobbing in his mother's arms.

"That is not funny," Nyr said holding her child and seeing's Eleni trying not to laugh; though Nyr herself was trying very hard not to as well.

"I'm sorry," Eleni whispered, unable to speak louder. Though she faired much better than her husband who was not trying to hold in his laughter, and Kili was doing his best to look sternly at his brother.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?" Kili asked looking hard at his niece and nephew who had just walked up to them.  
"We're sorry Uncle Kili," they said together.  
"We didn't think it would scare him so bad," Nali said looking up at him with her big gray eyes, softening Kili's stare.  
"He's still young, give him a few years and he'll be playing with you two in no time."  
"It's time for your studies," Eleni said shooing her children away, a smile still twitching on her lips. "I'm not laughing," she said when she met Kili's eyes.  
"Who did she get that from?" Kili asked looking at Fili. "We were not that bad, were we?"

"She's mischievous, what can I say. But no, she's more like you. I don't believe I was ever that bad."  
"It's you," Kili said seeing Eleni trying not to laugh once more. "You were a terrible child weren't you?"

"I drove my mother crazy," Eleni admitted. "She said she hoped I had a daughter just like me."  
"Well you certainly have one," Kili said picking up his son who had by then stopped crying.

Fili and Eleni looked at one another and smiled, this now being one of the few moments they had without their children; for usually Nali or Thror would sneak into their room at night.

…

"Fili," Eleni moaned, his hands under her knees as he spread her legs wider. He groaned her name against her shoulder, his thrusts growing rough and fast. He had one hand around her back as she sat on the edge of the bed, cradling her to him, and the other holding him up, his feet firm on the ground.

"Khagam, what are you doing to Khagun?"

The second Nali spoke Fili had grabbed a blanket and pulled it around them, both parents in absolute shock.  
"Nothing," Eleni said quickly, her breathing coming in fast pants much like her husband's.

"You sounded like it hurt," Nali said making both her parent's wince.

"I wasn't hurting her," Fili said looking to see his wife was as lost as he was in what to do.  
"Then what were you doing, it didn't look like fun."  
"Something only mother's and father's do," Eleni said sternly.

Nali stood in the doorway thinking, looking much like Eleni did when she thought. "After you get a baby," Nali said, clarifying what it was she was thinking.  
"Yes," Fili said causing Eleni to look at him in surprise before agreeing.  
"And you will tell me when I am older," Nali said, having heard them say that before.

"Yes, now why are you here?" Fili asked knowing she should be with Balin.

"He told me to come tell you Bombur needed you, some of the crops are failing."  
"Tell him I will be a minute," Fili said sighing, it having been a dry summer.

Nali gave her parents one last look before closing the door and going back to where she and brother did their studies.

"That did not just happen," Eleni said still in shock.  
"I'm afraid it did," Fili agreed before kissing her neck.  
"Fili, I am not in the mood anymore," she said pushing against his shoulders.

He grabbed her wrists as his mouth trailed lower. "I do not work that way, I need to continue." He pushed her back onto the bed before settling between her legs on his knees. Her eyes fell shut as his mouth reached the tops of her breasts and he pulled her wrists over her head and held them with one hand. He kissed his way back to her neck before taking her again, both of them having been close to their finish but it had ebbed away. He took her slowly, her breasts bouncing heavily from having her arms held by her head, her legs wrapped far up his sides allowing him deeper.  
What felt like minutes, but had really been twenty, and their door opened again revealing Kili, who was staring in disgusted shock at the sight.  
"Let me finish making love to my wife!" Fili yelled and Kili slammed the door shut, Fili having never stopped the movement of his hips.

They were both too close to have cared, Eleni having already come once and was quickly reaching her second. He kept his hold on her wrists, his other holding her hip, his mouth on her shoulder feeling her tighten around him as she came again sending him over the edge. They lay against each other breathing heavily.  
"You should go," Eleni said breathlessly, her wrists still in his hold.

"I know," he said though he couldn't find it in him to leave her just yet. He sat up slightly and looked down at her, seeing she was helpless as he held her down.

"I don't like that look," she said seeing a mischievous glint in his eye as he stared at her. "Fili!" she yelled as he wrapped his other arm around her and lifted her as he laid back on the bed.  
Her legs were spread over his chest and he was smirking up at her. He held her wrists in one hand and threw his arm over his head, causing her to hold herself up on her hands and knees, her breasts over his face.  
"What are you doing?" she asked as he continued smiling slyly at her.  
"You'll see and you'll love it." Though she usually did love the things he made her do she never enjoyed the process of first doing them, and so she grew concerned when he moved her leg further up, bringing her knee to rest beside his head. He did the same with her other knee, keeping her wrists held down so she couldn't move away, making her straddle his face.

"Fili," she said warily and his only answer was to grab her hips and pull her down. He had her nearly screaming, her legs spread further than they'd ever been, his mouth buried in her as his tongue danced tortuously. At one point he had released her hip to please himself, working her towards her third climax, and even after he had reached his own release he did not stop. Instead he moved his free hand to rub circles over the small head between her legs as he penetrated her with his tongue. He felt her pulling against the hand that held her wrists, hearing her desperate cries of his name, her legs quivering as she came for the fifth time. He released her and she rolled on her side completely out of breath.  
"What the hell was that?" she asked when she could finally breathe again.  
"That was amazing," he said smiling looking into her wide eyes.  
"Amazing stopped the third time, those last two almost hurt." He smiled before wiping his beard, knowing full well she had enjoyed it; all of it. "I think we need to plan this at least once a week," she said laying against him, still shaking.  
"Why?"  
"You get a little wild after a while, and it's been two months," she answered.

"We never have time," he said running his hand through her hair.  
"I know." They continued laying against each other, their hearts starting to slow to a normal rhythm.

"We should get a bar for the door," he said moving to put his clothes on. He kissed her goodbye bidding her a good day.  
"That took a very long while," Kili said uncomfortably, it having been an hour since he had walked in on his brother; though that had not been the first time he had walked in on that, it still made him nauseous to think about.  
"It has been a very long while."  
"Perhaps you and Eleni should do that more often," he said without looking at him.  
"And what time do I have?" Fili asked sitting in his chair. "I'm either here or seeing to things, or the children are there. We have very little time."  
"Then I'll help make time," Kili offered, Fili having been more than generous with how often Kili was absent as he pleased his own wife. "Shouldn't your desire for her have lessened by now?" he asked teasingly causing Fili to smile.  
"If anything it has grown."  
"Why do you think that is?"  
Fili sat back thinking for a moment before he found an answer. "She is the mother of my children. I sleep with her by my side, eat with her at my side, she sits on the throne at my side. She is my queen, she's half of me."  
Kili smirked at the silly smile on his brother's face as he thought of his wife, knowing what he meant for he himself felt the same with Nyr. "Once a week," Kili said breaking his brother out of his reverie. "I will take up your duties, including your children, once a week."  
Fili stood and placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Thank you."

Kili smiled and playfully shoved his brother toward the door. He knew only he and Eleni ever saw Fili like this, as not a king. And it was times like these that reminded Kili that Fili was still his brother though he now sat upon a throne.

* * *

_Renee: I hope you have a wonderful prom. I'm glad you liked Nali, she's a bit more mischievous this chapter and it'll only continue. _


	42. Said I Would

_Sorry for how late this was, I procrasted and ended up with too much to do and had little time to do a new chapter. _

_Renee: I'm glad you liked all the little moments, I'm having so much fun writing them being happy. I know, they just can't get a moment to themselves. Fili does like using his mouth, but that be cause I like his moustache braids so much._

* * *

_Ion/Iell - son/daughter _

_Hervenn nín - my husband  
_

* * *

"An entire day on our own?" Eleni asked and Fili nodded. "No interruptions?" Fili shook his head before wrapping her in his arms and kissing her. Eleni could not remember the last time they had more than an hour together let alone a day.

"What would you like to do today?" Fili asked, knowing exactly what she wanted to do.

Eleni smiled as she thought. "I would like to spend most of it here with you, and perhaps the rest seeing our kingdom." She had yet to see the rest of Erebor, keeping its full restoration a surprise, and now Erebor was fully restored.

"I like when you say our kingdom," he said pulling her dress from her shoulders and lifting her into his arms. Though the days were still warm from summer he set her in front of the fire on the wolf blanket as he had years ago when he had first taken her on the night of their wedding. He felt her hands on his chest and he kicked off his pants before settling on top of her. Staring down at her he could hardly remember the cold woman he had first met, the woman beneath him was kind and loving. Her body, though not larger, was softer, her bones not sharp beneath her flesh. She was beautiful, and there were times such as these when he was reminded how fortunate he was to have found her. "I love you," he said softly, making her smile.

"I love you too," she said, seeing his happiness in his eyes. He rubbed her body raw with his beard, his hands running over every inch of her flesh. He spent a long while pleasing her with his hands and mouth, another while longer just kissing her, before he finally took her. Her legs were far up his sides, his thrusts slow and deep, their breathing loud in the quiet room. They laid against each other breathing heavily after they'd finished, talking quietly of their life and their children. Until Fili hardened again and he pulled her on top of him.

…

"Uncle Kili?" Nali asked coming to stand by the chair in which he sat.  
"Yes," he said without looking up, his eyes trained on the paper Fili had been looking at the day previous. He did understand how his brother could sit for hours going over papers with markings of their crops and their people, of his kingdom and their wealth. Kili had only been sitting for an hour and he already ached for outside.

"Can you play with me?" Nali asked, her eyes pleading.

"Where are your brother and Thorin?" he asked turning to her.

"Auntie Nyr took them for a nap," she said, smiling sweetly up at him. A smile he had never been able to refuse.

"What would you like to do?"  
Nali's smile grew as she thought. "Can you teach me how to shoot?"

And so when Thorin and Thror woke, Nyr brought them out of the Mountain and to the training field that had been built for Thror and Thorin.

"Look Uncle Kili, I'm doing it," Nali said excitedly at having hit the target, though it was nowhere near the center.

"You'll be better than me in no time," Kili said before handing her another arrow. He watched as she notched it and then aimed, pushing her shoulders straighter, watching as the arrow struck closer to the center.

"Did you see that, Thror!" Nali yelled looking at her brother. "I'll be the best archer in the world."  
"You just might, though your mother's not bad herself," Kili said putting the bow with the others.

"I know, Khagam had Khagun show me, she's great. I want to be just like her."  
Kili smiled at Nali, wondering just how much like Eleni her daughter would be; loving the woman she had become since she had married his brother. "She is a great woman," Kili agreed before kissing the top of her head. In doing so he noticed something; "Nali, I do believe you are a true dwarf."  
Nali looked up at her uncle with confused eyes before she raised her hand to where he was looking. She gasped, her face morphing into one of joy. "We have to tell Khagam and Khagun," she cried.  
"Perhaps in a few hours," Nyr said looking to her husband's knowing eyes, having heard Eleni's own frustrations at the little time she had with her husband. Kili wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulder, capturing her mouth with his own, before stooping and lifting his son in his arms.

"But this is important," Nali insisted, pleading to them both.  
"What is?"

"Khagam!" Nali yelled running to Fili as he walked towards them with Eleni at his side.  
"What has gotten you so excited?" he asked, catching her as she flew into his arms.  
"Look, look," she said pointing to where her cheek met her jaw. "I'm growing a beard!"

Fili looked at Eleni, her brows raised in surprise, and laughed heartily. "You certainly are," he said seeing the small blond hairs.

"Khagun, I have a beard."

Eleni ran her fingers over the fine hair, hardly believing it though she was not surprised; Dís had a lovely black beard that was cut short on her jaw. "I bet you have more hair than your uncle Kili did when he was your age."  
Nali giggled before squirming her way out of her father's arms to show her brother. "Why don't I have one?" Thror asked reaching for Eleni.  
"Yours will grow," she said holding him on her hip, kissing his cheek as he hugged her.  
"I missed you Khagun, don't ever leave me again."  
Eleni smiled softly as she kept her cheek against the top of his head, his little hands holding tight to her shirt as he laid against her. "We were just about to explore our kingdom, do you want to come too?"  
"Can I?" Thror asked raising his head to look at her.  
"Of course, what's a Khagun without her ion?" She smiled as he kissed her cheek before hugging her again.

"And I'm coming too cause I'm your iell," Nali said hugging Eleni's waist.  
It had taken some time for Fili to get used to Eleni's elvish tongue, it being so natural to her she could hardly help herself. Kili was easier to accept it, having never cared much for the hatred elves, seeing no point to it; though if asked he would have said they were not to be trusted. Nyr was still growing accustom to it, though she did like watching Eleni with her children.

"What am I again?" Fili asked smiling.  
"Hervenn nín," Eleni answered smiling in return.

Fili leaned towards her mouth, kissing her softly. "I love hearing you say that."  
Nyr and Kili followed behind, Nali holding Thorin's hand as he walked beside her. Fili and Eleni's crowns glittered in the torch light as they walked; Eleni holding her dark haired son and Fili with an arm around his fair haired daughter. They were a happy family, not a conventional one by dwarf standards, but a good one.


	43. It's

_TA 2958 - 5 years later_

"Fili, there is someone here to see Eleni," Kili said rushing into Fili's study.

Fili looked up at his brother and sat back wondering what was the matter. "Alright," he said slowly, "who is it; Beorn, Legolas?"

"Neither," Kili answered. "I am not sure who he is, but he knows her as Arael."

Fili was on his feet before his brother could blink and he quickly pushed past him as he made for the Front Gate, grateful for the sword he was hardly ever without. He was at the Front Gate within minutes, Kili following close behind, and he saw the tall man immediately; he towered over the dwarves as well as the many men from Dale.  
"Fili, king under the Mountain," the man said in greeting, bowing his head in respect.  
Fili stared hard at him seeing his dark hair ended at his shoulders, a strong jaw and sharp cheeks; he was familiar in a strange way and Fili was bothered to no end at not knowing why he knew the young man. "Get Eleni," Fili told his brother, not thinking the man meant his wife harm.  
Though it was not needed, Thror had heard the man ask for his mother and had run to her the moment after. Eleni was already rushing towards the Front Gate, seeing the young man and knowing exactly who he was.

Fili noticed the way the man's face brightened with love and adoration as he looked at Eleni, and Fili felt a surge of jealously as he looked at his wife's own wondrous face; until he saw the resemblance, which had lessened with age.

"Osu'Nys," the young man called before racing forward, surprising all of the dwarves who had been in Thorin's Company with who the young man was.  
"Estel," she said with glee as he lifted her off the ground and hugged her. "I was not expecting you," she said once he put her on her feet, wiping the tears from beneath her eyes.

"I was visting Gondor but I had to see you," he said as he stared down at his father's sister. The first thing he noticed was that she was kinder looking than he remembered, more loving; she was not as hard. The second thing he noticed was her crown, and knowing what he now did it suited her to wear one.

"I'm glad you came," she said softly as she took his face in both her hands. "You look so much like him, he would have been so proud of you."

He felt tears gather in his eyes at her words of his father, seeing the tears in hers. "I met Beorn, he had many great things to say of you. He wanted me to tell you he was visiting you soon, and his little star," Aragorn said, his brows furrowed at not knowing who the person he called little star was.  
"Yes, Nali is thrilled to see him too. You haven't met her, or Thror," Eleni said before motioning for Thror to come closer. "This is my son, Thror. I suppose he is your cousin."  
Aragorn looked down at the dark haired boy, seeing he had Fili's eyes. "He looks like you."  
"Nali looks more like Fili," Eleni said feeling her husband at her back, feeling his hands on her waist.

"Especially with her beard," he said kissing her cheek.  
"Beard?" Aragorn questioned confused, though he wasn't for very long.  
"Nali, this is your cousin Estel," Fili said when he felt his daughter at his side.

His aunt had been right, Nali did look more like Fili; her blond beard only slight on her jaw, her nose more wide like his; but she had her mother's cheekbones making her look regal. She had the potential to be very lovely when she grew older.  
"He doesn't have much of a beard," Nali said staring up at him. "You look like Thror."

"He looks like your Khagun," Fili said squeezing Eleni's waist gently.

"How long will you stay?" she asked.  
"A few days if I may, I told mother I would visit," Aragorn said looking to Fili for he was the king.  
"You will always be welcome here," Fili told him kindly, knowing how much Eleni loved him.

Aragorn could not help but smile at his aunt's husband, seeing how much he loved her. He realized then, with Fili at her back and her children at her side that she was happy; it being reflected in her eyes.

Aragorn followed beside his aunt as they went to the dining hall, sitting on her right – which Thror informed him was his seat, and it made Aragorn smile to see that her son favored her.

Eleni listened as Aragorn told her of how his mother was fairing, that she had been growing ill, realizing how much she missed Gilraen. Aragorn stood outside of room she had led him too, and she watched as bounced on the balls of his feet. "You are leaving tomorrow," she whispered, remembering when he did that as a child when he had something unpleasant to say.  
He did little more than nod, knowing his aunt had missed him greatly and would be sad at his leaving.

"Will you visit again?"

"When I am able," he admitted softly, planning to spend most of his days in Gondor – his rightful kingdom though he did not want it.

"You will say goodbye," she said and he could hear the pleading in her voice.

"I wouldn't dare leave without one," he said before kissing her cheek.

She stared up at him before sighing as she blinked her tears away. "You will probably leave early the next morn, you should rest." She walked quickly from his side and made for Fili's study, needing her husband in that moment. Kili took one look at Eleni's face before steering Nali out of the study and leaving Eleni with Fili.  
"What is it?" Fili asked taking her in his arms.

Eleni struggled to keep her tears at bay, feeling foolish for reacting this way. "It's nothing, he's just," she trailed off waving her hand in the air to show it was unimportant.  
"He's leaving tomorrow," Fili said in understanding, seeing Eleni's chin quiver.  
"I didn't realize how much I missed him," she said her voice thick with tears. "He looks so much like Arathorn and there was a moment when I thought it was him. And now I'm losing Aragorn too," she cried, her tears finally overflowing.  
"You will not lose him," Fili said as he pulled her to his chest, running his hand down her back. "You have taught him to be strong like you, he will be alright." He held her as she cried, knowing her tears weren't just for Estel. He waited until she settled down and could breathe easier before he spoke again; "Go with him."  
Eleni stared at Fili in shock, the thought of leaving having never crossed her mind. "I can't leave you, or Thror and Nali."  
"Take Nali with you, she has been wanting to see Beorn. Visit Gilraen, stay with Estel. Thror and I will be alright on our own for a little while," he said wiping the remnants of her tears away.

Several thoughts churned in her mind; the joy of seeing Gilraen and staying with Aragorn longer, of Nali meeting her brother's wife, and then of leaving her husband and her son, of leaving her kingdom. "Fili, I can't."  
"Of course you can. Rivendell was your home, you are allowed to miss it," he said stroking her cheek.

"What if something were to happen while we," she said but Fili interrupted her.

"I'll send Kili. He's been a little restless staying in one place anyway. You will go Eleni, and you will come back and thank me for sending you," he said kissing her lightly before wrapping her in his arms. He held her for a long while, knowing she would love to see Gilraen and Beorn, and knowing he did not want her to leave – it having been years since he had slept without her by his side. "Go tell him, I'll inform Kili," he said stepping back, kissing her once more before she left.

"Is Khagun alright?" Nali asked warily, it being a rare sight to see Eleni so distraught.  
"Yes," Fili told his daughter. "You and Khagun are going on an adventure," he said making Nali's face light up with wonder. "With your uncle Kili," he said making Kili's brows raise in surprise.  
"I will go pack," Nali said before running out his study to go to her room.

"Where are we going, if I may ask?" Kili asked.  
"Rivendell."


	44. A

"I don't want you to go, Khagun," Thror said pouting.

"I know, but I'll be back before you know it," Eleni said as she ran her fingers through his hair as he laid his head on her chest.

"Can't I come too," he asked begging, wrapping his small arms around her waist as tight as he could.

"Then who would stay with Khagam? He would be very lonely if you left, uncle Kili would be gone, Nali would be gone,"

"You would be gone," Thror said interrupting. "Khagam is lost without you."  
Eleni turned her head to look at Fili seeing his smile at his son who had repeated words Fili said to her often. "That I am," he said softly as he brushed the hair out of Eleni's face.

"Khagam has told me he will take time from his duties to be with you, maybe he could let you practice with his old swords," Eleni said striking wonder in her son's eyes.  
"Can we?" Thror asked his father excitedly.  
Fili gave Eleni a long look, seeing the amusement in her eyes. "Perhaps I will have you a better swordsman then Khagun," he said smirking.

"No," Thror said shaking his head, "no one's better than Khagun, not even you." Eleni laughed at Fili's surprised face causing Thror to giggle and then shriek when Fili started tickling him.

"Can I come in too," Nali asked at the door.  
"Aren't you both a little too old to be sleeping with us?" Fili asked, his wanting to bed his wife obviously would not be fulfilled. Though Fili held his arm out and his daughter crawled into the bed by his side.

"You always say that, Khagam," Nali said laying against him. "I wish you could come with us."  
"I do too," he said kissing her head. "I will miss you while you're gone, both of you."  
"You're lost without Khagun," Nali said making Eleni chuckle silently.

"How often do I say that?" he asked looking at his wife.

"As often as she says she loves you," Thror said making both parents smile.  
"Ew," Nali groaned when Fili kissed Eleni. Thror was coming to the age where he would find his parent's kisses as gross as sister, but he remained happy to see it for he knew it meant they loved each other; at least that was what Kili told him and Nali when they had asked what kissing meant.

"Alright, you and Khagun will leave early in the morn; it's time for sleep," Fili said and both children climbed over their parents to settle beside each other between them. And after a round of goodnights from each of them, making Nali and Thror giggle as they usually did, they finally settled for sleep.

Fili woke to a light touch caressing his face, pulling him out of his dreams and into consciousness. The candles had burned low during the night, dawn hardly more than an hour off, and he opened his eyes to see Eleni sitting by him on the bed. He gently pulled his arm out from under Nali before following his wife as they slipped out of the room. He barred the door to the bathing room before pressing Eleni against the wall. He had her legs over his arms as he held her hips, moving tortuously as he slowly brought them to a release. He sat them both in the warm bath after they finished, their muscles shaking, their hearts aching; they had been married for fourteen years, this was the first time they would be without each other in all those years.

She laid against his chest and he ran his hands through her hair, silence settling around them. There were no words to be spoken, no comfort; Eleni missed her home and the people she loved there and so Fili was selflessly letting her go, neither one of them wanting to be parted.

Nali hugged Fili around his waist as they all stood at the Front Gate to say goodbye, Thror too old and too big to be in his mother's arm yet she held him anyways. The children both released their parents before hugging each other, Thorin releasing Kili to come hug Nali too. Both Eleni and Nyr kissed their husbands, one leaving and one staying; none of the children daring to mind for they could sense the sadness in their parents as they parted.

"I will bring them back to you," Kili said clapping his brother on the shoulder. Fili nodded before pulling his brother into a hug as well.  
"You come back to me too," Fili said making Kili smile; the brothers hardly ever having been parted.

"Thank you for allowing him to come," Eleni told Nyr after they shared an embrace of their own.  
"It makes me feel better knowing he's there for you and Nali, and that you're there for him," Nyr said knowing Eleni's skill with weapons. "Don't you let his eyes stray to any elf," Nyr warned making Eleni smile.  
"After you I don't think he could find anyone beautiful," Eleni said making Nyr blush slightly. Nyr was rather lovely with her thick auburn hair and warm, kind green eyes that set her fiery hair off all the more.

Fili stood with his hand on Thror's shoulder and Thorin stood with his arms around Nyr, all four waved at the three a top their ponies.  
"How come I don't get my own pony, Khagun?" Nali asked from behind Eleni.

"Khagam would rather you be with me should anything happen," Eleni explained as she steered her horse beside Kili's.  
"I'm old enough to ride on my own," Nali said indignantly.

"Perhaps you could convince Beorn to join us, I am sure he would let you ride on his back," Eleni said making her daughter smile.

They rode for hours, stopping only a few times to rest, taking the way around Mirkwood as Fili had requested; and though Eleni wished to see both Legolas and his father she did not want her daughter in the forest.

"Thank you for agreeing to join us," Eleni said quietly as she stroked her sleeping daughter's hair as Nali laid on her chest as they camped for the night.

Kili shrugged before settling near her. "I don't mind, besides, who would get you out of trouble if you found any?" he teased.  
"Perhaps myself," Eleni said smiling as she looked at him.

Kili gave Eleni a queer look when she moved her head closer to his, her eyes locked on his jaw. "Eleni?" he asked warily not knowing what she was doing.  
"Is your beard growing longer?" she asked staring hard at his scruff.

Kili brought his hand to his cheek to feel the short prickly hairs and he glared at her weakly. "You think that's funny, don't you?" he asked. "I've been the butt of many jokes for all my years because my beard won't grow. And now you're laughing at me."

"I'm not laughing, Kili, honestly," Eleni insisted as she smiled softly at him.

"Does it look longer?" Kili asked her shyly.  
"I cannot see the skin beneath it as I used to, perhaps it is thickening," she said examining his jaw once more.

Kili ran his hand over his jaw and almost imagined he could feel there were more hairs there, smiling at the thought. "I am sorry for being so harsh with you," he said apologetically and she smiled.  
"You have a wife and son who love you very much, and a brother who does as well. No one can take that from you," she said kindly.

"I have a sister too," he said quietly and her eyes softened. "I would never have let you leave alone."

Eleni smiled before settling down with her daughter in her arms and a brother at her back; something she was more thankful than anyone could know to have again.


	45. Terrible

_TA 2959 – One year later_

"Khagam!" Thorin yelled as he ran towards Kili, who held his arms open for his son.  
"Thorin," Kili said sighing as he held his son. In truth Kili had not thought much about having children, he thought more of adventure and battles; it was seeing his brother and Eleni with Nali that had made him realize how he wanted that. His heart was nearly bursting with the love and joy he held in it, having never thought he would have this happiness.

The greatest part of it was due to his wife, and Eleni had been right – there was no one more beautiful than Nyr to him. Neither he nor his wife spoke before they were in each other's arms, their lips molded together.

"I am so happy you're home," Nyr said against his mouth.  
"I missed you," he mumbled against hers.

"Ew," Thorin muttered as he looked up at his parents, gagging slightly at the sight.

Kili looked down at his son, who looked very much like his mother except for his dark hair. "I believe it is time for bed," he said ruffling Thorin's hair. They had arrived late that evening and his brother and Eleni and their children had already left for the night.  
"Can I stay with you," Thorin asked wrapping his arms around Kili's waist.

Kili looked to his wife, having wanted to take her to bed, to see her smiling as she nodded. "We can later," she whispered as she kissed him softly. "Tell me of your trip."  
"We did not come across any trouble, but we did have Beorn with us," Kili said remembering Nali's shrieks of delight as Beorn ran with her on his back.

"I am glad he was with you, Eleni's really missed him," Nyr said, knowing Beorn was a very special person to her friend.

"I did teach Nali how to catch her food, and Eleni tried to teach her how to prepare it but Nali kept gagging."  
Nyr smiled at the thought, Eleni still had a wild air about her but it had been tamed with the years. "How was Rivendell?"

"It was as beautiful as I remember," Kili said taking on a melancholy tone as he often did when he remembered a time in which he had been with Thorin. "Eleni really missed it." He had seen the absolute joy on Eleni's face and knew that she had; which was not surprising for it had been her home and was therefore filled with people she had known all her life.

"Was she sad to leave?" Nyr asked, knowing how hard it was to leave a place you knew, Erebor was very different than the Iron Hills but she loved it all the same.

Kili thought a moment before answering. "No, she missed Fili. I think perhaps Nali was the saddest, she was in awe of everything."

…

"What was it like?" Thror whispered as he laid beside his sister in her room.

"It was the most amazing place I've ever seen," Nali said in wonder. "There was water everywhere; it flowed through the path and you had to jump on the stones across, it surrounded the whole place and there were lots of waterfalls. And the sun made everything look so golden and warm." She could still picture the place her mother had lived before, the place where her mother and father had first met.

"What were the elves like? Were they like Prince Legolas?" Thror asked, not so sore he hadn't gone for he had enjoyed his time with his father.

"They don't live in caves like Prince Legolas," Nali said, having though all elves were like the woodelves. "They were beautiful and fancy."  
"Ooh, were they more beautiful than Tauriel?" Thror said as he pictured it, though from a dwarf's mind it hardly measured up.

"Yes, the Lord Elrond's daughter was the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," Nali said as she remembered Arwen.

"More beautiful than Khagun?" Thror asked disbelieving.

Nali rolled her eyes and huffed. "No one's more beautiful than Khagun."

"What is it?" Thror asked when he heard his sister sigh, knowing something was bothering her.

"It's nothing, a lot of the elves stared at my beard," she said quietly as she brought her hands up to cover the hair on her jaw. She was quickly growing not to like it, seeing her mother did not have one, and then all of the lovely elves who had no hair on their faces at all.  
"I think you're beautiful," Thror told her softly as he kissed her cheek in the dark. "So, did you see Beorn?"

"I rode on his back all the way there and back. I was glad he came, he made Khagun smile," Nali said remembering how Beorn and her mother had talked over meals when he would become a man.

"Do you think he'll ever tell us stories about Khagun when he knew her?" Thror asked knowing Beorn had treated many of his mother's scars.

"No, they never talk about those times," Nali said, wondering if her mother had her own insecurities.

"I wish we could sleep with them," Thror said having wanted to sleep with his mother on her first night back but Nali had pulled him into her room instead.  
"You can't Thror," Nali sighed.

"Why not?"

"Because it's been a year and they missed each other," she told him sternly, not understanding why he didn't get it.  
"Are they kissing naked?" he asked, Nali having told him what her mother had when they talked about love making.

"Yes," Nali exclaimed, happy he now understood.  
"That's so gross," Thror said, not old enough to find girls appealing in the slightest.

"I think it's sweet," Nali said, now that she had her first moonblood she was officially a woman – something her father was entirely unhappy with. They were less than three years apart and yet their view on love was vastly different; though they could agree on one thing – neither one of them wanted to see their parents in the act of making love.

…

"How long is he staying?" Fili asked as they walked to their room. Aragorn had returned with Eleni, something that had surprised Fili.  
"Two days and then he will return to Gondor," Eleni told him smiling softly. "He is not the boy I remember. He is not Estel."  
"He is Aragorn son of Arathorn," Fili said squeezing her hand, knowing her nephew reminded her greatly of her brother.

"That is a title he does not desire and I cannot blame him. It has brought nothing but misery," she said bitterly.  
"You have more than misery," Fili reminded her and the dark cloud that fallen over her eyes lifted as she smiled at him. "How is Gilraen?"  
"She is well, I've missed her greatly." And so Eleni told Fili of what all she and Gilraen had spoken of, and of Beorn who she had missed as well, and the few people she had cared for in Rivendell; but in all honesty Eleni hadn't been very sociable and neither had her brother. "She is getting older," Eleni said quietly.

Fili's brows furrowed.

"Beorn is too." It was then Fili realized and he took her in his arms.  
"Everything that lives dies. You will have me, and Nali and Thror, and Kili and Nyr and Thorin. Did your time away make you forget your family here?" he asked looking at her sad face.

"I believe my time away from you did," she said softly.

"Well then it's obvious, you will never leave me again," he said as though he had come to a great conclusion, making her smile.  
"Never again," she agreed as she wrapped her arms around him in return. He sighed heavily as he stretched his arms around her back. "Are you hurt?" she asked.

"No, I am sore. I have been all through Erebor seeing to the finished message system. Which is now running perfectly I might add," he said moving his body as though his shoulders needed to pop.

"Would you like me to rub you?"

And that was where they were not too long after; him lying bare on his belly and Eleni straddling his waist as she began massaging his stiff muscles. She started with his arms before moving to his shoulders and down his back, pressing her fingers firmly into his skin as she rubbed away the strain. He groaned occasionally when she came to a place that was more sore and she would knead harder. She felt the slight shiver in his spine when she came to his hips, her hands ran over his bottom and down his legs, her thumbs pressing firmly between his thighs.

His arousal was no surprise when he rolled over for her to massage his front, and she smiled before she began again at his arms. Seeing in his eyes that he wanted her then, it having been a long and lonely year apart. But she continued on kneading his muscles, her hands moving lower on his chest until she came to his hips. His eye were staring at her filled with such lust and desire she could do no more than smile innocently as she skipped over his hips and began again at his calves.  
His breathing deepened as she slowly kneaded her way back to his waist, rubbing each sore thigh before moving to his groin. She touched him everywhere but where he wanted, her fingers pressing lightly in the space between his legs, her fingers trailing around and above his swollen manhood; his hips raising to seek her touch until finally her own desire overtook her. She pulled her dress over her hips and settled on top of him, guiding him inside her. It was not long before he had pulled her dress over her head and turned them so she was beneath him.

"Don't ever leave me again."


End file.
