Saving the Sons of Durin

Thand Yuquain-Odo

It had been about two hours since breakfast and Ellía was helping Bofur with a few last minute things when the Mountain's horn was sounded. "That would be the caravan." Bofur announced and finished dusting off a wardrobe. The elf felt her hands shake a little as she waved a hand over a vase of wildflowers, making them look more lively. "I suppose we should go to the front gates." Ellía said quietly.

The two friends headed to the first level in silence. Bofur glanced at the unusually fidgety girl and took one of her hands. He wrapped her arm in his and patted her hand and said, "It'll be alright, El. Bombur, Bifur, and I will introduce you to our lot. I can guarantee they'll love you. My great-great-grandfather married an elf, ya see." This made her perk up a bit. "Really? Why didn't you tell me you have a bit of elvish in you!", she exclaimed.

Bofur chuckled and said, "It's barely any. Some of the others have plenty more than I do. Even a dash of human." Ellía stopped in her steps. "Who?", She gasped excitedly. Bofur must have realized what he had said and his eyes widened slightly. "I shouldn't have said anything. Very few people know. It's a bit of a sensitive subject in large crowds. Best to forget I said anything. Alright, lass?" He suggested with, sounding a tad desperate.

"I'll leave it... for now." She whispered as they walked outside to stand on the large, cracked steps with the rest of the company. Bofur gave her a nervous smile as they stopped next to his brothers. "Ellía. Come stand here." Thorin called, gesturing by him and his nephews. The elf walked over to stand next to Fili and returned Kili's goofy grin. "Are you sure it's alright for me to be standing with the king and his heirs?" She questioned, sounding unsure.

"We want them to see that you have our complete trust and respect.", Fili explained with a warm smile. Before she could respond, Dori shouted, "I see them!". Dain and his men marched down the steps and lined the wide stone pathway that led to the gates when the caravan came into view as they passed Dale. Kili snuck over to her side and rested his chin on her shoulder as he whispered, "Nice belt." This caught Fili's attention, who glanced down at the elf's waist, and his eyes bulged.

"Oh, yes. Thanks for letting be borrow it. Dori wasn't going to let me out of the room until I wore something crafted by dwarves." She said and looked back out at the approaching crowd. Kili snickered and hurried back to his Uncle's other side, narrowly dodging one of his brother's fists. The movement caught Ellía's attention and she looked at the older prince. "What was that about?". She asked him, glancing at Kili wiggling his eyebrows at them.

Fili hesitated before quietly saying, "That's uh-my belt... One that I made to gift to someone." Ellía felt her face go pink as she awkwardly stuttered, "My apologies. I had no idea this was a gift for someone! Kili told Dori that it was an extra one he had brought." The elf went to undo the belt, but Fili grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "It's alright, El. It's technically not a gift yet." He reassured her. "What do you mean?" She asked, not making a move to pull form Fili's touch.

"It's our tradition to craft things throughout our lives to gift them to our One." He explained as he slowly let his hand fall from the elf's wrist. Ellía was about to ask if it wasn't a gift yet because Fili hadn't found his One, but Thorin began to walk down the steps and directed the others to follow him. "Here goes nothing..." She breathed and walked a few paces behind the golden-haired prince. "Just stick with us, El.", Kili hummed over his shoulder and Fili sent her a wink.

As the company reached the bottom of the steps, Dain came to stand on the other side of Kili as the caravan was a few yards away from them. A strong dwarrow, with dark hair, broke from the group, wearing a dark blue traveling cloak and dress. She had a bow and quiver strapped to her back and a dagger at her hip. A delicate beard with small braids framed her smiling face. The all too familiar grin made Ellía almost certain of who she was.