The Fifteenth Member (Thorin Oakenshield/OFC)

Chapter 42

Merry/Happy Christmas, Fröhe Weinacten, and Joli Noël! This is my Christmas present to all of my loyal readers: an early update!

PS: I am looking for a new cover if anyone is skilled enough to make one for me.....

"She did WHAT?!"

"Wani-"

"NO! This is unacceptable!"

"Wani."

"How can you just say something like this Mereniver? Hm?"

"Wani."

"You've always been too soft, too forgiving! This will encourage more attacks on the relationship you have with Thorin! It will-"

"WANI! My dad made sure she was put in prison! There's nothing to worry about. Now do you want to meet Fili or not?" She stopped ranting and hung her head.

"Yeah. Sorry, it's just.."

"I know. I got the same thing from Thorin. Shall we go?" We headed towards the healing hall with still no contact from Thorin as to whether or not he was there. When we reached the doors, I turned back to face my best friend.

"Now, remember that he's only just woken up from sleeping for two months. He's not as strong as he used to be but he will regain his strength over time. Do not act like you love him just yet, wait for him to make the first move, is that clear?"

"Absolutely!" She raced forward, throwing one of the doors open as she went. Not two seconds after she entered the healing hall, a bucket of water was dumped on her head, soaking her from head to toe. Wani screamed in shock and Elladan and Elrohir leapt down from something inside and raced out at top speed, laughing their heads off as they went. Fili was still in bed but instead of looking far off, he was on his side facing us. It appeared that he had watched the scene unfold and he now had a boyish grin on his face, obviously trying very hard not to laugh. Wani just stood there for a minute, drenched in water before turning to me.

"Help." She said pathetically.

"Sorry, I can't do that. This is them getting back at you for rigging their tub so it wouldn't run warm water. They'll play an awful trick on me if I help you out of this. Fili seems to like your new look though." Wani's face lit up and Fili began laughing.

"Is this Wani?"

"Yep. She and Kili have gotten themselves into a prank war with Elrond's sons."

"Well, it would be unfair to have my One fight those two elves alone, with only my brother to help her out! They need a real expert. Come here Wani, I have a couple ideas." Wani seemed confused by what he had called her for a moment but wasted no time going over to him anyway.

"Master Fili-"

"Just Fili."

"What did you mean when you called me your One?"

"Well, dwarves can only love once in their lives although not many dwarves find the one they are meant to be with but nevertheless, they marry anyway. The finding of a One is so rare it is often counted one of the greatest miracles in a dwarf's life, second only to having children."

"Interesting. Will you tell me more?"

"Later. First of all, I'd like to give you some pranking advice." Wani bent down and allowed Fili to whisper on her ear. I didn't bother trying to hear what he was saying, all I knew was that she was going to use his tips sooner rather than later. I watching with growing amusement as Wani's facial expression rotated between concentration, understanding, and pure evil. I feared for the recipients of those pranks in particular. She made an occasional remark but Fili was doing most of the talking. Thorin did not arrive for several minutes but when he did, the growing worry I had had was crushed. There was no way this dwarf could compete with Wani, even though they shared some of the same features. It was true that she had her long blond hair up in a ponytail and that she had green eyes but the similarity ended there. She had an abnormally large nose, her ears were huge and stuck out so that she looked like a monkey while Wani had a small button nose and small shell-round ears like I did. The dwarf also had a long, disheveled, scraggly beard full of messy braids and a potbelly whereas Wani had always had a naturally flat stomach. Wani had always been very self-conscious about her weight, one of her greatest fears was getting fat but she never had. As long as Fili didn't comment about it the wrong way, like I had once, he would be safe.