Two Brothers

~ Crowned fight ~

~ I'm so sorry it took me so long to write the next chapter in this book, but here it this, I hope you'll like it! ~

Fili sat on his bed and closed his eyes. He let himself fall on his back and sighed heavily. It had been such a long day filled with the lessons from Balin. He found them boring, stupid, useless and pointless... Aye, maybe they weren't pointless and useless but he didn't understand why he had to learn all this when they didn't have a kingdom to rule. Thorin was always telling him that he should be the smartest, the quickest and above all, the one who doesn't get in trouble.

There was a lot of pressure on Fili, the next in line to the throne in the line of Durin. He didn't want to complain since he learned a lot of use full things, but sometimes he just wanted to be young and free, like his brother. Of course Kili had to endure some of Balin's lessons about royalty as well but he was only second in line to the throne. There wasn't as much pressure on him to behave and act like a king to be. It was different for him. It slowly created a gap between the two brothers.

They still laughed and tried to joke around, but Fili couldn't participate in their pranks as often as he had done before. Slowly but surely their free time together had almost disappeared, and in exchange came the long hours of studying about their kin's history. Fili wanted to spend his free time with his brother, and run around, goofing off and drinking ale like there was no tomorrow. But he couldn't, because there was always a tomorrow for him, and he had to act on his best behaviour.

Sometimes he was angry at Kili, just a tiny bit, because he could run around outside. Fili knew why, but still thought it was unfair. Kili had often asked him to skip a lesson and go swimming with him in the lake nearby their house. Only one time Fili had given in, and he learned it the hard way that evening. Thorin had been very disappointed in him while Balin tried to ease his blockheadedness. But Thorin hadn't want to hear any excuses from his heir. He had been wrong to skip his lesson and he had to know how his uncle felt about it.

After that Fili had never dared to skip a lesson or to risk being late. Kili didn't quite understand why they were giving his brother such a hard time. Even the heir to the throne needed some time off occasionally, didn't he? And he had tried to reason with Thorin, but all he earned for that was a scowling look for a whole week. After this they had rarely spend any time together, the once so close brothers. Only when they were traveling along with some merchants who needed protection did they spend time together.

They both loved it, but there was always the sting afterwards, knowing that when they got home they wouldn't see each other as much anymore. A soft bang on their shared bedroom door returned Fili back from his thoughts. Kili stood in the doorway, his arms crossed and a smirk spread on his face. 'I was already wondering if you were still awake brother' he laughed. Fili closed his eyes again. 'I wish I could sleep, but somehow my body has other plans' he complained. Kili shook his head and approached him.

He sat down next to Fili and studied his face. 'You're really tired, aren't you?' he asked disappointed. Fili nodded in reply. Kili sighed and let himself fall on his back as well. 'What's the fun in that? I wanted to ask you if you would like to go to the bar with me tonight?' he asked. Fili moaned tired and turned on his side, away from Kili. 'A simple 'no' would have done the trick as well' Kili sighed. He got back up to sitting and looked at his hands. 'You're no fun anymore' he murmured before he got up and walked towards the door.

'What did you say?' a soft but yet irritated voice came from the bed. Fili got up and looked at his brother in annoyance and anger. 'I'm so sorry that not everyone is like you! Jumping around like they have no care in the world! Some people actually have duties and actually have something to do with their day!' Fili yelled angry. Kili's mouth dropped and he looked at his brother in confusion. 'Where is this coming from? I never said that...' but he didn't get a chance to finish.

Fili snorted and rolled his eyes. 'No you didn't. You never think before you speak, that right there is the problem! You are 60 years old and you are still acting like a child!' Fili screamed. Kili looked at him in disbelief and shook his head. He turned around but before he walked out the room he looked back at Fili, his eyes filled with hurt. But Fili didn't care right now. He was angry at Kili for blaming him for changing for the worse, while he thought the same thing about himself.

Kili walked away and Fili knew that this fight might have gotten worse if Kili had stayed. There was so much he wanted to scream to Kili, so much he wanted to blame him for, while he knew that he wasn't angry at his brother... He was angry with himself for changing into a person he didn't know. This wasn't him anymore, at least not the boy he had been before. He knew he had to grow up for his people, but he felt like he was growing up to fast. Even his mother had pointed it out to Thorin.

But he also knew he had to do this. There was no second option. Fili walked back to his bed and laid down beneath the covers. He just wanted to get some sleep and forget all about this fight with Kili. He felt ashamed for shouting at his little brother, the one he had always protected.