Rue (A Thorin Oakenshield/Hobbit Fanfiction)

12

Five Years Later

"Oh, Fili, hush! It's alright, my dear. Look, Uncle Thorin is here! Look, Fili!" Dis whispered to her son, holding him against her hip. She groaned as he moved in between his loud fits of crying, shifting him away from her very pregnant belly in visible discomfort.

"Fili, what's wrong?" Thorin quickly hung his jacket on the rung next to Dis' door, approaching his nephew. Lifting the toddler up by his armpits, he took his weight off of his sister and held him as he sobbed. Talia walked into his sister's home soon after, touching the distressed mother's arm in comfort.

"Mommy says... she says I won't get to practice with my—" Fili hiccupped as hot tears streamed down his face. "Sword!" He wailed, burying his face in Thorin's neck.

"Oh, Mahal. Why did I have kids?" Dis sighed, turning to Talia as Thorin bounced his nephew lightly to calm him down.

"This evening with Beldan will remind you." Talia smiled, helping her pull on her coat as her son continued to scream behind them. "Go. We've got him."

"Fili, don't cause any trouble!"

"I just want to play with my sword!"

"Darling, I only said you couldn't because Uncle Thorin and Auntie Talia were on the way!" Dis sighed, running her fingers through his blonde locks in an effort to comfort him.

"Fili, we can play with your sword after your nap. How's that sound?" The child perked up and ceased his noise at Talia's words, nodding excitedly. He dropped down from Thorin's arm and padded over to Talia silently, who picked him up again. The siblings looked on in disbelief as she guided his head to her neck as they walked to his bedroom.

"I swear, he just flips it on and off like a switch." Dis said, hugging her older brother quickly in thanks.

"He's five, Dis. His emotions are all over the place." Thorin let go, giving his sister a quick kiss on the forehead. "Have fun. And be careful!"

Talia heard Thorin bidding his sister goodbye in the next room as she closed Fili's door behind them, returning her hand to Fili's back. She laid them both down on Fili's small bed, kissing him on the forehead as he snuggled closer into her side. Fili had always been closer to her than Thorin for whatever reason, but Talia suspected it was because she would always relent to the wishes of her nephew. She absolutely adored the child, as anyone could tell. In actuality, Fili had grown up hearing great battle stories of both his aunt and uncle, but he loved the story of how Talia earned the tooth on her chain best. He couldn't wait to grow up to be like her, a fearless slayer of whatever beast threatened her and her kin.

Just as Talia thought the boy had fallen asleep, a small voice piped up from her neck. "Auntie Talia?"

"Yes?"

"Can you tell me the story of the tooth again?"

Talia chuckled at the boy, humming softly as she thought of a new way to elaborate the tale. Today, however, she wasn't feeling that inventive. "I've told you that hundreds of times, Fili. Tell me a story for once!" She sassed jokingly, making her nephew giggle.

"Fine." Fili relented, glancing at her fingers as his own small hands fumbled around hers. "What about your ring?"

"Oh," Talia looked down at her nephew, who was twisting the silver band on her finger, "I'm afraid there's not much of a story. Your uncle gave it to me."

"I figured that much. The stone is blue."

Talia snorted at his observation. Even the five-year-old could tell you how much Thorin liked the color. "Do you know whose ring this was, Fili? Before it was mine?"