Rue (A Thorin Oakenshield/Hobbit Fanfiction)

13

Ten Years Later

"Bend your arm, Kili. Yes, that's right." Frerin coached his nephew, easing his elbow back as the dwarf's hold on the bow tightened. Talia bit into her apple as she watched, leaning on a tree to their right in the forest. "Focus your aim... that's it. Whenever you're ready." Frerin stepped back, joining Talia and snatching the fruit from her hands. Talia turned to protest, but her brother-in-law had already taken a bite and she didn't want to lead her nephew's concentration astray.

Kili's eyes narrowed on the target, releasing his breath as he let the arrow fly. Sure enough, the metal tip embedded itself in dead center, causing Talia to cheer and lift her nephew up as she hugged him.

"That's it, Kili!" She laughed, setting him down as he grinned. "You've really got a knack for that bow. I do know how to give good gifts." She thought out loud, smiling to herself.

"What about his teacher?" Frerin exclaimed, looking to Talia and feigning hurt. "I've got to be some kind of a good influence."

"Well, the boy's opinion matters most."

Kili looked between them, knowing that they were asking him to choose. Smiling coyly, he decided to choose playfully. After all, how could he seriously pick between his aunt and uncle?

"I mean, it was an excellent gift, but it wouldn't have been so excellent if I hadn't learned how to use it."

"Oh, what do you know? You're only ten." Talia scoffed, waving them away as Frerin high-fived his nephew.

"A good deal about giving good gifts, I'd reckon." Kili puffed out his chest as he stretched, quirking a brow as Frerin laughed loudly.

Talia, however, was not so amused. "Ever the cheeky one." She rolled her eyes, but shot him a playful smile to show her lack of seriousness. Ruffling his hair, she sent him back to retrieve his arrow, swiping the apple back from Frerin as she watched him run into the forest. "You did teach him well, Frerin, as much as I hate to admit it. I've never seen another dwarf, aside from yourself, so eager to learn archery."

"You do know why he wants to learn, right?" Frerin shot her a look of amused secrecy.

"No? What did he tell you?"

"He wants to impress a girl."

Kili stopped in his tracks just as he heard his uncle's words, his cheeks turning a deep shade of red. However cheeky the dwarf was, he still embarrassed easily. "Uncle!"

"What? You weren't going to tell me?" Talia asked, smiling a little at his sudden shyness.

"Well, not yet! Not until it works." He pouted slightly, beginning the walk back to the village as Talia and Frerin followed at his side.

"Oh, Kili, don't be ridiculous. It will." Frerin interjected, reassuring his nephew.

"You do have Durin's blood running through your veins, and you've clearly inherited it's charm. Your uncle is right, as much as it pains me to say it." Talia winked, causing Kili to giggle a little bit. "A crush is nothing to be ashamed of. Your mother was the same way around your age. Even younger, if I recall correctly. Did you know she met your father when they were only seven years old?"

"And Auntie Talia fell in love with Uncle Thorin even earlier than that." Frerin continued. "They met the night she was born, and Uncle Thorin was only two months old. They couldn't even introduce themselves yet."

"You've known Uncle all of your lives? Is that true?" Kili asked, a sudden childish wonder overcoming him as he thought of Thorin. He had latched onto his uncle just as Talia predicted, and the dwarves could already see how much he aspired to be like him.