I Regret Nothing (Kili Story)

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(I finished this back in 2016, however, I forgot that I had also had been posting this story on here so I, obviously, did not post this chapter when I had finished it. If any of you had been waiting, I am so so sorry that it's been so long.)

A/N I am so sorry that I haven't been active. A whole bunch of stuff happened in such a short time and I was working full time while being a student full time so I had very little free time. I am very grateful for those of you that are still here. I am very grateful for those of you who were on this journey of growing and changing that has been reflected in the way I write. I recently reread all of the previous chapters and it's very cringey, but, I feel, that I have developed immensely over the years and I'm so glad that I've been able to share that with you. Thank you so much for being a part of this

The dragon was dead. Erebor was back in the hands of the dwarves. The former Laketown was left burnt and flooded while a new Laketown was built with the gold stored in the mountain. They decided to leave the once great kingdom in ruin and had no plans of repairing it: the broken walls stood as a constant reminder of the disease that gold held over Thorin and how it nearly tore the group apart. The kingdom under the mountain would never return to its former glory. Instead, the dwarves not only built houses to replace the ones destroyed by Smaug, but created a new, larger Laketown and rebuilt Dale. Some of the survivors of the Battle of Five Armies settled in the new Laketown and Dale instead of returning to their former home.

Trade between Mirkwood and Dale was restored and better trade developed between Laketown and Mirkwood. There still remained some bad blood between the elves and the dwarves, but it was more because old habits die hard rather than actual hatred for one another. A treaty between the dwarves and the elves was signed as a precaution.

Camellia and Kili decided to take a trip once the rebuilding was finished and the help had gone home. She had to fight to convince the brothers to separate because this was a trip she wanted to take alone with Kili.

"When will you be back?" Fili asked Camellia.

"Whenever we get back." He was not amused. "I'm joking. I'm guessing about six months. I'll write if anything changes." The sound of hooves on cobblestone let her know that it was time to go. Neither Fili nor Kili wanted to separate, but Kili was also really excited to go on an adventure with the woman he loved. A handful of gold was grabbed before they headed off in case they ran short on supplies or if something caught Camellia's eye that she wanted to take back as a souvenir.

They headed north toward Eren Mithrin. The weather was calm this time of year, but it was still colder than that they had faced on any of their journey to reclaim the mountain. The farther north they headed, the colder and worse the storms became, but something about it felt like home. During one evening, about a two days' journey from Carn Dûm or Mount Gundabad, they were more or less equidistant, lights from a city could be seen off in the distance.

"That is where I grew up. A small kingdom in the middle of a frozen tundra." Kili was affected by the bitter wind that cut straight through his clothes to his bones. He was forcing his teeth to stay still despite their insistence to clatter against one another.

"Is...it...always...this cold?" Kili asked between shivers.

"This is actually the summer weather, but don't worry, it'll be better once we get into the city." Camellia unclipped her cloak from her shoulders and made a move to give it to Kili, but he denied her help. "You can either swallow your pride and be comfortable, or hold on to it and freeze." He reluctantly took her cloak. "I hope you can get used to this weather because it's only going to get worse from this moment on. Summer's almost over."

"How can...this...be considered...summer?"

"Just wait. Come on, let's get into town." Camellia muttered something in Sindarin, causing Alesdair to start off in a trot through the deep snow. Kili's pony struggled to match the pace of Alesdair, seeing as the snow reaching their stifle. Alesdair cut in front of the pony, leaving a path so they weren't slowed down.