Crystal-wolf-guardian-967: Thank you!

Miss Luny: Oh he say a lot, honey lol. Happy reading!

Ohmicrofilm: I'll go into more of his change next chapter. I was already at nine pages by the end of this baby so I decided just to call it.

Guest "S": Oh, don't worry about it. There's definitely no need to apologize. It's funny, I was thinking the exact same thing while I was writing it but my mind goes about a million miles an hour when I'm in the middle of a chapter so I didn't even remember it until it was published and you mentioned it.

nemesisswan: It was definitely a warning to Fili about keeping five feet away from Tori. I think I'll go back a bit later and edit it... And don't apologize at all about being late. It happens to the best of us. In my case, I'm usually about a year late so you're definitely beating me.

monkeybaby: You're great!

Guest: Your wish is my command!

Chapter 12: A Short Rest

Which was more disconcerting, I wondered as we made our way closer and closer to the disgustingly beautiful spires of Rivendell, that Thorin had suddenly grown a conscience in regards to my plight? Or that I was about to step foot into the land of the elves? Both seemed like deceptively merry prospects. On one hand, I was gaining my lord's consideration. On the other hand, I was stepping foot into what could possibly be the answers to all my questions about my birth parents.

Like a window dressed up with a flower box, blue shutters open to the world, pretty and welcoming. But behind that window was a home and what that home held could either be wonderful or horrible. And in my experience things that were beautiful were often rotten.

What had led to Thorin's change of heart? There had been one point in my life when every time I entered a room, it had been to utter silence. I would eat my meals with my brothers or alone in the mountains. Half-breed. Elf-scum. Trash. All names whispered, so vile that even when they were being tossed around, the ones that spit them looked frightened. Frightened of what it made them when they said it to me.

Had I blamed Thorin for the hatred that tinged my childhood?

Maybe.

Because if anyone were to stop it, it would have been him. Yes. He had a hatred for me. I could see it in the darkening of his eyes, the sneer that tipped his lips whenever I would stumble during weapon's training.

And even when I knelt before him, bruised and filthy from days of Dwalin honing both my elven abilities and my dwarven ones, even as I pledged my life to his cause, I hated him as well. Deep, deep within I hated him.

This burning, crushing hatred was something that we had in common, something that bonded us in a twisted sort of torture. Because as I hated him, I also hated the elf that had made me. And when you hate one nameless, faceless elf they eventually become every one that you see.

And so as we made our way closer and closer to Rivendell, following a steep trail that led down from the mountainous enclosure that we had dropped into, I found myself choking on the emotions that were rising inside of me. Like I had been herded into a trap and now I was stuck the back walls closing in on me.

"She mentioned some elves in her letters, Nori," Dori was saying from behind me, his voice hushed but in the near silence of the valley, it was hard to miss it. Up ahead, I saw Oin and Gloin glancing back in curious intervals, their faces pulled tense with both exasperation and pity. "Surely in all that time-"

"We stuck to the goblin holes, thank you very much," Nori snapped, sniffing and I could almost see the indignant tilt to his chin. In front of me, Fili glanced back, his eyes crinkling with worry. He had all but leaped to be in front of me, taking the rocky pathway at a considerate stride. Against his back, his dual swords beat against his shoulder blades with his steady footsteps. "Do ye think that I wanted to go sharing a biscuit with any of those goody-two-shoes? I'm still Durin's folks for the love of Aule… Besides every time we came near any of their kind Tori would get this odd expression on her face. Like her insides were being torn out-"

"Like she wanted to kill someone?" I heard Ori pitch in quietly and it took all of my will power to not turn around and do something that I would regret later. Like kill them.

"Yes… We really shouldn't let her-" I whirled, all three of my brothers stumbling into each other with a serious of yelps. I couldn't stand their incessant chatter for another moment. If they asked me how I was doing or whether I wanted to leave or any other of their gossipy nonsense than I was going to shove my sword so far up their asses that they would be coughing up metal scraps for a week.

"Shut it," I snarled, my teeth flashing in rabid rage as I jammed a finger into their faces threateningly. Nori and Dori both grimaced, their expressions ones of mild shame as well as a heavy set of concern. Behind them, Ori twiddled with the straps of his satchel, his cheeks going a rosy red. "Do you hear me? I am fine. Or more accurately, I will be fine once my idiot brothers stop spreading my business about the others-"

Dori bulked, his chest puffing up at the accusation. Even Nori looked a bit miffed. "Now, Tori, you can hardly call us talking about your well-being-"

"When you sound like a lot of calling birds, I very well can," I growled, taking a menacing step towards them. "Stop talking about it, okay? They're just elves."

I was ashamed to admit that my voice faltered on that last bit. Because this wasn't just elves. For the rest of the group, these were enemies of Durin. For me, these were enemies of Durin with the added layer of being a sad, bitter remembrance to when my parents had thrown me away like trash.

Maybe I should have been mad at the dwarves as well, after all it took two races to make a creature like me. But that was the twisted part, wasn't it? Because even though I had been treated unfairly by dwarves in the past, I had somehow shifted all the blame onto the elves. Because at least the people of Durin had given me a home. At least they hadn't left me to rot away outside of that village.

And so, I loved them. Because of the actions of my brother's I forgave them. The elves never even really had a chance. They were playing against odds that they couldn't win with.

Nori batted at my finger, opening his mouth as he geared up for a battle but I couldn't do it. I shook my head, horrified at the quiver in my own voice. "Please."

I didn't wait for their reply. The look of pain and sadness that broke across their faces was enough for me.

"Halawal." I blinked, having completely forgotten that Fili was still in front of me. I blushed. And close enough to hear every word of what had just happened.

His eyes were heavy, weighing in the dusk light, a perfect shade of ice blue to send a chilly zing down my spine. Dumbly, unsure, I stared at him until he reached out a hand and the only choice I had was to step into his arms as he lifted me down from a particularly steep dip in the road.

"Thank you," I whispered, tearing away from the depths of his eyes to stare rather hard at the tick of a muscle in his neck. Beneath the gentle weight of his leathers and furs, his arms were strong and lean an obvious representation of how many years he had spent in the mines and weapons room.

He didn't release me, his head tipping to the side as he tried to catch my eyes. "Are you really fine?"

My cheeks flamed, stubborn anger filling me. "Why do people keep asking me that? Of course, I'm fine. I-"

The scrape of his fingers running along my cheek, pushing away the wild mass of reddish curls that had fallen into my face brings my words to a halt. His eyes are gentle when I finally look up, a sad smile curling his lips as his blonde hair and beads clink together in the wind. "Fine. It's fine. You don't have to explain it to me."

And with that, he brings a few of my curls to his lips and closes his eyes as he kisses them before turning away. My mind reels as I watch him make his way after the others, his stride confident. And for a blissful, aching moment I'm not thinking about the elves or my parents or the hell that I'm about to walk into. I'm thinking about the strong slope of his shoulders, the drowning depths of his eyes and what it would feel like to press my lips-

"He's rather attentive, now isn't he?" I jerk, the thought tearing off jaggedly as all three of my brothers sidle up to me. Dori's cheeks and nose are red from the dewy air that the valley is filled with, his eyes snapping as they jump from Fili to me and then back again.

Nori grunts, his eyes fully focused on Fili's back with the force of a well-intended arrow. "If he had gotten any closer to her, he would have had to be attending something else in the southern-"

"Stop that," I hissed, swatting at them both as my cheeks flamed. I huffed out a breath, turning away rigidly as I hurried to catch up with the tail of the party. "You three are absolutely insufferable today."

"I didn't even say anything," I heard Ori murmur mournfully.

The entry to Rivendell was elaborate, to say the least. There seemed to be a permanent dusky light that made everything seem cozy and soft. The waterfall that I had seen when we had first rounded the corner subsided somewhere in the distance to a babbling stream. Gently our pathway was eaten away by stonework. I eyed it with open criticism, thinking that they could have used a few crystallized stones to spruce up the outer edges instead of leaving it all a drab gray.

In all honesty, I was probably picking at that part.

Fili's hand found my waist as he kept a watchful eye on the road ahead. Although the route behind allowed for no more than one person with its width, once we neared the bridge that would take up to the entrance of Rivendell, the path became chunkier. Dutifully, the others filed by two as we crossed the stream below. The smell of fresh spring water and honey drifted to me, everything seeming light and beautiful in this place.

I didn't trust it.

Up ahead, I could see the stiff tilt of Thorin's shoulders as he kept stride with Gandalf. At least, I could trust in his disdain.

Not only was the place beautiful but it also seemed to be positioned strategically so that the waterfall and subsequent body of water circled it, making any who would think to intrude either filter through the one bridge or take the time to try and get across the divide. Two surly-looking elves dressed in full battle armor and spears stood tall on either side of the bridge, just before the area rounded out and then gave way to a series of steps and guard posts. Their prim, stone faces stared disdainfully down at us from their perches.

Up ahead, Kili gave a spin, his face open and drawn into an expression of wonder. He seemed to be the only one. Beside me, Fili's face had deepened into a resigned scowl. Everyone else had much the same expressions, their hands running along their weapons uneasily.

Just at the back, the young hobbit gave a soft exhale, his eyes widening as they ran along the intricate stonework and rivers.

"If they give him any more to gawk at, he'll be staying here," Fili grumbled, his words soft but with enough bite to tune me into the fact that he was still a little uneasy about having the hobbit along with us.

Nori skittered past before I could form a reply, his expression one of immense agitation as my brothers circled, winding around the area with equal parts unease and severe distaste. They hated that they were at the mercy of elves. I couldn't say that I quite blamed them.

"Do you think this is some sort of power-play?" I mused as my eyes crept up the flights of stairs, past the two elves guarding it and to the guard post. I hadn't seen so much as a movement from them since we had arrived, certainly no words of assurance or comfort. "Make us titter about nervously before they deem us fit to look upon them?"

Fili's eyes sparked with mirth. "From what I hear they just have the personalities of pin-cushions. I'm sure our lack of reception has something to do with that."

"Mithrandir!" A smooth, crisp voice carried across the courtyard.

The change was almost immediate. Instantly, my brother's snapped back to the center of the platform, all of us scrunching together like a cluster of grapes. All talking stopped, every dwarves' attention caught by the slim figure that was making his way gracefully down the stairs. His hair was a deep brown, his face smooth and flawless in a delicate sort of way. Nothing like the hard, chunky planes that made up a dwarves' face.

My heart ran a shade cooler as I caught sight of the tips of his ears, my attention uncomfortable focused on that similarity. There was the gentle slope of his nose, the tipping of his eyes. Fortunately, my face rounded out, giving way to my dwarvish blood. My brothers had called me exotic, unusual like a new fruit or animal. They had been being kind. What they meant, I thought with no short amount of self-loathing was that I was outlandish.

"Ah, Lindir," Gandalf said warmly and I watched with a sort of distant bitterness as they switched from the common tongue and to elvish.

Thorin whispered something to Dwalin, his eyes taking in the interaction with a ravenous sort of interest.

"Breathe." I blinked, startled to realize that I leaned forward and stopped breathing. Fili's eyes were still adamantly forward, his fingers flicking along the dagger at his belt even as he spoke to me. "Just breathe, halawal."

Stiffly, I straightened, settling back into myself with the tenseness of a child about to play a team sport. The piercing call of a horn stopped me from embarrassing myself any further along with the clatter of hooves on stone. If there was one thing to be said about dwarves it was that we didn't like to be around full-grown horses. We barely cleared their legs, leaving us at a severe disadvantage.

A disadvantage that the elves were fully taking pleasure in.

They were on us before we could fully do anything more than draw our weapons. The last thing I saw before Fili was hauling behind him with a enraged growl was Gandaulf's smile slipping from his lips.

"CLOSE RANKS!" Thorin shouted, an order done more for the benefit of the dreamy-eyed Bilbo and Kili than anyone else. My brother's and Fili crowded me in before I could even fumble with the straps of my axes before realizing belatedly that I now had a sword which was situated at my waist.

By that point, I was already squashed in the middle of a bunch of smelly dwarves, my back against Ori's back and my front pressed to Fili's. His dagger glinted lowly in the light, one hand reaching back to touch at my hand as if to reassure himself that I hadn't squirmed my way out.

"I can fight," I snarled defiantly, enraged as I saw his head tipped to the side but that his hand pushed me back again as I tried to go forward to his side.

Nori was the one who answered me, his pike in his hands as the elves wheeled their mounts around, the horses snorting madly. "Not with that hand, you aren't."

I spluttered, growing more and more agitated and Fili continued to push me back, his hand gentle but firm as he kept me boxed in. "How dare you-"

"I'm afraid he's right, dearie," Dori chirped, his voice falsely cheery from the other side of Nori. "You'll be best suited in the middle."

I growled, resisting the urge to throw a tantrum like a child. I hated being useless. And I hated that I couldn't even draw my blade for fear that it would get in the way and stab someone if the dwarves around me needed to step back.

Snarling, raging I wheeled, my arms crossed angrily over my chest to find both Bilbo and Ori safely in the center of the others as well, each looking like little lambs in the middle of a parental ring. Ori eyed me dolefully, his eyes wide as he gave me a tentative smile. "Cool kids club?"

Bilbo scuttled a little closer, his fingers working nervously at his bag straps. "I feel quite cozy in here if I do say so myself. Very swaddled."

Ori hummed. "Coddled even. Like a babe."

"Yes. Very nice-"

I howled, leaping around and meeting the resistance of Fili's hand as I all but collided with his back. The horses had stopped their merry-go-round, keeping us caged together like penned animals. Just at the steps, I saw that Thorin and Dwalin had broken off and stepped forward to speak in an aggressively polite hush to a tall, slender elf with dark hair, his armor shiny and stiff in the dusk light.

"You're acting like a child, halawal," Fili chided softly, his eyes never leaving the elves surrounding us even as he batted at me as I swiped at his hand.

"I am not to be protected," I snapped defiantly and for the first time since we had entered Rivendell, his eyes slipped to me.

There was something there in the stormy oceans of his eyes, the softening mixed with something else - something deeper and more heated that made me go still. "Oh, I highly disagree with that statement."

The gentle raising of a voice drew all of our attention at once. It was the regal one, his eyes intent on Thorin but his voice pitched in a way that made me think that he was speaking to the group at large.

However, if he thought that we spoke elvish than he had severely underestimated how much we hated elves in general.

"What is he sayin'?" Gloin roared, his voice shaking with the resistance to open violence. "DOES HE OFFER US INSULT?!"

Beside me, Fili growled, his teeth baring in a snarl that made him resemble a beast more than a young prince. His fist had bled to white around his dagger, his hand flashing to the hilt of his sword at his back. Around us the elves watched, their expressions ones of deadly calm.

All around me, the other dwarves snarled, stiffening at the prospect of battle.

From the self-satisfied smile that Gandalf currently had on, I was rather under the impression that insult might have been a bit off the mark. "No, Master Gloin. He offers you food."

Food. The second thing to know about dwarves was that we were much like hobbits when it came to food, just without the posh flare. We snacked. We plundered. And we generally cleaned our plates within a minute and a half. There were no napkins. No doilies. And certainly, very little fanfare when it came to the plates that a meal was presented on. A good, hearty roast was the best way to win a dwarven friend.

And apparently the lord of Rivendell knew this rather well.

Within seconds, all assembled were making their way up the stairs (which were built to the height of elves and wizards so a particular challenge to lunge up) and on to the dining facilities.

"Miss." I didn't stop, taking the title as a call to the wind instead of myself. Fili seemed just inclined to keep going, his hand tightening on my waist as we reached the first landing.

"Miss Tori." I cursed softly beneath my breath, watching as the other dwarves hurried by, too excited about the prospect of a good meal to pay me any mind. My brothers had been the first to hop along, already past the guard post and going fast by the minute. Grumbling something in khuzdul under his breath, Fili twisted around, his shoulders tense, his fingers still gripping his dagger. Slowly, glumly I turned, thoroughly unhappy at the sight of both the slender elf and Gandalf as they gazed down at me, a knowing smile playing on the ladder's lips. "I thought for a moment that you might not have heard us." He waited for a response for a moment. I didn't give him one. "Lord Elrond noticed you and I thought it might be remiss if I didn't introduce you."

"It's very nice to meet you, my lady," Elrond said smoothly but his eyes were moving over me with a sort of ravenous interest, his brows furrowing as if he wasn't sure what he was seeing. I'm sure it had been many years since he saw something that confused him. My nails bit into the palm of my hands.

Fili stood stock still beside me, his eyes catlike as they ran over the elf lord. I recognized that look. He had it every time he went into a sparring match when we were children. Like he were picking apart every weak spot and debating when to sink his sword into it. I also knew that my the way his jaw tightened, he wouldn't be speaking in this exchange unless I asked him to.

My eyes roamed to Gandalf for a moment watching the way that his eyes drifted between Elrond and me. I knew the tales well enough to understand that look. The old bat was a meddler through and through and enjoyed mucking around in others' lives.

The glare that I focused on the elf only seemed to intrigue him more, his hands clasping behind his back as he leaned a little closer to me. "Well, we have been introduced then. If I may be on my way-"

"I've met many dwarven females, you know," Elrond cut me off, his voice polite even as his words cut me to the core. If possible, Fili stiffened, even more, his eyes blazing a hot blue. "They look very little as you do."

My teeth ground against each other. The question was there. He was just too polite to ask it. "I'm of dwarf and elven blood. Just to cut to the chase."

At least, he didn't have the audacity to look shocked by this information or even embarrassed that I had caught his open snooping. "Do you know the name-"

"My parents abandoned me on the edge of a town in the hopes that I would starve and die," I snapped, my anger and bitterness nearly knocking me over. My throat tightened reflexively around the words. I hated this. I hated being this weak. And most of all, I hated them. "So no, I do not know their names. Although if you have any idea-"

Gandalf's bemused expression had been effectively wiped away, his eyes betraying a wealth of pity and sadness that I thoroughly detested. Beside him, Elrond had reeled back, looking shaken by my words.

"No," he said and even his words held a bit of unease, a bit of astonishment. "Elves do not… That is to say, my kind only has one love and when we are graced with children… We would only give up our children under extreme circumstances. Whether it was through the agony of force or the percept of bringing to life an abomination-" His face shuttered at his own words, his expression growing sullen and pained. As if he realized what he was saying. He bowed his head. "My apologies. I forgot myself."

An abomination. That word twisted and turned inside of my mind, toying with doors that I had kept locked tight. I had run from Erebor to escape that sickening truth. The truth that I was something to be horrified with. My brothers had almost made me forget that. But here was an elf all but saying it. Ugly, cruel words churned in the pit of my stomach.

Fili's low, vicious snarl drew me back to the surface, his teeth bared as he stared up at Elrond with undisguised loathing. "How dare you-"

I held up a hand, taking a breath as Fili just snarled once more, the muscles in his arms bulging as if he was physically restraining himself from lunging at the elf. Slowly, I drew in a breath, meeting Elrond's worried gaze as I forced a smile. "I forgive you."

And then I punched him right in his "little abominations."

Ah, the days are starting to go by slower and slower! The first week was cool but I'm the type of person that needs to get out and run and do work and kind of scrunch my time to feel comfortable. IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY, GUYS!

How are you guys doing? What are you doing to pass the time? I feel a bit like that show on netflix where you're put in a room and they drop you off a box of crayons and some coloring books to get you by. It's like... The Circle? Is that right? Anyway, leave me a review! I love hearing from you guys.