Chapter 1

TA 3023, Erebor, The Lonely Mountain

83 years after the Battle for Erebor, Four years after the War of the Ring

Din finished strapping on her guardsman armor, fastening the last buckle of her mantle. Just in time for a knock at her door. Her rooms, designated for whatever Guard Captain was in position, were small. Basically just a decent sized bedroom with an adjoining kitchen and toilet room. It had taken a lot of fixing up after its last occupant, former Guard Captain Dothin. He'd been a slob and had somehow managed to damage each piece of furniture, probably just from the strain of holding his considerable weight. She'd decorated a little, hanging a few paintings of faraway places like Minas Tirath and Rivendell. The only decore on her desk was a small hand drawn portrait of Thorin that Fili had paid someone to draw up just for her. It sat at the side of the desk in a little frame inscribed with his name in Khuzdul, along with "Menu tessu"; "You are everything."

She crossed the short distance of the room to the door and pulled it open. She found Lady Belmaena in a regal lavender dress, wringing her hands together. Her blond hair was woven into intricate braids atop her head and looked rather heavy. Din fixed the lady with suspicion. "What's Fili done, now?" she quipped. Maena chortled.

"No, no, it's not Fili," she said in her strong Erid Luin accent. Even after all these years, it hadn't faded. Din's had a bit after her time with humans during the War of the Ring, but occasionally it reared it's large head while she was scolding recruits or during gatherings with her family, Maena included. She had known Fili during their extensive time there, and when Erebor was reclaimed she had convinced her family to relocate in hopes of finding him. Funny; He'd never mentioned Maena to Din, but he seemed taken with her as soon as she arrived. Perhaps he had thought Din would tease him mercilessly about it. He wasn't wrong. Din was glad he had had someone to help him grieve for his brother and uncle, especially since he'd gotten saddled with so much responsibility very quickly. Thorin's death had meant Fili's coronation as king.

Maena strode past Din, still wringing her hands, but her royal guards waited in the hallway, standing at strict attention. "At ease," Din told them before closing the door for privacy. "It's about Kili, actually. He's gotten it into his head that he wants to become a soldier. I think he feels like he has to prove himself. Live up to his name or somethin'. His sister and I have tried to talk him out of it, but he won't listen to us like he does you. I know he looks up to you, he's always goin' on about your adventures. Could you talk to him again? He's my only son and I can't bare to lose him if anythin' should happen."

"Of course I can talk to him, but I can't promise anything. You know he's just as stubborn as that husband of yours." Only a truly stubborn dwarf would have insisted that a dwarf-woman become Captain of the Guard, despite the murmuring and scandal it had caused. Even after two years Din still couldn't believe how hard he had fought for her rank.

Maena beamed in relief, her green eyes practically shining. "Oh, thank Mahal. Just knowing you'll try eases my anxiety. If there's anythin' you need me to do, just ask." Din smiled.

"Of course, Athanu men."

"I've asked you not to call me that," Maena protested. Din laughed.

"That's exactly why I call you that. I'll find Kili before I start my post."

"He was in our family rooms before I left not too long ago," Maena said. Din nodded and strode from the room to begin the long trek to the royal quarters. Maena decided to venture elsewhere while Din spoke to him, probably so he wouldn't feel like he was being outnumbered. Another pair of guards stood outside the double-doors of Fili's family rooms. They saluted her approach, which she returned before knocking on the door. Fili had no policy of sending word before a visit, as was generally custom. He even opened the door himself, rather than have a servant do it for him.

"Vemu, Thanu men," Din greeted.

"Din!" Fili clomped forward to hug her. The guards barely noticed anymore. "I'm glad you're here, I want to show you something." Fili pulled her into the large room. A fire crackled in the wide fireplace, casting an orange glow about the well-furnished space. An elaborate rug, spun in Dale as a gift to him many years ago, added a brightness to the main room with it's many colors. The stonework chairs were adorned with lush pillows the dwarf-women had sewn. Meana's large collection of books sat in bookshelves along the wall on either side of the fireplace. Fili strode to a trophy plinth hanging from the wall near the dining table and pulled the bow from it; the bow Kili had wielded during the Battle for Erebor. He held it out for Din to look at.

"I've already seen that," Din said.

"I know, but with Kili's 80th birthday approaching, I was thinking about giving it to him. I know he's still young, but I want him to have it. What do you think?"

"I think it would be a fine gift. It would make him very happy, indeed," Din admitted. But it would also be counter productive to Maena's desire to dissuade Kili from trying to make a name for himself as a soldier. "I was actually looking for Kili."

Fili sighed and turned to return the bow to its display. "He left several minutes ago. Has Maena been to talk to you again? I know she worries, but we can't keep Kili cooped up in this mountain forever, no matter how she wishes him to stay safe and no matter how much he reminds you of my brother."

Din crossed her arms across her chest defensively. "That's not fair, Fili," she growled.

"I know you feel guilty about what happened; I still feel the same. He was my little brother and when he needed me the most, I wasn't there. But we can't punish my son for it. We're dwarves, not men. We don't coddle our lads to keep them safe, not even if they're royalty."

"Then tell me; What if something were to happen to him? You know Maena can't have anymore children. You've tried for a long time. And Dís wouldn't be able to become queen. People may have accepted me, however begrudgingly, as Guard Captain upon your behest, but not even you could convince the masses to accept your daughter as ruler after you step down."

Fili growled and pinched the bridge of his nose. "If the worst should happen, the line would fall to Dáin's son. I will not refuse my son the right to fight for his kingdom. You, of all people, should understand wanting to defend his home. If you recall, none of us were all too pleased with Thorin giving you permission to accompany us to Erebor." He had her there and he knew it. She inhaled irately.

"I should get to my post." She turned on her heel and marched from the room. He was right. She wanted to protect his son because she had failed to save Kili. It still killed her that, after saving his life numerous times,protecting him all his life, she still lost him in the end. And then there was Thorin. Kili II was his great-nephew. She couldn't fail Thorin again either. But could she really tell Kili, a boy who had always looked up to and idolized her, not to follow in her footsteps just because he had the misfortune of reminding her of someone she lost?

She contemplated heavily as she ventured to the main gate, passing the store rooms on her way. A pair of her guards were standing outside the door. It was the easiest post in the hold and she knew her men liked to sneak inside and sneak a little food when no one was around. Regardless, she never had her men do single watches to reduce the chance of incident and prevent any of them getting jumped while they were by themselves. Injuries were down by half from when she started, so she had to be doing something right. That didn't stop some of her guards from gossiping, though.

"How do we keep getting saddled with such dull posts?" Rongal muttered when he thought she was out of earshot, oblivious to how well the halls echoed.

"What do you mean?" Was Jorn's—one of the newer recruits—response.

"It's like she doesn't think we can handle it. Ever since she got back from that war, she thinks she's higher than all of us. A bloody lass! Did she even do anything in that war?"

"That's harsh. She's a legend! And I don't mind paying my dues."

Rongal scoffed. "Trust me, lad, the only place a lass belongs is beneath you, if you catch my meaning." Any other day, Din would have ignored him, but her patience had already worn thin. She spun and strutted over, more than pleased to wield her authority in his face.

"Guardsman Rongal," she addressed the older sod. Jorn straightened into a rigid pole, visibly sweating. Rongal straightened as well, but was scowling at having been caught. "If you think this post is below you, then I would be happy to reassign you. Find Torik outside the stables and switch with him. I'm sure he will be more than happy to come in out of the cold and will certainly be pleased to be away from the stink. You know how horses can be."

Rongal was frowning with such fervor that he must have been imagining the stench. "Yes, Ser," he grumbled before clomping off.

Din tipped her head to the younger guard and grinned. "Gooday Guardsman Jorn." The lad blinked in bafflement but nodded as well. She resumed her trek to her own post at the main gate and climbed up to the wall and found old Orthis with one of the other newer guards, Relin. "Alright, Guardsman Orthis, you're relieved."

"Thank the Maker. Good luck with this one, Guard Captain. One more ridiculous question and I might've thrown him over the rampart," Orthis growled as he stomped past her. Relin grimaced and stood at strict attention. Din chuckled.

"At ease, Guardsman, it's alright. I think Orthis's beard is just braided too tightly."

"I heard that," Orthis barked down below.

"Well, I said it loudly," She hollered back. She faced forward, gazing out at the expansive field that separated Erebor from the bustling city of Dale, elevated in the mountainous landscape in the distance. After Smaug's death, Bard had helped organise the repairing of the ruins. It had taken years and years to get it completely fixed up, but was now a city of commerce and trade once again. "Anything to report?" Din asked.

"Nothing, Ser," Relin replied. Din nodded and pulled a most familiar glowing stone from her pocket. The Silmaril had bound to her when she was young and had been a reliable companion these long years. It's white-blue light was easy to see even in the blazing sun. She held it high and released three brilliant flashes from it. Then she looked to Dale, watching its walls until a small flash of light was bounced off a guard's shield; Their signal that everything was fine there, as well. Din smiled and returned the Silmaril to her pocket.

The door to Din's quarters closed loudly and the latch slid into place. She pulled her platemail over her head as she moved exhaustedly to the bed and let the heavy thing drop to the stone floor with a clatter. When she unbuckled her arm guards and greaves she could see sweat marks on her shirt and trousers where the leather had kept the fabric pressed to her perspirating body. She dropped the pieces to the floor as well and flopped backward onto her bed so that her legs still dangled over the side, her long dark chocolate hair fanning out over the blanket. Letting her eyes fall closed, she took a deep breath.

A chuckle in the room put her at full alert. She reached under her pillow and retrieved a throwing dagger and threw it in the direction of the laugh. The elf sitting at her desk caught the dagger before it could impale his face and his hazel eyes flashed with further amusement. He laughed again. His mouse brown hair draped around his shoulders, which were clad in a simple elven robe rather than the intricate battle armor she was accustomed to.

"Arthenon." Din gaped in surprise. It had been a good three years since she had last seen him. "What are you doing here?"

"Is that how you greet an old friend?"

Din couldn't help laughing. When they'd met in Mirkwood, she never would have considered calling him a friend, but after all these years she supposed it was the only thing she could call him. After witnessing the bond that the Silmaril had formed with her, he had abandoned his quest to reclaim it. He now kept her informed on what the rest of Faenor's clan was up to. During the War of the Ring, they had caught her scent and he had even traveled with them just in case they found her. When they did, he had helped her kill them. He had convinced her to burn him as well to so that his cover was still intact with the rest of them. The expansive scar tissue was hidden beneath his tunic and a leather glove on his left hand.

"I apologize," Din said with a smile.

"For a moment I was afraid you were going to undress completely before even noticing me. For a Guard Captain, your skills of observation could use a little work."

Din squinted her eyes amusedly at him. "I don't usually expect to find someone else in my quarters." She rearranged herself on the bed so she was facing him and tucked her feet beneath herself. "How've you been?" An unsettled look crossed the elf's features and he stood to analyze what meager decorations she had placed about the room.

"I'm not sure."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been getting strange reports from the others. I'll hear about an incident through the vine where someone was nearly exposed or some such business, but all of the official reports tell me there's nothing to report."

"Could it be that they feel the incidents aren't pertinent to you?" Din stood and walked over to him. He crossed his arms over his chest, but didn't turn to look at her.

"It's possible, but I still don't like it. My gut or intuition or whatever you want to call it is telling me that I'm being intentionally excluded."

Din frowned in consideration. Could his cover not be as secure as they'd thought? The other Noldor could have pieced together his involvement and were just waiting for the right opportunity to use it against him. If that were the case, he would be in dire danger. "If you're not safe, then you should stay here."

Arthenon shook his head and finally turned to her. "They can sense me just as I can them. The longer I'm here, the more I put you at risk of being found. I will not bring them to your door." He placed his hands on her shoulders and offered his usual sarcastic smirk. "Don't worry, dwarf. I'm more skilled than any of them. I'll still be back to torment you when it's safe. I just wanted you to know." Din tried to smile back, but was far less certain than he. He removed his hands from her shoulders and stepped back as a gust of wind began to swirl around him, blowing his hair about. He closed his eyes as it picked up and he disappeared. It died down and Din was alone with her worries in the silent room.