Rhonwen walked round the bend in the main hallway of the mountain city, adjusting the pin on her dark, forest-green cloak that had silver embroidery on it. Always the pin would get stuck, or somehow get undone and prick her shoulder. She sighed, exasperated, and paused in her steps. Then, the pin finally was fixed and she continued walking.

Coriann had disappeared a few days ago, saying that she had to lead another expedition out in the wild. Rhonwen scoffed even now at the though of it. Coriann had been in so much pain the last time Rhonwen had seen her that she could barely walk. How could she face the dangers of the wild and survive? Not only that, but with a group of people? Rhonwen was amazed at Coriann's stamina.

Finally, she reached her room and tried to open the door. Her efforts failed and the realization dawned on her of what was making her door jammed.

"Fíli! Kíli!" she yelled. "Open this door right now, or I will tell your uncle and your mother about this! Open it now!"

She heard a chorus of muffled giggles and Kíli's voice calling back, "What can they do about it?"

Rhonwen banged her fists against the door, only to step back heaving and sighing with the effort. Finally, she stomped on the ground. Then an idea occured to her.

She stomped loudly down the hall yelling, "I'm going to tell now!"

When she had gone quite a long way away, she heard the door open and Fíli saying to Kíli, "I think she's gone now," before closing the door again.

Quietly, she tread back up the hall again, pausing right before the door and listening. She heard Kíli laughing and some creaking of wood. She supposed they were sitting down on her bed. Most likely scenario anyway. Fíli laughed and said, "That was a neat trick of yours, Kíli. I'm surprised it actually worked. But I think we best get out of here before Thorin or Dís finds out."

Rhonwen quietly twisted the door handle, managing not to get the handle to creak. Then she threw the door open with a bang. She felt her wrath appeased by the looks of complete surprise on Fíli's and Kíli's faces. She smirked, saying, "Hmph. I'd like to know what you two are doing in here."

Kíli and Fíli both pointed to the other person, both saying, "He thought up the idea," before realizing what they were doing.

Rhonwen raised her brows incredulously. "I see. Well, as you both schemed this up, at least take pity on my ignorance and tell me why you did this." She walked forward till she stood right in front of them. They looked at the floor guiltily. Fíli glanced up and then looked down again and giggled. Kíli put his hand to his mouth trying not to do the same. "Well?" Rhonwen asked impatiently, tapping the floor with her foot.

Fíli started laughing and Kíli had to explain. "We wanted to play a trick on you. Besides, it was worth hearing your struggle outside the door," he finished with an insolent smirk on his face as he grinned impishly up at her. Rhonwen tightened her lips, so great was her indignation at this. She raised her hand and brought it down with a loud 'smack'  across his face. Kíli's face had turned to his brother at the impact, but now he looked at Rhonwen, a sullen look on his face. His hand reached up and covered the red mark the blow had made. He scowled at her and Fíli fairly bristled with anger, his hand straying to his sword hilt.

"You are not allowed to treat my brother like that," he growled.

Rhonwen looked at him.  "The same goes for you too."

"Ha! I'd like to see you try."

"Alright then," she said, taking a step so that she stood right in front of him. He stood up in front of her, his hands resting on his sword belt, looking at her mockingly. She hesitated.

Fíli stuck his tongue out and Rhonwen lifted up her hand and threw it across his face. The sheer impact of the blow made him lose his balance and fall onto the bed again. Kíli looked down at his brother, surprised.

Fíli blinked rapidly and sat up, shaking his golden hair. When his gaze focused, he jumped to his feet and scowled, drawing his sword, and knocking the flat side of the blade on her shoulder. She grimaced and drew her own, creating a metallic scraping sound as she rubbed it against the edge of Fíli's. Kíli jumped up too and thrust his sword into their midst. And the duel was on!

With both the brothers against her, Rhonwen was glad to have had the luck of wearing the chain mail her father had given her when he had had returned out of the Mountain several years ago. Otherwise, she would have had no way to protect herself from the blows Kíli and Fíli landed. Now, she was purely on the defensive. Or so it seemed.

Despite the fact that she was being nearly cut down, she had cleverly managed to keep going to the corner where her other weapons were stored. Suddenly, she knelt for a brief second and then was up on her feet again, two swords in her hands, twirling them about dangerously near the brothers. Now they were being pushed back.

Suddenly, Kíli opened the door and he and his brother Fíli turned into the hall with Rhonwen following after as they continuted their fight in the hall. But who should come down it, but the great Thorin Oakinshield himself!

With a grunt, he drew his blade and with a single flourish, knocked all four swords out of their hands and sent them flying through the air where they landed helplessly clinking on the cold stone floor. Anger was in Thorin's face as he beheld his nephews and friend. "What is going on?" he thundered.

Kíli and Fíli looked helplessly at the floor while Rhonwen gazed boldly back at Thorin. "Absolutely nothing," was her reply.

Thorin raised his eyebrows. "Oh really? Then how, do I ask, do three friends end up dealing killing blows to each other, especially out in the hall?"

Rhonwen cleared her throat loudly. "Your 'beloved' nephews were blocking my entrance to my room. So I tricked them--"

"Not too hard to do," Thorin interrupted.

Rhonwen looked at him annoyed, but continued. "And entered anyway and they were treating me with disrespect--"

"Nothing new," Thorin interrupted again, staring at the ceiling.

"So I slapped Kíli, and then Fíli--"

"About time someone did that." Thorin said again.

Rhonwen glared at him. "May I please talk without being interrupted with agreements?"

"Nope," Kíli and Fíli both said at the same time.

"So we got into a fight and unless you have something else to interrupt me with, I think you know the rest of the story," she finished rather quickly.

Thorin looked at his nephews. "Kíli and Fíli, I want you to treat Rhonwen with due respect. If I found out that this happens again, you will not escape lightly. By the way, Kíli, you and I are on watch tonight. You will go to bed at the end of the first watch, so you won't miss any sleep."

"Only the singing..." Kíli muttered with something else unaudible.

Thorin left the hallway with his sword and Kíli picked up his and continued down the hall muttering. Fíli picked up his and sheathed it. Then he picked up Rhonwen's and gave her the two blades. She took them and sheathed one as the other's sheath was in her room. She held it and started to walk away, but Fíli took one of her wrists and stopped her. "Can I talk to you later?" he whispered. "Alone?" he added.

Rhonwen stared at him. She nodded and then proceeded down the hallway again. After laying her swords down in her room, she pondered on what Fíli had said. What had he meant?  she thought. Then as the realization dawned on her, her mouth dropped open. "It can't be!" she exclaimed. "Well, whatever hopes he has for this, they are surely to be dashed to pieces." She said this last part quite sadly. She didn't want to break Fíli's heart, but she had to tell him before it was too late. She ran out into the hallway again calling, "Fíli!" but it was no use. He wasn't there.

Later, after the evening meal (during which Rhonwen had felt completely miserable because of the ordeal which she knew was coming and nothing, not even Kíli's and Fíli's repeated attempts at jesting could make her laugh) she watched as Kíli and Thorin went off to guard duty at the front gate. The rest of the dwarves walked past her towards the Singing Hall, but she stood, watching the two enter into the May twilight.

Suddenly, she felt a hand lightly brush over her fingers and she turned to see Fíli smiling at her. She tried her best to smile back, but the smile was weak and forced. He must have noticed for he said, "Rhonwen, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I will tell you later, whenever you want to talk," she started to walk away.

"Wait, Rhonwen. Why can't we talk now? The rest are listening to the songs, and we will be undisturbed."

Rhonwen nodded slowly and then follow Fíli down the hall. They reached a small balcony that protruded from the mountain's face, though it was on a different side that the one where Thorin and his nephew stood guard. The cool breeze blew into her face, sending her cloak flying behind her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the fresh air. She felt a hand touch her shoulder and glanced at the figure who looked searchingly into her eyes.

Fíli looked at her for a few moments before leaning against the railing, facing the mountain. He started to speak, while Rhonwen looked down from the balcony's dizzying height, feeling the breeze wash over her. "Rhonwen, there's something I need to tell you."

Rhonwen started and looked at him. "Well, Fíli, there's something I need to tell you too."

"Well, how about I say what I would like to say first and then you can speak."

Rhonwen nodded and turned so that her full gaze was upon him. The silvery white moon peeped out from behind the clouds where it had been hiding the whole time and shone clearly down upon the darkened world. It was traditionally called a raider's moon, and rightly so. It shown harsh and white, almost too close to earth, its light shining everywhere so that it was almost as bright as day. Fíli hesitated, not sure of what to say.

Then he looked up, meeting her eyes and somehow, seemed to draw confidence in the fact that she didn't look away. "Rhonwen, I am not exactly sure how I should put it, so I won't be too elaborate."

"Go on," she encouraged. Her reasoning, as she assured herself, was that it would probably be better for Fíli to say what he wanted before telling him the truth about herself, instead of her saying it anyway and leaving the poor dwarf shocked and hurt.

He paused, looking almost dreamily at her. Rhonwen felt her cheeks grow hot and looked away for a moment. She wished he would just talk and get it over with. She didn't want to wait forever in agony to tell him that his dreams were useless. "I shall try to put it simply as this. I thought, when I first met you, that you were brave, courageous, and beautiful. Then, as you decided to stay, I must admit, I was almost giddy with happiness. As the weeks progressed and months passed by, I fell in love with you." Fíli stepped closer to her, till he stood right in front of her. Rhonwen met his gaze and tears came threateningly close when she saw the depth of his affection in his eyes. She turned away her face, but he gently reached out so that she felt compelled to look back. "What is wrong?" he said, puzzled.

A sob escaped her lips and she bent her head, the tears coursing down her cheeks, her hands covering her eyes. Fíli placed his hands on her shoulders, asking again, "What is wrong? Please tell me. I can't bear to see you in such distress."

Rhonwen looked up, her lip trembling, and she shook her head. Finally, she summoned up the strength to speak. "Fíli, what a fool I've been. I should have heeded Coriann's advice when she told me to speak to you about this earlier. Now it is too late."

Fíli stood shocked. "What?! I don't understand. What has Coriann got to do with this?"

Rhonwen spoke again, sobs punctuating her words and sentences. "Fíli, I should have told you long ago before it was too late, but I didn't think that you did love me. At least in that way."

Fíli looked in horror at her. "You mean---?" He left his sentence unfinished.

"That I don't love you? No. I do love you, but not in that way. I love you like I would my brother, were he still alive. But I can't ever love you in the way to you want me too. I have only one place in my heart for that and it is taken."

Fíli stepped back, his gaze staring at nothing as he digested this most recent and most devastating piece of news. Finally, he stopped and looked at the ground. He looked at Rhonwen. To her relief, tears began flow down his cheeks and when he spoke, his voice was strained and broken. "You mean to say that you don't love me the way I love you?" The relief that Rhonwen had had at the fact that Fíli had broken down and not been turned to ice, like she had read sometimes in books, vanished as she came back to reality. 

"Aye. I'm truly sorry Fíli, but I can't love you in that way. I've told you that," she pleaded, laying a hand gingerly on his arm. "Please forgive me if I've hurt you, but we're just not meant to be. Even Coriann could see that. Please forgive me. I'm sorry."

Fíli nodded, rather absent mindedly, before rushing off into the mountain city. Tears continued coursing down his face and he felt like his heart would burst in millions of little pieces, never to be brought back together. He had felt similar like this when Lily had died, but not anywhere near being this heart-broken.

Suddenly, he nearly collided with his brother, Kíli, whose watch was over and was returning to his room. Kíli stepped back surprised and then reached up and brushed the tears from off his poor brother's face as Fíli seemed unable to deal with it himself. Kíli had never seen his brother in such distress, not even when Lily had died several years ago. "Fíli, are you alright?"

Fíli nodded and then shook his head. Kíli looked at him, almost understandingly, and said, "Come, let's talk about it in our room."

When they reached their room, Fíli sat down on the bed having overcome his sobbing and tears, now sitting numb and silent. Kíli closed the door and having laid his weapons down, sat down next to his brother. "Now," he said gently and calmly. "Tell me what happened."

Fíli started and looked glumly at his brother. "I told Rhonwen that I loved her," he said blankly.

"You what?" Kíli gasped. But when he saw the look of anguish in his brother Fíli's face, he almost repented of of what he said. "And she told you that she didn't love you in that way," he added softly, laying a hand on his brother's shoulder.

Fíli stood up abruptly. "Also, she told me that she could never  love in that way, for she only had once place in her heart for that and that that place was taken," Fíli paced. "Do you," Fíli asked, "know the name of the one she loves?" he asked, stopping his pacing and staring at Kíli.

Kíli cleared his throat nervously. "Aye," he stammered.

Fíli stopped his pacing and looked at him in the closest thing to relief. "You do? What is his name?"

Kíli stood in front of his brother. "It's, it's..."

"Well tell me, please." Fíli looked close to tears again.

"Fíli, you are not going to like this at all."

"Just say it! Stop keeping me in anguish!" Fíli cried.

"It's me, Fíli. It's me."

Fíli looked at his brother, tears forming again. He staggered back a few feet. Finally, he spoke. "I'd rather it be you than someone I don't know."

Kíli nodded and then Fíli stepped forward and began to cry on his brother's shoulder, Kíli patting him on that back and saying over and over to reassure him. "It's alright. It's alright."