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The Prince and the Apprentice Ch 11: Fili x Reader

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You smiled wearily, the adrenaline finally wearing off. You wanted to run the rest of the way but you couldn’t find the strength to do so, but your smile ceased to fade, if anything it only grew wider when you saw two of them break away and run towards you to meet you halfway. Fili was the first one to reach you and he swooped in, forgetting about your injuries for a moment, and wrapped his arms around your waist, and spun you in a full circle. His eyes were gleaming when he set you down and his hands moved from your waist to cup your face.

“You found us,” he said breathlessly, grinning ear to ear.

“Of course I did. Did you really think I would give up?” you asked, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling his down into a hug.

“Never,” he smiled before ducking to kiss your forehead, letting his lips linger for a moment.

You felt your cheeks grow warm at the kiss and butterflies started to flutter in your stomach.   

You heard Kili chuckle, catching your attention, “Feeling neglected over here.”

You smiled, Fili let you out of his embrace and you were engulfed by Kili’s arms.

“You have no idea how happy I am that you came back to us,” he whispered into your ear.

The rest of the company soon reached you and you were welcomed back warmly; even tough, old Dwalin gave you a pat on the back. There was one face you had yet to see and you only found it when you heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed. Everyone grew silent and when you turned around you were greeted with the tip of Thorin’s sword pointed at your neck, not even a foot away. You stared at him down the length of his sword and felt someone try and pull you back from the blade. You reached back and gently took a hold of their wrist. Turning your head you saw that it was Ori who was trying to keep you out of harm’s way. You gave him a small, reassuring smile, and squeezed his hand before letting go. He released your coat reluctantly. Thorin’s eyes were as cold and biting as the winds of the Misty Mountains, but not once did you break eye contact with him. You didn’t move, you didn’t reach for your sword, and you didn’t back away to seek shelter with those behind you.

“Did I not warn you that you would be treated as an enemy if you dared to follow us?” he spat.

“You did,” you agreed, surprising him with your relaxed tone of voice.    

He took a step forward and raised his head higher, “You are an enemy among us.”

“It seems to me that I am only an enemy to you, Thorin,” you replied calmly.

He started at that and his eyes flickered over his company to see if any of them had taken up arms against you. When he saw that none had he stepped forward once again, grabbed your arm roughly, and pressed the edge of his blade to your throat. 

“Thorin, don’t do anything rash,” Balin tried to advise, but it was static to Thorin’s ears.

“Draw your weapon,” he growled.

You stared at him wide-eyed and took a shaky breath when he stepped back and lowered the sword ever so slightly. Seeing that there was no way to convince him to do anything else you drew your sword and prepared to walk forward to meet him when a hand shot out and grabbed your shoulder. You had a feeling of who it was before you turned around. 

“Don’t do this, (Y/n). You know don’t know how far he’s going to go,” Fili pleaded.

Your eyes drifted from him to Kili, who was standing behind him. He looked at you with panicked, enraged eyes and his arm extended to grab his brother, while the other was poised over the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it for your protection at any moment. You snapped yourself out of your trance and looked back to Thorin.

“Miss (Y/n), I think you should listen to them,” you heard Bilbo pipe up behind you.

“I need to do this,” you said calmly, not letting your eyes stray from Thorin even though you were dying to let your eyes meet those of the ones behind you for what might be the last time.

“If it’s because you think you have to prove something th-,” Fili tried to start again.

“But I do, I do have to prove something. Not to me, but to him. This is my fight, not yours, stand down,” you took a steady breath and stepped forward, missing the firm hold on your shoulder immediately.

“I will not strike against you,” you vowed and bowed your head before planting your feet in a defensive position.  

He gave no meaning to your promise and charged at you with his weapon aimed at your neck. It was at this time that you gave a silent thanks to your mother for giving you the agility of an elf. You side stepped his attack and spun back around to wait for the next blow. You gripped your sword defensively above you when he went to bring his blade down upon your head.  Your legs crumbled under the pressure and you fell to your knees, but you still refused to use any kind of magic that would aid you. He quickly realized that you were not going to be giving in soon, so with a swift move of his hand the pressure was released from your sword. Without wasting a second you leapt backwards and out of the way of his not-so-surprising next attack aimed at your middle. Your side and shoulder screamed in protest, but you refused to give in.

He didn’t slow his pace for even a second and you could feel yourself growing weaker by the minute. You could tell he was growing frustrated and hoped that it would get the best of him and he would back down. You were wrong. If anything it made him fiercer, and even more determined to take you down. You could hear the company shouting at you to duck and watch out. When you saw a glint from the corner of your eye you lost focus upon realizing that it had come from the sword, more like dagger, of Bilbo. It only took that one moment of lapse in your concentration for Thorin to make his final move. With as much force as he could muster he struck the hilt of your sword, ripping it out of your grasp and leaving you with a bloodied hand.

With your only accessible weapon out of reach you feared that those would be the last few moments of your life. With one last quick glance at the company, who looked ready to jump in at any second, you dropped down on one knee and bowed your head, knowing that he would either accept your surrender, or he would have your head. You squeezed your eyes shut and tried to catch your breath, but it stopped again when you felt pressure on the back of your neck.

“I yield,” you gulped, trying to remain as still as possible.

After what felt like an eternity the pressure disappeared. You were about to stand when your eyes widened when the cool metal touched the base of your throat, but before he could do any harm to you a strong arm wrapped around your waist and pulled you back and to their chest. This time when you turned you saw that it was Dwalin of all Dwarves that had pulled you back.

“Thorin,” he cautioned, “let the lass explain herself.”

Thorin glared at his closest friend and lowered his sword, but did not sheath it. After he was sure that Thorin wasn’t going to harm you, Dwalin released you from the protective hold he had had on you. As a precaution, because you didn’t know if Thorin would lose his temper again and actually hurt you, you focused on his sword and flicked your hand to the side which tore it from his hand and embedded it in the ground far from his reach. He glared at you with a gaze strong enough to cut steel.

“You came back. Why?” Thorin asked his voice cool and steely as he stared you down without flinching.

You stood tall and felt Fili come up behind you and give your non-injured hand a reassuring squeeze. Thorin’s eyes flickered down to your joined hands and his gaze towards you turned even darker.

“I did not come back to spite you, I came back because this company is the closest I’ve ever come to having a family, and my love and loyalty will always lie with them even if they are not mine by blood. Know that my respect for you has dwindled to the lowest flame after what you said about me and my family. I will not soon forget that, Thorin; however, my loyalty to you and your company has not decreased. I will still fight until my last breath for them, and you.

I know you see me as your enemy, but I am still your kin Thorin, no matter how much you may hate me that will not change. I would readily die in the place of anyone here should I ever need to, that should already be clear. I want our home back just as much as you. If there is one thing I remember of my mother is that she always said I had gained the stubbornness of my father so do not think that sending me back to Rivendell will work. I will follow you even if it must be in the shadows,” you had stepped forward towards Thorin and were now only inches from him.

You waited for some kind of reaction from him and grew weary as he stared down at you in silence. His mask was on, but you could see that he was debating on what he should do in his eyes. After another few moments of silence you made to turn away, but his arm shot out and held you at arm’s length before you could do so. His gaze was no longer cold and unforgiving, but reserved.

“You are either stupid or brave for coming back. For your sake, and the company’s I will allow you to join us once more as long as no more secrets are kept,” he said coolly, “But if you put the lives of anyone in the company in danger, or you slip up, do not think I won’t hesitate to cast you out or worse.”

You could hardly believe what he was saying, but the rest of the company heard loud and clear and began to cheer in response. He gave you one last warning glance and looked out over the rest of the company.

“Alright, we have to keep moving and find a place to camp before sundown,” he announced and turned back to lead the company once more.

With your exhaustion finally catching up to you, you fell to the back of the group after Oin quickly wrapped your hand in a bandage and promised to properly tend to it when you reached camp. You found yourself being accompanied by Fili, Kili, and Bilbo.

“Need me to carry you again?” Fili teased.

You let out a breathy laugh, “I think I can manage until we reach camp.”

In reality you were about to collapse, but you had just gotten back and you wanted to at least show Thorin that you weren’t a burden or needed to be taken care of. He nodded, but continued to smile at you. You walked in silence for a while until you felt Bilbo tap your shoulder.

“(Y/n) may I speak with you for a moment?” he asked.

“Of course, Bilbo,” you smiled.

“I meant privately,” he said and glanced at Fili and Kili.

They looked at you questioningly and you nodded, telling them that you could manage if they left your side, an action which you were sure they were reluctant to follow. As soon as they were out of hearing range Bilbo looked to you and then back forward.

“You’re in pain,” he said, and it wasn’t a question.

Your eyes flickered over to him and saw that he was looking up to you with a worried expression. You bowed your head and he took your silence as a reluctant yes.

“But you won’t tell them, will you?”

You shook your head. You heard a sigh come from Bilbo and he nudged your hand. Looking down you saw that he was holding his walking stick out to you.

“Take it. You need it much more than I do,” he opened your fingers and placed it in your hand before you could protest.

Though you were worried about the others seeing that you still needed help to walk properly, if anything because of exhaustion, you leaned heavily against the staff and gave him a small, thankful smile. He smiled back at you and nodded. Fili and Kili soon fell back in line with you and they helped you catch up on what you had missed over the past two days. It felt like you had been walking for days by the time Thorin had found a place he deemed suitable for camping and you sat down on the closest rock and firmly pressed down on your throbbing ribs. You stayed in that position for a few hours, until the sun had sunk past the horizon and dinner was being served.

“You alright there, lass?” Bofur asked as he leaned over you.

“I’m fine, Bofur, but thank you,” you said, but it came out as a strained wheeze as the wounds on your side had you clutching at them.

He looked down at you skeptically as shook his head.

“That don’t sound like fine to me. Come on, let’s get some hot food into ya,” he chirped and helped you over to the fire.

He helped you settle against a log and fetched you a bowl of hot soup and sat beside you after everyone had been served. You ate slowly, savoring the taste of the hot food that made you feel immensely better after your trek.  You could feel Thorin continuing to glare at you from across the fire, but you felt safe as you could be sitting between Bofur and Bilbo. The moon had rose high in the sky by the time that everyone settled in for the night. You set your roll close to the fire and Fili and Kili set theirs next to yours which you had expected. You laid down and waited for most of them to fall asleep before you slipped away from them and hid behind the tree line. With difficulty you let your coat fall to the ground as you slid down the trunk of a tree. You had forgone your vest because of your injuries, so you unlaced your tunic and slipped it over your head, gritting your teeth through the pain. Elrond had most definitely sped up the healing process, but it was still causing you pain and without Elrond to help, you were on your own. You rested your good hand on top of your shoulder and took a deep breath when the sound of a snapping twig startled you.

“What are you doing? You should be asleep,” you heard Fili’s voice whisper through the darkness, “You should get some rest. We have a long journey ahead of us,” he said as he tried to get a better look at you.

Of course Fili would be the one to take the first watch and catch you. Your hand grabbed your shirt and you stared back at him with your mouth open as you tried to think of the right words to say.

“Don’t come any closer!” you squeaked as you held your shirt to cover yourself.

“Why?”

“Fili, I’m only in my bindings,” you replied.

You heard his footsteps halt and looked up to see that he had turned around with his hand covering his eyes.

“I swear I saw nothing, you have my word,” you could almost hear the blush that was undoubtedly spreading across his face.

“It’s alright, I trust you,” you replied hesitantly, still holding your shirt to cover yourself.

“If I may ask, what are, or were, you doing?” he inquired, still allowing you your modesty by continuing to look the other way.

You dragged your fingers over the skin that was beginning to scar and winced, “I was checking on how my injuries were healing. Could be better, but they could also be worse.”

He hesitantly turned around and refused to let his gaze fall from your face even though he wanted to let it.

“We can have Oin check on them in the morning. Right now you should be getting some rest.”

“I can’t. It’s too painful to lie down,” you confessed.

You heard him walk over to you and kneel down on your right side.

“Let me have a look, at least at your shoulder. I understand if you don’t want me to check your side. You’re good at hiding it, but I can tell you’re in pain. I only want to help.”

Looking up you saw that his lips were in a tight line and his eyes were glued to your face. Now that he was closer you could see the blush that you had suspected of radiating across his cheeks. He made no movement to touch you in any way until you finally nodded, giving up because you knew he would be too stubborn to back down.

He help you lean forward and shuffled around so that he was sitting partially behind you.  

“You haven’t fully healed,” he grumbled as he examined the puffy, red skin that was beginning to scab over again, “If anything it looks like they’ve gotten worse, and your back and sides are covered in bruises,” he muttered, “what happened out there?”

You sighed, “A rogue Warg. It must have been separated from its pack.” 

His eyes grew wide and he urged you to explain.

“I was out in the woods and I was resting and was trying to heal myself bit by bit, when I heard something coming towards me. I turned around and there it was, a massive Warg staring me down. I was stupid enough to think that I could still shift, but when I started the process my injuries reopened and split even further. I stopped almost immediately and withdrew my sword and fought. It went on for longer than I would have wished and that’s how I gained the bruises,” you explained.

“Is it still out there?”

“No, the beast is out there rotting in the forest. If it was a member of the pack we encountered then they won’t hear anything from it.”

He nodded, absorbing the information. His hand had fallen from the back of your neck and now rested on the small of your back. You were thankful for the cover of darkness, because you were sure that your cheeks were beginning to take on the same hue as his had. He snapped out of his thoughts and pulled back his hands back with a sheepish smile he realized where they had landed. 

"Sorry," he murmured. 

"It's fine, I already told you I trust you," you shrugged.

He leaned back next to you, his shoulder brushing yours, and glanced at you out of the corner of his eye, still flushed at just how comfortable you felt with him and how close you were letting him be, "Another thing, promise me that you'll let Oin take a look at them tomorrow? You don't need to be wasting your strength."

You looked over to him and saw the serious expression on his face, and you had no other choice than to nod and make the promise. He nodded and leaned back again, satisfied with your answer. The two of you sat in silence for some time gazing up at the stars through the gaps in the trees before he finally broke the comfortable silence. 

“How long did you say you were you running?”

“To find you? A little over a day and a half. I stopped when I had to, but that only happened three times when I was forced to walk,” you grimaced.

His face fell upon realizing just how hard you had pushed yourself to get back to them, “You shouldn’t have done that. It was selfish of us to beg for you to follow us. You needed to heal. You could have gotten yourself killed.”

“Fili,” you whispered, reaching up to cup his cheek, which made him raise his eyes to meet yours, “You are all my family. I know it was dangerous, stupid even, but how could I ever stay behind knowing that those I love were getting farther and farther from me with each passing moment?”

His hand reached up to cover your own and he leaned forward just enough to press his forehead to yours.

“Please, just try to not get hurt. We wouldn’t know what to do if we really lost you,” he pleaded.

You looked up to his eyes and saw the regret and raw pain in them. You cast your eyes to the ground and nodded. You heard him let out a deep breath in relief before he leaned back and looked towards the camp.

“Well, I think it’s time you got some proper rest,” he suggested, giving you a tender smile.

You groaned softly and leaned back against the tree trunk, “I told you, it hurts too much to lie down.”

“Who says you have to lie down?”

You cocked your head and furrowed your brows in confusion. His previous bashfulness had all but vanished and a smile twitched on his lips before his arms slipped under your knees and around your back. You rolled your eyes, but wrapped your arm around his neck, but as he started to pick you up you remembered that you still didn't have your shirt back on. 

"Wait, put me down," you squeaked.

"Why, is something wrong?" he asked, coming to a halt.

"Fili," you deadpanned, "I still don't have a shirt on." 

He glanced down and then immediately back up when he saw that you were still only in your bindings. He let your feet drop to the ground and removed his hand from your back so that it just barely hovered over your skin. 

"Well," he gulped, "uh, can't have that now can we? Do you um, do you need any help?"

"I think I can put my own shirt on thank you very much," you replied, walking back to the tree where you had left your tunic.

Ok, easier said than done you thought to yourself as you started to put your shirt back on. You had been able to get your head through the hole with ease, but when you started to try and put your right arm through you grit your teeth and let out an involuntary groan of pain as the action pulled at your side. Fili immediately intervened by taking hold of your arms and bringing them back down to your sides.    

"Let's start this from the beginning, shall we?" he said with sincerity in his voice, but you could see the smile playing on his lips.
 
You huffed, but allowed him to untangle you from the twisted fabric. He straightened it out and gingerly took your right hand.

"Okay, just ease your injured arm in first and then I'll help you with the rest. Just try to not lift your arm, you're still healing and I don't want you to hurt yourself," he instructed softly. With as much care as he possibly could manage, he moved the long sleeve all the way up to your shoulder, "Alright, other arm." You were able to get your left arm through with much more ease than before. With the task of getting it on over your arms completed, you began to raise your arms to get your head through the hole. Once again Fili stopped you before you could get too far.

"Uh-uh, you just stand still. Last time you tried that you got stuck and hurt yourself. Honestly, I don't know how you managed to get your shirt off," he muttered the last part as he successfully got your head through the hole. As he started to pull your shirt down his fingers accidentally scraped against your injured side, causing you to let out a quiet yelp. He muttered a quiet apology a few times before carefully tightening the laces of your neckline so that you were covered.

"There we are," he smiled, letting his hands fall to rest on your hips.

"Thank you," you said quietly, still somewhat embarrassed that you had needed him to help you do something as simple as put a shirt back on. 

"Anything for you, lass," he continued to smile warmly at you, but you could see the exhaustion beginning to creep onto his features.

You started to walk back and turned back when you didn't hear his footsteps, "Shall we? You look like you could use just as much rest as me."

He realized just how tired he was when you said that. The previous night he hadn't slept well at all because of his concern, and the night before that had been their last night in Rivendell, which obviously caused him to not get any sleep. He nodded and you hadn't made it two steps before you were swept up into Fili's arms once more. 

“I am capable of walking you know,” you mumbled, “Though I will admit, you seem to be fond of doing this.”

“Carrying you? I won’t say I’m not fond of it, but I would have thought you’d be willing. You did just spend the past two days running with little rest and reopened wounds. Then once you found us we kept hiking for another six hours. I know that you’re in pain even if you don’t say you are. Just let me try to take care of you, okay?” he asked as he stepped around the sleeping Dwarves to the side of the fire where you had laid out your sleeping rolls.

You nodded when he set you down on the ground and grabbed your blankets.  

“Wait, who’s on watch now?” you asked scanning the area.

“Thorin and Dwalin. They’re somewhere around here,” he muttered.

He sat down beside you and gestured for you to get closer to him. You swung your legs over his lap, pulled your knees up, and rested your head on his shoulder. He first wrapped your blanket around your frame, and then his own around his shoulders. For the first time in many days you felt safe, and the pain that had ceased to deteriorate was beginning to wane. He held you flush to his chest and you tucked your head beneath his chin. You sighed in content and pulled your hand up to rest on his chest. Your lips twitched in a smile when you felt his steady heart thrumming under your palm.

“Comfy?” he whispered, running his thumb over your shoulder.

You nodded against his chest and let your eyes slip close. Within minutes he noticed that your breathing had evened out and you had gone nearly limp in his arms; a stark contrast from when he had found you earlier that night. He placed a tender kiss to the top of your hair and took once last look around the campsite and his eyes caught Thorin staring him down. His gaze was icy and judgmental, but instead of pushing you away, Fili pulled you closer to his chest and rested his chin on your crown.

Dwalin noticed the stare down that was happening between the two of them, and wanting to prevent Thorin from getting angrier and Fili from his own stubbornness, he decided to intervene.

“Thorin, can I speak with ya?” he asked.

Much to his relief, Thorin looked away first and followed him away from the main camp.

“I have a feeling that you want to speak to me about Fili and his relationship with (Y/n). Am I wrong?” Thorin inquired coldly.

Dwalin nodded, “We all know that he cares for her. Goin’ by how he acts around her, I think it’s safe ta say that he loves her, and she’s startin’ ta feel the same way.”

“I had spoken with Gandalf about the subject, and I am very aware of his feelings towards her,” Thorin grumbled, “But still, he shouldn’t let it cloud his thoughts.”

“He’s young and in love. If ya remember what that’s like, you’ll remember that one’s duties are one of the last things on the mind.”

Thorin was quiet for a moment before he let out a cross between a huff and a laugh and ran his hand over his face as he nodded. He remembered that time of his life, but it had been so long since then, and it had been so brief that it seemed like it had only been a fleeting dream.

“There’s still the issue of her being half-Elf. If they progressed with…this, none would allow it. One of noble blood and of those who turned their backs on us would not sit well with our kin,” he reciprocated.

Dwalin couldn’t help but agree, “We still haven’t heard her story. Ya know she’s nothing like Thranduil.”

Thorin reluctantly agreed with him in his head, “She still must gain my trust again. She knew of the history between our people and still neglected to say anything.”

Dwalin couldn’t deny that what he said was true, and with that they both moved back towards the fire.

Through the night, even after Bofur had traded stations with him so that he could rest, Thorin’s eyes always came back to rest on you and Fili. He could tell just how much you meant to Fili by the way he held you in his arms. It nearly reminded him of when Fili held Kili for the first time so many years ago; close to his heart and not much farther than that. He wouldn’t be surprised in the least if he found out that Kili had some part in convincing his brother to let himself fall for you. He hadn’t missed the proud smiles that appeared on his face whenever you and Fili started getting closer. He knew that by now Fili was too far gone to be swayed in his affection towards you, and he couldn’t help but battle with the conflict inside of his head. He wanted him to focus on his duties as a prince and his heir, keep him on track with his obligations. On the other hand he wanted Fili to succeed in the former, but he also wanted him to be happy with someone else, because even though the time he was in love had been cut short, for that blip in his life he had rarely been happier than he had been then.  

“Lad, you have no idea what you’ve really gotten yourself into,” he grumbled before giving up for the night and turning over, hoping that tomorrow would be better.  

Things are starting to get good!! I can't believe how far I've gotten, it's easily close to 30,000 words so far O.o I hope you enjoy my lovelies, and don't forget I love to hear ya'lls feedback and ideas. I don't have writer's block, but I don't really know where to take it right after this? How soon would you all like for things to start getting really serious, and what would you want to see?? (I am a firm believer in slow build fics :) ) Have a wonderful day/night my dears!  
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