Chapter 32
Epilogue- Fili
A/N: See notes at the end.
Disclaimer: I still don't own the fascinating world of Middle Earth, nor do I profit from it.
The days continued to lengthen as spring changed to summer in Ered Luin. Fίli's name day passed and Thorin set out on his circuit to visit the Dwarrow settlements leaving Dis and the boys behind to manage the village. He put Fίli in charge even though the golden prince lacked four years of reaching his majority; it was good practice for him as heir, especially in a less stressful set of circumstances than a kingdom. Thorin himself had assumed his leadership position at the age of seventy-eight when Thrain had left Ered Luin to wander. Of course Dis and Balin were there to guide the young prince with Dwalin responsible for security and the watch. His youngest nephew had strict instructions to assist his brother and not cause trouble.
Fίli took his responsibilities to heart, especially watching over his baby brother. Things were much better for Kίli after the cleansing ceremony; but, as Thorin had said, it was not magic. There were good days and bad ones; only now the bad ones were fewer. Now the raven prince was much more comfortable with physical contact and hugs, no longer flinching when touched. Yet still at times something would trigger memories which threatened to throw Kίli into a full panic attack. While his brother was better equipped to handle the episodes now, Fili paid extra attention to the unvoiced signs that meant Kίli was having problems so he could intervene before things got out of hand.
The golden prince knew Kίli was still not comfortable being in the woods alone although the archer tried to hide his reticence. Even hunting had lost a great deal of the thrill for the youngest Durin. After one particular incident where Kίli had come back quiet and trembling with red-rimmed eyes and tear tracks on his face, Fίli had forbidden him to go to the forest alone. The brothers had exchanged sharp words over the decision, but Fίli held his ground. Of course, Kίli chafed at the restriction, but was secretly glad to have company when his brother joined him on hunts.
The worst part, however, was still the nightmares that occasionally woke him sobbing and trembling in a cold sweat. Each time Fίli was there to hold him, to rub his back, and to assure him all would be well, and he hoped that Kίli could believe him.
Despite their words, both brothers knew things would never be the same as before the assault for either of them. That type of trauma always left one changed. Kίli had been broken and now he was healing, but the progress was slow. It would take years to heal, and there were no guarantees that he would, despite the cleansing ceremony. And yet, after healing, bones were often stronger in the places they were broken. It was just a matter of holding the broken pieces together long enough to knit. Fίli vowed he would always be there for his brother helping to hold those pieces in place.
Afternoon sun played across the grass in front of their little cottage. Fίli looked up as he ran the whetstone across the blade of his sword to see his little brother watching him. Apparently Kίli had exhausted his supply of fletching feathers and already stored his new arrows in the quiver. As their eyes met, Kίli smirked, looked towards the nearby apple trees, then back to his brother.
The older prince understood, all too well, the dare behind that look. Without acknowledging anything, Fίli dropped the whetstone and sword, jumping up to sprint across the grass. He had always been the faster runner. Only now with age and heavy weapons training, he was developing the sturdy muscle mass of the dwarrow while Kίli remained lithe and agile.
Kίli reached the nearest tree first and hoisted himself up on a limb. He reached for an apple and tossed it to his brother before retrieving one for himself and dropping back down from the tree. As they both bit into the juicy fruit, Fίli was pleased to see his brother's broad smile and twinkling eyes.
Yes, today was a good day. Who knew what tomorrow would hold. They both realized nothing could ever erase the past and that Kίli would never return to the way he had been before the attack. Healing did not mean that the damage never happened just that it was no longer in control. It might not be a happily ever after ending, but Fίli would take whatever small victories he could get.
A/N: It's over :( I'm going to miss working with this story after spending so many months with it. I'm glad you guys came along for the ride and hope you enjoyed it. Once again I want to thank my beta BlueGnomeAlaska for her help. I also want to thank everyone who left comments or prompts that helped me improve the fic. I don't have anything else in the works right now (kinda out of ideas); but hopefully something will pop up. Thanks for reading and reviewing. And don't forget to let me know how you felt about this chapter. Till next time.