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It had taken some time for the hobbit to adjust to life inside the mountain. Living out of the reach of the sun amongst carven stone. Each day dedicated to getting the broken kingdom back towards the glowing gem it once was. However, Bilbo really felt he had come to flourish in his role as Consort, which came with the best perk of being married to the love of his life. Thorin seemed to be more at ease letting Bilbo handle the public relations aspect of his job while he focused on the more physical tasks. Many of their newly returned citizens were immediately shocked by their King dressed in a simple tunic and trousers, digging out tunnels and toiling away in the forges for the necessary building materials. It had done well to win Thorin the public’s opinion.
On the flip side, any that had a single reservation about a non-dwarven Consort were immediately silenced or had changed their opinions after Bilbo took it upon himself to see every dwarf fed, clothed, housed, and needs completely met upon arrival. His strength lay in talking to people, hearing their concerns, and meeting with dwarves in higher positions to do something about it.
Favor for royals had never been higher. Princess Dis even stepped into the role of Master of the Council which saved her brother a lot of headaches. Other members of the Company had also seamlessly assumed jobs and responsibilities that earned them respect and prestige. And then there were the princes.
Bilbo had thought they would have grown out of a lot of their shenanigans by now. Especially after that horrid battle before the mountain where he feared he was going to lose them all. However, almost as if the need to rebel now outweighed their common sense, Fili and Kili were more childish than ever.
There was the “werewolf hunting” incident that Tauriel assured them was nothing more than a lone, rather large warg. Still put the entire kingdom on edge for weeks. The time they managed to almost put out the fires in the great forges when they caused an overflow in the river dam. And Bilbo wasn’t even going to get into the stampede of rams through the Great Hall. He loved his nephews to death. But he had almost come to dread them coming around with sheepish grins and their innocent…
“Say, Uncle Bilbo?”
The hobbit just barely resisted the urge to bang his head into his planner.
“What have you two done now?” He groaned.
“I take offense at that. We don’t always bother you just because we’ve managed to get ourselves into a…predicament.” Fili said.
“Yeah, sometimes we just want to visit our favorite hobbity uncle.” Kili agreed with a much too wide grin.
“Really, because the last time you visited, I had to help you clear rats out of the pantries. Or would you rather me go back all the way to the troll incident?”
“You really ought to give that one a rest. It all worked out fine in the end.” Fili scoffed.
“We were almost eaten and I was covered in troll snot.”
“Almost being the key word.” Kili pointed out.
Bilbo did bring his hands to his face that time as he slowly rubbed circles around his eyes.
“You two are grown dwarves, when are you going to act like it?” Bilbo complained.
He almost missed the sour and bitter looks that stole across the princes’ faces at that. However, it was gone far before Bilbo even had a chance to comment. The sheepish and mischievous smirks the duo were known for returning in full force. Bilbo made a mental note that they all, Thorin and Dis included, needed to have a sit down meeting sooner rather than later.
“Fine, I’ll play along. Why are you here?”
“Well you know how Uncle Thorin gave us that super important job of decorating the Upper Markets for the grand opening tonight?” Fili asked, his words dripping in honey.
“We may have encountered a slight problem.” Kili hissed in false sympathy.
Words Bilbo was uncomfortably familiar with at this point.
“Lead the way.” He ordered with a sigh.
Thorin seemed to think Bilbo was too soft on them. Allowing them to use Bilbo to help clean up their messes. Bilbo just saw it as an opportunity to make them do the job themselves instead of another poor dwarf. However, he did have to admit. It wasn’t quite the determinant he had hoped it would be, but Thorin’s idea of giving them stupid tasks so they couldn’t mess anything major up wasn’t exactly helping either.
Until this point they had only been making use of the Lower Markets. Back in the day the Lower Markets were for foreign trade where the men of Dale and elves of Mirkwood would bring and sell their wares. The Upper Markets were set up with personal forges and gem cutting stations. Bilbo had learned that the entire metal and gem making process was something of a spectacle to dwarves, and finally having it cleaned up enough to open it up would go a long way to getting their culture back in Erebor. Plus, Bilbo was looking forward to watching his husband shape metal with the sleeves rolled up over his stout forearms, and the heat causing sweat to glean on his skin…
“Here we are!” Fili announced, shaking Bilbo from his daydream.
Bilbo looked up only to cry out in aghast. There were loose rocks everywhere. And the nice, new marbled floor was cracked in places where some of the larger stones hit. Banners haphazardly held to the columns by arrows and knives painted a clear picture of what happened. Bilbo’s idiotic nephews were messing around in their task and caused a rock slide.
“You just…I can’t…what were you even thinking?!” He swore.
Kili opened his mouth to answer, and Bilbo held up his hand.
“Nope!” He denied, not wanting to hear excuses.
“In our defense, it was an ingenious idea on our part…until we hit an unstable mark.” Fili went ahead and argued.
Bilbo whirled around on them, blood pounding in his ears, making it hard for him to hold back this time.
“LOOK AT THIS!” He demanded. “And I’m not even talking about the rocks right now. Look at the banners! Is that something you think the people of Erebor can be proud of?!”
Fili and Kili both looked up and stared at their sloppy work even as one string of flags began to droop. The expression in their eyes was guarded and unreadable which was unusual for them. Eventually they gave half-hearted shrugs.
“We’re sorry, Uncle Bilbo.” They declared in unison with the most monotone voice Bilbo had ever heard.
The hobbit resisted heaving a large sigh. He merely shook his head.
“I just don’t understand this selfish behavior of late. I really don’t.” He murmured.
Kili immediately dropped his head like a kicked puppy, but Fili bristled at the insult.
“I don’t think the hobbit that only holds power from marrying our uncle gets to pass that kind of judgment.” He spat.
Kili flinched, his eyes wide at Fili’s biting remark. And even the golden prince himself looked shocked at the bitter words spoken. Something sharp lodged itself in his heart, and Bilbo couldn’t bring himself to say anything for a long moment.
“Bilbo, I’m…” Fili attempted to apologize, but Bilbo wasn’t having it.
“You two start piling the bigger pieces over there. I’ll find a broom.” He declared before he marched back down the hall.
Just in time before the first tear slipped down his cheek.
***
“That was…unnecessary.” Kili admitted as he and Fili worked.
“I don’t like it when people talk down to me.” Fili tried to defend with no bite. “I get enough of it from Thorin. I don’t need it from his Consort.”
“Bilbo.” Kili corrected with a hard look. “Bilbo, our friend and also our uncle. You hurt his feelings, Fi.”
“I’ll…make it up to him later.” He grumbled.
Kili shook his head, grateful not for the first time, that Tauriel was visiting Legolas this week. Fili had been in a funk for awhile now. He had tried to help distract his brother in the best way he knew how, but even he could see that there was a line that they seemed to be flirting with lately. Bilbo has always been their friend even before he was their uncle, and probably one of their last true allies. He didn’t deserve Fili’s ire.
Kili went to grab another rock to add to the growing pile when he spied something metallic below. It wasn’t completely out of the ordinary. After all, Erebor was the city where gold ran like veins through the stone. However, this was iron. Shaped iron to be precise. He grabbed another medium sized boulder and another as he worked to unveil the object. When it finally started to take shape in his mind was when he decided to call his brother over.
“Fi! What do you think this is?”
Fili let the rock he was carrying drop as he slowly moved closer, a furrow between his brow. He was standing beside Kili now, helping to shift more rock out of the way when at last, they could identify it.
“An anvil?” Kili questioned.
Fili shrugged. “Not that unusual for the Upper Markets at least.”
“Yeah, but clear over here?” Kili scoffed. “Besides, Smaug wouldn’t have buried it in this pillar like this. No, this was built around it.”
“What are you saying?” Fili raised an eyebrow. “That some dwarf hid an anvil like it’s…”
Fili and Kili’s eyebrows rose skyward at the same time before they declared in unison:
“IT’S MAHAL’S ANVIL!”
Legend had it that when Mahal sent his first creations out into the world, he left them his hammer and anvil. The hammer, supposedly lost amongst the other treasures of Khazad-dûm, was said to have the power to level mountains with a single strike. It was without a doubt the most destructive force in their world. In contrast, the anvil was supposed to heal any ailment, any structure, and any stone with a single strike. However, only the most worthy of dwarves could hear its powerful ring. It had long been the brothers’ dream to go out on their own someday and find both. Honestly, it was almost a little disappointing how easy finding the anvil was. Discounting the fact that they first had to get Erebor back from a dragon, it was a bit underwhelming to have it just randomly buried in the walls of the Upper Market.
“Do you know what this means?” Fili exclaimed.
“We can rub in Thorin’s smug face all the times he teased us for still believing in fairy stories. ” Kili smirked.
“Well that goes without saying.” Fili grinned. “But more specifically, he can’t get mad at us about this any longer.”
Fili gestured to the still ruined room around them. Kili fought to hide his grimace, wanting to remain upbeat for his brother. His eyes slid over to the hobbit who was slowly sweeping away debris with his back to them.
“I don’t know. It still looks pretty bad, and I don’t think Bilbo’s going to let us off easy this time.”
“Don’t you remember the stories though? Mahal’s anvil can heal any structure… We can use the anvil to fix it! What if we can use it to fix all of Erebor ?!”
Any reservations Kili had were wiped away in his budding enthusiasm.
“We can most ASSUREDLY use the anvil to fix everything! After all, who’s more worthy than a son of Durin?”
“Exactly, Nadad (brother)!” Fili encouraged. “Quick! Do you have a hammer?”
Kili felt around on his person, but came up empty. Fili also was patting himself down in all his knife hiding places, but the younger could tell from his frustrated expression that he wasn’t finding one. That’s when it hit him. They were in the Upper Markets. There were forge stands all around them. Surely one of them had to have a hammer.
“Be right back.” He mumbled as he already started to walk away.
Kili tried to keep his steps light, even knowing his hobbity uncle would surely catch him with his almost elf-like hearing. However, he never once turned, even as Kili snuck a hammer out of one of the drawers lining the stand. It was as he turned back to Fili that he heard the sniffle, and he knew why Bilbo didn’t notice him. Kili stopped in his tracks as he looked over his shoulder at Bilbo with a frown. The hobbit’s shoulders were drawn tight, but he could see the subtle shaking that came with silent sobs.
He opened his mouth to call out to him when Fili gave a low whistle. He looked over to see his brother animatedly waving him back over. Kili could feel his heart ripping in two as he tried to decide on what to do before eventually releasing a soft sigh and running back over to Fili’s side. They would fix things with Bilbo as soon as they used the magic anvil to fix their first mess. With great reluctance, Kili passed the hammer over to Fili, and the excitement radiating from his face made it all worth it.
“Go on then.” Kili cheered, almost bouncing in his excitement.
“Alright.” Fili chuckled. “Give me a moment here. It’s almost a little disappointing to not have a warhammer. It feels wrong to hit it with this little forge hammer.”
“It’s a forge anvil.” Kili pointed out, shrugging.
Fili shrugged back as he raised his arm ready to bring it down on the solid iron surface. However, just before he could, Kili held up both his hands.
“Wait!”
“What?”
“It’s still in the pillar. So when it starts to heal itself back…”
“Good call.”
Fili set the hammer in his belt as they each took an end and carried the anvil out into the open a bit more. Satisfied, Fili took position once again.
“Alright. Now. Let it ring!”
The hammer collided with the anvil sending a shockwave that sent Fili and Kili flying backwards. Kili landed in their pile of rocks, and Fili landed against the pillar where they unearthed the anvil to begin with.
“Did you hear a ring?” Kili coughed as he slowly righted himself.
“I think my ears are ringing , but no I didn’t hear anything.” Fili groaned his response, rubbing the back of his neck.
They both looked around the space only to fall in disappointment. Nothing had been fixed. It was still the same after the rockslide.
“Maybe we were wrong.” Kili finally admitted. “Maybe it wasn’t Mahal’s anvil.”
“Yeah, because normal anvils send us flying after a single strike.” Fili pointed out, staring at it bitterly. “Clearly we weren’t worthy. ”
“Well…let’s not give up.” Kili smiled weakly. “We could have Thorin try…”
A scowl formed on Fili’s face at their uncle’s name, and Kili quickly felt the need to backtrack.
“Or Bilbo! Who’s more worthy than our little hobbit?” Kili gasped.
It was the perfect opportunity to heal the rift anyways.
“Hey Bilbo…!” He called out.
However, as he turned around, he noticed Bilbo was standing there awfully stiff. Kili winced. Or maybe they were in more trouble.
“Bilbo, we’re sorry.” Fili hummed half-heartedly. “We won’t mess with it anymore.”
Still, the little hobbit refused to turn or even acknowledge them. Kili raised an eyebrow at Fili who shrugged. Dusting themselves off, they decided to make their way over to him. Bilbo was notorious for his silent moods after all, but who could resist Fili and Kili for long? Especially when they turned on the pouting faces.
The closer they got though, the more they realized something was truly wrong. Closing in on the last few feet in a run, Kili almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He stood there, blinking and blinking again as the blood drained away from his face. However, no matter how many times he tried to will the image away, it never changed. Bilbo. Their friend, their uncle, had been turned to stone.
***
Fili was doing his best not to panic even as a vice squeezed around his heart. By Mahal, what had he done? His fingers lightly traced the tear tracks that had been solidified as well, making him feel that much worse. What had he done?!
“Thorin’s going to actually murder us this time.” Kili gaped, his voice barely more than a whisper.
Fili hadn’t even thought that far, but Kili was right. This wasn’t just their usual pranks and mischief. They turned his husband to stone .
I just don’t understand this selfish behavior of late.
I don’t think the hobbit that only holds power from marrying our uncle gets to pass that kind of judgment.
Fili’s breathing quickened as the grip on his heart tightened. What if what he said was the last thing he would ever get to say to Bilbo?! He didn’t mean it! Honestly, he didn’t! There was a roaring coming from somewhere! WHY COULDN’T EVERYONE BE QUIET AND LET HIM THINK?!!
“Fili? FILI!”
“WHAT?”
Kili flinched at his harsh tone, and Fili immediately came back to himself.
“What do we do, Fili?” He asked quietly.
Fili ran his hands down his face, pulling on his mustache slightly. Right. They needed a plan, and that was his job. He came up with the plans. But how did you bring someone back from stone?!
“We…need advice.” He finally admitted. “But discreetly. We don’t need to alert anyone else just yet. You take Balin, and I’ll ask Ori.”
Kili nodded enthusiastically. “And what about Bilbo?”
Fili looked back at the stone hobbit with his hunched shoulders and pinched expression. Fili closed his eyes against the image.
“He should be fine. But we’ll stop by his rooms and pick up a cloak to cover him up. The important thing is no one else has to know about this. We’ll figure out how to fix it, and everything will be fine. Okay?”
“Okay.” Kili nodded.
“Okay.” A third voice agreed breathlessly.
Fili and Kili whipped their heads around to see Gimli standing there, pale as a ghost. Not that either of them had much room to talk. Fili wasn’t really thinking as he sprinted over to the younger dwarf, shoving him up against the wall behind him. Gimli hardly reacted, his wide eyes still glued to Bilbo.
“What are you doing here?” Fili hissed.
“Your mom sent me to remind you that they plan to open the markets in two hours. Why is the Consort stone?!”
“We found Mahal’s anvil.” Kili piped up from behind him.
Fili didn’t think it was possible for Gimli’s jaw to drop any lower, but he was somehow proven wrong.
“That’s so cool! Did you strike it?! What was it like?”
“Yes, we struck it and it TURNED BILBO TO STONE!” Fili screamed, shaking Gimli in the process.
“Okay, okay.” Kili interjected, stepping between the two. “This will be good. Gimli can keep a lookout while we go find a cure.”
Fili looked back at his brother before looking over at the ginger dwarf who was nodding enthusiastically. It wasn’t a terrible suggestion, but Fili would feel better about it if Gimli didn’t keep trying to sneak awed looks at the anvil and Bilbo. Fili looked back at Kili, who was now nodding as well.
“Fine!” Fili growled. “Keep Bilbo safe, and don’t let anyone but us back in here. Also don’t you dare touch that anvil. We don’t need anyone else turning to stone around here.”
Gimli slapped his fist against his heart. “You can count on me!”
Fili had to accept that as good enough. “We have less than two hours. Learn what you can and meet back here. We can’t let Uncle come down here and see Bilbo like this.”
Gimli whistled. “I didn’t even think about that. You two are dead where you stand if the King finds out about this.”
“Thanks Gimli.” Kili grumbled.
Fili could feel the beginning of a rather large headache taking shape at this point. He could only hope Ori would actually provide him some useful information, and he knew exactly where the former scribe would be.
***
“Sorry, can’t help you.” Ori shrugged as he continued to stack his books on the shelf.
Fili felt like he was white hot metal about to explode at any second.
“What do you mean you can’t help me?” He demanded, trying to hide his aggravation. “You’re the HEAD LIBRARIAN! You’re the only person who could possibly know about Mahal’s Anvil.”
Ori stopped just long enough to fix Fili with a raised eyebrow and a twisted scowl.
“You’re talking about an object that most dwarves don’t even believe exist!” He complained. “Of the maybe five books in here even on that subject, I doubt even one of them goes in detail about the powers or the anvil or how did you phrase it again? How to ‘undo an act made by someone unworthy’? What’s that even supposed to mean?”
“Well…” Fili fidgeted. “What if someone hit the anvil and it didn’t ring and it didn’t heal? What if it did something else?”
“Like what…?” Ori questioned slowly in the same suspicious voice that Fili knew he had to have learned from Dori.
This was where Fili was dipping into dangerous territory. If he was too specific, Ori would know something was up. Not that he wasn’t already cluing in on that as it was. He was just going to have to find a way to be vague, while also getting the answers that he needed. The feeling of imminent combustion was growing stronger.
“Well, I just mean, the Hammer had the ability to crush stone with a single swing, correct? Isn’t it possible the Anvil could…turn people to stone?”
Ori put a finger to his chin, his need to debate a hypothetical issue stronger than any suspicions he may have.
“I suppose.” He finally shrugged. “After all, Mahal was said to have crafted his children from stone. It’s entirely possible that part of the ‘healing’ the anvil was said to perform could, in fact, be the act of returning dwarves back to the stone they came from.”
“So they wouldn’t be dead?” Fili sighed, the relief almost physically bringing him to his knees.
“No…I wouldn’t say so. Probably just a comatose state.”
“And how would such a process be reversed?”
“I don’t know, Fili. Do I look like Mahal to you?! Why are we playing hypothetical about a magic anvil anyways?”
“Just…curious I suppose.” Fili sighed. “Do you mind if I look through those books you were talking about anyways?”
“In the mythology section.” Ori sighed, pointing to the left as he went back to his task. “You’re not going to find anything though.”
Fili rolled his eyes as moved in that direction, pulling said books off the shelf. Ori was right, though. After forty stressful minutes of skimming the old legends, he had to admit defeat. There was nothing there even remotely useful. It was time for him to go back and hope Kili got something more from Balin.
His hopes were dashed as he saw Kili and Gimli using a green shawl to try and hide as much of Bilbo’s stony visage as possible.
“Gimli! You’re supposed to be keeping watch!” Fili complained.
“I was!” He defended. “And then Kili asked me to hide Bilbo as much as we can.”
“No luck?” Fili asked grimly.
“No…” Kili admitted, still engrossed in his task. “I had to ask Balin what would happen if a non-dwarf was turned to stone by Mahal’s Anvil, and he got pretty suspicious after that. Higher, Gimli! I can still see his ear!”
“That’s just great!” Fili complained. “Now what are we going to do?”
“Gimli and I figured, if we cover Bilbo up, everyone will just think he’s feeling under the weather.”
Fili sputtered trying to find words for how ridiculously idiotic an idea that was. For one thing, that wouldn’t explain his inability to talk or move! Never mind when Thorin, sop that he was, decided to pick Bilbo up and carry him back to their rooms…actually, how heavy was Bilbo now that he was stone? Nevermind, it wasn’t important. What was important was they had just under an hour to figure out a way to fix this, and they were no closer to an answer than they were earlier.
“There, what do you think?” Kili asked as he and Gimli stood back.
The shawl just barely covered Bilbo’s head and face before falling down to lay on his arms still holding the broom. Otherwise, from the waist down, he was still very clearly and obviously stone.
“I think we’re so dead.” Fili grimaced.
“THERE YOU TWO ARE!”
The three of them jumped with a small squeak as Kili quickly moved to stand in front of Bilbo, blocking him from Dwalin’s view. Fili shot Gimli a look that the younger could only return helplessly. Nervously, he spun around to face the Guards’ Captain as he stormed in with his usual fierce scowl.
“Are you knuckleheads done yet? Thorin’s ready to have people start streaming in here…”
Fili really had to fight hard not to hang his head like a misbehaving pebble as Dwalin trailed off, his eyes moving to the mess behind them.
“He’s going to kill you.” He assessed. “This wasn’t even a hard task! How could you have possibly messed this one up?”
Fili frowned. “It was drudge work. It wasn’t even a real task!”
“Yeah! And look what you did!” Dwalin continued, confirming Fili’s suspicions. “Do you know how long it took the masons to replace the marble on this floor the first time? And just what are you two hiding over there?!”
Gimli and Kili both flinched as they tried even harder to hide Bilbo from Dwalin’s line of sight which only seemed to make him more suspicious.
“It’s…um…it’s…”
Words would not come forth no matter how much he tried to summon them, not that they seemed like they were going to stop Dwalin in the slightest.
“Bilbo is sick!” Kili interjected, giving one last ditch effort.
Dwalin blinked over at him before he looked down at the clearly stone hobbit feet. Fili could feel his stomach plummeting as Dwalin’s jaw dropped, ripping the shawl away. Curses and prayers fell from his lips with ease, growing more heated the longer he looked upon Bilbo.
“ What in Mahal’s Great Forge did you do?” He demanded, his eyes still glued to the frozen hobbit.
“I-It was an accident…” Fili tried to explain.
“What. Did. You. ACTUALLY JUST DO?!” Dwalin roared, finally turning around on the three of them, fire burning in his eyes.
“They did.” Gimli immediately denied, pointing at Fili and Kili.
Fili shot the younger dwarf a glare before turning back to Dwalin who seemed to be only a couple of seconds from decking them and then dragging them back to Thorin by their bootstraps. A vivid threat he had used on them many times before.
“So…it all started when Fili bet me I couldn’t hit that pillar…” Kili began.
It didn’t take long after that for Fili to cave, and both were explaining in great detail how they caused the rockslide and went to go find Bilbo. How when they were cleaning up, they happened upon Mahal’s Anvil and decided to try and make it ring. Kili had stared at Fili when he glossed over his fight with Bilbo, but didn’t speak a word about it. Dwalin remained unnaturally quiet through the whole story, even as they finished with trying to find out how to change him back with no results. Dwalin turned back to Bilbo, his eyes softening as he took in the hobbit’s miserable expression.
“Do you think it pained him?” He asked softly.
Fili flinched, but he didn’t answer. He couldn’t. He didn’t want to even begin thinking about that.
“What should we do?” Kili asked tentatively. “To fix him, I mean.”
Dwalin closed his eyes, his chin dropped to his chest, and his arms crossed tight. Even though it held the baring of annoyance, it was a sight that filled Fili with hope. This was his ‘commander poise’ and the tactical brilliance to follow would surely reveal a path he had previously overlooked. After a few more seconds, Dwalin looked up and squared his shoulders determinedly.
“Maybe you just didn’t hit it hard enough.”
Fili’s jaw dropped as Dwalin started to make his way over to the anvil, pulling out his warhammer in the process.
“Just didn’t hit it hard enough?” Fili questioned over Gimli’s excited cheering. “That’s your solution?! Last time, we turned our uncle to stone. Do you really want to try this?”
“You said it’s supposed to ring right? How are you supposed to get a good ring using a dinky forge hammer anyways?”
“It’s a forge anvil.” Kili defended once again.
“Might as well give it a shot. What’s the worst that can happen?” Dwalin demanded.
“WE COULD ALL TURN TO STONE!”
The older dwarf shrugged as he hefted his hammer high. “Worth a try.”
In one fluid motion, he brought the hammer down hard on the iron surface creating a faint, flat ‘clang’. Fili’s hopes rose thinking he might have actually done it. Not even a second had passed before Dwalin went flying clear across the room, and the wave of pressure hit into the rest of them as well.
“BILBO!” Kili gasped.
Fili pushed himself up far enough to see the stone structure rock back and forth before tipping backwards. Horror kept him frozen and mute. Luckily, Gimli dove under the falling statue just in time. Fili rose to his feet ready to congratulate his friend on his quick thinking, when there was a loud ‘crack’.
“No. No, no, no, no, no!” He started chanting as he ran over to Bilbo’s side.
“It’s alright.” Gimli grunted. “It was just the broom.”
Sure enough the wooden handle was splintered in two. Fili was not satisfied until he and Kili had Bilbo standing upright and inspecting every surface inch on the hobbit. Once it was clear there was no danger, did he release a sigh of relief.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” Dwalin wheezed as he slowly got to his feet again.
“I tried to warn you.” Fili pointed out.
“Hey! You did heal the floor though…sort of.”
Everyone looked over where Kili was standing to see that the marble had pieced itself back together leaving only the spider web effect from where it was impacted. The brothers shared a look at this.
“Maybe all we need to do IS hit it harder!” Kili gasped.
“If we go get one of the really large forge hammers…” Fili agreed.
“Nope. Not doing that again.” Dwalin grunted as he limped over to them. “Besides, your uncle will be here shortly. He can decide what’s to be done about this.”
Fili couldn’t even believe what he was hearing.
“Tell Thorin?! NO! That should be the absolute last thing we do. In fact, Gimli, since you’re supposed to be keeping. Watch. You should distract Thorin to buy us some time if he gets too close. It won’t be any hardship for us to loosen a few bolts, and then we can…”
“And then you can what?”
And just like that…Fili was dead. He couldn’t even bring himself to turn around even as Kili and Gimli straightened up a bit further.
“King Thorin is here.” Gimli announced.
“Keep watch. That’s all I asked. What was so hard about that?” Fili moaned before deciding it was time to face the executioner’s block.
Thorin had a face when he was truly mad. Bilbo hadn’t believed Fili and Kili at first thinking he had seen the worst Thorin Oakenshield could bear on the quest. Then he had tried to throw the hobbit from the ramparts under the influence of the gold sickness, and Bilbo never doubted them again. His eyes went wide making the white all the more prominent, and a little half-smirk formed from the twitch in his jaw muscle from where it was straining. It was a look Fili had only seen twice before, and even then this was the first time it had ever been aimed solely at him. It succeeded in immediately making Fili feel half his age as his eyes dropped in deference.
“You know, when I heard reports of a rock slide in this general area, I thought surely not. Surely, my nephew, my supposed heir , had more common sense than that.” Thorin began, his voice tight in the effort to remain calm.
“Thorin…” Kili attempted to defend.
“Atkât (Silence).” He spat. “Then, rather than coming to me, your King, about what I hoped to be incidental and in no way directly your fault. I hear that you went to anyone BUT me. To my Consort, to Balin, to Ori, spouting off about Mahal’s Anvil of all things! And you wonder why I can’t trust you with more responsibilities. Why I have to give you tasks below your station and below your abilities? If I CAN’T TRUST YOU TO…”
There was no sound beyond the heavy pounding of his heart for several seconds, and Fili didn’t understand right away what had stopped Thorin in mid-sentence. But the uncertainty was short lived, and the moment Fili realized what happened, his eyes were up and locking desperately on his uncle’s who just realized there was a member of the group frozen in stone. Thorin’s eyebrows pulled together as his lips twisted around the word ‘no’ soundlessly. His steps slow as if he could prolong the truth before him.
“What is this?” Thorin whispered, the vulnerable edge to his voice threatening to undo Fili completely.
His hand shook as it reached out to caress Bilbo’s cold cheek, jarring him completely.
“I ASKED WHAT IS THIS?!” Thorin roared.
They all flinched back a step. Even Dwalin watched grimly, unable to utter a word as a sob seemed to choke out of Thorin. A sound so heartbreaking and raw that Fili knew he would rather endure Thorin’s rage a hundred times over than have to hear that sound ever again.
“Kili and I found Mahal’s Anvil.” Fili began, his voice somehow so loud and not loud enough.
Thorin’s back was to Fili, so he had no idea if his uncle even heard him as he continued.
“We thought if we struck it…it would fix things from before the rockslide. But then…”
“You turned him to stone.” Thorin accused, his voice cold.
“It wasn’t on purpose…”
“You turned Bilbo TO STONE!” Thorin snapped, pinning Fili under a hate filled gaze. “My Consort…my markhel (shield of all shields), amrâlimê (my love)...”
There was a dam burst inside Fili, and he knew he couldn’t hold back any longer as a lone tear tracked its way completely to his mustache before it was joined by more.
“I don’t know what to do.” He admitted, brokenly.
Thorin only stood there, staring back wide eyed, and the flood took control.
“I don’t know what you want me TO DO!”
Fili let his breathing ground him knowing if he was going to say this, he wanted to be heard.
“When we talked of taking back Erebor, years ago back in Ered Luin…I was supposed to be ruling at your side. I knew what you wanted of me, what you expected of me as a Crown Prince. Then you married Bilbo, and honestly I couldn’t be happier for you, Uncle. I truly couldn’t. But he slipped into my place. Do you understand? Everyone else has a place. Amad, Dwalin, even Kili is head of the hunters so he can spend more time with his elf.”
Fili could see his brother flinch, but he didn’t move his gaze away from Thorin. Who seemed to have fallen into a neutral expression to keep Fili from reading his emotions.
“I don’t know what to do.” He repeated again with a helpless shrug. “Just like I don’t know how to fix Bilbo. But…I know a good place to start.”
Fili pulled out a knife, and before anyone could stop him, he cut the braid declaring him a prince of Erebor. Kili released a whine, but Fili ignored it as he stepped forward to press it into Thorin’s hand.
“My behavior today was dishonorable. Those tears on your Consort’s face? They are because of me. I spoke words to hurt him out of anger. I don’t deserve to be a prince anymore.”
Thorin was staring down at the blonde braid in his hand when Kili stepped forward. With one swift movement, he cut his braid as well and placed it on top of Fili’s. Fili looked at him aghast as Kili leveled Thorin with a straight face.
“I could have done something. I could have alerted Bilbo. I came close, but in the end, I did nothing. If Fili doesn’t deserve his title, neither do I.”
Thorin looked down at the braids, lost to his thoughts. Fili noticed Gimli starting to step forward, but Dwalin’s hand on his shoulder stopped him from interrupting. When he turned his attention back to Thorin, his uncle was piercing him with an icy glare. The braids clutched tightly in his fist.
“If I made you feel like your place in Erebor had to be earned, either of you, then I have failed as your uncle and king and it is no one’s but my own braid I should hold.”
That was all the warning they had before Fili and Kili were wrapped up in a massive bear hug. Fili didn’t even hesitate as he buried his head into Thorin’s shoulder, gripping him back just as tight. The dwarf that helped raise him alongside his Amad, and he was crying into his surcoat like he was twenty again. Assurances and apologies were mumbled in his ear, and Fili held them close, letting them burrow into his heart. It was at that moment, the sharp perfect ‘ting’ of metal striking an anvil sounded, and a gasp was released from behind them.
All at once, they spun around to see Bilbo, wonderful, perfectly hobbity Bilbo, looking around in confusion with tears still tracking down his face.
“Thorin?” He sniffed. “What’s going on…?”
Fili didn’t give his uncle the chance as he launched himself at the hobbit with a cry, pulling the smaller male into a bone crushing hug.
“I’m sorry, Bilbo. I’m so sorry.” He mumbled.
“Fili? Oh my dear boy, it’s okay. There’s nothing to forgive. Don’t cry.”
Fili wanted to laugh at Bilbo’s kind words if for nothing else than it was so Bilbo to be crying himself and trying to soothe him.
“I knew you were too soft on them.” Thorin laughed as well before pulling Bilbo just far enough out of Fili’s reach to plant a firm kiss on his lips.
After that, the four of them moved into one giant group hug that they ended up pulling Dwalin and Gimli into as well, laughing all the way.
“My word! I’m not quite sure what it is that I missed, but I can’t say I’m displeased with the result.” Bilbo remarked with a grin.
“Fi! Do you know what this means?” Kili asked, almost bouncing in excitement.
He raised an eyebrow waiting for Kili to enlighten him.
“You must be worthy now!”
Fili’s jaw dropped. That was right! No one had struck the anvil so it must have accepted Fili’s first swing as worthy after he fixed things with Thorin.
“We should try it again.” He stated, wanting to see the miracle of Mahal’s Anvil firsthand.
Before he or Kili could race over there, Thorin stopped them both by latching onto the collars of their tunics.
“Perhaps…that’s enough for today?” He pleaded. “I still don’t know how I feel about this magic anvil business without you two bringing the mountain down around our ears with it.”
“But Fili’s worthy now.” Kili tried to argue.
It was Thorin’s pained expression that had Fili taking pity on him.
“Come on, Kili, Gimli. Let’s get this thing down to the treasury. We can decide what to do with it afterwards.”
“You know it’s not Mahal’s Anvil, right?” Gimli asked as they hoisted it up.
“What?!” Kili demanded.
“It says ‘Property of Narvi’ right there on the side of it.”
“Wait. The Narvi of Khazad-dûm. How do you think it got here?”
“Why is it magic?” Fili questioned.
“What else do you think it can do?” Kili continued to list.
Dwalin, Thorin, and Bilbo could only shake their heads as they watched them carry the anvil off.
“They’re your heirs.” Bilbo reminded.
Thorin’s hand tightened on the braids still in his hand, his other slung around Bilbo’s waist.
“I know.” He sighed. “And I’m going to do better about making sure they realize it too. I need to stop treating them like children, and let them grow into the princes I know they can be.”
Bilbo looked up at Thorin sharply. “Seriously? What did I miss?”
Thorin shrugged helplessly. “I don’t even know if I can explain it myself.”
“I don’t know what they were going on about.” Dwalin complained. “It was clearly my swing that finally got the stupid thing working again.”
Thorin raised an eyebrow. “Clearly.”
“Well whatever it was,” Bilbo sighed. “If it keeps me from having to hear ‘say, Uncle Bilbo’ again, then I dare say the worst is behind us.”
Thorin and Dwalin had just enough time to give the hobbit an unimpressed, flat look before a trio of ‘WE’RE SORRY’ was issued. After that it was all they could do to duck as the hundreds of angry screeching bats filled the chamber.