His Amorem

Imladris

Two days later, the company had finally left the cover of the trees and spent hours on open grass and rocky plains. Unfortunately they were not out of danger, the orc pack had caught up and Radagast was running out of ways to lead them off.

Hiding behind a large rock formation, Gandalf watched Radagast taunt the orcs following him before ushering the company to hurry on. It was only as the sun started to fall that Keerla recognised where they were.

"Gandalf!" She hissed as they ducked behind another rock, "You cannot be serious!"

"What?" Thorin looked at her and then to Gandalf, "Where are you leading us?"

Gandalf didn't answer, simply pushed on and with no other choice, the company followed. The pack appeared again and they quickly hid behind another outcrop. Keerla glanced up as a scout on a warg crawled up the rock above them and she slipped around behind it. Placing her feet carefully, she climbed and just before the orc or warg could sense the dwarfs she lunged.

Landing on the Warg's back she unsheathed Ainu (Holy one) her sword and beheaded the orc in one swift movement. She twisted on her toes for momentum, taking hold of her sword with two hands and brought it down on the warg's neck before it could make a noise – before its rider's head had even hit the ground. Both warg and orc slipped from the rock and landed in a heap at the feet of Thorin and his nephews, Keerla grinning proudly as she stood on top of them.

"Nice," Fili grinned, only for a warg to howl nearby.

"They smelled the blood already," Keerla murmured, "These wargs have better senses than the last ones i came across."

"Move. Run!" Gandalf yelled, leading them through a grassy plain.

Keerla sheathed her sword and grabbed her bow as wargs fell in from either side, surrounding them. Without much choice she stopped and turned, releasing two arrows in one shot. She had aimed them perfectly, taking both orc and the warg it was riding out in one attack.

"You have got to show me how you do that!" Kili cried, firing his own arrow as she took another pair down.

"Maybe when we're not running for our lives!" she called back, setting up two arrows and taking out a warg and orc nearing the dwarf archer.

"Ha!" Fili laughed as he cut down a rider-less warg before it got too close, "We're always running for our lives!"

"Where is Gandalf?"

Turning at Ori's yell, Keerla looked around and realised they were one wizard short. But her eyes almost immediately recognised the rock formation that most dwarfs had backed up near and smirked.

"He has abandoned us!" Dwalin growled.

"He has not!" the Elleth took out an orc and warg pair, "He knows what he's doing!"

"Hold your ground!" Thorin roared over the noise, unsheathing his sword.

Unable to help themselves, everyone had backed up a little, closer to each other to form a circle. Spotting an orc with a bow, Keerla turned her own arrow on the creature and shot the weapon from his hand before the arrow could be released, then loaded two arrows to take out the orc and warg themselves.

"Stop showing off!" Kili and Fili chimed, making her grin.

"Stop giving me reason to!" she shot back, though gave her quiver a worried glance - she was running out of arrows.

"This way, you fools!" Gandalf yelled suddenly.

Keerla and Kili continued to shoot as they backed up, giving the others time to follow Gandalf. He led them down a crack in the rocks into a secret passage. Once everyone but Thorin and the two archers were in, Kili lowered his bow, grabbed Keerla's hand and ran for it. They collided with Thorin unexpectedly, the three of them toppling into the hole with yells of surprise and outrage.

They landed in a heap on the ground, and looked up to see the rest of their company staring at them in amusement. A loud horn sounded as they untangled themselves, bringing a small smile to Keerla's lips. She took Fili's hand, letting him pull her up just as an orc fell into the passage, landing where she had been.

Everyone pulled their weapons, but the orc did not move, an arrow sticking out of its back. Thorin crouched, ripping the arrow from the flesh and stared at it in disgust.

"Elves," he scoffed, throwing it away.

Dwalin turned and stormed further down the passage, trying to look around, and then called back to them, "I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or no?"

"Follow it, of course!" Bofur insisted, rushing after him.

"I think that would be wise," Gandalf agreed, watching the others follow.

Keerla shot him a knowing glare, but he avoided her and hurried after the dwarfs, leaving her alone with Thorin, Fili and Kili.

"You know where we are going," Thorin stated almost immediately, but his tone was not angry.

"Yes," she agreed, glancing between the three of them, "And you are not going to like it."

As they fell in behind the company, Kili reached out and locked his fingers around Keerla's own. She glanced his way but he was focused on the path which had grown dark other than the light Gandalf's staff gave off.

"Are you okay?" she whispered.

"I'm fine," he mumbled, "I just want to hold your hand."

Blushing, she smiled and turned her attention forward, seeing Kili grin from the corner of the eye. It took five days to make their way through the passage, stopping twice to eat and once to sleep. Gandalf led the way; Keerla stayed at the back to make sure no one wandered off or got left behind. Kili stayed with her, often holding her hand or walking close enough to brush against her.

They didn't talk much, but they didn't have to. Both were content with the company of the other though neither really knew how to explain it. Keerla knew she was letting her heart get away from her; she was letting herself believe Kili had the same feelings as she did, even though she had no idea if it were true. Kili was in the same mind-set and Fili watched from a distance, getting more and more annoyed at how oblivious the two of them were.

Eventually though, on the afternoon of the sixth day, they spilled out of the passage and onto a rocky outcrop overlooking forest, river and a small settlement. Keerla smiled to herself, enjoying the beautiful view and the fresh sun, she didn't expect to return this soon.

"The Valley of Imladris," Gandalf announced, "In the Common Tongue, it's known by another name."

"Rivendell," Bilbo said with awe.

The fingers around Keerla's own tightened their grip, and she glanced at Kili's weary expression. Following his eyes, she saw the unhappy looks of the company and the pure anger written on Thorin's face. She squeezed Kili's hand a little tighter, trying to give him some assurance that it would all go fine.

"Here lies the last Homely House east of the sea."

"This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy," Thorin demanded, glaring up at Gandalf who simply frowned. The others kept quiet, watching the two argue for an outcome.

"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill-will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself. Don't you agree, Keerla?"

Glancing up, Keerla frowned and said, "Actually i agree with Thorin." Everyone stared at her in surprise, "Elrond may be kind and welcoming, but he will not allow this quest. He may not try to stop us physically, but he will suggest against it. And now you've made the company feel uncomfortable."

Rolling his eyes, Gandalf said, "Of course they will try to stop us. But we have questions that need to be answered."

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