Dwarven Denouement

2

"Stop! Please, just leave me alone!",Neana shouted. She had gone to the market that day, to get some more paints for her set, when her local bullies showed up. They had seen her alone and pushed her to an empty little lot behind the animal pens. They had her corned, there was no way for her to escape.m"Aw, the little mistake wants us to leave it alone, well that's to bad!", the largest of, and dullest, of the two had said. Then the smallest, who was as cunning and filthy as a rat, stepped forward. "Don't worry, we are only going to help you.", he said taking a step forward. Which caused Neana to step back bumping into the fence behind her. Now she was REALLY stuck.

"Yeah, that's it! We are here to make you less ugly.", the biggest one said, quickly hurling a handful of mud at her face. Neana recoiled from the impact, coughing up the mud that went into her nose. "I already see some improvement! Let's keep going!", the small one said. Neana kept being bombarded with mud balls. She crouched down trying to shield herself as best as she could. The next thing she knew, her face was being shove deep into the mud."You should stay like this, the mud is a good look on you!", one of them said, pushing her face deeper, suffocating her.

The hand holding her face down was suddenly off the back of her head. Neana quickly sat up, coughing and spurting out all the mud she had unintentionally inhaled. When she looked around, she saw that her two bullies were replaced by to other young male dwarves. They looked alike, so she assumed that they were brothers. She guessed that the brown haired one was the youngest, due to his lack of beard and shortness compared to his brother, who had a stubble and blonde hair.

"Hey brother! Didja see how hard my mud ball hit that guys face?", the younger one said laughing. "I sure did! You've got a great arm!", the oldest said, patting his brothers back. Neana guessed that he was her age, maybe a few years older. He then turned to Neana, offering her a hand up. Which she gladly took.

"Are you okay?", he asked.

"Yes thank you.", Neana said shyly.

"That's a relief. I'm Fili, and this is my younger brother Kili."

Hearing his name, Kili marched forward and bowed,"At your service!"

"What's your name?", Fili asked.

"Neana...Neana Zirak."

"Well, Neana Zirak, lead the way!"

"What?", she asked, she was thoroughly confused.

It was now Kili's turn to speak. "We aren't just gonna let you walk out in the street where those filth are! We are walking you home!"

Neana was so surprised by his statement that she didn't say anything for a moment.

"Oh, it's alright we don't bite.", Fili laughed.

Neana, though still apprehensive, nodded and started walking.

Along the way, Neana found herself laughing at the silliness between the two dwarves. Kili had run up behind a dwarf with a grey-white beard and tapped on his shoulder, hiding before the dwarf saw him. This went on for a few minutes until the dwarf finally caught Kili, picking him up and holding him in the air.

"Stop! Put me down Balin!", Kili squealed, laughing loudly.

"Do I have to tell Thorin about your tricks?", said the older dwarf jokingly.

"No! No I'll stop, I'll stop!", Kili replied, still laughing.

"Good." The older dwarf named Balin put Kili down and caught sight of Neana and Fili standing of a ways, laughing quietly.

"Oi! Fili are you just going to stand there and be rude or are you going to introduce me to this nice young lass?", Balin said walking up to them.

"Oh right! Balin this is Neana, Neana meet Balin."

"Pleasure to meet you Master Balin.", said Neana.

"Oh, please there really is no need for such politeness, just Balin lass. A pleasure to meet you as well. If you don't mind me asking, what in Durin's name made you walk with this rascal?", asked Balin gesturing to Fili.

"Um....", Neana said, not knowing wether or not to tell the truth.

"Kili and I bumped into her in the market, literally. We knocked the paints she bought out of her hands. I felt bad so I offered to escort her home?", interjected Fili. His response sounded more like a question than an explanation.

"Yes! And now I thank you for that, I'll be going now.", said Neana.

"But we haven't reached you house.?"

"Yes we have, I live right there. In the small cottage two doors over."

Fili was surprised. They lived so close to each other yet he has never seen her before. He was sure he would have remembered an extremely pretty girl being his neighbor- wait what? Fili was startled by thinking this girl, whom he just met, was extremely pretty...

"You paint lass?", Balin asked, bringing Fili back to reality. Neana meekly nodded.

"No need to by shy lass, it's alright. What do you like to paint?"

"Everything."

"Really? That's lovely, would you mind showing me some of you painting talent in the near future?" Neana was shocked at his request but nodded quickly.

"Great! Now you should probably head back to you home. Your ma and pa must be worried sick about you. Fili, be a gentle-dwarf and walk this young woman to her door."

"Yes sir."

"And you...", said Balin turning toward Kili,"...better get all that mud cleaned off you. Before your mother sees you." This caused Kili to jump up and run inside. Which made Neana laugh, and in turn Fili.

Then they both started walking towards Neana's house.

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"Thank you so much!", Neana suddenly, and loudly, said. Making Fili jump up with suprise. They had just reached the path leading to her houses door.

"F-for what?"

"For helping me. I know it was a burden to you, but in any case thank you."

Fili was confused, why does she think she has been a burden? But before he could reply to her, she ran up the path, turning around and looking at Fili one more time before shutting the door behind her.