Fables of a Mage | A Kili Durin FanFic |

{ 6 } Returning to Them

The entire journey through the cave and it's winding pathways seemed like torture for Kili. Just the thought of having to leave Ianthe behind brought a sharp pain to his chest and made him freeze, yet his brother pushed him on with a gentle hand and a few words of comfort. The prince felt his heart grow heavy the further he followed his company away from the cave, and he couldn't seem to get the image of her— bloodied and practically torn apart— out of his mind. His worries didn't cease even when the Elven horns sounded out before they went down the pathway. Kili had not encountered Elves before so he only had the stories of his uncle to go by. Selfish, cruel, and uncaring for those outside of their kin. That's what he had been told they were, so that's why he had thought them to be. Thinking of Ianthe being captured by a band of Elves made the young prince shudder before a bout of anger washed over him. Yet even though he tried shaking the fear and the image of her out of his head, he couldn't.

"She will be fine, brother." Fili often found himself saying as they trekked through the narrow pathways. Though the more he said it, the more he realized that even he didn't seem to believe it the further away from the cave they walked. Curiosity had gotten the better of him earlier. He asked his uncle about Ianthe and what he had saw, and when Thorin had explained to Fili just how bad Ianthe's wounds looked, even when he wasn't that close to her, the golden-haired prince flinched and dread filled his gut. By now his words were merely a form of comfort to his brother, yet Fili could tell by the look in Kili's eyes and the tension in his shoulders that he was beginning to not believe it. Hell, neither was he.

The company kept eerily quiet as they were led through the pathways of the cave. It wasn't soon after they had dislodged a stuck Bombur did they finally see light pouring on to the path. Many of the dwarves eyes blew wide as they came to a stop at the beginning of the path, taking in the elegant stone and the weaving greenery that laid down before them. "The Valley Of Imladris." Gandalf spoke fondly, his lips spreading in a small smile for the first time since leaving Ianthe behind. His heart grew heavy upon thinking of the mage, as he knew of her love for the Elven cities, even the ones she had her to visit, like this one. "In the common tongue, it is known by another name."

"Rivendell." Bilbo gasped quietly, eyes wide and full of wonder at seeing the Elven city for the first time.

"Here lies the Last Homely House, East of the Sea."

Many of the dwarves seemed to sober up as Gandalf spoke, some eyes now narrowing at the city below them. The longer Kili looked around at the weaving trees and budding flowers that embellished the city the more angered and sad he became. He knew Ianthe would have loved to see such a marvelous sight, and he could just imagine the smile that the city would produce on her face. She would have definitely already been making her way down the stone steps and towards a waterfall that was set further down. Kili would have loved to see how she would react to this Elven City. He stood frozen as his lips pulled down into a deep frown, and his fingers balled into fists as he looked away from Rivendell. The city looked lovely enough, sparkling and pulsing with some unseen magic. But no peace would be found in Kili's heart, not while he knew Ianthe could still be alive, out in the wild on her own with a possibly deadly wound.

"This was your plan all along." Thorin's voice was bitter as he looked away from Rivendell and towards Gandalf, his eyes set a blaze with anger. "To seek refuge with our enemy." Gandalf quirked an eyebrow at the dwarf for a moment. He was half inclined to chuckle at the dwarfs anger, especially when he could imagine a familiar voice arguing back with Thorin in his head. The poor mage would've thrown a fit at the dwarfs attitude towards the inviting Elves of Rivendell.

"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield." Gandalf pointed out sternly, yet his eyes danced with amusement. The wizard tightened his grip on his staff for a moment, his gaze falling on to the shining city for a second before he continued. "The only ill-will to be found in this Valley is that which you bring upon yourself."