A Tale of Time

Chapter 26: Left Behind

Chapter 26: Left Behind

Gailien slowly ties her boots up, sitting on the floor of the common area. The Dwarves are spread out through the entire house, either eating or putting on their armour. Gailien opted not to wear any – since she would not be going. Every time she tried to tell somebody; she becomes overridden with guilt. They might think she is abandoning them, but that is the furthest from the truth.

Smaug needs to die, Gandalf confirmed that for her a while ago and she didn't know how it would be done but now with the knowledge of the Black Arrow and Bard, she knows where her duty lies. Gailien knows she cannot tell them about the waking of the dragon – they would just promise to be extra careful and it would scare them even more. Nerves make mistakes.

Then she also has to find the correct timing to go to Bard. If she tells him to early, then he'll try and stop the Dwarves. Not to mention if it gets wind to the rest of the town, they drive themselves into chaos and try to escape. But Smaug will attack them no matter where they run. So Gailien is left with the solemn duty of finding the perfect time to warn them enough so they have the time to escape but also keep Smaug around the town so Bard can shoot him down.

"I think I've watched you tie and retie that same shoe four times," Fili muses. He has just finished tying off his last plates of armour and intended to just talk with his brother but Kili is still getting ready himself. Thorin is pacing around, making sure everybody is on top of everything.

Gailien sighs, tying it off tightly for a final time. "Distracted," she excuses herself. Her forehead thankfully, never truly bled but she is left with a nasty bruise just above her temple, colouring her skin.

"You never told us what you saw last night," he says. "Whatever it was struck a nerve in you." Gailien drops her eyes back to the floor where her booted feet lay in front of her. Fili sighs, dropping down next to her. "I've already told you before that you have a habit of getting stuck in your head."

Gailien manages a stiff breath of laughter through her nose. "I know, malthen emel. But this is something that I have to carry myself." She tucks her chin to her chest in thought, wanting to distract her mind for at least a moment. "I've...noticed that you seem to not like jokes about favouritism," she begins cautiously. "You know that they're just jokes, right?"

Fili sucks his lips, looking down at his fingernails. "Yeah, of course," he answers. Gailien watches him silently. It is a trick her father used to use to get her to confess. The silence is just too vacant, and people talk to fill it. And it seems to work as Fili rounds off his shoulders, trying to hold his mind together as he answers. "Sometimes I think they aren't," he admits quietly. His eyes dart around trying to find any listening ears. "Thorin was always softer with Kili. And you treat him the same way. Even our mother treats him easier."

Gailien nods slowly as he talks, wanting to validate his feelings. "I don't think it has anything to do with favouritism," she says. "You're the future king, Fee. You hold yourself strong and while it may sound a little wrong, there is a lot more weighing on your shoulders. I love you both equally, and I treat you how I think you need to be by me. I don't want to...to-to to coddle you because I don't think you need it. And neither does Kili for that matter, I just enjoy it.

"Nobody is treating you differently because they love you any less, especially your mother or Thorin. But one day you are going to have an entire kingdom to run and you need to be able to stand tall and proud – and be a good leader. Sure, Kili is a prince, but unless something unthinkable happens, then he will never have to have that responsibility. Could you imagine Kili as a king right now?"

Their eyes gaze over to where Kili is spinning about in a circle, trying to grasp one of the ties to his shoulder plates. "Like a dog chasing his tail," Fili chuckles. "I...I guess you're right." He smiles, shaking his head to himself. "I came over here to listen to your worries, not ramble about my own."