Starcrossed Losers - [A Kili X OC fic]

Chapter VII

"Where are we?" Fili asked the woman, slightly surprised at the impressive sight in front of him. Raewyn studied the keep in the distance while the sound of the waterfalls welcomed her back.

"Rivendell." She answered, now looking back at the two young dwarves. "I used to live here." She explained, although the memory did not seem very fond.

"Why so glum? This seems like a wonderful place to live." Kili spoke honestly, his eyes wandering off towards the grandious waterfalls.

"It is." The woman admitted, shifting her weight onto her other foot the pushing pain of her injured ankle nearly becoming too much. The gesture did not went unnoticed by the two dwarves.

"But it was a home that was forced onto me. I never felt comfortable here." Raewyn added, "It's too calm and peaceful. Almost as if something is wrong." With those words, she looked towards Kili, whose eyes had now been glued to her ankle. "It kept me up for months."

"Do you think the elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us!" She suddenly heard Thorin boom, and for once, she had agreed with him. She stepped towards the bickering pair, not giving attention to Kili's protests.

"Gandalf, Elrond will not let us pass after he finds out what we're set to do." She spoke up, surprising both Gandalf and Thorin, who turned to her in wonder.

"Unless you learned to read ancient Dwarvish runes while you were gone, we will need his help." The wizard countered.

"Show me the map and give me a chance!" Raewyn decided, though Thorin quickly opposed to that idea. "I will not let you read this map."

"Great." The young woman began, a mocking smile on her face. "So Thorin will not let anyone look at the map and the elves will definitely make sure we will not resume the journey. Great planning you had there." She summed up, her last sentence directed towards Gandalf.

"We have questions that need to be answered." The pilgrim disputed. "And of course they will try to stop us, but we will not get any further if this map is not thouroughly explained." Thorin huffed in protest as Raewyn frowned at the old wizard, taking a step back.

"If we are to be successful this will need to be handled with tact, and respect, and no small degree of charm," Gandalf spoke up for everyone to hear. He looked over the entire company until his eyes landed on Raewyn once more. "which is why you will leave the talking to me." With that, the wizard walked up front, leading the group towards the center of the village.

"What was that?" Kili now wondered quietly, walking towards the young woman as the company of dwarves began following Gandalf.

"That was me going against Gandalf." She clarified, clumsily resuming her path to Rivendell.

"Yes, I realized that much, but why?" The dwarf questioned, offering Raewyn his arm. She looked at him with a doubting glance, but - for once - Kili would not take no for an answer. He nudged her with his elbow softly, making Raewyn scoff before reluctantly accepting his offer. Her arm wrapped around his own, giving her the opportunity to rest her weight against his own.

"Because this is the house of a lord," Raewyn began, her eyes now shifting from the floor to Kili, "and I'm not exactly proper to those who rule."

"You don't say." The dwarf joked, easing a silent laugh out out of the ranger. "Why?"

"You're asking a lot of questions." Raewyn declared, raising an eyebrow at his speech.

"I won't anymore if I get answers." Was Kili's answer, a big smile visible on his face.

The young woman rolled her eyes, looking back towards the path they had been trailing. "It's in the way I grew up." She confided. "In my family, everyone was equal. Those with power tried to oppress us in order to gain our allegiance."