Warnings: Dismembering (mention, not graphic)
Word count: 2982
Other: -
Requested: nope
Your golden feathers seem to draw trouble towards you, so you have withdrawn from the world and live a quiet life under the protection of Lord Elrond. Your relaxing life is interrupted when a band of dwarves appears in your home and opens, unknowingly, old wounds. But one of them is actually the one to mend them.
The company had just arrived and they were taking their belongings into the room that was appointed to them when a knock sounded on the door.
"Yes?" Thorin answered, annoyed that they would not be let alone for a moment. The elf lord was standing behind it, looking serene as ever.
"I am sorry to interrupt but the dinner is ready." The dwarves' faces brightened instantly, and they stood up, the annoyance from the interruption long forgotten."
"This way, please." They followed the elf around the kingdom, trying not to seem impressed by the stunning architecture, buildings, and decorative arches. Dwarves were very particular about the places they lived, and even if this was sligtly too bright and "elvish" for their taste, they could still appreciate the skill. In secret, of course.
Fili noticed something glittering on the ground, and was about to lean down and pick it up, but Nori's voice emerged first.
"What is this pretty thing?" His hand leaned down to grasp it, but the elven lord was faster, picking up the shining piece.
"Ae! That was mine."
"Actually, master dwarf, it's one of our inhabitants and they will want it returned." The elf paid no mind to the hostile looks he got and continued walking.
"If it's so important for this elf, why did they leave it lying around," Nori muttered and Fili rolled his eyes. Nothing mattered to the dwarf but gold, and if it was his or someone else's, was a complete footnote.
Settling down for dinner took them a while, but they managed and were now enthusiastically waiting for food. However, their attention was drawn away from the upcoming supper, not an easy thing to do. Something else caught their eye. Hundreds and hundreds of glittering golden feathers were attached to wings bigger than their bearer, a young woman.
"Y/N." Lord Elrond, greeted you, standing up from his chair. You smiled at him, your wings fluttering slightly behind you and causing specs of light to dance on the ceiling and walls, making the dwarves mouth open in awe.
"I found this." The elf lord handed you the feather, and you sighed as you accepted it.
"Thank you. Each spring, the same thing." You gently ran your fingers along with the bottom feathers, and there wasn't a soft scuffle that followed, it was more like a light tingling sound. It sounded like your feathers were made of actual gold.
One of the dwarves dropped a fork, and your wings sprung slightly open at the sound. But the moment you saw the dwarves, your eyes widened and you tucked your wings tight against your back tightly, trying to hide them the best you could. It was no use, they were too big. The dwarves were watching them with glowing eyes, a look you had seen before. Cold sweat started to form on your forehead, and your hands started to shake. Nori took a step forward in your direction, extending a hand to take yours. Your breathing began to hitch as tears started to collect in your eyes, but luckily Lord Elrond was there to save you.
"Y/N, I believe the dwarves wouldn't mind dining in peace." You gave him a short, shaky nod and stormed off as quickly as you could with your staggering feet, only stopping next to a torch to stick the feather in it, igniting it. You dropped it to the floor, and the dwarves watched it burn to ash.
"Her company wouldn't have bothered us," Nori muttered, his eyes still hazy as he watched towards the doorway that you had hurried through.
"She would've been bothered." The elf lord spoke simply, sitting down and taking a sip of his wine, watching the dwarves with steady eyes.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Dwalin grumbled, and the rest of the dwarves mumbled in agreement. Well, most of them.
Fili and Balin shook their heads, the white-bearded one speaking as he downed a sip of wine.
"Didn't you see how scared the lass was? She was trembling!" The dwarves shook their heads, and Balin let out an aggravated sigh.
"It is true, Y/N has a quite of fear of you dwarves. Don't take it personally, but a few of your kind attacked her when she was quite a bit younger." Lord Elrond explained, causing Fili to frown. He had seen the tears in your stunning eyes and had realized that your fear of them must be a severe one.
"Does it have something to do with the scars on her shoulders?" Lord Elrond raised an eyebrow at the young prince, he might have underestimated the dwarves after all. Although, judging by the looks the other dwarves gave the blonde prince, they had missed the scars completely.
"Yes." The dwarves resisted an eye roll at the simplicity of the elf's answer, of course, he would leave them in the dark about the matter.
"What happened?" Fili asked, dying to know what had happened that had made you so fearful of the dwarven race.
"Some of your kinsmen tried to take her wings." The elf spoke clearly, his eyes now fixed on them.
"Take them?" Dwalin mumbled, not understanding, but Fili's heart grew cold. The sole thought made him feel nauseated.
"They tried to cut off her wings, so they could keep them for themselves." Lord Elrond's eyes were now trained on the dwarves, and most of them winced. They could not imagine any of their kinsmen doing something like that. The dwarves loved gold, but their respect for women of all races surpassed that by far.
Lord Elrond sighed, glancing at the doorway you had walked out of.
"I found her, poor soul, bleeding and weak. I brought her here, treated her wounds, and promised that she could stay here, for her own safety. There are always people that would love to have her wings." The elf sighed, and it was clear to everyone how attached he was to you. Not in a romantic sense, he saw you as a daughter.
"I must ask that you keep a distance from her. I don't want her to get scared at her own home, the only place she feels safe in." The dwarves muttered that they promised not to bother you.
Fili was in agony. He knew they had promised the elf lord that they would leave you alone, but he could not get you out of his brain. He knew that approaching you would freak you out, but he just had to get to talk to you or just even see you again. He excused himself from the others who were eating supper, chatting amongst themselves happily. He was walking along the hallways, looking around the buildings, hoping to see a flash of gold somewhere when he ran into something. Or rather, someone.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I should have watched where I was going..." You apologized profusely, but your words faded away as you saw who you had run into. It was one of the dwarves that had arrived today, and your breathing hitched in your throat.
"Oh, I should be the one apologizing. Here." He bent down and picked up the things you had dropped. A hairbrush, a comb, and a small vial of a special serum that had stayed intact thank Eru. He handed them to you, and the complete lack of possessiveness surprised you. Most people had a burning desire in their eyes, to get her wings, but there was something different about this dwarf.
"T-thank you." You managed to mutter, and you backed away towards the stairs you were going to walk up.
"Where are you headed?" The dwarf asked, and you squeezed the handle of your hairbrush tighter.
"I'm heading for the Ledge of stars to see the sundown." You muttered, and the blonde nodded enthusiastically.
"That sounds enchanting. Well, goodnight." Fili's heart pained to turn and walk away from you but the last thing he wanted was to frighten you. You, on the other hand, hurried up the stairs and shook your head in complete bafflement, not fully understanding what had just happened.
- -
The next evening, you were headed to the Ledge of starts again to tend to your wings, but when you got there, there was someone there. The same blonde dwarf was sitting on one of the benches, watching the darkening sky. You tripped on the last stair and had to beat your wings so you wouldn't fall down. The airflow caused the dwarf to turn, and his eyes widened when he saw you. He jumped to his feet, making you flinch.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you came here every evening! I'll leave, I don't want to make you uncomfortable."
"No, it's fine." Immediately after the words left your mouth you regretted them. Why on arda would you say something like that? Now he was going to stay and you were about to brush your wigs. The dwarf, however, gave you a kind smile and sat back down, returning his eyes to the sky, looking calm as ever. Inside, however, Fili was everything but calm. He was freaking out that you were so close and he was bursting with happiness as you had allowed him to stay.
You waited for a while, but when the dwarf didn't even glance at you, you slowly walked to your regular bench at the edge of the ledge and sat down. You slowly opened your wings, sighing quietly in relief as the tight muscles relaxed. You gently began to run the brush along with them, making sure you didn't miss any of them.
They made soft tingling noises when they moved, and Fili could not resist looking in your direction anymore. You were humming softly, and you paid your full attention to your wings, making sure every feather got the attention it deserved. When it came time for you to apply the serum, you went to pick it up but noticed it was gone. You looked around for it, and to your horror, noticed it had rolled next to the dwarf's foot.
After a lot of hesitation, you cleared your throat to get his attention. He lifted his eyes to you, looking baffled. You didn't trust your voice so you pointed at the vile next to his foot. he glanced down at it and picked it up and walked in your direction. Your brain screeched for you to run as he approached but your heart told you it was okay, so you stayed still. He handed you the vile, and you accepted it with shaky hands.
"T-thank you a-again..." Your voice trailed off, you didn't know his name.
"Oh, my name is Fili." He smiled at you and you, somehow, managed a small smile back.
"Well, thank y-you Fili." He just nodded and yawned, stretching his arms.
"Well, I'll head to bed. Goodnight." He gave you a short bow and excited the ledge. You could hear his boots hitting the steps as he walked down them.
"Goodnight." You answered, unsure of how to feel. He hadn't done anything that indicated that he wanted to harm you, and he had been nothing but kind to you but you were still scared.
- - -
After that night, you started to open up to Fili. You were still scared and he kept his distance as he noticed it, but you were warming up to him. Every time you were with him you began to wonder if dwarves were bad after all, but when you went to sleep and the nightmare of the night they tried to take your wings returned, you were convinced again that they were.
You didn't know it, but this was going to be your last night. Thorin had decided that they would head out when the sun went down, and Fili was walking up to the Ledge of stars with a heavy heart. How was he supposed to leave you? You were funny, kind, and interesting to talk to, even though you were reserved and shy. That was actually what made you interesting in the first place, not your wings. Those interesting qualities were one of the reasons Fili had noticed he had fallen for you, hard. And it might have also been your pretty eyes. Just maybe. But you were so much more of your wings.
"Y/N?" Fili called, knowing that if he just appeared on the ledge you would get spooked, so he announced his arrival.
"Yes?" Your voice came from around the corner, and Fili walked around it to see you brushing your wings. Behind you, the Sun was setting, and Fili's time was running out. But this was not the kind of news you just dumped on a person and left the place, for probably forever. This was the kind of news people spent weeks digesting. Fili sat down on a stone bench and ran a hand through his hair nervously.
"I wanted to talk to you about something," Fili confessed, and you turned to him, setting the brush down on a nearby table as he gestured to the bench next to him. Slightly hesitantly, you stood up and sat next to him, on the opposite side of the bench, fidgeting with your hands. Fili's heart was pounding, this was the closest you had been to him.
"You have really pretty eyes."
A compliment was a good way to start, right? Apparently so, as you blushed beet red and muttered so quietly that Fili almost missed it.
"That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me."
"What? No one has ever told you before that you have pretty eyes that sparkle like stars in the sky?" Slightly cliche and over the top, but your blush, which had been easing, returned just as intense.
"Well, no. Everyone always compliments my wings." You muttered, running a hand through the golden feathers.
"You are so much more than those wings, and there are so many other things about you that are pretty, not just them," Fili stated sternly, and you smiled at him, a blush staying at your cheeks before you returned your gaze to the ground. Fili took a deep breath. It was now or never. The sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon.
"Y/N." You looked up at him.
"This will come out so quickly, but I really like you. You are so talented and pretty and kind that every time I think about you my heart just melts." Fili's words made your heart stop, and you looked at him. You knew that even if your fear was still there, you cared for Fili deeply.
"I might not ever return from this journey, but if I do, will you allow me to court you?" Your heart stopped at those words, and you stayed frozen for a moment.
You returned back to earth when Fili stood up, surrendered, and heartbroken.
"Yes." You heard yourself say, and his head shot up.
"Y-yes?" You nodded, and you could see that he was itching to touch you, so you gently grabbed his hand, ignoring the shaking of your hands. You stood there, staring at each other when a yell broke the serene evening.
"Fili!" Fili sighed, his uncle was looking at him, and when he looked into your eyes he knew that you understood. He was leaving. Fili cautiously bent down and placed a feather-light kiss on your hand, and you didn't pull away. You blushed beet red again but you didn't pull away.
"I will return to you if gods will it so." He woved, and you knew that he meant it. He gently pulled his hand away from you and began to walk away, but you stopped him.
"Wait." You slid your hand to your wings and plucked a feather off of them. Not a big one, but one small enough that it was easy to hide.
"Take it, as a good luck charm. As a promise." You said, handing him the feather. Fili looked at it in disbelief, he had listened to you talking about your feathers for the whole of yesterday. Why you didn't want them to lay around, and why you always collected them. You feared that if they got into the wrong hands, they would come looking for you.
"I can't take it. What if I lose it and someone comes for you?" You shook your head slowly.
"I trust that you will keep it hidden." Fili was stunned by the immense trust you put in him. You had hidden away and kept to yourself for years, hiding your wings, burning your loose feathers. But now you wanted to give him one.
Fili gently picked up the feather from your palm and was surprised at how light it was. It was much lighter than he had thought, as it looked like it had been made of pure gold. The surface was also soft, and he gently ran his finger against it, admiring the shade. Another call of his name sounded, and he knew he needed to go. He lifted his eyes to you and spoke with a slightly shaky voice.
"Thank you."
"Just come back safe." You looked at him, and he nodded before he turned around and walked down the steps and out of your line of sight. You let out a sigh, your feelings were a mess and you were exhausted. But you knew one thing. If Fili was coming for you, you would wait for him. You didn't care for how long it was, you would wait.
Should I do part two of this or just leave it here? Edit: Part 2 posted!
Edited on 9.12.2022