Shooting Starlight Ch.1 Lothlorien Academy

The tires gave a squeaking noise as Fíli stopped his car. The blonde looked beside him at his younger brother who was still looking ahead. He had remained silent the entire way from home to the academy. His long dark brown hair was pulled into a half up ponytail to keep the excess hair out of his face. He looked a bit pale.
“Kíli, we are here.” Kíli looked at Fíli from the corner of his eyes, through thick dark lashes. He sighed a thanks and picked up the duffel bag in front of him before throwing open the passenger door.
“Hey!” Fíli called after him and the younger brother looked back. Fíli gave him a thumbs up and grinned. “You’ll be fine! You’re great at it so don’t worry. And besides it’s supposed to be fun, meet new people. Uncle Thorin would never have let you accept their invitation if he thought you wouldn’t like it.” This seemed to encourage Kíli as a smile started to creep back on his face.

The brothers, though 5 years apart, were very close, always knowing what bothered the other and how to cheer each other up. They could have been twins.
“Thanks Fíli!”
“Good! I’ll be back here in two hours.”
“Alright.” Kíli shut the door and walked around the car to get to the entrance. Fíli pushed his window down.
“Oh and Kíli?”
“Yeah?”
“Go kick some butt!” Fíli winked and Kíli laughed, winking back and raising his thumb up.
“Will do!” And with that Fíli rolled his window back up and drove away.

Kíli turned towards the Academy and took a deep breath. He could do this! He squared his broad shoulders, lifted his head and pasted a grin on his face. Kíli Durin was going to join the masters, those archers wouldn’t know what hit them –literally.

The shooting Academy was one of the most prestigious in the entire country, belonging to one of the best in the world. Becoming an archer here was like becoming royalty. But that wasn’t something very foreign to Kíli.

His family was technically royalty. The Durin family was one of the oldest in the world. A bit more than a century ago, his ancestors used to rule over the lands of Erebor as kings and queens. Nowadays however they didn’t rule over the people but simply owned lots of land and were the owners of a successful mining business carrying the same name, Erebor.

They would harvest and produce most of the resources themselves, especially gold, diamonds and other precious stones. These would be made into the most beautiful creations that were sought after by many, from other royal families and celebrities, to fashion designers. A few years ago they expanded the business to also include the average people who desired unique wedding rings or quality birthday presents. Fíli was more or less in charge of that section of the company. Their uncle Thorin, currently the head of the company was preparing his nephew to take over one day. Thorin Durin never married, nor had any children. However with the sudden death of Fíli and Kíli’s father, Thorin had supported his sister Dís with the upbringing of her two sons and he had practically become a father to both of them.

Fíli was currently his heir. At 27, he had finished his bachelor in international business and masters in law and trade, and was happy to be supporting his uncle.

Kíli had just finished his own bachelor in politics but he had no idea what he actually wanted to do. At 22 years old he didn’t feel ready to commit to the company for the rest of his life. He had decided to take a year off and work in a café. This has surprised the rest of the family. It hardly happened that a member of the Durin family would work outside of the business and never in something so different as a café. But they were still ever so supportive, especially his mother who convinced him to take up his favourite sport again, bow and arrow shooting. While in his youth he would go to competitions, and generally win, he stopped during university to focus on his studies. But now he was back and he’d been invited to come to try outs at the world-renowned Lothlórien Archer Academy.

For a few seconds Kíli stood in front of the doors of the magnificent Academy, looking through the glass into a grand light foyer. He eyed his destination, the information desk, before taking a deep breath and opening the door. He didn’t stop and stare at the beautiful interior but remained focused on his goal.

The woman behind the desk had spotted him coming her way, and became ever so startled by his intense gaze. Quickly she scanned the agenda to see who this visitor could possibly be. As she eyed his name she mentally slapped herself, how could she not have recognized one of the Durin boys of Erebor? As he reached her desk she smiled at him.
“You must be Mr Durin?” As is being awoken from a trance, his intense dark brown eyes looked at her surprised.
“Huh, what?”
“Kíli Durin? That is your name right?”
“Oh yes, sorry, of course. I am Kíli Durin.”
“No problem at all. It happens to all of us.” The woman smiled and Kíli returned the smile. “Now,” she said getting to business, “the changing rooms are that directions, your instructor will be waiting on the other side at the range. I believe he has a session currently but that won’t be a problem.” She looked him over and pushed her rectangular glasses further up her perfectly straight nose. “How tall are you?”
“Um…” Kíli said, slightly taken back by her question, “1.75 madam.”
“Hmm right, let me see if we have your size, most here are taller. But don’t worry if it doesn’t fit, it won’t be your permanent uniform. If you’re accepted they’ll make one specifically for you.” She said while looking in the cupboard behind her for the right size.
“Oh well actually, I brought my own stuff.” Kíli said raising his duffel bag as confirmation. He felt colour rising to his cheeks, he wasn’t that small!
“Oh great,” the woman said looking relieved, “well right that way then.”
“Thanks.” Kíli smiled and headed to the door she pointed to.

The changing rooms were very light and modern with few decorative touches here and there. Very streamlined just like archers themselves. Kíli found himself a locker and began to strip from his jeans, heavy leather jacket and rough knitted sweater. He made himself comfortable in his grey jogging pants, black fitting t-shirt and threw on his dark blue hoodie against the autumn chill. Finally feeling a bit more confident, he happily locked up his belongings. The feeling didn’t last long.

Just as he wanted to exit the changing rooms a group of students came in. The boys were taller than he was, all sporting long hair held together in low ponytails, their faces perfectly aligned and they all wore the silver coloured uniform he just turned down. The uniforms were fitted tightly around their lean bodies, but had to be flexible enough for the movements required with shooting. The shirt had a high collar and the sleeves were long. The ends reached their knees. They wore tight dark pants and high boots. A few dark blue bands decorated the shirt, which showed their ranking.

Kíli had made himself familiar with these rankings. Red was the ‘beginner’ level, though this was only relevant in the academy itself; belonging to the academy already meant belonging to some of the worlds best. Blue was the intermediate level and finally green was the colour of the masters.  

The boys had been laughing among themselves but fell quiet when they saw Kíli. They looked him up and down and Kíli suddenly wished he hadn’t turned down the uniform offer, even if it had been too bog it would have blended him in better than his own sporting gear. He felt terribly out of place. But thankfully none of the boys laughed, rather they looked curious.
“Where’s your uniform?” one of them even asked.
“I am here for try outs.” Kíli replied, hoping that would explain his appearance. He thought he saw some understanding in their eyes. The questioner even graced him with a small smile.
“Well good luck then.”
“Thanks.” Kíli mumbled and practically pushed his way through the exit. He thought he heard laughter behind him but didn’t dwell upon it.

He stepped into the range and this time he did take in the view, how could he not? It was the most beautiful place he had ever seen. The range was set up like a veranda. There was wooden flooring with massive racks of all-different kinds of bows on the walls beside him as well as hundreds of arrows displayed, all arranged on size and weight. The range itself was immense. It stretched well 10 meters across and had a width of at least 5. Fifteen archers were currently lined up at the edge and they looked out along a strip of grass in the front before reaching the edge of a forest. The trees displayed their recently coloured leaves in a magnificent show of reds, oranges, yellows, and greens. Between two archers clad in silver, Kíli saw a few targets spread throughout the open space.

There was a shout and Kíli quickly looked beside him. There, dressed in a silver and green robe, stood his instructor. Celeborn was a tall man, his long silver mane flowing over his shoulders. Though he was older, lines only minimally bared his face with only a few lining his clear blue eyes. Those eyes were fixed on his students who instantly straightened their stands. Another command and synchronically they picked an arrow from the holder on their backs.
“Ready!” They came into position, aiming their arrows on the assigned target. Kíli could feel excitement and anticipation fill the air. His own hands were trembling, he wanted to join, and he needed something to shoot.
“Fire!” roared Celeborn and with perfect timing all students released their arrows at the same time, piercing their targets with deadly precision. A few seconds passed in the silence before bustling began with the students checking their targets and arrows, some cheering with happiness, others groaning with frustration. Kíli didn’t miss the green bands lining their uniforms.

Celeborn had seen him and enthusiastically walked towards him.
“You must be Kíli Durin?”
“Yes sir.”
“Oh no need to call me sir, call me Celeborn,” and the two hands. “Well Kíli you’ve come right on time. I want you to see some of the training sessions so you know what will be expected of you. This is accuracy training, we also have endurance and the combination of the two, which many here prefer over this I am afraid.” He grinned as he caught a few students shift uncomfortably, obviously eavesdropping the conversation. “But I’ll admit, I find this part a very calming experience, my style of mediation, just don’t tell my wife.” He said winking at Kíli who smiled back. “Now will you come with me inspecting their shots?” It wasn’t really a question, as Celeborn put a hand on his shoulder and stirred him towards the waiting students.

Although Kíli couldn’t shake off the feeling of embarrassment as he stood beside Celeborn who commented on his students. Some he congratulated with their progress of prolonged success. Others who had already expressed their frustration were given stern comments, though most were given in encouragement. Generally those students didn’t seen to value Kíli presence as it added to their own embarrassment.

Finally they reached the end of the line and Kíli saw a tall girl with the longest and most beautiful hair he’d ever seen. Her hair was the colour of the autumn leaves, a rich red colour reminding Kíli of the fur of the young foxes that sometimes crossed the Erebor lands. The strands were braided into a thick French braid that fell along her straight back, the ends reaching her upper thighs.
“Tauriel, perfect shot as always?”

The girl Tauriel turned and Kíli felt his heart stop. Sure he’d seen beautiful women before, kissed them before and there were enough who had shared his bed, but they currently all became puffs of smoke, fading away from his memory. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever been fortunate enough to lay his eyes upon. She had a pale heart shaped face with delicate features. Her nose was small and straight with a slight upturned point. Her cheekbones were well defined and her pretty pink lips looked very kissable. But what captured him the most were her eyes. Almond shaped eyes surrounded by surprising dark lashes contained bright green orbs. They shone like the gems Kíli and his family collected they shone like the stars. They were the shade of newly sprouted trees, the shade of green that was full of life. Those eyes were alert, curious, sharp and filled with intelligence, something those other girls had lacked. And those eyes were looking straight at him!

Kíli blinked and shook his head slightly. What had he missed? Had she spoken to him? Questioning he looked at Celeborn who looked at him amused.
“Kíli this is Tauriel, one of the best here.”
“Oh yes, sorry,” Kíli mumbled as he awkwardly pushed out his hand towards Tauriel who raised a perfect eyebrow in surprise but still accepted his hand. “I am Kíli, it’s nice to meet you.” Tauriel smiled making his heart slam in his chest.
“Likewise.”

Kíli didn’t know exactly how long they held hands but he became awkwardly aware of his large rough hands compared to her slim soft ones, but that wasn’t the worst of it. To his own horror he realised that she was in fact taller than him. Though not by all that much, but still, her half a head extra height caused him to having to look up.
The Durin family was of small build. Only a few members, himself included, had grown past the 1.70 cm threshold. Though he usually didn’t care about his height specifics, when he was with his brother, he would remind everyone that he was 1.76 cm tall exactly, something he was very proud of and frustrated his older brother endlessly, whose height had stagnated at 1.72 cm. Their mother was tiny (though no less impressive) at 1.60 cm tall. It was because of this lack of height that the Durin’s tended to be attracted to smaller people in general, Kíli included. However he did prefer women of a smaller build, in contrast to the curved beauties his brother and friends brought home. While he had looked up to women in a figurative sense, Kíli couldn’t remember the last time he had done so literally.  

They released hands and Tauriel broke their eye contact, breaking the spell. She turned to Celeborn, her eyes serious.
“Unfortunately not a perfect shot.” She said trying to mask the disappointment in her voice. Celeborn raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“Oh no?” He asked and looked through the searcher to look at her shot more accurately. “Hmm well I still think it’s good.”
“It’s not supposed to be good,” Tauriel exclaimed, not bothering to hide her frustration, “it’s supposed to be perfect!”

Kíli looked at the target curiously. The arrow had hit the centre. It wasn’t an easy target in the slightest. It lay far away within the trees. The arrow had to fly completely straight to not be hindered by the other trees, leaves, and branches. Kíli eyed the searcher.
“Can I um… look?” He asked and Celeborn nodded with a smile while Tauriel looked at him rather sceptical. He lowered the monocular and found the target. The arrow had indeed pierced the target centre but lay slightly off the red circles centre. He turned his head to Tauriel in disbelieve. “You don’t find this perfect? Does it literally have to be in the centre?”
“Yes of course. As a master all your shots have to be deadly accurate.” She replied, obviously annoyed by the fact he didn’t know this. “All of my shots are perfect except for this one, I just can’t get it right!” She angrily admitted.

Kíli closed his eyes and tried to imagine himself taking the shot. How would he stand? How would he hold his bow? What would his breathing pattern be like? And how did his arrow need to fly. He hadn’t realised however that he had been moving around. When he opened his eyes Tauriel looked at him strangely.
“What are you doing?” Embarrassed Kíli turned to Celeborn, who smiled at him as if he knew exactly what was going to happen.
“Can I try?” the smile broadened and with a movement of his hand another student stood beside Celeborn.
“Lindir, can you get Mr Durin here one of our bows and an arrow. I think the Blue Mountain one will do.” With a light bow Lindir left.

Tauriel stepped aside, looking slightly shocked and Kíli took her place and started to roll his shoulder back. He wasn’t aware that most students has now left their posts and curiously had joined the corner of the range. Celeborn smirked as he looked at Kíli clothes.
“Didn’t like the uniform did you?” At that moment Lindir returned and handed Kíli the bow. It was shorter than Tauriel’s but of a heavier build. The moment his hand touched it, Kíli felt shivers of pleasure go up his spine. He recognised the build. It was similar to the one that his father had also used and given to Kíli when he started to go to competitions.
He lined himself up close to the edge and spread his legs to align with his shoulder. He then angled his body and held up his bow. He felt the string beneath his fingers and pulled it. It was strong and sturdy he would need to pull it hard in order to reach the target. He stood a small step to the right, taking the wind into consideration. Once he thought his stand was right he accepted the arrow Lindir was holding and lined it up. His father had taught him to breath in and out very slowly to minimise extra movement. When he was satisfied his breathing was correct his drew his arrow so close to his face, he could feel the feathers against his cheek. There was an intake of breath behind him but he didn’t let it distract him. Finally he relaxed his shoulders and let go.

There was a soft thud sound as the arrow hit its target. Kíli didn’t dare to check whether he had succeeded. Luckily he didn’t have to. Several students had sprung to life and were looking through the monoculars it didn’t take them very long. Within a few seconds the one closest to him let out a gasp of surprised and turned towards him with a mad grin of him face.
“You’ve done it! It is right in the centre!” He exclaimed. Others quickly gathered around, all wanting to glimpse at the evidence. Kíli became overwhelmed with students congratulating him. Celeborn had looked himself as well and smiled happily. He put a hand on Kíli shoulder.
“I knew you could do it! I’d say you passed our accuracy training!”
“Thank you sir!”

Kíli turned to Tauriel, who looked at him in disbelieve. But a smile started to creep onto her face. She shifted her weight to one leg, angling her hip and placed her hands in her waist as she faced him.
“How did you do that?”
“I don’t know, I just did.”
“No but I mean, your stance was exactly the same, I just don’t know what I was doing wrong.”
“Did you relax?” Kíli grinned mischievously and Tauriel raised her brow.
“Excuse me?”
“Your shoulders, did you relax your shoulders?” He asked and smiled at her.
“No…I didn’t,” She admitted and smiled back, “But I will do now!” and she winked at him. “Thanks for the tip.”
“No problem.”
“Does this mean you are already a master then?” Tauriel asked teasingly. Kíli grinned and puffed out his chest.
“Of course I am!”




He wasn’t.