Okay, so first off I must warn you that this story is not yet completed, so anyone who has read any of my previous fics like this know that it may take a while for updates. It could be anywhere from one day to eight months, though I really would like to avoid the latter.
Anyway, this fic will most likely occur in different periods of Kili's life. For example, this one happens directly after he's born, but the next chapter may be when he's four, five, six, at any age, really. Also, for the dwarves ages, I decided to go with the popular theme of the dwarflings growing mentally and physically like a human at first and then slowing down around, say, age twelve. So that's how it's gonna be for this fic, 'kay?
I don't own The Hobbit, no matter how much I would enjoy it.
Hope you enjoy the first segment!
Shooting Blind
Thorin jerked his head up from where he was sitting next to Fili, the five year old's head resting against his side as he slept. The king with no kingdom allowed his gaze to rest on Oin, a healer who had traveled to the Blue Mountains with Thorin after Erebor was taken from them. The healer looked back at Thorin with a sadness in his eyes that caused Thorin to suspect the worse, and he stood abruptly, holding Fili in his arms without waking the dwarfling.
"… Dis?" Thorin managed to say, and Oin nodded his head, a glimmer of relief in his eyes behind the sadness.
"Alive. … But Thorin, the babe…" The older dwarf's voice trailed off, and he stepped aside from the door as to allow Thorin to pass into his sister's room.
The black haired dwarf stepped in hesitantly, tightening his grip on his nephew in trepidation. What would he find in the dark room?
His blue eyes caught the sight of Dis sitting in her bed, sobs wracking her body with every breath as she clutched onto a small bundle wrapped in soft brown blankets. Her head was bowed over the babe, black, disheveled hair hiding her face from sight. The midwife, a short dwarf by the name of Arla, left the bedroom, passing Thorin and giving him a sympathetic look that barely masked her own grief.
"Dis?" Thorin questioned, moving closer to the bed. He paused just long enough to set Fili down in a chair in the corner before sitting on the edge of the blue and gold blankets, peering into his younger sister's arms to get a glimpse of the babe she had brought into the world.
She wrenched her head up in a sudden, swift movement that startled Thorin, and he flinched backward at the look on her face. It was one of pure, unadulterated grief, and her eyes, normally a bright blue that matched her son's, were red from the tears that trickled down her cheeks into her beard.
Still, Thorin wasn't sure what, exactly, he was missing. The babe seemed to be fine – or at least alive – as it was feebly moving its fingers, reaching out into the air to grip something, anything, that it would be able to hold onto and not let go. Thorin gave it – most likely a him, if he wasn't mistaken – his finger, holding it in front of the babe's finger for him to grip. There was no movement except for another wiggling of the fingers and then a shrill, loud cry erupted, dark brown eyes staring at nothing as he- Thorin's heart almost stopped just then. Staring at nothing. The babe was staring at nothing.
"No." He choked out, raising his head to look at his sister, her own head nodding as she clutched the babe even closer to her chest. Another wail came from the tiny prince, and Thorin instinctively moved his finger into the grip of the dark haired babe, said babe's crying stopping almost immediately as he got a response.
There was movement from behind the two siblings as Fili was roused from his sleep, and the sleepy bairn stumbled to his mother and uncle, peering up at them in confusion.
"Mama? … Uncle? … What's-" That was when the blond caught sight of his new baby brother. "Kili? Is that Kili?" And, indeed, that was the babe's name. Thorin vaguely recalled Dis and her husband, Ganar, agreeing on the name if the babe was to be a boy. Fili had been adamant on that fact, saying he just knew that he would be receiving a baby brother, not a sister, and his parents had not had the heart to argue with him.
Fili raised his arms upward, and Thorin retrieved him with one arm, scooping him up and placing him carefully onto the bed. The blond settled down between his mother and uncle, craning his neck to get a good glimpse of his new baby brother.
"Hi, Kili!" He chirped. "I'm your big brother, and I'm gonna take care of you. We're gonna have so much fun!" Kili's head moved in the direction of Fili's voice and, for the first time since his discovery, Thorin felt a brief spark of hope erupt in his chest. Still, when Fili innocently asked why Kili wouldn't properly look at him, Thorin couldn't help his somber reply.
"He's blind, Fili." The King Under the Mountain replied. "Kili is blind."
Alright, so what'd you guys think of for the first chapter? I'm actually pretty proud of it for something that's been written out in about forty minutes, but ya never know. Also, this is unbetaed, so any mistakes I make are my own.
Oh yeah, and the reason all of the dwarves are acting like they are is because this is Middle Earth, so a blind dwarf wouldn't exactly have a fantastic future planned out for him.
Please review!