I own nothing except an imagination and a heart that loves Middle Earth.

Kili's roughly the equivalent to a human of five or six years.


Fear made a terrible quiver in his body as he stared at the prone form on the ground and with hitched breath and unsteady feet, he crossed the short distance between them only to collapse to his knees beside the fallen dwarf with a desperate plea.

Small fingers gripped at the furs and cloth of the elder with little strength, but shook him nonetheless causing his limp body to wiggle back and forth like a loose baby tooth needing to stay in a bit longer before being pulled. Deafening cries fell on already deaf ears, turning to meaningless shouts instead of desolate sobs and the young dwarf yelled out into the deserted distance for aid, but even that wasn't to be heard.

"No!" He choked on the cry and swallowed hard, hopelessly searching for anyone that could help but all he could see were bodies of slain orcs and men, and the one of Thorin Oakenshield.

His lips trembled along with the rest of his body enslaved by panic and horror as he slipped underneath the arm of the fallen dwarf and buried his tear-soaked face into the familiar furs of his uncle's cloak one last time.

And to think, it was supposed to be Kili's lucky day.


A few hours prior...

The wind blew beneath grey clouds on the luckiest day of Kili's life.

As his cloak swayed off his frame with nature's gusts, he added his own bursts of air as he jumped from one of Thorin's footprints to the next while trailing behind his elder on their way to deliver an order from the forge to a nearby settlement of men. Landing in one muddied indention, he scouted the next with the eyes of a hunter and leapt with precision only to be outdone by the damp ground beneath his feet. His arms flailed in an involuntary dance to keep his balance as he giggled with anticipation for the mud bath that was sure to occur. However, a large hand caught the hood of his cloak while another encircled his wrist in aid.

Sheepishly squinted eyes above a wide grin met the straight face of Thorin Oakenshield with a faint laugh. "Sorry, uncle," Kili mumbled while shrugging back into his cloak that had managed to slip off his shoulders when the older dwarf had halfway caught him by the garment.

Thorin watched him, eyes trailing down to the ground where two small feet had slightly widened one of his own footprints before raising an eyebrow at the energetic prince who was just tall enough to bury his face in Thorin's hip during a moment of discomfort, yet small enough to still manage to hide in the cupboards at home and scare his mother half to death when she opened them.

"Your Amad is the one you'll be apologizing to if you come back with your cloak a mess. She just managed to repair it from your last bout of climbing trees. Let's avoid that stern talking to upon our return if we can help it."

Kili's grin widened as his teeth appeared between parted lips stirring movement in Thorin's beard as his own lips twitched, but before the young dwarf could reply a rough hand pulled his oversized hood so far atop his head it nearly swallowed him as it was ruffled.

"Uncle," he playfully groaned as he bumped into his elder's leg while pushing his hood off his head.

"Leave it on," Thorin chided lightly as he once again began walking in the direction of the settlement. "Don't need you taking after your brother."

Kili settled the cloth approvingly over his head and fell in step with his uncle who had lessened his strides considerably so that the dwafling could keep up. "Thorin," he asked, tugging on the King's sleeve as if his voice wasn't enough to gain his full attention. "Will Fili be better by the time we get back?"

Thorin squeezed the small hand that had suddenly wiggled between his fingers and shook it slightly. "I doubt it, Kili, but he will be soon. Oin assured us it was just a nasty cold, remember?"

Thorin glanced down to see Kili nod his head and loosened the hold on his nephew's hand so that he could slip away in order to run off his energy ahead of him on the open plain, but Kili's hand tightened around two of his fingers instead as he stared at the ground. The King Under the Mountain shook his fingers again, effectively shaking off his nephew. "Surely, you didn't drive your mother and I mad so you could study grass blades. How will you tell Fili anything about our quest if you don't explore? Run along," he nudged with a slight chuckle as Kili's grin returned and he dashed ahead. "But stay close!" he warned while lengthening his strides.

Kili's somber mood vanished as quickly as an arrow from a bow as he ran along in front of his uncle who had granted him the luckiest day of his life. Kili had always wanted to accompany Thorin on one of his trips to the surrounding settlements as Fili had gotten to do for the last year, but each time he begged and pleaded both his mother and uncle denied him by saying things like, "You're too young, Kili," or "You're too small, Kili," and he'd always been left behind standing on the porch like a carved statue until his brother and uncle disappeared from sight. Only then did he move to clutch at Dis' skirts and hide his wet face in them until she coaxed him out of his hurt feelings.

But not today. Today was different! Fili had woken with a nasty cold and upon Oin's arrival, the healer had instructed Dis to keep her oldest in bed and Kili away from him as much as possible so that the youngest hopefully wouldn't catch it.

Oin had left, but his medicines stayed behind to line the small table in between the brothers' beds as Dis sat next to Fili and helped him drink the first dose. Kili watched worriedly from the doorway, fingers working around the framed entrance of their room in a distressed manner until Thorin appeared behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder in silent comfort.

"How's Fili?"

"He'll be alright with some rest," Dis replied over her shoulder but gave a brief glance at Kili before turning to her brother in a silent conversation.

Thorin understood, but replied, "I've got to deliver a sword and bow in the settlement on the East," hoping that would change her mind. She simply raised an eyebrow at him at the peculiar mention of the bow before turning back to her ill child. The forge wasn't accustomed to making many bows, but the last trip he'd taken to the settlement, Thorin had struck a deal with a man he'd come to know rather well and offered to make the archer's weapon along with some new arrows in exchange for food that they could harvest for the upcoming winter so as to ease his sister's worries of not having enough for her growing children.

Once Fili had swallowed the medicine offered by his mother and turned over on his side to get some sleep, Dis stood and guided her brother alongside her healthy son to the sitting room of the house. She caught Thorin's gaze once more as Kili moved one of his tiny wooden horses along the arm of one of the chairs, and the king glanced between the two of them with uncertainty until Dis narrowed her eyes mouthing, "You're been there dozens of times with Fili."

Thorin clenched his teeth, but nodded reluctantly as he watched his small nephew decide that his toy horse was more fun to play with if it was falling off things and hitting the ground with a loud clank.

"Kili." He called, his eyes still locked on his sister's. When the sound of wooden horses hitting the floor ceased to exist, he glanced at the child and motioned him over while kneeling down. "How'd you like to help me deliver a sword from the forge today?"

An audible intake of air was heard as Kili's mouth fell open before splitting his face into a disbelieving grin. "Really?"

Thorin nodded in response even though Kili continued with a trail of other questions that he didn't particularly give mind to. Once his nephew turned his excited inquiries to his mother after sensing lack of attention, Thorin stood and went to retrieve their cloaks from the rack. He shrugged into his as Dis guided Kili over and helped him get his shaking arms into the garment. Both brother and sister worked to hide their grins at Kili's involuntary display of excitement, but found it difficult as he bounced on the balls of his feet at the door.

"So I can really go with you, Uncle? I'm...I'm not too small anymore?" Kili asked a bit timidly despite his energy. Thorin had no trouble getting rid of his grin after that, because he felt one of Dis' patented glares on him.

"Ah...no, Kili. Not for this trip," he tested, eyes still on his sibling for approval, but her gaze darkened.

"Kili," Dis intercepted as she knelt down and pulled the cloak tighter around her youngest with the autumn air in mind, "what you're uncle means to say is that you're old enough now to accompany him to this particular settlement. It's not far, and your uncle and I have been there many times, so we think it safe for you to be able to go now. It's never had anything to do with how big or small you are. It's age, Kili. Alright?"

Thorin then understood the reason behind the figurative daggers thrown his way, because a lot of people mentioned Kili's small size in an unkind manner and in some cases it had left his youngest heir in tears and the mother seizing every opportunity to encourage him that nothing in life was determined by his stature.

Kili accepted her explanation with a wide smile and grabbed at his uncle's fingers trying to pull him towards the door. Thorin chuckled quietly, waving at Dis as he allowed himself to be moved forward. "We'll be back for supper," he nodded to her, then turned his attention back to Kili still tugging on his arm, "Slow down, lad. We still have to stop by the forge."

Therefore, Kili had declared it his lucky day seeing as how he had been granted his most desired wish four years before Thorin and Dis said they would allow for it to come to pass, but when they arrived at the settlement his declaration should've been written down in the record books in the Blue Mountains next to the grand tales of his grandfather and great-grandfather, because as they strolled through the market after making their first delivery of the sword, Kili spotted the perfect get-well gift for Fili. Pulling on his uncle's fingers once more, he guided them into a small toy booth until they stood before a table of wooden swords without any opposition from Thorin considering the elder had given up resisting being led by his nephew long ago.

Raising an eyebrow at the youngest prince, Thorin questioned him with a knowing smirk, "And just why have you led us to these playthings?"

"Because," Kili began to answer, but let his eyes wander around the rest of the shop until they fell upon a row of wooden horses much bigger than the ones he had at home. Thorin noticed what had captured his attention and had found it odd that it wasn't the first thing he was led to since his youngest sister-son still favored toy dwarf soldiers and their horses over the wooden weapons that Fili had begun to acquire a taste for.

"Yes?" Thorin asked so as to get a response.

Kili pulled his eyes away from the horses and set his focus back on the swords in front of them. "Because I think a new sword would make Fili feel better, don't you?"

Thorin scratched his beard, searching the shop for the old man that owned the place that he'd already laid eyes on when they entered just as a way to hide the way his lips curled upwards. "And which one do you think could do such a thing?"

Kili stood on his tiptoes and scanned them just to be certain, but upon more speculation he went with his original find and pointed to one with a lion carved on the handle. "That one!"

"Aye," Thorin agreed as he picked it up and tested it as if a real sword to indulge his nephew. "I think this would suit Fili perfectly. Anything else?" He inquired as he followed Kili's gaze back to the wooden horses across the shop. After a few brief seconds, Kili shook his head and shyly took up his uncle's fingers on his free hand again while falling slightly behind his leg as the old shopkeeper appeared before them.

"Is that all I can interest you in, Thorin?" Ansley, an aging man with a hunched frame and wiry, grey hair, took the sword as the dwarf handed it to him with a smile reserved for friends. Thorin had been here several times with Fili over the past year and unbeknownst to Kili, several of his play figures had come from this very shop where Fili had found the smallest horses to fit his younger brother's hands.

"Yes," Thorin replied, but motioned for the toymaker to give him a moment before turning to Kili who still clung to his sudden shyness around another race from behind his leg.

"I think there's some catapults by the door, why don't you go look at them while I purchase Fili's sword?"

Kili's shyness forgotten, he darted to the mentioned toys leaving his uncle snorting in amusement. "Just don't break anything," he called over his shoulder as he walked to the counter.

Ansley chuckled as Thorin approached, "I take it that is the one Fili's been buying the horses for."

"Aye, Kili," Thorin replied while peering over his shoulder to check on his youngest who jumped when he set off an empty catapult. Turning back around, he smiled at the toymaker. "Fili's a bit under the weather, so Kili has the pleasure of accompanying me today."

"Pleasure?" Ansley teased, before adding, "So no horse today?"

"Actually, give us one the one with the blue reigns there, third shelf," Thorin answered, lowering his voice so it didn't carry through the shop.

"Oh, a larger horse. You're right. Kili does have the pleasure of accompanying you," the man spoke as he slowly retrieved the desired plaything.

Thorin, while turning over the coins in his hand to pay for his items, was about to respond when the sound of glass shattering reverberated around the store followed by a startled shriek. Thinking his second heir had broken the shop window with one of the catapults, Thorin immediately began to reprimanded him by growling out his name, "Kili!"

But suddenly a trembling dwarfling was attached to his leg, fingers digging into the limb with painful pinches and soft whimpers. "Kili, what in Durin's name-" Thorin began, but was cut off by the sound of more glass shattering and terrified shrieks from outside.

"M-monsters!" Kili wailed into Thorin's leg and hid himself underneath the exiled king's long cloak.

"Orcs!" came a man's yell from somewhere down the market, and Thorin immediately looked to Ansley who turned his gaze to Kili.

"Go! There's a hidden cupboard in the back. I'll keep him safe," Ansley said, already moving around the counter to grab the young dwarf.

"Ansley..." Thorin began, but the old toymaker nodded his head.

"With my life, Thorin. I promise." He said, old fingers finding his shoulder and squeezing it with reassurance, though it did little.

Thorin glanced out the window, seeing a few women run by before turning back to Kili and peeling him off his leg and out of his cloak while bending down. "Kili, look at me!" he demanded, and felt pride swell through him as his nephew suddenly calmed and blinked at him in obedience. He gave him a small smile and wiped at the moisture on the face of his nephew. "Go with Ansley. You do exactly as he tells you, and only him! Stay with him until I come find you. Understood?"

"But uncle, I-" Kili started to protest, but Thorin shook his head and grabbed him around the back of the neck in a show of comfort and to ground him in the situation.

"Kili, I'll come find you, I promise. Go with Ansley. Now!" Thorin ordered as he ushered Kili into Ansley's hands and stood.

"Uncle!" Kili called as he watched his elder run towards the front and open the door. "Thorin!"

Pausing with one foot out the exit, Thorin turned back one last time with the promise of, "I'll be right back," and then he was gone.