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In a world of hate and anger, there was a light.

This is a story following Kili, Fili, and Thorin from 'The Hobbit.' This is when they get captured by the goblins, only this time, the monsters are much more wicked and cruel than in the book and movies. Hope you enjoy!

Also, the butterfly idea is not mine. It's from another fanfiction that I desperately wish I could sight. Sadly, I cannot remember the title nor the author. Sorry!

*Disclaimer, I do not own any of the characters/ plotlines in 'The Hobbit,' this is purely for enjoyment purposes only.

*Warning! There are mild pain/wound descriptions and fighting in this "book." Tauriel, an elf in the movies- and Kili's love interest- is in this story as well. I have shipped these two in my story. If you are offended by either of these, I suggest you read another story instead.

Now, with that out of the way, we shall delve deep into the wonderful- ha, not really- story.

I've skipped over several- several- scenes, including one of my favorites from the movies (where Kili gets shot with the morgul shaft). I'm cruel, I know, but that means that this is several months after the goblins. The- sort of- exact time that this takes place is at the end of the battle, okay? So, Smaug is dead, Tauriel and Kili are in love, Thorin is- in my story- suffering from the gold madness still, and he is now facing off Azog.

*Disclaimer, I do not own any of the characters/ plotlines in 'The Hobbit,' this is purely for enjoyment purposes only.

*Warning! There is mild torture in this "book." Tauriel, an elf in the movies- and Kili's love interest- is in this story as well. I have shipped these two in my story. If you are offended by either of these, I suggest you read another story instead.

Now, with that out of the way, we shall delve deep into the wonderful- ha, not really- story.

The Battle of the Five Armies

It had finally managed to confine him to one place, and now it was leaving him behind.

The scene before him was horrific. Swords clashed, yelling sounded, and the sky reflected the color of the ground. Dark red. Still, white snowflakes fell from the sky. Kili couldn't enjoy the calm snowfall, though, not when he heard his uncle's cry. He began to rush to his exigency, but a deep voice echoed behind him.

"If it isn't the dark-haired archer."

He wheeled around to face the creature. It wasn't Azog, but it wasn't just some mindless orc, either. Kili recognized him as Azog's son. A mace dragged across the stone behind him, and Kili's heartbeat quickened. His grasp on his sword tightened as he raised it.

The orc made the first move, and then they were a flurry of parries, stabs, and dodges. Kili ducked, swooping around to the back of the orc as it swung its great mace. He did this on more than one occasion, getting dangerously close to the edge of the rocky outcrop he was standing on. He eyed the orc, trying not to let his fear show in his eyes.

He tried to be ready for the orc's next moves, but he wasn't. They came so fast. First, he swung his mace into Kili's sword hand, and his bone gave way. His weapon clattered, teetering on the edge before falling to the ground below. He didn't hear it hit the ground, for all his strength was straining to keep himself upright.

For a moment, sheer shock enveloped the young prince. He didn't feel anything. Not the cold that had been biting at his skin, nor the pain he knew he should've been feeling from the strike to the arm.

Then, the orc howled to the two facing off on some rocks below. Thorin and Azog. "Thorin!" Both Thorin and his attacker turned to look up at the orc. He grabbed Kili roughly by his injured arm, yanking him closer to the edge. The orc met his father's pleased stare. "Shall I finish him?"

Azog's disgusting smile grew ever the wider. "Not in one swipe." It was a deadly whisper, but it could be heard over the harsh winds and the gore below.

Even from this distance, Kili could see Thorin's eyes grow wide and his uncle stagger. Kili's gaze darted from him to Azog's son, then back again. Until the orc threw him to the ground. He put a large boot on Kili's broken arm, rolling his foot across it and putting all his weight into it. He wanted to see the prince suffer.

Kili let out a blood-curdling scream, his vision flashing red and white, then black. Then, all too suddenly, the orc grabbed him by the neck, holding him over the cliff face. He was aware of Thorin's eyes on him, and of Azog's, and Kili swallowed with a grimace.

His uncle would be forced to watch him die.

The orc spent no more time. He tossed Kili over the edge, and the air crashed into him like a blow to the gut. It lasted a millisecond, and then a breathtaking pain blinded him.

Feverishly, Kili reminded himself to breathe.

In… out…

Just a few more.

In… out…

Just a couple more breaths. Help will be here soon.

In… out…

One more, then you can relax.

In… out…

It felt good to not claw for another painstaking breath. It was nice, letting his chest rest still. Until guilt sucked another breath out of him.

Come on, Kili. I need you to stay strong!

Fili? Here? Kili, eyes still closed, searched for his brother, but he found no comforting body in the groundless darkness. All his hands managed to grab was air. Cold, cruel air.

And then a jarring pain jolted him back into the world of the living. He grasped for a good hold of his senses before pain overtook him.

Kili kept breathing. He was cursed with a degree of awareness, though his mind seemed to claw and rail against it, seeking an escape from the pain. The sound of the battle did not abate; it ebbed and flowed around him. Lying on the ground, he noticed how it shook, disturbed by the rhythm of battle. He shifted his head to his right, eyes flitting open.

Amongst the blood-stained ground sat a patch of weeds bearing small yellow flowers. Kili tried to concentrate on them; if he could focus on something so small, it might grant his mind the escape he sought. The young dwarf took in how the delicate yellow petals were. They were beautiful to his mind. He recalled taking similar flowers to his mother. Fili laughed and had told him they were ugly weeds, but Dis smelt them and declared them lovely all the same… Beauty was in the eye of the beholder is what she had said.

Kili looked in worthless places and found… Death! Death leaped before his eyes! With a hefty crash, a dwarf dropped down and crushed the delicate flowers. His eyes were wide as they met Kili's. He was not dead yet. Thick red blood ran between his lips. The dwarf made a horrendous gurgling sound, drowning his own life's blood. He was so close, no more than a foot lay between their faces. Had Kili's arm worked, he would reach out to offer some comfort, but the pain like lightning ran up the limb as he twitched his fingers. There was no comfort to be had in this place.

The young dwarf could only watch as the elder struggled to breathe, and eventually, his struggles stopped, and Kili saw the moment death took hold. The dwarf's eyes went suddenly sightless, and then they glazed over, His body went lax. Death had come… Death was here… Kili wanted to scream with the horror of it but found he couldn't. He was transfixed by the eyes of the dead dwarf beside him.

They were grey, with pinpoint pupils staring at him- staring through him. He couldn't raise an arm to close those eyes. Kili told himself to turn away. He looked up at the grey sky above. Clouds rushed by and gradually gave way to the glint of dawn. It hurt his eyes, but he couldn't shield them. He clenched a fist and turned to his left. A sea of bodies littered the ground, and further away the fighting continued. Behind them, all in the distance loomed the mountain. Erebor. The cause of all this bloodshed, their birthright, their doom. It had set them on this quest, it had turned their uncle mad. And now, it presided over their deaths.

It was almost as painful as it was to look at the sun, so Kili turned back to the right, careful not to roll over his arm. He was met with the vacant stare of his dead friend. Those piercing, sightless eyes held him. It was like looking into the abyss, and even as his heart screamed with horror, Kili couldn't look away from it.

A distant shout drifted in the air. "The eagles are coming!"

This calmed Kili a little bit, and he let a quiet breath escape his parted lips. Then a wave of pain that took him made the world fade to black.

When Kili came to, he licked his dry lips. His throat felt as arid as the desert sands. Pain was the next sensation that slammed into him. Pain and the cold hard ground beneath him. Confusion set in. His eyes flickered open and he jolted at seeing the pale unseeing eyes staring back at him. He was so close; if the dead dwarf still drew breath, Kili was sure he would have felt it.

The stab of fear that assaulted the young dwarf sent his heart racing. It jarred his arm and sent a wave of blood through him. Kili shut his eyes tight, trying to ride it, trying to control it.

When he opened them, he expected to stare into the endless abyss of the dead dwarf's grey eyes. He was surprised to see a butterfly alight on a stalk of grass between them. It was a red admiral, though its bright colors had dulled considerably and its wings were ragged and torn. For a butterfly, it was in quite a sorry state. Winter was no time for a butterfly to be abroad. But to Kili, it was the most beautiful thing he had laid eyes on, save, perhaps, Tauriel.

Butterflies were creatures of the summer; for it to have lasted this long, it must have possessed such strength. Though it was tattered from the unkind season, the butterfly flew strongly. It beat its wings a couple of times. No… don't leave, don't go… Kili wanted to watch it a little longer. This small creature gave him comfort; it shielded him from the abyss he found in the cold eyes inches away from his own. Amongst such devastation, how could a small thing of beauty survive?

But butterflies will fly, and so it did, leaving Kili alone to face the void of death. Though the sun was shining brightly now, the young archer felt cold. Gradually, his eyes closed to half-mast. It was so much effort to keep them open. Maybe he could just fade away and let death take him. Kili's eyes would become a glassy void… a mirror to the fallen dwarf beside him.

"Over here! He's here! I found him!"