Disclaimer: The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings and all characters therein are the property of the Tolkien Estate and Wingnut Films. This story is for entertainment only and the author is in no way profiting from it, nor exercising any claims to The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings.

This story connects with my other stories, The Legend of Durin and Return to Khazad-dum, but can be read alone. It is a filler for an incident early in Kili's childhood, when they are on the road to settle in Ered Luin. Thank you to tweetzone86 for pushing me to write this one!

Village of Sorrow

Part 1

"Mama! You go too fast!"

Kili's whine made the dwarrowdam in front of him pause to regard the tiny dwarfling with a sorrowful half-smile.

"I am sorry, little love. Come on."

A hand was held out as the little boy pumped short, stubby legs harder, both of his tiny feet easily fitting within one of the boot prints of the adults he struggled to follow. As he drew even with his mother, she ruffled his wild hair, making him duck a bit as his older brother, a mature eleven, huffed in annoyance at the delay. The boy waited until his mother was walking again before peering around her leg to make a face at the blonde, who simply rolled his eyes and lengthened his step, knowing the smaller child would be left foundering once more.

Fíli had not been the most patient dwarf lately, constantly chiding his sibling when Kíli bounced about in the evenings, tugging at the older boy to play, or asking one of the hundreds of questions that swirled in his head as they walked. To Kíli, this was hardly fair, as it wasn't his fault Mama and Father said he was too little to keep up walking all day! Instead, he had to sit perched on top of a smelly old antelope full of bulging bags, hardly a comfortable or exciting day for a six year old!

He would much rather be free to explore the fascinating new world opening up before him with every mile that the refugees slowly moved west. Could he help it that the only time he was free to do so was at night, when the other members of his little family were all collapsed around the fire being boring grumpy lumps?

Kíli had lived his whole life in the tents on the grasslands of the east, where summer was an unrelenting dry heat punctuated by fierce thunder storms that threatened to tumble dwarf and temporary home alike across the landscape. He wasn't even allowed to venture out of the perimeter of the camp, no matter how great the tall grasses would work for hide and find, as the great cats with golden fur were better at hiding there than any dwarfling. Fortunately, they were only around in the summer, preferring the weather to the south the rest of the year. That hardly made winter any better, in Kili's view, since the winds would bite through layers of clothing so thick the dwarfling could barely walk, and whipped around what little snow there was into piles against the tent walls.

That was also when many more dwarves would become sick, a time Kíli dreaded. They would go away, and never come back, being laid beneath the hard earth, where no dwarrow was ever supposed to be. Just the thought of the dark, cold ground made Kíli shudder and cry in the night when he woke thinking he was alone under one of those hills. Mama had almost gone there last winter, after the babe was born too early, a little sister who had not lived long enough to receive a name of her own at her first year celebration. Father had been away, then, too, and Uncle Thorin had taken her to be put under the rocks they brought from far away, no matter how Kíli had yelled and cried that she was too little to be left all alone like that.

The dwarfling was so lost in his thoughts that he did not see the root sticking out of the ground until his foot was caught by it, sending him sprawling with a wail. Tears sprung instantly to his eyes, and he didn't bother trying to hide them, even if Fíli would scoff at him for it. That had hurt! Suddenly, hands were swinging him up into the air and onto his Father's shoulder, and he quickly grabbed onto the thick golden braids to steady himself, still sniffling.

"I think that's enough walking, don't you, little squirrel?"

His father's laugh was gentle, but it still made Kíli scowl, especially when Fíli looked up at him long enough to roll his eyes again. His brother was no fun since this journey had started and he decided he needed to be big and mature and all the other stupid words adults cooed at the blonde as his chest puffed up in pride. Fíli's desertion not only rankled, it had made Kíli have to seek playmates elsewhere, not an easy thing to do when there were only about forty dwarflings between the ages of fifty and one in the entire clan, and only Fíli, Nori, and Nori's new baby brother were in their small traveling group!

Of course, for a dwarfling who had never seen trees, or mountains, or swamps, or large ponds before, there were endless distractions around. How did the mountains get snow on their tops when it was winter? And how did the funny little creatures in the ponds make all that noise? What about the grey creatures that chittered in the trees, effortlessly jumping between them? Last week, he had waited until his family was busy, and then scrambled up the nearest tree to try for himself. For one glorious moment, he had been wide-eyed and airborne! But then when he had grabbed a branch, it had broken, even though he had seen one of the little creatures use it only minutes before he did. Falling hadn't been nearly as much fun, especially when he had landed on Mister Dwalin!

As if reminded by his musings, the wrist he had hurt twinges, bringing a few more tears to streak down his face even as he tried to decide why his father insisted on calling him that funny name. Mister Óin had checked it this morning, tutt-ing over how puffy it still looked, then wrapped it up tight even after Kíli yelled that it itched all the time. Not that he minded being around the older dwarf much, even if he did make him drink yucky stuff. Kíli never got in trouble for yelling when Master Óin was around!

A few more of his father's giant strides, and the boy was swung down to stand in the dirt next to his brother, their mother abruptly fussing at him, swatting futilely at the dirt on his breeches where he had tripped. As she bustled away to retrieve a water skin, Kíli tried to dart off, but his brother was quick to snag his wrist, stopping the smaller dwarf before hissing in his ear so that their mother wouldn't hear.

"You're the one who wanted to walk, Kíli!"

The brunette promptly stuck his tongue out, as he could think of no other more suitable reply. A clucking tongue and a finger tapped on the top of his head reminded him that his mother may have been out of hearing, but his father wasn't!

"Now, what are the rules you are both to follow while we are here?"

The dwarfling screwed up his face, both in concentration, and because Mama had returned with the dreaded wet cloth that she insisted upon using even though he was years past not knowing how to wash his own face. Beside him, Fíli used the rare silence from his sibling to recite the first directive, tone serious and grown-up.

"Do not leave the area around our booth unless with an adult you approve."

Kíli rolled his eyes and squirmed, not sure what a booth was, but certain that it had to be more boring than exploring a town full of Men! Mama had said they needed money, though, and the only way to get it was to sell some of the crafts made by their people, so here they were. When they were still at the tent city, others had gone off to do such things, sometimes not coming back for a year or more and making Uncle Thorin even grumpier than he usually was.

"Kíli?"

His name was followed by his father's strong arms swinging him back up until he was face to face with his parent, one eyebrow raised pointedly. He must have missed something again! Frantic not to get scolded, his eyes darted down to Fíli, who discretely held up two fingers than flashed the Iglishmêk sign for rules. The little dwarf brightened, glad that even when Fíli was being all stuffy, he would still look out for his brother!

"Be polite to everyone, even if they's big and mean and smelly!"

It wasn't precisely how his parents had said it, but he thought his version covered all the important points, so he grinned at his father, waiting for the praise he was sure was coming. Instead, his father's face screwed up as if he had just bitten one of those horrible yellow fruits from the far south that they had gotten in trade last year. Before the dwarfling could figure out this mystery, however, he was diverted by his mother doubling over. At first, he thought she was laughing, but then several loud coughs exploded from her and he turned back to his father in alarmed accusation.

"Mama's sick again!"

He saw the shock on his father's face and scowled, knowing he was about to get lied to again. It wasn't fair that adults were allowed to lie to him whenever they wanted, because they thought he wasn't 'big enough' to be told what was truly going on! That had happened a lot last winter, even from Uncle Thorin. His father, though, just grinned, the big one that always made Mama laugh, all teeth in the middle of the bristly yellow beard and mustache braids.

"No, Kíli, she's not sick. She just inhaled wrong, that's all."

Kíli cocked his head, considering that for a moment before remembering an incident several weeks ago, when they had been camped in someplace called the 'Gap of Row-hand'. He hadn't liked that forest at all!

"Did you eated a bug?"

The dwarrowdam had straightened back up, and Kíli caught one of her dark braids to bring her attention to him. It also allowed him to watch her face as she answered, the best way he had found to tell if an adult was fibbing to him again. One hand came up to gently untangle his little pudgy hand, bringing it to her mouth to kiss instead.

"Eat. And yes, love, I ate a bug."

This news, however, did not settle Kili's anxiety one bit, eyes going round in alarm.

"Mister Dwalin says if you ate-d too many, you'll turn into one!"

Now he knew his mother was laughing at him, because so were Father and Fíli! It made him give a disgruntled 'harrumph', wondering if there was ever going to be a time when adults actually made sense. Obviously, Mister Dwalin had been telling him fibs again! His mother finally straightened, putting a hand on his cheek in an affectionate caress.

"No, love, I won't be turning into one, you needn't worry! Now, do you think you can walk the rest of the way? It's not far."

Kíli knew the proper answer to that, nodding even though he wasn't keen on the idea of being around Men when not in the safety of an adult's arms. Father and Mama had to carry all the items collected from their group of dwarrow to sell, he shouldn't add to their armloads by insisting. Father set him down with a light swat on the bottom; nothing that hurt, but more a reminder to mind his manners. Fíli promptly grabbed his hand, which made the brunette feel a bit better. Nothing would happen to him as long as his big brother was around, that was simply the bedrock of Kili's world.

The village was rough, just as all the others they had encountered in Dunland, with log homes and straw thatching the roofs. Kíli wrinkled his nose, catching a whiff of something foul as a woman poked her head and arm out of the door, pitching the contents into the street. Several pigs rushed over to smell at the offerings before turning away in a huff and ambling off to fresher places.

"Fíli?"

"Yes?"

There was a warning in the blonde's tone that said this had better not be the first in a string of questions.

"Why did she do that? It's all yucky where people walk now!"

His older brother glanced over to the pile before shaking his head, the beads on the ends of his braids softly clinking together. Kíli was very glad he was not ten yet, and didn't have to submit to all the brushing and fussing Fíli put up with every morning to have the plaits put in.

"I don't know, Kíli. Uncle would make anyone he caught doing something like that clean it up with their hands. Mister Balin says it's not very healthy, and dwarrow are a lot hardier then Men."

Kíli decided then and there that he would be very careful to watch where he walked while they were here. The idea of having something like that stuck to his boots was horrid. Two children sitting in a yard caught his attention next, mostly because they seemed to be so sad. They had a little round ball of some kind of brownish material filled with air that they were batting back and forth, but didn't seem to be taking much interest in a toy Kíli would have been super excited to have! He started to wander toward them, intent on asking if he could play, too, when a tug on his hand stopped him.

"Kíli! Where are you going?"

The little dwarfling pointed at the children, both of whom were probably his age, but towered over him in height.

"I want to see what they're playing with! Look!"

The last was said with a great deal more excitement as one of the children bounced the thing off an elbow, then his knee, elbow again, and head before sending it flying toward his playmate. That the other boy didn't seem the least impressed was just plain stupid!

"'Tis a pig's bladder filled with air, lad. Makes a right wonderful ball, but best you leave those two lads to themselves and stick with us. There'll be many things to look at in the marketplace."

The strange voice made Kíli freeze, yanking Fíli to a halt as well, but the other dwarf simply smiled down at the two children, eyes twinkling merrily beneath the funniest looking hat the brunette had ever seen. It was all furry, and had two flaps coming from that sides that turned up like the wings of a bird. Wide-eyed, the child gazed up at him, trying to decide why the dwarf wore it. There was a firm tug on his hand from his brother, but he ignored the older boy, too fascinated by the newcomer.

"Who are you?"

"Kíli! Come on! Mama and Father are far ahead of us and we're going to get lost!"

The stranger laughed, showing even, white teeth in a smile that Kíli decided he liked.

"Well, we can't have that!"

Before Kíli quite knew what was going on, the stranger had scooped him up with another laugh, the boy almost soaring through the air to land upon the dwarf's shoulder, where that silly hat tickled one ear.

"You're just a little bit of a thing, aren't you?" The dwarf laughed, holding out a hand to a distrustful looking Fíli while the other held Kíli securely in place. "Come on, Master Fíli, let's catch up. I've heard all about you two while travelling back from the Blue Mountains with your Papa, Vidri. My name is Bofur."

"He's guiding us to our new home, Fíli." Father added, smiling as he crossed the last few steps to them. "Thank you, Bofur, I'd not noticed them falling behind again. I can take Kíli."

Kíli clutched at Bofur's hat, hoping that this new dwarf would refuse. It was fun to be up so high, where he could see more than the shoes and lower legs of all these big people and he wasn't in danger of being stepped on.

"Naw, Little Bit is no burden, Vidri, and you already have your arms full. Besides, I think you should keep both the boys close while we're here."

Why Father glanced around the village with a scowl before agreeing, Kíli had no idea. This place looked like great fun to him, even if the men did walk funny. Come to think of it, maybe this new dwarf would not mind a question or two.

"Mister Baff-fur?"

The dwarf under him giggled in a laugh, reaching up to tickle Kíli in the ribs.

"That's Bo-fur, Little Bit, and I'm not a mister anything. Not that much older then you! What is it?"

Kíli made a little hum of agreement, trying to decide if he dared to call an adult by just their name, then was abruptly diverted back to his original question. There was a man approaching them who seemed to stagger and cross his legs as he weaved toward them, tilting one way and then to the other.

"Why's that man walking so funny? Is it because they have such long legs, like the tall bird we saw? How do they not fall down?"

"Well, now, those are so very good questions, lad. Men walk just like we do. I expect that man is walking funny because he drank something that made him sick."

"Yuck. I won't drink anything here, then."

That made his brother snort, and Bofur laugh again.

"I'd not be too worried about it, lad. You would know if you drank what that one's been into."

"And it had better not be for many more years, until your beard is longer than your father's."

Mama reached up for him, making a funny face as she swung him down to the dirt next to a flimsy wooden table, where Father was already setting out some of the things they had brought with. To Kili's eye, the thing looked ready to fall at any moment, and he shook his head, wondering why they would be using a child's practice piece. He could make a better table than that from the sticks and scrap wood he was allowed to play with!

"Thief! Thief!"

The screech made the little boy flinch, his brother grabbing his hand to pull them both behind the adults. Before Kíli could move, however, other, larger, hands were grabbing him. Fíli's fingers slipped from his as the dwarflings both screamed, then Mama had wrapped an arm around his middle. The stranger, a woman with scary eyes, had not let go, however, and Kíli squirmed, crying harder.

"Let go of my son!"

"Mine! He is mine! Filthy dwarves, stealing our children and cheating us of our money!"

"Let my brother go!"

The voices of his parents, his brother, and the woman all blended together, scaring the little boy, then the woman let go, and he was swept up close to his mother, her arms squeezing so tight he thought he might not breathe again. He did not pull his face from his mother's tunic to look, but he could hear the voices of the adults talking over his still sharp cries.

"-so sorry, good Mistress. My wife has been ill-"

"-shouldn't let her out. We sincerely apologize-"

"Do not allow her near my son again! We have wares, but there are other villages-"

"Shh, it's all right, love. My little Kíli. It's all right, Mama has you."

A kiss was pressed to his temple as she settled onto a seat, gently rocking him. Small hands on his hair let Kíli know that his brother was near, as well, and he slowly calmed under the loving care of his family.

The rest of the day was as boring as Kíli had feared, but he said nothing, staying so close to the legs of the nearest safe adult that more than once, he was tripped over. None scolded him for it, however, and Father even brought both him and Fíli a bit of sweet treat after their evening meal. It was something he called 'maple sugar', and Kíli decided then and there that he would eat almost anything if only it had some of the mouth-watering stuff on it. Evening came, finally, and Father did not even ask if he could walk, instead scooping up the little dwarf and carrying him back through the town. Kíli was almost asleep by that time, but not so groggy that his little ears did not catch the words of his elders.

"We will need to stay one more day, Dis. The big market day is tomorrow, they're expecting many of the outlying farmers to be here."

"I know, but I can't help wishing we could leave right now, Vidri. That woman…"

The mere mention made Kíli shiver, a sick feeling in his stomach. He had not liked that lady at all!

"You could leave the boys in camp with me tomorrow, Lady. My cousin Bifur and I would be happy to watch them."

Kíli kept his eyes closed tight, hoping that his mother would say yes. Anything would be better than returning to that place!

"I can't ask that of you, Bofur-"

"Nonsense! Bifur loves to be around children! They accept him the way he is, you know."

What could that mean? Now Kíli was intrigued and unable to stay still. He squirmed until his father swung him upright and he reached a pleading hand towards his Mama.

"Please, Mama, I won't do nothing to make them mad! Please don't make me go back to that stinky place!"

He didn't know that there were tears in his eyes until his mother took him in her arms, gently wiping them away with a bit of cloth.

"There, love, you won't have to. You can stay at our camp tomorrow."

He laid his head on her shoulder, still sniffling even as exhaustion pulled his eyes closed once more. He did not remember her tucking him into his bedroll under the star-filled sky, or hear the soft discussion of the adults. The next thing Kíli was aware of were hands grabbing him, and a smelly cloth pressed to his nose and mouth, making everything fuzzy and his arms and legs too heavy to move.