A Worthy End
Kili had been behind him, but the empty space that surrounded him sent waves of panic through every bone in his body. Grief for his Uncle was fresh and poignant in his heart and his brother's absence worried him.
The sky was black as night and the battle was still raging before the lonely mountain, the stars bringing little light as they fought the Orcish army that sought to destroy them.
Fili swept his gaze around, searching the war-torn fields for a glint of brown against the sea of Elvish hair and Orc flesh.
Pausing to cleave the skull of a wayward Orc, he scanned the horizon, spotting his brother besieged by three of the foul creatures not far away.
He began to sprint, sword outstretched and ready to strip each vile creature to the bone for daring to touch his brother, blood glistening on the blade in the pale moonlight.
Kili seemed to have the upper hand, his brother had always been naturally agile, dodging and blocking each blow with the aptitude of a seasoned warrior, not a boy fresh out of adolescence.
He was not more than twenty feet away when a sharp, heavy thud slammed into his abdomen, sending him sprawling, gasping to the ground.
An ugly, barbed, black tailed arrow protruded from his belly, pain spiralling in angry surges that left him gasping for breath, across the field, his eyes met Kili's and his younger brother twisted away from his opponent, temporarily distracted from the fight.
The larger of the two remaining Orcs loomed over his brother and despite the pain erupting from his abdomen, he forced himself back to standing, determined to defend his brother.
The wound was not serious, he reasoned, and as long as it hadn't hit any major organs, it would be painful, excruciatingly so – but not life threatening.
He hauled himself up to see Kili resume fighting the two beasts, his blades slick with crimson, but concern was distracting him and the sooner he joined his brother, the better.
The wound protested violently, the arrow tearing at the wound, but he started towards Kili, pushing the pain aside to the best of his ability.
Then suddenly the younger dwarf stumbled and his opponent, gleeful with opportunity, slashed his jagged blade across his brother's chest, sending the boy sprawling into the mud.
Fili cried out, desperate, furious, not ten paces away. His blade sang in the dark sky, slicing skin, muscle, bone.
The second Orc was dead in seconds, his sword protruding from its chest, with no more resistance than a knife through butter.
He was at Kili's side in seconds that felt like hours, ripping his cloak from his shoulders to press down hard on the wound, blood spewing from the wound like fire from a dragon and his brother's eyes flickered open, skin pale and damp with sweat.
"Brother." Kili's voice was hoarse and quiet, his hands clutching at his brother's wrists to stop the pressure on his chest.
Blood bubbled over his lips and terror clutched at Fili's heart as he pulled his brother into his arms, cradling him as he sat back against the large rock, his wound protesting stubbornly, but he ignored it. It was no longer important.
His brother's eyes stared up at him, wide and frightened, his fingers wound tightly into the shredded remains of Filli's shirt. As the once bright blue eyes began to glaze with pain and blood loss, he could not bear the shudder of dread that accompanied the realisation that his little brother was not long for this world.
His grip on Kili tightened as he tested how deeply embedded the arrow in his abdomen had become, trying to bite back the hiss of pain that escaped his lips.
"What are you doing?" The urgency and panic in his brother's voice was impossible to miss, though the words had begun to slur as he fought to stay conscious.
"What child of Durin would I be to leave my own kin alone to the mercy of Aüle? Someone has to keep you in line, little brother." The gentle smile was blurred by the tears in his eyes.
Kili gripped his wrist, tight enough to hurt, "There is still time. Find Balin or Dori – one of them must be able to help-"
"I would not leave you alone to do so – and there is no guaranteeing I would find either of them in this forsaken mess."
"Fili, for Aüle's sake, please," the desperation that had crept into his brother's voice was agonising, "It would be a pointless death – a pointless, feckless death!"
"Kili." He grasped his brother's face in his hands, stilling the panicked protests as he stared into the frantic blue orbs.
"Thorin is dead, the last of our kin, gone. The dragon is dead – but what good will come of it if the elves and men take everything that was ours by birthright? The mountain is crumbled and empty – it was no home of ours and it would take an army of thousands to rebuild it in our lifetimes.
You are my brother, but more than that, you have been my best friend since we were tiny. You are the last of my kin, and more than likely the last of my friends. If I lose you, I lose everything.
There is nothing worth living for without that."
Fili sagged back against the rock, feeling his brother bow his head against his shoulder.
Without pause, he reached for the arrow in his abdomen and gripped it tightly in clenched fists, bracing himself against the pain.
With a shuddering breath, he seized the foul thing and tore it from his flesh, unable to hold back a cry of agony as the arrow was ripped free.
Crimson pooled rapidly, pouring from his burning flesh as the pain made his bend double, Kili clutching at him as he crumpled sideways.
He lay on his back staring up at the stars that wheeled overhead, his brother curled into his side. He reached out an arm to pull him closer.
"I don't want to die." Kili murmured.
"I don't think anybody does." He mused, feeling a strange dizziness start to cloud his vision and he rubbed his eyes fiercely.
"Do you remember the last time we watched the stars?" he heard his brother say softly.
"It must have been a least a decade."
"It was the year after mum- left us."
Fili tightened his hold on his brother, feeling Kili start to tremble with cold in his arms and the familiar dread sent tendrils spiralling into his brain, panicking starting to take hold as the pain in his abdomen began to fade, an odd numbing spreading through his limbs.
"I remember being scared of the dark, for ages." Kili continued. "At first Uncle said it was ridiculous, a dwarf being scared of the dark when we spent most of our time underground – but one day I returned to my room and there were all these small, glowing gemstones dotted all over the ceiling. I never found out what they were, but it was almost exactly like the stars outside, warm and bright. We used to watch them for hours until we fell asleep."
He fell silent, his breathing beginning to slow, his fingers curling into Fili's hand.
As the numbness spread slowly through his body, Fili felt a dull warmth settle into his bones, sending the chill of the cold night sprawling away.
Kili had fallen still and quiet in his arms, but he was still warm and from this angle he could pretend his little brother was simply sleeping.
Stroking his brother's hair carefully, he gazed up at the stars, the fear banished from his body as he closed his eyes.
And slept.
Thanks for reading... I'll have my tissues ready for this scene in the third film (damn you Tolkien!)