This story was posted on here before, but when my previous account was hacked into, it was deleted. So, now I have a new account and this story will be re-posted.

I hope you all still enjoy it :-) All reviews are highly appreciated.
The next chapter is up a.s.a.p.


He felt the Orc's arrow lodge itself into his shoulder. In reply he fired an arrow in the direction of the Orc that had wounded him. It hit the foul beast right in the eye and the Orc fell lifeless to the ground.

Kili stumbled back against the rocks he was hiding behind and moaned softly in pain. He looked down at his injured left shoulder. The arrow had struck him close to the armpit, but it seemed to be mostly a flesh wound. Still it hurt quite badly.
Kili broke the arrow off as close to the tip as possible. He would worry later about the tip buried in his flesh. Thorin was more important now.

All the Dwarves, and even the Hobbit, were defending the motionless body of their leader.
Thorin lay on his side on the grass, his eyes closed and his face white as snow. Kili could see two arrows sticking out of his uncle's chest and a still growing pool of blood on the ground.
"In Durin's name, let him still be alive" he muttered.

Close to his uncle Fili was slaying a Warg. He was covered in blood, which was also partially his own. The blonde Dwarf had sustained a large gash to his upper arm and he was moving as if his back was killing him. Kili was relieved to see his brother was still on his feet and fighting off the enemy.

As sudden as the attack had begun, it also ended. Most of the Orcs and Wargs lay dead on ground and the remaining two fled for their lives.

The Company quickly gathered around Thorin. Kili picked up his pack up from the ground and he too made his way over to his uncle, worried sick about the state he would find him in.
On the short walk it took, Kili made sure the straps of his pack were covering up his wound. He believed no-one else had seen him get hit and he did not need the others fumbling over his injuries. Their main concern now should be Thorin.

When Kili reached the others, Balin was already kneeling beside Thorin. The old Dwarf checked the prince's condition with an extremely worried expression on his face.

Fili welcomed his brother back with a bear hug, relieved to see him. The hug caused Kili to hiss in pain, for Fili's strong arms wrapped around him tightly. Fili pulled away from his brother in alarm. "Are you injured?" he asked, concern sounding through in his voice.
"No, just a little bruised" Kili answered. Fili watched his brother disbelievingly for a moment, but then decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

The brothers turned to Balin to get more information about their uncle.
From closeby Thorin's wounds looked even more severe. The arrows were stuck on the right side of his chest and his breathing was pained. He lay unconscious on the grass, which was already stained with quite a large amount of his blood.
"No major organs or blood vessels seem to be hit" Balin concluded, "but these wounds are beyond my skill to mend. Orc arrows are usually poisonous and we do not carry the necessary herbs to treat it".

Balin looked up at Gandalf, who had also rejoined the company.
"What can we do?" he asked the wizard helplessly. Gandalf seemed to think those words over.
"I know that he will not like it" the old wizard said finally, "but his best chances lie with Lord Elrond of Rivendell. The Elves' land is closeby".
"What are we waiting for then?!" Dwalin said, surprising all the other Dwarves.
"Are you out of your mind?! No!" came Glóin's angry reply.
"You want him to live, don't you?!" Dwalin shouted back, advancing on his comrade and staring at him madly, "you heard the wizard: the Elves are his only chance!"
Glóin looked over at Balin for support, but the white-haired dwarf merely looked back sadly, the unspoken struggle showing on his face. "We should go" he said firmly, "otherwise we can just as well bury him here right away!"

Dwalin bent over Thorin and broke the arrows off, to avoid inflicting him more pain or worsening his injuries on the journey to Rivendell. He then lifted Thorin over his shoulder as carefully as he could.
For a second it looked as though the Dwarf prince was regaining his consciousness, for he let out a soft moan and twitched his fingers. The Company looked hopeful at their leader, but hereafter he went completely limp again and hung over Dwalin's shoulder like a piece of dead game.


Gandalf led the way in the direction of Rivendell. Dwalin walked slower than usual to prevent Thorin from being jostled around too much and causing him more pain.
The rest of the Company followed in silence. Fili was bandaging the gash on his forearm with a make-shift bandage made from a torn off piece of his shirt, Bofur was cleaning his hat from all the blood of the Orcs and Wargs and Bombur was already eating again.

Kili walked silently next to his brother. Balin's words about the arrows being poisonous had scared him, but still he had kept his mouth shut about his injury. In the meantime, every step he took was getting harder and black spots were blurring his vision. He started to stumble over small rocks and uneven spaces in the ground. The poison of the arrow was rapidly spreading through his body.

Fili had been watching his brother from the corner of his eyes for some time now, pretending to be adjusting his bandage. Kili had turned ghostly white, which worried him. After quite a bad stumble from his little brother, which nearly brought him down, he grabbed Kili by the elbow and stopped him dead in his tracks.
"Are you truly alright?" Fili asked. "Yes, of course I am, stop worrying about me" came Kili's bitter reply. He cast his brother an irritated look. "I am just exhausted from that battle" he added.
"You know you can tell me if anything is wrong, right?" Fili said worried.
"Will you stop it?! I told you I am fine" Kili snapped. He yanked his arm free from Fili's grip and walked on, leaving his brother behind.

Fili looked at his brother's back like a kicked puppy. He couldn't say that his brother's words hadn't hurt him. Kili had never uttered a single word to him in that kind of tone, not even when they had been in a fight. He was angry with his brother, but at the same time he was worried sick. It was not at all like Kili to behave in such a way. "Something is really wrong with you…" he whispered to himself.
Fili too walked on, but made sure to keep some distance between himself and Kili.


Without the comforting feeling of his brother walking beside him, Fili was starting to feel the pain of his own injuries. The gash on his arm was throbbing and every muscle in his back was aching. He bit his lip to drown the pain and marched on more firmly. They needed to make it to Rivendell, Thorin was in desperate need of help. Fili cast a glance at his uncle, who still hung motionless over Dwalin's shoulders. "Hang in there, uncle" he muttered to himself.


The Company trudged on in silence for what felt like eternity. Suddenly Gandalf made a triumphant sound and pointed towards a large rock.
"There is the pathway through the mountains and into Rivendell" he said.

The wizard led the way over to the rocks and slid down into the small cave which formed the entrance to the pathway. Balin jumped down next and helped Dwalin get Thorin down. The Dwarf prince had not given any more signs of reaching consciousness.

Fili cautiously slid down into the cave, trying not to hurt his back any more. Kili, who was close behind him, struck into him at the bottom of the cave. Fili let out an involuntary gasp of pain when his brother's shoulders collided with the painful bruises on his back. He turned round to look at his younger brother, who ignored him and stumbled along in the direction of the pathway.

Fili sighed in frustration. He was still not convinced that Kili was alright and he did not understand why he would not just admit it...