CHAPTER ONE | AN UNEXPECTED VIEW

Kili was wandering in the woods. Thorin was a bit mad at him, after he had disobeyed his uncle – again. And normally, Kili was okay with that, as he disobeyed Thorin many other times, but this time it was not right. This time, he had nothing to do with it. Fili was feeling a bit sick, and so Kili decided to take care of his brother. He made him breakfast and gave him an extra blanket, because Fili felt cold. But, in the meantime, Kili was expected. Thorin was waiting for him, to do some sword fighting. Kili found his brother more important than a bit of sword-training. As usual, Thorin began about Kili being an heir to the throne of Durin, that it was his duty to protect his people. And for that, you needed skills. Including sword fighting. Kili spoke, trying to justify his actions. It was his brother! But there was no talking possible, as Thorin already made up his mind. Angry at his uncle, Kili took his bow and arrow and his smaller sword, heading to the forest. And so, Kili's adventure began.

~Fili&Kili~

"I don't trust this, Thorin. Kili would not leave for this long. Not even after what you said to him." Fili looks Thorin in the eyes, hoping his words made somehow sense in his uncle's brain. "Fili… It was my right to put him at his place. Besides-" Fili interrupts him. "Thorin, I am not angry at you! I am worried, uncle. Kili has never left for this long – alone. We are always together. That is why I am worried, not because of what you said." Thorin swallows, realizing Fili is speaking the truth. "Did he take his gear with him?" Thorin finally asks, after a long pause. "Yes, I just checked. Uncle, will you help me searching for him?"

Kili was afraid to open his eyes. What would he see? He could only feel the pain in his leg and his hands being tied up above him. His mouth felt dry, his lips were cracked. He felt absolutely exhausted. Then, he heard someone approach. "He is awake." "Send the king!" He stiffened, as someone sat down in front of him. "I will take off your blindfold, dwarf. Do not make any stupid moves." He was blindfolded? Kili then knew this adventure could turn out to be quite… different than all the others. He felt some kind of fabric move against his cheeks, and he could not hide the shivers that went down his spine. "Open your eyes", demanded the voice. Kili first opened one eye, letting the light in. Then, he opened the other and looked up. In front of him stood an elf, with long blonde hair. "What were you doing in our lands, dwarf?" Kili opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out of it. His throat was too dry. "Father, he needs some water." The voice… it sounded different than any other voice he had heard before. The voice sounded kind. "Legolas…", the other voice sighed, and the elf in front of him turned away. "Give him water then." Another elf then approached him. Kili moved a bit back, as he did not trust anyone around here. "Shh, it is okay. I only want to give you some water." Fierce, blue eyes stared into Kili's brown orbs. The eyes of the elf showed compassion, some kind of guilt, and… something Kili could not quite understand. It was as if the elf felt that it was his fault… But Kili immediately deleted that thought from his mind. "Is it okay that I give you water?" The elf asked Kili again. Kili hesitantly nodded. And slowly, with great patience, Legolas let Kili drink. After some sips, Legolas took the empty cup away. "That was quite enough." "Thank you", whispered Kili.
"Ai Elbereth, Legolas! Come on, it is only a dwarf", another elf then said. At that point, Legolas slowly stood up and turned around. "He", Legolas said, pointing to Kili, "has as much rights and privileges as we do. He may not be an Elf, or a Men. But I think Dwarfs have their own specialties, and that one day, they will complete their part of the story. He is not here because he is a dwarf. He is here because he was wandering in our lands. And we want to know why." Legolas turns around and looks down at Kili. "Well, can you tell me why?"

"Kili! Kili?" And again, no answer. Fili sighs in defeat. Something was not right. "Fili! Over here!" Thorin suddenly screams. About a 100 meters away from him stands Thorin, holding a sword… Kili's sword. It was covered in blood. Fili slowly walks towards Thorin. "Something is terribly wrong, uncle. We must do something." Thorin nods. "Okay. We split up. You go north, I will go south." "Where do we meet again?" asks Fili him. "At the edge of the forest, when the sun is setting." Fili nods, and wants to walk away, when Thorin stops him. "Fili… be careful." "Thorin, I will be there. I will see you at sunset." With that said, Fili turns around and walks away, his mind only focused on one thing: finding his brother.

"And what is this?" A loud voice brings Kili back to consciousness. "Another dwarf in my lands?" "Father, calm down", said another voice. It was Legolas, as Kili recognized the kind sound. "Maybe he has a reason to come here." Kili slowly lifts his head up, wondering who the other dwarf might be. He did not expected to see… him. A blonde dwarf lay unconscious on the ground, a head wound clearly visible. "Fili?" Legolas turns around, as he was the only one who heard Kili. "Do you know him?" "Do I know him? Of course I know him! He is my brother!" Silence filled Kili's ears. No-one dared to speak at this point. Finally, the Elvenking spoke. "Why is he unconscious?" The elven guard hesitated before answering. "My king, he was fighting back, as he saw something that – he thought - belonged to him." The king sighed, not liking the way his people treated these traitors. "Legolas, take them to the healers. Keep an eye on them." "Yes, Ada." The elven guards who had captured Fili took him to the healer's rooms. Legolas took care of Kili. "I will help you walk. Be careful."

And so, together with Legolas, Kili made his way up to the healer's room. All Kili could think of was Fili. How did he get up here? How did he even made it out of bed? This morning, Fili was too weak to even talk to Kili. He was talking nonsense, being delirious and sweating from the fever. How did he end up here? How did he end up… unconscious? It was only until now that Kili realized the Elf was talking to him. "Oh, I apologize. I did not hear you." The elf sheepishly smiled. "I asked for your name." "Oh. My name is Kili, and that is my brother Fili. We come from the Blue Mountains, but for now we stay near the Grey Mountains." "I am Legolas, and I am truly sorry for what happened. I will make sure you and your brother get home safe." Kili smiles. "Thank you, Legolas." For now, Kili did not trust him completely. But it sure was a relief that at least someone here, cared.
"Lay him down carefully", demanded Legolas. The elven guards did as they were told, as they slowly lay Fili down on the – compared to Fili - huge beds. "Kili, can you take a seat here? As soon as you're patched up you can stay with your brother." Kili sighed, as he did not want to leave Fili behind – again. But Kili knew his leg needed to be taken care of. And so, Kili sat down and let Legolas do his job. Kili was very impatient and thus decided Legolas to start a conversation. "So, Kili… do you and your brother get on well?" Kili took his eyes of Fili and looked down at Legolas. "Yeah… we don't differ that much in age. We're together all the time, and we always have been." Kili sighs. "Will he be okay? This morning he was sick, he had a fever…" Legolas noticed the distress in Kili's voice. "Kili. We will take care of him. You are in the healer's halls of Mirkwood. He will be fine." Kili slowly nods. "Thank you." "All right then, this should do it. Be careful now." Legolas watched Kili with great care, as Kili slowly stood up and made his way to his brother, laying on the bed. "I am here now Fili. Everything will be okay." Though Kili's words had little effect on Fili, as he still lay there with his eyes closed, Legolas was almost certain of it all would be okay. The brothers had a bonding, who would not be so easily broken. A hoarse voice took Legolas out of his thoughts, and Kili out of his worries. "Kili? How… Where are we? Are you okay?" "Fili… I am fine, brother. Are you okay?" Fili had to think about that question. "Well… Just a bit dizzy. And a bit hot." Legolas choose that moment to approach. "That is because you have a fever. Drink this, it will help bringing the fever down." Fili looks up to the blonde elf. "Why do you care, elf?" "Fili!" Kili immediately hissed. "What? He is an elf, Kili!" "And what does that say? He was the only one who cared for me, or for you. He was the only one who stood up for me and for you. So, at least be nice to him. He is not the one who did this to us." Fili stirmly kept his mouth shut. "All right then." Fili drank from the cup that Legolas handed to him. "Now rest. I will check on you later." "Thank you, Legolas", said Kili, as he gave Legolas a warm smile.
After Legolas left, Fili immediately turned to Kili. "How did you end up here?" "I only walked away because Thorin had no right to say that. I was just walking in the woods, when… well." "What happened, Kili?" Kili sighed. "I don't know how I did it, but I… I lost my way - idiot. And then, suddenly, out of the blue, arrows were fired. They were no dwarves, elves or men. It just came out of the dark and started firing arrows. One of the arrows… I could not escape from." "You got shot?" Fili gasps. "I am fine now, Fili. Though, if I did not enter Mirkwood's forest and the elves did not found me…" "Kili. Who were those creatures?" "They came again. But the elves were so quick with their swords and arrows, they fought them all away." "Kili, answer my question. If those creatures were no dwarves, men or elves, than who were they?"

Note
*Ada = father
**Yes, their home is the Blue Mountains, as Balin speaks of it in the movie. However, the dwarves still wandered for a long time and thus in this story, Thorin, Fili and Kili were visiting some related folk in the Grey Mountains.

A/n: Next chapter will be up as quick as possible! Please review :)