Kili sits in the darkness of his prison cell, his hood pulled over his head. The torches flicker in their sconces. Illuminating the hallway, the light reaches past the iron bars of the prison and stretch into the blackness. Ominous shadows splash against the walls. They change and morph regularly with the wavering flames of the firelight.
He hasn't seen or spoken with any of the other dwarves since they'd arrived. They were split up and thrown in different cells far apart from each other.
Kili grows bored of watching the shadows and turns his attention to the beautiful elven lady sitting against the rusty iron bars of the cell across from him.
The last time he was caught staring at her, he got a nice tongue-lashing even Thorin would have been impressed with. Maybe because he was staring at her boobs.
He stares at her hands now. Pale and beautiful. Not marred with scars accumulated from fighting and years of archery practice like his.
She sharpens a dagger in her lap and polishes it until the fire from the torchlight glints brightly off the blade. Setting it aside, she picks up the second dagger and begins to sharpen that one as well.
"What are you planning to do with those knives?" Kili asks.
Fear begins to yank at his heart. He has a nasty image of her suddenly barging into his cell and slicing him to pieces. Or worse, going into Fili's cell...
"Wouldn't you like to know?" She replies cooly.
"Of course I would. That's why I asked." He states dryly.
She stops what she's doing and glares at him. Kili doesn't know if his heart stops beating out of fear or something else entirely. He glances away.
The guard goes back to sharpening her knife again.
He looks longingly at the ring of keys attached to her hip. If he could somehow convince her to set him free, he could get out of this hellhole. But what could he do?
Kili looks back at the shadows dancing across the wall, wracking his brain. (He can't think properly with her sitting a few feet away from him. She is too distracting).
After a while, he decides that flattery would work well in his situation. Fili had once told him that women love to be praised for their beauty. Luckily he doesn't have to dig very deep to find something beautiful about her.
"Your hair reminds me of a sunset."
Naturally, she continues to ignore him.
Kili decides to go on,"Back at home, around autumn, we have the most beautiful sunsets. I'm not good at descriptions. But I'm sure Balin could describe it to you. He's good with stories and all that. We all agree, though- my companions and I- that the Blue Mountains have the most spectacular sunsets in all of Middle Earth. And we've been nearly everywhere."
She still doesn't look up.
"Your skin," Kili continues. "reminds me of the color of cherry blossoms in the spring. All soft and..."
Her eyes snap up.
"Sorry. I mean... You have nice skin is all I was trying to say. I wasn't implying that I wanted to... Touch it or caress it or anything." Kili says hastily. His cheeks burn.
She continues to glare at him as she polishes her knife, "Go on."
His palms sweat, but he doesn't break his gaze. To look away is a sign of submission. He already did that once. He will not do it again.
"Your eyes... Your eyes are the color of the forest after it rains. Clear and holding a multitude of colors. But they're angry- You're angry- I'm sorry you feel this way-"
"Why do you care what I feel?"
"Someone as beautiful as you should not be angry with the world." Kili shrugs.
She cocks her head slightly to the side. Looking at him like a hawk does its prey.
"Are you angry with the world? I suppose you have the right to be. Rotting in this dungeon."
"No. I'm bored, yes. And worried about my family. Not to mention I miss my brother terribly. But our circumstances could be much worse. You could have us chained up in manacles on the wall and leave us to starve, for instance. Or worse, only give us vegetables to eat."
The elf almost cracks a smile. Kili smiles, too. He decides that he likes it when she grins that way.
"King Thranduil almost ordered it. Luckily Legolas and I convinced him to take a more civilized approach."
"Yes. Because putting us in cages like animals is much more civilized," Kili huffs. "But for what it's worth, pretty lady, you can have me chained up in manacles any time you want. I'd be yours for the taking. You could have every inch of me if you so desired."
Her eyes widen and Kili sees a blush spread across her cheeks.
"Every. Inch. Of. Me." He emphasizes slowly, winking affectionately.
She makes a sound of disgust.
"As if!" She retorts venomously.
Taking a dagger in each hand, she stands up in one graceful motion, obviously offended. With a ripple of her ginger hair, she walks out of his sight. Her footsteps echo along the corridor.
Kili runs to the iron bars, gripping the cold metal in his hands. He sticks his head out from between the bars in an effort to see where she is going with those sharpened daggers.
"Wait! I didn't mean to offend you! It was a compliment! Please don't feed us vegetables! I was joking about the manacles! Well, I wasn't joking about you having your way with me, but... Don't leave! I'm not done flattering you," Kili hollers. He dreads the thought of her taking her anger out on one of the other dwarves with those knives. "You move like a leaf on the wind! So full of grace and elegance! And you have appealing curves! Come back! Did I mention your breasts?! Or your hips?! You have such lovely hips! Hey! Pretty elven lady! Oh, come on! At least tell me your name!"
It's no use. She disappears down the hallway and her footsteps fade away. Kili sighs and drops his head against the cold iron bars in dismay. He prays that she isn't too upset with him. He'll never get those keys now.
A door slams. The pretty guard must be telling the Elvenking of his inappropriate behavior.
Maybe they will chain him up in manacles, after all.