So this is a story focused on our three favourite dwarves, potentially not dying out right on the battle field. They are recovering from their injuries with some help from other characters. The war may be over for the dwarves but for Thorin Fili and Kili the battle is only just beginning.
The Battle had raged all around them, but with their leader dead the orcs had ran turned and ran. Their king and two princes had ended the war and had seemingly given their lives only to have been saved by the grace of the Elder. They now lay sleeping and holding on to the strings of life. Was it so the dwarves could watch their king and his heirs die not in battle but from their injuries, in an unguarded kingdom which had housed a dragon and had more wealth than any other kingdom in Middle Earth. The company recovering from their own injuries could only take charge of the kingdom in the way they hoped their king would want.
Balin watched as the young Durin prince grimaced in his sleep, moving his head to the side. His eyes were wet from fear or pain, Balin didn't know whether it was one or both. He patted the younger's hand and raised a damp cloth to the lads head, feeling a warmth beneath it, trying to keep down fever was of the upmost importance so Oin had said.
He sighed and risked a glance across the room, two more Durin's lay prone, neither of them moved. He watched as Oin nodded to himself and left the now king of Erebor, and busied himself to deal with his two other patients. He glanced to the blond close by, Fili lay silent his eyes closed and his breathing slow. He had none of the agitation that his younger brother appeared to have, still frowning and with ragged breaths, Kili was the only one of the three to have shown any movement since being brought back to Erebor. Balin had watched how the elves had worked tirelessly on the sons of Durin, bringing each back from the brink of death.
Striding like he had no other purpose but what he had come to do, Thranduil appeared before the King of the mountain.
"Thorin" The king of Mirkwood had fell to his knees beside the Dwarf. He rested a hand on Thorin's wound, a stab wound to the stomach and multiple injuries littered Thorin's body.
"No, the boys, help the boys"
Thranduil looked at Dwalin.
"You are the king Thorin" Dwalin tried to tell Thorin.
Bilbo who had lingered close by, suddenly ran off "I will find them for you"
Bilbo came to rest on the youngest Durin, Kili lay covered in blood, appearing dead, he he lay beside the body of an elf., Legolas was sitting beside her.
"She died for him, she tried to save him and she could not do any more, Bolg had given her injuries that she could not heal, but she gave what she had to save the dwarf. Legolas didn't look at Kili as he spoke, he only had eyes for Tauriel. Bilbo swallowed, not quite knowing what to say.
"I'm sorry" Bilbo finally managed to say.
"Thranduil, he is with Thorin, they want to know the fate of Fili and Kili" Bilbo felt awkward.
Legolas turned to the young dwarf and touched his neck.
"She tried to save him, although he is grievously injured, I do not know if he will live, he is alive for now"
Bilbo nodded his thanks, "Thank you Thank you and I'm sorry about her, she had a good heart"
Bilbo moved further down to where he had seen Fili fall, Azog had stabbed him, but he had fought bravely and fallen from the orc's grasp, a fall like that must have only meant death. He pressed his eyes closed before he opened them to see Beorn towing over the blonde dwarf. Gandalf also was there, whispering words that Bilbo did not understand. He cleared his throat to announce his arrival and Gandalf turned and gave him a sad smile.
"He is dead then" Bilbo's voice breaking slightly as he fought his emotions. He had got on well with Fili. He and his brother were the pranksters but also full of joy.
"He breathes Bilbo, but his body is broken, perhaps beyond repair, we can only get him safe and then comfortable and then we shall see about this Durin spirit, everyone talks about"
Bilbo breathed a sigh of relief. "Thorin and Kili are both alive too, Thorin has terrible injuries and Kili is unconscious but.."." He paused and pressed his lips together "We can only hope" He finished
Balin rubbed his head, the memories of the battle running through it was giving him a headache and was probably the reason for Kili's obvious fear and having some impact on the young durin in front of him, Kili's face grimaced and his hand clenched. Balin soothed him, laying a hand upon his head and whispering quiet soothing words. That's what Thorin would have done, thought Balin. It had been a long time since he had comforted Kili in this manner, not for many years, but at the moment there was no family to do it and the task he felt had fallen to him.
Dwalin moved tiredly through the beds, the three Durin's were together and as close as Oin would allow, but Dwalin knew that Kili would need to be closer should he wake.
"No change?"
Balin shook his head.
"Not from Fili or Thorin but Kili has been moving around, although he still hasn't woken." Dwalin nodded. He looked down at Kili and a frown crossed his face. He fell into the chair at the other side of Kili's bed.
"What will we do Balin, if none of them wake?"
"They will wake, I have sat here with Kili and he will wake soon, I can tell, although to what state I do not know"
Dwalin again glanced at Kili. "He will be the most trouble"
Balin grinned, the first smile since the battle. He knew exactly what Dwalin was talking about, a flood of memories danced in front of him, one of Kili as a dwarfling, refusing stubbornly to leave his brothers side, even though he had what appeared to have an injury to both his head and his arm.
A chuckle escaped him, "Well as long as we are here"
"Will you send word to Dis" Dwalin asked with caution
"I think we must" Balin sighed, another hard job that would surely be left to him. Dwalin nodded quietly. It was no secret that he doted on Dis. He had no desire to marry of course but Dwalin had a huge soft spot, when it came to the Princess of Erebor.
Dis was as stubborn as Thorin, but softer and easier to read. Balin knew his job of writing to her and telling her not only about Thorin but the boys as well, would devastate her, he didn't want to make her travel to Erebor quickly and without preparations. But he knew she would. Thorin had left her in charge of the folk in Ered Luin and it was something that she took very seriously.
Kili suddenly made a sound and his head whipped to the side.
"Shhh Kili, it's alright" It was Dwalin this time that comforted the lad. Kili appeared to still at the sound, his fingers grasping at the bed sheets.
"All right Kili, open your eyes lad, come on" Dwalin coached him but his eyes did not open, his mouth opened slightly as if trying to pull in air. A small trickle of blood ran from his nose. Balin and Dwalin shared a look, Balin's full of pity but Dwalin's was fear. He had looked in on Thorin and Fili earlier and both were incredibly lucky to still be breathing. Kili had looked the least injured of the three, a stab wound to the chest which surely should have killed him, but had been kept at bay by Thranduil's captain of the guard who Dwalin remembered Kili had spoken to in Mirkwood. Kili was in obvious pain, whereas Fili had given them nothing since RavenHill and Thorin had not woken since Thranduil had used elvish magic to keep him alive.
Kili, ever the fidget, the dwarfling who couldn't sit still or stop asking questions, the lad who laughed and joked his way through everything, the lad who secretly was terrified of disappointing his mother or uncle and was always afraid that he wasn't good enough, the lad that had fought to shoot a bow and succeeded. The lad that had fallen in love with an elf! Balin sighed. Dwalin was right, if Kili woke before the others, he would be trouble.
Oin shuffled over to them, laying his hand over Kili's head.
"Still no fever, that's good" He muttered to himself. He wiped Kili's nose of the blood. The brunette tilted his head as if in defiance. Oin tutted at his petulance. Kili did not open his eyes. Oin sighed. "He will wake when he is ready and then he can have some pain medicine"
"And what of Fili and Thorin?" Balin asked.
"Fili is breathing, that is good enough for me, he has terrible injuries, broken bones, Mahal knows if his body will heal and Thorin…" Oin trailed off as he turned to look at Thorin who was directly across from Kili.
"I don't know… Thranduil thinks he should have woken by now. The three dwarves looked across at their King, His chest rising and falling at a regular rhythm. Kill suddenly shivered bringing them all back to gaze upon him. Oin covered him with a blanket from the bottom of the bed. "Hope that is not the beginnings of fever. That we definitely don't need"
Thranduil sat with his wine in a nearby tent. He had watched the earlier events. Dwarves from the iron hills under the guidance of Dain were helping to make Erebor liveable. Thranduil suspected that once they had succeeded, they would move the Dwarf King and his heirs inside the mountain. Legolas, stood to the entrance, facing away from his father, unable to speak so great was his grief. Thranduil felt it too, Taurial had been special to him, and he had protected her and allowed her to become captain of the guard. Thranduil knew only too well the loss of someone you loved.
"You fought well today" He spoke with softness to his son who did not reply. Thranduil tried again.
"What you did for the dwarf, you saved his life."
"Tauriel saved his life and gave hers in return, I do not even know if he will survive, my input was hardly anything" Legolas's tone was harsh.
Thranduil sighed, "I never thought I would have helped to save the lives of the dwarves of Durin"
Legolas looked at his father, his face showed a range of emotion, sadness and anger entwined.
"Tauriel taught me something today" Thranduil continued "That we should show love to the other folks of middle earth, the hatred between dwarves and elves should not make us ignore the deeds of good" He paused to look at his son's face. "The dwarves fought the orcs well today and if not for Thorin, then we would still be at war with not only the orcs but the dwarves as well". Legolas nodded.
"I think Tauriel might have loved that dwarf,"
Thranduil pressed his lips together, he had of course known separate races of people fall in love before, the thought of an elf and a dwarf was strange to him but not unheard of, he remembered how she had wanted to kill the orc who had told her that Kili was poisoned, how he had stopped her and how he had reflected that he did not care about one dead dwarf.
He had healed Thorin that day, had aided in the healing of his blond nephew alongside Gandalf and another elf who was a healer. On his way to find Thorin, he had watched as Legolas had aided the young dwarf to breath after Tauriel had lost her battle against her injuries and had given away the remaining grace she had to a dwarf she hardly knew. Thranduil moved towards his son and rested an arm upon his shoulder. Legolas paid no heed and simply stared unmoving and silent.
Gandalf and Bilbo remained sitting on the remains of the open door of Erebor. Dain was having some of his men begin to fix the space, the place was quiet now, the sounds of anguish and suffering sometimes being heard as both hobbit and wizard sat smoking.
"Do you think they will live" Bilbo asked
Gandalf made a strange sound at the back of his throat.
"I have called upon the elves of Rivendell to help, they should be here swiftly but who knows if any will survive that long.
Bilbo bit his lip, "I though Fili to be dead, how could anyone survive that fall"
Gandalf blow a smoke ring that fell away like tears falling, "His body is broken, but we will see whether or not he survives."
Bilbo contemplated the Durin's he had wanted to see them in case anything happened but he fell oddly out of place, Balin and Dwalin had become their protectors, nobody went in without Dwalin's say so and Balin and Oin were helping to treat them all. He had watched Ori dither by the tent earlier, he had waited and then obviously decided not to encroach of the personal space of the royal family as of course they now were, Bilbo smiled to himself and let out a little laugh.
Gandalf looked oddly at him.
"And what are you smiling about Bilbo Baggins?"
"I was just thinking Thorin is King so that makes Fili and Kili princes" he laughed "Imagine those two pranksters as princes"
Gandalf smiled "They have always been Princes to the dwarves, the folk of Ered Luin treated them like anyone else but they were always protected, as you may have noticed on this quest."
Bilbo nodded "I suppose, did you ever travel to Ered Luin?"
"I did, once me and Thorin had met and discussed the quest, I was invited to meet with Thorin in Ered Luin, they were a most kind and friendly people. Thorin's sister was quite the host."
"You met with Thorin's sister, is she like him?"
Gandalf laughed "Yes and no, she is alike in looks and nature, although not quite as gruff as Thorin, she is kind and gracious and also not afraid to tell any of the lad's off. While I was there, she smacked Kili round the back of the head, told Thorin off for being grumpy and kicked Fili's feet from the table. She is most certainly a force to be reckoned with."
Bilbo was smiling, he couldn't imagine Thorin being told of by his sister, but he could imagine that any relation of Thorin must be as tough as he was.
"Do you think we should go and see how they all are, I'd like to help if I could do anything" Bilbo turned to ask Gandalf who smiled and agreed that perhaps, it was time to see the fates of their companions.
Don't hate me because I killed off Tauriel, I quite liked her character, but I wondered how Kili would have dealt with her death, If of course he survives. I love to hear what you think so please leave a review. I'm sorry about any spelling mistakes that this chapter had when first published, It hopefully has been put right.