A/N: Listen to the song "May it Be" by Enya or Hayley Westenra while you read this. It is the inspiration for this little one-shot.
Fili was his star. His shining, golden light in the darkness. But darkness had come. It had fallen on him in a great, encompassing blanket. It snuffed out all hope of happiness and life. His star, his precious Fili, was gone. He stared. As if his eyes must have deceived him. He shook. As if he were about to break into a million pieces. He wailed. As if his calls could bring him back. He sobbed. As if his tears could heal his wounds. He fought. As if Sauron himself had possessed him. He killed. As if he couldn't see his enemies at all.
And just like that, the battle was over. All around him the dead lay strewn across the ground, arrows piercing their bodies, cuts slicing their throats. He had survived, at least in body. But then he glanced at the corpses and saw one that made him keen in grief. His protector, his glorious brother, heir to the throne of Durin, remained defeated on the ground. Kili thought back to the turning point of the battle…
Orcs surrounded them completely, but he and Fili held their own. Fili's double swords and Kili's deadly arrows pierced the enemies all around them. They swung, drew, chopped, twirled in sync with each other. Together they formed a haunting, deadly dance. Out of his periphery, Kili suddenly glimpsed a morgul shaft spinning towards him in unerring accuracy. He had time only to call out in surprise before a golden body threw itself in the path of the dart. He did not know whether it was he or Fili who let out the blood-curling scream, but he spun and shot the murdering orc immediately. However, all was not well. Kili's face drained of blood and his eyes filled with horror, for Fili lay on the ground, the morgul arrow piercing straight through his heart. It was as if the bolt had impaled Kili as well. He staggered, and despite the orcs all around, he knelt beside his kingly brother who never deserved this at all. His incredible brother who never received the praise he was due. His dying brother who he could not hope to save.
Fili's face was contorted in pain, but he attempted to stay strong for his younger brother. Despite it all, he knew with utter surety that this battle had been his last. He would never again wield the double swords that he was so famed with. He could not gaze upon the splendor of Erebor. Never would he see Thorin crowned King Under the Mountain. And yet his brother survived still, and that was worth everything in the world to Fili. Regardless of his best efforts, a single tear dripped down his dirty cheek.
"Promise me that my sacrifice was not in vain," he rasped. "Promise me! Difficult though it may be, you must continue on. Combat the darkness," he croaked. "Remember my name and live on in peace and happiness," he wheezed, his voice breaking with emotion. "Never think that you are unworthy… For you are far more worthy than me. I know you would have done the same for me if you had the chance. I regret only that I will not stand by your side as you grow and become the wonderful king that I know you will make," he gasped, "and that you will have to bear the burden on your own." Tears fell down his face as he stated simply, "My time has come. I always have and always will love you, brother, and I will walk beside you even when you do not know it. Farewell, my friend." And with that final statement his eyes drifted closed.
Kili shook his head, tears streaming down his cheeks, his hands clasped tightly with those of his brother. "No!" he wailed, and the voice he heard was not his own. "You promised! You swore you would never leave me behind on my own, Fili!" he keened. "It was meant for me… For me, you idiot! You've left me behind, but I am nothing without you. Nothing," he wept. And yet he could not break his final oath to his brother. With steel in his heart, he rose. A fierce anger surged within him, a powerful beast stronger than any dragon or necromancer. Before he realized what happened, the enemy was cut down all around him. Victory was theirs, but not his. No, he had lost the most precious gem in the world.
They held Fili's funeral the very next day. He was buried in the halls of Erebor, the mountain that he had fought and died for. Kili had told them to hold a special service, one that he thought would please Fili if he were still alive. Others began to sing.
May it be an evening star shines down upon you…
"Fili was my star," Kili stated wistfully. "He was my shining, golden light in the darkness."
May it be when darkness falls your heart will be true…
"When Fili fell, part of me fell as well. Darkness descended. But he told me not to let his sacrifice be in vain. He forced me to promise that I would live on in his wake." Kili's voice was strained with guilt
You walk a lonely road,
Oh how far you are from home…
"That much is true. Without Fili, without my brother, without my other half, I am lost," He choked out.
Mornie Utulie
Believe and you will find a way
"Darkness has come, for my light is gone. But even as his life bled out, Fili gave me hope of a better tomorrow," Kili reminisced.
Mornie Atlantie
A promise lives within you now
"I swore to my brother that I would continue on in spite of the pain. I nearly gave up. But here I am, and here I will remain." Kili was openly sobbing by this point, remembering his precious brother.
May it be the shadow's call will fly away…
"Wherever Fili is, I hope that he knows that the darkness has been defeated." Worlds away and yet right beside him, Fili smiled sadly to himself.
May it be you journey on to light the way…
"He bade me combat the darkness and force it away. He would be glad to know that all is over and we have prevailed." Fili took in his overwhelmed brother's tear-stained face and cracked countenance. He wished he could tell his brother that he was here, and that he was beyond proud.
When the night is overcome
You may rise to find the sun
"Fili sacrificed his life to save mine, and he died a true hero. That was all he ever wanted," Kili finished, his voice crackling and broken. And still the song continued, an ethereal melody that both comforted and haunted.
Mornie utulie (darkness has come)
Believe and you will find a way
Mornie atlantie (darkness has fallen)
A promise lives within you now
A promise lives within you now
A million miles away, a single droplet slid down a face full of memory, suffering, and gladness as Fili bade the world goodbye for good.
A/N: so this is my first and only hobbit fic. I know there's probably a million Kili/Fili death battle scenes out there and mine isn't all that original but the song fit perfectly and I ended up writing it a bit differently than I expected to. All the same, I hope you like it. Comment and flame at will.