Hi there!
This is a first for me, my first Hobbit fic.
This is the first chapter of this fic, which will be filled with Hurt!Fili/Kili/Thorin/Bilbo...
I really hope you enjoy, please review and let me know if you do!
Enjoy!
Onwards...
The sun beat down harshly on the long planes of Middle Earth, too hot for even the grasshoppers and birds to make an appearance. The grass had been burnt brown, the smaller flowers retracting their petals to protect themselves.
A long line of Dwarves wound their way around the edge of a small copse of trees, the pinecones littering the floors tripping up a certain Hobbit on more than one occasion.
On the fourth time Bilbo Baggins had found himself cursing under his breath after stepping on a particularly sharp cone, Fili and Kili had started to take it upon themselves to walk in front of the Hobbit and foreworn him against the impending dangers.
'Jump!' shouted Kili, nodding at his older brother; the pair picked up the smaller Hobbit under the arms and hoisted him off the ground, setting him back down when the danger passed. They then carried this on until Bilbo shouted 'No!' and hopped away, clambering back onto his pony, leaving the two Dwarven brothers laughing.
Thorin, who was walking at the head of the Company, suppressed a smile. His nephews could be foolhardy, he knew, but he would have no others by his side in battle. Wiping his sweating brow, the Prince shot a glance at Gandalf, who rode to his left side, faltering slightly in the heat.
The Wizard had taken the long way round, it seemed. To their right the shadow of the trees looked mightily inviting; a cool haven from this punishing sunlight.
'Can we stop for just a minute?' Bofur called from several paces behind the head of the Group. Bofur had taken his hat off in protest and stuffed it into his pack tied to his mule; even the animals were struggling.
'We can't carry on in this heat! We've been going for hours' Bofur looked at his leader, before glancing around at his companions, who nodded in agreement.
Bilbo looked up at Gandalf; they hadn't rested since they had set of that morning and it was certainly now past lunchtime.
'Make for the trees' Thorin barked, turning his mule. He saw Gandalf turn to him out the corner of his eye.
'I do not suggest we take the path through the trees' said the Wizard gravely. 'Not these particular trees, Thorin.'
'And why not?' queried Fili, 'These trees are the same as those trees' he pointed to a distant clump of trees, 'and those trees over there' he pointed to a patch of trees just behind them. The dwarves behind him murmured in agreement.
Gandalf looked troubled. 'I suggest we carry on until we reach the stop point. It is only a few hours away.'
'The mules won't last a few more hours!' cried Bilbo, looking down at his pony with sympathy. 'What harm can the trees do, Gandalf?'
Gandalf looked agitated, casting a long look into the silence of the forest. 'It is not the trees that worry me, Bilbo Baggins.'
'Then what?' barked Thorin. He was growing impatient now. Impatient with the Wizard's riddles. The heat was filling his head and tempers were running short. He could not find the way to the Misty Mountains with his army driven mad by the heat. He was not a harsh leader by any means and he knew his Party was suffering. He looked over at Balin; the elder Dwarf was dabbing at his forehead with a damp cloth. They caught one another's eye and Thorin nodded.
'We make to the trees' he called, eyeing Gandalf.
'I can see I am to be overruled. I will just say this; tread lightly.' Gandalf broke his stare with Thorin and looked over at his Party of Fourteen, eyes hooded.
Bilbo nodded, looking up at Fili and Kili, who were flanking him on both sides. Knowing they were going to get out of the heat had brightened the mood slightly, though Gandalf still heaved a troubled sigh.
'Come on then, small Hobbit' laughed Kili, urging his mule into a trot, leading the Company forwards.
As the Dwarves entered the forest the world seemed to silence.
The forest was dark. Darker than it looked from the outside. If Bilbo believed the stories he had heard, he would describe the place as 'haunted'. Ivy hung from dead trees, asphyxiated in their punishing grip, a distant dripping sound of water as clear as the chiming clock in Bilbo's second bedroom.
'Spooky' breathed Kili, looking up at the branches of trees which now blocked out the sun completely.
Rather than being cool under the shade of the trees, it was now cold. Thorin drew his cloak back on, looking around with narrowed eyes. He just managed to duck before a huge expanse of spider web encased his face, hanging eerily from a trio of branches.
'These trees do not make me feel welcome' Balin murmured, looking to Thorin.
'Nor I' chimed in Gloin, who looked up at the trees with distaste.
'We move on!' cried Thorin, urging his mule forwards. He could not go back now, not with the Wizard watching.
With the only sound being the slow trotting of hooves against a twig-filled forest floor, the Company moved on.
Under the expanse of trees, it was impossible to tell what time of day it was; Bilbo had to keep craning his neck to look at the sunlight out in the open, from where they had just came from.
'Fili, look at this' called Kili. The youngest Dwarf was up ahead a few feet, turned towards them on the path.
'What is it?' Fili trotted his mule to meet his brother.
'Closer' urged Kili, smiling broadly. As Fili came closer, Kili reached up and pulled down a branch of a tree, showering a cascade of spider webs down on his brother's head.
'Kili!' shouted Fili angrily, blinding by old, dusty webs stuck in his hair and all over his face.
By now the Company had caught up with the pair.
'Fili, Kili!' barked Thorin. 'Enough foolishness'
Kili laughed, reaching over and pulling handfuls of web off his brother. Gandalf rode a little apart from the Group, looking uneasy. Bilbo noticed he had his Staff raised and was tapping at the ground at regular intervals. He looked inquisitively up at the Wizard, but didn't manage to meet his eye.
'They taste….disgusting!' Fili gagged as he pulled a long web out his mouth.
'We must move on' commanded Gandalf, looking sharply at Thorin, who glared back.
'What have I missed?' Bilbo turned as Bombur trotted up to them. He had stopped riding his mule to give it a rest in the heat and hadn't managed to clamber back on. His jowl wobbled as he lifted his head to look around.
As he walked into the middle of the group there came an almighty crack and the ground seemed to shake. Rocks and pebbles seemed to shake loose and Bilbo only had enough time to look up at Gandalf in panic before the ground disappeared beneath his feet.
The darkness beneath the trees was nothing compared to the darkness they fell through. Ten feet, maybe more. They came to a sickening stop with a crack, painfully hard on solid objects and patches of oozing wetness; they were lucky they didn't stab themselves with their own swords. The cave they had found themselves in stank of rotting flesh. Of death.
Thorin groaned and looked upwards; he could just see the forest from where they had fallen. He gently touched his head, at his temple. His hand came back sticky with blood.
Before they had time to look around, or even cry out or draw their weapons, hands reached out from the darkness towards them.
Fili grabbed for his brother, eyes wide, trying to see through the darkness as huge fingers grabbed at him.
'Fili!'
Shouts rang out in the darkness, all-encompassing blackness pressing in as Gandalf shouted in anger. Or pain?
Bilbo didn't know which way was up now- his head was ringing from a blow that came out of nowhere- sheer panic engulfed him.
Kili gasped for air- he was caught, he knew that. The air was being pushed from his lungs against his will, his body being squeezed. He had to find Fili… if anything happened to him….
All of a sudden, a bright blue light shone out, breaking the darkness apart.
Bilbo blinked, eyes searing. But when he looked up, he wished he was still encased in blackness. He looked around in horror, an expression mirrored on more than one of the Dwarves faces. Fili found Kili and the pair shared a look of fear.
'Well.' Came a low groan from one of the huge mountain trolls holding them, blood and drool hanging from its mouth. Its huge eyes were bigger than the front door of Bag End.
'Looks like we're eating well tonight'
I hope you enjoyed this first chapter
I'll update soon!