Perhaps if he searched hard enough he would find Aule himself, or at least clues to where he'd went. He wondered through the darkness, cursing his own Maker simply because he had chosen to still make his people, the dwarves, when it would mean forcing them to remain in the lands of the dead, guarding the souls of the damned. The world he lived in was awful, cold and dark, and rarely could he ever go to the land of the good folk. Instead he had to remain near the entrance, near the cold river waters, where every soul came, good or bad, to be sorted. Why had he accepted Eru's offer? Did he really think his people deserved to exist like this?

After a while of walking, he stopped bothering to question his existence. There was no use. Eru had allowed his dwarves to be made, and since then his people had grown. Their numbers were small considering how hard reproduction was, but they still had a good deal considering they could never die. Eventually, they just picked up what they had and went on deeper into the mountain, to the halls of gems and gold, where they let it infest their minds and be the focus of their existence. He did not want to end up like that, but he didn't see the point of following in his uncle's footsteps either. After Thorin finally retired to the halls, his husband Bilbo would follow him, and either Frerin or Dis would follow after him. Then Fili would go, and then Kili. It was an endless cycle.

He followed the stone trails, exploring what could be called a mountain. It wasn't really one, but Aule had meant for his people to walk among the stone, to mine deeper inside veins of rock. Their land was designed like one.

He pulled himself on a set of stone, going higher. The road ahead crumbled, and though the fall wouldn't kill him, he didn't need the burden. The mountain went up forever until you eventually reached the surface. There were other ways up, but Kili liked the longest the best. It gave him more time to think, to let his smile crumble. Getting away from his family and duties meant he didn't have to keep the charade up.

His skin was scraped and stung slightly, but he barely noticed. His people were hardy, built to handle the world they lived in. Kili felt as though he wasn't designed well enough. Why couldn't he have at least the beginning of a proper beard? Why did he have such a small nose? Could he not have a bit more muscle?

One thing he did notice was the slight tear in his clothes. He looked down and frowned. Someone would have a fit about that later, say that ripped clothing wasn't proper for a dwarf of his standing.

The air grew even colder as he climbed up. He bit his lip and shivered, but kept going. He'd done this before, and he was sure that he would keep it doing it for a long time. The thought pushed him forward.


The surface was a forest. Over the years, it had grown darker and darker, to the point where it could resemble the world below. Kili walked through it, his bow and arrow ready in case of sudden attack. He was careful to not alert his presence or let others know what he was. Sometimes he would see others; they used to run around, free of weapons, frolicking alongside the animals and playing in the grass. As time went on, however, less and less came, and they always had weapons with them.

Two were out at the moment, shooting spiders. They hadn't noticed Kili, and he planned to keep it that way.

One was a blond haired man, angrily shooting. He spoke out orders, and the girl beside him followed them. He wore finer looking clothes then she did.

The girl was slightly shorter than him, much taller than Kili, and just as determined to kill the spiders as him. Kili could see very little of her face, blocked by red hair that went passed her knees. Even with the minimal light, there was still something in it that shined.

Quietly, he followed along the two as they walked, watching them destroy spiders. Somewhere along, he learned their names. The man was "Legolas" and the girl was "Tauriel". She showed him respect, making Kili wonder just what position he had. Other than that, he barely focused on him. Despite his position, Tauriel had a much better aim than him and shot more spiders.

When he first saw her face, once he was safely in the shadows, pure awe radiated through him. She was beautiful, no matter how un-dwarvish she was. There was something about her cold eyes, smooth face, and pointed ears that made him desire her. She held herself up with pride, and hardly ever missed a shot.


The tension between them vanished after they finished shooting. It was such a relief to relax, to not worry so much. She was starving, and pulled an apple out of her pack. Legolas pulled a flask of water from his supplies and took a long sip.

"I shot more than you," she said.

He laughed. "You could never."

"I did. You need to realize that." She pointed back towards the deeper part of the forest. "Do I need to start dragging around the remains of spiders to prove it? I can go back and get a few."

"Of course not! That would be disgusting. I have had enough of the damn things."

"I understand." The more and more that they fought the spiders, the more that there seemed to be. "Legolas, may I ask you something?"

He smiled at her, but anyone could have seen that the smile was fake. "Yes."

"Do you think that we will ever defeat the spiders and finally make things right?"

The smile after that question made the first one look genuine. "Of course we will. They cannot live forever." No, but they could reproduce.

Legolas walked a little faster. "Come on, we need to get home soon or my father will have a fit. After this, we deserve something good to eat."

Tauriel took another bite of her apple. As captain of the guard, she was served the finest food alongside royalty, a far cry from the berries and nuts that she had eaten as a child. It seemed that the cost of fine food and living was the loss of Greenwood to the darkness. She began to eat faster and faster, eating with desperation. She couldn't keep up with Legolas.

Even he was giving up. How could they ever let evil go on like this? Why had they allowed it to become stronger than them?

She was snapped out of her thoughts by something pushing her forward, wrapping what she thought was arms around her. Suddenly, it felt as though the ground weren't under her feet any longer. Just as quickly, she began to fall, the apple (now nothing but a core) leaving her hand. Her scream filled her ears.

The last she saw of Legolas was his blue eyes wide, filled to the brim with terror.


Kili fell onto the rock below, clutching the girl to his chest. She hung limp in his arms, passed out. He ran a finger gently through her red hair, and then over her smooth face. She would wake up eventually.

Until then, he needed to get home.