She comes back the next day carrying a tray of food. If you can even call a platter of leaves with a few vegetables mixed in food. He tries not to shudder at the thought of consuming the large quantity of lettuce and cabbage that now lie menacingly before him.
"Ah. I see what you did there, with the platter of plants. Serves me right, I suppose. I'm sorry for offending you yesterday. And giving you all those heartfelt compliments." Kili mutters sarcastically, twirling a browning leaf between his fingers. It looks old. He nibbles on the edge of it and ends up recoiling at the taste.
"It does serve you right. Don't act like you were giving me compliments out of kindness. I have worked with prisoners long enough to know what angle you were playing at. And apologies mean nothing to me. Especially if they come from the likes of you."
"I am, though! You won't hear me offering my services to you anymore. Unless you want them, of course. You have my word."
She crosses her arms,"What good is the word of a dwarf?"
Kili snorts, "I could say the same to you. How do I know if the promise of an elf is any good?"
She gives him a gentle shrug in agreement, "Fair enough, dwarf-scum."
He bristles with annoyance.
"I have a name, you know," He says curtly. "Or you could at least call me something else and sound less disgusted by my presence when you talk to me."
"What is your name, then?"
"I'll give you mine if you give me yours."
"Forget it. You can either give me your name or I'll be glad to call you dwarf-scum for the rest of your days."
"Fine! It's Kili! My name... Is... Is Kili."
It's the first time he sees her truly smile. His heart goes crazy and his lungs seem to fail him. Oh, yes. He does love her smile.
She bites back a laugh, "What a stupid name! What kind of name is Kili?! It sounds like it belongs to an assassin. Not a scruffy little thing such as yourself!"
His heart sinks. Kili sets his plate down and nudges it away with his foot.
"I bet your name sounds silly, too." He grumbles.
"Probably not to your ears," She speaks more softly. Then, as if taking pity on him she says, "It's Tauriel. Since you were wondering."
Tauriel. Kili lets the name bounce around his head. She's right. Her name definitely does not sound silly. In fact, it's quite beautiful.
"Tauriel," He repeats gently. Her name sounds nice on his tongue. It's smooth and elegant. "Well, that is a very nice name. You know, for an elf."
"Thank you," Tauriel hesitates. "And now that I think about it, I suppose Kili is a decent name, too. You know, for a dwarf."
Kili beams. Tauriel doesn't. She continues to glare at him, though her gaze is softer. The world seems muddled when he looks into her eyes. Those luminous, fearsome eyes that seem to burn holes in his heart.
Tauriel turns on her heel to leave. A jingle of keys snaps him out of his daze. Damn this elf! She made him forget what he's supposed to be doing, which is acquiring the keys!
Think, Kili. Think. He chides himself. Let's see. He already tried flattery. But that didn't work. What else could you do to persuade someone?
The word pity quickly comes to mind. He considers this for a moment. Sympathy could work if he played his cards right.
"Do you want to know why I'm on this quest?"
Tauriel stands still. Kili's eyes drop to the deserted plate of plants he'd kicked away. He takes a leaf of cabbage from it and begins to shred it apart absentmindedly.
"It's partly because of the adventure. The excitement of it all. To see the ruins of Dale. The once great city of Erebor that I've only heard about in songs and tales," Kili pauses. A knot forms in his throat. He feels so vulnerable, speaking from the heart like this. He has to, though. If he makes something up it won't sound as believable. Besides, he tells himself, it'll be good to get this off his chest. "But it's more than that. I wanted to prove to my uncle that I'm capable of being like him. Strong and a good leader. To show everyone else that I'm a good warrior. Brave in the face of danger. They just see me as some reckless, unpredictable kid. Which I suppose I am. I feel like I have my own part to play in this journey, though. That I have to step up and be more mature. That's why I'm here, I guess. To prove my worth. To have my uncle look at me with pride in his eyes like he once did. And once we reclaim our home, hopefully he will."
He stares at the dirt ridden floor. Tauriel turns toward him slowly.
"You truly believe that you'll succeed in your quest?" Tauriel's voice is tinged with awe.
Kili nods. Tauriel shakes her head. Whether in doubt or disbelief, she doesn't say.
"You're very brave," Tauriel says. "But I am sad to inform you that your quest will be in vain," Her voice suddenly turns sharp and ruthless. Tauriel's next words burn like the lash of a whip. "What chance do thirteen dwarves have against the wrath of a dragon?"
Kili doesn't reply. Why do elves always do this? He thinks. Why do they have this need to make us feel so small and insignificant while they sit so high and mighty on their thrones? They act as if everything we do amounts to nothing in the end.
After a while, Kili's disgruntlement gets the best of him.
"You know, I thought you were different than the others. I thought you were openminded. But you're just like the Elvenking," He stands up and moves toward her. "You're all the same, you elves. You always have to be better than everyone else. Just because you live forever and tower over everyone with your porcelain skin and long, flowing hair. Thorin was right. All you care about is yourself. You're a selfish race. Comprised of cowardly kings and spiteful jail guards. And in the end, that's all you are. Cowards. You know it's true, too. Don't deny it. When orcs were atta-"
Kili sees a blur of coppery hair. In one swift movement, Tauriel grabs the front of his cloak and pulls him toward her. His body slams painfully against the metal bars. Kili's face takes the worst of the blow.
Her eyes glint with the ferocity of a warg as she stares down at him. She whips out a dagger from its sheath and places the edge of the blade underneath his chin.
Kili's heart hammers away in his ears. Pounding like the hoof beats of a stag as it flees from danger. Tauriel's much prettier up close. She smells like grapes, moss, and some sweet smelling wood. Her aroma is disorientating. It makes it hard for him to breathe. Or maybe that's just the knife pressed against his throat.
Tauriel's bright eyes seem to pierce through his soul.
"Do not ever call me a coward again. Remember this. Or next time your tongue slips, my knife might, as well." She spits angrily, pressing the cool blade harder against his neck.
You shouldn't worry about that. I'm tongue-tied enough when you're around. Kili thinks.
"Do we understand each other, dwarf?"
"I believe we do, elf." Kili says the word "elf" like Thorin would say the word "orc". He puts as much hatred and disgust as he can into it.
Tauriel shoves him away from her. Kili crumbles on the dirty stone floor. His cheek and temple still throb from where his face had slammed into the bars of the cell. His eyes water from the pain.
This plan of his is not working out as he'd hoped. Anger boils in his blood. The only thing keeping him from fighting back are the consequences he would have to face later.
He tries to look up at her with that smoldering glare Thorin has mastered so well. It fails terribly.
The stare he tried to throw her way slowly melts into a pained and hurt expression. Thinking of Thorin makes Kili's chest squeeze with heartache. He's sure it shows in his eyes.
He wonders how Thorin is faring. What Fili and Dwalin and all the other dwarves are doing right now. Do they think of him as he thinks of them?
What of Bilbo? Is he all alone in the darkened woods? Or is he wrapped in a cocoon of webbing and about to become a spider's next meal? He'd noticed the hobbit was not with them when they'd entered the throne room.
Kili thinks also of his mother, who is probably sick with worry. Worry that he and Fili wouldn't come back. And praying that they would return safely to her.
He then begins to wonder if Tauriel is right. Maybe he won't be going home after all. Maybe he won't ever even see his mother again. Up until now he'd survived by sheer luck and reckless bravery.
Tauriel's eyes seem to reflect his pain. For a split second, they soften with sympathy.
"Kili, I..." Her voice trails off.
She lingers at his cell tentatively, looking as if she has more to say.
Kili gives her another pitiful look. He really is getting too old for this. This was the kind of look he and Fili used to give Thorin when they were children. Most of the time they used it whenever they got into trouble. It had worked wonders back then. Kili just hopes it works on elves.
Tauriel sheaths her knife loudly. Giving a soft scoff and a shake of her head, she begins to stalk down the corridor.
Kili's heart does a somersault. It didn't work. She saw right through him.
Unless she was shaking her head at herself because she regretted her actions.
No, it has to be the former. She's far too clever to not see through his façade.
Kili stands up and kicks his dinner away from him. The wooden plate slams against the bars of his cell. Green leaves and a random assortment of vegetables fly through the cage bars and into the hallway.
He growls in frustration and plops down on the ground, steaming with rage.
After a few moments of quiet disgruntlement churning in his stomach, he sees something orange out of the corner of his eye. Kili gasps and backs up against his cell. His heart leaps into his throat.
"Fili," He tries to yell. His mouth feels dry. His voice grows hoarse with terror. He feels as if he's a child again. Calling out for his older brother after waking from a terrifying nightmare. "F-Fili? There's a carrot floating outside my cell. Fili!"
The carrot falls to the ground. A scuffle of feet reaches Kili's ears. He stares ahead of him, aghast. At first he thinks Tauriel has returned. But that can't be. The footsteps had come from right outside the cell. A cold chill tingles the back of his neck.
Kili clears his throat, "Hey Tauriel! Do you have ghosts down here?! Because if so... I- I want to switch cells! Preferably one without a ghost that steals carrots! Actually, one without a ghost at all and one that's closer to my brother would more than suffice!"
"Shh. Kili, keep your voice down. It's me." A familiar voice says.
Heart quelling and jaw dropping, Kili, in awe, asks,"Bilbo?"
He cautiously edges his way to the front of the jail cell. Reaching out past the bars, Kili waves a trembling hand in front of him. To his surprise, he hits something solid.
"Ouch. That's my face." Bilbo mutters.
"You're not a ghost," Kili laughs. He gives the invisible hobbit an enormous grin. "But if you're not a ghost, then how...?"
"Oh yes, well... I, um... I found this ring and... Ah, I'll explain everything later! It isn't important right now! What is important is trying to figure out a way to get you all out of here. Thorin keeps saying-"
Kili's heart leaps jubilantly. His mind buzzes with questions. "Thorin knows you're here? What about Fili? Have you spoken with them? How are they?"
"Yes. Yes. They're doing fine. But Thorin's a little more than upset at our detainment. The guards question him at least once a day. He won't tell them anything, though. Being the stubborn dwarf he is. But I'm working out a plan. Or at least, I'm trying. I've been spying on the Elvenking and his advisors. Trying to see if there are any secret passageways out of here that we don't know about."
"Why can't you just pluck a set of keys from one of the guards when they're asleep?"
"I've tried. Almost got caught a few times, too. They're very light sleepers, elves."
Kili lets this thought sink in. A satisfying idea begins to formulate in his mind.
"Do you think... If I could get the clothes off one of 'em that you could steal the keys then? They'd probably be distracted enough-"
"What on earth are you implying?!" Bilbo asks, horrified.
"Nothing," He says defensively. He flushes scarlet. "It's just... It was just an idea."
Kili thinks it better to change the subject, "Why were you trying to steal my carrots?"
"Oh, I hoped you wouldn't mind. I know you dwarves don't really care much for vegetables. And I haven't had much to eat in a while. I've been taking what I can from the kitchen, but never enough so that they notice the food's gone."
"Sure. By all means, take what you want." Kili says, feeling almost bad that he hadn't wondered what the hobbit had been eating the past few days. He'd assumed that the other dwarves just gave him some of their food.
Bilbo stows the food away in his invisible pockets for later.
"So... You said you were working out a plan. What is it that you were thinking?" Kili inquires.
"I don't really know yet. But... Well, we can't exactly leave the way we came in, can we? It'll have to be discreet. We'll have to pass right under their noses without them noticing."
"That is going to be hard." Kili agrees solemnly.
They sit in silence for a while. Each wrapped in their own thoughts of how to get out of this hell hole. Kili still thinks a seduction technique would work.
He looks at the empty air in front of him. It's unsettling, knowing someone is there when you can't see them.
"Bilbo, when I asked you how you turned invisible you said something about a ring..."
"Look, I don't exactly know how it works, but-"
A loud clang makes Kili jump. The elf is probably back.
"Somebody's coming. I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but I best be off," Bilbo says hastily. "Thank you for the food."
"But what about...? Okay," Kili relents. He wishes he could learn more about that ring. Like where Bilbo found it and if there are any more. If there ARE, then maybe they can use them somehow in their escape. "Send Fili my love. Tell the others that I miss them, would you?"
Bilbo doesn't say anything. Kili wonders if he's nodding.
He barely hears the little hobbit pattering down the corridor. His fleeting footsteps sound like the whisper of a ghost on the stone. Leaving no trace behind.