He watched her carefully, making sure that she continued to breathe. How did she do it? His kind had no need to. But then again, they didn't have hearts either. If he did, he was sure that his would be beating rapidly against his chest. The anxiety of taking her to his room without getting noticed by anyone had been hard, and he'd been careful to make sure that she didn't accidentally get her hurt. She still showed no signs of waking, and Kili's mind wondered over the idea of if she ever would.
If she didn't, she would die. Surely that would wake her spirit. He didn't know what he'd do if she remained asleep much longer; he couldn't stay inside much longer. Already, he'd had to get Fili to leave him alone. His brother had brushed him off as being angry over breaking something he owned. A few clumsy accidents made his brother think that he was an idiot, and he'd offered to get him a broom. But it had gotten his brother off of his tail, and he'd managed to not make a rude comment about his relationship with the royal scribe.
Now all he had to do was wait. She had to wake up sometime. If he had to, he'd force her awake.
The thought grew in his mind, took control of it. Yes, she would wake up. It was no longer a question of when. No, she would, and if he had to, he would make her. But as of then, he allowed her just a little longer to rest.
The forest was vast and dark, and surprisingly free of spiders. She wondered through it, bow ready in case that she needed to attack. The air had a slight smell to it, as though it had rained earlier. However, the dark soil beneath her feet looked incredibly dry, or at least what she could see of it. Where was her lantern? Had she left it with Legolas? Speaking of him, where was her friend? She called out for him, noticing that her voice was slightly hoarse. She called again, hoping that he could somehow hear her. He wasn't the type to make a joke such as this. Turning in all directions, she looked for the light of a lantern. There was none. There were no spiders either, only silence.
The forest suddenly seemed larger, as ridiculous as that sounded. She'd grown up in it, and when the elves had begun to enter Thranduil's halls to hide from the growing darkness, she had been one of the few allowed to still enter the forest freely. Even then, after it had changed so much, it had never felt this vast. There had been a faint, distant familiarity despite it being so different from the lush, beautiful green forest from before.
Her mind left behind the issue of the spiders and the darkness around her. What really mattered was her finding her friend and the two getting back to Thranduil. If either were lost... She shook the thought away. It was best not to let anxiety rush through her while she was already in a bad enough situation. With quick, silent movements she forced herself forward step by step. She wasn't sure if this forward would take her back to the halls of Thranduil or deeper in the forest, but every direction was a gamble. The only thing that she could do was go forward and hope that she had luck.
When she opened her eyes, it was less dark. Her mind was foggy, trying to recall what had happened. She had been in the forest all alone with no lantern, surrounded by darkness. Where had Legolas been? She didn't remember him being there. There had been spiders, but maybe there hadn't. Her mind wondered over the few images that she had of the encounter, but she couldn't think of anything remotely involving spiders. Odd, that was what she expected most.
Her eyes wondered over where she was. It certainly didn't feel like the forest, nor did it feel like the inside of her room. It didn't look like it either. It was too dark, too face was cold, but her body was warm. Her eyes wondered over blankets made of a material that she couldn't identify. So that was what she had felt on her chest.
Then her mind snapped back together. She shot up straight, looking around. Wherever she was, it didn't feel real. It was too grand, even for someone of her own standing. It appeared to be made of stone, and had various artwork hung on the wall. Jewelry littered the tops of various stone drawers and some spilled onto the floor. A large mirror was on one side of the room, reflecting herself and the top of the head of someone else. She was on a large bed. Her head shifted to look at the person hiding beneath the side of her bed, the tip of his head visible. Some of her hair had spilled onto the side, and their fingers were touching the very edge of her red hair.
He had dark hair, stubble, and wide brown eyes. She couldn't tell his exact size, but she was sure that she was taller than him. From the look on his face, she knew that something was very wrong. He had a slightly muscular build, and the muscles he did have were firm. Surely he would be strong enough to pick her up if he pleased.
The questions hanging in her mind answered herself. There was no bow in her hand and no arrows on her back.
It went against everything that she had been thought, but it seemed to be the only rational thing that she could do. She opened her mouth as wide as she possibly could and screamed.
"Please calm down," Kili shouted, grabbing her shoulders. "Please, please, please calm down." He forced a smile. "I'm not going to hurt you. Nothing bad is going to happen to you." She pulled away from him, hitting her shoulder against his bed frame. She reached out a hand and held it.
"I'm not going to hurt you."
There were tears at the edges of her eyes. Without thinking, he reached out and wiped one away. She screamed again before she brought up one leg, still covered in his own blankets, and kicked him straight in the jaw. Pain riled through him, but he didn't pass out. He looked at her, wondering what to do. Someone would come, and everything would go wrong.
"Please stop."
She tried to kick him again, but he moved out of the way. If she wanted him to pass out like she had, then she would fail. Ignoring the pain he felt (it would heal), he reached out and firmyl locked his hands on her shoulders. "Please, stop screaming. I won't hurt you."
Footsteps echoed throughout the hall, along with the sound of a loud and familiar voice. "Kili, what in Aule's name is going on?"
He couldn't think of anything to say to his uncle for once.
