Kíli felt fear grip him as he felt himself dangling from a tree, wrapped up in spider silk like a new present ready to be unpacked…or eaten as it seemed.
As a young dwarfling, he had never been afraid of spiders, in fact he sometimes enjoyed the company of the small little things. But he definitely knew he wasn't a fan of these monsters. A thought occurred to him that was part worrying and amusing. Fíli hated spiders, even the tiny ones, so he had to be shitting himself now in fear. Kíli tried to call out to him, but the spiders had done their job well at packing them in, he couldn't move anything. He was lucky that he could blink his eyes.
At that moment one of the spiders crawled on top of him and he recoiled in fear, his scream muffled. But the spider had no intention of eating him yet apparently because it easily crawled over him. He heard it hiss to its companions.
Kíli scolded himself for his fearful reaction. He had to fight, try to free himself. It would sound rather pathetic for others to later tell his mother that he had died as spider lunch; there was no honour in that. With that in mind he tried to wiggle around. Moving with all his might he felt a small satisfaction when he felt himself swing around. That wouldn't be enough. As he tried again however he heard some commotion. In hordes the spiders rushed away as if they were chasing something, or perhaps they were chased. In any case he hoped he would have enough time to free himself. As he thought about it he suddenly felt himself falling down. Something had cut him! With a yell he landed roughly on the ground, onto something bumpy. The cocoon became softer, giving him room to grab his weapon and cut open his imprisonment. As much as he'd hated this cursed forest before, he was now glad to gaze upon its trees. He saw Bilbo waving around his oversized letter opener, attacking one of the spiders. In the distance he saw others rushing back. From beneath him he felt movement and realised Bombur and Dwalin had broken his fall and were now desperately trying to get from underneath him. He gave them a grin and jumped off. His eyes found his brother's blue ones and the siblings smiled, understanding that both were fine. Then they raised their weapons and charged at the oncoming spiders.
His bow had been lost and would have been useless at such close range so Kíli used his sword, slashing anything non-dwarven or Hobbit out of the way. The spiders were huge, towering over them, their long legs dancing around. The Company worked as a team, effectively killing several of the nasty creatures. Most memorable was the one that had caught Bombur. Together they grabbed its legs and pulled so hard until they were ripped from its body. It gave Kíli a thrill to see the beast like this, but the feeling was short lived as another one grabbed him from behind, wrapping its hairy legs around him. He squirmed, his sword dropping in the process. God damn it!
He tried to call out, but his voice was drowned in the other yells, grunts, and frantic hissing. He was dragged further and further away from the group until he could only make out their silhouettes as they reached a clearing. While struggling he tried to keep listening to what was happening. He heard running and then suddenly the weirdest sound, the sound of flying arrows! He was the only one who could properly shoot, in that he was an oddity among dwarves. Thorin wouldn't use his bow and neither would Fíli, because they knew it would be useless. So then who were shooting?
The noise stopped and the beast tugged even harder on his legs as he tried to kick it away. He gave some more shouts and almost sighed in relief when he heard his brother respond. The spider loosened its grip slightly and Kíli used it to his advantage. Full of rage he kicked himself free and tried to scramble away as the beast hissed and clawed. Suddenly it gave a high-pitched squeal, falling dead and Kíli saw an arrow protruding from its head. Surprised he turned to see an elf advancing towards him, killing every spider in its path. The elf moved with deadly grace that he found enchanting. He'd made the embarrassing mistake in Rivendell of mistaking an elf lad for an elven maiden to the thorough amusement of the company. But the way the immense long red hair danced around the elf's elegant face and the graceful steps, Kíli was sure this was an elven maid, a hell of a one. A sound distracted him from her and he saw another spider approach them.
"Throw me a dagger!" He called to the elleth. When she didn't respond he panicked, the spider coming way too close for comfort and she was busy killing another one. "Quick!" He cried.
"If you think I'm giving you a weapon dwarf, you're mistaken!" She said and turned, throwing her dagger that landed straight into the eye of the spider. Again Kíli turned to look at her. Her hair waved around her, falling back into place. She had a grin on her face, obviously happy with herself. Then she looked at him and her green eyes made his heart skip a beat. Belatedly he realised his mouth was gaping. Quickly he closed it, but not before muttering a weak "wow…"
They seized each other up and Kíli couldn't resist giving her a charming smile. Thank Mahal Dwalin or Thorin weren't there to see it. She looked slightly confused at him, unsure how to respond. Her ears seemed to pick up commotion and she nodded into that direction.
"Come." She said soft but firmly and gestured him to walk that way, obviously wanting to make sure he didn't run away. His smile disappeared. They had run into the Mirkwood elves of King Thranduil, the bastard who'd refused to help his family when Smaug came. This was going to be interesting. He did as she told him, resisting would be useless. She was faster than him and armed.
They arrived to where the rest of the company was, who were surrounded by more elves. Satisfied that she had dropped him off, the lovely elf left his side, going over to a male elf with pale blond hair, who was obviously the leader of their group. Kíli watched them talk in their song-like language. He could tell that it sounded different from what the elves spoke in Rivendell. These tones were harsher, rapid and had a more mysterious air. He remembered what Balin had once told him. Mirkwood elves were less wise and more dangerous than their kin. He wondered what they were talking about as the other elves were given the order to search them. He was surprised to find that none searched him. In amusement and dread he watched Fíli's stash of weapons being diminished. Kíli knew how many weapons his brother carried and started counting. With every weapon the elf found the more frustrated he grew. Unable to keep watching, he focused his attention on the ground, trying to locate his own weapons that he had dropped. But he soon found that the elves had already gathered them up, including his bow and arrows.
He saw the tall blond leader elf wield his uncle's sword, speaking in elvish while looking at it in awe, as if he'd made it himself. Then the elf turned to Thorin.
"Where did you get this?" He asked in common tongue accusingly.
"It was given to me." Thorin replied in his low voice. Within seconds the sword in question was pointed at his throat.
"Not only a thief, but a liar as well!" the elf said angrily. "Enwenno hain!" He called and the elves pushed them into a line and started to march them through the forest. Kíli didn't think it would result into something good. He tried to sneak a glance at the pretty red-haired elf, but her expression was a mask. She looked serious and gave several elves orders. He smiled amused; she must have a high position in order to do so.
Rather quickly they were crossing a bridge over a rushing river before the entrance of the Mirkwood Realm. Kíli couldn't help but marvel at the grand structure. This wasn't anything like the curls and swirls of Rivendell, it was robust, yet decorative; purposeful yet beautiful, just like dwarven architecture. It surprised the young dwarf that most of the kingdom was in fact made of stone. Light stonewalls surrounded them, as if they were in a canyon. They walked over wooden walkways that looked like huge roots of trees, meandering through the immense space. Everywhere around him, Kíli heard the sounds of waterfalls rushing past. As he looked up he saw hundreds of more walkways, decorated with elegant bows. Golden light fell into the hall in scattered places, giving it a mysterious feeling. Stone pillars seemed to support the entire structure and these were carved to reassemble tree, their branches connecting into large arches. He could see a platform in the middle of the hall. The majority of the platform was covered with a huge throne, decorated with antlers. Fitting he mused. But they passed the throne and without a word, were marched deeper into the kingdom. Several of the elves they passed looked at them in surprise and distrust. Kíli gave them a harsh look; if only they knew who they were looking at. It wasn't long before they reached their destination. It was no surprise to see several prisons, carved into the stone walls with elegant but obviously sturdy iron wrought gates. Several of the company started to make loud protests as they were placed into one of the cells, one by one.
Kíli had the chuckle a bit when he heard Gloin protest loudly against his guard.
"This won't be the end of it! Do ye hear me?" the dark red dwarf yelled. But the elves ignored him. Kíli and Fíli were marched to the last cells, and although the cells were still several meters apart, they were glad they weren't separated that much. As Fíli was pushed into his, his guard stopped him and grabbed his final weapon, number 13, from the inside of his jacket, and Fíli gave a frustrated sigh. Kíli turned to the lovely female elf, who guided him into his own.
"Aren't you going to search me?" He asked, his face turning deadly serious. "I could have anything down my trousers." The elf didn't even blink.
"Or nothing." She retorted and closed his cell, but her eyes lingered and he could see the amusement in her eyes. As she walked away he couldn't resist watching her leave.
She passed the blond elf on her way. They spoke a few quick words before she continued to walk away, smiling. The blond on the other hand didn't look very amused and turned to look straight at him. Kíli held his gaze and the elf gave him a glare before he too left.
Kíli turned to look at his surroundings. For a prison cell it wasn't too bad. There was a bed, a chair and table, as well as a small sink to wash his face and a stone bench close to the door. He sighed as he lay on his bed. He could hear some other dwarves talking, trying to find a way to get out of here.
He closed his eyes.
This was going to be interesting.