An: Thank you all for the nice reviews ! :) I'm soo happy that you like this story.

Big thank you to Shreeg for helping me out with this chapter! Mahal knows how this chapter would have turned out without your guidance :'D

Disclaimer: I do not own Hobbit

Few days passed in boredom. Once they got large, but hard bread to eat, and both of them ate it like they had never seen food before. After their meal they got mugs of water and the brothers drank those with pleasure. The next day Kili threw up from hunger, although he had nothing to throw up. Fili started to grow tired, maybe even exhausted at times, and slept most of the days.

On the plus side, the guard left them alone for most of the times. He passed by a few times per day, but only once he got violent. He pushed Kili to the ground for throwing up. The push itself wasn't hard or violent, but Kili landed painfully on his wrist. He complained for hours later that it still hurt.

And well, they spend every moment they weren't asleep talking to each other. Quietly whispering through the hole so the guard couldn't hear what they were saying. They talked about everything -how they wished they'd just kept walking or booked a room from a different inn, how they both missed good food and peaceful sleep, the funny incidents that happened in their childhood and tons of other things.

Boring.

Kili snapped out of his almost peaceful sleep as someone yanked the door open. He struggled to stand up just in time to see some other guard storming in. That guard was a lot heavier than the one they were used to see, he was taller and way uglier with his small eyes and face full of scars.

"I'm in rush here but that son of a bitch called Johnny forced me to deal with you two today. I have no time to listen to your whispers to each other, and even if I did, it is annoying as hell! So to keep things simple, you, get here!"

The younger dwarf had pretty much no time to react before the guard groaned and stepped forward, grabbing Kili by his wrist and pulling him out of the cell.

"No!" Kili yelled in near-panic, not wanting to leave Fili. This new guard was a lot scarier than the guard he had learnt to hate and to be honest, Kili was scared. This one was obviously more violent than the other and showed no compassion towards Kili. "Leave me in the cell! Don't touch me!"

"Shut up!" the guard snapped at Kili, who was now being dragged down the hallway. They passed Fili's door, and Kili glanced at it almost desperately. It was hard not to fall down. Kili could hear Fili's yells for his brother echoing from the other side of the door.

Despite all the struggle Kili put up, he had not enough power to stop the man from dragging him where he wanted to. And soon, after a turn to right and two turns to left in the maze-like building, they arrived to a bigger room. The room had poor lighting and the air smelled old. There were three poles that went all the way to the ceiling, maybe holding the roof up, Kili didn't know (but also didn't care).

Kili was thrown to the ground, and luckily he had just enough time to protect his still aching wrist. His ribs fired up as he hit the ground, and a moan escaped his lips. He rolled on to his back and slowly sat up, glaring the new man angrily. "So what now?" Kili asked harshly.

The guard didn't bother to answer, only reached down to one of the drawers and pulled out a thick rope. He held it in air and gave Kili an unpleasant grin. "Guess."

"Kili!"

Panic was starting to settle inside him. Had someone just seriously taken away his little brother? Fili felt anger rising inside him. Couldn't the man take him instead of Kili? No, of course not. Of course it had to be Kili.

Fili hit his fist to the door with all his power, and didn't even feel the sting of pain that followed afterwards. He was too angry -and too worried- to notice such things.

He had to do something. He couldn't just stand there when Kili was Mahal-knows-where! He could be even more hurt by know for all Fili knew. He had to do something. Still, there weren't many options. Escaping was the first thing that came to his mind. And, well, naturally it sounded better than good. But it was easier said than done.

Although he was worried sick and so angry he could probably stab the guards, he couldn't concentrate on anything. He would run his fingers through his hair over and over again, not really thinking of a way to solve this problem of his. His mind kept going back to the same thought -what if Kili is hurt?

"Okay, calm down", Fili muttered to himself, forcing himself to take a deep breath in. "Count to ten."

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five...

"This is hopeless", Fili cried out, collapsing on to his bed. It wasn't helping. He wasn't helping Kili like he should. He almost hoped that some of the guards would come to his room so he could stab someone.

Fili froze. Stab. He had forgotten..?

Quickly he jumped up and ran to his jacket that laid on the floor; the air in the cell was rather warm and you didn't need a jacket in there. Fili grabbed the piece of material and opened it with a bit shaky hands. Please, be in there.

And for once the luck was by his side. It was still there. His dagger was still in the pocket inside his jacket. The same dagger he had not dared to use before because letting the guard see it could -actually, would- have made their situation even worse. And because their situation couldn't get any worse than this, Fili had nothing to lose. He would use the dagger to escape. Not a good plan but it was the best he got.

The dagger was actually small. (Fili had a collection of knives back home but this was the one he took with him if he ever left their yard.) The dagger was small enough to be missed by others but quite effective when used. One time some man had come to him, threatening him and telling him that if he didn't give the man all his money, the man would end Fili's life. The man had burst out laughing when Fili drew out his dagger, but after a slash or two the smile was gone, and so was the man. He didn't die, naturally, if that's what you're thinking, no. The sharp end of the dagger had been really sharp and scared the man away.

Fili smiled to himself as he dropped the jacket and eyed his trustworthy weapon. Slowly he approached the door, hoping that the dagger would do the trick and unlock the door. His mind was still wandering a bit, but Fili forced himself to concentrate. He would do this one way or another. He wouldn't leave his little brother alone out there.

It took all of Kili's self control not to cry out when the first blow landed. Apparently pissing off this guard wasn't the smartest thing to do. He hadn't even meant to argue with him! Kili had only told the new guard that he wasn't, in any ways, related to goblins. How would he have known that this guard always thought that he was right about everything and no one could tell him otherwise?

So the guard had kicked him to stomach. Unable to protect himself in any ways -Kili's arms were tied together on the other side of the pole, making moving impossible- the kick felt even worse than it normally would have. Thank god the guard had been smart enough not to tie the rope around his wrists, as the other one was broken, but around his elbows. Maybe the position of his hands was a bit awkward and uncomfortable but it didn't hurt like it would have hurt if the rope had been around his wrists.

The second blow made Kili gasp and curl down as much as he could, pain waving inside his stomach.

"As I said, I am in hurry", the guard sighed, looking down to Kili. The young dwarf looked pathetic if you asked him. "I must check on the other dwarf before I do my work. I'll be gone for fifteen minutes, and if you have moved by the time I return, you'll be dead."

Kili glanced at the man and nodded, deciding that arguing was just a waste of time and that it was just a bad idea. Kicks to stomach weren't exactly his favorite things to experience.

"Good", the man muttered and left as if he was in hurry. When the man was nowhere to be seen or heard, Kili sighed. Worry over Fili took over his mind -where was he? Still in his cell was Kili's guess, but he could never know. Though, he wished for Mahal's sake that Fili was safe in his cell or escaped.

Hunger growled inside his stomach, and the uncomfortable throbbing of the kicks made Kili nauseous. His wrist that probably hung limp behind his back -and the pole- ached, but it was bearable. It felt more like something was missing than that it actually hurt. The feeling of a broken bone was a strange feeling.

Not many minutes passed before the guard's footsteps echoed on the hallway again. They were heavy and fast, as if he was angry. Kili closed his eyes, not wanting to see the man if he really was pissed for some reason. Angry guards meant nothing good, that Kili had learnt by now. And indeed, the yell the guard let out made Kili flinch and open his eyes.

"Dwarf! Where is he!?"

Where is who, was the first thought that crossed Kili's mind but in half a second he got it. Fili wasn't in his cell. A slight smile rose on Kili's lips as he realized that Fili had gotten out.

"Who?" Kili asked, playing dumb. He eyed the guard curiously, acting as well as he could.
"The blond dwarf! The brother of yours! Where is he?" The guard's voice was furious.

Kili's eyes widened as he played the role he had chosen to play. "He's not in his cell?"

The guard knelt down in front of Kili, grabbing the collar of his shirt. Kili bit his lower lip and tilted his head away from the guard, taking a deep breath in, not really liking where this was going.

"Listen here, you stupid little piece of crap. You have two options. Number one is that you tell me where he is, and number two is that you cry and tell me where he is. Are we clear?"

Kili sighed. "We are, but there is a slight problem there. My apologies, but I don't happen to know where he is. I wish I knew, though."
"Don't play games with me, dwarf, I warn you." The grip around Kili's collar tightened and two eyes glared at him murderously. "A few kicks to stomach are just the beginning of what I am capable of."

"I am sure of that", Kili forced a dry laugh out, "but honestly, I have no idea of where he could be. Far away from here is my guess. You are just wasting time by asking me about his current location. How could I know when I'm locked in here?"

The punch that followed was not something Kili had been expecting. His head snapped to his right from the force of the guard's fist and a cry escaped his lips.

"Wanna try that again?"

Kili blinked a few times, giving himself some time to get used to the new pain on his cheek. He was getting tired of all the kicking, hitting, showing, strangling and hurting. He wanted to go home.

"I asked you a question!" the guard yelled, forcing Kili's head straight so Kili had no options but to look at the man.

He was tired of the constant hurting and aching and throbbing, and he missed his own bed and he missed Thorin and he missed his mother and he missed Fili. But he wouldn't give up so easily. Fili was out and would come rescue him in no time.

Kili braced himself as he blurt out an insult and spat at the man.

Fili ran down the corridors. He thanked Mahal - he had managed to sneak out and hide just before the guard came. And because the guard had noticed his disappearance and had rushed back to the direction he came from, Fili knew it meant nothing good for his little brother. And that's why he was in hurry.

Dagger in the other hand he sprinted down the hallways, but gosh, the building was like a maze. At every turn he had to choose a way he thought was the right way and he always had to look out for more guards. Fili wasn't even sure where their original guard was, but he hoped that he was nowhere near.

And so he kept running.

Kili moaned. The guard had cut his ropes and let Kili free, but only because it was easier to use him as a punching bag that way. And now Kili was laying on the floor, holding his stomach with his still unhurt hand. He felt like throwing up -too many punches to the stomach and chest area.

"This is the last time I ask this. Where is your brother?" yelled the guard again. Kili slowly glanced at the man, grinning at him somehow weakly.
"Even if I knew, I would not tell you."

Another kick. This time to his back.

Kili twisted his back as straight as he could and grimaced because of the pain. He took a couple deep breaths in, trying to calm his racing heart down a bit.

"You know what, dwarf? You know why I hate you so much?"
"I'd love to know, actually", Kili breathed out sarcastically.

The guard nodded and lowered his body so he could grab Kili instead of kicking him. Kili cried out as the man suddenly pulled Kili up by his hair, forcing Kili to stand up. "It's all your fault. You dwarves.. your love for gold."

Kili glared the man, wanting to throw up. The thought of throwing up on the man made Kili grin, but still he decided to control himself. He had never felt this weak. His body was aching and his head hurt uncomfortably. Why was Fili taking so long?

"When Smaug came because of you, it destroyed Dale. It got my grandfather killed, as well as his daughters and wife. Most of their friends. It almost killed my father, too."

Punch. On the same cheek as last time - Kili tasted blood in his mouth - and a sting of pain.

"In Dale my family was a rich family. Now, here.. We are poor. Everyone lives in poverty."

Another punch. This time Kili let out a yell and grabbed his nose, as it started to bleed. What have I done to deserve this? Third punch, and the man let go of Kili's hair. Kili's body met the floor and to be honest, he was happy to lay there. It felt better. Still, most of his body hurt.

"I don't know if you know what it's like to see your family members suffer like that. It is your fault that my father lost his mind! He once had everything and then you dwarves had to ruin it!"

Kili didn't even feel the kick that followed. He was too exhausted. He just wanted to sleep.

"And I am not even the only one who your actions affected. I'm sure you've noticed that your own beloved guard, John, that usually takes care of you, has some issues against you two as well.."

Kili was too tired to keep his eyes open. He had not eaten well for many days, he had been constantly hurt by the men, there hadn't been a minute that nothing ached.

And little by little the world darkened around Kili until it was all black and the hard, cold ground felt soft and just perfect.

Okay so now you know why the two of them seem to hate Fili and Kili so much. Poor Kili just draws their attention to himself and Fili is left mostly unharmed. There will probably be two or three chapters after this, but I can't say anything for sure. :'D

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