Chapter Nine:
Oin had been attending to the king for a while, when Ori burst into the tent, an excited grin on his face, "Kili's awake!"
The healer paused, glancing down at Thorin's still face. Their ruler was in a bad shape, but he'd been gradually improving thanks to the elf woman who'd previously been attending the princes. Things had stopped bleeding, and the king had woken at one point, enough to question the presence of an elf in his tent, but Oin had given him a draught for the pain, knocking him back out.
He wanted to try to see if maybe the uncle-side of Thorin would come back after hearing how badly his nephews had been hurt, but it was not the time to wake him. He'd let Balin deal with the matters of state; it was only up to him to make sure their bodies were sound.
Ori gently grabbed at Oin's sleeve, fairly dragging him from the kings makeshift quarters, "He's been asking after Thorin, but we didn't know what to tell him. He's pretty upset about Fili, and I think he tore some stitches open on his chest, but he won't stop moving around! We figured if anyone could get him to listen, it'd be you."
Oin grumbled under his breath, but hurried along, not wanting to be left behind by the much younger dwarf.
He entered the tent to the sound of Kili grumbling, "I don't understand why I can't go see Thorin."
When it became clear to the patient who Ori had brought along with him, the young dark-haired dwarf groaned under his breath and glared at the red-head.
Kili was propped up on a pillow, looking extremely pale and angry. There were still tear-tracks on his cheeks where Oin had been unable to scrub away all the grime, but everyone pretended as if they couldn't see them.
Dwalin, Balin, Ori, Nori, Bombur and Bofur were all crowded around Kili's cot. He looked overwhelmed, and Oin knew he shouldn't be awake yet. The pain potion he'd made the lad consume should have kept him under for another day at least, but then again, he always had been hard to keep asleep.
"Alright, alright, back off you lot, give him some air," Oin shouldered his way to the front of the group, glancing Kili over.
Sure enough, the arrow wound that he'd packed and stitched over several hours earlier was coming loose, causing a red splotching pattern to spread across the bandages. He tutted and gently pushed the dwarf back onto the pillow when he tried to sit up.
"You should not be moving around. You nearly died, you know that? It's alright if you take some time to rest."
He waited for Kili to make his usual snarky remark along the lines of, "That's what you and Ma always say. Stop worrying so much!" but the lad was unusually silent as he stared down at his hands.
"I'll have to restitch that now," Oin said, shaking his head, ignoring the gagging sound Ori very quietly made in the back.
"Can't it wait?" Kili grimaced, glancing at the other dwarves in the group as if he didn't want them to see the process.
The healer internally resisted the urge to smack the boy; he had only just begun to seem alive, it wouldn't do to send him into shock now.
"As long as you stay still, and these numbskulls leave within a minute or two, fine."
"Numbskulls?!"' Dwalin growled, then crossed his arms over his chest, "It's no matter laddie. You need rest, we can talk to you later. Thorin will be glad to know that you're recovering."
Kili offered a drawn smile. He made no move to protest when the group made its way back into the open air, something the healer was grateful for. Kili was notorious for being trouble whenever he was sick or hurt. Being laid up in bed didn't settle well with him.
"I'll try to do this as quickly as possible. Does anything hurt?" Oin asked as he checked for a fever.
"I'm… okay," Kili winced as he took too deep of a breath, and aggravated his arrow wounds.
Oin had to hand it to the elf-woman, she'd really done her job. The wounds had stopped bleeding already, and the jagged edges of skin were smoothing, indicating that the healing process was beginning. The prince still had a long way to go, and a difficult recovery, but at least the company didn't have to worry about the boys bleeding out anymore.
He rolled over the words in his head. If Legolas hadn't found the two princes, where would they be now? Left out on the battlefield somewhere bleeding out. His heart ached. Bleeding out for what? For Erebor? For Thorin? For each other?
He had to wonder if they had been lost, if it would have been worth it. No doubt, these two stupid, noble boys would have thought their lives meant something, and of course they did, but this damned battle was not something he was okay with having them sacrifice themselves for.
As Kili stared up at him, he quickly shook himself from his thoughts, giving the brown-haired dwarf a reassuring look.
"Would you like some more pain draught? I'm not sure how much I can give you, I don't want to overdo it, but I can probably dilute it a bit."
Even though the boy had said he was fine, a quick nod yes followed Oin's question. He mixed it up silently, staring at the boy as Kili slowly let his eyes slide shut.
"Here you are," he gently held the container to Kili's lips and he opened his eyes to slits as he surveyed the potion in front of him.
He grudgingly accepted it, and the steadiness of his breathing a few minutes later let Oin know that his job here was done. He checked on the older prince who was still unconscious; they'd discovered a knot on the back of the blonde's head after they'd set Kili's leg, so the healer wasn't worried. The elder would likely keep on sleeping for a while yet, if the size of the lump was any indication. The elf-woman had reassured him that the prince would be okay, and somehow Oin trusted her.
With a small sigh, he rubbed his forehead, then made his way back to Thorin, who would no doubt require attention as soon as the healer arrived back.
Fili felt more than heard his brother cry out for help. He was in pain and he was hurting and Fili wasn't there, even though he knew he should have been.
The blonde prince didn't know what had happened to his brother in that strange place, but he didn't care. He just wanted to be with him now, just wanted to make sure everything was going to be alright.
He tried to move, tried to do anything, but nothing would respond. Nothing made sense, nothing was working, nothing, nothing, nothing, until suddenly there was a warmth on his wrist and he somehow knew it was his brother trying to reassure him.
Fili wanted to open his eyes, he really did, but he was so tired. He thought maybe he would try to speak, but before he could even begin to try to move his mouth, his brother was telling him not to talk. Just sleep, he said, you need the rest.
He didn't listen. It was his baby brother after all, and who was he to be ordering anyone about?
"Kee…"
He felt his brother stiffen at the mumbled word, but he didn't have time to wonder at what that meant before he drifted off again.
He was lying on his back in the cot, which was one thing that seemed strange to him as he woke in the pitch black. He always slept on his side, usually back to back with Fili.
Where was Fili?
That thought, that single name, triggered a cascade of memories. Fili being hit with an arrow, Fili dying next to him. Fili walking away while Kili shouted for him to come back.
He couldn't remember crying out, but he must have, because he heard a small rustling on the cot next to him.
The present came rushing in around him, and he remembered where he was. He was in the healing tent, next to his brother, who was very much alive. He'd been sleeping, they both had, after Oin had redone his stitches.
He tried to take a calming breath, but immediately regretted it, the fire in his chest stealing the air from his lungs. He forced himself to try to relax, pushing the pain to the back of his mind like Thorin had taught him.
The other injuries he vaguely remembered sustaining twinged slightly, but Oin's potion was doing its work. He knew within a moment he'd be back asleep, and the only thing that confused him anymore was the reason why he'd woken up. He was tired, exhausted, so why had he jerked out of sleep?
He heard the movement in the room again, and he suddenly realized it had to be Fili.
His brother didn't say anything, but Kili knew that he was hurting. He knew that his sibling needed some form of reassurance, even though he couldn't even see the blonde's face.
Trying not to grunt in pain, he maneuvered himself so that he could blindly reach out into the dark and clasp his brothers wrist. Immediately, the elder calmed, and Kili could relax again.
The younger felt his brother's finger twitch, and he knew that Fili must be coming closer to consciousness, "Hey, don't talk, alright? Just sleep, you need the rest."
He knew his stubborn brother wouldn't listen, simply because he never did, "Kee…"
Kili stiffened.
"Kee…?" His brother on the battlefield, his face deathly pale and covered with blood as he finally responded to Kili's desperate pleas.
"Well, come on Kee!" there was a twinkle in Fili's eye, "Da's waiting for us…"
"Kee, don't stay, come with us, what's left for you here?"
"Because we're already dead. We aren't living Kee, there's nothing left."
The last words echoed around in his skull like something he almost remembered.
Kee, there's nothing left. There's nothing left, nothing left…
A/N: As promised! :D Hope you liked it! Any reviews and comments are appreciated, thanks all you guys for reading!
