Goblins started to pull Kili to the front. Fili panicked and screamed his brother's name, while reaching out for him. Their hands brushed past each other and Fili could only look at him in fear. All the attempts to save Kili from what was going to happen were in vain, for the dwarves were far outnumbered. Eventually Kili ended up in front of the throne of the Goblin King, with his hands being held behind his back. Grinnah kicked the back of his knee, making him fall to his knees. Kili looked at the king in disgust.
"Why have you entered my kingdom? Speak up!"
Kili kept his mouth shut. If he told them of their destination the quest would be doomed. His decision clearly annoyed the goblin.
"Rip off his tunic and shirt! I want him bare-chested." It ordered in Black Speech.
Before Kili could stop himself, he shouted "No!"
The goblins were stunned and stopped. The goblin king frowned. "What was that?" He looked at his goblin minions. "Did you hear that too? I think this little dwarf learned a word in Black Speech."
Kili's eyes were wide and he opened his mouth, without any words ready to escape again. He was breathing heavily and was afraid the dwarves would find out his secret, but that had been too late. The dwarves heard him and gasped. They wondered how Kili knew what that disgusting goblin said. In the corner of his eyes, Fili saw the goblin he had seen running away while he was being pulled into Goblin-Town. It hurried his way to the king, screaming in Black Speech. "It's him! It's him! My lord it's him!"
The Goblin King seemed satisfied with this information and ordered the goblins to continue removing Kili's clothes, leaving his upper body bare. Once they had finished, the goblins blocking the sight of Kili's back stepped aside. The whole company gasped when they saw Kili's back covered in scars from the many lacerations he had got in the past. The few parts of his skin where there were no scars, there were signs of burns and bruises. The dwarves never noticed, only Ori and Fili had seen glimpses of them in Rivendell, when they listened to Kili's conversation with Lord Elrond.
"Let me see his back." The king stood up from his throne and moved to look at Kili's back. Kili flinched as he traced the lines of one of the scars. "Ah, I see my mark is still there, good, good. Wouldn't want you to forget would we?"
The silence was unbearable as Kili stood there, stunned, hoping they could soon leave that disgusting place. His breathing had become erratic due to his fear, and he could only look at the ground in shame. He could do nothing but squirm a bit in the goblins' grip, trying to get away from this nightmare, but he could only stand there, petrified. Balin decided to break the silence and perhaps answer questions. He pushed his way to the front of the group and looked at Kili's back. He stayed there for some time, taking in the ravage of it, and then asked "Kili, lad, how did you get these?"
Kili closed his eyes. He wanted this nightmare to go away. He wished it had never happened. Why could he not just forget? He had dealt with the nightmares for more than five years and they still had not gone. Why could they not just leave him alone?
The Goblin King took Kili's silence as an opportunity to tease the little dwarf. "You never told them little one? You never told them how you got to know the darkness of Middle Earth?"
"Shut up." Kili whispered in Black Speech, still looking at the ground.
The Goblin King blinked a couple of times, raised an eyebrow and asked with a threatening voice "What was that?"
Kili opened his eyes and looked directly at the king. "I said shut up!" Kili stood up, ignoring the goblins that were holding him tightly, as if they were suddenly weaker by his outburst. "If anyone would tell them, it'd be me!"
Balin seemed to be the only one to start with the puzzle that had revealed itself. How was it possible that Kili and the Goblin King already knew each other? Where? When? He would most certainly get back to this when they got out of this disgusting mountain. For now Balin just paid attention to what was happening in the front. Fili was being dragged in front of the throne and the Goblin king repeated its question.
"Why have you entered my kingdom?" Fili was determined not to reply, thinking it would be wise to follow his brother's decisions for once. The Goblin King turned to one of its goblin minions. "Fetch the whip."
Kili tensed and watched the goblin disappear into the darkness of the cave, only to come back with a whip in its hands. Kili's eyes widened as he gasped. It was the same whip the goblins had used on him all those years ago, nearly killing him with not only the strikes, but later also the infection caused by this foul place. The Goblin King noticed Kili was scared. "Do you recognize it Kili? Don't worry, you two will be reunited in a moment. But first, it is your brother's turn."
Taking his eyes off the whip, Kili looked directly into the Goblin King's eyes. "I'll take it. Please, don't hurt him."
The Goblin King raised its eyebrows. "Are you volunteering?" After glancing a look at Fili, Kili nodded.
"I know your weak spots, Kili, and I know how to cause you pain." While this should have been threatening, Kili held his head high, determined to keep Fili from getting hurt. The Goblin king shook its head. "No, I cannot do that." He looked at Grinnah, who was holding the whip. "Begin."
Just as Grinnah moved to bring the whip down on Fili's back, Thorin stepped forward. "Wait."
The Goblin King's attention turned to him and it smiled. "Well, well, well, look who it is. Thorin son of Thrain, son of Thror, King under the mountain." It bowed deeply and came back up with a sinister smile on its face. "Oh, but I'm forgetting you don't have a mountain. And you're not a king. Which makes you nobody, really. I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just the head, nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak, an old enemy of yours. A paled orc astride a white warg."
Thorin looked up in surprise and disbelief. "Azog the defiler was destroyed. He was slain in battle long ago!" His voice turned desperate and the Goblin King replied.
"And you think his defiling days are done? You should ask your nephew." It looked at Kili. "I'm sure he hasn't forgotten him."
Fili opened his mouth and whispered "Kili?"
"You haven't told them anything? I am surprised."
Kili looked up. The company could see the horror on his face. He did not expect this to happen.
Oooooooooooh Kili knows Azog? 0.o
This was a shorter chapter, compared to the previous one, but I hope you liked it
So I now have a whole army behind me to march upon Thorin and kill him, shall we pick a date?
Thank you so much for reviewing, it really means a lot to me. I'll try to answer your reviews and messages from now on, haven't done that (sorry), so if you have any questions, any unclear things that you want to know, you can ask me and I will try to answer without spoilers :)
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