Chapter 10

Belladonna busied herself around the pantry, locating foods to feed to the poor Dwarf named Fíli. The poor thing had been through an ordeal but they weren't sure as to what it was. Probably a good thing, considering the markings on his skin. As she put some dried meats on a plate heard the scurry of feet followed by the tugging of her skirt. She looked down and saw Bilbo looking up at her. "Momma can I have a map?"

"Why do you need a map sweetheart?"

"Fíli told me he came from Ewed Loon and I asked where it was but he says he's not sure but he could find it on a map." Belladonna reached down and scooped her son up. "Is that so, Bilbo? Very well, I will bring a map in. Now, do you think Fíli will like this?" she asked turning him to see the food.

Bilbo smiled and nodded. "I thought so to. You want to help Mommy and bring a handkerchief for him?"

Bilbo nodded again and squirmed to get put down. With a laugh she set him on the ground where he ran to his room and grabbed one of his old ones. Once he returned Belladonna had already grabbed the map and pushed Bilbo to lead the way into the room. Fíli was still huddled in the corner of the bed, not having moved. "Fíli! Momma brought you food and a map so you can show me where Ewed Loon is!" Bilbo cried happily, jumping on the bed and holding out the handkerchief for him to take.

Fíli looked down at the little Hobbit and gently took the handkerchief from him as Belladonna set the tray down on the mattress and rolled out the map. "Ewed Loon? I don't think I've ever heard of that," Belladonna said.

"Ered Luin," Fíli said quietly, looking at the map and pointing to the Blue Mountains on the map. "Are there other Dwarves there?" Bilbo asked excitedly.

Fíli slowly nodded as he looked at the tray of food. Belladonna noticed the apprehension and said, "It's okay, Fíli, you can eat it."

Carefully Fíli reached out and grabbed the dried meat, cautiously bringing it to his mouth. The succulent taste of salted pork ignited his senses and soon Fíli was devouring everything he could, not having eaten properly for…well, he couldn't remember how long. Bilbo giggled excitedly as Fíli ate. "He's making a mess, Mommy."

"Careful, Fíli, you don't want to make yourself sick." Fíli stopped, looking at her with a scared look. "I'm sorry." He put the cheese back on the tray and huddled into a ball again.

Belladonna sighed as she picked up the piece of cheese he had been eating and held it out to him. "You can still eat, just you might want to slow down before you get yourself sick."

Very hesitantly Fíli took the cheese and slowly began to nibble on it. Slowly Belladonna moved onto the mattress with Fíli, still keeping a safe distance from him to show she meant no harm. "How did you come to be so far away from the Blue Mountains, dear?"

Fíli stopped nibbling and looked down at the map. "I don't know. I remember the Orcs attacking our home, but…." Everything was still fuzzy after the attack. He wanted to remember, to know what became of Kíli but there was nothing. Why couldn't he remember? However the news of Orcs was very unsettling to Belladonna. "What are Orcs?" Bilbo asked.

"I'll tell you when you're older," Belladonna whispered before looking to Fíli. "We found in you in the Brandywine." Slowly she pushed the map closer to him and pointed towards the river. "We found you here."

Fíli looked down at the map, his brow furrowed. He didn't remember ever traveling that far, not even with Uncle Thorin. How much time had he lost? "When can I go home?"

There was a pause as Belladonna considered her answer. It only made sense that he would want to go home but in the state he was in, he couldn't make it far. Not to mention he was still only a child and she couldn't just let someone so young child go wandering off into the wilderness. No Hobbit would ever venture outside of the Shire. "Let's focus on getting you better first, Fíli."

There was a knock on the door and when she turned around she saw Bungo standing there with a solemn face. She gave Fíli a soft glance and said, "I'll be right back to get the tray."

As soon as she was out of the room, Belladonna looked to Bungo and asked, "What is it?"

"We sent word to the Blue Mountains to tell them we found one of their kin. The message came back with no answer. The main settlement was destroyed, no signs of Dwarves anywhere. They must have moved somewhere else in the mountains but our messenger couldn't find them. Bella…his family is gone."

Belladonna looked at him with a sadness in her eyes, slowly turning to see the young Dwarfling playing with Bilbo. "He's all alone?"

"I'm afraid so, Bella."

She watched as Fíli held out a small tomato before throwing it in the air and catching it in his mouth, causing Bilbo to smile and giggle. How was she going to tell him?

Kíli had woken up in Rivendell a few days prior, angry that Elladan and Elrohir had taken him back to Rivendell instead of searching for Fíli. During those two days he stayed in his room, standing on the balcony overlooking the Elven city. He refused to believe what he saw on Weathertop. He refused to believe that his own brother was gone. As he stood there that evening, the moon reflecting off the waterfalls, he felt the presence of someone joining him. He didn't have to turn to know it was Elrond. "He's out there somewhere, I know it. Nothing you can say will change that feeling."

"I'm not here to tell you otherwise, Master Kíli," he replied, staring out at the waterfall like the Dwarf next to him. "I came here to tell you that, should you so wish, we will see you safely back to the Blue Mountains. Your wounds have healed well and…"

"I'm not going back."

Elrond looked down at Kíli. "You're not?"

Kíli shook his head. "How am I supposed to go back when I know my brother is still out there? If I go back without him…it won't be the same. Home is not home without Fíli."

"And you think by staying here that you will be able to find him."

"Am I wrong?" he asked, looking up at Elrond. With the smallest smirk, Elrond shook his head. "You are not. You are more than welcome to stay here, Master Kíli, for as long as you need to."

Kíli gave him a nod. "Thank you…do you think that maybe…."

"Elladan and Elrohir have already asked and permission was given. They are crafting you your own proper bow for you to use."

Kíli gave Elrond a smile as Elrond slowly backed out of the room. "Kíli."

Looking up, he turned around and saw Elrond standing in the doorway. "Your brother will always be with you, so long as you have hope."

And with that, he was gone and Kíli was once again left alone. Slowly he turned and stared at the waterfall. He would find Fíli. He would not give up until he found him once again.

TBC…

My updates are slow and I'm very sorry! Work is very hectic right now and I also just found out a friend of mine lost their battle with cancer. But anyway, please read and review! Once I actually write more than one chapter at a time, I will do the previews once again but that might not happen until I finally get some proper downtime.