Kili scratched a thin line into the wall. The countless tallies of other prisoners looked down on him. He had only made one scratch, only one night he had spent in prison, but he felt like a hardened prisoner. The bed was made for men, so he was (literally) dwarfed by it. He could have slept on the pillow alone. The sheets rubbed against him as he clambered off the bed. He rubbed his eyes wearily. Prison changed you.
In the cafeteria, Kili couldn't reach the bench, let alone see the display of food. When he sat down, an eruption of whispers started all around him. Who was this minuscule person? How did a dwarfling get into jail?
Fili was so anxious. His brother had to stay in jail for as long as the police deemed necessary. He couldn't imagine what the place was doing to his vulnerable little brother... images of criminals picking on him and hurting him overwhelmed his mind.
Meanwhile, Kili was actually getting a lot of respect from his fellow prisoners. In one day, he had them all mystified as to what he had done. He had heard rumours of him being a crazy mass murderer. That gave him some street cred.
Fili couldn't believe he was doing this. He followed the rules. He was a law-abiding citizen. But breaking someone out of jail mightn't be considered legal, even if it was your completely innocent little brother. Night had fallen, so Fili had to dodge the floodlights when he scaled the wall. He had no idea what he was doing. How did he know which cell Kili was in? He saw a row of barred windows. Well, you never know until you try.
"Lights out!" Kili was locked back into his cell. The slam of doors closed echoed all around him. The lights were turned off, and everything was abruptly enveloped in darkness. Kili fumbled around and found his bed. After several failed attempts, he managed to clamber into bed and prepare for another rough night.
Fili had eliminated 4 rooms by now. The first two were empty, then there was a very loud snoring that Kili couldn't have made in the third. The fourth room- well, Fili never wanted to repeat what he saw in that room. He pressed his ear against the wall of the fifth cell. A small, cutesy snore was coming from it. That had to be Kili.
Kili woke up to the sound of rocks pinging around his room. A rock flew in the window and landed at his feet. A whisper-yell sounded from outside.
"Kili! Kili!"
"Fili?" Kili wondered as he stumbled to the window, just as a rock flew in.
"OUCH." Kili exclaimed as he rubbed the bruise from where the pebble had struck him. The pebbles stopped.
"Kili? You awake?"
"Yes- and my face hurts, thank you very much!"
"Well, yeah, sorry 'bout that."
Kili rolled his eyes.
"What do you want?"
"I'm gonna help you escape!"
Kili faltered. This was unexpected. His brother, the law-abiding citizen? What was he doing? But then Kili remembered. He had to get home- to where he belonged. He didn't belong in jail- he wasn't a criminal.
"Ok. So... what are we doing? How are we doing this?" Kili couldn't actually see his brother, but he could hear his soft breathing.
"Um..."
"Do you mean to tell me," Kili asked quietly, "that you showed up here without a plan?"
"Well... who am I kidding yes. BUT, I do have a small idea."
"Ready?" Fili adjusted his stance so he was balancing his weight perfectly.
"Ready." Kili agreed as he grabbed the frayed rope firmly.
Fili braced himself, then pulled the rope as hard as he could. Kili could feel the pull from the other side of the rope. He felt his feet lift off the ground. Fili pulled harder. His little brother was heavy. Kili was against the bars of the window now, the cold metal pressing against his skin. Fili could see his little brother against the bars. Now he just needed to pull him through the bars. Kili sucked his breath in, trying to make himself as small and as thin as possible. He needed to be free. He could taste the freshness of the air outside. It had been too long since he had seen the sky. Fili was seriously sweating by now- his brother was heavier than he anticipated. Then the tension on the rope dropped. Kili had slipped through the bars.
"Ouch. You could have been a little gentler, thanks very much."
"I just busted you out of jail. You could be a little more grateful!"
"I know." Kili tiredly admitted. He hugged his brother. "I love you so, so much. You know that right?"
Fili was speechless. He hugged his little brother back, feeling the warmth flood into him. The two of them stood there, hugging, when some one said "What do you two think you're doing?"
The two brothers stood there, like a deer caught in the headlights. The person who had addressed them was dressed like a police officer. She was holding a ridiculously bright lantern above her head.
"We... we..."
"Hold on." The woman had a look of realization cast across her face. "You're the king's nephews! We were looking for you!"
Kili's eyes widened. He had sudden visions of himself beating up the officer and making a break for it, him and his brother becoming wanted men. But before he could put his plan to action, Fili said,
"Why?"
"Thorin- or, should I say, the King- has bailed you out." She raised her eyebrows and glanced down at Kili. "However, you seemed to have escaped yourselves."
Fili felt his face glow red. He began to stammer an apology when Kili said
"It's not our fault I'm smaller than the window-bars!"
"So that's how you got out? Through the window?"
Kili nodded satisfactorily.
"So no damage to the cell?"
Fili shook his head.
"Well, we'll check that anyway. When did you two get out?"
"Just a few minutes ago."
"Your Uncle bailed you out this morning- so technically, if you haven't damaged the cell, you're not in trouble."
Fili sighed with relief, and heard his brother echo him. They exchanged tired smiles.
"Boys!" Dis was running towards them, Thorin jogging to keep up.
"Officer Yarley!" Thorin exclaimed. "I thought Kili wasn't due to be released until this afternoon!" Then, Thorin looked into the shadows again. "Fili?"
Fili nodded sheepishly.
"Your boys, it appears, have broken out of jail."
Dis' eyebrows shot up. "These two? Broken out?"
Fili and Kili murmured something quietly. Dis looked down at them disappointedly. Thorin smirked, and then grimaced as Dis elbowed him in the stomach. She hissed something about setting a good example.
Officer Yarley patted Kili on the head, and said "Keep out of trouble, kid."
When they were back at home, Dis gave the boys a lecture. A very long and tedious lecture. Kili would've dropped to sleep if Thorin hadn't been doing some... well, unflattering impressions of Dis behind her back silently. Stifling laughter, Kili nodded in unison to Fili, who seemed to be agreeing to not pull another stunt of the sort. Dis looked down at her boys. Who was she kidding? She couldn't stay mad at these two cuties.
"Come here!" She smiled and gave them both a big hug. She felt Thorin join in, wrapping his arms around her and his nephews.
"Ok. Now off to bed, the two of you!" Dis dismissed her boys, and smiled fondly as they waddled off to their beds.
Kili lay his head on the pillow. It had been a big day. He had spent a morning in jail and been rescued by his brother, and now he was tired. Very tired.
"Night Kee." Fili said softly.
"Sweet dreams, Fee." Kili responded before he dropped into a comfortable sleep.