10

"Kíli!" Fíli cried out.

Happiness flooded through him at the sight of his brother. Kíli was alive, his little brother was still alive...

Fíli's happiness was turned to fear almost instantaneously as Azog pressed a sword against Kíli's back.

Azog saw the recognition between Kíli and Thorin, all the unspoken apologies, all the sadness, and he smiled. There was nothing but malice in his gaze.

"So, Thorin Oakenshield... You did abandon your son after all..." Azog dug the blade further into Kíli's back. "I always knew that you were a liar."

"He's not my father!" Kíli snapped, finally realising what Azog had assumed, and why they had thought he had been lying.

Azog looked down at Thorin for confirmation.

"He's my nephew," Thorin snarled. "And I swear that if you don't remove that sword from his back then I will kill you!"

Azog laughed, a cruel sound that ripped at Thorin's ears. "How would you kill me? You are at my mercy, which your dear nephew will tell you only comes when you ask nicely."

Azog moved the tip of his blade to Kíli's sleeve, pulling it back to reveal his burnt arm. Thorin winced at the sight of it – the injury itself was brutal enough, but some form of infection had caused it to swell up, and there were angry red blotches going further up his arm than the injuries inflicted by the fire.

"What have you done to him?" Thorin breathed, so appalled that he could barely speak. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

Azog grinned, finding the lack of effort needed to draw a reaction from Thorin amusing. "I taught him a lesson. He should have held his tongue."

Thorin glared up at Azog. "Get away from him!"

If such a thing was possible, Azog's smile grew more evil, but to everyone's immense surprise, he stepped back. There was a moment of silence, before the orc spoke again.

"Of course, if I step away, then I can't prevent something like this from happening."

At the signal, the warg that had previously been dragging Kíli along leapt forwards, bearing down on what had, until recently, been its burden. It fastened its teeth around Kíli's maimed arm, throwing him away from Azog. Thorin pushed himself up, about to run to the aid of his nephew, but Azog held him back, pressing his sword against the king's throat.

Kíli cried out in pain as the warg suddenly ripped a chunk of flesh from his broken leg, its teeth tearing through his clothes and skin with ease. He could feel teeth sinking into his side, staining each one with his blood, as it tore flesh from his body again and again. Deep scratches were carved into his body, but the warg wasn't going for the kill. No, Azog wanted to savour that moment for a little longer, enjoying Thorin's emotional anguish as the warg ate ravenously from Kíli's body.

Bilbo watched in horror as the warg bore down on Kíli. Each one of those cries shook him, and he was desperate for Thorin to do something. He didn't want to imagine how Fíli above him was feeling, or how utterly helpless Thorin felt. If he could just get Azog to remove the sword...

Almost without thinking, Bilbo pulled his short blade out, and slid down from the trees, unnoticed. He ran forwards, and slammed into Azog.

It was enough.

Thorin knocked Azog's sword out of the way, before running to where Orcrist lay. Without stopping, he picked up the elvish blade, and slashed at the warg bearing down on Kíli. The warg fell sideways, and the orc astride it fell off. The warg recovered itself, getting to its feet, hackles raised as it faced its new opponent. It leapt forwards –

Thorin ducked out of the way, and when the warg hit the floor, he sliced at the warg's neck, showering himself and Kíli with black blood. But he had forgotten the orc, who had chosen its moment well, trying to take Thorin down while his back was turned.

Kíli, though he was just clinging to consciousness, was vaguely aware of what was happening. As the orc crossed his field of vision, stepping over the youngest member of the company as though he was an inconveniently placed log, he brought his relatively unscathed leg up, and slammed it into the orc's side. Thorin, alerted of what was happening by the grunt issued by the orc, spun around and slammed Orcrist into the creature's gut.

Bilbo, meanwhile, now found himself facing Azog down. The furious orc raised his sword and slammed it down repeatedly, fighting with such rage and aggression that with every blow Bilbo blocked, the hobbit wondered how he was still standing. Though never once did he consider running. He was backed closer and closer to the edge of the cliff, and as the orc raised the sword with both hands behind him, Bilbo felt for the first time in his life that he was going to die.

It saddened him. He would never see the Lonely Mountain. He would never see Bag End again, never see the sun rise over the Brandywine. He was going to die here, in this burning forest, against the top of a cliff. He'd wanted an adventure, but he hadn't thought it through before he rushed out the door, eager to make the deadline of eleven o'clock at the Green Dragon. Like almost everything in his life, he hadn't thought this through, and now he was going to die for it...

...But the blow never came.

A stone hit Azog in the side of the head, pulling the orc's attention away from Bilbo. Fíli stood, his sword drawn, behind Azog. There was a fire blazing in his eyes – hatred such as he'd never known was coursing through his body. He was going to make this foul, sick, twisted creature pay for what he had done to Kíli, and he was damned if Azog was going to kill anybody else tonight. Fili began walking towards Azog, breaking into a run as he got close and the adrenaline took over.

Azog answered the challenge, crossing the distance in a few short strides, before swinging his sword viciously at Fíli's head. Fíli ducked, before slashing at Azog's thigh. He was dimly aware of the other dwarves and Gandalf joining the fight, taking down the other orcs and wargs, but he didn't care. Nothing else mattered to him but that his opponent died by his hand.

Azog stepped back as Fíli straightened up. The pair circled each other in a lethal dance which only one would come out of. Fíli lunged to one side, sword aimed for Azog's side, but Azog blocked it. Fíli pivoted, bringing the sword around in the opposite direction, but once again, Azog parried the blow. Azog then went on the offensive, bringing the blade around, intending to take Fíli's head from his body. Fíli sidestepped the blow, before returning the gesture. Both were fighting to kill.

Kíli, meanwhile, took up the dead orc's sword. With a lot of difficulty, and more help from Thorin, he managed to get to his feet, but he favoured his left – unbroken – leg to his right, and he was too close to the cliff for his liking.

He watched Fíli's fight with Azog, fear gripping his heart as the pair came closer and closer. He knew what Azog was capable of, and he couldn't bear to lose his brother – not now that he was so close to getting him back. But what could he do? He was barely able to stand, let alone fight.

Suddenly, as he blocked another of Fíli's blows, Azog pushed the dwarf backwards. He was tired of the game, and he had guessed, based on the fury behind his adversary's attacks, that Fíli was Kíli's brother. He swung around, grabbing the unsuspecting Kíli by the neck, and stood on the edge of the cliff, dangling Kíli over the edge.

"Put down your weapons!" Azog shouted.

The rest of the company turned, alerted to what was happening, but made absolutely no move to willingly disarm themselves.

"DROP THEM!" Azog screamed.

Thorin looked between Kíli and Azog, before slowly placing Orcrist on the ground. The rest of the company followed their leader's example, some more grudgingly than others.

"Don't do this," Fíli begged. "Please, I'll do anything!"

Azog turned towards Fíli, a curious look on his face.

"He offered you a deal," Fíli continued. "His life in exchange for ours."

"Fíli, don't!" Kíli gasped. Azog, infuriated by the interruption, tightened his hold around Kíli's neck, so he choked and fell silent, unable to breathe.

"What if I were to offer you one?" Fíli suggested. "His life for mine. Please, just... just spare my brother..."

Kíli silently begged Fíli not to do this. Time seemed to stop as he stared desperately at his brother. He could see what would happen – Azog would force him to watch as he executed Fíli, and it would only be a matter of time before he would kill Thorin. He wouldn't be freed – no, that would be too easy, too kind... He would be kept alive until Azog was satisfied he had gone through enough pain, and then he would be killed, just as Fíli would be.

He couldn't let that happen.

He thought back to the first night that he had been captured. He had been so sure that everything would be fine back then, so fearless... He had sworn vengeance should Azog harm his brother – he would do anything to protect him.

"And what would you do to stop me? Kill me?"

But Azog had said something after that which Kíli was now seriously considering.

"Your life is in my hands."

But that wasn't entirely true. Admittedly, Azog was holding him over the edge of a cliff, but there was a big difference between the time that Azog had said those words and that moment – Kíli had a sword.

He actually had a choice over his fate.

He stared at his brother, decision made, barely able to hold back tears as he worked up the courage to do what he had resolved to do. Azog's grip around Kíli's neck loosened slightly, the orc's arm was bending...

Time seemed to speed up. Azog wasn't going to use him as bait anymore.

"I'm so sorry," Kíli whispered, staring at Fíli, before raising the sword in his hand, and he slashed at Azog's wrist.

Azog let out a howl of pain, and Kíli slipped from his grasp. He was airborne, tumbling through the wide expanse of space, his body twisting as he was buffeted constantly by the wind. He could barely hear Thorin's cry of grief over the rushing sound that filled his ears as he fell down the face of the cliff, the world flying past him in a rush of colours. He felt pain flare up in his back as he heard a crack, but he was still falling. There was a splashing sound, and he felt himself come to a halt.

Please forgive me, Fíli...

And then Kíli's world faded to darkness.

A/N:

...

...

...Please don't kill me...