Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story line and my OCs. Everything else is credited to J.R.R Tolkien and Peter Jackson.
10 chapters, already! I'll try my best to keep up, once school starts, but I can't make any promises. Please stick with me through this, guys. I don't think this fic should run too much longer
Tonight.
The trade was happening tonight.
Fili had heard from Thorin that they had gotten the correct amount for the ransom pay. He wasn't sure how it had been pulled off, but Fili supposed he should thank Mahal that it had been.
Who knows what those horrible men have done to his little brother. Kili didn't do anything to deserve their wrath. He was innocent. Fili's little brother could never be guilty for anything more than playing a little prank from time to time. Fili loved that about him.
Kili was adventurous. He was always the first to dive into anything. He never worried himself over the dangers of a simple situation- or any situation for that matter. Kili always wanted to find new ways to enjoy life. He would climb the tallest tree in the woods just to say he had- Mahal, Fili knew Kili would climb the tallest mountain in the world, if he could find it.
Kili never shied away from a challenge. Fili supposed that his little brother had always been bullied as a dwarfling; it likely contributed to his behavior. Kili needed to find ways to prove himself to the other dwarflings.
If archery was out of dwarven league, and too hard and elvish for a dwarf to be learning, then Kili would learn to shoot a bow better than the archers of Rivendell.
If trees were meant for the birds and animals of the forest and not for dwarves, then Kili would learn to climb and run through the trees better than the squirrels. He was good at almost anything he picked up and Fili loved to watch him learn more and prove the stuck ups wrong.
Kili defied the very meaning of dwarf. Fili loved his brother's will to stand out and be different from the rest. Kili never liked the notion of staying confined within stone walls while there was a world waiting to be discovered. The world wouldn't come to him, so Kili would have to go to the world. It made some of the elder dwarves cringe, to think that a dwarf would rather sit in a tree and shoot arrows rather than stay in a mountain and swing axes, but that was what Kili did, and, by Mahal, he was the best at it that Fili had ever seen.
If things didn't go well tonight... if something happened to Kili; Fili would never get over it. Already, once in his life, Fili had thought he lost his baby brother. It was the most cruel torture anybody could endure. The thought that his brother was lying on the ground, carelessly abandoned to die, tore Fili's heart out.
For days he had been led to believe that Kili was dead. For days Fili mourned the loss of his closest friend. He's thought he would never see Kili's mischievous smile, the glee in his eyes, indicating a new prank was afoot, the heart lifting laugh, that brightened Fili's day when Thorin would find the cookies on the counter made of mud, rather than chocolate.
Fili was beginning to get that same feeling of loss he had all those years ago when he thought Kili dead. He couldn't lose hope now. The sun still shines. Kili is not dead. He would get his brother back tonight and, no matter what, those men would pay for what they put his family, his baby brother, through.
"You should rest, Fili."
Fili's looked up from his place on the sofa to see his mother looking down at him with sad eyes, "I can't, mum. I'm not tired." His eyes went downcast again.
"You must be." Dis sat down next to him, "You've barely slept a wink since Kili went missing."
"I've tried to sleep. Every time a close my eyes, I see his face." Fili slowly re-met his mother's eyes, revealing the pain inside him, "He's scared, mum. I can feel it. He wants to give up. He wants it to end."
Dis gave her son a pitying look and placed her hand on his, "But he's still alive. He hasn't given up hope. Kili knows that we are doing everything in our power to get him back. It's just like when you were in the hands of the orcs. Kili was worried sick, but you knew we were looking for you and you never stopped fighting."
"They've hurt him, mum. I don't know what they did, but I know that he is hurt. I can't explain it; I just know."
Dis smiled, tenderly, "You boys have a bond that reaches deeper than just blood. You have been by each other's side since the day after Kili was born. It can't be explained, but you have always seemed to know when your brother was in danger... when he needed you."
"I can't rest when I know Kili is hurt and waiting for me to help him." Fili explained.
"You can't help him when you're worn to the bone and overrun with worry. Rest and build your strength. Kili would not want you to deprive yourself for his sake."
Fili considered his mother's words, "I don't know if I can."
Dis pulled her son close. She leaned against the sofa armrest and let Fili lay in her lap while she ran her fingers through his hair- something she had done when her boys were only dwarflings.
"Worry not your little head, by the harsh things of this world
Young dwarrow sing and dance, the mistress' skirts are twirled
They do not hear cries of battle or the banging of the drums
They are tucked into a comfy bed and cared for by their mums."
Dis's voice rang tender and sweet through the little home.
"Clanging weapons' sound is harsh and brings us to our feet
But, for now lie inside my arms, while quiet times are sweet
For what does worry bring us when nothing can be done,
But broken hearts and saddened eyes before our time has come?
Worry not your little head, by the harsh things of this world
Lift your chin and keep hopes high. Fate has yet to be unfurled
Banging drums are fading, all now seems less violent
No more cries or heavy hearts, for all has fallen silent."
As the final words flowed, like sweet honey from her lips, Fili's eyes drifted shut and he slept peacefully for many long hours.
KFKFKFKFKFKFKFKFKFKFKFKFKFKFKFKF
Hunter walked through the busy streets of Erid Luin. He didn't register the people around him or the commotion of arguing merchants. He didn't even know where he was headed. All Hunter knew was that he wanted to get away from the caravan for a while.
He'd been distracted all day by his conscience. Hunter knew it was his fault that Kili had been taken. He'd given Ben all the information he needed to pull off the stunt. He even let Ben pass by, even though he had Kili hidden in the box!
How could he be so stupid?
Hunter knew that he should never have mentioned working with Thorin Oakensheild. The name brought meaning to his caravan, but it meant something different to some people. Hunter had endangered his friends by giving out information to a man who had a checkered past.
He knew Ben shouldn't be trusted, but he let old habits get the best of him. Hunter trusted Ben to help get his caravan back together. It had worked, for a while, but Ben had gotten too extreme.
Hunter had only wanted to keep his caravan from starvation. He didn't want the riches that the Mithril could bring. He could never be willing to kill for his own selfish desires.
Ben was a different story. He was rough and greedy and thought everybody should listen to him. Hunter was a fool for letting him in with open arms. He should have seen the poison on the viper's teeth. Ben was a no good, two-faced liar and Hunter let himself become friends with him. He regretted ever letting that man into his life.
Ben may have helped the caravan get back on its feet again, but he was far from becoming their savior. Yet Ben had behaved as if he deserved to be leader. He told Ben to leave. Hunter knew the man would never admit to being chased off by him, but it was the truth. Ben was poisoning the caravan with his actions and his words; if he had stayed too much longer, the caravan would have disbanded, leaving everybody to fend for themselves.
Ben always had a way of turning things around on people. It caused anger and disagreement in the caravan, leaving Hunter with no choice, but to ban the man.
It was Hunter's fault that this had happened. He'd made a bomb and let others set it off. He would have to set things right, somehow.
Not much action in this chapter, but I promise that will change in the next one. I think you'll really like what I have planned.
This chapter is posted so quickly in honor of my birthday. I enjoy writing fanfiction, so I decided to gift myself and you with a new chapter.