Disclaimer: The Hobbit does not belong to me.

At First Sight

Chapter 14

Thorin slid off his horse as soon as he reined Archer to a stop in front of the forge. He tossed the reins to Kili and charged towards the entrance. Kili hurried to tie both horses to the hitching post and then followed his uncle into the heat of the building.

Thorin had already cornered the children's father. "Where are Saura and Sieran?" he growled. "We've just come from your house, so don't bother telling me they're at home."

Corin stared at the dwarf king with wide eyes as his mouth opened and closed with no sound coming out.

"Where are they?" Thorin repeated. Kili stood just behind his uncle and to his left, his brow furrowed in anger. The young dwarf could feel sweat trickling down his back.

"I-they-I had to work and the baby kept crying and Saura was crying and she threw up on me and I had to milk in the goat in the dark and I-I-they're at the orphanage." Corin looked as if he could pass out.

Thorin's face flushed red with anger and Kili took a step toward Corin. His uncle's arm shot out and held him back. "How long have they been there?" the dwarf king seethed.

Corin was actually trembling now as he realized the depth of Thorin's fury. "Since," he paused to take in a gulp of air, "since the morning after I took them home."

Thorin grabbed him by the front of his tunic and shoved him onto the dirt floor of the forge. "You're worthless, absolutely worthless." He turned toward the door and stopped to throw words back at Corin over his shoulder. "Get up and lead us to the orphanage. Kili and I will be taking Saura and Sieran with us."

Kili found his hands shaking in anger as he mounted Apple. Sweet little Saura had been abandoned by her father after she had worried that he had forgotten her. He felt his face flush hot with his rage.

It took several minutes to reach the orphanage. It sat on the edge of town away from other buildings on a large plot of land. The yard was busy with children, yet very quiet. Some were chopping and stacking wood. Others were hanging clothes on the line to take advantage of a sunny and moderately warm day.

Corin spotted the matron and pointed in her direction from his pony. "That's who you need to speak to." His eyes darted over the children and he acted as if he wanted to hurry away before anyone saw him.

"Stay here," Thorin ordered him, his tone allowing no room for argument. "If there are any questions about us taking the children, you will speak for us."

The children's father gulped and nodded.

Thorin and Kili dismounted and led the horses across the grass.

"The children are so quiet," Kili murmured. "It's unnatural."

His uncle nodded and then straightened his shoulders. "Excuse me," Thorin called to the matron.

She turned from supervising the girls hanging clothes. "May I help you?" she asked as she brushed tendrils of limp hair back from her face.

"Yes, I'm looking for two children, Saura and Sieran," Thorin told her. "I've come to take them with me. I am Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, King Under the Mountain." He rarely used his title to gain advantage, but in this case he wasn't chancing losing these children.

The woman paled as Thorin identified himself. She curtsied. "My Lord, I will see if the children you seek are indeed here at our orphanage."

A shriek behind them made all three adults turn around. "Kili! Thorin!" Saura leapt down the steps and ran across the grass.

"You will address the king properly," the matron hissed, grabbing for Saura as the child passed by her. The little girl swerved out of her reach.

Kili knelt as the blonde ball of energy hurled herself at him, tears streaking down her cheeks. "You came to visit just like you said," she cried.

He wrapped her tightly in his arms, but was surprised when she stiffened and pulled back with a gasp.

"What is it, Saura?" Kili frowned as he pushed her unkempt blonde hair back from her face. "Are you hurt?"

Her face heated in shame and she looked down at her feet. She could feel the matron's eyes boring into her. "No, Kili. I'm fine."

He put a hand on her back and she winced. Unconvinced by her words, he stood and peeked down the neck of her dress at her back. "Uncle Thorin!" he gasped, his stomach lurching at the angry red welts he could see even from this angle.

Thorin knelt beside the little girl and gently took her hand in his. "I've missed you, little one."

"I've miss you, too, Thorin," Saura gulped tearfully. The matron frowned severely when the child called the dwarf king by name, but none of them noticed.

"Your back is hurt," Thorin stated, watching as Saura nodded. "Tell me what happened." He noticed Saura's gaze flick nervously toward the matron and he heard Kili's breathing speed up next to him. Thorin hurried to speak before his nephew said something rash.

"Saura, you can tell me what happened. You won't be staying here. Kili and I are taking you back to our town to you can live with a family close to us. You don't need to fear the matron any longer."

The child collapsed against him in relief, and Thorin was careful not to hurt her injured back. He quickly turned her and lifted her dress; his heart plummeted when he saw her angry wounds. "Sweet Saura," he murmured as he brushed away her tears with the pad of his thumb after he dropped her dress and turned her back to face him. "Who hurt you? What happened?"

Saura stayed close to Thorin, but reached out a hand to Kili. Kneeling once again, he took it gently and held it between both of his own much larger ones.

"I just wanted to see Sieran. I haven't seen him since the morning Da brought us here. I asked and asked. Mother told me to watch out for him," she sniffled and a sob shook her slim shoulders. "I knew it was bad, but I snuck out of my room at night so I could see him. Matron caught me and I had to take my punishment. It was my fault. I was bad."

Anger crackled off of Thorin, but his voice was gentle as he spoke to Saura. "Saura, it's wrong for anyone to hit you and wound you. What you did was out of concern for your brother, and you asked the proper way first. You did nothing wrong."

He lifted her and handed her to Kili, then watched as his nephew hoisted the child onto his hip. She immediately nestled her head against his shoulder with a shuddering sigh.

Thorin turned toward the matron, fury radiating off him. She took a step back. "I will see that you are released from your duty here. No more children will be terrorized by you," he said quietly but with the undertone of a threat. Then he turned toward the building on a mission to find Sieran.

Kili followed him with Saura. "We'll pack your things," he told her.

She twisted her fingers in her hair nervously. "That's okay. I had to share my things, so I don't have them no more and one of the big girls took my dolly and won't let me have her back."

Kili's gut churned with anger. "I will help you find your dolly," he assured her. He followed Thorin into the stone building and shivered. "It's cold in here."

"I can't never get warm," Saura declared.

Kili set her down and took her hand. "Show me where your dolly is." He knew Thorin wouldn't need any help finding Sieran.

She led him up the stairs to the third floor where she turned right and stopped at the last door at the very end of the hall. "This is the room where the girl sleeps that took my doll," she whispered, her eyes huge in her peaked face.

Kili knocked and when no one answered he opened the door. The room was empty and he gently nudged Saura inside. "Which bed is hers?" he asked.

The little girl pointed toward a mussed bed in the corner. "That one."

Kili strode forward and looked under the blankets, but didn't see the doll. Next he lifted the pillow and was relieved to see the rag doll made by Saura's mother tucked beneath it. He picked it up and turned, handing it to Saura.

She took it and tears welled up in her eyes. "Oh, I missed you," she whispered, hugging her dolly close.

Kili swallowed past the lump in his throat and lifted the tiny girl into his arms. "Let's go downstairs and wait for Thorin and Sieran."

Thorin cornered a group of young boys who were busy scrubbing the windows in the kitchen. "Where are the babies?" he demanded.

The boys regarded him with open mouths and one finally gathered the courage to stammer, "Upstairs."

The dwarf king nodded and took the steps two at a time. He reached the second floor and turned left when he heard the sharp cry of a baby. He opened the doors as he went down thehall and checked each room. The first two rooms were empty, but the next contained two of the older orphan girls and several babies. The girls gasped in fright at the sight of Thorin.

"I'm looking for Sieran," he stated. The girls looked at him blankly, so he stepped into the room and peered into the first crib. It was empty. The second crib, however, contained a contented Sieran who was happily sucking on his fingers.

Thorin grinned in delight and reached for the infant, cradling him against his chest. Sieran sighed in satisfaction and tangled a tiny fist in Thorin's dark hair. "You're going home, Sieran," the dwarf king whispered against the baby's fuzzy blonde hair. With a quick nod toward the girls, Thorin grabbed the blanket from Sieran's crib and headed back downstairs with the baby.

He met up with Kili and Saura by the front door. The little girl was in Kili's arms and was holding tightly to her dolly. "Sieran!" she chirped at the sight of her brother. She leaned toward Thorin as she struggled to get a glimpse of the baby.

He held Sieran out to her so she could kiss his chubby cheek. Once she had assured herself that her brother was okay, Saura's shoulders relaxed. She yawned sleepily and began to twirl her tangled blonde hair with anxious fingers.

"We'll have to pick up a few things in town for the children," Thorin informed Kili, "and we need to see what Corin did with our goat."

"Please don't make me go back to Da," Saura pleaded, her fingers clutching Kili's cloak desperately as she tensed up once again.

"Never, Saura," the young dwarf promised. "We will find you a home close to us."

Saura buried her face in his shoulder and stifled a sob. Kili ran a hand over her hair and followed Thorin outside.

The dwarf king glared at the matron who wrung her hands nervously at the bottom of the steps. "I will be speaking to someone in town about the situation here. You won't hurt any more of these children; I promise you."

The woman withered beneath his angry gaze. She did not protest as they moved to leave with the children.

Kili mounted Apple and settled Saura as carefully as he could in front of him. Thorin and Sieran led the way to the children's father on Archer.

Thorin spoke to the man with barely restrained contempt as Saura shrunk back against Kili. "Where's our goat?"

"I-I sold it," Corin stammered, refusing to meet Thorin's gaze.

"And the money you received from the sale?" the dwarf king queried impatiently.

"Gone, My Lord," Corin replied feebly.

Thorin grunted. "Worthless." He whirled Archer toward the road. "Come, Kili. We have supplies to purchase before we can head for home, and I need to talk to the mayor about the matron."

To Be Continued…

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