Interlaced (a Kiliel alternate story)
Chapter 20 - The starlight -
They fought all night, it seemed endless. They were heavily exhausted. Fili and Kili were back to back, all sprayed with blood from their foes and heaving up and down totally out of breath.
"It's almost over, bro. It's almost over!" Exhaled Fili exhaustively.
"When this is over... I'll say hello to Grimelda for you!" replied Kili, equally exhausted and laughing mockingly. Truth is he was tense, and joking was his way to free up some stress.
"Yes, but we still have a thousand to defeat. On your feet bro!" said Fili, encouraging his brother to keep fighting...
Some random dwarves began to fall, prey of elven arrows. Gandalf noticed it and looked up on the hills to see Thranduil's troops. He got hold of his horse mount, and rode as quick as he could towards the Mirkwood king.
"Stop it, you fools!" yelled Gandalf, who began to pronounce some ancient language as an aura of light formed around him.
Gandalf charged against Thranduil with his staff. When the barrier of light collided with the elven king, he was sent flying out of his elk at about eight feet from distance, banging his head against a rock when he fell. The crown shattered and he lost consciousness. The bursting of the light aura took down some elves that were close to its perimeter. The remaining ones were leaderless. Gandalf ordered them to defeat orcs instead. And so they joined with the troops of Lord Elrond...
"I.. smell.. fear. You cannot defeat me, son of Thrain!" said Azog in black speech while waving his chain mace in the air and swinging it against Thorin, who arched his back to dodge the attack.
The spiked ball passed by Thorin's face at a hair of distance, giving him a scratch to the chin. It smashed against a rock, sending particles to fly all over. Thorin took advantage of the few minutes of grace to charge against Azog with his sword and swinging it high towards the orc's head. He severed an ear, the blood sprayed the dwarf king across the face. Azog grunted loudly. It only managed to make him angrier. With his prosthetic pitch fork, he grabbed Thorin by the jaw, lifting him in the air. Thorin's blue eyes watered as he struggled to breathe, his face turned red, his hand grabbing the prosthetic pitch fork with which he was being lifted slowly, until his eyes met Azog's face to face, who bared his sharp teeth with anger.
"Now.. son of Thrain.. you die!"
The moment of evil bliss was ruined by an arrow to Azog's back causing him to grunt, "Drop him!" shouted Kili. The pale orc turned around. "I said... drop him!" insisted Kili.
Azog was infuriated, tossing Thorin to the ground and waving his chain mace to charge against Kili. The moment was perfect, one shot between the eyes and it was over. But he reached to his arrows pocket to realize he ran out of them. His eyes widened when he saw the spiked ball headed towards him. Kili jumped out of the way by only inches from being squashed like a bug. Time to wield his sword, which left him in disadvantage because he needed closeness to do some damage.
Thorin rose from the ground to witness with terror how his old enemy was now fighting his youngest nephew, "Kili, no!"
The young dwarf tried the same move his uncle did earlier to charge against Azog. Never has Kili been seen so fierce as he was now. He tried to aim at the orc's belly. Right then, Azog swung his chain mace. The spiked ball was headed towards Kili's head. Thorin jumped to push Kili out of the way, when the mace hit him on the back, breaking his spine in two and a few ribs with the blow. Thorin fell to the ground like a ragged doll, struggling to breathe.
"Nooo!" yelled Kili.
His brother saw the move from a distance, "Uncle!" he yelled, and came running to aid Kili.
They both were full of fear, but they stepped in front of their heavily wounded uncle to defend him against Azog, both wielding their swords tight.
Right when Azog was about to charge against the brothers, a deafening cry echoed in the air... it was the fifth army. With them came Beorn in the shape of a bear, who ran at high speed towards Azog surprisingly attacking him from behind, not leaving room for reactions. With all the pent up hatred he had for orcs, Beorn growled, tackling Azog; His paws pinned the orc against the ground; His teeth bit the face fiercely, jerking it to the sides like a wild beast until the jaw was severed. Blood sprayed all over the place as he utterly destroyed Azog's face and throat until there was nothing left to identify his corpse, other than the scarred body and his prosthetic arm. And even then he would not let go of the pale orc.
Fili and Kili were shocked with the scene before their eyes, but relieved to know the skin changer was on their side. Soon enough, the skies were invaded by eagles, taking orcs and wargs at will, and dropping them from high in the air. The dark troops began to retire. The other armies took the remaining orcs down. They won the war.
Both brothers turned to Thorin, each taking a hand of his as he convulsed on the ground, "Uncle please resist. I will send for help. Stay with us!" said Kili with tears in his eyes.
"He wants to say something, let him talk bro" responded Fili, equally devastated.
Thorin was shivering and growing cold, "Fili, the affairs.. of the crown.. belong.. to you now. Make.. the best.. of them" said Thorin, exhaling each word with difficulty. "Kili, forgive me.. for.. wronging you.. forgive me!"
Kili began to sob, "I forgave you already, uncle. Please don't leave us, please!"
Fili patted Kili's back in a gesture of comfort. He knew there's not much they could do.
"I.. have lived.. to see.. Erebor.. free..." Those were the last words of Thorin, expiring right after.
Kili broke down in loud lament, "No! No! No!"
Fili reached out for his brother, embracing him tight. He has been holding his despair to stay strong for Kili, but he could not hold it any longer. They both sobbed, holding each other tight...
Tauriel has been running for hours around the battle field. She managed to escape the keep, unable to stay there doing nothing while her husband was out there fighting orcs. She was a silvan elf to the core, less wise and more dangerous. "Kili?!" she yelled, while taking orcs down on her way. There was not much to take down currently, other than maybe remnants. She finally found him embracing his brother. Her face was one of deep shock...
"Fili, this is no time to joke. You are weighting too much. Fili? FILI!"
The hand with which Kili was holding his brother tight stained with fresh blood. His body slipped down Kili's until it fell flat on his stomach, cold and pale. He had two arrows on the back. Kili saw his brother with horror, dead before his very eyes. His expression was a terrifying one. He looked to the direction where the arrows must have come from and suddenly, his eyes widened. His lower lip quivered and he began to breathe slowly.
"Kili, no!" yelled Tauriel, taking down the orc that killed Fili; some wretch without legs that was still causing mayhem.
She ran to Kili immediately after, right in time to hold him before his back would grace the ground. He caressed her face, staining it with blood from his brother, then interlacing his fingers with hers, as she trembled with tears streaming down her face non stop...
Thranduil woke up, shaking his head and rising from the ground. He was practically dragging himself as he walked. The illusion that kept him beautiful was no more, revealing the horrible old deformation on the left side of his face, showing him for what he truly was inside and out. He saw Tauriel at a distance and smiled, a wicked smile. He shoot an arrow, tilting his head to one side for a moment. Then a big grin of wicked satisfaction drew on his lips. But his happiness did not last long as it was interrupted by the cry of an eagle that grabbed him and flew high in the air with him, releasing him shortly after. Thranduil fell.. and fell.. and fell.. but he was long gone before his body crashed against a rock.
A blinding light took over the place, clearing enough to only show Tauriel and Kili. She was smiling to him, offering her hand for him to hold. He smiled back at her, interlacing his fingers with hers. They rose from the ground and kissed with passion, a kiss that lasted a long time. They embraced lovingly. He swept her off her feet while, with a struggling cracked voice, his words echoed;
"she is close, so close to me...
She, she is part of me...
she walks in starlight to another world...
and I go with her.
I know now that she loved me...
because we lived that dream."
The blinding light dissipated like fog, showing Kili and Tauriel lying cold on the ground as the sun rose upon their bodies. Her face leaning to his chest. His left hand with fingers tangled through her bleeding hair. His other hand, interlaced with hers as they held the rune stone in between.
The End