Big thanks to Chachi544, FreeWolfBlue, Nymartian, SinfulRoses, AddieP09, lunerusso and ofmiceandheidi for following/favouriting.
Marina Oakenshield – Don't worry…happy endings all round!
Bunny's daughter – Yeah sorry for making you wait all day but I had no time until late at night!
.xx – I'm really sorry! Aww thanks that's really sweet. I am in the process of editing 'Jinxed' and its sequel (when it's written) into a trilogy set in my own world with my own characters etc so fingers crossed it has potential.
Eruwaedhiel95 – I feel for you. But this might be a slightly better chapter.
Savarra – I promised a happy ending. Just hang in there for a couple more chapters please?
Celebrisilweth – I wanted to have a nice moment between Fili and Kili.
AN: This may or may not set your feels off so apologies if that does become the case.
An Overhanging Shadow
When Kili opened his eyes the first thing he was aware of was the blinding pain that coursed through his whole body. His chest ached and he could barely feel one of his arms. Bright light shone into his eyes but Kili didn't shut them again. If he did he would be back in that hideous black world that had occupied his mind. Images of Fili, Arianna and his mother crowded into his head and although the pain in his arm protested against the movement Kili forced himself to sit up.
"Wha..?" His vision blurred for a second and he shook his head. The last time he'd been awake he'd been in the middle of a ruined fortress. Now he was lying in a huge bed with thick blankets draped over him. A small pile of folded clothes lay on a table by his bed and even from where he was lying Kili could feel the heat of the fire on him. Biting his lip Kili looked down at himself. A thick bandage was wrapped around his right bicep and another bandage was around his bare chest. Dark bruises covered his body and his ribs hurt with every breath. Kili pushed his hair from his face before looking over at the chair by his bed.
"Fili?"
Tears filled his eyes as he looked at the sleeping form of his brother. His face was covered in cuts and bruises; one arm was in a sling whilst a crutch lay by the chair. As he looked at his brother Kili's lib trembled. Last time he had seen Fili he had been in Azog's paw hanging over a cliff. The fear in his brother's eyes had matched the fear in Kili's chest. For the first time ever he had felt what it would be like to not have Fili in his life.
It wasn't something Kili wanted to experience.
Kili opened his mouth when Fili's head moved a few millimetres. As the older dwarf shuffled and mumbled under his breath Kili could hardly contain his smile as Fili forced his eyes open. The pair looked at each other and when he saw the tears on Fili's face Kili couldn't help but reach out for him.
"I'm here Fee."
"Kili!"
In one sudden movement Fili threw himself onto Kili's bed and enveloped Kili in a bone crushing hug. As his ribs groaned from the pressure Kili was speechless as Fili burst into tears. With his good arm he gently rubbed Fili's back.
"It's okay Fili. I'm alright. I'm here."
Tears were coursing down Kili's own face and he found him tightening his grip on his brother. Fili drew away and pressed his forehead against Kili.
"You…you were so still! I thought I'd lost you for ever Kee. For the love of Durin don't you dare do that to me again!"
Kili shook his head. "You can talk."
He looked Fili in the eye. "I never knew how much you liked heights."
He couldn't help the joke. For Kili it wasn't natural to be solemn and serious. Fili lowered his head but Kili could see his shoulders shake from laughter.
"Well at least I know you'll be alright brother."
Kili shuffled along to allow Fili to sit beside him. His eyes couldn't stop staring at the sling and Fili sighed.
"Oin said it wasn't a bad break. It'll heal in a few weeks' time."
"And the crutch?" Kili bit his lip as he remembered Azog sword being driven into Fili's leg. His brother winked at him.
"Sympathy my dear brother."
Kili said nothing as Fili put an arm around him and pulled him close. The knowledge that Fili was safe took a great weight of Kili's mind. But it was soon replaced with other fears.
"Thorin? Arianna? The others?"
Fili placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thorin is fine Kee. A few broken bones but nothing serious. The others are fine as well. They've been demanding to see you but I wouldn't let them in until I knew you were okay."
Kili bit his lip. He needed to see Arianna again. He had to hold her in his arms and kiss her until he ran out of breath. With his best puppy dog look he glanced at Fili.
"Can I see them now? I'm awake after all."
Fili bit his lip before nodding. Kili watched on as he forced himself off the bed and onto his feet. As a look of pain crossed Fili's face Kili couldn't stop the tears in his eyes. Without saying anything Fili took his crutch and limped towards the door. He placed a hand on the doorknob and paused. Kili frowned at this small action and as he peered at Fili's face the look of dread worried him.
"Fili? What is it?"
Fili shook his head and forced a smile onto his face. "Nothing brother."
As he said this he opened the door and looked out into the corridor.
"You can come in if you want?"
Kili frowned at this. Surely they couldn't have been waiting in the corridor all this time? As each company member filed in Kili's smile lit up as he saw Bilbo at Thorins side. His uncle's eyes widened and no one said anything as Thorin pushed his way to the front and held Kili close.
"My dear Kili!" Thorin kissed his forehead. "Please forgive me."
Kili gently pulled himself away from Thorin's grip. Although he was relieved to see Thorin alive and free from the gold sickness he couldn't stop himself from thinking of his uncle face when he smashed Arianna's necklace. Shaking his head Kili looked past his uncle. Fourteen smiling faces gazed at him.
But not the face Kili was looking for.
His eyes gazed desperately for Arianna's bright hair in the mix. He could even see Legolas and Tauriel standing at the back. Both were sticking close together but Kili could see the sorrow in their eyes. Glancing at Fili he forced himself up more.
"Where is she?" He looked over at Fili who lowered his eyes. Licking his lips Kili turned to Thorin.
"Uncle? Uncle where is she"?
When Thorin took his hand Kili could feel the sense of dread creeping up on him. Taking another look at the company he saw them stare sadly in his direction. Kili gripped Thorin's hand hard.
"Is she..? Thorin please…"
He couldn't force himself to say the words. Thorin lowered his gaze and Kili could see both Dwalin and Bofur were struggling to stay composed. Fili gripped his shoulder.
"We don't know Kili."
"You don't..?" Kili blinked at him, "What do you mean you 'don't know'?"
Fili opened his mouth but Kili shook his head.
"Is she badly hurt? Where is she?"
No one said anything as he pulled his hand free from Thorins' grip. Reaching over Kili slid a dark blue tunic over his head and pulled a leather coat over his shoulders. Swinging his legs out of bed he was glad he still had trousers on. It was only when he was putting boots on that the others begun talking to him.
"Kili you must rest." Thorin tried to push him back into bed. Kili knew his uncle was right. His wounds were aching like mad and all he wanted was to sleep for another two days. But he couldn't do anything until he knew what had happened to Arianna. Getting to his feet Kili began pushing past the others.
"Where have you put her?"
"Lad." Oin took his arm, "Ye can't storm off in this state."
"Tell me where she is!" Kili could feel the anger running through him. Everyone in the room took a step back and it was only Fili who dared to meet his gaze.
"That's just it Kee. We don't know where she is. No one's seen her since the battle. We've been searching but we haven't found any sign."
Kili stared in shock at the faces before him. Biting his lip he turned on his heel and strode into the corridor. He quickened his pace as he heard the others hurrying after him. Unsurprisingly Legolas and Tauriel reached him first. Kili tried to push by but Legolas barred his way.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to search every inch of that accursed battlefield until I find her!" Kili clenched his fists behind his back before looking over at the others.
"I won't just sit and wait. She would never leave me and I certainly won't leave her."
"Kili," Fili inched forward, "We'll keep looking. We aren't going to give up until we know what's happened. But right now you have to rest."
"No." Kili turned when Fili pulled him back.
"Kili please!"
"She's to be my wife!"
Everyone stared at Kili in shock. Fili's hand tightened on his shoulder whilst Thorin licked his lips.
"What did you say?"
Shuffling his boots Kili sighed, "Before the battle I asked Arianna to marry me. She said yes."
"Oh Kili!" Fili pulled his brother in for a hug. Swallowing his tears Kili drew away and forced a small smile onto his face.
"Please don't ask to me to sit idly by when she could be out there dying."
Fili shook his head. "Of course not brother. We'll find her together."
Kili and Fili stuck close together as they looked at the state of the battlefield before them. Even after two days the plains were still littered with bodies. The bodies belonging to orcs were being piled up and burned whilst any elf or dwarf corpses were returned to their rightful kin. Keeping one hand in Fili's, Kili couldn't help his sobs as he wondered if he would find Arianna's body among the rest. Fili squeezed his hand as though he could sense Kili's thoughts.
"She'll be fine Kili. She can survive anything."
Kili nodded before taking another look around. His eyes landed on Ravenhill.
"Where have you looked?"
Fili followed his gaze. "Legolas searched there but he said most of it was covered with debris impossible to move."
"Typical elf." Kili muttered. Fili nodded as the pair began heading off in that direction. Kili was aware of Dwalin following them and he couldn't help his scowl.
"Dwalin I'll be fine!"
"Ye think I'm going to let ye two go off alone? That's a recipe for disaster when ye both fighting fit!"
Dwalin clapped his hand on Kili's shoulder. Although the older dwarf was smiling Kili could see the tears in his eyes. As they carried on walking he looked around at the devastation.
"What happened? With Azog?"
Dwalin sighed. "Thorin was taking on Azog. I was trying to help but he told me to stay back. It's like he wanted to fight the orc alone. It was hard to tell who had the upper hand for most of it. Thorin seemed like he could just win when Azog hit him with his mace. I thought he was going to kill Thorin until this huge shockwave sent him crashing into an ice wall. He tried to get up when another one came and broke every bone in Azog's body."
"Arianna?" Kili gripped his brother hard and Dwalin nodded.
"Aye laddie. She saved Thorin's life and a good many other lives to. Those shockwaves took out every soldier on this battlefield."
Kili lowered his head. Arianna had saved them all. She had killed the creature that had destroyed her life all those years ago.
What if she never lived to realise it?
Kili looked around at the remains of the ruined fortress. Bolg's broken body lay in a heap surrounded by chunks of rock. Forcing the memories from his mind he scanned the area in the hope he could remember where he had last seen her. He could see the blood stains that covered patches of stone and without even looking at his brother Kili stepped away from Fili and forced him forward. A huge pile of rock and stone lay in one corner and Kili dropped to his knees beside it.
"Kee?" Fili stepped up beside him as Kili began pulling several of the smaller stones away.
"She was here." Kili spat, "She was lying here when…"
He shook his head as he remembered the arrow being shoved into her side. Kili thanked his stars he had given her a shirt of mithril mail. There was no chance she could have survived that without it.
He was aware of both Fili and Dwalin helping him pull away the bigger chunks of rock. As time went on Kili wondered if they were looking in the wrong place. She could have gone somewhere else.
But why would she leave him?
"KILI!"
At Dwalin's voice Kili jumped to his feet and hurried towards the dwarf's voice. Dwalin was pulling away huge chunks of stone faster than Kili could breathe. No one said anything as Dwalin got his feet in order to let Kili get in close. As he caught a glimpse of bright hair Kili's heart skipped several beats.
"How..?" Crawling forwards he pulled away several loose stones covering the figure. Both Dwalin and Fili said nothing as Kili dragged Arianna's body from underneath the stones. Her pale face gazed up at him and as he saw all the wounds inflicted on her body everything became too much for Kili and he fell to his knees.
"My love!" His shaking lips pressed against her's and Kili could taste the blood on his mouth. Shuddering at the taste he held her close to his body.
"Please…please forgive me! Forgive me…for everything!"
Shaking his head Kili allowed his tears to drip down his face. This was his fault. He should have made her stay in Erebor where she would have been safe.
"Is she..?" Dwalin knelt beside Arianna and placed his head over her chest. Kili didn't want to know. Right now he just wanted to hold her in his arms. Dwalin gave a grim nod.
"She's alive…just. Lad we need to get her back to Erebor."
Kili wasn't listening. The woman he loved was lying in his arms as though she was dead. And she was in this state because of him.
As they hurried back to the mountain Kili was oblivious to the world around him. He was aware of other company members running towards him. Their terrified voices in his ears. But he blocked them out. All he had eyes for was Arianna. She lay so still in his arms and twice Kili had had to double check to make sure she was breathing. Her clothes were bloodied and torn and he could see her skin was badly bruised. Shaking his head he allowed Fili and Dwalin to lead him into Erebor and towards the healing wards.
"Kili?"
At Thorin's voice Kili tightened his grip on Arianna's body. Gritting his teeth he watched as both Thorin and Bilbo ran over. Both men turned white as they saw the state of Arianna and although Kili knew his uncle had nothing to do with this he couldn't stop laying the blame at Thorin's door. Looking at Arianna he could see a thin line around her neck. The skin was paler than the rest of her body and it struck Kili that she had never taken her necklace off – not even for a second. More tears fell from his face but when Thorin reached out a hand to take Arianna off him Kili hardened his gaze.
"Get away from her!"
Fili placed a hand on his shoulder but Kili shrugged him off.
"This is your fault! If you had kept her in this mountain she would have been fine! She wouldn't be lying here like this!"
"Kili!" Fili dragged him away from Thorin who as shaking his head. Kili watched as tears fell down his uncle face whilst Fili shook him.
"This isn't his fault Kee. You know nothing would have stopped Arianna from fighting."
Kili didn't respond to Fili's words. Instead he allowed himself to be lead into the healing ward. All around him he was aware of other people being treated for their various injuries. Not wishing to look Kili swallowed the bile in his throat and shifted his grip on Arianna. She didn't so much as stir and as her skin got whiter Kili wondered if they had found her too late.
"Lad?"
Kili looked up to see Oin staring at him. As the healer's eyes fell on Arianna he gave a nervous swallow before forcing Kili towards the bed closest to the fire.
"Put her on the bed. Gently!"
This last comment was directed at Dwalin who had stepped up to help Kili. Looking over at the dwarf Kili was shocked to see tears fall down Dwalin's face whilst his hands were shaking. Although Arianna could be dying before his eyes Kili couldn't stop himself.
"Thought you didn't cry?" He flashed Dwalin a glimmer of a smile and the dwarf shook his head.
"She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't…be…here."
Kili nodded as Oin gently pushed Dwalin aside. As he pulled out bottles of tonic and bandages he looked over at Tauriel who was busy bandaging an elven soldier's leg.
"I need a bowl of water lass."
The other members of the company began crowding round him and Kili had to grip the edge of the bed to keep him standing. His whole body was aching but he pushed it from his mind. He had to remain strong. He had to do it for her.
"Give us some room lads!" Oin pushed the others away. Only Fili stayed where he was. His hand never leaving Kili's. As Tauriel placed the bowl of water on the table by the bed Oin gave Kili a blushing smile.
"I need to remove her clothes lad. I can't see how badly hurt she is otherwise."
Kili could feel the back of his neck turning red but he forced himself to nod. At this the other dwarves began moving away. Thorin tugged on his arm.
"Come on Kili. She's in safe hands."
"No!" Kili shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere."
Thorin tightened his grip. "At least turn your back then and give her some decency."
"It's nothing I haven't seen before." Kili froze as he realised what he'd just said. He sighed and Thorin's face froze.
"You mean you and her..?"
Kili flinched at the disapproval in his uncle's voice. Forcing his sobs back he looked over at Thorin.
"Uncle please…not now! We thought we'd lost each other. To have her in my arms again…I just wanted her so much!"
Kili knew his uncle wouldn't drop the issue. However Thorin gently patted his shoulder before moving away. Kissing his hair Fili followed the others lead whilst Oin pulled a screen around Arianna's bed to keep her hidden from the eyes of others. Kili moved so he was standing by her head. Even in the state that she was she looked so peaceful.
"It's like she knows." He muttered. Oin looked up at him whilst Tauriel began removing Arianna's tunic. Kili licked his lips.
"It's like she knows Azog is dead." Gently stroking her hair Kili kissed her forehead before helping cut her clothes away. They were so torn the job only took a few minutes. Oin placed the torn clothes over her breasts and the tops of her legs to give her some decency. But none of that mattered to Kili. All he could focus on were the ugly purple and black bruises covering Arianna's body. He couldn't see a clear patch of skin on her stomach. The top of her left thigh had a deep gash on it whilst the ankle on that same leg couldn't look anymore swollen. The puncture wound from the arrow in her side was showing signs of infection whilst various cuts littered her body and face. Kili lowered his head – never letting go of Arianna's hand – as Oin got to work.
"Will she be alright Oin?" He could hardly hear his own voice. The healer bit his lip as he did his best to clean the wound on her leg.
"I don't know. Even with these injuries she shouldn't be in this state. I imagine using her power will have taken its toll."
At these words Kili's first thought was of Gandalf. A part of him wanted to try and find the wizard. However he had no idea where he would be and he didn't dare leave Arianna's side for one minute.
As Oin worked the hours passed by torturously long. Kili's hand was soon numb from gripping Arianna's. He knew the rest of the company were waiting outside to see her and only when Tauriel slipped a thick nightgown over her limp body did Kili allow the screen to be removed.
The horrified gasp came as no surprise to Kili. Bofur and several others burst into tears whilst Bilbo gave a nervous swallow. Kili knew Thorin was among the company but he didn't dare look in his uncle's direction.
"How bad is it?" Fili whispered nervously. Oin wiped his hands and took a deep breath.
"Two cracked ribs, three broken ones. A dislocated shoulder, an arrow wound in her side. She's got a deep cut on her thigh and her left ankle has been all but shattered. Added to this she has a broken wrist and various cuts and bruises."
As each injury was read out Kili's legs trembled with each word. He was aware of Fili holding him tight in a vain hope to keep him standing. But Kili couldn't do it. Shrugging Fili off he climbed on to Arianna's bed and knelt beside her. One hand stroked her cheek whilst the other gripped her hand hard.
"Will she recover?" Bilbo seemed the only one willing to ask that question. Oin nodded but his eyes were still grave.
"I don't understand why she's still unconscious. She should have come round by now."
"Should we fetch Gandalf?" Ori piped up. Oin opened his mouth when a noise behind them made everyone turn around. Gandalf's eyes were wet as he looked at the figure of Arianna. However he first placed a hand on Thorin's shoulder.
"Good to see you back to your usual self Thorin."
Thorin bowed to the wizard. "Forgive me Gandalf. I should have been able to resist the gold's influence."
Gandalf nodded. "I shouldn't have left you all. If I had maybe things would have been different."
At this he gently pushed past the others and placed a hand on Arianna's forehead. Shutting his eyes Gandalf began muttering under his breath. The company crowded round anxiously in the hope Arianna's eyes would open. Biting his lip Gandalf took a step back.
"It's as I feared." He gave Kili a sad smile.
"Arianna used the full extent of her powers on that battlefield. If she had been uninjured the strength used would have drained her severely. In the state she was in she couldn't avoid being consumed by it."
"Meaning?" Kili didn't dare look at the faces of the others. Gandalf sighed.
"Her power needs great strength. It's draining her life from her bit by bit to be able to gain that strength."
"But ye can stop it right?" Dwalin couldn't help the anger in his voice.
"Gandalf? Ye can save her surely?"
Gandalf bowed his head. "My powers aren't strong enough for this."
"You mean she'll just…die?" Bilbo was shaking his head and Gandalf forced a smile onto his face.
"I can put her in a stasis. It will prevent her magic from consuming her anymore and will give me time to find a way to save her."
He looked down of Kili. "There's nothing else I can do for her right now."
Nodding slowly Kili kissed Arianna's knuckles.
"Will you be able to find a way?"
Gandalf placed a hand on his shoulder.
"That is one promise I cannot make."
So they've found Arianna! Once again I'm so sorry for the cliff-hanger but keep on in there for a couple more chapters! At least Kili, Fili and Thorin are all alive…I wouldn't be that mean and kill any of them! Poor Kili though As ever let me know what you think xx
