Waring: Torture!

I loved writing this chapter for some reason, so enjoy!

Kili's wrists were forced into giant manacles and then tied above his head, his arms pressing into the sides of his face but he let himself feel relief about the fact that his feet could only just touch the ground. He felt his heart break for his little sister who was kicking and punching the bars, willing desperately for them to open for she knew for a fact that she didn't want to watch whatever was about to unfold in front of her eyes, especially with the knowledge that she could do nothing other than watch.

Kili knew that if she actually escaped she wouldn't have a plan but he knew her well - she had to try. He made eye contact with her and smiled encouragingly, trying to look reassuring. She didn't return the gesture, only stared back with wide eyes that reflected nothing but manifest fear. With a short word of acceptance from the large masochist the first whip lash was brought down to meet his now exposed back, though he hadn't expected it to be so numbing - he couldn't actually feel any pain yet, only the unnerving feeling of having no spine, or skin, or back. He wriggled around, attempting to arch his backbone and spoon some life back into his muscles but it didn't exactly work.

After about five of these, all one after the other, try as he might he couldn't hold back a small whimper that tore Kara's heart in two. After ten he let himself groan loudly. His plan had been to make his uncle, brother and especially sister proud but being the victim in the situation made it so much harder than he thought.

Kara clamped her hands over her ears and yelled out in fury and fear. "Stop! You'll kill him!"

The goblin king chuckled. "What do you think I'm trying to do?" He asked with a sly grin. "Ten more."

Kili knew it was coming but this time it ripped into his skin, pain immediately searing up his back and somehow it felt like it was contaminated into the rest of his body. More and more came, cracks loudly sounding and bouncing through the stone walls as an echo to sound like a firework, along with his mild screams which he tried his hardest to contain, but to no avail.

Kara was banging the cage, anger coursing speedily through her veins and giving her more strength than she thought she could muster but she put it all to waste on trying to get out of the blasted enclosure, although somewhere in the back of her mind a tiny voice screamed at her to stop because she was wasting energy that could come in handy at a later moment, but she was one stubborn princess and refused to listen. The goblin king noticed this and watched her with interest.

"You know, my intentions are to torture this one." He pointed to Kili who heavily breathed as he lolled forward, though it came out as more of a wheeze. "But I think the girl should learn to keep quiet whilst I am being entertained." She looked above where the king's gaze was drawn and she could see that there were bars on the roof of her cage too and so the goblins that stood on a dodgy wooden platform above the contraption were able to visibly grin down at her before tipping a bucket of water over the edge which slid through the gaps and landed on her skin, but for some reason she just hadn't expected it to be boiling. She opened her mouth in shock, burns immediately blistering onto her skin, turning her face into the prettiest mix of red and black that you will ever see. Kili growled, and a kick to the stomach just made him angrier, but he couldn't fight the bounds.

"Release him. Get my newest toy from out the back." The goblin king ordered, his minions immediately complying, much to Kili and Kara's dread. About eight goblins rolled out a deadly looking machine with a sharp blade attached to the top of it. It looked extremely complex. The moment Kili was released from the cuffs he clutched his wrists to his chest, massaging them, but he only got the satisfaction for a small moment before he was being yanked over to the fatal apparatus.

"Stop!" Kara yelled.

"Will you tell me where you're going?" Was the smirk of a reply. Kara clamped her mouth shut - she couldn't betray her uncle. But then again...

"Hurry up!" Came the impatient boom of a wicked monster, snapping her out of her contemplation thought trail.

Kili got thrown onto his back onto a wooden plank on the machine which jostled his whip lashes immensely, much to his annoyance and affliction, but the goblins pulled their grubby hands off of him once he was tied up which he wasn't exactly complaining about.. The goblin king leant forward eagerly, putting a filthy finger under his flabby chin as he watched the comical scene play out before his eyes, fueling his immoral heart with a surge of horrible happiness.

"Begin." He ordered. One of the goblins complied, leaning all of his body weight on a lever. The blade fell with a smack and by the end of the short event Kili was sure at least three of his ribs were broken. The scream he let out was horrifying and Kara purposely snapped her head in the other direction, tears streaming down her face as she covered her ears tightly with trembling hands. The goblin laughed at the distress that he was intentionally causing her, and gestured to some of the goblins standing on the platform above her cage. The goblins tipped another giant bucket again and Kara felt a new wave of heat rush over he body, newly formed burns implanting themselves on her skin. She glared darkly at the goblin king, for a split second feeling guilty for tipping water on her uncle's head the other day (even though it wasn't boiling), as she tried not to let her legs buckle beneath her from the agony that this mild torture was causing her.

As she thought about it a burn to the skin shouldn't be that painful but it just was. She felt a huge sense of determination that drove her not to show any weakness, and she really hoped it was working.

"Leave her alone." Kili hissed. The great goblin laughed as Kara rolled her eyes - he was worrying about her?!

"If you tell me where you are headed maybe I will." He told Kili, who tipped his head back and decided to obstinate. He also wanted to shut his eyes to the world, but he would leave his sister with these vile creatures over his dead body. The archer was yanked carelessly off of the contraption, orbs drooping no matter how much he tried to keep his stubborn eyelids open.

"Kili!" Kara yelled in distress, running over to try and reach the lock on the cage before she started to pick at it. She decided this new tactic was logically better and more likely to work over thrashing and kicking at the unmoving bars whilst hurting herself in the process.

"It most certainly won't budge." The king teased, and she glared all of her anger straight at him through her eyes.

Kili looked up wearily. Kara tried to catch his eye but he was back to mopey looking down so she carried on picking desperately at the lock. The dwarf suddenly felt a fresh wave of burns wash over her skin, the searing pain making her scrunch her face up into a grimace. She fell backwards in shock, smacking into the bars behind her as she released heavy, scathed breaths that came out more as wheezes that a cat makes when dying. Kili hung forward, bangs plastered to his face from sweat as the goblin king put his hands on his hips in slight satisfaction, though any could tell he was thirsty for more.

"Care to share?" He looked at Kili who shook his head in a daze. He then looked to Kara who repeated the action with more force and the defiant glare that was now chiseled into her features continued to fire his direction. "Fine." He huffed. "Burn the girl again."

"No!" Kili yelled, voice cracking. "For mahal's sake, you've done enough to her!"

"Kili!" She hissed. "Let me take it!"

"Oh dwarves." The king hummed. "I would worry about yourselves if I were you. Now, what to do what to do..." He grinned to himself when a spark of an idea struck his brain. He shifted his body sideways slightly and yelled a command in black speech. Not moments later someone walked around the throne in answer to his command. The moment Kara layed eyes on her, a sparek of familiarality struck and her eyes winened. The girl began to shake her head, edging backwards until her back pressed against the back of the cage.

Naomi was stepping into the clearing. Her outfit was a black and white stripy top with black bottoms, the exact same outfit that Kara remembered her wearing as a babe like it was yesterday. Her hair was the same colour and ran down her shoulders in perfect waves. Kara couldn't exactly deny it; she was pretty. However, her eyes were still the same bright red orbs that Kara remembered and supposed that she was the only child to have never got a cure.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, weakly crawling on all fours to the cage door where she put two hands on the bars for grip, her fingers twirling around the bars as she squinted to get a closer look once the shock from the memories had subsided.

"What's it to you?"

Kara opened her mouth in offense but before she could bite back a comeback she heard a familiar sound being tipped above her. Unconsciously she closed her eyes and accepted the next wave of water that got dumped on top of her head once again. For mahal's sake, this is getting boring now. The floor to the cage was soaked and she knew that if she ran she would definitely slip over.

"Find a new tactic!" The goblin king yelled. "I'm bored. Girl, get my information. Please. These dimbo's are useless!" He commented about his kin who didn't dare disagree, for one look at his huge feet would make them fear their fate.

"You're not going to get your information." Kara muttered.

"Oh, aren't I?" She asked with a smirk.

"No. Dwarves are not as gullible as you think we are."

"Is that so?"

"Aye."

She smiled, something that would come off as friendly if it weren't for the evil spark flying through her eyes. She strolled casually over to Kili who sagged forward, too worn to really speak but the anger coursing through his veins at how many times they had dumped unnecessary boiling water on his sister's skin was extremely high. The woman pulled out a deadly looking dagger and slit the ropes, dropping his body to the ground which only emitted a slight grunt of pain. She snapped her fingers impatiently and ordered the goblins to wheel the torture device away quickly for she 'didn't have all day'.

"What are you doing?" Kara demanded, rocking the cage with her fury. The girl had always had a hot temper, this her family had learnt to deal with. It was sort of a trait though, one that her uncle definitely had and Kili showed many signs of and so she didn't blame herself. Instead she learnt to be proud of it, just like her mother had taught her.

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"You know, I don't know what your problem is, but I'm guessing it's hard to pronounce." These were her attempts to get the torture and attention off of her brother and onto her, but the situation wasn't exactly going as planned.

Naomi just shot her a deathly glower before yanking up Kili's sleeve to reveal a naked arm. His eyes widened in terror, breathing growling more and more erratic in panic at the sharp knife that she drew from inside her jacket, flicking off it's case with practised fingers and an evil smirk.

Kara's eyes widened in horror and she frantically shook her head. "Ok!" She yelled. "I'm sorry!"

"Teach her not to be rude. Also get my information woman, and hurry up I don't have all day." The king ordered impatiently though he looked as excited as something that filthy could get.

She grabbed Kili's neck and slammed him onto the ground forcefully, although he had already been lying down so it was a pointless exercise unless she was trying to cause as much pain as theoretically possible. "You entered a kingdom ruled by a bunch of goblins, why are you here?" She hissed into his face, pressings his arms into the ground where they dug painfully as Kara began to thrash inside the cage again, rocking it back and forth where it sent her sliding across the floor countless times from the water.

Kili sobbed beneath her, shaking his head slowly back and forth as tears streamed down his face. "I don't know!"

"Did you and your friends come here to thieve or kill?!" She screamed the last word.

"I don't know anything." He whispered. "Please! We don't know anything!" His voice cracked and wobbled through his sobs of agony.

She scoffed disbelievingly and brought her knife back up. "I don't believe it." She concluded, digging the knife into his skin as hard as she could before scraping it across his arm.

The tortured whimper that he released tore Kara's heart in two and tears streamed down her face like a dam escaping a bridge, more so when the whimper turned into a horrifyingly tortured scream.

The most pain-filled scream she thought she had ever heard.

"Knock it off!" She screamed herself, kicking mightily at the bars which rocked the cage back and forth continuously. "Please! He didn't do anything to you! It was me! You know it was me, you can have me!"

Fili looked up through the bars of the dungeons as a scream rang through the halls, a complete and utter petrified scream of agony and he cringed in horror, dozens of thoughts rushing through his head at once at what calamities could be causing those pain-filled caterwauls as he turned to his companions. "We have to do something!"

"There is no way out of here, we've tried everything." Balin informed them. "We're stuck."

"No we're not." Dori spoke up. "Don't you see? They're killing him! They'll torture Kili to death and then it will be Kara, and then one of us will be next! All for their own entertainment!"

"Stop it!" Bofur said, smacking him as Fili turned to look at the protective brother with wide, fearful eyes. Another scream rang out and they shifted, glancing at one another in worry. "Are you trying to crush every bit of hope that that lad is holding left?"

"We don't even know how long its been!" Gloin exclaimed, looking up from the bars where he was searching for a weak point. "I think he knows that hope is dying."

"Fifty seven minutes." Ori spoke up quietly, as everybody gazed at him in surprise and question. "Every minute a water drop falls from that stone." he pointed to one sticking out of the stone wall and Balin smiled.

"Good on ya lad." He praised as Ori blushed slightly. Another scream rang out, abruptly ending his smile and they all looked up again. Fili scoffed and turned to hs uncle who was quietly chewing on his fingernails as he tried to stop himself from pacing.

"Are you going to do anything?"

"What would you have me do, Fili?" Thorin queried irritably. "We can't get out of here."

"Yes you can." A voice called from in front of the bars. They all looked up in unison and a goblin sneered at them, many of his companions gathering into an assemble behind him. "The king wants you back up there."

"Why?" Thorin demanded, pushing his way to the front.

"Just come with us, dwarf." He ordered. "And don't you dare try any funny business or yer little ones with king will suffer even more."

"What are you doing to them?!" Fili questioned, panic gnawing desperately at his heart. "You slimy, filthy, immoral cr..."

"Fili, enough." Thorin ordered calmly, yanking the distraught dwarf back from the bars who followed numbly as the goblin unlocked the cage and yanked the terrified yet obedient dwarves out.

"Okay!" Kara yelled. "Okay." She sagged her shoulders, stopping her thrashing whilst she accepted defeat. "You win."

Kara smiled and dropped the knife to the floor with a clatter, letting Kili's scared arm fall to the floor in the process as she looked expectantly to the princess who slowly sank to the floor in dismay as the screams died down and became small whimpers. She crossed her legs and put her hands on the floor, silently apologizing profusely to her not present uncle. "We're journeying to Erebor to reclaim what is rightfully ours."

The goblin king victoriously clapped his hands together. "I knew it!" He screamed in triumph.

"Now you know, you can let us go." She hissed, trying to no avail not to let her voice quiver.

The goblin king chuckled lowly, looking expectantly to the bridge where noise began to arrive and hustling dwarves were manhandled by goblins along the familiar platform to stand once again in front of the giant throne in a huddled group. Kara wasn't sure whether to be relieved or terrified.

Fili locked eyes with his sister, asking a silent question on her health though he could see the burn marks littering her face and it angered him more than words could say. He spotted a lump lying on the floor at the foot of the throne and assumed in despair that it was his brother, though he was facing the other way. Fili followed the machines around the room before letting his glare rest on the goblin king's smirking face.

"I am releasing you all." His booming voice announced suddenly, his unexpected statement creating a stir of discontent among his followers.

Kara's head snapped up in surprise as she wondered whether the goblin king would continue with this declaration and she un-tensed her body, kneeling higher to send a swift sweep with her eyes over her family and friends, a small amount of hope entering her heart. Maybe they could all get out of this alive.

Thorin frowned, trying to figure out the king's play. He didn't want to cause any more trouble and so he stepped forward and answered back diplomatically. "I appreciate your sudden show of understanding. Why the change of heart?"

"You're niece has been very helpful." he answered. "I realise now that you weren't trying to thieve my kingdom and this was all one big misunderstanding."

Thorin dipped his head slightly, unsure whether this was all a trick but if it wasn't he didn't want to sway the decision, though he kept his precautions high. "Thank you for your generosity. If you would just release my niece and let us get my nephew we will be on our way." he looked above Kara's cage at the wood where a bunch of goblins stood with huge buckets of water and he grimaced at the sight of steam, aware that it had been tipped through the holes in the top of the cage and onto his niece, the thought making him desperate to kill every single creature responsible. He felt a new found form of energy rush through his body at this ponder. His gaze rested on the unmoving lump on the floor and he cringed, wondering about their next move.

"Now why would I do that?" he asked darkly, an evil glint shining in his eyes.

"You said you would." Fili pointed out skeptically.

"I said I would release you." He pointed to the crowd. "I never said anything about her."

Thorin looked up. "We are not leaving without my niece."

"Fine." He declared, voice rising in brewing anger. "I gave you your offer and you didn't take it. Don't say I didn't! Kill them, slaughter them all, cut off his head!"

Thorin was wrestled to the ground as the goblins burst into action out of respect for their king, yet also the amusement of causing bed events to beings who aren't themselves. A goblin towered over him with a huge knife as Kara stared out of the cage with wide eyes, bashing the bars to make clanging sounds that she was sick of hearing, but she honestly couldn't help herself. Her hands were black because of it though she couldn't care less.

Before Thorin even had the chance to react a brilliant flash of white light washed over the cavern and a powerful burst of wind knocked all standing up onto the ground in a messy heap. Kara blinked and shook her head clear, looking around to see what had caused the disturbance. Her sight rested on the unhelpful wizard who had clearly decided to be of some use as he stood proudly atop a large bolder like an unexpected saviour. "Take up arms! All of you, fight. Fight!"

So they did. Thorin was the first to rise, catching a blow to the arm but he snapped the neck of the goblin and hastily searched for their weapons with his eyes as he tried to defend himself at the same time. Eventually he spotted them. "Dwalin!" He yelled, his oldest friend immediately doing what he knew his king wanted and raced over to the pile, tossing each form of defense to their rightful owners. He found Ori's slingshot and smiled slightly, throwing it to the innocent dwarf who took it but didn't put it to use, instead doing an impressive elbow into the face of a goblin that looked as though he was attempting to bite the back of Fili's neck, abruptly sending him tumbling to the floor. Dead.

He came to Kara's sword and looked to the hanging cage where Nori was picking the lock, Fili defending his back, and decided to wait until the girl was free before chucking it to her. He then came to Kili's bow at the bottom of the stash and noticed that nobody was actually helping the unconscious dwarf off of the floor, though looking around nobody was really available to do so.

Kara's cage door got thrown open and she practically fell out, clasping Nori's shoulder in thanks as the thief nodded and was swiftly on his way to help elsewhere. She gripped onto a bar and began to climb up the outside -catching her sword with one hand in the process which was hurled in her direction - until she was on top of the cage, trying not to let her feet fall though the holes. Her torturers above on the wood spotted her move and growled, jumping onto the cage.

She threw one off with a sudden burst of explosive strength with her arms before sending her leg backwards into another who too tumbled to his death. She grasped onto the wood and clambered up, faced with more and more goblins who were attempting to throw the water out onto the dwarves though it was affecting their own kin who were in the rubble too. They spotted her and stopped, changing tactic and swinging their swords her way. She blocked a blow and sent a kick to a goblin's side before twirling under the arm of another and chopping his head off with a gruesome slimy sound. Buckets of water were tipped over from where they sat in a line on the floor in their fighting and she tried not to slip as she fought three more, swiping, kicking and killing as best she could. To make her family proud. To prove that she had been ready for this quest.

"Stop!" An unfamiliar voice to many of the dwarves, that of a woman, rang out and everyone paused, looking up. Naomi held Kili's shaking body against her own, a sword pressed to his neck. She looked as though she wouldn't hesitate to slit at any moment. His eyes were open but barely, staring in a squint to whatever was above them, tears in the corner of his eyes though nothing more as he struggled to breathe.

Fili looked with wide eyes up to his sister from his position at the bottom of the cage who thought of an idea and gestured for him to come up, and so he tried to slyly and unnoticeably climb the bars to reach her. This succeeded for the tense attentions of everyone in the room were either focused on Kili or the goblin king. The wizard noticed what they were trying to do and smiled, seeing no reason to interfere with magic but he could help out with vocals. "Aren't you a coward?" He asked Naomi. Everyone turned to look in his direction as if he was absolutely nuts.

"What?" She hissed in a bitter response.

Thorin nodded in agreement, watching Kara and Fili carefully walk across the wooden planks above with a bucket of water held between them, trying not to let the liquid slosh and make a sound or overflow the edge and draw attention to themselves. "Aye." he spoke up. "Using those who cannot fight back as a shield instead of coming out here makes you a coward, witch."

She glared at him darkly as if in recognition of who he was, gaze only managing to look away when a noise above her twitched at her ears and she slowly looked up. As Kara and Fili moved to tip the bucket of steaming water over her head she did exactly what they were hoping for and screamed, stepping back and releasing the dwarf from her death grip who fell with a yelp into Thorin's waiting arms. The water fell with a splatter onto the spot where Naomi and Kili had just been stood and didn't land on anybody. Kara scoffed in amusement, happy that her plan had unfolded how she pleased this time.

Coward.

"Follow me!" Gandalf yelled behind him. Kara and Fili ran back across, dropping the bucket off the edge and onto an empty spot on the floor where the water had just spread before swiftly hopping down and chasing the wizard across platforms of different lengths, sizes and heights. Kili was thrown their direction in the midst of it all and her and Fili slung an arm each under his shoulders, dragging him along through the crowd of dwarves who yearned for nothing more than to break out into the safe clutches of daylight.

I bullied them a lot, I know :( Btw Naomi will play quite a large role in this story, as will a couple of friends...a lot of stuff will happen in Mirkwood involving only the trio and no other company members which I can't wait to write, but that's all I'm giving away!

So, what do ya'll think? Kara only just got hurt at Rivendell so I gave Kili the pain, plus I knew she would spill because she cares more for her brother than the pride you would feel for not cracking under the pressure of enemies.

Hope you enjoyed! :)