"Where did Thorin go?"
Kili looked up annoyed. He was just describing the heroic actions he had performed while rescuing Alyssae and since he was telling this to the most beautiful elf he had seen here, he didn't like the fact that he was interrupted for such a dumb question. He however changed his opinion when he saw the panicking look in the eyes of his brother. "What's going on?"
"I'm worried," he muttered. "Alyssae is gone for a while now and so is he."
Kili got the feeling his brother pushed him under an ice cold waterfall and he cursed the fact he hadn't paid more attention to her.
Although Alyssae didn't trust him for some reason, he cared too much about her not to worry.
"Do you really think he did it?"
His uncle had made more than a few mistakes, but he couldn't believe that Thorin had tried to strangle Alyssae without the girl saying anything about it.
Fili shook his shoulders. "It was your idea."
Kili sighed. He had actually felt himself a traitor for having thoughts like that, but if there was anyone who had tried to harm Alyssae the last days, it was Thorin. She had almost lost an arm, was drowned or had never awakened from a cursed sleep.
It didn't escape his attention that Tauriel moved her feet awkwardly.
"You know more?" he insisted. He already read the truth in her eyes before she gave him an answer.
"She didn't want me to say anything about it."
"I got that. What the hell does that girl think she's doing?" he grumbled and he walked to the exit, followed by Fili and the elf. He had the feeling that not only Thorin was changed by the magic of the forest. Alyssae acted very strange as well.
A little discouraged he looked around when he reached the stairs. They could be anywhere.
"There might have happened nothing, Kili."
He felt Tauriel squeezed his shoulder to comfort him. He really wanted to believe her words, but he had seen too much of Thorin's anger to make the same assumption.
"What else would he do with her?' he grumbled. "He doesn't particularly like her, hmm?"
Tauriel looked hesitating at him. "Maybe they are trying to talk things over."
"Maybe."
With his whole heart he hoped Tauriel was right. If Thorin would hurt her again, he felt responsible, although he didn't know where that feeling was coming from. She had hurt him and he was still mad about that, but that didn't mean that he wanted something to happen to her.
They decided to look in their sleeping quarters first, but there they found nobody. They had to be outside. Both of them.
"If you go that way," Tauriel pointed to the right, "then I will take that other stairs."
Kili nodded gratefully and ran down the stairs. They were looking for a needle in a haystack.
"Should we warn the others?" he wondered double-minded.
Fili shook his head. "No, we might present him in a bad light for nothing."
Kili said nothing. He hadn't told his brother that their uncle had changed into something that scared him once before. After all, he had enough on his mind and there was no need for him to know that Thorin had tried to kill her while he was away.
He loved his uncle, he really did, but he didn't always agree with his actions - especially not when it was about Alyssae, whom he couldn't stand the sight of. He didn't understand why Thorin hated her so much, since she had a brave, gentle and attentive personality. As far as he was concerned, she might be a little more open-hearted and above all more honest, but nobody was perfect. She was quite compliant, let nobody walk over her and barely complained. She was the perfect companion.
For a brief moment he thought about Tauriel. He just knew her, but she definitely showed similarities with Alyssae and he understood why they liked each other. And she had something ... something that Alyssae was lacking, although he couldn't describe what it was ...
He shook his head in silence, knowing this was absolutely not the right time to think about Tauriel. They had to find Thorin or Alyssae.