CHAPTER TEN

"Did anybody teach you better to obey and follow the letter? I fear, my dear, the end is here."

-Coheed and Cambria: "Unheavenly Creatures"

It took them only an hour or two to gather everything they might need for their travel. They stocked up on hard breads and grains that would keep for days, as well as dried fruit, and anything else they could scrounge. The packs Beorn gave them were nothing like they were used to, but they were sturdy and better than nothing at all. They took plenty of blankets, and rope, and as much water as they could carry. Gandalf and Gwen had been particularly insistent on the call to bring water, despite the company's many complaints of its weight.

By the time they were ready to go, they had fifteen ponies and horses tacked up and packed down with their gear, the sun was well risen, and Thorin was as eager as could be for them to leave. Kili was a bit sad to say goodbye to their safe house, but he knew it was necessary. The days were only cooling more and more, and Durin's day was drawing nearer.

With cries of urgency from Gandalf and Thorin, they were off, thundering across the countryside away from Beorn's home.

Their passage was hardly subtle, but it was fast. Still, Kili found himself glancing over his shoulder every few moments, half expecting a pack of wargs and orcs to crest a hill and take them down. Though the day had started up sunny, it was beginning to cloud over, the thin gray light of rain threatening. Their distaste for such travel kept the company from conversing, so they rode mostly in silence, the only sound in the air the wind and the heavy pounding of hooves.

Whether or not Kili wanted it, this gave him plenty of time to think. Thinking at least distracted him from the headache still pulsing at the back of his eyes.

The talk he'd had with Fili rang painfully around his mind. Did he even really like Gwen in that way? It was hard to tell.

He'd had plenty of crushes on dwarven lasses before. Dozens of them. He'd courted quite a few of them, sometimes for months or years. Those girls had made him feel warm and happy, and he thought he loved them.

Gwen however…Was different.

She confused him. Sometimes, thinking of her made him hurt, sometimes it made him wish that he didn't feel the way he did. And yet…He still couldn't get her out of his head, even with all of that terrible inconvenience. He couldn't forget her. This had never really been a trouble with any of those dwarven girls. The only trouble had come when he had to travel again, and so they would choose to go their separate ways.

Comparatively, Gwen was nothing but trouble. Stubborn, beautiful trouble. He had to worry so much, and try so hard, and yet he kept coming back to her, no matter how much it hurt. Was there something wrong with him?

He found himself watching her out of the corner of his eye. She rode easily, her cloak streaming out behind her in the firm wind. He face was out of view, but he could see in her shoulders that she was tense. Nervous, perhaps. He knew that for some reason, she did not want to go to the forest. And yet, there she was. Why?

Kili's horse let out a whinny of protest, and he realized that he'd been clutching the reins too tight for the pony's taste. He let out some slack, and the pony picked its pace back up, seeming much happier. A few more beats passed, his eyes skimming the horizon, the grass tussocks flying by, his thoughts lost in the steady gait of the trot.

You've both given a lot up.

He wasn't sure where the thought came from, but it almost startled him in its clarity.

But then…It was true, wasn't it?

Was that what made Gwen different? Befriending her had been a challenge in itself; trying to make her comfortable with him. He'd spent hours worrying, consoling, begging to be let in. He'd sacrificed quite a bit for her. And she had done the same for him. For a quest that she had no true attachment to. But then, the question was, why were they doing this? What made them give so much of themselves on a whim?

Kili didn't know. No more divinely inspired thoughts popped into his head. Just over and over, the repeated question of why?

They reached the edge of the forest by midday, luckily unharmed. They hadn't seen a trace of orc all day and while Kili was surprised, he surely wouldn't complain.

Kili smelled the forest before he saw it. It wasn't a bad smell, just odd. Heavy and cloying, fairly musty, but also the type of sweet that hit the back of your throat like wine that had gone bad. Gandalf pulled them to a stop yards away, ordering them to stay on their horses, but dismounting himself.

Kili eyed up the tree line nervously. He could see that it was an ancient forest, even from here. The trees were wide and tall, although it looked as if many of them had died, leaving them stripped of all but their rigid skeletons, reaching their spiny gray fingers, tangling into the sky.

Even Kili's pony was nervous. While not nearly as remarkable as his Lily, they had struck up a working friendship throughout the ride. Kili patted the pony's neck, shushing her gently. "I know, I don't like it either."

Fili was chatting to Gwen, and Kili suspected that his brother had noted her unease. Knowing Fili, he was probably trying to help calm her. "Here lies our path through Mirkwood," Gandalf called back.

He stood between two pillars of wood, carved with winding vines. On closer inspection, paving stones had been set into the ground between them. They were overgrown with moss and weeds, a thick cover of mud and leaves caked to them, but it seemed as good of a path as any.

"No sign of the orcs," Dwalin observed. "We've luck on our side."

Kili nodded, loosing a foot from its stirrup to swing his body down off of the pony.

"Set the ponies free," Gandalf ordered. "Let them return to their master."

Already dismounted, Bilbo stepped towards Gandalf. "This forest feels…sick. As if a disease lies upon it. Is there no way around it?"

Kili knew what Gandalf's answer would be, and yet still found himself hoping he would offer an alternative. Even just standing, taking his gear off of the pony, the hairs on the back of his neck were rising up. He could have sworn the forest was almost groaning and creaking. A low, echoing sound that made his skin crawl.

"Not unless we go two hundred miles north," Gandalf said, beginning into the forest. "Or twice that distance south." Though his answer was true, it sounded to Kili like his thoughts were elsewhere. Gandalf was worried. That could never be a good thing.

With Gandalf gone, Kili spoke. "Don't worry, Mister Boggins. We'll be through it before you know it."

Bilbo nodded, unconvinced, and busied himself with undoing his pack.

Kili slipped his own on, fighting back a complaint at the weight of it. He'd gotten quite used to traveling without any gear. While it had its inconveniences, there were some good parts to it. He led his pony over to Gwen and Fili who were strapping the last of their things up against their bags. "Lovely weather we're having."

Just as he said that, a cool drizzle started down. "If you like rain, that is," Gwen sighed, hoisting her pack onto her shoulders.

"To be fair, you were worried about us running out of water," Fili said.

Gwen shot him a glare. "Aye, I'd like to see you drink the rain, Master Dwarf."

"You just have to stand with your mouth open for a while," Kili explained. "Like this." He unhinged his jaw to the sky, squinting up into the mist.

"Shut your daft mouth," Gwen said, although Kili could have sworn he heard a chuckle in her voice.

Kili laughed at himself for a moment, before turning to his horse. "Alright, girl, off with you, then." His goodbyes said, he tied up her reins and gave her a pat on the rump to get her going back home.

"Be safe, Sally," Fili said softly, holding the nose of his pony gently.

Kili raised a brow. "Sally?"

"It's her name," Fili said, shrugging as he patted her on the shoulder, sending her off with the other ponies.

Gwen's trotted off as well. "Beorn hadn't given them names."

"Aye, that's why I named her," Fili told both Gwen and Kili.

"Why Sally?" Kili asked as he helped his brother sling a thick loop of rope across his chest. "I've never heard of such a name.

"Heard it in Bree. I thought it sounded nice, and she liked it."

"Liked it?" Gwen repeated, tightening her sword belt. "She's a horse."

"I could just tell," Fili protested.

Kili shook his head. His brother had a soft spot for any living thing, but especially things with fur.

"Not my horse! I need it!"

They all took a pause, looking back to see Gandalf striding out of the forest.

"You're not leaving us," Bilbo said his tone downright dreading.

Kili glanced at Gwen. Her eyes had darkened considerably, and her lips set into a tighter line. She wasn't happy about that.

"I would not do this unless I had to," Gandalf sighed, turning to Bilbo.

As they talked more quietly, Kili turned to Gwen, setting a hand on her elbow to get her attention. "You alright?"

Her eyes turned to him, and he saw with a deep sinking feeling that she really was scared. Still, she mustered a half-smile. "Of course."

"He would leave us to wander," Thorin said, the beginning sparks of anger in his tone.

Gwen didn't miss a beat, stepping past Kili into Thorin's view. "I know the path."

His eyes narrowed, and Kili could see the inner works of his brain twisting to determine what that meant.

"Oh, that's lovely," Balin breathed, smiling. "I'm glad we'll have a fitting guide."

"What is this place to you?" Thorin asked sharply, nothing short of accusatory.

True to character, Gwen didn't back down, saying tersely, "Mirkwood. The dreary forest that fills the land between the Carrock and Lake Town. Why do you ask?" Thorin didn't honor her with an answer, his gaze still critical. Kili saw tension in Gwen's jaw, but she contained her irritation. "It's been years since I've been here, but I've felt the forests effects, and I know its paths better than any of you."

"Indeed," Thorin said warily.

"I'll be waiting for you at the overlook, before the slopes of Erebor," Gandalf announced, breaking the tension. "Keep the map and key safe. Do not enter that mountain without me," he said, turning to say that pointedly to Thorin. "Gwen knows the way, but you must be wary. This is not the Greenwood of old." He hardly needed to say that. Nothing about the forest was green. "There's a stream in the wood that carries a dark enchantment. Do not touch the water," Gandalf warned, adjusting his horse's tack. "Cross only by the stone bridge. The very air of the forest is heavy with illusion. It'll seek to enter your mind and lead you astray." Despite his aged appearance, Gandalf was practically nimble, throwing himself up onto his horse.

"Lead us astray?" Bilbo repeated quietly, sound horrified. "What does that mean?"

"You must trust your guide and stay on the path. Do not leave it. If you do, you will never find it again."

Thorin appeared to be tiring of Gandalf's list of warnings, and Kili had to admit that he was none too happy with it. It felt as if he was a prisoner, having to stand there and listen to all the ways he was going to be tortured.

Gandalf pulled his horse away, breaking immediately into a swift canter. "No matter what may come, stay on the path!"

"Come on," Thorin began, starting down the path with a moment's hesitation. "We must reach the mountain before the sun sets on Durin's day. It's our one chance to find the hidden door."

Right. The door. Durin's day. Erebor. That's what made all of this witchery in the forest worth it.

Thorin stopped suddenly. "My apologies," he said in a tone that was anything but apologetic, turning over his shoulder to find Gwen. "It is only proper that our guide should show us the way."

"Thank you," Gwen said, sounding similarly less than kind. She cut her way to the front of the pack and strode into the darkness, not even waiting to see if the others were following.

Well. At least she didn't look afraid. As Kili passed into the shadows, he shivered despite himself. Perhaps he was a little bit afraid.


Kili had firmly decided that the only good thing about the wretched forest was that it mostly kept them out of the rain. The drizzle fell steadily throughout the day, pattering on branches and leaves, but the thick canopy above them kept out both sun and rain, save a few flickers of grey light and miserable drips of water. It was as if they were stranded perpetually in the darkness of twilight.

While most of the trees were dead, different life filled the forest. Strange, sprawling funguses, brightly colored molds, mushrooms like Kili had never seen. Clouds of gnats bothered them on and off throughout the day, and the path was coated completely by leaf mold, almost slimy underfoot. The smell was overpoweringly musty, the air thick enough that it was uncomfortable to breathe.

While they were all fairly miserable, they did their best to keep high spirits. They chattered as loudly as they dared, pointing out interesting mold colonies on rotting trees, kicking over the funguses that they dared to. They had learned their lesson on dangerous funguses, though, after Nori booted one that released some sort of a yellow mist into the air. Gwen had shouted at them the second she saw it, ordering them all to hold their breaths and cover their mouths.

After they were a decent distance away from the yellow cloud, she explained why that was the daftest thing they could think to do. Apparently, every bloody thing in the forest was out to kill them in some nightmarish way. Of course, they still kicked funguses over, they just learned which sort released spores and did it when Gwen wasn't looking.

It was hard to tell when night fell, but they mostly decided based on when their feet began to ache fiercely enough for them to deem it time to set up camp. They set up directly on the path after Gwen assured them that it was long since abandoned and that no elves would venture out this far at night. Still, Thorin assigned three dwarves to each watch, just to ensure that nothing would go awry.

Bombur had only been able to start a small fire, considering that most of the wood around them was far too damp to take a proper light. Their supper was still good, vegetables and bread left over from Beorn's kitchens warmed over the fire. Gwen had made them all wash their hands and faces before they ate. Thorin scoffed at it, but Gwen insisted. Apparently, any bit of the forest could be poisonous, if ingested, and it was best for them not to take risks.

When the fire was gone, the damp air grew very cold and clammy, driving them into their blankets to try and find sleep.

Kili was exhausted, but sleep inevitably evaded him. The air was strange, filled with odd, muddled noises. Chirps and cracks and buzzes, coming from no discernable location. It kept his mind up and whirring with thoughts and doubts and worries. Fili was face down in his blankets between them, but Kili had heard Gwen tossing and turning just as much as he had been. After what felt like two hours had burned by, Kili sat up enough to lean over Fili. "Gwen? You up?"

She hummed in assent, turning onto her back to look at him. "What's wrong?"

"Can't sleep either," he breathed, leaning over Fili. Fili grunted a bit in his sleep but otherwise didn't seem to notice his brother's weight on his back.

Gwen nodded.

"Would you like to go for a walk?"

She lifted a brow at the touch of puppyish excitement in his tone. "Are you mad?"

"No," Kili protested. "We can take our weapons, and we'll only go a bit up the path." She was still looking at him as if he was speaking another language, so he put on his best pout and struck again. "Come on, love. I'll lose my mind lying here, and I want to be able to talk to you."

Gwen relented, at last, sitting up. Kili grinned as he got up, energy he didn't know he had flooding through him. He was just bursting to do something other than lay there, wishing he was asleep.

Bifur, Gloin, and Oin had the first watch, so Kili wasn't overly worried about them getting stopped. He wrapped his cloak around him, the air biting at him the moment he left the safety of his blankets, but the chill was almost invigorating. He grabbed his sword from where it rested, hidden under his pack, and stood, shaking the weariness away.

Fili snorted and rolled over a bit, but didn't wake. Gwen at his heels, Kili started towards the center of the group where the watch was posted, sitting silently, listening into the darkness. He figured Gloin would be the easiest by far to talk to and approached him. "We're going for a walk."

Gloin seemed a bit startled at the sound of his voice, but recovered quickly, eyeing them up warily. "Is that a good idea?"

Kili shrugged. "I can't sleep, and neither can she. We'd like to talk but don't want to wake everyone."

Gloin still looked a bit hesitant, and Bifur and Oin were watching them, but after a moment of thought, Gloin sighed. "Alright, go on, laddie."

Kili smiled. "We'll be back in a bit."

Gwen yawned as he beckoned her onward down the path. It was barely visible in the darkness, and he had to be careful not to trip on any roots or uneven stone. He was almost jealous of how easily Gwen seemed to traverse the darkness, her footsteps inaudible, gliding over the uneven terrain.

Like she belonged there.

He shivered, dismissing the worst thoughts from his head.

"How's that?" Kili asked, indicating a heavy tree beside the path.

"That's off the road."

"We'll sit with our feet on the stone." Kili was the one rolling his eyes this time as he wrapped his cloak around himself, sitting down, stretching his legs out so that part of him still touched the path.

While she didn't seem happy about it, Gwen settled in next to him. "You're terrible irresponsible."

"And you worry too much," he shot back.

"Well, I'm sorry if I have to make up for how you don't worry enough."

Kili found himself chuckling. "Mahal, you sound like my ma."

"You know, you compare me to her an awful lot," Gwen pointed out, sounding skeptical.

Kili squeezed his eyes shut against the thought of his mum and Gwen being too similar. "That's a bloody disgusting thought." Ah. No. Certainly no. They were not alike. Gwen was attractive and funny and his mum was his mother.

Ugh.

"I didn't mean it like that," she laughed. "I just wanted you to tell me more about her."

"That, I can do," he said, shaking the more horrifying images out of his head. "Where do I begin?" he sighed. "Well, she gave birth to two beautiful sons."

"And then she got pregnant with you and your brother?" Gwen suggested drily.

Kili elbowed her for the interruption. "No need to be rude. No, Fili and I were her only children. Da died when I was almost too young to remember, so she raised us mostly on her own." He felt Gwen tense slightly at the mention of his father, but he didn't dwell on it. "She's a terribly strong woman. I've seen her make Dwalin shake before."

"Really?"

"Really," he said. "She has this way of making her voice sound…" even the memory was enough to make him uncomfortable. "It's terrifying. That's not to say that she wasn't a fierce warrior in her own right. Thorin and Frerin made sure she could defend herself."

"Frerin?" Gwen repeated.

"Thorin's younger brother," he explained. "And Dis' older. He died young, in the battle of Azanulzibar."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I never knew him, only ever heard tales. But mum," he said, bringing the conversation back on topic. "She likes to pretend to be tough, but that's just how she shows she loves us. She's always said that she'd die to save us."

"That's beautiful." He leaned forward to catch a glimpse of her face, just because he could hear in her voice that she was doing that soft, barely noticeable smile that made him feel warm from head to toe.

"Aye, she loves us alright. But she's a right awful worrier. She never stops nagging. Well," he amended. "She never stops nagging me, anyway. Fili never does too much deserving of nagging."

"Oh?" she said, a smirk lighting her face playfully as she turned to face him. "You're the wild child?"

"I'm a bit offended you couldn't tell that earlier." he scoffed.

"Are you really so wild?" Gwen teased.

"According to her, I am," he said with a shrug. "She made me take this with on the journey." It took a moment of fumbling, but his rune stone was in the right pocket of his trousers, right where it always was. He habitually ran a thumb over its carving, before letting it fall to the center of his palm for her to see.

"A talisman," she observed softly, leaning in closer to inspect it, interest flaring up in her eyes.

"You can take it," he said with a smile as she picked it up, holding it delicately as if it would break if she clutched it too hard. While it fit perfectly into his palm, it looked too large for her hands. It was almost endearing, the way she studied it.

"What do they mean?" she asked, her thumb running over the runes, just as his did.

"Innikh Dê," he said, softly. It was in Khuzdul, a language he knew he probably shouldn't be sharing with her, but she was curious, and he couldn't help but indulge her.

She looked up at him at the sound of the unfamiliar words, and Kili realized quite suddenly, how close they were. Their noses were near touching, and despite the dark lighting, he could pick out every tiny detail of her face. The soft parting of her lips, the slightest furrowing of her brow in confusion. The way her breath washed warm and sweet over his face.

Oh. Something warm flooded through him.

He managed to keep his hand from shaking as it rested atop hers, covering the stone. "It means 'return to me.' She wanted something to remind me of the promise I made her."

Gwen broke their closeness, turning her head down, with a smile. "You should do it."

"Hm?" he said, painfully aware of the way their legs were pressed together, the way that they were sitting, the feel of her hand brushing his. Every spot they touched burned beautifully.

"You should return to her," she explained, clear as day.

Kili found himself chuckling. "Aye. I'm trying to." And I'd quite like to take you with me.

He couldn't bring himself to break the contact of their hands. Instead, he ignored what was proper, clasping her hand between both of his, drawing it more comfortably into their laps. It was cold. She was warm. She wouldn't mind him borrowing a bit of her body heat.

It seemed she really didn't mind as she turned into him a bit more, sliding down until she could rest her head on his shoulder. He resisted the urge to tease her about it, not wanting her to move a muscle, preferably ever again. She was so warm and real, and if he tilted his head, he could only smell the warm, earthy smell of her. Just that was enough to knock the nervous shiver from his bones, and the fog of confusion from his head.

"What about your mother?" he asked.

"What about her?"

"I told you about mine." He resisted the urge to shrug, lest he disturb her. "So what about yours?"

Gwen hesitated to begin, and when she spoke her words were low and sacred. "My mother was…soft-spoken. I believe she was." Was. Was her mother gone? "I recall that was her usual demeanor, but it's odd because all the clearest memories of her were when she was fiery. Angry, or upset, or just speaking passionately about something. She loved to learn. She's the one I followed when I took up teaching. Her life was a constant battle between curiosity and caution."

Kili let out a soft chuckle. "She sounds remarkable."

"She was. You would never have guessed it, but behind all her quietness, there were entire worlds in her head. She had the sort of imagination I could only dream to have."

"You didn't inherit that?"

"No, not quite," she snorted back. "Some of her mind, but not that."

Silence fell, and Kili dared to ask the question that had been nagging at his mind. "What of your father?"

She tensed almost unnoticeably. "He died before I knew him."

Kili found himself breathing deeply, the warmth that had been pooling in his gut souring as he asked, "Is that a lie?"

She let out a sigh. "Not really."

"Was it less than the whole truth?" Part of him didn't want to ask these questions. Didn't want to ruin the peace. But a larger part of him knew that he would never really be able to stop.

"Yes."

Her answer only made his heart sink deeper. He knew it was true, but hearing it out loud was something else entirely.

With a hiss, rain started falling, tapping its delicate fingers against the leaf canopy above. The rain was dripping down onto them in a moment, only making them colder, but Gwen still pulled away from him, staring at her hands in her lap. Kili swallowed hard, feeling the absence of her warmth far too distinctly. This isn't what he wanted. "If you want to tell me, I'm listening."

Obviously, he wasn't trying to push her, but it was impossible for him to see if she was ready to tell him or not. Curse her for being so bloody unreadable. He always liked that she was unpredictable, but he could do without this facet of her. The part that was cold and unforgiving and the part that turned to look back at him with thin set lips and fearful eyes. "Kili…"

"But you don't want to," Kili said, answering his own question. The look in her eyes told him he was right. He couldn't hide his sigh, lowering his face into his hands. He had bolloxed all of that up properly.

"I'm sorry."

Kili laughed softly. "No. No, don't be. You shouldn't be sorry." He wasn't frustrated at her. He understood well that she wasn't ready, and he would wait as long as he needed to for her. He was almost frustrated with himself for pushing too hard, for ruining every lovely moment they had with his questions.

"I am," she replied firmly, the wavering caution leaving her tone.

"What for?" Kili asked, looking up from his hands in genuine confusion.

"I want to tell you." Her hands were clenched, and Kili worried that her nails night be cutting her palms. "I do."

"I believe you."

"You do?" Her question was so vulnerable and genuine that it hurt.

"Of course." He wasn't lying. He wasn't going to say he understood what she was going through, but he believed her. How could he not?

She let out a breath, releasing the tension in her fingers, flexing the blood back into them.

Kili threw away his doubt, leaning over to wrap an arm around her shoulder and pull her into his side for a precious moment. She was frighteningly bony, jabbing into his side, but he could hardly protest. She was warm, and the mist of the rain was cold. He let himself lean over to press a kiss to the top of her head before he released her. "I'd say we should be getting back to the others."

She turned to him before he could get up. There was a curious light in her gaze. "Do you have any idea what you're getting yourself into, Master Dwarf?"

He smiled, confused by the question. "What?"

"You heard me," she insisted.

He let out a bit of a laugh, still not entirely understanding her question. "I suppose not really. Should I?"

"If you did know you might run a hundred miles away from me. Or…" She was being dead serious, to Kili's surprise. "Or at least you probably should."

Kili considered this idea briefly. "Hmm." He tilted his head back, raising a ponderous hand to his chin. "I don't know about that, love. How much trouble could you really be?" he asked with a smirk, raising a hand to tweak her nose.

She raised a brow, but Kili could tell there was a smile tugging at her mouth. "You're daft," she pointed out, ignoring his question.

"My mum prefers the term 'reckless,' actually."

This managed to make her full-on laugh, despite herself, as she breathed out a harried, "Bloody hell, Kili."

"I'll take that as a good thing," Kili sniffed, standing and offering a hand down to her.

That half-smile still on her lips, she took it and stood with him.


"Fili?"

No answer came back except the calling of strange birds and the rattling hiss of insects.

"Mum?"

The darkness pressed in harder. Part of him wanted to walk, wanted to run, to cry and get out of the place. The awful place. But the darkness held more secrets than he ever cared to find out, the ground slimy and uneven under his toes. "Ma? Fili? Where are you?"

He whimpered. The curious sounds drew closer in.

"This isn't funny."

"What isn't?" The voice was low and soft, little more than a whisper in his ear.

He whipped around as fast as he dared, a chill racing down his spine. "Oh. It's you."

Gwen smiled at him, and he returned it warily. "You're lost," she said, looking around.

Kili nodded.

Gwen grabbed his hand, pulling him into her as she dragged him into the darkness. He fought back the urge to cry out as his feet slid across the ground, leaving behind the spot where he'd been standing, plunging him into absolute black. It was alright though. Gwen had him. She clutched onto his arm, her breathing heavy as she lead them confidently through the scratching, tugging brush.

He trusted her though. He trusted her.

"Where are we going?" he asked after what felt like an eternity.

Her grip tightened and she sounded hurt. "I'm not lost, you know."

"I know—"

"Father's leading the way."

He stopped and her grip slipped off of his arm. "Who?"

Gwen looked as if he was mad as she indicated the man standing over her shoulder. "Father knows the way well. He's leading us."

The man grinned. He was tall and slender, shadowed.

"Hello," Kili said, though his voice was almost inaudible as if all of the energy had been sucked out of him.

"He would never get lost."

Gwen looked up at him adoringly, but his face was unchanged. He just grinned. Kili could see in his eyes trees and shadows and rot.

Kili tried to back up but his feet were stuck.

"Kili? What's wrong?" She sounded broken. "He's just like me? What's wrong?"

The shadows loomed deeper in her eyes too, and Kili could at the family resemblance. The trees and shadows clutched at his lungs, squeezing tighter and tighter in. "What's wrong, Kili? Why are you looking at him like that? Like me like that? Kili—"

"What's wrong?"

An entirely different voice asked that. He sucked in a breath as his eyes slid open into a silvery dawn. Fili leaned over him, worry creasing his brow. "Are you alright, Kee?"

Kili nodded, realizing he'd broken into a cold sweat. His heart still pounded as flashes of those terrible eyes filled his vision. "I'm fine. I'm good. It was just a dream."

"Nightmare?" Fili asked, smiling sympathetically as Kili sat up. Kili nodded, and Fili sighed. "Aye, we all had them. Terrible."

"Vivid," Kili added. He saw Gwen out of the corner of his eye, chewing on an apple, leaning up against a tree as she spoke to Bilbo. She was normal. Or. As normal as she got. It had really just been a dream.

"What was yours about?"

Kili turned back to his brother, shrugging. "Creepy things in the forest."

Fili's gaze flickered over to where Kili's had been a moment ago. "Was she in it?" He spoke low, not loud enough to be overheard.

"Aye. I think so." He laughed it off, throwing his blankets aside, almost grateful for the cool air washing over his skin. "Terribly odd things, dreams."

Fili's worry didn't seem to dissipate. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine," Kili assured him with a carefree smile. Whether he was being honest right there or not was a different matter entirely.


Bit of a shorter chapter this go around, but hey! We got to Mirkwood! Excitement! If you hadn't noticed, I am no longer updating Sundays, just on Wednesdays. Thanks for understanding! Reviews make my day, so if you have anything to say, feel free! What was your favorite part of this chapter? Was there anything you didn't like? I do hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reading and reviewing, and I'll see y'all next week!