I'm sorry about the long wait for this chapter. For anyone that's ever experienced a tough finals week and the apathy that follows, I trust you understand that the struggle was real. I'll do better by you next time! But this chapter is also insanely long, so enjoy that.

Happy reading, folks :)


5

The Viewing

"If Fíli were here, he wuh demand that we a'least get pie for breakfast…At—at the ver'least."

"Lad you're actin' strange, jus' keep yer mouth shut," Bofur grunted.

I'm not making sense? Kíli chuckled to himself as he continued to shuffle his feet backwards. This whole thing doesn't make any sense.

They had spent two days and three nights on the wagon after the first initial day when they cleared the rocks. At the dawn of the third day, the one they were currently in, they were told to get out. And now, a caravan of at least a hundred people and animals alike were all walking backwards as if it were a perfectly normal thing to do. The mules and horses didn't even complain, they just moved as their attendants led them. Organized. Like they had done it a thousand times before.

"Keep the pace up!"

They heard the whip crack but it didn't seem to hit anyone. Kíli's head lolled until he was looking at the clear sky above. Some birds flew overhead and Kíli's eyes narrowed.

"Gimli," he whispered, elbowing his friend eagerly, "Gim-a-lee."

"What Kíli?"

"Look." Somehow he managed to lift his arm and point his finger right where the birds were. His muscles ached horribly and dizziness made his brain feel fuzzy. But he pointed at the birds correctly the first time, so, good for him.

"What am I lookin' at?"

"Those birds 'nt movin' backwards. Should we tell s'mone?"

Kíli let his head roll so that he could see Gimli who was giving him a look that spoke for itself. "Kee," he said in a voice that was trying hard to be gentle, "I understand that you—uh—don't feel well."

"I feel like I fell downuh cliff."

"Right…well," Gimli moved closer and dropped his voice so that he came off sincere, "It's not that I don't care. Kíli, I do. If we were back home we would have dragged you to a healer weeks ago. But we've got a lot of problems right now, and if you keep actin' funny then you're going to get into trouble. Maybe even get our friends in trouble. We can't have that, right?"

Kíli blinked at the ginger dwarf. Words, so many words he just used. How could he be expected to comprehend all that chatter into a coherent thought?

"Hullo in there?" Gimli poked Kíli's forehead with his large pointer finger, making the prince flinch from the pain.

"Please don'do that."

Gimli frowned and his time pressed the entirety of his rough hand to Kíli's forehead. He then smiled and nodded in satisfaction. "Yer feverish, but not the worst I've seen. It should go away in a few days. Try to keep it together 'til then, alright?"

Kíli nodded dutifully though he wasn't quite sure why. It did, however, seem to satisfy Gimli who went on marching backwards with Millí and Ori.

"It's hot," Kíli noted to himself. Heat. That was easy to understand. Thinking hurt too much and no one seemed inclined to explain what was going on and even if they did he doubted that he'd be able to comprehend it anyway. So Kíli decided that from then on, thoughts were to be simple or they wouldn't exist at all.

You've been captured.

Immediate family not present.

Whips hurt.

Cooperate.

It's hot.

"Ah, there you are!"

The other half of the caravan was waiting for them around the bend. Kíli began to turn around to look at them when the whip snapped over his shoulder.

"DON'T TURN AROUND!" Daren shouted.

Kíli blinked at him and then rotated so that he was still walking backwards. The mark made his already aching body throb with new vigor. He sighed to himself and resisted the urge to rub his shoulder while Millí tightened her lips and glared at Daren until she thought he'd been sufficiently eye-shamed.

They continued to walk the wrong way until the other caravan met them, walking forwards. "BREAK STRIDE!" Demetrius bellowed to his companions. Everyone sighed and chattered happily as they turned and faced forward again.

"Got a proper burn on m'neck that time for sure," Rod chuckled. Demetrius smiled at him and threw a fat arm around the boy's shoulders.

"You got my hair I'm afraid, and my glowing complexion."

"But not your belly," Hank grinned, giving his father's robust middle a jab. Kíli was momentarily transfixed with the way it jiggled and reached out his hand so that he could poke the belly as well.

"What'er you doing?" Bofur hissed, smacking his hand down. Kíli frowned and examined his hand for a moment and then shook his head.

"I…I don't know."

"Why don't you go sit down for a bit laddie? Get some water."

Kíli was about to obey when the slaves were suddenly rounded up into a tight circle. There were more slaves than what was just in their wagon, enough for perhaps three wagons. Upon further inspection, he found that a few of them were from the original caravan he led. Petry himself was standing a few paces away looking positively downtrodden.

"Come on, shoulder to shoulder, let's go. There, now that's nice."

Daren moved aside so that Demetrius could take his place with his sunny grin. "My valuable cargo, glad to see you've made it. Tomorrow marks the first viewing for the scouts from the Greyflood. We want you to look your best, so we will be stopping by a lake shorty to get you cleaned up and looking presentable."

Something hard was shoved into Kíli's hands. He looked down to find a broom with a combination of stiff bristles and feathers at the end.

"Until then, you will sweep behind us thoroughly to ensure the discretion of our location. I'd explain the risk of disobeying, but I think by now most of you understand."

Kíli looked around at the crowd of slaves. Men and women, human and dwarf. No elves, too risky most likely. Some of them bore scars and bruises; all of them bore weary looks and dirt form the road. Some were clutching the hands of others.

Odd how that works. Kíli looked over to see Millí and Gimli's hands locked. He chuckled a moment and folded his arms tightly over his chest to ward off some of the aching in his bones. We're all young and strong. We could possibly overthrow these merchant people. But we've got too much to lose.


Three days later.

"What happened here?" Fíli whispered, taking in the harried mess in front of him. What looked like a stage was torn down into the dust. Footsteps littered the area around them; apple cores and traces of many people being crowded into one place at one time were strewn throughout the grass. Thorin's expression was dark as his blue eyes scanned the clearing.

"This is where they, uh, viewed us," Ori responded. His eyes flitted nervously over the area as if he expected Daren himself to come popping out from behind the wreckage.

"Viewed you?"

Ori's fingers started to rub the hem of his shirt nervously until Nori placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "There's scouts who travel ahead and check on the…cargo…and then run back and give reports to the buyers on what to expect."

Fíli's hands tightened on the reins and his teeth ground together until they threatened to break. "Like some sort of property. That's sick."

Thorin nodded gravely and eased his pony forward to get a better look at the scene. The sun had set and the moon began to take over the light of the sky, casting eerie shadows over the land. Ori was whimpering while his brother whispered gruff comforting words to him quietly. Fíli followed close behind Thorin and tried not to let his rage consume him. Instead he looked for signs, anything really to suggest where his brother had been.

"What did they make you do, at the viewing?" Brent asked in a dark voice. He had dismounted from his horse and was examining the ground closely. Fíli knew what he was asking for; had they been humiliated? Were they forced to perform for their captors and sacrifice their dignity? Ori started to answer when Fíli caught sight of something far more intriguing.

"Thorin, look."

He urged his pony forward until he reached the base of a thin tree, where he promptly dismounted and ran to examine it.

"Kíli," Thorin confirmed curtly. The tree was stuck with arrows that descended in a neat line. The spacing was a little uneven and the straightness of the line was off, but it was impressive work nonetheless.

"Not his best work," Fíli noted, freeing one of the arrows from the bark.

"He uh…he didn't want to do it," Ori said in a small voice. "But they threatened him. They said they'd kill me. He was having such a hard time comprehending everything, that when they uh…made it simple for him, he did it." Fíli looked at Ori, who's face was red with shame. "They were very impressed with him, even though he wasn't entirely well."

Fíli snapped the arrow in his hand and threw it into the trees with an angry growl. He felt Thorin's hand on his shoulder and ground his teeth together before saying something he'd regret. He stormed off the further examine the area when he came to another post. There was the smell of blood in the air and the sign of tents and wagons. He picked through the overgrown grass towards the post until his foot connected with something hard in the grass. He looked down only to have his heart drop when he saw what it was.

Thorin, who was watching Fíli with worry from afar, watched as he retrieved something from the grass. The young dwarf stood there frozen, staring at the object before running towards them.

"Thorin!" he called out, his voice cracking with worry. "Look. Look at this!"

Thorin swung down from his horse and ran towards his panicked nephew until they nearly collided.

"Steady boy, what is it?"

Fíli thrust the object at Thorin, though his fist was tightened around the chain too tightly to let it go. It was Kíli's stone necklace that his father had given him many years ago. A similar one hung from Fíli's neck as well. Thorin kept his expression careful so that he wouldn't worry Fíli, but in truth, the sight of that necklace made his blood turn cold.

"He never would have taken this off. Not willingly. And look—" he held up the chain to Thorin's eye line so he could see the two broken links. And blood, dried to the metal. "It was broken. And there's…there's blood."

"Fíli…"

Before Thorin could speak further, Fíli turned to look at Ori, who's eyes were brimming with tears. "What did they do, Ori? What did they do to my brother?"


Two days previous.

The sun had risen and the clearing was now full of merchants in various arrays of clothing and ethnicities. The scouts were marked by dark clothing, light packs, and swift horses. Smaller strings of traders lined the clearing with all sorts of exotic things to consume, don, smoke, and admire. Some things could be treated to all four. In addition to the company were businessmen from local villages in search of early deals on the people and things alike. Someone was playing a mandolin somewhere in the crowd of diverse clothing and glittering goods.

In comparison, the slaves looked rather dull in their road-weathered clothes. At the lake they had bathed quickly with their clothing on so that the dirt could be scrubbed away from both skin and cloth at the same time. Presently the captives were waiting at the base of a flight of makeshift stairs leading up to a platform that was taller in mind that it was in physical stature.

The captives were given food and drink, then put into two neat lines with their hands shackled in front of them, their feet linked by a short chain, and a heavy wooden sign hung around their necks with numbers and symbols on them.

"I feel…sleepy…" one of the men slurred.

"If they're gon'make us sing, they v'made a terrible mis-ake," Kíli noted drunkenly. Whatever the merchants had slipped their captives to make them complacent worked tenfold on Kíli. Now he was confused, tired, and docile. "I-mnot even warmed up yet."

Bofur gave him a large, slow nod in convicted agreement. Kíli shook his head at him a little too vigorously.

"Don'worry Bof, you 'ave a be-u-fool voice."

Bofur smiled and let his eyelids droop a little. "Thanks, Kíli. Bu'you, bu'you also 'ave a—"

"Oh would you two shut up?" Daren groaned. Rod laughed from the other side of the line.

"How much of that stuff did you give them, Daren?"

"More than enough, apparently."

Bofur swung his head to look at the whip holder. "Ey, 'ey you, yer boot's n'tied."

Daren looked down at his perfectly laced boots, eliciting a large snort of laughter from Bofur and then from Kíli, which caught on to the surrounding slaves. Daren rolled his eyes and faced away from them with his whip clutched tightly in his hand.

"If this were any other day…"

"But it isn't," Rod cut him off with a smile. "So just relax and enjoy it."

Demetrius was saying something in his jolly booming voice that Kíli would have to be hard pressed to listen to. Something in the back of his head was crying out to him, but for all intent and purposes he was deaf to it.

A girl with sandy colored hair with hollow cheekbones was first to be pushed onto the platform. Kíli remembered seeing her in Brent's collection of merchants, who, he had also realized, weren't in attendance. She normally carried his steely expression and iron silence, but now her eyelids drooped and her feet dragged with the weight of the drug.

The two lines followed her lead until they were arranged on the dual platform with one line slightly higher than the other. Kíli, Bofur, and Millí were all in the front line with various men and women, with Ori and Gimli somewhere behind them.

"Come take a look, come take a look. All quality imports, I assure you. All in decent age range as well."

"How many do you have?" a small-but-aloof looking scout inquired. The nagging thing clawed at the mellow haze blocking Kíli's head, but he couldn't sort it out, no matter how much he screwed up his face.

"Thirty," Demetrius responded sadly, "We had more, but the orcs and goblins in these parts have been truly an unexpected predicament. And you should see the size of their snakes. Absolutely astounding."

The scout cocked an eyebrow at the plump man. His eyes were pale blue and glittered like the diamonds he no doubt coveted. "You normally carry fifty by the first viewing, have the roads been so malevolent?"

A gleam shone in Demetrius' eyes at that and a small smile crossed his lips. "Well, some we lost to the road. You know our stock Artemis; we only sell quality fair. Sometimes a bad apple needs to be…plucked from the bushel."

The scout nodded, seemingly satisfied with that answer.

Apple? These guys don't trade apples.

Kíli shook his head to try and clear his thoughts, but only managed to make himself dizzy. If it weren't for being tightly packed between his companions he probably would've lost his balance entirely.

It was then that someone grabbed his jaw and tugged it upwards. He would've started if his limbs didn't feel like lead at his side. He gazed into the face of a dark-clad scout with grey hair who was scrutinizing his face with a cold eye. More of his kind moved about the line; poking, prodding, and otherwise examining the captives and then scribbling down notes. Demetrius and his kin eye the notes with a certain anxiety that didn't become their jolly faces. They would mumble things like 'thin', 'tall', 'rare coloring', and so on so forth as if they were inspecting pottery. Kíli could do nothing but limply obey their jabs and tugs, even when one lifted his shirt and ran her hand over the sore healing marks on his back.

"These feel fresher than most, is he ornery?" she asked. Demetrius chuckled and shook his head.

"Strong and ill-tempered, but very pliable. Didn't take well to the initial waking, as he is one of our newest acquirements, but I think we've since broken him in." The scouts eyed him skeptically and the red man promptly walked up to Kíli and shoved two fingers right into his mouth.

What in Durin's name—

The dwarf screwed up his face and tried not to gag. He didn't like the feeling of those chubby fingers pressing on his tongue like that.

They taste like meat. He probably had an entire roast to himself before this.

"See?" the man said to the observers, "Perfectly harmless. He'll only fight if you demand him to." And with that he removed his fingers and wiped them on Kíli's shirt before moving away so that he wasn't blocking the view of the slaves. Kíli examined the wet mark on his shirt in confusion before looking up to meet the icy eyes of Artemis.

"A dwarf, you have a few I see," he remarked, though not to Kíli. "How did you acquire them?"

"The Blue Mountains are swimming with the likes," Rod answered casually, "Though not easy to capture. These folks were amongst us on the journey to the festival in Brendor."

"He's noble," Artemis stated bluntly, running his eyes along Kíli's jawline and clothes. "More so than the others. All of whom from the line of Durin from what I can tell."

"That's exactly right!" Demetrius chuckled, "But not soft."

"No," the scout agreed. A different one nodded towards Ori, "Save for that one over there."

The merchant smiled and waved his hand. "He's a scholar, that one. Sharp as a arrow."

The woman who'd found Kíli's wounds frowned and shook her head. "Not especially desirable for slaves, Master Demetrius. Surely you know that."

"I know that buyers like variety," he snapped, though he was eyeing Ori differently now. Artemis was the one, however, to bring the attention back to Kíli.

"He's archer, yes?"

He slapped the muscles on Kíli's forearm, causing him to flinch internally.

"Aye, a damned good one too." The merchants seemed to welcome to change of subject openly. "Care for a demonstration?"

The scouts and costumers all murmured in agreement and before Kíli could comprehend what was happening he was being pulled from the line and led to a space beside the platform where Daren and Tobi were busy clearing people out of the way. Demetrius unlocked the shackles on his wrist as Kíli stared blankly at his hands, which a moment ago were empty and now possessed a bow and quiver.

"Alright, now be a good lad and fire an arrow into that tree over there." The tradesman spoke to Kíli in a kind, soft voice. Kíli couldn't help but smile a little, like a child with a new toy.

Kíli, focus. Something's wrong.

"Come on boy," Dem urged, "On with it."

One of the more cautious scouts in the back of the clump spoke up with, "Are you sure it's a good idea to give him a weapon?"

"He's fine, he's fine. Not a worry, my friend."

Kíli blinked at the bow and then up at Demetrius. "I…I don'understand."

The ginger man's smile had a trace of danger behind it now. "Fire an arrow into that tree. Simple. So that these nice people can see how good you are."

"…No. I…I won't."

Kíli shook his head and tried to give the weapon back, but no one would take it. He didn't know what it was or why but the idea of using the bow in front of these people made him feel sick. More sick than he already felt. A different, angry kind of sick.

The master's eyes flicked to the scouts and their note scribbling. When his eyes returned to the dwarf prince they were filled with more danger than before. But they were only there a moment before returning to his observers. "Well, this is rather a boring setup we've created, is it not? No wonder he doesn't want to shoot."

In his daze he didn't know what was amiss until he looked across the way to find a nervous Ori standing in front of the tree that he had been told to shoot at. Daren chained the poor dwarf straight to the trunk so that he couldn't get away or move even if he tried. Kíli's eyes were wide open, his head struggling to make connections.

Ori is friend.

Protect.

Demetrius was looking at Kíli again but before the dwarf could ask, one of the merchant archers fired an arrow that struck two feet above the little dwarf's head. "No!" Kíli choked out, nearly swallowing his own tongue in shock. "We're going to play a game," Demetrius told him. "First one to the dwarf wins.

Kíli's sweaty palms gripped the bow in his hand tightly.

Think Kíli. You have to clear your head.

Why are they doing this?

What's happening?

Simple thoughts.

Ori's in trouble.

Just shoot.

Protect him.

The dwarf nodded and got into position. His vision swam and the world pitched back and forth as he drew back the arrow. So much so that he had to close his eyes a moment to let the dizziness pass.

Don't fail.

The string snapped like a whip and the arrow sunk deep into the tree trunk, just a finger width below the previous arrow. A few pleased murmurs rippled through the crowd of onlookers. In the blink of an eye the merchant archer fired an arrow just a foot above Ori's head, causing Kíli's heart to lurch. Ori looked up at the feathered shafts and blinked thickly at them.

"Your turn."

Kíli nodded and fired below the previous arrow so closely it tore one of the feathers off. His opponent responded by firing a hand's width away from the top of his friend's head. Kíli responded faster this time, once again keeping his arrow as close to the previous one as possible.

What happens when we get too close?

As if to answer his thoughts, the archer shot his arrow a breath away from Ori's scalp. The crowd had gasped in shock a moment before clapping politely. Ori blinked several times and Kíli thought he could see tears in his eyes.

"I…I can't—"

"Well," Demetrius offered, "Perhaps Jasper could take another turn if you don't feel up to it?"

"No!"

Jasper drew his string back and directed his shot at the bridge of Ori's nose. His hand released the tension, but the arrow was struck sideways the moment it left the bow. Everyone followed the direction of the projectile to Kíli who was knocking another arrow. Kíli shook his stared at Jasper a moment before following the direction of the projectile to Kíli who was knocking another arrow. He shook head and tried not to tip over. "No, I-I'll do it. Don'hurt 'im." And with that, he shut out the shocked stares of the crowd and eyed the miniscule space between the merchant's shaft and Ori's head. His ears were ringing with the disorientation, which was never a good sign.

You can do it. You have to do it.

He remembered Fíli's advice to him when they were in training.

"Don't think to much. You fight better when you take from your instinct."

So he inhaled and drew back. Exhaled and released.

The arrow plummeted into the bark of the tree, taking some of Ori's hair with it. Another centimeter and Ori would have been toast.

The scouts nodded and mumbled and scribbled more notes. Kíli was re-shackled and put back in line with Ori not far behind him. Artemis approached again and glared at the smug satisfaction on Demetrius' face. "He's has a temperature," he said curtly, as if that somehow discredited the impressive archery display. The tradesman waved it off with a chuckle and Artemis slunk past him to Millí down the line.

"What's this?"

The scout examined the wooden sign around Millí's neck and then let out a quiet chuckle.

Rod looked exasperated. "What is it now, Artemis?"

"Well Master Rodney," Artemis began, "You have this slave here marked as a male, when she is most evidently a female dwarf?"

The merchants gave him an incredulous look. "How can you be so sure?" Another added, "It has a beard!"

Artemis' eyes shone and he gave them a small smile. "I'm half a dwarf myself, and have been my whole life. This one's a she, no doubt about it."

The merchants quieted and tried to look nonchalant. If this was how all viewings went, Kíli was sure that Demetrius' nerves would give out on him before they ever reached the Greyflood.

After a while the scouts cleared out of the gathering with their notes in their packs and their horses aching to run. The slaves had to stand on the platform until the day ended. By then countless people had poked and prodded their share and the drug began to wear off, so the they the captives were swept away from the platform and chained into camp. Kíli almost welcomed being shackled to a tree. His whole body ached more than ever from standing rigid all day and the drug was giving him a terrible headache. The moment he was allowed to, he sat down and put his head against the tree to fall asleep.


Earlier that day.

Today marked the third day that Fíli and his company were on the road pursuing the merchants. Their speed was fast, but not as fast as some would like. Amongst the company was Thorin, of course, as well as Dwalin, Bifur, Guinn, Nori, Oin, and Era who was Milli's aunt. Brent brought only himself and his brothers Avery and Kendrick. More than just Brent's daughter had been taken by merchants, but everyone—men and dwarf included—was needed back in Brendor. So the company took who could be spared and who could travel fastest.

And so far they were making beautiful progress. Or so they thought.

"It seems they lost some of their numbers here," Bifur observed. They had reached a clearing with thick clusters of trees surrounding it. They marked a large grey-blue stone with a charcoal 'X' and began to sort out which way to go. "Most of the footprints lead this way."

The company kept their eyes to the ground to make sure they were following the same path as the criminals to the best of their abilities. Fíli was so preoccupied with finding some sign of Kíli that more than once Thorin had to catch up to him and make him wait for the rest of the company.

"You have to stick with the group, Fíli," Thorin reprimanded him, "You can't attack without them and if something attacks you, you'll want us there to stop them."

I can handle myself.

That's what he wanted to say. But he didn't, because he knew better.

Didn't make it easier to keep quiet though.

Please be all right, Kíli.

You have to be all right.

They traveled late into the night until their eyes could barely stay open. At one point it seemed that the merchants had changed their direction, but they were all too exhausted to think about it.

Why didn't they think about it?

They trudged on until Thorin finally declared that they rest at the next clearing. "Wait a moment," Fíli grumbled, squinting against the now rising sun. "We…we've been here before."

He was right. In the middle of the clearing sat the stone with the charcoal 'X' mark on it. Exhausted as he was, Fíli found the energy to scream in frustration.

"We've been going in a circle!" he roared.

"How is this possible?!" Brent demanded. "We've left this clearing a full day ago. How could we go the wrong way for such a long time?"

"Everyone needs to calm down," Thorin bit through his teeth. He was trying hard not to look discouraged, but the lines in his forehead betrayed him. "Obviously we have fallen for some sort of trick."

"Those slippery bastards," Guinn cursed.

At Thorin's command, the company dismounted and set up camp. Brent grumbled but did not flat out argue, which said something about how exhausted he must've been. Fíli, however, wasn't ready to rest.

"Thorin, we have to keep moving," he urged in a hushed tone, "We've lost another day. We can't stop now, we have to go!"

"And where do you suggest we go, Fíli?" his uncle reasoned. "We fell for this trick because we were overly exhausted. There's no use trying to work out our error while everyone is nonsensical with sleep depravity. Not to mention the ponies have suffered their saddles for too long."

"Bu—"

"You can take first watch," Thorin cut him off, "Should be easy with the sun coming up." He placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze. "I know you aren't ready to sleep yet. But we need our wits about us as well as our strength. Slave drivers are cunning, we can't afford another mistake."

And with that, Thorin left his nephew to wallow in his misery. He didn't dare look behind him to see the way Fíli's eyes shone with worry and fear. He needed to be strong. A leader.

But Kíli.

"I promise I'll get you home," he whispered quietly. "I promise Kíli."


Earlier that night.

Kíli was asleep. He was. For a sweet, blissful moment of peace he was allowed to sleep. He couldn't recall any dreams though he remembered his brother more than once. He missed him. He was worried about him. Fíli always knew how to get them out of trouble once Kíli had gotten them in. Now he was on his own.

But at least he was sleeping. A welcome relief from all the dizzy confusion and aching muscles and hunger and misery. Dark, blissful nothingness.

"No!"

Someone was screaming.

"No! Kíli! KILI WAKE UP!"

Sleep never lasts long.

"Kíli, HELP ME!"


Woot woot, another chapter down. Hope you liked it! Once again, sorry for the wait.

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