Alright so I'm compromising. My original chapters were half as long as these ones I've been putting out. So I'll try to keep them long and meaty, but if it's going to take me more than a week or two to write, I'll shorten the chapter so that you guys don't have to wait forever. Fair?
And for those confused by the timeline in the last one, sorry. I have a full timeline/map thing that determines where each part of the story happens, so just trust me.
TIP: In this chapter, the events of Fili's story are happening about two days ahead of Kili's storyline.
Thanks for all who reviewed and happy reading!
6
Property
Thorin awoke from his restless sleep with a stiff back and a sore everything. He knew he smelled badly and if that were the case his companions smelled even worse, and there was mud caking the side of his face that had found the ground during his rest. Speedy travel was taxing business, make no mistake about it.
But there was something he couldn't shake; the knowledge that wherever his youngest nephew was, he had it much, much worse than they.
The thought of his sister's son sick and dragged through the mountains in chains made his blood boil beneath his skin. The type of anger he hadn't felt in a very long time.
Fíli was asleep nearby, though the expression etched into his features suggested it was hardly restful. Thorin sighed when he looked at him.
Hardly more than a child.
He rose stiffly and popped his joints, suppressing a loud groan as he stretched out his back. Brent's eyes flicked over to him a moment before returning watchfully to the trees.
"I can take watch now," Thorin told him in a whisper. The company was still asleep and the ponies were not fully recovered, so they would just have to make allowances.
"Very well," Brent said coldly. Thorin forced himself up and fastened his cloak before taking the weathered man's perch on the rock. Brent was trying to settle in but Thorin knew that the man's mind was on other things.
"What's her name?" he asked as he scanned the trees. "Your daughter, the one those vermin took?"
Brent stilled a moment and then answered, "Eliza."
Thorin nodded. "Well, if she's with Kíli, I'm sure he's watching after her to the best of his abilities."
"Cold comfort," Brent responded, though not unkindly. "You're nephew is the dwarfling with the dark hair I imagine. He's talented but…seems rather reckless."
Thorin nodded a little, "That he can be, I suppose."
Brent was quiet another moment. "Eliza's a strong girl. She'll be able to handle herself I reckon. As far as your nephew's condition, I am sorry. I've only seen the fever once before and I wouldn't wish it on anyone."
Well that's no comfort at all.
Thorin allowed his companions to sleep for another three hours or so until the sun had slid past its peak. He woke Fíli last, hoping to give his nephew a few more minutes of rest before they took to the road again.
:"Do we even know where we're going?" Era asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
Avery ducked through the trees and found the path they had followed back to the clearing. "Obviously not this way."
The company spread out and tried to look for any signs that the merchants had gone any other way.
"Here!" Nori called, "These footprints are leading away."
"Those are the same one's we followed the first time, laddie," Dwalin groaned. Nori frowned and tried to hide his blush.
"Well there has to be something that we haven't already followed unless we're all just chasing our tails here," Kendrick reasoned.
Fíli woke up to Thorin's hand on his shoulder. "It's time, lad."
Merciful Aule above, my back.
Fíli had never ridden a pony for so many consecutive days and the effect on his body was unpleasant to say the least. For a moment he forgot all about his brother and why he was there lying in the dirt and just prayed that his back would support his weight in the time to come.
"What are we doing?" he asked through gritted teeth. Thorin smiled at him sympathetically, wincing at his own soreness himself.
"Looking for what path to take."
Fíli nodded and forced himself to his feet, allowing himself a good long stretch until all bones were popped properly into their respective joints. He then hobbled to the edge of the forest to examine the tracks they had followed back to the clearing.
Something is odd about this.
One thing was certain. There was a trail leading away and one coming back. But no other markings to suggest they went another way.
Are we all just going in circles, then?
He stared down at a particularly muddly point of the road and froze.
"Wait a minute…"
Meanwhile, Thorin was checking the trees and leaves for any signs of people. It was a fruitless examination.
"I think I have it!"
Fíli came rushing out of the trees with a wide smile on his face. The company turned to him with hopeful looks.
"I found Kíli's bootprint, I'd know it anywhere. There's the Durin crest etched into the heel, just like mine. We trained together and would have to track each other in the forest all the time. And when I looked at his footprint this time, the way it had shifted the dirt was all wrong."
A few of the dwarves blinked, but so far no one had caught Fíli's point.
"They were walking backwards," he said desperately. "That's why they're numbers decreased a bit, because they split up. One half walking forwards on one side of the mountain, and the other walking backwards."
"It fits," Guinn agreed, "But how is it possible for an entire caravan of people and animals to walk backwards for an entire day? That just seems unrealistic."
"They're very organized, they are," Bifur said with a heavy nod. "If anyone could pull such a trick, it would be them."
"They must have found a way to hide their footprints at the point where the two halves met so that we followed the one side all the way back here without noticing the alternative," Fíli added.
"Good work," Thorin told him, "We'll follow the forward path again and stop at the half-way point and examine the road. Keep a sharp eye for any signs of someone leaving the path."
"Kíli, help me with this!"
That was Gimli's voice. The commotion had the entire population of slaves on alert, but not many could move to help. Kíli worked hard to get his brain to connect what the issue was at hand.
He stared hard a moment before realizing that Millí was being dragged away by three merchant guards while Gimli and Ori were fighting with all their might to keep her with them.
"Let me go you miserable—"
Kíli leapt to his feet and ran towards the three guards, only to be stopped short by the shackles on his wrists. He lashed out with his legs, effectively taking one of the men—Tobi, in fact—out at the knees. The boy cursed and threw a punch, which Kíli managed to dodge.
"C'mon lads, be good," one of them grumbled, trying to twist Millí out of the grasp of her friends.
"Leave her alone!" Ori cried.
"Get. Off!" Millí clamped her teeth down on her captor's arm, causing him to scream and lash out. He dropped her, but a well-aimed kick sent her sprawling backwards. Gimli roared and tackled the man while Kíli wrestled hopelessly with Tobi. Ori was attempting to pull the third off of Millí, but they were losing.
What is happening?!
Gimli was rolling around on the ground with the bloody-armed man until the slaver picked up a stone and struck the dwarf so hard that he fell unconscious.
"Gimli!"
Kíli pinned Tobi with his legs and had the boy's face shoved into the dirt. He flailed his chubby arms around but the dwarf took no notice. "Enough of this!" someone shouted. The group looked around to find Daren storming towards them with his teeth grinding. He reached down and scooped Millí up by the hair and thrust her into the waiting hands of two more merchants.
"Let the boy go," Daren ordered, pointing his finger at Kíli.
What? What boy?
Oh. Oh yeah.
Wait. No!
"I won't. Not u'less you leave Millí alone."
Daren sighed impatiently, then promptly bent down and snapped Ori's index finger like a twig. The boy screamed and tried to pull his hand away, but the slaver held it firmly.
"I said, let him go."
Kíli released Tobi instantly, not trying to hide the tears that sprung to his eyes even as two men came up behind him to restrain his arms. Ori's sobs shook Kíli to the core, and Daren knew it. He could see the triumph in the man's eyes and it made him hate it more than ever before.
Tobi, on the other hand, was gasping for his breath on the sideline. But the moment he was able to stand he drove his boot into Kíli's ribs.
"Ye gonna pay fer whatcha did," he growled. He grabbed a fistful of dirt and pegged it at Kíli's face. Daren cleared his throat and addressed the dwarves.
"Now you understand that if you all don't behave, this one here loses all his precious little fingers. Do we understand ourselves?"
Millí had angry tears running down her face, but she no longer struggled against her captors. Satisfied, Daren released Ori and allowed the dwarfling to nurse his wound alone.
"Now," the whip-holder began, circling them dangerously. "First things first, someone scrape up that fat ginger one. When he wakes, dunk his head in a bucket of water until he learns that even breathing is a privilege now." Kíli made a sound of disbelief that caught Daren's eye. "A privilege we can very well take away."
They watched helplessly as the merchants dragged their unconscious friend away by the ankles.
"Ori, stop crying," Millí ordered in a wavering voice. He looked at her in shock a moment before seeing the desperation in her eyes. "Please."
He nodded and made the effort to choke down the sobs that racked his chest. Kíli's cheeks were wet with his own tears by that point. He was so afraid and confused and exhausted but he didn't know why. He just saw commotion and jumped into the thick of it without thinking. And now his friends were being punished, when he was the prince and therefor supposed to protect them.
I'm doing a horrible job.
Luckily he was a silent crier. Always had been. Fíli, in fact, was the one who had the loudest wail in all the Blue Mountains when they were kids. He almost never cried, but when he did, everyone knew something was wrong.
"Now for you runt," Daren snarled, pointing his knife at the restrained Millí.
"P-please don't h-hurt'er," Ori sniffled.
"See? I don't get it," the man laughed with his friends, "They're using 'her' as if it's all right as rain." He gripped Millí's chin and forced her to look at him. "I just don't see it."
He kept her face in his hand but twisted it so that she was looking at the crowd. "Do you see it, boys?"
A few chuckled and others shouted their respective negative comments. Of the few who were present, nearly all of them shook their heads back and forth.
"See? Must be the beard…" Daren looked the dwarf girl over again with his nose scrunched up. "Eh, maybe not. Sorry lass, you might just be ugly."
"Is that supposed to insult me?" Millí hissed.
Daren laughed at that. "Does it not?"
"I've seen your taste as we've been travelling. If they're your standard of beautiful than the farther I am from it the happier I'll be."
The crowd oo'ed and laughed at her defiance. "You watch yourself whelp."
Millí leaned forward with fire spewing from her eyes. "You let me go and I bet I could take your head off in combat. That is beautiful. Your perception of how I look isn't worth a dusty shit to me."
Kíli thought she was going to be hit for certain, but Daren simply gave her a menacing smile. "Well," he began, stroking her hair; "We'll see how many dusty shits your looks mean to you then."
The man snapped his fingers and Millí was sat in a chair and bound tightly enough that she couldn't move her arms or legs.
"Stop," Kíli moaned, "What are you going to do to her?"
They ignored the dwarf prince entirely as an old man emerged from the circle of merchants that had formed around Daren and Millí. He carried a sharp razor in his hand that flashed in the evening light. Kíli had to strain his neck so that he could see what was going on between the cluster observers. Rod appeared by Daren and the man with a wide grin on his face.
"Behold!" he announced with open arms, "The dwarf version of a woman." He smiled affectionately at Millí and tugged one of the braids in her beard. "I have to admit I'm a teensy bit jealous of your zest for facial hair. I've got whiskers but it all grows in patchy, wouldn't you believe it? Looks utterly ridiculous."
Millí narrowed her eyes at him, but her expression was one of confusion. Rodney had a way of making anyone and everyone feel like he was trying to be their friend, much like his father.
Slave mongers have to be charming I suppose.
"Just leave me alone," Millí told him.
"Ah well see, we were going to do this in private to avoid the spectacle but you and your friends had to pitch a fit so here you are." Rod smiled at her again and turned to the old man. "Are you ready then, Dan?"
The old man nodded and stepped closer to Millí with his blade pointed at her neck. Ori could barely stand it.
"No! Millí!"
"The lad's right, Danny," Rod said, "Properly, properly of course." A small girl was standing by with a tray of supplies that Kíli couldn't make out. Rodney took a cloth from her and draped it over Millí with flair. "There. Just like the real thing."
Dan nodded and took Millí's face in his weathered hand. She jerked away but Daren shook his head at her. "I'll cut his fingers right off let me remind you. I have no reserves about it."
Millí seemed to be defeated by that and sat still even as the old man took up scissors and cut away the length of her beard. The braids and beads and feathers that were the pride ship of her family fell into the dust and forgotten like twigs and leaves. Kíli watched in horror as Dan worked and Millí stared blankly ahead. He started brushing something all over her face when someone's rump blocked Kíli's view. He could listen though, as the men jeered and the women laughed lightly at the absurdity of it all. The whole time Kíli's face felt hot with embarrassment that wasn't his own.
Poor Millí.
"There, all better! Now Helen, take her away and finish up."
Ori lifted his head, hoping to catch his cousin's eye as the crowd dispersed. "Millí? Millí!" But her back was to them as they dragged her off, so they couldn't see the extent of what had been done. Kíli's eyes were trained on the chair until he noticed Daren and Rodney staring at the two remaining dwarves.
The whip holder pointed at Ori and snarled, "Your turn, you whiny little weasel."
The man restraining the dwarf stood him up and pinned his arms behind him. "No! No! Let me go!" Daren stalked over until his nose was an inch from Ori's.
"You misbehave, you pay."
Kíli looked at the tears swelling in Ori's red eyes and the way his lip wobbled as he tried to find proper words. His left hand clutched his right protectively, where his index finger had swollen up to twice its size.
He can't take this. He's too soft.
"I think six lashes should do the trick with this one."
Kíli's voice was clear over Ori's snivels. "No."
Daren rolled his eyes, unimpressed. "Oh would you shut up, you're next I promise."
The dwarf prince shook his head. "I said no."
Daren pointed his finger at him like a disobedient child. "You've got ten lashes coming to you already, don't push it whelp." With that he shoved Ori in the direction of an empty post for tying horses. The dwarf stumbled a little and whimpered. The sound was enough to break Kíli's heart.
"I'll take them," he said, pleading for the men to turn around. "I'll take Ori's, and mine." He had their attention. "Just don't hurt him anymore."
Fíli walked stiffly with his pony's bridle clutched in is hand. They decided that the animals weren't ready to be saddled so soon, so they had to take the road by foot. Even though it was slower moving, the walking did Fíli some good. It gave him a sense of accomplishment that he couldn't get while riding the pony. With his feet beneath him and each step propelling him forward, he finally felt like he was getting somewhere.
Unfortunately not all the dwarves shared Fíli's more optimistic mood. Guinn had a permanent grimace set on her face that would not be deterred. "You know," Fíli began, "I've been thinking."
"I'll make sure ta get ya' a medal when we get home," Guinn said dryly.
Fíli smiled and walked closer to her. "We're dwarves of the Blue Mountains, royalty of Erebora and line of Durin. Gimli and Kíli and the others are probably really valuable to the slavers. And when you're carrying precious cargo, y'know, you take care of it." Guinn didn't respond, but Fíli could see the trace of a smile at the corner of her lips. He rested a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "I'm sure the lot of them are huddled up in a cushioned wagon drinking wine and eating apples or something."
"Wouldn't that be a pretty sight," she managed a wry smile, "We storm in caked with mud and hardship and they're drunk and fat as ever."
Fíli laughed and shook his head. "Kíli always knows how turn on the charm when he needs it. I'm sure they're all fine, really. We're just torturing ourselves over nothing."
Fíli had managed to comfort himself, quieting the voice that tried to remind him that Kíli's illness could prevent such charm from happening. For that moment, he truly believed his brother was alright.
Kíli had a hard time keeping track of where his limbs ended and the others' began. They dragged him roughly over mud and stone as Ori cried out his name and Bofur tried frantically to reason with the men. In the commotion he tripped and fell to his knees, taking another man down with him. Someone grabbed a fistful of his hair and tugged until he had found his footing again and stumbled forward with the crowd of merchants.
What did I just do?
They tore his shirt away and shoved him against the post before binding him to it with abrasive ropes. Now immobilized, the panic of his situation finally hit him like a wave. He felt so afraid he had to take deep breaths to avoid throwing up.
Be brave.
Help Ori.
Kíli pressed his forehead against the post and tried to calm himself down. If Fíli were here, Kíli was certain he'd be trying to take the punishment for him instead. Thorin would tell him to be brave. Being brave sounded so much easier when told through Thorin's stories. Now that he was strapped to a post unable to move or defend himself, bravery seemed to leave him completely. He was afraid.
Don't think about it.
"Let it be known," Rodney announced to whomever was listening, "We accept heroes into our folds here in our caravan. But we do not indulge them. There is no reward for martyrdom here. Let this boy be the example."
Daren had been checking Kíli's binds as Rodney spoke. When the ginger boy finished, the whip-holder knelt down and looked Kíli square in the eye with menace.
"I've been looking forward to this opportunity," he whispered, "Ever since we hauled your miserable body on that wagon. Your arrogance has been a thorn in my side every single day since, and now I finally get to remind you what you are." He stood and took a fistful of dirt, allowing it to funnel through his fingers onto Kíli's head. "Property."
Kíli closed his eyes and took more deep breaths.
Don't think.
You're not here.
How did I even get here?
Stop. Thinking.
He heard it before he felt it. The sound of the air cracking in half, and then white-hot pain that stretched from shoulder to hip. He sucked in air to cry out but bit it back, just as the second lash struck his skin. He ducked his head an held his breath.
Don't make a sound.
The third strike landed at the nape of his neck down. By the fourth lash the whip was biting across marks it had already made. The fifth cut diagonally across his back and it was all he could do to choke down his gasp. Daren paused his flogging a moment, no doubt savoring the moment. In the meantime Kíli pressed his forehead against the post and ground it in as hard as he could bear. His back felt like it was on fire.
Fíli. Fíli I wish you were here.
Where is he?
The young dwarf made the mistake of looking behind him to see what Daren was waiting for, when the seventh strike clipping the side of his face. He flinched and ducked his head against the post again and resolved to bite his lip to stop from shouting.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
The sound of the whip started taking on a wet quality.
Eleven.
Another pause. Tears streamed down Kíli's face from the stinging in his skin. He prayed like never before that his body could go into shock so he wouldn't have to feel it anymore. Twelve. He couldn't take much more of this. Thirteen. He also could taste blood, probably from biting his lips too hard. Also his ears were ringing, he was probably going to faint from holding back his breath so much.
If I'm lucky.
By fourteen he reckoned there wasn't an inch of his back left untouched by the whip. By fifteen he realized he was wrong about that. Sixteen. He face felt hot and his ears were ringing louder than before. He also felt like he was going to be sick. But it was over. He had done it, and he hadn't cried out.
"And that concludes it," Rodney said with a clap of his hands. Kíli let out a broken sigh of relief as he rigid body went slack.
The air cracked and a fiery snake of pain erupted over Kíli's back. He wasn't prepared; it took him completely by surprise. The cry escaped his lips before he had time to stop it.
"Seventeen," Daren said simply, "We don't accommodate martyrs."
Kíli slumped against the post and ignored the calls of Ori and Bofur. The pain was too intense, it didn't feel real. He could feel the heat of his own blood on his skin and pondered if he might run out of it. Then someone untied his arms and he lurched sideways, getting sick in the grass.
"There, there," Rodney cooed, "Let it all out, it's over now."
Kíli turned his head to respond only to get instantly sick again. When it finally stopped, he dared not move from his crouched position lest he upset the wounds on his back or pass out. Rodney said something to someone and a moment later a young girl with Demetrius' flame-colored hair was kneeling in front of Kíli with a cup of water.
"Drink," she ordered. Kíli looked at her and blinked as his eyes swam. Her face doubled, tripled, and doubled again before he just closed his eyes against it and took the cup. He managed to finish the water and handed it back to her.
"What do you say?" The little girl was staring at him expectantly.
She's a lil' young t'be givin' me cheek.
"Thanks," he grunted. She seemed satisfied and walked off towards the wagons. He watched her go until his eyelids drooped too low for him to see properly.
"Kíli." it was dwarf. A dwarf with dark hair, just like him. "Kíli, c'mon lad. Let's get you out of here."
"Mm," the prince moaned. His head rolled as he stared up at the dwarf. "Who're you?"
That seemed to surprise the dwarf. "It's Bofur, Kíli. C'mon, we've got to get you on your feet."
Kíli blinked and touched the top of Bofur's head. "Y'don have a hat."
"No, yer right, it's gone. Now we really need to go get you cleaned up."
"…eh."
Kíli hissed as Bofur helped him to his feet. The pain was so intense for a moment his vision went black. Bofur had a firm grip on his arm and refused to let him go. "Not far Kíli, just closer to the water. C'mon, that's a good lad. You're alright."
When they reached their destination, the young dwarf was spent. Everything he did was excruciating, and the dark was more and more tempting with every passing moment. He lay down in the grass and didn't know or care what other people did around him. He sighed as darkness crept into the corners of his consciousness offering him a blissful escape.
Or it would have.
Two things happened at once. One was that someone poured water over Kíli's back, making him gasp in pain and shock. The other was a loud crash and someone screaming.
"What's happening?!"
Before they could find out, all the slaves were being rounded up into a cluster while the merchants erupted into action. Bofur and Ori each took one of Kíli's arms and supported him on their shoulders. He hissed but didn't fight back as more screaming came from the front of the camp. The cause of the commotion became apparent as just as the slaves were being forced into the wagons.
Orcs.
They were large and terrible looking. Everywhere they went they caused destruction, whether it was tearing down a wagon full of supplies or running a blade through an unprepared merchant. Kíli gulped in fear, realizing that they had no means to defend themselves if the slaves were attacked.
It can't end this way.
"Well, now what do we do?"
That was the question of the hour. Fíli and the group had arrived at the halfway point and unfortunately; there was no sign as to where they all went. Night had fallen once again and the darkness did nothing to aid their search for footprints. It was as if the caravan had simply lifted its skirts and flew away without a trace. Baffling and impressive, but annoying more than anything else.
"We can't just go wondering into the forest at night without any idea as to where we're going," Dwalin growled. He swung his axe into the bark of an unlucky tree and used it as an armrest.
"Check the trees for any signs that someone passed by. They may have found a way to cover their tracks, but there's no way they could have left the entire forest untouched.
"I doubt we'll find anything," Avery sighed, "It's too dark. We don't even know if this is the point where they met up.
Fíli shook his head. "The path we followed didn't have Kíli's boot print. This is the first time I've seen it since we left the clearing. This has to be it."
With that there was a great deal of grumbling, but everyone started searching. To their misfortune, the moon was too dim to yield any results. After a few hours, a pack of wolves could be heard howling in the nearby wooded area, which caused Thorin to call off the search until the sun had returned.
More waiting.
Fíli combed his hand through this hair in anxiety. At this rate the caravan was going to get too far ahead for them to catch up before it was too late. Either they'd reach the river, or sell Kíli into a village, or worse yet…
Don't think about it.
The young dwarf subconsciously began toying with the pouch that contained the Mallos that he kept in the deep pocket of his coat. It was an incredibly expensive purchase, but it was going to save Kíli's life.
If they could reach him in time.
And time was not a thing they had on their side.
After two hours of restless resting, Thorin finally convinced his nephew to get some sleep before they depart at first light. He set out his mat when something began moving in the forest.
"Oi, what is that?" Nori whispered. The sound wasn't that of a woodland animal. It's steps were distinct and harried, as if the creature was running.
"I don't know…an orc maybe?"
"A spy?"
Brent and his brothers had taken up their bows and were pointing arrows into the forest where the noise could be heard. What ever it was, it was running straight towards them. Dread filled Fíli up until he could practically taste it.
"Don't shoot until you see what it is," Thorin reminded them, "It could be a friend. Or a useful source of information."
The men grunted in reply and waited with keen eyes on the trees.
And then the most unlikely of creatures came tumbling out of the forest and into their clearing.
"No, don't shoot. Please!"
"What in Durin's name—"
Fíli laughed in disbelief and Nori leapt to his feet. The small mass that stumbled towards them now was covered in an alarming amount of dirt, twigs, and blood. But there was no mistaking that young face or that peculiar haircut.
"Ori? ORI!"
Not sure how I feel about this chapter. Oh well.
Hope you liked it! And this is important so listen up:
I have the events of the story planned, but if there's anyone out there who really wants to see something happen in the story, let me know in a review/PM. I like new ideas to bounce around and will do my best to include what I can if I can. Have a lovely day, folks!
