18

The Dagger

Kíli's leg shook as he got into line with Fíli behind him. Everyone was wearing the same gray outfit, their shackles being connected to one of three lines of chain. They were being counted and poked at to make sure the procession was up to par.

When did his head get so heavy?

He could feel his legs shaking with the effort to keep him standing upright, his neck already giving up under the weight of his head. The world felt so alarming close to tipping over that he had to close his eyes so as not to completely lose his balance.

"Remember Kíli," Fíli whispered behind him, "This is the most important part. We have to pull this off or else the whole plan fails."

"I understand." What had even occurred these past few days? There are so many pieces in his head that didn't make sense. The only thing he knew was what Fíli had told him about the plan. He couldn't let his brother down, not after all this time.

Soon they were being marched like lines of ants through the slumbering campground, towards a distant platform where they would no doubt be displayed. Kíli couldn't help but glance longingly at the thick, sealed up tents that were no doubt warm and dark inside. At the moment he wanted nothing more than to be asleep while wrapped up in a thick blanket. A warm fire crackling in the hearth…his mother humming as she patched a dress…

Kíli felt his head droop too low and snapped back up to attention, praying that Fíli didn't notice. His whole body with shaking with the very exertion it took to keep moving, but he kept putting one foot in front of the other in the hopes that it would find purchase.

Please, just please get through this.

They waited a while under the cover of this backstage area. Sweat drenched Kíli's tunic and his teeth ached with their constant chattering. He didn't feel cold his time, he simply felt completely and utterly exhausted. Everything hurt and it seemed like there was a small voice in the back of his head whispering to him to just give up. Just give up. But then he'd feel his brother's steady breaths behind him and he silenced the voice.

He must have been dozing on his feet, because somewhere in time the line in front of him had disappeared and they were now being ushered up the stairs. He found himself chanting internally to keep himself going.

Stay awake. Stay awake. Stay. Awake.

They arrived at the platform and the minute Kíli saw the massive crowd in front of him, he checked out. If he thought about it too much, he would probably break down with the pressure. So he stood still as a quivering statue as the humans were displayed for the sea of people; like carpentry or fine jewels. Or cattle. Kíli felt Bofur leave their side. Then Fíli. He swallowed his panic and felt it wedge in his stomach like an icy dagger. His knees wobbled unsteadily and locked him, shaking his head in a last ditch attempt to remain upright.

You. Have. To. Get. Through. This.

Fíli was being brought back now with a disgusted grimace on his face that dropped when his eyes met Kíli's. Kíli could only get his eyelids open to half mass, but even so he could see the shock on his brother's face. He must have truly looked awful.

Kíli was brought forth, where Demetrius was waiting for him with a wide and expectant grin. What must have been a thousand faces were staring up at him, and all he could do was chew on his tongue to stop from throwing up.

"And here he is! Royal bloodline as well and quite the talent to boot. I watched this boy slay an Ironhead V—"

Oh Aulë, Kíli. Stay up. Don't lose it now.

I…so many…I can't…

Just a bit longer. Please.

"Care to demonstrate?"

Demetrius' jolly face swam into focus in front of him, holding out a bow with his signature soft-tipped arrows. He took them and found the target that Demetrius instructed him toward. His mind was silent now and the world dropped away into a singular, high-pitched keen that filled his ears and head completely. Without feeling or comprehension, he fired the arrows. He made no note of whether or not he did a satisfactory job and barely felt it as the bow was taken from him. Demetrius had a hand on his shoulder and was talking, but there was no sound that he could decipher.

His head felt like it had been filled with lead. His whole body quaked with fatigue. Even his heart seemed to be beating with a slow, apathetic beat. His spirit begged him to keep going. But his body was finished.

The high keen was only challenged by the now more prominent voice in his head, whispering; Give up. Give up. Go to sleep.

Kíli sucked in a shaky breath, closing his eyes to the world and suppressing a sob. I'm sorry Fíli. I really did try. I'm so so—

And then all he knew was darkness.


The crowd erupted into a shocked and excited rumble as Demetrius gaped down at the prone form lay heaped at his feet. Tobi stepped forward immediately, throwing Kíli over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carrying him off the platform. Fíli had already blown his cover and was being restrained by Tristan himself.

"Stop it you idiot," the boy hissed as he dragged Fíli off the platform as well. Lia shot them both an icy glare as they disappeared down the steps and the commotion of the crowd became muffled under the stage. Dread for his brother's fate and his own seeped into Fíli's subconscious as Tristan dragged him after Tobi.

"What in the Maker's name is going on here?!"

Gris stormed towards the group, a pale Rodney and a determined Daren right on his heels. Tristan stopped and so did Tobi, dropping the unconscious Kíli into the grass. Fíli tore away from Tristan and cast himself protectively over his brother as more started heading towards them. Lia and a few others were bringing the rest of the slaves—including a petrified Bofur—down from the Platform and Demetrius was not far behind.

"Kee," Fíli groaned, feeling for a pulse or any sign that his brother was still alive. His shaking fingers found a dull pulse and relief brought tears to the blond dwarf's eyes.

"This one collapsed on stage," Tobi explained, prodding Kíli with his foot.

"And why is that one lucid?!"

"What I want to know is how it I was just humiliated in front of an entire crowd of customers by one poke of a dwarf!" Demetrius demanded, huffing and puffing his way up to the scene. Fíli felt everyone's eyes on him but he didn't care. Kíli's eyes opened into slits, but he remained listless despite Fíli's urgings.

"Somebody ought to fetch Heather, she'll know what's wrong with it," someone suggested.

"No, that one has been sickly ever since we obtained him in Brendor," Daren growled, "Whatever is wrong with him, Heather never caught it. I've warned you that she's incompetent—"

"She saved my life," Rodney snarled.

"That doesn't prove anything!"

"Just bring her out here!" Demetrius cut over them in exasperation. "Have her take a look at the despicable lad to figure out if he's even still alive." One of the guards nodded and took off as quickly as his feet would carry him.

"We don't need a healer to figure that one out," Gris answered in a dangerous voice. Without warning, the gray man drove his foot into Kíli's abdomen and knocked the air from his lungs. Kíli gasped and began to cough weakly, drawing his limbs in towards his body.

"Leave him alone!"

Fíli leapt on top of Gris and pulled him to the ground. His fist landed the man's jaw with a solid crack before multiple hands grabbed him and pulled him off. Gris rose gracefully and wiped the blood from his mouth before grabbing Fíli's wrist and twisting it. With a sharp pull there was a loud snap and the young dwarf yelped in pain, cradling his now broken wrist to his chest.

"Enough, or we won't be able to sell them anywhere!" Rodney barked, placing a firm hand on Gris shoulder.

"You can't sell them regardless," the man replied angrily, "Thanks to that little rat."

They all looked at Kíli. The poor pathetic boy was forcing himself into a sitting position that his arms shook to manage. "L-leave," he was gasping for air, but his face was set in dizzy determination, "my…broth-ther…alone."

"Oh good, it's awake."

Daren and Tobi pulled Kíli up to standing position and held him there as he struggled to keep his head upright on his neck. Fíli was looking at him with a mixture of desperation and pain.

"Tell me," Demetrius asked in a dangerously cool tone. He approached Kíli until his stomach was an inch from his. "What possessed you to collapse on my stage just now?"

Kíli looked lost. "I…I…didn't mean…to…"

"Father, look at him he's obviously sick," Rodney reasoned impatiently. Demetrius shot him a look that was so unbecoming of his jolly face that both Fíli and Kíli could momentarily understand how he'd gotten to his position in the first place. Rodney's mouth snapped shut and his hands went to his sides in submission. Demetrius turned back to Kíli, his round face flushed with anger.

"Do you have any idea what you've cost me?" he hissed. "What you've costed this family?"

Heather was there suddenly, her presence deflating the room. "What happened?" she asked, urgency in her tone. Fíli watched as Kíli met her eyes and understood. This woman knew.

"The whelp collapsed on stage. Explain?"

"He's got a fever," she said instantly, touching Kíli's neck. "He's been beaten half senseless. I can't imagine there's a mystery to be had here."

"Can he be salvaged or not?"

Now it was Heather's turn to look lost. She shook her head reluctantly, "I don't think anyone would buy him anyway, sir. After such a display of weakness."

"He's not weak," Fíli snarled in a fit of blind anger. Tristan rolled his eyes and folded his arms.

"Be silent, dwarf."

Kíli looked at his brother, flailing around in the darkness in search of answers. He didn't realize yet, what Kíli already knew. It was over.

But he couldn't bear the look on his brother's face. So he reached out and placed a hand on Fíli's shoulder. That's when Daren let out a chocked sound of shock. Before he could do anything to prevent it, the young man had Kíli's wrist and was shaking the hand attached at the group around him.

"Look! Look at his nails! Black as ink."

There was a silence that descended on them as some understood what that meant and others had to work it out.

"Goblin Fever," Rodney concluded for them. Tobi sighed audibly in realization, eliciting him a sharp elbow to the ribs.

"All this time?" Demetrius seemed utterly perplexed. He turned to Heather, who was staring at Kíli's hand in poorly masked horror. "And you didn't catch it?"

"I…" the poor woman didn't know what to do. "I didn't know…"

"How could you not see it? He's in the final stage now. You're a healer!"

"He…he's a dwarf!" she reasoned, desperate now. "I didn't think to look at his nails! He's just another dirty, awful coal miner!"

"You should have seen the signs," Demetrius admonished, his brow knitting together in anger. "I could have you killed for such incompetence."

Heather let out a small gasp. Kíli shook his head wearily, muttering, "She didn't know, I made sure she didn't know."

Demetrius didn't care. He pulled out his knife and advanced on the healer, seeming to grow even taller as he moved. Rodney was fidgeting nervously, resisting the urge to stop the proceedings.

"Please…sir...I have children…"

Demetrius grabbed her braid and raised his knife. The women closed her eyes and whimpered as he brought it down.

The braid fell into the grass and the rest of the graying hair untangled itself around her jaw. Heather opened her eyes slowly and everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief or impatience, depending.

"A life for a life," Demetrius said in a low, calm voice. "You nursed my son back to health. I let you leave my service with your pulse. Now get out."

Heather took one glance around and fled, disappearing out of the stage cover and into the busy marketplace.


"Well, this is the Greyflood."

Thorin scowled at the water that ran before them. The river was nearly as wide as a lake and ran lazily passed them, as if the urgency of their situation was completely lost on it. Small ships bobbed over the water and out of sight.

"The festival is further up stream, if I'm following these tracks correctly," Bifur contributed.

"I believe you're right," Thorin agreed. He ran a hand down his weary face and turned to his younger companions. Ori, Gimli, and Millí were standing silently and expectantly. They'd given Gimli and Millí boots to cover their blistered feet and each of them a new weapon from the merchant-troll incident. Gimli sported an axe, Millí a hammer and a knife, and Ori…

Well, Ori chose a slingshot.

Upon Nori's insistence, he carried a dagger on his belt as well but they all knew he'd be useless to wield it.

"I think that you three should stay behind," Thorin concluded, his eyes not missing the fatigue in their faces. Gimli and Millí's mouths fell open with shock.

"No! Master Thorin, we have to go with you!"

"You said it yourselves," Thorin told them gently, "That you didn't even know if Bofur and Kíli are alive. I'm looking at the state of you and I just don't think it's wise that you come."

"But—"

"I agree," Guinn contributed, throwing Gimli a firm look. "You're too young. These people are dangerous."

"But we know them better than you do!" Millí pleaded.

"Millí," Era cut in, "That only means you'll be vulnerable to your emotions. We have a task, we can't risk any personal vendettas."

Gimli and Millí looked at each other, furious shock playing all over their features. Millí felt absolutely blindsided.

"And what?" she was shaking all over now, "We just wait here? Huddled in the rocks like cowards while you go ahead and fight our battle for us? Are you forgetting what they've done to us?"

"No, we aren't." Thorin placed his hands on the back of Millí and Gimli's heads, giving them his patient yet final look. "We've lost you once to those people, we won't lose you again." He looked to Ori and extended his hand to him. "Any of you."

The older dwarves nodded in agreement, ignoring Millí's cry of indignation.

"Millí, you're the oldest so you're in charge," Thorin continued, going to pack his horse's saddle. "You'll ride with us until we're closer to the festival and then you will hide. We need you there in case Fíli and Kíli have to make a quick getaway. Do you understand?"

There was a tight silence as the young dwarf withheld the scream that was trying to force itself from her throat. Ori took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I…understand," she said through her teeth. Everyone started to move while the three young dwarves stood still and silent in their shock.

"I'm sorry Millí," Era said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But you've done so much already. You'll have your chance another day."

"I don't want another chance," Millí ground out.

"Stop sulking, pack your horse."

Era walked away, dismissing them. Gimli gripped Millí's arm and started to pull her away.

"Come on then, we best go."


"This one's lucid too."

Fíli watched as Lia came marching a limping Bofur over to the group, a bundle of red berries clutched casually in her hand as she tossed the dwarf down into the circle of merchants.

"You've got to be joking!"

"Everybody jus' needs to calm down!" Bofur shouted, making calming hand gestures a little too frantically. His leg hovered painfully above the ground. In response to his outburst, one of the guards knocked him over so that his good leg buckled under his weight. Another guard secured a gag over his mouth before the older dwarf could say another word.

"Berries?" Lia offered her brother in the same manner that he had done to her a few days past. Tristan shot her a surprised look before catching the bundle she tossed at him.

Now's not the time for snacks you idiots, Fíli cursed them in his mind. They were so calm, so collected.

"How is it that none of the dwarves are properly subdued right now?" Demetrius was both incredulous and fed up now. "Are the people fully awake as well?"

"No, I put them back in the wagons for now." Lia replied simply.

"So why these three?"

Tristan shrugged. "Perhaps sleeping powder doesn't work on dwarves?"

"We know for a fact that it does," Daren replied. "We've used it before with no problem. And I put the powder on their clothes myself."

Tristan shrugged again. "The people seem subdued. It's just these three. So it has to be—"

"It has to be that someone interfered!" Gris cut across. "And I believe I've seen you, Tristan, in that wagon far too many times."

"What are you suggesting?" Tristan scoffed, "That I somehow got all the powder off their clothes on the walk to the wagon?"

"Or that you gave them the antidote!"

"I did not!"

"You did!" Gris laughed coldly, advancing on Tristan now like a wolf stalking wounded prey. "You've been seen taking large amounts of tea out of the supplies. And you were the one in charge of their water. You've been giving them the antidote for days!"

"Tristan, is this true?" Demetrius turned on him in cold disappointment. The ginger boy gaped and shook his head.

"No…I didn't…"

"Don't lie, boy."

Tristan was cornered. "I'm not lying."

"Oh?" Gris seemed very amused at this point. "Well, then perhaps it was your sister?"

Gris' hand lashed out and grabbed Lia by the hair, forcing her to her knees before them. "It wasn't me!" she protested, swiping at the tall man.

"She didn't do anything, let her go!"

"I don't think so," Gris sneered, pulling a knife from his scabbard. Lia hissed as the cold edge touched her exposed throat.

Tristan lunged forward, only to be held back by the surrounding guards. "Let her go! She had nothing to do with it!"

"Then who did?"

"I did!" Tristan shouted, writhing against his captors. "I executed the whole plan myself."

Demetrius groaned and rubbed his temples wearily. "Dammit, you foolish boy."

"Prove it, or she dies."

Tristan gaped, and then wriggled his hand free and held it out with the palm facing up. "Look, t-there's tea stains on my skin you can see it."

What is he doing? Fíli couldn't believe his eyes. The minute Lia's life was put into danger; Tristan seemingly lost his entire calm, collected demeanor. He turned into a fool blinded by the base need to protect.

Wonder who that sounds like?

"Tristan…how could you?"

Lia surprised everyone as she gazed at her brother in fierce disappointment. Tristan looked like he'd been slapped. Angry tears welled up in her eyes as she pulled away from Gris and rose to her feet.

"What?"

"How could you?" Lia shook her head as she approached her brother. "I didn't want to come here, but you insisted. We made a promise, Tristan. We swore our loyalty to them. Does that mean nothing?"

Tristan's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. Fíli's face turned red with anger that wasn't his own to bear. Perhaps he hadn't spent long with these two, but his own sister? Betraying him in front of their enemies.

He betrayed her, Fíli corrected himself, and they aren't her enemies. This is their family.

"You do know what this means, don't you Tristan?" Demetrius said, his voice riddled in exasperation and disappointment. Tristan's eyes were stuck on Lia, his hurt playing clear across his face. He nodded without looking away.

"Very well then, let's get this over with."

"Father, you can't seriously—" Rodney shook his head in disbelief. "He's your nephew."

"He's a traitor. He's no family of ours."

"I'll do it gladly," Gris offered, brandishing the knife he'd had to Lia's throat not a moment ago.

"No, I'll do it."

Fíli's mouth fell open. Lia stood before the merchants and before her stunned brother, stone-faced and proud.

"I don't want there to be any question where my loyalties lie," she explained. Gris and Demetrius exchanged a look and Rodney fell utterly silent, a green-tinted pallor filling his face. With a shrug, Gris offered her his knife as casually as if he were passing her a spoon for dinner. Lia shook her head and stepped away.

"I'll use my own. He deserves that much."

Demetrius looked genuinely sad, but waved his hand in allowance.

"Lia! Lia don't do this!" Fíli shouted, receiving a harsh kick to his bruised ribs. Kíli's eyes were barely open at this point, but his hand reached out to comfort his brother despite being drunk with weakness.

Tristan was forced to stand upright as Lia turned to face him. Their faces were wiped of any emotion beyond the trace of tears in their eyes. "Let me go," Tristan growled to the men holding him. "I won't run."

Demetrius nodded and the men dropped the boy's arms. Fíli couldn't believe what he was witnessing. He still had Lia's berries clutched in his hand for heaven's sake! Hands that were shaking now, clinging to the last gesture of friendship Lia had offered him before everything…

Well, everything went to shit.

Lia drew her knife slowly, its long hilt and straight blade gleaming in the dull light. "Mum and dad gave me this knife, remember?"

Tristan nodded stiffly, his jaw clenched tight.

"I'm sorry Lia."

"Me too."

And with that, Lia drove the knife straight into Tristan's abdomen, hard enough that he doubled over with his head falling to her shoulder. He gasped in pain as the pair fell clumsily to the ground. Tristan fell back, clutching his stomach as Lia did her best to support his head on the way down. Her knife was stained crimson with the blood that was now seeping through Tristan's fingers as he breathed his last strangled breaths. Lia bent over him and kissed his forehead, whispering something—most likely an apology—into his ear before rising to her feet. Tristan let out a strangled cough, rolled over onto his stomach and fell utterly still.

"Well, that's that then," Demetrius sighed. "You did the right thing Lia."

"I know," she replied curtly, wiping her knife off in the grass. "We should move on as soon as possible."

"I agree," Demetrius nodded, "We're going to have to sail down stream to sell these miserable rats now. I imagine the rumor that our stock is sick has already spread through this festival."

The group mumbled their agreements and began to collect themselves, leaving Tristan's body discarded in the grass.

"What do you want to do about this one?" Daren asked, hauling the weak Kíli up to his feet. The dwarf's head lolled on his neck but his eyes were open and watching them. Fíli had his hands chained behind him and two men holding his arms.

Demetrius paused, looking at Kíli was regret and distaste. Sighing, he waved his hand in complete dismissal.

"We have no use for him now. Lia, if you'd be so kind."

"NO!"

Fíli screamed so loud his broke into a hoarse grating pitch. He bucked and writhed as they began to drag him away, fighting the hardest he's ever done before. Lia looked at him with a cold blankness on her face before facing Kíli with her knife held out at her side.

"No! DON'T YOU DO IT!"

Someone struck Fíli on the head hard enough for his vision to flash white, but his desperation allowed him to cling to consciousness a bit longer. He saw Kíli look at him, he saw his brother sign to him in iglishmêk that he loved him.

He was being dragged back just as Lia drove her knife into Kíli's chest.

"NO!"

No no no no no!

Another blow to the head and Fíli's vision pitched, doubling and tripling. Kíli fell back into the grass, his eyes wide with shock as his face pointed at the sky. The sky that should be there to hail his brother's last moments, but instead all that was above them were wooden beams and cloth. Kíli gasped, a pained look overcoming his features as Lia bent over him, extracting her bloodied knife with a harsh tug.

Fíli let out a sound that one could rarely heard in this world, the sob that was meant to escape getting tangled in his throat.

Mahal, please no.

And then they were out from under the stage, Fíli fighting dizzily and wailing like a wounded animal. Merchants and customers alike backed away from the pitiful scene, their faces ranging from shock to utter shame as he was dragged through their streets. Lia emerged with red stains on her hands and clothes and her knife back in its sheath.

"YOU!" Fíli roared, crying out as his broken wrist was yanked harshly back. "YOU…HORRIBLE…BITCH!"

And then the miserable world Fíli inhabited went completely black.


"I can't believe we're stuck here in this miserable cave!" Millí cursed, kicking the stone walls in anger. The sun was dipping in the sky and darkness began to fill the corners of the earth. Gimli and Ori exchanged a look and remained quiet, afraid to upset Millí even more. The company had left them not half an hour ago, and already their female counterpart's patience wore thin.

"We should be out there with them," she hissed, swinging her hammer in agitation.

"I know, Millí," Ori smiled, attempting without success to pluck the hammer from her hands. "But…why don't we try to make the best of it?"

"How?" she barked, "Sing a song? Kick a stone?"

Ori backed off, muttering something about how singing a song didn't sound like such a bad idea. Millí grunted and continued her tireless pacing while Gimli poked the fire.

"So, none of you believe me do you?" Ori asked after some time.

"What'er you on about?"

"The monster!" the young dwarf looked distraught. "I was flown through the forest by some creature and nobody seems to care."

"We care, Ori," Gimli assured him, "But you're not injured and no one…well, no one saw anything. So I think it's best you let it go."

"It led me to you two. As if it knew you needed help!"

"And if we ever find the brute, we'll make sure to thank it, alright?"

The sun disappeared behind a cloud and suddenly the cave seemed a lot darker and colder than it did before. Their small campfire left odd shadows on the stone that left the three on edge. And Mahal, something smelled.

"Ugh, Gimli," Ori complained, waving his hand in front of his nose. "That's just awful."

"What?" Gimli laughed and sat up straight at the accusation. "That was not me!"

"Like hell it wasn't!" Millí joined in, pinching her nose.

"It wasn't me!"

Suddenly all of the hair on the back of Millí's neck stood up straight. Her hands tightened on her hammer and her eyes turned to the black abyss at the back of the cave.

"—I've known you for some time Gimli, and—"

"Hush!"

Gimli and Ori snapped their attention to Millí, suddenly picking up on her tense position.

"What is it?" Ori whispered, only to be shooshed again.

"Do you feel that?" Millí whispered, spreading her arms out and looking down at her feet. Tiny but excited vibrations were shaking the floor and the walls around them. And the smell in the cave began to grow fouler. Gimli rose to his feet and gripped his axe, a feeling of dread creeping over him. Ori whimpered and held his slingshot to his chest.

"Trolls?" Gimli whispered back, tilting his head to listen for any signs. And suddenly a peculiar sound, like a thousand beetles scuttling over the stone began echo over the still air.

"Not trolls," Millí concluded, grabbing Ori and pulling him defensively behind her. The beetle sound grew louder, until they could hear the distinct clang of metal and ragged fingernails scraping over the stone.

"Goblins!"


Author Time.

My my my. What have we gotten ourselves into?

I am determined to finish this story while I'm on Christmas break from my University. We can hope! Thank you to all who have reviewed and stuck with the story. You're patience with me is appreciated.

I will be posting new drawings soon!

*BotFA spoilers* So, the last movie came out since I last published a chapter. I hope you are all recovering well. I was dissatisfied with the way Fili's death was handled but thought it had a lot of potential, so I tried to patch it up without changing what you saw in the movie. It's my newest story (oneshot): The Road Goes Ever On and On. Check it out if you'd like.

Though to be clear, I'd prefer it if no one died and thus, I mayyy just right a oneshot to rescue our favorite Durins from the claws of death during that fateful battle. We shall see...

Til next time (and it WILL be soon for I'm deteremined) happy reading, comrads. :)