Wow, thanks for the great response to the last chapter!
A quick note to the following reviewers :
101olive4U, thank you so much, I'm so glad you like it so much! I love reading your reviews, they're always so encouraging, thank you so much :)
Hates Cliffs – sorry for the cliff-hanger :P Thanks for reviewing!
Catlady4 – thank you for the lovely review, I'm glad you like it!
I think I replied to everyone else by PM but I apologise if I missed you out, my internet has gone completely dodgy over the last few days :)
This chapter is again named after a song, this time Tears of an Angel by Ryandan which I would recommend listening to while you read it if you do listen to music and read at the same time. It's a beautiful, heart-breaking song that I usually apply to Thorin, Kíli and Fíli in my brain and therefore makes me cry when my guard's down, haha!
Well, onwards my good friends, forgive any mistakes!
Read. Enjoy. Review.
Chapter Thirty Seven # Tears of an Angel #
Kíli's head was spinning and he felt as though his heart was going to burst out of his chest as Nori ran towards him far too slowly. The shaking of Kíli's fingers made it impossible to tell whether or not there was a pulse beneath them, and Bilbo body lay so limp, so still, so lifeless that Kíli's heart did not just break - it shattered into thousands of tiny pieces.
"Bilbo!" Kíli sobbed, and the halfling's eyes cracked open a slit, causing the young dwarf to stop breathing entirely.
"K...K...Kíli..." He coughed, his face pinched in a frown of pain as he drew in a deep, shuddering breath, prompting his chest to rise and fall in shaky, uneven breaths.
Kíli sobbed in relief. "Bilbo! Oh Bilbo, just hold on, Bilbo, it will all be fine, you'll be just fine, just hold on, Bilbo, please!"
"My...my Kíli..." The hobbit breathed, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Kíli laughed breathlessly, tears pouring from his eyes as Nori bellowed for a healer at the top of his voice and to Kíli's mild surprise, Óin himself came running.
"I'm here... Just hold on, Bilbo, I'm going to make you better, I'm going to make it all better!" Kíli glanced up at Óin, his heart tearing in two. "Fíli-"
"Is in the safe and capable hands of Iola with Gandalf overseeing them," the healer affirmed, wasting no time in ripping apart Bilbo's clothes to inspect his wound. "There's nothing I can do for him which that lass can't."
Kíli did not question the healer any more. Gandalf was with Fíli, so Fíli was safe. The salty tears streamed down his cheeks and he restarted his mumblings. "I'm here, Bilbo, I'm here, you're going to be alright, I promise."
"Lad," Óin said gruffly, a stricken look on his face as he finished inspecting the sword jutting out of Bilbo's stomach. "A stomach wound like that... Kíli I can't heal him."
"W-What?" The word broke from Kíli's trembling lips almost silently, the tears streaming down the young dwarf's cheeks failing to hinder his desperate plea. "No, no, you have to do something! Bilbo can't, you can't-"
Kíli broke off with a wail when his desperate gaze came down and he saw that his hobbit had lost consciousness again. The only indication that Bilbo was still clinging to life was the rattling breaths he took as his head lolled against Kíli's chest.
Kíli bit his tongue so hard that blood filled his mouth and then he lost all control and threw back his head to scream as loudly as he could. "Somebody help me, please!"
"Kíli, don't do that to yourself..." Nori began, taking a step towards the young dwarf, but Kíli just wailed.
"Please, help! Someone help me, please, please help!"
"Kíli, listen lad, they're nothing we can do!" Óin's attempts to convince Kíli past over his head as his screams floated across the desolate battlefield.
"Don't tell me that!" Kíli howled, though he knew that he was being utterly irrational. "Bilbo! Bilbo! Wake up!"
"Kíli, you have to calm down-" Nori tried, but Kíli shook off the older dwarf's hand and screamed.
"Help me!"
"There are still enemies around, lad your screaming is helping no one-"
"Anyone! Help me, please, please help me!"
As the two older dwarves tried desperately to console their heartbroken kinsman, in his heart of hearts, Kíli knew that his pleas would go unheard. Who was there to hear him crying? Who was there that could save his Bilbo if Óin could not?
"Kíli? What has happened?"
Kíli raised his tear stained face to stare up in shock. "Tauriel...? Help him, please!"
Without hesitation, the elf dropped to her knees next to her friend and began to look over Bilbo's wound, her eyes flickering up to Kíli's face every so often. "This is your father…I knew it…"
"Yes, please, Tauriel, help us!" Kíli begged brokenly, his whole body heaving with stricken sobs.
"I will do everything I can but first you need to calm down. Panicking will not help Bilbo, and it will not help you." Tauriel commanded calmly, her eyes connecting with Kíli's. "Trust me, Kíli, and breathe."
Óin and Nori watched in open mouthed astonishment as Kíli nodded shakily and took a deep breath, his relentless sobs finally ceasing. Later, Kíli would remember that his friends did not know of his friendship with Tauriel, but at that moment he did not care at all. He only cared about the dark curse that fell from the she-elf's lips.
"What, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice hollow but steady.
"Kíli, this is a morgul blade…"
Kíli swallowed. "And what does that mean?"
"It means that there is already poison in his veins – I am not sure that I have the skill to heal such a wound, I need help... It would take too long to get him to the elven healing tents…" Tauriel bit her lip, her eyes fixing on Nori. "I need someone to run to the elven camp and deliver a message."
Nori opened his mouth and then looked at Kíli and closed it again quickly. "What do you need me to say?"
Kíli turned his gaze back down to Bilbo's limp body, shifting his grip on the hobbit slightly so that he was a little more comfortable as Tauriel began reciting a message carefully in Sindarin. Nori repeated the words twice and stood up.
"Do you know-"
"I know where your camp is." Nori interrupted with a sharp nod.
"Good," Tauriel nodded, "You must hurry."
"I will." Nori swore, turning and running away.
"If only I had some athelas… the people around here think of it only as a weed, but-"
"Athelas?" Óin frowned, jamming his ear trumpet into his ear. "Kingsfoil? I have some of that!"
Tauriel's eyes widened as the old healer reached into the bag hanging around his neck and passed her the herb. "Thank you, Master Dwarf…"
"Tauriel, can you save him?" Kíli tried to keep his voice from wavering as he asked the question he feared to hear answered.
"Perhaps…" Tauriel flashed him a hopeful smile. "I will do my very best."
Kíli nodded shakily. "I can ask no more than that…"
Tauriel smiled at him sadly before tearing the herb apart slightly and beginning to work on Bilbo's wound. Kíli tore his face away from the blood and the gore and looked instead at Bilbo's pale, filthy face, remembering another time he had seen his halfling so filthy.
They fell against the door of Bag End, slamming it shut behind them as they laughed so hard that Kíli's stomach ached.
"Oh, that was brilliant!" Bilbo wheezed, flicking his hair out of his face and chuckling breathlessly.
"The most fun I've had all week!" Kíli added with a snort. "Did you see his face?"
"I most certainly did!" Bilbo laughed, before collecting himself. "I can't believe we did that."
"Well we did, so you'd better believe it." Kíli elbowed Bilbo in the ribs and the hobbit chuckled again.
"My father would be utterly appalled!" Bilbo shook his head and crawled to the side, peeking up out of the window and sighing in relief.
"He's gone…"
"Well I highly doubted he would follow us all the way back! Old Worrywart's about as energetic as a snail." Kíli scoffed, though not unkindly.
Bilbo jostled Kíli playfully. "Come on, let's get something to eat."
"Good idea, I'm starving." Kíli agreed, staring at his fingers and the filth caked all over them. "I might clean up a little first…"
"I definitely agree – though there's no need to sound so reluctant, Kíli." Bilbo smiled wryly, rubbing his jaw and inadvertently smudging the mud on his chin.
"I'm not sure I've ever seen you so utterly filthy, Bilbo."
"That's because you haven't." Bilbo replied matter-of-factly. "I don't make a habit of rolling around in dirt and filth."
"Indeed, you don't make a habit of desecrating your neighbour's gardens either." Kíli replied calmly, though Bilbo's response was an annoyed growl.
"I think Master Worrywart was somewhat exaggerating. Besides, this is all your fault."
"All my fault? I did not force you to join me!"
"No, no, you just asked me in such a way that you knew I would be unable to refuse, you manipulative little thing." Bilbo rolled his eyes.
"Little?" Kíli questioned, grinning as he pulled himself up into his full height.
"Yes, yes, you're almost as tall as me now."
"Almost?"
"Alright, you are as tall as me now. That does not make this whole situation any less your fault."
It was Kíli's turn to roll his eyes. "Alright, it was my fault. But it was fun."
"Unfortunately, I feel I have to agree with you there. And in our defence, landing in Worrywart's garden was entirely accidental."
"Of course it was." Kíli nodded. "We had no way of knowing that a three legged race would end in anything but success."
"A three legged race…" Bilbo shook his head, pausing in his actions of washing his hands. "We really should grow up a little…"
Kíli looked at the dirt smeared across Bilbo's face and clothes, and the scrapes on the hobbit's knees that were so reminiscent of the everyday injuries of a clumsy child.
"Nah…"
Of course, they both had grown up in the years since that day, especially since the beginning of the quest. Kíli would give anything to be back in Bag End, laughing with Bilbo about disgruntled neighbours and bloody knees.
"Oh, Bilbo…" he whispered, the words inaudible to everyone around him as he pushed Bilbo's curls away from his forehead. He swallowed, looking up and trying to steady his voice. "Tauriel, can you save him?"
"Perhaps," this time Tauriel's eyes did not leave Bilbo's wound and her hands continued to work. "Though you must understand Kíli that I can promise nothing. If help comes his chances of survival will be far better."
Kíli nodded miserably as he turned his face back to Bilbo, murmuring quietly again. "I'm here, Bilbo. Hold on, hold on, please…"
A sudden cry of pain caught Kíli's attention and he looked up quickly, calling out in fear. "Nori?"
Growling, viscous, animalistic growling met his ears next and Kíli's heart quickened, his arms tightening around Bilbo as Tauriel looked up in horror.
"That is a warg…" she realised, her bruised and bloody face contorting to an expression of grim understanding. "A straggler, a survivor… Your friend is in trouble."
"Nori!" Kíli yelled as Óin leapt to his feet, the same name ripping from the healer's lips.
"Go!" Tauriel instructed Óin loudly. "They are about one hundred yards behind us, if I am not mistaken."
Óin looked torn at leaving the prince and hobbit in the hands of an elf, but he nodded, his hands wrapping around his staff as he disappeared around the corner.
"Tauriel," Kíli began, feeling himself choke. "Tauriel, the warg, there will be others, we're defenceless-"
"Calm yourself, Kíli. We are far from defenceless." Tauriel corrected, returning to Bilbo's wound, though she did look up far more often.
Kíli took a deep, shuddering breath again, though he was admittedly tired of being told to calm down. How could he be expected to be calm when his father was bleeding out in his arms?
A loud roar from Óin was followed by a cry of pain from Nori and a sickening yelp from the warg, and as Kíli looked up, Óin staggered back with Nori. The thief was leaning heavily on the healer, blood pumping out from several fresh puncture wounds on his leg, but it was guilt that his eyes were burning with as they fixed on Kíli.
"I am sorry, Kíli. I thought it was dead – the blasted thing jumped me…" shame and bitter anger coloured Nori's cheeks as well as his voice and Tauriel observed his leg with a pinched expression.
"You will never get there in time now…" Tauriel sighed, pausing and closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened her eyes again, she addressed her question to Óin. "Can you tend to Nori's wounds?"
"Aye, I can do that." Óin nodded confidently, though his eyes flickered to Kíli.
The young dwarf swallowed fearfully. "If the message is not going to get there-"
"I will do my best to save him myself." Tauriel assured him, closing her eyes again. "Although you must understand Kíli that I would have already given up, had you been anyone else."
Kíli's mouth went dry but he nodded, swallowing. He closed his eyes, wishing that he was the one lying limp in his father's arms, wishing that their situations had been reversed...
He was so caught up in his own grief that he did not notice the dwarf who had been watching hesitantly from the shelter of the nearby trees, unwilling to interrupt such an intimate scene. The dwarf turned tail as Tauriel began to work on Bilbo's wound, sprinting as fast as he could to the elven tents.
Panting like a dog, the dwarf tore into Thranduil's own tent without so much as coughing to announce his presence. The look of mild surprise and deep disgust on Thranduil's face was nothing compared to the utter shock that replaced it when the dwarf began to beg in broken Sindarin, struggling to get his tongue around the words he had heard the she-elf teach the thief from so far away.
When no one replied the dwarf swallowed his pride. "Please... We need help."
A vaguely familiar dark haired elf on Thranduil's right stood. "Who did you say was injured?"
"Bilbo Baggins," the dwarf replied, "Father of the prince and friend of the dwarves of Erebor."
"Friend not only of Erebor," the dark haired elf interrupted Thranduil's snide retort, standing and retrieving a healing bag from below his seat. "I will help Master Baggins, if I can."
"Elladan..." Thranduil warned, and the other elf promptly ignored him, something that impressed the desperate dwarf.
"Where is he?" Elladan frowned.
"This way! Hurry, please!" The dwarf began to run, leading the elf back to where Kíli was still cradling the halfling's limp body in his arms. The dwarf lingered again in the trees as Elladan ran out of the forest.
"Tauriel!"
The she-elf looked up, a hint of surprise on her face, though she did not question his sudden appearance. "Elladan! I need your help, we must hurry."
Kíli raised his tear stricken face at the name of Elrond's son, and Elladan was shocked at the difference between the friendly young dwarf he had met in Rivendell and the weeping, terrified creature before him.
"Elladan?"
"Hello, Kíli," Elladan spared the young dwarf a sympathetic glance before turning his eyes to Bilbo and inspecting the wound carefully. "You have done well so far, Tauriel. It appears we have arrived just in time."
The Master of Rivendell had taught his sons the art of healing for nearly three centuries, and though that was not a particularly long span of time for an elf, Lord Elrond was one of the most skilled healers in the world, and his sons had both inherited more than their father's dark hair and eyes.
Silvery words of healing and prayer fell from Elladan's lips as he worked around the cursed blade in the poor hobbit's stomach, until he slowly removed the sword entirely. Kíli whimpered in fear as fresh blood pooled around Bilbo's abdomen but Elladan was expecting it and he dealt with the situation quickly and deftly, working with the calm, infinite patience of his race.
Though he himself did not notice the hours flying by, he saw them pass in the faces of his dwarven companions, until finally he wound a last bandage around Bilbo's abdomen with the help of a mute Kíli.
"I have done all that I can. Though I cannot guarantee his survival, if there are no further complications Bilbo may well make a full recovery." Elladan sighed, a slight smile on his face.
Kíli moaned in relief, bowing his head over his hobbit as his body wracked with the heavy sobs he had been supressing for hours. "Thank you, Elladan, Tauriel… Thank you, thank you!"
Elladan smiled softly at the frightened dwarf's chant and he put a hand on Kíli's arm. "You are most welcome. I would have been greatly saddened if you had suffered such a loss as that of your father. He is a good little fellow and I would ever be glad to help him."
"Thank you..." Kíli repeated almost inaudibly, and Elladan bowed his head, before calmly taking to the distressed dwarf.
"Now, Kíli it would be wise to take him to the healing tents as soon as possible to minimise his chances of infection and give him the best chance of recovery but he should be jostled as little as possible. Will you allow me to carry him?"
Kíli sniffed, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. "Of course."
Slowly and carefully, Elladan eased the halfling into his gentle arms, watching as Tauriel helped Kíli to his feet. The young dwarf was stumbling rather badly – Elladan guessed that his own injuries and exhaustion were catching up with Kíli. They lingered long enough for Óin to help Nori to his feet, and then began to walk in a smooth, steady pace towards the healing tents.
"What are you doing here?" Kíli asked Elladan with muted curiosity.
"Elrohir and I were planning a trip to Mirkwood for a few years' time, but shortly after you left us we found reason to bring the date of our trip forward. My father foresaw a conflict between the dwarves of Erebor and the elves of Mirkwood and he bid my brother and I ride to see if we could reach Mirkwood before you and so warn Thranduil as to your situation. Lord Elrond believed that the conflict could be avoided with the understanding you have reached, Kíli, and so Elrohir and I planned to tell Thranduil of you and your life – to vouch for you, you may say. It appears we are a little too late for that… However, I believe Elrohir also has a letter for you, from the Shire. Our messenger returned within the weak and told us that Ms Esmeralda Brandybuck hoped that you were still in Rivendell so that her reply may be received, so we took it with us." Elladan explained slowly and calmly, watching Kíli out of the corner of his eye. Tauriel's hand was on the dwarf's shoulder for support, but he still looked ready to topple over at any moment.
"Oh…" Kíli nodded slowly. "Where is Elrohir now?"
"My brother is in the Elven Healing tents." Elladan replied with a slight frown. "I think."
"Elladan, how did you know to come to the battlefield?" Tauriel frowned as they reached the dwarven healing tents.
Óin led him to a larger tent toward the back of the camp and Elladan frowned in confusion at Tauriel's question. "You did not send a message?"
Tauriel and Kíli exchanged glances before she replied. "Our messenger did not get one hundred yards away – he is hobbling in to sit down now with Óin."
"Oh…" Elladan put aside his confusion for a moment to address the female healer standing before him and she took one look at Bilbo's tiny body cradled in Elladan's arms before motioning to a small bed alongside the slumbering Dori.
A small flap at the back of the tent opened and a younger woman stuck her head out, looking around. "Master Óin?"
"Iola," the healer nodded as he finished settling Nori down, the thief having finally accepted that he should lie on a bed.
"The prince…He is as stable as can be hoped, though the knife struck him very deeply. I do not believe his vital organs were hit, but he is yet to regain consciousness." Iola summarised wearily, and Elladan heard Kíli let out a little forlorn whimper from where he had collapsed next to Bilbo's head.
"Regain consciousness?"
"Alright, I'll take a look at him now… Iola, will you check on Master Nori's injury for me, lass? I'm worried we might have worsened it on the way back here." Óin sighed heavily, standing up and passing into the back of the tent.
Elladan sighed softly, his eyes passing over the occupants of the tent. It was evidently the king's tent, as the only dwarves he could see other than the healers were dwarves he recognised as members of the company that had passed through his home only months ago though apparently the king himself was yet to return.
Elladan closed his eyes for a moment. He loathed war. He hated the stench of death and the screams of the dying, and he hated the wails of the wounded and the sobs of the survivors.
Most of all, Elladan hated what the blood and the violence did to the innocent.
"Master Kíli, may I look at your wounds?" the older female healer, Aderyn, asked kindly.
Elladan frowned as Kíli shook his head, cringing away from her and grabbing onto Bilbo's shirt. "No, no thank you, I'm fine, I should stay with Bilbo…"
"We can do it right here." Aderyn tried, but Kíli shook his head.
"No, no, no thank you."
"Kíli, lad," Dwalin said calmly. "You need to-"
"Kíli?" Óin came out of the back of the tent, a sad look on his face. "Kíli, lad, we need to talk about your brother."
Kíli whimpered and Elladan shook his head slowly. He could not imagine the agony of being so close to losing his father and brother on the same day.
"Is he…?"
"He's alive, laddie, and there's a good chance he'll pull through this…"
"But?" Kíli whispered fearfully.
Óin sighed. "There's still a large chance he won't. You have to prepare yourself for the worst, Kíli. Just in case."
Elladan spoke up as the young dwarf moaned in anguish. "Master Óin, is there any chance you may house Bilbo and Fíli within the same area? Perhaps then Kíli would feel less torn and perhaps even inclined to accept some help?"
"And who are you to tell us what to do?" there was no anger in Dwalin's voice, only bitter mistrust.
"The son of Elrond and a friend of mine." Kíli snapped, though his own voice was hollow and empty of anything but sorrow. "Óin, could we?"
"I don't see why not," the mutter that trailed from Óin's mouth would have been inaudible to any but Elladan and Tauriel. "They're both in bad enough shape…"
Elladan and Tauriel assisted in lifting up the entire bed Bilbo was on and transferring it into the smaller room in the back where Fíli was lying on a similar, small bed. The young dwarf prince was deathly pale and utterly still as his brother staggered into the room, a soft moan leaving his lips.
"Fee…" Kíli swallowed, dropping to his knees by his brother's side. "Oh, Fee…"
Elladan felt awfully like he was intruding on something extremely private and by Tauriel's shuffling he imagined that she was feeling much the same as Kíli stroked his brother's hair gently, his body shaking with silent sobs.
"Kíli?" Elladan interrupted after a few moments. "It seems as though you have lots of reason to hope, for your father and your brother. I may not have seen your brother's injuries but it is plain to see that he is strong – as is his breathing. Come, you should see to your own injuries. The smallest wound can fell the greatest warrior, if it is not treated correctly."
"I'm fine." Kíli replied quietly, shuffling around so that he was in between the beds of his father and his brother.
Tauriel and Elladan exchanged glances as Óin sighed, cursing under his breath about the unreasonable stubbornness of the line of Durin.
"Infection could kill you, Kíli." Tauriel said sharply, and Kíli raised his big brown eyes to hers.
"I'll be out in a minute?"
With a sigh, Elladan nodded, touching Tauriel's hand and motioning for her to follow him out into the main tent. She nodded and followed, as did Óin.
Óin coughed, looking at the two elves. "I have to say, what you did for Bilbo was very impressive. Thank you."
Elladan smiled and nodded. "It was my pleasure."
"What did he do for Bilbo?" A small voice asked timidly, and Elladan glanced at the young dwarf who was propping himself up in bed.
"He did some fancy elven healing, that's what. I've never seen anything like it." Óin explained to Ori, and Elladan bowed his head slightly.
"Why?" The red-bearded Glóin asked, his vision obscured by the bandage that was wrapped tightly around his head. "What business do you have helping us?"
"What business did we have helping you in Rivendell?" Elladan countered mildly. "My help was asked for and I gave it."
Most of the dwarves looked slightly pacified, but Glóin was still suspicious. "What's she doing here? She most certainly didn't help us!"
Before Tauriel could voice her tired retort, Nori replied from across the room. "Kíli made friends in Mirkwood. She helped Bilbo before the other one got there."
"His name is Elladan." Kíli replied monotonously as he re-entered the main part of the tent. "Will someone sit with my family?"
"I'll watch them, laddie." Balin offered as he limped towards Kíli, clamping a hand on the young dwarf's shoulder as he passed. "It's good to see you're alright."
"You too," Kíli nodded and swallowed, looking morosely towards the healers. "I'm ready now."
Elladan took Kíli to the side of the tent with Óin and they began removing the outer layers of the young dwarf's armour so that they could get to the countless injuries covering his body. Kíli did not move as the elven and dwarven healers washed his cuts and applied salves to his more serious bruises. Staring despondently into space, Kíli as incredibly cooperative, so much so that Elladan began to believe the young dwarf was succumbing to shock.
"Here, take a sip of this. Just a sip, now." He warned, passing a flash to Kíli who obeyed before shuddering slightly and looking up at him, his expression instantly a little more relaxed.
"What is that?"
"Miruvor," Elladan replied. "It will restore a little of your strength, though it is precious and very powerful. I always carry it when I travel – just in case."
Kíli nodded, a small smile shyly appearing on his face. "Oh…Bilbo told me of that once… Thank you."
"You are most welcome."
It took only a few more minutes for Elladan and Óin to declare that Kíli's worst injury were his bruised ribs and his utter exhaustion, and the dwarf allowed the elf to guide him back to where his father and brother lay.
Kíli paused just before he entered the sectioned off area of the tent. "Elladan, how did you know to come to the battlefield? What messenger did your receive?"
"Apparently one who overheard you and took it upon himself to beg Thranduil for assistance himself." Elladan answered carefully.
Kíli frowned. "And who was that?"
The son of Elrond smiled wryly.
"Your uncle."
Ta dah!
A completely different type of cliff-hanger for you, aren't I nice?
I hope I didn't butcher Elladan or Tauriel, elves are so hard to write! I'm quite pleased with this chapter to be honest, I hope you are too.
NB – Miruvor is used in the book of the 'Fellowship of the Ring' if anyone wondered, and Tolkien described it as being similar to the nectar of the gods from Greek myth.
Do tell me what you think, I love to know!
