Dwalin chuckled deeply. "Good to know the warrior prince is still in there!"
"No pressure," Nori muttered.
Dori looked ready to throttle his brother. He'd been commenting on the entire journey back from where they'd found Fili and Kili.
Balin glared at his brother. "That still doesn't explain Fili trying to hurt Thorin."
Bilbo glanced anxiously back towards Fili and Kili, who were warming themselves by the fire with Ori. It had taken extensive pressure from Bilbo, Balin and Dori to get them to sit there, but Ori had promised to show them how to knit gloves to keep their hands warm. Fili had started to protest that they didn't deserves uch a warm spot, but Bilbo had overridden him.
"I don't know if he did want to hurt Thorin," he said cautiously.
Gloin didn't seem to even have heard Bilbo. "Are you joking, Balin? What possible reason could he have for not wanting to hurt Thorin? After all he's done? I'm surprised we didn't find a body!"
Bilbo gulped. These dwarves were made of stone, surely. "I still don't think Fili was trying to hurt Thorin," he repeated.
"He might want to hurt Thorin. But he didn't," Nori protested to the other dwarves. "Why?"
Bilbo was starting to hate being ignored. He was tired from the day's travel and emotionally worn out after finding Fili and Kili kneeling on the ground, trembling in fear. And to see Fili…
"Fili didn't have any weapons," Bofur was saying, "But he still could have…"
"He wasn't trying to kill Thorin!" Bilbo snapped, drawing all eyes towards him. He took a deep breath to steady himself. "He was trying to free him."
"What?"
To say the rest of the Company were surprised would be an understatement as much as saying Bilbo's Sackville-Baggins relatives were mildly inconvenient.
"Fili was trying to free Thorin," Bilbo said again. "He was pulling at his bonds and trying to let him go."
"Why on earth…" Bombur started.
Nori nodded. "Makes sense. They were kneeling – Thorin had obviously gotten to them verbally at least. He must have said something to Fili that made him think he had to untie him."
Dwalin spun towards Bilbo. "I thought you were going to keep them away from him!"
Bilbo stepped back but forced himself to stand as tall as he could defensively. "I can't hold their hands every minute of the day!"
Bifur spoke up, and Bofur nodded. "Yes, they need a chance to feel some freedom of choice."
"Freedom to free their malevolent uncle?" Oin said. "What could possibly make them make that choice?"
"They both feel that are still enslaved." Nori's pronouncement was met with stares of disbelief.
"Have we not made it clear they are free from Thorin's influence?" Gloin thundered.
Nori nodded impatiently. "Yes, but they are still slaves. And more importantly, they are still enslaved to Thorin mentally – he still controls their thoughts."
This triggered something in the back of Bilbo's mind. The Ring controlled Thorin's thoughts – apparently. Did it have any influence on Fili and Kili? He tucked this away for further contemplation.
.
.
-ooo-
.
.
Fili wasn't sure why Ori was here with him and Kili.
For that matter, he wasn't sure why he was here, sitting warm by the fire.
He remembered the weight crushing him in the forest. It felt like the weight of all of Master's orders and threats were pressing down on him, forcing him to his knees. To submit.
.
He remembered the Voice. It was quiet now, but he could feel it, like it was hiding on the other side of the clearing.
.
He remembered finding himself trying to untie Master's bonds to set him free… then he remembered Master Bilbo telling him that Thorin needed to stay there and that he could come and eat.
.
Somehow the crawl back to the warmth of the fire and friends seemed as far as the journey to Erabor…
Fili had felt like crawling, literally.
He had failed Master Bilbo miserably. He had trusted him to stay away from Thorin, to protect Kili and he had failed.
Master Bilbo had been talking with the other dwarves, and Fili shivered when he came back to the fire.
You deserve to be punished for this, boy.
The Voice was back.
You deserve nothing more than to be tossed out for the wargs to fight over. You are nothing but a disappointment.
The Voice was right. Fili dropped his head. He had disappointed his Amad and Adad by failing to follow them, or save them. He had failed his Uncle so much he had become Master and he had failed Master.
The least you can do is protect your brother. He, at least is worth saving. Make sure he knows his place.
Subconsciously Fili nodded. He would keep Kili safe. He would make sure Kili knew how to be a good slave for Master Bilbo so he would never get punished.
Master Bilbo came over and sat down next to Ori. "Evening boys!" he said cheerily.
"Evening Bilbo!" Ori replied.
"Learned much?" Master Bilbo asked.
Fili nodded quickly – he hadn't but didn't want to disappoint – but Kili spoke. "I don't know if I will be able to knit, Master Bilbo. It doesn't seem like a dwarf thing to do."
Ori blushed, and Master Bilbo chuckled, but Fili blanched.
See? He needs to know his place. Take him aside and remind him – he is a slave not a real dwarf. At least then you can be of some use…
"It's not for everyone, I'll admit," Master Bilbo was saying. "But Ori certainly has a talent for it."
Fili tuned out the rest of the conversation, just making sure he kept one eye on Master Bilbo in case he was addressed. It was something he'd had a lot of practice at, over the years.
Watching.
.
.
-ooo-
.
.
Fili had been fidgeting the entire evening, Kili knew. There was something major bothering his brother – normally he was much better at concealing his emotions.
As soon as they were alone – Master Bilbo had moved to sleep next to Bofur and given them some space – Fili rounded on him.
"What are you thinking?" Fili hissed. "What gives you the right to speak out of turn, to disrespect your Master?"
"I… I haven't!" Kili protested.
"You spent the whole evening speaking to Master Bilbo like an equal," his brother scoffed, "And you even insulted Ori! Not a dwarf thing to do – you're not even a real dwarf!"
Kili coloured, but Fili didn't give him a chance to speak. "We are not, Kili! We belong to dwarves, that is all!"
Fili's arm snapped out of the darkness and slapped his brother across the face.
Kili brought his hand slowly up to his cheek. It had been years since Fili had reprimanded him. It had been years since Fili had held this much fire…
"Fee…"
Fili softened. "I have to protect you, Kee, I have to! You were right – you're all I have left in the world. And I will do anything to keep you safe. And safe means knowing you're place, right?"
Kili sighed. "I just want Master Bilbo to take us home. Both of us, Fee."
"Then you need to be good, Kee," Fili nodded. "If we both follow the rules you'll be OK."