A/N: so last chapter was no angst or anything, but in this chapter… brace yourself for some angst ;(

(And it seems like you guys like angst so yay?)

Oin is the healer, right? Just making sure….

It was cold at night, and Thorin had ordered that the fire be extinguished for a lesser chance of orcs finding them. Kili opened his eyes warily, feeling himself pressed up against his brother's warm body. He felt a shiver crawl down his spine, and he whimpered in pain, because as his body shivered, he felt the wounds around his back stir again. He closed his eyes and tried to breathe out evenly.

His teeth chattered and his lips trembled. He looked around, and groaned in frustration when the world blurred in front of him. His shoulders shook lightly, and he could not bear the cold. "Fili…" He whispered, his voice hoarse. "Fili?" He tried to call out a bit louder. When Fili did not wake up, he frowned and tried to move a bit. He winced as the pain sparked through his body, and he could not hold back a loud yelp.

Fili was awake right away. "Kili!" He called. "Kili, are you okay?"

Kili's pain was evident on his face. He still shivered from the cold. "Cold…" He mumbled. "So…cold…"

"But it's not cold…" Fili said, confused. He felt Kili's forehead and cursed lightly. "Fever. We need to awaken Oin immediately." He stood up slowly, ignoring Kili's protests. "Wait, Kili. I will bring Oin. I will be back, I promise."

Fili made his way over to Oin, careful not to wake up any other dwarves. "Oin…" He called, shaking Oin lightly. "Oin, wake up, I think Kili has a fever."

Oin opened his eyes swiftly and sat up. "Fever?" He asked in a sleepy voice. "Not good. Not good." He stood up with Fili's help and grabbed his healing kit, heading to where Kili sat. He felt Kili's forehead, which was now covered in sweat, and turned to Fili. "He needs to sweat out the fever." He told Fili. "Can you find him another piece of clothing we can cover him with?"

As Fili went to grab an extra coat from his uncle's pack, Oin started mixing some herbs he had borrowed from the elves. They had given him various mixtures for cuts, burns, concussions, fevers, and even broken limbs, and he was very thankful for that. Elves were known to have great healers, especially lord Elrond. Thorin had better not find outm though. Once the mix was ready, he put it to Kili's lips. "Drink up, lad."

Kili opened his lips warily and tried to drink as much of the herbs as he could. Oin, however, was patient, and stayed after him until he drank all of it. Fili was waiting with the coat, unsure of when to put it over Kili. Oin turned to him. "You can make him wear it now. The elves told me their herbs should heal fast, so as long as we make sure he sweats out the fever, he should get better. Stay by his side, though. He is not fully conscious and he is in pain."

The last words Oin said were unnecessary; everyone knew Fili would stay by Kili's side without being told to. Fili nodded and took a seat beside Kili again, wrapping the cloth around him. "Are you feeling warmer, Kili?" He asked. Kili merely nodded, though still shivering. Fili kissed his forehead. "It will be alright, Kili."

"They hurt me." Kili whispered. "Torture… I can't forget…"

Fili looked down to his brother's face with worry. He was unsure of what to say in response. "You will heal, Kili. It will take time, but you will, I promise. I will not let another goblin, or any creature for the matter, near you. I promise."

Kili sniffed lightly and nodded against his brother's chest, which he was leaning on. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the days when they were young, and he and Fili would play pranks on all the older dwarves. They had the most fun whenever they played a trick on their uncle, even though he was usually the only one who punished them, along with their mother.

Punished.

"What do we have here, then?" Asked the Goblin King, looking at Kili. "A young, reckless dwarf. Some of my own goblins even claimed you were the nephew of Thorin Oakenshield. Is that true?"

Kili spit on the ground in front of the goblin. "A foul creature like you will not dare touch any from our kin."

The great goblin widened his eyes, then a smile started playing on his lips. "Is that a challenge, then?" He asked. "I will make you beg, line of Durin. You will beg until your voice is hoarse, and your screams fill this place. Or did you think I was going to let you go easily after insulting me?" He laughed with malice. "No, you need to be punished."

Kili struggled to get out of the grip of the goblins holding him tight. His arms began to bruise in the places they held him, and when he struggled, it only bruised more. "You filthy creature! I will never beg to something like you. Never!"

"We will see about that, stubborn prince." The goblin king laughed. "Where shall we start, boys?" He asked his fellow goblins, who began to cheer. "I really like that pretty face of yours, boy. Why don't we start there?"

Fili felt Kili beginning to shake beside him, and he reached for the coat to pull it up higher against Kili's back. He paused, however, when he noticed something as the hood on Kili's head fell.

Kili's hair was shorter.

Kili had been wearing a hood since they rescued him, and no one had bothered to take it off for him. He gritted his teeth. They had cut Kili's hair, too? They knew a dwarf's pride was in his hair and beard. If Kili had a beard, they would have cut it off as well. Fili felt a lump grow in his throat as Kili continued to shake.

Kili shuddered as the cold blade touched his face. The goblin king, holding it, laughed. "Perhaps I should scar your pretty cheeks first. They will become very rosy with the blood leaking, won't they?" At this, all the other goblins laughed, their laughs sounding like screeches and making Kili's ears hurt. The king pressed the blade harder, making Kili wince in the pain, and dragged it across Kili's cheek. Kili's breath hitched, refusing to cry out or scream from the pain. The goblin king repeated this twice again on his face––once on his other cheek, and the other on his forehead.

"Well, you are a bit braver than I thought. You didn't cry out at that." Mused the goblin king. "But I did promise you that I would stop you from archery, didn't I? And goblins keep their promise. However, I think I will leave that to the end. Boys, why don't we see a little of this boy's back?"

The goblins immediately scurried and began tearing Kili's clothes apart, leaving him shirtless. One of the goblins looked at his king, grinning evilly. "My king, it would be easier for us to do our work here if his hair is shorter. It won't be in our way."

"No!" Kili exclaimed. His hair was his pride! If they cut it, he would appear much younger, less brave and more of a homeless dwarf. It was the last thing he needed, especially since he wanted to prove himself to his uncle. "Not the hair." He ground out, trying to sound threatening.

"Oh, so hair matters to you, then?" He asked, pretending as though he had not known. "Go ahead, Lolim, cut his hair as short as you wish."

Kili blanched, blood draining from his face. He felt the goblin yank his head back with his hair, and he slowly felt the blade cutting layers of his hair as it moved through, from one end to the other. He fought the tears burning at the back of his eyes. What would his uncle think of him now? He could not even endure being tortured by the goblins, and his hair was cut. His hair was cut!

The goblin king walked to his other side, looking carefully and studying his back. "Your back has almost no hair." He said. "Very unusual for a dwarf. Or perhaps you are just that young?"

Kili gritted his teeth, refusing to answer. The great goblin continued on nonetheless. "I think such young, smooth skin would appreciate a whip, wouldn't it?"

it was a bit shorter than usual, but yeah! hope you liked it! I have an essay to do and all, so i wrote this quickly. more angst to come if you keep the reviews & favs & follows up! :D