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The Goblins surrounding the Dwarves started chattering and shrieking as soon as their King gave the order- Fili shouted in dismay, but his voice was lost above the din. He launched forwards, determined to get to his brother before that Goblin had time to inflict any pain on him; Thorin once again pulled him back, only this time Fili could see shock and anger in his dark eyes. 'I don't want you to get hurt too!' he snarled, eyes completely fixed on his younger nephew. They had done nothing wrong-this shouldn't be happening….

The Goblin with the blade stepped forwards, brandishing the knife in front of him. Kili tried to pull away, but his arms were stuck tight- all he could do was move his head and neck; although he couldn't even move that very far.

'Start at the top! But don't take his head off…..I still want to be able to talk to him.' The Goblin-King roared; the fatty rolls of skin flapped as he laughed. The Goblin nodded, large eyes fixing on the Dwarf. It bent forwards, blade flashing. Kili moved his head away; trying to resist the urge to squeeze his eyes shut and yell out. The Goblin growled, and with its free hand, it pulled his face towards him, but tilted it to the side at the same time. Kili struggled in its strong, tight grasp- but the Goblin was much too strong for him.

He had never encountered anything like this before- he didn't know what to do…

Kili didn't even feel a thing the first time the blade sliced his skin; the adrenaline had taken over.

He felt warm blood trickle from his exposed neck, heard it dripping onto the leather of his coat. He looked up at the Goblin wielding the blade; it's blue-green skin shining in the torchlight. It had eyes like a feline; its small mouth was laced with disgusting, long teeth. It screeched with glee as it watched the Dwarf shake before him-Kili straightened up, determined not to give it any satisfaction.

'Now- are you ready to talk?' The Goblin-King boomed, leaning sideways to get a better view.

Kili breathed in; the pain was setting in-he could feel the slice like he had been burned.

Back in the crowd, Fili turned once more to his uncle, tears in his eyes. 'Is this enough? Will you do something now-I am not going to stand here and watch him die; and you can't make me!' he growled, blue eyes pleading. Thorin broke his gaze to his nephew to look upon the other.

'I will not let him die-'

'-Only to get tortured a little?!' Fili gasped out, incredulous.

'That's not what I mean-'

'As long as he doesn't reveal your plans, eh? As long as he doesn't betray you? You care more for glory than for family…' Fili spat, once again wrenching himself away from the man he called Uncle.

Up at the front, the Goblin-King had started to speak once more. 'You seem very strong, Dwarf. But I know how to break creatures like you…..' It boomed.

Kili drew in a breath as the Goblin moved forwards once more. 'Go further up.' The King demanded. 'A couple of cuts across the face- even if he does not talk- will serve as a reminder to everyone else of his insolence.'

'No! Leave him alone!' -Kili looked up at the sound of his brother's voice, an insane, hopeful smile latching onto his face. It fell off his features as the goblin didn't even look round.

He craned his neck to the side as hard as he could, a whimper escaping from his lips as he desperately tried to move away from it- he just couldn't move, couldn't get away from what was happening; he just wanted to disappear in the ground like he would if he was back home- why did he even agree to do this?

The goblin screeched in anger when it saw that the dwarf wasn't doing as he was meant to- he made a grotesque, yelping noise to an equally large goblin behind him. The second goblin ran up and grabbed Kili's face, bringing it forcefully forwards so he was facing the front.

'Please…please….' Kili begged, trying to drag his face as far backwards as he could, eyes wide, teeth chattering.

'Then tell me what I want to know!' roared the Goblin-King, pounding his huge fist on the floor.

Kili supressed a cry of mixed fear and impatience. 'I don't know anything!' he yelled.

'YOU ARE LYING!' came the reply; the ground shook with the force of his words. 'Get on with it!' The King ordered his goblins.

The second goblin renewed its fight, forcing Kili's head forwards with brute strength. Kili tried to bring up his knees, but once again found he couldn't move.

The first goblin advanced, blade tight in its grip; Kili was forced to watch as it drew nearer. He wanted to look into the crowd, wanted to look at his brother- but he had been taught long ago by his uncle that to conquer your fears you first had to face them; so he watched the iron blade, until he could see his eyes reflecting in its shine.

Back in the crowd, Fili shook his head, eyes steely. To hell with his Uncle, to hell with the mission- this was his brother, and he was getting him back.

He moved to his side, eyes falling on the goblins that were still holding him tight; their grip tightened on his arms. He growled under his breath; making sure he was well covered by the other dwarves, he made his move.

One goblin went down almost immediately, neck twisted out of shape. The other looked round, eyes wide as they darted from the floor to Fili- the dwarf looked around momentarily panicked; before he could do anything, a hand clamped down on the mouth and nose of the creature from behind. Bofur peered around its shoulder, a frown on his face as the goblin beneath him began to writhe and struggle.

'Go! Go!' he muttered urgently, before smiling as he dropped the goblin on the floor, twitching. 'Before they realise- go!'

Fili nodded a thanks; he moved as quickly as his youth allowed, disappearing as well as he could do into the surging crowd of goblins and dwarves.

Up at the front, the blade found its target- this time Kili screamed. The blade slid through his skin like it was butter, and he felt fresh warm blood pouring from the wound. He instinctively tried to move his hands to defend himself, but of course he couldn't; his arms hurt from trying to pull them free.

Twice more the blade dug; twice more Kili felt like he was dying. His voice, cracking with use, suddenly mingled with that of his fellow dwarves- he could hear the others yelling and shouting. Thorin's was the most recognisable, but it didn't cause any feeling in him this time; his body and world was filled with pain; hot, fiery pain.

His eyes squeezed shut against the agony; the only voice he was interested in was his brother- but he couldn't hear him.

'PLEASE! HAVE MERCY!' he managed to yelp; he could feel the blood running down in rivets against his skin. The two goblins fell back, eyes to their master.

'You now have three lines in your face- any more lies, tricks or insolence from you, and I will tell them to slice your face off! Piece by piece….' The Goblin-King spat.

Kili shrank back, his face ablaze with agony; he could feel himself shaking- the chains supporting him were rattling.

'Why are you in my kingdom?!' The King boomed, anger now filing his words.

Kili opened blurry eyes, seeking his uncle for once. Their eyes met, yet Thorin was the first to break the contact. Kili's mouth opened silently, fear once again tugging at his bones. He looked back at the Goblin-King, face set.

'We didn't mean to come this way- we were heading on a different route, I swear!'

'….And where were you heading to?' the King muttered, voice low and dangerous.

'I-I can't say.' Kili cried out, face still in agony. He looked at the floor; he couldn't see straight any more, let alone think straight.

'I still don't believe you.' The King spat, and he looked back at his goblins. 'Maybe a little more force is needed to loosen his tongue….' He flicked his hand to motion them on.

Before they could even get close, a war-cry sounded in the darkness. Kili looked up as a dark figure launched itself in front of him, bent to the pile of weapons and drew a sword. The sword was raised high, a loud, strong yell was heard, and the Goblins stepped forwards, screeching.

The figure ran at them, sword swinging down in a large arc that cut the goblin in half, blood spattering onto the floor. The other Goblin who still brandished the sword stabbed and screeched, but the figure was too fast- the dwarf blade sank into its chest like a stick in snow; the pierced body was flung aside, and the figure stepped back, grunting.

Not even looking back, they ran to Kili who looked up to see who it was- but deep down, he already knew. His brother stepped into the torch light, a horrified look on his face. 'Kili….' He groaned, embracing his brother, not even caring his face was on the side with all the blood on it.

Kili let his head fall onto his shoulder, could feel his brother shaking beneath him….

'Fili!' Kili yelped as he looked behind his brother- Fili obviously hadn't factored in the other goblins. Powerless, he watched as his brother was pulled away from him; he felt tears fall this time. They had been so close to getting out. So close.

Fili yelled and struggled, roaring in anger as he tried to pull the goblins off him.

'What have we got here then!?' The Goblin-King roared, dark eyes fixed on the new dwarf.

'Though you could get to him, did you? Thought you could swoop in and save him? You thought wrong! Who are you?' the King spat.

Fili wasn't quite as silent as Kili. 'My name is Fili- and you are going to die in so much pain that you and your horde will never forget the time you crossed this pack of dwarves!' he yelled, eyes ablaze with fury. 'Release my brother, and we shall go- and you will be spared your life!' Fili was glad he sounded a lot braver than he actually felt; he only hoped he was convincing.

The Goblin-King roared with laughter. 'You think you can harm me, you a-did you say he was your brother?' the King stopped, a cruel smile forming on his lips.

Fili faltered, looking back at Kili, whose eyes widened. 'I-I….' he stammered, not knowing what to say.

'You did, didn't you? We have kin here, it seems….' His large, malice filled eyes fell onto Thorin, whose own eyes were dark. 'Brothers, is it? That's the only trouble with brothers- when one loses a brother, one is never…..whole again, are they?' he laughed in his throat, long and low, before turning to a dwarf to his side. 'Bring out two low stocks, and the Knout….' He ordered.

As Fili was grabbed and brought to his knees, he laughed again, steepling his fingers. 'Let us see who is the stronger…..and who will fall first-'

'I will take everything!' Fili roared, struggling to stand. 'Give it all to me!'

'Oh, but that's not fair- did your mother never teach you how to share?' the King roared, grinning sadistically.

'Oh, I am going to have so much fun…' it boomed, eyes settling on both Fili and Kili, the cruel smile still on its lips.

To be continued…

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed!

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