They were falling.

Screams filled the air; Amelia wasn't sure which were hers and which were Kili's. All she knew is that at some point they each tugged on the other's arm and had drawn together. They were pressed against each other, arms wrapped around the other as they screamed in the other's ear.

They were falling. Falling, falling, falling…

Amelia cried out as they landed with a thud on a rock ledge, and she automatically clutched at it, unwinding one arm from around Kili's neck as she did. The other, which still held Orcrist, stayed anchored around his body.

Pain reverberated through her entire left side, and her head bounced on the hard stone. Her vision swam red for several moments, and when it cleared she was left with a pounding headache that was sure to only get worse.

Amelia groaned. Still entwined with her, Kili did the same. They slowly fell apart, lying on the ground for a moment panting and trying to accept the fact that they were alive.

"Are you ok?" asked Kili. He turned his head to the side to look at Amelia, wincing slightly as he did so.

"Yeah." Amelia sat with a grimace, scanning around them. "You?"

Kili nodded, staggering to his feet. For once, Amelia didn't object to the hand that reached down to help her up.

The ledge they were on was relatively small, big enough to fit them and perhaps one other person. No other ledges sat nearby, and the cliff face surrounding them was uneven, stretching on as far as they could see. Which wasn't very far in the failing sunlight, but it was too far for comfort.

"Well," said Kili. "At least we've escaped the goblins." He sent Amelia a grin that quickly faded when she sent a glare his way.

Amelia leaned Orcrist against the wall and began to walk on their little ledge, swinging her arms back and forth and rolling her neck. Kili watched her for a moment, then did the same. They paced past each other, all but silent as they moved.

"Now what?" asked Kili once they had worked out the majority of the soreness from their muscles. He peered up at the rock wall. "I can't even see the path. I doubt we can call up to them, certainly not without alerting the goblins." He paused, then glanced at Amelia worriedly. "Do you think they're alright?"

Amelia sighed. "They're probably being captured as we speak. We'll have to rescue them. First we have to climb this blasted cliff until we reach the path again."

Kili didn't look at all thrilled by the idea, which she didn't blame him for one bit. She was just as unhappy.

"Climb up that?" he asked. He sent a skeptical, fear tinged look above them. "That's impossible."

Amelia sighed. "It's either that or stay here and wait for the goblins to find us."

"Or Gandalf," suggested Kili.

Amelia paused. Gandalf would surely know to look within the mines for the company, for he would assume the events of the book and movie were still holding true. They weren't though. Once he had been told by the company what had happened, he would assume she and Kili had died in their fall. The entire company likely thought that.

Either way, it would still be days before Gandalf even reached the mountains. They didn't have the supplies to wait out his travel, and there was little chance they would go undiscovered in that time.

Amelia shook her head. "No. We climb."

With that she seized Orcrist, sliding it into the bag on her waist. After rolling her muscles one last time she leapt onto the wall, starting to climb.

With a sigh Kili followed. Amelia could hear him shuffling upward, and very quickly he had passed her. She didn't change her pace, she only focused on finding her next hand hold. She very much concentrated on not looking down.

Somewhere in the distance there was a rockslide, and the sounds of stones tumbling down the mountainside could be heard. Amelia gulped and clung to the cliff face, then, as the sound faded, resumed climbing.

She and Kili rested briefly on another ledge some distance above where they had started, then started climbing again. By the time they came to the next ledge the sun had faded almost entirely.

"We can't continue on like this," Kili said. "We'll kill ourselves."

Amelia didn't respond, though she was forced to agree. She didn't want to spend the night on the ledge, a thin little crag that looked ready to crumble under their feet.

"What's that?" asked Kili. He pointed to the right, where there seemed a place darker than the rest of the cliff.

Amelia frowned. "It looks like…" She inhaled sharply with hope. "That's a tunnel!"

She laughed hugged Kili, breathing a sigh of relief. The dwarf seemed shocked, but eagerly returned the hug.

"Sorry." Amelia realized what she had done and pulled away, blushing.

Kili shrugged. "It's fine."

Amelia didn't say anything. At this point she was so desperate to escape both the cliff and the awkward situation she started to climb over to the tunnel almost eagerly.

"We'll make camp as soon as we can," she called over her shoulder. "In the morning we'll go after the others."

They made the climb sideways quickly enough, swinging from rock to rock. Inside the tunnel they gazed around them. It was made of stone hewn smoothly, seamlessly. Braziers, most bereft of torches, were anchored to the walls every few feet, decorated with runes.

"These are of dwarvish make," breathed Kili. He ran a hand over one, which was just above his head, his brown eyes wide with wonder. "We are in one of the old tunnels of Moria!"

Amelia shushed him as his voice reverberated down the hall.

"Yes," she hissed. "And we don't know what resides here now. Quiet."

She took a step or two forward, her bow shimmering into life in her hand. She nocked an arrow and swept her eyes around, searching every shadow.

She had no idea what they might encounter here. Goblins were already in the mountain, but she didn't know if they had come this way. The corridor looked relatively untouched, undamaged, with the exception of what had clearly once been a ledge and adjoining wall that had broken from the tunnel entrance. Remnants of a door that had fallen with the ledge protruded as jagged outcroppings from the stone.

Amelia vaguely remembered the balrog that would one day be found in Moria, but if she recalled- and she wasn't sure she was recalling correctly- that creature would be found far beneath the earth, not high up in the abandoned tunnels on a cliff.

Might they meet Gollum? Amelia's heart raced at the concept. It might be her chance to take the ring now. Then she wouldn't need to backtrack to the Misty Mountains after they retook Erebor. She could simply head south to Mordor.

She glanced behind her to Kili. He might notice her taking the ring. Moreover, she knew Gollum was a sneaky little bugger, with or without the one ring. She wasn't crazy at the idea of someone else being with her, someone who, unaware that Gollum was creeping around invisible, might be clobbered on the head.

Amelia sighed. One problem at a time. She quickly pulled a torch from the hall and lit it with a match she found in her bag, then handed the torch to Kili.

"We can't stay here," she declared. "We don't know what might come along, if these tunnels are used or not."

Kili nodded. He moved back to the mouth of the tunnel, peering out into the nearly pitch black sky.

"Tis a good vantage point from here," he stated. "I suspect this place was once a look out for guards." Suddenly Kili started down the hallway, pace brisk as he searched for something.

"Wait!" called Amelia. She jogged to catch up with him, surprised at how fast his smaller body had gone in the short time. "What are you doing?"

Kili glanced over and up to her. "We dwarves build all of our halls the same basic way," he told her. "The lay out here should be relatively similar to that of Ered Luin. Which means, if we continue on…"

He trailed off, for they were reaching a break in the tunnel. Many different paths diverged in different directions, some leading up, some down, and others at varying other angles. Amelia spun around slowly.

"Now what?" she asked. "Where should these lead?"

Kili pointed to the tunnel straight ahead, the only one running in that direction. "That will bring us to the heart of the mountain," he told Amelia. "I don't think we want to go there quite yet though, for we'll find goblins." Still, he gave the passage a longing look, for both knew it was in that direction they would find the company.

"Tomorrow," promised Amelia.

Kili nodded, still looking worried for the others. "The rest of these lead to other vantage points on the mountain. If we follow this one here," and he pointed to the tunnel that sloped the steepest downward, "we should come toward the foot of the mountain."

Amelia's heart picked up again, her mind flashing to Gollum. "How far down?" she asked.

Kili considered. "We'll still be very high up within the mountains," he told her. "But there will be trees and life and good things green. No more rock cliffs or narrow paths."

"Would you recommend it as the safest place?" asked Amelia.

Kili paused for a moment, and then nodded. "It is our best chance to not spend the night on cold rock."

"Then let us go."

Amelia started down the path. Kili kept pace with her, the torch in his hand throwing flickering, jagged shadows ahead of them. In the tunnels it was eerily quiet, the only sound the faint crackling of the flame and their breaths in the air. Occasionally one of their boots would strike a loose stone, and Amelia jumped and nearly loosed an arrow as Kili sent one ricocheting off the walls.

"Sorry," Kili whispered.

They continued on. Eventually a spot of darkness more complete than the grey stone around them appeared ahead, and the pair rushed forward. They found themselves on the mountainside, on yellow grass and surrounded by trees. Boulders dotted the land here and there, large monstrosities under which shadows lurked.

Kili grinned, and so did Amelia.

"Good job," she praised. "I think I'm quite glad you're with me, Kili. I'd have been wandering around in there for ages."

Kili was positively beaming at this point, and after chuckling briefly Amelia sighed.

"Come," she said at last. She led him further up the mountain, hoping to find a place to take shelter for the night where they would be able to have a good vantage point. She wanted to know if anything followed them out of that tunnel.

There was a place some ways up, its size somewhere between a large hollow in a rock outcropping and a small cave. After thoroughly checking it for animals and secret doors, Amelia and Kili agreed it was the best place to spend the night.

It was a simple matter to gather firewood, and soon a small fire was going. Amelia groaned as she settled down beside it, roaming through her bag for some food and water.

They ate quickly, and then Kili gestured for Amelia to approach where he sat a foot or so away.

"Let me see your back," he commanded.

Amelia's eyebrows drew together. "What do you mean?"

Kili rolled his eyes. "I saw that goblin bite you," he reminded her. "You best let me look at it, least it become infected."

Amelia snorted. "I wasn't aware you had medical experience," she said. "Either way, neither of us has anything with which to treat an injury."

"You're telling me you've nothing in your bag?"

"Basic bandages; nothing for an infection."

"Then you should let me bandage it so that it doesn't become infected."

Again Kili gestured for Amelia to join him, eyebrow lifted quirkily. Yet there was concern in his eyes that prompted her to do as he said.

She tugged at the string on her cloak, setting it carefully to the side. Kili kindly turned away as she drew her top, which was a dark blue, over her head.

The goblin had bit near her left shoulder blade, and the bite mark was uncovered by Amelia's bra. She left the garment on, calling for Kili to come back. As he did her cheeks reddened, and she purposefully avoided looking over her shoulder at him.

Behind her Kili gasped. Amelia knew why.

The Phoenix had accumulated many scars over her lengthy years. They were long and short, thin and thick, some bumpy while others had healed better, to a smoother touch. There were blade scars and whip scars and even burn marks, mottling her skin a dark, splotchy red. Some of the scars even extended further than her back, wrapping around her torso- where there were plenty of other scars. One scar that began as a red line across her back curved over her shoulder, and if she glanced down Amelia could see where it ended just beneath her left collar bone.

"Mahal," muttered Kili. Gently he ran a hand over Amelia's skin, his touch sending shivers down her back. "What happened?"

Amelia shrugged, though it pained her newest injury to do so. "Many things. I've forgotten most of them. They've been long in accumulating over time."

For a minute Kili was silent, and Amelia chanced a glance back at him. His eyes were wide with horror, shock written on his face as his eyes traced the red lines and bumps and ameba shaped marks on her skin.

The blush on her cheeks deepened, and she began to shrug her shirt back on.

"No." Kili grasped her wrists in his hands, his large fingers wrapping easily around her slim wrists. "Don't."

He took a deep breath, then slowly released his hold on Amelia. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just- I wasn't expecting…"

He floundered, and Amelia nodded.

"I know," she whispered. She let out a bitter laugh. "It's a shock."

Kili was silent.

"The bite isn't that bad," she told him. "I can manage." She began to shrug her shirt back on again, but Kili wouldn't let her.

"Let me see it," he commanded. His fingers traced over the injury on her back, and Amelia winced as he accidentally pulled at it.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"It's fine." Amelia glanced back at him; though Kili still seemed a bit unnerved by the mess that was her back, he had largely regained his composure and was carefully checking over the bite. "How bad is it?"

Kili bit his lip as he considered. "It's quite a bite," he admitted. "A bit red around the edges. I can't tell how deep it is."

Amelia nodded and pulled some bandages from her bag. She handed them back to Kili, reaching with her right hand to feel along the bite herself.

She sighed. "Well, I guess I'll have a new scar for the collection."

Behind her Kili chuckled. It wasn't his usual light hearted laugh, but it was good enough for now. The sound helped to lift Amelia's spirits a small bit.

He made quick work of bandaging the bite, and when he had finished Amelia gratefully pulled her shirt back on. She scooted away, gazing into the fire.

"We should sleep," Kili said at last. "We'll need our strength if we're to rescue the others tomorrow."

Amelia nodded. "I'll keep first watch."

Kili shook his head. "Nonsense. Nothing will find us here; these mountainsides are deserted."

"Would you chance something comes from within Moria?"

"Goblins don't much like the sunlight," Kili reasoned. "There is a reason they took over a mountain of all places."

"In case you haven't noticed, it's not daylight."

"Phoenix, please. I'm certain nothing will happen. We're both exhausted. We'll do the others no good if we're dead on our feet."

"We'll do them no good dead." Amelia sat at the mouth of the cave, drawing her cloak around her shoulders. She hugged it to her, but her muscles were tense and ready to move into action should something near their cave.

Kili sighed, then, realizing she wouldn't give in, settled down.

"Here." Amelia rummaged around in her bag, then tossed her bed roll to Kili. "It's better than the ground."

Kili thanked her and curled up in it, setting his weapons within easy reach. For several long minutes the night was quiet, the only sounds the cackle of the flames and the hoots of owls outside.

"Phoenix?" called Kili.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think the others are alright?"

Amelia bit her lip. She truly had no idea. She had hoped to change events for the better, but things had gone very wrong very quickly.

She couldn't tell Kili that though. She had to reassure him.

"They'll be fine," she told him. "We'll get them back tomorrow, and we shall all escape these mountains just fine."

Kili nodded, looking slightly reassured. Amelia sighed as she turned her eyes to her watch, wishing she had managed to reassure herself.