Chapter 5: Falling into Chaos

Kili was a better tracker than Fili. He had been ever since they were younger. When they were small, other dwarflings in the blue mountains used to tease Kili for his lithe frame and light footsteps. Instead of getting upset or worked up over the bullying, Kili began to use his body to his advantage. He was able not only to sneak up on unsuspecting prey, but also on unsuspecting bullying dwarflings. He would quite often startle them in surprise.

Even as a child, before he realized what he was doing, Kili used his build to his advantage. He might not win on brute strength, but on more than one occasion one of Kili's bullies would end up being pushed into a lake, or else had a bag of flour dumped on his head. There was one particularly memorable instance where Kili had snuck right up behind one bully and drop a spider down the back of his tunic.

After an unforgettable incident where a very small Kili had snuck up on their uncle, resulting in Thorin almost skewering the surprised dwarfling with his sword, their uncle decided it was time to start training Kili to use his powers for good.

Years later, the prince could follow and sneak up on almost anything and anyone.

Fili was pretty talented too, and the Orcs were not bothering to cover their tracks. This was a stroke of luck for the princes as they were able to stay a good distance behind them and stay far out of the Orcs range of sight or smell.

Fili kept his mind on what Bolg had said. Thorin and the rest of the company had been taken to Mirkwood. They were alive, and Fili and Kili had to find them. Then they had said something about an elf princeling. The orcs clearly wanted the elf almost as much as they wanted Thorin. With a shudder, Fili was thankful the Orcs didn't seem to realize their relation to Thorin. Something told him that if the Orcs had known about their heritage, they would have cared a lot more about the "dwarf runts," who happened to also be the nephews of Thorin Oakenshield.

The orcs crushed leaves and small trees, left animal bones, and might as well have had a bright light highlighting the route they were taking. A child Fili and Kili could have tracked the Orcs. Even sick and exhausted with Fili's arm burning from the wolf attack, they had no problem tracking them.

However, Mirkwood was difficult. It provided its own challenges to the brothers.

They had been going for a good while when Kili stopped suddenly.

"We should go this way." He said, voice calm and tranquil instead of the nervous tone he had adopted since waking up from the spiders. He loosely pointed in a western direction.

Fili looked around surprised. The Orcs had clearly gone in a different direction than Kili now indicated. All the signs were evident that the Orcs had continued south.

"Why?" Fili asked, confused. He knew that his brother had seen everything he had, and there was no reason to change up the route now.

"Feels right." Said Kili, dreamily, heading in the direction he had pointed. Fili got a glance at his brother's face. Instead of the sharp thoughtful dark eyes Kili usually had, his eyes were vacant and blank. He looked as though to be under some spell.

"That's a no, Kee." Fili said, steering his brother towards the way they had been going. To his surprise, Kili continued to pull away from him, pulling Fili along with him, and straining the injury to Fili's arm.

Not about to lose his brother to some wood nymph casting an enchantment (Fili wasn't sure if that's what it was, but it wouldn't surprise him given the two days they have had), Fili yanked Kili hard in the opposite direction, ignoring the added pain as his cuts reopened.

His brother struggled against him, but Fili showed no mercy. Kili might be lighter on his feet, but Fili was still stronger and was still able to manhandle his brother in the right direction.

As quickly as Kili fell into the trance, he snapped back out of it.

"That was strange." Kili said, shaking his head as if trying to clear water out of his ears.

"This forest is strange. Let us continue as quickly as possible. I don't have any desire to stay here any longer than we have too." Fili replied, nervously tugging at his brother's tunic.

Now back on alert, they continued their travels.

It was not a kilometer away that the brothers heard the sound of rushing water.

And with the sound of the rushing water, was the sound of fighting.

Kili and Fili exchanged a worried look before they took off, running in the direction of the battle.

They sprinted twenty yards or so, and found themselves in the middle of the strangest battle they had yet to see.

The rest of their company was in barrels, unable to continue the route downstream because of a shut portcullis. They were under attack by an assortment of orcs, and the company seemed to be at their mercy. The company didn't seem to have weapons of their own, but Dwalin, Nori and Bofur seemed to have armed themselves with knives and swords of fallen orcs.

With a battle cry, Fili and Kili joined the fray.

"NO" Thorin screamed as the portcullis slammed shut, effectively trapping the company in the elven kingdom.

His frustration was all consuming. It was as though the shutting of the gate destroyed their chances not only of reclaiming Erebor and his kingdom, but also finding his nephews. He shook the gates with his fists praying to mahal for them to open. He needed to get out of Mirkwood. He needed to get the company free.

The shouting behind him told him that his company was under attack, but from orcs or elves or some other threat, Thorin didn't know. He couldn't bring himself to turn from the gates. He couldn't bring himself to fight anymore.

Fili and Kili were used to fighting together. They had trained all their lives together and had adapted to each other's style almost perfectly. They were a flawless and effective team, always guarding the others back and always deadly. They were warriors in the purest sense.

But they were also warriors who had been recently poisoned, dehydrated, exhausted, starving and just generally worn thin. They had been fighting constantly for the better part of two days. Whether it was against the elements or against spiders and wolves, they had been fighting.

Their moves were a little slower, a little rougher, but they were fighting to get back to their friends and to their king.

Fili ducked as an orc took a swing at him, in one quick movement he stabbed the orc in the chest killing it and immediately taking on another. The cut on his arm, having reopened back in the woods, was bleeding freely. Fili paid it no mind as he continued fighting his enemies.

Kili had gone straight for one of the orc archers, killing it quickly and grabbing the rest of his arrows for his quiver. They were heavier and thicker than the arrows he was used too, but they would have to do. In one smooth movement he took out an orc that had been closing in on Bofur.

Surprised by his sudden savior, Bofur looked up to see Kili steadying another arrow at another one of the orcs.

"My word! It's Kili!" Bofur yelled alerting the rest of the company to the return of the youngest members. He scanned the area, seeing the crown prince only moments later. "And Fili!"

The presence of the brothers resulted in a renewed and reinvigorated fight from the trapped company. Dawlin was machine of destruction and even Ori was even able to throw a dagger at one of the orcs that was closing in on Fili.

"The lever!" Dwalin screamed at the brothers. "Get the lever! Open the gate!" He gestured with his hands, trying to get Fili's attention.

Fili followed Dwalin's line of sight to a large lever that was obviously keeping the portcullis shut.

Fili nodded to Dwalin, signifying he understood and began to move closer. The brothers circled around each other, with each step trying to get closer to the lever where two fallen elves lay.

"Cover me." Fili yelled to Kili when they were at the last few yards away. Kili nodded, protecting his brother as he ran towards the lever.

Keeping his eyes scanning for threats, Kili saw Bolg aiming an arrow at his brother a second too late to fire his own in return.

"FILI" Kili screamed, and acted on impulse more than anything else. He threw himself in front of his brother just as Fili pulled down the lever and the dwarves went free over the edge of a small falls.

Grinning with his accomplishment, Fili turned around to see what his brother had yelled about.

His momentary elation at freeing the company changed to terror as he looked at his brother. Kili's eyes were wide with fright. His bow, his prized possession, fell from his hands and hit the ground seemingly in slow motion.

Kili's hands grasped his stomach. Protruding from his stomach was an orc arrow.

"KILI" Fili screamed as his brother's eyes rolled back in his head and he fell forward, over the edge and into the water.

a/n: ahhhhhh cliff hanger. Please R/R. please let me know what you think. I cannot begin to tell you how much it means to me.