Kili wasn't sure how much time had passed when he suddenly noticed that the noise outside had significantly lessened. Could the battle truly be over? And if it was, was there a chance that Laketown had won? Kili couldn't risk leaving the children, so he sat back down, readjusted the sleeping infant in his arms and waited for Tauriel to return.
He jolted awake with a start when he heard someone enter the house. He set the child in Tilda's bed and quietly walked to the kitchen. If this was an enemy, Kili would be practically defenseless against them. How could he have fallen asleep? Tauriel had trusted him and he'd let her down.
But what he saw in the kitchen wasn't an enemy, but Bard. He looked a little worse for wear, but altogether unharmed. Kili let himself smile. At least one of his friends had survived this.
"Just so you know," Kili said quietly, so as not to disturb the children, "There are more than a dozen sleeping toddlers in Tilda's room."
"I was wondering where everyone ran off to," Bard said as he removed his bloodied coat, "It's good you were here to take care of them, though I don't know where they'll go now."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Kili said.
"Aye," Bard agreed, "I suppose we should just be grateful we're alive."
"It is a miracle that you won," Kili said.
"Not a miracle," Bard said, "It was Elves."
"Elves?"
"A whole army of them," Bard replied, "We would have been goners if it weren't for them.
"Speaking of Elves, Is Tauriel with you?" Kili asked.
"She hasn't returned yet?" Bard asked with confusion.
"No…" Kili said, a knot beginning to form in his stomach.
"The fighting stopped hours ago," he said.
"So she should be back by now," Kili muttered, "Maybe she's helping the injured?"
"No, I would have seen her," Bard said.
Kili's worry turned into full bore panic. Tauriel wouldn't spend more time away from him than she had to. Something had to be wrong, Kili just knew it.
"I should go look for her," Kili said.
"I'll take care of the children, go," Bard agreed.
Just as Kili reached the door, it slowly opened up. Another child, this time an older one holding a baby. He must have gotten lost on his way here, Kili thought.
"Go inside, child," Kili said.
"Are you her friend?" he asked
"Her friend?" Kili replied.
"The woman with the red hair and pointy ears," the child clarified, "She told me to find her friend."
"Tauriel," Kili muttered, "She sent you here?"
"She told me to tell you something," he said, '"I'm sorry I couldn't return like I promised' she said to tell you that"
Legolas didn't know what to do. He hadn't thought to bring any healers with him and she was beyond human aid. The only comfort he had was knowing the Orc who'd hurt her was dead. He simply sat next to her and cradled Tauriel in his arms. He could still sense her faint breathing, though her heartbeat was getting slower by the minute. He left the sword in her side in an attempt to stop the blood flow.
He hoped she would regain consciousness so he could apologize to her. The last words he had spoken had been hateful ones, and now Tauriel was going to die not knowing how deeply he cared for her.
"I'm sorry, Mellon," he said as he brushed a piece of hair from her face, "I'm sorry I can't save you,"
"Tauriel!" Legolas heard a voice call. Of course, he had been down here with her a long time. Of course someone would come searching for her. It wasn't until the second call that he recognized the voice. Kili.
"Down here!" Legolas yelled, "Kili, we're here!"
Kili saw Legolas with something lying in front of him. It wasn't until he was a few feet away that he processed what it was.
"No," Kili said, "No."
"She's not…" Legolas said. The normally calm and collected elf was now letting his tears flow freely, "Not yet."
"Then what are you doing? Kili yelled, "We must go get help!"
"There's nothing to be done," Legolas said.
"Heal her," Kili insisted, "Like she healed me."
"I don't know how," he growled.
Tauriel stirred slightly in his arms, as if she could sense the disharmony in the air.
"We must try," Kili said, "Please, Legolas." Kili's voice broke. How could he have been so close to having her only to lose her again? What God could be so cruel?
Kili knew the answer. The same God that had taken Fili and probably countless other Dwarves today. The God of Death didn't care that she was all he had left.
Legolas was hesitant to move her. He didn't want to cause Tauriel any unnecessary pain, but he could tell Kili would not just let her die peacefully. Legolas stood up and held her protectively against him.
"Sigrid is a healer," Kili said as he began leading the Elf to Bard's house, "Not a magic one, like the Elves, but she will be able to do something."
Legolas didn't respond. He didn't want to admit that Tauriel was going to die, but he couldn't give Kili hope where there was none. Legolas and Tauriel had literally spent centuries together. They could sense each other's every mood, and he could feel her slipping away. Her will to live was almost gone. Legolas could almost feel the pain she was in. she was suffering, and he hated it.
It wasn't long before they were back at Bard's door. Kili didn't even bother to knock. He opened the door and directed Legolas to set her down on the table. The same table he laid on while she had treated his leg wound.
"Sigrid!" Kili yelled, ignoring the children that were probably still asleep.
A few moments later, both Bard and his eldest daughter emerged from the bedroom. Sigrid was wiping the sleep from her eyes when she noticed Tauriel. She bit back a gasp.
"What happened?" she asked as she stepped toward the injured Elf.
"Orc," Legolas said, "Stabbed her in the side."
"I don't know what I can do," she replied honestly, her eyes filling with tears, "This looks very severe."
"Please try," Kili begged, "She saved all of our lives, please, Sigrid"
She nodded. If it wasn't for Tauriel, her whole family would have been killed by Smaug. She owed it to the Elf to try, "Get me hot water, bandages, and my sewing supplies."
Bard did as she instructed, trusting his daughter knew what she was doing. She was a good healer, but she had never dealt with something like this before. She was acting brave, but Bard could see her shaking hands.
"You can do this," Bard whispered as he handed her the needles.
She smiled, "Is the water boiling?" she asked.
"Almost."
As soon as the water was ready, Sigrid set herself to work, "You might want to leave," she said, "This will not be pleasant."
Legolas had to practically drag Kili out. There was nothing either of them could do right now for her. It would only hurt them both to see her like this. They just had to trust the Sigrid could save her.