Here is chapter three ^^ I am terrible at writing long descriptions of journeys and despite having a map of Middle Earth above my desk I can safely say I have no idea how long it would take to get to Rivendell if you ran most of the way like Kili was doing. So I kind of skipped it. So if it seems a little unlikely then you know, sorry xD

Again, all characters belong to Tolkien.

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Kili had been gone for at least two weeks and no word had come back to Ered Luin from Dwalin, Bofur or Oin. Thorin was beyond worried now. How could a young dwarf escape the capture from a warrior as experienced as Dwalin and Bofur, who could claim to be a rather talented hunter for so long? Dis was focusing on looking after Fili while Kili was gone but his state had not really changed, except that his breathing was less labouring now. Thorin could tell his sister was worried but they did not speak of Kili, his name had become a taboo in their household.

Balin sat at his side now, two and a half weeks since Kili had run off. Dis was with Fili. Thorin could not bring himself to work even though he knew he needed to, to bring in an income for the family that remained.

"He'll be alright Thorin," Balin said, breaking the silence that had stretched between them for at least three hours. Balin had said this to him many times before and Thorin had never really given a response to it before.

"How can he be Balin? Do you think they are delaying? What if they have found Kili dead and they are delaying the return because they do not think we can take the news." Thorin stopped himself before he started rambling; checking his anger and reminding himself that Dwalin would not do that to him. Or so he hoped.

"Come now Thorin, you know little Kili has resources. Remember what he was like as a dwarfling-."

"He's still a dwarfling Balin," Thorin said somewhat harshly. Balin did not blink, he did not even looked surprised at Thorin's tone, merely took a breath before continuing.

"A younger dwarfling then, and a smaller one. You would tell him to stay in his room and would constantly watch the door and yet he always found a way to get out. He was wrestling dwarves twice his size when he was only 20 and even though he rarely won he never stopped doing it, he was so determined. Kili has your blood in him Thorin. He is an heir of Durin and they do not go down without a fight. Kili is alive."

Thorin sighed and nodded. He knew Balin was right. Dwarves were a hardy race and none of them would go down without a good fight and besides that he had raised Fili and Kili both to believe that the line of Durin would forever survive. Kili would drag himself across Middle Earth and back to Ered Luin, even if all the bones in his body broken and blood was trailing behind him just to save Fili. There was no way he was dead.

"You've got to get out of this cycle Thorin." Balin spoke again and Thorin jumped.

"What cycle?"

"You get depressed and angry about Kili being gone and worry that he is dead and then you break out of that sadness and tell yourself constantly that he is going to be fine. It's a vicious cycle Thorin and you need to pick a side. Do you think Kili is dead or do you think that he would pull through no matter what?" Balin asked.

"I don't know," Thorin replied, exasperated and suddenly exhausted. "Part of me thinks he is dead, or will be and yet another part of me believes he will succeed. Balin I am of two minds about this and it's not about to change soon…I want to just believe that he will succeed but I cannot."

Balin stood and clasped Thorin's shoulders for a brief moment. "I suggest you adopt that mindset even if you don't believe it and comfort your sister Thorin. I know Kili is an issue that you don't bring up but I think she needs some reassurance."

With that said he left the house and left Thorin alone. Dis was in Fili's room he knew and he also knew Balin was right and his sister needed some reassurance that Kili would return. He remembered before Fili had gotten ill bringing up the issue of when he was going to learn the responsibilities of being the heir to the throne. Dis had agreed that Fili would have to learn; she could read Thorin well and knew that one day her brother would try and reclaim Erebor; it was burnt into his soul. Thorin had then tentatively suggested that he take Fili away with him and raise him and teach him because he thought Kili was a bad influence, being so childish and so attached to Fili. That was when Thorin had seen Dis angered and protective over her children and he had sworn never to ask her to part from her children again.

"Dis." He said quietly, having subconsciously moved to the door of Fili's room. She did not look at him but she moved slightly as acknowledgement that he was there.
"He will come home," Thorin continued.

Dis let out a breath and stood from her seat on Kili's empty bed.

"You cannot promise me that Thorin." She whispered.

Thorin crossed the room and enveloped her in a tight hug. They had not touched since the night he had returned, had been avoiding each other and the subject of Kili, or Fili for that matter. Dis was tense in his arms for a few minutes before she relaxed into the hug and clung tightly to her older brother. She was not crying. Thorin knew she was trying to hold it all back. But she was reacting to him and that was a good sign.

"You know your son Dis." He whispered. "He is a tough kid, and would go to the ends of the Earth and back for Fili, no matter what it cost him. If he set out to bring Fili back a cure then he will return, no matter what. You have to believe in him Dis. Somewhere your little boy is thinking of home and probably wondering what we're thinking of him right now, now that we know he is gone, have known for ages. In his heart he will wish that we support him and believe in him, in his head he will assume this is not true. Make it true Dis. Believe in him."

Silence descended when Thorin had finished speaking, broken only by the occasional cough from Fili. Dis nodded against his chest but did not speak.

"Kili." Thorin whispered. "Kili we believe you will return to us. And you better do so safely."

/

"Kili we believe you will return to us. And you better do so safely."

Kili jerked upright out of sleep as his uncle's voice resounded through his head. He had been dreaming of home, of the warmth of the fire and the particular smells that went with each person, the syrup cakes that his mother made, the hugs that Fili gave, the rare smiles he managed to get from Uncle Thorin. That dream had faded and suddenly, in the blackness that was left Thorin's voice rang out, but it sounded slightly muffled, as though he was hearing this through water.

Two weeks or so had passed by and Kili had made good time after escaping from Emyn Uial. He had nearly been caught by Bofur. He had realised that Dwalin and Oin were following him and had hidden himself near the top as best he could, lying underneath a boulder that looked as though it was tightly pressed against the floor but actually had a shelf underneath it that he could just squeeze into. Dwalin and Oin had passed him by, wondering why his tracks had disappeared and Kili was about to wriggle out of his hiding spot when Bofur's boots came into view. Bofur thankfully had not seen him, or if he had he hadn't said anything.

Since then Kili had become riddled with doubt about whether he could actually fulfil this journey. He had almost been caught, by dwarves yes, so at least they would not have killed him, but next time it could be orcs or any other foul creature, maybe a goblin or a warg. And through his journey he had found no plants or herbs that looked like they could help Fili. But now, hearing Thorin's voice in his head saying those words Kili felt more confident. Of course he would return, Fili was waiting for him. He couldn't guarantee that he would be completely unharmed when he did, but he would return. Kili gathered his bedroll up and strapped his bag around him, munching on some biscuits as he set off again. He had lost the map at the end of the first week after accidently leaving his bag unoccupied to come back and find it open and with certain objects missing, the map being one of them. Even without it Kili was sure he was heading towards Rivendell. He had passed through a thick forest, skirted around a farmers cottage, spying on him just for a bit to see what it was like for a human living in such an isolated area and was now in a wide plain with rocky outcrops sticking up all over the place.

Sleeping out in the open was dangerous but Kili knew he did not have much choice. He was unsure if reaching Rivendell in two weeks from Ered Luin was an amazing feat or very slow, but he felt proud that even on this open plain he had not been caught. (If only he had known that Dwalin, Bofur and Oin had been waylaid by orcs).

"Now how do you enter Rivendell?" He asked himself, "There has to be a main entrance that anyone can use…otherwise it wouldn't be called…what was it, The Last Homely House or something."

Before losing his map Kili had memorised the parts of it around Rivendell, knowing this was one of his best chances of finding a cure for Fili. Recalling those memories now Kili almost missed the piercing shriek that echoed off the rocks around him. The dark haired dwarf froze. Orcs. There were orcs approaching him. Instinct told him to hide so Kili pressed himself up against one of the rocky outcrops and drew an arrow from his quiver. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath and listened. For a moment he heard nothing but the wind whistling through the blades of grass and a few birds chirping but eventually he heard footsteps. There were too many overlapping ones to count the amount of orcs, but one set headed straight for him, and eventually stopped on the rocky outcrop that he was hiding against. It was now or never.

Quick as a flash Kili pulled away from the rocks and shot the arrow straight at the orc, needing hardly any time to aim. The orc fell dead, a gargled noise exiting its throat as it did. Though not very loud it served the purpose of bringing the other orcs over to investigate. Kili was glad he had learnt how to run and shoot at the same time and did so, avoiding as many orcs as possible as they swarmed at him. Their cries pierced the air as he shot them down, seven, eight, nine, ten…suddenly twenty. Kili was afraid he would run out of arrows as he wasn't so good with a sword yet when a large orc barrelled in to him from the side and knocked him towards a gathering of rocks that looked lethal. Kili was winded as he hit the top of the rock, dropping the arrow he had been about to fire and closed his eyes as he waited for the impact with the ground. That impact never came and Kili felt himself sliding when he hit pure rock to meet gravelly earth at the bottom. The orcs were screeching but they couldn't seem to fathom where he had disappeared to.

His head was aching, he had smashed it on the rocks when he had fallen. Kili lifted it up just a bit to try and see where he was but his vision was swimming and his head hit the dust as he fell unconscious where he lay.

/

"Orcs!" Bofur spat as he heard the piercing cries, "I thought we killed 'em all."

"No, there are more over there. Come!" Dwalin yelled a war cry after his short order and took off to where the noises were coming from.

When they three dwarves arrived they saw dead orcs littering the ground, at least twenty-five, maybe even more, all with arrows stuck out of them and the orcs that had survived had run off when the three had approached, fearing reinforcements. Dwalin knew this was elf territory, that they were close to Rivendell and therefore there could have been elves about but Bofur headed straight for the body of the closest orc and pulled the arrow out roughly, examining it.

"This is the same arrow I found by the river," He declared. Dwalin and Oin hurried to his side and both took time examining the arrow.

"You're right this is definitely one of Kili's. In fact all of these are," Dwalin exclaimed.

"Wow, go Kili," Bofur whistled, standing up.

"The orcs may have taken him captive," Oin said after a moment, "After all they did run when we approached and he doesn't seem to be here."

"Yes but we haven't seen him on this plain at all so that doesn't mean anything, he could be hiding." Dwalin disagreed.

"I say we wait for 'im to carry on with his journey, if we hide and wait for 'im eventually he'll show up. And if not, we'll carry on after the orcs in case they did kidnap 'im." Bofur suggested.

Dwalin and Oin considered it before both agreeing.

"We'll rest up there," Dwalin pointed to the top of one of the outcrops, unknowing that Kili lay unconscious underneath it. "It's a good vantage point to see either Kili or enemies."

"Alrighty then," Bofur smiled and led the way to the rocks, climbing them first and rather easily and perching himself right on the edge. Unluckily for the three dwarves even if they had looked down they would not have been able to see Kili and by the time he had regained consciousness they had slowly continued on their way, searching for any sign of him as they went.

/

Kili groaned as he started to come round and coughed when he inhaled dust and pebbles. Sitting up he scrambled in his bag, which was remarkably still attached to him and drew out his water skin, which had not burst despite the impact on the rocks. When he had taken a drink and used some water to wash the dust from his eyes Kili looked around him. He was underneath one of the rocks, an orc had hit him and he had landed here. There was no way back up the rock he had slid down, though it looked rough Kili could not get firm grip on it. Turning away from the entrance Kili saw a tunnel leading away from the grassy plain.

Well it can't be worse than trying to climb up and severly hurting myself, he told himself optimistically, although he knew in his mind it could. Following the passage as well as he could with a throbbing head Kili used the wall for support as he walked. He was surprised to find as he walked his head got better and he didn't seem to be injured anywhere else despite the fact orcs had been slashing at him and when he had first woken up it felt like his head had been split in two and his ribs had been aching. The tunnel seemed to be opening ahead of him so Kili ran the last bit and nearly slipped in a little trickle of water that appeared under his feet. After he had righted himself and got a proper footing Kili glanced up and his breath caught in his throat. He was in the most beautiful valley he had ever seen. Waterfalls cascaded from high cliffs in what should have been a deafening sound but one that came across calm and neutral. There were plants and trees everywhere and a large house ahead of him, splendidly made, seemingly making use of the water running through it and not disturbing the fall of the water. It had to be Rivendell. He had made it.

Kili could barely contain his excitement and ran the rest of the way to the clear cut stone path that led into the house. There was nobody around but Kili was sure this was Rivendell. He turned three hundred and sixty degrees, trying to take it all in at once. When he turned to face the right way again he found himself looking at two dark haired elves, clad in armour, their grey eyes showing identical looks of confusion. Their hands were on their swords. Kili felt blood trickle down his forehead and gulped, nervous now. He may have been able to kill several orcs but he was sure he could not kill an elf, they were much quicker than dwarves and he could tell from the noises the arrows had made when he had run that most of them were broken.

"Who are you?" One of the dark haired elves asked in elvish. Kili frowned. He did not understand elvish but did not want to appear rude by not answering.

"I don't speak elvish," He replied in the common tongue. Most elves knew that, or so he hoped.

The twins, for they must have been twins so alike did they look, smiled but did not remove their hands from their swords.

"My apologies master dwarf," The elf who had originally spoken said in the common tongue.

"My brother here asked you who you were," The other elf supplied. Their voices were identical, Kili had no doubt that they were twins.

"My name is Kili." He began.

"Welcome to Rivendell master Kili," Another voice said and Kili looked past the twins to see another dark haired elf coming towards them down a fleet of steps, so alike to the twins and yet also so different, he seemed wiser and older, perhaps their father?
"I am Lord Elrond, keeper of the Last Homely House east of the sea. Perhaps you would like to tell me why you have come here?" The elf said and Kili gulped. He knew his uncle Thorin hated elves and said elves hated dwarves but these elves seemed polite. However, if they knew Thorin was his uncle and that he was here to take advantage of their healing powers would they still be willing to help him?

"My brother is sick. In Ered Luin. I have travelled for two weeks or so to reach Rivendell and see if there is a cure for him." Kili gave sparse details. He did not want to tell them the whole story and then be kicked out like some dog.

"Ered Luin? That is far to come indeed for someone as young as you." Elrond commented. "Elladan, Elrohir, you may leave to deal with the orcs that were at our borders. Was it you they were after, Master Kili?"

The twins swept past Kili and out of the gate he had passed through.

"No, I don't know, maybe?" Kili replied, wondering if the orcs had been tracking him. "Can you help my brother?"

Elrond smiled. "Perhaps first I should take a look at you and then we shall talk about your brother. Come." The old elf stepped back and allowed Kili to pass him and climb the stairs, following behind swiftly yet gracefully. Kili looked around him in wonder as he walked, anticipation and excitement bubbling up in him. He had made it! He was in Rivendell and if there was anywhere he could get Fili a cure it would be here. He just hoped he wasn't too late when he finally went to return.