Listen while you read: "Pale Septembre" by Camille or type in youtube and add /watch?v=QIsvfFoOc5U

Chapter 16

Kili was restless. He had an unsettling feeling creeping over him and it didn't help that three of their trappers had not returned. Adding to this, Thorin was upset that Nur had missed the curfew he'd imposed on her by over three hours.

It was nightfall and Kili had woken from his short slumber only recently, bouncing on his heels though his leg was still bothering him.

He waited for his brother to show up and brush off his worries as though they were unnecessary. But with no brother to discourage that worry, it grew until he could bear it no more.

"Uncle, I can't wait here like this." Kili whispered. His heart was being tugged in the direction of the forest, and he felt that even without Thorin's permission he would rush toward it.

Thorin patted Kili's shoulder, mustering more calm than Kili felt was warranted. Thorin murmured in low tones to Dul, and Dul shook his head. Whatever it was they spoke to each other, Kili could not hear it, because his eyes were fixed on the trees not far beyond them, illuminated by the campfires outside the mouths of the caves.

His concern was short lived though and his heart spiked in alertness when he took in the image of Fili striding towards them at an even pace.

Kili erupted into a run and clamped his arms around his brother's shoulders, catching the older dwarf off-guard and murmuring thanks to Mahal.

Fili looked startled by his brother's reaction, and he patted the younger dwarf's back and whispered something comforting in his ear. The two then walked side by side back to Thorin, who smiled in relief, but Dul was still eyeing the trees anxiously.

"There are petty-dwarves in the woods." Fili said to his uncle, cleaning the last remnants of blood from his sword. "I counted three, but I know there were more."

"We know." Thorin remarked, crossing his arms. "Kili was attacked by three and Dul found a lone straggler."

Fili eyed his brother with some concern, but Kili shook his head at him, indicating that he wasn't hurt. At least, not badly.

"We are waiting for Nur and Smerri." Dul grumbled. "Who should have been back hours ago."

Kili watched his expression and guessed that Fili's heart had skipped a beat. He knew Fili was toying with the idea that perhaps they'd become lost, but Kili also knew that the grimmer part of his brother's mind offered images he hoped they would not see. "When are we leaving to track them down?"

Thorin held up a hand to halt him. "We cannot leave these people defenseless, someone needs to stay here to protect them."

"It won't be me." Fili growled insolently. "Nur is out there." But he regretted his tone and muttered a small apology, backing away from his uncle and crossing his own arms.

"With all due respect," Dul sighed in exasperation. "It won't be me, either."

"My King." A voice spoke from behind them. Kili and the others turned to face three dwarves standing in a clump behind Thorin. "We are not defenseless. You have done so much to ease our suffering and to free us from siege—please, go and find your companions! If you will leave a few weapons with us—"

Fili unsheathed a twin blade before the dwarf could finish his sentence and offered it to the speaking dwarf, followed by Kili offering his own sword. Kili was starting to keep track of how many times Fili had parted his twin blades for the sake of Nur, where at one time he violently refused to separate the swords for any reason.

And as if this had given him permission, Fili trotted into the treeline, not even waiting for Kili to follow. Kili began to hobble toward him, but Dul held his shoulder and insisted that he would be better off following Dul instead. Thorin nodded and Kili understood that it was his uncle's plan to have a discussion with Fili—perhaps a scolding after the things the older prince had said.

Thorin went after his older nephew and Kili resigned himself to following a fast-moving Dul, with whom Kili could barely keep up.

They wandered through the trees, eyes struggling to make out the scenery, but after a while the moon illuminated them and their visibility improved.

And when it did, they found the body of Smerri not far from the river.

He was bunched up against the wide trunk of a massive tree, almost completely hidden from sight, with a chest wound indicating he had been stabbed repeatedly. Dul's anger flowed, but it peaked when he saw that the deceased Smerri's hands only showed six fingers instead of ten. Whomever had killed him had taken their time.

Kili took in the muscled dwarf's stance to mean that it was time to slide an arrow onto his bowstring. They stepped cautiously toward the river, seeing that the waterskins had been filled, though they were strewn about.

Crossing the stream in a few steps, they continued toward the sound of voices and made every effort to be silent.

Slinking closer and closer to the sounds, Kili could hear the male voice speaking and he looked to Dul questioningly—Dul looked as though he recognized it and snarled quietly, gripping tightly the handle of his sword.

The words continued and the slinking dwarves noted the hunched over form of Nur against a tree. Kili wanted to lunge forward, but Dul halted him, indicating with a raised finger to his lips that they should continue to watch and wait.

Nur seemed to be looking at them, a numb expression painted on her face.

She was sitting, her body propped against a tree and leaning into it, with her head lolling sideways at an awkward angle. With limp hands flung to her sides as though they were dead, her arms bore several red lines.

Kili had begun to go mad with waiting when Dul pointed to a branch just above Nur.

Kili could barely make it out, the figure was so dark and so concealed by branches and leaves, but he aimed as well as he could, intending to end Gren's life—he knew it to be Gren when they had come closer, listening to the imagery of the horrible things Gren intended to do.

He wanted nothing more than to silence her tormentor, but Gren had suddenly left the cover of branches and jumped down to stand before Nur.

"… easier when broken." Gren said in a satisfied manner, and though Kili had not hear the beginning of his words, he understood them to mean that he was done savoring Nur's pain—it looked like she had nothing left.

But Gren's satisfaction did not exceed Kili's- the scoundrel had made himself an impossible-to-miss target when he displayed himself to Nur.

The shaft of the arrow sounded and the thud of something hard hitting the meat of Gren's back could be heard.

Kili wasted no time in releasing two more arrows into the culprit's back and resisted the urge to shoot more to satiate his anger.

Gren's body went limp and he fell forward towards Nur, falling on top of her and sending her into a panic while an inhuman cry tore out of her throat.

Dul and Kili dashed forward to her rescue, but she had already scrambled out from under the body that had toppled on her and scurried as fast as she could away from them.

Kili started to dart after her, but his foot was caught by the outstretched hand of Gren, causing the ground to rise up at him and pound against his face.

Dul moved with purpose and grabbed a nearby rock, smashing it down on Gren's head and bellowing in dwarvish chants, sending Gren to the abyss that was waiting for him.

Kili was unhurt except for the throb of his cheekbone and being winded from having hit the ground hard, and he looked up at Dul in confusion.

"You have a sword." Kili muttered, pushing himself up off the ground.

"That's too clean of an end for him." Dul spat, tossing the rock aside and peering into the trees. "Where's Nur?"

"I—" Kili swept his head to the side, squinting into the darkness as though that would help him. "I don't know, she ran off."

Dul growled and headed in the direction Kili was looking, not bothering to quiet his movements anymore. "Nur!" he called into the darkness, glancing in all directions and moving through the trees.

Kili shouted her name as well, knowing that it would call the attention of any remaining foes, but not caring—Where had she gone?

The wee hours of morning came and Kili heard Dul curse for the loss of sight even under the moon. He relented that they would not be able to track her until day broke.

Like it or not, Kili understood that if they ventured further from where they were, they would be wandering away from any of her tracks and he was desperate to stick to anything that would bring her safely back.

They waited through the agonizing hours, continually calling her name, until finally the first hints of light appeared overhead.

Kili sprang up, trusting to hope and finally catching a glimpse of her trail in the soft, brown dirt.

He was all too eager to follow it while Dul lingered slowly behind him, watchful for any other attacks. But none came.

The trees were fewer with the rising of a little hill made up of boulders and rocks. It was here that Kili first spotted their elusive Nur.

She was huddled between two large boulders, her arms wrapped around her bent legs and her face resting in her knees. She looked to be asleep, and Kili approached her slowly, sure to make his movements obvious so as not to scare her off again.

"Nur?"

Her body jolted, but her head moved slowly to turn and face whoever had said her name. Her eyes were glossy, looking past him for a moment and then refocusing on his face. "Kili?"

He knelt to be level with her, reaching out a hand tentatively and touching her elbow. Nur began gasping for breath and her eyes darted in different directions, her words garbled. Kili hushed her softly, bringing his other hand to rest next to the first and soothing her with soft and encouraging words.

Dul was afraid to come any closer, seeing that she was so overcome with panic.

"Can you stand?" Kili asked her gently, but she rambled and showed herself to be irrational, so he tucked an arm under her knees and another arm under her shoulders, scooping her up and carrying her down the rocky path and back into the trees. It was lucky for him she was so lightweight, though in his desperation to return her to safety, it wouldn't have mattered.

She gripped his collar, tucking her face into his shoulder and pleaded, "No—trees—Gren!"

"Gren's dead." Kili replied gently, though he wished with all his might he could have shouted it to the world. "Just hush, you're safe."

It was a long walk back to the caves, but Kili noted that his foot didn't give him as much trouble as he expected. Dul had tried to help, but Nur shied away from Dul and clutched that much harder at Kili.

To say that Dul was saddened by this was an understatement, for he could see that part of her fear was directly linked to him.

Approaching the crowd, Kili bit his lip in thought. He knew the dwarves would be rushing to them once they saw Nur and he feared her reaction.

He looked around for Fili, but could not see his face among the company.

Dul must have had the same thoughts as Kili and strode before them, waving back any incomers and directing Kili and Nur straight to Thorin's tiny pavilion. Thankfully, the tent was unoccupied and Kili ducked under the opening, lowering Nur to a pile of blankets and wrapping her in one of them.

He heard Dul plant himself just outside the tent's opening- the hulking dwarf was an imposing guard and no one dared speak to him, let alone approach him.

Kili sat and waited—haunted by the words he would have to say to Fili once they returned.