Hello! This will be where the hurt!Fili finally starts, so warnings for violence from here on in!

Onwards...

Fili came to tied to a chair, a sack covering his head and a gag in his mouth, the taste of blood seeping through the cloth and onto his tongue. He lifted his head groggily, blinking through pain emulating from the back of his head. He heard muttering from somewhere in front of him- he moved his arms, tried to flex his wrists; sharp pains flew down his forearms, making him inhale in sudden pain. His hands were tightly tied to the chair by what felt like leather straps, and as he attempted to move his legs he felt that they were also tied.

'Looks like someone is awake!' he heard a voice say from in front of him, before the sack was roughly pulled upwards. He blinked in the scant light, eyes searching for Kili in the gloom of the room he now found himself in. It looked like a stone cottage, its windows long boarded up; dried leaves littered the floor, and a cold chill seeped under the rotting door. When he couldn't locate him his eyes instead settled on the three figures stood in front of him, smiles on their faces- the men from the tavern. Growling under his gag he struggled against his bonds, but that only served to cause more pain in his hands; he sat back, breathing heavily as he assessed the situation.

The man in the middle cocked his head to the side, eyes boring into his- 'finished?' he muttered, chuckling as Fili growled at him; he felt dried blood running from his nose down to his chin as he did so. 'Good,' the man added, standing back to join the two other people in the room. 'In case you were wondering, the other dwarf you were with is dead- we cut his throat and left him on the path when we took you.'

'Ngghhh!' Fili yelped, shaking his head with wide eyes. It couldn't be true- Kili couldn't be dead….

'I'm afraid so….he did put up a good fight though, we'll give him that, won't we boys?' the man said, the two other men nodding and muttering beside him. Fili shook his head again, disbelieving, desperate for it to be lies.

'So it looks like it's just you, doesn't it?' the man said, smiling across at Fili, who regarded him with abject anger.

'Remember me?' he asked lightly, pointing to himself. Fili knew just who he was, but he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of letting on that he did.

The man stepped forwards, the punch sending Fili's head flinging backwards- his nose felt like it was on fire, but he sat still, eyes not leaving the man's. 'I said- do you remember me?' he repeated- Fili thought it was best that he acknowledged him this time; he nodded once, feeling blood dribbling down his chin.

'See, not that hard, is it, savage?' the man said, clapping his hands sarcastically. Fili growled from behind his gag, trying to move his wrists and feet from their binds.

'You're not going anywhere, so you might as well get comfortable…' the man said, spotting what he was doing. 'You're going to learn what happens when you insult me and my friends- savage or not.' He said, nodding to the two other men in the room. He walked over to a small wooden table near one of the windows, a woven sack sitting open- he pulled out a small blade, the steel glinting in the scant light.

'We may live near the 'Obbits, but that doesn't mean we're all as peaceful as they are….' He said, holding the blade up and looking at it, before turning back to Fili. 'You shouldn't have come to that tavern- you don't belong here, with decent folk,' he said, shaking his head as he stepped forwards.

'We aint' seen a dwarf round these parts for 'undreds of years- we don't need your kind sniffing around here!'

Fili snorted, a dawning comprehension on how idiotic this situation was coming upon him- these men had truly done all this because they felt threatened by his and Kili's mere presence? He would have laughed outright in his face if he could.

'Think its funny, do you?' the man asked, advancing more. Fili stopped as he heard his tone, before his eyes fell on the blade he was carrying; it was his own, a handcrafted blade made by Thorin during his exile after the sacking of Erebor. It was his most prized possession, and as the man stepped closer, it dawned on him what was about to happen here. He struggled against his bonds but he could see it was no use- the man brought the blade closer, eyes almost manically wide. The blade whistled past him at face height, making Fili throw his head backwards to miss it- the man laughed, the sound echoing painfully in his ears. 'Good reflexes, savage!' he praised him, making Fili sneer at him from behind his gag. The blade once again came at him, but this time it was impossible for Fili to escape it- he yelped as it bit into his shoulder, an ice cold pain flourishing as his tunic split open and blood seeped down his arm. 'Oh….' The man whispered, regarding the blood with little interest-'….not that good, it seems.' He stepped backwards as Fili fought to regain composure- he wasn't about to give this fool any amount of satisfaction. The man walked backwards, chuckling, before walking back to the bag, rootling around in it, whistling a tune as he went. Fili eyed the two other men in the room- they both stared back, faces set into permanent frowns; Fili lost all hope of getting one of them on his side.

'Ah ha!' the man at the table said, pulling out another blade with a flourish- this wasn't one of Fili's, and as he eyed the serrated edges his eyes widened; what was this man, a butcher?

As the man advanced once more one of the other men coughed, getting his attention- 'Bein, there were others with him, apart from the one he was with, do you think we shou-'he began to say, but Bein cut across him, eyes flashing. 'Not here! We speak outside, dolt!' he spat, waving the man away as he proffered an apology.

As the man scuttled away he stopped, turning slowly back to Fili, whose heart had leapt at the thought of the others being so close. 'Others, you say?' he whispered, a terrible smile creeping across his features. 'Well, this changes everything….' He finished, looking from Fili to the other men- he walked back to the table and laid the blade with the serrated edge back on the wooden surface. 'We stick with the original plan, but…' his voice took on a sing-song quality as he stepped forwards, drawing something out of his leather jerkin.

'We've got an added bonus,' he said, the glint of his knife reflecting in his eyes as he advanced on the dwarf.

'What's that?' one of the men asked, nonplussed.

'A hostage, you idiot!' Bein spat, shaking his head. 'And if he's travelling with others….a valuable one at that.'

Fili's eyes widened, his flesh creeping as the man advanced, the blade in his palm. His heart plummeted as he thought of Thorin and the others, and Kili…..oh Kili…. His eyes misted over as the man's words rushed round his head. Kili had to be ok, he just had to be- why couldn't he have been stronger, defended him better? He looked up, blue eyes steely as the man stood facing him- the blade flew into his face, and Fili squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable to happen.

Kili woke to find Thorin roughly shaking his shoulder, saying his name over and over again- he blinked hard as pain bloomed in his face. 'Wh-what?' he stammered, shaking his head as Thorin stopped and sat back, worry in his eyes. 'What in Durin's name happened?' he barked, before getting out a small blade- Kili looked about himself and found that he was tethered to a tree, bound by thick rope. 'I….we were ambushed, I- Fili? Is he ok?' he cried, craning his neck to see beyond his uncle. Everyone else was stood a little to the side, shocked and confused looks on their faces. Thorin looked over at him after cutting his bonds. 'He's not here.' He said shortly, helping his nephew up- concern was flaring in his chest, but he knew he had to appear strong, if only for Kili's sake.

'What happened here?' he asked again, putting a hand on Kili's shoulder. 'We heard your cries but when we arrived we found you tied to the tree, and your brother was gone.' He explained, walking him over to Gandalf, who was looking around with a frown on his face.

Kili shook his head, mind whirring. 'We didn't think they'd really go through with it…' he whispered, eyes to the ground as their stupidity made him cringe.

'Who? Go through with what?' Thorin asked, taking Kili by the shoulders and shaking him a little when he didn't reply. 'Come on Kili- who? What are you talking about?'

'Some men in a tavern….we thought they were bluffing….' Kili replied, horror piercing his heart.

'About what? Speak to me straight, I beg you!' Thorin growled, trying not to let irritation flare.

'Fili and I got into a…a disagreement with some men in a tavern last night, before we arrived at the burglar's house. They threatened us, and we walked out, not thinking anything of it.' Kili explained, gently feeling his bruised face. 'One of them pulled me off my pony, held a knife to my throat-'Thorin growled deep in his throat at that, but let him continue. '-they hit Fili over the head and dragged him off, and when I tried to get away the one holding me kicked me in the face…' he finished, shivering slightly as more pain flourished.

'Menknurlan….' Thorin spat, the insult echoing in the clearing. He put an arm around his nephew and squeezed, feeling Kili shudder with cold and pain under his arm. 'You're safe now- we need to find your brother, and show these kidnappers just what happens when you cross Dwarves.' He said, eyes dark as he looked around at the company. 'Everyone spread out! They couldn't have gone far, not with Fili unconscious as Kili describes!' he pushed the mental image away, instead walking forwards, eyes scanning the forest. 'They would have left tracks- find them!'

Kili was just about to follow his uncle, but Gandalf gently held him back, shaking his head. 'Stay here with me, you can hardly stand up, my dear fellow.' He said, before reaching into his robe- Kili was about to protest when he was presented with a bottle of blue liquid. 'It will help with the pain,' Gandalf explained as he un-stoppered it and pressed it into Kili's palm. 'It won't take it away completely but it'll do just fine.' He said, smiling as Kili took a sip. 'Thank you,' he whispered, feeling some of the pain slip away, but it did nothing for the worry and pain in his heart as he thought back to the last time he had seen his brother.

'Thorin, over here!' Balin's voice wafted over to them, making Kili instantly alert- he stumbled over to him as Thorin also joined them. An envelope was tacked to a tree by a blade, a blade that was all too familiar… 'That's Fili's knife!' Kili exclaimed, reaching out and wrenching the envelope downwards- it felt heavy in his palm as he opened it with shaking fingers. He looked inside, eyes widening as he looked upon the contents- he dropped the envelope with a cry, turning away with tears in his eyes as Thorin dived for it, a slew of dwarvish insults littering the air as the company saw what was inside….there was a hastily written note, almost illegible, and settled inside the paper was a braid….Fili's braid.

Next chapter will be up soon! Sorry for the cliffie, I had to end it somewhere!

Thanks for reading, and please review!

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