Have no idea whether this is a good end chapter, but thanks to So-Sings-Nightingales, Tweetzone86, Gregsmadhatter and smiles811988 (your review gave me an idea). But fear not, I have an epilogue to write before I'm done.
Chapter 20: Yet we go on
Thorin chewed the inside of his mouth, thinking. He was worrying, he knew it, but the dark haired dwarf could not help himself. The issue that was on his mind kept on coming back every time he attempted to push it away, overwhelming him.
"They'll be fine," Dwalin said beside him as the company trekked further up the mountain range.
"How can you know that?" Thorin replied, his words caught by the wind that was whipping around them. Several of the company members drew their coats closer around themselves. Dwalin sighed as he hunched forward more, the chill of the air making him curl in on himself.
"Bofur and Bifur will look after them, you can be sure of it," the burly dwarf replied, his voice firm on all counts, "They have no wish to see your nephews harmed further."
"I suppose you are right," Thorin said, giving in to his friend's reasoning, "But it would not be right if I did not worry."
"No, it would not," Dwalin agreed, chuckling, "Both you and Dis have been worrying after the pair of them since they were born, and that only increased at the passing of their father. I do not think it will stop now. I am surprised they know anything of the outside world after how much the pair of you coddled them." Thorin glared at the bald dwarf indignantly.
"Are you suggesting that our raising of Fili and Kili was wrong?" he asked in a calm yet dangerous voice. Dwalin shook his head, still grinning.
"No, but both you and your sister were not the harshest of guardians," he answered.
"I can show you harsh if you really want," Thorin muttered darkly, not pleased that his softer side was being made fun of by the seasoned warrior. Dwalin just shook his head.
"I do not think you will," he teased, "You are too soft for that."
"Argh, be gone with you," the exiled king cried in exasperation, shooing his friend away from him, leaving him to mull over his thoughts in peace.
It had only been a day since the company had split into two separate groups, yet in that day Thorin had come to realise just how important this journey was; certainly not as important as the lives of his nephews. Still, they had both regained the ability to walk a short distance per day, though the wait for that had taken a long while. It had been worth it though, at least to Thorin, for his mind was not as weighed down as it would have been had they of left Fili and Kili when they were still somewhat incapacitated.
That was another thing on the exiled king's mind; his decision to leave the pair.
It had not been easy, he would say that much, but in the end it had probably been the right thing to do. As Balin had pointed out when Thorin had asked him for advice on the matter for a second time, if they were to come face to face with the orcs again, which was a given likelihood, the two brothers would more than likely either freeze up or go into a complete panic. This in turn would be a liability if the company was to go into battle, with them all having to defend themselves as well as both Fili and Kili. The white bearded dwarf had expressed his concern that if the company became too small they might not be able to face Smaug on a level they were all comfortable with. The old dwarf had also said that it would the company would be better lacking three or four of its members rather than retaining them all at the cost of two being unreliable in the worst of situations.
That had not been the only reason why Thorin had order his nephews (much to their obvious relief) to return to the Blue Mountains in the company of Bofur and Bifur. What Kili had said the night after the argument between the exiled king and Fili had struck the chords of Thorin's heart, the dwarf hearing them after being unable to sleep due to the conflict within his own mind. It was then that the dark haired dwarf had realised that his two exuberant nephews could never be the same, would never be the same again. No longer were they eager for a chance to go on the quest and prove themselves, that much had been clear in what both of them had to say, and the reason more so in the younger's confession.
"We had to fight each other, and we couldn't back out or else they would kill us both."
These words had cut through Thorin like no other words ever had. To think that his nephews had been used against each other for the sole purpose of bringing harm to one another was preposterous. Sure before he may have suspected, even acknowledged that it had been the truth, but to know for sure… And what Kili had said after them, after the panic attack that Bofur had managed so well with the aid of the hobbit, had been enough to make up Thorin's conflicting mind on what to do.
"I do not want to continue on."
The same words his brother had said, only in a different context and at a time where Thorin was not so worked up on the stress of the entire situation, a time where the company leader had been more than willing to listen. As it was, however, these words had not been the ones to cause the most sorrow to stir in Thorin's heart.
Thorin had been on the brink of getting up to help comfort his youngest nephew, to tell the brunette there was nothing to worry about, to do something other than just lay there in shock from the dwarf's first admission. He had hesitated when Bofur had seemed to have gained control of the situation, but had resolved to push forward with his idea. He had just raised the upper part of his body ever so slightly, tensing the muscles in his arms and legs to stand slowly in order not to disturb anyone around him when Kili had said the one thing that had left him completely and utterly drained.
"Please don't tell anyone else of this, especially not Thorin."
Why the young archer wouldn't want to tell him, or even Fili for that matter was a mystery to him. Surely the brunette could not be that afraid of what he, as the youth's uncle, would think of him if he had been told the truth. Still, he had confessed to Bofur, which was why Thorin had chosen the toymaker to be one of the dwarves to escort his nephews back the way the company had come. That and the fact that the dwarf's generally cheery outlook was exactly what both Fili and Kili needed.
Again Thorin found himself wondering how the group of four was fairing, only paying attention to his surroundings enough to be able to lead the way of the company as accurately as he could and to avoid any mishaps that might occur with the treacherous footing beneath him.
Fili watched as the sun passed overhead, its rays of golden light rebounding off the rocks situated around the blonde dwarf and through the greenery that looked so full of life.
"If your hair was any brighter," the young dwarf could hear Bofur chuckle from behind him, "I am sure we would all be blinded when we looked upon you." Fili allowed a smile to tug at his lips, his brother's eyes lighting up in amusement beside him, but neither of them replied, still somewhat wary with what could be potentially lurking about.
Bofur fell into a period of silence, not at all disappointed with the lack of response. If Fili was to say one thing about the dwarf, it would be that he was persistent. If he wanted to get a laugh out of you, he would no matter how hard you tried not to fall for his antics.
A fly buzzed lazily past his ear, the cold but gentle breeze refreshing upon the faces of the four dwarves making their slow way back to Rivendell and from there, would begin to trek back to the Blue Mountains once Fili and Kili had recovered further. For now, it would just be a relief to get out of the wild and the dangers it held.
The blonde felt somewhat peaceful, the argument with his uncle all those days before forgotten, or at least buried deep in his mind somewhere. Thorin had come to Fili the next day, apologising for venting his frustrations at him. Fili had not apologised for there was nothing that he said that he wanted to take back. Thankfully his uncle seemed to understand this. He had also come to finally understand the young heir's standing on the matter of continuing on with the journey. It had been then that the exiled king had given his order that they return back home.
Glancing towards his brother, Fili was more than relived that this had been the final decision. Kili had been hurt too much in the blonde's eyes already, and just the mere potential of further harm was enough to sour any idea of heroic efforts to reclaim a city long lost to a dragon. Not for all the gold in the world, artificial or otherwise, would the blonde ever want to risk losing his brother again to a fate as or even more horrific than the one they had already experienced.
"You know what I really love about mountains," Bofur said, beginning to ramble if only to fill up the space so clearly absent of words, "Is the fact that it gives you a sense of freedom, makes you feel as if you are not as caged in as you would have thought."
The talk of cages and freedom brought up an unbidden memory in Fili's mind. There had been a question a little earlier than the day that the company had parted ways that had been asked by Ori. The timid dwarf had meant no harm by it, but the answer was something that Fili had been unwilling to talk about, not that Ori minded. He had just developed tis sympathetic, slightly pity look and had then proceeded to move away. Did they ever try to escape? Of course they would have tried.
"Ready?" Fili asked, eyeing the orcs around them warily. It had been several days since their capture and both he and Kili were ready to leg it out of there.
"Aye," Kili answered, speaking as softly as his brother whilst nodding in the dark, "I am."
"Alright then," Fili replied, "Let's do this."
Slowly the eldest of the two brothers stood, carefully avoiding going outside the small circle of space that was around the pair of dwarves, walled off by deeply sleeping orcs. The blonde then turned to Kili and offered his hand, ignoring the small amount of pain that his wounds were inflicting on him. The brunette winced, legs stiff, but after a quick look over, Fili determined that he was well enough to attempt what they were about to do.
Slowly they weaved their way through the generally unresponsive bodies of the orcs, not rushing, but not taking forever either. It was almost too easy the way that their escape plan was working, Fili reflect, but the young dwarf pushed it down to mere luck.
Nearing the entrance of the cave, Fili spied a discarded pile of bones on the floor, left over from the last meal that his captors had eaten. Both he and his brother's hands were still tied, but as the blonde softly rooted through the pile, his eyes lighting up when he found one sharp enough to cut through the bonds tying his and Kili's hands together.
Fili allowed the brunette to free himself first, holding the shard of bone in both hands as Kili rubbed the rope back and forth along it. It took a while, but soon he was free, and a little later, Fili was too.
The brothers had to work hard to hide their excitement as they neared the open mouth of the cave. They could not believe how well their plan was working, nor how stupid the orcs were not to have left any real guards around, the ones supposedly on the job slouched against the walls of the cave. A little bell of doubt rang in Fili's head, but all he could think of was getting out of the mess they had found themselves buried in.
This eagerness to escape and ignorance of what was awaiting them outside was what ultimately failed their plan.
When Fili stepped outside of the cave, he turned to ensure that his brother was right behind him. It was then that the blonde saw the pair of glowing eyes above them. These eyes blinked once slowly, a low growling starting up as more and more pairs of eyes joined the first. Fili breathed out as quietly as he could, eyes not flickering from the glowing stares above him. In inwardly cursed himself for forgetting about the wargs.
"Kili," he said softly and slowly, "Come towards me slowly and do not turn around."
The younger dwarf hesitated for only a second before complying to his brother's wishes, knowing to trust the blonde's words. The brunette slowly edged forward, and Fili had almost allowed a sigh of relief to escape him when it became obvious it had all been for naught.
"Move it," the young prince cried to Kili, leaping at the same time to grab the startled dwarf by the hand and pull him forward. It was not a moment too soon as a moment later the space was occupied by a warg salivating from the anticipation of a large meal. More joined the creature, but by that time both Fili and Kili were away, running across the ground in an effort to put as much distance between themselves and the cave as they could.
It was not to be, however, with the two dwarves barely reaching the tree line when they were finally surrounded by their captors mounts. Fili tensed for a fight, knowing that if he could distract the beasts, Kili might be able to escape. His brother, however, seemed to catch on to what he was about to do.
"No," he said softly, "It is together or not at all." Fili smiled gratefully at the brunette as the shouting that had started only a few moments ago grew closer, the voices clearly angry.
"Aye, we will face this together."
The memory itself was bitter, but as Fili recalled the final moments of it, suddenly the image did not seem all that bad. That was far from the truth, the blonde knew, for it would have been far better if at least Kili had been spared from what had happened, but he would not fail to admit that his brother's unwillingness to leave him alone to face a fate at the hands of the orcs was something that he had been grateful for in those dark days.
Glancing at Kili beside him, the golden haired dwarf sighed inwardly, mentally berating himself for his selfish desires. Had they both not been there, then neither of them would have been forced to harm each other.
"Let's take a break," Bofur said from his place behind the two brothers, "You both must be pretty exhausted."
Fili sunk to a sitting position, sliding down the back of a small, rocky cliff face, eager to take the weight off his already tired legs. The blonde remembered well his first attempt to stand after the rescue and was somewhat glad he had not nearly face planted himself all over again. Dwalin had managed to catch him in time, though barely, and instead of one, two dwarves fell in a twisted heap on the ground.
Stretching his weaker leg before him, the young prince allowed himself to exhale a heavy breath. He wondered how his uncle was fairing on the journey to Erebor and whether he and the company had run into any trouble as of yet.
It was only a short while before they continued on again at the same slow and steady pace as before, Bifur and Bofur having swapped places with each other. Fili and Kili remained in the middle, not that the brunette minded. He just plodded along the path they had walked once before, picking at his still splinted hand.
From the corner of his eye, Kili could see his brother limping ever so slightly and swallowed the guilt that came with the image. The blonde was healing, and that was good enough for now. The wound had not been crippling in any way, and Fili had insisted that it was stupid that Kili should feel guilt over causing it, considering the circumstances they had been in. Still, the young archer doubted if the guilt was ever going to go away, not over something like this.
Looking back ahead, Kili smiled slightly in amusement at the jokes that Bofur was cracking, The toymaker was in a happy mood even if the two dwarves immediately behind him could only move forward on step at a time. Even Bifur was chortling softly to himself, though the brunette doubted he could understand half of what was going on. The joyful mood almost made Kili forget about the orcs that were still lurking around, but the fear was still there. For what might have been the hundredth time that morning, the youth glanced fearfully around at his surroundings.
A reassuring hand brushed past his own and Kili found his gaze drawn away from the foreboding shadows beneath the trees and towards his brother's startling blue eyes. The blonde offered a small smile, seeming to understand what his brother's uneasiness was all about. Kili allowed his lips to twitch a little in a small acknowledgement of thanks. Bofur, however, chose that moment to strike up a song.
"O, there once was a drinking man,
Who was as wide as he was tall,
And one day challenged a dwarf,
To a drinking game in his mighty hall.
He rolled out six barrels of wine,
And six hundred of his best ale,
Upon which the dwarf,
Had hopes that he would bail.
O, there once was a drinking man,
Who was a smart as he was dumb,
And one day challenged a dwarf,
To a drinking game with bottles of rum.
The dwarf and man sat down,
On opposite sides of the table,
And proceeded to drink it all up,
After which the man was unstable.
O, there once was a drinking man,
Who would lose instead of win,
On the day he challenged a dwarf,
Who went by the name of Balin."
The toymaker took a bow, having stopped short and turning around as he picked up the speed of the song, dancing around to the tune in front of the two princes and his cousin. Kili offered the dwarf a now rare smile, the song having mesmerised him with its tune, a tune that was now running through his mind, distracting him from his previous thoughts.
"That was well done," Fili acknowledged, his brother nodding his head in agreement beside him. Bofur's eyes sparkled at more than just the praise.
"Very well, if you think it is that good I will provide you with an encore," the dwarf said.
"O, there once was a drinking man…"
The song is bad, I know, but at least it was a long chapter.
Review please.