Time to find out where Thorin is…or is it time?

Fili did not get any sleep the second night of Thorin's disappearance. He tried, at one point, by crawling into his bed, but he tossed and turned. He got up and sat on his bed as the hours slowly passed by. He thought about Thorin the whole time, thinking of where he could be and why they did not find him yet.

At dawn Fili left his room heading to the balcony to wait for the search party from Lake-Town. He spotted Kili once again pacing through the passage ways of Erebor. "Couldn't sleep?" Fili asked walking up to his brother.

Kili shook his head, "no, could you?"

"No."

"Didn't think you would be able too," Kili said then paused for a while. The corridor fell silent. "Where is he Fili?"

"I don't know, Kili. Dain likes to think he is Lake-Town meeting with Bard, but I'm not too certain of that anymore," Fili slumped down to the floor. Kili sat next to him. "Thorin would not have gone to Lake-Town without telling anyone. He would have said something to Balin or Dwalin or us."

"Where else could he be then? We've searched everywhere else."

"No we haven't."

Kili thought for a moment, "those closed mines? Why would Thorin go down there? He closed them himself for being too dangerous. Why would he get up in the middle of the night and go there?" Kili asked.

"I don't know, Kili, but those mines are the only place we haven't looked," Fili told his brother. "Maybe he got lost and…," Fili didn't finish his sentence.

"And what, Fili, and fell down the mine shaft? Do you think uncle tripped and stumbled down into the mines at night!? Thorin isn't some drunken klutz who can't keep his footing!"

"That's not what I'm saying Kili," Fili snapped back.

"What are you saying?" Kili pleaded, "because to me it sounds like your saying uncle accidently fell into a mine shaft!"

"I never said it was an accident," Fili said under his breath.

"You think someone pushed him?" Kili asked with a gasp.

Fili shrugged, "Maybe, or maybe he…," Fili pressed his head into his knees.

Kili put his hand on his brother. "Fili, talk to me."

"It's just…," Fili started. "Before Thorin's coronation he said something to me. He spoke with me the day before when I was helping him get ready. We talked for a while, but then he began to talk about the gold-sickness and you know uncle, he kept apologizing for the things he did. And well, near the end, before I left he said…he said he would rather die than lose himself to the gold sickness again."

"Fili, what are you saying…?"

"I don't Kili…I just don't know."

/

It was snowing. The temperature had dropped greatly over night and a thick sheet of snow covered most of the north. Fili sat out on the balcony curled up in a blanket waiting for the search party to return from Lake-Town. Shivering he wondered what was taking them so long.

"Brrr, it is mighty cold out here." Fili turned to see Dain. "Have they not returned yet?" Dain asked and Fili shook his head. "Odd, must be the storm is keeping them." Dain reached into his jacket and pulled out a piece of bread. "Here, you should eat this."

Fili glanced at the bread then turned away, "I'm not hungry."

"Yes you are, laddie, now eat it before I change my mind and it eat myself."

Fili reached out from his blanket and grabbed the food. He ate it down quickly. Dwarves were not built to last very long without food. "Thank you, Dain."

"My pleasure, laddie," Dain said with a smile.

"Do you think we will find Thorin, Dain? Truthfully, do you think we'll find him?" Fili asked with a shiver.

Dain thought carefully about what he was going to say. "Truthfully…yes I do think we will." He and Fili shared a smile. "Look, the search party," Dain yelled pointing. Fili jumped up and two ran down to greet them.

"Do you find him!? Did you find King Thorin?" Fili asked the leader of the party.

The leader pulled down his snow covered hood. "I am sorry prince Fili. We looked all over the rebuilt Lake-Town. King Thorin was not there. We asked Lord Bard and he told us he and no knowledge of the king's whereabouts. He is not in Lake-Town."

Fili gasped loudly, but then pulled himself together. "Thank you for looking. Come inside and get warm, you must be cold after your journey," Fili told them with a polite smile and the search party left Fili and Dain alone. "I guess you were wrong," Fili said under his breath and went to find his brother.

Kili sat in the treasure room thinking about what his brother had said. He cursed the treasure hoard and cursed the mountain. Many times Kili felt like he could cry, but didn't. He was a real prince now; he had to act like one, no matter how much it hurt. His brother was acting nobly; Kili knew it was time he started to do the same. He wasn't a child anymore.

Kili heard the sound of gold coins moving. Looking around Kili spotting one of the piles of gold shifting and moving as though someone was walking around on top of it. "Thorin!" Kili screamed running towards the moving gold coins. He rounded a corner with a wide smile. "Thorin!" He cheered.

"Kili?" Dain questioned in shock.

"Oh, sorry," Kili said lowering his head. "I thought you were Thorin."

"I am sorry laddie; I came in here to search for him one more time. I did not intend to give you false hope," Dain told him. "I believe your brother is looking for you," Dain added.

"Thank you, I take it Thorin was not in Lake-Town?" Kili asked and Dain shook his head. Kili thanked him for the information with a smile then went to look for his brother.

The two brothers met up and ate together in the dining hall. They avoided talking about Thorin at all costs. Instead, they talked about the cold, how much better Bombur's cooking had become, about Bilbo's story, and about braiding. The conversation was forced, but it was better than talking about what was really on their mind.

Dain approached them and told them he was doing another sweep of the mines. He asked them to join him and the princes agreed. They searched the mines for the rest of the day, finding nothing. Dain said nothing after he dispatched the search party. He looked at Fili and Kili giving a heavy sigh, then went off to his own chambers. Fili and Kili went to their respected chambers in silence.

Despite how tired they were neither Fili nor Kili could sleep. They both laid in their bed wide awake thinking about their uncle. Their bodies were physically tired from all the running around looking for him, but sleep would not come, no matter how many times they closed their eyes. The night passed by slower than any night before.

When morning came there was a knock on Fili's door. Not sleeping at all Fili answered the door to see his personal guard, a dwarf by the name of Nenon, standing outside. He told Fili that the council called an urgent meeting that Fili was required to attend. Fili thanked the guard, got dressed and ran to the meeting hall. His heart was beating fast. He had no idea what the sudden meeting was about, but a part of him, a small part of him, believed it was because they found Thorin during the night.

Fili arrived to the meeting hall. He was the last one there, Kili already standing by the others. Kili gave his brother a quick shrug. They had not told him what this meeting was called for. Fili spotted the rest of the company, Bilbo included, waiting in the meeting room with confused looks on their faces. "What is this about?" Fili asked trying to hold down his hopes.

"As you know, it has been four days now since the disappearance of King Thorin," one of the elders said. "All of Erebor and the surrounding areas have been thoroughly searched, but the king's whereabouts are still unknown. We must presume the worst."

"That being said," a different elder spoke up. "It is the decision of this council that we pronounce King Thorin dead."

Thank you for reading and I hope you have a warm winter. Please remember to review and have a nice day.