Kili hated feeling helpless. For the first day they were carried he struggled and snapped at his captors but soon realized it would bring him nothing but a larger headache. He was concerned for Fili most of all though, he still hadn't woken despite all the bumps and bruises. His head lolled against the back of the orc that was carrying him and with his pale features Kili was beginning to dread that perhaps his brother was dead.

The pack had stopped only once to eat and rest before moving on, the Dwarfs were given nothing of course and the hunger and thirst was taking it's toll. The hunger was nothing compared to what he'd felt in Mirkwood years ago but the lack of water was ten times worse in the hot sun on the plains.

"We need water." He told them finally, his voice cracked, "If you want prisoners it's better to deliver them alive don't you think?"

The orcs just sneered and jostled him some more, Kili sighed.

He also received a light kick from the right making him turn to see Fili glaring at him through thin lids. Kili opened his mouth to say how glad he was but stopped when his brother shook his head and went back to being lifeless. Oh, an act. Kili thumped himself for not thinking of it himself, the less noise he made and the less attention they got the better. Kili followed his brothers lead.

For the first hour, it was incredibly dull, how Fili had kept it up for days was beyond him but then the pack stopped and began to mutter to themselves.

"What is it?" One asked the leader, "What do you smell?"

"Man flesh." It growled.

Kili's heart rose slightly, perhaps it was Boromir and Aragorn?

-oOo-

Thorin wasn't sure which was worse, the horrible impatience he suffered waiting for his head to be cleaned and bandaged or this awful cross country running. The only thing that kept him going was the thought that the sooner they found his nephews the better their chances for still being among the living. That didn't change the fact that he was still much shorter than Aragorn and Legolas and it was terribly hard to keep up with them both.

"Come Thorin!" Legolas called from up on a hill, "Aragorn has found their trail!"

Thorin pushed himself a little further, until he reached the top where the other two were waiting for him. Before him was a huge, seemingly never ending valley of rolling hills and boulders surrounded by mountains.

"Rohan." Aragorn supplied, "Home to the Horse Lords."

Thorin had never traveled to this part of Middle Earth but of course he knew of it. He could see why horses would be so useful in a hilly place such as this, unfortunately, they had none. Still, as dry and empty as the place seemed it was in it's own way quite beautiful.

"I see them." Legolas announced, peering into the distance.

For the first time in his life Thorin praised the sharpness of Elven eyes.

"They are still almost a day ahead of us..." The Elf continued, "They're taking the Dwarves to Isenguard!"

"Saruman?" Thorin guessed, Aragorn nodded.

-oOo-

The orc packed had stopped at the edge of a forest and roughly dropped the two brothers on the ground with their bonds tied even tighter. They then began chopping down as many trees as they could even as night fell the orcs continued. Kili crawled his way over to Fili and they lay, watching the orcs throw the wood into piles.

"What do you think they need all this wood for?" Fili whispered, Kili tried to shrug but with his limbs so tight against his body the action was difficult to pull off, Fili understood none the less.

The orcs finally stopped only to complain about their food rations, something about maggot filled bread that made even Kili's empty stomach churn.

"Why can't we eat them?" One asked, pointing to the Dwarfs, "They're fresh."

"They are not for eating!" Another argued.

"Why do I feel we've done this before?" Kili whispered with mirth.

"I can't decide which are uglier, those trolls or the orcs."

Their small joke ended when they were dragged to their feet out of the eyes of hungry orcs by the largest one.

"They have a weapon Saruman desires." He explained, "They get to him alive!"

The brother's glanced at one another in horror.

They thought one of them was carrying the Ring!

The orcs continued to argue amongst themselves, a few making grabs at the Dwarfs only to be swarmed and eaten by their own comrades. Kili felt himself shudder at the massacre happening around them.

"Do you hear that?" Fili asked over the din?

"Hear what"

"Horses."

No sooner had the words come out their mouth than what seemed like dozens upon dozens of riders swarmed the pack, swords raised. Kili leapt to the side to avoid the huge horses, they were twice the size of the little ponies they were used to. Kili only just met their chests, he could probably stand underneath one without needing to duck.

"Watch out!" he yelled as one almost trampled him, his bonds making it very hard to move out of the way, "We're not orcs!"

The riders couldn't hear them over the battle cries and clangs of metal.

"Kili, over here!" Fili yelled, crawling toward the forest.

Kili had just made it to his brothers side when one of the massive horses reared and both Dwarfs yelled in shock and the hooves came down to meet them.

-oOo-

They had run through the night but Thorin didn't care, they must be getting close by now. Hr prayed for Fili and Kili's safety, while at the same time Bilbo. He felt terrible running toward Kili and Fili because it meant running away from Bilbo. But he had no choice, Bilbo would have told him if he wished him to go with him.

"Riders of Rohan!" Aragorn exclaimed, pointing over the ridge.

Thorin felt his eyes widen as the group of riders came toward them, their horses were massive, the largest he'd ever seen. Thorin did not appreciate being made to feel small. He stood tall, not even flinching when the riders surrounded them with their spears, it was oddly reminiscent of his greeting at Elrond's house years ago.

"Who trespasses on the land of Rohan?" The leader asked.

"If you give me your name I will then give you mine." Thorin challenged.

The lead rider dismounted and sneered at him.

"I would cut off your head Dwarf," He spat, "If it stood a little higher from the ground."

"You would be dead before your stroke fell." Legolas replied, notching an arrow quicker than the eye could follow. Aragorn quickly forced him to lower it however.

"I am Aragorn." The human cut in, "This is King Thorin of Erebor and Legolas Prince of Greenwood. We are friends of Rohan."

"Very few are now." The leader replied bitterly, "Saruman has taken over these lands, my company is one of the few still loyal to the true Rohan, we have been attacking orcs and trying to clear their filth from this place."

"We are tracking an orc pack." Thorin spoke up, "They are less than a day ahead of them, they took my nephews captive."

"That pack is long dead." The human replied, "We slaughtered them only last night."

"Did you see two Dwarfs with them?" Thorin asked hopefully, "They would have been small to your eyes, but distinctive from orcs."

"Not in the darkness I am afraid." The human continued with a little remorse in his eyes, "We left none alive, perhaps they escaped if they are as small as you-"

Thorin puffed up a little at that.

"But we piled dozens of bodies and burnt them." He finished, pointing to a thick trail of smoke spiraling up over the hill.

"You slaughtered them?" Thorin boiled, "Do you not look at the faces of your enemies before you kill them?! If you did you would have known the difference between Dwarf youths and orcs!"

"I am sorry." The Horse Master sighed, whistling and presenting them with two of their large horses.

"May you have better luck than their past riders." He bade, mounting his own horse once more and whistling for his riders to follow. Part of Thorin wanted to drive his sword through the mans skull.

"They could still be alive friend." Aragorn insisted, Thorin looked away.

"They had better be."

I was going to put Bilbo and Thrain in this chapter but it was getting kinda long :P