I do not own any of the characters or the Hobbit (just the AU storyline and my OC) those are the work of the esteemed and brilliant John Ronald Reull Tolkien, and without his genius,this and many other fan fics would not be in existence.

Please review! I love getting them-they keep me encouraged J

Kili watched, frozen in place, as he beheld the pale orc in the flesh for the first time.

The young prince watched as Azog stepped off his mount, the great orc looking around for a moment, before speaking to one of the orcs under his command. The two tensed as the giant pale orc suddenly stepped into the pond, bodies trembling and hearts pounding as they barely dared to breathe.

Kili's hold on Cirashala's hand tightened slightly, and she had to bite back a wince as her knuckles pressed awkwardly against each other. The young dwarf didn't seem to notice, dark eyes never leaving the pale orc as he waded closer and closer to their hiding spot.

Pressing even closer against her, Kili's fingers tightened around the dagger he was holding until his knuckles were white, and the pattern of the teal twine wrapped around the handle dug into his palm. He kept it just below the water so as to avoid the sun glinting off the blade, wishing desperately that he was as decent at knife throwing as his brother.

Despite having excellent aim with a bow and arrow, the young dwarf had never quite managed to match his elder brother's skill with throwing knives and axes. Fili had always been the stronger, despite being an inch shorter, and had little trouble with a warhammer and axes. Kili, on the other hand, had been slighter, despite being taller, and didn't have as much muscle, which had caused him to hone his skills at archery rather than with heavy, "traditional" dwarf weapons.

Thorin had not been keen on the idea at first, believing bows and arrows to be more useful for hunting than war, but after having seen many dwarves fall to orc arrows over the years, and seeing the trouble Kili had had with heavy axes and warhammers in training, had grudgingly accepted his youngest nephew's choice of weapon. He did, however, insist that Kili learn swordplay as well, in case he was ever in a position where a bow could not be used.

The dwarf king could shoot a bow as well, having been trained in all manners of weaponry as a prince of Erebor before the mountain fell, but Kili soon surpassed even his skill. At a young age, the normally impulsive dwarfling would become surprisingly calm and focused when wielding a bow, his eyesight quite keen, and his aim sure. Though he was not a perfect archer, or even as good as elves (a fact he mostly attributed to his height disadvantage, and not having endless centuries to practice), the young dwarf was undoubtedly one of the best archers in Ered Luin.

And now, more than ever, he wished desperately that he had not lost his bow in the goblin tunnels.

XXX

As the pale orc's eyes landed on their hiding spot, a grin spread across the hideous face, causing the young dwarf's heart to nearly stop with fright. The brown eyes widened as Azog stepped dangerously close to the waterfall, eyeing it with interest.

Kili wasn't stupid. He knew what would happen should orcs discover them, especially in their injured state. He had heard plenty of stories about the atrocities and horrors orcs would commit to their prisoners, and, while the young dwarf feared what they would do to him, he was even more worried about the trembling young woman behind him.

If the pale orc should discover her….

Please, the young dwarf thought as his heart threatened to jump right out of his chest. By Eru, Mahal, and all the Valar, PLEASE do not let him see us!

XXX

Suddenly, the pale orc thrust his forked hand into the waterfall, causing the terrified young dwarf to nearly jump out of his skin, startled eyes widening as far as they go.

A seemingly loud crack sounded through the tiny cavern, but the young dwarf paid it no mind, his terrified gaze frozen on the pale orc as the giant's claw emerged from the water. A silver, bloodied fish was impaled on the great tines, writhing as it died.

Azog eyed the fish for a moment, before taking a large bite out of the raw flesh. Blood dribbled down the great orc's chin, and Kili felt his stomach churn slightly at the sight. Dwarves, while not the cleanest eaters, at least cooked their meat before eating! The young dwarf trembled, breaths coming quickly as he willed his racing heart to calm down.

His broken ribs greatly protested the sudden movement, pain radiating from the damaged bones. His grip on Cirashala's hand loosened slightly as his heart began to slow to its normal pace. The young dwarf's eyes closed, focusing on deep, slow breaths, hands trembling.

The young dwarf jumped slightly as he felt a sudden, strange pull on the back of his coat. It almost felt as if….

I-is she biting my coat?

Before the young dwarf could even turn around, a muffled scream reached his ears.

XXX

Azog stepped out of the water, enjoying his meal.

The wargs under his command sniffed the ground repeatedly, bewildered expressions on their faces. The pale orc looked up as his scout returned, watching as the dark orc dismounted his beast.

"There was a recent campsite further up," the orc reported in black speech. "But there were no footsteps, nor scent, beyond the dark waterfall." Azog's eyes narrowed.

"There is not enough room for a giant eagle to land there," Azog replied. "Are you certain there was no other scent trail, or broken trees to indicate they landed?" The orc gulped, nodding.

"Aye, my lord," the creature replied. "The trail began at the edge of the dark water, and ended here. The trees were unbroken."

Azog gritted his jaw in frustration. There was no elvish valley anywhere near here, and no plausible reason for the eagles to have dropped the dwarves in that location. He eyed his scout dangerously, bringing his claw up to the orc's neck.

"I do not want lies, or excuses," the pale orc growled. "If I find you have given me either…" The creature's eyes widened.

"There was the scent of a woman too, my lord!" the orc cried, causing Azog's tines to stop abruptly a hair's breadth away from the trembling creature's neck. The pale orc lowered his claw, eyeing his scout with interest.

"A woman?" Azog repeated, and the creature nodded.

"A human woman, and the scent of dwarf," the scout replied. Azog's brow furrowed even further in confusion.

There was no human woman on the mountainside, the pale orc thought to himself. Are these travelers not from Thorin Oakenshield's company, then? But why would a human woman be traveling with a dwarf out here in the wild?

"Did that stupid goblin mention anything about a woman?" Azog asked his lieutenant. The creature shook his head.

"No, my lord, but there was a woman who threw herself between the young one in the company and on of our scout's wargs outside the cursed elvish valley," the lieutenant replied. "I remember Yazneg mentioning it, but from what he had said, it sounded like her wounds would have been fatal."

Azog's gaze hardened.

"Why was this not mentioned to me before?" he asked angrily, glaring at his lieutenant, who shrank into himself slightly.

"Yazneg assured me she looked dead from where he stood," came the fearful reply. The pale orc growled in frustration, wishing now that he had not fed the miserable orc to the wargs so soon. He would take great delight doing it NOW.

So, this woman and dwarf- they are a part of Thorin's company, the pale orc thought to himself. And, if they are near here….

"They must have continued on in the stream," Azog stated. "We will follow the stream and find them. And when we do, we keep them alive." The orcs and wargs looked at each other in confusion.

"Alive, my lord?" one of the orcs asked, and Azog nodded, mounting his warg.

"They may lead us to the rest of the dwarves, and could be used as bait," he replied. An evil glint came into his cold blue eyes. "And the woman- she is mine." He spurred his warg on, and the rest of the orcs mounted their wargs as well, following their leader.

None were aware of the two lost members of the company shaking in the tiny cave.

XXX

As soon as the last warg faded into the thinning fog, Kili turned around, eyes widening in shock at the sight before him.

Cirashala's face was twisted in pain, her whole body shaking as she cradled her quickly swelling right hand, having yanked it out of the dwarf's grip as soon as it was loose enough. She immediately curled in on herself as soon as Kili moved out of her way, her breaths coming in rapid succession as she gritted her teeth.

Kili looked down at her swelling hand, then at her, then back down to the hand, the blood draining from his face as realization dawned.

T-that loud crack, he thought to himself, eyes widening. It-it was her hand….the one I….I squeezed….

"Mahalu-me turg," he breathed in horror, realizing that, in his fright, he had broken her hand. "C-Cirashala, I….oh Mahal." He shuddered, swallowing thickly as tears pricked the corner of his eyes.

She forced her eyes open, pain and wariness in the tear filled blue orbs.

"Y-you swore," she gasped, shock and hurt evident in her gaze. "B-back in…in the tr-troll's cave…." Kili's eyes widened, the young dwarf sucking in a sharp breath as he felt his heart plummet into his stomach.

I-I swore I wouldn't hurt her….

"C-Cirashala, I—" Kili's voice caught, the young prince struggling to maintain his composure. "I…Mahal, I am SO sorry! I-I didn't mean…." He trailed off, swallowing heavily, before reaching a shaking hand out to take hers.

"L-let me look at—" he froze as she flinched away from him with a gasp, hurt and shock in his features as he saw her fear. The young dwarf's eyes filled with tears, and he struggled desperately to keep them from falling.

S-she's terrified of me.

"I-I'm sorry," he whispered, shoulders slumping as a lone tear trickled down his cheek, landing in the still water below."Please, please don't be afraid of me."

XXX

Cirashala looked at the defeated young dwarf, hearing the heartfelt and sincere apology in his tone.

Her hand throbbed with an intense pain she wasn't familiar with, having never broken a bone before in her life. When he had squeezed her hand as Azog had thrust his claw into the waterfall, she had barely managed to bite the back of his coat in time to keep the scream from sounding through the glade and alerting the orc to their presence.

The realization that the young dwarf could squeeze hard enough to break her hand had terrified her, having forgotten that dwarves were much stronger than humans. She had flinched away out of sheer instinct, out of fear that he would hurt her again-intentionally or otherwise.

But, as her eyes beheld the deep hurt in his gaze, and heard his whispered apology- his voice had sounded so vulnerable- she realized that it was truly an accident.

She slowly reached her broken hand out to him. The young dwarf jumped slightly as it entered his vision, having been unable to look at her in shame after apologizing. He looked at her hand in surprise, then back at her, questioning and hesitancy in his gaze.

Her hand was shaking, whether from fear or pain, or both, she could not tell. He slowly reached his own shaking hand out to hers, before hesitating, then dropping it back down with a shake of his head.

"No," he whispered, sadness in his tone as he averted his eyes. "Y-you don't trust me, a-and I…..I don't want to hurt you again." She looked down at her hand, swallowing heavily as she saw the misaligned bones underneath the skin.

"I-I can't set it myself," she whispered, looking at him imploringly. "P-please?" The young dwarf slowly raised his eyes to meet hers, fear in his gaze.

She held her hand out closer to him, but he didn't make to take it.

"W-what if I hurt you?" he whispered, and she shut her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath, before looking him in the eye.

"It was an accident," she whispered, speaking the words carefully. "It's all right. You're my friend, and I trust you."

Dark eyes searched her face hesitantly, before landing on her hand, and the young dwarf took a shaky breath.

"A-all right," he whispered. He looked over his shoulder, peering through the water into the wood, before turning back towards her. He held up his knife, eyeing the hilt, before reaching it toward her.

"Bite this," he instructed, and she looked at him in confusion.

"But it-it's sharp," she stuttered, and he shook his head.

"Not the blade. Bite the hilt," he clarified, bringing it up to her face. She looked at the knife, before biting down on it.

"Be careful," he said gently, positioning the knife so the edge was away from her cheek. "It's double bladed." She nodded slightly, careful to not cause the knife to slip.

Kili gently took her broken hand, causing her to suck in a sharp breath as pain radiated up her arm. He grasped it with both hands, positioning his thumbs on top of the broken bones and his fingers underneath.

"Ready?" he asked, gaze locking with hers. She took a deep breath, nodding. He took as deep a breath as his broken ribs would allow, his gaze not leaving hers.

"On the count of three," he said softly, and she nodded. "One, two…"

Not willing to give her the chance to tense up, and cause his hands to slip, he pulled one hand up as he pushed the other down, aligning the bones with a sharp crack as she let out a muffled scream, tears streaming down her face.

"Three," he finished quietly, glancing down at her hand, then back up at her worriedly. He reached up, taking the knife out of her mouth and sheathing it, before moving her hand toward her abdomen.

"Don't move it," he instructed. "We need to find a way to splint it after we get out of here." She nodded, holding her trembling hand as still as she could.

She locked eyes with him then, her gaze saying what her clenched mouth could not. Kili felt the tugging sensation in his chest again as he stared into her blue eyes, wondering why he suddenly had a bit of trouble breathing. It didn't take him long to understand what she was trying to say through the pain.

"You're welcome," he said softly.