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 Reuel 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

Warning-there is a graphic description of violence in this chapter. Please be forewarned.

Kili's head shot up as the sound of Cirashala's scream reverberated through the trees, dark eyes wide. Scrambling to his feet, he took off in the direction of the hollow log, drawing his knife as he ran.

What was I thinking, leaving her alone? The young prince berated himself, all embarrassment forgotten in his urgency as he ran in the direction the scream came from. We're in the Misty Mountains, for Durin's sake!

Kili had heard plenty of tales of orcs attacking travelers in these mountains. As part of his warrior training, he, along with Fili, had provided escort for merchants traveling between Ered Luin and the cities of Men to the south. They had rarely encountered orcs during their duration as escorts, but on the few occasions they had, the attacks had always happened in the Gap of Rohan as they crossed the southern end of the long mountain range, or in the wilds of Dunland.

He could vividly remember the cries of that night, and the flaming arrows alighting the merchants' wagons and setting them ablaze. The screams as orcs and dwarves alike fell sounded in his ears, and he had been unable to forget the attack for quite some time afterward.

Thorin had been quite proud of Fili and himself, for they each earned their first battle kills on that trip. The young dwarf remembered the dawn just as they came within sight of Dunland- the fiery moon taking up half the sky as it sunk in the west. A crimson moon- mirroring the blood that had been spilled that night. It was a sight that Kili had never forgotten.

Now, as he ran towards the direction where the feminine scream had come from, the memories of the death and destruction from that night filled his head. The young dwarf hoped in his heart that he wouldn't be too late.

XXX

Cirashala's body felt numb, her eyes transfixed on the horrible sight before her even as her breaths came rapidly and her heart pounded. The wagon wheel creaked ominously in the slight breeze as it slowly turned, and the stench of rotting corpses littered the air.

But the dead bodies of orcs and wargs littered about didn't capture her attention, and neither did the broken wheel. Her wide blue eyes were transfixed on the tiny infant dangling by its foot from the tree branch hanging over the small clearing.

That the infant was long since dead was obvious. The child's body was tinged a deep purple, and its tiny chest was ripped open. The lifeless body swayed in the breeze, flies buzzing about within the open mouth and gaping chest. The wispy beard along the child's jaw line, combined with its tiny size, proved without a doubt that the babe was a dwarf.

Cirashala had wanted to be a midwife initially, and had trained with that goal in mind before having children of her own. She knew by the shape of the infant's head and how thin the child was that the baby had been born prematurely. She also knew….that the child had not been born naturally.

Her eyes fell upon the babe's mother, still lying where she had been killed. There were various jagged bite marks all over the dead dwarf woman as well as the dwarf man, showing that the animals in the area had been scavenging. But the sight of the sliced open abdomen, combined with the evidence of the infant's prematurity, caused the young woman's hands to begin shaking violently. Before Cirashala knew what was happening, she was down on her hands and knees, throwing up stomach acid.

Images of the accident that took her family flooded her mind, and she saw the bloody, lifeless faces of her two young girls once again. The pain that she had buried deep within her clawed its way to the surface, and she began to scream again, heart wrenching wails of sorrow and despair emitting through the forest as tears coursed down her cheeks.

She didn't notice the rustling or heavy footsteps to the side until she was hauled roughly to her feet with a stifled scream, and felt the cold iron of a crude blade press up against her throat.

"What do we have here?"

XXX

The sinister voice uttered black speech above her, and Cirashala gasped, fear gripping her heart. Blinking the tears out of her eyes, her gaze landed on another orc in front of her, yellow eyes wide with glee. The yellow eyed orc said something in black speech to the orc behind her, and she felt the blade lower away from her neck.

The orc holding her squeezed his arm tighter around her neck to compensate for the loss of the blade, pressing her injured back to his chest and causing her to cry out in pain. Rough laughter sounded from the pair, their delight in harming their prisoner evident. Cirashala's mind was so overcome by her grief and despair that she couldn't fight back.

The yellow eyed orc in front of her cackled, before drawing another knife. Stepping up to her, he ran the blunt edge of the crude weapon across her cheek, causing what little color she still had to drain from her face.

"Where is Oakenshield?" the yellow eyed orc asked in his foul tongue, reaching his other hand up to caress her cheek. The young woman trembled in fear as she shut her eyes.

"I-I don't know," she sobbed out, tears still coursing down her cheeks. "I-I just want my babies. Please…please no! Don't let them die!"

The yellow eyed orc's brow furrowed in confusion for a moment, before his gaze followed hers towards the infant's corpse, gently swaying in the breeze. A sinister grin spread over his face, and he walked towards the child, cutting it down from the tree with one slash of his knife.

Grabbing the corpse by the neck, he turned toward the young woman, whose eyes were wild in the throes of her flashback. With one swift stroke, the orc stabbed through the child's torso, the blade making a sickeningly slick sound as the tip protruded from the front.

"NO!" she screamed, fighting the orc holding her. "Let me go! My babies!" The orc in front of her laughed evilly, yanking the knife out of the child's body with another sickening squelch.

Suddenly, his laughter ceased as a familiar knife struck his neck, the blue hilt quivering from the force of the impact.

XXX

With a loud, gurgling screech, the yellow eyed orc dropped to the ground, dead. The infant's body in his hand fell to the ground as soon as the knife had struck him, landing face first upon the damp soil.

Kili had followed the sound of her screaming, splashing through puddles until he caught sight of their improvised shelter. Spotting his coat but not Cirashala, he grabbed it and continued running, knowing that, aside from his bracers and the Oakenshield, the coat was the only armor he had. He knew that, in his injured state, he would need the armor to deflect the blows he could not block.

He heard the black speech and cackling of the orcs before he spotted them, and slowed enough to not alert them to his presence. As soon as the young prince caught sight of the scene before him, he quickly and as silently as he could moved from tree to tree, using the tipped over wagon as cover.

Once he was within reach of the dead dwarf's broken axe, the archer stopped. Crouching behind the cover of the end of the wagon, Kili waited for the right moment, as the young dwarf was keenly aware of Cirashala's precarious position.

But when he saw the orc defile the body of the infant, and the defilement of the child's mother, the young prince saw red. Without a second thought, the knife flew unbidden from his hand, imbedding itself in the neck of the orc who dared to defile a dwarf babe. For dwarves viewed children as the most precious gifts from Mahal, regardless of whether they had any children of their own or not.

Kili instantly realized his mistake, and as the tall orc holding the young woman immediately drew his knife and brought it up to the young woman's throat, the young dwarf's face drained of color.

XXX

The tall orc looked around the clearing with narrowed eyes.

"Come out, filth!" the orc growled out, the black speech rolling thickly off his tongue. "Or the she-dwarf is dead!"

Kili's wide eyes looked between the large orc and Cirashala through a small break in the side of the wagon, before slowly coming out, hands raised slightly. The orc let out a hiss as the young prince came into sight, tightening his grip on the young woman. Cirashala winced, a strangled cry catching in her throat.

"Let her go," he demanded, his voice low and steady as he stared at the orc with narrowed eyes. "She is not the one you want." Frightened blue eyes met his, and Kili shook his head almost imperceptibly, maintaining eye contact.

Don't speak. Let me do the talking.

She blinked, before looking pointedly at him and shutting her mouth, and Kili breathed a very slight sigh of relief.

Thank Mahal. She understood.

The orc growled again as Kili stepped forward, pressing his blade into her neck ever so slightly as she gasped. A tiny trickle of blood dripped down her neck, and the young dwarf froze. A quick glance at the tall but thin orc told the young dwarf that he was not likely renown among his kin for being the best hunter or fighter, and this could work to the young prince's advantage.

Looking back up at the face of the orc, the young prince dearly hoped that his eyes didn't show the fear he felt. Doing his best to imitate Thorin's stern glare as he remembered Cirashala mentioning that it made him look similar to his uncle, he stared the orc in the eye.

"I am Kili, son of Dis, daughter of Thrain of the line of Durin," he declared loudly, causing the orc's eyes to widen considerably as the creature gasped. "I am Thorin Oakenshield's sister-son, and in line for the throne of Erebor."

Kili's keen eyes watched as the orc's grip faltered slightly. The creature was now looking at him with a malicious glee in his eyes, quite obviously interested in this little bit of information.

I have his attention, the young prince thought with relief. Now if only I can keep it long enough for her to break free.

"I am the one you want," he declared, gaze still locked with the orc. "Your master would be very interested in what I have to say regarding the whereabouts of Thorin Oakenshield." He had the orc's undivided attention now.

"Where is Oakenshield?" the orc asked, the hope in his voice unmistakable. Kili smirked slightly.

"I will tell you-for a price," the young dwarf replied. The creature's expression turned skeptical.

"What kind price?" he spat in broken Westron, his tongue obviously unused to speaking the common tongue. Kili shrugged, hoping that his act would work.

"It's very simple," the young dwarf said. "You release her, and I will give you information that will undoubtedly lead to high praise among your kin for your cunning and exceptional skill at hunting, and a reward from Azog himself." The orc's eyes gleamed, and Kili found that his assumption about the orc's lowly status among his kin to be correct.

"Reward from Master?" the orc asked, almost trembling with excitement. Kili nodded.

"No doubt you would become second to only Azog," he continued, noting the orc's arm going more and more slack around the young woman. "Maybe even made general over others." The orc's eyes widened considerably.

"General?" he asked, the woman in his arms nearly forgotten. "Commander….legions?" Kili's face paled slightly at mention of the word legion, and the young prince dearly hoped that the orc didn't notice.

What did he mean by legions?

"Aye," Kili continued, slowly reaching to his side, where the Oakenshield was tied loosely to his belt, hidden beneath his coat. "Legions. You would be able to strike the others in the chest, or trod on their feet, and they would still have to bow to you." The young prince put emphasis on the last sentence, dark eyes meeting Cirashala's briefly but pointedly. Her brow furrowed for a moment, before understanding dawned in her eyes.

Strike the chest, trod on….feet….

Suddenly a memory flashed through her mind. Being grabbed from behind as she left Rivendell to chase after the company. Reacting quickly as her assailant grabbed her, putting the young prince before her on the ground before she even realized it was him. And she understood.

Without hesitation, she threw her elbow back into the chest of the orc holding her as hard as she could. As the rush of air left him, she quickly stomped on the upper side of the creature's foot, directly on the arches. Throwing her head back to catch the orc in the abdomen, she swung her right hand backwards into the creature's groin, screaming in pain as her broken hand connected with a crude iron codpiece. As the creature howled with pain along with her, the young woman heard Kili shout above the yells.

"Cira, run!" the young prince cried, untying the Oakenshield as he moved forward. She nodded, ducking under the howling creature's arm.

But just as she managed to free herself from the injured orc, the foul creature reached upward and grabbed her braid, forcefully yanking her backwards with an enraged roar.

"Kili!" she cried, stumbling backwards. She fell on the ground with thud, crying out in agony as the wounds on her back protested the movement. Terrified blue eyes looked up at the furious orc, who grasped his crude blade tightly as he gnashed his teeth in fury.

Black spots danced in her vision from the fall as she gasped for air, the pain from her hand and back surging through her entire body. The young woman couldn't move as darkness crept upon her vision, head swimming with the resulting lightheadedness. The crude blade loomed above her as the orc shouted in his foul tongue, but his words were lost on her amidst the rushing sound of blood in her ears.

The last thing she saw before darkness took her was a sudden flash of sunlight as the Oakenshield smashed into the side of the creature's skull.

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A response to guest reviewer Ri-chan: I honestly haven't understood your reviews, it seems. You mentioned that you felt like you were in the story. I hope that the new year brings more peace where you live :) Best wishes to you too :)

Thanks to all who review, favorite, and follow! You guys are awesome! :D :D :D