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windemereNext part! Sorry this one took a bit longer, but I was out of the city for all of yesterday and therefore without the computer! It's longer thought, so hopefully that makes up for it.
Disclaimer: Tolkien. Peter Jackson. Need I say more? There are quite a few lines from TH: AUJ in here, which of course belong to Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro.
Trolls are An Adventure. Even when Fili sends Bilbo straight into the trolls’ camp to free the ponies, Kili never once gives a thought that anything will go wrong. If he did think that, he wouldn’t have agreed with his brother to send their not-even-remotely-a-burglar into such danger. But Bilbo is tiny and silent and all he needs to do is open the fence and the ponies will run for cover. And the trolls aren’t exactly fast enough to catch them with ease.
Kili takes a last long look at Bilbo as he creeps towards the camp and then follows Fili back to the other ponies. They check to make certain no more are missing, while frantically gobbling down the stew Bilbo has brought. They are starving, after all. And then they hear it, in the distance, the unmistakable sound of trolls getting very angry.
‘That didn’t go quite as planned,’ Fili admits out loud.
‘Uncle?’
Fili sighs. ‘Uncle,’ he agrees and they rush to camp to find Thorin and alert the dwarves, hoping it isn’t too late for Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End.
Thorin does not stop to ask what has happened or why. He only asks what the problem is, how many trolls there are, and that Kili can lead them back to the troll camp as quickly as possible.
‘Fili, stay here with Bifur and guard the rest of the ponies. We don’t want the rest of them wandering off.’ Fili opens his mouth to argue, but backs down when he sees the look on Thorin’s face.
‘Kili,’ their uncle says, ‘lead on.’
They sneak back through the woods. At least the trolls are so loud they can’t hear the dwarves’ approach over the wind. There’s a storm coming, for certain. Bilbo doesn’t look to be in a very good spot, although the fact that he is alive and breathing rather impresses Kili, until one of the trolls gets him in his grasp, seconds away from squashing the poor Hobbit to mush.
Since they got him into this mess, Kili’s willing to get him out of it. ‘Drop him!’ he shouts, shouldering through the trees to stand in the light of the clearing. He swipes his sword at the nearest dwarf.
‘You what?’ is asks.
‘I said,’ Kili says, slowly. ‘Drop him.’
To be fair, the troll does exactly that, he just drops him on top of Kili. Unexpected, but it’s the pause Thorin needs to rush in with the army in tow.
The attack against three slow-witted fools sends their blood racing and fills their hearts. This is certainly more like what they’ve been hoping for and it has the added benefit of being trolls and not orcs, which can be particularly nasty. The eleven companions work in tandem, but Kili feels the loss of Fili, who has always been there to fight (and practice) beside him.
Until they catch sight of Bilbo, held between two trolls twenty times his size. They aren’t going to squash him now, they’re going to tear him apart.
‘Bilbo!’ Kili cries, despite himself.
The troll smirks. ‘Lay down your arms or we’ll rip his off!’
There is a very long pause and Kili takes a deep breath, reading to return to battle. The sound of Thorin’s sword hitting the dirt is rather unexpected. They’re giving up? Just like that? Kili stares at his uncle in disbelief, but then follows suit. Behind him he can hear the others doing the same thing. At least Fili is safe now, far enough away the trolls won’t find him.
The trolls are in a hurry. It doesn’t take long for two of them to strip Dwalin, Bofur, Dori, Nori and Ori to their underthings and lash them to a spit. Or to truss the rest of them up in sacks. It’s not dignified and Thorin glares about it the whole time. But since the third troll is holding Bilbo hostage, there isn’t much they can do about it.
It is only when the dwarves are taken care of that they sack Bilbo too and toss him down beside the group. Kili begins to worry a bit at this point when they start discussing how to eat dwarf.
Bilbo suddenly rolls himself to his feet and hops forward. ‘Wait! You’re making a terrible mistake!’
The clearing goes silent. Behind him, Kili can hear Thorin groan.
The groaning gets louder, as well as the teeth gnashing, as Bilbo attempts to explain how to cook them. Is he serious? Why help the trolls?
‘Ye-es, I’m telling you, the secret is…to skin them first!’
Outcry. Kili can’t believe his ears! Bilbo should be helping them, but he’s offering them up on the spit! Honestly. Is this some sort of repayment for sending him into the troll clearing in the first place?
Whatever Bilbo is trying to do, it doesn’t work. Kili catches his breath as one of the trolls picks up Bombur and holds him above his gigantic gapping mouth. They’re done for now, surely. Kili misses his brother desperately.
‘Not-not that one, he’s – he’s infected!’ Bilbo shouts.
Kili is not impressed at the accusation. Infected? Dwarves? Honestly, of all the lies to tell. Kili can’t help himself when he denies it out loud; it’s utterly absurd.
He’s about to open his mouth again, a little louder when a booted foot lands square in his back. Kili knows it’s Thorin’s. He’s not quite sure why for a second, until reason sets in. Of course Bilbo’s lying. He’s distracting the trolls! Smart Hobbit.
‘Mine are the biggest parasites! I’ve got huge parasites!’ Kili declares, extra loudly.
The trolls, unfortunately, aren’t buying it. They aren’t getting out of this mess so easily. Kili realises suddenly that all of this is their fault. He and Fili didn’t keep a watch on the ponies, nor scout the area like they should have to find a troll den nearby. They’re going to be roasted and eaten and it’s his fault.
And then there’s blinding light and Gandalf’s voice and Kili watches in disbelief as the trolls turn to stone in the dawn light.
Gandalf quickly drops down into the clearing when it is over and begins to untie the sacks. As Kili breaks free he rushes over to Bilbo and smacks him – rather more forcefully than necessary – on the back. ‘Well done Mr. Baggins!’
‘Uh, thank you,’ Bilbo says. ‘Any time, you know.’ He pauses as if to think that one through. ‘Yes, um. Where’s your brother?’
Kili’s smile falters. ‘Thorin left him back at camp to guard the other ponies.’
‘Probably for the best,’ Bilbo reasons, not getting the point.
The others are helping Dwalin down from the spit. He’s none too pleased, but it’s nothing compared to the look of fury on Thorin’s brow. Kili knows he’s in for it at some point, but at least the troll den is a momentary distraction. Fili appears at his side.
‘Sorry I missed the battle.’
‘It wasn’t as fun as I thought I would be brother, especially when I ended up tied in a sack about to be eaten!’
Fili smiles at that. ‘Just another day on the East-West road. That’s the first fun we’ve had since we started this trip.
Kili isn’t so certain he’d call it ‘fun’ anymore. They begin to gather their things together while Thorin and Gandalf are off exploring the troll cave. Their uncle comes back armed with a rather fierce looking and beautiful weapon and Kili gulps. He and Fili are in so much trouble. He wonders if they’re too old for a smacking now. Their mother always was very good at smacking sense into her sons.
‘Something’s coming!’ Thorin shouts and Kili doesn’t allow that thought to go any further. He strings an arrow to his bow and hopes it’s not orcs.
It is not orcs. It’s not anything they expected. It is, in fact, a rather shabby wizard.
Kili and Fili take up residence out of hearing range, since clearly Gandalf wants to talk to his companion without other ears listening in. Thorin stands near them, glaring between Gandalf’s turned back and his nephews, as if deciding which he’d rather lay into first.
Howls echo around the rocks.
‘Was that a wolf?’ Bilbo asks.
Bofur says what all of them know to be true. ‘Wolves? No, that was not a wolf.’
And then there is a warg in their midst and Kili is very glad he still has an arrow to his forgotten bow. What was he just saying about orcs? No one was listening obviously. Kili nudges closer to his brother around the remains of the two wargs, his heartbeat already faster. Fight or flight is coming soon and it isn’t going to be nearly as much fun as three slow-witted trolls around a camp fire.
The orcs aren’t going to give them the courtesy of roasting them for dinner first. They are being hunted, not for sport or food but something much worse.
Kili and Fili share a look. They know this is a proper battle that is coming, and with wargs after them, death is stalking near. Fun is a long distant thought in their mind. Fili grabs Bilbo and pushes him forward as the company make for open land, Radagast headed off to try to draw the orcs away. It won’t work, Kili can see that in Thorin’s eyes.
Dwarves can run fairly fast, when the mood strikes them. Not as fast as a warg, unfortunately, but it might just let them get away if the brown wizard can distract the pack for long enough. Gandalf takes the lead, zigzagging across the open rocky lands. Kili runs with an arrow in his bow, but he only gets one chance to use it.
His heart is pounding as they huddle below the rocky outcrop and it’s all he can do to keep his fingers from shaking; the string taunt and arrow in place. Above them, the deep breathy growl of a warg is clear and much, much too close. Kili takes a startling deep breath when Thorin nods at him and lets it out in a rush as he releases the arrow, as he has been taught back in the safety of distant mountains. Kili does not worry the shot will go array. But when the warg falls down towards them he cannot bring himself to grab his knife. It is Thorin that kills the orc, while Kili looks on.
Great warriors like Uncle Thorin do not freeze up in battle. For a brief moment, Kili is ashamed. He looks at his brother who gives him the vaguest smile. But that is all they have time for. The dying orc’s cries have alerted the others and they are running again, following behind Gandalf to some unknown destination. Thorin might be concerned with what that is, but Kili doesn’t care, as long as it’s safe from their pursuers.
Suddenly the company are in the dip of another lay of the land and Kili spots a warg rider to his right. He can still hear the pack behind. They are being surrounded. ‘There’s more coming!’ he shouts, but it is unnecessary. The others have already spotted their coming death.
‘We’re surrounded,’ Fili states, and Kili realises that within seconds that is true. They have wargs and orcs coming at them from three sides and…
‘Where is Gandalf?’ Kili asks, for the grey hat of the wizard is not to be found in the field.
From behind Dwalin’s disgust is obvious. ‘He has abandoned us.’
Kili doesn’t think that likely, but since the wargs are closing in he keeps that to himself. He notches another arrow, aiming out at the advancing horde, not sure where to shoot first.
‘Hold your ground,’ Thorin’s voice cuts through them on and for the first time since they killed the first warg back in the forest, Kili feels his fear lighten a little. If he is going to die, he is going to do so fighting alongside some of the greatest dwarven warriors to yet live.
But it is not to be, at least not this day. Gandalf’s voice is tinged with a hint of annoyance from behind them and Kili glances back to see the wizard standing behind a rock at their back.
‘Come on, move!’ Thorin decides suddenly, ushering the others back towards where Gandalf has once more vanished. Kili lets his arrow fly at the nearest warg. He needs to buy them time to get away now. ‘Kili! Run!’ his uncle screams. It is only then the young dwarf realises how close the other wargs are getting. He high tails it to the rock and doesn’t hesitate to fling himself into the sudden hole that appears. Kili picks himself up beside Fili and they share a look: part relief, part stark fear, part something indescribable.
A horn sounds in the distance. It is sweet and ringing, not like the horns the dwarves carve.
Kili cannot help the slight gasp that escapes as the orc tumbles into their hiding hole. However, his racing heart calms as soon as he realises it is dead. Thorin leans down to pluck the arrow shaft from the carcass.
‘Elves,’ he says, his voice laced with hatred.
Kili and Fili do not quite understand why their uncle hates the elves so much. They know the story, of how the Elven King did not come to rescue the dwarves when Smaug attacked the Mountain, but some part of the brothers can understand the logic of this. The other part, the part that is dwarven to the core, knows they should hate the elves because their uncle does, and that is reason enough. Still, that means the horn was elven.
Kili and Fili have never met an elf. Kili, at least, would very much like to.
The company trudges down the tunnel, happy to leave to elves to warg killing behind them. Fili and Kili follow along at the back, behind Gandalf.
‘Are you well brother?’ Fili asks.
Kili shrugs. ‘Alive and in one piece. I suppose that’s all that’s to be expected from a battle.’
Fili seems to hesitate a moment before throwing caution to the wind. ‘I’ve never been that frightened in my life.’
‘Or me,’ Kili agrees and see his brother relax at this admonition. ‘I knew there would be battles, however the reality seems to be rather a lot more…’
‘Terrifying?’ Fili offers.
‘Yes,’ Kili agrees. That is as far as their conversation goes, because they realise the others have stopped ahead of them. Gandalf is standing in the way, but Fili manages to push forward around the wizard’s bulk to see what has stopped them.
‘The Valley of Imladris. In the Common Tongue, it’s known by another name.’
‘Rivendell,’ Bilbo breathes, awe in his voice. Kili can understand. Even by dwarven standards that prefer mountains and vast caverns, there is beauty here. It’s a bit too natural, but his eye can pick out an influence that does not appear to be entirely foreign.
Thorin disagrees. ‘This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy.’
The brothers share a look. The other dwarves shift uneasily on their vantage point. Bilbo looks confused. Gandalf just huffs in annoyance.
‘You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill-will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself.’
Thorin is less than impressed, but Gandalf has a point about them needing help, and even he knows it. Kili is glad.
‘Elves,’ he whispers to Fili. ‘Actual elves. I bet they have brilliant bows.’
Fili hisses back to keep quiet. ‘Don’t let uncle hear you.’
None of the company can help looking about them in curiosity as they enter the elven city. Bilbo seems to be the most in awe though, but from what Fili and Kili have gotten out of their burglar, it seems he grew up with quite a few tales of the elven races. And, they suppose, the natural element is probably more suited to Hobbits than dwarves.
The dark haired elf greets Gandalf like an old friend and the suspicious look on Thorin’s face grows deeper. All of them can hear Thorin’s whispered ‘Stay sharp.’
Kili keeps one hand on his knife, but not the bow. He does not for one moment think the elves will actually attack them. Even if the tales of the wood elves are true, these are not wood elves.
The fact that Lord Elrond is not there might go badly for them, however, since it seems that’s who Gandalf most wants to speak with. The horns echo through the valley as they did on the plains above and Kili thinks Thorin’s reaction of staying together might be a good one as the horses come barrelling down on them. Very, very tall horses.
The exchange that follows mostly goes over their heads, though everyone shifts subtly when the elven lord calls Thorin by name. Do elves go around learning the names of dwarven princes by routine?
However, it seems Lord Elrond knows his way into a dwarf’s good graces. Food is always met by acceptance of the offer, no matter the host.
Although, they regret accepting afterwards.
***
To Be Continued
Disclaimer: Tolkien. Peter Jackson. Need I say more? There are quite a few lines from TH: AUJ in here, which of course belong to Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro.
Trolls are An Adventure. Even when Fili sends Bilbo straight into the trolls’ camp to free the ponies, Kili never once gives a thought that anything will go wrong. If he did think that, he wouldn’t have agreed with his brother to send their not-even-remotely-a-burglar into such danger. But Bilbo is tiny and silent and all he needs to do is open the fence and the ponies will run for cover. And the trolls aren’t exactly fast enough to catch them with ease.
Kili takes a last long look at Bilbo as he creeps towards the camp and then follows Fili back to the other ponies. They check to make certain no more are missing, while frantically gobbling down the stew Bilbo has brought. They are starving, after all. And then they hear it, in the distance, the unmistakable sound of trolls getting very angry.
‘That didn’t go quite as planned,’ Fili admits out loud.
‘Uncle?’
Fili sighs. ‘Uncle,’ he agrees and they rush to camp to find Thorin and alert the dwarves, hoping it isn’t too late for Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End.
Thorin does not stop to ask what has happened or why. He only asks what the problem is, how many trolls there are, and that Kili can lead them back to the troll camp as quickly as possible.
‘Fili, stay here with Bifur and guard the rest of the ponies. We don’t want the rest of them wandering off.’ Fili opens his mouth to argue, but backs down when he sees the look on Thorin’s face.
‘Kili,’ their uncle says, ‘lead on.’
They sneak back through the woods. At least the trolls are so loud they can’t hear the dwarves’ approach over the wind. There’s a storm coming, for certain. Bilbo doesn’t look to be in a very good spot, although the fact that he is alive and breathing rather impresses Kili, until one of the trolls gets him in his grasp, seconds away from squashing the poor Hobbit to mush.
Since they got him into this mess, Kili’s willing to get him out of it. ‘Drop him!’ he shouts, shouldering through the trees to stand in the light of the clearing. He swipes his sword at the nearest dwarf.
‘You what?’ is asks.
‘I said,’ Kili says, slowly. ‘Drop him.’
To be fair, the troll does exactly that, he just drops him on top of Kili. Unexpected, but it’s the pause Thorin needs to rush in with the army in tow.
The attack against three slow-witted fools sends their blood racing and fills their hearts. This is certainly more like what they’ve been hoping for and it has the added benefit of being trolls and not orcs, which can be particularly nasty. The eleven companions work in tandem, but Kili feels the loss of Fili, who has always been there to fight (and practice) beside him.
Until they catch sight of Bilbo, held between two trolls twenty times his size. They aren’t going to squash him now, they’re going to tear him apart.
‘Bilbo!’ Kili cries, despite himself.
The troll smirks. ‘Lay down your arms or we’ll rip his off!’
There is a very long pause and Kili takes a deep breath, reading to return to battle. The sound of Thorin’s sword hitting the dirt is rather unexpected. They’re giving up? Just like that? Kili stares at his uncle in disbelief, but then follows suit. Behind him he can hear the others doing the same thing. At least Fili is safe now, far enough away the trolls won’t find him.
The trolls are in a hurry. It doesn’t take long for two of them to strip Dwalin, Bofur, Dori, Nori and Ori to their underthings and lash them to a spit. Or to truss the rest of them up in sacks. It’s not dignified and Thorin glares about it the whole time. But since the third troll is holding Bilbo hostage, there isn’t much they can do about it.
It is only when the dwarves are taken care of that they sack Bilbo too and toss him down beside the group. Kili begins to worry a bit at this point when they start discussing how to eat dwarf.
Bilbo suddenly rolls himself to his feet and hops forward. ‘Wait! You’re making a terrible mistake!’
The clearing goes silent. Behind him, Kili can hear Thorin groan.
The groaning gets louder, as well as the teeth gnashing, as Bilbo attempts to explain how to cook them. Is he serious? Why help the trolls?
‘Ye-es, I’m telling you, the secret is…to skin them first!’
Outcry. Kili can’t believe his ears! Bilbo should be helping them, but he’s offering them up on the spit! Honestly. Is this some sort of repayment for sending him into the troll clearing in the first place?
Whatever Bilbo is trying to do, it doesn’t work. Kili catches his breath as one of the trolls picks up Bombur and holds him above his gigantic gapping mouth. They’re done for now, surely. Kili misses his brother desperately.
‘Not-not that one, he’s – he’s infected!’ Bilbo shouts.
Kili is not impressed at the accusation. Infected? Dwarves? Honestly, of all the lies to tell. Kili can’t help himself when he denies it out loud; it’s utterly absurd.
He’s about to open his mouth again, a little louder when a booted foot lands square in his back. Kili knows it’s Thorin’s. He’s not quite sure why for a second, until reason sets in. Of course Bilbo’s lying. He’s distracting the trolls! Smart Hobbit.
‘Mine are the biggest parasites! I’ve got huge parasites!’ Kili declares, extra loudly.
The trolls, unfortunately, aren’t buying it. They aren’t getting out of this mess so easily. Kili realises suddenly that all of this is their fault. He and Fili didn’t keep a watch on the ponies, nor scout the area like they should have to find a troll den nearby. They’re going to be roasted and eaten and it’s his fault.
And then there’s blinding light and Gandalf’s voice and Kili watches in disbelief as the trolls turn to stone in the dawn light.
Gandalf quickly drops down into the clearing when it is over and begins to untie the sacks. As Kili breaks free he rushes over to Bilbo and smacks him – rather more forcefully than necessary – on the back. ‘Well done Mr. Baggins!’
‘Uh, thank you,’ Bilbo says. ‘Any time, you know.’ He pauses as if to think that one through. ‘Yes, um. Where’s your brother?’
Kili’s smile falters. ‘Thorin left him back at camp to guard the other ponies.’
‘Probably for the best,’ Bilbo reasons, not getting the point.
The others are helping Dwalin down from the spit. He’s none too pleased, but it’s nothing compared to the look of fury on Thorin’s brow. Kili knows he’s in for it at some point, but at least the troll den is a momentary distraction. Fili appears at his side.
‘Sorry I missed the battle.’
‘It wasn’t as fun as I thought I would be brother, especially when I ended up tied in a sack about to be eaten!’
Fili smiles at that. ‘Just another day on the East-West road. That’s the first fun we’ve had since we started this trip.
Kili isn’t so certain he’d call it ‘fun’ anymore. They begin to gather their things together while Thorin and Gandalf are off exploring the troll cave. Their uncle comes back armed with a rather fierce looking and beautiful weapon and Kili gulps. He and Fili are in so much trouble. He wonders if they’re too old for a smacking now. Their mother always was very good at smacking sense into her sons.
‘Something’s coming!’ Thorin shouts and Kili doesn’t allow that thought to go any further. He strings an arrow to his bow and hopes it’s not orcs.
It is not orcs. It’s not anything they expected. It is, in fact, a rather shabby wizard.
Kili and Fili take up residence out of hearing range, since clearly Gandalf wants to talk to his companion without other ears listening in. Thorin stands near them, glaring between Gandalf’s turned back and his nephews, as if deciding which he’d rather lay into first.
Howls echo around the rocks.
‘Was that a wolf?’ Bilbo asks.
Bofur says what all of them know to be true. ‘Wolves? No, that was not a wolf.’
And then there is a warg in their midst and Kili is very glad he still has an arrow to his forgotten bow. What was he just saying about orcs? No one was listening obviously. Kili nudges closer to his brother around the remains of the two wargs, his heartbeat already faster. Fight or flight is coming soon and it isn’t going to be nearly as much fun as three slow-witted trolls around a camp fire.
The orcs aren’t going to give them the courtesy of roasting them for dinner first. They are being hunted, not for sport or food but something much worse.
Kili and Fili share a look. They know this is a proper battle that is coming, and with wargs after them, death is stalking near. Fun is a long distant thought in their mind. Fili grabs Bilbo and pushes him forward as the company make for open land, Radagast headed off to try to draw the orcs away. It won’t work, Kili can see that in Thorin’s eyes.
Dwarves can run fairly fast, when the mood strikes them. Not as fast as a warg, unfortunately, but it might just let them get away if the brown wizard can distract the pack for long enough. Gandalf takes the lead, zigzagging across the open rocky lands. Kili runs with an arrow in his bow, but he only gets one chance to use it.
His heart is pounding as they huddle below the rocky outcrop and it’s all he can do to keep his fingers from shaking; the string taunt and arrow in place. Above them, the deep breathy growl of a warg is clear and much, much too close. Kili takes a startling deep breath when Thorin nods at him and lets it out in a rush as he releases the arrow, as he has been taught back in the safety of distant mountains. Kili does not worry the shot will go array. But when the warg falls down towards them he cannot bring himself to grab his knife. It is Thorin that kills the orc, while Kili looks on.
Great warriors like Uncle Thorin do not freeze up in battle. For a brief moment, Kili is ashamed. He looks at his brother who gives him the vaguest smile. But that is all they have time for. The dying orc’s cries have alerted the others and they are running again, following behind Gandalf to some unknown destination. Thorin might be concerned with what that is, but Kili doesn’t care, as long as it’s safe from their pursuers.
Suddenly the company are in the dip of another lay of the land and Kili spots a warg rider to his right. He can still hear the pack behind. They are being surrounded. ‘There’s more coming!’ he shouts, but it is unnecessary. The others have already spotted their coming death.
‘We’re surrounded,’ Fili states, and Kili realises that within seconds that is true. They have wargs and orcs coming at them from three sides and…
‘Where is Gandalf?’ Kili asks, for the grey hat of the wizard is not to be found in the field.
From behind Dwalin’s disgust is obvious. ‘He has abandoned us.’
Kili doesn’t think that likely, but since the wargs are closing in he keeps that to himself. He notches another arrow, aiming out at the advancing horde, not sure where to shoot first.
‘Hold your ground,’ Thorin’s voice cuts through them on and for the first time since they killed the first warg back in the forest, Kili feels his fear lighten a little. If he is going to die, he is going to do so fighting alongside some of the greatest dwarven warriors to yet live.
But it is not to be, at least not this day. Gandalf’s voice is tinged with a hint of annoyance from behind them and Kili glances back to see the wizard standing behind a rock at their back.
‘Come on, move!’ Thorin decides suddenly, ushering the others back towards where Gandalf has once more vanished. Kili lets his arrow fly at the nearest warg. He needs to buy them time to get away now. ‘Kili! Run!’ his uncle screams. It is only then the young dwarf realises how close the other wargs are getting. He high tails it to the rock and doesn’t hesitate to fling himself into the sudden hole that appears. Kili picks himself up beside Fili and they share a look: part relief, part stark fear, part something indescribable.
A horn sounds in the distance. It is sweet and ringing, not like the horns the dwarves carve.
Kili cannot help the slight gasp that escapes as the orc tumbles into their hiding hole. However, his racing heart calms as soon as he realises it is dead. Thorin leans down to pluck the arrow shaft from the carcass.
‘Elves,’ he says, his voice laced with hatred.
Kili and Fili do not quite understand why their uncle hates the elves so much. They know the story, of how the Elven King did not come to rescue the dwarves when Smaug attacked the Mountain, but some part of the brothers can understand the logic of this. The other part, the part that is dwarven to the core, knows they should hate the elves because their uncle does, and that is reason enough. Still, that means the horn was elven.
Kili and Fili have never met an elf. Kili, at least, would very much like to.
The company trudges down the tunnel, happy to leave to elves to warg killing behind them. Fili and Kili follow along at the back, behind Gandalf.
‘Are you well brother?’ Fili asks.
Kili shrugs. ‘Alive and in one piece. I suppose that’s all that’s to be expected from a battle.’
Fili seems to hesitate a moment before throwing caution to the wind. ‘I’ve never been that frightened in my life.’
‘Or me,’ Kili agrees and see his brother relax at this admonition. ‘I knew there would be battles, however the reality seems to be rather a lot more…’
‘Terrifying?’ Fili offers.
‘Yes,’ Kili agrees. That is as far as their conversation goes, because they realise the others have stopped ahead of them. Gandalf is standing in the way, but Fili manages to push forward around the wizard’s bulk to see what has stopped them.
‘The Valley of Imladris. In the Common Tongue, it’s known by another name.’
‘Rivendell,’ Bilbo breathes, awe in his voice. Kili can understand. Even by dwarven standards that prefer mountains and vast caverns, there is beauty here. It’s a bit too natural, but his eye can pick out an influence that does not appear to be entirely foreign.
Thorin disagrees. ‘This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy.’
The brothers share a look. The other dwarves shift uneasily on their vantage point. Bilbo looks confused. Gandalf just huffs in annoyance.
‘You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill-will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself.’
Thorin is less than impressed, but Gandalf has a point about them needing help, and even he knows it. Kili is glad.
‘Elves,’ he whispers to Fili. ‘Actual elves. I bet they have brilliant bows.’
Fili hisses back to keep quiet. ‘Don’t let uncle hear you.’
None of the company can help looking about them in curiosity as they enter the elven city. Bilbo seems to be the most in awe though, but from what Fili and Kili have gotten out of their burglar, it seems he grew up with quite a few tales of the elven races. And, they suppose, the natural element is probably more suited to Hobbits than dwarves.
The dark haired elf greets Gandalf like an old friend and the suspicious look on Thorin’s face grows deeper. All of them can hear Thorin’s whispered ‘Stay sharp.’
Kili keeps one hand on his knife, but not the bow. He does not for one moment think the elves will actually attack them. Even if the tales of the wood elves are true, these are not wood elves.
The fact that Lord Elrond is not there might go badly for them, however, since it seems that’s who Gandalf most wants to speak with. The horns echo through the valley as they did on the plains above and Kili thinks Thorin’s reaction of staying together might be a good one as the horses come barrelling down on them. Very, very tall horses.
The exchange that follows mostly goes over their heads, though everyone shifts subtly when the elven lord calls Thorin by name. Do elves go around learning the names of dwarven princes by routine?
However, it seems Lord Elrond knows his way into a dwarf’s good graces. Food is always met by acceptance of the offer, no matter the host.
Although, they regret accepting afterwards.
***
To Be Continued
