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Chapter Text

Fíli was trapped, he knew it even as he tried to find an escape. He turned his head sharply, wincing at the pain the movement brought. The sounds of the men yelling as they searched and their dogs barking when they caught his scent assaulted his ears as he turned left and continued running. Low hanging branches from the trees whipped at his face while the undergrowth on the forest floor tried to trip him. The shallow wound on his right side burned and he could still feel the blood slowly coming out of it, but he couldn't let the pain slow him down.

Up ahead he saw a tree tall enough and with branches low enough that he could try climbing. He raced toward it, took a deep breath, and lept. His hands grasped the strong branch, but before he could feel the slightest bit safe, the sharp pain in his left wrist from where a dog had bitten him and cause him to lose his first sword, made him lose his grip and tumble back on to the forest floor. Fíli quickly rolled to his feet and continued running. Fíli wished he hadn't lost his swords earlier, if he still had them then at least he could still have a chance. He resigned himself to the knowledge that there was no hope of escape, but that didn't mean he had to make it easy on his pursuers.

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There had been no sign that the trip to Dovalan would end up with Fíli running for his life. It had started out simply enough; a messenger had arrived at Ered Luin requesting for Thorin to come and meet with the king. As he read the meaage, Thorin had looked happier than Fíli had seen in a long time.

"This will be good for all of us," Thorin had said, setting the paper aside. "King Harvaín could be a powerful ally. He could help us reclaim our home."

"What does he want?" Fíli asked.

"Smithing work of course. He's hoping we can reach an agreement that can be mutually beneficial. " Thorin said with a laugh.

"Why would he want to help us reclaim Erebor? Why do you think he would help us? " Fíli asked. He couldn't understand how Thorin was so sure they could trust this king of men.

"Dovalan has strong and capable soldiers. If we can reach an agreement where in exchange for our work King Harvaín will lend us some of his soldiers then we can take back what is rightfully ours." Thorin explained. He walked towards Fíli .

"When will you leave, Uncle?" Fíli had asked.

"No, not I," Thorin replied slowly, "I am needed here. The weather is growing cold, winter is on its way and we need to prepare. I have been training you for situations such as this, Fíli. You must go in my stead. As my heir, you must represent the line of Durin." Fíli swallowed hard and felt his stomach do a flip.

"I don't know if I am ready for that, Uncle," he said. Fíli cursed internally at how his voice shook slightly. "We have never dealt with these people before. I have never conducted any business or negotiations without you there before."

"Just because you never have does not mean you cannot." Thorin had said fiercely. "You are a direct descendant of Durin, show a little confidence due to that if for no other reason."

FílI felt the sting of shame in his eyes and bowed his head. Nothing was worse than feeling Thorin's disappointment. He took a deep breath and furiously blinked his eyes as he heard his uncle continue.

"Beyond that, you are my nephew. I have watched you grow. I have taught you myself and I know what you are capable of." Thorin had said in a much softer voice. His hand grasped Fíli's shoulder firm, but comforting. "You have often made me proud, Fíli, and I have full trust that you can reach a deal that with benefit us all."

Fíli had left two days later with two other dwarves as his guard. The journey had been easy and the weather was fair. It wasnt until they arrived at Dovalan that things had gone poorly. The treachery became apparent upon thir arrival at the edge of the city.

"Which one of you is Thorin? " the Captain had asked.

"None of us are," Fíli had replied, "We have been sent on his behalf. We have much to discuss with your king."

The guard had stared at him for a long moment before turning away.

"Kill them, they're of no use to us."

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Fíli crashed through the undergrowth, gasping for air. He knew he couldn't run much further but was unwilling to just give up. Suddenly, the way was clear, and Fíli skidded to a stop. He knew where he was, this was the same road he had arrived on earlier. Glancing toward the south, where he knew Dovalan was, he saw torch lights coming toward him. He noticed a breech tree just to his right with a small hole in its trunk. Moving quickly, he went to it, ripping the sliver clasp from his hair as he went. Fíli tucked the clasp into the hole until only the sharpest of eyes could possibly see it. Simultaneously, touched his right hand to the wound on his chest and drew a rune above the hole. When he finished, he turned to meet his fate, praying that his actions had been enough.

A moment later, the dogs were upon him. He could feel their teeth tearing into his skin. He kicked at them desperately as he tried to prevent further injury. Fíli allowed himself a small smile when his foot connected with the head of a particularly large beast. Several minutes later, men on horseback reached them. Fíli lashed out furiously when a group of men fell upon him. The dogs thankfully disappeared, and Fíli was pushed face down to the ground. One of the men knelt on Fíli's back, sending another stab of pain from his injured ribs. Fíli coughed and tried in vain to draw a breath while his hands were bound behind his back.

"You've caused a lot of trouble for us, Dwarf," the man on his back said gruffly, while pulling the ropes too tight on his wrists. "Believe me, you will pay for each life you took today. I'll make sure of that."

Fíli could only groan. He dully realized that his ankles were being bound also, but he still tried to roll to get the man off him. Black spots started dancing in his vision.

"Now, now, Jareth," another voice said. "King Harvaín has plans for this one. Though, I'm sure if you ask nicely, he'll let you have your fun with the dwarf."

Fíli shuddered. That didn't sound very promising. Without warning the pressure on his back was gone. He inhaled deeply, never more happy to feel air filling his lungs before. His lungs burned, and Fíli curled in on himself, panting. Rough hands pulled him to his feet, and before he had a chance to recover he was backhanded across the face and knocked to the ground again.

"Jareth," the second voice warned.

"I'm not doing anything wrong, nothing permanent."said Jareth, "that was just a warning."

"Regardless, he belongs to the king"

So this is Jareth, Fíli thought, looking up at him. He wasn't much to look at: tall; long, dark hair; and a rather long, but plain face. Fíli made sure to commit everything he knew about the cruel man to memory.

"Fine!" Jareth responded bitterly. "He can ride with me, Sir, I'll be sure to keep him safe."

Fíli held Jareth's gaze as the man leered at him. Jareth spat at Fíli, who held his ground and refused to flinch, even while his stomach turned at the filth dripping down his cheek. Jareth grabbed Fíli by the hair and dragged him to his horse. He mounted, and without losing his tight grip on Fíli's hair pulled him up until Fíli was laying on his stomach over the horse's back like he was a fresh kill from a hunt. Fíli closed his eyes and tried to even out his breathing and prepare himself for what was yetnto come. The saddle pushing against his ribs and belly slapping harshly with each step, Fíli was taken away to his fate.

Chapter Text

Too soon they were approaching the gate of King Harvaín's castle. Fíli was trying to calm himself and wasn't having much luck. At least he finally had the chance to catch his breath, and for that Fíli was grateful. It was always easier to keep his bearing when he could control his breathing and his heart rate. He breathed deeply and tried to block out the jeering of the men riding around him.

Once they stopped Fíli was unceremoniously taken off the horse. He stood shakily, bound hands held too far behind his back by an unknown man, and watched the chaos around him. The group he arrived with were all dismounting and gathering their gear. He noticed that they kept glancing his way as if he was going to cause trouble at any moment. He avoided their gazes and watched the commotion on his left.

There was a lot of yelling and confusion around him. Men, all wearing the same grim looks on their faces, were attaching empty carts to teams of horses. One of them noticed Fíli watching and glaredat him, his slumped sloulders straightening to a more defiant pose. Fíli hastily moved his gaze to the gate, the first of the carts were already leaving.

"They're going to clean up the mess you made," Jareth said, suddenly appearing in front of Fíli.

Fíli started, and barely managed to stay on his feet. He hadn't intended to stare so openly. "There would be no mess if we hadn't been attacked for no reason." he retorted. He would not let this man get to him.

"There would have be no reason if your leader, Thorin, would have come in person." Jareth responded. The lines around his eyes seemed to deepen as he sighed.

"Why would that matter?" Fíli felt his blood run cold.

"Never you mind, Dwarf." Jareth said, forcefully. He gestured to two men behind him. They came immediately, flanking Fíli on each side and pointing their spears at his throat. Jareth bent down and cut the rope binding Fíli's ankles, causing Fíli to wince as the blood rushed back to his feet. He wiggled his toes a bit trying to force the blood to recirculate in his feet faster.

Without warning, the man holding his wrists gave Fíli a sharp shove between the shoulder blades. Fíli stumbled a little before regaining his footing as Jareth led them into the castle and down a long, poorly lit corridor. Their footsteps echoed, making it sound like there were many more people walking around. Perhaps there were, Fíli thought he was movement in the shadows, but the lighting was too dim to be sure. He could see the guards on his sides eyeing him suspiciously, and feel the burn in his shoulders from the guard who continued to pull his arms up too high. In front, Jareth kept looking back as if to ensure that Fíli was still following.

In a moment of what was surely insanity, Fíli bit back a bitter laugh. A voice in the back of his mind that sounded suspiciously like his brother, Kíli, pointed out how ridiculous it was for these four tall, armed men to be so wary of the bound and injured dwarf they were escorting. He coughed hastily, to try to hide the laugh, then moaned as his ribs protested. Luckily, no one gave him a second glance, which Fíli took to mean that they hadn't noticed anything odd.

Gathering what remained of his wits, Fíli tried to pay attention to where he was being taken. A left turn into a more brightly lit corridor, a right where the savory smell of roasting deer floated up gently. They only walked that corridor for a minute when they took another left and stopped in front of large, ornate double doors. Jareth raised a fist and knocked twice.

"Enter!" A voice thundered from the other side. The doors opened inward, moving faster than what seemed possible considering their size. Jareth moved forward and strode confidently into the room. After another sharp push to the back, Fíli stumbled in after him.

"That wasn't necessary," Fíli grumbled quietly. A dark chuckle sounded behind him. His arms were wretched farther back even as he was pushed forward. Fíli's shoulders burned in protest. He was sure if they were pulled any more they would be pulled straight from the sockets.

"Silence, Dwarf." the man replied quietly, "I'll decide what's necessary and what's not."

They walked farther into the room in silence. The throne room, Fíli noted dimly. He saw a man seated upon the throne at the end with reddish-brown hair that reached to his shoulders. King Harvaín was younger than Fíli expected. The king watched the group approach with keen eyes. Fíli's heart thudded in his chest with each step. If it wasn't for the man holding his arms so roughly, Fíli was sure he would have collapsed from fear and exhaustion.

Once they were near the throne, Jareth stopped and dropped to one knee respectfully. The gaurds around Fíli followed suit, harshly pushing him down with them. The gaurd on his left nearly fell over in the process, forgetting for a moment how much shorter the dwarf was. Fíli bowed his head to hide the smirk the crept across his face.

"My liege, we have brought the dwarf as you requested," Jareth said clearly, even though his head was bowed respectfully. This king rose from his seat.

"Wonderful, just wonderful, Jareth." He said in an easygoing tone as if he were discussing the weather, it did nothing to calm Fíli's nerves. "You have done well, I will see to it that you are properly rewarded for your loyal service. Rise, all of you" Fíli didn't try to fight as he was roughly lifted back to his feet. He stared at the man they called king defiantly. Harvaín caught Fíli's gaze and held it, not blinking. After a few tense moments staring into one another's eyes King Harvaín stepped forward and cupped the dwarfs face in his hand. "A fine specimen, there is much pride and fight in this one." King Harvaín stated. He looked at Jareth, "Does it have a name?"

Fíli kept his mouth shut when Jareth looked at him, awaiting an answer. At Jareth's nod, the guard on Fíli's right hit him sharply on the side on his knee with the spear. Fíli gasped at the sudden blow and jerked forward. Once he recovered he returned his gaze to the king, who looked more than a little amused.

"Fosur!" Fíli exclaimed, choosing the name of one of his companions. He but his lip and closed his eyes, silently begging the forgiveness of his fallen comrade. He reopened his eyes and repeated, "I am Fosur, son of Tebur."

"Hmm, so it appears you can be taught," King Harvaín said with an unsettling smile. He began walking around Fíli, looking him over as if he were livestock. Fíli hissed as sharp intake of breath when the king brushed the tips of his fingers against the wound at his ribs. Collecting himself, Fíli stood straight and proud, head up and coldly staring at the throne like the man circling him like a volture wasn't any concern to him.

Harvaín finished his circle and came to a stop in front of Fíli. "I think, Jareth, once he is properly broken in and trained, that there are many who would pay a good price for a dwarf. They're not commonly seen as slaves, are they?"

"No, your highness, they are not," Jareth responded immediately, "And for a good reason, too stubborn for most. I share in the belief that the only good dwarf is a dead dwarf."

"Pity," the king said, "I was rather hoping you'd agree to help train this one. It is so enjoyable to watch the spark leave their eyes when they break."

"It would be my pleasure, Sire," Jareth smiled, cracking his knuckles menacingly.

"Excellent," Harvaín said with a smile. He then tured to Fíli, ripping him out of his thoughts of possible escape scenarios. "Dwarf! Your ruler, Thorin, why did he not come?"

Fíli shrugged, "Why is it so important to you if he is here or not?" His mind raced, what could these men want with his uncle?

The king smiled at him, his teeth glittered savagely in the torch light, "So much defiance. You know what they say, don't you? The proud fall the hardest." Harvaín took a deep breath, "There are those who are willing to pay a large sum for Thorin, and I intend to collect."

"Who?" Fíli asked. He tried to keep his tone barely interested, but internally, he was running names through his mind trying to figure out who the enemy was that his uncle had made.

"That's not your concern, son of Tebur. Now, dwarves are a mining race, is that correct? You prefer to hide underground?"

Fíli gritted his teeth, "Not all dwarves prefer mining, many are also accomplished craftsmen."

"Yes, yes of course they are," Harvaín waved his hand dismissively. "I've also heard that dwarves have a knack for finding gold."

Fíli narrowed his eyes, wondering where this line of questioning was going. He paused for a long moment "Only when there is gold to be found," he finally answered.

"Wonderful!" The king said, looking positively elated, "That settles it then. You will begin work in the mines tomorrow. Find me some gold and you may just find yourself in my favor."

"But your mine holds only iron, does it not?" Fíli protested. "So far, but we haven't had a dwarf to sniff out all that is hidden in the mine. I'm sure the rocks will tell you all you need to know." "I can't mine gold where there is none, it's impossible!"

King Harvaín's face was suddenly inches from Fíli's. "You will find me my gold, or you will suffer the consequences of disobedience, Dwarf." He said in a low, dangerous tone. Harvaín straightened up and looked over at Jareth, "Take him to a cell, he will be at work in the mines tomorrow morning."

Jareth smiled and bowed his head, "It'll be my pleasure, your highness." Then he turned and walked toward the door of the throne room, the guards around Fíli followed, dragging the dwarf with them.

Fíli couldn't pay attention to where he was being taken. He tried, but his thoughts kept returning to the conversation with King Harvaín. Someone wanted to hurt Thorin, Fíli' s head spun trying to process that information. Who could Thorin have wronged so much?

Fíli hardly registered the arrival at the dungeons. He was only brought back to the present when the bindings on his wrists were cut. The blood rushed back to the area and numbness soon gave way to pain. His hands were brought in front of him and shackled, a long chain connected the cuffs on each hand. The treatment was far from gentle, but Fíli didn't fight back. Instead he chose to save his energy, he had a feeling he would need it for any attempts of escape to be possible.

Soon enough, Fíli was pushed into a small cell, small even by dwarf standards. He looked around at the brick walls and chose to curl into a corner in the back. It was the darkest place in the cell, under the high, tiny window and directly across from the barred door. Fíli pressed his back against the wall and closed his eyes tightly. Maybe if he wished hard enough he could will himself back home. With thoughts of Ma, Uncle Thorin, Kíli, the fire in his bedroom, the softness of his bed, and all the comforts of home. His eyes snapped open when he heard a sound scrape across the floor close to his left side. A small gasp and a nest of dirty blonde hair flew back to the door and through the bars, nearly upsetting the bucket that was set on the floor.

"Get back in there, brat!" an angry voice roared, "You do your job or I'll make you sorry!"

The small creature gulped audibly and crept, shaking, back through the bars. Wide brown eyes looked at Fíli with trepidation. And slowly approached the bucket again. Fíli' s mind finally caught up and he realized he was looking at a human child.

He smiled at her gently, "Peace, young one, I will not hurt you," he said softly, trying to calm the child. It just looked at him and nodded. It approached the bucket and reached inside, pulling a rag out of the dirty water. As it came closer, Fíli could tell by the face that the child was a female. "What is your name, child?"

"Braenna," she whispered, moving closer.She reached out tentatively and Fíli, understanding what she was trying to do, offered his left hand to her slowly. She started washing the blood and dirt off of him with gentle, surprisingly adept strokes.

"Braenna," Fíli repeated, "That's a beautiful name, it suits you." Braenna flashed him a quick, uncertain smile and moved a little closer,

"Thank you, Mister. What your name?" She continued washing up his arm gingerly.

"Fosur," Fíli replied. He grinned as she made a face, mouthing the unfamiliar name to herself. He carefully reached his right hand towards the child as she finished with his left. "My little brother calls me Fí, if you like that better."

"Fí." Braenna said confidently. She began washing his right hand, quickly, but thoroughly. "Is you a dwarf?"

"I am," Fíli confirmed. He forced his breathing to stay even as she reached up to his still aching shoulder.

"Goryn said dwarfs is dangerous and can't be trusted," Braenna said. She took a breath and contined quickly, "But you don't act mean, Fí, you's been the nicest on your first night."

Fíli frowned, how mean were the other prisoners to such a young child? He had another question, "Who's Goryn?"

"He's the mean, mean man in charge." Braenna swiped the rag across Fíli's ribs a little too hard as she said that. Fíli cried out and curled protectively in on himself. He heard Braenna scurry across the cell. After a moment he looked up and saw the child curled into a ball in the other corner, gently rocking. Slowly, Fíli moved closer to her, he heard her whimpering, "I sorry, I sorry, I sorry..." over and over again.

Fíli pulled himself over and sat down next to her. Gently, he reached over and started stroking her hair, just like he when he wanted to help Kíli calm down. "It's fine, Braenna, I won't hurt you," he said softly to her as calmly as he could manage. Inside Fíli was angry, he couldn't even begin to imagine how long this child had lived in this hell, or what had been done to her, to cause this reaction.

Braenna stiffened under his touch, but soon relaxed and scooted closer. A few minutes later she pulled away, "I has to finish, they wants you cleaned up."

"I can finish, Braenna," Fíli said. He picked up the rag and carefully started washing the wounds on his ribs, "Do you have any bandages? I will need some for this and for my wrist." He looked at his wrist and saw the marks from the dog standings out red and angry.

Braenna nodded, "Yes, Mister Fí." She stood up and scurried between the bars, returning a moment later with another bucket. She placed it on the ground and pulled out bandages and a container of salve.

Fíli took the salve from her and lifted his tunic up to expose the wound and finish washing it. Trying to take his mind off the pain he asked, "How old are you?"

Braenna held up four fingers and her bent thumb, "I's this much." She said proudly.

"Four and a half?" Fíli asked. Braenna nodded. Fíli finished caring for his ribs and started on his wrist, "That's a great age, young one."

"Brat! Are you finished yet?" The angry voice -Goryn, Fíli's head supplied- came roaring through the dungeons.

"Maybe it killed her," Jareth's voice laughed.

Braenna jumped. Quickly she finished helping Fíli wrap his wrist. "I has to go Mister Fí," she said quietly. Fíli nodded, "Take care, young one. Thank you for the aide." He watched as she grabbed her buckets and slipped through the bars.

Fíli went back to his corner under the window and thought about Braenna. It was nice to have an ally in this place, he decided, no matter how young that ally was. Fíli felt his eyelids grow heavy. He last coherent thought was of Braenna, when he escaped, he would take her with him. Until then, he made a silent vow into the night that he would protect her as much as he could, no matter what the cost.

Chapter Text

"Move faster, filth, these carts won't fill themselves," the cruel voice of the guard broke through Fíli's thoughts. Fíli ducked on instinct, giving silent thanks to whoever was listening for the short statue of the dwarves as the guard's biting whip missed him by inches.

Fíli's features twisted in rage as he bit back a retort. Any reaction from him would draw even more unwanted attention than he already received being a dwarven slave among the dozens of men he toiled alongside. Fíli drew in a breath and hoisted the chuck of ore high into the small cart. The rough edges cut into his hands, adding more cuts to the multitudes he had already collected from the long days of work. Relieved of his burden, he returned back to his spot to mine. He grabbed the dull pickax and continued harvesting the ore from the mountain.

The man to his left was apparently moving too slowly. Fíli winced with empathy when the guards fell upon the man, beating him to try to get him to work faster. Knowing there was nothing he could do to help, that any attempt would only make it worse for the poor soul, Fíli focused intently on his task.

Everyone who worked in the mines had done no wrong to deserve this fate. In his time here, Fíli had learned that a great majority of them were debt collectors sent to Dovalan from all around Middle Earth. There was no chance of freedom for these men, doomed to a life of pain and servitude for "crimes against the crown", which he found translated simply to doing a job King Harvaín didn't like. Dovalan must owe a great many debts due not only to the amount of slaves Fíli worked with, but by the amount that continued to arrive day by day. The numbers never increased much, the mortality rate in the mines was much to high due to the poor working conditions and the cruel hands of their guards. Guards, more than Fíli had ever imagined the city could need, were always watching, were always there to "motivate" anyone who wasn't working to their liking. Stop for just a moment to catch your breath, and they would be upon you in droves.

Eventually, a combination of the hard work and the constant abuse broke even the strongest of the men. Their eyes would lose any spark of hope and they would become indistinguishable from the masses of beaten down, hopeless men. Men who, as far as Fíli could tell, had retreated so far into themselves that they were simply an empty shell going through the motions. The dwarf had quickly become the guards' favorite slave. Whenever they found themselves bored they descended onto Fíli. Each wanted to become the one to break the proud dwarf. It seemed to him that these guards were not only assigned to prevent any escape, but that they also had orders from Jareth to shatter his spirit. Fíli was consistantly forced to work double shifts in an attempt to rob him of any strength needed to endure. His rations were halved more often than not, and Fíli was losing weight at an alarming rate.

The one thing the guards hadn't counted on was the never ending stubbornness and endurance of the dwarves. They were a hearty race indeed and Fíli could go far longer with such treatment than the men around him could ever dream. That had angered the guards to no end, and once they couldn't find a reason to punish the dwarf, they had to rely on their own creativity. The treatment was wearing on his body and soul more than Fíli would ever show them. He refused to show any sign of weakness, outwardly holding him self with all of the strength and dignity befitting of a dwarf of the line of Durin. Inwardly, he wasn't sure how much longer he could endure. Every movement became pain, until that Fíli was sure that was all the world had become. Some days, it was only the memories of his family keeping him company at night that helped him retain his will to survive.

The last two weeks had been hell. Fíli was not always able to hold his tongue, and his impudence had earned him harsh punishments that he was sure Dwalin would never conisider, even on his worst enemies. Fíli struggled to lift the pick and send it into the rock. The heavy chains he wore to prevent escape also greatly impeded his ability to mine. The previous ones he had worn that simply connected one wrist to the other had been replaced after Fíli was deemed too troublesome. The new chains connected wrist to ankle on each side as well as each wrist to the other and were disturbingly heavy. The weight of them made the metal around his wrists rub and tear at the skin underneath, so deeply that Fíli went back to his cell covered in blood even on the days he managed to avoid the whip for the most part.

A blow from the handle of a whip on his back, between his shoulder blades, caused Fíli to fall forward, landing hard on his elbows and knees and sending his pick flying. Fíli scrambled, trying to get back on his feet quickly, but another blow, the whip itself cut painfully into his back, sent him back to the ground.

"So this is the fine craftsmanship of the Dwarves," Goryn's sneered behind him, "we can't make much with this poor work."

"Perhaps if you gave time for the perfection you desire rather, than force work with violence, then you could get what you desire." Fíli responded, looking up at Goryn coldly. A thudding kick to the ribs was the payment for his boldness. Fíli rolled to his side at the impact, breathing deeply. Goryn turned and nodded to the guards who were standing by with a predatory look in their eyes.

The guards came forward at once. One of them pulled the whip off of his belt and Fíli quickly rolled onto his stomach at the sight of it. He had a quick moment to brace himself before he heard the distinct whistle of it flying through the air and felt the harsh leather tear into his skin. Experience had taught him that staying still and taking the punishment would make the ordeal end sooner, but Fíli's spirit had a hard time accepting that. He struggled to crawl away as the lashes rained down on him, layering new welts on top of ones that had barely began the healing process. A heavy boot landed on the nape of his neck, and the pressure forced Fíli to stay still in order to continue to receive air.

"You have a much too much cheek for one in your position," the guard above his head spat down at him. "Tell me, are all dwarves this stupid? Or do you just enjoy the pain?"

"That depends, do all men smell as vile as you, or are you unable to figure out how to bathe?" Fíli choked out. He new he would regret his words, but he could not stop the words from coming out.

After a brief pause, the pressure on his neck increased and the blows started landing harder, biting deep into his skin and causing blood to come running out. Fíli bit his lip, he would not let these disgusting men have the satisfaction of knowing the pain he was feeling. Eventually - Fíli couldn't say minutes, hours, or days later - the abuse stopped and the pressure left his neck. He stifled a groan as he greedily sucked in air, finally able to fill his lungs. His entire back felt as if it was on fire, he couldn't pinpoint the individual stripes from the whip, and the backs of his thighs ached from a few errant lash strokes that landed there.

"Get back to work, scum," the guard who had been beating Fíli called back as he walked away, laughing with the other guard. "You don't get no breaks down here."

Fíli drew in another deep, shaky breath and climbed to his feet. His legs almost gave out when he finally stood, causing Fíli to reach out to the wall of the cave to steady himself. He took a brief moment to gasp for air and wait for the pain to ease. After staying still for as long as he dared, Fíli let go of the wall and looked around for his pick. He shuffled towards the direction he thought it had fallen in and turned his head slowly in hopes of finding it. He saw nothing. Fíli began to grow worried. He shuddered at the thought of what could happen if he couldn't find his pick and return to work. Chancing a glace behind him, the dwarf was relieved to see the guards distracted by the arrival of their lunch. Fíli frowned, continuing to look for the errant pick. A soft sound to his left caught his attention. He turned warily towards the sound.

"Psst...dwarf," the man that had been working on Fíli's left, the one who had attracted the guards attention was glancing at Fíli surreptitiously. Fíli stumbled in the man's direction.

"Fosur," he whispered back. He rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of the introduction. There was no room for common manners in a place such a this. "Yes?" He asked

"Aron," the man said back with a smile. Aron glanced over his shoulder. Once he was satisfied that the guards were still appropriately distracted by their lunch he met Fíli's eyes, "You looking for this?" he asked, nodding down towards his feet. Fíli followed Aron's gaze down until it rested upon his missing pickax.

Fíli bent over quickly, hissing as the wounds on his back pulled angrily. "Thank you, Aron." he said, returning to his work area.

"Keep your head down, Fosur." Aron said, so quietly Fíli was half certain that he had imagined it.

With a sigh, Fíli gathered all of the strength he had remaining and lifted his pick, swinging it into the stone. If the guards were eating lunch now, that meant the day was half over. The second half was usually a bit easier with the sated guards too full and tired to be bothered with the slaves. Usually. Gritting his teeth, Fíli continued his work in silence not wanting to give the guards anything they could take as a reason to reture their attentions to him.

·~·~·~·~·~·~·~·~·

It was dark, as always, by the time Fíli was returned to his cell. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen the sunlight. He took his ration of moldy, maggoty bread without complaint as he continued the walk to his cell. Once he was in he set the bread aside for the moment and sat in his customary place, the corner under the window. Moving slowly in an attempt not to irritate the new wounds littering his body, Fíli leaned his head back on the cold brick wall with a sigh and closed his eyes, enjoying a moment to relax as much as possible. He knew that he still had a few hours until his young friend came to help him clean up.

A familiar scraping sound made Fíli open his eyes and force a smile at the dirty child in front of him. "Hello, Braenna." He greeted her. The child's visits were the one bright spot of his time here. They had it worked out where she would come and he would tend to himself while she chattered on and on about her day. She grew to become a great comfort to him on the harder days. Some nights she would show up with tears running down her face and Fíli would comfort her the best he could. A few nights she ended up falling asleep in the cell, curled up next to Fíli as he stroked her hair and lent her all the strength her could.

As she and Fíli spent more time together and she started trusting him more she managed to keep his spirits up with her childish outlook on things. In return, Fíli regaled her his stories of his life in Ered Luin. He told her about his mother and uncle as well as his uncle's close friend Dwalin and his brother Balin. He was always careful to keep their names secrets, giving her pseudonyms each time. Braenna's favorite stories, the ones she always asked for were the adventures of Fí and his brother Kí. It was his own mistake when, absolutely exhausted, he had almost let the name of his little brother slip. Luckily, Fíli was able to catch himself as soon as the first syllable slipped past his lips.

"Hi Mister Fí," she said. She let go of the handle of her bucket that held water and rags and looked Fíli up and down. Her bright smile faded when she looked at him fully. "You gots in trouble today, didn't you?"

"Just a little bit, Braenna. It's nothing worth worrying about." Fíli replied. Braenna looked at him with wide eyes, shaking her head. For such a young child she was incredibly observant, Fíli noted.

"Just a second Mister Fí." Braenna scampered through the bars on the door again, returning with her second bucket full of salves and bandages.

"How are you today, Braenna?" Fíli asked, reaching into the first bucket and wringing the excess water off the dirty rag.

"Better than you, Mister Fí. Jareth isn't happy today, he says it's your fault." she said seriously. "He's gots a meeting with the king tonight."

"Thank you, it's nice to have a warning." Fíli scrubbed his hands carefully. The rough rag made the cuts sting worse.

Braenna huffed impatiently, "Let me help." She reached towards him and made to grab the rag from Fíli.

Fíli shook his head and motioned toward the bread on the floor. "Eat."

Instead Braenna moved and grabbed the rag out of Fíli's hands, "No. I's not hungry. You can't reach it all." She moved behind Fíli and started to wash the wounds on his shoulders as carefully as she could. Fíli tensed and drew a sharp intake of breath. Even though Braenna was trying to be gentle the rag still caused a lot of pain.Fíli continued washing his hands, arms and face as she worked, trying to be done with the process as fast as possible.

"Mister Fí?" she asked softly after she had managed to clean his back and treat his back with a cooling salve and bandages. She was now sitting in front of him tending to the cuts on his hands.

"Yes, young one?"

"Does you think we's ever gonna get outta here?" The question was spoken so quietly that Fíli had to strain to hear it.

"Of course we are. Don't you?" Fíli asked. The question had caught him by surprise. In all the conversations he had had with the young girl, she never seemed to doubt that one day she would be able to leave and return home.

"I want to. But some of the mens in other cages says that we'll be here 'til we die. I don't wanna die here." Braenna's large, blue eyes started filling with tears.

"Look at me, Braenna," Fíli said, leaning towards her and catching her face in his hands. "We will get out of here. I promise." "How?" "Remember my Uncle Gundin and his warrior friend, Larin?" Fíli asked.

"Yuh huh"

"Well, they will have noticed that I didn't come home when I was supposed to. So I can tell you for sure that they will bring their friends and come and get me. They will get rid of the guards and they will rescue all of us." Fíli bit his lip after these words. He had no idea if they were true. For all he knew, Thorin figured that Fíli inherited his tendancy to get lost going more than a 100 yards away from home. Or maybe Thorin thought Fíli would take a long time. Fíli tried to keep these doubts out of his voice. "I promise you, when they come for me, you will leave too."

"I like that Mister Fí. It's better than the guards plan. They says if I work really really hard then I can get my Da out, but they don't say nothing about anyone else." Braenna said. She moved over until she was sitting at Fíli's side and leaned against him.

"Your father is here?" Fíli asked

"Yuh huh, he's still working now. But we came here and he offended the king so now he works." "And that's how you ended up in here?" "Yes Mister Fí, I's small so they says I make a good cage brat." The young child yawned and snuggled closer to Fíli.

Fíli turned this information over in his head. Braenna had told him a lot about her short life, but she had failed to mention that her father was here too. She's never even mentioned being from somewhere else! Fíli looked down at the child curled into his side. Later, he would ask her more. He would find out who her father was and he would make sure to include him in any attempt for escape.

"Mister Fí?" Braenna's drowsy voice broke through his thoughts. He put his arm around her and waited for her to continue. "Can you tell me a story about you and Kí?"

Fíli thought for a second, "Of course, child. Did I ever tell you the story about when Kí accidentally shot himself in the foot with an arrow?" he smiled at the memory.

"No," Braenna giggled, "Does he survive?"

Fíli smiled, "Of course, it wasn't that bad of a wound. You see, when Kí was younger, he decided that he was old enough to go hunting with Mister Larin, Uncle Gundin and Mister Larin all said he wasn't, but Kí is stubborn and finally he annoyed them so much that they let him. You wouldn't believe the things Kí did to get them to say yes..." Fíli lost himself in the past as he relived the memory. The story was one he still used to tease Kíli even though Kíli had only been just over thirty at the time.

As the story went on, Braenna's breathing evened out as sleep overtook her. Fíli held her against him for a while, taking as much comfort from this young life as he was receiving. Soon enough he followed her into the pleasantness of dreamland. As unconsciousness over took him, Fíli listened to the sound of thunder roll in the distance.

Chapter Text

Fíli woke up abruptly to the feeling of something cold running down his neck and trickling down his back. Next to him, Braenna slept on, curled into his side for warmth. With weary eyes, he looked around trying to find the cause of his rude awakening. It was still dark, the sun hadn't even begun to rise yet. He twisted around carefully, trying not to disturb the sleeping girl, until his eyes found the cause of his discomfort. It had started raining during the night and the water was coming in through the tiny window, conveniently placed at ground level it seemed, and running down the wall directly behind Fíli. Moving slowly, deliberately, he eased Braenna onto his lap and edged over until he reached the other corner of the cell. Despite his care, the child's eyes opened blearily.

"Mister Fí? Something wrong?"

"All is well, child. Go back to sleep, there's still time until morning." Fíli said softly. He smoothed her hair back, trying to lull her back to sleep.

"M'fine. I's gonna go find my Da," she replied. Braenna shook her head from side to side a few time, trying to wake herself up. She stood up slowly, holding on to the wall for support, and tottered over to her buckets. She lifted them carefully and shuffled over to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow Mister Fí."

Fíli smiled at her and raised his hand in a gesture of farewell, then she was gone through the bars. Fíli leaned back into the corner. He still had more time to rest, so he leaned his head against the wall and listened to the steady sound of the rain falling.

The rain had always been a comforting sound for him, something Kíli had never been able to understand. When it rained at night at home one thing Fíli could count on was that Kíli would always manage to find his way into Fíli's bed. Fíli would wake up with his younger brother sprawled all over him and a mouth full of Kíli's hair. When asked later, Kíli would always deny that fear had driven him to seek solace with Fíli. "No big brother," he would laugh, "I heard you crying out in the night. It was my duty to come and protect you from the trolls under your bed." Fíli would just shake his head and let Kíli keep his pride and think everyone had believed him.

Everyone in Ered Luin must have known how much Fíli enjoyed the rain. It would have been impossible for anyone within a ten mile radius to have not heard Uncle Thorin yelling at Fíli for going out one night in a storm without even a hood on. When questioned, Fíli had simply answered, "I like how it makes everything clean and new again."

Clean and new again! Fíli sat up with a start all thoughts of sleep gone. There was no residual drowsiness now. Instead his head was spinning so fast that Fíli had a hard time keeping up with his thoughts. Each sound of a raindrop hitting the ground, each drip of water that came through the window and landed in the growing puddle on the floor of his cell, every passing second meant that any chance of Fíli getting rescued was slowly fading away.

Drip, drip, drip. The grime from yesterday was being swept away. The footprints on well traveled trails were being turned to mud. Once the trails dried they would become smooth again, successfully hiding that any living creature had previously been on them.

Drip, drip, drip. The water would be caught by the leaves of the trees. Once they became heavy enough, it would continue its way to the ground. The rain would land on the ground underneath and continue on to the roots. It would run down the bark of the tree, washing away a hastily drawn rune. Washing away a warning, a sign of distress. Washing away a desperate plea for help, written in blood.

Fíli shook, suddenly feeling very cold that had nothing to do with the chill of the cell. There would be no rescue attempt. For the first time, he was glad to be alone in the darkness of his cell. He curled into the corner, placing his elbows on his knees and letting his head fall between them. Any chance to get out of Dovalan now rested solely on him and his ability to escape the omnipresent guards. Any hope for freedom for himself and Braenna now rested squarely on Fíli's shoulders. He drew in a shuddering breath and tried to ease the sudden tightening in his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut, but couldn't stop the warm wetness that trailed down his cheeks. Alone in the dark, Fíli's entire body shook as he wept. Outside, the rain kept falling.

·~·~·~·~·~~·~·~·

Fíli listlessly threw the recently mined ore into the small cart. Though hours had gone by the rain showed no sign of slowing. Rather than comforting, each drop had become a small voice mocking his fate. Fíli went about his work without paying any attention to what he was actually doing. His body continued to go through the motions but his mind was elsewhere. He had finally stopped crying just as dawn broke over the horizon, and with the new day came new resolve. Fíli now knew that he couldn't count on anyone else to come and help him. If he wanted to survive and leave intact, then it was up to him to find a way to do it.

Step one should have been easy, in order to draw the guard's attention away he would have to pretend to be as broken and despairing as the poor souls he worked alongside. From quietly accepting his ration of rotten bread and eating it without any reaction or complaint, maggots and all, to going about his work in the mines. It would have been easy if his spirit would stop rebelling, for the first time he cursed the legendary stubbornness of the dwarves.

Step two, well he hadn't thought that far ahead yet, step one was more problematic than Fíli had counted on. Rather than accepting that they had broken the dwarf and moving on to another rebellious slave, the guards had decided to revel in their supposed victory. Every few minutes another one would come by to gloat or to try to force him into reaction with threats, insults, or blows. To their shock, Fíli had quietly accepted all the gave him and continued his mining. Each time, they would walk away, muttering to themselves before loudly proclaiming to the other guards that they were the ones who had broken the dwarf. What they didn't realized was that behind Fíli's deadened eyes, he was carefully watching them, memorizing their faces, and uncovering their weaknesses. Later that night, with the information he had gathered, Fíli would decide what step two would be. He did feel a little guilty at times. To his left, he could see Aron sending worried glances his way each time a guard would walk away, boasting that is was all his doing.

"Fosur," Aron hissed to him during one such time, "Fosur you can't let them break you."

Fíli had turned to stare at the man for only a moment. He couldn't remove the mask that was so carefully concealing his true thoughts even for a second. He felt bad, lying to Aron, but it was necessary in order to get out alive. Later, Fíli would come back with Thorin's best fighters and they would free all of the unfortunate men who had ended up working their lives away down here. Even with that thought, Fíli couldn't stop the sick feeling in his stomach as he had turned away from Aron emotionlessly and continued his work. The sick feeling only worsened as he barely heard what Aron had said next.

"I thought you would be someone who could survive. I thought you were a fighter. The dwarf from yesterday seemed stronger than this."

Fíli worked on resolutely, chipping away the rock and exposing the iron ore to the surface. He couldn't let his facade slip for even a moment. As the day went on the moist heat in the mines began to rise. It took Fíli more energy to force his pick into the wall over and over again. He had to begin drawing deeper and deeper breaths to feel that he was receiving enough air, the tightness that had gripped his chest earlier still lingered.

When he began to feel that he may pass out from a combination of the heat, exertion, and lack of oxygen; a familiar, rough voice assaulted his ears. "King Harvàin requires the dwarf's presence."

Fíli didn't even have to turn around to know that Jareth was standing near the entrance of the mine. Two other guards came upon him and pulled him roughly away from the stretch of rock Fíli was working on. One of them grabbed the chain connecting Fíli's wrists and pulled him towards Jareth, the other one followed close behind Fíli, giving him sharp prods in the back to keep him moving along. For his part, Fíli walked along with them and kept his eyes down, allowing the guards to lead him.

Jareth sneered at the the dwarf when Fíli reached him and wordlessly took the chain and led Fíli out of the mine. The rain was still pouring down, and even though he was out of the stifling heat of the mine, the pressure in his chest didn't easy and he still had a hard time breathing. Fíli followed behind him and even though he kept his eyes downcast, he took note of everything he saw peripherally. He knew from his training with Dwalin that everything he saw, no matter how obscure and useless it seemed, could end up aiding his escape. He recognized the path they went on as the way back to the dungeon. Instead of going down into the dungeons, Jareth took a sharp right, tugging Fíli along impatiently. The entered through a small, battered wooden door and Fíli found himself standing in a tiny round room. There were women in there, sitting around sewing various articles of clothing. He could tell by the way they were dressed the Dovalan also housed female slaves. They looked up cautiously as he entered.

"This one has a meeting with the king," Jareth announced to them. "Make sure he looks presentable."

The women stood back while Jareth unlocked the cuffs around Fíli's wrists and ankles. Jareth then stood back, keeping a hand on the dwarf's shoulder, and allowed the women to converge on Fíli. One of the women started yanking a comb through his hair, roughly trying to untangle it. Another was washing the dirt off his face and hands. Others were taking his torn, worn clothing off and replacing it with newer, cleaner clothes. While he was being dressed, Jareth's rough hand stayed on Fíli the whole time. They moved very quickly and didn't speak at all, either to each other or to Fíli. They finished so quickly that Fíli wondered if any time had really passed. He turned back to Jareth who looked at him from top to bottom. Fíli must have passed inspection because Jareth replaced the cuff's that connected Fíli's limbs. Jareth then grabbed the chain that went between Fíli's wrists and pulled him along to continue their journey to the King's throne room.

Unlike the last time Fíli had been there, the doors already were already open. The guards that stood in the entrance nodded at Jareth as he walked past and didn't even spare a glance to the dwarf. When they reached the throne Jareth knelt low and respectfully. Fíli was unsure of what to do in that moment. If he bowed would that be too much? Would they see through him? He knew that if he stood defiantly then they would definitely know about the act he had kept up all day. Fíli settled for keeping his eyes down and staring at the area around the kings feet. The weight of the chains made his shoulders slump to enhance the effect.

King Harvàin stood and started approaching Jareth and Fíli, "Wonderful, Jareth. I see you got him here with no further casualties this time."

Jareth's face reddened, "Yes, my liege." He responded, his voice had lost a bit of its usual confidence.

"Very good," he waved his hand dismissively and turned his attention to Fíli, "Leave us." Jareth opened his mouth and didn't move. He seemed torn between wanting to stay and his want to obey his king. "I said leave, Jareth," Harvian snapped, "Do not make me ask you again!" Jareth snapped his mouth shut. He gave Fíli a long, hard look. He then turned and stormed out of the throne room. The men who had been standing guard at the doors moved out of the way and Jareth passed. With another wave of his hand King Harvàin signaled to the guards and the doors shut. Now Fíli was alone in the room with Harvàin.

"So, Dwarf, tell me. Are you enjoying your stay?" The king asked conversationally.

Fíli was caught off guard by both the question and the light-hearted tone in the king's voice. There was no way to answer that question. He couldn't say yes, even the most broken man would never say yes. But to say no also meant making it clear that he wasn't as defeated as he seemed. Fíli kept his mouth shut and didn't lift his gaze from the floor. The king laughed, a loud booming sound,

"No answer? Very smart." He sighed and looked away towards a window. King Harvàin watched the rain for a few, long moments. He sighed again and returned his gaze to Fíli. "I have a few problems...Fosur, right?"

Fíli nodded. He drew in a deep breath. Well, at least as deep as he could with the pressure that still remained in his chest.

"That's a ridiculous name. Anyway, my first problem is you actually. You see, just yesterday you were talking back to my guards in the mines and acting defiantly. The way I hear, it has been almost like you seem to think you're better than them." The king paused and watched Fíli carefully while slowly moving closer.

When Fíli showed no reaction the king continued, "Now, I've heard multiple reports of that sort ever since you arrived. And now, they come and tell me that you've broken." The king laughed again, "Now, I've seen a lot of filth like you throughout the years and I can tell you, I've never seen anyone give up so abruptly." King Harvàin's face was inches away from Fíli's now and his voice had taken on a much lower and darker quality, "So I think you're a liar. I don't know what game you are trying to play here, but it's not going to work."

Fíli lifted his head minutely, "There is no game, Sir."

"Oh, of course there isn't. I can always trust the scum to tell me the truth." The king turned and started walking away. "Just so you know, Dwarf, whatever you're trying to do here will not work. We are much, much smart and stronger than you could ever hope to be."

Fíli bit his lip to stop himself from showing any emotion. He wasn't sure if he wanted to lave at the man's presumptions or get angry at the insults he had offered.

"That's only a small matter for now, we will find out soon enough," the king said. The light, airy tone had returned to his voice, "What concerns me more for the moment is that you haven't been upholding your end of our deal."

"What deal?" Fíli asked, genuinely confused.

"The deal we made when you first arrived." Harvàin paused and eyed Fíli's face. "You really don't remember? It appears I overestimated you, I didn't realize how dumb dwarves truely are." The king started walking back towards Fíli. "We made a deal, you dig up some gold for me, and I let you live."

"As I said then, Sir," Fíli said, nearly forgetting to keep his act up, "No one, not even a dwarf, can find gold where there is none. Your mines hold only iron ore, there is no gold to dig up."

"I also know that dwarves have the ability to find gold anywhere," the king replied, his face twisting into an expression of intense dislike. "You have had more than enough time, in fact I know my guards have given you extra time down there to get it for me. Are you trying to make me angry? I have given you every opportunity but you bring me nothing. You are not even trying. Know that I will not suffer your disobedience."

Fíli tried to calm his pulse. He was breathing hard and pretty sure that the illusion he had tried to put up was likely shattered. "If you want to find gold where none exists, you'd be better off catching yourself a wizard. I can only mine what is there," he spat out despite himself.

King Harvàin drew back his hand and slapped Fíli hard across his face. "I knew you were lying," he scoffed. He started circling around the dwarf, "If you can get me what I want, then you are of no use to me." The king paused in his circle and started returning to the front of Fíli. "I am a fair man, so I will give you another chance. Your last chance! You have three days to find my gold or I will make sure you suffer so much that you'll be begging for death by the end." The king stopped and moved his face right in front of Fíli's, "Do you understand?"

"I do," Fíli replied. In a flash of anger he drew up his hands quickly and hit Harvàin directly on the nose with the heavy cuff on his wrist. "but no thanks." Fíli didn't even have the time to think things through, he seized his chance and turned and ran to the heavy doors at the end of the throne room. He reached the doors and the king recovered. He grabbed the handle, twisted it violently, and threw the door open. The guard outside was caught off balance and fell, sliding across the stone floor.

"Stop him!" King Harvàin bellowed out from behind him.

The sound spurred Fíli on and he began to run faster than he ever had in his life. He tore down the halls, running the way he knew would lead outside.

"Stop him! I said stop him!"

Fíli skidded a little as he almost missed a turn. He regained his balance and continued running. The welts on his back, both old and recent were threatening to break open, his chest was tighter than ever, making it harder to breathe, and the heavy chains shortened his stride, but he kept running through the pain and discomfort, refusing to slow down. Fíli heard the loud footsteps of the guards running and shouting behind him but he didn't look behind. He didn't want to know how close they were and didn't want to risk slowing down to see.

"Get the dogs!" another voice yelled behind him.

Fíli kept running. He could see the outside in front of him. If he made it there then he would have a chance. All he had to do was make it outside. Then maybe he could get to the trees. Years of practice with Kíli had made Fíli very comfortable climbing and jumping from tree to tree. If he could make it to the trees, then Fíli knew he could get away. 50 yards to go, Fíli was almost there. He could smell the rain, it smelled like freedom. 40 yards, he was almost out. Around 25 yards, Fíli felt a sharp pain in his thigh. He didn't want to look at it, he didn't want to slow down, but his head turned without his permission. Sticking out of his leg was the handle of a small knife that must have been thrown by one of the guards. Fíli felt his leg seize and spasm and fell forward. He slid on his stomach for a few feet until he came to a stop.

He was close, so close. Within seconds Fíli was surrounded by guards with Jareth at the front. Jareth twisted his hand in Fíli's hair, right against the scalp and lifted him to his feet. King Harvàin wasn't far behind. He walked up a little unevenly and had blood gushing out of his nose. A few guards followed close, offering the king handkerchiefs to help him staunch the flow.

"Get it out of here!" the king raged, "I will make you pay for this, Dwarf. I will destroy you!"

Jareth all but dragged Fíli back to the dungeons. Fíli fought every step of the way. The pain didn't matter any more. Nothing mattered except for the intense need to escape. All that Fíli's struggles did was cause Jareth to continually tighten his grip in Fíli's hair. Fíli was thrown into his cell and the door slammed shut behind him.

"You just wait, Dwarf," Jareth called back as he left.

Fíli ran to the door, howling like a wild animal. He pulled at the bars and beat his fists against the walls to no avail. He tried to reach the window but it was too high. Even as he started to become overcome by exhaustion and pain, he kept punching weakly at the walls, willing them to break. It wasn't right. He had gotten so close. Just not close enough.

Chapter Text

Fíli didn't know how much time had passed, all he knew was that he was exhausted. From the shadows in his cell he could tell that the sun had crossed the sky and begun setting. The sound of the rain, a constant beating ont he ground mocking his failed spur-of-the-moment attempt, had slowed to a gentle patter. Time had continued moving, but Fíli had stayed in completely still. He was leaning on the back wall, his hands still rested in the same place from when he was trying in vain to push it out of the way. His forehead rested on the cool stone as he tried to figure out what to do next. Ideas chased around his mind, each more insane and unlikely than the last.

He was also angry with himself. Not only for getting caught, but for the rash decision he had made for his attempt for freedom. He had reacted without thinking, something a dwarf his age should be over by now. He had, if only in the heat of the moment, forgotten his promise to Braenna. Even if he had gotten out, what then? The young girl had no right being here. She should be running around outside until it got dark, then tucked into bed in a warm home with her family. That child, just out of her infant years, had managed to bring Fíli moments of happiness while trapped in his dreary cell. He had promised to take her with him when he was free, and in one crucial moment, had been ready to selfishly break that promise. Thinking of it made him feel sick.

No one had been by to see him since he was thrown back into his cell. It was strange not having the guards taunting him, not that he missed it. It was also odd not having his little visitor come by after being in the cell for so long. Part of him wished for something to happen or someone to come by to distract him the torment of his thoughts. The other part was grateful that he was alone and no one was there to witness his shame.

He could hear some commotion in the hall right near the door of the cell; it must have been time for the change of shift for the men who toiled in the mines. He sighed, wincing at the pain the movement caused. The tightness in his chest had reached the point where anything other than shallow breaths caused pain. To add to his misery, Fíli had managed to develop a headache within the last hour or two. The coolness of the brick helped a little, but that was the least of his worries for now. The noise died down, and settled into the usual sounds of the night. Still no one came and disturbed the dwarf. Maybe this would be his punishment. Maybe they would leave him alone, so close to others but still utterly alone, until he eventually died here, either from thirst, hunger, or from the poor conditions. That would be enough to make him wish for death before it came. Fíli moved, eased the soreness from staying still so long out of his stiff muscles.

He turned his back to the wall and slid slowly to the ground. He knew he had to stop thinking so morbidly but was having a hard time trying to find any shread of hope to cling to. That was what Kíli excelled at. Kíli was always able to find a bright spot in any situation, no matter how dire it seemed. If Kíli was here he would managed to keep Fíli's spirits up and together they would form a good escape plan that would actually work. Fíli groaned and lowered his head to rest on his arms. He couldn't keep wishing that Kíli was here. He should be happy that his little brother had managed to escape this torment, that he would never see Fíli in such a state. He sat there for a while, trying to empty is mind of all thoughts, it did nothing more than make his head hurt more.

After sitting there for a while Fíli stood up and started pacing around the small cell, his chains rattling with each step. Inaction would get him nowhere, Dwalin would be disappointed that Fíli had stayed still and made no process on a good, solid plan by now. Fíli ran his hands through his hair and clasped his fingers behind his neck. The problem was that none of his ideas were feasible, they couldn't be done alone and hope to achieve success. He had to find a way that could be done with just one person. He had to get a well formulated, well thought out plan that he could carry out alone. He had to keep his promise this time. He had to-

"Fíli?" Fíli was torn from his thoughts by a voice hissing his name, his true name. He spun quickly, looking out the door of his cell into the empty corridor beyond.

"No, Fíli, look up here." The voice was behind him now, he turned again and looked up at the window. A familiar face was staring in at him with, features twisted into a shocked expression.

"Oh Aulë. Now I'm hallucinating." Fíli muttered, mostly to himself. He walked to the window as quickly as possible. "Kíli, please tell me you're not really here."

"Of course I'm here," Kíli sounded confused, "What happened? How did you get in there?"

"It's a long story. What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be training with Dwalin."

"I am," Kíli shook his wet hair out of his face, "We heard rumors of a dwarf causing trouble here. Dwalin decided we should check on it. I never dreamed it would be you." A small smile crossed his face, "To think, everyone is under the impression that I'm the trouble maker."

Fíli didn't know if he should laugh or not. He settled for staring at his brother for a long moment, memorizing the face he feared he'd never see agian. "Listen to me. You have to leave. Now. You have to go find Dwalin and go home. You have to go quickly, don't let anyone here see you," the words tumbled out so fast that Fíli didn't even have the time to think about them. He didn't even know if he was making any sense, but he kept going, "Find Thorin, tell him that Harvàin had set a trap. The king here, he wants to get Thorin for someone. They're going to give him money for Thorin." He paused to take a breath.

"Wait, Fíli, calm down. You're not making any sense," Kíli changed from his crouched position to lay on his stomach in the mud. He moved his face closer to the bars and lowered his voice even more, "You think King Harvàin wants to take Uncle and sell him to someone?"

"I know that. He told me himself!" Fíli heard his voice take on a slightly hysterical edge. He glanced behind him to make sure no one was coming.

"Calm down, please," Kíli looked closely at his brother. His eyes widened as they noticed the signs of the poor treatment Fíli had received. His eyes lingered on the fresh blood from the wound on Fíli's thigh, "What have they done to you?" he whispered.

"Don't worry about that now, Kíli, did you even hear me? You have to go tell Uncle, go warn him. But you can't be seen here, stay out of sight"

Kíli shook his head, "I won't leave you."

"You have to. Someone has to-"

"Go warn Thorin, I know," Kíli finished for him. Fíli nodded, glad that Kíli finally understood. He breathed in and ended up in a coughing fit, which led to another concerned look from the younger dwarf.

"Thorin will find out, we will warn him together." Kíli said once Fíli had finished coughing.

"No, Kíli, he has to know now. What if he tries to come here? We can't let him walk into a trap."

"I won't leave you here."

"You have to. I'll be fine," Fíli looked up at his brother with pleading eyes.

"I'll go Fi, if you can answer a question for me," Kíli said, he paused for a moment for Fíli to agree. When Fíli nodded, he continued, "If our positions were reversed, what would you do? If you saw that I was hurt and imprisoned, could you honestly say that you would leave me here alone?" Fíli looked away and didn't respond. He tried to buy time by looking behind him again. He knew that his brother already knew the answer to that.

"Don't worry, I'm watching your back. What would you do?" Kíli implored.

Fíli sighed, "I would do whatever it took to get you out. I would kill anyone who dared to touch you."

"Exactly," Kíli stuck an arm through the bars on the window and stretched his hand down toward Fíli. Fíli reached up as far as he could and managed to grasp his brother's fingers. "How could you ask me to do any different?"

"You can't let them catch you," Fíli whispered. He tightened his grip on Kíli's fingers.

"They won't," Kíli gazed into Fíli's eyes, "Tell me, what have they done to you?"

Fíli quickly gave his younger brother an overview of what had happened since he was captured. He told his brother about the mines, the king's demand for gold, taking the name Fosur, and Braenna. He tried to glaze over the brutality, but by the way Kíli's eyes narrowed as the story went on, Fíli knew he was reading between the lines and understood. Kíli didn't interrupt, and Fíli kept talking until he caught his brother up, "-and I punched the king in the face and tried to run, but they stopped me. I was so close, Kíli, so close to freedom. The put me in here hours ago, I don't know what they're going to do now."

Kíli was silent for a moment. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally managed to say, "You punched the king in the face?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time. Or maybe not. I don't even know anymore," Fíli said weakly.

Kíli took a deep breath and rubbed his face with his free hand. The hand Fíli was still holding curled tighter, trying to get a better grip on Fíli's, "I should go find Dwalin, I must tell him what you just told me. He might have a good idea."

"Where is Dwalin?"

"He's scouting the area, trying to learn as much as he can about the guards and their rotations."

Fíli nodded, "If you can't think of anything, make sure you go warn Uncle. He has to know before he tries to come himself."

"I don't think we have to worry too much about that." A small smile crept over Kíli's face, "You know he doesn't venture too far from home ever since he-"

A small gasp followed by a loud thud sounded behind Fíli. He released Kíli's hand and turned to find the source of the sound. Braenna was behind him, he wide eyes flickering back and forth between Fíli and Kíli. She paid no attention to the water that was puddling around her from her fallen bucked. She backed up shakily, reaching behind her to find the door.

"I didn't even see her," Kíli muttered.

"Braenna," Fíli said softly. He took a step toward her and slowly reached his hand out, "It's fine, child."

"M-M-Mister Fi," she whimpered, still edging away, "Who's that?" She looked at Kíli, who had frozen in place, one arm still dangling through the bars.

"Do you remember when I told you about my little brother?" Fíli asked, he kept his voice low. Braenna bobbed her head jerkily. "Well, this is Ki." For a moment Braenna's face didn't changed. Fíli watched carefully as understanding, then excitement crept into her eyes. She closed the rest of the distance to Fíli and lept, catching him a tight hug. He picked her up and ignored the throbbing in his leg. It shook underneath him as it tried to support the extra weight the small girl added.

"He came?" she asked loudly.

"Shh," Fíli warned. Braenna clapped her hands over her mouth. For one tense moment they stood still, waiting to see if anyone would come investigate the sudden noise. Fíli relaxed when no footsteps came. "Yes." he whispered to her.

"Is Uncle Gundin and Mister Larin here too?"

"Uncle Gundin and Mister Larin?" Kíli questioned.

Fíli realized that he hadn't thought to tell Kíli about the new names for their uncle and Dwalin. "Yes Ki, you know-"

"Mister Fí told me all about your Uncle and his brave warrior friend. He said they's gonna come rescue us," Braenna stated. He excitement made a voice a little louder than Fíli would have liked. Fíli could almost see the moment when Kíli's brain finally figured out who they were talking about.

"Of course Mister Larin is here," Kíli smiled at the girl.

Braenna clapped her hands together in joy. She looked at Fíli and her face suddenly went very serious. "Mister Fí, I has to tell you something."

"What is it child?" Fíli asked. A sudden feeling of dread washed over him.

"I heard Goryn and Jareth talking. They's about to come here. They said you did something really really bad and they's gonna come and get you."

Fíli's eyes widened. He looked up at Kíli and saw the panic he felt mirrored on his brother's face. "Go Kíli., there's nothing you can do right now. Don't let anyone see you." He said up to his brother.

Kíli gave one jerky nod and slid his arm back through the bars. "I'll let Mister Dwa-, um, I mean, Larin, know you're here," Kíli said as he stumbled up. "I'll be back Fí, I won't leave you here," he promised.

"I know you won't," Fíli watched as Kíli ran out of sight, then he turned to the child in his arms, "You should go too, I don't want them to know you were here."

Braenna nodded and jumped down. She retrieved her fallen bucket and turned to Fíli, "You's going to be fine, Mister Fí, you'll see," she said.

Fíli smiled weakly at her, "Make sure you don't tell anyone that Kí was here."

"I won't," she promised. Braenna turned and slid through the bars, then Fíli was alone. He had been so happy, so hopeful just moments ago and now it was like that was all a dream. He braced himself and kept his eyes on the door, wondering exactly what fate awaited him.

·~·~·~·~·~·~·~·~·

It was pain unlike anything Fíli had ever felt before. He had be dragged from his cell and forced into a small, bloodstained room at the end of the hall. It clearly had only one use, it was a room used for torture. They had removed his tunic and tied his hand high above his head. Jareth had been systematically using every instrument the room offered on Fíli for what felt like days. Unlike the whip that would make his entire back burn then eventually go numb, Fíli found no such relief this time. An assortment of small metal devices made the abuse Fíli had gone through before seem like child's play compared to this. Another assortment of liquids and powders enhanced the effect when used with the instruments or place on his back after.

He had lost the stoicism that he usually held so to try to rob the guards of any pleasure of knowing just how much they were hurting him. He was now crying out with no hopes of even think of trying to silence himself. Each instrument Jareth used narrowed Fíli's world until the pain was the only thing he knew. Jareth was cruel, methodical and well practiced. Every so often he would pause to allow Fíli to gather himself a bit before starting in on him again, making it hurt even worse than before. During these small breaks, Jareth would keep a steady stream of words directed at Fíli, usually telling him how weak dwarves were or how much Jareth was enjoying this . Fíli had tried to block it out at first, but as his strength left him he had no choice but to listen.

"You are lucky that my King is kind and forgiving," Jareth said with malice, "He has given you three more days to find his gold. You had better not let him down again."

Fíli groaned and turned his head. He pulled weakly at the ropes that kept him bound into place.

Jareth laughed, "You're pathetic and weak," he growled, "and soon enough, you will be dead."

"That's enough for now," Goryn said from the corner of the room. He had been standing there watching the whole time. He would laugh or encourage Jareth every so often, but he mostly had stayed silent and watched. Now he sounded almost bored.

Jareth raked the nasty, twisted instrument he was currently using one more time down Fíli's back and listened to Fíli's scream. It felt like he was tearing the skin off one layer at a time.

"Jareth!" Goryn warned.

Jareth turned and dropped the instrument back onto the table on the side. He walked to the door and turned back as he opened it, "I'll leave you to your fun, but don't forget, he has work to do tomorrow." Jareth laughed to himself and left.

Goryn walked behind Fíli. All Fíli could hear was slight rustling and movement behind him. He braced himself and trying to force his shaking body to still for whatever torment Goryn had in mind. He tensed when Goryn's hands roughly grabbed his sides.

"I have no need for such crude methods," he whisped into Fíli's ear. "I have my own ways to break unruly slaves an make sure they do as their told." Fíli's heart skipped a beat before wildly thudding in his chest as Goryn made his intentions clear. The man's hands traveled down Fíli's sides before starting to undo the catches on his breeches. "I will enjoy this."

·~·~·~·~·~·~·~·~·

Fíli barely registered when he was thrown back into his cell. His entire body felt as if it were on fire, and the memory of his violation played in his mind, tormenting him. He slid down and curled his knees to his chest. Fíli sat, trembling in the darkness, completely broken down by pain and exhaustion. The cell was cold and the guards had neglected to give Fíli his clothes back. He hoped that Kíli wouldn't come back. He didn't think he could stand to see the look on his brother's face if Kíli saw him in such a state, if Kíli ever found out what had happened.

"Lad?" a gruff voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

This wasn't good. Dwalin was high on the list that Fíli didn't want there to witness him in his weakness. He didn't move, maybe the warrior would think he was asleep. Just in case he tried to stem the flow of tears without much success.

"It's all right Fíli," Dwalin said, "Here, your brother mentioned it was cold in here and I know this isn't much but..." he trailed off uncertainly.

Fíli turned and saw that Dwalin was offering an old, threadbare blanket to him. Pushing his shame and modesty aside, Fíli took it from Dwalin and wrapped it around his body. "Thank you," he said. He couldn't bring himself to meet the elder dwarf's eyes.

"Kíli told me he saw you earlier," Dwalin said. Fíli nodded in reply and flinched when Dwalin growled, "Look Lad, no one will think any less of you for what happened."

"What do you know about it?"

"I, er, well, I could hear you," Dwalin said awkwardly.

Fíli's blood ran cold at that thought, "Oh." He continued to look down and avoid Dwalin's gaze.

"I've been here for a while," Dwalin paused and stared at the still very young dwarf in front of him. He shook his head and continued, "We don't have much time, another guard will be by in about ten minutes on his rounds. Kíli and I have a plan to get you out."

"Where is Kíli?" It occured to Fíli how odd it was that his brother was nowhere to be seen.

"Putting things into place if he knows what's good for him," Dwalin responded. He changed subjects abruptly, "That was a good idea you had, putting that mark on the tree."

"You saw it?" Fíli's head snapped up and he met Dwalin's eyes for the first time. He was taken aback a little by the intensity of the warrior's gaze, but he could see the emotions clearly: surprise, concern, and a lot of anger. "I thought the rain would have washed it away."

"It didn't. Your brother didn't see it, he was hunting rabbits. I got your message loud and clear. Also," Dwalin stopped and reached into his pocket for a moment, "I knew you'd never leave this behind without good reason."

Fíli stared at his clasp in Dwalin's hand, trying to ignore the lump that has formed in his throat, "I thought I'd never see that again."

"I'll give it back to you tomrrow," Dwalin placed it back in his pocket again. He looked around behind him quickly and then back at Fíli, "I must go, the guards will come by soon."

Fíli nodded and managed to choke out two words, "Thank you."

"Right, listen carefully, Lad. Tomorrow, stay in front of the fault. Do you understand? Stay in front of the fault,"

Then Dwalin was gone before Fili had a chance to respond. He wasn't sure what was meant by staying in front of the fault, but he knew that he finally had allies in Dovalan. He eased himself back to the floor and tried to find a comfortable position. After trying to supress a violent shudder, Fili wrapped the worn blanket closer. The words Dwalin had said echoed in his head. The exhaustion overtook him quickly, and Fili found himself drifting into a mercifully dreamless sleep.

Chapter Text

Hours later Fíli was abruptly awakened by something soft flying directly into his face. He sat up straight, hissing as the new wounds on his back protested any movement, and blinked the sleep out of his eyes. He looked down and saw the object that had hit him, clothes. He looked up to the door, a guard stared back in at him. The look in the man's eyes was different, instead of cruelty and hatred, Fíli saw a look of compassion and pity. He realized that he was still covered by the old blanket Dwalin had given him last night. He maintained eye contact and slowly started unwrapping himself from it. It wouldn't do any good to hide it now, the man had already seen. The guard didn't seem to think anything odd about it though, instead, the guard tore his eyes from Fíli's and walked away, his footsteps echoing in the hall as he left.

Fíli yawned and considered going back to sleep. He knew he would need every ounce of energy he possessed to get through the day. Instead he grabbed the bundle and began to move slowly. A greyish light was filling he cell and he realized that the sunrise was quickly approaching, and with it would come another day in the mines.

He stood, very carefully, trying not to aggravate any of his injuries. As he moved it became apparent that no matter what he did today, no matter how slowly or carefully he moved, it would hurt. Once he had finished dressing himself in the simple, torn clothing, he looked down at the old blanket Dwalin had given him last night. The man earlier hadn't paid any attention to it, but that didn't mean that all of them would act that way. He picked it up and folded it as small as he could, then tucked it deep into the back corner of his cell. The sunlight wouldn't reach that corner today and hopefully anyone who passed wouldn't see it hiding in the shadows.

Fíli moved over to the window and gazed outside. The work day was coming swiftly, and with it came hope. It would have been preferable to have more dwarves there to rescue him, but if he could only have two, then at least it was two dwarves he knew and trusted. Dwalin had been there when Kíli and Fíli were young, he had watched them grow up. Once they were old enough, he had trained them. Dwalin had seen battle many times and Fíli knew that the fighting skills he had learned from the older dwarf were only the absolute minimum of what Dwalin was capable of. Time had not slowed him down at all.

Kíli on the other hand had the advantage of youth on his side. He was young and energetic, and the speed he moved at meant that his opponents were often left confused and tripping over their own feet. Even though Kíli didn't have a large amount of weapons training and was still learning different tactics, he had one great advantage that could take the enemy by surprise. Dwarves were expected to fight with axes, that was their usual weapon of choice, but Kíli had taken to using a bow so well that at times Fíli doubted that there was any elf who could outshoot him.

Even with his life on the line and vastly outnumbered, Fíli felt satisfied with the two dwarves who were now responsible for his escape.

The sound of keys clanking together and rough voices tore Fíli's eyes away from the outside world. He turned toward the door of his cell and waited. Soon, Jareth arrived, looking very well rested.

"Good morning, Dwarf" Jareth sneered as he replaced the chains on Fíli, "I trust you had a good night. I know Goryn did."

Fíli stayed silent. He clenched his jaw at the memory of what the other man had done. He breathed out through his nose, trying to keep calm. It wouldn't do any good to get into trouble already. Instead, Fíli pictured Dwalin's axe embedded in the man's chest; Kíli's arrow sticking out of the man's throat; Fíli's own sword beheading him.

"Do you think you can finally manage to do your job today?" Jareth asked, unaware of Fíli's thoughts, "If you can't, I'm sure Goryn would be more than happy to have you again."

The images Fíli was picturing flickered. He replaced Jareth with Goryn and starting repeating the process, making the man's death slower and more painful each time. Jareth left, and Fíli kept watching the scenes of death flashing through his mind, smiling at the more creative ones. Those images were all he could focus on while he ate his morning ration of old bread and stale water.

He brought his thoughts back to the present when the guards lined all the slaves up for their march to the mine. Fíli felt a surge of adrenaline when they stepped outside into the coolness of the early morning. Today would be the day. Today would be the last time he would ever make this trip again. He looked around trying to find what it was Dwalin was referring to the night before, the fault. He still had no idea what the fault was, but when he found it he would be sure to stay far, far away from it.

The rain had stopped and the morning really was quite beautiful and peaceful. The only sound that seemed like it didn't belong was the sound of the rocks on the pathway grinding underfoot as the slaves marched to the mine. A soft hooting drifted down from the forest. Fíli immediately identified it as a brown owl. That was the first owl he had heard since arriving in Dovalan. Fíli liked owls, he had spent a lot of time replicating and perfecting their calls until his were indistinguishable from the real thing. The owl hooted again and Fíli frowned, that sounded off more like a barn owl, but not exactly right. He thought for a moment. When he realized what was going on he couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face. The owl had to be Kíli. Kíli making sure Fíli knew that he was keeping his promise, he wasn't leaving.

Fíli turned his head to look at the trees at the edge of the forest quickly. He had hoped to see something, any part of Kíli, his tunic or his wild brown hair, but he couldn't see anything but the trees. Fíli looked back ahead and down and heard another soft hoot. The sound filled him with hope and lifted his spirits. Even though Fíli couldn't seem Kíli and Dwalin, they were out there and they were ready.

The group finally reahed the mine and filed in. Guards at the front passed picks out to the slaves, who then went to their usual work areas. Fíli took his and startee working right away. He swung the pickax once before the fiery agony from his back made him drop it unwillingly. He gasped and dropped to his knees and ended up coughing. He took a moment to regain his bearing, then grabbed the pick and slowly made his way back to his feet.

"Are you well, Fosur?" Aron asked from his left. He was already chipping away at the rock and facing straight ahead, but Fíli could see him peering curiously out of the corner of his eye.

"Fine," Fíli replied. He carefully lifted his pick and swung it at the wall again. It hit its mark, barely doing anything to the rock, but at least this time he managed to stay on his feet. He considered the man for a moment. Aron seemed to never let go of his hope for survival and had kept an eye on Fíli from time to time. He made a quick decision.

"Aron," Fíli said quietly, trying not to draw any unwelcome attention. The man glance over for a second to show that he had heard then returned his attention to the rock in front of him. "Something is going to happen today. Something big. I don't know what or when, just be ready."

If Aron thought that Fíli's words were odd he didn't show it. Instead the man nodded once and continued working away. Fíli did the same, but at a much slower pace. He tried to keep facing forward, but every so often his eyes would roam around the mine. He still hadn't found the fault that Dwalin was talking about. Maybe they hadn't managed to finish setting up for their plan the night before. Maybe Kíli's hooting wasn't meant as comfort, maybe he was trying to let his brother know that it wouldn't happen today.

Fíli tried to banish the thoughts from his mind. Dwalin had said they had a plan and he would just have to trust that all the parts were set into place. After all, no one had ever said when they would put things in motion, just that it would happen at some point during the day. The problem was that as time went on, Fíli's aching body grew weaker and weaker. He could hardly lift his pick and when he did his arms would shake uncontrollably. Breathing became a chore, and Fíli found himself gasping just to feel like he was getting enough oxygen. Even will all the effort he was putting in, he was hardly chipping away at the rock to expose the iron ore. If the guards didn't notice alreay, then would soon. Fíli risked a look over his shoulder. They had noticed, but for the moment they were too busy laughing at something Jareth had said. Jareth was gesturing over at Fíli and the dwarf have a fairly good idea what was being said. His eyes flicked over to Goryn and saw the man leering at him with a small smirk. Fíli felt heat rush to his face and quickly focused on his mining.

He pounded at the rock, anger flowing through his veins. That man would pay for what he did. His rescuers could do what they wanted with the others, but Goryn would be his.

A sound, easily heard in the loud cave startled Fíli. He looked around, but no one else had seemed to hear it. He heard it again and realized what he was hearing. A telltale thud, much different from the sound of picks clinking against stone. The fault! He remember his uncles words when they worked together years ago. Thorin had taken it upon himself to make sure his nephews knew all that proper dwarves should.

"If you hear a thud or an empty sound, stop mining," he had said, "the sound means that the wall is weak. You'll need to add some extra support or you risk a cave in."

So this was Dwalin's plan. Fíli looked over to when the sound came from. The man mining didn't seem to notice that anything was different, or if he noticed he didn't seem to care. If by in front of the fault Dwalin had meant closer to the entrance of the mine then Fíli was perfectly positioned. He looked at all the men behind the fault. Would they be lost? Or did Dwalin have a plan for them too. Fíli hoped it was the second option. He knew Dwalin had seen enough death and destruction. He hated the killing of innocents, and would typically avoid that at all costs.

Fíli edged closer to Aron, "Get ready," he said, "And try to shift closer the the exit."

Aron did as he was told, but only after fixing Fíli with a long look that clearly worried for his sanity.

"What do you think you're doing, dwarf!" Jareth had noticed. Jareth was coming toward the pair of them looking ready to kill. Fíli prayed to Aulë or whoever was listening for mercy. He heard the dull thudding continue a little farther down the cave. Jareth stomped closer and pulled his whip from his side. As he drew closer, Fíli heard a distinct creaking and groaning sound coming from farthe back in the mine. Jareth raise the whip and Fíli braced himself for whatever was about to happen.

With a final groan, the world came crashing down into a haze of rock, dust, and confusion.

Chapter Text

Fíli dropped to the ground and rolled away from the falling debris. He heard the muffled sounds of fighting, the yelling and sword meeting sword. It took him a long moment to realize what had happened and was was going on now. He looked up, almost afraid of what he would see.

There was Dwalin, men were all around him trying to subdue the dwarf, but no one even got close. His axes were a blur of motion as they cut down anyone within arms reach. In fact, it looked like some of the guards were falling before they even got within reach of the Dwalin's axes. Fíli looked around for the cause, and quickly found Kíli, standing near the exit, rapidly firing arrows with deadly accuracy. When met Fíli's eyes, Kíli took a short break and beckoned him over.

The sounds of battle weren't just limited to them. Looking around, Fíli saw that nearly all of the slaves had joined the fray. Thet had used the confusion of the cave in to their advantage and had caught the guards near them by surprise, using their picks as weapons. To his right, Aron was struggling to try and subdue Jareth. Jareth blocked a swing and kicked Aron back into a wall. The man's head made contact with a sickening crack.

Fíli looked back and forth between the two parts of the battle before he made his decision. He quickly rose from the ground, the adrenaline pumping through his bloodstream made him feel no pain, in fact he had more energy than he had since leaving Ered Luin. He rushed toward the two men and swung his pick as hard as he could. The blow caught Jareth in his bicep, taking a chunk of flesh with it. Jareth howled in pain as he turned to face Fíli.

The man's eyes burned with hatred as he advanced upon the dwarf. A wild grin crept across him face. Jareth swung his sword twice and Fíli lept back and managed to evade it. The dwarf feinted a high blow with his pick but swung low instead. Jareth reacted a little too slow and the pick hit his thigh, ripping another gaping hole in its path. Jareth screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his leg.

Fíli stood still for a second, trying to regain his breath. He looked around as the battle continued around him. The slaves were still fighting the guards, fighting for their freedom. Some seemed to have the upper hand, but others were falling. Dwalin was still fighting hard, but it looked like he had been injured, blood was trickling down his arm. There were no arrows flying through the air, and Fíli's heart lept into his throat as he looked desperately for his brother. He let out a sigh of relief as his eyes quickly found Kíli. The younger dwarf had traded his bow for a sword and was trying to cut his way over to where Fíli was standing. Fíli watched him anxiously for a second before turning his attention back to the man in front of him.

Jareth was still lying on the ground moaning in agony and rolling slightly back and forth. Fíli took a few steps over to the man and raised his pick over his head. Jareth's eyes narrowed and in one fluid motion he kicked out with his good leg. His foot caught Fíli on the side of his jaw, and Fíli stumbled back as stars filled his vision. He shook his head to clear it and let loose a feral snarl as he approached the man again.

Moving quicker this time he swung the pick up and let it fall with all the strenght he possessed. His aim was true, the point of the pick became firmly embedded in Jareth's chest, right above his heart. With a little difficulty, Fíli placed his foot on the man's chest pulled it out with a great squelching noise. The blood pulsed freely out of the wound. He moved his eyes up to Jareth's. The man's eyes were wide and looking around the room as if searching for help. He met Fíli's eyes and moved his lips, but nothing came out except small pink bubbles of blood mixed with his saliva. Fíli stepped back as Jareth's hands feebly reached out to him. The man's chest slowed in its rising and falling and his movements became weaker and more clumsy. Fíli watched emotionlessly as the light faded from Jareth's eyes until they stay still and unfocused.

After Jareth had died, Fíli moved around him quickly to check on Aron. The man's eyes were open and staring at something off in the distance. Fíli tried calling out to him to draw his attention but had no success. He knelt next to the man and tried to rouse him but his head lolled. Fíli felt for any signs of life, and his breath hitched in his throat when there were none. He stood and placed his hand on the man's head, murmuring a short prayer, a small thanks. He blinked rapidly, wondering how the death of a man he barely knew could feel like such a punch in the gut.

"Fíli! We have to go now!" Kíli's voice cut through Fíli's thoughts. He couldn't reply, nor could he tear his eyes from Aron's body. His hand moved down the man's face and gently closed his eyes.

"Come on, Fí. There's nothing we can do for him." Kíli begged. He grabbed Fíli around the wrist and tore him away from the man's body. Fíli stumble backward a few steps then turned and followed his brother away. He was right, there was nothing that could be done. Not much time had passed but the fighting had begun to die down. Bodies of guards and more of slaves lay strewn about the ground. There were still a few scuffles going on in places, but for the most part it seemed like the fighting was over.

"Someone went to get reinforcements," Kíli said, correctly guessing Fíli's thoughts as they rushed to the exit of the mine. The reached the exit with little difficulty.

"Hurry," Dwalin growled when they reached him. Kíli released his brother's wrist and turned, grabbing his bow to fire at any guards who tried to follow them. Fíli tried to slow down as he headed over to his mentor, but the chains tripped him up and almost sent him flying to the ground.

"Careful," Dwalin said as he quickly grabbed Fíli and helped him regain his balance. Then he turned to grab something off the ground and passed it to Fíli, "Here, Lad. Do you remember how to use it?" Fíli's fingers closed around the hilt of the sword Dwalin had given to him. It melded to his hand perfectly.. It wasn't one of his own swords, those were lost long ago. This one was clearly made by men. It was a little longer than Fíli would have liked and the balance was off due to the clumsy, imperfect forging by men, but it didn't matter to him. He had his weapon of choice again, he felt complete again. Fíli looked at Dwalin and nodded.

"Good," the warrior grunted. He then turned back to the mine, "Let's go, Lad!" He yelled to Kíli. Kíli looked back and jogged over to them. Dwalin turned and started running toward the treeline, Fíli followed him and Kíli took up the rear, keeping one hand lightly on Fíli as they moved. They had almost reached the trees at the edge of the forest when a thought suddenly popped into Fíli's head. He dug abruptly his heels into the soft dirt to stop and spun around. Kíli barely managed to avoid a collision and his arm wrapped around his brother, trying to keep them both on their feet.

"I have to go back," Fíli said softly. "I made a promise, I have to keep it." Kíli stared at him with a look that clearly said that he thought his brother had lost his mind. Dwalin stopped at the sound of Fíli's voice. He walked back over to him, axe in hand like he didn't know whether or not to knock Fíli over the head with it or not.

"What do you mean you have to go back?" Dwalin asked, low and dangerous.

Fíli shuddered a little at the tone the elder dwarf used before meeting his eyes. "Braenna, I promised to take her with me." Fíli looked over at Kíli who still had confusion etched on his face, "The child," he explained. Kíli slowly nodded and looked over to Dwalin.

"We managed to escape with our lives, and now you want to go back?" Dwalin asked. "The child will be fine, we'll send others for her when we get home."

Fíli shook his head and took a step back. "I can't," he choked, "I promised."

"This is madness," Dwalin replied, stepping closer to Fíli.

"Please," Fíli begged, "I promised. You can go, I'll catch up with you."

Dwalin shook his head and glanced from Fíli's face to the castle and back again, "We came for you, and we'll leave with you." He sighed deeply, "Stay close, stay out of sight. If we can get to her then we will. No child belongs in this place."

"Thank you," Fíli's voice shook a little in relief. He took a deep breath and to try to steady it and ended up in another coughing fit. Kíli held him close and rubbed his back gently, trying not to exacerbate his injuries. Once his coughing subsided, Kíli released him and he turned back to Dwalin. "Stay close, there will be more guards," Dwalin warned. Without another word he took off running again, back to the castle. Fíli followed as close as he could and he heard Kíli's footsteps right behind him.

They reached the castle quickly, and Fíli followed Dwalin to hid behind a wall and wait. Fíli took the brief respite to try to catch his breath, which was now coming out in quick gasps. Kíli, barely breathing hard at all, put his hand on Fíli's shoulder and lightly squeezed, trying to comfort and calm his older brother. Fíli turned and offered him a weak smile of gratitude before turning his attention back to Dwalin. The warrior was watching and listening carefully. The stairs that led down to the dungeons were just yards ahead of them. Suddenly, Dwalin pulled back, hiding himself more completely behind the wall. Loud footsteps approached and a bunch of guards burst out from the staircase. Didn't stop to look around, they continued running straight toward the mines. Once the last of them had passed, Kíli edged forward. He started heading toward the stairs, but Dwalin quickly stuck his hand out and caught Kíli's arm.

"Wait just a moment, Lad," he whispered. More footsteps soon approached and a single guard came running up the stairs and followed the rest to the mines. "Always wait for the last man," Dwalin explained as the guard disappeared, "There's always a slow one."

Certain that the coast was clear, Dwalin motioned for Kíli and Fíli to follow him as he led the way down the stairs and into the dungeon. It was eerily silent, Fíli tried holding his chains tightly to stop them from clanging together. Their footsteps echoed loudly as they crept down the corridor and came to an intersection.

"Which way do you think we should go?" Kíli whispered so quietly that even standing right next to him it was hard to hear.

Fíli shrugged and and followed Dwalin as he turned to the right. They kept moving, peering in at all the empty cells as they went. Fíli thought about calling for Braenna but got rid of that thought almost as soon as it came to his mind. They didn't know who else would still be down there and the last thing Fíli wanted to do was draw unnecessary attention to the three dwarves sneaking around. All of them stopped and tensed as a high pitched shriek broke through the silence, followed by a thudding that sounded like someone had dropped a heavy object. It had come from behind them.

"I think that was her," Fíli breathed. He turned a little too quickly and had to close his eyes as the ground seemed to tilt underneath him. He regained himself and hoped that no one had seen his moment of weakness but with the way his brother was looking at him Fíli knew it hadn't gone unnoticed. Dwalin led the way, moving a bit quicker now that they had an idea of where to go. Fíli followed with Kíli on his heels.

They found a door near the end of the hall that was slightly ajar. Dwalin pushed it open slightly and looked in. It appeared to be a storage room of some sort. Inside, Fíli could see Braenna sprawled out on the floor. The child looked terrified, tears were pouring down her cheeks and she had one hand pressed against the side of her face. Goryn was standing in front of her, as menacing as ever, talking down to the girl.

"I know you spent time with the dwarf. Tell me, who is with him? Where are they going?" he was asking. Braenna just shook her head silently and cowered against the wall. Four additional guards were there, flanking Goryn with two on each side.

Fíli heard the slight rustling of fabric next to him and looked over to Kíli. His brother had pulled and arrow out from his quiver and was aiming it directly at the man in the middle. Fíli reached out a hand and lowered his brother's arm.

"That one is mine."

Kíli looked over to Dwalin for instructions. Dwalin nodded and whispered, "We'll cover you." He held up his hand and raised three fingers before closing it into a fist. They would go on three.

One

Fíli gripped the sword in his hand so tightly that his knuckles started turning white. He kept his eyes on Goryn and tried to focus, he had to move fast.

Two

'Why did you have to do it quickly?' A small, evil voice in the back of his mind asked. After all, this man had taken more from Fíli than any of the others combined. He deserved to suffer. Fíli shook his head to rid himself of the temptation and felt Kíli's steadying hand on his shoulder. The touch broke him out of the cruel idea. He was better than that man, and they couldn't afford to linger.

Three

With a loud war cry the three dwarves burst into the room. Dwalin ran left and Kíli veered off to the right. Fíli saw them on his sides for a moment before his vision narrowed and all he could see was Goryn standing there with his mouth open in shock. Fíli swung his blade but hit only air as Goryn lept back quickly. The man unsheathed his sword and with a loud clang blocked Fíli's next swing.

"You think-"he started before he was cut off.

Fíli refused to slow down, the anger coursing through his veins gave him more strength than he knew he could ever posess. He only made contact once, a wild swing that just barely cut into Goryn's forearm. Fíli hoped Kíli and Dwalin were having better luck than him. From the sounds around him, he guessed they were but didn't dare take his eyes off of his target. Goryn hooked his foot in the chains connecting Fíli's left wrist and ankle and sharply yanked them.. Fíli stumbled to the side, desperately trying to keep his footing. He fell against a rack of armor and ducked down instinctively, just in time to hear the whistle of a blade above his head. He grabbed a helmet from the bottom shelf and hurled it at Goryn's head. The man ducked awkwardly and Fíli took his chance to go back on the offensive. He swung at Goryn again and managed to graze his chest. Goryn's face controted with rage as he blocked three more blows. On the last one he stepped to the side and suddenly twisted his arms, bringing the hilt of his sword crashing down on Fíli's wrist. Fíli's hand went numb and the sword clattered to the ground.

"You are pathetic," Goryn sneered, advancing on the dwarf.

Fíli bit his lip as the numbness turned to pain. He looked around trying to find something to help. A memory of him and Kíli watching adult dwarves spar when they were children popped into his head, a move he had never seen before. Fíli didn't hesitate, he lept to the ground, curling into a forward roll and struck out with the heel of his foot. He hit his target, and a sudden crunching noise told him the damage that had been done. He picked up his sword with his left hand, his non-injured hand, and stood as quickly as he could, trying to ignore the fresh waves of pain washing over his body from all that he had forced it to do today. Goryn lay on the ground, his hands clutching at his dislocated knee. Fíli didn't even give him the chance to move, with a roar of pure rage he brought the sword down, slicing Goryn open from his neck to his waist. Blood pooled around his body went still. Fíli checked his sides and saw that both Kíli and Dwalin were finishing with their opponents and didn't seem to need any help. He looked over at the small child who was now staring at him with a shocked expression on her face.

"All is well, Braenna," Fíli said softly, walking towards her as if she were a frightened animal, "He can't hurt you again." She nodded and hesitated for a moment. Fíli watched her carefully, it couldn't be easy for her to have witnessed all the fighting. On his right, he could hear Kíli finally finish off his last guard. Without warning, Braenna ran to Fíli and lept into his arms. He caught her the best he could and focused on trying to keep himself upright and not dropping the child. He rubbed her back gently, trying to calm her trembling form.

Dwalin stepped to Fíli's side, "We have to leave," he warned. Fíli nodded and tried to send the message to Dwalin with his eyes that he couldn't carry the girl. Braenna looked up and gasped when she saw the dwarf next to her. It happened a lot, Dwalin's scars had a way of scaring anyone the first time they saw them.

"Braenna," Fíli said gently, "This is Mister Larin." Braenna couldn't seem to find words, instead she just gaped at the dwarf.

"At your service," Dwalin bowed to the child. Braenna smiled a little in response, the action seemed to have made her more comfortable with the scarred warrior. Dwalin held out his hands, "My lady, if I may." Braenna didn't even hesitate this time. She leaned away from Fíli and clung onto Dwalin's neck.

Fíli nodded his thanks and turned back to the door. Now they just had to get away without being seen. Fíli hoped luck would be on his side, he didn't know if he had the strength for another fight. The rush of adrenaline that he had felt earlier was steadily leaving him. He now felt more tired and worn than ever. He hoped he could at least make it to safety.

With Dwalin and Braenna at the lead and Kíli at his back again they left the dungeons and rushed back to the line of trees at the edge of the forest. Dwalin was managing to speak softly to Braenna as they ran, he seemed to be trying to say something to comfort the child. Her face was very anxious when she spoke. Fíli's world tilted alarmingly as they reached the trees. He tried to ignore it and keep his eyes on Dwalin's back. They could not affort to slow down anytime soon. Behind him, he felt his brother's hand gently touch his side.

Dwalin led them away from the main path and had them cut through the undergrowth of the forest. Fíli stumbled upon a rock, hidden beneath the thick growth, and his body slammed sideways into a tree. He pushed himself off of it and kept running, trying to ignore the stars blinking in his vision. Kíli was talking. He was saying something but Fíli couldn't make out the words. Instead he tried to focus on the comforting sound of his brother's voice. There was a pause, then the tone of Kíli's voice turned anxious. Fíli tried to turn his head to make sure nothing had happened, but the dizziness prevented him from doing it. The hand on his side returned with a bit more pressure on it. Fíli took that as a sign to just keep going. Just keep following Dwalin's back.

It felt as if they had been running for days, or even weeks, but the shadows had barely changed. Fíli stumbled more and more often. He was trying not to show how much he was struggling. Every part of his body burned, and he felt as if there was a pillow pressed agains his nose and mouth restricting the amount of air he could receive. He tried to take deeper breaths, tried to keep his focus solely on Dwalin's back, but stumbled again. He head jerked up as he tried to keep his footing and keep moving. That was too much for his exhausted body. Darkness started crowding in his vision and Fíli felt himself start to fall. An alarmed shout and strong arms wrapping around him were the last things he knew before succumbing to the darkness.

Chapter Text

"...Careful, careful..."

"...This will break his heart..."

"...Someone go and fetch Thorin..."

"...Another smith while you're at it, get these chains off..."

Quiet voices floated around Fíli. He had the strange sensation of movement, although he was sure that he wasn't moving at all. He felt cramped and sore but when he tried to stretch out but something held him tightly in the same position.

"Don't move Fí, I've got you," a voice that sounded a lot like Kíli's came from above him. He tried to open his eyes to orientate himself but his lids felt strangely heavy and refused to comply.

"Is he waking?" Another voice - Dwalin - asked. There was a strange note of anxiety in his voice. That was a sound Fíli had never heard come out of the strong warrior.

"I don't know, maybe," Kíli's voice replied. He sounded exhausted. The tired, worn sound pulled at Fíli's heart and was enough for him to finally pry his eyelids open. He caught a glimpse of his brother's worried face above him and the bright sunlight before he sank back into beautiful oblivion.

His dreams were strange. Random, faces kept flickering in and out of his head: Ma, Balin, Dwalin, Óin, Thorin, and Kíli - mostly Kíli. They would say things to him, always in low voices, but he could never make out the words. He didn't know how much time went by as he alternated between floating in peaceful blackness and trying to make sense of the blurry faces and incoherent murmurs.

Fíli slowly opened his eyes. He felt warm and comfortable, two things he hadn't felt in a long time. He blinked a few times and waited for his eyes to focus. Bright sunlight was filling the room he was in. He realized he was in the bedroom he shared with Kíli, and strange noise, almost like a sleeping bear, was coming from the right side of his bed. He turned his head carefully and saw his uncle sitting next to him, fast asleep and snoring. He had dragged what looked like a chair from his office and set it in between Fíli and Kíli's beds, facing Fíli's. His head lolled to one side and Fíli did not envy the stiff neck his uncle would have when he woke up. As Fíli became more aware of his surroundings he felt a warm weight resting on his chest and soft breathing coming from his other side. Fíli turned his head to the left and saw dark tangled hair and two familiar brown eyes boring into his own.

"Are you really awake this time?" Kíli whispered. He was curled under the blankets and sharing Fíli's pillow. He rubbed Fíli's chest gently before bringing his hand up and grazing the backs of his fingers across Fíli's cheekbone.

"Kí..." Fíli rasped. He winced, using his voice made him aware of just how dry his throat was.

"Shh... One second," Kíli sat up quickly and turned to the nightstand. He grabbed a glass of water off of it and handed it to his older brother. Fíli took it and held it carefully as Kíli slid behind him and helped ease him into a sitting position. Fíli bit back a hiss of pain as he felt the healing wounds on his back stretch uncomfortably. "Sorry," Kíli said. He watched intently while Fíli drank and took the glass when it was empty. The water had tasted amazing, so fresh and clean.

Fíli cleared his throat, "Kíli," he began again, happy to note that his voice sounded more like normal, "Did you get injured?" He had to know that his little brother was well.

Fíli felt the vibration from his brother's chest when Kíli chuckled gently, "I am fine. You're the one we were worried about." He shifted his position slightly so he was more to Fíli's side but still able to support his weight. "You've been asleep for almost a week." Fíli's eyes widened at that. He didn't know it had been so long.

"A whole week?" he asked.

"Yes," Kíli's free arm, the one that wasn't helping to support Fíli, reached up. He ran his fingers over every part of his brother he could reach - his stomach, up his side, along his arm. He traced his jawline and over Fíli's face before combing through his hair. Fíli was used to Kíli's need to touch and allowed his brother to continue. With a hum of contentment, he nuzzled his brother's hand when it reached his face.

"For a while, Óin wasn't sure if you would survive. We were so scared," Kíli said once his hand had stopped its travels. He clung tighter to Fíli and buried his face in his hair, "Don't do that again," he mumbled into the golden locks. Fíli found himself speechless. He reached up and grabbed Kíli's hand in his own, squeezing gently.

A loud snort interrupted the moment. Both brothers turned their heads to Thorin as he jerked awake. Thorin cracked his neck loudly and looked to the bed. His mouth dropped open when he saw Fíli not only awake but sitting up with help from Kíli.

"How do you feel?" He asked, leaning forward, his intense gaze searched deep into Fíli's eyes. "

Fine, Uncle, just a little stiff," Fíli responded. He unconsciously pressed himself closer into Kíli's chest, trying to hide from the intensity of Thorin's eyes..

A strange emotion flickered in Thorin's eyes for a fraction of a second before disappearing. He leaned back before turning his face to Kíli, "How long has he been awake?"

"Only for a few minutes," Kíli replied. He didn't move, he just rubbed Fíli's arm with his thumb.

"You should have awakened me immediately," he stood fromt he chair and stretched out. His gaze flickered back to his oldest nephew, "I'll go retrieve Óin, he'll need to check you over." He turned stiffly and left the room. Fíli watched him leave and shame burned in his stomach. He knew Thorin would be disappointed in him but he hadn't expected him to act so cold.

"What did I miss?" He asked Kíli, trying to fill the silence and to get his mind off Thorin's abrupt exit.

"A bit," Kíli responded. He began catching Fíli up on all that had happened while he was unconscious, "Dwalin left with a small army the day after we arrived. He wanted to stay to make sure you'd be fine but he and Uncle talked and decided to go free all those men. Óin has been in here constantly to try and help you heal. You were ill, you know? Your fever was so high that your skin felt hot enough to burn. As if the blood loss and all those wounds weren't bad enough, you had pneumonia, too. Your fever broke the night before last, that's when we knew you'd survive," Kíli paused and took a deep breath. His hand started rubbing up and down Fíli's arm again, "Mother and Uncle have been trading shifts at your bed the whole time. I've never seen them so worried." He swallowed hard. His voice began to shake slightly, "We thought you might die." Fíli nodded as he processed all of the information Kíli was telling him. He hadn't realized how close he had come to death. He craned his neck and nuzzled into his brother's neck, an apology his extremely tactile brother would understand and appreciate.

After a moment, he realized that Kíli had left something important out. "Braenna?"

"Oh, she's doing very well," Kíli laughed, "She's managed to keep us all thinking positive, I don't think anything could dampen her spirits. She's staying with Balin for now and she gets along surprisingly well with Gimli. We haven't let her come see you of course, didn't want to scare her. Uncle was confused by her at first, he didn't understand who 'Uncle Gundin' was. Actually," Kíli paused thoughtfully, "I think she still insists on calling him Gundin no matter how much he corrects her." Fíli laughed at that. His heart felt lighter knowing that the child was flourishing. He turned slightly to look at his little brother and felt Kíli shift position as he turned to meet Fíli's eyes.

"And you?" Fíli asked. He knew Kíli would insist he was fine, but he still wanted to hear the words.

"I'm fine Fí, really," Kíli said.

Fíli stared at the warm brown eyes for a minute before the dark bags underneath them caught his attention. He frowned slightly, "Are you really? When was the last time you slept?"

"Um," Kili began, but was saved from answering by the arrival of Thorin and Óin.

Thorin stayed near the door with an unreadable look on his face but Óin come right up to the bed without hesitation and began asking Fíli questions about how he felt. Kíli slid off the bed and repeated Fíli's answers to the healer a bit louder, it was no secret that Óin was losing his hearing as he aged. Satisfied with Fíli's answers the healer began methodically tending to Fíli's various wounds, starting with the ones on his wrists.He unbandaged them, looked them over carefully, applied a salve that smelled lightly of lavendar, then carefully rebandaged them With the help of Kíli and Thorin, Óin carefully turned Fíli so he was laying on his stomach and began the process again on his back. Kíli held his brother's hand the whole time, keeping eye contact and speaking gentle words meant only for Fíli's ears. Fíli tried to keep his face impassive, aware of Thorin's stead gaze on him. He didn't want to give his uncle another reason to be disappointed. After a long while, the healer's gentle movements stilled. Kíli looked up at Óin with a questioning gaze and nodded once before returning his eyes to Fíli. He pressed his forehead against Fíli's temple as Óin took his minstrations lower. Fíli's clenched his hand around Kíli's and squeezed his eyes shut as tight as he could, focusing only on Kíli's voice and trying to keep the memories away.

Mercifully, the healer didn't take too long. He declared Fíli to be healing well before pulling Thorin aside for a private word. No soon had Fíli settled back on the bed, with pillows supporting him in a sitting position this time, did the door open again. Fíli looked over to it, expecting his uncle to come back in, but instead his mother, Dís, walked in carrying a large bowl. She walked over and sat in the chair previously occupied by Thorin, scooting it closer to the bed.

"Good morning," she said simply with a small smile, "Welcome back to the world of the living." Fíli grinned back at her and pushed himself up and at her. She caught him in a warm hug before gently pushing him back against the pillows. "Rest," she ordered, "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," he replied. A very tempting scent reached his nose and made his mouth water, "What do you have there?"

"Not much," Dís replied, wrinkling her nose, "It's just chicken soup. Óin said you may not be able to eat anything more substantial yet."

"It sounds perfect," Fíli said gratefully. He hadn't even realized how hungry he was. Behind him he heard Kíli stifle a yawn. "Take a nap, brother," Fíli said, turning to face Kíli, "You look as if you could pass out at any moment."

"I'm fine," Kíli said, yawning again.

"Kíli," Dis said in a no-nonsense tone, "Go to bed. Your brother's awake now, he's not going anywhere. Sleep." Kíli made a face and looked like he was going to argue, but any argument he may have was lost the moment he saw the look on his mother's face. Instead he moved farther under the blankets, curled against Fíli's side, and closed his eyes.

"In your own bed."

"This is my bed," Kíli slurred without opening his eyes. His breathing quickly evened out and his body relaxed into sleep. Fíli looked down at him for a moment, before turning back to his mother and accepting the soup she was offering him.

·~·~·~·~·~·~·~·~·

The next few days flew by. Fíli had been ordered by Óin to remain in bed for another ten days, and although he wasn't happy have to lay around for so long, at least he was never bored. His family hand ensured that he was never alone, even at night. Dís would sit by him most mornings, telling stories of her childhood and of Erebor. Fíli loved hearing about Erebor ever since he was a child, he would dream of defeating the dragon and reclaiming the home of his ancestors. Óin came everyday to check on Fíli's progress, and Fíli was glad that his examinations weren't as thorough as the first one. Even Balin stopped by a few times, and with him came Braenna. It took Fíli a moment to recognize the happy child he saw until she flung herself at him with a cry of, "Mister Fí!" She had told him all that had happened to her since arriving in Ered Luin and Fíli was happy to see her thriving.

Kíli was a constant presence. It had taken him nearly two days to leave Fíli's side for more than a few moments at a time, but he made sure to return and check up on his brother constantly. Between lessons and training he would pop into the room for as long as he could and spend his time with his older brother. When it was his turn to sit with Fíli, he would always have something to say and the brothers would be talking and laughing the whole time. He was still sleeping in Fíli's bed too, despite the attempts of the older dwarves to get him back to his own bed. Some nights Fíli would fall asleep alone only to wake up with his little brother once again snuggled into bed with him. He didn't mind it even though his family seemed to think he would. He enjoyed knowing that his brother was there.

Then there was Thorin. Thorin didn't spend too much time with Fíli and when he did it was anything but comforting. He would barely look at Fíli the whole time, preferring to stare at the wall above his head in stony silence. He never initiated conversation and would only respond with grunts whenever Fíli tried to say anything. Sometimes Fíli thought he would have preferred to be left alone instead of with Thorin.

This was the position he found himself in today. His mother had business to attend to and Thorin had come in to stay with him, bringing a plate of food for lunch. Fíli picked at the lunch, hardly eating any of the deer meat even though it smelled delicious. He kept looking at Thorin out of the corner of his eye only to find his uncle still staring resolutely at the wall. Finally, the silence became too much for him to bare any longer.

"Is it that hard to even look at me?" Fíli asked abruptly, his voice slightly less than a shout. Thorin's eye met his without a word so Fíli continued, "I know you're disappointed. Will you at least yell at me or something instead of sitting there in silence?"

"Wha..." Thorin's eyes filled with confusion.

"I should have fought harder, I shouldn't have allowed myself to get taken. I know that, but am I such an embarrassment that you can't even look at me, let alone speak to me? Have I shamed you that bad?"

"Fíli-"

"Am I no longer your nephew? I didn't mean for things to happen like this but-" "Fíli-" "-they did and I just want to know why you won't even look at me!"

"Fíli," Thorin said firmly, "I am looking at you, and I see nothing to be ashamed of."

"But you-"

"I should never have sent you to Dovalan in my stead. I don't blame you for anything that happened, the blame falls solely on me."

"Then why have you been ignoring me?" Fíli asked. Now he was confused, if Thorin wasn't disappointed in him then why hadn't he said more than two words to him the whole time?

"Because I thought you would blame me. I didn't want to make things worse for you by having to pretend you weren't angry."

"I'm not angry, Uncle. Not at you at least," Fíli said, he leaned forward and hesitated before placing his hand on Thorin's arm, "I thought you would be angry at me. An heir of Durin should never have been in my situation to begin with."

"No," Thorin stated, placing his large hand over Fíli's smaller one, "an heir of Durin should not have been in your position. But that was not your fault. That blame should rest upon the king of Dovalan. From what I understand, you performed admirably, better than most others would have in your situation."

"I have missed you, Uncle," Fíli said with a shaky voice.

Thorin pulled him into a tight hug, "I missed you, and I am so proud of you," He said thickly. Fíli rested his head against Thorin's chest and listened to his heart beat. More words of comfort were said and for the first time since returning home, Fíli felt that everything was right in the world. He could recover from this after all.

·~·~·~·~·~·~·~·~·

Nearly a week later and with Óin's, Fíli was finally allowed out of bed. Kíli was there to help him take his shaky first steps. Dwalin had returned the day before with news that King Harvaìn had been killed during the slave revolt. He had brought with him a man named Caraedry, originally from Rohan. It took Fíli all of 5 seconds to fingure out who the man was before a high voice behind him shrieked in glee, "Da!" and a mess of blond hair ran to the man and lept into his arms. They had left soon after, eager to return home. Caraedry had shaken Fíli's hand and thanked him for looking after his little girl. He left with and offer that if Fíli ever found himself in Rohan to find Caraedry for anything he may need. Fíli had thanked him for the offer and watched as the two disappeared from view with a small dwarven guard to lead them safely home.

It was a cool day when Fíli found himself sitting on the side of a hill, watching his brother practice archery down below. The sun was beginning to set, and he enjoyed the last of its light while he could. His wounds had healed well and were now little more than a memory. Every so often, Kíli would look up and wave when he saw that Fíli was still watching. It made him laugh, a reminder of Kíli as a small child always trying to impress his brother. He jumped slightly when someone sat down heavily next to him.

"He's getting very good, isn't he?" Thorin asked, motioning to where Kíli was practicing.

"I expect he'll be better than the elves soon enough," Fíli agreed.

Thorin snorted a laugh at that. "So," Thorin started. He paused for a second as his eyes swept across Fíli's face. "I heard that the rest of the slaves have returned home. The mines are empty now."

"That's good," Fíli replied, "Those men have done no wrong." They sat in a comfortable silence, watching Kíli continue practicing. Eventually the light began to fade, and Kíli packed his weapons and ran up the hill to his brother and uncle.

"What did you think, Fíli?" He asked excitedly.

"You were amazing, better than anyone else, I'm sure."

"Thank you, brother," Kíli gave a mock bow, "You know, Dwalin's been working with me on my swordsmanship a lot lately. I think I may be better than you by now,"

"Oh really?" Fíli asked. A small grin crept on to his face and he stepped quickly to the side and shoved his brother sideways, "I'm sure you would be no challenge for me."

"You'll pay for that," Kíli threatened, stepping closer to Fíli.

"Only if you can catch me first, little brother!" Fíli cried and ran back towards his home. Kíli sped after him.

Thorin laughed to himself as he watched his young nephews run. Fíli had begun to heal, but they still had a long way to go. He watch Kíli get closer and Fíli grabbed his brothers arm and wrestled him to the ground. They rolled around for a few moments before Fíli got the upperhand and took off again. Kíli chased after him, yelling threats and laughing the whole way. Yes, they still had a long way to go, but Thorin knew for sure that everything would be fine.

Chapter Text

Quick preview/summary of the next Kili-centric story in case you were interested.

COMING SOON

Currently untitled (because titles are hard to make up)

Months after the events of Captive. The harsh winter has finally subsided to to spring and Kíli can't wait to continue his training and explore the world with his mentor, Dwalin and his older brother, Fíli. After a day where everything it seems that nothing he can do is right and everything seems to be falling around him, he goes for a walk to calm his nerves and clear his mind. What he didn't expect was to be caught in a spring rainstorm that ends up getting him horribly lost. He finds himself alone in the wilderness and on the run from a group of Orcs. He is on an adventure he never expected or wanted. Meanwhile Fíli is only hoping to find his brother before it's too late.

Hey, I also just wanted to actually really thank people real quick.

My most excellent commenters: Lydia, kopperblaze, DaisyJayne, and of course, Shapesfrom221B. You guys are awesome and your comments were really encouraging.

Those who gave kudos: Fishielicious, kopperblaze, WritingJustToWrite, Red_Shiloh, proficy, FerrellOConnellMcGee, Daylight, nerdyheart15 and the guests. Once again, you guys are awesome.

Hope to see you all soon!