✓ | Forget-Me-Not ~ Fili FanFiction / Hobbit FanFiction / Fili FF

「 Chapter 35 」

Before Ilèyn could ask who was still missing, Thorin was out the door. The company followed him immediately and was greeted with jubilation by the people in the square. There were so many of them that the dwarves were forced to squeeze past the humans in single file. Ilèyn found it extremely uncomfortable to be looked at and yelled at all the time, whether for joy or not. She wanted to get out of this crowd as quickly as possible.
"You do know we're one short." Bilbo said, who was walking behind Fili and Ilèyn, "Where's Bofur?"
So Ilèyn was not mistaken after all. But the Hobbit justifiably asked, Bofur was nowhere to be seen.
"If he's not here, we leave him behind." came the answer from Thorin, who, followed by Balin, had almost reached the boat prepared for the dwarves.
"We'll have to." Balin agreed. "If we're to find the door before nightfall, we can risk no more delays."
People around the company were talking excitedly. Meanwhile the sun had come out and bathed the city in a bright and cold morning light. The temperature had dropped even further, one could assume. But the sky was clear, it didn't look like snow.
The dwarves reached the end of the pier and began loading it with the weapons that were made available to them.
Fili climbed carefully onto the boat and took a few lances from Bifur to stow them safely. Ilèyn still had enough arrows of her own, but she was happy to make ample use of the arrows that she took from the prepared quivers that were displayed on the jetty. When she turned around, she saw Thorin talking to Kili. Ilèyn came up to them slowly.
"We must travel at speed. You will slow us down." Thorin was saying, passing several spears to the others on the boat. Ilèyn's gaze flickered to Kili, who looked at his uncle in astonishment.
"What are you talking about? I'm coming with you." he said incredulously.
"Not now." Thorin just contradicted and shook his head.
Kili noticed that his uncle was serious and he looked at him as if he had brought him the news of his own death.
"I'm going be there when this door is opened! When we first look upon the Halls of our Fathers, Thorin!" Kili said indignantly.
"Kili..." Thorin said gently "Stay here. Rest. Join us when you're healed." He gripped the back of his nephew's head and looked him firmly in the eye, smiling slightly.
Kili did not contradict and just looked at the floor in shock. He took a few steps back and shook his head in disappointment.
"I'm staying with him." Ilèyn said, who was still standing next to Thorin and studying the young archer next to him. She couldn't just leave him here without knowing what exactly was wrong with him. If he were on his own here, this wound could kill him. She couldn't risk that.
"He needs medicine, I'll try to get some."
Thorin seemed more than fine that Ilèyn did not accompany the company to the mountain, because he did not contradict and only looked after her as she approached the young dwarf.

"Kili." she said immediately and motioned for him to sit on a stack of boxes that was directly behind him.
"This is... he... he can't be serious with that!" he groaned as he sat down.
"I know you are disappointed, but..." Ilèyn tried to make eye contact and looked at him more than seriously "I don't like what this wound in your leg is doing to you, do you hear? We urgently need to do something about it."
"I'm fine!" Kili contradicted vehemently and tried to evade Ilèyn's scrutiny.
"You're not, Kili!" she now said emphatically and pierced him with an evil look "Don't lie to me and stop discussing!"
Kili said nothing more and Ilèyn turned back to the boat. The dwarves were still loading it up with weapons and supplies. She saw Fili, who looked up at his uncle and talked to him.
"I will carry him if I must!" he said and Ilèyn heard the despair in his voice at the thought of leaving his brother behind. Leaving Ilèyn behind.
"I cannot risk the fate of this quest for the sake of one dwarf." Thorin just said when Ilèyn had approached a little, "Not even my own kin."
Ilèyn was about to say something, but had to turn away again because Kili was about to jump up again and go to his uncle.
"Kili, please!" she said now a little louder "Stop that, it won't work." She pushed the dwarf back onto the boxes by his shoulders.
Fili's gaze fell on Ilèyn and his brother. He couldn't go without them. He couldn't leave them here without knowing what became of them and whether they would even make it to the mountain if they followed the company.
It was no longer a difficult decision for him to make.
"I'm staying with her and with him." he said firmly. With one big step Fili left the boat and wanted to go past Thorin to Kili and Ilèyn.
"Fili, don't be a fool." said his uncle and grabbed his arm tightly "You belong with the company."
"I belong with my brother." Fili replied gravely, twisting out of his uncle's grip. He came to Kili and Ilèyn, the latter was looking worried when she looked at Kili's pallor.
When Fili appeared next to her, she looked up at him, almost startled.
"What... are you doing? They're about to leave." she said and took a look at the boat, on which all precautions had been taken.
"I will stay with you." the dwarf said simply and knelt next to Ilèyn, who had put her hand on Kili's forehead. Before she could say anything, suddenly there was the rather idiosyncratic sound of a small brass quartet, which announced the presence of the Master of Lake Town.
The very same now stepped on a small wobbly wooden staircase to an even smaller fenced podium, from which he could see over the assembled crowd. People cheered when they saw him and the man waved with a smug grin.
Ilèyn looked over her shoulder and grimaced when she saw the Master.
"Go now with our goodwill and good wishes!" the man announced loftily and looked down at the travelers, "And may your return bring good fortune to all!"
The crowd broke out again and cheered, the quartet played a solemn chord as the dwarven boat cast off and slowly drove along the canal with the strokes of the oars, accompanied by the enthusiastic waving of the people of Lake Town.
Kili looked after the others sadly, while Ilèyn put the back of her hand against his cheeks. Her brow furrowed and her mouth twisted, brooding. At that moment someone was pushing through the people on the pier.
"Out of the way, no! No!"
Bofur stumbled in front of the others and looked around lost. When he saw Ilèyn, Fili and Kili, he smiled broadly and relieved.
"So you missed the boat as well?" he asked, still out of breath.

At that moment Kili tipped over and Ilèyn grabbed his left shoulder to hold him.
"Kili!" Fili said in shock and grabbed his brother's arm. They got him up again, Fili gave Ilèyn a helpless look. The archer lifted Kili's head, which had slumped onto his chest. She put her hand on his forehead.
"Fever..." she mumbled softly "Cold sweat..." She reached for Kili's left hand, his fingers trembled slightly and his skin was pale.
"Bofur!" Ilèyn waved the dwarf over, who swapped places with her and shored Kili.
"We need medicine, now." she said to the three of them "Come with me!"
Without further hesitation, the archer turned around and made her way through the assembled people, Fili and Bofur with Kili in their arms followed her. She navigated the group back to the town hall, where the Master and his servant, accompanied by the city guard, were about to go through the large doors.
"Please, wait!" Fili called out to the two of them from afar. Ilèyn pushed past the guards and the four came to a stop in the square in front of the town hall.
"Please! We need your help! My brother is sick." Fili finished and looked up at the two figures.
"Sick?" the Master of Lake Town exclaimed in disgust and pressed his handkerchief to his face. "Is it infectious? Get back! Alfrid! Alfrid! Don't let them come any closer!"
The Mayor's servant spread his arms defensively in front of the dwarfs.
"Please!" Ilèyn said "We need medicine!"
"Do I look like an apothecary?" the black-clad man in front of her asked, looking at her incomprehensibly.
"I can explain to you what I need!" Ilèyn took a few steps forward.
"Haven't we given you enough?" Alfrid asked, "The master's a busy man. He hasn't  got time to worry about sick dwarfs."
At these words, Ilèyn's features derailed.
"Be gone with you, go on. Clear off"
As if on an order, the city guard behind them began to pull on the dwarfs and drag them from the square.
"Hey!" Ilèyn exclaimed a little louder when one of the soldiers grabbed her by the collar and set her down behind the other three. Ilèyn would have loved to relieve that soldier of all his ten fingers and then process them into a trophy chain, but she really didn't have time for that at the moment.
The small group disappeared from the square and began looking for a place to stay. They crossed the city aimlessly, had to take more and more breaks because Kili's strength was noticeably dwindling. They actually spent several hours knocking on doors, asking people on the marketplaces for help. Nobody offered them support.
The sun had already passed its zenith, and it would soon be lowering again for evening.
"We need a place to stay." Bofur said and looked at the others. "We cannot wander around the city all the time."
"Nobody here will help us, you can forget that." Ilèyn answered, thinking.
"Maybe one." Fili interjected. Bofur and Ilèyn looked at him.

Bofur knocked on the wooden door in front of him.
The small group had finally reached Bard's hut, and Kili had almost sunk to the ground several times.
The door was opened and the black haired man looked into the eyes of the four Dwarves seeking help.
"No." he said, before either of them could say anything "I'm done with Dwarves. Go away.." He swung the door shut in front of him. Before it could fall into the lock, Bofur had pressed his foot against the door.
"No, no, please!" he said quickly and pushed the door open again. "No one will help us. Kili is sick." Bofur glanced over his shoulder, then looked back at Bard.
"He's very sick."