Kings and Masters

Chapter 4

When Kili opened his eyes, he expected to find himself in mahal's halls. But as the world came into focus, the first thing he saw was Thorin, staring down at him.

"Uncle..." he said softly, wincing as he felt the sharp pain in his chest as he inhaled. "I'm alive?"

"Yes, you're alright," Thorin said. His uncle was sitting at his bedside, dressed in a long blue tunic, watching him anxiously. Thorin let out a long breath, "we've been recovering in a human estate not far from the mountain. How do you feel?"

Kili dwelled on that question for a moment. "I'm tired," he said softly. "But I've been sleeping forever, haven't I?"

"It seemed that way to me, Nephew," Thorin said, his voice a little heavy with emotion. "But you need your rest."

Kili winced and took in another breath, feeling frustrated when he couldn't quite get a full breath without crushing pain. He tried again and furrowed his brow.

"Take it easy, Kili," Thorin said. "Slow, breaths. Your lung is still weak."

Kili closed his eyes and tried a third time, finally getting enough oxygen to feel some relief. He kept his eyes closed for a few seconds while he exhaled. He tried to think. The battle... "Fili..." he rasped, his eyes opening wide as he remembered, "My brother... he's gone, isn't he?" Kili felt the tears spring to his eyes as he remembered, "He's gone! How could I have survived and he... I wanted to go with him!" Kili gasped out a sob as he thought about his brother. "I still want to go with him..."

"Kili," Thorin said, slowly getting to his feet with a slight wince of his own. "Kili, look." Thorin moved aside, and as Kili slowly moved his head to the side, he gasped in surprise. There, beyond Thorin's empty bed, was Fili, laying still in a bed of his own.

"Fili!" Kili breathed loudly, struggling to lift his head, tears now freely falling from his eyes, and he felt a profound sense of relief. Fili was alive!

"Stop, Kili," Thorin said. "He's alive. But he isn't well. He still has a fight ahead." Kili turned his attention to Thorin, his brows furrowing as he tried to make sense of the words,

"What do you mean?" he asked, swallowing a bit in anticipation. Thorin hesitated a bit as if preparing himself to deliver the news. "Uncle?" Kili prompted, searching his uncle's face for answers.

"His back is broken, Kili," Thorin said at long last. "He has quite a few other injuries, but that's the worst. He hasn't been conscious at all, so we don't know how bad it is just yet, but... Oin doesn't think he'll be able to walk."

Kili gasped a bit as that news hit him like a stampede. He felt utterly devastated and physically hurt as if he could physically feel the pain his brother might go through when he discovered this news. He lay there gawking a bit at his uncle before somehow finding the words to talk again, "Will... will he be able to walk later?"

"Oin doesn't know," Thorin said grimly. "His leg is broken, so he can't walk now anyway, but... only time will tell, Nephew. Oin thinks that if Fili gets the care, he needs, and his back heals properly, it's possible he'll be able to walk again, but... at this point, we just don't know."

Kili didn't have to be told about the implications of that. A crippled dwarf who could no longer fight had little to look forward in life and Kili feared how his brother would take this news.

"Take me to him," he said after a while. "I need to see him." Thorin shook his head, "No, Kili, you were injured severely as well, you very nearly died. You could make it worse if you start moving around."

"I don't care," Kili said firmly. "I need to see him." He tried to sit up but was overcome with pain. He winced hard and nearly blacked out again from the pain. But he bit down the pain and tried to swing his legs over the bed and get up, but was blocked by Thorin who was there in a second, pushing his nephew back down. Kili moaned both in pain and in frustration.