I'm Staying With You (A Hobbit Fanfiction)

Chapter 40

Kili cries out in pain, and layers of sweat soak his face and shirt. I keep a wet cloth on his forehead, re-wetting it as soon as it gets warmed up.

Suddenly, the room shakes and dust falls from the roof.

"Da?" the oldest daughter, Sigrid, asks.

"It's coming from the mountain," Bain exclaims, looking out the window.

Bard looks at his children, then at Kili.

"You should leave us," Fili says.

"Take your children. Get out of here," I demand.

"And go where?" Bard asks us. "There is nowhere to go."

"Are we going to die, Da?" asks the youngest girl, Tilda.

"No, darling," Bard whispers in reply.

"The dragon. It's going to kill us," she says.

Bard reaches up and pulls the last black arrow down from his ceiling.

"Not if I kill it first."

Bard leaves the house with Bain, and Kili cries out in pain again. I look over at him and take his hand.

"You're going to make it, Kili. Hang on."

Fili walks to my side and sits down, watching his brother. Bain comes back in, but we ignore him.

"He's going to be okay," Fili says.

I nod, and Sigrid walks outside, calling for her dad. I hear quiet footsteps on the roof, and I put my hand on the handle of my axe.

"Fili, pick up your sword. Guard Kili, I'm going to watch the door," I say.

"Nossa, what is it?" Fili asks.

"I hear something. Just do as I say," I reply.

Fili picks up his sword, and I sneak to the door. Creaking is heard, then Sigrid screaming. An orc blade slams into the door, and I kill the orc as it smashes through the door. Another one drops through the roof, and Fili pins that one to the wall, stabbing it with his sword.

More and more orcs come in, and we can't hold them off. Fili is thrown to the ground by another orc, and the girls huddle under the table. I keep killing orcs, but more keep coming.

All of a sudden, the orc that was trying to get the kids is killed, which gives me time to kill the orc that was going for Kili.

When I finally look at the orc slayer, I see that it's Tauriel.

Legolas drops through the roof and starts shooting orcs as well.

Three of us are killing orcs, the kids remain under cover, and Oin and Fili get to Kili, who fell off the bed in a fight against an orc.

"Get down!" Fili yells.

All the orcs that came in are slain, and the survivors are ordered to retreat. We take a moment to breathe, and Bain appears from behind the fallen table.

"You killed them all," he mumbles.

"There are others," Legolas grimaces. "Tauriel. Come."

I look over at Kili, who's curled up on the floor. Oin and Fili are crowding over him.

"We're losing him!" Oin exclaims.

Tauriel looks at Kili, then at Legolas.

"Tauriel," Legolas says again. He leaves the house and starts chasing down the orc pack, and Tauriel is about to leave when I stop her.

"Please, we can't lose him," I beg.

She nods and turns at the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. When she turns back to us, she has kingsfoil in her hands.

"I can save him," she whispers.

Tilda holds out a bowl, and Tauriel starts working on a cure. I keep my eyes on Kili, who's turning paler by the second.

We lift him onto the table, and he cries out in agony. We hold him down, and hot tears burn in my eyes.

"Hold him down," Tauriel orders.

"We're trying!" I gasp.

Tauriel starts speaking in Elvish and pressing the kingsfoil into Kili's wound. He screams, and we keep holding him down.

Fili and I watch Tauriel in amazement. I don't know where elves learned to do this, but I'm glad they did.

Kili becomes more still, and his breathing is labored.

"Kili?" I cry.

He starts breathing normally, and he watches Tauriel with relief in his eyes. Fili and I look to Tauriel, then back at Kili.

I wrap his leg, and he closes his eyes. Oin and Fili stand at the side.

"I've heard tell of the wonders of Elvish medicine," Oin says. "That was a privilege to witness."

"Tauriel," I say. She turns to me.

"Yes?"

"Thank you. You've saved my best friend from death, and I don't think there's anyway I can ever repay you."

The elf smiles and looks down at Kili before looking back at me.

"If ever I am in trouble, I'll be counting on you to be there."

I chuckle, and she smiles.

"You know, dwarves are not as bad as people make them out to be."

"Oh really?" I ask. "Elves aren't half bad either."

"You saved my brother. I can't thank you enough for that," Fili says.

Suddenly, we hear a roaring sound echoing through the night. I race to the window and my eyes widen.

"They have woken the dragon."