Shattered (The Hobbit AU)

Chapter One

"How was this week's perimeter check of the mountain?" Thorin inquired as he approached Dwalin, three guards, and his two nephews. "Everything went well, My King," Dwalin answered. "There were no sign of orcs anywhere. No tracks, no traces. I'd say it went excellent."
Thorin raised his eyebrows questionably at the Dwarves who stood in front of him. "Are you sure you did not see anything at all suspicious? As much as I despise that scum, they are outstanding in sneaking past their opponents."
"Yes, uncle, we are sure of it. We informed you it was merely a false alarm last week. Nothing to worry about." The blonde prince responded, a warm smile following his words. Kíli grinned cheekily. "Trust that nothing ever gets past us. Especially if you have a pair of eyes like these." He said, pointing at both his eyes, which earned a deep chuckle from the Dwarf King.

"Very well then. As you were." Thorin nodded, dismissing himself.
The moment he left, Kíli released a breath he did not know he held in. He felt a pang of guilt for lying to his uncle and the rest of his group. However, he knew he couldn't bring himself to face another Orc. It's been six months since the battle. He thought he would be over it by now.

Well he was wrong.

He remembered how it felt to have those yellow eyes staring at him, studying his every move behind the large boulder. Kíli could have informed the others. He could have had them sound the alarm, warning the kingdom of the unwanted intruder. Or intruders.
But he didn't.
He recalled how gruesome that battle was and how it almost took his own life, along with his brother and uncle. He wouldn't dare put himself in another situation like that, even if he was in fact capable of defending himself.

"Kíli, you will go scout to the left of the mountain today. Andel will be right by if you see anything. Like always, when you know we are in the clear, report back to the entrance of the mountain," Dwalin ordered Kíli as the dwarven guard and friend of the brothers, Andel Fulvous, followed close behind, to also do his part in scouting the perimeter. Once they arrived to their destination, Kíli took his leave and headed to search his surroundings. Not a crack nor crevice went unchecked.

And there behind a large boulder, he saw them.
He saw two yellow eyes staring back at his brown ones. He didn't know what to do or what to expect.
He froze.

Quickly, he turned around to see if anyone else saw what he was looking at. However, before he could even think about what doing next, the eyes disappeared. And they didn't come back again. Kíli mentally cursed himself for just standing there, but he knew he couldn't force himself to do anything about it. No words came out as he tried to speak. His body tensed, his palms were damp and his breathing grew heavier.
'You coward! How dare you let that scum leave like that! If the kingdom is under attack, it will be your fault!' One side of him argued. The other side was too afraid to utter a single word.

"Kíli? Kíli! Are you all right, brother?" Fíli frowned, waving a hand in front of Kíli's face, snapping him out of his daze.
"Sorry, uh yes, I'm fine,"He answered, straightening his back and clearing his throat.
"Are you sure? You look a little pale to me," Andel questioned, closely looking at Kíli's features.

"I said I'm fine." Kíli said a bit more harsher but still kept himself under control. He always hated when others thought there was something wrong with him. To Kíli, it was a sign of weakness and he knows very well weak is not something he is.

'When it comes to a simple little Orc, apparently you are weak' The voice in his head said.

Kíli shrugged off the bothersome thought from his head.