Shattered (The Hobbit AU)

Chapter Three

"Everything went well today. We're in the clear, uncle." Fíli reported back to Thorin as soon as they arrived back in Erebor.
"Very well. Go on about your day then. All of you." Thorin smiled, dismissing their services. The rest of the Dwarves bowed and parted ways. His gazed now landed on Kíli's seemingly tense state. Thorin knew something was wrong but he did not want to press on and make him more uncomfortable than he already was.

"What are your plans today, Kíli?" He asked as nicely as he could.

"I was just going to practice for a bit at the uhh.. The Butts."

"The what?" Thorin asked, genuinely confused but with a hint of amusement in his blue eyes. Fíli chuckled at his uncle's perplexed expression.

"The archery training room, for Mahal's sake!" Kíli threw his hands up in the air to show his frustration of the name that was apparently not catching on at all.
"Watch your language, Kíli." Thorin sternly said, but then his expression soften. "Why don't you just rest today? You seem like you need it, my boy. I'm sure whatever you need to do, your brother can take care of it."

"I'm fine, uncle. I merely want to sharpen my skills in archery. I feel as if I'm satisfactory in some areas." Kíli explained to his uncle, although most of what he was saying we're lies. He knew he was excellent in archery and he already knows everything there is to learn. He really was going to the room to practice, however, deep down he was furious with himself. And he needed to release that anger someway.

"You can do that some other time," Thorin said, "and if you would like, you don't have to participate in the perimeter check tomorrow so you can rest."

Kíli took a deep breath. He was growing angrier each second. He hated that Thorin was seeing him as weak. He hated the fact Thorin knew something was going on even more. Kíli felt like how he did when the Orc shot a poison arrow at his leg back then with the Elves. He remembered how angry he was when Thorin told him to stay in Laketown. Even though Thorin was right at the time, he wouldn't accept it. That's just how stubborn Kíli can be.

"I said I am fine, uncle, I can do it." Kíli answered, trying to control his own stubborn frustration. He quickly bowed to him and left without another word.
"I told you," Fíli said to Thorin, giving him a defeated look. "Even if he knows that you know, he just won't admit it."

"Fíli, we can't leave your brother to suffer in silence like this. He has to talk to us, he has to tell us something. Anything at all."

Fíli let out a frustrated sigh. "Did you not see what happened two seconds ago?! All he did is push us away! And now he's gone, probably not even going to practice archery, to do Mahal knows what!"
"Fíli, calm down," Thorin said, "now, we need to take this one step at a time. If he will not tell us what is wrong with him, then we need to figure it out ourselves."

"All right, go on." Fíli encourage the Dwarf King to continue.

"Kíli came back to the mountain with the rest of the group. And he seemed...uneasy. He was not like that before you all left, am I right?" Thorin asked, locking eyes with his eldest nephew.

"Correct."

The King furrowed his eyebrows in deep thought. "And of course, he's been like this for quite a while now. It's always when the perimeter checks occur. Tell me exactly what happened this morning."

Fíli thought for a quick second before talking. "Well, it was the same procedure; we assigned who would be checking what area. Kíli has always gotten the left side of the mountain so I said for him to check there. He usually doesn't take more than five minutes. But this time, it was different. It was at least ten minutes or so that he didn't regroup at the front of the mountain like the rest of us did. I was worried, so I told Dwalin I would go make sure he was okay."
"When I saw him, it looks as if he's seen a ghost. I didn't say anything to him about that, all I asked was if he's seen something. All he said was that he did, but it was just a little squirrel. I has some feeling he might've been lying, but didn't want to press on. Afterwards, that's when we all went back inside the mountain."

"Do you honestly believe it was just a squirrel that he saw?" Thorin asked.

"Of course not. Do you think he saw maybe, a pack of Orcs?" Fíli questioned with a look of distress.

"A pack? No, not at all. A pack of Orcs can be heard from a mile away." Thorin shook his head.

"Well it couldn't be just one, could it? An Orc knows better than to be alone when carrying out schemes. And even if it was an Orc, why wouldn't Kíli attack it? Or at least let us know? Could it have anything to do with his recurring nightmares?"
"At this point, Fíli, I'm not so sure. I'm afraid this is about as much information that I can pull from the situation. If you have anything else, I'm all ears. For the time being, though, stay with Kíli during perimeter checks. Try to see what it is that is making him the way he is. If it does happen to be Orcs, do not engage. Report back to the group and the guards will take care of it."

"You have my word, uncle." Fíli said.

Thorin leaned his forehead against his nephews and smiled. "I promise we will get to the bottom of this."

"I sure hope we do, uncle." Fíli said, pulling away and placing his hand on Thorin's shoulder.
"No, don't give me that. We will." He smiled.

Fíli bowed before taking his leave of the King.

"Fíli, wait." Thorin said. "I have a task for you. But only if you're willing to do it."
The blonde dwarf pivoted his body around to completely face him once more. He nodded for him to go on.

"Kíli has a journal he likes to draw and write in. And in that journal, there could be a lot of valuable clues that may well help our case."

Fíli raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Uncle, you are telling me to go through Kíli's personal items? I may be his brother, but I have never once gone through his belongings without his permission."

"Lad, what else do you propose we do? To wait even longer until things get worse and still have no idea what is happening? This must be done. I'll do it myself if I have to." Thorin crossed his arms.

Fíli sighed in defeat. "All right then. I'll do it. But what if he catches me in the act?"
Thorin smiled. "I'm sure you will think of something to say." With that, Thorin turned his back and left.

"Damned Dwarves." Fíli commented under his breath.
He figured he wouldn't put his plan to action immediately. Kíli could be practicing this very moment. Or not.
The thought of him not being near the Royal Wing seemed like the perfect opportunity to at least get a glance at his journal, however for Fíli, it was too risky. Then again, what he is intending to do is even worse.
He needed to think of a way to go into his chambers in a completely casual way tonight during dinner.

'Fíli, you're such an idiot. Just do it now!' One side of him said. 'Even if he were to catch you, what's the worse that could happen?'
'Um, he could hate me forever?' Fíli thought sarcastically but meant it. He thought about this for a long while before finally coming to terms with himself.

"Fine, I'll do it." Fíli said quietly to himself. "Might as well get it over with." He proceeded to walk to the Royal Wing, although he was sick with apprehension.

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Kinda of a boring filler chapter but hey, I promise you we are getting to the good parts😉 thanks for reading guys, ily!! Next update should be either tomorrow or Monday xx