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“Don’t cry, Kili. Uncle Thorin will save us!”
The tiny brunet looked up at his golden haired brother, tears leaking down his young cheeks. “But what if he can’t find us?”
Fili cuddled his brother a little tighter, looking up the mine shaft they had fallen through. It was a long way up and the sun was setting. Still, he hated it when his brother cried and besides, he wasn’t about to admit to being terrified as well.
“He’ll find us, he always does. He and Mama knew where we’d be and it’s getting dark. They’ll come looking for us and soon we’ll be eating some of the hot soup Mama was making this morning!”
Kili sniffled but a small grin appeared on his lips. “Do you think she’ll let us have some pie, too?”
Laughing, the older brother nodded. “Yep! And I bet there will be a story from Uncle Thorin!
The younger brother’s face fell a little at the second mention of their Uncle. If he had learned nothing else from the few winters that had passed since he was born, it was that their uncle had a short fuse. It was rarely directed at them, but Kili remembered the time they had wandered away from their babysitter and how Thorin had berated the warrior to the point the battle hardened dwarf actually burst into tears.
“Do you think he’ll be mad at us?”
Fili hugged his brother. He had been wondering the same thing but didn’t want to frighten Kili. “No, I think he’ll just be happy that we’re alright.”
“But we’re not alright,” Kili pointing out his brother’s swollen ankle. “You’re hurt.”
Sighing, Fili shrugged. ”We’re alive and I’ve had worse.”
Kili was about to asked another question when they heard the voices calling their names. Immediately, they started shouting in reply. Moments later, their uncle’s face appeared with his shield brother’s right across from his.
“Fili! Kili! Are you hurt?”
Before Fili could assure him that they were fine, Kili’s innocent voice wailed, “Fili hurt his ankle! It’s all puffy!”
Thorin moved to go down after them, but Dwalin stopped him with a tight grip on his friend’s arm. “Thorin! Stop. Remember what Balin is always tellin’ us…”
The dwarf lord almost cracked a smile at the one thing his advisor said at least five times a day, to Thorin, Dwalin, and his nephews. He complained endlessly that no one ever listened to him and it was probably a little truer than the dwarf lord really cared to admit. For once, he was glad that at least a single dwarf remembered.
“’Think before you act.’ Aye…I remember…”
“Good. Now take this lantern wit’ ya. It’ll help us ta find ya and maybe comfort tha lads a bit. And here’s a water skin- don’t know how long they’ve been down there.” He glanced down the shaft at the two pairs of eyes that stared back at him. “Can ye make it down there alright?”
Thorin nodded tucking the skin into his tunic and clipping the lamp to his belt. “My sister sons are down there. I will make it. There is no other option.”
Dwalin chuckled as he helped his shield brother get into position. Legs pressed against one side, his back against the other, Thorin started to descend the shaft. He had to go slow for fear of causing a collapse that would bury the boys, but it was hard to not just fall to them.
As soon as he was able, he dropped to where his nephews were. Thorin scooped them up, hugging them tightly. He was relieved when they returned the hug with just as much enthusiasm. The dwarf lord gave them each a kiss on the head before letting them go and settling in to try to look at Fili’s ankle. He glanced up to see Dwalin’s head vanish.
“Are you mad at us, Uncle Thorin?”
Smiling, the larger dwarf shook his head and pulled them both into his lap so they can all be a little more comfortable. “Of course not, Kili. Why would you think that?”
“Cause we didn’t come home when we said we would.” He thought about it for a moment longer. “And cause Fili got hurt.”
Thorin sighed. “You are not in trouble. Dwalin and I would have completely missed this mineshaft if we had not heard you calling. But tell me what brought you this close to the mines?”
“We were trying to catch Smaug for you!”
Thorin blinked as he lit the lantern with the flint from his pocket. “Smaug?”
Fili nodded. “Yeah! We were chasing him and we almost had him when we fell down here…”
“Sorry, Uncle Thorin- we lost him.”
“It’s alright Kili. I know that someday, we will go to him and with you both by my side, we will defeat him, taking back Erebor for all of our people.”
“And then we can see the place where you and Mama grew up?” Kili asked eagerly.
Thorin chuckled and gave a quick nod as he finally got the tiny boot off of Fili’s swollen ankle. It appeared to be a bad sprain, not broken, but he would feel better when Oin took a look at it. He took a few strips of cloth he normally used for working in the forge and gently wrapped the boy’s foot and ankle.
“And when it is once again our home, I will show you all the best hiding spots that your mother, your Uncle Freirin and I found when we were your age. We had a teacher not unlike your own, who we always hid from. I swear, he droned on like the bees in springtime! But he was very good at finding our spots so we always had to find new ones. Your great grandfather thought it was most amusing. Your grandfather…” Thorin chucked at the memories. “Let’s just say that he was not as amused.”
Fili giggled. “What was Erebor like, Uncle Thorin?”
The older dwarf gathered his nephews to him, holding them tightly against the cooling temperatures. “It is the most beautiful place you will ever see! Great halls, roaring fires, feasts every night! There is a market place three times the size of the one we have here with shops for all kinds of goods! Your grandmother would give the three of us money to by sweets or a new toy every week. We would spend the entire day there!”
“But then Smaug came…”
Thorin looked down at his youngest sister son, surprised to see tears in his eyes. He kissed the top of Kili’s head, trying not to remember that day. He smiled as he felt the small, blond dwarf child try to comfort his brother.
“Yes, the great drake from the North came and took our home. However, we will get it back someday, and the two of you will stand with me not only as my beloved sister sons, but as my shield brothers.”
Kili was snuggling into the thick tunic the older dwarf wore when they heard a sound that made all three of them look up. Dwalin was there with Dis and Oin.
“Mama!” the two boys cried with happiness.
“My boys!” Even though she was smiling, Thorin could tell his sister had been crying.
Dwalin lowered the rope and within a few minutes Fili, being the injured one, was being lifted from the hole in the ground. Kili watched as his brother was pulled to safety, a smile on his lips. Thorin noticed, just starting to understand the bond the brothers had.
***
Two weeks later, Thorin lifted his head, hearing his nephews closing in on the forge where he was working. Sighing, he set down his hammer and thrust the sword he was crafting into a vat of water. Taking a rag, the dwarf wiped his brow and stepped out of the shop to meet his boys.
They were running as fast as Fili’s still healing ankle would allow, Kili never leaving his brother’s side. The younger brother was clutching a glass jar like it held the Arkenstone itself. Both of them wore expression of great joy and pride.
“We caught him, Uncle! We captured Smaug!” Kili shouted as soon as he saw their uncle.
Curious despite himself, Thorin met them halfway, scooping up Fili to take the pressure off his injury. “You have, have you?”
Fili nodded eagerly. “Show him Kili!”
The little dwarf held up the jar to display the small, trapped dragonfly.