There were few people that Thorin Oakenshield trusted. He trusted his kin, but that was it. After losing the Lonely Mountain, the dwarves of Erebor were looked down upon by many races of Middle Earth and elves had a special place of distrust in Thor...
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The day passed slowly and it was driving Fili mad. Kili's pain only kept getting worse through the day. He had nearly collapsed after the company departed and when he, Oin, and Bofur took him to the Master for help, they were hardly shut down. Instead, they went back to Bard and begged for his help. Now, the sun had set and Kili's groans of pain filled the small house. Oin was trying every medical remedy he could think of with the little supplies they had while Bofur and Fili did their best to be useful.
"Can you not do something?" Fili asked.
"I need herbs," Oin said. "Something to bring down his fever."
Behind them, Bard pulled more medicines from the shelf.
"I have nightshade, feverfew..."
"They're no use to me," Oin called. "Do you have any Kingsfoil?"
"No, it's a weed. We feed it to the pigs."
"Pigs? Weed? Right." Bofur turned quickly and pointed at Kili. "Don't move."
Fili would have rolled his eyes if he wasn't so worried about his brother. As Bofur ran out of the house, Fili wet a rag and laid it on Kili's forehead. He felt helpless. He wanted to take his brother's pain away, but he had no idea how. And seeing Oin scrambled for solutions made the feeling worse.
Suddenly, the ground seemed to shake. Dust fell from the roof.
"Da?" Sigrid said.
"It's coming from the mountain," Bain said, glancing out the window.
The dragon, Fili realized. The company had made it to the mountain, but the dragon still lived... and was awake.
Fili left Kili's side to approach Bard.
"You should leave us," he said. "Take your children. Get out of here."
"And go where?" Bard whispered. "There is nowhere to go."
"Are we going to die, da?" Tilda asked.
"No, darling."
"The dragon, it's going to kill us."
Bard looked at his children for a moment before he reached for the roof. He suddenly pulled down a large metal arrow. Fili's eyes widened at the site.
"Not if I kill it first," he said. "Bain, come with me, son. Sigrid, Tilda, stay here with them. Help them with whatever they need."
Bard grabbed his coat and quickly put it on. Bain did the same, following his father out the door. Fili looked at the sisters and tried to offer a comforting smile, but even he knew that he wasn't doing a good job.
"Everything's going to be all right," he said.
He turned back to Kili, putting the rag back on his forehead.
