Love For an Assassin [Kili Fanfic]

Chapter Ten

As I hurried through the damp and rotting streets, few people paid me mind. Most of them had seen elves before and everyone knew of the trades that Laketown made with my people...err with elves. We help them survive and they owe us much.

I checked once more to make sure my weapons were still fastened securely to my side even though my feet never slowed. Several boards creaked in protest when I ran across them and for a split second I worried that they wouldn't hold me. Sheesh...Ithildae. If the boards can hold the Lake men then they can certainly hold you, the practical part of my brain reminded me. I paused to look up at the sky and was surprised to see the sun already setting. I don't have much time...

Still not seeing any sign of Kili or the other dwarves, I stopped by a shop to ask if they had seen them. The shopkeeper seemed a little shocked that I was speaking to him, but once he got over that, he quickly told me all he knew.

"T-the dwarves, you say? Yah I saw 'em," the shopkeeper said, "everybody did. The master gave them everything they needed for their journey to the mountain."

My stoic demeanor almost crumbled at his words, "Are they gone then?" Please don't be gone. Please don't be gone.

"Yah they left. Well...that is all but four of 'em. Supposedly the black-'aired one is sick or something," he spoke casually, as if he were talking about the weather.

My heart began to pound in my chest. He is sick...what have I done? Ithildae...shut up and stop worrying about Kili! I mentally slapped myself at my weakness. "Where are the dwarves that stayed?" I demanded.

"I think they're staying at Bard's house, if I remember correctly."

I asked him where this person lived and nodded when he explained. After giving my thanks, I left the dimly lit shop and looked around, trying to get my bearings.

"There it is..." I muttered. Moving quickly, I reached the house in no time. It was just as dreary as the rest of Laketown and didn't stand out much. Only when I heard a moan come from inside, did I realize this was the right place.

I turned the corner and hoisted myself up the side of the house until I had a glimpse of the inside from a window. Several humans, one boy and two girls, were standing around a table filled with odds and ends. The eldest girl seemed to be looking for something. As I looked around the rest of the room, I found what I had been looking for. Kili was laying on a bed in the corner of the room with his other dwarf friends and brother standing over him. His face was twisted into a grimace and I knew that it was my fault. If only I had taken him to the healers. Stupid, stupid-STOP. Ithildae, he is your mission. Not your love-ew-or anything close to that.

Suddenly, one of the dwarves turned around and ran out the door. I barely had time to conceal myself against the walls of the house when he raced past me, muttering something about pigs and a weed. Wait...weed, pigs, Athelas! He was looking for Athelas! That would heal Kili. Knowing I couldn't help him find it, I resigned myself to hoping desperately that he would have enough sense to get it on his own.

Turning back to the house, I just heard something unusual on the roof when part of it collapsed into the room and an orc jumped out of the rubble, brandishing a wicked looking blade. Right away, more orcs burst into the room from the windows and door. They snarled and the two human girls screamed. The orcs. They had found Kili! And his company. I pushed at the glass panes of the window, trying to open them. Right before I accomplished my goal, an elf walked into the room, all the while slashing at any orc that came near her. Tauriel. Why was she here? Another elf hurried in after her with his long bow and my eyes widened even further. Prince Legolas! What in the world?