Curse of the East (Fili/The Hobbit Fanfiction)

Chapter 43 - The First To Fall

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the ground exactly as I had been expecting; however a quick glance at my surroundings was enough to reassure me that I had indeed moved. I could see the sky, though the wall directly in front of me implied I was probably on the ramparts; which means someone must have moved me.

I sat up slowly, my head aching. I gingerly touched the spot on the left side of my forehead just ahead of my temple. It stung when I made contact, and when I pulled my fingers back they were slightly red; which meant I hadn't been out long enough for the bleeding to even stop completely.

Using the wall for balance I managed to get to my feet. Looking out over the wall I was stunned to see a small army of about five hundred dwarves standing toe to toe with the five thousand or so elves King Thranduil had brought from Mirkwood. I frowned, though nothing had happened just yet it was more than clear that both sides were more than ready for a fight.

I turned around, and the sight before me was the last thing I could have expected. All of my friends minus, of course, Thorin; were all sitting around silently, many with tears in their eyes. I could hear loud, heartbroken sobs coming from somewhere to my left, and my own heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. Had something happened? Had someone been hurt while I was unconscious? I moved my eyes quickly over the company, and my eyes finally landed on Fili's back.

He was kneeling next to someone, who was not moving; though whether or not they were dead I couldn't be certain. My first thought was that it must be Kili, but a moment later I noticed him to be knelt right beside his brother, his hand on his shoulder; though whether it was to comfort him or steady himself I wasn't certain. I looked around at the company again, and I realized with a start that Thorin was the only one of us missing, and perhaps the only one who could have caused such a reaction from the princes.

"Oh, Thorin, please no." I whispered, forcing my feet to move forward as I hurried toward Fili. I dropped to my knees beside him, fear gripping my stomach as I reached for him; thinking the better of it after a moment. He had lain his head on the chest of the motionless figure; however now that I was closer I was more confused than ever. The person lying there was not clad in the blue robes Thorin had taken to wearing now. And the belt on the armor was void of any sort of sigil. I looked closer still, and my heart stopped beating entirely for several long moments when I caught sight of the sword still firmly attached to the belt. The sword was Ringil. The sword was mine.

Fili sat up slowly, and my hand flew to my mouth when I finally caught sight of the figure lying very clearly dead in front of me. My own face was staring back at me; the grey eyes I had always found a bit boring staring unseeing up toward the sky. Deep bruises had formed around my throat, and it wasn't hard to tell they had been made by a pair of large hands. But the bruises weren't the most obvious thing about it; there was blood staining the stone, and after a moment I saw the wound in my own stomach. The blood also stained my hands, and when I looked at Fili again I saw a smear of blood on his cheek and the front of his armor. He had been with me when I died; he had held me while I died.

It took me another long moment to realize I had to be dreaming. This was the most obvious warning I had ever been given. And if this is how the dream was starting it meant there had to be more to come. My death was the first in what was likely to be a series of events that didn't have to occur. Which meant when I was going to have one hell of a job trying to undo this.

The ground began to shake so hard I nearly lost my balance, and the second it stopped I got back on my feet and raced back to the edge of the rampart. My heart dropped into my stomach as I watched five massive worms break through the earth, their terrifying teeth or pincers or something of the like crushing massive pieces of earth like they were nothing more than sand. They disappeared a moment later, but then I heard a terrible voice echoing out over the large field; a familiar voice.