To Love a Half-Blood (A Kili Fanfic)

Chapter 13: A Most Unlucky Number

My feet run up along the dock-streets of Laketown. My voice begs for help. And my face feels the wind from doors as they slam shut. I’m not here. I’m somewhere else, suffocating. Fili drags his semi-conscious brother with us.

“This is going nowhere fast and I can’t carry him much further.” Fili worries.

“We’re going to find help. We have to.” I respond, his voice dragging me back to reality.

“Where?! No one in this godforsaken town will so much as let us in their door. They want to share in the wealth of our mountain but will not give us aid!” Fili shouts angrily at no one in particular.

“Where else could we go?” I wonder aloud. “Could we return to Bard?” I ask after a moment’s thought.

“He will turn us away. You saw how infuriated he was with my uncle after he learned of our purpose.” Fili argues. Kili groans and mumbles something incoherent, looking at me bleakly.

“It’s the only idea I have, and I need to keep a promise!” I say with an air of finality. And so we walk the two and a half blocks to Bard’s house. We finally stumble up the stairs and I knock desperately on the door. It swings open.

“No! I’m done with dwarves. Go away.” Bard snaps angrily and slams the door shut before I can say a word.

“No! No! Wait!” I shout throwing myself against the door. “No one will help us!” I sob loudly.

I hear his daughter ask, “Isn’t that the girl who does magic tricks? Da, why is she crying? Why can’t she come inside?” After a pause, the door cracks open and Bard listens.

“Please sir, Kili’s sick. He’s very sick.” I plead, and he reluctantly ushers the three of us inside.

“Lay him down on that bed.” Bard commands and Fili, relived, obliges.

Kili just lies there, breathing heavily and gritting his teeth in pain. Fili and I wash and redress the wound. It sickens me to cause Kili pain but I have a promise to keep. As time ticks by, Kili develops a fever and drifts in and out of consciousness. His brother and I are doing what we can, but neither of us are skilled doctors. However, it doesn’t take an eleven healer to see he was dying.

I kiss his hand and pray, “Kili, don’t make me a liar.”

I know that I need to come up with something else, conventional methods are of no use. An elven healer would be extraordinarily helpful right about now. All these thoughts of elves and my old home just add to the splinter of misery in my chest that inches closer and closer to my heart as Kili’s condition declines. I just sit by his bed and sob as his brother rushes around. There is nothing I can do. After several minutes of blubbering, Fili yanks me off the ground by the shoulders and shakes me violently.

“Oh my god! Shut up you repulsive half-blood and do something! He’s dying! Use some of your blasted elf magic! Don’t you love him?! Why aren’t you saving him?!” He bellows at me. I stop crying and start to shake violently.

“I love him.” I stammer, surprised by Fili’s sudden outburst. Then I repeat myself again, fury building in my heart. “I love him and would give my life if it would do any blasted good, but it won’t! I don’t know anything about elf-magic, and I probably couldn’t preform it if I wanted to because my blood is muddled! I have done all that I can. I am not an elf-healer, nor can I make one magically appear!” There is a long pause, and Fili sets me back on the ground. “Legolas would be able to help. He would know what to do.” I murmur, forlorn. Kili rolls and thrashes violently for a moment in his sleep. Then it hits me. “Fili, those sleeping herbs you gave Kili, I need some.” I exclaim with a flicker of hope.

“What for?” He asks, confused.

“I need to fall asleep and I’m too nervous to do it without drugs.” I explain.

“You can’t just go to sleep! You can’t avoid this!” Fili says, outraged.

“No, no, no. I think I might have a way to save him. But first, I need to go to sleep.” I continue. Fili, desperate enough to try anything, fulfils my request and the world soon falls away and I’m encompassed in darkness.

I claw my way into some sort of lucid dream. I have a form now, but everything around is black. Because of the time-sensitive aspect of the issue, I cannot afford to just let the dreams come when they want. I take a deep breath and imagine the brook where Legolas had met me last time. I hope that, if I use the same place, he might be able to find me and tell me how to save Kili. I build the sparkling stream and the soft green grass. I imagine the tall trees covered in tiny green leaves. Once the setting is complete I look around expectantly, hoping that my brother would meet me in this dream world.

“Legolas!” I shout for him but there is no response.“Legolas, it’s Larien! I need help!” I yell louder but there is still nothing. Tears form in my eyes and start to cascade down my cheeks “Brother, help me! He is dying and I can’t stop it! I need you! I can’t let him die! I promised him. I promised him…” I scream in despair. I spin around desperately, looking for my brother and screaming his name until I’m hoarse. I try to think his name really hard. I scream. I whisper. I try anything and everything I imagine could work in this cursed dream world, but nothing happens. I conjure up a piece of paper, write a message on it and send it away tied to the ankle of an equally imaginary dove. Nothing works and I begin to give up. Then I feel a tugging at me, like a slow suction on my being. I hear muted shouts. I can feel myself being pulled away from my dream world. Then I realize what is happening. I’m waking up. I’m waking up and I never found my brother. If I wake up now Kili will die. I resist it, screaming for my brother the entire time. But eventually, I lose the battle and snap back into reality.