The Sons of Durin [Ongoing] Of Every Race Saga Book III

Chapter 4: The Hunt

Kíli kicked this heels against the bench he was sitting on and sighed.

"Oh, Kíli, be patient!" his brother Fíli exclaimed. Rhonwen, who sat between the two of them, laughed.

"I am patient. It's not my fault Uncle's taking forever to finish his council," Kíli replied in a very bored tone.

"You both need to wait. Hmph, if you had been imprisoned in Thranduil's cave, you would never have survived," she said.

"Well, we weren't," Kíli retorted.

"What is your problem?" she asked. "Fíli's not so upset."

"That's because since I have no skill at archery, I'm staying behind," Fíli declared.

Kíli rolled his eyes and looked away. He stood up and started pacing. "Sit down, or I'll stay home with Fíli," Rhonwen commanded. Kíli looked at her and then sat down again. Rhonwen reached down and squeezed his hand. He looked up and smiled before looking in another direction. Fíli inhaled loudly and his brother and his friend turned to look at him. He smiled and told Kíli to go look for Thorin if he wanted him so badly. Kíli took off. He came back soon smiling.

"Uncle says he's coming with Dwalin and Balin," he said. Pretty soon, voices echoed down the corridor. The trio stood. Rhonwen adjusted her cloak and made sure her bow was strung.

"Are you ready?" Thorin asked his nephew and Rhonwen.

"Aye," they both said. They all walked down towards the gate. They waited as the massive gates opened. Fíli embraced his brother and Rhonwen before stepping back. The others half walked, half ran out into the snowy world. A sharp wind tore around the mountain side. They all pulled their cloaks tightly around them. Thorin glanced hastily at the sky. They couldn't risk being out in a blizzard. But the sky was clear and blue, a cheery sun shining down and making the snow sparkle in all directions. Eventually they split up, Thorin, as usual, hunting by himself. Dwalin and Balin hunting together, and Kíli and Rhonwen setting off in the direction of a dense wood.

They were quiet. Kíli, as an old habit, was clinging to his bow as he walked. They searched the wood for any sign of life. Suddenly Rhonwen stopped, dropped to one knee, drew her bow and fired. Kíli heard a thud and they both ran to find a dead doe on the ground, its warm blood spilling out onto the ground and Rhonwen's arrow sticking out of its side. She yanked it out and Kíli smiled at her. She smiled back shyly. "Good job," he said quietly. She blushed and turned away taking a shaft with a bright blue feather and stabbing into the hardened ground beside the doe. They walked further through the wood.

The trees grew closer together and the light lessened. Kíli glanced around anxiously. The sky had darkened considerably. "Rhonwen?" he said somewhat fearfully.

"Yes?" she asked. 

"I think we should get back. I do not know these woods. We have gone futher than I thought. The sky is darkening and it looks like we might have a blizzard."

Rhonwen looked around and soon her features reflected fear. She said what Kíli had been afraid of saying, lest it be true. "We're lost."

Kíli nodded glumly. She laid her hand on his arm and glanced back the way they had come before saying. "We can try to find our way back following the footprints."

"As long as it doesn't snow."

"Then let us hurry." They took off at a fast pace, following their tracks. But unfortunately for them, large white snowflakes began to fall, covering the tracks quickly. Soon they were gone altogether and still they didn't know where they were.

"We must be a few miles from where you shot down the doe," Kíli mumbled.

"Aye. We must rest here. Best not get lost any further," she encouraged.

They sat down together on the frozen snow. The wind started blowing again, cold and fierce. They both pulled their hoods up to prevent it blowing in their faces. Kíli looked at Rhonwen, and he lifted his hand, brushing back a few loose strands of her golden hair. "I'm sorry," he said.

She smiled and shook her head. "There's nothing to be sorry about. We didn't know about this storm did we?" Kíli smiled back, and then tried to see through the swirling snowfall, looking for help.

"No," he replied.

"Did you bring your tinder box?" she asked, an idea forming in her mind.

"No, I haven't done that since I was a boy. I brought it on the hunt once and lost it. Thorin forbade me to repeat that." He chuckled.

"If you had, we could have started a fire. Then the other dwarves would know where to look for us."

"I think not, Rhonwen. They would have made it back to the mountain by now. It's too late to suppose they'd look for us anyway. Besides, who knows if they would even see the smoke." He finished and she sighed and closed her eyes. She shivered and then Kíli put his arm around her. Rhonwen looked gratefully at him before closing her eyes and leaning against him for warmth. In a few minutes she was asleep. Kíli fought against the temptation to sleep, but eventually he fell into a deep slumber.

Some hours later, Thorin, Fíli, Dwalin, and Balin hurried through the forest. Fíli stopped beside a blue feathered shaft sticking out of the snow. He quickly threw the snow aside and came upon the rest of the arrow and the doe. He plucked the arrow out from the ground. He turned and said to the dwarves behind him, "Rhonwen's."

"Then they cannae be far from here." Balin said, looking around. Fíli peered into the wood. He saw a dark form in the distance. He stood up and started running. He stopped besides the two dwarves half covered with snow.

"Kíli!" he gasped. He brushed the snow away from both of them. By this time, Thorin and the other two had caught up with them. Kíli opened his eyes sleepily and yawned.

"Fíli?" he asked, confused.

"It's alright brother. We're taking you home now." Fíli said, struggling to lift his brother to his feet. Finally Kíli was able to stand, leaning on Fíli for support. Dwalin and Balin carried Rhonwen, who seemed to be asleep still.