No Place for Women

Kili's POV

I sat with my back to the wall of the cave, no words had left my lips for nearly thirty minutes now; and my eyes were glued on the small girl that had been changing my life. I didn't know what I was supposed to say to her; I didn't even know how to confront my brother about what she had asked me.

"Me and Calili. I'm not going to put her through anymore danger tonight; not like I already have. I'm thinking about sending her back to Rivendell. It's not safe for her out here. I nearly lost her tonight, and that just about killed me and not to meantion I nearly lost you when I just got you. I don't want that Kili...come with us when we go. You and Fili. Please."

I pushed the memory of the conversation out of my head just as soon as it had stepped into my head. Not to meantion, I had pushed my body up to my feet and began to make my way over to where Fili was sitting. Neither Kila nor Calili were sitting around him. He seemed to be fixing the make-shift bandage around his thigh; while the girls where sitting on the other side of the cave whispering back and forth to each other.

"Fili, can I -uh- talk to you about something?" I asked him.

"Of course brother," He nodded, "Sit down!"

Sighing, I ran a hand through my tangled and soaking wet mess of hair before I sat on the large boulder next to him. How does one bring up the topic of abandoning your Uncle in his time of need for a female? Why abandon your family for someone you hardly know. I know Fili could never agree to this; he loves Thorin to much to do something like this.

I sighed again, "The girls are leaving. Well, not really leaving as much as travelling ahead of us. Kila said that they were going to meet us at the bottom of the mountain; and well, she asked if we would go with them."

I had to force the words out of my lips. I didn't know how to go about this type of situation, so I just forced it out into the open. When I looked over again I saw that Kila was saying something to Thorin, who was simply nodding his head.

"What about Thorin?" Fili's voice caused me to look back to him, "What about the company? Kili this is where we belong, and you're about to just let two litte girls take us away from where we truely belong!"

"Don't you dare say a bad word about Kila!" I nearly shouted, "Or Calili for that matter! They're the ones that saved us tonight; not the other way around. If it hadn't been the fact that I was protecting Calili on that ledge, I probably wouldn't be here right now. And you know why I protected her the way that I did Fili? Because she's Kila's little sister. No, I didn't care about the fact that you two are together. I did it because Calili is all that Kila has left that makes her feel like she belongs in this world. And Kila is the one thing that makes me feel like I belong somewhere; that makes me feel that I am home. I'm not going to give that up Fili."

Before Fili could say something to my very sudden, very passionate outburst, I felt a hand come down and land on my shoulder. It made me jump; but upon turning around I saw that it was none other than my uncle Thorin.

"Fili, Kili. By now, I expect that you know of Kila and Calili's soon departure from the company." He stated calmly. "I've come to the decision, that since Kili you'd be of no use with your arm as badly wounded as it is, and Fili with your leg in the condition it's in. You two will accompany the girls on their journey."

Hearing the news that we would be travelling with the girls, alone especially, made my heart slightly skip a beat. Hopefully there wouldn't be as much fighting on our own as there is when we're with the company.

"Of course, Uncle Thorin." Fili nodded. "When are we leaving?"

"Gather your things and meet them by the mouth of the cave. You're under Kila's orders now." Thorin nodded, "Remember boys, if anything happens to those girls...it's on you. "

Fili once more nodded, as did I. It was strange. Thorin had handed over command...not just that, but he handed over command to a woman. A woman he knew nothing about no less. It was strange. I mean, no, Thorin had never been the type to hog all the power and let it go to his head; but the only time I've ever heard of him giving someone any type of power over something was when we were given our orders to make camp.

When I pushed myself to my feet, a strong bolt of pain went shooting up through my arm. I did my best, and kept my mouth shut so I didn't make any sounds of discomfort. Though I knew that there was a dead give away look of discomfort covering my facial features.

"What's wrong?" Kila asked, placing a hand on my cheek.

Her voice sounded so concerend. It was one of the things that proved how much she cared about me.

"Nothing." I smiled, "Just bumped my arm on a boulder. That's all.

She gave a motherly, scornful look, "You have to be more careful Kili! If you hit it too much it's possible it could get worse and infected. But if you let me take good care of it, then your arm will be back to normal sooner than you think."

Just the sound in her voice in that one single moment, I knew. That Kila was the girl for me. The girl that I could always count on, the one that could protect herself when the time called for it; and eventually she would make an amazing mother.