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“Whoa, steady now Dwalin. It’s just a lass,” Kili said. He put a hand on the larger dwarf’s shoulder.

“Is it? These lands hold many dangers,” Dwalin grunted. He took a second look at the sobbing girl. “Then again… maybe it is just a lass,” Dwalin took his knife from the girl’s throat. “My apologies,” He muttered as he wiped her blood off his knife and put it back into its sheath. The girl didn’t reply. With her back pressed against the tree, she slid to the ground. She pressed her knees to her chest and held one hand to her throat. The other hand she put to her head. She was shaking.

Kili chewed his lip and he gazed at her. He was struck with how beautiful she was. The girl was magnetic; he couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was covered in sweat, tears, and blood and yet Kili was enchanted. Perhaps it was a love connection. Perhaps it was the fact he hadn’t seen a woman in months. She wore such strange clothing; they were not the garments of this land. Her tears pulled at his conscience. Kili didn’t like seeing her pain. She was muttering something through her tears but the prince couldn’t hear what she was saying.

“What is a human lass doing running around Mirkwood?” Thorin stepped forward. He spoke with clear authority and certainty. The girl met his gaze with wide glazed eyes.

Y/n looked at the man who spoke. He seemed important. It was obvious he had asked a question but Y/n hadn’t understood a word he’d said. She didn’t know the language he spoke. She’d never heard anything like it.

“I don’t… I don’t understand,” Y/n said. Her eyes skimmed the group, looking for insight. “Where am I?” She whimpered.

Kili exchanged looks with the other members of the company. Strange and foreign words were spilling out of the girl’s mouth. It made no sense to him. He met the girl’s eyes. Kili could tell she was terrified.

Thorin took another step forward. “Speak plain,” He commanded. “What is your business in these woods?”

“I don’t know what you’re saying. I don’t understand,” Y/n looked up at the man walking towards her. He was getting angry.

“Answer me,” Thorin raised his voice as he stood over the human girl, “State your purpose!”

“I don’t know what you’re saying! I don’t know!” Y/n sobbed. Her voice rose to match his volume.

“Uncle, please!” Kili stepped forward again, “It’s obvious she doesn’t speak the common tongue. Shouting won’t make her understand.”

Y/n looked at the man now speaking. He had brown hair and kind eyes. He was the same person who pulled the man with the knife away from her. She was almost positive he saved her life. She looked around the group again. All eyes were on her.

“Ori, you speak Taliska. That’s a language of Man, right? Try that,” Kili gestured the smaller dwarf forward.

“I’m not fluent, but I can get by.”

Y/n watched an unassuming dwarf separate himself from the group. He walked over to her, much to close for comfort. Y/n pressed her back against the tree with renewed force.

He spoke to her. His words sounded different than the others but Y/n still didn’t understand. She shook her head in confusion. Y/n looked at the man with the kind eyes. He have her a small smile and squatted down next to her. Y/n leaned away from him but only slightly. She felt cornered.

“Try Khuzdul,” Fili suggested.

“Like a human would know Khuzdul,” Dwalin snorted.

Fili glared at him. He was just trying to help!

“It’s worth a shot,” Kili turned to the girl. “Hello,” He spoke in the language of dwarves. “What’s your name?”

The man with the kind eyes asked a question. Y/n didn’t know this language either, but it was very different than the others. His words sounded more primal and guttural.

“Do you know where I am?” Y/n sniffed. She didn’t expect an answer.

“Hmm, well that didn’t work,” Kili said. He glanced back at the rest of the company. “Do you know any languages of Man, burglar?”

“I’m afraid not,” Bilbo scratched his head with a regretful little smile.

“Well whoever she is, she doesn’t look like much of a threat,” Balin said.

“She is covered in spider’s blood,” Gloin remarked.

“So…? That could mean a hundred different things!” Nori chimed in.

Kili tuned out the general chatter behind him. He noticed blood smeared on the leaves around the girl’s feet. He furrowed his brow. Kili reached out a hand toward her ankle but Y/n pulled away.

“What are you doing?” She asked sharply.

Kili looked up at her, “My apologies, I didn’t properly introduce myself. I am Kili, son of Dís.”

She looked at him with the same questioning eyes. Kili pointed to himself. “Kili,” He pointed to her, prompting her to speak.

Y/n felt a small wave of relief wash over her. She finally understood something. She pressed a finger to the center of her chest. “Y/n,” She said.

“Y/n,” He repeated. “You have a beautiful name, my love.”

His voice wasn’t threatening but Y/n could feel her anxiety rise as she listened to him speak words she couldn’t understand. Kili saw this reflected in her expression and decided to keep his sentences short.

Kili gestured to her feet again. His expression asked the question he couldn’t aloud.

Y/n nodded her consent and he took one of her ankles in his hands. He lifted her foot and was greeted by the sight of a hundred oozing cuts rubbed in dirt. He gently peeled off a tiny leaf that clung to the bottom of her foot. Y/n bit her lip and tilted her head to see. She winced; there was a lot of blood.

“Oin, come here… and bring the medicine pack.”

Y/n watched yet another man walk over and sit beside her. This one was much scarier looking than the other two. He unbuttoned a large pack made of out animal pelts and took several rags from it, along with a jar of clear liquid.

Y/n turned and looked at Kili skeptically. Panic was bouncing around inside of her chest. He gave her a reassuring nod and a smile.
Oin took the jar and dipped a rag into it. As Kili propped her foot up, Oin began carefully cleaning the wounds. Y/n hissed and unconsciously tried to pull her foot away. But Kili held it still; his touch was firm but gentle.

“I know it hurts,” He said, “But it is necessary, an infection would be much worse.”

Oin raised an eyebrow at the younger prince. Kili glanced at him. “What?” He asked, “I’m still going to treat her like a person even though she doesn’t understand me.”

“None of my business,” Oin smirked.

Y/n glanced between them. She gritted her teeth again as Oin continued wiping away grim and grit and blood.

He made quick work of Y/n’s foot and when he had finished, Oin wrapped it up in a long clean rag. He and Kili moved on to the other.

Most of Y/n’s attention was not on the two dwarfs cleaning her wounds; it was on the rest of the company. It was obvious they were discussing her. She could tell from the pointed looks and many gestures. Y/n knew there was no point to try and listen to their conversation, she wouldn't understand it, but her ears strained to hear every word. The leader was listening intently to an argument between the blonde-haired man and the man with the knife. Y/n furrowed her brow.

Her attention snapped back to Kili and Oin as the older dwarf touched a particularly sensitive spot. Intense pain shot through her foot. Y/n let out a shriek and violently pulled her leg back. “OW! What the hell?!?” She exclaimed. It felt like something was lodged in the soft skin of her foot.

“Hey…hey it’s alright,” Kili stretched out his hands in a placating gesture.

“Hang on a second, I think I have some tweezers in here,” Oin said to no one in particular as he sifted through his pack.

Kili took the girl’s hand and gave it a squeeze. Y/n took a deep breath and nodded. She clutched his hand with all of her might as Oin began to remove the piece of debris.

“Got it!” Oin exclaimed in triumph. He held up a pebble with sharp edges. Y/n leaned forward to look at it, completely forgetting that her hand was still firmly clasped in Kili’s.

“I agree,” Thorin’s voice caught Kili’s attention and he looked away from Y/n momentarily. “She is no threat. With that decided, we need to be on our way. She’s on her own.”