No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Chapter 1- Food and a Bed


AN: Kili tries to be helpful, but the consequences prove to be more than he's prepared to handle. Dark fic involving violence/non-com (not explicit)/PTSD/hurt/angst/comfort. See individual chapters for specific triggers. (Chap 1- fluff with a fight scene).

Fili is 75, Kili 70 (in human years- about 17 and 15 respectively).

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own none of the characters or Middle Earth; I just play there. I receive no monetary compensation.


The rays of the late afternoon sun were just beginning to drop below the tree line when the two Durin brothers made their way into the small town, their ponies plodding resolutely towards the stable. Fίli, the elder, had not planned on staying the night here; after all, it was a town of Men, and Dwarves were not always welcome. Then again, he realized that they were still at least a day's ride from their Ered Luin home and he did not want to spend another night beneath the trees.

Both Fίli and his younger brother Kίli were tired, but none the less, satisfied. Their Uncle Thorin, King under the Mountain, in exile, had entrusted them with the task of delivering the latest weapons order from the forge by themselves. The trip to the delivery site had been wholly uneventful, despite Kίli's best efforts to ensure a little adventure. The exchange of weapons for gold was seamless; this time the men had not tried to cheat the dwarves out of the agreed price. And there had been no haggling, that had occurred when the order was placed; nor had there been any complaints over workmanship. Truly there were no better smiths in all of Arda than the Dwarrow, and Thorin Oakenshield was precise in his craft.

Now they were nearing home and tonight Fίli wanted nothing more than hot food, a tankard of ale, and a bed, hence the stopover in the town. The blonde prince shook his head watching his brother's raven hair whip around his essentially beardless face as he turned his head back and forth taking in the village sights. Suddenly he stared at Fίli, his face breaking into a wide grin.

Hey, Fee...," Kίli started.

"No." Fίli cut him off before even hearing the suggestion.

"But..."

"No." Fίli was adamant

"You don't even know what I'm going to say yet," Kίli pouted.

"Don't care," the elder shook his head, the little braids in his mustache swinging around.

"Aw, Fee," Kίli tried again, this time widening his large brown eyes in that doleful stare that usually got his way. "I just want..."

"I don't." Fίli turned away from the hurt puppy-dog stare, to which, even after seventy years, he was not always immune.

"Humph," Kίli snorted, wrinkling his nose and sticking his tongue out at his older brother. "You've been around Thorin too long- you're grumpy." He brought his mount, Daisy, to a halt in front of the stables.

"Just stay put, and watch the ponies," Fίli ordered, dismounting. "I'll see if the cost is even reasonable."

A few minutes later, Fίli returned smiling. He'd bartered for a good deal since both ponies could share a single horse stall. The two Dwarves would care for the ponies themselves so the only other cost was for feed, hay, and water. It meant longer before Fίli would get his food and ale, but, at least he would know their mounts received proper care.

Once the ponies had been rubbed down, fed, and watered, the two brothers made their way from the stable towards the inn. By now Kίli was once again his boisterous, happy self, his earlier pout already forgotten, as he prattled on about the success of their trip, what he wanted to eat, and how he hoped the beds were soft. Fίli just shook his head and smiled. Hopefully he had avoided one potential disaster tonight. If only he could keep Kίli entertained through dinner and until they were asleep.

As it turned out, the room was acceptable, if a bit small, which did not matter to either brother. They only needed it for sleep and were used to a shared room. After they quickly washed the dust of the road off their hands and faces, it was time to head downstairs to the attached tavern. On their way in they had noted that the alehouse was already filling up in the limited space, and after some discussion, the brothers decided to leave their larger weapons in the room. Kίli's bow would be of no use in the small area, and Fίli doubted he could find a spot large enough to draw his twin blades, much less swing them. And yet, as they descended the stairs, they were far from unarmed. Fili was still an arsenal of daggers, throwing knives, and small hand axes secreted about his body, and Kίli had his own dagger and throwing knives, although in far less number than his brother. It was not that they were expecting trouble; it just always paid to be prepared.

They found an empty table near the back beside a window and proceeded to sit and order their meal. The food was standard tavern fare, simple, but hearty; and best of all, they had not cooked it themselves. Swallowing the final bite of his roast pork, Fίli licked the grease from his fingers and leaned back in his chair to savor the remainder of his ale, content that he would soon be in a warm bed.

Even Kίli had enjoyed the meal, and for once, had been too busy eating to keep up his endless chatter. He used a last piece of bread to sop up the juices from his plate then popped it into his mouth and finally washed it down with a swig of ale. As he sat his tankard back on the wooden table, he caught movement out the window and turned for a better look.

"Fίli," he jerked his head towards the window. "That's Erda."

"It's not Erda. What would she be doing here away from Erid Luin?" Fίli didn't even bother to look. "And besides why would you care if it was? After the things she and her friends said about you, I'd think you'd go out of your way to avoid her."

Kίli scowled at the memory, even after five years, he could still remember that disastrous day in the market and how he had felt hearing the disparaging slurs the lassies had spoken. He shook his head to clear away the thoughts but kept staring out the window.

"Just look. I tell you that's Erda," Kίli returned. "And she's in a skirt."

At the last word Fίli's head snapped towards the window.

"You're right," Fίli agreed. "But why is she here and especially dressed like that?"

The very thought of a Dwarrowlass wearing a skirt while traveling among the race of Men was inconceivable. Dwarrowdams and lasses were few in number and therefore, treasured. They were not put on display as Men would do their own females. Especially, since the fall of Erebor, the exiled dwarves had learned by experience to keep their lassies and dams incognito, dressed in tunics and trousers just like the males. The fact that females also had facial hair only aided the illusion. And only trained warriors would ever travel alone; there was something very wrong here.

"Don't know; but we can't just let her wander around alone in a strange town of Men," Kίli returned.

"Oh no," Fίli shook his head. "All I want to do now is get some sleep, not go wandering off after some silly lass whose family hates the line of Durin." He rose to leave.

Kίli grabbed his arm. "Fee, we can't just leave her out there alone. She's one of our people...one of Thorin's people. It's our duty to make sure she's safe."

"Mahal, Kίli, when did you learn responsibility for our people?" Fίli pulled his arm from his brother's grasp and sighed. "But I guess you're right; we need to make sure she's fine." The two headed for the door.

Once outside they looked up and down the street, but found no sign of the lass. The shadows of twilight were lengthening and the merchants had all closed up shop for the day.

"She was headed that way," Kίli pointed. "Maybe she turned the corner."

Fίli nodded his assent and they made their way towards the crossing; but there was still no trace of the Dwarf lass. The brothers looked at each other, questioning how best to proceed. They knew where this path led and doubted she would intentionally head to the stables. In fact, they wondered if Erda even knew what the inside of a stable looked like, much less would actually go there.

Kίli shrugged his shoulders and started off. Fίli huffed but was not about to let his little brother continue alone. As they neared the stables they heard the sound of something slamming against wood and things falling over, followed by a scream.

The brothers broke into a run rounding the backside of the stables to find Erda fighting with a man. She was sitting atop a barrel, the front of her green shirt ripped open. She flailed with her arms and kicked with her feet, while the man laughed at her weak attempts to protect herself. With one swift motion he roughly grabbed both wrists in one hand, and then used the other to backhand her. She continued to struggle, but the fight had left her, replaced by tears and sobs.

"Let her go!" Kίli demanded coming to a halt behind the tall figure.

"Says who?" the man growled turning to face the brothers while maintaining his grip on the girl. He was average height for a man, thin, with black eyes in a weather-beaten face marked by the signs of more than one previous fight. Greasy black hair was pulled back sloppily and tied with a leather throng at the nape of his neck. He wreaked of sweat and strong drink.

"I said let her go!" This time Kίli yelled, anger flashing in his eyes, and a dagger in hand.

"Well, ain't you two fetchin'?" the man grinned revealing an uneven row of yellow teeth. "I'm jist 'bout to have me some o' this little lady here, so you boys better run on back t'home so's you don' get hurt." Turning back to his prey, the man grabbed one of Erda's braids pulling her closer to him as he leant his mouth towards hers.

"Kίli," Erda begged, sobbing.

At that moment Kίli wanted nothing more than to bury his dagger in the lowlife's heart, not only for Erda, but for every Dwarrow who'd been cheated, beaten, spat on, and denigrated at the hands of Men folk. But that small rational part of him buried deep under the red haze of fury, cautioned that killing this devil wasn't an option. Not here, not in this village where he'd have to answer to Men's justice, and not when it wasn't absolutely needed.

Turning his head the briefest bit, Kίli noted that his brother was already armed with two throwing knives; and then as their eyes met, Fίli nodded. Kίli let his dagger fall from his grip, knowing that the blonde was ready to protect him, as he took a step towards the man's back. With as much force as he could, Kίli slammed his boot into the bend of the brute's left knee and followed it with a swift punch to his left kidney, wishing that he had Dwalin's knuckledusters right now.

The man groaned as his leg buckled and pain exploded in his side. Accustomed to having his way, he really had not expected the Dwarves to attack, an obvious miscalculation on his part. With a growl he released the girl and regained his balance by griping the barrel rim for support then turned over his left shoulder towards his attacker. As he pivoted, he threw his left arm back trying to catch the dwarf; but Kίli had stepped to the side out of reach.

Kίli's height reached only mid-chest on the man whose anger now seethed. The dwarf ducked under the swung arm and stepped in close, using the lowlife's own momentum to help bury his fist in the solar plexus. Air rushed out of the would-be attacker as he bent double, arms clenched over the pain in his middle. Next Kίli's fist connected with his nose in a satisfying crunch, followed by an upper cut to the chin. Already unbalanced the man staggered backwards a step before careening into a wooden fence and sliding to the ground, blood pouring from his broken nose.

Quickly Fίli helped Erda down from the barrel while Kίli retrieved his dagger. They each took one of Erda's hands and pulled her quickly away from the scene to safety.

"You'll pay for this, dwarf scum," the rogue threatened adding a string of curses.


AN: I've been working on this fic for a while now but didn't want to start posting until it was complete. I really didn't want to start just to disappear for months at a time with writer's block (which definitely occurred) or just fall off the face of Arda without finishing, so basically the entire fic is written (28 chapters). I plan to post at least twice per week. If you're interested, you can read about Kili and Erda inJust Words. Thanks to my long-time beta BlueGnomeAlaska.

Please read and review, that's the bread and butter of fanfiction authors.