"Thorin, when will Mum be home?" Kili asked. It was getting dark soon, and still she had not returned.
"I don't know. If she doesn't come back in five minutes, then I'm going to send out a search party to look for her." Thorin was worried. It wasn't like his sister to be late home.
"Maybe she ate too many blackberries and ended up like Bombur, so couldn't move?" Kili joked, trying to ease the tension. Fili laughed.
"No Kili, that was what you were worried about last year."
Thorin was growing more concerned by the minute. He couldn't stand it any longer, and went out to get help in looking for Dis. Fili and Kili, obviously, came along as well. Together they quickly arranged a search party and began to look. Thorin was becoming more and more worried.
An hour later and there was still no sign of Dis. Lots of dwarrow had volunteered to help look, but none had so far found anything. Once it became apparent that Dis was nowhere in the close vicinity, they spread out. It was Fili and Kili, who were with Dwalin, when the first clue was found.
"Look! It's Mum's basket! There are loads of blackberries in there too!" Kili shouted excitedly. Everyone quickly rushed to where Kili was and had a look.
"Why would she leave it behind?" Someone asked.
"There are plenty of reasons. It depends what happened to her. If there was a bear, she would've left it as an offering. There are no bear tracks, so that is unlikely." Dwalin answered.
Unfortunately, that was the only clue they found.
They continued the search, which went all round the Blue Mountains. They even swallowed their pride to ask passing traders if they had seen any sign of the dwarrowdam. No one had. Someone had an idea of searching outside of the mountains, which they did. Some even went as far as the Shire. Still nothing.
The days passed into weeks, the weeks into months and the months into years. In all that time, no one had seen so much as a whisper of Dis. After two years had passed, even Thorin had given up hope. He had searched relentlessly, unwilling to lose another sibling, but he had been forced to come back to Ered Luin. He had to keep reminding himself that Dis wouldn't have wanted him to neglect her sons whilst looking for her. Fili and Kili were effectively orphaned, and the three of them became very close, each realising that they were the only family they had left.
It was a tough and challenging time for them all. Thorin had to learn how to be a parent, for although he had been a huge part of their lives, he occasionally stayed at the forges hours later than he said and although his food was edible, it wasn't as nice as Dis or Bombur's cooking. Fili had to cook if Thorin wasn't home and make sure Kili didn't get in trouble. Kili, however, managed to get in even more trouble than he normally did. This meant that both ended up in trouble, for if Fili couldn't keep Kili out of trouble, he usually joined him.
Eventually, they settled into a routine and lived comfortably. The main problems were when something unusually occurred and they were all reminded of Dis. Like the time Fili caught a cold.
"Come on Fe." Kili was trying to get Fili out of bed, as it was their day off. Normally Fili would be up before Kili, so this meant that Fili was probably ill.
"Go away Ke." Came the voice from under the covers. There was a snuffle and an arm came out from the pile of blankets to grab a tissue.
"Fili!"
"Whaat?" There was a groan from the bed. "Oof!" Kili had become bored and so sat on his brother. "Gerroff!" Pause. "Please?"
"Fine."
Kili wandered into the kitchen where he found Thorin cooking eggs.
"Hello Fili— oh, it's you. Morning Kili."
"I think Fili's ill." Was the grumpy response. "Which means we can't go to the market."
"Yes you can. I'm sure Fili will be fine on his own in the house. Do you want some eggs?" Thorin understood his nephews pretty well. Kili needed lots of attention when he was ill, whereas Fili just needed to be alone. Getting Kili out and giving Fili time to breathe would be a good thing.
"Okay. Shall I see if Fili needs anything?" Kili wanted to help his brother feel better, like Fili did for him.
"Do you want anything?" Kili asked as he walked into his brother's room.
"Mint tea. And to be left alone." Was the response.
"Thorin, do you know how to make mint tea?" Kili asked. Thorin froze momentarily, before answering.
"No. But if you boil mint in a mug, it should work."
The last thing Thorin needed was to be reminded of his sister. She always made mint tea for them whenever they were feeling ill. All of them now associated mint with comfort and Dis.
Walking round the market constantly reminded Thorin of Dis. He remembered when she was tiny and they visited the markets of Dale. She loved looking at everything. Even as an adult in the Blue Mountains, she was always excited for the markets. She loved catching up with some of her friends and seeing what new bargain there was to be had. Best of all, she loved the atmosphere, complete with the smell of piping hot food. Thorin had always enjoyed markets because of his sister's love for them. Now they just reminded him of better, happier times.
Kili enjoyed markets too. He usually went to the food stalls and bought biscuits of all different flavours. This time he overheard some gossip.
"Thorin hasn't been himself these past months. Even more grumpy than usual."
"I know. His nephews have been smiling less. I never thought I'd see the day where I would miss their stupid behaviour, but I think this is it."
"It's because Dis went missing. Not a trace. 'Course, that got everyone talking. With no one knowing what happened, all sorts of rumours have been spreading."
"Like what?"
"Anything and everything. Some say she was stolen, others say she was eaten by some bears or something. And some even say she ran away."
"No!"
"That's what they say. That's not the worst…"
Kili ran off before any more could be said.
That was a bad day for them all. Unfortunately for Thorin, it got worse.
I found this chapter hard to write, so sorry if it isn't as good.
Please review and thank you for reading!
:)