Kala awoke in a new place. The last thing she remembered was 3 bandits trying to drown her. She must have lost consciousness and someone had brought her. To her, it looked like a sick room. She wasn't sick, just had many bad injuries on her body. Though she looked 21, she was still a young dwarfling. Not old enough to be on her own. She still needed care from an adult dwarf. Kala looked around at her surroundings trying to picture where exactly she was. Was she in Erebor? Kala wasn't quite sure if she was. Her and her parents were on the way until the tragic day when the bandits killed her parents and took Kala away.

These bandits had forced Kala to work difficult tasks which also caused many injuries whether she did something right or even wrong. The worst place where her injuries were happened to be on her back. She got those from being whipped repeatedly every night. She would scream out in pain and try to tell them to stop but that only made them do more that night making her scream more in pain but no one had ever heard her pleas for help. Kala was still a young thing. She had long blonde hair along with blue eyes but one couldn't tell since she was dirty. Her clothing was also rags seeing how it was torn a lot from doing those difficult tasks that a dwarfling her age shouldn't even be doing.

Her attention suddenly changed when she heard footsteps coming toward this sick room. Her eyes looked at the door while showing fear. She was so traumatized by what had happened to her that she had chosen not to speak to anyone of the sort of what had happened to her. Maybe one day she would heal from all of this but she knew it wouldn't be anytime soon. Her body ached as she laid on the sick bed still staring wide eyed at the door trying to see who was coming. She really hoped it wasn't the bandits coming back to take her away and for her to go through the same torture or maybe even worse torture than what she had already been to. Kala whimpered a little bit as she turned on her side wincing. She still looked at the door on her side.

"You were late this morning, Fíli- I hope you're pleased now that neither of us will be receiving the time for a nice sit down at lunch-" Lóni grumbled unhappily as Fíli donned his coat and the two of them set about their business for the day.

Fíli could only give the old Dwarf a small laugh, as he looked in amusement at his tutor pulling one of disgruntled faces he had seen him pull in quite some time. "I thought you said you had far more stamina and strength than I have despite my youth, and here you are more upset than I have seen you in the past week, because you do not have the time to feast!" Fíli teased lightly, resisting the urge to laugh any harder at the glare that Lóni sent his way.

"That's because I'm sensible and I go to sleep at reasonable hours of the morning so I'm ready for work the next day, master Fíli!" Lóni said accusingly though with a little less grumpiness in which he had spoken to Fíli before. Lóni had never managed to stay angry at either of the heirs of Dúrin for particularly long. "Instead of drinking more than I can stomach and dancing around with pretty maids all night." Lóni trailed off a little at that last comment.

"Well, I had quite the evening. That Dorwinion wine is indeed as potent as they say and I had a wonderful partner, Astridr, you may have heard of her?" Fíli asked as he and Lóni proceeded out of the Royal Quarters and through the Throne room to head towards the Craftsmen's Halls.

"I think not" Lóni said in a very matter-of-fact tone as he proceeded onwards, taking out his pen and scroll, ready for business as always. And wanting to change the subject as soon as he could, Lóni began putting all the questions to do with today's activities to Fíli.

It was only as they were passing the Sick-house that they noticed the commotion and whispers of bandits and the damage they'd caused that instantly provoked both Fíli and Lóni to rush into the Sick-house to see what had happened. Bandits in Erebor was never a good sign and so if there was some form of threat that King Thorin needed to be informed of, it was Fíli's duty to do so.

As they approached, they found themselves beside the bed of a young dwarfling, 25 years of age at the very most with scars tracing her entire body. Lóni kept his distance a little and Fíli crouched down so he was at eye-level with the young Dwarf so as not to intimidate nor frighten her. If she had indeed been the victim of trauma, Fíli needed to do all he could to prove he was on her side.

He placed a reassuring hand on her knee and looked to her with a soft smile and warm, blue eyes. "Hello there young one, my name's Fíli. I'm here to help you, so there's no need to be scared or worried of anything or anyone here. I promise everything will be all right and that you are in safe hands now. Do you want to tell me your name dear?" He asked her with a tone as comforting and warm as he could manage.

Kala trembled just a little bit seeing Fili. She whimpered slightly as her eyes remained wide with fear. The signs that she was showing happened to be signs of being trauma. Tears started to flow from her small cheeks as she looked at Fee trying to calm herself down the best she could. She saw the niceness in his eyes but didn't mean she was going to trust him anytime soon. Maybe one day she will.

Kala didn't speak a word though grabbed a notepad on the side table next to her bed. It was her way as of now for communication. Due to her fear, she had chosen not to speak to anyone wanting to heal first which may be awhile before she would start talking to others again, just as she had done in her old home in the 'Blue Mountains'. Kala still looked at Fee with fear as she grabbed a quill before starting to write what her name was on the paper. She knew how to read and write due to her parents teaching her how to read.

Kala then handed the notepad to Fili so he could read what it said. The note on the pad said 'My name is Kala. Sorry if I don't seem to trust you. I had a harsh life with bandits and rather not speak just quite yet. I don't feel ready to' was what the note had said. She shivered a little bit having been cold and having a small fever from some of her already infected wounds. The infected ones were the whips that were found on her back. Some scars, the healer wasn't able to cover and the healer had 2 other dwarfs hold her down as he wrapped her wounds. Kala had put up quite a fight earlier today but now she was just resting in the bed looking up at Fili with her blue eyes still wide. Her face was dirty as was the rest of her body.

As the young girl could only look at him in shock, Fíli was no longer sure that he was doing the right thing. In his experience, he had dealt with several veterans and soldiers who had dealt with stress and panic attack having been through traumatic experiences- but he had never had experience with a child and the look of terror that filled her eyes as she stared back at Fíli made him question how well he was handling the situation and whether he should leave the girl in the hands of someone with more experience.

"Master Fíli, we have things to do and I don't want you scaring children as well as ruining my day.We had best be off." Loni stated in his usual honest manner, from the sidelines. And Fíli looked away, knowing that he ought to do what Loni said- above all, he did not wish to make matters worse.

But as he turned to leave, the Dwarfling thrust a note in his hand. Fíli looked down and smiled softly at the young girl. Underneath the scars, bruises and dirt, she was a pretty little thing and Fíli could not help but thing it was such a shame to see one so young and who ought to be so full of hope and gaiety to be as fearful and broken as the Dwarfling before him was.

"It's my greatest pleasure to meet you Kala," Fíli replied to the Dwarfling. "I hope you find everything you need here in Erebor young one, I can leave you now in the care of the healers if you wish" Fíli said, expecting the Dwarfling to want him gone.

"N-N-No. D-D-D-Don't G-G-Go" Kala stuttered a little bit. She didn't want Fili to leave her. Kala was getting close to trusting him and smiled very small but it was a start for the young thing. Even though there was fear in her eyes, it wasn't directed at Fili at all. It was just from all the pain she had to go through which scared her a lot. She sniffled a little bit wiping some of her tears again. Also wincing a few times since her scars were still infected deeply and it hurt her to the extent that she wanted to scream in pain. She managed to hold it in though not wanting to startle anyone.

Usually Kala would have agreed to let Fili go on and do his thing but this was different. She wanted him to stay. To talk to him even if most of it happened to be a note form rather than speaking. She would speak very rarely but would always come out as a stutter but she could grow out of that. She attempted to sit up and hissed in pain then landing on her back on the bed and hissed more in pain since the scars on her back were so horrible, it actually really hurt her.

Kala whimpered just slightly from the pain she was in but grabbed hold of Fili's hand weakly but gently at the same time.

As a quiet, trembling voice escaped the Dwarfling's lips, Fili paused and looked up at her so to look her in the eyes. And whilst he knew he ought to leave and attend his duties, there was a glint of desperation and need that lingered in her gaze that Fili could not ignore and so giving her a small nod, he let her know that he'd stay by her side a little longer. He had certainly not thought that she would have wanted him to stay with her- after all, he was fairly clueless in caring for traumatised children.

And at the instant that Fili shifted slightly to make himself comfortable, he heard an irritated sigh from behind him. Unable to hold back a grin, Fili looked to his tutor, shaking his head slightly.

"Don't worry, I promise you I'll be done soon and you'll have time enough for your lunch." Fili reassured the elderly Dwarf, who in response muttered something unintelligible before finding somewhere to sit not far from where Fili was.

With his tutor sorted, Fili turned back to Kala. But just as he was doing so, he felt a hand suddenly wrap around his own and the young girl cried out in pain as she seemed to have triggered some injury somewhere. Fili panicked a little and instinctively called out for a healer to help the Dwarfling- thankfully, he guessed that someone had been on standby as the instant the words left his mouth, a nurse came rushing forwards with some sort of herb paste which they offered Kala to ease the pain.

Unsure of what to do or say, Fili decided to converse with the Dwarfling- hopefully now that she had spoken to him once, they could continue the conversation as note-taking might get a little tedious if she resorted back to that. "So do you know where you are? Is there someone looking after you?" Fili asked the Dwarfling. And then, just because he couldn't resist, he pretended to whisper but kept his voice just loud enough for Loni to hear. "Don't worry, we'll make sure you aren't stuck with grumpy old men like Loni over there" He gave her a wink and a slight smile as he joked. In the distant he heard a snort from his tutor and Fili smiled a little at the old Dwarf.

Kala smiled up at Fili as her wounds were cleaned up to get the infection out of her back. For once, she didn't put up a fight. She still had a gentle grip on Fee's larger hand. He was nice and very slowly was Kala starting to trust him. Kala flinched just slightly from the nurse cleaning her back and changing the bandages on her back as well.

She couldn't help but smile at Fili's comment toward the older dwarf in the room. She knew that Fili didn't mean it, it was just for a little bit of fun. Kala looked back up at Fili and sighed a little bit at his first question. Truth was, she didn't have a current home just yet. Plus she was a young orphan anyway. She had no where to go.

"I I th-th-think in Er-er-erebor b-b-but not s-sure. Th-there is no one l-l-l-looking a-a-after m-m-me" Kala stuttered once more. She was going to try to speak without using a notepad but that was hard enough as it was. It was hard to speak after the horrible events had happened then she asked her own question to Fili. "Y-You w-won't l-l-let t-t-them t-t-t-take m-me w-will y-y-you" Kala stuttered asking her question. Hopefully he had heard the whispers of bandits, he would know what she was talking about.

Fíli felt himself relax slightly as the Dwarfling managed to give him a smile. At least she could not be beyond repair if she could manage to appreciate jokes at Lóni's expense. He briefly wondered what may have initially triggered such high amounts of stress from the lass- perhaps she had wandered away from her parents and gotten herself into a nasty accident.

Fíli listened quietly as she told him what she knew and he let her talk a while with no interruption as he did not want to discourage her from talking to others. He felt her squeeze his hand slightly harder as she began talking 'them taking her away' Fíli, having no clue who them was, grew slightly panicked as he began to worry that he had accidentally conditioned young children to have an irrational of Lóni. Unsure of what to do or say next, he decided to get Kala to focus on what she had said previously instead of focusing on whatever had caused a minor panic attack.

"My, you certainly are as clever as you look, young one!" Fíli tried to assure the girl "For we are indeed in the city of Erebor and I'm sure a young girl as knowledgeable as yourself will know that Erebor is the safest place in all of Middle Earth and nobody evil can get in or out without us knowing about it. You'll be safe and sound here." He said with a softening smile, he tried to stay as close to the truth as he could for lying to children was not something he was fond of- but it was most important that she knew she was safe and gained in confidence and thus that was his primary goal. "And as Prince, it is my duty to make sure that no harm will come to you. And I'll also be there to make sure that you go into the care of some of the most loving Dwarves I know." He added, knowing that she would would most definitely be a very welcome addition in many families or even amongst unwed Dwarrow who wanted a child to care for- there was never a shortage of good homes for children to go to.

Kala nodded simply. "I I hope y you are r r right about t that. I I would love t to have a nice l loving home. I I don't think I I want to b be tortured by bandits a again" Kala said still stuttering just not as much as before.

"Now do I look like the sort of person to get things wrong?" Fíli gave the Dwarfling a grin as he asked her that and he gave her a pretend look of shock in the hope that she might find the humour distracting from the pain. He shook off the distinct grumble of a 'yes'coming from where Lóni sat and focused on the girl instead. Fíli knew he could not stay by her bedside forever, but at least until she had settled down and was a little more comfortable with the healers tending to her, he would do all that he could to help. His duty was to the people and he was certain that this young girl needed his attention far more than any councillor needed his approval and advice currently.

He fought back a look of pity as she spoke of bandits and torture, the last thing she needed he thought was for those around her to push her to remember what happened. And if all others could offer her was pity, then surely she would never be able to move on herself. Fíli was certain that if she ever wished to share with them how she felt or discuss what had happened then she would do so but in her own time. There was no point in bringing up such painful memories for the delicate young thing- something that could only worsen her condition.

It was such a sickening thought though, the idea that someone would do such a thing to such a young child. To know that out in the wide world, there were beings who took pleasure in the pain of others and set out with the sole purpose of ruining someone's life. Especially one as young as a child, a being that had yet to live their life and enjoy what the world could offer- love, joy, excitement. For beings like Kala, they would be forever changed after suffering at the hands of such cruel people. And that was something that he longed to bring to an end someday.

For he was an older brother himself, and all his life he couldn't  think of a single moment when he hadn't wanted the best for Kíli. And he could not even imagine a fraction of the pain that he would feel if the same thing happened to his younger brother. And to know that Kala was someone's daughter, that she used to have people who cared for her as well- and then to have that stripped from her was stomach-turning.

"I can assure you that I will be present personally when you come to finding a new home and I shall be sure that the family you go to are the most caring of folk that you have laid eyes upon." He smiled and rubbed her shoulder to comfort her.

She winced only slightly before relaxing into his touch. "Do you promise someone will take me in" Kala asked with less of a stutter than before. She was starting to become comfortable near Fili. He made her feel a little bit better, especially in this time of need. She shivered and coughed slightly as she burned up with fever. Some of her wounds were infected of course. That also was one of the reasons why she was so feverish. Kala was still weak and couldn't walk, at least not until her wounds were fully healed. She pretty much had to be carried everywhere.

"Of course! Why there are many dwarrow who live in these halls who would be more grateful for an intelligent, sweet daughter such as yourself over a mountain of wealth. We'll find just the right person, don't you worry yourself now." Fíli offered the dwarfling a warm smile as he reassured her by explaining just how rare and precious children were to the dwarves. She seemed to relax a bit and for that Fíli could not have been happier, to know that he had made a difference by taking the time out to talk to the young dwarfling, she already seemed to be less nervous at contact and that was a fantastic start for the little one.

"Though I'm afraid you'll have to stay here until the healers have patched you all up and cured your every injury. But fear not, all of these healers are amongst some of Erebor's kindest folk so you have nothing to be scared of whilst you're in their safe hands." He smiled to her- she had seemed nervous about the thought of Fíli leaving her, though he was not certain he could put off his duties for much longer lest he risked being scolded by Lóni later on.

"I must take my leave now, but I shall visit you- I promise you that." Fíli smiled, it was saddening to see such a young dwarf without family and so he might as well act as though he was her family for the moment so she knew she was not alone.