Guardian of the Mountain
Disclaimer: I do not own either "The Hobbit" or "Avatar: The Last Airbender" but the wonderful lady firebender in the story is my precious.
NOTE: As mentioned in the final chapter of "Leminkaiya", this is an alternate ending. The idea came to me after watching the BOFA trailer and I just could not let it go without writing it because it was too much fun to explore. So this picks up a little after Ainara defeats Smaug and it will only be a three-part story. I will post the following chapters in the next few days. Hope you like it and do let me know what you think!
PART I
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"Thorin, you must come quickly!" Bilbo pleaded, running into the treasury.
Taken aback by the hobbit's desperate tone, the dwarf king turned to him with concern. The vast riches of the mountain had begun to absorb his interest but the unexpected interruption broke his concentration.
"What's the matter?" Thorin asked worriedly.
"It's Ainara," the hobbit explained, "she's ill, very ill!"
Together they rushed to the side of the ailing firebender who was being tended to by Oin and Bofur while the other dwarves milled about her anxiously. She was being held in one of the few rooms in the mountain that was relatively clean and safe.
A makeshift bed had been set up and she lay there in agony. Her skin had grown deathly pale and she was running a high fever. She thrashed violently from intense pain that none of them knew how to ease. She seemed unaware of her surroundings.
"It hurts, it hurts," the firebender muttered in tears, "help me. Help me."
None of her recent wounds seemed to have reopened and there were no new injuries visible. Whatever tormented her came from within and the dwarves could but watch helplessly as her condition deteriorated.
"I don't understand," Bilbo lamented, as he knelt by his friend's side, "she was perfectly fine when we left Lake-town. She even seemed in high spirits."
"How long has this been going on?" Thorin demanded, joining Bilbo at the warrior's side.
"It started the moment we re-entered the mountain," Oin explained, "something seemed to come over her when she first breathed the air here and she fainted. Moments later, she grew feverish and then she just started screaming from the pain."
"Is there nothing you can do?" Fili and Kili asked their companion but Oin shook his head sadly.
"I have never seen anything like this before," he admitted, "and it is beyond my power to help. All we can do now is try to make her as comfortable as possible and hope that this will pass."
"Perhaps this has something to do with the dragon?" Bofur suggested.
At the mention of the dragon, the firebender suddenly perked up, an almost manic look in her eyes.
"Dragon?" she cried frantically, "It was he who cursed me, I am sure of it! Even in death, he causes such pain. Everything is burning, burning, burning."
The dwarves stared at her in alarm as she rambled. But Bilbo bravely took Ainara's hand in his and whispered to her soothingly until she calmed down. She finally seemed to notice him and the others.
"Hold on," the hobbit told her gently, "you must hold on."
"You're strong," Thorin added with concern, taking her other hand, "you will conquer this."
They both held on to her for a few moments but suddenly withdrew their hands in shock and pain. For the temperature of her skin had risen so much that both Thorin and Bilbo had felt like they had been burned. But as they glanced at their hands they did not see a single mark. They were completely unharmed.
"It's an illusion," Thorin muttered, "perhaps meant to keep us away from her."
"She would never hurt us," Bilbo said.
He gave a knowing look at Thorin and the dwarf nodded. Carefully, they each took one of the firebender's hands in theirs. The pain was not so bad now that they were prepared for it and knew that it would not truly affect them.
"Please help me," she whispered feebly.
"Of course," they all replied in unison, "tell us what to do."
Ainara winced as she seemed to suffer another fit of agony and she instinctively clutched tightly at the hands of Thorin and Bilbo. Her grip was strong and slightly painful but neither of them let go this time, despite the pain which they could bear. They knew that whatever slight pain they felt by holding her was nothing in comparison to the misery she was enduring.
"Please," the firebender said at length though she began to look delirious, "please don't don't leave me."
"Never," Thorin assured her.
"We will be right here," Bilbo added.
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So the hobbit and the dwarves kept vigil over their ailing friend, staying close to her and trying everything they could to lessen her suffering. Her condition did not improve for several hours and many of them feared the worst. It was decided that some of them would go to Lake-town to ask for help but just as they were about to prepare for such a journey, a visitor arrived at the mountain.
"It's Bard!" Kili cried in recognition as the familiar figure of the bargeman stood at the small hole in the mountain.
"Bard! We must ask your help once more!" cried Bofur before Bard could say anything else.
"What is the matter?" the man asked in concern.
"Ainara is gravely ill and we are all at a loss," Fili explained, "please help us!"
Bard had come for a very different purpose but as soon as he heard what had happened, he immediately offered to help. He knew that he and the rest of his people owed their lives to the warrior who had vanquished the dragon and he was eager to be of service. He listened as the dwarves explained the situation and immediately set off to find help.
In all this, Thorin and Bilbo kept their promise to their friend and never left her side.
