(A/N: Updating all chapters so far :) Please enjoy and feel free to review ^.^)
Elill sat against the cold rocky walls of the small hill they hid under, the small fire casted shadows around them, she sat almost isolated from the dwarves, Gandalf and Bilbo, taking her seat by the ponies. A darkened howl echoed towards them, Elill closed her eyes. She had grown used to the sounds of the wilderness, enjoying it as she remembered her first night out after she had gotten over her fears. She watched as Bilbo came over, an apple in hand. He stroked the ponies muzzle as he handed her the apple.
"Hello girl. Who is a good girl? That is our little secret, Myrtle." His eyes widened as he saw Elill who smiled at him. "Please do not tell anyone?" He asked her, she merely grinned at her.
"Not a soul, Master Hobbit." She winked, petting the body of Mindy who stood close to Myrtle. A large roar came from low in the distance, Bilbo started, it was closer than the last.
"What was that?" He asked, turning to her anxiously, before she could answer Fíli and Kíli opened their mouths.
"Orcs," Kíli started, looking at him seriously, Thorin glanced up, just as Elill began to glare.
"Orcs?" Bilbo asked terrified, he looked at both brothers who looked back at him seriously, nodding their heads gravely.
"Throat-cutters. There will be dozens of them out there. The low lands are crawling with them." Fíli confirmed, Elill could feel her anger boil, but held her tongue, keeping to the ponies and not muttering a word to them.
"They strike in the wee small hours when everyone is asleep. Quick and quiet. No screams, just lots of blood." Kíli grinned menacingly, Bilbo looked at the two brothers terrified, and then turned to Elill to seek the truth, and she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He shook nervously.
"You think that's funny? Do you think a night raid by Orcs is a joke?" Thorin snarled, looking at his nephews angrily. Elill also glared at them but not to the severity of Thorin, she seemed, however, less keen to speak how disdain for the Orcs.
"We didn't mean anything by it." Kíli mumbled, looking down so as to not to meet his uncles glare.
"No, you didn't. You know nothing of the world." He told them, walking a little closer to the ponies and Elill, who sat, her glare still deep sat. Balin looked at both Elill and Thorin, who sat near each other, glaring hard on their own.
"Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate Orcs. After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, king Thrór tried to reclaim the ancient Dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs led by the most vile of all their race: Azog the Defiler. The Giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the king. Thráin, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing. Taken prisoner or killed, we did not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us. That is when I saw him. A young Dwarf prince facing down the pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe. His armour rent, wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield." Balin began to explain, the dwares sat and listened with interest, Elill moved beside Bilbo, closer to the flames and taking in the warmth. Bilbo looked at her fearfully."Azog the Defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied and drove the Orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast nor song that night, for our death were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived. And I thought to myself then: there is one who I could follow. There is one I could call king." Balin said, looking up to Thorin, along with the rest of his kin. Elill, however, did not, looking down on the rocky ground.
"And the pale Orc? What happened to him?" Bilbo questioned Balin, like a child listening to a bedtime story.
"He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago." Thorin snarled, walking back to his rock he had claimed as his seat that night. Gandalf turned to Elill who looked down on the stone floor, her eyes narrowed in a glare.
"Elill, what is it? What troubles you?" He questioned her, watching as she traced her fingers along the rocky floor. Elill looked up at the wizard and sighed. Wisps of hair falling against her face.
"It is nothing." She told Gandalf bluntly, who looked at her curiously, it was unlike a child of Ossian she did not speak her mind, Gandalf sighed and goaded her on, trying to encourage Elill to speak up.
"You are being vague my dear, it would be easy if you simply told them, after all, it is one of the main reasons I have brought you here." Gandalf said wisely, but Elill merely tightened her lips to prove her underlined silence. Gandalf looked at her, his eyes hard, but still she didn't say a word, reaching to the chain around her throat.
"Tell us what?" Bilbo asked curiously, he seemed to like Elill's company and it annoyed her greatly, she disliked the other thirteen around her, and Gandalf wasn't much help, she guessed Bilbo was the only one out the company she could possibly stand.
"He would like me to tell you all why I hate Orcs so much." She told the hobbit under her breath, the other dwarves turned away, as to pretend they were not listening. Gandalf seemed to smirk as she peaked the hobbits curiosity.
"What did happen?" Bilbo asked, Elill sighed as she looked around, noticing the dwarves were to absorbed in their own conversations, she leaned forward so she was now leaning close to Bilbo, like two gossipers.
"I was only a child, a stupid, ignorant child. I had snuck out the house, one of my father's swords in my hand, I decided to go practice. If my brothers could do it, why could I not? So I went out, darting around the trees, finding the place where my brothers would sometimes train. And I began to swing the sword, right, left, left right. I had soon thought I had gotten the hang of it when I heard my mother's voice ring out, bouncing from the trees." She took a deep breath, they could hear the sorrow in her voice as she tried to get her thoughts together. "She called my name, and I hurriedly ran home, in a completely different direction I had come because I knew each shortcut. I ran passed a little gap in the mountains that had always seemed so distant, and it made me frightful, so I ran passed it, attempting to ignore it. When I got home my mother stood there, towering over me, her arms crossed. She ushered me inside as she began to scold me. 'Elill, how dare you disobey the rules, you know how your father feels about you running off into the forest, and you know how dangerous it is!'" She laughed hollowly, "of course I knew, but I did not want to seem weak, not like my sister." She fell silent, Bilbo looked at her in shock, and then she heard a voice that did not belong to Bilbo.
"What happened?" She turned to Fíli who was looking at her out of curiosity. She lowered her head, unsure if she wanted to continue now that the dwarves had all decided to take an interest in her story. Biblo gave her a look that claimed he wanted to hear more, his inquisitive side reminded her of her older siblings and she decided to give in, telling him the rest of the story and hoping the dwarves would grow tired.
"They had not come back yet, my brothers and father, so my sister and I were forced to help make dinner, which we had grown accustomed, when the sound of someone knocking the door sounded. We lived in the middle of nowhere and rarely got visitors, however my mother wiped her hands on her apron, ordered us to continue working, and went to go see who was there. We heard a growl, something my sister and I did not quite understand, but my mother answered.
'No, there is nobody by that name here.' She answered, another growl and my mother's tone changed from that of politeness to a warning tone, deadly and fierce.
'I told you,' she growled, 'there is nobody by Thorin here.'" At this point the dwarves each looked at Thorin, who was staring, his eyes dark at Elill, who did not even bother to look at him. "A growl of a creature emanated, and I began to grow worried, taking the kitchen knife I hopped off my stool and walked toward the front door, my mother stood, her hair dark, a creature pale and ugly stood there, a great dog like creature stood next to it, snarling at my mother, who stood straight and defiantly at it. The pale thing growled again, now that I had stood next to it, I understood that it was words it spoke, my mother met it at eye level.
'You will not dare harm her.' It had threatened me, I saw my mother reach for the sword that she had hidden in the umbrella stand.
'Now, I will not tell you again, there is nobody by the name of Thorin here, now leave!' She had ordered, pointing the sword at the creature in her hands." She paused, and looked up at them, her eyes sad.
"What happened to her, your mother I mean?" Dwalin asked, breaking the silence, Elill looked at him before speaking again.
"The creature and its pet broke through the door and went for my mother who pushed me out the way, my sister ran through, scared of the noise only to see my mother fighting off the creature on her own." Tears began to fall down Elill's cheeks.
"By the time my father and brothers had arrived, my sister was rocking in the corner crying, my mother lay dead on the floor, coated in blood, and I sat there, a sword in one hand, a knife in the other, my leg was gone, and so was the creature I had grown to know as an Orc, but its pet lay still on the floor. I had at least killed that." The dwarves all fell silent as she said her final words, "My mother died, protecting the name of Thorin Oakenshield." The dwarves all looked at her gravely.
"But she had told the Orc that there was no Thorin there, how did she protect him?" Ori asked.
"Because I had been there, searching for work. Her mother, a daughter of Man, had said there was no work to be found, but she could give me food for me and my kin, she offered me shelter, but I dare not burden her. I knew her, because I knew her husband." He looked at Elill, and his eyes widened, he could now vision her as a small dwarf girl, her hair cut above her shoulders, a sword far too large for her in her hands. "You were the little girl I saw play in the forest?" He asked her, she nodded her head.
"The Warg had picked up your scent and it led them to my home, to my family." She stood up, to walk away again from the fire. Thorin however, stood and walked towards her, getting down on one knee he bowed his head.
"Please, Elill daughter of Ossian, forgive me, for it is I who is to blame for your mother's death." She looked at Thorin, disdain filling her eyes, it was true her father had blamed the dwarf in front of her, but she merely shook her head.
"No, Master dwarf, it is not your fault, but the Orcs. We shall become siblings in arms, and put such thing behind us." She held out her hand, and Thorin took it, she helped to pull him up.
"Siblings in arms, so be it." He nodded his head.