Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not in ANY way own The Hobbit or any of its characters, the only things I own are my own characters and any plot that may be different to the movie/book.

Sorry I forgot last time:

Thank you to Lalaith Elerrina, Leilani101, pyrokitty714 and ZabuzasGirl for reviewing. You guys are really the people I write for. Cyber ice-creams to you all, because I ran out of cookies.

Last Time:

They all froze as they heard the howl of wargs. "Orcs!" Mirabelle muttered and followed the dwarf king.

"Out of the oven…" Gandalf murmured.

"And into the fire!" Thorin finished for him, a grim look on his face. "Into the trees! Everybody!" They all scrambled for the trees, Bilbo helping Mirabelle up and lifting her onto a higher branch. They all sat there, looking forward as they watched the orcs appear.

Mirabelle watched as Thorin's face visibly paled. "Is that…?" Kili nodded at her.

"The pale white orc astride the snow warg… Azog the Defiler." Thorin breathed out, a glare settling on his face.

"We'll make it through this, Mirabelle, I know we will." The words of the prince did little to reassure Mirabelle's nerves, but she was glad that someone would be there beside her, even if she were to die.

"I can smell your fear. It is rather intoxicating." The pale orc held Thorin's eye as his lips raised into a taunting smirk. The king trembled with fury but made no move just yet. Mirabelle looked to Thorin worriedly. Kili had told her before that Azog had slaughtered Thorin's father and flung his head to the young king.

"Thorin…" She drew out a long breath before moving upwards on the tree. Kili reached out a hand to grab her back but she shook it off. "I have to go to him." She turned her head back and leaped to Thorin's tree.

The king looked surprised to see her but drew her closer to him, in an attempt to hide her from Azog. Kili frowned and turned back to look at the orcs.

"I thought she said…" He growled softly before climbing up as well. Fili glanced at his brother and shook his head. Kili could be pretty stubborn sometimes.

Bofur yelled out as he saw the wargs racing toward them. "Higher! Climb higher into the trees!" Everyone scrambled up but they were too slow. The tree that Kili and Fili presently hung onto wobbled and toppled, sending them flying into Thorin and Mirabelle's tree. Mirabelle let go of the king's shirt to grab her cousin.

"Bilbo! Are you alright?" Mirabelle and her cousin had no time to think though, as their tree tumbled as well.

Pretty soon, all sixteen companions clung onto the tree nearest to the cliff, grabbing onto each other and praying for their lives. Gandalf muttered something under his breath as he grabbed a pinecone. Almost immediately, it burst up in flames and he handed it to Kili. The young dwarf understood the wizard's thoughts and shot the flaming nut right at the wargs. The monster whimpered and backed unwillingly back.

The old wizard continued burning the pinecones and soon everyone was throwing and hurling them at the enemy.

"Are you too afraid to come down here and face me? Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror; are you too afraid I may behead you the same way I beheaded your father?" Azog grinned sadistically as he pushed his warg forward a step.

Thorin growled loudly before shoving his nephews softly out of the way. He unsheathed his sword and stomped angrily and surely down the fallen branches. Mirabelle reached an arm after him but Balin held her back. She shot the wizened dwarf a look but he just shook his head.

Mirabelle bit her lip nervously as she heard Thorin shout a war cry. He thundered at Azog and Mirabelle nearly yelled in joy as he ran past the wards. Her happiness was short lived, however, as she watched the king get impaled by one of the wargs.

It happened slowly; the girl's agonizing scream could be heard. She wrenched free of Balin's grasp and dodged Kili's arm. She ignored Fili's cry of warning and snatched the sword off Bofur.

Bilbo watched his cousin sprint down the tree and swing at the warg. He had never imagined so much intensity could come from his small cousin. "Mirabelle…"

The small hobbit female swung and struck at whatever was standing between her and Thorin. She poked her sword in the warg's eye and stabbed another in the neck.

As she saw some of the orcs racing toward her, she unsheathed her dagger and flung the sword at them. Felling her forehead burn up, Mirabelle yelled out a battle cry as she felt power pulse inside her.

"You will not harm anyone that is under my protection!" The small hobbit screamed out as her voice morphed into one other than her own. She hit and swung at all the orcs, moving past them as they all fell to the ground.

Mirabelle could vaguely hear Kili and Fili yelling to her and running down but she ignored them. The small female continued on her rampage, trying to get to the king.

Azog's eyes widened as he saw her face. Her hair had swung up as if someone had placed a fan in front of her and it was in full blast. Her eyes were shining a bright gold and the mark on her forehead was burning crimson red.

"It's the Defender!" He turned back and muttered a few orders to the orcs behind him and a row of them charged forward.

Mirabelle paid no mind to them and let the other dwarves deal with the oncoming threat. Instead, she stalked over to the fallen Thorin and examined his wound. The king looked up at Mirabelle and a smile tugged on his lips. "So you have finally found the strength." Mirabelle's eyes widened slightly but her face calmed once more. She stood up straight and turned to face the orc in front of her.

"Master needs his head, it'd be best if you handed the small filth over." The orc's words made Mirabelle furious and she stomped over to the tall monster.

"Did you not hear a single word I just said to you monsters before?" She raised her dagger and bent back into fighting stance. The orc smiled maliciously at her before swing his sword at her head.

Mirabelle felt a sense of calm wash over her and she flipped backward, a feat achieved by no hobbit so far in history. The other dwarves watched her with wide eyes, coming to a stop as they finished off the last of their attackers.

"Mirabelle…" Kili turned to walk to her, glaring at his brother when Fili grabbed his arm.

"Leave her be, Kili. She needs to prove herself."

"But she has proven herself more than enough! What more does Uncle expect from her?" Kili growled and tried to stalk forward again. Yet again, his brother held him back.

"She may have proven herself in our eyes, but to her she has yet to achieve something." Fili let go of Kili's arm slowly, now sure that his brother understood.

"What did Thorin ever do to get a girl that was that loyal?" His brother muttered angrily. All the dwarves turned to the young prince and smiled sadly. Even Bilbo could feel the jealousy radiating off him.

"Fine." Kili sighed in defeat as he turned back to watch Mirabelle. She was attacking the orc with so much ferocity Kili had to check twice to make sure it was her. He was about to try helping her when he felt himself being picked up be something.

"Ah!" The screams of the dwarves could be heard as each of them were plucked off the ground and thrown off the cliff. Gandalf visibly sighed and wiped the sweat on his brow.

"You'd better hurry, Mirabelle, if you want to finish them off in time." He smiled wryly before flinging himself off the branch and sighing in relief as he felt himself land on one of the Great Eagles.

"Thank you for coming." The wizard sat comfortably on the giant bird's back as he looked back to the cliff. All the companions could hear a scream of rage and then silence. They all watched as two more Eagles flew toward them.

Gandalf hopped off the Great Bird and bowed down, a sign of respect. The Eagle bowed its head back to the wizard and the both rose.

"It was an honor to help you, Gandalf the Grey. We must be leaving now though." The giant birds set the companions on a small rock and took off.

The dwarves all gathered around their fallen king and Gandalf had to push Oin and Bombur out of the way before he could get to Thorin.

"I'm not an expert in the healing arts, I just hope he is not too far gone." Gandalf, hovered a hand over Throin's face and they all gasped as the king opened his eyes. The wizard smiled and moved back, ushering the dwarves back so the king had room to breathe.

"Mirabelle Took! Where is she? Where is the female hobbit?" Thorin sat up and looked around, an odd look in his eyes. The group parted so that Thorin could see the female hobbit. Mirabelle turned around and looked at the dwarf, her eyes watering slightly as she saw him awake.

Thorin stood up and walked slowly toward her. He wasn't taller than her than her by much but right that moment, Mirabelle felt as if the dwarf king towered over her. She lowered her head slightly, not able to meet his eye.

Thorin raised a finger to tilt her head up and watch her face. "Did I not call you weak? An ugly female who had no place in our quest? Did I not plan to leave you behind? Did I not say you were lost before you began?"

With each question, Mirabelle's form lowered visibly and Kili bit back his anger. How his uncle could still put the hobbit down h=after she had saved his life, he had no clue.

"Mirabelle Took, I have never been more wrong." The king wrapped Mirabelle in a hug and she sighed in relief. Bilbo watched his cousin with a small smile on his face and all the other dwarves laughed loudly.

"Kili?" Fili turned to his brother but he saw a small acceptance in his eyes. "Kili. Don't give up. I never told you… but Thorin has never cared for Mirabelle that way and will never care for her that way. Please don't give up. Mirabelle cares for you, she just does not know how much just yet.

"No, brother, we have been travelling for months together and yet she still does not realize my feelings. Maybe it is best to stop now, brother." The youngest sibling turned from the group and jumped down the rocks on the side of the giant stone.

"Kili!" He turned to look up as he saw Mirabelle climbing down after him. "Kili! Oh thank the lord you are alright!" She ran up to him and flung her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Mirabelle frowned as she felt Kili go stiff inside her embrace and she let go of him.

"Mirabelle." The young prince closed his eyes tightly and turned his back to the hobbit.

"Kili?"

The prince took a deep breath and turned back to face the hobbit. It nearly broke his heart to see the pain and confusion in her eyes. He stared right into her beautiful orbs and took another deep breath.

"Mirabelle Took. I never want to talk to you ever again."

I know, I know! That was cruel of me to end the chapter that way but I had to. Please review, as per usual, tell me any mistakes I made and anything you think I could add to the story.