The Company gathered together outside the cave, trying to calm down from the troll attack. Gandalf had found another sword which was way smaller than those Thorin had found.
Liliana struggled a bit to tie her sword to her back.
"Let me help you" Dwalin said and took the sword from her. He was impressed that she was able to hold it, even he thought it was quite heavy. He pushed these thoughts aside and tied the sword on her back. She was more the archer-type and so she still had the best access to her bow.
"Something's coming!" they could hear Thorin calling and a rumbling sound drew closer.
"Follow me!" Dwalin called and Liliana was close behind him. The Company ran deeper into the forest, closed the ranks to protect the girl and the hobbit.
Suddenly a rabbit-drawn sled stopped close in front of them.
"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" a rather small man called.
Gandalf stepped closer, surprised by who he saw in front of him.
"Radagast! Radagast the Brown! What on earth are you doing here?"
"I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong."
"Yes?"
Radagast opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again. It seemed as if he had forgotten what he was going to say.
"Oh, just give me a minute. Uhm, oh, I had a thought, and now I've lost it. It was, it was right here, on the tip of my tongue"
Liliana watched him while she hid behind the back of one of the dwarves. She did not pay attention and stepped even closer when Thorin turned to look at her. His face right in front of her, with only mere inches between them. Lili was more than surprised and stumbled backwards, her heart thumbing in her chest. He frowned but kept silent.
"Is—is that her?" he suddenly catched some bits of the conversation between the two wizards. His ears were not like those of other races but that definately catched his attention and he began striding closer.
Gandalf looked back to Liliana who was watching them curiously. She remembered Radagast from when she was just a young girl.
"Yes, that is her. You knew her before me, right?" the Grey wizard said and Radagast nodded.
"I do, indeed. Though she was just a child back then. Her face is that of her mother. Lalaith was a beautiful woman. Such a shame what happened to her. And the girl—that innocent girl has so many features of her—well, her father" Radagast mumbled and Gandalf frowned but there was no time to ask on for there was a howl waving through the air.
Liliana drew her bow as Bilbo asked frightened, "Was that a wolf? Are there—are there wolves out there?"
"Wolves? No, that is not a wolf" Lili answered ominously.
She saw the Warg appearing from behind a nearby crag. It leaped into the midst of the Company, knocked Nori down. Thorin stroke and killed it using his new-found sword. Another Warg attacked from the other side, heading towards Thorin. Without much thinking Liliana shot an arrow directly between that beasts eyes. Thorin was surprised as he saw the arrow flying past him and watched as Dwalin killed the Warg.
"Warg-Scouts! Which means an Orc pack is not far behind!" he called.
"Orc pack?" Bilbo asked and stepped closer to Liliana.
"Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" Gandalf asked angrily and stomped towards Thorin.
"No one!"
"Who did you tell?"
"No on, I swear. What in Durin's name is going on?"
It was Lili who looked at him, eyes flashing. "You are being hunted, that's going on!"
"We have to get out of here" Dwalin growled but all their hopes got smashed as Ori called, "We can't! We have no ponies! They bolted!"
Lili was not afraid that Arroch may be gone forever. He would always find her again. She just hoped he won't get harmed by one of those Wargs.
She saw Radagast stepping on his sled, riding off. She had not paid attention what was going on so the next thing she was aware of was Dwalin pushing her forward.
"Run!"
The Company managed to run over rocky plains and hide behind huge boulders without being seen by any of those Orcs riding on their Wargs. Radagast seemed to draw them off perfectly. Lilianas heart was racing, pressed her back against the rock.
"You alright, lass?" Balin whispered but she simply nodded, tried giving him a reassuring smile.
Gandalf rushed them on, gestured them to follow him.
"Where are you leading us?" Thorin growled at Gandalf but the wizard did not answer. He simply ran on towards the next boulder, the Company followed him. Lili now between Thorin and Kili. One of the scouts appeared on top of the outcropping, scenting the air. The dwarves held their breaths. Lili felt a pair of eyes on her and looked at Thorin. He nodded at Kili and her. The two of them readied their arrows. They quickly stepped out, Kilis arrow hit the Warg while Lili knocked the Orc down directly in its heart though she always asked herself if those filthy creatures have a heart.
The Warg and the Orc fell down in front of them and immediately the Company killed the Warg. Lilis heart froze as she was aware that they made too much noise. She grabbed Dwalins arm and stopped him from slashing into the Warg.
"Gandalf—" she said and the wizard understood her right away.
"Move! Run!" he called and the Company ran through a grassy plain. They were aware that the Wargs surrounded them from all sides.
"This way! Quickly!" Gandalf called and they ran for a while longer but came to a halt in a clearing as they saw Wargs on all sides.
"There's more coming!" Kili called and looked at Thorin. He drew his sword and called, "Kili! Liliana! Shoot them!"
Liliana and Kili began shooting at the beasts. They killed a good amount of them. "Where is Gandalf?" the young prince called and they all looked around.
"He has abandoned us!" Dwalin replied angrily but Liliana knew that was not true. Gandalf would never abandon them. Abandon her. She saw a Warg and its rider approaching Ori. The young dwarf shot a rock at them with his slingshot, to no effect which was not a surprise. Liliana growled, ran towards him and shot the Warg between its eyes which was the immediate death-blow. The Orc jumped down and approached Ori with a lance in its hand. Lili sped up, pushed Ori out of the way and but before she could draw her sword she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. She cried out in pain, tears dwelling in her eyes.
Dwalin whirled around. "NO! Lili!"
He ran towards her. The Orc had lifted her up and threw her away. She landed hard on the ground, her vision became blurry and her tunic was wetting. It was her blood, she knew that. She cried out as she tried to sit up, just aware that someone called for them and she was lifted up into a strong pair of arms.
The dwarves and Bilbo slid into a large crack in the rock, down into a cave. Kili jumped and Thorin followed him. He was aware that Lili had passed out in his arms. He felt guilty in some strange way. He should have been the one rescuing Ori though he was thankful that she managed it somehow but at what cost? She was dying in his arms.
Oin inspected her wound but was unable to do anything for her.
"She needs healing that's beyond my capabilities right here, right now" the old dwarf said and looked up at Gandalf. The wizard seemed to be highly concerned.
They could see Lilis eyes opened up for a split second, her head rolling to the side pressed against Thorins chest. That was the only proof of life until she passed out again. Dwalin spotted a pathway at the end of the cave that was leading away.
"I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or no?"
"Follow it, of course!" replied Bofur and rushed on. One by one the rest of them followed as well with Thorin in the back together with Gandalf.
After a long, exhausting walk through narrow passages the pathway opened out into an open area. They could see a valley below.
"The Valley of Imladris. In the Common Tongue, it's known by another name." Gandalf explained.
"Rivendell" Bilbo said in awe and to their surprise Lili moved slightly and mumbled, "Riv—endell"
Thorin grew angry again, he felt a little betrayed by that wizard. "This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy"
But before Gandalf could reply it was Dwalin stepping closer to his friend and leader. "Thorin, we all don't like to be here but Liliana needs help and this is the only help we'll get. Despite all the hatred, there is one fact about elves and that's their healing skills. Do you want her to die in your arms?"
Thorin looked down on her face, framed by her long red hair and his glance drifted down to that bloody shirt of hers. She lost a lot of blood by now and he could not bare losing one of his Company members.
That's what he saw in her, despite all the mysterious, despite the aversion she seemed to have especially against him. She was part of his Company and it was his task to protect her life.
So he kept silent and Gandalf nodded before adding, "If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me"
The Company walked across a bridge and entered Rivendell. They could already see some elves strolling about. Bilbo gazed in awe at the beauty of the place he thought he'd never going to see in his life. The dwarfes, on the other hand, looked uneasy and still very concerned about their female companion in their kings arms.
A dark-haired elf walked down a flight of stairs.
"Mithrandir"
"Ah, Lindir!" Gandalf said with a smile.
Thorin whispered to Dwalin, "Stay sharp"
"Lastannem i athrannedh i Vruinen." [We heard you had crossed the Valley.] the elf said.
"I must speak with Lord Elrond, immediately" Gandalf said gesturing towards Thorin with the injured girl on his arms. The look in the rather young elfs eyes changed slightly but he looked concerned back at Gandalf as he replied, "My lord Elrond ist not here"
"Not here? Where is he?" Gandalf demanded to know. Suddenly, an Elvish horn could be heard. The Company turned around and they saw a group of armed horsemen approaching along the bridge at high speed.
Thorin pressed Liliana closer to him and ordered, "Ifridî bekâr! Hold ranks!"
The dwarves bunched up together into a tight circle with their weapons pointed outward. The elves circled them. Eventually, they stopped, and one elf moved towards Gandalf with a smile on his face.
"Gandalf."
Gandalf bowed gracefully as he replied, "Lord Elrond. Mellonnen! Mo evinedh?" [My friend! Where have you been?]
Elrond dismounted from his horse and hugged Gandalf shortly but tight. "Strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders. Something, or someone, has drawn them near."
He held up an Orc lance and showed it to him, then handed it to Lindir. "There's blood on that lance, but no Orc blood. It seems someone might got hurt by that lance" Elrond added and his eyes drifted over the Company.
Thorin hesitantly stepped forward, and Elrond looked upon him with recognition.
"Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain"
"I do not believe we have met."
"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the Mountain."
"Indeed...he made no mention of you"
Elrond ignored that insult and stepped closer towards the king. His eyes fell on Liliana and he frowned.
"That's the one being stabbed by the lance? She needs healing, immediately! Hand her to me and I will do my best."
Thorin hesitated but one look from Dwalin and he handed Lili to Elrond. The elf lord turned to look at the dwarves and said in Sindarin, "Nartho i noer, toltho i viruvor. Boe i annam vann a nethail vin." [Light the fires, bring forth the wine. We must feed our guests]
Lindir bowed in understood and Elrond vanished up the flight of stairs to take Lili to the healing rooms.
Gandalf gestured the Company to follow Lindir. The young elf instructed some other elves to prepare guest-rooms for the Company. The elves were not quite amused by their strange guests but did what he told them.
They settled down and met again on a huge balcony where a table was set with plenty of food and drinks. They ate but not as much as they would eat in merry hours. Their minds were set on Liliana, and the prayed that she would make it.
So hope you like it!
I've to say I don't like writing this whole orc-chase scene but I hope I managed it quite well and remember – after reading comes a review ;) You'd make me so happy! :)
