A/N: I felt so inspired to write more since we finally got to the exciting parts of the movie. Hope you'll enjoy the tenth chapter!

Disclaimer: I only own my OC, nothing else.

Chapter 10: Ambush at the Great East Road

Freeing Haley from the StoneTroll's grip turned out easier said than done. After the dwarves had helped each other up and stretched the numbness off their bodies; everyone gathered around Haley to see how to get her down. Haley wore an annoyed expression on her face which was red from both annoyance and embarrassment. She thanked her lucky stars that she hadn't been wearing a skirt; now that would have been totally embarrassing. Gandalf inspected the stony hand holding her legs for a while until he let out a sign.

"Haley, I'm afraid there's no other choice but to smash the hand in order to free you" he said before lifting his staff to strike, "Someone catch her before she hits the ground."

Haley's eyes widened in horror and she raised her hands in defense. "No, wait! Please don't…"

But Gandalf had already struck the hand; his staff hitting against the stone with a loud bang. The stone began to grumble and the hand was smashed to pieces, releasing Haley from its hold. She yelled loudly as she fell down but luckily Kili managed to catch her in his arms in bridal style. Haley took deep breaths, attempting to calm down her beating heart. When they saw she was alright, everyone signed in relief and began to scatter away.

Haley raised her eyes up towards Kili's face. She blushed deeply when she noticed the intimate position they were in. This was the fourth time she found herself in his arms. She noticed that he was looking at her with an equally surprised face until his face broke in a bright smile.

"Hi there." he said with a small laughter in his voice.

"We gotta stop meeting under these circumstances." Haley attempted to joke, wondering if he could hear how fast her heart was beating in her chest.

"Really? I was just getting used to this." He returned her joke with a sly smile.

They both laughed a bit until a slightly awkward silence filled them. They looked at each other for a brief moment until Kili finally helped her back to her feet. Haley began to stretch her feet to get the numbness off them.

"You know; you were really brave back there." Kili said suddenly.

"Me, brave? Yeah, right!" Haley snorted at this, not believing it for one bit.

"I'm serious!" Kili exclaimed defensively.

"Oh please; didn't you see me back there? I didn't do anything, except for getting myself hang up like a ragdoll." she retorted.

"But you dashed to save the Hobbit without seconds thoughts, and you at least attempted to get free", Kili defended her, "Give yourself some credit. You're braver that you think."

Haley just stared at him in wonder for a while. "You really think so?" she asked him.

Kili nodded at her. Haley blushed slightly and she gave him a tiny smile which he returned. They both became silent and just stared at her feet. Truth to be told; Kili had been really worried about her back there. When she had rushed after the Hobbit; he had nearly paralyzed from worry. Without Fili snapping him out of it, he wouldn't have been able to go fetch Thorin and the others. Then when he had seen her being grabbed by that slimy Troll, he had wanted to cut that thing to pieces for laying his filthy hands on his girl. 'Wait, his girl? Wow, where did that one came from?' Kili thought in shock.

For a long while now; Kili had been feeling strange around Haley. Something about her presence made him want to spend every possible moment with her. When she smiled; she appeared as bright as the Sun itself. And her laughter gave him a warm, tingling feeling welling up inside him. He didn't understand why she made him feel this way. Was he possibly…falling for her? Certainly not; she was so young, practically a child, but then why was he feeling this way?

The silence between them made Haley feel uncomfortable. The uncertainty was making her crazy. She had to know had she just imagined the growing attraction between them. Otherwise she could never feel at ease around him anymore. 'Well, no time like the present.' she though before clearing her throat, gaining his attention

"Um, Kili" she stammered under his gaze, "Do you…feel like…"

"Well well" they nearly jumped off their skins when Fili suddenly appeared right behind them and clasped his hands on their shoulders, "What are you two lovebirds whispering here, all by yourselves?" he asked with a sly grin on his face.

Both Haley and Kili went stiff and blushed furiously at Fili's comment. They both started to babble nervously at the same time.

"Are you crazy? We're not…"

"I…he was just…

"It's nothing like that!" they both finally managed to shout at the same time. Fili simply looked at them with an amused grin.

"Oh, suuree" he said in a sing-along voice like he wasn't buying it. He was very amused by their embarrassed expressions. "Anyway; hate to break up your alone-time; but Thorin and Gandalf want to find the Troll's cave. So you'd better get a move on before you're left behind." he said before he turned to leave.

He stopped briefly and winked at them slyly before leaving them alone again. Haley turned to look at Kili and saw he was just about to leave. He turned to look at her and mouthed "We'll talk later" before following after his brother. She nodded at him before following after where they saw the rest of the Company.

They found the Trollhoard in the Hills near the forest. Gandalf and Thorin went inside to investigate it, the others following after them. When Haley entered the doorway of the cave; a foul stench hit her nose. She gagged and pinched her nose shut with her fingers, refusing to go any further.

"Oh I'm so NOT going there!" she exclaimed in disgust and decided to stay with Bilbo while waiting for the others.

The dwarves didn't stay for too long, not wanting to stay there any further that they had to either. Haley noticed that Thorin had taken a new fancy-looking sword from the hoard. Then Gandalf appeared from the cave, also carrying something in his arms.

"Bilbo, Haley" he called them, "Here, these should be about your size."

He opened his arms; revealing a sword, a bow and a quiver. He handed the bow and quiver to Haley. She gasped as she examined the bow; it was beautiful. It was light and slender, and there were some sort of markings carved on it. She tried to draw the string, and it felt just right in her arms.

"Thank you." she thanked the wizard, who nodded at her.

"It is of Elvish make, and I hope it will help to keep you safe." he said before turning to Bilbo. While he talked to the Hobbit, who was rather reluctant about receiving a sword, Haley admired her new weapon before placing it and the quiver, which had few arrows in it, onto her back like she had seen Kili do.

"Someone's coming!" Thorin shouted suddenly, alerting everyone to prepare for what was coming at them.

"Stay together!" Gandalf shouted.

"Arm yourselves!" Thorin ordered, and everyone pulled out their weapons before gathering around. They heard a loud noise coming towards them from a distance. And whatever it was; it was approaching with incredible speed.

Suddenly; a sleigh pulled by pack of brown rabbits appeared from the bushes. The rider looked like an old man covered in brown robes and moss.

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" he shouted in alarm as his reached them. Haley, Bilbo and the dwarves stared at him in confusion, wondering who in Middle-Earth was that.

"Radagast" Gandalf exclaimed as he recognized him, "It's Radagast the Brown!"

'That's Radagast the Brown?!" Haley arched her eyebrows in confusion. 'That old man is a wizard?!" Seeing Radagast in person didn't exactly match with Haley's image of him. His brown robes were worn and mossy, he had a funny hat, and was that…bird poop on his head?

"What on earth are you doing here?" Gandalf asked him.

"I was looking for you, Gandalf", Radagast answered as he approached his friend, "Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong!"

"Yes?" Gandalf asked, trying to coax him to continue. Radagast was about to say something, but stopped suddenly. He tried to speak several times but he never got a word out of his mouth. He seemed to be having troubles trying to remember what he was supposed to say.

"Oh I had a thought, and now I've lost it!", he cried out, "It was right there; on the tip of my tongue!" he cried before a thought seemed to hit him.

"Oh, it's not a thought at all! It's a silly old…", he opened his mouth, and Gandalf reached his hand to take something from there, "…a stick insect."

Haley wrinkled her nose as Bilbo and the dwarves stared in utter confusion. 'This old kook's nuttier than an almond!' she thought mentally, not really impressed by what she had just seen.

Gandalf pulled Radagast further from the group so they could talk in peace. Haley watched the two of them talk for a while. Radagast seemed to be very worried and upset about something. First Gandalf didn't seem to take his talks very seriously, but then something that Radagast said caught his attention. Then Radagast also showed him something that seemed to worry Gandalf.

Suddenly some sort of animal cry cut through the air, getting everyone's attention. Haley felt the hair on neck rise up and her skin was covered in goose bumps.

"Was that a wolf? Are there wolves out there?" Bilbo asked worryingly.

"Wolves? No, that is not a wolf." Bofur answered, equally worried.

If that was not a wolf; then Haley didn't want to find out what it was. Suddenly they heard horrible growling coming from behind them, causing everyone to turn around. Haley's eyes widened in horror when she saw a huge, terrifying wolf-like creature staring at them. It lunged at them with an angry growl, but Thorin managed to knock it down with his sword. But then another beast appeared behind them and prepared to attack. Luckily Kili managed to shoot an arrow at the beast, making him fall down before Dwalin finished it with his battle-hammer.

"Warg scouts!" Thorin exclaimed as he killed the first beast, "Which means an Orc pack is not far behind!"

"Orc pack!" Bilbo squealed. Haley's breath got stuck in her throat at the mention of Orcs. They had just survived Trolls, and now they had to deal with Wargs and Orcs!

"Who did you tell about your quest beyond your kin?" Gandalf demanded Thorin.

"No one." Thorin answered, not understanding what was going on.

"Who did you tell?" Gandalf demanded more strictly this time.

"No one, I swear!" Thorin insisted, "What in Durin's name is going on?" he demanded.

"You are being hunted." Gandalf said grimly.

"We have to get out of here!" Dwalin hissed.

"We can't! We have no ponies!" Ori shouted as he came back from where they had left the ponies, "They bolted!"

'Oh no, Chestnut!' Haley's heart dropped at the thought of her pony. 'What will we do now?' she thought in panic as more Warg howls could be heard in the distance.

"I'll draw them off." Radagast offered determinately.

"These are Gundabad Wargs, they will outrun you!" Gandalf shook his head.

"These are Rhosgobel rabbits" Radagast retorted matter-of-factly, "I'd like to see them try." he said with a challenging smirk.

While Radagast drew off the Orcs, the Company attempted escape unseen through the rocky wilderness. Led by Gandalf; they run as fast they could, but they had to hide behind the rocks every once in a while, when the Orc pack crossed near them. They had to change their course sometimes, because they were still too close to the Orcs, and they didn't want to Wargs to pick up their scent. Haley ignored the burning feeling in her lungs, and run as fast as her legs could carry her. While she was rather clumsy at other sports, at least she was a good runner. That, and dancing were Haley's strong points, but that didn't mean she could keep running forever.

They kept running until Gandalf led them behind a rock, sensing a Warg nearby. They gathered into a tight line behind the rock, hidden from sight for now. Haley pressed herself tightly against the rock, trying to calm her heartbeats. Her blood ran cold when she heard a growl coming from the rock above them. She saw Thorin look at Kili, and nod towards his bow. Then Kili drew an arrow before jumping into the Warg's sight and shooting at it. The beast growled and he shot another arrow, causing it to fall right next to them, along with its rider.

Haley's eyes widened at the sight of the Orc, before it attacked them with a growl. Dwalin charged at the Orc, pounding him with his hammer. Bifur followed him, and they attacked the Orc and the Warg with more animosity than Haley had seen before. Unfortunately the Warg's howling and the clashing of weapons must have attracted the Orc pack's attention towards them. When they finally killed both the Orc and his Warg, they heard more Wargs, along with Orcs, approaching them.

"Move! Run!" Gandalf shouted, and once more they were on the run. They kept running into the wilderness, where they had no places to hide. Soon they had to stop when they saw Orcs approaching in front of them. Gandalf led them to another direction. But the Orcs were already waiting for them.

"There's more coming!" Kili warned them.

"Kili, Haley, shoot them!" Thorin shouted when he noticed that there was no place to run to.

"We're surrounded!" Fili shouted in alarm.

Haley looked around her, and to her horror; he was right. There were Orcs and Wargs everywhere! Gathering up her courage; she stood next to Kili and drew her bow. They began to shoot the Wargs, and Haley found out that shooting at moving targets was more challenging that she had thought. The arrows didn't seem to have much effect on the Wargs; only giving them minor injuries.

"Where's Gandalf?" Dori shouted suddenly.

"He's abandoned up!" Dwalin growled.

"Hold your ground!" Thorin ordered as he pulled up his sword. Everyone followed his example. They gathered around in a circle, except for Kili and Haley who stood their ground in order to shoot.

"This way you fools!" Gandalf's voice called suddenly. They turned to look at him and saw him popping out from a pile of rocks. Then he disappeared into the tunnels beneath the rocks.

"Come on, move! Quickly, all of you!" Thorin ordered as he stood next to the opening of the tunnel. The dwarves followed his order and slid into the tunnel one by one, where Gandalf was waiting for them. Thorin killed few Wargs before he turned to look at the two remaining Members.

"Kili, Haley! Run!" he shouted after them.

"Come on, hurry!" Haley called for Kili and reached her hand for him. Kili tried to shoot couple of arrows before he finally turned to run. He took Haley's hand and they run towards the rocks. Finally reaching them, they slid down towards the tunnels, Thorin following after them. When they reached the bottom; Bofur and Dwalin helped them to stand up. Haley could still feel Kili holding her hand tightly, and she squeezed back.

That's when heard the sound of a horn in the distance, followed by the sounds of a battle and Orcs crying of pain. They wondered what was happening outside. Suddenly an Orc fell into tunnels, rolling right to their middle. Gandalf pointed his staff at him, but he was already dead. Thorin pulled an arrow from his neck and inspected it.

"Elves." he said in distain before throwing the arrow to the ground. He turned to look at Gandalf with an accusing look.

"I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or not?" Dwalin shouted from the back of the tunnels, which lead to a narrow pathway.

"Follow it, of course!" Bofur shouted before making his way through it. The others started to follow after him.

"I think that would be wise." Gandalf said bit sheepishly as he started to follow them.

Haley followed after the dwarves in the rocky pathway; hoping that it would lead them someplace where they would be safe.

A/N: Next chapter: Rivendell! Coming up soon! Until then, feel free to review!

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