SCORCHED INNOCENCE
The company slammed hard against the silk ground that turned into a large slide that pulled all of them deeper into the mountains, before spilling them out into a basket-looking contraption that caught all of them in a pile. Jeanne gasped out all the air in her lungs when a whole lot of Dwarves piled on top of her.
"I'm so sorry, Miss Jeanne." She heard Bofur apologize to her.
Jeanne crawled out from the pile of Dwarves. "I'm fine. Don't worry about...me?" Her eyes adjusted to the darkness way to quickly and saw a hoard of Goblins rushing towards them in a mad dash. They grabbed at her instantly and was torn away with the rest of the Dwarves as they tried to fight back.
"Miss Jeanne?!"
She heard her name being called out but was overpowered by all the Goblins that yanked and pulled on her with their nasty and slimy skin. One by one, the Dwarves were pulled away and shoved down a line through the dark and rough path to who knows where, though Jeanne had an idea and didn't like where this was heading.
"Filthy scum!" Gloin shouted and fought back.
"Get your hands off of Miss Jeanne!"
Their strength was no match to the sheer numbers to the ocean of Goblins that rushed and carried them away like a tide, a nasty, smelly tide that reeked of rotten flesh and body odor. Jeanne felt sick to her stomach and kept her head down and hands firmly on her hood to keep her hair from getting loose as they all were pulled together...all except Bilbo who let the crowd slip right through him by getting down on his hands and knees as they walked right on by him.
The Goblins shoved all of them in line and led the way with torches through their endless maze that was all put together with bridges made of wood and rope that creaked and groaned while walking upon it. The room opened up and danced with torches lights of hundreds upon thousands of Goblins that howled and hooted down at them, and at the end of the long bridge was a throne that had a large, boiled covered Goblin King on it that hacked and coughed all over them. They were all disarmed of their weapons, including Jeanne's staff that was thrown down with the rest of the blades.
The Goblin King stepped down from his throne and spat at them. "Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom?" He smelled of absolute rot and it looked like he bathed in oil and slime daily. "Spies? Thieves? Assassins?"
"Dwarves, your Malevolence." A Goblin explained.
"Dwarves?"
"We found them on the Front Porch."
Jeanne whimpered and stood behind Dwalin's large figure. "That was a front porch? I should have noticed..." She spoke quietly and kept her hands grasp tightly on her hood. She probably would have noticed that something was off but Thorin confronting her as he did threw her off. No, more like he threw her for a loop.
"What are you doing on these parts? Speak!" He demanded but no one utter a single one to the massive Goblin King. "Very well. If they will not talk, we'll make them squawk. Bring in the mangler. Bring up the bone breaker. Start with the youngest!" He pointed right at a shocked Ori.
"Wait!" Thorin howled and the Goblins fell silent when he stepped before the Goblin King.
The Goblin King looked amazed to see him. "Well, well, well. Look who it is. Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror... King Under the Mountain." He mockingly bowed his head. "Oh, but I'm forgetting. You don't have a mountain. And you're not a king... Which makes you nobody, really." He smirked at Thorin's harsh glare. "I know someone who would pat a pretty price for your head. Just ahead. Nothing attached."
Jeanne sucked in a deep breath and instinctively moved to take a step forward but it felt like all the Dwarves were holding her still.
"Perhaps you know of whom I speak. An old enemy of yours. A pale Orc, astride a white Warg."
Thorin slowly cranked his head up and glared furiously at him while speaking in a low threatening tone. "Azog the Defiler was destroyed," he growled. "He was slain in battle long ago."
An amused look came to the Goblin King's face. "So you think his defiling days are done, do you?" he gave a cackling chuckle and walked over to another Goblin. "Send word to the pale Orc. Tell him I have found his prize."
Jeanne watched with helplessness as the small, snickering Goblin slid away while writing the words of his king to give to Azog.
At that moment, beyond Jeanne's realization was a curious Goblin looking deeply at the back of her hood covered head. Creeping over to her, he reached his long and crusty nails up to her hood and grasped the fabric tightly in his hand and with one swift motion, he ripped it off and unleashed the fires of her hair.
The room broke out into chaos as the Goblins screeched and crawled away from Jeanne as if she was made of fire. Their eyes corrupted with fear as they howled and screamed at her.
Jeanne was shaken up by the sudden noises that flooded into her ears and froze her body. She looked up and saw Thorin looking at her with great confusion riddled in his eyes.
Suddenly she was shoved from behind and launched towards the Goblin King and dropped at his feet.
"Get off her!" Dwalin screeched and tried to shove the Goblins aside. "I'll tear your arms off!"
"Don't you dare! What are you doing to Miss Jeanne?"
The party of Dwarves witnessed the horror as Jeanne was suddenly swarmed by the Goblins like an ocean wave. They tried to rip themselves free from the nasty clutches of the Goblins holding them down, to save their lady that they adored so much, but they found no strength with the numbers that these Goblins had against them.
They could do nothing to help Jeanne and bared witness to what looked like a court hearing. They held her down before the frightened Goblin King who nested up against his throne.
"You!" The Goblin King shouted and pointed a shaking claw at her. "We thought you were dead!?"
Every thought accelerated in Jeanne's mind and her heart thumped around like an old drum being pounded on. She couldn't breathe because it was like the whole mountain was beginning to collapse in on her.
Needles ran under her skin and lit her insides on fire with molten hot lava.
"Oh please no..." She begged with a cracking voice that Thorin, in his calmness, seemed to be the only one who heard.
Why? He thought.
Why is she so afraid of them...when they are just as afraid of her?
At the moment...he never realized just how much he didn't know about her.
The Goblin King stared at Jeanne. His eyes may cloudy with filth and fear but he could still clearly see the scarlet flames dancing around her head like an evil corrupted crown of the damned. "You are not supposed to exist" He spat as fear was replaced with anger. "That body does not belong to you! It belongs to that 'Person' (Sauron). The Child of the Pits, the Dark Lord, the Shadow, the Terrible!"
"Please no!" Jeanne pleaded with him and fought against the death grip of these Goblins. Her voice echoed through the mines as tears began to roll down her cheeks. "I...know that this is not 'me', and that this 'body' is not mine but...Please..." She stared at the ground for a long time, her voice raspy with anxiety and terror. "Please...don't do it"
The Goblin King fell silent as her words rattled his whole armada of Goblins, but he will not be tricked by her cunning words made of hellfire and poison. No one could mistake that...appearance...she is...that person. He knew what he must do...for there was only two way to bring that 'Person' (Sauron) back. Only two ways...
He began to crackle this horrific laugh that filled Jeanne's heart with pain and venom.
"Oh...but you are." He said in a threatening low voice that rattled her body. "You will come to power...if you have to be taken away, or...by other methods"
Only two ways to bring back Sauron, the Dark Lord
Lock the body away until all the pieces are together (One Ring), or...disposeing of the occupied body so a new one could be made.
The Goblin King stared right into the eyes of this woman who shivered with fear before speaking in an icy tone. "Kill it."
Thorin's eyes widen very slowly as everything began to move in slow motion. He watched as Jeanne's head was shoved back, giving a frightful cry as a Goblin held a knife right above her exposed throat.
"Enough!" Thorin's voice roared as he began to fight back before the Goblins, stretching his hand out to her...but she was too far away. "Jeanne!"
Jeanne squeezed her eyes tightly to wait for it to be over. A flash of light and a gust of wind blew everyone back and silenced the uproar. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself up against the fallen over Goblins and Dwarves, staring upon the grand sight that radiated light.
Gandalf emerged from the shadows carrying his sword in one hand and staff in the other. "Take up arms." He spoke to them. "Fight. Fight!"
The Dwarves felt a fire burning in their chest and they sprung to life, racing for their weapons before the Goblins would react, beginning to cut down the enemy in front of their path.
Jeanne rolled to her feet and her eyes scanned around for her staff and saw it laying against the edge. She jumped to her feet and began running at it just when a two Goblin's notice and race for her with their knives up to strike her down. She grabbed the lower end of her staff and swung it around, knocking the heavy end against one Goblin. The other one swung his knife down but it struck against her staff. She swiftly twirled her body around till he faced the edge and kicked him off.
"Miss Jeanne!" Ori's voice called out.
Jeanne turned around and saw the Goblin king swing his club at her. It touched down at the tip of Thorin's blade and bounced off, sending him falling off the side.
"Thorin?" Jeanne's lips quivered and her heart began to clench.
"Come on!" He suddenly grabbed her upper arm and moved her in front of him. "Go, go, go!"
Gandalf gestured Jeanne and the rest of the Dwarves over. "Follow me. Quick!"
Everyone picked up their weapons and rushed down the path that Gandalf took them down.
"Run!"
Jeanne looked over her shoulder and saw the path behind them being sworn with hundreds, upon thousands of Goblins.
Dwalin stopped in the middle of the path and saw Goblins in front of them.
"Post!" He screamed and they cut a guardpost off the path and held it up like a spear. "Charge!"
They rammed the spear through the crowd of Goblins and swept them all off the bridge.
It was like a dam had broken and they were crowded around with Goblins on each side. They fought their way through the muck and mess of Goblins in the dimly lit caves that branched out like a maze. They ran to a bridge but came to a screeching halt when the Goblin King broke through the wood planks. He rose up and stood in front of them like a wall no man could pass.
"You thought you could escape me?" His large figure loomed over them.
The Goblin King swung his club at Gandalf twice and caused him to stumble back against Jeanne, but he suddenly felt his sword get swiped from his hand and his vision filled with red hair.
Jeanne pulled the sword up in a swift motion and sliced it right across the Goblin Kings belly. He fell to his knees and held his stomach, looking up and meeting Jeanne's eyes.
"You will never esca-"
Jeanne's eyes went wide and she cut his throat before he could even finish his fowl and hurtful words.
"I know..." She mumbled and handed the sword back.
The Goblin King's large body crumbled to the ground but the added weight began to make the bridge start to creak. A loud snapping noise caught everyones attention...before it started sliding down the cavern.
Everyone screamed at the top of their lungs (Jeanne probably louder) and held on for dear life, waited for the impact. They scrubbed against the sides of the mountain before coming to a slow halt, finally at the bottom with nearly no issue at all.
Gandalf fished Jeanne out of the timber of wood and pulled her out. She was as white as a sheet but alive.
Bofur looked up. "Well, that could have been worse."
The corpse of the Goblin King's body crashed landed right on top of the wreckage, squishing the Dwarves even further.
"You've got to be joking!" Dwalin groaned from somewhere underneath.
Jeanne tried to stifle her laughter and began to dig the Dwarves out of the pile. She looked up and saw thousands of Goblins running down the hill at them.
"Oh no..." She cried and began to yank everyone out as quickly as possible. "Get up, get up, get up!" She pushed them all out. "We can't fight them all!"
"Only one thing will save us: daylight!" Gandalf said. "Come on!"
The end was in sight and the prize was in the form of a crack of light at the end of the tunnel. The smell of the fresh air was absolutely heavenly and the natural light was beyond warming to them.
Jeanne literally slammed herself up against a tree and took in deep breaths of air to calm herself down. She felt around her neck to make sure it was still there before crumbling down to her knees.
Gandalf counted everyone that passed him. "Five, six, seven, eight...Bifur, Bofur...Jeanne?" He looked back and saw Jeanne giving a wave from the base of a tree. "That's eleven. Fili, Kili...that's twelve...and Bombur..." His eyes filled with dread when they come up one short. "Where's Bilbo?" He frantically looked around to spot their little friend. "Where is our Hobbit!?"
"Gandalf...he..." Jeanne spoke up through smalls gaps of air. "Before we got caught...I saw him..." She took a breath. "I saw him slip away. That was the last I saw him."
Panic began to set in for Gandalf and Jeanne. To think that Bilbo might still be in that place made her rise to her feet once more when she felt a hand grasp her shoulder.
"Don't worry about it, Jeanne." His sudden voice made Jeanne turned around and embrace the once missing Hobbit, Bilbo. He was startled at first and didn't know what to do, giving her a couple of pats on the back. "There, there. It's...alright?"
Jeanne pulled away and held his face between her hands. "Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?" She studied him frantically and noticed him slipping Something into his pocket.
For some reason...Jeanne's burning hot body...grew cold.
Gandalf laughed. "Bilbo Baggins! Aside from Jeanne, I have never been so glad to see anyone in my life!"
"How on earth did you get past the Goblins?" Fili asked a bit baffled that a small Hobbit got out of that hellhole.
"How, indeed," Dwalin mumbled.
"Well, what does it matter?" Gandalf said, noticing Jeanne shifty gaze to Bilbo's pocket. "He's back!"
All the heartfelt relief was washed away when Thorin spoke up. "We're not done." He said and Gandalf turned to him. "There are unanswered questions that I demand to know if we are to continue with this quest...with her." He pointed his finger to Jeanne who looked somber.
Balin spoke up. "Thorin..."
"We all heard it, did we not? All the names that she was called, her reaction to them all..." Thorin shifted his stubborn and intimidating gaze to Jeanne and marched up to her. "I asked you this one, and for the safety of everyone here...What are you?"
Jeanne bit down on her lips. Of course, she couldn't be able to escape such a terrifying question. "You don't want to know."
"I brought you along and you really expect me to trust you? From Orcs to Goblins. They all seemed to be afraid of you. Now I won't ask you again. What are you?"
Gandalf could sense the growing tension in the air. "Thorin, I don't think now is the time-" He stopped when Jeanne held her hand out.
"No, no. Gandalf, it's...fine." Jeanne took one step towards Thorin until their faces were inches apart, staring into each other's eyes in search of answers to these secrets. "But know this, Thorin Oakenshield. You will no longer look at me the same."
Thorin's voice was cold. "I already think that."
Jeanne's heart burned and her face twisted a bit. "So be it then." She stepped away and turned her back to all them because she couldn't bear to look at them anymore. "I have been alive for 400 years, but this body was not made by ordinary methods. This body...was made and molded together with the hottest flames in Middle-earth."
Balin's eyes began to widen as everything started to click for him. "If that was the case then those flames would only have to be... It cannot be..." He breathed.
Gandalf decided to step up. "I know how it may sound but Jeanne here really is...Born of Fire. In the smoldering pits of Mount Doom, her body was made!"
The Dark Lord stood tall with the One Ring shining upon its finger, brighter than ever before. When suddenly, a sword knocked against the back of its head and its helmet went flying off.
The son of the King of Gondor, Isildur stood behind Sauron with his sword raised to the all-powerful lord. His eyes were made of stone and the ember of hope remained visibly strong, refusing to be snuffed... but the look on his face soon twisted with shock and horror at the unmasked Dark Lord.
Long scarlet hair, as red as blood danced in the air before falling over the black colored armor. The unmasked Sauron turned around slowly and face Isildur, unveiling the face of a young woman. Enchanting, yet terrifying Her long scarlet hair reached far down her back and her skin was a deadly pale, married with these ugly, dark ashen veins running beneath her marble skin. But what was the most haunting, yet alluring about this woman was her eyes. Charcoal wasn't even remotely close to describing them. The abyss of darkness, black, just pure black.
"But Jeanne was not...Sauron. She never was. When Sauron was defeated, a body was prepared for the Dark Lord ahead of time. After sensing her apparent doom had already prepared a body to possess when her original one perished. Sauron could not take the body as her own though, because...certain things were amiss (One Ring). So...with a body unoccupied, Eru saw it necessary to step in so Sauron could never take control of her form...by breathing life into the shell."
A scream pierced through the hot air of Mount Doom and a pale hand shot out from the lava that made all the Orcs fidget even closer to the edge. The hand flapped around in the lava pit till it grabbed a hold of the edge where all the orcs were standing. The scream was muffled from underneath the pit till the shrilling voice of a woman broke through with scarlet hair as red as the lava. The woman who pulled herself out of the lava was deadly pale with not a single burn on her perfect skin. What ran underneath though were strange ashen veins that covered all over her body. Her hair wrapped around her body like a shroud to keep her modesty while the ends were still swimming in the lava.
"'Jeanne' is merely the spoils of war," Gandalf explained to the shell-shocked Dwarves who haunted the silence with their disbelieving eyes that burned into their lady that they have come to love. "She actually didn't have a name until I found her."
"What do you mean?" Thorin was the only one who was able to speak calmly despite his heart feeling like it was going to leap out of his chest. "You found her?"
Gandalf spoke but his voice was low. "Jeanne, in her confusion and panic...saw that something wasn't right and escaped her imprisonment...with sheer force and brute strength. Sometime down the path though...I came into the picture and found our dear Jeanne, scared and alone. It was on that day I decided she...was worthy of having a name...worthy of living."
The Dwarves, who were known for being a loud and merry group, held nothing but silence in their chests. They looked over to the lady that they've have come to adore so much, her blue eyes looking at them with a drained and defeated reflection.
All Jeanne's anxiety, all her pain, her anger, fear, longing. All of it was held together with a disheartened smile that adapted on perfectly to her lips.
Jeanne turned back around and looked Thorin in her deeps eyes, that doesn't seem to scare her much anymore. "Now...how do you look at me now?" Her words were interrupted through when this chill ran under her skin. Jeanne darted her head up and saw something looming above the hill down at them.
Wargs! And a pale Orc smirking as dreadful as his name said.
Azog the Defiler.
2 chapters left people!