Hey readers! Thank you for sticking with me through this long month hiatus! I'm sorry it took me so long to update, life just caught up with me and I had to take a break. But I'm back now, so be ready for some regular updates! Let me know what you think!

Sincerely,

Ally.

The Revenge of the Huntress

the one with the trolls

"Feelings do not always determine truth, but they can sometimes tell you what is true."

― J.R. Rim

Arathelle decided that Thorin Oakenshield was the single most irritating dwarf to ever exist. He was stuck in his ways and was consistently unwilling to compromise.

When the company came upon the remains of an old farmhouse that she remembered in her previous travels to belong to a kind farmer and his family, she knew something was wrong.

She had seen the family just a year prior.

Something was very wrong. She knew Old Sal would never leave his farm behind, not that quickly. At least he would have spoken to her about plans to move, but nothing like this. The land seemed to be completely desecrated and the remains of the home that was once lively were now being grown over by the greenery.

It was then that Thelle knew something must've happened to them.

Thorin turned around his pony to face the rest of the company, and Thelle felt her stomach drop.

"We'll camp here for the night," Thorin announced. Immediately the dwarves started to file off and prepare themselves for nightfall.

Thelle and Gandalf, however, shared a weary look.

Her eyes followed Gandalf as he walked solemnly through the remains of the farmhouse as she vaguely listened to Thorin's orders.

"Fíli, Kíli, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them."

Thelle hopped down from Mithril and patted her snout in thanks before feeding her a bite from the apple she had been saving in her saddlebag. The horse snorted loudly and grounded her hooves into the grassy floor before calming slightly.

"It's fine, girl, I can feel it too."

Fíli walked up to the Ranger with his signature grin. "I'm here to take your horse to graze a bit if you'd like, Lady Thellie."

Thelle didn't even bother hiding the roll of her eyes. "Ever since I told Master Thorin about my name, you lot have decided to figure out any possible way to get a rise outta me."

The blonde dwarf chuckled. "So, Lady Thellie is not working for you?"

She shook her head, and ungracefully spat out the ends of her hair that had invaded her mouth during the action.

"No. Nor is Ara-thellie, Ara-smellie, or even Thellie-bellie. Please, keep it simple, Princeling."

Fíli's grin widened. "Princeling?"

"Do you think you and Kíli are the only ones who can come up with nicknames?"

A new look entered the young dwarf's eyes. "Good to know, Lady Thelle."

She smiled. "Take care of Mithril for me, will you? She needs some water."

"At your service, Milady." With a deep bow, Fíli took Mithril's reigns and guided the mare to where the ponies had been gathered near the edge of the meadow.

Thelle noticed Bilbo loitering around and decided to see what her favorite hobbit was doing before she heard the loud bickering coming from inside the dismantled farmhouse.

"Help?" Thorin's voice projected. "A dragon attacks Erebor. What help came from the elves? Orcs plunder Moria… desecrate our sacred halls. The elves looked on and did nothing."

A feeling of annoyance started to seep into Thelle's veins. She quickly decided to make her way over to the two stubborn beings before a battle occurred.

"You ask me to seek out the very people who betrayed my grandfather," Thorin continued. "Who betrayed my father."

She felt her jaw clench at the sound of Thorin's barely contained rage.

"You are neither of them," Gandalf's impatient voice cut through the silence. "I did not give you that map and key to hold onto the past."

"I did not know they were yours to keep." Thorin looked to be close to erupting upon the wizard.

Gandalf simply shook his head at the dwarf and turned to stalk off, nearly hitting Thelle on his way out. "Good, it's your turn to deal with him," the wizard told her, before walking out toward the woods.

Thelle looked at him with slightly wide eyes.

"Everything alright? Gandalf, where are you going?" Bilbo asked after his stalking body.

"To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense."

"And who's that?"

"Myself, Mr. Baggins," Gandalf called out. "I've had enough of dwarves for one day."

She shifted her focus to look upon the Dwarf King, who seemed to be avoiding her gaze purposefully. He slowly stepped around her still form before stalking out while wearing a stone-cold exterior. "Come on, Bombur, we're hungry."

Thelle knew she had her work cut out for her with this one.

"Do you think he will be coming back?" she heard Bilbo ask Balin in a worried voice. Her heart went out for him, knowing that Gandalf was his safety net in this rag-tag company.

"I know for certain he will, Master Baggins," Thelle told him. "Gandalf was the one who made sure this company came together, and he will make sure to see it through."

Bilbo nodded, letting out a heavy breath through his teeth. "I hope it stays that way," he admitted.

The ends of her lips tilted upwards as she took a few steps toward the hobbit. "It will, Bilbo. Do not worry yourself over it." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Now, I reckon Master Bombur would like it if you gave him some help. You know how difficult it can be to feed the company."

And like that, Bilbo's mood seemed to flick like a switch.

"Of course, of course. Those dwarves sure know how to eat." He looked up at Thelle with determination sparking in his eyes. "Thank you for the kind words, Lady Ranger."

Her head dipped slightly in acknowledgment. "Call me Thelle, Master Baggins."

"Only if you keep calling me Bilbo." And with a sly grin, the hobbit made his way to go assist Bombur in preparing a stew for the company.

Thelle felt her smile remain as she watched the rest of the dwarves bickering and setting up camp at their own leisure, but quickly felt it fall when a cold chill seemed to run through her veins.

The farmer's family.

Something wasn't right.

She turned to look at the overgrown home once more, unable to shake the uneasy feeling that made its home in her chest.

"Lady Arathelle, is there something wrong?"

The slight jump that answered the dwarf was all it took to show that something was indeed not right. Thelle placed a hand on her pounding chest and turned to face the one who had so quietly snuck up on her.

"Master Balin, you scared me."

He let out a low chuckle. "That is probably the first time that you have ever told that to a dwarf."

Thelle raised a brow. "That is indeed true, Master Balin. Perhaps you should offer your services to assist Bilbo in his burglary."

"Ah, now that would be a story to tell, lassie. An old dwarf like me would never be able to do such a thing."

"It would go down in history as one of the finest legends ever told, I dare say."

Balin tilted his head slightly. "Perhaps. But I believe that is not the reason why you heard my loud footsteps, Milady. What is on your mind? Maybe with the wisdom of my years, I would be able to assist you."

She took a few steps back and went to lean against a massive stone that lay by the remains of the old farmhouse. "Something doesn't seem to be right. It was only a year since I last visited with those who lived in his home. They have close ties with Bree—I would have expected to have heard something about this incident had it been reported."

"You believe there were so survivors?"

She looked over to where Thorin was standing with Dwalin. He was looking on the others who had made themselves comfortable in the camp, completely unaware of the doom she knew they may come to face.

"I believe something bad happened to this poor family. I believe that whatever or whoever may have caused this is most likely still lurking in these trees."

Balin's eyes snapped to meet her own in an instant. "I hope you're wrong, lassie."

Thelle nodded. "As do I."

Conversation with Balin soon ran dry, as both parties had said their pieces and have traded different ideas and intellect on what must have happened to the farming family. The crops were now overgrown and did not look to have been laid down a few months prior.

Whatever had happened to them was not recent, so there was hope that whatever had caused this had since left the lands.

However, Thelle knew all too well that was likely not the case.

"Would you like a bowl, Lady Thelle?" Bofur's voice cut her off from her thoughts. She gratefully accepted the rations from her spot by the fire.

"Thank you, Bofur."

The hatted dwarf winked and raised a flask in her direction. "It is no problem for a beauty like yourself, Milady."

She laughed as Bifur gave a swift punch to his shoulder, before speaking to his cousin in the brash dwarvish dialect.

From the look on Bofur's face, Bifur must not have liked him hitting on a ladylike Arathelle. She was far from a dwarrowdam she supposed, without a beard, far more thin-boned, and a wilding to boot. Thelle liked who she was, and didn't have a problem with it, but she didn't care for others critiquing her lifestyle.

"He's only upset with Bofur for how he's treating a lady like yourself, you know." Nori had leaned over to speak softly to the ranger, obviously having picked up on her slight distress. "Bifur likes ya, don't worry bout that."

She smiled softly. "Thank you, Master Nori."

The stew was completely delicious, Thelle noted, as she spooned some in her mouth. Nori was doing the same at her side, having been already given a helping from his older brother, Dori. They chatted amiably as they ate, as Thelle was interested to learn some of the secrets of his sneaking about.

Dori quickly turned to see his brother sitting close to her and hurried over to their side. "Is my brother causing you any trouble, Milady? I know sometimes he may be a bit much—"

A laugh escaped her lips. "Nori is being an honorable dwarf, do not worry," she insisted. "He's only helping me know what is true and what has been created in my mind."

Dori nodded, seemingly pleased with the knowledge his brother wasn't up to his usual foolery. "Good. That is good indeed. Would it please you if I were to whip us up some tea? Ginger, perhaps? Or maybe chamomile?"

She quickly waved her hands to stop his fretting. "No, no I am indeed content, Master Dori. Now, I believe you haven't eaten yet. Sit down here and let me grab you something."

Ignoring his attempts to stop her, Thelle grabbed the bowl of stew that she had scarfed down and hurried over to where Bombur was still passing helpings out to different dwarves. From what she saw, Thorin was the only dwarf left who hadn't had something to eat, besides Dori and Bombur himself.

Thorin was alone, now, sitting far on the edge of the camp with his back to the others as he was sharpening his sword. The flickering flames created a divine glow that surrounded his body, causing a slight hitch her breath.

Realizing she must've been staring at his direction for too long, she quickly turned to face the rosy-cheeked dwarf who was leaning over the pot of stew.

"Bombur, I'll make sure these get brought to the others. You should eat too," she told the rotund dwarf, who grinned joyously up at her.

"Thank you, Lady Thelle. Did you enjoy the meal?"

She nodded whole-heartedly. "Be assured that you make some of the best scrap stew to ever meet my taste buds."

"Glad to hear it, lassie."

Thelle contentedly parted ways with the dwarf after grabbing two bowls of the stew and dropped one off to Dori who had thanked her profusely.

"Someone's gotta take care of the one who takes care of everyone else," she told him with a smile as he took a few bites of the stew. "If you need anything else, let me know."

Dori nodded to her with his mouth full, causing Thelle to let out an involuntary chuckle as she turned away to head over to where the silently brooding Dwarf King.

"I brought you your meal," Thelle voiced to the turned back of Thorin Oakenshield. She silently waited for his acknowledgment, which only came after a few awkward moments.

"I did not ask for you to do so," He voiced, not bothering to face her as he continued to sharpen his sword. "I am not hungry."

"A warrior like yourself should know the importance of eating every meal that you are offered."

Thorin finally turned around with an annoyed look plastered on his face. "I said I am not—"

"TROLLS!"

Thelle and Thorin both jumped up at the shout, Thelle discarding the stew to the side as she hurried over to where Fíli and Kíli ran out of the trees. "What? What happened?" Thorin demanded.

His nephews shared a slightly uncomfortable look and started to explain how the ponies disappeared and how Bilbo met them, then told everyone about how they had Bilbo scope out the area. Thelle could have facepalmed. She would have, too, if it weren't such a tense situation.

"You idiots let Bilbo go against three grown mountain trolls on his own?" She exclaimed, whirling on the princes. In her anger, she noticed Thorin's eyes widen slightly along with his nephews. Thelle assumed the rest of the company followed suit.

Fíli quickly tried to amend things. "We were going to get help—"

Thelle automatically cut him off. "You should have never let him do that. If he winds up dead, it will be on you both."

"Where is he now?" Thorin asked the boys, who were still staring at Thelle in terror. It appears they finally realized how badly they messed up.

Good, Thelle thought. They need to learn about how their actions can affect others.

"We will show you," Fíli quickly recovered, and hurried back into the forest with the rest of the company at his heels. Kíli showed his reckless side as well, as he swiftly made his way into the front and made sure he was the one who would be the distraction.

Thelle looked on at Bilbo being held by his feet far off the ground, barely keeping a low groan from escaping. This could've all been avoided.

"Are there any more of you little fellas hiding where you shouldn't?" the troll holding a blade toward Bilbo's guts spoke.

Kíli made a move to try and enter the alcove, but Thorin and Thelle quickly held him back. "We need a plan, Princeling," she breathed. "Have patience."

"But-"

"Kíli, you distract them. The rest of us will attack from the sides, and hopefully, we will escape with Master Baggins intact," Thorin quietly voiced, as the rest of the company were staring into the small clearing where three giant trolls were holding Bilbo.

"He's lying!"

Thelle's chest tightened at seeing Bilbo squirming under their grip. "No, I'm not!"

"Hold his toes over the fire!" the same troll announced.

The company quickly moved into position. "You stay close to me, Lady Arathelle," Thorin murmured. "I don't know how you fight yet, so it would be best to stay close."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Majesty."

All of a sudden, Kíli decided to make his move. He hopped out of the tree line and slashed the troll's heel, snapping the tendon and making that leg barely viable.

He then slashed down at the top of the troll's foot, successfully knocking the beast over and taking out a tree with it.

"Drop him!" Kíli barked, whipping his blade into the air defiantly to the trolls. A malicious grin slowly made its way onto his face.

Thelle sighed as the trolls merely looked at him stupidly. "You what?"

The prince let out a loud growl. "I said, drop him!"

The troll holding Bilbo glared at Kíli, then promptly decided to throw Bilbo at the dwarf, knocking them both over.

Well, he did tell the beast to drop him, Thelle thought as she gripped her blade. She grabbed a short queen's sword from her thigh, dutifully waiting for Thorin to lead them in their charge.

It was then that the company, led by Thorin, jumped out of the places from the greenery and started their assault.

Thelle quickly jumped out from her position and took to making sure the younger dwarves and Bilbo remained safe. Ori was only armed with a slingshot, something that confused her, so she stuck close to his side, deflecting any swings the trolls took in their direction with her blades.

As soon as she stopped Ori from being grabbed, she took the hit for herself and pushed him to the side. A gasp of breath was the only thing that escaped her lips at the blow to the chest and let out a slight groan when she landed next to a standing Thorin.

"Are you alright?" he asked, slashing at another arm of a troll that tried to get to her again. "Arathelle, are you okay?"

Her vision cleared quickly, and she made to stand up while ignoring the burning pain in her ribs. "I'm fine."

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Bilbo cutting through the rope that held the ponies in a pen and watched as he set them free.

There goes a means of transportation.

Within moments, the dwarves and Thelle were backed into a corner, and she gasped when she noticed that Bilbo had been taken after all. They held him up by the arms and legs. Ready to tear him to shreds.

"Stop! Lay down your arms, or we'll rip his off!"

Thelle looked to Thorin, who wore a look of frustration openly on his face. They were defeated.

The next thing she knew, they were all tied in sacks. Laying on top of one another. Thelle, as unlucky as she was, was laying on top of the Dwarf King himself.

The trolls started discussing the different ways in which they wanted to eat the company. Thelle wasn't too pleased.

"Don't bother cooking them," one troll said. "Let's just sit on them and squash them into jelly."

"Oh, I'll turn you into jelly," she grumbled, wiggling to try and see if there were some way she could escape.

"They should be sautéed and grilled with a sprinkle of sage," another troll spoke, leaning over the fire where half the company was slowly being turned over the flames.

She squirmed some more but quickly stopped when cough from underneath her resonated in her brain. Thorin.

"Perhaps you should stop moving around, Arathelle," Thorin spoke softly into her ear. "Believe me, neither of us would like the consequences."

She choked.

Oh.

Thelle hardly noticed as the rest of the present company, besides herself and Thorin, started to yell insults at the trolls. It all seemed to blend together as Thorin's voice sounded into her ear, sending a chilling sensation down her spine.

"Sorry," she said, turning her head to the side to try and see his face. She couldn't tell if it was as red as hers felt.

"It's… fine. Unfortunately, there is little we can do to stop this," he told her, his mouth now grazing the side of her ear.

Bilbo's voice rang out, bringing Thelle back into reality. "Well, have you smelt them? You're going to need something a lot stronger than sage before you plate this lot up."

She stiffened in shock. What on earth was this hobbit doing?

"Traitor!" Thorin called, although Thelle only felt her face go redder at the feeling of his lungs filling up with air before he yelled. She didn't know what to make of the feelings she felt when she was moved like so.

But in a life or death situation, she figured those thoughts could wait for later.

"Shut up, Majesty," she whispered quickly.

Bilbo had stood up in the sack at this point and was now engaging in a conversation with the trolls. An actual conversation. But why?

Her gaze was drawn to the boulder behind the trolls, where the soft trickle of light started to emerge.

Time, she realized. He's playing for time.

"The secret is to... uh… skin them first!"

The troll closest to Bilbo looked pleased with the thought. "Tom, get me the filletin' knife."

All Thelle knew was the next time they were in a situation like this, she was definitely not letting Bilbo being the one doing the talking.

The troll that was named 'Tom' spoke up, "What a load of rubbish! I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scuff them, I say, boots and all."

"Thorin, I have a knife," she whispered, tilting her head to make sure he could hear.

At the feeling of him perking up behind her, she was sure he did. "Where?"

She held her breath before responding. "Right inner thigh."

Thelle felt him freeze. "Can you not reach it?"

"My hands are stuck to my sides. And can't reach that low. If you could reach forward…"

The other troll suddenly grabbed Bombur and held him over his mouth. Thelle felt her eyes widen as her heartbeat started to pick up.

"Thorin, we'll never speak of this again, just do it," she demanded, watching as the troll was unbothered by Bombur's frantic struggling. The sound of Bofur and Bifur's angry cries rattled her very skin, and she quickly kicked back her leg to jolt Thorin into action.

"Now, your Majesty!" she hissed.

She felt his chest stiffen underneath her as she felt his arm move down below her waist. Her breathing hitched when she felt his fingers graze the top of her thigh, and she found it hard to focus on what was happening in front of them.

His fingers trailed down slowly, feeling for the blade but leaving a wake of tingling that made Thelle question her sanity.

"No, not him! He's infected!" Bilbo yelled, making everyone still. Everyone, including Thorin and his hand that was currently on her inner thigh.

"You what?"

Thorin started to move his hand again, far too slowly for Thelle's tastes.

"Yeah," Bilbo continued, as Thorin's hand finally met the blade's handle. "He's got worms in his… tubes!"

Then, with a squeal, the troll threw Bombur out of his grip and toward the company. Luckily, Thorin quickly pulled his hand back as the ginger-haired dwarf rammed right into Thelle's stomach, causing her ribs to throb in agony.

"In fact, they all have!" Bilbo added quickly. "They're infected with parasites. It's a terrible business, I wouldn't risk it. I really wouldn't."

She could hardly register the outrage from the others as the pain continued to radiate through her body.

"Bloody bastards," she groaned. Thorin didn't get the knife. She was hurt even worse. And now apparently, they had parasites.

"I don't have parasites!" Kíli yelled. "You have parasites!"

"Shut up, Kíli!" Thelle whispered as Thorin seemed to understand what was occurring. She felt something shift underneath her and heard a dull thump. Then, silence.

Suddenly, the dwarves started to agree with Bilbo.

"I've got parasites as big as my arms!"

"Mine are the biggest parasites!"

"We're riddled!"

"I'm riddled!"

"What will you have us do? Release them all?" One of the trolls asked Bilbo. "You think we don't know what you're up to? This ferret's takin' us all for fools!"

"Ferret?"

"Fools?"

Gandalf, out of nowhere, suddenly appeared at the top of the rock Thelle had eyed earlier. A grin spread onto her face. They were saved.

"The dawn will take you all!" the wizard shouted.

"Who's that?"

"No idea."

"Can we eat 'im too?"

And with a large, powerful thrust of his magical staff, the rock split into two. Shouting in pain as the light hit their skin, the trolls started to become motionless and gone was their greasy smelly hides and in place became rock.

The trolls had turned to stone.

Thelle let out a large huff and didn't even bother to care that in doing so she accidentally nestled against Thorin's chest.

They survived.