Disclaimer: I do not own anything. The characters in this story are those or J.R.R Tolkien. All rights reserved. I am merely inserting a character of my own into the story. Please note that while this story will follow the lines of the movieverse, several things will be changed to suit my needs of this fanfiction. Once more, this is a fanfiction. I own nothing but Miss Aydan. I just decided to play with them a bit.
Chapter Twelve
Where's the Hobbit?
I let go of Kili to make sure that my other charges were safe. I turned to follow after them and one step had my leg giving out beneath me. A shriek left my lips as I looked down. A large splinter of wood was sticking out of my calf, drenched in blood. My eyes turned back to the horde of goblins heading our way and a shudder ran down my spine. There was no way I would be able to keep up with the others with this injury. Fear settled in the pit of my stomach as I looked back down to my leg. I would only slow them down.
I had begun to pull an arrow from my quiver, intent on leaving myself behind to hold off the goblins as long as I could, when I was yanked up. I looked up to see Fili and Kili and relief flooded me. No matter how much it was my duty, I wasn't ready to die yet. They wrapped their arms around my waist and helped me run. My quiver and bow slapped against my thighs as we ran, gaining on the exit quicker and quicker.
Finally, we were in the sunlight. I could feel it bearing down on me as we ran further from the cave. If it hadn't been for the brothers I would have collapsed long ago. We reached a point where everyone was slowing down and I could hear Gandalf counting us off. "Fili, Kili and Aydan. That's thirteen."
I was gently set down by the brothers and looked up to them gratefully. "Thank you." I looked down to the large splinter in my leg and frowned. I would have to pull it out and patch the wound so we could continue. I reached down to remove it, but gentle hands pushed mine away. I looked into the dark eyes of Kili and a small pained smile curled the corners of my lips as I leaned back against the rock they had set me by. I closed my eyes as I felt the wood shift from Kili grabbing it. I couldn't watch this. I couldn't see the sight of the gaping hole in my leg after Kili removed the wood. I don't think I could stomach the sight.
Biting my lip held in a scream as Kili yanked out the wood and Fili grabbed my shoulders to keep me from doubling over. I regained myself as Kili bound my leg with a strip of his tunic he ripped off, though my body shook and sweat glistened on my brow. "Where's Bilbo? Where is our Hobbit?" Gandalf called and I looked around with the others, sweating still glistening on my forehead, the pain having subsided slightly.
"Where did you last see him?" I tuned back in to Gandalf stopping the bickering and frowned. The last time I had seen him?
"I haven't seen him since the Goblins collared us." I said, my voice shaking slight from the pain that continued to course through my leg. My attentions had been on my charges. Thorin looked fierce and I accepted Kili's help up. I put my leg down and sucked in a sharp breath. It still hurt. I lifted my weight and rested my toes on the ground, wrapping my arm around Kili's shoulders, ever grateful for the strength he was lending me.
"What happened to him?"
"I'll tell you what happened! Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it. He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door! We will not be seeing our Hobbit again, he's long gone!"
A rustling had me starting, my free hand going to my sword hilt. My tension passed as Bilbo stepped out from behind a tree. "No, he isn't."
"Bilbo Baggins! I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life!" Gandalf exclaimed. I could feel the young brothers excitement at seeing the Hobbit and I smiled widely. I'd never met anyone who could just be so happy. It was refreshing.
"Bilbo! We'd given you up!" Kili said with a large grin and I couldn't help but smile more. His happiness was rather contagious.
I frowned lightly as a thought occurred to me. Clearly I wasn't the only one thinking it as Fili spoke my thoughts. "How on earth did you get past the goblins?"
"How indeed?" I muttered, gaining curious looks from Kili and Fili.
"Well, what does it matter? He's back." Everyone but Thorin seemed happy at this. I leaned lightly on Kili, thankful when his strong arm wrapped around my waist as he helped me stand.
"It matters." Thorin said angrily. "I want to know, why did you come back?"
Bilbo steeled himself against the over-bearing dwarf and spoke. I was quite proud of him. It was far more than I could probably do. I would have simply responded with silence. Thorin could be extremely intimidating. "I know you doubt me and I know- I know you always have. And you're right, I often think of Bag End. I miss my books and my armchair and my garden. See, that's where I belong. That's home. And that's why I came back 'cause... you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can."
His speech was inspiring. I looked to him with a smile, my arm still draped around Kili's shoulders. Balin looked to us with a eyebrow arched and I just nodded to my leg in response. I was still having trouble standing. There was silence as we watched Bilbo. The sun was setting and I getting antsy. "Take me to a tree, please?" I asked Kili, taking my attention away from Bilbo.
Kili turned his dark gaze to me and nodded. I walked gingerly with his help and he brought me to a close by tree. Releasing him, I reached above me and grabbed a branch. Warm hands held my hips and I glanced over my shoulder. "I appreciate it, but I really don't need help at this point." He flashed me smirk and I wiggled my hips until his hands dropped before pulling myself into the branches like I had done so many times, trying to ignore the tingling sensation where Kili had grabbed me. I attempted to turn but my lame leg gave out beneath me and I landed with an very unladylike noise on my rear, thankfully, still in the tree.
I could feel his eyes on me and glanced down. He looked as if he had something he wanted to say but instead he turned and walked away. I frowned and watched through the leaves as he headed back to his brother. He was half way there when we heard it. Wargs. I swore as the others began running but Kili stopped. "Go! Kili, GO!" I screamed and began leaping through the trees, attempting to ignore the pain in my leg, but it got in the way. I was slower and my hands were occupied with trying to keep me in the branches. I was essentially useless and it was not a feeling I'd ever felt before. Kili seemed to have listened to me for once and was slightly ahead with the others. Thank goodness. I was safer in my perch since all efforts were focused on the dwarves. I attempted to leap a far distance to another tree but missed, landing on a Warg below. I was almost too late as I pulled out a knife and plunged it between it's shoulder blades. A few more seconds and I would have been dead meat.
I rolled off the warg in a somersault and into the fray of battle. A warg was headed straight for Kili and I ran as fast as I could with my injury and pushed him down, shoving my blade into the roof of it's mouth. Fili helped his brother up and I pushed at the brothers. "Go!"
We ran, me practically being dragged by Kili. My fall from the tree had exacerbated my wound and I could feel the makeshift bandage being soaked through. A cliff stopped our flight dead. There was no where for us to go and darkness had fallen. "Quickly, the trees!" I called. Pain coursed through me as I limped to the closest tree. Strong hands were pushing on my hips and I looked down to see Kili. Quickly, I pulled myself to the low branch, with Kili's help, and began helping dwarves up. I felt a hand grab the back of my tunic and I was yanked further upward as the wargs attacked. A jaw snapped where I had just been and I looked up gratefully to Kili.
The dark haired archer pulled me higher and secured me in the tree by my waist while I notched an arrow and shot down Wargs. The trees shook with the force of the wargs weight and I felt Kili wobble, grabbing a hold of a branch above him with his other arm still wrapped tightly around me. I shot off an arrow, hitting a warg below between the shoulders. The trees began to give way and I quickly shouldered my bow, pushing Kili's arm from me. "Worry about yourself." I snapped at him as we leaped to another tree, my arm wrapping tightly around a branch to keep up. Two more trees we leaped to until we were on the final tree. Kili was right above me, looking down worried. My leg quivered beneath me and I was holding myself up with my upper body alone. My fear for my own well being was quite real, more so than I cared to admit as for just one moment, it surpassed my fear for the dwarves I was to be protecting.
