Hey guys, sorry for taking so long to update. School is already kicking my butt and it's only the first week lol. Don't worry though, I tried to make it up to you guys ;).
I PROMISE THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER WITH ANGST! *pinky swears... with crossed fingers behind her back, just in case*
Disclaimer: I own nothing! Seriously... broke college student here lol.
Thank you to Mistress Serah and LadyDunla for their wonderful reviews!
As Isabella clung to the back of her best friend on the giant eagle, her thoughts drifted back to the latest battle.
For as long as Isabella had known her best friend, she had never seen her approach any situation in a manner other than logical and cool headed. So when she watched Bilbo tackle the orc that was about to kill Thorin, the last thing she expected to see her best friend run screaming after him before punching a second orc straight in the nose. Isabella didn't understand… Arianna was acting as though she had completely forgotten she was a witch. Isabella was terrified that Arianna would be killed. She wore no armor, had no weapon other than her fists and nails, which she was currently digging into the stunned orc's eyes.
Isabella started running in after her friend, casting a protego around her just as a second orc decided that Arianna's head would look better off her shoulders. Fortunately, Isabella thought that the monster would look better blown to pieces and thus hit it with a powerful reducto. Reaching Arianna's side, she hit the orc her friend was scratching the face off of with a stupefy. She grabbed the red head's upper arm, in an attempt to drag her off of the creature. Her friend's eyes were wild as she whipped her head around to stare at Isabella, as if she didn't recognize her. Recognition began to show in her eyes however and a small whisper of "Isabella?" had the raven-haired teen clutching her friend to her chest, shaking while Kili, Fili, Bofur and Dwalin charged around them at the orcs.
Suddenly, Isabella heard screeching and wings. Still clutching Arianna, she looked up and saw the largest eagle in the world.
'Well… maybe for this world it's quite small' she thought ruefully.
It was the size of an overgrown hippogriff and, judging by its vicious grip on a warg and its rider, it had the anger of an insulted one too. Before she knew it though, said eagle had flown back and grabbed her and Arianna in its talons. Arianna's scream of fright (she had never been a fan of heights and flying) had Isabella breathing a sigh of relief. At least her friend wasn't in a state of shock anymore and knew what was happening around her. The sudden free fall and landing on a different eagle's back had Arianna screaming once again and Isabella made sure to hold her best friend tightly to her. Arianna had wrapped her shaking hands into the eagle's feathers and stared at the eagle in front of them that had Thorin's prone form in its talons.
Isabella looked around her until she spotted Kili and Fili a couple eagles over. Fili was shouting his uncle's name while Kili was just staring ahead of him. As if Kili sensed her eyes, he turned his head and appeared to look at her. He was too far away for her to tell if he was actually looking at her, but a small part of her heart decided that he was.
It was Arianna's whisper of "Please don't take him too" that dragged Isabella's eyes away from Kili's form and back to her friend. Hugging her closer, Isabella whispered reassuringly to her best friend.
"He'll be alright Arianna. Gandalf can save him and we can heal him. He'll be alright."
That had been at least an hour ago and Isabella found herself shaken from her ruminating by the sight of a large rock formation jutting towards the sky. It appeared that this was their destination as the eagles started circling it, gradually dropping from the sky to deposit their passengers. Thorin was gently laid upon the flat top, with Gandalf jumping off his eagle after him. The minute their eagle touched down, Arianna leapt onto the rock, stumbling slightly as her legs had fallen asleep. Isabella sprang down after her friend, realizing her legs were slightly numb as well. Half running, half falling, Arianna rushed to Thorin's side only to be stopped by Fili.
"Let Gandalf do his work Arianna. You're too upset right now, I can't let you near him. I'm sorry."
"Let me go, please! Please let me go!"
Isabella had only heard her friend beg in such a way once before. It had been the night they had found Mr. Evergreene lying dead; Arianna had run to his side and was shaking him, begging him to wake up and come inside. And as before, Isabella felt her heart shatter at that tone. Her normally composed friend, her friend that had held her through her nightmares of her mother and father, that was always there to get her out of trouble, was once again breaking before her eyes.
Both girls hadn't noticed that Gandalf had finally managed to succeed in his task until a deep voice was heard.
"The Halfling?" Thorin's voice was weak, but upon hearing it Arianna relaxed instantly. Fili apparently thought that she was well enough to leave as he had walked over with Kili to help Thorin stand. Isabella wrapped an arm around Arianna's shoulders and moved her away from the group of dwarves as Thorin started, once again, scolding poor Bilbo. Both girls just stood there and watched, too exhausted to do much else.
"I have never been more wrong in my entire life." Thorin stated, wrapping his arms around the surprised little hobbit. All of the dwarves cheered while Isabella and Arianna merely gave relieved laughs.
"Arianna? Isabella? Guys? Are you there?"
Both girls looked around comically, trying to find the feminine voice calling them. Arianna's exhausted brain realized what it was only a few seconds later and reached into her shoulder bag (it had somehow survived her wild attack of the orc) and pulled out the mirror.
Hermione's face was staring back at her and Isabella as the two girls crowded around it.
"There you guys are! What happened? You look terrible!"
"Thanks Hermione, you look just peachy yourself."
Waving her hand as if brushing away Isabella's sarcastic response, Hermione jumped right in to the reason why she had called them.
"We found the real one; The Toad had it and we broke into the Ministry and took it. We don't know how to destroy it just yet, but we're at least able to keep it safe. Grimmauld Place was discovered so we're in hiding somewhere else. Have you two been able to find anything yet?" The teenagers had decided that they would speak as vaguely as possible, in case they were over heard by the wrong people.
Not aware that the dwarves had all turned away from the sight of their beloved Erebor and were now watching the two girls listen to a mirror, Arianna answered.
"We haven't found the second one yet but we've only been here for about 4 days now. We've just found our Company again and got through the Misty Mountains relatively unharmed. Stay safe my friends; we'll call you when we've found it. Keep us informed of how your hunt goes." Arianna then placed the mirror back in her bag once again and looked up. She felt more composed now that Thorin was standing and no longer was as still as death. She supposed that a part of her had seen her father lying there instead of Thorin and that that had been a reason for her slight breakdown.
Most of it though was due to the feelings she had finally admitted that she had for the stubborn and proud dwarf now walking towards them. Too emotionally and physically drained to answer his questions at this moment though, she held her hand up as soon as he opened his mouth.
"Once we've found a place to stay for the night, Isabella and I will explain everything. Deal?"
An abrupt nod was all she got for an answer.
Thus, the girls found themselves in a cave cut into the Carrock, which was the name some man named Beorn had given the giant rock structure, or so Gandalf said. After a meager dinner with the supplies they had left, Isabella started talking.
She told the dwarves about their journey back to Hogwarts, the conversation they had with their Headmaster, and their last year at Hogwarts. When she reached the part about Dumbledore's death, Isabella's voice started cracking. An arm wrapped itself around her shoulders. Startled, Isabella turned her head to look at it's owner. Kili was sitting there, staring back at her with sympathy and concern in his dark eyes. Giving him a sad smile, she rested her head on his shoulder and continued. She told them of Harry and his prophesy and she explained their plan; at least, the plan they had thus far. When she got to the day of Arianna's father's death, she looked at her friend worriedly.
The red head was staring into the fire with dry eyes as she was unable to cry anymore and all that filled her now was a sense of injustice. They were only 18, having missed a whole year of their lives while here the first time. Harry was only 17 and the fate of two worlds lay on his shoulders. Looking up, she half heard Isabella explain the attack on Bill and Fleur's wedding and how they got back to Arda.
Finally done with their story, Isabella eyes closed in exhaustion as Kili gently stroked her head. None of the company said anything, just stared at the girls that had left them less than 5 days ago but had come back looking years older. Bofur finally broke the silence.
"This Voldemort character that ye say is coming here. When will he be here?"
"We don't know." Arianna finally spoke up. "We've blocked the arch in Rivendell, so we know he can't make it through there. However, Hermione and I have come up with a theory that if you focus on a destination hard enough, the Arch will comply and take you there. We don't believe Voldemort has this theory yet and we think that when he uses the archway, he will be focused on one of the two arches in Arda instead of a location. And as one is blocked, this only leaves the hidden arch as his entry point. Therefore, this gives us an advantage. One of our only advantages."
Bilbo looked thoughtful at this.
"We can look for the arch while we hunt and gather wood instead of just while we walk. Do you know what it looks like?" All the dwarves nodded, thinking that Bilbo's plan, while possibly obvious, made sense.
"We think it'll look similar to the one in Rivendale. It is it's twin after all." Isabella chimed in, stifling a yawn. Kili still had his arm wrapped around her shoulders and looked relieved when Thorin announced that everyone should get some sleep.
"I will take first watch" Dwalin spoke up, moving to sit by the entrance to the cave.
"I missed you."
Kili had managed to get Isabella over to a secluded area, even away from his brother and was finally able to speak with her freely. Brushing her bangs from her eyes, he wrapped her up in his arms and clutched her to his chest. He couldn't make out her murmured response and before he could ask her to repeat it, he felt her completely relax in his arms. Looking down, he smiled softly. Isabella had tucked her head into his side with her hands resting under her head as a pillow. Kili gently kissed her forehead and laid his head down, facing Isabella.
Fili was watching Kili. He knew that his brother cared for the raven-haired witch but, he hadn't realized how much. Seeing his brother holding the girl as if she would break, Fili smiled softly. Moving over towards the two, he laid on his back next to Isabella.
"This way brother, we will keep her warm." Kili just nodded in response, closing his eyes.
Arianna woke up with a quiet gasp. She had fallen asleep by the fire curled up next to Bilbo and Bofur. Glancing over, she saw that the miner was holding Bilbo, almost as if he was afraid the hobbit would slip out into the night. Unbeknownst to her, that was in fact one of Bofur's reasons. The other was that Bofur had almost died while watching Bilbo throw himself in front of the wounded Thorin and had fallen asleep still trying to prove that Bilbo was, in fact, safe beside him.
Raising herself up on her elbows, she looked around the cave. Dwalin, she noted, was still on watch and quietly speaking with Thorin. Gandalf was propped up against the back of the cave wall, supposedly sleeping. Gloin and Oin were sleeping near Nori, Ori and Dori with Ori sandwiched between his older brothers. Dwalin was sleeping by Bombur and Bifur, the latter muttering something in Khuzdul in his sleep. Farther to the right of the cave slept Fili, Kili, and Isabella. Arianna could see that Isabella had her back pressed up to Kili's front, with Kili's left arm wrapped around her waist and her head pillowed on his right arm. Fili was lying on his back, his head turned towards the main group.
"Why are you awake child?" Dwalin's voice drifted over to her, making her turn her head to look at the tattooed dwarf. Thorin was also looking at her, slight concern on his face.
"Bad dreams" Arianna replied, shrugging casually. Quietly she stood up. "I'm going to get some air."
Walking out of the cave, she was aware of Thorin following her.
Keeping her back to him, she crossed her arms. The night was cool and crisp and the air brought back memories of late summer camping trips with Isabella and her father. Breathing deeply, Arianna hoped that she never forgot about those trips.
Sensing Thorin beside her, she started to talk.
"When I first met you, I was determined to figure out why you were the way you were. I always loved a good mystery. " Smiling softly and hugging herself, she turned to Thorin.
"After my father died, I understood immediately. It's the only way you can survive, isn't it? It's the only way you can deal with everything- by making sure nothing can affect you."
Thorin felt his heart crack at the red head's now sad smile as she kept talking.
"For the first time in my life, I wish that I didn't know something Thorin. I'm sorry but, I wish that I didn't understand you. I wish that I could go back, that I had never come here… but then I realize that father didn't die because I came here. He died because of a mad man."
Arianna turned back to looking out across the land spread before her.
Thorin stared at the woman in front of him. Yes, she infuriated him at times as she was never afraid to speak her mind and more times than not, she was speaking it against him. Granted, most times he deserved it. He held no illusions about his personality. 'Tempermental' was putting it mildly. He was stubborn at the best of times, and a right bastard at the worst. While the red head standing in front of him seemed to always bring out his temper, it was only because he was frustrated by the emotions he felt every time he saw her face, as sappy as that sounded.
And, he admitted to himself, she was adorable when she set her jaw and tried to make herself taller than him.
Right now, however, she was the one that came back. His words echoed in his head… loyalty, honor, and a willing heart. She had lost her mentor and her father. Her world was on the verge of collapse and still, she came back to save them. He felt an intense sensation of guilt for having doubted both of the girls, but mainly for doubting her.
With this knowledge he gently turned her back to him.
Bringing his hand up to her cheek, Thorin just looked in Arianna's eyes, wishing he could chase the sadness in them away. His other hand rested on the curve of her waist as he leaned down and touched her forehead with his own.
"I would take all your pain away if I could. I would bring back your father and destroy the one that hurt you. I would lift this weight off of your shoulders and carry it for you within a heartbeat. Please… tell me how I can help you because everything I wish I could do, I can't."
Arianna was quiet for a minute and Thorin could swear he heard her thoughts as they raced through her head. Her pulse was quick and strong under his hand and Thorin thanked Aule for that. Dwalin had told him of the recklessness she had showed, throwing herself unarmed at an orc and physically attacking him. Clenching his jaw slightly, Thorin swore that he would somehow manage to get her to agree not to do that again. At least not until he got her some armor.
Thorin almost missed the feel of Arianna's soft lips upon his own, so lost in his thoughts of how to convince the headstrong creature in front of him to better protect herself. Her lips stayed on his for barely a second before she pulled away, a shy smile on her face.
"Promise you won't leave. Promise you won't do something as foolish as what you did today and end up dead. Promise you won't die." Her voice trailed off into a whisper.
Unable to tell her that her request was an impossible one to guarantee, Thorin settled for not saying anything and just nodded. If that was what it took to make her happier, he would attempt to keep that promise. Running his hands through her curly hair, he gently gripped the back of her head and pulled her mouth back to his own.
It was a chaste kiss, innocent and careful, as if Arianna might break if he was too forceful. Or so he thought. Arianna apparently had a different view on how the kiss should go and therefore after a few seconds, she opened her lips and slipped her tongue out for a quick taste of his lips. Groaning, Thorin wrapped an arm around the small of her back and tightened the remaining hand buried in her hair, pulling her close to him and further deepening the kiss.
Arianna couldn't breathe, nor did she want to as it would force her away from Thorin's mouth. That was entirely unacceptable in her book, so she instead decided to wrap her hands in his wild hair, determined to prevent his mouth from leaving hers. His tongue was currently tracing wicked little pictures in her mouth, as if detailing all the things he would do to her eventually.
After a few minutes though, both of them needed air. Her hands still in his hair, Arianna gasped for breath and looked up through her lashes at Thorin. His eyes seemed to burn a path straight down into her soul, leaving it bare and open for his perusal. For some reason though, she wasn't frightened by this. Instead, she had never felt as safe as she did in this moment.
Gradually, she untangled her hands from his hair and gave him her first true smile in the past few months.
However, she noticed that Thorin's deep breaths seemed to be causing him some pain. While he tried to act like he wasn't bothered by it, Arianna could tell that it was just his stubbornness coming out. Lightly stroking his brow, she whispered to him. "I know a spell that will heal your ribs. Come with me." Pressing a light kiss on his lips, she started walking back towards the cave.
Deciding for once not to argue, Thorin followed behind her, his heart feeling lighter with each step he took. He quickly schooled his expression into one of indifference however. Even if all of his men except for Dwalin were sleeping, it wouldn't do for him to look like a lovesick puppy.
The tattooed dwarf would never let him hear the end of it.
How did I do with the kissing? Gah it's my first intimacy scene... I'm nervous! And I hope everyone enjoyed the Kili/Isabella moment and yeah... there was some Bilbo/Bofur there. I regret nothing!
Please review and let me know how you liked it! Pretty please?