Here's the battle. Enjoy!
"Wait, Bard. Let me talk to them. Maybe I can reason with them." Eleryna stepped forward in Bard's place. The Dwarves stirred at the sight of her. Many of them knew her. She had visited them before she had gotten married. "Why do you come?" She asked politely. Even though she was dressed in full armor, she had been roused from sleep by the trumpets.
"We are sent from Dain, son of Nain." A messenger answered her. He had moved forward to intercept her. "We are hastening to our kinsmen in the Mountain since we learn that the kingdom of old is renewed. But who are these behind you that sit in the plain as foes before a defended walls?"
"These are the Men of Dale and Lake Town. Their king, Bard, slayed the Dragon and is waiting for a reward from the King under the Mountain." She didn't miss the large packs on the backs of the Dwarves. She knew why they had come. But she still had to avoid bloodshed where possible.
"Who are you so we can tell Dain who speaks for them?" The messenger asked. It was a formality, but she obliged anyway.
"I am the Eleryna. Daughter of Lady Celebrían and Lord Elrond, Heir to the Golden Wood and Princess of Mirkwood." It was a lengthy title, but it was necessary. The Dwarf nodded and returned to the Dwarven company. Eleryna returned to Bard and Legolas. "They have come to help Thorin. I'm sorry, Bard. But it does not look like Thorin means to keep his promise."
"I'm going to kill him." She said angrily to her husband. Word had reached her that the goblins and Orcs were coming down from the north. At their head was Azog, the one they had believed dead. Now it was her turn for vengeance and she would have it. They watched as the goblins fell into the trap they had set. She strung and loaded her bow, waiting for the signal. Legolas did the same. They heard the charge and she and Legolas led the arrow attack. A thousand Elven spearmen charged in behind the arrows. The Elves retreated and the Dwarves poured into the valley. The Elves charged again.
The rock crunched behind them. Eleryna turned in time to catch an Orc who thought to sneak up on her from behind. She and the creature tumbled down the slope, each trying to gain the advantage. Legolas charged after them, cutting down any foe that dared get in his way. When he finally caught up with the Orc, it was dead and Eleryna was fighting another. He jumped into battle. He tried to keep up with her, but she was driving her way to Azog upon his white Warg. She jumped past the Orcs and goblins, killing them with a single swipe of her blade. The Orc finally saw her and laughed when he recognized her. He said something in his foul language and laughed again. Legolas recognized the mocking tone in it. The Orc was trying to goad Eleryna into fighting angry. But it had many centuries since he had injured her mother. She was not the same Elf who had tried to kill him on Moria. She was more level headed now. When she had been wounded in her side, she had learned the fighting with anger could get her killed.
Finally, she had a clear shot at the Orc leader. She called his name. He turned to look at her. He wasn't overly concerned as he got off the Warg and walked towards her. She kept her eyes on him, even when another Elf called her name. She wasn't going to give up now. She was going to have her vengeance. When he was fight feet away, Eleryna sprang at him. He used his mace to block the blow and knock her back. She noticed he had a wicked looking claw to replace the hand Thorin took years ago. She twirled her long knives over the back of her hands, making sure they were still balanced. She balanced on the balls of her feet, watching him the same as he was watching her. He laughed again.
"You have grown wiser." He growled in the Common tongue. "But you will still die."
"Not for a long while yet." She jumped at him and this time was able to hold her ground when he tried to push her back or to the ground. There was a dark gleam in his eyes and she hated it. She was sure that her mother had seen that same gleam before she was able to fight off the Orcs that had waylaid them. Then she remembered what had happened during the skirmish in Mirkwood. The Orcs had been actively trying to kill her. This Orc wanted her dead. She wanted him dead.
She used her second knife to block his claw-hand that he had tried to sweep across her abdomen. Even though she was in full armor, she was sure to be bruised if she was hit hard enough. She kicked him back and created space between them. She had to kill him. She wouldn't be happy if she didn't. "Bolg did not come from the forest. None of the ones who went in came out." Azog said, breaking her train of thought. She twirled her knives again and grinned. There was doubt in his eyes.
"So, that was his name." Those words said all that she had intended. The doubt turned to rage in his eyes and he attacked her. She used both of her knives to shield herself and to keep him back. He wasn't giving her and opening and she couldn't afford to let him have one. She knew that he wanted her dead now more than before. But he was angry now. He was more likely to make a mistake.
Azog raised his mace and exposed his chest. She knew in that moment that she had created an opening by staying in place for too long. She jumped forward and swung both of her knives, severing his arms at the elbow. The move brought her to close to his head. He head-butted her and she flew backwards, barely missing the Orc's bladed mace. She got up quickly, though a little stunned, and took her chance and cut the Pale Orc's head from his body. After watching his corpse squirm a moment, she picked up the head and threw it into the thickest part of the Orcs and goblins. The cry that went up was deafening. The defenders shouted their battle cries while the Orcs and their kin ran. She killed all who tried to run past her. It was then that she noticed the Eagles. She nodded to one and then jumped into a thick knot of enemies that had surrounded Legolas and Kira. Legolas said nothing. Kira shouted with joy and the thrill of battle. A roar sounded as the shape-shifter joined the fray, scattering the last of the enemy.
Again, an Orc tried to jump Eleryna from behind. She caught the creature on her blades, but fell backwards. The Orc flew off her blades as she hit her head on a rock and fell into darkness.
"I am glad that you have come, Eleryna." Thorin said as he lay on the bed, wounded. The Elven healers could do nothing for him.
"I remember you saying that you never wanted to see me again."
"Can you forgive me for those words?" She smiled. "I've heard that you killed him. That he is finally dead. Is it true?"
"It is, Thorin. Azog the Defiler is dead. He will trouble our families no more."
"Eleryna, I need to know. Why did you choose your kind over your friends?"
"I did what I had to in order to stay death from my people. Though I chose with my heart for my kind, my heart was breaking for you. Your family has been kind to me since I was a child." She took his large hand in her small one. "Fair travels, Friend. You have gained yourself much honor."
"Hail! Thorin," Gandalf said as he entered. "I have brought him." Eleryna looked and saw Bilbo. She stood and walked out of the tent. Legolas was waiting. She let him lead her to their tent as she was still trying to recover from the blow to her head. Legolas said she had hit her head on a rock of all things. He laughed about it: a warrior of her skill managed to knock herself unconscious on a rock. She knew that would be a moment between them, even if she hit him every time he brought it up.
"Princess Eleryna." She turned and saw Dain walking towards her. Upon his head rested the crown that had been atop Thorin's just days ago.
"Yes, Dain?"
"I want to thank you."
"For what? I tried to prevent a war and there was fighting anyway." Legolas tucked Eleryna under his arm and pulled her close.
"The fact is that you tried. You tried to bring peace to us. It is not your fault that the Orcs attacked us. I wanted to thank you for that. I know that my ancestor took you into his home when you were but a child and you have been friends with us since. I heard what Thorin asked of you. I don't think you ever did choose, not fully. As king, I will tell my Dwarves that. I will tell them what you have done for us. Maybe we can learn from this." A smile tugged at her lips as he walked away. She and Legolas continued on to their tent. She rested her head on his chest as they walked.
"You still feel like you failed, don't you?"
"I tried to save everyone. Especially Thorin. I could tell that the gold was gaining power over his mind. When I've met him before, he's always been reasonable. This time, he wasn't and it almost cost everyone here their lives. If Gandalf hadn't been here and stopped the fighting when he did, we all would have been killed by the Orcs and Goblins and their pets." Legolas could say nothing to that and they stayed silent.
She smiled and joked with Beorn, the shifter, as they rode behind Thranduil. Beorn walked beside her and Legolas. Gandalf and Bilbo were on the other side of Beorn. All too soon, they came to the borders of Mirkwood and stopped. Beorn, Bilbo, and Gandalf had elected to go around the northern edge of the forest.
"Farewell! O Elvenking! Merry be the greenwood while the world is yet young! And merry be all your folk! And farewell to you, Eleryna!"
"Farewell! O Gandalf!" Thranduil answered. "May you ever appear where you are most needed and least expected! The oftener you appear in my halls the better shall I be pleased!"
"Gandalf," Eleryna nudged her horse forward slightly towards Gandalf's. "Please give this to Elrohir next you pass through Rivendell." She handed him a letter.
"It shall go from my hands to his." Gandalf vowed. She smiled and returned to Legolas's side. After Bilbo had given Thranduil a gift for eating his food, their host marched back beneath the trees. Eleryna breathed deeply. For the first time since her marriage, she felt at home in Mirkwood. Legolas poked her to get her attention.
"I think," he said, "that it is time we visit your family. We'll go to Lórien first and then to your father. What do you say?" She smiled, letting her eyes answer his question for her.
Well, did you like the battle? Thanks for reading and please review!