So I'm on spring break right now; I'm in Denver with my family, so I may not be updating for a little while. However, having a long 10-hour drive, I had plenty of time to get a chapter written and, now that I have internet again, I can get it up for all you wonderful readers!

This one's not as long as my last couple ones, but I do hope you'll enjoy it all the same! :)

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After Radagast departed their company, the Dwarves, the Hobbit and the wizard moved as fast they could out of the forest and out into the open, rocky plains. They hid themselves behind one of the stone outcroppings and were to wait for Radagast's signal before they were to run.

Aira found herself standing between Dwalin and Fili, clutching hard onto the hilt of her sword nervously with one hand and her redwood bow with the other. She too was a skilled archer like Kili. He had been the one to train her in the ways of archery; he had been her teacher. Her bow, she had crafted herself from a redwood tree when she was around twenty-eight years of age. It had been quite some time since she had used it last and she thought maybe it was time to let it see the light of day again.

She felt Fili's hand on her shoulder and she met his fretful gaze, along with Kili's right next to him. "Stick with us, Aira," he said, tilting his head to gesture to Kili also. "We will protect you."

"No," Aira said to them. She took Fili's hand that was on her shoulder in hers, Kili's hand with her other and grasped them tight. "We will protect each other," she avowed gallantly. As always, she was not going to allow herself to be the weak one of the three. She was as protective of the brothers as they were of her. Then she pulled them both into her arms for a comforting embrace and they all wrapped their arms around each other. Aira was sure that everything was going to be all right, but she couldn't help but want to hold Fili and Kili close as if it were their last time together.

Their moment ended within seconds as they could hear Radagast calling out to the Orc-pack from not far off. Once they saw him drive by their hiding place on his sleigh with the Wargs right on his tail, they knew that was the signal.

"Come on," Gandalf ordered and they took off down the hill, the howling of the Wargs hanging in the air.

The landscape was all rugged and often difficult to run on, at first. Aira was sure she would lose her footing multiple times but managed to keep her balance. Not to mention every time she would stumble even a little, either Fili or Kili was right behind her to steady her.

She could still hear the howls and the loud snarls of the Wargs in the distance. In her head, she hoped that Radagast would be all right. He was a wizard, he had to be. He had promised to buy them enough time for them to escape.

There was only one thing about that that Aira wondered about: where were they going to escape? From the looks of it, there seemed to nothing around for miles on these plains except for a few trees and a lot of rock rises. Where could they possibly go?

The company rounded a corner and was then stopped by Thorin at the front. They all halted to see Radagast riding by yards away from them with the Orcs still chasing him.

"Stay together," Gandalf said.

"Move!" Thorin bellowed. The entire company did an about-face and ran quickly another way in the opposite direction in which they were originally going. They couldn't risk being seen by the Orcs or else they were done for.

Aira was now behind Fili and Kili, who went to switch places with her again but were told by her to not worry and just keep running.

They were all moving as fast as their legs could carry them, carrying their weapons and prepared to use them should the Wargs suddenly come upon them. It was that fear that was driving all of them to keep running for their lives.

Just then, Aira's foot slipped into a small dip in the ground and she tripped down to the grass, giving out a startled cry as she hit the ground. Not a second later did she hear a shuffle in the earth, see a spear land beside her and feel a pair of strong hands hoist her up beneath her arms as a raspy voice said something to her in Khuzdul.

It was Bifur who had come to her aid. Aira gave him quick, thankful nod before taking off again, smirking at what he had said to her: "You're supposed to stay up when you run, jelly-legs!"

Fili and Kili had stopped, hearing her startled cry, and watched as Bifur helped Aira and she came running back to them. Noticing that she was all right, they turned back and resumed running.

Once again, they all began to round a corner when the Brown wizard and the Wargs were spotted in the distance and halted beside the rock. Thorin quickly jerked back Ori who was about to run right into the open. They remained in place until Gandalf began to signal them to move quickly.

"Where are you leading us?" Aira heard Thorin ask and there was no reply. She didn't have time to wonder why Gandalf had given no answer and kept running, noticing Thorin's irritated roll of the eyes as she passed him.

The plains seemed to go on forever and their fleeing felt endless. How were they going to get out of this? For how long could Radagast hold off the Wargs before things went wrong?

They could hear the wizard and the Wargs approaching not far off, so the company diverted from their path and backed themselves up against the wall of one of the many stone ridges for safety. Aira moved between Fili and Kili. Fili held her hand tightly and Kili positioned himself almost in front of her as a shield.

Just then, they could hear growling and movement up above them. Aira looked up and saw a Warg-scout with its curved, jagged Orc blade drawn, carefully scanning the area in search of the Dwarves. She stiffened up. It would only be a matter of minutes before it was bound to look down, find them and alert the others to their location.

She caught Thorin giving Kili a look and motioning down to his bow with his head, subtly telling him to take care of the Orc. Kili nodded in understanding, drew an arrow from his quiver and notched it on the string of his bow. He readied himself then jumped out from behind the rock, drawing his arrow back and releasing it into the unsuspecting Warg. It gave out a loud roar as the arrow hit.

Aira looked up to see if it was going to fall over dead, but it wasn't. And now the Orc atop the Warg was reaching down for the horn it had hanging at its side. She looked back to Kili, but he wasn't going to be able to get another arrow out in time to stop it from alerting the rest of the pack. With one swift motion, Aira drew one of her own arrows and launched it up into the Orc's shoulder. Her sudden and quick action surprised Kili and Thorin as well as the rest of the company. Unfortunately, as the Orc and its Warg crashed to the ground, it let out a loud screech that echoed. Surely now, the rest of the pack would hear it and would find them.

As the Orc got to its feet, ready to strike, Dwalin and Bifur began to stab it and beat it with their hammer and spear to silence it. Thorin assisted them and brought his sword down upon the creature's neck for the final blow while Bifur made sure the Warg was dead as well.

Kili gave Aira a gentle nudge. "Thanks for the help," he said.

"Oh, please, I couldn't let you be the one to save the day," Aira teased.

"Move! Run!" Gandalf shouted. Aira grabbed Kili's hand and they re-joined the group to follow the wizard.

Now they were moving faster than ever, certain that the Orc-pack would soon be upon them. No one dared to look back. Over winding paths and raised hills they ran, darting around the trees and raised rocks, which were now becoming scarce. It would be difficult to find good places to hide now.

"There they are!" shouted Gloin, pointing off in another direction, and they stopped. Sure enough, they could all see the figures of Wargs coming up over the hills.

"This way, quickly!" Gandalf ordered them, leading them a different way now.

The company hadn't gotten far when they came to a standstill again, seeing more Orcs on their Wargs coming out from the hills around them. They were caught in the middle of an open clearing with only one giant raised stone in the center of it.

Aira stood in place, pulled out an arrow and locked it in her bow, looking around frantically. They were everywhere; there was no way out.

"There's more coming!" Kili cried out to warn them.

"Kili! Shoot them!" Thorin shouted to him.

"We're surrounded!" yelled Fili, his short-swords ready at hand.

Kili loosed an arrow at one of the Warg-scouts, hitting it square in the chest.

"Where is Gandalf?" Dori demanded.

Aira looked back and realized that Gandalf had disappeared. Where had the wizard gone off to?

"He's abandoned us!" answered Dwalin.

"What are we going to do? There's no way out!" Aira loudly cried as she shot an arrow at an approaching Orc. The foul creatures were all coming towards them slowly, only building up the tension the company was already feeling.

"Hold your ground!" Thorin ordered bravely, brandishing his Elvish sword and battle axe, preparing himself for a battle.

Aira's throat and chest tightened. She really couldn't see any way that they were going to get out of this situation. There was nowhere to go and they were all completely surrounded. It would be just mere moments before the Orcs would be upon them. They only had one inevitable option: they would have to fight their way out of this.

Her eyes caught Kili's gaze and they both could see each other's fear. Then she turned and looked at Fili, who had the same look on his face. They were ready for what was coming, but that didn't stop them from feeling afraid nonetheless.

"This way, you fools!"

Aira flipped around. There was Gandalf standing behind a boulder in front of the stone projection. She felt herself smile as she sighed with relief. "I knew he wouldn't actually abandon us!" she thought.

The company followed Gandalf without hesitation and started making their way to the outcropping. Thorin jumped on top of the boulder and shouted anxiously, "Quickly, all of you!" There was an entrance to an underground tunnel just behind the boulder and they began to jump inside, Thorin yelling at them to go.

Kili and Aira, however, had remained where they were to try and buy a little time for the rest of the company to get inside the tunnel. They were firing upon the Orcs and Wargs that were coming upon them.

"Kili! Aira! Run!" they heard Thorin call.

The two young Dwarves obeyed his orders and started to run, though Aira noticed that there were three Wargs that were charging in their direction, coming up behind them fast. "They'll surely overcome us if we keep running," she determined. "I have to do something to give Kili and Thorin enough time to get to safety." With this in mind, she ceased running and stood her ground, placing her bow in its quiver and drawing her sword.

Both Kili and Thorin had noticed what she was doing as Kili reached his uncle. "Aira, what are you doing?" he cried out.

"Go, both of you! I'll be right behind you!" she shouted just as a Warg was approaching her. With a single fluid motion, Aira twisted around and slashed her sword through the Warg's neck and then sliced the side of its rider, sending them both to the ground.

"Get in, boy," Thorin said to his nephew.

Kili wanted to protest but knew he wouldn't get anywhere in doing so. He took one last glance at Airaním, who was about to face a second oncoming Warg, hoping she'd be all right and that he'd see her soon in the tunnel. With that, he slid down into the passage.

Thorin looked back at Aira as she took out the next Warg. "Aira, come on!" he ordered.

There was still one more coming. "Don't argue with me, Thorin Oakenshield! Go now!" she screamed almost as a threat.

Growling to himself in frustration, Thorin listened to her and finally jumped down into the tunnel.

Seeing they both were now safe underground, Aira began to gradually make her way towards the entrance, still on her guard as the third Warg-scout came upon her. But then, she realized that something about this particular Orc seemed familiar. She had seen it before.

The Orc slowed its steed down as it drew nearer to her and snarled at the Dwarf woman. Then it opened its mouth and growled one single word in the Orc language that made Aira freeze completely in fear:

"Snaga!"

Slave.

Aira couldn't move. Her heart had stopped completely as the horror of that one word consumed her. There was only one group of Orcs that knew her by that appalling title, which could only mean one thing….

"Oh, gods, no…!" she gasped.

Using her fear to its advantage, the leader of the Orc-pack urged its Warg forward again, charging at a high speed. To Aira's dismay, she was caught off guard and slow to defend herself. She began to raise her sword, but the Orc was quicker and swung his own blade down upon her, slashing her side from the hip up to below her chest.

The force from the blow sent Aira tumbling down to the ground and a yell of pain jumped from her throat as she landed, the throbbing in her side beginning to hit. She looked up and realized that the Orc and a couple of others had encircled themselves around her and were now closing in.

Down below in the tunnel, the company had been waiting for Aira to come down when they heard her cry and they knew immediately that something had gone wrong.

"Aira!" Kili shouted in alarm, pushing past the Dwarves in front of him to make his way to the entrance. He heard her cry of pain and at once wanted to get out and go to her.

"Kili, no, don't!" Fili said as he grabbed his brother to stop him.

"She's in trouble, Fili, she needs help!"

"You think I don't want to help her either? Believe me, brother, I do, but we can't get back up to the entrance. Just calm yourself, Aira will be all right."

The rest of the company was silent, all of them growing nervous as to what was happening with Aira.

Despite his silence and calm demeanor, Thorin was panicking immensely inside. This couldn't be happening, it just couldn't be! He hoped desperately that Aira was all right and that she wouldn't be killed up there. He was silently praying to Mahal, "Aira can't die, not like this. I said the cruelest things to her in my frustration and anger and she now believes I lied to her about forgiving her. She cannot die believing that! I regret every word, for I truly meant none of it, and I wish I could take it all back. Oh, Mahal, please don't take Airaním from me! She is the joy of my life; she means the world to me. I love her as my own child! All I ask is for a second chance for us; for me to right this terrible wrong I've done. Please…!"

Another bloodcurdling scream was heard that made everyone fear the worst was happening or about to happen.

Thorin couldn't contain it any longer, letting out his sheer terror in his voice.

"AIRA!"

One of the Orcs had raised its gruesome weapon on command from the leader and was getting ready to bring it down for the kill. Aira's entire left side was in agony and wet with blood. She could barely move to reach her sword. She was helpless. Seeing that death was near and scared of that realization, she let out an awful scream.

The sound of Thorin's voice desperately calling her name was the last she thing she believed she'd ever hear.

Suddenly, there was a whizzing noise and the Orc about to kill her dropped dead off its Warg, an arrow protruding from its back. The sound of a horn soon followed. Aira gasped as she saw a small regiment of armored archers coming up on horseback, shooting the Wargs they came upon them.

Mustering up what strength she had left, she rolled over close to a nearby tree so as to not get run over by any of the horses or Wargs that were now fleeing the area. More of the riders rode past her and took down more of the Orcs. One of them shot an Orc that fell down into the passage where the company had gone.

In the tunnel, they had all heard the horns and the noises of a brawl happening above ground and became apprehensive as to what was going on. Within minutes, a dead Orc came plummeting down to the ground in front of them, shot in the neck.

Thorin knelt down and removed the arrow. He recognized the craft of it and his stomach turned. "Elves," he stated as he tossed the arrow away in disgust. He then looked to Gandalf, realizing that something wasn't right.

Sensing that they had to move quickly, Dwalin wandered to the back of the tunnel and found a path in the back. "I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or no?" he called out.

"Follow it, of course!" Bofur answered, also thinking that they had to get out of there.

The company started making their way towards the back after Dwalin and Bofur.

"I think that would be wise," said Gandalf.

"What about Aira?" Fili asked.

"She's still up there," Kili added.

"Do not worry, my friends," he said to them. "I'm sure that young Aira is fine. Once we make our way out of this passage, we'll find her."

Still not quite feeling any less concerned about their friend, Fili and Kili said nothing to Gandalf and left to follow the back pathway, following just behind Bilbo and Thorin.

Sunlight peeked in above them through the crack in the mountain they were moving through. The path did not go very far and soon they all found themselves on the edge of a cliff, overlooking a vast valley on the side of the mountain. Everyone stared out in awe at the sight they now beheld.

There was a large and glorious-looking city that glowed brightly in the sunlight. The colors of the trees were a variety of golds and reds and there were many beautiful waterfalls cascading down into a valley below.

"The Valley of Imladris," Gandalf informed them. "In the common tongue, it is known by another name."

Bilbo, who was gazing out at the city full of wonder and amazement, answered, "Rivendell."

"Here lies the last Homely House East of the Sea," Gandalf added.

The Dwarves kept staring. Despite the fact that it was an Elven city, they all thought it was one of the grandest sights they had ever seen.

Everyone except Thorin, of course.

He turned back to Gandalf, fuming. "This was your plan all along: to seek refuge with our enemy," he said with an angry growl in his deep voice.

"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield," Gandalf said back. "The only ill will to be found in this Valley is that which you will bring yourself."

Thorin couldn't believe how serious Gandalf was about all of this. "You think the Elves will give our quest their blessing?" he questioned. "They will try to stop us."

"Of course, they will," Gandalf replied without a second thought, "but we have questions that need to be answered." Thorin continued to glare at him, but Gandalf knew what he was about to say would make him see reason. "And we have a member of our company who has gone missing. They can help us find her. Unless you can think of any better options…?"

That did it for Thorin, just as Gandalf suspected. The King sighed and hung his head, knowing the Grey wizard was right.

Having won the small debate, Gandalf said to him as they began their descent down the path to the city, "If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect and no small degree of charm…which is why you will leave the talking to me."

Back by the entrance to the hidden passage, the Elves had driven the Orc pack away and were scouting the area for any stragglers.

One of the soldiers found Aira leaning against the trunk of the tree clutching her injured side that was bleeding profusely. He noticed that she was a Dwarf, but gave no thought to it, seeing how badly she was hurt.

"My lord!" he cried out. "I found a female Dwarf. She's gravely injured."

Aira was unaware that these were Elves who were now approaching her. Even if she was, it wouldn't have mattered. Her head was spinning so much she couldn't think straight. The pain in her side was growing even more to where it was starting to numb her whole body. Her breathing became heavy and strenuous as she saw someone come up and kneel down in front of her.

The stranger was garbed in fine, elaborate armor and a sophisticated headdress adorned his brow. Whoever he was, he was clearly a person of great importance. His face appeared kind as he looked upon the poor, injured Dwarf woman.

"Are you all right, dear one? Can you move?" he asked her.

Aira sighed. "I don't know," she answered with a groan. "It hurts too much to try."

The man reached out pulled her coat and shirt back to examine her wound. It was then Aira noticed his pointed ears.

"You are an Elf," she stated.

The Elf looked back at her with a grin. "An excellent observation, young Airaním."

His response startled Aira and her body stiffened. "How do you know my name?" she asked hesitantly.

"Oh, my dear, there is much I know about you than just your name." That didn't make Aira any less tense about how he knew her. He could sense her nervousness and said to her, "Do not be afraid. I am Lord Elrond of Rivendell, I shall not harm you."

She had been right about this Elf being of great importance. And she recognized the name "Rivendell". "Is that where the underground passage leads to? The company I was with went down that way" Aira asked Elrond, gesturing with her head over to the stone ledge.

Elrond gave her a confirming nod. "And that is where we must take you immediately. Your wound is severe and must be tended to as soon as possible." He slipped her arm over his shoulders and stood up slowly and cautiously so as to not increase her pain.

Wincing, Aira said, confused, "But I am a Dwarf. Why are you helping me?"

"I give no thought to the petty hatred between your people and mine," he answered, which surprised Aira. "Nevertheless, regardless of race, I could never turn away from someone in need."

To Aira, this Elf certainly seemed different from anything Thorin had ever taught her about Elves. He was kind and compassionate to her. "I give you my sincerest thanks, Lord Elrond," she managed to say before groaning from the ever-growing throbbing in her side.

Quickly, yet carefully, Elrond and one of his soldiers helped lift her up onto his horse. Once he made sure she was comfortable and ready, he mounted his horse behind her. "Come, my dear," he said to her in a gentle tone. "I can assume your company has reached Rivendell by now and I'm sure they're quite worried about you."

He called out in Elvish to his soldiers and they began their trek back to Imladris.

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On to Rivendell! :D

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I will update as soon as I can!