The big day arrived. This was it. Thorin, Fili and Kili live or they don't. She had tried her best. Now that all the players had been warned of the attack by the goblins and made peace over the gold, she hoped it would be enough to change the hated ending.
The dwarves were arrayed in the finest armor that Erebor could provide. They gleamed even though the day was somewhat overcast. The Men and Elves had positioned themselves to defend the mountain and kill goblins. Elmyra hoped the eagles and even Beorn were still going to appear. Without them they might be doomed anyway.
Thorin had told Elmyra in no uncertain terms to stay away from the battle. 'You have no function there and would only be in the way.'
Elmyra had dutifully promised to refrain from interference. 'What would I do? I'm not very good with a sword and I have no desire for battle.' Of course she lied.
Her plan was to be a "battle burglar". Just as in Thranduil's palace, she was going to rely on no one noticing her. It was risky. It hadn't worked with the goblins before, but this time they would be concentrating on outright killing and be hopped up on bloodlust, not taking prisoners. She would wait until the dwarves had started out onto the field and then follow behind. Her only goal was to keep an eye on Thorin. If he fell, she would do her best to protect him. She would use the PANIC BUTTON. She had spent the last few days formulating a plan. It was such an unknown quantity that she hated to rely on it. If he fought without injury, she would only watch. If she died, it really didn't matter. Without him, there would be nothing left in the story for her.
That morning, she used up the rest of the "Orc Repellent Spray" on her chain mail. It hadn't done much good before, but it might work now. She was ready. The mail shirt would go over the EverCleanClothes with the Device and the dagger on a belt at her waist. The PANIC BUTTON went into an easily accessible pocket. She took everything down to the Front Gate and stashed it behind a rock. She would put it on once the dwarves left.
Gandalf caught her in the act. 'What are you up to now, Elmyra? I heard you promise Thorin you wouldn't be on the battlefield.'
She ignored his question. It was none of his business. 'What are you going to do today? Sit by and watch all the players go merrily to their deaths? Now that Smaug is gone do you even care? Do you ever give any thought to the expendables that get caught up in your plans?' her voice was bitter.
Gandalf stared sadly at her. 'Is your opinion of me so low?'
'Not really, since in the long run you are proved right. But right now, a big part of my world is getting ready to go out and die in a battle that has no real meaning. It would be nice to know that you will bring Glamdring along to share in the glory,' she said. 'My first concern right now is Thorin and Company.'
'I do care, Elmyra, and I intend to do my part when the time comes,' Gandalf promised.
'Good. That is another change in the story. Every bit helps.' Maybe enough of them have piled up to make a difference she thought.
….
The cloud of goblins descended from the north and the battle began. Thorin led the Company out onto the field with a contingent of Dain's dwarves, Orcrist gleaming in his hand. Elmyra watched for the moment when they took their first steps. Then she ran to her gear and put everything on. The Device simply showed "Mayhem". She was only about fifty feet behind the dwarves when she started to follow. She kept pace with the group, focusing her eyes on the back of Thorin's golden helm. When he stopped, she stopped.
As far as she could tell, it was working. The goblins engaged the dwarves almost as soon as they reached the base of the mountain, but none of them came after Elmyra. Little skirmishes broke out around her but the participants concentrated only on each other. Occasionally she had to step out of the way to dodge a poorly timed blow but none were of any real consequence or aimed at her directly.
The day passed in battle and blood. Dwarves, men, elves and goblins fell under axe, sword and arrow. She was appalled at the slaughter but did her best to ignore it. The screams of the injured and dying dulled her ears after awhile. Blood spattered and clung to her mail. She had to watch her footing more closely as the bodies piled up and the blood made it harder to walk. But through it all, the Company stayed more or less intact slicing its way through their foes. Thorin and Orcrist piled up goblins everywhere they went. Elmyra wondered where Bilbo was. If he got clobbered wearing the Ring, it would be impossible to find him. The fighting was so fierce and he was so much smaller than even the shortest dwarf, it would be easy for him to get hurt. She would have to trust that a book called ''The Hobbit" wouldn't kill off the main character.
Finally the day waned and the Company reached the dreaded confrontation with Bolg mentioned in the book. Elmyra walked as close as she dared. She didn't want Thorin to see her and become distracted. She could tell the story had continued to change because by this point in the book the Company was in serious trouble fighting a surrounding enemy. Today they were still part of a cohesive defense standing strong against the goblin army. Suddenly, Thorin took a mighty blow to his head that forced him to his knees. Fili and Kili moved in to protect him as he toppled to the ground.
Seeming to sense the importance of this one dwarf or perhaps drawn by the beauty of the armor of his companions, the goblins renewed their assault and made some frightening gains. It must be Bolg and his bodyguard. They were much bigger than the rest of the goblins and they made fearsome progress against Dain's dwarves and the Company. She closed to within five feet of Thorin's body. She couldn't tell if he was still alive. He was motionless, his face pale. Elmyra made her decision. It was now or never.
Reaching into a pocket, she pulled out the PANIC BUTTON and activated it. Everything stopped. No motion, no sound. The world was strangely silent after the chaos of the day. The armies were locked into frozen combat. She drew her dagger from its sheath. Elmyra took a few seconds to adjust to the eerie picture but then moved quickly.
She reached Bolg. He stood with a club poised over Fili's head. To gather her courage, Elmyra swallowed and thought of Thorin and the lives she would save. Thanks to Elrond and all her previous adventures she knew the courage was there.
Her plan was simple. In addition to lock picking courses, Elmyra had taken self defense. One of the mantras had always been that even the largest predator was vulnerable around his eyes.
Trying not to think about it, she plunged the dagger into Bolg's eye and into his brain. The eye burst under the assault and fluid splashed her. She had plunged the knife in so hard that the tip stuck into the skull. Yanking it out with a labored grunt, she proceeded to slice into his fingers as best she could. Moving from one goblin to the next, she performed the same act again and again. One stab into an unprotected eye and then a jab at the weapon hand if there was any visible skin. As she moved along the line of orcs, her rage and anger surfaced and added strength to her hand. Rage that Thorin might already be dead and rage that at any moment she might be recalled to her old home.
The PANIC BUTTON instructions had said to expect approximately five minutes. Elmyra used them all down to the last second and beyond.
Dwalin had a front row seat to what happened. While he was unable to move, he was aware of anything in his line of sight. He watched as Elmyra pulled out her very sharp stiletto dagger and moved to the goblins threatening Thorin, Fili and Kili. At first he could not imagine what she hoped to accomplish. The goblins were heavily armored and the dagger would never penetrate. He realized the beauty of her plan as she proceeded. Any goblin left alive would be half blind and would most certainly drop its weapon if it ever unfroze. He saw her move down the line of Bolg's guard stabbing, thrusting and screaming at each one. She had almost gotten to the last one when she moved out of his line of sight.
Dwalin suddenly felt his body return to his control and watched as every goblin within at least ten feet of him fell to the ground dead or writhing in agony. He used his sword and axe to take advantage of Elmyra's handiwork. The nearby allies quickly recovered from the freeze and joined him in killing any enemy still standing.
Elmyra was caught with her dagger half plunged into a large goblin's eye. He didn't die right away. When he unfroze, he had enough control to grab her and throw her hard to the ground. She struck her head and the world spun. 'I wonder if it was enough to save Thorin?' she thought right before she passed out.
…
'The Eagles are coming, the Eagles are coming!' Bilbo's voice cried. He had watched Elmyra's assault from his place near Thorin. He saw the large birds come in swooping over the battle. When he looked back in Elmyra's direction he saw the goblin fling her. 'Elmyra!' he yelled and ran in her direction.
The sounds of battle quickly began to recede. Now that Bolg and his bodyguards were dead, the rest of the goblin army's nerve broke and all the goblins were racing for the edges of the battle with the allies in pursuit. The eagles and Beorn (who had arrived just in time to see Elmyra spike Bolg) were busily cleaning up the trash.
Bilbo reached Elmyra. He shook her by the shoulders but there was no response. He stood and started yelling for help. He realized that no one could see him because he had the Ring on. Pulling it off, he ran over to Balin and Kili. 'Elmyra got hit by a goblin! She's on the ground.'
Balin turned at the panicked voice of the hobbit. 'What? Where is she?' He and Kili followed Bilbo to Elmyra. Balin knelt by her side. 'She's still alive. It just looks like a very bad bump. We should get her back to the Gate.'
As he spoke, Beorn strode up. Balin glanced up as the tall skin changer appeared. 'Can you take her back to the mountain? I want to see to Thorin.'
'Of course I will. I have never seen such a thing,' Beorn said. 'Do you know what happened to the rest of us? I could not move a single muscle.'
Bilbo piped up. 'I think it was more of Elmyra's magic "technology". She was the only one it didn't affect. Even Gandalf got frozen.' From his place, Bilbo had seen it all. Eagles frozen in midflight, bear, wizard, dwarves, all as still as statues. He followed Balin back to Thorin.
Like Elmyra, he had a bad head bump but was already sitting up. 'What happened? Is it over?' he asked.
'It's over. We won,' Balin assured him. 'It was a close thing. Good thing your burglar was here to help.'
Thorin focused his eyes on Bilbo. 'Thank you, Bilbo! What did you do this time to save my hide?'
'It wasn't me! Elmyra saved you.' Bilbo told him.
'Elmyra? She wasn't here. I told her not to come!'
'It is a good thing she ignored you once again,' said Balin. 'Somehow she stopped motion itself and killed enough goblins singlehandedly to turn the tide.' Balin had been turned slightly away so he had not seen the whole event.
Bilbo was happy to fill in all the gruesome details. 'She stabbed them all in the eye. It was the most horrible thing I have ever seen in my life! Right in the eye! I could hear them pop.' He shuddered in delight to have been a witness to such boldness and daring. "The Green Dragon" crowd would never believe it!
Thorin stared at him. 'She did what?' It sounded so violent.
Bilbo managed to contain some of his excitement. 'Everybody but Elmyra was frozen. We couldn't move. She went from goblin to goblin and stabbed each one in the eye with that dagger Dwalin gave her. The ones that didn't die right away were finished off when everyone could move again.'
It took Thorin a moment to digest this story. He couldn't picture his beloved Little Cat, the woman who didn't want adventure doing what two reliable sources assured him she had done. 'I can't say I'm sorry I missed that. It sounds rather frightening.' For all the battles he had been in, all the deaths he had caused, he had never done anything quite so ghastly.
…..
Thorin and Elmyra were taken to separate rooms where Oin could examine them more closely. When asked if they should be moved into the same room he said, 'Not if we ever want them to get better. Those two would never leave each other alone long enough to heal! Apart, they will be back on their feet in no time.'
Elmyra head ached, but this time she was able to take some of the newly found pills if she wanted. She was trying to wait since the supply was limited. Pain was very plentiful in Middle Earth. Oin had done his best to clean her up without getting too personal but she really wanted a bath. She had never realized how dirty battles were.
All the dwarves but Thorin had gradually trickled in to say hello and congratulate her on the victory. Thorin was excused for once. Oin had refused him permission to move until tomorrow. 'You will both be free of your rooms then. It won't hurt to wait a day.' They had been trading messages via Ori and Bilbo ever since.
…
While Thorin and Elmyra recuperated the rest helped tend to the wounded. The elves had several noted healers among their personnel who were of great assistance. Even Thorin had to admit that their services were welcome. Once they were all bandaged and stitched back together, everyone finally relaxed.
Though supplies were limited, they pooled resources for a celebratory dinner in the army camp the next day. Dain and the Lake Men contributed a surprising amount of ale. Elmyra sat and watched it all unfold. For once the dwarves and elves seemed to be at least coexisting. She even noticed a few friendly conversations among some of the more progressive crowd. Gandalf frequently served as facilitator. Maybe there was hope for the two races after all!
'Well, Little Cat, are you ready to be Queen of Erebor?' Thorin said as he sat down next to her.
Elmyra laughed. 'Only if you can accept a queen who knows nothing about being one. Seriously Thorin, I would be completely at a loss. What does a queen do? Run a mountain? A palace? My life is completely automated, run by my apartment. I think I would be more content as a burglar. Do you need anything stolen?'
Thorin picked up her hand and kissed her palm. 'I know you have no training, but then you weren't a trained burglar either. That seems to have turned out alright. I think with a little help you will make a fine queen. And I would rather have you be the worst queen ever than be king without you at my side. Little Cat, Elmyra Pundur, will you marry me?'
She looked at her dwarf. When had this world become more real to her than her own? She couldn't imagine living a day without him. 'If you are willing to take that risk, then yes, I will marry you, Thorin Oakenshield. Only don't ever say I didn't warn you!' Elmyra leaned over and kissed him gently and then more passionately.
When they broke apart, Thorin reached in his pocket. 'I finally found what I was looking for. I want you to have this.' He reached into a little bag (velvet of course) and pulled out a beautifully made jeweled cat. Its paws and tail spiraled around each other. 'You wear it woven into a braid. Turn around.' By now everyone had noticed the happy couple. Thorin undid Elmyra's braid and put the little animal in her hair. It sparkled and glittered.
Balin could only shake his head. Queen Elmyra. Well, hopefully she was a fast learner or Erebor was in for some interesting times.
From a table nearby, Fili raised a mug of ale in toast to the happy couple. He was heir to the throne and had a maid on each arm to prove it!
Beorn wandered over to the happy pair. 'Perhaps I am the first to congratulate you? That looked like a bargain sealing kiss to me!'
'Yes, Beorn, it was. Little Cat has agreed to marry me!' Thorin crowed.
Beorn smiled a little sadly at Elmyra. 'Well, I am pleased to hear that all has worked out even as you wished. The bees will miss you.'
Elmyra grabbed his hand. 'And I will miss the bees. I wish you the best Beorn. I hope you will find the happiness you deserve.'
'Thank you. Always know that you and yours are welcome in my forest. Hopefully the journey will be safer now that the goblins are much reduced even as you predicted.'
Thorin watched the two but without any jealousy. Elmyra had committed herself to him. She would always be his Little Cat from now on.
….
Long before the dwarves were tired, Elmyra excused herself and retired to their bedchamber. She found a mirror so that she could admire the little cat that perched on the crown of her head. She undressed and climbed into bed. Where did the dwarves find the stamina? She was exhausted. Thorin probably wouldn't be back for hours. He was busy making plans with Dain and Bard about the future of Erebor and Dale. She looked at the chair where she had tossed the EverCleanClothes. 'I'll have to start dressing the way the locals do.' The faithful 'Survival Kit: Upgraded Version' rested nearby with the "Lightweight Elven Blade" propped nearby. Faithful friends, but hopefully she would never have a use for them ever again. The dagger had been taken away to be enshrined as a symbol of the great victory. She blew out the candles and settled in for a well deserved night's sleep.
And they all lived happily ever after, right? Of course not! I am having too much fun running their lives. Stay tuned for more!