I try and I try and I try and I try... But STILL I can't update in time. I getting frustrated with myself.
Chapter 21
"Bella?" someone whispered and slightly shook my shoulder. "Bella. It's time to wake up. We'll be leaving soon, you have to get some breakfast."
I opened my eyes and caught Bilbo hovering over me, smiling at me, "Good morning, sleepyhead." I smiled back at him.
"Mornings Bilbo." I greeted him and then sat up, stretching my arms and closing my eyes as I yawned. The morning of the July sun was warm against my back and neck. I opened my eyes and examined everything before me. The whole company was awake, walking about the camp as they ate their breakfast. The grass was a little damp and the dew was glittering in the golden-silvery sunbeams.
"What a beautiful morning." I said and rubbed my eyes, "Nearly a shame to leave this place, if it weren't for the destination of this journey. What's for breakfast?" I looked back at Bilbo.
"The usual; bread on a stick with melted cheese and ham on top." he held up his own stick.
"Well that sounds lovely." I said and then rose slowly to my feet.
"Mornings Bella." Dori greeted me with delighted eyes as I walked by him and his brothers.
"Good morning Dori." I replied and nodded at his brothers.
"Bella." Gloín swiftly said as he passed me, grinning.
"Gloín." I said and couldn't help but smile a little myself.
"Hello there, Bells." Bofur smirked from the ground as he was rolling in his bedroll.
"Bells." I mused and returned his smug expression with a laugh, "That was a new one. Hey there, Bofur."
"Miss Baggins." Dwalin nodded at me, a smile hiding underneath his beard.
"Mister Dwalin." I nodded back and chuckled internally at his attempt to hide his smile.
"Good morning Belladonna." Balin followed after his brother, but not smiling at me like the rest of them were doing. He looked concerned instead of amused, as if something was on his mind.
"Good morning Balin." I smiled at him, although a little uneasy about his expression.
"It's about time! Well met, Bella." Bombur said cheerfully as I finally reached him.
"Well met too Bombur!" I chirped, "Gracious me, everyone seems to be in a good mood this morning!"
"That's no surprise now, is it?" he winked at me as he handed me a stick. I snickered and avoided his gaze as I remembered last night.
"Where's-"
"Out hunting a little with Fíli and Rue. They should be back any minute." he said before I could finish my sentence.
"Good." I said and then began eating on my breakfast.
I finished it quickly, so I decided to go and pack my things as I would wait for the trio to return. As I walked back, I saw Thorin in the corner of my eye. He was staring at me and I was quick to meet his gaze. As our eyes connected, his stare enrolled to dark glare. I simply pursed my lips, shrugged and then broke the eye contact. If he wished to be all grumpy and sullen, that was his problem. But it still made me wince a little that he was angry or hurt, if that was the matter. I still wanted to make peace with him, it was rather stupid of me not to take the chance that he offered last night, because it could've ended friendly as much as it could've ended unfriendly. Now I have the feeling that it might end rather disastrous, due to the swift romance that has developed between Kíli and I. At the time I could only hope for Thorin to be gracious, but I knew that it wasn't going to be an easy discussion to win. King or not, he was good at making one feel guilty, from what I had perceived when he almost constantly rebuked Bilbo.
I was swift to pack my things back into my backpack. I then heard footsteps coming at me from behind, silently and slowly, almost sneaking. Dwarves really were not that great at stealth, Gandalf was wise two bring Bilbo and I along to enter that mountain without waking the dragon. I had to flex my stomach in order not to burst out in laughter at his attempt to sneak up on me.
"Think you're going to scare me again, do you?" I snickered and sprung up on my feet, spinning around to face Kíli in the process. Without hesitation and to his surprise, I flew into him, shackling him in my arms.
"Apparently not…" he chuckled, a little startled by my attack, but embraced me as well. "You seem to be in a good spirit."
"I am in a good spirit. But that's no surprise now, is it?" I quoted Bombur and smiled, leaning out from the embrace to look at him.
"Indeed it isn't." he agreed, smirking and leaned back in. He gave me a light, yet passionate kiss and then chuckled again. "I missed those soft lips of yours."
"I bet you did." I repeated myself, biting my lip as I grinned at him.
"You didn't miss mine?" his brown eyes magnified, resembling a puppy so much he could nearly have been mistaken for one.
"Of course I did. I'm just poking a little fun at you." I said and brought my hand up to his face, stroking the tip of his nose. His expression went from sad to amused, making that charming smile as he always did.
"Ahem!" Rue's voice rang from aside. Kíli and I glanced to the side, finding both Rue and Fíli smirking at us.
"Lovebirds, it's time to leave." Fíli crossed his arms over his chest, looking amused.
"How would you know?" Kíli smiled tauntingly at his brother.
"Well." Fíli simply said and shrugged his shoulders as Thorin called out the orders.
"We're heading out in two minutes! Get your things, and gather your strength. For today we will ascend another mountain."
Kíli sighed and gave his brother a dark stare. Fíli only chuckled at him. I glanced around us and found that the others were pretty much ready to go, so we were the only ones left to wait for.
"Oi Lovebiiiirds!" Bofur hollered teasingly, drawing our attention to him. The whole company was practically watching us I realized, sneering at us. "As much as I enjoy watching you two, you'd better stop smoochin' around now or we'll never make it to the Mountain in time!" I laughed at the silly Dwarf.
"We're not smooching around." Kíli grunted annoyingly, making the whole pack of Dwarves laugh. Well, almost the whole group. The only ones who weren't laughing were Thorin and Balin. I understood why Thorin didn't find us two rather enjoyable to watch, but why Balin didn't like it, I could not figure out. I wonder what had gotten into him.
"Well, but he is right." I tittered, breaking out of my thoughts and looked at Kíli. "Let's go and climb a mountain now, shall we?"
It did not take long before we reached a trail that took us further and higher into the Misty Mountains. It was a very foggy and damp forenoon; sometimes it would drizzle occasionally. The sun had hidden behind the clouds in the sky, not coming out until midday. Then the sky finally cleared out and the fog was swept off like dust.
"Oh the sun is back again!" I tweeted as I felt the warm sunbeams on my cheeks. "Oi! The sun has returned!" I called over my shoulder back to the others. I'd forced myself away from Kíli for a while, even though I desired to be with him all of the time now, I didn't want to seem clingy after only one day. I had had way too many Hobbits back in Hobbiton hankering after me and being clingy, so I knew the irritation of having one behind your back constantly.
I had walked a little ahead of the company and when I had turned at a rather narrow corner, the shining globe had appeared. The new path was narrow as well and additionally, there was a steep fall on the right side of it, no mountain wall of any kind. But the view from here was amazing. The blue sky was spotted with white and fluffy clouds, beneath them was mountains peaks and above the sun shone majestically. A little further off the path, there was a small platform that loomed a little over the edge. I felt a tug in my stomach, urging me to step onto it, just to have a better look.
"Well would you look at this!" Dori exclaimed as he came around the corner. I looked back at Dori, the company came right after him, gasping and exhaling at the beautiful sight.
"I'm just going to the platform over there, if anyone should wonder where I am." I said to Dori.
"Should you really do that? It's a rather-"
I was off before he finished his sentence. I swiftly made my way up to the platform, stepping carefully onto it. It was not very wide, so I knew I had to be cautious on my feet. I looked down into the chasm. It was at least 500 feet down to the solid ground. I felt a little powerful, standing there, only inches away from a certain death.
"Oi Bella! Get down from there!" Gloín called out when he saw me.
"Why?" I chuckled as a slight breeze struck me softly, stirring my hair backwards. I held out my arms beside me, sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes. The wind and the lack of any clouds shading the sun made me feel like I was flying. I opened my eyes again and locked my eyes on the sky, shutting out the mountains below out of my sight to make the sensation even more satisfying and true. "You should come and try this, it feels like you're hovering in the air by just closing your eyes." I mused.
"Belladonna." Thorin's voice boomed. My eyes froze and my neck bobbed in dismay. "Step down from there. Now." he commanded. I sighed, I knew there was no point in arguing with him, even if he was ruining my moment. I pressed my lips together, giving the view one last glance. We were traveling through a fairytale up here and it's a shame we have to keep moving forward-
"Belladonna, I said step down from there." he repeated sternly, interrupting my thoughts. I shot him a vexed glare, letting my arm fall down to my sides, even though my insides screamed at me to not.
"I heard you perfectly well, master Oakenshield. There's no need to command me twice." I said as I stepped down from the platform. I still was not used being ordered around, I had not been that since I was a child by my adoptive-parents whenever they wanted me to do chores around Bag End. I never enjoyed it as a youngster, nor did I enjoy it now.
"Do not act then as if I need to command you twice." was his sharp reply. My mouth opened briefly to snap back at him, but I forced it shut. I went to stand next to Rue, Fíli and Kíli as I waited for us to continue. I never broke the eye-contact with Thorin, developing another stare-contest. Which I again won when he turned his gaze away.
"A storm is coming." he said as he gazed towards the sky himself. The other and I followed his movement. The sky had grown incredibly and swiftly dull again, but also darker and the wind had become a little harsher. "We need to keep on moving and find shelter before it hits us." as soon as he uttered the words, rain descended onto our heads.
The Dwarves grumbled in irritation, drawing their hoods over their heads. Thorin walked again, taking the lead of the company. The others followed our leader, passing us. Bilbo looked questioning at me and I nodded, assuring him. He nodded back and then followed after Balin. I stayed put with the other tree, not talking until the company were in an inaudible distance.
"Spoilsport." I growled darkly.
"Oi you, don't let him get you down." Kíli said and smiled, "I thought you've learned that by now."
"Ugh, I have. But that doesn't mean he still have to be such a spoiler." I shook my head.
"It was risky though, Bella." Fíli said, sounding serious. "You were literally just one slip away from falling to your death. I understand Uncle's reasons for not wanting you up there. Think we all do." he glanced at Rue and Kíli and they nodded meaningfully.
"I do too, it's not that I think he was being overprotective of some sort, but I wouldn't have mind if he'd let me enjoy the sensation for another minute or two." I agreed.
"You looked as though you were having the time of your life." Rue grinned. Her smile was infectious, making me smile myself.
"It was. Another moment would've had me flying for real." I exhaled and gazed at the slope.
The rain poured harder down onto us. I put on my cloak and the others did the same.
"We'd better get going before we lose the others." Fíli said and then went ahead. Rue went together with him and just as I was about to follow, Kíli grabbed my arm.
"What are you doing?" I asked silently, staring at him. He didn't speak until Rue and Fíli disappeared from sight.
"I have a question." he stated, "Why did you suddenly disappear earlier?"
"Pardon me?" I said.
"You disappeared." he repeated, "Why did you go?"
"I just thought that maybe we shouldn't spend too much time together. I mean, if we should do that then we'd presumably become tired of eachother rather quickly, don't you think?" I explained shortly.
"No I do not think so." he disagreed. His brown eyes stood out from the rain, drawing my eyes to connect with his. "We've been around eachother constantly since late April, Bella, and since then we've had so much fun together. Why do you suddenly think that will change now that we…" he trailed off in a victorious smile.
"I've never really done something like this before… especially with a Dwarf. I suppose I just don't want to spoil it." I said, sounding more insecure and oblivious than I meant. I've had a few romances back in Hobbiton, but those were far from being the slightest serious, in comparison of what Kíli and I were racing towards.
"You won't spoil it, Bella." he grinned and embraced me. "I wouldn't let you." he said assuring, pulling me close. I pressed my face onto his chest; his natural and Dwarvish warmth warmed me, since I had gone cold due to the rain. I looked up to him again and then put a soft kiss on his lips. He snickered. "Come on, we must get moving or we'll truly lose the others." he pulled me with him, holding my hand in his own massive one.
We caught up with the others and me managed to get in the middle of the upstream of Dwarves with Rue and Fíli. The weather got only worse by the hour, beginning to thunder viciously, and the stone path got only narrower. The path had continued on the mountainside, leading us higher and higher up to the showering waterfall coming from the dark clouds. The winds had turned fierce and we had to be careful where we put our feet and we had to literally grasp the wall at times when the wind became too fierce.
We were in a period of calmness at the moment: the winds not too harsh and the rain not too distracting. I was walking behind Bilbo and I had Kíli, Rue and Fíli behind me. I heard something cracking beneath us and I looked down. My eyes widened when the stone right underneath Bilbo's feet began to give in.
"Bilbo watch out!" I cried. He was so startled he jumped, putting more pressure onto the rock and turning it into crumbles. He howled out in fear as he began to fall into the chasm, but Dwalin, who was in front of him managed to slam him back into the mountain-wall.
"We must find shelter!" Thorin's voice rang. I looked worriedly at Bilbo, his eyes were wide open and he was panting. Those in front of him continued as nothing happened, but he was in a little bit of a shock. I gave him a light push forward.
"Come on Bilbo. You're alright, you're alive and well." I said. He shook his head. I recalled his fear of heights, having plagued him since childhood. "If we've gotten this far, we can't stop. Not for anything. As much as I would like us to just sit down and rest for a couple of hours, we simply can't." I tried to calm him. His pantings did not falter, but the panic in his eyes faded. I patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"I honestly begin to think I made a mistake not going back." he sighed sadly. My eyes froze and I bit my tongue. Why was he still doubting himself when he had improved so much? Without saying anything more, he followed the others and I walked along as well.
"You were saying?!" Rue shouted out of the blue, unnoticed by Bilbo's accidental slip.
"In my defense, those unearthly rainclouds appeared out of nowhere!" Fíli shouted back.
"Good heavens… What's the matter now?" I grumbled. How could those two be possibly arguing again? Especially when we were in the middle of an accursed thunderstorm!
"Nothing important. Fíli said earlier that the weather could not get any worse and that the path couldn't become any narrower-" she didn't have to explain any further for me to burst out in laughter at the raw irony of it all.
"How can you laugh? We could be in mortal danger here!" Rue snapped loudly.
"I'm laughing because it's the only thing I find humorous in this hour!" I replied, remember Kíli's trick (but also I was trying to find distraction from what Bilbo said earlier). "I need that laughter to keep my spirits up!"
"Clever trick you've got there." Rue grumbled.
"I'm glad you still find it useable." Kíli whispered so that the others would not hear. I glanced over my shoulder, giving him an affectionate smile.
"Look out!" Dwalin suddenly roared outrageously. From above, a shower of gigantic pieces of rock fell down at us. Everyone threw themselves into the wall, taking cover from the rockavalanche. The mountain shook harshly at the impact.
"Wonderful!" I ranted angrily, my spirits spiraling towards bottom. "First the weather turns into disaster; then the bloody path turns as narrow as a bloody string and now the whole mountain has turned on us itself! Dropping rocks on us as if we were mere insects! Thunderstorms bodes misdeeds, it has ever since I was a child!"
"This is no thunderstorm, Belladonna Baggins." I could hear Balin reply to my rant. He stepped away from the wall, pointing towards the mountain across the chasm. "It's a thunderbattle! Look!"
Thunderbattle? That was a tale that belonged in children's books.
"Well bless me, the legends are true!" Bofur stepped away from the wall as well, "Giants! Stone giants!"
When I heard a massive, cracking sound coming from the mountain, my gaze unintentionally drew there. My heart dropped to my stomach when I spotted an enormous stone-man, rising up from the mountains if it was a stepping out of bed. The stone-man ripped a humongous boulder with great force and then threw it in our direction. But fortunately it did not hit us, instead it flew right above, colliding into something else. I threw my gaze to the spot where the boulder had found its mark, and there stood another stone-man. It was the exact same size of the other one and it was tumbling around after the impact of the boulder, making incredible noises.
I couldn't believe my eyes, I was icebound on the ground with shock. The legends were true; like Bofur said.
"Take cover; you'll fall!" Thorin bellowed at Bofur, who was pushed back into the wall by Bombur. Another boulder thrown by the stone-man hit the mountain right above us and yet again stones came crashing down at us, nearly hitting some of us in the process. The stones hit the path, making it even narrower and barely possible to stand on. The intense shaking did not stop this time after the stones disappeared into the chasm, instead it became even more intense and harsh, forcing us to hold onto rocks in the ground and on the wall.
"What is happening?!" Kíli yelled in confusion and fear. The shakings made me fall onto my knees, scrapping through my pants and ripping up holes. "Bella?" he dived down next to me.
"I'm alright-" a thunderous roar interrupted me. I couldn't bring myself back onto my feet, but I managed to push myself onto all fours. Kíli couldn't bring himself up either, so we held onto eachother. The company was yelling and shouting to their kin, making sure they were holding onto something as the rock shook furiously. The rain and the wind was not making the situation easier at all; I could barely hear anything over the sound of wind, rain and the unnatural roars of the stone-man.
Bilbo who was in front of me was standing and he was leaning against the wall, gripping hard-like at it. His knees were trembling of fear and I could see that he was barely breathing. Thank goodness he had not been hit by stones.
"Bilbo!" I cried out, letting go of Kíli, "Help me up!" he was startled of me again, but saw me lying on the ground. Through the shakings he managed to get a grip of my hand and pulled me back up. I gave him a swift pat on the shoulder as a thanking gesture. I turned around to help Kíli, but I saw that Rue had already helped him herself. The shakings became even worse and another deafening crack rumbled our ears. I looked at the ground precisely underneath Rue's legs and to my horror, I realized that it was splitting into two.
Panic flashed through my limbs and veins and I found myself pushing at Kíli to get him and Rue over to the other side to Fíli.
"Bella what are you do-" he shouted when I with all my force shoved him into Rue, making them fall over to the other side of the crack. They tumbled into Fíli, but succeeded to still stand on their legs. They turned around, shouting at me to cross the rift. I looked over my shoulder and grasped at Bilbo's hand to drag him with me over the widening gap.
"Bella grab my hand!" Kíli yelled, holding onto Fíli as he reached out his hand towards me. I reached out my own and barely touched his fingers, when suddenly the rift widened so swiftly we couldn't reach eachother.
My stomach turned inside out and my heart stopped. I stared down into the new chasm between us and it was then I began to realize what was happening; we were standing on the legs of a third stone-man. I looked up to the others; blue, brown and green eyes were fixed upon me, with a concern so heartbreaking and a fear so raw it sent chills down my spine.
My heart began to beat again ferociously in my chest as I saw their petrified faces, not only their faces, but also the rest of the company that was on the other side; Nori, Dori, Oín, Gloín, Balin, Bifur and Thorin. I felt my own hand lifting, trying to reach them even though we had drifted apart too much. Tears of internal agony and sorrow welled out of my eyes and my mouth fell open in a terrible and ear-piercing scream. "No!". All of my feelings sorbed into my vocal chords, extending the scream into a loud sob.
My leader. My friends. My best-friend. My lover. On the other leg, disappearing away from us. The ones who were with me was my brother Bilbo and my friends Dwalin, Bombur, Bofur and Ori.
Bombur and Bofur had their wives back in Ered Luin; Bofur also having a newborn baby that he reluctantly left for the sake of his people. Ori and Dwalin had their closest relatives on the other leg and they were all alone in this misery. At least I had my brother with me and at least Bombur and Bofur had eachother, but poor Ori and Dwalin… were all alone. More tears streamed down my cheeks as Bilbo managed to slam me back into the wall, holding my hand. The legs of the stone-man began to move slowly, but yet with a force that paralyzed us against the rock. I looked at Bilbo, his features expressed sheer horror and desperation. The others screamed in horror, whilst I couldn't let out a single sound. I was so scared for the sake of everyone that I was completely stupefied by all the fear boiling inside me.
We witnessed the thunderbattle closer than anyone in history could ever have done. The third stone-man (the one that we were standing on) and the first one fought with eachother; punches after punches they threw at one another. Luckily, after some time our stone-man managed to defeat its opponent, sending another fierce punch into it and sending it into a mountain.
I let a sigh out of relief and I spotted the others far away, they had somehow managed to jump back onto a safer spot during the fight. How they did it I had no clue about.
There was a moment of calm, but then something happened to our stone-man. Something had hit it, sending crumbles and debris onto us. I looked up and through the rain I could see that the second stone-man had reappeared and thrown a boulder at our stone-man, knocking its head clean off.
Yet again my heart stopped when our stone-man began to sway unstably around. I lost control on my feet and I stumbled towards the edge. An arm had then suddenly hooked around my waist, pulling me backwards. And yet again it had been Bilbo who saved me. I managed to get an eye-contact with him when the legs of the stone-man gave in and began to shoot back towards the mountain wall.
This was it, wasn't it?
Bilbo's eyes looked defeated, presumably thinking the same as me. I clutched to his hand again, squeezing it lovingly, reassuring that I was there with him. I closed my eyes, not daring to see the speeding death coming at us. The others cried out when we came closer and closer to the wall, only seconds away from a painful death. I braced myself and took a deep breath.
Then came the blast. And then it all went dark and quiet. I could not feel a thing, except my grip on Bilbo's hand that never broke. I could not think, I could not breathe and I could not move.
But then, a light from the corner of my eye took space. I heard muffles voices appearing again and in combination I could move my fingers slightly.
"They're alright! They're alive!" I heard the voice of Gloín crying out. Thank heavens we were alright, but where were we? And how had we gotten to the others?
I opened my eyes to look for myself. As I opened them slowly, I learned that I was not on solid ground. I was neither standing, sitting or lying. I was hanging. And the only thing that kept me from falling was Bilbo's hand. My eyes went wide open when they fell down to the chasm. I sucked in a shaky breath at the darkness below us, terror and fear boiling up inside me again.
"Bella?" Bilbo whispered to me. My gaze snapped back up, my face expressing hysteria and panic. "Do. Not. Panic." he bit out through his teeth as he held onto the edge of the path with one hand and holding me in his other. I swiftly shook my head, but I already felt that I wasn't going to be able to hold that promise.
"Where's Bella and Bilbo?" Bofur's voice questioned, "Where's the Hobbits?!" he blurted out in fright.
"HELP US!" I felt my own mouth forming the words.
"There they are!" someone cried out.
I couldn't see them, but I heard them struggling to hoist us back up. "FOR GOODNESS SAKE HELP US!" I screamed, panic beginning to take hold of my body and mind. This stressed them further and then all at once, we fell for a short second, making both Bilbo and I screech. But Bilbo managed in time to grip at a stone right below the edge.
"I can't hold much longer…" he panted desperately when they still had not found a way to get us back up. I saw that his arm was shaking of the combined burden that he had to endure with just one hand. I bit my tongue in order not to scream again, biting down on it so hard I started to bleed. I also closed my eyes.
Then I felt that we were being hoisted swiftly. Bilbo's hand slipped out of mine, but someone then looped his arm around my waist to prevent me from falling. This arm was muscular and warmer than Bilbo's and I felt a hot breath sweeping at my skin. I opened my eyelids.
I was met by a pair of blue eyes. It was Thorin. He had swung down next to us, risking his own life to save ours.
"Don't let me go." I begged him in despair.
"Never." he breathed truthfully back. Then with a brute force, he literally shot me upwards to the edge.
A hand caught mine and I was swiftly pulled onto the edge. My eyes were wide open, but everything in my vision was blurry. Someone was in front of me, repeating my name over and over again.
After a minute or so, when my vision became clear again, I realized it was Rue that was holding me in her arms.
"Bella?" she uttered my name again, desperate for me to answer.
"Rue… Rue!" I sobbed and then pulled her down onto me in a breathtaking hug.
"It's alright, it's alright. You're alright, everyone got out safely." she groaned at my nearly painful embrace. "Bilbo's alright but he's shaken. I think we all are, but what's important is that we're safe and sound."
I refused to let her go, my need to be held and holding someone never ending. My panting began to go off and my panic was fading, but after a while, the Dwarves had to tear Rue away from me. The one who replaced her was Kíli.
"Kíli…" I exhaled and grabbed for him. His expression was filled with relief over our survival. He pulled me up to my feet and then caught me in an embrace.
"I'm so glad you're alive." he whispered, stroking my hair. This time I knew I could squeeze him as much as I wanted, because of his tough and durable Dwarvish body.
Long minutes went by as we embraced. I hid my face in his neck, not wanting to met the stares of the others. When I had fully calmed down and could think clearly, I carefully let go of Kíli. Instantly he pulled me back into a passionate kiss, assuring himself that I was there on my legs, functioning. His lips were warm on mine and he literally blew life into me again.
When the kiss ended, there was a silence. Until Dwalin stepped forward, still huffing.
"I thought… I thought we… I though we lost our burglars." he said through his harsh breath. I looked at Bilbo, who also finally calmed down. He met my gaze and smiled at me. I forced a smile on my lips, but I was mentally and physically exhausted of the frightening experience.
Thorin snapped something, but I could not point out exactly what. My hearing had begun to grow poorer for some reason and my head began to spin. I could still see everyone crystal clear and their gazes were directly on our leader. Rue was glaring at him, Bilbo looked rueful and mostly everyone else stared questioning at Thorin. What had he said that got everyone staring at him?
More words were uttered and then we began to move again. My spinning head got worse and I had to lean on Kíli in order to not collapse. I looked everywhere for Bilbo, demanding him to be with me.
"When we've reached the cave." Fíli said calmly as he looked at me with concern. Then he looked at my brother. "Brother, do you need help?" he asked when my heavy reliance became ungainly. Kíli nodded and Fíli came to his aid. The brothers took my arms around their necks and boosted me forwards. Rue who was in front of us smiled at me.
"You're alive, Bella. Everything's fine." she purred softly.
Yes, I were indeed. I had survived a thunderbattle and I was alive.
As maybe you've noticed, the chapters are becoming longer. I figured that I have to make them longer now since I update so seldom these days, to speed up the story a little and make things happen for once. But if I should be able and update in time in the future, I suppose the chapters will go back to the usual length, unless you want me to write longer chapters. However, hope you enjoyed and r&r!