"Well that could have been worse!" called Bofur cheerily as he poked his head out of the wreckage.
Calla rolled her eyes at the statement, knowing full well that once that accursed statement had been uttered, the powers that be would rise to the unspoken challenge, this was of course, one of those occasions as with a loud thump of splintering wood and a great weight crushed those still beneath the planks, the body of the Goblin king dropped onto the already stunned company.
A cacophony of moans and a growled exclamation of "You've got to be joking!" from Dwalin echoed through the mountain's base valley.
Calla winced, feeling her already battered and bruised limbs screaming at her from the now greatly increased pressure. She bit her bottom lip and scrunched her dainty nose up when she felt a piece of plank digging into her abdomen, squeezing her bladder like a puppy with a chew toy.
"Are you okay my love?" Kili whispered, as he braced himself against the broken wood trying to shove it away from their bodies with as much force as he could muster.
"I'm fine, I could just … do with using the bathroom right now. There's a bit of wood pressing on my bladder." She giggled sheepishly as she watched Kili struggle to find a suitable reply. Deciding against anything that popped into his head, the prince just pursed his lips and continued moving the wreckage away from Calla's body, freeing her enough for Fili to hook his hands beneath her arms and hoist her out onto her feet.
Straightening what was left of her dress, Calla looked around at the dwarves who had managed to pull themselves free, her dark eyes darting through the pack looking for Bilbo, her heart and stomach tightened when she found no trace of the once well-to-do hobbit. Her heart threatened to shatter in her chest and a burning tear welled in the corner of her eye, but a flame of hope still flickered faintly in the back of her mind, screaming at her that her brave cousin was still alive and fighting his way back to his friends, but she could no longer dwell on their missing member as a rather panicked Kili's voice rang out behind her.
"Uh, Gandalf!"
At the shout, all of the company looked up to where the young dwarf's eye line met what once had been a clear expanse of mountain wall, but now housed a swarm of goblins scaling the rock at a impressive speed.
"There's too many, we can't fight them!" called Dwalin, as he supported a rather dishevelled and dazed looking Nori. With one last hard tug of his booted foot, Kili pulled himself free, quickly moving to stand beside Calla and his brother who wore identical, concerned faces. Wanting to hold her and clear her mind of fear the youngest Durin heir enclosed his large hand around the red head's tiny one, his dark eyes flicking over the vast amount of damage that had befallen the tiny appendage.
"Only one thing will save us! Daylight! Come on!" Shouted Gandalf as he reached a wizened hand out to Oin, lifting the ageing dwarf to his feet with surprising ease. "On your feet, all of you. Run!" Using his lit staff, the wizard pointed towards a darkened corridor in the rock, at the end of which they could see the faintest glimmer a warm, red sunrise.
Calla ran between Kili and Fili, her feet carrying her little, damaged body as fast as they could, the effects of the all the wounds she had sustained since leaving the shire taking a toll on her as her bones started to ache, burn and throb at the exertion.
If there was one thing she had learned throughout their journey so far, it was that dwarves, as a race, are loud, in every way imaginable. Their voices and laughter boomed and echoed off of any surfaces around them, their heavy boots pounded like a blacksmith's hammer on an anvil as they walked, their movements making a rhythmic beat on any type of ground, they were even loud in their sleep, Bombur alone would have given her old Grandpa Took a run for his money when it came to snoring. But even over the raucous noise that surrounded her thirteen travelling companions, Calla's sensitive ears picked up a wholly different sound, a soft whimper that seemed to be coming from a crevice in the rock just ahead. Pausing in her movements and closing her eyes, the young half-ling tried to hone in on the noise. Hearing only the steady thump of dwarfish boots she opened her eyes and gazed at the crevice, a burning sensation tickling at the tips of her large pointy ears, almost as if she was being watched from the darkness.
"Come along Miss Took." Commanded Thorin as he brought up the rear of the group, his handsome face contorted into a stern frown and splattered with black goblin blood. He laid a large hand on the centre of her back propelling her forward towards the daylight that shone in from an opening of the rock face.
The company burst into a thicket of leafless trees, a tough amber moss covering the rocky ground, beneath their tired feet. Calla couldn't help but breath a sight of relief, letting a small smile grace her pink lips as she felt the morning sun beating down upon her skin, warming her to the very core. Screams a wails were heard from the mountain entrance as the goblins came up against the barriers of daylight, their skin instantly covering in large sun induced boils of burning mucus.
As a clearing appeared below them, the company started to slow their pace, catching their breath and giving their aching limbs a chance to regain some feeling. Gandalf stood to one side, counting each head that ran past him into the open area below.
"Fili, Kili … that makes ten, Bifur, Calla, and ah … Bombur, that's thirteen." He paused for a moment, his thick grey eyebrows dipping low in concern as he noted the fourteenth member of their group was missing. "Bilbo … Where is our burglar?" he asked, his old blue eyes searching the saddened faces of each dwarf as they looked around them, searching for the tiny waist coated man, until they reached Calla, who sniffed quietly, not even attempting to wipe away the stray tear that has started wind its way down her rosy cheek, as she intently studied her hairy feet.
"Curse the half-ling! Now he's lost!" grunted Dwalin, paying no mind to the Calla who had slumped onto the ground, using a tree to support her back as he tucked her knees up below her chin. Gandalf ignored the shouts that ensued around him, his attention wholly consumed by the young woman.
"I though he was with Dori!" someone accused loudly.
"Don't blame me!" snapped Dori in return his voice holding an unusual angry edge.
"Well when did you last see him?" Gandalf asked the three brothers who stood together, tearing his attention away from the tiny red head.
"I thought I saw him slip away, when they first collared us." Nori offered as he tried his hardest to smooth his hair and beard back into his trademark points.
"Well what happened exactly? Tell me!" demanded the old wizard as he rounded on the startled dwarf.
"I'll Tell you what happened." rang out Thorin's harsh baritone as he pushed Nori aside to confront the magic man, his blue eyes dark and stormy with a brewing anger. "Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it!" Calla looked up from her position nestled in the trees roots. Her watery eyes instantly flaming with anger as the harsh words left the king's mouth. "He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and warm fire since he first stepped out of his door." The female hobbit clenched her jaw and flexed her hands as she got to her feet, fighting the urge to hit the mighty dwarf as hard as she could until there was no strength left inside her. "We will not be seeing the hobbit again. He is long gone."
Calla had had enough as the last derogatory sentence left Thorin's noble mouth. Her people deserved more respect and thanks than he was giving them credit for. Stepping up closer to him she tapped the fallen king on the shoulder, making him look down at her, as she smiled sweetly up at him. "Excuse me your highness." she started her voice lilting, as she tried to remain calm. The larger man grunted down at her in expectation. Fili and Kili waited with baited breath, as they watched her expression change from sweetly innocent to a mask of pure fury. "We hobbits are simple people, and we enjoy our comforts. And yes we miss our nice cosy holes when we're trudging through mountains, grassy plains and snow, for a cause that is not our own no less, but it is our right to do so, as it is our HOME! Where we feel safe and contented. We did not need to leave our Shire to help you slay a dragon and reclaim your people's gold. We did not need to pledge to risk our lives for a people we do not know. We did it out of the good of our hearts, because you needed us, not the other way around. You have done nothing but pain and ridicule Bilbo since he signed your blasted contract. I would not blame him for returning home." her little body shook with anger and her dark eyes bore holes into Thorin, as he swallowed heavily, unprepared for the young woman's onslaught.
"But I haven't." Called a soft voice, accompanied by a rustle of leaves as the hobbit stepped out from around the tree Calla had been leaning against moments before. All the dwarves fixed him with relieved looks, as the young woman gasped, clasping a tiny hand over her mouth to cover a sob as she hurtled across the rocks, throwing her arms around his shoulders in a tight and loving embrace, her face buried into the crook of his neck as her cousin chuckled, quickly returning the hug. Pulling away from Calla, Bilbo fixed the uncrowned king with a hardened stare.
"Bilbo Baggins, I've never been so happy to see anyone in my life." chortled Gandalf with a fatherly smile one eye fixed on the waistcoat pocket into which Bilbo had just dropped the ring.
"Bilbo we'd given you up!" called Kili, a big grin stretching across his handsome face as he cuddled a now happily smiling Calla into his armoured chest.
"How on earth did you get passed the goblins?" asked Fili, a fine golden brown quirked in curiosity.
"How indeed." murmured Dwalin suspiciously from his place beside their leader.
Bilbo chuckled and raised his eyebrows, his fingers slipping into his pocket, the tips skimming the golden ring inside. His eyes locked onto Calla's curious gaze, an unspoken connection informing her that he would tell all, once they were alone and could speak freely. "What does it matter? He's back." she answered coolly, fixing Thorin with an even glare.
"It matters." he growled out, looking from one hobbit to the other. "I want to know. Why did you come back?"
Bilbo sighed and dug deep inside himself to find his tookish courage. "Look, I know you doubt me, I know you always have. And you're right … I often think of Bag end, I miss my books … and my armchair, and my garden … see that's where we belong." he gestured towards Calla with a soft smile, "That's home, and that's why I came back, because you don't have one, a home … it was taken from you … but I … we will help you take it back if we can."
And as smiles graced the faces of each dwarf, and Kili clutched Calla tighter into his chest, each brother placing a kiss into her crown of cherry curls, the strangest thing happened, Thorin son of Thrain, looked down at his boots, a humbled expression plastered over his regal features.
A deep animalistic growl rang out through the trees behind them, breaking up the emotional moment.
"RUN THEM DOWN! TEAR THEM TO PIECES!" shouted a deep voice in orcish, the words reverberating around the valley.
Hello lovely readers, I hope you enjoyed this one! thank you all for your updates. I have had some crazy shit go down in my household over the last couple of weeks so i'm afraid i've been distracted. so i hope its not too bad. Theres a poll on my profile concerning the end of this story ... so it's up to all of you whether this continues on by the book, or whether I wait til december to continue. so go give it a vote etc.
Hope you enjoyed, please review etc! Happy reading!