Disclaimer: If you recognise it, I don't own it!

A/N: Sorry it's taken so long for me to write this chapter, I lost the plot about three paragraphs in, then work went crazy, I went on holiday all summer and now work and home is crazy! It may take me a while to write the chapters that follow this one, but please stick with me :) I'll try to make it worth it ;)

I apologise for any spelling mistakes, I think I've got them all, but I can't be sure.

In this chapter: Sneakiness galore, courting gifts, evil rings, flying and a volcano.

Chapter 28

NO POV

A week had passed since the end of the battle for the mountain and many of the new inhabitants had settled into a routine of sorts, the men along with a selection of elves and dwarves would head over to Dale to try and work out the areas that needed the most work and began to lay out the plans for the city. Ariana had fully embraced the role of queen and while sorting through treaties, both old and new with Thranduil and Bard, she slowly managed to get Thorin back into the routine for ruling the mountain. Thranduil often shot her a smirk when she deferred her answers to Thorin, who still hadn't realised what she was doing. The fact that Thorin seemed so oblivious to her action was almost an inside joke between the courting couple.

It had become common place to see Thranduil working down in the forges, although none of the workers down there would tell Ariana why he was in the forge nor would they be seen helping him. Nori and Bilbo were also remarkably silent on the matter. Ariana was very aware of how Nori was collecting his information as he had taught her, but Bilbo was incredibly tight lipped about how he was getting information that even Nori was unaware of. Any time someone asked he always brushed it off as being a hobbit trait that no one was aware of.

Ariana had sighed at that and taken Bilbo into a deserted stone room and asked, "Bilbo. I've about had it with this 'it's a hobbit thing' bullshit. Now will you tell me what the hell you have in your pocket?" Bilbo tensed and slowly pulled out the little gold ring. "I found it, down in the goblin caves. You were all so busy fighting with them and I was playing riddles in the dark, then we were running for our lives and it all got really hectic. I almost showed it to Gandalf before we entered Mirkwood, but I couldn't." Ariana looked down at Bilbo. "What do you mean you couldn't?" Bilbo sighed, "It was like the ring whispered to me. Even Smaug could tell that there was something off about it."

He said slowly handing the ring over, looking like he wanted to take it back the second it fell into Ariana's palm. Ariana turned it over in her hands, the flames from the sconces making it glitter, then quickly before Bilbo could stop her, she had conjured a ball of flame and the ring was glowing bright white in the flames. "Ariana! Why would you do that?" He exclaimed, panicked. She extinguished the flames and showed Bilbo the script that was glowing along the band. "That is black speech." She said and Bilbo looked up at her. "Saying what?" She sighed, "One Ring to rule them all." Bilbo looked confused. "Three Rings for the Elven Kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf Lords in their halls of stone. Nine for mortal men doomed to die. One ring to rule them all." She whispered out and Bilbo went pale.

She let the ring rest in her palm as they both looked at it, "That is Sauron's ring?" Bilbo asked and she nodded, "It needs to be destroyed." Bilbo said after a few moments of silence. She nodded, "The question is how would we get it out of the mountain, or rather how would we willingly get out of the mountain?" She asked almost absently and Bilbo frowned, "We?" Ariana nodded, "I am hardly going to let you go and destroy it on your own am I?" She looked down at him and he frowned. "I found it, I should take it. You are needed here." He said and Ariana glared at him, "I knew something big was coming. Why do you think I've been giving Thorin more and more of the decisions and responsibilities?"

Bilbo looked up at her and she sighed, "We can't let them know. There are so many within this mountain that would want to come with us and I can't see the outcome. I can't see how this ends. Galadriel banished Sauron back to Mordor and if we leave it any longer his forces are going to grow within the walls there. We need to leave soon." She began to pace rubbing her forehead as if trying to think of a reason to leave. "Thorin asked me to stay. He said he wishes to court me, perhaps we could use that. My leaving to collect my things and you to accompany me." Bilbo suggested and Ariana turned to look at him. "That could work, although how I am going to convince so many people to let me out of this mountain I do not know." She sighed, "Go and pack Bilbo. Do not lose the ring. I will work something out to tell the others as to my part."

Bilbo nodded and they walked out of the room, separating to go to their own rooms. Thranduil stood waiting against Ariana's door. "Should I be worried that you are replacing me with a hobbit?" He teased and Ariana smiled slightly at him, shaking her head and motioning him inside. "No you daft elf. I like my mate to be taller than me." She said looking up at him and he smiled down at her, handing her a pouch. "I know that you have been trying to find out why I have been down in the forge for so long. This is why. This is my first courting gift to you." Ariana looked at the pouch then up at Thranduil, before shaking the object inside out.

Three pieces of bright Mithril fell out, the largest was a intricately engraved feather wrapped in delicate vines which cradled a small glowing gem that rested just below the pinion of the feather, "This is one of the gems you gifted me back. The white gems of Lasgalen have been in my family for longer than I can remember. I wanted you to have one as it shows any elf on this earth that you are protected by my family, that you are part of it and to touch you is to provoke me." He took the feather and hung it from the bottom of Legolas' pendant, the two gems shining together. The feather was only half the size of her index finger, but it seemed to complete the pendant.

The other two pieces were two small white gems fashioned into earrings. She raised an eyebrow at that and Thranduil nodded, "I had to ask one of the silver smiths how to make these, Elves by nature do not wear anything in their ears, but you do." Ariana smiled up at him and replaced the lower most silver stud with them. She then moved over to the small box she kept on her table, inside was a intricately made brooch. Ariana placed it in her palm and turned to Thranduil, "I have always been fascinated by metal and I continued to work with it after I was taken from here."

She passed him the brooch and he studied it, each twist and turn had been made to look like the antlers that made up his throne, "I made this, not really understanding why it came out the way it did, but I knew it would be important, that it would mean something to me one day. And it does, those antlers, they remind me of your throne and you. So strong and regal." She told him, brushing a kiss over his left cheek, knowing that he may not completely feel it. Thranduil pinned the brooch on his robes and turned to look at her, "Why do I feel that this good mood is going to change now?" He asked and Ariana sighed.

She gestured for Thranduil to sit while she paced back and forth, the tips of her wings dragging slightly on the floor. "Melamin? What is wrong?" Thranduil asked, panic rising in his voice. Ariana turned to him, "I need to leave. Bilbo wants to return to the shire to collect his belongings, I can get Bilbo there safely and in a quicker time than if he walked or rode. But to do that it means I am leaving you here." Thranduil paused and looked at her, "So you are going to fly him to the Shire and back?" He asked and she nodded, "It should take no longer than two weeks." She said, her hand coming up to fiddle with the feather.

Thranduil froze for a moment, his eyes watching Ariana and her hands. "You are nervous. Why?" He asked and Ariana sighed again, "This journey cannot be avoided, it needs to happen now and it cannot be carried out any other way. Something is going to happen in three weeks and I will be here, but I don't see anyone else coming with us. I am nervous because I do not think that anyone will let me go." She turned away, her wings wrapping around her. Thranduil sighed and stood, turning her to face him. "I will not lie to you, I do not want you to leave. I worry that something will happen to you and I will not be able to help you, to comfort you. My main worry is that I will lose you, that Legolas will lose another mother. If you leave me, I will not come back from that."

Ariana wrapped him in a hug, her wings coming around them both as well, "I do not intend to leave you, I do not intend for you to lose me. I will fight to get back to you, but I do not foresee it being necessary." Thranduil sighed and stepped back, cupping Ariana's chin in his hand. "Be careful that is all I ask." She nodded and watched as he left the room. Ariana began to pack, leaving the gifts on as she strapped her armour on, and then her swords. She was carefully braiding her hair back when a loud crash sounded at her door. "Come in." She snapped out and Thorin stormed into the room, "Why is it that my one has come to me telling me that he and you will be leaving as soon as possible?" Ariana tied off her braid and turned around.

She studied her brother and saw the fear in his eyes, "If I fly Bilbo to the Shire it will take less time than if he were to walk or even ride. If I fly him there is less chance that he is injured or worse. I am flying him back to the Shire because he wants to spend the rest of his life with you and would rather be here than amongst his own people." Ariana told him, watching as he processed what she was saying. "Very well, I do not like it, but I will accept it if keeps Bilbo safe. You do know that as much as it pains me to let Bilbo out of my sight, it pains me even more to let you out of my sight as well."

Ariana sighed and nodded, "I am a grown woman Thorin, I can protect us both." He sighed and nodded, "Who will be acting for you in your absence?" He asked and Ariana grinned, "You mean you haven't heard yet?" Thorin shook his head, looking over at Ariana shrewdly. "You said you would not take the crown back until I gave it back to you. This is me giving you the crown back, I informed the council this morning that you were well enough to take your rightful place on the throne and had been doing most of the work anyway. Which you were. I believe in you Thorin and Bilbo clearly does as well if he is willing to move away from everything he knows."

Thorin just stared at her before nodding. "I will try to do you proud. You will be coming back right?" Ariana smiled at him and nodded, "Of course I will, I'm not leaving Bard alone to deal with you and Thranduil." She winked at him as she picked up her pack and heading out the door with him, meeting Bilbo and everyone else just outside the gates. "I don't like this. Just voicing that right now." Kíli announced and there was a grumble of agreement from everyone else. Ariana sighed, "If I fly Bilbo back to the Shire we will be there and back again before you even realise we are gone." Ariana said.

Everyone grumbled again and there was a round of tight hugs, multiple promises of safety and it took Ariana stretching her wings to get everyone to step back and let them go. She picked Bilbo up bridal style, despite his protests, and shot into the sky, laughing at his squawk. "A little warning would be nice for future reference Ariana Durin." Bilbo scolded her and she grinned down at him, her wings carrying them up and away from their mountain. She paused hovering over the edge of the lake and looked back, "They are still watching us, I can see them. None of them look happy about this, I am just glad that Elrond and Galadriel have not seen what we are planning." She told Bilbo.

He sighed and shook his head, tucking it close to the fur collar on the coat she was wearing, the cold winds nipping at his nose and around his ears. He felt something slide over his head and suddenly his head was warm, he looked up and blinked at the fur in his eyes. "I put a hood on your cloak, it should keep your head warmer up here." Bilbo hummed and settled his head so he could watch the ground past by underneath them. "Stop as many times as you need to Ariana. Do not tire yourself out too much." She hummed and Bilbo watched as they flew over Mirkwood, several of the elves within it's boundaries seeing them and waving.

As they reached Beorn's, Ariana landed and asked if they could have lunch with their friend, "Of course, you are both always welcome here." As they sat down to eat, both Beorn and Bilbo marvelling at the amount of food that Ariana managed to eat. "Sorry, flying burns a lot of my energy and I need to keep my strength we have many miles to go before we rest tonight." She said and Bilbo nodded, "Where is it you travel to Little Bunny?" Beorn asked and Bilbo scrunched his nose up at the name. "Thorin has asked me to live in Erebor, I'm going to collect my things." Beorn nodded, watching them closely.

He stood when they had all finished and Bilbo had smoked his pipe. "You are both always welcome here, be careful the skies may not be as safe from here." Ariana nodded and made sure Bilbo was wrapped head to toe in his cloak before she picked him up, "I swear I have not been this swaddled up since I was a fauntling." He groused and Beorn was left with the rush of wind and the sound of Ariana's laughter as they shot up into the sky almost touching the clouds. "Clever girl, the only thing that can reach you now will be the eagles." He murmured and headed back inside.

Ariana hummed softly to herself as they flew, her tune stopping only when they reached the Misty mountains, the low-lying clouds covering them in a wet cold blanket. "Ugh, this would be so much easier if the winds were with us, we are not going to make it further than Rivendell today I am afraid." She said loudly to Bilbo, making sure his hood was tightly up around his head. "I didn't think we would even get to the mountains if I am honest. I had thought we would only get to Beorn's." She grunted at Bilbo's words, the winds pushing her back and slightly down the mountain. Ariana growled, "I am not going to be beaten by a fucking mountain." She snapped out and placed a spell around Bilbo's head to allow him to breath freely as she shot up, higher than before.

Bilbo yelped at the sudden change of speed, spluttering at the moisture collecting on his face as Ariana moved through the higher clouds. He gasped as Ariana broke through the clouds and they emerged into a different world, one of gold, oranges and yellows. "How do you not spend all your time up here?" He asked and Ariana paused drifting on the currents for a moment. "This is truly one of the few places that is untouched in what ever realm you go to except the one I was born in. I hate that so many miss out on seeing this beautiful sight, but none of you are designed to breath up here without a spell." She said lazily beating her wings and taking them towards the last of the sunlight.

Bilbo sighed and studied the strange new world around him. He looked up at Ariana's face and realised this was a place she truly belong in, it showed in the way the sun glistened off the Arkenstone, the way her feathers flashed between copper, red and gold over the brown and the way her face seemed to lose all the tension it had held since the quest had began. "Thank you for sharing this world with me." He murmured out, not wanting to disturb the peace that surrounded them and Ariana grinned down at him, "It was my pleasure Bilbo Baggins. You see the beauty in the world far better than most I have ever met, I think that is truly a Hobbit trait." She said as the began the cold journey down out of the golden world.

Bilbo shivered as the made their way from the mountains towards Rivendell, sighing as a wave of heat passed over him. "Stop wasting your magic on me." He grouched and Ariana laughed, "Now what kind of sister would I be if I let you catch your death of cold, besides the whole point of me flying you was to make sure you were healthy and whole." She said as she descended down towards the city, lazily circling down with the currents to the courtyard they had first arrived in almost six months ago. Several of the elves rushed out to greet them, warily hovering their hands over the hilts of their swords. "Peace we bring no ill will or news, we would simply like to shelter here for the night." Bilbo said quickly, watching them carefully as they eyed Ariana's wings.

Their eyes then fell to the necklace she was wearing and they bowed deeply to her, "Forgive us, my lady. We have only just received word of the battle." One of the elves spoke and Ariana waved her hand. "Please it's fine. We were wondering if it was possible for us to impose on yourselves for the evening before travelling to the shire?" She asked and one of the elves nodded, "Of course my lady. Follow us we will show you to your rooms." Bilbo glanced up at Ariana and it still caught his attention with just how regal and beautiful she looked.

The stay in Rivendell was uneventful and Bilbo and Ariana left the next morning after breakfast, Bilbo chuckling as they took to the skies. "Did they do it deliberately when we were here last time?" He asked and Ariana looked down at him, confused. "Do what?" She asked and he smirked, "Hide the meat? Were they just winding up the company with the lack of meat?" Ariana laughed and Bilbo smiled at the carefree sound. "Of course they did, the elves of Rivendell do not have the relationship that Thranduil and his elves do, but the grudge is still there." Bilbo smiled watching as they soared high above the ground towards the Shire. "If only we could have flown to Erebor, it would have taken us half the time."

Ariana laughed, "And at least the same again. The only issue would be that I would have had to choose who I was going to carry as none of you would have gotten on the back of a dragon." Bilbo chuckled, "No I doubt any of us would have gotten near a dragon, let alone on one. Did you leave them back in the mountain?" He asked and Ariana nodded, "Thalion will have followed us, but I left the three back there yes. I don't think I could prise them away from the others if I wanted to. Plus it gives me peace to know that they'll protect each other." She said as she lazily drifted down through the currents to land on the outskirts of the Shire.

Bilbo watched as Ariana retracted her wings, frowning at the pained looked that crossed her face. "Why do you pull them in if you know it is going to hurt you?" He asked and Ariana sighed, "Because I would rather be in pain than lose them. I know that no Hobbit will take them from me, but men do travel through your lands and they would." Bilbo frowned at that and nodded, "I hadn't thought about that." Ariana shrugged and they walked quickly through the Shire, Thalion's raven form soaring overhead. Bilbo smiled and waved at every hobbit they greeted and it took twice as long to reach Bag End as it should have done, everyone wanting to know where he had been.

By the time they reached Bag End it was nearly night and neither one felt like trying to cook anything, Bilbo led Ariana down to the Green Dragon. "The food here is good and the Ale's the best you're going to get anywhere." Bilbo said and Ariana laughed, "Don't let any dwarf here you say that, especially Dwalin. You know how they get." She teased and Bilbo nodded, both of them laughing as they entered the inn. "'Ere that you Bilbo?" The dwarf behind the counter asked and Bilbo nodded, "Aye it's me. I've come back for a short while. Is it possible for us to get some food and ale?" He asked politely, smiling at the nod and Ariana snickered as they sat down at a table, all the hobbits around them looking scandalised at the pair of them.

Bilbo looked over at her and she smirked, "I think you've broke them. It's nice to see that you've still kept your manners though." She teased and Bilbo snorted, "You know the answer to that one, young lady." Ariana laughed and shook her head, "I think you are the only person who would dare say that to me." Bilbo laughed and the pair shared simple, innocent stories for the evening, often laughing loudly. It was late when they finally made their way towards Bag End and Ariana lit the fires and torches with a wave of her hand. Bilbo breathed in deeply as they walked through the house towards the bedrooms. "You can have this one, mine is next door. I will see you in the morning." Bilbo said, waving a hand and swaying slightly from the amount of ale he had drunk that evening.

Ariana smiled and nodded, placing her pack in the room before stripping off her boots, furs and the heavy armour. She placed her swords on the bed and then moved quietly through the house, her bare feet making no sound as she walked, banking back the fires she had lit and extinguishing all the torches. She warded the door and moved back around to her room, moving inside and getting ready for bed quickly, all the flying had tired her out. It had been years since she had flown that much, her wings unfolded as she slipped the sleep shirt she had over her head and crawled into the bed, pulling the duvet over her and curling it around her, tucking it under her wings making them the only part of her you could really see.

She awoke the next morning to the smell of bacon and crawled reluctantly out of the little nest she had made herself to see where the smell was coming from. She turned the corner into the kitchen and found Bilbo humming happily as he cooked. "Good morning sleepyhead. Although I say morning, it's nearly eleven." He teased and she stuck her tongue out at him. He laughed and placed a plate of bacon, eggs and potatoes in front of her. "Thank you Bilbo." She said and he nodded, sitting down opposite her and placing an identical meal and plate of bread on the table.

They ate in silence, Ariana breaking it first. "I'll go and get change and you can let me know how you want to pack things up." She said and Bilbo nodded, "I'll just do the dishes and meet you back in the study." Ariana nodded and moved to her room, dressing in her breeches and a shirt. She moved back into the study and Bilbo smiled at her, "Right well how are we going to do this? If we are going to go down to do the ring after this, we can't be carrying all of my things." Ariana chuckled, "Yes we can. I'll shrink it all down and we'll put it in a bag and then I'll re enlarge it when we get back to Erebor." Bilbo stared at her before grinning, "So I can take almost everything?" He asked.

She nodded laughing, "Yes my dear Bilbo." They spent the day sorting through as much of Bilbo's things as they could, only managing three rooms as Bilbo insisted on taking nearly every book he owned. Ariana shrank the final chest of books and placed it in the bag, sinking down into the armchair and shaking her head when Bilbo tried to tug her up, "No, no, no, no, no. I want to stay here." She whined and Bilbo laughed, "Oh if Erebor could see their mighty warrior queen now." Ariana glared over at him and stuck her tongue out. "Yes that is definitely helping the image." Bilbo said as he made his way into the kitchen, Ariana following him after.

They prepared their dinner in an easy silence, working well around each other, it was only when they sat down that Ariana spoke, "What are you going to do with your house?" She asked and Bilbo smiled softly, "I think I'm going to leave it to my cousins Primula and Drogo. They got married only two months before the quest and they've been living with her parent's ever since. They really could do with their own home and this way I know it's not going to those bloody Sackville-Baggins'." He snarled out and Ariana laughed. "And we can't have that." She teased and Bilbo nodded, eating the piece of fish on his plate. "No we can not. Honestly how they think they'll get anything after trying to steel my good spoons I don't know."

Ariana snorted into the cup of water she had, smiling as she listened to Bilbo tell the story and thinking about how good he was going to be for Thorin. "I think I'll have to go and see the Thain today to get that written up and binding, it will be fine though." Bilbo said and Ariana raised an eyebrow, "He's my uncle." Ariana nodded at that and went back to eating her breakfast. When they had both finished, Bilbo set Ariana to shrinking all the things he wanted to take and sorting them out into piles on the table. "I'll be back in an hour or two. If you get bored feel free to un-shrink a book and read it." Bilbo said.

Ariana chuckled and nodded, "I'm sure I'll find something to do, now go or those dreaded Sackville-Baggins' will turn up." Bilbo looked horrified at Ariana's teasing and smoothed a hand down his waistcoat and jacket before darting out the door. Ariana snorted and carried on shrinking things for Bilbo, when she had finished she opened the small pack she had brought from Rivendell. Inside was a large amount of Lembas bread and some dried fruits, Ariana knew that they would be able to obtain dried meats nearer the towns of men. She wrapped up the food again and placed the small bag back into her own pack.

Bilbo returned around lunchtime and looked over all the things that Ariana had shrunk and nodded, "Right the only thing left is my clothes, yes I know Thorin will probably have had an entire wardrobe of clothes made, but I want to take a few of my best waistcoats and jackets. And a few more breeches and shrits never hurt." Bilbo said and Ariana chuckled, nodding her head. She sat on the bed as Bilbo went through his wardrobe and chest finding the items he wanted, handing them to her to fold and place in a pile. Once He was finished Ariana tied the small piles together with a piece of soft rope and then shrank them down to fit in with the rest of the items Bilbo wanted to take.

The last thing Bilbo found that he wanted to take was an old trinket box that had belonged to his mother, Ariana smiled and began to place all the shrunken items within it, "This way they stay safe and together and you get to take the box as well. I'll spell it to stay whole." She said softly and Bilbo smiled softly. Ariana left Bilbo to pack it how he wanted it and set about making them some dinner from the small supplies that Bilbo had brought back with him today. They would need to leave tomorrow to make it back to Erebor in two weeks, especially as Ariana couldn't fly them all the way to Mordor, it was just too great of a risk.

Dinner that evening was quiet, Ariana talking softly and telling Bilbo stories about Thorin from when she had been little and living in the mountain. After cleaning up the pots and dishes, they moved into the sitting area and Bilbo handed Ariana a pipe, packing his own and lighting it. Ariana copied him and they sat smoking in silence until their eyes grew heavy and their pipes empty. Neither slept very well that night, both worried about what was to come and Bilbo worried about falling to the ring, the way he had in Mirkwood.

Ariana flew them as far as Helms Deep in Rohan, avoiding Isengard as she felt an ill will rising from within the tower. She landed near the abandoned fortress and gently set Bilbo down. "From here I am afraid we will need to ride, I do not trust the men this far south and they will not trust us." She said pulling her wings back in and tugging her coat tighter around her. Bilbo nodded and allowed her to settle him on top of Thalion who was once again the monstrous horse he had been back when they left the Shire at the beginning of the quest. Ariana swung up into the saddle behind him and Thalion began to walk, slowly making their way even further south stopping on the outskirts of Edoras and Minas Tirith trying not to attract too much attention where they could.

At Minas Tirith, Ariana urged Thalion away from the city to the north. "We can't go directly into Mordor from here, the men would see us. I think I can get us in a bit further north and it should bring us closer to mountain." Bilbo looked up at Ariana, noticing the frown that was on her face and the way the gold in her eyes never stilled, showing the worry that was inside her. "Why the mountain?" He asked and Ariana looked down at him, "The ring can only be destroyed in the very fires it was forged in, that's why it didn't melt when I showed the markings to you." Bilbo nodded and the journey was silent until the reached the wall.

Thalion stopped behind a rock outcrop and let Ariana jump off and help Bilbo down before transforming. "Mistress I am-" He started to say and Ariana cut him off, "Staying here until I call for you." Thalion looked angry at that, but nodded reluctantly and watched as they walked over to the rocky wall and began to climb up the steeps sides on a set of well hidden steps. Bilbo watched as Ariana climbed in front of him, putting his feet where she did and pausing when she did. When they reached the top of the wall he frowned as Ariana wavered slightly, but assumed it was because she hadn't eaten in a while.

Ariana conjured a small ball of light in her palm and they walked through the tunnel-like path across the top of the wall, "Stay close Bilbo." Ariana whispered and he nodded, clutching a hand into her coat. Something hissed and shrieked as they passed, the light in Ariana's hand the only thing keeping it in the shadows. "What was that?" Bilbo whispered and Ariana turned to look at him, "Spider. Like the ones in Mirkwood, but this one doesn't have access to fresh meat as often as they do." Bilbo shivered remembering the spiders. As they reached the edge of the path, Ariana extinguished the light in her palm and they both looked down onto the plain before them.

It was at least a half a day hike across it to the mountain, but as Ariana looked across she saw what stood between them. "Shit. There's already Orc here. It looks like they're either building or repairing that tower." She said pointing across to the two pronged tower that sat halfway between them and the mountain. "I'll do what I can to shield us as we cross Bilbo, but we are going to have to be very quiet." She said as they carefully made their way down the other side of the wall. Bilbo nodded, his fingers still wound into Ariana's coat. The hike across the plain was a quiet one, the only sound was their soft breathing and even soft footsteps.

As they began to walk up the base of the mountain Bilbo began to shiver, the things the ring was whispering to him scaring him. I am so close to home. I could call my master, get his servants to come and find you. They would have such fun with your little winged princess. My master would love to destroy the elves and dwarves and what better way to do it. You have shown me so much. Thank you Bilbo Baggins. You will help me bring about the end to two of the greatest races and the only power to challenge my master. Bilbo stumbled as the slope began to get steeper, the words ringing in his ears.

Ariana stared at Bilbo as they tried to climb the slope towards Mount Doom. "I'm scared Ari." Bilbo's voice sounded so small and Ariana pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm going to tell you something a man once told me, Fear is good. Fear doesn't have to make you cruel or cowardly. Fear can make you kind. It doesn't matter if there's nothing under the bed or it's dark, so long as you know it's ok to be afraid of it. So, listen. If you listen to nothing else, listen to this. You're always going to be afraid, even if you learn to hide it. Fear is like a companion. A constant companion, always there. But that's ok. Because fear can bring us together. Fear can bring you home." She told him and he nodded, grasping on to her hand and moving up the slope, their feet slipping on the loose gravel and ash that covered the sides.

Ariana stumbled as they neared the opening to the mountain. "Ari, what's wrong?" Bilbo asked, worry creeping into his voice. "They know. Some how they know." She said turning to look up at him and he groaned. "We are never going to be allowed to leave the mountain again." She chuckled weakly, trying to hide how badly this land and it's mountain were affecting her. "Come on, we are nearly there." She said, rising and they pushed on making it inside the mountain. They made their way slowly towards the edge of the rock and looked down into the molten rock beneath them. "Do it Bilbo, throw it in." Ariana said, standing unsteadily near him.

He nodded, looking at Ariana before throwing the ring down into the magma, both of them watching as it slowly melted away. "This way quickly Mistress, Master Baggins. Hurry." Thalion's voice sounded from the entrance and they both turned, moving towards him as the volcano began to erupt, a shriek sounding out across the land. Thalion quickly shifted into a great black dragon and Bilbo climbed up, Ariana struggling to climb up behind him. "Ari are you ok?" Bilbo asked as she held wrapped her arms around him to hold onto the ridge on the back of Thalion's neck. "I am so tired Bilbo. I think this place is draining my energy." She whispered to him softly and they took off into the air, Thalion taking them up and out of Mordor, the screams of the few orc and Sauron dying echoing around the land.

Thalion took them north, flying for a while before a vicious wind began to cut through the air and even Ariana's magic could not stand up to it. Thalion landed on a mountain side and backed into a small cave, shrinking in size slightly to fit, before curling around the two he travelled with, his head and tail facing the entrance to the cave, but blocking out most of the wind. Bilbo looked up and watched as heavy rain began to pour down from the sky, the temperature dropping again and he curled up into his fur coat and burrowed in next to Ariana, startling when her wings wrapped around them both.

Bilbo handed Ariana a small portion of the dried meat and lembas bread that they had, "You said they knew? How much do they know?" He asked and Ariana sighed, "I think Elrond had seen what we were going to do as soon as we passed into Mordor. I would imagine he took that information straight to the company and well everyone else that needed to know." He sighed, nodding. "How angry do you think they'll be?" Ariana sighed, "Very, doubt we'll ever be allowed to go anywhere together again." She yawned at the end of the sentence and he looked up at her.

She smiled tiredly, falling asleep against Thalion's stomach as he watched her. "Sleep little hobbit, nothing will approach us in this weather and I will hear them if they are stupid enough to try." Thalion's voice rumbled around the cave and Bilbo nodded, curling into Ariana's side and wishing that the rain passed quickly so they could get towards the mountain even if they were going to have to face the anger of all of those they had left behind.

A/N: So there's the chapter that took me 5 months to write! I hope you like it, let me know either way.

The next chapter is Legolas and Thrandy's being a colossal dick. Because how else would he be? ;)