The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hobbit, I only own Nàin.

Chapter 35

Quickly, Nàin made her way down the stairs after the other Dwarves. The small bridge that led into the mountain and up to the barricade had been broken by the Dwarves and now, everybody was preparing themselves for war. Further inside of the mountain, armor and weapons were still laying and the Dwarves quickly found it and prepared themselves to fight.

Nàin stood by and watched, sometimes helping the other Dwarves put on some armory that they had problems with putting on themselves. She felt helpless as she watched them prepare for their deaths. None of them were strong enough to fight against an entire army and panic filled her when she realized how stupid this all was. Had Thorin simply given them what they wanted none of this would've been needed. The share that the people of Laketown wanted was small and barely even scratched the surface of the giant treasure that now was in Thorin's possession yet it still somehow bothered Thorin to even think about having to let go of some of the gold. Dragon Sickness was now not only killing the Thorin the company knew, but also everyone else.

"Nàin," said Fili's voice from behind her, causing her to turn around. Before she knew what was going on, Fili was putting on armor on Nàin. A long chainmail vest that reached down to her knees and her current belt was placed over it. With a knife, Fili shortened her dress so that it wouldn't be in the way if she ran or fought and lastly, two new boots were placed on her feet which ended just underneath her knees and made her walk steadily, something that would be needed in battle since Nàin knew that she had a tendency to get shaky legs whenever she ran scared.

"Why?" asked Nàin as Fili lastly placed the dagger that she had been wearing in her belt along with a sword.

"We're not going to make it," said Fili in a low voice, making sure no one was listening in on their conversation. "I need you to be as safe as possible in here. In the mountain. You're not going out there."

"Fili, I can fi-"

"No. You're staying in here," said Fili, placing his hands on Nàin's shoulders. "Though… I have no plan on going out there and fight."

Nàin furrowed her brow at his words.

"I have a plan. Tell Bilbo to come, quickly," said Fili before Nàin walked away from him, hurrying through the company and to the other side of the hall where Bilbo was standing.

"Bilbo!" she called as she reached him, earning a confused and worried look from Bilbo, probably because she looked as though she was in complete panic while she actually simply was excited and curious about what Fili had in mind.

"Master Baggins!" called Thorin, causing both Bilbo and Nàin to look over at him as he stood in front of the group of Dwarves while they all put on their armory. Nàin saw Fili look over at them before he continued to help his brother out of the far too small chainmail that Kili had gotten himself into. "Come here."

Thorin was already in his armor as they both approached him. In his hands, however, he was holding a sort of chainmail though it didn't look the same as the one that Nàin and the others were wearing. Instead, it was pure white and glistened in the light of the beacons that were enlightened around the hallway.

"You're going to need this," said Thorin, his eyes flickering for a short moment to the clothes Nàin was wearing before landing on Bilbo again. "Put it on."

As Bilbo started to take off his jacket, Thorin held up the chainmail he wore in his hands to Nàin. "This vest is made of silver steel."

"Mithril…" whispered Nàin as she carefully touched it.

"Our ancestors called it that, yes," said Thorin as Bilbo started putting it on over his shirt. "No blade can pierce it."

The other Dwarves all looked over at Bilbo as he put it on and he noticed this as he sighed and looked at Thorin. "I look absurd. I'm no warrior, I'm a Hobbit."

"It is a gift. A token of our friendship," said Thorin, earning a smile from Nàin. "True friends are hard to come by."

Quickly, he placed his hands on both Nàin and Bilbo and dragged them further away from the rest of the Dwarves.

"I have been blind," said Thorin as he did this, his hands holding a tight grip on the both of them which caused them to widen their eyes. "But now I begin to see. I am betrayed!"

"Betrayed?" asked Bilbo in a whisper, a whisper that wasn't Bilbo's intention though his voice failed him as Thorin stopped walking and turned them both to face him.

Does he know?

"The Arkenstone," said Thorin, looking into Nàin's eyes as he slowly shifted closer to the both of them. "One of them has taken it."

Nàin's heart stopped out of relief. He didn't know that Bilbo had it and he didn't know that Nàin knew Bilbo had it. Instead, he thought one of the others had it. Was it because they hadn't interfered with him as much as Bilbo and Nàin? That they hadn't tried to reason with him? Nàin simply stared at him as she slowly started to breathe normally again.

"You don't actually think so, do you Thorin? That's your company you're talking about. Your family," said Nàin, thinking off Kili and Fili.

"One of them is false," said Thorin, paying no mind to what Nàin said.

"Thorin, the quest if fulfilled. You've won the mountain," said Bilbo. "Is that not enough?"

"Betrayed by my own kin," said Thorin, not paying any attention to what Bilbo said either.

"No… you made a promise to the people of Laketown. Is this treasure really worth more than your honor?" asked Bilbo. "Our honor, Thorin. We were also there, we gave our word."

"And for that I am grateful. It was nobly done. But the treasure of this mountain does not belong to the people of Laketown," said Thorin, spitting out the name of the town Smaug had destroyed as if it was a venomous name. "This gold," said Thorin looking down at the floor as if it hurt to talk about it. Worry laced itself into Nàin's heart as she watched his troubled face. "… is ours. And ours alone. With my life, I will not part with a single coin. Not one piece of it."

Thorin backed away from them, leaving them there, staring at the place where he had been standing. The way his face had looked both pained and angry worried them both. There was no way to make Thorin change his mind about this.

"Nàin! Bilbo!" whispered Fili's voice from beside them, causing them both to look at him with raised eyebrows. "Come with me."

..::**::..

"Are you sure about this?" asked Nàin as she, Bilbo and Fili stood outside on one of the many balconies of Erebor. In Fili's hand, he was holding rope and with a nod of his head, he tied the rope to the side of the balcony and threw the rest down.

"Be careful. Hold onto the rope tightly," said Fili as he placed a hand on Bilbo's shoulder.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" asked Nàin as Bilbo placed his hands on the rope.

"No. Stay here. If one of you Dwarves is missing it will alarm Thorin more than if I'm away," said Bilbo, shaking his head. "I can do this, Nàin. There's no need for you to worry."

"Make sure you talk to the leaders. King Thranduil and Bard," said Fili. "I'm sure they'll be very pleased with this but do not make them use the stone in any other way than for negotiation."

Bilbo nodded his head before climbing over the edge and down the mountain side. They had chosen a balcony that wasn't too high up from the ground yet a balcony where the Dwarves didn't usually come, just to be on the safe side. The sun was already down and so, Bilbo was shielded by the darkness surrounding him.

"Thank you," said Nàin quietly as they both watched Bilbo sneak away from the mountain and off to the city of Dale.

"For what?" asked Fili, looking over at her.

"For understanding why we keep it a secret," said Nàin, looking at him as well and locking eyes with him.

"I didn't in the beginning," he said, looking away from her and placing his hands on the railing of the balcony, causing a few tiny stones to fall down from it. "At first I was mad. You'd kept a secret from me. A huge secret that in my mind was something that Thorin owned. But then I met him as I wandered around the mountain and… and the way he looked at me and the way he talked about the gold… it made me realize that you were right. The Arkenstone wouldn't help him. Nothing would. And so, I stayed up all night to think of a plan," said Fili as Nàin placed her hands on his arm. "I obviously didn't come up with one until today after Bard had tried to negotiate with uncle. If he won't give a share of the treasure for peace… then he might give it for the Arkenstone, the one thing that he has craved ever since I arrived here."

"It's a good plan. I just hope it'll work," said Nàin, leaning her head against Fili's shoulder and smiling as Fili let go of the railing with one hand before pulling her closer to him by her waist.

"I hope so too…" he whispered back to her, placing his forehead against hers and smiling at her. "I love you so much…"

Nàin's smile widened as she slowly kissed him, the gesture causing Fili to let go of the railing completely before turning his body towards hers, kissing her back passionately.

"I love you too," said Nàin as she broke the kiss, much to Fili's dismay as he quickly pulled her in for another kiss, deepening it exceedingly.

They broke the kiss again only in order for them to breathe again. Both of their pulses had increased and they both stared into each other's eyes, waiting for the other one to make a move. When Nàin let her hands wander down Fili's chest and stomach, Fili lifted her up from the ground and placed her on the railing, placing himself in between her legs.

With a swift move, Nàin removed Fili's belt and let it fall to the ground…

..::**::..

The army of Elves was impressive to say the least. They walked in perfect lines and in the exact same rhythm. Their golden armory glistened in the sunlight as well as their elven made blades, some of the finest blades there were in Middle-Earth, as they were drawn and ready to start being used in battle.

The Dwarves were all standing up on the barricade again. This time, Nàin was standing in between Thorin and Kili while Fili stood next to his brother. As the army stopped, Bard and Thranduil rode forward. Bard rode the same white horse as earlier while Thranduil rode a large deer. Something that surprised Nàin though not as much as the figure that stood next to Thranduil. The pointy, grey hat and the staff on which the figure leaned on made it easy to see that it was indeed Gandalf standing there. Nàin immediately grabbed a hold of Kili's hand as she realized that they indeed were on the wrong side this time since even Gandalf was standing with Thranduil and Bard. Though, there was not much she could do about it.

With a squeeze of her hand, Kili shifted closer to her in a way to show her that he was there to protect her. In his mind, she was probably afraid of the upcoming battle but in reality, she was afraid of Thorin. Bilbo was nowhere to be seen and she was happy for that. He shouldn't be here for this since she knew that Thorin would kill him if he ever found out that Bilbo had taken the stone and hid it from him. Though, since Bilbo wasn't there, Nàin would most likely get the hit instead.

"We have come to tell you that payment of your debt has been offered. And accepted," said Thranduil, causing Nàin and Fili to exchange a look with each other.

"What payment? I gave you nothing," said Thorin. "You have nothing."

With those words said, Thranduil looked over to Bard who slowly took out something from the inside of his jacket. Nàin and Fili were the only ones to remain silent as the others all screamed at them that they were thieves.

In his hands, Bard held the Arkenstone.

"That stone belongs to the king!" called Kili.

"The king may have it," said Bard and for a moment, Nàin was sure that Bard looked at her with a knowing look. "But first he must honor his word."

"They are taking us for fools," said Thorin to Nàin who squeezed Kili's hand tightly when she realized that he wasn't believing his eyes. "This is a rouse. A filthy lie. The Arkenstone is in this mountain! It is a trick!"

"It's no trick," said a voice from behind the company, stealing the words that Nàin was going to say. "The stone is real. I-I gave it to them."

"You?" asked Thorin, his voice sounding hurt as he did. Nàin quickly let go of Kili's hand and walked to stand with Bilbo, grabbing his hand instead.

"We did," said Nàin, giving Fili a pointed look when he was about to move towards her, hindering him from doing so.

"I took it as my fifteenth share of the treasure," said Bilbo, looking down at the floor.

"You would steal from me?" asked Thorin, his eyes turning dark.

"Steal from you? No. I may be a burglar but I like to think I'm an honest one," said Bilbo, his grip on Nàin's hand tightening. "I'm willing to let it stand against my claim."

"Your claim?" asked Thorin, taking a step towards them. "You have no claim over me you miserable rat!"

"I was going to give it to you, many times. But…" said Bilbo.

"But what, thief?" asked Thorin.

"You are changed, Thorin. The Dwarf I met in Bag-End would never have gone back on his word. He would've never doubted the loyalty of his kin!"

"Don't speak to me of loyalty," said Thorin quietly as tears started to appear in his eyes. "Throw him of the rampart!"

"No! Thorin, please, it was my idea, don't hurt him!" called Nàin as she placed herself in front of Bilbo, relieved of the fact that no one would move to hurt him.

"Nàin," started Fili but was cut off by Thorin raising his hand and shushing him.

"I will deal with you later… woman," said Thorin as he started moving towards them.

Nàin held Bilbo in front of her as he did and he narrowed his eyes at her. With a swift movement, one that most of the Dwarves didn't even have time to react to, he took out a small dagger from underneath his cape and held it up. Quickly, he grabbed a hold of Nàin's arm and dragged her away from Bilbo before placing her above the staircase that led down from the barricade. In a swift move and before Fili and Kili had time to reach Thorin, he cut off the braid in her hair which Fili had made her before pushing her, causing her to fall down the staircase.

Once she landed down at the end of the staircase, her world spun and a throbbing pain appeared in her stomach. Something that was odd since she knew for a fact that she had fallen on her back and rolled down on it as well. She had even landed on her back yet most of the pain was in her stomach. Before she could move though, four pair of hands hindered her from doing so and the faces of Kili and Fili appeared in front of her.

"Nàin…" was the last thing she heard before her body relaxed and her eyes closed, her world turning black.

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