The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

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

Chapter 36

Pain.

Just pure pain.

It intensified the more Nàin came back to consciousness and it was the only thing that made herself slow down the process of waking up. Or at least, she tried to slow it down. She groaned and frowned as her eyes opened but quickly closed them again as the light hurt. Around her, Dwarves were standing, looking either at her or at each other. No one seemed to be saying a word yet there were sounds of swords clashing against each other that echoed through the hallway they were standing in.

She hadn't been moved since her fall and so, the sunlight from outside touched her skin lightly. Oin's hands were on her shoulders the moment she tried to move and forced her to stay put.

Nàin didn't protest against that.

"He won't be reasoned with… He won't listen," said the voice of Dwalin, causing almost every Dwarf to look away from Nàin.

Oin slowly let go of her shoulders and helped her to sit up. The moment she clenched her teeth and grabbed her stomach as pain thrust through it, another pair of hands started to help Oin move Nàin into a sitting position, trying to make her use her muscles as little as possible.

"We're in here, doing absolutely nothing while our kin fights our battle. They are dying for us and we're not even by their side!" exclaimed Fili's voice, making Nàin jerk her head towards the location of his voice.

Bofur and Oin were the only ones who knew that she had sat up, them being the ones that had helped her to sit up in the first place. The pain in her stomach subdued only slightly yet she tried to pay no mind to it as she searched the company for any sign of Bilbo. Though, he wasn't there. She felt worried for him, not knowing whether or not he had made it away from Thorin before he could hurt him in his outraged mood.

"How long have I been out?" asked Nàin with a quiet voice.

"No more than half an hour, my lady," replied Oin at the same time as Bofur stood up again.

"Nàin!" exclaimed Fili, causing her to look back at him again as he ran over to her and crouched down beside her. "Are you alright? Is she alright?" His last question was directed to Oin.

"I believe she'll be fine. The lady was lucky to not have broken anything in the fall. Or worse…" said Oin, his eyes flickering down to her stomach for a few seconds before he stood up.

The look Oin had given Nàin's stomach caused her to look down at it though she couldn't find anything wrong with it. The pain was gone now and there was no blood. What the pain had been, she didn't know and at the moment, she didn't think more about it either. Instead, she turned her head to Fili who placed his hands on her shoulders, shifting so that he was crouched down in front of her instead.

"Uncle… I…" said Fili, his eyes showing that he wanted to say something though couldn't find the correct words for it.

"Look at me, Fili," said Nàin as she placed both her hands on his cheeks, noticing the small cut she had gained on her right hand. Luckily, it wasn't bleeding much and so, she let it go as well. "What Thorin did… he didn't do. That was the sickness acting. Not your uncle," she said, earning a shake of Fili's head as he took her hands in his.

"He broke the engagement," said Fili, causing Nàin to remember, with a shock, what Thorin had done right before he had pushed her.

He'd cut off her braid.

"I…" this time it was Nàin who was at a loss for words.

"We'll fix that. After the battle," said Fili, placing a light kiss on her knuckles.

"What did I miss? Where's Bilbo?" asked Nàin as Fili slowly helped her to stand up.

"He left," replied Bofur, having heard her question since none of the other Dwarves were speaking. "He's safe somewhere… hopefully…"

"Good," replied Nàin, nodding his head at Bofur.

"Our plan didn't work. There's a battle going on out there but luckily Dain came to help us," said Fili. "Thorin had sent out word for him to come and help defend Erebor."

"The raven…" whispered Nàin as she looked over at Balin who nodded his head slowly and sadly at her.

"Though… something else happened as well," said Fili as he placed an arm around Nàin's waist, holding her close to him, afraid that she would fall over as she stood up.

"What?" asked Nàin, her eyes darting from Dwarf to Dwarf.

"Azog and an army of Orcs happened," said Kili, earning a sigh from Nàin as she looked away from the Dwarves.

"We're doomed," replied Nàin.

"We need to do something," said Kili, his voice sounding angry. "We can't just stay in here."

"We should be fighting," agreed Nori, nodding his head.

"I say we go out there without the consent of Thorin," said Gloin, earning looks from the company.

"We can't do that," replied Nàin, shaking her head. "We can't go against Thorin, our king."

"That's not Thorin down there," replied Balin, earning a nod from Dwalin.

"I follow Thorin Oakenshield. Not some lonely king with a crown on his head, eyes filled with lust for gold," said Dwalin.

"We follow leaders," said Bofur.

"People who are true to their words," said Ori, earning nods from his brothers.

"What are you all saying?" asked Fili, Nàin mirroring the confused look on his face.

"We follow you," said Balin, taking a step forwards along with the others.

"Prince Fili and princess Nàin," said Kili with a wide grin on his face.

Fili and Nàin glanced over at each other. They kept their faces serious though their eyes revealed the shock and proudness that filled them because of their words. To be seen as a leader in the Dwarven society was a big weight, though also a big honor. To have the loyalty of a Dwarf, meant a lot as Dwarves would not easily stop following you. Unless, of course, their leader died and even then, the Dwarves would have trouble following someone else.

Over the past months of their quest, the company had grown fond of Nàin and when Thorin had hurt her this badly, doubt had filled them. When Thorin had after that even ordered them to stay in the mountain instead of going out into the battlefield to fight beside their kin, that doubt had grown even more and now, they were prepared to give their loyalty to someone else.

To Fili and Nàin.

When they looked back at the company again, their eyes landed on a figure walking up to them.

"Thorin…" whispered Nàin, the grip of Fili tightening around her when he saw him as well.

As the company all turned around to look at said person, none of them felt doubt anymore. Thorin wasn't wearing his crown. He wasn't wearing his cape. Instead, he wore normal clothes just like the rest of the company and in his hand, he held a sword. His eyes investigated each and every face of the company before Kili walked up to him.

"I will not hide behind a wall of stone while others fight our battles for us!" he exclaimed, with each word, taking a step closer to his uncle. "It's not in my blood, Thorin."

Thorin and Kili stood but a meter away from each other and for a moment, Nàin thought that she had been wrong in thinking that this wasn't the sick Thorin walking up to them. But then he spoke and her world seemed to turn brighter again.

"No, it is not. We are sons of Durin," he said, placing his hand on Kili's shoulder before glancing over at Nàin. "Sons and daughters of Durin." Nàin nodded at him before he looked back down at his nephew again. "And Durin's folk do not flee from a fight," he said before placing his forehead against his nephew's, smiling at him as he did.

It was a gesture that he used to do back in the days when Kili and Fili still had been children. A gesture of love and a sign that this indeed was Thorin Oakenshield talking again.

"I have no right to ask for this of any of you," said Thorin, looking from Dwarf to Dwarf before letting his eyes stay on Fili. "But will you follow me one last time?"

With this said, every Dwarf took out their weapon of choice. It was a quiet yet true promise they made and as Nàin took out the dagger of her grandfather and Thorin's eyes landed on it, he smiled before looking up at her, nodding his head at her in an approving way.

..::**::..

The Dwarves all lined up with Thorin in the lead. From above them, Bombur sounded the horn while Bifur prepared the large bell to knock down the barricade in front of them.

"Nàin, what I did… I can't even begin to say how much I regret it-" started Thorin as the sound of the horn echoed against the walls.

"Don't, Thorin," said Nàin, shaking her head. "I didn't get hurt."

"But I-" started Thorin, gesturing to her hair.

"I know. But we'll fix that after the battle. Right?" said Nàin, grabbing Fili's hand as he stood beside her, nodding in agreement.

"Of course," said Thorin, smiling at her.

"Good," replied Nàin, feeling her legs starting to shake.

"Then I am forgiven?" asked Thorin quietly.

Nàin looked away from Thorin, squeezing Fili's hand slightly as her heart ached. "I never said that though…"

She couldn't see the look on Thorin's face as she didn't dare to look at him and therefore she couldn't see his reaction. Though she didn't want to either. If he got hurt or angry, it didn't matter at the moment. The battle was what Nàin wanted to focus on and although she appreciated what Thorin was doing, apologizing before the battle in case they didn't make it, she didn't want him to do that. Both because she needed time to forgive him for what he had done to her, something that hurt her a lot since the engagement to Fili had been something she had wanted for quite some time, and because she couldn't bare herself to think about the fact that someone of the company might die or get hurt.

As Thorin gestured for Bifur to release the bell and knock down the barricade, Fili spun her towards him and kissed her soundly on the lips. "Don't you dare leave my side. You hear me?"

Nàin nodded, her hands starting to shake as well when the bell was released and the barricade was knocked down, creating a pathway for the company to run into the battlefield. Though, they waited a while in order for the dust to lay before Thorin raised his sword and started running, the others following him suit.

In Nàin's hands, she now held a sword of her own which she held up in the air as she ran after Thorin and onto the battlefield. Everyone was staring at them. The Dwarves of the Iron Hills were all baffled to see them; a small group of Dwarves, charging towards an army of Orcs on their own and it didn't take long for the Iron Hill Dwarves to follow them as well.

From the moment the Orcs started running towards them, only seconds managed to pass before the fighting could start again. As promised, Nàin stayed close to Fili, slaying Orcs alongside of him and moving further down the battlefield in the process.

Both Fili, Kili and Thorin stayed close to each other which at the same time caused Nàin to stay close to them. She was well protected and only earned a few scratches from the Orcs. The rest of the company could be seen from time to time and as their eyes met, they would nod at each other in acknowledgement before continuing fighting.

"A lady!" said a voice, causing Nàin to spin around, knocking out an Orc in the process which she would like to think was intended to happen although she very much knew that it had been an accident. "Lady Nàin, right?"

She nodded her head at the Dwarf who had spoken, Thorin watching them in between Orc that attacked him.

"May I ask who you are?" asked Nàin, both Dwarves slaying an Orc together before turning to face each other again.

"Dain Ironfoot! Pleasant to meet such a lovely lady out here!" said Dain, quickly planting a kiss on Nàin's hand before the both of them took out another Orc who tried to kill them.

"Nàin!" called Fili from behind her, causing her to turn around before gasping as she saw him, Kili, Dwalin and Thorin sitting on a large goat each. She took the outstretched hand before climbing up onto the goat as well, placing herself behind Fili.

"Nice meeting you!" she called after her to Dain who nodded before returning to the fighting. "Where are we going?"

"Azog's up there," said Fili, pointing a finger to a larger cliff called Ravenhill where a large ruin from a watchtower of old stood. A couple of figures stood on top of it along with a contraption that looked like it was giving orders to the Orc-army on the battlefield. "We're going to cut the head of the snake."

"Okay. Yeah, that's a good idea," said Nàin, holding a tight grip on Fili's waist as they galloped through the battlefield, knocking out some Orcs in the process with both the help of the goat and their swords.

From the other side of the battlefield, she saw a familiar figure sitting behind a large rock, watching the fighting going on from his hiding spot. Their eyes met and she followed him with her eyes before being forced to look away as an Orc tried to attack her.

It had been Bilbo.

We're nearly there! Since I've already written most of the upcoming chapters, this story is coming to an end quite quickly now which saddens me…

But! I do have a slight problem. Yes, I've written the end already... mostly anyway... but I'm uncertain of whether or not that ending is what I want for this story. So, I'm going to ask you guys! (without telling any huge details about a certain dwarf ;) )

There's an ending which I've already written and with that ending I'm most likely going to be able to make this story float on into the lord of the rings but I won't continue updating the entire trilogy of the lord of the rings on this one obviously. :P It's just a very beautiful ending and I might be able to have a part two of this story with that ending.

The other ending is more of a... Disney ending. You know, "live happy ever after" ending. I'm not a hundred percent sure if that is what I want for this story but at the same time, I want to write that as well. :/

Any thoughts? Ideas? Just tell me, please, because I'm torn between these two endings! :( Plus, if you have any ideas yourself, your welcome to tell me!