Chapter 56

We left in the early afternoon, and Thane offered to fly first. I hugged Lord Elrond tightly, and glanced up at him when he smiled. I didn't want to stay here any longer than what was necessary. I had put my mind through a bit of meditation last night, and had even had Thane join me. He needed to learn as well, so I figured it was time to train him as well. The sooner the better in his case.

"You continue doing what I told you. If you can master it, no one can touch you," he rumbled.

"I will do my best," I nodded.

I said my good byes to Aragorn and Legolas before hopping on Thane's back. He took to the air as smoothly as he could, and soon we were flying. It took us most of the day to get to the Misty Mountains, and by then it was raining. It was bad enough that we had to stop and seek shelter for the portion of the storm. I was uncomfortable with how close we were to the mountains. I wanted nothing more than to pass them, but I was not about to take my dragon form.

"We can rest here, Amad," Thane said, finding a sheltered area in the trees.

"If we could have made it to Beorn's, we'd be much safer," I sighed.

"It isn't wise to fly over the mountain in this rain," Thane rumbled.

"No, it is not," I agreed.

He started moving around and cleared an area to make a fire. I gathered some wood and soon we had a small fire going under the cover of the rocks. It wasn't much, but it'd keep us warm. I sighed a little, and turned to listen for a moment. When I heard nothing, I relaxed a little and sighed. We had a long night ahead of us, and with this rain I was hoping it'd be done in the morning.

"I will go find us some dinner," I said softly, and Thane nodded.

I quietly headed out into the woods and managed to find us a few rabbits. It wasn't hard to catch them, and once I had them gutted I began to make my way to camp. I noticed that it was quiet. There was no sound in the woods, not even the hoot of an owl. I tensed a little, feeling that something was wrong, but I couldn't place it. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I picked up the pace.

As I got close enough to camp, I heard the sound of something I had not heard in years. A soft snarl echoed from behind me, and I reached out. I could hear something going on where Thane was, and the clash of metal had me running. My reaction had whatever was behind me roar out and take chase. As I came onto camp, I saw Thane was battling several Orcs at once, and there was nice gash on his forehead already.

It had been such a long time since we had encountered Orcs, that I was quite surprised. Thane was moving quickly, his sword finding his enemies with deadly precision. I felt my eyes glow in anger, and Thane swung around when he heard me crash through the woods.

"Mother!" he cried. "Run! RUN!"

I drew my sword instantly, and swung around and cut down the warg that had been chasing me. He yelped from the contact, and I hit him again, slicing open his throat. Spinning around, I rushed forward to help Thane, and I killed an Orc that was at his back. He was doing just as well as his father would have done. His skill alone was great, and I knew he'd be fine. More noise caught my attention, and I turned my head and my face went pale. There were more.

"Fly," I snarled. "Fly now!"

"But..."

"If they catch you, I don't know what I'd do with myself. I'll follow. FLY!" I roared.

He obeyed the command instantly, and soon was gone into the night. Relief that he had listened had me slow down for just a moment before I was fighting again. I was not about to let him get captured. Even though he was a man now, that still didn't stop me from protecting him. I glared and stabbed an Orc right in the head.

I flinched as a blade cut my shoulder, and I spun around and cut through the enemies. He was safe, that was all that mattered. He needed to get home, and go now. Slamming my sword down on the head of another warg, something sharp hit me in my head just as I was about to flee. I gasped, and without permission my body crumpled to the ground and everything went black.

THANE'S POV

He flew as fast as the wind would carry him, and instead of heading back to Erebor, he went to Rivendell. The moment he had taken to the sky, the rain had picked up and he couldn't see the ground below him. Thane had a pretty good sense of direction, and soon he found himself coming upon the elvish city. He landed in the courtyard with about as much grace as a toddler, and forced his transformation into human.

"LORD ELROND!" he roared, getting to his feet.

Thankfully, he only had to wait moments, and the elf lord strolled out into his view. His look of concern almost had Thane breaking down, and it was only because he was worried for Arina. His mother had been captured, and he didn't have the strength to save her. She had warned him not to use his dragon form, so he had chosen to listen to her. H had no idea why they had taken her, but that didn't matter. They had to find her now, not later, he could only imagine what they'd do to her. Rage threatened to control him, and he took in a huge breath as the elf lord walked down the steps quickly.

"You must help me! Please!" he hurried along. "We were just traveling, and arrived close to the Misty Mountains when we were ambushed."

"Ambushed? How many?" Lord Elrond demanded.

"Over thirty strong. I've never encountered them, but these days I haven't heard of them traveling in such large groups," Thane answered, as Elrond sent off an elf to fetch someone.

"Did you happen to catch which direction they were headed?" the elf asked.

"It was raining so hard I couldn't see much," Thane answered, his voice rough. "But I think they turned south."

"South..."

"They moved quickly. I barely heard them approach us, and that is unlike us. My mother would always know if someone was trying to sneak up on us," he grunted. "We must do something."

"We will, Prince," Elrond reassured him quietly. "Listen well. I need you to fly home, and tell your father. If they are moving south, we need to get a party going on the other side of the mountains."

"I will accompany you."

Looking over, Thane watched Legolas come hurriedly down the steps. He shifted on his feet, and while he didn't know the elf very well, his mother liked him. His mother liked all of them, so he knew they'd have to help.

"I will send word to Galadriel in Lorien," Elrond rumbled. "And I will send a party out."

"You can take me to my father," Legolas nodded, adding. "We are closer to the Misty Mountains, so I can take a few trusted elves and start looking."

"All right," Thane nodded his head.

"Keep Thorin at Erebor," Elrond rumbled suddenly. "He needs to stay there."

"When he gets informed of what has happened, he will not stay within the mountain," Thane shook his head. "He will be blinded, and will need to lead the search himself."

"Someone needs to rule then in his place," Elrond sighed. "We cannot leave Erebor unprotected. Capturing Arina could be the first hit. The enemy could be trying for Erebor as well."

"They will die before they take that mountain," Thane snarled.

"Come, we need to get moving," Legolas pressed. "We cannot waste anymore time. Orcs can travel through any weather without stopping. They care not for the things that would stop us. Just by flying here alone, they could have gained ground."

"I had no choice," Thane suddenly whispered.

"You did well," Elrond praised, patting his shoulder. "Now go."

The flight to Mirkwood in the rain was absolutely painful. It had not let up, and Thane had not stopped to rest. He was running on pure rage, and he was desperate to start the search. When he left Legolas at the gates of the Woodland Realm, he immediately took flight again. He could only hope that Thranduil would be gracious enough to help them. The alliance that they had entered years ago should insure that, but Thane knew the elf could be thick headed sometimes.

It was quiet when he arrived home, and the clouds had finally parted. The storm had been huge, and he knew any trace of Arina would be gone with the rain. How were they going to track her in this weather?! Were they even going to be able to track her?! For a moment, he was overwhelmed, but he forced himself to focus. They would finish this and they would find her. He came to a landing right outside Erebor and was human before his feet touched the ground. Storming inside, he shoved a few guards out of his way and ran straight to his father's chambers. It was late enough that he knew Thorin would be sleeping, but he was about to be disturbed. When he got to the door, he pounded on it without pause until he heard someone grab the handle.

Thorin yanked open the door, and he was greeted with the narrowed glare of his father. For a moment, they just stared at each other, and then his father's gaze sharpened, and then grew as worry set in. He instantly realized something was wrong. Thane was out of breath, and he used the stone wall to support him.

"Where is your mother?" he demanded, and Thane buckled and told him what had happened.


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