Thanks for all the comment/favourites/ follows it really keeps me going. It makes me so happy that you have liked this story
Their laughter was the thing that sliced through me the deepest. A small, vulnerable part of my brain still had a visceral reaction to the sound. The part where the memories of a scared child running away from those very same sounds resided. For a moment it felt like I was frozen. Like I had been plunged once more into the icy depths of the river. It made my muscles lock up and it felt like my feet were cemented to the ground.
I hadn't expected to be attacked yet. In no way what so ever had I mentally prepared for a surprise like this. My armour was still on the ground for crying out loud.
I guess it was rather stupid of me to not think about this kind of eventuality.
A large hand encircled my arm. Pulling me backwards in an almost bruising grip. Not a second later an arrow surged through the air. Slicing just in front of me. It missed my nose by mere centimetres. Tauriel spun with her sword in her hand. She glanced the arrow with the edge of her blade, cutting it in half. It clattered harmlessly to the ground at her feet.
It was also the shock that I needed to actually start moving. Nothing like being nearly shot in the face to get the juices flowing. If Kili hadn't grabbed me and hauled me back I dread to think where that arrow would have found itself.
Buried in my skull most likely.
Dwalin would have been disgusted with the lack of self-preservation skills I'd had at that moment. I'd spent the last several months training my ass off with him. Now was the time for me to actually put those skills to use. If I failed here then Ada was right to keep me behind.
I couldn't have that.
With only a look I thanked Kili. Then I dove down and picked up my sword from the ground. In a surprisingly fluid motion the blade was unsheathed and in my hands. Correct grip on the handle and everything. It would have been beyond cool if we weren't currently fighting for our lives. Though I had flung off the leather scabbard in a random direction. I would have to find that afterwards.
My eyes had adjusted more in my dire need. I could now see the small troop of orcs that surrounded us. Though I say small. There had to be at least 20 orcs around us. They varied in size. With some definite Gundabad orcs in their midst. They towered above everyone and stood at almost 7.5 ft. They mostly stood nearer the back. Letting the grunts do most of the work.
Legolas was firing arrow after arrow. The sound of choked groans made me suspect that most of the shots had landed. Though they weren't downed by any means. The creatures soldiered on like it was nothing. More like an undead zombie hoard than anything else.
One caught a Gundabad orc in the shoulder. The thing looked down at it as if it was nothing more than a toothpick. With a meaty fist it grabbed the arrow shaft. Snapping it in one swift movement. A mocking smile was already on his lips.
Kili had, thankfully, already had his sword in hand. An orc ran towards him. Breaking rank from the others. It charged with a serrated dagger in its hand. Bellowing with an unnatural screech.
Kili spun out, swinging his sword in a round arc. There was a lot of power in his swing and it sliced through the orc with ease. Right through it's mottled abdomen. Severing muscle and sinew alike. Leaving a gaping whole where it's stomach used to be. Black blood oozed out of the opened wound. The creature barely had time to cry out before it pitched sideways. It's eyes guttering out.
More began running forwards. Trying to swarm us, like insects.
A cry from behind me had me twisting on my heels. Instinct had me bring my sword above my head. Just in time to have an axe handle brought down upon me. The sword and axe clanged together in mid air. Wood splintering against the edge of the blade. The force nearly had my arms buckling. My legs weren't in the proper stance either. With twisting around I had managed to cross them in front of each other. It made me unstable and I nearly fell backwards.
The axe head had gotten perilously close to my shoulder. But I had caught it in time. With gritted teeth and a roar I pushed back against the orc. It stumbled back only slightly, relinquishing the pressure on my sword. Giving me enough chance to step backwards and away from the creature. My feet moved to the correct stance.
Dwalin told me that I needed to use speed because I was too scrawny to rely on my strength. If I kept trying to deflect blows head on I would tire too fast and make a mistake. I needed to move about. Not be still for too long.
"Come here little elfling" the creature jeered. Spittle flying out from between its rancid teeth. "Let's have some fun"
I tried to quell the panic that shot through me. The words were too similar to ones I'd heard before. My heart beat had already skyrocketed. Every nerve ending felt like it was firing at once. My palms were becoming slick against the pommel of my sword. I had to grip it tighter to stop it from slipping in my hands. There was no room for my grip to falter
The orc reared up again. Hefting the axe above its head.
I dodged to the side. Making sure not to cross my feet over this time. The axe came down in the space that I had just vacated. I could feel the air it dislodged. Without thinking too much, I struck out with my sword. Arching the blade across the orcs wrists. The sword vibrated as it hit bone. Nearly causing me to drop it.
The skin sliced open and the orc screamed. It dropped the axe to the ground and stumbled back. An all consuming anger took over its face. Nostrils flaring, teeth bared.
"You'll pay for that" it spat. Literally spat.
The wrist that caught the brunt of my attack hung uselessly by its side. However, the other hand bared its clawed nails. It launched itself at me with a roar.
I hadn't expected it to charge. Panic gripped me. My body acted on instinct and tried to jump backwards. But my feet collided with something. A small boulder. It sent me toppling head over heels.
I had just enough forethought to bring my sword close to my body.
The orc fell with me. Launching itself with tooth and nail. Its dagger like nails dragged down my right arm. Like fire lancing along my skin. Its teeth gnashed close to my face.
We both landed against the hard unrelenting ground. It knocked the air out of me. But I managed to successfully keep hold of my weapon. Slick, black blood now coated my hands and seeped into my shirt. The momentum of the fall had forced my sword through the orc's gut. It had effectively impaled itself.
Bile rose up in my throat. The thing was monstrously heavy and twitched as it died. It was too close, too crushing. I felt trapped. A small cry escaped as I tried to push the orc off me. Arms straining with the effort. With considerable determination I was able to climb out from under the creature. It rolled off me onto its back. My sword still stood in the centre of its gut. Like some obscene effigy. With a foot for leverage and a grunt I unearthed the sword.
A shake threatened to overtake my hands. I battled to keep them under control.
I looked down at my hands, shaking and covered in blood. Then immediately felt like an idiot. Why was I wasting time swinging a sword around when I had a literal weapon in the palms of my hands? I wasn't playing to my strengths. Things like that could get me killed if I wasn't careful.
I didn't get much more time to chastise myself. One second there was nothing, then the next there was a looming shadow. It reached out and grabbed me before I had the chance to react. A hand covered the lower half of my face. Nearly suffocating me in its grasp. It slammed me into it. My head bounced off its body. I barely reached the things chest.
The other hand held a rusted knife under my chin. I felt its booming laugh radiate through my back, as I struggled in its grasp. It spun me around to face the rest of my group. I could see that they had dispatched most of the other orcs. They lay strewn across the muddy ground.
Kili's eyes were so wide and his fear was palpable. Legolas and Tauriel were better at concealing their expressions.
The orc holding me reached out with its knife. Pointing to the others. "Drop your weapons" its voice was like nails on a chalkboard. Then it moved its knife back to me. The metal grazing my neck. "Or this one.."
I didn't give it the chance to speak anymore. My hands had moved to reach behind me. Digging my nails into whatever skin I could find. Then I focused all my hatred. All my anger. All my fear. I focused it all directly into my hands. The electric vibrations shot through my arms aggressively. Manifesting into a blinding power.
This was the first time I had knowingly used my power to hurt something. The other times it had happened on instinct or it was accidental. This time I wanted it to happen.
It did not disappoint.
The magic burst out of me in an explosion of power. Bright, white light danced across my vision. Burning, tearing, singeing. It cut the orc of mid sentence. There was never any chance for the creature to escape. The magic tore through him like he was nothing. Until its own body ruptured and only pieces of it remained. Pieces that were now raining down upon everyone like a biblical plague.
My vision swam and my knees nearly gave out below me. Kili was suddenly there next to me. I happily leaned on him for support.
Maybe that was a bit much. Note to self, don't use that much power next time if I didn't want to faint mid battle. I needed to find a happy medium of explosion and energy conservation.
"It exploded!" I heard Legolas yell. His voice was a mixture of awe and disgust.
I didn't need the reminder. There was enough dessicated orc coating my clothes to emphasize that fact. Black, almost oil-like, blood clung to me. I could feel it. Hot and putrid all across my back. The smell brought tears to my eyes. There were globules of matter stuck to me. A part of my mind knew that it was flesh but I urged myself not to think about it. If I thought about it I would scream.
Legolas seemed to come to his senses. He looked up from the patch of blackened ground and finally seemed to 'see' me. "Oh Eru, Liriel are you okay?"
He started to reach out as if he was going to embrace me. A voice interrupted him.
"The other orcs tried to run" said Tauriel walking back to us. In my daze I hadn't even realised she had gone. "I caught up to them easily enough. They were easier to kill when they were on the retreat"
So we were safe for now.
"They were likely a scouting party. Trying to spy on the dwarves. There could be more about" said Legolas "We cannot let our guard down"
"Here drink this" Kili offered me a skin of water.
I accepted it greedily. With hope that the cold water would help to settle me. It soothed the burn in my throat and helped to clear my head. I'd nearly downed half the skin before I realised and handed it back to Kili.
The shakes thankfully stopped and I didn't feel as woozy anymore.
"Are you okay?" Kili implored.
He reached out to take my arms in his hands. Looking me up in down in case I was harmed. Just as I was about to nod his hand brushed against the top of my arm. I hissed through my teeth and flinched away. Dark red blood mingled with the black. I knew it was mine. The first orc had managed to sink its claws in deep.
"You're hurt!"
"I'll be okay" I muttered, not really believing my own words.
There were three gashes down the top of my right arm. They weren't as deep as I feared. But now that I noticed them again the burning pain returned.
"We should not linger," said Tauriel. She looked around and towards the horizon. Checking for more orc packs most likely.
"Leah's hurt we can't move yet"
Tauriel's eyes swung back towards me. She zeroed in on my arm. "I can help you, Liriel. My healing skills don't match that of a true healer but they are efficient enough"
The wound needed to be cleaned first before Tauriel could have a look at it. I took it as an opportunity to clean the rest of me too. Thankfully, I had the forethought to pack at least one extra shirt. My leggings would have to deal with the light misting of blood. It was my shirt that was the most covered anyway.
I cleaned as best as I could in the river. Kili and Legolas conveniently found other things to look at. Tauriel helped me to get the worst of it out of my hair. Her hands were gentle and comforting. I felt bad that I had been short with her when we first met. She was genuinely nice to people.
Once I no longer looked like a serial killer, Tauriel got to work on my arm. She muttered a string of sindarin under her breath. A spell of sorts. It worked as a kind of catalyst for her magic. Her hands glowed faintly and I felt the pain die down. Moving from burning, to throbbing, to a dull ache. The skin knit itself back together. But not completely smoothly. There were still defined raised lines.
"That's the best I can do for now. It may scar if you do not get it healed by a professional. But otherwise it is perfectly healed"
That's all I could really ask for. What were a few more scars down my right arm? As long as I no longer had an open wound I was golden.
I finally donned my armour. With Kili's help tying it all on, it didn't take too long. Kili put his mail shirt on as well. We were not taking them off any time soon. An orc pack could be roving nearby. They wouldn't catch us unaware again.
We didn't dally much longer. I couldn't bear the sight of the mutilated orcs scattered across the field. It would make me nauseous if I didn't look away. Legolas led the way. Him and Tauriel were scanning the horizon. Not letting their guard down for a single moment.
Kili held my hand in his. Effectively pulling me along. His strong grip was keeping me grounded in the here and now. Though my mind did still wander. Self doubt and panic still found their way through.
"Was Ada right?" I whispered to Kili "Maybe I should have just stayed"
Out of the four of us I had the least amount of fighting experience. I was the biggest liability here. Hell, if Kili hadn't have pulled me out of the way in time I could be impaled by an arrow.
"What do you mean?"
"It's just" I shook my head "One slip up and I could have killed us both. I don't have the same fighting experience you all have"
Kili squeezed my hand. "You're too hard on yourself Leah. You can do impossible things that none of us could ever do."
"But I keep freezing up. The next time it happens could be the last time"
"Next time you'll be more prepared. You'll know that it's coming." said Kili "We can do this Leah. I believe in you"
I looked into his eyes and found no lies. He genuinely believed in my capabilities
"The reason we're even doing this in the first place is because we can't leave when we know we can help. None of us would have been able to stick it out in the elven halls for long"
oOo
The Royal Runaways plodded ever onwards. I was actually quite fond of the name now. It suited us quite well and could also be a kickass band name. As a way to distance and distract myself from the night's events I tried to imagine what our band would be like.
I would be the singer because I wasn't that great at any of the other parts. I mean I was passable on the guitar but nothing special. Kili would definitely be the violinist (Because obviously every great rock band has one). Though I reckon he could throw in some great backing vocals. Hitting all those deep notes I could never touch. I have a feeling Legolas could play a mean guitar solo. He seemed the type. Probably had like hundreds of years more experience at it than me too. Tauriel would be on the drums. She could hit out at enemies well enough I had a feeling she'd be great at hitting a drum skin too. Over very own Roger Taylor.
What would our hit single be? Barrel full of love? No that's way too cheesy. Err, Night Raid? Yeah, that sounded badass enough.
During my musing we were climbing over rocks and forging across streams. It would have been a hell of a lot easier if we had horses. But you couldn't be picky when we had only just escaped. This was the bed we made now we must lie in it. Or hike across it, if you will.
We walked for what must have been almost two hours. The lake cut across a lot of our path and we found ourselves having to journey around it. Taking the river had cut out a significant portion of our overall time. But now we were slowed right down.
Legolas wanted to run the whole way there. I had to give him a hard no on that one. Elven physiology might have given me a boost but my stamina wasn't as good as his. I'd need a good few years before I would be on level playing field with him again. I was also thinking of Kili. As Gimli said, dwarves are wasted on cross country. By time we made it to the mountain we would have had to scrape him off the floor. There was no point tiring us all out before we even got there. That just wasn't a good strategy.
So we lumbered on at a sort of half jog. A compromise that Legolas had deemed acceptable.
Lights began to materialise in the distance. Flamelight of a campsite. It had to be the Elven army. There was also a strange cloying scent in the air. Sweet and earthy. It went right to the back of your throat and I had to stop myself from coughing.
"What is that?" I coughed
"Deliosp" said Legolas, the scent did not seem to affect him. Though there was a big chance he'd smelled it before.
"And that is?"
"It's a type of herb. When you burn it, it can be used to conceal the scent of you and those around you" said Tauriel.
"As you can probably smell, it is quite effective" Legolas laughed.
That was quite clever. Masking our scent from Smaug. That way he wouldn't be able to scent any of the elves nearby. So when he finally emerged we could surprise attack him.
I imagine the herb itself doesn't get used very often. Surely there aren't that many enemies that could sniff you out. Then again, I guess Wargs counted and they had been scenting us all the way across Middle Earth. Maybe we could have used this Deliosp stuff on the way here. Would have saved us a world of trouble.
We reached the top of a small peak. Directly in front of us stood the mountain. You couldn't exactly see it in the darkness but you could sense it. A huge shadow against the backdrop of the sky. I knew that it would be an amazing sight when we finally got to see it in the sunlight.
All of us lay on our fronts. As close to the ground as we could. The grass was slightly damp and tickled my face. I had to spit out a few blades of grass that got a bit too up close and personal. The Elven camp stretched out below us. It was close to the treeline with more shelters set up within the forest. The people moved about at a sedate pace. No orcs must have found their way near then.
There were a few humans mixed in amongst the elves. Some were helping. Some were complaining. and I assume most were actually asleep. Ada must have started the evacuation of Laketown.
"What do we do now?" I mused.
Now that we had made it this far I didn't actually know what to do next. In my mind it was just 'help with smaug' and 'win the war'. I hadn't thought about what would happen in between those. We couldn't just waltz in like we owned the place. Ada would skin us alive. But at the same time we couldn't just hide forever or we wouldn't actually help anyone.
"I hadn't thought this far ahead" said Kili from beside me.
Great another one of us who wasn't thinking.
"Maybe we should just try to blend in" said Legolas "Pretend that we are supposed to be there."
There was dumbass number 3. I just needed Tauriel to do something now to make it 4 for 4.
"We aren't exactly unrecognisable you know. I'm 5ft 2, Kili's a dwarf, Tauriel's ginger and you're the prince"
Technically I was also a princess but my people hadn't had as long to recognise me by my face than with Legolas. They were more likely to notice the height first.
Tauriel shuffled forwards a bit so that she could see me "What would me be ginger have to with any of that?"
"I dunno, I didn't want to leave you out and it's the first thing that came to mind" I'm not a gingerist I swear.
She just raised her eyebrows at my response.
Just as I was about to ask Tauriel for any ideas, the sound of twig snapping caught my ears. It was a lot closer than I expected. The sounds of the camp had distracted me from the sounds around me. Before we had the chance to react, lantern light fell upon us.
Two elves had found us. One holding a lantern for guidance and the other with a knocked bow. A bow that had originally been levelled at us. But when he saw who was lying in the grass he weakened his grasp.
My eyes widened in fear of being caught. I decided to roll with it. Leaning up on my arm and resting my head on the palm of my hand. All natural like.
"Heeey Thanor" I said, recognising one of them "What brings you to this hill?"
"Your Highness what are you doing up here?"
"We were just chilling" I said with a nonchalant shake of my head "Nothing you need to concern yourself with"
"Your highness, you were under strict orders to remain in the palace." said the one with the lantern. "We're going to have to bring you to the King"
"Surely we could negotiate something" said Legolas, who was now standing up.
"The king's orders overrule yours I'm afraid, your highness"
So as it turned out. The decision was made for us. We were in fact just going to go straight to my parents. A sense of trepidation burned through me. This wasn't going to be pleasant at all.
"We should have bribed them in some way" I muttered under my breath.
They were leading us through the campsite. Winding around the smaller tents, heading towards the largest one. The elves that we passed gave us surprised looks. They knew that we weren't supposed to be there.
"Elven guards are not easily bribed, Liriel" Tauriel said.
"You were," I joked "All we had to offer you was the opportunity to help others and you were hooked"
"I was not bribed," she said, affronted.
"Suuure"
She just shook her head and stopped listening to me.
The tent entrance drew closer and I felt my mouth go dry. Kili's heart rate picking up also wasn't helping.
Someone must have ran on ahead because before we even went through the door I heard a loud "WHAT?!"
The door of the tent was ripped open and suddenly Ada was standing before us. I jumped back with how quickly he appeared. There was a fire in his eyes that I had yet to see. As soon as he laid eyes on us all, his jaw tightened and his nostrils flared. I felt very much like a child again. About to be scolded by her Ada.
Ada moved to the side and pointed into the tent. "Inside. Now" he said through gritted teeth.
I wasn't going to make him wait when he was this angry. My feet carried me through the doorway with startling speed.
Mum was standing just inside. Her expression showed no sign of surprise and she gave me a sympathetic smile.
"What part of 'stay inside the mountain' did you not understand?" Said Ada, directing his question towards me. My eyes looked down, not able to make contact with his. "You do realise that I did that for your own protection"
"Of course I do but.."
"Obviously you do not or you would not be here" Then he turned his attention to Legolas "And I thought I left you in charge of protecting our Kingdom. Why are you here?"
"I couldn't in good faith let Liriel venture out alone Ada. I came along to protect her"
The lying little shit. "Hey! Don't put this on me. You wanted to leave even more than I did"
"Enough! both of you" Ada sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I had forgotten just how idiotic you two were when you were together." Ada grumbled "It is like you suddenly only have one brain to share between the two of you"
Ada turned away as if he couldn't bear to look at us. He picked up a goblet from the table and downed it in one. My ambled over and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly.
"They aren't children anymore melamin" Mum's voice was like a soothing balm "We have to let them make their own decisions"
"Even if those decisions get them killed!" Ada snapped
"I couldn't just sit there Ada. We're here now please, just let us help" I pleaded.
Ada turned back towards me "What makes you think that I am not just going to send you back?"
"There are orcs" said Legolas "We encountered an orc pack earlier tonight. They must be amassing to the south of here"
To try to send us back now could be more dangerous than letting us stay. They would need quite a few guards to escort us back. Guards that would be necessary here.
"You are saying that there are orcs roving around us already?" Ada's voice was alert
"Yes Adar"
"I will send scouts to comb through the area" said Ada "It would seem that you have gotten your wish. It is too dangerous to send you back now so you must remain here"
Ada turned to me. Looking between Kili and I. "You will do exactly what I tell you, do you understand? I will not have you risking your lives needlessly. If I see you trying to do something outlandishly dangerous I am not above tying you to a tree"
"We will listen" I promised, as long as I could stay here I could deal with that.
Kili nodded too.
Ada rubbed his head as if it pained him. Then he sighed and stood up straighter. "I am going to talk with the guard. Do not do anything stupid while i am gone" With that Ada stalked out of the room.
As soon as he left It felt like I could finally breathe. Crisis averted... Kinda
"Well that went to be expected" said Mum
I walked over and looped my arms around Mum. She rested her head on the top of mine. "He'll come around eventually darling"
"I mean I call this progress" I joked "He only threatened to tie me to a tree he hasn't already done it"
Mum laughed too. "So how did you make it out then? Is it a daring adventure story?"
We told Mum how we had escaped from the elven halls. Using the clues in her letter.
"The Barrels?" She said, shocked "Why on earth did you do that? I thought I told you to use one of the hidden entrances"
So she hadn't been hinting at us to use the barrels at all. My inferring skills needed a freshen up it seemed.
"In our defence they were all guarded" Legolas tried to claw back some dignity.
"You could have waited for a shift change" Mum's face was bemused.
"That's what I said" Tauriel chimed in.
"It doesn't matter" I cut my hands through the air to signal that the conversation was over. "What matters is that we are here now. That's what is important"
"If you say so darling" Mum patted my face in a very sarcastic way.
I let it slide for now. Just happy that we were finally here and we weren't going anywhere. Now we just had a dragon to contend with.
I honestly didn't think I'd manage to do this chapter today. I mean half way through writing this my sisters dog managed to lock itself in her car with the keys inside. We had to spend an hour trying to get the dog to stand back on the central locking button. But we did it, Woo.
This chapter isn't great because it's more of a filler chapter before we get to Smaug. Which is happening next chapter. You'll get to see what the elves have thought up to defeat the great Wyrm. And if it all goes to plan. hint hint, nothing ever does.
Hopefully the next chapter will flow better.