Wrath or Ruin

"What are you all doing here?" Phoenix asked, taking in the haggered look of her nephews and the whimpering cries of her daughter as she lifted her from her cousin's arms.

"Erebor is under attack." Thoruntur told her as they all crowded her and hugged her. "We didn't know what to do and Auntie Sigrid sent us here."

"You will all stay here where it's safe, I must go and talk to my Uncle." Phoenix told them.

"We'll come with you." Harin told her and together they went back to where Thranduil was now assembling his army.

"Please tell me that we are going to Erebor." Phoenix told them as she entered.

"Of course we are, I thought that you would already be dressed." Thranduil told her.

"I have maids taking your mother's armour to your room." Legolas told her as he too entered, dressed for battle.

Meanwhile, back in Erebor the battle was well under way, Thorin was fighting amongst his men as he promised, doing everything to ensure that the battle remained in the great hall to protect his daughter. Everyone had lost track of how long the had been fighting for, too hyped up on the adrenaline that always came with a battle. Suddenly there was a scream from above and everyone stopped fighting and looked up, seeing Dain stood on one of the balconies with another warrior.

"Give up Thorin!" He shouted. "Or we start killing the whores!"

They then all looked and saw that the warrior with him had hold of Sigrid and she already looked battered and bruised.

"Sigrid!" Fili's voice rang out an he tried to push through the crowds to get to his wife, but Thorin caught him and held him back.

"Fili no." Thorin told him, trying to reason with his nephew.

"She's my wife, I'm going to kill that bastard for hurting my wife!" Fili fumed.

"Drop your weapons or she dies." Dain warned them, holding up his battle axe.

Thorin looked at his nephew who gave him a look of desperation and he looked at his other warriors. "Drop your weapons!" He shouted and everyone dropped their weapons, before Dain's men surrounded them and grabbed them.

Dain suddenly laughed. "I warned you Fili, you shouldn't have waisted your life on a daughter of men." He sneered, the blade of his axe running across Sigrid's cheek, leaving a cut and he was surprised when she didn't make a sound. "A brave little welp aren't you?" He asked. "I can't wait to make you scream." He suddenly punched her in the stomach, causing her to fall to the floor gasping.

"I am a daughter of Durin." She gasped out. "I will never give you the satisfaction." She told him and it had Thorin and Fili smiling in pride, before they winced as Sigrid was kicked by Dain's boot.

Just as he was about to do worse to Sigrid, another warrior ran to him and he caught Dain's attention, Thorin figured that he must have been a sentry.

"My Lord Dain," The dwarf shouted.

"What is it?" Dain asked.

"Elves my Lord." He told him and everyone looked to Thorin as he continued. "The woodland sprites of Mirkwood have come."

Thorin looked to him. "You've lost Dain." He told him. "Phoenix will burn the skin from your body in seconds."

Dain smirked. "We shall see." He told his cousin before he looked at his men. "Archers stand ready." Thorin watched as his cousin's archers all gathered at the doors to the main hall and he kept praying that Phoenix was not on the other side of the door. On the other side of the door, Phoenix was on the other side of the door and Thranduil and Legolas were stood next to her.

"They are ready for an attack." Thranduil hummed.

"The Phoenix would be the best to go in first, blitz attack them." She told them.

"Could you make one with enough light?" Legolas asked and when Phoenix nodded, Thranduil nodded in agreement.

"Agreed," He looked at his elves. "Stand ready." He watched his elves get into position behind Phoenix. Inside they heard Dain give an order for them to open the doors and as the doors started to open, Phoenix's fire bird suddenly pushed the doors open with a squawk and the suddenness and the heat of the phoenix caused Dain's men to scatter in surprise. Whilst the dwarves were stunned and surprised, the elves got to work, they managed to take out many of the archers, before it got fun. When the fire bird disappeared, Thorin watched as his wife suddenly seemed to appear behind the dwarf who had hold of him and she pressed one of her daggers to the dwarf's neck.

"Get your hands off my husband." She hissed and she watched the dwarf let go of Thorin and as he went for her, she sliced his neck with her knife, letting him drop to the floor to his fate.

Thorin looked to her and he smiled in relief at seeing her, before he looked around for Fili and then he realised where he had gone.

"He's gone after Dain, you need to find them, he has Sigrid." He told her and he watched Phoenix nod and then she was gone as he picked up his sword and he went back to fighting. Phoenix searched through the stairways and she saw Fili up ahead. "Fili!" She shouted.

Fili stopped for a minute and he watched her join him and then they heard Sigrid shout for them.

"Fili!" Sigrid's voice rang out from the numerous stairways and Fili looked to Phoenix.

"He's mine." He told her and Phoenix nodded, before they took off running up the rest of the stairs, Fili following Phoenix as her elf ears helped her to pick up the sounds. Dain had dragged Sigrid down the corridors, and Sigrid was not cooperating, doing everything that could to get away from him or make it harder for him.

"Will you just do as your told you slut." Dain groaned as Sigrid's foot landed against his legs. "Owe, you little bitch!" He went to grab his leg which meant that he let go of Sigrid and she took her chance and ran.

As she ran, Phoenix and Fili joined them and Phoenix pulled Sigrid out of the way as Dain threw a knife at them and Fili managed to intercept it with his sword, knocking it away.

"You're going to die for hurting her." He snarled and he ran at Dain, but was blocked by his the two fought, Phoenix sent Sigrid back to the stairs and she readied her bow and when the guard turned his back on her, she hit him with an arrow.

"Fili, go, I've got this bastard." She told him and she watched Fili turn heal and take off after Dain. Phoenix killed the man in quick succession and she followed Fili's footsteps, before she found him and Dain locked in war.

"Fili!" Phoenix shouted.

"Go and help my uncle, I got this bastard." Fili told her.

"He's not to die," Phoenix reminded him. "Maim and injure, but not kill."

Fili nodded and he went back to his fight and Phoenix ran back down to join the main fight. Getting back down the stairs, she could not find Thorin, but she was not worried, she found Dis struggling against more than one dwarf and she ran to intervene. She managed to help her sister-in-law and they were soon back to back, fighting with each other.

"Where is Fili?" Dis asked.

"He's alright, he's beating the shit out of Dain." Phoenix told her as she beheaded a dwarf who was coming to attack her.

The fight seemed to drag for hours, and then for what felt like days, and then the battle stopped as everyone saw Fili dragging Dain's unconscious body down the stairs. Dis gasped at seeing how beat up Fili looked, but she knew that he was not the worst looking fighter there.

"I suggest the rest of you leave, before you all die." Fili shouted, he had obviously not been able to take all of his anger out and everyone watched as Dain's men threw down their weapons and Thorin had his men arrest them. When the men were dealt with, Thorin looked to fin his family and make sure that they were well. He found Thranduil and Legolas picking up their arrows, they both looked unharmed. He then found Kili hugging Tauriel who was on her knees in front of him, having ended up on the floor during battle and not having a chance to get herself back on when Kili found her. He found Dis treating their father who had a cut over his right eye. Then he found Fili who was holding Sigrid to him after she had come down the stairs.

"Fili, have you seen Phoenix?" He asked as he came to them.

Fili looked to them and nodded to where he could see Phoenix with Baztia and they were kneeling beside a body. Seeing Baztia caused him to worry and he ran over, just as Balin joined him and he saw that the body was that of Dwalin.

"Oh Mahal…" Thorin whispered.

"It's okay Thorin, he's alive, he's just sleeping." Phoenix told him. "I managed to heal him well enough."

Thorin sighed in relief and he fell to his knees beside his wife. "Forgive me, I do not know what happened to our daughter, I left her with Sigrid, I don't know what Dain has done with her."

"It's alright, she is in the Greenwood." She told him.

"How, did she get there?" He asked, he was shocked to hear that his infant daughter had got to Phoenix in the Greenwood.

"Harin and Thorontur had been sent by Sigrid, it's how Dain got hold of her." She told him. "She saved the children by sending them away on horses."

Thorin sighed in relief and they lapsed intoa comfortable silence beside Dwalin.

Eventually Dwalin was moved to his rooms with Baztia and Balin keeping watch over him, and everyone else went to their rooms to relax and ensure that they were all okay. Legolas and Thranduil were given a room each for the night as they promised to head back to the Greenwood in the morning to retrieve the children. Everyone was battered and bruised, and in need of a good rest. Thorin and Phoenix were sat on their bed, Phoenix had changed into a tunic and her leather pants whilst Thorin remained in his leather pants and his under shirt.

"What did you find out?" He asked as he lay on their bed.

"We can talk about it tomorrow, just rest." She told him. "You need it."

He shook his head. "No, I want to hear it, I'm anxious to hear what you found." He told her sitting upright on the bed.

Phoenix sighed. "There was a reason why my father was not part of a dwarf culture, it was before he met my mother, he was sent with a task." She told him. "He came to Erebor, he came with a dark purpose."

"What was his purpose?" Thorin asked.

"He was to execute the king." She told him.

"Phoenix…Does that mean?"

"It means that if he had gone through with it, your blood line would never have been started, the Line of Durin would not exist, you and our daughter would not exist." She told him.

"Well that's good isn't it?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" She asked confused.

"Well he didn't do it, that's obvious because I'm here, our daughter is here." He told her. "The line of Durin exists." He told her. "So we have nothing to worry about."

"So you're not upset?" She asked.

"No I'm not." He told her. "Phoenix, this does not bother me." He told her.

Phoenix nodded. "Thank Mahal." She whispered. "I was so worried."

"Don't be." He told her. "Now come to bed with me, Vana will be home tomorrow." He reminded her.

Phoenix smiled and she got onto the bed with him, lying next to him and she smiled softly at feeling his arms around her and then she felt him fall asleep against her back.