I am so sorry that I left you all in suspense for so long, but here comes the pivotal chapter...the battle of Ravenhill. So without further ado...let's get into it.
Mels
Third Person POV
Ravenhill
Thorin, Adaira and the others, having defeated all of the enemies for now, looked out across the river at the ruins of Azog's stronghold where he had last been seen. His wooden signalling machines were visible through the mist, but the pale Orc himself was nowhere to be seen. Adaira stood by her Uncle's side as he stared out at the ruined stronghold, her husband just behind her and Fili and Kili standing at Thorin's other side with Thrain standing just behind them as he too searched around for their enemy.
"Where is he?" Kili asked as Thorin narrowed his eyes, searching through the mists for a sign of the pale Orc. "Looks empty. I think Azog has fled!" Kili said triumphantly and Adaira shook her head, her face pulled down in a frown. She doubted that Azog would flee from them.
"I don't think so…" Thorin said quietly and Adaira nodded in agreement.
"He wouldn't flee from us. Azog is no coward and with all of the line of Durin coming to meet him...," Adaira said and everyone turned to look at her, their eyes widening slightly as they realized she was right. "He would not waste such an opportunity to wipe us out, as he has always wanted to do" Adaira said and Thorin turned back to the others.
"Fili, take your brother. Scout out the towers. Keep low and out of sight. If you see something; report back, do not engage - do you understand?" Thorin asked his eldest nephew and Adaira laid a hand on his arm.
"They shouldn't go alone, I'll go with them…," Adaira began to say before Dwalin reminded them of the dangers of being out in the open as they were.
"We have company; Goblin mercenaries. No more than a hundred," Dwalin said and they looked back the way they had come to see goblins running over the ruins toward them.
"I'll go with the lads," Thrain said then and Thorin looked to his father. "Adaira's right, it's better if we split our party in half," Thrain said before he looked to his granddaughter. "Stay here lass, where you're better protected," He told her and she nodded, readying her war hammer.
"We'll take care of them then," Thorin told the others as he kept his eyes on the goblins. "Go! Go!" He told the others and Fili, Kili, and Thrain hurried off to scout out the ruins as the goblins came at Thorin, Dwalin and Adaria.
"Come on!" Dwalin shouted, the goblins snarling as they rushed towards them and Thorin met the goblins first with his sword before Adaira yelled out a battle cry and smashed at the next goblin with her war hammer as Dwalin kicked one back and smashed into it with his axe. "Die!" Dwalin shouted as he fought the goblins away from his wife, leaving a few for her to handle as she was smashing skulls in beside him. He laughed, feeling a bit of a stirring in his loins at how beautiful she looked in the midst of battle, but that he could worry about later.
Fili, Kili, and Thrain carefully tiptoed over the frozen river towards the quiet ruins sneaking through the mists towards them without looking back. They hurried over the ice as carefully and quietly as they could, approaching from an angle where they hopefully would not be seen. The mists helped to conceal their approach. With any luck, Azog was long gone.
Third Person POV
Dale
During a moment of peace, Thranduil walked slowly through the city, seeing the fallen bodies on the ground, many of which were his own elves. Too many lives had been lost and at what price? Thranduil's face was slightly marred with the black blood of Orcs, his eyes wide as he stared down at the fallen. His commander came running up to him and he continued to stare down at the fallen as he addressed him.
"Recall your company," Thranduil ordered his commander and the commander lifted a horn to his lips and blew it. Gandalf, pushing his way through a group of men came running over to his side then.
"My lord, dispatch this force to Ravenhill!" Gandalf told Thranduil urgently as the Elven King turned to face him. "The dwarves are about to be overrun. Thorin must be warned," Gandalf added out of breath as he finally stood in front of Thranduil.
"By all means, warn him," Thranduil said before he began to walk past the wizard. "I have spent enough Elvish blood in defense of this accursed land - No more!" Thranduil said as he walked away haughtily and angrily.
"Thranduil?!" Gandalf called in surprise, wondering what had gotten into the Elvish King.
"I'll go!" Bilbo said, speaking up from where he was standing watching the exchange.
"Don't be ridiculous! You'll never make it!" Gandalf told Bilbo as he looked to the Hobbit.
"Why not?" Bilbo asked the wizard, walking towards him.
"Because they will see you coming and kill you!" Gandalf told him fiercely as he stood in front of Bilbo, looking down at the Hobbit.
"No, they won't," Bilbo told Gandalf, shaking his head as he reached towards his pocket slightly and Gandalf looked at Bilbo peculiarly. "They won't see me," Bilbo added and Gandalf inhaled deeply before shaking his head.
"It's out of the question - I won't allow it!" Gandalf told the Hobbit firmly and Bilbo smiled at Gandalf and shook his head slightly.
"I'm not asking you to allow it, Gandalf," Bilbo told the wizard in a quiet voice and Gandalf said nothing. They nodded to each other and then Bilbo strode away hurriedly.
Turning a corner, Bilbo pressed into an alcove, breathing heavily. He pulled out his ring and he looked at it for a few moments before he put it on knowing that he was the only one who could make it to Thorin and Adaira and the others in time to warn them. Invisibly, he ran through the city, ducking through the battles that were still taking place. In his ring-enhanced vision, the Elves appeared to be beings of white light, while the Orcs were like solid shadows. He only hoped he made it there in time.
Third Person POV
Dale
As Thranduil and his Elves marched through the city, killing Orcs, they stopped abruptly as they saw Tauriel standing in the middle of the lane ahead of them, looking resolute and blocking their path.
"You will go no further!" Tauriel shouted to Thranduil in Sindarin and he watched her, his eyes narrowing. "You will not turn away - not this time!" Tauriel told the Elven King, her voice never wavering.
"Get out of my way!" Thranduil ordered Tauriel with barely suppressed anger.
"The dwarves will be slaughtered!" Tauriel told him as she looked at him, her eyes shiny with unfallen tears.
"Yes, they will die. Today, tomorrow, one year hence, a hundred years from now - what does it matter? They are mortal" Thranduil said, slowly approaching Tauriel as he spoke. Suddenly, Tauriel whipped out her bow and notched an arrow in it, pointing it at Thranduil, her eyes still glimmering with unshed tears.
"You think your life is worth more than theirs, while there is no love in it? There is no love in you!" Tauriel asked Thranduil who looked at her angrily for a moment before he suddenly whipped out his sword and sliced Tauriel's bow in half. As she dropped it in shock, Thranduil lifted the point of his sword to her neck and spoke angrily.
"What do you know of love?! Nothing! What you feel for that dwarf is not real! You think it is love?! Are you ready to die for it?"" Thranduil asked Tauriel as she looked down at the point of his sword which he pressed closer to her throat and then back up at his face, a few tears escaping her eyes and falling down her face and she gasped waiting for Thranduil to kill her in his anger. Suddenly, another sword, Orcrist, was laid atop Thranduil's. It was Legolas and he pushed Thranduil's sword away from Tauriel.
"If you harm her, you will have to kill me," Legolas told his father who stared at him in shock and anger, before Legolas turned to Tauriel.
"I will go with you," Legolas told Tauriel as he drew close to her and she spared only a moment to look up at him in relief before she turned and the two of them hurried away together leaving Thranduil staring at his feet.
"Tauriel! Legolas!" Someone shouted as the two Elves made their way through the city and Tauriel and Legolas quickly whipped their heads around and found Lyssaria ushering Bard's children through the streets they had reclaimed from the Orcs.
"Lyssaria," Tauriel said, grateful to find the Dwelf and she hurried over to her, Legolas just a step behind her. "Come, we need you. The Dwarves, there is a second army coming from the North. They will be slaughtered if we do not aid them," Tauriel said quickly and Lyssaria looked down at the three children in her care.
"I promised Bard to get the children to safety," Lyssaria said as she frowned and the boy looked up at her.
"Go. If you need to go, go," He told her, gripping a sword tightly in his hands and Lyssaria looked to the hilltop.
"My cousin...Adaira. No doubt she is with them," Lyssaria said, still frowning and she knelt down next to the children. "I want you to find somewhere to hide and I want you to stay there until someone comes to get you. I will come and find you. I promise you that. Can you do that for me? Can you be brave?" Lyssaria asked as she looked to the youngest child who nodded back to her.
"I can be brave," The young girl told her and Lyssaria reached out and tweaked her gently on the nose.
"There's a good girl," Lyssaria told her with a smile lighting up her features and Tauriel noticed that it was the children that made her expression change. "Bain, you're in charge," Lyssaria told the boy. "Protect your sisters," She told him and she reached for her belt and pulled a dagger off of it and handed it to the eldest girl. "Just in case," She told her and the girl nodded. "Hurry," She told the kids who nodded and head off and the Dwelf turned back to them. "Let's go," She said and they strode off before beginning to run.
"Tauriel," Lyssaria said as they ran and Lyssaria pulled her bow and quiver off her back and passed them to the Elf. "You're a better shot than I am," She said and Tauriel gratefully accepted the bow. While it was not her bow it still felt good to have another lifeline in her hands.
As the three ran towards Ravenhill, Bilbo, invisibly hurried across bridges towards Ravenhill.
Third Person POV
In Front of Erebor
Out on the plains, Bofur smashed an Orc in the head with his maddoc as a troll snuck up on him. He turned around just in time for the troll to smash at him with his mace. Bofur took the hit to the face, barely able to block it and was knocked back, falling to the ground. The troll snarled and was getting ready to crush him with its mace, but Bifur ran in and jumped on the troll, headbutting it. As he did so, his axe got stuck in the troll's head and he fell back to the ground, the troll leaning forward as both he and the troll started a tug of war over the axe that was stuck in his head.
Bofur hurried to his feet and rushed over to his cousin and grabbed him around the middle pulling him backwards and Bombur, seeing what was happening, also rushed over and began pulling as well. Bofur shouted for Bombur to, "Pull!" as the troll started walking backwards quickly pulling them along with it. The troll went right over a cliff, almost pulling Bifur with him if it wasn't for Bofur and Bombur's grip on him. Grunting, Bombur let go of Bofur and ran atop Bifur and down the troll, jumping onto his legs, his added weight finally making the axe let go. Bofur and Bifur fell backwards several steps, one atop the other and after they recovered from their daze Bofur stared at Bifur in shock.
"By Durin, Bifur, you've lost you axe," Bofur exclaimed as he looked at his cousin's head which was now axe free and Bifur reached up to touch his head in shock.
"No he's not, here you go cousin!" Bombur said as he ran up to the two of them laughing slightly, holding up the axe that he had recovered from the troll's head and he held it out to Bifur.
"You know where you can stick that," Bifur said, speaking in the common tongue for the first time in years and he threw the axe behind his head, Bofur and Bombur looking at him in shock as Bifur got to his feet.
Third Person POV
Ravenhill
Fili, Kili, and Thrain crept quietly through the ruins below Azog's signalling station. From the direction of one of the upper levels they could hear a snarling in the distance as they looked both ways. Kili moved to hurry in that direction and Fili held him back quickly with a hand to his chest.
"Stay here. Search the lower levels. I've got this," Fili told his brother in a whisper as he turned his head to look in the direction of the snarling and Thrain shook his head.
"No lads," Thrain said, putting a hand on Fili's arm and Fili looked down at his grandfather. "This could be a trap," Thrain reminded him and Fili nodded.
"We need to keep going. We can't turn back now," Fili reminded Thrain who nodded in agreement, but didn't look happy.
"Let me go with you lad," Thrain told him and Fili shook his head.
"Go with Kili. Look after him. His leg is still healing," Fili told his grandfather even though Kili gave him a betrayed look. "Please Kili," Fili told his brother and Kili finally nodded his reluctant consent. Fili gripped Kili's shoulder tightly and nodded at him before clapping his grandfather on the back and Kili and Thrain headed down to the lower levels as Fili headed to scout out the upper levels alone.
On the other side of the river, having defeated the goblins, Thorin looked anxiously out over the frozen river as Adaira panted, trying to catch her breath. She put a hand over her stomach, trying to settle it as the stench of blood threatened to make her vomit now that it really had time to register with her olfactory system.
"Where is that orc filth?" Dwalin asked beside Adaira as they looked out at the frozen river, Adaira worrying her bottom lip and she jumped as Bilbo appeared out of thin air behind them, panting.
"Thorin…" Bilbo said, breathing heavily and clutching a stitch in his side as he tried to catch his breath and the raven haired Dwarf turned around as Adaira sighed in relief and hurried towards the Hobbit who was glad to see her alive and relatively well.
"Bilbo!" Thorin said as Bilbo hugged Adaira with one arm and then looked wildly between Thorin, Adaira, and Dwalin.
"You have to leave here! Now! Azog has another army attacking from the north. This watchtower will be completely surrounded. There'll be no way out," Bilbo informed them as he leaned over, clutching his knees as he continued to try and catch his breath and Adaira's face fell and she looked worried at his words.
"We are so close! That Orc scum is in there. I say we push on," Dwalin said, pointing to the watchtower that Azog had been commanding his armies in before he stopped at Thorin's side and Thorin pushed him back as he tried to head for the tower.
"No! That's what he wants. He wants to draw us in," Thorin said as he realized what was going on. "This is a trap!" He said in a quiet voice as he stared at the watchtower he had sent his father and nephews to scout out, Dwalin and Adaira turning quickly to look at it.
"Fili, Kili, Thrain…," Adaira said and she started towards the watchtower and Dwalin quickly got a hold of her. "Let go of me!" She told her husband, trying to push him off of her. "We've sent them into a trap!" She said wildly, her eyes blazing as she looked up at the watchtower searching for a sign of Azog or them.
In the ruins, Fili heard a sound in front of him and he saw lights coming from up the hallway in front of him. He turned around, only to see lights coming up the hallway from behind him too. His eyes widened in shock as he realized he was trapped and he took out his sword, ready to fight as Orcs descended upon him, having trapped him in a very tight tunnel. It didn't take long before their numbers overwhelmed him and he was captured and dragged through the tunnels.
"Find Fili, Kili, and my father! Call them back!" Thorin told Dwalin quickly as soon as he got Adaira to calm, telling her that if they all ran into the tower they were sure to be ambushed.
"Thorin, are you sure about this?" Dwalin asked him, turning back as he headed towards the tower.
"Do it. We live to fight another day," Thorin told Dwalin, laying a hand on his back and as Thorin and Bilbo turned to leave, they all began to hear a drum sound from the watchtower. Looking back at the tower, they saw a light appear in several of the windows. Atop the tower, Azog appeared, dragging a bloodied Fili behind him by the armor around his right arm.
"Oh," Bilbo exclaimed as Thorin, Bilbo, and Dwalin rushed over to Adaira who was staring up at the tower in wide eyed horror.
"This one dies first," Azog said in the Black Speech of Mordor as he lifted Fili high in the air and then back down in front of him, gripping him around his neck as he pointed the sword attached to his arm at him. "Then the brother and your father," Azog spat and Adaira saw Kili and Thrain from where they had exited the tower below and were staring up at Fili and Azog in horror. This was what she had seen in the waters. This was how Fili died. How could she stop it?
"Then you, Oakenshield, but not before I kill the red headed bitch!" Azog continued as Thorin stared up at his nephew, his eyes filled with unshed tears. "You will die last," Azog said as Adaira's eyes locked with her grandfather's across the frozen river.
"Mahal, please," Adaira said, her eyes welling up with tears that spilled over and Thrain saw his granddaughter's lips move in a silent prayer or plea across the way. He looked up from where he stood with Kili and his eyes filled with determination. He would not let Azog kill another member of Durin's line. Thrain pulled a dagger free from his belt as Fili cried out,"No!" Azog lifted him by the neck while Thorin, Adaira, Bilbo, and Dwalin looked on in shock across the river.
"Please," Adaira breathed out again as Thrain pulled back his arm, narrowing his eyes at his target and he launched the dagger with all his strength at the Orc. The dagger sailed through the air, making a sharp whistling noise and as Azog brought his arm-blade down piercing through Fili's back slightly as Fili yelled for them to, "RUN!" Thrain's dagger caught Azog in the shoulder, the pale Orc reeling backwards, his blade pulling free from Fili's back.
Azog dropped Fili in his surprise and Fili fell towards the ground from the tower, screaming in fear. He fell towards Kili and Thrain, who had been watching from a doorway below, and Kili and Thrain quickly raced forward and caught him before he could hit the ground. They were both forced to the ground under Fili's weight and Azog snarled above them in rage, roaring as he pulled the Dwarven dagger free from his shoulder which was now stained black with his blood. Adaira gasped out in relief and looked towards her grandfather, sending her thanks to Mahal as Thrain took a hold of Fili as Kili cried out his fury and got himself out from under his brother before he furiously rushed up the tower steps toward Azog.
"KILI!" Thorin shouted and Bilbo closed his eyes for a moment as Thorin began to run across the frozen river before Kili could get himself killed
"Thorin!" Dwalin and Adaira shouted together as they hurried after the raven haired Dwarf. "Thorin...No." Dwalin said, and Adaira looked at her husband and quickly put a hand on the side of his face.
"I'm going to get Kili. Bolg's forces will be here any minute," Adaira said to her husband hurriedly and Dwalin growled low in his throat.
"No, I canna let yah out of my sight," Dwalin told his wife and she smiled at him ruefully before grimacing.
"That was how Fili died, only Thrain wasn't there to save him the first time around. That still leaves Kili and Thorin," Adaira reminded her husband and she pulled him close to her and kissed him fiercely. "I love you, mo chridhe," Adaria told her husband fiercely.
"Make me the same promise," Dwalin told his wife as she made to run off after Thorin. "Come back to me," He told her, his voice sounding strained.
"I promise. Gaubdûkhimâ gag in yâkùlib Mahal," (May we meet again with the grace of Mahal) Adaira told her husband firmly and he repeated her words.
"Men lananaubukhs menu," (I love you) Dwalin told his wife, kissing her soundly once more before letting her go and she ran off across the frozen river as Bilbo pulled out Sting, looking across the icy expanse as Thorin reached the steps at the base of the tower and began scrambling up them, trying to reach Kili before Azog did.
Kili rushed up the steps, killing Orcs in his way. As Thorin began to clamber up the ruins, Azog rushed out of a tunnel and attacked him, having been waiting for him to appear. He rushed at Thorin with a mace and Thorin raised his sword just in time to deflect the blow, jumping out of the way of his next swing, but he was knocked back onto some rocks.
Azog swung his mace down and Thorin rolled to the side, Azog's mace landing where his head had just been as Thorin rolled back up to his feet, deflecting Azog's blows of both his arm-blade and mace. Thorin managed to land a blow to Azog's leg and Azog fell to one knee, roaring in rage as Thorin climbed up some rocks and landed another blow to him from up above before he was knocked back by a blow from Azog's mace and fell down over some rocks before he managed to get back up to his feet as Azog jumped down and resumed the fight.
Adaira made it to the ruins and she began to climb the stairs, looking this way and that for both her Uncle and cousin and she spotted Thorin first engaged in battle with Azog. As she was making her way towards him, she was descended upon by Orcs and she received a blow to the chest by an Orc's mace that she just barely deflected. Looking down, Adaira balked at how close the blow had come to her stomach. Her eyes narrowed as fury filled her. She would not let these Orc filth take her child from her. She swung her war hammer with renewed vigor even if the strength of her arm was starting to fail her. She was exhausted, but she would fight until her last breath if need be. She needed to get to Thorin and she needed to find Kili.
Bilbo, still on the other side of the river, heard a shriek and ducked down quickly as werebats flew out of the fog. His sword glowed blue, and Bilbo looked back to see Bolg and his forces climbing over the ruins. Seeing Bilbo, the Orcs began to charge at him, but just before they reached him, Dwalin charged up and began fighting the Orcs singlehandedly, Bilbo ducking under the blow of his axe which landed into the head of an Orc. Bolg shouted out orders in his native language and Bilbo watched in shock as Dwalin slew Orc after Orc yelling in rage.
Tauriel, Legolas, and Lyssaria paused on their way to Ravenhill as they saw the Werebats emmassing around the towers as they arrived with Bolg's forces. Lyssaria's mouth fell open as she saw the swarm of werebats for the first time and she shook her head, cursing under her breath.
"No…," Tauriel breathed out as they watched the werebats fly down to the main battlefields, swooping through ranks of soldiers and causing mayhem. Legolas turned and leapt, grabbing the leg of a passing Werebat, and it carried him away from the two women.
"Pe-channas!" (Idiot!) Lyssaira shouted at Legolas as the werebat carried him off before she and Tauriel turned and saw Kili fighting several Orcs on the ruins.
"Kili…," Tauriel breathed out in fear, staring at the sight in shock before she took off running, Lyssaria right behind her, Dwarven and Elven sword drawn and ready.
Azog and Thorin continued fighting, Azog swiping at Thorin with his mace which Thorin just managed to jump away from before blocking the swing of Azog's arm-blade with his sword. Azog snarled as he continued to try and smash Thorin with his mace, Thorin too quick for him. Thorin managed to knock Azog down, and Azog slid down a slippery slope, but before Thorin could chase after him, other Orcs arrived and he was forced to fight them. In the courtyard, Bilbo began throwing rocks at Orcs as Dwalin fought, taking out a good many of them with well timed throws to the skull. He did have some skill at conkers after all.
Adaira continued to fight the Orcs that stood in her way of getting to Thorin or Kili. She was covered in blood, hers and the black blood of Orcs now. She was slightly bruised and battered, but it was nothing too serious. She ducked under the sword of an Orc, and she grimaced as she felt the hair that was sticking up on the top of her head move under the wind of the quick swing. It had been a close call. Slamming her war hammer's hilt into the Orc's foot, the Orc began to hop around on one foot and Adaira took her war hammer in both hands and grinned.
"Four!" She yelled before she used her war hammer like a golf club and smashed the Orc in the face with it, hearing its skull crunch. She grimaced and kicked the now dead Orc away from her, looking around and deciding that Thorin fighting Azog was the more pressing issue at the moment.
As this went on, Kili continued fighting his way up the ruins, fueled by rage over what Azog had done to his brother which he funneled into his fight. Tauriel, looking for him, encountered and killed several Orcs in the ruins, using the advantage of the space to move around the Orcs swiftly, ducking under their blows or leaning away from them. She fought with her knives, Lyssaria having caught up with her helping her to take them down more quickly. Lyssaria smiled as she finally got to fight, no longer held back to hide with the women.
Meanwhile, the werebat was still carrying Legolas in the air, Legolas trying to control it by pulling on its legs. The werebat began to fly low so Legolas carefully turned himself upside down and held onto one of the werebat's legs with both of his own as he unsheathed both of his swords. As the werebat flew above the heads of a stairwell filled with Orcs, Legolas spun back and forth quickly, decapitating as many Orcs as he could before the werebat began to fly higher.
More and more Orcs continued to stream over the ruins and as Bilbo continued throwing rocks at them, Bolg suddenly ran out around the corner and smacked Bilbo in the head with the handle of his mace, knocking him out cold. Legolas meanwhile saw the werebat heading for a tower which he no doubt would smack right into at this height and he quickly grabbed his bow and shot the werebat through the head. He fell through the air and landed on his feet on the tower. Azog, recovered from his earlier stumble charged at Thorin who was fighting with an Orc and knocked him onto the surface of the frozen river.
"Go in for the kill!" Azog yelled to his Orcs, many of which ran out onto the ice to attack Thorin. "Finish him!" Azog ordered as Thorin looked around rapidly as many Orcs ran toward him as he quickly got to his feet.
"Adad!" Adaira shouted and Thorin turned and saw her as she came skidding out across the ice, making it to him before the other Orcs and she stood beside him, a look of determination on her face as she held up her war hammer in front of her defensively.
Suddenly, the Orcs charging at them begin falling over with arrows stuck in them, Legolas shooting them from the top of the tower as quickly as he could. Thorin, with his broken sword, began to take on the remaining Orcs, sliding across the ice under the blow of one Orc and stabbing it in the leg only for Adaira to smash it in the head with her war hammer. The two continued to fight the Orcs together, Thorin feeling a bit more hopeful now that Adaira was by his side.
Across the hilltop Tauriel yelled out, "KILI!" in a moment of peace after dispatching her opponent, she and Lyssaria having been separated for now. Kili heard her, but he was too busy fighting two orcs at once to respond. "KILI!" Tauriel shouted again, searching for the other half of her Fae.
"TAURIEL!" Kili shouted, his sword stuck in the back of an Orc, but no others attacking him for the moment.
"Kili…," Tauriel breathed as she tried to figure out where his echoing voice was coming from. Suddenly, Bolg roared and jumped out of a tunnel and kicked Tauriel into a rock.
"Ugh!" Tauriel screamed out in pain as she was pinned against the rock and seeing this, Kili angrily defeated his opponents and began making his way toward her. Tauriel managed to slip out from Bolg's grasp and began attacking him with her knife, but he managed to grab both her arms and twisted them, causing her to shriek in pain as she dropped her knives before he smashed his fist down on her head, felling her as Thorin and Adaira continued to fight the Orcs together across the ice.
Kili rushed desperately as he heard Tauriel's groans and sounds of pain, killing any Orc who dared stand in his way of him getting to his One. Bolg raised Tauriel up by the throat and he licked his lips as Tauriel grimaced in pain. She managed to kick him in the knee, causing him to fall but he easily recovered and he grabbed her and threw her bodily against a wall.
As she lay stunned on the ground, he raised his mace for the kill, but suddenly, Kili leapt from a parapet onto Bolg's back, blocking his mace with his sword. Bolg managed to throw Kili off of him and onto some stairs and Kili groaned in pain before he got up and slashed at Bolg. Bolg however, grabbed him by the head and raised the pointed base of his mace to stab him through the chest. Tauriel seeing this shouted, "No!" and jumped on Bolg from behind.
Bolg snarled as Tauriel tried to grapple with his mace to stop him, but he threw her off of him and she rolled for several feet towards the edge of the tower. Breathing heavily and groaning in pain she looked up, stunned and watched as Bolg raised his mace and began to bring it down towards Kili once more as he held him by the neck.
"No!" Tauriel shouted as Kili turned his head to look into her eyes, both of them tearing up as Kili prepared himself to die, wanting the last thing he saw to be his One, the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life, more beautiful than mithril or Erebor. It was Tauriel, his starlight.
"Not today!" Someone shouted then and suddenly someone else jumped on Bolg's back from the parapet and Kili felt Bolg's mace stab deeply into his right shoulder as his aim was knocked off. Bolg grappled with this new person, trying to throw them off, but Lyssaria had plunged a dagger deep in each of his shoulders in order to hang on. Bolg released Kili who fell to the ground as Lyssaria drove Bolg closer to the edge of the cliff and Tauriel quickly moved out of the way and crawled over to Kili who gasped in pain.
Bolg continued to rear back in pain as Lyssaria drove him towards the edge of the cliff with her daggers that were buried in his shoulders and suddenly he knocked her slightly off of him. She gripped on tightly to his armour and her other dagger and she looked back at Tauriel and Kili before she kicked off the stone next to her, sending both herself and Bolg over the edge of the cliff. Tauriel and Kili cried out for her as Lyssaria fell over the edge and Tauriel, tears falling freely down her face, closed her eyes and sent a prayer to Eru before she hurried over to the side of the cliff.
Looking over the edge of the cliff she saw that Lyssaria had landed on a broken staircase below and Bolg had landed near her. Before Tauriel could think to help her, Kili groaned out in pain once more and Tauriel turned back to him and rushed back to his side. Kili had rolled himself over onto his back and Tauriel quickly ripped open his shirt and saw that Bolg's mace had left a gaping wound in his shoulder. It was bleeding heavily.
"Shush," Tauriel tried to hush Kili's groans of pain as she wiped the hair out of his eyes and she placed her hands over his wound and pressed down on it hard. Kili let out a strangled scream of pain that made even more tears stream down her face, but Tauriel tried to ignore that for now as she began chanting in Sindarin, hoping she might be able to slow down the bleeding until help arrived.
Legolas, on top of the tower, suddenly felt the tower shaking and he looked down only to see a troll smashing away at the tower's base. Hearing a woman in pain he looked out and saw Lyssaria rolling with Bolg down the mountainside. She landed on a broken staircase, gasping in pain. Meanwhile, Bolg had landed near her and he rose to his feet and prepared himself to kill her.
Legolas, seeing this, reached back for an arrow, only to find that he had run out. He angrily threw down his bow and whipped out Orcrist before he lept off the top of the tower and plummeted down holding his sword out. He managed to stab the troll in the head, and it hobbled around in pain. Twisting the sword around in the troll's head, Legolas managed to get the troll to charge forward, smashing head first into the already-weakened base of the tower.
Bolg looked up and saw the tower fall over, making a bridge over the chasm in between Legolas and himself. As Lyssaria lay unconscious, Bolg and Legolas charged at each other over the makeshift bridge and they began fighting, Legolas protecting his cousin. As they fought, Bolg swung his heavy mace at Legolas and missed, hitting the floor which caused it to crumble and fall into the chasm below them. Legolas tried to get out of the way of Bolg's mace, but missed and as some of the tower crumbled away he fell into the interior of the tower. Bolg jumped down into the tower after him and the two of them continued fighting. Legolas and Bolg grappling for a moment, Bolg smashing Legolas into one of the walls of the tower which crumbled and fell away.
Legolas quickly made it up to the top level of the tower once more and raised his sword to protect his back as Bolg brought his mace down upon it. He twisted out from under the blow and slashed at Bolg while meanwhile, Thorin grappled with an Orc that was trying to stab him as Adaira fought an Orc beside him. Thorin managed to stab the Orc in the knee, but another Orc rushed up and smashed into him, causing him to slide across the ice all the way to the edge of the waterfall, directly over Legolas and Bolg.
"Thorin!" Adaira shouted as she looked over her shoulder, letting out a scream of pain as she received a cut to her upper right arm and she turned back to her fight, as more Orcs rushed at her. She yelled out her fury and smashed the Orc who had cut her in the chest with her war hammer before slashing at a second with the dagger she wielded in her other hand now.
Thorin rolled out of the way of the Orc's mace as Bolg knocked Legolas over. As Bolg raised his mace, Thorin managed to knock the Orc attacking him over the edge of the waterfall and it landed on the bridge behind Bolg, breaking through the stones and causing Bolg to fall under a pile of rubble. Another Orc approached Thorin then, who was lying on his back, partially hanging over the edge of the waterfall, defenseless, his broken sword long gone.
As it raised its sword, Legolas, now on his feet, managed to throw Orcrist into the Orc's chest, killing it. Though he was loath to lose such a blade, he owed Oakenshield a life debt. As the Orc fell over the edge of the waterfall, Thorin managed to reach out and grab the sword, saving it from going over.
As Legolas was watching Thorin, Bolg leapt out of the rubble and swung at Legolas, but Legolas dodged his attack and pulled out his two knives, fighting Bolg with them. Legolas stabbed Bolg in the back before stabbing him in the hand, the Orc pushing his hand down on the blade until it was up to the handle as Legolas' eyes widened in shock. Bolg's fist closed over Legolas' and he ripped Legolas' knife from his hand and curled his hand into a fist as Legolas blocked his mace with both his hands. Bolg tried to stab Legolas with his own knife but Legolas dodged out of the way and fell down into the tower.
Thorin stood and looked in wonder at his blade come back to him for but a moment before he looked up and saw Azog, alone, facing him across the frozen river. Adaira still fought the Orcs on the frozen lake not far from them, but Thorin could see that she was fending for herself nicely. Now was his chance. He could end this once and for all. It was a chance he would gladly take.
Thorin and Azog began to approach each other slowly when suddenly, a horn began to blow. Azog smiled as a hill in the distance behind him became covered with his approaching second Orc army, the sound of their footsteps rumbling over Ravenhill. Azog roared and charged forward at Thorin, swinging a large rock attached to a chain at him. Thorin ducked under it as Azog swung it at him several times and as Azog was unbalanced by the swings, Thorin managed to get behind him and slash at him. Azog angrily swung the rock at him again, and as Thorin dodged the blow, the rock smashed into the ice, cracking it.
Meanwhile, Bolg threw a huge stone at Legolas, and it smashed the bridge beneath him, Legolas just managing to roll out of the way. In an amazing and Elven feat of agility, Legolas managed to run up the falling rocks as the tower crumbled underneath him and he leapt at Bolg, getting his legs around his neck and spinning Bolg around and flinging him to the side. Legolas himself fell over the side of the bridge, but he managed to grab on and pull himself back up and to his feet and he turned back to face Bolg who likewise had pulled himself back onto the bridge.
As they continued to fight, Legolas managed to stab at Bolg, but Bolg grabbed the knife between his arm and armor, just like in their encounter in Laketown. Bolg snarled at Legolas as he looked up at the blonde Elf who smiled and used the knife as leverage to swing atop Bolg's shoulder. Legolas spun his knife around several times before he stabbed Bolg through the top of his head, killing him. Legolas leapt back onto the land then as the bridge fell to the ground below, carrying Bolg's body with it.
Legolas looked around and spotted his cousin then and he hurried over to her side. He placed a hand on her head and then felt for a pulse at the side of her neck and he breathed a sigh of relief when he felt her pulse, strong if a bit fast. He muttered a few words in Sindarin and Lyssaria gasped in a deep breath as her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Legolas before groaning. Legolas smiled as he looked down at her, shaking his head.
"Pe-channas," (Idiot) He told her fondly and she glared at him, making very rude finger gestures at him before she managed to pull herself up into a sitting position.
"Ego, mibo orch," (Go kiss an Orc) Lyssaria told her cousin jokingly and Legolas laughed at that knowing she only said it in jest before helping her to her feet. "Kili," Lyssaria said then and Legolas frowned as she spoke. "Tauriel was with him last I saw, he was badly wounded," Lyssaria said quickly and she pointed up to where she had fallen from.
"Come, quickly," Legolas told her and she nodded, wincing and clutching her head as she hurried after him after collecting her swords.
As Thorin and Azog fought, the ice continued cracking under their feet. They both paused for a second, then Azog swung the large rock once more. This time, the ice actually began to break apart beneath both of them. Azog drove the rock into the ice near Thorin who missed the blow but fell to one knee as the ice broke under his feet, separating from the rest of the ice. He dodged under Azog's next swing, his hands braced on the ice in front of him as Azog was thrown a little off balance. The pale Orc quickly regained his footing and swung the chain at Thorin again, the raven haired dwarf diving against the ice so as not to be hit in the head with the chain.
Thorin got back to his feet quickly and he managed to dodge Azog's next swing, but he slipped on the ice and his foot fell into the water as he almost fell off the chunk of ice he and Azog were standing on. Azog swung the chain around again just as Thorin got to his feet and he was knocked onto his back before he could react. He rolled out of the way as Azog brought the rock down where his head had just been. Azog repeatedly brought the rock down, Thorin rolling about the ice out of its way and finally he managed to leap up behind Azog, who was off balance, and he slashed him again, this time across the back.
Azog angrily swung the rock and chain at Thorin without looking at him and he missed as Thorin took a step back. This time, the rock became stuck in the ice, and Azog was forced to slash at Thorin with his bladed arm, Thorin ducked under the blow and then stood, balancing on the ice as Azog growled lowly at him. Suddenly, Azog looked up into the sky behind Thorin in shock as he saw the Great Eagles, with Radagast riding their leader, swooping by. They sailed right over Thorin and Azog's heads before sailing through the ranks of the oncoming orc reinforcements from Gundabad, decimating them. Beorn, riding atop one of the Eagles, threw himself off it and transformed himself into a bear as he fell to the ground, landing in full massive bear form right in the middle of the Orcs, smashing through them.
Meanwhile, Thorin threw down his sword and he reached forward, lifting the rock at the end of the chain and tossing it to Azog, who instinctively caught it. Azog looked at him in shock and Thorin jumped backward, off the ice floe that they had both been standing on; without his weight to balance it, and with Azog at the other end holding the rock, the ice floe tipped over and plunged Azog into the water below. He scrabbled at the edge of the ice floe, but the chain pulled him down. Thorin panted in exhaustion, but he looked up as he heard someone scream his name. He saw Adaira then. She was fighting with Dwalin, not far away from him. Good.
The Eagles attacked the werebats, ripping them out of the air as Beorn tore the Orcs to shreds, not even when they tried to attack him en masse working. He charged through the ranks of Orcs as the Eagles soared overhead, Azog's army from Gundabad decimated before it even reached Ravenhill.
As Thorin bent down to pick up Orcrist, he saw Azog through the ice, being pulled slowly by the current toward the frozen waterfall. Thorin slowly walked above him, and they stared at each other through the ice. Azog closed his eyes and Thorin stared down at him, wondering if his enemy really could have died so peacefully. He felt as if he had been cheated. Azog had taken so much from him. He deserved a far more painful death. Suddenly, Azog opened his eyes and he bared his teeth before he drove his arm-blade up through the ice and into Thorin's foot. Thorin screamed out in pain and that was when Adaira turned her head back to her Uncle as she slew another Orc.
Adaira's POV
"AAAHHHH!" Someone screamed and my head whipped around to Thorin across the ice and I saw a blade sticking up through his foot. I smashed the Orc in front of me in the head before making towards Thorin just as Azog leapt through the ice like a daisy, pulling his arm-blade out of Thorin's foot as he did so.
He pinned Thorin down on the ice and as he stabbed his arm-blade at Thorin, Thorin blocked the blow once and then twice before managing to stop it from piercing his chest by sliding Orcrist in one of the forks of the blade. Azog snarled, using gravity and his superior weight and position, to slowly push his blade further and further. I watched as Thorin struggled to keep it away from his chest and I looked around knowing that I wouldn't make it to Thorin in time to stop Azog. In the waters I had seen Thorin willingly let Azog stab him just so he could kill Azog once and for all. I would not let that happen.
"Dwalin!" I shouted at my husband who was a bit busy with an Orc. "Toss me!" I shouted at him as I ran over to his side and bashed the Orc he was fighting in the head.
"What?!" Dwalin asked me in confusion and I pointed to Thorin and Azog and Dwalin's face went pale.
"Toss me," I told my husband firmly and he nodded before he picked me up and carried me over as close to the broken ice as he could. I closed my eyes as he began to spin me around, once twice, before I sailed through the air. I opened my eyes at the last minute and swore as I sailed right into Azog, dagger out.
Azog and I flew backwards away from Thorin, my dagger embedded deeply in his skull. Azog landed dangerously close to the edge of the waterfall and as soon as we came to a skidding stop, I rolled to the side off of him, grimacing in disgust. I inhaled and exhaled sharply, feeling a bit of a sharp pain in my chest but it finally subsided and I sat up and looked at Azog. His eyes were devoid of any "light". I couldn't say his soul had left his body as he was soulless to begin with.
"Thorin! Adaira!" Dwalin shouted and I looked and saw Dwalin trying to make his way towards us over the broken ice. Thorin was standing in front of me and he looked down at Azog with a queer expression on his face.
"It's over," I told my Uncle and Thorin finally turned his gaze down on me as he seemed to realize I was there. He helped me to my feet, not saying a word and the two of us looked out at the battlefield below where the remaining Orcs were being routed from the edge of the frozen waterfall.
The giant Eagles flew over our heads then as they headed down towards the first battlefield, the battles nearly won by now and that was when Thorin who had been breathing heavily beside me suddenly collapsed on his back.
"Thorin!" I shouted as I knelt down at his side and I saw then, blood on the front of his armor. "Where?" I asked him desperately and he gestured to his middle. I quickly pulled apart his armor and his torn tunic and found an alarming wound. It was not shallow, no it was beyond that, but it was not deep either. "What happened? I thought I…," I said, blaming myself for being too slow.
"My strength was waning. I was about to give up before you appeared mizimith. Azog's blade pierced my stomach," Thorin groaned in pain as Bilbo came running up to the two of us having found a path over to us through the fortress, Dwalin still trying to find a way over to us.
"Bilbo…," Thorin said, seeing the Hobbit first and he groaned in pain and coughed before his eyes rolled back slightly in his head as I pressed down hard on his wound.
"Don't move! Don't move! Lie still!" Bilbo told Thorin as he looked at me, my hands still covered in Thorin's blood. "How bad is it?" He inquired of me and I shook my head. It was bad. If we were on Hegg I would know what to do. Ring an ambulance, get him to a hospital, but out here there was nothing, no antibiotics or painkillers. No life saving surgeries.
"I don't…" I began biting my lip before I shook my head. No, I couldn't worry Thorin with my fears. "As long as we slow down the bleeding we'll be fine. I'm sure Gandalf can help us," I told the Hobbit and my Uncle who was pale.
"I'm glad you're here…," Thorin said as he looked between Bilbo and I and Bilbo shushed him as I worked to staunch the bleeding. "I wish to part from you in friendship," Thorin bit out after a pained groan and Bilbo patted his chest.
"No. You are not going anywhere, Thorin. You're going to live," Bilbo told Thorin firmly as tears welled up in my eyes.
"I refuse to let you die," I told Thorin, my hands soaked in his blood.
"Forgive me...I was too blind to see it. I'm so sorry…," Thorin said, his voice breaking as he spoke "...that I have led you into such peril," Thorin finished before he began to cough up a bit of blood.
"No, no, I'm glad to have shared in all your perils,Thorin - each and every one of them. And it's far more than any Baggins deserve," Bilbo told Thorin earnestly and both he and Thorin smiled at one another,
"Farewell, Master Burglar. Go back to your books and your armchair. Plant your trees - watch them grow," Thorin told Bilbo in a soft voice, Bilbo's eyes filling with unshed tears. Thorin, groaned slightly as I shifted my hands on his abdomen. "If more people valued home above gold this world would be a merrier place," Thorin finished as I fixed him with a glare.
"Stop acting like you are already dead adad," I told Thorin, unamused and Thorin looked down at me. "Though I do value the statement you just made," I added and I looked over at Bilbo who wiped at his eyes. "Bilbo, I need you to go find help. Find Gandalf," I told the Hobbit who rose to his feet, looking reluctantly between me and Thorin.
"Are you sure?" Bilbo asked me, not wanting to leave Thorin and I alone and I nodded at that, a look of grim determination on my face.
"Dwalin's nearly here," I told Bilbo, nodding over my shoulder to where Dwalin was, almost having made his way across the ice to us. "I can stabilize him for now," I assured Bilbo who finally nodded, a look of determination crossing his face and he looked around the hilltop.
"Right," Bilbo said before he took off in the direction he had come.
"Mizimith," Thorin said then in a strained voice and I looked back at Thorin who was pale, his face covered in a sheen of sweat. "There's nothing you can do," Thorin told me and I growled lowly under my breath at him.
"Shut up," I told my Uncle firmly. "Just shut up. You are not dying on me. I don't care if Mandos himself comes to take you away. You tell him to fuck off becuase you're staying here," I told Thorin who chuckled slightly before groaning in pain. Dwalin reached my side then and he fell to his knees beside Thorin and I, his face pale as he saw the blood staining my hands.
"Thorin," Dwalin muttered gruffly as he looked down at his oldest friend and then he looked at what I was doing. "How bad is it?" Dwalin asked me and my mouth thinned out into a grim line.
"I won't lie, it's bad," I admitted as I looked under my hands, barely able to see Thorin's ruined flesh under all the blood. I had never been trained for surgery or battlefield medicine. I knew how to do simple stitches, but this was bad. "It'll be alright," I assured my husband as his face fell and I looked back down at Thorin who had his eyes scrunched tightly closed in pain.
My stomach rolled and churned and I felt sick as the smell of Thorin's blood invaded my senses, metallic and sour. I held back the urge to vomit, knowing that I had to stay strong for him. I bit my tongue as I continued to work, Dwalin taking off his tunic and pressing it into my hands so that I could use it to staunch the bleeding.
I was exhausted too. My body felt heavy and I felt as if I was in a daze, slightly outside of myself. I continued to push myself though, knowing that I couldn't collapse now. I could rest later once Thorin was safe, once we all were safe. Dwalin and I kept Thorin as comfortable as possible until Gandalf finally arrived, Beorn and Radagast by his side. Gandalf quickly knelt down beside Thorin and began to mutter spells and Thorin's pain eased only slightly, the bleeding slowing as well.
Dain was the next to arrive with litters to carry the wounded back to the healers. The Orc army had been routed and Dale had been freed as well and in the aftermath, the wounded were all being brought to large tents that the Elves had set up on the fringes of the battlefield. There were so many wounded and no doubt I would need to lend a hand. I wasn't as skilled as Oin, but I could do my part and try to save some lives.
I learned the fate of my cousins, no, my brothers as they were carried over to where we stood on litters. I had just bound Thorin's stomach tightly with linen bandages until he could be seen to by the healers when I heard someone calling for me frantically. I turned around and saw Tauriel walking by a litter, Kili inside of it. The Elf hurried over to my side and began to talk very quickly.
"Woah, slow down," I told Tauriel as I held up my hands and she stopped talking. Tears were flowing freely down her face and she was covered in blood, both her own and quite a fair amount of red blood. "Are you injured?" I asked Tauriel in instant concern as I put a hand on her shoulder and began to check her over for injury and she shook her head quickly.
"It is Kili's blood," She told me and I was at Kili's side in an instant. My eyes went to his shoulder, to the mass of torn flesh from which he was bleeding fiercely. My face fell, my mouth once more tightening into a grim line as I saw the damage that had been done to him.
"What happened?" I demanded of Tauriel as I took extra bandages and began wrapping them tightly around Kili's shoulder, Kili whimpering in pain even in his unconscious state.
"Bolg...he…," Tauriel said, shaking her head before composing herself a little more. "He began to attack me and would have killed me if not for Kili. I was thrown to the side and Bolg nearly slew Kili, but Lyssaria stopped him," Tauriel explained as I worked, finally getting his shoulder wrapped.
"Thank Mahal you are both alive," I said as I looked between Kili and Tauriel and that was when my name was called for again. I looked over to the side and saw my grandfather standing next to another litter that carried Fili. Thrain looked a little bruised and battered but he was mostly okay. It was my cousin he seemed worried about, his face drawn as he stood by his side. I approached the third litter steeling myself for what I might find.
"Where?" I asked my grandfather calmly as I accepted another roll of bandages from one of Dain's men.
"Stabbed in the back," Thrain said in a strained voice and I inhaled sharply. Fili was still semi conscious and I ran a hand over his sweaty forehead, mussing his blonde hair up.
"Nadad," I said and his eyes flickered to mine and I could tell he was trying to keep from screaming. "I need to help you roll over onto your side for a moment," I told him and I looked to my husband who stepped up beside me and helped me to roll Fili onto his side so I could wrap bandages around him like I had Thorin. I noticed something as I worked and that was Fili wasn't moving his legs. I frowned and noted it for later.
Once I had stabilized all three of them as much as I could, wrapping Thorin;s foot up too once I remembered that he had been stabbed through the foot as well, Dain's men hurried away with Thorin, Fili, and Kili, bringing them to the nearest healer. Dwalin and I followed, Tauriel joining us and staying as close to Kili as she could. I welcomed her to come with us, knowing that when Kili awoke he would need the help of his One.
As we walked down from Ravenhill, I suddenly stumbled as dark spots invaded my vision, a wave of overwhelming fatigue wracking through my body. Dwalin caught me before I could fall and when my knees buckled under me and I did fall he grabbed me quickly and swept me into his arms. I blinked up at Dwalin as darkness invaded my vision and my heartbeat pounded loudly in my ears.
"Amrâlimê," I heard Dwalin say before I gave into that darkness and fell limp in his arms.
Third Person POV
Ravenhill
Thranduil walked slowly through the ruins of Ravenhill, gazing about at the carnage. All he could think about was his son. Where was Legolas? His anxiety grew as his thoughts raced with increasing speed as he considered all the possibilities. Thranduil heard footsteps just ahead of him and he reached towards his sword, but then he saw a tall figure that stood in the archway just ahead, a figure whose silhouette was similar to his own.
Legolas's eyes met his and Thranduil's knees almost fell out from under him, but he forced himself to be strong. His son's face was filled with anguish and tinged with disappointment, but he was alive. A breath he didn't know he had been holding in escaped the Elven King and his shoulders sagged in relief. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, anything to make the pain he saw on his son's face go away, but nothing escaped his lips. Legolas lowered his gaze from his father's then as he approached Thranduil.
"I...cannot go back," Legolas told his father simply before he began to brush past him, preparing to leave. He did not know where he would go, but he knew that he could not return to the Greenwood. There was no home for him there any longer. Not when Tauriel had given her heart to a Dwarf. When he no longer had a father.
"Where will you go?" Thranduil asked his son, turning his head slightly in Legolas' direction and Legolas turned and faced his father.
Thranduil knew that he had no valid argument for why his son should return home. Not now. While he had tried to prevent and even discourage Legolas' growing feelings for Tauriel, he had failed and his son had been forced to watch the object of his affections cry and cradle the broken body of the Dwarf she loved.
Tauriel, he had failed her too. He was ashamed of the way he had acted. He had ridiculed her feelings for the Dwarf, even chastised her for it. He had made her think she was unworthy by calling her a "lowly Silven elf" when today she proved she was much stronger than her own King. Thranduil swallowed a lump in his throat as he thought about all the ways he had failed his children. Tauriel had come to him as a child and he had raised her beside his son. She was his adopted daughter and he had failed her too.
"I do not know," Legolas admitted to his father. All he knew was that he needed separation from Tauriel, from his father. He needed time to think. To find himself once more. Everything his father had ever taught him about Dwarves and Men seemed to be a lie. And Tauriel, he loved her, but she did not share these feelings.
"Go North," His father suggested then as sudden inspiration struck him and Legolas' eyes widened slightly. "Find the Dúnedain. There's a young Ranger amongst them- you should meet him," Thranduil said as Legolas turned to look at him, curious. "His father, Arathorn, was a good man. His son might grow to be a great one," Thranduil told his son, hoping that if his son took his advice, at least he would know where he was.
Thranduil did not want his son to leave, but it was too late. There was nothing he could say to make him stay. The distance between them had only grown over the centuries since his wife's passing until Legolas barely even thought of him as a father. Legolas showed him respect and all due difference as his King of course, but that had vanished now too.
"What is his name?" Legolas asked his father curiously.
"He's known in the wild as Strider. His true name you must discover for yourself," Thranduil answered his son. He could see the sorrow in his son's eyes which reflected the deep grief that no doubt filled his own. Legolas gave him the slightest of nodes before he turned to walk away, keeping his head down.
"Legolas…," Thranduil called out to his son, a hint of pleading in his voice as he tried to get Legolas to stop and listen to him and Legolas stopped but did not turn around. "...your mother loved you...more than anyone...more than life," Thranduil told his son softly and Legolas seemed to freeze in shock as the words sank in. Legolas turned slightly back towards his father and lowered his head, putting his hand to his heart before he extended it towards his father, not meeting his father's gaze. Thranduil returned to gesture, his head bowed in grief.
As his son walked away and he listened to his fading footsteps, Thranduil's eyes filled with tears and he lowered his head again as he tried to fight back his grief. His son was gone, possibly forever. The sound of Legolas' disappearing footsteps was quickly replaced with the sound of the winter wind blowing through the ruins. Thranduil looked up at the sky and composed himself before striding off knowing there was more he could still do.
Khuzdul:
Mizimith- Little jewel
Adad- Father
Nadad- Brother
Amrâlimê- My love
Gaelic:
Mo chridhe- My heart
