Author's Note: Hello! Welcome ladies, gentlemen, and all reading to Nadi: the Battle of the Five Armies chapters! Depending on how this goes, this will either be the final or penultimate segment of Nadi's story. A big thank you for those returning, and a hearty welcome to those just joining.
This segment diverges considerably from the canon. It focuses on Fili's rise to - and subsequent fall from - power within Laketown following the retaking of the Mountain. I've taken some artistic liberty and increased the duration of time that it took for war to be waged following Thorin's re-crowning by a few months. This, aside from the details of certain character deaths, constitutes the biggest change.
But be warned: this is the segment that has changed this story's rating from Teen and Up to Mature. It is bloody, violent, and uncomfortable at times. There will be implications of sexual themes/misconduct, suicide, and battlefield violence. Let's put it this way: it's the type of story where Kili gets shoved off of a balcony, Fili gets seduced by a seven-foot-tall bounty hunter, Thorin gets punched in the face, and Nadi receives a rather gory injury. If there are intense/troubling themes in any chapter, I will be sure to mention them beforehand!
And, finally, I know it's been a while since my last upload. So here is a quick summary of all that has transpired up until this point! Nadi joined the Company in their quest to retake the Lonely Mountain. Along the way, she encountered a witch who cursed her with nightmares of Kili's death. The witch sought to seek revenge upon the Dwarven race because a trio of Dwarven brothers, led by the infamous Bahn, assaulted her and kidnapped her daughter. Due to their actions, the Dwarven brothers were cast into the deepest pit of Erebor which constituted a death sentence. The witch died following a battle with the Company. Eventually, it is revealed that the witch's last remaining daughter - Ana - was sacrificed in the witch's attempt to obtain dark magic powers. Ana survived but retained a touch of black magic within her. This black magic gave her the ability to latch on to other people's souls - a sort of spiritual transmigration. Ana and Nadi meet, and after a brief fight, Ana latches on to Nadi's soul. For the rest of the journey, Nadi is plagued by Ana's voice in her head. Guided by Ana's urgings, Nadi begins to rebel against the Company. This leads her to take the Arkenstone from Bilbo with the intent to deliver it to Bahn, who was set free by Smaug. But, along with carrying Ana's spirit, Nadi finds out that she is also carrying Kili's child. At this point in the story only Nadi, Thorin, and Tauriel know of Nadi's pregnancy - but not Kili, yet. We pick up the story a few hours after Smaug had risen from the Lonely Mountain with the intent of destroying Laketown.
X
Back at last!
Over three hundred days spent traveling from Bilbo's doorstep to the Lonely Mountain, and already it was all beginning to feel like a distant memory. The remembrances of the journey were starting to lose their spark and now even the worst of it barely made her shiver. Maybe she had simply dreamt it all, or maybe she was so far removed from who she was back then that it could be said that she had never really gone. It was a comforting thought.
The warmth of the flickering firelight reached her from across the room. The glow of the embers rose and fell, and the fire wriggled like a hungry tongue licking the brick walls of the fireplace. In her mind, she saw the dragon Smaug dashing through Laketown with fire erupting all along his glittering scales. But this image no longer scared her. She smiled, finally.
"Home again, home again
'Tis the place I want to be!
Bring another round, my friend!
'Til the golden stars I see!
Home again, home again!
Draw the sign upon the door!
Bring another round, again!
Until I fall upon the floor!"
Candles were burning all along the room. The cozy little Hobbit hole smelled of sharp spices, alcoholic breath, and burning wood. Farther into the house, there was a pile of bedding with thick, quilted sheets waiting for her. Time was not of importance - there was nowhere to be except there with her family and dearest friend. One day, maybe, she'd return to the Lonely Mountain and wander its restored halls. Even then, there would be no requirements save to bask in the glory of her beautiful, beautiful homeland.
Bilbo walked into the crowded dining room bearing a heavy silver platter. A fervent cheer went up upon his arrival, serving to only deepen his blush. He set the platter upon the table and brushed his hands together daintily. Nadi leaned over curiously, careful to keep from smothering the baby. Whatever was on the platter looked quite impressive. It was some sort of meat - thick, glossy red, and fleshy. It could have been her imagination, but she could have sworn that she saw it give a shuddering pulse.
"What is it?" She asked over the round of applause. Still brushing his hands together, Bilbo looked up and gave an uncharacteristically mischievous smile. Over by the fireplace, Kili leaned in closer to Tauriel and whispered something into her ear.
"It's Dragon's Heart," Bilbo said, still holding his devious grin.
"Looks atrocious. Are you sure that it is cooked all the way through?"
"Don't insult the man, lassie," Dwalin suddenly boomed. "This is a rare delicacy that we are indulging in tonight!"
"Rare, indeed," Dori said. He poked at the lump of meat with a fork and immediately steam gushed out of the punctures. "Er...perhaps a few sprigs of lemongrass and a slight smattering of mushroom sauce would make it appear more...palatable."
"Can't say that your cooking has ever looked any better," Fili said to her. He was holding onto the back of her chair with one hand, and leaning against the table with the arm of the other. Ana sat on the other side of her, her hand clenched on the other side of Nadi's chair. Her eyes never left the baby on Nadi's breast.
"Ah, yes, well, it seems like my cooking and your face have something in common, Fili," Nadi said. "Thorin -?"
She turned and set her eyes on Thorin. He was sitting across from her at the table. His eyes were closed. They had been for the entire night, even though he sat tall with his shoulders back. It occurred to her that she should find this odd but she wasn't sure why.
"Oh, let him rest," Gloin said. "Poor man. The journey has winded him."
"He's not sleeping," Ana said to her in a low voice, and then, "give me the baby."
Something in Nadi recoiled at the sound of Ana's voice, and so she chose to ignore her. Instead, she peered out the corner of her eye at Kili and Tauriel. They were sitting even closer than before, and staring down at the ring on his finger as they muttered in low, secretive voices. The firelight flickered across the pale angles of Kili's cheek as he spoke, and the sight of him caused her stomach to coil in knots. He hadn't spared a single glance at her the entire night. Neither had Tauriel. It was as if the two were engrossed in their own little world, miles away from the party at hand.
"Give me the baby," Ana said again. Nadi tightened her hold on her son, even though her arms were quivering from having held him the entire night. Such a small, warm body with so much weight! She could have been holding a swaddled boulder, and there would have been no difference except for the flushed, squishy face peeking back up at her.
Sadi - Nadi's mother - gave a sudden robust laugh and pulled herself away from Bahn's hold.
"Might as well give him to her," she said as Bahn stared her down with possessive and lovelorn eyes. Blood began to roll from Thorin's nose, but no one else seemed to notice."She's more of a father to that babe than Kili ever will want to be. Ana," Sadi said, turning to the woman. "Do you favor being called da-da? You sure look like the type of woman who prefers to wear the pants, pardon my meaning."
Everyone laughed at this. Nadi felt that something about it all was being performed at her expense. Ana - beautiful Ana with her wild, black hair and brown eyes - cackled and tightened her hold on the back of Nadi's chair. Again, Nadi was inclined to ignore her. She had a strange feeling as if she was teetering on the edge of a precipice and was about to fall. She leaned down and pressed a kiss upon her son's forehead.
A small smile hung around Bilbo's lips as he slid a large knife through the meat on the platter. Immediately, a thin red liquid spewed from the cut and pooled around the plate.
"You know," he said in a faraway voice. "My mother always used to say: tell a man a joke, and you can figure out who he loves by who he looks at when he laughs. Unfortunately for me, it was the only bit of advice that I bothered to remember." Bilbo chuckled. "Fili! Perhaps when you are finished staring at Nadi, you could-?"
The smile quickly slid from Fili's face. He removed his hand from her chair, accepted the plate handed to him by Bilbo, and set it down in front of her. She looked down at it and saw her own face reflected in the pool of blood.
"Give me the baby, Nadi," Ana said again.
"No. Thorin-!?"
There was no response from her king. Perhaps it was a trick of the firelight, but it seemed as if his face had grown gaunter and paler. Blood was cascading in rivulets down his neck. It had completely drenched the front of his vest.
"He's not sleeping," Ana said. "Give me the baby."
"I think that a toast is in order," Balin said, raising his teacup. Ori startled and looked at him in alarm.
"A toast?!" He exclaimed. "But there ain't no toast on the table-"
Bifur grunted and said something rather scathing in Khuzdul.
"Thorin!" Nadi said again, "Why are you sleeping now, of all times? Wake up!"
But no one was listening to her. Thorin's head had begun to tilt back at a frightening angle as if his body was giving way beneath him. Fili gave a sudden jolt and cough beside her. His hands leaped to his throat as he reared up from his chair and stumbled backward, his face blanched as he ducked and weaved his way into the darkness behind her.
"Fili?! What is the matter with you?"
"Give me the baby," Ana cooed, running her finger along the back of Nadi's neck. "Nadi. Give me the baby. Now. Give me the child."
"I said 'no,' damn you! What is happening?!"
"Such vulgar language is not appropriate for the young," Bahn said with a sneer upon his dry lips. "Do your son a favor, and hold your filthy tongue."
"Sili," Ana said as she rose to her feet. The air around her began to turn a cloudy shade of grey. Her skin dampened and grew waxy pale as she leaned over Nadi. A gust of wind must have been coming from somewhere within the house. Ana's hair was waving about her face like many tentacles of some black beast. "Give him to me. Give me the boy. Let me hold the child. You are so tired. Let me hold him."
Bilbo was whistling to himself as he slid his knife back and forth, back and forth through the meat. Yes, she could see it now. The Dragon's heart was pulsing. Its many tubes and chambers beat with a madness that set her own heart at a galloping pace. Nadi heard a breathy sigh from behind her and turned in her chair. Kili had leaned back with his hand upon his head. Now, he fell forward into the Elven maiden's arms. Tauriel brushed her fingers through his hair and cast Nadi a look full of distrust from across the room. Kili's undershirt was quickly soaking through with red.
"He's not sleeping," Ana whispered. "Give me the baby. Give me the child."
"Home again, home again
'Tis the place I want to be!
Bring another round, my friend!
'Til the golden stars I see!
Home again, home again!
Draw the sign upon the door!
Bring another round, again!
Until I fall upon the floor!"
Fall upon the floor?
All she could think about was the undertone of death within the lyrics. She stood up on unsteady feet and tossed a shawl around her son's head. Sili began to cry - his high wailing ringing painfully in her ears. The once so alluring dishes upon the table began to take on a new form. The meat rotted, exposing pale, sickly bones. The fruits withered into moldy pulps. The liquid in the mugs dried until the very clay holding it cracked and splintered. She knew that she had to protect Sili from whatever foul occurrence had taken place within Bilbo's home. Her feet began to move of their own accord and she backed away. But she couldn't take her eyes off of the Company: they were quickly becoming strange, sallow shells of their former selves. Ana hovered along the edge of the table, her shadowy arms unspooling like thread as she reached out for Nadi.
"Give me the child. Give me Sili. Give him to me. Give him to me now!"
"No, please! I am begging you, Ana! Thorin! Thorin!" Nadi screamed, her voice catching in her throat. Somewhere, someone was knocking on the door. "Fili! Kili! Please!"
"I was thinking...I couldn't bear to be without you," Ana taunted, using the language of Nadi's very own nightmares. The knocking was growing louder.
"Then don't do it," Nadi responded automatically, as if in a trance. Sili had fallen deathly still.
Suddenly, the door to Bilbo's home was flung open. Gandalf the Grey uncurled himself from the doorway and gazed around the madness within the room with a calm expression. His eyes found her and he clambered over towards her.
"Nadi," he said cordially as he placed his large hand on her quivering shoulder. "I regret to inform you that you must wake...now!"
X
"GAH!"
Nadi bolted up and immediately twisted around. She ran her hands blindly along the cold surface beneath her, searching for her son. At any moment, her fingers would brush against his warm body and she'd pull him close to her. She cursed herself for her foolishness and failure to keep him warm on such a cold night. Already, she was becoming a terrible mother. But what else could have been expected from the daughter of a Dwarve like Sadi?
"No, no, no," she muttered as she lifted herself and began to crawl around on her hands and knees. She was on a rocky ledge. The sky above her was a dark blackish-blue, speckled lightly with misty stars. The moon was nowhere in sight. Dawn was coming, soon. She had to find Sili...unless, perhaps, he had crawled away from her at some point in the night and had fallen over the edge.
"NO!" She screamed. She slithered towards the edge of the platform and peered down into the darkness below. She could just barely make out the hazy outline of the dark green foliage and shrubbery dotting the mountainside below her. But there was nobody or, at least, none that she could see. "SILI, NO!"
"Will you be quiet?!" Someone hissed behind her. There was a soft pressure on her back before she was dragged by the hem of her shirt away from the ledge. She fell back on her hands and stared up into the face hovering above her with some confusion. It was Bilbo! And he seemed quite upset.
"Have you seen him?" She asked hurriedly. He had been attempting to brush the dirt and rubble away from her pants. She pushed him away and sat up.
"Seen who?" He asked in a very annoyed voice.
"Sili-"
"S...Sili!?" He said, scrunching his eyebrows and wrinkling his nose. "And just who is that supposed to be?"
"He's…" she shook her head and snapped her fingers by her ears. It was all slowly coming back to her. The dragon Smaug had been awakened. He had flown from his coop to unleash his fury upon Laketown. She was back at the Lonely Mountain with the rest of the Company. And she hadn't given birth - not yet.
It had all been a dream and a terrible one at that.
She stuffed her hand beneath her shirt and let it rest upon her belly. The contrast between her frigid, ringed fingers and warm abdomen was jarring. It felt as if she had dipped her hand in a bucket of ice. But that was of no matter. Her son was still safe inside of her, cradled away from the ugliness of the outside world beneath the many layers of her own body. He would not have to face their trials and tribulations for many, many months.
She realized that Bilbo was still waiting for her answer. "Never you mind," she growled. "What do you want?"
"What we all want, I suppose."
"Would have never pinned you for the raunchy type."
"What-" Bilbo started and then, having realized what she meant, quickly shook his head. "The Arkenstone," he said in an impatient whisper.
"Oh," her lips traced out the sound and she looked away. The Arkenstone had been tucked away in one of her many pockets. She just wasn't sure which one. "It is not yours to want."
"You know what I mean. Nadi, please." Bilbo scurried around her to catch her eye but she was quick to look away again. "Thorin will get impatient. And I have seen how he gets whenever dinner's late. Hmph. Let's just give him the Arkenstone and be done with it!"
"I don't want to risk inciting his wrath by giving him the wrong one!" She angrily whispered back. "Imagine his fury if we said that we found it and then handed over some bland and useless rock. He'd say that we were making a mockery of him and kill us both! I have to hold on to the stone that you gave me until I can examine it further!"
"How long do you need to examine it?"
"Silence! Enough! I am growing tired of your damned incessant chatterings. Leave me alone!"
"Fine! Fine, fine. You win this time. But just remember that Kili's in Laketown and that is where the dragon is headed. Dragging your feet and biding your time around here won't do your beloved any good."
"My belo-" she suddenly paused and reared up. "How dare you insult me by claiming that I do not care for the others that we left behind!"
"Well, your affections are rather selective, aren't they?" Bilbo said, crossing his arms obstinately. She gasped and pointed at him with a shaking finger.
"Mister Boggins-"
"-Baggins!"
"Whether you call yourself a worm or a snake, it does not matter. Come here and look me in the eye, you dirty scoundrel!"
"What, so you can serenade me with more nonsense? You know, you are rather short for a Dwarve-"
"HOW DARE YOU! You dull excuse for a fumbling grocer.I-" she, too, crossed her arms and quickly turned away from him. Silence spanned between them upon the rocky ledge. It had all begun to feel rather silly, and already she regretted being so snappy with him. All of their arguments up until that point had been in jest. Verbally sparring with him, then, had not been as satisfactory as she had hoped. The wind whipped her hair around her face and he gave a heavy sigh.
"Nadi, look, I'm sorry," he finally said in exasperation. "I shouldn't have called you short and said all of those other terrible things."
She twisted her lips tighter, willing herself not to cry. Crying had come so easily to her over the past few months. It made her feel ashamed and weak. She felt abandoned by the stoicism that had once carried her through the many turbulent years. Whatever it was that she had become was only a frail version of her past self. Unable to control it, she gave a hiccough and broke down into a fresh wave of tears.
"There, there, I'm sorry," Bilbo said, coming up behind her and placing his hands on her heaving shoulders. "Here, let's get you inside where it's nice and warm...or, rather, as warm as a lonely mountain can be."
She hiccoughed again, refusing to look him in the face. "I'm scared," she said through her sniffles. "Of the dragon and what he'll do to the others. I'm scared that I can't control the reckoning that has befallen us all."
"Let's just take it one step at a time," he said in a soothing voice. "Come on, then. Turn around and give this old, tired Hobbit a hug."
She turned and wrapped her arms around him so suddenly that he immediately buckled beneath her weight. As always, the warmth of his tiny body and the powdery smell of his curly hair brought her comfort. She nestled her nose in the crook of his neck and let her tears dampen the fabric over his shoulder. She mumbled something incoherent and he asked her what she had said.
"I'm sorry I called you a bumbling excuse for a grocer," she repeated in a tiny voice, and then added, "can we still be friends? I can't lose you - not after everyone else has lost their faith in me."
"No, Nadi," he said, stroking the back of her head. "No one has lost their faith in you. And I for sure never will. I promise."
"Agh." She leaned back with a tear-speckled smile and gazed with pride into his round eyes. "Look at that, those circles under your eyes. You truly are getting old, Mr. Baggins. Tell me...do all Hobbits age like fine brandy in a barrel, or is it just you?"
He chuckled and glanced bashfully down at his bare feet. Their arms were still wound tight about each other's waist. "There you go, serenading me with your nonsense," he said to his wriggling toes. "I'll have to have a talk with Kili and warn him of your wandering eye."
"Kili can polish my arse-"
"When you two are quite finished..." a deep and rumbling voice said. Nadi and Bilbo startled and quickly unwrapped their arms from around each other. Thorin was standing in the shadows of an overhang, his expression stormy as he gazed at them from beneath a furrowed brow.
"Thorin!" Nadi exclaimed. "We were just-"
"-wasting what precious time we have left to put our affairs in order?" Thorin finished for her. "Come," he said, "we have much work to do. Or perhaps you haven't heard that there is a dragon on the loose?"
"Aye, aye," Nadi said bashfully. Bilbo had already squeezed his way past Thorin and made his way back into the mountain. Nadi tucked her chin in and lowered her gaze as she made to pass him. But right as she was about to cross him, he stuck his arm out and she stumbled against it.
"What-" she said in some confusion, looking up at him. His brow was still furrowed and his lips were parted slightly as if he was contemplating something beyond her realm of understanding.
"Nadi," he finally said in a low voice, almost a whisper. His thumb came to rest upon her cheek, and then slowly trailed down her chin. "You do know better than to lie to me...don't you?"
"I had never considered picking up the habit," she said back.
"I see." His gaze roved slowly down to her stomach and remained fixed there for an uncomfortably long time. A small, strange sneer seemed to curl upon the corners of his lips as he dragged his finger down her neck, and then her chest until finally the point of it came to rest upon her belly. His fingers smoothed down the ruffles of her vest as he spread them along the worn fabric. Then he smiled, lightly, and she was flooded with relief. "There is so much in store for you and the little one," he said. "I would hate to see it all shattered by the acquisition of certain...'habits.'"
The smile dropped from her face, but he didn't seem to care. He turned and strolled back into the mountain with his hands draped neatly behind his back. Something about it all had felt so wrong. She felt paranoid and stupid for even thinking that his words constituted a threat.
And yet, she couldn't help but feel as if the imprint of his hand had left a hot flush across the front of her belly.