A.N. Sorry this took a while! I wanted to get a new chapter up for "What Dreams May Come." Hope everyone is staying safe!
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my original characters and plot points.
Danica had gone straight to her horse, and buried her face in Shadow's neck as she sobbed. Thorin and Dwalin were right; she was weak. She was terrible at fighting, and so much of her past still haunted her. There was a lot the dwarves still didn't know…Shadow jerked suddenly, a nervous grunt vibrating through her body. Instantly alert, Danica's sobs quieted, and her tears dried.
"What is it, girl?" she murmured, passing a comforting hand over Shadow's cheek.
The answer came in the form of a tremor in the earth. Fear had Danica going cold. The trolls had arrived, and she hadn't been able to warn anyone. Five tremors shook the ground beneath her, and had all the ponies and horses panicking. At the sight of Estellia moving between the house and stables, Danica finally gathered up enough courage to move herself. She had to help everyone get out. Under no circumstances would she allow the farmer and his family to come to harm. Face set with determination, she darted out, and was instantly swept up by a large hand.
Her blood-curdling scream only seemed to amuse the troll, whose laugh echoed around them.
"Ey, Will! Look what I found!"
Another troll, just as large and ugly came lumbering over. He squinted his eyes at her, then grinned, a small bit of drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.
"Looks like ye found dessert," Will said. "Now we jus' need ter find dinner,"
"There's some runnin' over 'ere!" a particularly stupid-looking toll, who must have been Tom pointed to the house. "A bunch of dwarves by the looks of 'em,"
The one holding Danica, whom she thought was likely Bert, suddenly howled and dropped her. Her startled cry was short-lived as she fell into someone's arms.
"Run!" Thorin yelled once he had her on her feet.
She did as he bade, weaving to avoid the chaos of the battle that had begun between the tolls and dwarves. Her eyes were searching in the dark for Ainsley and Dunstan. Ainsley was with her father, who had grabbed a horse and cart. Dunstan was nowhere in sight. His terrified screech had both Danica and Ainsley running. Tom had Dunstan trapped against a rock, and was grinning with anticipation.
"Stay there!" Danica ordered Ainsley.
Grabbing the first thing she could, which was a shovel, she sprinted toward Dunstan. Tom's hand was outstretched, so she swung the shovel as hard as she could, and whacked the crap out of it. While Tom yelled and pulled his hand back, she grabbed Dunstan by the arm, and pushed him toward his mother. Her big mistake was watching to make sure mother and son escaped. Tom had recovered quickly, and when she turned back to him, his hand was already on its way to knocking her into the next life. All she could do was prepare for the blow, but it never came. Estellia jumped in front of her, teeth and claws sinking into Tom's thick skin. Tom waved his arm, trying to fling the cougar off. Knowing Estellia had bought her some time, Danica ran for the trees. Just before she could find a hiding place, she was struck by something large and hard, with enough force to send her flying through the air. When she finally landed, something in her back popped, taking her breath, and paralyzing her with pain.
"Dani! Are you alright?" Kili skidded next to her, gently turning her onto her back, which only made the pain worse.
"Been better," she managed to grunt. She could barely breathe, let alone move, but tried to sit up. Kili helped her, until a large sack covered them both.
They had underestimated the trolls, which landed nearly all of them in sacks. Thorin had escaped, and followed the trolls as they took their quarry back to their camp. It looked as though they had just gotten there, as most of their hoard was still piled around the campfire. His men were now also a part of the pile. After watching Kili and the girl get captured, he had gone to hide, knowing he was their only chance. While the trolls were busy taking their treasures to a cave, Thorin slipped through the bushes toward the closest sacks. Pulling out a knife, he managed to break open one, revealing Bilbo. Once the hobbit's face appeared, he put a finger to his lips.
"Help get everyone else free," he instructed in a whisper. "I will get a couple more on this side, and will then cause a distraction,"
He gave Bilbo the knife, and then pulled another from his boot. Much to his surprise, and relief, the hobbit took the knife without question, and did as he was told. The next sack was probably the one with the girl and Kili, judging by the size, and struggling. Sure enough, Kili's dark hair was the first thing he saw when he opened the sack. Kili and the girl were hopelessly tangled, and he could see the girl's face drawn in pain.
"Do you realize how much danger you've put yourself in?" he scolded her once she and Kili were free.
Through her pain, she glowered at him. "Giant, ravenous trolls who like to eat people, and smack me hard enough to pop a rib out of my spine. No. No idea at all the danger we're in,"
At least she could still use sarcasm. He and Kili shared a smile, then froze at the sound of the trolls returning.
"Help Bilbo and the others," Thorin whispered fervently. "I will keep them distracted,"
"But Uncle- "
"Go!"
Not waiting to see if Kili would obey, Thorin grabbed his sword, and walked fully into the clearing. The trolls seemed confused by his presence.
"You missed one," he said, then lunged for their legs. Beside him, the cougar jumped up, and joined the fight.
Kili had made Danica go hide in the bushes, not wanting her to get caught again, since her rib was making her slow. Considering the fact that it hurt to breath, she hadn't argued. She watched anxiously as Thorin and Estellia fought the trolls. They made a good team, but she found that she couldn't take her eyes off of Thorin. He was incredible. Not only did he have the brute strength and skill with a blade, he was also clever and strategic. The trolls ended up hitting each other as he ducked, rolled, and lunged. Never were they able to even touch him. Heat pooled in the pit of her stomach. Feeling like she was going insane, she looked to the dwarves who were sneaking off to the side to prepare their ambush. This was hardly the time to be lusting after someone. As if to prove that point, one of the trolls kicked at the fire, flinging ashes and flaming pieces of wood into Thorin's face.
"Thorin!" she cried as he yelled in pain.
Attention drawn by her cry, the dwarves charged in, and another chaotic battle ensued. Danica looked at the sky, and saw the pale colors of dawn beginning to break through, which meant that Gandalf couldn't be far away. Unfortunately, the trolls were moving around so much, it would be hard to get them all in the sun. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bilbo looking up at the boulders on the other side of the campsite. Gandalf was there. They somehow needed to get all the trolls back in the middle of the clearing. Bilbo must have realized the same thing, for he rushed toward where the fire had been.
"Hey! Trolls!" he didn't even seem convinced, but managed to get everyone's attention. "Those dwarves may stave off your hunger, but you are still missing the woman,"
The dwarves yelled at him in anger, but the ploy worked. All three of the trolls were now congregated in front of Bilbo.
"Are ye sayin' ye know where she wen'?" Will asked.
"Uh…yes. In fact, I'm sure she'll come out if I call for her," Bilbo sputtered, ignoring the threats around him. Kili subtly moved in front of where Danica was hiding, as did Estellia.
"E's jus' stalling," Bert growled. "Little ferret's taking us fer fools!"
"Ferret?!"
"Fools?"
"The dawn will take you all!"
Danica breathed a sigh of relief when Gandalf revealed himself, and broke the boulder to reveal the sun. The trolls were barely able to make a sound before freezing forever into stone.
His face burned like hell. Thorin had managed to speak with Gandalf, and find the swords in the cave, but now sought Oin. Their healer was securing new bandages on the girl's hands, since they had come loose. Dwalin was standing nearby, looking ready for some kind of task, while also keeping a wary eye on the cougar, who was sitting atop a boulder next to him.
"Alright Lass," Oin said. "Dwalin is going to help me set your rib. It will be painful, but you will feel better after,"
The girl nodded, and laid on the ground as Oin instructed. Dwalin knelt beside her, hands placed on her back.
"It will be over quickly," he assured, and Thorin was surprised at the tenderness in his friend's voice.
Sure enough, it was, but still difficult to watch. The girl's face had gone deathly white, and she had let out a pitiful cry of pain. When Dwalin helped her up, she was breathing easier, but still white as a sheet. The cougar jumped down, and sat next to her, offering support to the girl's weak legs. When she lifted her tunic so Oin could stabilize the rib with a binding, Thorin couldn't help but look at the bruises spreading across her fair skin. He was sure everyone else carried similar marks, but he couldn't stand seeing them on her.
"Did you know about the trolls?" he asked once Oin had finished with her, and moved on to his face.
"Yes, but in the tale I know, they had already attacked the farm. When we arrived, it was clear they hadn't been through yet,"
The burns on his face weren't serious, so treating them only took a moment. Thorin stood, and gave the girl a stern look.
"You should have warned us,"
To his surprise, she didn't argue. "You're right," she granted. "I meant to, I just…got distracted. It's no excuse, but I'm sorry,"
Which was understandable, but he could still see the way the troll had struck her. However, Gandalf came up before he could say anything else.
"We should continue on," the wizard said. "It is just a few more days before we reach Rivendell,"
"Are there any more surprises we should know about before then?" Thorin questioned the girl.
Her eyes hardened a little at his tone. "In one tale, no. You lose one of the ponies that had the food, but the road is otherwise uneventful. The other tale has a pack of orcs on wargs ambushing you here after a visit from Radagast the Brown. They chase you to the border of Rivendell, where the elves take care of most of them,"
"Well, as it appears Radagast is not going to appear, I think we can hope for the uneventful route," Gandalf said with a smile.
With some trepidation, they all packed up, and rode out. There were tracks from the farmer's cart that led the opposite way, toward Bree. Thorin couldn't help but feel regret that they had to leave their home. Although, according to the girl, it would have been worse if the Company had not been there. As they rode, he looked over at her, and noticed not only how much the ride was paining her, but also that she seemed just as upset as she had been the night before. He wondered about it, yet kept his thoughts to himself. Fili noticed her pain as well, and ended up riding behind her to help stabilize her back. Hating how that made him feel, and how much attention he was paying to her, Thorin made a point of ignoring her until they reached Rivendell.
Two days before they got there, they were met with a torrential downpour, and Kili's pony slipped, falling down a hill. He was thrown toward the top, but the pony tumbled all the way down into a river, which had swelled with the recent addition of water. Kili would have drowned, if not for the girl yelling a warning to Fili, who tackled his brother, and brought him back to the group. Thankfully, because of the girl's previous mention of the event, Thorin had made sure the food was divided out among all the ponies. They were also saved by the cougar, who had somehow salvaged a couple of the food bags from the river. So, they weren't starving, but it was a relief to see the Hidden Valley, elves or no. Tired, hungry, and somewhat grouchy, they made their way down to the elven dwelling.