A.N. Another chapter for y'all since I took a few days' break. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my original characters and plot points.
The excitement everyone felt at returning to the quest began to fade as they made their way up the dangerous mountain path. Danica's heart had broken when the time had come to send Shadow back. At first, the horse had resisted, wanting to follow her. Only once Gandalf tethered her to his horse did she begin the journey back to Rivendell. Danica took comfort in conversation with those around her. However, that grew stilted as well. The higher they got, the less anyone wanted to make noise for how far the echoes carried. Estellia eventually disappeared from sight, and Danica could only hope she hadn't gotten hurt.
Each night grew increasingly colder, and they all slept practically on top of one another to keep warm, and make sure no one rolled off the edge. To make matters worse, boulders kept rolling off the mountain, sometimes barely missing their heads. Between them and the whipping winds, it was impossible to feel stable. Training had come to a complete halt, which was both a relief and concern. After all, Danica knew what waited for them in these mountains, and knew she wasn't ready. John would quietly reassure her when he'd see her staring, wide-eyed into the distance, but they otherwise kept it quiet. They had warned that there was a chance of running into goblins, but kept details to a minimum. Though the thought terrified Danica to the core, they had to get captured so Bilbo could get the Ring. Under no circumstance could it remain in Gollum's hands. She worried that Thorin and Gandalf would know that she'd purposefully hidden the goblin attack from them, but it was a risk she had to take. A rather hard resolution to keep once the thunderstorm hit.
Of course, it had to happen at night. They were sheltered under an overhang, watching as the stone giants threw their boulders. Danica felt Bilbo quiver beside her, and didn't blame him. She'd had her fair share of shivers. Loud noises had always frightened her, and between the earth-rattling thunder, and crashes of the boulders, she was near unhinged. Curling into as tight a ball as possible, she covered herself with a blanket, and plugged her ears. Before long, she felt rain and hail make their way into the cover, spurred by the wind. When it abruptly stopped, she peeked out to see John and Bofur sitting in front of her, shielding her. There was no use trying to thank them now, because they wouldn't hear her. She made a mental note to thank them later, and closed her eyes again.
It was only a little bit longer before someone was nudging her shoulder.
"Come on, sweetheart," John shouted. "Fili and Kili found a cave,"
There was much grumbling as they rounded themselves and the ponies up. Danica could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest. While the others may view the cave as shelter, she saw it as a trap. As they stumbled along the path, she considered the valley far below to her right. The fall would likely be less painful than getting skewered by a goblin sword. Beginning to feel nauseous, she forced her eyes forward. A small cry was the only warning she had before she was pulled off the cliff.
It was all Thorin could do to keep from cursing as the hail pelted him in the face. There was a reason dwarves didn't often cross over the mountains; it was bloody miserable. He was just about to reach the safety of the cave when he heard a bone-chilling scream. Spinning around, he saw Bilbo and Danica fall from the cliff. His heart stopped, and everything suddenly seemed hyper clear. Dwalin lunged just before he did, and caught Danica's arm. She cried out again as the jerk pulled her shoulder, made worse by Bilbo's weight as he held on to her ankle.
"Danica, take my hand!" Thorin called, lying next to Dwalin.
With great difficulty, she managed to swing her other hand to him. Much to his frustration, she called out to Bilbo to climb up first. However, it made sense when he saw how much their burglar was struggling to hold on. Dillinger reached down and picked the hobbit up, allowing Dwalin and Thorin to pull Danica onto the path. For the briefest moment, Thorin held her against him, lettering her rapid breathing ease away the cold fear.
"Everyone in the cave!" he yelled, leading the way.
Once everyone was inside, the anger began to build. They had almost lost two of their companions, and he had almost lost…her. While Dwalin helped to set her slightly dislocated shoulder, Thorin paced.
"Ye need to stop making this a habit," Dwalin joked as Oin wrapped a temporary sling for her arm.
"I'll keep that in mind," she replied lightly, then looked at their burglar. "Are you alright Bilbo?"
"I'm alright, Dani, but you shouldn't be asking about me," Bilbo seemed truly remorseful, unable to look at Miss MacKay.
"What happened?" Thorin growled, that much more irritated by the lighthearted exchange between her and Dwalin.
Nearly everyone looked at him, only able to see him by lamplight. Gandalf had forbidden a fire, but they had still needed to see in order to change into some dry clothes. The ponies were huddled at one end of the cave, content to stay still where they were warm and dry.
"I slipped, and my arm got caught on Dani's pack," Bilbo explained.
Miss MacKay was quick to jump to his defense. "It was just an accident,"
"Just an accident?" Thorin's voice rose, causing Balin to utter his name as a warning to control his temper. It didn't work. "Not only could the two of you have died, but you could have dragged others to theirs with your clumsiness,"
Miss MacKay glared at him. "Now wait just a minute- "
"And how do you intend on defending yourself with an injured shoulder?" he accused. "All of that training wasted,"
"I think that's going a little far," Dillinger said from where he crouched.
Thorin aimed his glare at the man. "You were invited to join this quest, and are a welcome addition, but I will ask you once to stay out of this,"
"I think we have all learned a lesson here," Gandalf's voice was soft, but full of authority, which warded off the growing tension in the cave. Thorin hated it, but let the matter go. There was no point in trying to continue any chastising.
To calm everyone down, Gandalf lit his staff, and blew different colored smoke rings up to dance on the ceiling. They stayed up for a little while longer, listening to Dwalin and Dillinger compare battle stories. Finally having mostly forgotten the storm, and prior events of the evening, they fell asleep. Thorin thought he had, until he heard whispering.
Everyone else seemed to have fallen asleep, but Danica couldn't. She lay awake, staring out the arch of the cave. There was a slim chance that this was not the goblin's front porch, but she doubted it. All she could do was wait, her heart continuing to beat painfully against her ribs. Bilbo was also restless, and finally rose, coming to kneel beside her.
"Dani? Are you awake?" he whispered.
She sat up, and noticed the pack slung over his shoulders. "You're leaving," she murmured, glad that she had insisted on settling down away from the others.
"Back to Rivendell," Bilbo nodded. "You should come with me,"
"I can't," she replied. "And I don't believe you really could, either. We are both a part of the Company for a reason,"
"Are we? Have you really felt like an equal member, or more like a burden?"
His words hit home, and seemed deliberately placed. Her eyes went to Thorin's sleeping form, and she felt a stab of pain and longing.
"There are times he treats you horribly," Bilbo pointed out. "You don't deserve that,"
"He worries," she replied automatically. "All he wants is for everyone to survive through to the end of this quest,"
"Which they can do without you," Bilbo insisted, almost pleading. "They have John now,"
Danica's face softened. "Maybe, but I can't take that chance. I…" she fell silent, unable to give a convincing explanation.
Bilbo's hand came to rest on top of hers. "You love him, don't you? Thorin?" when Danica could only nod, he sighed sadly.
"I still don't believe you would have made it back to Rivendell," she said, changing the focus of the conversation. "Your guilt would have had you turning back,"
At first, he frowned, but quickly conceded. "You're probably right,"
He went suddenly alert, eyes darting around in the dark. Before she could ask what was wrong, she heard it too. A slight creaking, and shifting of the cave. Just behind Danica, the ponies were quickly disappearing into the dark. Both she and Bilbo gave loud yells before goblins came streaming through the crack. A sudden flash like the lightning outside filled the cave, and when it faded, many of the goblins had fallen down dead. The rest quickly dragged what prisoners they could get through the crack, which snapped shut behind them. Gandalf and John were nowhere to be seen. Not like they could see much in the deep black. Forgetting the two who had escaped, the goblins roughly pushed their quarry through the dark, stinking passages of the mountain.
Never before had Danica felt so assaulted. The goblins pinched and grabbed everywhere, especially once they figured out she was a female. She did her best to fight them off, but it was no use; there were just too many of them. Eventually, the dwarves closest to her (Fili, Dwalin, Kili, and Balin), broke through the goblin barricade, and made one of their own. So long as everyone kept moving, the goblins didn't seem to care one way or another. They continued to push their prisoners toward a red light, and began singing, if one could call the sound singing. It was a torture song, and sounded somewhat like the song Danica knew, but she couldn't be sure.
Cackling as the song finished, the goblins brought out whips, and cracked them over the Company to hasten them into a large cavern. Danica was spared lashing by her protectors. The cavern was lit by torches, and a large bonfire in the middle. All of their ponies and other possessions were in a corner, being raided by the goblins. As the ponies were taken away to be butchered, Danica felt glad that she'd had to send Shadow away. Her focus was torn from the poor ponies as the Company was chained with their hands behind their backs, wrenching Danica's sore shoulder, and forced to kneel before the Great Goblin. He was just as huge as had been portrayed, though much uglier. Nothing could have prepared her for the smell, and she had to force herself to breathe through her mouth.
"Who are these, who so boldly come, armed into my kingdom?" he growled. "Spies, thieves, and elf-friends, I have no doubt!"
"Dwarves, your greatness," one called. "Dwarves, this little thing," he kicked poor Bilbo in the side, "and a female woman. Found 'em sheltering on the front porch!"
"And to what end?" the Great Goblin asked, eyes squinting suspiciously. "To infiltrate and assassinate?!"
"Not at all!" Bofur called. "We did not know that was your front porch when we sought refuge from a terrible storm,"
"Just an unfortunate mistake!" Dori added.
"Indeed? And what were you doing in the mountains?"
The dwarves all exchanged quick glances.
"We were merely traveling to visit distant relations," Bofur said. "After all, there are some important holidays approaching, and- "
"Shut up!" the Great Goblin's roar had nearly all in the cavern cowering. "Lies! Very well, if you will not willingly provide the truth, we will extract if by force. Bring me the woman," he licked his lips then, eyes gleaming.
There was a great commotion as the dwarves tried to keep the goblins from touching Danica. She also thrashed against her captors, but to no avail. They ended up dragging her by her hair, dropping her at the feet of the Great Goblin. Her injured shoulder ached terribly, but in her current predicament, that was the least of her worries.
"Stop!" Thorin's deep voice silenced all as he yelled.
The Great Goblin's hand froze a few inches from Danica's body. "Ah ha! Thorin Oakenshield. The would-be 'King Under the Mountain.' And yet, you have no mountain, and are no king. You are a nobody. Perhaps that is why you have come this way? To reclaim the home you lost?" he laughed horribly.
Danica turned her head, and saw Thorin standing behind her, jaw locked, and eyes alight with fury. However, he said nothing.
"Could that explain this?" another small goblin lifted Orcrist before the Great Goblin. "He was wearing it when we took them,"
A truly horrible howl left the Great Goblin, and he stamped about in fear and rage. Danica barely managed to roll away before being crushed. She landed at Thorin's feet, but he was promptly thrown down beside her, both being whipped by goblins. Thorin rolled himself as best he could on top of her to shield her.
"Slash them! Beat them! Kill them all!" the Great Goblin cried.
Before any of this could be accomplished, all the lights went out, coming together in a giant tower of glowing blue smoke that shot white sparks at the goblins, piercing and burning their flesh. Gandalf. The goblins scattered, howling and shrieking in agony before fighting each other in madness. At the same time, a sword flashed amongst them, breaking their chains, and Danica heard a sickening thud. As Thorin pulled her to her feet, she saw the Great Goblin's head rolling toward her.
"Come on," Thorin said in her ear, grabbing her hand.
Trying to focus, she followed him, taking her spear as he passed it to her. They had paused for a brief moment so weapons could be distributed, and Gandalf could count them, and then they were off again. Danica barely managed to grab the pack that held the books of ancient dwarvish. Somehow, they managed to lose the goblins, and went off silently through more dark passages, with only Gandalf's staff to light the way. It almost seemed like they'd be able to escape, when someone gave a yell from the back of the group. Everyone turned to see that a wave of goblins had managed to sneak up on them, overtaking Bilbo and Dori.
"Fight!" Gandalf yelled.
Even as she brandished her spear, Danica's eyes went to the darkness below, where she could see Sting's light disappear from view, along with its owner. Despite her fear, she had the briefest moment of relief. Riddles in the dark would happen after all.