Thorin looked out across the fields surrounding Erebor. He stood in the stone bridge watching. It was a fresh Spring morning, and everything around appeared lush and sprung to life following the many early spring showers. Shobha walked beside his sister and the boy, Gael. Fili, Kili and his betrothed elf captain from Mirkwood walked ahead of them.
His new bride appeared to be walking slower than usual, and his sister had slowed her pace to keep her company, while the boy who had taken to his sister like a mother, held Shobha's hand looking up at her concerned. Panic filled him suddenly – had she been injured when he was unaware?
As he took several steps forward he noticed her turn slowly towards him, almost as though she could read his thoughts and wave slowly, smiling. Her belly was full and rounded with child – his child – their child. It was disproportionately enormous, making her look as though she might fall over any moment, but knowing her, she would have refused his help. Even his sister did not appear to hold her hand. He knew dwarven babies were large, but seeing her as she was, set him off with a new found wave of worry for when she would give birth, bringing back all the fears he had previously of her conceiving. She cradled the swell of her stomach lovingly with one hand as her lined cloak splayed open revealing her deep blue dress underneath.
"You worry for her – but know there are powers that will ultimately protect her." An unfamiliarly deep voice rumbled behind him, as the dwarf who it belonged to stepped froward to stand beside him. He was taller than Thorin by a head. He did not know any dwarrows taller than him, but there was no mistaking him, with his dark hair, shorn beard similar to that of Thorin, piercing sapphire eyes and the familiar features he passed daily in the sculpture that stood the Royal Wing – it was Durin the Deathless.
"My Lord," Thorin bowed his head, in acknowledgment, King to King.
"King Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror." He bowed his head in return. He possessed the majesty of a Durin without doubt. "Or should I say Adad..."
Durin watched Thorin's eyebrows shoot up in surprise at that and chuckled a strange deep sound that rumbled from his chest.
"You and 'Mama', have done a rather good job so far – and I will be born again soon, as Arda requires it."
"Mama…?"
"Yes according to her customs."
"Of course." Thorin nodded, and he wouldn't have it any other way. "Why now… and to me?"
"A great darkness is spreading slowly, and it will march upon our gates here at Erebor. An old prophesy was made once by a Seer among the ancient Vanyar Elves, that even when Morgoth was defeated and cast off, his evil would endure in the world till the end of days, but when the time came that a further wave of darkness attempted to rise, a great Prince would be born to hold these forces at bay. The Prince concerned would be born upon when one of Mahal's great creations made love to a child of men, who was his One." Durin observed the pregnant Queen consort of Erebor, as she stepped on slowly, smiling softly at her. "You see it is a lesser known prophesy, for the Dark One attempted to wipe its knowledge from history. It was for that reason that your One was born to a different world, for her own protection, and then transported here by the Valar when the time was right…"
"I thought the only reason the darkness sought Erebor was for the firedrake as an ally. But he has been vanquished."
"No… during your quest an item precious to the Dark One – in which all his power was ensconced, had been discovered to the world once more. He will send his followers as ambassadors asking you for your knowledge regarding the one who may hold this." The large dwarf looked down at Thorin, as he realised this related to the One Ring, as Shobha had warned him about. She had tried to tell him that the halfling was in possession of it. If that were the case, Thorin would take this information with him to the grave. "But that is not why I am here..."
Thorin looked at Durin troubled with what worse news he could bring.
"There are still those who would attempt to stop my birth – "
"Who?!" Thorin stepped closer to the ancient one.
"It doesn't matter – you will need to hurry and return back to guard your Queen. She is in great danger…"
"No!" Thorin began to run towards his One, unsheathing his sword, but he was already late! Ahead of him, he could see a hoard of Orc running towards Shobha, their weapons raised. Fili and Kili stood widely in front of her, drawing their weapons, but they were outnumbered. "Help me my Lord!"
Thorin called at Durin, but the great dwarf was gone. He continued to run as fast as he could, but he feared he would not reach reach her on time.
"Guard! Call the Guard –"
"Baheluh!"
Thorin jolted awake, as his old friend Dwalin squatting above him. He sat bolt upright, heart pounding, and perspiring.
He was suddenly grateful that it had only been a dream, but Durin the Deathless himself had come to him, warning him.
"Baheluh – are you alright?" Dwalin looked at his friend concerned.
"What news have we received from Balin?" They had carried a raven with them to carry urgent messages. Thorin hadn't wanted to worry his new bride, or place unnecessary stress on her by sending her messages. Instead he had taken the coward's way by sending messages to Balin.
"The raven returned only yesterday, and all was well. Your Queen is working hard apparently, missing you."
"Is she well?"
"Aye! Why shouldn't she be?" Dwalin looked at Thorin questioningly. "Mahal's hairy bollocks! You're a stubborn arse! You should just send my sister a raven yourself instead of spying on her…"
Thorin placed his hand on Dwalin's shoulder in silent thanks and nodded.
"Oh I see – ya think she is with child!" His cousin had learnt to read him far too well, just as he could communicate with him silently on the battlefield after many years of soaring together. "I am not an expert on this – but I think it is too early at the moment to be able to tell. In any case nothing gets past Oin or Dis for that matter and they would see to her…"
"No! Certainly nothing past my sister – not even you apparently!" Thorin grunted.
"Och! Not that again!" Dwalin rubbed his head protectively. "I didn't know how to tell you – and in any case, it is her choice, being a widow. And she has not accepted my offer to court her –"
"Not yet… but I am certain she will." Thorin reassured his dear friend. "You have always been like a brother to me all these years. And I could not choose a better man for her. If Mahal is merciful enough to grant her another chance at happiness – then I would be more than honoured to have you as a brother. And it appears you have a child together also now, thanks to my bride's meddling."
"Leave the poor lad be. He is a decent child – and with our guidance will grow to become a decent man, who will aid and serve Erebor as I have." And then he shook his head once more at his King. This was not Thorin's true concern. He could tell, their leader was lost in far greater thoughts. "But what is it that truly troubles you, Baheluh? If it concerns my sister – I would have you tell me right away…"
"There is something about this quest that doesn't sit right with me. I cannot help but think this is a trap of some sort…" Thorin brushed his beard subconsciously.
"Aye – me too. But we have tried warning Fili. And now we are here to protect him. It is strange that he is so insistent on this. It is unlike him also." Dwalin patted him on the shoulder and stood up again. "Now get some more rest. I will wake you in time for your watch."
Thorin nodded and lay back down. He would not get any sleep now. The words of the Prophesy and Durin's warning would continue to plague his thoughts that night. He inhaled her scent that lingered on his bedroll… that alone would be his sole comfort for now. But they had to hurry and search for this missing Princess taken hostage and then return as soon as possible.
….
Fili, Thorin, Dwalin and Dain had examined several openings to tunnels on that side of the mountain, placing explosive charges from the mines at each. Once they were all clear of the tunnels after the rescue, they would seal them shut. And certainly if they were being pursued – this would be their means to safeguarding the rest of their men from ambush. Small groups of soldiers were left at each of these tunnels, ready to attack, even though it was unlikely that the orcs would leave in daylight.
They had found the large main tunnel and Draeg had prepared himself with a group of twenty of his men to go in, quietly moving towards the entrance.
Thorin and Dwalin hid behind a large rocky outcrop watching the main entrance.
He looked across at Fili who crouched behind another large rock with Dain. The rest of their small army of fifty strong soldiers were crouched around in higher points all watching all ready to attack. But the tunnels appeared completely silent.
"We are here for Princess Vara!" Draeg called out taking several steps closer to the entrance. He could certainly see some movement within."We are here to trade ourselves in her place!"
The shuffling sounds from within grew louder.
"Honour your word filth!" He yelled again.
"There are very few of you," a hissing came from within the tunnel, as several orcs arrived at the entrance, still remaining within the shadows glancing around carefully. "Lay your weapons down and come forth."
"Not until you release our Princess."
"We will do better – and take you to her." The orc rasped. "But the Master will not be happy with so few of you…"
"This is all that remains of our best fighters." Draeg stood firmly. "You have killed and injured the rest."
A group of orcs circled them now pointing their weapons at them.
"Collect their weapons!" The leader called out, as they jabbed their spears and swords at the dwarves now huddled in a circle.
Thorin could see Fili itching to move and looked at Dain who shot his arm out holding the Prince back firmly. They turned their attention back to the Blacklocks now being herded into the tunnels. The final orcs at the back of the pack remained outside the tunnels for a while, looking around suspiciously and then scuttled back into the dark depths.
Waiting a few more moments Thorin, Fili, Dwalin and Dain crept back down, and reaching the entrance peered in. The group had gone in, and beyond sight, but the clang of their armour could be heard. Signalling for silence Thorin gestured to follow as Fili lead the way. He could not explain it, but he had to do this. And so moving further into the darkness, weapons in hand, they stopped briefly to allow their eyes to adjust completely, and then followed the noise, keeping close together.
…
Shobha was woken up in the middle of the night, by urgent knocking from the guards outside her room. She was informed that Lord Bard had arrived himself with urgent news. So she had sent the guards to wake Balin, Dis, Kili, Tauriel and the other remaining members of the company to the war room to talk with him. They had all hurried in, at her summons, some not fully dressed yet abut nonetheless arriving fast and taking their seat around the table. By this time she had already spoken with Bard who had told her of the news of the two armies of a hundred and fifty strong Orcs each along with their many war trolls and beasts that were making their way towards the Lonely Mountain.
"So I have gathered you all here because Lord Bard has informed me that there are two large armies of Orcs that are marching on us. And will be here in a day or so: By tomorrow evening." She stood at the head of the table, unwilling to take the seat normally reserved for Thorin. She hated that he wasn't here, and was worried as to what he might be facing himself. "Why were we not aware of his sooner?"
"Our outposts were destroyed by them as they made their march up. None were left alive. And we heard no news at all from them, until a sole surviving trader managed to escape back to Dale, by some miracle!" Bard spoke hurried. "I have only known for the last hour myself. And came as soon as I could to inform you. I know King Thorin seeks out the source of these Orcs from the Misty Mountains, and so I thought I should offer out assistance.. Although our men are few, no more than seventy five in number."
"Clearly their intention was to sneak up on us and catch us all unprepared." She said with a deep frown across her face. "They intend to destroy every last one of us here. What about your people Bard – where will you evacuate them to? I am happy to offer shelter in our deep waiting halls…"
"We are preparing for everyone to evacuate to Mirkwood now. My son has left to speak with King Thranduil."
"He will not send assistance –" Nori spat out.
"No, but all we need is for them to accept our people for a short while, until they can seek safe passage elsewhere, or return back." Bard rubbed his forehead. "We have mustered every able bodied man that can fight –"
"That won't be enough. Even our best soldiers have followed Thorin and Fili. There is no way we will survive a battle." She said worried. "We have to fortify our defences and prepare for a siege. We can pick off as many as possible from the ramparts. If we can do that and even the numbers then we can go out to face them or take them on, if or when they eventually get in."
"We will join your army in battle, my Queen." Bard stood up to look from Shobha to the rest of the dwarves gatherers around. "We just need time to evacuate the whole of the town first."
"Balin, how do we close off the stone bridge?" Shobha asked.
"There is no way, it is not a draw bridge. We can only barricade the Great Gate." Balin replied.
Shobha watched as all the other dwarves looked at each other nervously. They had clearly not expected to fight so soon after the last great Battle for Erebor. Then she saw Bofur, which gave her an idea.
"Bofur. How much explosives do we have?" She asked.
"Enough to bring the whole mountain down, my Lady." He looked at her wide eyed, wondering what she planned. "But if we cut the bridge off we will not have the means to escape or send out a full army –"
"And anyway even if we blew up the bridge, their Bridge-Trolls would easily bridge the gap, lassie." Balin added.
"No – we need to plant some explosive charges hidden in the land surrounding outside. If we can take out as many of them with it as possible that will help us with the numbers." She said. "So Lord Bard – if you or your men want to join us – I advise you get here before they arrive. Or else head for Mirkwood and ask if King Thranduil is willing to help us. Now I will let you leave – I expect there are many preparations for you to undertake."
Bard nodded and then rising up from his seat and bowing, took his leave quickly.
"We need to get messages out to Thorin. Is that possible?" She looked at Balin.
"Aye- "
"I sent Allon to find Gandalf." She asked hopefully, although, she had no idea how they would find him. "And send a raven to warn Thorin Stonehelm. Tauriel you need to ride out to your King – I will write a message for him. Before this is done we will need his help too – and for our people to escape to Mirkwood if needed."
"I would like to stay and fight." Tauriel protested. "I want to stand with Kili and you all."
"No. There will be no battle until the final hour – and by that stage we will only be holding them off until everyone escapes." Shobha spoke sternly now. "And you should take Kili with you –"
"No! I am staying here!" he stood angrily, looking from Shobha, to Balin and his mother.
"Kili, please listen to me –" Shobha sat down in Thorin's seat finally. "This isn't a coincidence – marching two armies over, exactly a few days after Thorin has lead a small army of our own elsewhere. I just hope they are ok – because all those who are next in line to the throne are in that group. You are the last heir – we have to protect you now…"
Dis looked at Kili with concern and then at Shobha, giving her a nod in agreement.
"Dis you will need to lead the evacuation –"
"No! Not without you." Dis was firm about this one.
"There is no one else to go down with the ship, I have to do it in place of Thorin." Shobha was resolved about that. "Barr and Zodar will accompany you."
"My Lady – our King has asked that we do not leave your side –" Barr spoke quickly, only to be stopped by Shobha.
"What is up with everyone challenging me today! I wish you'd done that over the last few days when I really needed it. Our King is not here and this is an emergency. I will take full responsibility. In any case you both have families and I want some of our best guards to protect our young. I think that's vital for the future. Balin…? Gloin…? What would you advise?"
"Aye lass… I think you would be doing the honourable thing. I don't think Thorin would agree that you stood with our soldiers to the end – You are not trained for battle, but our fighters should have someone to lead them." Balin brushed his beard thoughtfully with his hand.
"We can not risk Kili, for he is heir now." Gloin nodded and then trailed off. "But, my lady, what if you…"
Shobha looked at him nodding to urge him on, but then he simply looked at the others concerned.
"He means to say what if you are… um… with child?" Dori iterated, blushing slightly.
It had only been ten days since they first made love.
"It is unlikely that is the case in only a few days. Even if it is – they will probably aim to kill me so I might as well go down fighting." She looked at everyone sternly, and they agreed with heavy sighs.
"We will be standing by you, my Queen." Bifur spoke up this time looking at his brothers.
"Bombur we need food stores, medicines and clean water in our deep waiting rooms. And we need to get everyone up and ready to evacuate by tomorrow morning.. And Oin: do you need help setting up medical bays and evacuating anyone from the infirmary?"
Bombur nodded without hesitation and looked at Oin next.
"We can manage that." The old healer nodded to her also and looked at his brother.
"Now how do we fortify our defences and gather up our army?" Shobha looked at Balin.
"That is no problem, lass."
"I also have quite a few ideas for attacks from the ramparts – " She stood up, and everyone else followed.
"Oh now you're talking, my Queen. This should be good." Nori smirked rubbing his hands together.
…
Dear All
Thank you so much for your continued support and following my story xx
Please please continue your lovely reviews, faves and followings - I am ever grateful. So this storyline around the Prophesy is entwined with my other story Thorin's Fate. They can be read independently, but its how things would have been different if they had met at a different timeline.
Wishing you all happy holidays and a happy new year! Xx
MaggYme – thank you so much! You really have made my year with your words! I am so grateful! As for Fili – all will be revealed in the future ;) my lips are sealed XD. You made me smile so much with that reaction to Shobha's outburst! Lol! Hope you like this chapter too – Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year :)
dragonegyptianblue – I know its all about to kick off now… I hope you enjoy this chapter too Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year :)
MissCallaLilly – I know how you feel! Hope you enjoy this chapter. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year – and thank you so much for all your support (you were my very first reviewer – and for that I am ever grateful) :)
UnaLouise (sorry am replying to this storyline instead of the other) – thank you so much for that review – you totally made my day! Hope you enjoy this chapter too. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year :)
And special Thank you to EuropeanCupcake – I am always grateful for your support. Wishing you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year :)
