A/N: Perhaps Cameron's destiny isn't as bad as she imagined... But would she give her own life for Thorin's?
"Change the tune, why don't you? I feel like I'm at a funeral!" Nori sighs in exasperation as the Elves play a melody on their instruments during dinner, not quite fond of their music choice.
"What? Did someone die?" Oín asks, having misheard, causing me to chuckle.
"Alright, lads, there's only one thing for it." Bofur says, standing up from his seat. He steps onto the table, drawing the attention to him. Oh no.
"There is an inn, a merry old inn
beneath an old grey hill,
And there they brew a beer so brown
That the Man in the Moon himself came down
One night to drink his fill.
The ostler has a tipsy cat
that plays a five-stringed fiddle;
And up and down he runs his bow,
Now squeaking high, now purring low,
Now sawing in the middle."
Bofur is a great singer and the song is surprisingly catchy despite its rowdy lyrics, making me drum along on the table with the Dwarves. Food begins to fly around, shocking Elrond and the other Elves as I laugh out loud at the behaviour of the Dwarves, having gotten used to it by now. Gandalf is trying to fight a grin from creeping up his face, but fails miserably. When Bofur finishes, I applaud loudly, along with the other Dwarves, cheering as he sits back down.
"Now Cam, I bet you don't know a song more inappropriate than that!" Bofur exclaims with a proud grin, dropping down in his seat.
"Well, I really wouldn't say that if I were you, Bofur." I argue carefully, unable to hide a smirk.
"Why don't you sing the worst song you know for us?" He asks, a smug look on his face. I hold a stare contest with him for a moment, then smile, standing up from my spot. When I get onto the table, the dwarves cheer loudly, drawing all the attention to me.
"My Lord, I'm so sorry for doing this to you, but I can't turn down a challenge." I apologize to Elrond with my sweetest smile. He merely sighs at it, nodding in defeat. I begin the beat by stomping onto the table with my feet, the dwarves soon taking over from me.
"Baby, can't you see
I'm calling
A guy like you
Should wear a warning
It's dangerous
I'm fallin'"
Around me, I can hear everyone turn silent to listen to me, even the elves. All the eyes aimed at me make me slightly nervous, so I shut my eyes and shut them out, slowly beginning to sway to the music.
"Too high
Can't come down
Losing my head
Spinning 'round and 'round
Do you feel me now
Taste of your lips
I'm on a ride
You're toxic I'm slipping under
With a taste of a poison paradise
I'm addicted to you
Don't you know that you're toxic
And I love what you do
Don't you know that you're toxic"
Everyone's silent, and I feel something stir deep inside of me, electricity filling the air. I merely embrace the feeling, enjoying the confidence it gives me.
"It's getting late
To give you up
I took a sip
From my devil's cup
Slowly
It's taking over me"
When I finish and open my eyes, they meet Thorin's, blue eyes wide and dark. For a moment, all we do is look at each other, until Fili and Kili start applauding, the entire room soon joining in. When I turn to look at Bofur, raising my eyebrow at him, he sighs dejectedly.
"You won." He mutters, making me grin triumphantly.
"You know, that wasn't even the worst I know." I admit, causing them all to stare at me in shock. Dwalin chokes on his wine at it, the others letting out distressed noises. I laugh loudly at them. If these dwarves really thought they were dirty, they just had to wait to see me prove them wrong.
Far too soon, our stay at Rivendell is coming to an end. Apparently, Lord Elrond had managed to read the moon runes that were written on our map, and according to Bilbo it was translated like this:
Stand by the grey stone
as the thrush knocks
and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day
will shine upon the keyhole.
Apparently, this was bad news. When I asked Balin about it, he told me that Durin's Day was the Dwarves' New Year, and that it was celebrated when the last moon of Autumn and the sun are in the sky together. This meant that we didn't have all that much time left, so Thorin was very eager on leaving as soon as possible.
I'm walking through the gardens, taking in its beauty for what may as well be the last time, when someone calls out.
"Larés." It's unnerving to hear my Maiar name out here, but I relax when I notice it's Elrond. It was quite typical for elves to use those titles.
"Lord Elrond." I greet back.
"I heard your stay here is coming to an end." He says, moving to walk beside me.
"Apparently, yes. We don't have much time left according to Thorin." I answer, sighing deeply.
"You seem upset about this," He notes, calm as ever.
"Well, it's beautiful here. Rarely have I ever been so at ease, except for at home with Bilbo. He likes it here too. I'm afraid we'll both miss it." I admit, glancing up at him. I'd never spoken about this to any of the dwarves, considering their attitude to the elves, but Bilbo and I had talked about how much we were going to miss it here. There was just something about Rivendell that made me feel at home, the magic humming in the air, the elves always friendly. It partially had to do with the fact that I wasn't seen as a saviour sent by the Valar yet, meaning I could still hide from my destiny.
"You and Master Baggins are always welcome to stay, if you should wish to do so. I would be very happy to have you remain here, and help you with your powers to develop them." Lord Elrond offers, taking me by surprise. 'Told you so.', Thorin's voice grumbles in my head, and I can't help but smile at it.
"That's a very kind offer, Lord Elrond, but I will have to turn it down. I signed a contract, and I'm not leaving my friends behind until they have their kingdom returned to them." I state, my decision always having stayed the same.
"I figured you would say that. Just know that there will always be a place for you here, Cameron." Elrond says, a soft smile on his face.
"I'll remember that. Thank you, for everything." I say with a wide smile. The elf is surprised when I step forward and wrap my arms around him, but he returns the hug after a while, my head barely reaching his chest. After that, he walks off to do God-knows-what, and I'm surprised when I see the entire company standing on top of a balcony, watching us. Quickly, I walk up the stairs that lead to it, smiling at them. When they don't smile back, sad and angry looks on their faces, my smile fades.
"What's wrong, guys?" I ask, frowning.
"You're staying here, aren't you?" Ori asks, a very sad look in his eyes. For a moment, I can only look at them in shock.
"Do you really think I'd leave you?" I ask then, actually feeling hurt because of this.
"Well, ya hugged the tree hugger, so." Gloin huffs, making me look at each and every one of them separately.
"Lord Elrond offered me to stay, yes." I begin, but I'm interrupted by multiple dwarves exclaiming 'I told you so!' Thorin luckily motions for them to be quiet, an angry - maybe even hurt - look in his eyes. Did he really think I was leaving the Company?
"I declined his offer. I would never leave you guys, not until that dragon's dead and your kingdom is yours again." I state, locking eyes with Thorin. After all, it was my destiny. Thorin was my destiny. But I couldn't say that to them, not yet.
For a moment, all of them are quiet, eyes wide. The next thing I know, is that I'm being crushed in a dwarf group hug, all of them cheering loudly. I can't help but laugh at it, and enjoy being basked in their love and happiness. When they let go of me, I lock eyes with Thorin once more, and I raise an eyebrow at him.
"I knew you wouldn't leave us behind." He mutters, clearly relieved though.
"Liar." I say teasingly, grinning at him.
"Alright, maybe I did think that. I'm glad I was wrong." He states. Then, he surprises me by pulling me into a hug of his own. I freeze up for a moment, shocked, but I'm eager to wrap my arms around his neck in return, holding him tightly. His hold around my waist is strong, and I find myself missing it as soon as he lets go of me.
"Now, let's continue our journey. It's about time we left this place."
It seems like this storm will never end. Rain's pouring down from the skies without stopping, soaking all of us to the bone, the wind whipping around us until I can't hear anything but the storm that's raging around us, not even my own voice. I do my best to keep my balance, sticking as close to the stone wall as I can as we walk over the tiny path so I won't fall off the edge, which would mean me falling to my death instantly. I'm following Thorin, who's walking first, Dwalin behind me, every single one of us struggling in this god awful weather. We'd been crossing through the Misty Mountains, when this storm suddenly fell upon us.
Suddenly, the ground moves. It. Moves. I can't help but scream, trying to steady myself by pushing myself up against the slippery stone wall.
"STONE GIANTS!" Thorin exclaims, and when I dare look up from my feet I see a huge stone creature. I nearly scream again, fear striking deep within me. Thorin yells something else, but I don't hear him, panicking about the fact that we're currently standing ON A STONE GIANT. I still follow him when he begins to run, praying to whoever may hear me to spare our lives. After all we'd been through, I didn't want to die falling off a cliff, I really, really didn't. If I really was supposed to keep the line of Durin safe, the Valar and Maiar were always welcome to help out a hand or two.
Suddenly, Thorin slips, losing his balance. I scream as I watch him fall, and duck forward on instinct. For a moment, all I feel is myself slide over the ground, towards him, too fast, pure fear taking over when I realize I've already thrown myself over the edge, lunging for him. When I stop moving, my body hanging half over the edge, I open my eyes carefully, having squeezed them shut. My hands are holding Thorin's, who dangles in the air, his eyes wide as they meet mine.
"I've got ya two!" Dwalin booms loudly, and I realize his hands holding my ankles are the only thing that prevents us both from falling to our deaths. Another pair of hands grabs hold of my waist, and I grunt as I keep holding Thorin tightly. I could NOT let him fall, not now. Our eyes remain locked the entire time. When I'm pulled back into safety, Dwalin moves away from me, grabbing Thorin underneath his shoulders to pull him up as well. I collapse in relief, entire body shaking, as he lies down next to me. I realize it were Fili and Kili who helped us as well, the two boys helping me stand up. When Thorin stands up too, I can only look at him briefly before he's running again, me following him.
When Bilbo trips after that, my heart debates to stop beating forever.
"BILBO!" I scream, not able to get to him due to him being at the end of the group. He's hanging onto a ledge further down than where we are, and I feel tears of fear mixing with the rain drops on my face. Dwalin grabs me, reading my thoughts as I plan on climbing down to go get him, and I struggle in his hold, to no avail. I'm sobbing into his chest, when shouts fill the air.
"THORIN, NO!" Someone yells, and when I open my eyes I'm even more shocked to see him climbing down, grabbing Bilbo just in time. He lifts him up, the others taking him from him and safely pulling him up. My heart only restarts when I see him safe on our path as well.
"Come on, lassie. We've got to keep moving." Dwalin says in my ear, and I nod, wiping my tears away before following him once more. After more minutes of me fearing for all of our lives, we finally find a cave. Dwalin checks it out, and as soon as he says it's safe, Thorin pushes me inside, the others following. I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding, and quickly search for my Hobbit.
"Bilbo! I was so worried!" I exclaim, quickly pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. When he pulls back, I'm crying full-on, making him pull me back into his arms.
"I was worried about you too. I thought we'd lost you and Thorin both." He admits when I pull away, tears on his cheeks now too. Thorin. I turn to look at where the leader of our Company stands near the cave's entrance, blue eyes meeting mine. I don't think, just launch myself at him, pulling him into a hug. His clothes are wet and cold, but he holds me in his arms nonetheless, squeezing tightly.
"Never throw yourself after me like that again. I wouldn't forgive myself if you died because of me." He brings out softly, lips touching my hair.
"And I would never forgive myself if you died while I could've saved you. I was so worried." I mutter against his chest, pulling him closer to me. For a moment, I wasn't upset that saving him was my destiny. He sighs, relaxing into my hold. When I pull back and see all the dwarves staring at us, I turn bright red, especially given the idiotic grins that are on their faces.
"Set up camp for tonight. It doesn't look like this storm will be ending anytime soon." Thorin orders, immediately scowling at his dwarves. They all jump at that, then quickly get to work. Unfortunately, he orders not to make a fire, for he deemed it dangerous. I move to a corner of the cave and change out of my wet clothes, drying myself off as best as I can before putting on my spare clothes, which are, unfortunately, also wet. Shivering, I sit against the back wall of the cave, arms wrapped around myself for some warmth. I push back my hair so the wet strands no longer hang in my face, huffing in annoyance. Those were definitely going to be cut off as soon as I got the chance.
"Hey, Lass." Bofur says before sitting down beside me, following my gaze outside, where it's still raining heavily.
"You saved our king back there. Thanks." He mutters, making me turn to him with a smile.
"You would've done the same. Wouldn't be much use in our quest if our King died, would it?" I answer, making him chuckle.
"True, but still. I admire your strength." He admits, a big smile on his face.
"Thanks, Bofur." I say, leaning into him. He sighs, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
"This is no place for a girl like you. You're way too good to see all of this." He whispers so softly that I'm almost not sure if he spoke at all.
"I'm glad I'm here, with all of you. I'd never thought I'd go on an adventure this big, and I will cherish it forever, even after all this is over and Bilbo and I have to go home." I whisper back. My stomach drops at that thought, as does my mood. I hadn't told Bilbo yet, about the destiny thing, because it meant facing the fact that we would have to separate eventually.
"You're still thinking about returning to the Shire, are you?" He asks then, seeming surprised by it.
"Where else could I go?" I ask in return, confused.
"You could stay with us. In Erebor." He offers, smiling at me.
"It's a dwarf kingdom. I doubt Thorin would allow it." I argue softly.
"Oh, I think you're very mistaken about Thorin there. He'd definitely want you to stay." Bofur answers, a smirk on his face.
"And even if he didn't, you could stay with me and my brothers. I'm sure Bombur and Bifur would love to have you around."
"That's very sweet, Bofur. But you know that I can't leave Bilbo." I say, sighing deeply.
"Hmm, yes, I know. I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too."
I would tackle the whole destiny thing later. For now, sleep would be fine.
I wake up because of the ground shaking. Or more so, because of a terrible gut feeling that startled me out of my sleep. Opening my eyes, I realize I'd fallen asleep on Bofur's shoulder, his arm wrapped loosely around me as he was still asleep. Looking around, worried, my eyes land upon Thorin, the only other one who was awake.
"What's going on?" Bilbo speaks up, now awake himself. I look from him to Thorin, who becomes very wary.
"WAKE UP. WAKE UP!" Thorin booms, successfully shaking everyone awake. The first thing Bofur does is check if I'm alright, then we all stand up, confused.
"Why is the floor moving?" I ask, staring down at the floor.
"We have to get OUT-
Thorin's interrupted when the floor underneath us literally falls open, all of us falling. I'm screaming, terrified. We fall down some sort of terribly built, bone breaking slide, and I stop screaming due to the pain that flares through my entire body. I don't know what's up and what's down anymore, dwarves bumping into me from all sides. Suddenly, I find myself looking at a cage like thing, and realize we're going to collapse right into it. I barely manage to turn, landing onto some dwarves on my back instead of head first. When Bombur falls right on top of me, I'm pretty sure my back's broken.
"BOMBUR, GET OFF OF THE LASS!" Thorin booms, quickly dragging the heavy dwarf off of me. I'm gasping for air, my lungs feeling like they just gave up on me, when the most horrid noises fill the air, nasty creatures jumping us. I scream, scared shitless by these foul creatures, and find myself struggling against the three that are dragging me somewhere. I had to stay with the group! As they force me towards a narrow bridge, I let out another scream.
"NO! LET ME GO!" I yell, trying to kick the things.
"HANDS OFF! CAMERON! ARE YOU OKAY?" Dwalin roars, trying to shake himself loose from the five creatures that are holding him back.
"YOU NASTY GOBLINS!" I hear Fili shout angrily, explaining to me who these creatures were. I'm on the edge of fully panicking as the goblins lead us to God-knows-where. They were simply everywhere.
The entire time, I find myself jumping at goblins screaming at me and I let out tiny screams, scared beyond reason. The others try to calm me down by yelling my name, but it doesn't really help, especially when I find out one of us is missing.
"BILBO? WHERE'S BILBO!" I shout, panicking even more now. The others are confused by that as well, and worry fills me to the point where I feel sick. As we near a place where even more goblins are, I see the biggest, fattest, ugliest of them all, wearing a crown on his head as he sings the most awful, hideous song I'd ever heard.
"Clap, snap, the black crack
Grip, grab, pinch, and nab
Batter and beat
Make 'em stammer and squeak!
Pound pound, far underground
Down, down, down in Goblin Town
With a swish and smack
And a whip and a crack
Everybody talks when they're on my rack
Pound pound, far underground
Down, down, down in Goblin Town
Hammer and tongs, get out your knockers and gongs
You won't last long on the end of my prongs
Clash, crash, crush and smish
Bang, break, shiver and shake
You can yammer and yelp
But there ain't no help
Pound pound, far underground
Down, down, down in Goblin Town"
As the awful Goblin King, at least I think he is, sings the horrid song, we're led to him over another bridge, then gathered in front of him together. I grab hold onto the first dwarf who's closest to me, being Bifur, and squeeze my eyes shut in fear. The older dwarf wraps an arm around me, pulling me tightly against him to protect me, and I huddle close to him like a child would.
"Catchy, isn't it? It's one of my own compositions." The goblin asks, moving to sit down in his throne. He's hideous, and the sight of him makes me want to throw up.
"That's not a song! It's an abomination!" Balin exclaims, to my own surprise. If I wouldn't have been terrified, I might've even laughed.
"Abominations! Mutations! Deviations! That's all you're gonna find down here." The Goblin King exclaims, motioning around us. I don't even dare look at any other goblin. Suddenly, we're all being disarmed, our weapons splayed out in front of our group. Bifur's hold on me tightens protectively.
"Who would be so bold to come armed into my town? Spies? Thiefs? ASSASINS?!" The goblin becomes louder with every word, and I curl up closer into Bifur's side.
"Dwarves, your malevolence!" One of the goblins explains.
"Dwarves?" The King repeats, eyes growing wide.
"We found 'em on the front porch, together with some human girl!" The other confirms, looking over to me.
"Dwarves? Don't just stand there! Search them! Every nook, every crevice!" He orders, and Bifur begins to struggle against the goblins who try to touch me.
"Don't touch me you filthy monster!" I shout, my panic currently overruled by my distaste of them. I did not want their nasty paws touching me! They manage to grab me nonetheless, and I shiver with disgust. Luckily, I'm not carrying much with me, my backpack lost during my fall, so they quickly release me. Bifur is quick to pull me back into his arms, no doubt feeling me shake.
"They are in league with elves!" One of the goblins says, showing the stolen silverware Nori took. My eyes grow wide. How dared he!
"Made in Rivendell? Ah, Second Age. Couldn't give it away." The King sneers in disgust, tossing the candelabra away. Everyone gives Nori an accusing look at that, and the dwarf merely shrugs, muttering something no one can hear.
"What are you doing in these parts?" He then asks. Thorin is about to step forward, making me reach out to stop him, but Oin interrupts him, stepping in front of him.
"Don't worry lads, I'll handle this." He states, a smile on his face.
"No tricks! I want the truth. What's and all." The goblin warns him.
"Yer gonna have tuh speak up. Yer boys flat meh trumper." Gloin states, holding up his crushed horn. Poor Gloin!
"I'll flatten more than your trumpet!" The goblin exclaims, angrily taking steps towards us. I cower back against Bifur.
" 'spose ya want information I'm the one ye should speak to!" Bofur quickly says, stepping in front of the others. The goblin hums at it.
"We wer on the road. Was more a path than road. Actually, 's not even tha' now I come tuh think o' it, s'more like a track. Anyway, we were on this road and like a path like a track… and then we weren't! Which is a problem, because we were 'sposed to be in Dunlan last Tuesday…" Bofur explains, turning back to look at the others for a reason to be there.
"To visit distant relations!" Dori quickly adds.
"Sum lads on me mother's side!" Bofur agrees quickly, all the other dwarves agreeing as well.
"SHUUUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUP!" The Goblin King exclaims, startling all of us.
"If they won't talk, we'll make them squawk!" He adds, motioning towards his other followers.
"Start with the youngest." Ori's face pales visibly at that, the goblins cheering loudly.
"WAIT." Thorin booms, his voice all impressive and regal. Worry fills me as he steps forward.
"Well, well, well! Look who it is. Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thrór, King under the Mountain." The Goblin King mockingly bows for him.
"Oh! But I'm forgetting you don't have a mountain. And you are not a King. Which makes you… nobody, really." I glare daggers at the fat goblin at it, knowing how greatly this must upset Thorin.
"I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just the head, nothing attached." He continues, seeming very amused. My blood runs cold at his following words.
"Perhaps, you know of whom I speak. An old enemy of yours. A pale orc, who rides a white warg."
"Azog the Defiler." Thorin mutters, barely loud enough for any of us to hear. Oh no.
Oh no. I knew that name. It had been one of our first nights, when Bilbo had been frightened by the strange noises and the two Princes had pestered him about Orcs. Thorin had told his nephews off for laughing about orcs, and then Balin had told us the story of the Battle of Azanulbizar. There had been a grand fight between dwarves and orcs, after they were chased out of Erebor. Azog the Defiler, a pale orc riding a white warg, beheaded King Thror, Thorin's grandfather. It drove Thráin, Thorin's father, mad with grief, but Thorin was even more determined to fight. What followed was the tale of a battle that I could almost imagine clearly in my head, as if I'd been there myself. Thorin had fought Azog bravely, but had been losing none the less. But as he lied on the ground, defeated, he grabbed a fallen oak branch, using it as a shield. When Azog swung his weapon down, Thorin found a fallen dwarf's sword and sliced the orc's arm right off. Azog had been pulled back into Moria by his fellow orcs, and Thorin had always believed he'd died of his injuries. Well, he'd been wrong, apparently. It was also after that story that my respect for him had grown, along with stupid, silly butterflies that only intensified whenever his blue eyes met mine. Knowing that he'd be so angry about Azog still being alive, made my heart break for him.
"Azog the Defiler was destroyed. He was slain in battle long ago!" Thorin protests, clearly unable to believe what the goblin is saying.
"So you believe his defiling days are over, do you?" The goblin chuckles at that, before turning to a little messenger goblin.
"Send word to the Pale Orc. Tell him I have his prize."
All of us begin struggling against the goblins, and I find myself pushing along with Bifur, anger filling me over the injustice they were doing to Thorin. It's when one of the goblins pulls out Thorin's elven sword, that hell breaks loose.
"I know that sword! It is the Goblin Cleaver! The blade that sliced a thousand necks!" The goblin king exclaims, a frightened look in his eyes as he jumps his throne.
"SLASH THEM! EAT THEM! KILL THEM!" He orders. I'm hit in the back with a whip, and I fall down onto my knees. Struggling, I'm slung in front of the goblin king. When I look to my side, worry fills me when I see Thorin lying next to me, overpowered by goblins. He's on his back, rendered powerless, as am I, forced to my knees.
"CUT OFF HIS HEAD! AND HERS TOO!" My eyes get wide in fear at that, locked with those familiar blue ones.
"THORIN, NO!" I shout, thrashing against the goblins pinning me down.
"CAMERON!" He shouts back, a worried look in his eyes upon seeing me lying there, next to him, awaiting the same fate. If anything, I was more worried about him than anything else. I don't look away from him, watching horrified as the goblin who's sitting on top of him draws his sword. No, they couldn't take him from me, not when I…
I loved him.
"THORIN!" I yell even louder now, the realization hitting me hard. I manage to pull one of the goblins off of me. Two more replace him, however, and I give up, wanting those eyes to be the last thing I see, not some ugly goblin raising their knife at me.
"Thorin, I lo-
Before I can finish my last words, an explosion of white fills everything around us. My ears give up on me, a high pitch rings in my ears, and I don't know if I've actually closed my eyes or that I'm merely not seeing anymore. Was I… dead?
"Take up arms." A familiar voice speaks up. Yep, I was definitely dead. Gandalf hadn't been with us! I just didn't expect him to be the one to welcome me on the other side.
"Fight. FIGHT!"
"Cameron, get up. Gandalf's here, we have to run!" Thorin says. Now that's a voice I could open my eyes for. When I do, I realize I'm not quite dead yet, and I grab his hand, allowing him to pull me up with him. As I look around, watching my friends fight for their lives, something is awakened inside of me. It's like it's always been there, locked in a box for safekeeping until it was time to use it.
Keep the line of Durin safe, Làres.
I'm reminded of my destiny, and the lock on the box falls off, a bright light unleashing itself from inside me. Anger fills me, hot, pure anger, and this time, my powers are unleashed.
"Don't you dare touch my dwarves!" I shout, releasing the power inside of me. The air crackles, and it's like a burst of lightning comes from me, hitting all the goblins surrounding me, sending them down into the depths. Everyone stares at me for a moment, and then I'm using my powers like I've always known how to. White beams burst from my hands, electrocuting the goblins or simply blasting them far away from me. When we've finally cleared some room, Gandalf calls us once more.
"Follow me! Quick!"
I look around me, pride swelling up inside my chest at the sight of the dwarves, my dwarves, fighting and working together to protect each other.
"Run!" I shout at them, sprinting after Gandalf. What follows is a crazy chase over tiny bridges and wooden planks, and if our lives hadn't been in danger I never would've even dared cross them slowly, but it's not like I have a choice or anything. During it, I find myself blasting my magic at goblins jumping us, trying to help the dwarves whenever they were struggling when I wasn't being overwhelmed by goblins. I end up with some cuts and bruises because of me putting them first, but I barely notice it, adrenaline coursing through my veins.
For a moment, my eyes land upon Thorin who's fighting off five goblins at once, and I find myself falling for him all over again, knees turning weak. The look on his face was murderous, the true King he was on full display for all to see, and my, it was a sight to behold. Truth be told, anyone in this Company could fight magnificently, but he really was something else, displaying so much regality and beauty in his strength that it made it hard for me to breathe.
"Watch out, lass!" I'm just in time to turn around and see Dwalin slash through the goblin that had been sneaking up on me.
"Thanks." I breathe out, focused once more when he drags me along with him.
"Stare at our King once we're out of here." He says, surprisingly cheeky, and I groan at it. Great.
Eventually, we're running onto a bridge, when the goblin king jumps out from the depths. Startled, I jump back into Dwalin's arms, who quickly shoves me behind him to protect me.
"You thought you could escape me!" He exclaims, swinging his staff at Gandalf. The dwarves behind him catch him, though, and Dwalin pulls me back even more, pushing me into someone else's arms. I'm surprised to find a pair of blue eyes checking me out, worried. Thorin.
"What are you gonna do now, Wizard?" He then asks. Gandalf moves forwards, hits him in the eye with his staff, then slices his stomach open with his sword. The goblin lets out a pained yelp, falling to its knees.
"That'll do it." Are his last words before Gandalf slices his throat. The goblin falls over, and the bridge begins to break under the impact. All I can do is grab tight onto the first thing I can put my hands on, being Thorin, and he grabs hold of the bridge, as it breaks and we fall down, into the depths.
"THORIN!" I yell, scared shitless, and he wraps an arm around me protectively, even though we both know this won't help at all once we hit the bottom. I hear the other dwarves screaming, and we slow down a little due to other wooden platforms, but not too much. It's only when we enter a more narrow part of the hole, that we actually slow down. Then, we collapse onto the floor, multiple dwarves grunting at the impact and loose wooden pieces that fall down upon them. Gandalf is the first to crawl out from underneath the bridge. I look at Thorin, realizing he'd broken my fall by pulling me into his arms. Our eyes meet, and I want to say something, but Bofur beats me to it.
"Well, tha' could've been worse."
Suddenly, the Goblin King falls down upon us, squashing us all.
"OW!"
"GANDALF!" Kili then shouts, directing our attention to thousands of goblins rushing down to kill us.
"There's too many! We can't kill 'em!" Dwalin speaks up, and the panic in his voice is enough to make me panic. Thorin grunts, and I wince in pain, the Goblin having fallen almost solely onto my back.
"Only one thing can save us! Daylight!" Gandalf says, quickly moving to help everyone out of the rubble. Fili and Kili help Thorin and I, and I can feel my back crack sickeningly once I'm standing straight. Thorin flashes me a worried look at that, but I shake my head at him before taking off into a sprint like the others, ignoring the pain that flares up my spine.
As we run into daylight and down the tree-covered hill, I hear Gandalf counting.
"Oin, Gloin, Balin, Ori, Nori, Bofur, Dori, Bifur, Bombur, Fili, Kili, Thorin, Dwalin, Cameron… That's 14."
I notice his miscount, glancing around worriedly from where I collapsed onto a rock. I'd sat down because my back really, really hurt from all that falling. Dwarves might be made out of stone, but I certainly wasn't. It didn't seem that Maiar were very strong in this physical form, apparently.
"Where's Bilbo?" Gandalf muses, and my stomach turns.
"Where is our hobbit? Where is our hobbit!" He repeats, and now the others notice as well.
"Curse the Halfling! Now he's lost? I thought he was with Dori!" Gloin exclaims.
"Now don't blame me!" Dori argues, a worried look in his eyes.
"Then where did you last see him?" Gandalf asks him.
"I think I saw him slip away when they first cornered us." Nori speaks up.
"And what happened exactly? Tell me!" Gandalf orders him. I can feel tears well up in my eyes already, and they have nothing to do with my injuries. When I see Thorin's about to speak up, anger in his eyes, I slowly stand up.
"I'll tell you what happened. Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm house ever since he stepped out of his door. We will not be seeing our Hobbit again. He is long gone." He says angrily, his words like a slap to my face. Silence hangs around all of us, as I begin to fume, angry tears flowing down my cheeks. He was wrong. Bilbo would've never left us… he probably was…dead.
"No. He isn't." A familiar voice shakes us all from our thoughts.
"Bilbo Baggins, I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life!" Gandalf exclaims, walking over to him.
"BILBO!" I exclaim, stumbling over to wrap him into a hug, sobbing loudly.
"It's quite alright, Cam, don't worry. I'm right here." He mutters, hand patting my back.
"I thought you were dead!" I exclaim, inhaling the smell of home to make sure it's really him.
"Bilbo! We'd given you up!" Kili says, sounding relieved.
"How the hell did you get past the goblins?" Fili asks, surprised.
"How indeed." Dwalin muses, drawing both our attention to Thorin and him. Bilbo chuckles, and I can feel his hand move to one of his pockets, confusing me.
"Well, what does it matter? He's back!" Gandalf interrupts him, clearly knowing something we didn't.
"It matters. I want to know. Why did you come back?" Thorin asks, fuelling my anger once more. Bilbo, however, gives me a look that says 'I've got this.'
"I know you doubt me. I-I know you always have. And you're right, I often think of Bag End. I miss my books! And my armchair, and my garden, having breakfast with Cam. See, that's where I belong. That's home. And that's why I came back. Because you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can."
There's tears in my eyes once more after those words, pride making my heart swell. My sweet little hobbit finally stood up for himself! I wrap an arm around him at that, wincing inwardly at the pain that flies through my spine.
Suddenly, howls sound through the air, and I'm on high-alert instantly, my magic roaring to life right underneath my skin. When I search for the source of the sound, my veins freeze when I see a certain pale orc astride a white warg. He was even more terrifying than I imagined.
"From the frying pan…" Thorin says, sighing.
"Into the fire. RUN!" Gandalf finishes, setting us all into motion. I do my best not to trip, running as fast as I can beside Bilbo, as multiple wargs follow us down the hill to follow us.
"Bilbo, watch out!" I shout as a warg jumps in front of him. I barely have time to stop, only to see the warg run onto Sting, his head pierced. Bilbo's shocked, and I have to drag him along to make him run again.
"Up into the trees! All of you!" Gandalf shouts when we realize we've reached the end of a very high cliff. I catch up with the others, having fought off the wargs with my sword. For some reason, my magic had refused to come out of my hands, and it scared me. Maybe I used too much of it during our escape from the goblins.
"THEY'RE COMING!" Thorin shouts, and fear fills my heart when I see the wargs approach from where I'm already high up in a tree.
"BILBO, RUN!" I shout, watching him struggle to pull Sting out of the dead Warg. He's barely in time to climb into the tree, escaping the Warg's teeth. Everyone falls silent as a certain Orc riding the white Warg walks onto a rock formation. I stare at the pale white orc in disgust, fear filling my veins. It was much more frightening to see him in real life than I thought it would be. The orc talks in a language I don't understand, a dark one at that, full of evil.
"Azog. It can't be." Thorin brings out, shocked. The orc points at him, ordering something at his wargs, then they attack us, jumping as high as possible to catch us with their jaws. The trees start moving, their roots no longer holding as the wargs move them, and I can only watch as the dwarves and Bilbo jump over from tree to tree, until they're all in the last one standing, the one Gandalf and I had been taking shelter in. I'm just in time to steady Kili, who gives me a frightened look.
Suddenly, Gandalf starts setting pine cones on fire, then throws them at the wargs. They're scared off by the fire easily, making me let out a relieved breath. He throws some of them to us, and soon we're all firing pine cones at the hideous beasts, the animals quickly retreating. Azog lets out an angry roar at that, making me flinch, and Kili wraps an arm around me to comfort me, making me smile weakly. The others start cheering, until the tree starts moving. Fear strikes within me as we're now hanging over the cliff. Kili stumbles, and I'm barely quick enough to catch him, pain flaring up through my spine at the weight. Ori falls too, and Dori tries his best to hold up the two of them as his younger brother grabs his ankle. Then, his hands slip, but Gandalf is quick to reach out with his staff.
"THORIN, NO!" I shout, seeing the stubborn dwarf stand up to walk over to Azog, a murderous look in his eyes. Below me, Kili grunts, doing his best to hold his grip on my hand, surely dropping to death if he lets go. I'm sitting with my legs on either side of the branch we'd been previously standing on, dangling slightly down and to the right due to Kili's weight.
"Don't you dare let go." I order, silently panicking, eyes darting over to Thorin. I was meant to protect the line of Durin, but right now, I was busy with the next generation.
Thorin has never looked more like a King, magnificent and powerful as he begins to walk towards Azog, the fire surrounding us reflected in his eyes. He runs straight towards his enemy, carrying an oaken log and sword, power radiating off of him. All I can do is stare, holding onto his nephew for dear life. Azog's warg jumps from where the orc had been waiting for him, a cruel smile on his face, and I flinch when I see the warg strike Thorin down. I hear the screams of the other dwarves ring in my ears along with my own as I watch him fall to the ground, my stomach turning.
Thorin stands back up, turning around to face Azog again, only for him to be swung down by the orc's weapon. I wince at it. He seems so… mortal. He was the greatest warrior I'd ever seen, so it had never occurred to me that he could actually get hurt, or worse… It snaps me out of my trance. With all my strength, roaring as I do so, I pull Kili up until he can grab hold of the tree on his own.
"Cameron, no!" He protests as I stand up, grabbing my sword. The warg bites down on Thorin, his scream of pain making me see red. I take off into a run, everything around me becoming a blur.
"NO!" I ignore Thorin's shout, jumping over him and stabbing the beast with all I have. It drops to the ground, dead, but manages to swing Thorin away as well. Worry fills me as I watch him fall and lose consciousness, too far away from me.
"I want his head." Azog orders the other orc, seeming satisfied.
"You're dead, little girl." Azog hisses, advancing towards me, and I'm sure I've never been more afraid for my life than right now. He lunges for me, but I dive underneath his arm, startled when one of the other orcs is there waiting, his sword already on its path, straight towards me. Pain is all I can think of, and I scream.
Everything hurts.
"Cameron!" I hear Bilbo shout from a distance, as I can only stare down at the sword currently embedded in my stomach, then back up at the orc in shock, noticing that my sword hit him as well, straight in the heart. I use my last strength to pull my sword out, the orc dropping dead to the floor.
Slowly, I turn around, finding another orc standing over Thorin, sword raised to strike. Suddenly, Bilbo hits him in the side, straight on tackling him. Shocked, I watch as Bilbo fights off the orc and kills him, stabbing him fiercely with Sting. My Hobbit. Protectively, fiercely, he moves to stand in front of Thorin who's clearly unconscious, sword raised to fight the pale orc. And suddenly, the other dwarves are there, charging at the remaining wargs and orcs, fighting for their King.
My legs give out. My knees hit the grass, black spots dancing in front of my eyes, the battle in front of me disappearing and then reappearing rapidly as I try to blink. I fall down, rolling onto my back to look at the night sky that's tainted with fire. No… I had to save… Thorin…
I hear something screeching in the sky… birds? The ground shakes, a dark form flies over my head, and my eyes close on their own accord. Darkness takes over my mind, and I pass out.