Author's Note: I own nothing.

42 The Line Ends

It took all Bella had in her to pull off the ring.

"Thorin." Her voice broke as she called out to him. He turned and she got a real look at him. He had cast aside the golden armor, and wore only simple plate mail. He no longer wore the dark crown of gold on his brow. He was dirty and a little bloody, though she couldn't tell if it was his or not. And his eyes gleamed blue. He caught sight of her and let out a relieved gasp.

"Bella." His voice was hoarse and strained with relief and regret. "Ghivashel." She nearly burst into tears a the old term of endearment the one her Thorin had used before the madness took him. He took a step forward and this time she matched him with a step backward. She wasn't sure she could trust him. Was it really him? She jumped whirling Sting at the ready as she bumped into something warm. Dwalin, whom she'd completely forgotten was even here, ducked aside just in time.

"Knew you'd be dangerous with that little letter opener." He said his tone fond and relieved.

"We need to get out of here, where are Fili and Kili." She asked Dwalin. Thorin stopped himself from taking another step forward, looking pained.

"We're here to kill Azog, end this before there can be anymore death." He said and Bella shook her head.

"He's got a second army coming from Gundabad. He means to cut you off close off the valley and slaughter everyone in it we need to go!" She cried. As much as she was all for the idea of no more death this was not the place to make a final stand. Dwalin though seemed to disagree with her.

"He's their leader without him they fall apart." He said though he made no move to step closer to Thorin either. Perhaps he too still felt the sting of Thorin's madness. Thorin shook his head.

"No she's right, this is no place for a last stand. It's a bottle neck. We need to get down to warn Dain. Find Fili and Kili, call them back. Live to fight another day." He said nodding to Bella. Dwalin made to step forward when a dark chuckle sounded from a balcony just above them. A large pale orc, not Azog but another of his kind stepped forward dragging a dazed looking Fili. Dwalin and Thorin both froze.

"Looking for something?" The words, though spoken in common so everyone present could understand them, were rough and broken. A tiny shake broke through Thorin and Bella spotted true fear in his eyes. She moved without thinking, without reasoning behind it. She grabbed the closest thing that would be good for throwing and threw it. That item happened to be the elven dagger Dwalin had pulled from her pack when she'd been fished out of the river. She yanked it off his belt and threw it with every ounce of strength in her body. She had meant it to distract, give Fili a moment to pull away and run, but that was not how it ended up.

Everyone present, Bella included, was shocked when the dagger she'd thrown sank into the orc's eye sending him staggering as black blood blossomed. He did not manage a final death scream as Smaug had, but his now limp fingers released Fili who seemed to have enough wits about him to yank the blade free of the orc's eye and run. He vanished into what remained of the buildings on Raven Hill as chaos erupted around them. A rough scream of rage preceded Azog himself landing and striking out at Bella who dove forward to avoid the mace that was near as big as she was. Thorin roared a challenge and met the pale orc with blows of his own as cries of rage and anger and screeches of goblins sounded around them. Bella took off up the stairs to her left. Thorin and Dwalin did not need her here, she would be in the way, she knew that. What she needed was to find Fili and Kili and get them out. She skidded into a shadow and slipped her ring back on, vanishing and creeping around the ruins trying to blot out the sounds of the battle behind her.

She found Tauriel trying to pull herself to her feet across from the elf Bella spotted Kili in the hands of another orc. She made to lunge forward but an arrow sprouted from the orc's head. Looking in the direction it had come from Bella spotted Fili and breathed a sigh of relief. He was holding a bow Bella recognized as the one Kili had claimed as his own when this mess began in Erebor. Kili cried out in pain as the orc fell across his legs. Tauriel rushed forward and with some effort and Fili's help, for he to had run to his brother, shoved the corpse off Kili.

"You're alive." He said his voice choked with pain. Fili caught his brothers hand.

"Thanks to Bella, though maybe let's not let Amad know how close we came to meeting Mahal." Fili suggested with a light laugh. Kili tried to stand and screamed in pain as he tried to put weight on his left leg.

"Your leg is broken, you need to lie still." Tauriel insisted. Kili shook his head.

"We need to find Thorin." He said though there were tears of pain in his eyes. Bella pulled off her ring and stepped out of the shadows.

"You and Tauriel need to get inside, and barricade the door behind you. It will take the orc's time to find it. But if they have the chance to get into Erebor they will take it and the mountain." She said making everyone present jump. Fili let out a small laugh.

"You are far too quiet for your own good Bella." He said stepping up to her and pulling her into a grateful hug. "She's also right. Can you direct Tauriel to the door? I'm going with her to find Thorin. Kili reached out to his brother and nodded.

"I think I can, but stay safe. I cannot face Amad alone after all this." He said and Fili nodded laying his forehead to his brothers for a moment. Tauriel was gentle as she helped Kili up, letting him lean on her as he pulled off his quiver the last few arrows inside shifting slightly as he handed it to his brother. "You're not as good a shot as I am but you may need them." Fili nodded slinging on the quiver and following Bella into the shadows.

"Put your ring back on." He said once they were out of earshot from Kili and Tauriel. "I'd rather we had an edge on the enemy." He said and Bella nodded before slipping her ring on. She stayed close to Fili though as they wound through the mess that was the old guard post. They made it outside in time to hear a commotion on the battlefield below. Bella scrambled up a wall trying to see what was happening. She blinked.

Another army had arrived, this one from the air.

"The eagles!" She called out. "The eagles are coming! The eagles…" She must have been too loud, she never saw the stone coming, nor who threw it. It slammed into her head and she fell into blackness and knew no more.

Fili knew when Bella's voice was cut off suddenly that things were not going to go well. Even if they all made it out of this alive Thorin was going to kill him for letting Bella come to any kind of harm. She'd still been wearing her ring he had no idea where she'd ended up, only that her voice had been coming from above him when she'd cried out and fallen silent.

But right at the moment he had no time to worry about Bella. He'd spotted Thorin and he was in trouble. Azog had just speared him through the foot and was about to strike him down. Fili pulled an arrow and fired, then another and another. The white orc shuddered as the first arrow sunk into his back, the second into his shoulder and finally the last arrow sank into its skull. The beast shuddered and fell, right on top of Thorin. Fili cried out and scrambled down and across the ice. He managed to roll the pale orc off Thorin who was out cold but breathing. He was bloody and his foot was freely bleeding but he was alive and Fili breathed out a sigh of relief as several other footsteps raced up to them and the elven horn sounded again, followed quickly by Dain's horn.