Chapter 13

"Of all the things you choose in life, you don't get to choose what your nightmares are. You don't pick them; they pick you."—John Irving

Sweat. Crack. Breathing. Screams. Crack. Sweat. Crack. Breathing. Screams. Begging. Crack. Screams. Sweat. Can't breathe. Can't breathe…

"Fili…" She groaned as she recognized the familiar grunting. The cold stone penetrated the little warmth her body could generate.

"Don't move too much, Nina, you'll draw their attention." Fili advised, his voice rough and barely there.

"What happened?" She stirred. Then it all came rushing back, overwhelming her mind. "The Orcs…"

"Yes, Nina, the Orcs." Fili sighed.

"How come we weren't tortured?"

"We were," Fili croaked with a rattle of chains. There was silence before he sighed heavily. "I should not have allowed them to take you, I am sorry."

"Don't do that…" Nina groaned. She knew Fili had done all he could to protect her.

"No, please, STOP!" Fili screeching cry pierced the room. The Orc roared so loud that the chains around Nina shook as the monster plucked her from the ground like a rag doll. She screamed. Darkness. Screams. Crack. Pain. So much pain…

"What is Thorin Oakenshield's plan?!" The Orc roared, its hot breath enveloping her face.

"Please, I don't know anything!" She screamed in horror. The Orc growled. The hiss of metal on metal sounded through the walls of the dungeon and Fili was screaming again.

"Don't touch her please!"

Blinding pain.

The cold blade penetrated the warm skin of her side and turned it white hot. Nina couldn't even scream.

"Perhaps you should have thought twice before deciding to lie to us." The Orc growled, dropping the near lifeless form of Nina to the stone ground.

"You have to fight it, stay with me Nina. Stay with me…"

"Nina!" Gandalf's voice shouted in her ear. Nina jumped up abruptly. She was only dreaming.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was dreaming." Nina gasped for air. Gandalf helped her stand.

"Sounded more like a nightmare, my dear." He said thoughtfully. "We should keep moving, we should reach the dwarves by this evening."

"Wonderful," Nina nodded as they began their trek. "The sooner everyone is together the better."

She gently slid her hand down to her side where the dream-blade had stabbed her, and nearly screamed when she felt a long jagged scar there. This was no dream, it was a memory.

"It was peculiar to see a woman travelling with a company of thirteen dwarves, do not you think?" Saruman remarked slyly as he entered the council room. Galadriel narrowed her blue eyes at the comment.

"Perhaps they needed someone with medicinal skills." Galadriel replied with the faintest trace of a smirk—her daughter could heal people, after all.

"Perhaps, but they are travelling with a wizard, they do not need a woman." Saruman reasoned. Galadriel merely nodded her acknowledgement of his comment. Saruman sighed, coming to stand next to her. "I do think she is very beautiful, that girl. Her hair golden like the sun and eyes blue as the sea…" He trailed off, an alarmingly accusing tone in his voice.

"Yes, she is remarkably stunning." Galadriel managed to keep her voice neutral.

"If I did not know better, I would think she had some relationship to you my Lady, for her features resemble yours greatly."

"Well then it is fortunate that you do know better." She met his suspicious gaze with her own cold one.

"Well if she was related to you, my Lady, that would make her extremely important to the fate of Middle Earth." Saruman taunted as he began to take his leave. He turned, making one last remark before leaving the council room:

"We would not want that power to fall into the wrong hands, now would we?"

Galadriel held her breath as he left, feeling a nagging worry in the back of her mind. Was Saruman planning to take advantage of her daughter's power? He would not even think of stopping the next protector of Middle Earth, would he? And the question that haunted her most: why would he do that?

It had been quite some hours before Nina and Gandalf could smell the most disgusting smell they had ever encountered. This of course meant that they had reached the dwarven company.

"Ah, there you are! We were worried for the both of you!" Bofur smiled widely when the two weary travelers came into view.

"I am glad to say we have both made it in one piece, but I must leave you now. Keep Nina safe with you, I must look ahead." Gandalf excused himself, and the dwarves knew they could not stop him.

"Are you alright, Miss Nina?" Thorin's deep voice took a slightly softer tone with the exhausted girl. She nodded carefully, realizing just how out-of-breath she was.

"Why am I so exhausted…?" She breathed to herself. The dwarves were instantly around her and ready to steady her if needed.

"You alright lass?" Balin asked softly. Nina nodded again, her head starting to throb a bit.

"I'm fine, just fine…" She said. Then she dropped.

When Nina woke, her head still hurt, and her mind was foggy. She couldn't remember where she was at first, until she felt a slightly familiar hot breath on her cheek.

"Kili stop breathing on me." She grunted as she tried to sit up. Kili stirred, and she realized he had been sleeping too.

"Sorry, I must've fell asleep." It was as if he had read her thoughts. Nina nodded. "Are you feeling a little better?"

"Was I not okay?"

"You fainted, Nina."

"Oh, well I must have just been tired, nothing to worry about."

"Nina, you looked very pale and then you just dropped. We were all worried," Kili said gently. Nina gulped, thinking back to what she had told Galadriel about not caring whether the dwarves reclaimed the mountain or not. She felt a twinge of guilt; these dwarves got worried even when she simply fainted, and she didn't even care if they got their home back or not. But it was only a fictional story, right?

"You should get some sleep," Kili awkwardly suggested when Nina never replied to his previous statement. She shifted, and then it occurred to her that his arm was around her waist. Nina was far too tired to feel uncomfortable about it, so she simply dropped her head onto his strong chest. Kili was glad for a moment that she couldn't see him, since he was smiling far too widely for his own good.

"What's this?" Nina asked as her head felt a round hard stone under it. Kili shifted so he could take out the stone.

"It's a runestone from my mother." Kili replied gently. He held it out in front of the two of them and took her hand. He guided her hand until it touched the stone and she ran her fingers over the deep, intricate details on its smooth surface.

"Are there words on it?"

"Yes, I suppose," Kili chuckled at her innocent ignorance. "They are dwarf runes."

"I see." Nina yawned. "Your mother gave it to you?"

"Yes, in order to remember my promise."

"What was that?"

"A promise that I would come back to her, when all of this is over." Kili's voice faltered only slightly. Nina turned her head so that she was looking up at him.

"You will, I know you will." She smiled, her blue eyes bright even in the dark of night. Kili smiled back.

"Yeah well I will unless I do something reckless of course." Nina laughed at that.

"Just don't be stupid and everything will work out." She teased. The guilt still sat in the back of her mind. She had never really thought about how these dwarves had lives and families. They had feelings. They were people. And she couldn't even tell them that some of them would die. She couldn't even tell Kili that his promise wouldn't be fulfilled.

Author's Note:

Soooooo I'm really sorry for the long wait for this chapter but I was suffering some MAJOR writers' block and just couldn't get myself motivated to write. But this is a new chapter to read, and hopefully next week will be another chapter but I have a job now too so I'm really trying guys...soooo don't forget to leave a review, I would love to hear some ideas and stuff like that. Until next chapter!