Chapter 31
All rights go to Tolkien and Peter Jackson respectively, I only own my OCs.
Nina ran as fast as she could through the gaping hole in the mountain and into the battle, though the surroundings made her feel sick. Her stomach swirled as a dead orc fell at her feet, and she looked up to see a startled dwarf in front of her. She gave him a quick hello, recognizing that it wasn't one of her dwarves, and made for Dale. She knew Gandalf would be there, and if she didn't find him she didn't think she'd find anyone in the chaos around her.
An orc's roar in her ear brought her out of the thoughts she had been using to distract herself and she whipped out her sword immediately. The orc ran at her, axe raised, and she shoved her sword ungracefully into its middle. There was a symphony of crunches and a horrid grunt before the thing fell to its feet, gurgling on its own black blood before dying. Nina let out a choked sob as she yanked the sword back out of the orc. Monster or not, she had just ended a life and it felt absolutely horrible to her. She kept Macilril out in her hand and ready as she continued sprinting to Dale.
Meanwhile, Thorin was fighting for his people in the middle of the battlefield, positioning his company to create a wedge through the orc armies. The other dwarves had quickly caught on to the plan and joined them, effectively dividing the orc forces in half. While this helped, Thorin could see that they were still sorely outnumbered. They had elves helping them, but all the men and many elves were busy defending Dale. Thorin couldn't blame them for not dying on Erebor's behalf, considering how he had treated them all. He spotted a familiar redheaded dwarf a few feet away and called as loud as his raw voice would allow him.
"Dain Ironfoot!" He cried, fending off a few smaller orcs as he worked his way over to the other dwarf leader.
"Thorin!" The burly dwarf laughed as he spotted him. "Cousin, what took you so long?" He chuckled when Thorin finally reached him and they embraced. Thorin let out a breathy and awkward laugh, not sure if they really had the time to talk about the gold sickness now. Dain merely nodded, killing off another orc and groaning in frustration. "There's too many of these buggars, I hope you've got a plan!"
"Aye," Thorin grinned dangerously as he eyed Ravenhill looming above them. "We're going to take out their leader."
"Azog…?" Dain's eyes widened as he realized who had been behind the whole battle all along. He quickly moved out of the way as a few large mountain goats ran past them, but Thorin grabbed one and mounted it.
"I'm going to kill that piece of filth!" He growled. Dain smirked, knowing that Azog had better look out. "Hold your ground down here, I'll only take a few fighters from you." With that the dwarf king rode off, eager to find his best fighters in the company. He pulled up his goat when he spotted a familiar head of blonde hair and a dark-haired reckless fighter near the blonde.
"Fili, Kili, I need you both!" He commanded. The two finished off the orcs attacking them before nodding obediently. Kili rose a skeptical eyebrow at the large mountain goat his uncle rode, but Thorin still insisted they find more. Soon enough the three Durin heirs had their own goats and had recruited Dwalin on his own goat as well. They galloped up to Ravenhill, completely unaware of the doom that lie ahead.
On top of Ravenhill, Erich frowned. Thorin and three other dwarves had started their ascent to the top of the hill, and Erich did not fancy being there when they arrived. He knew, though he would never admit it, that the dwarf Kili especially would want to kill him, considering everything that had happened with Nina. Erich's frown deepened at the thought of the girl. His master had informed him when she had left Middle Earth, and it had confused him. Another thing he would never admit. He had seen a future where he and Nina worked side by side as an unstoppable force ruling Middle Earth, but now she was gone. He sighed, pushing the thoughts from his mind. He had different problems to deal with at the present.
"We need to hide," He urged the pale orc beside him. Azog, who had been focused on giving signals to his armies with the giant flag tower they had constructed, turned furiously to face the other man. Erich remained unfazed.
"What?" He spat. Erich rolled his eyes. "I will flee from no dwarf scum!"
"That's all well and good, but if we hide it gives us the element of surprise. I don't fancy being ambushed by some sneaking dwarves, so I suggest we get out of sight, so we can ambush them," Erich explained while gesturing for his orcs to conceal themselves near him, not bothering to check if Azog would listen. He knew he would. Azog loved to make himself seem big and terrifying, however Erich knew that the orc took orders from the Master the same as he did.
In Dale, Nina gasped for air as she entered the city's border. She looked around frantically for any familiar faces, having so far found none. She held her sword at the ready, though she wasn't sure she had the strength in her arms to shove it through another orc. The blade was completely stained black from the blood of the many orcs she had had to fight on her way to Dale. She was still surprised she had survived getting to Dale at all. She looked around, but to no avail. No one around her seemed familiar, and there wasn't a dwarf in sight of any kind. Just when she had given up hope, she heard a familiar voice approaching.
"Any man who wants to give their last, follow me!" Bard the Bowman rallied his soldiers, charging valiantly past her. She was glad to see Bard taking leadership over Dale, she didn't think anyone was better suited to it than him based on what she had read of him in the book. She almost didn't realize what she was seeing when a tall wizard clad in gray ran into the square, followed by an unbelievably small hobbit.
"GANDALF!" She forced herself to scream once her senses returned to her. He looked around, confused, before his gaze fell on Nina. She smiled with relief as he rushed to her with Bilbo close behind.
"My dear girl, it is good to see you unharmed!" He chuckled with delight, though she could see sorrow in his eyes. Neither of them brought that up. Bilbo barreled past the wizard and crushed Nina in a hug, which she returned just as eagerly.
"How did you…where have you been?" Bilbo stuttered in disbelief. He had seen the white wizard whisk her away to a different world, and now here she was standing before him as real as the clothes he wore.
"It's a long story, and one I promise to tell you when this is all over, Bilbo," She assured him quickly. "For now, I really need to find the company, where are they?"
"This is war, my girl, I am sure they are not all still together. In all this madness they could be dispersed anywhere by now," Gandalf reasoned. Nina barely let him finish before she replied.
"But this is important, I must find Thorin, Fili and Kili at least!" She exclaimed. She had to save them, she had to. Gandalf gave her a knowing smile, and for a moment she wondered if he knew they were supposed to die.
"There! It's Thorin!" Bilbo suddenly pointed. They all followed his gaze to see four mountain goats travelling up a steep cliff.
"And Fili, Kili…and Dwalin. He's taking his best warriors, that's very good!" Gandalf smiled, clapping Bilbo and Nina on their backs. She shook her head.
"No, no Gandalf this is not good…" She trailed off, unsure of how this would end but knowing it would end in Kili's death. Gandalf frowned, but before he could continue their conversation the sound of hoofbeats interrupted them.
"Gandalf!" An elf cried as he pulled up his white horse in front of them. Nina was surprised to find that the blonde elf was very tall, once he had dismounted, and quite attractive if she was being honest.
"Legolas, Legolas Greenleaf!" Gandalf greeted the elf warmly. Nina gasped audibly. She had never been a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings, but her father was, and she knew Legolas when she heard his name. She would've gotten a better look at the famous elf when she saw a redheaded she-elf dismount behind him.
"Tauriel," Nina greeted softly, more than a little glad to see another familiar face. Tauriel looked in Nina's direction when she spoke and gave the other girl a smile.
"Nina, it is good to see you again," She nodded to her while Gandalf and Legolas exchanged greetings, including introducing Legolas and Bilbo. "I would have you know that the little girl, the one you left with me on the beach, I could not find her family."
"Oh," Nina hung her head, trying to hide the fact that she was tearing up over a little girl she had only known for a night. It was Clara, of course, the young girl she had saved from a burning Laketown and kept safe with Kili before they came to Erebor. She was shocked when Tauriel set a hand to her shoulder. It was not a delicate, warm hand. It was cold, calloused, a symbol of the hardworking fighter that the she-elf was.
"I left her with some of the women in town, they vowed to keep her safe. She spoke of you, she asked me to thank you if I ever saw you again," She gave Nina's shoulder a squeeze when she spoke. Nina nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes as they shifted to listen to Legolas.
"Legolas, this is Nina Bailyn, a very good friend of mine," Gandalf gestured to her quickly. Legolas gave her a short nod before giving his news.
"There is a second army, Bolg the orc leads a force of Gundabad orcs. They are almost upon us!" He spoke urgently. Nina felt her heart drop. It didn't take a war expert to see that they were already outnumbered, and if more orcs were coming then they were screwed in her opinion.
"Gundabad…this was the plan all along. Azog engages our forces, then Bolg seeps in from the north!" Gandalf growled as he fixed his gaze back on Ravenhill. They saw the goats nearing the top of the cliff. Nina almost cried again but forced herself to stay composed.
"Where is the north, exactly?!" Bilbo shouted in a state of panic. They all looked to him in shock at the outburst.
"Ravenhill." Gandalf answered gravely.
"Thorin is up there! And Fili and Kili, they're all up there!" Nina and Bilbo shouted at Gandalf, begging him to act. Tauriel looked up to Ravenhill with a fearful expression. She had not known the dwarves long, but she had seen what a kind man the dwarf Kili had been, and she did not want to see him die now, while the woman he loved was in Dale. She glanced at Nina, seeing the despair in her eyes. Yes, she thought, Nina loved him too. And she did not have the strength to see that love die today.
As they all looked to Ravenhill and tried to form a plan, Thorin and his warriors reached the top of the cliff and released their mountain goats. Kili shook out his legs, trying to get the wobbly feeling out of them from the strange ride he had just taken. Fili shot his brother a teasing grin.
"Shut up." Kili grunted as he finished recovering.
"Where is he?" Thorin growled, looking around desperately for any sign of an orc.
"Looks empty," Dwalin observed.
"I think Azog has fled!" Kili exclaimed, hoping he could be right. It seemed too easy, he knew, but he couldn't help but wish that things could be easy in the end.
"I don't think so," Thorin said to himself. "Fili take your brother and scout out the towers. Keep low and out of sight, and if you see something report back. Do not engage, do you understand me?" He ordered, Fili nodding eagerly as he spoke.
"We've got company, goblin mercenaries!" Dwalin announced, whipping out his sword and roaring at the beasts. "No more than a hundred, we've got this."
"Go!" Thorin ordered his nephews. Both were reluctant to leave the fight, but in the end Fili dragged his brother by the arm before any goblins discovered them. They snuck through the tunnels of Ravenhill, swords drawn and expecting to find orcs any second. They had seen Ravenhill as they rode up the cliff, and they knew for a fact Azog was there. They doubted that he was there alone; he would have many orcs there to protect him.
"Why is it so quiet? I don't like this," Kili huffed under his breath as they snuck along. His feet crunched, and he looked down to find the ice under them cracking slightly as they walked. "I don't like that either…"
"They either fled or this is a trap," Fili added gravely, ignoring his brother's comment about the ice. He preferred not to think about that. Though they did not say, both brothers had a nagging feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
In Dale, there was peace. For the moment there was, at least. Nina, Gandalf, Bilbo, Legolas, and Tauriel were trying to decide if someone should go to Ravenhill to warn Thorin, a discussion that was taking far too long in Nina's opinion, when Thranduil approached. He looked as grand as ever in his sparkling silver armor that had somehow refused to dull throughout the battle. Nina knew he was the King of the elves, but she hadn't imagined such grace to exude from him.
"Recall your company," He ordered one of his men in barely a whisper. He looked crushed to Nina. Gandalf sighed before approaching the King. The others sensed that it was better for them to stay put.
"Thranduil, dispatch this force to Ravenhill, the dwarves are about to be overrun!" He urged, but Thranduil remained unmoved by the plea. Gandalf hesitated. "Thorin must be warned, Thranduil!"
"By all means, warn him," Thranduil spat, sheathing his sword. "I have spent enough elvish blood in defense of this accursed land—no more!" He tried to walk away, when Nina stepped in his path. "Who are you?"
"Someone you don't want to anger," She growled, finding it easy to look menacing now considering the frustration she felt. "With each passing moment that we stand here and do nothing another man dies, whether its an elf, dwarf, or man. You really think you can just walk away from this without helping?"
"I have done enough; my people are dying!" He roared down in her face. Nina didn't back down. She raised her voice to match his volume, feeling an indescribable power flowing through her.
"You have not done enough!" She balled her hands into fists at her sides as she glared up at him. "If you leave now, every single dwarf here will die, and their blood will be on your hands! Every single dwarf that was driven out of their home by a dragon, every single dwarf that you turned away when they asked for shelter! You've never done anything, and now you say you've done enough? Stay here and fight!" Thranduil was fuming at her words.
"Get out of my way, girl." He warned in a dangerously quiet voice. Nina swallowed nervously but held her ground.
"No." She briefly thought he might whip out his sword and cut her down right then and there by the look on his face, until she heard a bow being loaded behind her.
"You will go no further," Tauriel threatened from behind Nina, pointing an arrow at her King. Nina turned around, surprised to see the other woman supporting her like this.
"Get out of my way!" He roared again. Tauriel shook her head, holding the bow steady as tears welled up in her eyes. The look in her eyes reminded Nina of how it had felt when Thorin succumbed to the gold sickness, how she had felt when someone she looked up to acted so cruel. The way Tauriel felt just then.
"But, the dwarves will be slaughtered!" She insisted. Thranduil gave her a twisted smirk.
"Yes, they will die. Today, tomorrow, one year hence, a hundred years from now. Why does it matter? They are mortal," He scoffed. Nina shook her head at him in disgust.
"So just because they are mortal their lives don't matter? They don't have forever, that's why we must save them now, so they can live as long as they can!" She screamed up at him. He glared down at her.
"Nina…" Gandalf tried to calm her, but it was too late. She was already fuming up at the elf.
"If you don't get out of my way this moment I will make it so that you never move again," He growled, drawing his sword and pressing the point square on her chest. Nina lifted her head in defiance. If the elven armies left now, the dwarves would be finished. Before Thranduil could make good on his threat, another sword fell onto his, pushing it down to the ground. Legolas Greenleaf stood beside Nina, watching his father through stern eyes.
"Enough, father," He said, leaving no room for argument. He turned to Nina with a slightly softened gaze. "I will go with you to warn the dwarves on Ravenhill." Nina nodded dumbly, still in shock at his interruption, and felt a wave of calm over her. Something about Legolas was reassuring, calming, to her.
"I will go too," Tauriel replaced her arrow and joined them as they hurried off, leaving Gandalf to deal with the angry elf King.
"How will we get up there?" Nina looked up the cliff hopelessly. Legolas cocked an eyebrow at the steep slope.
"How did the others get up there?" He shrugged.
"Goats?" Nina raised her eyebrows at him in surprise. He sighed.
"I am sure I can find a better way than that," He scoffed. Nina tried to ignore his blatant prejudice against dwarves, considering he had just saved her life.
"I can get up there very fast," Bilbo piped up from behind them. The three turned around to see the small hobbit rocking back and forth on his feet. Nina smiled.
"I know you can, Bilbo," She assured him. "Go on ahead of us, we'll find a way up. Warn Thorin, please," She knew, of course, that Bilbo had the ring that would make him invisible. Bilbo frowned in confusion at her, not knowing that she knew about the ring, and nodded, running off ahead of them before Gandalf could stop him.
"He will never make it, the orcs will finish him," Legolas argued as the small hobbit turned a corner out of their view. Nina knew that Bilbo had probably already slipped the ring on.
"Well you're a real ray of sunshine," She set her hands on her hips and frowned up at him. "Have a little more faith." Legolas merely shrugged and ran ahead, Nina and Tauriel following close behind as they started their climb.
Below them, hundreds of dwarves fought for their lives and the lives of their loved ones, while thousands of orcs fought for their own selfish interests. So much blood was being shed, and Nina found it all disgusting. The orcs had no honor in them, and the dwarves were being slaughtered because of it. They were silent as they ran up the steep slopes of Ravenhill, Nina trying to hide how breathless she was next to the diligent elves.
"Why do you risk your life for the dwarves?" Legolas finally asked as they ran. Nina huffed, not really wanting to talk on top of all the running they were doing.
"They're my family."
"You're not a dwarf, Nina."
"We don't have to be of the same race to be family, do we?" She asked him. Tauriel smirked from beside her when it was clear Legolas couldn't think of a good response to that.
"I do not wish to see this orc filth prevail. And the men of Dale have nothing without Erebor, that is why I am helping you," He reasoned after a few minutes of silence. Nina nodded quietly.
"Fair enough, I am grateful all the same." Before anymore could be said, giant bats flew over their heads so close that they had to drop to the ground.
"Werebats," Tauriel growled in annoyance. Nina looked up at them in amazement. Just when she thought she had seen the grossest creatures in Middle Earth, giant bats flew in. Without a word, Legolas leapt up and grabbed a bat's slender leg and let it carry him up to the top of Ravenhill, leaving Nina and Tauriel on their own. Tauriel groaned.
"I hate it when he does that!" She began running up the hill at an even faster pace, warning Nina as they went that if the Werebats were approaching Ravenhill, then the Gundabad orcs were not far behind. They would do well not to be stuck on the side of a cliff when they came.
On the top of Ravenhill, Fili and Kili quickly ducked to avoid being seen by the sudden mass of bats above them. They had no way of knowing if the bats were spies or not, so they erred on the side of caution and stayed hidden. As they got deeper into the tunnels of Azog's command center, they heard more and more commotion. Kili urged Fili to return to Thorin with him, reminding him that they were not to engage without Thorin. Fili pursed his lips in thought.
"Go search the lower levels, I've got this," He insisted, shoving Kili lightly in the direction of the lower levels. Kili reluctantly left him, and Fili watched his little brother go for as long as he could. He knew there would be many orcs upon him any minute now, if the noises they were hearing were any indication. There would be too many for the two brothers to fight off, and Fili wanted his brother to have a chance. Even if it meant Fili would certainly be outnumbered and killed.
Outside the tunnels, Thorin and Dwalin finished off the last of the goblins. Dwalin looked around them frantically, eager to see any sign of an orc just to know where they were for sure.
"Where is that orc filth?" He voiced his thoughts, wiping the sweat from his brow anxiously. Thorin sighed, but before he could say anything they were interrupted.
"Thorin!" Bilbo panted, resting his hands on his knees as he doubled over in exhaustion. Thorin could have laughed from the relief he felt at seeing the hobbit again, especially since their last meeting had been less than pleasant. He rushed to Bilbo's side to help him, not missing how surprised Bilbo looked at the gesture. "You have to leave here, now! Azog has another army attacking from the north and this watchtower will be surrounded. There'll be no way out."
"But we are so close!" Dwalin said with a pained look. Thorin understood his eagerness to finish it all. "That orc scum is in there, I say we push on."
"No, that's what he wants," Thorin answered, realizing it himself as he spoke. His eyes widened in dread as he thought about what he had just sent his nephews into. "He wants to draw us in, this is a trap!" He ran to the edge of the ledge he and Dwalin had been fighting on. Bilbo's face turned white with fear. They were too late. "Find Fili and Kili, call them back!"
"Are you sure about this, Thorin?" Dwalin tested. Thorin looked back at his old friend with fear in his eyes.
"Do it. We live to fight another day."
"Thorin's right," Bilbo piped up. Thorin was surprised to see the hobbit sticking up for him still, even after every cruel thing he had said to him while under the sickness.
"Bilbo…"
"THORIN, SON OF THRAIN!" The all too familiar voice of Azog the Pale Orc sounded. The three on the ledge turned around slowly in fear to see him standing tall on the edge of the tower. Erich Arvandor, the man they recognized as the one who took Nina in Mirkwood, stood next to him. He casually leaned on one side, his face covered by a devious smirk as he stared down the dwarves and hobbit. Azog stood at attention with a few other orcs near him, dragging up a smaller figure behind him.
"No…" Thorin's heart dropped to his stomach as he recognized Fili in the orc's grasp. He looked beaten up, and there was no sign of his brother with him. Thorin couldn't take his eyes off his nephew. Bilbo couldn't either, frantically shaking his head and unable to accept the inevitable murder that was about to happen.
Below the tower, Kili stood, looking up the tower to see what the commotion was about. He almost cried out when he saw his beloved brother, his oldest and best friend, writhing in the hands of Azog. He wanted to cry out even more when he saw the familiar man beside Fili. Erich. Erich looked down, as if he knew exactly where Kili would be, and grinned at him. Kili mustered up the coldest glare he could, which only seemed to amuse the man more.
Across the ice from Kili was Nina and Tauriel, standing frozen in place when they saw Fili. Nina was careful to stay hidden, so Erich wouldn't see her, and Tauriel stood anxiously behind her. Erich smirked at Kili and her blood boiled. She wanted to run out and wipe that smirk right off his face, but she couldn't risk them killing Fili because of her. She racked her brain for a smarter plan.
"This is quite tense, isn't it?" Erich chuckled to the orc beside him, though he made his voice loud enough for the rest of them to hear.
"You disgust me," Fili spat in his face. Erich frowned, wiping the glob of spit from his cheek and clucked his tongue disapprovingly.
"You should not have done that," He turned to Azog coolly. "Kill him."
"This one dies first," Azog's voice boomed through Ravenhill. Everyone watching went pale. Kili's whole body shook with pure fear. "Then the brother, and then you, Oakenshield."
"RUN!" Fili screeched to his uncle. Thorin could only shake his head, unable to tear his eyes away from his nephew. There was nothing he could do to save Fili, and that was worse to him than any death Azog could bring him.
"Here ends your filthy bloodline!" Azog laughed. Then it happened, and six gasps rang through Ravenhill.
The dagger ran through Fili's chest, and his eyes went dark. The playful, young, handsome face of Fili twisted into horrible pain, shock, and then it was vacant. Azog dropped his body with contempt, letting it crash to the ice beneath them. Right at Kili's feet. Nina began to run to them when Tauriel grabbed her and covered her mouth to stop her screams.
"Giving yourself away will not save him," She insisted sternly. Nina's struggles got weaker until she finally gave in, sobbing into Tauriel. She had failed. Fili was gone, and she had failed.
Kili's eyes were red with rage and tears as he stared into the lifeless blue eyes of his brother. He looked up one last time at Erich Arvandor, the man he hated most, and then ran. Even if it meant his death, he would kill that man. The man that had taken the person he loved most in the world.
"Kili!" Thorin cried as he took off running toward where Kili had been, but only got so far before Azog came out and met him. The two began what would be a very, very long duel. As they fought, the new Gundabad orcs began to pour in, distracting Dwalin and Bilbo long enough for Nina and Tauriel to move.
"You must stay out of sight, if anyone sees you they will give you away and that man will know you're here," Tauriel instructed. Nina nodded, seeing the sense in it. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and turned to look at the body laying still across the frozen lake. She took a deep breath and forced herself to think beyond her grief. When Kili was almost dead in Rivendell, she had healed him completely. Perhaps if Fili was not completely dead, she could do the same now. She would have to focus.
"I need you to do something for me, Tauriel," Nina turned back around to meet the elf's eyes. She had to look up a little to do it. "I'm going to try to save him. I don't know if I can, but I'll never forgive myself if I don't try. I need you to go and help Kili. He won't be thinking straight, and he could get himself hurt, I need you to protect him."
"I will keep him safe, I'm sure he'll want to see you again," She gave Nina a gentle smile. Tauriel had no clue that Nina had just returned from a different world, of course, but she did have enough intuition to sense that something had happened between Kili and Nina before the battle. Nina grasped the other girl's hands for a moment.
"Thank you so much, Tauriel, you're an amazing friend," She gave her hands a squeeze before they parted, Tauriel darting off after Kili. After extensively checking to see if Erich was watching, Nina sprinted across the frozen lake as fast as her tired legs could carry her. She skidded to a stop and held her breath as she was met with the sight of Fili. Dead.
"Oh Fili…" She whispered sadly as she knelt to see him. She let out a few sobs as she took in his dead body, having never seen a dead loved one before. Or any dead person, for that matter. It was a time when she wished she could still be blind, if just to be spared the sight of her dead friend.
She forced herself to calm down and examine his wound. There was a gaping, bleeding hole in his chest that made her stomach churn. She took a deep breath and swallowed down the bile rising in her. She unbuttoned his shirt and exposed the hole to the outside air, allowing the full force of the smell of blood to hit her in the face. She tried not to breathe it in.
"I know I'm in no position to ask for favors, so I won't," Her voice was shaky as she addressed the higher powers of Middle Earth. Somehow, despite not fully understanding their existence, she knew they were listening. She also knew that what she was trying to do, they specifically didn't want. With that, she decided to rely on her own powers.
She shut out the world around her, she shut out the battle, her family, Kili, the dwarves, anything at all she shut out. She focused on nothing but Fili and the hole in his chest. She focused like she had with Kili in Laketown. She thought about piecing together Fili's broken bones and torn skin, she thought about giving him back to his family again. To his mother, brother, and uncle. She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh, feeling the tingling in her fingers as they hovered above him. It was working. A sharp light emitted from her, like it had twice before, and sent shock waves through the water under the frozen lake around them. All went silent, and slowly she opened her eyes.
"Please, Fili, wake up," She whispered, holding up his head off the ground and cradling it. The stab wound was gone, but he had taken a hard fall and laid there for quite some time before Nina had gotten to him. There was no movement. "Fili!" She choked on a sob, willing him to wake up. Her tears and snot fell uncontrollably onto herself and his shirt as she held him tighter. He was gone, and there was nothing she could do.
She almost screamed when his strong arm grabbed her.
"Fili, oh my god!" Her eyes went wide as she pulled away from him to get a better look. He gasped for breath and gripped her tightly, the light returning to his eyes as he frantically looked around.
"Nina…?" He crinkled his eyebrows when he registered her presence. She laughed despite herself. "How are you here? What happened?"
"It doesn't matter now, what matters is you're here," She beamed at him through her watery eyes. He laughed too, enveloping her in a bone-crushing hug before they both stood. "Take it easy, Fili," She hovered over him worriedly. He shrugged her off gently with a grin.
"Don't worry about me, I feel great," He bounced lightly on his feet, looking around like an impatient little child. He wanted to get into the fight. Suddenly he frowned. "Where's Kili?"
"Exactly what I want to find out, come on," Nina grabbed his arm and dragged him along. "He thinks you're dead, we need to find him."
"Mahal, he must be devastated. We've been together since he was born and now he thinks I've left him," He mumbled as they went, a hint of guilt in his voice. Nina stopped him with a stern look.
"You wanted to protect him, you did what any good brother would." They continued running, following the sounds of fighting and praying that the sounds would lead them to Kili. Little did they know, they were right. They hurried on, running as fast as they could to reach Kili until something, or rather someone, stopped them in their tracks.
"It's so good to see you again, sadril," Erich smiled sweetly at her. Fili shot the man a dark glare, recognizing him not only as the man who took Nina in Mirkwood, but also as the man who had ordered his death. Nina gave Erich the coldest and most threatening look she could make. He was not deterred.
"Don't call me that." She snapped, causing Erich to shrink back in mock hurt as he clucked his tongue at her in a scolding way.
"I had hoped for a warmer reunion, not this ungrateful act," He said, slowly walking toward her. Fili and Nina drew their swords simultaneously. Erich laughed. "I did not come to fight you, Nina. I had rather hoped we could talk."
"We have nothing to talk about unless you plan on surrendering and taking your merry band of orcs back to Dol Guldur with you," She spat. The wicked grin that was plastered on his face was relentless. She found herself wanting to smack it right off.
"I think you'll find that we do."
"Enough of this," Fili growled, stalking forward with his sword at the ready. Erich didn't make a single move to defend himself. He knew he had nothing to fear, and Nina's actions only proved him to be correct.
"Fili, just go," Nina stepped forward, setting her hand on his sword arm. He looked at her with confusion, shock, and a tiny hint of betrayal that she wanted to ignore. "I can take care of him, go make sure Kili is alright."
"Nina, you cannot—"
"Fili when I left the mountain you promised to protect Kili for me, now do it." She said, surprised when tears welled up in her eyes for the millionth time that day. She hadn't meant to sound so forceful and stern, but she needed to know that Fili was with Kili. She wouldn't be able to face Erich unless she knew that someone had Kili's back. He opened his mouth to argue with her, but the look on her face made him think better of it. Instead he strode over to her and quickly pressed a kiss to her forehead, whispering for her to be safe so that Erich couldn't hear.
"If you die, it'll kill him," He whispered. Nina didn't have to ask to know who he was talking about. "Be safe, namad," He gave her a sad smile that she returned. Nina nodded, not knowing what the word meant but knowing that now wasn't exactly the time to ask for a dwarvish language class. He gave her one last lingering look of concern before he ran off, darting after his little brother to get a second chance at fulfilling his promise. Nina prayed that the brothers would keep each other safe as she turned back to the sinister man advancing toward her, feeling truly alone.
Tauriel finished off an orc that had been on her tail before looking around. Keeping up with Kili in his rage had been harder than she expected. She screamed his name as loud as she could, hoping he was at least close. When no response came, she tried again. Finally, she heard his voice as he screamed her name in reply. She looked around anxiously for any sign of him. By the sound of his voice, he was close. Before she could any more, she was kicked in the back and sent straight into a rock. Her head spun as she reeled around to meet face-to-face with the largest orc she had ever seen. Bolg.
"Tauriel!" Kili called again to distract Bolg. Tauriel looked up to see Kili rushing down the steps of the tower to reach them, swinging his sword out at Bolg. Being on the steps and higher up than his opponent, Kili gave himself the advantage and used all his strength to knock the orc off his feet. It almost worked, but Bolg was stronger than Kili.
Tauriel rushed over to help him, stabbing at Bolg with her daggers fiercely while he was distracted fighting Kili. She sunk a blade into his shoulder, earning a shriek of pain from him, before he whipped around and pinned her arms to her sides. Kili tried to pry him off, but Bolg kicked him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. With Tauriel trapped, Bolg smashed his fist onto her head and she plummeted to the ground, her head spinning even more as she groaned in pain. In her now foggy vision, she could see Kili angrily slice at Bolg's middle with his sword, but the orc's armor protected him. They fought on for a few more moments before Bolg finally overpowered him and grabbed his head. Kili resisted furiously, but Bolg had an iron grip.
"NO!" Tauriel forced herself to rise to her feet, throwing herself onto Bolg and using all her strength left to pry him off Kili. In her weakened state, Bolg easily threw her down again.
All she could do was lay on the ice and watch in horror as Bolg raised his weapon to stab Kili in the same way his brother had died. She tried to scream again, but her voice had left her. Kili looked at her in his last moments, much preferring to see her than a horrible orc before his death. In his mind, he saw Nina and Fili, and found a little comfort in knowing he was about to see at least one of them again. He teared up as he waited for the inevitable, but it never came.
A sword plunged through Bolg and his eyes went wide in shock as he dropped Kili. Kili scrambled out of his reach and watched in awe as Bolg fell to his knees, revealing Fili standing tall behind him with a bloodied sword in hand. Fili smiled at his brother and Kili was too shocked to speak. Fili rushed over to his side and they embraced. Their victory was short-lived however, when Bolg rose again with a roar. His eyes were red with shock and pure rage as he charged at them, mace in hand. Fili and Kili held their swords out and prepared to fight to their last breath, side by side. In all the chaos, a knife whizzed by their faces. Tauriel had hurled her knife at the orc, hitting him in the side. He staggered down again, now with two stab wounds, and Kili finished him off by stabbing him through the neck. The gurgling sound was sickening, but Kili found he didn't care. All this happened in what felt like half of a second, ending with Kili and Fili staring at each other with wide eyes before entering another bone crushing hug.
"It cannot be…" Tears welled up in his eyes. "I watched you die, I was right there!" He sobbed into his big brother's shoulder. Fili tried to soothe him but found he didn't know exactly how to explain his current situation. He had thought he was dead as well, but if Nina had been able to heal him then he knew he couldn't have been. There was no doubting that he had been extremely close to it, though.
"I'm right here, brother, I'm not going anywhere," He repeated like a chant until Kili's breathing gradually returned to normal. He saw over Kili's shoulder that Tauriel was finding it alarmingly difficult to stand up. He reluctantly released his brother and gestured to her. "We need to help her."
"Tauriel, are you wounded?" Kili asked as he gently wrapped a hand around her arm to support her. Between the effort of the two dwarves and Tauriel's determination, she ended up tentatively on her feet. Her head was spinning as she staggered back, realizing that Bolg had hit her head harder than she had thought.
"I am well, just…" She closed her eyes for a minute and sighed, waiting for the dizziness to pass. "I am well." She insisted. Fili and Kili slowly let her go, hovering over her as she started to walk. They were all stopped by the sight of a blonde elf rounding the corner and meeting them.
"Tauriel," He looked surprised to see her, rushing to her side as his cool act crumbled at the sight of her hurt. She shrugged him off gently as the dwarves subtly backed away to give them space. Legolas, realizing their presence, immediately straightened himself again. "I see you found the dwarves; did you warn them?"
"I did not," She gave him a pointed look, gesturing to the giant dead orc near them. Legolas nodded. Fili and Kili looked to them expectantly.
"Warn us of what?" Fili pressed.
"It is too late now, they are upon us." Tauriel sighed, mostly to Legolas. Kili huffed in annoyance at the secrecy. As if reading his mind, Tauriel turned back to the dwarves. "There is another orc army, from Gundabad, coming to join the fight. There is no way we can win this battle being so outnumbered, and this tower will be overrun any moment if it is not already."
"Fantastic." Kili deadpanned, no doubt getting his sarcastic inspiration from Nina. Fili elbowed him lightly and he shrugged.
"We must find Thorin and tell him," Fili decided and made to leave the ledge they were on. Legolas shook his head.
"I would think he already knows by now," He hinted. "Azog is challenging him."
"Then we must go help him," Kili countered and tried to leave with his brother. He had been so angry with Thorin about his treatment of Nina, but he knew now that the real Thorin Oakenshield, his beloved uncle, had returned and he would fight by his side. He would die by his side.
Tauriel and Legolas followed behind them, both looking at each other anxiously. Nina had asked Tauriel to protect Kili, but now the dwarf's brother was with them and they were going to defend the dwarven king. She didn't think Legolas would be too eager to follow them. She wasn't either, if she was honest with herself.
Meanwhile, not too far from where Thorin dueled with Azog, Nina and Erich faced each other. She fixed him with a cold glare and kept her sword raised. He grinned, walking closer to her.
"I heard you left Middle Earth."
"News travels fast around here, I guess." She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Now what could you possibly need to talk about?"
"I'm giving you one last chance," He stopped walking and fixed her with a serious look. "You can side with me, and perhaps we can work out a way for your friends to survive this. If you do not, you will die with them."
"I'm not helping you do anything." Nina almost laughed at the idea. "You're lying, there's no way you'd purposely allow my friends to live because you want that mountain and they would never stop fighting you for it."
"So, you've made your choice?" He frowned, and if he wasn't so evil to Nina she might have seen the heartbreak in his face. "I've watched you grow up in your world, I had such high hopes for you. Don't disappoint me now," He almost pleaded. Nina was unmoved.
"I would never help you."
"So be it."
With that, Erich suddenly had a sword at his side that Nina never even saw him draw. He swung it down on her, hard, and she barely had time to dive out of the way. The next swing he made, her sword was there to meet it. The force of his blow sent a jarring pain through her inexperienced sword arm, but she tried to grit her teeth and ignore it. She didn't come back to Middle Earth just to be killed because of some arm pain. He rushed at her again with a merciless determination that was fueled by the anger and betrayal he felt. As horrible as he seemed to Nina, in his mind he felt fully justified. He thought he was saving Middle Earth by serving his master, just as she thought she would be saving Middle Earth by saving her friends.
Nina scrambled out of his reach, feet sliding on the ice as she went, running toward the open frozen lake where she had been with Tauriel. She remembered vaguely seeing a sudden drop from the end of the lake which she hoped to use to her advantage. She knew she couldn't beat Erich by sheer force, he was much stronger and more skilled than she was.
She ran as fast she could, legs pumping harder than she'd ever made them in her life as she led him to the open lake where the cliff that once might have been a waterfall would be. When he got too close behind her, she decided to try an offensive approach and spun around, swinging her sword almost like a baseball bat. The sword collided with his shoulder, though not the one on his sword arm, and earned a pained shriek from him. She had drawn blood. She kept running, not wanting to stick around as his anger boiled over. He sprinted after her with a growl and a renewed desire to destroy her. He gained on her again, but by that time she had reached the open lake.
She took a moment to take in her surroundings, seeing if anything there would help her. The waterfall cliff was not far away, but she still needed a plan on how to use it. Her head spun frantically on a swivel as she looked for more ideas in her surroundings. She found Thorin, looking quite different than the way he had been when she left, fighting on the other side of the lake. There was no way he'd see her, she knew, and even if he did he was quite occupied with the pale orc Azog who was fighting with him. Erich caught up, swinging his sword again at her. She met it with her own, kneeling from the effort as the ringing of their swords echoed through Ravenhill. She held fast, pushing as hard as she could as he continued pressing the sword down. He meant to crush her.
"We could've been spectacular, but now all shall end in death for you!" He spat, thrusting the sword further at her. Nina couldn't help it as she fell, head smacking into the ice and earning a loud crack that she didn't want to think about. She groaned, laying on the ground weakly as he circled her like a predator about to go in for the kill. As her vision swam into focus, she realized her sword was laying about two feet away from her. She was defenseless and couldn't see herself grabbing it without Erich stopping her.
She almost let out a scream when Erich lunged at her again, but she forced herself to roll out of the way. The sword crashed into the ice beside her head. She kicked him in the shins as hard as she could, causing him to fall beside her. She crawled in a panic toward her sword, but he grabbed her boot and drug her back. Nina screamed, feeling a very real fear she had been suppressing until then. She turned her body as he dragged her, using her free foot to kick him in the face. With a cry of pain, he dropped her again, cradling his now bloody and disfigured nose. She forced herself to her feet and ran for the sword again, grabbing it this time. She turned around just in time to block his sword again.
The red rage in his eyes was obvious as she held her sword against his. Then she tried something she was not entirely sure she could do but had seen Kili do when fighting orcs. She shoved her sword back at him, breaking their contact. It worked, since it threw Erich off his balance. She let go a strangled laugh at her success. He caught himself though, bouncing back too soon for her to prepare. He punched her in the gut, a new tactic she hadn't thought of trying, which sent a shooting pain through her middle as the wind was knocked out of her. She fell back, sword clattering on the ice at her side as she lost her grip on it again. He staggered toward her, kicking her sword far out of reach behind her and stood above her, setting his sword point against her neck when she tried to get up. She laid there, breathless and scared as she stared up at him.
This was it. She was going to die, and she hadn't even been able to see Kili before she went. She hadn't been able to make sure he was safe, she would never know if he survived the battle. She saved Fili, but how was she to know if he stayed safe? And Thorin, she hadn't even had a chance to help him yet. She started to cry, despite wanting to appear fearless before Erich. He seethed at her.
"So, at the end of it all, you decide to cry," He sneered. Despite desperately not wanting it to, the comment only made Nina let out another sob as she waited for him to kill her. "How pathetic."
"Don't drag it out," She whimpered, attempting to look away but finding herself unable to. She felt so weak, so tired, so devastated that her life in Middle Earth was ending. Her life in any earth was ending now. Briefly she heard a growl echoing from the other side of the lake. She knew that voice anywhere. Thorin Oakenshield was still alive and fighting, and for some reason that she couldn't explain it gave her a renewed hope. She met Erich's gaze evenly and for a fleeting moment she thought she saw doubt or fear in his eyes.
With a fierce snarl, Nina brought her foot out and kicked Erich right in the crotch and used her arm to slam his sword away from her chest. He cried out in pain as he sunk to his knees, and Nina wasted no time getting up and sprinting toward her sword. Now she was fully facing Thorin's side of the lake and she could see that Azog was sitting on top of him. Her heart clenched up in her chest and she stopped in her tracks, holding her breath as she waited to see if Thorin was still moving. Before she could process what was happening, Thorin let out a horrible cry in anguish and flipped himself on top of the orc, stabbing it in the chest.
Nina wanted to scream to him, but her voice left her. She saw Fili run out of the tower, sprinting for his uncle. Kili followed behind eventually, with Tauriel and Legolas trailing in the back. Thorin stood, staggering and clearly bleeding, when he looked up and locked eyes with Nina. Then he looked at Fili. The Fili he had watched die. Then back at Nina. She smiled, a little, and he did too. He knew she had saved him.
For that moment, Nina had forgotten all about the battle. She saw an uncle and his nephews all happy to be seeing each other again. She smiled a little wider. Then not at all.
There was a blinding pain shot across her back in a diagonal line from left hip to right shoulder. Nina fell to her knees, hearing the ice crack from the impact, feeling the horrible throb in her knees, but she felt out of her own body. She hardly understood the pain in her back, and she didn't notice the crimson liquid pooling around her. She certainly didn't notice Thorin's shocked cry, or Kili's blood-curdling scream when he saw her. But she did notice the triumphant look on Erich's face when he walked in front of her holding a bloody sword. She looked up at him in confusion.
"Did you…"
"I won, Nina." He smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "I said that you would die if you stood in my way. We could have taken that mountain together, our Dark Master would have been so proud, he would have rewarded you so greatly. That's all he ever wanted from you. The mountain." He knelt to meet her eye level. She tried to breathe, but it didn't work. "Why did you have to be so stubborn?"
"I…" She couldn't form the words. He nodded, as if he knew what she would say. He stood again, swinging his sword back for the finishing blow. Her life was ending now, she knew, and she couldn't bring herself to react. It hurt too much to do anything. An arm wrapped around her waist and shoved her out of the way of Erich's sword. Her back slammed onto the ice, causing her to yelp in pain and snap out of her stupor. She looked up to see Kili, her Kili, effectively keeping his body between her and Erich.
She looked over and saw Tauriel and Legolas fighting off some smaller orcs, and behind them, Thorin laying on the ground and Fili dutifully at his side. But there Kili was, defending her. He fought Erich with a fierceness that she had never seen in him before as he met the other man's sword stroke for stroke. Every time Erich tried to move Kili and get closer to her, Kili would charge at him, forcing him back. Whether he meant to or not, Nina noticed that Kili always kept his free hand extended back toward her protectively. She tried to push herself up on her arms, willing herself to get up and help him, but the pain in her back was too much. Her vision was swimming. She was bleeding out, and fast. She had regained her senses just enough to notice that little fact, and it made her feel even more scared than before. She looked back at Kili, and for the first time so far Erich got the better of him and moved him more to the side of Nina than in front of her. She saw Kili's face now, and she could see the clear exhaustion on his face. He wouldn't be able to continue like that much longer before he made a fatal error. She had to do something.
Nina forced herself to shut her eyes, listening to the sound of Kili and Erich fighting, and she focused on the anger welling up in her chest. Erich had ordered Fili's death, and threatened to kill all her friends. He was now trying to directly kill Kili. He had manipulated Madison, and he had controlled Nina. Now he had as good as killed her, and she would never get to be with Kili. The anger boiled over in her, and she focused everything inside of her on one thing.
Destroy Erich Arvandor.
She felt herself rising to her feet, though she didn't think that she was in control of herself. The sky went dark, dark enough that Kili and Erich stopped fighting and looked up in fear. Lightning cracked, though it wasn't from a storm. It was from her. She opened her eyes, now so very bright and blue and powerful, and extended a hand toward Erich. He looked at her, almost in awe as his sword hand drooped down to his side as he stared at her. Then there was a brilliant flash of light, a pure and white light, and then the sky returned to normal and the darkness fell away from Erebor. Where Erich had stood was now nothing but empty space. Kili took the opportunity to look at the girl he had been so desperate to protect.
He couldn't take his eyes off her. Her golden hair was streaked with crimson and black blood, her face was covered in mud and filth, but her blue eyes shined at him all the same. It was unmistakable. It was Nina. His Nina. She smiled at him, her own eyes tearing up, before the smile twisted into a painful grimace as she sucked in a breath and her knees buckled under her. He dropped his sword and darted over to her, catching her before she fell. He sunk to his knees gently as he held her, pulling a hand away from her back to find it covered in blood. She saw his hand and her eyes widened fearfully, so he immediately put it back around her and tried to distract her.
"You just can't stay away, can you?" He tried to joke, but his voice came out thick and full of unshed tears.
"I'm so sorry I left, Kili, I'm so sorry I never told you the truth, I'm so sorry…" She rambled, trailing off weakly. Kili shook his head quickly and tried to comfort her. He reached his other hand up and wiped away one of tears with his thumb.
"The truth?"
"The truth," She sighed, making a pained face at the movement. "Kili I love you." Then she was silent, waiting for his reaction. He was frozen for a moment, but then he smiled so big she thought his face would split in two.
"You do?" He barely whispered. Nina couldn't help but smile at him, there was something contagious about his joyfulness. His eyes were suddenly so bright as he held her close.
"I do," She breathed, burying her face in his chest as she hugged him even tighter. He returned her enthusiasm. "I just hope I'm not too late in saying it." He pushed her away just enough to look her in the eye again.
"I have loved you since the moment you threw an empty water basin at me in Bag End," He smiled, earning a weak but genuine laugh from her. "And I always will." Nina gave him a wide smile before looking around in concern.
"Erich…"
"He's gone, you finished him off," Kili assured her, pressing his hand into her back in a useless attempt to stop her bleeding. He was trying to ignore the pool of blood coming from her, but it was becoming difficult.
"I think I'm leaving too," She croaked in a small voice, a few more tears slipping out. He shook his head frantically.
"Nonsense, you just got back," He tried to smile, but it didn't work. "I still have to give you a proper tour of the mountain, and you haven't said hello to the rest of the company yet, and my relative Dain is here, you have to meet him. And when this is over more dwarves will come, and you can meet my mother."
"Kili, I'm scared," She started to cry, curling her fingers around the edge of his coat. Her breathing quickened, and he tried to hold her even closer. He felt so powerless. He wanted to protect her from everything, he loved her, and now there was nothing he could do for her. "I don't want to die, Kili!" He tried his best not to cry. He couldn't show her that he was scared too. He couldn't completely lose it the way he wanted to. He had to be calm and brave for her. He would not have her be scared at the end of it all.
"Amra-lime," He kissed her head.
"What does that mean?" She peeped, letting herself be distracted by him. He smiled at her, though it didn't reach his eyes.
"It means 'my love,'" He whispered. She closed her eyes. He didn't have much time left with her. He was forced to look away from her when giant eagles flew overhead. "Look Nina, the eagles have come!" He shook her gently, trying to give her some hope. She didn't open her eyes. "Please…" He tried shaking her again. Then again, harder. Her body went limp in his arms, and then he allowed himself to cry. And cry he did.
He had lost his brother that day. Fili was his best friend in the whole world, the one person he knew he couldn't live without. He had started to grieve, killing anything in his path in a quest for revenge. Then his brother had been restored to him, somehow, though now he knew it to be Nina's doing. He no longer had to grieve, but the sadness and the image of his brother's dead body was still fresh in his mind. He would still have to deal with that image his whole life. Then he had watched his uncle sacrifice himself to kill Azog. He was probably dead now. In the same exact moment, he had watched the man he hated most in the world slice a sword across the back of the woman he loved most. He had to deal with the shock of suddenly having her back, and the shock of losing her all over again. Although this time, there was no consolation that she was with her family. She was dead. In his arms, because he didn't protect her. Kili sobbed some more as all these complex emotions coursed through him, shaking him to the core. This was the end, he knew. He had love, and now it was gone. This was the end for him. He hardly registered it when an elf appeared at his side, staring sadly at the girl in his arms.
"Do not weep, dwarf," She addressed him without taking her eyes off Nina. Kili stared at the woman in awe. He had seen her twice before. Once in Rivendell after Nina healed him, and once in Erebor when she had come to see Nina again. She was her mother, he recalled. She was beautiful, that much was clear. She had golden hair and blue eyes like her daughter, but there was more wisdom in her eyes and a delicate side to the way she looked. She wore a long, white shimmering dress that pooled around her and somehow escaped the stain of the blood around them. The entire lower half of Kili's pants was covered in it. "Her time in Middle Earth has not yet ended." She laid a kind hand on Nina's cheek and closed her eyes, seeming to be focusing on something.
Then, Kili realized that this was not the end.
Wow guys, it's the last chapter. THERE WILL BE AN EPILOGUE, just so you know, but I promise it will have just as much of a cliffhanger as this one has ;)
I wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who has been with me through this story, reviewed, and been kind and supportive. I truly appreciate it, and I can honestly say it's my main motivator to keep writing this story. PLEASE REVIEW because I love hearing from you guys, feel free to leave your thoughts on what you'd like to see in the sequel too!
speaking of...
I am happy to say that there will be a sequel to this story, and it will be called We'd Never See the Stars: Antebellum.
Remember to stay tuned for the epilogue to this story, and as always, REVIEW!