Note: Italics is thoughts, unless specified otherwise i.e flashbacks or visions. / is timeskip
AN: I really stretched this chapter in account of time. But times a construct aint it? So, hope you enjoy it! The chapter not time [just to confirm]
THIRD POV
White flakes of snow fell upon the company as they trudged through the cold night towards the city's armoury. The townsfolk were all inside with their families, leaving the streets bare apart from the odd guard.
A shiver went through Alexa, making her pull at her borrowed tunic. A white vapour escaped her lips as she exhaled, force was it freezing. Her cheeks and nose were a light pink as the bitter wind blew across them. She rubbed her arms in an attempt to gain some friction to warm her up.
They passed into a market area, filled with empty crates and nets; just as they were coming up to the armoury, muffled voices of guards sounded nearby. Hearing this, Thorin's head snapped back. Seeing the approaching light of the guard's lantern, he quietly signalled for everyone to hide.
Pressing her body against a wooden crate in the market, Alexa steadied her breathing as they waited; her heart thudding loudly in her chest. Seconds pass before the guards leave the visibility of the company. As soon as they're gone, synchronous sighs of relief escaped them, before they continue to the armoury.
Thorin stood just before the building, pushing each member past him; counting, before taking up the end of the line. Dwalin now at the front of said line, led the company around the back of the armoury where a small and very high up window sat. As quietly as they could, the Dwarves arranged themselves into a makeshift staircase below the window, with the strongest on the bottom.
"Soon as we have weapons, we make straight for the mountain," Thorin whispered to the Dwarven pyramid, as he stood next to Alexa, Bilbo, Nori, Kili, and Bofur.
"Go, go, go," Thorin ushered,
Nori went first, following Thorin's command. He ran towards the makeshift staircase, his brother Dori quietly cheering him on as he leapt over his Kin. A smirk found its way onto the Dwarf's face as he found the window unlocked. Feeling the ridge of the frame, his nimble fingers slid under and he lifted the window with practised ease. Once the window had been opened, the star-haired Dwarf crawled through the small frame.
Thorin smirked as he saw the middle Ri brother stick his head out of the window, a massive grin on his face. Turning to a nervous Bilbo, Thorin patted the hobbit on the back; silently telling him it was his turn.
Following Nori, Bilbo ran up the Dwarves' backs, apologizing as he went. A small smile appeared on Alexa's lips as she watched her friend. Even under the most dangerous situations, Bilbo was still the polite and courteous hobbit she had met back in Bag End.
As soon as Bilbo had jumped through the window, Bofur had quickly followed after; an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face. When Kili had stepped forward, ready to follow after his counterparts. Alexa had placed a hand on the injured Dwarf's shoulder, stopping him.
"Be careful Kili, know your limit," she whispered, peering into his puppy brown eyes, a look of concern on her face.
"I'll be fine," he whispered back, not at all reassuring Alexa. But regardless she let him go, watching as he limped to his uncle who patted him on the shoulder. Then running up the Dwarven staircase, a pained grunt leaving the young Dwarf as he climbed through the window.
"I can go Thorin," Alexa said, making the raven-haired Dwarf pause in his step and look back at her.
"No, you are needed down here as a lookout," he muttered, his voice low and gravelly.
Alexa nodded at his words; her eyes downcast. Seeing this, a sigh escaped Thorin, his eyes flickered to the window before he turned back to the young woman.
"Unlike anyone else in this company Alexa, you can sense any oncoming guards and warn us. That gives us the advantage," he spoke, his voice noticeably softer but remained just as gravelly.
"Okay fine, you prove a good point but that doesn't make me happy about it," Alexa replied in a whisper, shivering once more as a cold blast of wind hit her.
"I know," Thorin murmured, sparing a moment to look at the young woman before turning and following in his nephew's footsteps.
/
ALEXA'S POV
Force knows how long exactly had gone past. Unfortunately, it was a starless night, so Alexa had no idea if it had been mere minutes or hours.
A huff left the young woman as her eyes scoured through the darkness as she stood on watch. Man did it suck, I mean she understood why she was the lookout. Like Thorin had said but with fewer words; she could sense every being around them, and so she could warn them when guards were approaching. It was boring work as most guards were just passing through, doing their nightly rounds. Oh, and to top it off: it was snowing.
It was so cold; Alexa had since crossed her arms across her chest and shoved her hands under her armpits. Searching for any available heat. What irked her the most was the fact that her counterparts were somewhat unbothered by the cold. As they all naturally burned hot as the forges they worked with. Damn Dwarves and their blasted warm bodies.
After Thorin had gone up, the Dwarves who were the ladder had parted and had since leaned against the side of the armoury; waiting for those inside to be finished. That was another thing that irked Alexa, that they got to stand under the window. With the building shielding them from the brunt of the wind and most of the snow. Unlike where she stood, at the end of the armoury, leaned against the edge of the building; in the brunt of it all.
Pulling at the worn shirt, a sigh left her as it scratched uncomfortably against her back, making it itch. Staring down at the worn fabric of the shirt, she thought back to what had happened earlier on. Bilbo had seen her scars. The lashes and raised lines across her back. The horrific burns on her abdomen. He had seen everything. Well, the worst of them anyway.
She had yelled at him, slammed the door in his face. The poor hobbit, she must have scared the crap out of him. Their friendship would never be the same. Like Ugh, why did she just have to go ahead and ruin their relationship? The Dwarves, Nori, and Bofur, in particular, were good friends of hers, yes, but Bilbo. Bilbo and her were closer. Over the four years she had resided in Rivendell she hadn't made many friends; and so, in a way, Bilbo was her closest friend. She loved the hobbit, in a platonic way, and as a result, she cared about him and what he thought about her.
Her thoughts stilled as a faint light came into sight. Pressing her back against the wall, she hid from sight. She could sense a guard coming towards the armoury, except, unlike the others who simply walked past, this one walked through the market they had come through and paused.
Thinking quickly, Alexa moved her hand in a sliding motion in front of her chest; feeling the force around her. At her action, a crate fell from on top of another and landed with a dull thud on a fishing net. A small smile found its way onto her face as she sensed the guard walk towards the noise and therefore, away from the company.
At this exact moment, one of the Dwarves, she didn't know exactly who, had let out a yawn. It wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for the guard to hear; who had since forgotten all about the fallen crate. Her head snapped back towards the unsuspecting Dwarves, who continued leaning against the wall without a care. Sensing the guard coming closer, she quickly thought of what to do.
THIRD POV
The guard shortly rounded the corner, his eyes widening as he saw Alexa and the company of Dwarves. Now seeing the guard, all the remaining Dwarves instantly perked up, battle-ready. Before the guard could say a word, Alexa thrust her fist towards him, striking his abdomen; making him wheeze and hunch over. Now bent over, she roughly grasped the back of his head and jerked it forward as she thrust her leg up; an audible snap sounded as her knee made contact with his nose. Releasing the scruff of his neck, she quickly socked him; a crack resounding through her fist as she felt his jaw break.
The Dwarves watched stunned as the guard swayed, his eyes rolling into his head as he promptly collapsed. Before he could hit the wooden floorboards and alert any more guards, Alexa caught the guard and leaned him against her good shoulder; his legs dragging on the ground.
"Next time, keep your yawns to yourself," Alexa muttered, her nose scrunching in disgust as the unconscious man started drooling on her shoulder.
"Now someone help me before I-" Alexa began, her eyes hard as she looked at the Dwarves who had since recovered from their shock, and were now clearly attempting not to laugh at seeing the drool on her shoulder.
"Okey lass, I'll help yer nah need ta threaten us," Dwalin spoke, his footsteps a dull patter and he walked towards her.
"Thank you Dwalin," Alexa said, still glaring at the others egging them to laugh.
"Okay so, I thi-oh," Alexa breathed as the Dwarf took the man out of her grasp and lifted him over his shoulder.
"That works too," she muttered, still reeling with shock. Just how strong is he?
"Lead teh way lass," he muttered, gesturing for her to go ahead.
Walking through the maze of a town, Alexa led Dwalin towards a docked boat. Lifting the tarp that covered it, she kept a lookout as Dwalin placed the unconscious guard in the boat.
"Do you think he'll wake up?" Alexa asked as she tucked some stray nets around the guard's body, before throwing the tarp over the boat. The nets and tarp successfully hiding the body beneath it.
"Naut with teh blows yer dealt him. He'll be out all night," Dwalin muttered, a proud tone in his voice.
At his comment, Alexa peered down at her bloody knuckles. It had been a while since she's had to do that. A sigh left her as she flexed her fingers, as she knew that she'd have to get some ice on her hand soon before it became swollen.
"Let's hope," she whispered, as a shiver rocked her body. Blasted cold!
"Yer cold lass?" Dwalin asked, seeing her shiver.
"Yeah, just a bit. These clothes are a bit thin for my liking," she replied, blowing heat into her cupped hands, then rubbing them together. A wince left her as the adrenaline began to leave her system, finally feeling the pain from punching the guard.
Looking at the woman, Dwalin stepped in front of her and clasped her hands in his. It was then he realized just how cold she was. "Mahal, yer freezin'," Dwalin muttered as he cupped her hands.
"You're so warm," Alexa breathed, a happy noise leaving her throat.
A huff escaped the Dwarf's lips "Of course lass, I'm a Dwarf after all. Made of much sterner stuff tha' gentlefolk," he said, his tone low and deep as he rubbed her arms up and down in an attempt to warm her up.
"You calling me gentlefolk?" she asked, her eyebrow raised in question at the Dwarf.
"Well no, jus' erm yer na' a Dwarf," Dwalin muttered, avoiding her gaze as he focused on warming her up.
Alexa huffed at his answer, a smile twitching at her lips. Dwalin then grasped her hands in his once more, making sure not to apply too much pressure to her bruised and bloody knuckles and blew his warm breath onto them.
"We best be getting back to the company," Alexa whispered after a while had passed.
"Aye," he grunted as he rubbed her hands together one last time. As he rubbed, his calloused fingers stroked the back of her knuckles briefly before he released her hands.
This time when the two walked back to the armoury, they walked side-by-side rather than single-file like before. As they headed towards the armoury, they remained on alert. Though luckily, they had not crossed any guards; making their entire walk back silent aside from the creaking of floorboards and their breathing. That was until Alexa, absorbed in her thoughts about earlier, remembered something.
Just as they reached her former lookout position, Alexa grasped Dwalin's tunic firmly; causing him to stop walking any further. The stoic Dwarf looked down at her hand clasped in his tunic before moving to her face, silently questioning her.
"Thank you," she murmured as their eyes met. Her voice barely audible, but Dwalin heard it all the same.
"Tha's alrigh' lass, couldn't let ya drag teh guard on yer own," he spoke, not understanding why she was saying this again.
"No, not-not that. I mean for earlier," she whispered, releasing her grip on his tunic to wring her hands together awkwardly.
"Oh, yer do no' need ta thank me lass," he whispered, now understanding what she was talking about.
"Just let a girl thank you Dwalin," Alexa huffed, crossing her arms across her chest; back to her usual self.
"Aye lass, yer'd be teh first," he muttered bashfully. His hand clasping the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Still, thank you Dwalin. For everything," she breathed, staring at the Dwarf before her who was currently avoiding her eyes. Whatever the reason he wasn't looking at her was, she had no idea. Though it didn't bother her as she knew he was a rather shy Dwarf when it came to things other than combat.
"Alexa, er lass I-"
BANG!
The two stiffened as several crashes and bangs erupted from inside the armoury. Exchanging a worried look, they quickly strode the short distance around the corner; coming into sight to the Dwarves outside of the armoury. All their eyes were wide, and their bodies tense as a board. There was no way the guards had not heard that. Hell, they could've woken the entire west side of the town with that noise.
"Run!" Dori yelled, causing every Dwarf to squabble to get ahead.
But it was too late, several guards had them surrounded with spears pointing at their chests and throats. "Well that could've been done better" Alexa breathed next to Dwalin; her hands raised in surrender as her eyes stared down at the blade several mils away from her throat.
/
It was pitch black now, with the only light being several torches and lanterns as the company was dragged from the armoury and through the town, to the Masters. The snow had begun to fall heavier and thicker than before, and as the guards led them over docks and platforms, more and more people noticed them. The closer they got to the Master's, the bigger the crowd around them became.
"Get off me! Get off!" Dwalin growled, just as the guards halted before the home of the Master, their spears at the companies backs; a constant reminder of their capture.
Shortly after arriving, Alexa noticed a dark-haired man stick his head out of the door like a weasel, before disappearing once more. After a few moments, a much larger man stormed through the doors.
"What is the meaning of this?" he shouted; his voice awfully pitchy to Alexa's ears. So, this is the Master. White snowflakes landed in her auburn hair, causing her to pull the tunic tighter to her body. She stood amid the company, with Balin and Bilbo at her sides.
The dark-haired man from before stood beside the Master. Alexa took a good look at the incredibly shady looking pair. She concluded rather quickly that the Master must have given the townspeople scraps as he was one big fella. With his hair brushed to the side in a comb-over. The man beside him, who she assumed was the Master's personal servant did not look any better. Unlike the Master, the man was lanky and had a bit of a hunched back. Though his hair was just as bad, if not worse than the Masters, and his eyebrows met in the middle, making it one thick monobrow. They were certainly lookers, that's for sure.
"Hold yer tongue!" Dwalin growled, his angry tone making Alexa turn her attention back to the matter at hand. She watched as the burly Dwarf strode closer to the Master and his slimy servant.
"Yer do naut know ta whom ya speak. This is no common criminal. This tis Thorin son of Thrain, son of Thror!" he continued, gesturing to Thorin.
Thorin stepped forth, placing a hand on his brother-in-arms shoulder, before moving past him. "We are the Dwarves of Erebor. We have come to reclaim our homeland." Thorin spoke, addressing the townspeople. At his words, the crowd around them murmured amongst themselves, all shoving to get a better look at the Dwarf.
"I remember this town in the great days of old. Fleets of boats lay at harbour filled with silks and fine gems. This was no forsaken town on a lake. This was the centre of all trade in the North! I would see those days return," Thorin said, his deep, charismatic tone making everyone hang onto every word.
"I would relight the great forges of the Dwarves and send wealth and riches flowing once more from the Halls of Erebor!" he continued, his voice growing louder with every word; and the townspeople all cheered in agreement at his words.
"Death! That is what you will bring upon us!" A familiar voice sounded behind the company. Alexa watched as the guards parted revealing Bard. She moved to the side, letting Bard walk past her and towards Thorin.
"Dragon fire and ruin! If you awaken that beast, it will destroy us all," he spoke, his words making Alexa cast her eyes down to the floorboards beneath her boots. She knew he was right. Smaug would destroy Laketown. She had seen it.
"You can listen to this naysayer but I promise you this: If we succeed all will share in the wealth of the mountain," Thorin said, gaining cheers and shouts of agreement from the townsfolk around them.
"You will have enough gold to rebuild Esgaroth ten times over," Thorin shouted as he held his arms up, cheers shortly following. Seeing this Bard, turned back towards the people he had known all his life.
"All of you! Listen to me! You must listen! Have you forgotten what happened to Dale?" he asked, shouting over the cheers. At his words, the townsfolk quieted down, all taking in his words.
"Have you forgotten those who died in the firestorm?!" The man continued, gaining a resounding "No," from the crowd.
"And for what purpose? The blind ambition of a Mountain King so riven by greed, he could not see beyond his own desire!" Bard yelled harshly, his voice resounding around the square. By this point, Alexa had looked up at the man she had known for less than a day. She knew Dwarves could be greedy over gold but wow, way to address the Reek in the room. Honestly, she was stuck between being mad that he had just insulted Thorin and agreeing with him.
"Now, now! We must not any of us be too quick to lay blame. Let us not forget that it was Lord Dale, your ancestors who failed to kill the beast!" the Master suddenly spoke up, pointing a fat finger at Bard; reminding the town of whose fault it 'really' was.
"It's true, sire. We all know the story. Arrow after arrow, he shot. Each one missing its mark," Alfrid spoke, backing up the Master's words like the weasel he is. His words causing the townspeople to murmur lewd words of hate towards Bard.
"You have no right. No right to enter that mountain!" Bard said as he came to stand in front of Thorin; his tall frame towering over the Dwarf.
"I have the only right," Thorin muttered coolly to the man, before turning towards the Master and walking up a few of the steps.
"I speak to the Master of the Men of the Lake. Will you see the prophecy fulfilled? Will you share in the great wealth of our people?" The Dwarf King asked, his question making the townspeople silent as they awaited the Master's word.
"What say you?" Thorin demanded, not wanting to wait any longer.
"I say unto you…" the Master began, gesturing to the Dwarf.
"Welcome! Welcome! And thrice welcome King under the Mountain!" he finished, yelling the words happily; causing the crowd to burst into cheers and hug their family in joy.
The company all let out relieved sighs and smiled as they looked towards their King. But Alexa couldn't help but frown as she looked at a sad Bard. It was then, she knew that she would stay behind and protect him and his family from the Beast known as Smaug.
