AN: Ayyy a new update already, go me!
The thundering of hooves against the hard earth echoed in Alexa's ears as they rode through the battlefield. Behind her, Nori beat off any orc who came close with his newly acquainted hammer whilst Magnhild dealt with the ones in front.
Tugging on the reins, Alexa directed Magnhild smoothly from several orc blades and towards the mountainside. The wind blew through her hair as Magnhild led them safely through the violent battle and towards Ravenhill.
Magnhild's powerful legs climbed the jagged rocks towards the woman's mission, her reason for being here. Inhaling softly, Alexa let her body rest and mind clear. It was all leading to this.
As Magnhild reached the summit of the cliff, a shiver racked through Alexa, making her grip on the reins tighten. Blood pounded over her ears as she looked towards Ravenhill. Was she too late? Nearby the noises of metal on metal sounded. Tugging on the reins, Alexa led Magnhild towards the noise, urging the goat into a sprint.
The pounding of hooves soon became the only thing Alexa could hear as Magnhild got them closer to the fighting. It wasn't long before they had arrived. Alexa inhaled sharply. Before her were dozens of angry goblin mercenaries, but that wasn't why she was worried. At the centre, fighting the goblins were Thorin and Dwalin, with Fili and Kili nowhere in sight.
"No, I can't be too late," she breathed.
For the first time since she had arrived in Middle-earth, fear struck her. She gazed across the frozen lake towards Azog's war flags. The area was abandoned, or so they were led to believe. The sight caused a spark of hope within her. Fili was still alive.
"Nori, my friend. I need you to do something for me," Alexa began, making Nori nod anxiously. "Help Thorin and Dwalin," she told him, then motioned for him to get off the goat.
"What about you?" He asked, reluctantly getting off Magnhild.
Alexa's eyes never left the flags, "I've got something I need to do," her voice was calm as she said the words, despite the thoughts rushing through her head.
Turning to Nori, her eyes softened. "May the force be with you, Master Nori," she whispered. Not giving Nori a chance to reply, she dug her heels into Magnhild's sides. The action caused the goat to run towards the frozen lake and to her mission.
ALEXA'S POV
Alexa pulled on the reins, bringing Magnhild to a skidding stop. Climbing off the majestic goat, she looked towards the cave she had seen Fili and Kili enter in her vision. Turning back towards Magnhild, she smacked the goats rear, causing Magnhild to run from the scene. The last thing Alexa needed was for Magnhild's death to be on her conscience. After all, she had promised Dain she would look after her, and the best place for Magnhild was far away from her.
Using the wall for balance, Alexa entered the passage and ran her hand along the cold stone. Breathing in and out, she closed her eyes and used the force to sense her surroundings. Alexa instantly felt multiple signatures all heading towards Fili's. Snapping her eyes open, she hurried down the hall, no longer caring about her injuries, only about her friend.
She was so caught up in her mission that she failed to sense his approach. Thankfully she sensed his blade. "Force Kili, you almost killed me!" Alexa panted, tearing her eyes away from the notch in the wall to the Dwarf.
"Sorry, Alexa thought you were an orc," he replied bashfully before a serious look overtook his features. "What are you doing here?" He asked, curious.
Alexa sighed. She didn't have time for this. "I'm here for your brother." She winced internally at her words. Yeah, probably shouldn't have said that.
She watched as fear grew in Kili's brown eyes. "What? Why? Is something wrong?" he asked, worriedly searching her eyes for answers.
"Everything is fine Kili, just remember what your brother said; stay here and search the lower levels." Alexa ignored his look of confusion. "And Kili. Don't believe all that you see," With that and a pat on his shoulder, Alexa continued down the hall.
Thankfully Kili listened and continued on his path. Now with Kili out of her mind, Alexa followed Fili's signature. With the force at her side, Alexa navigated her way through the darkness. Limping up the stairs, she turned down the right passage and followed the wall before taking the left corridor. She was so close.
Her pulse quickened as she sensed the signatures from before closing in on Fili. Running as fast as she could with a limp, she turned the last corner and ran straight into the Dwarf.
A wheeze left her at the blow. Searching through the darkness, she only just managed to make out Fili's shocked face. "Mahal Alexa, don't sneak up on me like that," he cursed, yet a smile grew on his lips.
Alexa weakly reciprocated it. "I don't have time to explain," she panted before he could ask why she was there.
A dull light shone in the darkness of the hall. They were coming. Also, seeing the light, Fili slowly began backing away. Before he could turn fully and run, Alexa seized his hand and pulled him towards the light.
"Follow me!" She whispered,
Fili resisted her lead, "What are you doing? They are going to find us!" He muttered under his breath.
"Shush! I'm trying to think," she replied. It's around here somewhere. She thought to herself.
Closing her eyes, she placed her free hand on the stone wall. Reaching out with the force, she ran her fingers along the passage till she found it. Once she had, she let go of Fili's hand and quietly instructed him to push against the wall. The request was met with an incredulous look.
"Fine, I'll push the rock. But you get to throw the dead orc outside when we get in," she muttered lowly. The lights were now on both sides of them. If this didn't work, they were screwed.
"Erm, okay?" He whispered; confusion clear in his tone.
Releasing a sigh, Alexa placed both hands on the wall she had cut out earlier and applied pressure. After all the fighting, it was hard work, but she was soon rewarded with a dull thud. Releasing her hold on the rock, she ushered Fili inside before following in after him.
The yellow light from outside the room grew brighter as the orcs closed in. But Fili was hypnotized by a different light. A blue light. Before him were human men and strange looking creatures with grey, green and blue skin in clothes that Alexa herself wore. The group of blue figures sat in a small semi-circle, their legs crossed and hands folded.
"Hurry up, Fili! They are coming!" Alexa muttered,
Fili, still shocked, only came to his senses after a somewhat rude remark and harsh jab from Alexa. Grunting a witty comment of his own, he quickly hauled the dead orc over his shoulder and dumped it outside the entrance. Just as Alexa was sealing the entry, he watched as the orc transformed before his eyes. The once gnarled orc was now a spitting image of himself and, more importantly, alive.
Once the entrance was sealed, he turned to Alexa, his mind reeling with questions. Fili opened his mouth, ready to ask one of his many, many questions. But before he could, Alexa held a finger to her lips and gave him a look that spoke volumes. Be quiet.
Several minutes went past before the sounds of drums reverberated through the walls of the small room. At the noise, Alexa removed her finger from her lips and grinned at him.
"So, Fili, want to remind me of what you said about our religion?" She quipped to a dumbstruck Fili.
A muffled laugh left Alexa at the look on the blonde Dwarf's face. Oh, it was priceless. "I see you have yet to master silence during meditation, my old Padawan," Ki-Adi Mundi teased.
At that, her laughter stopped. "Sorry, Master," she whispered, bowing her head in respect to her old Master and those around her.
Alexa could almost taste the smug radiating from Fili. In response, she playfully socked him in the arm. A bittersweet smile crept on her lips as she looked at the Masters around her. They were just as she remembered. Her smile faltered for a brief moment. He wasn't there.
/
— Back in time a few minutes —
/
THIRD POV
A screech left the goblin as the axe tore through its flesh. "Ya said yer wouldn't leave her side!" Dwalin yelled, silencing the goblin with a swift beheading.
Nori raised his war hammer to block a blow, "I didn't, and I made a promise to her first!" He shouted back,
"Oh, and wha' was tha'?" Dwalin quipped, releasing his anger on the next mercenary.
Pushing the goblin's twisted blade off his weapon, Nori spun away from its next strike, "To trust her without question," he replied.
He raised his war hammer and slid his right hand down from the top. Exerting as much force as he could, he brought it down upon the goblin's head. Nori paused for a quick breath. There were only a few Goblins left now. "She wanted to come here, so I trusted her," he murmured,
Dwalin didn't wait long after killing the last goblin before storming over to Nori. "Are ya tha' thick in teh head. She'll die in her condition!" He roared,
Nori grew taut at the burly Dwarf's words, "You think I don't know that?! I tried to-"
Dwalin was beyond red at this point. "Nah, hard enough!"
The pair went back and forth. It wasn't long before the other one in their company grew sick of it. "ENOUGH!" Thorin yelled, his gruff tone quickly silencing the pair.
Thorin looked at the two, "I am worried about her too," he began, his tone a lot softer than before. "Nonetheless, Alexa is strong. Even in her condition, she will be fine," he reassured. Though if he was being honest, he didn't wholly believe his own words. He could only pray that she would be okay.
Dwalin nodded at Thorin's words and took a deep breath, as did Nori. Returning to their purpose for being here, Dwalin approached Thorin, who was looking out at Azog's empty watchtower. "Where is tha' orc filth?"
Before Thorin could reply, Bilbo appeared from thin air behind them. His dirty fingers quickly slipped the magic ring into his jacket pocket. He then bent over and rested his hands on his knees. He had run the whole way, after all.
Nori noticed him first. "By Durin," he breathed,
"Thorin," Bilbo panted.
Thorin turned at the sound of his name. "Bilbo," he breathed, a mix of wonder and regret shone in his eyes at the sight of the Hobbit.
Nodding off Nori's concerned looks, he hobbled past Thorin and towards the lookout where the Dwarf had previously stood. "You have to leave here. Now," he puffed, "Azog has another army attacking from the North. This watchtower will be surrounded with no way out," he said, pointing towards the abandoned war flags.
At his words, Thorin's face fell into realisation whilst Dwalin's eyes hardened, "We are so close. Tha' orc scum is in there. I say we push on," Dwalin suggested, storming towards Thorin.
Thorin stopped the Dwarf before he could go past him, "No. That's what he wants," he said, his eyes peeling away from Dwalin's to the watchtower. "He wants to draw us in. This is a trap." He breathed. Alexa and his nephews were in danger.
By this point, the orcs had surrounded Fili and Alexa, with the lights of their torches highlighting the dark walls of the passageway on all exits. There was no escaping through the halls.
Thorin held Dwalin by the shoulder, "Find Fili and Kili. Call them back," he said, his voice coming out as a harsh whisper. "She will be with them,"
Dwalin looked back at his brother in arms. "Thorin, are ya sure about tis?"
"Do it," he breathed, his eyes flittered back to Azog's watchtower. "We'll live to fight another day,"
With that, Dwalin and Nori went to carry out Thorin's command. Whilst Thorin turned to Bilbo, who gave him a quick, reassuring nod. But before either pair could take another step, the bang of a drum sounded. The familiar noise caused Thorin, Dwalin and Nori to pause and turn towards the watchtower.
Bilbo followed suit, not knowing what was going on. Regardless a chilling fear crept up his spine. As judging by the look on Thorin's face, whatever it was wasn't good.
The beat of the drum only grew louder. The tempo was slow, with the drum being struck every few seconds. With every strike, the four faintly saw a yellow light grow brighter through the mist on the watchtower. Then came a sight none of them wanted to see.
On the watchtower, Azog strode towards the clearing in the mist. The pale orc held the blonde prince in his iron grasp and proceeded to drag him into view.
Thorin gasped at the sight of his nephew in his enemies grasp and ran towards the clearing. His heart pounded in his chest as he heard unintelligible black speech pour from the pale orc's mouth. Skidding around the corner with Dwalin, Nori and Bilbo close behind, he watched as Azog the Defiler lifted Fili into the air.
Helpless, Thorin watched as his nephew struggled against the orc's hold, a plea for them to run leaving his lips. The Dwarf King shook his head, almost unable to believe what he was seeing was real and not a nightmare.
The horrible squelch of metal piercing and ripping flesh resonated in all their ears. Thorin sucked in a breath as his beloved nephew's body became limp. Bilbo stood beside Thorin; his lips parted in shock. Nori was in a similar state, and Dwalin looked away at the sight, a sob leaving him.
More black speech fell from Azog's twisted lips before he dropped the dead Dwarf. The limp body plummeted from the watchtower, landing right in front of Kili, the youngest Durin.
Kili gazed down at his brother's lifeless body, unshed tears in his eyes. Fury quickly rose within the young Dwarf, and a guttural yell left him. Gripping his sword tightly, he cast his eyes away from his dead brother and ran down the pathway. Not knowing that had he stayed a moment longer, he would have seen the image of his brother morph into an orc.
AN: So, for those who don't understand what happened or just need some confirmation, the dead orc transforming into Fili is called 'Force projection'. This is what Luke Skywalker does in TLJ. I have no clue if you can do this with other people and while using a dead body. However, this is fanfiction, so fuck it.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Till next time.
