Happy New Year everyone! This chapter's a bit of a longer one, so be prepared. (Also be prepared for... sad things. Sorry in advance!) And, of course, thank you very much to purple-pygmy-puff16 and Faron Oakenshield for your lovely reviews on the last chapter. I'd really like to hear everyone's thoughts after this one.


And thus, the battle began.

Fili had taken his place in the ranks behind his uncle and Dain, who were leading the charge together. They had taken up their posts together with Bard and his men not long before sundown and they did not have to wait long before they could see the bats closing in on the far horizon, a dark cloud in the air that was accompanied by a dark mass down on the ground. Azog's army was upon them.

The young prince had braced himself, exchanging a determined look with his brother next to him, as he had gripped his swords in both hands. He was ready, and yet he wasn't. His eyes had drifted from the approaching horde to Arinna, who was stood but a few steps ahead of him in the front line, her bow drawn and an arrow notched, together with the other archers. He felt a sudden fear overwhelming his heart as he watched her, though he tried to keep it at bay. Even though he would have preferred her somewhere far away from here, it was too late to change anything now. They were in this, together, and war was coming. And all they could do was fight for their lives and for Erebor while their hearts were filled with courage and beating in their chests.

He looked up when he heard the enemies' screeches echo over the vast plain, and saw that they were approaching fast on wolves and wargs.

"Ready!" He heard someone shout, realising that it was Bard, addressing the archers. The dragon-slayer was moving his own bow and arrow along with his commands. "Aim!"

Fili's eyes flicked back toward the druid before him, as Arinna aimed her first arrow toward the sky, waiting until the orcs were close enough for their blows to hit them. The dwarf took a deep breath, his gaze flicking between the approaching army and his beloved's tense back, when he heard Bard's final call.

"FIRE!"

Arinna did not hesitate and swiftly let her arrow fly, quickly notching another one before her first one had even hit its mark. She couldn't be sure if it had in any case, her own arrow lost among all the others that were whizzing through the air, hitting the first ranks of orcs and goblins. Those that went down with ear-splitting shrieks were immediately trampled by the following horde and Arinna shot arrow after arrow, each time waiting for Bard's command, until finally the orcs were getting too close.

"DU BEKÂR!"

The druid looked over for a second, hearing Thorin's booming voice ring out over their ranks. She watched him lift his sword high above his head and point it forward, a look of pure fury and determination on his face. He exchanged a look with his cousin, before he began to charge forward.

"DU BEKÂR! DU BEKÂR!"

The druid felt a shiver run down her spine at the sound of a choir of different voices echoing the dwarven war chant, and the noise of several hundred pairs of feet setting into action behind her. She felt the earth tremble slightly as the Dwarves and Men behind her followed the charge, felt them move the air as they ran past her, and for a moment the druid saw the back of a familiar blond mane of hair, before Fili disappeared in the crowd, the field filling with screeches and screams as the separate armies clashed in battle.

Arinna slung her bow over her shoulder once she had run out of arrows and instead brandished her own sword, the ornate hilt feeling heavy in her already sweaty hand. And then, mustering all her courage, she ran with the second charge, following Bard's call. She felt a war cry leave her own throat as she clashed into the first orc, slashing her sword at it and stabbing it right through the gut, the sound of his death drowned out by all the noise around her.

She fought her way through the crowd, dodging swords, maces and axes coming at her, while she slashed at everything that wasn't Dwarf, Man or Elf. She managed with relative ease at first, though the further she got onto the battlefield, the harder it was to keep any sort of overview. Attacks came out of nowhere and were difficult to evade without running into another one right away.

Soon, she had lost all orientation. In all the chaos, she had no idea what direction she was going, or whether her efforts were making any difference at all. No matter how many enemies she slayed, they seemed to come in endless numbers. The druid's arms had grown heavy and her legs were tired, and she had no idea how long the battle had been going on for, when she finally saw one of her companions again. She had not seen a familiar face in what seemed like hours, unable to identify anyone in the flurry of the fight. Barely dodging a spiked mace that had been aimed at her head, she dove at the ground to evade it, when her attacker was mercilessly killed from behind. The druid looked up sharply as the orc fell twitching to the ground beside her, dark blood staining the already muddied surface.

"No time to rest, lass!"

Arinna felt the weight on her heart lift slightly as she took Bofur's outstretched hand, while he removed his battle axe from the orc's back with his other. He pulled her to her feet in one swift move, smiling at her despite the dire situation that they found themselves in. His face was bloodied and specked with dirt and mud, though Arinna imagined that she probably didn't look much better herself. Dark clouds had gathered during the course of the battle and it had begun to rain heavily, causing the dry plain to turn into a muddy, slippery surface.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Arinna replied with a deep breath, squeezing Bofur's hand shortly before she let go and turned back to face the next enemy with him. It was a large goblin scattering across the ground toward them, its ear-splitting screeches filling the air as it jumped on them with claws and teeth bared. Arinna and Bofur jumped out of its way to either side, not hesitating to bring their weapons down on it from both sides, killing it on the spot. It sank into the muddy ground with a breathless wheeze.

The two friends shared a look, though it was only seconds before they had to dodge another flurry of attacks, and when Arinna next looked up, she had lost sight of Bofur once more. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest as she made her way further across the battle field, not knowing where she was going at all. She wished for nothing more than to find her friends, to find Fili in all this chaos and to fight by his side. She had not seen him since the start of the battle, couldn't even be sure if he was alright. All she knew was that forward was the best way to go, and that she would kill any orc and goblin in her path as long as she had the strength.


Fili had been fighting alongside his brother and uncle for a long time, hours it felt like. He had followed Thorin into the thick of the fight, using both his swords to cut down anything in his path, anything that was trying to get at him, his brother or his uncle. His hands were sweaty, his face wet with blood, dirt and rain. They had been fighting for so long and yet, the number of enemies did not seem to diminish in the slightest. Though the adrenaline was pumping through his veins, Fili felt incredibly tired. But more of them were coming all the time, and there was no moment to rest even for a second.

"Look! Up there!" Kili yelled from somewhere close by and Fili glanced up, his eyes following to where his brother was pointing while he stayed alert for any oncoming attack.

It was enough time for him to see what his brother was referring to. They were at the bottom of Raven Hill and as the blond prince looked up, he saw the familiar form of a tall, pale orc in the distance, at the very top of the hill. Fili had wondered where Azog was, knowing that it was his armies they were fighting, that he had gathered them to end the line of Durin once and for all, and to take the mountain for himself. He could see now that the orc had chosen a vantage point at the top of the hill, from where he could oversee most of the battle and command his armies. He was fighting a small part of Bard's Men and some of Dain's soldiers already, the battle having reached him before long.

Fili looked over and saw that Thorin was staring up at Azog as well, his uncle's face grim with determination. He did not need to wait for the command to know what Thorin would do next. He would go and fight the Pale Orc himself, to cut off the snake's head once and for all. And Fili would follow him, as would Kili. If Azog died, this battle might soon be over. Neither orcs nor goblins would keep on fighting without a leader.

Thorin merely shot both his nephews a nod, before he called out to Dwalin, who had just buried his axe in the head of a goblin soldier nearby. None of them hesitated to follow their king and they fought their way through the chaos toward Raven Hill. Fili slashed and stabbed his way past a number of orcs, following behind the others, keeping their backs clear. Though it was hard to keep track of them, their smaller forms difficult to see in the flurry of the taller orcs and goblins around them. The blond prince could just see the back of Kili's head, his little brother already a good distance further than him. He was trying to catch up to him as quickly as he could, when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back and he fell to the ground with a startled, pained cry that was drowned out in the noise of the battle.

He turned around in time to roll out of the way of the sword that was coming at him, the same sword that had cut straight across and through the armour on his back. Fili felt the sharp pain emanate through his body as he pressed his back into the muddy ground, using one of his swords to slash at the legs of the orc that had attacked him. His blade cut right through one of them and the orc fell, giving Fili the opportunity to unceremoniously cut off its head in one swift move.

He tried to get up then, his feet struggling against the slippery, muddy ground. Ignoring his protesting back, he straightened up and looked around for his brother once more. However, he could not see Kili anymore, and before he had even made it to his feet completely, he was knocked down once more by an oncoming warg, barely managing to get his sword up in time to defend himself. The blade slashed across the beast's flank as Fili fell back to the ground, his head knocking painfully against the side of a large rock that was protruding from the ground.

Blurry flickers of light invaded the dwarf's eyes as he blinked rapidly, feeling warm blood running down the side of his face. He tried to get up once more, his head now heavy and dizzy. He barely managed to lift his head at all, when his vision grew dark and he fell unconscious.


Kili had kept his eyes forward, certain that his brother was still behind him, following his uncle and Dwalin up the muddy slopes of Raven Hill, where the fighting continued. They made their way through the ever-growing number of orcs, fighting alongside their kinsmen and the Men of Laketown.

The young dwarf slashed at the throat of one of the creatures, turning to look at his brother as it fell dead to the ground. And it was only then that he realised that Fili was no longer behind him. An awful dread filled his heart all of a sudden and his eyes grew wide with fear as he looked around and found no trace of his brother's familiar blond head of hair. How had he not realised that Fili had fallen behind? How could he have been so careless?, Kili thought. He was about to turn back, to go search for Fili, when he heard his uncle call out loudly behind him.

He looked up sharply at Thorin's voice, seeing him yell at the Pale Orc, who was now making his way across the battlefield toward the king. Kili felt the dread clench his heart further when he saw the sly, cruel smile that played on Azog's face, the spiked mace that replaced his left arm swinging slowly at his side. And then he saw Thorin run, alone, while Dwalin was still fighting a group of orcs, his sword raised to face the Pale Orc in battle.

Kili was about to follow when he heard it, the command in a language that he did not understand, Black Speech ringing out across the field. He looked up and saw another tall orc, pale and disfigured, standing on a not so distant boulder, bow and arrow in hand. Kili recognised him immediately, knowing that this was the orc that had shot the arrow that had almost cost him his own life. But his realisation came too late and was of little importance, as the arrow was already whizzing through the air, and then hit his uncle right in the shoulder.

"NO!" Kili watched with wide eyes as Thorin stumbled, slowed and surprised by the attack, while Azog now took up speed. It was mere seconds before the sword in the orc's intact hand sank into his uncle's body, piercing his armour and burying itself deep in his chest.

"NO! THORIN!"

Kili ran. He ran as fast as his feet would carry him.

There was only one thought in his head, only one that mattered at that moment. He had to get to Thorin. He felt something cut his arm, but he just kept running as he saw his uncle go down, the Pale Orc bending over him slowly, saying something that Kili could not hear, as he drove his sword deeper into Thorin's chest.

He had almost reached him, when he saw his uncle raise his own sword from where he lay defenceless beneath the Orc, Azog's eyes widening with surprise as Thorin buried his sword in the orc's neck with one swift, final move. Azog opened his mouth, but only blood spilled out, and Thorin pushed the Pale Orc off of himself, its dead body falling to the ground beside him.

"Thorin!" Kili cried out as he reached his uncle's side, coming to a slithering halt as he fell to his knees beside him, not caring for anything else around him. He dropped his sword, both his hands coming up to press against the open wound on Thorin's chest, warm, dark blood staining his hands as he blinked against the panicked tears filling his eyes. Thorin coughed loudly, wincing beneath the pressure that Kili put on his wound. "You'll be fine! You'll be fine, uncle! We just… We have to… I –"

A heavy hand came to rest on Kili's blood-stained ones and the young dwarf looked up to meet his uncle's tired gaze. His icy blue eyes were dull, a small trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth as he spoke quietly. Kili struggled to hear his voice at all in the noise of battle around them and the sound of his own blood whooshing in his ears.

"Leave it, Kili…" Thorin muttered, straining to get the words out. His breathing was heavy, but the touch of his hand on Kili's was gentle. The young dwarf shook his head, desperately adjusting the position of his hands, though more blood just spilled from Thorin's wound. "It is no use, nephew."

"No," Kili cried, tears now spilling down his cheeks. "No! You can't do this! You'll… you'll be…"

The words did not come. Kili shook his head, trying to force them to pass his lips, but they would not. He did not look up, though he heard Dwalin's shocked voice when the warrior reached them. Whatever Dwalin said did not register with Kili, his desperate eyes only darting up when he heard the voice of the other orc once more, the one that had shot his uncle with the arrow.

He saw it make its way across the battle field, away from them toward another part of the hill. Kili got up without thinking, his mind overcome with rage, and he picked up his abandoned sword and ran after the beast. He barely even heard Dwalin calling after him.


She had no idea how she had gotten to where she was. She had been pushed up here by the battle, retreating and advancing with the possibilities she had. She had seen small traces of her friends throughout the fight. Bard and Thranduil fighting together, the Elven army having defeated the attack on the Southern spurs and coming to their aid. Bombur, managing to defeat two goblins with one stroke of his mighty battle hammer. But now, she had ended up on this hill by herself, surrounded by enemies. She had managed to fight off most of them, but she was so tired now. She could barely keep her sword up.

There was a large cut down the side of her right arm, forcing her to carry her sword in her left hand. She was not used to using her left and had barely managed to fend off her last attacker. That was when she had seen the pale orc stalking toward her, its eyes focused on her alone, as it made its way across the field.

She had recognised it after only a few moments, realising that it was the one that had escaped after the pack had attacked them in Laketown. The one that had undoubtedly been their leader, and that had seen her kill its companions with her magic. She had felt a terrible fear rising in her chest when she realised that it was aiming directly for her, no doubt smart enough to realise that she was injured and tired, and that she held her sword clumsily in her left hand, making her no match for it. An easy target.

Arinna's instincts kicked in then, and she turned and ran before the orc reached her, trying to lose it in the chaos of battle. But her path led her to a secluded cliff, which the battle had not reached yet, but that was also a dead end. The druid looked around, her breathing quick and shallow as she saw the steep rock wall to one side and the abyss to the other. It was long drop from here to the battleground below.

She tried to decide what to do, when a sudden growl sounded behind her and she whirled around to see the familiar orc make its way toward her, a cruel smile playing on its deformed face. It let out a dark laugh as the druid brandished her sword, deciding to use her right hand despite her injury, if she were to stand a chance at all. Warm blood dripped down her arm and over her fingers onto the hilt of the Elven sword.

The orc watched her for a moment, as though she were but some kind of prey, before it raised the black bow at its side. Arinna reacted instinctively, rushing forward to attack before the beast could notch an arrow. Standing alone in a dead end, she would be the easiest target in the world. But the orc dodged her attack all too easily, and brought its large fist down hard onto her back. Her breath escaped her as she fell to the ground with a pained gasp, barely managing to keep hold of her sword. She turned around in time to see that the beast had now managed to notch a long black arrow and that it had waited for her to see it before it fired. Arinna tried to scramble to her feet, knowing that there was barely any chance of evading this shot, as the orc drew back the string, when she suddenly heard a loud cry echoing over the cliffside.

She saw a familiar figure run past her and her eyes widened as she watched Kili throw himself at the orc before her with his whole body. The bow was knocked from its grasp, scattering across the ground as the orc stumbled. It grabbed Kili with a furious cry, and hurled him away from itself, knocking the dwarf straight into the rocky wall that fenced off one side of the cliff.

Arinna heard Kili cry out at the same time that the orc let out another furious snarl, drawing a large sword and turning to face the brunet dwarf. The druid did not hesitate now, and she rushed forward with her sword raised, slashing it at the orc's arm as it raised it to attack Kili. It cried out in pain and stumbled back, giving her enough time to position herself in front of Kili as the dwarf got back to his feet, swaying slightly.

There was no time to say anything, and Kili only shot her a short look before he rushed past her, his sword raised to attack the orc once again. Arinna barely had time to register his blood-ridden eyes and the unfamiliar look of fury on his face. But the orc reacted quickly and kicked Kili before he could bring his blade down, sending the dwarf hurtling backwards. The orc followed swiftly, roaring as it slashed its own sword at the dwarf, who barely managed to dodge. Kili dived to the ground and Arinna moved forward, raising her blade, but this time the orc was prepared for her blow. It brought up its sword to block her attack, before he countered with such force that the Elven blade flew from Arinna's grasp. She cried out, unable to keep hold of it with her injured arm.

The orc turned to her fully then, snarling darkly at her and grinning as she stumbled backwards into the rock wall, her bare hands clenching at her sides with nothing to defend herself with. She watched as the orc lifted the sword again, before it suddenly came at her with such speed that she had no chance to dodge.

"NO!"

Her vision was blurred with a flurry of brown hair before the impact came. The druid's eyes widened with shock and panic as she realised what had happened, and she saw Kili standing in front of her. And then her gaze fell down to the tip of the blade that was sticking out of his back.

She could not breathe, her hands clawing at Kili's back as the orc withdrew its sword and the dwarf suddenly sank to his knees. Arinna sank down with him, hearing her own horrified shriek echo over the cliffside, though it sounded muffled in her ears. Kili toppled over, a breathless sound leaving his throat and echoing in her ears as his body hit the ground.

She barely had time to think, her hands acting of their own volition as she realised that the orc was raising his sword once more to land the final blow on her. She reached out, her fingers closing around the hilt of Kili's heavy sword that had fallen to the ground with him. Still on her knees, she thrusted the sword forward without thinking, her reactions much faster than her frazzled mind. She drove her blade into the orc's knee, the only part of him that she could easily reach, and the beast cried out with rage and pain as she pulled it back out and it fell to its knees, bringing it level with her.

Arinna met the orc's eye, her reactions faster and her aim true, as her blade sliced through the cold air and clean through the beast's neck. The druid watched as its head rolled off its shoulders, before it fell backwards with a dull thud.

She stared for a long moment, unable to think, unable to breathe. Her grasp on the sword loosened until it fell from her hand, the blade clattering loudly as it hit the ground. Slowly, she looked down at the dwarf before her, lying motionless on the cold stone. As her senses slowly returned, so did her anguish at the sight of the blood that was pooling out of Kili's wound. He was on his back now, staring up at the sky, and Arinna realised that he was still breathing faintly.

"Kili," she breathed, her voice barely above a whisper, the dwarf's name catching in her throat as she tried to speak it past her building tears. She reached her hand to his wound, pressing down on it as hard as she could, though she knew that it was no use. The blade had gone right through him, she had seen it with her own eyes. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to let go of him, or to take her hands away even as they were stained red with his blood. "Kili, stay with me!"

The dwarf's brown eyes moved slightly and the druid couldn't help a sob as he met her gaze. Tears were flowing rapidly from her reddened eyes, her breath coming out in heavy bursts as she tried to speak.

"Keep still," she cried, her voice breaking when he just gave her a small smile in return. His breaths now came slow, and with long pauses in between. Arinna shook her head at him, applying more pressure to his wound as she sobbed. "Why did you do this? You idiot, why… why did you do this…"

Kili's smile didn't waver, if anything, his eyes grew kinder as he watched her. His vision was slowly fading and Arinna could see that his eyes were growing unfocused.

"No!" She cried desperately, trying to focus all of her remaining energy into her hands. Knowing that it was no use, she tried to fend off death, as she had done for him once before. "Numonro hor tul ome! Numonro hor tul ome!"

"Because…" Kili whispered, in answer to her question, unable to raise his voice at all, as he felt the blood pooling in his lungs. He knew that her efforts were in vain, he could feel it with certainty this time. Death was waiting for him behind his eyelids with comforting, open arms. All he had to do was close his eyes. He smiled again, bringing one of his hands up to cover Arinna's, just as his uncle had done to him earlier in the battle. When he had still had hope that it would all turn out alright. "Because I promised… to keep you safe. Always… I promised him."

Arinna shook her head again, screwing her eyes shut as she let out a desperate sob. Kili gave her hand a small, weak squeeze. "Take care of him… namadîth."

Arinna's eyes shot open when Kili's grip loosened suddenly and she looked at him, desperately applying yet more pressure to his wound. "No! No, no," she whimpered, as she saw that his eyes were now closed. He did not wince at the force she was putting into her hold; he did not say anything else. He had stopped breathing.

An anguished cry left her as she drew her shaking hands from his body, bringing them to her face as she wiped at the tears that just kept coming. She felt all strength leave her as she looked down at Kili's still form, dropping her head onto his chest and crying desperately into the armour that had proven too little to protect him.

Above her, the sky was beginning to lighten with the breaking of dawn, and great eagles were flying across the battle field, though the druid did not notice.