Curses flowed through my lips in a constant stream as I killed yet another Orc. The battle field was chaos. Orcs, Goblins, and Wargs against Men, Elves and Dwarves. The allied army of Dwarves, Elves and Men were badly outnumbered by the enemy that rushed over the land like a river of death. I was doing my best, my two swords in hand as I cut through as many as I could but they just kept coming!

The madness around me didn't disorient me too bad as I fought like a wild cat, even though I did not realize that I was unwittingly pushed into the middle of the valley until it was too late. I cursed vehemently under my breath at my luck. I could not possibly be in a location that was any worse. Elves, Dwarves, and Men all mingled together, locked in the most intense battles against the Orc and Goblin army

The battle ground was a cacophony of screams and clashing sounds from metal striking heavily against metal. The horrid stench of blood was inescapable, especially when trapped between the throngs of fighting against the never ending waves of Goblins, Orcs and Wargs. Some Orcs were even throwing rocks at us to try and crush or injure as many as possible.

Looking around quickly, I spotted the cliffs of the Southern spur looming above the fighting crowd, atop which the Elven king and the Elven archers were firing volleys of arrows at their foes. Just as I was about to gather my wits to throw myself back into the fray, a loud thundering roar sounded from above, startled I looked up and all those around me looked up as well.

To my horror and to the dismay of my allies, a fresh wave of Orcs had appeared to join the battle and they were so numerous that from a distance, they looked like a menacing swarm of swirling black mass. They had descended along the northern ridges of the mountain, recklessly streaming down to rain fresh hell on the armies below.

The Elves and Men, whose spirits were high just moments ago from their quick work against their foes, were quickly surrounded and all hopes for victory evaporated in an instance. Thranduil and his group of archers tried valiantly to defend their position, which gained him a brownie point in my mind but they were slowly losing ground to the onslaught of attacks. With the Southern spur being overrun by the advancing Goblin cavalry, my plan's to find the others were dashed to pieces and my heart sank at the foreboding thought.

Shaking my head firmly I roared orders to the Men, Elves and Dwarves nearest and furiously slew any enemy in my path. They hesitated at first, not knowing the crazy woman in front of them fighting like a hell demon but I believed they thought better to do as I said instead of telling me no. Fighting quickly and running with all my might to any bunch of allies that looked like they needed a hand I yelled till I was hoarse and even then kept yelling encouragement, threats the the enemy and orders as the others gathered their fleeting courage and fought once more with greater ferocity.

I saw the Dwarves loosing ground and raced to help them, slaughtering all in my way. I lost track for a bit before I finally saw Dain. A Troll was running towards him and he didn't seem to see it as he took on a group of Orcs on his own. I grabbed a discarded spear by my feet, and ran towards him. Dain was just turning when I yelled, jumped and slammed the spear into the Trolls head. The force of my hit sent it toppling over onto three Orcs who screamed when they got squished. I jumped off and looked at Dain. He looked startled, mouth agape, "Where the bloody hell did you come from?"

I whipped my blade up and beheaded an Orc coming at me from the side as I said pleasantly, "Dain right? A pleasure to meet you." Then I spun and cut down another Orc as I heard him demand to know who I was as he killed an Orc at my back. I flashed him a grin through the blood on my face, "Ariana." He chuckled and said as he took down three Orcs at once with a mighty swing of his hammer, "Nice to meet you."

0o0

We fought well for a bit but the Orcs were starting to over run us. I was grateful for the Mithril vest when blows just bruised and didn't cut. I got separated from Dain as I ran to help some of the fallen Dwarves to fall back to the Mountain. Something cracked across my senses and I looked up in time to see a section of the barricade by Erebor's front gate come crashing down in a deafening crack, kicking up a large cloud of dust and debris. With a mighty chorus of battle cries that resonated across the valley, Thorin and his Company of Dwarves charged majestically from behind the lowered barricade and into the fray of battle. The Dwarves had all discarded their travel-worn cloaks to replace them with spectacular pieces of glittering Dwarven armor, no doubt salvaged from the treasure horde. Ruthlessly, they cut into any enemy that stood before them with Thorin at the front of the charge, swinging his deadly battle ax in powerful strikes.

One by one, Wargs and Orcs alike fell to their mighty blows, Dain raised his voice to shout at the Dwarven army to go to their king. Meanwhile, Orcs from above the mountain were continuously pelting rocks at the newcomers to the battle but luckily, Thorin and his company managed to escape unscathed. Pride swelled in me at the sight of the King under the Mountain, but I also felt a deep pang of pain, sadness, and residual anger. We had not parted on good terms at all but I hoped that one day, the Dwarf would understand my reasons for giving the Arkenstone to Bard.

But he wouldn't understand if we were both dead!

An Orc rider barreled towards me, and I jumped to the side, blocking the strike and dodging teeth. "Right, I could lament all I wanted after escaping from this valley of hellish death and pain!"

Right now, I needed to know where the Company had gone and saw the Warg was about to bite my head off. Whipping my blades into a blur of attacks the Warg's head flew off as it's rider split in half at the waist. Urgently looking around again, I couldn't see where any of them went. I raced for Dain. He pounded an Orc into dust and I demanded, "Where did Thorin go?"

"What's it to you?"

I grabbed him by his front and pulled him close, "I don't want to see that stubborn ass get himself killed! Where did he go?!" Somehow Dain looked intrigued and impressed at the same time as he said, "After Azog."

Cursing I let him go and looked for a moment before I saw the surge of Dwarves and Men who heeded Thorin's call, and quickly followed. I hadn't gone far when I realized something. Killing the group around me, I stood completely still. A different thundering was reaching my senses...from the North! Cursing my luck or rather lack there of, I hurried forward to warn Thorin.

I reached the narrow neck of the valley with relative ease, but before I could continue forward, I heard battle cries from a pair of familiar voices. I turned around to see who was in trouble and sure enough, I spotted Ori and Bofur being pressed on all sides and valiantly fighting to escape. "They must have separated from the rest of the Dwarves" I realized and without any hesitation, I raised my blades and charged towards my friends to help. "The Dwarves might not like me for what I had done, but I definitely do not return their sentiments!"

A blur of red and silver death, I hacked through the enemy like they were paper, my fear for my friends putting extra power behind my blows as I desperately tried to reach the two Dwarves before they were overwhelmed.

My breath was coming out in gasps, my lungs felt as if I was breathing flames and my heart was pounding through my chest but I did not dare to stop or slow down. My blades and clothes were being smothered under the thick coat of black Orc blood, but I didn't notice as I continued to drive forward relentlessly until I slid to a stop behind a spear-wielding goblin who had taken aim at Bofur's unprotected back. Using both swords, I struck swinging both blades towards the Orc in opposite directions.

He was cut in three pieces and crumbled as another Orc saw what I had done and I took off it's arm as it struck. He shrieked loudly in pain when he realized that he was missing arm from beneath the elbow, only to be cut abruptly off when I cut off it's head. I saw Bofur spin around from the unexpected noise, only to catch sight of me. I cracked a smile in relief as both Ori and Bofur stared, "Hello gentlemen. Nice day for a battle yes?"

Not waiting for an answer I spun when a snarling Warg pounced in my direction, only to die at my feet when I stabbed it in the eye. Glancing back, I saw both Dwarves charge back into the fray and judged they would be alright. I was preoccupied again when a group of Orcs attacked but heard, "Thanks Ariana!" "Come on!"

I called, "Go on! I'll be there in a sec!"

When I finally looked up again, I caught just a glimpse of Bofur and Ori retreating further into the east.

"That's probably where everyone is," I realized. I bolted after them without a thought, dodging the numerous dead on the ground and ducking from the blows that were unwittingly slung at my face by the enemies only for them to die by my swords. One did get a lucky cut on my arm and when I killed the Goblin that had done it I quickly dug a bandage out of my pocket and in a flash wrapped it so that I didn't bleed too bad and charged on. Only to be cornered by a group of five Orcs and forced to fight for my life. I killed three easily but one got behind me and grabbed my braid in an iron grip, thinking to immobilize me. But as I spun, cutting off the arms of the Orc lunging at me from the front, I whipped my other sword up behind me and cut my hair off at the nap of my neck. The Orc stumbled and died with my blade in it's eye. I barely glanced at the braid still in it's grip before I dashed back into the fray.

Looking around frantically I finally spotted Fíli's bright blond hair just as a large, fearsome Orc managed to connect a blow with his spiked mace against the Dwarf's right shoulder. The powerful attack knocked Fíli off his feet and he was sent flying headfirst to the ground with a loud thud. My blood ran cold at the sight of the young Dwarf lying unmoving on the ground and I cut through anything in my frantic effort to get to him. Kíli had already moved to stand in front of the Orc to protect his brother's prone form; the image of such a massive, lumbering opponent facing a fearless smaller one was almost comical but I, having been in the same situation time and again, could relate.

I spotted Legolas about 20 feet away to my right, taking on a troll as Tauriel stood at Kili's back. They were both suddenly over run as I watched in horror and with a roar I cut my way to them and ripped apart any enemy in front of me. Tauriel and Kili protected each other as they protected the prone Fili, until Kili blocked a attack at Tauriel's back and took a blow to the chest. He went flying and hit hard, Tauriel crying out and taking up position to defend him, getting her arm clipped by a spiked hammer in the mean time.

I approached the enemy's blind side just in time to see the Orc raising his mace over his head with both hands, prepared to deliver a crushing blow to the Dwarf's skull. Gritting my teeth at the sight and feeling a surge of protectiveness along with fury coursing through me, I skid to a stop in front of Kili and thrust both swords with all my might, cutting right through it's armor. The Orc froze in mid-position and then, feeling the sharp agony of his wounded chest, flung his mace to the ground to clutch at his chest, howling. His large, flailing arms hit me across the face before I could yank my blades free, sending me rolling backwards until I smacked right into a very surprised and relieved-looking Kíli. The unexpected impact knocked both of us backwards and together, we landed in a heap of sprawling limbs on the ground.

"Well, at least I had someone to cushion the fall," I thought sarcastically as I sat up to get off poor Kili. My cheek was throbbing in time with my heartbeat and by the Goddess! That smarted! "Owwwwwww," I growled.

Tauriel hurried over as I slowly got to my feet I held out a hand to Kili, "You alright?"

He nodded, looking sore and bruised and still looked bemused, "Where did you come from? I didn't even see you until you appeared in front of that Orc!"

I cracked a pained grin, "I'm quick. Fili?"

We ran over to Fíli and gently rolled him over to his back. He was breathing and there was a thin trail of blood trickling from his shoulder down to his arm, but it was hard to gauge the extent of the damage under the thick metal armor. I gently talked to Kili, who was almost beside himself in worry. But it was Tauriel that took charge and on her orders we lifted the unconscious Dwarf, taking great care not to put any pressure on his shoulder, and moved him under a slab of jutting rocks, away from the thick of battle. It was the safest place we could find on such short notice, and it would have to do. All the while, I could hear Kíli muttering incredulously under his breath: "Quick!? Quick! Damn lightning fast!"

We deposited the blond Dwarf in the new location and Kíli quickly loosened the clasp to Fíli's chest piece. Thankfully, the armor had taken the brunt of the damage and aside from a few scratches, there was very little bleeding. The shoulder, however, was dislocated and Tauriel had to work quick. I watched for enemies as Tauriel took the shoulder in her hands, felt for the right spot then with a solid pop, put the joint back where it belonged.

"Do you know where the rest of the Company is?" I asked hurriedly as I turned and took Tauriel's obviously broken arm in my hands and to her surprise fashioned a rough splint. Waving Kili over, "Yes, they were where you found us, a little further to the east."

Kíli got up after doing a final check to make sure that his brother was fine for the time being. "I can take you there." Then he did a double take and gasped, "Ariana! Your hair!"

I grinned at him and waved him off, "It'll grow back Kili. And your needed here." Tauriel and Kili looked at each other and I smiled when I saw what was in their eyes, "Take care of your brother and each other. I'll find the others." Kili grumbled curses at the Orcs and Goblins for taking my hair as Tauriel thanked me and I properly introduced myself. I was greatly amused by Kili worry over my hair but hid it so that it wouldn't upset him more. Then I paused and smiled at her, "I think you two will make a great couple." I didn't know she could blush like that and I ducked Kili's swipe before running off.

I backtracked to the place where I had fought the Orc. At the sight of the massive body and my sword sticking out of it like pin cushions, I suddenly realized that my daggers wouldn't do much good here and I was practically weaponless and vulnerable. I would have to retrieve my swords first before I could go anywhere and with that in mind, I opened my senses. It was hard but I thought I finally sensed more Dwarves to my right.

Grabbing first one sword, and yanking it free I tried to tug out my other sword. But it was tightly caught in the beasts armor. Gritting my teeth I propped my foot against the dead Orc's side and pulled with all my strength. A disgusting squelch along with a gush of black blood and I tried not to gag at the overwhelming smell of coppery blood.

Another resounding roar rose from the valley and with a sinking feeling of utter dread, I looked around to see what new hell has arrived now. To my great surprise, the warriors around me were cheering in victory at the sky, at what seemed like a great flock of mighty birds that were rapidly approaching. I continued to stare like a loon, entranced until I recognized our new allies.

The great Eagles of Manwë had joined the battle! And taking on giant bats that were covering the sky! I squinted and laughed when I saw Radagast riding one as well.

I whooped and cheered along with the Elves, Men, and Dwarves, completely elated by the arrival of these majestic, noble-hearted creatures. I was so busy celebrating that I completely missed the medium-sized boulder arcing steadily towards me until it crashed into the side of my head. Bloody hell.