We arrived at the farm where the orcs were camped just after sundown, and waited in the brush until the sky had fully darkened. I watched in fear from where I lay beneath the foliage with Ara as the orcs demolished the place. The field had been completely burned down; the crops that would have given the owner's their winter's meals were completely gone. The orcs sat currently at the edge of the pasture, using wood torn from the barn to roast a few sheep that had not managed to run away in time.

"I don't see my father," I whispered, squinting in the hopes of finding him, or any other hobbit for that matter. "Do you think they could have killed him?"

"No," said Ara, "I watched them drag him into the forest while we got your sisters and brothers out. If they really wanted him dead they would have done it right then and there."

"But what if he isn't here? What if he escaped?"

Ara swallowed, glancing down at the bomb he held in his fingers. "Then at least we could get avenge him by taking these orcs out."

"And destroy the farm?"

"It's already destroyed!" he exclaimed in a loud whisper. "At the very least we can prevent something like this from happening again."

An orc grunted loudly in the distance, and we both stilled, not daring to breath. I clutched the wet grass beneath me as I waited for any signs of our discovery. None came.

"When do we move?" I asked.

"In the next few minutes." Ara said, pushing the bomb into my hands, soon following it with flint and steel. "Their firelight should block out anything more than a few feet away. I'm going to search for him and anyone else that they might have kidnapped. You're going to stay here with the bomb just in case. If or when I find them, I'm going to come back and set it off. If something goes awry however… well… you do know how to use flint and steel, correct?"

I puffed. "Obviously."

"Good," he said, rising carefully to his feet. "Wish me luck."

"Be careful," I hissed, and he grinned before running off.

I watched as he dodged between trees and the burnt lumps that remained of the crop, crouching down quickly every time an orc turned. I could not help but think how great a thief he would make, should he choose to put his assets to that field.

My heart leapt into my throat as an orc stood, peering out into the general direction that Ara was in. I wanted nothing more than to scream at him to stop, to crouch down and wait until the orc had returned to its activities, but Ara was oblivious and kept ambling through the outskirts of the camp.

The orc however, didn't seem to notice him, and slowly went back down to his knees. Ara continued on and I let out a sigh of relief.

"What was that?" I heard a rough, guttural voice question from my right. I turned to see two orcs that seemed to be on patrol not ten feet from me. How had I not heard them?

"It came from over there," one said, and they slowly began to approach the bush I had been hiding in. I bit my lip and tried to pull my knees up to my chest, but only caused the branches around me to rustle.

"Ha!" One of them exclaimed as they came closer. And despite my fervent prayers, one of them latched a hand onto the back of my shirt and lifted me up from the ground. I immediately cried out, my heart rate increasing tenfold as I struggled to get out of the orc's grip.

"Looks like we left one hobbit behind," he sneered, pulling out a rusted, jagged knife. The orc beside him sniggered. "We'll soon take care of that."

I kicked as hard as I could until my foot came into contact with a knee. He howled in pain and dropped me. Terrified, I immediately tried to scramble away, but before I could get a few feet the other orc seemed to catch up, and his foot connected with my ribs. I gasped and turned onto my back, only to realize my mistake when the end of his spear touched my chest.

"It won't hurt for long, little one," he growled, dark eyes flashing.

I took a breath, preparing myself to die.

Only- the strike never came. Instead I heard the loud thud of something hitting the ground, followed by a high pitched shriek. I sat up to see that the orc that had been standing over me was now laid flat out on the ground, a throwing axe lodged in his chest. The one I had kicked in the knee was crumbled on its stomach, the handle of a knife stuck out from the folds in its rather primitive armor.

I glanced around, breathing harshly. Before I could get to my feet another orc was running towards me, shouting something in its guttural tongue. I scrambled back, elbows scraping against the grass in a vain effort to escape. Before the orc could reach me however, someone had reached it.

It was a dwarf, I noted in confusion. He had shoulder length, curly blond hair and a rather thick build. He had jumped atop the orc from beside it, felling his axe into its skull and then pulling away with a shout. He glanced around and swung his axe again, decapitating another orc that had followed.

He looked back at me, blue eyes flashing. "Who are you?" he shouted amidst the chaos, taking another swing at an oncoming orc.

"I could ask you the same thing," I enquired, getting to my feet.

My eyes widened. Unlike I had expected, the majority of the orcs were actually at the other side of the camp, chasing after- I swallowed in fear.

"Ro!" Ara shouted as he ran, "Ro, set it off!"

With shaky hands I stooped to the ground to collect the explosive, as well as the flint and steel. "What are you doing?" The dwarf asked from beside me, but I paid him no mind as I struck my tools together, and with a strange amount of luck, set the fuse alight on the first try.

I stood then, not sure of how much time I had before the bomb was set off, then took my aim, hoping that my arm would be able to throw it the fifty yards it would need to go.

"Let me-" he started, but the explosive left my hand and sailed through the air. I watched as it landed amid the mass of orcs on the other side of the camp, feeling sick that I could no long here Ara's shouts.

"How far will the explosion go?" asked the dwarf beside me, and my eyes widened with realization. I was almost too late to grab him by the collar and pull him to the ground; before we even fell the sky was filled with fire, my ears ringing against the impossibly loud boom that echoed in my skull. I grunted harshly as the dwarf fell on top of me, he was quite a bit heavier than he looked, and he looked rather heavy.

My eyes opened briefly to see a pair of people peering down at me. I recognized them as my mother and father. The earlier was resting her head against my father's chest, tears streaming down her face. "Hang on," she whispered, and I blinked twice, my gaze leaving her and then reaching the white tiled ceiling above me. All seemed to fade.

Finally the air cooled down and the noise ceased. I coughed as he rolled away from me, smoke filling my lungs. I spit harshly in an effort to dispel the intrusive gas, and with that I shakily got to my feet, peering through the smoke at what was once a simple farm.

The surrounding treetops had been set ablaze. The barn was practically gone, and charred rubble covered the field. Not an orc was in sight.

Almost as if in a daze, I stepped over the crumbled bush I had been hiding behind and made my way forward, wiping away the tears that streamed from my irritated eyes.

"Ara!" I called out, his name soon followed by my own harsh coughs. No one responded. I called out again, feeling my stomach drop as I came to the very possible realization that I could've just killed my best friend.

"Ara!"

"Wait-" a voice from behind me piped up, and I turned to see the blonde dwarf that had protected me. "You don't know what's out there."

I ignored him, taking another step forward. "Ara!"

I stumbled over a charred lump, but dared not look down at what was sure to be the remains of an orc. I nearly gagged as my eyes settled over the ground ahead. There were an awful lot of charred lumps. Tears filled my eyes; one of them must have been Ara.

My heart sank as I reached the edge of the forest without a sign of my friend. I found myself pulling at my hair as I did when I was under stress, letting out a half sob as I found myself alone and defeated. I had lost my father, and now my friend.

"Ro…" a trembling voice echoed, and I turned quickly. "Ara?"

"I'm over here." He gasped, and I followed the sound of his voice, letting out a cry of relief as I found him laid out beside a tree, a hand pressed to the bleeding hole where his right eye had once been.

"You're alive," I said, falling to my knees beside him.

"Most of me," he said, a half grin- half wince on his face.

I reached out to take his hand from where it rested against his face, but he held it fast. "It's gone," he affirmed. "Definitely gone."

"Was… was it the explosion?" I asked, and he shook his head softly. "The orcs decided to have a bit of fun with me when they caught me. If you haven't noticed, my pinky finger is also missing."

I nearly vomited as I looked down at the bleeding stump of an appendage. Dear Yavanna…

"I'm so sorry…" I said softly, taking off my over coat and pressing it against the hole where his eye had been to stifle the bleeding, as well as to save me from gazing at it a moment longer. He grunted in pain, but allowed me to do it all the same.

"I couldn't find your father," he admitted, left eye slowly meeting mine.

"It's alright," I assured, although I felt my heart fall a bit at his news.

He sighed, bloody hands resting in his lap as he let me tend to his wound. "It was worth a try, I guess. Who's this?"

I turned my head to find that the blonde dwarf was indeed still behind me, a look of concerned plastered onto his freckled face.

"You know, I'm not actually sure." I said, "Who are you?"

The dwarf coughed, "My names Fili."

"That's right well and all," said Ara, "But what are you doing here?"

Fili glanced at me for a moment. "I saw…"

"Ro," I suggested.

"Ro," he said with a nod. "I saw Ro get cornered by a couple of orcs, and decided to do what I could."

"Glad to know you're a semi respectable person," Ara grunted. "Now if you'll kindly excuse me, I think I'm about to lose consciousness, so do you imagine you could…"

He leaned forward suddenly, head drooping. With soot covered fingers I helped him to sit up against a tree, he was out cold.

"I need to get him back to the shire." I said, more to myself than to Fili.

"I have a healer nearby," suggested the dwarf. "No less than an hour away."

My eyes narrowed. "How can I trust you?"

Fili shrugged. "The shire is two days from here. Infection will have set in by then."

I glanced over at Ara, who was wincing in his blood loss induced sleep. Feeling my heart grow heavy in fear for him, I nodded.

Hesitantly, the dwarf moved to scoop up Ara in his arms, and my friend let out a gasp as he was lifted from the ground. The blonde glanced at me, his eyes stern. "This way," he said, turning to the east.

"Fili," I asked, stopping him. He turned back to me, and I felt my eyes go to the forest floor to avoid his gaze.

"Thank you."

He laughed- a short dry one that caused me to wonder if he really felt any humor in those moments. "Don't thank me yet."

A/N: Hey everyone! Busted out another chapter as I got more inspiration. No idea where I'm going with this… well... some of an idea. Romance is to come, just not sure who between. Fili, Ara, or Kili, maybe a different OC or anything else you guys want to suggest. Let me know what you guys think of this!