Chapter 11

For being such large, clumsy creatures, the trolls moved with surprising speed. Two of them quickly tied Dwalin, Bofur, Dori, Ori and Nori onto a spit, intending to roast them over the fire. The third ordered the others to climb into canvas sacks that had once held something so foul smelling that Bilbo gagged as he slipped his feet inside. The sacks were then tied tightly around the captives necks. Satisfied that their prisoners were unable to escape, the trolls heaved the spit over the fire as the dwarves shouted and cursed them loudly. The trolls began to debate how best to cook them.

"Let's just sit on them and squash them into jelly," the first, whose name it turned out was William, whined. Bert, the troll who seemed to have the cooking expertise, shook his head.

"They should be sauteed and grilled with a sprinkle of sage," he growled, slowly turning the spit.

"Never mind the seasoning," the third troll Tom rumbled. He was the one who had thrown Ember. "Dawn is coming, and I want to make sure I get to sample dessert!" He leered over at the motionless figure lying where he had tossed her. Bilbo grimaced at the words, he had to do something!

"Wait! You are making a terrible mistake!" He called. He maneuvered his feet inside the sack, grimacing at the feel of the disgusting burlap, but managing to stand. He hopped towards the trolls, advising them on the proper way to season a dwarf. "I mean, have you smelt them?" the hobbit continued. Kili took advantage of the distraction.

"Ember!" He hissed urgently at her. "Come on, vol kaon, wake up!" The term of endearment slipped past his lips easily, though he heard Thorin catch his breath. "Open your eyes, Ember, come on!" His worried eyes never left her, desperately seeking out some form of movement. He continued to call out softly to Ember, until he heard Bilbo raise his voice.

"The secret to cooking dwarf is to…skin them first!" Bilbo winced as the dwarves began to swear at him in Khuzdul.

"I won't forget that!" Dwalin yelled from the spit, and Bert gave the spit a vicious turn. The dwarves groaned at the change in speed.

"Quiet, you lot! Don't make me spin you too fast! It will spoil your flavor!" Bert grinned at them.

It was to these sounds that Ember sluggishly opened her eyes. She quickly shut them again as a wave of nausea washed over her. She could hear strange voices, and it felt as if everything was too loud. Her head throbbed, and she moaned softly in pain. She cautiously opened her eyes again, and she blinked several times as things came into focus. Kili's heart ached at the sight as she lifted her head, blood still trickling from her forehead. She winced as she raised a hand to her throbbing skull, when Kili called out to her once more. Dizzily, she glanced towards him, her eyes widening at the sight of his head sticking out of a sack. She turned her eyes to the fire, gasping in fright as she saw her friends being roasted. She tried to stand but collapsed as the world spun. Kili struggled in his sack, feeling a slight panic at the state of the girl.

"NOT THAT ONE!" cried Bilbo. Kili turned his head to see that William had picked up Bombur, intending to eat him raw. "He's infected! Got worms…in his tubes! In fact, they all have, they're infested with parasites. It's a terrible business; I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't." The dwarves began to take offence to this, protesting loudly and yelling at Bilbo. Thorin rolled his eyes and kicked Gloin in the back. The dwarf looked at him, then realized that the hobbit was trying to buy them some time.

"I'm riddled with parasites!" Gloin shouted.

"I've got parasites as big as my arm!" chimed Balin.

"Mine are the biggest parasites!, I've got huge parasites!" shouted Fili. Kili's eyes remained fixed on Ember, who was struggling to sit up once again. Suddenly, Bofur cried out in pain and terror from the spit as the flames began to burn him. Kili saw Ember's eyes harden like glass, reflecting the glow of the firelight. With blood still oozing slowly down her cheek, she stretched out her arm towards the fire.

Ember gasped as the heat surrounded her. She could feel the fire, the flames calling out to her, seeking her. She reached out, feeling the pull deep inside as if her very soul craved the fire below the cooking dwarves. The flames began to die, as if someone had doused the crackling blaze in water. As smoke began to rise from the doused coals of the fire, she cried out softly as the power overwhelmed her. Her eyes rolled back as slipped back into unconsciousness again, slumping to the ground.

"What happened to the fire, Bert?" William asked. The cook turned to see his fire had died. He stared in confusion at the ashes, before he turned and glared back at Bilbo.

"You think I don't know what you're up to? This little ferret is taking us for fools!"

"Ferret?" said Bilbo, insulted.

"Fools?" said William.

"The dawn will take you all!" a figure cried, his shadow falling on the small campsite.

"Who's that?" asked Bert.

"Can we eat him too?" William asked. It was Gandalf. The Wizard struck the giant rock he stood on, splitting it in two. The rising sun scorched the skin of the trolls, turning them into stone as their screams and howls of pain echoed through the valley. All the dwarves cheered for Gandalf, save Kili, who was struggling to get out of his sack. Gandalf strode forward, quickly freeing the standing hobbit before turning to the dwarves over the ashes of the fire. Bilbo raced over and quickly freed Kili. As Bilbo worked on the other sacks, Kili kicked off his own and ran to Ember, gathering her in his arms. He yelped as he felt the searing heat of her body, nearly dropping her. She was burning up.

"Gandalf!" He yelled frantically. The Wizard looked up to see his Yuula being cradled in the young dwarf's arms and he moved quickly towards them. As he dropped to his knees beside Ember, he could feel the heat radiating from within her. He closed his eyes, reaching for the power core ablaze inside her. Placing his hand on her forehead, wincing at the hotness of her skin, he began to mutter under his breath. As his containment spell began to take effect, he felt the power begin to loosen its grip on her. He opened his eyes to find Ember stirring, her brow furrowed in pain. Kili stroked her hair softly, whispering in her ear, urging her back to consciousness.

"Bilbo," Gandalf called to the hobbit, who had managed to free the others. "We need water, as much as you can find, immediately!" Bilbo raced off to their old campsite. The other dwarves slowly began to circle closer, worry etched into each face. Bofur dashed forward, dropping to his knees and grasping her hand, with Dwalin following close behind him.

"How is the lass?" Dwalin asked gruffly, unused to showing emotion, but clearly concerned about the young girl who had become such a close companion.

"Her hand is so warm," Bofur said with a worried glance at Kili.

"Kili," a small voice whispered. Kili said a quiet prayer of thanks to Mahal as she opened her eyes, now icy blue and filled with pain. A small whimper left her lips as he gently wiped blood from her cheek.

"Welcome back, vol kaon," he murmured softly, giving her a small smile. Bofur patted her hand reassuringly as Bilbo came stumbling up towards them with three water skeins. Gandalf thanked the hobbit with a quick smile, then turned back to Ember.

"Ember, have some water, my dear" Gandalf said, holding the water skein towards her. She tried to raise her head and winced as the slightly spinning world made her stomach threaten to empty itself. Gandalf looked at Kili, who gently cupped his hand around the back of her neck. She leaned into his touch as he supported her head.

"Drink, Ember," he encouraged, as Gandalf again brought the skein towards her. Sighing, she cautiously opened her mouth. As soon as the first sip touched her lips, she was greedily gulping down the water, as if she was parched with thirst. She felt the fire easing inside her, and her body began to relax. Kili could feel the heat leaving her skin, and though it puzzled him, he stayed quiet.

"Master Gandalf, let me take a look at her," Oin interrupted, his healing bag beside him. The old dwarf knelt down by the young girl. He pulled a clean cloth from his bag and wiped the blood from her face with firm but gentle strokes. There was a laceration near her scalp over her left eye. He examined the wound with a piercing gaze but after several moments, he smiled at her.

"Ah, lassie, you are lucky. The wound bled a lot, but it isn't as deep as I thought it was. It won't need any stitching." The Company breathed a sigh of relief as he bandaged the wound lightly, before handing her a draught of tea. "You've had quite a bad blow to the head, though. Here, my dear, this will help with the pain," the healer said, bringing the elixir to her lips. She grimaced at the foul taste, and Bofur chuckled. Kili rolled his eyes, having had experience with Oin's potions.

"I will make sure she drinks it all," he reassured the healer. Oin chuckled.

"It will help her rest, lad, so make sure she does." Oin patted his shoulder, as Kili encouraged Ember to drink the bitter tonic. Gandalf nodded, satisfied that she was out of danger. He squeezed her hand, and rose to face the others. Thorin approached him.

"Gandalf…where did you go to, if I may ask?" Thorin appeared slightly chagrined. Gandalf eyed him warily.

"To look ahead."

"And what brought you back?"

"Looking behind." They walked towards the troll statues, and Gandalf rapped the stone formerly known as Tom with his staff. "Nasty business. Still, they are all in one piece. Well...mostly." A worried frown marred the wizard's face as his eyes moved back to Ember.

"No thanks to your burglar," Thorin grumbled, still a little miffed at the thought of being eaten. "Parasites indeed!"

"He had the nous to play for time. None of the rest of you thought of that." Thorin glanced at the hobbit, then back to Gandalf. He bowed his head in acknowledgement, as they walked back towards the rest of the Company. Suddenly, he looked confused as a thought crossed his mind.

"How did you put out that fire, Gandalf?" The Wizard stopped, realizing that no one had seen Ember extinguish the flames. Maybe the secret could be contained a little longer...

"He didn't, Uncle," Kili said softly. "Ember did." Thorin looked at his nephew in disbelief, then back to the Wizard, who looked uncomfortable.

"What do you mean, Kili? She was lying unconscious, she could not have put out the fire." Thorin protested with suspicion.

"I know what I saw, Uncle," Kili replied, his eyes finally leaving her face to focus on his uncle. "She reached out and..." he paused as Gandalf placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I think it's time we had a little talk about Ember," the Wizard said. "Once she is feeling better, we will tell her story." Thorin seemed dissatisfied, but finally nodded in agreement.

"Let's move the camp here for the day. We will rest here until tomorrow," Thorin ordered. Ever so carefully, Kili raised the now sleeping girl into his arms, as Bofur brought forward a sleeping roll. Kili gently laid her down upon the roll, then covered her with his cloak.

"Get some rest, laddie," Bofur said quietly. "We will each take our turn watching over her today. She will be well taken care of." Kili looked around at his companions. Although they didn't understand how, they knew that she had saved them from being roasted alive. She had earned not only their trust, but their respect. They would do everything in their power to keep her safe. Kili just hoped it would be enough.

So...what do you think so far? Reviews are always welcomed...