Discalimer: I only own Marie, everything else is not mine...sadly
A/N: I apologize ahead of time if this chapter feels odd in any areas, I had a lot of trouble with it! You can only describe people running around in so many ways. ;) Enjoy!
Chapter 6: Radagast the Brown
Marie started as Thorin ran past them and Kili jumped from his seat on the rock. He grabbed her around a wrist and pulled her along behind him toward the others.
"Stay together!" Gandalf called out. "Hurry now, arm yourselves!"
Kili's gentle hands pushed her behind him as they came to the group and he drew his sword. She turned as Dwalin came to her side, axe drawn and ready. 'Arm yourself. That's what Gandalf said.' Marie thought to herself as she pulled the blade Dwalin had given her from it's leather home. He hadn't had the time to show her how to use it, and she knew by the unfamiliar weight that she had never held a weapon, but it didn't matter. These people had taken care of her and protected her, now she was determined to do the same, even if it killed her.
"Thieves!" A voice cried out ahead of her. Both Dwarves shifted to better shield her from the danger that approached. "Fire! Murder!"
A sled crashed through the trees, causing a few of the Dwarves to jump out of the way before they could be run down. Marie tried to see the rider, but the bolt of arrows on Kili's back blocked her field of vision, and every time she tried to scoot around him for a better view he shifted to cover her.
"Radagast." Gandalf let a sigh of relief pass his lips as he greeted his friend. "It's Radagast the Brown." The rest of the company relaxed as well and Marie could finally move around her protector, although he remained close by, sword drawn.
The man was as tall as Gandalf, and probably as old by the look of him. He had a hat similar to Bofur's perched upon the nest of his hair, a literal nest if the bird feces that ran down near his face was any indication. The clothes he wore blended into the environment around them almost seamlessly, so much so that Marie guessed if he stood still he would look very similar to a tree. He seemed to be troubled though as he told Gandalf of the evil that lurked in the woods and spoke of places that she neither knew by name nor cared. She turned away from the unique man toward his sled, happy to be distracted from the bug that Gandalf was pulling from the man's mouth.
She was happily surprised to see that rabbits, not dogs, pulled the stranger's sleigh. Though larger than most rabbits, they were no less adorable. Each of them hopped around her as she took her time patting each one on the head. The ears of all of them perked simultaneously as an eerie howl went through the air, drawing everyone's attention.
"Was that a wolf?" Bilbo asked, again nervous, but this time with good reason to be. "Are there wolves out there?"
Bofur moved about, eyeing the woods around them. "Wolves? No, that is not a wolf."
A hulking figure caught Marie's attention on the high boulder behind him and was about to shout out a warning, but the creature was bearing down on her knocking her onto her back before she could make the sound. Marie moved her head just as the creature's sharp teeth bore down on her, narrowly avoiding her face being mauled. It's weight fell heavily upon her as it slumped onto her, forcing the air from her lungs. She looked up at it to see the feathered shaft of an arrow sticking out of it's head. Kili ran over, pushing the creature's body off of her at the same moment that another beast burst into the fight, quickly dispatched by Thorin's sword and Dwalin's axe.
Marie was still reeling from the shock as Kili helped her to sit up, holding onto her shoulders as she got her bearing. He knelt beside her, concern in his eyes. "Are you alright? Did it bite you?"
"No." She told him, staggering to her feet with his help. "No, it didn't get me. Thank you for saving me. What are these things?"
"Warg scouts." Thorin grunted out, using his body weight to pull his sword from the dead Warg's head. "Which means an Orc pack is not far behind."
Gandalf turned to him. "Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?"
"No one."
"Who did you tell?!" Gandalf bellowed suddenly.
"No one, I swear. What in Durin's name is going on?"
"You are being hunted."
"Hunted..." Thorin turned to look at the company, his eyes falling on Marie and filling with sudden anger. "YOU!" he shouted. Before Marie knew what had happened Thorin was upon her, ripping her from Kili's grip and pushing his sword against her throat. "You lead them here, didn't you?! You're a spy!"
"No!" She pushed the exclamation past the tightness in her throat. "I didn't do anything!"
"Thorin!" Kili shouted, moving foreword to come to her aid. "Stop! It wasn't Marie! I've been watching her this whole time, I haven't let her out of my sight!"
"He's right Thorin, leave her be." Gandalf told him as more animal cries sounded around them. "We have more pressing matters to attend to."
Thorin looked into Marie's eyes for a moment more, searching for something that she couldn't discern. Finally he let her go, a slightly chagrined look on his face. Marie could tell without words that he was apologetic and nodded slightly to let him know she had no hard feelings. Kili was once again gripping her by the shoulders, studying her throat for any marks that may have been made by his uncle's weapon. She had no hard feelings toward Thorin, Kili was another matter.
"Watching me?" She spat out at him, ripping her arms from him and stepping away. Had she been some silent prisoner? Had Kili been suspicious of her as well? The wounded look that had crossed his features told her no, but she didn't let the guilty feeling that sprouted from the hurt look he wore stop her. She needed time, time away to think.
"We have to get out of here." Dwalin said, shifting nervously, looking about for more Wargs.
"We can't!" Ori shouted running over the rise. "We have no ponies. They bolted!"
"I'll draw them off." Radagast spoke up.
"These are Gundabad Wargs." Gandalf brought up. "They will outrun you."
"These are Rhosgobel rabbits... I'd like to see them try"
"Ok, let's go!" Thorin called out.
Marie stopped by Radagast the Brown as he was checking the lines on his sled. She reached out, gently laying a hand on his arm. "Thank you. We can never repay you. I hope you come out of this whole and in one piece."
Radagast looked down at her, giving her a gentle smile. "And I hope the same for you. Don't worry about me, my dear. Now go, swiftly!"
The gentle shove that he gave her sent her off to join the company in what seemed like an endless amount of running. Marie's lungs burned as they moved from rock to rock, and more often than not in circles as Radagast seemed to lead the pack back toward them with every turn.
They stopped for a moment, leaning against one of the boulders to take a moment to breathe. Marie wasn't sure about many things from the years that her mind forgot, but given the ache of her lungs she felt she could safely assume she was not athletic.
Above her she could hear a shuffling and snorting sound and she threw her hand over her mouth to mute the ragged sound of her breathing. The Warg seemed to have caught their scent and was getting closer to the edge of the rocks. It was so close! Any moment now it would find them and draw the rest of the hunting party over to them and they would be outnumbered and doomed.
Thorin must have had the same thoughts as Marie. He cast a glance at Kili, who nodded at his uncle before notching an arrow into his bow. Marie's heart froze as he took a deep breath, cast an apologetic look her way and threw himself out from under the safety of their shelter. He quickly released the arrow, notched another and sent it flying above them as well. The Warg fell down in front of them, howling loudly in pain, the shaft of Kili's arrow sticking out of it's chest. The rider jumped from off of the Warg's back, and Marie received her first glance at an Orc.
The creature looked somewhat like a Troll, although shorter by quite a bit. It had grey skin, rimmed black around it's beady yellow eyes. It's nose looked as if someone had broken it flat against it's face and it had never healed properly. It's teeth were horrible and rotting in it's mouth, sticking out at odd angles. Marie gasped in fear as it came lumbering toward her, sword raised. It was blocked from her view as the Dwarves swarmed onto it, like a swarm of angry bees, slashing and stabbing at it. The Orc's and Warg's death cries were echoing around them...too loudly! Marie backed against the rock face, hands over her ears as she tried to block the horrible sounds out.
Finally, the creatures were both dead and the noises stopped echoing around them, leaving in it's wake a deafening silence. Howls in the distance broke it, alerting the party to the fact that they had been found.
"Move!" Gandalf shouted out. "Run!"
And with that they were off again, running for their lives once more. They crested a hill and had to immediately double back as Wargs were waiting for them, only to find more waiting behind them. Thorin stopped abruptly ahead of her, almost knocking her off of her feet, as he caught sight of more riders ahead of them.
"There's more coming!" Kili shouted from behind them.
"We're surrounded!" Fili called to them, backing up to them, swords drawn.
"Where's Gandalf?!" Dori asked. Marie spun around, only now realizing that he was missing.
"He's abandoned us!" Dwalin growled out, furious.
'No!' Marie thought. 'He wouldn't do that to us. Something must have happened to him!' She moved closer to Thorin as he held his sword high, gripping her own tightly. Kili stood a few meters in front of them, firing arrows into any Warg or Orc that came too close.
"Hold your ground!" Thorin shouted out.
"This way, you fools!" Gandalf's voice sounded behind them, She turned just in time to see him disappear into the rocks.
"Come on, move!" Thorin ordered and all at once everyone headed toward the hidden passage. "Quickly! All of you!" He stood in plain sight, as a beacon, while one by one the men followed Gandalf down the hole.
"Thorin!" Marie cried out a warning as a Warg came charging up behind him. He turned just in time to swing his blade and slice into the creature, killing it instantly. By the time he was finished everyone was down the hole, except for Fili, Thorin, Marie and Kili who was still firing arrows into Orc and Warg alike.
"Kili!" Thorin shouted, Marie could hear desperation in his voice as he called to his youngest nephew. "Run!"
Marie watched, holding her breath, as he turned and ran toward them. Fili, satisfied that his brother was coming, jumped down into the tunnel, holding his arms out to Marie as she leapt after him. He pulled her out of the way just as Kili came sliding in, followed directly by Thorin.
A horn sounded in the air above them, along with the sounds of arrows and battle. Marie looked at Bofur, only to be met with the same questioning look. None of them seemed to know what was going on. Someone pulled on Marie's arm as an Orc came flying into their cavern, rolling to a stop inches from her feet. Gandalf rounded on it, poking it in the face with his staff. It was dead already, an arrow broken off into it's throat. Thorin bent down and tore it from the flesh, examining it with disgust.
"Elves." He sneered, throwing the arrowhead onto the ground.
Marie breathed a deep sigh of relief as she looked around to her friends, eyes resting on Kili she felt the relief fade and her anger return. She didn't want him hurt, and she was still happy he was alive. Even if he only saw her as a prisoner and a threat. He must have seen the change, he gave her a questioning look as he allowed his brother to pat him down asking if he was injured.
"I cannot see where the pathway leads." Dwalin called out ahead of them. Marie turned away from Kili's dark gaze and followed Bofur toward the gruff Dwarf. "Do we follow it or no?"
"Follow it, of course!" Bofur called out, holding Marie by the hand to lead her through.
A/N: Thanks so much for all of the kind reviews! New chapter next week!