Sorry for the wait, lovelies! Here is chapter five!
Review and enjoy!
~:Elven Kat:~
I tagged alongside Balin as we searched for the cave. I could hear Fili and Kili walking behind me, mumbling something about revenge and how it was not right for me to tease them.
"What is it you wanted to ask me, Alivyan?" Balin asked.
"Yes, well, I was wondering..." I began, not sure of how to start this.
Balin looked at me questioningly as he waited for me to continue. It was now or never.
"Is it possible to marry two dwarves at once?"
Balin's eyes grew wide for a moment before a small smile settled across his lips.
"It is possible though it is very rare. So rare, in fact, that it has happened only three times," he explained.
"And how does one go about doing so?"
"You must get the blessing of the King."
I fell silent. I had to get Thorin's blessing? I let out a string of curses under my breath as I looked to Thorin who was walking ahead with Gandalf.
"That is not very befitting for a lady," I heard Kili say.
The two brothers had caught up with me and I noticed a mischievous look in their eyes.
"I am not a lady," I growled, putting my nose in the air.
"And stop looking at Thorin. You're making us jealous," Fili added.
"You? Jealous?" I asked with a laugh. "Why?"
"Because, we like it when you look at us," Fili replied as Kili nodded.
I grimaced as my Elven senses picked up a horrible smell. The two brothers, obviously not smelling it yet, looked at me in confusion.
"What?" Kili asked.
"Troll cave," I stated, covering my nose with my hand.
I watched as the smell finally reached the others as we neared the cave.
"I am not going in there," I announced.
Fili and Kili readily agreed as did many others. So it was only Gandalf, Thorin, Nori, Bofur, Gloin, and Dwalin who went in. I stood with Ori, commending him on his bravery and accuracy with his slingshot.
"Thank you, Alivyan," he said, blushing furiously.
I threw my arms around him in a hug.
"Come now, Ori. No need to blush!" I cried, gaining the attention of Fili and Kili. "Show me your drawings. I would love to see them."
It was a well known fact that Ori was a wonderful artist. I was never fortunate enough to see his drawings as there was never much time to look but I thought now I would be able to see them. Still blushing, Ori reached into his pack and pulled out several pieces of parchment. I leafed through them, recognizing the faces of our companions. Fili and Kili came over to us just as one drawing caught my eye. The female was definitely me. And the two males that held me were Fili and Kili. I was leaning into Kili, my head pressed against his chest while his arms were wrapped around my shoulders. Fili stood behind me, his arms around my waist. All three of us were looking forward. My face had a slight smile on it while the two brothers had a fierce look of protectiveness in their eyes. Every detail, down to the last strand of hair, was captured beautifully.
"Ori, this is amazing!" I breathed. "Really."
I showed it to Fili and Kili who nodded to Ori in approval. The ones who had gone into the cave finally returned. I noticed Thorin carrying a new blade. It was an Elvish blade.
"I thought you disliked the Elves," I teased him as he approached.
He glared at me and said nothing. Suddenly, I heard a sound coming from the woods.
"Something's coming!" Thorin warned.
Quickly, I strung an arrow to my bow and aimed at the trees toward the sound. A group of large rabbits appeared, pulling a sleigh. A man, wearing shabby brown clothing and carrying a staff, was holding onto the sleigh.
"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" he cried as the sleigh came to a stop.
"Radagast!" Gandalf greeted the man. "Radagast the Brown. What on earth are you doing here?"
So this was the fifth wizard. I lowered my bow slowly, un-notching the arrow and placing it back into my quiver.
"I was looking for you, Gandalf," Radagast said. "Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong."
"Yes?" Gandalf urged.
Radagast made to speak but stopped, as if he had forgotten what he was going to say. He did this a few more times.
"I had a thought but I've lost it! It was right there, on the tip of my tongue!" he cried.
I tilted my head in confusion. This man was very...odd.
"Oh!" Radagast exclaimed. "It's not a thought at all. It's just a little...stick insect."
Gandalf reached into the other wizard's mouth and pulled out the insect, letting it dangle for a moment before dropping it into Radagast's hand. I shuddered a bit with disgust. He was most definitely one of the oddest men I had ever met.
~:✿:~
Gandalf and Radagast had stepped aside to talk for a bit while the rest of us milled about, still thoroughly confused by the wizard's appearance. I sat on my haunches in front of the rabbits who had come with Radagast. Carefully, I stuck my hand out and allowed one to sniff it. We all came to attention when a howl pierced the air.
"Was that a wolf? Are there wolves out there?" Bilbo asked with uncertainty as I stood, unsheathing the sword that hung by my side.
"Wolf? No, that is not a wolf," Bofur answered.
I knew that howl. That was most definitely not a wolf. It was worse.
A growl came from above us and I turned just in time to see a Warg pounce on us. The Dwarves made quick work of it, burying their axes and swords into its flesh. Another came from the other side, only to be brought down by a well-placed arrow from Kili and finished off by Thorin's new Elven blade.
"Warg scouts. Which means an Orc pack is not far behind," Thorin growled.
"Orc pack?" Bilbo said.
"Who did you tell about your quest beyond your kin?" Gandalf asked angrily.
"No one," Thorin answered.
"Who did you tell?" Gandalf asked again.
"No one! I swear! What in Durin's name is going on?"
"You are being hunted."
Hunted? How? Why?
"We have to get out of here," Dwalin said.
"We can't!" Ori cried. "We have no ponies! They bolted!"
"I'll draw them off," Radagast announced.
"These are Gundabad Wargs. They will outrun you," Gandalf told him.
"These are Rhosgobel Rabbits," Radagast retorted, motioning towards his sleigh. "I'd like to see them try."
~:✿:~
I hated running. I was fast, yes, but I still hated it. Especially if I was being chased. Every so often, we would have to stop as they chased Radagast across our path. On one of these occasions, we had to pull Ori back forcefully in order to stay undetected. We flattened ourselves against a rock, waiting for Gandalf to say it was alright to continue. I froze when I heard a growl above us. One of the filthy beasts was standing on the rock, obviously looking for us. Thorin looked to Kili, nodding his head towards Kili's bow. Silently, Kili drew an arrow from his quiver and notched it to the string. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward, turned, and fired. The arrow struck the Warg and another followed soon after, hitting the Orc that sat upon its back. It howled as it came crashing down in front of us.
"It's alerted the others to our whereabouts," I whispered to Thorin as the others killed the beasts as quickly as they could.
"Run!" Gandalf cried and we took off again.
We did not make it as far as I had hoped before they started to close in on us. I looked around wildly, seeing them surround us.
"There's more coming!" Kili yelled.
"Kili! Ali! Shoot them!" Thorin roared.
Swiftly, I notched an arrow to my bow and fired. I watched as it buried itself into the head of a riderless Warg.
"We're surrounded!" I heard Fili shout.
"Where's Gandalf?" someone else added.
"He's abandoned us!" Dwalin said.
Ori, brave little Ori, fired a stone from his slingshot, hitting a Warg in the eye. The Warg did not seem to notice and kept advancing on him.
"Hold your ground!" Thorin yelled, unsheathing his sword.
I fired one more arrow before looking back at my companions. Was this going to be our death? Please Durin, do not let us die. Suddenly, Gandalf appeared from behind a rock, answering my prayers.
"This way you fools!" he yelled.
One by one, the company jumped behind the rock. Pulling my last arrow from my quiver, I aimed towards another Warg. As soon as I fired, I felt someone grab me and pull me back.
"Fili," I breathed.
He half-smiled at me, pulling me towards the rock.
"Kili!" Thorin called.
Kili, with an arrow still strung to his bow, ran towards us. Fili slid down beneath the rock to join the others. Kili and I followed him with Thorin coming last. We looked up towards the entrance when we heard the sound of a horn and hoofbeats. Then came the death cries of Wargs and Orcs alike as arrows whistled by overhead. I jumped back just in time as an Orc came tumbling down into our midst. Upon further inspection, we found him to be dead. Thorin pulled an arrow out of the body and studied the tip.
"Elves," he said, throwing the arrow aside with disgust.
My heart skipped a beat. Elves? I had never met another Elf before. Not even my own mother. She had disappeared not long after I was born, leaving me with my father.
"I cannot see where the pathway leads," Dwalin said from the other end of the space we were in. "Do we follow it or no?"
"Follow it of course," Bofur replied.
Pathway? I followed Bofur and indeed there was a path, leading on into the rock. As we walked, the path became smaller. Poor Bombur had to squeeze his giant gut through many times. Finally we reached the end. The view took my breath away. There stood a majestic city, hidden away amongst cliffs and surrounded by green trees and waterfalls. It was...beautiful.
"The valley of Imladris," Gandalf announced. "In the Common Tongue, it's known by another name."
"Rivendell," I heard Bilbo say quietly.
"Here lies the last homely house east of the sea."