CHAPTER THIRTEEN

ELIZABETH

As the storm raged overhead, the mountain began to separate right down the middle, splitting the company in half. The ground rumbled beneath as Lizzie's eyes widened and her hand went to grab the soft leather of Kili's jacket sleeve. One moment they were traversing the rugged side of the mountain with rocks falling all around, and the next they were swaying through the air on a massive stone being. An animated, alive giant made of the earth. It was rather difficult to fathom what exactly was happening.

Maybe Bilbo had been right to want the warm comforts of home as opposed to adventure.

"Fili!" Thorin's voice broken rang out against the wind. His face was etched with bewilderment (perhaps far too much than he'd wished to express) as he clung to the rocks, helpless. It took Lizzie a moment to register that the elder Durin brother was trapped on the giant's other leg, which careened out into the abyss. It didn't take long for Kili's expression to match his uncle's.

Lizzie fumbled about under Kili's grip as if to break free, but his hands on her shoulder and waist only tightened when she moved.

"By gods! What are we going to do?" Bofur strained. He cast a glance in Thorin's direction even though the question seemed rhetorical. There clearly wasn't a thing anyone could do to rescue the dwarves on the giant's leg. Heck, even if someone could she wouldn't imagine they would be stupid enough to do it in the middle of the raging storm.

Out into the vast valley they went, screaming and gripping the side of the mountain with all of their might. She could feel the tension and agony of every single dwarf with her, as if their world was slowly being torn apart. None of them could quite make out exactly who had been lost on the other leg in the commotion.

In one swift move, another rock was hurled into the head of the stone giant, and the leg carrying the others was careening into the side of the mountain. She could not help but to think of the blonde-haired dwarf, who both Thorin and Kili were especially fond of. Lizzie's eyes widened in shock and she let out a gasp, which was drowned out by the voices yelling all around her. Kili's hand left her shoulder for a moment to grab the side of the mountain to keep from falling and his body shuddered against hers. Rain violently flecked across her cheeks and she was starting to shiver from the cold wind.

"Quick! The others!" Dwalin roared and moved to where the leg of the giant had collided with the mountainside.

This time, Lizzie was able to break free of Kili's deathly tight grip and she struggled past him, anxious to get to the other dwarves. By the time she had stumbled around the corner right behind Thorin and Dwalin, a wave of relief had washed over her to see the rest of the company struggling to get up from the ground. They had not been smashed into the mountain as they had thought.

"Thank the gods you're alright!" Thorin sighed, lending a hand to Fili, who had been knocked on his back by the impact. "Is everyone alright?"

Most of the dwarves answered with grunts and groans as they hoisted themselves up from the ground and brushed themselves off. Lizzie's eyes flitted over the company, letting out a breath of relief before it tensed back up in her chest. Someone was missing. But who-

"Bilbo! Where's Bilbo?" As the words escaped Lizzies's mouth, the company turned to look at her frantically in realization that they had lost the hobbit. Several scoured the rocks while Lizzie peered over the edge of the mountain, afraid that he had fallen over the edge in the crash.

"Here he is!" Bofur called as he leaned near the edge. Bilbo hung onto one of the rocks near the landing, struggling to hold on for his life in the torrent of rain. The poor hobbit's face looked as if he could have fainted and fallen off the cliff at any minute.

Without any warning, Thorin lowered himself onto the side of the mountain next to Bilbo and pushed him to safety. A huge wave of relief washed over the company prematurely before Thorin slipped, and Dwalin had to grab his arm and hoist him back up onto firm ground. Bilbo let out a frustrated sigh as some of the dwarves helped him up.

"We thought we'd lost you Bilbo!" Gloin exclaimed as he leaned on his axe for support.

"Lost him? He's been lost ever since he's left the Shire. This journey is no place for the likes of him." Thorin scowled, pushing past Lizzie. She exchanged shocked expressions with Kili and Fili before her eyes flitted to Bilbo, who appeared dumbfounded and hurt by the dwarf-king's distaste for him. "Now we must find shelter."

No one could speak up to disagree with Thorin's last statement; shelter was probably one of the best options after that episode.

"Up ahead there looks to be a cave!" Oin pointed straight in the direction where there looked to be some sort of crevice in the side of the mountain. Lizzie was skeptical after a large portion of the mountain turned out to be alive, but they didn't have any other choice. If they risked going on, they might face a repeat of the thunder battle, and they might not come out as fortunate.

Lizzie felt a shiver pass down her spine, partly from the cold air and rain. In one of his earlier drawn-out speeches, Balin had told Bilbo and Lizzie to watch out for caves in the sides of the Misty Mountains; there were things living in the crevices that were worse than trolls, and there were nearly no caves that remained unoccupied. If this were true, they might have an even worse time inside the mountains. She racked her brain, attempting to decide what exactly was the right thing to do.

"Go on Lizzie." Bofur's hand pushed the small of her back toward the entrance.

Fleeing into the cave and dodging in out of the rain into the dryness of the mountain sent a small wave of joy amongst the dwarves, Bilbo, and Lizzie. They were all greatly tired of shivering and being soaked to the bone. It was a fairly small cave which seemed to end abruptly after a few feet or so, and the dimmed light seemed to be a relief compared to the constant flash of lightning.

"It's like walking through a swamp in these." Fili complained as he plopped down in the corner and began to remove his boots.

"Let's get a fire started!" Bombur wiped the water from his brow and a smile appeared across his features.

"There will be no fires here tonight." Thorin stared at the large dwarf pointedly before turning his smouldering gaze to the raging weather outside. "We will wait out the night here and then move on in the morning."

Thorin's statement sent a shock through the company, who were expecting Gandalf to return to them once he had finished with the elves. Obviously, Thorin had other plans in mind. Lizzie became interested in her dripping shirt and boots, trying not to look directly at Thorin's angered expression.

"But it was our plan to wait for Gandalf in the mountains," Balin spoke up as he leaned against the wall next to the dark-haired, brooding dwarf-king.

Thorin's expression did not change, but he opened his mouth to give a curt answer, "Plans change."

His words were enough to silence the company, and none seemed to want to argue with his decision. Lizzie did not think it right just to leave Gandalf when he'd traveled with them so far and gotten them out of trouble on a few occasions, but she took direction from the other dwarves and did not speak up either. Besides, she was too cold, tired, and hungry to think about much else at the moment.

"I suppose we should try to get some sleep for the night," Fili quipped, eyes scanning the interior of the cave.

Lizzie nodded in approval, but found herself searching for the familiar form of Kili. Perhaps she was getting too used to the brown-haired brother of Fili being around; she could not fully settle down once she knew where he was. Especially now since he had taken it upon himself to protect her from the stone giants. She soon locked eyes with the handsome dwarf, who was emptying his shoes as his older brother had done when he entered the cave. She shivered, pulling her arms against her small frame.

"You should take your boots off Lizzie, it looks like you're freezing," Kili's eyes darted down to her boots and she let out a soft hum of agreement before untying the laces. Fili was right- it did feel like she was sloshing around in a swamp in those things. "Let me have your cloak."

Kili's hand was now extended in front of her and one of his eyebrows arched expectantly. She shrugged the cloak from her frame, lifting the heavy weight from her shoulders, and put it into his hands. Most of the dwarves and Lizzie had settled into a comfortable silence as they tried to free themselves from as many layers of damp clothing as they could. Even though Lizzie felt an extra chill from the removal of her cloak, she was glad to get the drenched thing off of her.

Bilbo followed suit but began to unroll his bedroll, grumbling about the chill of the air and the catastrophe that he'd just witnessed. They ignored his complaints, being used to his constant wish to be back in the comfort of the Shire, or rather, his lack of knowledge for what adventure was really like.

Kili had plopped himself beside Lizzie and stretched his arm around her shoulders as if it had become the norm. She was grateful for his warmth; so much so that she was too tired to send a sarcastic remark in the direction of his older brother, who wouldn't stop looking at her with a stupid amused grin plastered across his face.

He was just trying to be a gentleman. Really, Fili could learn from his younger brother.

Lizzie shifted, leaning into his shoulder before she laughed and mumbled, "Kili are you usually this protective?"

"Not usually, he isn't." Fili chuckled, earning a quick glare from his brother.

"I'm just worried." His voice rumbled against her back, and she furrowed an eyebrow.

"Worried? Who wants to worry themselves over me?"

The blonde-haired prince answered for his brother again, "Kili does."

Her cheeks flushed slightly and she shivered at the shift of his hand brushing against her back. She silently thanked the gods that he probably thought she was just cold. Whatever the conversation was even about, she was growing slightly uncomfortable. She didn't say a word, and nothing more was mentioned between the three as she shut her eyes and drifted into a restless sleep.

After what seemed like only a few minutes passing, Lizzie woke up to hear soft voices coming from the front of the cave. She rubbed her eyes and noted that she had rolled directly into Kili's chest and he had his head on top of hers. Her sleepy eyes scanned the cave around her, and her ears noted that the deeper voice was Bofur's and the other was perhaps Bilbo. They stopped abruptly, as if they had been distracted by something, but Lizzie still could not find it in her to move.

And all the sudden, Thorin's thundering voice rang out against the cave walls. "WAKE UP, WAKE UP!"

The sound of sand moving and slipping through a crevice caught their attention, Kili jolted from his sleep, and Lizzie turned to see the ground turning into a massive crack. Oh, she could move now.

The next moment, they were falling through the floor, and Lizzie found herself wondering if they would ever get a break.

BILBO

Sticky-fingered goblins pawed at Bilbo's maroon jacket. The creatures seemed to come out of nowhere from every direction, swarming and groping with their misshapen hands. Out of all, Bilbo appeared especially disgruntled; he might have been used to sleeping on rocks and being covered in filth, but this place took uncleanness to a whole new level. In all his years living in the Shire, he had not once experienced something so vile. Nor had he been this scared out of his wits before.

In a few seconds, the goblins had pushed him about so violently, the hobbit ended up on his hands and knees. He peered wide-eyed up into the vast cavern as the wave continued to roll around him, taking note of the wooden scaffolding and bridges leading up in what seemed like an eternal maze. A foot swiftly caught his stomach and Bilbo averted his eyes from the ceiling.

Strangely, none of the goblins seemed to note that they had lost Bilbo in the confusion. Only Nori, who was busy struggling with three goblins attached to his arms and legs, seemed to observe that he was being left behind. Nori offered Bilbo a confused glance before he was dragged away with the rest of the company. An understanding Bilbo could not place passed between the two, and Nori opened his mouth to speak, but extended no warning to the others. What he could achieve by escaping the grasp of the retreating creatures, Bilbo could not figure out.

Bofur's shocked expression disappeared with the last of the goblins rushing around the corner. The screeching and howling grew softer as they traveled further and further to who knew where, and Bilbo was left in silence. He waited for a moment, on his hands and knees, as if he could not fathom that the goblins had actually overlooked him.

He frowned and felt as if the daunting silence had brought a weight down onto his small frame. What was he supposed to do? There was no way back; only the way forward in which the goblins had violently pressed on.

Bilbo stood, balancing himself on his feet as if he were steadying himself from a bought of dizziness. Quickly, his palm pressed to the hilt of his sword and he yanked it from its sheath, glowing brilliantly blue against the darkness that surrounded him.

It was now or never. He contemplated the never for a split second.

His sizeable feet carried him over a rather unsteady bridge and he crouched, his breath hesitating against the damp air and his own pulsing heartbeat rushing in his head. His hands shook as he held his sword, clammy from a veil of perspiration.

"For the Shire," Bilbo mumbled as he edged onto the precarious wooden bridge, "Not the Sackville-Baginses, bless them."

Quickly, Bilbo's feet carried him half the length of the unsteady ground. He faltered for a split second, peering down at the depths below him. If he were to fall-

Suddenly, Bilbo no longer had a moment to ponder what would become of him if he tumbled over the edge. With beady eyes glaring up at him and heavy breath, a goblin had landed right in front of him. Instinctively, he jumped, but could not bring himself to attack the creature. It hissed, baring its pointed crooked teeth, and caught Bilbo's left side.

The hobbit reared in surprise and attempted to pry the thing off of him, but lost his footing on the edge of the bridge. Surely, he would wind up dead somewhere below the depths of that treacherous goblin cave. His vision blurred and his back impacted the side of a very hard rock.

And then... blackness.

When he recalled it a few hours later, hidden underneath a pile of mushrooms, he remembered only a short struggle that had escalated into a long fall.

Thank all of you lovelies for being so fantastic!

Also, is it just me, or has Dean O'Gorman gotten more freaking O'Gorgeous lately? Literally he is slowly now becoming my favorite ;)