"It cannot be."
Amelia ducked her head. "I'm sorry Thorin, but it's true. Even now he hunts us. The orc scouts we encountered before Rivendell were his."
Thorin glowered at her, blue eyes dark with anger.
"You did not think it pertinent to tell me?" he roared. "What reason do you have, Phoenix, for failing to inform me of this?"
Amelia sighed and ground her teeth, fighting to keep control of her temper. "I knew no further trouble would befall us before we reached these mountains. Now as the threat draws near, I have informed you. Even still, we've moved faster than we should have. Hopefully that changes events enough that we'll not be troubled by the pale orc."
Thorin's face twisted, and he seemed about to start yelling again when Bilbo called his name.
"Thorin?" Bilbo's voice held none of the shyness it had displayed toward the beginning of the quest, and immediately the king turned to the sound. "Might I have a word?"
Thorin considered for a moment, then sighed and turned back to Amelia.
"Don't think our discussion over," he growled.
With that he and Bilbo dismounted their horses and walked some distance away. Out of earshot they began to discuss things unknown to Amelia. She watched them. Thorin's gesticulations were sharp and angry, his face set in a deep scowl. Bilbo's motions were softer, meant to calm.
She dismounted her horse with the rest of the company, walking a few paces to stretch her legs after riding all day. The company began to mingle behind her, and angry whispers filled the air.
"Well," said Kili. "That was interesting."
Amelia turned to see the dwarf standing behind her with a grin on his face.
"I never lied to him," she grouched. "Nor did I put anyone in unnecessary danger."
Kili nodded. "I know. I believe you. Give Thorin time; he'll come around."
Amelia sighed, glancing behind her. "The rest don't seem too pleased," she commented.
Kili shrugged. "They're loyal to my uncle. Your news was quite a shock. They too shall forgive you."
Indeed, some time later Balin approached. By this time Amelia and Kili were sitting on a boulder at the edge of the company, the young dwarf attempting to lift Amelia's spirits. They glanced up as Balin cleared his throat.
"Might I have a moment of your time?" he asked Amelia. He sent a pointed look in Kili's direction. "Alone?"
Kili rolled his eyes but stood, joining his brother. Amelia remained sitting on her boulder, Balin standing above her. After a long moment of gazing at her silently, Balin sat next to her.
"I had wondered if Azog was still alive," he said at last. "I suspected it to be true, though I'd hoped otherwise."
Amelia nodded. "I could tell."
Balin chuckled. "So you could. I must tell you lass, you're an odd one. Every time I think I have you figured out you surprise me once more."
Amelia lifted an eyebrow. "How have I surprised you this time?"
"By keeping your temper." Balin fingered a loose thread in his tunic. "A month ago, you and Thorin would be in a screaming match at this point. One that would last an hour at best."
Amelia chuckled. "I think we might still have ended up there, if Bilbo hadn't intervened," she admitted.
Balin nodded. "Aye, I think that hobbit is good for Thorin." He slanted a glance to Amelia. "I don't suppose you can tell me anything of the matter."
Amelia shook her head. "Sorry. In the events that I know, they never became more than friends. Though I must say I don't mind the change."
Balin nodded. "Nor I."
They sat for a moment in silence.
"You don't seem upset with me," Amelia said at last. "Why is that?"
Balin stretched, groaning slightly as he did. "You hadn't done anything wrong," he said. "Not this time. A few of the others are slightly peeved, but I think that's just because your news has come as a shock to them."
"It needed to be said."
Balin nodded. "I agree completely. It is best to be ready for what may come, regardless of whether or not it is set in stone."
"I do hope it isn't."
"So do I." Balin reached up to pat Amelia on the shoulder. "But if it is, that's what axes are for. To break it."
Amelia barked out a laugh at that. For a minute the two chuckled lightly together, then faded into silence.
"What exactly was supposed to happen with Azog?" asked Balin. "You were rather vague about it."
Amelia sighed and fiddled with the dark grey fabric of her cloak, which she had taken from Rivendell. "We would escape to the outside of the mountain and regroup there, until orcs and wargs began to chase us. Pursued, we would run until we reached the edge of a cliff, and with no other option climb into the trees. The wargs would tear down the trees, and we would all find ourselves taking shelter in the last, the closest to the cliff. First we would throw flaming pine cones at the orcs, until the tree was torn from its roots by the wargs to the point where it dangled over the edge of the cliff.
"Thorin would go to face Azog alone. He wouldn't make it far though, and would be struck by the pale orc's mace. Then the white warg Azog uses as a steed would bite him, and Thorin would barely be able to loosen its grip. An orc would move to take off his head, but Bilbo would kill it at the last second. A moment later the entire company would come to their aid, and as everyone fought on the mountainside the great eagles of the east would come and save us all."
Amelia glanced over to Balin. The dwarf's face had gone white, and he was staring at Amelia with wide eyes.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have been so detailed."
Balin shook his head, gulping. "No, no, it is fine." He cast a glance to Thorin as though he feared the mountain king would be suddenly lying injured on the ground, but the dwarf was still arguing with Bilbo. Balin let out a shaky breath.
"Well," Balin said at last. "I think it is a good thing you have taken it upon yourself to change our crossing."
Amelia nodded. For a while the two sat in silence, until Thorin and Bilbo began to come back. Thorin still looked upset, though much calmer.
Amelia stood as the king approached, and he came to a stop just in front of her. The company began to group about them, and Amelia guessed they had made bets on the outcome of the conversation.
For a long moment Amelia and Thorin glared at each other, until Bilbo cleared his throat loudly from the side.
Thorin sighed. "While you should have told me-"
"Thorin," warned Bilbo.
Thorin ground his teeth. "While I am displeased by-"
"Thorin!"
Thorin snapped his teeth angrily. "Let me speak, Bilbo!"
Bilbo rolled his eyes, muttering about demented dwarves.
Thorin turned back to Amelia. "I am not happy about your silence," he informed her. "However I understand and accept it. All is forgiven."
"There isn't anything to forgive," muttered Amelia.
"Phoenix!" exclaimed Kili. He gave Amelia a beseeching look. "It's as close to an apology you'll ever get. Take it and run."
"Aye," agreed Balin. "I've not heard him apologize to anyone in over a century."
Amelia sighed and nodded.
"Let us be going," declared Thorin.
He began unloading his bags from his horse, and the others rushed to do the same after exchanging bags of coins. Amelia approached Bilbo as they worked.
"That was quite a sharp tongue you displayed," she told him. "I don't think I've ever seen you yell at anyone like that, let alone Thorin."
Bilbo shrugged. "You spend half an hour trying to work some sense into his thick skull. Your nerves will fray as well."
Amelia laughed. She slapped her horse on the rump, and with a neigh he tore off to the west, back towards Rivendell. Soon the others had done the same to their horses, and the company turned to the mountain towering above them.
"Ready?" Bofur called.
The High Pass of the Misty Mountains lived up to its name. It consisted of a single path on the side of the mountain, wider in some places than in others. Occasionally two of the company could walk side by side, though most often they were forced to move single file. At the path's narrowest points the company inched along sideways, precariously gripping at the rock face behind them.
None of the company was too fond of the heights, Bilbo especially. The hobbit kept squeezing his eyes shut, and far too often Amelia had yelled at him to open them again. She was beginning to get frustrated.
It didn't help that she wasn't too crazy about heights herself. She wasn't anywhere near as frightened as Bilbo seemed to be, but the sheer drop beneath her, combined with how, as far up as they were, they could feel every shift of the wind and every moan of the rock beneath their feet, was making even the Phoenix frightened.
She sucked in a deep breath and forced herself to put one foot before the other. She was towards the front of the group, third behind Thorin and Bilbo. The hobbit all but clung to the king's jacket as he stumbled along, eyes surely shut once more. Amelia would have found their contact amusing were she not focused on her own fear.
"Open your damn eyes, Bilbo," she snapped.
A sudden blast of wind had Amelia burrowing into the cliff to her left. She dug her fingers into the rock, wincing as the rough edges dug into her skin. Gasping in fear, she closed her own eyes as she waited for the wind to pass.
"It's a good thing we crossed when we did," shouted Nori from further back. "In a few days' time this wind will become a full on thunder storm! It would be nearly impossible to traverse these mountains then."
Amelia decided not to point out that it wouldn't have stopped Thorin. Instead she staggered to her feet, continuing forward with the rest of the company.
At long last they reached a wide stone ledge. It rested several meters above the path, and was only just visible in the fading daylight. From where they stood, they determined it was just large enough to house the entire company with relative comfort.
"We should rest there for a bit," suggested Bifur. "If the winds aren't too bad, we might spend the night."
Kili, who was directly behind Amelia, translated.
"No!" Bilbo's face paled at the thought of sleeping on such a rock crag. "Are you insane?"
"Probably," Gloin grumbled. "It is a good plan though. Thorin?"
The king bit his lip. "Let us first see the condition of the ledge," he decided. "Then I shall make my decision."
He began to climb, and Amelia sighed. She herself began to pick her way up the cliff, forcefully keeping her eyes focused upward- anywhere but down.
"Come on, Bilbo," she called.
With that she slipped, and couldn't help a small shriek. A moment later her hand caught on a hold, and she clung to the rock.
"Are you alright?" yelled Kili.
"Fine!" Amelia stayed where she was for a moment, gasping. Then she started up again, moving slowly and carefully until she had reached the ledge. Kili pulled on her hand, helping her up.
"Bilbo!" Thorin called from beside her.
Amelia glanced down, gulping at the sight of the drop far below. On the path Bilbo still stood, gazing upward with a sheet white face.
"No, no, I think I'll just stay here," he called.
Thorin sighed and swung back over the edge of the ridge. On the path he made Bilbo climb onto his back, and then the king leapt back onto the cliff.
Near the top he slipped as well, and it was only Dwalin's quick reflexes that kept both king and hobbit from falling to their deaths. For a moment they hung there, suspended solely by the warrior's hand, Bilbo screaming in Thorin's ear. Then the king found a foothold and pushed up, bringing the two of them to safety.
"I'm never doing that again," moaned Bilbo.
Thorin sent a glare in the hobbit's direction. "Agreed."
"Well?" called Bombur. "What do you think? Is the place suitable?"
Thorin pursed his lips, gazing around him. Here the wind buffeted the company, but the ground was stable and they had cord with which to tie themselves to the rock face.
"Yes," he began to say. "I think we can mana-"
He cursed and ducked as something whizzed over his head, barely missing him. It struck a nearby boulder and spun off, and Thorin turned to see a small group of goblins racing toward them. One of them was already drawing back his bowstring once more.
"Never mind," he growled.
He drew Orcrist, which glowed blue in the darkening air. Two arrows soared over his shoulders, from Kili and the Phoenix. Behind him the rest of the company was drawing their own weapons.
"Behind me, Bilbo," Bofur said. "We'll protect you."
With that the goblins descended upon the company. Amelia continued to fire off arrows until the goblins began to leap down onto the ledge the company was on, and then she drew her dagger and charged into the fray.
The air filled with shouts and screams. Not far off Fili was twirling his twin swords through the air with expert precision, and somewhere off to the side Oin was battering at goblins with his staff. Amelia stabbed a goblin through the throat, then spun and blocked a jab from another that was coming up behind her.
Soon reinforcements came, and Amelia cursed silently. There were beginning to be too many of the creatures for the company.
Off to the side Thorin backed up to avoid two goblins charging him at once. He tripped over the body of an orc, falling with an "oomph." Orcrist skidded out of his hand.
Amelia cursed and threw her dagger. It took down the first of the goblins rushing toward the king, and she dove forward and seized Orcrist, which was about to tumble off the side of the ledge. She had barely stood before several orcs leapt at her, and she did her best to fight without moving around. Hemmed at the edge of the cliff as she was, she would have fallen if she had tried.
Then an orc leapt onto her back. It went to bite at Amelia's neck, and she reached up to grab at its head. As she did she stumbled backwards, and to her horror her foot met empty air.
She fell with a shriek, seizing at the rock with her left hand. Her right still clung to Orcrist, and she nearly took off her own foot with the blade. The goblin on her back fell, then grabbed her again, clawed fingers digging into her skin. It bit downward, into Amelia's back, and she screamed.
"Phoenix!"
Amelia's hold on the rock slipped, but at the last moment a hand grabbed hers. She looked up to see Kili, shaggy hair hanging into his face and panic in his eyes.
"Hold on!" he shouted.
"I am!"
Amelia cried out as the goblin clawed at her back, trying to climb to safety. With a snarl Kili groped around for the sword he had dropped, then reached down and stabbed the creature. When he dislodged his sword the goblin fell, disappearing quickly into the darkness beneath.
"Kili, look out!"
Kili glanced upward as two goblins came charging at him. He knew there was no way he could fight them and hold onto the Phoenix. At the last moment a stone sailed through the air, striking the first on the side of the head. It fell to the ground, and Kili glanced over to see Bilbo searching for another projectile.
The second goblin was still coming though. As its sword descended Kili rolled to the side, still clinging to the Phoenix's hand, and sparks flew as the metal blade struck stone right where his head had been. Kili swung his sword in a wild arc, lodging it in the goblin's armor.
He tried to pull, but the weapon was stuck. Then, to his horror, the goblin began to fall forwards, off the side of the cliff, dragging Kili down with it.
The last thing he heard as he fell was his brother screaming his name.