Thranduil's army grew closer and closer as the sun inched its way above the horizon. I could hear the dwarves gathering on the wall behind us, muttering about our army. Maladernil took my trembling hand and squeezed it gently. I rode on his left, Legolas on his right. I had my hood up; I had no desire for Thorin to become a raving mess when he saw whom it was that led the army on his doorstep. Thranduil's army moved until it was an arrowshot away before halting. I could see Thranduil's sneer, his glare as he gazed across the field of battle at his three children. He had wronged all of us, and we all stood in defiance against him now. His soldiers muttered amongst themselves, glancing between their king and their princes and princess. I wondered whom they were really loyal to.

Bard and Thranduil rode through the midst of the army. They stopped before us, eyeing us warily. Bard sat upon his white horse, straight backed and regal. He wanted only to protect his people, nothing more. Thranduil glared at us from atop his hart, blue eyes burning with rage. I stared back calmly. He couldn't hurt me anymore.

Maladernil nodded, telling me without words to move forward. I was the leader here, the spokesperson, if you will. Maladernil was the general; Legolas, the advisor. "Bard, what is your business here?"

"We come to bargain with the King Under the Mountain," he said, eyes flickering from me to my brothers. My eyes were drawn to a bulge in his breast pocket, and my stomach dropped. Bilbo…

"What could you have that he would want?" I asked, trying desperately to keep my voice steady. Please, please let me be wrong… if Bilbo had chosen now of all times to give Bard the stone, right after I had left… all fingers would point to me as the thief. And while I had no wish for Thorin to, say, throw Bilbo from the ramparts, I also had no wish for my betrothed to think I truly had betrayed him.

"If you would allow us to pass, you would see," he answered, stoic. I had a feeling that he was being cool towards me on purpose, to stay on Thranduil's good side for now. I wondered if he knew of the relationship between Thranduil and I. Had he seen my back? My scars? Heard my story?

I lifted my arm and smiled at the sound of the elves behind me parting, leaving a path for me. I turned to my brothers. "Do not move. If something should go wrong…" I trailed off, and my brothers nodded. It was clear they didn't agree with what I was about to do, but they needed to stay on the front lines. I turned and nudged my horse forward, leading Bard and Thranduil forward. When we reached the gate, I moved to ride beside Bard, staring up at the mountain. My hood remained upon my head, covering my hair and casting a shadow over my face.

Thorin stared down at us. The sneer upon his face rivaled Thranduil's. Without warning he pulled out a bow and released the arrow nocked upon it. It struck against the ground at the hooves of Thranduil's elk, and the Elvenking glared up at the dwarf, a murderous look in his eyes. I turned back to Thorin in disbelief. Would he not even consider peace?

"I will put the next one between your eyes," he bellowed, aiming once more.

The dwarves began to cheer, and Thranduil gave a nearly imperceptible signal to his army. As one, the elves drew their bows and placed arrows upon the strings, aiming for the gate. The dwarves, except for Thorin, ducked behind the wall. The two kings stared at one another. I held my breath, frozen. I couldn't protect them against arrows. After an eternity, Thranduil, a smirk upon his face, made his army stand down and sheathe their weapons.

He stared up at Thorin as ice grew in the pit of my stomach. "We've come to tell you: payment of your debt has been offered," he smirked, "and accepted."

The rest of the dwarves rose to their feet. Thorin's bow remained drawn in his hands. I could see them shaking. Kili stood at Thorin's left, and I could see the confusion and fear upon his face. "What payment? I gave you nothing. You have nothing."

Bard, looking just a bit guilty, reached into his vest pocket and removed the Arkenstone. He held it up for all to see, and I closed my eyes, dreading what was to come. "We have this."

Kili spoke then, and his voice prompted me to open my eyes. He looked horrified, completely confused as to how this could have happened. Thorin had lowered his bow, staring at the stone as if in a trance. "They have the Arkenstone. Thieves! How came you by the heirloom of our house? That stone belongs to the king."

At that moment, a burst of wind hit, blowing back Thranduil's hair and whipping my hood back away from my face. Bard did not notice. "The King may have it," he tossed the stone into the air, "with our good will." He replaced it, returning it to its spot in his pocket, and looked up at Thorin, glowering at him. "But first he must honor his word."

"You," Thorin spat, turning his eyes on me. I sat frozen upon my horse, hands gripping the reins to tightly they went numb. I couldn't think. "You did this. You are a snake. You wormed your way into my good will, into my presence, ensnaring my nephew as well! Did you think you could worm your way into his bed? That you could make him trust you? Love you? Do you see her, Nephew? She is a liar, a snake. She never loved you. It was all a trick, all a trick to get the Arkenstone."

I stared openmouthed at Thorin as tears of disbelief burned my eyes, then turned to Kili as I shook my head, trying without words to convey that it wasn't me, that Thorin was insane, lying, wrong—

Kili stared at me in shock, horror, and, worst of all, anger. He thought I had given the Arkenstone to Bard. He thought I had betrayed him. He believed Thorin. He despised me. In that moment, my heart shattered. The look of hate he gave me broke me, and tears rolled down my cheeks. A presence on my right drew my attention, and I looked over to see Maladernil beside me. He took my hand, squeezing it gently.

"Take courage."

"They're taking us for fools." A knowing smile broke on Thorin's face, and it terrified me. "This is a ruse; a filthy lie." He turned back to us, snarling. "The Arkenstone is in this mountain; your spy wouldn't have had the will to take it from me. It is a trick!"

At that moment, Bilbo stepped up. "I-it's no trick." Thorin's face went slack. "The stone is real. I gave it to them. Aeyera has nothing to do with it."

Thorin turned to face the hobbit, and even from this distance I could see the anger on his face fade to betrayal. Kili's look of hatred faded to confusion. Thranduil and Bard turned to stare at me, shock and worry on their faces. Clearly they hadn't thought the hobbit would give himself up. "You?"

"I took it as my fourteenth share," Bilbo told him. My mind whirled, trying to think of a way to save him.

The king's voice had dropped to a near whisper, and I could see the tears in his eyes. Was Bilbo breaking through to him? "You would steal from me?"

I could see the slight smile on Bilbo's face, and a bolt of fear flashed through me as I realized that Bilbo still thought himself safe. He didn't believe that Thorin would hurt him. "Steal from you? No, no. I may be a burglar, but I like to think I'm an honest one. I'm willing to let it stand against my claim."

A mad smile appeared on Thorin's face. "Against your claim?" He chuckled darkly. "Your claim," he repeated, the smile falling from his face. A truly terrible look replaced it, and I leaned forward, helpless, as his growl grew to a shout and he threw down his bow with a clang. "You have no claim over me, you miserable rat!"

Bilbo stepped back. I could still see them from where I was, but I could see no way of reaching them and saving Bilbo, save shooting Thorin, which I could not do. "I was going to give it to you. Many times I wanted to, but..."

"But what, thief?" Thorin growled.

Bilbo's stance changed as his voice grew more powerful, more sure. "You are changed, Thorin. Aeyera was right when she told me of the sickness here, how it has corrupted your mind. The Dwarf I met in Bag End would never have gone back on his word, would never have doubted the loyalty of either Aeyera or of his kin."

Thorin gritted his teeth. "Do not speak to me of loyalty." He stood for a moment, unmoving, as if not sure what way to turn. When next he spoke, it felt as if lightning had struck me. "Throw him from the rampart!"

"NO!" I screamed.

None of the dwarves moved but stared at Thorin in disbelief, refusing to carry out his order. "Did you not hear me?!" he screamed, lunging forward and seizing Fili, intent on dragging him forward and forcing him to obey. The prince wrenched himself away, and the others covered him. Kili stared at his uncle, looking sick, as Thorin turned to Bilbo, who hadn't moved. "I will do it myself." He rushed forward and grabbed him, wrestling him towards the wall. "I curse you!"

The rest of the company surged forward, fighting to get Bilbo away from the deranged dwarf. "No!" Fili yelled.

Thorin continued. "Cursed be the wizard that forced you on this company!"

"If you don't like my burglar, then please, don't damage him; return him to me." The wizard in question appeared beside me, his words cutting off Thorin's. His voice was magically magnified to reach all who stood before and in the mountain, and he looked as angry as ever I had seen him. Thorin froze. Bilbo was pinned under him, shaking and gasping for breath, struggling to free himself. I turned to face the wizard, helpless. "You're not making a very splendid figure as King Under the Mountain, are you, Thorin, son of Thrain?"

As if in a trance—perhaps he was, I did not know—Thorin loosed his hold on the hobbit. Bilbo slipped out of sight, but I could see Fili and Bofur move along the wall, hunched over as if protecting someone.

"Never again will I have dealings with wizards!" Thorin bellowed, "Or Shire rats!"

A rope appeared, falling down the wall, and then Bilbo appeared, shimmying down it as quickly as he could. In a minute he had reached the ground, and in a flash I had dismounted and rushed to him, hugging him tightly. We both were shaking, but mine was more anger than fear. I turned to face the mountain and pushed Bilbo towards Gandalf.

"Go," I told him.

He gripped my hand. "You cannot go up there."

"Watch me."

"No!"

Bard spoke, talking over Bilbo. "Are we resolved? The return of the Arkenstone, for what was promised."

Thorin, breathing heavily, gazed silently out over the horizon, towards the sun. Everything was silent but the whistling of the wind. Kili's gaze locked on mine. His eyes were filled with hurt and guilt. Guilt for thinking I had betrayed him. For looking at me the way he had. Guilt that everything had turned out the way it did.

Bard urged Thorin on. "Give us your answer." All eyes moved to Thorin. Every creature seemed to hold its breath. "Will you have peace or war?"

An enormous raven fluttered down and landed upon the ramparts, cawing and crooning. Thorin gazed at the bird, eyes wide with some twisted hope, and then turned back to the sun. I had forgotten something important. The sound of heavy footsteps finally reached my ears. No. "I will have war."

I turned and rushed to my horse, mounting quickly as Bilbo rushed to stand beside Gandalf. The dwarf army appeared at the top of the hill. "Ironfoot," Gandalf muttered. Maladernil and I rode forward to join Legolas.

"Dain! Dain! Dain!" The company cheered. I felt sick.

Thranduil commanded his army of Elves to march towards Dain's army, and mine moved to better guard the gates. The frigid wind blew my hair back from my face and stung my cheeks, but I could barely feel the cold past the ache in my heart.

I could still see Kili's look of hatred, feel the anger and confusion that radiated from him as the wind had blown back my hood and Bard had pulled the Arkenstone from his pocket. He didn't understand that I did it to protect him, but it did not matter. If I lived past this day, I would explain. Until then, I would fight for him as I always had.

"Do not despair, Aeyera." I looked up to find Maladernil's eyes already on me. "We will not lose this battle."

"I had hoped there might not be one," I murmured. Dain's army grew closer. My army stood between Thranduil and the gates of Erebor, protecting the dwarves within the mountain. My brothers acted as sentinels on either side of me. Every sword we possessed was either in our hands or loosened in its sheathe. My brothers and I wore circlets of white gold and cloaks of bright silver to distinguish the royal family from the others, who wore no crowns and had donned cloaks of green or brown. All the elves present were here because of their love for my brothers and I, and they wanted to be able to tell us apart easily in battle.

"I am afraid that the dwarves have built for themselves a cage they cannot easily escape from, my lady," Gwenithil spoke softly. She was here to fight, to my surprise. I hoped desperately that nothing happened to her; it would break my heart if something happened to her or Aicanar.

"It is their king who had trapped them," Legolas said to us, turning to face us. His cloak and hair whipped around in the wind.

"His mind has been taken," I called, keeping my eyes straight ahead. "His actions are not his own, and although I despise what he has become, he was once my friend, and I hold onto the hope that the Thorin I once knew and served will return."

"It may be too late for that, Celebhiril," Aicanar said softly.

"I hope not."

By this time, Dain and his warriors had moved to stand before my father's army. I could hear the exchange clearly, and despite the ache in my heart I couldn't help but grin as I listened to the older dwarf insult Thranduil. A certain red-haired she-elf caught my eye from amongst Thranduil's soldiers, and I smiled to see that she was grinning as well.

Dain called out in the common tongue, riding his boar to the front of the army. "Good morning! How are we all? I have a wee proposition, if you wouldn't mind giving me a few moments of your time. Would you consider..." his voice lifted to a roar. "Just sodding off?!" The men of Laketown began to pull back in fear, but the elves on both sides stood firm. They seemed calm, relaxed. "All of you! Right now!" If nothing else, his courage and spirit were to be admired. I did not respect him as much as I might have, for I remembered how he had refused to help Thorin retake the mountain, but I respected the loyalty he held for his kin.

Bard looked around at his men, whose courage was quickly dissolving beneath the withering gaze of the dwarf king before them. "Stand fast!"

Gandalf began striding through the men and elves towards the dwarves, Bilbo at his heels. He seemed angry, and very displeased that Dain had arrived here at all. All the same, he greeted the king respectfully, trying to reason with him. "Come now, Lord Dain."

The dwarf king eyed the wizard suspiciously, recognizing him but not trusting him. He seemed to respect him though, since he didn't outright threaten him. "Gandalf the Grey. Tell this rabble to leave, or I'll water the ground with their blood."

"There is no need for war between Dwarves, Men and Elves," Gandalf shot back, glancing around at the pale faced men surrounding him. "A legion of Orcs march on the mountain. Stand your army down."

"I will not stand down before any elf. Not least this faithless woodland sprite." I nearly laughed despite how dire the situation was, and a smile appeared on Maladernil's lips. "He wishes nothing but ill upon my people. If he chooses to stand between me and my kin, I'll split his pretty head open! See if he's still smirking then."

Thranduil glanced around at his soldiers, uncomfortable. Many of the elves under his command were shifting, glancing over at my army. The ones under Tauriel's command were actually moving towards us. I had no doubt that many of them recognized friends or family, and I wondered how many would stay with my father if they were given the choice. "He's clearly mad, like his cousin."

"You hear that, lads? We're on! Let's give these bastards a good hammering!" He ordered his army to prepare themselves, and they began to fall into formation. I am quite certain that all would have been lost had they attacked, but at that moment the sound of an orc horn split the air, and each of the four armies froze.

At the top of the ridge, a black line appeared, partially hidden by the morning mist. I could hear the marching footsteps of thousands of orcs and goblins. Above them a dark mass gathered, twisting and swirling as though alive. Another glance showed that it was, in fact, alive: it was a cloud made up of thousands of bats, thirsting for blood.

"Stand firm," Maladernil echoed Bard's order; not for our army, but for the men, who had frozen with fear.

Azog appeared, and even from this distance it was as though he stared straight at me, straight through me. I shuddered, and Maladernil laid a protective hand on my shoulder. "Stand firm," he repeated softly. "Take heart."

The orc bellowed something in his foul tongue and his army began to surge forward.

"The Hordes of Hell are upon us! To battle! To battle, sons of Durin!" Dain's army started forward, marching to meet the orcs that raced towards them. As I turned my horse around to head them off, I heard a commotion from atop the wall. I looked up to see Kili's eyes on me.

"I'm going over the wall, who's coming with me?" Kili started towards the rope. His eyes burned with courage. He wanted to protect me, to fight for me. I almost wept.

"Aye!" The other dwarves moved forward, following the princes. "Yes!"

"Come on, let's go," Fili ordered.

"Stand down."

My hope turned to disbelief. Surely he wasn't serious. The company turned to stare at him. My brothers rode up beside me.

The crown prince stared at Thorin in shock and anger. "What? Are we to do nothing?"

His uncle all but spat his answer before turned and disappearing from view. "I said stand down!"

I looked back at the battle to see that the distance between the orcs and dwarves was closing rapidly. Thranduil's army was not moving. "To war!" Maladernil's battle cry rang through the air, and I rode beside he and Legolas as we began galloping towards the incoming armies. The dwarves stopped and ducked down, forming a wall of shields.

"We won't make it," I gasped, staring in horror at the dwarves who were standing alone against the orcs. A voice—Bilbo's voice—echoed in my mind. 'I know that Dwarves can be obstinate and pigheaded and difficult. And suspicious and secretive, with the worst manners you can possibly imagine, but they are also brave and kind and loyal to a fault. I've grown very fond of them, and I would save them if I can.' I wondered when he spoke these words, as I had never heard them before, and I wondered if my sight was growing stronger, showing the past as well as the future.

As I stared at the army, Bilbo's words ringing in my head, a sudden flash of sunlight on metal startled me. I gazed in awe, elation building within my chest, at the sight of Tauriel's soldiers, my people, leaping over the dwarf wall to defend them. I let out a joyous whoop and laughed at the look of horror on Thranduil's face. We drew closer to the battlefront, and my chest tightened.

"This could be my last day," I said to Aicanar, speaking over the wind.

"Well then," he answered, glancing over at me with a grin. His wife rode on his right, her dark hair blowing back in the wind. I was reminded of Kili and how he and I would always fight side by side, no matter what. My heart ached for him: I missed him so much. "You'd better make it count."