Chapter 8

They had been walking for only a few minutes when they came upon the troll hoard. It was nothing but a tunnel, dug straight down into the Earth. As Arirua got closer, she gagged from the stench that was rising from the hole.

"Oh, what's the stench?" Nori asked as they got closer to the opening.

"It's a troll hoard." Gandalf informed Nori. Arirua stepped back, not wanting to go in. "Be careful what you touch." Gandalf told the ones that entered the cave. Deciding to go in, Arirua took one last deep breath of fresh air and ventured into the hole. The tunnel lead down, and as it went down, the stronger the stench got. Arirua and many of the other dwarves that had come in began coughing. Arirua couldn't help but gasp slightly at the things the trolls had managed to gather.

As Thorin's torch past over an area on his right, there was a gleam of gold. Bifur, Nori, and Gloin were instantly drawn to it.

"Seems a shame just to leave it lyin' around. Anyone could take it." Bifur commented, kicking at some of the gold coins that were splayed out across the dirt floor. The fair haired woman just shook her head. She glanced around, taking in the piles of things that their previous captors had acquired.

"Agreed." she heard Gloin say. "Nori," Arirua heard the top of something slam shut and knew that Gloin had caught his friend off guard, "get a shovel." Arirua just shook her head, laughing silently to herself at the dwarves and their love for golden trinkets. Taking an interest in the hoard out of curiosity, Arirua began pawing her way through one of the piles of odds and ends.

She looked up when Thorin passed over her; he made his way to a small wrack that held different kinds of swords. He grabbed one, only to throw it aside and grab two different ones. The one in his right hand Gandalf took from him. It had a long grip with simple detailing. It was a long, straight and thin blade, covered in cobwebs and dust, but beautiful all the same.

Arirua rose to her feet; even from where she stood, she knew that these were no ordinary blades. Thorin kept one of them. It too had a long grip that looked wooden thought she knew it was something far stronger. The cross-guard was only on one side, curved and delicate. It was a curved blade, like the slight curve of the crescent moon she had watched cross the night. It suited Thorin, Arirua decided. Living with the elves she knew that swords picked their wielders, not the other way around.

"These swords were not made by any troll." Thorin said, examining the sheath and the hilt of the blade.

"Nor were they made by any smith among men." Gandalf said. He pulled the blade from its sheath only slightly, enough to look at the blade itself. "These were forged in Gondolin by the High Elves of First Age." the wizard said after studying the blade for a moment. Arirua quickly walked over to Gandalf, placing out her hands, asking the wizard if she could see the sword. Gandalf agreed and passed her the sword. As he did so, he saw Thorin trying to place the sword he had kept back into the wrack. "You could not wish for a finer blade!" Arirua passed Gandalf back his sword.

"He is right Master Thorin. These are swords that have seen battle. They have names, though I do not know enough about them to tell to you." Arirua could feel her temper rising slightly. "These swords should not be here. They belong in battle, not sitting here collecting dust." She turned to Thorin. "Take the blade. It will be good for this weapon of war to see battle again. As Mithrandir said, there are no finer blades in all the land." The star's hand rested upon Lalar. Thorin looked at her and suddenly pulled the sword of its sheath, studying the blade. Gandalf put the blade back into its sheath as he returned to glancing around the dirt cavern.

Deciding that she had had enough of the smell and the anger she was feeling, Arirua began to leave the cave, but not before she stopped to see what the dwarves had done with the shovel. While she, Gandalf, and Thorin had been looking at the swords of Gondolin, they had dug a small hole and filled a small hole and filled a small chest to the brim with gold; they then placed the chest into the hole and began to rebury it. Her eyebrows furrowed at them and glanced at Dwalin, who just shrugged.

"We're makin' a long term deposit." Gloin informed them as they filled up the hole. Arirua laughed and continued her way out of the tunnel, lungs screaming for clean, fresh air. As she made it out into the sunlight, she heard Thorin calling to the others to exit the tunnel. That meant they were leaving soon. They still had to go back and get the ponies and supplies but soon they would be back in the saddle.

Arirua stood in the sunlight, looking around. She saw Bombur talking to Dori about something she couldn't make out. She saw Kili trying to figure out what Bifur was saying. Thinking of Kili made Arirua blush slightly.

Arirua slowly walked alone, looking up at the sunlight, bathing in its pure light. Before she had fallen from the heavens, she had never felt the sun's light. Sense surviving the fall, Arirua decided that it was something she enjoyed very much. The sun had a certain warmth to it that the moon sometimes lacked.

There was a rustle in the bushes close by. Arirua quickly pulled Lalar from its sheath, brandishing the long silver blade in her right hand.

"Something's coming!" she heard Thorin yell. The dwarves quickly gathered together and Arirua found herself standing next to Fili. Fili flashed her an encouraging smile. Suddenly, a group of rabbits, pulling a sleigh with a man dressed from head to toe in brown, came barreling out of the bushes.

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" he yelled. The man stopped short when he realized that he was surrounded by dwarves brandishing weapons.

"Radagast!" Gandalf said with a sigh of relief. Arirua quickly placed Lalar back into her sheath, knowing that Radagast was not one to cause harm to anyone. "It's Radagast the Brown." Gandalf said, assuring the company that he did indeed know this man. Mithrandir walked over to him, weaving his way through the company. "Ah. What on earth are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you Gandalf." Radagast said in a hurry. "Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong."

"Yes?" Gandalf asked, waiting to hear the news that had brought the wizard all the way from his cozy little home in the woods, far away from the people of Middle Earth.

Radagast opens his mouth to begin his tale, but he shut again. He repeated the process two more times. Arirua quickly realized that once more, Radagast had forgotten what he had been about to say.

"Oh, just give me a minute. Um, oh, I had a thought, and now I've lost it. It was, it was right there, on the tip of my tongue." Suddenly his eyebrows bunched together. "Oh," he said realizing something, "it's not a thought at all; it's a silly old…" he said with his tongue curled up in his mouth, making it difficult to understand. The company watched as Gandalf took a stick insect off the brown wizard's tongue and place it in Radagast's hand. "...stick insect." The company looks slightly disturbed, except Arirua.

"I see that you have not yet changed Radagast." Arirua said, stepping forward. "It is good to see you again."

"Ah, yes, of course, it's, um, it's you!" he said stammering. Arirua smiled gently, knowing that he had forgotten who she was entirely.

"Arirua." she said, supplying her name for him.

"Ah, yes, of course. You were the one that Elrond sent to me about the arm." he said, remembering. He momentarily got distracted as a small brown bird flew past.

Radagast pulled off his hat to show off to the bird nest to the bird that had been placed on top of his head. The small bird flew and landed in the nest before the wizard placed his hat back on his head. "Let me see. Let me see." Arirua jumped back, bringing her hand up to her shoulder, shielding it from him.

"I do not think that this is a wise idea Radagast." Gandalf said, "Come along and tell me what is bothering you Radagast." As Mithrandir lead him away, Arirua let out a sigh of relief.

"Are you alright lass?" Fili asked.

"Yes I am fine. Just need a moment alone, that's all." Arirua quickly walked away from the company, following Radagast and Gandalf as she went.

"The Greenwood is sick, Gandalf. A darkness has fallen over it. Nothing grows any more, at least nothing good. The air is foul with decay. But worst are the webs." she heard Radagast say to Gandalf. She frowned, thinking about the elves that lived in the Greenwood. Arirua heard movement from over in the area they were standing. As quickly as she could, she ducked behind a rock and curled up slightly to hide from Gandalf.

"Webs? What do you mean?" Gandalf asked the other wizard.

"Spiders, Gandalf. Giant ones. Some kind of spawn of Ungoliant, or I am not a Wizard. I followed their trail. They came from Dol Guldur." Radagast explained to Mithrandir. Arirua tried to steady her breathing. These tales that the brown wizard told were not things to be laughed at or pushed aside; they were living nightmares.

"Dol Guldur? But the old fortress is abandoned." Gandalf asked, surprised at the name. Arirua's eyebrows scrunched together; Dol Guldur never meant anything good. A great darkness lay over that part of the land.

"No, Gandalf, it is not."

Arirua heard rustling of the company and knew that she should return to them soon, knowing that they would come looking for her sooner or later. The young woman got up quickly and tiptoed away from the two wizards.

"There you are. We were beginnin' to worry about ya." Bofur said as she walked back to where the company was.

"Thank you for your concerns. I just need a moment alone." she said in reply. She quietly walked over to where Kili was standing, trying not to blush at the sight of him. His words came back to her, a wave of emotion following them. Arirua quickly shook them off.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she got closer to him. Kili looked up from his work and a smirk crept across his face.

"Fixing my arrows you either broke or bent during our fight with the trolls." he said teasingly. Arirua frowned at him in a joking manner.

"I will have you know, I saved your life more times than you can count. I believe that those bent and broken arrows represent how many times your life was saved. How many arrows do you have?"

"Thirty maybe. Give or take a little." he said, guessing.

"Then it is now thirty to zero. I am winning. I believe that you in fact owe me now." she said, trying not laugh. Kili looked at her and laughed with her.

"I believed that you will find that it is one to thirty. I saved you from that fall you took earlier, if memory serves me right." he said to her. Arirua felt her cheeks begin to get warm again. She felt a light touch under her chin, directing her to look at him.

"I meant what I said. Earlier I mean." Kili told her. Arirua looked him in the eyes.

He had meant to say it. she thought to herself, smiling on the inside.

"Truly?" she asked quietly.

"Of course…" he said to her. Arirua couldn't help but smile at him. His eyes shone with truth, something about it told her that she could trust the words he said to her.

Suddenly, an animal howl rang through the forest.

The dwarves all jumped up, looking around. Arirua stepped back from Kili, scanning the woods for the source of the bone shaking sound.

"Was that a wolf? Are there-are there wolves out there?" Bilbo asked nervously. Arirua shook her head; she didn't want to face that sound.

"Wolves? No, that is not a wolf." Bofur said looking around them. Arirua looked at Kili and he nodded. She slowly pulled Lalar out of its sheath.

Suddenly, there was a crunch of twigs and leaves behind them. Then came the growling started. The warg came creeping down from behind them, growling and snarling with its matted fur and long, sharp teeth. It leapt over the ones closer to the fallen star and Kili. Upon landing, the beast was instantly cut down by Thorin. As one came running up from behind Thorin, Arirua could hear Thorin yelling at Kili to get his bow. The dark haired dwarf quickly pulled out one of his newly fixed arrows and shot the creature in the eye, causing it to roll down the hill. Once reaching the bottom, Dwalin brought his hammer down onto the beast's head, instantly defeating it.

"Warg-Scouts!" Thorin said as Gandalf and Radagast returned to the company after their conversation. Thorin pulled his sword from the beast before continuing. "Which means an Orc pack is not far behind." Arirua frowned, subconsciously stepping closer to Kili. He gave her a feeling of comfort.

"Orc pack?" Bilbo asked. Arirua remembered him hearing about the orcs from the brothers. The gruesome tale that Balin and them had painted was only scratching the surface.

"Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" Gandalf asked Thorin.

"No one."

"Who did you tell?" Gandalf bellowed.

"No one, I swear." Thorin told him. "What in Durin's name is going on?"

"You are being hunted." Gandalf said, looking around the clearing. Arirua slide closer to Kili, needing more of his comforting feeling.

"We have to get out of here." Dwalin said.

"We can't." Everyone turned to look up at Ori who must have gone to get the ponies. "We have no ponies; they bolted."

"What of Elenduriel?" Arirua asked Ori.

"We couldn't find your horse miss. Seems as if she's bolted too." Ori told her. She's gone home. thought Arirua.

"I'll draw them off." Radagast said suddenly. The company turned to look at the brown wizard.

"These are Gundabad Wargs; they will outrun you." Gandalf said, turning to look at his friend, trying to reason with him.

"These are Rhosgobel Rabbits;" Radagast said with a determined look on his face. "I'd like to see them try."

As Radagast mounted his sled, the dwarves quickly began to gather up what they could. Enough that they would have previsions but not enough to slow them down.

When Radagast shot out of the trees into the wide open plain, Gandalf peaked around the corner of the boulder they were hiding behind. As soon as he was sure the orcs and their wargs were following Radagast he motioned for them to follow him.

"Come on!" he said. The dwarves all quickly ran out from behind the boulder in small clumps or alone. Arirua ran between Fili and Kili as often as she could. They ran down a small hill covered in rocks. Arirua could hear the shouts of orcs and the growling of wargs on the other side of the cliff. The company kept closer to the tall and rather large stones that seemed to grow out of the ground along with the brown grass.

Thorin took the lead of the company, leading them away from the rocks. Suddenly, they saw Radagast pass by on his sleigh. Everyone froze in place, not daring to breath. "Stay together." Gandalf told them. They all quickly turned around and took off running. Everyone was running as fast as they could, but somewhere beginning to feel the effects of lack of sleep and food. Arirua's speed began to slow. She hadn't had a good sleep in a long time and she could feel her energy level draining. A hand grabbed hers. She looked up to see Kili's face.

"Can't have you falling behind now can I?" he said. "Run." he whispered.

Her speed increased. They continued running until Thorin suddenly stopped.

"Ori, no! Come back!" he said, pulling the youngest of the company back into the shadows. Running across the plain from them were the orcs. Arirua crinkled her nose; she could feel her hatred burning. They were filth, nothing more. They were creatures that did not belong in a world so promising as Middle Earth.

"Come on! Quick!" Gandalf whispered loudly. The dwarves began running in the way he had motioned.

"Something about this place is familiar." the star whispered silently.

"Where are you leading us?" Thorin asked as her and Kili got closer. Gandalf gave him a weary look, and Arirua suddenly frowned, wondering if Gandalf was brave enough to do such a thing. The hatred between the two of them was so strong.

As they ran over another hill, they saw the rabbits and sleigh; as quickly as they could, they all ran to the closest rock to hide in its shadows.

Then they heard the growling from overhead and the blade being pulled from its sheath. All the company stopped breathing for a second, scared that they would be caught by the orc.

Thorin nodded to Kili, who slowly and quietly pulled an arrow from his quiver and strung it. He ran out in front of the boulder and pulled back the arrow, letting it fly as soon as the warg snarled at him. Kili shot the warg three times until it finally fell of the rock and in front of the company. The warg let out a cry, loud enough that Arirua knew that the rest of its pack had heard. The orc pulled himself out from underneath his steed and lunged at the company.

Instantly Dwalin and Arirua leapt into action. Dwalin attacking from the right and she from the left. As she brought Lalar down for a strong blow, she was pushed back by the orc. The shove sent her rocketing backwards towards the boulder and the company. She expected someone to catch her, to stop her, but that didn't happen. A split second after the shove, the back of the star's head hit the boulder. Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground. She was instantly surrounded by the company but all she could hear was Kili.

"Arirua!" he kept saying. "Arirua, can you hear me?" The woman frowned, trying to concentrate through all the pain.

"Kili." she whispered. "Kili, my head."

"Move!" she heard Gandalf say. She slowly began climbing to her feet. The pain was so strong, she nearly fell back over. "Run!" Arirua bit her lip and began to run, the throbbing from her head wound getting worse.

Kili ran alongside her, still holding her hand tightly. Fili had joined his brother on the other side of the young woman. As they ran across the grassy plain, Arirua could hear the company yelling different things, though she couldn't quite make them out. She could hear the wargs though barking and yipping in excitement.

"This way!" Gandalf shouted urgently. "Quickly!"

They ran into a clearing of tall pale grass. Arirua and the rest of the company could see the wargs and their riders on the tops of the small hills that surrounded the area. They were trapped with no where left to run.

"There's more coming!" Kili yelled to his uncle.

Thorin replied with, "Kili! Shoot them!" Arirua quickly, grimacing while she did it, pulled Lalar from its sheath once more. She saw Gandalf walking towards one of the boulders. She blinked, looking at the boulder, suddenly realizing what it was.

"We're surrounded." Fili shouted as he ran closer to the middle of the field. Kili shoot another arrow, which found its mark, making one of the orcs fall from its stead.

"Where's Gandalf?" Dori asked. Arirua turned to see that the wizard had indeed disappeared.

"He's abandoned us." Dwalin said. Arirua thought of calling back that Gandalf would never do such a thing, but another burst of pain came from the back of her head, causing her to fall to her knees, dropping Lalar.

"Arirua!" Kili yelled. He came rushing towards her.

"Hold your ground!" Thorin yelled. The orcs rode in closer, closing the circle they had created around them. Suddenly Gandalf appeared from behind the boulder.

"This way you fools." he said. Thorin turned to look at him.

"Come on, move! Quickly, all of you! Go, go, go!" Thorin was yelling now. Kili came up to Arirua.

"Come on, let's go." he said urgently, shooting another one of his arrows at the orcs. Arirua looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

"Go." was all she said. Kili looked at her with wide eyes.

"What?"

"Go. Leave me." she told him, standing up slowly."

"I'm not leaving you." he said, cupping her face with one of his hands. She leaned into the touch.

"I will be right behind you. Do not worry." she whispered.

"Kili, Arirua! Run!" she heard Thorin yell.

"Go." she whispered to him.

"Right behind me." Kili reminded her before taking off running. The orcs began running after him when he started. Arirua picked up her blade and sliced, hearing the sound of sword against the creature.

"You shall not touch them." Arirua said to the orc pack. "They are under my protection and you shall not lay a hand upon them!" She attacked again, bringing her sword down.

Then she heard the horns, and she allowed herself to crumble. Elrond had come. She heard the hooves of elvish horses and the twang of elvish bows. The young woman's eyes began to drift shut. The sound of an approaching horse made her reopen her eyes.

"Grandfather!" she heard the elf say as she dismounted. Arirua looked up to see the dark haired elf lady. She was stunning, like most elves were with her dark hair and eyes. She was dressed as a warrior and general of Lord Elrond's army should.

"We must get her to back to Rivendell." she heard someone say. Elrond. Lord Elrond had come to save her again.

"Sythralen." Arirua whispered, grabbing the general's attention. "Did they make it? The Pass, did they make it?" Did Kili make it? she thought to herself.

"I saw no dwarves when we arrived nor have we found any dwarven bodies." Sythralen promised her quietly. Arirua allowed a smile to creep across her face.

"Then they made it." she said with a sigh. As she smiled at the thought of the dwarves safety, she allowed the darkness to pull her in. They made it. was her last thought before she lost conciseness.

A/N: Chapter 8! Lol I'm sorry that it took so long, it's been crazy on my side of the computer. Teachers decide to give eighty tests and mountains of homework. Yah, so it took me a little while to write it. BUT! it's here now. :D

Now I know that y'all are thinking "Who the heck is Sythralen?" Wellll, my dear friend Loki's General is writing her own fanfic in the Lord of the Rings section. It's called The Great Assassin. It's a great story about another elf who has to go through a tough situation. And it's a Thranduil story too :D. But we're putting each other's characters into each other's stories :D So Arirua will be in The Great Assassin and Sythralen will be in Starlight & Flames. :D

Now on to the reviews... ZubuzasGirl - Here's your update :D, Kaija212 - I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so much :D, Wise Owl Eyes - hehehe I love writing little moments between the two of them ;P awww thanks I love the Princess Bride so it's fun to write :), dragonslayer627 - I'm glad you're enjoying the story so much :) lol I love the fact that you write your own fanfic for my fanfic :D and awww thanks :), Dalonega Noquisi - I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so much :) thanks for reading, SilverPenguin87 - awww Arirua thanks you :) don't worry, more is definitely on the way :), jefferyA - I hope you survived your feels attack, thanks for the five stars :D, REDRydingHood & Protagonist of Life -I'm so glad that you're both enjoying the chapter so much :D

Anyways, chapter 9 will hopefully will be here soon :) Love you all 3