Chapter 16

The star's blood ran cold at the sound of the warg howls. She could see the color slowly beginning to drain from the faces of her dwarf companions around her. Everyone's hands instantly reached for their weapons. They were still in danger.

"Out of the frying pan..." Thorin muttered.

"...And into the fire." Gandalf finished. "Run. RUN!"

Arirua's grip on Lalar tightened as she took off running alongside several of the dwarves. The dwarves, Mithrandir, and Arirua all ran as quickly as they could, dodging thick pine trees and large jagged boulders that had fallen from the mountains that now towered above them.

But the warg howls only grew louder and closer. The Company wasn't outrunning them; they were just adding to the chase for the beasts. Looking back, Arirua could see shapes moving in the darkness at a quick speed through the trees and over the boulders. They were closer than they had thought.

"Thorin," Arirua yelled out as she slide down a steep part of the hill, "they are going to be upon us in mere moments!"

Looking back, Thorin saw the dark streaks coming towards them. "Go!" he yelled to the Company. The dwarves speed doubled as they jumped over tree roots that had grown up from underneath the soil and dodged around thick boulders that were now closer together, making it difficult to get through.

Arirua ran with all the strength she had left in her, but that small about of energy was dwindling fast. She could see dwarves running past her, looks of fear across their faces, and she couldn't help but think if this was the end.

Then she heard the warg howl right behind her, so close, the star could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. But the first warg ran past the pale haired star and ran and leapt off a boulder and landed in front of one of her companions, with its teeth bared.

The creature had dark coarse brown fur that seemed to lay back and was matted and dirty looking. Its eyes seemed to glow yellow in the dwindling light. The creature's yellowish teeth were long, sharp, and dangerous looking that seemed to match the equally dangerous looking claws it had. It was a creature breed in darkness, a creature created to be controlled by darkness.

Anger boiling up in her once more, from the sight of such darkness that was in this world, Arirua quickened her pace, ran around the boulder to help the companion that she believed was in danger. But instead, Arirua was met with the sight of small Bilbo, standing before the large warg, who was now dead, with Bilbo's newly acquired sword sticking out of its head. A look of pure shock was present upon the hobbit's face. He had never killed anything before. Hobbits didn't kill things, that much Arirua knew. They were peaceful and gentle beings.

"Bilbo...?" Arirua asked cautiously as walked towards that hobbit with her sword in hand and her guard still up in case a warg tried to get to close. Close by, Arirua watched as Thorin cut down on warg as it chased after Balin and on the other side, she watched briefly as little Ori used a large war hammer he had recently been given to take out a warg that was chasing him.

"I'm... I'm al...alright." Bilbo stammered as he stood there staring at the body of the warg before him as he ran his hands over his dirty face. Arirua could see the question in his eyes as she looked at him. What have I done?

"It's a dead end!" Dori's voice rang out. Arirua turned away from the hobbit and looked ahead, and all she was meet with was disappearing land and sky.

"Trapped." the star whispered, hardly realizing that she had said it.

"Up into the trees," Gandalf ordered, "all of you! Come on, climb! Bilbo climb!"

The dwarves all quickly began finding ways to get up into the trees as quickly as they could. "Bilbo!" Arirua snapped, turning back to the hobbit. The star's voice seemed to break through to the hobbit because he turned away from the dead warg and looked at her. "Master Baggins, we have to go." Arirua told him. Bilbo nodded and tried to grab his sword but the small blade was too far buried into the warg's skull. All around her, Arirua could hear the dwarves struggling to get into the trees, but she could see that most of them were almost in the trees.

She watched as Kili jumped onto the branch, swinging himself into a tree. Dwalin grabbed his older brother and threw him high up into a tree before he himself began climbing into up the branches. Bombur grabbed a hold of one of the lower branches and hosted his feet up and wrapped them around the groaning branch.

"They're coming!" Thorin yelled. The growling was growing closer.

"Arirua!" the dwarves cried out. "Bilbo! Get into the trees!"

Gritting her teeth, Arirua grabbed a hold of the hilt of the blade along with Bilbo. Yanking with all her might, Arirua pulled the blade from the warg's head in mere moments, though it seemed like an eternity. "Now, to the trees." Arirua ordered.

Bilbo and the star quickly ran to the nearest tree and began pulling themselves up amongst the branches. Grabbing hands that were reaching down to her, Arirua was up the tree quickly, allowing her to find a spot in the branches next to Dwalin.

The wargs raced into the space they had all just been standing at a great speed. As soon as the monsters caught the scent of the Company, they came to a halt, racing to the nearest tree, baring their fangs up at the dwarves in the trees. But the growling quickly stopped as quickly as it had started when all the wargs turned their heads toward a towering boulder where a warg and its rider now stood.

A pale orc, astride a white warg.

Azog the Defiler had found them.

"Azog." Thorin muttered, shock filling his voice.

The white warg growled up at Thorin as if telling him that it was indeed his might master.

The orc had pale skin, almost the color of freshly fallen snow, but his skin was marred with deep scars that went all across his body. Arirua knew the creature well enough to know that they weren't just battle scars, but self inflicted wounds to test his strength and his tolerance for pain. The orc's right hand was missing, cut off by Thorin all those years ago, and was now replaced with a metal claw like thing that Arirua could never truly figure out what it was. It had been stabbed into his arm in place of his hand, making him far more dangerous. In his left hand, he carried a large mace. A wicked grin, that sent chills down Arirua's back, crept across his face. Azog sniffed the air and spoke. The pale orc's voice was raspy and dark, something that made Arirua want to shy away from. He spoke in Black Speech, something that Arirua had not heard in many years.

"Nuzdigid? Nuzdi gast?" the pale orc asked.

"Do you smell it?" Arirua translated, speaking out so that those who were around her could understand what Azog was saying to them. "The scent of fear?"

Then Azog turned his piercing blue gaze onto Thorin. "Ganzilig-I unarug obod nauzdanish, Torin undag Train-ob."

"I remember your father reeked of it, Thorin, son of Thrain."

"It cannot be." Thorin muttered, still in shock.

"Kod, Toragid biriz." Azog snarled at his small army, lifting his mace and pointing it at Thorin. "Worori-da!"

Arirua could feel her breath shudder as she tried to translate.

"What did he say lass?" Dwalin asked.

"That one is mine." Arirua muttered, "And to kill the rest."

Just as the words escaped from her mouth, the wargs began attacking the trees. Using their great hind legs, the wargs began jumping up into the trees, snapping their fangs in hopes to grab something as they fell back to the ground. They tore the trees limbs away with their teeth and dug their claws into the tree truck in hopes to get closer to their next meal. The trees shook as if they were being tossed around in the wind. It was then that Arirua realized that her tree wasn't swaying anymore; it was beginning to lean and fall over.

Arirua gripped the tree tighter as the shaking grew worse.

"Sho gad adol!" Azog snarled, a wicked grin itching to cross his face. Drink their blood. Arirua thought to herself quietly.

Then the first tree fell.

Knowing that she needed to move, Arirua let go of the tree limb she had been holding onto and yelled, "Jump!" And with the command having been said, the few other dwarves who had been in the tree with the star, let go and jumped onto the next one. The first tree fell onto the second tree, leaving no one to be hurt, but the domino effect had already begun.

The dwarves jumped from one tree to the next, until they came to the last tree. The tree that stood on the edge of the cliff. The Company watched the tree they had been only moments ago fall off the side of the cliff, all of them breathing a sigh of relief, knowing that the whole Company had made it.

But Azog's dark laugh brought them back to reality. At the base of the tree were the wargs, jumping up at them, snapping their fangs at them. They were now just toying with the Company.

Arirua slowly sat down on a branch in the tree, holding onto the trunk for dear life. She had landed near the princes and Ori when the last tree fell. Groping around, Arirua began whispering Kili's name, her hand looking for his. When she felt his hand take hers, she felt some of the fear slip away. She knew he was safe and he knew that she was safe, for now.

"Arirua, Fili!" Gandalf yelled down from the top of the tree. Letting go of Kili's hand, Arirua looked up to see a flaming pinecone falling down towards her. The star caught the burning object, tossing it around in her hands so as not to get burned. Grinning as she saw flames below begin to catch the fallen trees on fire, Arirua took her pinecone and threw it with all her might towards the wargs. More and more pinecones began to rain down on the wargs, causing a massive fire to build. The creatures ran from the flames, yipping and snapping at them as they ran through them. As the wargs began running away, a resounding cheer was heard from all the dwarves and Arirua.

But their victory was short lived. For the tree they were all in, began to fall off over into the cliff from the sheer weight of all the Company together. The only thing that held them to the cliff side was the roots of the tree.

Letting out a scream, Arirua felt her fingers slip away from the tree truck and her body fall away from the tree. But as the young woman fell backwards, Arirua's quick reflects kicked in and her hands grabbed a hold of the branch she had been sitting on only moments before. Holding on for dear life, Arirua began to silently pray to anyone who could be listening to her in that moment.

"Mr. Gandalf?!" Dori yelled out, his voice straining. From where she was hanging, Arirua could see Ori, holding onto his brother's boot for dear life. He must have fallen when the tree fell.Arirua thought to herself. And then Ori was falling again, as was Dori.

"ORI!" Arirua screamed out. "DORI!" And then they stopped. Arirua could see that Dori had grabbed a hold of the end of Gandalf's staff, and was now holding on for both his life and his little brother's.

After letting out a sigh of relief, Arirua gritted her teeth and began to slowly swing her body back and forth. A few moments of swing, the star was able to swing herself up and around so that she was now standing on the branch she had just been holding.

The star stood there on the branch for a moment, taking in the scenes all around her. She could see the fire slowly spreading in all directions. She could see Azog and his warg riders and the wargs all staring at them, blood lust in their eyes.

And then, Arirua saw Thorin, who had stood up while she had been looking around, racing down the tree trunk, through the fire, towards Azog with Orcist raised to strike down his enemy down and his oaken shield raised in order to protect himself. It felt as if she was watching the Battle of Moria right before her eyes.

The words to Balin's story she had heard when she had first joined their company surfaced to her mind as she watched the rightful king charge his greatest enemy.

"That is when I saw him: a young dwarf prince facing down the Pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe, his armor rent...wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield."

She watched as Azog allowed a wicked grin to cross his face before he let out a roar and his warg jumped from its place on the boulder towards Thorin.

"THORIN!" Arirua screamed, almost losing her balance on the tree branch as she saw the warg knock the king to the ground.

The star quickly jumped from her branch onto the trunk of the tree, gripping her sword as she watched Thorin get back up. Only for her to watch Azog turn his warg around and race back towards him, bring his enormous mace across Thorin's chest, knocking him to the ground again.

Arirua took a step towards Thorin, Lalar almost drawn from its sheath, when she heard Fili's voice.

"Arirua!" Fili cried from where he was hanging in the tree. "Help us and then we can all help Thorin."

Looking back, Arirua could see the white warg had taken Thorin in his jaws and he was biting down through his armor.

"Hurry!" Fili yelled.

Groaning with annoyance, Arirua turned away from the king, placed Lalar back into its sheath, and began carefully running up the tree. The star heard the thuds behind her and the snarling command that Azog gave his lieutenant to cut off Thorin's head. She didn't have time to look. In her mind, she knew that if she got to Fili first, Thorin would somehow be alright. Arirua reached the older brother quickly. Grabbing one of his hands, she pulled as hard as she could, helping him get up just enough so that he was able to pull himself up onto the branch and then onto the trunk of the tree.

"You have to save..." Arirua started saying to Fili, but she never finished. Because in that moment all she could hear was the sound of Bilbo yelling out as he ran towards the orc ordered to kill Thorin. She turned to see him tackle the orc to the ground, and stab him in the chest. The star watched as Bilbo stood up, waving his small sword around like a madman, in front of an unmoving Thorin.

"BILBO!" Arirua screamed.

Azog's words rang out. "Kill him." The orcs that remained turned their wargs toward the small hobbit who was doing the best he could, swinging his sword around, trying to look threatening. Arirua, unable to move, felt the tree shake slightly as Kili came running past her to catch up with Fili and Dwalin, who had pulled himself up onto the tree.

Suddenly her feet were working, and she was running towards Bilbo, who had been shoved to the ground by a warg. And the great Gundabad orc and his white warg were slowly walking towards him through all the chaos of fighting around them.

Arirua ran up the side of one of the boulders, with Lalar now in her hand, and flipped off the boulder, landing between Bilbo and Azog.

"Arirua... what are yo..." Bilbo began to ask.

"Helping a friend." Arirua muttered, eyes trained on the orc in front of her. Giving her sword a twirl in her right hand, the star took a step forward, looking up at Azog the entire time, never taking her eyes off him. She could see curiosity flickering behind his eyes but he never said anything to her, just watched her.

"Foul things like you are the reason there is a darkness that hangs over this land." Arirua snarled. The star pointed Lalar right at the head of the orc standing before she continued. "Gith uk zo u maprog, prok tak agh lat mat." All are mine to protect, touch them and you die.

Azog threw back his head and laughed.

Arirua quietly placed Lalar back into its sheath and slowly unbuckled her sheath. Passing it behind her to Bilbo, she whispered her directions to him.

"Listen closely. I want you to take my sword and hold onto it for me. Do not leave it behind. And I want you to cover your eyes."

Azog had now stopped laughing and he was staring Arirua down. The dark grin that had been on his face was back, but wider now that he saw her sword was gone.

"But...I don't under..."

"Please, Bilbo." Arirua whispered, eyes trained on the warg that was now slowly walking towards them. Arirua could feel Lalar slip away from her fingers and her shoulders relax.

Bring her hands around to the front of her body, Arirua clasped them together and brought them to the center of her chest, still clasped. Looking up at Azog one last time, she smiled. Then she closed her eyes.

"Leithian." she whispered as she unclasped her hands and spread her arms out wide.

And then a bright light engulfed everything around her.

"It was Arirua's light." Arwen told her son. "Some of her starlight. It is one of the purest sources of light known to Middle Earth, and it is something that is very rare to see in this realm."

"Starlight." Eldarion whispered. His eyes were wide with curiosity. The only other time he could recall hearing about starlight was when his father told him about the gift Lady Galadriel gave to the hobbit Frodo Baggins. "What happened next?"

"Well..."

Arirua felt herself crumple to the ground as the light around her dimmed. She knew it was dangerous to use any amount of her light in such a way, but she knew that Bilbo and the others needed it more than she ever would have.

Then the air was filled with eagle cries. Opening her eyes just a little bit, Arirua could see large eagles flying over them. They swooped down, grabbing wargs and throwing them off the cliff face.

Gandalf. Arirua thought to herself. He was the only one who could have done this. The eagles were known not get involved with the affairs of the world. They had seen so much that small petty things like this would have never caught their attention.

Arirua's eyes drifted shut but she could still hear the noises around her and feel the grass scratching up against her arm. She could hear Bilbo yelling for her to get up, the wargs growls as the eagles lifted them up off the ground, and she could hear the yells of the Company as they were picked up by the eagles.

Arirua could feel the claws of an eagle grab a hold of her. She could feel Bilbo, who had also been grabbed by the eagle, holding onto her tunic for dear life. And she felt as she fell through the air and landed on the back of another eagle. She could feel the wing movements and Bilbo pulling her closer to the center of the back of the eagle in hopes to keep her from falling off.

"Thank you." Arirua whispered almost inaudibly before her senses completely disappeared and she was consciousness was swallowed up by darkness.

When Arirua awoke, she expected to awake to find herself surrounded by a concerned Company of dwarves, but when she awoke, she was surrounded by a soft light. Looking around, Arirua saw almost nothing but light, except for the elf standing before her with his back turned to her. Smiling, she almost ran to him, to embrace him, to tell him how much she missed him. But she didn't, for she realized something was wrong.

"Lord Elrond?" Arirua asked softly. "Is this a dream?"

"I am speaking to you in this form, so yes, it is a dream but do not think it to be false or a figment of your imagination. The message I have to deliver is all too real." Elrond told her. He had yet to turn around and look at her.

"Something is wrong. I can feel it. What has happened?" Arirua cried out.

"A thing far worse than we could have imagined." Elrond told her as he turned around. Arirua could see how tired he looked and the tears that were welling up in his eyes.

"The dragon?"

"No... Sythralen, the prince Legolas, and the Ranger Aragorn were recruited by Saurman to venture into Mordor to find proof of any foul creatures returning." Elrond explained, now looking into her eyes. "They returned with the joyful news that the wasteland was empty."

"I...I don't understand." Arirua stammered. "This is good news!"

But then she saw Elrond began to cry. He opened his mouth to speak but when he found he couldn't say anything, he turned away from her before he told her.

"They returned and all seemed well...until Legolas found her like this."

Images flooded Arirua's mind. Images of Sythralen laying on the floor in a bloody heap, curled up in a ball. She could see water all over the floor and a vase shattered into a hundred pieces. Arirua could hardly breathe. Her friend. Sythralen.

She... she...she's dead. Arirua's knees gave way and she crumpled to the floor, crying loudly.

"How-no no not Sythralen...she is stronger than anything...how could she...I don't understand!" Arirua muttered to herself. She felt arms around her and the star looked up to see Elrond bending over and pulling her to her feet before her pulled her close to hug her.

"I wish I had answers to give to ease your pain but I am still wallowing in my shock that I stand just as baffled." Elrond told her as she cried into his shoulder.

After a few moments of crying, Arirua spoke. "Elves are not affected by...by sickness, are they?" she asked, trying to figure out what had happened to her friend.

"No, we are not, but some have fallen ill from the poisonous air of Mordor. It is not a thing unheard of." Elrond informed her. Arirua broke away from him and began walking back and forth, trying to make sense of it all.

"But it is her! She has faced the dark...darkess of Mordor before and won!" Arirua demanded. Feeling her legs weakening again, Arirua stopped walking. "How could it suddenly become too much for her?" Arirua whispered.

"None of us can fathom the tortures that Sythralen suffered. She was always so hesitant to tell me of her experiences and I fear her entering the land where the evil originated was too much for her to bear."

"She rarely spoke of her dark days to anyone." Arirua said softly, remembering the times she had begged the Great Assassin to tell her what she had experienced. The star knew that sometimes it was best to tell others, but Syth always refused. "I imagine she did not want us to think less of her but how could we? I...I was so proud of her for defeating the darkness. Seeing her...her rise up to general and then gain title as the Great Assassin. A true testament to all of us that are convinced we cannot be more than what the world thinks us to...to be."

"She was an inspiration to us all." Elrond said.

Then a new image surfaced in her mind. There, lying in a coffin made entirely was Sythralen. She wore a dress made of a deep purple that did not have a single wrinkle in it. Her hair was curled in beautiful delicate ringlets that were still as perfect as if she had just had them curled. And all around the coffin grew pure white flowers that waved at the slightest breath of wind. All Arirua wanted to do was reach out and shake her friend, to tell her to wake up.

"I do not believe I have ever seen her so peaceful before." Arirua whispered. "Her emerald eyes were always clouded with turmoil. I longed to see them cleared with happiness."

"As did I, Arirua."

"Does he know?" Arirua asked suddenly asked, turning towards Elrond.

"Thranduil shall receive the message from his son."

"If he loved her as she loved him, he shall be devastated."

"Turn thoughts away from others!" Elrond suddenly snapped. Arirua shied away from the man she had grown to see as her father. "You must tell the Company of her passing and warn them that even the greatest can fall."

"Of course, my lord."

Arirua turned away from Elrond when he spoke to her one last time. "Arirua, be careful!"

And then she woke up to find herself laying on a rock, looking up the sky that was slowly changing from the pitch black of night to red and pink.

"Arirua?!" she heard Bilbo cry out. Looking over, Arirua watched Bilbo break away from Thorin, who seemed to have embraced the hobbit only moments ago, and run over to. "Arirua, you're alright!" Bilbo said a huge smile across his face.

"Of course Master Baggins." Arirua said, felling tears running down her face. "It will take a lot more than that to k...to kill me."

"Arirua." Kili said, running up to her. Arirua, who was still crying, smiled through her tears.

"Kili." she whispered back. He brought hands up and placed them on her face, using his thumbs to wipe away her tears.

"Why are you crying?" he asked her. "Are you hurt?"

"No...I...I'm fine." Arirua whispered, turning away from him. "I just...I just learned something from Elrond."

"What is it?" Gandalf asked, stepping forward. Arirua could see the concern across his face. He may not have been that close to Sythralen, but he was a wizard, he knew something was wrong with the world.

"Now is not the time." Arirua said, standing up. "I do not wish to dampen spirits after a victory."

"Later then, with the news." Gandalf said. Arirua nodded, blinking back tears.

Above them, the eagles let out large squawks as they flew over them. Arirua watched the mighty birds fly over head, still blinking back tears. Everything she looked at now reminded her of her newly departed friend. The mighty eagles with their strength. The white clouds in the sky that reminded her of the small flowers that grew around her grave. Why did you have to go? Arirua cried out in her mind.

"Is that what I think it is?" Bilbo asked suddenly, catching the Company's attention.

Walking up to the tip of the tall stone structure that the eagles had left them on, Arirua could see, far off in the distance a single peak.

"Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, the last of the great Dwarf kingdoms of Middle Earth." Gandalf said, answering any doubt that any of the Company may have had.

"Our home." Thorin said. For a moment, everyone just stood in awe of the mountain in the distance. They had come so far, and yet had so far to go. But they were close. Suddenly there was bird calls around them. The call of a small song bird.

"A raven!" Oin announced. "The birds are returning to the mountain." A small bird flew across Arirua's gaze and began flying towards the mountain. The bird flew high up into the skies, drawing Arirua's attention to the heavens. As she looked up into the sky, the star's breath was almost taken away.

"That, my dear Oin," Gandalf said, "is a thrush."

"But we'll take it as a sign - a good omen." Gandalf told the Company, a smile on his face for the first time in a long time.

"That is indeed a good omen, Thorin," Arirua said, still looking up to the heavens, "but look up." The Company all around her pulled their gazes away from the mountain that lay before them and turned to look up at the stars.

"I don't see anything!" Gloin said after a moment of silence.

"The stars are returning." Arirua told them. "I see more stars in the sky this morning than I have ever seen since I came to Middle Earth. And because it is morning, there could be even more that have just faded till night." Arirua was now smiling. "They have come back to watch you Thorin. They wish to see if you will truly take back the Kingdom of Erebor and take down the beast of fire and greed. The stars smile down on you and even now, though their time to rest is near, they still sing of the adventures you have already had. They sing of your bravery Thorin, of Bilbo's courage, and they sing of all the Company's loyalty." And they sing of Sythralen and they grieve for her. Arirua added silently to herself.

"Another good omen!" Thorin said.

"You're right. I do believe the worst is behind us." Bilbo said confidently.

One can only hope. Arirua thought to herself as she grabbed Kili's hand as the Company turned back to look at the mountain. One can only hope.

A/N: THAT'S THE END OF AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY! I can't believe that I'm done with AUJ! Anyways, wow, I didn't expect to be done with another chapter this soon but here I am, done with another one. I'm kinda in love with this chapter so I hope you love it as much as me.

AND... if you haven't gone and read LokisGeneral's story The Great Assassin (on ) you need to because a whole bunch of stuff is not going to make sense if you don't read her story, take my word for it.

Same drill as all the other times, if you have a comment or question, please don't be afraid to post them. If it's a question, I will either message you the answer or I will answer it in the next chapter update. If you spot some kind of mistake or typo please let me know. I don't always catch everything.

Much love to all you readers out there! VIRTUAL PIES FOR YOU ALL

-RogueStarz

(P.S. HAPPY THANKSGIVING! to all my readers in the US of A!)