Hello everybody! Feels like ages since I last updated so I do apologize! I've had this written for a week or so but I wanted to complete the next chapter before publishing this one. All I have to say is that with this chapter it jumps through viewpoints a little bit so I apologize if it gets a bit annoying in advance, I just want everyone to know what everyone is thinking/feeling throughout the chapter, and its VERY INTENSE! As you'll see the weather is our solid point for knowing where everyone is at a certain time.
Just wanted to say welcome to the new followers: Marsie Elvenheart Sinclair, Frodo1512, Gryffbaby and lillali, and to everyone else who has taken time to read and review, you guys are awesome!
As much as it breaks my heart I do not own the writings or the characters of The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings, they are the wonderful and exclusive workings of J.R.R Tolkien
Thorin raced around to the paddock behind the house and saddled up his pony Acorn, then they rode through Ered Luin to the gate as fast as they could as Thorin knew he needed to be there in order to organise the troops and co-ordinate the attack.
As Thorin approached the garden's he saw Dwalin, Balin, Bofur, Bifur and Gloin all riding towards him from different directions. Thorin stopped Acorn in the middle of the gardens and waited for the others to join him.
"We've told everyone we saw to spread the word and get to cover. Hopefully we can take this Orc filth by surprise and minimise the casualties." Balin said as he and Dwalin stopped next to Thorin.
Thorin nodded his approval and waited for the other three to join them. As they were waiting he saw two human females hurry towards them with children in tow. He couldn't help but hear their conversation as they neared the group of dwarves.
"…A pack of Orcs apparently on the outskirts of town somewhere. I hope those elves and that child came back to town." Said one woman
"The elven twins? Oh they're gorgeous aren't they mother? And what child? They didn't have one when they stopped by the stall yesterday."
"The blonde haired boy. Although he didn't look like an elf, built more like a dwarfling I reckon but I couldn't tell as they disappeared into the Tavern pretty quickly." The mother replied, motioning for the others to hurry past the group of dwarves.
Thorin couldn't help but hear their conversation as they drew near, but the moment the mother mentioned a blonde haired child with two elves Thorin's mouth dropped open and he looked at the Dwarves with him in horror, the other three having just joined them.
Dwalin and Balin looked stricken: was it Fíli who was with these elves?
Thorin leapt off Acorn and grabbed the arms of the two women, spinning them around.
"Excuse me!" The mother said looking startled and trying to pull out of Thorins' grip.
"Please, what were you saying about two elves with a child?" Thorin asked desperately. Fíli couldn't be with these elves, he wouldn't go near them after Thorin had warned him about them.
The mother and eldest daughter looked at each other in surprise whilst sheltering the three younger children from the group of weapon-clad dwarves. "We were saying that the two elves that were in town yesterday at the markets returned early this morning with a blonde haired child. He looked familiar but I can't place him, and he definitely wasn't built like a human or elf child, so I'm assuming he's a dwarfling."
Thorin looked at the group of dwarves in shock, blonde hair amongst humans and dwarves were rare, in fact there were only a handful in Ered Luin and currently there were only three blonde children, only one who happened to be a dwarfling.
"Please, where are they? I need to find them immediately." Thorin said choking slightly on his words.
"I'm sorry I haven't seen them since this morning." The mother said looking at Thorin curiously.
"Hang on mama, I remember seeing them just before come to think of it…" The oldest daughter said looking from her mother to Thorin.
"I was busy packing up the stall early due to the storm and saw them briefly out of the corner of my eye. There was a flash of yellow but I didn't pay much attention to them, I only noticed that they left town. I think Ivy was saying yesterday that they're camping on that field near the forest."
Thorin's hands fell from the two women and he looked at the others in horror, his face paling at what the young woman had said. With quick thanks Thorin jumped back onto Acorn and raced towards the town entrance.
"Balin! What's the matter? What's goin' on?" Gloin called as they raced after Thorin.
"Fíli disappeared yesterday after he left Bofur's, no one's seen him since and by the sounds of things it's because he's with these two elves." Balin called back.
Bofur, Gloin and to some extent Bifur paled considerably when they understood what had Thorin so worried. If Fíli was with these two elves then they had taken him towards the forest where the Orcs were, and they had no clue as to whether the elves were aware of the Orcs that were nearby.
Thorin and his group arrived at the town entrance to find a large group of dwarves assembling with their weapons. As much as Thorin wanted to rush out the gate then and there he knew as the leader of the town he had to co-ordinate the army.
"My Lord, we have just about assembled." One of the lead dwarves told Thorin as they stopped near the troops.
Thorin looked around at the group of dwarves and men that had assembled. A good 50 or so were there ready to go.
"I want 30 of your men stationed around town on top of the outer wall, most of them near the entrance. It's only a small group and we should have the element of surprise. The rest will follow us; get your best riders on horses now!" Thorin told him.
The lead dwarf nodded and started bellowing orders, not five minutes later the square was slightly more deserted with the dwarves on top of the wall or saddled and ready to go behind Thorin. There was a flash of lightning followed by a loud clap of thunder not too long after, the rain following the thunder quickly and heavily.
Thorin looked around the troops, nodded to his friends and spurred his pony forward "Let's go."
Fíli, Elladan and Elrohir arrived at the field before the storm had started, and Elrohir was currently in the process of teaching Fíli another elven word.
"Mae Govannen Fíli, means welcome." Elrohir sounded it out slowly for Fíli so he could hear the different syllables.
"M-m-mae Gow'nnen?" Fíli asked looking between the two elves as they got closer to their camping place.
"Close enough little one." Elrohir said with a chuckle, whilst Elladan stiffened and looked around.
Elrohir noticed the change in his brother. He stopped Fíli by placing a hand on his shoulder and told him to practice the word a few more times, and they'd get the packs in a minute. "Just sit down and practise ok?" He said whilst coming to stand behind his brother.
"El, what is it?" Elrohir thought to his brother.
Elladan looked at his brother slowly, his eyes wide in alarm. "We're not alone out here. Get the packs and get the weapons."
Just as Elrohir heard his brothers' thoughts the wind changed and he suddenly picked up on the smell and sounds that his brother had moments ago: Orcs. Elrohir stiffened, nodded at his brother and moved at a steady yet slow pace towards the trees. The Orcs weren't directly behind them, they were further off to the side but he had no doubt that they knew they were there.
"That storms coming in quickly, I'll just grab the packs then we can head back to town for the night!" Elrohir called out to Fíli loudly, hoping that if the Orcs were listening nearby they wouldn't charge until he and his brother had their weapons.
There was no noise from the forest as Elrohir climbed the tree to the packs. When he got to the hiding place a clap of lightning struck, lighting the valley up which allowed him to look around. From his spot in the tree he spotted the Orc pack and groaned. "El, I can see them from here, they're close and I'd say there's more than 20."
"Great… get down here now, we need to get Fíli out of here. This is no place for a dwarfling."
Elladan walked over to his and Elrohir's horses that were still grazing nearby. He placed a hand on each of their muzzles and spoke to them softly in Elvish. They both dipped their heads and shook their manes when he had finished and trotted off into the forest in front of them to get far enough away from the danger yet close enough to be called if needed.
Elladan watched them go, he knew that they could try and get Fíli out of there on horseback, but without being armed and with what smelt like Wargs nearby he knew they'd stand no chance trying to run; they had to fight.
Elrohir grabbed the packs and dropped from the tree quickly. He walked over to his brother and Fíli and the pair of them began to arm themselves.
"Why you doing that?" Fíli asked watching the brothers curiously.
"It just makes it easier for us to carry our packs." Elladan said crouching down in front of the dwarfling, and Elrohir stepping in front of him, seemingly to attach something to himself but really to block the view of what his brother was about to do.
Elladan sensed the change in the air surrounding the Orcs just as the thunder and rain started, they were on the move. Fíli with wide eyes clapped his hands to his ears in terror at the loud noise of the thunder and watched as Elladan pulled out a long dagger from his pack and held it out to him.
"Fíli listen to me, we are in danger. There are Orcs nearby and we need to get out of here ok? You need to take this and keep hold of it, it's just to be safe but I swear you won't have to use it."
Fíli paled at Elladan's words and took the dagger with shaking hands. Orcs, the creatures who had killed his father were here again. Fíli nodded to Elladan to show he understood the urgency of the situation.
"Fíli I want you to climb onto my back ok? We're going to get you out of here understood?" Elladan said, going to turn around for Fíli to do exactly that.
"El! There's no time! They're here!" Elrohir called suddenly.
Elladan whipped his head around, there was another flash of lightning and sure enough Elladan could see the pack of Orcs, some of which were on wargs causing him to groan. There was no way they were going to get Fíli out of there now. Fíli whimpered in fear and clutched at Elladan's arm in terror, he was terrified of storms and even more terrified by the Orcs.
"It's alright Fíli, we won't let them touch you ok? I want you to get behind these rocks here and stay hidden. I don't want you to watch but I need you to listen out for any instructions we give you alright?" Elladan said scooping the terrified dwarfling up and placing him behind the rocks where it was safe.
Fíli nodded at Elladan who then pulled away. Fíli wanted to hide but with the loud thunder he knew he wouldn't be able to hear the twins. So Fíli turned around and peeked out from behind the rocks to see Elladan join Elrohir and watched as they both drew their bows, ready to face the incoming enemy.
Gûndar motioned to his company to move forward through the trees slowly. They had hoped to carry out a surprise attack however they had picked up the scent of a dwarf that had been close by. When Gûndar sent one of his men to investigate they discovered fresh footprints nearby: they had been spotted.
When his scout gave him the news he hissed and turned to them all. "Prepare to move out, we attack now!"
Yes they had been spotted, however it didn't mean that all was lost. Being close to the town gave them a better advantage, Ered Luin was unlikely to get their soldiers prepared in time to avoid an attack.
Gûndar motioned to his men to move quietly through the trees and were slowly gaining on the town when they heard talking coming towards them. He raised his hands to stop and silence his troop. They watched as three beings left the road and walked across the field that was to their right.
"Elves and a dwarfling" he said quietly with glee once he'd finished sniffing the air.
His Warg shifted slightly and growled quietly. Gûndar silenced him with a stroke of his hand, a new plan forming in his mind: he had no interest in the elves but if he could capture the dwarfling, surely he could use him to his advantage to get what he wanted.
Whilst the new plan was forming in Gûndar's mind he failed to notice that the growl his warg made alerted one of the elves to their presence. That, and the fact that it was raining slightly would have made their scent easier to identify in the air.
They heard one of the elves talking loudly all of a sudden "That storms coming in quickly, I'll just grab the packs then we can head back to town for the night!"
"Not going to happen" Gûndar hissed to his company. "Wait until I give the word."
They watched as one of the elves disappeared up the tree, and tried to spot him. There was a flash of lightning but still they could not see him in amongst the leaves. Moments later he dropped down to the ground and walked over to the others. With a wave of his hand they made their way slowly to the edge of the forest, sticking to the shadows.
"Why you doing that?" A small voice floated across the clearing to the waiting Orcs. Gûndar grinned as they arrived at the edge of the forest; this was going to be too easy. The soldiers of Ered Luin would be too late to reach them by the time they had finished here, and all they'd be able to do was watch helplessly as the dwarfling suffered by his hands.
There was a flash of lightning which lit up the entire field including the area they were standing in, and the rain picked up its intensity. Gûndar motioned for his troop to move forward slightly so the elves could see exactly who was about to bring about their demise.
"El! There's no time! They're here!" The cry said, floating towards them.
Suddenly one of the elves picked the dwarfling up and placed him behind the rocks which caused Gûndar to hiss in anger, they weren't going to keep his prize from him.
"Charge" He growled, kicking his Warg into motion.
Elladan and Elrohir stood and pointed their bows at the oncoming orcs calmly. They had been planning on taking the leader out first, but seeing as they couldn't tell who the leader was, they settled for the second best option which was simple: wipe them all out.
"Ready brother?" Elrohir thought with a hint of amusement, watching the Orcs start their charge. They'd have to wait till they were a little closer before firing on them to do any real damage.
"As always." Was the reply, Elladans lips smirking slightly.
There was a pause before Elrohir allowed his brother to hear his concerns "We might not make it out of this, will we?" Elrohir's thoughts were hesitant, slightly scared even. If it were just the two of them they would have been able to pull it off as they had the entire forest at their disposal for defensive and attacking purposes, however with a child behind them there was no way that they could leave him unprotected and know he was safe the entire time.
"We will make it out of this brother, just like we do every time. We might end up a little worse for wear, but we will not die this night." Elladan thought firmly "I will not let you die this night." He added to his thoughts, more softly.
Elrohir and Elladan looked at each other, love and trust flashing over their features briefly before they turned back to the Orcs and as one they fired an arrow at two of the Wargs, the aim of the arrows true and landing right between their eyes sending the two wargs and their riders to the ground in a heap.
"Bet I kill more tonight." Elrohir said calmly
"You think? Two weeks of kitchen duty and my chores says your wrong." Elladan shot back with a grin.
"You're on."
Thorin pushed Acorn as fast as he'd go. He HAD to reach the field, he HAD to stop those Orcs and most importantly he HAD to save Fíli from these creatures. He couldn't lose him. He just couldn't.
Thorin looked behind him and saw the same grim determination on the faces of his friends and guards. Balin had spread the word through the rest of the riders that Thorin's nephew was with the two elves that were believed to be camping on the outskirts of town, and right now the three of them were in serious danger. The news of the golden haired Fíli being in danger sparked fury in the riders and they were all dead-set on ensuring he made it home in one piece.
They were getting closer, only a few more minutes to get to the corner that would lead them to the field.
A roar and clash of metal rang through the air, freezing Thorin's blood and making him go pale. They were too late on getting Fíli away from the Orcs, as they could clearly hear a battle taking place not far from them, in the field no doubt. He looked at the others and noticed the same paleness and fear on all their faces.
There was only one thought on Thorin's mind now: get to Fíli.
He urged Acorn on faster, dreading what he might find.
Elrohir released another arrow, hitting an Orc straight in the eyes. So far they had taken down five each, and disposed of a third of their enemies without having to draw their swords. Of course the 10 didn't count all the Wargs they'd taken down, and they'd only managed to take down a couple of those, so maybe the odds were still against them.
Elladan released another arrow then turned his head quickly to look behind him. Fíli's eyes were the size of saucers, he was as pale as fresh snow and was shaking uncontrollably in fear, clutching the dagger to him like it was a life line and watching everything.
"Fíli! I told you to stay hidden!" Elladan yelled as he turned his attention back to the front and released another arrow taking down a Warg in the process. He and Elrohir were almost out of arrows so he drew his sword, saving the last of his arrows for later.
Elrohir looked around, trying to find somewhere safe for the dwarfling to go before the Orcs were upon them to keep him out of reach. He spotted a low hanging branch nearby that with a little help they might be able to get Fíli onto and up away from the battle.
"Fíli! Head for the trees! You need to climb, just like I did earlier ok? Wait for me to say go alright?" He said looking over his shoulder to ensure the dwarfling heard him. When there was no response he yelled again.
"Fíli did you hear me? Don't worry about these guys; they won't get near you alright!"
This time Fíli nodded, still too terrified to say anything but he was already standing straight so he could move backwards when Elrohir told him too.
"Alright Fíli start moving now! To the tree where I hid the packs!" Elrohir called to him.
Fíli started shuffling backwards, unable to turn his back but instead watching as the first of the Orcs arrived and Elrohir and Elladan attacking them with grace and brute strength with their swords.
Gûndar had pulled his Warg off to the side and allowed the others to go ahead of him to deal with the elves. He wanted the dwarfling, so he was trying to work out the best way of getting to him without getting himself slaughtered. As he watched the battle with interest that was when he heard it,
"Fíli! Head for the trees! You need to climb, just like I did earlier ok? Wait for me to say go alright!"
Gûndar grinned: this was going to be too easy. He wasn't planning on letting the dwarfling live long, but he did want to ensure he was in as much pain as possible.
He grinned at the little dwarfling who was edging towards the trees.
Thorin and his companions arrived at the top of the slope overlooking the field and took in the sight before them. There were Orc and Warg bodies scattered across the ground leading from the forest to the current battle, all with arrows sticking out of them. Thorin scanned the fight and spotted what looked like the two elves, darting in and out of the Orcs, silver flashes near every Orc that fell. 'They're good warriors' Thorin thought absent-mindedly 'Not bad for their kind.'
A flash of lightning lit up the area and that's when Thorin spotted the golden hair near the tree line. Fíli was facing the battle and moving towards the trees, refusing to turn his head in fear he could be attacked. A burst of thunder rolled through the valley making Fíli jump and look around for the noise in fear. Even with Orcs attacking he still had time to be afraid of the thunder.
They'd only stopped for several seconds to take in their surroundings, so a movement off to the side of the battle caused Thorin to pause a little longer to see what it was.
Lightning lit up the valley again, revealing an Orc astride a Warg with a bow, and an arrow pointing straight towards the battle. Only then did Thorin realise that the elves were too far to the Orcs left to be the intended target. No he was aiming past the battle. He was aiming at,
"FÍLI! NOOOOOOO!" Thorin screamed, and as the dwarfling looked to the slope upon hearing his name, all Thorin and his companions could do was watch in horror as the arrow crashed into Fíli's chest.