This chapter will describe the BoFA but I will change a lot and won't write it too describtive. Especially because am not that good in writing pre-war scenes ^^
And for your info: the next chapter will be the last of this story! It's sad for me because another story of mine comes to an end, but I have many more to write so I'm not gone :D
I hope you like this one!
The Company could not find any sleep in that night. Thorin had gathered them in the throne hall, the main gate always in sight.
"Father, I want you to take Kate and Lindsey to the cell block!" he commanded and could see the panic in Kates eyes.
"No! I can't leave you here behind!" she protested but he walked up to her, cupped her face in his hands and whispered, "You can't stay here. I want you to be safe. I want our son be safe"
She could feel tears dwelling in her eyes and all she could do was kissing him deeply. Her hands stroked through his hair, touched his face, trailed along his jawline until she kissed him again.
"I love you, Thorin. Please—come back, promise me"
"I promise to come back" he whispered and pulled her into a tight embrace.
Lindsey was crying in Filis arms. "Don't do anything stupid, you hear me? I can't lose you again!"
He leaned his forehead against hers, stroked her cheek and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
"When this is over I will marry you, Lindsey! Would you marry me?"
The young girl looked into his eyes, a smile spread on her face as she nodded and whispered, "Yes! Fili, yes I do!"
Thrain rushed them to move and he stepped closer to Thorin. "Be careful, my son!"
Thorin pulled him into an embrace and whispered, "Take care of them"
Thrain nodded and left to follow the girls into the hallway leading to the cell block.
Soon after that the dwarves could hear voices just outside the main gate. Thorin stepped closer and called, "Who are you and what do you want?"
"My name is Bard! I am the one who killed the dragon!"
Legolas got on his feet. "Bard! My father, where is he?" the young elf called and a short silence overcame them.
"Legolas, your father is with me! He's in our camp. We are not your enemies, Thorin son of Thrain son of Thror, King under the Mountain! I am descendent and heir of Girion of Dale and some of his treasures are kept in this mountain of yours. Things what the old Smaug had stolen. Is that not a matter that needs to be talked about?"
Legolas turned to look at Thorin.
"You can trust Bard, I know him well. Give him what he wants and we can end all this madness!"
Thorin glared at him. "If I give him the treasures of his father he will be gone, but what about your father? He wants the Arkenstone! We haven't found it yet! And even if we'll find it, I am not willing to give it to him! I want to destroy it!"
"Let me go and talk to him! I may be able to change his mind" the elf said but Thorin waved him off.
"You tried to talk to your father once and it was to no use, you had to risk the life of my wife and child to get her out of your fathers prison. What do you think you can do to change his mind now?"
Dwalin stepped closer, he really seemed to be angry as he shouted to Bard outside, "As long as an armed army is at our door, we see you as a bunch of thieves!"
Thorin pulled him back. "Are you insane?"
"No, but you if you think they will be gone after they get what they want. They will come back and take more and more! They will never be gone unless we fight and destroy them!"
Thorin sighed and barked, "If you are a friend, send that elf king and his army back into the woods! I won't negotiate with them!"
"The Elvenking is my friend! He helped the people from Laketown! We give you time to think about your words. We need a decision before we return!", and with that Bard walked back to his camp.
The hours passed by and no word could be heard from outside. Bilbo was impatiently searching the treasury. He knew from Thorin that the Arkenstone must be somewhere in that room. Soon Ori, Gloin and Balin joined him but their search was unsuccessful. Thorin paced up and down the throne hall, hands behind his back, his mind rushing. A sudden humming sound could be heard. He stopped pacing and listened carefully.
"It's Dain! The dwarves of the Iron Hills arrived!" Dwalin called and laughed happily. Legolas ran up through the hidden entrance and was overlooking the valley and the city of Dale. He could see the army of his father drawing closer to the mountain and also the army of Men following them. The dwarves from the Iron Hills made their camp right in front of the main gate.
"Legolas? What do your elf eyes see?" Thorin whispered as he was hiding in the dark of the tunnel entrance.
"A lot of elves, and a lot of Men from Laketown. But—there's something else. Something's not right"
"What do you mean?"
"I can feel a darkness drawing closer" the elf said and turned to look at Thorin. The dwarf seemed not to understand. He gestured Legolas to follow him back into the mountain. Suddenly Bilbo called, "I think I've found something!"
Thorin climbed down to him and approached him. He snatched the jewel from him and his heart nearly stopped beating. It was still the most beautiful jewel he'd ever seen in his life. Time seemed to stand still as his eyes were glued to it.
"Thorin?", Dwalin asked and stepped closer. He placed a hand on his friends shoulder and the king snapped out of his trance.
"It's—the Arkenstone." he mumbled but his eyes went darker and he clenched the jewel in his hand. He turned around and climbed back up the tunnel and stood on the edge of the cliff. His Company followed him. They all looked awestruck but winced as Thorin barked loudly, "BARD OF LAKETOWN! THRANDUIL OF MIRKWOOD!"
They could see movement and some elves and men approached the mountain.
"There's Bard" Legolas said and pointed to a dark-haired, rather good looking man with bow in his hand. Thranduil was right behind him.
"You made a decision, Thorin?" Thranduil called and Thorin smirked. He lifted his hand and could see the desire in the elven kings eyes.
"You came to get this!", the dwarf king called. He gestured Bombur to give him his hammer. He took it and placed the Arkenstone on a boulder.
"I will show you what this jewel means to me! What your desire means to me!" Thorin called and the hammer smashed down on the Jewel.
"NOOO!" Thranduil called and Thorin took the dust-like pieces and threw them down over the edge of the cliff. A triumphant smile appeared on his lips.
"You will pay for that!" Thranduil called furiously, turned around to walk back to his camp as he froze. Bard did the same, his eyes widened. The dwarves of the Iron Hills got on their feet and watched with horror what just happened in front of them.
An ocean of dark figures seemed to cross the river, positioned themselves close to the city of Dale.
"Thorin, what is that?" Kili asked but it was Legolas who replied, "Orcs!"
It was by now that they saw the figure approaching Thranduil and Bard.
"It's Gandalf! Gandalf returned!" Legolas called and they all looked down, relieved that now, at the end of all, the wizard decided to return. The Company climbed down to head to the main gate. Thorin left the Mountain to discuss with Gandalf what there was to do.
It was official now – a battle was coming and he had to ally with elves and men. He turned to speak with Dain from the Iron Hills.
"Aaah!" Kate screamed suddenly. Lindsey turned and ran up to her sister. Kate was clinging to the iron bars of a cell. Thrain supported her with Lindsey and they let Kate sink down to the ground.
"What's the matter? Kate, what's wrong?" Lindsey was panicked as she saw the pain in her sister's face. She was panting and leaned slightly forward. Sweat covered her forehead.
"The baby—" she brought out with a hiss and Lindsey looked at Thrain in hope he would know what to do. He seemed to be helpless in the first moment but managed to pull himself together. He turned to Lindsey, "Get the towels from the bag and some water!"
She nodded and took three white towels from the bag next to the door and poured water into a bowl. With trembling hands she went back to her sister and the former king and handed him the utensils. But he shook his head and gestured her to do it herself. Her eyes widened.
"W—what?" she stammered and he gave her an encouraging smile. She knelt down in front of Kate and looked questioningly at Thrain again.
"Take a dry cloth and put it under your sister..." he said in a calm tone of voice while his hand gently stroked Kate's hair to calm her down. Her breathing had calmed down a little for a moment, she managed to help Lindsey a bit by raising her abdomen so that Lindsey could place the cloth under her.
Not long after, another contraction hit the young woman and her hand clutched at Thrains coat.
"I can not—Thorin, he—he must..." she tried to say but she screamed again.
After a while she calmed down a bit and Thrain knew what this meant.
"Lindsey, listen to me...you have to help your sister now. Can you do that?"
Lindsey was very frightened but she nodded. She lifted Kates dress a little and removed her panties.
Thrain looked at Kate and spoke soothingly to her. "You're doing very well, my child...but now you have to push."
The Elves had been positioned in the southern foothills, while the humans and dwarves were getting ready on the eastern foothills. Thorin was tense, waiting for what would happen next. And there they could hear them before they could even see them. A wave of black orcs riding on wargs overran the city of Dale. The humans attacked them first, but it was just a weak resistance. Many of them fell, and the rest fled in all directions.
Gandalf led the army of dwarves, humans and elves against the approaching orcs.
"Bilbo! Go! Into the mountain!" Thorin cried and the hobbit looked at him with fear in his eyes. The king's eyes widened as he got hit by a lance but it only grazed him. Furiously, he whirled around and killed the orc that had dared to attack him from behind.
"GO NOW!" he shouted again and Bilbo stumbled briskly through the secret passage next to the main gate.
Inside the mountain there was nothing to be heard of the battle outside, but another sound made him jump. It was the cry of a woman.
'Kate!' he thought in panic and ran toward the cell block. He pounded against the iron door.
"Who's there?" Thrain called while he was still holding Kates hand.
"Bilbo! Let me in!"
Thrain looked at Kate who was still pushing but she managed to nod. The old dwarf got up and walked to the door to open it a crack.
"What's going on? Did the elves and human leave?" Thrain asked but he could see something in Bilbos eyes. He pulled the hobbit into the cell block and closed the door again.
Bilbo glanced at Lindsey and Kate, but turned his eyes rapidly away as he realized that Kate just gave birth to Thorins child. He moved a little away with Thrain and muttered, "And army of orcs came. Thorin, his Company and an army led by one of the Iron Hills, Dain or so, have allied with the humans and the elves. Gandalf is with them. They fight a battle out there!"
Thrains eye widened when he heard this and his eye drifted to Kate. She cried out again loudly but suddenly there was a moment of silence. Lindsey grabbed a damp cloth and seemed to clean something and took some dry cloths and wrapped something into it. Immediately a loud cry broke the silence.
Tears ran down Kates cheeks, she cried with happiness and Thrain and Bilbo steppd closer. They lokoed down at the small bundle in her arms.
"A boy...it's a boy..." she exclaimed full of pure happiness. But all of a sudden her face contorted again.
"Kate? What's going on?" Lindsey asked, worried. Kate gestured Thrain to take the little boy. The dwarf took his grandson on his arm and looked anxiously down and saw that Kate seemed to have another contraction.
The elves fought the fiercest battle against the orcs, because their hatred against these creatures was untamed and cold.
Their spears and swords were glowing in the twilight. Arrows rained down throught the air, like a red comet tail. The lancers went on for another attack. The screams were defeaning and the rocks were stained black with the blood of orcs.
The dwarves began yelling their battle cries and the army of Dain and the Company of Thorin threw themselves into the black masses. Side by side with the humans they fought their way through the armies of the Orcs.
Horrified the Orcs tried to flee, as from the other side, the elves had been re-formed and soon the orcs were defeated. But this was only the first battle they'd won, because shortly after that another flood of black creatures appeared.
Among all the combatants Thorin recognized the orc he hated the most. Azog!
The dwarf king ran up the slope, he angrily swung his sword, his armor gleamed golden in the light of the setting sun. Orcs threw rocks down on him but he dodged them.
He cut down one orc after the other that stepped between him and his nemesis. No one could touch him.
Fili, Kili and Dwalin rushed after him, hurried up the slope. They hacked and fought through the masses but the bodyguards of Azogs threw themselves against them, howling and screaming, broke into the ranks of the dwarves.
Slowly the armies of Elves and Men were pushed back and the dwarves were also nearly beaten, but Thorin would not dissuade. He wanted to put this to an end and kill Azog. A loud scream broke through the evening sky and Kili shouted, "The Eagles! The Eagles are coming!"
He was so happy that he did not notice the stone that hit against his helmet. He slid to the ground and lost consciousness.
Thorin saw this with horror and he reared up one more time, broke through the ranks of the orcs, but it also brought him some wound but they were not life-threatening.
Dwalin, Nori, Balin and Gloin helped him, always behind him to slash any orc drawin closer.
Fili carried his brother away from the battlefield towards the main gate. No one seemed to be alive around there, and so he placed his brother in the niche in front of the sectret entrance.
He gently patted the cheek of the younger one.
"Come on, wake up, Kili!" he muttered. Fili looked back to the slope and his eyes widened when he saw how Thorin and Azog fought an exasperating battle.
A hard blow struck his uncle and he dropped down. Fili was so full of concern for his unconscious brother and his apparently injured uncle that he did not see the arrow that pierced him right in that moment. Everything went blurry and he only saw Legolas shooting the Orc who had wounded the young prince. With a thud Fili also broke down.
Many hours passed before Kili woke up again. He looked around, searchingly. He saw his brother laying close to him. Oin knelt over him and seemed to take care of Fili.
"Fili! What's going on?" Kili called out and staggered slowly towards his brother and knelt down beside him. Oin rubbed a cream on a wound that was cleary from an orc-arrow.
Fili was semi-conscious, grabbed Kilis hand.
"Th—Thorin? Where is he?" he muttered. Another shadow fell over them. The brothers looked up at Dwalin who gave them a tired smile.
"Your uncle is fine—well, he will survive. Azog is dead, the Orcs are destroyed"
If the two of them wouldn't be too exhausted they would have jumped up and hugged each other happily.
"Where is he?" Kili asked and Dwalin pointed behind him where they saw Thorin leaning against a rock, Gandalf cared about his wounds while Thranduil knelt beside him.
"Thorin Oakenshield, there are so many things I must apologize for. I did not act with a clear mind and for that I sincerely apologize. My mind was poisoned by the desire for the Arkenstone. I risked the life of your wife and child and I'm sorry for that. I even forgot my own son about all this"
The elven king offered Thorin his hand. The dwarf king looked from Thranduils hand to his face, hesitated for a second before he shook hands with him.
"The Arkenstone had almost destroyed my family once. I destroyed it on front of you to show you what my wife and my Company mean to me. No treasure in the world is more powerful than the one we carry within us. Our heart. I forgive you and I hope we can live in peace again"
Thranduil nodded and turned around, his eyes fell on Legolas. The two looked at each other in silence before the king pulled his son into his arms.
Thorin looked over to his nephews, glad to see that they were alive. That his whole company was alive. He frowned when he noticed that the door to the secret entrance was open. And there he saw Bilbo with a relieved smile on his face. The hobbit and Thorin held gaze for a moment and Bilbo smiled. Lindsey followed and immediately ran to Fili, knelt down and kissed him while she wept with joy.
Thorin gestured Gandalf and Thranduil to help him to his feet. The two of them supported him. He limped slightly and his ribs ached but he made it to his Company. Lindsey look up at him, relieved that he was alive and she smiled.
"Where is your sister?" he asked but a response was not necessary as he saw his father stepping outside with a small bundle on his arms.
Thorin slowly approached him, but stopped when he saw Kate leaving the mountain now as well and his eyes widened even more when he saw that she was holding another small bundle in her arms.
His jaw dropped open, and despite all the destruction around them they had to laugh at that moment as they saw the facial expression on the dwarfkings face.
Even Thrainduil was amused and patted Legolas shoulder.
Thorin could not believe what he was seeing until Thrain placed his grandson in Thorins arms and Kate stepped closer to him with a daughter in her arms.
"T-twins?" he stammered and she laughed softly. She kissed him and nodded.
Tears of joy ran down his face as he looked down at his childrens.
Now Kate handed him also his daughter and she watched him lovingly.
"What are their names?" Bilbo asked curiously.
Thorin looked at Kate and his father before he looked back down at the two small bundles in his arms.
"Frerin...and Rose"
Kate and Lindsey looked at each other, becaue he had named his daughter after their mother.
Thrain smiled and put an arm around his soulder.
"Your brother would be proud of you"
Oh, I hope you liked this!
It's sad for me to say that there'll only be one chapter left but I thank you all for that great support! :)