Chapter 17

The next morning, we were greeted with the elves right at the gates armed and ready to fight. I stayed human and leaned off to the side to watch what was going to happen. All the dwarves were armed and standing before the elves as they stood and parted for Bard and Thranduil. The stag that Thranduil was riding was beautiful, and I found that to be worth my attention for the moment. Thorin suddenly drew a bow as they approached the gate and shot an arrow at the feet of Thranduil's stag making the elf King look up at him in surprise and anger.

"The next one goes between your eyes," Thorin said darkly, making his company laugh.

I glared at Thorin when Thranduil lowered his head slightly and the elves drew their bows causing everyone to fall silent and duck. It was my turn to try and not laugh. They had too much confidence against the army at the moment, and I glanced at Thranduil when he held up his hand, point made. The elves put their weapons away, and took an alert stance again. I couldn't help the smirk that came to my face and he noticed it with a slow look and an arch of his brow.

I couldn't help but shrug at him and then spoke lowly knowing that his hearing would catch it. "He was the fool who shot an arrow at an elf lord who is commanding several hundred arrows. I find it amusing."

"We've come to tell you payment of your debt has been offered and accepted," Thranduil smiled up at him after he turned his head from smiling at me.

"What payment? I gave you nothing. You have nothing," Thorin said loudly.

"We have this!" Bard replied slowly and took something out of his pocket.

I felt everyone go very still when they saw the white jewel that Bard held. Looking at the Arkenstone, I was sure that it was the real one. It was a one of a kind jewel, and from the looks of it nothing could compare to what was in Bard's hand. I stole a glance at the company to see that their faces were filled with shock. They had spent several days looking for that stone.

"They have the Arkenstone..." Kili whispered, and then raised his voice. "Thieves! How came you by the heirloom of our house? That stone belongs to the king!"

"The King may have it, with our good will," Bard said. "But first, he must honor his word."

"They are taking us for fools. This is a ruse, and a filthy lie," Thorin hissed lowly. "The stone lies within this mountain!"

"No, it's no trick," Bilbo said slowly, coming forward. "The stone is real. I gave it to them."

Everyone around me paused in surprise, but I saw something else when I looked in their faces. Some of them seemed almost glad that Bilbo had done what they could not. Dwalin glanced at me and then to Bilbo for a moment. Thorin's expression turned to one of utter betrayal. He had considered Bilbo the only one of the company that he could trust, even though he could trust everyone here. He blinked several times, and for a brief moment I saw a glimpse of tears in his eyes.

"You?" Thorin asked, his voice choking on air. It was as if he couldn't believe it.

"I took it as my fourteenth share," Bilbo said firmly, taking a stance against the angry dwarf.

"You would steal from me," Thorin said quietly, with a glare.

"Steal from you no," Bilbo smiled and shook his head. "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."

"Your claim?" Thorin demanded. "You have no claim over me you miserable rat!"

I shifted slightly as Thorin moved forward and Bilbo braced himself firmly from where he faced the dwarf. I wasn't sure where this heading, and it made me tense.

"I was going to give it to you. Many times...I wanted to but..." He trailed off and looked down.

"But what?" Thorin growled. "Thief."

"You are changed Thorin. The dwarf I met in Bag End would never have gone back on his word. Nor doubted the loyalty of his kin," Bilbo replied firmly, leaning forward to take the dwarf lord on.

"Do not speak to me of loyalty," Thorin said his voice breathless, before he glared. "Throw him from the ramparts!"

Everyone paused at the order and I tensed along with Dwalin. Thorin turned and looked at Fili and Balin and then reached out and yanked Fili forward, demanding that his heir obey his word.

"Did you not hear me?" he snarled and Fili yanked himself from his uncle's hold. "I will do it myself! I curse you!"

"No!" Fili cried, as Thorin grabbed Bilbo.

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

There was a brief struggle as they tried to wrestle with Thorin who slammed Bilbo on to the stone in an attempt to throw him over. Kili had a good hold on his uncle's arm, trying desperately to shove him back. I stiffened, just in case I had to step in and save Bilbo, should Thorin actually throw him from the wall.

"If you don't like my burglar, then please don't damage him. Return him to me!" Gandalf's voiced boomed loudly over everything, causing Thorin to go still. "You are not making a very splendid figure as King under the Mountain are you, Thorin, son of Thrain?"

Thorin looked down at the wizard quietly for a moment, and I couldn't see his eyes as he slowly released Bilbo who fell to the ground. Fili and Bofur rushed to get him, pulling the poor hobbit to his feet. I moved forward to help them as they put themselves between Bilbo and Thorin.

"Come on," I said quietly yanking Bilbo to the side. "Get out of here."

Using my body as an extra shield I followed Bilbo so that he could get out of danger and join the ones who were down below. He was taking in heavy breaths still and I watched him throw the rope over the rock. As he went to leave, he turned to me.

"Go," I said gently. "Stay away from him for now. But you watch...we'll get him back. What you did was the right thing, Bilbo. He's just too blind to see it. He's too blind to see anything right now."

"Thank you..." he murmured, his shoulders relaxing as he went over the rock wall.

"Never again will I have dealings with wizards!" Thorin shouted and glared at Bilbo. "Or Shire rats!"

I met Gandalf's gaze and nodded my head quietly when the hobbit was safe with him. Thorin glared at everyone before him in the valley as they stood waiting for his answer.

"Are we resolved? The return of the Arkenstone for what was promised?" Bard asked, raising his voice. "Give us your answer! Will you have peace or war?"

Thorin glared at them, and then I watched as a raven flew over, and landed in front of him, relaying a message and then looking at him. I sucked in a quiet breath and watched Thorin turn to the army of elves.

"I will have war," he said loudly.

I wasn't surprised that he had sent word to his cousin Dain, but something in the pit of my stomach told me this was going to get a lot worse. Dain took his army over the hill and approached the elves that had shifted to take on the new threat. The dwarves around me couldn't help but cheer seeing their kin coming to their aid.

"Thorin this is madness," I hissed to him when he glanced my way.

"Keep quiet," he muttered.

"You can't possibly believe that this is the right way to go," I glared at him. "You're risking your kin because you don't want to honor your word!"

Thorin turned to glare at me. "This is none of your business!"

"You are a fool!" I spat and swung from him to put some space between us. "A stupid fool!"

He turned to me, and I spun around to face him. As I did, his eyes landed on the two gold beads that still held my braid. I was almost tempted to rip them out of my hair. He looked at them for a moment but Dain caught his attention and he put his back to me. I glared and crossed my arms as Dain trotted his boar to the front of the elves.

"Good morning!" Dain smiled from atop his battle ready boar. "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...just sodding off!"

The dwarves around me laughed as Dain insulted Thranduil who just smiled at him. Gandalf moved forward and drew his attention, but it didn't last very long since Thranduil wouldn't stop smirking in the dwarf's direction.

"Clearly he's mad," Thranduil said loud enough to hear. "Just like his cousin."

Gandalf tried to have Dain stand down, but the dwarf was even worse than Thorin. He spoke of Orcs from Moria coming and I tensed a little at that mention when suddenly the ground shook around us. I felt my heart skip a beat as earth eaters exploded from the ground and my vision went for just a moment.

I saw death in huge numbers laid out before me, elves, men and dwarves a like. Just like in my dream as I remembered it. Thorin lay on the ice of the Running River, gasping for breath and Fili was lying dead nearby. Gasping for breath, I lost my footing when my vision came back and I staggered a little. Gloin noticed and immediately reached out to catch me, just in case I fell.

"Dear goodness, lass," Gloin said helping me back on to my feet. "Are you all right?"

"Yea," I muttered as Orcs charged down the hill making Dain change his approach and take on the larger enemy.

"I'm going down there! I will not let them fight alone!" Kili snarled as he grabbed his sword.

"Stand down," Thorin hissed making them all stop.

"What?" Fili demanded looking at his uncle. "Are we to do nothing?"

"I said, stand down. Fall back inside, now."

Thorin immediately drew everyone inside and disappeared, leaving them alone. Kili was furious at what was going on and paced for a moment. They all shed their armor in anger, and Fili sat down in silence. I crossed my arms and stood quietly as the battle progressed outside.

"This isn't right," Fili said quietly as he stood next to me.

I looked at him as he joined me, and I laid a hand on his arm. "No, it is not," I agreed.

I could hear as the hour passed, Dain was calling for Thorin and wondering where they were. The Orcs were wrecking havoc on our numbers and Dwalin silently came back from talking to Thorin.

"This isn't right," Dwalin said quietly. "Thorin would never let this go...he'd be out there fighting."

"He isn't himself..." Balin said sadly. "We cannot abandon him now...to do so would not be fair to him."

"If we stay here, we are leaving our brothers to die out there," Kili fumed before us.

I looked at him for a moment and then listened to swords clang outside and the smell of blood ran through the air. My nose wrinkled a little at the smell of it, and I turned away and looked at the ground. I had to be better in order to help them. Even if they went out there, they'd be horribly out numbered. This was what I feared for. This was when I'd lose everyone if I didn't do something to help protect them better. Focusing my power, I pushed it hard, and tried to find what I could do to push it that last step to be even stronger than what I was. What ever I transformed in to was the key to winning this, and I had to pick wisely. What could I turn in to that would save them? What did even Orcs fear?

"Arina," Balin spoke softly, making me look at him.

"What?" I asked, going to him.

"You should get out of here. A battlefield is no place for the kind hearts," he sighed to me. "This isn't where you belong."

"Any other time, I'd agree Balin. But I belong right here for a reason," I replied shaking my head. "I know I do, for reasons you cannot understand yet."

"Are you sure?" he asked, making me nod my head firmly.

I walked off suddenly, and headed in the direction of where Thorin had been. He had walked from the throne room and in to the gallery of the kings, and was standing in the middle of the huge hall staring at the gold floor. I paused for a moment, wondering if I should even be here. After last night, I wasn't sure I was willing to come back to him. Not after the words he had spoken to me. Thorin lifted his arm, and he grabbed the crown on his head and threw it. The crown clattered to the ground, making me jump as he inhaled a huge breath with it.

"Thorin?" I asked softly, seeing the expression on his face.

Slowly, I walked over to him and he turned toward me as I did. Lifting his gaze, Thorin looked at me, and then reached out and grabbed my hands tightly. I glanced down as he squeezed my fingers, before he reached out and lifted my head with his hand. I blinked several times to stop any tears and I stared in to his blue eyes for a moment.

"You didn't leave me," he said softly. "Why?"

"I couldn't," I murmured. "You didn't mean anything that you said. It was the sickness..."

"I would never have left you do die, Arina," he rumbled, choking on his emotions.

"I know," I nodded, looking at his hands.

"I'm so sorry," Thorin rumbled, his hand moving to my cheek.

I leaned in to his touch, and reached up to lay my own hand over his. Thorin looked at me, and when I finally looked at him I was greeted with a clear and strong gaze. At that moment, I knew he had beaten what his father and grandfather never managed to. He took a step back from me after a long moment, throwing his royal robes to the floor, and he shed his golden armor.

"Go back to the others," he rumbled looking at me. "I know what we have to do now."

Nodding my head, I walked away from him and went to rejoin the others who were sitting and standing there where Thorin had originally left them. I knew that this was going to change soon. Balin looked over at me as I took a seat next to Fili as he stood quietly. He glanced down at me, so I leaned gently against him for a little while until I heard Thorin approach us from the hall. He was in his black coat with chain mail underneath it. It was a typical outfit that was perfect for a warrior, and that was exactly what he was. I tensed suddenly as Kili surged to his feet when he noticed Thorin approaching us. His anger surprised me as he glared at his uncle.

"I will not hide behind a wall of stone, while others fight our battles for us!" he yelled approaching his uncle angrily. Dwalin hurried after him, in an attempt to stop Kili before Thorin did something awful. "It is not in my blood, Thorin!"

Thorin stopped and looked at him for a moment before his expression softened dramatically. "No," he said quietly laying his hand on his nephew's shoulder. "It is not...we are sons of Durin, and Durin's folk do not flee from a fight."

Kili let Thorin pull him forward so that their foreheads touched in a show of affection and when he turned, Kili was smiling with tears in his eyes. They walked back to us quietly and Thorin looked over his dwarves while I moved off to let them be.

"I have no right...to ask this of any of you," Thorin said quietly, looking at everyone. "But will you follow me? One last time?"

The others didn't hesitate to stand up to join him, and I felt my face lose whatever color it had left. I had to do something; I had to figure this out for them. Fili left my side to go see his uncle, and I watched them embrace. Turning away from them all, I walked off and went deeper in to the hall to get some quiet so that I could think. Thorin joined me several minutes later, making me look up at him as he approached. I looked up at his face as he came to my side.

"Arina," Thorin sighed, grabbing me by the hands and I squeezed them tightly as I felt tears come to my eyes.

"I feel like I'm missing something," I replied urgently. "There is something I'm supposed to do, and if I don't figure it out then I'll have failed at what I had come along to help with."

"If we die...then let it be," Thorin replied gently. "I'm not afraid to die for something that is just."

"How can you say that to me?" I demanded suddenly, looking at him. "How can you be okay with that after what just happened?"

"I..." Thorin trailed off as he tried to search for the right words.

"You saved my life when I was supposed to die," I continued. "You cannot die now. Not...not when we just came back together and not after you just won back this mountain. Your death was not just, Thorin. Your nephews were murdered, and that is not just either. I cannot let this happen."

"What are you stuck at then?" he asked.

"What do Orcs fear more than us?" I asked. "What can be powerful enough to turn this battle around with only one person?"

"A great beast," Thorin said thoughtfully and then smiled at me. "A dragon, Arina. A dragon would be the greatest weapon for us to have."

It all dawned on me then when he finished speaking, and I closed my eyes to think and picture what I wanted to become. It would be the hardest transformation of my life, but Elrond said I was more powerful than I had ever been. I was meant to see Smaug, for what it led up to today. I had the picture of what a dragon was suppose to be in my head.

"Well then," I said softly. "Let's get you a dragon, and make them wish they had never attacked this mountain."

Thorin nodded his head seriously, as the plan laid out before him. "I will lead the charge, and we will take this day. I think it's time that our enemies realize that shifters are far from extinct. You will give them a hell of a fight."

"Yes I will," I promised as I moved back a little.

Nodding his head at the plan, Thorin reached forward and hugged me tightly to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my face against his shoulder. When he backed up to look at me, I gazed at him for a long moment and then suddenly made up my mind. Lifting up on my toes, I pulled Thorin down to me and kissed him with everything I had. His lips parted to meet mine, and his hands reached up and cupped my cheeks. It was such a passionate embrace that we were both flushed when I finally pulled back.

"I can't die after that, now can I?" he mused, making me blush fiercely. "We will explore that when this war is over with. Push your change. You can do this."

:D and there we are.

I have put up the memory part of this story. It's called Better Days. It's much lighter than this and you'll enjoy a few good laughs. Check it out! As for this chapter, until next time!