Chapter 19

Azog thrust his blade arm through the ice and stabbed the dwarf right in the foot making him roar out in pain, and then punched through with his other hand. He sprang up from the ice and slammed Thorin onto his back with another swing that had the dwarf lord's arm bending painfully making him cry out from it. I was running before I could stop myself, and Azog grinned as he brought his blade down on Thorin. Drawing the blade that I had taken from a dead Orc, I stopped the blow before it happened, and went down on my knee as I held it away from Thorin's chest. Pain shot through my knee and up my leg making me gasp.

"You!" Azog snarled, as he looked down at me.

"You will not take him from me," I said darkly, not recognizing my own voice.

I held with all my might and slowly began to push up, taking the sword away from the dwarf. Thorin moved suddenly and stuck Orcrist right in to Azog's chest making the Orc choke on pain and his blue eyes widen in shock. I wasn't ready when Azog suddenly swung out and threw me back, as Thorin reached up to flip their positions. He pushed down hard on the sword in Azog's chest, sticking it through to the ice below. Azog didn't even lift his blade arm to defend himself, obviously shocked about what had just happened. After a groaning breath, Azog's head dropped to the ice and death glazed over in his eyes. His body went limp, and I heard Thorin let out a harsh breath. I stared up at the sky for a moment and watched the eagles battle in the sky above us. My back hurt, and I was struggling to get my lungs to function properly. Pain had my vision blur for just a few moments. Thorin pushed himself to his feet from the corner of my eye and he came over. I reached up when he offered a hand, and he easily pulled me to my feet. I knew he was in pain from the wounds he had received from battle, but he didn't show it.

"Are you all right?" he asked me softly.

"I'll recover," I replied quietly. "Are you?"

"I am alive," Thorin rumbled, looking back to me after he spotted his nephews. "I do not give you enough credit, for what you have done for us," he said in my ear as he hugged me. "I will forever be in your debt."

"You owe me nothing," I said quietly, as I wrapped my arms around him. "Had we not crossed paths, I would be crying over your dead body right now. I came back to you, and we won. After all you did for me, we are even."

Pulling back, Thorin looked at me and moved some hair from my face before we turned and I laughed as Kili hugged me tightly. Wrapping my arms around him, I squeezed him as well and then hugged Fili again. He pressed his face against my shoulder after he laughed joyously. When I pulled back, I took in that the prince was very alive in my arms. His brother stood behind me. We didn't escape unscathed, but we had escaped and that was what mattered.

"I'm glad you are safe," I breathed quietly.

"If we died after you saved us, I'm sure you'd be pretty angry," Kili laughed from behind me.

"Yes, yes I would," I replied, giving him an angry look, before hugging him again.

When we let go of each other, Kili turned to his brother. They both walked over to Thorin, and the moment they shared had me turning away from them. I looked to see the eagles were taking over the last of the army, sending the others running for the hills. Beorn was with them, and I knew that because I heard him roar loudly. I looked at Ravenhill for a moment and moved away from the others.

"One, last thing," I murmured. "Get off the ice."

Once they were safe, I pushed my transformation back into a dragon and lifted into the air and shot fire straight down at the fortress that we had battled for our lives at. I swung my tail down, and watched it collapse in flames. I picked up Azog's dead body, and flung it into the flames with an easy flick of my claws. Satisfied, I dove toward where the others were standing and turned human as I landed.

You did the impossible, Arina. We are so proud of you. Galadriel said in my mind, and it made me smile as I watched the flames burn what had once been Ravenhill.

Thorin came up and stood beside me to watch as well, and I leaned to look at the wound on his back. It wasn't deep, but I knew it had to be painful. The sword had shredded his chain mail, making it useless. I moved his hair out of my way, and met his gaze when he turned slightly to see what I was doing.

"Would you allow me to treat it?" I asked quietly. "And your foot..."

"Yes, it'll serve as a reminder," he replied. "That we all lived, despite what we had been told."

I nodded and took my hand away from his back and dropped it down to my side. We turned then as Thranduil came up the mountain and Gandalf and Bilbo were close behind. I wasn't sure where Bilbo had gone off to when the fighting had started, but I decided not to look into the matter.

"Arina," Gandalf sighed with a smile. "You never cease to amaze me when you come around."

"Thank you," I smiled slightly, as we turned to greet them and Bilbo came over and hugged me after he hugged Thorin.

Thranduil looked over at Tauriel and Kili for a moment as Legolas walked over to us and I walked up to the elf after reluctantly leaving Thorin's side. Reaching up I hugged Legolas tightly, and was relieved when he returned the gesture.

"Thank you, for not abandoning us," I said quietly.

"I think I understand, what you meant," he said softly.

"Good," I smiled, as Thranduil approached Tauriel and we both watched carefully.

"You did well," Thranduil said quietly.

"Thank you," she murmured.

I turned back to Thorin and the others, to catch his gaze and the smile that finally reached his eyes. It had me walking over to him again and throwing my arms around his neck. He returned it, and I couldn't help the few tears that escaped my eyes. Thorin gave a relieved chuckle as he held me with one hand, his sword still in the other. Letting him go, I turned to look at the others for a second.

"We are not done yet," I said quietly. "We still have lots to clean up, and wounded to help..."

"I will take my dead back with me," Thranduil said quietly. "And bury them there."

"Or we can give them a proper burial here," I offered.

He looked at me for a moment and then slowly, nodded his head in agreement to what I had suggested. I looked at the path that led down back to the valley and I sighed quietly feeling my body grow heavy. Walking toward the steps, I sat down and ran a hand through my hair for a moment. Dwalin came up the steps, his axe over his shoulder as he had been below fighting again. He walked up to Thorin, and the two grasped each other in a hug. When the warrior turned to me, he walked over to where I was sitting. Dwalin leaned down, after laying a hand on my head and pressed his own against mine. I closed my eyes tightly, knowing that he had been terrified to come back up here. I gripped his wrist for a second before he finally let go and went to greet the others. Dwalin gave me one last look, and my expression softened dramatically.

I watched everyone for a while and slowly, the others began to trickle up to the hill. Thranduil and Legolas had gone down to help tend to their wounded, and I knew it was only a matter of time before we were to head down there as well. Balin walked over to Thorin, and I saw tears in his eyes as he hugged him. Everyone in the company was accounted for which made me sigh softly in happiness. Fili sat down next to me after he greeted everyone and he leaned back on the steps in exhaustion.

"We'll be done before you know it," I said gently.

"Yes," he agreed. "I'm ready for all this to be over..."

I chuckled slightly and watched each dwarf greet Thorin with happy looks on their faces. I was sure they thought he had died up here, along with Fili and Kili. My burning of the fortress up here probably didn't help, but that place could stay a pile of rock for all I cared. I turned to watch Thorin again, noticing how he moved. His shoulders were tight, and even though his eyes were shining happily, his jaw clenched every now and again.

"We need to get back down there," he said suddenly, looking at everyone. "We have much to do."

The company nodded, and Gandalf got to his feet from next to Bilbo. For a moment, I saw something very different as I looked at them. Bilbo would have had tears in his eyes, while Gandalf would have sat helplessly next to him. When I blinked, they were both on their feet, their expressions filled with joy. Looking over across the river, I bit the inside of my cheek when I saw the company sobbing over Thorin's dead body. It was what could have happened, had I not been here. I questioned myself if it had played out this way if someone had told Thorin instead. Regardless, I was glad to see everyone alive and well.

"Arina?" Fili asked from beside me.

"I'm all right," I sighed, and got to my feet and winced slightly.

I had wounds that were not healing, and I wasn't even done with what I had to do yet. Closing my eyes tightly, I reached out to Fili and let him support me for a moment. His arm immediately came around my waist when he felt me lean into him. I balanced against him for a moment and inhaled a quiet breath.

"One second," I murmured, focusing on my knee that I had apparently broken.

Feeling it heal when I focused on it, I opened my eyes when I was done and Fili slowly let go of me. He looked at me in concern, but I nodded that I was okay. I was not looking forward to the trip down there, but I knew we had to. Gandalf led the way, and I watched everyone follow him. I hung back for a moment and took in the fact that they were alive. Thorin turned his head as he had been the last to follow his company and he looked at me. His expression softened, and he walked back up the stairs to me and reached out to lay a firm hand on my cheek. I blinked at him, and reached up to grab his wrist to give it an affectionate squeeze. I let him run his other hand through my hair and across the braided piece before he stepped back.

"Come on," he said gently.

I sighed and followed him, and we began our long walk down to the valley where the battle had finally come to an end. I followed Thorin carefully down the steps, and clenched my jaw as his shoulders tensed from the wound on his back. It made me sigh and by the time we got to the valley, I felt ready to collapse. I walked away from everyone, and pushed my last transformation in to a dragon. Thorin walked over to me, and I lowered my head to him so I could speak with him.

"I will bury everyone," I said quietly. "Help tend to your wounded, and yourself."

He looked over at me, meeting my hazel eyes with his own. "I cannot thank you enough, Arina."

I snorted loudly, making several people jump. "I wasn't going to let you die. Not after all we've been through. We will see each other later," I promised softly.

When he nodded, I turned and walked off to get started. It was easy for the Orcs, because my flames were able to burn them to nothing. I did that with all of the enemies. Going against the mountain, I slammed my tail over the tunnels and collapsed them after I dug a huge trench in to the hill that led down to where the tunnels had been. I gathered the dead and lined them down in where I had dug which was more than deep enough to bury them. It didn't take me long and others helped as well to make the process go quicker. When it was done, I quietly pushed the dirt back over and then took my tail to smooth it over. A small wizard came forward then and cast a spell that had foliage springing up from the ground. I watched him in fascination as grass and flowers sprung from the ground. Even though it was coming on winter, some of the foliage was nice and green. It made me snort.

"It's the least we can do," Gandalf said. "We also can fix a little part of the city to help get ready for winter."

I watched them work their magic for a little while and rumbled in amazement. Wizards had always interested me when it came to their magic. I finished what I was doing and then slowly moved back and turned human. As I moved back to catch my breath, I watched Thranduil come over to me. I couldn't help it when my shoulders tightened as he joined me, but it faded when he offered me a cup of warm tea. I took it gratefully and let the cup warm my hands. He stood beside me quietly for a moment.

"You are quite an extraordinary woman, Arina," he said finally. "Thorin is very lucky to have you as a friend."

"I think I'm lucky to have him as one," I replied, after thanking him. "All of them. I'm sorry about those you lost."

Thranduil looked to where I had buried the dead and he sighed softly. "I am as well," he answered. "But it would have been much worse had you not found what you were capable of."

He laid his hand on my shoulder and then walked off when Legolas approached me. He walked over and stood with me for a moment as Tauriel helped some of the wounded elves to a safe place so they could be helped. We stood in comfortable silence, and finally he turned to me. I lifted my head so that I could look at him when he did.

"Thank you," he said quietly. "For making me see. I cannot hide anymore, not when the world is like this."

"It's just a matter of right or wrong," I said quietly. "So many things can blind us from seeing it, but all in their own time, Legolas. Evil is still out there, and it is very possible that this won't be the last battle."

He nodded to me quietly, and then turned to hug me before he left to help his kin. I watched the sun sink below the land in a last glory of color, and everyone had gathered to sleep for the night. I grabbed a few things that I was going to need, and slowly made my way back up the mountain after someone offered me a horse. I got up to the mountain, and then let the animal go back to the town since she knew where she had to go. Fili and Kili had made a fire, and had decided to camp outside of Erebor for the night when I walked up the path. They weren't alone in their decision. The others joined them, brining out supplies from inside the mountain and I noticed another fire was going to cook food and other things that the elves had provided us with. It was crowded, since the soldiers that had survived with Dain were also there. They were tending to the wounded as well as making things to eat. I heard singing somewhere in the distance.

"Not sleeping inside?" I mused, as I came next to the brothers.

Kili laughed, "Place is amazing and all, but I like looking at the stars."

"I wonder why," I teased, making the others laugh. "Where is Thorin?"

"He's inside," Balin said softly. "Said he needed a bit to clear his head and think."

"Well," I sighed. "Looks like I get to be the one to interrupt that."

Going to walk off, I stopped and looked back at the thirteen dwarves that sat around the fire. Bilbo had stayed behind with Gandalf for the night, so he wasn't among us. I couldn't help but smile at them all. Even though they were all exhausted and wounded, they still managed to smile back at me.

"Every single one of you deserves this. You should be extremely proud of yourselves," I said gently, glancing at the each one of them.

Walking in to the mountain, I followed Thorin's scent and found him standing on the stairs that led down to the gold. His body was tense, and I watched him slowly remove his gloves and drop them to the ground. He turned when he heard me approaching, so I stood beside him and looked over the cavern filled with treasure.

"Thorin," I said gently after a bit.

He turned his head to see me, and he gave a slight smile. I could tell he was exhausted, and he had not been treated for his wounds. His face still had blood on it, and his back was still bloody as well. I tried not to give him a glare for not taking care of himself, so instead I just sighed. It brought another smile to his face.

"You were supposed to get looked at," I sighed crossly.

"I will," he replied, looking back over the cavern.

I looked at all the gold below for a minute and then back to the dwarf beside me. "What now?" I asked softly.

"I honor my word," he answered. "Bilbo was right. I made a promise to the people of Lake-town. It's time I honor that."

"That's a good start," I smiled.

"We'll get there," Thorin rumbled. "I've already had someone send word to Thranduil about his gems, and to assist with what I need to do."

"Mmm." I glanced at my feet and smiled again. "I'm glad to see you are not falling back into the sickness."

"It will never take a hold over me again," Thorin said firmly. "Never."

"Good," I breathed, and then looked at him when he took my hand.

His hands were warm, making me hum quietly. I laced our fingers and leaned quietly against his arm for a moment. Thorin squeezed my hand and brought them to his lips to kiss them. I relaxed a little, and my gaze softened slightly. It was such a small gesture of affection, but I was happy to receive it.

"You have no idea how much joy it brings me to be here right now," I admitted. "To be holding your hand when you were supposed to be dead is...it is almost overwhelming. Thank you for not pushing me away."

Thorin turned quietly to face me, so I moved back to look up at him and he laid his other hand against my cheek gently. His look softened, and he gently laid his forehead against mine. My eyes closed briefly at the touch before I opened them to look at him.

"You saved my life," he rumbled. "I don't think I can express the happiness I feel. You saved all of us. Thanking you will never be good enough."

"Like I said, I couldn't let you die," I whispered, my hand squeezing his this time.

"I know," Thorin sighed softly. "We still have much to do."

"Yes, we do," I agreed with him as he backed up from me. "And the first part is letting me treat your back, and that foot."

He glanced at me with a look that clearly told me he could take care of himself but I arched my brow at him. The stubborn king was returning, which could make this very infuriating. I tilted my head at him with a firm glare.

"You said I could," I huffed.

Thorin turned away from the gold with a sigh and we walked back through the forges. We left the mountain and rejoined the others by one of the fires. I grabbed the things I had snatched while I was in Dale and walked with him quietly after getting some water from the stream that ran in front of the mountain. He sat down, and took off his long coat with the chain mail that had been shredded, and pulled his shirt over his head so that I could see the wound. The blood had dried, and I had to help him peel the fabric from his skin without irritating the wound. I ignored the others who were watching closely with painful looks as I heated the water and took it back. I looked up at them from behind Thorin to see the looks on their faces. I smiled slightly at them, making some of them wince.

"You guys might be next," I warned, making them all wince.

Smiling, I tucked my feet under myself and I dipped the cloth I had in the hot water and squeezed it out and quietly moved his hair out of the way so I could start cleaning the blood off around the wound. He had bowed his head while I worked, and I could tell from the tension in his shoulders that it was painful. I cleaned the wound the best I could without hurting him to much. At one point he shivered, and I almost growled in rage. It was a good thing he had killed Azog. I was tempted to bring him back and kill him again, though that was impossible.

"On your feet," I sighed. "So I can wrap it."

"I swear you enjoy causing others pain," he grunted as he rose to his feet slowly, making me glare at him.

His movements told everyone else that he was fine, but I knew better. It took a good eye to see the tension in his body. He stood in silence as I started wrapping it, and I moved around to the front of him so that I could secure it tightly. Thorin watched what I did, and I glanced up at him when I was finished. He only lowered his eyes to me, his feet planted firmly on the ground as I patted his chest gently.

"There, that wasn't so bad," I said letting out a slow breath, and his response was to arch his brow which made me smile. "Well, now you get to sit and give me your foot."

Thorin almost sat down with a thump, but he slowed his motion and I helped him get out of his boot. The sword had stabbed him right in the front of his foot, and it had lucky been a small wound since it had been only the tip of the blade. I grimaced at the sight of the wound and bit the inside of my cheek to concentrate.

"Ouch," Fili hissed from where he sat.

"Yep. I tried telling him to move, but I had been a little too late," I sighed, as I cleaned the wound like I had been taught and wrapped it. "There, all done."

Thorin kept his arms crossed as he lowered his gaze to look at me, and I smiled again and handed him his boot so that he could put that back on. I only helped him get it on so that he could do the rest, and I watched him. I got a fresh cloth wet, and handed it to him.

"Your face," I said softly. "You got a nasty cut on your forehead. There's also blood in your hair."

"So do you," he rumbled, reaching out to touch the cut on the side of my head.

It made me flinch from pain and I smacked his hand away instantly. I was exhausted, and my healing usually only focused on large wounds. It also wasn't a surprise because I was so drained on energy. I moved back from him slightly when he gave me a pointed look. His finger motioned for me to move forward so I gave him a slight glare.

"I'm not worried about me," I said lowly.

"Well I am," he countered. "Now come here. Or I'll make you."

Clamping my mouth shut, I sighed and moved over to him. Thorin lifted my chin with one finger and turned my head so he could see the wound and began to clean it. I tried to sit still as he cleared the blood away from the small gash. I had received it when Azog had thrown me from him when he had been stabbed by Thorin.

"Why isn't it healing?" he asked, as my eyes fluttered shut at the pain.

"Because I'm tired," I murmured. "I spent much of my energy today. I shattered my knee earlier as well. That was more important to heal..."

"Then you should rest," Thorin grunted quietly. "You need to clean up as well."

"I will when I am done with what needs to be taken care of," I breathed when he finished.

"There," he sighed looking at me. "You need rest, Arina..."

"Who's next?" I asked not taking my eyes from him for a moment.

The others grunted a little as I grabbed a new shirt that I had brought with me and handed it to Thorin. He sighed and took it from me, giving me a look of disapproval that I was continuing my work. Oin had been treating a few of the dwarves, and Fili sighed quietly and offered his shoulder which had a nasty gash in it. There were many more wounded and dying dwarves. Dain's forces were still treating their own as well.

"It's not that bad," I teased getting fresh water and a clean rag.

"No, it was suppose to be a lot worse," he said gravely and I leaned over to look at him. "That was supposed to be in my back..."

I paused for a moment and laid my hand on his good shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Well it didn't," I said softly. "So don't worry about what is past."

He reached up and grabbed my hand for a moment, and I looked at him gently as he glanced up at me. I tried not to think of what could have happened back up at Ravenhill. Both he and his brother had been so close to being lost to us. I had arrived just in time to save them from their deaths. I squeezed his hand and leaned my head against his quietly.

"Thank you," he murmured.

"Don't thank me yet," I smiled. "This will hurt."

Fili hissed as I cleaned it and treated it, since I was unable to wrap it. Oin had taught me a thing or two over the years I had known him, but I wasn't an expert like he was. It wasn't bleeding anymore, and was scabbing over so I just made sure it wouldn't get infected. It would heal on its own well enough.

"Just don't try and strain it," I advised. "It's at a good spot that you can easily reopen it."

"Thank you," Fili rumbled glancing up at me. "Are you sure you are okay?"

"Hush," I chided. "You are sounding like your uncle."

It made him smile a little as I cleaned my hands and then dried them. I went through about ten more dwarves before I had to excuse myself. I retreated in to the mountain and stood on the gold floor and inhaled a heavy breath. My hands had started shaking on the last dwarf I had been tending to, and I knew it was because I was getting too exhausted. I'd collapse if I took on another patient.

Looking over the hall, I thought about what we had done today, and what that meant for the future. Was it a good thing that I had saved them? Or did I save them just so that they could die tomorrow.

It means that we will have more allies than we ever had, little one. Galadriel said to me. Be proud of what you did today. We all are. What you did was the right thing. They will be around for a long time.

I sank down to my knees when she left my mind and looked at the floor before I felt the tears come to my eyes. It was much stronger than I was expecting and my shoulders shook in a sob. Relief and exhaustion flooded my body when I realized that it was all going to be okay. I could hear the others speaking outside the mountain, laughing and just enjoying each others company. It warmed my heart, but that didn't stop the tears.

I loved this chapter. For many reasons. Thanks for the review and follows! Much appreciated!