Chapter 76

It took me well into the night to reach the Greenwood, and at dawn I was coming over Lake-town. I could see the smoke rising from the valley of Dale, and a loud roar caught my attention. The army that marched on Erebor seemed to be never ending. They came over the mountainside, just like they had back sixty years ago. Baring my teeth, I opened my jaws and roared. It startled the armies, and I charged over the field and toward the army on the hillside. The black dragon at the Gates of Erebor gave me some relief. Thane was well, and alive.

Fire spewed from my jaws over the men that were attempting to take my home. There were still so many that were fighting in close quarters that I couldn't take them out in the form I was in. It took me a short amount of time to burn our enemies to ash, before I was turning around and rushing for the gates. Giving a mighty pump of my wings, I angled myself down and dove toward the ground. It scared everyone but the dwarves and humans from Dale. Pushing my transformation into human, I drew my sword and cut down a man charging for one of my dwarves.

"Mother!"

Swinging around, I saw Thane cutting through several men in an attempt to reach me. For a moment, I was almost amazed at how he moved like his father in battle, but I was quickly reminded that getting distracted was not a good thing. A blade sliced across my leg and I hissed out a breath of pain. Turning, I ran my sword straight through the man who tried to best me, and let him fall. Yanking back, I ran to Thane, and several dwarves rallied around us, attempting to give us time.

"You're back," he breathed, relief shining in his eyes. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm well, but we must finish this," I replied. "If I find your father and have him recall the men and dwarves, can you finish the rest?"

"I can burn them all to ash," he answered darkly.

I nodded my head, and we parted in different directions. I was pointed in the general direction of where Thorin had last been seen, and I ran through the fighting. I had to put my sword away, and replaced it with my fighting daggers, to make the trip easier. It was much easier to kill and slide through the bodies with them rather than a sword. When I found Thorin, he was fighting alongside Dwalin. I noticed a few dwarves being dragged away behind them, and I let out a breath, before turning away from a strike and slicing the head off an enemy who was too careless.

"Thorin!" I yelled, fighting through the crowd.

He swung when he heard my voice, and his blue eyes widened in shock. Ducking from another swing, I stuck my dagger right in the chest of a man, and ran to him. The dwarves immediately rallied around us, and I couldn't help but reach out and touch his cheek. He instantly responded to it, leaning heavily into the touch. He was alive still, despite what Saruman had said. The days of battle had worn on him, and he was covered in dirt and blood.

"Recall the army of men and dwarves," I breathed. "We can take care of the rest."

While we both wanted nothing more than to hug and kiss each other, now was not the time. He nodded to me, and swung around to cut down another Easterling. I was forced back into action as well, and we fought together. After several more minutes of intense fighting, a horn was blown, and then another. The reaction was immediate from our forces. Thinking they had won, the Easterlings pushed forward, attempting to kill us before we reached the mountain. For a moment, I almost smiled at their stupidity. They had no idea what was coming. I had already killed half the army that had come for us, but the rest I had not touched. Once we were safely inside, Thane could kill the rest.

I hit one of my enemies with the hilt of my sword, and ran him through before shoving him back. My blade then met another, and I was thrown back several feet. I tried to gather my balance, appalled that he had caught me off guard. He sneered at me, moving fast and went to strike. I went to throw my sword up to block him, but I wasn't going to be fast enough. Dwalin came out of no where, protecting me from the sudden attack. The sword had sliced him clear across the chest, and I couldn't tell if it had been fatal or not. I cried out in terror and ran forward to catch him. Yanking a dagger from his belt, I threw it, killing the man who did this to him.

"Dwalin!" I cried, as he collapsed in my arms.

Dwalin sputtered, and I wasted no time in handing him off to a dwarf to get him inside. With a swift order, I watched them go briefly, before I was surging back to my feet. Yanking my sword out of the ground, I shuddered in pain as a blade caught my back. Lurching forward, I managed to catch myself and swing around to kill my enemy. I glared at the dead body for a moment, and then turned and went to continue fighting. I gasped suddenly, the pain in my back over taking me.

"Arina!" Thorin snarled, as I stumbled again.

The wound was deeper then I thought and my vision left me in my agony. When I could see again, I saw an Easterling coming forward. I tried to get up, but Thorin suddenly leaped into action. He knocked the sword from its course, and stabbed the man in the neck with a dagger. He spun and expertly killed another man, shoving his dagger right into his enemy's head. Just as he yanked it out, another sword came out of no where and ran him through.

It was so fast, no one around him could have stopped it. I screamed, agonizing fear rushing through me. The Easterling yanked his blade bake and it was coated in blood. Thorin shuddered visibly, before falling to his knees from the wound. I opened my mouth to yell, but a roar of rage cut me off. Thane had taken his dragon form seconds later, having just enough space to do so. The new threat sent many Easterlings back, as the great black dragon lifted his head high into the air to roar. Thane moved forward, and spread his wings. I had managed to run forward as Thorin fell back and I caught him. He let out a harsh breath, and I noticed he had several other wounds on him.

"HELP!" I screamed. "SOMEONE HELP!"

Two dwarves ran forward hearing my cries. Given the chance now that Thane was in his dragon form, they were able to assist without being killed. When they took Thorin from me, our eyes met and I saw the fear in his. I was sure my expression was the same. I felt myself weaken and I had to throw my energy into healing the wound on my back. Gasping for breath, I fell forward and had to catch myself with my hands. A large clawed foot landed by me, giving me the moment. I felt tears leak from my eyes, but I quickly gained control of myself. Pushing myself to my feet, I looked up at the large dragon.

"Thane!" I cried.

"Go," he growled, turning his head and lowering it down to me. "Get inside, I will join you."

Nodding my head, I ran for it, and went through the front gates as fast as I could. It was chaos on the inside. There were injured men and dwarves everywhere, and healers were rushing around just trying to help everyone. I blinked quietly, and sucked in a painful breath when I couldn't find Thorin. Where had they taken him? My body was unbearably sore from healing, and I wasn't sure I could feel my legs. Looking around wildly, I was greeted by the sight of Akira.

"AMAD!?"

I sighed softly, and reached out to hug her after I put my weapons away. She squeezed me tightly, and cried for a moment. This was her first real war, since she had only known peace. I pulled back from her, and looked at her. I didn't have the time to sit and comfort her, and she had duties to her people. She was one of our best healers.

"Where is your father?"

"They took him...that way," she breathed.

Nodding my head, I kissed her and then ran off. I couldn't believe the amount of bodies that were everywhere, and the injured. We had suffered a major blow this time. I blinked back my tears, and looked around after several minutes of searching. Finding a healer, I yanked her to a stop.

"Where is the King?" I demanded.

"My...my Queen," she stammered, bowing. "This way."

She took me toward the Healing Halls as quick as she could. Going into one of the private rooms, I froze at the door when I saw Thorin lying there on one of the cots. From the looks of it, they had tried to start helping him, but there were so many others around. He was a priority however.

"W..." I couldn't form words, and I rushed forward as Thorin coughed. "Where is he injured?"

"He...was ran through the middle," the dwarf whispered.

"Where is Dwalin?" I demanded. "Does he live?"

"Barely..." she whispered. "He's lost much blood."

I felt my own blood drain from my face. "The crown Princes. Where are Fili and Kili?"

"Injured, but nothing serious," she answered quickly.

"Get your best healers, and tend to Dwalin," I ordered. "Get Akira, she can treat him."

Turning my attention back to Thorin, I set myself to work on removing what armor was left. I took off everything from the waist up, and saw the poorly applied bandage on his middle. When lifted it slightly, blood soaked his skin and my hands. Letting out a harsh breath, I applied pressure to the wound again, and focused for a moment. He had been run straight through, and I blinked the scene from my head. His skin was pale, having already lost so much blood. It was bleeding slowly, but steadily enough. I could only imagine what the sword had hit inside him when it ran him through. More panic threatened to take over, but I blinked and forced myself to think.

"No," I whispered, tears coming to my eyes. "I'm not going to lose you like this."

He took a breath, and slowly Thorin opened his eyes. "Arina?"

"I'm here love," I whispered. "Right here..."

"I'm afraid I've...broken my promise," he whispered, and I couldn't hold back my tears. "I'm...so sorry..."

"No," I choked, touching his cheek. "No, this is not how it ends!"

"I fear...not even you..." Thorin had to stop speaking as a wave of pain hit him, and grunted in agony.

I had never felt so much fear in my life. I could take on the armies of Mordor, get tortured beyond belief, and talk to dragons face to face, but nothing scared me more than losing him. Reaching out for his hand, I took it and felt as he weakly clung to it with his own fingers. Tears came to my eyes, as I desperately forced my emotions under control. I was no help to him if I was a blubbering mess. Thorin opened his eyes again, managing to see through his pain. I blinked as he reached up and touched my cheek, and I grabbed his hand.

"I love you," he whispered, and I felt the tears spill over my cheeks with renewed strength.

Don't kill me...we're not done yet!

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