Chapter Five
Soon, the entire company are now running, with an army of orcs and wargs following behind them. DJ readied her bow, firing arrows at any orc or warg that came close to her and Ariella. "DJ! Ariella! Keep up!" called out Thorin. "We are!" called back DJ. "DJ! Look out! There's one in front of you!" cried out Ariella. DJ spun around turning towards three orcs and wargs, withdrawing her sword, she fought off the orcs and wargs. But suddenly a warg, jumped on her, knocking DJ to the ground. "DJ!" shrieked Ariella. Thorin spun around, storming towards the warg on top of DJ, killing off the creature. "She's hurt, I have to carry her." said Thorin, picking up DJ.
DJ moaned in pain. "Where's Gandalf?!" asked Ori. "The wizard's abandoned us!" moaned Gloin. "Over here, you fools!" called out Gandalf. The company made their way towards the wizard, who was standing behind a large rock. "DJ's injured. Warg bites." Thorin quickly said to Gandalf. "In the tunnel, quick!" demanded Gandalf.. Thorin took DJ into the tunnel, still holding her in his arms. "Its okay, DJ, I got you." whispered Thorin. Shortly the rest of the company followed.
Kili came into the tunnel last, followed by a dead orc, rolling in front of Thorin. Thorin removed an arrow from the orc' s corpse. "Elves!" spat Thorin. "Where does this tunnel lead? Should we follow it?" called out Dwalin. "Let's follow it!" piped in Bofur. Gandalf then leads the company further into the tunnel. Suddenly, they reached the end of the tunnel, now looking out over a beautiful valley with trees, and lots of green landscape, with a large palace centering the land. "We're in the Hidden Valley of Imaladris. Home of Lord Elrond!" announced Gandalf.
"Rivendell!" gasped Bilbo, as he looked into the valley in awe and amazement. "This is your plan all long, to seek refuge with our enemy?!" snapped Thorin. "Thorin, the only ill will you bring is upon yourself." said Gandalf. "But they will stop us!" protested the dwarf. "Of course they will, but we must seek out answers of your map, Thorin. Lord Elrond is capable of translating the map for you. And secondly, DJ needs immediate medical attention, if you want her to live." said Gandalf. Thorin sighed, and he looked down upon DJ. "Where are we going?" asked DJ. "To the elves." replied Thorin.
"Elves. We're going to see the elves!" sang Ariella. Bilbo chuckled.
"I wonder if they wear the little pointy hats and make toys?" said Ariella. "Wrong elves, you idiot!" snapped DJ. "What in blazes are you talking about? Elves don't wear pointy hats and make toys!" said Dwalin. "In different stories they do. Especially the one about Santa Claus. In fact, I know Santa Clause and his crew of toymakers personally." grinned Ariella. "Ariella." said DJ. "Sorry." said Ariella. "Who is this Santa Claus?" asked Bofur. "I'll tell you later." said Ariella.
"Your friend here is clueless." said Thorin. "You don't have to tell me anything new." smirked DJ. Thorin smiled, as they followed Gandalf to the palace courtyard. They are greeted by a dark haired elf, named Lindir, Elrond's advisor and storyteller. "Is that an elf?" asked Ariella. "Yes, Ariella. Its an elf? What mushroom have you been smoking?" said DJ. Bofur laughed. "For someone who's injured, you're sure on a roll with the cracks!" grinned Bofur. Thorin grinned. "I wish you can go on that way all night." said Thorin. "Thorin." said DJ. "Sorry." said Thorin.
DJ was expecting the elves to crack jokes and insult them. But it didn't happen. "Hey! Aren't you supposed to crack jokes and call us names?" asked DJ.
"DJ!" said Gandalf, looking at the woman. "Sorry, Gandalf." said DJ. Lindir looked at the human women in amusement. "Odd company you got here, Mithrandir. Two humans, thirteen dwarves and a Halfling. I never seen anything like this before!" said the dark haired elf. "Is Lord Elrond home?" asked Gandalf. "Lord Elrond is not here." said Lindir. But no sooner as Lindir stated his comment, the company could hear the sound of horns blaring, and a group of elves mounted on horses riding in, circling around them, which made all the dwarves position in fighting stance.
"You idiots!" shouted Ariella. Dwalin glared at Ariella. "Not a word, you!" snarled Dwalin. "Bite me, Dwalin." shot back Ariella. "I would, but I don't have the time!" said Dwalin. DJ rolled her eyes. Lord Elrond approached them, and the wizard and the Elf Lord talked. Gandalf then introduces Elrond to the companions. "Thorin, son of Thrain! You have your grandfather's bearing." said Lord Elrond. "Strange. I don't remember him mentioning you!" growled Thorin. Then Lord Elrond turned his attention to Ariella and DJ. "Who are these ladies?" asked Elrond.
"This is Ariella, she's a genie with great powers that will help all of us, and this here is her human friend, DJ. DJ needs medical attention, she had been attacked by a warg." said Gandalf. "We will take her to the healing quarters, while the rest of the company will follow Lindir to the dining hall!" said Elrond. While the other dwarves, Ariella and Bilbo followed Lindir to the dining hall, Gandalf, and Thorin(carrying DJ) followed Elrond to the healing quarters. When they arrived, Thorin gently placed DJ on the bed.
Two elven healers entered, and began working on DJ. "The good news she only has minor bites in her side, and she is able to work. We are bandaging the wound right now." said the first healer. Thorin nodded. "Ariella and DJ will have baths ready for them, and they'll join us after the baths." said Elrond. "I will wait here for you and Ariella until you're done with the bath, and I can escort you both to the dining hall." said Thorin. DJ nodded. Gandalf and Elrond leave the room, leaving Thorin and DJ be. "Ariella will be joining us shortly so you two can get your bath. You had me and all of us worried, there, DJ." said Thorin softly.
"I'm sorry, Thorin. The creature was too fast for me before I even tried to shoot him." said DJ. "I know, DJ." said Thorin, taking DJ's hands. Shortly, Ariella entered.
"DJ? Are you okay?" asked Ariella approaching the bed. DJ slowly sat up. "Yes, I'm fine. Its just a minor injury." said DJ, smiling at her friend. "Elrond is wanting to speak to me later alone for some reason. I hope I didn't do anything wrong." said Ariella. "You didn't do anything wrong, Ariella. He's just going to ask you about your powers. Don't worry." said DJ. Suddenly, two female elves entered the quarters. "Ladies, your baths are ready." said the first female elf. Ariella and DJ followed the elves into the bathhouse. Ariella sighed. "Ah! This feels really nice! Finally a bath! I stunk worse than the dwarves!" said Ariella.
DJ laughed. "They have dresses laid out for us too." said DJ. "I'm glad to hear that you and Thorin made up. Now he thinks twice of getting you angry." said Ariella. "He's still a little mad at you for turning him into a donkey, Ariella. But he's not mad at you much anymore. He says not to do it again." said DJ. "I know it was wrong for me to do that, DJ. I am not going to do that anymore. And besides, Gandalf gave me a lecture about it too." said Ariella. "Oh did he?" said DJ, smiling. "Yes. He says I need to use my magic wisely, and not just randomly turn innocent people into things. He says wasting my magic could waste my energy." said Ariella.
"And he's right." said DJ.
After bathing, the two women changed into the dresses loaned to them by the elves. "These gowns are beautiful, and very comfortable." smiled Ariella. "They're even more comfortable than those Hawaii dresses." grinned DJ. Once the women finished dressing and fixed their hair, they met up with Thorin in the healing chambers. Ariella tried not to laugh at the dwarf's expression when he saw DJ. "If his chin drops any lower it would reach the floor." chuckled Ariella. "Shut up, Ariella." said DJ. Thorin approached them. "You look very beautiful, DJ!" smiled Thorin. "Thank you." said DJ, taking Thorin's arm.
"What am I? Chopped liver?" joked Ariella. "You're pretty too, Ariella!" said Thorin rolling his eyes. "Come, lets join the others for supper." said Thorin. And Thorin escorts DJ and Ariella into the dining hall. The dwarves smiled as the three of them entered. "Not fair! Why does Thorin have to hog the beautiful maidens?" joked Bofur. "What's the matter, Bofur? Jealous?" teased Ariella. "Come here!" grinned Bofur, and Ariella sat down next to Bofur. DJ sat with Thorin, Gandalf, and Elrond. "You look very lovely tonight, DJ." said Elrond. "Thank you. I haven't dressed this nice since prom! I feel like a princess from a fairy tale!" smiled DJ. Gandalf laughed.
Elrond smiled. "But there is one thing missing." said DJ. "What's that?" said Gandalf. "My knight in shining-!" began DJ. "Ahem." coughed Thorin. DJ turned to Thorin. "Your Knight in shining armor is sitting right here." whispered Thorin, grinning. DJ blushed. Elrond, Gandalf and Thorin began discussing the weapons. "Let me look at your weapon, DJ." said Elrond after looking at Gandalf's and Thorin's swords. DJ handed her sword over to Elrond. "Is my blade special?" asked DJ.
Elrond nodded. "Yes it is very special. It has a poison effect in it once you attack the enemy. It poisons them." explained the elf lord. "Oh wow!" said DJ in amazement, as Elrond returned DJ's sword to her. "I also wish to speak to Ariella alone before talking with Gandalf and Thorin later. If you don't mind me borrowing your friend." said Elrond. "I don't mind." said DJ. Thorin stood up. "Excuse me. Coming, DJ?" said Thorin. DJ stood up, and she followed Thorin to another area of the dining hall, nearby the company.