So, i apologise for the enormous wait. I kinda broke my promise, but here's the next chapter. :)
I sat with Peeta on a rock as far away to the entrance to the troll caves possible without going too far out of the way of the company. He was thrilled as I handed him the sword I had found in the cave itself and proceeded to swing it around, very well I might add, immediately after receiving it, though he was, unsurprisingly, confused as to why the other blade I had placed on the stone glowed red.
We sat on the large stone and watched as the other dwarves emerged from the cave, some more grudgingly than others. I smirked to myself as Thorin all but stomped out of the cave keeping the very clearly elven sword close, but also somehow as far from his person as possible, glaring at it with a combination of awe and disdain. The others walked out in a huddle, Dwalin holding on to his grumpy exterior and Bofur, Nori and Gloin leaving the cave looking as though they'd accomplished something, which, most likely, had something to do with the chest of gold they were digging a hole for in the cave as I left. The last to leave the cave was Gandalf who held yet another longsword and another, much shorter sword, which was, by my reckoning, just the right size for Bilbo.
Gandalf seemed to have the same idea as me as he glanced in my direction, winked, and turned to the young Hobbit, handing him the blade. I watched as Bilbo attempting to refuse the shortsword, grudgingly and reluctantly accepted it, unsheathing it just as Gandalf walked past him.
As I sat with Peeta, the dwarf called Jed walked towards us, silently making a decision in his mind and, as he came to stand in front of us, he looked to me for a moment before speaking.
"Could I please have a moment with Katniss?" he looked to Peeta as he spoke. Peeta looked to me to make the decision so I nodded. Peeta grabbed his new sword and slipped off the rock to join Fili and Kili who were talking animatedly at the other side of the clearing. Jed moved to sit on the edge of the spot that Peeta had previously vacated and we sat for a moment before he broke the silence.
"Katniss… I…" He was cut off as a voice came through the clearing.
"There's something coming!" Bofur yelled from the boundaries the dwarves had set up temporarily. I jumped off the rock, turning to Jed apologetically and, grabbing my bow, turned back the other dwarves who were moving into formation in the middle of the clearing. We joined them, notching an arrow each into our bows and readying ourselves for an enslaught.
"Theives! Fire! Murder!" The voice boomed through the trees just as 8 extremely large rabbits burst through the tree line into the clearing, shocking all the dwarves into breaking our formation slightly at the sight. Following the rabbits came a man, around the same height as Gandalf, but wearing a brown cloak instead of Gandalfs signature grey. The sled came to halt and Gandalf pushed through a couple of the dwarves to face to stranger, shouting 'Rhadaghast', which I recognised from one of the books I'd read in the library in the Blue Mountain's. Another wizard.
Gandalf and Radaghast had been talking for what seemed like forever, before Gandalf came back to us followed by the new arrival, seemingly content with whatever plan they'd concocted. Radaghast climbed back atop his sled and shouted to the group. "I'll draw them off." And sped off.
We looked to Gandalf for an explanation, he simply looked to Thorin apprehensively before shrugging slightly, sighing audibly and muttering "You are being hunted." Before turning to the loud roar to the West of our position. The noise shocked our whole group as we pushed back into formation, ready for any attackers.
A huge creature, that looked to be a wolf, broke through the tree line into the clearing, getting uncomfortably close to young Ori, only to be cut down by Dwalin's axe in its head. The creature went down with a thump and a small whine from it's dead body.
Dwalin glanced at Ori quickly and turned to Thorin, determination clear in his eyes. Thorin turned to look around the clearing before looking to the ground for a moment. It was clear on his face he was deciding what to do next and, as he looked back up, obviously having made up his mind, and yelled for everyone to follow him as he headed out of the clearing to the East.
Each dwarf followed with their respective siblings, over the plains and hiding behind rocks as we tried to evade the wargs. Radaghast had done a good job of leading them around in circles over the empty space as we ran.
After making a huge commotion that was the Orc that Kili managed to kill, we ended up following Gandalf who disappeared from our sight as we became surrounded by orcs and their wargs. Dwalin began shouting profanities until Gandalf popped up from behind a rock, yelling "Here, you fools!" to which, we all moved closer to the rock, and, one by one, the dwarves jumped down the hole behind it.
A roar sounded behind me just as Peeta jumped down the hole. I heard him shout my name as he stood up at the bottom. I notched an arrow in my bow, turned and fired at the warg that was to the ground unceremoniously.
"Well done Kat, right in the eye every time." A voice said from behind me before I was ungraciously pushed and I saw the world spin as I rolled down the hole. I was caught at the bottom and helped to stand up. 'Kat?'. I hadn't heard that nickname in years. Only one person ever called me that. But that was impossible. Then again, Beetee's time travel theory was meant to be impossible. No, it couldn't be. But he was the only one who knew that nickname.
I looked up to the entrance that I'd been pushed down. There was no-one there. I moved to try and climb back up but felt hands grasp my arms as I did so and Peeta's voice whisper "Come on, we have to keep moving."
"No!" I struggled against Peeta's hold, even though I knew it was futile. He was one of the strongest people I knew. "I have to get up there! We can't leave him!" A horn sounded just outside the cave and an orc body fell down the hole. I don't know what Thorin did but I know it wasn't good, as I was listen to Peeta who shouted to me.
"Katniss! You barely know him! What has gotten into you!?" Peeta shouted, wrapping my arms over my own chest and holding me still, a hold that I continued to fight against up until a shrill scream echoed through the cave we were in. The group stopped all movement to look to the hole. Gandalf moved over to it, looked out and around, clearly confused, before ducking back into the cave.
"He's gone." He said, simply before moving to look to a small opening in the cave. "Come on, this way." He said. I looked to Gandalf, outraged that he would simply leave what just happened behind. "If he's alive, he'll know where we're going Katniss. Come on." He walked away from us and down the path cut into the stone. I relaxed against Peeta's chest and he released me. I looked at him and smiled, lazily, before turning to walk down the path behind Balin and in front of Peeta who I knew was still concerned for my safety.
The end of the pathway opened up to reveal a beautiful city and I immediately recognised it as Imladris from the books that Ori had showed me. We followed Gandalf down the pathways and through the archways. We reached a set of stairs that an elf was walking down, way too gracefully.
He reached the bottom of steps, at which Gandalf met him and the two converse about where the lord of Rivendell was. Apparently he was out at the time.
The horn that we'd heard earlier sounded and I was pulled into the circle of dwarves. I notched my arrow, confused as to what was happening. I saw the huge horses round the corner, the elves sat astride them, gracefully circling the group, looks of distrust clear on their faces. The last horse rounded the corner into the city and I saw someone I believed to be dead.
He looked me straight in the eye, and dropped to the ground and I could see that he knew that I'd figured out who he was. I pushed past Ori, Dwalin and Fili to get to the outside of the ring and walked calmly to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed tightly, whispering quietly. "I've missed you, daddy." I muttered. I felt his arms wrap around my waist as I heard the gasps from behind me from the other dwarves.
So who guessed it!? Huge bombshell for the story there. :) Yey Katniss found her father. Beetee was right! :D
Til next time guys
A.x