Hello again! This might be the last chapter I'll post for awhile due to my need to study and also because I'm behind in my writing for this series, I'll update as soon as I can though. Thank you so much to killthepain62, Elsa Everdeen and likarian for your loyal reviews. I enjoy them very much as well as our conversations beyond that. Please check out killthepain62's hobbit fanfiction called Welcome Home also, it's quite interesting.

Disclaimer: I do not own the hobbit or it's characters, I do however own my own and that artwork I put into the series.

Chapter Twenty-One: Ruin And Death

Lian felt an unknown force slam into the orc behind her, causing her to twist from his sudden tumble; his blade only grazing the flesh over her ribs to her left. She couldn't help but let out a cry from the cut though before she caught her fall with her elbow. Turning she saw Nellia pull her dagger from the chest of the now dead orc beside her, apparently having been the one to save her from being skewered like a fish.

"Thanks." Lian breathed, applying pressure to her wound as her blood began to soak her shirt and stain the chain mail that had saved her from an even deeper wound. Nellia quickly helped her up, watching to see if any orcs would attack again but they were all preoccupied.

"I thank ya for braiding my hair, but this won't work." Lian grunted, swiftly cutting the braid with her axe so her hair could fall around her shoulders. She hastily tied the braid to her belt in order to apply it as a makeshift bandage to her wound, hair being quite useful for soaking up blood.

"All of you; fall back to Dale!" Bard called, the elves following in suit as they realized that another army of orcs was attempting to cut them off and attack Dale. Lian felt panic run through her at this as she realized that all the women and children were still in Dale but she knew that she couldn't do anything while in the heat of battle. It was up to Bard and the Elves to save them.

"What do ya say about using now to get a little closer to one another?" Lian offered to Nellia who was shoving her sword into an orcs eyes socket. "Princess?"

A grim smile spread over her face as she hooked her arm through Nellia's and swung the girl into several orcs like she weighed nothing more than a feather. The woman had caught on quickly, slamming the heels of her boots into two orcs and landing with their faces under her feet; crushing their skulls like watermelons.

Lian slammed her steel knuckles against a nearby orcs face; thick flesh giving under the blunt force and jaw dislocating. She twirled her axe, bringing it upwards to slice through the orcs chest, meeting flesh and bone with a sickening sound. She jerked her axe out of the dying orc, bringing it around to slice the throat of an orc behind her.

The orc fell to the ground, gargling blood when the thick liquid invaded its windpipe; eyes bulging as it struggled for air. Lian nearly felt pity for the creature but she pushed that from her mind and set it back on fighting.

She saw a horde of orcs trying to crowd Trelkin and Gordon and she took the chance to jump on one of the rather large orcs back. She held on tight as it began to buck and thrash, trying to throw her off and Lian let out a grunt as she dug her heels into the orcs back.

She threw her weight forward, causing the orc to stumble forward and topple over the horde around her two kinsmen. Lian rolled forward, kicking out the feet of an orc just as Gordon head butted them.

"As graceful as always, Princess." Trelkin mused, impaling an orc on the end of his lance, the flag of Forochel already stained in orc blood. They both were unhurt aside from a few cuts here and there, handling the orcs like they were nothing more than pesky bugs.

"Gordon, let me use ya for a minute." Lian grunted, not giving him time to voice his opinion as she clambered up his broad figure to his thickly bunched shoulders. She took her higher vantage point to look over their current situation.

All of the lakemen and Elves had retreated to Dale, leaving the dwarves and her kin to fend off the mountain front while they defended southern. The masses of orcs had barely even decreased, mixing with the glinting armor of dwarves as they're pushed back. Large goblins had begun to join the battle as well and Lian knew that they were already growing weaker.

She looked for her scattered kin and found only Nellia and Burv though she did catch a glimpse of Stevvin's fur cape. She jumped down from Gordon's shoulders as he slammed his Halberd into a goblins leg.

"Stay close; do not lose sight of anyone." She told the two before she drove through a gap in the tightly knitted circle of orcs around them. She wanted to find her Father and Luke to make sure they weren't dead yet. Lian fought her way through the mass, having to roll out of the way of a stumbling troll as dwarves attempted to overpower it.

She finally saw Luke but he didn't look too good and almost seemed oblivious to the world around him. She noticed then an orc try to attack him from behind; lunging forward she slammed her smaller frame into his with enough force to knock him off balance and out of the way.

"What are ya doing, fool?! This isn't the time to be daydreaming!" She snapped; turning around to fight the orc but a dwarf had already taken care of it. She froze though, her eyes gluing to a scene before her and she realized what Luke had been focused on.

Her father was being surrounded by orcs, attempting to dog pile themselves on him as he fought them off with his sword. A large gash was decorating his forehead as his dark locks stuck to his sweaty skin and Lian didn't hesitate to rush forward to help him.

She tore through the orcs with her axe, kicking over one that tried to join the pile on top of her father. Soon enough half of them were trying to dog pile on her but considering there was now two of them to fend them off it was a more even battle.

"Don't worry, I've got yer ba-." She started but she lost all words when she turned to see one of the orcs slam a mace into her father's side, denting the metal chest plate and no doubt breaking his ribs. He let out a pained gasp as he fell to his knees, clutching his side and the orc went back for another hit but Lian quickly slammed into him before he could bring the mace down on her fallen father.

They rolled around on the ground, mud and grass coating their attire in their struggle and she quickly slammed her head into the orcs face in an attempt to get it off but its grip on her throat never loosened. She tried to gasp for air but it came out choked as she felt her windpipe constrict under the orcs tight grip.

Lian slammed her head forward in another attempt to get him off but all it did was make her see stars along with black dots as her lungs scream for air. With dwindling strength she punched the orc over and over but his grasp only tightened and her gasps came out gurgled; saliva spilling from her lips as opened her mouth.

With the last of her strength she tried one more head butt, bringing her head forward to hit the orc square in the nose and the bone shattered straight into its brain, killing it. She gasped loudly, breathing raspy as her vison faded in and out on the sudden rush of air in her lungs; rolling over she attempted to crawl to her feet but she stumbled and fell to the ground once more.

Everything was unsteady, black dancing over her vision as she attempted to regain her center of balance but her body wasn't cooperating with her and she kept falling over until she was crawling towards her father's fallen form on her hands and knees. She tried to focus but her eyelids kept drooping until finally her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell to the ground.

Lviare saw his daughter struggle with an orc before him, the vile creatures hands curled around her neck as she attempted to stun him with several head butts and punches but it did nothing.

He attempted to move but his ribs screamed at him and he let out a cry of anguish and frustration, he could not let his daughter die right before his eyes even if the life was draining from himself as well. He would not let his own flesh and blood die while he still lived and he let out cries of pain as he began to crawl towards her.

His breathing was raspy and he knew one of his lungs had been punctured along with large amounts of internal damaged but he didn't care. He was half way there when he saw the orc flop over dead and Lian tried to stumble to her feet but she kept falling. Finally she fell to the ground and Lvaire felt his heart tear in two at the sight.

"Lian." He rasped; his voice cracking as he continued to crawl over to her using his elbows, his body felt like dead weight as he attempted to move his limbs. "Lian, open your eyes. Come on."

Finally he reached her, rolling her over with a cry as his side screamed out in protest; he pulled her face closer to his, cupping her cheek as her attempted to wake her. "Lian please, wake up. You're fine." He breathed, emotions churning through him in ways he had not felt since he thought her to be dead before, somehow it was so much more powerful now that he was here with her.

"Lian, please, don't die too." He gasped, caressing his rough thumb over the tender flesh of her cheek as sobs began to tear through him in heavy heaves. "My baby." He sobbed, tears running down his worn cheeks and into his beard. Dark bruises had already formed around her neck along with puncture marks from the orcs claws, blood also stained the a large spot along her side, tinting the fabric of her shirt a dark burgundy. The sight caused his stomach to twist and church in distress and he had half the mind to empty his stomach content on the ground but he swallowed it down. He couldn't handle this; he couldn't lose her too, not like this.

He remembered the day her mother had died had been the day he'd had his heart torn out and mended up. He had lost the love of his life but she had left him a beautiful daughter to remind him of what their love had created. He adored Lian as much as he did her mother, even when she sometimes acted as though she didn't love him back.

Lvaire was no fool, he knew his daughter was like her mother and would do what she wanted no matter what anyone else said. She wasn't going to change her ways unless she learned on her own that she wasn't always in the right and he had been patient enough to wait until then. So when that dwarf had come into his daughter's life he had been jealous of her constant visits to see him. Yes, he knew about the elder Dwarf that dwelled within the ice cave and though Lian thought herself be alone when she visited; he had always sent a guard to watch out for her from afar.

But now all his caution, all the extra care he had given to keeping her safe and away from the outside world was for nothing. He thought that Gandalf would take care of her and keep her safe but she was being sent to her deathbed. Lvaire pressed his forehead to hers, sobs heavy upon him as he prayed to anyone, anything to save her from the claws of death. "Wake up." He whispered barely above a breath.

It was then that Lian's eyelids twitched, fluttering open for him to once more see her clear green eyes shine up at him and he felt all the adrenaline and sorrow from before ebb away. "Father?" She spoke, her voice hoarse and he savored the sound of her voice as he saw black creep up on his vision. He felt so tired; the pain was too much to bear and he just wanted to rest.

"Father?!" Lian panicked, her father's figure sagging to the ground and she scrambled to her knees unsteadily to cradle him close to her person. His breathing came out in wheezes and Lian felt terror grip her heart.

"The king is hurt!" She cried, desperately calling for the aid of her kin as she tried to keep her father awake. "Come on, stay with me. Stay…awake." She choked out; holding back the tears that had already began to brim.

"The King is hurt!" She bellowed again, her voice edging hysteria as she removed his chest plate; a shaky cry left her when she saw the caved in ribs on his left side. She couldn't even bring herself to look at it, tears blurring her vision as she cupped her father's worn cheek.

"It's okay, ya'll make it." She sobbed, the lie felt heavy on her tongue but she couldn't bring herself to accept it. "Just hold on."

"Lian." He breathed, bringing his hand up to stroke her cheek, causing a fresh wave of tears to spring forth. Blood smeared his lips from the internal damaged, his body forcing him to cough up the globs of blood

"I love you."

"No! Don't say that!" She choked out, looking anywhere but him as she tried to find something that may catch the blood in her pouch. Suddenly cool glass brushed her fingers and she pulled out the small vial. Lian had completely forgotten about the vial Galadriel have given her, having placed it into her pouch for safe keepings. Hadn't she said that it could heal any wound?

"I love you so much." Her father breathed, only paying attention to stroking her cheek softly but mid stroke his hand went limp, flopping over his stomach as his eyes drooped close.

"Father?" She cracked; panic spreading through her veins like wild fire as her breathing accelerated. She looked around frantically for her kin but she realized that there was no one close by; everyone had moved past them assuming they were dead or at least on the brink. Now they had been pushed back to the mountain, both sides dwindled greatly. She looked down at her father's face and felt her bottom lip tremble at the look of peace on his face as his breathing slowed.

Quickly she uncorked the vial, taking all its contents into her mouth before tossing it aside; leaning down to press her lips against her father's blood stained ones. She pulled back once she was done, panting from the rush of adrenaline and panic as she watched her father closely.

Suddenly his chest shot forward, a resounding crack coming from his bones as he let out a winded gasp; his body twisting and trashing in wild spasms. Lian quickly held him down, wrapping her arms around his broad chest as he clawed and kicked in the midst of his convulsions. More tears streamed down her face as her felt let out loud wails and whines of pain, clawing the earth until his finger nails split. It wretched at her heart and she let out heavy sobs as she held him down.

"Please." She wept, begging for the life of her father to be spared though part of her now wished he'd only fall into peace if it meant stopping to pain he was in now. His thrashing had ceased, breathing coming out in uneven wheezes; sounding almost haggardly. Suddenly his body tensed up and he inhaled a deep breath before letting it out in one last sigh; his body almost deflating.

The man did not move now; his form motionless and Lian felt tears cascade down her face heavily as she lowered her head to press against her father's chest. Sobs wracked her shoulders as she sat there, not caring what happened to her at that moment.

"I love ya too." She whispered.

Only a brief moment went by and sorrow ebbed into anguish and then fury, she would kill every orc possible before she let them win. Not while she lived, she will not let her father's death be in vain. With a tear streaked face she rose, reaching for her axe that had fallen in the struggle along with his sword and she knelt down to place it gingerly upon her father's chest and place his sword in his hands. "I will not fail ya." She spoke with steel edging her voice and determination.

With one last kiss to his forehead she rose, pulling her mace from her back as she began to run onwards the battle, the dwarves having killed most of them. She did not see the ribs of her father snap out and back into the original place nor the gasp of air that left his lips.

Lian rushed forward, raw anger and pain driving her on as she grew closer to the battle, her anger building until it was a boiling pit in her belly. She let out an enraged cry as she met the rear end of the orcs line, slamming her mace into the back of an orcs skull as she tried to charge her way through the horde.

She thrust the blunt end heavily into an orcs chest, shattering the ribcage underneath and she felt no remorse or anything of that ilk. Her father was dead and she was going to make them all suffer as he had suffered!

Soon the last of the first line of orcs were dead and Lian noticed the second line of orcs that stood parallel to the mountain, only a few yards away from where she had left her father. She felt another burst of rage as she knew that they'd all die for nothing, Thorin had not given them aid from the mountain; he hid inside like a coward!

The orcs horn blared once more, signaling for the second front to move in and Lian prepared herself for her last stand. Suddenly a different horn blared, stopping the advancing forces and Lian could see Bombur blowing a mighty horn from the mountain wall.

"Thorin?" She breathed in question, hope leaping into her heart despite how ready she had been to abandon her trust in him.

The wall separating the dwarven kingdom and the outside suddenly burst into rubble as a large golden bell broke through, its loud chime echoing throughout the battlefield. The rubble fell into the water before the mountain, providing a bridge over once more.

All stood still for one long moment before they emerged; weapons held high along with war cries loud and leading them was once again the man she knew and loved. Their kin parted for them and once through they charged forth with the thundering of war.

"To the King!"

Lian felt her heart swell at this, turning to charge along the rows of dwarves and whatever of her kin was left. They met the second line with an earth trembling force, weapons clashing and blood spilling upon the ground. They now fought with new vigor in their blows as they mowed down Azog's forces.

It almost seemed like the second front was too easy, maybe it was the new bout of motivation or maybe Lian felt stronger knowing Thorin was himself again. Still, an unsettling feeling was settled into the pits of her gut and for some unnerving reason it was always right. Her speculations where cut short by an orc; coming up from her right flank to attempt decapitating her. She ducked, bringing her mace around in a wide arc to shatter one of the orcs legs; it fell with a roar and she took the chance to stomp her foot down on the orcs neck, crushing its windpipe with the twist of her heel.

Lian rolled to the side when another orc attempted to attack her with its sword, connecting her foot with its head in a roundhouse and effectively snapping the vile creature's neck with the force. From the corner of her eye she saw Luke, a spark of anger igniting as she remembered how he just stood there when her father was in danger. She didn't see him even try to help them when her father was injured and she was being strangled to death.

Suddenly the said man was tackled to the ground, landing with the large orc above him that nearly matched him in size if not brawn. The orc was pressing down on Luke with its sword poised for the kill but Luke held it back with his bare hands, the blade slicing through his palms as he held it back with nothing but his own strength.

In that instant Lian considered letting him die, letting him suffer the same fate her father had to and feel death first hand. It was the sweetest temptation you could give her at that moment when the loss of her father was still so raw.

If he knew how it felt…

She suddenly shook her head, what was she doing? Letting Luke die wasn't going to bring her father back and it wasn't going to make her feel better. Not to mention she'd never be able to forgive herself for watching as someone died and she could do something about it.

Lian gripped the handle of her mace tightly, setting her jaw stubbornly before she took off towards the struggling pair; her mace connected with orc in an upward arc. The orc rolled several times until it settled a few feet away, dead. She looked down at the panting man, his hands a bloody mess as he looked up at her under thick brows.

"Why did ya even bother saving me?" He breathed.

"Because ya still have more to live for." She answered, hauling the large man to his feet so he could face her properly. "And I don't want to be the one to tell Nellia the news." Luke paused at this, looking as if he was about to say something but she cut him off.

"Fili!" She cried in joy, seeing the young dwarf from afar with his brother not far behind him as they fought. Said dwarf looked up, smiling when he saw her and they quickly met up in the midst of the battle.

"You're alive and well I see." He laughed, joining her for a brief hug before they parted.

"I can't say the same for everyone." She felt a lump form in her throat at the thought of her father and who knows who else had fallen. Fili placed a firm hand on her shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly.

"Not all can be blessed with the luck we have." He consoled and she quickly blinked away the tears as she nodded.

"I'm glad that yer okay but have ya seen any of my other kin?" She asked, past her sudden wave of emotion; now was not the time for mourning or clouded thoughts.

Fili was about to answer but a sudden rumble stopped him; they looked around and could see that everyone was taken off guard by the sudden earthquake. If it wasn't from either forces then whose was it from?

Suddenly something emerged from the Lake in a spiral of water, droplets glinting in the afternoon sun like diamonds. A scaly beast emerged from the water with an earth shattering roar and Lian suddenly knew that any hope they had of winning this war was gone at the appearance of this one creature. Ruin would fall on them all for nothing could pierce the hide of a dragon.

Smaug roared, his anger echoing through the lands in a thunder of volume, instilling fear in to many hearts. Lian felt her own constrict in terror, never had she thought she'd have to face this monstrous beast after she had seen it fall from the heavens. Yet there it was, soaring over them with its weathered scales glistening upon his large body.

"Get down!"

Everyone dove for the ground as Smaug swooped down upon them; his mighty form disturbed the air above them with glimmering gems and gold coins encrusted to his underbelly. Lian could feel the heat that radiated off the beast sting her flesh as he passed. How were they supposed to win a battle with a dragon now in the mix?

Smaug landed in the midst of the battle; crushing any living being that stood beneath him as he loomed tall and proud with anger burning within his deep ember eyes.

"Filthy worms! You think you've bested me?! I am the terror that dwells in the shadows of your heart and the pain that spreads through your bones in death! I will never cease to exist!" He roared, his words rumbling from the pits of his belly and resounding through the air like a shock wave.

"Now burn; like the scum you are!"

The base of Smaug's neck began to glow a bright orange under his scales, radiating heat as if it was an open flame and his neck arched back; poised like a snake about to strike. Lian felt her breathing halt at the sight, her mind screaming for her to run.

Smaug's neck snapped forward, powerful jaws opening to release the flames of his anger but instead of flames a thick smoke left his belly to envelope them. Though the smoke was harmless, it allowed for several coughs and temporary blindness. The powerful beast let out a roar of rage and shock, obviously not knowing what was happening. "What trickery is this?!" He exclaimed.

"This is no trickery, Smaug, last of the Fire-Drakes." Gandalf boomed, halting his horse before the great dragon and Smaug turned to face him. "You still live but your heart of fire has died out. You're nothing more than a cold-drake now."

"Wretched wizard! I am Smaug, descendent of Ancalagon the Black! Fire courses through my very core so do not speak to me of such nonsense! My flames can destroy mighty kingdoms of old and burn the very surface of the earth to ash! I am fire!"

With this Smaug descended into the sky, letting out another roar that shook the very earth they stood on. His massive form hovered over them as he flapped his powerful wings, tail whipping from side to side as the jewels on his underbelly shone in the sun; sending a magnificent glimmer along his scales.

"Flee for your lives, pathetic creatures! For they are mine for the taking!"

How Lvaire's feeling right now: X_X