Hello and sorry for the wait. I've been mulling this Chapterover for the last week and I had it nearly done when my FATASS cat sat on my laptop and deleted the whole chapter THEN saved it. So i had to re-write the whole thing and then finish it. This chapter is going to be really long cause I wanted to get the war over with and not milk the whole thing. Thank you likarain, killthepain62 and Elsa Everdeen for your faithful support and reviews. Also please check out killthepain62's story Welcome Home!

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

Chapter Twenty-Three: The End

Smaugs words no longer lingered, all was quiet in the afterglow of Smaug's death as the sun finally cleared the mountains, causing for a drastic drop in temperature as large clouds began to paint the sky in depression. The moon barely had time to rise into the sky before the clouds swallowed it; the wind began to pick up and nip in the air had become far more evident.

"Kili, Fili!" Lian yelled, waving off Stevvin's pestering for her to get her wounds look at; they were the least of her concerns at the moment. She saw the boys had taken a seat over an overturned bolder, their short legs dangling over the edge as they wore large grins.

"Did you see that, Lian? We have slain the mighty Smaug!" Kili laughed; his face aglow with childlike exhilaration as he moved his hands about in an animated frenzy.

"He's not so 'Mighty' now." Fili chuckles, his clear blue eyes sparkling in mirth; an obvious trait shared between the two brothers and Thorin.

Lian couldn't help but tear up at the sight, causing the two brothers to clamber down from their perch in a hurry. "What's wrong, Lian? Are you hurt?" Fili panicked, his voice almost cracking from how high it went.

"I'm fine! It's just really windy!" She snapped, slapping their worried hands away as she attempted to pull herself together. Crying like some dotting mother was not in her personality! Suddenly she felt an arm sling around her, weighing down her right side and she had to steady herself from toppling over.

"Now, now; no need to worry lass! We'd never be so fortunate enough to get rid of these two." Bofur laughed, leaning heavily on her shoulder and though he displayed merriment you could tell that he was exhausted. Another weight to her left alerted her that Nori had joined in now, firmly planting to the ground from their weight.

"I never thought you'd get so emotional all of a sudden; maybe you're…" Nori trailed off; reaching his hand for her stomach and she quickly pushed the two dwarves off; cheeks aflame in embarrassment.

"I am not pregnant!" She yelled a bit too loud, causing Stevvin to choke on his own spit and his complexion to turn about ten different shades. Now he was sending her accusing glares as if she was guilty of something; for crying out loud she hadn't even had sex with a man! The dwarves snickered at this and embarrassingly; so did a few of her kin.

"Princess, we should head for shelter, a storm is coming." Sevvin grunted, a scowl twisting his face from the way the dwarves were treating her so causally. They were all there; a bit beaten and worn but still alive. She paused in her observation as she realized that there were two of the dwarves missing; Bifur and Thorin. This sent a shockwave of panic through her as she frantically looked around for two but they were nowhere to be found.

"Where's Thorin and Bifur?" She finally asked loud, catching the attention of everyone as they too looked around for the said pair.

"They aren't back yet? I saw them go to Ravenhill before the beast took to the air again." Balin informed and Lian's lips drew back into a bleak line. This can't be good; if they weren't back by now then that means that something must have stalled them.

"Stevvin, take everyone back to the mountain; I'm going to stay and go ahead to see if any more orcs may be lurking about." She ordered the man but he seemed to have a few objections to voice.

"Don't you think it's bit rash to run off on us? We still need to find the King; he could be hurt and Trelkin's also missi-." He began but she cut him off with a snap.

"The King…my father has fallen. I saw it with my own eyes." She gritted out, pursing her lips in an attempt to keep the suddenly swell of emotion back. Why did he have to bring it up, why couldn't he have just let the matter be and not brought of her father? It's not like he knew better though; only Luke and her knew as far as she was aware and no one wanted to deliver those kind of news.

Stevvin's usually stern features seemed to crumple into a mask of shock and agony; his large form sinking to the ground, almost seeming to fold in on himself. She couldn't bear to look at him, he had been her father's best friend since childhood and as close to family as you could be; they were inseparable. Lvaire had broken through the rough shell of Stevvin's with his charm in overall kindness; their friendship was almost laughable.

Lian turned away quickly, facing the dwarves who wore expressions of deep sorrow, she didn't even want to glance at the rest of her kin, the looks of accusations they'd have; of hate. With a bitter taste on her tongue she pushed her feelings momentarily down; she didn't need her emotions clouding her judgement.

"I'm going on ahead; if I meet back with ya by the time yer ready then assume the worst." She told Balin who gave a sullen nod.

"I'll gather all the able dwarves I can to meet you; just find Thorin and Bifur." He spoke with so much sorrow; it broke her heart that things had come to this. If only she could have been able to avoid all this pain but it was to be expected; this was war after all. Even when it came to her father's death she couldn't have done anything to stop it and it made her realize how weak she was; how mortal.

With a series of twitters she called forth her horse; the creature having stayed just beyond line of view for safeties sake. Now the mare came galloping forth, shaking out its thick mane before coming to a halt before her; she quickly swung her leg over the saddle and gripped the reins firmly.

"Please stay safe, lass." Balin whispered up at her and she gave his wrinkled and worn hand a firm squeeze before she kicked her heels into her horses sides; sending the mare off into a gallop. Already she could smell the massive storm moving in, the moisture almost giving her a head ache; she needed to find Bifur and Thorin soon before the storm trapped all three of them up there. She didn't give a backwards glance towards her kin; she knew that her resolve would weaken and the temptation to go back and try and fix all of their problems would be too overwhelming. They didn't need her, they need her father; she needed her father.

She didn't even know how she was going to deal with the matter of who would take the thrown; they certainly couldn't be without a king and since she was only the princess she held no right over the throne. What was she going to do? She had no son to take the thrown; the most she could do was ask her uncle to take the throne. Though he was not of royal blood, he was as close to a Stewart they had until she could birth a new king.

The wind numbed her face as she rode; tears of frustration slipping down her cheeks and stinging against the cold flesh as snow began to fall in fat flurries. She set her chin in a stubborn manner; quickly pulling her leather mask over her nose and mouth; she would deal with that problem later. Thorin and Bifur were what mattered at that very moment and she was going to find them.

Once she reached the top of the slops she turned around to see that the dwarves had already began to light fires to chase away the cold; lines of dwarves already filing into the entrance to the great dwarven kingdom of Erebor. The lakemen and even elves had started to mingle with the crowd of dwarves heading for the mountain and she hoped that they'd be safe there from the cold. She felt her own breath dampen the inside of her leather confinements; keeping her lower face warm as her nose began to run.

She continued on, seeing several watch points built into the rocky hillside along with several flights of weaving stair cases. She halted there, not wanting to chance taking her horse all the way up the many flights of stairs so she led the mare to one of the watch points which still had a stable roof over its head to keep the snow out. Lian pulled a blanket from the horses pack and draped it over the horse who was snorting heavily through her nose from the current exercise.

She didn't want to waste time but she also didn't want her horse freezing to death so she lit a small fire; busting open a few rotted barrels for firewood. Once sure that it wouldn't go out she left the horse and started her journey up the stair case. The stairs were carved out of the very rock around it; already coated in a thin layer of snow as the wind began to pick up along with the quickening pace of the downfall.

Eventually she reached a small landing; attempting to catch her breath but her foot connected with something heavy and sent her sprawling out on the ground. With a grunt lifted her head, only to come face-to-face with an orc corpse; she inhaled sharply before scrambling to her feet. Several corpses littered the ground and judging from the light dusting of snow over their bodies it had been at least an hour ago when they were killed.

Lian followed the corpses; climbing stair case after stair case; the whole time though she had the uneasy feeling that someone was watching her. Finally she reached a ledge nestled against the steep slope of the hillside. There was just one watch point that was built there against the rocky hill and right above that to the left was a tiny valley with a flight of stairs leading up and around the straight up and down hillside. Why couldn't they put railings on it at least?

She noticed that on the ledge was a figure far shorter than the other orc corpses; she quickly rushed forward and to her horror she found Bifur. His eyes were closed with a thin coat of snow dusting his body; he must have been laying there for a good hour or so. Lian dropped to her knees and brushed her hand lightly over his worn cheek; brushing the snow away in the process.

"Bifur." She breathed, pulling her mask back.

To her surprise, his eyelashes fluttered open to reveal his clear grey eyes shining up at her and she felt her heart momentarily leap for joy. She quickly tried to lift him into a sitting position but a sharp cry from him halted her and she finally noticed the large gash on his right side.

The gash had to be a good three inches deep, blood staining the snow beside him vividly; you could see the bone of his lower ribs and Lian had to hold back her vomit. She felt unnaturally faint for a second but quickly shook her head and swallowed.

"I'm so sorry, Bifur. I should have been here sooner." She breathed, guilt weighing her down heavily as she looked down at the dying dwarf. He murmured in Khudzul but as usual she couldn't understand a work he said; it was so frustrating.

She felt her lip jut out stubbornly as she felt the tears well up; damn her emotions. Damn it all! She should have been able to prevent this, she should have been able to save Bifur; there was still so much she wanted to hear about him. She wanted to listen to his story like he'd listened to hers and just this once she wished she was at least able to hear his last words.

"Zey."

She looked up through blurred eyes to see that the dwarf had raised his hand to point at something; turning she saw that the moon had peaked out from behind the clouds, bathing them in a pale light before it was swallowed once more behind a wall of grey.

"Granzil dum." He whispered, placing his hand to his chest and Lian didn't have to understand what he said to know what he meant; the tears began to spill over immediately. He had remembered how she said the moon reminded her of Falian; after all this time he still remembered.

"Granzil dum." He breathed, pointing towards her now before placing his hand over his own heart.

"Yer a good listener." She sobbed, causing the dwarf to let out a deep chuckle; rumbling deep within his chest until it faded into the barest of breaths. It was after that, that his body finally heaved one last breath before growing motionless; his body almost seeming to deflate as the dim light faded from his eyes. He was gone.

With shaking fingers she closed his eyelids for the last time over his clear grey eyes; sobs shaking her hunched over shoulders. Why did so many die; why did life have to be so cruel? She asked herself these things but she knew the answer to them. It seems like the hardest thing in life is not finding the answers; but accepting them. We die so others live, we hurt so others breathe and we fight so others are free; the way of the world seems so unfair but it truly is just in its own way.

Lian ran her gloved fingers softly over Bifur's pale flesh and into the wiry dark hair with thick stands of white running throughout; taking in the sight of the dwarf so that she may always remember him clearly. Suddenly something large and heavy collided with the ground behind her; startling her into whipping around and clumsily tripping over her own feet. Her breathing came in large gulps, heart racing from the sudden scare and it didn't decrease in its rhythm.

An orc stood before her, easily a foot and a half taller than her smaller self and with pale skin that almost made her think it was Azog before her. This orc was different though; scars marred his body in thick strips of tissue while dark iron plates hung heavily on his shoulders. His face was mutilated and deformed, an iron plated bolted and embedded into his scalp with thin strands of hair hanging off the otherwise bare head.

The orc advanced slowly, his crudely forged sword glinting small fragments of light off its edge as it lightly dragged against the building surface of snow. His boot connected with Bifur's back, jerking the dwarf over onto his stomach from the force and Lian felt a spark of anger ignite in her belly from the action.

She went to grab for her mace but only grasped empty air; looking around she saw that in the midst of her shock she had dropped her mace a few yards away when she saw Bifur. She quickly tried to scramble for her weapon in her panic but she's quickly lifted clean off the ground. The orc held her out before him by the scruff of her neck, his long arms keeping her far enough away to where she couldn't strike him in her struggles. Though not like he would want be any closer; the orc had large plates of metal sticking out of his damn chest!

Bolg looked over the kicking and thrashing woman and could smell Oakensheild all over her, though it was faint; indicating that it had been less than a fortnight since their last contact. He felt a grin twist his features as he remembered the woman from the many sightings of the dwarf company; she must be one of their companions. He was going to enjoy torturing her until she begged him to kill her; especially if she meant something to that lowly dwarven scum, Oakensheild.

"You reek of Oakensheild, wench." He rumbled out in the Common Tongue, his voice numbing her ears or maybe that was the cold; she couldn't really tell at that point. As if to prove his point he leaned in, taking a large whiff of her scent and though she smelt of filthy dwarf; it could not hide the delectable smell of flesh and the crisp scent of her own aroma. Bolg had half the mind to feast on her there but something as tasty as this woman should be savored; but a taste of his prize wouldn't hurt.

With that he latched his teeth onto Lian's neck, sinking into the soft flesh to feel the rush of warm blood against his tongue. The taste nearly made his pale eyes roll into the back of his head; long had it been since he'd tasted a morsel of meat that hadn't rotted. The sound of her agony only heightened the exhilaration coursing through him and with a bit of resistant he pulled back; breathing labored and murky pupils dilated.

"You will truly be the perfect thing to feast upon in celebration of this day. but I will savor your life and eat away at you; little by little. I'll relish in your agony." He laughed cruelly, running his slimy tongue over his sharp teeth and she had half the mind to vomit but resisted; spitting in his face with a look of disgust.

"Ya'd better kill me now, filth. Or I'll slit yer throat whenever I get the chance." She snapped; there was no way she was going to become this scumbags three course meal. She slowly inched her hand towards the hilt of her sword; fingers itching to grab a hold of the weapon and inflict pain upon the orc. Bolg's deformed features twisted into a nasty snarl, showing off the jagged teeth that had sank into the tender flesh of her neck just moments before; her blood still coloring the points.

An arrow suddenly whizzed by her, embedding into the thick skin of Bolg's shoulder and earning a roar of surprise and pain from the orc. He still managed to hold tight to her collar though as he pulled the arrow out and threw it to the ground. Lian quickly took that moment to grab her sword and slam the butt of her hilt into his face; causing the orc to drop her.

Legolas did a series of jumps from rock to rock until he landed a few feet from them, his eyes doing a quick observation of the situation as Bolg cradled his face and Lian scrambled to her feet. Quickly he notched another arrow, not wasting more time in the details as the orc recovered from his momentary stun. Arrow after arrow flew towards the creature but he was quick to side step, deflect or let his hulking arrow bounce the arrows off him as he advanced on the elf quickly.

She took the chance to make a dash for her mace after sheathing her sword once more, once securing those she quickly did a one over of her own bow. The said weapon was fine but it seemed that on one of her many tumbles to the ground she had lost all her arrows; leaving her quiver empty. She was tempted to throw the weapon and empty quiver aside when she saw that a few of Legolas' arrows were still usable on the ground.

Quickly she gathered them, grabbing at least six of them before she looked up; the two were so engrossed in their fight that they were already a yard or two up the hillside. Legolas on the defense with Bolg charging after him; slamming his sword into anything and everything in its range.

She brought one of the arrows forth and aimed for the struggling pair, squinting against the harsh winds and thick snow but she had a hard time focusing. She backed up when the orc tackled the elf off the small cliff and onto a small landing before the next flight of stairs. Suddenly her foot met air and she quickly leaned forward to crash down onto the solid ground before her. Looking behind her she saw that she had backed up toward the edge of the ledge and if she hadn't have leaned forward she'd be on a spiral to her death right now. Backing up while aiming for a moving target; Bad idea!

She aimed for the two once more, letting the arrow fly with a large exhale of her breath and it connected with a spark against the rock a foot behind Bolg's head; missing its target. However it had made the orc aware of her presence once more and he gave an enraged cry as he harshly head butted Legolas into the rocky hillside and charged at her. She panicked, aiming another arrow toward the oncoming orc but for some reason she couldn't focus and her hands were shaking terribly.

Thankfully Legolas was quick to recover and jumped on the orcs back; wrapping him in a tight choke hold as Bolg began to buck and thrash wildly, swinging the elf around like some ragdoll on his back.

Lian attempted to aim for the orc again but just as she was ready to lose her arrow, Legolas halted her action. "No! I can take care of him; go find the other dwarf quickly. Another army of orcs advance from the north!" He grunted as Bolg flipped him over and off his back to roll into a stone wall.

"But-." She began to protest but he would have none of it.

"I'll be fine, now go!"

Lian only hesitated to give Bifur one last look before she took off straight up the stairs for Legolas and Bolg. The orc heard her coming but she was quicker and rolled underneath his horizontal swing, bringing her feet up into his chin mid roll. He stumbled back, momentarily stunned and she scrambled to her feet before he had time to recover.

Lian quickly rushed up the stairs, the sound of their fighting growing faint though she did hear Bolg attempt to give chase after her; Legolas was quick to trip him up, sword drawn and ready.

"Your fight is with me, orc."

Her journey up the stair case grew steeper as the hill began to mold into the ridge of the Lonely Mountain; the air thinner and colder as she climbed what felt to be a never ending amount of stairs.

If what Legolas said was true then it was a good thing she came when she did; if she would have waited for the dwarves to gather the forces for a search party then Thorin could have been dead by the time they found him or he could already be dead. She didn't allow the thought to sink in, had to keep her head clear.

Lian let out a yelp when her foot suddenly slipped on the stairs, causing her to crash forward and catch her fall with her arms; sending a zig-zag of pain through her when she met the hard stone. It seemed like the some of the water from yesterday's melted snow hadn't dried up by the time night fell; freezing upon the stair case for her to fall on. Slowly she got to her feet and climbed the stairs; only loosing balance once before she steadied herself, continuing her search for Thorin.

So far there had only been one crossroad so far in the path; in which she followed the orc bodies to the right. Hopefully Thorin and Bifur hadn't split up to cover more ground though it did sound like something they'd do and if she was at lucky, her path would intersect with the other one.

She reached a snowy platform between the next flight of stairs, breathing labored as her lungs and limbs felt like they were on fire; guess that was a good way to keep the frostbite away. She looked out over the edge, taking that moment to catch her breath, no matter how much she wished for it; she was in no means able to go on nonstop without a break.

She was exhausted, ached and quite frankly drained at that point but she still had to find Thorin and get him the out of here; that seemed to be the only thing that kept her from just collapsing. The snow had calmed into a light downfall and the wind had settled a tad but Lian could tell that the worst of the storm was still to come.

Something caught her attention then; a sound of some sort and it was recurring with no pattern, indicating that someone was fighting. This sent a spark of hope shooting through her heart and she found a new burst of energy; rushing over to the edge. Looking over she saw that there was a several small platforms staggered along the steep hillside; the largest being a frozen ice rink of what was most likely a lake before. Luck for her that there was also a large stair case leading down to the frozen lake from the large watch tower that had over looked the battle below.

Her heart went doki doki when she saw Thorin and Azog battling it out on the ice as the clouds cleared to once more let the moonlight shine down upon the pair. Thorin looked exhausted with blood smear across his forehead and cheek with dark rings under his eyes; indicating that he was not only tired but sleep deprived.

Lian could see the Orc army that Legolas spoke of marching over the northing slope; torches lit as they came forth to lay waste to us. The dwarves didn't even know what was coming their way at that very moment and were probably trying to tend to all the injured with the elves and lakemen.

Suddenly the ice split under Thorin's feet when Azog's heavy flail connected with the ice, causing him to lose his balance and land on his arse. He quickly rolled out of the way when the flail came down aimed for his head; the heavy weapon hitting a weak spot in the ice and caving in. Thorin took the chance to slam his foot against Azog's hand and pin it to the ice; the orc letting out a cry of pain as the steel cold chains dug into his flesh and bone.

He swung his sword at Thorin's stomach but the dwarf quickly stumbled back; slipping on the slick ice and landing on his behind once more. Azog released the flail and it sank to the bottom of the icy waters below the surface. The orc swung his sword down on Thorin; who deflected the blow with his own blade that he seemed to have regained somewhere in the midst of everything.

The orc pinned Thorin to the ice with his blade pressing down on the dwarfs; bringing the point of Azogs sword closer and closer towards his chest. He was losing his strength by the second and this sent Lian into a panic.

The moon was bright in the sky as the snow reflected its light like glistening crystals; everything was clear in that moment as her deep green eyes locked with Thorin's clean blue ones. Electricity suddenly sparked between their gazes even though they were so far from each other; sending her heart pumping a mile a minute. It was the same feeling that she felt when he tended to her wounds on the Misty Mountains and the same that had drove them both to near insanity when they were around each other; a connection.

In that moment a shadows flew past the moon, flapping their wings and looking up Lian saw that the eagles must have seen the orc army and had come to fight them off; Beorn and Radagast eagerly on riding on their backs. Looks like they were gonna get their go at the orcs after all.

The eagles collided with the orcs; plowing through them with their powerful bodies and wings as Beorn shifted into a bear. The orcs were scattered and taken off guard; they stood no chance for the surprise attack from above.

Lian didn't forget Thorin though as she quickly pulled her bow forth and aimed for the pale orc; arrow notched tightly. She barely had time to breath before she let the arrow fly to connect with Azog's shoulder; missed. The said orc let out an enraged cry, looking up towards her but his grip on his sword lever loosened.

She drew another arrow, once more aiming for his head but this time the arrow embedded into the ice right beside Thorin's head; causing the dwarf to grunt out in surprise and strain as he tried to hold the weight of the orc.

She fired two more; one bouncing off their locked blades and the other sank into the orcs upper thigh. She reached for another arrow; her fingers only finding one more arrow in her quiver and she pursed her lips as she notched it. This was her last chance; if she messed this up then Thorin was as good as dead and she couldn't let that happen.

With one last exhale she released the arrow, time almost slowing down as it snapped forward into several spiraling rotations through the air and she had half the mind to squeeze her eyes shut and pray that it hit his head this time.

Thwack!

Azog let out a large roar of pain, the sound vibrating through the air like a shock wave as he stumbled back; releasing the pressure off Thorin. Lian couldn't help but let her jaw drop in utter shock; she didn't know how to feel about that general area being hit but it seemed to have done the job. She had shot the orc straight in the dick.

Thorin didn't seem as distracted as she was by the place the orc was cradling; taking his sword and with one mighty swing Azog's head flew through the air and away from his body. The hulking form fell to the ground lifelessly with Thorin stand over it; panting harshly.

Lian would have probably laughed in relief if her foot hadn't caught the edge of the cliff when she shifted positions; sending her over. She quickly caught herself on the edge of the rock though, grunting when her full weight pulled against her hold on the slippery rock while she dangled there. It wasn't like it was a small drop from there to the lake and not to mention that the base of the cliff curved outwards; leaving a rather rocky landing for her.

"Lian!" Thorin yelled out, rushing towards her from the other side of the large lake; he'd never reach her in time though, she could already feel her grip slipping.

"Thorin!" She shrieked in panic when her grip loosened for a fraction of a second; leaving the tips of her fingers to hold her weight. She felt tears stream down her frozen cheeks, stinging as she sobbed and with a gasp she felt her fingers slip.

She jerked to a stop mid-air when a pair of hands grabbed her much smaller ones tightly, restarting her heart from its momentary shock as she breathed heavily; tears still streaming freely. Looking up she saw Luke's cringe of pain as he held her there; his own breathing heavy as he tried to push away the searing pain in his palms.

"Luke." She sobbed, voice cracking as green eyes shone with terror; the woman looked like a child with her doe like look, surprising the said man as he held her tightly.

"Just hold on; I've got ya." He grunted; gritting his teeth against the pain and you can openly see the blood running down Lian's arms from the newly opened wounds. He let out a loud grunt as he attempted to pull her weight up but the blood was making it harder to hold on.

"Why don't ya just let go? I know ya've hated me ever since yer father made ya try to court me." She asked, sobs still shaking her shoulders. Her words shocked Luke; though they were true he didn't think she had paid enough attention to notice. The sight of her now made him feel guilty for all the things he'd said and done to her; she didn't want it any more than he did and yet he had tried to drag her down into his own misery. He wanted her to suffer with him because he was too scared to confront his father and tell him no.

Everything changed when his mother died; his father became wild and took to drinking at odd hours of the night. Luke knew his father just wanted to cover up his loss but when he began to take notice of his son's lack of violence and friends was when it all went downhill. He had to be the perfect son, charm all the ladies and outdo all the men in every way; it was ridiculous.

When his father was positive that Luke was ready he made him aim for higher, for the hand of the rebellious Princess in marriage. The greatest challenge and accomplishment you could make as a bachelor; taming the untamable while also securing your place in the ranks of wealth in their small kingdom. Luke never minded the woman before and had even admired her outgoing personality and stubborn streak; but as he grew to change under his father's hand, admiration turned to disdain. She could do whatever she wanted without anyone to rein her in while he had to do everything his father asked of him; she had freedom.

Luke felt his teeth grind together and for once he had the chance to end it all; he could just drop her now and end all his problems. At least that's what the selfish and egotistic side of Luke thought; his heart knew that letting her die wouldn't fix his problems because she was never a part of the problem to begin with. He was the problem. He was the one that let his father walk over him and change him into such a creature and now for the first time in years; he was honest with himself.

The man set his chiseled jaw stubbornly, dark eyebrows knitted together as he planted his feet firmly to the ground. With a loud grunt he pulled Lian up; ignoring the searing hand in his hands and before he knew it he was dragging her away from the cliff. With labored breath he plopped to the ground, blood dropping from the tip of his fingers as he tried to catch his breath.

Lian was laid out in front of him, spread eagle and breathing just as heavy as his was; silence all around them aside from their panting. The silence was tense and neither knew who should speak first or even what they'd say; it was very awkward.

"Why did ya-." She began but it Luke had decided to cut her off at that very moment.

"I'm sorry."

She was taken aback by the sudden apology, twisting so that she could see his face; the man looked guilt ridden with his conflict in his grey eyes. She felt a bubble of sympathy for the man at that moment because he sincerely looked as though he meant it. He looked up, dark brows drawn together above the clear orbs and he said it one more time; this time looking directly into her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Lian felt like she could do many things at that moment; like deny his apology to get back at him or smack him on the back and try and play it off as some sort of joke; but she knew neither of those are what either of them needed to settle this pitiful feud.

"It's okay." She said; simple was the reply but the way she spoke made the burden on Luke's heart decrease tremendously. She spoke with forgiveness and her own apology clear in her voice and that was what they both needed.

Lain stood, holding her hand out for the man and he gingerly took it; mindful of his wounded hands as she helped pull him to his feet. She patted his large shoulder and a mute understand took place between them.

"Lian!"

Said woman turned around, her heart speeding up at the sound of the dwarfs voice and her expression reflecting several emotions as she saw Thorin rushing towards her after climbing the man stairs. She saw the fear reflected in his clear blue eyes and knew he was probably scanning her for injuries that very second.

"Thorin." She wailed like a big baby, tears immediately running down her cheeks in a flood of emotion as she ran to meet him. She probably looked ridiculous and her sudden cry most likely startled Luke but she didn't care; she felt so many things at that moment that she had been keeping at bay. She couldn't stop herself when she saw that Thorin then; the relief of everything breaking the dam and letting her emotions take over.

They met in a tight embrace, his strong arms encircling her in a strong hug as she locked her own arms around his neck and buried her face into his neck. She could feel Thorin trying to check her for wounds but she wouldn't let up on her grip and he finally gave up; cradling her head as she cried into his shoulder. The sight of them must have been funny considering she had to lean her head down to reach his neck since she was taller; she might as well have been an overgrown baby at that moment.

Luke gave them their moment but he knew that they couldn't wait around for long as the clouds began to cover the moon once more and the wind picked back up. The storm worst of the storm hadn't even passed and if they didn't hurry they'd be stuck in the middle of it.

"We have to get back to the mountain before the storm picks back up." He finally said after a minute or two; worry nagging at him as the moon completely disappeared.

Lian and Thorin pulled away from each other and they didn't waste time in descending the stairs and taking the path Thorin had taken; apparently it led to the crossroad faster. Lian did at one point worry about the orc army but all she had to do was turn around and see that the eagles had nearly wiped them all out already; they could have used them at the beginning of the war.

The came to the crossroad in half the time it took Lian to reach Thorin; her horse still nestled within the watch point with the fire slowly going out. If they would have waited any longer then the horse would have surely frozen to death after the fire snuffed out. She was about to offer for Luke and Thorin to take the horse while she followed behind on foot but the burly man quickly beat her to the pun.

"But-." She began but he waved her off and Thorin wasn't helping when he lifted her up onto the horse by her waist; settling her in front of him on the horse.

"I've got another idea for a ride." Luke informed; pointing upwards as the Eagles flew back from the battle. Why hadn't she thought of that? The large man gave a loud whistle and waved his hand towards the eagles; one of the large birds swooping down and grabbing his outstretched hands.

"Cheater!" Lian yelled after him; his laughter barely reaching her ears as Thorin set the horse into a gallop towards the entrance to Erebor and that that moment everything was alright.

How Bifur's feeling:_( :3」∠ )_