Standing Still Chapter 13: Mice in a Maze, a hobbit fanfic

AN: Thank you everyone who has reviewed! I say this a lot but it really does mean so much. Whenever I lose steam, I just re-read all of your comments (in a totally not obsessive way) and I'm just re-fueled.

I found this chapter hard to write even though I had most of it planned for awhile, not sure why. I had been working on future chapters in the mean time though (I've got about 70 pages worth of material! Holy crap, I'm so excited!). Also, I've been trying to focus on the novel I'm writing so that's kept my from this fanfic too. But that'll hopefully get done... soon. Ahem.

Guest: Thank you! I'm glad to hear it! I was a little nervous about their interaction—I think it still has room to evolve/ improve though. If/when they find our she's from another world will be a very interesting conversation to say the least! XD

Chapter XIII

Mice in a Maze

My heart was hammering like mad, seeming so loud, I was afraid it would give away our position. On bare feet, I crept after Fili and Gimli, Kili right behind me, pushing me forward whenever a noise would startle me into stopping. We used a massive fallen pillar for cover; even on its side, the structure allowed for us to walk with only a slight bow of our backs (mine being the most prominent, of course).

Keep calm, Emily. Keep going, I cheered myself on. Once we got back to the stairs, we'd be home free, right? The troll couldn't catch us, or maybe, it wouldn't see us if we were fast enough, right? Keep calm. Keep—

Without warning, Fili stopped, causing the chain of us to smack into the other's back. The elder prince spun around, holding up a hand in pause then raised his index fingers to either side of his ears. I noticed Gimli and Kili raise one in response, a look of concentration on their faces. They were listening, and I did the same.

The troll was being awfully quiet for a two ton (I was guessing) giant… Kili's eyes went wide as saucers and slowly pointed to the left, towards the pillar we were crouched next to. His brother slowly nodded in affirmation, catching my eye and tucking the glow crystal in his tunic to hide its light. Oh crap. I hurriedly did the same, just as I heard the troll.

Sniff.

Sniff, sniff.

It was right here… Beside us. On the other side of the wide, broken column.

We froze, waiting, hoping the troll would pass us by if we were quiet. The calloused pads of its feet scrapped the marble floor in its slow gait. It stopped, took another sniff then snorted loudly.

And then, what I least expected happened. It spoke.

"You cannot fool me," the troll said in a croaky low voice. My heart jumped into my throat at its words. The only coherent thought I could muster in those few tense seconds of silence was, 'Oh, my god.' The troll continued in the same taunting tone, "I know you're here, little sheep."

Kili turned to me, his eyes narrowed in confusion, and mouthed, "Sheep?"

I shook my head at him, not daring to respond more than that. Priorities, Kili!

"Too long have I slept," it continued. "Too long have I gone without a full belly! Rats cannot sate my hunger, but I think… you will do nicely!"

Two enormous fists came crashing down above our heads, the pillar splitting nearly in half. We all gave shouts of surprise, scrambling away as fast as we could, and subsequently in different directions. Gimli, Kili, and I ran left while Fili ran opposite, towards the staircase. When he saw we had moved away from our exit, he rolled his eyes in frustration. I could practically hear him mentally cursing us out for our stupidity. But we had no time to react as the troll was upon us again, roaring and charging towards the three of us.

We quickly backtracked, tripping over the cracked, uneven floor in our haste. The troll, when I finally saw it—him ?—was huge, towering over us by at least six feet. In the relative darkness, I could only make out its bulky, lumbering shape. It was terrifying, knowing that this colossal monster was coming after us with every intention to kill. I was aware of my grip on the sword Fili lent me.

The troll's swiped at us, its large hands grabbing at thin air, as if the darkness of the room worked against it. I found it strange but didn't have time to think on it as the troll advanced on us in our constant retreat. The three of us were close together, two swords and an axe raised in front of us defensively.

"Flee if you like!" the troll boomed. "But there is no escape! Not from me, nor from this place!"

In an instant, there was a mighty cry as Fili rushed past the troll, slashing at its leg as he went by. The attack seemed to have little effect as the troll only grunted in annoyance.

"Run, you half-wits!" Fili cried, following after us.

The troll gave a hearty laugh before barreling after us. We tried ducking under fallen arches, jumping over broken pillars and debris all the while in the dark for fear that our glow crystals would light our position and make it impossible to lose the troll. But our efforts seemed in vain as the massive creature simply plowed straight through everything in his path like the fucking Hulk!

Bwrooroom.

The ground shook as another aftershock hit, sending dust and small rocks raining down from the ceiling. I stumbled slightly at the tremor, and as my luck would have it, that sudden jerk was enough to do me in as my injured knee gave out, sending me face first into the ground. The sword clenched in my fist came within inches of my neck as I fell; it was sheer luck that I hadn't impaled myself! What an idiot way to die! I gritted my teeth; the sharp stab of pain in my knee worse than the scraps on my hands from the impact. Fili took me by the shoulder, trying to urge me to my feet.

"Get up, Emily! It's coming!"

His shout made the other two run back to our side to see what had happened.

"What is it?" Kili exclaimed, aghast that we had stopped.

"My knee," I hissed, trying to fight off the pain and also not choke on the settling dust that filled the air.

Kili cursed under his breath, looking at the fast approaching troll.

"Quick! On my back!" Gimli shouted but none of us had the time to reply to his nice but impractical offer.

I let Fili haul me to my feet but we hardly got more than a few steps before the troll was on us. We froze like deer in the sights of an oncoming truck, too afraid and shocked to move, hoping in futility that we'd avoid the impending collision. And it was only then that I realized the crystal had fallen from my tunic, casting the four of us and it in bluish light.

To our great surprise, the troll slowed in its charge, stopping only a few feet away. Its head whipped left and right, raking in deep breaths through its nose. I finally got a good look at it—not that I had wanted to, and especially not at so close a vantage! Its skin was a yellowish brown and darker across its shoulders and back, I saw, as it turned away from us briefly. Around the troll's waist was a loincloth of stitched animal hides, wolves, I think, judging by the four tails dangling behind him. Most of the fur had come loose over the years, leaving bare leathery spots in the crudely sewn garment. The troll's face, which was currently giving off a mix of confusion and anger, was dominated by two beady eyes, a crooked jack-o-lantern mouth and a squashed nose like a vampire bat's. All in all, it was scarily hideous. But… not attacking us.

My brows furrowed. I don't understand! The crystal gave us away! Why was it not coming at us? It's like it was—!

"It's blind," Kili whispered with a grin.

The troll's head shot in our direction with a snarl.

"Yeah, but it's not deaf!" I replied. "Run!"

We snapped to our senses and bolted as the troll resumed its pursuit. It hurt like hell to move, let alone run, but I had no other options. With Fili's arm across my back, urging me forward, I hobbled for my life, following the twisting path through the wrecked room that the boys led me on, the troll right behind.

Boom!

It was gaining on us! The ground quaking with each mighty step!

BOOM!

I was too afraid to look back and see just how close it had gotten! It couldn't be more than a few paces away. Should any of us stumble or falter, we'd be dead meat—squashed flat before anything!

"Kili! Stop!" his brother cried.

The brunette sent us an incredulous look over his shoulder and a fearful one at the troll behind us. Fili gave him a sharp nod and we made a quick turn around a felled statue, and out of the troll's path. Kili followed suit, gripping his cousin's collar and dragging him along.

"Oi! What are you-?" Gimli started but was quickly silenced with frantic gestures.

The troll roared, having lost us again. It had been listening for us, it seemed. Like hell! I leaned heavily against the statue's face to catch my breath. It was that of a regal looking Elf with a circlet of vines around his head but it had become ruined and cracked over the ages.

I could hear the troll grumbling on the far side of the room, knocking things over in a fit. Gimli touched my arm, startling me back to the situation. He motioned with his head at the brothers who were now creeping along the marble robes of the statue, Fili holding his crystal ahead of him.

Did we have a plan still? Did Fili know where he was leading us?

Sniff, sniff, sniff.

I tried to ignore the troll's presence in the room as it made its way through the wreckage, none too quietly. It felt like it was trying to scare us into giving ourselves up. More than once, the troll would heave a piece of pillar or crumbled wall across the room, sometimes coming close to us. Of course, just when I thought the blind-as-a-bat troll was beat, it—he?—started laughing. A hearty gurgling laugh that rolled over the ruins and echoed around us. The four of us shared an unnerved look as we worried at what the troll could find amusing.

"I can smell you again," it rasped. "Little sheep, you are bleeding."

Fili and I shared a look, our faces frozen in immeasurable terror. We were covered in our own and each other's blood. I saw Gimli glance at his blood-stained hands from when he had applied pressure to Fili's head wound. And Kili looked down at the small smudge of blood on his trousers from when he had pulled me from the rubble and the stain on his tunic from when he had hugged his brother.

"And I know," the troll began again, pulling us from our collective stupor; its voice much closer than before. "You're right there! Grawh!"

A huge chunk of pillar exploded against the wall next to us, causing us to scatter once again. The troll's heavy footsteps pounded and shook the ground as much as the tremors previous. We ran, sticking together but knew it would be futile.

It was going to get us!

"No point running, little sheep!"

Fili whirled around on the spot and we had to swerve to avoid crashing into him.

"What are you doing?" Kili hissed, grabbing his brother's shoulder and dragging him on.

Still, Fili looked distracted as he ran, the rest of us eying him oddly. There was a determined look in the elder prince's eyes. He drew a long blade from a thigh holster with the beginnings of a smirk on his lips.

"You can't fight it with that wee thing!" Gimli exclaimed.

"I don't intend to," Fili replied, taking the blade to his left palm and making a cut across it.

Before any of us could voice our concern, Fili's actions became quite clear. He reached out as he ran, touching the nearby pillars and stones with his bloodied hand, leaving a distinct smear. "Don't follow," he cried, before dashing away from us.

He was leaving a trail, drawing the troll away! Kili quickly followed suit, opening a wound in his own hand and making a bloody trail opposite his brother. The troll's frighteningly close paces made me less worried than it should have. Honestly, the thought of splitting up was the biggest thing on my mind. Before I knew it, Gimli's hand was bleeding as well and I had to grab him to stop the fervent Dwarf from ditching me to join his cousins in a heroic display.

"Stick together," I panted. Even though Gimli had- what?- forty years or so on me, I still felt like I was the older and therefore responsible for him.

I had always been a bit squeamish when it came to injuries, not blood per se (I'm a girl, please) but just the fact that knowing your skin and flesh was split open… just, ew! It was weird, thinking of people as giant walking meat things with blood and organs that could be easily damaged. But running from the troll, and knowing that any one of us could be its dinner, kind of made me overlook all that. The boys had made their attempts drawing it away, and so would I, I decided. I tried not to think of the action as I brought Fili's sword up, holding the sharp edge in my hand. I quickly slashed my palm, warm blood immediately pouring over. I squelched the pain and started marking our path, making erratic turns and hoping it would work to confuse our pursuer.

The first indication was that the troll's steps slowed. Our bloody paths forked three ways, making it have to choose. That, of course, meant that someone would be unlucky should the troll pick their trail but we were already working on that, the princes, especially, who had been expertly weaving and crisscrossing through the room so that the scent of our blood was everywhere. Fili, you're a genius!

The troll let out a furious roar that made me cringe. "You think you can outsmart me, little sheep?" it growled and I could practically hear the slobber in its speech. "There's nowhere to run! Nowhere to hide!"

We were all very still, hoping our movements wouldn't scatter a rock and betray our whereabouts. I hadn't seen Kili but Fili's location was marked by the crystal in his hand, lest he had dropped it. I turned to Gimli who was grinning broadly; he was already celebrating our victory, but I wasn't so sure we had won. I touched his shoulder and pointed towards the blue glow then brought a finger to my lips, hoping it translated as 'we have to be quiet'. Gimli gave a nod and led the way, his small axe raised. God, he was having too good a time at the moment, practically enjoying the danger. He had a long way to go before he was Fellowship material, that's for sure.

The troll continued to paw around, chasing dead trails. Whenever it would come close, Gimli and I would stop and stay hushed, making sure to stay out of its path as it rampaged by. Finally, we neared the blonde and rounded the corner so we could see him.

Something was wrong.

Fili's pace had slowed considerably, his steps uneven and often misplaced. He tottered dangerously before stumbling to a halt and leaning against an upright statue. I saw him turn, and I caught sight of his face—pale and pained. He looked close to passing out.

"Oh my god," I whispered. "He's lost too much blood!"

Gimli's eyes went wide as he saw his cousin's poor state. And then wider as we saw the troll lumbering towards him. The reckless ginger made to dash after him but stopped short at hearing the other prince's voice, "Over here you, sigim rukhas!"

Kili! Where was he?

Fili's head snapped up, looking alarmed about ready to tell his brother to shut it, most likely.

"Hey! HEY YOU!" I shouted at the troll, hoping to spare Kili its sole attention. "Yeah, ugly, come and get me!"

Gimli grinned at the plan and took to it whole heartedly. "Fresh meat!" he cried, hitting the butt of his axe on the ground.

Suffice to say, we got the troll's attention, but it was then that Kili threw a brick at the troll, hitting it square in the face. It howled it fury rather than pain and lurched in Kili's direction. He, of course, took off running, the troll right on his heels.

Gimli and I ran to Fili who was looking almost as bad as when we had dug him out of the mountain of rocks. We each took one of the prince's arms and helped him into a seated position, him struggling against us all the while.

"My brother," he protested. "He cannot handle the troll on his own. I won't abandon him!"

"You're in no state to do anything, cousin," Gimli told him. "You may keel over before the troll gets to you."

Fili glared and I quickly checked his bandages again. They had come loose a bit, so I gave the tie another pull to tighter it. Fili hissed in pain but thanked me nonetheless.

And then, we heard Kili scream from the other room, like an actual scream. My heart stopped for a moment. Oh god, what if he…?

With only a second to think, I snatched the crystal and smashed it into the ground. Once, twice, then a third time before it broke. I took one fragment in hand and stood.

"Stay with Fili!" I ordered Gimli. "Look for a way out! We'll be back!"

"What? What do you think you're doing, Lady Emily?" the ginger asked, giving me a wide eyed look.

I shook my head, turned tail, and ran after Kili. I had no clue what I was going to do, but it had to be something!

"Emily, wait!" I heard Fili shout but I ignored him, idiotically plowing ahead into danger.

Even in the heat of the moment, I knew what I was doing was so stupid. Like the sword in my hand would do any good in my hands. But as I pictured the brunette and the possibility that he may be hurt or… or worse, it didn't matter. I felt protective of him, of both princes, really, the same way I felt about Thorin. Who was to say my role as guardian started at the Battle of Five Armies and not now?

The sound of distant crashing told me where the troll was. The library.

I took the stairs two at a time and it was then, I realized I had cut my foot on something. I pushed it aside, the sound of my bare feet padding on the floor kept me in step and moving. I spared one look for Fili and Gimli below, catching sight of the blue crystal moving away from me. The fact that they weren't following me was more of a concern than relief.

I stepped into the library. Another shelf fell over and I ran towards it, assuming Kili was nearby. I let my bloody hand graze shelves as I passed, hoping to already throw the troll's scent off. I hoped Kili would see the glow and—I smacked right into him and he looked at me with wide alarmed eyes. Clearly, I was the last person he'd expect to go after him.

"I hear you breathing," the troll taunted. "And it won't be for long."

I wasn't sure who grabbed who or who hauled who through the rows of shelves but we were moving! Fallen scrolls of parchment went spinning away as our feet kicked them in our mad sprint. And of course, that was enough to get the troll on our tail.

Kili made a quick right turn and stopped, me crashing into him and sending us both to the floor in a heap. I could hear the troll nearby; its snorts and growls far too close for comfort. And then it came closer.

We scrambled backwards and unfortunately into a dead end against a wall—so that's why Kili had stopped before. Without any other options, we huddle in a corner, trying to be as small as possible. I scooted back, awkwardly ending up between Kili's legs, his knees practically knocking against mine as we shook. My back pressed into his chest so hard I could feel his heart beating frantically. God, he was just as terrified as I was!

The troll's ugly face appeared in our aisle, its nostrils flaring as it searched for the scent of our blood, before it finally passed us by. The pair of us, regrettably, chose then to let out involuntary sighs of relief, making just enough noise to give us away. I jumped as the troll snapped back in the opening, its white orbs on us. Kili clamped his shaking hands over my mouth and his own, trying to stifle our panicked breath. Of course, I started breathing heavily through my nose which Kili promptly pinched shut with his thumb and forefinger.

We waited on bated breath—literally! The troll narrowed its eyes in suspicion, sticking its large head into the aisle, hands bracing either side of the shelves.

"Hmmm," the troll hummed deeply in thought, debating if it had heard anything at all.

Our hearts? Could—could it hear our hearts? The blood sliding down my calf? The trembling of our bones?

It leaned closer, only a few feet away. I could smell its foul breath wash over us, even with Kili holding my nose shut. I felt him lurch forward slightly, almost as if he had hiccupped, but then I realized he was gagging. For fuck's sake, Kili! Don't throw up! I raised my left hand and pinched his nose shut. Our odd positions probably would've looked quite comical—both of us sitting there, practically playing Twister-- had the situation not been so dire, I might've laughed.

But I didn't dare even entertain the thought as the troll took a menacing step forward. "What is thisss?" it drawled, blind eyes locking with mine.

With a grunt, the troll pushed either shelf outward to allow for its bulk to squeeze through. Scrolls of parchment fell on us but we didn't dare more as it came closer. My sword was beside us, as was Kili's, but would they do any good?

The troll stood right above us, sniffing and pawing the wall where a splash of blood was smeared. Had we done that? Or Kili before I reached him?

It's fur loincloth dangled inches from my face and I fought the urge to move away. All we could do was stay quiet and hope it didn't sidestep and brush against us. It was only a matter of time until it found us, huddled beneath it like sitting ducks. We had to draw it away from us! Or else!

Kili had gone quite still and I worried that he was going to do something rash. The troll bent lower, closer to us and I swear I had a heart attack right then. It was like Harry staring down the Basilisk in the pipes—unable to move an inch or—oh! Oh!

Slowly, I reached out a hand towards one of the fallen scrolls. Kili's hand tightened over my mouth as a way to say 'What the hell are you doing?!' But I had a plan. I shook my head slightly against his hand to let him know. I picked up a scroll, and with all the courage I had, tossed it between the troll's legs and out of our aisle.

"Ah ha!" the troll cried in delight, backtracking quickly.

Kili sat up and copied my actions, throwing a scroll much farther and thus luring the troll away. This time, we were quieter and didn't let our guard down. We were nearing the way we had come, back towards the others when Kili turn round.

I gave him a questioning look but he was eying the troll, some ways into the library. He narrowed his eyes and before I could stop him, gave a fierce Spartan kick to the nearest shelf. It fell, crashing into the next shelf, and that, into the next and so on, causing a domino effect that was heading straight for the troll. The shelves came down on the beast, sending it to the ground with a yowl of surprise.

"Are you mad?" I barked, gaping at the little son of a- oh, I can't call him that!

I had to grab Kili by the arm and drag him away before the troll could recover. Still, the brunette had a pleased smirk plastered on his face which annoyed me.

Just because we escaped, didn't mean that it was over. If anything, our situation may have become worse. We were like mice in a maze, no way out, and the cat wasn't just hungry- it was pissed.