Buckle in bois. It's battle time!

"Look at you, my boy. I can't believe you're going grey already," said Thrain, picking up a strand of Thorin's hair. "You'll be like me soon if you're not careful."

Thorin gave a shocked laugh. He looked at Thrain as if any second now, he would disintegrate into nothing. A tentative, vulnerable wonder in his eyes. But if the tight fist on Thrain's shirt was anything to go by, it was one he was desperate to keep hold of.

"Adad," he said "How? How are you here?"

"Well, that is a very, very long story. One that I think is best heard when we are in a more peaceful time. But the short of it is that a marvellous young Lady asked some rather powerful people to come and rescue me." Thrain pointed over his shoulder towards where we were all standing.

"What?" Thorin's eyes widened when he caught sight of us. As if he had only just noticed us standing there. When his eyes found mine, understanding bloomed. He made his way over to us, Thrain trailing close behind.

He stopped in front of me, and I gave him a nervous smile. "Leah, you did this?"

I brought a hand up and rubbed the back of my neck. "I just told Gandalf and Lady Galadriel where he was. I hoped they would be able to save him. Thankfully, they did."

Thorin looked at me for a second longer before pulling me into a hug. I was momentarily surprised as Thorin had only initiated a hug one other time. The other times it was just me surprise attacking him.

"I cannot thank you enough, Leah," he said, leaning back. "And I'm sorry for the way I treated you before."

He sounded truly remorseful. "It's okay, Thorin. I'm sorry for shouting at you too."

He smiled at that. "I think, perhaps, it was needed."

Then he turned to Kili and brought him in for a hug of his own. "Oh, Kili, I'm so sorry. To think that I would ever turn you away," Thorin shook his head. "I hope you can forgive me."

"Of course, I forgive you, Uncle," said Kili. His voice sounded tight, but there was a smile on his face.

Meeting back up with the other dwarves was simultaneously heartwarming and hilarious.

They were all grouped together near the armoury. From a distance, I could see how downcast they were. Hardly any of them were talking. A good number of them were pacing in agitation. In their eyes, they were trapped in an impossible situation. With an impending war and a sick King, it can be difficult to see a silver lining.

Their heads shot up when they finally heard us approach. They stood up and gazed at Thorin cautiously. It was clear that they were fearing the worst from their leader. But then, a few of them found Kili and me walking behind. A new kind of hope blossomed in their eyes.

"Thorin. You're here?" Dwalin walked over to Thorin but lingered back a few steps. As if he was still scared of how Thorin would react.

"Yes, Dwalin. I am," said Thorin. His voice was steady and even. No sign of the previous scattered thoughts and uncertain tone.

He rested his hand on Dwalin's shoulder.

"My mind of late has been troubled beyond measure. Demons have tried to get a hold of me." He did not hide from the truth; instead, he dove straight into them. "I know you could all see that. It took rather a large shock, but I think my mind is finally my own once more."

"Oh, laddie, you don't know how happy that makes me," said Balin, coming to stand near his brother.

Kili decided that it was his cue to run in. He ran headlong into the fold and greeted all the dwarves again.

"Kili!"

"Oh, it's good to see you, lad."

"We were worried about you."

I decided to join the fray, too, receiving my own hugs and well wishes. It felt so good to see them again. Even if it had only been a week or so. With how much had happened, it felt like so much longer.

Ori blushed deeply when he came over to hug me. But I just smiled at him and hugged tighter.

"What was it that shocked you then, Thorin?" asked Gloin.

Thrain's shadow lingered further down the corridor. He was letting us have our moment without intrusion. He stepped forward at Gloin's word, finally deciding to make himself known. He walked into the torchlight, Its orange glow illuminating him fully. "Now I think I know most of you, but I believe a few introductions are in order," Thrain said genially.

Nearly all of the dwarves reacted in dramatic fashion, with impressive swearing in both Khuzdul and common. Poor Dori tripped over a helmet as he, stumbled backwards and landed on his backside.

Bifur, Bofur, Bombur and Ori were silently confused about the newcomer and did not seem to realise who he was. Probably because they weren't related to the royals in any way, unlike the others, and Ori was born after Thrain went missing.

Balin and Dwalin were the most affected by his sudden appearance. They must have been the closest to Thrain out of the rest of the company. Balin tried to act respectful and bow, but Thrain wasn't having any of that and brought the disorientated dwarf into a hug. After so long in captivity, I think Thrain would take every hug he could get.

Eventually, everyone calmed down enough for us all to sit down. They had moved some debris around to form a stone circle around a campfire. Not the most comfortable of surfaces, but it felt good to rest my legs. After a few hours of hiking, climbing and wandering around a mountain, they needed it.

The company recounted their own tales of the last several days. Some of them were loath to admit that their journey with the Elven convoy was one of the most peaceful stretches they'd travelled. I tried to hide my smile at Dwalin's reaction to that. He sneered but reluctantly said that it "Wasn't bad."

Their story of Smaug was harrowing. I'd gotten close enough to that fiery demon to realise just how scary he was. But the idea of facing him when I was enclosed in a mountain was infinitely worse. It made me feel instantly more claustrophobic. Just the idea of staircases tumbling down from Smaug's sheer mass made me shudder.

I was also congratulated on my bravery in facing down Smaug. Bofur eloquently said I had bigger balls than any Dwarf he knew. Which I took as a compliment but was also curious as to just how many he'd actually seen.

When they explained the last few days, they were somewhat scarce on the details. I think that was more for Thorin's sake than anything. Everyone greatly respected him and did not want to upset their king. Thorin stared resolutely at the ground when they spoke of it.

Then the conversation turned to what was happening beyond the mountain's walls. They were very concerned about battle plans and impending armies.

Thorin's head shot up, fear written across his face. "We'll be an army down. I never sent for Dain."

Thorin raced to his feet, looking like he wanted to spring into action.

"Dain's here, don't worry," I said quickly, trying to placate him.

Thorin froze, confused. "What? How?"

"I sent for him, Uncle," Fili said. He looked like he did not know whether to be embarrassed or pleased or somewhere in between. "I sent them a raven pretending to be you. I hope you don't mind."

Thorin visibly sagged with relief. "Mind? Fili, that decision might be what saves us all. If you hadn't done so, I fear for what may have happened."

His tone was very self-deprecating, and I could tell that Thorin was tearing himself up over his lack of action. I wanted to console him, but I didn't know what to say that would change his mind.

My focus was diverted away by a low thudding noise vibrating through the walls. It confused me enough to draw my ear, and I turned towards the sound. It had been very distant, and I could not think of what might have caused it.

None of the dwarves reacted. They carried on talking as if nothing had happened. It made me think that I was just hearing things. Being in a darkened cavern was bound to make my brain conjure random things. So I tried to push it from my mind.

The conversation carried on around me. Food was handed out from the packs we had brought with us. The dwarves were infinitely grateful as their own stores had run dangerously low. They were surviving off of dried meat and nuts. Bombur was lamenting about how much he was wasting away. He was very happy when we offered him bread.

We also offered them fresh water. They needed to melt the snow from outside for drinking water. While it was perfectly okay, it didn't beat proper fresh water. Though I did get a few grumbles as they hoped I could bring them something stronger. I just laughed and told them that my pack was heavy enough as it is. I wasn't burdening it with mead.

The ominous sound repeated itself several times. Enough for me to realise that it wasn't just in my head. It varied in intensity, with some sounds stronger than others. It sounded like stones crashing together. I froze for a second, thinking that something in the mountain could be collapsing.

"Can you hear that?" I asked, swivelling my head to the sound.

"Hear what?" Kili asked.

"It's like thudding or crashing," I pointed towards the sound. "It's coming from that way. Was anything unstable? Like a staircase or something?"

"Lass, where you're pointing leads outside," Bofur said with concern in his voice.

"What?" I said in a small voice.

If it came from outside, that could only mean one thing. A feeling of unfettered dread crashed into me. Like a lead weight dropped into my stomach, and I had been pushed off a summit, freefalling in desperate terror. For a second, I could not think past the rising panic. The brief peace that we just had was shattered into irreconcilable pieces.

We were at War.

There was a battle that could already be raging beyond these walls. I felt sick.

"It's happening," I whispered. "Oh god, it's already started."

Everyone was suddenly extremely alert as I shot to my feet.

"What's started?" Ori asked.

I don't even know if I could have replied to him. My mind was in overdrive. Before I could even begin to explain, the sound of crashing stones echoed off the mountain walls. So loud this time that even the dwarves could hear it. The floor shook with the force of it.

It felt like an invisible hand had my lungs in a bruising grip and refused to let go. Not yet. Not now. It can't be happening now. How had the orcs arrived here so fast? When Adar said he was concerned, I thought that meant they were a day away. Not hours.

I could barely get my feet to comply with me as the dwarves ran towards a balcony. If it wasn't for Kili's hand on my arm, I wouldn't have moved at all.

They poured out onto the balcony. I couldn't even hear their exclaims of shock. Too drawn to the scene in front of me. It was bloody and macabre, but I couldn't look away. The breath completely seized in my lungs, and I froze against the stone fence. My mind refused to grasp the information in front of me. I felt almost detached, as if I was watching the scene from behind glass.

I was far away. This wasn't happening. My mind begged me to abandon reality and hole up for safety in the darkness of my own thoughts. At least that darkness was familiar, almost a comfort. This one was wholly new and brought fresh horrors with it.

It wasn't real. It couldn't be real because if it was, then I could see no end. I'd never seen war before. Not a real war. Fantasy depictions could never show you the true extent of it. Most of the time, it was glorified and glamorised. As far as the eye could see, people battled with everything they had. Thousands of them. How could anyone win against all that bloodshed?

The sky was a blanket of white, almost serene and comforting. A light smattering of snow floated down from above. A complete antithesis of what was happening all around us.

A sea of monsters swarmed around everyone. Each one more fearsome than the last. Great brutes towered high above the rest. Cave Trolls, somehow even worse than the ones we had encountered before. Probably because these ones weren't dying in the light.

The ground was already glazed a deep red. I couldn't smell anything from this high up, but my brain was doing a pretty good job at imagining. Like a ghost of death clinging to my senses.

The noise was deafening. The only thing louder would be the pulse in my own ears. Blades screamed against blades, carving and cleaving against each other. The air was filled with a maelstrom of arrows, hissing and slicing. Large boulders launched into the air and rocked the earth as they landed. That must have been what I was hearing in the armoury.

By far, the worst sound came from the people themselves. Their snarls and battle cries were interspersed with sanity-shattering screams.

I felt numb. Completely and utterly numb.

This was it, what the entire journey had been gearing up for. Even before I came to Middle Earth. Everything I had done was to get to this moment. To change it. To save the people I loved. This point was pivotal, and there was no way of knowing if everything I'd done had been enough.

It was happening. Right now. The one moment that really mattered. That could be the difference between life and death. This was the time that I needed to fight with everything that I had. To rage against them with tooth and nail. To refuse to back down until everyone was safe.

But I couldn't fucking move.

My hands were shaking uncontrollably against the stone. It felt like the world was losing focus, dimming around the edges until all I could see was the blood being shed far down below.

My body was forcibly shaken, and I felt everything refocus around me. The sounds sharpened, but they were no longer an all-consuming cacophony. Instead, my brain could now pick up on other sounds. Like the cries of a concerned dwarf to my right.

"Leah, we need to move!" Kili yelled.

He dragged me backwards just in time for a boulder to crash and shatter against the side of the mountain. Directly above our heads. We all dove under the overhang, shielding ourselves from the brunt of it. Rock and dust sprayed down on us, and a large chunk of it took out part of the railing.

Thankfully, none of us were hurt, but the cloud of dust it conjured had us coughing and wiping our eyes.

"To the armoury!" I heard someone yell.

"We must fight!"

The sound of running echoed off the walls as they bounded back down the corridor. Kili grabbed my hand and followed behind them. I let Kili drag me.

The dwarves were a whirlwind, donning their armour and collecting their weapons. Kili and I were already fully kitted out. Which was a blessing in itself. I don't think my shaking hands would have been able to fit any armour on.

My palms were slick with sweat when I reached for my sword. The leather grip counteracted that, and I could still get a good hold of it. Having something to grip tightly helped the perpetual tremble in my hands. It felt like a lifeline that I could grab onto. I knew Dwalin would be telling me to loosen my grip in a battle, but for right now, it was all I could do.

We all walked towards the entry hall, where the front gate lay. The noise of battle grew louder, yet it still sounded distant and far away. The way it echoed through the chamber gave it an eerie quality. Like I was hearing the sounds of the distant dead.

The dwarves rigged one of the large bells up high on the ceiling. When they released it, the huge lump of metal would careen towards the blocked doorway and cleave a path to the war beyond.

"I don't know if I can do this, Kili," I whispered, barely above a breath.

Kili reached a hand to my chin and made me look at him. "I would never ask you to, Leah."

I closed my eyes. Of course, he would never do that. If anything, I think he would prefer to hide me away deep in the mountain where nothing could get to me. It was probably eating him up inside for me to be even this close to danger.

But I also knew that this was something I had to do. Some deep, instinctual part of me knew that if I shied away now, then everything would fall apart. I couldn't leave everybody else to fight when I could be helping.

I opened my eyes again and looked down at my hands. They were pale and seemingly unassuming. But I knew the power that lay beneath them could potentially save lives. Whether through a healing touch or something more destructive. If I hid away now and people died because of it, then it would be on my head.

"I have to. I know I do. It's just," I shook my head and looked towards the front gate. "It's just so hard."

Kili touched my chin again, bringing my focus back to him. "We're in this together, Leah."

I nodded. "Remember what I said, Kili. Under no circumstances can we go to Raven Hill."

"Don't worry. That fact has been cemented into my head from the very first time you mentioned it," said Kili.

We all gathered at the side of the front gate. It would only take a few seconds for the bell to swing through the rubble, and we had to be prepared to run out. Thrain was fully armed, along with the rest of them. He looked up when I walked over to him.

"Would I ever be able to convince you not to fight?" I asked.

He rested a hand on my shoulder and smiled at me. "I know you mean well, gamzuna. After everything I've been through, no one would blame me if I never lifted a weapon again." He looked out onto the rest of the company. "But I'm Durin's folk, dear girl. I can't run from a fight. Especially one to protect my home and my kin."

I knew deep down that he would never back down. There had been a small hope that I would be wrong and Thrain would stay safe. But he would never remain here while his family fought. He would give everything he could to protect them. I just hoped that he wouldn't lose everything in doing so.

I turned back as Thorin began addressing us all. "After everything I have done, I have no right to ask this of you. But will you fight with me? One last time."

Rallying cries resounded back at him. None of us was backing down now. Not after we had all come so far.

"DU BEKAR," Thorin shouted, raising his sword in the air.

"DU BEKAR," we mirrored back.

Then Thorin brought his sword down onto a taut piece of rope. The only one holding the bell high up on the ceiling. With one resolute swing, the whole thing became untethered, and it swung towards the front gate.

I could feel the resulting crash deep within my bones. The rubble disintegrated on impact and launched outwards. We only waited long enough for the bell to settle before we charged.

Every instinct within my body screamed at me, begging for me to turn back. It was a fight just to keep my feet going, one foot in front of the other.

I shouldn't be here.

No one should be here.

But we were.

I lifted my sword up high and charged with the rest of them directly into the fray. I tried to keep Kili in my sights at all times. If I was turned around and left alone, I didn't know what I would do.

A gap cleared for us to run through as Thorin led the charge. The dwarves all rallied behind their King, bolstering him up until they were in step with us. They all ran towards the line of enemies bearing down on us. Swords in hand. Battlecry on their lips.

The two lines met with a mighty crash. I swear I could feel the moment that they clashed together like it sent a ripple through the air.

It was chaos.

Sword and shield.

Spear and hammer.

They all collided together in a brutal dance of death. The dwarves were not lithe like the elves. They did not move like dancers. But they had their own elegance about them. Stringent and tenacious. They moved with a purpose. No need for added flair.

The floor was rough yet strewn with blood. I fought to keep my balance and push onward.

Almost immediately, we were all separated from one another as the enemy sought to drive a wedge between our defences. Kili was forced to the left while I was forced to the right. He reached out his hand as if to grab for me but was instantly blocked off by an orc. His attention then swerved to thrust out his sword.

My body screamed at me to get back to him. Without him next to me, I didn't know how I would cope. My mind had moved so far beyond panic. Now all I felt was a hollow, ringing emptiness.

The enemy loomed above us. They had height and reach on their side. Even the smaller ones seemed to be about a foot taller than us. Not to mention their sheer ferocity and feral monstrosity. They did not move with grace. Instead, they were rabid, their movements difficult to calculate. It made them all that much more dangerous. The first orc that got close enough to me was at least a head taller.

I didn't even get the chance to bring my sword up before the orc was cut down. A warhammer swung so hard its head was reduced to nought but a bloody pulp. Its black blood was splattered across my front, and I had to fight the urge to stumble back and gag. I couldn't even see who had made the killing blow. Not even to thank them.

I didn't have time to wipe my face before two more clawed their way through the ranks and tried to get towards me. They were coming from the side, trying to flank me.

No time to ponder.

No time to delay.

If I froze for even a second in this anarchy, I would die.

With my sword in my right hand, I spun out, swinging in an arc and slicing through the first orc. It cut a line across its chest, producing an ear-piercing screech.

But I wasn't done. I pushed out with my left hand. Power swirled beneath my skin before it glowed blindingly bright. I urged it to burn. To break. To destroy. This wasn't a healing light. Not right now. No, this was a weapon.

The light burst from my hand and exploded across the orc. Its flesh bubbled and blistered. Chunks of it were blown away. The other orc caught a good brunt of it as well. It scratched at its own eyes, burnt and blind, and crashed to the ground. It didn't take long for a sword to find its way into its gut.

My breath came out in a wet rasp. But I managed to get my body under control. I had held back on my power, but it still took me a second to recover from using it. I couldn't afford to use all my strength at once. My power was very capable of ripping through an orc, but if I did that, then I would weaken. If I stumbled too much, then I would get a blade in my back.

I could see Kili from the corner of my eye, and I fought to get closer to him. If one of us went down, then we both did. We couldn't afford to be too far apart. We had to watch each other's backs.

He fought an orc of his own. Their blades were locked, and the orc used its height and weight to bear down on him. Kili strained against the force and shoved the orc back. It staggered but went straight back into the fight.

I moved to make my way over to him. Each step brought me closer to Kili, but I felt so far away. I sliced and stabbed as I went. The odd blade or club would catch against my armour and nearly send me sprawling, but I managed to strike back. Either with the sharp edge of my blade or the bright light of my power. I had to be careful not to blind any of the dwarves around me. Thankfully, most of them were shorter than the orcs, and my power was aimed upward.

At times it felt like I wasn't even in my own body. I was acting and reacting, relying on my instincts to keep me alive. Yet, at the same time, I felt like I had never been so present. Never so stuck in the here and now. Each second was an eternity. But eternity had never moved so fast.

I screamed through gritted teeth. The metal in my hand sang against my enemy. The sensation was almost enough to make me drop the sword, but I pushed on. My jaw was clenched almost to the point of pain. I couldn't tell if the moisture on my face was tears or blood.

Probably both.

I ducked and weaved, nearly tripping over the fallen that littered the battlefield. More added to that number every minute. Several times I had to be forcefully yanked out of the way. Only for arrows to rain down or a hammer to crash right where my body had been.

One dwarf pushed me so hard that I nearly sprawled into the blood-soaked mud. When I turned back, I was just in time to see him take a blow that was meant for me. An axe swung down with such speed that it took his arm clean off.

The sight would have made me lose what I had left in my stomach. But my mind was working overtime to numb itself from the horror, and my body was so keyed up on adrenalin it made my stomach seize.

I didn't even know this dwarf. But he had put himself in my place.

The dwarf crashed to his knees, shock and pain throwing him off kilter. The orc would take advantage of that and bring its axe up again.

With a speed which surprised me, I threw my hand up and blasted the orc with burning light. It stumbled just enough for me to jab the sword right into its throat. Blood spurted from the wound in thick rivulets, splashing across my cheek. I barely felt it. The orc clutched at its throat before slumping to the ground.

My mind turned towards the injured dwarf. He had saved me, but in doing so, he was bleeding out. His uninjured hand grasped at his amputated shoulder. Blood slipped between his fingers and landed on the ground below him.

He was going to bleed out.

Without even thinking, I dove to my knees in front of the dwarf. My hands reached for the wound. Already glowing. The dwarf shied away from it, but I ignored him.

"What's your name?" I asked as magic sunk beneath the skin.

"M–Merin," He gasped.

Oh god, he sounds so young. I urged the skin to seal. To essentially cauterise the wound. I had to jump back from him when an arrow shot over the top of us. But I dove straight back in until the blood stopped spewing out.

I gasped as my vision doubled. A few blinks had it corrected itself, but my breathing still came out in short rasps.

"Get to safety, Merin. Please," I begged.

I hauled myself to my feet. It took a moment before my legs felt solid beneath me. Merin followed behind me, clambering to his feet. He gave me a brief, but heartfelt thank you before falling back. Back towards the mountain, where, hopefully, it was safe.

I was completely disorientated by the chaos around me. A torrent of violence and whipped-up frenzy buffeted around me, tighter and tighter until breathing space was a distant dream. For what felt like forever–but was only an agonising few seconds–I couldn't locate Kili. He wasn't where he had been before. He had dispatched multiple enemies as I made my way over to him. In the time that it took me to heal Merin, Kili had been pushed back several metres.

An orc caught his shoulder, and he nearly lost the grip on his sword. The same orc reared back and aimed to strike again.

My body was moving once again.

Running.

Clawing my way towards Kili.

My balance was off, and I struggled to move too quickly. I had used up quite a lot of energy in a short space of time. My muscles screamed at me to slow, but I refused to listen, pushing through the pain.

Kili defended against the strike with ease. He hit out at the orcs' knees, causing the creature to tip forward. When he was close enough to Kili, he gave it a swift headbutt, sending it falling backwards.

He had dealt with that orc with ease, but he hadn't seen the Gundabad orc wrecking its way towards him. It tossed others to the side as if they were nothing with a studded mace.

And it had its sights set on Kili.

Its mace arced up high, and if its aim remained true, it would take Kili out in one devastating blow. I had just enough time to yell Kili's name–the sound of it shocking him enough to turn–before I ploughed into him at full force. The sudden strength of it sent him flying away.

The strike that had been intended for Kili hit me instead. It crashed down onto my right shoulder, breaking through my armour and rendering it useless. The shoulder plate took the brunt of the attack and snapped off. The chain mail underneath broke in several places, leaving a gaping hole.

It didn't draw blood, but my bones sang, and I was crippled under the blow. The sword dropped from my hand and splattered against the ground. I screamed against the sudden pain. My arm should be shattered, but it was remarkably still wholly intact.

Elven armour could withstand a lot. The fact that this orc had broken through it like it was nothing was a testament to its strength. My shoulder plate was stuck to the barbs of his mace as he hefted it back up.

I didn't give it the chance to rear up again. Light erupted out of me, exploding like a burst dam. In my pain and panic, I pushed a lot more energy into it than I meant to.

The orc didn't even get the chance to look shocked.

Blood, bone and viscera rained down around us, desiccated, disintegrated, reeking of death and decay. Disgustingly enough, his feet remained where they were. Only they no longer had anything attached to them. It was the last thing I saw before I started to list sideways.

I was caught under my arms before my head could reach the floor. Each breath was a struggle, like my chest was caught in a vice, and I was swept up in a wave of vertigo. When I was hauled to my feet, it took me a second to realise that I was not, in fact, upside down.

I was being dragged.

No pushed.

Someone's body was completely covering my back, forcing my body forwards.

The battle was a blur, merging into streaks of black and red. Like a lurid painting.

I could hardly hear anything except for the ringing in my ears.

By the time I was forced back into the relative safety of the front gate, the world was mostly back in focus, and I could finally hear a frantic Kili.

"Breathe, Leah. Just breathe," he said as he pushed me onto a rock.

I sat down heavily and did as he said.

In, out. In, out. In, out.

It felt very strange to be able to catch my breath while war still waged on before us. The dwarves had managed to push the orcs back, so there was now about 50 metres of space between the mountain and the enemy.

"I'm okay. I'm okay," I said.

I wiggled my fingers on my right hand with some effort. The muscles protested with the movement, but I could still do it. Nothing was broken, at least. But there was now a large hole in my armour, exposing my shoulder and some of my side. A part I couldn't afford to be unprotected.

"Where's Thorin? Where's Fili?" I blurted, eyes searching for them amongst the crush of bodies. I caught sight of most of the company, but I couldn't make them out.

Kili turned back to the battle, searching frantically. "They were just over there. Where are they?"

His eyes were then drawn to the ridge on his left. The cry that left him was so sudden that I flinched. "No! Mahal, no!"

My eyes followed where he was looking, and I felt my body freeze up. Standing on top of the ridge was an enormous pale orc. One of its arms was cut off at the elbow, with a makeshift dagger protruding from the stump. Even from here, I could see the jubilant grin stretched across his face.

Azog stood proudly on top of the ridge mocking the small group of dwarves racing up to meet him. Thorin, Fili and Dwalin stuck out the most from the group. As they began their climb, Azog laughed, arms wide, and backed away. Down onto the other side and out of sight.

He wasn't on Raven Hill. I had warned them about Raven Hill. Even had Adar place soldiers up there. I had hoped that they would be able to Kill Azog when he tried to set up his signals, but obviously, that hadn't happened. He must have seen the elves on Raven Hill and chosen a new direction.

Azog was luring Thorin and Fili beyond the ridge.

Into what was most assuredly a trap.

I hadn't planned for this. My heart felt like a hammer smashing its way out of my chest. Each beat felt like a signal for doom. I was so utterly helpless.

"They can't go to Azog. It's a trap," I said.

The control I was getting over my breathing went straight out the window. Raw panic painted every part of Kili. He looked like he was going to break. "They can't...I have to...I can't leave them."

Kili stumbled away from me a few steps. Back towards the fighting. Understanding cut through me like a blade.

"Kili, no," I breathed. "No, no, no, no."

He turned back to me. Tears in his eyes. His voice was strained and broken. "I have to," he sobbed. "This is the reason I came back. To stop this. I have to save them. I won't be able to live with myself if I don't."

A cry tore its way through my throat. I understood him. Of course, he would never be able to turn away. It was almost the same decision that I had made with Smaug. Risking my own life so that others might live. So that my family might live. This was just Kili's turn to do it.

That did not mean that my heart wasn't rebelling. That I didn't want to attach to him with all I had until I drew blood, refusing ever to let go. Anything to keep him with me.

He saw the acceptance in my eyes, and he let out a shaky breath. I reached out towards him, and he reached back. When his hand found mine, I drew him in as close as he could get. I crushed my lips to his. Not caring about the faint metallic tang on them. I poured everything into the kiss. All the love I felt for him. Our tears mixed together on our cheeks until I couldn't tell whose was whose.

The bond was taut and alive between us. As if it was trying desperately to keep us together.

But it was not to be. Kili pulled away, and I had never felt his loss so keenly. "Stay here. It's safe inside the mountain. I love you."

I barely heard his 'I love you' before he turned and ran. Ran towards the danger. To his brother and uncle. Each step he took was like another part of me breaking. Each footfall was like a blow of its own making.

I can't stay here. Even with my breath coming in short, wet gasps and every muscle feeling battered and bruised, I couldn't just sit there as the battle fought on around me.

Kili could die. He could fall saving his family. And if he fell, then so did I.

I wasn't going down without a fight. The bond felt like it was tugging me, urging me to follow him. So I listened.

With faltering steps, I forged on after the person I loved.

I didn't even have my sword anymore. It had fallen from my grasp and out of reach. The sword Mani had made for me was lost in a sea of blood. But I had a dagger. The one Legolas had told me to wear. I grabbed it from my boot, nearly stumbling as I did. It was a small blade, but it was better than being defenceless.

Kili didn't turn back once he reached the ridge, so he never saw me on his tail. He climbed with a purpose and swiftly made it over the top. I reached the bottom just as he disappeared over to the other side.

My hands bit into the sharp rocks along the face of the ridge. All of my muscles strained as I pulled myself up. Jaw set with determination, I tried to push away the pain. I only stopped once I reached the top.

My eyes widened, and horror almost floored me at what I saw. One of the colossal statues of a dwarf had shattered into nothing. Its crumbled carcass created a maze of stone before me.

How the fuck am I supposed to find them in that?

The sight was almost enough to shatter my remaining sanity. The sheer futility of the situation wormed its way to my mind until it was all I could think of. But I couldn't stop now. I had come all this way. A yell of pain from somewhere within only cemented that idea further.

I slid down the last part of the ridge, pushing off at the bottom and using the momentum to hit the ground at a run. I ran straight into the ruins. Straight through the stone maze. I bounced off the walls with how quickly I rounded the corners. The tall boulders all around me swallowed up sound, and the surrounding battle seemed to cease to exist.

There were only these rocks and me.

It felt like a dream I had long ago, a nightmare contorting into truth.

I strained my ears to catch anything. Anything at all that could give me a direction to run in.

A pained, guttural yell had me spinning around. It came from somewhere to my right between the cracks of two sharp boulders. My body ran towards the sound without a second thought. I pushed myself through the crag. It was too thin. The sharp edges of the stones tried to hold me fast, squeeze the breath from my lungs. It dug into my armour and left lacerating grooves across the metal. But I gritted my teeth and pushed, forcing myself through the gap into the other side.

I baulked at the sight I found.

The stones spilt out into a larger open space. Bilbo slumped against the ground, unconscious. It was clear he had been struck around the head. A steady stream of blood dripped beneath his prone form. But, thankfully, he still appeared to be breathing deeply.

The sight that caused me the most horror was that of a dwarf lying in a fast-growing puddle of his own blood.

Thorin lay across the ground. His body spasmed and heaved with stuttered breaths. He was wide-eyed and awake. Almost delirious with pain. Orcrist lay just out of his reach.

Above him stood a heinous monster. Azog's smile had never been wider as he stared down at Thorin. He had foregone his mace to use the wicked dagger attached to his arm. Deep, red blood dripped off the end of it.

He laughed a deep and bone-grating laugh before his arm pulled back for the killing blow.

I was already moving, forcing my limbs to move faster, pushing them more than I had ever pushed them.

"NO!" I screamed with everything I had.

Azog's eyes only narrowed as I launched myself between him and Thorin.

I didn't feel it at first.

Felt nothing as Azog's bladed hand tore through the hole in my armour.

As it buried itself into the meat of my shoulder.

Tearing through the flesh as if it was nothing.

The force of the blow brought me crashing to the ground.

I didn't feel it.

Until I did.

Burning.

Mangling.

Ripping

Tugging.

The pain signals in my brain went haywire. Like violent, tangled lightning blazed a path of voltaic agony through my whole being. It rendered my body useless, and I couldn't move.

I heard someone screaming, and it took a few moments before I realised that it was me. The sound of it was almost alien.

Azog drew back, taking the blade with him. My body rebelled against the pain, and I couldn't stop shaking. I brought my hand up to the ragged wound. Blood flowed out of it at an alarming pace. It pooled in my armour and ran down my arms. My skin was freezing, but the blood was almost inhumanly hot against it.

Azog smirked down at me triumphantly. "You think you can save him, little elfing?" His voice was a thick rasp. The words were barely discernible between the roar in my ears and the thickness of his accent."When you can't even save yourself."

All I could do was choke down a sob.

"I think I'll take my time with you," he said, wrenching my chin upwards. "Your cries are most exquisite." He tossed my face away from him. "But I have some unfinished business to take care of first." Azog turned to where Thorin had been lying only moments earlier.

Only to find an empty patch of ground. His eyes widened with visible shock.

Azog didn't even get the chance to turn around before Orcrist sliced through the centre of his chest. Clean through from Azog's undefended back.

He looked down at the blade in wonder. His hand reached up, catching black blood pouring down his chest. The sword was withdrawn, and Azog sunk to his knees. His body fell forwards into the puddle of blood Thorin had just vacated, the black mingling with the red.

In his wake stood Thorin, Orcrist hanging heavy by his side. The front of his armour was soaked a deep red. He looked over at me, but I don't think he truly saw me.

Orcrist fell from his grasp, clattering against the solid ground. Thorin's body was not far behind. His knees gave out, and he fell backwards.

"Thorin!" I cried.

The world was blurry. Fogged like breath on a window, warm and wet. Time was a broken concept, yanked into infinitely long stretches and colliding back in calamitous strikes. It felt like seconds. It felt like days. Nothing worked as it should anymore.

With my good arm, I dragged myself over to him. Each movement caused a cry to rip its way out of my throat, but I urged myself on until I was right next to him. His eyes finally locked onto mine, and he gave me a sad smile.

"You…shouldn't...have done that...Leah," Thorin said through deep, shuddery breaths.

"Thorin, you can't die," I sobbed. "Everything. All of this was so that you could live. I was supposed to save you."

I heard vague shuffling from behind me. The sound of a Hobbit rousing from unconsciousness. I ignored it in favour of the dying dwarf in front of me.

"You can only do so much, Leah," Thorin reached up a hand to cup my face. "You saved my nephew. That's all I can ask for."

His hand then moved to the courting braid on the side of my head. He inspected the bead for a moment, and he smiled again. "It will be the greatest honour to call you my kin."

His eyes grew distant, and his breathing shallowed. I let out another sob when his hand dropped heavily to the ground.

No, no, no, no.

A shuffling in front of me signified Bilbo's straight shot back into consciousness. He gasped loudly, inhaling great gulps of air before his eyes fell onto us and the breath stalled in uncooperative lungs. His face crumpled.

"No, Thorin, no. You can't die. You can't go."

Bilbo, not even taking the time to stand, dragged himself over to us across the rubble-littered, blood-soaked ground. It seeped into his clothes, but he didn't seem to notice. He traced a line down Thorin's face, a look of adoration and agony.

"You told me we would make it out of this, Thorin. All of us," he shook Thorin's shoulder, begging him to wake. "I was going to plant the tree here, Thorin. Let it grow roots in Erebor because you are more home to me than the Shire ever was."

Bilbo gripped Thorin's hand and held it to his lips with shaking fingers. "Please, Thorin. You have made my life so much brighter. It will be nothing but darkness with you gone."

Something shattered in me at Bilbo's words. He loved Thorin. I could see that. A fierce, unflinching devotion and I think Thorin felt the same. This would not be their end. I could not watch the dwarf I had grown to care so much about die in front of me.

Not again.

I pushed Bilbo away, watched the flash of anger and pain as he toppled over and away from Thorin. Then his eyes turned tentative. Full of cautious hope and terror as I leaned heavily on the wound, blood soaking between my fingers. The pain in my shoulder deepened, a lance of fire shooting up my arm, my neck, down my spine. It had never been so difficult to call upon that power inside me. I'd used so much today that there was hardly anything left to give.

But I grit my teeth anyway. So hard that I nearly pulled a muscle in my jaw. I ripped that power out of my core with everything I had.

Light seeped from between my fingertips. It wasn't the bright white it had been before. It was soft and pale. A stark comparison to the blinding light I knew I was capable of. But still, I persevered, pouring that magic into Thorin's wound.

"Can you save him?" Bilbo said.

Thorin gasped deeply as my magic burrowed further down. The feel of the injury was almost overwhelming. For a second, I didn't know where my magic ended, and Thorin began. The more I used it, the more the world drifted away. Until it was so dark I could barely see.

I didn't want to be alone in the dark.

"Leah, it's too much, please." I felt more than saw small hands trying to wrench me away, but they could find no purchase. "I don't want to lose you too."

There were more shouts.

It could have been my name. But they sounded so distant, so far away.

The blood slowed to a trickle, and the wound was closing up.

Slowly. Too slowly.

My consciousness gave out all too soon. My grip on this world slipped away and I collapsed into a boiling dark.