Authoress Note: Welcome to Chapter 5 of Seven Wonders. I want to thank those who have left reviews for this story. It truly does mean a lot to me that you guys are enjoying this story. I hope that I'm able to please you guys as this story goes on. I promise there will be parts of Artemis that you probably won't like. I will warn you when those scenes come up. Because I wanted to make her a well-rounded character and have problems of her own. I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter. Without further ado Chapter 5. ENJOY!

Chapter 5

Days had seemed to pass and Bilbo learned of Artemis' gift. Gandalf had told him about how he had a concussion from his fall onto the floor due to Bofur's talking of the dragon. He was surprised, to say the least, to know that this young woman who was half his age had a gift like that. At least that had explained to him why she looked so tired when he had woken up.

They had stopped for the night almost everyone was asleep except for Bilbo, Gandalf, Fili, Kili, and Artemis. They were of course camping near an edge of a cliff.

Bilbo had gone off to his pony to feed her an apple.

Artemis was reading one of her books by the fire. The book she had decided to read was her copy of The Witch's Bible. She pulled her cloak closer to her body as she read her book and smoked one of her cigarettes which was slowly running out. She didn't know what she would do when she ran out. She figured that she would be starved of her tobacco which she didn't want to know what that felt like.

There was a scream in the air and Bilbo ran towards them. "What was that?" Bilbo asked worriedly.

"Orcs," Kili said looking up at Bilbo.

Another scream was heard.

Artemis closed her book and put it into her bag closing her eyes in worry. She knew that something was out there and watching them and it wasn't a good thing. Not in the least bit knowing that there were orcs somewhere out there hunting and killing.

"Orcs?" Bilbo asked, confused. He had no idea what orcs were.

Thorin jerked awake.

Artemis put her smoke out and pulled her hood over her head. She knew what Orcs were and they were bloodthirsty killers.

"Throat-cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them." Fili told Bilbo, as he put his pipe into his mouth.

"They strike in the wee small hours when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet. No screams, just lots of blood." Kili said his voice filled with dread.

Bilbo looked away in fright. He didn't want to be there now. This was much far more dangerous than what he had expected. And he knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep knowing that it was this dangerous with Orcs roaming about.

Kili and Fili looked at each other and began laughing at the expression that Bilbo had given to them.

"You think that's funny? You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?" Thorin demanded in anger, as he looked at his nephews.

"We didn't mean anything by it," Kili told his uncle softly. He felt bad now. He could only hope that he hadn't scared the young hobbit that was with them and the young woman that was with them. Kili looked over and saw that Artemis was silent and hidden underneath her blue cloak.

"No, you didn't. You know nothing of the world." Thorin said before going over to the edge of the cliff and looking over the valley.

Balin came over to them.

Artemis slowly got up to her feet and took her bag over to her bed roll placing it down onto it. She gripped her necklace in fear. She always grabbed onto her necklace when something bothered her. She listened to what Balin was saying to the younger dwarves.

"Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs. After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken by legions of orcs led by the most vile of all their race. Azog the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the King."

Artemis shivered at the story. She always shivered when she watched the movie when Balin told this story. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to calm herself. She slowly came over and rejoined them. She sat down next to Bilbo biting her lower lip as she did so.

"Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing, taken prisoner, or killed, we did not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us."

Artemis saw Bilbo pale and she put her hand on his knee patting it lightly. His aura was a muddy blue which had caused concern for her. She didn't want to see colors like that around anyone because it brought her fears up.

"That is when I saw him. A young dwarf prince facing down the Pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe, his armor rent… wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield. Azog, the Defiler, learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied and drove the orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast, no song, that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived. And I thought to myself then, there is one who I could follow. There is one I could call king."

Thorin turned away from the view beyond the cliff. He noticed that the entire company was awake. He had noticed the look on Artemis's face which was a look that he had never seen before. Had she seen death? That was the question that burned in his mind.

"But the pale orc? What happened to him?" Bilbo asked curiously. He wasn't sure that this was the proper question to be asking them.

"He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago." Thorin stated to Bilbo. He didn't like the idea that Bilbo was questioning him in such a way. It was a memory that he didn't like bringing up.

Artemis stood up and walked past Thorin. She looked over the valley. She knew that Thorin truly had no idea that Azog didn't die from his wounds. Thorin had thought that it had killed him. Her hood had fallen from her head, her long brown hair was no longer pulled back and back in loose curls. She crossed her arms as she looked out in the distance. Even though she could not see anything. Her eyesight was not as good as other creatures of this world. She could not help, but wonder if someone was watching them. Sometimes she wished that she had better eyesight, but that would only mean more trouble for them. She wouldn't be able to get the images out of her mind.

She couldn't help, but wonder if she needed to cast a protection spell on them to keep them safe from whatever was to come. She rubbed her arms lightly trying to keep the warmth in them. Artemis turned her head when she heard Gandalf coming towards her. Her hair blew in the light wind as she turned to face Gandalf.

"My dear, you should try to rest."

"He doesn't know. You know that that orc is still alive." She told him in a hushed tone.

"And you cannot tell him about it. He will be upset with you more than he is now."

Artemis scoffed. "He is a fool." She said harshly. "He couldn't just assume that he killed that orc." She shook her head in frustration. She knew that Thorin wouldn't listen to anything that was said, he was hard-headed and stubborn which angered her a little. In a way he was way more stubborn than she was.

"Artemis, my dear girl, rest. Do not let this bother you."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Fine Gandalf. Keep it your way then," she said before going to her bed roll. She removed her cloak and laid down on her bed roll to sleep. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but the thought of orcs was none too appealing to her. She wasn't going to be able to get any sleep that night. Her hands clutched onto the necklace that she wore in nervousness. She felt a pair of eyes upon her. She turned slightly to see who was looking at her and it was none other than Thorin looking at her. She wasn't sure why Thorin was looking at her.

Thorin turned away from Artemis. He was still trying to figure her out and was not having any luck in finding out why she was willing to do this. He had to admire the fact that she was willing to do this, but he still had his doubts about her.

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This is the end of Chapter 5. I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter. I tried my best to edit this story. I can't wait to show you guys what happens next. Please leave a review and let me know what you guys think of this chapter. I am going to try my best to keep up with the updates as much as I can. Reviews help me keep going when it comes to writing. I hope to have the next chapter out soon. Until next time.