Happy Valentine's day, my lovelies!

Ohmicrofilm: I'm so glad that I could help in your LOTR and Hobbit marathon! Nori's honestly one of my favorites right next to Ori who I think is just so sweet.

WindSongEnchantmant: Woo! I always get the worst reading hangover after I binge a story.


Chapter 20: Down in the Deep

There were brief moments of wakefulness that drifted to me that night - the sounds of my brothers pulling out their sleeping rolls and settling around me, the murmur of Fili's voice just against my ear. The feel of fingers tracing the shell of my ears. Strong hands curling around my waist, squeezing gently before shifting me until my head was against something warm. A body against mine. Warmth - so much warmth after being so cold.

"Wake up!" Someone jostled against me, an arm tightening on me enough to make me gasp, jolting away from the warm darkness of sleep. A soft slithering like thread being yanked across rock grew louder and louder, buzzing in my ears.

"Tori," Fili rasped, his voice thick from sleep, breath hot against the shell of my ear. I blinked, trying to gain some sort of bearings in the darkened cave.

A few feet away, Nori's head has popped up, hair in random spikes.

"WAKE UP!"

It happened so suddenly that all I could do was gulp in a breath of air, my whole body scrambling as the rock beneath us gave out. Fingers slid through mine, Fili's arms slipping away from me with a harsh roar as we tumbled.

My shoulder slammed into something hard, all sleep yanked away from me in a blinding moment of clarity. It had been a trap. I let out a scream, my body slamming into something else - something softer this time, something that grunted disdainfully as we bounced off of each other like two balls meeting. Lights flashed, my leggings catching on a slab of rock and tearing all the way up my leg as we slid down a long tunnel. Desperately, I tried to reach out and catch on something - anything -

"FUCK!" I heard Nori scream somewhere behind me, followed by a disdainful gasp before I was completely freefalling, the tunnel cutting off abruptly as I went slamming into some sort of platform.

Another body slammed down on top of me, forcing the breath from me in a harsh gasp. The heavy gasing sound of over a dozen dwarves beat at my ears. The area we had been corralled into was bathed in torchlight - the platform a crude wood contraption suspended over a cavern big enough to house -

I gulped, the sound of rasping grunts and chilling teeth gnashing together growing louder and louder.

"Goblin horde-" I whispered, fear tightening my gut moments before Dori gritted out a tight curse. It was bad, This was very, very bad.

"LOOK OUT!" Thorin roared moments before chaos broke out again.

"TORI!" Fili's hands grabbed me forcing me up and behind him moments before the crowd of slimy, hunched creatures was upon us. His teeth flashed in a snarl, his whole body leaning into a shove as the goblins clawed at us. The rank smell of decay stung at my nose.

There was too much going on.

My breath sawed from me, hands yanking at my hair and clothing, bodies pushing me forward. I stumbled, bringing my fist down into someone's head. I didn't know what I was swinging at anymore. Fili's snarls breaking through the roar of people screaming and cursing and goblin-speak. His hands fumbled with mine, reaching back to check that I was there before someone yanked him away, his eyes bright like two panicking beacons in the torchlight-

"Tori!" Ori called, voice tight with growing panic.

Hands pushed me forward, making me stumble and gasp. I tried again, throwing out an elbow and hearing a squawk in return followed closely by someone shoving me hard enough to make me trip and almost go down to my knees.

"You keep your mittens to yourself, you pile of hot donkey shit-" I heard Dori spit from behind me.

They pushed and yanked us down the narrow wooden walkways, the wood beneath my feet trembling as we stumbled onward. One of them brought a hand up to my hair, yanking my head to the side with enough force to make me cry out.

"Don't touch her!" I heard Fili roar from somewhere up ahead and the surround goblins chortled, cooing.

"Don't touch her, he says," one of them sang, pushing me forward enough that I had to clutch onto one another smaller goblin to keep steady.

"Lovers?" another one of them teased, kicking at my feet and giggling as I jumped to try and keep my legs under me.

"Maybe more!" another one howled and I went sprawling as they grab ahold of my air and all but threw me forward.

Hard wood bit into my face, all of the air inside of me forced out in a gasp as my whole body connected with the wood. My head spun, all of the bodies crowding around me, making it hard to draw in a solid breath of air.

"Goblin scum!" I heard Fili snarl, followed by the sound of flesh meeting flesh, a squeak breaking the air as chaos took over.

Hands curled around my biceps, hauling me up and out from underfoot.

"Thank - thank you," I spluttered, drawing in one shaky breath after another. Kili's face tightened, his brown eyes darkening in obvious fear as he guided me a bit deeper into the circle of dwarves. Nori and Dori crowded me back, their brows pinched as they pushed Ori and I a bit to the side.

"Keep to the side," Dori breathed and my eyes darted around, searching desperately for Fili. "Don't make any noise, either of you."

I gulped down a rush of saliva, my stomach tightening my fingers tightened on Ori's hand. In the back of the crowd, I saw the bright gold of Fili's hair, his teeth pulled back in a sneer as he wrestled with a goblin, finally slamming his head into it's skull with a sickening crack.

Torches glinted all around us, the platform that we had been herded to held aloft in the middle of a cavern of interlacing bridges and mining tunnels. The press of a million voices, screeching at each other was enough to make my mouth go dry, the sheer number of them overwhelming. The ingenuity of goblins wasn't something to scoff at - the way that they had trapped us like birds was enough to show that. Pulley systems and wire transport lines hung in thick webs around us, their construction of simple bridges and support beams layered on top of each other like the threads in an embroidered skirt.

A pock-marked goblin, yanked me forward by the folds of my vest, his multi-joined fingers tearing at the straps of my dual axe holders until they slid away from me. He sneered up at me, tossing them down with a harsh thump.

Goblins with hunched backs and bat-like ears circled us, whispering excitedly to each other. Their skin was mottled, pale, and dotted with crusted pus and blood. Goblins rarely strayed from their home in the mountains, they nested in hordes, multiplying until the caverns were bursting with offspring. Inbreeding was rampant, the heavy brows and warped bones enough to illustrate this.

Worse yet was that they delighted in pain. Every advance in technology that came from their caverns designed in some fashion to advance the goal of death. Torture was what they found entertaining and it was a pleasure to find new species to trial it on.

"Who would be so bold as to coem armed into my kingdom?" A cold sweat slithered down my spine. Sitting atop a throne of bones was one of the foulest creatures I had ever come across. His eyes bulged, bloodshot and yellowed, half of his face riddled with a rash of reddened, oozing skin. He was mammoth, his belly large, hanging over a dirty loincloth. Strands of wiry, white hair slumped in odd patches along his skull.

Beside me, Nori's lips tightened, his face going sullen. My two other brothers held the same expression.

"Spies?" The great goblin questioned, his voice breaking a bit as his volume rose. "Theives? Assassins?"

"Dwarves, your malevolence" a small, thin-faced goblin chimed in.

"Dwarves?!" the king roared, astonished.

"We found them on the front porch," the thin-faced goblin supplied gleefully.

I resisted the urge to cringe. How lovely that we had gone to the front porch.

"Well, don't just stand there!" the goblin king roared. "Search them!"

I gasped as hands yanked at my hair hard enough to jerk my head back. Beside me, Ori fumbled, holding tight to my hand as he were nearly ripped apart. His eyes darted helplessly to me, his nails digging into the back of my own as a foul-breathed goblin ripper out his favorite quill and scoffed before tossing it on the ground and driving his heel into it. Shards burst from beneath his foot, scattering.

"Every crack!" the king jeered and hands tore at one of my braids, driving me to the ground with a sharp scream. Beads flew everywhere as Ori's hands quivered in mine, his voice muffled as another goblin levered himself over me, tearing open the belt at my waist where all my daggers were. "Every crevice!"

Dori snarled, his boot slamming into the goblin's side with enough force to send him flying away and off of me. My breath sawed out from me unevenly, the silver glint of his eyes meeting mine as he shoved another one away from me. Ori's face twisted with concern as he helped me up, tucking me safely against his side, the quiver in his chin the only indication that he was as terrified as I was.

"What are you doing in these parts?" the gigantic goblin demanded, his eyes rolling over us in sharp, jerky movements. Beside me, Nori and Dori's lips tightened, their faces growing stonier and stonier by the second. Just a few feet away, I saw Kili and Fili, both of their jaws set, their faces set in harsh lines that threatened violence at any moment. "SPEAK!"

Silence met his command. I could feel the weight of it like a hand pressing me down. Ori's arms tightened around me and against my chest, I could feel the frantic rabbiting of his own heartbeat. He held onto me with the desperation of a babe to their mother, afraid of the world outside of the shelter of her arms.

"Very well." The first edge of glee entered his voice, his eyes roaming among us like a customer about to purchase a product. "If they will not talk, we'll make them squawk." Howls met this declaration, the tiny platform shaking beneath our feet. Across the short space, my eyes searched and connected with Fili, his jaw tightening as his eyes darkened to a stormy blue. "Bring up the bonebreaker! Start with the weakest!"

My breath stopped, my insides quivering as the king's meaty finger jabbed toward me. Goblin's viewed all females as the weaker. I should have realized that my gender would have caused so much attention.

Hands tore at my hair, dragging me away from Ori even as he fought forward, his fingers slipping and sliding through mine as the goblin's leapt at me, pulling me away. Nori and Dori shouted, jerking forward as the surrounding goblins jeered, pushing them back. A deafening roar burst from the other dwarves, the whole lot of them jolting forward.

The delicate material of my vest ripped, the material shredding along my shoulder as someone wrenched me to the ground.

"Get your filthy hands off of her!" Dori howled, bashing his head into one of the goblins golding him. Beside him, Nori was nearly feral, his teeth bared as he tried desperately to wrestle his way free.

Hands circled my ankle, dragging me a little further and I kicked out, catching the scrawny goblin in the jaw. Another one was there in an instant, his fingernails tearing at the fabric of my leggings. Bone-deep horror froze me, my insides running cold as I felt everything still. I was - I couldn't breathe. A goblin's face grinned down at me, saliva dripping onto my lips and nose as he laughed. My heart pumped erratically, all of the sounds filtering away.

Unwanted, my eyes darted back to my brothers, their faces twisted with rage and then to Fili and Kili, both of them screaming, their faces bloody from fighting against the goblin's surrounding them. Fili's eyes met mine, his face twisted crudely, lips pulled back from his teeth as he yelled something that I couldn't hear. His eyes were the darkest I had ever seen them, silver flashing through like thunderclaps in a cloudy sky. He was roaring, screaming in a way that I was sure was shaking the very wood beneath me.

"WAIT!"

Everything stopped, the goblins tearing at my clothes stilled, their faces turning toward the clear sound of my king. His face was harsh, his eyes shining with enough rage to make me gulp down a breath. He moved forward, sliding past the dwarves and goblin's with an ease that belied the pure chaos around him. I gulped down a shaky breath, realizing suddenly that I was shaking. His eyes fixed on the goblin king, the darkness there seeming like a call for blood as he moved nearer. He didn't look away as he leaned down and picked me up, the goblin's scuttling away uncertainly. He didn't even look away when he pushed me gently toward Fili who jerked forward with the desperation of a starving child, dragging me into the safety of his chest.

My breath sawed in and out of me unevenly, the world spinning as I tried to blink away the terror that had gripped me, the ghost-like fingers still gripping my insides and wringing the out. His breath was warm at my temple, his arms crushing me to him as if he couldn't bear for there to be an inch between us. There were no words between us, just the desperate shake of my own body and his answering hold on me.

"Well, well, well," I heard the goblin king chortle behind me and I shut my eyes against the voice. "Look who it is. Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, King Under the Mountain." Laughter flitted across the space, echoing mockingly in the cavern. "Oh! But I'm forgetting - you don't have a mountain and you're not a king which makes you nobody, really."

Against me, Fili stiffened, his breath drawing in and out in angry puffs.

"Bastard," I heard Kili breath beside us.

"I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head," the goblin murmured thoughtfully. "Just a head. Nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak. An old enemy of yours. A pale orc astride a white warg."

"Azog the Defiler was destroyed," I heard Thorin spit. "He was slain in battle long ago."

I finally looked up, turning slightly in Fili's arms. His arms stayed firmly around me, his eyes ticking around the space in quick, dark glances. Thorin looked somehow large standing in front of the mammoth goblin, his head tipped back, shoulder defiantly square.

The goblins bulbous head tipped to the side, a slow smile curling his chapped lips. "So, you think his defiling days are done, do you?" A low laugh followed the question, sending a new blast of fear down my spine. We had been raised on tales of the pale orc and King Thorin, of his battle. To think that he could still be alive - My eyes cut up to Fili's finding his jaw painfully tight, a vein pulsing in his throat. He looked angry but… unsurprised. His eyes finally met mine again. Had he known? When? His eyes deepened, softening to a dark azure. "Send word to the pale orc. Tell him I have found his prize."

My stomach dropped even further, the way thought of coming across an orc that had caused so much destruction to our kind-

A low rumbling rolled from the depths of the cavern, reverberating off of the walls with a growing insistence. Around us, the goblins gave a high keen, each banging on the ground like raging animals stamping their feet at the first sign of blood. Fili's face had gone a shade paler, his brows furrowing as with visible anxiety as the goblins began to jostle us, clawing at our clothes, tearing away all of the weapons that we had.

High, wailing shrieks started in the depths of the tunnels, the goblin king grinning as he brought his staff down in rhythmic thumps. And then he began to sing: "Bones will be shattered-"

Fili shoved me behind him, sending me jolting into Gloin's side, the older dwarf throwing out a hand to stop me from careening into the mass of goblins now jostling against us. In front of me, Fili's teeth flashed, all sign of fear buried deep inside of him as he shoved back a pair of goblins.

"Necks will be rung!"

The smallest of the goblins scuttled up a pole wrapped in - I blanched, shaking. Skulls - they had wrapped the poles in skulls and bones.

"You'll be beaten and battered!" The giant king twirled, making our wooden platform quiver. "From racks you'll be hung! You will die down here and never be found! Down in the deep of goblin town-"

A high keening shriek rang out, cutting off whatever other horrid verse was to come next. The goblins around us abruptly stopped, every head swiveling toward the clatter of Thorin's blade against the floor. All joviality faded from the goblin king's face, his eyes bulging as he scurried away, scrambling onto his throne with a cry.

"I know that sword!" he wailed, jabbing a finger at us accusingly. Fili heaved out a harsh breath, his hair tousled as he pressed back, bringing a hand out to make sure that I was still behind him. "It is the goblin cleaver! The biter!"

Someone roared. I looked around frantically, gasping as I saw the first lash of whips falling on my brothers. Fili cursed foully, spinning around to yank me to his chest. I felt the first strike of the leather reverberate through him and into me, the horrifying sound of his breath leaving him in a harsh grunt making my stomach twist painfully. His breath beat against my ear, his body forcing me to the ground as he took the blows without a word.

"Fili -" His hands caught mine, forcing them to stay clenched between our bodies.

"You've broken your hands enough," he gritted out, growling into another beat of the whip along his side.

Crying out, I tried to wiggle out from him. If he wasn't protecting me - His body leveled fully onto me, his thigh bracketing mine so that I couldn't move away. His eyes burned into mine, a blue so bright that it rippled into a silvery-white.

"Fili - stop -" His lips pulled into a sardonic smile, the edges twitching with something that closely resembled pain.

Every breath heart, every moment seemed too long for me to grasp fully. There were so many cries of pain, the feeling of being crushed by goblins and dwarves alike. I could hear my brothers distantly crying out, their grunts muffled in the din of noise. It was horrifying. Somewhere between the stone giants and here, we had fallen into a nightmare. Fili's chest reverberated with another hit, his hands clenching into tight fists around mine.

Belatedly, I remembered the knife in my boot and I squirmed to get it out, driving it into the scaly, crusted foot of a nearby goblin who yowled, dropping the whip in his hands. Get out, get out, get out, a tiny, insistent voice in the back of my head bleated. Fili gave me a crooked smile as I yanked the knife out, craning to see where I was going to -

Light.

So much light that my ears started to ring, all of my senses wiped clean.

I could breathe again.


I hope you guys have an amazing valentine's day. Don't forget to leave a review or follow/favorite if you would like it.