Hey guys! I'm back! I think my mental health is now getting to the point where I am finally able to continue with my writing. Fighting through writers block and depression has been hard for the past few months, but I'm hopefully at a place in my life where I can continue doing the things I love, and for me, thats writing these fics. I just want to say I am so grateful and thankful for those of you that have stood by me through all of this and have stuck around for so long. Thank you every so much for your continued support.

Also, I hate to be THAT person that begs for reviews, but I would love to hear from you all. I love hearing your thoughts and suggestions on these stories.

Chapter 14

The dwarven King smiles as he looks out to the image of his home. He is so close he can almost feel it. Oh, how he longed to wander through those halls once again.

He is disturbed from his thoughts as Caladwen suddenly falls into him slightly. He looks to her as his arm tightens around her waist and is alarmed by the sudden paleness of her face, what he could see from the dried blood at least.

"Caladwen? Are you alright?" he ask, worry instantly filling his whole being.

She doesn't answer him, she suddenly falls and he shouts out her name as he quickly catches her. Laying her on the ground, his eyes instantly draw to the blood on her face, three scratches covering the entirety of it, starting from the bottom, left side of her chin and ending at the top right of her hairline. The scratches are not that deep, so it should not be enough for her to fall unconscious.

As Gandalf and Oin rush over, he notices a large patch of blood on her tunic, lifting it up, he sees a gash on her left side, running from her hip to her waist. He immediately wonders where she got this wound from; the dwarves having protected her within the troll cave. But then he remembers her facing Azog after he was thrown from the warg.

The healer of the company kneels beside him and quickly checks her out. "I'm going to need to stitch her side, but I cannot do it from here. It would reopen the moment we begin to climb down."

Thorin nods. "Let's get moving, quickly!" he reaches over to lift her into his arms but Dwalin's hands stop him.

"Thorin, you are still injured, let me carry her."

"I've got her." he says stubbornly before he gently lifts her into his arms.

The company quickly and carefully climb down the side of the mountain side, with a struggle as the steps are too large for the dwarves to simply walk down. Frustration and impatience fill Thorin as they slowly make their way down. Eventually, he has to relinquish his hold on her, as Caladwen would need to be passed down to each dwarf, the stairs being far too steep. The company even have to help each other to get down.

Once they finally reach the bottom, Thorin instantly takes Caladwen into his arms again and they all walk on to find some place safe to make camp. They come across a wooded area near a stream and Thorin calls out to stop.

Before he lays Caladwen down, he gently shakes off his cloak, getting Kili to lay it down before laying her on top of it. He stays beside her as Oin kneels next to her injured side, asking Kili to fetch some water. Luckily, Oin had managed to grab at least some of his medical supplies before they escaped the goblins.

He lifts Caladwen's tunic up to just under her breasts as Kili quickly returns with the water, but soon leaves, a blush on his face as he sees Caladwen's bare skin. Oin wets a cloth before he quickly but gently wipes up the blood around the around and asking Thorin to hold it in place as he gets a needle and thread ready.

"It's lucky she's unconscious, she shouldn't feel a thing, but make sure to keep a firm hold on her, just in case."

Thorin nods as he takes the cloth away when ordered and Oin begins stitching the gash, stabbing the needle through her pale skin. Luckily, Caladwen doesn't struggle, just sleeps on, letting out a few whimpers and groans every now and then, whether from pain or dreams, he doesn't know. Once Oin is finished, he spreads a healing salve onto the wound, causing the elf to sigh in relief. Thorin gently lifts her up so he can wrap a bandage around her.

"There. That should heal within a few weeks. She can't move for a few days I'm afraid though."

Thorin nods. "That's fine. We'll rest here for a while. I assume we are at a safe enough distance from Azog, am I right Gandalf?"

The wizard nods. "We are at least four days ahead of him on his Warg. Three if he decides to ride through the night."

"We'll stay as long as we can." he turns back to the healer. "What about her face?"

He moves closer to inspect the scratches. "The center one is going to need to be stitched together, the others should heal on their own."

Oin gets to work stitching the middle scratch before gently placing some slave on them before he tends to Thorin's wounds.

Once he has seen to Thorin, he walks away to check on the others, leaving Thorin and Caladwen to have some privacy. Thorin shifts himself and gently lays Caladwen's head on his lap, running his fingers through her hair.

She saved him. . .she and the Hobbit saved him. . .Caladwen, he could understand her saving him, but Bilbo? He had treated the hobbit abominably and yet he still stood in front of him, in front of both of them. The hobbit had definitely earned his loyalty and friendship.

As he looks down to Caladwen, he can't help but think of the times in the past she had saved him and his people. The food, supplies and gold she had left them while they were homeless, as well as taking out the occasional Orc or Bandit that they came across.

Running a hand over her head, he just watches her as she sleeps. He never thought he actually would find her. He always held onto the hope he would one day, but he didn't believe it would actually come to pass.

Leaning down, Thorin gently places a kiss upon her brow. "Caladwen. . .I promise, from now on, I am not going to let anything happen to you. I'll take care of you for the rest of our lives. " he takes one of her hands into his own, rubbing her hand with his thumb. "Just stay with me, Amralime, please stay with me. . .I need you."

….

Darkness. That is all I can see, all I have been able to see for what seems like a very long time. Finally coming out of my nightmares, my senses come back to me at last, allowing me to bring my eyes back into focus, only for my lids to cover them again. Whoever had laid me here, why did they leave me where the sun could shine its rays into my eyes?

Turning my head from the light, I open my eyes again and smile as I see half of the company not far away, gathered around a campfire, seeming to have not long since bathed as their hairs were still damp. Bofur is the one to notice me first, his eyes going wide in relief as he smiles.

"Lass! You're awake! Ori, go tell Thorin!"

I watch the young scribe scurry off as Bofur, Bifur, Bombur, Dori and Nori rush over to see me.

"Are you alright, lassie? You gave us a fright." Dori states, helping me to drink from his flask.

I smile my thanks as I take quench my thirst before answering. "I am fine, thank you. It will take more than that to stop me."

They chuckle.

"That we can believe." Nori chuckles.

"Caladwen!"

Looking towards his voice, I smile as I see Thorin and the others rushing over. Bifur and Bombur move aside as Thorin drops besides me, taking my hand into his.

"Thank Mahal! I was beginning to worry!"

"I am fine, meleth nin. Are you alright?"

He smiles as he gives a small chuckle. "You almost die and you're making sure I'm alright? To answer your question, yes. I'm alright. Even better now you are awake."

I smile before looking around. "Where are we?"

"We are near the Carrock, Gandalf says. We are a few days ahead of Azog."

I nod, wincing as I push myself up to sit.

"Caladwen, you need to rest." Thorin says, trying to get me to lay back down.

"I will be fine."

As I sit up, Thorin allowing me to lean against him, I take stock of my injuries. Other than a few scrapes and bruises I received from Goblin Town, I can feel the gash in my side as well as the scratches on my face from the Warg.

Hearing the flowing river, I shakily push myself to my feet.

"What are you doing?" Thorin asks, instantly at my side.

"I hear water. I am going to take a bath. I need to get rid of the dirt and grime I can feel on me."

Thorin nods after a few moments. "Alright. I'm coming with you."

I nod and after accepting greetings and gentle hugs from the others, Thorin leads me to the river.

"We were lucky enough to retrieve our medical supplies and a few packs before leaving the goblin tunnels. Including your pack." Thorin says as I am undressing.

"That is a relief." I reply, hissing as I try to take off my tunic.

Thorin stops me. "Here, let me."

He then proceeds to help me undress and take out the braids in my hair before I am able to walk into the river fully nude. I sigh at the feel of the water, before hissing as I get deep enough to where my hip is fully submerged. Hearing movements behind me, I turn and smile as I see Thorin's naked form following me in, soap and a cloth in his hands.

"Bathing together? I like your thinking."

He grins as he reaches me, gently pulling me close to him. "I might as well take the chance to bathe. This will also be easier for me to help you get clean."

I smile as I kiss him before allowing him to wash my body and hair, being careful of my injuries. Looking down at my hip, I see the gash that Oin had stitched together. It is long, going from my hip to my waist. It is an ugly thing to see, as I am sure the scratches on my face are, being able to feel and see the stitches in the centre.

Once Thorin has finished, he sits in the water and gently pulls me down with him so I'm resting my back against his chest, his arms wrapped loosely around me.

"What are you thinking about, ghivashel? You are miles away from me. Come back, so I can calm your mind."

I give a smile smile at this. "Oh, nothing much, melethron nin. Just. . ."

"Yes?"

I let out a sigh, hating to have my insecurities out in the open, especially for Thorin to hear them.

"The scars I have. In my culture, not meaning to sound pompous or arrogant, our race focuses more on beauty, and to have that marred by scars. . .I know it is something I should not care about. But. . ."

Thorin holds me closer, placing a kiss on my shoulder. "You have grown up with those beliefs. So, of course it would be something you would worry about. However, I should say, you should not worry about it. The scars do not take anything away from your beauty. In fact, to me, it only enhances it."

Being careful of my side, I move myself so I am straddling his legs, my butt now sitting on his lower legs, I hold back a smile as I see him trying to push the lust aside as his hands come to rest on my thighs.

"They do not?"

He smiles as he shakes his head, brushing a piece of hair away from my face, before resting it on my cheek. "Of course not. To us, scars are badges of honour. A testament to what we have been through, showing that we have gone through injury and trauma and have survived. Have thrived. How could I not think you even more beautiful than before? After everything you have been through, you have come through it stronger than ever before. I would never think you undesirable. I desire every inch of you, scars included."

As he is saying this, I can feel all sorts of emotions going through me; shame, relief, love. Oh so much love. I realise that he is right. The scars do show that I have been through so much and I was lucky to have survived it all. But, to hear it described the way he did. . .badges of honour? It makes me feel a whole lot better about myself. And it also makes me love him a whole lot more. Knowing that, even with the added scars, he still loves me and will continue to do so.

Pushing back tears, I lean forward and kiss him, running a hand through his hair, the other on hi cheek. I let out a gasp as while he's lowering his hand, it skims my right breast on the way to my waist, allowing him access for his tongue into my mouth. As he cups my butt with a hand, pulling me into him, we both let out a moan as I am pressed into him.

He pulls back from me, resting his forehead against mine, both of us breathing heavily from loss of air.

"As much as I would love to take you here and now, I do not want to risk aggravating your injuries. I know we took that risk in Rivendell, but this injury is too severe."

I nod in agreement. The last injuries were just arrow wounds, with the injury on my side, it could be life threatening. Plus, I think Oin would go mental if he found out that we risked the stitches tearing from our. . .activities.

So instead, Thorin places a quick kiss on my lips and we both stand and leave the river where he helps me to dry off, put on fresh salve and bandages and redressing me. After he has also dressed, he stands behind me to do my hair. I smile and let out a sigh of contentment as his fingers run through my hair. His hands deftly works through my hair until he has done my hair into a long braid down my back, leaving the courting and engagement braids hanging over my left shoulder. He leans down and presses a kiss onto my left shoulder, right where the arrow wound is which I received barely a week ago.

"Beautiful."

I smile as I lean my head back and we share another loving kiss. Once we pull away, I manage to wash my dirty clothes while he sorts out his hair, placing his courting and engagement braids back in, along with the other braids. We then walk back to camp hand in hand.

Kili is the one to notice us, grinning away. "There they are! How are you feeling now, irak'amad?"

"Better now I am clean." I reply as I lay my clothes out to dry before slowly lowering myself onto a log to sit.

Thorin sits besides me, pressing a bowl of stew into my hands. As the two of us eat, I notice the tension among the group. I know they are wanting to ask something, but are afraid to.

"Say what is on your minds." I simply say to them.

They pause for a moment before Bofur is the one to ask. "When you face Azog, he seemed. . .almost pleased to see you. It was almost as if he knew you, and you used their own tongue to speak with him. . .do you actually know Azog?"

I sigh as I place my half eaten stew on the floor, wincing at my side as I sit upright.

"I do. But, not in the way you might think. He. . .I became a slave to him and his orcs."

They all gasp at this, not having expecting this answer.

"A-A slave?" Bilbo asks in shock.

I nod. "I can tell you the story, but it is not going to be short, or a nice tale to tell. Only if you are wanting to hear it."

They all nod, particularly Balin, Dwalin, Fili and Kili

"Are you sure about this, my dear?" Gandalf asks, knowing personally how traumatising that encounter was for me..

I nod to him. "I am. I have already told Thorin about this, but the rest deserve to know the truth."

Thorin turns to the wizard. "You knew about this?"

I am the one to reply. "He does. He was the one to find me when I escaped." I take a deep breath before I begin. "I had decided to make a surprise visit to a friend in Rohan, so I planned to go over the Misty Mountains and follow the Anduin river South, fate was not on my side however. I had decided to stop for a while when I was ambushed by a large pack of Orcs. They killed my horse before circling me, I fought them off as best as I could, but I was far too outnumbered, I was soon knocked out. When I next opened my eyes, I found myself in a small cell, and looking out of the little window, I found myself within the Ancient Kingdom of Angmar. . .in Gundabad."

Fili looks distressed as he is listening. "That is why you did not want to stop that night. Where we close to where you were captured?"

I nod. "Not far off. When I used to take that path before, I was always careful. When I was young, my mother passed away in Gundabad. On her way home from Rivendell, she was also captured and taken there. That was my main thought when I realised where I was. . .imprisoned in the same place my mother had died in. . .I feared that would also be my fate."

Thorin takes my hand as I pause, giving it a comforting squeeze. I smile at him as I squeeze back before continuing on.

"I do not know how long I was left there before I woke up. It could have been minutes, hours or even days. But soon enough, I was taken to their Master. That is when I met him. . .Azog the Defiler with his clawed arm."

"Clawed arm? Was this after the battle of Azanulbizar?" Balin asks me.

I nod. "Yes. This was only thirty years ago. I was held captive there for just over three years. Everyday I was taunted, tortured, pushed to work for them. I was often threatened to be fed to the Wargs if I did not do what was asked of me. Although, that did not stop them from pitting me against the beasts."

Thorin scowls next to me and I can feel the anger radiating from him as he pulls me close to him. I look down, burying my head in his chest, trying to hide my tears as I feel them come.

"There were many days where I had wished for death to take me. . .wished to join my mother in Mandos. . .but there was always one thing that stopped me from fading."

"What was that?" Fili asks.

"Thorin. He kept me strong, He kept me alive through all of my time there." I lift my head and look to him at this point. "I had always feared that you hated me after what my father did to you and your people, even with Frerin's reassurance, I could not bring myself to believe him. But your love still kept me going."

Thorin just holds me close in reassurance as silence falls for a moment before Dwalin speaks up; "How did ya escape, lass?"

"I had made several escape attempts in the last months of my capture, none of which were successful. But, one day, when I was doing my chores, I had noticed a knife had been left out in the open. With no one around, I took it and kept it hidden away until the time was right. A few days after, when one of the Orcs came to bring me food, I pretended to be dead, just laying there on the ground. As he came close to me, I jumped up and stabbed him in the neck, waiting until he was dead before leaving, locking the cell behind me. After finding a window, I squeezed out of it, scaled down the wall and ran as soon as my feet touched the ground.

I ran and ran, I did not know where I was going, but I still ran, anywhere was better than the place I had left. I do not know how long it was before I eventually collapsed in the snow, exhaustion, hunger and lack of water taking it's toll on me. That is when I saw a rider close by and after getting their attention, realised it was Gandalf. He lifted me onto his horse and made haste to Rivendell where Lord Elrond had healed me. I stayed in Rivendell until my strength came back. It was almost ten years before I found the courage to leave the safety of the elven halls and into the wild once again."

Again, no one said anything as they took in my story.

"When you screamed that night, when you wanted to move on, did you have a nightmare of it?" Nori asks.

I nod as I look down to my left arm, taking a deep breath, I begin unlacing my bracer. "Yes. It was almost a year after I was captured when Azog decided it was time for him to 'claim me'"

I then toss my bracer to the ground before listing up the sleeve to reveal the Mark of Gundabad, the mark having faded slightly over time, but still there for all to see. I do not look up, even after hearing the gasps of shock coming from the others, nor at Thorin's hand tightening on my waist, knowing he does not like to see this.

"He-he did that to you?" Kili asks, and I could hear the emotion in his voice. Looking up, I can see his eyes glossy with unshed tears.

I nod. "He did. When I froze the other week, when we were ambushed by Orcs the Orc I faced was the one to do this to me. Azog wanted to make sure I never forgot my place. Never forgot I was a slave. . .that I will always be his." I shake my head. "There is only one who holds any sort of claim over me. And it is not him. . .it will never be him. . ."

I feel Thorin's arm tighten around me again, always being careful of my wound. As Bilbo and the dwarves fall silent once more, I continue to stare at my arm, memories of that moment flooding back to me. I close my eyes as I pull my sleeve down, taking a few deep breaths to get myself together, Thorin helping as his fingers glide gently up and down my back.

Talk soon turns to other things and although I do not join in, I stay where I am, leaning against Thorin and resting my head on his shoulder. A smile comes to my lips as I feel him press his against my forehead. Knowing I am safe in his arms, safe with the others, I feel myself drifting off to sleep, my eyes glazing over as I let my mind wander into dreams of the future. The future I can now have with Thorin.

Well, there we have it, everyone now knows about her past. Well, everyone in the Company at least. There are still a couple of people who still need to know, but we'll get to that later. I hope you all enojyed this chapter, please keep your reviews coming and I'll see you again next time xx