The Last of the Guardians Part 1 - A Hobbit Fan Fiction

Chapter 4

Thorin woke to the sound of a woman's voice. His mind was slow to clear and he rolled over to see who was speaking. Thorin was sure that there was no female travelling with them and he stared at the stranger for a long time. He felt certain that he had met her before though he could not think when this might have happened. But then he remembered why her face was so familiar and he leapt up in a furious rage.

"Dwarves, to arms! The creature of no race has followed us!" He yelled, brandishing his axe. The other dwarves jumped out of their skin at the sound of his voice and Dwalin awoke from his heavy sleep with a start. Thorin then realised that his companions had been talking to Nemaiza for a while and when none of them answered to his battle cry his fury intensified. "Dwalin! To my side! We will drive her away ourselves!"

Dwalin, having just gotten to his feet, grabbed his broadsword and brandished it at Nemaiza. Fili went to stand with his uncle and once again drew his sword. Balin rose and stepped in front of Nemaiza. "Brother, are ye mad?" Cried Dwalin, "can ye not see she is a demon?"

"She is no demon," replied Balin calmly. He had not retrieved his weapon as he had decided to defend Nemaiza with words. He knew that Dwalin would not hurt him.

"Step aside, Balin," growled Fili. Balin stood his ground.

Thorin stared at the old dwarf, considering what to do. Balin was his most trusted advisor, his right-hand man! Surely he must have thought it through. Finally Thorin turned to the two dwarves beside him. "Dwalin, Fili, put away your weapons. We will have no quarrel today."

"But uncle-!"

"Put away your sword Fili," Thorin barked. His nephew threw down his sword and stormed off. Thorin glanced at Gandalf, "a word?" He scowled at the wizard.

They left the dwarves, Nemaiza and Bilbo - who had started to cook everyone breakfast - and walked away from the camp. Once they were out of earshot, Thorin faced Gandalf. "I don't want to know why she has to come but it seems that neither you nor the woman will give up until I allow her to accompany us. I say again to you what I said back at the hobbit's home; I will not be responsible for her fate."

Gandalf nodded to Thorin, "I understand. I am sure that you will come to enjoy her company. Just give her a chance."

"We shall see, Gandalf, we shall see."

After breakfast, the dwarves and Bilbo pulled themselves up onto their ponies. Before mounting his pony, Kili gave Nemaiza a leg up onto the dark brown horse which had turned out to belong to her and not Gandalf. Fili looked on, scowling when Nemaiza thanked his brother with a smile.

They rode for most of the day without rest and stopped only once so they could eat their midday meal. Bilbo had wanted to complain about not getting elevenses, let alone second breakfast but Thorin was still in a bad mood from waking up to find Nemaiza in the midst of the dwarves and so he decided not to push his luck. When they finally stopped the sun had already set on the world. The dwarves started a large fire on the edge of the hill, feet from a steep drop, and dragged sizeable logs into a circle around it so that they could all sit comfortably. Fili sat beside his brother and continued to stare at Nemaiza with such intense dislike that he was sure she could feel his eyes on her.

She stood by her horse, stroking its long mane and whispering softly into its ear. It had been a long day of riding and she wanted nothing more than to curl up beside the fire and go to sleep. But even now, she could feel Fili glaring at her back and it made her uncomfortable. Nemaiza knew that she would get no sleep tonight if the dwarf remained as vigilent as he had been throughout the day. She desperately wanted to transform and stretch her wings but with Fili watching her every move she would never be able to slip away. Sighing, Nemaiza retrieved an apple from one of her saddle bags and fed it to her horse. The stallion snatched the fruit from her hand and swallowed it in one big gulp. "Pig," she teased him. The horse nudged her in response.

Fili was not the only one watching Nemaiza. Gandalf had been observing her since they had stopped and couldn't help noticing the tension in her shoulders. He knew why this was, of course, but not why she did nothing about it. Perhaps she didn't want to give Fili another reason to be suspicious of her by leaving. Gandalf decided to help her by distracting the dwarf. "So, Fili," he began. The dwarf tore his eyes away from Nemaiza and turned to face the wizard. Out of the corner of his eye, Gandalf saw the girl slip away into the darkness and he smiled to himself, glad that he could have been of assistance. He talked to Fili for a while, keeping the young dwarf's attention until Nemaiza returned.

As the night moved on, most of the dwarves drifted to sleep where they sat. Bilbo, however, could not sleep. He wanted to know more about where he was going and he wanted to know why Thorin was always in such a bad mood. Kili and Fili joked about their uncle with the hobbit until Balin told them to stop. The white-bearded dwarf informed Bilbo of all the terrible things that Thorin Oakenshield had faced since the attack on Erebor. Nemaiza returned to the fireside towards the end of Balin's story, seeming far more relaxed than she had been. But then Fili started scowling at her again. She rolled her eyes and sighed. Nemaiza knew she would have to prove herself before he even considered trusting her.

But had Nemaiza's attention not been so focused on Fili's dislike of her, she would have noticed that they were not alone. For high up on the mountain that overlooked their camp, the shadows were moving. The White Orc, Azog, mounted on his warg, had been waiting for them. He had been watching them for a long time and in his mind he was already swinging his axe and ending the life of his enemy, Thorin Oakenshield.