Saving Durin {Hobbit/Thorin}

Chapter 48: A love that's sacrificial

Chapter 48:

A love that's sacrificial

"They're dead," Bilbo answers me from feet away and in front of the gathered group of family. My heart stops at his words, though I expected the news, given the faces of the company in the morning sun. They look at me with the pity that I hate, before splitting apart to relinquish into my sight the bodies of my dead siblings.

A sob escapes my lips as I run from Thorin's side, to the splayed bodies of Sidel and Typhon. Crouching between them and grabbing their cold hands, I look over their final state, finally illuminated by the breaking sun above.

Sidel is in a much superior condition to my brother, only bearing a few scratches and a stab wound through her chest. Typhon, on the other hand, is left with a mawled neck, blood seeping down his clothes from where his artery was cut. However, their faces tell a greater story than the gruesome wounds inflicted upon them, for instead of bearing a blank look, the corners of their mouth peek up in smiles. They died happy, and that's all that really matters.

And despite the collapse of my emotional stability, I smile back at them and pull their limp bodies into my own for a final hug. The fresh blood on their clothing presses onto mine, but it is no matter in this very moment as my tears pours onto their deceased bodies in the frozen cold of winter.

"H-how?" I ask through the tears, turning my head to look at Thorin's nephews who stand behind me with tears in their eyes. Kili looks to his brother, gesturing for him to begin as Sidel must have fallen first on this dreary day.

"We walked blindly into his fury, paying no heed to our surroundings as we took out enemies, left and right," Fili tells me with eyes full of tears. "When we finally came to grasp the silence about us, it was too late, with Azog attacking me after pushing Sidel down a cliffside. She was okay, of course, but she had to watch as Azog stabbed me through the heart, like he later did to her. And being the cruel monster that he was, the Pale Orc dropped me from the same cliff to die upon impact. But Sidel did not let that happen, swooping me up and giving me a tear as I died upon the battlefield. I don't know when or why she shifted back, but when I opened my eyes seconds later, her dwarf eyes looked upon me with tears. She told me that she loved me, though not in a romantic sense, as I told her the same. It went quickly after that, Azog stabbing her through the chest before I could utter a warning. But before she died, with that smile on her face, she told me that she loved you all, and that you, Erudian, should not blame yourself. It's not your fault, but the will of the Valar."

I just stare at Fili after he recounts their struggles, the older nephew breaking down to sobs, Kili falling right behind. Tauriel moves to their sides, pulling them into her as tears lace her face in a dewy mess. Knowing I want to hear of Typhon's story, the she-elf turns away from the embrace to crouch next to me, taking my hand to tell my brother's final story:

"He, your brother, was fighting off werebats when Bolg attacked me down below. Kili and I were separated, moments before, by the growing number enemies marching upon us. It was all we could do to stay within view of each other, so when Bolg attacked me, Typhon went to the rescue. He fought the son of Azog off with fire and talons as Kili came in for the save. It all happened so fast, in the end, as Kili was stabbed, I was pushed and Typhon burned Bolg to ashes. All I really remember was the pain when Typhon told me Kili had died. But relief soon took over with the renewed voice of this dwarf prince and our exchange of shock. But just as Azog appeared from nowhere, so did the werebat. It took Typhon's neck in its mouth before whipping him away, crushing his ribs into a rock. He sat on my lap in his last moments, smile painted on his face, and a few words to say, even with the injury below his head. He loved you, all of you, and did not want Erudian to blame herself for this. I am so sorry, my dear friend."