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

Chapter 7

"If she scream three times we roast a dwarf and eat him! How's that sound?" The third troll snarled, dragging Ori from the pile of dwarves and inspecting him. "We'll start with this one!"

The second troll nodded in agreement and took the shaft of the arrow between his finger and his thumb and twisted it. Nemaiza screamed as white hot pain raced around her body. Ori swallowed. The troll laughed and twisted the arrow again. This time Nemaiza refused to scream and instead whimpered as tears rolled down her pale cheeks.

"You ain't doing it right!" The third troll shoved the second out of the way and pushed the arrow further into Nemaiza's body. She cried out, then clapped a hand over her mouth. She met Ori's eyes and tried to convey in one look how sorry she was. Ori was terrified at the thought of being eaten by trolls but he tried hard not to show it. He knew that Nemaiza was trying hard not to scream.

"Only one more! Come on, Guardian, scream!" The trolls continued their assault, but no matter what they did, Nemaiza kept her mouth tight shut. After a while, it became too much and her head swam away from consciousness in a sea of pain.

Irritated, the third troll threw her against a rock as though he were a child bored with playing with a toy. Nemaiza lay at the base of the rock, unmoving.

"Let's eat him anyway! It was a stupid idea!" The second troll lifted Ori into the air and leered at him. Bilbo stood up, which was difficult because of the sack covering his body.

"You really don't want to eat him!" He cried, and the trolls paused and looked at him.

"Why not?" The first troll snarled.

Bilbo thought for a minute, and whilst he was racking his brain for a way to save them all he spotted Gandalf hurrying through the trees. Spurred on by the sight of the wizard, Bilbo shouted the first thing that came to his head. "They've got parasites!"

At once the dwarves protested.

"Parasites? I have no parasites!"

"How dare you!"

"We ain't got parasites!"

"Wait til I get me hads on you!"

Thorin did not yell at Bilbo. Instead, he considered him carefully, then kicked Kili in the back. The dwarves paused for a moment before yelling again.

"I've got lots of parasites!"

"I've got parasites as big as my arm!"

"Mine are the biggest parasites"

This all confused the trolls a great deal. They stared at Bilbo, then at the dwarves, scratching their thick heads as they tried to work it out. However, if they had been paying any attention to passing of time, they would have realised that dawn was very much upon them. Gandalf appeared on a large boulder blocking the sun and with both hands he raised his staff and slammed it down onto the rock. The boulder split in half and one part rolled away, revealing the bright morning sun. The trolls froze where they stood and the sun turned their thick skin to stone. Gandalf then proceeded to untie the dwarves, who grumbled their thanks and retrieved their weapons.  

Bifur went straight to Nemaiza's side, Bofur following close behind. Bifur knelt beside her and gently rolled her onto her back. He felt her pulse and leaned down to feel her breath on his cheek, then grunted at his cousin.  

"Bifur says she's still breathing," Bofur explained to the other dwarves and Gandalf who had all gathered round. The wizard knelt beside Bifur and examined Nemaiza's wound. He place a hand around the shaft, closed his eyes, and sent his mind inwards, trying to get a feel for the damage. The dwarves waited for his verdict with baited breath. When Gandalf finally withdrew his hand and opened his eyes, his face was creased with worry.  

"We must take her to the elves," he stated, raising his gaze to meet Thorin's eyes.  

The dwarf glared at him. "We will not go to the elves!" 

Gandalf sighed heavily. "If we do not then she will die!" 

Thorin looked around him at his fellow dwarves. They returned his stare with pleading eyes. "I said we will not go."  

Gandalf glared at him. "Then at least help me get this arrow out so we can clean the wound!"  

Thorin nodded and moved forward to grasp the arrow shaft whilst Gandalf held Nemaiza's arms down in case she woke up and caused herself more pain. Bofur knelt down and supported her head in his lap. 

Thorin tried to ease the arrow out but it was stuck on something. Nemaiza's eyes flew open and she gasped in pain.  

Bofur gently stroked her hair. "Shh..." he whispered, "it's ok, Nema."  

Nemaiza clenched her jaw and held still as Thorin pulled at the arrow again. "It's caught on her rib."  

Nemaiza met his gaze. "Twist. It." She groaned through clenched teeth. Thorin braced his hand against her stomach and twisted the arrow, lifting it up and out. He threw it to the side, ripped a strip of cloth from his undershirt and bound the wound with it. Nema trembled in pain and Bofur laid a cool hand on her brow. "Sleep now, Nema, we will look after you." He whispered, watching as she slowly closed her eyes.