What the Heart Wants: Book 3

11

Gandalf turned his head quickly to look at the elf leader. Thranduil had his eyes locked on the battle unfolding in front of him.

"Thranduil. This is madness!" Gandalf shouted at the elf.

Thranduil turned his head toward Gandalf, then back at the dwarf army. The dwarves had formed another shield wall, this one two-shields high, spears pointed between the cracks. The orcs were getting closer and it was clear the dwarves would stand no chance against them. The orcs outranked them 10 to one and had a height advantage as well. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Thranduil raise a hand and the elves unsheathed their swords, quickly sprinting toward the battle. In one quick movement, the Elves leapt over the shield wall and used their high-ground advantage to attack the orcs. The dwarves raised the shield wall and rushed forward, using their spears to attack the dwarves. Dain road atop his pig through the Orcs, smashing them with his hammer. 

Beside me, Bilbo was whipping his head between the battle and our placement, "Gandalf? Is this a good place to stand?"

I looked up at Gandalf, who had, for the first time, taken his eyes off the battle to survey our surroundings. Bard and the Lakemen stood back as well. Gandalf opened his mouth to respond but halted as he noticed Azog change the machine. He turned toward the tunnels and more orcs came streaming out, this time with 20-foot trolls in tow. Thranduil shouted something in elvish and the elves pulled their bows out, lining up in a new formation. The dwarves did their best to follow what the elves were doing. As much as I was sure Dain hated to admit it, Thranduil's battle strategy was more calculated than his own. 

The horn sounded again and, instead of attacking us, orcs began sprinting toward Dale.

"Azog, he's trying to cut us off," Gandalf mumbled.

He turned to look at Bard as the trolls used boulders to smash down the city's walls.

"All of you, fall back to Dale. Now!" Bard shouted, riding his horse towards the city with his army in tow. 

"To the city! Bilbo, y/n, this way!" Gandalf yelled, grabbing our shoulders and pulling us along with him. 

We hurriedly followed, our legs moving as fast as they could, navigating through the chaos of corpses and fighting. Bilbo unsheathed his sword as we ran, causing me to let out a groan.

"I forgot my sword!" I shouted at Gandalf who paid me no attention and kept urging us forward. 

We entered the city and I looked around me as I ran. Monster-sized trolls had used large rocks on catapults to break down the city's walls and all around us, men and elves fought the orcs that sought to take over the city. 

"Y/n!" Gandalf yelled at me, pulling my attention away from the fighting and towards him, "Behind you!"

I whipped around and found myself face to face with an orc towering over me, more than twice my size. My terror gave way to a blood-curdling scream as I instinctively ducked to avoid his sword. As I stumbled backwards, my foot caught on the hem of my dress and I fell to the ground, staring up at the orc looming over me. Panic set in as I desperately searched for something, anything to defend myself with. The orc dropped his arms and my eyes closed in fear; this was it, this was the end. But just as quickly as the acceptance of my impending death had settled in, the sound of clanging metal shattered the moment. I let my eyes open and relief fell over me like a blanket. Bilbo had stopped the orc's sword with his own and managed to push the orc backwards. The orc fell and Bilbo wasted no time in plunging his sword into the orc's heart. It gargled for a moment, its lungs filling with blood before it ceased movement. I stayed motionless on the ground, the fear restricting my movement.