Daughter of Starlight

Chapter Nineteen: Orc Attack

Bard left with Bain, the arrow in his grasp. After a long time, only Bain returned. Judging by the sad look he gave to his sisters, they had half-expected that to happen. Despite whatever grim situation Bard had gotten himself into, Sigrid continued to help me. After a while, however, she reached her limit and had to go outside for a breath of fresh air, away from the stench of poison and blood. I didn't know what else to do with myself. We had managed to staunch the flow of blood for the time being, and Kili's pain seemed to be lapsing for the moment, so he lay quietly on the bed, albeit still constantly gasping for breath.

I slumped into a chair near the bed, resting my elbows on my knees and holding my head in my hands. I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing, willing the stress-induced pain in my sinuses to go away. How had I gone from heading to the Lonely Mountain to holding my friend back from the edge of death?

"Laerornien," Kili spoke, sounding exhausted. I didn't blame him.

I looked up, replacing my stressed expression with as much a carefree one as I could. "Yes?"

"You didn't have to stay," he said, grimacing as another wave of pain undoubtedly coursed through him.

I stood and went to his bedside, worried that the worst was about to come. "Are you alright? What do you need?"

"I need . . ." he struggled to get the words out, but he finally managed to muster, "I need to apologize."

I sighed in relief and smiled kindly. "Kili, you have nothing to apologize for."

"Yes, I do," he insisted. "I should have respected your privacy. I'm normally not one to pry. I'm a fool---"

"Don't you dare think yourself a fool," I said immediately. "You have a right to know, and I was being selfish by keeping it from you."

Kili still seemed guilty, so I decided to finally give him the truth.

"Do you know what the White Gems of Lasgalen are?" I asked him.

He nodded. "I've heard of them. They are sacred to your people, right?"

"Yes, they are."

"But they are in the treasury of the dwarves."

"I know," I said. "I put them there."

Kili's pain was briefly forgotten as he stared at me. "What?"

"That is why I'm no longer the princess," I told him sadly. "I am a traitor, and traitors must be banished."

Understanding softened his eyes, and he seemed as though he were going to speak before there was suddenly a rustling on the roof, then a banging outside.

I went into the kitchen, looking questioningly at Oin and Fili. "Did you hear that?"

That was when Sigrid started screaming, and orcs flooded the house.

One came in through the back door, leering at Oin. Without any weapons to use, he was reduced to throwing an assortment of bowls and cups at it. Another burst through the roof and landed right next to me, snarling menacingly, and the punch I delivered did nothing to harm it. Sigrid had been struggling to hold the front door shut, but had been finally thrown back into the house and onto the floor next to the table. I pushed her under the table, telling her to stay there while simultaneously fighting off the orc who had decided that doors were overrated.

Fili attacked the orc that had thrown Sigrid, shoving it against the wall and trying to keep it there. Another orc burst through the roof near Tilda, who shrieked in fright and chucked a plate at it. Sigrid pulled her under the table with her, and the two tried to hide safely under it and away from the fight. Bain, however, decided to join in and protect his sisters. As soon as he saw the orc heading towards the table, he grabbed the bench next to the table and threw it, pushing the orc away.