Winged Love (*Discontinued*)

Chapter 4

Bombur started a fire and started cooking dinner after I handed him the rabbits. Everyone was doing their own thing. Some set up their sleeping arrangements, some sharpened their weapons, and others made small conversations with each other. I was helping Bombur with dinner by skinning the rabbits for him to put in the stew.

Thorin was leaning against a large rock, staring into the fire. I could feel him stealing glances towards me every now and then. It was starting to irritate me, but I just tried to ignore it.

~Small Time Skip~

After the stew was done and everyone had eaten, everyone went to bed. That everyone besides Gandalf, Balin, Fili, Kili, Bilbo, and me.

I tried to go to sleep, but I don't know how anyone could sleep with Bombur's snoring.

I caught sight of Bilbo getting up and wandering over to his pony.

Bilbo proceeded to whisper to his pony, Myrtle, and feed her an apple. I chuckled silently to myself. For someone who was so against riding a pony, Bilbo had grown quite attached to Myrtle.

My amusement was interrupted by a loud screech in the distance that was all too familiar to me. I shot straight up from where I was laying down and looked into the distance.

Bilbo looked startled and scurried over to Fili and Kili. "What was that?" he asked them.

"Orcs." I said looking over at them. My face was an emotionless mask. I think this startled Bilbo even more.

There was another screech in the distance. Thorin jerked awake from where he was sleeping against the rock.

"Orcs?" he sqeaked nervously.

"Throat-cutters. They'll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them." Fili said, trying to scare Bilbo.

"They strike in the wee small hours, when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet; no screams, just lots of blood." Kili added.

Bilbo looked terrified. Fili and Kili looked at each other and started laughing.

I growled as I stood up. I walked over to them and smacked the back of their heads. "You think that's funny?" I scolded them.

"You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?" a voice added from behind me. I turned to see a scowling Thorin behind me.

"We didn't mean anything by it." Kili said as he and Fili rubbed their heads where I hit them.

"No, you didn't. You know nothing of the world." Thorin said before he walked over to the cliff, looking into the distance.

I have the boys a disappointed look and then trudged over to Étoile. She nudged her head against my chest in a comforting manner. I smiled a little and hugged her neck.

I saw Balin sit next to Kili by the fire. "Don't mind him laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs. After the dragon took the lonely mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy got there first." Balin said.

He went on to tell the story of the battle of Azanulbizar. I knew the story. But as he told the tale, I could almost picture the battle. Thorin watching as his grandfather was beheaded and as his father was driven mad by grief.

When he got to the part of Thorin confronting Azog, I looked over at Thorin with newfound respect for the dwarf king. I knew of the tyranny of Azog.((XD His name keeps trying to autocorrect into A dog!)) It takes a lot of strength to take him on in battle and survive.

"Azog, the Defiler, learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken." Balin said, breaking me out of my train of thoughts.

"Our forces rallied and drove the orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast, no song, that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived." Balin continued. He wore an expression of remembrance and saddness.

"And I thought to myself then, there is one who I could follow. There is one I could call king." Balin said. Everyone was awake now and they stood up looking over at Thorin.

Thorin turned around to see that everyone was staring at him in awe, including myself. He walked through everyone to get back to his spot by the rock.

"But the pale orc? What happened to him?" Bilbo asked curiously.

Thorin stopped and looked at Bilbo. "He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago." Thorin said and went back to his spot.

I looked over at Gandalf. He was being awfully quiet through all of this. He caught my eyes with his and we shared a look. We both knew that what Thorin has said was untrue, but I knew better than to confront him about it.

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~A/N~

Woo! I finally got another chapter done. Yay! I really hope that you guys enjoy it. As always, please vote and leave a comment! I would love it if you guys would comment more and tell my what you thought of the chapter. The more votes and comments there are the sooner I will get them next chapter out.

Thank you so much, my bunnies!

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