Curse of the East (Fili/The Hobbit Fanfiction)

Chapter 44 - A Chance Worth Taking

A startled cry echoed through the room as I sat up, breathing hard; my heart pounding so quickly it was a miracle it hadn't exploded already. I pushed the hair off of my forehead, surprised to find it damp with perspiration.

I blinked several times, and when my vision finally cleared I realized I was back in the apartment I had fallen asleep in last night. I also noticed Fili moving quickly toward me from the other side of the room. He sat down on the bed beside me and laid a hand on my cheek.The image of Thorin preforming the same action, followed by the sight of Fili falling from the tower flashed in my mind; bringing tears to my eyes.

"Are you alright?" He whispered, and I shook my head; throwing my arms around his neck and pulling him closer to me, not quite believing that it had really only been a dream. He returned my embrace without hesitation, but after a moment he pulled back so he could look at me.He ran his thumb across the tender spot on my forehead where I had hit the ground, and then pressed a kiss to it. It didn't hurt, but as more scenes from my dream began to play behind my closed eyelids I couldn't hold back the sudden flood of tears.

"You're okay." I whispered, placing my hands on either side of his face;staring intently at him in hopes of memorizing every line that made up his face. "I thought I lost you." I admitted, hugging him again; and this time he held me for several long moments, running his fingers through my hair.

"I'm right here." He assured me, "I'm not going anywhere." I pulled back, searching his eyes for any sign that this wasn't real; but the pain and the darkness had gone away. This was no trick.

I kissed him hard, clinging tightly to his arms as I tried my damnedest to force the terrible images from my mind. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me tightly to him, I let myself forget for awhile that we were trapped in the middle of something so much bigger than the two of us; I just let him hold me. But eventually we had to pull away, and the concern in his eyes hadn't faded. However one thing had changed. I decided in that moment that I wasn't going to stand by and do nothing while we moved ever-closer to the events of my dream. I was going to change everything, and I was going to start right now.

I stood slowly, looking down at myself. I was glad to see I was still wearing my jacket, and a quick check confirmed that the Arkenstone was still safe in my pocket.

"I won't let them hurt you." I announced as I moved toward the door,ignoring the confused look Fili shot me as I passed him. I was nearly to the door when he finally reached for me and caught my wrist;turning me back to face him.

"What are you talking about? Who wants to hurt me?" His confusion was evident, but there was also a flicker of fear in his eyes I wished I hadn't seen. "Saria what is going on?" He begged, but after a moment I saw a look of understanding cross his face. "You had another dream didn't you?" I avoided his eyes, but after he realized I really wasn't going to answer him he took my chin in his hand and forced me to meet his eyes. "What did you see?" He asked, his voice worried now. I took another deep breath and made the effort to hold his gaze.

"I had to watch you die." I admitted, my voice quiet and broken. "You, and Kili, and Thorin." I concluded. I decided to omit the fact that this would all start with my death, because I knew perfectly well if he found out; he would do whatever it took to keep me safe, and that would only get him killed faster. And if he knew Thorin was to blame... I shook my head. Some things were better left unsaid.

"How could this happen?" He asked, pulling me into the protective circle of his arms again; his eyes scanning the room as though unseen dangers were about to leap out at us from the shadows.

"There's a war coming." I said slowly. "There's no way for me to stop it, not with so little time; but that doesn't mean we can't win." I took a deep breath. "We just need the elves and the people of Laketown on our side and we need them now. I think we have about two days before the fight starts, and if we can get organized they will have no hope of beating us. But first we need Thorin. And I fear that the time has come." His face fell, and his eyes dropped to the pocket of my jacket where the stone was still safely hidden.