A/N
Wow this chapter is super long, sorry! But I couldn't find a good place to end it:)
- hawkins_2000
~ Part Eighteen ~
Ellía sat alone at the top of Erebor's gate, looking out at Dale and the army of elves that lined the streets. She wished that Galadriel would use this rare, solitary moment to appear to her and give some guidance on what she should do, but her grandmother did not come. The only person the came out of the darkness was a nervous looking Bilbo.
The hobbit did not notice her presence as he quickly began to fiddle with an old metal loop, secured in the stone wall. "You should be inside. Out of the wind." Ellía called out, frightening the poor halfling. "No, I-uh, I needed some air. The place still stinks of dragon. What are you doing out here?" Bilbo stuttered. "I'm waiting to be relived of my night-watch shift." She said as she looked around him to a rope had been fastened to the old metal loop.
Her eyes widened a bit as she realized what he was doing. "Bilbo, he'll kill you..." she hissed as she hurried over to stand in front of him. "What else are we to do? Fourteen against a whole army of elves and men? Do you truly want to fight your own people?" Bilbo whispered back. Ellía sighed and looked down at her boots, shaking her head no.
"At least let me come with you. You shouldn't have to carry this burden alone." she whispered and looked back at his face. "No, I can sneak to Dale and back quicker if I am alone. Plus, if we both go missing, the only non-dwarf members, Thorin will get suspicious." He told her as he began to check the knot he tied. Just as she was about to argue with him, someone cleared their throat behind them
The duo spun around to see Bofur giving them a knowing look. "The elves have been moving their archers into position. The battle will be over by tomorrow's eve. Though I doubt we will live to see it." The dwarf said to them as he came to rest his arms against the edge next to Ellía. "These are... dark days." Bilbo responded as he shot the elf a worried look.
"Dark days indeed." Bofur murmured, glancing between the two. The dwarf was silent for a few seconds before saying, "No one could blame two souls for wishing themselves elsewhere." Ellía took a deep breath a pushed away the creeping feeling of homesickness as Bofur walked a bit closer to Bilbo and looked up in the sky. "Must be near midnight. Bombur's coming to relieve Ellía. It'll take a bit to wake him..." He said casually as he sent them both a look and started walking down the steps.
"Bofur... We will see you in the morning." Bilbo said quietly. Bofur turned around and looked at them fondly. "Goodbye Bilbo, Ellía." He said gently before continuing on his way. "Go, now. If anyone asks I shall say you turned in early." Ellía urged him, snapping him from his thoughts. "I will be back before anyone wakes." Bilbo promised as he threw the rope over the wall. "Be careful, Bilbo." She whispered as he began to climd down the rope. The hobbit sent her a quick nod before quickly making his way to the ground. Ellía kept the bow and arrows Kili had found for her ready to fire, just incase she caught movement of an archer aiming at her defenseless friend...
~~~~~
Ellía had been awoken by Fili gently shaking her shoulders. "It is time." He told her quietly as he held out a hand to help her stand. She accepted his offer and was pulled to her feet. No words were exchanged as he helped her slip into a few pieces of light armor that Dori and Oin had all but forced her to wear. Once she was ready, Ellía followed Fili to the top of the gate where everyone else was armored and looking down at the massive number of elves, as well as some men.
Fili moved to stand at the front with his brother and uncle, while Ellía moved to stand over to the side with Bilbo, who had surprisingly snuck back last night. She was about to whisper and asked how it went, but movement below the gate caught her attention. Ellía looked out to see Thranduil approaching on his massive elk and Bard beside him on a white horse. 'I wish Radag were here...' she thought as the two elegant beasts moved through the rows of troops.
Just as they made it to the front, Ellía watched in horror as Thorin notched an arrow and shot it just in front of the elk's hooves, effectively stopping Bard and the king in their tracks. "I will put the next one between your eyes." Thorin threatened and the dwarves cheered in their secretive language. With a slight tilt of his head, Thranduil signaled for his many archers, to notch an arrow in perfect harmony. While all of the dwarves and Bilbo ducked for cover, Thorin and Ellía remained standing.
'Would they truly shoot me?' Ellía wandered as she looked over the archers. Once he felt his message had been received, Thranduil signaled for his archers to stand down, causing the dwarves to reappear. "We have come to tell payment of your debt has been offered and accepted." Thranduil called with a coy smile. Ellía felt her stomach flip as she glanced at Bilbo to see him practically holding his breath.
"What payment? I gave you nothing. You have nothing." Thorin said angrily. The elven king nodded at Bard, and the man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the Arkenstone. "We have this." Bard said and her the stone up. Ellía watched as Thorin's cocky front dropped as he stared at the thing he had been searching for. "They have the Arkenstone." Fili muttered in disbelief.
"Thieves! How came you by the heirloom of our house!? That stone belongs to the king!" Kili shouted furiously. Ellía began to grow quite nervous and she could tell was as well. "The king may have it with our goodwill. But first he must honor his word." bard called up to them with a desperate look in his eyes. 'Please, Thorin. Please.' Ellía begged in her head as she watched the dwarf king stare down at Bard.
After a few seconds, Thorin breathe out, "They are taking us for fools. This is a ruse. A filthy lie." Bilbo gave the elf a defeated look as Thorin yelled, "The Arkenstone is in this mountain! It is a trick!" Before she could stop him, Bilbo was stepping forward as he said, "I-it's no trick. The stone is real. I gave it to them." The company looked at each other in shock while Ellía kept her eyes glued to Thorin.
"You?" he asked lowly and turned to face the hobbit. "I took it as my 14th share." Bilbo said hesitantly. "You would steal from me?" Thorin asked quietly. " Steal from you? No, I may be a burglar, but I like to think I am an honest one. I'm willing to let it stand against my claim." Bilbo said as he looked around at the other dwarves. "Against your claim? Your claim. You have no claim over me, you miserable rat!" Thorin shouted and threw his bow to the ground. Ellía readied herself to jump in between the two.
"I was going to give it to you. Many times I wanted to but- " Bilbo began but Thorin interrupted him hissing, "but what, thief." Bilbo took a deep breath before firmly saying, "You have changed, Thorin. The dwarf I met in Bag-end would never have gone back on his word. Would never have doubted the loyalty of his own kin." Thorin glared at him menacingly and barked, "Do not speak to me of loyalty!" Thorin yelled and lunged forward.
Before anyone could even process his movement, Ellía jumped in front of Bilbo and braced her hands against Thorin's shoulders. "Thorin, if you are going to be angry at him, you must also be angry at me. I helped him sneak away last night, knowing what he planned to do." She rushed out.
She noticed Fili and Kili's heads snap towards her, but she stayed focus on the fuming king in front of her. He shoved her hands off of him and snarled, "I should never have trusted an elf. Your kind are all alike. Selfish and unfeeling. You were only ever here to get those gems, weren't you!"
"No, Thorin. I am here for an entirely different purpose." she told him quietly, trying not to show her fear of his irrational state. "And what might that be?" he snapped, getting in her face. "I-I cannot tell you yet..." she stuttered. Thorin only sneered before he pushed her backwards toward the front of the gate. "Throw her from the ramparts! And then the hobbit!" he ordered. Ellía's blood ran cold as she heard his words.
She looked around to see the others just as shocked as she was. Bilbo moved around Thorin and grabbed onto her hand tightly. She gripped his back and pulled him closer to her as her left hand twitched towards the dagger on her hip. Her survival instincts were beginning to kick in as she surveyed the dwarves for any sign of following his orders. As her eyes flickered around, she found the horrified gaze of Fili. He looked like he was being torn apart on the inside.
Their look was broken as Thorin grabbed onto his forearm and drug the prince forward. "Did you hear me!?" Thorin yelled at him, but Fili ripped his arm free and backed away quickly. Ellía felt a small bit of relief, no matter how small, at the realization that the dwarves were not going to harm her, they were finally starting to see just how much Thorin had changed. "I will do it myself!" she heard Thorin growl.
Ellía turned her head to see the angry king storming towards them and she shoved Bilbo behind her. Thorin shot his hand out and gripped onto her arm and roughly dragged her towards the edge of the gate. "No!" "Uncle, no!" "Thorin!!" "Stop!" she heard multiple people shout as the dwarves hurried forward as Thorin slammed her back against the edge, making her lean off the edge, with her hair dangling down.
"If you don't like my Guide and Burglar, then please don't damage them. Return them to me." She heard a loud and familiar voice boom. She looked up at Thorin and saw him staring out in the distance, rage still present in his eyes, but his grip began to loosen on her. "You're not making a very splendid figure as King Under the Mountain are you, Thorin, son of Thrain?" Gandalf quipped as Thorin completely let go of Ellía.
The elf quickly slipped away and dropped to her knees. An arm quickly wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her to her feet. She looked up to see Fili with his jaw clenched tightly. He ushered her to the where Bilbo was quickly throwing the rope over the side of the wall. "Go." Fili whispered and gently pushed her forward. Ellía looked back at him and saw the painful expression he wore. The elf could find no words to say as she felt her heart twist. "El, hurry!" Kili hissed as he appeared by his brother's side. She nodded and gave the brothers one last desperate look before following Bilbo down the rope.
Once her feet hit the ground, Ellía hurried after the hobbit who was heading to Gandalf's side. "Never again will I have dealings with wizards, or shire rats or treacherous she-elves!" Thorin yelled down at them. "Are we resolved? The return of the Arkenstone for what was promised?" Bard called. Thorin was breathing heavily as he looked out in the distance as if he was waiting for something to appear. Watching him, Ellía remembered that they had sent word to their kin to reinforce them.
"Why should I buy back that which is rightfully mine?" Thorin asked angrily. "Keep the stone. Sell it. Ecthelion of Gondor will give you a good price for it." Thranduil suggested. "Vá car-si mára!" Ellía hissed as she strode over to the king and Bard. Thranduil sent her a cold look and was about to respond, but Thorin yelled, "I will kill you! Upon my oath, I will kill you all!" Thranduil snapped his gaze upwards and seethed, "Your oath means nothing!"
Thorin slammed his fists on the stone railing but did not say anything back. "I have heard enough." Thranduil said annoyedly as he reached down and grabbed onto Ellía's forearm and swung her up onto his elk behind him as if she were a feather. "Let me-" she began to complain but the King glanced over his shoulder and growled, "Even though you have become a thorn in my side, I respect your father and will not let his daughter participate in this childish brawl."
Her stomach dropped when Thranduil's commander ordered the archers to aim at the dwarves once more. "Thorin, lay down your arms. Open these doors. This treasure will be your death." Gandalf pleaded as he walked closer to the gate. "Give us your answer! Will you have peace or war?" Bard urged after it had been silent for a few moments. Any hope Ellía had, vanished when she saw the raven reappear and land in front of Thorin.
"I will have war." He said lowly and looked out in the distance once more. This time, everyone could hear the faint sound of thousands of marching feet. "Anga Tál." Thranduil whispered furiously as he turned his elk to face the ridge. Ellía's eyes widened when she saw just how many dwarves had come to their king's aide. She turned back to the mountain when she heard the twelve dwarves cheering loudly. Thranduil ordered his troops to turn and face the dwarves as he urged is elk to the front, followed by Bard.
"Good morning! How are we all?" The dwarf, leading the army, called cheerfully. "Who is that?" Ellía whispered. "Dain. Cousin to Thorin and Lord of the Iron Hills." The king responded. "I have a wee proposition if you wouldn't mind giving me a few moments of your time... Would ya consider.... JUST SODDING OFF?! All of you! Right now?!" Dain yelled. "Oh, come now, Lord Dain." Gandalf spoke up as he walked to the front. "Gandalf the Grey?" Dain questioned and the wizard bowed I his head in greeting.
"Tell this rabble to leave or I'll water the ground with their blood!" Dain yelled angrily. Ellía couldn't help but flinch slightly at the dwarf lord's voice and Thranduil noticed. "Are you finally seeing the true nature of the dwarven race?" He questioned and kept his gaze forward. The young elf ignored him and tuned back in. "A legion of orcs march on this mountain. Stan your army down." Gandalf advised. "I will not stand down before any elf. Not least this faithless woodland sprite! He wished nothing but ill upon my people. If he chooses to stand between me and my kin... I'll split his pretty head open! See if his still smirking then" Lord Dain shouted at the elven king, earning more cheers from the mountain.
"Dain! Wait!" Gandalf called, but it was too late. "Let them advance. See how far they get." Thranduil quipped before turning to Bard. "Take Lady Ellía and keep her out of harm's way. I'll deal with Ironfoot and his rabble." He ordered. Ellía quickly hopped off the elk and moved to stand beside Gandalf and Bard's horse. She looked up on the ridge when she heard thundering hooves and saw a wave of goats heading towards them. Thranduil ordered his men to fire their arrows in response. But then the dwarves launched something she had never seen before.
They looked like huge spinning spears and they flew forward and cut through the arrows. "By the Valar..." Ellía whispered in horror as the contraptions came flying towards the elves and crashed into them, surely killing some. She whipped her head around and towards the mountain when the cheers of the company reached her ears. "How did we come to this?" she whispered as more of the elves' arrows were cut down and they were killed by the dwarves weapons.
Gandalf pulled Bilbo and Ellía farther away from the front lines as the archers gracefully traded places with those who had spears and shields. Ellía felt hopeless as they watched the dwarvish and elvish forces clash. Within seconds, many had been killed. The young elf was so engrossed by the horrible battle in front of her, she almost didn't hear a loud whiny in the distance.
"It couldn't be..." she breathed and turned to see Radag rearing up on his hind legs on the ridge the dwarves had just run down. "Is that your stallion friend?" Bilbo asked in disbelief. "It is." Ellía answered and began to try and find a way to Radag. "You'll have to wait until this fight is over, Nin hiríl." Gandalf called over the battle. "I can't wait. He wouldn't have come unless he knew I would need him." She retorted.
Just as she was going to make a run for Radag, a loud rumble that caused the very ground to shake brought the battle to a halt. Everyone looked out into the distant foot hills behind Radag to try and see what was causing the noise. "Were-worms..." Gandalf said worriedly. As if on questions, a giant were-worm exploded from the earth. About four more sprung from the ground before they all retreated, leaving vast tunnels behind them.
It was silent for a moment and Ellía's eyes met with Radag's as he shuffled nervously. They did not need to be side-by-side for Ellía to understand his message. "The orcs are coming." She said to no one in particular. Before anyone around her could stop her, Ellía began pushing her way through the stunned dwarves and elves.
"Dár hen!!" Gandalf yelled, but the elves could not comprehend the order quick enough and Ellía broke through the crowd. Radag whinnied and ran to meet her half way. "Oh, meld mellon." she said sadly as he rested his muzzle on her shoulder. Radag huffed and began to shuffle nervously, once more. "We will be alright, mellon. And besides, you're always up for stomping some muqua orkor." she said, trying to lighten the mood as she swung herself onto his back. The stallion let out a sound of agreement as Ellía ushered him back down to the two armies.
"The hordes of hell are upon is! Fight to the death!" Dain shouted to his troops. Ellía had to guide Radag to the side so they would not get caught in the mass of dwarves running forward to set up defense against the approaching orcs. Ellía and Radag rode to right under the gate and she looked up at the company. She said nothing, only pleaded with them silently. "I'm going over the wall! Who's coming with me!?" Fili yelled, bringing a smile to the elf's face. The other dwarves cheered and began to grab their weapons.
"Stand down!" Thorin ordered, silencing them immediately. "Are we to do nothing?" Fili asked desperately. Thorin did not answer and only yelled for them to stand down again before disappearing from Ellía's view. The dwarves watched their king leave in disbelief, but Balin looked down to the young elf with a great sadness in his eyes. Ellía's last bit of hope began to burn out when she realized they would not be fighting with their kin.
As she looked away from her friends and towards the screeching orcs, that fading hope began to turn into a burning anger. She felt eyes staring at her and she looked down and caught Thorin looking at her through the cracks in the stone. "If the great King Under the Mountain will not fight and die beside his people, then the treacherous she-elf will." She seethed and nudged Radag into a gallop and headed towards the elf army, ignoring the cries from the dwarves.
~ Elvish Translations ~
Vá car-si mára! - Do not make this worse!
Anga Tál - Iron Foot
Oh, meld mellon - Oh, dear friend
muqua orkor - filthy orcs