CHAPTER EIGHT
STORMY CAVES
●○●○●
Another giant stood up from behind us and was quickly hit by flying rock in the air. "Take cover, you fools!", Thorin yelled at Bofur, who was standing near the edge of the pass, watching in awe. Someone pulled him back to the wall as the leg which we stood on began to shift from under us, shaking our bodies side to side.
"Hold on!", Dwalin reared, we rose up, the ledge beginning to crack in half.
"What's happening?!", cried Kili.
"Grab my hand!", Fili said on the other side of Kili, trying to reach for his brother but failed unsuccessfully.
I ended up on the side with Fili, after he shoved me behind him, away from the edge. "Kili!", Fili screamed.
Kili was afraid to leave his brother like this. As the distance between us increased, I looked up and saw him standing at the foot of a stone giant. It pushed itself up, another creature slamming its head into it.
The giant stumbled. All I could do was scream and shout to Fili for help. He grabbed my hand and clasped it tightly, pressing us both back against the stone wall behind us.
The other dwarf on the right leg bumped into another rock. They ran from the leg, onto a sturdy rock which was not the foot of the giant. After they were safe my focus switched from them and onto the stone giants.
The giant left us behind and continued to fight. The head of our giant was completely blown away. He swung at the other one against and clashed with other members of the company.
Now that it was decapitated, our stone giant was dead, lifeless before us. We stood with our backs against the side and the stone wall went up. I screamed and squeezed Fili's hand tightly, my knuckles turning white as I dug my nails into his hands, causing him to groan slightly. We hit a wall and each of us was thrown into a different direction. We were now lying on a pile of stone floors, each of us groaning from the sudden pain.
We are lying on a pile of cold, wet stones on the floor. Thank Durin that we were still alive and not a pile of mushy flesh on the floor, we also get to live and fight another day.
"Nooo!", we heard Thorin's scream over the storm, "No."
Their voices were approaching but I couldn't help but just...laugh. Thorin looked up and saw Fili and me in all of the kindness of the world. Kili stepped forward and threw himself onto the rock, in which was placed next to my body, like it just appeared there.
"Don't you ever do that again", He shouted while everyone else got up and started to brush themselves off and act like nothing just happened and how wasn't a big deal at all being thrown from a stone giant.
"Nice to see you too", I grunted, sitting up.
Kili gathered me into his arms and said, "I thought you were dead"
"Hey, you can't get rid of me that easily"
He pulled me back, I looked up at him to see he was already looking at me. His shining, brown eyes, looking deep into my soul. Like he could read my thoughts, my deepest secrets in this exact moment.
Kili smiled at me. I want to kiss him now. His smile was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen in my life.
"Where's Bilbo? Where's the Hobbit?", Bofur yelled pulling me out of my Kili trance, I looked at the dwarf with a confused expression, that was until I looked around that Bilbo was no where to be seen.
I scrambled quickly to my feet, just in time to see him hanging on the ledge of the cliff, barely holding on to it.
"Bilbo!", I cried, small tears forming in the corner of my eyes.
They tried to pull him up for the edge of the cliff, but it was all too slippery from the storm. Thorin jumped and found a little shelf like small, thin wall in the same place as Bilbo was holding onto. He pushed the young Hobbit away and reached out to the dwarf, Dwalin. His cousin intended to return Thorin to the pass when his grip slipped off. Throin Oakenshield is currently hanging on the ledge of the cliff. "Thorin!", I screamed trying to run forward to grab him, but Kili's arms wrapped around my waist from behind, stopping me from moving.
"Let me go", I cried, lashing out at him.
"No!", Kili said tightening his grip around my body, "You're going to throw yourself over the ledge, and that won't help anyone."
I had no choice but to see Thorin and Bilbo being pulled back from the ledge and on to safe enough land. With a sigh of relief I pulled back from Kili's tight embrace and grabbed Uncle Bilbo with a bone crushing hug.
"Allísa", he murmured, returning my embrace.
"I thought we'd lost our burglar", said Dwalin as Bilbo released me from the hug.
Thorin stood up pulling me up with him, "He's been lost ever since he left home. He should have never came", Thorin glared at the hobbit who stood before him. "He has no place amongst us"
Thorin felt around the wall and found an opening to a small cave behind us. The darkness was intolerable and no one could see anything inside until one of the dwarves set a torch on fire and began to swing it around.
"Dwalin.", he called as we all followed him into the cave, sheltering us from the storm. "It looks safe enough.", sighed Dwalin, glancing at the sandy, shiny interior.
"Search to the back.", Thorin ordered. "Caves in the mountains are solemn unoccupied.", So, Dwalin lit a torch and checked all around the edges of the cave. "There's nothing here."
"Right then", Gloin said, throwing down some firewood. He rubbed his hands together, "Let's get a fire started"
"No. No fires. Not in this place.", Thorin said, looking around uneasily, "Get some sleep. We start at first light."
Balin looked at him, "We were to wait in the mountains until Gandalf joined us. That was the plan"
"Plans change", Thorin said simply, "Bofur take first watch"
"Yes, sir", he said quietly.
* * * *
Whilst Bofur was holding a torch watching the entrance, I lay facing the wall. Attempting to sleep, but I couldn't I kept thinking about what Lord Elrond said. Azog killed both my parents. He took everything I had from me, he killed my father, he killed my mother. he made me live away from my family away from my people, all because of a stupid war that wasn't even their fault. As I thought over what I was told I heard footsteps from behind me.
I listened as the voice of Bofur spoke, "Bilbo?", he whispered, "Where do you think you're going"
What's Bilbo doing out of his bed, he needs the sleep. Was he getting some air?
"Back to Rivendell", he said muffled. "No, no, you can't turn back now, you're part of the company. You're one of us.", Bofur said standing up as the sand underneath him moved.
"I'm not, though, am i", he said sadly.
Bilbo continued, "Thorin said I should have never come, and he was right. I'm not a Took, I'm a baggin. I don't know what I was thinking, I should never have run out my door"
"Your homesick", Bofur said, trying to console himself, "I understand"
"No, you don't, you don't understand. None of you do. You're dwarves. You're used to this life. To living on the road, never settling in one place, not belonging anywhere"
Wow. That was harsh uncle. Think you went a bit to far there.
"Oh, I am sorry, I didnt-", Bilbo spoke apologising before Bofur butted in, speaking sadly, "No, you're right"
Bofur stated, he turned on his stance, "We don't belong anywhere", he paused before saying. "I wish you all the luck in the world", he smiled politely, a kind of smile that said, 'really it's okay'
"I really do"
Footsteps came toward me, faint ones. I felt a tap on my shoulder, "Allísa, come on we're leaving", my uncle said quietly. Shaking me from my thoughts.
I looked up, turning my body to face him. I stood up carefully, trying to not to wake the others. I hugged my uncle tightly, wrapping my arms around his neck, before j pulled back, "I'm sorry uncle I really I am..."
"...but I belong with these people. These people are my priority", I said looking back at the sleeping company. I smiled and turned back to my uncle who nodded knowingly turning away from me and started to walk towards the door. I sat watching my uncle walk away before Bofur spoke up, "What's that?", he asked, looking at my uncle's shining blue sword. Bilbo looked up slowly as dark lines began to appear in the sand.