CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
WAR STARTING BETWEEN DWARVES, ELVES AND MEN
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"What payment?", Thorin questioned rudely, almost as if he was oblivious to the fact, he swore an oath. "I gave you nothing, you have nothing", Thorin stated with every bit of bitterness he had stored in his heart. Bard then began to shuffle into his coat before pulling out none other than the Arkenstone, itself. My breath instantly caught, my hands began to shake, my heart began pumping faster and faster as I tried my best to stay calm.
"We have this," Bard stated as I watched the faces of the Elves, the elven king, Bard, and even Gandalf himself seeing uttermost confusion.
"They have the Arkenstone", Kili breathed out. "Thieves!", he said. "How come you by the heirloom of your house. That stone belongs to the king" Kili yelled in genuine frustration, but the look planted upon Thorin's face was nothing more than pure hatred and anger towards the men and Elves below the mountain, they stood in troops men in a circle with Elves surrounding every inch of them, gandalf, thranduil and Bard at the front of the army.
"The king may have it, with our good will", Bard announced. I hoped that Thorin was in his right mind to agree on these terms. I watched as Bard placed the Arkenstone back into the crook of his coat. "But first he must honour his word ", I looked to Thorin for any acknowledgement of the compromise that was being asked of.
"They are taking us for fools", Thorin Oakenshield exhaled. "This is a ruse, and a filthy lie", he spat in anger through gritted teeth as I closed my eyes with my brows frowned, I hung my head low and shook it slowly. "The Arkenstone if in the Mountain, it is a trick", Thorin yelled, exchanging glances between the Dwarves and I. "this is nothing more than trickery against a foe".
I exhaled a deep breath of hopelessness only in some way praying that Thorin would just see the truth and get his head screwed on the right way, instead of being annoying. My head slowly lifted, meeting the face of 'The Great King' Thorin. "you", he breathed out in anger, pointing at me. "I saw you by the wall last night", he shouted taking long strides towards me before gripping the material that was on my chest. "You gave it to them"
"Stop! Don't punish Allisa. I gave the Arkenstone to them", Bilbo stated. Thorin then let go of the material on my chest, turning on the balls of his feet before meeting eye contact with his newly made friend, Bilbo Baggins of Hobbiton.
"You?", Thorin questioned in uttermost genuine pain and hurt from what my uncles had taken, in Thorin's eyes my uncle had betrayed Thorin but in mine, he had save Thorin from the danger of the dragons curse. As long as that stone was away from the king, the dragon curse wouldn't get any stronger than it already is.
"I took it as my fourteenth share", Bilbo breathed out, swallow lung nervously, mentally knowing how treacherous thorn's mind now was. My hands curled into fists at my sides as I stood there, waiting for Thorin to strike at any moment in time, as anger started to rise in my body.
"You would steal from me?"
"Steal from you?", my uncle questioned in disbelief. "No, no. I may be a burglar, but I like to think I'm an honest one", he stated tilting his head to the side with a simple shrug of his shoulders. "I'm willing to let it stand against my claim"
"Against your claim?", Thorin questioned with mockery in the tone of his voice, a simple chuckle of disbelief escaping his chest. "Your claim", he breathed out dangerously low. "You have no claim over me, you miserable rat!", he shouted in anger taking a few steps closer to my uncle as I shuffled closer only to be held back by somebodies wrist wrapping around my own, I looked to see Kili giving me a 'don't', look. I turned my gaze back to Thorin and my uncle.
"I was going to give it to you", Bilbo began to speak softly as Thorin stopped in his tracks, "many times I wanted to, but-"
"But what, thief?", Thorin snapped at him, making me jump slightly.
"You have changed, Thorin", my uncle slowly began with a stern voice. "The Dwarf I met in Bag-End would never have gone back on his word", he paused with anger in his chest. "Would never have doubted the loyalty of his kin!", he shouted.
"Do not speak to me of loyalty", Thorin growled angrily. "Throw him from the rampart", Thorin yelled at the other dwarves just as my heart sank to the pit of my stomach.
"no", I breathed out shrugging off the hand that held me back. No one moved an inch.
"Did you not hear me?!", Thorin shouted angrily as I stood there, watching my uncles face change to fear. "I will do it myself", he stated instantly gripping the collar of Bilbo's clothing as the adrenaline in my body rushed faster.
"No!", I shouted running towards the king Dwarf, pulling my arm from Kili's grip, trying my best to pull his grip from my uncles chest as we fought in anger before Thorin shoved me to the ground harshly as I fell directly on my chest, the impact causing my breaths to become all shaky.
"I curse you!", Thorin yelled with anger, trying his best to shove him over the edge as some of the Dwarves tried to stop him. "Cursed by the wizard that forced you on this company", he shouted being so close to shoving him over as I stood to my feet.
"If you don't like my burglar, then please don't damage him", Gandalf cried out almost immediately from below us, after Bilbo spoke. "Return him to me", Gandalf breathed out as we all stood frozen our tacks, heavy breaths escaping my chest. "you're not making a very splendid figure as king under the Mountain, are you, Thorin, son of Thrain?", Gandalf questioned before Thorin slowly let go of the grip he had against Bilbo.
"Never again will I have dealings with wizards", Thorin shouted, my uncle rushing over to the hidden rope on the other side of the front gate, that I saw my uncle put late last night. My heart ached as I saw my uncle flee in fear. "Or shire rats!", thorns deep breaths were now calming down.
"Are we resolved?", Bard asked from the front of the gate before my uncle scurried away quickly. "The return of the Arkenstone for what was promised?", Bard sated as I exchanged glances with both Balin and Kili, who stood either side of me. "Give us your answer!", the Human demanded. "Will you have peace or war?". The tenson in the atmosphere grew stronger, the silence causing the moment to become rather dreadful, just before a black crow flew down and landed directly in front of the Dwarven king. Thorin looked up to the hills and then back down to the human below us.
"I will have war", Thorin hissed in anger as my breath caught just before sighed in frustration and in anger. My brows furrowed, my senses tingling, the marching footsteps of the hills became audible. My eyes squinted, my hands shook in anger, my mind began to turn in a rather dark way just as Dain and his companions were revealed at the top of a hill on the far right of the Elves.
"Good morning", Dain shouted loudly at the top of his lungs. "How are we all?", Dain questioned with mockery in his voice. "I have a wee proposition. If you wouldn't mind giving me a few moments of your time", he breathed out causing a snicker to leave my chest. "Would you consider", he paused. "Just sodding off?!", he questioned loudly as I exchanged a few funny glances to the other Dwarves trying not to laugh. "All of you! Right now!", I let out a small laugh as did some of the other dwarves did.
"Stand fast!", Bard yells out as the men of lake-town and the Elves shift into their fighting positions, standing with their legs slightly agape and their swords or weapons drawn high, the Elves nocked the bows on the arrows and prepared for fire.
"Come now, Lord Dain", Gandalf softly exclaims, trying his best to reason with the Dwarves above the hills. "Gandalf the Grey", Dain breaths out with a snare developed upon his voice. "Tell this rabble to leave, or I'll water the ground with their blood", Dain replied with all seriousness in his voice.
"This is no need for war between Dwarves, men, and Elves. A legion of Orcs march on the Mountain. Stand your army down"
"I will not stand down before any Elf", Dain replies rudely. "Not least this faithless Woodland sprite. He wished nothing but ill upon my people", he exclaims. "If he chooses to stand between me and my kin, I'll split his pretty head open! See if he's still smirking then", Dain gestured towards the Elven King, Thranduil.
I smirked a little thinking in my head, 'that wouldn't be the worst thing to happen if the king accidently dies in the middle of a war. Not so much by a dwarf but more of an elf that's just a tad angry with him.'
"he's clearly mad, like his cousin," Thranduil exclaimed loudly. When I saw Thorin, there was nothing but a man with anguish in his heart. He was completely out of control. He saw the faces of the surprised king, and Thorin was satisfied that the king was unpleased with him.
"You hear that, lads? Were on!" Dain shouted, throwing his sword high in the air with full force. "let's give these bastards a good hammering" Dain screamed and ordered his army to attack the humans and elves below in a bold way, and a loud noise came from the hill in front of the mountain.
"Were-worms," Gandalf screamed in horror from his heart as a gigantic tentacle worm erupted from the ground, spewing huge holes into the lands of Middle-earth.
"The hordes of hell are upon us," I heard Dain scream from the hillside as the ground below us began to shake and the rocks began to shake. Everyone exchanged glances at the person standing below me with their backs turned from the wall.
"I'm going over the wall", Kili begins as my gaze meets his. "who's coming with me", He asked as I turned my gaze to the rest of the dwarfs, looking at them all screaming and nodding their arms up.
"Stand down", Thorin commanded in a very low voice. I turned to the dwarf king and glared at him without breaking our eye contact.
"Are we to do nothing, Thorin?", I questioned in disbelief. "This is our fight," I breathed our holding my hand out pointing towards the hills then the people below. "This Mountain? It's worth nothing if we just hide ourselves in these walls and do nothing while others fight!", Kili raised his voice. "If I knew any better, I'd say I'm speaking to non-other than a stranger", he exhaled heavily.
"You are no king, Thorin. You are a man choosing to hide from a fight you created in the beginning! Your family will die! Thorin! Is that what you want?", I looked at Thorin, asked softly, and swore I could almost see the reconciliation in his eyes.. "Is this Mountain truthly worth more than your honour?". I asked in sorrow. thorin frowned and looked down for a moment before the angry man raised his head and met my gaze with a wrinkled forehead.
"I said stand down", Thorin screamed in anger and my heart sank. Seeing a wise, strong and courageous man turn into a cowardly, selfish and ignorant king, hurt more than his death. I lifted my head slightly and met the eyes of the two closest and most respected dwarfs I had known from the beginning. I looked at Kili and Fili, and when Fili bowed his head in shame, Kili continued to look at me. His eyes were the most defeat and pain I have ever seen since I first set eyes on him.