"Orcs?" Bilbo echoed.
"Throat-cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them." Fili elaborated.
"They strike in the wee small hours, when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet; no screams, just lots of blood." Kili added. Bilbo looked around in fright, as though an Orc would show up momentarily. I hid my head in Kili's shoulder as the image of Orcs and them slitting the throats of their victims silently.
"Kili..." I whimpered lightly. The brothers looked at each other and sniggered under their breaths at the scared Bilbo.
"You think that's funny? You think a night raid by Orcs is a joke?" Their smiles dropped.
"We didn't mean anything by it." Kili stammered.
"No you didn't. You know nothing of the world. Remember, Iridian's parents were killed in a night raid." Thorin walked to the edge of the cliff, staring into the distance, deep in thought once again. Kili stiffened slightly, remembering that I had no family because of Orcs.
"Iridian. I'm sorry. I was just trying to scare Mr. Baggins." I nodded, letting my head up. I wrapped my cloak tighter around me, and nodded.
"I know. It's alright." The corners of his mouth turned up, his eyes soft and glowing in the firelight.
"I'm sorry as well." Fili added. I forgave him, as Balin walked up to us.
"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 had got there first. Dwalin fought with us as well." I tried to imagine the army of dwarves fighting off the army of Orcs. Dwalin, Balin and Thorin fighting against the ugly creatures. It was surprisingly easy.
"Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs led by the most vile of all their race: Azog the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the king." Balin continued More images of a large Orc with no face and little color swiped into my vision, beheading king Thror. The Pale Orc's features swirled, as though his appearance was somewhere forgotten in my mind.
"Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing, taken prisoner or killed, we did not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us." He said solemnly. I listened to the story with rapt attention. The hand covering mine tightened in anticipation. I looked out of the corner of my eye to see Fili and Kili with their eyes trained on Balin, as I was.
"That is when I saw him; a young dwarf prince facing down the Pale Orc." The large Orc meant as Azog in my mind turned white, but I left the face unimagined. "He stood alone against this terrible foe, his armor rent, wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield." My mind continued to imagine a great battle with a white Orc and a young Thorin, wielding an oaken branch like an expert. An image of Thorin cutting off the arm of the Pale Orc surfaced. "Azog, the Defiler, learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken." Balin said, looking at each of us.
Pictures of Thorin crying out to troops rushed into my head. It was like the battle was replaying in my head. It was in such detail, except for the Pale Orc himself. "Our forces rallied and drove the Orcs back. our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast, nor song that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived." Balin kept telling the story.
A scene flickered behind my eyes. An entire battlefield, covered in blood and bodies, both Orc and dwarf. Little ground could be seen and what was, was drenched in blood. I saw dwarves weeping, including Balin. Him and Dwalin embraced and put their foreheads to one another as tears streamed down their cheeks. It was all real. To real to be imagination. Then it panned over to see Thorin, drenched in blood, both his own and not his, with his oaken branch.
"And I thought to myself then, there was one who I could follow. There is one who I could call King." I turned to look at Thorin, who turned away from the cliff. I looked at Balin once again, before looking around and seeing the Company surrounding us. Everyone was staring at Thorin, and he walked toward the fire. I looked at Kili, whose face was set in a determined line.
"But the Pale Orc? What happened to him?" Bilbo questioned.
"He slunk back into the hole from whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago." Something churned in my stomach. Like a bad feeling. Something told me that was not true. I shook my head, dispelling the sense from my mind. Kili's eyebrow raised, asking an unsaid question. I shook my head, waving him off.
"Alright. Everyone off to bed." Thorin said. "We have an early start tomorrow." Everyone mumbled and crawled back in their bed rolls, and fell asleep fairly quickly. I closed my eyes, leaning my head against the brunette's shoulder. The battle of Moria started to play out once again. I concentrated as hard as I could on trying to fill in the facelessness of the Pale Orc, but nothing came. It was like I knew the face, but I couldn't recall it. It swirled, almost talking form, before going away again. Thror's head was held up by Azog, and a great terrifying roar came from the expressionless Orc.
"Iridian. Iridian. Iridian!" Two voices whisper shouted. My eyes flung open, and I saw the two brothers looking at me, apprehension in their eyes. Kili's hand came into my view, his thumb swept under my eyes. I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. When did I start crying? I sat up from my position lying down. I had managed to fall off the rock and lay down. "What happened?" I hugged my knees to my chest, taking deep breaths.
"I- I saw the Battle of Moria. I saw the battle as though I was real. I saw Thror get beheaded. I saw the Pale Orc. But he's not complete. I only saw his outline, nothing else. No face, nothing. Just a mass of Orc that was white. I saw the dead bodies, the aftermath of the battle. A younger Dwalin, and Balin too. Weeping. It- it was all real. I saw a memory almost." I explained, breaks in my voice. I couldn't deny that the experience was terrifying. Not the battle itself, the fact that I could see something that was written in history in my own mind. It wasn't imagined.
Fili and Kili's faces fell. I reached out and grabbed Kili's arm, squeezing it. "You don't think I'm crazy do you?" Their heads shook, Fili's beard flying.
"We watched you, there's no way you could make that up. One moment you were leaning on Kili's shoulder, the next you were on your knees, tears seeping down your face. Then you fell to the ground, almost unconscious. You were making small noises, and then we woke you up." Fili explained. Kili nodded, his hand covering mine, his thumb drawing small circles in my hand.
"I didn't realize. I'm sorry for scaring you. Head to sleep. I'll keep watch. I might as well since I won't be able to sleep." I said sadly. I knew the battle would keep me awake. The brother's looked at one another, silently conversing with their eyes. Then they faced me once again.
"You sleep. You need it more than us. We'll be here for you. We'll wake you in anything happens." Fili said softly.
"Besides. We're light sleepers anyway." Kili added, smirking slightly. I nodded, and crept around the dwarves, grabbing my bed roll. I snuck back to the fire, which was dimming. I laid it out, and I leaned against the rock face, using my cloak to shield the light and to cushion my head. Fili joined me on the right, Kili on the left. I laid my head back, closing my eyes. Visions flashed the moment I closed my eyes. I screwed them farther shut, as though that would fix anything.
I opened my eyes once again, sighing. The boys' eyelids fluttered as well. I caught the blue green and deep chestnut eyes looking at me in the dying fire. "Iridian. You'll never sleep if your eyes are open." Fili joked, cracking a smile. I shook my head.
"I know. I just can't sleep. Images of the battle just pass in front of me." I said, looking into Fili's eyes.
"Iridian. Look at me please." Kili said. I turned my head and faced him. His hands gently held my face. "Listen to me. Look in my eyes. I want you to trust us. Don't think about the battle. It happened. That's it. The Pale Orc's dead." Or not. "Just trust us. We will keep you safe. Just close your eyes and let us handle the rest." His thumb gently rubbed against my cheekbone. My heartbeat quickened, and yet my breathing slowed. He had such a calming effect, yet he made my heart race.
I stared into his eyes. They glowed bronze. Even in the dying light of the embers, his eyes shone brightly. They were fierce, yet kind and soft. Fili was right. He was loyal and cared deeply. I sighed, allowing myself to get lost in them. I held his wrists softly for a moment. One of his hands left my face, and his fingertips closed my eyes. "Sleep, Iridian." He whispered. His hand guided my head to rest on his shoulder, almost chest.
Fili moved my feet from their curled up position to rest across his legs, and Kili's hand left my head, going to my arm, rubbing circles with his thumb. Fili did the same, his grip clenched slightly, the pressure comforting. I heard a thump thump sound from Kili's chest. It was strong and steady. I realized it was Kili's heartbeat. I sighed and felt his chest rise and fall. It was all very comforting. Nothing passed in front of my mind this time. No battle, nothing, except a pair of chestnut eyes as sleep finally washed over me.