"Hold my breath? What do you mean?" Bofur said. It dawned on me as Bilbo pulled the lever. The ground we were on tilted downward, toward a cavernous opening. The barrels began to roll, and everyone yelled in shock. Dori and Bofur's were quite strange, something like "aiaiaiaiai." The feeling of free falling caused my stomach to rise to my throat. My shriek was quite high pitched. Just before we hit the water below, I heard Thorin yell in Khuzdul, something about Mahal saving him, and Kili let out a whoop.
I snatched a quick breath in, and the impact of hitting the water stole it right back. I gasped, swallowing water. The water was freezing, and it took what little breath I still had left. I choked more on the water. I was prepared for another lungful of water, but instead, it was air. I sucked in the air, coughing water from my lungs. I spit out the excess into the river. "Are you alright?" Fili said. I nodded, breathing slowly and deeply.
I coughed a few more times, and Dwalin roughly patted my back, and the water was gone. I continued to breath air deeply. Bilbo was still missing. "Kili, what the hell was that?" I snapped.
"What?"
"We were falling down into a river, and you were laughing!" I accused.
"It was fun!" He countered, smirking. I hit his shoulder, causing him to laugh once again. A creaking sounded, and I turned to see Bilbo fall through the hole. I smiled at watching him drop like a plank. I winced at the sound though as he landed straight on his back. He popped up, grabbing Nori's barrel around the rope. Thorin had grabbed our barrels to keep us from floating away.
"Well done, Master Baggins." Thorin congratulated, and I could've sworn I saw a hint of a smile grace his lips. Those two had a very special relationship... and it intrigued me. Bilbo, who looked like a half drowned cat, waved his hand and spluttered out one word.
"Go."
"Come on, let's go." Thorin repeated to the others. We paddled with our hands as the mild current pulled our barrels along. IT picked up quickly, headed toward the end of the tunnel. I was momentarily blinded by sunlight, and I heard a roaring rush ahead. Just as my eyes adjusted, Thorin called to us. "Hold on!" I saw rapids and a waterfall for half a second as my stomach rose into my throat, and dropped as water filled my mouth.
I spluttered when I resurfaced only to be dunked under once again. The river carried us swiftly away. "Holo en-annon!" My eyes widened. I was about to alert the others when another Elf blew a horn. We rounded a corner and saw a guard post built above the river. The heavily armed guards heard the horn and stood at attention. One went over to a large wooden lever. A metal sluice gate started to close, blocking the rest of our path.
We stopped at the gate, our barrels piling up. Mine was in the sunlight, Along with Dwalin's, Fili's, and Kili's. We were unable to continue, and we would be captured again. Thorin's hands clutched the bars, as though he could rip them off. "No!" The elves drew their swords, and I moved to grip mine, when they dropped suddenly. An arrow was embedded in their back. It was a crude black shaft, with ugly fletchings. Growling, several orcs revealed themselves, swarming the guard post.
They killed the Elves swiftly. More monsters jumped out, accompanied by the pale orc Azog had talked to. Fear traveled up my spine. "Watch out! Those are orcs!" Bofur called. I rolled my eyes and shouted a response.
"Thank you for telling us! I thought they were goblins!" The orc, whom Azog had called Bolg, shouted something in Black Speech. I can only imagine it was along the lines of killing us. The orcs began to throw themselves into our barrels. I whipped out my blades, stabbing one before it reached me. I watched as Bilbo killed one with Sting, Dwalin elbowing one in the face. I stabbed another in the chest.
I watched Kili's eyes travel to the lever. My eyes widened as I realized what he was going to do. "Don't!" I cried. He didn't listen. He clambered out of his barrel, stepping on the other's before arriving on the shore. "Kili!" I shouted. "Don't do it!" An orc swung at him, and he ducked, unarmed.
"Kili!" Dwalin shouted, getting his attention. He had gotten an Elven sword, and tossed it to him. Kili grabbed the sword, hilt up, and knocked it against the orc's face, and then stabbed it. He cut another's leg, kicking it into the water. I stabbed the orc, while the others hit it with their fists. He kept going up the stairs, facing off the orcs as he went. One started creeping behind him.
Fili chucked a dagger at the orc's head, while Kili beheaded the one he was facing. He kept running, and faced another creature, killing it in two blows. A roar sounded behind me as Kili was just about to reach the lever. Whistling sounded, and a shaft of black. It was to late. The arrow met its mark in Kili's thigh, buried what appeared to be fairly deep. He stopped just short, panting heavily. "Kili!" Fili and I screamed. His hand placed over the wound, and he strained to pull the lever with the other.
He groaned from the pain, and fell onto his back. My heart stopped, and panic raced through my mind. I screamed his name again. I watched as Thorin paused, his eyes widening. "Kili." He said softly. I leapt from my barrel, finally finding the courage to move. My blades were in my hands before I even reached the shore, and I spun them in my hands.
"Iridian!" Dwalin and Fili cried behind me. I reached dry land, and ran toward Kili. Orcs started swarming me. I let a battle cry out in frustration, finishing off the orcs in relative ease. An orc leapt over to Kili, when an arrow flew into its head. He glanced over to see Tauriel running from the bushes, who shot another and killed one with her knife. I ran over to Kili, standing near him, slashing down orcs.
Several more rush toward Tauriel, and Legolas starts shooting them down. "Kili! Pull the lever! I'll hold them off!" Six orcs swarmed toward me, and I slashed at one, knocking it into another. They both when sailing into the water, left for the dwarves. Two more approached on either side, and I ducked. They rammed themselves with their swords. I was left with two. I stabbed them simultaneously.
I heard the gates open, and Kili dropped onto his back, a cry of pain coming from his lips. I watched as a few dwarves started going down the river. Bolg saw them too. He snarled in orcish, but that was the last of my worries. "Kili! Iridian!" Fili cried. I pushed Kili toward the ledge, dropping him into his barrel. As he landed, the shaft broke off at the edge of the barrel. Kili screamed in agony, clutching his leg. Tauriel stopped, and I locked eyes with her. "Iridian! Get in!" FIli cried.
"Thank you for saving him. But don't get to attached. You'll only hurt yourself." I jumped into the empty one next to the brothers, and we started down the river again. She watched with a surprised expression.
We dropped over the waterfall, and the orcs followed us on land. Kili looked gaunt, and he leaned against the barrel. Worry coursed through my veins, and I wish I could have done something. "Dia! That was so stupid! You could've died!" Dwalin shouted.
"And so would have Kili!" I shouted back. That was all we had for the conversation, for we reached a narrow canal, and orcs started shooting us. I unstrapped my bow, and started shooting said archers. Thankfully they only hit the barrels. I don't know how I managed to shoot as I continued being dunked under the frozen water. One took a leap at Balin, and Thorin threw a sword he found, pinning it to a tree.
I got one shot in before dunking under the water again. As the orc dropped its weapon, Kili caught the sword. He threw the weapon back to Bombur, who threw it to Nori, tossing it to Fili, who killed the orc. I shot another orc, and then stabbed one as it leapt toward me. Another creature leapt toward Kili. "NO!" I shouted, shooting it between the eyes. I grabbed the arrow, and a couple others I found in in the barrels.
An orc leapt onto Dwalin's barrel, who headbutted it, stealing the axe. A low hanging tree branch stretched across the river, and orcs walked across it, trying to decapitate us. "Cut the log!" As Thorin floated below, he cut it. I took out my twin throwing axes. Bofur slashed at it, then Dwalin, and I gave a small slash. It broke, and the orcs fell into the river, swept away with the current. I replaced the smaller weapons with more suitable ones
"Bombur!" Dwalin shouted, throwing his axe to the dwarf. He cut down an orc that leapt onto his barrel. The orc was holding a spear, which pinned itself to a tree. The end of the other side caught onto Bombur's barrel, and it went over the river, rolling away on the riverbank. He knocked down several orcs, until it finally stopped. Orcs surrounded the dwarf. I shot a couple, and then Bombur kicked out the bottom. His arms, holding axes, stuck out the side straight. He started spinning rapidly with the axes extended, cutting down the orcs around him.
He tossed one of the axes to Dwalin, and jumped back into an empty barrel. The others helped him in back in. I looked back to see Legolas and Tauriel shooting the others. As orcs fell into the river, I collected their arrows. Legolas jumped down onto Dwalin's and Dori's head, and continued shooting orcs. He balanced on Dwalin's head as the other separates from a rock. I watched, with his leg gracefully up, as he shot two with one arrow.
Using our heads as stepping stones, he jumped onto the riverbank, sliding down the stairs on an orc, and killed three in rapid succession. He continued stepping on our heads, reaching the opposite bank. He kicked one adversary in the face, and finished off two more quickly. Two more crept behind him. I shot at one using Tauriel's arrows, and Thorin threw his sword. He looked at us, two different facets of understanding passing through our eye contact.
He stopped his pursuing, and watched as we floated. No more orcs followed us, it seemed they were all dead. I heaved a sigh of relief, and tried to steer my barrel toward Kili. The river quickly began to slow down, and we paddled along with our hands. "Anything behind us?" Thorin asked.
"Not that I can see." I answered.
"I think we've outrun the orcs." Bofur continued.
"Not for long; we're lost the current." Thorin said.
"Bofur is half drown, and so is Dia." Dwalin interjected. Thorin seemed to debate his options.
"Make for shore! Come on, let's go!" We paddled to the riverbank. Somehow that little Hobbit had hung on to the barrels without getting shot. Somehow that little Hobbit had hung on all this way. We clambered out onto a slab of rock jutting into the river. I laid there for a moment, coughing up water. It was disgusting the first time, and even more so now. Wet strands of hair clung to my face, and I felt nasty with that river water on me.
"Come on!" Dwalin said, heaving me up with one hand. He moved to help Ori up. I coughed, and spit out more water. My eyes darted around, looking for Kili. I saw him, and he fell onto his knees, his face contorting in pain. I ran over, and knelt next to him. He pulled out a piece of cloth, and tried touching the wound. He groaned in pain, his eyes clenching shut. Bofur had appeared besides us, and was looking at him with concern.
"I'm fine, it's nothing." He glared. My eyes saddened. I knew it wasn't nothing. I looked and saw the arrow in his thigh still.
"On your feet." Thorin commanded. Fili came over to his brother, examining the wound.
"Kili's wounded. His leg needs binding." Fili looked to his uncle.
"There's an orc pack on our tail; we keep moving." Thorin shot back.
"To where?" I demanded angrily. He didn't seem to realize his nephew was wounded, and he wanted just to coninue. I huffed, looking back at Kili's leg. It was still bleeding, and I saw the arrow inside.
"To the mountain; we're so close." Bilbo said. His hair clung to his forehead, and he looked so uncomfortable.
"A lake lies between us and that mountain. We have no way to cross it." Balin said, proving a point.
"So then we go around." Bilbo said. I scoffed, and turned to Kili again. I held his hand, trying to relieve him of the pain. He squeezed it tightly, his knuckles turning white.
"The orcs will run us down, as sure as daylight. We have no weapons to defend ourselves, except Dia. And she can't be the one to defend us. She'll die, and I won't have that." As much as I wanted to deny that, Dwalin was right.
"Bind his leg, quickly. You have two minutes." Thorin ordered in a low voice. Oin had come near, looking at it.
"I'll do it." I growled, feeling strangely overprotective. I faced the wound. "The arrowhead's in an awful spot." I mumbled. I looked into Kili's pained eyes. "Listen. I'm going to have to pull this out slowly, so I don't tear muscle. Do you understand? Don't move your leg or you might damage something. Fili, hold his leg." I demanded. I saw my hands shaking. I clenched them once, and steeled myself.
I reached in, managing to grab the arrowhead between my forefinger and thumb. My hand was quickly growing slick with his blood. He groaned through gritted teeth, and Fili held his leg down as it spasmed. "I know. I know. It's alright." I said in a shaky voice. I started pulling the arrow out slowly, when my hand slipped. I cursed, caught it again, and kept going, until I felt resistance. "No. It's caught in muscle." I mumbled. I paused for three seconds, before pulling harder, and it came free of the muscle. Another cry came from Kili. I hummed a small tune, trying to calm our nerves down.
Finally, I pulled it out, and the arrow looked smaller than I had imagined. I used the water from my boot to wash off the blood from his leg. Like the river was any cleaner. I wrapped the wound snugly, and saw it starting to seep through quickly. "By Mahal." I grumbled. I looked down at my hands and saw it covered in blood. I walked down to the river to wash it off, as Ori was emptying his boot. A shadow passed over the river, and I turned around. A silhouette of a man was there, aiming an arrow at Ori and I. I wouldn't be able to defend myself in time.
The others jumped up, and Dwalin leapt in front of us, holding a branch. I unstrapped my bow, nocking an arrow in those couple moments of distraction. Dwalin started to charge, but the man shot the arrow, embedding itself down the middle of the branch. I put my arrow back, taking the one from the branch, and nocking that one. I watched as Kili raised a rock, but the bowman shot that out of his hand. I grabbed that one, again trading it out.
I ran in front of Kili. "Do it again, and you're dead." The man threatened lowly. I raised my own. I narrowed my eyes, no shake in my weapons.
"Try and hurt anyone in this company again, and you're dead with your own arrow." The arrow pointed itself at me. I stared at it, fear starting to quake.
"Take your shot, and you'll be dead as well." He threatened. We kept our arrows pointed at each other's hearts.
"Iridian." I heard Kili softly call. I didn't waver, my bow pointed at his chest. If he was going to hurt anyone here, I was going to end him. Never mind if it ended me. I'd die like my mother. Protecting those I cared about. That was probably an insanely reckless thought, but I didn't care.
The truth made people reckless.
*Hey guys! Quick translation: Holo en-annon means close the gate. Again, please like, comment, share and read! Thanks guys! Ciao!*