Azog thrusts his arm outwards, and as I strain to look down I catch a glimpse my impending doom. I'm over the edge of the cliff. What a fitting end: Falling to my doom.
Azog says something else, but I don't hear it, the darkness clouding my vision becoming too much as I begin to pass out.
And then there is nothing. Nothing holding me over the edge of the cliff, that is. Only the rushing of the wind passing me by as I'm dropped, off the edge of the cliff. With air now in my lungs, I close my eyes.
This is it. I can feel it in my bones. This is how I die.
"You really are an idiot."
~~~~~~~
3rd Person POV (The Company A Few Moments Earlier)
Bilbo and the others (well, the ones that are awake) stare back at the rocky cliff where they were only moments ago in shock. Ambrosia (or should they call her Lash?) remains on the cliff, battling with her father. Her cracked, black blades battle with Azog's own blades furiously as they near the edge of the cliff.
"We have to go back!" Bilbo cries out, his eyes wide with fear. He knew Ambrosia would not be able to continue fighting her growing fatigue and Azog.
"We cannot, dear Bilbo. Ambrosia would swing her blades at the eagles we fly on just to keep us away from the battle," Gandalf calls back with a sorrowful voice. "We would never get close enough to her to save her. We'll just have to pray that she can find a way ou-"
With the company to bear witness, they see Ambrosia's shrinking form being held by her neck over the edge of the cliff. And then Azog drops her, and they lose sight of the cliff.
"Ambrosia!" Bilbo gasps, tears welling up in his eyes as he grasps the eagle he's perched on's feathers tighter. Leaning down, Bilbo buries his face in the feathers, tears falling from his eyes.
Ambrosia's POV
The sound of wings flapping breaks me from my trance, and I feel myself roughly landing on something. I widen my eyes in surprise, looking down to see what caught me.
Nightwing flies bellow me, her large black wings outstretched.
I can't believe I forgot she can fly.
Her wings are invisible on her unless they are in use, thanks to an enchantment Adar placed on her when we were younger.
Glancing up at the cliff, I see Azog looking down at me with an enraged look. I pat Nightwing's back gently as I twist myself into a sitting position.
Nightwing flies away from the cliff with me and the sleeping warg pups on her back. She begins to fly after the company, but I lightly tap her right hip, turning her away from the company.
I can't return to them. It's a miracle they didn't try to kill me the moment that my true identity was revealed. But I know they will not welcome me back. Even though I swore myself to them.
I lean forwards, over the pups, to Nightwing's ear and whisper, "Rivendell."
Nightwing glances back at me with a mournful look before continuing forwards and onto Rivendell.
If the orcs are really aware of Avaline and Joshua's whereabouts, then I can't take any chances. I'm going to have to bring them to my home, where I know they cannot be taken from me.
Taking one last glance at where the company flew off to, I feel a single warm tear slide down my grey cheek. I turn back to Nightwing, kicking her sides lightly to urge her forwards.
With The Company (3rd Person POV)
The eagles drop the company onto a cliff silently, as if in mourning. The company is silent until Thorin's unconscious body is dropped onto the cliff beside them.
"Thorin! Thorin!" Gandalf calls, rushing up to his unmoving body.
Bilbo runs up beside Gandalf, tears running down his face. He refuses to believe that Ambrosia is dead, and he hopes they aren't about to lose Thorin.
Gandalf places his hand on Thorin's face for a moment, whispering a spell. Thorin's eyes slowly open and he gives out a gasp.
"The halfling?" He weakly asks.
"It's all right. Bilbo is here. He's quite safe," Gandalf tells him, a mournful look on his face.
Dwalin and Kili help Thorin stand. But the moment he's standing, he pushes them off and approaches Bilbo.
"You! What were you doing? You nearly got yourself killed! Did I not say that you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the wild and that you had no place amongst us?" Thorin bellows, advancing on Bilbo until they are face to face. Bilbo's face shows pure fear, but he stands his ground.
"I've never been so wrong in all my life!" Thorin says, grabbing Bilbo and embracing him.
The company gives out a sigh of relief, some cheering, others not sharing the same excitement. Those not cheering are mournful of their lost friend. Well, perhaps friend is a stretch. Rather, they lost a companion.
Bilbo, surprised and still very teary eyed, hugs him back.
"I am sorry I doubted you," Thorin apologizes, releasing the hug.
"No, I would have doubted me too. I'm not a hero or a warrior...not even a burglar," Bilbo says, a tear slipping out of his eye as he remembers what Ambrosia had told him all those weeks ago at the troll camp.
"Ignore Thorin's harsh words. One day, he'll see that he needs you."
Simple words, yet they mean so much to him now. He let another tear fall free, whipping it away quickly.
Thorin catches sight of Bilbo's teary eyes and raises an eyebrow.
"Was I really harsh enough to cause you to cry?" Thorin asks, a hint of surprise in his voice.
Bilbo shakes his head frantically.
"No, no! It has nothing to do with you! It's just..." Bilbo trails off, whipping another fallen tear from his cheek.
Thorin looks towards the others with a bewildered expression. His eyes meet that of every member of the company, searching for an answer to Bilbo's sorrow. He gets to the last member of the company before his eyes widen slightly in realization.
"Where's Ambrosia?"
Bilbo finally breaks down, more tears slipping from his eyes as he turns from the group to muffle a sob.
Thorin's eyes glance over the company again, watching as tears spring up to their eyes. But no one answers his question.
"She.. She's gone." Dwalin answers, sorrow spilling through his gruff voice. Though he tries to hide his sorrow by turning away as well.
Thorin's heart stops.
"That.. That can't be.." He mutters, surprising the company. They all look at him with bewildered expressions. Did Thorin.. care for her?
"She betrayed us, didn't she?" He asks, appearing to have not caught on to what Dwalin had meant.
Balin steps forwards, placing a hand on Thorin's shoulder.
"No, Thorin. The lass is dead."
Thorin's eyes widen further as he realizes something. Something he hadn't before.
He had fallen for the girl with roses in her hair.
And now, he would never have a chance to tell her.
But she had betrayed them all by hiding her true self from them. How could he forgive that?
Thorin's face hardens and he turns away from the company, towards the Lonely Mountain.
"She was a traitor," He gruffly reminds them all as he walks to the edge of the cliff, staring at the Lonely Mountain.
"We only have a two weeks until Durin's Day. Grab your stuff, we're leaving now," Thorin orders, turning towards the other's shocked faces.
But without question, they all grab their stuff and follow him.
Ambrosia's POV
Nightwing lands on the outskirts of Rivendell and I quickly slide off. A searing pain runs through my body as whatever the Orcs injected me with begins to wear off. My vision becomes blurry as I stumble away from Nightwing and into a tree. My hand grasps the bark as I gasp in pain. Pain shoots through my body one more time before it finally begins to disperse.
My vision slowly comes back and I realize that I'm on my knees, next to the tree I grasped onto.
Slowly, I raise myself off the ground. My legs shake lightly as I regain my balance. I hold my hand out in front of me, taking a quick glance at it to find that it is a pale green. Not a light grey anymore. I release a sigh of relief before looking to the gates of Rivendell.
A/N
More Updates Are Coming Soon! I'm Already Working On The Next Chapter. I'm Sort Of Ditching The Update Schedule For A While, So Updates Will Be Coming Out Randomly For The Next Few Weeks. I'm Hoping To Get Another Chapter Out This Week, But No Promises.
Also, I May Begin Editing This Book Again Soon. But Nothing Major Will Change. Just Some Spelling Mistakes And Inconsistencies In The Storyline That I've Found. Though I May Add A Bit More Detail To Certain Scenes. I Haven't Decided How Much Will Change Yet, But I'll Let You All Know When I Start Editing.
Thank You For Reading and I Will See You All Soon!
Chapter: Unedited Word Count: 1528 Written On: March 5, 2019.