Just when the swinging blade was about to cut you in half, Thorin and Dwalin jumped on top of the table and grabbed the blade by it's handle. It took all of their strength to stop it but somehow they managed. Quickly Bofur and Balin cut the ropes tying your hands and feet together and you were able to roll of the table. Thorin and Dwalin let go of the swinging blade and it accured to you how close you had been to get cut in half. You started sobbing and you felt two strong arms wrapping themselves around you and pulling you close.
'It's okay my love, you're safe now' Thorin whispered in your hair. 'We can't stay here! We have to leave this bloody forest!' Dwalin yells. 'Aye, but is there a way out of here?' Balin asks. It hadn't been hard to enter this forest, but getting out wasn't that easy. Soon they would find out that you were saved and that the dwarfs were trying to escape, you couldn't linger here for much longer. 'There is no way out of here master dwarf. We're trapped' Gandalf said. Everybody looked at each other, unsure what to do.
'That's not true. There is a way out' a soft voice spoke. When you looked up you saw Marriet standing in the doorway. 'Who are you?' Thorin asked suspiciously. 'She is a friend, Thorin' you muttered. He stroked your hair but still looked at the girl like she was his foe as well. 'Let's not waste more time then, lead the way!' Bofur said eagerly. Thorin helped you to get up and you all followed Marriet who lead the way further into the dungeons. Dwalin walked beside you with Kim close to him. You exchanged looks with your best friend and you could tell how frightened she was.
Since you had seen The Hobbit you had always wanted to explore this world; meeting all of it's wonderful creatures and exploring the great beauty of this world. But your dreams were nothing compared to the real thing. You could have been killed a few moments ago. 'Just a few more turns' Marriet whispered back at you all. Maybe this would be just fine, maybe it would all be okay in the end, you told yourself. Just a few more turns, like Marriet said, and you would be fine. But then two guards showed up in front of you, their swords drawn.
Immediately Thorin, Fili and Dwalin jumped in front of the small company and drew their weapons. It wasn't long before both guards lay motionless on the ground. 'We must hurry, if these guards found us then there are more on their way' Thorin said. And soon after you could hear the sound of clattering metal behind you, and it was close. There were more guards coming your way and only a few of the members in your company had weapons on them. 'Hurry!' Thorin shouted. Everybody ran after Marriet and you hoped you would beat the guards to the exit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Thorin's P.O.V.)
I had never been so scared in my life. To see my One laying there, almost cut in half... I shouldn't think about this now. We have to run for our lives and hope that we can find a way out of this cursed castle. I'm not sure if we can trust this girl, Marriet, but she's the only one we've got right now. She may lead us straight into a trap but I'll take that chance. When the two guards appeared I knew that the Lord knew we had saved (y/n). It would only be a matter of time before there would appear more guards.
After a few more turns we entered a great hall in the lower sections of the castle. There were three different doors; one was green, the other red and the last blue. 'Where will we go?' I asked the girl. She walked towards the wall in between the green and red door and tugged at the rug that hang there. There appeared a small passage which showed us a small river, a boat and a light at the end of the tunnel. We had found a way out, our chances of escaping seemed to be in our favor.
But I had spoken to early. From behind us there came more guards. More then the two we had just killed in the other hallway. Dwalin, Fili, Bofur, Balin and I tried to protect the others with all our strength, but there were just too much guards. I saw Fili passing one of his swords to (y/n) so she could defend herself. At least she now had a weapon to protect herself with. I still hadn't given her one, in fear of her hurting herself on accident. She could be a bit clumsy at times, but that's why I loved her.
I tried to stay close to her and protect her with my life, but somehow we got separated and I saw her defending Marriet. She was so beautiful and determined as she fought of the guards who attacked her. One day she would make a fine sword fighter. If only she was given the time to practice...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Never in your life had you hold a sword, but you had to admit, you were doing a pretty good job at it. More and more guards seemed to enter the small hall and you were driven away from Thorin. With Marriet behind you, you tried to defend the both of you in the best way you could. But there were so many of them... Marriet turned around behind you and opened the red door. Quickly the two of you entered and a small bunch of guards made their way in with you. You fought hard but you realized you couldn't win this battle on your own. There were just too many of them and you didn't have enough experience with sword fighting.
'To the boat!' you heard someone yell in the hall. It didn't seem to be one of the guards, so you assumed it was someone of your Company. Apparently they had fight off all the guards who had come their way. But you and Marriet were still here in this room. You wanted to shout at them that you were still here but you were too focused on the guard in front of you. A few guards lay scattered on the ground, killed or unconscious. There only remained one standing. He was slightly taller then the others and slightly broader. 'You thought you could escape us that easily?' he chuckled.
You tightened your grip around the sword and tried to block the guard from getting near Marriet. 'Maybe your friends succeeded at killing the others, but I'll make sure you won't get out of this castle alive.' The guard and you stared at each other, both waiting for the other to make the first move. It occurred to you that he was right. The chance of you getting out alive wasn't big, it was nearly impossible. With that thought in mind you made your decision.
Without taking your eyes away from the guard you got the necklace from your neck and gave it to Marriet. She looked at you confused. 'What...' she started but you didn't let her finish. 'Give this to Thorin. I promised him I would bring it back to him and I won't break my promise. You will run towards the exit along with the others, I will stay here' you said. Marriet's eyes widened in shock. 'I can't leave you here! He will kill you!' she exclaimed. You smiled. 'Maybe he will, now... Run!' you shouted the last word and pushed Marriet towards the door.
The guard raised his sword to hit her but you blocked it with yours. Marriet made it out of the door but turned back to look at you. 'GO!' you shouted at her. And then she left. You were now alone with the guard which you knew, you could never defeat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Thorin's P.O.V.)
We had killed all the guards in the hall when Gandalf ordered us to run towards the boat. I hadn't seen (y/n) in a little while. I hoped she had safely made her way towards the boat already. We all climbed through the hole in the wall, towards the boat. But when we came near it, it appeared that neither (y/n) nor Marriet was there. 'Where is she?!' I asked, my voice panicked. She wasn't in the hall, I should have seen her if she was there. Everyone turned to look and check where our missing member was, but she wasn't among us.
Then we heard footsteps running our way, it was Marriet. 'Where is (y/n)?' I asked her, shaking her violently. The girl had tears in her eyes and she seemed to be shocked. No... It couldn't be... She opened her hand and there lay my ring. The rind I had given to my One. 'No....' I muttered before I ran off towards the hall. 'Thorin!' someone yelled behind me. But I wouldn't listen. I had to find her, had to see her with my own eyes. She couldn't be dead. She was still so young, surely she wouldn't be... No, she wasn't, I would've known. There had been a sting in my heart ever since she left, but the sting was still there. She just couldn't be dead.
I entered the hall and saw that the red door was opened. It hadn't been before. Sounds of clashing swords came from the room and I drew my own sword. She was still alive. I still had a chance, I told myself. I ran into the room, only to find (y/n) cornered by a guard. They didn't seem to notice me and before the guard could harm my One further I ran forward and pierced my sword through his heart. A moan escaped the guard's lips before he fell on the ground. A look of disbelief in his eyes. (Y/N) was panting and seemed thankful to see me.
I took her hand in mine and pulled her along behind me. We got through the hole in the wall and I was thankful to see that everyone had waited for us to return before leaving this enchanted castle. We got into the boat and we left the shore behind. The light became brighter and soon we were out in the woods again. There were no guards waiting for us outside and when my eyes had adjusted to the sunlight I noticed that we were close to the border of the forest. Apparently the maze of tunnels below the castle were spread around the whole forest. We were lucky to have a guide who showed us the right way or we would have got lost.
The river ended before leaving the forest so we abandoned it as quickly as we could. I wanted to leave this forest as soon as my legs could carry me or my One would be in his hands again. We heard shouts behind us and I knew that they hadn't given up on the chase. 'We're almost there! Quickly now!' the wizard shouted back. Like we didn't understand that. The wizard reached the border first, tapping his wand at the shield surrounding the forest, muttering words. I saw the other members of my company on the other side.
Their faces seemed anxious and then Kili pointed to something behind us. I turned just in time to avoid an arrow hitting my head. 'Hurry!' I yelled to the wizard. I could see them coming closer and closer. I put myself in front of (y/n) to make sure no further harm would come upon her. 'Come quickly!' the wizard yelled and when I turned I saw a small hole in the shield, there was a way out. Everybody went through it, me last, and when we were all on the other side the hole closed itself. The guards on the other side tried to break the shield surrounding their own forest, but none of them succeeded.
'We will go away as far as we can from this bloody forest' I declared. I didn't have to tell my company twice as they all took of straight away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marriet journeyed along with you until you had reached another village of men. She couldn't remember the village she had once lived, so she decided to stay there and maybe start a new life. The company stayed in a cavern in the village and everyone ate as much as they could. It would be a hard and long way before they could eat like this again. Even the hobbit didn't care about table manners any more. When you told him about your day in the castle he told you he needed some ale to wash it all down.
You sat a few feet away from the company, in front of the fireplace, thinking about everything that had happened to you in the past days. But it wasn't before long when you felt like you were being watched. When you looked up you met the stare of two blue eyes looking straight back at you. Thorin came closer and leaned on the stone surrounding the fire place. You couldn't tell what he was thinking about but you could tell he was brooding again. It felt good to be so close to Thorin. He made you feel safe and protected.
Somehow you had managed to get yourself in trouble a lot over the course of the past few days and he had always been there to help you. This was the first time you noticed how tired he looked. Not old, just tired. You had to keep reminding yourself that he was 195 years old. But somehow you had managed to get inside his heart. 'Why did you give my ring to the girl?' he asked silently, still brooding. 'Because I promised you that you would get your ring back. When I faced that guard, I thought that I was going to die, and I didn't want to break my promise...'
Thorin moved his eyes to look at a spot behind you. Your eyes slid down to his hands and you realized he wasn't wearing his ring. You had given it to Marriet so she could give it to him, but where was it if he wasn't wearing it. 'Didn't she give it to you?' you asked. A few moments passed before Thorin finally nodded his head. 'She did.' You were confused, why wasn't he wearing his ring if it had been returned? He sighed and looked down at you. 'You didn't keep your promise' he said.
You furrowed your eyebrows, that wasn't true. 'Yes, I did.' He shook his head. 'No, you didn't. You promised me that you would bring this ring back to me. You gave it to someone else to return it to me.' You rolled your eyes, the stubbornness of dwarfs. What did it matter who returned it to him? He had his ring back and he should be happy about it. After all it was one of the most precious things he owned. You knew how precious metals were to dwarfs, so he had nothing to complain about.
'Why does it matter? You have your ring back, just like I promised you' you said, slightly irritated. He put his hand in his pocket and got something out of it. When he opened his hand you could see the ring laying there. He walked closer to you, his eyes never leaving yours, and then he knelt down. You opened your mouth to ask what he was doing but he silenced you with his eyes. He hold your hand in his and gently slid the ring around your finger. 'I didn't care about the ring returning or not... I cared about the one who carried it to return to me.'