Hummingbird Heartbeat

Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Maranda kept away from the fighting and flew as fast as she could to the small group of her friends. She landed just as Kili squashed a helmet on his head.

"Oh no you don't," she snapped and yanked him back. "Fili, Bilbo, Bofur, Oin, with me!" she shouted and they moved over to her. "I'm taking you into Erebor," she said as Thranduil and Bard headed for battle.

"What?" Bofur said in disbelief.

"I need to talk with Thorin again and I need the lot of you safe in that mountain." She snapped and Oin shook his head.

"I'll not run from battle."

"You have no choice," she snapped and grabbed him. "Run." She forced the lot of them towards the battlements. She started with Oin, dropping him off on the battlements with his brother who gave a cry of joy. Next was Bofur, who was trying to sneak off, then Fili and Kili and last came Bilbo. Maranda stumbled against the wall, out of breathe and red faced. Bilbo handed her a skin of wine and she swallow the contents, retching as she handed it back.

"Hate that stuff," she groaned and dropped onto the main level. "Where's Thorin?" she demanded of Balin who glanced over his shoulder. The King was on a boulder staring into Erebor. He wasn't watching the battle raging outside. "Thorin, Dain is here to help. But they need you, Dain-"

"Dain should have stood by me from the start." Thorin said softly. Maranda took a deep calming breath.

"Yes, but he's here now. And he needs your help," she said gently.

"Why have you come back?" he hissed and span to glare at her.

"Kili and Fili will be safe here in Erebor...for a time," she said softly as he advanced slowly. "I'm going back out there. To fight, to die. Perchance to win," she said and sighed. "Thorin, you're being a perfect Guy." He raised an eyebrow and she huffed. "Guy of Gisborne? I can't believe it's taken me this long to start harassing you about that but-ugh, no. You need to decide your next move."

"We stay, we fortify and we emerge when the dust settles," he growled and she ran a hand down her face.

"Thorin, that's not how this battle will end. Nothing but blood! I have seen it! More than I like, I have seen it!" she said angrily.

"I am a Dwarf, we must endure," he said and she laughed.

"A Dwarf? Really a Dwarf? Funny because you're acting an awful lot like a dragon. Because that's what you've become. You're not a Dwarf, you're not a king. You are a dra-" She reeled backwards and fell hard on the ground as his hand connected with her cheek. She touched her face gingerly as Kili shouted in alarm. Blood? Yes, there was blood. He was...wearing rings. A lot of them. She stood carefully and wiped away the blood carefully, the first blood on her new armor her own.

"Get away from here. You are no longer welcome," snarled Thorin savagely and left, going into his throne room. Maranda nodded slightly and shook her head, a few drops of blood flying from her face.

"So. On to battle," she mumbled and checked her armor one last time. She bent her knees slightly and a hand connected with her shoulder. She turned and Dwalin was watching her.

"He's...not himself...he's more worried about the gold...what's happened?" he said softly, more broken then she would ever see him.

"He's sick. Just sick. He'll come around," she said softly. "Dwalin. I'll need your help out there," she said suddenly and Dwalin froze. His eyes flicked into the halls of Erebor and then back to her. He nodded once and grabbed his battle hammer. She grabbed him and with a great show of Strength she launched them both out to the raging battle.

In the hall of Kings Thorin stared at the statue of Durin the Deathless. Here surrounded by gold he suddenly felt guilty. Why? He stared at his hand. It was slowly dissolving into blood, blood dripping from the rings, from his finger. What? The sound of slithering scales echoed up from beneath him. He stumbled as Smaug's giant head rose up from the golden floor.

"I have loved her more completely than you. I cherished her, protected her, listened to her."

"And where has it got you!" roared Thorin, running. But the gold was sucking him down, down like honey.

"She loved me as well. She revered me. To her I was a mighty creature. You are merely a sickly king in need of saving." 

"NO!" roared Thorin and clawed at the gold threatening to swallow him up.

"How could she ever love you?" hissed the voice and Thorin closed his eyes and stopped fighting. How could she when he had turned away...away...Thorin flung the crown from his head.

-

The battle was ferocious. Maranda stuck close to Dwalin who was an amazing fighter. Seeing him in action was breathtaking, so she didn't watch him. The stupid sword Thranduil made her was too big for her, the balance off the grip too small, so after shoving it in the stomach of one particularly rude Orc, she fought with her fists, the appendages glowing blue and she punched and kicked and tackled the Orcs, caving in skulls and flinging them across the battlefield to be trampled. She found herself next to Thranduil.

"We need to get to Raven Hill!" she shouted loudly.

"And why would we do that?" the King snapped back, slashing at Orcs.

"Cut the head off the snake. Azog the Defiler is up there and he's commanding these armies with that flag system up there. We need to deal with him now!" she roared as she cracked the skull of yet another Orc.

"And if I say no?" Thranduil snapped. In a moment he was flying, up over the the battle.

"Who said you had a choice?" she snapped. She deposited him on the far side of Raven Hill where he glared at her. It was very, very quiet. In a moment Gandalf and Dwalin stormed up the side on a goat.

"Dwa!" cried Maranda in alarm.

"Saw you coming up here, thought you could use the help." Dwalin said, sending the ram back down the mountain. Maranda sighed.

"Okay, fine! Gandalf, for once, use your fucking magic. Set up a forcefield around the hill. No one in, no one out," she said firmly and Gandalf gave her withering look. "Please?" she said politely and with a tap of his staff a white light shimmer around Raven Hill. "Good, thanks. Thranduil, you have a job and you're good at it. Don't let any Dwarves in to screw shit up. Keep Fili, Kili, and Thorin outside this hill," she said firmly.

"The princes are still in Erebor," Dwalin said.

"Not anymore." She pointed to where the wall had come down. "Thorin is stronger than most people give him credit for," she said softly and looked firmly at Dwalin. "Kill anything slimy green and crawley," she said and he nodded, hefting his hammer. "As for me, I'll deal with Azog."