by my oath [oakenshield] [spin-off]

eight

námarië

Anne sneered at Azog. "You worthless piece of flith!" she snarled. "Don't think by the time this is all over you won't be dead."

Azog threw his head back and laughed evilly. "Foolish child," he said, clicking his tongue. ""It will not be my blood watering the ground."

"Is that a challenge?" Thorin growled, his sword in ready position. "Because I accept."

Azog sneered, screaming something in Black Speech that none of them really caught. He stepped to the side and walked away, the Goblins charging at them all. The four Dwarves all shouted as they hurled themselves into battle, Bilbo standing to the side and throwing rocks. Anne stood on the ledge, firing her arrows one after the other.

"Hey, notice how Bolg isn't here yet?" Kili shouted as he ducked.

Anne frowned. "He must be coming with the other army," she mused. "Whoa, where's Azog?"

Just as she said that, there was a loud screeching noise. Anne looked up, groaning in annoyance when she saw bats flying and swooping in. She changed her course and started firing at the bats instead of the Goblins, which the Dwarves plus Bilbo seemed to be handling just fine.

Fili looked up, too, gasping when a bat latched its claws on Kili's shoulders, lifting the young Dwarf into the air. "KILI!" he screamed, lunging and grabbing his legs.

Anne stopped firing at the at the sky and loaded her bow, shooting her arrow straight through the bat's neck. It screeched and let go of Kili, he of which landed on the ground safe and sound.

Thorin killed off one of the last remaining Goblins before screaming Anne's name. "Watch out!"

Anne frowned and turned around, shrieking when a bat from the other sighed hooked onto her arm and started lifting her in the sky. She screamed and writhed around, trying to get the bat off her. Thorin ran to the edge, leaping in effort to try and grab her.

He missed.

"NO!"

Anne struggled, inhaling sharply when she saw how high she was. Thorin and the others were becoming tiny and farther away as she neared the other structure. There seemed to be a platform filled with snow, and if she found a way to get the bat to let go of her, then the drop wouldn't kill her and she could simply run to the other side again.

But she didn't have to kill the bat because it let go of her itself. She shrieked, grunting as she landed on her feet and rolled around on the ground. She groaned, shaking her head and standing. She looked around, finding that it was pretty desolate... in a way.

Anne started running, though she didn't really know where to run. There was a flight of stairs that led to the bottom attached to a open tunnel area that was connected to several halls, the very top an abandoned building with torches lit.

She ran to the nearest edge, peering out at the ice. Thorin and Kili and Fili were on the edge, and when Fili noticed her from the other side, he nudged his uncle and pointed. Thorin narrowed his eyes, and Anne saw him sigh in relief. She waved, but then wobbled because there was a slight rumble.

"What the Valar?" she mumbled, looking around. "Oh."

She squatted down and somewhat hid as Azog and a mix of Goblins and yellow-eyed Orcs appeared from the tunnel underneath the big building, the pale Orc sniffing the air. He looked up, and Anne gulped and shrunk in her hiding spot.

"A squad of you, go back and find the Elf," he ordered, and about fifty Orcs obliged and went back through the tunnel. "The rest of you, we kill the Dwarves."