This is Me → Post BOTFA fanfic

Chapter 17

*ARETHS POV*

I wiped the sweat from my brow, walking forward to retrieve my daggers from the target. I have spent a whole day training, for what I don't know, but I had nothing better to do and it helped me vent my feelings through something. I pulled my daggers from the target with a grunt, as they were sunk all the way in to the handle. I could be deadly with knives, or any weapon for that matter. I was great before, but now I was even better. My heightened senses not only allowed me to see the targets clearer, but gave me speed, agility and accuracy, making me a deadly force to reckon with.

After retrieving my daggers, I slipped them back into my belt, walking to the other side of the huge training hall, and unsheathing my sword. It was a beautiful sword, crafted by the dwarves. It was powerful and magnificent, a gift from my father. I remember when I first received the sword, how it was heavy and clumsy in my hands, but after working with the best trainers in the whole mountain, I learned to wield it effectively. When I stepped into the sword training area, I was immediately ready. It was like a flip switched and I was on battle mode. I effortlessly executed moves I was taught like I was born with the ability to do them. My elf like agility mixed with my newly agile abilities made me extremely light on my feet, allowing me to almost float around the practice area. It felt almost like magic; how effortlessly my moves were put together and how I was deadly but mixed with a little bit of elegance. I was almost in a trance, focused on my technique, until I heard a snicker from a few feet away. I almost stopped in my tracks, because I knew who the sound belonged to. Druain. Not only a boy in my class, but my biggest bully. I turned towards him to see him standing with a smirk on his face, arms crossed with his little posse behind him. They all hated me, but he hated me the worst.

"So Areth," he said spitting my name out like it was poison, "You're here all alone?". I rolled my eyes, looking at the floor, scared to make eye contact. "Oh, I know why" he says with a sly look on his face. "You have no friends!" He laughs with the rest of his friends. "I'd rather have no friends at all then have friends like yours!" I say with a grin looking up into his now drained face. Druain's jaw drops as he sees my eyes, and his friends' do the same. "Well get used to having no friends, because nobody would want to be friends with a monster like you!" He shouts. It hits me right in the heart because I know it's true. But his insult doesn't totally shut me down, it also wakes me up.

"Would you want me to let this monster out on you?" I hiss, my voice slithering out of my mouth like a snake. What he said lit a spark in me. I see his jaw drop in shock, but I'm not entirely sure why. Little do I know my eyes dance with fire, the reflection of flames dances in my irises. "What?" I ask, "The biggest, strongest warrior out of the whole school is afraid to fight the low, monstrous, half blood?". He gulps, grabbing a sword from the wall. I know he's scared, but he's trying not to show it. I see the fear in his eyes, I hear the quick beating of his scared heart. I twirl my sword in my hands, getting myself into a fighting position. Druain advances towards me timidly, getting into position as well.

He swings first, trying to surprise me, but I am ready. I block his hit, twisting out of his sword's range, readying myself for another of his weak blows. He advances on me again, this time trying to strike me from above. I block his hit, twisting my blade back towards him. He blocks it, struggling against my surprising power. Nobody would ever think a small girl like me would have strength like this, and I wouldn't if it weren't for the dragon inside me. He finally shrinks beneath my blade, scurrying away from it, freeing his own to strike again. He may be strong, but his technique is weak. I twirl my blade in a figure eight pattern, re gripping it in a strong stance using both hands. I smirk at Druain, urging him to come at me again. He wipes the sweat off his brow, regroups himself and comes towards me again. Our swords meet with a loud clang, and we are locked again in combat.

*THORINS POV*

"With sighting of Orcs on our borders we could never be so sure", Balkin says. I nod in reply. Balkin was head of the dwarfish army and battle strategies. There had been reports of orcs in the area, and he wanted to scout for warriors. If war was to begin, he did not want to lose the mountain we had worked so hard to reclaim. As we headed to the training area, my ears met with the sound of metal on metal. All around people were practicing with swords, daggers, battle axes and many other weapons.

Me and Balkin made our way over to where younger subjects were being taught techniques with an axe. Many of them showed that they were ready to step into battle and could defend Erebor from foes, while others seemed to need more teaching. I watched as Dwalin went to help some of them, showing them corrects posture and where to strike accurate hits. For how rough he was on the exterior he surprisingly had a big heart for teaching. These children were no more than 17 years old and could already handle battle axes effectively.

After watching axe training for a while, we took a stroll to see who was practicing daggers. Some people practiced in close combat, while others hurled them at targets. An array of ages where there practicing, and it was promising to see some young children already getting ahold of the act of wielding a dagger. As we walked along the row of targets watching spears and arrows sink into the centers, the sound of sword fighting hit my ears. Balkin must have heard it too, because he swung around facing the sword fighting arena. The blades repeatedly clashed against each other, the metal-on-metal sound ringing through the training halls. Balkin follows his ears to watch what sounds to be like a good fight. I follow behind him, curious as well, but once we reach sight of the arena and see the flashes of orange hair darting around the ring, I know exactly who it is.

*ARETHS POV*

Me and Druain were locked in serious combat. One false step and he would kill me. Druain fought hard and he was strong, but he had not the technique and agility I had. We twirled around the ring, blades clashing, muscles flexing. Druain cut left and right, trying to find my weak side. I twisted and turned, using the footwork I had been taught to move away from his blows. Every angle he tried I either blocked or danced away from with agility that made me seem magical. We kept fighting back and forth until both of us were sweating and our strength started fading. In a final attempt to take me down, Druain sweeps his sword up from underneath me. His effort is in vain as I jump up, tucking my legs and throwing myself back, flipping my body out of his swords way. I land on my feet, and taking advantage of the distraction I just created, I spin to my right and use the force of my elbow to knock Druain to the ground. I hold my sword to his throat, stepping on the wrist of that hand that holds his sword.

I hear the gasps of his friends behind me. Yep. Their tough little leader just got beat by a girl. And not just any girl, the half blood girl. "So, who's so lowly now?", I say to Druain, smiling at him deviously. "Don't ever, EVER mess with me again! Because you know what you will get". Druain nods quickly with a look of fear in his eyes. I remove my sword from his throat and my foot from his wrist and he quickly gets up, and goes back towards his group of friends, trying to leave me as fast as possible. I sheath my sword, pretty happy with myself until I turn around and my eyes green dragon eyes meet his deep blue ones. I gulp, and suddenly look at the floor. Uncle Thorin.

AN- I'm so sorry I have been so bad about updating and that the chapters I have given you aren't the best... I feel really bad and stuff and am trying to do better but it's kind of hard for me bc as my reads go down I lose motivation to write. I'll still keep writing for those who still want to read but it's harder to find the motivation to work when I'm not really working for much ya know? Hopefully this chapter isn't to bad tho... On a happier note thank you to those who are reading as I am only 250 reads from 2k!❤️