The King, The Burglar and The Guardian

Chapter fourteen

Word count - 2,646

Ch - 14

Being tossed end over end felt like it would never end. She tried her best not to land on any hobbit or dwarf in their tornado of limbs but it was inevitable. The company was tossed off of the rocky slide into a wooden basket. Adelaide was drowned in the smell of goblins as memories began to come forward and cause her to feel an anxious pit in her stomach. The dwarves were swarmed with goblins grabbing, tugging and pushing them out of the cage and down the wooden walkways. The woman could barely define her surroundings, the smells being too overwhelming for her. She did her best to push it down and ignore the feelings, needing to make sure everyone was accounted for and as uninjured as possible. She did her best to remain hidden from onlooking eyes, but her height made it an extreme challenge.

She turned her face to a stone cold, calm look and went willingly with the goblins, both parties knowing she could run if she so chose, but she'd stay put if she wanted her companions alive. Unlike her, the dwarves fought every goblin they could, but there were too many. Try as they might, they still were forced to follow the goblin hoard further into the caves. Adelaide glanced around, looking for their smallest member, only to watch her friend get tackled over the cliffs edge by a rather ugly goblin. At this point, there was nothing she could do that wouldn't put the rest of the company at risk, so she'd just hoped that the hobbit wouldn't be rendered dead from the fall, or from the goblin.

Adelaide found herself at the back of the group, only a few goblins around her keeping distance, either from fear or knowing she wouldn't fight. She watched with a nervous stomach as they neared the most disgusting thing she had ever laid her eyes upon, a sight she had hoped never to see again.

"Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom? Spies? Thieves? Assassins!?"

Adelaide tried to scrunch her face up so she didn't have to smell his breath, but to no avail. She had crouched slightly knowing goblins eyesight was worse than a were-worm, he wouldn't see her in the dim lighting, but hiding wouldn't hurt.

"Dwarves, your malevolence." A small goblin spoke.

"Dwarves?"

"Found 'em on the front porch."

"Well don't just stand there... Search them! Every crack! Every crevice!"

Adelaide had only to give a small glare and she was left alone. She watched as the dwarves were piled on, having all of their belongings ripped from them. Anything from home, from Rivendell, from the Shire... Are those Bilbo's doilies?

"What are you doing in these parts?" The goblin king's yellow eyes surfed over the dwarves, looking for eye contact.

"SPEAK!"

The dwarves remained silent, not intimidated by his yelling. The king sat back down on his throne of those lesser. "Very well... if they will not talk, we'll make them squawk! Bring the mangler, bring up the bone breaker! Start with the youngest."

Adelaide watched helplessly as they ripped Ori from the group, the dwarf looking as frightened as ever. She was about to speak, but she was beat.

"Wait!" Thorin's voice boomed as he made his way to the front of the group. Ori was grabbed by his brother and pulled back to safety.

"Well well well, look who it is. Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, king under the mountain!" The goblin king bowed to Thorin in mockery. His head shot up as if only now remembering, "Oh, but I'm forgetting you don't have a mountain, and you're not a king. Which makes you... Nobody, really. I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just the head, nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak, an old enemy of yours."