𝐄𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐘━︎━︎L. Greenleaf

❝CHAPTER SEVENTEEN❞

▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 ━︎━︎ 𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐑 sword free from an Orc, pulling her head back to dodge a hit. She spun around the Orc, slicing his head off and then turning and stabbing another through the throat. She kicked one over the side, jumping up to a higher tower and pulling out her bow. Arrows went flying through the air and Ellaria killed oncoming Orcs with deadly aim. Most of them barely had time to step foot on the platform before their bodies were on the ground. When they had stopped coming, she placed her bow around her and took a breath. Caws in the distance made her turn her head, a smile pulling on her lips as she saw the eagles fly in.

"The eagles." Her voice was a soft whisper, dancing across the wind. She followed their movements with her eyes, watching as they went straight for Azog's second army as it came over the hill. Perhaps they could win this one after all. She looked down to the ice below, just in time to Thorin send Azog in the water below, standing there and taking a deep breath. He followed Azog's body as it floated beneath the ice and at the last moment Azog's eyes snapped open, sending his blade through the ice and straight through Thorin's foot. Throin yelled and Ellaria's eyes widened. "Thorin!"

Azog broke free of the ice, sending Throin on his back. Ellaria went to grab and arrow, only to find she was out. Panic seized her chest. She quickly jumped down, pulling the arrows free from the Orc's dead body, collecting them quickly before jumping back up onto the tower and notching an arrow. She pulled it back, ready to let it fly only to stop. Azog plunged his blade through Thorin's chest and Ellaria cried out. Thorin managed to grasp enough strength, blunging his sword into Azog's chest. When she saw Thorin flip them over, she went running.

She ran down the stairs, jumping over some of them and making it to the bottom of the tower. She paused, watching as Thorin stood up from Azog's dead body. He walked to the edge of the ice and Ellaria was quick to follow him. She was quick to slide on the ice, grabbing Thorin just as he began to stumble back and fall to the cold ground. "Thorin." She softly whispered his name, tears pooling in her eyes. She looked at the gapin wound in his chest and heart seemed to shatter. He wasn't going to survive this.

She turned her head when Bilbo came running down the steps of one of the towers, quickly kneeling beside Thorin who said his name. "Don't move. Don't move." Bilbo gently said. "Lie still."

"I'm glad you are here." Thorin weakly said. Bilbo tried to shush him. "I wish to part from you in friendship."

Bilbo shook his head. "No. You are not going anywhere, Thorin. You're going to live." Ellaria pressed her lips into a thin line, trying to hold back her tears.

"I would take back my words and deeds at the gate. You did only what a true friend would do. Forgive me. I was too blind to see it." Thorin's voice broke. "I am so sorry that I have led you into such peril." He let out a cough, struggling to breathe.