Heart of a Warrior ➝ The Hobbit ✓

Part Twenty-Two

PART TWENTY-TWO ~

Alissa's breath came in great ragged gasps that seemed to echo around the clearing they had retreated to, bouncing off the densely packed trees.

More orcs had leapt from the undergrowth, and Alissa found they were greatly outnumbered in a matter of minutes. The human and dwarf were surrounded, the wave of orcs pressing closer as she tried to fend them off with two mere throwing daggers.

She slashed out violently in front of her, her eyes lit and dancing fiercely with the urge to kill. Adrenaline coursed through her body like a wildfire, burning deep in her heart, and rekindling the sparks caused by the thrill of battle.

Alissa could feel her strength dwindling quickly from the effort she was throwing into her blows, and from the loss of blood from two minor wounds she had already sustained, but the rush of adrenaline kept her pressing on, determined to fight.

Fili glanced over to Alissa, streaks of dirt and blood caking his face, and he sent an encouraging nod in her direction.

Alissa gasped in some air and braced herself for another attack. She ducked skillfully under a swinging blade and kicked out at the orc playfully, sending him sprawling to the ground with a grunt. She leapt onto it's back and stabbed it with her daggers, before shrieking and charging forward to land a blow to the shoulder of another of the hideous, mangled beasts.

Three... Four.... Five more fell dead by Alissa's hand, yet more were still appearing from the trees. There was no way they'd survive the attack if it continued at it was.

Alissa lunged forward, thrusting her daggers into the exposed chest of a bewildered orc before circling round it's collapsing body and slicing through the neck of another.

She doubled over, panting heavily, and stayed with her eyes fixed on the ground for a few moments before she regained the fiery spirit of battle and resumed her violent outburst.

Fili weaved in and out of the bloodied corpses, his blade slicing through the air with a hiss as he dodged and parried heavy blows being sent his way.

Alissa's heart leapt in her throat as a blade sliced past and narrowly missed her by a hairs breadth as she threw herself backwards from the sword's reach. She spun on her heel, skirting round the confused orc and stabbed into it's solid back. It grunted and fell to the floor with a resounding thud!

After a few moments, Alissa abruptly collapsed to the ground, weariness suddenly taking over her body, as her knees buckled beneath her. Sweat poured down her forehead, the perspiration clouding her eyes. She blinked it away and forced herself from the ground, putting in all the strength and effort she could muster into another blow at the charging orc. She staggered forward and fell to the floor, unable to fight no more. She had completely lost the strength.

Alissa's gaze switched to her dwarf companion, who was engaged in a battle of his own. He was showing clear signs of fatigue also, but still he pressed on, determined to win the fight, his eyes dancing with a wavering flame.

Alissa grunted and cried out in pain as something heavy impacted with her right arm, and her blades went spinning and skirting along the grass-clad floor, landing several paces away. With great effort, she rolled away from the striking axe and fell motionless a few meters away from the orc, her chest heaving as she tried to fill her lungs with air.

The orc rambled up to her, smirking, it's eyes lit in fierce delight, and it raised it's rusty blade so it hovered just above her chest.

Memories of a similar ordeal rushed back to her in a muddled wave. The somewhat pre-emptive strike against the mottled armour-clad orcs; the fierce battle that rode on between her and the pack; the searing pain spreading through her arm as she got caught in a clumsy blow; the blur of colours as she collapsed to the ground; the smirk printed on the grotesque, mangled face of the orc as it raised it's blade to make the killing blow; and her saviour, the handsome dwarf whom she had so desperately wanted to see again...

Alissa faded into some kind of trance. Everything went silent, apart from a strange ripple-like humming. It was as though she had been thrust into a pit, with no light or sound; she was blocked off from the world outside. Her vision fuzzed and her surroundings were muddled.

Then, quite abruptly, everything returned to normal. There was the somewhat distant ring of metal clashing against metal, and the hiss of a blade slicing through the air, and the grunts and snarls and thuds of orcs.

And Alissa became aware of the blade suspended in the air above her. But the blade never reached her, for the orc stood motionless, a distant and bewildered look etched upon it's hideous face. Alissa's brought her gaze down and she gasped slightly, for a bloodied sword was protruding from the orc's stomach. Blood spurted from it's mouth and flashed through the air like a crimson flame, and it's hand quivered as it's grip on the sword faltered.

Alissa's eyes widened and her head spun vigorously as she saw the axe fall from the orc's poised hand and slice through the air, straight into her stomach. Searing pain coursed through her body, burning fiercely in her abdomen. She tried to gasp but instead spat blood. The edges of her vision blurred and faded, but she didn't miss the one thing that made her heart leap with hope and longing before she faded out of consciousness and into the dark abyss of her mind. Kili.