The Princess of Erebor (A Hobbit Story)

Lauranna's Power

The Company flew through the night and into the next day. Lauranna and Thorin still hadn't moved since falling unconscious. The whole Company was worried for both, mainly Lauranna. When they landed on a rock in the shape of a bear, Thorin was the first to be set down, Lauranna right after. Gandalf ran over and woke Thorin up as the rest of the Company landed.

"Lauranna?" Thorin asked quietly.

No one answered. He turned his head to see his daughter and gasped.

Blood was already creating a large pool around her as her wounds came into clear sight. Deep gashes in her legs from the bridge and wounds from Azog. Gandalf sighed and knelt next to her.

"There's nothing I can do. This is beyond my skill. If anyone can heal her, it's herself. Remember she has a power no one else has. It might kick in now," he said.

As soon as he stopped talking, water crept up the rock and over to the girl. The blood was washed back into the wounds, which closed up. Her clothes remained destroyed, but she was healed. Her eyes flew open, and she gasped.

"Where am I? What happened? Is Thorin okay?" she instantly started asking.

"Relax, sweetheart," Thorin whispered, kneeling next to her.

"You are an idiot! You could've gotten yourself killed! If you think that ycharge an Orc pack on your own and not get hurt, you have lost your mind!" Lauranna yelled at him.

She stood up, shaking slightly. She stumbled as she moved forward towards Thorin. The leader grabbed her and held her steady, tears gathering in his eyes upon seeing the scars on her body. His finger trailed over the mark on her face, making her glare at him.

"I'm so sorry, Lauranna," Thorin said quietly.

She glanced at him and saw his concern. She sighed and let the tears in her own eyes fall. Tears of pain rolled down her face as she let her head fall to look at the rocks under her feet. Thorin pulled her close to him and let her cry on his shoulder. She made no sound, just tears. Fili and Kili joined the hug, holding her tightly. Bilbo smiled sadly, letting the three Dwarves hug his daughter. Lauranna pulled away and grabbed Bilbo into a hug.

"It's okay. It'll be okay," Bilbo whispered, gently rubbing her back in a soothing manner.

"I know. It's just a bit traumatizing. That's all," she mumbled.

Gandalf smiled at the group. He looked around and stopped upon seeing a familiar mountain in the distance.

"Look," he said.

Eyes turned to the mountain, Thorin smiling at it.

"Is that what I think it is?" Bilbo asked.

"Erebor. The last Dwarf Kingdom of Middle-Earth," Gandalf said.

A bird flew past, chirping happily.

"A raven. The birds of Erebor are returning to the mountain," Gloin stated.

"That, my dear Gloin, is a thrush," Gandalf corrected.

"Well, we'll take it as a sign. A good omen," Thorin said.

"You're right. I do believe the worst is behind us," Bilbo muttered.

Lauranna snorted.

"Of course the worst is behind us. We only have a dragon to face and any other obstacle between us and the mountain," she said.

Bilbo rolled his eyes. Of course Lauranna had to ruin the optimistic attitude.

"Lauranna, do you think you could create a safe place for us to stay for the night?" Gandalf asked. "Once we get off this rock, of course."

"I can try. I have no clue how to use this power, but I can do my best," Lauranna answered.

"That's all I ask," Gandalf told her with a smile.

As they made their way down the rock, Lauranna looked for a good place to make camp. She set her sights on a rocky alcove and pointed it out to the others.

"I can try and fortify it," she said.

They all agreed that it was better than nothing and headed over to it. Lauranna looked around and frowned.

"All of you be quiet so I can concentrate. If I can't do anything, don't laugh. I have zero clue what I'm doing," she said.

All noise died down, and Lauranna closed her eyes. As the minutes passed, the stone created a dome around the Company, enclosing them. A small hole in the top allowed the fire smoke to leave. Fresh green grass covered the floor while flowering vines crawled around the walls. On the outside, the dome looked like a hill. The dome was about fifty feet in diameter.

Outside the dome, five feet from the edge, dense trees surrounded it fifty feet all around. Five feet outside of the trees was a ten-foot thick stone wall reaching twenty feet high was set out. Outside of that was a ten-foot deep and fifteen-foot wide river wound its way around. All in all, it looked like a fortress.

"Wow," Kili muttered, only able to see the inside of the dome and nothing else.

Lauranna opened her eyes and looked at her work. With an exhausted sigh, she collapsed onto the grass. Gandalf shook his head.

"You went too far with that, Anna," he said.

"I know. I didn't know it would drain me that much," she muttered.

Seconds later, she fell asleep. The others copied her and closed their eyes. Due to the protection that Lauranna had made, there was no need for watches that night. They all slept peacefully for the first time on the road.