Skin Changer : A Hobbit FanFiction (Discontinued)

Got Your Back

Thorin roared at the top of his lungs, charging the goblin offensive. He was angry insulted and betrayed. How dare the woman make an alliance with his enemy? How dare she travel with him knowing who he was and what Azog meant to him? How dare she-?

Where was she?

He lowered his blade, scanning the tumult desperately until his eyes found her pale frame leaning against Bofur, who was fending off far too many goblins. The woman wasn't helping him, her free hand held out in front of her as if...

As if she'd been blinded. Again.

Growling to himself, Thorin clove a path to his comrade, taking the brunt of the attack as Bofur turned to the elf, worry plain on his face.

"What's happened?" He demanded, his voice made frantic by the battle.

Bofur shrugged, the ends of his hat wobbling as he replied. "She says it was Gandalf, though I'm not sure how-."

"Retreat!" The wizard shouted above the din. His staff glowed, a beacon in the caves as he led the way to what Thorin hoped was an exit. Without thinking, he grabbed hold of the woman's wrist and dragged her behind him. He and Bofur fell in behind Balin and Dwalin as the Company ran across spindle legged bridges that groaned beneath their weight.

Every dwarf -and wizard- in the Company held his own, fighting off goblins and pushing them to their deaths. Thorin was having a bit of difficulty, as Orcrist was a two handed blade and he had but one hand to weild it. Why had he grabbed the elfmaid, anyway? It wasn't as if she could fight. He highly doubted she'd ever killed anything in all her centuries of life.

In his musings, Thorin had let himself be distracted. As he brought his blade down through a goblin's shoulder, he heard the ominous shriek of another behind him. He whirled, but was too late. His elf had shoved it unceremoniously over the edge of the bridge. Her violet eyes met his, hard and determined. Soft fingers interwove with his and she gave him a soft smile.

"I've got your back."

He nodded. It was all he had time to do before they were left behind by the rest of the Company, but it somehow conveyed not only his gratitude, but a promise to set aside their differences until they were safe.

They quickly caught up with Gandalf and the others -though they had to cross a gap with a ladder to do it. Once across, the dwarves hurried along the path, not stopping for anything.

Except maybe the Goblin King.

The grotesque specimen burst from beneath the floorboards, his body jiggling obscenely as he pulled himself up royally. His minions surrounded the dwarves without hesitation as he spoke.

"You thought you could escape?" The Goblin King swung his sceptre like a club, narrowly missing the tall wizard. "What are you going to do now?"

Thorin wasn't at an angle to see Gandalf's face, but somehow he juat knew the old man was smiling. Well, smirking, really. The elf was smiling. Gandalf wasted no time disabling the giant goblin-kin and slicing through the top layer of fat across its stomach. It fell to its knees and gave Gandalf a grudging smile.

"That'll do it."

All chaos erupted as the wizard cut the Goblin King's throat. The massive corpse fell, rocking the bridge. Thorin felt the elf's grip tighten; he'd forgotten he still held her hand. Then the bridge came out from under them.

In an instant, the woman's arms were around him, holding him a bit too close for comfort. As the bridge beneath them disintegrated, however, he found he didn't have the heart to snap at her. They tumbled apart as the remains of the bridge fell into an open mouthed cavern, the wood sandwiching the Company crushingly.

"Well, that," Bofur said cheerfully. "Could have been worse."

Thorin might have been inclined to agree if the Goblin King's corpse hadn't fallen on top of them!

And then there was the scream. It was shrill and blood curdling and had better not have come from one of his men.

"What is it, lass?" Balin asked, clearly concerned. "Have you been hurt?"

"My leg. My leg is broken," she sobbed quietly. Though she cried, her voice held more incredulity than pain. "I've never broken anything before."

Dwalin snorted. "'Tis not an experience I think you'd be wanting to repeat."

She laughed shakily. "Indeed, not."

"Enough chatter," Gandalf boomed suddenly. We must hurry. Daylight is all that can save us now."

That certainly got them moving. Fili and Kili took care to lift the wood pinning the elf down, and Bofur pulled her out. The Company let out a collective hiss. Her leg hadn't been broken, it had been snapped. The marrow of her right femur was bared for all to see, and blood wept from the broken skin.

"Ilma," Fili started, but was interrupted by the howls and screeches of goblins as they poured into the cavern.

"Quickly!" Gandalf shouted. "We must leave the darkness behind."

"But Ilma-," Kili's mouth snapped shut as Thorin scooped the lame woman up, cradling her against his chest as he ran. She whimpered, burying her face in his vest, and he felt an enormous weight settle on his shoulders. Had he trusted her back in the cave, she would not have been hurt. Had he trusted her back in the cave, he would not have learned of her alliance with Azog.

His grip on her tightened, and she hissed hin pain as the Company burst out of the caves and into the fading light of the sun.