Bring Me With Her

Force of Fear

They had barely started their second day of climbing the stairs, and they were already beginning to drastically slow down. It was the first time Thorin had seen Talia sleep soundly in weeks, and he deeply regretted waking her up the second he began to shake her shoulders. As hard as the journey had been, Thorin could honestly say that he had never seen her like that before.

Dark circles appeared boldly under her droopy eyes. Dirt was smothered all over her skin. Her hair was flat and greasy. Every movement she made looked painful. Talia made her way up the stairs as if she were carrying hundreds of pounds on her back, and she looked like she was ready to collapse at any moment.

Thorin ignored his exhaustion as he climbed up right behind Talia, forcing himself to stay awake and alert. He felt like he had to be ready to catch her at any time. They were so high up, the fall could kill even the biggest Orc alive. Talia also just had too many close calls. The poor woman couldn't get a break. She already vomited twice, causing her to lose her balance, and her exhaustion brought her to lose her footing too often for Thorin's liking. It made him wonder how she would have made it this far had she succeeded in leaving the fellowship on her own. He would've been left to wonder whatever became of her, because she never would've made it back to him.

The Dwarf king reacted immediately when Talia tripped once more, and let out a sigh of relief when she regained her balance on her own. Once she was stable, she stopped where she was, and Thorin could see her resting her head on top of the next step. "Talia?" he called, his heart rate increasing when he received no response from her. "We can rest if we need to. Don't make this worse for yourself." he tried. Still nothing. "Talia, speak to me-"

"I'm fine." she slurred, gasping for air as she continued to climb on.

She wasn't "fine". Anyone would know that with one look at her. Talia was just trying to get it done, Thorin knew that. But at what cost? She had been slowly wasting away ever since she put that Ring around her neck. Thorin could feel himself losing hope by the day. He was trying so hard to be strong for her. How much longer were they supposed to last before it was all over?

"Up, up, up, the stairs we go. And then, it's into the tunnel." Gollum chorused, climbing his way past Thorin easily. The Dwarf king narrowed his eyes at the creature. He had been much more...light-spirited than usual.

"What's in this tunnel you're leading us to?" Thorin asked, complete suspicion laced in his tone. The Dwarf king glared at the creature when he didn't answer, and grabbed him by the neck when he tried to crawl past him. Thorin pressed Gollum into the stone wall, squeezing his neck to prevent him from screaming. He wasn't going to give this wretch the opportunity to call for Talia to save him this time.

"You listen to me, Gollum, and you listen good and proper. If anything happens to her, anything at all, you will have me to answer to. One stiff something's not right, one hair stands on the back of my neck, it's over. You're gone. And I will no longer allow her to come save you, even if she wants to. She can't stop me." Thorin hissed, making sure that last part sunk in his poisonous mind.

His glare deepened as the wretch formed an evil grin on his face. "I'm watching you." Thorin sneered. The Dwarf king threw him to the ground and continued his way up. They both knew what the wretch was going to do. Thorin just didn't know when. He had to be ready, ready for Gollum to try any tricks. He wasn't going to let such a creature ruin this for them. They were so close, close to Mordor, close to destroying the Ring, close to getting home. That was all he wanted for Talia, even if she didn't realize it yet. And he was not going to let something as pathetic as Gollum stand in their way.

Thorin made his way up to Talia onto a much wider surface where she was waiting for him. The Dwarf king took Talia gently by the arm and brought her to sit down. "What are you doing?" she asked, her energy too far gone to resist him.