𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐈𝐂 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 // 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘪 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯

~ nineteen ~

There, once again, I stood before the pale orc. My mother and father keeled behind me, begging for mercy. My sword was clutched in my hand but I felt paralyzed, frozen in fear. The defiler towered over me and growled. My heart began to race, feeling the adrenaline flow through my body. I found some life in my fingertips, I gripped the sword a little harder. I let the anger bubble within me.

I gritted my teeth. "You took everything I had from me."

"Where were you to protect them?" He snarled. Tears burned in the rims of my eyes.

"You have no place to speak such things to me! You. Are. A murderer!!" I screamed. I swung my sword to his throat. The tears now streamed down my face.

A menacing chuckle escaped his jaws. "How will you defeat me, if you can't even face me?"

With that comment I swung my sword to take my first strike at Azog. He defended himself with his arm of steel and took a stab at me with his own weapon. I dodged the blade and took another swing at him. My sword sliced through his arm and on the way down, I caught his leg. He groaned in pain, giving me deathly stare.

"You fear me, Adina."

"I do not!!" I became distracted by my anger and committed to a careless attempt to kill the monster. I threw myself off guard, giving him the advantage. While my sword was caught in his metal hand above, he slashed his own across my chest. I crippled over in pain. His lifeless, pale hand clasped my throat and lifted me off the ground. I gasped for air, my blade clattered on the ground as I frantically tried to pry his fingers away from my neck.

"You fear being useless, helpless. You fear not being able to save everyone, and letting them down. Look at them." He turned me towards the image of my miserable parents. Through the sobs, I strained to take in breaths. He turned me back to him. "You let them down." In one swift motion he lifted his sword up and through my dangling body. The world went black.

I jolted awake, kicking Kili who sat next to me. I sprawled myself against the wall, coughing and panting with tears dripping down my cheek. Kili jumped with wide eyes and quickly wrapped his arms around me. "Shh, you're okay. Breathe, Adina. You're safe, I'm here." He pulled me to his chest. I stifled for breaths as I sobbed. Kili's hand cradled the back of my head and stroked my hair, trying to calm me.

After a few moments, I lifted my head with a face still red with tears. He placed his hands on my cheeks and wiped them away. "What happened, love? What did you dream?"

"Remember when you came to me on the bridge," I began, trying to pull myself together and calm the tears. "The day I had just discovered that my parents were dead?" Kili nodded in remembrance. "I may have risen above the curse of that sword, but that doesn't mean that the vision I experienced that day doesn't haunt me in my dreams."

Kili's eyes fell to the ground. I watched sadness wash over him. He looked back up to me and leaned closer, placing his hand on my leg. "You deserve no such burdens. None of it." A tear slowly fell down his face. "I love you and I will protect you."