𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐈𝐂 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 // 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘪 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯

~ thirty three ~

And war did he receive. From the hills, an army of dwarves emerged. The company grew excited as hope enriched their expressions. It was the most cheerful I had seen them in awhile.

"Dain!" They cried.

Leading the army was a dwarf with a long ginger beard and was coated in silver armor, astride a hog. The elves quickly turned to face the army that approached them. Dain proudly rode ahead to greet his so-called enemy. "Good morning! How are we all today?" He ceased his advance downhill, stopping on a rocky ledge that rose off the ground. "I have a wee proposition if you wouldn't mind giving me a few moments of your time. Would you consider... just sodding off?!"

"Who is that?" I muttered to Fili.

"Dain Ironfoot from the Iron Hills. He is Thorin's cousin."

I took a deep breath of frustration."Just what we need... another headstrong dwarf."

Gandalf appeared from the depths of the sea of gold. Bilbo scurried behind him.  "Come now, Lord Dain!" Gandalf pleaded.

"I will water the land with their blood!"

"There is no need for war between Dwarves, Men and Elves. A legion of Orcs march on the Mountain. Stand your army down."

"I will not stand down before any Elf. Not least this faithless woodland sprite." He pointed his hammer at Thranduil. "He wishes nothing but ill upon my people. If he chooses to stand between me and my kin, I'll split his pretty head open! See if he's still smirking then," Dain shot back.

I shook my head. "He's mad," I whispered to myself. "I can clearly see the relation."

Dain smirked. "You hear that, lads?" He turned around and rode past the length of his army. " We're on! Let's give these bastards a good hammering!" Slurs of dwarvish passed through Dain's men as they prepared for battle.

In response to the threat, the elves shifted and turned around each other to form the phalanx battle position with the archers ready right behind them. The people of Lake Town bravely held up their weapons, which I assumed most of them had no knowledge of how to use them.

Just before war could erupt between the elves, men and dwarves, the ground started to shake beneath the entire kingdom. An enormous creature burst from the earth. It looked like an earthworm for the most part but had jaws that could crush boulders effortlessly.

I recalled the name of the same creatures my parents spoke of when they returned home a time ago. "Were-worms." I turned to Fili and Kili. "Those beasts will bottom out the entire kingdom. Erebor will be nothing but rubble."

"How are we supposed to stop that?" Fili questioned, waving his sword at the worms.

A horn sounded over the mountain. Beyond Thranduil's army stood a wooden structure that Azog stood upon. Orcs, trolls and wargs now barreled their way towards the kingdom. Azog communicated several different orders to his army using flags, drums and horns. Thousands more were now charging at us.

"We stop Azog," Kili finished.

"The Hordes of Hell are upon us! To battle!" Dain commanded as he altered the direction of his men, taking them to orcs that charged towards them. "To battle, sons of Durin!"

"I'm going over the wall!" I finalized.

Kili started to follow me as other dwarves agreed with my action. "Aye! I'm with her."

Fili swung his leg over the ledge. "Come on. Let's go!"

"Stand down," Thorin grumbled.

I frantically looked over the horizon. The dwarves had propped their shields in the ground with rows of spears layered above. They stood their ground, letting the orcs charge at them. They were not overrun quickly, but as soon as their formation had begun to be broken through, the elves gracefully leapt over the wall of shields to take on their own hand to hand combat.

"What?! Are we to do nothing?!" I retaliated. "Even the elves, who you claim to be the scum of the earth, are fighting with your people!"

Thorin started to make his way down the stairs. "I said...stand...down!"

The army of orcs flood the walls of the kingdom. The beasts took their heavy weapons in hand and hacked at the stone walls, trying to break their way into Erebor. A mob of orcs started towards Dale. Bard soon noticed this and took his men to defend the city.

I chased after Thorin. Dwalin was right behind me. I found him hunched over in his throne with his head resting in one of his hands, reveling in the darkness that had enveloped his kingdom. I was so enraged with his behavior that I couldn't find words. Thankfully, Dwalin was able to say what boiled inside me.

"Since when do we forsake our own people? Thorin, they are dying out there!" Dwalin boomed behind me.

Thorin slowly raised his head with wide eyes and raised brows. An idea was passing through his head. "There are holes beneath holes within this Mountain, places we can fortify," he whispered to himself. "Shore up, make safe? Yes. Yes, that is it. We must move the gold further underground to safety."

"Did you not hear him?" I finally interjected. "Dain is surrounded. They're being slaughtered, Thorin."

He raised his head with an unconcerned look. "Many die in war, life is cheap. But a treasure such as this cannot be counted in lives lost. It is worth all the blood we can spend."

"How about your family? Your friends? The people who have risked their lives for you? Are their lives just as cheap?" I scoffed. "Is their blood worth nothing to you?!"

Dwalin took a step closer. "You sit here in these vast halls with a crown upon your head, and yet you are lesser now than you have ever been."

"Do not speak to me as if I were some lowly Dwarf Lord. As is if I were still Thorin... Oakenshield." He clenched his fist and pounded it on the arm of the throne. "I am your King!"

Tears formed on the rims of Dwalin's eyes. It took every ounce of strength he had left to not let his emotions overtake him. "You were always my King. You used to know that once." He took a deep breath, trying to push away sobs. "You cannot see what you have become."

The sight of Dwalin, such a strong and noble man, started to make my own eyes burn with hot tears. "You...you are no one's king. At least not anymore. You have lost the loyalty of the men who've served you day in and day out," I stuttered. "Waste away in darkness and fear if that's what you desire."

Thorin barely picked up his head. His dark, angered eyes were almost hidden by his brows. "Go. Get out, before I kill you both."

I took a big inhale and exhaled it quickly. I whipped my body around, turning away from Thorin. I grabbed Dwalin's hand and dragged him away with me. He reluctantly followed, obviously damaged by the words of his "king". Once we were out of Thorin's sight and before we reached the company, I pulled Dwalin into a tight hug.

I wrapped my arms around his chest and squeezed. He squeezed me back. One of his tears dropped down on my cheek. "It's not him," I whispered reassuringly.

He took a big breath, still struggling with tears. "I don't know where he's gone...which frightens me, but what frightens me even more..." He paused and sighed. "Is I don't know how to bring him back."