Queen Under the Mountain - Thorin Oakenshield

~Eighteen~

~Battle of the Five Armies~

Within mere moments, a full-on battle was raging in full force. Former enemies Elves, Men, and Dwarves were suddenly working together against a common foe: the legion of Orcs. 

Dain's forces had led the first charge. Just when it seemed that the Dwarves would be crushed in the onslaught by the Orcs, Thranduil's forces jumped in - literally - coming to the Dwarves' aid, the Men soon following. 

However, they were already taking a heavy beating - they were ultimately being crushed.

"Where's Thorin?" Dain's cry carried out across the battlefield. Dahlia wondered the same.  "Where is he?" But the King of Erebor was nowhere to be seen, and kept himself hidden away in the safety of his fortified Mountain Kingdom. 

While their forces were being overrun on the battlefield, Azog took the chance to open another front in Dale, flooding the city with more Orcs and Goblins, putting an even greater strain on the army of Elves, Dwarves, and Men.

Suddenly, a low trumpeting sounded from the direction of Erebor, carrying across the battlefield, echoing over the destructive noise - the clash of weapons, the screams, the shouted orders - and drawing everyone's attention to the Mountain. Even some of the charging forward of the enemy stopped out of surprise.

SMASH!

RING!

The wall that Thorin had forced them to hastily build as fortifications for the Mountain was suddenly swiftly knocked down, the stone crumbling to the ground by the swing of a giant gold bell. 

Following it, the Company of Thorin Oakenshield came charging out of the Mountain Kingdom, Thorin in the lead. Smiling now, Dahlia left her father's side and ran to join her fellow company members.

"To the King!" yelled Dain in triumph. "To the King! And to the Queen!"

Thorin shouted in Dwarvish and the whole company charged forward, weapons raised and shouting in unison, leading the next wave of the attack. 

"Dahlia!" Thorin shouted over the chaos, seeking a break in the swarm of attacks, but finding none.  "Dahlia!"

They fought their way towards each other, clearing the path towards one another by slashing this way and that at the Orcs that blocked them.

"Dahlia!" Finally, they were together. "Can you forgive me?"

She stared up at him for a long moment before she responded by grabbing him by the front of his tunic and pulling him in for a deep kiss.

Despite the fact that it was during the middle of a battle surrounded by death and destruction and in the least private and romantic of places, it was a perfect kiss.

"My King," she addressed him, smiling as they pulled away from their embrace. 

"My Queen," he responded. 

"Couz! What took you so long?" Dain cried, coming over and embracing his cousin.  "There's too many of these buggers, Thorin. I hope you've got a plan." 

"Aye-" Thorin cast a glance up at Ravenhill.  "I'm going to take out their leader."

"Azog!"

"Aye - I'm going to kill that piece of filth!" He turned to Dahlia. "You with me?"

"Always." 

Dahlia, Fili, Kili and Dwalin followed him deeper into the fray, through the ongoing battle and up the cliffside to Ravenhill, thrashing their way up the cliff. But when they got there,  and had taken down the Orcs in their path, Azog and his lead forces were nowhere to be seen. 

"Where is he?" asked Kili. 

"It looks empty," agreed Fili.

"I think Azog has fled!"

"No, I don't think so." Thorin was wary. He turned to his nephews.  "Fili, take your brother, scout out the towers. Keep low and out of sight. If you see something, report back, do not engage. You understand?"

"We have company!" Dwalin updated.  "Goblin mercenaries, no more than a hundred." 

"We'll hold them off - go!" Dahlia urged the brothers. 

"Where is that Orc filth?" grumbled Dwalin once they had dealt with the Goblins. 

"Thorin!"

"Bilbo!"

Their Hobbit burglar had made a habit of suddenly appearing seemingly out of nowhere.  

"You have to leave here, now!" Bilbo panted, having must have run this whole way.  "Azog has another army attacking from the North. This watchtower will be completely surrounded and there'll be no way out."

"We are so close!" hissed Dwalin.  "That Orc scum is in there-" He made to move further inwards.

But Thorin stopped him.  "No! That's what he wants, he wants to draw us in - this is a trap."

"Fili, Kili," cried Dahlia.

"Aye.  Find Fili and Kili," Thorin told Dwalin.  "Call them back. Do it - we'll live to fight another day."

 They were just about to move when sudden drumbeats and torchlight from up at the top of the tower stopped them, drawing them to a sharp halt.

A horrifying sight met their eyes.

Azog, flanked by Orc guards, was dragging Fili by the collar of his vest to the edge of the tower. The Pale Orc lifted Fili by the hair, dangling him above the drop as though threatening to let go and let him plunge down to the bed of stone and sharp rocks waiting below.

"This one dies first, then the brother! Then you, Oakenshield! You die last!"

"Go!" Fili managed to shout, but Thorin didn't move, not a muscle.  "RUN-"

"Here and now ends your filthy bloodline!"

(Aw Fi - ugh, sorry to end on such a sad note, but we knew it was coming :( Still, no less sad though.

Despite the sad ending, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed!)