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VII. Loss

They had broken out into a run as soon as they had joined forces, rushing off in their group of three to reach Ravenhill as quickly as they could with Tauriel and Athena in the lead, Legolas slightly behind them. They pushed themselves out of the city of Dale and towards Ravenhill, dashing up unstable staircases covered in layers of snow.

They eventually made it to a dilapidated walkway underneath their destination, the dark ruined tower hovering over them. They stopped running when they laid eyes on a cloud of war bats circling the tower before swooping down and making their way to the main battlefield, fear striking Athena's heart at the realisation that they were too late to warn them about the oncoming Orcs.

"No," Tauriel whispered from beside her in disbelief.

"Bilbo was on his way too, maybe he already managed to warn them," she informed her to try and keep some hope alive in their hearts.

The bats flew over their heads on the way to the battle and she watched as Legolas jumped to grab onto the leg of one passing by, being carted off to the ruins of Ravenhill. She watched him flying away, astounded by his actions and the weightlessness of Elves, but soon her eyes landed on something that sent alarm coursing through her—Kili was engaged in a battle with Orcs atop the ruins.

"Kili!" She yelled over Tauriel's whisper, but he could not hear her over the confrontation. "Come on!" She snapped the Elf out of her trance, the both of them sprinting towards his position.

They meandered their way through the ruined fortress in their haste to get to Kili, but something caused Athena to stop in her tracks while Tauriel continued on her journey. Her breath caught in her throat, placing a hand on the shattered wall beside her to keep her steady, her legs threatening to buckle underneath her.

Fili lay on the floor before her, but he was unmoving, his eyes staring at the sky above them.

"No," she whispered in denial, shaking her head to herself as she refused to believe what she was seeing, but it took only one look at him for her to know the truth that she so desperately didn't want to admit.

His smile had faded, his skin had already begun to turn paler underneath the flakes of snow that dotted his cheeks. His eyes devoid of the life that he had once loved. They were too late to save him.

"Kili!" The distant cry of Tauriel snapped her from her daze.

There was no time for her to mourn for her fallen brother, not while there was another that was still in danger. She blinked away the tears that blurred her vision before spurring herself forwards, following the trail of Orc corpses until she rejoined Tauriel.

"Kili!" She cried out in desperation when she stood beside her, her eyes glancing from left to right for any sign of the Dwarf.

"Athena!" She heard him call out in response.

She took a step to follow the direction of his voice but was unable to go any further, a great force barrelling into her and flinging her to the floor underneath. She cried out from the searing pain that shot through her back at the collision, distantly hearing Tauriel's own pained reaction before she shook her head to alleviate the ringing in her ears.

She pushed herself to stand, pulling out her sword when she saw Tauriel engaged in combat with an Orc much larger than the others, only a little smaller than Azog himself. He was far more hideous than any of the other Orcs she had encountered and he was clad in Orcish armour that appeared to be embedded into his skin.

She charged at him with a shout of frustration and pain from both the physical and mental anguish she was enduring. Her sword met the handle of his mace, her arms immediately feeling the weight of Bolg's strength against them. She was easily overpowered, and she knew from that encounter that she stood no chance against him in direct conflict. Her arms threatened to give way underneath the force so she stepped to the side before pulling her sword from his, swinging it at his side as she moved but he anticipated the action and dodged the swinging blade before sending her flying into the wall.