Queen Under the Mountain - Thorin Oakenshield

~Nineteen~

~End of the Line~

But there was nothing they could do - no way they could reach Fili in time. 

Fili's words were cut off as he was run through by the blade that took the place of Azog's arm.

"NO!" A strangled cry tore from Dahlia's throat as Azog let Fili's now limp body fall - she turned away so she would  not see it drop. 

"KILI!" Thorin yelled, hoping to save his other nephew from the same fate before it was too late for him as well. 

"Thorin!" Dwalin charged after him. "Thorin!"

But Dahlia was frozen to her spot.

Fili...

Oh, Fi... She couldn't believe it.

Azog was moving in on Thorin, focusing all his energy there. Dahlia had no idea where Kili had gotten to, and whether or not he knew about his brother, but she could only hope and pray that he would survive.

From up on the top of one of the towers, Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood, was shooting down the Orcs as they swarmed Thorin, assisting his once-enemy. Dahlia hoped the Elf Prince knew how grateful they were for his help. 

Thorin was now facing down Azog one-to-one out on the frozen lake, in the middle of the thick ice. Azog was swiping with his arm-blade, and then swinging a long chain with a stone at the other end. 

Dahlia leapt in.  "AZOG!" she yelled, catching the Pale Orc's attention.  "Killing him will not end the Durin line. I am Lady Dahlia Ironfoot, heiress to the Throne of Erebor, and I carry the last of the line of Durin!"

This had the sought after effect as Azog growled and now lunged towards her, swinging his blade she diving out of the way. Now Thorin pounced on Azog, attacking from behind. 

She was grabbed around the neck by a tight fist, and the Pale Orc tossed her off the cliffside, beyond the frozen waterfall.

"NO!" Thorin had one last glimpse of her and then she was gone, gone for good. 

Azog only gave a cruel grin and Thorin lunged at him once more.

"It seems you are outnumbered, Orc filth," said a voice behind them. 

Dahlia's voice - but how?

Thorin turned to see her rising up above the cliffside - on the back of a giant eagle. 

The Eagles.

Gandalf was always full of surprises.  

Dahlia leapt off the back of the great bird and back onto the ice, charging at Azog, blade drawn. Both she and Thorin attacked together. 

With a swipe of his fist, the Orc struck Dahlia, sending her crashing into the rocky side of the cliff behind her, crumbling to the icy ground, unconscious, leaving the fight back between him and Thorin.

When she stirred to, her vision fuzzy, she blinked and saw Azog pinning Thorin to the ice. Stumbling to her feet, she retrieved her blade from where it had fallen and stepped towards the ongoing fight.

Thorin had just used the last of his strength to plunge his own blade into Azog's chest. From above, he heard a yell and saw a flash of red, and Dahlia leapt onto the Orc's back, shoving her own blade through his back, just to make sure they finished him off this time. 

The creature collapsed onto the ice, heavy and limp. They took this as a good sign.

Though she was still fuzzy, she helped Thorin to his feet.  He took a few steps but stumbled, and only then did she notice the blood spilling down the front of his tunic. 

"Thorin - oh no, no-" He had been stabbed too, a deep wound through his chest.

He could not take any further steps and crumbled to the ice, falling from her arms. She fell to her knees at his side. "Thorin!"

"I-I thought I'd lost you." He reached up a weak hand to touch his trembling fingertips to her cheek. "And now you are going to lose me."

"No, no don't say that-"

"Dahlia... Can you forgive me?"

"Yes, yes I already have-"

The rest of the remaining company had left the battlefield and gathered around them.

"Thank you, Queen of Erebor, Queen under the Mountain."

"W-what, n-no - no I can't do that, Erebor isn't mine to have-"

"It is now."

"Oh, Thorin - no, no maybe Kili, maybe he's still here-" But one solemn look from Balin told her it was no so - Kili had been killed as well. The line of Durin really had been ended that day. 

She choked back at sob at this sudden news, and the fact of her love dying there in her arms. "No, no..."

"Thorin! Thorin - oh, oh-" Bilbo collapsed at their sides, horrified at the state of the king. 

"Bilbo!"

"Don't move, don't move - lie still." Bilbo took one look at Thorin's wound and paled.  "Oh-"

"I'm glad you're here," Thorin managed to heave out.  "I'm glad you're all here." 

"Shh, shhh," Bilbo urged him.

"I wish to part from you in friendship."

"You are not going anywhere, Thorin," the Hobbit insisted, hell-bent and determined. "You are going to live."

"I take back my words and my deeds at the gate. You did only what a true friend would do - forgive me. You were right, I was too blind to see - I am so sorry. So sorry to have led you into such peril-"

"No, no, I am glad to have shared in your perils," Bilbo told him. "Each and every one of them. It's far more than any Baggins deserves."

"Farewell, Master Burglar," Thorin breathed.  

"No-"

"Go back to your books, your armchair, your garden - plant your trees, watch them grow. If more people valued home above gold, this world would be a much merrier place..."

"No, no, no no no! Thorin! Thorin! No, don't you dare-"

"Farewell, my friends..."

"Thorin, Thorin, look, look, see, the eagles. The eagles, the eagles are here. Look, see? Thorin, Thorin-"

Bilbo continued to babble, even after Thorin's gaze had grown distant and his chest had stopped heaving. 

Dahlia reached out and took his hand, gripping it tightly, shaking her head. 

It was too late - he was already gone.

(Ugh, another sad chapter end! :( But I guess we knew it was coming...

Again, despite the sad ending, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! See you all in the next chapter, which will also be the last one! See you there and then!)