The Last of the Guardians Part 1 - A Hobbit Fan Fiction

Chapter 21

***Hey again! I just realised that Nema hasn't been in the story physically since Chapter 15 *faceplam* but she's here now! It took me longer than expected to explain what had happened to the dwarves. Special mention to aliceinw0nderland because...there are no words to describe just how amazingly wonderful she is. Go check out her books - they are so beautiful they make me want to cry! So anway, shall we reunite Fili and Nema? This chapter got a bit long so I decided to cut it. But don't worry, I'll work on the next one so it will be ready within a few days I think. Happy Reading!***

The rain fell from the heavens like a thousand ice cold knife blades, each one sending a spark of white hot pain racing around her body as it landed on her sensitive skin. Nema had never felt anything like it. At first, she had tried to seek shelter, and had crouched for a while under the branches of a pathetically small tree. But the rain had still found her. It seemed to be drawn towards her, wishing her harm - or at least, that is what it felt like to Nema. In the end, she had given up and returned to the edge of the mountain and sat with her legs dangling over the edge, allowing the rain to soak through her clothes and chill her to the bone.

She couldn't see. The pain in her back, which had spread to her head, had swathed her eyes in darkness. Every so often, a blindingly white light would flash into existence and sting her eyes, whether they were closed or not. When this happened, she would cover her face with her hands and rock gently back and forth until the darkness returned.

Her ears were ringing, blocking out all other sounds, and causing her head to pound. It felt like a dwarf was beating her skull with a large hammer. Not even her sense of smell was spared. Despite the rain intensifying the natural scents around her, all she could smell was iron, and this was matched by the taste of blood in her mouth. When the taste was first brought to her attention, Nema thought she had bitten the inside of her cheek, but the blood had no source she could find. She coughed it up frequently and had to keep spitting it out to keep from choking, until the ground surrounding her was soaked through with rain and blood.

The torture of her senses left her with only one that she could rely on. Touch.

It was the only thing she could trust in that moment. For as painful as it was, Nema could still feel the rain on her skin, could still feel the wind tangling her hair into knots, and she could still feel the bloodied ground as she dug her nails into it. Touch reminded her where she was.

Gradually, all these pains seemed to melt away as the night moved on. The rain stopped in the middle of the night and allowed her skin a brief respite. She could see again too - no darkness, no bright lights. The ringing in her ears was gone, and there was no trace of blood left in her mouth at all.

Nema sat up slowly, and tentitively reached over her shoulder to feel the skin of her back. It was still unbroken. She hadn't changed. Nema wailed and beat her fists on the damp ground. A few of the orcs nearest to her laughed and mimicked her. She glared and spat at them. They only laughed harder and moved away to re-light the fires that had been put out by the rain. Nema sighed and lay flat on her back to look at the stars, which were once again visible. She felt confused. Why hadn't she Changed?

But then she remembered. The Pre-Change. Nema remembered Sienna explaining it to her when she was still in her care. The old woman had said that when the Change comes around, a Guardian's body is ready for it and so they only endure a little pain. She had then gone on to tell Nema that should a Guardian avoid their Change, their body would be less likely to be able to cope when it finally happened. Because of this, Guardians who delayed always went through the Pre-Change which prepared their bodies again.

Nema groaned, thinking herself foolish for not remembering. But her thoughts did not remain on her own problems for long. The pain that had fogged her mind just a few moments before was gone, allowing her thoughts to return to the fate of her companions.