His Amorem

Azog The Defiler

Her fighting blades above

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By the time the sky was completely black, most of the dwarfs were asleep, Thorin dozed off but jumped awake every few minutes as Bombur gave an extra loud snore, and Bilbo was unable to find any spot comfortable. Gandalf and Balin sat under a tree conversing quietly, and Fili and Kili sat around the fire sharpening their knives and Kili's arrows.

Keerla kept her distance so that the snoring didn't interfere with her hearing. She sat on the edge of the cliff, chin resting on one knee while the other leg dangled in the air. She had taken her hair out and retied it in her usual bun, but she knew it and the rest of her desperately needed a wash.

The dwarfs were not as filthy, as every time they came across a river or a pond they would quite happily strip off and jump in. Keerla on the other hand wasn't as comfortable roaming around in the nude.

She kept her back to the others while they washed, more focused on protecting them though she couldn't deny the few peeks she had taken of Thorin, Fili and Kili – but she was female, it was in her nature. She only hoped they'd find somewhere to camp in the next few days that would give her somewhere to wash without being seen by the company.

Behind her, she could hear Bilbo move around, and it sounded as though he had taken something from his pocket. Glancing back, she saw him sneaking an apple to his horse.

"Hello, girl," he whispered so the dwarfs wouldn't hear, and she silently laughed but turned back to her watch instead. "That's a good girl. It's our little secret, Myrtle; you must tell no one. Shh."

Over the munching of the horse, a noise in the distance caused the Elleth's ears to perk up. Narrowing her eyes, Keerla caught sight of a horde of orcs falling upon a small village miles and miles away, just within her vision's reach.

Getting to her feet, she watched the brutal slaughter of the people, she could hear the screaming and the pleading, she could hear the crying and the smashing, and the growling and the 'ching' of metal weapons. But to the others, they barely heard a thing and they saw nothing.

"What was that?" Bilbo asked at an extra loud screech, rushing back toward the camp.

"Orcs," Kili spoke and there was a huff of breath Keerla knew to be Thorin jumping awake again.

There was another scream, and most of the company woke from it. Keerla flinched at what she could see, blood and tears spilled across the ground in vast quantities. She could see the orcs trample through the village cutting down anything in their path.

"Orcs?" Bilbo asked, sounding terrified.

"Throat-cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them," Fili said.

"They strike in the wee small hours, when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet; no screams, just lots of blood."

If she hadn't been fighting her 'attack and kill' response, the urge to run and try to save who she could, Keerla would have gone and slapped the two of them for the playful teasing of the hobbit. But she knew she'd never reach the village, she knew if she tried all she would find was corpses.

The men slaughtered like pigs, maybe some showing evidence of torture, the women beaten and raped till dead, the children torn apart. The knowledge of what was happening and knowing she could do nothing killed her inside.

As the two brothers snickered, Thorin got up and stomped angrily toward them, glaring down in such a way that made them flinch.

"You think that's funny? You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?" he hissed at his nephews.