His Amorem

Rescued By Eagles

bad language in this chapter 

=

Irritated by the resistance, and watching several of his scouts die, Azog roared in anger and frustration. The dwarfs cheered but it quickly turned into cries of fear as the roots of the tree they were in started to give way.

Keerla leapt from the tree, landing by its upturned roots, firing arrows through the flame in hopes of killing most of the orcs and wargs. At least that way they'd have a chance to run for it, without falling from the tree to their deaths. But as she thought her plan through, there was a yell behind her and she turned, seeing Ori had slipped from his branch and now only survived by holding Dori's leg.

She turned to fire another arrow, then glanced back and watched the extra weight cause Dori to lose his grip. Luckily Gandalf swung his staff down in time ant Dori caught hold of it, but it wouldn't hold them for long.

"No, no, no," she repeated, before firing arrows as fast as she could. Most orcs and wargs had taken cover, but she occasionally managed to find a target though little cracks. "It's not supposed to happen this way."

Her head jerked right as Thorin appeared beside her, unsheathing his sword. He glanced briefly at her and in that second she knew what he was planning. He ran toward Azog, ignoring the yells of the dwarfs and Gandalf and Bilbo still stuck in the tree.

"If i die for you, Oakenshield, i'm going to kill you!" Keerla yelled, shouldering her bow as she freed her knives and chased after him.

"Keerla no!" Kili yelled. "Come back!"

Azog crouched on the back of his white beast then let out a roar as the warg leapt in Thorin's direction. Thorin tried to swing his sword but the Warg knocked him in the chest with its forepaw, smashing Thorin to the ground.

Keerla dived over him, her blades sinking into the warg's shoulder joints. It howled in pain, before rearing up and swinging to the side. With a scream of shock, Keerla flew through the air and smacked into an orc who had been coming to Azog's aid. She turned and slit its throat before it could do anything, bringing both blades down into the skull of the warg it had sat atop.

Seeing she was alright, Thorin got back on his feet, panting and turned as Azog and his White Warg wheeled round to charge at him again. Azog swung his mace and smashed Thorin in the face before he could react, brutally throwing him to the ground for impact.

"No!" Balin's screams reached Keerla's ear and she lunged at the pale orc's unprotected back.

She had forgotten that she had already attempted such an attack once before, and Azog was ready for her. He turned and smacked her in mid-air expecting for her to get thrown away, only Keerla quickly wrapped her arms around the mace instead.

Azog swung it over his head, hoping to smash her into the ground but she let go just in time and skidded back across the ground a few feet, stopping in a protective crouch by Thorin's side. She sheathed her blades, whipping out her bow and knocked in her last two arrows, firing seconds too late.

Azog and his warg avoided the attack, and she rolled backward over Thorin's nearly unconscious form to avoid the mace which smashed the ground where she had been resting. She was too slow in coming out of her roll, and the mace connected with her chest. She yelped as she flew through the air once again, this time nothing stopped her and she clawed for a grip on the cliff as she rolled off the edge.

The white warg then took Thorin's body in its jaw, crunching down on his bones making the dwarf prince roar in pain. He smacked the warg in the face with the pommel of his sword, only to be tossed away and he landed with a heavy crunch on a nearby flat of rock.

"Biriz torag khobdudol, (Bring me the Dwarf's head)"

"Thorin!" Keerla cried, finally pulling herself back up to firm ground.

Throwing one of her small blades at the orc who attempted to carry out Azog's orders, she threw the second at his warg killing them both. Falling to her knees at Thorin's side, she noticed he was staring up at the sky but was almost completely unresponsive as she yelled his name.

"Keerla look out!" Dwalin yelled.

Turning, her breath hitched as a blade dug into the side of her throat. She could feel her pulse beating against the filthy metal, but her eyes remained on Azog. She placed her hands behind her, trying to push Thorin away but he was too heavy and he had no chance of moving by himself now that he had finally fallen unconscious. The orc with his sword at her neck turned to Azog for orders, and the pale orc gave a horrid smirk.

"Baj Alag Kurv Rujat (Make that whore watch)"

A hand reached for her hair, but Keerla knew she couldn't move. If she did, they'd kill Thorin all that much quicker, and there would be no time for anyone to do anything. Just before the orc had hold of her, Bilbo threw himself onto the creature and knocked it over. The blade cut across her throat as it fell, but it wasn't deep and Keerla could only watch in surprise as the little Halfling stabbed the orc and stepped back to stand before her and Thorin, protecting them.

Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself to her feet and unsheathed Ainu, placing her hand on Bilbo's shoulder briefly to show her thanks. Azog muttered in the black speech, almost so quiet that Keerla didn't hear. But she got the jist of what he had said. Kill him.

Before any wargs and their riders could get close however, Kili, Fili and Dwalin ploughed into them, and a fight began. Glancing briefly at Thorin, Keerla turned to see the white warg knock Bilbo a few feet away with its head and she leapt between them.

"Nar Udautas! (Not today)" she snarled in the black speech, and swiped her sword at the warg and Azog who roared in anger.

She shoved Bilbo back a few feet as he got back to his feet; keeping him behind her while the warg snapped its jaws in an attempt to get hold of her. Every time it tried, she swung her sword and left a cut across the beast's snout.

Past it, she could see Fili, Kili and Dwalin surrounded with no way out and panic filled her. She swiped again at the white warg, leaping to the side to avoid the mace. Spotting the large eagles flying down to join the fight, she leapt away from the warg and smashed her free hand into Bilbo's chest. He screamed as he was knocked over the edge of the cliff but an eagle swopped in and caught him before he fell more than ten feet. Her actions cost her precious time, and Azog's mace smashed into her side.

With a cry of pain, she hit a burning tree and slumped to the ground in a crouch, nearly losing grip on her sword. While Azog approached on his warg, she watched eagles toss the other orcs and their beasts off the cliff or into each other. Some grabbed the dwarfs and dropped them onto the backs of others. The pale orc paused, looking around to see what was becoming of his little army.

A smile settled on Keerla's face when she saw Fili and Kili being saved, and then another eagle made to grab Thorin in its claws. Her attention turned back to Azog, who brought his mace down with a roar. She deflected it with her sword and dived under the warg's head, sheathing the blade once she was on her feet. She ran as fast as she could and leapt off the side of the cliff, catching the claws wrapped carefully around Thorin just in time.

She heard Azog roar, but was more focused in swinging herself into a better position. The eagle lowered its head briefly to get a look at her, and lifted one of its talons to help her lift herself higher so she was sitting above Thorin in the crook of the eagle's leg where it met the claw.

Breathing heavily, she clutched her ribs and leaned forward, pressing her fingers into Thorin's neck. He was alive, but still unconscious, she wouldn't be able to do anything until they landed and reluctantly rested herself back into the feathers of the eagle's leg, one hand clutching them tightly.

==