Book 1: Come Home [Thorin Oakenshield]

Chapter 14

"Now then..." the king spoke.

The Goblins released the young woman as the king reached forward. The large hand gripped Poppy's arm painfully and dangled her midair to look closer. She wiggled in his grasp in an attempt to get away as his attention turned to the Dwarves.

"Why would you want her when you're about to die so soon?"

"We'd never hand her over to scum like you!" Kíli shouted before he was slugged in the jaw.

"I believe we can decide her fate now, actually, with an active audience." The Goblin King smirked. His attention went back to the Half-breed. "So, my dear? What will it be? Slavery or death?"

His breath was rotten. It made Poppy reel and wished to throw up from the stench. She continued to claw at his grip. The young woman shouted, "I'd rather die than serve under you!"

Her leg came up and roughly kicked the Goblin in the mouth. He howled in pain. The attack forced him to release the Half-breed and stumble into his chair that teetered close to the edge. She slammed into the ground and scrambled back towards Dwarves.

The Goblin King roared. There was blood rolling from his mouth where Poppy's kick ripped out a few teeth at the gums. The creature lunged forward with rage. The young woman's eyes went wide. She did not have a weapon to defend herself. His charge would crush her. The Dwarves were in an uproar, trying to get loose and aid the blacksmith. It was Thorin who was the closest as he finally shoved away the grotesque hands. He rushed forward and gripped Poppy by the back of the cloak to pull her into his arms. But the enemy was not slowing his advance. They were still in danger.

Suddenly, a blinding bright light encased the cavern. The prince dragged them to the ground as a gust of air rushed by and the darkness enveloped them. Slowly, everything began to come back into focus as if in a daze. Poppy could feel something press against her spine and a hot breath that hit the back of the neck where the braid had fallen away. Head turning, Poppy's eyes locked with Thorin, who stared back trying to gain some sense of what just happened. His form completely protected her own. Her lips were parted in an attempt to breathe without trembling in fear as he watched the Half-breed carefully. As if to make certain that the blacksmith wasn't injured.

"Take up your arms," came a voice. There was movement around them. The Goblins had fallen along with the company. Yet neither the Half-breed nor prince could look away from the other. "Fight." The Dwarf's grip on her tightened. "Fight!"

Jerked to her feet by Thorin the severity of the situation came into focus with a rush. The Dwarves shoved away the creatures that lay on top of them and rushed towards their pile of weapons. With the familiar feeling of the hilt in her grasp Poppy whirled around to decapitate an advancing Goblin. She then gripped the hilt of an ax from the pile, and threw it through the air. The weapon embedded in the back of the head of a Goblin set on Dwalin. The Dwarf stumbled to a halt with a raised plank of wood in hand before realizing what just occurred.

"That's more like it!" he shouted.

The warrior ripped the weapon free and threw it about. Again the Goblin King charged at the sight of his prisoners trying to escape. Taking up his Elven blade, the Goblin Cleaver, Thorin clashed with the creature. It sent him tumbling back into his throne and over the edge of the platform. No one bothered to watch him fall into the chasm.

"Follow me, quickly!" Gandalf shouted over the sound of clashing blades.

Somehow the older man managed to discover their whereabouts despite them not waiting for his arrival. All were incredibly glad to see him. He led them down another path as the Goblins began to swarm into the cavern.