An Unexpected Member

Howls in the night...a story and a song......

We finally stopped at a cliff top, which had a smallish cave. We tied the ponies to the surrounding trees and got the fire going. Bofur get the food cooking and everybody else was laying their stuff down at the places they'd be sleeping. I chose to stick close to Bilbo, Kili and Fili, They seemed to be the ones who'd protect me if anything were to happen during the night. Methen stuck close to Gandalf and Thorin.

Once we were done eating, most of the dwarfs were already asleep, except, Balin, Kili, Fili, Gandalf, Thorin, Bilbo and I. Thorin just started to drift off where he was sitting on the rock edge when we heard a howl in the distance. Bilbo came running back to us looking frightened.

"Wha....what was that?! he whisper-yelled.

"Orcs, the most vile creatures of the night and day." I replied, venom dripping with every word.

"Orc's?!" he said even more scared.

I zoned out while I walked to the edge and looked into the distance, seeing a few orc riders on the wargs watching us. I hated orcs more then anything, even Smaug was more of a tamed beast then orcs and wargs.

"Lass, why do you hate orcs so much?" asked Ori.

I turned back to the company, all of them watching me as I walked to a log and sat. "This is a sad story for me, you must be patient with me." I said looking into the fire.

"10 years after I came to Middle-Earth, I found a little baby girl in a forest near Gondor. She was mostly elf, but had some hobbit traits, like tiny hair feet. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I took her in and raised her as my own. We travelled to Rohan, Gondor, Mirkwood, Rivendale and the Shire the most, we once went to the Blue Mountain. That's where tragedy struck." My eyes were glazed over, remembering the day we were leaving the Blue Mountains to go back to the Shire. "As we got 10 feet from the Blue Mountain gates we were ambushed by orcs, they managed to catch me off guard and grabbed my little one from me,"I started to choke up, tears streaming down my face, remembering her screaming for me.

"I had named her Duvainien, her name meant Beautiful Darknes, daughter of Angelina Elen. She was 5 when they killed her. Some dwarfs came down when they heard me screaming, they tried to get to her but nobody could a great white orc on top of a white warg had gotten ahold of her. He looked right at me and smile a wicked smile as he squeezed her throat and caved her throat in. He threw her to the ground and the warg bit into her head killing her instantly. I screamed in anguish and my body lit on fire, killing all orcs holding me down. The dwarfs took down the rest of them, as the pale orc ran away on his warg."

"I remember that day." said Dwalin. "I remember a young mother screaming for her daughter, trying to revive her, but it was too late. We took her and the child back to the Blue Mountains to bury her." he said softly. "I didn't realize it was you Angelina."

I looked up to see the dwarfs, Bilbo, and Gandalf crying. I smiled weakly. "I vowed then to help anybody who was in trouble from that day forward. I had failed my baby, my little girl. I can't have children, or so the doctors on Earth told me, so I adopted her hoping to fill the void in my heart."

The dwarfs surprised me by hugging me and saying how sorry they were for my loss. "She is always with you, Angelina. She'd be proud of you." said Balin.

"Thank-You" I replied, wiping my face and turning to Thorin. "Azog isn't dead. He is very much alive, and he wants my head for giving him scars that day."

"He will never touch you. We will be sure of it, I will make sure you are forever safe." He said while giving me a hug that made me feel warm.

I smiled and pulled out of the hug and gave him a kiss on his cheek. Making him blush and the others smile.

"Now, who is up for a song? I will sing the lullaby I sang to Duvainien and the other children I came across." I said, they all nodded and laid back down.

I got out my violin and started to play the tune, then began singing:

Fear not this night
You will not go astray
Though shadows fall
Still the stars find their way

Awaken from a quiet sleep
Hear the whispering of the wind
Awaken as the silence grows
In the solitude of the night

Darkness spreads through all the land
And your weary eyes open silently
Sunsets have forsaken all
The most far off horizons

Nightmares come when shadows grow
Eyes close and heartbeats slow

Fear not this night
You will not go astray
Though shadows fall
Still the stars find their way

And you can always be strong
Lift your voice with the first light of dawn

Dawn's just a heartbeat away
Hope's just a sunrise away

Distant sounds of melodies
Calling through the night to your heart
Auroras, mists, and echoes dance
In the solitude of our life

Pleading, sighing arias
Gently grieving in captive misery
Darkness sings a forlorn song
Yet our hope can still rise up

Nightmares come when shadows roam
Lift your voice, lift your hope

Fear not this night
You will not go astray
Though shadows fall
Still the stars find their way

And though the night sky's filled with blackness
Fear not, rise up, call out and take my hand

Fear not this night
You will not go astray
Though shadows fall
(Still the stars find their way)

Fear not this night
You will not go astray
Though shadows fall
(Still the stars find their way)

And you can always be strong
Lift your voice with the first light of dawn

Dawn's just a heartbeat away
Hope's just a sunrise away

I played the past cord and put the violin away. I smiled as I looked to all the dwarfs sleeping, just like my baby girl. I sighed and got back up and sat under a tree near the edge of the cliff. Looking at the stars, saying my silent prayer to the Valar to keep us safe and give us hope. I walked back to my sleeping area and laid down, before I closed my eyes, I looked at Thorins sleeping form, I think he is my soul-mate. I fell asleep thinking about Thorin and my baby girl.