Chapter One

Bilba Baggins was a very respectable young hobbit. She loved the ground she stood on and the life that grew from it. She could even bake a sponge so light that any hobbit that had tried it, believed it was blessed by the Green Lady herself.

Although Bilba had every right to claim to be one of the most respectable hobbits in Hobbiton, she supposed that in her current position a few of her relatives may scoff. For Bilba Baggins was living with orcs.

Living was perhaps too strong of a word. She was lying on her side with her arms tied, lying limply in front of her. She was dressed in the torn, bloody clothing she was taken in, making her feel awfully grubby. These factors made it known to her, and those surrounding her, that they were not honoured guests, but prisoners. Of course, the way that they were treated was a strong clue too. She had been taking her monthly trip to Bree, an expedition which was surprisingly well accepted by her Baggins relatives, as they believed it to help dampen her Tookish spirit without harming her reputation, when she was taken. She had fought and fought against the claws that had her in a vice like grip, but it was all in vain. She was dragged to a camp filled with vile faces which kicked and spat at her as her cackling captor threw her into a huddle of bodies.

That was six months ago now.

She still remembered the young boy that had whispered in her ear, gently, as she sobbed. He told her he was the oldest there and he was watching out for them. When she had looked into the boy's kindly face, she could tell he wasn't. She was now the oldest, by many years in fact. For surrounding her were children of dwarven born and men. Orcs clearly had no experience with the race of hobbits, for anyone with eyes could tell she was an adult, despite being short in nature. She promised the boy firmly that she would protect them now, she would save them, for she was now the oldest.

The boy was killed today. He was only fifteen and his name was Oswin and he should not have died.

She had watched many children die these last few months and each one felt like a stab to her fractured heart. But, Oswin, despite him being so very young, had felt much more like a peer than the others and Bilba felt horribly selfish and wretched in wishing, that out of all of them he hadn't have died. He had been kind, pure and helped Bilba look after the smallest of their numbers and he should not have died.

He should not have died.

Her eyes stared blankly at the movement in the camp, the orcs were ripping madly at the raw meat which once belonged to some poor animal, and Bilba was just glad it was not a person this time. A fight for the most food was probably going to break out soon. Her vision was obscured by a pair of short legs and they bent so the owner of them could crouch beside her head. She could not bring herself to react, her mind too numb to make the effort. Gentle fingers wiped the tears she had unknowingly shed, and she blinked up at a worried face.
"Leave me, Kili." she whispered, hoarsely.

The young dwarf had joined them one month ago and, like every child that had been taken, had lost much of his joy very early on. At the beginning he told us all many times that his family would find them, that we'd all be saved. Now, after many forced trips across difficult terrain, punishment and near starvation, his smile had faded. No matter how much she tried with them, she could never get the children to keep their smiles.

"No." He replied, stubbornly.

She looked at him weakly, shame swirling in her mind, taunting her. She knew she was letting them down. She had vowed on her first day to be strong for the young faces that had looked upon her with such hope when they had learned that Bilba was an adult. For adults, would always fix things, for that's what they had been told all of their lives.

Before she could respond to him, Kili had already grasped her tied hands in his and was pulling on them and, despite her wounds, they managed to get her into a sitting position, with surprisingly little difficulty. Being so close to each other allowed Bilba to see that his once lively and youthful face was marred with scars, dirt and a very serious look. She averted her gaze with shame.

"You must stay strong Bilba. I know I didn't know Oswin for long, but I know he would not want you to give up." he told her, passionately. When she could only blink, tiredly up at him, mind numb, his face fell. He lowered his voice further, "Please Bilba. I need you," he glanced behind her, gesturing subtly, "They need you."

Bilba turned and saw many of the children were worriedly staring at her. She knew each one of those faces and, despite not knowing them for long, she had adopted each and every one of them into her heart. She had bled for each child there. Taken punishments for them, helped them with whatever horrid job they had been forced to partake in that day. She loved them and now she felt like she was failing them. She raised her head to meet his sorrow filled eyes and she nodded slowly.

"I'm trying Kili" she said, softly. The smile she received was bright and warm, like the sun she remembered from the Shire; it was gone quickly, as if his smile had remembered where they were, and she so desperately wished for it to return. He carefully wound his arms around her, wary of her wounds and helped her to her feet. She turned and shuffled closer to her herd of fauntlings and smiled softly when they surged forward to engulf her in a hug. The hug was not gentle though, and she tried not to show the pain on her face, but she found it difficult when all manner of body sizes piled on to her small one. She kept a wary eye on the orcs and was thankful that they were still squabbling about their dinner. Their disgusting attempt at meals were the only moment of peace they had.

The children were whispering amongst themselves, relieved that their 'protector' was back with them. Her smile slowly dropped as they got louder and louder and now her face only showed worry. She tried hushing them, but their volume would not stop increasing. She knew, with a growing sense of dread, that the orcs would not tolerate the noise and she became more frantic.

"Quiet!" she hissed, as loud as she dared. The children were almost instantly silent. So were the orcs. Dread washed over Biba's body as if someone had poured a bucket of icy water down her spine. Then there was snarls and shrieks and garbled shouts of combined Westron and Black Speech.

Bilba snapped her neck towards the orcs and noticed the ugly sneer on the largest one. The leader. He was pale with ugly scars and metal embedded in his filthy skin. He went by the name of Bolg. He stood from his lonely corner, for all of the

other spawns were afraid of the monster, and made his way towards the small huddle of humanity.

Bilba hurriedly placed herself in front of the younglings. Her intent being to face the beast on her own, so she was surprised to feel someone step beside her. She watched as Kili thrust his shoulders back and raise his head in an attempt to look confident. She tried to kick him discreetly, so he would get back behind her, but he only shook his head, sharply.

Bolg was looming over them now, and he cackled at, what Bilba had to admit was, a pretty pathetic pair. His despicable laughter was followed by the sound of numerous shouts of excitement, itching for a fight.

"You think that you can defeat me?" he snarled, his face distorting as he spat the words in Westron. Bilba had already started to bow when Kili's voice echoed through the clearing,

"I know we can"

His voice was filled with hope and certainty, and for one fleeting moment, she believed him. However, she was older than him, not untouched by the unfairness of the world. She knew she would have to step in to try and appease the wretched monstrosity which stood in front of them and save them. Or at least him.

A quiet came over the beings in the area, after his foolhardy comment. Not a peaceful one but a tense and building one. One that was cold, smothering and deafening. Bilba cut through it as smoothly as she could,

"I'm sorry my Lord, we did not mean to make such noise." she said, proud that her voice only wavered slightly. She gestured at Kili, "He did not mean what he said, for he is just a simple boy, and I would most graciously take his punishment!" her voice took on a desperate edge at the end and she was pinching Kili as hard (and as cautiously) as she could. She tried to ignore the disgruntled look on Kili's face at 'simple'. She pleaded, silently, that he would not try anything else foolish. Her heart pounded and she felt sweat trail down her spine like tiny shards of ice. If it was possible, Bolg's scowl got worse.

"You are not unknown in this camp you insolent girl, you will not carry on protecting the rest of the scum anymore" his pale face was twisted and his foul teeth were bared. Then, as if a wondrous idea had passed through his mind, the orc's face lifted into a menacing grin. It was an odd expression to see on an orc, Bilba would think later, but, in the moment, she was terrified. He started growling with glee,

"You have protected them for far too long and you're the reason they still show resistance to us. You are the reason we have not returned to my Master. Break you, we break them."

Bilba's heart sank, although it was a wonder they had not figured it out sooner. It was a funny feeling, knowing you were going to die, Bilba thought, dazed. Everything around her seemed to slow down; Bolg laughing maniacally, while the children were restrained and shoved in cages. Kili was putting up a tremendous fight, though Bilba could not comprehend what he was shouting with such a desperate look on his young face. Bolg efficiently kicked her legs from beneath her and she fell on to her stomach onto the rocky ground with a sickening thud. Her breath was well and truly pushed out of her.

"Hold her down boys!" Bolg shouted, as joyfully as an orc could. Claws and gnarled hands grabbed her limbs and pulled them taut, no matter how much she struggled, she knew she that she would not be escaping. Her skin was crawling from the hot, rancid breath falling upon her skin. "Get the brand!" another shout from Bolg, which was immediately followed by excited shrieks. A fire was beginning to crackle nearby and suddenly it all made sense. She was going to have the Master's Mark. She had only ever seen it once and it was now a part of her nightmares. She was forced to watch as Lillian, a tiny six-year-old, that had tried to escape the camp had been held down and had been given the horrific mark. No matter what Bilba had done in the days that had followed prevented the little girl from dying from the shock of it.

A sharp, jagged claw ripped the shoulder from her already torn dress, not caring that they had broken her skin in the process.
She focussed on numbing her mind and turned her head, as well as she could, towards the children. Her heart swelled and broke all at once to see how much they fought for her, throwing themselves against the bars of the cages. Frightened faces held tears which ran freely, leaving clean tracks on their otherwise dusty faces. Kili was shouting, cursing and crying, perhaps fighting the hardest.

She felt an aura of burning heat hovering just above her right shoulder and she knew it was time. She sucked in a lungful of air and called with all her might, directing her yell towards the children:

"I Love you"

The sound of sizzling flesh reached her ears before any pain.

A bright burning light flashed through her mind.

Then, oblivion.