Hi friends! Long time no see! Thank you guys for sticking with me and waiting this out. I really have appreciated all of your lovely comments and reactions to the story- you guys are what keeps it going. The Desolation of Smaug is nearly upon us, and it's time for me to get ramped up again.

I just want you guys to know that the last author's note will always apply to this story. Even when you think I've given up on this little baby, know it's my intent to finish it. No matter how long of a break I may take. You can even bug me about it and whatnot on my blog (filis-girl on tumblr, you know the deal).

I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter because I feel really pleased with how it turned out :) So without further ado, chapter fifteen! ...FINALLY!

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

BILBO

Darkness surrounded the hobbit. For all he knew, he had fallen into a pit of goblins, and he was actually dead. Perhaps the fall had killed him, or either those nasty creatures had found him and torn him to pieces. But no, his eyes adjusted and the deep grey hues of the rock walls came into view, and the musty scent of a dank cavern met his nose. What an unpleasant smell it was, when compared to the fragrance of his hobbit hole. He pondered fleetingly if he would ever see it again.

Bilbo mumbled, craning his neck and squinting at his surroundings, unable to move his body. "Bilbo, what have you gotten yourself into-"

A growl, no- a moan-sounded from somewhere off to his left. His eyes caught sight of the vile creature that had caused his tumble, writhing and twitching on the ground. Somehow, Bilbo had managed to come out better than his opponent, merely stunned for a few moments by the fall they had taken. He shifted to move out from under the pile of mushrooms he'd landed in, but stopped when his ears perked at the patter of feet and what sounded like laboured wheezing.

"Precious, look what we've found! Oh bless us and splash us, precious!"

Bilbo almost lurched to cover his ears at the sound that had erupted from the darkness, but he knew better than to make a sudden movement. As the figure crouched into the light, the breath left the hobbit's lungs. It was odd and frightening, to say the least. He could neither make it out to be a being or a creature, and it was naked save the loin cloth covering a small section of its emaciated body. A few stray hairs hung from its head, and its eyes were as big as saucers, gleaming pale blue in the dim light.

It leaned down over the goblin, whose breathing had become ragged. "It's not often we finds you. What a treat."

If the goblin attempted to fight the bony fingers that were now grasping at his limbs, Bilbo could not tell. He squinted, attempting to clear the mushroom caps from his line of sight. The creature jerked at the goblin, heaving him off of the rocky surface he had fallen onto, and proceeded to carry him up an inclined slope which led somewhere off into the depths of the cavern.

In an instant, Bilbo saw a golden flash fall from his pocket. Sailing through the air almost gracefully was a simple ring. It turned, catching a ray of light which glowed softly from above, and clinked to the stone floor.

How odd, Bilbo thought as he shuffled from beneath his canopy of mushrooms once the creature's steps had faded into a steady echo far into the distance. He managed to prop himself up and grasp the ring in his fingers. It was icy in his palm, but glowing and beautiful all the same. How curious that something living in a dark cave below a goblin town would possess an oddity like that. Perhaps it had come from one of his previous victims. Bilbo did not know, but he pressed it into his pocket, pushing it deep so it would not fall out.

ELIZABETH

Lizzie was stupid. Out of all the things she could have done, she opened her mouth and volunteered herself to be captured in stead of the company of dwarves. Maybe there was hope that they would have all made it out alive without her outburst. Her mind was swimming with false bravery due to a certain dwarf's kiss. She struggled to push the ghosting feeling of his lips pressed against hers out of her mind.

A strangely ecstatic expression flashed across the goblin king's features for half a second before he spoke again.

"A courageous offer for such a small girl," his grin widened, revealing his yellowed teeth, "but do you really think that I would just let your friends go so easily? Thorin Oakenshield and his little princelings are worth more than you, sweetling."

Yes, she decided, her outburst was incredibly stupid.

She felt someone's hands swiftly and deftly guide her behind a few of the dwarves, and she found herself searching for Bilbo. Not to her surprise, she could not find him in the onslaught of goblins, but she half wished that she could at least gain a little comfort from their shared uselessness. As ridiculous as it sounded, she felt a tiny bit better about her inabilities when she wasn't the only one who couldn't swing a sword.

With Lizzie out of sight, the goblin king had turned his attention toward the dwarf king, who had now pushed himself to the front of the crowd. "You know, I've got someone who would pay a high price for your head- nothing attached, of course. You know who I'm talking about. A pale orc astride a white warg."

"He died from battle wounds long ago," Thorin sneered.

A couple of the dwarves shared knowing looks with one another before the goblin king began calling again for the bone crusher and a few other instruments that sounded more unnerving than the first. Lizzie suddenly wished that too, Gandalf had not stayed behind with the elves when they had left Rivendell. He would know what to do in a situation like this. Everyone, including Thorin, who was supposed to be the king under some impressive mountain, was rendered helpless in that moment.

A goblin made to grab at Lizzie's wrist, and she tried her hardest to struggle with its grip, but she couldn't shake off the loads of others that were clamoring for her in every direction. Nori managed to hove one over the edge, but where one disappeared, there were ten more to replace it.

In an instant, a blinding white light washed over the company and the small figures grabbing at them, and Lizzie felt herself break free. The goblins that had a hold of her had crashed into the ground with wide eyes and stunned expressions on their faces. She felt a sharp pang run up her arm, but dismissed it as she struggled to put as much distance as possible between her and her attackers by stumbling backwards.

Everyone who had been knocked back by the blow lay stunned as if they'd been delivered a shock. Even Dwalin, who appeared to be the strongest of the dwarves, didn't move a muscle.

"Get up and fight! FIGHT!"

Lizzie wasn't certain where the voice had come from, but she quickly realized it was wise to do as it said.

"Gandalf!" Balin recognized who the voice had belonged to, and managed to push himself to his feet. As soon as Thorin heard his cry, he was on his feet as well, pushing even more goblins over the edge of the rickety wooden scaffolding they were on.

"Take up arms!"

There was no more false bravery embedded in Lizzie's bones, but neither did she have fear pulsing through her veins. Numbness ate at her insides as she sought to find any sort of weapon that had been discarded in the vicinity near her. If she was going to make it out of the Misty Mountains alive, she would have to fight her way out- even if she was horrible at it. All she knew is if she hit someone with a sword it might do the trick.

By then, most of the dwarves had gotten the hint and clamored to their weapons as fast as they could. Lizzie rifled around until she found what looked to be a decent sized sword on the outcropping of the crowd, and managed to yank it upwards out from under a few bits and pieces of a splintered crate.

"Lizzie, come on!" A yell reached her hears, but it was almost instantaneously drowned out be the screeching and wailing of goblins.

This was it. She swallowed and took a deep breath. Her palms were beginning to dampen the sword handle, and she hadn't even used it yet. Where was Kili? Where was Bilbo? Where was anyone-

That was when the first blow struck her arm, searing down into her muscles and striking bone. She moved swiftly in a circle, her eyes wide with something she had never felt before, and found the goblin who had dealt the hit. It smiled at her, mocking her with its putrid green colored eyes.

Something deep inside of her thrummed, and she felt her blood coursing through her veins. She reacted quickly and cut into the goblin's stomach, spilling blood out onto the wooden bridge and all over her sword. The creature howled, grasping at the sharp edges of her blade and yowling out in pain. Her vision went red, and immediately, the sword she was holding caught aflame.

Lizzie was no longer herself. Lizzie was hungry.