Hi guys, so very quickly I just wanted to apologise for the delay on this chapter. For me, the past few months have been hectic and I just haven't found the time to sit down and write. I'm so sorry but hopefully from now on the chapters will be updated a lot more frequently because it is finally the English summer holidays and I have a lot of time on my hands. Any criticism you have is completely welcome and I yet again apologise for how late this is. Sorry. Thanks and any follows/favourites/reviews are wholly appreciated.

Chapter 8: Dull, Dull Rain

Thorin's mind was a mess. He hadn't found an appropriate time to apologise to Fria and as they progressed up into the mountains, the opportunity seemed to become less and less possible. He was, of course, leading the company and she had spent most of the time at the back of the procession of dwarves or chatting with Kili.

Thorin remembered what Kili had said to him the previous night. What with Kili threatening to hurt him if he ever offended or hurt Fria again, he saw that his nephew was slowly becoming a mature adult dwarf rather than the small, excitable child he used to be. He gave Fria that. Without her, he was positive Kili would have never grown up. She playing with him and caused much mischief but she taught him life lessons that Thorin hadn't even considered Kili would need to learn.

He shook his head. She had been the only thing on his mind for the past few days and he did not need her distracting him from the quest. He was a dwarven prince and he had to regain his kingdom. Erebor was his home and not Smaug's. But less then a few seconds later, his thoughts had managed to link their way back to her. Rain started to pour so he lifted his hood and kept his head down, not wasting energy on trying to change his thought's subject.

.o0o.

Rain. Dull, dull rain. For the past 4 or so hours, Fria had heard nothing put the pattering of the drops on the hard, stone ground. She was soaked to the skin and really wished that the rest of the company could have put their prejudices behind them just so they could have stayed in Rivendell a little longer. There was no song or laughter and even Bofur hadn't bothered to make a sarcastic or cheery comment. She was used to silence and solitude but this was different. There was something eerie about these mountains and she didn't enjoy the uneasiness in her stomach. She looked at the ground beneath her feet and tried to push the thoughts out of her mind.

Soon, they came to a narrow edge that only allowed the dwarves to walk single file so she was filtered between Kili and Bifur and she continued to plod on. To one side, there was a huge rock face that seemed to go on miles upwards above her until the mist swallowed it up before she could see the top. To her other side, there was quite the opposite. A steep drop that lead into a valley you couldn't see the bottom of because the darkness was too thick. She clung to the wall and hoped to Eru that she wouldn't fall. The slimy surface of the rock was hard to hold on to and now and then she wondered how she had managed to stay on the path.

"Hold on!" she heard Thorin shout from ahead.

Just as his voice filled the air, Fria noticed the giant boulder flying from across the valley towards the group. It hit the rock surface above and shattered as though made of glass and the shards rained down on top of the company.

"This is no thunder storm," spoke Balin. "This is a thunder battle!"

Fria looked up and contemplated Balin's words, not understanding the meaning. Then she saw it.

"Well bless me. The legends are true," began Bofur. "Giants. Stone giants."

Across the valley, the stone mountains were breaking off into sections, the cracking and splitting echoing through the dark. The sections formed statuesque figures, tall, humongous in fact, like mountains that were enveloped in magic, enabling them to move. Several of these terrifying giants begun fighting, throwing boulders the size of buildings at each other. The company begin to hastily move along the ledge, hoping to find some shelter from the raging war.

Suddenly, the ledge they were on started cracking and moving. The company clung to the rock wall desperately as they separated from the mountain. A crack appeared down the middle of the group and the ground between Fili and Kili broke apart. Fili leapt to grab Kili but Fria held him back. The one thing they didn't need right now was someone falling into the deep abyss below.

"KILI!" Fili shouted as the legs of the giant separated so that the other half of the company (Kili, Bilbo, Bofur, Dwalin, Nori and Ori) were pulled away. The giant began walking and with each booming step, the company were at high risk of falling from the ledge. But they had to continue moving otherwise death would be a certainty so when the giant's leg came into contact with a ledge the group made a mad dash onto it, fearing for their lives.

From across the valley, Fria could see the other part of the group transferring rapidly between ledges and legs and finally onto a leg opposite from her and the rest of the company, who had found some level of safety. Suddenly, the giant that the other group were currently residing on was hit in the face by a boulder. The giant's head fell from his body and went shattering down into the dark.

But then the body of the giant began falling. Falling backwards into the cliff surface. The other group were facing the wall and went crashing into it, mostly likely being crushed in the process. Her face dropped in despair and she heard Thorin yell "NOOO". If what she thought was true, he had just lost some of his oldest friends and his nephew.

The company raced over to where the giant's leg had gone crashing into the rock surface. There they found the company and, apart from a few cuts and scratches, completely unharmed. Fria let go of her breath, not realising she had been holding it. She ran over to Kili and grinned when he turned over onto his back complaining about his arm. She was just thankful he was alive.

"Bilbo?" she heard Bofur question and she spun around to look for the hobbit, but her eyes did not find one. "Where is Bilbo?"

The company looked around searching for the small companion and only when Kili shouted "THERE" did they notice the small hands gripping to the ledge for dear life.

The company rushed over to grab his hands and pull him up but his hands slipped and he fell down the mountain slightly, only just managing to grab hold of a further down ledge that was very luckily protruding from the rock surface. The group reached down to grab him but he was too far away and one of his hands had already slipped.

Without warning, Thorin threw himself over the side of the cliff and, holding his own weight from the ledge, pulled the small hobbit up by the scruff of his neck so that the company could grab him and pull him up themselves. Fria and Dwalin hurried to Thorin to pull the dwarven prince up. He scrambled up and looked at Fria questioningly and Fria remembered in that moment that she hated him for his actions the day before and quickly stepped away, looking down at the ground, avoiding eye contact.

"I thought we'd lost our burglar," said Dwalin panting.

"He's been lost ever since he left home," said Thorin. "He should never of come. He has no place amongst us."

As Thorin spoke, Fria no longer had to remember her disdain and she gave him a disgusted look before looking at Bilbo, who appeared more forlorn than ever before.

"Come on," Thorin shouted and led the group into a cave that had been so well hidden, Fria hadn't even been aware of its existence, even though she had been standing in front of it for the last five minutes.

.o0o.

As they entered the cave, Fria became thankful for the shelter. In the past few minutes, everything had been so hectic that she had forgotten about her damp, uncomfortable clothing.

"Looks safe enough," she heard Dwalin say.

"Search to the back. Caves in the mountains are seldom unoccupied," Thorin warned.

Fria wandered to the back, knowing all too well about not checking caves properly. She had learnt of the hazards long ago from previous mistakes. The cave wasn't very large and she reached the back without finding anything suspicious.

"There's nothing here," she shouted as she returned to the group.

"Right then, let's get a fire started," she heard Gloin speak.

"No. No fires, not in this place. Get some sleep. We start at first light." Thorin ordered.

Fria began to lay on the ground as Thorin ordered Bofur to take first watch. She listened to the continuing storm outside as her clothing became even more uncomfortable. She turned over and closed her eyes, wishing herself to sleep before giving up and accepting the fact that that night was going to be a very long night indeed.