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     Valadhiel lay on the ground, her wings curled around herself, and stared out of the cave into the darkness outside. She was tired, but she was unable to get to sleep. Nightmares plagued her mind, whether things that had really happened, or things that hadn't happened but made her uneasy. She also felt uneasy to begin with. There was something about this place, but she didn't know what.

     She glanced around at all of the dwarves, who were all asleep. Well, except for Thorin. He lay completely still with his eyes closed, but she knew he wasn't asleep by the way he was breathing. Plus, she had seen him open his eyes for a moment only minutes ago. She snapped her attention elsewhere when she heard and saw movement, then she realized that Bilbo had gotten up.

     The elf furrowed her brow as she watched him pack his things and tiptoe around the sleeping dwarves, then she felt her heart sink. She didn't want him to leave, as she considered him a friend, and she knew he would be very useful on the quest. Gandalf was the one that had chosen him as their burglar, after all. But, she wouldn't stop him.

     Bofur, who was keeping watch, looked up at Bilbo when he walked over. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked the hobbit.

     "Back to Rivendell." Bilbo replied quietly, looking over at Bofur.

     "No, you can't turn back now; you're part of the Company. You're one of us."

     "I'm not though, am I?" Bilbo replied, shaking his head. "Thorin said I should never have come, and he was right. I'm not a Took, I'm a Baggins. I don't know what I was thinking. I should never have run out my door."

     Valadhiel subtly looked at Thorin after Bilbo spoke. She was glad he was awake, because this was something he needed to hear. She hoped that he would rethink what he'd said about Bilbo. She silently sighed and looked Bilbo's way again. She hoped that Thorin would come to accept him.

     "You're homesick." Bofur told him. "I understand."

     "No, you don't- you don't understand! None of you do... you're dwarves. You're used to... to this life, to living on the road, never settling in one place, not belonging anywhere."

     Valadhiel noticed the offended look Bofur gave, though the look quickly left, as he seemed to realize that they were indeed used to this life, whereas hobbits never usually left the comforts of their home. The elf sat up after a moment and leaned against the wall, leaning her head back and staring up at the ceiling. She herself was used to life on the road and never staying in one place. To forget the pains of life, she kept herself busy with doing things for others. The need to keep busy was one of the reasons she'd decided to come on this quest in the first place. Plus, there was something else that drove her to come.

     "I am sorry, I didn't-"

     "No, you're right." Bofur interrupted Bilbo calmly. "We don't belong anywhere. I wish you all the luck in the world. I really do." The dwarf them smiled and put a hand on Bilbo's shoulder, then lowered it when the halfling began to walk away. He then furrowed his brow and became a little alarmed when he saw something glowing blue. "What's that?"

     Valadhiel looked up when Bofur asked the question just in time to see Bilbo pull out his glowing sword, then her eyes widened as she leaped to her feet right as her brain sent danger signals all throughout her body. Sand began to fall, and it felt like the floor was crumbling.

     "Wake up!" Thorin shouted, having gotten to his feet at the same time Valadhiel had.

     "Everyone, wake up!" Valadhiel shouted after Thorin had, moving around and shaking a dwarf by the shoulders before she backed away and looked around. Her eyes widened when she smelled an all too familiar smell, but before she could say anything else, the floor collapsed and sent them all falling.

     Despite the fact they were falling, she tried to see where they were. They were in wooden tunnels, and they were too narrow for her to be able to spread her wings. They soon fell into a wooden cage, Valadhiel landing right onto Thorin and Balin, grunting when Bombur landed on her and not only knocked the breath out of her, but landed on her already sore wing.

     Once Bombur got off of her, she got up off of Thorin and Balin, then they all began to help each other to their feet. Before all of them were even up on their feet, a horde of goblins came, took their weapons, and began to drag them all away.

     "Where's Bilbo?" Bofur whispered to the others.

     Valadhiel's eyes widened and she looked around for the halfling, but she didn't see him anywhere! She had taken responsibility for him, and now, she had no idea where he was. Wherever he was, she desperately hoped that he was okay and would be okay. If anything happened to him, she would never forgive herself. Hopefully he wouldn't run into Gollum- if the former hobbit Smeagol even still lived around here.

     She gulped when she remembered something that had happened long ago. She had been captured and taken before the Great Goblin before, and she had managed to escape after killing several goblins and almost killing him. She knew that he would remember her, and she was not looking forward to seeing the ugliest and fattest goblin Middle-Earth had, sadly, ever known.

     "Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom?" King Ugly asked in a demanding tone. "Spies? Thieves? Assassins?"

     "Dwarves, Your Malevolence." A goblin, whose name was Grinnah, told him.

     "Dwarves?"

     "We found them on the front porch."

     "Well, don't just stand there! Search them! Every crack, every crevice!"

     As the goblins began searching the dwarves, two grabbed Valadhiel by the arms and dragged her to the king before forcing her onto her knees, causing her to wince, as her injured leg had been kicked. "We also found her, Your Highness. After seven years, we've got her again." Grinnah informed him with an evil smirk.

     The Great Goblin descended from his throne, rather ungracefully, and placed a finger under her chin to force her head up. "Well, well, well, what is the lizard doing with a group of dwarves?"

     Valadhiel glared when she was called a lizard, and with one quick movement, she jerked her head away and sunk her fangs into his finger.

     "Ow!" The king cried out, jerking his finger away and sucking on it before he smacked her across the face with the other. "If you value your little dwarf friends, reptile, you won't be doing that again."

     "Don't touch her!" Thorin shouted, having seen her get smacked across the face.

     "Keep those hands to yourself!" Kili added angrily.

     The hideous goblin turned to the dwarves after motioning for Valadhiel to be bound so she couldn't shapeshift or harm anyone else. "What are you doing in these parts? Speak!"

     No one replied. The only thing Thorin did was glance over at Valadhiel, now bound in chains, and wonder how in Durin's name she knew this monstrosity. It seemed she had been captured by him before. Now, however, wasn't the time.

     "Well then, if they will not talk, we'll make them squawk!" The king cried out. "Bring out the Mangler! Bring out the Bone Breaker! Start with the youngest, then go for the lizard." He pointed at Kili, then at Valadhiel, though he signaled for the others to wait when Thorin stepped forward and in front of Kili.

     "Wait." Thorin said. There was no way he was going to let this "king" harm his nephew or Valadhiel. In fact, he wouldn't let this monster lay a finger on any one of his kin.

     "Well, well, well, look who it is. Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, King Under The Mountain." The Great Goblin bowed mockingly. "Oh, but I'm forgetting, you don't have a mountain. And you're not a king. Which makes you a nobody, really."

     "Actually, if he were a nobody, he wouldn't be standing there, or even exist, now, would he?" Valadhiel spat, her eyes flashing a brighter yellow. "He's definitely a king. You are the one who is no king."

     The Great Goblin motioned to a smaller dwarf that held a whip, and the goblin struck Valadhiel across the back with it three times once her armor was removed. However, he added a fourth one when the elf made no sound, earning a slight cry of pain.

     "Leave her alone!" Fili shouted, stepping forward, though he didn't stray from his brother or his uncle.

     "You best shut your mouth unless you want to be next." The Great Goblin threatened.

     "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Valadhiel hissed at him, getting to her feet despite the fact they were shackled, then she scowled. "Oh, but wait, you can't. There isn't a creature in Middle-Earth as large as you are. I doubt there's anyone in Middle-Earth bigger than your chin!"

     Valadhiel was forced back onto her knees, then whipped until she gave a cry of pain, resulting in six new lashes across her back. Thorin, Fili, and Kili clenched their fists and teeth in anger, their blood boiling, and the other dwarves were beyond angry as well. How dare they harm a woman like this!

     "Watch your mouth, lizard, or I'll have you beaten to a pulp!" The Great Goblin shouted at her, bending over to her level as he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.

     Valadhiel looked the "King" in the eye, eyes flashing an almost red as she growled out, "Never, you big sack of ugly!" Then, she did the unthinkable and spat right in his face.

     The goblin with the whip beat her six more times, then stopped when his majesty ordered him to. "Twist her wing until it breaks." The Great Goblin ordered.

     All the dwarves' eyes widened, and Thorin shouted for them to stop, then looked away when Valadhiel let out a scream just as a loud crack sounded. Every single dwarf cringed and began shouting, but they quieted when they were again threatened by the goblins. Valadhiel was then released and thrown back into the crowd of the other dwarves.

     Thorin quickly helped her up, as she'd fallen to the ground due to her legs and wrists being chained. "Are you alright?" He quietly asked, giving her the most worried look she'd ever seen on his face.

     Valadhiel nodded. "I'm fine, it's nothing I've not dealt with before." She murmured to him as she got up, then she looked up when the Great Goblin stepped forward and looked at them both with a smirk.

     "I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your heads. Just the head, nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak. An old enemy of yours, a Pale Orc astride a White Warg." He told Thorin calmly, then he looked Valadhiel in the eye. "Working alongside a Black Dragon known as Night Fury."

     Valadhiel refused to show any amount of surprise and only glared at the goblin. She knew Night Fury would show up sooner or later. But Azog? How was that wretched creature still alive? He couldn't be!

     Thorin himself was trying, though failing, to hide his surprise and horror. "Azog The Defiler was destroyed. He was slain in battle long ago."

     "So you think his defiling days are done, do you?" The Great Goblin laughed and turned to a little goblin in a basket. "Send word to the Pale Orc. Tell him I have found both his prizes." He then turned to the other goblins and gestured for them to take  the dwarves. "Throw 'em all in the dungeon! The lizard, too! Make sure her wrists are still bound by the time she gets down there." He looked at Valadhiel with a hateful glare. "She won't be escaping us. Not this time."

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