Alrún screamed as she and the entire Company fell down a chute, sliding through a tunnel, and landing in a giant wooden cage. Alrún groaned as she moved around, falling onto some bodies by accident. She fell onto the entrance of what seemed to be a "net" of some sort. Alrún looked up as the others struggled to get up. Alrún's eyes widened as she saw horde of goblins came running at them. They took away their weapons, and dragged them all away. As the dwarves were lead away kicking and yelling, Thorin, who was in the middle with Alrún, looked at her.

"Alrún, are you alright?" He asked. She glanced at him.

"Yes. I'm just worried about where we ended up." She said. Thorin nodded, sharing his lover's worry. The goblin horde brought the dwarves through a vast network of tunnels and wooden bridges to the throne room and platform of the Great Goblin. The Great Goblin was a massive Goblin sitting on a throne, holding a mace topped with a skull. He was far larger than any other goblin Alrún had ever seen and he was incredibly ugly, with warts all over his swinging chin. The dwarves' weapons were piled together. The Great Goblin jumped off his throne, trampling several smaller goblins, and approached the Company. Thorin pulled Alrún behind him. The other dwarfs did their best to hide Alrún, knowing that the Great Goblin would love the fact that there was a woman in his presence. The Great Goblin stared down at the Company.

"Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom?" The Great Goblin asked. "Spies? Thieves? Assassins?" He asked. A Goblin named Grinnah, stepped forward. He must have been the Captain of the Goblins.

"Dwarves, Your Malevolence." Grinnah said, lowering his head in respect. The Great Goblin raised his eyebrow.

"Dwarves?" The Great Goblin asked. Alrún lowered her head, trying to not be spotted.

"We found them on the front porch." Grinnah said, sounding proud of their efforts.

"Well, don't just stand there; search them!" The Great Goblin shouted. "Every crack, every crevice!" The Great Goblin ordered. The goblins searched the dwarves thoroughly, throwing away whatever they found. Oin's hearing trumpet was thrown on the floor and crushed underfoot. One of the Goblins grabbed hold of Alrún's upper arm, yanking her forward. The Goblin screeched gleefully. He pushed her forward until she met the Goblin King. The Goblin King hummed.

"Well, well, what do we have here? A female!" He said in interest. Alrún glared up at the Goblin King. It seemed that he had no idea who she was, yet. The Great Goblin looked down at her. "What are you doing in these parts? Speak!" No one responded. The Great Goblin smirked. "Well then, if they will not talk, we'll make them squawk! Bring out the Mangler! Bring out the Bone Breaker! Start with the youngest and the female!" He shouted, pointing his staff at Ori and Alrún. Ori's face paled. Alrún quickly stood in front of Ori, trying to protect him. Before the Goblins could grab hold of the two, Thorin stepped forward.

"Wait!" He shouted. All commotion stopped as he stepped forward and took hold of Alrún's hand. The Goblin King stepped back a little bit. His eyes widened.

"Well, well, well, look who it is. Thorin son of Thrain, son of Thror. And his little lover, Alrún, daughter of Aredhel. King and Queen under the Mountain." The Great Goblin bowed exaggeratedly to Thorin and Alrún, who glared up at the Great Goblin. The Great Goblin gasped slightly. "Oh, but I'm forgetting, you don't have a mountain. And you're not a king and she not a queen. Which makes the two of you nobody, really." The Great Goblin said, smirking. His eyes widened. "I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head, Thorin. Just the head, nothing attached. I also know that they wish for Alrún. It is said that she has powers beyond imagining." Alrún's face paled. She had been right. The trolls knew who she was, she had speculated that others knew who she was. And she was right. "Perhaps you know of whom I speak, an old enemy of yours. A Pale Orc astride a White Warg." The Great Goblin smirked at the lovers. Thorin looked up in surprise and disbelief.

"Azog the Defiler was destroyed," Thorin said in defiance. "He was slain in battle long ago." He said. Alrùn looked away, feeling guilty for keeping the truth from Thorin. The Great Goblin rose his eye brow and smirked.

"So you think his defiling days are done, do you? Your lover seems to know differently." He said. Thorin looked at Alrún in confusion. She wouldn't meet his eyes. The Great Goblin laughed and then turned to a tiny goblin sitting in a basket and holding a slate. "Send word to the Pale Orc," the Great Goblin said. He looked at Thorin and Alrùn. "Tell him I have found his prizes." He said. The tiny goblin wrote down the message on his slate, cackling. He then pulls a lever, causing his basket to start sliding down a system of ropes and pulleys into the darkness.

~~~~~~~~~

Bilbo, who had fallen into the darkness after trying to follow the company and save them, regained his consciousness. He found himself in a dark cavern, lying behind a clump of mushrooms. He saw the goblin who had attacked him lying nearby, nearly dead. The Goblin's breathing was shallow and slow. Suddenly, Bilbo saw a strange figure approaching the goblin. It crawled on all fours. At closer inspection, it looked almost Hobbit like. This creature in question, was Gollum.

A wide smile broke across Gollum's face. "Yes. Yes. Yes! Yes! Gollum. Gollum." Gollum said, seeming to speak more to himself than anyone else. Bilbo, out of sight behind the mushrooms, watched as Gollum circled around the goblin. Gollum then began pulling the goblin away by the feet. Suddenly, the goblin woke up and began flailing around. In a fit of rage, Gollum grabbed a rock and pounded the goblin on the head with it, knocking it unconscious again. As Bilbo watched in horror, a small object, almost the size of a Ring, fell out of Gollum's loincloth and fell on the floor. Gollum resumed pulling the unconscious goblin away. "Nasty goblinses. Better than old bones, Precious; better than nothing." Gollum said, continuing to pull the goblin away and into the Darkness. Bilbo, emerging from his hiding spot and retrieving his sword, followed after Gollum. By the light of the sword, he saw the object that had fallen. Upon further inspection, Bilbo found that the object was in fact, a Ring. A golden Ring. Bilbo inspected the Ring. Bilbo looked up from the Ring, hearing Gollum singing in the distance. Bilbo put the Ring into his pocket and followed the sound of Gollum's voice.

"Too many boneses, Precious! Nothing of flesh!" A voice said, sounding higher in pitch and complaining.

"Shut up! Get its skin off. Start with its head." A different voice said. This voice was lower than the first and sounded rougher and meaner. Bilbo realized that it was Gollum speaking to himself as two different people.

"The cold hard lands, they bites our hands, they gnaws our feet. The rocks and stones, they're like old bones, all bare of meat. Cold as death, they have no breath, it's good to eat!" Gollum sang. Rounding a corner, Bilbo saw Gollum silhouetted on top of a rock in the middle of a small lake. Gollum was singing as he beat the goblin's body. He smashed it in the head again with a rock. Seeing the glow of Bilbo's sword, Gollum looked up. Bilbo quickly hid behind a rock, realizing that his sword was still glowing brightly. However, the sword's light started flickering, much to Bilbo's horror, then completely died out, signifying that the goblin was dead. Bilbo peeked out from behind the rock. He was shocked to see that Gollum was no longer there. Gollum stealthily paddled through the lake in his little boat, using his hands as paddles. Bilbo quickly hid behind the rock again. Hearing a faint climbing noise, Bilbo slowly looked up and found Gollum on a rock above him. Gollum jumped down in front of Bilbo.

"Bless us and splash us, Precious! That's a meaty mouthful." Gollum said, smiling evilly. Gollum approached Bilbo, who placed the point of his sword on Gollum's throat, causing Gollum to retreat in fear. "Aaahh. Gollum. Gollum. Ack!" Gollum shouted. Bilbo continued to point the sword at Gollum.

"Back. Stay back. I'm warning you, don't come any closer." Bilbo threatened. Though he tried to put on a brave face, Bilbo was beyond terrified. Gollum backed away from the sword, looking at the Hobbit curiously.

"It's got an elfish blade, but it's not an Elfs. Not an Elfs, no. What is it, Precious? What is it?" Gollum questioned, tilting his head in confusion and narrowing his eyes. Bilbo kept his sword trained on Gollum, not wanting to let his guard down for a moment.

"My name is Bilbo Baggins."

"Bagginses?" Gollum tilted his head in confusion once more. "What is a Bagginses, Precious?"

"I'm a Hobbit from the Shire." Bilbo said. Gollum's eyes widened.

"Oh! We like Goblinses, batses, and fishes, but we hasn't tried Hobbitses before. Is it soft? Is it juicy?" Gollum asked, approached again, a malicious look on his once confused face. Bilbo held out his sword in front of him and wildly waved it about.

"Now, now, K--keep your distance! I'll use this if I have to!" Bilbo shouted, holding his sword out in front of him. Gollum snarled at Bilbo, causing Bilbo to step back in slight fear. Bilbo sighed in exasperation. "I don't want any trouble, do you understand? Just show me the way to get out of here, and I'll be on my way." Bilbo said. Gollum tilted his head.

"Why, is it lost?" He asked. Bilbo nodded his head frantically.

"Yes, yes, and I want to get unlost as soon as possible." Bilbo said in unrest. Gollum's face turned to a somewhat kinder one.

"Ooh! We knows! We knows safe paths for Hobbitses. Safe paths in the dark." Gollum responded in a somewhat nicer voice than what he had been talking to Bilbo with earlier. Gollum then turned his head and hissed angrily; "Shut up." Bilbo looked at the creature in confusion.

"I didn't say anything."

"Wasn't talking to you."

"But yes, we was, Precious, we was." Gollum said in the nicer voice again. Bilbo lowered his sword slightly and sighed.

"Look, uh, I don't know what your game is, but I--"

"Games?" Gollum asked excitedly, bounding over to Bilbo. Bilbo raised his sword once again, ready for if the creature would decide to attack. "We love games, doesn't we, Precious? Does it like games? Does it? Does it? Does it like to play?" Gollum asked, his voice returning to the energy filled and kinder voice. Bilbo looked at Gollum in apprehension.

"Maybe?"

Gollum held up his hands and began reciting a riddle.

"What has roots as nobody sees, is taller than trees. Up, up, up it goes, and yet, never grows." Gollum questioned. Bilbo frowned and, thinking for a moment.

"The mountain." Bilbo responded, solving the riddle. Gollum began to laugh uproariously. He nodded his head vigorously.

"Yess, yess, oh, let's have another one, eh? Yes, come on, do it again, do it—do it again. Ask us." Suddenly, the meaner voice returned. "No! No more riddles. Finish him off. Finish him now. Gollum! Gollum!" Gollum snarled, and began rushing at Bilbo to kill him but Bilbo held out his hand to stop the creature.

"No! No, no, no. I wa—I want to play. I do. I want to play. I can see you are very good at this," he knelt down to Gollum's level, the creature looking at the Hobbit curiously. "S—so why don't we have a game of riddles? Yes, just, just you and me." Gollum scuttled forward, close to Bilbo.

"Yes! Yes, just, just—just us." Gollum whispered excitedly. Bilbo nodded.

"Yes. Yes. And—and if I win, you show me the way out." He said. Gollum began to nod. "Yes. Yes -" Gollum then snarled and turned his head behind a rock. "And if it loses? What then?" Gollum asked. "Well, if it loses, Precious, we will eats it!" Gollum laughed to himself, happy with his new plan. He then turned back to Bilbo. "If Baggins loses, we eats it whole." Gollum said, tilting his head and saying it like it was no big deal. There was a pause for several seconds as Bilbo digested this new information. He then nodded.

"Fair enough." He said. He stood up and put his sword away as Gollum looked on in interest. Gollum gestured at the Hobbit excitedly.

"Well, Baggins first." As Bilbo thought of a riddle, Gollum rested his hands and chin on the edge of a rock in wait. Bilbo looked at Gollum when he had come up with the riddle.

"Thirty white horses on a red hill. First they champ, then they stamp, then they stand still." As Gollum thinks, he keeps opening his eyes and mouth as if he knew the answer, then changed his mind. This went on for several seconds, until he finally; "Teeth?" Bilbo sighed unhappy, as the answer was correct. Gollum become ecstatic and laughed throatily.

"Teeth!! Yes, my Precious. But we—we—we only have nine." Gollum displayed his mouth, showing that he really did only have nine teeth. Bilbo looked at the creature in disgust. "Our turn." Gollum said. "Voiceless it cries," as Gollum began reciting the riddle, he inched closer. Bilbo moved around, keeping distance between the two with a large rock. "wingless flutters, toothless bites, mouthless mutters." Gollum said. He wore an almost evil grin. Bilbo narrowed his eyes in thought. This one stumped him.

"Just a minute." As Bilbo walked off thinking, Gollum's face turned from an evil smirk to an excited grin.

"Oh, oh! We knows. We knows!"

"Shut up."

As Bilbo observed the water, he noticed tiny waves forming as a breeze ruffled the surface of the water. Bilbo smiled.

"Wind. It's wind! Of course it is." Bilbo said triumphantly. Gollum snarled in frustration and began slinking around, approaching Bilbo.

"Very clever, Hobbitses, very clever." As he got too close for comfort, Bilbo pulled out his sword and pointed it at Gollum again.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah. A—a box without hinges, key, o—or, or lid; yet golden treasure inside is hid." Bilbo recited the next riddle. Gollum thought hard, talking to himself and making many hand motions.

"A box...and a lid...and then a key...." Bilbo looked over at Gollum.

"Well?" Bilbo asked impatiently. He was very eager to get out of this nasty place. Gollum shook his head and shook is finger at the Hobbit.

"It's nasty. Uh, box, uh..."

"Give up?"

"Give us a chance, Precious, give us a chance!" In frustration, Gollum began pounding the floor and snarling. He puckered his face up deeply, then suddenly opened his eyes wide as he got the answer.

"Eggses! Eggses!" He laughed. "What crunchy little eggses, yes. Grandmother taught us to suck them, yes." As Gollum laughed, a bat made a noise in the darkness. Bilbo turned to look for the source of the noise; as he turned back around, he realized that Gollum was gone. Gollum's voice suddenly started sounding like an echo from different parts of the cave.

"Ahh. We have one for you: All things it devours, birds, beasts, trees, flowers. Gnaws iron, bites steel, grinds hard stones to meal. Answer us."

"Give me a moment, please, I gave you a good long while." Bilbo tried to think while at the same time he walked around with his sword drawn, looking for Gollum. Bilbo shook his head in defeat. "I don't know this one."

"Is it tasty? Is it scrumptious? Is it crunchable?" As Gollum said 'crunchable,' he appeared behind Bilbo and tried to grab him by the throat, but Bilbo jumped away and pointed his sword at Gollum.

"Let me think. Let me think." He insisted. Gollum smirked evilly.

"It's stuck. Bagginses is stuck." Gollum said. Bilbo paced back and forth next to the water, thinking. Gollum smiled eerily and put up his hands in a shrug. "Time's up." Gollum shifted, preparing to leap on Bilbo. Bilbo lifted his head in realization.

"Time. Ti—the answer is time." Bilbo said with confidence. Gollum snarled in frustration. Bilbo cleared his throat in victory. "Actually, it wasn't that hard." He said. Gollum frowned.

"Last question. Last chance." Gollum said. Bilbo froze.

"Ah, uh...."

"Ask us. ASK US!!" Although Gollum was smiling sweetly, he had a rock clutched behind his back with which to hit Bilbo. The first time he says "Ask us," he says it sweetly. He then roars it a second time angrily. Bilbo nodded.

"Yes, yes, alright." Bilbo strolled to the edge of the lake to think. He absentmindedly rubbed his pocket and felt the ring inside. He smiled slightly.

"What have I got in my pocket?" Bilbo asked. Gollum looked disgusted and angry.

"That's not fair. It's not fair! It's against the rules!" In frustration, Gollum threw down the rock he'd been clutching. Bilbo made a startled noise as the rock was hurtled towards him. "Ask us another one." Gollum demanded. Bilbo shook his head.

"No, no, no, no. You said 'Ask me a question.' Well, that is my question. What have I got in my pocket?" Bilbo said. Technically, Bilbo was right. Gollum had asked the Hobbit to ask a question. Gollum jumped off his rock and approached Bilbo. Bilbo moved to keep a rock between him and Gollum.

"Three guesses, Precious. It must give us three." Gollum held up two fingers to quantify three. Bilbo nodded.

"Three guesses. Very well, guess away." Bilbo said, confident that he would win.

"Handses!" Gollum began guessing wildly. Bilbo pulled his hand out of his pocket just in time.

"Wrong, guess again." Bilbo said. Gollum crouched on the floor, trying to think of the answer. He muttered potential answers to himself and slapped the floor in increasing anger and ferocity as he failed to come up with the right answer.

"Fish-bones, goblins' teeth, wet shells, bat's wings ... Knife!"

"Oh, shut up."

"Wrong again. Last guess." Bilbo said.

"String!" "Or nothing."

Bilbo shook his head.

"Two guesses at once; wrong both times." Bilbo said. Upon hearing this, Gollum fell to the floor, sobbing. "So, come then, I won the game, you promised to show me the way out." Bilbo said.

"Did we say so, Precious? Did we say so?" Gollum slowly turned around and glared hatefully at Bilbo. "What has it got in its pocketses?"Gollum whispered. Bilbo pointed his sword at Gollum.

"That's no concern of yours. You lost." Bilbo said.

"Lost? Lost? Lost?" Gollum grinned as he slowly approached Bilbo, planning to kill him. He reached for something hidden at his side. He froze realizing that the item was not there. His face registered in shock. He began groping all over himself trying to find it. "Where is it? Where is it? No! Ahh! Where is it? No! No!!!" Gollum scuttled around the cave, scattering bones and rocks as he searches in vain for the Ring, which was the item he lost. He even splashed through the shallows of the lake. His voice broke as he cried. "Lost! Curses and splashes, my precious is lost!" While Gollum's back was toward him, Bilbo, realizing what it was that Gollum had lost, quickly took the Ring from his pocket and held it in his hand behind his back.

"What have you lost?" Bilbo asked. Gollum glared back at the Hobbit

"Mustn't ask us! Not its business! No! Gollum, Gollum." Gollum, leaning over the edge of the lake, sobbed quietly. As he stared into the water, his sobs ceased and his face became contorted in anger. "What has it got in its nasty little pocketses?" In fear, Bilbo clutched the Ring behind him more tightly and pointed his sword at Gollum. Gollum slowly looked up in shock and anger. At first, he whispered, he then got louder and louder until he was roaring.

"He stole it. He stole it! Ahh! HE STOLE IT!" Snarling, Gollum threw a stone at Bilbo. Bilbo deflected it with his sword, then ran away, with Gollum chasing him.

~~~~

//Here is Chapter 9. We are nearing the end of Book one. I have decided that I am going to split the different Heart of a Dwarf Soul of a Queen stories into three different sections, just like in the movies. So this one is called; Heart of a Dwarf; Soul of a Queen: Book One;  Alrún Daughter of Aredhel. I hope you like this chapter. Chapter 10 will be coming soon.//