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A Hobbit's Rescue	By : LadyLaran Category: Lord of the Rings Movies > Hobbit, The Views: 5699 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own "The Hobbit" nor do I make money from this story.

Chapter List
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Author’s Note – This chapter will be a bit longer, and it’s one we have all been waiting for!

Disclaimer – I do not own “the Hobbit” nor do I make any money from this story.

Chapter Sixty-Six – The Trial of Hardran

Balin was waiting in the antechamber of the courtroom. Almost all of the royal family had arrived, except for two, and they were waiting on them. They weren’t late, but it was more than likely Adamanta had gotten delayed due to Frerin and Iris, who were going to be watched by Adara, Emali, and Gimli. No one had wanted the twins anywhere near these proceedings, but the Company had expressed their need to support their hobbit. Kili and Adamanta had gratefully accepted Gimli’s request to be the one to stand watch over their children, and his mother and Adara had offered to take care of them while the young dwarf provided protection.

The Royal Advisor was pulled from his thoughts by the arrival of the couple they were all waiting for. Kili was dressed in a Durin blue silk tunic over dark trousers, belted at the waist with a leather belt that held his personal seal on the buckle. Like his brother and his uncle, there were seven silver stars embroidered on the cuffs of the tunic as well as the neckline and hemline. Both siblings wore the circlets the younger brother had made for them.

“I think Kili decided to make a very strong statement about our hobbit’s position within his life judging by Adamanta’s current attire,” Thorin mused to his advisor softly.

Balin could only nod in agreement, eyes focused on the small princess.

Unlike her husband’s outfit, Adamanta’s dress was rather severe in its own way. The gown she wore was made from heavy silk dyed the color the royal family wore. The neckline was modest, revealing only a slight hint of her collar bone as the dress hugged her curves from the neckline to her hips before flaring out slightly in a semi-full skirt.

The dress was well made, but it was Kili’s additions to this ensemble that made the princess shine. A linked belt was clasped just above her hips. Each link was either gold or silver and on each silver link, the archer’s personal seal was deeply etched in and gleamed when the light hit it just right, allowing the symbol to be highly visible. The gold links bore the tale of Mahal and Yavanna etched in beautiful drawings on each one, and a person would have to work their way around the princess to see the story in its entirety.

Her hair had been worn loose, except for her braids, and the gold tresses tumbled to her waist in a waterfall of curls covered by the sapphire teardrop adorned chains that were part of the silver and gold circlet her husband had gifted her. Matching sapphire teardrop earrings had been placed in her ears, and her mother’s locket could be seen as well.

“Aye, his mark is on her to show his claim to her,” Balin commented. “Nice touch with the drawings of the story of our Father and His bride. It really hammers the point home that the pair of them mimic our Father in their own way. No one will be allowed to forget this when they look at her, and the lad did the right thing in doing so.”

“My sister-son has done well,” the king agreed. “I forget how shrewd he can be, and then he surprises me with details like this.”

“He’s grown up well and is a credit to you and Princess Dis,” the advisor remarked. “Though I know we all despaired of ever seeing him show signs of craftiness outside of pranks.”

“The silver in my hair is well earned,” Thorin chuckled, then sobered. “Are we ready?”

Everyone nodded and lined up as Balin went out the door to call the court to readiness. Every dwarrow in the mountain, save for three, were in the audience. No one knew what the court had been called for, and they waited as the king and his family entered the room and took their seats upon the dais. Bifur and Dwalin, as personal guards to the family, stood in key positions near the front of the dais to ensure no harm could be done to any of them.

Everyone went quiet as the advisor began the proceedings, his voice carrying easily through the large chamber.

“We are assembled here to witness the trial against several who acted against citizens of Erebor and the Royal Family. Your Majesty, are you ready to proceed?”

“Bring in the accused,” Thorin said to his advisor, eyes cool as he waited for his order to be carried out.

Balin gave a small bow, then turned to the guards standing beside another side door. One of the guards opened it, and a group of four men were brought into the courtroom. All four of them were bound in heavy chains and accompanied by a large party of dwarven guards.

The guards forced the men to their knees in front of the platform and took position around them so none of them could try to escape or harm the royal family.

“The human identified as Hardran, you and your men have been brought into the court of His Majesty, King Thorin II Oakenshield, to be tried for your crimes. You stand accused of the crimes of assault against citizens of Erebor, assault against a member of the royal family, kidnapping of two members of the royal family, endangerment of four members of the royal family, kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment of citizens of Erebor and a ward of Erebor, and the removal of control from a woman under the protection of Erebor’s king and kin. How do you plead?

There was a loud growl from the audience when the last charge was laid against the humans. Removal of control, or rape as humans called it, had no gray scale in the eyes of the dwarven people. It didn’t matter if it was simple unwanted touching or full on sexual contact, it was deemed hideous by the Children of Mahal and the blood of the guilty ones were nearly always spilled for that crime.

The noise died when Balin called for silence in Khuzdul, then demanded the humans’ plea once again.

“Not guilty,” Hardran sneered, eyes never leaving Adamanta’s in a bid for intimidation. He was forced to look away when Dwalin barked something in the dwarven tongue, causing the guard to push his head down.

“Do all of you plead not guilty,” the white haired dwarrow asked, eyes watching the men keenly as three of them agreed.

To everyone’s surprise, one of the men disagreed with Hardran and others. His voice was full of remorse and muted anger when he addressed Balin.

“No, my lord, I do not plead this way. I will plea guilty to the charge of assault against citizens of Erebor and a member of the royal family. I recently joined Lord Hardran due to the fact my daughter needs a healer, and I can’t afford one. He came through my village, looking for men to hire and told us we were going to attack a party leaving the mountain because there was something here that was stolen from him,” the man told the advisor.

Thorin leaned forward in his chair, watching the human for several long minutes.

“What is your name and where do you hail from?”

“I am Marin, and I live in the village of Ciradan. It’s about two hours on horseback from here, your majesty,” he answered in a respectful tone.

“You will be removed from the trial until your words can be verified,” the king told him. “Once I have what I need, you will be judged for the deeds you have pled guilty to. Should you be lying, you will follow the fates of the ones who will be tried today.”

At the motion from Thorin, Marin was taken away and Balin bowed when the king addressed him.

“Lord Balin, you will ensure someone is sent to the village of Ciradan to investigate the man’s words once this trial is over. We will now proceed. Who are the witnesses to the charges laid against these men?”

“For the charges of assault against citizens of Erebor and assault against a member of the royal family, the witnesses are Prince Kili Dragonsbane and the members of his hunting party. As for the charges of kidnapping of two members of the royal family and endangerment of four members of the royal family, Princess Belis and Princess Adamanta Durinshield are the witnesses. The witnesses for the charges of kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment of citizens of Erebor and a ward of Erebor, and the removal of control from a woman under the protection of Erebor’s king and kin are the Company of Thorin Oakenshield,” he answered.

The members of Kili’s hunting party came up one at a time and shared their testimony about the attack that happened two days before. Kili was also called upon and he stood in front of his king, reporting everything that had happened and listing every injury his men had taken.

When the witnesses for that charge had finished giving their testimonies, Balin called upon Princess Belis to speak about the kidnapping and endangerment charge. She held herself proudly, recalling everything that had happened that day and her fears for her sister and the babies she had been carrying. Adamanta’s testimony was the same except for the addition that she had begun showing signs of early labor during the kidnapping and rescue, which reminded everyone in the courtroom of the precious lives she had been carrying at the time. The resulting noise had Balin stepping in to quiet them down, though the dwarf could not blame them for their anger and knew it would get worse.

Each member of the Company shared their memories of what happened while crossing the Misty Mountains, reporting the purposefully blocked path and what occurred once they were trapped. Kili’s testimony had brought tears to many eyes as he shared what had happened, including his thoughts regarding what he had been forced to do.

If Kili’s report had brought tears, Adamanta’s brought sheer rage to the assembled dwarrow. The royal family and the company could hear vows of protection for their princess, shouts of admiration for her strength as well as death threats for the man who had removed her control from her.

Thorin finally rose to his feet, shouting for silence. It took a few moments before the enraged dwarrow were able to obey, and he nodded towards the assembly.

“We are grateful for the loyalty you have shown, but the trial must be concluded. Everyone harmed must be allowed closure for the events that have happened to them, and I will see to it that justice is served.”

The king returned to his seat, eyes burning hotly as he eyed the humans in front of him.

“The evidence that has been laid out before all of us today is more than overwhelming. For the crime of assault against citizens of Erebor and an assault against a member of the royal family, I find you guilty. For the crime of kidnapping of two members of the royal family and endangerment of four members of the royal family, I find you guilty. The crime of kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment of citizens of Erebor and a ward of Erebor, I find you guilty. Finally, for the heinous crime of the removal of control from a woman under the protection of Erebor’s king and kin, I find you guilty.”

Before he could continue on and issue the punishment for the trio in front of him, Adamanta rose from her seat and moved to the center of the dais before kneeling in front of her king. She placed her hand over her heart, bowing her head as she waited for Thorin to address her.

“Princess Adamanta Durinshield, you may speak,” he granted, watching her as she lifted her head.

“My Lord King, while my heart is gladdened by these findings, I have come before you now to declare that I seek to regain what I have lost. I call for Trial By Combat,” she stated, hearing the approval of the assembled dwarrow behind her.

“Your right is granted, princess,” Thorin told her, pride in his voice as he addressed his niece. “Will you stand alone or have you chosen those who will stand beside you?”

“Princess Dis, daughter of Thrain, and Princess Belis, daughter of Krili, have agreed to stand beside me during the Trial,” Adamanta informed him.

“Then the Trial will take place at sunset tonight in the main arena,” Thorin informed them. “The princess and her chosen will reclaim what has been wrongly taken from her. Court is temporarily adjourned until the Trial. Guards, take the prisoners away.”

As everyone began to move, Thorin and the family went into the antechamber and all eyes turned towards the hobbit.

“Are you all right?”

“Angry and shaken by all of this,” Adamanta confessed. “It was hard hearing everything again, and it was worse when I had to retell it myself.”

She leaned against Kili when he wrapped an arm around her, soaking in the comfort while Dis addressed her daughter-in-law.

“You did remarkably well, and we’ll make sure to make him suffer in the arena. Go rest, spend time with the twins, and we’ll meet you in the arena an hour or so before sunset so we can warm up properly.”

Adamanta hugged each of them, then let Kili take her away so she could follow Dis’s instructions. She was nervous about this but drained as well. However, despite that, she couldn’t let her focus slip now that the Trial was soon to happen.

Author’s End Note - And now we move out of this chapter and closer to the end of the story. I’ve got to get the last bit of editing done so I can post the next chapter today. Enjoy!
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A Hobbit's Rescue