A/N: warning this will have some abuse..so if you cant handle it then just skip to my other story which introduces them..Jeweled doll..thank you very much.

It was early morning on the edge of the misty mountain range..sun was rising in the east as it did every morning. The sky filled with the beautiful colors of pinks and soft purples as stars faded before the emerging sun upon the horizon. The forest that laid along the edge of the mountain range was slowly waking as the soft fog lifted from its lowly slumber , releasing its chilly hold upon the land once again to the morning. Deer made their way gently through the trees nibbling on the fresh dewy grass as the fawns frolicked, stretching thier legs from slumbering next to thier parents in the night...suddenly a scream shattered the peace and made the deer bolt for safety.A lone orc was hunting and nothing wanted to be in its path..another scream filled the air..a womans, filled with fear and pain.

"Get back flea bitten dog..or ill cut off your reason for breeding..son of a she cur." a small woman stood with her feet apart holding a dagger in each hand staring at the orc as it drew closer to her. He lifted his nose in the air smelling it and then lowered it as he smiled at her evily.

"Fear..how nice. " he said with a chilling laugh. " Im going to enjoy this ..dwarf.. killing you and that whelp behind you." he started advancing again. The dwarf braced herself ..praying that she didnt falter..she had to fight so her daughter could live. He got closer as the woman tried to lunge for him..he swerved to the right away from her dagger thinking..how pathetic.. and right into the path of an arrow that was shot from the child that was behind her, into his throat. He fell down gurgling on his own blood..the light in his confused eyes fading fast... he swung his club with the last of his dying strength at the womans legs and heard a most satifying crack as she screamed and fell to the earth in agony...then he died.

"Momma!" the little dwarfling cried as she rushed over to her mother who was gasping and holding her leg that had been broken. "Momma.. please ok..im scared." She knelt there next to her crying hard as her mother slowly reached up with one hand touching the childs head trying to soothe her.

"Shhh..its ok ..miz berch( my daughter).. ill be fine..just help me up...lets get out of here before others show up." She took a deep breath and using the childs shoulders levered herself up off the ground trying to contain a scream as they hobbled away from the orc body..putting as much distance between them and it. They traveled for several miles before she couldnt take the agony anymore and collapsed onto the ground. The girl whimpered as her mother fell to the ground. There was a cry of rage in the distance..orcs..they had found thier dead comrade and were furious. The woman knew they would be found soon..looking at her frightened daughter she knew what she had to do.

"Listen love. You have to go..before they find you."The child started to shake her head in denial." You must run..far as you can.. dont look back..you must go." the woman started to push the girl away trying to force her to go.With one last push as she roared at the girl "RUN..NOW!" the child jumped up and ran as fast as she could with tears stinging her eyes, through the eerie forest as the sound of orcs drew closer.

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The sound of hooves filled the forest air as a large dwarf made his way along a trail..when suddenly there was the sound of orc screams filling the air making him pause and listen as he pulled his axe off his back from its place. He looked around searching for the direction it was coming from when without any warning a dwarfling burst through some bushes crying hard as she ran. She had dark reddish hair that was bound in a single braid down her back and her clothes looked like it had seen better days. Upon seeing him she stopped ..staring at him with fear and whimpering as she started to back up from him.

"Wait child..do not run. I will not harm you..please dont run." He saw her fear and tried to speak gently as not to frighten her...she paused for a moment. Another scream tore through the air ..the orcs caught a scent and they were excited. The girl looked behind from where she had come at the sound then looking back at him she bolted straight for him.

"Help..help please" she threw herself into his arms crying hard.and grasping at his coat in terror." Momma needs help..theyre going to get her..Please..save her sir."He held the sobbing child in his arms as rage came over him at the childs words.

"Show me child" he growled. She looked up at him as hope replaced the fear that was in her eyes. He quickly mounted his horse and pulled the child behind him ..racing off in the direction that the child pointed towards. As the ground rushed under them the girl took a look at the man in front of her. He was tall even by dwarven standards..he had dark hair that was crowned by a bald spot that had tattoos etched upon it. His features were grim ..and yet it didnt bring terror to her heart unlike other men did..she felt safe for once.

As they got closer he saw a woman on the ground cowering in terror as three orcs surrounded her laughing wickedly as they drew closer to her. He didnt even stop as he leapt from the saddle wielding his great battle axe..swinging mightily at the foul smelling beasts.. beheading one..cleaving another almost in half..and spinning around he slashed at the others chest. The battle was finished before the girl brought the horse to a stop. Turning around he saw a dwarf woman lying on the ground looking at him in awe and fear as she started to back away on the ground from him. she probaly would of clawed herself away if the child hadnt ran over to her crying as she fell into her mothers arms that clutched the child to her. He stood in shock as he gazed at the woman. She had dark mahogany hair that looked like someone had taken a hatchet to..bruises that covered her face that framed the most beautiful eyes that looked like dark gold...and she was very pregnant. He knew he had to be careful so as not to spook her any further than she already was.

"Dont be afraid...Im here to help. The lass found me and brought me here." He softly spoke to her..not getting close to her..holding up his hands to see he meant no harm to her. Her eyes never leaving his..she choked out.. thank you.. he just nodded his head at her and tried to appear non threatning . He noticed her cringing in pain as she shifted her leg and he became even more concerned. "May i please come closer miss..i noticed your injured and i would like to see what i can do to fix it." his gruff voice washed over her..chasing some of her fear away before it. He saw her give him the okay and he slowly eased towards her so as not to frighten her. " Names Dwalin...at yur service lassies." he bowed his head at the woman and child as he settled at her side." You are?"

"I..Im..Im ..Amari and this is my daughter Vakita." her voice was raspy like she had been screaming alot..yet with a hint of being rich and smooth like the finest ale. The sound flowed over him with its beauty bringing a warmth to him..he hid how it effected him for concern it would scare her even further...so he just inclined him head in acknowledgement and then took a look at her leg. When he reached her calf she screamed out and looked like she was about to pass out but she held on staring at what he was doing..watching him very closely. He very carefully eased her skirt up just a little exposing the leg that was hurt..seeing more bruises and cuts that looked old. He didnt act like he saw them ..but on the inside he started seething in anger at the abuse that was very evident...and focused on looking at her broken leg .Sighing he turned to the child and calmly spoke.

"Vakita..I need two small sticks so that i may bind this and help yur mother.. can you find them for me please?" he turned back to Amari looking into her eyes as he spoke as gently as he could. "My lady Amari..im going to try and brace this so i can move you and get you to a healer which lies in a village not far off from here." he looked around as he talked. "Can you tell me what happened..how ya got injured?" she sat there looking at him for few moments like she was deciding on what to do..then sighing she spoke quietly.

"We were traveling and got attacked by a orc this morning..he got my leg with his club before i killed him..we walked this far before i had to stop..heard more orcs coming and had her run for it." Vakita came back carrying several sticks of different sizes. Dwalin looked at them choosing the two better suited to the task. He torn pieces of his shirt into four strips and placing the sticks against her leg he bound them with the pieces of cloth to the leg.As he cinched them to her she screamed loudly and this time she blacked out. Dwalin heard the child whimper as she took Amaris hand.

"Its alright lassie..she will be fine..we just need to get her to the healer..alright?" the little girl nodded her head wiping a small tear with the back of her hand. Dwalin tenderly scooped the unconscous woman up into his arms and turned around heading for his horse when her soft voice reached his ears."Kita..call me Kita please master dwarf." He looked behind him at her.

"Alright..Kita it is then..call me Dwalin. Can you guide me horse? We will have to walk aways to get to the village and ive got to carry yur mother ." She quickly shook her head yes then gathered the reigns as she followed him.

Amari slowly woke up finding herself being craddled in Dwalins arms as he walked thru the dense forest..looking down when he felt her stir ."Its ok lass..yur going to be safe. Taking ya to the healer over in the next village..we will get ya patched up in no time."He smiled down while his gruff voice soothed her worry. They traveled for some time before they stopped to rest for a bit..while he shared out his food his thoughts kept running over what he had seen earlier..the bruises and scars that he could see and knowing there was more that he didnt see.

Where was her husband? Surely she had one..she had a child and another on the way..so where was he? And who did this to her? He cleared his throat before speaking, seeing a look of startelement in her eyes.

"So wheres yur husband lass?" Inside he cringed..smooth..loads of tact there..he waited for her to say something.

"He died..." she tried to say but Kitas voice interupted her before she finished.

"Long time ago...and you know what Dwalin..huh..you know what..? " she looked at him with a sweet smile ignoring her mothers hushing of her. "He was a mean man" Amari shrieked at Kita to hush..but she still kept on. " He hurt momma a..." Dwalin held up his finger and she stopped talking as she got a bit scared..until he smiled kindly at her.

"Kita..yur momma has been talking to ya..ya should listen to her and not ignore her." He tapped her nose as he smiled at her , then turned his attention to the woman. Amari cast her eyes down to the ground as her face went red from mortification as Dwalin went back to eating letting it go for a time. Shortly they were traveling again and this time she was sitting on the horse as he held the reigns walking .

Amari saw him glancing at her periodicaly knowing he was still waiting for her to tell him. How could you tell someone the hell you had gone thru for 22 years..especially a stranger? Something in her was telling her she could trust him but she was afraid to open again. She was afraid if she opened up and told him he would look at her in disgust ,leaving them here..but he did save them...she owed him some kind of explanation...soon.

Evening was falling and they still had more miles to cover before they got to the village, so they decided to make camp that night. Dwalin found a small cave to give them shelter that night, checking for any inhabitants..finding none..he helped Amari and Kita down then started the fire so they could get food going ,while he finished setting up their camp.

Amari sighed as she knew the time had come to answer his unspoken questions. She looked over at her daughter who had fallen asleep close by the back of the cave right after dinner and then over at Dwalin who just returned with a bowl of cold water he had fetched from the stream that was nearby. He set the bowl down by her and began unwrapping her leg so he could bath it in the cool water with the rag to help bring down the swelling...she gritted her teeth hoping to not black out this time..then let out breath of relief as he gently placed the cold rag on it.

"How long till we reach the village?" relaxing as the cloth helped sooth her pain a little.

"A few days..at this rate maybe three." he watched her as her eyes closed for a moment as she groaned over how long it would take. Dwalin chuckeled at her and she looked at him as a blush stole across her cheeks then she glanced away quickly...sighing.

"I..I..guess you have questions?" she stammered...seeing his nod she continued."Well..my husband..as you heard is gone. He died five months ago..before he found out i was with child." Dwalin just stared at her waiting and noticing as she became even more nervous . guess you noticed the bruises too?" ..yes..i did.." He..we.. my.." She kept faultering as she tried to figure out how to tell him. As she sat there pondering his hands gently took hers providing comfort as she began.

"It began 22 years ago. My family was poor..barely making it by when one day this man came by asking my parents to marry me. They agreed because they figured he could provide a better life for me even though it wasnt a love match..it had to be better than living in poverty...and I was only 58..still had a long life before me." she paused for a moment before going on..here was when things went bad. " Shortly after we were married he began to get angry over the smallest things. It started with just yelling..then punching the wals or breaking furniture..which he claimed was all my fault for angering him so much. I went to his parents to ask what to do and...." tears began to burn her eyes as she tried to hold them back. " they said it was my fault because obviously i wasnt being a proper wife to him and they told him. Thats when the hitting started. He would strike me for the smallest reasons ..i kept Kita away from his temper and focused on me mostly. Finally he decided to kill me..almost did too. One night he came at me with a knife..kept striking me with it while screaming how i was useless. Kita heard my screams and she came in ..trying to get him away from me..he struck her hard into the wall." Her shoulders began to shake hard as the tears spilled down her cheeks over the memory of that night. How she watched her sweet baby girl bleeding onto the floor from the cuts she got from the glass that broke when she hit the glass picture frame that hung on the wall. How she just laid there unmoving..she thought he killed her.

Dwalin saw her shaking and he couldnt stand seeing her tears.. he placed his hand on her shoulder trying to comfort her. The moment he touched her she fell into his arms crying and his arms wrapped around her holding her tight to his chest ..whispering soothing words ."Its okay lass..you both are safe now...I promise..as long as im here no harm shall fall either you...ill protect you from now on." Eventually her shaking stopped and along with the tears." Ah lass..what happened ?"

"I saw him going for her with the knife and i couldnt let him hurt her anymore..i threw myself at him and we fell to the ground...on..on..the knife" her head hung in shame. " I realized he was dead and i knew i had to get us out of there..so i took her to my parents ..found out they passed away a while back..starvation. We had no where else to go so weve been wandering around..found out soon after i was with child...thats the end of it ." she couldnt look him in the eyes ..afraid to see disgust in his eyes. Dwalin placed his finger under her chin raising her face up to look into her golden eyes that were entrancing him as he spoke in his rough voice.

"As I said ..I'm here for you and Kita..whenever you need me..I'm here." She saw no disgust..just truth in his eyes and she knew he would protect them till the end. He quickly turned his head away clearing his throat as a blush crept up his neck and along his cheeks being hidden mostly by the beard. "Well..I think its time we retire for the night..long day ahead for us tomorrow." He quickly rebound her leg again and helped her settle down comfortably near the fire close to the back of cave next to Kita. He went around to the other side of the fire near the front of the cave laying down with his axe in one hand and his sword close to the other so he could protect them if something should come upon them in the night...as he was about to drift off he heard her softly say.."Goodnight..Dwalin and thank you."