The morning was chilly and there was a solemn feel in the air. As Bard of Lake-town rode forward on his white horse next to the majestic Elvenking on his giant elk, the ranks of flawless Elven soldiers parted before them and closed up behind them in perfect unison, as if they were controlled by one mind. Everything about the Elves was always perfect, even a blind man knew that.
The Dwarves of Thorin Oakenshield's Company stood on the wall of Erebor, looking down at the army before them. It was easy for them to spot Thranduil's pale hair and sliver armor along with the fact that he was the only person they knew who rode an elk. One Dwarf was trying (and failed) to see if he could find one Elf in particular, but the rest of his friends and relatives watched only one Elf and one Man who were approaching at a leisurely pace.
"What do those thrice damned idiots want now?" Thorin Thrain's son grumbled as he glared darkly from Erebor's safety. He almost never knew the answer to his muttered question for at that moment something happened that no one present would ever forget for the rest of their lives happened. Thranduil's mount, strangely enough for a creature of such grace and surefootedness, stumbled when its front hoof stepped on an unstable rock. Down went the antlered head and up went it rump, and in one swift movement the Elvenking was dumped from his ride very un-majestically. Thranduil landed heavily on his rear. In a mud puddle. With a gigantic splash and an undignified…well, it could only be described as a squawk of surprise.
Nearly everyone could hear the peals of laughter from the Dwarves above as many of them doubled over, holding their stomachs. Fili fell over and rolled around on the floor kicking his feet and was soon join by Kili. Nori leaned heavily on Dori cackling with glee and Ori leaned on Nori, tears of merriment sliding down his cheeks. Dwalin barked out a rough laugh. But the loudest of them all was Thorin. His roaring laughter echoed down and reached the humiliated Elf King's sharp ears as he tried to get to his feet. When he looked up, he saw Bard's shoulders shaking as the leader of the Lake-town refugees tried to bite back his own chuckles.
Meanwhile, most members of the Company had managed to gain control over themselves. Until Kili gasped out, "He looked like a chicken Fili and I dropped off the roof once, and he sounded like it too!"
Immediately everyone lost their regained composure while Kili mimicked a chicken flapping its wings and squawking. Needless to say, the aforementioned solemn feeling evaporated for a little while.
A/N I have Raider-K to thank for inspiring me to write this. If it weren't for Raider replying to my review on her awesome story (Kingsfoil), this story would probably be nonexistent. So a big THANK YOU to Raider-K! If some of you have not read Kingsfoil yet, I suggest you'd better do so soon.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed and don't forget to drop a review in the box. :D