Title: What will the dwarves think?

Series: Desperate Hours: Tales of the Greenwood
Disclaimer: All recognizable elements are Tolkien's
Summary: A conversation that takes place during the events of the Hobbit

A/N: Thanks to Emma and Kaylee for reading this over, and most of all for letting me borrow their Greenwood elves. The DH AU already has more than enough OCs of its own, so its lovely to play with wonderful OCs who were created by someone else. Please note that all of my stories are AU; I have tried to be true to Emma and Kaylee's characterization of these elves, but this is not a preview of what Emma and Kaylee's elves will be like in the Third and Fourth Ages. It is just an idea of what they might be like, in my little alternate universe. If you would like to read more of Emma and Kaylee's stories, they are being posted at AO3, under the author names AfricanDaisy and KayleeArafinwiel. Please read all warnings, thanks!

What will the dwarves think?

Lord Herdir Cemendurion, Chief Advisor to the Aran of the Greenwood, blinked and took a deep breath. He found himself amazed that his tithen Aran could apparently still shock him with ridiculously bizarre flights of illogic, even after all these centuries. He had thought Thranduil had outgrown that tendency, sometime during the last few millenia.

But Herdir loved Thranduil like a son as well as a King, so he took another deep breath, and repeated his Aran's explanation to make sure that he had understood it, rubbing his forehead to dispel his sudden tension headache. "You imprisoned the dwarves...because you think that one of them is a spy for Sauron, and you want Sauron to think that you hate all the dwarves."

Thranduil muttered, "He's got a spy somewhere. I know he does. It might be one of them. I told Galion and the guard captain not to watch the dwarves too carefully, so that they could escape."

Herdir, gritting his teeth, asked "Aran- nin, you do realize that the DWARVES now think you hate dwarves? "

Thranduil was taken aback, having evidently not considered that wrinkle. After all, THRANDUIL knew Thranduil didn't mind dwarves, that much. "Well, once we know which one of them is the spy, we can apologize. Or you or Legolas can. You're better at it than I am." Thranduil paused for a moment, "Actually, let's send Theli. He likes almost everybody, including dwarves, and he's GREAT at apologizing. Otherwise his last suspension from the army would have been permanent."

Herdir sighed, and wished for a moment that his young Aran had not inherited his paternal grandmother's penchant for such creative flights of fancy. Thank goodness Legolas seemed to have taken more after his mother and grandmother, and was showing some sense. At least most of the time. Because the last thing the Greenwood needed was another overly reckless, stubborn, and imaginative Crown Prince.

But then, Sauron had planned to have their wood conquered a millennium ago. And elves of the Greenwood were still here, despite Dol Goldur, the necromancer, the wargs, the orcs, and the spiders. Maybe it took a combination of Lady Neldiel's creativity, his lost gwador King Oropher's obdurate stubbornness, and Queen Felith's quiet endurance to be the Aran of a land under siege. Come to think of it, recent indications showed that Thranduil's paranoia that someone on the White Council was leaking information to the Enemy might even be justified.

Still, arresting a group of miners who were just trying to kill a dragon that the elves and their allies the humans WANTED gone, that just wasn't acceptable. Even if Thranduil was miffed that Mithrandir had sent the dwarves through the Greenwood without his permission, and that Galadriel and Elrond had colluded in that.

Herdir took a deep breath, "Aran-nin, I think that something more than an apology may be called for. And I think that it should certainly involve you."

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