Chapter 5

"These orc armies you speak of, where are they?" Thranduill asked.

Perci and Gandalf exchanged glances, not knowing the answer.

"Since when has my council counted for so little? What do you think Perci and I are trying to do?" Gandalf exclaimed.

"I think you're trying to save your dwarvish friends. You and the Lady Persephone both. And I admire your loyalty to them. But it does not dissuade me from my started this, Mithrandir, My Lady. You will forgive me if I finish it." Thranduill stood up and walked out of the tent to speak to the guards guarding his tent. "Are the archers in position?"

"Yes, my lord." A guard replied.

"Give the order. If anything moves on that Mountain, kill it. The Dwarves are out of time."

Perci sucked in a breath and darted a look at Gandalf.

Perci moved swiftly towards Bard, Gandalf following.

"Bard! Do you agree? Is gold so important to you? Would you buy it with the blood of dwarves?" Perci questioned him.

Bard shook his head in denial. "It won't come to that."

Perci huffed in frustration. "By the gods! Dwarves are as stubborn and as unmovable as the very mountains they live in, especially this lot! And their hatred of elves is great as well. The Line of Durin will see themselves dead before they submit to any other."

Bard remained unmoved. "This is a fight they cannot win."

They were all then interrupted by a familiar voice, the one that Perci had sensed coming towards them a while ago. "That won't stop them. You think the Dwarves will surrender? They won't. They will fight to the death."

Perci couldn't help a large smile from consuming her features as she laid eyes on one of the company. Oh, how she missed them.

"Bilbo Baggins!" Gandalf exclaimed, Bilbo let a small smile come to his face at the sight of Gandalf that widened when Perci stepped forward from between Bard and Gandalf.

"Bilbo!" She stepped forward and hugged the hobbit, relief consuming her. He returned it.

"Hello, Perci. You don't know how good it is to see you again." Bilbo said.

Perci's sharp eyes, however, didn't miss the worry that was in his eyes. "What is it, Bilbo? What's happened?"

Bilbo released a deep breath. "Thorin has fallen into the gold sickness."

Perci exchanged an alarmed glance with Gandalf. Whatever the two of them had been expecting, it wasn't that.

"Start from when I left you all crossing the lake, Bilbo." He obliged, knowing that she was as much as part of the company and a friend of Thorin's as he was.

An hour later, they had reconvened in Thranduill's tent.

"If I'm not mistaken this is the Halfling who stole the keys to my dungeons from under the nose of my guards." Thranduill remarked, his gaze placed squarely on Bilbo. Bilbo looked sheepish.

"Yes. Sorry about that." Bilbo stepped forward, unwrapping something. "I came to give you this."

The last part of the cloth pulled away, revealling a stone that glowed. Perci immediately knew that this stone was in fact the Arkenstone, the stone that Thorin wanted above all others. Thranduill stood up slowly.

"The Heart of the Mountain. The King's Jewel."

Bard stepped forward as well to examine the stone. Perci and Gandalf exchanged glances not moving from where they were.

"And worth a king's ransom." Bard said softly. Then he turned his head to look at Bilbo. "How is this yours to give?"

"I took it as my 14th share of the treasure." Bilbo replied simply.

"And you just gave it away, just like that?" Perci asked, wanting to know what laid truly in the hobbit's heart. Bilbo looked at his royal female friend.

"What use is treasure to a hobbit? Our wealth lies in our homes and our gardens."

Perci smiled at him. Bard interrupted the two.

"Why would you do this? You owe us no loyalty."

"I'm not doing it for you. I know that Dwarves can be obstinate and pigheaded and difficult. They're suspicious and secretive with the worst manners imaginable, but they are also brave and kind and loyal to a fault. I've grown very fond of them, and I would save them if I can. Now, Thorin values this stone above all else. In exchange for its return, he will give you what you are owed. There will be no need for war."

Silence.

"Well with each other, anyway." Perci piped up. Bilbo turned a questionable glance onto her. "Gandalf will explain. I have some friends to talk to."

Perci left without a word and walked towards an abandoned fountain in a different part of the city. She could feel a bit of water in the pipes underneath and willed the water back to life.

As water began to spurt out in the fading sun and from the mist of the fountain a faint rainbow began to form.

Perci dug out a very old coin, knowing it was the only one she had brought with her on this venture.

"Lords and Ladies of the Valar, please let this go through." Perci took a deep breath. "Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me the Olympian Council."