{Thranduil}

There was a bloody bandage lying on the table in the war tent.

Thranduil had known with the approach of night that there would be no word from the lonely mountain, confirming that Thorin Oakenshield was very much alive and most likely already under the sway of the gold. Though he knew it would be futile, Thranduil would let Lord Bard go ahead with his plan to parley in the morning, just so that they all would know that every other route had been tried first before the sword had been drawn. Even in battle politics had to be considered.

The blood soaked bandage on the table caught Thranduil's eye again.

When the alarm had sounded and the elf king had learned of his dwarf hostage's escape he had been enraged. What was it about dwarves that made them so hard to keep under guard? Losing his hostage would certainly affect Bard's parlay with Thorin in the morning, since effectively getting his nephew out from underneath the noses of the elves would embolden the dwarf and inflate his ego even more.

Thranduil looked down at the bandage, noting how the blood was smeared about.

It would have been very easy for Thranduil to have believed that a few dwarves had sneaked into the ruins of Dale and rescued their prince. Becoming angry had never been something Thranduil or his father had struggled at. The temper of Oropher was legendary, and Thranduil had inherited it but the current king of Mirkwood was grateful that his son had more of his mother's stubbornness than his father's anger. Thranduil shook his head, there was been plenty of times in the past when his anger had gotten the best of him, and it had very nearly happened this time, but thankfully reason had prevailed when the final reports had come to him. He had seen the room for himself, as well as the sallow-faced man who was holding a cold compress to the back of his head and being assisted by a healer to a cot. Alfrid's testimony had been exactly what Thranduil had expected, the Man knew nothing. He had entered the tent, bringing water to the dwarf as per a healer's instructions, and while facing the bed-ridden dwarf something had struck from behind. When the guards had returned from aiding the healers in subduing some temperamental patients they had noticed that the brazier on the other side of the partition had not been lit and had investigated.

Trailing the escaping dwarf and the ones who had helped him had been tried of course, the sudden downpour of cold rain had washed out any sign of tracks. The only thing the elvish scouts had found was the bloody bandage, which had been brought back for Thranduil to see for himself. Were it not for that bandage the elf king might have thought that the dwarves had rescued Kili, but once he had seen the bandage with his own eyes it brought into question other facts.

"You suspect the dwarves had nothing to do with it?" Bard asked, holding the cup of wine the king had poured him but not drinking it.

Thranduil was too busy thinking to be insulted by his hospitality being slighted however, "Why pull off a perfectly good bandage?" he asked. "Look at how the blood is smeared about, it started to bleed again while the bandage was being removed and the binding is ripped in several places which means it was removed violently. Why? The dwarves hate anything elven, it is true, but even they would not be so obstinate in risking the health of their prince by exposing his wound to infection." Thranduil and Lord Bard looked at the bandage, and from the corner of his eye the elf king could see that the Man was not far behind him in thinking.

"Then Kili was taken by persons unknown, who were careless in their handling of him and the bandage came loose. Do you think they are taking him to Thorin?"

Thranduil shook his head. "You said it yourself that these people, whoever they are, were careless in their handling of the dwarf. That does not speak of someone who wants to make a profit off of delivering Oakenshield's nephew safely to him." Thranduil felt frustrated, there was so little they had to go on, and the trail was getting colder. "You are a hunter," he turned to Bard, "you know how to track and you are a smuggler," Thranduil smirked at the surprised look on the Man's face. "If you were trying to smuggle a valuable piece of merchandise out of a guarded city what would you do?"

"I would find a place to hide after 'obtaining' possession of the item, and then wait a day or so until the city had calmed down before trying to get out." Bard looked down at the bandage before glancing back up at the elf king, "You think whomever took the young dwarf are still here, somewhere in the city." It was not a question and the Man sighed, "Please tell me none of my people had anything to do with this."

Thranduil smiled inwardly at the 'my people', knowing that the Dragonslayer, however reluctant, was accepting his place as the people of Dale's new leader. Soberly he replied, "It was too well timed."

The Man sighed, and Thranduil saw the weary lines on Bard's face showing how tired he was. "What do we do?"

"We carry on as we are. I will have those who made a disturbance in the healers' tent followed and privately questioned, but until we know who among your people we can trust you must not tell anyone, Lord Bard, what is happening. Under the guise of looking for materials I will have buildings searched but it will be slow. I will have the guard strengthened along the walls, and I do believe there were tunnels that ran underneath the city but what state they are in remains to be seen. When you meet with Thorin Oakenshield tomorrow do not let on that we do not have his nephew anymore. If we are wrong and the dwarf was recued then his uncle will reveal that on his own, if not then there is no need to make the situation worse." Bard nodded, putting his untasted wine glass down as he prepared to leave, but King Thranduil was not done, "I am placing guards on your children." The Man spun around to look at him, suspicion and confusion warring in his eyes, "It is clear, Lord Bard, that we have more than one enemy and we do not know from where they will strike or when. You are but newly appointed to your position, the majority of your people admire you for what you have done but admiration can swiftly change when the right words are used to taint a heroic image. Your children will be recognized royals when you are crowned, and as such they would be very valuable if an enemy could get his hands on them. I am offering guards from my own legion to help ensure the safety of those you hold dear. You will be able to go anywhere throughout the day or night and know that they are protected."

The elf king watched the Man before him, the tenseness in Bard's shoulders was not lost on Thranduil but he kept himself calm.

"Tell me, King Thranduil," there was a hard edge in the Man's voice, as well as a pleading note, as if Bard hoped he was wrong, "would an ally also take advantage of my children in order to keep me in line?"

"Undoubtedly," Thranduil answered, "if the ally thought for a moment that by doing so he would have any real advantage over you than yes, an ally would seek to control you through your children. But I am not an ally, Lord Bard, I am a father, who knows all too well how strong and vulnerable children can make their parents."

Silence permeated between the two lords, their eyes measuring the other before Bard nodded and left the tent. Thranduil turned towards the table once again and looked down at the bloody bandage. It had been risky to admit how much his son meant to him, and Thranduil was not in the habit of making risky moves but he and Bard had to understand one another if this alliance was going to work, everything depended upon it.

{Kili}

Kili lay in a corner of the room, huddled under a blanket. His four captors had fallen asleep, each finding their own makeshift bed amid the provisions of food and blankets, though he bet they were all a lot more comfortable than he was since he was the only on the cold floor. Of course they had been gracious enough to lay one blanket underneath him and another one over him, as well as bandaging his re-bleeding leg, but the cold still seeped into Kili's bones and the rain he could hear pitter-pattering against the roof certainly did not help in his quest for warmth. Lanterns had been lit next to each man, giving Kili a good view of them and thoroughly convinced that they were all slumbering deeply.

From the conversation he had managed to overhear, Kili knew that the Men had no fear of being found. They were in a windowless room, so no light would be seen from outside and they had gagged him, so calling out for help would be pointless and the rain would have washed away any tracks they had left behind. The leader of the group, a Man named Nem, had not been pleased to see the bleeding leg nor at the fact that the dwarf's bandage was missing. Kili had refused to tell them when his bandage had come loose, and the hit to his stomach, while painful, had not made him talk.

Grumbling, the Men had finally left him alone and Kili had watched them eat and drink before laying down to rest.

Unknown to the Men, Kili had found a broken off nail protruding from the wood behind him. Once he was sure his captors were sleeping, Kili began working his bound hands against the sharp end, every now and then nicking his skin but he merely bit down hard on his gag and kept working. Each of the Men had had a bit of ale before going to sleep, and Kili hoped it would be just enough to keep them under while he made his escape.

While sitting and waiting for a rescue might have been the better option, Kili did not like the odds of being found, nor did he like some of the looks that had been thrown his way. The only thing he had managed to glean from the Men's conversation was that they were planning to sell him, several neighboring cities were discussed as likely locations for this, but Kili was still ignorant as to why and he had no idea why he would be so desirable to have as a slave, if what the Men said was true anyway.

Despite having grown up in the poor dwarf community of Ered Luin, and having been an escort for rich merchants passing through, Kili had had a very sheltered life. His uncle and mother had done their best to shield him and Fili from the evils of the world, and both brothers had known very little of hardship, since Thorin and Dis had preferred to take on the more difficult tasks in order to spare the boys feeling any unnecessary pain.

Fili, being older, had learned more that Kili about certain things, though walking down that one street in the town of Men had been completely by accident. Kili was only a year into his adult age, and he was still very much an innocent, particularly about the twisted natures that resided in some of the darkest hearts of Man. To him it made no sense for these Men to have grabbed him, unless they had a death wish for Kili could not see the elf king or Bard letting them get away with this with their lives intact.

Kili was rewarded for his hard work by one strand of the thin ropes coming undone. After that it took little time in undoing the rest, once his hands were free Kili took out the cloth gag and slowly got to his feet. He was unsteady, needing to lean against the wall for support and he started to second-guess his plan.

Walking on his leg would have consequences, Kili knew that but he could not simply sit here and wait to be rescued. Especially if what that one Man had said about a tunnel had been true. If he could get outside then he could at least yell, and if those elves heard as well as they claimed then they would be on his location within minutes.

Years of hunting experience aided Kili in moving silently towards the door, despite the limp that accompanied him. He knew he would not stand a chance if they woke and saw him, unarmed and injured as he was they would be able to subdue him again in no time and Kili was determined that they would not get the chance. He was getting out, and finding his way back to that warm, lumpy bed in the healers' tent as fast as possible.

It took longer for Kili to reach the door than what would have been normal, since he favored his leg as much as possible to keep from straining it, but finally he was able to grasp the handle. The dwarf supposed he should thank the Men for oiling the hinges so the door would not squeak, of course they had done so they could leave without the elves hearing them but it worked well in his favor now. The irony of the situation almost made Kili snicker, but he managed to bite his lips to keep quiet just in time.

Unfortunately for Kili, he had not counted on the draft of cold air that swept into the room when he opened the door.

An oath erupted behind Kili, one of the Men feeling the cold air and waking irritated. The dwarf did not wait for the Man to fully comprehend the situation, he jumped forward, slamming the door shut as he did so and he could hear the angry shouts as the other Men woke up. A stroke of luck for Kili was the fact the door had opened outwards, meaning all he had to do was pull something in front of it and they would be trapped.

Kili looked about the small space and thanked Mahal that there were a few crates next to the door. Just as he reached for them something banged against the door and Kili pushed against it, using his legs to brace himself while one arm pulled the crates into position. The crates were empty so even though they were large and sturdy they were not too difficult to slide over, but Kili's injured leg trembled and the wound throbbed.

Finally the crates were in position and Kili pushed away from the door, running for the next door that he knew opened out into the street. It was still raining heavily and Kili cursed his poor timing, for maybe the elves would not be able to hear him over the din of the rain. He did not pause to think about this though, he could hear the Men pounding against the storage room door and he was not going to stand around waiting for them.

His limp was more pronounced by the time Kili reached the other door and grabbed the handle, his leg on fire, but he pulled the door open and smelled freedom. Just as he crossed the threshold the Men managed to push against the crates hard enough and were through, and this time the door Kili held opened inwards, he would not be able to pull the same trick twice.

Still Kili pulled his door shut as he turned and ran into a Man standing behind him. "Going somewhere?" An amused voice asked as hard hands grabbed his shoulders. The door behind him was wrenched open and Kili yelled, a hand clamping over his mouth and muffling the rest of his cry. "Now, now, none of that."

"Bring him inside." A voice ordered and Kili recognized the speaker as Nem, the anger in his voice did not bode well for the dwarf.

Kili struggled but he was hauled up by two men and brought inside without further incident. Once back in the storage room Kili's hands and ankles were bound with a thicker rope and the cloth gag was once more forced into his mouth. The Man who had caught him turned to Nem, "Lucky you had me keeping watch, eh Nem?"

Nem glowered at the sentry, "He wouldn't have made it as far as you if Fern hadn't fallen asleep." The Man called Fern sputtered a defense but Nem clipped him about the ear, silencing him. "Go out in the next room and keep watch. No moving about now, we need to make sure no one heard him but we don't want to draw any attention to this building if we can help it. Now get going!"

Sourly, Fern left the room and Nem turned to the trussed up dwarf lying on the floor. "And as for you, I've got to teach you a lesson. Can't have our goldmine running away from us so what can I do to show you that trying a second time will be a very bad idea?"

Kili tried to keep the fear out of his eyes, but he knew Nem could see it as well as the pain. The dwarf was already regretting running and knew a second try would be out of the question; his leg would not be able to handle it. The words of warning the elf healer had said to him came ringing back through Kili's head, and his eyes filled with tears as he dreaded the fact that he had just made himself lame.

"Can I teach him a lesson, Nem?" a stocky blonde man asked, his physique heavily muscled and just the thought of him 'teaching' Kili a lesson made the dwarf's breath hitch.

Nem smirked when he saw the reaction, "Alright, Smyth, go ahead." He stopped Smyth by the arm as the Man started forward, "Just don't touch his face, that's the first thing a buyer will look at and we don't want to hold him longer just to wait for that to heal. Try not to break anything but don't worry about his leg wound, whoever buys him won't have him walking much."

Smyth grinned and reached down for Kili, pulling him up while at the same time kicking out at the dwarf's wounded leg.

AN: So, any ideas on how these guys should be taken down? Was Alfrid double-crossed or is he still in on it? Does Alfrid deserve to die for bringing this down on Kili? Review and let me know what you think.