Chapter 8:
I think this was one of my favorite chapters to write so far. It is rather long, but I have a feeling you'll love it. Hope you guys like it and don't forget to REVIEW!
"Stay here," Emily demanded turning to Kili. "Not all elves are like Tauriel and me. Stay in bed and pretend you are asleep. I'm going to bring your brother back here and we can start plans to get your company out of here." With that Emily walked out the door and to the kitchens.
She grabbed a mug and filled it with one of the sweetest wines the elves had. She knew that the guard would not be able to resist as she put a few drops of a sleeping draught into the wine. If luck was on her side, this would knock the guard out for several hours allowing her to reunite the two brothers and get them back to their respective places before anybody noticed.
She was so lost in her thoughts that the barred door of the guard station took her by surprise. The guard quickly stopped her when she entered, but was easily swayed into letting her in when he spotted the glass of wine that she had brought with her. It only took a few moments for the sleeping draught to take effect. She stole his keys and swiftly walked towards Fili's cell, leaving the guard snoring softly in his chair.
She inserted the key into the lock and flinched at the sound of the bolts in the door turning over and the squeak of the door as it swung open. Fili was lying on the cold stone floor with his back facing her. He didn't move a muscle, but Emily was willing to bet he was very much awake. She stepped carefully over to where he laid and reached a hand out. In the flash of an eye, Fili had rolled onto his back and had a tight grip on her wrist. The anger quickly drained from his face when he saw it was Emily and he dropped her wrist as if it were a hot coal when he heard her pained hiss.
She took a step back and rubbed her sore wrist. Fili stood up looking sheepishly away. "Sorry," she apologized quietly. "My wrist is just tender. Kiridion didn't have the lightest grip earlier." Fili looked up and gently grabbed ahold of her fingers. He couldn't see much due to the limited light, but he could make out the dark bruising encircling her wrist. He didn't say anything as their eyes met, but Emily took a step back breaking the contact and looked at her feet. "We don't have much time. The guard should be asleep for a couple hours and I'm going to take you to see your brother. He's asked about you." She turned back to the doorway as she was talking, not seeing the slightly disappointed look on Fili's face.
Emily glanced behind to make sure he was following, but other than that she avoided looking at Fili. The truth was, she felt suddenly self-conscious about the marks on her wrist and the handprint on her throat. She didn't want sympathy. This was her life, whether she liked it or not and she didn't want to drag anybody else down with her. It was bad enough that Tauriel was involved. She didn't want anybody else to get hurt. That was why she wanted to get them out of here as soon as possible, before they were ruined by the power of this place.
They walked silently through the halls and Emily had never been so grateful to arrive at her door. She opened the door and ushered Fili safely inside. "Kili," Fili breathed as he rushed to his brother's side.
Kili sat up immediately at the sound of his brother's voice. "Fili?"
Emily quickly turned and left the room. She figured she could give the two brothers a moment alone especially during such an emotional reunion. She waited outside in the hallway and guarded the door.
It was all Fili could do not to run to his little brother's side. He gathered Kili up in his arms and held him tightly. Kili let out a tiny chuckle and allowed his big brother to take care of him. He had to admit it, though. It was nice having his brother's comforting arms around him. They sat like that for several minutes before Kili shifted so that they were facing each other. Fili leaned closer to Kili, pressing his forehead against his little brother's. "Don't you ever scare me like that again," he said with a serious voice.
Kili smiled, "I promise." Kili paused with a frown, "But what about you? You were injured too."
Fili threw back his head in laughter. "Nothing escapes you little brother. It was only a few bruises." He smiled fondly at Kili, before continuing on, "I'll be right as rain by tomorrow thanks to Emily." Fili scanned the room for Emily as if the words suddenly reminded him of the girl who had captured his attention so suddenly. He began to get nervous. "One second, brother," he mumbled as he crawled off the bed trying hard not to disturb Kili.
Fili gingerly opened the door to find Emily sitting on the floor. Her knees were drawn up underneath her chin and her arms encircled her legs. She looked so small and fragile sitting there. She turned to look up at him with those big eyes and he could feel his heart start to melt. Fili kneeled next to her. He slowly reached a hand out to brush a tear off her cheek and she subconsciously leaned into his touch, closing her eyes. His touch was unlike anything she had ever experienced and she relished in the feel of the calloused and battle scarred hands. She opened her eyes as he moved his hand to underneath her chin, slightly tilting it up, before placing a kiss on her lips. The kiss started off slow and questioning, but quickly evolved into heartfelt and needy. That was the truth. They needed each other.
Emily was the first one to break it off. She was distinctly aware that they were still in the passageway and she quickly looked to see if anybody had seen them. Seeing nobody she relaxed and smiled shyly at Fili. Fili offered her his arm and helped her to her feet.
When they entered the room, there sat Kili with a huge smirk on his face. They both blushed, especially when Fili realized that his little brother must have seen the whole thing. "What?" he asked cheekily.
Kili just laughed. Fili stopped. His eyes caught something and he gently pulled Emily to a stop as well. He tilted her head to the right in order to get a better look at her neck. He gasped at the sight of a man's purple bruised handprint on her neck. Emily watched his face grow dark with a barely concealed fury. "Who?" he practically snarled taking in the sight of the handprint on her neck and the dark hand shaped bruises encircling her wrist.
Emily nervously looked away from him. "It was Kiridion, the King's second-in-command. He was the elf you met the other day."
Fili let out a low growl. "I swear. I will not let him touch you again."
Fili made sure Emily took the chair before sitting on the bed. His gaze lightened considerably once he made sure she was comfortable. Emily looked at her hands before starting. "I want to help you escape," she said, looking up. "I have a plan too."
Fili gave her a reassuring smile, urging her to continue. She took a deep breath and began her story. "The gates that you both came through are not the only entrance to these caves. There is a stream that flows under some of the lowest regions of the palace. There is a portcullis, but it is usually open. I think we could sneak your entire company out through the river. King Thranduil and the other elves here in Mirkwood love wine and we have vast cellars filled with barrels and barrels of the stuff. When the barrels are empty, the elves throw them out trapdoors that lead to the river. They are then carried far downstream and later collected. If each of you hide in an empty wine barrel, they will transport you out of the palace and away from the guards."
Both brothers were silent as they considered her plan. Fili was the first to speak up, "How are you going to get us all out of the dungeons and to the cellars without being seen?"
Emily smiled, "I am friends with the head of the King's Guard. If I ask her, she would be willing to help. I believe Kili has already met her." Kili blushed and nodded.
Kili spoke up, "What day do you propose we attempt to escape?"
"Tomorrow," she replied. "Tomorrow night the King is going to have a big banquet with all of the elves in attendance. If we leave tomorrow, it will be guaranteed that there will be enough barrels for your entire company and there will be less elves milling about."
Both brothers agreed that this was the best plan that anybody had come up with so far and they were willing to give it a try. Fili offered to spread the word amongst the other dwarves to make sure that they were prepared and Emily was going to talk to Tauriel and finish making the final preparations.
As they were finishing up discussing the finishing touches of their plans, Emily suddenly realized how much time had slipped away. "Quick," she said as she urged Fili towards the door. "We must get you out of here. The guard will be waking up any minute now."
Luck was not with them this night and as Emily's hand reached the door handle, it swung open and a dozen guards burst in led by none other than Kiridion himself. He took one look around the room and his gaze immediately landed on Emily and Fili. Fili tried to push Emily behind him but was wrenched away by a swarm of hands. He called out to her and tried to fight but was quickly sent to his knees and held there, still struggling, by four elf guards. Kili was also soon on his knees with his arms pulled behind his back. Both were quickly bound.
Emily was left untouched, but not for long. Kiridion stalked her like a cat stalking a mouse. Kiridion grabbed a hold of her forearm, and didn't let go. Emily sent a fist flying towards his face, but Kiridion was too quick and was able to dodge it. He managed to slip a loop of rope over one of her hands and yanked it behind her back, pulling the loop tight over the new bruises. Emily yelped in pain as she tried to grab the rope to keep it from pulling any tighter. Fili yearned to help her, but was not able to throw off the tough elf guards so he could only watch as Kiridion cruelly bound Emily's wrists behind her back.
The elves shoved their prisoners through the door and down the hall towards the King's throne room. Emily tried to look back to catch a glimpse of Fili and Kili, but wasn't able to due to the large number of elves in the passageway. She stared as the giant doors grew larger and larger, shuddering as she wondered what would happen on the other side.
