We were trapped in the cells for many more hours, but the guards took no more notice of me as I sat quietly with my head in my hands. I had turned slightly away from the door so they wouldn't see me healing my face, only looking back once the glow had faded from my hands. I could hear soft music from above and caught myself more than once humming along to the pleasant tune. I stopped abruptly when I heard the quietest of sounds nearly outside my cell. Going up to the door I spotted the telltale shimmer that could only be Bilbo and grinned, nodding to him in acknowledgement of his presence. The shimmer pulled back just enough for me to see his return nod, and he held a finger over his mouth asking for silence. I sat back to wait on what news he would bring after he had checked on the others.
It must have been much later that I was dragged out of light doze to the sound of my cell being opened. For a moment I panicked silently, only calming when I realized there was no one visible outside. Bilbo at work again. I got up quietly and followed his almost silent footsteps as he headed to the other cells. The party going on above appeared to be in full swing, so I gathered we would not be interrupted for some time with a little luck. Jut before we got to the others Bilbo took the ring off, hoping to keep it a secret for a while longer. His presence was met with muted exclamations of delight and we wasted no time in freeing the others. I checked for injuries as we went along after Bilbo, but it appeared the elves had at least done us the courtesy of leaving us unscathed.
The others were starting to annoy Bilbo with their questions on his plan of escape, most noted his choice to lead us to the cellars and not the front door. I rolled my eyes and chose not to comment on this stupidity. It should have been obvious that the front door would have the most guards, and we needed to find an unprotected way out. By this time we had reached out destination, a room with dozens of empty barrels and two very drunk elves. They were deep in slumber and by some luck, one of them was our guard captain. Bilbo was quick to return his keys so it would be a little more confusing as to how we got out, and then gestured for us to get in the barrels. There was quite a bit of complaining at this announcement until Thorin growled at them to listen.
We quickly helped each other in and I gave one last check to them all, noting with a slight worry that there were no more barrels. I had foolishly saved myself until last and now was standing beside Bilbo, who had not yet realized our predicament. Bofur stuck his head back out of his barrel to glance at us. "What now?" he asked.
"Hold your breath," Bilbo replied quickly before pulling a lever that sent them all tumbling into the river below. The door closed behind them and he turned to me in confusion, suddenly realizing we had no way out. Worse, I could now hear several approaching elves. I looked to him and had an idea. Grabbing his hand I ran to the far end of the trapdoor, causing it to tilt under our combined weight. Just in time we fell with a splash down to the others.
The water swirled around me and I surfaced with a gasp. Bilbo had been caught up by strong hands and was now clinging to one of the barrels still floating near us. I searched for Kili and was relieved to see him nearby. I grabbed onto the edge of his barrel as we began floating downriver. Kili pushed as far against one side of the barrel as he could, trying to balance it out so I wouldn't be constantly pulled underwater. It was working fine until with a sudden heave, we were tossed over a small waterfall and directly into some rapids. Every other breath was choked with spray, and I started shaking violently in the icy water. I clung desperately to the barrel, feeling my hands beginning to go numb. All I could think was that at least we were making good time on our escape.
That was when I heard the horn call over the rushing water. I looked ahead in fear to see elves racing along the banks, and more on a bridge over the water. One pulled a lever, closing the gate under the bridge and sealing our only means of escape. I knew we would fight, no one wanted to return to Thranduil's dungeons. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse and we were getting shot at by elven archers, one of the elves fell off the bridge and into the water. I thought it had been an accident until I spotted movement in the trees and a large group of orcs rushed the elven defenders.
Most of them were cut down in the initial attack, the few that had managed to regroup fighting fiercely for their lives. More of the orcs jumped into the water trying to get at us, and were swiftly disarmed. Those of us that had managed to grab weapons started to share them around, giving us a much better chance of survival. I was relieved to see that Bilbo still had his sword and was holding his own. From the corner of my eye I saw an orc trying to sneak up on me, so I let go of the barrel and grabbed his arm, pulling him underwater. I smashed his head in between two of the barrels and left him to drown, quickly forgetting about him in the melee.
Suddenly Kili's barrel lurched beside me nearly knocking me out, and I looked up in surprise to see him dashing to land. I wondered for a moment what he was doing until I realized he was aiming for the lever. Fili also noticed and tossed him a sword, just in time for him to cut down the orcs bearing down on him. I was forced to turn away then when another attacker made himself known. Dodging his blade I kicked out, catching him in the throat. With a surprised grunt his eyes rolled back and I was certain that I had killed him. I turned to find a new target and heard a pained cry from above. "Kili," I screamed frantically. I could see him fallen on the ledge just under the lever with a large arrow embedded in his leg. Orcs approached him and I struggled to get out of the water and get to him.
Out of nowhere an arrow whipped into the closest one and Kili looked up in surprise. I followed his gaze to see Tauriel racing into the battle, and Legolas close behind. I was about to join them when I felt myself being yanked back into the water. I went under with a panicked shriek. I looked down to see what had hold of me and came into contact with the orc I thought I had drowned. It was impossible to get at him from this angle and I began to despair. I didn't want to drown. I threw my hands up, trying to get to one of the others, kicking just enough for my head to break the surface once more.
I managed one quick gasp of air before I was dragged under again, his grip tightening until I felt bone cracking. In my agony I accidentally swallowed water and felt the pain of my leg now mirrored in my chest. I almost didn't notice when strong hands grabbed my still outstretched arm, pulling me swiftly from the water as the orc that had hold of my leg was cut down. I started to choke and gasp, fighting to expel the water from my tortured lungs, and dazedly looked up to see that Thorin had hold of me. Once he was sure I was capable of breathing again, I felt myself passed off to Bilbo so he could continue fighting.
At that moment the gates opened and we were forcibly ejected from our position under the bridge. I grabbed the empty barrel that had been Kili's and held it with Fili as we watched for him to come over the side. Finally he rolled over the bridge and dropped into the barrel, the arrow in his leg snapping off and causing him to almost pass out. We were off once more, the river taking us even faster around the bends and out of sight of the waning battle. I looked to Kili and reached up a hand to his face, trying to give him enough energy to stay conscious. I smiled in relief when he opened his eyes and began to look much more alert.
After a long while we made it almost to the edge of a massive lake, and paddled our way wearily to the shore. I was happy to see that other than Kili's unfortunate arrow wound, the rest were unharmed. I let go of the barrel I had been clinging to and stumbled out of the water, falling over on the rocks as my numbed legs gave out. I sincerely hoped we would not have to do anymore traveling of that sort. I knew I would need to see to my legs but I decided to make certain Kili was alright first. I crawled over to him to see Oin and Fili bandaging his leg, having gotten the last of the arrow out. I placed a glowing hand on the bandage, trying to lend him strength and heal the wound faster. We would all need to be in good shape when the orcs inevitably caught up to us. I stopped only when I felt the first stirrings of discomfort and turned then to my own predicament.
Grabbing my knees, I started to slowly massage the life back into them and was relieved to feel the tingle of returning strength. I grabbed hold of a nearby rock and pulled myself upright, swaying dizzily from the amount of power I had exhausted. I quickly put my head down, hoping I had not overextended myself. I could not afford to rest now, we needed to move on. I looked up sharply when I heard quiet steps approaching our group to see a tall dark form pointing an arrow directly at us.
Balin was the first to react, trying to calm the situation before it got out of hand. "That barge behind you, may it possibly be up for hire?" he asked politely. The man stepped a little closer and lowered his weapon, seeing we were unarmed.
"What business do you have here?" he asked suspiciously.
"We are simple merchants, trying to get to our kin in the Iron Hills. We need a few supplies, food, weapons and such so that we may continue our journey. We are more than able to pay for such help." The man frowned uncertainly.
"The master does not take kindly to strangers in his town."
"Surely there must be ways to get in unseen."
"Aye, but for that you would need a smuggler." With that he moved away to start preparing his boat for the return journey across the icy lake, Balin following closely behind. He lowered his voice and said "for which we would be glad to pay double." The man stopped, examining us once again and considering our proposal. He took in our sorry appearances and it seemed to decide him, for he grudgingly motioned for us to get in.
Most of the group moved to the bow of the raft to give him some space, but Bilbo and I followed him to the stern to thank him for his generosity. We learned through careful conversation that his name was Bard, and he had a wife once and was now left with three children. He seemed to soften as he spoke of them, and we continued to talk about small nothings as he expertly guided the boat through the icy pillars dotting the lake. We had gotten almost halfway when he bade us get back in the barrels. Bilbo and I hid under a cloth in the stern and Bard filled the tops of the barrels with fish, effectively camouflaging our group from prying eyes. I peeked out from under our disguise one last time as we approached the main water gate of the town on the lake.
Note: Oh dear, Lithuen isn't very good at fighting in the water is she? Also, the relationship between Kili and Tauriel is now purely platonic, but it will still have the same effect with regards to Kili's wounds. Perhaps it will even come into play later in an abstract way. I felt bad for Legolas though in the movie, so she is no longer divided in her affections.