Sage had thankfully been left alone to bathe herself – Thranduil apparently wanted her to be clean before dining with her – so she at least had time to solidify the story she intended to tell the monarch. She would say that both she and her sister and the dwarves were visiting their kin; the dwarves in the iron hills and the sisters in Laketown. Sage's only problem was that she was a terrible liar. Now, more than ever, she wished Ricki was with her.

After she was clean, she put on a deep blue dress, scowling as she did so, that had been set out for her, angry that she was being denied pants. (Neither sister was fond of dresses.) It was also difficult not to notice the way her hips stuck out, her hollow cheeks, her unhealthy complexion and the shine missing from her hair as she stared into a mirror. It did not take a doctor to determine that Sage desperately needed to gain weight and she knew Thranduil would likely try to take advantage of that.

When the maids deemed her appearance was worthy of an audience with the king, she was led to an enormous, empty dining hall, ornately decorated with Thranduil sitting at the head of a long table. Even though she was a prisoner, Sage still felt lucky to witness the beauty of the king's halls in all their grandeur. There was no denying they were quite the sight to witness.

"The sorceress arrives," he said with a small smirk.

She sat down next to him at the head of the table, feeling incredibly uncomfortable as she did so, but that discomfort was soon overshadowed when food was placed at the table. "If I may ask, why is it I've been invited to your table? I've been under the impression that I'm your prisoner."

"Your impression is correct," he replied. "But I take the health of those under my care very seriously and frankly, you look as though you need a good meal – a whole slew of them." He began placing food on his plate and Sage quickly followed suit.

"Thank you," she mumbled. Although she knew he wasn't feeding her necessarily out of kindness, there was the undeniable fact that he was not obligated to receive her at such a fine meal and treat her as a guest rather than a prisoner.

"This meal is a thank-you as it were. It would seem your reputation as a healer is well-deserved since your patient has vastly improved since yesterday afternoon." Though it pained Thranduil to admit it, her work was every bit as good as anything his healers could have accomplished. "How is it that your medicine rivals that of the Elves? I have never encountered anyone among the race of Men with your abilities. Indeed, I see how you could be mistaken for a sorceress, even if it is clear to any familiar in the realm of magic that you are not."

"I went to a special school where I come from and learned my healing abilities there. I also picked up a thing or two from the healers in Rivendell."

One eyebrow arched itself ever so slightly. "You were received by Lord Elrond in Rivendell?

"How is it do you think Thorin came to be given Orcrist? Lord Elrond gave Thorin his blessing to wield the blade."

Thranduil shook his head. "All I find is mystery after mystery surrounding you and your sister yet none of those mysteries has yet been answered – at least not to the extent I wish my questions to be answered."

Sage chewed her venison slowly as she tried to come up with a response. "I see that this meal is meant as an interrogation rather than a thank-you."

"Can it not be both? I believe I have a right to know why you and the Dwarves are in my lands, though I suspect I already know why."

"My sister and I are visiting our kin in Laketown," she stuttered. "The Dwarves are escorting us as they head east to visit their kin in the Iron Hills." She knew there was no way in hell she would be able to pull this off.

"You do realize you are a horrid liar, don't you?" Sage deflated in defeat. What could she do now? "Tell me, though, what are these?" He gestured for a handful of servants to bring Ricki's guns forward. "It was easy enough to clean from the book you carried, given I could not identify the language, that you and your sister are from a very distant land. Care to tell me about it?"

"It is very different from yours and there isn't much to say about our land anymore."

"And why would that be?"

"There's hardly anything left. It was destroyed." Sage figured if she was honest now ,the king may be more inclined to believe her other story and revealing her history would not be a betrayal to the dwarves so she figured it would be okay. "What are you going to do with those?" she asked, nodding towards the guns.

"That is entirely up to you. What are they?"

She hated to think what might happen if the Elves began to mess with the guns so she told him "They're weapons. Please don't try to use them."

"Why is that?"

"Someone could get hurt."

"I don't suppose you care to elaborate."

"Not really."

"You are remarkably frustrating. Will you please tell me why two women are traveling with a group of Dwarves?"

She decided to repeat her lie. "My sister and I are going to Laketown."

Thranduil rolled his eyes at her persistence with lying but didn't reprimand her. "I cannot, will not, force you to answer me, but that does not mean I'm above bribery." He paused for a moment, cutting his meat in silence. "How would you like to see your sister?"

Her fork dropped onto her plate, thankfully not falling to the floor. "Are you serious?"

"She awoke a few hours ago and I'm told she may receive visitors so yes, you may see her."

"Thank you," she said sincerely. "For the food, for letting me see my sister…Wait, there's some sort of catch, isn't there? As in, I have to tell you everything in order to see her?"

The king shook his head. "There is no 'catch', as you call it, to see your sister, no price. I also promise not to have a servant eavesdrop on your conversation considering how unlikely it is they will be able to understand you, assuming you two speak your native tongue. In fact, rather than name a price to see your sister, I give you an offer: I would free you from the dungeons if you chose to remain here in my lands as a healer."

Sage's eyes shot to him in surprise, expecting a mocking look on his face. Instead, she found that Thranduil was deadly serious. She couldn't deny that for a split second, she actually considered his offer to leave the dungeons forever but she would never forgive herself if she abandoned the Dwarves and more importantly, Ricki would never forgive her. "I'm assuming you would not free the Dwarves."

"No, I have already given Thorin Oakenshield an offer and he chose to refuse it. This offer goes only to you, though I would be willing to extend it to your sister, if you wish."

"Then I'm afraid I will have to decline as well."

Thranduil sighed as he sipped his strong wine. "I don't suppose I should have expected a different answer, but if nothing else at least you were more polite than your glorious leader. How you can stand to live with a throng of Dwarves is something I will never understand. As soon as you're finished with your meal you will be taken to your sister and I will continue feeding you well while you're here. If you change your mind, all you will have to do is call for one of the guards to take you to me; the offer has no expiration date."

"I'm ready to see her now, if that's okay." The Elf king nodded and as she was led out of the room he poured himself another glass of wine.

Legolas stepped into the room. "We sought out a spider nest today; it should be a while before we have trouble with any more."

"I would not be too sure of that." Thranduil remembered hunting spiders himself before he had become king and if his memory served, which he was certain it did, then the spiders would be back sooner than Legolas thought.

The prince ignored his father's pessimistic comment before saying "What have you learned from the woman by dining with her?"

"Very little, as she is surprisingly loyal to the Dwarves." He swirled his wine around a little in his glass. "And what I did learn only led to more questions. The other woman will be sent to the dungeons tomorrow after she is given a clean bill of health from the healers so later tonight I'd like you to see if you can't get more out of her."

"Ricki, I'm so glad you're alright!"

"Stop getting so soppy on me."

"You could have died!" Sage cried.

She hated it when Sage tried to mother her so she stared at her hands in her lap as her older sister fussed. "Why are you wearing a dress?"

"Don't ask." Sage was surprised they hadn't demanded the dress back now that she had refused the Elf king's offer.

"How are the others…Thorin?"

"They're all fine; better than fine, in fact. We're all being fed fairly well here, me more than most. The accommodations are no worse here than living in the woods for weeks on end. You're the only one I've really been worried about." She was thankful their conversation was in English, just in case Thranduil had been lying about not trying to spy on them. "Bilbo is missing, though. I don't know if he followed us or if he's still stuck in the woods or what happened."

Ricki looked at her sister sympathetically. "I know how much you like him and I like him, too, so I'm sorry." Sage supposed she was happy now that she hadn't ever drawn a picture of Bilbo that she liked because now there was no way Thranduil would know there was once another member of their party, though she missed the hobbit terribly – more than she cared to admit. "I've noticed you've grown pretty fond of him, even if you seem pretty adamant not to show it. The poor little guy may not be able to see it, but I can."

"I don't know what you're trying to imply," she replied defensively.

"I think you know exactly what I'm trying to imply: we both have reasons to stay."

Sage's eyes narrowed. "I see. So you and Thorin…?"

"We've discussed a future together. Please, Sage, I want to stay here more than anything. We've both given more than enough to the people back where we came from but we can have a home, here. There are people we both love who love us in return – the entire company! Don't we deserve to be happy?"

"Do you think it's realistic to become involved with a Dwarf king? He'd probably want an heir, wouldn't he? I'm assuming you haven't told him some of the potential side-effects to the kind of radiation exposure we've had."

She could see how much she'd hurt her sister and immediately regretted how harsh she had been with her; Sage knew she was one of the few people in the world actually capable of hurting Ricki, sincerely hoping for both their sakes the damage done by their radiation exposure had been minimal. "Our dose was smaller than most," Ricki replied quietly.

"I'm sorry," Sage replied. "But we can't abandon them, Ricki. We just can't." Before their conversation could continue, Bilbo appeared out of nowhere. (Now Sage was doubly thankful they had been speaking English.) "Bilbo, you're alright," she softly cried, jumping up to hug him. "Where have you been?"

"I've just been around the halls a bit."

"But how have you not been caught?"

"I thought you had a little more faith in my burgling abilities," he joked to which Sage only shook her head in admiration as an answer.

"I don't care about how he got here, I just care about how he's going to get us out," Ricki interjected. "Please tell me you have a plan."

"Well, I'm, uh, working on a plan," he offered before turning to Sage. "I know where your bag is, so I can grab that before we leave." This earned him an enormous grin and a hug which caused the poor little hobbit to blush profusely.

"I wish I could say there's no rush," Ricki continued, "But we do have to be at the mountain sooner rather than later. Do you at least have any ideas?"

"Well, I may have found an exit where we could leave unnoticed but I'm not sure when we would get the opportunity to slip out."

Sage beamed, causing Bilbo's blush to deepen. "I suppose I should have expected nothing less," she said happily. "I'll be sure to let Thorin know." Sage hated to admit it, even to herself, but Ricki was undeniably right when she said that Sage had developed feelings for the hobbit. He was the most polite of the company, which she certainly appreciated and he was such a genuine person that she found it increasingly difficult to deny her feelings for him. Hiding her feelings was an even more arduous task.

"Happy I can be useful," he stuttered.

A faint, warm smile appeared on Ricki's face before she added. "Can you grab Thorin's shield along with Sage's bag?"

"I suppose. Why is his shield so important?"

"It's not that important, really, but I just feel as though he should have it."

Bilbo nodded then glanced nervously at the door. "I should probably go. I'm sure they'll be taking you back to the dungeons soon." A thought which absolutely horrified him; he hated the idea of either one of the women being forced to live in the dungeons.

Ricki sat alone in her room, still feeling a little weak from the poison, when Legolas entered with the intent of interrogating her. Ricki, predicting what the conversation would be about, said "You're not going to get anything out of me, you know."

Legolas narrowed his eyes. "It would be in your best interests to be cooperative. That is, if you want to get out of here anytime soon."

"I choose to be uncooperative," she said obstinately. "You're wasting your time."

Meanwhile, Sage had just been led back to her cell, which was right next to Thorin and Balin's. "Did he offer you a deal?" Balin asked.

"He said I would be free if I chose to work under him as a healer. Naturally, the offer only extended to me and I refused. He let me see Ricki, though."

"How is she?" Thorin asked.

Sage could hear the concern in his voice and felt bad that she had discouraged Ricki's relationship with him earlier that day. "She's a lot better. In fact, she'll be well enough tomorrow to send down here to be with us." Sage could see a guard was nearby so she tried to be somewhat sneaky as she told Thorin about Bilbo. "My deal wasn't our last hope."

"Of course not," Thorin agreed.

"I saw our last hope today."

Both understood it was best not to say anymore or the guard may catch on but Thorin understood perfectly what Sage was saying and he smiled, feeling hopeful they may escape in time for Durin's Day. Clearly Bilbo had not been caught which was encouraging enough but when paired with the confidence Thorin had in the hobbit's cleverness, it was enough for the Dwarf king to begin planning on what they would do once they reached Laketown.

A/N: I don't know why, but I had so much difficulty writing this chapter. Anyway, I apologize for the short chapter and the delay and I hope you all can forgive me for making you wait so long.