Not much to say here...hope you all enjoy the chapter. Lots of things going on here.
Side note: Shit isn't mine.
Chapter 10 I Could be Hiding Anything in my Trousers
Before:
"Grab a leg!"
The call rang out on the ground as the spiders returned, surrounding them. Bombur was knocked to the forest floor and holding pinchers away from his face in a desperate attempt to not get bitten. Eight dwarves of the company grabbed each of the spider's legs and managed to pull its legs right off its body. The dismembered body of the spider landed on Bombur which he immediately threw to the side.
"Kili!" Fili yelled for his brother as another spider came from behind and grabbed the dark haired dwarf.
Together, the company of dwarves were defeating their spiders and running through the forest, using what weapons they had to kill the spiders jumping down on threads of silk in front of them. Fili raised his swords in preparation to fight, but paused and looked up. Coming through the trees and webs was a blonde Elf, running on the limbs and trunks and swinging down a spider's silk in order to land on it and kill it. He slid on the forest floor under the spider coming at Fili, slicing it in half, and came up kneeling with an arrow nocked in his bow and pointed at him. Several other Mirkwood elves appear around them, drawing arrows and pointing them at the dwarves and the company freezes.
"Do not think I won't kill you, dwarf. It would be my pleasure."
The dwarves looked around and saw they are completely surrounded and outnumbered. Fili glared up at the Elf threatening him only to whirl around at the sound of his brother's scream.
"Help!"
"Kili!"
The rest of the dwarves spin around to see a spider pulling Kili away by the foot. They all watched as a female Elf with auburn hair came jumping and running through the forest, killing three spiders with her bow and knife. She spun around and killed the spider pulling Kili with an arrow, turning back around to attack another spider behind her as yet another spider rushed toward Kili.
"Throw me your dagger! Quick!" Kili looked frantically between the She-Elf and the creature coming at him.
"If you think I'm giving you a weapon, dwarf, you're mistaken!" Killing her spider with her knife, she threw it as she came back around and killed the spider that was about to attack Kili.
Kili was looking at her in amazement, not objecting when she escorted him to the rest of the company.
"Gyrth in yngyl bain?" [Are the spiders dead?]
"Ennorner gwanod in yngyl na nyryn. Engain nar." [Yes, but more will come. They're growing bolder.]
The blonde elf nodded grimly before addressing the other elves standing by. "Search them."
Unable to fight back, the dwarves stood as they were relieved of their weapons. Fili stood with a smirk on his face as one elf searched him finding two of his knives. The Elf whom had ordered the search pulled a picture frame with two pictures out of Gloin's pocket.
"Hey! Give it back! That's private!" Gloin made to snatch the portraits back.
"Who is this? Your brother?"
"That is my wife!"
"And what is this horrid creature? A goblin mutant?"
"That's my wee lad, Gimli."
An eyebrow was raised in contempt at Gloin and he handed it back. His icy blue eyes going to the blonde dwarf who was still having his knives removed from him.
Fili sighed when the elf found even some in a secret hidden pocket. At this rate he wasn't going to have any left. He opened his jacket to show the elf searching him that he has no knives left; however, the elf reached around him and found another hidden in his hood.
"Enwenno hain!" [Take them!]
The elves moved them into a single file and led the dwarves away. As they began to walk, Bofur turns and whispers to Fili, "Where's Bilbo?"
Fili flicked his eyes about him but didn't see the hobbit. He hadn't given any thought to Bilbo as his mind had been caught up in the fight against the spiders. However as he thought about their lost burglar, his mind wandered to wondering where his One was at. And her brother. His stomach clenched at the thought of them still lost in the woods, paining him further than his hunger.
Now:
Fili's head jerked up at the sound of Helena yelling his name. He spotted her in time to see her jump from Gavin's hold and fly down the stairs and across the bridges in her graceful way. Even the elves escorting the dwarves were momentarily stunned as the watched the minute girl move like an elf towards them. Every dwarf moved to one side of the bridge to allow Fili to pass to the front of their line, just behind the blonde Elf.
Helena ran over the tree roots with barely a sound and saw the arms of the lead Elf twitch as she neared. Prepared for him to grab her, she feinted a dodge to the left before tumbling under his long legs to avoid his hands. A second later she was picked up by Fili and Helena wrapped her limbs around him, resting her head against his. Everything he felt rushed through her as their breath mingled together, relief and love flowed through her veins along with the pain of their hunger. Their reunion was brief and ruined as a blade touched her neck and Helena heard the voice of the Elf King ringing out a command for whomever was behind her to stand down. Although from the grunt behind her, she wasn't sure it was entirely voluntary. She peered over her shoulder and saw the elf removing his arm from the grasp of Gavin's hands before stepping towards him.
"Legalos! STOP!"
Nobody moved and every eye went to the Elf King descending the steps. His cold voice carrying over the air to where the dwarves, Helena, and Gavin were. "The girl and the man are not to be harmed in any fashion. Take the dwarves to the dungeons and escort the other two to guest chambers of their own."
Helena tightened her hold on Fili. "No! I'm not leaving him!" She didn't see the looks exchanged between the guards and thus was unprepared when hands settled on her upper arms and tried to pull her body away from Fili's. Her arms tighten around his neck as she felt one of his arms hold her firmly while the other went to her boot.
In a blur of moment she had never seen, Fili pulled the slim dagger from her boot and sliced the arm trying to pull her away. A hiss of pain came from the Elf before a fist came from the other side of her and hit Fili's temple, stunning him momentarily. He fell back slightly but kept his hold on her, raising the knife up and growling when an Elf advanced. Helena looked behind him saw the rest of the dwarves being kept in place with aimed arrows and a red head She-Elf now steps behind Fili with an arrow aimed at his head. Her blood ran cold and frantically looked behind her for her brother only to spot him being held at point with several weapons. Any other time it would have amused her to see him pinned down like that.
"Lower your weapon dwarf, and you will live."
Fili stood still at the feminine voice behind him and glanced at Helena's face. Seeing her wide eyes, he assumed there was something pointed at him that would either kill or maim him. Fili lowered his arm and the dagger clattered to the ground. As soon as the sound hit the air, Helena was plucked from his arm with the speed and strength known to the elves. A surprised cry came from her and Fili took a step to rush the Elf holding her, but a sword at his throat stopped him.
"This is an ancient Elvish blade, forged by my kin. It was taken off another dwarf. Where did you get it?"
Fili glared up at the tall Elf, assuming this was King Thranduil his uncle had spoken about. "It was given."
"Hmmm, thieves and liars."
"They aren't lying you blonde twit! Call off your dogs, I don't like to be touched or held!"
Focus was returned to the girl struggling in the arms of an Elf guard as her voice growled out with a panicked tone. Gavin was the first to say something to her.
"For God's sake girl, I know you are smaller but you know how to get out of that hold."
Everyone had time to blink once before Helena gathered her wits and reacted as she was taught. Reaching her right arm to her left, placed her thumb in the crevice of the Elf's elbow and dug in using her fore and middle finger as leverage. The arm dropped from her and Helena slipped enough in the other arm to turn and jammed a one knuckle punch into the sternum, being dropped completely. As the Elf hit the ground, Helena went to run to Fili but was held back by another Elf who grabbed her wrists. Fili growled, still kept in place by the Orcist resting on his skin.
"Give the girl to her companion she came with." Thranduil ordered without looking away from the blonde dwarf. "Hissaelon, take them to their chambers and post guards. Do not harm them."
Helena was thrust at Gavin who scooped her up in his arms again, fury lining his face at the way she was handled. She looked at Fili with sorrow as the Elf forced Gavin to move in the direction they wanted. He held her eyes as he spoke, "I won't leave you again, Ê khî."
"I know" Helena whispered. Her blue-green eyes met those of King Thranuil, "Varda said I would be safe with you. Obviously Ilúvatar doesn't know what your incompetent ass has been doing as of late. I can't wait to tell him." She watched something flicker across his face before they guided Gavin around a corner.
The dwarves were once again taken across the kingdom and down into its depths in a single file line. Arriving at the dungeons, the dwarves were vocalizing their protests as they were pushed into cells.
"This is not the end of it! You hear me?" Dwalin gruffly threatened behind him.
Gloin yelled at the two pushing him, "Let us out of here!"
Dori huffed at his captor. "Get off me!"
The elf in charge of Fili found another large dagger hidden in his coat as he was about to be thrown into his cell. Fili bared his teeth at the Elf in frustration. Kili saw his brother and addressed the red head female as she was about to shut him in his cell. "Aren't you going to search me? I could have anything down my trousers." He may have been angry about the situation, but there was something about her.
"Or nothing." She gave him a look and haughtily slammed the cell door shut and walked away. Kili placed his hands on the bars and rested his forehead to the metal, looking after her and smiled. He saw the blonde Elf who had ordered them to be taken earlier stopped her on her way out of the prison corridor.
"I Nogoth amman e tîr gin? Tauriel?" [Why does the Dwarf stare at you, Tauriel?]
"Ú-dangada?" [Who can say?] She looked away from him as she spoke the next line, smiling a little. "E orchal be Nogoth. Pedithig?" [He's quite tall for a Dwarf. Do you not think?] She added eyes on his again.
"Orchal eb vui, mal uvanui en." [Taller than some, but no less ugly.]
Once the elves left, several of the dwarves began throwing themselves against their cell doors, grunting in their effort until Balin finally yells at them. "Leave it! There's no way out. This is no Orc dungeon; these are the halls of the Woodland Realm. No one leaves here but by the king's consent."
Fili sat down on his stone bed, exhaling sharply. How in Mahal's name was there a way out of this? And where was Thorin?
Helena and Gavin were escorted to a set of double doors and the Elf pushed on open to reveal a large room. He waved his hand to allow the two entrance first before entering himself. The room was lit with unknown light that exaggerated the high ceilings, the circular room was filled with an assortment of furniture including a large bed, sofa, arm chairs, tables, a desk, and wardrobe. There was a semicircular screen in the far area of the room near the balcony that partially hid a bathing area which included a large tub, mirror, and a vanity table with a bowl and water vase. And a fireplace decorated the right side of the room.
"I will have clothes brought for both of you."
Gavin turned so the both of them could face him. "Why should we accept anything from you?"
The Elf's eyes strayed to Helena once again. "I only wish to have you comfortable. Food will also be sent up along with hot water for a bath."
"You want us comfortable? Well, I want my dwarves not imprisoned unjustly. Are you feeding them as well?" Helena said hotly.
"Of course. King Thranduil treats his prisoners fairly. They will be fed, and wounds treated after they have calmed down." He turned, stopping at the threshold with a hand on the door. "You are not permitted to leave this room without the say of the King. I will position two guards at the doors to ensure your safety and location."
They watched as the door was shut firmly but heard no bar across the door nor a key to lock them in the room. Gavin strode to the doors and tested the one on the left. It opened and he was met by the sight of a decorated sentry staring at him. Shutting the door, he looked at Helena who was still in his arms.
"So, what the hell do we do now?"
"Put me down."
Once on her feet, Helena rushed to the balcony to see how far they were from the ground. To her dismay, it overlooked a chasm of sorts. To her left and right she saw more balconies and spotted more than a few elves. She swore and heard Gavin come from behind her.
"Yeah, we aren't jumping from this. Not to mention we would be spotted in a heartbeat."
Helena pushed away from the railing and went to walk back into the room. Only she ran into something she couldn't see. Falling to her butt, she stared bewildered at the empty space in front of her. The moment she blinked, Bilbo stood before her dirty and covered with webs. He offered a small smile to her.
"How did you do that?!"
Gavin spun to see who she was talking to and saw the smallest member of the group they were traveling with. "Holy shit, it's the bunny."
Bilbo glared up at the man before looking back at Helena and reaching a hand to help her up, ignoring her question. "I followed you all, I wasn't sure where they were going to put you for a guest room and I thought that the dungeons would be easier to look for. What happened to you two?" The concern was evident in his voice.
Shaking her dress around her, Helena ushered him into the room before anyone could see him. "We were captured on the path where you all left us to chase after the food."
Bilbo's face fell. "Fili was devastated when he saw you were left behind. Our minds were so fogged and focused on food we couldn't think of anything else." He hesitated before continuing. "None of them know I'm with the company or even here."
Helena stared at him suspiciously, her eyes narrowing and zooming in on his fingers once again at his pocket. "Bilbo, what do you have?"
"Nothing." The answer was too quick and he knew that she saw he was lying. "It's only a trinket, I promise."
She wasn't appeased. Anything that turned her flower black can't be anything less than evil. Her mind brought forth the memory of a gold ring she had seen before entering the forest. A shudder ran through her as she remembered the feeling of foul words caressing her skin. "Please be careful Bilbo" Helena whispered to him.
A knock came at their door and stopped the conversation. Gavin took that moment to whisper on a bent knee to him. "You need to find the others. Follow the redhead, she will probably know where they are. She seemed to be more in charge than the others." A knock fell to the door again. "Whatever you did to make yourself invisible, do it again and leave when the door opens. Come back as you can, we will save you food."
Bilbo nodded and slipped on the ring when Helena turned away from him being led to the door by Gavin.
He flung the door open and blinked in partial surprise. It was the redhead. This was going to work easier than he thought. "What?"
Her green eyes fell to Helena who was at his side glaring up at her. "I've brought some clothes for the two of you. I had to search through our stored trunks to find some elfling clothing for her." She held out the bundle of clothes as a peace offering.
"What about food? We haven't eaten in days?" Gavin pressed the She-Elf, his eyes glaring at her.
Her eyes flicked to her left and he leaned around the door to see another female elf with brown hair standing with a large tray of food with a calm demeanor. Gavin moved from the door to let them enter, still blocking Helena from them. The redhead placed the clothes on sofa while the other set the food on the table between the chairs. The brunette left quickly without another look. He stared at the remaining Elf with bored eyes, waiting for her to say whatever she was holding back.
"There is a bath hall if you would rather use it instead of taking turns with the one tub. King Thranduil has offered it for your use."
Gavin raised a brow at her and Helena voiced her opinion. "Not if there are others there I'm not."
"There are private rooms as well. And your guard will be there."
Helena's nose scrunched up at the thought of people waiting for her to clean herself up. But she did wonder if the Woodland elves could compare to Rivendell. She looked up at Gavin and saw him waiting for her answer. "Fine. But if I see one pair of eyes, even the door opening to see if we are still breathing, body parts will be lost."
The Elf nodded her head in assent and headed to the door. "Eat and let the guards know when you are done."
"What is your name?" Helena's voice stopped her with her hand on the nob.
"Tauriel, Captain of the Guard."
A half hour later found Helena and Gavin being led through hallways to the bathing areas. An hour after they arrived and cleaned off days of filth, they were back in the room from earlier. Helena was rather disappointed in the baths of Mirkwood, they were nothing like the elegance of Rivendell. Not that they didn't have their own charm, but she couldn't see outside as there were no windows. What had her saddened the most was she had to take her braids out in order to thoroughly wash her hair and refused to let Gavin near her hair to put it up for her. Only Fili had that right now as she remembered his words. The best Helena could do right now was the braids that usually hung at her temples, replacing the beads and clasps, and tying the length at her back into a simple braid also replacing the clasp Thorin had given her. The two of them now sat side by side on the sofa with nothing to do.
"Not that I've ever been on house arrest, but I feel like this is what it would be like. Utter boredom."
"And it's only been a few hours. Maybe if we annoy them enough we can get them to let us out of here." Helena suggested.
Gavin shrugged and then yawned. "Let's go to sleep first, although I can't imagine what the time is, we haven't been sleeping much since we entered the forest. You mind sharing the bed with me?"
Helena looked over at the monstrosity he called a bed. The thing was bigger than a California King. "We've camped in a tent together, can't say this is much different."
The two dressed in the nightwear provided along with a set of day clothes, crawled into the massive bed and were asleep within minutes.
In a different chamber, in the couple hours before when Helena and Gavin were eating, Bilbo had followed the She-Elf now known as Tauriel through the kingdom to a room where the Elf King was standing in sleep clothes and robes. He stood behind her in the stairwell waiting for… what he didn't know.
"I know you're there. Why do you linger in the shadows?"
Tauriel stepped out of the shadows and bowed. "I was coming to report to you."
Thranduil stood in place as he spoke to her. "I thought I ordered that nest to be destroyed not two moons past."
"We cleared the forest as ordered, My Lord, but more spiders keep coming up from the south. They are spawning in the ruins of Dol Guldur; if we could kill them at their source-" her speech and pacing was cut off as he interrupted her.
"That fortress lies beyond our borders. Keep our lands clear of those foul creatures. That is your task."
Tauriel looked at him, worry clouded in her eyes. "And when we drive them off, what then? Will they not spread to other lands?"
"Other lands are not my concern. The fortunes of the world will rise and fall, but here in this kingdom, we will endure."
Bilbo backed away slowly and Thranduil looked his way when his foot scraped across the ground. His attention returns back to Tauriel as she bowed and started to leave, his words stopping her feet.
"Legolas said you fought well today. He has grown very fond of you."
Tauriel kept her face away from his, shock and embarrassment evident as the smile on her lips. "I assure you, my lord, Legolas thinks of me as no more than a captain of the guard."
"Perhaps he did once. Now, I'm not so sure."
Thranuil cross the room to pour himself a drink while Tauriel stayed rooted in her spot, looking worried. "I do not think you would allow your son to pledge himself to a lowly Silvan elf."
"No, you are right. I would not. Still, he cares about you. Do not give him hope where there is none."
His cold voice struck Bilbo as he hadn't moved after the Elf King looking in his direction. He could see the anguish on Tauriel's face and he wondered if it was because of her rank or for the loss of love she would never experience. He pressed himself against the wall as she quickly walked passed him and up the stairs. He was right behind her as quietly as possible.
Because rejection isn't done right until you are told by a king your aren't good enough for his son because of your blood. Just to warn, updates will probably not be everyday anymore. It's getting harder to write. But I know you all shall remain faithful!