Hello all, so here in the next chapter. You may all find it a bit boring however, as it is mainly talking. Because of the dungeon scene in the book, I found it difficult to write about the scenery when most of the dwarves are in the dark. So I have changed it slightly (thank goodness for the freedom in fanfiction) so that the dungeons were almost as dark as the pitch blackness of the mirkwood forest with being unable to see anything at all. Also, in the book, Bilbo was meant to have told the dwarves about the ring after the diversion with the spiders, but once again, I have changed it slightly. Sorry Tolkien! So yeah, I hope you do enjoy this.
I am going on holiday from the 8th to the 15th. It will be my first holiday in 5-6 years, so pretty excited. So im sure you can understand that I won't want to do any writing during that time. So there will be a little wait for the next chapter, I do apologise. But im also going somewhere where there isn't Wi-Fi (Ahhhhhhhhh) haha, so it is impossible anyway. So please, don't despair, I will be back. Please don't unfollow. I shall return.
So, please, read and review, and let me know what you think. Thanks ladles and Jelly spoons! Loves x
Anya shivered and shivered. It was cold to say the least in the darkness of the dingy dungeon. All that was there to comfort both her and Thorin was a bed of straw. The lack of light made the experience all the more unnerving. Anya, several times, clung to the dwarven king with fear that something was lurking in the darkened corners of her prison cell. Her mind was working overtime and every noise, every movement they made, increased her fear. Anya kept her eyes closed, her fists clutching onto Thorin's tunic, breathing unsteadily. She was hungry and tried to add to everything else and the baby and its health plagued her mind also. It was little over an hour when the prison door flung open and an array of protesting voices sounded. Thorin instantly perked up at the familiar voices. "Get yer filthy hands from me, Elf" sounded Dwalin's voice, angered and frustrated. The elven solider rolled his eyes and removed the warriors shackles before pushing him into an empty prison cell. Balin followed just after, and both were locked in together. Then came the RI brother's turn. Ori, Dori and Nori, much to their dislike, were pushed in rather harshly and jumped at the loud sound of the metal door slamming shut. Bombur was given a cell to himself after the Elf remarking that he was the size of two dwarves put together. As soon as he practically rolled in, Bombur fell asleep on the hard floor. Bifur and Bofur were thrown into a cell opposite Bombur's, across the way, leaving some distance between them for the dungeon was no small area. Oin and Gloin followed shortly after, being placed in a cell beside the two cousins. And finally the young Durin brothers were shoved, none-to-kindly into a cell not far from the one in which Thorin and Anya occupied. Although the dwarves were placed near each other, not one cell was attached to another and each cell was at least a small rooms-breadth apart, a similar size to master Baggins food cellar in which the merry dwarves once raided.
The Elf left in a matter of moments after Fili and Kili were locked up, leaving the miserable beings in the darkness of the dungeon. "Balin, are you well? He was not gentle with you" Kili's voice echoed in the darkness.
"Aye lad, Dwalin broke my fall." Balin responded, trying to spot some sort of shape in the pitch black darkness. Thorin sat silent a little longer; listening to his men, wanting to make sure all was well with them.
"That was brave of you Kili, to stand up to him" Bofur announced.
"Yes, yes it was" Gloin agreed.
"I hate elves…" Fili interjected, frowning in the shadows.
"Well, at least we are safe in here and not in danger of getting killed by spiders" Dori offered to lighten the mood.
"Be that as it may; we are stuck here now" Nori replied.
"I'd rather face the spiders again that be stuck here in the midst of elves" Oin grumbled.
"Me to…" Ori muttered.
"Is Bombur sleeping? Bombur?" Dwalin questioned on hearing a snore in the darkness. Bifur answered his question by a grunt in old dwarvish and many of the dwarves chuckled.
"I just hope Uncle and Anya are well…" Fili said, suddenly solemn and the others hummed in agreement. Thorin smiled at his nephews concern and held onto the now sleeping Anya as he shuffled to the door to get a clearer sound.
"We are well" Thorin suddenly spoke and several gasps sounded.
"Thorin, is that you?" Fili sounded, rather hopeful.
"It is I, nephew"
"Is Anya with you?" Balin inquired.
"She is. She is asleep." Thorin retorted, though his reply came slowly and painfully. Several members of the company picked up on his change of tone. Thorin swallowed hard and looked down at the sleeping woman in his arms, just making out the greyish colour that was spreading across her skin.
"What is it laddie?" Balin questioned once more. Thorin sighed loudly.
"I think she may be ill." The king under the mountain replied in the blackness of the cell, feeling utterly exposed emotionally and physically. At that moment Anya moaned in her sleep and turned slightly, giving a sudden shiver. "She shivers. It's not cold in here; I don't understand"
"She is probably just weary. We have been through a great ordeal these past few days" Bofur tried to reason to the son of Thrain.
"Maybe the lass needs food; she is carrying a child after all" Dori spoke up, concern etched in his voice.
"We have not eaten for almost four days; it worries me to think that it is doing damage to both her and the child. These elves cannot starve us; that would be callous of them to do such a thing, even if we are enemies" responded the dark haired leader of the company.
"Did you tell Thranduil of her condition?" Kili spoke up suddenly.
"No, I feared what he might have done if he were to find out that she was with child" admitted Thorin.
"Perhaps you should have. At least she would get food. I don't think the elven king is so heartless that he would starve a pregnant woman" Nori interjected. Thorin nodded at tha comment, although he knew that he could not be seen in the darkness. It was quiet for some time after that. A sniff here and there, a cough, a shuffle against the hay on the floor; was all that sounded. No one spoke; whether it was because they were too afraid to or too tired was still unknown. Thorin slid backward, pulling Anya with him until he leant his back against the wall. Slowly he felt himself drifting into a light sleep.
0.0.0
"Psst. Thorin? Are you awake?" a voice came in the eerie darkness of the dungeon cell. The leader of the company shot up straight at the closeness of the voice and grabbed a rock that led beside him, in an attempt to attack whatever was lurking beside him. "Thorin? Are you there?"
"Who are you?" Thorin whispered menacingly.
"It is I; Bilbo Baggins" the voice came, with a comforting tone. Thorin's eyes widened. The hobbit! They had forgotten about him in the situation at hand. But why was he silent when the dwarves were reunited. Why did he now alert them of his presence? The dwarf king dropped the stone on the floor and scrambled away from the sleeping Anya towards the bars of his cell door.
"Are you well master Baggins? You have kept silent all this time." Thorin spoke, squinting in the darkness, finding that the hobbit was nowhere to be seen.
"I am well. Are you and Anya?" Bilbo inquired softly.
"Yes, yes we are fine. Bilbo, why can I not see you? Where have you been?" asked the son of Thrain, squinting even more, but finding that he still could not see the merry Halfling.
"I did not tell you before, for I could not find the right time to mention it, but in the misty mountains when you were captured by the goblins, I was captured by another enemy. In the bottom of the caves, by dark murky water was this... This thing; it held human features but it was not. I cannot explain what it what, for I do not know. It gave me an ultimatum; win a contest of riddles and be led to an exit, or lose and be eaten by him. By some miracle I won, but it did not take this lightly and pursued me with great anger. Upon trying to escape his grasp, I found a ring. I took it but thought nothing of it. I came to a rock side and squeezed myself through but I tripped. As I fell, the ring flew into the air. As it somehow landed on my finger, the thing passed me, but could not see me. I realised that I was invisible with it on; magic ring! Moments later I saw Gandalf and the rest of you run past, leaving the mountain. I kept the ring on and ran past him to catch up with you... That is why neither you nor the elves can see me; I have the ring on" explained the curly haired hobbit.
"I doubted your abilities completely master Baggins. I truly thought you had left us. All the while you were battling and ordeal all by yourself. I owe you an apology Bilbo. You are definitely more than meets the eye. And of this ring of yours; a genius idea."
"You need not apologise Thorin, like I said on the Carrock; I doubted myself too. I even surprised myself in the forest of Mirkwood, slaying that spider. I plan to use this ring, to somehow find a way out of here for all of you. It may take some time, but I will find a way."
"That is truly noble of you dear Halfling. I feel useless in this... This cage. On your travels, if favour finds you, collect some food. Not for me, but for Anya; I fear for her. She is hardly responding to anything and complains of pains in her stomach. Surely that is not normal for a woman with child" Thorin replied sounding more melancholy by the minuet. Bilbo hummed in the darkness and shuffled a little on the floor, trying to look past Thorin at the woman lying across the floor.
"Indeed, that is strange behaviour. I will be sure to look for nutrients for her. What of you Thorin, honestly, how to you fare?"
"I worry more for the men than myself..."
"I ask about you, not them. I know they are well." Bilbo said sternly. Thorin smiled at the hobbits concern, and sat back on his backside, not caring about the barriers if his emotions any longer. He had been through too much to care.
"I feel weary master Baggins. There is not much more to say"
"maybe you should rest then; there is nought you can do here"
"maybe you are right. But what of you Bilbo, what will you do?" Thorin inquired.
"The guard left the door to the dungeon unlocked. I shall leave and be in pursuit of some food for Anya and hopefully a way out" Bilbo replied. Looking around in the darkness. Slowly Thorin reached his hand through a gap in the door. Bilbo took it, slightly confused, and was surprised that the king held his hand tightly in his.
"Thank you Bilbo... For everything" Thorin whispered. With his free hand, Bilbo tapped the top of Thorin's hand and smiled.
"You are welcome... My friend" Bilbo replied and his response made the king under the mountain smile gratefully. Bilbo saw him as a friend, not a leader and that warmed his heart. Pulling his hand back through the gap in the door, Thorin listened to the hobbits movement. "I shall return soon." was all that Bilbo said before he scurried from the room.
0.0.0.
"I cannot see a blasted thing!" Dwalin grumbled loudly, several hours later of the meeting between Thorin and Bilbo.
"How do we even know if it is morning?" Ori spoke, moving his eyes around the area. You could make out the outlines of objects, but nothing more. But the young hobbit was thankful that at least it was not completely black like the mirkwood forest where it seemed as though they were blind.
"We don't. I bet the elves love this." Fili grumbled, pulling his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them.
"We still have our lives, that is something to be grateful for" Thorin interrupted the complaining and the dwarves fell silent for a mere moment.
"How long are we going to be stuck here?" Bofur inquired.
"As long as Thranduil sees fit. He did after all state that we would never leave lest we give him the information he requires and we are unlikely to do so" Balin commented. "Thorin, is Anya awake?"
"She still sleeps. I cannot shake her from it" replied the dark haired king of Erebor.
"She must be ill indeed" Dori spoke gravely.
"I do not want to think in such dark terms. Our quest already stands on the edge of a knife. If her heath declines also whilst we are stuck in this dingy, forsaken place, then we might just lose our minds." Spoke Balin from the shadows, sitting next to his brother, frowning in sadness at the situation.
"All is not lost. Our burglar has deceived the elven scum" Thorin began with a steady voice.
"You have heard from Bilbo?" Said Kili with hope etched in his voice, and his eyes shining like a child at Christmas. Thorin smiled at his childlike reaction and hummed in acknowledgement of his question.
"He has acquired a ring; one with power. It enables him to appear invisible to all when upon his finger. He is in pursuit of a safe exit for us all. He has been brave in his actions." Explained the son of Thrain.
"I am relieved to hear he is well, but also proud of the little Halfling for what he is doing for us" Nori admitted in the shadows.
"He has proved to be a great member of this company" Was all that was said by Thorin, king under the mountain.
0.0.0
The Elven king sat on his throne with a regal posture, looking down at his imperial guard with a somewhat smug expression. He was aware that he had a very efficient army, and he took no steps to hide such information. It was said among the race of elves that Thranduil was the so called 'snooty' one between all the royalty and leaders, though he would strongly disagree. He just knew what he wanted and how to make the best of everything. Mostly Thranduil put up a front. He did appear up tight, unwilling to help those in need, such like the situation regarding the desolation of Erebor, but that was not true, well, not completely. The fact was he was tired of war, of death, of negativity. When such situations arose that would involve such things, he steered away from them the best he could.
The elven king, looking over his men with pride, thought in that moment, that the dwarves were planning something that could jeopardise the peace between the mirkwood realm and the land of middle-earth. Whatever they were planning to do could bring misery or even more desolation upon them, and that burned an unknown fury within the king pit of his stomach. Clenching his fists, rising to his feet, Thranduil turned his attention away from his men to the female elf standing beside him, on guard. "Tauriel, something unsettles me; I wish you to do something for me"
"My lord?" Tauriel waited, stepping before her blonde master, her red locks swaying beside her perfectly shaped elven features.
"It came to my attention that that woman was in a delicate situation. The dwarves will not let on to their reasons why they were journeying this far into my realm. I wish you to bring the human to me. If she will not speak, we will pamper her in her 'situation' until she feels relaxed enough to let on."
"As you wish my lord" Tauriel responded and turned away from her king after bowing in respect, taking with her two soldiers just in case the dwarves became violent whilst removing Anya from their presence.
"I will find out, if it means tearing the line of Durin apart" Thranduil commented and dismissed his guard, returning to take his seat on the throne.
"What are your intentions for the dwarf's father" A voice suddenly sounded in the hall.
"Legolas do not sneak up on me so. What I intend is no concern of yours"
"It is if it involves Tauriel or myself doing your bidding, with respects father" Legolas replied, coming to stand before his father, crossing his arms in question.
"If it were to affect you in anyway my son, I would surely let you know. Now, leave me, I am in need of silence" Spoke Thranduil.
"As you wish father"
0.0.0
"Do not touch her!"
"Let her go!"
"She is in no condition to be moved!"
"Get your hands from her you filth!"
"Silence Dwarf!"
*THUD* and *SILENCE*