Another chapter for you lovelies!
Thanks to Bleeding Blue Kunoichi, CatchingRainbows and XxBlindXxAngelXx for your reviews on the last one, I loved hearing from you as always!
I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and leave me some of your thoughts!
"My guards told me they had imprisoned a group of filthy dwarves," Thranduil uttered coolly, not even bothering to rise from his throne as he looked at the dwarves gathered before him, his gaze falling on their leader. "I must admit I did not expect to find Thorin, son of Thrain, among them."
Thorin said nothing in return, causing the elven king to sigh almost soundlessly before he gave a small wave of his hand to his men. "Unbind them!" he called and the elves followed the command swiftly while their king looked on grimly at the dwarves. "They do not need ropes in here. There is no escape from my magic doors for those who are once brought inside."
While their wrists were freed swiftly, leaving the companions to rub their sore limbs slightly, Thranduil's gaze now wandered over the company slowly, taking in their tired and dirty faces and the remains of silver cobwebs that were sticking to their hair and clothes.
"What were you doing in the forest?" the king then asked and was met with stubborn silence from the dwarves. He had expected no less, but was irritated by it anyway. "Answer!"
"We were looking for food and drink," Thorin complied in a dark rumble, holding the elven king's gaze sternly. "Because we were starving."
Thranduil's eyebrows rose slightly. "And what brought you into the forest at all?"
"Bad luck I would say at this point," Dwalin grumbled and some of his companions agreed in quiet murmurs, nodding their heads while Thranduil's gaze darkened and he leaned forward in his throne.
"Aye," Balin added to his brother's words, stepping up next to Thorin to send the elven king a dirty look. "What have we done, oh king? Is it a crime to be lost in the forest, to be hungry and thirsty, to be trapped by spiders?"
Thranduil's eyes narrowed at the old dwarf and he slowly stood from his throne, towering over them as he spoke. "It is a crime to wander in my realm without leave," he answered coolly, his melodic voice echoing off the walls. "Do you forget that you were in my kingdom, using the road that my people made? Did you not rouse the spiders with your riot and clamour? I believe that after all the disturbance you have caused I have a right to know what brings you here, and if you will not tell me now, I will keep you all in prison until you have learned sense and manners!"
When the dwarves did not say anything in return, none of them willing to answer the elven king's questions, Thranduil huffed slightly, his eyes wandering over the company in irritation. It was then that he suddenly saw the small, slender female that stood among the burly dwarves, her gaze cast to the floor while she remained silent with the rest of them.
Despite the large scar and the dirt on her face, the matted state of her fiery red hair and the ordinary travelling clothes she was wearing, Thranduil recognised her for what she was instantly. His eyebrows rose in surprise and interest as he looked at the woodland fae, suddenly thinking of another way that he could get the answers that he wanted.
"Very well," he uttered with authority then, casting his gaze away from her to look at the whole group instead. "Bring them to the dungeons and put them all in separate cells! You will be given food and drink, but you will stay in your cells until one of you is inclined to tell me all I want to know."
And upon his command, the dwarves were once again shoved and forced along, the elven guards escorting them out of the throne hall. Cinna's eyes widened slightly as she followed along the narrow paths that led down to the dungeons, the light growing dim the further they went. It wasn't long before they reached the dungeons, the cells gathered on several levels, all of them connected by paths and stairs. The company was separated then, and each member led to a different cell and while Cinna was pushed into one she could see Fili being shoved in the one next to hers from the corner of her eye.
The fae flinched slightly as the heavy cell door was pushed closed behind her, the lock clicking into place before the elven guard moved along, leaving her to walk up to the iron bars. From where she stood she could see Kili being locked in a cell by the red-haired she-elf on a level further down and the fae shortly met his gaze as the dwarf glanced up at her, though she quickly turned away and went to sit on the little stone bench that stood in one corner of her cell, still angry with the brunet for having picked a fight with her when he did not understand the slightest bit of what she was feeling.
As she sat in silence, her legs crossed beneath her, she heard the dwarves grunt and curse as they tried to escape their cells, and from where she was she could hear Fili slamming and kicking against the door of his cell next to hers, causing her to frown slightly.
"Stop it," she called, hoping that he would hear her. "You'll only hurt yourself."
"Leave it!" she then heard Balin's voice echo through the dungeons, iterating her words, though she did not know where his cell was. "There's no way out! This is no orc dungeon; these are the halls of the Woodland Realm. No one leaves here without the king's consent."
Cinna sighed as the noises of the dwarves died down, the company resigning to their fate for now. It was only then that the fae looked around her cell, feeling her heart sink at the small, confined space, illuminated only by the light of the torches that were burning on the walls outside. The small bench she was on was the only place to sit beside the cold stone floor and Cinna leaned her back against the wall behind her grimly.
Soon they were brought some food and drink, all of them relishing in the fact that their stomachs finally felt full again after weeks of small rations. After that, there was nothing more to do but wait and with a sigh Cinna tried to make herself more comfortable, lying down on the hard bench as she kept her eyes trained on the iron bars before her without really seeing them. Her thoughts were still circling around the spider she had killed and what Kili had said to her earlier. The fae knew that killing something that was attacking them was not a big deal for any of the dwarves, and she understood Kili's thinking when the only choices to make were either kill or be killed.
And yet, she couldn't just rid herself of the guilt that she felt. She had never killed anything before, had never thought that one day she might have to. But then again, she hadn't anticipated most that had happened to her on this journey so far. Indeed, she was far from the fae that she used to be when she first came across the company. She now wore battle scars, she had travelled further than ever before, she had learned how to wield a sword, if ever poorly, and had made friendships that she never thought she would. And she had killed.
The fae didn't know how long she had been lying there lost in thought, though she must have fallen asleep at some point as her eyes fluttered open now, finding her surroundings unchanged. The air of the dungeons was filled with the light snores of her companions now, the only indicator that night had fallen and though they were imprisoned, Cinna was rather glad that they were not in the forest anymore. At least they could sleep now knowing that nothing would try to eat them during the night.
It was just as the fae tried to go back to sleep, wiggling around slightly on the hard stone surface, when she heard light footsteps approaching her cell and she opened her eyes to see the tall red-haired she-elf peering into her cell, no doubt simply making her round to check on the prisoners.
The fae watched the elf for a moment, suddenly hearing herself speak despite not having planned to. "Hello," she muttered quietly and the she-elf, who had already made to walk away, turned around to her with her eyebrows raised in slight surprise.
The elf inclined her head lightly, not saying anything as she returned the greeting. She observed the small fae as she rose to sit on the uncomfortable stone bench, feeling even more surprised when Cinna sent her a faint smile.
"What's your name?" the fae asked curiously, watching the elf that stood before her cell closely. She was beautiful, there was no doubt about that, but there was also something different about her, a slight edge to her calm demeanour.
"Tauriel," the elf answered, her voice quiet and calm, and very pleasant to listen to. Cinna gave a small nod.
"I am –"
"Cin," Tauriel interrupted with a small nod, making the fae's eyebrows rise in question. "Your name fell when you were arguing with your friend earlier."
Cinna's eyes widened slightly as she shifted uncomfortably, feeling slightly embarrassed that their hushed argument had apparently not been so hushed at all. "The name is Cinna," she then uttered in reply, giving the elf a small shrug when she saw the question in her eyes. "Only Kili ever calls me Cin."
"Ah," Tauriel hummed quietly, nodding her understanding as she glanced to where the brunet dwarf's cell lay a level below, and though there was nothing there to see but the shadow in the cell Tauriel knew that the dwarf was still in there, having walked past it just before.
"I didn't mean to start a fight with him," Cinna spoke quietly, clearly more to herself than the elf but Tauriel turned her gaze back to the fae nonetheless, watching her closely as she grimaced slightly. "It's just –"
"The spiders," Tauriel completed her sentence, smiling faintly at the small redhead in the cell before her. "I heard that, as well."
The elf hesitated a moment as the fae let out a deep sigh, letting herself slump back against the wall behind her with a frown. "You did not have any choice but to fight them," Tauriel then said, her voice serious but kind. She had heard her fair share of stories about faeries from when she had been growing up and she knew that they were gentle folk, with pure hearts and kind souls. It didn't surprise Tauriel that killing a creature, no matter how despicable, would weigh heavily on the fae's conscience.
Cinna met her gaze, doubt clear to see in her eyes as the she-elf continued quietly, so that her voice would not echo off the walls too much. No one had to know of her conversation with one of the prisoners.
"Believe me," she said. "I know better than most what these beasts are capable of. Many years ago this forest was pure and filled with life. And then darkness fell; the woods grew sick and with it came the spiders. They invade our lands and kill without thought or mercy. You were lucky to come out of it alive. They are horrid creatures, bred from darkness, there is no need to feel pity for them."
"I know that," Cinna answered quietly, sending the elf a sad look. "Yes, I know that. I think… I think it is not the spider that I mourn, though I thought so initially. It is myself, or rather who I once was."
The fae cleared her throat slightly, feeling rather vulnerable and stupid now that she had revealed her thoughts to the she-elf, whom she did not know at all. But Tauriel only nodded her understanding, not needing for the fae to say anything else. She knew, after all, how it felt to lose a part of you that made you who you were. To her, this was her desire for justice and the strong need to destroy the darkness that threatened the world she lived in. Only a few hours ago she had talked to King Thranduil about the spiders, trying to convince him that it would be wiser to kill them at their source so that they would never even come near their lands. But the beasts festered in Dol Guldur, south of the forest, and beyond their borders. And therefore, according to Thranduil's command, she was not to concern herself with it.
The fae had watched Tauriel's face mirror an array of emotions, the one she could make out most distinctly being disappointment. Cinna merely returned the elf's nod before Tauriel turned away quickly and left the fae to stare at the spot where she had been standing only moments before. Cinna sighed quietly, slowly rising from the bench and walking up to the jug of water that stood near the cell door.
"You mourn yourself?" she suddenly heard a voice ask quietly and Cinna flinched slightly in surprise before she frowned at Fili's words coming from the cell beside her. The fae took a sip of cool water to suppress the sigh that wanted to escape her.
"I did not know you were awake," she answered the blond dwarf without being able to see him, leaning her shoulder against the wall beside the door.
"I did not know you felt that way," she heard him say then and the fae inclined her head, slightly drawing her mouth askew at the sombre tone of his voice. "I thought… I don't know what I thought."
"You thought that after all this time I had adjusted to being on this journey with you," Cinna uttered quietly, clearing her throat slightly as she addressed her friend through the wall. "And you're right, I am changing. Only that I feel like I am losing small pieces of myself with every step I take forward on this quest. I am becoming someone that I do not know. And it scares me."
Fili remained silent for a moment, digesting her words and feeling his heart sink upon hearing them. "I understand," he then said slowly, sighing deeply as he glanced down at his brother's cell that lay below, veiled in darkness. The blond dwarf shook his head slightly as he thought back to the fight he had witnessed between the two of them hours earlier. "Maybe you should have told Kili that. It certainly would have helped him understand what you're feeling."
The blond dwarf heard the fae cough slightly and while he wondered what had caused it, he couldn't know that she had choked on a sip of water as he'd uttered his words, surprised that he would bring up his little brother at this point. It was a moment before Cinna spoke again and Fili, who was sitting with his back leaning against the iron bars of his cell door, listened carefully as she did.
"Hardly," she uttered. "He would never understand. To him everything is simple. Make one choice or the other and then get over it and live with your decision."
Fili shook his head slightly, his eyes wandering to the ceiling of his cell as he sent a small prayer to Mahal that the fae would stop being so stubborn. "You underestimate Kili," the blond said then and perked up his ears as he heard her footsteps leading her back to the stone bench she had been sitting on before. "My brother is much more sensitive than you give him credit for. He'd understand."
"Perhaps," was all that Cinna replied after a few moments of silence between them, though her voice was guarded and dismissive. "I shall try and find some sleep now. Good night, Fili."
The blond dwarf just sighed quietly, inclining his head in defeat as he answered. "Good night."
It was unbeknownst to either of them that their conversation had not been completely private, and that someone else had listened carefully and silently to every word that had been spoken.