Chapter 27

Pain, darkness, and voices that were too loud. Those were the first things that Kelly noticed when she finally woke up. Then her other senses came to her and she realized she was on a very soft bed, surrounded by the smell of pine needles and flowers. "Kelly? Can you hear me? Please open your eyes." Obeying the command, Kelly opened her eyes slowly. The room was very dim and looking over, she saw Legolas sitting next to her on the bed with a soft smile on his face. "Where am I, Legolas? How long have I been unconscious? What about the Dwarves?"

She sat up in the bed, only to groan at the aches and pains running through her body. The Elf simply laughed before shaking his head and handing the woman a cup filled with liquid. "Drink this; it will help with the pain. You've been unconscious for a few hours and the Dwarves are still in their cells. You are currently in my chambers." Kelly couldn't help but notice the way Legolas sneered when he mentioned the Dwarves. Sipping at the drink, Kelly looked around the room before noticing a fire burning in a hearth at the end of the room. "Tell me of my injuries please." She requested as she continued staring at the fire.

"You have 4 broken ribs, both your cheekbones, a wrist, your left leg, and you have severe bruising everywhere. The guards who did this are currently being held in the deep dungeon until the King decides what to do with them." Shivering slightly Kelly shook her head because she knew that the deep dungeon held many creepy crawlies that even she didn't want touching her. Legolas, noticing her stare at the fire, put his hand on hers. "Do it Kelly. Heal yourself like you have before, I won't tell anyone. Just don't lose control again; I'm rather fond of my bed." The woman laughed and pushed herself off the bed while pulling a stream of fire towards her, asking it to sink into her and heal her broken body. "I am not the young girl I once was Legolas. I have not lost control since I burned your father's throne room to the ground."

"Along with half the kingdom!" Legolas teased as Kelly smiled and stood up, allowing the fire to leave her body and go back to the hearth. "Ah yes, but what a beautiful fire it was. Greens, blues, reds, and even a purple for a moment. It was glorious and even your father would have admitted to that. Besides, nobody died and I was the only person who received a burn." Kelly looked around the room, realizing that Legolas was the only one there. "I thought I heard voices arguing when I woke up? Was there someone else here?" Sighing, Legolas stood and began pacing the room. "My father was here, he believes that you should be given the chance to explain the fire. The only problem is that he wants you to explain it to everyone. The guard, the royals, even the prisoners; including your Dwarf friends."

Kelly rolled her eyes and smiled softly, checking her body for any bruises or injuries that may have been missed. She never could get over the feeling of her bones catching fire and healing, her blood being boiled and capillaries healing. "Well your father loves a good show, everyone knows that. I will agree to explaining, as that is what I have always wanted. I do need to see my friends first; they've probably bloodied themselves quite well against their cells."

The Dwarves had, in fact, been throwing themselves against their cells and were pretty well beaten up. Dwalin was the worst and even went so far as to try to attack a guard who had brought his evening meal. This ended with a scoff from the guard and a broken wrist for Dwalin. The company was now sulking; poking at the food they had been given as they waited for any word about their friend. The door to the dungeon opened, with enough force to slam against the wall behind it. Kelly came storming down the stairs. She looked much healthier than any of the Dwarves and much angrier. Fire darted around her, creating dark shadows on the walls that made the dungeon seem eerier. The fire wrapped around the woman when she came to a halt in front of Dwalin's cell.

The Dwarf had jumped to his feet, along with everyone else, but was soon silenced by the look of fury on his loved one's face. Without even twitching, a ball of fire went to the door and melted the lock, which allowed it to swing open. Kelly grabbed Dwalin and yanked him closer to her then began examining his wrist which was purple and still twisted at a strange angle. "Why was he allowed to be mistreated this way?!" Kelly screamed back up the stairs where the Dwarves noticed Legolas was just walking back out the door. Without expecting an answer, Kelly took a small fire in her hand before looking Dwalin in the eyes. "Hold your breath my love. This will hurt immensely and there will be nothing that will help until it is over." Dwalin nodded and held his breath, staring back at the blue eyes he loved so much.

It felt to Dwalin as though his entire wrist and hand had been submerged into boiling hot lava. He did his best not to scream but a muffled groan escaped and he almost bit through his lip. Kelly was the one who ended up crying, she knew how bad this could hurt to someone who hadn't experienced it before. In less than a minute it was over, but to the couple it seemed like an eternity. Kelly leaned down and kissed Dwalin's wrist before she stood back up. She then kissed him fiercely.

Looking down, Dwalin saw that his wrist was completely healed without even bruising as proof of what had happened. He was about to thank Kelly for healing him and to tell her he loved her when he was interrupted by a shout. "You're sleeping with this Dwarf scum?!" the outraged cry of the Elven King echoed throughout the caverns. He had descended from seemingly nowhere and was now standing face to face with Kelly. The woman pulled herself up to her full height and stared up at the King. "No. We are not sleeping together Thranduil. We are, however, deeply in love. This means I plan to marry him, if he'll have me, and possibly bear his children."

Thranduil surprised everyone by throwing his head back and laughing. This laugh however, sent chills down Kelly's spine and she raised her hand and smacked the vicious royal across his cheek. "What exactly do you have to be laughing about?!" Kelly yelled as the King held his cheek. "Oh dear, it seems no one has told you yet. There seems to have been an arrow imbedded in your body at one time." Kelly nodded slowly as she remembered taking that arrow for Dwalin in the goblin caves. "Yes, it was in my stomach. What of it?" The King leaned in close and whispered to the woman "The arrow hit you in the worst possible spot. It ruined you my dear, you can no longer have children thanks to that arrow."