Carefully, Bilbo walked down along the corridor heading towards the dungeons again. After he had managed to snatch the key from the drunken elf that had been fallen asleep after the tasting of wine, he had made a decision. Even though he had no idea what would happen, but he had to do it.
"Who is there? Is that you again?" the deep voice rang up out of one of the cells. Bilbo rolled his eyes and stopped in front of the iron-bars.
"If you could control your temper a bit more and lower your voice, I can tell you that I am here to get you out of here," the Hobbit snapped and finally pulled the ring off his finger to show himself to the red-haired dwarf who watched him suspiciously.
"That doesn't answer my question," the replied more quiet now, though the hint of a smile flashed over his face as he saw the keys in the other's hands. "Ah, well—who cares, right? Get me out of here."
"You know—maybe I should just let you rot down here. I will go now and rescue my friends instead! They are way friendlier dwarves than you are," Bilbo said and turned away from the cell.
"There—there are more dwarves locked up?"
The voice had been faint and unfamiliar—and clearly feminine. Bilbo frowned and turned his head towards another cell just a few steps down the aisle. He stepped closer and caught a glimpse of a very beautiful dwarf girl. Despite the dim light in the dungeon, her eyes shone brightly in an icy shade of blue. A color that was quite familiar to him, but he could not say where he had seen those before. Her hair was long and had the color of soft butterscotch. Her jawline was covered with a light fluff in just the same color.
Bilbo realized that this could not be a pure dwarf girl. He could not say what it was about her, but she reminded him of Lili. Small and slender, beautiful and with anatomical features of two different races mixed up together. While Lili had only inherited her father's shortness, that flaming red hair and those emerald eyes, her face was free of any fluffy hair. She was just like her mother must have been. A beautiful Human lady that had been tortured by that arrogant, annoying and rude dwarf that was locked up just a few cells ahead. But this girl in front of him seemed to have more dwarf blood in her telling by her facial hair and her shortness. She shifted a bit closer towards the iron-bars of the cell to take a better look at Bilbo.
That was when the Hobbit saw the difference. She had pointy ears. This girl was clearly a half elf. Bilbo cleared his throat and cast a glance around to make sure that no guard was around before he looked at her again. "What is your name?" he asked quietly.
"Sheera is my name and who are you? What are you doing here?" her gaze drifted from his head down to his feet and he had the strange feeling that she had no idea what kind of race he was.
"My name is Bilbo Baggins. I'm a Hobbit from the Shire," he replied with a smile and straightened himself a bit. She giggled quietly and grabbed the iron bars with her delicate fingers.
"You said there are more dwarves. Your friends, right? Will you take me with you? My f—the elf king locked me up here a long time ago. I did nothing wrong. I just—well, I just wandered in the forest to find this kingdom and talk with the elf king. But he—oh, he was so mean to me and locked me up and now I am down here for nearly three years!"
Bilbo saw that her eyes were filled with tears and he knew that she was a victim of Thranduil's random aversion against people wandering in his realm just like the Company of Thorin. Finally he nodded and opened the door. It swung open with a quiet creak and with an uncertain look she stepped out of her cell.
"I can't thank you enough," she said and smiled at him. "Let us go now before the guards are aware of us."
"And what about me? Hey, you said you would rescue me as well!" Finian called upset and earned a dark scowl from Bilbo again. "Come on, I will behave, alright? Just let me out of here!"
"You could try it with the magic word and then I might let you out of here," Bilbo replied and exchanged an amused look with Sheera. Finian grumbled under his beard before he sighed in defeat.
"Fine—would you please let me out of this cell?"
"See, was it that hard?" Bilbo chuckled and opened the cell door of that very dwarf he knew would not survive very long anyway once Thorin, Dwalin and the rest of the Company would be aware of who he really was. And then there was Lili, of course, and he silently prayed that she would not get a shock or something once she would stand in front of that man that had destroyed her mother's life.
"Follow me now and stay quiet. Both of you," he said but only cast a dark look at the red-haired dwarf who nodded silently. Together they left the dungeon and headed quietly through the kingdom, desperately trying to avoid being seen.
"I'll wager the sun's on the rise. It must be nearly dawn," Bofur's head fell back against the wall of his cell and he sighed heavily.
Lili shifted a bit closer to the door of her cell and leaned her forehead against the cold iron. She sensed that even Bofur, that ever cheerful dwarf, was quite gloomy. She stroked over the soft fur of Billy and whispered,
"Go and cheer him up."
The squirrel squeaked and jumped down from her shoulder and hopped into the next cell where the tiny creature crawled up along Bofur's hat and curled up on top of it. And really, the dwarf chuckled and felt a bit more light-hearted again.
"We're never going to reach the mountain, are we?" Ori said and leaned his head against the wall as well.
Suddenly, Bilbo appeared again with a triumphant smile as he held the key-ring up. "Not stuck in here, you're not."
Within a second the company was on its feet again, staring at the Hobbit in utter disbelief.
"Bilbo!" Lili exclaimed relieved and smiled brightly for the first time since they were locked up in that prison. Bilbo shushed them all and stepped closer towards Thorin's cell. "There are guards nearby," he said and opened the door. Bilbo pulled Thorin closer once the dwarf king stepped out of his cell. "Finian—I freed him as well together with another prisoner. She was also locked up deep in the dungeon. She is a half dwarf and half elf."
"He is here? With you? Where is he?" Thorin growled but Bilbo grabbed his arm and watched him pleadingly.
"Please, Thorin, calm down for a while. I don't like him being with us as well, but if we want to escape we have to be quiet. You cannot start a fight! Think of your company—think of Lili."
Thorin's gaze drifted up towards his beloved one's cell and nodded silently. They held gaze for several moments while Bilbo continued opening cell after cell. Finally he opened Lili's cell. She stepped out of it and wrapped her arms around Thorin's neck and kissed him feverishly. "I longed so much for your warmth and comfort," she whispered and leaned her forehead against his.
"Lili, there is something I have to tell you—"he began but earned a dark scowl from Bilbo.
"What? What is it?" Lili asked curiously but Thorin simply shook his head and took her hand in his.
"It can wait," he said and turned to look at Bilbo again. "So—where to go now?"
"Follow me—"Bilbo walked ahead of the company leading them through the Woodland Realm. He hoped that Sheera and Finian weren't captured in the wine cellar, but he was certain that there would be a commotion if they would have been seen by one of the guards. He had told them to hide in one of the big wine-barrels and remain silent.
The Company sneaked through the halls of the Realm, and eventually found themselves in the wine cellar. Billy hopped onto Lili's shoulder while she cast a glance at the snoring elves that were sitting around a table nearby with several bottles of wine in front of them. Bilbo signaled them to follow him further into the cellar.
"I don't believe it; we're in the cellars!" Kili grumbled annoyed and one by one the rest of the company got mad at Bilbo. All except Lili. She sent them all a scowl and whispered,
"He wouldn't have led us here if he would not have a plan! When will you learn to trust him?"
A long silence followed and Dwalin patted her shoulder with a cheeky grin on his lips. "Aye, she is right—we should do what Bilbo says."
Bilbo and Lili sent him both a relieved smile and so they sneaked into a large room in which several barrels were stacked sideways down the middle of the room. All of those barrels had an open end.
"Everyone, climb into the barrels, quickly!" Bilbo rushed them a bit.
"Are you mad? They'll find us," Nori grumbled.
"No, no, they won't, I promise you. Please, please, you must trust me."
"Do as he says!" Thorin hissed quite impatiently. He cast a glance around and leaned in closer to Bilbo. "Where are they? Finian and that girl you were talking about."
"Inside those barrels as well—"Bilbo replied and watched as the Company climbed into the barrels. Bofur was just about to climb into one as he stopped and stared into a pair of blue eyes. He blinked surprised and cast a glance at Bilbo. "Uhm—there's a stranger in the barrel," he said and looked back at the girl.
"Then take another barrel! We don't have time for that now!" Thorin growled and strode past him. He caught a quick sight of the girl and stopped at the last barrel of the row. Lili had climbed into it already. "Do you think we can share that one?" he asked and saw that Billy was hiding under her tunic.
"Just get into that barrel, for Mahal's sake," a strangers voice rose up from the barrel that was on top of the one he was about to share with Lili. The dwarves tried to get a glimpse of the other stranger. Thorin stared into a familiar pair of emerald eyes and blind fury began to grow inside him. He stepped closer and grabbed the red-haired dwarf's collar. "Don't tell me what to do! You dirty piece of dwarf-scum!" he spat and had to fight back the urge to strangle him to death right there and then.
"Thorin! Are you insane? Get into that barrel now!" Lili hissed and tucked at his tunic, not knowing who that dwarf was Thorin was insulting so massively. And she didn't care in that very moment. All she wanted was get out of that elven kingdom. Thorin hesitated for a second before he let go of Finian. "That's not over, yet!" he hissed and finally climbed into the barrel where Lili immediately pressed herself close against him.
"What was that about? Who is that stranger?" she whispered and looked into his eyes. She could see that his sapphire eyes had turned a shade darker. A sign that he would like to slash someone's throat. The same look he had given Azog at the Misty Mountains before.
"It does not matter now, my love. We will get out of here and—and then we will talk," he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and sighed heavily as he leaned his chin on top of her head.
"What do we do now?" Bofur called and all the dwarves stuck their heads out of their barrels and watched Bilbo as he walked towards a lever in the ground. Sheera peeked out of her barrel as well and cast a quick glance at Bofur. He turned his head and smiled reassuringly at her, still fascinated by her.
"Hold your breath," Bilbo said almost casually.
"Hold my breath? What do you mean?" Bofur asked confused. That was when Bilbo pulled the lever and the part of the floor on which the barrels were on tilted downwards into an opening. One by one the barrels rolled out of the opening and fell several feet into a river that ran beneath the Woodland Realm. The dwarves yelled as they fell, afraid that they might drown. Lili pressed herself tightly against Thorin. Billy squeaked under her tunic and crawled along her arm to hide in the sleeve.
The elves stirred and slowly woke up. Bilbo cast a triumphant look around until he realized that he forgot to get out as well. With a thud the trap door closed again.
"Where is the keeper of the keys?" a female voice suddenly rang up and Bilbo recognized that it was Tauriel.
'Oh no—they know that we are fleeing,' the Hobbit thought and ran frantically back and forth and stomped on the ground, tried to make the floor tip again.
"Tolo hi!" Tauriel called and the sound of footsteps drew closer and closer. Just as Tauriel and the guards reached the cellar, the floor suddenly tipped and Bilbo shrieked as he fell down into the river as well. He broke through the surface and grabbed onto a barrel. He saw that it was Sheera's. She grabbed him by the sleeve of his jacket. With surprise the Hobbit realized that the Company had been waiting for him.
"Well done, Master Baggins," Thorin sent him an acknowledging nod and Lili winked and smiled brightly at him.
"You're the best, Bilbo!" she called happily and Bilbo was relieved to see her being at least a bit merrier again. He waved his hand in thanks and mumbled, "Go!"
Thorin nodded again and cast a glance over the company. "Come on, let's go!" he commanded and so they began to paddle with their hands while the river pulled the barrels along.
"Hold on!" Lili called as she spotted a waterfall right in front of them. They plunged through the rapids; water splashed into the barrels and soaked their clothes. As they steadied again they floated swiftly down the raging river.
Suddenly the sound of an elvish horn rang through the air. Upon turning round a corner in the river, the Company spotted a guard post that was built above the river. A group of heavily armored elves stood guard. As they heard the horn, one of them pulled a lever which caused a heavy metal gate to block the river. The barrels bumped against the metal and each other, unable to float further down the river.
"No!" Thorin growled furiously.
"We're trapped again!" Lili called and saw a group of elves rushing along the river-shore towards the guard-post. The guards unsheathed their swords when suddenly one was shot in the back with a black arrow. Unable to see what was happening, Lili felt fear creep up inside her as she heard a sudden commotion above them.
"What's happening? Dwalin, what's happening?" she called and saw his grim expression.
"Orcs!" he called.
A loud, growling voice called, "Gorid! Zib! Goridug!" [Slay them all]
Thorin felt Lili's heartbeat increasing against his chest. "We will make it, my love. We will get out of here alive, I promise you that."
With horror written on his face, he saw several orcs trying to throw themselves at the others in the barrels. Bilbo managed to kill one with his own sword, while Dwalin elbowed another one in the face. Kili looked up and saw the lever which one of the guards had pulled earlier. Without hesitation, the young dwarf prince jumped out of his barrel and ran up the stairs towards that lever. Realizing that he was unarmed, he ducked as one of the orcs swung at him.
"Kili!" Dwalin yelled loudly and tossed a sword at the young one. Kili caught it and began fighting his way to the top of the stairs. Fili reacted quickly as he saw that another orc tried to attack his brother from behind. He threw a dagger and killed the orc. Finally Kili reached for the lever. A sudden cry of pain rang up as Kili felt a sharp pain in his leg. He looked down and saw a black arrow sticking in his calf. He stopped and panted heavily, frowning in confusion.
"Kili!" his brother called desperately while Kili groaned and strained to pull the lever, but he fell over onto his back. Thorin, only able to hear what was happening looked back in shock, only one breathed word leaving his throat,
"Kili—"
Lili had already begun to cry, pressing her face against his chest.
An orc leaped over to Kili, but an arrow flew right into its head. Kili looked over surprised and saw Tauriel running through the bushes. She shot another orc and killed several others with her daggers.
Kili managed to slide off the ledge and dropped into his empty barrel again. He landed which caused the shaft of the arrow in his leg breaking off on the edge of the barrel. Slowly the gate opened and let them all pass again.
Lili looked back at the company, checking if everybody was safe. That was the moment she caught sight of him. A mane of flaming red hair, a pair of emerald eyes—she gasped and grabbed Thorin's shoulder.
"Th—Thorin—that—"she fell silent and Thorin followed her gaze. He closed his eyes and cupped her cheeks.
"Look at me, Lili! He doesn't matter now! We have to get out of here alive, do you understand?"
She nodded in utter confusion and cast another glance back towards the dwarf she immediately knew could only be her father.
"Thorin, look out!" Bofur called but it was already too late. Out of nowhere another black arrow flew towards his barrel and stuck into Lili's arm. A quiet shriek was the only sound coming from under her sleeve as Lili and Thorin stared down at the small stain of blood spreading from under the sleeve.
"No! No! Nooooo!" Lili screamed and pulled the arrow out and rolled her sleeve up. Heavily panting, Billy dropped into her open hands. "No—please—please, stay with me," Lili cried out and ripped a piece of clothing and wrapped it around the tiny body to stop from bleeding. Her vision blurred more and more as a river of tears streamed down her face.
"Please—don't die," she breathed and placed a soft kiss onto the tiny head of her little companion.
Sorry for that heavy cliffhanger xD I promise to update as fast as possible!