Chapter Fifty-Two: Plan Z
It took the elf on guard duty all of two seconds to shout down at her after she screamed. Emelia dropped her spear on the ground, hoping that either Kili or Bofur would come along and grab it, and tried to look as scared as humanly possible. Keeping her facade of desperation intact, Emelia made a big show of tripping over a large rock as she ran towards the wall, face twisted as she tried to make it look like she wasn't completely bullshitting them.
"Help me! Please, you have to help me!"
She clawed at the rocks, walking on all fours as she got closer. She thought it might look all the more pathetic that way. Of course, she didn't think she needed much help in that department, but her pension for dramatics had increased exponentially since she came to Middle Earth, almost doubly so for every moment she spent with Thorin. She couldn't help but find it a little fun, in the most twisted way imaginable, to crank it up the last few notches.
"Call the Bargeman," The elf said to someone she couldn't see. To her left she found the crack in the wall that her and Bilbo used to sneak out, something that felt like a lifetime ago to her, and she almost gave up and went through there instead of jumping through all the hoops that were sure to come. And she would have if it weren't for the stern face of Bard appearing just over the wall, staring down at her with furrowed brows and a thoroughly unimpressed look on his face.
"Emelia? What's happened to you?" He stared down at her, eyes scanning her for a moment before he rolled his eyes, clearly seeing right through her little show. "Leave us," He said to the elf, or elves, folding his arms over his chest as he waited for them to leave.
"Are you going to let me up?"
"Are you going to tell me why you're running around in the dark, screaming your head off?"
"Bard, I'm freezing."
"Wait a moment."
He stomped away, giving her time to straighten up and wipe the tears off her face. Apparently, they were useless. She scrubbed her face and straightened her coat, waiting for him to return. Emelia couldn't help but glance over her shoulder, convinced that, even though she couldn't see jack, she could just make out Kili and Bofur waiting for the right time to move to the crack in the wall she told them about so they could start rounding up the children, women, and elderly.
"Bar…" Emelia was cut off by a rope smacking her in the face.
"Climb up," He ordered, completely ignoring the glare she leveled at him.
"You could have warned me," She said tersely, wrapping the rope around her wrist and giving it an experimental tug just to make sure he wasn't planning on getting her halfway up and dropping her like a sack of potatoes. When she felt tension, she looked back up at him and nodded, bracing herself for the climb. She had never been a super strong climber, considering it wasn't a skill she thought she needed growing up in Alaska, but the last few days had proved, just like running, she should have tried a little harder.
To Bard's credit, and much to her great surprise, he actually pulled the rope while she was climbing up, making her job substantially easier than it would have been had she tried to haul herself all the way up to the top. Still, her muscles ached by the time Bard pulled her over the side of the wall, not bothering to be gentle as he deposited her on the ground next to his feet. Shooting him another sour look, she unwound the rope and dropped it at their feet, making a big show of rubbing her wrist as she did a cursory glance around her. No elves. Not a single one between where she was standing and the only place Kili and Bofur would be able to enter Dale and at least stand a chance of not being noticed.
Of course, as Bofur had already iterated about a hundred times since Kili first suggested they try and sneak the women and children into the mountain, this was about the stupidest plan imaginable. The fact that the second part, arguably the easiest and least stressful, could go off without a hitch didn't do much to settle her nerves.
"I hope you don't expect me to believe that it is an accident that you found yourself outside the city." Bard bent down to pick up the rope and started coiling it around his arm, giving her just enough time to step back and drop her hand over the side of the wall, obscuring it from Bard just in case he looked up. She glanced around one more time before she held two fingers to the side, mimicking a beak, and brought them together three times. "What are you doing?"
"What?"
"Over there. What are you doing?" Bard took a step closer, looking down at her hand.
"My back itches." She held up both her hands and wiggled her fingers, forcing herself not to look over her shoulder again. If she didn't already look suspicious, that certainly would do the trick. "See. Stop being paranoid."
"Where have you been?"
"Who says I left?"
"You were shouting for help outside the walls." A dark look crossed his face and she could instantly tell that there was something more to the way he was regarding her. He looped the rope around his shoulder and crossed his arms over his chest once again. "Beyond that, I haven't been able to find you, or your little hobbit friend, for quite some time. Not since he gave us the Arkenstone, in fact."
"Maybe you weren't looking hard enough."
"Or maybe, you were somewhere you shouldn't be."
Emelia had never thought Bard was a stupid person, but she hadn't really pegged him as the overly insightful type either. Still, there was something about the way he was looking at her that made her think he knew exactly where she had been, why she was there, and where she was going all while shaming her for being sketchy and dishonest. If she was being frank with herself, she would have to say she was impressed by the sheer range of emotions in the statement. Seeing no reason to lie, even less once she realized that it would take a long time for Kili and Bofur to get into Dale and start rounding up the women and children, she decided that telling the truth might be the perfect stalling mechanism. Who would have thought?
"I went to Erebor."
"Why would you do that?"
"I thought it might help," Emelia said, stuffing her hands into her pockets. If they were fast enough, they could make it in a few minutes and she would need to move Bard back towards Thranduil. She would also need to find a way to bring the guard with them. Even if he wasn't back yet, once her and Bard left she didn't imagine the elves would leave the wall unguarded for very long. It was surprising that Bard was able to get them to leave even for the short duration of their conversation. She would be the first to admit that their plan relied on a lot of luck, an amount she didn't think they had, and a plethora of perfectly timed maneuvers that she wasn't convinced would ever work out.
They didn't have much else of a choice, however, if they wanted the people of Lake-town to have any sort of chance, so she tried not to dwell on the realities of their situation and focused instead on the positives. Such as the fact that the first step, distract the guard, had actually worked and she was making her way through step two reasonably well.
"And did it?"
"If you're asking me whether or not Thorin has decided to fork over the money you think you're owed, the answer is a strong no."
"That isn't why you went."
"No, but that's why you asked." Emelia took a step closer to him, looking up at his sour expression with raised eyebrows. "Anyway, I'm glad you came. I need to talk to you and Thranduil."
"About?"
"Well, I'm not going to say it twice." He narrowed his eyes in suspicion and, for a moment, she thought he was going to call her out on her complete and utter misdirection. Truthfully, she had no idea what she going to say to Bard and Thranduil once she got them in the same space, only that she needed to keep them busy long enough to give Kili and Bofur a head start. "Can we go?"
"Yes." Bard turned sideways and held his arm out, gesturing down the stairs towards a more central part of town. He didn't walk too far ahead of her, keeping her in his sight as much as possible by looking over his shoulder every five seconds. She made a face each time he did, something that seemed to make him increasingly more annoyed as they got closer and closer into the main part of Dale, until he finally stopped looking back at her altogether and they walked the rest of the way in silence.
She couldn't tell if she preferred it, or if she just didn't care either way.
Either way, she kept her head dead until they got to where Thranduil had ensconced himself.
Thranduil's tent seemed to glow like a burning fire against a backdrop of cold stone. The elven guards, seven in total, stood in a circle around the tent, preventing people from getting too close. The overwhelming warmth seemed even more offensive the second time around. Normally, she would at least attempt to hide her scowl, just for the sake of trying to at least appear like she had some sort of understanding of diplomacy, but she couldn't. Thranduil should know what she thought of him and his tent.
Bard held open the flap and let her step inside.
If she wasn't so disgusted by the whole concept, she wouldn't ever want to leave that tent it was so sinfully warm. Her cold face instantly flushed, her hands felt less tight, her limbs not quite as stiff. She imagined if she was there for longer than a moment, she would actually feel normal for the first time in months. She might actually feel like she wasn't a walking corpse. She closed her eyes and tried to focus, refusing to allow herself to relax.
"So you've returned," Thranduil said the moment he saw her. "And with new clothes." A litany of curse words, insults, and all around disagreeable phrases occurred to her in that moment, but none of them seemed to do how she felt justice. So she bit her lip and waited. "Was your time with the dwarves productive?"
Emelia walked across the tent and sat down in one of the chairs without bothering to wait for permission. She made a big show of pulling her feet up underneath her, rubbing the mud and other gunk on the bottom of her boots on the fancy fabric just because she could. It was petty, and perhaps a smidge more immature than she liked, but it had the desired effect. Thranduil's eyebrow twitched and she smirked, ceasing her shifting after a moment, content for the time being. "I don't know why you would think that."
"You reek."
"It's basically the middle ages, everybody stinks." She had to fight the urge to press her nose into her jacket, just to check that she wasn't overly offensive. Of course, her sense of smell had been a bit dodgy since the trolls so she hardly thought she would notice. And there was also the added fact that she simply didn't care. "But yes, I did go to the mountain."
Bard sat down in the chair next to her, folding his arms across his chest. He looked grumpy. She found, however, that her sympathy towards him had dwindled into almost nonexistent territories so she looked away.
"What did you hope to accomplish?" Thranduil asked.
"A lot. Nothing." Emelia picked at the shredded rubber of her boot, moodiness abundant. "My goals are irrelevant, apparently, so I guess I'm back to slumming it with you two." She gestured between Bard and Thranduil despondently.
"Clearly."
"Do you still plan to leave for Erebor in the morning?"
"Before first light," Bard said, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"That's probably not too far off," Emelia observed trying to sound nonchalant. "Where's Gandalf, by the way?"
Emelia hadn't noticed the lack of their resident wizard at first, but once she had a few minutes, she realized his absence was quite pronounced. She wasn't exactly surprised, considering how he and Thranduil seemed to get along about as well as cats and dogs. Then again, Thranduil didn't seem to get along with anyone. He only seemed to tolerate Bard based on a sense of mutual understand and need, and even that relationship was peppered with dirty looks and side eye. She had no doubt that once they got what they wanted, Thranduil would treat him with the same icy disdain he treated everyone else with.
"He grew tired of being ignored."
"A bit like talking to a brick wall with you, yeah?" Emelia took a great amount of pleasure in seeing his eyebrow twitch again.
Bard sighed and rubbed his eyes harder, unfolding his arms so he could lean forward and press them down onto his knees. "Emelia," He warned, shooting her a look that she decided to ignore. "This is hardly productive."
"To the contrary, Bargeman, I find it quite illuminating." Thranduil smirked, lacing his long fingers together. "You're incessant bleating has become somewhat of a personality trait, Miss Montgomery."
"Has it? I hadn't noticed."
"So, tell me. What becomes of you tomorrow?" Thranduil asked, changing subjects so quickly Emelia almost didn't even realize it happened. She blinked, trying to discern where he was going with the new topic, if she had lost her upper hand, if she ever really had one at all. He cut an unnerving figure, sitting in his ornate chair in front of the steadily crackling fire keeping them all warm. Some of her bravado felt like it was eking out of her very pores. She sat on her hands, trying to appear as calm as she was when she entered. "Perhaps you won't have to worry about it."
"Excuse me?"
"Did Thorin banish you?" Her mouth tasted bitter at his words, but she didn't allow it to show on her face.
"Technically speaking, I've been dis-invited from the mountain at the moment."
Thranduil smirked, apparently finding glee in the turn of events before him. "So, the woman who championed the dwarves has been left out in the cold. Did I not warn you of their deceit and treachery?"
"You only told me so that I might, emphasis on the might, help you get back some of your treasure."
"Thorin's mind is farther gone than we could have hoped." Thranduil turned to Bard, beckoning him closer. "We should strike tonight, while they are unprepared."
"And leave the woman and children without protection in the dark?"
"You are too old for ghost stories, Bargeman, even the kind spun by a wizard himself."
"It is not wise," Bard said, turning to face out towards the opening in the tent, shoulders tensed. He glanced at Emelia for a brief moment before he spoke again. "We're stretched thin as it is. I cannot leave my people alone without protection."
"Then you are a fool." Thranduil rolled his eyes and turned his back, walking over to his seat with long strides. His gaze slid back over to Emelia. "And we might lose our advantage."
"We agreed on the morning and in the morning is when we will go."
"Then we are done," Thranduil said, waving his hand dismissively. Bard stomped out of the tent immediately, not bothering to give the elf a second glance. Emelia made to move after him, having had just about enough of Thranduil for one evening, or a lifetime, before she was stopped by his voice. "Not you, Emelia. I have something I'd like to discuss with you." She watched Bard's back until he was completely gone from her sight, feeling like she was being left alone with a serial killer. She gulped, biting her lip nervously for a moment as she tried to work out her nervous energy before Thranduil noticed how uncomfortable she was. She wiped the spit off her lips and closed her eyes, breathing deeply three times as she turned back to him. "Sit."
She did as she was told, more so out of anxiousness than anything, sitting back on her hands so he wouldn't see them shaking.
"You were so brave when you marched in here, yet misguided."
"It comes in spurts. I'm working on making it a full time thing," Emelia said, trying to hold his gaze for longer than usual. After about thirty seconds, she had to look away again. "Is that what you wanted to talk about?"
"That was merely and observation. No, what I wanted to discuss with you is a bit more sensitive." He leaned back, reclining casually in his chair like he was chatting with an old friend. It made Emelia even more uncomfortable. "Have they told any of the secrets of that mountain? The stories its halls hold? The death it carries in the air?"
"No," Emelia said, shifting slightly in her seat.
"Of course not. They wouldn't have told you," The way he said the last bit made her feel like there was an insult buried just beneath the surface of his words, although she didn't try and find it, too busy thinking about other things. "When the mountain first emerged from the earth, eons before dwarfs and elves and men, perhaps even time existed, there were caves that held underground rivers. They hollowed the earth beneath the mountain for thousands of years, making the it brittle and the water clear. Even after the dwarves made it their home, the water ate away at the ground until there was an entire city of catacombs. Some of them went as far as Dale, the others under the lake, feeding it and keeping it clean and cool until man arrived to pollute it."
"This is very interesting, but is now rea…"
"Silence. Eventually, the men discovered the catacombs that connected Dale to the heart of the mountain and tried to exploit it. The King of the Mountain would not have it, so he shut them off and guarded the tunnels against any and all who tried to enter. Soon the days turned dark and cold, yet the King still wouldn't let anyone in. They preferred to keep the secrets of the mountain. They collapsed the tunnels. When Smaug came, there was no way out."
"That isn't Thorin."
"Isn't it? Do you honestly believe if given the choice, he would not do the exact same thing? That the same selfishness doesn't flow in his veins? If not, then he has deceived you beyond measure."
Emelia's heart felt like it had shriveled up in her chest, but she did not allow it to show on her face. "Why are you telling me this?"
"I am simply giving you all the information so that you might make an informed decision. Dwarves are greedy, selfish, isolationists. What will they do with you when it is all said and done? The human woman from the north. A daughter of the people they left to their own devices rather than share one bit of their gold. What place do you have amongst them?"
"What's your point?"
"I know you didn't come back simply because Thorin banished you," Thranduil said, leaning forward. "You don't follow instructions well, Emelia Kinsington Montgomery and I don't suspect it's a talent you've spontaneously acquired."
"No, definitely not."
"Why are you here?"
"As you've so delicately pointed out, I have basically nowhere to go in all of Middle Earth. It was either the mountain or here."
"And yet, that is not the full truth."
"I'm not telling."
"Maybe a night in irons will loosen your tongue." Thranduil straightened up, apparently trying to use his height advantage to intimidate her. "Do you not understand the consequences of your silence?"
"The consequences of my silence?" Emelia asked, incredulous. "After everything, you're trying to turn this around on me. You're the one who refuses to believe that orcs are coming. You're the one who would rather start a pissing match with Thorin over a few pieces of jewelry."
"Do not speak of things you do not understand."
"I do though. I understand more than all of you think." Emelia stood up, hands still shaking enough that she had to hide them behind her back. "I've gone through more shit than I care to think about to sit here and listen to more from you. Can I go?"
Thranduil waved his hand, dismissing her with a deceptively impassive look on his face. She didn't wait for him to call her back and hurried out of the tent, a sick feeling settling deep in her gut. She had told herself way back in Mirkwood that she wouldn't let Thranduil's words get to her, but it was hard not to this time around. He was right, after all. Sensing a forthcoming wallow, however, she pushed him to the back of her mind and focused on trying to find Kili and Bofur. The goal of her speaking with Bard and Thranduil had been to buy them time, something she thought she had accomplished, so she felt no need to spend any more time in Thranduil's general vicinity.
"Emelia," Bard called, moving away from the wall he was leaning on, starling her enough that she jumped. "Wait."
Emelia moved away from Thranduil's tent, feeling the cold air invade her body faster than it had before. "You waited?"
"I wanted to ask you something."
He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her further away from the tent, ignoring the scowl she sent him for being so handsy without an explanation. He did not let go of her shoulder until they were far enough away that they wouldn't be overheard. He led her down a small alley that was still relatively intact, giving them some cover from peering eyes and prying ears. He pushed her to stand against the wall as he walked back to the entrance, checking right and left before he turned back, folding his arms over his chest.
"I found something of yours."
"I don't own anything, so no, you probably didn't."
"Emelia," The voice to her left surprised her. She had thought they were a bit smarter than getting caught within the first thirty minutes. She had done her part. She had endured a grueling half hour with Thranduil for apparently nothing, however. She narrowed her eyes at Kili and Bofur, practically demanding an explanation without saying as much. To their credit, they at least had the decency to look properly shamefaced.
"Do you care to explain?"
"No," Emelia said stubbornly.
"I found them skulking around the Great Hall, trying to convince a group of orphaned children that there was candy in the mountain."
Emelia shot another glare at the dwarves.
"How else were we supposed to convince them to come with us?" Kili asked, clearly not understanding the idiocy of that particular method.
"Maybe don't make it something that comes straight out of a pedophiles playbook."
"I'm less concerned with the lie than I am with the intended result."
Emelia, Kili, and Bofur shared a look, deciding between the three of them of how to get out of telling him, if they even should. Emelia thought for a moment, weighing her options, before she sighed and shook her head, feeling the weight of their failed plan sitting heavily on her shoulders. She had exhausted all of her excuses, most of which were flimsy to begin with, and Bard had gotten uncomfortably good at seeing right through her. "We were going to try and take them to the mountain to keep them safe."
"Thorin agreed to it?"
"No," Kili said, tone sounding very much like he hated himself just a little bit for having to admit such a thing about his uncle.
"Is that why you were banished? For treason?" Bard asked Emelia, leaning forward slightly.
"More or less."
"I cannot let you do it, you know," Bard said after a moment. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed, looking away from the three of them with a pained look on his face. "The attempt was honorable and I thank you for it, but things have already been set into motion that cannot be undone."
"The children shouldn't have to be punished because of the stubbornness of three men."
"It is not my stubbornness that has brought this on."
"So there is nothing that can be done. We sit here and wait to be slaughtered?" Kili asked, throwing his hands up in frustration. "We accept defeat before it has been handed to us?"
"Do you speak on your Uncle's behalf?"
"No."
"Then, no. There is nothing that can be done. We will march on the mountain before first light." Bard stepped back, looking at each of them in turn as he retreated back slightly. "I am sorry."
He walked away for a second time, shoulders slumped, steps heavy. Emelia watched him go, chewing thoughtfully on her upper lip. The silence that spread between them after his departure was palpable, stifling and uncomfortable in the small alley. Emelia leaned back against the wall, feeling herself deflate with each passing moment. Bofur and Kili looked very much the same, although there was more anger on their faces than she would have expected. None of them seemed willing to speak first, each content to let the silence spread on for just a moment longer before figuring out how to adjust and move forward. There didn't seem to be a path anymore, just razor sharp rocks and vast expanses on nothing stretching on for miles, preventing them from moving forward all while reminding them that they couldn't go back.
They were stuck.
"Did anyone see you?" Emelia asked, glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one else had come along to see what Bard had been doing.
"No, just Bard," Bofur said, leaning back against the stone wall. He folded his arms over his chest, regarding her carefully for a moment. "But I do not think it would matter much at this point if they did."
"Why?"
"It wouldn't have worked, Em," Kili said, voice barely intelligible despite the silence that permeated between the three of them.
"What do you mean?" She had an inkling, but she thought it might be better if Kili would just explain, rather than her jumping to inaccurate conclusion.
"There's no way to get ten people out of this place, let alone a hundred. The elves are patrolling every entrance and exit, no one in or out except the guardsmen."
Emelia looked down at her feet, hands shaking, stomach full of ice. She felt Kili grab her shoulder and pull her against his chest. His hands rubbed up and down her arms, fingers digging into her skin through the material of her jacket. "So we do something else. Just because Bard knows, that doesn't mean we have to give up."
There was much less conviction in her voice this time around, her confidence having given way to the reality that there might not be much else left. She had known, deep in her gut, that even if there was a way to get the women and children out of Dale, getting them into Erebor without being seen was a task that was next to impossible. She knew that. Kili's suggestion of using the side entrance had seemed like a desperate, last ditch effort to try and stave off the inevitable, but she allowed herself to think that it might work. That somehow, through some inconceivable series of events, they would be able to help people.
Part of her wondered why she even tried anymore.
She felt stretched thin, like she was being pulled from all sides. Thorin, Thranduil, Bard, Gandalf, the dwarves, Bilbo, they all wanted different things from her and she didn't know what the right thing was anymore. She had thought helping the people of Dale was what she supposed to do, but even that felt like a Sisyphean task with no end in sight.
"What else is there?" Kili asked, rubbing her arms a little more vigorously.
"Unless the ground opens up, nothing."
"What?" Emelia looked away from Kili's chest, pushing back to stare at Bofur. He looked uncomfortable under her scrutiny. She tried to soften her gaze so she wouldn't come across so intense, but all she accomplished was looking decidedly gormless.
"I don't mean to be flippant."
"No, about the ground opening up." Emelia stepped away from Kili entirely. "Are there caves under Dale?"
Bofur pushed himself off the wall and walked over to her, face scrunched up and confused. "How do you know about that?"
"There are?"
"Technically, yes, but they've been abandoned for centuries as far as I know." Kili shot Bofur a hard look.
"Why wasn't I ever told about these?"
"There aren't even supposed to exist."
"And yet you know about them? How?"
Bofur looked very similar to a deer caught in headlights. To his credit, however, he didn't balk under the scowl Kili leveled at him, choosing instead to hold eye contact with the younger dwarf for as long as necessary. Emelia glanced between them, unsure of what was happening. They seemed to be having an entire conversation with their eyes and only turned to look at her after they reached a mental standstill. Her eyes widened. They didn't honestly expect her to have a remedy for that particular problem when she didn't entirely understand what it was to begin with.
"Nori," Bofur admitted. "Understand, lad, you weren't told because they stopped being used long before you were born."
"Could you find them?" Kili asked, voice taking on air of authority that surprised Emelia. She looked between them, waiting for Bofur to give his answer, arms laced together behind her back. She had to remind herself that Kili was, in fact, a prince, even if he hardly acted like it. Bofur seemed to have forgotten as well, save for the look Kili was giving him to remind him. "Bofur, could you still find them?"
"I've never been there myself. Nori only told me after a half dozen pints."
"Bofur," Kili pressed, grabbing is shoulder.
"I could try. I cannot guarantee anything. Finding them in the mountain would have been hard, from this end it might be impossible."
"It might be our only option."
It felt very much like they had reached plan Z, but it was probably all they had left. It felt desperate. Emelia was starting to feel desperate, like each minute that passed brought them closer and closer to a point of no return.
"Dawn is fast approaching, if we're going to find them, we need to start looking now," Kili said, the authority back in his voice. "I need to speak with Emelia for a moment."
"I'll go see if anyone is watching," Bofur said, seemingly relieved to be given an out. She imagined the stress of the situation was informing a great deal about how they were interacting with each other, but she couldn't help but notice how much had changed since she first met them. Bofur walked away, giving them a bit of space. He stopped at the edge of the alley and leaned out, head swiping back and forth. Kili watched him as well, eyes on the back of his head for just a moment less before he turned to her.
"What happened?"
"What do you mean?"
"We saw you walk away with Bard, but we couldn't see you after that." He pulled her back into the alley a little bit, putting just a bit more distance between them and Bofur.
"I went to speak with Thranduil."
"Why?"
"Stalling, I guess." She leaned forward and placed her hand on his chest, wrapping her fingers around his coat. "Clearly it didn't work."
"Thranduil wasn't part of the plan. What did he say to you?"
"A lot of crap, why?"
"You're upset," He said, cupping her cheek. "I can see it written all over you."
Emelia leaned into his hand, feeling some of the chill that had fallen over her in the last few moments give way to a healthy warmth. There was something about the fact that he knew enough about her to know when something was wrong that gave her butterflies. She allowed him to pull her closer so that their noses were touching. He rubbed his thumb along her cheekbone, breathing in deeply. "You don't need to worry about it."
"I worry about you," He said.
"We should go now," Bofur called back, voice controlled to keep it from getting too loud. "The guard is gone, but he will return soon." They both nodded. Kili dropped a quick kiss on her lips before he stepped back and walked towards Bofur. She waited for a moment, giving herself time to gather her thoughts and calm her nerves. She sucked in a deeply, steadying breath and walked over to them. "We need to go that way, I believe." Bofur pointed directly opposite them, down through the center of town. Emelia didn't know enough to know whether or not that would be the right way, but she trusted him.
Kili glanced around, looking right and left, up and down, before he sprinted across the open space in front of them. He slid behind a wall portion, pressing himself against it. When he turned away from them to watch the next leg, Bofur grabbed her arm and pulled her back before she could follow Kili.
"Who told you about the caves?"
"Thranduil, why?"
He seemed unhappy to hear that but he didn't linger. "There were rumors about them for a while before Smaug came. Whispers, mostly."
"And?" She pressed him, glancing over at Kili. He had turned back to them, eyebrows knit together in confusion.
"Most people thought they had collapsed naturally, but some thought King Thror had them collapsed on purpose."
"So when Smaug came…"
"His own people got trapped."
Hi friends. I'm not dead, just suffering through grad school. I'm sorry for the long gap once again, but I've been completely swamped and trying to keep my head above water. I have said it before, but I'll say it again just in case some of you are nervous about this never getting finished, but I am not abandoning this. In fact, I think I've finally got some of my mojo back, which is promising considering I haven't touched a story for quite some time.
I don't want to go into too much personal detail, but I just wanted to let you guys know that the support has been so encouraging in what is probably the most difficult time I've ever experienced. So thank you, all of you readers and reviewers alike, for all the words of support and positivity.
A quick note about the caves under Dale and Erebor. I got that from a line Thorin says in BotFA about them tunneling down. It is going to be used more as tension for Thorin and Kili later on when it starts to become more clear to Kili how deep the gold sickness runs in his line.
Anyway, thanks again and REVIEW! :)
