Bilbo honestly has no idea how he ended up in this large room of many things. He had been running down the hall that they had taken his kin when a he saw a door being conveniently closed with just enough time for him to slip inside. Now he was locked in the darkness, clutching Sting, which he had taken from one of the tables, and sobbing loudly. He hoped this room was sound proof because he was absolutely sure that he was being too loud and couldn't muffle himself.

Thorin, his Thorin, who had promised that he would never fall to the gold sickness had a madness in his eyes that could only be just that and Bilbo had no idea how to fix it. Or if it was even possible to fix it. He may just lose his One before he even reconnected with him. And possibly not even to death. What would he do if they got back their mountain and Thorin fell to madness? Could he stay with whatever his husband became? He loved his One more than anything in the world, but he had seen what madness did to a dwarf and he knew that Thorin would not remain the same. He would be someone different. Someone that Bilbo was sure that he could not love. If that happened he'd almost rather fall to Sickness and Sleep.

"Who goes there!" someone said as the door burst open, breaking Bilbo from his thoughts. He didn't have time for them anyway. He had to save his friends now and he couldn't get caught being a crybaby in the dark. He threw a hand over his mouth, still not quite able to stifle the cries and clutched Sting in his other hand. "I know you're there." Legolas stepped slowly around the door clutching both his knives. Because of course it had to be the king's son that would hear him first.

Legolas kicked the door closed and they were bathed in darkness, but Bilbo wouldn't doubt if the elves had much better night vision than he. Surely not as good as the dwarves, of course, but he was not a dwarf anymore and he couldn't see much more than Legolas's stance, which was surprisingly relaxed.

"Is it the hobbit?" the elf prince asked. "I won't turn you in."

Bilbo wanted to believe him for the sole purpose that it would work best for him to have the prince in his corner, but he had already learned not to trust the elves of Mirkwood.

"My father abandoned my Soulmate to die when Smaug came," Legolas continued. "I didn't know until you pointed it out, but I do now. I don't think I'll ever forgive him for it." He hesitated for a moment, but when Bilbo still said nothing. "He also Rejected my mother," he said. "She was originally an elf, but she died in battle. When she came back she was a human woman and father Rejected her for being mortal. She always said that he didn't do it on purpose, that it was her mortality that he was Rejecting. She died while he was away to a meeting and now she won't return."

"Why?" Bilbo asked. He knew he shouldn't have spoken at all, but Legolas was pouring his all out and it seemed unfair to ignore him now.

"When someone dies Rejected the bond between the Soul is permanently broken. They cannot return to each other ever again. Not even in the afterlife. Some say that the bond is recreated with someone else, and I hope my mother is happy now, but father was distraught when he returned to find her dead. I had never before seen him so grief stricken. He claimed that he never meant to Reject her and begged the gods to return her, but she will never come back. We almost feared that he too might die from the loss of her. My father is not so emotionless as you think."

"I think nothing of him," said Bilbo. "Except that now he has twice abandoned my people and holds us hostage. And all this because we did not return some jewels that we worked hard to set and he refused to pay for."

"They were my mother's favorite," Legolas said.

"Oh," Bilbo replied. It didn't make any of this any better, but at least now Bilbo understood a little of why the elf king hated his people so much. He didn't know the feeling himself, but he was sure that if someone had taken something that belonged to Thorin even while the other was still alive he would have stopped at nothing to get it back. In fact, he had already done so.


"Thorin?" Bilbo asked, catching his husband at the door of the house they shared with Dis using his one good arm. "What happened to you?" Thorin was looking worse for wear, as though he had been beaten. Normally Bilbo was sure that he never would have allowed it, but in his arms, Bilbo could see an unconscious Fili. It was only a good thing that Dis and her youngest were already asleep for the night. Kili would not be happy to see that.

"Men," Thorin growled.

"What happened?" Bilbo asked again, directing Thorin to their room to lay Fili in the bed so they wouldn't wake Kili. The youngest always was a light sleeper when his brother was away.

"He was only out of my sight for a few minutes," Thorin said. "They said he wronged him. That's why they beat him. They said that we owed them money. I couldn't fight back. Not with Fili injured."

"What did they take from you?" Bilbo asked.

"The gold that I had earned."

"And the beads from your head," Bilbo said with a scowl. Those had been from Thorin's mother and it was the only thing that they had refused to sell when settling in this mountain. Thorin only nodded. "But you brought Fili back," Bilbo said, "and that's worth more than all the gold in Erebor." Thorin nodded. "Why don't you sleep? You look exhausted." His husband usually was exhausted when he returned from the village of man, but now was even worse.

"I have to look after Fili," Thorin said.

"You have already done a fine job," Bilbo said, stroking Thorin's hair even as he pushed him onto the bed beside their nephew. "I will make sure he is looked after. I will wake his mother and then I will go to Oin. You just need to rest."

Thorin nodded, cradling Fili gently in his arms before he finally let his eyes slipped closed.

Bilbo was honestly surprised to see Kili staring at him wide-eyed from the doorway, but he shouldn't have been. Kili would have heard Thorin's voice and known that his brother had returned. "Very well," Bilbo said, pitching his voice low to not disturb the sleeping, "but you must be careful as they are both injured." Kili nodded, knowing well enough not to say anything as he still hadn't truly learned volume control, and Bilbo lifted him into their bed.


After waking Dis and sending Oin to his house, Bilbo made one more stop at the house of Ri. Unsurprisingly it was Nori who opened the door, the other two probably sleeping. "My prince," Nori said, stepping aside to allow Bilbo inside. It wouldn't do for the husband of the prince to be seen consorting with a thief.

"Nori," Bilbo nodded at him. "I have a task that I would ask of you if you have the time to come with me down to the towns of men."

"And what would that be?" Nori asked, though his smirk definitely showed he was not averse to whatever would send Bilbo to him first.

"Some of the men thought it their right to steal from my husband," Bilbo said. "I would teach them differently." No one hurt his family and got away with it.

"And get back whatever they took?" Nori asked and Bilbo nodded. "And how would I factor into this. I'm not much of a fighter if you recall." Which Bilbo knew was completely untrue, but would allow it for now. He may be a thief now, but he was once Thorin's spy master and that required some fighting skill. Nori wanted to know what he was being hired for and Bilbo was not adverse to telling him.

"I plan to bring Dwalin along for that purpose anyway," Bilbo said, "but I don't know who these men are and have nothing to go on except that they feel that they are entitled to beat the young and take the beads from a dwarf's head."

Nori's eyes darkened. "I seem to recall that Prince Thorin brought Prince Fili with him to the town this last time."

"Indeed," Bilbo agreed. "I would like you to head there ahead of Dwalin and I and find these people. If you should see fit to start their lesson without me, then so be it, but just remember that I want them to remember this lesson."

"Oh they'll remember it for the rest of their lives," Nori grinned wickedly.

"Which will be long past this night," Bilbo said, giving Nori a stern look. "Of course, my prince," Nori said with a bow. "I will have them discovered before you two arrive."


Dwalin was much easier to convince of the task at hand and he and Bilbo hastened down to the town of men. They would not return until at least the next evening, they knew, but Bilbo had already told Dis of his disappearance and had forced Dwalin to leave a short note for his brother.

When they got down to the town, Nori had indeed found the men that had attacked the royal family and was already teaching them their lesson in the room of the tavern they happened to be staying in. Bilbo leaned against the wall and allowed Dwalin to serge forward with his knuckle dusters on. He did not look at the carnage and was glad that Nori had thought to gag the men. He may have asked for this punishment, but that did not mean that he enjoyed the suffering of others. Especially if they weren't truly wicked. He only ordered what he felt the others deserved, and if Nori and Dwalin took it a little past that then he was ashamed to say that he would not stop them.

"We caught them just in time," Nori said, sidling up next to him. "They had planned to sell the beads tomorrow at the market and left for the next town. If we had waited until the morning they would have been long gone."

Nori put the beads in his hand and he held them reverently. "Thank you, Nori," he said.

"Not a thanks necessary," Nori said. "I'll just take a few gold coins out of that large purse of theirs. Gotta feed the family and all that. And I'll make sure Dwalin ends up with some of it too so you don't go getting your panties all twisted. Then the rest will go back to you."

"Of course," Bilbo agreed. He had planned on paying them back with the money that Thorin had earned anyway, but it seemed that the men had enough money to pay the two and return all that was taken from his husband.

"Good," Nori nodded. "Now that all the money stuff's out of the way, why don't you go wait outside. We won't be but a couple hours longer. You might even go downstairs and have a spot of breakfast."


Well, now that he thought about it, that kind of was what he was doing with the mountain too.

Bilbo took his ring from his finger and stood, sheathing the sword. There was no reason for Legolas to tell him all this only to take him to his father where he could use it against him. He would believe the dwarf prince for now, but he kept his hand in his pocket, stroking the ring. Just in case. Legolas immediately turned to face him, sheathing his own blades. "What do you want now?" Bilbo asked, because even though Legolas had promised not to turn him in, the prince was still in control of this meeting since he was between Bilbo and the door.

"Why did my father detain you?" Legolas asked.

"Weren't you the one who originally captured us?" Bilbo asked, raising a brow though he wasn't actually sure if Legolas could see him.

"I was, but we have done that many times to the woodsmen and father usually just gives them food and sends them on his way. Why is he keeping you?"

"You've already given a reason as to why you think that he doesn't like us," Bilbo pointed out. He could trust Legolas for now, but there was no knowing when the young elf might betray him. Who was to say that he wasn't just trying to gain his trust now so he would tell him their true purpose and he could tell his king. Bilbo doubted that this particular elf would be so conniving as to use his own mother in such a way, but one never knew.

"I have," Legolas said, "and you aren't going to tell me the real reason are you?"

"What makes you think there's another reason?" Bilbo asked.

"I may not like my father right now," Legolas said, "but I do know that he is a fair king. I have never seen him detain someone in his dungeons without cause."

"Have you seen him detain many people?" Bilbo asked.

"No," Legolas said. "He hasn't had much cause to."

"He does not have much cause to hold us here either. I can tell you that much."

"I agree," Legolas said. "I don't know what it is about your group that has him acting this way, but I don't agree with it."

"Then why don't you say so?" Bilbo asked. "You are his son. Perhaps you could talk some sense into him."

"I am also the prince," Legolas said. "If I am seen going against the king…"

"I see," Bilbo said. Because he did. Neither Thorin nor Thrain had gone against Thror when he first went mad sighting the same reasons. To undermine the king in such a way was practically declaring civil war amongst the people. They would take sides, fights would break out, and plots formed for the change of the crown to the prince or otherwise. Especially now that Bilbo had revealed some of the dark deeds of the king's past.

"But I can help you escape if you wish," Legolas said.

"You would be willing to go against your father in such a way?" Bilbo asked.

"I believe that it is the right thing to do," Legolas replied. "Consider it payment for allowing us to have your precious bead all this time."

Bilbo reached up to touch his hair, finally dropping the ring to rest in his pocket. Before he could say anything, Legolas turned to the table and then back to him, holding his hand out. Bilbo reached out and felt a little weight dropping into his hand. He knew exactly what it was without even being able to see it and his hand immediately closed over the precious bead.

"My father hasn't been able to look at it since the moment you gave it to us. I don't think he'll notice it missing."

"Thank you," Bilbo whispered, clutching the bead close to his chest. "Thank you so much."