Billana is surprised when the entire Company is led to the elf king's throne room. She had half expected that they would be taken straight to the dungeon rather than being presented to Thranduil covered in filth as they are. An elf, that can only be the king, sits upon a high throne. Were Billana tall enough to see him clearly she might be intimidated by that, but as it stands she is too tired and too sore to much care about whether the elf is situated as he is the gain the upper hand or not. She just wants to rest, clean up and go on her way. A decent meal or two wouldn't go amiss either.
"Has the line of Durin sunk so low," the elf says as he makes his way down the stairs that lead to his throne, "that they would trespass upon a forbidden road through a cursed realm? Your goal must be of great value indeed, to risk your life and those of your companions, Thorin Oakenshield."
"We are merely attempting to reach my cousin in the Iron Hills," Thorin replies stiffly, falsehoods do not sit well with him, she has learnt. "We had no idea that you had cared so poorly for your realm."
"As if you are in any position to criticise," Thranduil mocks and the dwarves shift.
He is close enough now for Billana to see him properly and she studies him curiously. Most of the elves in Rivendell seem to have dark hair. All of the elves that she has seen so far in Mirkwood appear to be blond and their king is no exception, though his hair is so pale as to be almost silver. His eyes are as cold and blue as those of his son, though they lack the rich warmth of Fili and Thorin's, and he has the angular features of all elves. He wears robes that flow more than the kind preferred by Elrond and the twins, when they are at home, and upon his head is a crown. This crown is a far cry from anything that she might have expected or imagined, not a circlet or even a heavy thing of gold and gems. Instead it is made up of twisting branches that seem to form antlers and it reminds her somewhat of the stag that she and Kili encountered by the river.
Thranduil, however, entirely lacks the gentleness of that creature.
There is a moment of silence, as though the elf king is waiting for Thorin to respond. When the dwarf doesn't speak he turns cold eyes onto the rest of them, apparently waiting to see if they have anything to add or can be intimidated into giving him the answers he wants. They remain silent, but instead of frustration she sees a satisfied gleam in his eyes as he comes to his own conclusions.
"It is not difficult to guess your true destination, Thorin," he purrs. "You carry no goods, take a desperate risk on a treacherous path, and your companions are quite the most ragged bunch I have ever seen. Clearly, this is a journey that even the majority of your own people believed to be too risky to contemplate having a part in. You can, therefore, only be going to one place. Tell me, how do you plan on dealing with the dragon when even your army and your high walls and stone gates could not keep him out?"
The question is met with more silence and it occurs to Billana that none of them have actually considered this. Should Smaug be awake, or should her search wake him, how will they handle it? Or perhaps, that treacherous part of her mind whispers, that is why she was chosen in the first place. She has always been expendable in the eyes of the Shire, this situation can hardly be any different. The warmth of Fili and Kili at her sides, however, immediately make her feel guilty for even considering such a thought. They do not see her as expendable in the slightest. The fact that Mirkwood used Fili's fear that he would lose her entirely to Kili, that she had simply been humouring him because she didn't know how to refuse him, is proof enough of that.
"We have no need of such a plan," Thorin replies through gritted teeth, "because Erebor is not our destination."
"A pity," Thranduil sighs, "truly, for if it were, I might consider offering you the aid you so obviously need. For suitable repayment of course. There are a great many gems in that mountain which I desire and I know for a fact that there is one which calls to your heart in there as well. Come, let us be reasonable and strike an honest bargain."
That is the moment when Billana finally understands why they have all remained here instead of being taken straight to the cells. Thranduil means to use their presence as leverage against Thorin, in the hopes that he will strike a bargain so as not to lose face with his companions and subjects. It won't work. Thorin is too proud for that, and he has ample reasons to distrust Thranduil besides. Sure enough, Thorin begins to laugh and the sound is dark and bitter.
"I would not trust the word of Thranduil of Mirkwood," he scoffs, "for all the gold and gems in Erebor! Where were your armies when Smaug came? Where was your offer of aid when my people were starving on the road? I would be dead a thousand years before I ever considered any offer from one such as you." There is a beat.
"Very well," Thranduil says, his face still blank but for two minute points of colour in his cheeks that betray his fury. "Let us see if some times in the cells will give you cause to reconsider." He waves a hand. "Take them."
"My Lord," his son steps forward. "The cells are already- Perhaps it would be better to send them on their way?"
"Oh," Thranduil smiles and it is a chilling thing. "I am certain we will have ample space for them, though some may have to share." He arches an eyebrow at the Company. "Perhaps a century in tight quarters will incline your king towards changing his mind," the elf says, then wrinkles his nose. "Do make sure that they have water for washing," he adds. "It wouldn't do for everyone else to suffer the smell. I don't imagine it would do their fragile sanity any good at all."
He flicks his hand and the Company are all led away. Balin is already hissing furiously at Thorin as they walk, obviously trying to convince his king to change his mind, and the trip to the cells is long enough for that conversation to begin and halt before it is completed. Billan doesn't listen, choosing to concentrate more on the corridors in the hope that she might spot enough details to find her way later. She has no intention of spending the rest of her life locked up simply because Thorin is feeling stubborn.
It isn't long before she realises that there are very few identifying features to this place and that she is as lost as the rest of them. She does note, however, that they seem to be spiralling downwards.
The first thing she notices when she reaches the cells is that the lights, all of which are torches, are spaced out more than she suspects is normal. The second is that there aren't as many cells as she might have expected there to be. The third is that over half of them are occupied and of those the occupant of every one is an elf.
"Thranduil must truly have lost his mind if he has taken to locking up his own people," Thorin comments.
"Hold you tongue, dwarf," the prince snaps, "and do not speak of that which you cannot possibly understand." Thorin sniffs, seeming to draw himself up to respond.
"Legolas, please?" A red-head says as they walk past. The elf prince turns away his expression uncomfortable. "My Prince!" She cries, reaching a hand through the bars and Bofur, who is closest, draws away with a shout. Her arm is covered with a spiralling red and black mark that seems to shift and swirl in much the same way the puddles Billana had seen outside do.
"These are the ones who have spent the longest fighting against the curse upon our home," Legolas says finally. "And as it has twisted what was once the Greenwood, so it has twisted them. Their minds and their bodies," he gestures to the mark as the elleth withdraws again. "They are beyond the help of our healers."
Billana watches the elleth as they pass, moving to one side slightly. She rocks in her cell now and Billana can hear her muttering to herself. She doesn't completely understand the elf, much of her words are in a dialect that she has never heard, but what she does follow makes her blanch and turn away.
"Are they dangerous?" Kili asks, apparently having heard much the same as Billana.
"She tried to kill my father," Legolas replies, and Thorin snorts. Billana suspects that he is likely wishing the elleth had succeeded. "You have seen the fiery eyes and the swirling pools?" He asks and Billana, Kili and Fili confirm that they have. "Her arm was caught by one of them, as eventually happens to all of those touched too deeply by the curse. My father pulled her out and she would have killed him for it had we not subdued her. All here have been touched by that thing, they are too dangerous to be allowed free."
"Why not put them out of their misery?" Oin asks. "If your healers cannot save them this cannot be any sort of existence."
"Could you?" The prince responds.
Billana, however, is looking at Fili in horror, realising just how close they came to losing him had she not pulled him away from one such pool when she had. She grips his hand tightly as they approach the empty cells and he squeezes in return. They are gradually shut away in groups of two and three, those at the back first, and the elves say nothing further as they lock the cell doors. Billana darts in with Fili and Kili, though the elf escorting them had been prepared to lock the door behind the two of them, having no desire to end up in a cell with Oin and Gloin. Besides, she will be able to change form and slip out more easily with Fili and Kili around, they will be better able to cover her absence. The elf looks at her and arches an eyebrow, then shrugs and continues along with the rest.
Her attention, which should be on listening to see how many more doors are locked, is taken by Fili and Kili who both seem to grunt and stagger against the wall. She makes an alarmed sound, noticing them both pale slightly and then Fili lets out a small yell of pain.
"Dampening spells in the stone," Kili mumbles, obviously trying to call on his own gift.
"We should have felt them as we walked in," Fili replies, his tone as tense as his brother's.
"Obviously, they have them set up so that they don't fully activate until the door's locked," Kili replies in exasperation, sharper with his brother than she has ever heard him be before. She looks at her nails, concentrating just enough to turn them into claws and back again, then sees them both watching her. She mumbles an apology, sitting next to Kili though she doesn't dare touch either of them for fear of hurting them. "Wild magic," Kili laughs softly, "you can't shut it off."
"What do you mean?" She asks.
"The cells have dampening spells built into them," Fili explains, leaning his head against the wall, "probably because almost every elf has some measure of the gift. It's easier to put permanent measures in place to shut it off than to put temporary dampeners up every time."
"They've taken it?" She tilts her head.
"They lock it away," Kili explains. "I could probably lift the one on this cell for a time, maybe, but it wouldn't do us any good because Fili can't use any of the blasting spells we would need to open that door. Even if Balin were in the cell next to ours I couldn't do anything to help him without lifting the spells on this one first."
"Which would leave you unable to help Balin anyway," she concludes and he nods with a tight smile.
"Besides, it would make too much noise," Fili says. "Especially with that lot in here. I imagine they keep a fairly close eye on them all."
"So, how are we going to escape?" She asks and they both look at her. "Oh."
"We know it's a lot to ask," Kili says quickly. "If there was anything else we could do-"
He doesn't need to finish, because she knows how stuck they are as much as he does. Billana will need to be the one to find a way out of this mess unless Thorin changes his mind and the likelihood of that is slim. No pressure, she thinks. Wonderful.
A.N: Don't get used to the daily updates again, this one yelled at me until I got it done. Such is life.