Good evening, everyone, and thanks for reaching all the way to Chapter 12 of my story! I know I haven't used many author's notes of late (if any), but I just wanted to say thank you for reading this far, and a big thank you to all who have favorited or followed! It definitely keeps me motivated to finish this story, and always makes my day. :)
Please feel free to let me know in the comments how you're feeling at key points in the story! I'd love to get to know your thoughts, or answer any potential questions or address any confusion or concerns.
This is all I really wanted to say: so thanks again, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!
As they were walking, Avalain thought intensely of the places that could lead to an exit of the Mirkwood palace. There was a broken window… but that was likely fixed by now. There was also a cellar door that was almost never locked—but the passageway out of the palace was blocked by a fair amount of collapsed stone…
After a number of minutes, they were all in the dungeons, and the Dwarves were being escorted as pairs into each jail cell. Bifur and Bofur—Dwalin and Bombur—Kili and Kira—Dori and Ori—Oin and Gloin—Balin and Fili…
Avalain blinked. She counted them again.
There were only twelve.
She knew Thorin Oakenshield would be joining them shortly, which would be thirteen… but Bilbo Baggins was not accounted for.
Hope welled in her heart. If the hobbit was indeed free, there was a chance that the two of them might be able to brainstorm a way to get the Dwarves out of their cells and the palace.
"Do you wish to rest in your room, Avalain? Or… should I give you some time here?"
She looked backwards and realized that Legolas was watching her, a shadow of pity in his eyes. He knew of her loyalty to her friends—and that watching them be imprisoned was shocking, to say the least.
"I… will take some time here, I think," she replied, her voice low. She turned to look at Fili, who was gripping at the bars, a hopeful smile still on his face despite the circumstances. "I will find you later."
Legolas nodded and squeezed Avalain's hand before walking off.
Once her friend was gone, the She-Elf sat down on one of the steps in front of Fili's cell and reached for his hand. He took both of his hands and squeezed hers, kissing her knuckles.
"I have missed you," he murmured, eyes searching her face.
Avalain smiled, at least glad that her dear one was not in immediate danger, and that he had been taken care of the last couple of days. With her other hand, she reached through the bars and ran her fingers though his blond hair.
"As I have missed you," she replied, although she could hear her own voice filled with worry and guilt.
Fili seemed to notice this too—the light in his eyes dimmed ever so slightly as he asked, "What's wrong?"
The She-Elf sighed and looked away. "So much… I wish I could have convinced King Thranduíl to let you go. I wish I could've helped you more so your journey upon the Elven Road wasn't as painful. I just—"
She stopped short, feeling how tight her throat was getting. Everything was catching up to her all at once, it was nearly overwhelming.
"You did everything you could to help us before we left. This is not in the slightest your fault. Please, Avalain… don't put this on yourself."
Avalain sighed, but acquiesced. She knew that she was hardest on herself—before she could say anything else, however, she heard voices in the distance. Looking over, she saw Thorin Oakenshield being escorted to the dungeons, although there was an oddly smug look on his face.
The guard that brought Thorin to his cell was familiar: Avalain remembered her as Tauriel, Captain of the Guard.
When Tauriel caught sight of Avalain, she blinked once or twice and declared, "I was unaware you were returning to Mirkwood."
"My arrival was… unexpected," replied Avalain, taking care to keep her voice collected. She and Tauriel had never had much of a friendship; Avalain largely suspected this was due to the fact that Thranduíl had all but adopted herself as a daughter, which had been Tauriel's title only before Avalain lived in Mirkwood. "I admit I was excited to return; the letter only arrived a few days before myself."
"Hmm," remarked the other She-Elf—and then she opened the door to the last cell and more-or-less pushed Thorin inside. "Well I'm sure Thranduíl, at least, is glad that you're back." And with that, the Captain of the Guard turned on her heels and left.
Left alone with the Dwarves once again, Avalain sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She had forgotten about Tauriel—perhaps the one thing she hadn't missed about Mirkwood…
"I sense there's some sort of history there?" questioned Balin, a raised eyebrow indicating that a smirk was hiding behind his beard.
Avalain rewarded him with a chuckle as she muttered, "You could say that." Before they could get distracted by the past, she turned towards Thorin and queried, "What did King Thranduíl wish to talk to you about?"
Thorin scoffed. "What I expected him to talk about. I told him he could defecate in a bucket."
The She-Elf blinked once or twice, uncertain on if she had heard him correctly. As the other Dwarves laughed, Avalain put a hand to her forehead and exclaimed, "And here I thought I could negotiate with King Thranduíl for your release!"
This made the Dwarves sober up—many of them stared at her with hope and confusion, but whatever spark of light they gained was quickly extinguished as Avalain added, "For all your goals, Thorin Oakenshield, you seem to have little restraint where it is necessary so you might reach them."
"Do not lecture me on restraint," retorted Thorin. "You do not know the depths of his treachery."
"No, I do not," Avalain acquiesced, though she still bore a scowl on her face. "But you have no influence here. You disrespected him in his own throne room after he has treated you with kindness based on my request. What little favor you may have gained from being my friends is now certainly gone, along with any chance I had at peacefully getting you out of here. Your pride could cost you your quest."
"Peacefully?" repeated Thorin, crossing his arms.
Avalain looked amongst the Dwarves, her eyes ultimately landing on Fili's face. She remembered what he had told her in Rivendell—that he had never before seen this homeland that his people were fighting for, that he truly desired to restore the greatness of the Dwarves.
She couldn't let his dreams die, not here, not when she could do something.
"Yes, peacefully," she finally retorted, her hands finding Fili's again. She brushed her thumb against the inside of his wrist, the way she had done before, as she spoke. "I cannot simply leave you here to rot. I cannot help but notice that there is a member of your company that is, shall we say, missing. With luck, I shall find him soon, and we shall brainstorm ways to get you out of here and back on the road."
Her words were met with an uncharacteristic silence. It was again Thorin who broke it, his voice low and with something that might have been guilt: "Thank you."
Avalain had to smile at that. "You are welcome. I will be glad to help you."
"Why are you here, though, Avalain?" asked a voice from the cell to the right. The She-Elf leaned back to see it was Kili who was talking, sitting on the floor next to Kira.
"I was told by my Father that I no longer am bound to Rivendell. I am free to travel the world, so long as I inform him that I am well and safe—he suggested I come here to deliver a message to King Thranduíl, and I thought it fair since I wished to visit Legolas."
The Dwarves grumbled with approval, but they were set to laughing again as Kili cried, "And now you're stuck with us!"
"Stuck with you?" repeated Avalain with a giggle. "Trust me, I am only too glad to find myself in your company again. I have another question for you, though—where is Gandalf?"
"Said he had important business to the south," grumbled Dwalin. "Took off without further explanation."
This troubled Avalain… she knew what lay to the south: Dol Guldur. Although she was worried about the wizard, she knew he could handle himself.
"Does this mean you've all been on your own through the entirety of Mirkwood?"
The silence she was met with was her answer.
"By the Valar," she whispered, her eyes wide. She couldn't help but immediately redirect her attention to Fili, whom she had worried over consistently for the past three months. "Tell me everything."
At her request, Fili somberly told her of their departure from Rivendell—how they came to the Misty Mountains and witnessed a great battle between stone giants, and how they had been captured by goblins shortly after. He relayed the tale of how Azog the Defiler, Thorin's archenemy, cornered them after their escape from the goblins, and how the Great Eagles saved them. He spoke of Beorn the Skinchanger who could turn into a great black bear; and finally, he told her of how Gandalf said he had to deal with something concerning to the south just at the borders of the Mirkwood.
Avalain kept her hands clasped in his the entire time he spoke, her eyes wide and attentive. She could not help but wonder how the Dwarves had not been killed by this point…
When at last her Dwarf was silent, Avalain could only exhale slowly and shake her head. They simply looked at one another for a moment—it was Fili who laughed darkly and asked, "Are you sure you still want to join in our ventures, Avalain?"
That made her laugh.
"Although you seem to entice death at every turn, I must confess that I do," she replied. Fili blinked as if he had misheard her, but his expression grew incredulous as she added, "If you are there, so I wish to be, so that I may help you reach your homeland."
The smirk on his face morphed into a genuinely heartfelt smile; Fili somehow managed to reach through the bars and place a hand upon her cheek. Softly, he asked, "What about you, Avalain? You've traveled all this way on your own…"
"The journey has been a little difficult," she admitted, "but my horse Belutha kept me company. My time wandering through Mirkwood mercifully lasted only three days."
"How did you find your way so quickly?"
Avalain glanced around—even though Mirkwood was changed, she was glad to see that King Thranduíl's palace had not.
"I have lived in these halls for nearly seven-hundred years, and explored this forest many times… I could not forget this place, not even with the dark change that has overcome it. I hope that one day soon, it will be the forest of light and joy that I remember from my youth."
Fili watched her face as he spoke—and when next she looked into his eyes, she knew that he picked up on how greatly the changes of Mirkwood affected her. The next question he asked, however, caught her quite off-guard: "How have you been?"
She thought for a moment before replying. "Once you left, it was hard to return to my standard way of life. I simply felt so… out of place… in my own city. I was lucky that I only had to stay there for a month before my father allowed me to travel. I was so excited by the opportunity to find you, I—"
Avalain stopped short and flushed, looking away.
The Dwarf, however, did not let the comment slide past him. "The opportunity to find us? I thought you were coming here to visit your friend."
"Well—yes, I was, but… stop looking at me like that!" she chastised, noting the way he was beginning to grin. She felt her face heat up even more, making her chew the inside of her lip in frustration. After a heavy sigh, she looked back at Fili and murmured, "Now is when you laugh at me for hoping, isn't it?"
"Not at all," he replied, the evil grin transforming into something more genuine. "I had hoped to see you again, but I never dreamed it would be here. Even though we are caged in the Mirkwood dungeons, I wouldn't wish to be anywhere else if you were not also there."
He leaned forward in an attempt to rest his forehead against her own—but was stopped by the iron bars. After shooting them a swift but deadly glare, he looked back to Avalain warmly and added, "I have missed you… more than I can say."
"You two are very sweet."
Avalain yelped and lurched away from the cell only to see none other than Bilbo Baggins standing five feet away. A gasp got caught in her throat as she exclaimed, "Master Baggins!" in hushed excitement.
The rest of the Dwarves seemed roused from their stupor, as the other twelve ran towards the doors of their own cells. Each of them began clamoring in relief about how Bilbo was still with the Company, and somehow not imprisoned.
The hobbit walked over towards the cell in which Thorin was held, and shared a curt nod with the Dwarves' leader.
"What should we do?" whispered Bilbo, his eyebrows furrowed.
Thorin, however, gestured back towards Avalain and answered, "I would ask her, as she has lived here for many years and would have the best hope out of all of us for setting us free."
Avalain smiled in the halfling's direction and waved him over. As he moved to sit next to her, he asked, "So… if you've lived here… are there any ways to get out of here without being noticed?"
"There are a few places I could check, although I admit if anyone were to see me inspecting them, they might grow suspicious."
"Leave that to me. Just tell me where I need to go poke around."
The certainty with which Bilbo spoke made Avalain blink once or twice. She regarded him carefully, and saw within his eyes a newfound sparkle; a feeling of confidence that she had not seen the last time they had met. Pleasantly surprised, the She-Elf declared, "Very well then."
She then proceeded to list a number of places, including the broken window, the collapsed basement tunnel, the wine cellar, and a few places that Avalain personally thought were long-shots, but were worth a look anyway.
Once she finished rattling off those places, Bilbo nodded stoutly and stated, "I'll get started looking immediately."
"Be careful, Bilbo. Elves have a sharper vision than any other in Middle-Earth, and with prisoners of this importance, they are bound to have extra guards posted."
Far from looking concerned, however, the hobbit took a deep breath and grinned. Avalain could've sworn that he winked at her as he said, "Not to worry, my friend. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve."
And with that, the hobbit trotted around the corner, disappearing from sight.
A brief silence reigned over the Company; then Avalain turned to Thorin Oakenshield and declared, "While Bilbo is doing his part to scout the castle, I will do everything in my power to keep Thranduíl and Legolas occupied. For that reason, you may not see that much of me…" She looked back to Fili and added so that only he could hear, "Loath as I am to say it."
Thorin nodded in understanding and held his chin high, looking reasonably more comfortable now than he had fifteen minutes prior.
The She-Elf looked among her friends and, although she wished to stay by Fili's side for a little while longer, knew that it would soon be time to return to Legolas. She opened her mouth to say her farewells, but Fili grabbed her hand again and spoke before she could.
"Avalain… be very, very careful while helping us. You are going against the orders of the man you once considered your father, and your closest friend… the last thing I wish for you is to lose these relationships for our sake."
Avalain grasped his hand again and offered him a sad look. She knew that despite her hopes to keep her involvement of the Dwarves' escape a secret, there was no way that Legolas and King Thranduíl would not suspect her duplicity. She had already confessed that they were great friends of hers, and that she was opposed to their jailing.
But she knew she couldn't tell Fili this… not right now. So all she replied was, "I will."
With those simple words, the She-Elf squeezed his hand and rose, wondering when the next time she would get to see her beloved Dwarf would be.