Laurel

Once we finally got back into the water, Kili couldn't keep his hands off of me. Everything was surreal, like a very lucid dream. Something possessed me to act the last hour. Never in my life had I thought I would be in the woods fooling around with a man; or dwarf in this case. Especially Kili.

It didn't help that when I saw him wet and half naked I immediately clenched my thighs.

Throughout the days I had been here, there were times that I would find myself starring at him. It was just wrong to be that handsome. It should be an act against God to approach me the way he did; dripping wet, light curls on his chest and trailing down to the unknown. Then he hugged me, and I could feel him hot and hard but still soft against my stomach.

Since I didn't have experience dating and I worked and hunted, I read a lot to keep my mind off of my dreams. Through reading I did find what romance should be, how your face should heat and legs tremble at the sight of something truly sexy. I found things I would have never thought possible in the act of sex or fooling around. Not having any friends of my own to gossip with I did a lot of internet reading, and after a few dreams at sixteen of Kili shirtless doing odds and ends; I started touching myself in the mornings.

What transpired just now was nothing like what I normally experienced. I didn't know there was that big finale that made me quiver and scream with ecstasy.

I didn't want to accept a courting braid, I didn't want to define anything between us in fear he did die. The look of hurt that crossed his face had me wanting to do anything to make him feel better.

And to hug me close so I could feel his skin against my own and ignite the fire within me.

Kili and I ended up washing each other, and I had to slap his hands away when the touches turned into burning caresses that wanted to lead to more. When we left the water I tried my hardest not to hide myself when I could feel his leering gaze on my ass. Wrapped in my towel, I sat in the soft grass and waited for Kili to meet me. It was surprising how effortless it was for him to comb his fingers through my hair and twist a braid just under my hairline behind my ear. It was a very intricate braid, but easily hidden beneath all my hair. He used the bead that he had put in it in Rivendell, then placed another braid in the top half of my hair, clasping it with the bead in his own hair.

"There," he murmured pressing a kiss to my shoulder, the act very sincere and loving. "It is there for anyone to see if they shall look. I would have made it bigger, but I did not want uncle to anger. He is coming to terms, so I do not want to push him."

"Do I put one in your hair," I asked, reaching into his dark brown locks and fingering the softness. It was still slick with water.

"No. You just proudly wear that. Do not unbraid it, it would signify that you are revoking the courtship. I should be the only one to remove it, only to re-braid it."

Once we dressed—I had to fight Kili playfully as he tried to undress me—we returned to the house. The company had already eaten, but they saved Kili and I food. We ate together by the rest of the dwarves who were settled into the hay.

"Where were you two off too," Fili asked quirking an eyebrow.

Immediately my face turned red thinking about the sexual acts I had just shared with his brother a while ago. Quickly I buried my face into my chest letting my hair hide me.

Kili cleared his throat, "Taking a walk. Talking."

I chanced a glance at Fili to see he was glaring at his brother with a look of suspicion.

After a while everyone started to settle, resting so that we could rise and leave for Mirkwood in the morning.

We were woke a handful at a time, each gathering our packs and weapons. Outside Beorn had ponies waiting for us. There were not enough for each, so most of us doubled up. One horse waited for Gandalf. Kili and I settled our things onto the pony, jumping onto the animal and preparing for departure.

"If you trot, you should reach Mirkwood by midday," Beorn offered, "at the wood line, please leave my ponies. Follow the elvish path and it should be mostly safe. Beware the elves of the wood, they do not act the same as their foreign kin of Rivendell."

True to Beorn's word, we reached the darker forest by midday. It didn't take long for us to get off our ponies and gear up. Gandalf did not get off his horse at all.

"I have very pressing matters to attend to," he grunted, "I will meet you at the Lonely Mountain. Do not stray from the elvish path. There is a sickness in these woods and you will never leave, seeing things that are not true for the rest of your life. Do not enter that mountain without me Thorin Oakenshield and company."

With the warnings he left at a full gallop, leaving me with unease. The wood was sick? Was it something in the air? None the less I followed the rest, hand on my sword, as we entered the dark forest. It was simple enough, a stone path was made of squares showing which way to go. There wasn't any forks or three ways to worry about. Sometimes we had to halt while the path was cleared because it seemed to have ended.

The day wore on, nighttime starting to come to us. Thorin declared we would travel for as long as it took until we got out of the woods. It was dark and eerie in there so I understood his concern. The trees were gnarled in places and the air was thick. It wasn't unbearable but uncomfortable.

Slowly I started to see the sickness Gandalf spoke of. Not in myself, but the dwarves.

Bofur started to spout nonsense about the firelights sparkling before his eyes. Dori, Nori, and Ori were pushing each other back and forth about getting the last dinner roll. Bilbo was looking around as if he were hearing noises, and stopped before Dwalin, poking him in the chest and squinting deeply.

The leader of the group, Balin at the time, just kept dragging his feet and walking, not stopping to see if we were following them. A terrible feeling pitted itself in my stomach, as if we were being watched. Idly I grabbed for my smaller pocket knife and stuck it in between the bare skin of my bottom and underwear. Something was telling me I needed to hide it.

Suddenly Kili rounded on me, ripping my bow off my shoulders and grabbing me by the thighs to push me up against a tree. Fear didn't fill me as it should have, but confusion.

His lips crashed against my own in recklessness. A hiss left me when he accidentally pinched my lip against my teeth with his own. "Kili," I hissed, "what are you doing? Everyone is in front of us! We are trying to get out of here!"

"Mmm what are you talking about little doe," his voice dripped something fierce. "'Tis our wedding night, I am consummating our marriage."

My heart started to thump wildly against my chest. The sickness took him as well. He was hallucinating. I tried my hardest to push against his chest, beating it for a moment to gain his attention. "No it isn't. We are in Mirkwood, it is the sickness," I hissed trying to get him to see reason.

A gasp left me when his lips started to dance against my throat and neck. I came to find out over the last three or four encounters that my neck and throat were my favorite spots. Soft gasps of appreciation turned to deep moans when his teeth sunk into my skin, harsh and passionate. My back scrapped the harsh bark of the wood as he pushed me up so that he could push himself between my legs. Even through his thick trousers I could feel him hot and hard grinding against me. It was a wonderful friction I craved for, but seeing everyone standing around us had me cringing.

Even if they weren't paying attention, I didn't want to have moments like this in front of them.

"Stop," I beat against his back, "seriously Kili we can't do this right now!"

A growl rumbled against my collarbone where he bit me harshly again, this time pain finding me instead of pleasure. My breast was grasped harshly, another hand ripping at my shirt since I was pinned to the tree. Once my shirt was in pieces below me I started to thrash and beat on him more. Deep down I feared that he wouldn't stop. Not that I didn't want to experience wonderful sensations with him, but my first time would not be in front of the company, and him not in his right mind.

Everything happened at once.

Someone hit Kili in the back of the head, he grunted, dropping me. All around us elves were disarming and pushing other members of the company into small groups and aiming weapons at them. The elf that hit Kili in the back of the head was taller than him by a margin, white blonde hair braided down the side of his head above his pointed ears. Armed with a bow and a sword at his side, he pointed the end of his bow at Kili's throat.

"I do believe she said stop," he hissed at Kili. I was stunned, watching from the ground in just my bra and pants. Hesitantly I grabbed for my dagger, prepared to do something. Another elf smacked my hand with the end of her bow, causing me to drop my weapon.

A quick intake of breath met both of us when our eyes met. If anything I thought I could be looking at my sister, if I had one. Our hair was very similar in color, eyes the same shade of green. Her skin was paler than mine, but our faces sort of resembled. At that moment the elf that disarmed Kili gazed at me as well, his eyes widening. The female elf that smacked me looked at Kili, eyes widening as well, "Kili?"

She knew Kili? Immediately I felt the green eyed monster called jealousy rear its ugly head. Kili was attracted to elves; of course she knew Kili. My mood turned sour instead of scared at the prospect of being captured.

Slowly the gang of elves were searching all the dwarves for weapons. I could see the clarity in their eyes as they realized what was happening, that they were breaking the hold on the sickness that the forest had in the air. "Laurel," Kili's voice broke the air, his head snapping around frantically looking for me. I was already tied up and sitting on the ground.

"Calm down," I muttered, "I'm over here. No harm."

One elf was searching Fili for weapons, and I had to fight my smile as he pulled out sword after sword from a smirking dwarf. By my count twelve were already discovered. It was like a game to him. The elf that hit Kili was tying him up as well, grunting and muttering things about 'filthy dwarves'. Once everyone was tied up, we were being marched through the woods. After a while, familiarity took over.

It looked just the same as it did the first time I met Kili and was able to talk to him. I tried to focus on the problem at hand, though my mind kept traveling to all the things I had seen and heard in the past few hours. One is that Kili thought we were married and was trying to force himself onto me. Two was that the female elf knew him in evidently a personal way. Three was that I knew the brothers had daggers that weren't accounted for in their trousers. Finally I noticed that Bilbo was missing. My gut told me he wasn't gone, but merely using that odd ring to follow in the shadows.

We were led to a fortress, a very beautiful one. The walk was long but we found ourselves in cells and locked up, one or two of us each to a cell. The elf that got Kili off of me regarded me with a look of unease as he tossed a blanket at me before locking me in. Did he feel sorry for me? It was cold in their dungeons, so I wrapped myself up and shivered, thankful for the extra warmth.

Kili was thrown in the cell across from me by the female. I watched intently as he glared at her through the open door she had yet to close. "Nice to see you again Kili," she almost purred, "I better check for weapons."

A sneer found his face as he backed away, "I was already searched by Legolas. Shut the door, leave me be Tauriel."

More soft words were exchanged from Tauriel before she threw me a look over her shoulder, a questioning look. Once all the elves disappeared I slumped against the wall behind me in the small cell.

"She looks an awful lot like me," I muttered loud enough for Kili to hear. "And she is awful friendly with you."

"Nothing happened between us," he responded disdainfully.

Overtime I started to tune out the mutterings from the rest of the company. Kili fell silent after I didn't respond to his questions about my lack of shirt. Eventually my eyes closed and sleep found me.

The clang of metal woke me, my cell door opening. Legolas, as Kili called him, was offering me his hand. Was that sorrow in his eyes? Without taking it I rose, following him as he led me out of the cell and down the various walking paths. Tauriel was leading Thorin ahead of us. Eventually we reached a formal looking area that was surrounded in elves in armor. At the back of the suspended room was a beautiful throne of white wood and antlers. Seated in it another elf of intricate robes, sitting on white blonde hair like Legolas' was a reddish leaf crown, and he looked pissed off.

"Some may imagine that a noble quest is at hand. A quest to reclaim a homeland and slay a dragon. I myself suspect a more prosaic motive; attempted burglary, or something of that ilk. There are starlight gems inside that mountain I would like to reclaim myself," the king's commanding voice echoed across the hall. His eyes flittered to me, causing me to shiver and pulling the blanket around myself more. With a point of his chin, the blanket was ripped from me.

He rose, taking purposeful steps to walk around me and assess, "Now you have a…halfing elf in your presence? Tell me girl, what is your heritage?"

It took me a moment to clear my throat, it was so dry. "My name is Laurel Took," I coughed softly, "Evidently I am equally hobbit and elvish, and human."

"How did you come to the company of dwarves?"

Before I answered I glanced at Thorin, watching as his eyes turned to slits. "We found her at Rivendell," he muttered. I tried to school my surprise at his lie. "Elrond said that they found her without knowledge of where she was. My nephew took a liking to her so we took her with as a personal… chattel. It's very lonely on long travels."

Did Thorin just refer to me as a sex slave?

All the while I kept my mouth shut, trying not to act as surprised as I felt. What was he trying accomplish? Thorin looked dark and smug, while this king looked disgusted and even more pissed off.

"Is this true young one," he took a softer tone, "did they force you to commit acts that you did not want to?" With his words his fingers grazed my neck and shoulder. The touch stung if only for a second.

Kili mauled me.

"The dark haired archer was molesting her when we found them," Legolas offered.

The king glared at Thorin once more, pacing around the room. Finally he settled back into his throne. "Tauriel, take her and clean her up. Feed her and clothe her. Do not worry child, we will care for you from now forward," the king flicked his hand to the side.

I was whisked away promptly. Everything moved so fast as I was pushed into a hot tub of water and scrubbed by other female elves. Confusion coated each of them as they found my pocket knife when it tumbled out of my underwear. I was thankful they gave it back to me. They pushed me into a silver tight dress and attempted to unbraid my hair. I fought hard to keep it the way it was. When they turned I shoved the knife between my breasts. From there I was dragged to something that appeared to be a kitchen. Internally I groaned at the fruits and vegetables that were placed in front of me once more. There was no way in hell I was staying here as an elf and not eating meat. It was time to bust out of this bitch.

Once I finished off with bread Legolas appeared in the kitchen I was in. "Lady Laurel," he bowed softly, "allow me to escort you to your chambers."

I quirked an eyebrow, "I am not tired. I just woke a while ago when you fetched me from the cell I was in. What happened to my things?"

"You won't be needing them. We will care for you as my father said before," he replied.

Father? So I was talking to another prince. Overall he was a handsome elf, but he was no Kili—who seemed to ooze sexiness with even the smallest of smirks.

"Well I may not need all my things, but I need some things from my pack. Personal things," I offered, trying to smile and look appealing to get what I want. He looked at me with a small smile and offered his arm.

"Of course," he stated as he led me away. "They are in the wine cellar. We can go there now."

"Oh I've never had elvish wine before," I replied pretending to be excited. "I was only in Rivendell for a few days when the dwarves took me with them."

Throughout all the mazes I begun to get confused and lost. Hopefully Bilbo was sneaking around somewhere so that our soon to be escape would be more easily done. The way that Legolas peered at me from the corner of his eyes seemed to be that of interest. Interest for what I do not know, but I didn't care for the look either way. "You share a striking resemblance to Tauriel," he mentioned as we started to descend some stairs.

"I've noticed," I muttered. Surprisingly we found ourselves in the dungeons where all the dwarves were sitting and sulking. My eyes looked to find Kili resting against the wall tired and droopy eyed. "Actually, do you mind if I speak with the…filthy dwarves," I forced myself to sound disgusted.

Legolas' eyes narrowed as he took a step toward another set of stairs leading to the cellar. "Why do you want to talk to your captors," he reasoned.

"Well the king acted as if he wanted something from Thorin," I replied evasively, "I suspect I can use their liking to me as an advantage to help him get what he wants. For all the kindness he is bestowing on me of course."

It was convincing to even myself, how my speech changed, coy and innocent at the same time. Without another word Legolas nodded and left, stomping down the stairs two at a time. In a hurry I ran to Thorin's cell first, slapping my hands against the bars to startle him to attention.

"What is your plan," I whispered hurriedly before Legolas returned.

"Find the keys to the cellar and release us, we will figure out the rest as we go," he muttered looking around too. "Where is Bilbo?"

"Lurking around somewhere I suppose, he is probably trying to formulate a plan himself," I muttered. "Ideas on where the guards with the keys went?"

"The wine cellar," Kili's voice called out behind me. Slowly I left Thorin, to walk hurriedly to Kili's cell and lean into it to see him more properly. His fingers wrapped around mine through the cold metal as his eyes raked my body. "I very much like that dress."

A small smile tugged at my lips, "Thank you. It is too tight."

"Little doe," he whispered, face pressing against the bars, "I am truly sorry for what I did before we came to be here."

"Its alright," I squeezed his hand, "it was the sickness of the woods. I understand. Just focus on trying to get out of here for now." I pressed my lips against his fingers, feeling the coldness in his flesh seep into my soft skin.

We had to get out of here.