So no one gets confused, Devlin's grudge against his former king is truly for a very petty reason: so he can be the one in power. He doesn't really care about Thranduil's sense of morals (or lack thereof), but he knows he can use it, especially his flaws against him, to taunt and manipulate.


Alasse screamed and screamed. But her father still did not come!

"P-please! Please...stop!" She begged, trying to curl into a ball on the floor. Another brute kick to her side almost completely took away what little breath she had left.

"Haven't you heard, little missy? Pain makes you stronger." Malcolm sneered, standing above her before kicking her again. Alasse cried and scrunched into a fetal position, tightly hugging herself. She was so scared and these big, mean men and elves were hurting her! Where was Ada? Where was Legolas? Why weren't they coming to rescue her? She was so disoriented that she'd forgotten Thranduil had been chained up and that was the only reason he was not barging into the room to slay her torturers.

She looked up sadly at Devlin, the ring leader. He was an elf, her own kind! 'Elves were good folk, and well-behaved even to their worst enemies'. Yet here he was, acting no better than the enemy! Why? "Why are you doing this?" She asked, her small lip trembling. "Why do you want to hurt me?" Hot tears spilled down her face.

"You misunderstand, little one. I do not want to hurt you," Devlin smiled devilishly. "I want to hurt your father, and hurting you is the best way to do it."

"Why?" Alasse blubbered.

"Because he is a hypocrite and deserves to be punished." Devlin said.

"You still gonna tell on us, princess?" Rajiv licked his lips. He had dark, reddish brown hair and was quite husky for an elf. And he was the meanest! They'd let him kick her around first, and he was not one to show mercy.

"Gonna go crying now to daddy and big brother?" Donovan the human gleamed.

"I want my ada!" Alasse whimpered, shedding tears. She'd already tried to escape this dark, locked room, but it had been futile with the band of grownups chasing her. And now her little body hurt too much to move quickly. At first when they'd stopped her, they'd slapped her across the face and when she'd dropped to the floor crying, they kept kicking her trembling little form.

"Did you hear that? She wants her ada." Malcolm smirked.

"Uhh...fellas?" Alvin spoke up. "Not that I'm chickening out or anything, but is it really necessary that we beat her up? I mean...so much?"

"What? You getting cold feet?" Griffin asked the elf.

"No! Of course not. Just that...I don't see what beating her is going to accomplish, if we want a fair price for her. She's pretty enough, why advertise damaged goods?"

"She will be all healed by the time we have found a buyer." Devlin explained calmly with his arms crossed.

"She might not, if you all don't stop. Just saying." Alvin shrugged.

"Like we said, pain makes you stronger." Malcolm stated. "If you're gonna be working as a slave, it's best to get used to it first hand, and toughen up!"

"I want Ada!" Alasse wailed. She couldn't endure this much longer. She was only a child, and she didn't understand that she already had three broken ribs. All she knew was that she was trapped with these big, scary strangers, alone, and she hurt so much, more than she could ever remember. This was so much worse than all those times she'd skinned her knees or arms, or fallen down the stairs at the palace, or bumped her head. So much worse! Legolas was always there for her when those things had happened, except lately when he was going out with the patrols. Then her nanny Tatsu or some other servant would be there for her.

"Aww, you want your daddy?" Griffin hissed down in her face. Malcolm, Devlin, and the others began to surround her, leering creepily down at her.

"He doesn't love you, brat." Rajiv chuckled.

"Yes...he does!" Alasse blurted out.

"No, no, princess. King Thranduil? That hypocrite? He doesn't care about you, or the dwarves, or anyone...except himself." Rajiv taunted.

"No, no!" Alasse shook her head, trying to block out the awful words.

"He doesn't care about what happens to you. All he cares about are those white gems. Once he gets those, he will leave and never come back. And you will be left here, all alone." Rajiv said dramatically.

"No! Legolas will find me!" Alasse sobbed. "He...always finds me."

"Not this time, princess." Griffin shook his head.

"You'll see," Devlin sneered widely. "We are taking you far away from here. Far, far away. And then you will understand, my dear. You'll see that the king doesn't care about nothing except his precious jewelry! He will not come back for you."

"No...Ada! Legolas!" Alasse scrunched her eyes shut and screeched.

"Let her scream. Might want to make her do it a little more." Malcolm remarked. "I don't know if the high and mighty Thranduil has suffered enough yet."

"You may be right, my friend." Devlin agreed, pretending to think. "Go ahead and give her a little more, fellows."

"No!" Alasse begged. "Ada! Ada!" She screamed until another swift kick silenced her.


One reason I am writing this story is because there are bad guys in every race, every occupation, every walk of life. And yes, even elves! There are some in there who only care about themselves. There are bankers, doctors, lawyers, preachers! You can find hypocrites in ANY walk of life, but that does not mean all are the same as the bad apple in the barrel! Tolkien said that 'Elves are good folk...and are well-behaved even to their worst enemies'. But not all elves are that perfect. There are some who stray. If it can happen to the White Council, a certain wizard we all know, it can happen to an elf.

So the great question hangs in the air: how much are both Thranduil and Thorin willing to give up to save their children?

Can Legolas and Thorin saves their families in time by working together? This story could go either way. It might get ugly.

Even if Thranduil is rescued, what about Alasse? Will they have already taken her away by then?