A/N: As always thank you for the favs, follows and reviews! Thanks to DreamingGalaxies for looking over this for me too! Trigger warning for this chapter, mentions past physical abuse, murder.

Prisoners

Jenna's POV

Jenna panted as they crossed an intricate narrow bridge. Her legs dragged and she struggled to keep up with the group. She hesitated at the entrance of a great cave. A tall and lean armored elf nudged her in.

"Keep going," he said.

Jenna glared at him.

They were marched across a narrow bridge and inside a great cave which served as the elven palace. The massive stone doors swinging shut behind them barely making a sound.

Jenna had never seen anything quite like this place. The cave was huge, filled with many passages and great halls. This place wasn't anything like Rivendell at all. Rivendell was a home; this was a fortress. It was clear from the very beginning that nobody was getting in or out of these halls without permission from the Elven King.

The company were marched into a great hall. Elegantly carved pillars led up to a large ornate throne. Guards lined the walls at attention with their weapons at their side. On the throne, sat Thranduil, King of the Woodland elves, dressed in silver with a crown made of berries on top of his head and a carved oak staff in his hand. His eyes narrowed at them as he regarded them down the pathway.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked haughtily.

"I beg your pardon, but we have no idea what you mean," stated Balin as he stepped forward.

"What are dwarves doing on my land?" The King demanded.

"We were simply traveling through the forest by what we were assured was the only safe road, if we trespassed on your land, it was completely unintentional," Balin continued.

"The road you speak of is an elven road, kept safe by my people. By using it, you were trespassing. Tell me what is your business in this part of the world? You are dwarves of Erebor are you not?" questioned the King.

"Our business is our own. We didn't mean to trespass; we were simply using the road. We didn't mean any harm to you or your people," Balin insisted.

"You didn't mean any harm to my people? Why then did you and your friends try to attack us while we feasted in the forest?" demanded the King.

Jenna snorted at that, and the King glared at her. He looked momentarily puzzled but before he had a chance to speak to her Balin continued.

"Attack?! We held no ill intent. We ran out of food and were starving. Had we not been famished; we would have never approached your people. We were seeking aid and it was your kin that led us to be attacked by spiders, only to be captured and dragged here before you. Is this how King Thranduil treats those in need? Have you no compassion? Balin shouted. "I will give you both food and medicine, but I would know first what you are doing in my lands," Thranduil answered coolly.

Jenna wondered if he ever lost his temper. She couldn't really imagine it. He seemed too prim and proper. Not even a hair on his head was out of place.

"We will tell you nothing!" Balin replied angrily.

"Perhaps your friends will be more forthcoming," the King drawled. "You! What are you doing traveling with a group of dwarves through my lands?"

The king cocked his head to one side as he waited for Jenna to reply but if he thought she was going to drop her friends in it then he had another thing coming.

"Looking for help as my friend has already told you!" she replied smartly. "We need FOOD! We need MEDICINE!"

The King raised an eyebrow at her. "And if I give you food and medicine, where will you go then? Where are you traveling to?"

Jenna folded her arms across her chest and glared angrily at the elven King refusing to answer him.

"Very well. Perhaps you will all be more forthcoming after a few decades in my dungeons. It is a mere blink in the life of an elf. I am patient, I can wait! Take them away!" He dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

The elven guards ushered them down into the Elven King's dungeons. Jenna trembled with each step. Tears spilled down her cheeks and she stood still.

"Keep walking," said a guard.

Jenna shook her head no. He grabbed her arm and dragged her to a cell.

"No!" she yelled. Jenna pushed away with all her might. "No! Let me go."

She pulled away from him as hard as she could trying to get her arm free, but another elf stepped forward and caught her other arm. Slowly they dragged her towards the cell. Her heart was beating faster as panic took over her. She pulled against their grips as hard as she could. "NO! No, please…"

"STOP! Please." Nori shouted. "You're hurting her. Please, she's my wife, can she not share a cell with me?"

The guards looked at each other doubtfully before a tall red-haired elf stepped forward. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded.

"Apologies Captain, but the girl is resisting being put in the cell," one of the guards answered.

"They're hurting her!" Nori called out from his cell. "Can't you see my wife is frightened? Please put her in my cell with me."

The captain looked away from Nori and took a step toward Jenna and looked her over. Tears were flowing freely down her cheeks now and her arms were red from where the guards had been holding her tightly.

"Let her go," she demanded. "I'll see to her myself."

The two guards reluctantly released their hold on her as the captain stepped forward to take her arm, walking her over to Nori's cell.

"I do not wish to hurt you. Will you go willingly into your husband's cell?"

Jenna nodded; she still didn't want to be locked in a cell at all but at least she would have Nori to comfort her now. Nori was the only one who could make her feel safe in this place. The captain of the guard opened Nori's cell door and Jenna begrudgingly walked inside and allowed the door to be closed behind her.

"Funny," the elf commented quietly, "I always thought dwarven wives wore braids in their hair."

With that she smirked, turned away and was gone.

"Are you alright?" Nori questioned now that they were alone.

Jenna turned to face him and burst into tears once more. "I can't be here Nori, not here. Anywhere but here. I won't die here!"

Nori rushed forwards and pulled her into his arms holding her tightly. "You aren't going to die here. I promise."

"You don't understand…" she whimpered against his chest.

"Then tell me. Make me understand," he whispered. "I've got you, kid. I'm here."

Esme's POV

Esme sat alone in her cell listening to Jenna sobbing in the next one with Nori. Her heart was breaking for her friend even if part of her was still mad at her but there was nothing, she could do right now to help her.

"You don't understand…" Jenna sobbed.

"Then tell me. Make me understand. I've got you, kid. I'm here," Nori whispered.

There was silence for a few minutes, and she thought Jenna wasn't going to say anything, she usually didn't. Esme knew her well enough to know by now that she didn't talk about things like this to anyone. She just bottled it up inside and got on with things. That's how Jenna was, how she'd always been.

"My Mom… My Mom died in prison. I promised I'd never be like her. I promised I'd never let it get that far and I still ended up here." Jenna broke off sobbing again.

Esme was completely floored. In all the years she'd known Jenna she had never mentioned her mom, not even once.

"I don't know what your mom did to end up in prison kid, but you haven't done anything wrong," Nori reassured Jenna.

"But that's just it, she didn't do anything wrong either Nori, she was… she was just… trying to save me." Again, she broke off into heart-wrenching sobs.

Esme frowned deeply. This was a part of Jenna she knew nothing about. Part of her suddenly felt overwhelmingly jealous that Jenna was sharing this with Nori and not her. She was supposed to be her friend, not Nori's.

Jenna sniffled before continuing. "My mom, she never had good taste in men. Just went from one asshole to another. They'd use her, she'd cry over it for a couple of weeks then find another loser. Then though, she met… she met George. She told me he was her soulmate. He moved in a week later."

Esme was frozen to the spot as she listened to her friend sobbing quietly again. Part of her felt guilty for listening to a conversation that clearly wasn't meant for her, but she couldn't seem to help herself.

"It's alright lass. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Nori assured Jenna.

"It's ok." She spoke so quietly now that Esme had to strain to hear her. "I want to tell you."

Esme felt her heart sink at that. Jenna wanted to tell Nori, but she had never wanted to tell her. Was she not a good friend to her? What made Nori so special? Ok maybe she hadn't been a great friend lately, what with forgetting her birthday and all but she had always been a good friend before that.

"Everything was great for a while. Then he changed, everything changed. He started hitting her. I used to hide in my room. I was just a kid. I didn't know what else to do. Then this one night he lost it completely. They were fighting and she was screaming and crying, and I rushed out to help her, but he turned on me. He hit me and I fell, and he got on top of me and put his hands around my throat…"

Jenna broke off into sobs again.

"I couldn't breathe… I thought I was going to die… then he pulled out a knife but… but she stopped him. She killed him to save me, it wasn't her fault. They took me away anyway though and locked her up. She didn't last a month in that place. I promised myself I wouldn't end up like that…I'll never be with anyone… never end up in a place… in a place like this."

Jenna cried harder than ever now, and Esme felt guilty for feeling jealous of her friendship with Nori. It didn't matter why she felt she could tell him, all that mattered was that Jenna had someone to confide in. She clearly needed it. She felt awful that she had tried to push her towards Thorin, finally understanding now why her friend didn't want a relationship with anyone.

"It's alright kid, I've got you," Nori whispered.

"I know," Jenna whispered back.

"I promise we won't die in this place, ok? I'll get you out of here somehow, there has to be a way out of this place."

Esme heard Nori promise before another voice seemed to come out of nowhere.

"I'm working on it. I promise."

Esme jumped to her feet and rushed to the door of her cell. She looked up and down the corridor, but it was empty. "Bilbo?" she whispered.

"I'm right here," the voice said again but she still couldn't see anything.

"Am I hallucinating?" she said to herself.

"Well, if you are then we all are," Nori answered. "Where are you, Bilbo?"

"Right here," the hobbit replied as he magically appeared before them. The tears in his eyes betrayed the fact he too had heard Jenna's confession.

Esme jumped with fright. "What the hell!? How did you do that?"

"Long story, not one I have time for right now. I'm working on a way out, just sit tight, ok? I'll get you out Miss Jenna, I promise." He smiled at them before disappearing just as quickly as he had appeared.

"Be careful," Nori whispered to the empty-looking corridor.

"I will."

Dwalin's POV

It was official, Dwalin hated the elves! Mirkwood elves to be specific. King Thranduil to be even more specific. Dwalin shouldn't be locked up in this dungeon. He should be out in the forest searching for Thorin. They should all be out there not stuck in these dark, dank, miserable cells. Though at least they had given them food and water which had been desperately needed and a sweet-smelling yellow drink that they had assured them would help with the spider venom. He didn't drink his, who knew what could have been in it.

He was in a cell next to Balin's but Esme had been placed in one further down the corridor and around a slight bend so he couldn't see her from where he was. He'd tried to force the door of his cell open a few times with sheer force, but it hadn't budged an inch.

"It's no use," Balin advised him. "Nobody gets out of these dungeons but by the elven King's leave."

Dwalin sat on the bed in his cell since then, glaring at the door as if it would somehow magically explode. He wouldn't easily forget their treatment at the hands of the elven King.

"Dwalin?" a voice whispered from the door.

"Bilbo? Is that you?" Dwalin asked, jumping up from the bed and approaching the door.

"Yes, yes it's me. I'm working on a way out. I just wanted to let you know that Esme is alright. I thought you would want to know," Bilbo replied quietly.

Dwalin suddenly had a newfound respect for their burglar. He had not only managed to get into this place unseen by Thranduil's guards but had been thoughtful enough to check on Esme for him while he searched for a way out.

"Thank you, my friend," he whispered back. "But where are you?"

In an instant, Bilbo appeared right beside his cell door. Dwalin would be lying if he said he hadn't jumped with fright when he did so. "How on earth?"

"No time to explain. I've just heard the elves talking about another prisoner in one of the lower cells. I'm going to go check it out now," Bilbo explained.

"Do you think it could be Thorin!?" Dwalin asked excitedly.

"I don't know but I'll certainly try to find out. This place is rather big, and I have to be careful not to bump into anyone so it may take some time, but I'll come back and let you know as soon as I can. Until then, sit tight. I will get you all out of here, I promise." He smiled before disappearing again.

Dwalin sat back down on the bed happier now that he knew Bilbo was searching for Thorin and a way out.

Thorin's POV

As soon as they had stepped into the clearing where the elves had been feasting the fires had all gone out. Thorin wasn't sure what had happened after that, but he could only guess that he had been placed under some sort of enchantment as he had fallen asleep immediately. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself locked in some sort of dark cell.

He'd shouted for a while for someone to come and let him out but got no reply, so he sat on his bed instead and wondered about the rest of the company. Had they all had the same fortune as him? Were they in these same dungeons or were they still sleeping somewhere in the forest? How would he ever find them again?

Someone had left food and water in his cell, and he gratefully ate and drank it all, thankful to have something in his stomach at last. When he finally heard footsteps approaching, he jumped up immediately. The door of his cell swung open and two elven soldiers entered.

"King Thranduil has requested your presence in the great hall. Come with us," the taller one demanded.

Knowing there was no point in arguing with them or trying to fight them off when he was weaponless, Thorin followed them out of the cell and up several flights of stairs. Soon he found himself face to face with King Thranduil. Thorin hadn't seen him since the dragon came but he looked no older than he had back then.

"Welcome, Thorin, son of Thrain to my halls," the elf drawled when he saw him.

"Welcome? Some welcome!" Thorin spat.

"You attacked my people in the forest without provocation. What would you have me do?" the elven King asked.

"We did not attack anyone. We were starving and had a mind to beg for food. That was all," Thorin answered angrily.

"And what were you doing in the forest, to begin with?" the King questioned.

"Passing through. Nothing that concerns you or your people," Thorin snapped.

The Elven King smirked at him. "Ah, but you see it does concern me as you are in my kingdom, using my road without my leave. I have heard rumours, that the dragon Smaug has not been seen in 60 years, perhaps he is now dead. Then suddenly the son of Thror decides to travel East. Some might imagine a noble quest is afoot."

Thorin was shocked at the Elven King's accurate assessment of the situation, but he wasn't about to admit to him that he was right. "We were traveling to the Iron Hills, to our kin. Nothing more!"

The Elven King raised his eyebrow at him. "You will forgive me if I don't believe you. You have not ventured through these forests before to visit the kin you speak of, why do so now? The vast wealth of Erebor lies unguarded if tales are to be believed. That is where you are going, and nothing will tell me otherwise. I will offer you my help, if you would accept it, in return for a share in the jewels that are hidden in the mountain. All you have to do is tell me the truth."

Thorin glared defiantly back at the King. "I would not trust the word of a King who sees fit to treat me in this manner when I have done nothing wrong. You lack all honour!"

"Very well," answered the king "Take him away, put him back in the dungeon until he has a change of heart."

With that, the guards had stepped forward and dragged him back down to the cell he had woken up in. They locked the door behind him and walked away leaving him with nothing but his thoughts.

There he had sat for hours staring at the walls and wondering what had happened to the others when suddenly he thought he heard something move in the darkness outside his cell.

"Hello? Is someone there?" he spoke into the darkness.

"Thorin! It is you! Oh, thank Yavanna, I've found you." Bilbo's voice came floating in from outside his cell door.

Thorin was overjoyed. "Bilbo! However, did you get past the guards!? Where are the others?"

Bilbo suddenly stepped forward out of the shadows. "The others are fine. They had a tough time of it with spiders in the forest but they're all well now. They are all locked away in the cells upstairs though. I've been trying to find a way out."

"Have they said anything to Thranduil?" Thorin asked.

"No, nobody has said anything, that's why he's locked them all up," Bilbo replied.

"Good, let them know I'm here if you can and tell them nobody is to say anything to the elf unless I say so."

Bilbo nodded. "I will and I promise you I will find a way out of here."

"I never doubted you for a second." Thorin smiled back at him.

TBC