A/N: This chapter was definitely one of my favorites to write. Baylee gets to be a proper Mouse-Lass and also gets to be quite adorable~

"Baylee…Baylee, will you please wake up?! Baylee!"

Stirring, Baylee pushed herself up onto her elbow and blearily looked around the cell. She could see no one aside from Thorin, who was lying beside her.

"Baylee! Over here, by the door!"

Her brows furrowed; that…sounded a great deal like her father. "I must be dreaming," she murmured. Despite her better judgement, however, she stood up, somehow managing to keep the blanket wrapped around herself as she did such. She shuffled her way over to the door of the cell, a hand covering her mouth as she yawned.

From seemingly nowhere, Bilbo stepped in front of the door, making his daughter squeak in surprise. Her eyes widening, she hurried the rest of the way and, not caring about the bars, threw her arms around him.

"Da', what happened to you?!" She tried to keep her voice to a whisper, but it was hard when so much relief was coursing through her.

"What happened to me? More like, what happened to you, young lady!" He hugged her in return, his eyes closing. He held her as close to him as possible, one of his hands resting on the back of her head. "You and Thorin were the ones who vanished from the group. We tried looking for the two of you, but we didn't get to look long before the spiders came…" He felt her shudder at the mention of spiders.

"We don't quite know what happened to us," she explained. "Neither of us remembers anything after reaching the second bonfire. We just…woke up, here in the dungeon."

He kissed the top of her head and gave her an extra squeeze. "I'm glad you're safe," he sighed. "Are either of you hurt?"

"No. Are you? I managed to talk to Bofur for a few minutes and he said there were no injuries that he was aware of. But that was for him and the lads…"

"No, no injuries for me. Surprising, considering we all got caught by the spiders and got cocooned up…"

She stuck her tongue out and shuddered again. "Oh, no, no, no! I'm even more thankful I got caught with Thorin, then."

Bilbo couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction. "Yes, be very glad for that." He then glanced past her when he saw Thorin beginning to stir. "Have the elves treated you well?"

"Yes. They've given us food and drink," she explained, "as well as blankets. Though they have little love for the lads, I'm fairly certain my smallness brings out a bit of a soft spot with the elf maids."

His brow rose, amused by this information. "And I take it you've been using it to your advantage?"

She shook her head. "Only once, when I was being brought back here after questioned. I asked the guard if I could hug Bofur, claiming he was my step-father. That's how I found out you were missing and that there weren't any injuries among the others." As she looked up, she found her father's face beet red.

"Yo-y-you claimed Bofur was your step-father?" he stammered. "And she believed you?"

"Yes." Shrugging, she smiled innocently. "I know he's technically my step-father-to-be, but I don't think I had to be that specific with the guard."

He cleared his throat and, looking past her again, found that Thorin was standing up and walking over to them. "Ah, Thorin…Sorry for waking you," he said, choosing to ignore Baylee's words for now.

"Bilbo…where have you been?" He came to stand alongside Baylee, also keeping himself wrapped up in a blanket. "Mouse-Lass told me that you weren't among the rest of the company."

"I managed to slip away before th-the, uh, the elves could figure out I was there," he explained, seeming to get a bit nervous now. He rubbed the side of his neck. "Then I-I-I followed them into this place and, well…well, I've been sneaking about for the last six or so hours."

Thorin and Baylee exchanged confused glances. "How?" the former asked. "These are the halls of elves, Bilbo. It is impossible for you to not have been caught yet if you've been wandering about that long."

Bilbo fidgeted slightly; Baylee noticed that he had one of his hands in the pocket of his waistcoat and was fiddling with something. "Da'…what do you have in your pocket?" she questioned, brows furrowing.

Knowing he was caught, Bilbo looked a bit more worried now, though he knew he had no reason to be. "Al-alright…I'll tell you how I've been staying hidden," he sighed, his tone more than a little bit defeated. From his pocket, he drew out a simple, golden ring. "This. I found it when we got caught by the goblins. It-It's a magic ring. It makes me turn invisible." As he spoke, he put the ring on his finger and instantly vanished from sight.

"What in Yavanna's name…" Baylee's eyes were wide as she reached over, intending to stick her hand through the spot where Bilbo had just been standing. Except, instead of nothing, her hand ended up bumping into something solid.

"Just because I'm invisible, doesn't mean I can't be touched, dear," Bilbo told her. His voice sounded very different—it almost sounded like a distant echo. "Or heard, for that matter." He pulled the ring off, becoming visible once more. "So, yes, this is how I've gone undetected."

Thorin nodded slowly, his brows still knitted together. "If only we all had magical rings," he sighed. "Then we could all simply walk out of this place."

"I am going to be trying my best to come up with a plan, mind you," Bilbo said, his tone just a bit scolding. "Now, that's-that's not to say I'll be able to come up with one right away, of course. But I will try to think of something." Reaching through the bars, he gave his daughter another hug. "I have to go now. I don't want to risk being out in the open like this for too long. Like you said, these are the halls of elves." He kissed the top of her head and gave her an extra squeeze. "I will get you out of here," he quietly promised her.

"I know you will, da'," she murmured, returning the squeeze.

Stepping back, Bilbo then pointed a stern finger up at Thorin. "And you—you best make sure my daughter doesn't get herself in trouble with that wit of hers. The last thing we need is for her to get sassy with the wrong elf…"

Thorin chuckled, his brow rising. "I will do my best, though I cannot make any promises."

Baylee was about to say something in protest to the accusation, but as she opened her mouth, she instead ended up yawning. A few seconds later, Thorin yawned and, a few seconds after him, Bilbo did, too.

"You two should get more rest," Bilbo told them, speaking through the last bit of his yawn. "I'll be doing the same—I managed to find a warm nook close to the kitchens where I won't get caught."

Nodding, Baylee gave him a halfhearted smile. "Be careful, da'."

"I will, dear." He kissed the top of her head again before vanishing as he put his ring back on.

The two returned to their sleeping spot, curling up on the stone floor once more. Thorin gently pulled Baylee to his chest, protectively wrapping his arm around her. "Your father has a good head on his shoulders," he murmured. "With that ring of his, I'm sure he will find a way to get us out of this miserable place.

She nodded in agreement, nuzzling her head under her chin. "I know he will. He's my da', after all…He's good at coming up with plans, even if everyone else may not catch on at first." She frowned slightly, hearing voices in the distance. Unable to tell if they were elven or dwarven, though, she chose to instead ignore them and start trying to fall back asleep.

A small smile came to Thorin's lips and, closing his eyes, he started to absentmindedly stroke her hair. "Get some more sleep, Mouse-Lass," he told her, voice soft. "Mahal knows we don't have much else to do."

Quietly chuckling, Baylee pulled her blanket a bit closer to her chin. Her mind was just starting to grow fuzzy when a voice at the door of their cell startled them both. As Thorin shot upright, a glare on his face, she pushed herself up more slowly. When she looked at the door, she found Tauriel standing there.

"What do you want?" Thorin demanded.

"I have orders to move the little mistress to a different cell," she answered, putting the key in the lock.

"Wh-what?! Why?!" Baylee squeaked. She felt Thorin pull her against him, both arms wrapping around her.

"Lord Thranduil has ordered it." She opened the door, waiting for Baylee to come over. "I do not want to use magic on either of you," she then said, a bit of pity in her eyes, "so please, let her come without fight, Lord Oakenshield."

Biting her lower lip, Baylee looked up at Thorin, finding his jaw clenched tight and his eyes narrowed. "Th-Thorin, it's alright," she told him, her voice quiet. "I'll be just around the corner with the others."

He was silent for a moment and, just when it seemed like he wasn't going to release her, his hold on her relaxed somewhat. "If I find out that anything unsavory has happened to you…"

"We are not orcs, Lord Oakenshield," Tauriel told him, her voice bland. "We do not torture our prisoners, no matter how much we may dislike them."

Baylee swallowed hard as she got to her feet, keeping the blanket around her. Still biting her lower lip, she started to walk forward. Once she was out of the cell, she turned and found Thorin sitting where she had left him, his jaw still clenched; she couldn't help but notice that it almost seemed to be wobbling slightly.

Once the cell door was shut and locked once more, Tauriel started to guide her up the path. "You are to have your own cell," she told her, voice gentle. "Some extra blankets have been provided as well, since there will be no one to share their body heat with you."

She swallowed a bit hard. "Do—do the lads also have extra blankets?"

"We offered, but they refused. They said that one was enough." She looked down at the hobbit, finding that she still wore a look of fear and uncertainty. "…You and Lord Oakenshield are close, then?"

"…You could say that, I suppose." She wasn't quite sure why, but it almost felt like Tauriel had an air of curiosity about her; it shouldn't have surprised her, though, given that she was probably the first hobbit the elf maid had ever seen. Holding the blanket with one hand, she made to pull her braid over her shoulder only to find that, while she slept, Thorin had undone her hair. 'He was probably struggling to get to sleep himself,' she thought, 'so he thought he'd try to do my hair. Doesn't seem like he got very far, though.'

They came around another bend and Baylee could see the lads in their cells. Bofur's was closet and she would have risked asking to go hug him again as well as return his hat, but she found that he was fast asleep. Her cell, however, wasn't very far from his; in fact, it was between Bofur's cell and Fili's cell. She looked around while Tauriel unlocked the door, finding that most of the lads were asleep. Many of them, she found, were wrapped up in a blanket, though someone (she guessed Bifur) had tied their blanket to the bars of their door, turning it into a curtain.

"Little mistress." She looked back at Tauriel, finding her standing beside an open door.

With a defeated sigh, she walked past the elf maid into the cell. It was smaller than the one she had shared with Thorin, but this one had a ledge where the extra blankets had been laid out, almost like a bed. Hearing the creak of the door closing behind her, she turned around to watch Tauriel.

"M-Miss Tauriel?" she asked. "What's the real reason I'm being given my own cell?"

At first, Tauriel didn't answer her, making Baylee think she hadn't heard her. But, after locking the door once more and withdrawing the key from the lock, she brushed a bit of hair behind her ear. "It is Lord Thranduil's wishes. He does not want Lord Oakenshield to have any contact with the rest of his company. Not to mention, you are a female and he is a male. Such an arrangement is not very appropriate, don't you think?"

"Oh…Well, I suppose the latter of the two does make sense," she admitted with a sigh of defeat. "I don't like either reasoning, of course, but at least one of them is understandable."

"You should get some more rest, little mistress," Tauriel said, turning to leave. "From the looks of it, you've had a long and hard journey, but despite being imprisoned, you're safe here." She gave the hobbit a pitying smile before walking off.

"My name is Baylee," she murmured, knowing full well that Tauriel could still hear her. She leaned forward slightly, resting her head against the cool metal of one of the bars. 'I can sleep, but I don't know how much of it will actually be restful now,' she thought. 'I hope da' finds a way to get us out of here sooner rather than later. I know it's a difficult task, given how many of us there are and that we're in an underground palace…' As she stood there, her forehead started to slide against the metal a bit. 'But, like Thorin said, da' has a good head on his shoulders. If anyone can come up with a plot to get us out of here, it would be—'

A small squeak left her mouth as her head slipped entirely off the bar, making her fall forward. She managed to catch herself before she could fall too far. Her brow then rose and her heart started to beat a bit faster; she was sideways and hanging out of the cell. It was a bit of a snug fit, but her head and shoulders, at the very least, could fit through painlessly. She quickly looked to her left, seeing Tauriel's retreating form climbing a short staircase. Not wanting the elf to see her like this, she pushed herself back upright—and back into the cell.

'If my top half fits between the bars,' she thought, going over to the makeshift bed, "then my lower half might fit as well. And if that's the case…I might be able to slip out and do some sneaking around of my own.' After scrunching one of the spare blankets up into a cushion for her head, she curled up. 'Of course, without my own magic ring, it'll be quite a bit more dangerous…'

Closing her eyes, she let out a heavy sigh. 'I'm the company's Mouse-Lass for a reason though, and it's even written in my job description that one of my duties is to do a bit of sneaking and spying. And with how big this place is, da' could use a bit of help exploring…But I shouldn't get my hopes up. My hips are a bit on the wide side, so they may keep me from slipping through. And my stays can only flatten my chest so much…I suppose I'll find out come morning—or whatever time of day it is when I wake up.'

"I'll trade you my cheese for your meat!"

"Why would I give up my meat just for some cheese?"

"Oi! I'll trade you meat for cheese!"

"Of course you would, Bombur!"

"Thanks, Bombur!"

Baylee's brows furrowed as she started to wake up. With how cheery the lads' voices were, it made her momentarily forget that they were imprisoned. But, as she sat up, yawning and stretching, the reality of their situation came crashing back down on her, full force. She very nearly let herself just flop backwards and go back to sleep, but as she spied a tray of food and drink sitting on the floor of her cell, her stomach growled loudly.

Slipping out of the makeshift bed, she shivered as her feet hit the floor. She kept the blanket around herself as she shuffled over towards the door, crouching down to retrieve the tray.

"'Ey! Baylee's finally awake!" she heard Kili call out.

"What're you doing over here, lassie? You're supposed t' be sharing a cell with Thorin!" Balin questioned. As she stood upright, she found that his cell was directly across from hers.

"How's uncle doing?" Fili then asked. "Thranduil hasn't had him tortured or anything, has he?"

"Have you heard anythin' about Bilbo yet?" Dori questioned.

"Do you know if they're going to torture us?" Ori asked, his voice wobbly.

"What happened t' the two o' you out in the forest?" Dwalin demanded.

"Will you all just shush for a moment, please?" she called out, taking the dwarves by surprise. What surprised her was that they had fallen silent. "I just woke up and my brain is still fuzzy with sleep." Sighing, she sat herself down against the wall beside the door and took a small drink from the large tankard; she found its contents to be weak ale.

"No torture has taken place, nor will any take place. Neither of us is injured, either, so you don't have to worry about that," she called out after a moment. "I have my own cell now because Thranduil doesn't want Thorin to have contact with any of us and because I'm a lass. He thinks it's inappropriate for us to share a cell." She could hear some murmurs of agreement from the others. Picking up the small loaf of bread, she tore it in half and then in half again before taking a bite.

"…And what about the forest?" Dwalin asked.

"And Bilbo?" Dori pipped up.

Balin shot a look at him; his and Ori's cell was on the other side of Fili's. "Give her a moment. The lass just took a bite o' bread."

Taking another drink of ale, she tilted her head back against the wall. "Neither of us is quite sure what happened to us in the forest. We can't remember anything past reaching the second bonfire. It was like we had just reached it, the light went out, and we woke up in that cell." She grabbed a piece of meat—ham, from the looks and smell of it—and folded it in half before taking a bite. After swallowing, she continued. "Thorin and I have heard from da', but I don't want to go into too much detail, given that there might be elves close enough to hear us. Just know that he's alright and unhurt."

"Good," she heard Bofur sigh in relief.

Balin nodded in agreement. "At least Master Baggins is unhurt. That's what matters most."

"Except we're the ones trapped behind these bars!" Gloin argued. "Durin's Day just over two months away. If we're trapped in here, we're not goin' to be able to make it to the mountain in time!"

"We need t' be patient," Fili told him. "We're in a very delicate situation. One wrong move could make things even more disastrous for us an' that's the last thing we need right now." He was able to poke his head through the bars of his cell, allowing him to peek over into Baylee's. "Baylee, do you know if Thranduil tried to make any deals with uncle?"

Having just taken a bite of ham and bread, she nodded. Quickly chewing the bite and swallowing it, she told him, "There are jewels inside the mountain that he wants. He told Thorin that, in exchange for those jewels, he'd offered freedom and his help."

Balin suddenly groaned, his hand rising to his forehead. "Mahal help us…"

Kili poked his head between his cell, too. "What's wrong, Balin?"

"Those gems…they're the whole reason we're in this mess in the first place," he explained. "Thranduil originally commissioned those jewels from Thror's personal jeweler, but once they were finished, the two kings had a disagreement over them. The elves claim we kept them out of greed while the dwarves claim they weren't paid the full amount for their work."

"Well, who was right, then?" Bofur questioned, his brow rising.

"No one knows," Balin sighed, shaking his head. "Not even I know and I've been close with the royal family since Thrain and I were wee bairns. "But whatever the cause, Thranduil did not get the jewels. And when Smaug attacked Erebor…Thranduil took his grudge out on all our people. He refused t' help us an' instead turned his army towards Dale an' helped them instead."

Baylee nodded slowly, though she said nothing, as she already knew this story. It felt like Fili had told it to her months ago when, in fact, it had been just about three weeks ago. Closing her eyes again, she took another bite of ham; she wasn't sure if it was because she was so hungry or if it truly tasted such, but the ham was some of the best she had had.

'Then again,' she thought, 'they are elves. They seem to be good at everything.' She rested her head against the iron of the door as she took a bite of bread. Though she badly wanted to eat all of the food as fast as she could, she resisted. With her stomach still getting used to having food in it after four or five days, she knew that eating too fast would leave her feeling sick.

Opening her eyes, she looked outside her cell. Specifically, she followed the pathway with her eyes, seeing how it far it went before it went around a corner. She then looked at the cells on the opposite side of the cavern in order to see who was imprisoned closest to that bend; occasionally, she was taken by surprise when a chunk of bread or some cheese went flying across the way.

'It looks like Nori and Bifur are the ones who're closest. Which means they can be lookouts if I do manage to squeeze my way through the bars. But do the guards only come from that direction? Or do they also come from the other direction?' Her brows furrowed at the thought. 'If they do, then that's going to make things even trickier.' She leaned forward, reaching for her ale.

"Is everything alright, Baylee?" Fili asked. As she looked up, she found that he still had his head poking out of his cell; he could just barely see her from his angle. "You look concerned."

"…I am, to be honest," she admitted. "I need to know which direction the guards come from."

"Why?" he asked, brow rising.

"Don't get your hopes up," she then warned, "but there's a chance I might be able to squeeze my way through the bars of my cell."

His eyes widened. "Are you serious? You think you're that small?" The gap between the bars wasn't very big, after all. But Baylee wasn't a stocky dwarf—she was petite even for a hobbit.

"I honestly don't know, but if I can, it means I might be able to do some sneaking around of my own." A bit of movement caught her attention and she looked up the pathway in time to see a pair of guards—neither of whom were Tauriel—making their way towards the prisoners; she was surprised to find that they both held pitchers. 'Maybe they're not actually guards? Maybe they're servants on their way to get some ale or wine for the king?' she thought. Just in case, however, she tucked her unfinished bread and cheese away in her pockets while continuing to nibble at the ham.

The two elves, it turned out, weren't guards, but they were there to collect the empty trays and tankards from the prisoners. However, they didn't take all the tankards—some they refilled and let the dwarves keep.

As one of the elves came towards Baylee's cell, she stood up so the elf wouldn't have to lean over as far to grab the tray and fill her mug. She knew it was a silly thing to do, since she was a prisoner, but she would much rather be on the elves' good side should something happened.

"Ex-excuse me?" she said as the elf stopped at her cell. "I-I know it's a bit of an odd question, but do you happen to know when the guards will be checking up on us again?"

The elf raised his brow at her. "Why do you ask, little mistress?" he questioned as he took her tray. His voice, understandably, bore an air of caution to it.

She shrugged lightly and held her mug up to be refilled. "I-I was hoping I could talk with Miss Tauriel or Miss Ithiliel. It's been—well, it's been some months since I last talked with another lass…" Watching as her mug was filled with more ale, she said, "That's enough, thank you."

The elf let out a quiet sigh. "I'm not supposed to tell you this," he said, his voice quiet, "but the guards will be by to check on you in about three hours. I do not know whether it will be Ithiliel or Tauriel with them, however."

Nodding in understanding, she gave the elf a grateful smile. "Thank you very much, sir," she replied.

When he nodded and turned away to retrieve Bofur's tray, she could see the slightest hint of a smile on his lips.

'Alright…so, once these two leave, I have about three hours to do some exploring if I can get out of my cell.' Carefully carrying her mug, she went over to the ledge, where she set it down before climbing up. She grabbed a second blanket and wrapped herself up in it only to frown in realization. 'I won't be able to bring a blanket with me, which means I'm going to get cold.' Her nose scrunched up and she let herself flop sideways onto her makeshift pillow. 'I hope I don't shiver hard enough that my teeth chatter…'

She remained under the blankets for nearly a quarter of an hour, giving the elves plenty of time to gather up all the trays and any tankards. It also gave her a chance to think over her harebrained idea a bit more; she decided that, should she be able to squeeze through the bars, she wouldn't go exploring too far away from the cells.

'If I don't go too far, it will give me plenty of time to hurry back if need be.' After taking a drink of her ale, she slid back out from beneath the covers. Almost instantly, she shivered at the sudden temperature change, but it wasn't enough to make her teeth chatter just yet.

"Fili?" she said, poking her head out through the bars.

Barely a second later and he had popped his head through the bars as well. "Aye?"

"Since I'm not very loud, can you ask Nori if he sees anyone coming down the pathway for me, please? I'm going to try to squeeze out of my cell and I don't want a guard or someone to catch me."

A hopeful grin came to his lips. "Oi, Nori!"

"What?" Nori's head poked out from his cell.

Baylee watched as Fili started to use the dwarvish sign language, Iglishmêk, to 'talk' to him. The two exchanged signs for a few moments; a few of the others who had been watching made sounds of interest, so she could only assume he had told Fili her idea.

"Alright. He's keepin' an eye out for us," Fili said after a moment. "He'll whistle twice if he sees anyone."

"Thank you." Glancing around, she found that many of the dwarves were now watching her; her stomach churned with nerves. 'I hate being the center of attention,' she thought.

With a sigh, she lightly shook her head before moving to try and squeeze through the bars. Though her head and shoulders squeezed through just fine, her chest stopped her from going any further. Pouting, she did her best to squirm her way through, but when it got too painful, she brought herself back into the cell. Then, exhaling as much as she could, she tried again. It was still to no avail, however, and she could hear some disappointed groans from the others.

"Don't hurt yourself, Baylee," Bofur gently scolded. "If you can't get out, then you can't get out an' that's all there is to it."

"There's one more thing I'm going to try," she told him. "It's just going to take me a few moments to do."

Fili's brow rose. "…What're you going t' do, then? Douse yourself in ale an' see if that helps you squeeze through?"

She paused, her own brow slowly rising. "No. That'd just be a waste of ale. What I am going to do, however, is tighten my stays." Her cheeks grew hot as she went to the back of her cell.

"Stays? What're stays?" he questioned, his brows now furrowing in confusion.

"They're part o' a woman's undergarments. They squeeze the torso, makin' a lass' waist an' breasts look smaller," Bofur explained. "They're not so common among dwarven folk, but very common among humans."

"An' just how do you know about lady's undergarments?" Dori asked, his tone a bit accusing.

"Calm down, Dori," Kili snorted. "He just told you some dwarrow dames wear them."

Baylee shook her head as she wrapped herself up in a blanket before tying it in place like a cloak. Continuing to face the wall, she started to undo the lacing on the front of her dress; she didn't undo them entirely, as she didn't want to go through the hassle of redoing them. With the laces loose, she managed to push the front panel of the dress aside, revealing the stays beneath.

"Everything alright in there, Baylee?" Fili asked, a bit of concern in his voice. "You didn't tighten them too much, did you?"

"I haven't even gotten that far yet," she chuckled, her brow rising once again. "I only just got the top of my dress undone."

She could hear a couple of shocked gasps, followed by Gloin scolding her. "You do that top right back up, young lady! If your father hears that you were undressin'—"

"Don't worry, lads," Balin interjected, laughing. "Do you honestly think Miss Baggins would undress herself like that in front o' so many o' us? Of course not! She's got herself wrapped up in a blanket, for Mahal's sake!"

Baylee couldn't help but giggle, her brow rising once more as she started to untie the laces of her stays; she found it a bit sweet how they were concerned about her modesty. 'Even though they've seen me in my stays and petticoats before,' she thought. 'Then again, I was mostly wrapped up in Thorin's overcoat for that.'

With the laces untied, she started the arduous process of getting them to tighten up evenly. Even though it was her chest she wanted to compress, she knew it could be dangerous for her if she made one part tighter than another. She found herself rather surprised when she got it to close up more than she was expecting; she must've lost some weight over the last few weeks. She was also taken aback by how much more comfortable the stays felt now that they had been tightened up.

'The trick is seeing how comfortable they are when it's time to sleep…' She put the front panel of her dress back into place before redoing those laces. Looking down at her chest, she saw that it looked at least a few centimeters smaller.

"How's it going, lass?" Bofur asked.

"I'm done, actually." Taking the blanket off of her, she walked back towards the door.

"You don't look any different," Fili commented, his brows furrowed once more.

Kili snorted. "What're you talkin' about, Fi? I can see the difference from here!"

Baylee's cheeks burned at his words. "You're lucky you're all the way over there or I'd smack you," she told him, wagging a scolding finger at him. She then blinked, watching as a hunk of cheese went flying across the way, smacking right into the top of Kili's head.

"There you go, lass!" Ori chirped. "I got him for you."

"Thank you, Ori," she giggled, watching Kili rub the top of his head as he stooped down to pick up the cheese. "Is the way still clear?"

Bifur's head poked out of the cell, his eyes squinting slightly. Looking at Fili, he started to speak in Khuzdul to the prince.

"He says it's clear," Fili translated.

Nodding, she sighed and mentally prepared herself for a possible third failure. But, as she soon found out, tightening her stays had done the trick. She stepped through the bars, her torso just small enough to pass through the bars now, though she did have to work a little bit to get her hips and hindquarters past the bars.

"Aha! Good job, lass!" Bofur grinned. The others, he heard, were being surprisingly quiet as they cheered her on.

Brushing herself off, she instinctively tried to push her petticoats back into place. She quickly remembered she had none, however, and sighed. "Now time to do a bit of exploring…If someone starts coming, have Nori whistle extra loud, alright? I'm not going to go too far this time around."

Fili nodded. "You'll be checkin' on uncle, too, right?"

"I am," she replied with a nod. "Is there anything you'd like me to tell him?"

"Just that the rest o' us are doing alright. I'm keeping an eye on everyone t' make sure they don't get us further into trouble."

"I can do that," she smiled.

He chuckled, returning the smile. "Thanks, Auntie Baylee."

Her cheeks grew hot and she pouted at him; behind her, Bofur was snickering. "What did I tell you about calling me that?" she scolded, one hand on her hip while the other wagged a finger at him.

Fili burst out laughing as he watched her, nearly toppling backwards. And he wasn't the only one. Balin, Dori, Bofur, and Kili were laughing heartily at her scolding. Shaking her head, Baylee sighed and started to march off down the path.

'If I were just a few inches taller, he wouldn't find me quite as amusing,' she thought. After tucking a bit of hair behind her ear, she wrapped her arms around herself. Though it was still cold down in the dungeons, it wasn't as cold, she noticed. 'I wonder how they managed that…or maybe I'm just imagining things? I would expect it to be pretty hard to heat a place of this size.'

A quiet sigh left her mouth as she came to the first corner. Pressing herself against the wall, she carefully peeked around the edge; seeing no one, she continued to walk. Soon, Thorin's cell came into view and she quickened her pace. She also found that the path was a dead end, leading straight into a solid rock wall.

When she reached the cell, she found Thorin curled up in almost the same spot as when she left. He had one knee pulled to his chest, his hands and forehead resting atop it. An ache came to her heart as she saw him.

"Oakenshield?" she softly called over to him, not wanting to startle him. When he didn't acknowledge her, she called his name again, a little louder this time.

Still, he didn't move.

Biting her lower lip, she squeezed through the bars and walked over to him. She knelt on the ground beside him before reaching over and gently shaking his shoulder. "Oakenshield?"

His head suddenly snapped up and he looked around with wide eyes, his whole body tensing up. When he spotted her, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Mouse-Lass…? How in Mahal's name—?"

A bit of a cheeky smile came to her lips. "It would seem that I can fit through the bars of the door."

"Do you know how much trouble you could get in if someone were to catch you?" he scolded. Despite his tone, he pulled her against him, hugging her. "They would think that you were trying to escape and give you a punishment worse than being in a jail cell."

"The others are keeping watch for me," she assured him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, a content sigh leaving her mouth. "And this is a dead end, so there's only one direction the guards can come from."

He nodded slowly in understanding, though a frown remained on his lips. "I still don't like that you're being this risky, but I can't say I'm not happy to see you." Kissing the top of her head, he started to stroke her hair. "How're the others doing? Have you had any more word from your father?"

"No in regards to da', but everyone else is faring well enough. Fili is doing a good job of keeping an eye on them and making sure they behave themselves—for the most part." Leaning back slightly, she closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against his. "They're all worried about you."

"And I am worried about them," he murmured, his eyes also closing. "I heard them earlier…their voices echoed down this way. But I couldn't make out what they were saying or

A soft giggle left her mouth. "That was them trading their food around. Some wanted more bread, others more meat—but no one was willing to trade their meat for anything aside from Bombur. He was trying to get everyone's cheese."

He snorted, relieved to hear that everyone else was doing well. "I see he's unaffected by our predicament, then."

"Or, perhaps, he's extra thankful to finally have food again. I know I was." She nuzzled his cheek with her nose. "Despite everything, they seem to be in relatively good spirits. More so now that they know you and da' are unhurt."

"You told them about Bilbo?"

"Not entirely. I did tell them that da' is unhurt and isn't imprisoned, but I didn't tell them about his ring or how he's wandering about, invisible. I was afraid that a guard might overhear if I spoke too loudly about it."

"That was smart of you." He smiled, feeling her hand come to rest on his cheek. "How did you manage to squeeze through the bars? They look too narrow, even for a tiny Mouse-Lass like yourself."

At that, she chuckled. "I needed to compress myself a bit, so I tightened my stays."

His brow rose and he murmured, "And how did you manage that without getting seen? These cells have no privacy."

"Don't worry; not only did I keep my back to the door, I had a blanket tied around me like a cape. And my stays lace in the front, so I didn't have to entirely remove my dress in order to adjust them." She quietly giggled once more when she heard him make a small sound of acknowledgement. As she opened her eyes, she studied his face, seeing the slight changes that came with months of stressful traveling. Most notably, he had a bit more grey in his beard than when they first met back in Bag End; a few locks of his hair, too, were beginning to turn grey.

'Strange to think that he's already greying,' she thought. 'I've always known he's much, much older than me, but I never really realized just how much older he is. But our races age differently, so he probably still has four or five decades left at least. And if that's the case, should all go well with this quest, we'd be able to grow old together…'

Thorin's eyes opened only to find a tender smile on her lips as she watched him. He smiled in return and raised his hand, letting it rest on her cheek. "'Ibinê abnâmul," he whispered. Unconsciously, his head started to tilt forward, closing the space between them; Baylee could feel her heart beginning to race as he drew closer and closer. He was only a hairsbreadth away—

Two loud whistles suddenly echoed down the cavern. She gasped and jumped in shock, looking over her shoulder at the door. "That's Nori's signal," she told him. There was reluctance in her eyes as she turned back towards him. "I need to go."

Despite being filled with disappointment, he nodded. "I understand. Go—I don't want you getting in trouble."

She gave him an apologetic smile as she stood up. Giving him a small kiss on the temple, she hurried back towards the door and squeezed herself through before sprinting back up the path. Her nose scrunched up as she forced her way through the bars of her cell.

"Uncle's cell must not be very far away," Fili commented, a brow raised as he poked his head out of his cell. "You got back fairly quickly."

"He's about fifty feet from the bend over there," she explained, brushing herself off. "It's also a dead end in that direction."

"Hm. That's going t' make things a bit complicated for your exploring, isn't it?"

"A little bit, yes. I just hope elves aren't as quiet in their halls as when they're around non-elves." Going over to her makeshift bed, Baylee grabbed one of the blankets and wrapped herself up in it before going back over to the door. "Does Nori know how many guards are coming?"

A bit of a sheepish grin came to Fili's lips. "Ah, about that…"

Her brow rose. "Yes…?"

"There…actually aren't any guards coming." He watched as she pursed her lips in a pout. "We wanted to make sure you could still hear us!" he quickly said. "We don't know how well sound travels through this place, after all. For all we knew, Uncle's cell was on a different floor."

A heavy sigh left her mouth and she nodded in acquiesce. "I suppose you're right," she admitted. "I wish you had waited a few minutes longer, however."

At that, his brow rose and a teasing grin came to his lips. "Oh? And why is that, Auntie Baylee? Were you an' uncle gettin' a wee bit cozy?" He started to snicker as he watched her cheeks turn as red as beets.

"N-No! I'll have you know, we were discussing how you lot were doing while I was also getting scolded for leaving my cell," she told him, though she spoke just a bit too firmly for him to entirely believe her.

"Then why are you so red?" There was a cheeky grin on his face as he watched her. "Surely, if you two were just talkin', there'd be no reason for you t' be so red."

The pout remained on her face. She badly wanted to tell him off, but at the same time, she knew it would be a fruitless endeavor: He would find it too hilarious and just keep laughing. As such, she simply turned away from him and went to go crawl back into 'bed'.