A/N: Cameron is visited often by Thranduil... and plays chess?
Chapter Text"She's obviously too injured to be travelling around, not that these insolent dwarves would realize that." I wake up to a certain King's sneer, confusing me. Why was King Thranduil in my room?
"She got hurt pretty badly. Any normal human would've died from her injuries, but she didn't. It's a miracle, honestly." A different, unknown voice answers him. Perhaps he was the healer Tauriel had told me about.
"How long ago do you guess it happened?" The King asks, trying to keep his voice down.
"Very recently, barely two weeks ago I think. Something else has made her better. I've never seen anything like it before." The healer muses.
I open my eyes.
"You're awake, good. You may leave us for now." I now see Thranduil, his icy blue eyes set on me as he waves off the elf that looked indeed as if he was a healer.
"How are you feeling?" He asks once the elf leaves, walking over to sit in a chair next to my bed. I move to sit up myself, pulling a face at the all too familiar pain in my back.
"I'm okay." I answer, which is an obvious lie. Despite me being upset over the fact that I wasn't with my friends, a night of sleeping in an actual bed helped my back a lot. I doubted they were given the same luxury.
"Really? With that injury?" He asks suspiciously, clearly not buying it.
"It's not that bad." I argue softly, shrugging.
"The medic took a look at your back while you were sleeping. He told me you have an injury inflicted by an orc's sword. What's that about?" I almost roll my eyes at his questioning.
"As I told you before, the orcs took us by surprise. I merely tried to defend our merch and my friends." I state slowly. Maybe now it would get into that thick skull of his. I wasn't a snitch.
"You're still a terrible liar. Do you realize that I could throw you back with the others for this?" he asks, obviously threatening me.
"I would not mind being reunited with my friends. I'm telling you what I know." I state, staring back at him. He sighs at that.
"Why are you here?" I ask after a moment, still not sure as to why he was doing this for me.
"You were injured. I might seem cruel, but I would never refuse to help the injured." He states, and I think back of why Thorin hates him so much, of how he refused to aid the dwarves. I barely refrain from telling him just that.
"Thank you." I grit out instead, swallowing down my words. Sometimes, I'd learned, it was easier to tell people what they wanted to hear. He remains silent for a moment, simply staring at me.
"What is your name?" He then asks, surprising me. I didn't expect him to care about such things.
"Cameron." I state, glancing over at him.
"It was interesting to meet you, Cameron. I suggest you get some more rest. My healer will check up on you every once in a while. If you need something, feel free to ask for it." His Royal Handsomeness states, surprisingly kind, and it confuses me. I nod at him, however, and before I know it he stands up and leaves the room.
Getting some more rest was getting super boring. I did manage to get some sleep, but I dreamt of goblins and Azog and spiders killing my friends and Thorin, and when I woke up I only worried more for them, not knowing what they were doing right now. Probably not much, considering we were all prisoners, but still. I wanted to be with them. Occasionally, the healer would come in to check up on me, but he didn't say much, except for musing about how quickly I was healing and how it was not normal, which annoyed me immensely. I was almost beginning to hope King Thranduil would visit me! Anyone was better than this silence.
"Cam?" A far too familiar voice whispers as my door opens, but I can see no one.
"Bilbo?" I whisper, looking around the room, searching for him. Suddenly, he appears out of thin air, startling me.
"Bilbo! What are you doing here? You're insane-" Bilbo interrupts me before I can say anything else, hushing me. I realize I'd been talking way too loud, and quickly shut up, grabbing his arms and forcing him into a hug first, then make him sit down on the bed with me.
"How did you manage to sneak in? I lost track of you when the elves captured us." I whisper, leaning in closer so I don't make too much noise. And that's how Bilbo ends up telling me about the magic ring he possesses. He tells me how he got lost in the goblin kingdom, and how he ended up playing a game of riddles for his life against the creature Gollum. He tells me how he found the ring and how it makes him invisible when he puts it on, and that that's how he escaped the spiders and rescued us all. It's also how he managed to hide when the elves took us, and how he got inside. He even shows me the ring in his hand, the band gold and simple, but a shiver rolls down my spine nonetheless at the dark aura that surrounds it, my magic on alert because of it.
"And now what? Thranduil will never let us go." I whisper, grabbing his hand.
"I'm finding a way for us to escape, don't worry. I can do this, I just need some more time." Bilbo explains, reassuringly squeezing my hand. To be honest, I was a bit worried about his plan to free us.
"Durin's Day is way too close, Bilbo. I don't know if we'll get out of here in time…" I trail off, growing sadder by the moment. Suddenly, we hear footsteps coming down the hall, and when I meet Bilbo's eyes once more they're as wide as my own, both of us having jumped at the sudden noise.
"Hurry, hide!" I whisper, pushing him towards the door. He quickly slips on the ring, disappearing out of sight, and the door opens, but not before I hear him whisper a last "I love you, hold on" before Thranduil walks inside and I feel Bilbo slip out, immediately no longer at ease without my best friend. Nonetheless, I try to put on an innocent, friendly face as the King strides inside.
"Good evening, Cameron." He greets, sitting down in the chair that's next to my bed, blue eyes studying me closely.
"Is it evening already, huh?" I muse, moving to lean against the headboard of my bed, pulling up my knees to my chest, leaning my chin on them.
"Did you busy yourself so much that time flew right by?" He asks calmly, but I can sense it's a test. He couldn't know Bilbo had been here, could he? Crap, I was not good at this.
"No, I'm so bored to death in here that it makes it hard for me to know how many hours filled of the same have passed." I state, giving him an unimpressed look. He smirks at it, amused.
"It's a good thing that I have brought something with me, then." He says, peaking my interest. A faint smile plays across his lips as he sees my confused face, and I watch curiously as he pulls out a wooden box from god-knows-where. He hands it over to me, and I practically turn bright red when his slender fingers touch mine, my magic flaring up and sending electricity through the room. His eyebrow rises at that, clearly having felt it. Damn it.
I force my attention from his Royal Handsomeness, and direct my eyes to the box. There are beautiful elven runes and intricate branches with flowers carved into it, a berry crown in the middle. I glance up at him for a moment, recognizing the crown he's wearing on his head right now, but quickly return to the box when his eyes meet mine. For a moment, I stop, realizing there's no lid, but when I begin to search the carvings, letting my fingers run over them, I find a hidden button in the middle of the crown, on a slightly larger berry. It clicks, and I gasp softly when the box opens, revealing a chess board.
"Chess? Really?" I ask, looking up at him.
"You are surprised." He answers, nothing readable from his expression.
"Because it's a game for two. You, a King, really wants to play chess with me? I'm your prisoner." I ask, beyond confused.
"You are interesting company. Besides, who knows? You might tell me something more when you loosen up." He muses, giving me an amused look.
"I'm not telling you anything you shouldn't know. I'm also terrible at chess." I state, preparing the board nonetheless.
"Even better for me. I like to win." He says, and I could have sworn he's teasing me. I sit down on the bed, legs crossed, the board in between me and where he's sitting close to the bed on his chair.
"Let's see about that." I state, getting my head into the game.
The following days are… not so bad, if I'm being honest. Alright, there's still the fact that I'm being held prisoner and my friends are locked up far away from me, but Bilbo checks in on me every once in a while, updating me on how everyone's doing. My back's healing nicely too, far more quickly now that I have the chance to rest. Every evening, Thranduil visits me to play chess, and sometimes he comes to check on me in between meetings and whatever stuff kings do. We play a lot of games, mostly because I suck at chess and he keeps on winning from me, and I find it hard to focus on the game and not talk to him about my life. I end up talking to him about the Shire, but I don't name the place exactly, and about a certain friend of mine that I lived with, but that he stayed behind when I joined my dwarf friends to go on a merchant trip. I don't even know if he buys it or not, but I talk about it nonetheless. I tell him of how painful I find it to sit on a pony for days on end (even though we'd lost those a long time ago), and of the beautiful scenery.
One evening, he asks me about how I view Mirkwood, and I tell him how I found the spider's downright terrifying and how I was certain I was going to be eaten right there and then, making him chuckle. I admit that I think the forest might have been beautiful once, but that you can feel the darkness spreading quickly. He tells me about the old days, when Mirkwood was still untouched and pure, and of how he had this kingdom built for his people. He even speaks briefly of his son Legolas, but as soon as I try to ask more about him he quickly switches subjects. I've also noticed the lack of a wife, but have a feeling that that's a tricky subject.
His Royal Handsomeness enjoys pestering me, too. He tries his best to get on my nerves without me realizing it, teasing and taunting until I slip up and let loose some information. It's stupid things, like me arguing about how red definitely is a nicer colour than freaking brown, ending up into him making me admit that I like his berry crown. I don't know how he does it, but it's really frustrating.
"I just don't get it." Thranduil says all of the sudden, looking up from our game of chess with a strange look in his eyes. I was trying my best to focus, and I was getting close to winning. It was the first time that I actually made a chance against him.
"Get what?" I ask him, surprised by his musings.
"How a beauty such as yourself travels along with 13 dwarves, all by herself. Surely you have a husband and children waiting for you at home." He states, eyes locking with mine. I turn a bright red at that, coughing as I choke on my own saliva.
"I-I'm not. A beauty, I mean. And I don't have a husband, or children, or anything of the sort." I admit, still red.
"I knew dwarves were stubborn, but never have I thought them to be blind." He states, making me blush even harder.
"You don't believe me, do you?" He realizes after a moment, eyes growing slightly wider.
"N-no, not really, your majesty." I admit.
"Have these dwarves never told you you're beautiful?" He asks then, surprised.
"I haven't had the chance to be pretty around them. I'm a girl, on the road with 13 dwarves, and prancing around in a pretty dress isn't really useful. I'm just used to wearing their clothes, it's more practical to travel in." I say, shrugging.
"I don't think it really matters what clothes you wear." He admits, shamelessly smiling at me. He even chuckles when I turn bright red once more.
"Thank you." I mutter eventually, greatly embarrassed by the whole ordeal.
"If you want, we can find you some clothes that are more suitable for a lady of your stature." He eventually suggests, drawing my attention once more.
"Thank you." I repeat, this time with a smile of my own.
"Checkmate." He states. Shocked, I look down at the board, realizing I'd been playing mindlessly, and he had distracted me so he could win. That bastard!
"You…" I bring out, glaring up at him.
"Is there a problem?" He asks, faking innocence.
"Nothing." I grit out.
"Ready for me to kick your ass, your Highness?" I ask, stepping into the throne room. I'm startled when I see Thranduil standing nose to nose, or rather chest to nose with Thorin. Two pairs of blue eyes snap over to me, Thorin's widening at the sight of me. Suddenly, I feel very conscious about the dark red dress Thranduil had gotten me. An elf maid had brought it to my room, telling me the "King" had chosen it for me and that he expected me in the throne room for our usual game of chess.
"Thorin!" I exclaim, torn between rushing over to him and not showing Thranduil how much I cared for the dwarf, afraid that he'd use it to his advantage. The betrayed look in his eyes at the sight of me, in a red dress and chess game under my arm, is enough to make me freeze up.
"You can put it on the table, little one." Thranduil orders, either not noticing what's going on right underneath his nose or choosing to ignore it, probably the latter.
"What did you do to her?" Thorin grits out as I walk over to the table that's standing beside the throne, quickly placing it down. After that, I find myself standing in between the two men, unsure of what to do.
"I'm merely treating her as a lady. You should try that sometime, King Under The Mountain." Thranduil states, making my jaw drop. Did he just say that? Thorin is fuming by now, ready to start smashing things for sure.
"Thorin, I-
"Take him back to the dungeons." Thranduil states, making elves drag him away from me forcefully, his eyes not leaving mine until he doesn't have any other option but to turn away. Once he's out of sight, I grab the nearest chair I find, and sit down in it.
"Are you alright?" Thranduil asks. When I feel him place his hand on my arm, I look up at him, frowning at him.
"Why do you do that?" I ask.
"Do what?"
"Don't play innocent with me now. You brought me down here on purpose, just to make him angry." I state, shrugging his hand off so I can cross my arms in front of my chest.
"I didn't. I asked you to come here, because I don't have much time until my next meeting. Otherwise, we wouldn't have had the chance to play." He argues, icy blue eyes meeting mine.
"Let's just play, then." I state with a sigh, turning to the board. After a moment of hesitation, he does the same.
That night, I don't get much sleep. Everytime I close my eyes, I see the look in Thorin's eyes, the one of betrayal. If only I could tell him that I wasn't asking for this… Bilbo! I'd have to ask him to explain everything to Thorin when he visited me again. I hoped he'd made progress with us escaping, because we had to reach the mountain in time, otherwise this entire journey had been for nothing.