Author's Note: I own nothing.

38 Used For Peace

It took surprisingly little effort on Bella's part to sneak into the camp of men. The elves were a bit more difficult to slip past but once she had her ring on she knew she would be fine, and she was. She slipped into the camp and frowned around. She knew Bard was in a place of power here now she needed to find him, and Thranduil for that matter. She heard them arguing before she saw them. She slipped to the tent entrance and took a deep breath as she listened to their talk.

"The dwarves are out of time." She knew that was Thranduil she had become very acquainted with his voice during her week in his realm.

"It will not come to open battle, they are outnumbered. It will not come to war, none of us can afford it." Bard responded. Bella took another breath and slipped off her ring.

"That won't stop them." She said stepping into the tent entrance. Bard jumped. Thranduil regarded her in surprise.

"Miss Baggins, how did you get here!" Bard asked looking confused. Thranduil leaned forward in his chair.

"If I am not mistaken this is the same Halfling who spirited thirteen dwarves from my dungeon." He said with a slight frown. Bella smiled lightly.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Thranduil tilted his head at her.

"It seems you make a better burglar than a spy." He commented as she stepped further into the tent.

"I am not here as a spy. I am here to offer an alternative to war." Belladonna said pulling the small, wrapped package out of the pouch on her belt. She set it down on the table with a thud that sounded much louder than she'd meant it to in this quiet tent. She unwrapped it carefully, not daring to actually touch the stone within. She'd grown to hate the stone itself. It was not a blessing as the dwarves had once assumed, more a curse. It was only after the stone had been found that the dragon had been tempted into the mountain, though most stories blamed the gold. Now it was a herald of madness, just as Smaug had said it would be.

Thranduil stared at the Hobbit who stood before him. She had just laid the Arkenstone of Thrain on the table between them with a look of pure hatred at the stone. Bard stepped forward staring at it as though entranced.

"You offer us the most precious jewel in that mountain? Why?"

"Because I do not want a war. This is the one thing that Thorin has searched the mountain for endlessly, not knowing I took it when I first spoke to the dragon." Everyone present stared at her.

"You spoke to the dragon?" Thranduil whispered. Bella nodded.

"I did and I must warn you I believe what he told me without a doubt in my heart. This stone is cursed. I would see it shattered into a million pieces before I find it in the hands of Thorin."

"You would pass a cursed jewel to us?" Bard asked caught somewhere between confusion and anger.

"You believe this will break the curse." Thranduil said and Bella nodded.

"Yes. If used for peace instead of greed I hope the curse will be shattered if I cannot shatter the stone itself. Use it to broker a peace with Thorin. Ransom it for the return of your jewels and for what is owed as recompense for the destruction of Lake Town." She instructed. "I have no doubt Thorin will pay a fair price for it." Thranduil regarded Bella with a new look and in doing so spotted something glittering under her coat and a bead and braid in her hair.

"You wear the second most precious item in that mountain, and the braids of one engaged to a dwarf. Why would the would be Queen Under the Mountain offer this peace when the King will hear none of it?" He asked but a bit of the edge had escaped his voice, replaced with nostalgia. Bella's cheeks went red, but she held her composure well.

"Thorin is not the dwarf I fell in love with, not at the moment. I have hope yet that he may yet be recovered. If the dragon sickness can be lifted I hope to have him back. I would not have him or anyone else; dwarf, man or elf, die in a needless war. There has been enough death this past week, I think we can all agree on that." She said glancing at Bard who nodded.

"Belladonna Baggins you are everything I had hoped you would be." A voice rang from the door of the tent. They all looked up to see Gandalf standing there. Bella shook her head at him.

"You sir are well over a week late. You were meant to meet us before Durin's day, not well after!" She chastised and he laughed.

"A wizard is never late, he arrives precisely when he means to." He said a gleam of humor in his eyes. Bella shook her head at him, standing from her chair.

"Late or not I must be getting back. I will soon be missed." She said straightening her skirts. Bard shook his head.

"You cannot go back. Once your theft is discovered, as it must be if we are to ransom the jewel, surely the dwarves will kill you." He insisted.

"The dragon slayer is right. You must stay here. I will help you back to the Shire as soon as two days from now if no fighting is met." Gandalf said nodding to Bard. Bella shook her head but was already being led away by Bard and the slimy man Alfrid who'd once worked for the Master of Lake Town. He found her a small room with a decent cot and a blanket. But she could not stay. Before she slipped out of her little room someone stepped into it. Thranduil was alone and he frowned at her.

"I had hoped to find you still here, though I know you mean not to be soon." He said, slight amusement in his voice.

"I cannot abandon them."

"If it comes to battle you will die before this war ends, I think you know that. Are you sure you wish to fight this fight? It is not yours, you do not have to go. I could send a small company with you to the forest tonight, and through it to wherever you wish. They would see you all the way." He offered and for a moment she was tempted but she shook her head. She still loved Thorin, for all he had changed with the curse upon the treasure she still loved him, she would save him if she could. She told Thranduil as much.

"Then go if you must, Elf Friend. With the hope that we will meet again after this business is finished." He said stepping out of the doorway. As she passed him he smiled slightly. "I hope I am wrong, you remind me of one I once truly loved. I would see you live through this if I can manage it." She smiled at him before slipping into the shadows and hurrying out of the camp. She slipped on her ring and made her speedy way back to the gate. She breathed a sigh as she found her rope still hanging there. Scaling back up the rope was an effort but she managed it, hiding the rope away atop the rampart, praying to the Valar that she would not need it. She had no idea what tomorrow might bring.

She spent the rest of Bombur's watch staring up at the sky, sure there would be no attack tonight. When midnight came, not too long after she steeled herself before heading back into the mountain, unsure she would see the stars or moon again. She woke Bombur so he could wake Bofur and slipped back to the chamber she and Thorin were sharing. He was still asleep. He looked like the one she'd fallen in love with now, with gold stained eyes closed. She hoped she could bring the blue back into them. Sighing lightly she headed into the small bathroom set into this suite of apartments. No matter the outcome of tomorrow she knew in her heart she would not get to enjoy the hot spring baths for a long while after, so she was set on enjoying them now.