~Eight~
~Elves and Dwarves~
Spiders. Giant, nasty spiders. Multiple eyes, multiple legs, pincers and all.
The Company was surrounded, cornered by vile creatures that were pretty much the size of themselves.
Dahlia spat some thick webbing out of her mouth, tripping with her feet connected by another thick string of web. They were all covered in it, having been wrapped up and almost serving as the spiders' dinner!
"They're everywhere!"
"There's too many of them!"
But they were not alone, as it turned out.
The Elf dropped to the ground right before them, arrow notched on his bow, ready to fire. "Do not think I won't kill you Dwarf," he spat. "It would be my pleasure."
More Elves, these ones appearing to be guards, stepped out of the trees, their own arrows ready on their bows as well.
"Ah!" A cry echoed through the forest. Oh no-
"KILI!" yelled Fili in response to his brother's cries.
Poor Ki had been cornered by one of the spiders. He was soon joined, though.
Another Elf gracefully descended down from the branches.
"Throw me a dagger! Quick!" cried Kili.
"If you think I'm giving you a weapon, Dwarf, you are mistaken!" She launched a dagger forward, striking a spider between the eyes, finishing it off.
They seemed to have taken down all the spiders - for now. The thought of how many more may be crawling within the deep, dark depths of this nasty forest made Dahlia shudder.
"Search them," the blond leader Elf ordered.
"Oi!" Dahlia said as a guard started patting her down, smacking his hands away. "Hands off me!"
"A she-dwarf," commented the leader. "I thought you were just a beardless male dwarf."
"At least I can grow a beard," she responded, making the others chuckle.
The Elf swiped Thorin's sword from him and gave it a swing. "Where did you get this?"
"It was given to me."
"Not just a thief but a liar as well." He shouted something in Elvish to the guards, who began shoving the Dwarves onward.
"Where's Bilbo?"
The Hobbit, once again it seemed, had simply vanished.
As if Mirkwood Forest wasn't bad enough - they were brought into the Kingdom of Mirkwood, governed by King Thranduil, the very king who had abandoned the Dwarves of Erebor the day Smaug had destroyed their home and sent them fleeing, homeless. Thorin had never forgiven them for it - or any Elf for that matter.
While the others were taken down to the dungeons, Thorin was brought before the king.
"Aren't you going to search me?" Dahlia overhead Kili ask the red-haired Elf as they were being locked up. "I could have anything down my trousers."
Dahlia rolled her eyes. Oh, Kili...
The Elf raised her eyebrows in response. "Or nothing." She shut that down, slamming the cell door in his face.
Dahlia leaned against the bars and looked out of her cell. "You had that one coming," she told the smirking young prince.
Dwalin and Fili were trying to break down the doors of their cells.
"Leave it! Don't bother!" Balin told them. "This is no Orc dungeon. These are the halls of the Woodland Realm, and no one leaves here, but by the king's consent."
Basically he was saying he hoped Throin didn't push his luck with the king and ruin it for all of them.
Dahlia leaned against the cold stone wall of her cell and muttered to herself. "What are the chances?"
"Did he offer you a deal?" Balin asked as soon as Thorin arrived back at the cells - although the fact that the guard shoved him in a cell and locked it didn't bode well for the Dwarves.
"Aye, he did. I told him he could go ish kakhfe ai-'d dur-rugnu."
"Of course you did," sighed Dahlia.
"Him and all his kin!" Thorin beat a fist against the door of his cell, his shout echoing throughout the whole of the dungeons.
"Well, that's that then." Balin nodded, defeated. "Our only hope, gone."
Ah Balin, always the optimist.
"Not our only hope," Thorin whispered.
"What are you doing?" Dahlia asked Kili as the Elf guard left the dungeons after sitting and chatting with him.
"We were just talking." Kili shrugged, but he was smiling. "Her name is Tauriel. She's Captain of the guard here."
"Ki, you know it can't go anywhere."
He shrugged again. "Probably not. But what's the harm in a little flirtation?"
"Bad flirtation."
"Hey!"
"I'm just saying - as a woman myself, your charms aren't all that charming."
"Then I'll just have to keep practicing."
"That wasn't my point..."
"And yet Uncle's 'charms' worked on you?"
"Not at first. And if that's what you want to call them."
"Mister all, 'I'm brooding and serious and I never smile and I have a terrible sense of direction'-"
This made her laugh.
"What's so funny?" Thorin's voice boomed through the cells.
"Nothing."
"Bilbo!" Balin shouted. There were cheers from the others at the Hobbit's reappearance.
"Shhh! You have to be quiet, there are guards nearby! Follow me!" the burglar cried, leading the way down a winding staircase.
"The armory, we need to find the armory and retrieve our weapons."
"No time!" He led them down, down, down, hundreds of stairs it seemed, until they reached the cellars - the wine cellars.
"Gosh, I'm thirsty-" Fili looked longingly at the barrels full of wine.
"Don't drink anything!" Bilbo hissed. He nodded to some guards who were passed out at the table, looking a little worse for wear.
"What did you do to them?" Dahlia asked, noting the snoring guards.
"Nothing, they drank all the wine."
"My, that's powerful stuff..." She turned to Fili. "Still thirsty?"
"Everyone, climb into the barrels, quickly!" Bilbo whispered.
"Are you mad?" cried Dwalin. The others looked ready to protest as well.
"Please, please, you must trust me." The others still looked skeptical. He desperately looked to Thorin for assistance.
"Do as he says," their leader hissed.
Bilbo took over Gandalf's job of counting each of the Dwarves as they climbed into the barrels.
"Now what?" Bofur's head popped out of the barrel.
"Hold your breath."
Splash!
Haha, the river chase is such a cool scene! That's where we'll be next, see you there!
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)
