Footsteps echoed in the hallway, notifying the dwarves that guards were approaching. A group of five guards came down to the dungeons, all heavily armed, and stood in front of Thessa's cell. She looked up at them, knowing that her day was about to get worse. The guards unlocked her cell and came over to her. She got up off the floor, planning on going quietly so that they wouldn't be tempted to kill her.

"Don't worry boys, I won't hurt you," she sighed. The elves just looked at her as if they hadn't heard her. Oh that's right, she thought, their ears were plugged. One elf grabbed her arm roughly, shoving her out of the cell and onto the floor. It was at that moment that Legolas appeared. Thessa looked up at the guards. "I won't hurt you, please, just let me walk on my own-" Thessa grunted as one of the guards gave her a swift kick to the ribs, effective silencing her. Legolas ran over to the woman, stooping down to see if she was alright.

"Are you alright, my lady?" he asked. Thessa looked up him, confused. Why was he being nice to her?

"I'm alright," she wheezed as he helped her stand. He turned his attention to the dumbfounded guards. "What is the meaning of this?"

"My Lord Legolas," they bowed, removing their ear plugs. "The creature was trying to sing and we put a stop to it before she could do any damage." The dwarves all erupted into angry shouts.

"That's a lie!" Ori called. "Thessa wouldn't hurt a fly!" Legolas offered her his arm, which she took hesitantly.

"My lord, the king gave us instructions to bring her to the caverns," a guard spoke up.

"I will escort the lady there myself, you are dismissed." Legolas began to turn to lead Thessa away when they heard another guard speak.

"But, my lord, we-" he stammered.

"Dismissed!" Legolas stated firmly, watching the guards scurry away. He turned toward the exit with Thessa and lead her through winding corridors and causeways. They came upon a small room with an unguarded door. Legolas opened the door for her and she walked into the room, seeing Tauriel standing by the window. The elleth turned to glare at her.

"What's going on here?" Thessa turned to Legolas for an answer. He just closed the door quietly and moved the middle of the room, indicating for her to take a seat in one of the chairs.

"I would like to formally apologize for my people's treatment of you, my lady," Legolas bowed his head to her, a shameful look in his eyes. "My father had told us about mermaids, but I realize now that none of his accounts were accurate. He holds a grudge like no one else, and I am truly sorry that his wrath has fallen upon you." Thessa was stunned. She didn't know what to say.

"What made you come to that realization?" she asked quietly. He smiled sheepishly at her.

"I admit that I overheard your conversation with the dwarves about my father's misdeeds and your life, thus far. I did not know that he had such an impact on the way your people live their lives." Leolas looked at his boots, not really knowing what else to say. Thessa could tell though that he was sincere, and she gave him a soft smile.

"I accept your apology, prince Legolas," she bowed her head to him as well. "I don't fault you for happened between us earlier today. You did not know then what you know now." Legolas smiled at her, glad to have her forgiveness. But Tauriel remained unimpressed.

"How can I set things right?" Legolas asked her, his steel blue eyes meeting her warm cerulean ones.

"I know freeing prisoners is beyond your control," she began, and Legolas nodded, "so the most I can ask for is a bow and some arrows." She smiled at the elven prince, happy he was on her side now.

"My Lord!," Tauriel came to stand in front of him, blocking her from his sight. "You cannot arm that creature!"

"Tauriel!" Legolas repremanded. "You are speaking about a princess, she deserves your respect!" Thessa cringed at his tone. He was being a little harsh with Tauriel, and she had obviously not expected that reaction for him either.

"I apologize, my lord," she said quietly.

"It is not me you should apologize to," Legolas said firmly, eyeing the elleth. With a pained expression, Tauriel turned to Thessa.

"I'm sorry," she said curtly. Legolas coughed loudly from behind her. "I'm sorry, my lady," she amended. Thessa looked at Tauriel and decided to turn the other cheek to play the diplomat. Her mother would be proud.

"Thank you Tauriel," Thessa said with a smile. "I accept your apology." She dipped her head to the elf and could see that Tauriel was surprised. "I think we have much in common, Tauirel. We are both leaders of our kingdoms' guards, we both have a strong sense of duty, and I can tell that you are a very loyal elf." Tauriel stood there in shock, not knowing how to respond. "I hope that we can put the past behind us and start over." Tauriel looked at Thessa for a moment and then slowly nodded her head in agreement. Thessa smiled and turned to address Legolas next.

"I have not formally introduced myself." She rose to stand before the prince, holding our her hard. "I am princess Thessalia of the Rhûn sea." Legolas smiled at her, taking her hand and placing a kiss to her knuckles.

"A pleasure, princess. My name is Legolas Greenleaf, prince of the Woodland realm." She smiled, bowing her head to him again. They both gave a light chuckle, but it soon died when they heard a commotion coming from the halls. Legolas strode to the door, opening it and calling out to a guard. They spoke in hushed voices for a moment and then he stepped back into the room, closing the door. He turned to Thessa with a smirk.

"How would you like to have that bow you asked for?"

Thorin and the others had been set free from their cells not too long ago. Bilbo had indeed come to their rescue, smuggling them out through the wine cellars. The dwarves had begrudgingly hopped into the empty wine barrels and Bilbo pulled a lever that let the floor drop like a teeter totter, sending them into the river below. Thorin was reluctant to leave without Thessa, but Bilbo had assured him that she would be right behind them.

As they floated down the river in their barrels, Bilbo clinging to the side of Bofur's barrel, they saw the elves were close at their heels. They were drawing close to a bridge that spanned the river. The company watched in dismay as the guards pulled a lever, shutting the gate below the bridge, stopping them in their tracks.

"No!" Thorin growled, banging his hand on the gate's bars. The company looked up at the guards on the bridge, when suddenly one guard fell into the water with an arrow in his back. They heard the screeching of orcs and realized the pack had finally caught up with them again. Orcs started flooding the bridge and the river banks, killing anything in their path, but the dwarves were their true goal.

They saw the hideous one-eyed orc, Bolg standing on one of the banks.

"Kill them all!" he bellowed, slashing at the elves that came near him. The guards were doing their best to hold the orcs back, but they were quickly being overrun. Some of the orcs got down to where the company was under the bridge. Bilbo ran one through with his small sword and Dwalin hit another with his elbow.

Kili spied the lever that would open the gate and crawled out of his barrel. The company had been using the weapons they stole from the dead orcs and Dwalin passed one of the blades up to Kili. He fought his way up onto the bridge slicing down orcs as her went. Bolg saw where the dwarf was going and drew back an arrow, striking Kili in the leg.

"Kili!" Fili called out, seeing the arrow sticking out of his brother's leg. Kili fell onto his back, not seeing the orc headed for him. Thorin saw the orc coming and his heart stopped for a moment. Then, an arrow struck down the orc. The company turned to see Tauriel and Legolas arrive with more guards, shooting down orcs as they went.

Thessa had gone out with them, armed with a bow and arrows, and Tauriel had given her a tight-fitting leather vest made for a woman. She hadn't wanted to reveal herself to the orcs, but all the elves knew now and if they killed all the orcs, then her secret wouldn't get out, she mused. Thessa slipped behind a boulder, ditching the breeches and jumped into the water. Because she didn't have her arm band, she couldn't control her tail or leg transitions. When her legs hit the water, she instantly felt the tail forming. She ducked below the water, finishing the transition and waited for the perfect moment to strike.

She saw Kili struggle forward, falling onto the lever and opening the gate. He shuffled over to the edge of the bridge and dropped back down into the barrel, snapping the arrow's shaft in the process. The company drifted back down the river and now was her chance. There was a drop in the river level right beyond the bridge, almost like a miniature water fall. Thessa held tight to her bow, arrow loaded and propelled herself forward toward the bridge. She needed to pick up more speed so she dove lower where the current would help her and pumped her tail even harder. She approached the bridge and quickly forced her body out of the water, drawing back her bow as she vaulted over the bridge.

The company had looked back to see how close the orcs were when they saw the most amazing sight. Thorin was in awe as he saw his mermaid flying over the bridge, shooting down an orc while in the air. Her sapphire and gold tail glinted in the sun and the sight seemed to draw everyone's attention, even the orcs. Thorin felt a sense of pride, knowing that it was his One that everyone was amazed by.

Thessa had shot down an orc that was about to strike an elf as she flew through the air, landing back in the water. She followed behind the company as they went over a set of rapids. Thessa vaulted herself over those as well, taking out the the front running orcs as she went. Legolas and Tauriel weren't far behind. They were taking out the orcs that gave chase and ran along the river banks.

The orcs were moving faster than Thessa had anticipated and she could see a fallen tree that hung over the river up ahead. There were orcs spilling across it, ready to set upon the incoming dwarves. But Thessa pushed herself down to the bottom of the river, going under the company and propelling herself over the fallen tree. She took out two orcs on her way over and hit the water on the other side. She swam back against the current, firing two more arrows and taking out all but one remaining orc, which Thorin took care of.

There were a few more fallen trees that hung over the water as they went, each having an orc or two poised to attack. Thessa had now taken the lead and was dispatching the orcs that were the closest and biggest threats first, then leaving the others to Tauriel and Legolas who had caught up now. She saw Legolas standing on two of the dwarves heads as he was carried down the river, shooting orcs as they came. He soon returned to the banks, however, to help Tauriel.

An orc had come up behind him as he was fighting two other orcs. Thorin saw the orc and threw an orc ax at the creature, bringing it down. Tauriel came upon another orc that was about to fire an arrow at the prince and held a knife to its neck.

"Tauriel, wait. This one we keep alive," Legolas said. They abandoned the chase for the dwarves and brought the orc back to the palace for interrogating. Tauriel watched the remaining orcs follow after the company.

They had traveled down the river a few miles, the current carrying them faster than the orcs could run. However, the water began to slow and they lost the current.

"Head to the shore!" Thorin called. The company began paddling slowly to the sandy river bank and crawled out of the barrels. When everyone was accounted for, Thorin started to walk down the bank. "On your feet," he ordered.

"Kili's wounded, his leg needs binding!" Fili yelled to their uncle.

"There is an orc pack on our tail, we keep moving," Thorin pressed.

"To where?" Balin asked.

"To the mountain, we're so close," Bilbo replied.

"A lake lies between us and that mountain, we have no way to cross it," Balin said, becoming quite pessimistic.

"So we go around," Bilbo suggested.

"The orcs will run us down," Dwalin interrupted, "sure as daylight, and we have no weapons to defend ourselves." Thorin walked over to Fili and Kili.

"Bind his leg. Quickly," he told Fili, who nodded and set about binding the wound. "You have two minutes."

Ori, who had sat the the water's edge dumping the water from his boot, looked up when he saw a shadow fall over him. Dwalin stepped in front of him, holding a large branch as a dark figure with a bow stood on a boulder overlooking the company. He shot an arrow through Dwalin's branch and also used an arrow to knock the rock out of Kili's hand.

"Do it again, and you're dead," he said to Kili as the dwarf bent down to find another rock. The company froze, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, they heard a snap as an arrow zipped through the air and severed the string of the dark figure's bow, rendering it useless. He stumbled back a step, glancing to where the arrow had come from. Everyone looked to see a beautiful brunette mermaid perched on a rock by the river, arrow at the ready.

"No one threatens my friends."