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Happy Monday!

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Chapter 108

~X~

Meanwhile, Dis, Sier, Bergie and Dena took another exit around the healing halls, checking around each corner as they silently made their way towards the soldiers' barracks. They had not gone far when they heard the sound of heavy boots heading their way, causing all four of them to draw their weapons and hug the wall, not sure if they should run or hide. Yet with nowhere to go, they instead chose to stand and fight. Dis held up her hand, instructing the lasses to stand ready, while she waited for the enemy to round the corner. When they did, she sprang forward, her sword ready to strike.

"DIS!" one of the dwarrow shouted, ducking just in time, lest his head be lobbed off. "It's us!"

"Gimli? Bifur?" Dis sighed, lowering her blade. "We thought you were the invaders."

"Well, we're not!" the younger dwarf insisted. "So take care not to kill us before we have a chance to run them through ourselves."

"Gimli!" Dena cried, rushing forward and throwing her arms around her son. "I was so worried about you. We believe your father and the others have been taken prisoner."

"What?" This was apparently news to Bifur. "Enemies in mountain the and strange guards everywhere! Not good, not good at all."

"Agreed," Dis nodded. "We were on our way down to the soldiers' quarters to rouse the army and get these villains out of Erebor!"

"Don't bother," Gimli said with a sad shake of his head. "They're gone…all of them."

"What…where?" Sier gasped. "They…they are not dead, are they?"

"No, it looks as if they all headed out, and recently," Gimli informed them. "Not sure why, but something caused them to leave, and in a big hurry too."

"They would never leave…except on the king's orders. It must have been a trick," Bifur suggested, knowing that nothing short of an order from Thorin himself would cause them to abandon their post.

"We saw some of the invaders with Dori, and we believe he was being forced to dictate orders in the name of the king," Dis told them. "Perhaps they did the same with the soldiers. We need to rethink our plan."

"How did you two escape notice, and why did you not head for your quarters when the quarantine bell rang?" Bergie asked. "Did you know something was wrong?"

"I was down in the main square with Bifur when we heard it ring, but by the time we made it to where they were making the announcement, everyone was already heading to their homes, so we weren't exactly sure what was going on," Gimli explained.

"So the first thing we did was head to the royal quarters, to see what Thorin had to say," Bifur continued. "That's when we saw a whole host of strangely dressed guards blocking our way. When we asked for admittance, they said by order of the king, everyone was to go to their quarters and stay there until further notice. Well, that didn't sit well with us at all, but we knew it would be suicide to try and get by them, so we pretended to agree and headed off."

"That's when we knew we needed to rouse the soldiers," Gimli broke in to finish the account of their actions. "But like we said, they had already gone. We've been trying to navigate the halls ever since, attempting to avoid being caught…and that's when we ran into you."

"This is strange indeed," Dis muttered, not liking the feeling of helplessness that was washing over her. Not at all. "There has to be a way to overpower these invaders!"

"We could go door to door and rouse as many dwarrow as possible," Sier suggested, desperate to think of anything that would be helpful.

"It would take too long, and while any dwarrow worth his salt can defend himself, that does not mean they are trained warriors," Dis said with a shake of her head. "Right now, stealth will be our weapon. We need to find out what has happened to Thorin and the others, and go from there." She looked over at Gimli and Bifur. "Lads…we need a prisoner. One we can pump for information."

"And what if whomever we find won't talk?" Dena asked.

"Then we make him talk," Dis growled.

And while the other three lasses looked somewhat shocked by the princes' threatening words…Bifur and Gimli gave wicked grins.

"One prisoner…coming up, my lady," Bifur promised, rubbing his hands together in glee.

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"Don't get too comfortable," the guard laughed as they shoved Balin and the others into the cell, slamming the door shut and locking it. They had stopped Thorin long enough to remove the helmet and the other pieces of armor he had been trying on when attacked, not willing to leave them with anything they might try to use as a weapon. "One way or another you will be leaving soon. Either as our prisoners of war…or in a casket." And with that, they each gave an evil laugh and exited the cell block, leaving Thorin and the others alone.

"Get these off me!" Thorin growled, holding his hand out behind him, eager to be untied.

Dori, who was the best with knots, managed to do so after only a few moments, then he and Thorin did the honors for everyone else. When everyone was free of their bonds, they began to search for a way out of their prison.

"When I was down in the healing halls, I saw Dis," Dori revealed, feeling along the stone wall, searching for anything helpful.

"Dis is safe?" Thorin questioned, pleased to hear such news. "Was she alone? Was there anyone with her?

"I didn't see anyone else," the dwarf admitted sadly, looking over at Gloin with a shake of his head. "It looked as if she wanted to try and attack, but I waved her off, feeling it was too risky."

"At least we have one ally who is free," Gloin said, though everyone could tell that he was worried about his own family, not knowing where his wife and son currently were.

The all fell silent, each one lost in their own thoughts as they continued to search the cell.

"I don't know why we are even trying," Balin said at last, sitting down on one of the stone benches against the wall. "This is Dwalin's territory…do you honestly think there would be some way to escape from here? Not bloody likely."

"Aye…this is the same cell I had him thrown into five years ago," Thorin nodded, looking disappointed. "If he couldn't get out of it…there's no way we can either."

"How did he get out?" Gloin asked, never having quite heard the whole story about that.

"Nori," Thorin revealed.

"Nori broke Dwalin out of prison?" Dori gasped. "Well…that's a switch."

"Not exactly," Thorin corrected. "I came down to release him myself…but I forgot the key. So Nori just happened to come by with a skeleton key he had somehow forged. What I wouldn't give to have your brother here right now."

"Aye, he might be a pest and a thief…but he would have come in handy right about now, that is for sure," Dori nodded.

"But since he is not…what do we do?" Balin questioned. "That Hagen fellow will be down here before long, expecting me to reveal the location of the Arkenstone. I won't do it! I won't!"

"And well you shouldn't!" Gloin agreed. "It is one thing to agree to placate them while there is the chance for escape or that we might be able to overpower them. But if they get their greedy hands on the Arkenstone…everyone is sunk."

"Agreed," Thorin nodded. As long as Marigold was safe…or at least he prayed that she was, he was ready to do whatever it took to see that these villains did not succeed in their plans.

The trouble was…how did they go about it while stuck in the dungeons?

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The sun was sinking low in the sky as the top of Ravenhill came into view. Telk was pleased by this, for it had been a long flight and he was looking forward to delivering his message. After his mission was complete, the black corvid knew he would be feasting on the seeds and nuts that the raven keepers liberally supplied. He could almost taste the walnuts as he flew inside, eagerly looking around for the dwarves who cared for them. Yet, what he found confused him. There were no welcoming dwarves, eager to receive his message, nor was there any food sitting out like usual.

Apparently Telk was not the only one who was perplexed, for Simek and half a dozen other ravens were also looking for their dwarves. This was strange…this was not right.

"Dwarves gone? Gone missing?" he asked the leader of the ravens. "How long?"

"All day…gone all day," Simek replied, ruffling his feathers in frustration and worry.

"No food…no dwarves…no messages," the other ravens chimed in.

"Not right," Telk insisted, hopping from one foot to the other. His message was important, it was for the blond prince's mate. He must see it delivered. Yet how, if there was no one to take it?

"Dale…there are dwarves who listen in Dale," Simek spoke up at last, his keen eyes looking towards the city of men. "We will go there…they must be told…they have dwarves who listen."

"Yes, yes…fly to Dale," Telk agreed, bobbing his head up and down. "Dale, where dwarves listen."

And so, before the sun was completely behind the hills, all the ravens took off from Erebor in a mass of black, all heading for the roost that the dwarves kept in Dale for sending messages back and forth. Telk's message must be delivered…for the blond prince's fledglings were out of the nest, and his mate needed to know. And someone must be told that no dwarves listened in Erebor. Something was wrong…very wrong.

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~XXXX~

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Kili held back, choosing to ride alone for the rest of the day. When Nori asked what was eating at him, he claimed that he wanted to be near the wagon in case Frerin woke up. But really, he just didn't want to talk to anyone...ever again.

They had just crested a small hill, one that overlooked the mountain range they were heading for, when the sun began to set. It was not an impressive sight, the rocks jutting up at strange angles, looking uninhabitable and nothing like the magnificent stone of Erebor. No wonder it had been overlooked for so long…for who would ever want to make a home here?

They headed back the way they had come, putting the hillside between them and the mine. They would set up camp for the night and then scout the mines just before dawn, looking for the entrance that Glorfindel discovered and hopefully taking everyone by surprise.

"Over here!" Dunner called from an outcropping of trees. "We found a cave!"

Bain and Fili went to investigate, and while the cave was a small one, it was the perfect size to house two little dwarflings and a few guards. The wagons could easily be hidden from view in the trees nearby, keeping everyone and everything safely out of sight until they returned victorious.

"Bofur, build a fire and get some food cooking," Fili ordered. "Everyone out here, make sure to keep any camp fires small and well hidden. We do not want to alert our enemy to our presence before we can strike."

Soon everyone was busy with a task, knowing exactly what needed to be done before dinner could be served. Kili chose to brush down the ponies, preferring their company to anyone else's…save one. Yet she had no interest in spending time with him, at least not in the way he wished. No…not any more.

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Fili took Flinn and Frerin off to hunt for firewood, allowing them to fulfil their chore assignment, but under his protection. One day he would be sending them off on missions of their own, but for now, they still had a lot to learn, and he aimed to teach them.

As the three headed back to camp, they passed by Kili, absentmindedly brushing down the ponies one by one.

"Look at all the wood we got, Uncle Kili!" Frerin said proudly, holding out his five little sticks. Flinn and Fili sported a great deal more, but for the five year old, it was a rather large accomplishment.

"That's quite a stack you got there," Kili commended, watching the dwarfling's face light up with glee. "That will keep you warm all night."

"I know!" the littlest dwarfling agreed. "Come on, Adad, let's go put them on the fire!"

"You two go ahead, and take them to Bofur inside the cave," Fili instructed, having noticed that his brother looked a bit down in the mouth. He had seen him speaking to Tauriel very briefly that afternoon, but he had not had a moment alone to ask him what had been said…and now seemed to be the perfect time. "I'll catch up with you soon. Now go on," he urged, watching as the two lads ran off towards the mouth of the small cave. He then looked at Kili, who had turned his back on him as he continued to brush down his mount. "Kili…what's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" the younger dwarf repeated, his tone sharp and biting. "I'll tell you what is wrong! Everything! And it's all your fault!"

"My fault…what are you talking about?" Fili turned to the side and dropped his armload of wood before approaching his brother from behind, placing his hand on his shoulder. When Kili jerked away, Fili knew that it was something serious. "What gives? What did I do?"

"You talked to Tauriel! You told her how I feel about her!" he accused whipping around to glare at Fili. "How could you? It was my job to tell her…to explain things. But no, you had to go and do it yourself, messing everything up!"

"What are you talking about? I never spoke to Tauriel!" Fili protested, holding up his hands in a sign of surrender.

"She said you did!" Kili refuted. "Tauriel claims you told her that the way I am feeling is not her fault, and now all she wants to be is friends…friends!" he ended, throwing up his hands in misery and frustration.

"Kili…I swear, I never talked to Tauriel!" Fili insisted. "And I certainly never said anything about how you were feeling!" He then stopped…closing his eyes as he tipped back his head and moaned. "I think there's been a misunderstanding, Kili. I did talk to her, yesterday, before you told me that you were…awake." The last part he said in a hushed tone, not wanting anyone to overhear this piece of news. "She thought you were upset over losing to her in that fight. I told her that if you got your nose bent out of shape over it, that it was hardly her fault. That is all I said…I swear! I never said anything about you being in love with her."

"Shhhhh!" Kili hissed, holding up his hands as he looked around nervously. "Not so loud!" He stared at Fili for a moment, reading the sincerity in his eyes and knowing that his brother would never lie to him. "So, if you never told her that I was having feelings for her...all those things she said…"

"Had nothing to do with what you thought," Fili finished for him, crossing his arms over his chest matter of factly.

"You mean…when she said she was sorry for making me feel things, she meant embarrassment over her besting me?" Now it was Kili's turn to shut his eyes and give out a moan. "How could I be so stupid?"

"I have a few ideas, but I doubt you want to hear them," Fili stated, a sly grin coming to his lips. "I can't believe you actually thought I would ever want to talk to an elf about your…your…." Here he made a flailing gesture towards Kili, not quite sure what to say.

"No…I'm sorry," Kili sighed, walking over to sit down on a rock. "But when she said what she did…I guess I just panicked, and that was the only thing I could imagine she was talking about."

"Well, she wasn't," Fili reminded him, sitting next to him as he punched his shoulder. "So that means…" again he left his words hanging, waiting for his brother to pick up the rest.

"She might still care for me!" Kili's head came up and his smile returned. "She did say that she wanted to be friends…that she enjoyed talking to me!"

"Well, there you go," he nodded, grinning from ear to ear.

"That is…unless I didn't already screw everything up with how I acted!" He quickly ran over every word they had said to each other, seeing their conversation in a whole new light. "Oh, what she must think of me, if she assumed I was bent out of shape over losing to her in a fight. I gave her no reason to believe that was not the case!"

"But that isn't the case, and now you simply need to tell her," Fili reasoned.

"Yes, first I have to explain that I am not some clod-headed male who can't stand to lose to a female…and then I have to tell her that I'm madly in love with her."

"Madly?" Fili asked, pulling back in surprise. "Well that escalated quickly."

"Well I had a lot of time to think about it when I believed she didn't return my affections," he muttered. "And let me tell you brother…it was not pleasant! Not at all!"

"But now you have a chance to make it right," he said. "Don't go messing it up a second time."

"Thanks," he said sarcastically. "You're a big help."

"I do try," Fili grinned, standing up and giving Kili a slight slap on the back of his head.

"Hey, what was that for?" the younger dwarf whined, rubbing where he had been struck.

"For doubting me, little brother," Fili explained, stepping over to gather up his wood. "As if I would ever do anything to sabotage you, or your love life. You should know better than that."

"You're right. I'm sorry," Kili humbly apologized.

"As you should be," he huffed. Then he got an amused look on his face and began to chuckle.

"And what's so funny?" Kili asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"You…and what you once said to me about how you would not make a mess out of things when you found your one. That you would recognize her immediately and that she would be…how did you put it…?" he mused, thinking hard to recall his exact words. "Ah, yes…she would be spellbound by your captivating good looks, witty charm, and stunning physique." Fili could not help but roll his eyes and shake his head. "How's that working out for you, Nadadith?"

"Shut up, Fili," Kili groused, yet he couldn't help but smile a bit in spite of himself. "You fumbled around for months not realizing Sier was your one, and she was even married to you! So, you really don't have much room to talk, now do you?"

"No…I suppose not," Fili admitted, though still grinning from ear to ear. "Now, you wait here, and I'll send Tauriel right over," he suggested. "So you can start impressing her with that stunning physique of yours." The older prince ducked just in time to miss the stick that Kili flung in his direction. Yet even with the teasing, he appeared to like Fili's idea.

"Yes…yes, do that," Kili nodded, standing up and pacing back and forth as he flexed his fingers. "I will tell her right now. No more secrets!"

"Then get ready…you'll have about five minutes to prepare what you're going to say." And with that he gave Kili a wink of encouragement and headed back to camp.

Five minutes…it was a very short amount of time for all his hopes and happiness to rest upon. In five minutes Kili would either be jumping for joy…or jumping off a cliff in despair. He could only pray to Mahal that it would be the former.

Oh boy, Kili is going to spill the beans...and he plans to spell it out this time. ha ha.

See what a great brother Fili is.

So, Gimli and Bifur are in on things now too. And Dis wants a prisoner of her very own...what WILL she do with him?

Guest Reviews

abc: Yes, Kili is no better than Fili and Thorin it would appear...BUT, I am willing to bet that he does not stew over it as long as they did. ha ha. And poor Tauriel, thinking Kili is a male jerk for getting all bent out of shape over her beating him. And it's not true! Oh, no, your sarcasm came through just fine, I just thought it was worth explaining. Yah, the poor royal guards...died doing their duty though. Glad you enjoy the bonus chapters. Makes me want to keep posting them. ha ha.

gginsc: Yep, got to have at least ONE misunderstanding in there...makes it more fun. ha ha. (for me at least) And they will gut him just as soon as they get a chance. They are just too busy being prisoners right now is all. ha ha.