Note: Italics is thoughts, unless specified otherwise i.e flashbacks or visions. / is timeskip


THIRD POV

"Unh! Tis is naut teh end of it! Do ya hear me?!" Dwalin roared, banging on the bars of the cell.

"Hey, let us out of 'ere!" Gloin bellowed, grasping the metal bars.

"Get off me!" Nori yelled as an Elf rather roughly pushed him into a cell.

Soon the entire company – par Bilbo - were trapped in the dungeons of Mirkwood. The Elves had left shortly after disposing of them in their cells. Though that didn't stop the Dwarfs from trying to get out.

"Oomph!" Dwalin grunted as he rammed his body into the bars.

"Again!" Gloin told his brother. The two ran towards the cell door, banging their bodies into it.

"Leave it!" Balin yelled, his uncharacteristic outburst causing the company to seize their efforts.

"There is no way out. This is no Orc dungeon. These are the Halls of the Woodland Realm. No one leaves here but by the king's consent," Balin finished, releasing a sigh. Knowing no matter how hard they would try to force the doors open; their attempts would be futile.

"Oh, you're giving me a headache," Alexa breathed, rubbing her temples as Dwalin continued to ram his body into the cell door despite his brother's words.

"Oh, I'm so sorrie fer wantin' te get out," Dwalin spat, not at all remorseful as he continued hammering his body into the bars.

"Dwalin, you're not helping. Balin already said that we can't get out by force and yet here you are," Alexa said, waving her hand at him.

"At least I'm trying ta get out," Dwalin grunted, now grasping the bars in his hands. Trying to wedge them apart.

Unable to take it any longer, Alexa stood up. Thoroughly irritated by his behaviour towards her. She snapped. Waving her hand, she forcefully wrenched him away from the bars and onto the stone bench.

"Oi! Leave me be woman!" Dwalin cursed, infuriated. His face was red with anger. He tried to get back to the cell doors when Alexa forced him back down. This time with her hands.

"You think I want to be stuck here? To be locked up in a cell with you? Sorry to burst your bubble, but I don't!" Alexa yelled, getting right up in his face.

As she yelled at him, Dwalin's eyes grew wider. Her eyes seemed to spark with an unknown fire and the walls around them and the bench beneath him shook slightly as she continued yelling all sorts of profane language at him.

"Force! I can't even with you," Alexa huffed, stomping away to the corner of the cell and plopping down. Crossing her legs, a calming sigh left her as she let go of all previous pent up anger she held for the bald Dwarf and washed it away with meditation.

Dwalin watched from his spot on the bench, jaw agape; in complete shock. He certainly wasn't expecting that. It wasn't until dull thumps and breaths of relief erupted around him, that he realized that from Alexa's outburst towards him, she had also unconsciously lifted several of the surrounding company.

"You just had to piss her off, didn't ya Dwalin?" Nori quipped from the cell across from them.

Dwalin growled in reply, glaring across the dungeon at a snickering Nori. Before, peering down at his meaty hands. He spared a glance at the meditating lass.

ALEXA'S POV

That damn Dwarf. Why does he have to be so infuriating? Force! Okay Alexa, back to the mission. Save the line of Durin. How am I going to do that? All three are in different places when they die. Fili dies first then Kili then Thorin. Okay, so I got to save Fili first and so on. It can't be that hard. Right? Who am I kidding, I can't do this alone. I need help, but who? The ginger Elf Tauriel? But what would I say to her? The truth?!

'Oh yes, Tauriel. Yes, I already know your name ha-ha. Anyway, I've had a vision of Kili's - the young black-haired Dwarf you're going to fall in love with – death and I was wondering if you could help me stop that?' Yeah, like that's going to work. Think Alexa, think.

The creaking of the cell door opening interrupted her train of thought. Opening an eye, she watched Dwalin square up with a dark-haired woodland Elf.

"The King wishes to speak with you," the Elf said. Dwalin went to say something most likely vile, but the Elf bet him to it.

"Not you, Dwarf. Her," he spat, glaring at Dwalin.

Grinning at the sight, Alexa walked towards the Elf with a skip in her step. "Oh, fantastic. See ya Dwalin." Alexa chirped as she strutted towards the two. Winking at a scowling Dwalin as she left the cell with the Elf.

As the pair walked through the winding staircases and closer towards the Throne Room. Shouts erupted around them, seemingly bouncing off the walls of the kingdom. Alexa sniggered after a particularly loud shout. Force, Thorin wasn't holding anything back.

"You who lack all honour! I have seen how you treat your friends. We came to you once, starving, homeless, seeking your help. But you turned your back! You turned away from the suffering of my people and the inferno that destroyed us," Thorin spat, his baritone voice booming around the kingdom.

After that, Alexa didn't hear anything. Which worried her slightly. Thoughts rushed through her head. Was it possible Thorin passed out from all his shouting? Nah. Did the Elf king do something to him? Possibly, but hopefully not. She didn't want the stuck-up Elven king to know anything about her. She wanted him to underestimate her, to believe that she was nothing more than a stereotypically weak and vulnerable human woman. Well in the lack of fighting sense, there's no way she's letting him walk all over her like a carpet.

As she made her way up the staircase towards the Throne Room with her 'escort' right up her butt. Alexa saw several Elves surround and restrain Thorin. After getting a particularly rough shove from the Elf behind her she stepped into the Throne Room.

"Ah, the woman amongst Dwarves. I am interested in hearing your part in all of this," a honeyed voice said.

Snapping her eyes from Thorin towards the voice, she saw a blonde Elf descending from the steps of a carved, wooden throne. So, this is King Thranduil?

"Leave her out of this!" Thorin said, his voice gruff. As he struggled against the Elves that held him back.

At his words, Alexa turned away from the blonde Elf and back to Thorin. Who was currently scuffling against and yelling at the Elves in both common and Khuzadul? What he was saying, she could only guess. But from the rapidly increasing rage emitting from Thranduil, she knew it wasn't good.

"Thorin,"

His name fell from her lips in a whisper. No sooner had she uttered his name; Durin blue eyes met greeny-grey. Alexa looked at him, silently trying to reassure him that it was okay. That she was going to be okay.

Seizing his wrestling against the Elven guards. He nodded once and looked at her one last time before he was escorted, well shoved from the Throne Room.

THIRD POV

Releasing a sigh, Alexa looked back at Thranduil who had a rather intrigued look on his face. Narrowing her eyes slightly at the sight, she waited, hands clasped behind her back for him to speak. A well-practised mask of inscrutability fell over her face.

"I am sure you know who I am," he said, sauntering around her.

"I've heard things, seen things. King Thranduil of the Mirkwood Elves," she uttered, her words making the Elven King pause briefly before he continued.

"And yet, I do not know who you are," he muttered behind her.

"The names Alexa. I was employed by Thorin Oakenshield to cook for his company," she lied flawlessly.

Thranduil thought for a while, slowly circling the woman in his court. During this time, Alexa's posture did not break nor waver.

"A human woman in strange clothes who walks among Dwarves seeking to reclaim a homeland. A woman with seemingly no special abilities or talents of any sort," Thranduil remarked, his narrow pointy fingers picking at her tunic. Alexa almost laughed at his words but held back. Oh, he has no idea.

"Yeah, it's this 'new' thing called wool. Comes from sheep. You know what they are right?" she replied, holding back a grin as the Elven King sneered at her words.

"They don't care about you, they never did. Dwarves love gold and their kin, not lowly humans such as yourself," he spoke, ignoring her previous words.

He stared deep into her eyes looking for any kind of emotion. But what the King did not know was that Alexa had years of training hiding her emotions. It is after all one of the things a Jedi does best.

"Especially that exiled Dwarf King, Thorin Oakenshield. Once he reaches the mountain you will be cast aside, left to die on the street, forgotten. What will you do then? No one will come and save you. Why would they? You're nothing but a weak human girl. When the time comes, and it will, you will be left alone to die," he added, watching for any sign that she was affected. A flash of annoyance flashed through his eyes as she remained unfazed by his words.

"Are you done? Cause I'd rather the dark pits of the dungeons than being stuck here, listening to you speak of things you do not know of,"

Now that struck a chord. The Elves on guard all visibly stiffened, no one ever insulted King Thranduil. EVER! Well, to his face.

Said King's face drew into a deep scowl. Standing to his full height he raised his right hand and struck her left cheek, hard; the action caused her head to snap sharply to the right due to the sheer force of the slap.

The familiar taste of iron flowed over Alexa's tongue. Licking the inside of her now sore cheek, which no doubt had a red mark forming. She peered up at the blonde Elf, a defiant smirk on her lips. Spitting at his feet, blood splattered the wooden floor of the Throne Room.

Thranduil narrowed his dark eyes at the woman. His eyebrows furrowed as he thought about the woman before him. Who was either incredibly stupid or brave; which he did not know. No one of her standing had ever talked to him like that. Yet she spoke as if she did not care what power he held, or what influence he had. She acted almost nonchalant as if she had nothing to lose. As if she was not, in fact, a helpless human who was on a suicidal mission to cook for a group of Dwarves attempting to reclaim their homeland. No. There was something this woman wasn't telling him and he was going to find out exactly what it was.

"So be it. Take this woman back down to the dungeons with the rest of them," Thranduil spoke in a calm voice down at Alexa; his tone shocking the guards. But they did as he asked and took the woman back down to the dungeons.

"I'll be seeing you soon Alexa," he muttered, as he sat upon his throne, deep in thought.