Note: Italics is thoughts, unless specified otherwise i.e flashbacks or visions. / is timeskip
THIRD POV
Many days had passed since the company had been captured by the Mirkwood Elves. Thranduil had summoned Alexa so many times she had since lost count. Much to the Elven king's irritation, he had not found out anything about her or why she is on a suicide mission to reclaim a homeland with a band of Dwarves. He had even tried several times during the night, but even that did not work. She was unbreakable.
Other than spending her time in the Throne Room, silently waiting to be escorted back to her cell. Alexa and Dwalin had gotten closer. Spending all that time together in close quarters really brought the two together.
It was strange to think about. Force, if she was told a month ago that she and Dwalin would be talking civilly she would've laughed in their face. But yet here she was, talking to Dwalin without once shouting at him or causing a fight. Talk about character development.
Her cheek had since gone down and was no longer swollen. Thanks to Tauriel who had given her some medicine for that. Though it was still bruised. It was now a light yellow, so unless you were in the right lighting it wasn't noticeable.
Other than the countless interrogation sessions during all times of the day, so far life in the dungeons wasn't so bad. Though Dwalin wasn't much of a talker, it was company all the same. Besides he was an amazing cuddlier. Like who would've known? Big, scary Dwalin a cuddlier? Ha!
Ever since Alexa had first fallen asleep in Dwalin's arms, she's had an undisturbed sleep. Well, not from her visions or PTSD flashbacks anyway. No, nowadays it was all because of that blonde Elven prick of a King that she woke up several times during the night. Anyway, since it had worked so well - and Dwalin didn't seem to mind – they now sleep soundly in each other's arms most nights.
Fast forward to now; Alexa had just recently gotten back from yet another one of the blonde King's interrogations. At this point, she had just stood in the Throne Room as silent as death. Simply watching the Elven King with practised patience, her face and mind blank.
Just kidding, whilst her face was blank her mind betrayed her. As Thranduil had circled her, Alexa had been silently plotting to rip off those thick eyebrows of his. She just couldn't take her eyes off them; they were so big! Like a pair of hairy caterpillars had decided to make their home there.
After he had done his usual circling and gotten up close to her, she had half the mind to rip them off like Velcro. Not that she did, but she would be lying if she said her hand didn't twitch. That had brought her to here, back in the dark, dank cell with Dwalin.
"Wha' did he say tis time lass?" Dwalin asked from his spot on the bench.
"Same old same old: being abandoned, dying alone, that I'm a weak, defenceless little girl," Alexa sighed heavily, plonking down next to Dwalin; their thighs touching due to the lack of room on the small bench.
"He really needs some new insults," Alexa jest, gaining a hum from Dwalin.
The two sat in comfortable silence for a while. Not needing to say anything. Alexa shifted on the bench; bringing her legs up, she tucked them under her body. Releasing a sigh, she dropped her head; resting it on Dwalin's broad shoulder.
"How is yer cheek? Does it still hurt?" Dwalin asked, breaking the silence between the two.
"A bit. But I'm more worried about you than my yellow cheek," Alexa replied, her eyes flickering over the bruises on the side of his face and his swollen eye.
"Na need ta worrie about me lass," Dwalin whispered, staring down at his meaty hands.
"I know, but I do regardless," Alexa said, casting her eyes down to his lap. Her hand reached out and grasped his calloused hand in hers tightly.
Squeezing Dwalin's hand firmly, Alexa thought back to that day. After the Elves had carried out their bloody, unconscious counterpart and Alexa had been taken to the Throne Room, Dwalin had gotten the worst of it. When Alexa had finally returned to the dungeon with Tauriel, the Dwarves around her were in an uproar.
At first, she had thought that they had seen her healing cheek; but it was much worse than that. After being let back in her joined cell with Dwalin she went to tell him about her 'day' when she had noticed that he wasn't in there with her.
It didn't take long before the others had filled her in on what had happened. After hearing what had gone down, Alexa had almost revealed who she really was. To put it simply her thoughts were very colourful.
But being a Jedi, Alexa was trained to be mindful of her thoughts and her emotions. And so, she had meditated on the Jedi Code; busying herself by focusing on purging her destructive emotions. By the time Dwalin had come back, Alexa's mind had cleared.
She had relented from causing any harm to the Elven guards who had shoved his battered body in. But that didn't stop her from glaring at the smug bastards. They had beaten him; his face was bruised and bloody. But that wasn't the worst of it. His back had several long lashes with some painful-looking welts. His wrists were also bruised, which Alexa had assumed were from chains they had no doubt held him down with.
Releasing a sigh, Alexa came back to the present and lifted her head from Dwalin's shoulder. "Come now, let's go," Alexa whispered, patting his tattooed hand.
Once he had stood, Alexa ushered him towards the darkest spot of the cell. She had been doing this since it happened. As they were stuck in a cell in the Mirkwood Realm, she had been unable to heal him completely; as she was worried the Elves would notice. That and since they were barely fed anything it would take too much effort and would leave her drained for several hours. So, every now and then she would numb his pain, slowly healing the wounds on his body.
Mapping out the damp wall through the darkness with her hands, Alexa finally sat down against the corner of the cell. Wordlessly Dwalin followed, sitting down in front of her; knowing the drill by now.
As he settled in front of her, he tugged his tunic over his head. It was hard to see much in front of her, but Alexa managed. Her hands ran over Dwalin's muscular back, enticing a sigh from the burly Dwarf. The lashes from the whip had almost fully healed, with scabs now covering the once raw wounds.
Breathing deeply, Alexa focused on the force around her and within. Clearing her mind, her fingers followed the path of each lash. As she went over them, she mended the flesh until they were nothing more than a handful of long, thin scratches.
After softly patting his back, Dwalin tugged his tunic back over his now fully healed back. Releasing a sigh, Alexa shuffled around to his front. Grasping his wrists lightly, she made quick work of what bruises were left. Finally, she peered up at his bruised face. Gently, her right hand reached up to cup his bearded cheek. Dwalin closed his eyes at the sensation, a red tint formed on his cheeks at her closeness - not that Alexa noticed; and if she did, she kept quiet about it.
The force flowed from her fingertips onto his face. His swollen eye went down till it was just a black eye and the cuts on his face all but disappeared.
"That's all for today," Alexa murmured, reluctantly removing her hand from his warm cheek.
Releasing a grunt, Dwalin nodded and stood. Alexa was about to follow when she noticed his hand outstretched towards her. Peering up at the Dwarf, she grinned and took his hand.
Pulling on her hand, Dwalin heaved Alexa up with practised ease. She smiled down at the Dwarf; who's lips twitched in a rare smile back at her. The two stared at each other for a moment, just smiling.
"Thank yer lass," Dwalin breathed, thankful for her efforts.
"That's okay Dwalin," Alexa whispered, a shaky breath leaving her as she realized that she was still holding his hand.
Confused at her sudden behaviour, Dwalin followed her eye line to their intertwined hands; a blush rising on his neck. Peering back up into Alexa's eyes, the pair stared at each other; the air around them now extremely thick and awkward.
Feeling her own cheeks heat up, Alexa quickly released Dwalin's hand and put some space between them. Too embarrassed to do anything else, Alexa peered down at her feet; her face a brilliant red.
An awkward cough left Dwalin, as he looked at Alexa bashfully before averting his eyes. He seemed to be having a mental conversation with himself before he stepped forward, closer to the woman and looked back up at her. Sensing his movement, Alexa spared a glance at the Dwarf; holding her breath as she watched him open his mouth.
"Not stuck in there, you're not," A familiar voice interrupted, unknowingly bringing the two back to reality. It seemed that Alexa and Dwalin were so absorbed in one another, they had completely missed Bilbo's return.
It was around this time that Alexa and Dwalin heard the tale-tell sounds of keys clinking together. Glancing towards the source of the voice, a grin grew on Alexa's previous bashful face before a choked laugh left her. Forgetting her previous embarrassment Alexa rushed towards the bars of the cell.
"Bilbo!" Alexa yelled, her happiness at seeing her friend making her momentarily forget about their situation. The rest of the company joined in, all greeting Bilbo in a similar fashion; some even cheering at the sight of their burglar.
"Shh! There are guards nearby," Bilbo hushed, moving to Thorin's cell first. He quickly unlocked the cell with the stolen keys, freeing their leader.
Once Bilbo had finally gotten to Alexa's and Dwalin's cell and opened it, she had quickly hugged him; engulfing his smaller frame. "Oh, Bilbo. Thank force you're okay," Alexa breathed, squeezing Bilbo tightly before pulling back to look at his face.
"I believe this belongs to you," Bilbo whispered, a small smile gracing his dirty face.
Alexa looked down at Bilbo confused, before he held his hand out towards her. Peering down a grin grew on her face as she saw what the Hobbit was holding. Her lightsaber! Taking it from Bilbo's' hold, Alexa ran her fingers over the familiar grooves on the hilt.
"Oh, yeah. It's all coming together,"
