Hushed Whispers

Even though Bilbo was not involved in the fight, he found himself pressed up against the wall, cringing as Thorin continued to yell while the guards dragged him away. Fili stood there, slackjawed as the redheaded captain led him away. Bilbo still wasn't quite used to the way the ring made things look, the way it drained color and definition from everything he looked at. The world involving the ring was a smeared and terrifying place, where something was always not quite right, full of strange images and noises that he knew didn't normally exist.

The elf king was glaring now, the angriest the hobbit had seen him since sneaking into Mirkwood, which was saying something. His eyes were so intensely focused on the other, who was assumed to be his son, that he terrified Bilbo, whom the stare wasn't even directed at. Legolas, for that was his name, was looking back, though his moment of rebellion and cruelty was gone now, the prince looking at his father with legitimate anxiety and shame. Out of nowhere, they were both rapid firing elvish at one another, an argument Bilbo chose as his cue to slip away.

He was clueless as to what to do. Sneaking into the kingdom to help the rest of the Company escape had seemed like such an easy task at first, but the moment he had stepped in, he knew it was not going to be so simple. With the arrival of the dwarves came the arrival of crowds of guards, as Thranduil clearly ran a tight ship when it came to his enemy. It also seemed that the only way out of the place was through one of the two heavily guarded exits, which were also absolutely no help.

Bilbo wasn't even bothering to try and figure out the Kili situation either. He was still trying to wrap his head around it. Fili had never mentioned a brother, and Thorin another nephew, so the discussion between the jailed dwarves were foreign and odd to him. He was also sure that they would refuse to leave without their lost family member, adding another issue into the whole business.

Well, at least he knew which guard usually possessed the keys. At least that was something…

Scuttling back to the cells themselves, Bilbo knew that making it into the mountain if they didn't get out in the next two days would be virtually impossible, and the responsibility of helping them all escape, rested on his small shoulders: a far from encouraging thought. In stories and folk songs, hobbits were never the heroes, and though he had indeed saved the Company many times, he never fancied himself the legendary type.

The guards ahead were finished smashing Thorin and Fili back into their cells, and the resulting noise almost caused Bilbo to be unable to hear the scuff of a boot directly behind him. Almost.

The hobbit whirled around, pressing his back to the wall automatically, and found himself staring face to face with the lost member. Kili looked nervous and cautious as he craned his neck to peer at the dungeons themselves, as if he were dying to see what was within, but was also petrified to discover it as well. Bilbo clapped a hand over his own mouth, eyes wide. It was in times like these when he wished the ring would also help him walk through walls, or stop having a physical presence at all.

Kili had changed since Bilbo had seen him last, swapping out the uniform for a pale gold and leafy green robe, almost identical to those of Thranduil and Legolas besides the color. The hobbit almost winced at the lack of the bead, which he now knew was being tied to the bars of Thorin's cell. Instead, the dwarf's hair was tame and adorned with a gold bead similar to the one he denounced. Bilbo could also tell that Kili had at least attempted to shave, though he saw several nicks around the jaw area. The lack of facial hair also revealed four small ridges, most likely scars, on the left hand side of his face, almost disappearing into the hairline. The marks began at ear level, making their way down below his cheekbones. Additionally, being near Thorin's nephew seemed to trigger a strange noise, almost like a hushed whisper while Bilbo was wearing the ring. It didn't happen near anyone else, yet whenever he got close to him, the nonsense voice would begin to babble. Bilbo frowned.

Kili wasn't supposed to be here anyway. By word of the king he had no desire to, and was forbidden to be anywhere near the dwarves or the dungeons. Yet there he was, looking into the cells and attempting to see the relatives he had claimed to despise. All Bilbo could do was pray that he did not move any further forward.

To his great relief, and horror, the voices of the returning guards drew closer, causing Kili to slink back towards the throne area, but also cutting the burglar so he had no other way to exit, no choice, but to follow the dwarf.

Bilbo had discovered that everyone in Mirkwood moved with a purpose, not like the hobbits that enjoyed wandering, or the dwarves that journeyed aimlessly for the sake of adventure. No. These creatures seemed to all have an idea of where they were going and how to get there, Kili being no exception. He sped walked forward with a steely look in his eyes, brow furrowed with the corners of his mouth turned down. And since Bilbo's aimless wandering of the palace had yielded no luck thus far, he could at least track him somewhere that had some sort of objective.

Kili sped down several different staircases and passageways, into a section of Mirkwood Bilbo hadn't even noticed existed, a completely different level. At the end of the corridor was a large arch that opened up into a larger room, one that looked ten times more important than anything the hobbit had found by himself. With a look over one shoulder that made Bilbo feel oddly cold, as the dwarf looked at him without seeing him, Kili ducked into the room itself.

It was primarily full of tables and chairs, wine bottles discarded all over the place, along with several books and papers. On the wall by the entrance, a hook was mounted into the stone, and on it, a ring covered in keys. Kili let his finger hang on it for a moment, before continuing on, clucking his tongue at the disorder of the place. Whilst the prince paused to look at one of the documents laid on one of the various tables, something caught Bilbo's eyes that could not be ignored.

It was a separate room, which opened through another arch, directly adjacent to the one he presently stood in, was the solution to his problem. It was primarily empty besides the bottles that lined the walls, and a precariously stack of barrels in the center of the room, along with a large lever nearby. At Bilbo slipped into the room, a quick count telling him that there were fifteen barrels, more than enough for the thirteen passengers that would definitely be escaping. From the sound of rushing water beneath his wooly feet and the deep separated rectangle section of the floor, Bilbo was sure that it would lead into a river or some sort of rushing body of water. Now, all he needed were the keys.

Back in the other room, Kili's frown deepened as he scanned the paper further, before simply muttering "ridiculous," and darting out the room. The key ring was Bilbo's for the taking and take it he did. In the eyes of the Company, and increasingly in his own eyes, he was a very good burglar. After tucking it carefully within his web-covered jacket, he was safe to wind his way back to the dungeons.

~:~

The patience that it took Bilbo to wait for the guards to slowly filter their way away from the cells and up to the festival had once existed in the little hobbit's body, but had slowly ebbed away throughout the nonstop adventure of the quest. By the time he was sure the coast was clear, he was about ready to begin pounding his head on the wall from boredom and anticipation. It didn't help that he had come to the conclusion that wearing the ring for long periods of times was utterly exhausting. The absence of a good meal in recent moment was also particularly distracting.

Now at least he was free to begin implementing his plan, as he finally eased the ring off his finger with a sigh, fishing the key ring out of his jacket. A strange lightness came over him as he ran down the rows of cells, until he finally heard a recognized shout.

"Bilbo!" The hobbit immediately raised a finger over his lips with an urgent "Sh!" as he turned to the nearest holding area, containing Fili, who was now hanging onto two of the bars, smiling. Bilbo rushed to fumble with the lock and keys. "What are you doing here?" The lock clicked at he slid the correct key inside and turned it, leading the door to swing open.

"I've come to help you all escape, of course!" Bilbo retorted, jingling the keys for effect as Fili stepped out of the cell. "I am, in fact, a master burglar." He decided to leave out the miniscule detail that he had stolen the keys from a hook, not a person, and keep that information to himself. Fili clapped him on the shoulder.

"Brilliant! The rest of the Company is somewhere over there." He gestured vaguely. "I was next to Balin until they moved me. I just hope they're all still in the same place." Bilbo nodded, beginning to walk in the direction he had pointed towards.

"Just stay quiet! The elves should be preoccupied at their party for the moment, but I don't want to tempt them by being too noisy."

It turned out Fili had been correct, as the rest of the dwarves were in the cells just down the way, Balin first, followed by Bombur, Ori, Oin and Gloin. They seemed to get the message of staying quiet better than others, while the other members were not as soft. Dwalin yelled at the top of his lungs when Bilbo popped out in front of his cell, causing a chorus of "Sh!"'s to be uttered. Bofur and Gloin also made loud exclamations before they were silenced. Nori and Dori were both fine, though Nori ended up kicking the bars to the cell in excitement, before yelping at the resulting pain in his foot.

They had left Thorin for last, passing him on their way to get Bofur, but figuring that they would double-back anyway to exit, and free him then. The minute the reassuring click signaled the opening of the door, Thorin broke out in the first genuine smile Bilbo had seen from him in a while. "Master Baggins," he greeted, shaking his head. "It appears that you've done it again." Bilbo shrugged, before nodding his head back towards the barrel room.

"Not to out do myself, but we have a way out." A murmur of comments broke out within the Company. Bilbo was becoming quickly irritated by the cacophony, shushing them once again. "But, if we don't want to get caught, it's important that you all stay quiet! No talking until we're down there, understood?"

"Not quite." Everyone jumped, jolted more like it, as a voice came from the shadows in the rows of cells across the passage. The moment Bilbo saw the flash of gold, green, and dark hair, he simply squeaked: "Run!"

Run they did, Bilbo leading the pack towards the exit, keeping an eye for Kili as he followed in hot pursuit. It occurred to the hobbit as odd that the dwarf didn't sound any sort of alarm, instead keeping a steady pace with the Company, also strange, as he could clearly run faster. Thorin and Fili kept looking over their shoulders with shell-shocked looks on their faces, Bilbo having to urge them on. Now, their only hope was to make it to the barrels and get out of Mirkwood as soon as possible.

As they began thundering down the second staircase, Kili was gone, nowhere to be seen. Everyone was looking around desperately, and the absence of their revealed pursuer was far more unsettling than his presence itself. A million thoughts were flashing through Bilbo's brain, one entering before he could comprehend the idea that was now leaving his mind. The only constant theme was to keep moving.

As they skidded into the room, it seemed as though Kili had abandoned the chase entirely, as he did not enter the room directly after them, and Bilbo was sure the elf-raised dwarf was not lost, keeping him on edge. "Into the barrels!" He called out to the Company, ignoring their confused looks. "Don't question it, just follow my instructions." Fili seemed to have not caught that last part, however, because he stopped next to Bilbo, along with Thorin.

"We can't leave Kili here." He looked so conflicted, glancing between the dwarves and his uncle, and then back at the entrance itself. "I won't just let him go again." Bilbo opened his mouth to respond, but found only a squeak instead.

"We can come back!" Dwalin shouted from his own barrel. "If we stay here, we will never get a chance like this before Durin's Day!"

"I just-"

"We don't have a choice!" Thorin interrupted, moving towards the barrel room himself. "I cannot risk the fate of this quest on a family member who might prefer to stay here and pretend to be an elf." Fili deflated, but followed his uncle's words as he clambered into a barrel along with the rest.

After a quick head count, Bilbo rushed to the lever, holding it with one hand. "It might be a little cold," he warned. "Just keep your head above the surface!" There were loud and finite exclamations of protest as the hobbit pulled the lever anyway, sending the rectangle to fall at an angle, so both the dwarves and barrels roll and fell into the churning white water of the river below.

Bilbo only took a moment to prepare himself before grabbing a barrel, and plunging in.

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed Chapter 4 of my little story. Follow it if you're interested to find out what happens next, hopefully the day after tomorrow, but with writing you never know. As always, I love hearing from you guys so feel free (and encouraged) to leave a review and tell me what you think! Thanks once again for reading! Until next time…