The sound of the slamming door echoed through the room like a strong hammer blow to cold steel. The company sat motionless, clutching to one another, knuckles white and unyeilding. Dwarves were hard creatures, carved from stone in the image of their maker but even the densest rock can be broken down by a constant flow of water and as hot tears streamed down their distraught faces, leaving trails of salt and pain more than one thought they would carry those lines to the end of their days. It would only be right for them to bare a mark of their pain, a reminder of the shame they all felt in this moment.
What had they done?
That single question bouncing around in each of their heads, carried by a voice that sounded to much like their broken burglar in the room beyond. They had done this to him. It may have been another's hand behind the blows but the wounds were of their making, wounds that began long before those monsters struck him. Each held on to their brothers, not caring if they were of blood or arms, not knowing whose tears fell on their hand and caring not. All lent their silent support to the other not wishing to receive any for themselves, how could they ever be worthly of comfort now?
Images flashed before their eyes, fire side converstaions, bits of smiles and laughter, eyes wide with wonder and admiration; suddenly replaced with silent screams, blood dripping from open mangled wounds, wrists bound by unforgiving steel, and arms stretched to their limit strung high above a head of golden curls.
All would give anything to travel back in time to right the wrongs they had committed but they were only dwarves. Stone and steal, fire and molten gold, that is what they were and just as the mountain blocks the sun and crushes all beneath it's heavy weight they too had crushed their burglar. He who shined brighter than any gem, gold, or stone; who had given them his best no matter how difficult of a task, crushed beneath the weight of their pride and indiffference.
Throats burned cried horse with grief, limbs shook, shoulders hunched low under the weight of regret. Theirs was a burden of their own making, forged by hands of mistrust and ignorance. Why had they treated him so badly, because he was weak; because he was soft; because he had never lifted a sword? Bilbo Baggins had been different from them and instead of embracing him as he was they mocked him for his differnces. The irony of it all was that if each of them had been a little bit more like their hobbit things would have gone much differently.
It was Ori who spoke first, or tried to speak but his voice cracked turning into a horse rasp before he gave up, tucking his face into his brothers hard shoulder.
As it tends to, grief swiftly turned to anger, lighting a fire in each of them. Memories fanning the flames higher, hotter, spiraling, consuming each of them until they all trembled with it. Their blood screamed in their ears.
Smash, beat, avenge, smash, beat, avenge.
It chanted, until everything else faded away into the background as white noise.
Kili turned first, always one of the more sensitive soul's setting his eyes on his uncle. Thorin who was crumpled down on the floor, hands shaking as he tried to balance his weight between his knees and arms, chest heaving irratically, his eyes screwed shut and his face twisted into an expression Kili had never seen the like of before. He watched as Thorin reached up one hand fishing it into his chest, pulling, clawing at it as if he could reach inside himself and pull out the offending organ and crush it beneath his heavy palm. Tears polled beneath the king as his shoulders finally collapsed with a broken gasp sending him crashing to the ground, his large fists beating against the stone.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
The drumming of his grief rang through the room.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
It's cadence strong and unwavering.
Images ran in Kili's mind in time with the hits until each slam against the stone aligned with an image of a broken Bilbo. His temper flared looking for an outlet, searching for a place to lay the blame.
"You." he hissed raising to his feet, shoving off his brother as he tried to pull him back down into his embrace.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
Thorin ' s cadence continued oblivious to everyone and everything around him.
"You!" Kili bellowed striding forward to tower over his uncles shaking form.
Thorin ' s hands stilled but he did not raise his head to meet Kili's eye, instead he turned his face downward, hiding in the cascading wall of hair that engulfed him.
"This is your fault." Kili hissed his voice drawn tight as the string on his bow, his words as deadly as the arrows it fired.
"If you wouldn't have cast him away this never would have happened. He would have been safe in the mountain instead of by himself in the wilds. He should have been here in Erebor, the kingdom he helped reclaim!" he yelled throwing his arms widly in front of him and still Thorin remained mute.
"It is only because of him that we made it here in the first place! Not to mention how many of us he saved in that damned war of yours! A war he tried to prevent while we stood holed up in a damn treasure hoard concerned about nothing but the riches at our feet."
Kili's words aimed true striking into the very heart of Thorin, each slew of words widening the crack in his already broken heart until he was sure it would split in two inside his very chest.
"Do you have nothing to say for yourself?" Kili asked his voice horse and raw.
"You don't do you?" he breathed incredulously.
"You won't even look at me." he spat at his uncle his anger burning hotter than it ever had before in his young life.
"Look at me!" he yelled stomping closer, until his boots brushed against Thorin's crumpled coat.
"Damn it look at me!" he cried fisting his hands in his hair, pulling it wildly away from his face, wincing at the pain of his own grip.
Still Thorin remained silent and hidden, praying for death to come and end him of his misery.
"I said look at me!" Kili screeched reaching down graspring Thorin by his shoulders lifting him off the ground.
Kili bulked under his uncles dead weight for an instant as Thorin refused to set his feet under him, dangling limply in his nephews arms but still his head hung, his eyes cast down to the floor where he'd been moments before.
"Why. Wont. You. Look. At. Me." Kili ground out each word punctuated by a sharp shake of his unlces frame.
"Stop being a coward and look at me!" Kili bellowed loud as any war cry thrusting Thorin away from him into the stone wall behind him with a crash.
Finally, Thorin stood on his own his head thrown back against the wall, letting the stone support his weight.
"Why? Why did you cast him aside?" Kili asked tasting the salt of his own tears.
"Was that stone worth it in the end? Does the Arkenstone keep you warm at night? Does it fill the holes in you heart?" Kili fired one after another frantic, unstable, and wild.
"He loved you, did you know that? He would have followed you to the ends of the earth and back if you'd let him because he loved you!" he shouted his voice cracking like the heart inside of his chest.
"And you - and you threw him away like a piece of filth."
Kili advanced on his uncle again no longer able to bear the silence of the man he had seen as a father his entire life. Pulling back his elbow he sent his fist into his uncle's stomach, Thorin's breath leaving him in a whoosh.
"He loved you and you broke him!" he cried landing another punch.
"He saved you and you cast him aside!" another punch landed home.
Thorin did not struggle, he did not fight back; instead he let Kili's blows land on him like an answered prayer, finally physical punishment for the harm he had done. A hundred blows could fall on him and they wouldn't be enough. So he stayed silent hoping Kili's hands would beat until his mind faded to black.
"He followed you and you led him to nothing but heartbrrak!" another blow swifter this time.
"He trusted you and you betrayed him!" Thorin welcomed the pain allowing it to brand each of Kili's statements into his skin.
"He trusted us and we betrayed him!" Kili cried his arms growing heavy.
"He trusted me and I betrayed him!" another blow softer this time and Thorin hated him for it.
"I should have done something! I should have stopped you, I should have been there, I should have been the friend that he deserved." he sobbed falling hard onto Thorin chest unexpectedly.
Thorin wrapped his arms around his nephew to keep him upright Kili latching on to him with a death grip. The young dwarf buried his face into Thorin's thick hair as strangled gasps ripped from his throat. Thorin held on squeezing tight, Kili's pain echoing in himself.
"What have I done?" Kili sobbed over and over again.
Thorin murmured mindless words of what he hoped were comfort but honestly he couldn't tell or remember them once they passed his lips. Through it all Kili hung on his grip tightening until Thorin couldn't tell where he ended and Kili began, his mind took him back to another time Kili had clung to him in such a way. This was not the small vulnerable dwarfling who had just lost his father, here was a strong proven warrior who had seen the horror of the world; and though the boy grown into an adult his pain was still as raw and real as it had been when he was no more than a babe.
"It's not your fault. Ssshhh. It's not your fault Kili. It's no one's fault but mine." he whispered bringing one hand up to cup the back of Kili's head rocking him slowly against his chest.
"You're right. Everything you said was right." he said through his tears as they began to fall a new. How he still had tears to fall he'd never know but down they came in never ending waves.
"I was a coward, a coward of the worst kind. I pushed him away and treated him badly because I was scared of my own feelings. I do not know if he loved me-" he stopped then, his throat closing over his words trapping them. He swallowed hard once, twice, and then a third time forcing his body to obey; maybe if he'd done that before they would not all be here now.
"I know that I loved him, I still love him, I will always love him and I-I failed him." he choked his legs giving out beneath him as if the confession had taken all of his strength with it; Kili slid down with him landing in a heap in Thorin lap, his arms still latched around his neck.
"He is my one and I sent him away. I sent him away into the hands of monsters." Thorin stopped then resting his forehead lightly against the top of Kili's head guilty for the bit of peace it brought him. He deserved no peace.
No one spoke.
Thorin had completely forgotten about everyone else until Fili landed beside him on his knees looking unsure as he bent forward. Thorin lifted his one arm giving Fili all the permission he need to throw him self beside his brother. Thorin clasped both of them on the back of the neck and held on tight as they both clutched to him in return. The trio sat together sharing in their grief and pain. This was not an embrace of forgivness. No, they were still far from that day, if it came at all. This was an embrace of despiration, a shot in the dark to hold on to something familiar, something they had known and trusted before their world had come crumbling around them. A foundation of solidarity amungst the rubble and jagged pieces of reality that had become their lives.
Some may have seen that moment as a sign of hope, a sign that even in the darkest moments love could be found in those who one truely cared for but not for Thorin. Thorin felt nothing but the shattering of his heart and the weight of his shame as his one, his love, his life, his burglar lay fighting to stay alive in the next room. As he sat on that stone floor holding tight to his nephews who were more sons to him than anything else he prayed.
He prayed to both Mahal and Yavanna to spare Bilbo Baggins. He prayed until his tears stopped, he prayed as the company slowly shuffled from the room in groups leaning on each other as they left, he prayed as Kili and Fili both placed a soft kiss to his temple before departing themselves, he prayed as he curled up in the corner pulling his coat around him for warmth, and he prayed as his emotionally drained body drifted off into a fitful sleep his fingers curled around the acorn in his pocket.
Dis sat quietly on the bed next to Bilbo's head, gently wiping away the sticky sweat from his fever. His body was hot, as hot as a furnace and even though she had spoken with such absolute surety about his recovery to the company three days prior, she worried. Oin was the best healer in any of the Dwarven kingdoms and he was doing everything in his power to help heal Bilbo; even going as far as to research elvin medicines. He'd been able to keep the fever somewhat in control up until last night but now everything he did seemed uneffective. She dipped the cloth in the basin filled to the brim of cold water before letting it rest on the back of Bilbo's neck. He remained deathly still under her minstrations, never moving more than the rise and fall of his chest and never letting so much as a whimper pass his chapped lips.
The door of the sitting room to her right opened and closed revealing the form of a small downcast Ori, who took up residence of the seat a few feet away from the bed. Dis ignored him as she did all of the others unless they spoke directly to her.
The day after she informed the company of all of he abuse and torture Bilbo suffered at the hands of their captors the entire company came to see him at once. Dis had been furious when she entered the healing chamber to find them all huddled around his bed spewing apologies and clasping his hands. More than one of them bore a mark from where she forced them all into the little sitting room they had claimed as their own. None of them argued as Dis shouted and chastised them for their selfish behavior before laying down very strict restrictions for those who whiched to visit the hobbit, even going as far to write them down and post them on the door.
1. Only one dwarf will be allowed to enter the healing room at a time, there is no need to crowd Bilbo or the healers who have a job to do.
2. Said dwarf will sit silently on a stool of my placement or stand away from the bed, out of he way.
3. No one but myself or a healer may touch Bilbo Baggins in anyway shape or form. You all lost that right when you mistreated him and will only regain it by Bilbo's consent, which he was currently unable to give.
4. No one is to speak of/or apologize for any wrongs committed by themselves or other members of the company. NO EXCEPTIONS. Any apologies must wait until Bilbo is not only conscious but also lucid before being given. To apologize when someone is unable to hear or acknowledge the remorse behind the statement is stupidity of the highest form and will NOT be tolerated. Blibo deserves to hear them himself when he is of strong mind and body and he will do so if he wishes.
5. Acceptable forms of conversation are as follows: Normal conversation regarding the everyday comings and goings of your day lives and/or work, reading out loud from a book or other work on a topic that would interest him (ask for help if in need of assistance finding an appropriate topic), singing quietly, and fond memories that do not involve Bilbo being made fun of in anyway.
6. No one is allowed to visit with Bilbo unsupervised. Peirod. If I am not present you will turn around and return to where ever you came from. NO EXCEPTIONS.
7. If any of these rules are broken said offender will find themselves barred from the chambers for the rest of the duration of Bilbo's recovery and on the receiving end of my fist. There will be no bending, changing, loosely interpreting, or ignoring these rules.
Yours truly,
Dis
So far everyone had conceded to obey her rules, some less obligingly than others, each visiting at least once a day when their schedules allowed. Thorin had been one of the most frequent visitors sitting silent as stone, eyes watching the hobbit never leaving their target. He had only spoken once on his second visit, offering an apology to Dis herself for his madness and the harm it caused to her sons.
"I always thought myself to be stronger than them." he whispered quietly, so quietly Dis thought she had imagined his words at first.
"I thought our grandfather weak because of how thoroughly he allowed the gold to take over his mind and heart but I know now that I am just as weak as he was, even more so I'm afraid."
Part of Dis wanted to comfort her brother, assure him that he was not in fact the villain he portrayed himself to be but one look at Bilbo halted her tongue.
"I was blind. I could not see anything beyond my want of the treasures of gold and gems. My blindness almost led to the loss of everything I've always held dear. I was willing to send your sons, my beloved nephews, to war over a stone and for that I am truly sorry." Dis could hear the tears in his voice but remained silent, Thorin would not wish her to speak now, he had never been one for apologies.
"I will never be able to atone for the wrongs I have done to him nor do I deserve I deserve the chance to try." he stated flatly, nodding his head in Bilbo's direction.
"It would have been a kinder fate for me to have died that day, a death of honor fighting for my kin and kingdom instead of being forced to live out the rest of my days in regret and shame." he finished clenching his jaw his eyes still locked on the form laying on the bed.
Dis's heart lurched at the words her own tears stinging her eyes at his admission.
"Don't speak that way." she ordered firmly, "You were wrong I will not sprout pretty words to justify your actions when there are none that would ring true but your are my brother and I don't want to imagine a fate in which you had been slain. I am beyond angry at you, a fact which you already know but I love you. I love you just as fiercely now as I have our entire lives." She promised hoping he would belive the truth in her words.
"I will never condone your treatment or actions towards Bilbo but I love you still. I love you Thorin but right now I don't like you very much at all." she finished determinedly.
Thorin's only response was to nod his head once before the pair fell back into silence each lost in their own thoughts wondering where they would go from here, both knowing the answer relied with the broken figure before them.
"Good evening amad." Kili greeted quietly as he replaced Ori on the stool by the bed.
Dis smiled and rose to embrace her son with a smile. She had a long talk with both of her boys the night before, making sure to tell them how proud she was of them both for what they had accomplished since she had seen them last. Bilbo had been happy to inform Dis of even the smallest details concerning her son's which she listened to eagerly during their capture. She was happy to note that they had been two of his closest companions on the journey though there had been more than a few occasions she felt the need to scold them for.
"How is he?"
"His fevers gone up but I'm sure Oin will figure something out." she answered with false surety, Kili was a sensitive soul and she did not want to cause him any more worry than he already carried.
Just then the door to the healing chamber open with a bang as the wooden door slammed against the stone wall sending Dis spinning on her heal her expression thunderous.
"What in Druin's name do you think your doing?" she seethed at Gloin who looked agitated, shuffling from one foot to the other.
"Kili your needed in the throne room. Now. Right now." he stated carefully avoiding the princess's furious gaze.
Dis huffed at his avoidence, "And just what is so important that would warrant your barging in here like an oliphant?"
"Throin sent me, he's uh- summoned the entire company. Ori said Kili would be here." he answered quickly motioning for Kili to rise to his feet.
"Come on! We've got to go!" he hurried rushing into the room and dragging a very confused Kili behind him, offering no more explanation as he shut the door behind him.
At least he had the decency to shut it shoftly, the princess mused taking up her post on the hobbits bed muttering under her breath about impulsive dwarves.
Throin paced back and forth across the expanse of the large meeting hall trying to keep himself from throttling the tall tree sagging elf king before him.
Who was he to demand a visit to the hobbit - his hobbit- the companies hobbit...or was his hobbit.
The idea that Thorin no longer had the right to call Bilbo his halted his stride momentarily as he cursed under his breath. Even if Bilbo was lost to him that pointy eared bastard had no right to him ignored the elf, blocking out the words that left his lips growling every time he met the elf ' s eyes.
Thorin had just been finishing up a rather boring meeting with the head of the jewelers guild regarding a work schedule in the forges eager for the chance to visit Bilbo when Dwalin had caught him in the hall. Dwalin informed him that none other than the elf king himself had just arrived demanding an audience with him. Thorin had no idea what could have prompted the visit, all of Erebor ' s dealings with the elves of Mirkwood were finished for the time being, each party pleased to be free of the other for quite some time. For a moment he had almost told Dwalin to let Balin handle whatever headache Thranduil had brought to his halls but one thought of Bilbo's reaction to such an idea had him stalking towards the throne room with a disgruntled frown.
He had not expected for Thranduil to immediately begin firing inquires regarding the hobbit and demanding to be brought to him. Throin had refused and one look at Dwalin had sent the warrior rushing from the room to round up the company, anything pertaining to their hobbit would be dealt with together as a united front.
It hadn't taken long for the company to assemble some such as Bofur covered in rock dust having obviously been busy at work. Others such as Bombur and Dori appeared to be winded as if they had sprinted there from wherever they had been. Kili and Gloin had been the last to arrive, glaring daggers at the elven king upon hearing his less than polite request.
"If you would be so kind as to explain the reason behind your request, perhaps his majesty would be would be more willing to discuss the possibility of setting up a meeting between yourself and Master Baggins." Balin said with an air of diplomacy Thorin would never achieve, his response to the elf had been much more colorful.
"Is Bilbo a prisoner of Erebor then?" Thranduil asked raising one of his brows looking down his stupid pointed nose.
"For I can find no other conclusion for your insistence that Bilbo would be unable to agree to meeting me himself." the stated dryly, "Unless of course he is unable due to more sinister reasons..." the king concluded his eyes suddenly flashing, his mouth forming a hard line.
"Have you harmed the hobbit?" he asked his voice cold as he narrowing his eyes.
"We would never!" shouted Ori from behind his brother puffing up his chest in indignation.
"If you have so much as harmed a single hair on his head I will be very displeased." the elf spat as the door to the meeting chamber opened cutting off Thorin's response.
"Your majesty, King Bard is here to see you." the gaurd stated from his place in the doorway.
Of course he is, Thorin grumbled.
Thorin's order to have Bard informed to return at a latter time died on his lips as the King of Dale shouldered past the gaurd stomping into the room looking more furious than Thorin had ever seen him.
"King Thorin, I apologize for my unusual entrance, I would not presume to enter your kingdom in such a way if it was not a matter of the upmost importance." he apologized bowing stiffly before striding forward.
" Thranduil, I'm glad you are here, I just sent a rider to your halls to inform you of my suspicions." he greeted the elf looking relived.
"Have you seen him? Where is he?" the man asked addressing the elf.
Thorin growled low in his throat, just what was going on here?
"If you have business with Erebor state it now." he snapped his patience wearing thin.
"All of my requests to be granted an audience with Master Baggins have been denied." Thranduil cut in completly ignoring Thorin's words.
Bard spun quickly on his heels his eyes leveling on the dwarves before him.
"Is it true that Master Baggins has recently returned to your halls?" Bard asked his voice short and polite yet his body language said the opposite.
"Just what do you want with Master Baggins?" Dwalin asked stepping forward.
"I don't belive that answered my question Master Dwarf." Bard retorted noticing how the rest of them tensed at his question.
"I don't belive I am under an obligation to answer your questions." Thorin answered coming to stand shoulder to shoulder with Dwalin, his eyes narrowing at the man.
"This is what I have been dealing with." Thranduil huffed in annoyance though his face remained a blank mask of in difference, "Their minds are as thick as the moutain around them." he clipped.
"I see you are as charming as ever." Bard smirked glancing at the elf king out of the corner of his eye.
"I only state facts as I see them and I dare you to come to a different conclusion."
"Now listen here you tree sagging, dirty bast-"
"King Bard, as I just informed King Thranduil we are going to need more information regarding the reasoning behind your visit before any decision regarding a meeting between yourselves and Master Baggins can be made." Balin rushed cutting off the slew of curses and insults that had been spewing from his brother; there was no one better with a battle axe but he was useless in political meetings.
"And as I informed you my reasoning is of a personal nature and will only be discussed with Bilbo." Thranduil snapped icily.
"That is the fifth time you have called him by his given name, I was not aware you were on such friendly terms with our burglar." Thorin hissed his anger boiling index his skin.
"There are many things you are not aware of Thorin, King Under the Mountain, my relationship with Bilbo Baggins being the least of them." Thranduil drawled lifting his chin.
Relationship?
"The last time I spoke with Bilbo, I was under the impression that all ties between himself and your company had been severed quite thoroughly." Thranduil added emphasizing the use of Bilbo's name as, smirking as all of the dwarves blanched at his words.
It was Fili who was the first to recover eyeing the elf suspiciously, "Just when was the last time you saw Mater Baggins?"
"After leaving your welcoming halls the wizard and the hobbit journeyed to my kingdom. Gandalf was called away suddenly, as wizards tend to be but Master Baggins remained as an honorary guest for over a month."
"In fact, Bard was present for the last three weeks of his stay and the two of them became quite close did you not?" Thranduil asked raising a questioning brow towards Bard who nodded his agreement.
"It is my honor to consider Master Baggins my friend."
"Oh I don't think friend is the right word to use. If I recall correctly it was only two days after your arrival when Bilbo moved into your own chambers for the rest of his stay. The screams coming from your rooms were loud enough to be heard in the next wing. It was all my servants seemed capable of speaking of, even more so after they saw myself exiting your chambers in the early morning hours." Thranduil added his voice taking on a silky qaulity.
"What!" Bellowed Thorin his blood pounding in his ears at the elf 's implication.
The idea of anyone putting their hands on his one, caressing his soft skin, causing cries of pleasure to fall from his lush lips made him sick and furious at the same time. Thorin wasn't sure if he wanted to throw up or murder the bastards in front of him. Both, he decided murder first be sick second.
Thranduil smiled icily at Thorin's outburst not even attempting to hide his pleasure at the Dwarven kings distress as Bard blushed and sputtered beside him.
"Night terrors!" he half shouted in a rush.
Bard cleared his throat trying desperately to control the wild blush that had taken over his entire face and neck at Thranduil's words.
"It was night terrors." he tried again pleased that his voice had returned to a more normal octive, "Bilbo suffered from severe night terrors. My daughter had them after my wife died and I found that having someone close by tended to help." he explained quickly.
"I offered for him to stay with me so he would have someone there to wake him and comfort him if need be. We mostly just stayed up late into the night talking until he would fall asleep and I would take him to bed."
"Not my bed- a separate bed- which he slept in...alone." Bard sputtered at the growls that rumbled menacingly from all thirteen dwarves before him Thorin's sounding louder than the rest.
"Oh course he had night terrors, whatever else would I have been speaking of?" Thranduil drawled slowly but his eyes sparkled with amusement and Thorin guessed the elf had meant for his words to be taken exactly the way they had.
"As interesting as that was I think it would be best if you got back to business." Thranduil stated his face becoming serious nd sharp.
"Lady Galadriel of Lothlórien has seen the image of Bilbo being carried into your moutain bloody and unconscious."
"What interest does the Lady of Light have in a simple hobbit?" Thorin asked cutting off Thranduil's words, there was more going in than was being said with Bilbo smack in the middle of it and that made him uneasy.
"There are many words to describe Bilbo Baggins but simple has never been one of them." Thranduil spat his calm demeanor crumbling.
His reaction only fueled Thorin's uneasy and anger as he clenched his jaw at his words. He knew Bilbo was anything but simple he hadn't meant his words to be taken as an insult to the hobbit yet Thranduil had jumped to his defense. Just what could possibly prompt such an emotional reaction from the nornally stoic elf?
The pair glared at each other from across the space between them as the tension in the room hit an all time high. Bard stepped forward cutting off any direct eye contact between the angered kings.
"Bloody and unconscious?" The man ground out between clenched teeth his eye bright with anger.
"Why would a dwarf by pass aid that would have been readily offered in Dale and continue on to the Lonely Mountain, especially if one of the riders was badly injured?" Bard questioned angrily.
"The other rider has not been to Erebor since the dragon came, they were unaware of the alliances between us." Balin answered stiffly, "They only wished to bring Bilbo to a place he would not be harmed."
"And they chose Erebor to be that place? We're they also unaware of your feelings towards the hobbit?" Bard spat incredulously.
"I'd be careful about what you're implying there." Dwalin rumbled dangerously from his place beside Thorin. "There's not a soul in this mountain who would wish Master Baggins harm."
"History would say otherwise Master Dwarf." Bard spat acidily, "Was it not the King himself who dangled Bilbo Baggins over your battlements with the intent to send him to his death!"
Chaos uprated at Bard's words as every dwarf started shouting loudly trying to be heard over the others. Insults were thrown, some rooted in old prejudices and some of a more imaginative nature at Bard and Thranduil; both becoming increasingly agitated by the second.
"We have not spent the last six months scouring all of Middle Earth for him to allow him to be dragged back to the one place he wanted to never see again!" Bard shouted after a particularly colorful insult from Gloin.
Silence fell upon the hall, heavy and thick with tension and disbelif.
"You knew." Kili spluttered, "You knew all this time and did nothing!" he shouted eyes wide and frantic as he pressed forward coming to stand in front of his uncle, his shoulders shaking with barely suppressed rage.
"We became aware of Bilbo's capture when he failed to make an appearance at the home of the shape shifter. We immediately pooled together our resources mounting a massive search for him." Thranduil explained body meeting the Dwarven prince's glare with a fierce one of his own.
Neither of you thought to inform us of his disappearance?" Throin growled.
"You banished him before our very eyes why would we assume that any of you would be concerned for his safety? How were we to know you weren't directly responsible for his capture?"
A round of heartfelt denials sprang from the dwarves at the King of Dales implication as more than one of them reached for their weapons.
"Enough!" shouted Thranduil his hair and robes billowing in an unseen wind as light shined around his form like a halo.
"You will take us to Master Baggins now. He is a newly appointed Lord of Dale and holds the position of Ambassador to the West and Trusted Advisor to the Kingdom of Mirkwood, making him a citizen of both. Should you keep him from us you will be in breech of our peace accords and your actions will be seen as a declaration of war on both Dale and the Elven Relam." he declared forcefully stepping forward to stand directly before Thorin who was trying not to show the shock he felt at the elf ' s words.
"No this King Under the Mountain, should you refuse us it will not only be the Armies of Mirkwood and Dale that come but that of Rivendell, Lothlórien, and Rohan. Should any harm have come to the hobbit by your hand on under your orders nothing will stop me from exacting retribution on his behalf." He hissed in ice and steel bending low to bring himself eye level to the Dwarven king.
His tall willowy frame strung tight, looking as if he would snap in two at any moment.
"Why is Bilbo so important to you? What do you want from him?" Fili questioned.
Thranduil stood to his full height, looking down his nose at th dwarf as if he were a bug that need squashed under his heel.
"Elves rarely care for those outside of our own race but when we do we do so fiercely and without restraint. Bilbo Baggins has managed to become very important to me in the short time I have known him and I will do everything in my power to keep him safe."
"Just because you were to blind to see what you had before you does not mean the rest of the world was as well. " he sneered speaking directly to Thorin.
"Oin! Oin!" cried a panting healer as they burst threw the door to the chamber gaining the attention of everyone on the room.
"Oin you have to come quick- Bilbo..." he panted resting his hands on his knees as he gasped for breath.
"What about Bilbo!" pressed Oin as he stalked towards the healer.
"Breathing- stopped. Grady is trying to resuscitate him but it's not working!" he cried desperately.
Panic filled even being in hall dwarf, man, and elf. Throin was the first to react a sprinting down out of the room and down the stone halls that would lead him to his beloved. Not caring who followed behind him as he pushed his legs to carry him faster. It might already be too late.
No.
It was not to late.
Bilbo was a fighter he would fight to stay alive.
He had to.