The were the most unhappy, being unable to see or use their hands they were lead blindly to the elven palace. King Tharanduil was also quite unhappy, for they had interrupted his feast. He scowled as he looked over the company, and then his eyes laid on Annie. She saw him too, and tried to meet his eyes, to tell him silently not to spill her secret, but on this night Tharanduil felt cheated, and upset that the dwarves trespassed on his land so he had no mercy for the hobbit. He turned to her and smiled, "Look who we have hear, Ann E, I never thought I would see the likes of you again." he said, his voiced laced with poison. She tried hard not to show any emotions, but it was hard. He had the upper hand, and if he spoke the truth to the company she would be too shamed to look in any of their faces again.

He motioned for the blindfolds to be taken off the dwarves, and Thorin was finally able to see where he was. The palace of the elves was pleasant enough, but his hatred for the King blinded him. He struggled against the twine that held his wrists behind his back, and immediately he felt all arrows on him.

"It would be wise, Dawrf for you to stay still." one of the guards warned him and he relecutantly did, but still hated the position he was in.

Thorin was confused, Annie never told them that she had a connection with the elves of Mirkwood. The very same elves that had denied his people help in Erebor. He wondered how she knew them, and if maybe it could help their situation.

Tharaduil turned to Annie once again, "I think it's time you paid for your crime." He told her coldly, and then motioned for the guards to seize her. Immediately the dwarves protested, "No!" they shouted but their pleads were unheard and they watched helplessly as Annie was taken away. Tharaduil laughed, "I see no reason why you defend her." he told them, "She is nothing but a murderer." he spat angrily.

Thorin was now very confused. Annie? A murderer? No, it couldn't be. As He shook his head in disbelief, Tharanduil smiled, "Thorin Oakensheild. You should learn to choose your company more wisely." he told him, "Take this as a favor, trust me it would not be wise to have the likes her, among you."

"Why?"

"Didn't she tell you? About her daughter?"

"Yes."

"The whole story?"

Thorin shook his head, then exchanged glances with the others. Did they really want to hear this? Before he could even ask the others, the elven king had began his story.

"Some time ago, 5 years now I believe, I was hunting with my troops when we came across a peculiar sight: a shed surrounded by men wielding axes and knifes. As we approached closer, we saw that they were trying to enter it. At first we heard the crying of a child, so we immediately took action and helped the men, but the crying stopped just as we swung the doors open. Inside was a horrid sight: there was a hobbit woman holding an infant by the heels. She did not look at us; she simply swung the baby toward the wall planks, missed and tried to connect a second time, I interfered and ran through the door behind them and snatched the baby from the arch of its mothers swing. The men were angry when they found they had nothing to claim. The two they hunted weren't well enough to bring back alive and to be raised properly to do the work their plantation desperately needed. The child's blood had pumped down the dress of the hobbit staining her hands and feet. They said she had gone wild, due to the mishandling of the nephew who'd over beat her and made her cut and run. My gold persuaded them to let me take the hobbit and the young one off their hands and they agreed. First I took pity on her, after I learned what those men did to her but when I realized that the baby was hers I cast her out of my kingdom. There is no room for an infant killer here." As the King finished, there was an eerie silence over the company. None of them had even imagined the terrors that the little hobbit had gone through, but not one of them had pity for her. She had killed her own daughter! With this thought heavy on their minds, they let the elves lead them to their cells.

Thorin was especially upset, for he was beginning to have faith in Annie. In his eyes she had grown throughout the journey in confidence and bravery but now all he felt was betrayal and disappointment. She had lied to him, to all of them about the fate of her daughter, leading them to believe she had lost her. Now the truth was exposed, raw and ragged it cut at his heart and made him wish Gandalf had chosen someone else to be his burglar. He leaned his head against the wall of his cell and looked up towards the ceiling, searching it for the nonexistent answer that would help him escape from this prison. Who would have thought it would come to this? If the dwarves of Erebor saw their King like this, locked in a dungeon with shackles on his wrists they would be ashamed. Then he heard a noise, like small knuckles rapping against the door. Confused, he sat up taller against the wall, listening for the knock to come again. It did, this time followed by a voice.

"Thorin? Are you there?" it whispered, and then he saw Annie's eyes peering in through the bars of the door. He glared, she was the last person he wanted to see.

"What do you want?" he asked harshly, he heard the hobbit sigh, "He told you, didnt he?" she asked, watching him. Thorin just nodded.

"That was a long time ago, but theres no time to discuss that now. I think I can help you escape." she whispered, and then she reached through the bars and he saw in her hand the key to the shackles that kept him tethered to the wall.

"Youre going to have to toss it, for I cannot reach that far." he told her, and she did. Then, whispers she told him her plan, and he reluctantly agreed.

When Annie had devised quite a clever escape plan for her company she didn't realize it would be so wet. Now as she and 13 barrels bobbed down the river, she had time to worry about her future. She had been fairly upset when the King had ordered her to the dungeon, and spent most the night worrying about when the dwarves would think of her if Tharanduil had told them the truth. They had no time to inquire about it though when they saw her, for they had to be quick in order to escape unseen. No dwarf questioned her as she had stuck in all in barrels, even though Thorin had given her quite a dark look. This concerned her, but she cast that thought from her might though, and focused solely on remaining afloat on the barrel. When time gave them the opportunity to drift ashore and be released from their wet prisons, Annie was relieved that all had survived.

The first barrel cut loose by Annie and pushed to the shore to be opened was that of Thorin's. Groans came from inside and out crept a most unhappy dwarf. Wet straw was in his draggled beard; he was so sore and stiff, so bruised and buffeted he could hardly stand or stumble through the shallow water to lie groaning on the shore. It was some time before he would be even polite to the hobbit.

Annie was quite cross with him. "Are you still in prison, or are you free? If you want food, and if you want to go on with this silly adventure-it's yours after all and not mine-you better slap your arms and rub your legs and help me get the others out while there is a chance!"

Thorin of course saw the sense of this, so after a few more groans he got up and helped the hobbit as well as he could. They were quite a sorry lot; Dwalin and Balin were tow of the most unhappy, Nori, Ori, Oin and Gloin were waterlogged and seemed only half alive and poor fat Bombur was asleep again. Only Fili and Kili had a spring in their steps and more or less of a smilie of their face. Although neither met Annie's eye, and when Kili thanked her there was an ounce of coldness in his voice. Annie tried not to dwell on it too much, they had more important things to worry about right now.

They entered the city of Long Lake, where Thorin was welcomed kindly. This was a blessing for the company, after being treated like prisoners by the elves, spiders and goblins. After feasting royally with the court, the tired but well fed dwarves and hobbit were led to their rooms. Annie retreated to hers silently, she had noticed the company's change of emotions. No longer did they speak with her, or look at her kindly. She understood though, for who would want to be kind to her after they found out the truth?

After they entered the room and were left alone, Balin cleared his throat, "Thorin, we have a bone to pick with you, about the hobbit." Thorin looked at his companion, "yes?" Balin continued, stumbling over awkward words;

"We have come to a conclusion that it is not safe for the hobbit to continue on with us to Erebor." he said

"Yes, what if she decides that she wants the treasure for herself-" Fili started

"-And slits our throats in the night to get at it." Kili finished

"She's a murderer, Thorin. A child-killer. I don't know what Gandalf was thinking when he hired her." Dwahlin pitched in. The others nodded in agreement, none of them felt safe, now that they knew the truth behind the little hobbit.

"She's a cold blooded killer, that one." Bofur told Thorin, "I think it was all an act to gain our sympathy, to catch us off guard!" Everyone nodded, it seemed to Thorin that they had been speaking without him, while he was in meetings with the King. "now, listen, we don't know if any of that is true, she's just-" he started but was cut off by Fili

"She is not to be trusted, Thorin. We don't want her in our company anymore. She can stay here, but we have agreed that we don't want her coming with us."

Thorin sighed, "What about Gandalf?"

"I'm sure he was conned into her act too, we'll tell him the truth when we see him. Theres no harm in leaving her here. Infact, we could have them stick her in the dungeon for safe keeping if we wish." Fili continued.

After many more protests, Thorin finally raised his hands in defeat, "alright. Alright, I will go inform Miss Annie of our decision. Stay here" And he turned and left, slamming the door shut. He was fairly upset, and disappointed. The hobbit had saved them on numerous occasions now, but she was not to be trusted, not after what she did.

Thorin knocked on her door, to tell her the news. She would not be coming with them, it had been a company decision. He entered without hearing an answer, and stood firmly in the doorway.

"Annie, the others and I have been talking, and we have decided that it is in our best interest that you stay behind." he told her.

She looked at him, she had known something was wrong when she let them out of those barrels but she didnt know what it was.

"What? Why?"

"Your not fit for the job."

"But Gandalf chose me, you trust his decisions right?"

"I didn't think Gandalf would have chosen a murderer." Thorin spat at her, becoming angry. Annie stared at him, eyes filling up with tears, he knew. He knew and he hated her for it, for what she had to do to her baby, the sharp look in his eyes gave it all away.

"How?" she asks quietly

He shook his head, "How could you, Annie, your own child. And here you are acting all sad that she's gone when it was you that took her away! How dare you act like this!" he shouted

Annie stood up, this wasn't happening, how could he not understand. He was the one who came to her, who comforted her. What had he heard? She had had no choice.

"You don't understand!" she tried to explain "i-" but she was cut off by Thorin

"I heard the elves talk, I know what they said. She wouldn't be quiet so you killed her to save your own life. You were SELFISH, you are selfish, Annie. How could you have done that, to your own child." he shouted, now tears were forming in his eyes, so full with rage and sorrow with remembering what he heard.

"Even for all the gold of Erebor I would have not done that." he told her.

Annie watched him pace the room, as her eyes shined with tears. It was a few moments before she spoke. " I did it out of love, Thorin." she finally whispered, and then looked him right in the eye, "they were coming to take me back, I didn't want that life for her. She seemed better off safe in heaven than in the arms of me."

"But there must have been another way, you didn't have to-murder her."

"They had come to take me back, and if I thought anything it was No. No. Nono. Nonono. Simple. I just flew. Collected every bit of life I had made, all the parts of me that were precious and fine and beautiful and carried, pushed, dragged them through the veil out, away, over there where no one could hurt them. Please, believe -."

"How can I?"

"I stopped him." she said, meeting Thorin in the eyes. "I took and put my baby where she'd be safe."

"Why would you even do such a thing?"

"Because I loved her."

"Your love is too thick." he told her

"Too thick? Love is or it ain't. Thin love isn't love at all."

"Yeah but it didn't work, did it? Did it work?" he asked

"It worked." Annie answered.

"How? She is dead? How did it work?"

"She isn't at the plantation. They don't have her. It's all that matters." she told him.

"Maybe there's worse." he shouted, now angry

"Its not my job to know what's worse. Its my job to know what is and to keep what I love away from what I know is terrible. I did just that." she argued back

"What you did was wrong, Annie."

"I should have gone on back there? Taken my baby back there?" she asked

"There could have been a way. Some other way."

"What way? She asked

"You got two feet, Annie, not four." he spat,

"They hurt me. Look!"

And with that she pulled off her sweater and showed him her back. He stared in disbelief. Hundreds of whipping scars covered every inch of her back, red and ugly vines, like thorns. He stared for a long while, then reached out to touch the scars, brushing his hands over them slightly. She didn't feel a thing, the scar tissue was so deep. She turned around to look at him, hugging her sweater to her chest, the look in her eyes said it all. Thorin eyes softened . "They would have done it to her too if they had caught us." she whispered.

"We've all been whipped."

"No. They hurt me, Thorin." she told him, and this time he understood.

"They ra-"

"Don't say it." she cut him off as he eyes flashed darkly

He couldn't even imagine a place where they would treat someone so badly that she would rather kill her own child than go back, and then he didn't understand it completely, but enough to forgive. Love is a powerful weapon, and he realized that he would of done the same for any of his kin. It was that strong of a love.

He sighed, then said, "We leave at first light, I suggest you get some sleep if you indent to accompany us." She looked at him and saw that he forgave her for what she did.

He turned to leave and opened the door, there he saw his 12 companions all looking at him with wide eyes. He shut the door, then opened his mouth to tell them, to try to explain what Annie had gone through, to tell them that those men had tortured her, and whipped her, and degraded her. She ran away to give her child a new life, she did her duty as a mother, but he didn't have to, they had heard every word and understood.

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Thanks for reading! I know this is a tough chapter, it was tough to write but I hope you enjoyed it! On a lighter note, my computer now autocorrects Thorin to "Thorny" which I think is quite funny :) Stayed tuned for the next chapter!