"Head count!" Someone ordered, it was too dark to see just who it could be. The lights were gone and our eyes had yet to adjust once more to the greenish murk.

It took Balin a few moments to realise that without Thorin, it was up to him to start. "Balin," He declared loudly, with as much authority as he could muster.

One by one, the Dwarves called out their names, Kili gave my hand a light squeeze to signal that I should call my own name once the Dwarves were through. I sang my name carefully and clearly.

They waited for the final name, the one that I was most anxious to hear. Bilbo. There was no voicing of his name. I grasped Kili's hand a tad tighter, whether to reassure him that at least there may be hope so long as Thorin and Bilbo were together or to seek some sort of reassurance of my own, I had not the slightest idea. Nonetheless, he dragged the pad of his thumb carefully over the back of my hand and it calmed me far more so than any words of comfort ever could.

"Bilbo?" I tested quietly. I did not really believe he would hear it if he were here and yet it only served to consolidate in my mind that he was truly missing. My little cousin lost in this dense wood; not knowing what could be out there any more than we did.

"Where is Thorin?" Bofur asked of no one in particular. Glancing furtively about him despite the sudden extinguishing of the light leaving them in darkness, having to readjust to the limited light.

"The Elves." Fili said solemnly, trepidation tainting his usually cheerful tone. "There's no other explanation: they took him."

It did seem like a plausible explanation. Maybe he Elves tired of our continual interruptions and invasions of their festivities, I suppose I would be none too pleased if someone were to do that to me – then again, I would not abduct a person for doing so.

"Perhaps they were startled," Bombur offered. His kind-hearted nature, seeking a comforting explanation, and yet somehow a troop of startled Elves did not seem to me to be an all too friendly affair.

"Perhaps they took Bilbo too," I mused as calmly as I were able to. "I do hope they are together wherever they may be, I do not like to think either would be alone with those Elves."

Fili sighed, "They will be, Thorin would not allow Bilbo to go alone." If I could see his face clearly, I would have noticed the pity he held upon it for my benefit. The older brother was by my side, so it sounded, and I could see his vague outline against the charcoal that surrounded us, I gave his shoulder a gentle pat in thanks for his sympathy and to express my own; his uncle, too, was absent, after all.

Balin patted my back sympathetically. "Not to worry, miss, I'm sure they're quite all right." He assured more gently than I would have expected him to.

"I don't think Bilbo is with the Elves." Nori piped up, earning a glare from the comforting Balin.

A frustrated groan ran through our Company. "Nonsense!" Dismissed Dwalin impatiently.

"No, I mean it." Nori insisted. "I don't remember seeing him before the lights went out for some time."

I thought back myself, the last time I had really seen him was when he spoke of Elrond and tried to convince me that these Elves could be kindly too. Come to mention it, I do not recall having seen him by the light of the clearing at all. A panic rose in me more fiercely than it had before and even Kili's restless thumb could not still my trembling palms.

Without thinking I did the only think that made sense. I ran. I ran and all but screamed my cousin's name until the sound came out as an endless stream of almost no intelligibility. My lungs were burning, but I could not care less. I could see nothing, but I could not care less. Branches tore at my arms, my sleeves were in tatters; twigs scraped the skin of my cheeks and roots threatened to dislodge my feet from the ground. I could not care less.

At some point Kili's hand had slipped from my own and the cold emptiness of my palm only served to create a deeper sense of uncertainty and loneliness. Dimly I could tell the others were following as best they could. Either the trees were growing to be less densely packed or my eyes were becoming accustomed once more to the greenish light, but at least now I could see and was not always at the peril of stumbling right into whatever tree got in my way. Some of the others were also calling Bilbo, some tried my name too, but I could not answer – not until I had found my cousin. I ran until something lifted me clean into the air.

Sinewy, spindly strength curled about my waist and hoisted me high. A thick black something encircled me, joined by another coming from the other side. Then I saw it. First, inky pincers gleaming with malice; then wire-hair ridden legs, keeping me from squirming too much; and finally a matted, mottled mass that had no right to be as large as it was, dotted with eyes so bright they hurt to look at. Yet it was the pincers that I was focussed on, the beast waved them in my face and they were all I could concentrate on. I suppose it was the perfect distraction. I did not even notice the sting until it had struck home in my gut.

A cold far worse than that of the river water filled my veins and darkness enveloped me yet again, this was not the dream-filled sleep of confusion that I had experienced before. This was the darkening sleep that I could only assume would mean my death.

…

When I woke, soft fibres brushed against my face at every angle. A light, film encased me far more tightly than I thought it ought to for such flimsy material. I opened my eyes to find a cotton-like substance shielding all else from view. For a moment I could have sworn I could hear singing: "Here I am, naughty little fly; you are fat and lazy. You cannot trap me, though you try, in your cobwebs crazy" and someone calling out "Atta cop", whatever that meant. It certainly was not the Elven chorus of earlier – no, this was a far more coarse and earthy sound. I tore and clawed at my confines to find whomever was singing and jeering, but once I had pulled down my veil the only creatures in sight were not the sort to be singing.

Huge, hulking, heinous black masses of spindle-legged beasts loomed into view. Long, wire-haired legs supporting bulky bodies that seemed to me to be far too heavy to be managed by those thin and brittle limbs – and the pincers! They each had a pair of the most fantastically deadly pincers the world has ever seen; or at least that I had ever seen, for I had only ever witnessed tiny money spiders and the occasional daddy longlegs – there being but only a few arachnids in all of the Shire.

Something scratched against the skin of my bare arm, steel kissing the flesh gently, the feeling of a small amount of blood rushing to join the embrace did nothing to distract me from a new sensation. I could move, really move. The silky bindings were gone. I had all but forgotten the predicament in my relief, but a small mutter of Mahal, brought me back to my senses.

"Apologies," My rescuer whispered as he mopped up the miniscule cut hastily. Fili. "Please do not tell my brother." He pleaded.

I wanted to laugh, seeing the size of the blade he had used I was utterly surprised I had any arm left at all! "It is nothing," I assured him. Sharing his assumption that the youngest brother would not take kindly such a disregard for my keeping my limbs.

Around me, others were being freed from their filmy prisons – though the other rescuers seemed to have selected much smaller, far less lethal knives to cut their bearded damsels free. Fili's next victim just so happened to be his younger brother, though he managed not to mangle Kili. If it were not for the swarm of angry blackness that surged our way, I would have exulted in Kili's wholeness, but with the possibility of none of us being whole for much longer I settled for a relieved smile before remembering myself and unsheathing my sword from my boot. It was a small act of grace that the spiders had not yet managed to disarm us, perhaps they had hoped to devour us without a fuss instead.

The first blow came from behind. I was struck as though by a battering ram in my left kidney and only just had the time to spin around and block the next – which would have collided with my face – with the flat of my blade. Raising the sword above my head I swung it down on one of the closest legs, severing it near completely. The beast screamed, rearing over me like a horse; only with far more legs and a hundred times the ferocity. Without a thought I thrust my weapon upward into the heart of the grotesque creature; trying to ignore the furious wails that streamed out from it in an endless c-sharp of agony.

A symphony of blood-slicked metal cut through the air in every direction, but there was something else too. Arrows flying, always followed by the roar of one of the beasts. Last time I spotted Kili – two, maybe three spiders earlier – he had not managed to pluck his bow from his back and none of the other Dwarves ever bothered to carry a bow, their beards got in the way. But still, the sounds came, strong and undeniable, something so familiar to me could not be mistaken.

A few moments later, I was proved to be right. An arrow lodged itself into the belly of the fifth creature I faced, just seconds before the thing would have taken my leg with its pincers. The arrow had found its mark mere inches above my head; whoever this marksman was, they clearly had a fair aim. I spied Kili directly in front of me, so clearly it was not him, though he apparently did not approve of the arrow flinger. It was not long before I understood why.

The bow in question was held by the tallest, most stunning being I had ever had the chance to witness. Blond hair as long as my own, tugged back from the face by intricate blades that twined into one another to meet at the back. Large, proud cerulean eyes set beneath well-shaped brows and separated by an unequivocally straight nose. The kind of jawline I had only ever thought to exist in myths and legends cradled full lips, still pursed in concentration. It was the sort of face that would make any girl jealous, especially when it is possessed by a male. There was no doubt as to what he was, he was far too lovely to be anything other than an Elf.

He nodded in my direction in a manner that clearly conveyed that I was not worth too much of his attention. There was a graceful wildness to his movements that suggested supple muscles beneath the brown leather he wore as armour. So entranced was I that I only noticed there were more of him when I heard Kili cry out.

"Throw me a blade," He pleaded toward a red-haired Elf-maiden, stood no more than six feet from where he had fallen, his bow crushed and his axe flung far away from him just as a spider decided he looked a tasty treat.

Disgust crossed her features as she sunk one of her many blades into the skull of one of the few spiders yet to retreat. Her eyes were a deep summer green, at least three shades lighter than her tunic, and her cheek bones seemed sharp to the touch. She was even more stunning than the male, and yet right that moment I hated her more than anything in the world. How could she stand to leave him defenceless?

"If you think I'm giving you a weapon, Dwarf, you are mistaken." She shot back, her words as swift and sharp as the daggers that pierced the spider she opposed. "I would not do so," She grunted, "Unless I wanted to end my own life."

I forced myself forward, fully intending to slay the beast myself and perhaps her too, though I knew that was like to be a bad idea. I could not do either, however, I was still yards from the youngest Dwarf when a steel-like force barred my way. I doubled over at the waist trying to move against the offending barricade, which I soon discovered to be an arm. The arm of none other than the first Elf.

"Wait," He hissed in my ear. The sound was not harsh, but the closeness of him made me flinch. These were not the kindly Elves of the Last Homely House. Elrond would no doubt disapprove of these people perhaps even more than he did the Dwarves.

The Elf-maiden swirled swiftly, losing a small dagger in the direction of Kili, who was shuffling away from his assailant on his backside. If she kills him there is nothing in this world to stop me doing the same to her. My cried died in my throat as I strained forward just in time to see the dagger pierce the hide of the attackers belly and the creature's legs curled in on themselves. She strode quickly to Kili's side and offered out her hand.

I could make no more effort to move forward, though my obstacle had slackened it did not withdraw, my feet were planted in place more firmly than any tree roots in the Old Forrest. I watched in confusion as he took the proffered palm and hoisted himself upwards. The spiders had gone for now, but my unease was only just building.

More Elves herded he Dwarves into the centre of the clearing, keeping them tightly packed, without threatening them with weapons.

The Elf behind me guided my sword back inside my boot and adjusted my cloak to ensure my bow was still hidden, making sure the others had not seen them, before leading me to stand with the rest of the Company.

"Saca ti!" The first Elf ordered. Each Elf responded to the order by picking a Dwarf, separating them from the pack and riffling through their possessions, a few of us were still wearing our packs. Fili's was missing, but he would no doubt share Kili's things for the remainder of the journey. Kili could not help but squirm as his Elf reached into pockets and folds of his clothing without permission. Knives, axes, swords and hammers were tossed unceremoniously to the ground where the red-haired Elf-maiden collected them into a hemlock sack that seemed it would not contain all of those weapons, but which managed to do just that.

My Elf began the pretence of searching me, only bothering to remove the smallest of my knives and one of the slingshots, Ori had given me.

"Why are you not taking them all?" I whispered, not wanting to anger him in case he changed his mind and left me defenceless. It did not make sense, surely he did not think me unable to cause a threat simply for being the only female of the Company?

His azure eyes searched mine quizzically, "Why do you care, Halfling?" He did not say it harshly, it was as though he did not want to answer my question.

I could not honestly say why I cared, or if I cared at all, I did not rightly know myself. I was simply confused. "Who are you?"

He had the audacity to smirk at my change in direction, though I am sure he was aware of my suspicion of his avoiding my question. "I am Legolas Thranduilion, son of Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm." His arrogance seeped into his words.

"Never heard of you," I quipped before I could stop myself, I resorted to chewing my lower lip in an effort to try not to offend him further. It would not bode well for us were I to insult a prince, especially one who allowed me to keep my weapons.

Much to my surprise, the Elf grinned at my words, "I wish I could say the same of you, my lady Veyra."

I started visibly, to his obvious amusement, though he had the curtesy not to laugh. "You know my name?" I enquired, trying to regain my composure.

"I knew your mother. She would visit often, even vowed to bring you once you were old enough." His eyes glazed with memory, the kind of recollection that I would guess only came with the passage of centuries. It appeared to be a welcome remembrance. "You are much like her. Her loss is a wound upon this world, but a gift to the next."

I did not know what to make of this information. My mother had ventured far and wide, but I never expected her to reach Mirkwood. He shook his head as though he were about to apologise if he had troubled me at all, but I cut him off. "Saesa omentien lle, Legolas Thranduilion." If I remembered rightly that would mean something along the lines of a pleasure to meet you. Though it is many years since my mother used to teach me Sindarin phrases, I could well have told him he looked like a pig.

The change in language did not faze him in the slightest, it would seem he had guessed my mother would teach me what she knew. "Mae govannen, Veyra, daughter of Donnemira." He replied with a small bow.

The Elf relieving Fili of his weapons seemed to be having quite some work to do and so, with a parting glance, Legolas went to the aid of his kin. His place was soon taken by another.

"I do not trust these Elves." Kili asserted, his hand on the small of my back in his usual protective manner. Kili did not meet my gaze as we were herded back into a line, but his hand snuck into my palm gently.

I suppressed a smile, fingering my braid absently and twirling it about. "You do not trust any Elves, Kee." I reminded him gently.

"With good reason." He growled. I remembered too late that it was the King of Mirkwood whom had refused to help Thorin's people when Smaug first coveted the mountain, perhaps his son would be just as callous. Still, I could not imagine any acquaintance of my mother's to be so cruel. "Are you well?" Kili asked, his voice filled with anxiety. I must have been quiet for too long.

I flopped a hand in dismissal, "I'm fine,"

"No," Kili shook his head, tilting my chin with his fingers so as I had to acknowledge the concern I found in his eyes. "You're not. What filth did he tell you?" He worked hard to keep his voice calm and level.

"He knew my mother." I answered and Kili let me dip my chin. I could see that he had expected some great insult to have fallen from the Prince's lips, but none had come.

Kili did the only thing he felt would make things better. He enveloped me into his arms without saying a word. I had not even realised how much his touch stilled any distress within me, I was certain he would have cursed the Elf to oblivion if he found the scoundrel to be lying, I hoped for Legolas' sake that he was telling the truth.

Just above Kili's shoulder I met Legolas' eyes, he arched a brow my way but said nothing of our embrace, though I could tell it was intriguing to him. It was the fire-haired woman that tore us apart. Literally. She wrenched me from Kili's grasp with a palm placed firmly upon my upper arm.

"You will all come with us." She announced, bringing me to the head of where our Company was huddled, now defenceless. "Our King would take a great interest in just why a rabble of Dwarves thought it necessary to trespass upon our lands so armed." Her brown curled above

"We mean you no harm." I assured her in an attempt at peace making.

"I would not take the word of a half-breed." She spat back in disgust, tightening her grip and thrusting me to walk ahead of her.

"Tauriel! Tampa tanya!" Legolas scowled as he led Balin without the need of pressure. The Dwarves and I were outnumbered and leaderless, we were in no position to fight our new captors. Absently, I thought that Tauriel was too lovely a name for someone with so much distrust and malice in their eyes.

"Auta miqula orqu." I whispered under my breath so only she could hear me telling her to go kiss an Orc. I doubt that Legolas would have been all too happy to hear me insulting his comrade after he had instructed her to stop taunting me. Kili would have found it hilarious, though he would not be all too excited to learn about my knowledge of Elvish.

The venomous glare I received from the Elf-maiden assured me that we were not to be friends anytime soon, I cannot honestly say I wanted to be something about her that I was not fond of, I just could not decipher what it was exactly.

It mattered very little, the Dwarves and I were led forcefully from the clearing back into near darkness. Twigs scratched at my face and snagged on my cloak when the red-haired Elf pushed me along too close to grasping branches, but I refused to do so much as flinch from them; it would only serve to satisfy the Elf-maiden. She stood almost a foot taller than I and her hold on my arm grew stronger the further we went on. The Dwarves behind me were struggling and cursing, I tried to get a peek at why but it only caused Tauriel to shake me and lead the troop on faster. At this pace my little legs struggled to keep up, we had walked for what felt like leagues and whenever my speed faltered, I was forced yet quicker.

My discomfort was of little importance though, for every step carried me further from where I had last seen my cousin. All I desired was to turn back and search for him, yet I knew that would not be allowed from any of the Elves; they would think it some kind of ploy. I only hoped that perhaps Bilbo and Thorin would be able to find us eventually.

We came at last to the heart of Mirkwood and I could finally see why it had once been named the Greenwood. The home of the Elves was probably the only redeeming factor Mirkwood had going for it. There were trees yet taller than any others in the wood, coiled with glittering staircases that climbed like snakes into the canopies above, shielded by a near rainbow of leaves and fantastic blossoms, which could only be hiding dwellings of magnificent nature. A vast stone bridge lay ahead on a path of slate and leaves, crawling over a shimmering waterfall, and beyond which the castle of Thranduil could be glimpsed. And a glimpse is all we were permitted to have.

Roughly, Tauriel enveloped my eyes in a coarse blindfold, through the coverage of which I could see not a single thing. The only thing worse than being led through a city I did not know by angry Elves was being unable to see whilst being led through a city I did not know by angry Elves. Assaulted by unfamiliar scents and noises that I could not identify visually was extremely disconcerting; I would have loved to know what those high blossoms smelled like.

I tried my best not to stumble; but alas, I have never had the grace of an Elf and my captor failed to mention we were about to descend a flight of stairs so I was thrown harshly when my foot collided with air as I unwittingly mounted the first step. Tauriel suspiciously failed to break my fall and I hit the cold stone stairs hard. My shoulder took the brunt of it as I rolled down and I was certain I would find a bruise blooming there, thick and purple, by the time we were permitted to see again. Luckily it was only a small staircase, I did not think Tauriel above letting me fall down a thousand steps. I must have let out some squeak of pain as before Tauriel could drag me upright once more, gentle hands lifted me to my feet and began guiding me wordlessly down another flight of stairs as though nothing had happened. The helper smelled of earth and sunlight, though the calluses on his hand suggested work outside of the garden.

"Veyra?" Kili's voice travelled to my ears and I gratefully drank in his words, it was a relief to know he was not too far behind me. "Are you well? If they have harmed you-"

My saviour cut him off. "Do not fret, Dwarf, She is quite well." Legolas.

For a moment I halted in stunned silence, but an encouraging nudge from the Elf reminded me that I should answer, lest I cause the Dwarf further worry. "It was nothing, Kili, do not worry." I wished I could see. I wished I could walk with Kili's palm in my own. I wished we had not come through Mirkwood. All of these things, I wished, and yet only one of them came true. And I wished it had not.

At first it was the change in scent I noticed. The fresh blossoms transformed into damp and rot quicker than I would have thought possible, iron and stone pervaded the air. The rushing sound of a stream cut through the near silent space, the only other noise was that we made ourselves. I could tell we were deep underground, the echoes sounded like there were even deeper places here though.

I was soon proven right. The blindfold was gingerly peeled back from my eye and I gasped in a strange awe at the mere size of the place, despite the pockmarks in the walls – each covered by strong iron bars – the place was oddly beautiful, though the stench was not at all pleasant. My first instinct was to search the behind me for Kili; he was also staring in wonder, but not at the cavernous surroundings. His eyes were fixed on the Elf-maiden. The one who had been responsible for my fall. I was not the only one who had noticed. Fili was giving his brother a disapproving scowl that would rival even Thorin's.

"This is not quite how I imagined my rescue might be."

I recognised those dulcet tones. Never in my life had I been quite so glad, nor quite so sad to see Thorin Oakenshield. Alone. I was happy to see him unharmed; yet disappointed to see him behind bars, even more so when I did not see a Hobbit beside him. Is Bilbo here too? My eyes called the question to him.

Thorin shook his head imperceptibly, a small apology in his sad smile. It was not safe to discuss this with Elf-ears listening in, they would assume we had some sort of ambush mission if they knew they had not captured all of us. We had lost our burglar, we had lost my cousin, and if we were to be imprisoned we might have lost the mountain too.

Legolas gave me a searching glance, then turned to Thorin. "This is your company, Dwarf?"

Thorin did not answer. Instead he turned on his heel away from the Elves before his bars and stormed to the very back of his cell. Clearly he had hoped we would rescue him from this prison and not get caught ourselves.

"I shall assume correctness." Legolas smiled unconcernedly, he was in control, and he had nothing to fear from us. "Put them away in twos, apart from the leader."

A chestnut haired Elf spoke up in protest. "My lord, then we shall have one left over."

The prince ached a brow, "You think it prudent to place a young girl alone in a cell with a Dwarf, a male Dwarf no less." He left no room in his tone for the imagination to ponder what he thought a Dwarf male capable of.

I wanted to scream that I should be fine, that I would be happy to share with Kili, but I couldn't. The way Kili eyed the red-haired Elf made my stomach turn. How could he ever think me pretty again after her beauty? She is the brightest full moon and I, a distant star in the background of the night; there were a million of me, but only one of her.

One by one we were placed in cells, mine happened to be between Thorin on my left and Fili and Kili to my right. The Elf placing the brothers inside their cage plucked a knife they had missed earlier from the lapel of Fili's cloak, it was most difficult to stifle a giggle. Or at least, it was difficult for a moment.

"Aren't you going to search me too?" Kili asked in mock innocence of Tauriel. "I could have anything down my trousers." He trailed off suggestively, in a voice I had thought he reserved only for me; low and husky. I did not quite feel like laughing after that.

"Or nothing." She retorted, though her simper made it clear that she were jesting with him.

I retreated to the far wall of my confines, as Thorin had done. Though not to hide my anger, but to veil my tears.

The Rogue Traders - Rescue Me