Thranduil's POV
It was an odd thing, that was the best and the only way I could think to describe it. Years had gone by since last I had felt the urge to subject myself to another's will, to listen to a person simply to make that person happy. To feel it again then, so suddenly no matter my expectation for it, and to know that a group of dwarves, of all things, felt the same way towards the same person, was, as I'd said, odd. Oakenshield's eyes flashed over towards me once, dark and still angry with me for things I'd done that week and things I'd done so very many years before, as if I would change my choices simply for his pleasure.
There had been no hope of victory that day, I'd known that, and I had had no desire to lay my own people down as sacrifices for him and his dwarves. Perhaps another king might've, and perhaps that other king would have been right; I do not claim to know all and I certainly do not claim perfection. I had done what I thought right, however, and I challenged Oakenshield to claim that he would ever go against his better judgement to aid another when his own people were at risk. As for the other source of his anger… well, that was Bilbo's decision, not my own, and if the hobbit had chosen to give me the chance to prove myself, I was certainly not enough of a fool to fight him over it. I did not seek to please Oakenshield in the matters of my own heart, whatever claim he thought he had over Bilbo.
"Good," the hobbit said at last, nodding once, before he settled cross-legged in front of us. Two of the youngest of Oakenshield's Company, the brothers his sister had borne, squirmed with faint discomfort as Bilbo gazed at them; though I could see easily enough how they sought to please him. It was stranger still to imagine that a hobbit had carved himself so deep a place in the hearts of dwarves; I'd known enough of them to know that for an outsider to gain their favor was almost unheard of. For a hobbit, a creature of comfort, to manage it… Bilbo truly was a special sort for more reasons than one, and that I'd known from the very moment I found him in my dungeons. Still I would have to discuss with him how he'd managed that invisibility trick; I had my suspicions, of course, but for them to be true would be one of the strangest turns the history of middle earth had taken in centuries. Not that I thought it was impossible, of course; as I'd said, Bilbo was quite remarkable. If he'd managed this one other remarkable thing, I would not question it, though my worry over the state of the future would certainly heighten, for if the object I thought he'd used was truly in his possession, awful things would be sure to follow.
"Shall I ask your dwarves why they mauled me so, or shall I leave that to you, Bilbo?" I asked, and the little being laughed quietly. It really was a very nice laugh; I thought it would soon add a pleasant ring to my halls, one that had been far too long absent. Legolas had also seemed to like him rather well, and so I imagined they'd get along in the coming years. Perhaps Bilbo would even be able to settle him a bit, as he so obviously had the heirs of Durin.
"Oh, I know why they did it already," he said, crossing his arms and offering them a particularly unimpressed look. "I only want to know what in the world happened to their better judgment, thinking it was a good idea to jump at you so." The brother squirmed a little more notably. I leaned forward a bit to raise my brow at them. Oakenshield growled like my looking at his nephews was the greatest insult he'd ever been dealt. "Perhaps if you promised that they'll come to know punishment for their moment of… recklessness, they'll be a bit more willing to speak on the matter." I know the dwarves were expecting me to refuse, and perhaps to consign them then and there to execution. Once I might have been offended that anyone thought so little of me, but as it stood, I could almost understand it; I had no illusions that they'd ever be truly friendly with me, and in a way, I didn't wish them to be.
The dwarves had always been good allies, yes, and I'd liked some of them well enough, but I knew that if I got involved, if I grew to like them personally, I'd be far more tempted to give them my aid, and at that moment, when my own kingdom was in turmoil as well, I knew how much trouble that could cause. It had been painful enough to turn away those years before, to leave even those I'd known with only the hope that they would be able to escape.
"Certainly; I gave my word that they would not be harmed while under my hospitality, and so they will not be harmed. Guards, as you can see, I am well; you may go, and give no recompense to the dwarves for their actions." I waved a hand to punctuate my words. The guards bowed, respectful as ever, and left the room. Bilbo offered me another quick flash of a smile, and my chest warmed a bit at the sight of it. I wondered why I had been so lucky to have this second name, to have another chance at companionship, when so few ever did. Still, I would not complain, not when it all could have been so much worse, when I could have been alone for forever after. Blessings were few, or so I'd often been told, and so it was best to cherish them when they appeared, however suddenly they did so.
"Thank you, Thranduil. Now-," Bilbo began, twisting a bit to face the dwarves more fully than myself, "why don't you all tell me what you were thinking? This is Thranduil's palace, where he is most powerful! Why in the world would you be so foolish as to attack him, and for something so trivial, as if I cannot make choices on my own? I've been told many times that you all are fools, and not by elves alone; I'd thank you not to prove them right when I have never believed them!" His face had turned a little pink, and his lips were turned down in an obviously rare frown. He looked like he very much wanted to tap his foot, but was unable to do so because of the way he was seated. The squirming intensified even more from the two boys, until at last the blonde one, who I assumed was the elder, elbowed his brother in the ribs. The dark haired boy's ears turned an unflattering reddish color.
"I thought… Bilbo, you know we see you as a brother, don't you? An honorary dwarf if ever there was one. We… when we heard him say that, of course we assumed he'd done something, that he was plotting something like always. We had to help you, even if you didn't need any help," he said, and his brother snorted a little.
"Don't speak for all of us, idiot. If any of us is getting in trouble, it's going to be you; you threw the first punch." The half-haughty look the blonde wore was oddly familiar, though I decided that I would not look too deeply into that for fear that I would recall the exact person on whom I'd seen it before. The dark haired one punched him not lightly, but I knew it was not meant to cause pain nonetheless.
"You jumped in right after me, Fili." The blonde shrugged as if that meant nothing, and Bilbo sighed.
"Do stop arguing with each other, Fili, Kili. Nothing ever ends well when you two are fussing amongst yourselves, and you leave the rest of us miserable as well. Fili laughed.
"Good to know we haven't lost you then, Bilbo." The dwarf who appeared to be the eldest of them sighed, shaking his head and smiling fondly.
"Indeed. Why don't you explain this whole mess to us? I expect we'd all be willing far more willing to listen to you." The hobbit smiled again, then, sweeter and for longer, sparing another quick glance to me before he nodded.
"Thranduil told the truth when we entered, if a bit more bluntly than I would've. He says that I am his… I believe he called it his One. I imagine it's a bit like soul mates among my kin; you recall me mentioning that, don't you? How, very rarely, two hobbits will be fated to each other, and seem almost to know as much with their first glance at one another. Apparently it's far more common among elves, though he informed me that it was strange to have more than one, and I am his second. For myself, I… I feel something when I look at him as well, if not as strongly as he perhaps feels upon looking at me. I would like to get to know him further, and I would be forever grateful if you all would accept that so we might move on to discuss the greater issues at hand." Their quest, of course; the warmth in my chest at what he'd said, at his continued assurance that he wished to get to know me, that he felt something for me, faded slightly at the mention of the far less joyous topic.
I knew that if he asked it of me, I would let them go. I knew that I would likely even send aid with them, along with my approval for what they were doing. Still, I could not see it as wise; I knew the damage it could cause and I had a decent idea as to their reason for needing a burglar. I almost couldn't bare the mere idea of it, especially given the fate of the last to whom I'd given my love in this way. My head raised, a little; I couldn't let the dwarves see all that I thought. It was enough that they knew I cared for the hobbit, that Bilbo believed that I did care for him. The brothers, Fili and Kili, played at gagging for a second before a sharp look from their uncle sent them into stiff, serious silence. The change was sudden and made even me twitch a bit.
"I find it difficult to endorse this journey you've all undertaken," I said, knowing that saying so would mean very little in the end.
"I don't care what you 'endorse,' elf," Oakenshield growled, icy eyes turning to fix themselves upon my face at last. Rage was written in his every angle, in every twist of his face and ever glint of his eyes. I did not fear him and he did not fear me; I'd almost missed interacting with those not of my kingdom for that very reason, though the anger was quite unwelcome. I'd seen enough of that and expressed enough of that over my centuries that I'd grown honestly tired of it. Bilbo edged over to us, obviously knowing the tension, and settled a hand on both of our knees. His eyes were soft and fond; I know my own eyes reflected something similar when I looked at him, for the dwarves stared at me as though they'd never seen me.
"Settle, both of you. Thranduil, please trust me when I say I know that it's risky business, but it will pay off for you as well, not only the dwarves, if you'll only let us reach our journey's end. I don't even ask that you lend us aid, only that you let us go." His voice was gentle and almost soothing; I wondered if that was for the benefit of myself or Oakenshield and wanted very suddenly to sweep into my arms and hold him for a time. I settled for placing my hand atop his on my knee.
"I would not send you without aid, Bilbo; to do so would worry me far too much. Even still, I see little benefit in the dwarves reclaiming that mountain. I realize that there was a large hoard there, and I'll admit that there are treasures within Erebor that even I might desire, but it has all been beneath the belly of a dragon for so long that it's as good as cursed. The dwarves have lost hoards before; they will find a new wealthy mountain and soon it will be as though Erebor had nothing. After all, even Erebor was but a replacement for the lost Moria." Oakenshield looked ready to lunge at me again, all of them but Bilbo did, yet still they settled, if unhappily, at Bilbo's hand and Bilbo's voice.
"It isn't the hoard. Erebor is their home, Thranduil, just as these woods are yours and the Shire is mine. If these woods were taken from you, would you not fight to get them back? They seek home, not gold, and that is why I help them; I couldn't imagine losing my home, and so I want to help them reclaim theirs." He looked so earnest, and the dwarves so incredibly sad. I recalled the pain I'd seen on their faces before, when Erebor had first been lost, the years they'd spent wandering aimlessly, working as blacksmiths and toymakers in the towns of men only to get enough gold for bread, until at last the majority found their way to the Blue Mountains. I could understand their pain better than they imagined I could. For the first time since the death of my wife, my heart overrode my mind, and my hand squeezed the hand of another.
"Alright. I will let you go, and with you I will send a small squadron of my own guard, led by myself. I do this under the condition that you inform me of all that is planned before it is done, and I reserve the right to voice concerns if they arise." Bilbo's face lit like the sun. Hope the dwarves obviously didn't want or expect to feel shone deep in their eyes. Oakenshield held out a hand, and I shook it lightly as he nodded and stood.
"We go as soon as you are able, then. Durin's Day grows ever nearer." With that, I drew myself to my feet, Bilbo following me up, and squeezed the hobbit's hand one last time. I prayed only that I had not made another mistake, that I would not lose my new love when he'd only just been found. I called then for the best of my guard and had them bring mounts to the front of the palace, along with all we'd stripped from the dwarves upon their capture here and a few bits of armor and weaponry that had a semblance of a chance of fitting them. Before even an hour passed we were away, heading directly for the Lonely Mountain that loomed in the distance.