Chapter 2

"Search them up," I say as the dwarves huddle back, holding their swords out, even though it's pretty hopeless against us. "Take all of their weapons and chain them up."

My elves immediately went forward, plucking all sorts of weapons and dwarvish things that could be threatening. Knives, swords, shields, bags, spears...anything. I walk forward and watch them at their task when suddenly, from the corner of the eye, I see a plumb and short dwarf with a long red beard and messy braids. From his neck, dangling, is a strange golden locket.

With the speed of lightning, out of plain curiosity, I pluck the locket and open it up easily, causing him much discomfort while my elves check his weapons.

"Hey!" he says. "That's private!"

I snicker and snort as I flip open the locket, which reveals pictures of two of the most horrendous creatures I've ever seen, with ugly figures and slightly deformed noses. They looked like a combination of a balrog and very ugly men.

"Who is this?" I beckoned the first picture, snorting, "Your brother?"

He looked at me full of hate and anger. "That's my wife!"

"And who's the other one?" I asked exasperatedly, yet slightly curiously.

"That's my wee lad, Gimli!" he said with some pride huffing in his chest. Ridiculous dwarf. With an ugly son like that, I wouldn't go around boasting...I'd dig a hole in the ground and hide.

I snort and toss the locket aside to the dwarf and I go on inspecting the elves. They're doing quite a good job when my elven ears hear a certain conversation. Elven ears are keen and sharp...so as you can see, little goes unnoticed, a fact that applies to me.

A dwarf with dark, long hair and dark eyes looks at Tauriel curiously. Disgusting creatures..they are all just as ugly and short as this one was. Anyways, the dwarf looked at Tauriel.

"Aren't you going to search me? I could have anything down my trousers," he stated grinning.

If it weren't for the sake of my father, the fact that I wanted that dwarf alive with his head connected with his body so he could be of slight use, I would have chopped his head off clean from his neck at that instant. Like my father, I had excellent reflexes. One swift silver noise through my kingdom would have rung perfectly. I may not be into romance, yet I knew perfectly what he meant and it was disgusting. No female should deserve such vulgar comment...especially not a captain of my guard. I thought Tauriel would say some hot remark or hit him. Like the Tauriel I know would have done...but in that moment, it were as if she were dazed. She smiled a thin smile at the dwarf.

"Or nothing at all."

Looking as if I had heard nothing at all, I walked around further along the crowd when suddenly, an elf called me up to his dwarf. His dwarf was the tallest dwarf, one I suspected to be the leader. He looked at me with an expression full of hate yet I was as calm as the breeze.

"What have we here?" I asked the elf and he replied.

"Your Majesty, we were checking him and we found this," he said giving me a sword. It was beautiful...nothing like rough, dwarvish weapons. The sword was thin, the handle of made of perfect carven wood and the steel forged so thin yet strong.

I read the sword to see any writing that would identify it. Perhaps I was lucky because there was an engraved elvish word, 'Orcrist' stated in one side. I flipped the sword over and found other engraved words as I swung it across in a perfect battle stance, looked at it sideways and translated from elvish:

"Born from the maws of dragons, I am always hungry and thirsty."

That's when I knew it wasn't from a dwarf. Dwarves never say such fierce, elegant words. They use rough, direct and straight battle cries and insults.

The others, having finished their duties, looked at me expectantly, yearning for my answer. Tauriel stood next to me, arms crossed, waiting to see my reaction.

"This is a sword from my ancestors," I said holding it once more, as my reflection shone pure on the metal. I looked at the sword with awe and then glared at the leader.

"Where did you get this?" I hissed.

For a while, there was a short silence and a slight shuffling between dwarves when the leader stepped up, and said with a low, booming, powerful voice, "They gave it to me."

I snarled at him, stepping a few steps in front of him and glared. "So you're not only a thief, but also a liar," I spat. "Chain this one as well."

I was glad when he, the vulgar dwarf, along with the others were chained and their weapons were put in bags, handled by some of the elves. I decided to keep Orcrist, the sword I had received from the dwarf. It was from my ancestors and it's true place was to be with it's wielders blood. And since I found the sword, not Thalen or Adar...I suppose keeping it is the right thing. So I hung it's sheath from my belt and we continued walking. We walked down the path into my father's realm and the safest place in Mirkwood. As we walked, I scanned the dwarves. Father told me when I was young, that being keen to detail was a good strategy.

Father and I used to be more childish those times. He'd laugh with me, talk to me more and we'd even play sometimes! Well, now...it seemed as he only cares slightly about me. I was still his prince but he talked more to Thalen, who was the crown prince and the heir to Mirkwood. I, however, was not and sometimes, he was too 'busy' to even talk to me, unless it was to report anything. But I understood. My father, the King Thranduil of the Wood Elves has always been 'realm first, family second.' Even when my mother died (an act of terror which I was witnessed live and became slightly emotionally scarred with), he kept his grieving to himself and became more harsh, his temper more quick. But that was a long time and now, well. Being the youngest and most ignored prince gives you some advantages...such as freedom.

Anyways, to the dwarves. The tallest was obviously the one in front...besides, he had an air of leadership, the one like my father's. He kept a grave, emotionless face and a firm structure. He had dark hair braided down wildly and a fierce look to his eyes. Then came the rest, the dwarf whom had said that dirty remark about Tauriel, along with what seemed his brother, a light-brown dwarf and more. It surprised me on the variety they had. There was an obese one with orange hair, an old one with cotton white hair, bald dwarves, dwarves with grey hair, dwarves with black hair, incredibly short dwarves, brown-haired elves...it was very exotic.

A while of walking lead to our door, where the guards greeted us and opened immediately for the Prince of Mirkwood, Captain of the High Guard, and his company. I waited and let them all past, whilst glaring at the dwarves who turned to look at me with boiling fury. As I was the last one to close the door, I suddenly felt a presence. A small rippling of air...a feeling, a strange feeling.

I shook it off, I was probably needing some rest...I had done quite some fighting. We'd been fighting leagues of orcs and spiders for hours before we had encountered those dwarves and I was probably slightly exhausted. Blood can be tiring for your mind to see. I closed the great gates to the realm slowly.

My company walked through the bridges of Mirkwood, and as we passed the great carvings of my wood realm home, I could see the dwarves gaping at the beauty, yet trying to look as if not to. A tingling of pride rose through my chest as I thought of the proud dwarves, greatest forgers of Middle-Earth, admiring my home and it's hidden beauty. Hidden beneath the shadows, spiders, orcs and lingering darkness. I waved that off...they were dwarves! Who would even care about their opinion?

I followed the elves as we headed toward the dungeons and they started locking the dwarves, pushing them into the cells with them arguing and shouting. I told my elves to ignore them and simply resume locking them. After a few minutes, I had all of the dwarves locked up. And the leader dwarf whom I suspected, was locked up in a higher place for now, in case he had sparked up some idea to his dwarves...most probably about escaping.

We passed the dwarves and as I passed the cell where Tauriel was imprisoning that vulgar archer elf, I turned to see him. The dwarf was looking at Tauriel, ignoring me. The look in his eyes seemed as if he were in heaven and his face was calm, as if he were in paradise.

"Tauriel," I asked in Sindarin elvish, "why is that dwarf looking at you like that?"

She turned to me and I realized...she had been smiling. "How am I supposed to know?" she snapped in the same language, a rather bit too harsh I think, because she cooled down. Switching into the common tongue, speech of men. "He is taller than most of the dwarves, don't you think?"

I raised my eyebrows, frowning with a thin line in my mouth and a strict face...just like my father. "I suppose so, but he's just as ugly as the rest of them."

She nodded, as if to say she understood and we led the rest of my elves down into the halls. It was holiday time, and I told them that they had fought well. The usual cheers, good thanks from the elves came by and after...well, you know what came after. The drinking and festivities!

I looked around, double-checking that the cells were all locked and that my elves had gone to go to report to my father's office. Tauriel was also gone but I doubt she went drinking like the others...she never goes drinking, we've always had the same attitude about drinking. It was impure.

I sighed and went ahead through the maze of floors until I reached the chambers of my father's office. Even I had to obey his rules and I knocked, as I was taught too. My knuckles tapped on the carven bronze and wood as I waited for my father's voice to sound. There was a sudden, quiet lovely echo around Mirkwood and I chose to admire that before my father said, "You may enter."

AN: I know, feel free to comment constructive reviews! I invented some parts, yes, because I have no idea what happened to Legolas in that part of the movie. And some of the dialogue isn't exact so feel free to correct me and help me with the order of events!