Tilda and Sigrid were walking in the market when something in the water caught Tilda's eye. She got closer to the edge of the walkway and gasped, "Sigrid, look!" She pulled her sister's arm, "There is a man in the water."
"Oh my!" Sigrid quickly ran over so that she was above the still unconscious man. "Tilda, help me grab him." The two girls crouched down and pulled him onto the walkway. "Sir?" Sigrid shouted, looking to see if she could see any blood on him.
"Is he dead?" Tilda asked softly, she stood a few steps behind her sister.
"He might be."
They were about to leave and get more help when the man twitched and started coughing up water.
"Sir?" Sigrid moved to help the man. "Are you alright?" She asked once he was finished coughing.
"Yes" He croaked. "Where am I?"
"You are in Lake-town."
"Lake-town?!" The man shot up.
"Yes, are you supposed to be here?"
"I must find an Elf, have you seen one?"
Sigrid stiffened, shocked by his request.
"What do you need an Elf for?" Tilda asked.
"I need to find him." The man said
"Why, who are you?" Sigrid grew suspicious.
"My name is Aragorn and I need to find the Elf." Aragorn said. "Please"
"I can take you to him." Tilda smiled despite Sigrid's stern look. She started pulling Aragorn away.
"Tilda!" Sigrid hissed, but the young girl ignored her in favor of leading Aragorn to Thran.
Tilda led Aragorn over to their house where Thran was outside airing blankets. He saw Tilda and smiled, but it quickly fell when his eyes found the man.
"Thran, this man says he is looking for an Elf." Tilda cheered.
Thran forced a smile, Sigrid could tell he was uncomfortable. "Thank you Tilda, why don't I talk to him while you and your sister finish this?"
Tilda nodded followed begrudgingly by Sigrid. She wanted to keep an eye on Aragorn, but Thran gave her a look that meant she was to stay at the house.
Thranduil led the man away from the house, to a more deserted walkway. "Who are you?" He demanded.
"My name is Aragorn your Majesty." Aragorn gave an Elven bow.
"Why are you here?" Thran asked.
"Your son set out to find you, I met him when he came upon some spiders. We have been traveling to find you when we were attacked by Orcs. They mean to capture you and kill you so they can claim Mirkwood."
"So you mean to warn me?"
"Yes, Legolas has already been captured. They come for you next. We must leave and rescue him." Aragorn said.
"You lie, my son is safe in Mirkwood. He would not be so foolish as to come after me, let alone be captured by Orcs." Thranduil hissed.
"It is true my Lord, you must believe me." He stepped forward to grab the King's arm, but Thranduil flinched causing Aragorn to grab his glove instead.
Thranduil's eyes widened in fear, "Give me my glove back, now!"
"Not until you agree to return with me!" Aragorn exclaimed, holding the glove behind him.
"I cannot go back, that is no longer my home. It doesn't need me." Thranduil spat.
"Your kingdom needs you now more than ever. You cursed the land with your powers. Black Snow now falls from the sky, leaving your kingdom defenseless. There is also an army of Orcs marching toward Mirkwood, they don't stand a chance. You need to come back!" Aragorn stepped forward again to grab the King, but something pushed him away. Aragorn turned to see another man glaring at him, putting himself between the two.
"You need to leave" The man said.
"Bard" Thranduil whispered.
"I am not leaving until he comes back with me." Aragorn pointed to Thran.
"He doesn't want to go with you, I suggest you leave." Bard replied. He swiped the glove from Aragorn's hand.
Aragorn growled and turned back to Thranduil, "You were never a monster for hiding your powers. Now though, leaving innocents to the mercy of their enemy, I guess you are." He turned and stalked away.
Bard stood tense until Aragorn was out of sight. He relaxed and turned to Thranduil who was still tense, cradling his exposed hand against his chest.
"Thran?" Bard asked softly and touched his arm. Thran jumped allowing a small blast of ice to shoot from his hand and catch on Bard's jacket.
Bard looked at the ice in shock while Thran stared in horror and ran off.
"Thran wait!" Bard ran after the Elf. Luckily, Bard was able to catch up and stop him from running further. "Thran, stop!"
"Get away from me!" Thran dodged Bard's hands.
"Please Thran, you don't have to be afraid!"
Thran stopped and glared at Bard, ice cold eyes brimmed with tears. "You have no idea. This curse I have hurts people." He hissed. "I have every reason to be afraid. I am a monster!"
"No!" Bard quickly grabbed Thran's gloveless hand and held it tightly to his chest. "What you did was an accident, no one was hurt. I was just surprised."
Thran stopped struggling and gave the man a look of disbelief.
"These powers, they are why you left right?" Bard asked softly.
Thran nodded slowly, "I hurt my son; I had to get away. I can't hurt anyone again, this curse has already hurt too many people."
"That may be, but I'm sure they were accidents. You wouldn't harm someone you care about on purpose." He kissed the hand in his, "You have been afraid of your powers for so long that you can't control them. But you can overcome this."
"How?" Thran whispered brokenly. "You barely even know me."
Bard smiled, "I know enough. As to how, you need to accept it as a gift and not a curse." He kissed Thran's hand again before placing the glove over it.
A small smile appeared on the Elf's face, "Such a smart man you are. I do not deserve you."
"I think it's the other way around." Bard smirked.
Thran chuckled softly, "Would you give me a moment alone please?"
Bard frowned, "Alright"
Once Bard was gone Thranduil sighed heavily. He aimlessly wandered the town, thinking about his life. His musings were broken by the feeling of being watched. He kept his guard up and discretely looked around. When he rounded a corner he found Azog standing in front of him, a disgusting grin on his face.
"Elf-King" Azog greeted.
"Filth" Thranduil hissed.
Azog's grin widened, "You're coming with us Elf. We will take you home where we can return you to your Kin."
"A tempting offer, however I must decline. I will go nowhere with you." Thranduil threw a small knife at the Orc, using it as a distraction so that he could jump onto a nearby roof. He ran back to Bard's house where he knew they had a sword.
The Orcs followed him over the rooftops; he easily dodged their efforts to catch him. He was about halfway back when he saw Bard sitting by his barge. "Bard!" Thranduil called.
The Bargeman looked up and smiled, waving his hand.
Thran moved forward but a pinprick on his arm made him stop. He looked down to see a black dart sticking out of his bicep. He turned to see Bard's confused expression before his vision clouded and he collapsed. He faintly heard Bard shout his name before the darkness took him fully.
(Spring)(Summer)(Fall)(Winter)
Bard didn't want to leave Thran, but he knew what good a moment alone could do. He went back to his barge and unloaded some cargo he had from passing merchants. He hoped Thran would be alright and that man didn't come back to bother him.
After a long talk with Sigrid, Bard finally accepted his feelings for the Elf. He didn't think Thran would ever return those feelings but as long as he stayed with Bard, he was happy.
He heard his name and looked up to see Thran standing on a roof. He smiled and waved, hoping his moment alone was finished so they could talk more. Bard wanted to ask to officially court Thran before he lost his nerve.
Thran moved toward him but something small shot through the air, making him stop. Bard was confused, it wasn't until Thran collapsed that he knew the dart was poisoned. "Thran!" Bard shouted. Several Orcs appeared and grabbed him. Bard quickly grabbed a stray fishing spear and threw it, killing one of the Orcs. The others quickly fled over the rooftops, carrying Thran's limp body. Bard followed them but by the time he reached the bridge connecting the town to the mainland, they were too far away. The last he saw of Thran was a flash of his silver hair.
"Orcs" A voice said.
He turned to see the man from before.
"It's you"
The man nodded, "My name is Aragorn."
Bard glared at him, "Did you have anything to do with this?"
"No, I came to warn him of this. I never meant for him to get captured."
"Where are they taking him?" Bard demanded.
"Back to Mirkwood. They mean to kill him there. Do you have a horse I can borrow?" Aragorn asked.
"No, we can take my barge." Bard started walking towards his house.
"We?"
"I am going with you. I have to save Thran. Can I trust you?" Bard asked.
Aragorn gave him a small smile, "Yes, I want them to be safe as much as you do."
"Them?"
"They have his son as well. They mean to kill them both to gain Mirkwood for themselves. We were traveling here but he was captured by Orcs. I want to save him, I have to."
Bard nodded and hurried inside his house. He told his children where he was going and grabbed his bow and quiver before heading back to his barge. When they got there, a dirty looking man was waiting for them. He saw Bard approaching and grinned, yellow teeth gleaming in the sunlight. "Hello Bard, where are you off to?"
"Leave my barge Alfrid." Bard said calmly, though he was feeling the exact opposite.
"I'm afraid I can't do that Bard. The Master doesn't allow barges to be used for personal use and I believe you have already brought in your cargo." Alfrid smirked.
"You can tell your Master that I could care less about his pointless rules. This is my barge and I will use it how I please." Bard stalked up to the man and towered over him, "Now I am in a hurry so either get off my barge or I will throw you off." He threatened. His tone deadly, his face calm, and his eyes burning; every part of his body sending signals to not mess with him.
Alfrid cowered but didn't move. Bard untied the barge and grabbed Alfrid by his jacket, tossing him over the edge and onto the dock.
"Are you sure that was wise?" Aragorn asked.
"I don't really care right now. All that matters is getting to Thran before he is killed." Bard replied hotly. He made his way to the back of the barge and steered them through the water.
(Spring)(Summer)(Fall)(Winter)
Bolg and the rest of the Orcs had finally reunited with the rest of their party. Azog hadn't arrived yet so Legolas and Tauriel were hoping he was having trouble retrieving their King.
"Do you think they will succeed?" Kili asked.
"I do not know." Tauriel said. "King Thranduil is a more skilled fighter than any of us. It will be harder to take him down."
They waited for an hour before they heard the Wargs approach. Azog came up to them with a smug smirk. There was a limp form lying in front of him, they easily recognized it as Thranduil.
"Ada!" Legolas cried.
The Orcs took the King and bound his hands and legs before throwing him in a second cage. He was still unconscious so he didn't hear his son calling out to him.
"What did you do to him Filth?" Legolas spat.
"Knocked him out. Easy enough to catch him if he can't run." The Orc cackled. Legolas glared and hit the cage wall with his shoulder, cursing in Sindarin.
"What are we going to do?" Tauriel whispered. Kili comforted her as best he could without his hands.
The group was silent, even Dwalin stayed quiet.
On to Mirkwood!
Hope you enjoyed it!