This will be a bit longer than the chapters before, but I'm sure you'll enjoy this!
/
"I heard you were with our prisoner lately"
Thranduil watched his son carefully. The young elf-prince held his fathers gaze, looked him straight in the eye.
"Why do you treat a pregnant woman like this?", he asked and could see his fathers gaze broke for a second.
"She's not an ordinary woman. She is Thorin Oakenshields wife. That makes her..."
"That makes her a woman that is loved by someone. I never thought you could be this cruel..."
Thranduil got up from his throne and walked closer to his son. Legolas was still watching him.
"I always appreciate what you think, son. But this is something you don't understand. Not yet."
"I guess no one could ever understand this. Is this...Arkenstone...really worth this? If they even find it. If they even manage to destroy that dragon! Father, have you ever thought about what would happen if Thorin Oakenshield or her sister might die? I thought about it and I'm certain that Kate won't make it either if she hears about this from one of us. That she never got the chance to say goodbye to any of them. Can you live with that?"
Thranduil kept silent for a while.
"You have a warm heart, my son. That's a gift from your mother, not from me. I just want the Kings Jewel. I don't care about the lives of any of them. And now go. I guess there's work to do in the woods."
And with that he walked back up to his throne, avoiding his sons gaze. Legolas stood there for several seconds before turning around and leaving the throne hall. His normally bright eyes went dark and he knew there was a lot of work to do. He had to bring Kate back to her family.
/
"Fili? Are you awake?" The soft voice of Lindsey whispered into the darkness, slightly shaking the blonde prince.
"Hmmm...what?" he mumbled and opened his eyes a bit.
"I had a strange dream..." she whispered. She could feel him shifting a bit to have a better look at her.
"What dream?"
She looked around to make sure no one else was listening. She could see Bilbo sitting on a boulder, his back turned to them and she sighed.
"I saw Kate...with another man..."
"What?" Filis head shot up but she placed a hand on his chest, pushed him down again.
"Ssshh...not like you think. He was an elf. He was tall, handsome with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was walking with her through the woods, I guess it was Mirkwood. And suddenly I could hear Kate whispering. She said 'They are coming' and I could hear a lot of voices and footsteps but by then I woke up"
She watched Fili, both holding gaze. He took her hand in his and gave her a loving smile.
"You better bot tell Thorin about this dream" he said.
She nodded and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "Do you think Kate is in danger? Do you think she escaped somehow and...and...what if they catch her? What if they kill her?" she whispered and tears ran down her cheeks, but he kissed them away.
"They won't catch or kill her. That was just a dream. Don't think too much about it"
She kept silent and her eyes drifted to Thorin. She saw him staring into the night, his blue eyes glowing in the moonlight, his fingers playing with his braidings. He had lost so much in his life. She knew it would drive him mad if he loses Kate.
"Lindsey?"
She snapped out of her thoughts and looked back to Fili. He gently rubbed her back.
"Try to catch some more sleep, my love. We have to find that door tomorrow"
She nodded and they both laid back, her head snuggled against his chest. While he fell to sleep within seconds, her mind was still circling around that dream.
She sighed, got up and joined Bilbo. He flinched when he felt someone sitting down next to him. He was relieved to see that it was just Lindsey.
"Can't sleep?" he asked her with a smile.
"No, had some strange dream"
He nodded, could sense she would not tell him what that dream was about.
"Maybe I should give Thranduil that golden ring" he suddenly said.
"What?! No! You cannot give him that ring!"
"Why not?"
"It contains a strange power! Can you imagine what might happen if that insane elf-king gets it?"
Bilbo sighed and his eyes rested on her face. She looked so innocent to him. So young and innocent but he knew she was a strong girl.
"I'm certain Kate and...and you...you already regret that you came with us"
Her eyes grew wide.
"We knew this could be dangerous but", her eyes drifted to the sleeping and snoring Fili, "no, I'm not regretting anything. And Kate...she loves Thorin too much to regret anything as well. She is strong, she always was. I remember the day our parents died. I was so young, only 12. Yes, you might think it's not that young at all, but...I knew our mom would die, she was very sick. But losing both of them, mom and dad, I was just not prepared for this. And Kate had to be prepared somehow. She had to be strong and became protective. She took me to live in her apartment, helped me with my education, she worked hard. She was in university in the mornings, spent time at home in the afternoon to prepare some dinner for me so when I was back from school she had prepared anything so I felt safe. In the evenings she worked in a pub to get some extra money. She was not only my big sister...no, she was like a mother to me. And I am so thankful to have her. But now there is nothing I can do to help her"
Her voice faded and Bilbo took her hand.
"I'm certain we'll get her back. Unharmed, both she and the baby. But, so hard that might sound, there is something we have to focuse on here as well. That hidden entrance into the mountain, the dragon..."
"I know, we have to concentrate on these things but it's just so hard for me. Kate is the only family that's left for me"
A smile broke on Bilbos face before squeazing her hand softly.
"Never forget...family is not only defined by the same blood. You have these dwarves, and you have me. We're all a family now. Fili is your family. You're not alone, Lindsey. And I'm certain, Thorin will do everything to get your sister back"
A shadow fell over them and a dark voice said "Even if I have to kill that elf. And there's nothing else I'd like to do more right now..."
They looked up to see Thorin standing behind them. Lindsey knew he hadn't slept a single minute this night, but like her he could not just lay around.
"You can take some rest now, Bilbo" the King said and Bilbo squeezed Lindseys hand one last time before walking up to his bedroll. It didn't take long for him to fall to sleep.
Thorin sank down next to Lindsey.
"I hope you don't think I wouldn't do a thing to bring her back..."
She looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"I mean because I went on to this place instead of going back to Mirkwood"
She sensed he felt guilty, afraid if something happens to Kate it would be his fault. That she would blame him.
She carefully took his hand in hers, could feel the warmth of his skin. She always imagined his hands to be coarse but they were surprisingly soft just like Filis.
"It's not your fault, Thorin. And I trust you. Kate trusts you. She knows you're doing everything to keep your promises. To keep your company alive, keep me alive. And that she will be yours forever"
A slight smile curled his lips. Her words really touched him.
"Did she tell you that I asked her to become my wife?"
She chuckled. "Yes, she told me. And I could see how proud she was. How happy she was. I've never seen her eyes shine that bright before. The only time they shone brighter was the moment she realized that she's carrying a child. Your child, Thorin"
Now she chuckled even more.
"Who would have thought this could ever happen? I remember the day in Bad End. I thought you would kill each other at some point of that evening"
He could feel his heart warm up, and his smile became wider.
"Oh, she drove me crazy. I could feel my blood boil whenever she talked to me. She was always that sassy and teasingly. That's the reason I...well, our first kiss was so strange"
She watched him, his eyes fixed on a point in the distance, his lips curled up slightly.
"I kissed her because I was so angry. She insulted me, dropped me into the river in Rivendell during our second sword-lesson. She was so angry with me and I was so angry with her. I don't even know what happened on my mind but suddenly...I kissed her and it felt so good"
His voice faded.
"I'm sorry" he mumbled.
"For what?"
"Telling you these things..."
She smiled. "I've heard Kates point of view and now I hear yours. It's interesting because...when she told me about it she was so confused. She wasn't sure if you kissed her to shut her up or because you had feelings for her or...I don't know"
"To be honest, I was not certain as well. The only thing I knew was that I...I need her. She's the missing part of my soul. With her I feel complete again."
She smiled, his words so full of love for her sister.
"We all could see the growing love between you"
She was aware she was still holding his hand and let go of it.
They fell silent for a while when suddenly the soft sound of flattering wings caught their attention.
Lindsey was the first to see it. A white pigeon.
"Wow, she's beautiful" she breathed. Thorin frowned.
"There's something at her leg" he whispered and Lindsey saw it as well.
Carefully she reached out for it and took the piece of paper that was attached to the pigeons leg.
She handed the paper to Thorin. He unfolded it and his eyes widened.
"What? Thorin, what does it say?"
He handed the paper to her and she read it. Her heart pumped faster.
'Kate and the baby are both fine. I will take her back to Erebor. Trust me. ~Legolas~'
"Who is Legolas?" she asked curiously.
"Elf-prince of Mirkwood"
"Thranduils son? But..."
They fell silent. Though they didn't fully trust this message, they wanted to believe Kate was fine. Lindsey thought about her dream. Legolas, that must have been him in her dream.
If that message told the truth, there was a new hope.
/
Kate had no idea what time it was, but according to the light outside the window it must have been early in the morning. She crawled out of her bed and took some towels to clean the floor from the mess she had created.
She drank a lot of water and looked out of the window.
"The sight is impressive, don't you think?"
She flinched and turned around just to see Legolas watching her with a smile.
He was wearing green and brown clothes, light boots and he carried a bow and arrows. She couldn't help it but smile. She thought about Kili and was sure that they could become good friends. Maybe, someday, when all this hatred is gone.
"It is, but it can't compare with the sight of my sisters beautiful face. Thorins face..." she replied with a sad and tired voice. He smiled and stepped closer.
"I'm going to bring you back"
"You've said that before already, but how? How will you bring me back?"
Now his smile became even wider.
"I'll create a distraction later. You have to be prepared by then"
"Prepared? How?"
He revealed some fine clothes and she recognized them as elf-guard armor.
"Maybe it might interest you that these belong to Tauriel. I sneaked into her room and took these." he said with a smirk on his face.
"You want me to put this guard-armor on?"
He nodded and placed the armor on her bed.
"You will put these on. With that helmet. So no one will recognize you. And to be safe that there are not that many guards around, I'll go to my father later in the evening to inform him that you're gone. He will sent a bunch of guards out to find you. Meanwhile you'll be hiding down in the cell blocks"
"I hope you don't plan to smuggle me out of here in barrels?"
He laughed. "Oh no! No, it's just for you to be safe for a while. You'll wait there for me. We'll follow the guards outside to search for you. Once we're out of here, I'm going to lead us away from the rest. If everything turns out like I tink it'll take us two days to reach the Sea City of Men, but we're going to ignore it. We'll head on to the mountain which might take three more days"
"So I might be back with the Company in less than a week?" she whispered and Legolas saw her eyes get filled with happy tears. He nodded and she hugged him for a short moment.
"Thank you!" she breathed and stepped away from him.
"We're not in Erebor, yet. You can thank me when you're back in your beloved ones arms"
She smiled and nodded. Her hand gently stroked her belly.
"Wait..do you think this armor will fit? I got some more meat on me than Tauriel"
"Don't worry, these will fit you. Tauriel was not always that slim" he winked and she bursted out into laughter. Yes, she grew to like that elf-prince. He would fit more to Rivendell than Mirkwood. But you can't chose your family.
"I'll be back in four hours. Be dressed by then. Fully dressed!"
She nodded but before he could leave she grabbed his arm. He turned around to look at her.
"The coat! I can't leave without his coat"
He saw her eyes resting on him, pleadingly.
"Give it to me. I will make sure it leaves this place unharmed as well"
She took the leather-fur-coat and gave it to him reluctantly.
"Be careful" she whispered and he left the room.
/
On his way back to his own room Legolas bumped into Tauriel.
"What's that?" she pointed at the coat but recognized it right after asking him.
"You took her coat?" she asked with a dark smirk on her face and Legolas decided this could be the beginning of his plan.
"Yes, I've been in her room and saw how she snuggled into this coat. I mean, how sick is that? Have you smelled at this coat? Whatever, I thought it might be a better punishment for her to take the only thing from her that reminds her of this dwarf king. Better than slapping her. No matter what, she's pregnant. And I'm not into physically hurting pregnant women"
Tauriel nodded and stepped closer, placed a hand on his arm.
"Your father will be proud of you. That was a clever idea, my prince" she said and her cheeks blushed slightly.
Legolas was aware of her feelings for him, but he could not stand this woman. So he had fun making her believe he'd like her and that he would be like his father.
He stepped closer, gently stroked her cheek, brought his lips close to hers. But instead of kissing her he whispered:"I'm as vicious as you are"
He looked deep into her eyes and knew she was distracted for now.
"Oh,and, please don't tell my father about the coat. I'd like to tell him myself later during dinner"
"Of course, prince. My lips are sealed"
He bit back a smile and turned around.
'Yeah, but not with my lips', he thought and entered his room to prepare everything for the great escape.
/
Like always I'm happy about your reviews and PM's! :)