King Thranduil was like any other Elf, with his pointed and curved ears, his long blonde hair, his elaborate and elegant dress sense and his high, pointed crown. Seriously, the thing could have probably poked an eye out.

All in all, Thranduil was one fine Elf.

From what I had learnt, it was Thranduil who had ditched Thorin and the rest of the Dwarves when Smaug had attacked, and with this came the long and still apparent hate for the Elves. I mean, I could understand why Thorin and the others were all anti-Elf, I'd be pretty pissed too. But when I really though about it, how could Thranduil have helped against the attack? They all would have probably died.

Still, it was a pretty dick thing to do, regardless.

Thranduil, as we were brought forward, cast his eyes slowly over us all. Lastly, seeing as I was at the back on the line, his gaze had landed on me. For a moment, he had tilted his head quite slowly, held up a hand and then said, 'Unbind them. Take away their blindfolds. They will not be able to leave, now that they have entered'. I didn't know what he had meant by that, but it had sounded pretty unsettling.

As a few of the Elves came forward to take away the rope from around the Dwarves hands (to which they quickly shoved themselves away from the Elves and tore away their blindfolds) Tauriel approached Thranduil's throne and began talking in low voices with the King.

I had shuffled forward some, not liking being at the back of the group and so far away from certain Dwarves. It was Gloin who caught my eye and brought me forward squishing me safely into the midst of the Dwarves.

'I have always admired the way in which Dwarves protect their women,' mused Thranduil suddenly, his voice loud against the low of the hall. The Dwarves said nothing, and this had struck me as odd. Normally, Gloin or Dwalin would be shouting, but all they did was glare. Kili's hand curled around my elbow, and Fili shuffled awkwardly inward.

I was not so nervous that I did not see Kili's dark eyes follow the female Elf.

'I suppose that most of you have taken a vow of silence also?' Thranduil said dryly, standing from his throne with a flourish. He walked down two of the steps, stopping to stare down at us. 'You Dwarves are a stubborn race, aren't you?'

Nori had growled, but Dori held him back. 'Say nothing,' I heard him whisper to his brother.

Now would be a good time to pop up and save the day, Bilbo.

'What were doing in my forests, may I ask, and where exactly were you heading?' The King inquired, standing tall. Not wanting to catch his gaze, I had ducked my head and stared pointedly at the back of Balin's boots. I didn't trust myself to not accidentally let out some information in some witty remark. But, of course, I'm me. And you know what that means.

'Wait,' I started, looking up suddenly. Dwalin closed his eyes and began to pray for patience, while Thranduil cast his curious eyes onto me. 'You said also. 'You have taken a vow of silence also'. Is Thorin here too?'

Just call me Sherlock, baby.

Kili straightened up beside me. 'If you have my Uncle, I would ask that you give him to us and let us go,' he demanded as calmly as he could. Soon after, Gloin and Bofur demanded the same. Jesus, I'd started a riot.

'What have we done, Elvenking?' said Balin, cutting off the Dwarves angry demands. 'Is it a crime to be lost in a forest, to be hungry and thirsty? Because that is exactly what we are'.

'Not only that!' said Gloin. 'But we were attacked by your pets!' Balin looked as if he had wanted to smack Gloin upside the head.

Thranduil narrowed his eyes. 'It is a crime to wander into my realm without permission, Master Dwarves and Lady Dwarf. Do not forget that it is my Kingdom you have entered, and that three times you pursued my people and roused the spiders with your loudness and clamor. I will be forced to keep you in prison until you will tell me exactly what you are doing here, and why you have caused such trouble in my realm!'

Oh Lord, Sass-Attack from Thranduil.

The Dwarves, once again, began to shout. Feeling particularly annoyed, I let out an annoyed, 'Aw, what?' myself, but shut up once Thranduil beckoned over a blonde male Elf with a, 'Legolas. Take the Lady Dwarf to one of the maids and have her put into their care until the Dwarves speak of their doings in my realm. Make sure she is given a room and a bath'.

What, does he not think I can talk? I could easily be questioned, just as much as the rest of the Dwarves! The nerve, just because I'm a woman he thinks I should be pampered-

Did he say bath?

Sweet Lord, the Elvenking was going to try and butter be up and get me to spill the beans. Oh, hell no.

'No!' I'd snapped, startled. 'No. I go where they go-'

I was elbowed hastily in the side by Kili and shut my mouth immediately. Still, my wide eyes stared at Thranduil and the horror sunk in that I would be on my own in the care of the Elves.

Millie no likey.

I grabbed onto Kili's hand as Elves came to escort them to their prison cells. I held it tightly and desperately, hoping that maybe if Thranduil saw my desperation he would allow me to go with them. But I knew that was not what the Dwarves wanted. With me on the outside, it would be easier for me to escape, or find where Bilbo was. Or even Thorin.

As Kili was tugged away from me, he planted a solid kiss into my hairline. He pried his hand from mine with a look that said, quite simply, 'tell them nothing'. Once I gave a soft nod, he gave (what he had hoped) was a reassuring, half smile. Something jolted across his face as he looked at me, and with a great huff, he opened his mouth and said, 'Millie, I-'

He was shut up when the Elf that held his wrists pushed him into the care of Tauriel. Beautiful Tauriel. I watched as Kili's dark eyes darted up to her, and all speech faltered from his throat.

My harsh glare was the last thing that he saw, but all I could feel was the push of his lips on my skin.

One by one my eye contact was broken with each of the Dwarves, and one by one they were taken through a side passage and away from me. And I was left alone with the remaining Elves.

Gulp.

'My Lady,' spoke up the handsome (damn) blonde Elf - Legolas, right? Yeah. He bowed a little to me (quite difficult, seeing as he was a few feet taller than me) and then nodded to a hallway on the opposite side of the stone room. 'If you would like to follow me?'

I glanced once at the Elvenking who sat atop his throne once again. His hands were clasped in front of him, his gaze hard as he looked to where the Dwarves had left.

'Sure'.

We walked in silence until, finally, Legolas asked, 'What is your name?'

I started a little, having been so lost in my panicked thoughts. I had been wondering where my Dwarven friends were, as well as Bilbo. The door had been closed after the Dwarves and I wondered whether the Hobbit was able to follow them, or whether he was stuck with following me.

I needed to get rid of Leggy so that I could talk to him, find him.

I coughed quietly and answered, 'Alexandria, but my friends call me Millie'. Perhaps he would spy out the hint in that sentence, the kidnapping Elf freak. Thankfully he did.

His perfect mouth twitched. 'Very well, Lady Alexandria. My name is Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood'.

Oh, bloody hell.

'O-oh. So you're Thranduil's son, then?' I had asked, rounding the corner with him. The walls thinned out the more we had walked, and the windows became larger and the trees more common. The place smelt green, you know?

'I am,' he replied. Suddenly, he stopped. 'Here is where I will leave you. This is a guest bedroom, I will send a maid to run you a bath soon and a guard will be posted outside of your door. I hope you will not take offence,' he bowed a little at me as he opened the door. Of course I'm going to take offence, moron. Timidly, I took a small step forward and said a quiet, 'Thank you', as the door closed behind me. Hopefully my little pause was enough for Bilbo to step in, if he was here at all.

I most definitely heard footsteps approach as soon as Legolas walked away, and knew that the guard had been posted outside of my door. It was warning, not that I would try and leave without my friends, anyway. Bollocks. As quietly as I could, I had whispered, '...Bilbo?'

Nothing.

I was on my own.

Well, I would have been, had an Elven woman not then walked into my room, shutting the door softly behind her. I remember being quite nervous then, terrified, really. I mean, she was stunning and I was...alone, scared and dirty. She in power, and I was not.

'What have they done with my friends?' I'd asked as soon as her blue eyes had turned to me, tripping over to her. She held a piece of fabric flopped over her crossed arms. 'Let me see them, please'.

Her voice was tight when she spoke to me, as if serving me was the worse kind of work. 'The Dwarves are in the dungeons. King Thranduil is not one to send women into the prisons of Mirkwood. You should be thankful that he has offered you so much, She-Dwarf'.

'My name is Alexandria,' I bit back, raising my chin.

She then bowed her head slightly. 'Apologies. I am Shialaevar, Lady Alexandria. I have been assigned as your maid during your stay here, until King Thranduil sees it fit for yourself and your Dwarven companions to leave. This will be your room, as I am sure Prince Legolas has told you, and through there is your washroom'.

Shi-what? And I thought my name was bad. 'So, I'm a prisoner,' I'd deadpanned, letting my bag drop to the floor.

Shi (it's easier to call her that, okay?) tilted her head and smiled a little. 'Yes, but you are one of our better cared for prisoners. You cannot blame us for wanting to understand what you were doing in our Woodland Realm, and why you caused such a ruckus with the spiders. It is heavily frowned upon to do so. Now, would you like me to run you a bath?' The look that she gave me said, quite blatantly, because you sure as hell need one.

I'd cast a stiff look at her, crossing my arms. 'I thought you guys would, like, bathe with the trees or whatever'.

Shi cocked a perfect brow. 'There was a time when we Wood Elves would bathe in the ponds and outside bath houses, but since the water has turned dark and poisonous, that is no longer acceptable. We bathe in tubs, like many other races do. Only for our own safety'.

Right.

'Oh. Well then, yes. I'd like a bath very much. May as well take advantage of warm water and clean clothes while I can, huh? Sleeping with a bunch of stinky guys every night can make one rather...ripe'.

Shi had settled the fabric in her arms onto the bed and sent me a shrewd look. 'I have never met a Dwarven woman before, are you all so odd?' I hadn't even taken offence, I'd just snorted out a laughed. '...Very well,' she replied slowly. 'This is a dress for you to wear, so that I can wash your...clothes. It is of the Elvish children, a dress once worn by a 'tween', I suppose you would call it. We have nothing else in your size'.

Right. I was a midget.

'Lovely,' I replied dryly. Shi gave a small, stiff bow and proceeded into the washroom, located just to the side of my current bedroom. The first thing that I noticed were that there was no windows - none. My only escape would be the door, and that was to be guarded all day and night. There was a double bed with an actual mattress, a small set of draws and a chair just to the side of the bed.

It was so bare that something told me this place was practically made for short term guests. It wasn't lavish like you would imagine a place of the Elves to be, meaning that they had purposely placed me in here because I was a prisoner. I would not receive lavish sleeping quarters, but sufficient sleeping quarters.

Little did they know that this was luxury to me. While I waited for Bilbo to figure something out, I would bathe, sleep and plot a little myself. I would need to be ready for our escape, of which I had been positive would happen.

Call me arrogant, but we'd gotten out of some sticky situations so far. Something told me that it would be the Hobbit who would be saving us this time, rather than the Wizard.

I had then found myself wandering in front of a mirror, placed on top of the set of draws. And then I had seen myself. Well, the self that I had become, anyway. I hadn't ever looked at myself in a mirror since coming to Middle Earth - I'd be too busy, as well as not being so vain. I doubted that the Dwarves and Bilbo would have taken lightly to me checking myself out all the time.

Yet, there I had been.

My dark hair was longer and messier, dryer looking and thicker. I was shorter, obviously. My ears were a little bigger too and my face much thinner, what with the lack of food and the amount of exercise that I had been continuously getting. There, on my cheek, was the slight indent of a scar that I had received from the Goblins. I had been less pale too, though I blame that on the constant sunlight that I had been getting, due to being outdoors all of the time. My cloak, shirt, breeches and boots were muddy and darker than they had been before, seeing as Mirkwood had ruined their cleanliness.

I'd looked hardly anything like my human self. Like Millie.

'Your bath is ready'.

I'd twitched out a jump of surprise and turned ungracefully to Shi. It was only when I felt my hand on the hilt of sword did I realize just how much those Dwarves had changed me. I'd built myself around them and their customs, learnt to live when them and fight with them, learnt to study their ways and find a beginning and an end to our story.

I'd really become one of them, hadn't I?

Shi's smart eyes darted down to my sword and her brows raised in amusement. 'Dwarves are rather brusque, aren't they?' she'd chirped. 'Come, I have run you a bath and trust me, Lady Alexandria, you are in great need of one'.

I hadn't argued nor bit back with a retort of my own. Shi led me into the small washroom where a single tub was, as well as a basin and a toilet. Funny thing was, I hadn't really seen a toilet in Middle Earth. I'd nearly cried at the relief that had washed through me at that moment - no more peeing in the wilderness, yes!

'Do you require my assistance?'

I had shaken my head and Shi had said something about leaving some towels on my bed, and then she had left. It was only when I was alone that I had realized I would gladly sacrifice all of this comfort, just to curl against Kili in the coming night.

My boots came off first, scattering dry mud onto the washroom floor. Next came my breeches, Snowthorn, my cloak, my dark shirt and then my bra. I'd stood there, cold and in the unheated rooms of Mirkwood, looking at my tan lines, my bruises, my cuts and my scrapes. The tub was directly in front of me, steaming slightly and looking awfully inviting.

The moment the water had hit my skin, I'd hissed and settled against the back of the tub. My skin hadn't been used to the heat, and my cuts complained at the pain. Soon though, I became used to it and watched as the clear water soon turned cloudy with the filth that washed off of me. There was a small bar of soap which I rubbed hazardously against my scalp, my legs, my chest and my arms.

Oh, how lovely it was to feel clean.

But there was this niggling at the back of my head, an uneasiness that had my thoughts travelling back to my Dwarves. They'd been led downward, to the dungeons. Considering how Thranduil was treating me, I couldn't imagine that he would treat the Dwarves any worse. Perhaps they were cold and they were uncomfortable, but I couldn't imagine that the King would starve them.

Bilbo had to be planning something. I had known that he would have to be careful though, just in case he was found, despite his invisibility. Weren't Hobbits supposed to be quiet and quick? He'd proved so far that he was capable of being sneaky, I'd just hoped that he could get us out of this mess.

There was another feeling too, an annoying little thought that kept travelling to the front of my mind. Kili. I'd missed him. I'd wanted to tell him again that I'd fancied the pants off of him, that I thought he was lovely and that I didn't care about his beardless state, nor the fact that he was so hopeless, dorky and reckless. I wanted to tell him that he was mine, and that Tauriel had no right to touch him.

I'd wished that I could just see him, as well as the others.

With my head buried in my naked arms and the steaming water surrounding me, I had thought of burning fires, laughing Dwarves, a chuckling Hobbit, a smoking Wizard and the feeling of a warm frame, sitting next to mine.

Shi came and went later on, picking up my clothes and leaving only Snowthorn behind. She'd wrinkled her nose in confusion at my bra, to which I had blushed and said, 'You wouldn't get it, even if I told you'.

Briefly, she had mentioned that the next night she would not be here much, considering that the Elves were having some sort of 'party hard' night. I'd shrugged and perched on the end of my bed, wrapped only in a towel, my wet hair dripping over my shoulders. I know that you're probably thinking that maybe I should have realized, 'Hey, that'd be a perfect time to escape!'

I hadn't though, that was someone else's job.

When Shi left, I'd dropped my towel onto the floor and dove under the covers, pressing my bare body against the soft, solid mattress. My muscles ached, my eyes drooped. I couldn't comprehend how we would leave this place, and how we had needed to hurry up about leaving, considering the fact that we had to reach Erebor before the moon did some weird shit. Honestly, I hadn't been able remember much about it at that time. I had been too tired, too upset and too lost.

As you'll come to see, my time in Mirkwood was short, after all.

Changes that I made: They won't be staying in Mirkwood for two weeks, but rather two days and one night. I can see them doing something like that in the films, and I just thought that it would suit this story better. I think I may stick to the idea of them staying in Laketown for a while, though. Hm.

Anyway, I hoped that you liked this chapter, despite the fact it was mainly the Dwarves buggering off and Millie having some thinking time. I liked writing that though, and I liked writing about Mirkwood and Thranduil. Admittedly, he's not in it much (and neither is Tauriel, but we'll get some more of that in later chapters!) But, if you've read the book, then you'll know we see some more of the Elves!

Thank you so much for the reviews. I'm in awe and Jesus, almost 1000 reviews! That's insane! Thank you so, so, so much! And also, thank you for being so patient with my updates. I know that they're not as regular as they once were.

Thank you!