Big thanks to JediKendalina, Neese96, .7, Lumihiutale89, Nessa Minyatur for following/favouriting.

Nice Egan – Yeah he did. And it took Mithiel long enough didn't it?

Rachetg – You'll soon find out.

Reader-anonymous-writer – See if the quest was too short then you would end up with a very short and boring story. As for inventions and stuff in Middle Earth I try and just go by what Tolkien did. I imagine the dwarves crafted glass but whether they ever discovered electricity is different. After all it took us long enough didn't it.

Thatgirl2002 – Aww glad you think so.

A Less Than Successful Rescue

Forcing her eyes open Mithiel winced and then shook her head again. She could still feel the after effects of whatever had been used to drug her. Stretching out her arms and legs she noted that – at the very least – she hadn't been tied up. On the downside she was very clearly locked in a cell. Rubbing her forehead she forced herself to her feet. The cell had no windows and in the dim light she could just about make out the door. A pin wold have no doubt made quick work of the lock but Mithiel had a nasty feeling she had lost them in the river when escaping the elves.

Had she had the time she would have tried to think of another escape plan. But as she heard the key turning in the lock Mithiel instead opted for a more offensive tactic. Clenching her fists she got into a fighting stance as the door opened. Two guards blocked the doorway – both armed with spears. As they moved towards her Mithiel feinted left before kicking at the other one and then bringing her elbows down on the back of his neck. Turning she then lunged at the other one when her arms were suddenly pinned to her sides. Kicking out Mithiel realised another guard had also been there; hidden behind the other two. Unlike those he didn't wear a helmet and had shoulder length grey hair.

"Not to rough now Braga."

Mithiel froze at the voice. Turning towards the doorway she ceased fighting. Alfred stood there with a slight smile on his face. As he moved towards Mithiel struggled; but Braga had a grip far stronger than she had expected. Alfred grabbed a clump of her hair and pushed it away to reveal her pointed ears.

"An elf!" He looked her up and down, "Not very tall are you?"

Clamping her mouth shut Mithiel glowered at him. He'd get nothing from her. However, Alfred was laughing.

"Let me guess. You swear to tell me nothing no matter what happens to you? Well don't worry. I already know you weren't victim to an orc attack. To be honest, I don't really care either. I'm not bothered about you," he ran a hand down her cheek, "Although…it would be a shame to spoil such a lovely face."

Gulping Mithiel watched as he moved back towards the doorway.

"Instead; I want to hear about these dwarves you were with," he clicked his fingers, "Bring her!"

Braga's grip on her arms didn't relent as she was dragged from the cell. Kicking out Mithiel could little else as she was taken up a flight of steps. As they climbed however she noticed that soon the stone was replaced with wood. Alfred pushed a door open and she was dragged through into what looked like a sitting room. There was a huge fire place with two armchairs beside it. However she didn't have a chance to look around. Alfred opened a door on the other side of the room and she was hauled towards it. However, when they reached the doorway Braga's grip on her vanished and he shoved her into the other room. Biting her lip as her knees hit the floor Fira watched as Alfred shut the door behind them. This room was a lot like the other one but smaller and with two plain wooden chairs. A table sat underneath a small window and as she caught sight of several sharp objects glinting in the sunset Mithiel gulped.

"Now then," Alfred pulled her up by her hair and dragged her over to the chair. As she was forced to sit down Mithiel spat on his shoe. Narrowing his eyes he pulled her hands behind her back and bound them with rope.

"You have no right to do this!" She hissed. Alfred nodded.

"If it's for the benefit of the town then yes I do. The Master will be along in a minute and I'd hate for you to upset him. He has such a volatile temper."

Mithiel said nothing as Alfred sat down on the other chair opposite her.

"You have options. Tell me everything and I'll let you go. You can even return back to your friends to say goodbyes before I have them arrested. Or…you can be stubborn and pay the price."

Narrowing her eyes Mithiel watched as Alfred got up and moved towards the table. His hand hovered over the objects and when he picked up a carving knife Mithiel could feel the bile growing. Alfred smiled at her unease as he moved towards her.

"So then, why was Bard sneaking dwarves into Laketown?"

Mithiel shook her head. However, to her horror Alfred was smiling.

"Between you and me; I was hoping you would be stubborn. It's much more fun."

Mithiel could do nothing as he placed the knife along her cheek.

Fira bit her lip as once again they came to a halt. Going through Laketown was an incredibly slow process. She knew they couldn't afford to be seen but this was getting ridiculous. Every so often she looked over at Fili. His face was white and she could see the anger and fear in his eyes. She could also see the pain he was in with every step and she wanted to abandon this and find some Kingsfoil. But she wouldn't have the faintest idea what to do with it. She shook her head. She needed to go back and tell Oin. He'd know what to do. And Kili…she couldn't keep this from him! Fili was his world!

"Fira!"

At Kili's voice Fira realised the other two had left her behind. Blushing she checked to see if they coast was clear before hurrying towards them. Kili smiled at her.

"Here we are."

Glancing up Fira realised they were standing in what could only be the town square. A huge wooden house stood at one end with a flight of steps leading up to it.

"And you think she's here because..?"

"Because who else would take her?" Kili whispered," Robbers would have just left her. But that man – Alfred – seemed interested in her. And he kept talking about the Master of this town. This is the biggest house here so it's not the largest leap for me to make."

Fira nodded in concession, "So how do we get in?"

"A window," Fili said, "Go round the back and climb through a window. That always works."

"You sound like you speak from experience." Fira winked at him. However he didn't smile back. Reaching out she took his hand.

"Fili?"

"I just…I just want her to be okay," his voice was small, "That's all I ask for."

"She'll be fine Fee," Kili rubbed his brothers shoulder. Fira nodded and Fili gave them both a small smile.

"Let's get on with it then."

Fira allowed both brothers to go ahead. They didn't have to go very far however when Kili stopped them and pointed upwards.

"Would you believe it," he grinned, "They've actually left a window open for us."

Fira smiled at him, "It's like they want us to come and find her."

"Okay," Fili stood against the wall, "Up you get Kee. Fira can climb on top of you."

Nodding Kili stood on Fili's locked together hands before getting onto his shoulders. The blonde dwarf gave a small cry of pain and Kili went white.

"Fili what is it? Is it your leg?"

"No," Fili bit his lip, "You're stepping on my hair you idiot."

Kili moved his boot, "Sorry."

Shaking her head Fira allowed Kili to pull her up. Balancing on his shoulders she raised her arms and pushed the open window. Grabbing onto the ledge she then swung herself back up and half climbed, half fell into the room. Not bothering to look around she hurried towards the bed and grabbed the two blankets. Knotting them together she hurried towards the window and lowered the makeshift rope down.

"Grab on!"

As Kili did so Fira could feel her arms scream at her as she tried to take his weight. Fortunately Kili was a quick climber and he was soon standing beside her. Taking the rope from her hands he held it as Fili swiftly joined them.

"Where now?"

Kili shrugged, "No idea. Just…keep looking I guess."

Nodding Fira followed the two princes from the room.

Even though she wanted to do nothing but sleep; Mithiel forced her head up. Alfred sat the bloodied knife on his knee and she tried not to look at the smile on his face. Her lips were covered in blood from where she'd bitten down. She would never let this man hear her pain. Her cheeks and collarbone were covered in numerous cuts and as Alfred ran the knife along her thigh Mithiel stiffened.

"You don't have to go through this you know," he whispered, "Just talk to me and it'll all be over."

Spitting in his eyes Mithiel then kicked out at him. Growling Alfred lunged at her and dug the knife into her neck.

"You think you're invaluable to me? I could quite easily get my answers from the dwarves themselves. I have no issue about slitting your throat right now."

Licking her lips Mithiel said nothing as Alfred moved the knife away. He tapped it on her knee.

"Now; where were we?"

Mithiel shook her head when behind her she heard the door open. Alfred frowned and Mithiel caught sight of Braga in the corner of her eye.

"Sorry to disturb you but the Master wishes to see you. He says it's urgent."

Alfred groaned and chucked the knife on the floor by her feet. He then grabbed her chin.

"Don't worry my dear. We'll be finishing our chat very soon."

Mithiel said nothing as he followed Braga out of the door. Instead she allowed her head to fall on her chest and her eyes to shut.

Fira couldn't stop the worry build. They'd searched every room they'd passed but still no sign of Mithiel. Also it was becoming more and more obvious that Fili was in pain. He'd given up trying to hide it but had refused to go back. Licking her lips Fira could do nothing more than just follow them.

"Hey!"

At Kili's voice Fira stopped outside a door. Kili pushed on it but it didn't budge.

"It's locked, "he said with a grin, "None of the others were locked."

Fili wasted no time in peering through the keyhole.

"I can see someone," he smiled, "Yes I can definatly see someone!"

Ushering them out of the way Fira took a pin from her hair and inserted it into the lock. She remembered Mithiel giving her a brief lesson on lock picking and she hoped this worked. Sure enough the lock clicked and Fira pushed the door open. Unsurprisingly Fili was the first one in. A chair sat in the middle of the room with a girl tied to it. Fira watched as Fili ran to Mithiel.

"Are you..?" He trailed off as his face paled.

Frowning Fira joined him to see what he was looking at. When she caught sight of Mithiel however she gasped. The girls face and shoulders were covered in blood and Fira could see bruises on the patches of bare skin. Mithiel's head lolled. Fili shook his head.

"I'll find who did this and I'll kill them."

"Later brother," Kili began undoing the ropes binding Mithiel's hands.

"Let's just get her out."

Nodding Fira helped Fili to drag Mithiel from the chair and lay her on the ground. Her eyes scrunched up before opening.

"Fi…Fili?"

He nodded, "It's me, Kili and Fira. We came to get you out."

Fira watched as he helped Mithiel to sit up; keeping a hand on her back to steady her. She could see he was trying to stay calm.

"What happened? Who hurt you?"

Mithiel shook her head, "I don't remember what happened. I was outside Bards house and they just grabbed me. I would have fought them off but they drugged me. I woke up here and then…then Alfred came. He wanted to talk to me. Ask me about the company and why we were here. I told him nothing."

Watching as Fili held Mithiel's hands Fira knew what he was thinking. He was wishing she had talked because then she wouldn't be hurt. Mithiel got to her feet and smiled at the others.

"Thank you for coming."

"Of course we would," Kili said, "We aren't like Thorin! We have more on our minds than a mountain."

"You know," Fira interjected, "I don't really think we should be staying here. I'm just saying, no one in this house will be happy to see us."

Nodding Fili put an arm around Mithiel's waist and Fira wasn't surprised when Kili grabbed her hand.

"Back the way we went," he muttered.

Nodding Fira allowed him to lead her back through the house. How they managed to avoid coming across anyone was a mystery to her. They weren't far from the room they had entered by when they heard a pained cry behind them. Fira could feel Kili freeze and both turned around to see him crumpled against the wall. Mithiel shook her head.

"It's his leg. It's worse than before."

Fira ran towards Fili who shook his head.

"Keep going."

"Shut up Fee," Kili set his jaw before pulling Fili to his feet. The older dwarf cried out again and Fira watched tears spring to Kili's eyes. Fili rested his head on Kili's shoulders.

"Get her out of here. Please!"

"Going somewhere!"

At the voice Fira jumped and turned around to see Alfred standing there. She recognised him instantly from when he had been on the barge. Kili drew his sword and despite everything Fili drew his as well. Fira shook her head. He truly would defend Mithiel until he died. Alfred tutted.

"Helping a prisoner escape."

"She's not your prisoner," Kili snapped, "You had her kidnapped and tortured!"

Alfred smiled, "I was only playing."

"You'll die for this," Fili spat, "I promise you that much."

Alfred opened his mouth when another man joined them. This one was in full armour with grey hair.

"My men have caught several dwarves breaking into the armoury."

Fira's shoulders sagged at this news. Alfred smiled.

"It seems your friends have about as much luck as you do," he snapped his fingers, "Why don't we reunite you all?"

Fira watched as Kili and Fili were grabbed and hauled down the corridor. Mithiel was given the same treatment and when Alfred took her arm Fira winced.

"Now now, I won't hurt you," he smiled and Fira could do nothing as she was dragged after the others.

The sun was starting to rise as they were dragged outside. Fira gasped when she realised the whole of Laketown had come to see this. The guards on the steps parted and she watched as the company smiled weakly at them all. Fili and Kili were shoved forward along with Mithiel. Fira smiled as Fili caught her and hugged her close. Alfred shook her hard.

"I'll ask the Master if I can question you. The others might be too…rough."

Not even bothering to look in his face Fira cried as he flung her to the floor. Spitting out dirt from her mouth she could feel someone picking her up. Kili led her towards the others who huddled around her and Mithiel. Fira turned back to see Alfred smiling at them. But now another man had joined them. He pulled his thick fur coat around him and ran a hand over his thinning ginger hair. Fira knew exactly who he was.

"What is the meaning of this?" His voice boomed in the air and many crowd members moved back slightly at his tone. The guard holding Thorin shook the dwarf roughly,

"Caught them stealing weapons sir,"

The master's eyes widened – almost with glee,

"Ah! Enemies of state then?"

"This is a bunch of mercenaries if there ever was sire," Alfred said. At this insult the dwarves pushed against their guards and with a growl Dwalin stepped forward,

"Hold your tongue!" he snapped. The crowed watched him in wonder, "You don't know to whom you speak. This is Thorin. Son of Thrain. Son of Thror. King under the Mountain!"

The crowd gasped as Thorin stepped forward. The Masters beady eyes narrowed and his brain was instantly working out how this could work in his favour. With a regal nod Thorin stepped past Dwalin and faced the crowd,

"We are the dwarves of Erebor. We have come to reclaim our homeland!" He looked at the crowd and jumped onto the steps behind him,

"I remember this town and the great days of old. Fleets of boats lay in the harbour, filled with silks and fine gems. This was no forsaken town on a lake! This was the centre of all trade in the north!"

The dwarves grinned at each other as the crowd began nodding. Many of the older people were shouting out in agreement. Thorin bowed his head with a sly smile,

"I would see those days return. I would relight the great forges of the dwarves and send riches flowing from the halls of Erebor!"

"Death! This is what you will bring upon us!"

Everyone turned in stunned silence as Bard pushed his way forward to face Thorin. The company snarled at the bargeman in anger but Thorin was shaking his head,

"You can listen to this naysayer. But I promise you this; if we succeed, all will share in the wealth of the mountain. You will have enough gold to rebuild Esgaroth ten times over!"

The crowd were cheering again. Many were clapping and Thorin folded his arms at Bard's angered face,

"All of you listen to me! Have you forgotten what happened to Dale?"

Thorin bowed his head as the cheering stopped and the crowd fell silent. Bard nodded,

"Have you forgotten those who die in the firestorm?"

The crowd were shaking their heads now. Many were even calling out and the company stared at each other sadly. Bard jabbed his finger in Thorin's direction,

"And for what purpose? The blind ambition of a mountain king, so driven by greed he could not see beyond his own desire!"

Thorin glared at Bard and several of the other dwarves were pushing forward angrily. Many crowd members were also shouting and it was only when the Master held up his hands did silence fall,

"Now, now," he said in a patronising voice, "We must not, any of us, be too quick to lay blame," he smiled at Bard, "Let us not forget that it was Girion – your ancestor, Bard – who failed to kill the beast!"

As Bard bowed his head Thorin stared at him with wide eyes filled with anger. Alfred nodded with a sly grin on his face,

"Its true sire," he nodded, "We all know the story. Arrow after arrow he shot, each one missed its target,"

Bard bit his lip as the crowd were now directing their anger at him. In the mix of the dwarves Fira watched Bard; torn between feeling angry and feeling sorry for him. It wasn't his fault his ancestor hadn't kill the dragon, just as it wasn't Thorins fault the dragon came in the first place. Running a hand through his hair and ignoring the jeering crowd Bard stepped towards Thorin,

"You have no right to enter that mountain," he hissed. Thorin glared,

"I have the only right," he muttered. In that moment Bard could see just a glimmer of how much this meant to the dwarf. Thorin nodded before turning back to the Master,

"I speak to the Master of the men of the Lake. Will you share in the wealth of our people?"

Everyone watched the Master with interest. The man himself was staring down at Thorin. For him there was only one choice he could make. If he wished to remain in power then he needed the peoples support. There was only one way he would get that. Holding up a hand he winked at Thorin,

"I say to you…WELCOME!"

The crowd burst into loud cheers and the dwarves grinned at each other. Fira allowed Kili to hug her tightly. However she glanced over his shoulder at Fili. He was leaning heavily on Mithiel and she could see his eyes begin to shut.

"Kili."

He turned and cursed. Gasping Fira watched as Fili spat blood from his mouth before collapsing on the ground.

So we go from one cliff-hanger to another! God I can be so cruel to you all at times can't I? Sorry I didn't update yesterday but ran out of time. Let me know what you think xxx