"Keep up, Frodo!" Bilbo called behind him to the lagging boy. He glanced over his shoulder and found the young hobbit jumping from stone to stone. He rolled his eyes fondly at the sight before looking at the tall elf.

They had been walking in a comfortable silence for some time, and at first, Bilbo let it slide, but now he was impatient to talk. "Oh, I'd much love to see Lord Elrond again," he mused aloud, chancing a quick glance up at the elf. "Say, are we going to be stopping there? In Rivendell?"

He had a hopeful glint in his eye that Thranduil did not wish to see. He wondered how such creatures can hold so much optimism - especially considering what this specific one had been through. His mouth formed in a firm line in response to Bilbo's hopefulness.

The elf still hadn't replied as they approached a fork in the road: one half led toward Rivendell, the other away from it. Thranduil took the other road - the one that led away from the other elves, the one that made Bilbo stumble along in confusion.

"No," the tall creature finally spoke in a curt voice. "We're taking a route around it. It's the fastest way."

Bilbo frowned sadly, "Oh." He looked down at his feet in defeat - occurring to him he was mimicking his nephew when the little hobbit didn't get his way. He cleared his throat and glanced behind him again. "Come on, Frodo. This way."

Thranduil and him walked in silence for a few meters before the hobbit spoke again. "But Thranduil, F-Frodo could see Lord Elrond and the other elves. Please, just for a while-"

"No," the elf cut in. "He can travel here in his own time."

The hobbit pursed his lips in deep thought. For Thranduil, it seemed he spoke out of nowhere, "The fastest way to what?"

The elf looked at him. "I'm sorry?"

"You said this road was the fastest way. Well, now I'm asking you where are we going?"

Thranduil's brow slightly creased. "We are going to the Woodland Realm. From there I must speak with Thorin, granted he's already in his mountain."

"Will you ever answer as to why you need to speak with him? And on such urgent business?"

"It is not as urgent as I had hoped," he replied.

Bilbo scoffed. "You traveled hundreds of miles just to make it to the Shire where that was the last place anyone heard he was. So why?"

It was Thranduil's turn to purse his lips. "Elrond had told me Thorin was passing through Bree when we spoke last. You're right, I could've only asked him my questions and told him my thoughts, but I didn't. I had to-" He suddenly stopped talking.

"Yes?" the hobbit prompted impatiently.

Thranduil thought carefully and looked down at Frodo who was still lagging and had nearly fallen into a mud puddle. "You are now part of Thorin's line. Not by blood, exactly, but by marriage. And any child that comes into play with Thorin and you, is eligible for the throne. That is why I kept going."

"That is why you ended up under a tree."

The corners of Thranduil's mouth quirked upward slightly. Damn hobbits, he thought fondly.

"Well, I was going to-" Bilbo coughed. "I-I mean you saw me - head back to Erebor."

"That's not even a risk Thorin would take," the other replied without skipping a beat.

Bilbo shook his head and sighed with disappointment. "You sound just like him. If that's not a risk he would take - and obviously you too, why are we with you now? Why are you escorting us back to Erebor?"

Thranduil turned his head slightly, catching a metallic gleam in the corner of his eye. "Let's save this conversation for when we enter the Realm."

The hobbit scoffed to himself. "Come on, Frodo. Keep up! Stop dilly-dallying!" He turned and quickly faced forward again. "Thranduil," he whispered, the haughty scoff that was once in his voice clearly gone and replaced by fear. "Why are those men following us?" He reached for Frodo's hand, the boy nearly stopping in confusion.

The tall being shook his head. "Their appearances will regrettably be more frequent as we continue on. More so especially since we're taking the route so up north."

"What?"

Thranduil looked down on him for the first time as anything but an equal. "Did you honestly think they were only after Thorin?" he spoke in an icy voice. "We must make haste now. I know of a passageway not too far from here."

"Make haste?"

"We must run," the elf stated.

"What?" Bilbo said again except more clearer and with disbelief. "Why? Why would those men be after me too?"

These questions were starting to bother Thranduil. He stopped walking and turned, leaning to Bilbo's level. "I wasn't stating the facts that you and Frodo are now a part of Thorin's line. Someone still has a price on his head. And the entire Durin line. These men want to kill you."