Thorin knew this was coming. Since the Mirkwood elves had captured them, he knew he was going to be forced to face Thranduil eye to eye again. He knew it, and he was not looking forward to having that conversation.

When the blond elf freed him from his cell to place handcuffs on his hands instead, Thorin was outraged. He had never been a criminal. In his mind, to have him and his kin to be treated like that was repulsive and humiliating. Besides, considering that he was sure that they had Katniss there as a prisoner as well, he felt like the elves were the ones who were in the wrong, not him.

Katniss. His heart ached every time his mind went back to her. When the elves were taking them to their dungeons, Thorin was certain that he would see her there, lonely and scared, like a lost kitten. But if she was inside these Elven dungeons, they had placed her somewhere far away from them. Of that, he was certain.

When he entered the throne room and saw Thranduil's eagle-like eyes scrutinising him, Thorin frowned and had to control himself not to spit on the floor, such was his rage. Thranduil seemed to know the effect he was having on him and let a smirk form at the corner of his lips.

As soon as he was near the throne, the elf that brought him there freed his hand. Even though Thorin wanted nothing more than to strangle the elf who was sitting at the throne, he knew he would most likely be dead before he even got near the Mirkwood king. There were way too many elves around, all armed to their teeth inside that room. He would have to force himself to be civilised.

"Thorin Oakenshield, Son of Thráin, Son of Thrór. What business brings you to trespass into my kingdom?"

"We were looking for food and drink because we were starving."

"But what brought you to this forest at all?"

"Do you consider it a crime to be lost in a forest? To be hungry, thirsty, and trapped by spiders? Are they your tamed beasts if killing them makes you so angry?"

Thranduil frowned at Thorin's ill-tempered manners and accusing words.

"It is a crime to wander into my realm without my leave! Do you forget you were in my kingdom using the road made by my people? What brought you to this forest, Thorin Oakenshield?"

At that, Thorin shut his mouth, determined not to say a single word about their intentions of reclaiming the Lonely Mountain.

"Some may imagine that a noble quest is at hand. A quest to reclaim a homeland and slay a dragon. I myself suspect a more prosaic motive: attempted burglary or something of that ilk. You have found a way in. You seek the King's Jewel, the Arkenstone. It is precious to you beyond measure."

Thorin felt his blood freeze as he was caught off guard by how quickly Thranduil was able to uncover the bases of his secret mission to reclaim his birthplace. He did the best he could not to let his emotions show.

"I understand that. There are gems in the mountain that I too desire. White gems of pure starlight. I offer you my help."

"I am listening."

"I will let you go, if you return what is mine."

Thorin turned his back to Thranduil and began to walk away, as looking at the Elven King's face was making him nauseous.

"A favor for a favor."

"You have my word. One king to another."

Thorin felt his blood boil with anger. He couldn't take it any longer.

"I would not trust Thranduil, the great king, to honour his word should the end of all days be upon us!" Thorin spat, unable to hide his feelings any longer.

"You lack all honour! How dare you look me in the eyes, when you have kidnaped one of ours not even a fortnight ago!"

"I did no such thing!"

"I know that Katniss is here! I dare you to look me in the eye and say this is not true!"

"Katniss. So that was her name? The poor girl… The Captain of my Guard found her wandering alone in the woods after being bitten by a deadly snake. She barely made it here with breath in her lungs. We did everything we could to heal her..."

"No. No. That can't be true! NO! LIAR!"

The blonde elf who had brought him to the throne was quick to restrain him, fearing that the clearly unstable dwarf would end up attacking the king.

Thranduil squinted his eyes, trying to figure out what was going on inside the mind of the Durin's Heir. After a few moments of pondering, the king got the bird pin that had been extracted from Katniss' Mockingjay suit, and showed it to Thorin, who immediately recognised it, even from afar. Thranduil then threw the pin at Thorin, who caught it with ease.

Thorin brought it close to his eyes and stroked it with his fingers as if it was a lost hatchling that fell down from its nest. He had to employ every single fibre of self-control he possessed not to collapse and release the tears of sorrow that were bubbling inside him.

"I demand you let me see her." he said with a low shaken voice.

"What rights do you think you have to invade my kingdom and make demands?"

"I - have - the only right." Thorin said with the pin crushed by his fist. He was employing such strength with his grasp that its sharp edges were cutting through his skin.

Thranduil squinted his eyes again.

"Why do you care so much about this girl?"

Thorin stayed quiet for a moment, considering the implications of letting Thranduil know about their relationship.

"She was my intended."

"A human child? Your ancestors are probably turning in their graves."

"That's none of your business!"

"Very well. I will allow you to see the girl. After you bring me what is mine by right."

Thorin was pure rage. He had never wanted to murder anyone so much. Not even Azog, who beheaded his grandfather in front of him.

"Imrid amrad ursul!"

Thranduil was getting sick and tired of hearing so much offence under his own roof. So he stood up and placed his face right in front of Thorin's.

"Do not talk to me about dragon fire! I know its wrath and ruin. I have faced the great serpents of the north."

And as Thranduil spoke these words, he lifted a spell that concealed scars on his face from his past encounters with dragons. Then he rose to his usual high and his semblace returned to normal. He towered over Thorin, making the dwarf look smaller than he actually was.

"I warned your grandfather of what his greed would summon, but he would not listen. You are just like him."

And with a wave from Thranduil's hand, two guards appeared, one each side of Thorin restraining him and taking him back to the dungeons.

"Stay here if you will, and rot. A hundred years is a mere blink in the life of an elf. I am patient. I can wait."

When Legolas informed her that the human girl she had saved was finally awake, Tauriel was pleased. However, when Legolas informed that the Chief Healer requested her presence, as the girl seemed to be shamelessly trying to hurt the ones who were trying to help her, she felt nothing but utter annoyance at the girl's ungratefulness. They had just returned home, and her soldiers were longing for some rest. That is the reason behind why she had volunteered to stay to guard their prisoners. But now she would have to summon someone else to stay at her place until they had handled the human girl.

Tauriel was no stranger to the Halls of Healing of the Woodland Realm, as she had spent most of her early years helping her mother there. She was not an incompetent healer either, so much that it took everybody by surprise when she revealed to the others that her craft was to become a warrior. Therefore, when Riniel handed her a tray with the treatment that the human girl required, Tauriel did not need to be told what she needed to do with it.

As Tauriel had expected, as soon as she opened the door, the small human girl launched herself towards her. However, Tauriel was the Captain of the guards of the Woodland Realm for a reason, meaning that she effortlessly both disarmed and restrained the girl whilst still holding the tray containing the girl's food and medicine. The door behind them was locked again, as Tauriel had requested.

The girl seemed to be taken back by Tauriel's ability, but she quickly returned to her emotionless semblance.

"Why don't you make it easy and just kill me now?"

This was Tauriel's turn to be taken aback.

"I did not save you for you to behave like an ungrateful child and attack our people."

"Tell President Snow that he won, okay? He got me, right? I have no idea what kind of sick games you guys are playing inside my mind now, but I can't take it anymore! Please, just kill me, or let me go!" Katniss said the last part bursting into tears. She had been pushed way past her breaking point, and it showed.

"President Snow? What are you talking about?" Tauriel's eyes were wide open in shock and confusion. Besides the nonsensical ramblings she was being pelted by, hearing a young small human girl get into such a miserable state was not something she was used to witnessing.

"Cut the crap. I don't know what you did, but I know you are trying to make me believe you are an elf, right?"

"But I am an elf!" Tauriel widened her eyes, dumbfounded.

"This is what you want me to think!"

"Listen, girl… you are clearly confused. I don't know where you think you are, or why you believe we would want to lie to you."

"Because this is what the Capitol always does!"

"I don't know what this Capitol is, or what it does, but I assure you, they have no power in the Woodland Realm."

There was a moment of silence where Katniss finally was able to stop shaking. Tauriel got this as an invitation to carry on.

"I'm Tauriel, the Captain of the Guard of these lands. You might not remember, but I was the one who found you wandering aimlessly in Mirkwood's forest and brought you here. What is your name, child?"

"Katniss. And I am no child," Katniss mumbled in the middle of a frown.

"Of course, my apologies," Tauriel said with a curt nod. "Why don't you let me have a look at your hand? You don't need to fear me." Tauriel quickly added as Katniss instinctively sought her ill hand with her healthy one.

"Sure."

When Tauriel led Katniss back to her bed, she noticed the shattered ceramic on the floor and frowned at the broken jar.

"You've made quite a mess."

"I was thirsty." Katniss shrugged as she sat down on her bed.

"And because of that you broke a thousand year old jar?"

"It was quite heavy…"

"I see. Now, your hand, please?"

Katniss did as asked, and Tauriel slowly worked on cleaning her wound.

"Katniss, right?"

"Yes."

"You were really lucky, did you know? If I had got there a moment later, you could have lost some of your fingers. It would be the most unfortunate, especially for an archer."

"Thanks," Katniss said, trying to avoid looking at the elleth as guilty of attacking her and the others were starting to hit her. "Where are my things?"

"They have been taken away for inspection and safe-keeping. If the king decides you are trustworthy, I'm sure he will give them back to you."

To that, Katniss couldn't help but roll her eyes defiantly. Tauriel answered it with a frown of her own.

"The King will want to see you, and I urge you to not be a fool to attack him, verbally or otherwise, else we will kill you. I also suggest you don't make a fuss when the others bring you something appropriate to wear. I mean you no harm, but I won't think twice to move you to the dungeons if you don't cooperate."

Katniss' eyes were wide open with the mention of dungeons.

"We are not in the Capitol, are we?"

"I already said I have no idea of what Capitol is!"

"We are still in the past… like Gandalf said..."

"Do you know Mithrandir?"

"Pardon?"

"Gandalf. Do you know him?"

"Yes. We've travelled together."

"You've travelled with the wizard!?"

"Yes. He left us at the edge of the forest. He said he had business of his own to attend."

"You said 'us'... who else were you travelling with?"

It was only then that Katniss realised she was talking too much. She suddenly remembered Thorin's aversion to elves, and Woodland elves in particular. If she was in the past, then he was also real, and most likely worried sick about her whereabouts as he tried to leave that horrid forest. She couldn't help but to frown as the realisation of what Tauriel was doing hit her.

"Why do you wanna know?"

"I was merely curious and… wondering if there is someone else lost in the forest that needs our help." Tauriel added casually, focusing on changing Katniss' dressing instead of looking her in the eyes.

"I'm sure they are fine." Katniss said dryly, as she tried to believe her own words.

Tauriel seemed to notice Katniss' abrupt change in sharing information with her, because the elleth seemed to decide that it was for the best to leave the questioning to her King. Thus, she focused her energies on caring for the girl's recovering wound to the best of her abilities, and just before she finished, another elleth arrived, bringing a plain grey dress for Katniss to wear at her audition with the Woodland Elven King.

"Do you need assistance getting dressed?" the elleth who brought the dress asked.

"I'm sure I can manage."

The elleth was unable to hide a sigh of relief after hearing that. Both Katniss and Tauriel exchanged a smirk as the elleth hushed to exit the room, leaving the door wide open behind her.

"Very well, Katniss. I think my work with your hand here is done."

"Thanks"

"You are welcome. You will need to allow us to do this procedure twice a day if you would like to hope to be fully recovered by the next full moon. Can I trust you that you will allow our healers to do their work without fear, or do I need to leave my regular duties and get involved every time you need to change your dressings?"

"I promise I will behave."

"Very well. I hope you can keep your word. I won't be as kind if these are proven to be empty promises. Now, eat your food and get changed as soon as you can. The king is currently busy attending other affairs, but I am sure that it won't be long until you are summoned."

Katniss nodded and Tauriel turned on her heels to leave the room, only stopping when she started to walk through the pieces of shattered ceramic.

"Miss Katniss…?"

"Yes…?"

"Please clean up this mess, will you?"

The brunette did her best to avoid rolling her eyes at Tauriel, but she failed miserably. The elleth answered it by smirking and shaking her head before she left her room, locking it behind her. That made Katniss frown. She might not be in the dungeons like Tauriel said they could still send her, but she was still a prisoner here, nonetheless.

Not wanting to lose the opportunity of eating some hot food, Katniss jumped off her bed to go to the tray that held some bread and a nice smelling warm broth on the side.

It was then she felt someone nudging her from behind, and she almost had a heart attack. Katniss was ready to attack whoever it was, promise to Tauriel or not, but when she saw a familiar hobbit's face, all she wanted to do was both hug him and slap him at the same time.

"Bilbo! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Shoosh, Miss Katniss! There are guards not too far off…"

"How did you manage to pass through them and the Captain of the Guards?"

"Oh, well…" the hobbit's cheeks were turning pink.

"You are way too stealth for your own good, Mr Baggins. One day I will end up killing you by mistake!"

That made the hobbit's eyes widen in shock.

"Please, don't Miss…"

"Where are Thorin and the others…?"

"Well, about that… they have been arrested."

"Arrested!?"

"Yes, I'm afraid that they all have been locked up in the dungeons."

"What!? That Tauriel! After all that talk about keeping my word! She deceived me by telling me she didn't know who my companions were, while you were all here inside their dungeons! I'm going to kill her!"

"Calm down, Miss Katniss! What good will do killing anyone? What we need is to get your lot out of here!" The hobbit tried to reason with her, when he noticed something that made him turn white as a ghost. "Wait, what happened with your hand?"

"Snake bite. Luckily, Tauriel saw me there and rescued me. Trust me, it is not as bad as it looks. I was just told that my hand will be back to normal in no time. Until then, well… apparently I need to be a good girl so these elves can treat me without fearing for their lives."

"Oh, we all thought the elves had kidnaped you! Thorin made us run through the night, following hoof-prints until there was no hoot-print to be followed, and we were just dead-tired and utterly lost! And then there were the spiders! Enormous beasts, I thought Ori was overreacting that night in the campsite, but Miss Katniss, let me tell you, what gruesome nasty creatures they were!"

Katniss' jaw dropped when she realised how much trouble they all had gone through to 'rescuing' her. They even ended up arrested in the process. Which reminded her...

"Why did they not arrest you?"

"Oh, that. Apparently I am as good at sneaking around elves as I am with humans and dwarves. Who would have thought, uh?" Bilbo gave a nervous laugh and Katniss had a feeling that he was not telling the whole truth.

"So you are walking around their kingdom under their noses? Does Thorin know about this?"

"Oh, no… I followed when the guards took them to their cells. I was there waiting until there were no guards around to reveal myself, but then I overheard the elves talking, and even though my Sindarin is quite crude, from the little I could understand, following the she-elf was going to lead me to you…"

"So you followed Tauriel, and she led you here…"

"Precisely,"

"They can't know you are here… they can't know I know the company is here…" Katniss mumbled more to herself than to Bilbo, who nodded in agreement nonetheless. "What if they catch you, Bilbo? What are you going to do?"

"The worst thing that can happen is they would lock me with the others. They are elves after all, not orcs or goblins, Miss Katniss! They wouldn't do anything truly harmful against me…"

Bilbo said full of confidence, but Katniss frowned as she remembered her interaction with Tauriel and her death threats in case she misbehaved. For once, she was more inclined to believe that Thorin's aversion to Woodland elves might not be so unfounded.

"I hope you are right, Bilbo, I hope you are right…"

She then noticed that Bilbo's eyes were fixed on her food. The hobbit brought a hand to his stomach, and she knew that like herself, the hobbit was likely to be starving.

"When was the last time you ate?"

"Oh, that would be two days ago, before we were captured…"

"Right, you have it." she said, passing the bread and the warm broth to the hobbit. It was by no means a big feast, but it was certainly some filling and nourishing food. Bilbo was looking from her to the food, with a funny expression on his face.

"Go on, eat!" Katniss repeated, sounding almost annoyed with his delay in tucking into the food.

"And how about you?"

"I'm pretty sure these elves will carry on feeding me. You, however, as they don't know about your existence, it is not like you can expect that they will bring you food, right?"

Bilbo blinked, and his jaw dropped as he was forced to face the consequences of having to hide from the elves.

"Oh, I am sure you will be able to steal something. You are our official burglar, after all, right?

"Er… right,"

Even though he was a bit reluctant at first, Bilbo started eating. That was until he realised how desperately hungry he was and the small spoonfuls turned into ferociously eating as if his life relied upon it.

"Stop Bilbo! Or you will be sick! Trust me, I know what I am talking about."

It was almost as if the hobbit just realised how fast he was gobbling down everything. As he made an effort to control himself, Katniss turned her back to him and analysed the dress that she was supposed to wear to meet the Woodland king sometime soon.

Katniss immediately noticed that the clothes that had been brought to her were much less elaborate than what she had been given by Miliel at Rivendell. If that was due to the fact she had attacked some of the people from the Woodlands, or if it was because her status here was different, she didn't know.

After asking Bilbo to not turn around to see her, she began to change her nightgown to the dress that had been brought to her. It was not an easy task, considering that her hand was still sore and covered in sage and yellow paste, but she got there in the end. By the time she was done with the dress, Bilbo had finished eating. Before they had time to exchange any more information, they heard the noise of keys unlocking the door. Katniss quickly pointed under the bed, and by the time she blinked and the door opened, the hobbit had basically disappeared from sight. She could barely hide how astonished she was with Bilbo's abilities, which she had clearly overlooked. If Bilbo was a Hunger Games participant, he would be the kind of contestant that nobody would see coming, but he was likely to make it to the finals.

When Tauriel entered the room accompanied by another blond elf, she smiled at her. Katniss did not smile back.

"Good. You finished your food and are looking presentable. The king is ready for you now."

Katniss twisted her lips in a way that showed her displeasure with that information, but she followed the lead of Tauriel and the other blond ellon with no verbal complaining.

"Cin are foeir, mellon nin. He na baw ordinarui firen."

Tauriel smirked and Katniss frowned at hearing him speaking in that flowery language which she was unable to understand. The three then left the bedroom leaving the door unlocked behind them, which almost made Katniss let a sigh of relief to escape her lips, as she knew that it was the only way out her room, and as far as she knew, hobbits could be good at disappearing, but they were yet to develop the power of teleporting.

Katniss noticed that even though she was not being restrained by any means, both elves that were escorting her were guarding her as if they expected her to go berserk and try to do something stupid. Not like she was going to do anything, especially not after she had witnessed Tauriel restrain her with such an ease.

What surprised her the most, though, was that the Woodland Kingdom seemed to be located underground. There were many passages with hide halls, but differently from the nasty goblin tunnels, it was lighter and wholesome. Katniss was starting to feel a bit anxious with the perspective of being interrogated by a king. Somehow, she knew that her interaction with their leader was bound to differ from her brief encounter with Lord Elrond and Lady Galadriel.

She decided that following Tauriel's advice to not push her luck was probably a wise move. However, knowing that they had arrested Thorin and the others, were not being the most honest and forthcoming people with her, and also had basically stolen her belongings, she did not feel like being the most cooperative person with them either.

There were many elven guards fully armed inside the throne room, and it was certainly the halls with the highest ceiling that they had walked in. Katniss could see the King's eyes observing her from a distance as soon as she stepped inside that place. He had the same long blond hair that so many elves of these lands seemed to possess, and white thick eyebrows. She looked back at him, refusing to look intimidated by his presence. She remembered her Hunger Games interview with Caesar and thought that couldn't be worse than that, right?

When they approached the throne, both Tauriel and her fellow ellon gave a small bow - Tauriel's one was much bigger, which made Katniss frown and wonder about the reason behind that. Katniss looked at their king straight in the eyes, who looked back to her expectantly. She wondered if he was also waiting for her to bow, but she decided against it. He could be the King of that Realm, but he was not her king. The king, on his turn, squinted his eyes in the middle of a frown as he noticed her reaction, and held his chin with the tip of his finger in a thoughtful way.

"What is your name, child?"

Katniss' felt her lips twitching in a funny way when she heard him calling her a child.

"Katniss. Katniss Everdeen."

"And where do you hail from, Katniss Everdeen?"

"From Twelve."

"From Twelve?" he frowned.

"Yes."

"And where in Arda is Twelve?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Yes."

There was a moment of silence where the king held his chin again and ran his eyes from her head to the slippers she had been given. Even though Katniss was feeling uncomfortable, she refused to let that show.

"Tell me, Katniss Everdeen, what are you doing here on my lands?"

"I was lost. I was bitten by a snake and the Captain of your guards saved me."

"You were lost?"

"Yes."

"And why did you venture there in the first place? Without my permission nonetheless?"

"I… I wanted to get to the other side of the forest."

"And why did you want to get to the other side of the forest?"

There was another deafening silence. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it straight after. For some reason, she felt that revealing her role inside Thorin's company would be some kind of betrayal on her behalf. She had to think on her feet.

"I need to find my sister."

"And where is your sister?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Yes. I don't."

The king wiggled a bit in his regal chair as he gave her another frown. She knew then that she was not saying the things he wanted to hear, not that she cared much about that.

"And were you travelling alone, Miss Everdeen?"

Katniss knew that had to be a test. She already had let it escape to Tauriel that she wasn't alone. She knew that he held Thorin and the others as prisoners in his dungeon, but only because Bilbo had brought her news of their whereabouts. The Elven King had no idea that she knew that, and he was likely to already have connected her existence with their group.

What the king wanted was to see if she was going to tell the truth or if she was going to lie to him.

"No. I wasn't alone."

"And who was travelling with you?"

"A few dwarves and a wizard." She concluded that it was best not to mention a hobbit as well, since having people on the lookout would probably not help Bilbo.

"And where were these dwarves and this wizard when that snake bit you?"

"The wizard left us at the entrance of the elven path. He said he had business to attend to."

"And the dwarves?"

"They were bathing in a pond."

"And they left you on your own?"

"I was gathering supplies..." She did not like the accusing tone that the king had used to describe the dwarves' behaviour for allowing her to wander on her own.

"And why were you travelling with dwarves?"

"I found them on the way. It was safer than travelling alone."

"And where did you find them?"

"Just after Bree," she told him the name of the first settlement that came to her head.

"And you travelled alongside a bunch of dwarves all the way from Bree?"

"Yes."

"Well, I must say that I am sorry for you, it mustn't have been easy–"

"They are honourable people," she said, frowning.

That made him look at her with a newfound interest, and Katniss wondered if she had let escape more than she should.

"Tell me, Miss Everdeen. What do these dwarves mean to you?"

Katniss' felt her throat going dry as her thoughts immediately went to Thorin. She blushed, and the Elven King couldn't help but let a victorious grin leave his lips.

"They are my friends." she answered, avoiding looking the king in the eyes for the first time since she entered his throne room.

"Tell me, girl. What do you mean to Thorin Oakenshield?"

That made her blood freeze and her cheeks to turn scarlet. The Elven King gave her a wide smile as if he finally had got her. What sort of games was he trying to play? Did he already bring Thorin there to be questioned? She immediately remembered what Snow had done to Peeta, and Katniss felt like she was going to be sick.

"I don't know," she said with all the naturalness she could muster.

"You don't know?"

"No. I don't."

The king twitched his lips, and he stood up for the first time since he started questioning her.

"It has come to my attention that… a noble quest might be taking place. A quest that aims to reclaim a long forgotten kingdom. Do you know anything about that, Miss Everdeen?"

"No. I don't know anything," she said, looking straight in his eyes.

There was a pause where he walked towards her and paused a few meters away from her. He looked at her hand and then back to her face.

"I do not like liars, Miss Everdeen."

"I'm not lying!" she spat, a bit more fiercely than she had intended, which made them all look wary of her boldness.

"Very well. How is your hand?"

"It is healing well, thank you."

"Are you really thankful? If you are, why did you attack the ones who were healing you in the first place?"

"I am sorry… that was a mistake."

"A mistake?"

"I thought I was somewhere else."

"And where did you think you were?"

"At the Capitol."

"At the Capitol?"

"Yes."

"And I guess you have no idea where the Capitol is?"

"No, I don't."

There was another long silence where the king exchanged glances with the male elf and with the Captain of the guards. Katniss waited uncomfortably for his verdict.

"You are an interesting thing, aren't you, Miss Everdeen?" the king said as he returned to his throne. "You have no idea of where you are, or where you hail from, or where you are going. I wonder, what do you know?"

Katniss wasn't sure if that was a question that he was asking to himself or if he was expecting a real answer from her, so she decided to stay quiet and wait until she was addressed again.

"Very well, take Miss Everdeen back to her room in the healing halls." the king said straight to Tauriel, who gave another small bow before she turned away from him. However, instead of following her, Katniss decided to ask before she lost the opportunity.

"Can I have my things back? Please?" She forced herself to add the last bit after wondering what Haymitch would say if he was muttering advice through an earpiece.

Katniss would definitely feel much safer if she was reunited with her bow, sword and knives. However, considering her current situation, she would settle for having her locket back, as having the pictures of Prim and her mother around her chest seemed to soothe her somehow.

"I promise to consider it. You may go for now."

And Tauriel guided Katniss out of the king's halls, making the girl feel utterly helpless about her own situation. Even though she hoped Bilbo had been sneaky enough to leave her room to inform Thorin about her whereabouts, she also saw herself wishing he was still there, just so she wouldn't be alone. She couldn't help but wish that the king had sent her to the dungeons instead, so at least she would be reunited with her lover and her friends.

She briefly considered causing mayhem again with the staff of the house of healing to see if that would grant her a ticket to the dungeons, but she decided that was likely to be a stupid idea. After all, Tauriel had warned her that the king would kill her if she misbehaved, and if there was one thing that Katniss was a natural at, was self-preservation.

What Katniss couldn't help but wonder was what the king had said to Thorin to make him reveal, or at the very least hint, that he had deeper feelings towards her. Especially considering that the Elven King was likely to be the reason Thorin nurtured so much hatred towards an entire race. Her internal conflicts must have been reflected on her face, because it wasn't long before Tauriel questioned her about it.

"You are worried about your friends, the dwarves," Tauriel said. It was not a question.

"Yes. That's right. I'm worried about them."

There was a silence where Tauriel looked down at her feet, and Katniss wondered what was going through the head of the Captain of the guards at that moment.

"I'm sure they are safe," Tauriel said, trying to give as much comfort through her words as she could.

"And how can you be so sure about that?" Katniss asked, well aware that the elleth in question knew exactly where her dwarven friends were, as she was likely to have been the one who arrested them in the first place.

One thing that Katniss had to give to Tauriel, was that the elleth surely looked conflicted.

"Just… It is a feeling. You don't need to worry about their safety."

Soon they were back to Katniss' quarters, which looked even smaller after wandering around the kingdom. Katniss went inside, and Tauriel stayed at the doorway.

"I guess, this is a farewell," Tauriel said.

"You are going to lock me up now?"

Hearing that made Tauriel avoid looking her in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, but it is for the safety of our people. I'm sure if you carry on having good behaviour, the king might reconsider this… arrangements"

"Right. I will do my best to carry on being a good girl."

Tauriel nodded and left the room, locking it behind. Katniss noticed that someone had tidied her bed and removed the pieces of ceramic off the floor. She wanted to call for Bilbo, but somehow she knew that he was probably long gone. She allowed her body weight to collapse on her bed. That was a luxury that she should be appreciating, but everything she could think of was that she would gladly exchange that bed for a spot on the dungeon's hard floor next to Thorin.

A/N

Imrid amrad ursul! : Die a death of flames!

Cin are foeir, mellon nin. He na- baw ordinarui firen: You are right, my friend. She is no ordinary human.

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