Chapter 19

The Elf King

Bilbo immediately felt Thorin stiffen beside her when his blindfold was removed and he stared up into the expressionless face of the elven king, his own face strangely unreadable. Bilbo looked between the two and felt almost overwhelmed by the tension that was building between the two kings.

There was history here, deep and painful, where both sides had been injured by the other and no one had taken the first step to try and to mend the chasm.

And I doubt anyone is going to start now, Bilbo thought as she continued to watch the two, the unease in her gut growing as the silence in the massive carven grew heavier and heavier.

She actually jumped when the elf king suddenly started speaking, without introduction nor prompting.

"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." He moved smoothly down from the steps of his throne as he spoke, slowly circling Thorin – Bilbo had to quickly scuttle away from Thorin's side to avoid being brushed against by the king's long coat – and getting rather in Thorin's face.

Another long moment passed as the two kings simply stared at each other, portraying very little and yet, so much with their silence.

"You have found a way in." the elf king continued, stepping back a little and towards his throne, his gaze both interested and wary, "You seek that which would bestow upon you the right to rule: the King's Jewel, the Arkenstone." The what…? Bilbo looked back at Thorin, who at the mention of this Arkenstone, finally broke eye contact from the elf king and stared at the floor, his expression… pained.

"It is precious to you beyond measure." The elf king tone was soft and filled with understanding, but when Bilbo looked back at him, she saw his eyes were cold and calculating, "I understand that. There are gems in the mountain that I too desire." There was a moment of heat that flair in his ice blues eyes, an ancient longing, "White gems of pure starlight. I offer you my help." The elf king bowed his head to Thorin, his eyes briefly shutting close. Respect… or an attempt to hide his true feelings, Bilbo wondered.

She looked back at Thorin whose mouth had twisted into a smile, though it was hardly one that could be described as either friendly or nice. But he was thinking, she could see that and she could hope that whatever problems, however large they may be, that he had in relation to the elf king before them, he would put them aside and not allow for them to cloud his judgement

"I am listening."

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

Seemed… fair.

She watched as Thorin turned, his back now facing the elf king – which Bilbo felt was rather unwise given just how much tension surrounded the two of them – before speaking;

"A favor for a favor."

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

She watched Thorin's back stiffen at the word 'king' and almost immediately knew that whatever chance of negotiating they might have had before, was now flying out the proverbial window.

Her hands wrapped around her face as Thorin spoke, his voice growing steadily louder and louder with each word.

"I would not trust Thranduil, the great king, to honor his word should the end of all days be upon us!"

Oh Thorin! Why?!

But at the same time, as frustrated and as-as angry at him as she was for letting his emotions cloud his judgement, for lashing out at the elf king, she can't miss the agony that is in his voice, interwoven with his own righteous fury.

"You lack all honor!"

Hands clasped over her mouth, she watched as Thorin spun around to face them, hate and pain blazing from his blue eyes as he shouted for all to hear.

"I've seen how you treat your friends." Thorin roared, his whole body shaking with all the rage and agony of sixty long years, forced to conceal until it could be concealed no longer, "We came to you once, starving, homeless, seeking your help, but you turned your back. You turned away from the suffering of my people and the inferno that destroyed us!" with each word Thorin bellowed, the more the elf king's face seemed to fall, losing it's cold exterior and showing… regret? Guilt? But Thorin could not see that, Bilbo was certain, too lost in the throes of his own pain and guilt.

"Imrid amrad ursul!"

Thorin's finishing snarl in Khuzdul seemed to stir the elf king, his own face snapping into a look of rage as he sprang forward, leaning forward as he pushed once more into Thorin's face.

"Do not talk to me of dragon fire." The elf king snarled, "I know its wrath and ruin." Bilbo's muffled a gasp behind her hands as the elf king's face contorted in a horrific fashion as the flesh on the left side of his face seemed to melt away from his facial bones, becoming raw and scar like, his eye turning an awful milky white colour, "I have faced the great serpents of the north." The elf king stepped back and away, his face returning to… normal? It seemed to heal itself, but maybe it was simply an illusion? Bilbo did not know and found that for once, her usually insatiable curiousity was more than happy not to find out.

She felt sick to her stomach.

"I warned your grandfather," When the elf king spoke again, his manner was once more cool and aloof, "of what his greed would summon, but he would not listen."

Thorin flinched, seemingly to his very core, as the elf king turned away from him, and started mounting the stairs to his throne once more. When he was almost to the top, he looked back down at Thorin and spoke words that Bilbo knew would cut him deeply.

"You are just like him."

Two guards came up and seized Thorin by the arms and started pulling him away while the elf king spoke from his throne.

"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."

With one final look at the elf king as he settled himself back down upon his throne, Bilbo dashed after Thorin, struggling between the two guards who held him. Bilbo was certain, that if Thorin were not still feeling the ill effects of the spider poison and Mirkwood, he would have been able to break free. To go where, was anyone's guess but Bilbo knew that if Thorin was in usual fighting condition it would have taken more than two elves to hold him.

They were marched far underground, into a labyrinth of corridors that occasionally they passed a wrought iron doors by.

As they moved further through the labyrinth, they came across a handful of their company, who yelled out to their king as he passed them.

"Thorin!" Balin cried as they passed his cell, "Did he offer you a deal?"

"He did." Bilbo almost felt like smacking the majestic idiot when he shot Balin a very self-satisfied smirk, "I told him he could go 'Ish kakhfê ai'd dur rugnu!"

Bilbo saw her exasperation and frustration immediately mirrored in Balin's expression as he stared out his cell at his king.

"Well...that's it, then. A deal was our only hope." Bilbo's heart broke for the old dwarf, he looked so defeated.

"Not," Bilbo jumped when she heard Thorin speak, oh so quietly, "our only hope."

Bilbo's head snapped around to stare at him, not that he could see her but he seemed to have a very good idea of where she was and for a moment, it didn't matter that she was invisible. In that moment, their eyes met and held and Bilbo felt overwhelmed by the level of trust Thorin seemed to be putting into her.

The moment was broken by Thorin's elf guards started tugging him along again, leading him further and further into their dungeons until they came to a cell that Bilbo was certain must be the very last one in this deep tomb of a labyrinth.

He was thrown in without ceremony. The door slammed loudly behind him before being locked. Bilbo pressed herself against the wall of the narrow corridor as the elf guards passed her by, not looking back at Thorin once.

It was several long moments before Thorin spoke.

"I'm assuming you are here still?" his dark blue eyes searched the corridor.

"Yes, hello. Here I am." She hesitated for a moment, looking up the corridor to make absolutely certain the guards would not return, before she pulled off her ring.

Thorin nodded slowly, and already she could see his mind working.

"Is there a limit to your…" he waved a hand vaguely in the air, "invisibility abilities?"

"I-I don't believe so. But it is only a very recent thing, and this is only the third time I have used it, so…"

"You have no idea if there is a limit and/or ill effects to using it." Thorin sighed.

"Ill effects?" Bilbo squeaked, trying very hard not to think of Gollum, "what ill effects could possibly come from turning invisible? So far, it has been very useful. It has saved my life twice and yours and the company against the spiders."

"There are very few truly magical items in this world, and none of them should be taken lightly." Thorin told her, his eyes searching her face as she squirmed.

"What would you have me do then? Throw it away and allow myself to get caught?" she demanded feeling strangely angry, but maybe the stress of their situation, along with the last of her adrenaline from fighting and running from spiders leaving her system, had finally gotten to her and she felt both furious and rather like sitting down and having a good cry.

"No," Thorin said, his voice gentle, "that would be unwise. Given our current situation, you, I suspect, will be our only hope of leaving this wretched place."

"Well, whose fault is that?" Bilbo sniffed, wiping her running nose as she fought back an onslaught of irritating tears.

She bit down upon her lower lip as her brain caught up to what had just come out of her mouth.

She snuck a look up at Thorin who was leaning against the bars of his cell door. He did not, to her great surprise, look angry or even frustrated, he appeared more lost than anything, his eyes dark with an ancient pain that not in a hundred years would she ever have a hope of understanding. And that, Bilbo was certain, was a blessing.

"I'm sorry. Not helpful. And I," she looked away from him, "I don't know the history… between the two of you. You have your reasons for not trusting him and I-I trust you, and your judgement."

"Even though it has now doomed us to be trapped in a labyrinth beneath his halls?" Thorin asked bitterly.

"We'll figure something out." Bilbo promised as she dashed to stand in front of him, "I have my ring, I can turn invisible, I can go about the halls unseen, find the others and… figure a way out. There must be a way! There cannot just be one entrance in and out of this great place, there must be others."

As she spoke, she saw a slow smile decorating his face, not the unkind or unfriendly one he had worn during his interview with King Thranduil, but a real one, his eyes never leaving her animated face.

"I do not know if there are other ways out of this place, but if there are, I have absolute faith that you will find them and see us free."

Bilbo couldn't help but letting out a small amused snort.

"No pressure then."

"You seem to handle yourself quite well under pressure." Thorin replied easily causing her to blink.

"Hello, have we forgotten about the Trolls? And being chased by Wargs. Or stone giants. Or…"

"Take the compliment Master Baggins." Thorin sighed, pinching his nose. "For one who was not raised as a warrior, who was raised in such a gentle, peaceful land, you have handled yourself better than most. You may not have battle senses, but you have proven, time again, that your intelligence more than makes up for it."

Bilbo stared at him, face burning and heart pounding in a lovely, warm fashion.

Oh no…

It was not fair that he had such an effect upon her just with a few kind words and a smile, when she knew nothing could ever come of it and he did not feel the same!

No, not fair at all!

Turning away her burning face to try and save herself from further embarrassment, she mumbled,

"I'm going to go off and see if I can't locate the others? See if I can't figure out this labyrinth." She fumbled to put her ring back on when Thorin caught a hold of her hand.

"Listen to me." She raised her head at his serious tone. "if you have no luck or feel that you are in danger of becoming discovered and you have found a way out but have no way of rescuing us, leave, go on to Erebor. Meet with Gandalf upon…

"The overlook, before the slopes of Erebor." Bilbo recited back to him dutifully.

"Yes, tell him what has happened. But if you are… if Durin's Day is too near to come back for us…" she watched in fascinated horror as he pulled from his coat his precious map and key.

"Thorin… N-no! I can't! I can't! Thorin!" She exclaimed as he pressed them both into her hand.

"You must. You are free and I will not allow for either the map or key to fall into his hands," Thorin's whole face turned dark with hatred.

"I…" She stared at him and immediately saw she no hope of winning this battle, not with his mind so firmly set in stone over giving her the map and key, which spoke volumes of how dire the situation he saw it to be, "I will guard them with my life."

"I pray," Thorin said softly, "that it will never come to that. I know that you will keep them safe and if…" she watched him swallow, his eyes fluttering briefly shut in pain, "if you must, if you and Gandalf cannot free us before Durin's Day, I trust you to use them and…"

"Alright, alright, alright." Bilbo interrupted him, and in a moment of pure boldness, she clapped her free hand against Thorin's warm mouth, "let us not go getting ahead of ourselves. We still have a few months before Durin's Day upon us. We have time. When we do not and if we are still stuck here… then tell me this plan. But before then, I do not want to hear it. You will be there Thorin Oakenshield, on Durin's Day, standing upon the front step of the secret door and taking the first steps to reclaiming your home. I will not allow for you to miss that, to be forced to wait another year before this chance comes again. You have waited long enough."

When she removed her hand from his lips, he stared at her with a look she could not describe because never before had such a look be directed at her. It wasn't a look of anger or exasperation, or any of number of irritated looks she had seen sent in her direction from him, it was unspeakably soft and filled with wonder, longing and… words failed her. She wondered who he was seeing as he looked at her as he was, certainly not seeing her, and that hurt quite a deal more than she would like to admit.

"I'm going to… Yes, I'm going to go now. Um, don't go anywhere and I'll see you soon. Or as soon as I've found the others and um, yes… bye."

She stashed the key and map safely into her coats hidden inner pocket before she all but shoved her ring onto her finger and promptly disappeared from view.

"Stay safe." Thorin called after her quietly as she almost ran up the corridor, a desperate attempt to flee the mess of feelings that that infuriating, loyal, stubborn wonderful dwarf made her feel.

Breathing hard, several identical corridors down, Bilbo forced herself to settle down and think clearly or else she was simply going to make a mess of things.

Finding a piece of chalk from her pocket, she slowly walked back the ways she had come, back to the corridor of Thorin's cell – which she only knew to be his, because he was still leaning against his cell door, his arms hanging loosely threw the bars. She didn't know what he was doing or thinking, but refused to go back down and ask for fear he might muddle her brain once more – and started making tiny little arrows and marks – her eye level and hope beyond hope that the elves had no reason to stoop down and see them. And if they did, hopefully it would look like nonsense or a fault with the stone, that they wouldn't look any closer and believe they had an intruder – every couple of feet as she walked away from his cell and started making the long arduous trip back up threw the labyrinth in her hope of finding the others and maybe, with some luck, she would find a way out.

8 8 8

Fili had not known what to do when he was motion to leave his cell and to follow after the guards. His hands were not bound nor did the guards blindfold him as they motioned for him to follow, but he felt just as helpless as when he had been, moving as he was without the company, without his brother.

Fili had been the first of the company to be shoved into a cell and the panicked, angry yells of his younger brother still echoed in his ears, along with the protests of the company. Then there had just been awful silence for what felt like hours, until four guards appeared in front of his cell, coolly informing him that their king wished to speak with him.

Fili hadn't had much choice but to follow them, and he did so, quietly, trying to remain calm and to think of what he might be asked by the elf king and how he would answer.

Stepping up into the throne room, he stared up at the elf king whom his uncle despised almost as deeply as he did Azog the Defiler.

For several long moments Fili stood there in silence, waiting for Thranduil to speak as he refused to be the first, not when he was uncertain if his voice would remain steady and even.

For all of his life, he had been raised to not trust elves because of the actions – or rather, the lack of action – of this elf king before him on the day Erebor fell to Smaug and his stomach churned painfully in being in his presences.

He knew better now, knew now that not all elves were like the ones in the stories, the warnings he had heard all throughout his childhood. He had learnt from their time spent in Rivendell, wandering around the Last Homely House, east of the sea with his brother, Bilbo and Ori, that elves could be more than just liars and master manipulators, they could be kind, wise and willing to help.

He knew his uncle could not let go of his grudge – and having been captured by the Thranduil's guards, thrown into prison without so much as a trial, and now standing before the elf king himself, he found he rather could not fault his uncle – but Fili was going to do his best to keep an open mind, if no other reason than see if he might be able to get his company out of their current predicament.

"So," Fili was pulled from his thoughts by Thranduil suddenly speaking, "you are the new heir to Erebor. Son of Dis, Daughter of Thrain and Frisa."

Fili's hands flexed his sweaty hands and said nothing as the elf king rose from his throne and swept down the curved staircase leading up to it.

"You have never laid eyes upon your mother's birth place have you?"

Again, Fili said nothing, simply continued to watch as the elf king approach, trying to gauge what it was that was wanted from him and how to best handle the situation.

Thranduil stood in front of him, looking down at him from his great height, his icy blue eyes seeming to stare straight through Fili's very soul.

"I knew you mother," Thranduil continued, "when Erebor was still home to dwarves, before the desolation of the beast. I always found her to be, even at as young an age as she was, far wiser than her male kin." Another pause, another hard, searching look, "So I find myself wondering, who do you follow after? Your mother? Or your great grandfather and Uncle?"

Fili's hands throbbed from how hard he had them clenched into fists.

"Your uncle has refused my offer of help, your freedom in exchange for the rightful return of priceless heirlooms. And years before, your great-grandfather, King Thror refused to heed my warning, leading to the ruin of your homeland. Will you follow in their footsteps, Fili son of Dis? Or will you take a different road and we may build an allegiance, like the ones of old."

Fili wet his lips as he tried portraying a calm, kinglike image. It was rather more difficult than he would have ever believed, and found he had a new respect for Thorin, because he would much rather be facing a legion of Orcs astride wargs than be dealing with the political situation he was currently in.

"I am listening." He found himself saying. He thought he saw an ever so slight twitched of irritation to Thranduil's jaw muscle, but it was gone so quickly with the elf king's expression becoming like stone again, that Fili was not entirely sure.

"There are gems, white gems of pure starlight, within the mountain you wish to reclaim. If swear you before me now that you will return what is mine, I will let you go."

It was on the tip of his tongue to agree, to say whatever the elf king wished to hear so that they might continue on their way, but the voices of his mother, uncle and Balin filled his head, cautioning him against agreeing so quickly.

"All of us? You will allow for all of us to leave your kingdom if I promise to return the gems to you?" Fili asked and watched a flash of anger blazed across the elf king's face.

"To keep you to your word…"

"No." Fili buttered in, crossing his arms, "you will allow for all of us to leave your kingdom or I will not agree to your request. I will not allow for anyone to be left behind."

"Does your quest for your homeland mean so little to you that you would…"

"In a heartbeat. Especially when this deal is be negotiated under such unfair circumstances."

"Unfair, you say?" the chill of elf king's tone makes Fili want to shudder, but he forced himself to continue on.

"Yes. You hold us prisoners in your dungeons, without trial and without cause. We have done nothing to justify you holding us captive. I would gladly give you back the gems that you seek, upon my finding them, but I will not be blackmailed into doing so, with mine and fellow companions freedom having to be bartered for, and with one being forced to remain behind as hostage until the delivery of the gems. We have done no wrong in your realm to warrant such harsh conditions. Allow for my companions and I to leave your kingdom, with our weapons and any provisions you can spare, and I swear upon my honour, I will see your heirlooms returned to you as soon as we have reclaimed Erebor."

For a moment, and Fili held his breath, he thought the elf king might agree to his terms, but then the elf's face closed and Fili felt his hopes dash.

"Done no wrong, you say?" Thranduil turned away from him, mounting the stairs of his throne, making Fili feel incredibly small when the Elf looked back down at him, "you and your companions entered my realm without my leave, using the roads made my people. You roused the spiders with your riot and clamour, and bringing them closer to my kingdom, and endangering my people. And your quest… if you should wake the dragon, the danger he imposes upon us all is far too great. I have every right to imprison you for all the disturbances you have caused, and potential dangers that will come from your future actions."

"You can't!" Fili cried, taking several steps forward before he was grabbed by both arms by two elf guards. "You have no right to keep us here!"

"Return him back to his cell." Thranduil ordered in an almost bored tone, his eyes never leaving Fili's face as Fili struggled against the guards holding. "I had such high hopes for you, Fili son of Dis, but it would appear you every bit like your Uncle as I feared."

"I would rather be like him, than join in an alliance made upon blackmail and manipulation!" Fili bellowed in return as he was dragged from the throne room and back to his cell.

He was thrown in, scowling furiously and cursing when yet another his knives were discovered and taken from him by one of the guards.

He closed his eyes as he sunk down onto the floor of his cell.

Had he just doomed them all to a life-time of imprisonment because he refused to allow any dwarf be held as hostage until Fili was able to find Thranduil's white gems?

Should he have offered himself as the dwarf to be left? No, he doubted very much Thranduil would have agreed to that. Fili suspected he knew exactly which dwarf Thranduil would have demanded to remain behind in his realm until his gem stones were returned to him, and Fili would sooner leave his uncle behind as he would his own brother. Which is never.

He wished he could speak with someone about what had just happened, but who…

"Fili?"

Fili's head snapped upwards and stared at his cell door, where no one stood, but he most definitely heard Bilbo's voice.

"Bilbo?"

"Hello." And suddenly there she was, smiling brightly though she looked absolutely exhausted.

"How… where? I knew you were not caught with the rest of us, but how are you here?"

"That's… it's a long story." The company's hobbit replied tiredly, "What is important is that I have now found all of you."

"Kili? Thorin?"

"Both are well. Thorin is locked away well beneath us, but Kili is not too far from you. They're both fine, as is everyone else." She paused as she looked at him with a concern look in her earthy brown eyes. "Are you alright? You look rather pale."

"I…" and before he could stop himself, he told her of his meeting with Thranduil and just how terribly it went.

"I don't think it went terribly." Bilbo soothed once he finished, "at least, it did not go terribly because of anything you did or said. I do believe Thranduil thought he had a puppet that he could pull the strings of and get what he wanted, and the moment he saw that he did not, well…" She gave him a small, helpless shrug, "but that is of no fault of your own that he does not wish to deal with a prince possessing an intelligent mind. In fact, it really goes to show just how petty he truly is." She reached through the bars to pat his hand fondly.

"Now," She gave a sorry look, "I must leave, I need to let your kingly uncle know that I have found you all and…" she waved a hand vaguely around her, an attempt he is sure to try and make light of their situation while trying to hide the terrible fear and anxiety he could see boiling away in her dark eyes. "Figure out what to do from there-there." She said round a yawn, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

"And you should try and get some rest." Fili said as firmly as he thought he could get away with, for despite holding a couple of decades over her, Bilbo had always felt like a much older sister to him and trying to give her such an order just felt odd.

Bilbo gave him a fond smile – which was instantly destroyed by another yawn and her pressing her hand over her mouth to cover it – before bidding him a farewell as she promptly disappeared into thin air, leaving Fili gapping at the spot she had just been.

He had meant to ask her about that.

Since when had she been able to turn invisible?

He had first thought, when he came to as she was rescuing him from the spider webbing, that him not being able to see her had been an ill-effect of being bitten, but then Bombur had confirmed that yes, indeed their burglar had the ability to go about completely unseen, so he knew then, that it wasn't his mind playing tricks on him. And now he was definitely certain.

Next time he saw her, he was determined to ask her first thing, because it was not every day one's friends gain the ability of turning invisible.

And with that thought, Fili settled himself down upon the cot that was set against one side the cell and tried to get some sleep.

12/04/2020 Author's Note: HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE! Hope you and your families all have had/will have a lovely day!

This chapter went through so, so many re-writes! Mainly because of Fili section because I couldn't decide if I should have his section at the end of this chapter, or mid-way through the next chapter. But after much cutting and pasting back and forth, it ended up here because at the end of the day, I wanted this chapter to show three very different types of kings (well two-ish kings and one heir apparent). Two who are very much stuck in the past and can't really look beyond past grievances, while the third tried.

I really think, if Fili had lived, he would have been instrumental in healing the chasm between Erebor Dwarves and Thranduil's Kingdom, simply because he doesn't possess the same weight of hatred and mistrust towards elves as Thorin (understandably on an emotional level, but seriously Thorin, you are a King(!), act like one!) does. Dain does a pretty good job in the books at smoothing things out between the two kingdoms, but again, he doesn't have the same emotional baggage as Thorin. It just would have been interesting, if Fili had lived, to see the King he would have grown to be.

Thank you for reading. I hope you and your families remain safe during these troubling times.