There are many far worse places in Middle Earth to be than the dungeons of King Thranduil. To have been imprisoned by the necromancer of Dol Goldur, or back in the hands of the Goblin King could have been far worse fates for the company of Thorin Oakenshield. That still did not keep their spirits from sinking after the weeks of captivity began to slide by. The elves of Mirkwood kept the dwarves well-fed with bread, meat and water, as well as providing them with clean straw to sleep in. In such conditions, the starved companions slowly began to regain their strength, but not their confidence. The dungeons were well-guarded at all hours by the elves, who rarely ever seemed to need any sort of rest or reprieve. Their watchful eyes and sharp ears were ever alert, even when it came to the seemingly easy task of guarding thirteen underfed dwarves. There seemed to be no means by which to escape from the fortress of the Elvenking, even if they could make it out of their cells. The only thing that kept them from despairing were the regular visits of their burglar, the invisible mister Bilbo Baggins. The halfing came as often as he dared for whispered conversations between the doors of their cells, and carried messages between the prisoners. Most often though, Bilbo found himself carrying messages back and forth between Fili and Kili, who had been placed in separate cells.

As if being captured by wood elves hadn't been bad enough, the elves had not deemed it wise to allow any of the dwarves to be imprisoned together. For Fili and Kili, knowing that their brother was only just down the hall was little comfort. For all it mattered, they may as well have been on opposite sides of the Misty Mountains. The spider venom and hunger had prevented either of them from protesting overmuch when first their company was captured. As the weeks wore on with neither having had any more contact with the other than the whispered messages carried by Bilbo, the brothers grew unhappy and restless. Fili, as Thorin's heir, was already much too proud to ever consider something such as beseeching the elves to be moved to a closer cell. Kili held no such inhibitions, alone in the quiet, dim cell without his brother for what seemed an eternity already. This is what finally prompted him to break his silence and speak out when the captain of the elven guard made her rounds.

As the tall, red-headed she-elf passed by the door to Kili's cell, she looked in as she always did to ensure that he was still there. Before she continued on though, the young dwarf jumped to his feet and called out: "Wait! Half a moment!"

The elf seemed surprised that one of the 'proud and stiff-necked' dwarves was addressing her. Thinking that perhaps he might be ready to share what he knew with King Thranduil about their quest, Tauriel stopped and looked at Kili.

"You wish to say something, dwarf?" Her tone was still somewhat haughty, but contained just enough encouraging to help Kili go on.

"I...I want to make a request." Kili tried his best to look un-threatening and polite. "You see...my brother is also imprisoned here, and I haven't seen him since we arrived. Couldn't I please visit him, or at least be moved into a cell closer to him?"

Tauriel was somewhat taken aback, and eyed the dark-haired dwarf suspiciously. It was a strange request, and not one she was immediately inclined to grant. Who knew just what these dwarves might have up their sleeve? With a shake of her head, Tauriel continued on down the line of cells. Defeated, Kili sank back down into the straw and let out a long, sad sigh. The elf-captain's sharp ears picked up that sigh, and it stayed with her for days afterwards.

Several days later, Kili was roused by the sound of a bolt being drawn. Sitting up in a hurry, he was surprised to see Tauriel standing at the open door to his cell with her hands on her hips.

"Come now, you are being moved." She spoke brusquely, but her green eyes twinkled in the torch-light.

Kili was on his feet immediately, and followed the she-elf down the corridor to another cell, not so very different from his old one. Once he was locked inside, he sat for a moment in the growing silence. Tauriel stepped away, pretending to leave, but instead stood nearby in the shadows, waiting to see what would happen.

From the cell next to the one in which Kili had just been placed, there came a whisper; low and somewhat hoarse. "...Kili, are you there?"

"Fili!"

With a small smile to herself, Tauriel turned away from the whispered reunion between brothers. From down the hall, Prince Legolas watched his captain and smirked. As Tauriel passed him to reach the guard room, he crossed him arms with mock condescending.

"What's this, an elf pulling strings for the sake of a dwarf?"

"Go kiss an orc, your highness."