Summary: An excitable Raven, a cunning Dwarf, and a warning shot gone wrong all set into motion a new course of events for the Battle of Five Armies. AU for the third movie. I'm pretty much messing with everything here, but it all starts with Thranduil. Naturally. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything here. I'm just playing in the big literary sandbox that is Middle Earth.

Author's Note: I've had a couple of requests to write some kind of longer Thranduil fic, so here I go! Wish me luck, since I'm still not sure how long this will actually end up being. As you'll see, this one branches out to encompass pretty much the entire storyline, but Thranduil is still a driving force behind everything. And keeping true to the movies, Legolas won't arrive until later; but I promise, his coming will be crucial. Hope you enjoy, everyone!

The Return of the Raven

Chapter 1

Bilbo Baggins fidgeted from where he stood behind the Dwarves atop Erebor's fortified ramparts. One hand tapped impatiently against his thigh while the other hid in his pocket, idly twirling his magic ring between his fingers. Only by the grace of that mysterious trinket had he managed to return to his friends undetected after the previous night's excursions, but some greater Grace by far had intervened to save him from the Elven archers during his venture into Dale. The poor Hobbit had only been able to gulp when he'd learned that King Thranduil had given orders that very evening for any signs of life coming from the Lonely Mountain to be exterminated.

Now the Elvenking himself rode with grim determination through the ranks of his army to approach the Mountain's gates. Bard of Esgaroth accompanied him, although the antlers of Thranduil's great elk nearly obscured the Dragonslayer from Bilbo's sight. Soon enough, everyone present would know that Bard kept the invaluable Arkenstone hidden in his breast pocket.

Bilbo worked some moisture into his lips, chapped from the early winter winds. He'd told Gandalf that he wasn't afraid of how Thorin would react to seeing the Arkenstone in the hands of his perceived "enemies," but now that the actual moment of revelation was at hand, he found his confidence wavering. He could only hope he was right in the estimation of his Dwarvish friend.

Meanwhile, as he observed the two kings' advance, Thorin himself had taken up a bow and quiver and instructed his younger nephew, Kili, to do the same – only from a position of better cover to support him during the upcoming confrontation.

"I think a nice warning shot is what's called for here," the King under the Mountain declared to his companions. He drew his bow, preparing to send an arrow at the feet of Thranduil's elk and stop their approach.

But then, just as Thorin had the bow stretched back to its farthest point, a squawking flurry of black feathers descended directly in front of him. It was the Raven he had lately sent to the Iron Hills, flapping wildly with the excitement of its tidings from afar. While the other races often considered Ravens to be ill omens, those birds were actually close in friendship with the Dwarves of Erebor and had historically served as messengers between kingdoms. But today, even a Raven bearing good tidings out of the North also brought a certain doom along with it.

The bird's exuberant arrival could not have been more untimely. For Thorin started at its sudden appearance, and his bow shot without his direction or consent. And the arrow that was meant to be a warning shot lodged instead in the right side of King Thranduil's chest – slightly closer to the shoulder than his breast, and an inch or two below the collarbone. If Thorin had been intentionally aiming, he could have taken pride in such a shot.

The Elf's armor was as fine as any to be had in Middle Earth, but even it could not stop the direct shot of a sturdy Dwarvish arrow at close range. The dart sank in deep, though it failed to pierce through the back side of the armor. Thranduil's striking blue eyes flew wide open with sudden pain, and his elk mount moved backward a few steps at the impact. The entire corner of the world held its breath, looking on as the mighty Elvenking struggled to breathe amidst the shock.

Even the other Dwarves upon the rampart stood watching in amazement, too stunned to react to the abrupt turn of events. Thorin froze in surprise himself for a fleeting moment, but he recovered his wits more quickly than the rest. Perceiving only one way to salvage the situation and stave off certain disaster until his reinforcements arrived, the Dwarf King set another arrow to his bow and aimed it unwaveringly at Thranduil's head.

"Hold!" Thorin's voice grew great indeed during that dark hour, and all could hear him clear as thunder. "If anyone approaches this gate or fires upon this Mountain, my next shaft will go between his eyes!"

The threat bought him some time, as intended, instilling widespread hesitation among the lines of angry, vengeful Elves.

"Kili, be ready," Thorin then whispered sidelong to his nephew, who was still better concealed behind the stone. "If any of these Elven archers manage to shoot me from afar, you must finish this standoff on my behalf."

"What?" Kili's bow wavered as he realized what was being asked of him. Thinking immediately of Tauriel, he protested, "Uncle, a wood-Elf just saved my life! I cannot shoot her King in cold blood…"

"And do you care more for that pretty she-Elf than you do your own inheritance? They came here to start a war! Who are we to shield them from the consequences? You are a Dwarf of Durin's bloodline, Kili. I know you won't disappoint me." All this Thorin said without taking his eyes off the wounded Elf down below.

By now, Thranduil could no longer hold himself upright, and he had begun to slide off his mount in a daze. Even so, the King's eyes were like two seas roiling with a storm of unbridled fury, riveted upon Thorin Oakenshield through it all.

"My lord!" Bard saw his friend slipping and likewise dismounted, rushing around to help lower the Elf to the ground as gingerly as possible. He kept one arm wrapped around the monarch's back, even as the other resisted his support with all his waning strength.

"Thranduil?" The bowman made quick note of his ally's condition, and it wasn't promising.

The King's breathing was rapid and shallow, as though he couldn't quite catch his wind, and dark blood oozed out around the arrow shaft that remained lodged deep inside his torso. His complexion had always been fair and pale, as far as Bard could tell; but now that soft, snow-like pallor had assumed an ominous ashen hue.

Thranduil opened his mouth as though to speak, yet with his breath coming so short and sharp, he could articulate nothing beyond whispered expressions of discomfort. It was just as well, Bard thought. If that fell look in the Elf's eyes was any indicator, Thranduil might very well have ordered his army to attack the Mountain out of pure spite, had he been able to do so – never mind that his own life would be forfeit. Both of their lives, actually, at this point; for Bard couldn't imagine that he would come away from this any better off than his friend if the conflict escalated.

Bard had heard from multiple sources that Thranduil's son, Legolas, was the finest archer in the Woodland Realm. Perhaps he could have managed a shot that would incapacitate Thorin in such a way as to prevent the Dwarf's second arrow from being loosed – a feat Bard doubted he himself could accomplish if he had his own bow. But the Prince was not here, and none of the other Elven soldiers would dare gamble with their King's life on such a risky shot.

The Dragonslayer felt his ire rising, protective and fierce, as it had not done since he'd stared down Smaug above the flaming ruins of Esgaroth. He had known all along that greed, more than anything, drove Thorin toward this accursed Mountain; but he never would have dreamed that things could come to this. Especially not after Bard had ferried the Dwarves away from a pack of Orcs and later offered refuge to Thorin's own nephew when all others in Laketown had turned him away.

"I am done with Dwarves," he had declared that morning. If only he had stood by his words!

Meanwhile, up on the rampart, Bilbo watched Balin raise a hand and step toward Thorin as though he wanted to speak out…only to decide against it. So the thoroughly mortified Hobbit took that particular burden onto his own small shoulders.

"Thorin, what are you doing?" he demanded, appealing to the nobility that he still believed to be buried underneath his friend's madness. "Thranduil is badly hurt; please, you must see reason and let him go back to his people for healing. That first shot was an accident, we all saw it when the Raven came; but you cannot hold an Elvenking hostage like this!"

"And yet that is exactly what I am doing," Thorin replied, not moved by Bilbo's entreating in the slightest. "If I let him leave, his army will slaughter us all. Now hold your tongue, Master Baggins. I will say it again: these affairs do not concern you."

That was all Bilbo needed to hear, and finally he could bear no more. Despairing at last, he quietly slipped away from his companions, repelled down the rocks as he had done the previous night, and went without ceremony to stand directly in front of Thranduil. He realized Thorin or Kili might still be able to hit their Elven target, but at least they no longer had a clear shot at him.

"Bilbo, what are you doing? Get out of the way!" The Dwarves' worried cries rained down on him from up high, and Bilbo could discern Bofur's and Fili's voices above all the others. No doubt they feared that even Thorin's affection for Bilbo would not suffice to stay his hand at this time; perhaps they were right.

But Bilbo ignored them; he stayed right where he was, with his back facing the Mountain and his friends. Bard just stared at him in mute wonder, while Thranduil acknowledged him with his first intelligible words since sustaining the injury.

"You fool," the Elf hissed through clenched teeth, his eyes blazing. "Move!"

The Hobbit responded with a quick shake of his head. "No, my lord. I don't see how battle can possibly be avoided now, and if I am destined to die here today, then I will do so in the defense of an Elvenking."

The Baggins half of him wanted to tremble at those bold words, but they made his Tookish heart soar! Tears brimmed up in his eyes unbidden, as did the unhappy feeling of guilt in his stomach; he simply couldn't shake the feeling that he was responsible for what had happened in an indirect sort of way. He had only wanted to do what was best for everyone when he'd crept away from the Mountain last night! How had it all gone so terribly wrong?

"I am so sorry." Bilbo's voice nearly choked, but he still forced the words to come.

Thranduil didn't offer any response, although it didn't matter when Thorin's booming voice echoed above them once again.

"Stay where you are, Wizard, or I swear I will kill him!"

"Gandalf?" Bilbo jerked his head up, scanning the ranks with mounting hope and releasing a sigh of relief when he caught sight of that blessedly familiar hat.

Indeed, Gandalf the Grey had arrived. He had pressed in haste to the front of the Elven lines before Thorin's threats compelled him to halt, and now he would try his luck no further.

"What are you doing, Thorin Oakenshield?" the Istari reprimanded sternly. Concern showed plainly across his aged features. "You have injured a powerful neighbor who should have been your ally, not your enemy!"

"They marched against my kingdom first! You know we did not come here to kill Elves, Gandalf – only to reclaim what is rightfully ours."

"You are not making a very splendid figure as King under the Mountain; your forefathers would be ashamed for the disgrace you've brought upon their homeland. Now stop this madness before there is further bloodshed!"

"There is no stopping the war now, Wizard. We are past all negotiations!"

"And isn't that a pity." Bard stood up then, taking the Arkenstone out of his inside pocket and holding it aloft like a beacon in the night for all to see.

Author's End Note: That scene with Bard and Thranduil at the gate has been begging me to write an AU ever since I first saw it! Took me a while to come up with something worthwhile, but I am really quite excited with the vision I have for this story. Thanks for taking this first step in the journey along with me!