A/N: Hello and thanks for everyone who commented on my last chapter! Keep them coming, your comments are pretty much like the air I breath for me. I'm sorry you had to wait for the update, but like I've said before, I had to put school before anything else. And I hope you don't mind if some of the chapter are gonna be bit shorter from now on, but I have pretty strict ideas of what scenes to include in each chapter and where I'm gonna end them. I have to break some of the chapters I hav ein mind into smaller parts because otherwise there's simply too many things happening in one chapter. But I hope you understand.

Guest1995: Thanks for all your comments, but I hope you'll understand if I require some time to update. I simply have to my school work as my first priority, and they tend to take a lot of my time and energy. But I hope you'll enjoy the newest chapter. As for your question about the Pendant; it DOES has magical abilities, but it can't be used as a weapon and it doesn't make Haley a witch or a sorceress. But I can't answer more throughfully without giving away spoilers. You have to wait until the few last chapters, that's when the Pendant becomes truly relevant for the story. But until then, keep giving reviews and letting me know what you're thinking and feeling. ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hobbit, only my OC...

Chapter 21: In the Halls of the Elven King

Haley's heart pounded loudly in her chest as the two elven guards led her towards their kingdom. The two elves had eventually allowed her to walk on her own after she had rather reluctantly promised she wouldn't try to escape. Now they walked in single line, with Haley in the middle so that she had no way to run. First they crossed a bridge that lead to a rather impressive gateway. When they stepped inside the kingdom, Haley eyes widened in awe.

The Elven kingdom was impressive, to say the least. The whole kingdom seemed to have been built around giant trees, with bridges, stairways and platforms everywhere. It seemed like a massive maze for Haley that would take decades, even centuries, for her to learn her way around there. But she had bigger problems than navigation at the hand, for she had no idea what was going to happen to her and her friends. The elf who had rescued her had told the two guards to take her to his father, who was he anyway? Well, whoever he was, Haley hoped that he would more understanding than the other wood elves she had encountered so far.

They walked across few bridges deeper in the kingdom, until they finally reached a wide platform. On few stairs; there was an impressive throne covered with silk and its back covered by giant elk-antlers. And a tall figure sat on the throne. Before Haley could take a proper look at the person sitting on the throne; one of guards pushed her forward rather forcefully, making her fall down on her knees.

"Kneel before Thranduil, the king of the Woodland realm!" the guard barked at her with a disapproving tone. Haley was about to turn and snap at him, but a smooth voice coming from the throne stopped her.

"That's enough. There's no need to be harsh." the voice was smooth like silk, and yet it held authority in it.

Haley turned her gaze at the throne and she finally got a good look at the king. He was tall, like all the other elves, and he held himself with a regal posture. He wore silver robes which added his regal appearance. His golden hair shined in the light, and he held a crown of leaves and twigs on his head. Haley immediately recognized him as the same elf they had seen at the feast just before the lights went out and they were separated. She suddenly felt a bit intimated as he gazed into her eyes. His eyes were blue and cold like ice, and they seemed to pierce her very soul.

Thranduil stood up from his throne and stepped closer to her. "And what is this that you have brought in front of me?" he asked the guards with a rather unimpressed tone.

"Prince Legolas found her from the woods as she was about to be killed by one of the spiders, and told us to bring her to you." one of the guards explained, "She is part of the Company of dwarves that disturbed your feast. The prince has taken a party to capture the dwarves."

'Prince?!' Haley eyes widened. 'I was actually saved by their prince! I hope his father will be more understanding than he was.' she mentally prayed until Thranduil turned his stern gaze at Haley.

"Why did you and your friends disturb the feast of Mereth e-nGilith three times, and tried to attack my people at their merrymaking?" he demanded her sternly.

"We didn't mean to! We were lost, tired and hungry and we would have just begged for food!" Haley tried to explain as she stood up. "We meant no harm, honest!"

"And what were you doing in the forest in the first place?" Thranduil demanded her as he began to walk towards her.

Haley lowered her gaze in uncertainty as she found she couldn't answer him. The dwarves had been very secretive about their quest, and it would take some time until they could trust you enough to share their intentions. Haley remembered how reluctant they had been to reveal the purpose of their quest to Lord Elrond at Rivendell. There was no doubt they wouldn't want to reveal anything to Thranduil, and Haley wasn't going to betray their secrets.

Thranduil seemed to have picked up on her unwillingness to answer him. He gazed at her with cold and inspecting eyes as he began to circle around her, as if studying her. Haley couldn't help but feel like she was a prey being circled by a predator.

"What really puzzles me is that what is a child of Men doing in a Company of dwarves." Thranduil said finally. "Dwarves don't generally trust other races, so it is strange indeed to find a young human among them, and a female one at that."

"I-I…" Haley tried to speak, but she didn't know what to say. She didn't dare to say anything for the fear accidentally revealing something to Thranduil.

"I ask you again; what were doing in the forest?" Thranduil asked once more, his voice getting more demanding. Haley remained silent and lowered her gaze so Thranduil wouldn't see the dread in them.

"Refusing to speak, are you now? Thranduil sneered at her before chuckling slightly. "No matter. I'm sure one of your companions will give me answers. And here they are already." he said as he tilted his head towards the back of the room.

Haley turned towards the direction where he had pointed and saw more guards coming in, dragging the dwarves with them. Haley's heart leaped in joy at the sight of her friends. She did a quick headcount and was relieved to find everyone was present and no one seemed to be hurt. Her heart did a double-flip as her eyes landed on Kili. He was alright! All she wanted was to throw herself at his arms and shower his face with kisses.

"Haley!" Kili shouted anxiously as he finally saw her. The rest of the dwarves noticed her now too, all anxious to see if she was alright.

"Kili!" she shouted his name back and began to run towards him. But before she could even take two steps; the guards at the platform raised their spears in front of her, blocking her way. Her eyes widened in dread as the dwarves began to shout threats at the elves. Then Thranduil raised his hand; silencing everyone in the hall.

"Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain." he addressed Thorin who was brought forward from the group. Thorin didn't return his greeting and merely send him a cold glare. "I must say; this is a strange Company indeed, thirteen dwarves and a child of Men. I wonder what's the purpose behind this unusual lot." he said with a pondering tone.

'Wait, that makes just fourteen? Shouldn't there be fifteen of us?' Haley pondered in confusion as she examined her friends until a horrifying realization hit her. 'Where's Bilbo?' she hurriedly turned her attention back towards Thranduil as he continued to speak.

"I wonder what would a bunch of dwarves do with a daughter of Men?" Thranduil said with a mockingly wondering tone. "Though I suppose she is rather pretty, even in the eyes of a dwarf. I'm sure she makes a great companion in the cold nights."

The dwarves began to shout out in rage at the Elven King's suggestion. Haley's face reddened in rage and shame, how dared Thranduil think so low of her! Who was he to judge her when he didn't even know anything about her?

But Thranduil didn't seem to pay any mind to the dwarves' anger, he merely smiled coldly at them before turning serious again. "I ask you again; what were doing in the forest?" he demanded once more, becoming more impatient this time.

The dwarves remained silent and merely glared defiantly at him. Haley kept watching the silent exchange. She could tell Thranduil was starting to grow tired of their silent treatment. She was starting to fear what he'd do once he ran out of patience.

"I'll have you know; one way or another, I'm going to have answers. I have all the time in the world." he assured them coldly. Then he turned towards Haley and gave her cold smile.

"You seem to be fond of your little human companion." he said with dangerously warm tone. "I wonder which one you value the most; your secrets or whether her pretty face remains intact." he continued with an evident threat.

Haley's eyes widened in fear as Thranduil swiftly pulled out a knife from his robes. In a blink of an eye, he was swinging his blade towards her face. The dwarves yelled at him to stop, but there was nothing they could do with the guards keeping them in their place. Everything seemed to have frozen around Haley, all she could see was the knife in Thranduil's hand. She could hear Kili's voice shouting her name in despair as the blade got closer and closer to her face…

"Father, stop!" a familiar voice suddenly shouted. "Stop this immediately!"

Thranduil's movements stilled the moment he heard the voice. Haley turned towards the voice and saw the familiar blonde elf who had saved her from the spider, followed by the redheaded she-elf who had accompanied him earlier. He had a stern look on his face as he hurriedly walked towards the throne.

"Legolas." Thranduil acknowledged him. "Glad to see you could join us."

"Father, what is the meaning of this?" Legolas demanded his father angrily. "Why are you threating this daughter of Men?"

"I was merely interrogating a prisoner. As you remember, she is part of this Company of dwarves." Thranduil explained unconcernedly.

"A prisoner or not; a young lady does not deserve to be threatened like this! We are honorable people, and we don't harm our prisoners when they pose no threat." Legolas shot back. "And since I captured her, it makes her my prisoner. And as such; I take full responsibility of her." he proclaimed.

"Very well. You may take her away for now. But make sure she stays within these halls and won't wander off." Thranduil said before turning towards the guards. "Take the dwarves to the dungeons. But leave their leader here. He and I are going to have a little chat." he turned towards the dwarves with one last sneer.

Legolas nodded at his father before he turned to Haley. He took her arm in a strong grip and began to lead her away. Haley tried to wriggle away from his grasp, but his grip was far too strong. Haley turned to look back at dwarves who were trying to break away from the elves' grasp. Her eyes found Kili's who was desperately wriggling in the redheaded she-elf's grasp.

"No, don't touch her! Let her go!" he shouted after them. "Haley!"

"Kili!" she shouted back pleadingly, watching in despair as the dwarf she loved and her friends were being dragged down to the dungeons. But she soon lost sight of them as Legolas led her further goodness-knows-where into his kingdom.

Haley struggled with all her might against Legolas's firm grip as they walked forwards. "Let me go!" she shouted as she dragged her soles against the ground in attempt to slow them down. Legolas only signed deeply before halting.

"Please calm yourself, young one." he said as he turned towards her. "You're safe here, I swear it."

"But where are you taking me?" Haley gave him a sharp look, not fully trusting him. "Why couldn't I stay with my friends?"

"Dungeons are hardly a suitable place for a young lady, especially if she hasn't truly deserved it. "Legolas explained. "Unlike my father; I wish to treat my prisoners with certain dignity."

"Some dignity, indeed. So it's okay to treat me with dignity, but you still throw my friends to the dungeons because they're dwarves?" Haley snorted sarcastically.

"Your friends were caught trespassing on my father's lands and disturbing the celebration of my people. They brought their imprisonment upon themselves as they refused to answer to my father." Legolas tried to remain as civil as he could as he spoke of the dwarves. "And while your story in this remains a mystery for the time being, I will not see a child of Men treated like a dog."

Haley grew silent at his answer. She had to admit that while Legolas was being prejudiced towards the dwarves, at least he wasn't a total jerk like his father. He even seemed to have some kindness and understanding towards others in him. If she was lucky, maybe she could eventually convince him that they didn't mean any harm towards his people.

"Come now, young one." Legolas broke the silence as he began to lead her again. "I will take you to your chambers so you can have some rest."

"I have a name, you know." Haley was growing tired of being called "young one", "child" or "a lady" all the time. "It's Haley."

Legolas actually seemed to give her a small smile. "Very well then, Haley."

After travelling several stairs upwards and through countless corridors; Legolas had eventually led Haley to rather fancy chambers. In the middle of the room was a large four-post canopy bed with silken sheets and a large wardrobe and a small desk against the walls. There was one door in the room which Haley concluded to lead to the bathroom. As Haley gazed across the room, Legolas had called for four elven maids. He ordered them to help Haley to freshen up before he left them.

Before Haley could even say anything, the maids had dragged her to the bathroom. She tried to protest as they began to undress her, but before she knew it; they had removed all her clothes and were dragging her towards the bathtub. Haley blushed deeply as the elves lowered her to the steaming water.

"You poor thing; having travelled with dwarves of all people!" one of the maids cooed at her. "But don't worry; we'll have the stench of dwarf off you in a jiffy."

Haley merely sent her a glare, not liking how she made it sound like she had been forced to join the dwarves. One of the maids left the room while the rest of them began to scrub her clean. Two were scrubbing her body with sponges while the last one began to wash her hair. While Haley liked the idea of bathing; she didn't appreciate the elves washing her like she was incapable of doing it herself. She tried to protest them, but the elves just giggled at her futile attempts of protest. Eventually Haley gave up and settled down with a frown; deciding it was better to just get it over with. The elves used some sort of sweet-scented bathing soap to wash her body. The scent was bit too strong and too sweet in Haley's opinion, and she couldn't stop herself from sneezing loudly a couple of times.

When the elves were finally done bathing her, they helped up from the tub and began to dry her with towels. Once she was dry, the elves ushered her back into the bedroom. The fourth elves had returned and she had a dress waiting for Haley. The elves began to eagerly help her dress. Haley groaned and huffed as they began to tie a corset tightly around torso before buttoning her dress from behind. One of the elves then slipped matching slippers, which felt surprisingly comfortable, into Haley's feet.

Then they began to comb her thick main of a hair. Haley tried to protest that she could do it herself, but the elves just giggled at her and kept combing her hair. She groaned in pain a couple of time as they untangled several knots which had formed in her hair, since it had been while since she had been able to brush her hair properly.

They were broken from their musings when someone knocked on the door. One of the elves went to answer it, revealing Prince Legolas at the door. All the elven maids curtsied at him as he stepped into the room. He walked towards Haley and looked at her in confusion as he noticed her uneasy appearance.

"Is something the matter?" he asked in confusion.

"Little lady is just being a bit embarrassed, my Prince." One of the elf-maids giggled.

"The poor thing is probably just not used to being fussed over." another one cooed.

Haley's face reddened in embarrassment as she sent a glare at their direction. 'Little Lady,my ass. It's not like I was given much of a choice. I was practically manhandled here!'

Legolas chuckled a bit. "Well, you wouldn't need to be embarrassed." he said as he gave her kind smile. "You look lovely."

Haley couldn't help blushing at his comment. She personally thought that the dress wasn't really her style. The sleeves were puffy and fell down in a bell-shape at her elbows. The skirt cascaded like a fountain around her legs. And the white colors made her look like a cream-puff, or even like a bride. She had liked the dress she had in Rivendell for its simplicity, but this was far too fancy for her taste.

She was broken from her thoughts when Legolas cleared his throat. "My father wants to speak with you. I've come to take you to him." he explained as he began to walk towards the door.

"Wait, what about my friends? Are they well?" Haley tried to ask, desperate to find out how they were fairing.

But Legolas merely shook his head at her. "I'm sorry, but I'm not obligated to tell you anything." he said before turning back to the door. "Come now, my father does not want to be kept waiting."

Haley followed Legolas a she led her back to the throne room. She tried to memorize the way there as best as she could in case she'd get a change to escape. She hoped their stay in Mirkwood would not take too long, they had a tight schedule after all. They had to reach the Mountain soon, and they starting to run out of time.

AN: How will Haley's meeting with Tranduil go, and what does he want from her? What will happen to her and the dwarves? Find out in the next chapter. And like I said earlier; keep those reviews coming. They help me to update faster! ;)