Chapter 15: Barrels Out of Bond

All the orcs of Dol Guldur scurried frantically away from the great dark tower above them, yellowing eyes wide with terror as the storm above the tower began to swirl fast.

"Get inside!" one of their leaders yelled as the wind began to howl around them and thunder crashed overhead. "Batten down the hatches you maggots, or there will be hell to pay!"

No one needed telling twice. Orcs and wargs all scrambled over one another in their attempts to reach the safety of the indoors, not even caring if they trampled their fellowmen to death in their fear. After all, being caught in their master's anger was something none of these dark creatures ever wanted.

And oh how angry he was now. The orcs fear increased tenfold as lightning flashed and struck a nearby watchtower. There were shrieks and shouts as several orcs fell down along with some of the stones from on high. Below them, the terrified scramblers quickly ducked or tried to cover themselves with their shields as they continued to swarm into the massive iron doors that led into one of the fortresses wings.

They were all so terrified that they didn't notice an eerie green and silver spectre that flickered and slid away from the shadow of one of the stone sentinels that stood guard outside the tower. It was humanoid in shape, tall, sinister and wearing long regal robes underneath it's vicious looking armour. Its face was sunken and gaunt, whatever scarred "skin" that covered it was pulled so tight around the skull. But worst of all were the eyes, its glowing green, white eyes, that stared up at the darkening skies as a horrible, guttural roar suddenly rent the air, drowning all other sounds and blotting out all light.

Sauron, Dark Lord of Mordor and Dol Guldur seethed from the cloak of darkness as he looked down upon the two figures on the ground.

The first was a human corpse, charred and burnt beyond recognition. Its remaining limbs were twisted in unnatural directions from where it had been crushed, a nasty smokey smell wafting from the odd coal-black lump of what might have been a person's skull.

Beside these horrific remains an old hag was bent over on her knees, prostrating herself as she shivered pathetically. Her pasty white, papery skin was covered in burns and her face was heavily bruised and scarred from where a large claw-like hand had struck it in anger.

"You…" Sauron snarled, his voice rumbling like the insides of a volcano. "You let this happen! You let her escape?!"

"Master-master please" Balcheth pleaded, her head and arms bowed onto the floor before her. "I was only trying to help your blessed one come into her own. I took her into the forest to help her learn how to use the new powers you had gifted her-"

"Liar!" Sauron hissed, and Balcheth whimpered and cowered as two glowing fiery eyes suddenly gleamed in the dark like a cat. "I see your mind as clear as I see you wretch. I know you wanted the child gone as soon as you laid your eyes on her. And now you have foolishly set her free before she was ready to play her part. Now the foolish grey wizard and their ridiculous white council will know I am here!"

"Please forgive me, master. Please, I beg of you. All I want to do is to serve you!" Balcheth wailed, tears streaming down her withered bird-like face as the darkness pressed in around her. "I-I will make things right I swear. I-I could still track her down, w-with this."

Balcheth pulled out a small vial from the sleeve of her robe and presented it to her master; head bowed to the ground.

A dark charred hand reached forward and deftly plucked the vial from the aged hag's grip with its third finger and thumb, for the index finger was nothing but a stump of coal, glimmering faintly with a strange internal heat.

Sauron brought the vial into the shadows and looked into its contents with narrowed fiery eyes.

In it was a single lock of rich red-brown hair.

Somewhere in the pitch-black shadows, the Dark Lord's lip curled.

"If it weren't for the fact your magic is of value to me I would destroy you here where you stand," His voice was quiet, but reverberated through the room much like the tremors before a powerful earthquake as he spoke. "Fly to Gundabad at once, make sure all is ready for our advance."

"M-Master?!" Balcheth looked up, only to gulp as the glowing fiery eyes narrowed to slits in the darkness. "O-of course master. All shall be as you wish."

And with that she scrambled to her feet and out the door to the tower, leaving her seething master alone in the looming darkness.

Ariel smiled softly as she leaned back where she sat, listening to the thirteen dwarves conversing softly between the cells.

"So Miss Ariel how did you end up in the clinker with us?" The question was so sudden Ariel turned round in surprise.

It was Bofur who had asked the question.

Ariel quickly glanced through the bars of her cell door to catch Thorin's eye as he stood above.

The dwarf prince smirked, and Ariel thought, though she could have imagined it, that there was a faint gleam of pride in his dark blue eyes as he said.

"She slapped the king."

"What? why?" spluttered Dori exchanged a worried look with Ori.

"He accused her of being a worthless woman of ill repute whose only purpose was to serve us in rather unsavoury ways" Thorin's smirk had now grown as he saw Ariel's face darken angrily at the memory.

"HE WHAT?!" Kili looked livid as he jumped off his bed to peer at the cell alongside his. Where his brother sat on the floor and started to chuckle as Ariel silently snorted and rolled her eyes beside him.

Dwalin chortled with pride as he saw the young girl crack her knuckles angrily from the cell below "Please tell me she managed to bruise his face for that."

"No, but her hit did make his lip bleed" Thorin chuckled softly. "His face was priceless."

"HA! That's our girl!"

The other dwarves snorted and laughed in their cells much to the discomfort of the elves. Many turned to look at the girl in her cell with confusion.

That tiny girl who barely had been alive two days ago had struck their king? No, it couldn't have been true.

A clacking of boots on the stone steps echoed and all the dwarves silenced themselves as the guards straightened up at once as Legolas and Tauriel both strode down towards them and towards Ariel and Fili's cell.

As they passed Kili's cell, Ariel could have sworn she had seen Tauriel and the youngest dwarf exchange fleeting shy smiles, though they were quickly hidden as Legolas's sharp blue gaze narrowed upon them suspiciously.

Then the moment passed and Legolas had turned the key to his destination and opened the door gingerly. He looked momentarily surprised to see the young woman sitting companionably next to the blonde dwarf on the floor, though it was a damn sight better than seeing them spooning in their narrow cot like how he had spotted them last night.

Such a strange child, to be able to tolerate dwarves as if they were her kindred.

He pondered to himself as he looked down at Ariel who was getting steadily to her feet, Fili quickly scrambling to his own to stand protectively in front of her.

"Eryniel has gotten permission from the King to let her check over your injuries up in the healing halls. If you would care to follow me." the Elf Prince said smoothly, ignoring Fili's suspicious glower.

Yet before the dwarf could react Ariel silently put a placating hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure?" Fili asked worriedly, but Ariel just smiled consolingly and nodded as she silently mouthed:

"I will be fine."

And with a quiet respectful bob of the head to Legolas, she allowed herself to be gently led from the cell, while Tauriel stayed behind to check on the rest of the dwarves and their jailers.

Some of the Elvish guards were quick to want to swarm protectively around the prince and his charge, but Legolas was quick to dismiss them back to their posts.

Though the girl was indeed most strange and bore that horrible ring, he did not feel any malicious intent from her. And even if she did try to escape, he could easily overpower her and bring her back to the cells himself, though he doubted very much whether that would ever be necessary. The girl might have been reckless in her fear but now that she was recovering back to a stable frame of mind, she would not be foolish and bite the hand that had helped her.

Their goings to the healer's wing were slower than usual due to her still frail state. However, Ariel could already feel her body was a lot stronger than it had been when she had first walked down the halls. She only started growing exhausted once they had reached the entrance to the healing halls, and though she was panting for breath, her throat was no longer burning with each puff as it had done earlier.

It wasn't long before she was settled into a nearby room where Eryniel was waiting for her. She ushered the young human woman quickly inside before shooing her cousin to stand outside for privacy as she helped Ariel get undressed for a bath she had prepared.

Legolas rolled his eyes as he stood with his back to the now-closed door. He was a prince, not a glorified guard dog. Still, it would not be proper for him to watch a young woman in such a compromising position, and his father had put him in charge of the human's safety.

Meanwhile back inside, Ariel shivered slightly as Eryniel helped her out of her white slip and underwear, the older elf woman fussing like a mother hen as she looked over her injuries.

"Well, look at that. Barely one night of proper food and rest and already you look so much better" Eryniel's eyes were gleaming proudly as she inspected the girl's body.

Ariel herself was too surprised by the sight of herself in the nearby mirror to be embarrassed by her state of nudity. While the burns on her body were still rather nasty looking, all the cuts, bruises and scrapes she had acquired had all but nearly vanished. Her injured limbs too had ceased swelling, and were, if possible, less scarred than before.

Ariel had always been quick to bounce back from injuries and sickness, but for all her minor injuries to have dissolved in the span of twenty-four hours…something strange was going on, and she had a nasty suspicion already as to what it was.

So…Sauron decided to make some modifications as he tried to break me down huh?

She glanced down at the horrible iron and opal ring on her left hand. It was no longer glowing, but there were still small cuts and scratches in her skin from where the iron thorns had dug in painfully.

Eryniel spared the ring a worried glance as she looked over the girl's hands in hers.

"It still won't come off then?"

Ariel shook her head. She had tried many times while she had been down in the cell with Fili. The dwarf himself had also tried to help her, however every time his fingers even grazed the iron band, the thorns would tighten about her finger and prick painfully at his skin.

Ariel was thankful that Eryniel was more cautious in her approach as she was not sure she could take another round of pain from the trinket at this moment.

She was quick to sit in the wooden tub provided for her to bathe in, Eryniel sitting behind her on the edge as she helped wash her burns gently with a clean washcloth. Though she tried being careful not to burst the small blisters, Ariel could not help but wince in pain every time the soft cloth gently rubbed against her sensitive skin.

It took all she had not to cry out silently in pain as Eryniel made to clean the burns on her neck and lower left arm and hand. These were by far the worst of all her injuries, and though she was no doctor, Ariel was sure they were at least a second to third-degree burn at least.

"Forgive me little one, but you must keep these areas as clean as you can until the skin heals over." Eryniel cooed soothingly as she rinsed out her washcloth in a nearby bowl of sanitised water. "Though I am afraid that once they have healed, they will still scar."

Of course, they will.

Ariel sighed. Now everyone would stare and gawp at her when she got back home…if she ever got back home.

She quickly shook her head. No, she could not think like that. She had a job to do and then she would save her brother and return to her warm bed, her school and her parents. She had to.

There was silence as Eryniel helped her finish the bath and get dressed into a new set of clean clothes that had been prepared and waiting on the nearby chair.

It was a plain white peasant dress with long plain sleeves and had a dark green corset to go over the top.

"I know it might not be appropriate for the season," Eryniel apologised as she helped the young woman lace up the back of the corset. "However, it is all the King would allow me to bring to you given your situation. I will bandage your arm and your throat so they are protected from the elements, but you will have to rely on your blankets down in the cells to keep you warm so you do not catch a chill."

Ariel nodded, though, in all honesty, she was just grateful for the opportunity to bathe and wear clean underwear once more.

She had just managed to bandage her neck and left arm and was in the middle of brushing out her hair when there came a sharp knock at the door.

"Yes, what is it? Oh, your Majesty!" Eryniel quickly bent into a curtsy.

Ariel stiffened at once where she stood.

King Thranduil was standing in the doorway alone, a stony expression on his pale face as he looked over Ariel's now clean form. And there behind him creeping silently and observed by no one else was none other than-

Bilbo?! What the-How in the-?

It took all of Ariel's willpower not to rush up to the hobbit and hug him with all her might as he crept in just behind Thranduil who was appearing to ignore him as he made to stand in front of Ariel a few feet away.

When he spoke, his voice was nonchalant and casual, though his blue eyes were sharp like icicles:

"Eryniel, leave us. I would like to speak to our young guest, alone."

Eryniel looked like she wanted to argue but thought better of it. She might have stood up to the prince because they were cousins, but she would never disobey her king. She could not.

She was quick to stride out of the room to stand with Legolas who caught Ariel's eye briefly as he chanced an anxious peek through the door as the King shut it behind himself.

"I see you have recovered somewhat from your ordeal" Thranduil clipped and though his voice sounded calm and polite, there was a sharp edge to it. "Though one has to wonder how a child such as yourself was put into such a position. It is no matter; you are here now and here you will remain imprisoned unless Thorin Oakenshield will recant his position."

Fat chance of that. Ariel thought, glancing at Bilbo who had snuck off to stand away from the King near the bathtub.

That is odd. Why hasn't Thranduil acknowledged him?

She wondered as the elven King stalked past her to pour himself a glass of water from a nearby side table, completely ignoring Bilbo's presence even though he was directly in his line of sight.

Of course, the Hobbit was sneaky when he needed to be, but this was a small room and he was standing in plain sight, so how could the king of elves, born with superhuman senses, not see him? Then she saw a glimmer of gold upon a small pale hand.

It's the ring! Bilbo is wearing the One Ring. That's why Thranduil cannot see him. But if an elf can't see him then why can I? And why is his outline so…blurred?

The answer soon became apparent as Ariel's left hand began to throb with pain. She winced as she looked down at the iron ring on her finger, her heart sinking as she noticed the engravings pulsing and glowing in that eerie shade of green.

Of course. She too was wearing a magic ring—a magic ring made by the same creator as the One.

Oh my god! That's it. That's why I can see him. Like when the Witch King could see Frodo in the shadow world when he stabbed him on Weathertop, I can see Bilbo now when he's wearing the ring because I'm wearing mine.

Ariel gulped stilling where she stood.

Oh, this was bad. This was very bad. If she could see Bilbo with the ring that meant she was on the path to becoming an evil wraith like the Nazgul.

Her inner panic was interrupted by Thranduil who narrowed his eyes upon the iron band she wore with equal disgust.

"My son tells me you have yet to find a way to remove that evil contrivance from your hand. If all else fails, you may have no choice but to amputate the finger before too long if you wish to escape further torment"

Ariel shivered at the thought. Severe burns, broken bones and now possible amputations. At this rate, she would be returning home in a body bag.

"It seems you are finally grasping the severity of your situation. Such magic rings of power, even the lesser ones, are not to be taken lightly. It doesn't take them long to corrupt their hosts, especially when they are of the race of men."

Oh yes bring race into it, why don't you?!

Ariel scowled angrily but stood her ground as Thranduil smirked at her oh-so-pleasantly.

"But come enough talk about such dark matters. I have a proposition for you that it would do you well to consider, for it concerns the imprisonment of your little dwarf friends."

Ariel blinked in surprise, quickly chancing another glance at Bilbo who also looked quite astonished by the King's sudden change in tone as he held out a goblet of water for Ariel.

She received it as cautiously as she could and took a small sip, keeping her cautious gaze fixed on the King as he served himself more water and said:

"You have been travelling with Thorin Oakenshield's company for a while; they must have told you about the treasure they wish to reclaim."

Ariel nodded nervously, not quite sure where this was going, but listening intently all the same.

"Of course the Arkenstone, the king's jewel, the heart of the Lonely Mountain, is their ultimate goal. I myself had seen it many times when I visited King Thror in Erebor. It is a beautiful stone, but there are other gems in that mountain that are just as valuable. Some of which belonged to me. Gems of purest starlight and moonlight. I gave them to the dwarves so they could fashion them into a gift for one of my own, yet when I returned to the mountain to retrieve my order, King Thror refused to give them back. He said that the price we had offered was not enough and that until we could amass a newer greater payment, he would keep the gems under his, care."

Thranduil growled the last word out with such ferocity that Ariel shuddered.

She had heard Thorin telling this story to Fili and Kili while they had been travelling. He had said that the Elves refused to pay the full amount and had tried to swindle them for fools.

Yet, Ariel could not help but feel as though Thranduil was speaking the truth. He was undoubtedly livid at the mere notion of the betrayal, though he was quick to hide it behind his stone-cold mask once more as he said:

"Needless to say you can understand why I too would see the dragon vanquished and Erebor restored to its former glory. The return of my family's jewels from the Lonely Mountain would not just bring me peace of mind but would potentially help rebuild the friendship between our two kingdoms. But alas, as you have no doubt heard, Thorin Oakenshield is just as overprotective about his treasure horde as his grandfather and thus has refused any offer to grant me this one small favour in return for your company's freedom. A rather foolish decision on his part, then again dwarves rarely use their common sense when their minds are on gold."

He met Ariel's gaze steadily and his eyes flickered smugly when she tried to stare back defiantly despite her anxiousness.

"You, however, do not strike me as such a fool. Innocent, crass and naïve yes, but I can tell you see the truth in my words." He stepped forward to stand in her personal bubble.

Somewhere beside them, Bilbo, still invisible to all but Ariel, shifted closer both to hear the King's next words:

"If you promise to bring me the Gems I seek, I will set you and your friends free without delay, with the full acquittal of any crime committed within my Kingdom. Do this one favour for me, and you and your friends will live. Refuse and, well, need I say more?"

His voice trailed off as he took the goblet of water from Ariel's hands and set it back down to the side-table.

Ariel meanwhile stared hard at his back her mind racing.

Take the deal and give him the jewels, you free everyone and repair a broken alliance. It's a win-win situation which will benefit everyone. Besides, it's not like he's asking you for the Arkenstone.

The logical half of her mind said.

Meanwhile, another small voice whispered softly:

But if you do that you would be going behind Thorin's back and stealing from him, your friend. That is wrong on so many levels. Besides, we don't know which side of that story about these jewels is in the wrong or in the right. Thranduil could be lying, or he himself might have the story backward and misinterpreting events. You would just be putting yourself in the middle of an ongoing feud and for what? A bunch of shiny rocks?

"I can see you need time to consider my request," Thranduil said smoothly as he walked over and opened the door to the room.

"I will give you one night to think it over. No more, no less. I do hope you choose wisely for once the decision is made there will be no going back"

Bilbo Baggins sighed with relief as he leaned back against the wall of an empty corridor. He had just left the healers wing; Ariel having been escorted back to the cells down below by the fair elf prince.

Today was turning out to be quite something. He had almost gotten caught stealing a roll of bread from one of the cooks in the kitchens, then an elf guard with exceptionally keen hearing had almost heard the pitter-patter of his feet as he had peeked around a corner.

But the real cherry on top of the cake of surprise had been entering the healer's room to find Ariel and finding her not only alive but looking directly at him even though he was wearing his magic ring.

Thankfully, she seemed to have enough common sense not to cause a scene in front of the king, but that did not make it any less nerve-wracking for the poor hobbit.

How? How could she have seen him when he was invisible to everyone else?

Maybe it was her own magic ring… Perhaps it has the power to see things that are invisible?

He mused as he remembered Thranduil's words of warning about the rings of power, then quickly shook his head.

No, no. His ring was nothing like the horrible band Ariel was now forced to wear. For one thing, it was far more beautiful and well-crafted even if it did seem to have trouble keeping it on at the best of times. He shuddered as he remembered that one horrible moment it had almost slipped off his finger while the elf king was talking.

Perhaps the temperature of my hand makes it expand or contract in size. Gold is after all a soft metal.

He reasoned in his head unaware of the strange light glinting off the golden band on his finger as he made his way, invisible to all, down lower into the bowels of the wood elves' realm.

Most of the dwarves were snoozing in their cells by the time Ariel finally got back to the dungeons, guided once more by Legolas. Ariel could not help but smirk as the elf prince rolled his eyes in disgust at the cacophony of snores, grunts and foghorn farts that echoed all around them. Nearly all but one of the guards had left to join the continuing festivities that were still taking place in the upper caverns of their underground kingdom.

"I honestly do not understand how you survived travelling with these dwarves" Legolas muttered quietly so that only Ariel could hear. "They breathe so loud they could wake the entire forest. I don't know how Eryniel expects you to get a decent night's sleep."

Ariel shrugged, silently chuckling with fondness as she was led down the dungeon steps to pass Thorin's cell. Unlike the others, he was still awake along with Balin in the cell beside him. Both of them had been taking advantage of the absence of guards and their company's loud snores to have a quiet chat amongst themselves.

They were quick to stop as they caught sight of Ariel and Legolas.

"There you are, Lass. Thank Mahal. We were beginning to get worried." Balin smiled warmly at the girl before turning to bob his head politely to the prince. "So what did the healer say, laddie? Is everything alright with her?"

"Your friend is fine," Legolas replied graciously, surprised at the elderly dwarf's genial tone. "She will need to keep her burns wrapped up and covered until they have healed over so they do not get infected. Otherwise, everything seems to be coming along smoothly, though it may still yet be a while till she can use her voice once more."

"Ah, that is good news. Isn't that right Thorin?" Balin glanced sidelong at Thorin, who glowered at the prince.

However, when he turned to look at Ariel, his expression softened considerably.

"You are certainly looking better I'll grant you that" he murmured reaching out through the bars to take Ariel's right hand "Are they treating you well?"

Ariel nodded, surprised and touched by this rare show of concern from the stubborn dwarf.

"The King has not threatened you again has he?"

Ariel shook her head, though slightly slower than before. Well, technically the King hadn't threatened her, even if he had acted sinister…even so.

One night. That's all I have to decide. I can make a deal and free my friends or I can try and collude with Bilbo to come and spring us from these cells.

She squeezed Thorin's hand back and gave him a small comforting smile as she mouthed.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"Don't worry? But wasn't it you who said that worrying was what friends did for one another?" Thorin snorted and was pleased to see her flush pink and roll her eyes fondly.

Behind her, Legolas shifted nervously as he shared a confused look with Balin, who seemed just as perturbed by the oddly tender scene as he was.

"Come now. You need to rest" the Elf Prince muttered tersely as he began to steer Ariel away from the Dwarves and back down to hers and Fili's cell.

The blonde dwarf was already up and watching them through the bars with a curious expression on his face as he welcomed Ariel back into their shared space.

Thorin watched silently from his cell as Ariel made to settle herself to sit beside his nephew on the floor, the lattermost grinning wide as he recounted something funny one of the older dwarves had told him before they had fallen asleep.

His smirk softened. After all the horror Ariel had been through it was good to see her smile again, for it brought colour back to her cheeks and a youthful light back in her eyes.

Not only that but her real smile was downright infectious. It even brought the ever gruff Bifur and Dwalin's spirits up and they were some of the sternest people Thorin had ever known.

The dwarf prince remembered clearly the words of Thranduil from their meeting and his gaze hardened slightly as he recalled that his own earlier words towards the young girl.

I call him foolish now…but how long ago was it that I and all of us who once said the same things of her…

He thought to himself.

But now look how far she's come in spite of her fears and our scorn. She had her voice and powers stolen by a powerful dark sorcerer, and now she still finds the strength to smile and see the joy in the world. Gandalf was right…you are a remarkable person.

But even as he made to watch both the girl and his nephew continue to laugh he saw the bars of their door before their faces.

But remarkable or not, unless we find a way out of this prison we are all doomed to a life in these cages.

"Galion you old rogue, we're running out of drink" a voice called down in the deep cellars of the Woodland Realm.

The Elf Galion, keeper of the cellars grinned as he looked up from a stack of empty barrels to see his friend, a guard, stride down the stairs with a small frown.

"These empty barrels should have been sent back to Esgaroth hours ago. The Bargeman will be waiting for them."

"All in good time Elros" Galion shook his head fondly but nonetheless made to push another empty wine barrel onto a great wooden board along with twelve others.

"Say what you like our ill-tempered king. He has excellent taste in wine" As soon as he was done he picked up a small flask filled with the deep red liquid and took a generous swig with a smirk towards his fellow elf.

"Come on Elros, try it"

"I have the dwarves in my charge" Elros shook his head holding up a large ring of iron on which many keys were dangling and chinking as they swayed in the air.

"Oh come now old friend, the hole dwellers are locked up. Where can they go? Ahaha!"

Galion chuckled as he quickly snatched away the item from his friend's hands and hung it on a small hook close by.

Elros glanced at them worriedly but did not make a move to retrieve them.

Though he was a dutiful soldier, Galion did make a good point. Besides, it was the second night of the Feast of Starlight. Who in their right mind would not have at least one celebratory drink in honour of such an event? Even the Mirkwood's solitary king and his son were enjoying themselves in the high halls with their subjects.

"I suppose one it wouldn't hurt to take a break" Elros sighed heavily and Galion grinned even wider.

"That's the spirit. Come let's sit down you look dead on your feet."

Despite his small nagging doubt at the back of his mind, Elros couldn't help but smile as a drink was forced into his hand.

Just one before I go back won't hurt…

But that one quickly turned into two, and that two quickly turned into four and that four turned into…well…by the time they'd passed that number, both elves were barely stringing two words together coherently.

"So she says: Sir, if you were my husband, I would poison your drink" Elros was now almost choking on his drink as he and Galion chuckled madly "and he says Madam if you were my wife, I would drink it."

Galion threw back his head back so hard with a bark of laughter that his chair leaned backwards and fell with a thud onto the floor. As soon as he heard his companion's landing Elros's chuckles turned into chokes of laughter as his head thumped hard into the table below him.

He was laughing so hard that he didn't notice the small soft pitter-patter of feet nor the way the keys on the wall behind him swayed a little before they hovered off the hook and away out the door.

Many hours had passed since Ariel had returned from her check-up. Now all was quiet and a sullen mood had swept over the now fully awake dwarves.

Why?

Because all fourteen prisoners had realised that Durin's day was barely less than a week away and that their hours were numbered.

Ariel herself was feeling nervous. She only had a couple of hours in which to give King Thranduil her reply to his bargain, and she still didn't know what path to take.

Should she take the deal or wait for Bilbo to help launch an escape?

God Bilbo, I hope you've found out about the barrels in the cellars

She bit her lip nervously as she rested her head on Fili's shoulder. They were still on the floor of the cell only now they were both lying on the floor side by side underneath both sets of their fur blankets. Ariel would've just told Fili to take them all and use them to sleep but Fili mulishly had let her take most of their space, saying that since she was so malnourished she'd need help keeping warm.

Though she protested much on the outside, Ariel secretly admitted that he had a point about that. Though she had eaten and rested much since she was rescued, she still was quite thin for her height and build and was probably more prone to relapsing into sickness.

And to think those girls at school wanted to be this dress size for their prom dresses.

She snorted to herself.

Stupid twits. It feels terrible. Like I'm a skeleton brought back to life

She smiled softly to herself as she snuggled closer into Fili's warm side.

Who'd have thought dwarves could be so warm and cuddly?

But even as she glanced up at Fili's face, Bofur's voice sighed morosely from where he stood in his cell.

"I'll wager the sun is on the rise. It must be nearly dawn."

"We're never gonna reach the mountain are we?" Ori mumbled sadly.

Fili sighed as he watched the cell door with a longing expression.

"Durin's day is so close" he whispered softly and sadly. "and here we are sitting in these…ahg! Ow, what was that for?"

He frowned at Ariel who retracted her hand from where she had lightly punched him on the shoulder.

She did not speak with words, but to Fili, her bright light hazel eyes spoke volumes as they gleamed with great determination and spirit.

Don't mope around!

"I'm sorry. You're right…" Fili nodded quietly as Ariel smiled encouragingly. "We'll find a way to the mountain somehow."

"Not stuck in here you're not!"

Ariel and Fili sat up straight back from each other in alarm. As did the other twelve dwarves.

Thorin's eyes were as wide as dinner plates as he landed flat on his behind in front of the door to his cell, where someone was jiggling the lock with a key on a ring. Someone four-foot-high with a mop of brown curls on his head.

"Bilbo!" Balin cried out in joy along with the others.

"Shh! There are guards nearby!" the hobbit hissed as he managed to open Thorin's door before dashing off to open the others.

Ariel and Fili sprang to their feet at once, their faces alight with glee Bilbo made to open their cell door with a smirk.

"Hello, I hope you two haven't gotten too comfortable because we've got to move."

"You don't have to tell me twice" Fili muttered as they stepped through but Bilbo was already opening Kili's door.

Ariel, however, had her attention focused on the floors above. People were moving about but none coming close…yet…

Someone's bound to come down to check on us soon. We need to keep them occupied but how?

Her eyes fell upon her cell door.

Bingo!

She looked up and waved her arms silently at up at where Thorin was standing with Balin, talking over the same thing. When the older dwarves caught sight of her, she quickly shut her door and forced it locked upon her empty cell.

"Good thing that Necromancer didn't tamper with that brain of hers," Dwalin muttered with admiration.

Thorin nodded, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards as he made to hiss to his comrades:

"Close the doors quick! So they think we're still inside."

With a few gentle thuds, all the iron-barred doors shut smoothly, and soon everyone was clambering up towards the stairs where they had all seen all the guards come in and out of the prison.

"Up the stairs!"

"You first"

However, where thirteen dwarves were going up, Bilbo was trotting down towards another tall set of stairs that led even deeper underground.

"No, not that way. Down here. Follow me" he hissed at Ariel who quickly nodded and tugged on the blue sleeve of Thorin's tunic pointing at where Bilbo was going.

He nodded and soon all of them were creeping down silently in single file down, down and even deeper down beneath the magnificent hills of the elven kingdom.

Ariel's heart thudded heavily as her excitement mounted.

She could not believe she was going to be experiencing the entire barrel escape herself. It had been one of her most favourite moments in the Hobbit book as a child. She was so excited that she couldn't help the grin over her face even as she almost slid down a stair.

The others just shrugged off her excitement as her glee of finally escaping, mostly because they were feeling rather giddy at the prospect of finding a way out.

However, when the dwarves stepped down the last steps and found themselves hidden amongst lines of large wine barrels, they all frowned and murmured in confusion.

"I don't believe it we're in the cellars" Fili hissed angrily as he caught sight of two elves sitting at a far off table, snoring loudly.

Ariel's nose wrinkled as the pungent smell of alcohol hit her nose.

Eguh! And to think I thought elves could hold their liquor?

She shook her head to clear it of the smell just as Bofur narrowed his eyes at Bilbo.

"Yeah, you're supposed to be leading us out not further in."

"Shut up I know what I'm doing now get this way!" Bilbo snapped quietly as he led them towards a large platform right in the open where thirteen empty open barrels were stacked.

"Now what are we going to do with these?" Gloin snarled at Bilbo but Ariel beat the hobbit to the punch as she made to shimmy her way back into the closest barrel.

"Just follow Ariel's lead and get into the barrels"

"Are you both mad?" Dwalin rolled his eyes "they'll find us when they come to look."

"No-no they won't I promise you" Bilbo whispered feeling just as aggravated with the dwarves as they were of him "Please, please you must trust me!"

He looked imploringly at Thorin, who caught his eye sternly.

Whilst he didn't have a clue as to what their burglar was planning, he had to admit it was better than nothing at all.

"Do as he says" the dwarf prince hissed clambering into Ariel's barrel. She squirmed a little as he made to adjust himself against her. it was a tight fit but thankfully she was slim enough that they both had just enough space to move about comfortably. Seeing their leader's determination and example the others began to follow suit.

As soon as they were all settled in, Bofur poked his head out from one of the top barrels.

"What do we do now?"

"Hold your breath" Bilbo muttered as he finished counting off the numbers and strode towards a lever that stood in the floor.

Ariel shut her eyes and took a deep breath, resisting the urge to use it up to sigh as the others exchanged puzzled looks, just as Bilbo tugged the lever sideways.

Ariel was glad to have closed her eyes for one moment she was stationary and vertical and the next she was suddenly rolling downwards and falling as the floor beneath them tilted to reveal running water below.

The water was icy cold and at once she was completely soaked through as hers, and Thorin's barrel dropped for a moment beneath the surface.

She felt Thorin's arms grip tight about her as they surfaced.

"Are you alright?" He spluttered as he forced her head upwards towards fresher air. He looked just about as drenched as she was, his black hair flecked with grey, plastered like a wet mop over his face. This, when combined with his wet beard, made him look rather like a bedraggled sheepdog after a bath.

I probably look ten times worse.

Ariel reasoned as she gave him a nod quickly spitting out a whole mouthful of water over the edge of the barrel.

She could hear the others doing similar things as they too surfaced, using the winding rocks about them to carefully position their barrel's right side up.

"Thorin the current" Dwalin grunted grabbing onto the back of the barrel before Thorin or Ariel could float out of reach.

Thorin quickly threw out both his arms and just about managed to catch hold of the rocks on either side of them. Thankfully the current wasn't too strong, so he managed to hold them there as the others carefully tried to follow his lead without accidentally bumping one another.

There was a great grinding of wood being maneuvered by metal mechanisms and Ariel looked up just in time to see the wooden ramp they'd just rolled off of, tilt downwards again behind them and a small figure fall from it.

BILBO!

Ariel clapped a hand to her mouth in fear as she looked at the water trying to spot a ripple or a bubble that meant the hobbit had survived the dunk. What might be shallow for her would be deep water for him and she wasn't sure he could swim, for they had never had to do so till now.

From what she'd remembered of hobbits, they were not overly fond of water, save the Brandybucks and the Tooks who owned land by the water and used boats (which their other hobbit kind thought a queer and unnatural trait).

But then again, Bilbo was half a Took. Maybe he did learn how to swim?

Oh god, Bilbo please be-

There was a loud splash and a splutter and suddenly the hobbit broke the surface with a loud gasp as Nori reached down to yank him up to the clean air.

Thank goodness.

Ariel sighed with relief as did Thorin who also had been watching for Bilbo since the hobbit had fallen into the water.

"Well done master Baggins" he grinned before quickly turning and letting go of his hold of the rocks.

At once with a jolt, the barrel began to move with the current and soon they were meandering their way towards a bright opening.

After so many days under dark trees and cave walls, Ariel would have cried at the sight of the bright sun had it not been for the fact that the water seemed to drop before it.

Oh god we're going to fall over the edge, aren't we? Cliché much?

She mentally face-palmed as memories of all her favourite adventure films and stories played over in her head, namely the scenes where the heroes got dramatically thrown into a river with many dangerous rapids and probably a high waterfall at the end which may have had a few bloodthirsty crocodiles or alligators waiting to eat them up.

Though knowing our luck we'll most likely run into orcs again. Do they even have crocodiles in middle earth?

But even as the drop came closer, she gripped tight onto Thorin's arm as he yelled loudly.

"Everyone hold on!"

And Ariel did hold on, very tight and very terrified as they fell suddenly over a tall four-metre drop only to be dunked once more in water.

She gasped loudly as she and Thorin surfaced again, now both more soaked than ever. However, for the first time, Ariel wasn't concerned about being wet. She was just worried about the oncoming rapids and rocks.

Oh, Christ even for a cliché this is terrifying!

If she had a voice she would be screaming by now as the barrel's tumbled dangerously fast through the water barely avoiding scraping sharp hard rocks.

Then suddenly, as Thorin was trying his best to steer them past a large rock, the barrel tipped forwards and Ariel found herself sliding out.

"Ariel!" he cried out as he grasped for the girl's foot, but it was too late. Ariel's mouth opened in a silent yell as she felt her body get dragged away down the current of the river.

"Blast it! Ariel!" he cursed as he saw her red blob of hair disappear beneath the white foam of the waters spray and not pop back up.

HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT!

She thought wildly as she fought to keep her head above water, only to get pulled under once more.

NO! NO! WHY ME?! WHY BLOODY ME?!

She gasped as her body made to tumble about a little as she reached the ends of the rapids.

As she did she could vaguely remember, her mother's smiling face as she reached out towards a much smaller version of her hands, gently tugging her along inside a chlorinated pool.

"That's right Ariel just relax. The water will help you to swim if you relax. The water will be your friend my little mermaid."

Relax…

Ariel shut her eyes, her head still underwater, trying to ignore the roaring of the waters above her head as she did her best to calm down her mind and relax her limbs.

The effect was almost instantaneous. At once she felt lighter, less tangled up. Her limbs seemed to remember how to function.

Her heart rate had slowed down and her though her breath was beginning to strain against her cheeks she found it was not happening as fast as usual.

Just gotta right myself again and then surface

She reasoned, her mind suddenly feeling clearer than it ever had done for the past two months as she kicked out her legs.

When she felt them work smoothly and in the right directions, she added her arms into the equation and pushed with all her strength. She was pleased to find that she had broken through the surface of the water on her first go.

She gasped for breath quickly looking about her. She was currently floating swiftly along with the current. However, the barrels were all in front of her clumped together around the underside of a tall bridge.

Bottlenecked…

But even as she squinted at the small underside of the bridge, she heard a familiar horrific screech.

She quickly ducked under the water as a dark arrow suddenly whizzed through the air straight towards the spot her head had just been.

ORCS! Goddamn squint-eyed, squat slimy little bastards.

She growled angrily in her head as she quickly swam, using the white foamy surface of the running water to obscure herself from view. She was careful not to come up for air too often, for whenever she did the orcs would aim an arrow at her head. The other dwarves and Bilbo did not notice her however for they were trying their best to fight the fiends off as they tried pouncing upon them from atop the stone bridge.

A gate…they're trapped!

Ariel's eyes widened as she saw in the distance under the murky water a glimpse of crisscrossing metals behind the bobbing wooden barrels.

She surfaced again just in time to see Kili leap out from his barrel and up onto the side of the bridge, his arms reaching out to dive for a big lever that stood towards the top.

However, he did not make it.

There was a swift twang as an arrow was loosed from a bow and Kili cried out in pain.

"KILI!" Fili's scream was loud and shrill as his brother keeled over and fell backwards into the water.

Everything seemed to happen as if in slow motion. The fall, the splash, the yells of the company…and then there was the blood.

Quicker than thinking Ariel dove under.

She hadn't a clue how deep this river was, nor did she care.

All that was racing through her mind was a vision of another person falling before her and an evil crone's voice cackling wickedly.

"That's right boy, behold my power for it will be the last thing you ever see!"

"NOO! IAN!"

Ariel's teeth gritted as she forced herself to swim deeper despite her air supply beginning to dwindle, for she could still see Kili's body as he struggled hard against the water, his movements slowly but surely getting more sluggish from his fatigue.

Oh no, you're not drowning on my watch!

Ariel's eyes glared hard through the water as she quickly surfaced for only a split second, took a deep breath and plunged back down.

She was quick to reach him; though he was still heavier than her and bigger in build.

Right, don't panic Ariel just think! Remember what dad taught you!

She quickly swam up behind Kili's back and locked her arms under his armpits and began to tug.

It was a hard slog, but eventually, his body was relaxed enough that she managed to float him back to the surface.

They both gasped and spluttered loudly, but Ariel did not have time to catch her breath as she dragged him up onto the small bottom step of the bridge close to the barrels.

"Ariel" Kili slurred as he coughed up water, his eyes glimmering with worry.

Ariel didn't answer, instead choosing to give him a helpful thud on the back just as a shadow loomed up behind her.

She quickly turned around and screamed silently as the Orc above her suddenly choked as an arrow with a silver arrowhead struck straight through it.

Ariel quickly snapped her head around just in time to see Tauriel leap from the trees on the left side of the bank, her face livid as she deftly shot two more arrows into different orcs that surrounded the bridge.

Whoa, she is one kick-ass chick!

Ariel would have whistled if she could as she saw the elf woman quickly unsheathe two slender knives and slice down five orcs in a circle around her all within five seconds.

"Ariel Go!" Kili yelled at Ariel, snapping her out of her thoughts as he tried to shove her away, only when he moved, he roared in pain. Ariel quickly looked down and saw to her horror a long black arrow, with jet black crow feathered fletching stuck deep into the young dwarf's thigh.

Oh crap…

She looked up into Kili's face and her heart almost broke. For the first time since she'd met him, the young dwarf looked truly afraid even as he made to yell:

"Go! Get out of here! Save yourself!" but it was clear from the look in his eyes that his heart was not in the words.

He did not want to die…and he did not want to die alone.

Ariel shook her head and set her hands firmly on the arrow in his thigh.

Kili gulped but before he could even say anything, she had given the weapon an almighty tug.

The young dwarf let out a roar of pain as Ariel managed to pull the arrow clean out of his leg, blood pooling out and staining his pants in great dollops.

He panted for breath as Ariel quickly tore off one of the white sleeves of her dress and shoved the bundle of cloth in his hands which she then made him press into his thigh.

"The lever-" he grunted through gritted teeth, his eyes wandering up the bridge.

Ariel looked up and saw the great device above, and without further ado, she quickly jumped up towards it.

It was heavy and made of wood. Still, she persevered and a few moments of heavy pushing she heard metal creaking below her.

"Get in quick!" she heard someone yell to them as she dashed back down to her fallen comrade who was trying to crawl on his hands and knees to his empty barrel which Fili and Ori were holding onto by the edge of the bridge.

Fili grabbed at his brother and pushed him into the barrel before grabbing Ariel's arm and motioning for her to follow.

"HOLD ON!" Oin yelled as the gateway was freed up of some of the barrels.

Ariel clutched tight onto a still shaken Kili as they tumbled once more over the edge of a small fall and into more rapids.

Ariel gasped when they bobbed back upright again doing her best to hold Kili up for he was still very disoriented.

She made to duck quickly as orc arrows swiftly flew over their heads, their shooters roaring and growling in their hideous language.

"ARIEL! KILI LOOK OUT!" She heard Balin cry out before he was dunked underwater.

Ariel quickly looked up and immediately dropped her body over Kili's to shield him as a great orc leapt down from on high, aiming its gigantic axe right down for their barrel.

However, just before the orc could strike, she felt a great tug on the side barrel. The monstrous being crashed horribly into the roaring waters below as Dwalin made to push Kili and Ariel along, but not before shoving a dark weapon into the latter's hands. It was an orc's sword.

"Cut the log" he cried out before pushing them along to float before him.

Ariel turned around and saw a massive tree trunk that had fallen over and had wedged itself between the two stony banks of the river, where some orcs were using it as a shooting platform.

She was about to make a rather pathetic swing with the heavy sword when Kili grabbed her hands. He was nowhere near as strong enough to swim but he was strong enough to hold tight. With her strength and his aim, they both managed to hack a decent portion of the wood off before drawing the weapon back and slicing through another attacking orc.

It was like he was instructing her on how to fight, for with every stroke gone right, he allowed Ariel more and more freedom to aim the sword as she pleased. And Ariel was proving to be a fast learner.

Eventually, he had to duck under the edge of the barrel, to relieve the pressure off his injured leg and Ariel was left to fend for herself.

With a mighty swipe, she managed to throw off an orc that had been thrashed into her barrel after failing to attack Bombur, who seemed to have somehow managed to bounce his way up onto dry land and was whirling about in circles with weapons as fast as Taz in an episode of Loony-tunes.

He had managed to slay twenty or so orcs before he quickly darted back to bounce into an empty barrel in the water just as a tall, pale figure leapt down from on high.

It was Legolas, standing on top of the heads of Oin and Dwalin as they travelled down the swiftly running river. His balance was so precise that he was able to shoot calmly from his bow, even as he made to run over the heads of some of the other dwarves so as to shoot down orcs that were trying to waylay them up ahead.

Ariel stared wide-eyed as the elf prince then nimbly made to jump back up onto the high bank and slew several orcs (that had been about to fire arrows at the dwarves) single-handily before struggling a little with an eighth who had enough wits about him to dodge.

Ariel gasped as she caught sight of a small swarthy figure creep up behind Legolas just as he managed to slay his troublesome opponent.

Oh no, he's going to-

Ariel didn't even pause to think as she raised her hands and tossed her sword with all her strength up towards the soon to be ambusher.

Legolas turned just in time to see the girl's arms raised above her head, the weapon fly from her hand and soar through the air, right into the chest of the rogue orc behind him.

What the?

He tried to rush forwards only to come up short at the edge of a small narrow rock that overlooked the river.

One by one he watched breathing heavily for breath as he saw the girl in the barrel suddenly make around the bend in the river along with her companions.

Did she save my life?

His brow furrowed as he watched her long red-brown hair and the worried brown eyes turning back it for the last look his way.

She could've spared herself the trouble but she didn't…why?

Then suddenly there were two sharp twangs, and an arrow spun past his head.

He whipped around sharply just as Tauriel came leaping down from the treetops, disarming the foul orc that had crept up behind him with merely her kicking feet before swooping in to bring her knives upon his neck.

"[Tauriel wait!]" Legolas barked before she could slice her prey with either one of her blades.

Tauriel looked up; her weapons stilled about the subdued brute's neck as Legolas fixed them both with a hard glare.

"[this one we keep alive]"

A man walked along the banks of a river towards a small barge, his long tattered brown coat the only thing keeping his body from the small chilly late spring morning breeze. Over his shoulders were a sturdily crafted longbow and a quiver of equally dark arrows and in his hands were a couple of dead rabbits.

He had been waiting at this spot with his boat for more than two days now. Not that he couldn't handle himself in this wilderness. Indeed he was remarkably comfortable in it for a man of his bearing. Though he did love being on the water best.

He frowned as he made to check over his barge. It was empty, save for a couple of large ropes and sheets and boxes for food and spare blankets and other such camping equipment settled along the edges.

There should have been empty barrels in the middle of the boat by now.

What is taking those blasted elves so long?

He glowered up the river before shaking his head out in exasperation.

Well if the barrels weren't here by an hour he'd have to leave without them. He had a home to get back to, and life wasn't easy when you didn't receive your wages and you had hungry mouths to feed.

But even as he made to step off the boat again to walk along the other side of the river he saw something white poke itself through a rock close by.

He frowned as he approached the small object, his curiosity drawing him further towards it though for the life of him he couldn't figure out why.

However, when he came close enough, he smiled in small delighted surprise.

It was a small flower with petals that blossomed as white as fallen snow. It almost seemed to shine under the light of the morning sun and against the dark face of the rock it was growing up from it looked positively radiant and delicate.

He marvelled at this for a moment. Flowers seldom grew by the banks of this river. The waters were too fast and often tore plants out by the roots, washing them downstream for the fish in the lake to feed upon.

But this little flower was clinging on tightly to the rock and blossoming strongly despite all of the chaos around it.

The bargeman shook his head and snorted to himself.

Whilst it was an unusual phenomenon, it was still just a tiny flower, and he had no time to continue to dwell on the circumstances about its unusual growth.

Or did he?

He looked back up the river and frowned.

Maybe he was being too hasty to leave now…he had enough camping supplies to last him till the night anyways.

And besides…he just had a feeling, one that gnawed at his gut that he had to wait for something…or someone.

Though who that was, he had no clue.

All that Bard the Bargeman did know was that whoever he was expecting to come would be someone that would change everything.

Though whether it was for good or bad…that was another story.

Hmm…now what have we here

Gandalf the Grey quirked a brow as he looked down the tall, dark slopes of the mountain he had just climbed.

Two figures were still someway beneath him but climbing swiftly up the path he'd just come. Both were in black hooded cloaks but one of them was carrying a dark grey staff with a red gem set in the tip that shaped in the roaring head of a dragon.

No…it couldn't be…

Gandalf's heart froze in his chest as the figure with the staff looked up. The face that looked up at him was that of a woman's, pale and fair but wise even though she wasn't that old. Indeed she looked to be barely out of her mid-thirties at most.

She smiled as she and her partner, a man covered head to foot in dark gear, managed to climb up to meet the old wizard whose face was still a mask of shock even as she made to pull down her dark hood.

"Nuldien…" Gandalf breathed. "Is that you?"

"Hello, Gandalf," Nuldien the Red murmured with a smile as she strode over to hug the grey wizard. "It has been a long time."

"Two hundred years" Gandalf smiled as she pulled away, holding her carefully at arms-length "but you haven't changed a bit."

"Neither have you, old friend." the darkly clad man behind Nuldien smirked as he tugged off his hood and scarf from his mouth.

Gandalf's eyes widened even more as did his smile.

"Celegon! You're here, my goodness you've…not…changed either…." but then suddenly, the old wizard stopped in his tracks.

Those eyes. Those brown eyes flecked with green in the man's face…they were exactly like-

Nuldien's and Celegon both avoided the wizard's eye as he looked between the two taking in their features.

"Nuldien" he finally rumbled after a full solid minute of observing, his tone tense.

Nuldien shifted nervously on her feet.

"Gandalf…you must understand" she bit her lip "We didn't...it just-"

"What happened?" Gandalf's eyes narrowed as Celegon strode to stand beside his wife, his face a mask of determined rigidity.

"What happened is simple Gandalf." The man's eyes hardened as he spoke. "We fell in love. We got married, we had a family, we raised two children."

"Ariel and Ian" Gandalf sighed with a small smile, relief washing over him.

"What?" Nuldien and Celegon both blinked and Gandalf chuckled warmly.

"Oh, you two! You honestly didn't think I'd not figure it out?"

"Wait! Wait!" Nuldien pinched the bridge of her nose "we didn't send Ariel till two months ago? And I never told her about all this world! How on earth could you have known?"

"Oh, but I didn't know-" Gandalf's eyes twinkled at the married couple "-but I had my suspicions. After all Nuldien she is the spitting image of you at that age, not to mention she's inherited your stubbornness Celegon."

"Yes, it's been the bane of my existence as a father," Celegon sighed heavily. "Having a daughter more wilful and free-spirited than a horse of Rohan."

"It has been the bane of Thorin Oakenshield as well" Gandalf smirked softly "as well as some other enemies had met on this journey."

"That's my girl" Celegon chuckled, despite his shock, but Nuldien's face grew anxious.

"She hasn't been too badly hurt on this quest, has she?"

"Well…" Gandalf suddenly looked rather sheepish "I wouldn't say hurt…but she has had…ahem…well, that is to say. What hasn't killed her only has made her stronger-"

"Meaning?" Nuldien's eyes narrowed and Celegon quickly put a consoling hand on her shoulder.

"Nuldien you and I both know that quests are not without injuries of some form" he murmured but Nuldien only glared up at him.

"Just because you were a Northern Ranger and are used to this sort of trekking doesn't mean that our daughter-"

"Actually" Gandalf interjected calmly, with a grateful glance in said ranger's direction "You might be surprised to learn that your daughter is quite at ease with travelling the wilderness. Oh yes," he smiled as Nuldien raised her eyebrows at him coldly "yes since the start she has never once complained about living rough, and off the land, indeed she tried her hardest to help as much as she could especially with her powers. She has learnt fast and adapted even faster. The last time I saw her, she was even attempting to learn how to fight and use a sword."

"My daughter and a sword?" Celegon gulped "I'm not sure whether I should be proud of that or very worried. I mean Nuldien was bad enough with her blade to even cut an onion in half and-OW!"

Gandalf winced as Celegon's head was sharply wrapped by his wife's sharp swift hit with her staff to the back of his head before turning swiftly upon the old wizard and glaring at him too.

"Just because I can't use a blade doesn't mean I can't use this! and don't think that I won't slap you too if you still think that women are not as good as fighting as men are"

"My dear Nuldien after years of working alongside you I can safely say that I personally find women to be the more terrifying gender of the two" Gandalf coughed but then quickly added, "though in this instance it is perhaps for the best that your daughter has inherited her father's skills on the battlefield rather than yours."

And on that note he quickly ducked before Nuldien's staff could reach out and hit him too.

Some things don't change at all…

"is there anything behind us?"

"Not that I can see."

Ariel sneezed, and almost winced with embarrassment. What usually were blasts of noise exiting her mouth were now tiny squeaks like a mouse.

They were still floating in the barrels along with the swift current of great forest river. The orcs had long since fallen behind, but still they had kept pushing themselves along in the water as hard and as fast as they could.

Ariel snivelled loudly as she tried pushing her scrawny arms through the water as hard as she could her feet splashing behind her, loud enough for Thorin to look back from the front of the troupe.

The sight that greeted him was not one that comforted him greatly. Fourteen were looking thoroughly exhausted and soaked through to the bone.

Bilbo, Bombur, Kili and Ariel were by far the worst of the lot. The fattest dwarf was almost always keeling over to the side and it took two dwarves dragging him along to keep him from tipping over into the water.

Kili was even worse. His face was extremely pale, and his leg was obviously almost killing him with pain from where the orc arrow had hit it. If it hadn't been for Ariel's swimming he would've most definitely been last in the line. But the girl herself was beginning to struggle. She was still so weak and thin from her imprisonment in Dol Guldur plus she was beginning to show signs of hypothermia from being in this chilly water for so long.

Bilbo was faring just as bad, as he was dragged along at the back of Nori's barrel, his curly mop of hair plastered in front of his eyes.

They can't go on for much longer…

"I think we've outrun the orcs" Bofur called out from somewhere towards the back of the troupe.

The dwarf prince's eyes dropped towards the water, only to find to his dread that the water was beginning to slow down.

"Not for long, we've lost the current"

"Bombur's half-drowned" Dwalin called out to Thorin from the middle of the troupe.

"make for the shore"

Easier said than done

Ariel puffed as she managed to drag her and Kili's barrel over to the rocky bank by the side of the river.

Kili seeing her struggle abandoned his aching leg and did his best to help her swim onto the small beach of pebbles where they both crawled gasping for air desperately.

"You alright?" the young dwarf puffed turning his head on the hard ground to face the exhausted girl that lay beside him.

Ariel nodded silently wincing as she did her best to move her aching limbs. She was grateful when one of Kili's arms helped drag her up onto her feet.

How he was finding the strength to even stand was beyond her, but he managed it. He also managed a few small steps, using her as a sort of walking aid that was until they both stumbled on a small slippery rock beneath.

Ariel just about managed to find footing for the both of them as Kili cried out in pain.

"On your feet" Thorin was barking from where he stood atop a tall rock and keeping a lookout.

"Kili's wounded. His leg needs binding" Fili shouted as he came up beside Kili and Ariel who were both trying their best to sit on the edge of a rock, without putting a strain on the injured dwarf's leg.

But Thorin was sternly looking up at the river path they had just come from.

"There is an orc pack on our trail we keep moving."

"To where?" Balin frowned as he stretched out his old creaking back, working out the kinks in it.

"To the mountain" Bilbo explained as he shook himself off "We're so close."

Balin sighed heavily.

"A lake lies between us and that mountain. We have no way to cross it"

"Then we go around-" Bilbo began but Dwalin shook his head.

"The Orcs will run us down, as sure as daylight. And we've no weapons to defend ourselves"

Thorin shut his eyes and sighed.

They were defenceless, cold, starved and wet, with no provisions and had more than two companions that were too weak to walk.

But what choice did they really have but to leg it as fast as possible before the sun could set?

He turned to Ariel and Fili his face grave.

"Bind his leg quickly. You have two minutes."

Two minutes?

Ariel looked down at Kili's leg her face anxious.

It would take more than two minutes to heal that injury that was for certain.

"Well…here we are…" Gandalf the Grey murmured as he stepped out onto the dark slab of rock beneath him. "Careful Nuldien it is slippery on these stones."

He quickly made to stand aside as a woman in a red dress made to slide down the slippery stony path to land nimbly beside him.

"Well…" Nuldien the red clipped sardonically "Isn't this charming?"

They were both deep within the heart of one of the great Misty Mountains, standing on a ring of aged stone steps that circled down and down, nine stories high and counting, deep into the dark earth.

It naturally should have been pitch black down here had it not been for the two orbs of white light from within the gems within both the Istari's staffs. Quietly as mice they made their way down the first wall towards a door carved into the rock itself and framed by cruelly twisted iron gates that were pulled aside to leave it open.

Both sorcerers glanced warily at one another.

"Ladies first," Gandalf muttered, but Nuldien scowled.

"Age before beauty."

"We are of the same age you know," he grumbled and she rolled her eyes.

"And you know you could've chosen to take a younger form if you really wanted to?"

"I tried that for a while when we first came to Middle Earth" Gandalf admitted waspishly "but it proved to be too much of a hassle."

"Typical man! Fine, I'll go check first" Nuldien snorted before striding forwards and stalking into the dark chasm.

"Wait Nuldien-" Gandalf sighed, but already she had she disappeared into the darkness.

"You and your daughter. Peas in a pod" he grumbled as he made to follow her inside.

With the light of their staffs, he was able to see just a couple of metres before him, Nuldien standing before a stone casket doing her best to carefully peer into the depths through the shattered remains of the lid.

"There's nothing" she murmured as she felt him close in beside her "just an empty-gah!"

She squeaked, both she and Gandalf jumping in their spots as something dark and fuzzy streaked out from the depths of the casket, screeching as it flew out of the doorway where a silhouette of a short person was standing.

Both istari wheeled about gripping their staffs tight in their hands to point aggressively at the new arrival, only to stop and sigh heavily.

"Oh, it's you." Gandalf took a deep shuddering breath as Nuldien groaned in aggravation.

"Radagast! What the devil-"

"hehe…sorry, Nuldien" the small ferrety brown wizard smiled scratching his beard nervously before suddenly blinking. "Wait…wait…Nuldien? Oh my, goodness is that you? By Eru, you haven't changed a bit!"

"Yes. Yes, it's me" Nuldien puffed in relief as she lowered her staff "By Eru above you almost gave me a heart attack."

"Oh, I'm sorry old friend I didn't mean any harm by it." Radagast reached out to pat the woman on her shoulder carefully; his face scrunched up in a frown of intrigue "Incredible…so it's really true, you did have a daughter. That Ariel child. Oh, how wonderful, she's such a sweet thing, you must be very proud."

"Yes… But how did you…" Nuldien frowned sidelong at Gandalf before shaking her head out "you know what never mind! Let's just deal with the matter at hand shall we gentlemen?"

"And just what is the matter at hand?" Radagast looked up worriedly at Gandalf "why am I here?"

"Trust me Radagast" Gandalf murmured darkly "I would not have called you or Nuldien here without good reason"

"This is not a nice place to meet" Radagast mumbled as he took off his hat to resettle the birds that lived in a birds nest they'd made at the top of his head.

"No…it is not"

Had neither Nuldien or Gandalf seen this kind of behaviour before they both would have probably laughed as they saw the tiny little brown sparrows within squeak and settle down to roost before they were covered up safely by the brown wizard's hat.

But they didn't. Nuldien especially shuddered as she looked about the darkness that surrounded them.

"There is very dark magic here" she murmured as she trailed her fingers over the walls of the small room they were in, over which there were many runes carved deeply into the rock "very old and full of hatred and despair"

"But just who is buried here?" Radagast fingered his brown beard thoughtfully as Gandalf made to walk past him towards the threshold behind him.

"If he had a name it's long been lost. He would only have been known as a servant of evil…one of a number" the Grey wizard muttered as he shone his light brightly to illuminate the rest of the crypt outside.

"…one of nine"

No matter what Kili did, the injury in his leg was still bleeding profusely, the red staining his blue pants so that there was a patch of purple.

"I'm fine it's nothing" he clipped shoving his hand down to apply pressure to the wound.

"Kili" Fili hissed angrily as Ariel rolled her eyes in exasperation.

The dwarf had been resisting her help for a while now, and it was beginning to grate on her nerves.

Well, that's it! I'm going to patch him up whether he likes it or not!

Kili winced as the sound of ripping material came to his ears and looked down to see a bundle of wet white muslin press gently into his injured thigh, aided by shaking now blue-tipped fingers.

Fili's heart felt heavy as he turned down to the torn hem of Ariel's dress which was so thin that when it was wet, he could see almost straight through to her shins and knees beneath as they stuck to the material.

Ariel stiffened as she saw a warm hand wrap over hers and push down hard.

"Quick wrap the other bit about it as tight as you can" Fili muttered, glaring sidelong at Kili.

Ariel ignored both of them and swiftly began to tear off her remaining white sleeve.

Kili turned his gaze to watch her work and as he saw hid blood coat her fingertips, he shut his eyes in shame.

"Forgive me…" he mumbled, "I should be grateful, but I'm being selfish and forcing you away…and for that I'm a fool."

He looked up just in time to see her give him a small shaky smile as she silently mouthed.

"It's ok."

"No…it's not" Fili shook his head, though inwardly he was relieved his brother had finally gotten the message "You saved his life twice, from drowning and from being killed by those orcs."

At this Ariel blushed and shrugged modestly.

"No Ariel he's right" Kili gulped and as she made to begin tying the final knot about his bandages he grabbed her wrist. "I'm sorry"

Ariel paused as her fingers made to finish tying the knot…her eyes were bright and full of unshed tears. However, after a small sniff, she held it all in and reached out to touch Kili's shoulder before pulling her hand back and touching her necklace chain.

By now all the members of the company knew about how Ariel's brother had given her the trinket and-

"Oh" Kili's eyes widened suddenly and he felt a lump form in his throat as realisation dawned on him. "oh…you mean…that you think of me like a brother?"

Ariel nodded softly before repeating her gesture at Kili's heart and the chain once more before reaching out and patting his cheek clumsily.

Even though his eyes turned down to the ground the corners of Kili's mouth twitched upwards as he mumbled.

"Thank you."

Ariel smiled and softly leaned down to plant a small kiss to the top of the dark wet mop of hair.

Kili smirked as he caught sight of Fili bristling uncomfortably beside the two of them before pouting childishly.

"What? Just that one kiss? That's all I get?"

Ariel giggled as she pulled away from him, waggling a playful finger at him as her eyes twinkled with fond amusement as Kili's face split into a teasing smirk.

"But Fili got one before and you cuddled him. Is that because he's special?"

"Kili" Fili groaned his face going pink, but Ariel was not so easily beaten down in an argument and she poked her tongue out to him childishly before mouthing one word.

"Tauriel"

Fili burst out chuckling softly as Kili's face turned so red so fast and his mouth gaped open and shut like a fish.

There were several sniggers from around them as the older members of the company. Even Bilbo was smirking with amusement as Thorin leaned in to ask quietly.

"What did she say?"

"I don't know" the burglar shrugged "but for someone without a voice she sure knows how to speak her mind."

"That she does" the dwarf prince murmured stiffly but Bilbo saw the pain and guilt behind the blue eyes.

"Look at her Bilbo." He glanced up to where Ariel was now sitting in between Kili and Fili, who both had an arm wrapped around her to keep her close to their warmer bodies as she shivered and shook from the cold "The girl is skin and bones. She doesn't even have a family, no powers or weapons nor even money or status. Just the clothes on her back and she's still giving it up for us even when she needs it more than we do."

Thorin turned quickly to the hobbit who was looking up at him with folded arms and a raised brow.

"Of course she will do that. That's just the kind of person she is. The person she always has been since the start. You've just been too proud to notice."

"Yes…I see that now…" The dwarf murmured his eyes now looking down to the rocks beneath his feet. "though I wish I had the heart to have seen it sooner. Then maybe she might not have…"

"Thorin…" Bilbo sighed, his voice weary but firm "none of us were to know that any of this would happen. How could we? None of us was prepared for such witchcraft and evil to befall us in that forest. But Ariel's safe and back now with us. Who knows maybe you'll both have the chance to set things right."

"Or screw it up" Thorin murmured "everything I try and say ends up coming out wrong when I speak with her."

"Only because you keep thinking that you're going to fail before you even start" Bilbo snorted rolling his eyes with exasperation "Thorin just talk to her alright. We're almost at the end now. The dragon is only a few days away. Talk to her before it's too late."

Thorin opened his mouth to speak but at that precise moment, there was a sharp twang…

The twang of a taut bowstring…

And boom! There we have it, another remastered chapter up.

Now to clear things up before we go ahead, the reason Ariel can see Bilbo while he is using the One Ring is because she is wearing a magic ring made by Sauron that is much like the rings worn by the Nazgul (except she cannot take hers off willingly). As many of you guys know, the Nazgul were all able to see or sense anyone who wears the One Ring (like when Frodo got stabbed it on Weathertop) and now that Sauron tried to turn Ariel to the dark side with her own magic ring, she may or may not have access to similar abilities, I'm not sure, oh well we'll have to wait and see ;)

I'm doing what I can to stay in keeping with the "rules" of magic in the Middle Earth Universe. I've been using the books and the wiki for reference but i obviously can't get everything right (after all its not like i can talk to tolkien himself :P). Anyways, let me know what you think and keep reading, faving and reviewing for more.

Cheers,

FuzzyBeta