his exception

chapter twenty: caught

She couldn't sleep- it was something she felt was very hand especially when she doesn't much about the place she's staying in. "Shouldn't you be asleep?" Maethel nearly started at the soft voice, but she managed to hold herself back. Instead, she glanced over her shoulder, giving Ori a soft smile. "I could ask you the same."

"I just have too much going in my head." Ori walked up to Maethel, sitting down at the edge of the window overlooking the human valley. Only then he paused to hesitate. "Ah. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not." Ori's company was never unpleasant, after all. "I suppose I have the same problem."

"Oh?" Ori took out a knitting project he had somehow secreted along for the trip, though he rarely had the time to work on it. There was something so sweet and domestic to it that it made Maethel feel warmer right away. "About Thorin? Or being homesick?" Maethel looked down at Ori, " I guess both.. I've never really left Mirkwood only to see my best friend in Rivendell." Ori put down his knitting project. "My father just wants to protect me.. you see my mother was killed by Orcs.." She looked into the young dwarf's eyes and she stopped speaking. "I've always wanted to travel.. to see the world.." Maethel sighed as she looked out of the window of the house. "There's always something to live for, whether it be an experience or a person.. for travelling." Ori smiled up at the elleth. "What about you? Why are you awake at this early hour?"

Ori smiled slightly as he looked up at the elleth. "No reason really.. just that I cannot sleep. It's been like this since the beginning of the journey and the constant chance of death." His smile dropped. "I have no family you see.. they all died when I was a young dwarf. This company is my remaining family, i-if they died.." His eyes were on the brink of tears," I-I don't know what I'd do.."  Maethel felt a tear drip down her cheek as she moved her way closer. Once closer, she gently picked up his knitting and put it on the sofa next to her. "I promise you.." She looked into Ori's eyes, .. that I will not let anything.. and I mean anything, happen to your family." The dwarf let out a small smile. "Now you better get some sleep as you'll be needing all your strength for the days to come."

Ori stood up, wiped his eyes, and nodded back at Maethel. The elven princess paced around the room for a while, counting her breaths before she settled by the window.

 Maethel was standing by the window watching the sunrise. Quickly one of Thorin's arms wrapped around her waist whilst the rested at his side. "I've captured you..." He whispered in her ear sending shivers down her spine. He then gently placed a kiss on the crown of her head. "I love you so much, Maethel." He mumbled Into her hair as he breathed in her sweet shampoo. Maethel smiled and snuggled closer into his broad chest. "I love you too, Thorin Oakenshield. Till forever falls apart..." she whispered to him.  "Go to sleep.. I'll keep you safe." 

...

 "Hello, Bard. What're you after?" The storekeeper asked as he sighed due to a long day of work. Bard began looking through a pile of tapestries. "There was a tapestry, an old one; where's it gone?" He questioned still refiling through the mess. "What tapestry you talking about?" Bard looked into the eyes of the storekeeper, "This one." He picked up a tapestry and unrolled it on a table. It has the names of the members of the Line of Durin sewn into it. He overheard the woman who saw the dwarves earlier speaking to some other townpeople not far away. "There were dwarves, I tell you. Appeared out of nowhere. Full beards, fierce eyes; I've never seen the like."

"What are dwarves doing in these parts?" A fisherman grumbled.

"It's the prophecy." An old man replied. "Prophecy?" The fisherman questioned looking confused at the old man. "The prophecy of Durin's folk." Bard traced through the lineage on the tapestry and found the last entry, Thorin. He looked up, thinking deeply, and talked to himself. "The prophecy...prophecy." The people of Laketown were now beginning to talk about the dwarves now as the word spread. "The old tales will come true." A man said. "Vast halls of treasure!" A woman called out from the front door of her house. "Can it really be true? Has the lord of silver fountains returned?"

This phrase jolted Bard's memory, and he began to recite the prophecy to himself. "The lord of silver fountains. The king of carven stone. The king beneath the mountain shall come into his own, and the bells shall ring in gladness at the mountain king's return, but all shall fail in sadness and the lake will shine and burn." Bard ran quickly to his house; the setting sun caused the lake to glow orange as he recited the last line of the prophecy. Bard burst into his house and found no dwarves remaining just Maethel standing with Sigrid and Tilda. His son came up to him. "Da! I tried to stop them-" Bain blurted out as he tried to compose his breathing. "How long have they been gone!?"

It is now night again at Laketown. The dwarves sneak through the town towards the armoury, hiding from any watchmen. They hid behind a boat as two watchmen walked by.  "Shh! Keep it down." Dwalin hissed.  "As soon as we have the weapons, we make straight for the mountain. Go, go, go!" Thorin ordered. With the watchmen gone, Thorin pointed to Nori, who got a running start and ran up a pyramid of dwarves who  pressed themselves against the walls of the city armoury. He was able to get high enough that he could reach a second floor window and dive through.  "Next." Thorin ordered. Bilbo did the same thing as Nori. Soon, several dwarves were in the armoury, and they began collecting the weapons stored there. Kili struggled under a load of several different weapons, and Thorin handed him another one.  "You all right?" Kili nodded as he tried to look unfazed.   "I can manage. Let's just get out of here."

Thorin looked at Kili, then laid another sword on the pile Kili is holding. Kili began walking down the stairs, but his wounded leg gave way and he fell with a cry. The weapons made a terrible clanging noise, and the dwarves both inside and outside look around warily. In the distance, the watchmen cry out, and running footsteps approach. "Run!" Dori shouted as he huffed. The dwarves still outside began to run, but were soon stopped by two watchmen pointing pikes at them. Bilbo and the dwarves in the armoury grab weapons, but several other guards point pikes at them too. Braga, the captain of the guard,  held Kili with a dagger to his throat. Kili looked sadly and guiltily at Thorin. Alfrid poked his head out of the door to the Master's mansion to see the commotion. He saw the soldiers dragging the dwarves to the mansion, with multitudes of townspeople following behind. It was snowing a little. 

 "Get off of me!" Dwalin shouted.

There was lots of indistinct muttering and yelling. Alfrid closed the door and went to get the master. Braga arranged all of the dwarves under guard in the town square before the doors of the mansion. As guards opened the doors of the mansion, the Master stormed out, still putting on his coat.