Saving the Sons of Durin

Thand Toloquë

Fili moved to stand at the front with his brother and uncle, while Ellía moved to stand over to the side with Bilbo, who had surprisingly snuck back last night. She was about to whisper and asked how it went, but movement below the gate caught her attention. Ellía looked out to see Thranduil approaching on his massive elk and Bard beside him on a white horse. 'I wish Radag were here...' she thought as the two elegant beasts moved through the rows of troops.

Just as they made it to the front, Ellía watched in horror as Thorin notched an arrow and shot it just in front of the elk's hooves, effectively stopping Bard and the king in their tracks. "I will put the next one between your eyes." Thorin threatened and the dwarves cheered in their secretive language. With a slight tilt of his head, Thranduil signaled for his many archers, to notch an arrow in perfect harmony. While all of the dwarves and Bilbo ducked for cover, Thorin and Ellía remained standing.

'Would they truly shoot me?' Ellía wandered as she looked over the archers.  Once he felt his message had been received, Thranduil signaled for his archers to stand down, causing the dwarves to reappear. "We have come to tell payment of your debt has been offered and accepted." Thranduil called with a coy smile. Ellía felt her stomach flip as she glanced at Bilbo to see him practically holding his breath.

"What payment? I gave you nothing. You have nothing." Thorin said angrily. The elven king nodded at Bard, and the man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the Arkenstone. "We have this." Bard said and her the stone up.  Ellía watched as Thorin's cocky front dropped as he stared at the thing he had been searching for. "They have the Arkenstone." Fili muttered in disbelief.

"Thieves! How came you by the heirloom of our house!? That stone belongs to the king!" Kili shouted furiously. Ellía began to grow quite nervous and she could tell was as well.  "The king may have it with our goodwill. But first he must honor his word." bard called up to them with a desperate look in his eyes. 'Please, Thorin. Please.' Ellía begged in her head as she watched the dwarf king stare down at Bard.

After a few seconds, Thorin breathe out, "They are taking us for fools. This is a ruse. A filthy lie." Bilbo gave the elf a defeated look as Thorin yelled, "The Arkenstone is in this mountain! It is a trick!" Before she could stop him, Bilbo was stepping forward as he said, "I-it's no trick. The stone is real. I gave it to them." The company looked at each other in shock while Ellía kept her eyes glued to Thorin.

"You?" he asked lowly and turned to face the hobbit. "I took it as my 14th share." Bilbo said hesitantly. "You would steal from me?" Thorin asked quietly. " Steal from you? No, I may be a burglar, but I like to think I am an honest one. I'm willing to let it stand against my claim." Bilbo said as he looked around at the other dwarves. "Against your claim? Your claim. You have no claim over me, you miserable rat!" Thorin shouted and threw his bow to the ground. Ellía readied herself to jump in between the two.

"I was going to give it to you. Many times I wanted to but- " Bilbo began but Thorin interrupted him hissing, "but what, thief." Bilbo took a deep breath before firmly saying, "You have changed, Thorin. The dwarf I met in Bag-end would never have gone back on his word. Would never have doubted the loyalty of his own kin." Thorin glared at him menacingly and barked, "Do not speak to me of loyalty!" Thorin yelled and lunged forward.

Before anyone could even process his movement, Ellía jumped in front of Bilbo and braced her hands against Thorin's shoulders. "Thorin, if you are going to be angry at him, you must also be angry at me. I helped him sneak away last night, knowing what he planned to do." She rushed out.

She noticed Fili and Kili's heads snap towards her, but she stayed focus on the fuming king in front of her. He shoved her hands off of him and snarled, "I should never have trusted an elf. Your kind are all alike. Selfish and unfeeling. You were only ever here to get those gems, weren't you!"