there and back again

12

Silence filled the room after the doors closed.

Thranduil watched the girl intently. "He does not know," he said finally. The elf's words were soft, but they echoed through the room.

Raine looked up from her position. "Correct," she said through gritted teeth.

"Why the malice, child? You have nothing to be ashamed of. You only damned Laketown and its people. Not to mention my people!"

His voice rose to a shout and he stood.

"Have you any idea...?"

She dropped her gaze.

"Raine?"

Despite her will, she looked at Thorin.

"What is he talking about?"

Thranduil ooened his mouth to retort, but she threw herself at his feet, begging him to keep silent. "It has been a constant plague on my journey. Let me tell him," she pleaded. "Can you not see how it hurts me?"

The elf crouched slowly, taking hold of her jaw to look in her eyes.

Raine winced when he dropped her.

"Go, now, Guardian-scum."

She struggled to her feet, shaking slightly as she and Thorin were escorted to cells.

She sat in the corner of the cell they shared, pulling her legs up to her chest and resting her chin on her knees. She heard Thorin pacing.

"What did he mean?" he asked finally. "The elf."

Raine took a deep breath and stood, moving to fit her forehead in the gap between the cell bars.

"I didn't tell you the true story behind the scar," she said, loud enough for the whole Company to hear.

"I was on watch duty one night," she started. "The dragon we were keeping was Smaug. There were more eyes on him than normal as he was growing restless.

"He sensed gold. And lots of it.

"I was supposed to watch the door to his holding. I had the key and I was alert, but somehow still, I fell unconcious and..."

Her voice trailed off.

"I followed him when I woke, but by the time I reached Erebor, he was already claiming his prize."

She heard Thorin inhale sharply.

"It was you..."

"Yes. I watched from the ridge where the Elves were, but hid when you saw me."

She turned and looked at him. "When we escaped the Goblin tunnels, Azog told me--"

Suddenly the lock to their cell was unlocked and Bilbo grinned at them. "Let's get going, shall we?"

In a whirl of activity, the members of the Company was ushered into barrels and tossed into the river.

They were chased by elves and a few orcs, but when Legolas saw Raine's pained and pleading look, he and his redheaded friend started protecting them against the orcs instead.

They washed out on a small beech, but when Raine stood, she found a man armed with a bow pointing an arrow at her chest.

She grunted.

"Raine!" Bilbo said, but Thorin held him back.

"By all means, master archer," he said bitterly. "Do to her what she did to my people. It is no less than she deserves."