The Adventures of Padfoot

Preparing for War

Song is Victory by Two Steps From Hell.
I am sorry that I have not updated this story in such a long time. Between finals, trying to finish my other book, among other things, I have had very little time to sit down and write. I really hope that y'all enjoy this chapter!

Padfoot's POV

It had been a few weeks since the Elven King, Thranduil, had captured me. During that time I had very little to occupy myself with, save for my annoying the guards posted nearby by barking and howling incessantly. Although there was a feeling of tension in the kingdom, everything had been relatively calm. Therefore it was with great surprise that, on one seemingly random day, the entire kingdom seemed to a bustle of activity. Peeking through the bars of my cell, I glimpsed elves carrying the shiniest suits of armor that I had ever seen. Were they preparing for war then? With whom? Why now?

It was possible that this was connected to my former comrades' quest. Did this mean that they failed, and they were currently preparing to engage an angry dragon that intended on terrorizing the lands? I hoped that Beorn would be okay if that was the case. But, what if the dwarves actually succeeded in taking down the dragon? I had not heard talk of their plans on how to do so. I only heard brief mention of an "Arkenstone."

Thorin seemed set on getting this stone, muttering something about rallying the other dwarves. So, did they mean to simply get the stone now, and then come back later with an army? I hoped that they had a plan if this went wrong, as it was bound to. After all, how could they possibly expect to steal from a dragon of all creatures? I had learned that they were highly intelligent, and always seemed to know when anything out of their hoard was missing. He would probably know if a cup went missing, much less a one-of-a-kind stone!

I was jerked out of my thoughts as footsteps suddenly opened my cage. Before I had time to blink, I was immediately grabbed and hauled along the corridor. I decided that resisting and escaping would probably mean that either I would not find out what was going on or I would probably be treated even more harshly. Probably both. I decided to at least observe my surroundings at the moment and try to figure out what was going on. However, my two captors were silent, and we (strangely) did not encounter any more elves, so I was left in the dark. I was eventually taken outside the indoors part of the kingdom, where I was met by an impressive sight.

It seemed as though King Thranduil had marshaled his entire army. He himself was riding a majestic elk, and the rest were on foot. I did see a cart full of food in the middle, and its presence puzzled. Was this for the people of Erebor, or was something else going on? I was one again jerked out of my thoughts by my handlers escorting me to the wagon. A muzzle was placed on me, and I was chained securely to the cart. Once my handlers had completed their task, I saw them fill in two empty places in the formation. Then, King Thranduil turned towards his army.

"Onwards to Erebor!" he cried out.

And the long march began.

I apologize for the short length of this chapter. I've been really busy lately, and haven't had much time to write. I have another chapter almost completed, so I should be publishing it in a few days. This was meant to get the story moving again. I hope y'all enjoy this!
❤️Soundwave's Wife❤️