Taming the Wolf (A Hobbit Fanfic)

Chapter 20

Frêllian sighed. She had no clue what time of day it was, nor how many days had passed. All she had, was her instincts, but she did not dare trust them with all the elven magic lingering around. She was sure at least three days had passed, judging from their meals. But she couldn't tell for certain. And who knew how long they would have to dwell down here in these damn cells?
But she had to keep faith! Bilbo was still out there, she was sure of it! Though the hobbit had once been a scared little fellow, Frêllian had noticed a change within Bilbo. Ever so slightly Bilbo had started to show more of his bravery and he had even saved them from the giant spiders! He sure knew how to defend himself now adays, especially with the training she had given him.
Suddenly a voice snapped her out of her thoughts and Frêllian looked up to see a she-elf standing in front of her prison. Her curious eyes scanning Frêllian carefully. Almost assessing her.
'You are not a dwarrowdam,' she stated, a look of interest on her face, instead of hatred. 'You have the built of a warrior and you carry yourself with pride. Yet you are too fine featured.'
'What of it,' Frêllian growled, not even looking at the female anymore.
'You are a child of the moon, a ferian. Though I must admit, I had thought ferien to be much larger, and much more menacing looking.'
From the corner of their cell, Fíli shook his head in silent warning, mouthing a 'no' to Frêllian upon noticing the smirk on her face. But she ignored him. If the elf wanted fearsome, then she'll have fearsome!
'Perhaps you have been misinformed then,' Frêllian stated, turning around to face the she-elf. 'As you can see, there is nothing frightning about me.'
She flashed the elf a smile, purposefully showing off her sharp fangs. Walking closer to the door, Frêllian kept her eyes trained on the she-elf, like a predator stalking their prey.
Within seconds a large white wolf stood on their hind legs, with its front paws resting against the door. A manacing growl escapes its throat, before snapping its jaws at the elf.
'Or perhaps we are as menacing as you think, but you have never met one before,' Frêllian growled lowly. Her voice a mixed with a feral sound. 'Which explains why you look so frightened.'
Her yellow eyes watched as the elf took a step back. She could hear Fíli sigh from behind her, but chose to ignore him once again. He would not spoil her fun!
'Oh if only you could smell it, Fíli,' she started after a moment of silence. 'The sweet scent of fear. It's one of my favorite scents, because it means food.'
By now her eyes werr on the she-elf again, watching her every move. Hearing her ragged breathing, even if she tried to conceal it.
'I wonder if your king will be frightened too, if he knows who is amongst his prisoners.'
'Lord Thranduil does not fear a lone ferian,' the elf replied bravely, as she found back some of her courage. 'He has dealt with them before and only their alpha is a match to him. And none of us has had dealings with them in ages.'
Frêllian smirked. So it seemed the elven king has had dealings with one of her ancestors. Or perhaps it had just been an ordinary alpha? Then this will surely be interesting.
'An alpha you say? Just an alpha without any special titles?'
The she-elf shook her head. Good! That was all Frêllian had to know. With a blink of an eye, she turned back and reaches her hand through the bars. The startled elf gasped in surprise as Frêllian took hold of her collar and pulled her down.
'Then surely your king will fear for his life once he knows who I am!' As she spoke, Frêllian made sure to keep her voice low and menacing. 'For I am the Alpha Supreme, queen of all ferien! And it would be wise to release me and my company, if you want to keep peace.'
With that said, Frêllian released the female forcefully. She had seen the fear in her eyes. And even in this form, she could smell the fear coming from the she-elf. Yes, she knew what the alpha supreme was. Though she might not know of the powers, she knew the danger of holding royalty prison.
'You really think that scaring that she-elf is going to make Thranduil free us all,' Fíli questioned as he made his way over to her. 'Because I don't think it'll happen.'
'No, it won't,' Frêllian admitted, glancing over to the dwarf for a moment. 'But I had fun scaring her.'

Later that day - or night - the same female elf had returned. Only this time she kept her distance from the ferian.
'So you decide to waste your time in the presence of your prisoners,' Frêllian began as she eyed the other female. 'Personally, I would have stayed with the others, enjoying whatever party you are throwing up there.'
Instead of answering, the elf walked away which humoured Frêllian. She watched the she-elf inspect the other prisoners, before halting in front of the one Kíli was in.
She heard her ask the said dwarf a question, but now Frêllian was no longer interested. Her attention now on the dwarf to her right.
'You know, if we were able to pick this lock, we could escape tonight,' she told him in a hussed voice. 'Those bloody elves are celebrating something, so I bet most guards are gone as well.'
'Well I don't know about you,' Fíli began, looking at her with a doubtful look in his eyes, 'but I don't know how to pick a lock. I'm not exactly a burglar.'
'No,' she agreed with a playful smirk. 'More like a spoiled prince.'
Fíli smirked at this, noticing the playful twinkel in her eyes. A big improvement to the usual haunted eyes. Though she tried to hide it, he had seen straight through her façade from the start. But as strange as it may seem, during their stay in the cells of the elvenkingdom, Frellian had started to losen up as the days passed by.
It was almost like she could relax eventhough she was imprisoned. Then again, that might just be the reason why, Fíli realised. Out in the open they had always been an easy target. And with a pack of orcs, wargs and ferien hunting them, Frêllian might feel responsible for the safety of the company - or pack or whatever she called it. She grew up with those hunting them down, so perhaps she might feel guilty about it somehow. Which there was absolutely no need for, if you' were to ask him.
Or there might be more to to it? Frêllian was the alpha supreme, queen of the ferien. And with that title came responsibility. Just like Thorin, who seemed to be the same as the said female in a way, now that he thought about it. Though with Frêllian still being a young ferian, her playful attitude shone through at the moments she relaxed.
It made him wonder. Did his uncle used to be as easy going as Frêllian? That was hard to imagine. But if that was indeeds so, did the hardness of life and the responsibility of being the heir to the throne make him the dwarf he was today? And did that mean Fíli would turn out just like his uncle one day?
Or was it the character that set Thorin and Frêllian apart? With his uncle always being as serious as he was and Frêllian being playful by nature? And would Fíli be able to deal with the responsibility in his own way once he would feel the pressure of the crown?
His eyes set on the ferian with a soft expression, while she in her turn looked at something outside of their cell with a smirk. The playfulness he had gotten used to, evident in the twinkling of her eyes.
'What are you up to?'
She turned her head towards him, the twinkle still in her eyes as she answered.
'It seems your brother has an admirer,' she told him. 'I'm just pondering over all the possible ways I can tease him with now.'
At this, Fíli smirked as well as he moved over to the ferian. She pointed towards the cell Kíli was in and to Fíli's surprise the she-elf Frêllian had scared earlier, was having a conversation with his brother.
'Really,' he began with a frown. 'Of all females, Kíli has taken interest in an elf?'
'Well of course he can do better than that,' Frêllian agreed. 'But it is something to pester him about. Besides, your uncle would never approve. So no need to worry about it.'
He looked over to Frêllian for a moment and back to his brother. Then he turned around with a sigh, seating himself on the stone bed. Of course Frêllian was right. Thorin would never approve Kíli courting an elf. And Kíli would never go against their uncle. He might be a rebel, but he had respect for Thorin.
But who would Thorin approve? Dwarrowdams were rare and back in Ered Luin the youngest was at least twice their age.
Perhaps Dain had a couple of dwarrowdams at his court closer to their age? And would that be a match Thorin would like to see? Sure their uncle would like to see at least one of his heirs to produce an heir of their own.
Unwillingly his eyes travelled back to Frêllian. He remembered seeing her in this form for the first time and how beautiful he had thought her to be. And after traveling together after such a long time, it would become a difficult task to find a dwarrowdam who could match her beauty.
No, he told himself as he looked at his hands with a frown. There was no dwarrowdam alive who could even dream of coming close to Frêllian's beauty. Only with ferian blood could one come close, for what was part of their beauty, was the fact that they held the beauty of the moon.
Once again he looked at Frêllian as a single question enter his mind.
Would Thorin approve of Frêllian?
Shocked by his own thoughts he started to lay down. Where had that thought come from? It wouldn't even matter if Thorin would approve. There would be no need for it, because Fíli would never court the ferian.
Besides, there would also be Dwalin to approve such a match. And from the way Fíli had seen the said dwarf look at Bilbo at times, he knew the warrior was not yet ready to let go of his most treasured jewel.
Besides, Frêllian had her own responsibilities. She had her own people to lead. Far up in the north, in a forest. A ferian such as herself would never feel at home behind walls.
As Fíli found himself thinking of even more reasons to dismiss his thought, he eventually found himself fall asleep.