A War Not Yet Won {Thorin Oakenshield Sequel to My Heart My Mountain My King}

Chapter 14 - Coaxing Thranduil

I awoke some time later. The room was dark yet warm. I realized that I was on a bed concealed by a canopy. This bed and canopy seemed familiar...

I rose up, but some one gently pushed my shoulder back to the pillows. I looked to my left to see who it was.

"Don't move," the person said gently.

"Aragorn?" I asked.

The pain in my head suddenly rushed back to me. I winced and brought a hand to it. He swatted it away.

"Aragorn, where am I? What happened?"

He stood up from the chair next to the bed he was sitting in. I noticed a fireplace was lit. He paced back and forth in front of the bed.

"Legolas and I saw you running along on a landing from above. We saw that you fell and went unconscious. Little did we know that when we came to rescue you, Azog the Defiler was already starting to take you away."

I let out a sharp breath. Azog? He had tried to take me? But why? Why not just kill me?

"But you still managed to rescue me," I stated. "How?"

"It took a bit of strategy, but we managed to scare him off."

"Where is 'we'?"

"Mirkwood. Thranduil did not wish to make the same mistake of turning down dwarves as he did when Smaug overtook Erebor."

I felt the sheets. The aura of the room. Everything felt so eerily familiar.

"Strider, why is the bed so horribly comfortable?" I questioned. He turned and faced me.

"That is King Thranduil's bed. He insisted that you have the most comfortable resting place to recover."

I weakly smiled to myself. I thought of my husband.

"Thorin?" I asked. "Where is he?"

Aragorn sighed. "Jaedda, the mountain is lost."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked with a shaky voice.

"It has been overrun by Orcs. The Necromancer's wish has been fulfilled." He walked up to me and kneeled next to my spot on the bed. "They took many prisoners, Thorin, Kili and Fili are among them."

I gasped. "Aragorn! We have to save them! Azog is going to kill them for sure! It was his goal all along."

"The Orcs won't kill Thorin or any of them."

I cocked my head. "What makes you say that?"

"There is something that they must know. And they cannot get that answer from three corpses."

I lifted an eyebrow. "What do they need?"

"The Arkenstone."

I suddenly remembered that I had stolen the Arkenstone from the throne and run off with it. I violently searched around in my pockets for it, but it was gone. He chuckled.

"Don't worry. It is safe and sound." Aragorn gestured to a table. I saw the Arkenstone resting on it. I let out a sigh of relief.

"So, what now?"

"Do you feel dizzy or nauseated?"

I shook my head.

"Then follow me."

He helped me up and we exited out of Thranduil's chambers to go meet in the throne room. Legolas wasn't present, but Tauriel, Gandalf, Balin, Kester and Tasar were all gathered in front of Thranduil.