Ya'aburnee

Jailbreak

Not long after Liv explained her story, Balin had decided to take some rest, although the human girl still stood at the door to her cell, looking out. She locked eyes with the red-headed elf as she passed, the elf in question looking nervous, as if questioning herself as she walked down to the far end of the row of cells, where Kili was held.

Liv let a smirk onto her lips, turning away from the door to go sit on the ground. She knew Kili pretty well at this point, and he had avidly explained how he 'definitely did not think that elves were pretty' enough times for her to know that the exact opposite was true. The red-headed elf did not pass back through for several hours, and she knew that she sat outside Kili's cell, conversing with the dwarf.

***

It had been nearly a week, since she had told Balin about her family. She sat in the corner, looking at the photograph in the dark, thumbs brushing around the edges. "Are they your family?" At the deep voice she looked up, Thorin sitting across the cell from her, facing towards her. She nodded. He stood, walking to the door of the cell to look out. "You do not speak of them often..." He turned to look at her, walking slowly over to join her.

She fidgeted awkwardly with her hands. "Not for a lack of love." She shook her head. For a moment, she allowed herself to pretend they were alive. "They are the closest friends I have ever had..."

"Do they know you are here, following a group of Dwarves on a mad quest?"

She laughed, but shook her head, saying with a hint of playfulness, "It is my best kept secret."

"Do you keep many secrets?" He asked her, her heart skipping a beat.

"A few. I am not exactly an open book." She smiled wryly at him. "I don't withhold anything that I think might endanger the company." He hummed in confirmation to her words. "Do you believe me?"

"Yes," He said after a moment. "You are a mystery, Olivia Lund... But I believe that I trust you."

She smiled slightly at that. "I trust you too, Thorin Oakenshield."

"I am lucky that you have found my cause worthy enough to follow a mad, old dwarf, Olivia."

She nearly shuddered at the way he said her name, closing her eyes and leaning her head back lazily. She risked a chance, her head lolling to the side to rest on his shoulder, gauging his reaction. He froze for a moment, but relaxed, sighing deeply, as if content, his own eyes shutting as well.

***

"I'll wager the sun is on the rise," Bofur spoke loudly. It had been weeks since they were first captured, and Liv figured that it was mid-October already. She had known to expect to wait in here for nearly a month, but she didn't realize how long a month felt when you were confined to a small room. Bilbo was coming, she knew, he just needed to find them, and make a plan. Thorin had woken a few hours prior, sitting silently next to Liv on the floor of the cell. They knew each other very well now, the only real entertainment they had was talking for hours. "Must be nearly dawn."

"We're never going to reach the mountain, are we?" Ori asked sadly.

"Not locked in here you won't," Came Bilbo's voice softly as he appeared, rattling the keys.

Olivia grinned and Thorin gasped, standing quickly to his feet, followed by Liv to the door of the cell.

"Bilbo!" Balin shouted,

"Shh! There are guards nearby!" Bilbo whispered loudly at the racket the dwarves were starting to make, unlocking Thorin and Liv's cell, before moving to go unlock some of the others.

Balin chuckled as he was released, realizing he had underestimated the halfling yet again. "Close the doors," Thorin instructed quietly, "It will buy us more time."

The company began to group together again, Liv working on counting heads and keeping them quiet. "Hurry," Thorin instructed in a whisper, "Up the stairs."

"You first Ori," Dwalin instructed.

"Not that way," Bilbo drew their attention, "Down here, follow me."

"Go," Fili said, motioning for the dwarves in front of him to follow Bilbo. Liv and Thorin stayed in the back, following the group down the stairs, deeper into the underbelly of the city.

The dwarves were stopped, clumping together at the bottom of the stairs. "This way," Bilbo whispered, motioning for the group to follow him. There were two or three snoring elves at a table in the corner, the group creeping as quietly as they could. "Come on."

Kili was the first to notice that there were no obvious doors to the outside. "I don't believe it, we're the cellars!" He whisper-yelled at Bilbo.

"You were supposed to be leading us out, not further in!" Bofur was infuriated as well, but had to keep his voice to a whisper.

"I know what I'm doing," Bilbo argued back. Bofur shushing him angrily as he walked past, Bilbo rolling his eyes in annoyance. Still, he stood at the corner, pointing the dwarves in the right direction.

"This way, this way," Bilbo kept quiet, pointing them down towards a pile of barrels. "Everyone climb into the barrels quickly," Bilbo said, earning an angry glare from Dwalin.

"Are you mad?" The dwarf warrior asked him, the hobbit gulping nervously. "They'll find us."

"No, no, they won't, I promise you." Bilbo vowed, Olivia coming to a stop beside the halfling, alongside Thorin. "Please," Bilbo spoke to the group behind Dwalin, "Please, you must trust me." The dwarves started dallying, discussing and arguing quietly amongst themselves. Bilbo looked up desperately to Thorin.

"Do as he says," Thorin whispered the command with little hesitation, and Liv descended the small flight of stairs to start helping the dwarves into the barrels.

They argued and grumped quietly, but eventually, they all were in, Liv, Thorin, Dwalin, and Fili all climbing into barrels last. Bilbo still stood nearby, as Dori announced quietly, "Everyone's in."

"What do we do now?" Bofur said, sticking his head out, and soon twelve other heads poked out of their own barrels to look at Bilbo. Liv was just trying to keep herself fully wedged in her barrel, both too thin to fit snugly, and limbs too long to not fold awkwardly around her.

"Hold your breath," Bilbo instructed simply.

"Hold my breath? What do you mean?" Bilbo did not bother answering Bofur's question, as the ground beneath them tilted and the barrels began to roll. Liv thought she was going to be sick, screwing her eyes shut and taking a deep breath as they hit the freezing water.

She gasped out at the feeling of the cold like needles in her skin, shivering. The trapdoor shut above them. "What about Bilbo?" Bofur asked, looking up.

"We wait for him," Thorin ordered, "I'm sure he has a plan."

Several seconds passed, and nothing, but suddenly, the door creaked from above, and Bilbo screamed, slipping down it and plummeting into the freezing water. He was grabbed by Nori, spluttering and looking like a drowned rat.

"Well done Master Baggins." Thorin congratulated him, and Bilbo, still catching his breath, nodded and waved his thanks half-heartedly. "Go! Come on, let's go!" Thorin ordered, and they were off in their barrels down the river.