𝐄𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐘━︎━︎L. Greenleaf

❝CHAPTER TEN❞

▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐞𝐧 ━︎━︎ 𝐄𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐒 she made her way towards the dungeons, approaching the Dwarves cells only to stop when she saw all of them were empty. She paused, a frown falling on her lips. She could've sworn that this was where all of them were being kept. She frowned, glancing around before her eyes spotted one of the cell doors slightly opened. Her shoulders straightened, a soft curse leaving her lips. She went running. The only way to escape the cells was with a key, and Ellaria knew exactly where they were kept. She came to a stop, pausing to listen. She heard Bilbo's voice as he whispered orders and smile pulled on her lips, quickly she entered the cellar just in time to watch as the Dwarves began to climb into barrels.

     "Well, this is an interesting sight to see." Ellaria commented. All of them froze, turning to look at her only to relax when they realized they hadn't been caught by an enemy. "Hurry, they're coming." When the Dwarves were all in, Ellaria held the handle that would send the barrels into the rushing water underneath. "Hold your breath, Dwarves." She pulled the lever and they all went rolling down and crashing into the water below before the stream began to carry them away. "Go." Ellaria instructed Bilbo. Bilbo looked at her for a moment and she gave him a nod before he followed after the dwarves, jumping into one of their barrels.

     That left Ellaria to innocently stand there as the two guards asleep at the table woke up. She heard Tauriel's voice, watching as she came around the corner of the steps. "Princess," Tauriel breathed. "What are you doing down here?"

     "Well, your King said I was free to roam as I pleased." She looked around before looking back at Tauriel, giving her a knowing smile. "You seem as if you're looking for something. Might I be of any assistance?"

     Tauriel frowned, watching as Ellaria slowly started taking a few steps backwards. "Ellaria, what are you doing?"

     "Distracting you." Ellaria truthfully replied. She took another step and felt the wood beneath her begin to tilt as the hatch opened. "Is it working?" She fell backwards and quickly landed on her feet. She smiled when she saw the Dwarves and Bilbo waiting for her. "You waited for me? How kind. Now, go." She ran beside them as they floated down the river, jumping into one of the empty barrels as the reached the waterfall.

     They all rushed out into the open and despite them no longer being in the actual castle, they were still in Thranduil's territory which meant it wasn't over yet. She looked up as the horn was blown and a curse left her lips. She looked at Thorin. "He's shutting the gates! We're about to reach a dead end." The gates came quickly and Ellaria quickly climbed onto the edge of her barrel before leaping and landing on the grass.

     "What are you doing?" Thorin yelled.

     "Saving your ass! Again!" Ellaria snapped back. She looked up at the guards and before she could even draw a weapon, one of the guards were shot down. Ellaria paused, glancing around before spotting an Orc. "Orcs!" The orc let out a growl before plummeting into the water. Ellaria's eyes widened and she quickly grabbed her bow, notching an arrow and letting it fly when she spotted another Orc approaching. Suddenly, she was surrounded by Orcs. They just kept on coming and Ellaria grunted as she kicked one backwards. One grabbed her from behind, his arms wrapping around her throat. For a moment she struggled to breathe, frantically reaching to grab her knife. When it was in her grasp she reeled her head back, slamming it into the Orc. His grip around her loosened and she quickly spun around and stabbed him in the eye.