Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings Imagines

Legolas ~ Shorty

"Hey Blondie, do you intend to strip me of my armour too?"

The voice made Legolas turn, one of the cells being occupied by a red headed dwarf, arms folded and glaring at him.  The absurdity of calling him Blondie not lost on him.

"Is there a reason I should not?"  He asked.

The dwarf frowns angrily.  "Yeah, because I'm a woman and hardly find it appropriate."

He raises an eyebrow and examines the dwarf, and notices, that she was, in fact, a woman.

"That's right twinkle toes,"  She snaps.  "I figured I'd have to point it out."

"You tell him Dala!"  Dwalin shouts with cheers from the others.

"You have no use for your armour, so like the others, it will be taken from you."  He says sternly.

"Not a chance, Shorty."  She snarls.  "Not unless you and your Blondie friends want to hold me down and forcibly strip me."  Her eyes flash dangerously.  "Which I wouldn't recommend."

Legolas frowns at her.  She was completely serious.

"The King ordered them all to be stripped, my lord."  One of the guards said to him.

"Well then tell your King to go stuff himself!"  She snapped, causing a surprised look on both Legolas and the guards faces, so a smug look came over hers.  "Yeah, that's right, I understand your damned language, so don't even think of trying to plan anything against me."

"And how would a dwarf know our language?"  Legolas asked angrily.

"Because it is necessary for me to know."  She replies.  "So you can bite me with your superior arrogance, Shorty."

The guards were shocked, both that she could speak their tongue and that she was daring to insult Legolas.

Legolas stared down the dwarf, his interest peaked, but he knew that she would not give answers very willingly.  Instead, he just tilts her head.

"Leave her be."  He says to the guards.  "If Father asks, say I did not allow it."

The guards look nervous, but nod.  With a final glance at her, Legolas too leaves.

Dala snorts as he walks away, the dwarves congratulating her on getting him to back off, although, it was short lived as they still had no way out of the cells.

Sometime later, Legolas found himself back in the cells, he'd been looking for Tauriel, who he'd found talking to one of the other dwarves, and he would have gone and said something had his attention not been drawn by another red head.

Dala was sitting by the door of her cell, a small knife in her hand carving something.  He walks towards her before even really thinking of what he was doing.

"How did you get that knife?"  He asked quietly.

She does not look up.  "I keep it in my boot.  Don't worry, I can't do much with it, it's not made for that purpose."

He watches her carve at the small piece of wood and he became very aware that there are a few pairs of eyes on him.

"Ignore them, they are just protective."  She says.  "Much like you with the one talking to Kili."

"Well, we have to be protective of our own, don't we?"  He asked, ignoring the eyes on him.  "You did not answer my question before."

Dala continues working, still not looking up at him, something that he does not appreciate.  "Does it matter?"

"Yes."