Wayfarer of dawn

In which capture is inevitable

After a long, warm shower, Eleniel softly walked back into the living room. Her right hand was holding onto her hunting dagger, that she'd found in her left boot when undressing. And her left arm was carrying Thorin's heavy cloak.

Her presence in the living room went unnoticed for a while, allowing her to hear the last bits of a heated argument between Bard and the Dwarves. Shaking her head, Eleniel strongly stepped forward, placing a hand upon Bard's youngest's shoulder to calm her. "Thorin, that would be considered stealing!" Thorin whipped around to see a freshly washed elleth, staring at him intently. "Please tell me I misheard your intentions," Eleniel added. "You did not," Thorin replied grufly as he walked up to her to reclaim his cloak. Eleniel, however, pulled the cloak just out of his reach, "a king does not steal," she said as she looked him dead in the eyes. "A king does anything to get back what is rightfully his," Thorin answered angrily as he yanked her closer by her arm, taking his cloak back. "A good king does not," Eleniel countered just as angrily, yanking her arm free from his grip.

Thorin stared at her, fire in his eyes. "What would you have me do woman?!" He threw his arms up in dismay. "To not steal from the hand that reached out to help you in your time of need," Eleniel's voice was leveled and softer, "the people of Laketown will come to know enough ruin by your hands if we aren't careful enough." Thorin looked at her in disbelief and turned around. "We sneak into the armory soon, prepare yourself," he called out to his people and the Hobbit. Eleniel shot an angry look after the Dwarven king, and then stormed out to get a new set of her own clothes.

Bilbo quickly walked after Eleniel, stopping her just before she walked into a small room. "Eleniel," he said softly. "Bilbo," she replied, "how can I help you?" Bilbo's gave her an uncertain smile and let out a soft sigh. "I really wouldn't want to ask this of you, but..." he trailed off uncertainly. "Speak your mind mellon, what is bothering you?" "Go with us, not for Thorin, not really for me either, but for Kili." Eleniel frowned, and then rose an eyebrow. "What's wrong with Kili?" "He's hurt, took an arrow to his leg when we were running from the Orcs, but he's refusing to show it hurts and refusing to stay here when we go," Bilbo quickly explained.

Not nearly three hours later, Eleniel was crouched into waist-deep, ice cold water just outside the armory. "Kili," she muttered softly as she reached the younger Dwarf. "Eleniel, you've joined us," he remarked happily. "Yes, but not for your uncle, for you," she softly explained. The young Dwarf turned a bright red, trying to stay as still as possible while holding his leg under the water. "Not that way you idiot," Eleniel muttered, "your leg." Kili smiled sheepishly, "oh..right, please do not tell my uncle, he will tell me to stay behind." Eleniel sighed and ran a hand through her partially wet hair, "fine, but if it gets worse I will." Kili sighed in response, muttering a soft "fair enough," before rushing after the others. Eleniel shot a quick look at Bilbo, who nodded, before they went after the others too.

Upon entering the armory, Eleniel realised she had gotten herself into quite the predicament. The armory's ground level contained nothing but two rusty, old daggers that hadn't seen the face of war in ages. The true weapons, as an elated Dwalin had told them, were kept upstairs behind a set of old wooden doors. Which meant that Kili would have to climb the stairs with his leg, and that meant that there was the possibility of him falling. Eleniel had gone to stop him from climbing the stairs, but she had been roughly shoved upstairs by an impatient Gloin. And now, she stood halfway the stairs, cradling three swords in her arms.

"Alright lass," Dwalin said with a grin, "pass 'em on to Nori and take these." Eleniel was about to do as she was told when she heard a deafening clang followed by more clangs, and then a dull thud. Immediately she put the swords against the wall, slipping nimbly past the other Dwarves and grabbing onto Kili before he went tumbling down the second stairs. "Eleniel," he murmured softly as he latched onto her arm. "Are you alright?" She asked softly as she pulled him further away from the stairs. "Well..." he trailed off as they heard the door on the ground floor open, followed by the voices of guards. "Stay quiet," Eleniel said softly as she let him go, moving back into the shadows of the wall and pulling her cloak tighter around her.

Eleniel stayed as still as a statue in the shadows of the walls, watching as the guards rounded up the Dwarves and the Hobbit, before dragging them off to the main square. Thanking her Elven heritage and cloak, Eleniel quietly slipped out of the armory and towards the main square, following the Dwarves' angry Khuzdul curses, and the even angrier human shouts.