Fili

13: Captured by Elves

Your axe is pulled right out of your hands.

"Hey! That's MINE!" You snap, through gritted teeth, "and get your hands off of me!"

"Lay down your arms!" A redheaded elf woman orders.

In response, you cross your arms and refuse to give up your possessions. The elves have no choice but to search you. Your daggers are in plain sight, so they are instantly removed, the scabbard carelessly ripped from your back. The places where your throwing axes were once stored are clearly empty, but those are thoroughly checked anyway. The pockets of your coat are then emptied. There wasn't much in there anyway, just some hair ribbons and a few small rocks you picked up that you liked.

Finally, the elves are satisfied and leave you alone. The peace doesn't last for long. Seconds later, your hands are pinned down tightly behind your back and tied together, making you unable to fight back. You are escorted into a lineup with the others. An elf guard stands on either side of you.

Fili is the only one still being searched. You watch as the elves pull at least a dozen knives from just his coat pockets alone.

"Here, hold these." The elf who was searching Fili passes a large armload of knives off to another elf beside him, before going back to searching.

The elf raises an eyebrow, looking at Fili, and then at the massive pile of knives in disbelief.

Fili just shrugs.

You bite your lip, curious to see if they'll find them all. You know exactly how many more are left to find and you know where each and every one is hidden.

You look at the ground to try and hide the smirk on your face as the elves give up. Fili's hands are tied up too before he's pushed into line with the rest of the dwarves. You manage to make eye contact with him for just a second before he's given a push and told to face the front. You swear you saw him wink.

•••

You are lead through the forest until you reach what must be some sort of elf palace. Once inside, everyone but Thorin is taken to be locked up in cells.

You're up first. You are pulled to the front of the line and pushed into the first cell. Fili is next. You watch as an elf removes another knife from his coat.

You press your lips together, disappointed. That was the last of Fili's knives. You had been crossing your fingers, hoping the elves wouldn't find them all, but they did. Fili groans as the knife is confiscated. Before he is given a chance to fight back, he is thrown into the cell beside you.

You know there's no point in trying to break free while the elf guards are still here, watching on every move you make. You slump against the wall, trying to get somewhat comfortable, knowing you'll likely be here for a while.

•••

It's at least an hour later when Thorin is brought to join the rest of the Company. The elf king, Thranduil must have had a lot to say to him.

For a while, there is a lot of frustrated yelling along with the sound of Thorin throwing himself at the bars of the cell gate. He makes multiple unsuccessful attempts to break free before eventually giving up.

You decide to get some rest. You lie down on your stomach, but can't seem to get comfortable. Something sharp keeps scratching and poking at your skin.

Suddenly, you remember your pocket knife. It's still hidden away in the inside pocket of your coat. The thick fur lining the inside of the coat must have concealed the opening of the pocket, preventing the elves from finding it!

You slide your hand inside your pocket, wrapping your fingers tightly around the handle of the knife.

You are about to attempt to pick the lock with the knife, when you hear footsteps. You quickly put the knife back in your pocket and return to your former position, slumped against the wall, showing no emotion.

The female elf, who's name, you now know is Tauriel, walks towards you with something in her hand. She approaches your cell.

"I believe these belong to you." She holds out your hair ribbons, which were taken away when you were captured.

"T-Thank you," you stutter, not quite sure how to react.

"King Thranduil was only concerned about weapons. I figured these weren't a threat and could be returned to you."  She drops the ribbons into your hand.

She looks away, before moving on to deliver a few items, including Gloin's family picture and a knitted cowl that must belong to Ori. If it had been any other elf, you're sure they would have carelessly thrown your possessions away.

You decide to re-braid your tangled hair. You pick out a shiny gold hair ribbon; a sharp contrast to your dirty, blood-stained clothes.

As you tie off the loose plait with the ribbon, you hear Kili talking to Tauriel. You lie down and close your eyes, listening to him tell stories about home while you fall asleep.