Returning Home: A Hobbit Fanfiction

Chapter 56 - Lost and Found (Should Have Stayed Lost)

~~ Elena ~~

"So what happened next?" Kíli asked, dark eyes flitting between Elena and his brother. 

Elena shrugged, tugging her sleeve back down her arm. "The usual post-dragon-death stuff, I suppose. Fíli bandaged up my arm as best as he could in the chaos, then we went around trying to help any survivors. Even though we'd managed to evacuate most of the town to near the edge of Mirkwood's borders, there were still a lot of people trapped and hurt."

"So where are they now?" Celia frowned. "Did they bring the survivors to Mirkwood with the rest, or did they go to the remains of Dale like in the book?"

"Yes," Elena answered, grinning at her sister's exasperated look. "I think they brought most of the injured people to Mirkwood's borders, but Bard was planning on bringing most of the healthy men with him to Dale when we left." 

She looked down, weighing her next words before she said them. "He decided on that for two reasons. The first, is to ask Thorin for the gold Lake-town was promised for helping them - and the gold we promised for evacuating Lake-town, I suppose," she added. "And the second... the second is because I warned him that he was going to need all able-bodied men and then some for the upcoming battle."

Kíli sighed, rubbing his forehead where it looked like a headache was starting to form. "Okay. Ignoring the second part of that sentence for now, we're still in trouble. The way he is now, I doubt Thorin's going to want to part with any of his gold, promised to another or not."

Celia looked up at him contemplatively. "It's like what you told me a few days ago. People with the gold sickness forget all their morals when it might cost them whatever they're possessive about. Because Thorin's obsessed with his gold, he's not going to care about any oath he might have made previously until he gets over it."

"Yeah, but was that just because of the gold sickness, or was that because of Thranduil?" Elena interjected. "Remember? He came down and made everything worse."

Fíli held his hands up in the air. "Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me now Thranduil's going to come down?" When Celia sheepishly nodded, he groaned and rested his face in his hands. "Is there anything else that's going to happen that we should know about? Like, say, another live dragon that's going to come out of nowhere and kill us all? Stars falling from the sky? Return of the dark lord?" Elena visibly hesitated and he held up a hand to stop her. "No. Just no," he deadpanned. "I'd like to pretend that the future is only partially bleak and not completely, thank you very much."

Elena snickered, patting him on the shoulder. "Sorry, Fíli. But don't you know that things always get worse before they get better?"

"Speaking of," Kíli interrupted them, "How much worse do things get? I know there's a battle, but how serious is it if it's something you're this worried about? Is Thranduil involved with it somehow? I think we need to know what actually happens. I know you can't tell us everything, but you said you could tell us this."

Elena sighed and looked over at her twin, trying to gauge her response. Celia bit her lip for a moment, thinking it over, then shrugged. "We did say that they should know," she pointed out.

"We did," Elena agreed. "But how much can we tell them? What about Ravenhill?"

"We can tell them about Azog, and what happens to get them there," Celia suggested, clearly following the same thought process. "But maybe not what happens with Bolg just yet? Or when they split up?"

Elena squinted, not quite remembering that. "Wait - what happens with Bolg, again?"

Celia shifted in her seat, avoiding the curious eyes of the Durin brothers. "Uh... Do you remember his fight with Tauriel on Ravenhill? The one where the guy she likes gets hit with the giant mace thingy?"