Fili

14: Barrel Escape

(Sorry for the long wait, I'll try to update more frequently!)

You bolt upright, pocket knife in hand. You thought you heard something, but seeing no one, you figure it's just your mind playing tricks.

You look at your knife, remembering your plan to escape last night. You fell asleep before Tauriel left and hadn't had the chance to pick the lock of your jail cell.

Now, you have a chance at escaping. You reach your tiny hand through the bars of the jail cell door and grab the lock. You pick at the lock with your knife, hoping that it will pop open. It doesn't.

You kick the wall in frustration, hitting it with full force. (A big mistake). Your foot becomes overwhelmed with a sharp pain, making you instantly regret it. You are about to yell in pain, but you hold back. The sound of shuffling feet catches your attention and you are distracted from your pain. You slip your knife back into your pocket, not wanting to get caught. You suspect it's just an elf guard, coming to check up on prisoners.

The owner of the shuffling feet comes into view. Your jaw drops as you realize who it is.

"Bilbo!" You whisper excitedly.

The hobbit smiles and pulls out a key from behind his back.

You stand there in utter shock as Bilbo quickly unlocks each of the cells.

An exited murmur breaks out among the dwarves, but the hobbit holds a finger to his lips, silencing them. He seems to have a plan and you intend to follow it, no questions asked.

You feel a hand on your waist and turn around to face Fili. You both share the same wide-eyed look of excitement, fueled by adrenaline and the thrill of the adventure.

You walk swiftly down the dimly lit corridors of the elven palace. Every now and then you stop, listening to make sure no elves are coming your way.

A few minutes later, you enter a large room. The walls are lined with racks of wine. Fifteen empty barrels sit in the corner, stacked on top of each other. Two elven guards sit, passed out at a table, hands still clasped tightly around glasses of wine.

"Quickly! Into the barrels!" Bilbo whispers.

Fili lifts you onto his shoulders so you can climb into one of the barrels on the top row. He gets into the one below you.

"Ok, here we go," Bilbo mutters under his breath as he pulls a lever.

A trap door opens and the barrels begin to roll out, into the frigid water of the river below. You, Fili, and Kili all share the same look of excitement. You've been craving adventure and now it's finally at your fingertips.

Water splashes your face as your barrel lands in the river. Cold wind rushes through your hair. There's adventure ahead, you can feel it.

Your excitement only lasts a second because you remember that Bilbo was too busy directing the dwarves into barrels that he forgot to get in one himself. You whip around just quick enough to see the trap door slam shut.

You keep your gaze on the trap door for another few seconds. Your panic is diminished as you hear the yells of the hobbit as the door reopens and he falls into the water with a splash.

Thorin hauls the hobbit out of the water and puts him in an empty barrel.

After a few minutes, the river becomes bumpy. At first, there are just a few small waterfalls. Soon, you start to see more hazards like large rocks and sharp turns. You gasp as you just barely escape being impaled by a jagged rock sticking out of the water.

"Orcs!" Dwalin points to the land running along the river.

Hundreds of orcs flood into the area, chasing the barrels down the river.

One of them leaps onto Kili's barrel, but before The orc has a chance to attack, it falls into the water dead. An arrow is lodged in it's back.

You turn around to see dozens of elves, armed with bows and arrows.

The elves are an effective distraction, taking the focus of the orcs away from the Company.

You pass under a bridge where Tauriel fights a large orc. Your eyes widen as another massive orc approaches her from behind.

You reach into your pocket and grip your pocket knife tightly, before gritting your teeth and throwing it with an amount of force you didn't know you were capable of.

It hits its mark, nailing the orc in the head. It falls to the ground, instantly killed. The orc Tauriel was battling is also dead now.

She whips her head around, looking at the fallen orc behind her and then letting her eyes drift down to you. Her expression shifts from shocked and relieved to a look of betrayal and disappointment as you make eye contact.

She shakes her head, one by one remembering every nice thing she did for you and regretting it. It's as if you can see her mind, searching through memories and deleting every one containing you.

You press your lips together and flash her a look of 'I'm sorry' as your barrel rounds the corner, out of Tauriel's sight.

Kili looks at Tauriel one more time... probably the last time.

He loved her. You can tell by the look in his eyes. He looks defeated.

You know you shouldn't feel guilty for escaping, but you do. You feel bad for breaking Tauriel's trust, but if you and the dwarves hadn't left, the company wouldn't make it to the mountain in time for Durin's Day and this journey would be pointless.