Star-Crossed

Chapter 72

"Bard is here. And Thranduil...and his army." Beuren took off down the hall after Dwalin, both desperate to get to the gate. If Thorin started a war they'd kill him. Beuren skidded to a stop as Thorin raced down a set of stairs and to the gate, looking through a narrow hole in order to talk to Bard. 

"I'm listening." Thorin refused to make eye contact, merely staring at the far wall. 

"On behalf of the people of Laketown, I ask that you honor your pledge. A share of the treasure so that they might rebuild their lives." Thorin gave a chuckle.

"I will not treat with any man while an armed host lies before my door."

"That armed host will attack this mountain, if we do not come to terms."

"Your threats do not sway me."

"What of your conscience? Does it not tell you our cause is just?!" Thorin seemed undeterred. "My people offered you help. And in return you brought upon them only ruin and death!"

"When did the men of Laketown come to our aid, but for the promise of rich reward?!"

"A bargain was struck!"

"A bargain?" Thorin turned to face Bard now. "What choice did we have but to barter our birthright for blankets and food? To ransom our future in exchange for our freedom? You call that a fair trade? Tell me, Bard the Dragonslayer...Why should I honor such terms?

"Because you gave us your word. Does that mean nothing?" Thorin turned away from the conversation looking back at his expectant company.

"Be gone, ere arrow fly!" Thorin shouted in response. 

"What are you doing? You cannot go to war!" Bilbo shouted at Thorin. Beuren crept behind a pillar, watching Thorin carefully. 

"This does not concern you." Thorin snapped, shoving past the Hobbit. 

"Excuse me?! But just in case you haven't noticed, there is an army of elves out there. And not to mention several hundred angry fishermen. We-we are in fact outnumbered."

"Not for much longer." Thorin grinned. Beuren's stomach flopped. 

"No. He couldn't have."

"What does that mean?"

"It means Master Baggins, you should never underestimate dwarves." Thorin turned to face his whole company now. "We have reclaimed Erebor - Now we defend it!"

"We are all going to die." Beuren said, pacing the length of her room. Balin, Dwalin, Fili, and Kili stared at the floor in shock. "He's called upon Dain! We are all going to die!" 

"Cousin Dain isn't that bad..." Kili started. 

"Kili, he nearly killed you the first time he met you." Fili interjected. "Damn near dropped an axe on you." 

"We're going to die." Balin agreed. Dwalin nodded in agreement. 

"He obviously doesn't remember what the Greenwood elves are capable of." Dwalin sighed. 

"They're savages." Beuren added. "Complete and utter savages. Elrond refuses to have anything to do with him if he can help it." She looked over at Kili. "Honey, your breastplate is on backwards." He scoffed, looking down to see that it was in fact backward. 

"Damnit."

"He'll be expecting us soon." Balin said, moving towards the door, his armor a little snugger that he'd like to admit. "Let us go." They all filed out the door. 

"Be safe." She muttered, watching hopelessly as her friends left for the gate once more. 

Bilbo crept silently through the ruins of Laketown, no one seeming to notice him for who he was. As he neared the center of town, he saw that a tent had been pitched. Elves and men alike were busying themselves with some chore or another as he snuck past all of them and to the flap of the tent. Inside he heard the voices of Bard and Thranduil, another stood out, one had hadn't heard in a very long while. 

"You, Bowman! Do you agree with this?" Bard sighed, looking from Thradnuil to Gandalf. "Is gold so important to you? Would you buy it with the blood of dwarves?!"

"It will not come to that. This is a fight they cannot win." Bard tired to argue. 

"That won't stop them." Bilbo slipped into the tent. "You think the dwarves will surrender - They won't. They will fight to the death to defend their own."

"Bilbo Baggins!" Gandalf smiled down at him, relief flooding his eyes. 

"If I'm not mistaken, this is the halfling who stole the keys to my dungeons from under the nose of my guards." Thranduil stared harshly down his nose at the Hobbit. 

"Yes...sorry about that." Bard hid his smile by turning his head. "I came to give you this." Bilbo stepped forward, setting a cloth wrapped object on the table. Carefully he unwrapped it, revealing the large white gem. Thranduil rose to his feet, eye widening in surprise. 

"The heart of the mountain! The King's Jewel."

"And worth a king's ransom. How is this yours to give?" Bard looked to the Hobbit. 

"I took it as my fourteenth share of the treasure." Bilbo said. Gandalf smiled slightly. 

"Why would you do this? You owe us no loyalty." Bard seemed genuinely curious. 

"I'm not doing it for you." Bilbo stated matter-of-factly. "I know that dwarves can be obstinate and pigheaded and difficult, suspicious and secretive...with the worst manners you can possibly imagine, but they are also brave and kind...and loyal to a fault. I've grown very fond of them, and I would save them if I can." Bard and Gandalf shared a look. "Thorin values this stone above all else. In exchange for its return, I believe he will give you what you are owed. There will be no need for war!"