Breath of Life

Chapter 5

"This horse is big! Too big for a hobbit!" Bilbo exclaims. I roll my eyes. "You don't have to ride it by yourself, I will conduct it, you just have to hold on tight." I chuckled. "But it has eight legs! I never saw a pony or a horse with eight legs!" - "Well, this is practically not only my horse but also my stepbrother." He looked at me with wide eyes and a puzzled expression. "Wha..." - "Bilbo, meet Sleipnir and Sleipnir meet Bilbo." Sleipnir huffed on Bilbo and immediately nuzzled his nose on him. "He likes you." I simply stated. "He's really impressive, that it scares me a bit." I shook my head. "You don't have to be scared. He's tame.

We mounted on Sleipnir, with Bilbo on my front grabbing the reins tight for dear life. We galloped through the forest short before the gates of the massive kingdom of Thranduil, the king of the wood elves. I bind Sleipnir on a good hidden tree, made sure no one would spot him and we crawl near the gates. Before bilbo set his ring again on his finger he turned back to me. "The elves have some sort of contract with the people of Laketown. They deliver him wine and when the barrels are empty, they ship them back to them via a river, where they gather them and ship them further in the town. I think the dwarves fit in the barrels, it's the only possibility to flee. My part is I shift into a guard and prepare anything, but you have to be quick, okay? You go and free the dwarves and we meet in the wine cellar.

He just nodded and again, he disappeared in nothing but thin air. It's showtime! I shape-shifted into an elf-guardian and good, I knew about the plan, that they are about to making a feast in the woods. I walk in my form to the gates and salute another elf who was look out for the gate. He saluted back and I searched for the responsible for the wine cellar. I went down to the cellar and met him. "I was ordered from the king himself to try the wine for the feast, you know, he wants only the finest!" I grinned at him. "You are the captain of the dungeons?" He asked me. "Yes. The dwarves are all in the dungeons, nothing happens all day, what will they do? They are in durance vile!" I laughed and he laughed along with me. Stupid elf. I thought to myself.

"Well if we drink, it doesn't bother anyone, does it?" He said with a smirk. I nod. "Yes, let's try the precious wine, before they drink it all at the feast. At least our hard work must be rewarded in any way!" I pretended to snort with laughter. "Go and get some wineglass while I open a barrel." I instructed him and he did so, disappear for a moment in another chamber. I took the harmless poison out of my ring and pour a bit of it in the barrel. It was a poison of a plant named Amrilia, who grows only in Mirkwood. It makes you sleep for days, not remembering anything from the last two days when you awake again.

"Well, here it is, let's start with the trial!" He snorted and drank his glass in one gulp. That went quick! In the next moment he felt a dizziness and was about to bang with his head on the table, when I reached forward to catch the head and lay it gently on the table. 

A few seconds later I heard a tiny whistler and I turned around to nod as sign, that the coast is clear. And there stumbled all the thirteen dwarves with a wondering expression towards me. I winked at Bilbo and he nodded. "Who is that?" A younger dwarf asked Bilbo. "You will see. Now I told you the plan, get in these barrels and just shut up!" - "That seems like an elf!" An elder dwarf with dark hair exclaimed. I suppose, it was Thorin. "Did you cooperate with the elves?" Another bald dwarf shout. Bilbo rolled his eyes. He had a bunch work to do with them. "I'm no foe and I will do no harm to you, but if you don't stop to shout, the guards will soon know, that you escaped and will drag you back in the dungeons! Do you want that?" I looked at all of them. I now shifted in my previous form, as a woman. I saw all stare at me in awe. "If not, you have to listen to me and Mister Baggins! Explanations will follow later." Bilbo and I closed all of the barrels and opened the gate to the river. I heard some grumbles and cursing, but I just ignored them.

Bilbo, happy of his work stood with his hands on his hips and smiled, when the gate opened and the barrels disappeared out of view. "Ahem Bilbo... we forgot you!" I exclaimed and internally face-palmed me. "Oh..." Before he could say anything I grabbed Bilbo and jumped through the gate in the cold water. Bilbo held on thight of the barrel of the leader and I shifted into a mermaid and held on the barrel of a young blonde dwarf. He looked down at me in awe. "Wha... What are you?" I rolled my eyes. "Keep tales for later." I just stated sarcastic and tried to focus on my plan. I thought in the meantime he looked away but I could feel his intense stare at me.