Inflamed (Harry Potter & The Hobbit/LOTR Crossover) (LegolasxOC)

19- Barrel Racing

I poked my head around the corner to see the halls empty. Good. Bilbo stuck his own head out, making me repress a smile. "All clear. Which way?" I whispered to the Hobbit. Bilbo pointed in a direction. "This way. Follow me." I mock saluted him, a smile creeping up his face. "Yes, sir." I followed Bilbo, the two of us barely making a sound. From my minimal amount of knowledge on Elves, basically what I've observed, they had very good hearing, keen eyesight, were agile, and light-footed. Which made them hard to sneak up on.

We crept through the place and I found myself surprised at how few guards were on duty. It was beneficial for us, but it showed just how cocky Thranduil was. He was confident that we weren't able to-couldn't-escape Mirkwood. Well, King Thranduil was in for a rude awakening.

As we came to the dungeons, I was relieved to see that no guardsmen were around; just our friends trapped in their cells. We crept up the stone stairs, none of the Dwarves noticing us yet. "I'll wager the sun's on the rise. It must be nearly dawn." Bofur sighed. "We're never going to reach the mountain, are we?" I heard Ori moan.

Bilbo, with keys in hand, leaped up the rest of the stairs. I quickly followed. "Not stuck in here, you're not!" He said, standing in front of Thorin's cell, who shot up immediately. "Bilbo! Paige!" Balin cried. The others started to talk louder and louder when Bilbo shushed them all. "Shhh! There are guards nearby!"

I nodded to Bilbo and started to unlock people with my magic while he unlocked others with the keys. When I unlocked Fíli he launched forward and hugged me tightly. I was surprised by this, but hugged him back. "We were so worried! When Thorin said you were locked up in the throne room we thought you were dead!" he said.

I let go of him, my hands gripping his shoulders. "You can't get rid of me that easily, Fíli." He broke into a grin. I jumped down to Kíli's cell and unlocked him. When the door opened, he too gave me a bone-crushing hug. "I'm going to kill that Elf and his son for threatening to kill you." he growled. I mentally winced. Legolas wasn't all that bad. He could be an asshole sometimes, but that didn't mean I wanted to kill him for it.

I squeezed Kíli's shoulder. "There's no time for that." We jogged over to the others, who were trying to go up the stairs. As they started to climb, Bilbo stopped them, going in another direction. From here on out, I had no idea what Bilbo's plan was, but he seemed to have one. "Not that way, down here. Follow me."

My eyebrows furrowed when we ended up in the wine cellar. Was this part of the plan? The others seemed to think it was a fluke because they all wore aggravated expressions. I shushed them, seeing two Elves passed out on a table with bottles of wine surrounding them. My suspicions were confirmed when Bilbo hissed, "This way."

Kíli, however, did not seem to think this through. "I don't believe it; we're in the cellars!" Quietly, the Dwarves started to get angry at their rescuer. "You were supposed to be leading us out, not further in!" Bofur scowled in a hushed tone. My sympathy went out to Bilbo, who was not only saving our asses yet again, but was getting crap, again, for a plan nobody but him fully understood. "I know what I'm doing!" the Hobbit insisted.

"Everybody shut up!" I hissed to the Company. They all quieted down. "This way." Bilbo whispered, leading us further in. I cocked my head, confused, when Bilbo stopped us in front of a stack of empty barrels. "Everyone, climb into the barrels, quickly!" The Hobbit ordered in a hushed tone. Shrugging, I climbed into a barrel, finding it quite roomy despite its outward appearance.

The others, of course, put up a fight. "Are you mad? They'll find us!" Dwalin argued. Bilbo shook his head. "No, no, they won't, I promise you. Please, please, you must trust me!" No one else got into the barrels, shifting around. We suddenly heard loud voices from upstairs. They must have found the empty cells or my absence in the throne room. Bilbo shot Thorin a pleading look, who nodded his head shortly.