Predator or Prey | The Hobbit

EIGHTEEN

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Predator or Prey

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

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Selene and the dwarves were stuck in the Woodland Realm for a few days. Bilbo was never caught when the elves first made their appearance in the forest, so they all believed he would come save them. He always did.

While they waited, the dwarves stayed in their cells. The elves gave them food and water daily, they weren't that cruel. But they still talked down on them when one of them said a word.

The first day they were captured and imprisoned, Thranduil and his guards laid their hands on her. It did not last long, luckily. The elf king was curious how her blood worked, so he did whatever he could do to cut her skin open, whether it was with the whip or the hands of his guards, just to watch her wounds heal. At the same time, he wanted her to feel the wrath that he felt many years back when he dealt with a northern-Drake himself. So, he took it out on her.

By the time they were done with her, she could barely walk so the guards had to dragg her to her cell. The dwarves all gasped and called out to her, but she could not speak. She remembered how disgusted the dwarves were in the elves for laying even one finger on her. She was weak, bruised and bleeding - which clenched the hearts of the dwarves who all cared for the woman.

Now, she sat in her cell not too far from the door, listening to Bombur complain about how hungry he was.

"I'll wager the sun is on the rise. Must be nearly dawn." Bofur said, he sounded tired.

"We're never going to reach the mountain, are we?" Ori piped in, looking out between the bars of his cell door.

Selene heard a couple sighs of disappointment and she did the same, sighing quietly.

"Not stuck in here, you're not." A familiar voice said, rattling some keys. It was Bilbo.

"Bilbo!" Selene and Balin exclaimed happily. He was finally here! Their burglar had arrived and came to set them free.

The other dwarves became excited too, their volume rising slightly and Bilbo had to quickly shush them. Telling them that there were still guards nearby. The hobbit ran from door to door, unlocking the cells for his friends. Selene was the last one to be free as her cell was further away from the rest.

"Bilbo!" Selene bent down and wrapped her arms around the small hobbit, squeezing him. "I am so glad to see you're okay." She placed him back down and he smiled at her, but it quickly went away when he looked at her.

"What happened to you?" Bilbo asked, studying the marks on her face. His eyes trailed down to her arms and legs, where more cuts and bruises were.

Selene swallowed shakily and tried to play it off with a smile. "Let's not talk about it right now."

Bilbo understood and walked away to join the dwarves who all waited. The dwarves all had their eyes on Selene and she could feel it. When she looked up, they all looked away. Her hard, gold eyes spooked them and they definitely did not want to make her upset. They already knew what happened since she told them when she was put into her cell the first night.

"Down here. Follow me!" Bilbo said in a hushed whisper, running down the steps. Selene followed after him, then the dwarves joined.

Eventually, they were out of the prison hall and were now in the cellar where a few elves were asleep on a table. Bottles of wine spread out around the table they sat around.