Land of the King (Thranduil Fanfiction)

V: Escape

The prison was situated at the lower part of the palace. Along their way, they saw a series of bridges and staircases each leading to different tunnels. As they went deeper, the lights were also going dimmer. The prison cells were lined along the sides of the staircase. It extends down to the deeper part of the cave. Different ugly creatures inside the cells snarled at them as they passed. Some cells were empty, while others have skeletal remains. The twins were thrown away on the next empty cell.

It was small and dark. There's a bed made from carved rock coated with dirty rags. "I don't want to spend my entire dream being imprisoned." Conner complained at his sister. The guards started leaving. The twins overheard them talking about the celebration of the elves while they were being brought there. "This isn't a dream Conner, this is real" His sister tried convincing him. "How can any of this be real? Giant spiders? Elves? Those creatures?" Conner told his sister as if to say she's out of her mind. Alex rolled her eyes and sighed as she laid her back on the bars. She started thinking on how could they possibly escape.

"Hey! What did you do?" an unknown hoarse voice talked to them. They looked around and figured it was coming from the cell in front of theirs. And he was not alone, he was with, if they've counted correctly, twelve other men. Each of them wore a different fancy beard, and their heights were shorter compared to an average man.

"We were lost and tried looking for help and whoop we're here." Conner replied to the bearded man. "How about you? Why are you here?" he asked.

"On a quest when the elves found us, offered help but Thranduil imprisoned us when we refused!" He answered furiously and snorted.

"But why would you refuse a help? That was your chance." Conner curiously asked. And all of the men from the other cell went silent and one started coughing.

"Elves are not to be trusted." another bearded man among them replied with a bitter tone. He was standing at the farthest part of their cell. Though there's little light, Conner can see his long black curly beard and hair. He didn't know anymore what to say so he preferred to stay silent.

Alex was quietly listening when she suddenly felt someone is coming. She quickly checked who's approaching but there's nobody. And in that instant, a short man appeared walking towards the cells. Unlike the stunted men, this one was beardless. He has a curly brown hair and a pair of dark brown eyes. They watched him as he approached the other cell.

"Bilbo!" The men in the other cell cheered upon seeing the little man. "Shhh. Stay quiet. They might hear us" Bilbo silenced them and started unlocking the cell gate. "How did you.." the other man asked. "I'll tell you later." and he successfully opened the gate and the dwarf men started escaping.

"Wait, please, help us escape, we're innocent." Alex begged in a shabby voice. Bilbo pitied them and walked towards the twins' cell. "Hurry, Bilbo." the black bearded man called him. "Ah yes, Thorin."

He hesitated at first, but he felt the goodness in the twins and gave the keys eventually. "There isn't much time, but you can take these keys and be careful" Alex received the keys from Bilbo and thanked him. Bilbo hurriedly ran down the staircase and was immediately out of their sight.

Alex started unlocking the gate. It took her a couple of keys before she found the right one. They swiftly opened the bars and followed the path of Bilbo and the dwarves. They reached the lowest part of the palace and entered a room full of barrels and wines. They've caught up Bilbo repeatedly jumping on the cellar's floor before it finally tilted and he slid out of the exit.

All of a sudden, they heard the guards drawing near. At once, Conner dashed to the platform and unintentionally slid without her sister. Alex tried to jump right after him but she was grabbed on her wrist and an arm wrapped around her before she can even move. "Conner!" She shouted as her brother fell and drifted away with the currents. She tried loosing on the grip, but it was too strong for her to break. "Alex!" he called but the tide was rapid and he couldn't do anything. In just a blink, he was carried away by the stream along with the other men. Please don't leave me. And for the first time, the twins were separated from each other.

The man released her from his grip when an army of elves came rushing in to secure no one else can escape their territory. Alex burst into tears. She never felt so helpless in her whole life. At that very moment, her feelings were a mix of fear, anger, and sadness. Part of her feared the fate of her brother being all alone with the outside world. The thought of hate and vengeance against their captors was also flowing within her. Still, the great part of her mourned for her sudden parting from her brother. She would never forgive herself if anything bad happens to him.

"Don't worry. We'll find him." said the man who stopped her from escaping. There's no need for her to turn around for she recognized this man's voice. She can't believed that the man who held her was none other than the King.

"It's safer to stay here." he said and she knew he was telling the truth. They'll never survive a day out there, but perhaps it was better than to be locked in a cell forever. For the second time, the King grabbed her but in a gentler manner. Forgive me. She jerked when she heard a voice in her mind. She turned around with a startled look and examined every elf in the room. "Did you hear that?" she asked them. They all looked at her clueless on what she's babbling about. After receiving a cold response, she thought the place was driving her mad that she started hearing voices inside her head. She was such a mess she didn't notice the King was still holding her wrist. The King attempted to wipe off her teary eyes but she quickly did it herself. He let go of her when he observed she was feeling anxious.

"Come with me." the King said and walked away. Paralyzed from the events that happened, she didn't move an inch from where she's standing. The King stopped when he noticed she wasn't following. He nobly turned and walked back to her again. "Then, let me walk you." the King said and offered his arm to Alex. Her angst was drowning her other feelings and emotions. Nothing was making sense to her. Everything seemed unpredictable. The events were happening so rapidly. She took a deep breath and convinced herself it will be alright, before taking the King's arm.

They left the cellar and took a different path. She was quietly relieved when they didn't take the staircase that leads to the prison. Though, she can't stop thinking about her brother. Fear and worry was all over her face.

"He'll be back" King Thranduil guaranteed her.

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A/N: Thanks again! Don't forget to comment/vote :DD