"You need to know something," said Fili, taking her face in his large warm hands. "You will always have me. Even if the Valar take you away tomorrow, I will always be your brother. I want you. I'm going to fight Thorin for you, but even if I lose, y...
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In which the snake is revealed.
"Thranduil you cowardly snake! Why have you done this? Why have you betrayed us?" Rage blazed wildly in Thorin's chest as he glared up at the elf king, the shackles on his wrists and ankles clicking in the pursuing silence. Thranduil stood before his throne, his back turned to Thorin who was guarded by four elves. Their spears were held at the ready, poised to strike, the threat clear.
Sara had been ripped from Thorin's side and dragged by the two guards to where only Mahal knew. Even without a weapon of his own Thorin had made an accounting of himself, leaving one unconscious guard to be carried away, and another with blood pouring from his nose, but the moment the elves held a blade to Sara's throat, all the fight had gone out of him like a snuffed candle. Sara had struggled as well but as uncoordinated as she was by the drink, her efforts amounted to little. Thorin had been shackled and dragged here to Thranduils's throne room. How much the situation had changed. Little under two weeks ago he had stood before the elf king, an unbound enemy, but now he met Thranduil as a feathered ally. The elf king turned to him, eyes flashing with barley concealed anger. His voice made no such pretense.
"You call me a snake? It is not I who have deceived a would be ally. You are the one who slithered upon your belly into my kingdom pretending goodwill while concealing the truth. You sought to ally yourself with me while withholding vital information for the safety of my people."
"What truth have we hid from you? We offered you no offence, but instead we have borne your distrust and endured your previous impositions upon us."
"You kept the true nature of one of your company from me," accused Thranduil icily.
"I should have borne you all their life stories?" scoffed Thorin. "That was their business and has little if anything to do with our own. I have sought to make an ally of you for the good of my people. I have kept nothing from you in that regard."
"Then tell me king of the dwarves, who is Sara Miller?"
Thorin's heart stopped as he struggled to control his expression. Sara? Had she been that transparent at dinner? He could admit she had been a bit careless in her speech, but nothing she said should have elicited such a response from Thranduil. Without context her words were mear gibberish. But then why had the guards called her a witch?
"We have told you, she is a woman seeking for her family in Lake town."
"So you have said but that is not all. Tell me, Thorin son of Thrain, how does a mere woman know the future unless she is some sort of witch?" How have they found out? How much do they already know? Did they have proof?
"Who told you she is a witch?"
"That is not your concern," barked Thranduil. "Is Sara Miller a witch or isn't she. Does she indeed know the future?"
