A/N: Guys! This is a REVISED/NEW VERSION of 'A Dark-haired Companion', written by my sister who recently has been buried under paperwork (She's still alive. Barely). She won't be able to continue it. And I, for one, loved my sister's story! She had it all planned out, that little witch. So, with her permission, I decided to continue her story—of course with changes I made. Review and rate!

Disclaimer: All characters, places, and languages are properties of the Great, Wonderful, and Amazing J.R.R. Tolkien otherwise, shall be stated.

Chapter 1: Incidental encounters

Loud shouts roused the young traveler from her sleep. She had been travelling on the Great East Road for days and nights with little sleep. From the Grey Havens she had come, accompanying one of her elven friends leaving for Valinor. She stopped at The Shire for a quick rest for her horse. She had enjoyed her stay in the peaceful land of the Shire where there were no orcs or goblins or any foul creatures. She was even offered a pouch of pipe-weed when one of the bar-folk saw her enjoying a smoke as she drank her ale. To much of her enjoyment, she had stayed quite too long and she had feared that she would be a cause of worry back at her home. She left the Shire with a bittersweet farewell to her new-found friends. She rode non-stop until she reached the Trollshaws and only wished to recuperate before she head back to her home.

It felt as if she had only just closed her eyes when the shouting began and despite her exhaustion, her curiosity would not allow her sleep. It had always been her weakness even when she was young. She had to know. She had to always find out.

To sate her curiosity, she pushed herself up and followed the direction of the ruckus silently. Soon, she found herself gazing upon three hideous mountain trolls, spit-roasting a band of dwarves. She wondered why there were trolls here, not in the Ettenmoors where they usually dwelt. And more she wondered why there were dwarves in the Trollshaws—not that it was queer to find travelers on the Great East Road but to be captured and strung over the fire and .bagged in sacks... And more and more she wondered as to why a hobbit stood in front of these trolls, making ridiculous excuses.

She hid among the trees and watched the trolls, listening to their babble with the hobbit. She didn't know how she could help the dwarves—not that she had any plans of helping them at all—and the hobbit—that one she could help. She didn't want to be guilt-ridden if any of these fools died so stupidly.

"What a load of rubbish! I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scoff 'em I say, boots and all!" One of the trolls said.

"He's right! Nothing wrong with a bit o' raw dwarf." Said another troll as he picked up a dwarf—the fattest of the lot with orange hair. Amongst the entire ruckus, Bilbo had noticed movement around the bushes and saw the familiar grey hat. He was desperately trying to delay the trolls from eating the dwarves and wait for the light of dawn, since he had overheard one of them fearing to be turned to stone. It would now be only a matter of time before Gandalf would save them from the nasty creatures. "Nice and crunchy."

"Uh...not...not that one, he...he's infected!" Bilbo stuttered.

"You what?" The other troll asked.

"Yeah he's got worms in his…" Bilbo grasped for a word to use. "tubes."

The troll threw the fat dwarf in disgust. Bombur landed on top of the pile of dwarves with an oomph.Bilbo was pleased that the troll believed him even though it sounded implausible. He continued, "In-in fact, they all have. They're infested with parasites, it's a terrible business. I wouldn't risk it. I really wouldn't."

"Parasites?" Oin asked. "Did he say parasites?"

"Yeah, we don't have parasites!" Kili shouted, not realizing Bilbo's plan quickly. Bilbo rolled his eyes and thought how stupid the young dwarf was acting. Childishly, Kili said to Bilbo, "You have parasites!"

From behind the trees, the young traveler was stifling her laughter. What a ridiculous thing to say, she thought. She heard a rustle from the boulders above her. She pulled out one of her long knives strapped to her back and sneaked near the boulder to see if it might be a threat. She craned her neck and looked up the boulder. Someone with a familiar grey hat was atop the boulder.

Gandalf glanced down and saw her. He was curious why she was here. It has been a few years since he last saw her. He smiled at her before he climbed the top of the boulder and declared his presence loudly, "The dawn will take you all!"

He brought his staff down on the boulder, breaking it, thus, letting the light flow through the clearing. The trolls tried to shield themselves in vain attempt as they slowly turned to stone. The young female traveler took it as her cue to leave. The trolls were taken care of and the dwarves clearly did not need her help in any way. She sheathed her knife and turned away, striding back to her own camp, not knowing that a certain dwarf had seen the flutter of her hair.

Kili knew he saw something behind the trees but he did not want to alarm the others. After Bilbo was released by Gandalf, he sauntered towards Bilbo, demanding him to release him immediately. As soon as he was out of his sack, Kili grabbed his bow and sword and disappeared into the trees.

The traveler was ready to leave—her pack was secured on the horse, as were her arrows, the fire she lit had already died down, and her cloak was fastened around her neck. As she pulled her hood down to conceal her face, she stretched and yawned, murmuring to herself that she still had a quite a long journey ahead. She was exhausted and all she wanted now was a good slumber in a room with a soft bed and a warm hearth.

Snap! Something or someone was approaching. She closed her eyes. She had to focus greatly since her hearing was not as keen as all the other Elves but it still was far better than any Men. She squeezed her eyes shut, evened her breathing, and listened to the echoes of the trees around her. Footsteps. It was heavy and hurried, but altogether quiet. Breathing. It was loud and steady, but there was a small hitch in it. Whoever was approaching was tense. Southeast. The footsteps come from there. It stopped. It was close.

Silence. There was nothing but silence around her. Before she could realize it, whoever was approaching already had their blade against her neck. She cursed inwardly for her carelessness and for seemingly still asleep ears.

Slowly, she lowered her hands to the hilt of her sword and listened for the assailant's movements. The sword pressed slightly on her neck again before the assailant spoke again. "Hands where I can see them."

It was a voice belonging to a man. Husky and deep, it seemed to belong to a young man. Could he be one of the dwarves captured by the trolls? She thought.

"Now!" He ordered. "Turn around and show me your face."

She obliged and turned to face him, however, she kept her hood on. She needed it to outsmart him. From under the hood, she gazed at him. He had unruly dark hair that fell a bit past his shoulder, dark eyes that matched his hair, and a seemingly robust physique. The large ears, the height and the large feet were definitely a sign that he was a dwarf, but what intrigued her was that he had no beard—only a stubble! He seemed old enough to sport a long beard and dwarves had their beards early. He was also too tall for a dwarf, half a head taller than she was. And he was rather fetching too.

"I said show me your face, fiend!" He pressed the blade towards her again. It was time to act. She reached for her hood. As she did, she discreetly inched the dagger from her gauntlet onto her palm. She needed to distract him.

"Why?" She asked smugly.

A woman! And she was shorter than him. Could she be a hobbit? Or possibly a dwarf-maid! Questions raced through his mind, distracting him from his opponent. "You're a—"

Seeing the confusion in his face, she took it as a sign to attack. She quickly thrust her dagger towards the guard of his sword to loosen his grip on his blade. She brought her knee to his gut and kicked him away. With a grunt, he fell to the ground and glared at her as he tried to scramble back to his feet. She kicked his sword away in case he tried to reach for it. But she was quick. Before he could even stand, her blade was upon his neck.

"I am not an enemy. I wish you and your lot no harm, master dwarf." She said casually. "I am a mere passerby."

"Kili!" A voice called for the dwarf, cutting him mid-sentence. It was his brother's. He would always recognize his voice. He looked around wildly for Fili.

"Fili!" He yelled. "Fili!"

Quickly, she turned away and withdrew her sword, leaving the young dwarf staring after her. As she mounted her horse, her hood fell, her face revealed to him.

Kili's eyes widened in surprise. Her hair was black like a raven, cascading down to the middle of her back in soft curls, her eyes were an ethereal shade of blue and green—he couldn't really tell since it seemed to be the mixture of both. She was beautiful for a dwarf-maid and there was something different about her features that caught Kili's attention. She had the bearings of an elf but her height said otherwise. She could have been taller than Fili or the same height, but she was definitely smaller than Kili—a perfect size for a dwarf maiden.

She drew back her hood and glanced at the dwarf for one last time before she broke her horse into a run.

"HEY!" He heard him shout after her. She dared not glance back at him. If it was but an incidental encounter, there was no need for him to know her. But if it wasn't, if the Valar somehow desired their meeting, then she'll hold onto his name.

Kili.