Author's Note: I own nothing except Signy, Rosamund and Amsterdam (my OCs). Pardon my limited vocabulary and grammatical mistakes because English is not my mother tongue! Here is a story for you Kili/OC shippers out there and it's set on my version of Blue Mountains (Ered Luin) as a very modern region… at least for Dwarves. Please R&R!

Chapter 1: Moving Out

Flashback, 30 years ago

Meet Signy. She was a 40-something Dwarf young girl with an appetite for knowledge. In her young years, she has read so many books, mostly about everything… but Dwarves were her main interest. Being a Dwarf and being raised in a Dwarven culture, she got really curious about what makes Dwarves… Dwarves. That is one hell of a trait, considering she was still a youngling.

"Signy, come help your mother to prepare supper!" her father, Sigmund, called her while she was reading a book about Dwarf mythology under an oak tree on her front lawn. The weather was very nice as the sun started to set and the cold wind started to roll down to the village.

"Coming up, father!" young Signy jumped out from her seat and rushed back to the house. There, she could smell the tasty pork stew her mother was cooking. She ran to the kitchen. "Mother, what can I do?"

"Oh, you can reheat the bread, sweetheart," her mother said gently to her while stirring the pork stew. Signy took out a huge baguette, chopped them to a few parts, and started the fire to reheat them. Father liked his bread crispy and hot.

"What were you doing before your father called you?" asked her mother.

"Just doing a light reading, ma," answered Signy without pulling off her eyes from the bread.

"Your reading is never anything but heavy, darling," her mother chuckled. Signy laughed a bit. Her mother and father were not exactly the kind of Dwarf people who like to read because they were busy enough with their lives. With her father as the owner of The Singing Bard (the most famous inn in their village) and her mother being a housewife, they had no time to read books.

"Mother, can I ask you something?"

"What is it, dear?" her mother turned her sight to young Signy.

"Do you think I can be a scholar once I am old enough?"

Signy's mother smiled. "My darling, let me tell you one thing… You can be anything in the world if you put your mind and your eyes on it." She walked towards Signy, lowered her body, and patted Signy on her head. "Your eyes should be on the prize. Nothing can stop you. Don't let anything keep your focus out from your outcome. Later, you will find that life is filled by troubles. You will feel that your life is shaky. Even though you feel troubled by the shakiness, you should not give up. Instead, you should be more focused. That's the only way to reach your goal, whatever goal you want to do in life."

"I see, mother," young Signy kept her attention to her every words. Focus. Determined. Goal-minded. She could see herself, being a scholar in Ered Luin. Teaching young Dwarves about the importance of their culture. Shaping young minds. The thing that she had always wanted.

"I will give you a short mantra which is very useful whenever you feel down and less focused in life," her mother continued her wise words. "Here is my mantra: 'When life is shaky, what must you do? Focus on my outcome'. Now, can you repeat after me?"

"When life is shaky, what must you do? Focus on my outcome," Signy repeated her mother's word over and over again. She felt the wise words started to seep into her brain, her bones, her soul. She knew that this was her life path, and she should move to Ered Luin once she got old enough. Just like what her mother had said, there was nothing impossible if you kept your eyes on the prize.

Present Day Blue Mountains

Seventy-seven year-old Signy could not believe her eyes. "Is this really the Blue Mountain?" she asked herself. She thought that Blue Mountain was a very tranquil city. In front of her eyes, she saw the Blue Mountain as a very populous and a very modern region. The buildings were about four to five stories high, made by stones and cobbles. The roads were broad and always filled by Dwarves riding their ponies. The layout of the city somehow reminded her of Dale, the closest city to the Lonely Mountain in its' glory days which she read in the books. Now Dale was nothing but a dead ruined town.

After waiting for what seemed to be a lifetime, finally Signy could move out from her small village to the Blue Mountain. She was now an adult Dwarf, enabling her to choose her own choices and she chose to leave her village to reach her childhood dream: to be a scholar in Dwarven culture. She was so fortunate because her parents supported her dream, they even supplied Signy enough foods and money for her solo journey to the Blue Mountain. It was nearly dark when Signy arrived at the gates of Blue Mountain and the city was just starting to live up. Several restaurants, cafes, general stores started to turn on the lights on their signages.

Signy reached her pocket and found a small piece of paper with the words "The Bagpipe Inn" written on it. Her father gave this paper to her prior to her journey and he told her to stay there while looking out for a permanent place to live. The Bagpipe Inn's owner was an old friend of her father's, a dark-haired Dwarf named Rowan, and he was already informed that Signy would spend a few days in his place. After a few minutes of walking around the main road, Signy could see The Bagpipe Inn signage from a medium-sized building at the end of the street. She walked in to the building and she could smell the aroma of ale and delicious foods. The bar was filled by Dwarves from every ages, socialising and hanging out. Everybody seemed to know everybody. Signy could hear loud music as well as loud chatterings.

"What can I do for you, lass?" a friendly voice suddenly greeted her once she walked in. "My beard, is it you, Signy?"

"Umm… yes… Are you Rowan?" Signy asked him cautiously. The short, thick-bearded Dwarf nodded and gave her a warm and friendly hug. "Yes, yes I am Rowan! Your old man's friend! Boy, it's been a while since I last saw you and your family… I don't know if you still remember but the last time I saw you, you're still a very small girl! Now you've turned into a headturner! How are your folks?"

"They're very well, and they send a warm greeting to you, Rowan," answered Signy happily. She had forgotten Rowan, but now she could remember him. Yes, it was a long time since she saw him the last time.

"How's the business of the inn? Going strong?"

"Well… as far as I can remember, our inn is still the most popular inn in the village," she grinned.

"Ah, that's a very good news! Now," Rowan shifted his attention to a number of keys being hung behind his station. He picked a key and turned himself back to Signy. "Here's your key to your room. Your room number is 108. Don't worry, your dad has informed me about you moving here and I have assured him that I will take care of you in any way that I can. Every morning, you can come down to the bar and grab yourself a handful of breakfast. We're closed for lunch, though, so you gotta find lunch somewhere else. Any questions?"

"Yes… Umm, how much is the room rate?" asked Signy politely.

Rowan shook his head. "No, no need! It has been taken care of. All you gotta do now is go to your room, have a relaxing hot bath and after that you can rest, or you can come down here to join the celebration. Well, we celebrate everyday, that's what bars are for, right?" he chuckled. Signy smiled warmly because she found Rowan was a pretty funny Dwarf. On a second thought, she thought that he was a little bit drunk because his face had gone red. "He can't be drunk, maybe it's just the jolly music", she thought.

"Thanks Rowan, for everything," Signy took the key from Rowan's hand and walked to the stairs. Her step stopped when Rowan shouted, "Hey Signy!"

She turned her back and asked Rowan, "What is it?" in a loud voice.

"I forget to tell you… welcome to the Blue Mountains!" Rowan shouted with a huge grin on his face. Signy smiled cheekily and continued walking to her room. It was located on the first floor, so she only needed to have a small walk from the bar to her room. It was easy to find, and luckily the bustling sound from the bar could not be heard from her room. She unlocked the room and was welcomed with a pleasant view.

It was not a huge room, but it was comfortable. In front of her laid a medium-sized oak bed. In the corner of the room, they placed a medium-sized cupboard and besides the cupboard, a desk facing the window. A small door was installed on the left side of the room which led to the bathroom. The bathroom was quite nice as well, perfectly fitted for a Dwarf. Signy assumed that this inn had two kinds of rooms: Dwarf-friendly rooms and Man/Elf-friendly rooms because Blue Mountain was also home to some Elves. Deep down in her heart she thanked Rowan for picking a Dwarf-friendly room for her.

She sat on her bed, it was very soft and a warm bed. She then unpacked and placed her clothes in the cupboard. Feeling very tired, she laid on her bed. "What a long day," she thought. Slowly, she drifted away to sleep, with a hope of a great day ahead.