I Run To You

A/N- Hey all, here is something brand new I've been working on. Never have I tried a fanfic like this one, delving into the complicated and extensive world of Tolkien. But recently I have been more than a little inspired by the movies and the books. Not to mention my love for a certain Dwarven prince...*blush*

Anywhoo, this is my humble attempt to play in this world and I hope I do it justice.

Disclaimer- I do not own this world, the main character and such, but the family of Ludeth and Dinodas are all mine.

'Thoughts'

I hope you all enjoy my attempt at creating something new and fun.

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Prologue:

She knew her uncle Dain and knew him well. Because of this fact she knew she couldn't stay no matter how much her families honor demanded it of her. She'd had enough.

Enough of the bloodshed, enough of the politics, enough of it all.

Besides, what reason did she have to stay? Her father, her brothers and her mother, all gone, all dead. She knew her uncle had plans for her, plans she wanted nothing to do with.

She had reached a cross-roads and had decided to leave it all behind. The war was over and Moria was once more theirs, the battle of Azanulbizar was finally over. She knew she needed to leave before Dain's men came looking for her, seeing if she had survived the battle.

After finding a hidden place to rest and recoup, her journey began, she wandered far and wide, never staying anywhere for long. She never felt it was the right place for her, the right home. For eight whole years she traveled like this, from place to place. Working when she could, using what skills she had to survive.

After an encounter with some men from a village, she was wounded and had to once again run. Finally as she began to despair and sicken from the wounds, depression, too much travel and not enough rest; she wandered her way unknowingly into the borders of the Shire.

She wandered far, almost delirious until finally unable to continue on she collapsed. Not caring if she woke again, just longing for the black oblivion of sleep.

TA: 2807/SR: 1207

Berylla *Boffin* Baggins was having a very long day.

She had awoken to her first born, her son Mungo screaming to be fed and was unable to lay back down. Her husband Balbo Baggins was still abed and it always seemed nothing could wake him, save a pitcher of cold water to the face.

Checking the pantry and larder she saw that they were running low on several items and deciding she didn't wish to stay cooped up in the house, she made her way down to the marketplace in the center of town. It was still early in the morning and most Hobbits remained abed or were having their first breakfast. She made her way to the nearest stall, a friend of the family ran the stall and she could always get a good deal from them.

After an hour or so setting up deliveries, speaking with friends, and showing off her son, Berylla turned on the path towards her home. Bag End. Her husband would be getting up around now and she needed to be back to make him breakfast.

As she was walking along, humming a gentle tune to her cooing son she spotted something strange in the middle of the path. A body.

Stopping she stared at the form, it was a person not from the shire. The shield and sword gave that much away, but it was the face that really caught her attention. This person had a beard, she'd never seen one before.

Stepping closer she spoke hesitantly, "are...are you alright?" When no response was forth coming she knelt to get a closer look and gasped in horror at the cuts on this persons face. They were festered and reaching out she felt their forehead, "oh no!" She mumbled, this poor soul had a fever as well.

Unable to leave someone in need behind, she hurried to the nearest house, luckily she knew all the residents of this area. Pounding on the door she smiled wildly at the couple who greeted her when the door opened. "Hello, sorry to bug you Mr. Bolger, Mrs. Bolger. I need to borrow a cart and pony, my friend has fallen ill and needs to be taken to the Gaffers wife."

They blinked at her before Mr. Bolger hurried around the house to the back to fetch what she'd asked for. His wife hurriedly grabbed a bowl of water and a rag before following Berylla to where the stranger still lay. She cried out, "It's a dwarf! What on earth?!"

Berylla blinked at that, 'a dwarf? How did a Dwarf end up in the shire? If anyone had seen him then it would have spread like wild-fire.' Berylla took the rag from a still stunned Mrs. Boffin and started to dab at the dwarf's face and wounds.

Mr. Bolger came around the corner a moment later his turnip cart latched to one of his many ponies, he seemed shocked to see a dwarf of all things as well. But when she asked for assistance, he attempted to lift the dwarf. To no avail.

In the end it took all three of them to get the dwarf into the cart, all the gear and such made the dwarf extremely heavy. After a quick rest, Mr. Bolger, his wife and Berylla lead the pony towards the Gaffers house. It was closer to Bag End and Berylla thought about letting her husband know what had happened, but when the dwarf moaned and then whimpered. She knew she couldn't leave without knowing they would be all right.

Once there all three hobbits brightened when they saw the Gaffer's wife sitting outside on the porch. Berylla rushed up to the fence, bouncing her sleeping son awake in the process and making him cry out. "Why Berylla Baggins, whatever is the matter? Is it Mungo?" The woman's voice turned concerned as she got to her feet and approached.

Berylla shook her head before replying, "no, no Mungo is fine. It's just...I was on my way home from the market and found someone lying injured in the road. Mr. and Mrs. Bolger were kind enough to help me." She turned and motioned to the dwarf slumped in the cart before continuing, "I know it's a lot to ask, but this dwarf needs help and I couldn't just leave him like that."

The Gaffer's wife just nodded her head and opened the gate, "Bring him inside, I'll get my husband to help you carry the dwarf. Breylla, I will need your help. If you are willing?" The woman's voice was questioning and Breylla just shook her head before replying.

"I found him, it is my responsibility. Besides, I can't leave until I know he is alright." The Gaffers wife nodded her head and after much struggling and shifting, they finally had the dwarf laid back onto one of the beds in the spare bedroom. Mr. and Mrs. Bolger wished them the best before leaving them to it. Before they had disappeared completely, Breylla asked them to stop by her home to let her husband know that she was fine.

After waving off her husband and sons, the woman gathered the necessary supplies. They then set forth to tend to the dwarf. First thing was to remove his clothes and weapons, this took them a long amount of time. But during this process they discovered that the dwarf, whom they had all assumed was male was in fact a female. This also brought to light all the scars that laced her body, not to mention a long and jagged cut along her ribcage. It was purple and festering.

Both the hobbits paused to look at each other, the same thought in their minds. 'How on earth did she get all this way with such a wound? She must have been through hell to get here.'

It took the better part of the morning and well into the evening before they had finished cleaning, treating, and wrapping all of the dwarves cuts and wounds. The dwarf had mumbled a few words in a language neither of the hobbits could understand before she thrashed about, in the end the Gaffers wife had to make a potion to calm her.

When finally the dwarf's fever began to break, Breylla knew it was time to return home. Her son Mungo was asleep after she had spent a moment to feed him and if she had to admit to the truth, she was exhausted as well. She thanked the Gaffers wife again and promised to return in the morning to assist in the nursing of the dwarf.

So a week passed thusly.

Every morning Breylla would get up, feed her son, prepare her husbands breakfast and hurry over to the Gaffers home to bathe and replace the bandages of the dwarven female. Not once did the dwarf awaken, although she had come close. In the end all she did was cry out names in desperation, which led Breylla to believe something horrid had happened to the ones this dwarf spoke of.

Breylla had grown fond of this dwarf, even though they had yet to properly meet. She knew she would love to know her as soon as she did though. Which lead her to convincing her husband that as soon as the dwarf had awoken they would move her to Bag End. This way she could be where Breylla could watch over and take care of her without having to leave her husband and son alone all the time.

On the eve of the eighth day that they had been caring for the dwarf, she finally awoke. It wasn't slow at first but a sudden burst of activity as the dwarf sat bolt upright before clutching to her chest and cursing deeply in her language.

Breylla dropped the crochet doily that she'd been working on and rushed over, "Miss don't move so fast, you're just starting to heal, you need more time before you can rush about so. Please, lay back down. I need to check and see if you've ripped the stitches." She placed her hand on the dwarf's shoulder gently and spoke softly, doing her best not to frighten or startle the woman.

Deep green eyes stared back at her, in confusion at first before understanding seemed to set in. The Dwarf nodded her head and moved to lay back. Breylla helped stuff the pillows behind her so that she could sit up a bit more. Feeling very nervous suddenly, Breylla wrung her hands as the dwarf looked at her surroundings before settling her beautiful eyes back upon the hobbit.

"...here...where am I?" A raspy and cracked voice had Breylla jerking to attention. She hurried over to the nearby pitcher of water and poured some into a cup before handing it to the dwarf. She replied softly, "here drink this, it should help. You are in the shire, hobbiton to be more precise. This is the home of our local healer. I found you lying unconscious in the road and brought you here."

The dwarf nodded and took a deep swig of the water, when she spoke again her voice was deep and more whole. "How long have I been..." she motioned to herself, "like this?" Breylla brought her chair closer and sat down, "eight days, almost nine. Although I do not know how long you lay in the road before I came across you."

The dwarf took another drink of water and stared down into her lap for a good long while. "Ludeth." Breylla blinked at the word and was about to speak when the dwarf waved a hand indicating silence. "My name is Ludeth Groundcarver and I am forever in your debt. You have saved my life and dwarves always repay their debts. What is your name?"

Breylla smiled at this before bowing her head, "I am Breylla Baggins and you owe me nothing. I did only what I felt was right and I hope...well, I wish that we can be friends Miss. Groundcarver." It was the dwarf's turn to blink in surprise before she nodded her head as well before replying, "then as an offer to begin this new friendship you may call me Ludeth."

-Time skip- A month later

"Are you sure this is what hobbit lasses wear? It seems a bit...feminine." Breylla laughed at Ludeth's question as she shoved the clothes into her companions arms. "I am sure and I should know. Besides, I still don't understand the dwarven custom of the women dressing like men. I understand that it's for protection, but doing so even in the safety of home? Makes no sense. Don't you want to look pretty for all the male dwarves?" She even reached up to tug gently at one of Ludeth's brown braids.

Ludeth just looked down at the woman before her with a bemused smile, she didn't know how it had happened but she had come to love this bright and cheerful woman. After she had awoken and been moved from the Gaffers home to that of Breylla's and her husband's, she and the hobbit had been nigh inseparable. When she had finally been able to get out of bed she had been everywhere with Breylla, having been given the 'Tour' as she called it. She had even come to view the woman as almost a mother figure, of course that could always be because of the small child she had. It was something about her presence, it made Ludeth feel safe, feel loved, feel at peace.

She had been able to tell Breylla about her home, about the war, about her family. About everything. Which had gotten Breylla to respond in kind.

Breylla had taken it upon herself to introduce Ludeth to any and every hobbit they happened to run across, Ludeth would never admit to it, but she would have been too nervous to do such a thing herself. She even had begun to be accepted by all the hobbits in the shire, whom at first looked at her with distain, but it soon changed to acceptance. These hobbits were peaceful and kind, something which she couldn't label her own kind with.

This had lead to her thinking about staying in the shire, which had lead to where they were now. Breylla had said something about making her 'blend in' and had taken her clothes shopping. Considering that Breylla was 3' 3" at best as well as most other hobbits she'd met, her own 4' 6" made finding anything suitable a little trying. But it seemed that Breylla had been worrying about this same fact and had asked one of the local seamstresses to make her some clothes. The hobbit had also taken it upon herself to find a suitable home for Ludeth, which made the dwarf even deeper in debt to this kindhearted woman.

They were on their way back to Breylla's home when the hobbit suddenly stopped and turned to look at her, her brown eyes serious. Ludeth knew from all their previous exchanges that Breylla was about to say something important and gave the woman her undivided attention.

"Ludeth, I know we haven't known each other for long and that we are not of the same blood. But I have come to care for you as I do my own son." Breylla paused trying not to let tears well up in her eyes as she reached out and gripped the dwarf's arm. "I love you as if you were my own and after discussing this with Balbo, we were wondering if you would allow us the great honor of adopting you into our family. As our daughter."

Ludeth just stared at Breylla in complete and utter shock. She had never expected such an offer, let alone the meaning behind it. Before she could think much on it though Breylla seemed to get a bit skittish, she turned away with a deep blush on her cheeks.

"I know it's sudden and shocking to ask such a thing, but please, think on it. Now...let us return, Mungo is probably hungry and I need to make sure that dinner is started soon, not to menti..." Breylla had just started chattering away, trying to cover her nervousness when Ludeth placed a hand on her shoulder stopping her mid-sentence.

Next thing she knew Breylla was being crushed in a heartfelt hug. She could feel Ludeth's beard brushing against her forehead and wetness on her head. She knew that Ludeth was crying, so she reached out to pat the dwarf softly on the back while humming softly. Ludeth shook a couple times as sobs wracked her body and Breylla unconsciously started to sing.

"Come stop your crying, it will be alright. The night is long but mommy's here tonight. Close your eyes and listen well. Mommy's here. Mommy's here. The night will soon pass. The sun will rise to meet your eyes. So don't cry little one. Mommy's here. Mommy's here."

Breylla knew she would have been rocking back and forth as well, for this was a song she sang to her son when he had a fit or was upset. But considering Ludeth was more than a foot taller than her and that currently her feet were not touching the ground, she hadn't been able too.

After a few moments more, Ludeth gently placed Breylla back on her feet and wiped at her eyes. She then smiled at the concerned hobbit having already made up her mind, "Breylla Baggins. I accept your offer and would be honored to the end of my days to be called your daughter. I too have come to care for you as a mother and...I...lo...love you as well. I will thank Mahal everyday for sending me here to meet you."

Breylla felt as if her heart would burst with sheer happiness as she clutched Ludeth close in a hug. She felt her own tears falling this time and didn't care to even try stopping it. "Welcome then, Ludeth Groundcarver...Baggins."

Ludeth just closed her eyes and held the woman that had come to mean so much to her close. She had finally found it, no more wandering. No more selling herself to survive. No more.

She was home.

A/N- Alright, I hope how I made this makes sense. I know it might seem too fast for the two of them to come to care for each other like this. But considering the trauma Ludeth has suffered and survived, this seems natural to me. Not to mention Breylla just had Mungo, he's not even a month old yet, so one word. Hormones. Mom's know when someone needs a mom.

Anyway, I hope this was enjoied and soon I will post the new chapter.

May the Fluff be with you!

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