So, this is my second story. It's based on the song Time of Dying by Three Days Grace. My original inspiration was In the End by Linkin Park, but I decided Time of Dying was less depressing. Enjoy my loyal subjects! Also this is a cross-over, can anyone guess of what?
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC.
On the ground I lay,
Motionless, in pain,
I can see my life flashing before my eyes
/
Chapter One
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozing smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was hobbit-hole, and that meant comfort. At least ninety-nine percent of the time. Right now the hobbit that owned this particular hobbit-hole was up to his elbows with dwarves.
Thirteen dwarves to accurate.
Bilbo Baggins really wished that something would take Thorin Oakenshield's attention away from him. Something, anything. Please?
Thorin snorted, thoroughly unimpressed with the hobbit. "Tell me Master Baggins have you done much fighting?" he asked.
"I beg your pardon?" was Bilbo's brilliant answer.
"Axe or sword? What is your weapon of choice?"
Oh, dear this wasn't going to turn out well. Bilbo prayed furiously for some sort of distraction as some nonsense about Conkers came out of his mouth. Maybe he could disappear and the dwarves would leave. Actually make the dwarves disappear, this was his house and the dwarves were unwelcome guests.
Thorin snorted again, "Thought as much. He looks more like a grocer, than a burglar".
Thankfully Bilbo's distraction came as a laugh rippled through the other twelve dwarves. It came in the form of a person appearing in midair and falling on the table, smack dab in the middle of the dwarves.
There was instant chaos. Many of the dwarves leapt away from the table, then one of two things happened: one- draw a weapon and charge, or two- run for a weapon from the hallway. Dwalin was the first to react though. He grabbed the person, or whatever it was. It was covered in a shiny, black cloak-like wrap made of a material none of the dwarves or hobbit had ever seen before and no one could make out any features.
At first it seemed that he managed to hold it down, then the bald dwarf jerked back, stumbling into Bofur and Dori, clutching his nose. The black creature rolled off the table and landed on the ground with a loud 'oof!'. Bifur threw himself onto it and was promptly kicked back into Ori. It was now on its feet and Bilbo noticed that it had strange blue sandals on its feet and its toenails were painted the same color. As soon as Bilbo noticed this he realized something. It was the feet of a person of the race of Man.
"Wait! Wait!" Bilbo cried desperately. No one paid any attention to him.
This time Fili and Kili tackled it to the ground. Apparently they managed to get a grip on its arms and held it down. Dwalin, his nose now bleeding and probably broken, threw himself onto it, as it was now kicking its legs in the air wildly. Again he was kicked off, this time pressing his hand over his forehead. Dori and Nori each grabbed a leg with some difficulty. Nori was kicked in the face twice before he managed to get a firm grip.
Dwalin got back up and stalked toward the creature. He felt around the top of the cloak and after a moment drew his arm back and swung a powerful right hook. Bilbo flinched from the force of the hit. After Dwalin drew back from his punch, he became aware of a sniffling sound. He glanced back at the black wrapped creature and realized it was crying. But that wasn't what commanded his attention. There was something strange about the quiet sobbing. It sounded almost… feminine.
Horror washed over him. He glanced around to see if any one else had noticed this. Many of his kinsmen were also staring at them as the sounds made its way into their minds. Balin and Thorin slowly moved forward. However Bilbo shoved them out of the way, much to the company's surprise. He maneuvered his way around Dwalin and carefully gripped the strange material over the face and and gave a hard yank. At first it only seemed to stretch, before becoming discolored and silently tore open, unlike any form of cloth.
The dwarves gathered around as Bilbo tore away more of the strange material. What they saw when the material fell away shocked them to the core of their beings. A woman- no a girl- stared back at them with tear filled eyes, breathing heavily and sobbing a little. She was gagged and apparently bound. Her pale green eyes were full of tears and her midnight black hair was very disheveled. And, Dwalin noticed with growing horror, her left cheek was more red than the rest of her face.
Thorin was enchanted. He was absolutely captivated by her beautiful eyes. They reminded him of a time when he was traveling down the coast: the sea was as flat and clear as glass and that exact shade of green. He could easily imagine himself getting lost in those for eyes for hours. Her skin was flawless, smooth and he imagined that it was softer than rose petals. And her lips! They were plump and red, made for kissing. All this was placed perfectly on a heart shaped face. More perfect than any statue ever carved.
All this passed through his mind in about three seconds. He immediately shoved all of it into the back most corner of his mind. He had a mission to complete and this girl was still a suspected spy and enemy.
The dwarves continued to stare for another minute before Gandalf re entered the room. The wizard had excused himself after Thorin had arrived to attend to some "wizardly business" as he had phrased it. "Have any of you noticed-," he broke off as he took in the mess they had created. Then he noticed Fili, Kili, Dori, and Nori restraining the crying girl.
"What are you doing!?," he roared, "Put her down this instant!"
They immediately dropped her. "I said put her down not drop her!" Gandalf snapped, thoroughly angry with the dwarves. He marched into the room dropping a bag next to the table. He stopped when Bilbo waved his hand to keep him back. Well, he thought in curiosity, I wasn't expecting this.
Bilbo knelt down next to her. "Shh, it's alright. My name is Bilbo Baggins and I promise I'm not going to hurt you," he said soothingly, "I'm going to take off your gag, okay?"
After a brief hesitation, she gave a tentative nod, and eyed him warily. Bilbo moved slowly and carefully, he didn't want to make any sudden movements and startle her into violence. Especially after seeing the damage she did to the dwarves.
The girl remained still as Bilbo struggled with the gag. But try as he might he couldn't untie the knotted cloth for the life of him. Suddenly Fili stepped forward drawing a knife from his vest. She immediately started to struggle again. Dori and Nori grabbed her shoulders to keep her from getting up. That just made her panic even more.
"Stop it," Bilbo snapped. The dwarves froze when they realized he had been addressing them and not the girl. "Can't you see you're scaring her even more! I want all dwarves to take two steps away from us this instant!"
There was a brief hesitation, then Thorin spoke up "Do as he says," he said as he took the mandatory two steps back.
Once the dwarves were an appropriate distance away Bilbo turned back to the girl, "I'm going to take Mister Fili's knife to cut away the gag okay?" Like before he spoke softly and gently trying to appear as non threatening as possible. Not that he needed to try, he was easily the least terrifying thing in the room at the moment.
Again, she hesitated before nodding her consent. Bilbo continued too move slowly as he took the small blade from Fili and crouched back down. A moment later her gag fell away.
No one spoke for a few moments as the girl breathed deeply through her mouth and tried to get her crying under control. None of the dwarves knew what to do. What do you say to a girl who fell out of nowhere and attacked? 'I'm sorry' didn't seem to be applicable to the situation. Finally, Bilbo broke the silence, "May I cut off the ropes on your hands as well?" he asked hesitantly.
Once again she nodded her head. Bilbo lifted the back of the material to get to her hands.
As soon as her hands were free the girl got to her feet and took off the strange black cloak, yanking it over her head, bunching into a ball in her hands then threw it onto the floor, before stomping on it with an unnecessary amount of force.
While the girl took her anger out on her cloak, Gandalf turned to glare at the dwarves. "What happened?" he demanded.
Thorin stepped forward, "She appeared out of nowhere Gandalf. What would you have had us do? She could have been a spy or a witch or-", he was cut off by an indignant and slightly hysterical voice.
"A witch?!" the girl squeaked, "I am most certainly not a witch, and I would like to know just where the hell I am. And where are those cowardly, chauvinistic, spoiled bastards?!" By the end of her little rant she was screaming. "I'm going to shove that golf club up that little pricks' ass and make the rest of them sing soprano for the rest of their lives".
No one knew what she was talking about, and they weren't sure if she was talking about them or someone else. Her threats and insults steadily got worse as she continued to rant. Many of the dwarves shuffled uncomfortably as her threats became more descriptive and painful. Gandalf cleared his throat, trying to get the girl's attention. The girl paused in rant and turned her head to look at the old wizard.
"Yes?" she asked.
Gandalf smiled kindly, "Sorry for interrupting your –aaah, threats, but you and I have things to discuss"
She raised her eyebrows, "Oh?" she said, "And who are you if I may ask?"
"I am Gandalf the Grey, my dear," he said as he bent into a slight bow.
She froze. She slowly turned the rest of her body to fully face the wizard. Bilbo, who was standing next to Gandalf, squirmed uncomfortably from the intensity of her gaze. Oh Eru, Bilbo thought, This is worse than being glared at by Thorin! And she wasn't even looking at him!
After a minute even Gandalf was shifting under her gaze. Finally she said, "Gandalf the Grey?," she murmured, "Oh gods! Am I in Middle-Earth"
Gandalf nodded, surprise evident on his face. "Why yes," he said, "You don't sound as surprised as I thought you would, my lady"
She laughed, "This isn't the strangest thing that's ever happened to me, even just this year," she paused, "Wow that really is a sad statement of my life".
No one knew what to make of their conversation. Thorin decided it was time to get some real answers. He stepped forward, drawing everyone's attention. "What is you name stranger?" he asked.
She regarded him for a moment before answering. "My name is Stormy Hale"