-Alright, so welcome to Mary. I OWN NOTHING well except my house….never mind my parents do. Darn.

-Okay time for description. Mary is a young hobbit raised in a tiny hole under a hill only a few minutes outside of Hobbiton. Mary is Bilbo's cousin from his father's side. Mary is a beautiful girl with long red hair and bright blue eyes with tiny little ears and small human feet. Mary was an outcast because of her mother, but I can't tell you why just yet because that is for the story but I can tell you that Thorin saved her life once and that is how she fell in love and how we start this story.

Mother use to tell me to follow my heart and when I met him I did without a single question. I had been traveling to Bree to sell my mother's pony because two months ago my mother had died and I was in a vast need of money. Mother had sadly fallen ill after a terrible rainstorm that she had been caught in and with no one around but me, she didn't last very long. You see mother was an outcast from the valley of Hobbiton; no one liked her because she was raped by a human and was then pregnant with me. She had apparently left with him without her father's permission and when she went back with me he immediately slammed the door in her face. My mother's name was Caeli Took and my name is Mary Took. Mother's pony, Charlie, was her absolute favorite animal in the world. He was a gift from her mother who had died two years after she was born and he was the only thing she had to remember her by. Mama never taught me how to ride because she said he was too dangerous for a small girl like me and that's why I have to sell him even though it breaks my heart.

The moment I enter the town of Bree I am immediately run over by these huge tall people called humans. They're so much taller than we hobbit's of the shire along with all of their possessions. I quickly move through the small town while the tall people rush past me, stare at me, and push me. As I pass a blacksmiths store someone catches my eye. He's not a human, he's too short, and he's not a hobbit, he's too tall, and I come to the conclusion that he must be a dwarf. I could only see the back of him at the moment because he was apparently talking to the blacksmiths shop owner. From the back I can see that he has long black hair mingled with grey, he has a long blue cloak with fur all around the rim and pair of big boots. From the back he looked strong and very handsome, but that's from the back. When I turn to leave the strange man turns around and our eyes meet. Blue meets green and hundreds of emotions pass through those few moments. I took notice that he was even more beautiful from the front. He had two long black braids on either side of his head and a small beard that reaches all the way across his face. I now see that he has many layers underneath his coat and many weapons attached to his waist.

Before I can do something foolish I quickly continue on my way and fail to see the man follow. When I reach the store I open the wooden door and pull my pony inside. I look around and notice that no one was in.

"Hello?" I call as I look around.

A crashing sound comes from the back and a few moments later a very disgruntled man comes from the back. He rubs his hands on his apron then looks up and looks at me with surprise "Don't cha know we're closed today?"

I blush "I'm so sorry sir; it's my first time in Bree. I don't really know when everything is."

He smiles at me and walks around the counter "It's alright dearie. Now what can I do for ya?"

I look at my pony then back at the man, not noticing the green eyes watching me from a crack in the wood, "I was hoping to sell my pony sir."

"Oh," he looks at me surprised "and why would you want that dearie?"

"My mother died two months ago and I live by myself so I have no money to provide for myself and I was hoping, that is, that if I could sell my pony I would be able to buy food for a while until my garden grows back."

"And how much are you hoping to sell this pony for?"

"However much you think he is worth."

He man's face falls into a sad smile "Well then, let's take a look at your wonderful pony."

I hand him the reins to my pony and silently begin to cry as he is pulled out of sight. I take a seat on a bench that sits beside the wooden door and pull my knees up to my face. I sit there, for how long I don't know, until the man returns looking slightly happier.

He kneels in front of me "He's a 'eautiful pony, well looked after, silly and happy. The most that I can give you is 5 silver."

My eyes widen and the tears I had turned to happy ones "Really?" I ask and he nods his head yes with a wide smile. I squeal and throw my arms around his neck "Thank you so much sir."

He laughs and pats my back before he stands up and goes behind the counter and grabs a pouch. He reaches inside and pulls out the money before putting it back in its place. He then returns and takes my hand in his "There're a few extra coppers in there for ya girly. Buy you something nice with them alright... and take care of yourself."

Tears fall down my face "Thank you so much sir for your kindness I will never forget this."

We share a final smile before I leave the shop and decide to travel to the food portion of the town, not realizing that the dwarf was still following me. At the market I only buy a few small things like a few oranges, lemons, and seeds for my garden. After I buy the items I place them in a small bag and then place them in a bigger bag that was hanging on my shoulder. The sun was beginning to go down and I know that it's not safe outside at night so I decide to travel home for the day. As I walk past the Prancing Pony Inn a man comes barreling, tripping, and drunk out onto the road. I start to walk faster but the man quickly catches up to me and pulls me into an empty secluded area. I drop my bag as he slams my small body into the wall and presses his disgusting breath into my face. I grimace as he lifts me so that I am fully in front of his face.

"What's a p'etty little gal like you doin' so far away f'om home?" He breaths into my face and I gag.

"Get away from me." I say as I begin to fight him.

"Stop squirming li'le flower. Ya know ya like it." He smirks as he pushes his hips into mine to hold me against the wall while his hands begin to run down my body.

"Get off of me." I scream and fight harder.

His hands begin to run under my dress when a sudden force pulls him away and I fall to the ground. I quickly sit up to see that the man from the blacksmiths shop was standing over the drunken man with his sword drawn ready to kill him.

I stand and run to the dwarf "Wait, don't kill him."

The dwarf looks at me with shock "What, this man almost rapped you."

I push his sword down "I know, but he is drunk and he probably won't remember this encounter in the morning. Please spare him sir."

The dwarf looks at me, then the man, then me again, then puts his sword back in its place "If you ever come near her again I will kill you no matter what she says."

The dwarf quickly walks towards my fallen bag and picks it up before he hands it to me "Do you have a home nearby?"

I take the bag from his outstretched hand and place it back on my shoulder "Yes it's down the road."

"Would you allow me to escort you home my lady?" The nice dwarf asks.

A smile tugs at my lips "If it's not too much of a problem Mr.?"

"Oakenshield, Thorin Oakenshield at your service." He bows with his beard almost touching and I giggle.

"Mary Took at yours kind sir." I curtsy.

"Well then," he says as he sticks his arm out for me "shall we be on our way?"

I giggle again and stick my arm through his "We shall kind sir."

-Well then. Four pages and 1,556 words later we are at the end of this chapter and on to another. Hope you enjoyed this one.