Erica smiled in satisfaction as she stood facing the, now clean, kitchen. She had spent the better part of her day dusting and wiping, all in an attempt to distract herself from the cold, harsh weather that was waiting on the other side of the door. She sighed and raked her hands through her curly mid-length brown hair in a vain effort to try and make it look presentable, though she knew that would never be possible.

She hadn't always felt like this, an older woman trapped inside a younger body. Her eyes, which once sparkled like emeralds when she smiled, had dark circles lining them, and her frame was now much thinner than it should have been for someone her age.

She chuckled darkly to herself as she walked through to the main room of the house, her movements sluggish, and her back aching.

'You deserve everything that comes to you Erica. You were the one who- No! Legolas! Don't put that in your mouth!'

Erica ran over to the elfling and pulled the small shoe from his hand, sighing slightly when he began to sniffle. She scooped him up in her arms and began to walk back and forth in the small room, the last light of day shining upon them, as she rocked him gently. She smiled softly at him when he let out a small sneeze and she bopped his little nose in affection.

As she gazed down at him she pondered how he had come to be and the actions that had occurred leading up to it.

'And what is a young woman doing, alone, in these woods?'

Erica spun around at the arrival of the new voice, her long hair rippling like a chocolate waterfall down her back. Her wide eyes focused on the stranger. He was tall, immensely tall and very lithe, and had long straight hair, the colour reminding her of the light of a full moon, that had two perfectly pointed ears sticking out of it, and he was dressed in the finest clothes. Clothes she knew even the Master could not afford.

She pulled at her torn dress, the voice in her head that had been telling her it was a good idea to come, silenced.

'I-I seek sanctuary, h-here.'

She curtsied, the movement feeling foreign to her small body, but in her mind she felt it was the right thing to do. It seemed to appease him, for he smiled a beautiful smile, and she felt entranced by it.

'Is that so? And what, exactly, is it you seek sanctuary from?' His voice was smooth, dangerous, as he slowly moved towards her.

She was silent for a few moments, for she did not know how to answer his question. What was she running from? Was it her family? Her town? Her life?

'I-I am not certain.' She whispered but he still managed to hear her, and he laughed. Erica thought it was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. It was as harsh as the wind, but as melodic as a birdsong, as precious as gold but it sounded more silvery. But, like most beautiful things, it ended all too soon, leaving her disappointed and thirsty for more.

'Then why don't I help you?' He reached out a hand and she wasted no time in taking it, and as he pulled her towards him she-

She was broken from her troubled thoughts when she felt a tiny hand press itself onto her cheek. She grinned down at her son and placed her much larger hand on his.

'Oh how the woes of life are swept away by the innocence of a child.'

Legolas flashed her a toothy grin and wriggled slightly, trying to get comfy in her arms. She rolled her eyes at his actions.

'You are fine ionneg. I will keep you in my arms for now.'

Erica paced a few more circuits of the room and relished in the silence that surrounded them. It was rare in her family of six for there ever to be any quiet.

'Erica! We're back from market!'

And it looks like she had spoken too soon.

'How was the market?'

She peered over her shoulder as her two sisters walked through the front door.

'Great actually! Liw gave us a great deal on the vegetables!'

Erica smiled at Tilda's enthusiasm. As she was her youngest sibling she had always felt more protective around her. She caught Sigrid's eye and found that she was smiling at their sister too.

'Well then we better get them put away,' Erica walked over to the two, 'Sigrid can you hold Legolas while I help Tilda?'

'Of course sister,' She smiled at them both, 'You know I love my little nephew's company.'

Erica laughed.

'Yes I think you much prefer his company to the rest of the family.'

Sigrid swatted at her elder sister and carefully took the elfling in her arms. Legolas made a noise of disappointment as his mother passed him over but he quickly settled in his aunt's hold. They all smiled at him, surprised that someone so tiny could bring so much light into the darkness of the world.

'Right. Well, we better get these groceries put away Tilda.'

'Of course!'

Tilda ran over to the kitchen and placed the bags of goods on the wooden counter. Erica walked over and the two started the menial task of sorting and putting away what little fruits and vegetables there were. The three sisters made small talk as they worked and soon the job was finished. Tilda and Erica went and sat next to Sigrid and Legolas at the large table in the middle of the room.

'So, I forgot to ask...but where's Bain?' Erica raised a brow in question at her siblings.

'Oh, he went to wait near the gates to tell Da about the new watchers.' Tilda looked at her briefly before turning back to Legolas, a massive grin on her face as she cooed sweetly at him.

'Ah, he won't be long back then?'

'No, he should not be.' Tilda smiled at her, effectively soothing Erica, and her shoulders relaxed as a small smile crept up on her features while she watched her sisters play with her son.

She did tend to worry about her siblings. A trait that had become more prominent when she was unexpectedly thrust into motherhood where every small thing, every action, meant something.

And it was usually always bad, in her case, since her son was of mixed species.

The sisters stopped in their movements when they heard their father's voice outside the house. Erica watched as the two jumped up and made their way to the door, just as their father and brother stepped through, an icy wind following behind.

'Da! Where have you been?'

Erica smiled slightly at the worry she could hear in Tilda's voice. She was starting to sound like her.

'Father! There you are. I was worried.'

She frowned slightly at Sigrid's words. Now that she mentioned it, their father was late returning home. She scooped Legolas up and walked to the door, opting to stand next to Sigrid, who was holding a bag of food. She raised her eyebrows at her father in question. He smiled sheepishly at her and opened his arms for a hug. She rolled her eyes but walked towards him, careful not to crush her son, and sighed at the sudden warmth and reassurance his arms brought.

'There's my big girl,' He kissed the top of her head before bending down to smile at the elfling in her arms, 'And there's my handsome young man.'

He kissed Legolas' nose, who giggled in response, his tiny arms reaching out for his grandfather. He made little noises that indicated he wanted him to hold him, and Bard laughed before taking the little elf and spinning with him in his arms. Erica looked on at the scene fondly before noticing that Bain was nowhere to be seen. She thought it strange, for she had seen him not but a moment before.

'Up there.'

She spun around at her brother's voice, expecting to see him walking towards her, but what she found was not her brother, but in fact, a dwarf? Her brow furrowed in confusion as she walked towards the top of the stairs. Her eyes widened as she saw that it was not just one dwarf, but many! And they were climbing out of their toilet! Her mouth hung open slightly in shock and she rubbed at her eyes. Now she had seen many things before in her short life but this...this was truly a sight to behold.

'Da...why are there dwarves climbing out of our toilet?'

She vaguely registered Sigrid ask the question as she looked on, stunned, as more and more dwarves kept popping out. It was a question Erica wanted an answer to as well, however, and she nodded at her father in agreement.

'Will they bring us luck?'

That may not have been a question Erica wanted answered but it still made her smile, despite the current situation. She turned back to the dwarves and shook her head lightly, but her eyes soon came to rest on a dwarf that...didn't really look like a dwarf at all. He was smaller than the rest and wore clothing that was similar to them, but it was his feet that caught her attention. They were definitely the biggest she had ever seen before, and they were covered with fuzz! She would never admit it, but she was slightly envious of him. His feet did look warm with all that hair on them, and her boots weren't the best at keeping the cold out.

'What are you looking at girly?'

She blinked in surprise at the new voice and looked down to see that it was a bald headed dwarf, with interesting looking markings running from his forehead across to the back of his head, who spoke.

'Uh. N-nothing.'

She scurried over to her sisters, whose expressions mirrored her own, and she pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Sooooo yeah. This was a little idea that came to me once and I thought I should just go with it. Not much is explained yet in this chapter, so it's kinda confusing, but all will be revealed. (insert mystical hands waving in front of your face)

Oh and the Elvish translation:

Ionneg - my son

For the rest of this story I will try to translate most things into Elvish, but if I can't it will be in italics.

Oh and flashbacks and thoughts will be in italics too :)

Love you all,

kingofsmirkwood x