How had this happened to me? Why had this happened to me? I had just graduated from nursing school, about to start my life, when it was all ripped away from me. I had been thrown into a whole new world that I had only seen in movies and read in books. This stuff only happened in fairy tales and stories. You never heard about someone getting sucked into a completely different world that wasn't supposed to exist. And yet, here I was, in the middle of the woods with a group of hairy men staring down at me.

Let me start from the beginning, shall I?

I had just graduated from college at 23. I was about to start my life as a nurse practitioner (with a minor in herbology, and yes, that is a real thing). I was about to go on a 4 month trip to Europe before I started my job.

I stared at my best friend, Chloe, as she poked her boyfriend. "You are so going to miss me when Adalynn and I are away in Europe." She gave him a Cheshire grin as he shrugged.

"We're all going to miss you guys." My mother chimed in, smiling at all of us. We had been standing at the airport, Chloe's parents, mine, and Chloe's boyfriend. We were waiting to be boarded, and it was almost time for our names to be called.

My mother smiled at me, her eyes shining. "Please be careful while you're away. Keep your purse close to your body and hidden, if you can. Never go anywhere alone, and don't tell strangers where you're staying."

I smiled, shaking my head. "Mom, I know. Don't worry. This isn't my first rodeo, after all."

"I know that, sweetheart. You know how I am, especially after your father…"

I shushed my mom by hugging her. "I know mom. I know." I let her go. "I'll text you at least once every day." I told her, smiling up at her. She smiled back, wiping at her eyes. At that moment, they called our section for the plane.

My mom rubbed my arms. "Have fun you guys, but not too much fun." She looked at Chloe and I, winking. Chloe said goodbye to her parents, and we were headed off.

"Adalynn, we are going to Europe. Europe!" Chloe shook my arm as we boarded the plane.

"We are! I can't wait to get to New Zealand!"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "You and your hobbit obsession."

I laughed. "It's not an obsession. I just want to see the set, and the cute little hobbit holes! Even you have to admit that it's cool."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Maybe just a little."

We finally found our seats and sat down. To be honest, I was nervous about this flight. I had never flown over seas before, and being on a plane for over 10 hours made me just a little nervous. So to ease my nerves, I pulled out a book and put some headphones on for music. Soon after Chloe did the same. When the plane finally took off, my nerves faded a little more. By the time were finally over the ocean, my nerves had all but vanished. We were on our way to our own little adventure. I smiled at the thought and looked out the plane window. All I could see were clouds and the ocean that glimmered in the sun. I turned to Chloe to find her dozing. I laughed a little and leaned my head back. I was starting to get excited now. I had never gone out of the country before, and now I was going to see several different new countries that I had always dreamed of seeing.

I had finally decided to try sleeping halfway through the flight when suddenly the plane jerked, waking everyone up. Chloe looked at me. "What the hell was that?"

I shrugged, frowning. "I have no idea."

The plane gave another jerk and now the flight attendants were giving each other looks. Then the plane seemed to free fall and everyone gave shrieks of surprise. The air masks came down from overhead, and everyone stared on in a state of confusion and shock.

The intercom system came to life. "This is your captian speaking. We seem to be having some technical difficulties, so if everyone could just calmly put on their masks, that would be wise. I will try landing us in a safe location. Please stay calm. Thank you."

Chloe and I looked at each other as we quickly pulled our maks on.

"Is this real?" Chloe asked me, tears coming to her eyes.

I gripped her hand as I looked out the window. The land we were above was getting closer awfully fast. There was no way we were going to land safely. I turned to Chloe. "Just stay calm ok? Everything will be fine." Chloe squeezed my hand as the plane gave another hard jerk, emitting screams from the other passengers. Chloe started crying then, and it took all I had in my not to let my own tears fall. "We'll be ok Chloe. Everything will be ok." And that was the last thing that I remember before hearing an awful sound, and then everything went black.

%%%%

I woke up feeling like I had been run over by a semi. My whole body seemed to ache, and I had an awful headache. I tried opening my eyes and groaned at how bright it was. Then I remembered. I had been on a plane with Chloe on our way to Europe, when the plane crashed. Was I alive? Had I survived? Had Chloe survived? I groaned again as I tried to once again open my eyes, and that's when I heard it. Voices. And horses?

I frowned, trying to sit up when I felt a gentle had push me back down. "Oh do be careful dear, you took quite the fall. I wouldn't try sitting up just yet."

I opened my eyes and couldn't believe what I was seeing. "Gandalf?"

The old man looked down at me with a puzzled expression. "How do you know me dear? I'm afraid I don't know you." I swallowed thickly as he stared down at me.

"What is wrong with the girl, Gandalf? We cannot be delayed anymore. The hobbit has already delayed us enough as it is."

I looked up and realized that I was not only in the presence of Gandalf (who currently waved off the person who spoke) but I was also in the presence of dwarves. THE dwarves. And the dwarf that had spoken? Thorin Oakenshield himself. I swallowed again, feeling my eyes grow wider.

"Oh my god… This cannot be happening, this is not real." I quickly stood up, and instantly regretted it as my head began to swim.

"I told you dear, that sitting up would not be wise." The wizard grinned at me as I rubbed my temples.

I shook my head, staring up at Gandalf, realizing that he was a LOT taller than me. "What the hell is going on?"

Gandalf raised an eyebrow at my language. "Well my dear, my friends and I were travelling down this road when we saw you come tumbling down that hill over there. You were unconscious when we got to you, but you woke up rather quickly, considering the gash you have on your forehead."

I frowned and reached up, feeling where there was, in fact, a gash my forehead. My finger came away tinted with red. "Oh." Was all I could manage to get out. The wound hurt, which meant that this wasn't a dream. In dreams, you couldn't feel pain. But there was absolutely no way that any of this could be real. It wasn't possible.

I looked up at Gandalf, then over at the dwarves, and I finally noticed the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. I took a step back, shaking my head slowly. "This isn't real. None of you are real."

Gandalf laughed. "Why of course we are real, my dear. Why would think otherwise?"

I looked at Gandalf, opening my mouth to answer him, and then closed my mouth again. How could I explain my situation to them without them thinking I was insane? I closed my eye, once again rubbing my temples. "I don't think you would believe me. I wouldn't believe me."

Gandalf put his hand on my shoulder. "Tell me, dear. I have heard many interesting stories in my time, and I've lived a very long life." He winked, and I felt some of the tension leave me.

Sighing, I began to explain how I was from a different world and that I was on a trip with a friend when we were in a terrible accident, and how I woke up here.

Gandalf looked, his eyes narrowing. "How interesting." Then he put both his hands on my arms, gripping me tight as he muttered something under his breath.

I tried to get out of his grip, but he was definitely stronger than he looked. He suddenly let go of me, making me stumble a bit. "What the hell was that all about?" I asked Gandalf, who was currently staring at me in wonder.

"Yes, Gandalf, what was that all about?"

I turned to see that Thorin was standing next to us. I was stunned into silence. He looked much more attractive in person, and was certainly more intimidating in person as well. He seemed to ooze authority out of every pore. His eyes went between me and Gandalf.

Gandalf cleared his throat and smiled a Cheshire grin. "This woman, Thorin, is going to help us in our quest."

"What?"

"What?"

Thorin and I both stared at each other. Thorin then glared at me and then turned that glare to Gandalf. "And why is that? We do not need a woman on this quest."

Gandalf smiled. "Thorin, this woman here has a very interesting skill set that would be most needed on this long journey of ours. She is a very experienced and well taught healer. Although I should tell you, she is not of our world."

At this Thorin narrowed his eyes. "And what do you mean by 'not of our world'?"

Gandalf explained to Thorin everything that had happened to me, and in surprising detail as well. I frowned. "How do you know all of this?"

Gandalf patted my shoulder. "I looked into some of your more recent memories, my dear girl."

My eyes widened. "You can do that?" Gandalf just nodded. I turned around. "Oh this cannot be happening. I'm hallucinating. This isn't real…"

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "This is all very real. And you are most definitely coming on this journey."

Thorin took a step towards us. "The girl is not coming Gandalf. I do not care what she can do. And for all we know, she could be a spy." At this, Thorin glared at me, and flinched a little. His stare was intense.

"Now, Thorin, I told you. I looked into her most recent memories, and this girl is no spy. She is a skilled healer. It would be wise to bring her with us."

Thorin looked me up and down. "Have you ever fought?"

I nodded slowly. "Yes. My father taught me how to defend myself."

Thorin gave me a curt nod. "We shall see about that. As we go along our journey, I will have my nephews duel with you, see how much you know." He started back towards his horse. "Balin! Draw up a new contract. It seems the wizard has found someone else to aid us on our quest." This last part was said with a bitter tone, and I turned to Gandalf.

"So I'm really coming with you guys, then?"

"It would appear that you are, my dear."

I took a deep breath. This just couldn't be real. I was joining Thorin Oakenshield and his kin on a quest to take back Erebor.

Thank you so much for reading the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a fav/review if you did.

I will try uploading one chapter a week. So there should be another chapter next week, but I plan on uploading another chapter this week. So keep a look out!

Adalynn's outfit in this chapter can be found on these websites!

(and they will be talked about in the next chapter)

Sweater: patterns/library/milkweed

Ring: pin/207939707771995441/

Boots: aragorn/set?.svc=copypaste&embedder=2516190&id=44714355

Hair: pin/207939707772008631/ (its hairstyle number 1)