Disclaimer: I don't own the Hobbit or any of the characters within it. I do however own Sara.


1: Dwarven Discovery.

My name is Sara.

I consider myself an ordinary woman all things considered. My waist length hair is dyed a bright blue, and my eyes are a muddy shade of amber with blue undertones. My weight could be better. I'm not overweight but I am not slim either, my body holding some fat thanks to a poor diet and lack of good exercise. I am not overly tall, but I wouldn't call myself short either - fitting somewhere comfortably in the middle. I wasn't really someone you'd look at twice, which was useful as there were times I didn't want people to look at me twice.

Tonight was one of those times. I was currently walking home from my evening shift at the local supermarket, the dark winter evening making me feel ever so slightly on edge. The area used to be fairly safe but with crime on the rise, you could never be too cautious. You never knew what you might find around the next corner, and a lone woman would be a prime target for any would-be bag snatcher. I kept my head held high as I walked, eyes scanning the path as I tried to hide the limp that I usually walked with - a result of having to wear a prosthesis. It wasn't really that noticeable so I'd been told by my closest friends, but at times like this, I always felt it was more exaggerated than it really was.

I just wanted to get back to by warm flat quickly, only then could I relax fully.

My path took me past a local park, more an open area of grass in the middle of a built-up area, but still an area of tranquillity in the daytime. Once the sun set it was a different matter. Usually, it attracted the local drunks looking for a place to consume the last beers that they had purchased from the off-licence. I was expecting to see more of the same tonight and I felt my guard go up as I rounded the corner of the street and onto the road that passed the park - it was empty. I let out a breath that I hadn't realised I had been holding and allowed myself to continue on my way glad of this welcome boon. It was nice to not have to worry about unsavoury characters hanging around for once, but that didn't mean I was going to linger. I kept my pace quick as I passed the park, fully intending to pass the area as quick as possible and get home. Something, however, caught my eye and caused my step to slow - a dark shape sprawled on the grass under one of the trees in the park.

I wasn't sure what I was seeing at first. My first guess was that it was just another bag dumped in the park by a fly-tipper, but a further evaluation told me the shape was way too big for that - besides it looked to be of human shape. I faltered a moment, my first thoughts lingering on the fact that this was more than likely a rough sleeper - but why would they be in a wideout in the open like that? It seemed very unusual to me. My second thought was that the person was injured and needed help. I trailed my teeth over my lower lip as I wondered if I should go and check if the person was okay, or if I should just put in a request with the local police to find out what was going on with the person. My hand reached into my pocket, fingers trailing over the edge of my phone as I debated all the options.

'Don't. Go help'

My body stopped as that inner voice took over every thought. I normally wasn't so brash, when did I ever approach any strange person in the dark? My body swayed ever so slightly as I fought the two conflicting thoughts. In the end, the inner voice won out, my feet carrying me toward the dark shape, and as I got closer it only confirmed my suspicions that the dark lump was a person. The pale light is thrown on the area by the nearest street lamp barely lit the slumped form, and revealing to light the very unusual clothing that he wore - the dark fabrics even at this distance being an obvious linen and cotton make. The leather shoes were also pretty unusual. Who dressed this way anymore? Especially in this style? It looked positively medieval and the closer I got the more unusual the person's clothing seemed. I could feel a frown forming on my face as I finally reached the side of the body, my eyes taking in the odd clothing as I reached out to gently give the person a shake.

A low masculine groan reached my ears, and I pulled back onto my ankles in surprise. I was relieved that I wouldn't have to call the police in regards to a dead body tonight, but the fact that I only got a moan from the man told me he might still be injured. Once I was sure he wasn't going to lash out again, I reached over to carefully move him off his front and laid eyes for the first time on his face. His long dark hair fell in sweat dampened tendrils across his facial features, and the ends tangled slightly in the dark stubble on his face. My fingers carefully pulled the hair off his face, brushing over his cheekbones and I couldn't help but think that all things considered he was rather handsome. Years old training took over as I gently checked his airways and found no blockages, and that his breathing was stable. So far so good, and there were no obvious signs of trauma that I could see so perhaps this was a case of someone drinking too much and collapsing in the park.

If that was the case where was his drinking buddies? Surely they hadn't left him collapsed in the middle of a park on his own.

Moving him into the recovery position as gently as I could I again considered my options. I could not leave him lying here on his own, and I couldn't get myself to call an ambulance to pick him up. Every time I picked up my phone to make the call that voice would return - whispering that this was a bad idea. I looked down at the seemingly unconscious male and mentally cursed myself for the new foolish plan that was forming in my head. That I would take him back to my flat, give him a warm bed, and when he was awake I would send him on his way. It was possibly the worst plan I had ever come up with in my life, the man could be just about anyone and there was no guarantee he'd appreciate my help, but it seemed like the only option I had.

I reached around his shoulders and slowly pulled him to an upright position. He was surprisingly heavy for his size given that he only reached my shoulders. The male was all muscle and I found it a struggle to pull him over my back and struggle to an upright position. It wasn't easy to maintain my balance, I had not carried this kind of weight for many years and especially not on my false leg. My journey to my home was now much more difficult, and I promised myself that this would be the first and last time I would ever take an unconscious person into my home.

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A low sound of relief left my lips as I laid the body of the male down onto my living room couch, my shoulders screaming from the strain of carrying him. My work was not over, however, now came the struggle of making him comfortable, and I busied myself with carefully removing his shoes. They were surprisingly soft soled and very well made indeed, and it made me wonder again what was with the getup. Perhaps he was a cosplayer? That was the thing that would make the most sense. But his clothing seemed exceptionally well made for such a hobby and the dagger that slipped out of his right shoe as I removed it seemed all too real. I gasped as I looked at the weapon. Even at a cursory glance, I could tell it was razor sharp! Surely a cosplayer wouldn't have something like that, as far as my limited knowledge went weapons that could hurt anyone where not allowed into any kind of event.

So what was he doing with it? Had I taken in a would-be murderer with an all too specific fantasy? I laid the dagger down on my side table and turned to reach for my phone once again. My finger pads lingering on the numbers as I looked at the man. I was about to dial when he started to mutter in his sleep, his voice deep and the accent, unlike anything I had ever heard before. Each word seemed foreign, but among them, I could make out a few names. Gloin? Dori? Thorin?. Each speaking of the names was said in distress, and I found myself flabbergasted for I knew the names as belonging to fictional characters. Perhaps this very armed man was cosplaying a very specific genre? But why call out the names in such a way, even the most dedicated person didn't roleplay their characters to such a degree. There was something about all this that just seemed outside the norm.

He's not of this world

I don't know how I came to that thought. It was that same inner voice from before that had brought me to his side. My shaking hand laid my phone down. I couldn't call anyone, he'd just end up in a mental house if he was not of earth origin - I didn't want that kind of guilt lingering in my heart. Instead, I just went back to my task of making him comfortable, removing what outer clothing I could and any weapons that I came across. Only once I was done did I lay a blanket over his form, gently tucking in the edges and stepping back to admire my work and wondering when he would awaken. With one final sigh I folded his clothing and laid them down on the side table with his weapons, perhaps that was a bad idea - leaving all his stuff near him. But I felt like hiding them would only create more trouble.

Oddly enough as worried as he made me for my safety I wanted him to feel at ease when he did finally awaken. With a shake of my head, I retired to my room, determined to get some sleep. Sleep, however, was something that was hard to find - my body waking me up every so often due to the unease of having a stranger in the house.

I would spend most of the night checking in on my 'guest'

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Kili's POV

The first thing I was aware of was a cracking headache. A low throbbing that threatened to take over every thought.

I couldn't remember much of what had just happened - there was a vague memory of orcs attacking my friends. Of pain and sudden darkness. Had I been hit in the back of the head at some point? It didn't feel like I had any pain associated with that kind of injury - I certainly had hit my head enough times to know what that felt like! A groan passed my lips and I allowed my body to sink further into the plush surface that I laid on, and wondered when it was that I'd been laid there. How much time had passed since the battle? Was everyone else okay? I didn't want to open my eye or move, but I had too. Even doing that was a task in itself, my eyelids feeling heavy - as if they had been closed all too long.

Only once I opened them I wished I had kept them closed - the brightness of the sunlight streaming into the room assaulting my eyes. But it wasn't the light that distressed me, it was the room I was in that caused the feeling.

It was a room, unlike anything I had ever seen before - though it did have some familiarity. Four walls, a ceiling, and a floor were so familiar to the human taverns I had spent nights a few times in the past. But the pale-hued perfectly straight walls where a far cry from the wood I was familiar with. There were also things in the room that just looked - odd. The most notable of which was a large rectangular item stood on one of the sleek black tables. What exactly was that? I'd never seen the like of it before, and the smaller box under it with the bright lights on it was just as unsettling. Was this some kind of dream? I slapped my face just to be sure. The pain I felt told me I was very much awake.

What was going on? Where was I?

My eyes gravitated to the ceiling, focusing on the object hanging from it. There was something akin to the way taverns would hang their candles from simple candelabras. But there were no candles on this item, just a spherical object nestled within a fabric shade. A magic ball? I couldn't be sure. I stared at it a moment, wanting so badly to go back to where I had come from. My kin needed me, and more importantly, I didn't want to be in this strange place. I turned my head, trying to find a way to escape, as I looked around I counting four doors and a hallway which turned a corner so I couldn't see where it led. Determined to find out I pushed myself up, but found my muscles too sore to do so - I groaned at the sensation but forced my body into a seated position regardless.

"You're awake"

The feminine voice caused me to turn my head in its direction, and I found myself looking upon a very strange looking woman. How did she get her hair to be that shade of blue? My eyes lingered on the gentle waves of her hair as it cradled her face - she really was a starkly attractive woman. I opened my mouth, but couldn't find the words, too distracted by her hair to get the words out. An expression of concern crossed her face as she took a few steps closer, her stride smooth as she walked closer and I finally allowed my gaze to travel down from her hair. She wasn't thin, more of a sturdy woman, and she wasn't overly tall - probably only a bit taller than me. But again I was distracted away from that because of the clothing. It was nothing like I'd seen before - a sleeveless shirt covered her upper half. Revealing pale skin and a patch of colour on her upper right arm that reminded me of the runic tattoos that some of my kin had - only it was larger and more colourful.

"Are you okay? I found you collapsed last night, is there someone I can contact for you?"

My eyes travelled up to her again. I didn't really understand her words, it was nothing like any human had ever spoken to me before. Her accent was also very unusual, which made trying to pick out familiar words very difficult. I shrugged my shoulders, not sure how to express to her that I didn't understand what she was saying.

"I apologize, I do not understand. Where am I? Where is Thorin"

She frowned, it seemed she didn't understand me either. Great, just great. The frown slowly faded into a look that had an edge of hope, and she briefly vanished into another room. She came back a few moments later with sheets of what looked like parchment, then laid it out on the table in front of me and started writing on it. At first, I was confused about what she was doing, then I took a closer look at the paper and realised she was writing on it with dwarven runes. How did she know how to write in dwarven? I didn't even have time to contemplate my good fortune as she passed the paper toward me. My eyes scanning the runes, but the words still didn't make sense. She thought I was some kind of actor? That she'd found me collapsed in her local park and brought me to her home? Could she call someone for me?

I motioned for the pen and started to write.

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Sara POV

The longer I was with this strange man the more I came to realise this was no actor. There was no faking the look of confusion on his face when I had spoken to him, and I had slowly come to the realisation that he really wasn't from this world - and if he talked of Thorin then there was only one world he had come from - Middle Earth. With that thought in mind, there was only one way to communicate and that would be with runes, but even that had its problems - I wasn't fluent in writing in such things, but I knew enough that we would at least be able to communicate on a rudimentary level. I watched him write, his penmanship impeccable as he wrote and the more he wrote the more my heart sank into my stomach.

He really was not from this world. He really was from Middle Earth. I was sitting beside one of the dwarves of Thorin Oakenshield's travelling part and he had no idea where he was or where the other dwarves where.

I sighed and took the paper and wrote down the words I now dreaded to write.

"My name is Sara, and you are not in middle earth anymore. I'm sorry. I wish I could say I knew how to contact them. I don't even know how you got to be here let alone how to get you back"

The look on his face shattered me, the look of distress and dare I say panic. I continued to write, determined to make a bad situation good for my new companion.

"You can stay with me as long as you wish. I don't want to turn you back out on the streets"

I didn't know what I was going to do with him. But I did know I wasn't going to turn him out into a world he knew nothing off. I knew he would survive for a time, but how long would it be before he ended up in jail? No, he would need a guide and for whatever reason, he had been brought into my care - so I now had that responsibility.

He nodded and held out a hand.

"Kili"

I had the dwarven prince in my home and I only hoped that I could make his stay as comfortable as possible, and if there was a way to get him home I was determined to find it for him!