Disclaimer: I only own Ira :) Everyone else belongs to Tolkien, Peter Jackson or Bethesda

A/N: So, here is the start to On the Road Again. For those of you reading this, there will be some who have and some who haven't read the prequel to this fic. If you haven't I suggest you do for some context and an introduction to the characters in this story. it is a crossover fic between the Hobbit and Skyrim. This one is the same, just set in the Lord of the Rings instead. I hope you like this first chapter, and to those returning, hello again. XD

On the Road Again

Chapter 1:

The sky was clear and empty; the perfect setting for the birthday party of Bilbo Baggins. Amongst the crowd was Bilbo himself, his dark haired nephew, Frodo, and the tall grey wizard, Gandalf. The rest were hobbits - distant and not-so-distant relations to Bilbo.

And stood on a hill was a cloaked, hooded figure, watching. Shadows hid the figure's face. They were uninvited, but they'd come anyway. A surprise, one might say.

Moving down the hill, the stranger began to catch the attention of the party guests. Soon every one of them was warily watching the cloaked figure as they walked up to the hobbit for whom this party had been thrown.

Bilbo watched them approach. The stranger was over twice as tall as him. A fine sword was at their side, and they were clothed entirely in black, scaly armour, over which was a black cloak, held together at the front with a star-shaped brooch. They came to a stop in front of him, before kneeling down.

When the figure raised its head, the party lights illuminated its face. Brown hair, blue eyes, pale skin and a young face. Bilbo laughed merrily. "My dear!" He cried, making her smile and place a hand on his shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

The woman winked. "I haven't seen you for so long I thought I'd come and say 'hello'." She said. "It's rather convenient that it is also your birthday."

Bilbo laughed and embraced the woman. The two drew apart, and she again stood at her full height. They both saw the entire collection of hobbits watching them closely. Bilbo scowled. "Oi!" He barked. "Don't you know it's rude to stare?"

The hobbits laughed and began dancing and chatting again. The woman looked down at her old friend. "How have you been all these years, Bilbo?"

"Oh, fine, fine," Bilbo muttered. "Received another mouth to feed not long after coming back here."

"Your nephew. Yes, I know."

Bilbo frowned. "How?"

She laughed. "Gandalf, of course!"

Bilbo huffed. "I shouldn't be surprised to find out he's involved."

"And why would that be?" A new voice asked.

Bilbo gave him a mock-glare. "Because you always seem to be involved."

Gandalf chuckled, before turning to the woman. "It's been a while, Ira."

The woman - Ira - threw back her hood, a smile on her face. "Longer than I might have hoped, certainly. But less time than I thought it'd be. I didn't expect to find you here, Gandalf."

Gandalf chuckled again. "I wouldn't miss Bilbo's birthday," he responded lightly.

"Frodo, my lad, come!" Bilbo beckoned to a dark haired hobbit. Frodo walked forward cautiously, eyeing Ira with both suspicion and interest in his blue eyes. "Frodo, this is an old and dear friend of mine, Ira. Ira, this is my nephew, Frodo."

Ira bowed, a hand over her heart, an elvish greeting she had begun to use forty years previously. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Frodo Baggins."

"The pleasure is all mine, my lady," Frodo said, bowing also.

Ira looked amused. "No offence, dear Bilbo, but I cannot see how he is related to you. He is far more polite than you were on the day of our first meeting."

Bilbo scoffed. "I was perfectly polite when we met!"

"Unless trying to stop us from entering your home now counts as polite, then I'm afraid you weren't." Ira commented with an arched eyebrow.

Bilbo huffed. "Well, you can hardly blame me. My house was full of dwarves!"

Ira, Gandalf and Frodo laughed, and Bilbo then walked away, muttering under his breath. Frodo turned to Ira. "You went with uncle on the quest, then?"

Ira nodded, and for a moment, pain flashed across her eyes. His innocent question had reminded her of the ones who fell during that awful final battle. "I did."

Frodo smiled. "Bilbo's told me about that, though regrettably not all of it."

"I can't blame him for leaving out some of the details," Ira stated calmly. "Some weren't particularly pleasant."

Frodo nodded. "I can imagine." Gandalf smiled at them both, before he too left. "I still find it difficult to believe that Bilbo did all those things."

"What things?" Ira asked, sitting on an empty bench. Frodo sat beside her.

"He claimed to save your lives from trolls."

Ira smirked. "He did."

Frodo's eyebrows lifted. "He also said that you saw stone giants in the Misty Mountains."

Ira shivered. "Don't remind me," she muttered. "That's true as well, although it ended not so well for me."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I almost died that day. Had it not been for Alduin, I may well have done."

"Alduin..." Frodo thoughtfully chewed the inside of his mouth, before his eyes widened. "The black dragon!"

Ira nodded. "Yes, that's him."

"Where is he now?"

"He remained in Rivendell while I travelled here. For what reason, I'm not sure, but it must be important. He is not a massive fan of elves, to be honest."

Frodo nodded pensively, before asking, "What about in Goblin Town? Bilbo said that he fell down a long way and found Gollum in a cave. That he had a game of riddles in order to escape."

Ira laughed. "I can't tell you about that one. Bilbo got separated from the rest of us as soon as we entered that place. The rest of us were..." Ira's eyes widened, and she trailed off. "Let's just say I'd rather forget what happened in there."

"The skin changer?"

"Beorn. Yes, that's true as well."

"And the Pale Orc - Azog, was it? - hunting you?" Ira nodded once again. Frodo frowned. "And after that? He said you were briefly caught in Mirkwood, but that you managed to free everyone. Using some special words, he told me."

Ira chuckled. "Special words... It's not quite what they are, but I'm afraid they are too complicated to really explain, so I suppose that will have to do."

"Bilbo also said you stopped in Laketown for a night, then left for the Lonely Mountain."

Ira nodded. "Yes. Of course, for Alduin and myself, that's when everything changed. Killing Smaug made us both dragons."

"And after that?"

Ira sighed. "After that things got complicated. Thorin began to get sick. Not a physical illness, but rather a sickness of the mind. He grew greedy, selfish. The gold became his obsession. He would not part with a single piece. I pretended to threaten his nephews, and for a while it cured him, but when the men from Laketown came to Erebor, they brought the elves of the Woodland Realm with them, and he refused to give them the gold he'd promised them. Your uncle decided to give the King's Jewel - or the Arkenstone, as it was also called - to Bard and King Thranduil to use as a trade. Thorin was furious. He was not at all forgiving, and instead banished Bilbo from Erebor." Her eyes closed as she talked, and there was a pain on her face. "Then came the orcs and goblins. A great battle was fought at the base of Erebor. Men, elves and dwarves formed an alliance to fight this threat. But, though we won, a terrible price was paid."

"What happened?"

"During the battle, my sister died, and so did Thorin. I had spent a very long time before then without Amicitia, and to lose her for definite so soon after finding her again... the sorrow was too much. And my dragon body couldn't cope. Dragon's hearts don't naturally feel sadness, only a lust for power, and hatred, and anger. So when the sorrow came, my body shifted to become what it is today. I returned to my original body." She closed her eyes, and a single tear slipped down her cheek as the ache in her chest flared.

"Miss Ira?" Frodo asked tentatively. "Are you alright?"

Ira pursed her lips together as another tear fell. "Sorry," she said. "It is particularly painful for me to recall that day. Amicitia and I were very close, and even Thorin became a good friend of mine."

Frodo sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Ira said sharply. "The past is the past. We can't change it. You least of all."

Frodo frowned. "Why not?"

Now, Ira smiled. "Because you were definitely not old enough to even think about helping. In fact, I rather doubt you were even a thought in your father's mind."

"Oh." Frodo hesitated a long time, before asking quietly, "Forgive me if this seems rude, but, how old are you? You look like the race of man, yet seem too young to have been a part of that quest when it happened."

Ira smiled. "I am old, very old," she admitted. "The dragon blood that runs through my veins has kept me alive. I am immortal, like the elves."

Frodo seemed surprised. "Wait, you're the Dragonborn? Bilbo told me that the Dragonborn was there, but he never told me your name."

"I am indeed the Dragonborn, Frodo, although, really, I left that life behind the moment Smaug lay dead." She glanced up when Bilbo laughed heartily, and smiled fondly at the old hobbit. "It has been sixty years since I last saw your uncle. I figured he was due a visit." She then leaned in close. "I believe also that Bilbo is not the only one to share this day."

Frodo drew back, shocked. "How did you...?"

"The same answer as always: Gandalf!" Ira said with a laugh. She winked at him. "Happy Birthday, Frodo Baggins." She then stood and left, leaving the party for good without saying goodbye to Bilbo. She had a feeling she'd be seeing him again soon. The woman climbed back up the hill swiftly and silently. At the top stood a strong, black beast. He had red eyes that glowed brightly, giving him a sinister appearance, when, in truth, he was quite friendly, and extremely loyal. He snorted a greeting to Ira when she neared him, who quickly mounted him and, after sending on last look down at Bilbo's party, spurred him into a canter, leaving Hobbiton behind.

...

Just outside the town of Bree, Ira and her stallion, Shadowmere, came to a stop. Ira knocked on the main gate. It was cloudy today, the sun low in the sky. Dusk was approaching, and Ira was already late for her meeting in the Prancing Pony. The gate guard let her in without argument - Ira had visited Bree many times in recent years, and so he knew her face. Ira led Shadowmere by the reins through the town, before passing him over to a kindly hobbit who looked after the stables. Shadowmere didn't seem overly pleased by this arrangement, but Ira gently stroked his nose to calm him down. She then turned and entered the Prancing Pony.

Ale and smoke. Both scents assaulted her nose at once, followed then by the smell old sweat. Not particularly pleasant, if she was being honest with herself, though by now, Ira was used to it. She straight away went to the far left hand corner and sat herself down. A man in ranger clothes not unlike the ones she wore was sat beside her. Neither looked at each other, and, after a moment, she spoke.

"You wanted to meet me? Why?" Ira asked, barely moving her lips and not turning to face him.

The ranger didn't glance at her either. "I plan on making a voyage to Moria. I wanted to invite you along, since you have friends there."

Ira smiled to herself. "You've been planning this for some time." It wasn't a question.

"Indeed. It has held my interest for a long while."

Ira almost shook her head. He was just so predictable sometimes. "Go if you wish. I have my own duties to attend to, so I must go to Rivendell."

"Very well. I don't know how long I will be there."

Ira nodded this time, but the movement was very slight. "Say hello to the lads for me, will you?"

"I will."

Ira then stood and approached the bar, her hood still up and shadowing her face. She and the ranger had picked up titles in this place, and were the ones they lived by in the area surrounding Bree. He was Strider, while she was Naira, a name she had been given by Strider (and recommended by Gandalf). It was Quenyan for 'Heart of Flame'.

The barkeeper, Barliman Butterbur, was immediately tense and wary. While she and Strider had never done anyone any harm, the locals were particularly distrustful of them, especially since they rarely showed their faces. But, more than that, ever since Ira became a shape-shifter with a dragon as her other form, people have felt wary around her, and it always took a long time for her to gain their trust.

"What can I do for you?" Butterbur asked in a slightly trembling voice.

"A room for the night, please."

The barman nodded and shuffled away, before returning with a key. "It's for your usual room. Same price as normal, please."

Ira dropped the money on the desk, before picking up the key. She turned around and headed for the stairs, giving Strider an inconspicuous wink as she did. He simply rolled his eyes in response.

Hi again! Well, there's the first update. This story has officially begun! Unfortunately that announcement is somewhat lacking in cheers, applause, and fanfares of brass instruments. Ah well, you can't have everything in life. Hope you enjoyed it, and until next time!