Welcome to Part Two my lovelies! I'm so glad you all enjoyed the Martyr! Tonight's chapter isn't as long as I had wanted it to be but, it covers certain aspects that need to be covered before we can get this story completely rolling. I have been so excited to write this part but I'm not sure if I will be following Tolkien Canon or Peter Jackson Canon... perhaps a little of both as well as a little of neither? We shall see...

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings.

Thank you to all of my reviewers! You have made this journey fantastic for me and I just love that you love my series. Hopefully you continue to love it!

Happy Reading!

A lone figure made its way slowly through the meandering roads of the Shire. Well, as lone as a figure could be with a wolf trailing after it. Any hobbit that happened to see the being promptly slammed their doors and windows shut as hobbits do not appreciate strange folks and thought that they had no business in their Shire. In this case, it was probably for the best that the hobbits avoided the traveler, as he was currently too annoyed to put on false niceties for the little creatures.

The reason for his annoyance wasn't because the Seven Dwarf Kingdoms were unwilling to support his quest, nor was it because he had been unable to convince his nephews to stay home, even though those two points played some part in it. No, the main reason was the fact that he was lost and that his wife knew it. He had wandered the Shire for about an hour now and was unable to make heads nor tails of the place. Thorin Oakenshield, the rightful King Under the Mountain, bested by the winding and confounding roads of the hobbit homeland. He could feel the humor rolling off of Ariya like waves as she followed behind him.

The situation was made especially irritating by the fact that before they had set out, Dis had joked about Thorin's sense of direction, or lack there of, stating that Ariya had better prepare herself to be the "voice of direction" on the quest. Dis then told the story about how as a dwarfling, Thorin had gotten lost not 10 feet from Erebor and had screamed for aid. Thorin declared it to be a blatant exaggeration and attempted to regain his pride through stating that "he would find the home of one Bilbo Baggins by himself without anyone's help, thank you very much, and his lost mountain too". Ariya smiled at him and gave him a knowing look, much like the one her wolf form was giving him now. At the time, he had been unable to be annoyed with Dis for her humor- he knew that she would be consumed by worry and fear once he and Ariya left with her two sons. Thankfully, Gilni had decided to stay behind and help his wife manage Ered Luin, trusting Thorin to keep his children safe.

Now, however, Thorin was not amused by Dis's teasing, as it had landed him in this situation. Realizing there was nothing for it, he turned to the wolf behind him. It sat down expectantly and tilted it's head to the side, waiting for his admission to being lost. Just as he was about to admit defeat however, he heard a burst of music and laughter as well as a few dwarvish terms come from one of the hobbit homes to his left. That was when he noticed the little lane and sign that held the words "Bag End" on it.

He, of course, had passed that exact lane at least three times already and Ariya knew it. That did not stop him from smiling like he had known about it the whole time and gesturing that they would go down that road.

He hadn't known it possible for Ariya to roll her eyes at him in her wolf form.

Leading the way once more, Thorin knew that he and Ariya would be the last to arrive at the hobbit's home. It had been Gandalf that insisted the silly little thing join them on their quest as their burgular, something that Nori had taken great offense to. But Gandalf's theory that Smaug wouldn't know the smell of hobbit and thus be easier to sneak around seemed sound, if any of Gandalf's ideas could be considered sound. He held far too much information back for Thorin's tastes, but as Ariya pointed out many times, several things went against Thorin's "tastes". Thus his wife declared that they would take Gandalf's advice, whether he liked it or not.

It would not be easy, this Quest that lay ahead of them- Thorin acknowledged the very real possibility that they would fail. He and Ariya had just journeyed from the meeting with his kin and the dwarves of the Seven Kingdoms (also known as Source of Thorin's Annoyance Number One) and all of them had outright declared the fact that he was sure to fail. It had been disappointing at first, but Thorin had such an infinite amount of stubbornness and sheer will that he decided it was for the best. He would rather reclaim Erebor with the twelve dwarves who answered his call than an entire army from his cousin.

As for the Northern Clan, Ariya had decided that her people would not be joining them on the quest. Things were difficult enough for them already- the years since their wedding had not been as kind to them as they had been to the dwarves. King Soran had passed on some 50 years ago and Akan, being the first-born, had taken up his father's mantle. Lila and Leena were also forced to shoulder more responsibility as game became sparser and darkness began to move across the tundra, bringing with it orcs and other foul creatures. More and more clan members became permanent fixtures at Ered Luin and Thorin wondered if the reclamation of Erebor would bring the entire Northern Clan down to live among them. It would not be a bad thing, he decided, having skin changers in Erebor. In fact, he welcomed the idea.

A sharp whine broke through his thoughts. Turning to the source of the noise, Thorin saw Ariya sitting down in front of a small wooden gate- apparently, Thorin had once more walked past where they needed to go while he had been so lost in thought. Grumbling slightly, he patted Ariya on the head and walked up the little pathway, wondering how he had missed this smial with all the noise coming out of it. Thorin raised his fist and knocked on the round green door that had the dwarven rune "G" carved into it.

"Hopefully this hobbit would prove to be useful" he muttered as he waited in front of the door, Ariya sitting beside him. As the door had started to open, the dwarf King completely missed his wife's reproachful glance.

"He's here." Gandalf stated to the twelve dwarves and single hobbit around him before moving off in the direction of the door. Another one? the poor hobbit thought in exasperation, still suffering from the shock of watching his mother's dishes fly through the air and not wanting to deal with anything else this evening. His unwanted house guests had even destroyed the plumbing! It was something he had tried to explain to Gandalf, who only claimed it to be a 'merry gathering' or some such nonsense before returning to the fray. A merry gathering indeed!

Unfortunately, the good manners that his father spent countless years attempting to ingrain in him came into play far too much this evening. Currently, Mister Bilbo Baggins of Bag-End found himself welcoming yet one more dwarf into his home. Or rather, Gandalf welcomed one more dwarf into Bilbo's home.

Impetuous wizard.

As Bilbo was busy silently fuming, it took him a moment to realize that the stranger hadn't entered his smial alone. It was then that Bilbo found his good nature and manners had finally run out. Completely ignoring everything the dwarf began to say to him (something along the lines of "So, this is the hobbit.") Bilbo snapped.

"No, absolutely not! It is bad enough that you've destroyed my home, eaten my dinner, decimated my pantry, and tossed my dear mother's dishes about like some wild hooligans, but this is going too far! I do not welcome wolves, tamed or otherwise, and that beast shall not set foot in here!" Bilbo pointed a harsh finger at the black wolf that had trailed in behind the newcomer and started to shake. Alarmed by the small hobbit's outburst, there was a moment of silence as the dwarves tried to decide if they should be offended by their host or for him. It was a silence broken by a soft cough from Gandalf, who began to address the situation.

"My dear Bilbo, I assure you that Ariya is not an ordinary wolf. No harm shall come from her, at least none that will be turned upon you."

Bilbo was not placated. "I will not have it." He was embarrassed by how pleading he sounded when he wanted to sound like a host laying down the law in his own home.

Suddenly, instead of a black wolf standing behind the dwarf, there was a woman. Bilbo's mouth fell open and his hand fell back to his side as he could only stare in shock. The woman gave him a small smile and bow.

"I apologise, Bilbo Baggins, if my other form frightened you. I am also sorry for the inconvenience-" here she shot a pointed look at the dwarves surrounding Bilbo "-that my family has caused you. And I hope that they at least left some food for us?" She smiled gently at Bilbo once more, who could only clear his throat awkwardly for a moment.

"Well, that is (ahem), I suppose I could put together a nice (eherm) soup? If you would prefer that mi'lady?"

Her smile widened. "Call me Ariya, and that sounds most excellent Mister Baggins." The little hobbit blushed to his ears before turning and scurrying off into the depths of his home, muttering about what food could be left.

Turning slightly to her husband, Ariya gave him a look that clearly said "be nice" before she was dragged into twin hugs by her nephews, who excitedly started telling her about their journey to the Shire and asking why it took her and Thorin so long to arrive.

Watching his wife get dragged off to the sitting room by his nephews, Thorin moved over to Balin and Dwalin. Greeting them, he quietly voiced his displeasure about the hobbit that he hadn't been able to express earlier.

"He looks more like a grocer than a burglar."

Dwalin nodded in agreement. "The wild is no place for 'im. 'e would not last the night."

"Ariya seems to have taken to him though." Balin quickly pointed out.

"Ariya takes to everyone." Thorin responded, shaking his head a little. "Especially those that need protecting."

"Oh aye," Dwalin agreed quickly, "she did marry you after all."

Thorin snapped something back about Dwalin's mother, causing his friend to roar with laughter and Balin to look affronted.

"If the three of you are quite finished..." Ariya's voice drifted over them, causing the three to turn and Dwalin to stop laughing. Ariya stood in the rounded doorway between the sitting room and the entry hall, a hand on her hip and her look reproachful. "Mister Baggins has prepared us a nice stew Thorin and I believe it is time that we discuss with him why we are here, as some dwarves decided it wasn't important to tell him." The last part of the sentence was directed at both Balin and Dwalin, who attempted not to look like guilty dwarflings.

"Yes my love, we will be right there." Thorin answered, trying not to roll his eyes at the awkward shuffling of the two dwarves next to him. Ariya smiled at him and left, but not before leaving one last hushed instruction. "And try not to scare him so Dwalin, I think the poor thing is close to fainting as it is."

Dwalin scoffed to himself and responded in a voice that only Thorin and Balin could hear. "She should say the same to Bofur. I 'eard 'im taking a bet with Nori that 'e could make 'im pass out before the night is over."

"The last thing we need is a burglar who faints at the drop of a hat." Thorin muttered back as he and the other two made their way to the table.

Of course, as these things go, that is exactly what they got.

I hate writing accents. It's official. I don't know how to write Dwalin's accent so how it is here is how it's going to be. The End. Lol.