This is my first attempt at a Hobbit/LotR fic and therefore it will be terrible. It is an AU [Alternate Universe] and I am drawing on information from both Peter Jackson's movie and Tolkien's book. I do not own either, however Rhenwr and several other characters are mine. Please R&R!

A female dwarf stood near a green hobbit-door as the common, rowdy noises of a dwarf feast filtered through the walls. This particular dwarf was named Rhenwr - Rhenwr Elklorrin, to be exact - and was a descendant of a rather long line of vaguely royal dwarves. Rhenwr will be featuring rather often in this tale, so I will give you enough background and vision on her so you shall not be fuddling around with histories and sightings when we come to it.

Rhenwr, daughter of the desirable dwarf woman Rhennick, was quite a beautiful dwarf herself. She had the attention of many dwarves, but had recently become of the age 75 (which is a good stout age to be) and was not yet settled with a partner. This was quite a hopeful thought to the many dwarven men who were not yet tied to a partner - and a bewildered one to her relations. The simple reason for Rhenwr's state of freedom was that she was a wild soul, an unpredictable character. Neither her mother nor her father ever showed this tendency, nor her grandparents or her great-parents, for it was Rhenwr Elklorrin's doubly great relatives - and only one, mind - that was ever captive to this raging curiosity and adventurous soul; the great Forren Elklorrin, slayer of the larger-than-average and of course evil warg that once hunted on the grounds of Dale.

Rhenwr had a rather diverse background, which led her to her different (although nonetheless attractive) appearance amongst the dwarves. Rhenwr's skin was quite darker than most, verging on a tanned olive-type. Her eyes were brown, but such a dark shade that in certain light looked black. Her hair was much the same as many dwarf-maidens - dark and tangly. Her build was of the slender yet strong make, which led to her good training in swordsmanship and archery.

Let us return to the story at hand - as you remember, Rhenwr was standing upon the front porch of a rather respectable hobbit. She was listening amusedly to the loud noises of a dwarf feasting and longed to be apart of the joyful scoffing (although it is a fact that female dwarves eat rather more respectably and politely than their male counterparts). And so, with all the patience in the world, Rhenwr raised her right fist and rapped sharply on the door, exactly six times.
A silence fell inside the hobbit-dwelling and Rhenwr smiled. Within a matter of time the door opened and a hobbit tentatively stuck his head out from behind it. He stared in shock at the form of Rhenwr Elklorren, who began removing her ash-grey cloak and hood.
"Rhenwr Elklorren, at your service!" she smiled kindly at the hobbit before setting her sights beyond him. "I do hope this is the right place - ah, Balin!"
For a dwarf had trumped up the corridor beyond the door to see who had knocked upon the door.

"My, it can't be.. Rhenwr Elklorren, unless I am mistaken!"
"At your service, Master Balin! I had my doubts but it does seem to be the correct gathering place!"
Rhenwr was delighted that Balin had recognized her. The latter gestured down the hallway, where the rest of the company were conversing once more.
"Fili and Kili will be absolutely chuffed that you're here, Rhenwr, my dear! Shall we?" Balin uttered.
"Let's."
Poor Bilbo was left standing in the doorway with Rhenwr's cloak and hood in his arms as the two dwarves adjourned to the dining room. He carefully hung the items up and closed the door once more, hoping there was to be no more company tonight!

Meanwhile, Rhenwr was welcomed amongst the company, especially by Fili and Kili, who had been her childhood friends since infantry. Thorin, however, said nothing.
"Are you to join us on our quest, Finn?" Fili inquired hopefully. Rhenwr laughed and patted his arm.
"I must say, Gandalf," she spoke, leaning across the table to address him, "It was mighty inconsiderate of you to remove the mark so hurriedly. I was lucky I was close to this dwelling, and heard you all quarreling over who was going to eat the last seed cake!"
A roar of laughter erupted amongst the dwarves.
"Guess who ate it, then!" Bifur called loudly. Rhenwr rolled her eyes.
"I shall take a calculated guess that whilst most of you were bickering, Bombur chomped it up!"
There was more laughter from the gathering. Gandalf replied in kind to Rhenwr's mild accusation.
"I was not informed of your coming and therefore took the mark off when the last of our counted party entered Mr. Baggins' pleasant home."
"Ah, well, I'm glad you men are as loud as you are, else I would be lost!"
"Then to Thorin," Balin announced. "The leader of our company! What say you on the addition of a new and rather valuable member?"
Thorin gazed at Rhenwr in silence.

"It always was bad luck to have a woman with you on a journey of significance, and always will be," he began, and paused as the sounds of Fili and Kili protesting filled the air.
"But," Thorin called, with the commanding, loud, voice of a leader, "an extra - and valuable, as you say - addition to the party couldn't hurt."
Rhenwr smiled widely at Thorin. Bilbo stood up and the leader of the quest addressed him sharply.
"Where are you going?"
"Just- just to get a little light."
"We like the dark!" the dwarves called. "Dark for dark business."
Bilbo nodded shakily and hurriedly sat down, yet he missed the stool and landed in the fender. Rhenwr felt the urge to stand up and help the poor hobbit clean things up, but it would be an awkward business to climb over - or walk around - the table, and after her long journey she was not up to the task, however small.

Rhenwr watched the dwarves humming. Female dwarves were never able to mimic the haunting sound of male-dwarven humming, yet they had their own style of it - slightly higher, yet more eerie. As Rhenwr looked on, Thorin opened his mouth and began to sing. It went a little like this, if you can imagine it without the humming and background instrumentals.

Far over the misty mountains cold
Through dungeons deep, and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek the pale enchanted gold.

It was indeed a haunting tune, and not one you would want to hear on the eve of a journey, but nevertheless it was somehow comforting to all the present dwarves.
The dwarves all slept in the same room (the living room) and it was very crowded, but as the only maiden present, Rhenwr was allowed to sleep on the double-seated armchair (known as a couch or sofa to you and I). It wasn't the most comfortable item to sleep upon, but it beat the floor.
At the crack of dawn Gandalf roused the dwarves, declaring that it was time to begin the long journey to the mountain.

"What of the burglar?" Oin shouted at the last minute - as the company was leaving the hobbit's hole, to be precise.
"I believe Mr. Baggins is still sleeping soundly, and due to the fright we gave him last night, it will do him good to have a good long rest! Let us leave him a message bidding him meet us at the Green Dragon Inn, which is located in Bywater."
"Hey, Ori!" Nori said, "I bet you ten silver coins he won't come!"
"Oh, he'll come alright," Ori laughed and shook hands with Nori. The other dwarves began making bets - Dwalin bet Gandalf twenty gold coins that the hobbit would not show up! Rhenwr herself even made a bet with Bifur that Bilbo wouldn't miss this chance for an adventure.
At last, the dwarves set off for their journey. Gandalf stayed behind to tend to his important matters.

Rhenwr had, of course, her own horse to ride - it was indeed a horse, though only slightly larger than a pony. Her name was Finnick and she was purest black with one grey sock on her left-hind foreleg.
And so the journey began - fourteen dwarves and seventeen horses in lines of twos and threes. Out of the beautiful green Shire they went, packs laden with supplies and equipment! It was a merry beginning.
Kili and Fili rode up on either side of Rhenwr, smiling and making cheery chatter. Rhenwr, who had been simply delighted to hear of her friends' coming on this journey, joined in and made jokes with them. The sky was blue and the earth simple to ride upon, which was a heartening fact. By the time the company reached the Green Dragon Inn, the trio had begun playing a game of riddles.
"What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?" Fili asked, smiling widely.
"A river, of course! I have another; what can you catch but not throw?"
"Ah... A, uh..." Fili was at a loss, but Kili, who had been thinking hard, said brightly, "A fever!"

Thorin's company dismounted and tied up their horses, entering the inn, which was all but empty at that time of day.
"What a hustle and bustle at this morning hour!" the barman cried, rather delighted as it was.
"Let's see, fourteen dwarves! You must have travelled far to visit!"
"Yes, and now we wait for another member of our party to catch up so we may begin our journey back," Thorin grunted. "If it is all the same to you, we might sit and have but several drinks, but no terribly mind-messing ones."
"Of course, of course," the barman agreed, and together he and several members of the company pushed two long tables together, at which Thorin sat at the head.
"Very good! Orders?" the barman produced a small piece of parchment to write the orders upon (not to mention a quill).
"A small mug of ale, if you please," Rhenwr requested quietly. The barman did a double take.
"A female dwarf! My, it's been years since we had the fortune to meet one of your number!"

With promises to bring the drinks as soon as possible, the barman retreated to his place behind the bar.
By 10:55 a.m, the drinks were finished - along with second and third rounds. The dwarves were becoming impatient. They paid the barman and went outside, readying their horses for the ride. Rhenwr watched the road, still believing that Bilbo would come running up, and no sooner had she thought it that the hobbit appeared on the road, gasping for breath and bending over between exclamations!
"Excellent!" Gandalf exclaimed happily, for he had suddenly appeared, mounted upon a large horse of purest white.

"Nori!" Ori called excitedly, for he of course had won the bet. Shouts rang amongst the dwarves and only as they were dying down did Rhenwr remember her own bet.
"Bifur, five of the gold!" she reminded him, and with a groan he threw the little sack over his shoulder. Rhenwr had not been expecting that reaction from Bifur, especially as she had been adjusting Finnick's reins. It would have hit Rhenwr in the nose if Kili had not responded to reflex and caught the bag. Rhenwr was about to thank him when he said something rather unexpected.
"Mine now," he announced, and Rhenwr tackled him to the dirt, growling playfully. She wrested the small brown bag from Kili and stood in triumph.
"Not anymore!" Rhenwr smiled victoriously and tucked the coins safely into her pack. She smoothly mounted Finnick and guided her out of the tying bay.

"Let us be off!" she cried, holding her sword in the air. "Let us begin our journey to the mountain, where we will slay the dragon and reclaim our gold!"
The dwarves roared in agreement and even Bilbo nodded excitedly, though he still longed for a good large breakfast. At least he had his pack and handkerchief - a handkerchief! Alas, he had forgotten one! This he realized as the company was leaving the outskirts of Bywater.
"Wait!" he said. "Wait! We must turn back; I have forgotten my pocket handkerchief!"
A bellow of laughter rose amongst the dwarves, and Bofur ripped off a section of his tunic and passed it to the hobbit. Bilbo wrinkled his nose, inciting another bout of chortles.
"We must go without many things on this journey," Gandalf explained. "You will have to manage without pocket-handkerchiefs!"
"And silver teaspoons!" said Oin.
"And your grandmother's doilies!" Gloin joined in.
"Plates, platters, carpets and flowers!" Fíli hollered. Bilbo blushed. The mood was again merry and bright, and the landscape of Bywater-borders was pleasant. It reminded Rhenwr of the time when she, Kíli and Fíli had escaped another of Rhennick's punishments and gathered a large meal and a cloth to pull onto the green moor, where they had a picnic in the afternoon sun.

The others talked of dwarven affairs and happenings, none of which truly interested Rhenwr, so she began to fall behind. She fell behind even more so when Finnick began to limp!
The dwarf woman was so used to wandering all by her lonesome that without telling anyone, she halted her horse and dismounted, running her hand down Finnick's leg to pick up the hoof. It was a mere pebble caught in the hoof, which took several minutes to remove but would not bother Finnick any longer. Only as Rhenwr mounted Finnick once more did she realize the company had disappeared, turned some corner that Rhenwr had not anticipated. She rode on, however, looking for any signs of them. The ground was hard and no horse would leave a print, which made it ever the harder.
"Oh, Finnick," Rhenwr breathed to the horse. "When will we learn to communicate with our fellows?"

She rode over a hill - and there they were! The company had halted - no doubt one of them had realized that Rhenwr was no longer among them. Slightly sheepishly, Rhenwr urged Finnick towards them.
"She is there!" Gandalf cried as he caught sight of her. The others turned as Rhenwr caught up, rejoining the travelling dwarves.
"Are you not a part of this company, Rhenwr Elklorren?" Thorin scolded. "Keep up, or next time we shall leave you behind!"
"Finnick was becoming temporarily lame," Rhenwr retorted angrily. "Therefore I stopped to relieve her of the stone that was causing her pain!"
"And you did not think to tell anyone, and simply disappear from the group?"
Rhenwr had no answer to this, and turned away. Thorin huffed and they continued once more.

There was little talk from Rhenwr, for she silently seethed and mentally envisioned taking out her frustrations upon Thorin. She hated to be proved wrong and it did nothing for her temper. A lifetime of lonesome wandering meant that she was not as good at socializing as she should be, and this would most definitely leave its mark on the journey.

And that's the first chapter. Please feed me with your reviews!