Chapter 2

Kili and Fili sat side by side on a rock as they waited for Gandalf and the other wizard to finish talking. To Kili, it seemed whatever the two wizards were discussing, it was serious business. The company was clearly surprised by the sudden appearance of Radagast the Brown, and to top it off, he was riding a sled pulled by large rabbits. He seemed absolutely crazy to the dwarves. He even had an insect inside his mouth, his robes were tattered, and altogether, he seemed absolutely out of his mind. But Kili knew that he should never judge someone so easily by their appearance.

Kili relayed to his brother the story of the female rider he saw earlier. He always told Fili everything ever since they were young, and Fili did likewise. He never liked secrets between them, it always irked him when Fili kept a secret, feeling as if he was not trustworthy enough to be told.

The female had intrigued Kili greatly. She seemed like a daughter of Man, and she seemed like an Elf-maid, but she could've been a dwarf-maid. It rattled him that such a woman existed and the way she looked was so…unnatural.

"She was a woman, brother." He exclaimed, when Fili did not believe him. "Alone but armed! And she was the size of a hobbit—a dwarf maybe! Though, she did not have hair as curly as hobbits—her hair was curly but they were soft curls, not like Bilbo's in any way—and she sported no beard like dwarf-maids! It's as if…as if—"

"She's Mannish? Or Elvish?" Fili supplied.

"Ha! She's unusually pretty for a daughter of Man! And too small! I did not notice her ears if they were pointed or large, though. I pray to Aüle that she is no elf." He grimaced. He had no personal quarrel with the elves like his uncle. But the tales of their uncle about the race had made him dislike them greatly.

"And if she was?"

"I don't know." Kili wanted her not to be an elf. He wanted to be friends with her, or at least be acquainted with her. He wanted to know if she was a dwarf and solve the mystery of her identity. He had always loved mysteries and a hunt. When he was young, he and Fili would pretend they were in adventures, hunting and solving mysteries along the way. But if she was an elf…the case might be different.

"No. You know the answer to that." Fili eyed him warningly as he stood. He placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and squeezed. "If she is ever an elf, we mustn't trust her. Nothin' good comes out from trusting elves."

A menacing wail echoed from afar. The dwarves were quickly on their feet, armed and ready for an attack. On the other hand, Bilbo held his sword shakily as he shivered in fear. He had never heard something so terrifying before in his life—aside from one of the Sackville-Baggins' daughters who sang so horridly on his last birthday.

He asked nervously, "Was that a wolf? Are there...are there wolves out there?"

"Wolves?" Bofur said. "No, that is not a wolf."

Unbeknownst to the dwarves, a warg slowly crept behind them and the growl seemed to grow louder, closer. A branch snapped under the warg's weight, giving it away. They turned around in time before the warg attacked, almost pouncing on Nori. Thorin brought down his sword onto the warg's neck. And then another warg appeared behind Thorin, charging towards him. Kili quickly nocked an arrow onto his bow and shot down the warg, however, as it rolled down near Thorin, it tried to stand again but thanks to Dwalin who brought his axe down onto the warg's head, it finally stayed dead.

"Warg scouts!" Thorin grunted as he dislodged his sword from the warg's neck. "Which means an orc pack is not far behind!"

"Orc pack?" Bilbo asked alarmingly. He was petrified and he definitely did not want to meet orcs, disgusting, foul creatures who knew nothing but slaughter.

"Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" Gandalf stepped forward and asked Thorin.

"No one."

Gandalf grew angrier and repeated. "Who did you tell?!"

"No one, I swear!" Thorin replied. He was not lying, the wizard realized. There was no trace of lie in his eye. The wizard bit his lip, what he had feared has already happened. Thorin eyed the wizard crossly. "What in Durin's name is going on?"

"You are being hunted." Gandalf said grimly. He had hoped that the journey would be unhindered by anything else, but here were orcs, pursuing Thorin and his company. There was nothing else to be done now but to continue the journey as safe as possible, away from the orcs.

Farther on the Great East Road, the young traveler had come across an orc pack. However, only three of them bothered with her, as if they had other more important things to do. It was quite peculiar. Orcs destroyed anything and everything that breathes in their path. Yet most of them merely passed her by.

Two were now on her tail, the other she had shot with her arrow. She could not outrun them. She had to kill them, now or never.

She grabbed her bow and nocked an arrow on it. She swiftly twisted around, aiming at the warg first, and released. The arrow flew and lodged onto the warg's eye. It snarled in pain and stumbled down, throwing the orc forward onto the ground. The other orc charged angrily at her. Again, she fired her arrows, one after another, piercing the orc's chest and the warg's head. She halted and turned around to deliver her final blow when a sharp pain shot through her left arm. An arrow grazed her arm deeply, cutting through a layer of her skin and muscle. She cursed herself for not wearing a cuirass. Sometimes Men were actually right, she sighed. Angrily, she pulled a throwing dagger from her belt and chucked it to the orc. It howled in agony as the dagger sunk deeply into its throat. It made a disgusting gurgling noised as his black blood dripped onto his chest. She watched it mercilessly as the orc fell to the ground, desperately trying to breathe, wheezing and quivering.

She took a deep breath, relaxing slightly atop her horse. Her arm was bleeding severely and she could feel the blood trickling down her hands. To make matters worse, her head was throbbing from her lack of sleep and food.

She tore a part of her tunic and wrapped it around her arm, tying it tightly using her hand and teeth. She could at least stop the bleeding for now, and treat it later. It still wasn't safe. The other orcs might appear and pursue her, and she would not be able to fight them, not in her current state, injured, exhausted, and alone.

"Come, Tálagor." She bent down to her horse, whispering softly. "We must continue East."

The horse whinnied softly and broke into a steady run. Just a little more and they soon will reach their home.

As the young traveler head for safety, so did the company of Thorin Oakenshield. They were led by the wizard into a path below ground, seeking safety from the orcs above. Suddenly, the sound of a hunting horn filled their ears and the swift sound of arrows being fired.

Thorin had no idea what was happening above, but he was grateful to the group ridding the orcs.

An orc toppled down into the tunnel, causing everyone to stand their guards. There was an arrow lodged in its throat. It was dead. It was Fili and Kili's first time to see orcs, more so kill a lot of them. And the stories they had heard have been justified. But this was the closest they've been—although this one would not fight back anymore.

Kili leaned closer to his brother and whispered. "They are hideous."

"Incredibly hideous." Fili nodded and grimaced at the orc.

Thorin knelt down beside the orc and pulled the lodged arrow. He examined the arrow tip and scowled. He regretted being thankful for the help that came.

"Elves." Thorin spat, a scowl forming on his face. Far behind, Dwalin had ventured to the back, seeing if the trail led somewhere. But there was nothing he could see.

"I cannot see where the pathway leads." Dwalin shouted gruffly. "Do we follow it or not?"

Bofur walked strode forward and spoke, "We follow it, of course!"

The dwarves formed a single line and followed through the narrow path between two large rock formations. And for poor ol' Bombur, it was a bother to pass through. There were parts where he could not fit, and Bifur had to push him roughly ahead.

Above them, the sun shone brightly through the fissure between the rocks. Bilbo felt something peculiar about the passage they took. It made him felt light and relaxed. It soothed his weary feet and his spirit slightly. He looked around, feeling the air around him.

"Gandalf," He said quietly. "Where are we?"

"You can feel it?" Gandalf asked amusingly.

"Yes. It feels like…well, like magic."

"That's exactly what it is." He smiled lightly. "A very powerful magic."

"There is light ahead." Dwalin called from ahead. Bilbo followed his feet and soon found himself out of the narrow path and into a large opening. As Bilbo saw the scenery before him, he was awestruck by the magnificence that lay before him: Rivendell—the flowing waters and rivers, the serene atmosphere. At least one good thing happened to him in this dratted quest, he thought.

"The Valley of Imladris." Gandalf said. "In the common tongue, it's known by another name."
"Rivendell." Bilbo finished, his tone full of admiration.

But Thorin did not care how Rivendell looked. He was taking refuge in a home of Elves—the very kin that deserted him and his people when their home was taken away from them.

"This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy!" He snapped at Gandalf. He would not allow his company to ask help from the dratted race. He had sworn to himself that never will he trust an elf in his life again.

"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield." Gandalf argued. "The only ill-will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself."

"You think the Elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us." He countered.

"Of course, they will. But we have questions that need to be answered. If we are to be successful this will need to be handled with tact, and respect, and no small degree of charm, which is why you will leave the talking to me."

Thorin gave up grudgingly and agreed to the wizards plan. He thought of his company, all of them were exhausted and famished.

They passed the gates and arrived on the threshold of Rivendell. Bilbo cannot help but be overwhelmed by the beauty of Rivendell. He had never seen such splendour before. Only had he heard of the tales of Rivendell and dreams that he had when he was once a child. He had never thought he would ever set foot on Rivendell, that it was merely a far, far dream that he would ever had. Yet here he was.

The dwarves settled in the center of the courtyard. Some were awestricken, some were feeling a bit lost, some were keeping a careful, grudging eye around them—mainly Thorin, Dwalin, and Gloin, and some were, or rather, one was keeping a close eye behind. The young prince felt something tugging on his mind, though he did not truly understand what it was.

As he was about to face ahead when an elf steward descended from the stairs, a single figure atop a brown horse caught his eye.

"Fili!" He shouted, startling the others, and pointed at the shrouded figure. "Look!"

The dwarves formed into a circle, pulling the hobbit inside. They had their weapons aimed at the lone rider. But as the rider passed the gate, no attention was given to the dwarves except for a passing glance. The rider stopped in front of the elf steward and Gandalf, and removed his hood.

Long black hair fluttered and cascaded down to her back, and Kili realized that the rider was not a man, but the female rider he had encountered earlier. He observed her. She looked terribly exhausted, her eyes were bloodshot and she looked pale. Maybe he hadn't noticed it before but it was unlikely of him. Then he noticed the blood stain on her cloak. She was injured somewhere and needed tending, unless she was ambushed by bandits. He started forward but Gloin blocked his path and eyed him questioningly. Even he was baffled by his impulsiveness.

The young rider was surprised to see dwarves in Rivendell, knowing that the relationship between the two races were not good. But she decided to inquire about it later, for now, she wanted to retire to her room and sleep.

"You have returned. Welcome home, my lady." The elf-steward spoke, greeting the rider in Elven tongue. "Pray tell, why do you look so battle-worn?"

"Waylaid by orcs near the Great East Road." She sighed. "I am glad to be home, Lindir." She glanced towards the wizard and gave her greetings, "Mithrandir, we meet again. I did not know this was your destination."

"My Lady, is that blood?" Lindir asked worriedly.

"Grazed by an arrow. I will retire to my chambers. Have a healer sent to my room, please. I am far too weary to sit up right. I shall greet Lord Elrond later." She said evenly to the steward, and to Gandalf, "Let us catch up later, my dear friend."

"Noro, Tálagor!" She said, and the horse galloped around the dwarves and to a pathway on the side, leaving the dwarves staring after her. Kili was surprised that with mere words, she made the horse gallop, as if the horse understood her words so clearly, while the others were baffled when they set their eyes upon the woman. She was no taller than the most of them! She seemed like a Halfling—a hobbit, yet she seemed like a dwarf-maiden yet without beard. But two shared a look of understanding, a look of familiarity. They knew the face of the maiden well—she was a familiar face of their past.

Kili stared at her until she was no longer seen. Beside him, Fili wondered why Kili was paying such attention to the woman. Never was Kili attentive to any woman aside from their mother. Back in Ered Luin, women flocked the young heirs of Durin, mostly because of shallow desires, either because they were Princes by right or because they were 'handsome rich nobles'. Surely Kili has snuck with women before and so did he, but attentiveness like such was impalpable to Kili. He wished to ask his brother but the sound of a hunting horn filled their ears and the sound of hooves approaching, unabled him to do so. As his eyes flickered to the gates, his eyes hardened and a scowl was evident on his face.

Elves were approaching.

A/N: Guys! Would you please tell me which scenes from my sister (Dark-haired companion) would you like to be here, well, since this is like a version of it? I want your opinions and your opinions matter to me very, very much. To the following:

Disclaimer: All characters, places, and languages are properties of the Great, Wonderful, and Amazing J.R.R. Tolkien otherwise, shall be stated.