I didn't do much sleeping that night. My room had a bath tub in it, so I spend a few hours in that, topping up the hot water whenever the temperature began to drop. Usually in the bath I would contemplate the meaning of life or whatnot, but this time I made sure I did no thinking. I stared blankly at the tap end, watching it as it dripped slowly. I was in a state of shock, my brain had completely and utterly pickled under the strain.

My evening had been spent listening to Gandalf waffle away about all the quirks of this so called 'Middle-Earth', most of it going straight over my head. He'd informed me that the monster I had encountered in the forest was called a 'Warg' and that apparently there were many of them.

Bloody fantastic.

I had asked him how he knew who I was, how he knew my name, and he simply replied, 'I've known you for many years, my dear." And that was it. When I asked how he just smiled, when I asked why he chose me he just chuckled. Seriously.

After finally leaving the safety of my bath I wrapped myself in a towel and began to sift through my holdall. I had everything in there, from my tooth brush to my knickers, from my hair brush to my makeup. Thankfully, the water hadn't penetrated my wash bag, which means my tooth brush and makeup were perfectly dry (my priorities again there).

I fiddled absentmindedly with my tongue piercing as I began my work. I sorted out all my wet (slightly smelly clothes) and ran a new bath, I then poured a little of my shampoo into the water to add a nice smell and a little cleanliness before depositing all of my clothes into the tub. I stirred them around a bit, scrubbing when necessary in an attempt to clean the garments a bit. I then emptied the bath and rang the clothes out a bit before hanging them around the room to dry in direction of the fire. I then sat on the bed, still in my towel and stared into the flames.

At some point I must have fallen asleep for one moment I was watching the flames then the next I was awoken to a loud banging on my door.

I jumped up, grabbing at my towel before it slipped off me.

"Hello?" I called, my eyes blinking at my surroundings. It wasn't all a dream, it was all real. The fire had gone out at some point during the night and had left the room drafty and cold. I could tell already that I would spend more the day in an awful mood, the night before I'd told myself I'd wake up in my bed and this would have all been a dream. I was completely gutted.

"Good morning! Are you ready to leave yet?"

It was Gandalf and I groaned, sinking back down onto the bed, head in my hands.

"Yeah, give me two minutes…" I replied reluctantly, running a hand through my blonde hair, it had dried now, but was a completely mess of curls from sleeping awkwardly and not brushing it.

"No worries!" Came the painfully happy reply.

I sighed again and finally stood, grabbing some knickers and a bra, before pulling some baggy, loose navy blue track suit bottoms from their position on the curtain rail where I'd hung them the night before. Gandalf had informed me last night that my attire wasn't exactly appropriate here and that I should choose something different for the following day, especially as we were travelling to this place called 'The Shire'.

I stomped around the room, gathering my now dry belongings and shoving them back into my holdall. I also put on a baby pink vest top and a bright red hoodie that had 'Life Guard' printed across the back in white, bold print. Stylish I know, but I wasn't in the mood to make an effort. These clothes were dry and comfortable, so anyone who judges could do one for all I cared.

I then headed to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. My teeth were my pride and joy, I got so anal about them, and just because I was in another world wasn't going to change that. I stared at my reflection in the mirror and frowned at the girl who was looking back at me. My usual rosy cheeks were pale and my pink lips were sickly white. My once muddy green eyes bore a hue of red and dark bags hung beneath them. My honey blonde hair was dishevelled chaos, so I pulled it up into a messy ponytail and washed my face to wake me up. With a sigh and one last check to make sure I'd remembered everything I left the room, pulling on my ruined Vans as I went. I found Gandalf waiting for me outside my room, his sudden appearance made me jump.

"Ready?" He asked cheerily, giving me a small smile.

"No." I responded rather sulkily, but followed the old man out anyway. I had grown to trust him, he had helped me out and if his story was true, then I owed him my life.

"I suppose we ought to get you a pony." The wizard smiled down at me and handed me what looked like a piece of toast.

"A what sorry?" I snapped around a mouthful of the bread and he chuckled.

"A pony my dear, I trust you know what they are."

"Of course I know what a pony is," I huffed, readjusting my holdall as we stepped out the Inn. The brisk morning air hit me like a smack in the face.

"Do you know how to ride one?"

"Yes." I replied, then paused, "Or at least I think so. I did lessons when I was little…"

"I'm sure you'll be fine then." He reassured me, patting my back slightly as I followed him down a path, leading me away from the Inn, "There is a small village not too far from here, we can get you one there."

I openly cringed at the thought of a horse. I hated horses, ponies, whatever. Actually no, hate is a strong word, I absolutely loathed them. I was undeniably, catastrophically terrified of them. I had a thing about teeth, horrible teeth freaked me right out and horses had nasty teeth.

I'm pretty sure I'm having a panic attack. Oh my God I'm going to die all over again. This is horrible, why does it keep bucking its head?! Why is it moving like that? Oh my God it keeps looking at me! It's teeth, oh my- its teeth!

"Are you going to name her?" Gandalf suggested, he could clearly sense my discomfort from bobbing along on his horse next to me. It was painfully written all over my face.

"What?" I wasn't really listening to him, I was too preoccupied with trying not to have a nervous breakdown.

"Your pony, my dear, you must give her a name."

I knew he was trying to ease my anxiety, not that it was really working.

"Erm…" Demon? Devil? Shit head? "Mutton?"

Gandalf laughed, obviously thinking I was joking, he then looked at me expectantly, waiting for a genuine answer. I sighed.

"I don't know, Jeremy?"

"That's a boy's name, you can't call her that." He chuckled and I groaned inwardly. I didn't really want to name it.

I thought for a moment, glancing down at the chocolate brown pony plodding along beneath me, "Aero." God I would kill for an Aero bar right now.

Gandalf chuckled, "well that's a bit better."

There was a few minutes of silence. We'd been riding all day and my bum was painfully sore and my stomach was beginning to rumble.

"How much further?" I asked, eyeing the sun in the sky, it was beginning to sink.

"Not much," The wizard replied, "Another hour at the most. I will be leaving you with our host for a bit, but I will return later in the evening. He is a nice little fellow, I think you'll get along with him splendidly. His name is Bilbo, and he is a Hobbit."

"A what, sorry?" I was only half listening as per usual, most of my attention was being taken by our surroundings which consisted of hill after hill of emerald green grass. Littered here and there were clusters of brightly coloured flowers, bumblebees and butterflies hovered between them happily. The air was a pleasantly warm now, even with the dimming light, and it smelt sweetly of flowers and vanilla. It was truly beautiful here.

"A hobbit, a Halfling," The wizard began, removing his pipe from his waist band and filling it with tobacco. I was rather impressed how he did this even when riding a horse, I on the other hand was holding onto the reins for dear life, removing even a finger was out of the question. "He is a little folk, living within the ground with large feet and curly hair."

I snorted, "Sounds cute." I took most of his words with a pinch of salt.

Gandalf just chuckled and I zoned out, too engrossed in the view.

The Shire was beautiful. The sun had set now and even in the low light of random windows and the sprinkling of lanterns I could tell how wonderful this place was. It was so peaceful and quiet, and smelt just delightful, the floral scent was now mixed with the hearty smell of dinner. And if I wasn't hungry enough before, boy oh boy was I hungry now.

Gandalf chuckled when my stomach rumbled loudly, "We are almost there."

Thank fuck for that, the sooner I get off this bloody horse the better.

Soon enough the Wizard pulled his horse to a stop and I quickly followed, the sudden lack of movement made me realise actually how sore my bum was.

"Tie your pony to the tree over there with the others, she'll be safe for the night. Bilbo Baggins lives here." Gandalf pointed to a low apple tree were two other ponies stood trying to reach the apples and then to a round, green door. I nodded and turned to say goodbye but he was already gone. I blinked at the empty spot where he once sat.

"Maybe he is actually a Wizard…" I muttered before clumsily dismounting and pulling the stubborn pony over to the tree. I adjusted my holdall, and stretched, my back, bum and stomach aching.

Gingerly I wandered over to the door and knocked twice.

I jumped when the door swung violently open, a rather dishevelled little person peaked round the side, almost nervously.

I grinned at him. He was genuinely adorable. He as smaller than me by nearly a foot (I stood at an average 5'4" thank you very much) and his hair was just precious, sitting in neat curls upon his head.

On sight of me he came out behind the door and my eyes instantly dropped to his feet. They were indeed huge and my eyes popped at the sight.

"Yes?" He asked rather briskly.

My eyes snapped up and my grin widened, my mood had significantly improved since entering The Shire and this little fella was too cute to be moody with, plus he was supposedly my host, and I did have some manners. It may have also had something to do with the fact that this was the beautiful place, and the lack of Wargs and mud made it even better.

"Hi!" I stuck out my hand to him, "I'm Olivia, are you Mister Baggins?"

He smiled slightly at me, he seemed rather relieved about something, "Yes, yes I am." He took my hand and shook it vigorously, "Can I help you?" Although relieved, he also look sceptical.

"Erm, I'm a friend of Gandalf's," I blinked at him, not really knowing what to say. I didn't want to simply invite myself in. I was about to open my mouth to say more but the Hobbit sighed.

"I thought this might have something to do with that Wizard." He muttered and slowly stepped aside, his head hanging in defeat, "Come in."

What might have something to do with Gandalf?

I smiled softly at him, almost apologetically before entering his home. And in that split second Bilbo got even cuter. His home was just wonderful, it was so warm and homely, and everything was round.

"This is beautiful!" I exclaimed, staring in awe at an intricately designed wooden chair, "Your home is beautiful."

Apparently then and there I struck a chord with the Hobbit for his face softened and he smiled warmly, puffing out his chest proudly, "Well thank you, Miss Olivia."

I grinned at him again and opened my mouth to ask about one of his peculiar looking pictures when I heard voices from down the hall. There were two voices, both deep and rumbling and they seemed to be in deep conversation. More Hobbits? I suppose that would explain the extra ponies.

I shot Bilbo a questioning glance, he was no longer looking at me but down towards where the voices were coming from, a rather exasperated look on his face.

"Wait, wait, put that down!" Bilbo shouted and quickly headed off down the hall.

I gingerly followed him, peering around the round door frame and into what seemed to be the kitchen. My eyebrows shot into my hairline at the two people who stood before me and Bilbo. One was a great deal shorter than I was, and he had a long, forked white beard and a large hooked nose. The other was maybe just about my height, but built like a brick wall and had tattoos on his head and had a dishevelled looking beard. Both men were dressed just as curiously as all the other people in this world; the white haired one bore deep red robes, beautifully embellished and embroidered so handsomely. However, the bigger one looked a great deal more terrifying than the former for he was covered in weapons, metals and furs. I gulped at his ferocious looking brass knuckles he sported, eyeing up the spikes that ran along them.

"Master Bilbo, I didn't know you'd taken a wife?" The white one smiled from under his beard, taking a step forward and continuing, "Balin, at your service." He bowed deeply, the end of his beard sweeping the floor.

Bilbo and I exchanged a look of alarm and both began spluttering, both of us denying fully that this definitely was not the case.

"We're not, actually I've just met him!" I forced a laugh, "I'm Olivia Netherwood, a friend of Gandalfs." I gave an awkward bow in return.

"A friend of Gandalfs, ey?" The scary looking one stepped forward, "Dwalin, at your service."

"Hello, nice to meet you," I gave a small, awkward wave, "Yes, a friend, I guess…"

"And I suppose he plans to bring you with us on our quest?" Balin peered at me, advancing closer still.

"Yes, I suppose, I think…"

Both men exchanged a rather doubtful look.

"What?" I asked, taking a step further into the room, I didn't like to be scrutinised or judged.

"This quest has no place for a woman, especially," Balin paused, trying find the right words, "such an exotic looking one. Where is that you are from?"

I snorted with laugher and crossed my arms, "No place for a woman?" I snickered. Okay, I am no feminist, if anything I'm anti it. I don't believe men and women are the same, we are equal but in different ways. I do believe the average man is stronger physically than the average woman, but the average woman is mentally stronger than the average man. I think the two sexes are different, but in a good way.

But this was just rude.

"These lands are dangerous—"

Dwalin began, but I cut him off abruptly, "Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I'm incapable. In fact I may bring certain skills to this quest that you, as males, can't." I stared them down, standing as tall as I could. The males exchanged another look before stepping towards me, I didn't so much as even flinch, and instead I folded my arms across my chest. My stupidity obviously getting the better of me. Okay, so I may be bluffing, I'm totally incapable of anything when it comes to this world, but they didn't need to know that. I'm far too proud to let them know that.

I was still glowering at them when suddenly their blank faces lifted and they chuckled. Before I knew what was happening both of males reached up and gave me a hard thud on the back. I stumbled forward slightly, a little taken aback.

"Welcome aboard, lass." Dwalin grinned.

"You sure have some guts." Balin added, smiling up at me.

I grinned, but then it fell, "Wait, what—"

I was cut off by another set of loud knocks on the door. I turned to Bilbo who looked like he was about to have a hernia and nearly sniggered at the look on his face as he left.

"Come, give us a hand, girl." I turned back round to find the men gone, and looked around for them. I spotted them by the pantry, helping themselves to Bilbo's food.

I made my way over to them, "Should we be doing this?" I asked, having no self-control and popping a grape into my mouth. Hypocrite.

The men looked at each other and shrugged, "Sure."

I shrugged also and began sifting through the food myself. If I wasn't so damn hungry I would control myself. I'd just picked up a chocolate bun when I heard another voice from down the hall. It was just as deep as Balin and Dwalin's but far more velvety.

"Careful with these. I just had them sharpened."

Hello my lovelies! Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed, followed and favourited. It means so much! I love to hear your thoughts on this story, so keep 'em coming! I'll be posting another chapter tonight too! So as you can see Fili will be in the next one, so stay tuned! Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx