Previously

"Oh, I'm Eve. Eve McKinnon." She said quickly, blushing at the attention. Gandalf nodded, and then whispered something to Thorin, who called the dwarves to start searching for the troll's hideout. Gandalf pulled Eve to a side, and looked down at her seriously.

"Now Miss McKinnon, I want you to tell me exactly what happened."

Chapter 2. Not Just A Pretty Face

"And that's what happened!" she finished, watching Gandalf to see his reaction. He was stroking his beard thoughtfully, a frown wrinkling his forehead. She looked around, the dwarves had been gone quite a while now, and she wondered if they had found the cave. The sun was high in the sky, and casting shadows through the leafy canopy above. She was tired, and was about to sit down, when Gandalf sighed and she turned to look at him.

"I will speak to Lord Elrond about this," he said. "It is a very strange thing, and I do not understand how that bracelet brought you here. May I see it?" She nodded, and tried to take it off her wrist. But it wouldn't move. It was stuck to her! She pulled harder and let out a gasp as pain ricocheted through her. Gandalf eyes widened with shock, and he held her wrist, examining the bracelet closely. The stone in the middle was constantly glowing, a bluish vein running through it.

"This cannot-no-how has this happened…" he muttered to himself. He looked at her sharply.

"Do not try and take this bracelet off, under any circumstances. If I am not mistaken, and I rarely am, this is your life support. If you take it off, you will die."

There was a cough from behind them, and they turned to see Kili standing there awkwardly.

"We have found the cave," he said, pointing behind him, and trying to avoid looking at Eve. "Thorin said you expressed a wish to look inside." Eve noticed him glance at the bracelet, and she wondered how long he had been standing there.

"I did." Gandalf replied, and walked in the direction that Kili was pointing.

"Come, Miss McKinnon. You had better stay with us for now."

They walked through the forest, Eve occasionally stumbling in the bracken. Kili looked back at her a few times, whether to check if she was following, or for another reason, she wasn't sure. After a while they could hear the noise of the other dwarves, and came to a clearing. In the middle was a huge rock, with an entrance at the bottom. Gandalf walked towards it, but when Eve tried to follow, she was stopped by a couple of the dwarves.

"You don't want to go in there, lassie." The one called Bofur told her. "The smell is enough to knock someone out!" She nodded, and went to sit on a small boulder, a little distance between her and the dwarves. She was aware of them watching her, and tried to ignore it by looking at the scenery. It was beautiful; she could see mountains in the distance above the treetops. There were wild flowers decorating the ground, and birds singing in the trees. She sighed, thinking of how Katie would be if she was here. Her friend would have been chatting with the dwarves as easily as she did with her! A tear rolled down her cheek, as she wondered if she was ever going to get home. Katie would be in New Zealand by now, so she would be alone, anyway.

"Are you alright?" She jumped and looked up, to see Fili and Kili standing in front of her, looking concerned.

"I'm fine." She replied, wiping the tear away. The two dwarves sat down next to her, and Fili started to polish his sword. Kili, who was next to her, turned to look at her, asking,

"What's it like? The place you're from, is it very different?" She let out a shaky sigh.

"Yes," she replied. "There is no magic, or trolls, or dragons. There are huge buildings everywhere, and you are surrounded by noise. But it is not a bad place to live."

Kili frowned. "I see, well, I am trying too…"

Eve giggled lightly. "Trust me, it is beyond all imagination." Looking up, she noticed Thorin watching them from near the cave. When she looked at him, he scowled, and went to tell Bofur to get some food. Gandalf came out of the cave, handing a small knife to Bilbo, who looked quite shocked at being given a weapon. Then he came over to where she was sitting, addressing the two dwarves next to her.

"Fili! Kili! Why don't you get some food for our guest? She has had a long and difficult journey, and will no doubt need something to eat." The brothers got up, and headed in the same direction that Bofur had went. Gandalf sat down next to her.

"I would like to invite you to join our company, Miss McKinnon. I am hoping to lead them to Rivendell, where we shall speak to Lord Elrond about your circumstances. He will hopefully give us the information we require."

"Gandalf?" she said. He looked at her kindly. "Is Lord Elrond… human?"

Gandalf gave a hearty laugh, and she blushed, hoping she hadn't said anything offensive.

"No, my dear, Elrond is an Elf."

Kili was leaning against a tree trunk, eating the soup Bombur and Bofur had made. The fire was warm and even though it was only midday, he felt like he could fall asleep. Gandalf and the new girl approached and sat down near Thorin. Whatever Gandalf was saying, his uncle was not pleased with it. Kili kept glancing over at Eve, wondering who- and what she was. She was pretty, and had such a perfect complexion, except a few freckles, he wasn't sure if she was human. Her ears were slightly pointed, but not as much as an Elf's. He leaned over to his brother.

"Fili, what race is she? Is she a human or an Elf?" he asked, checking no one could hear them. Fili frowned.

"I'm not sure, maybe she is something else entirely." They watched her closely, and Kili noticed she kept touching the bracelet on her wrist. Why had Gandalf said that she would die without it? Surely a person's life cannot be tied with an object. He was so lost in his own thoughts; Fili had to elbow him to get his attention. All the dwarves were looking at him, and Thorin was watching him carefully.

"Now that you have finally given us your attention, I wish to say something." Gandalf announced, standing up and moving to the middle. "We are going to have another member to our company. Miss McKinnon is joining us, and-"he broke off as Thorin stood up, his face like thunder.

"I will not have a woman accompanying us! She would be a distraction and will delay us!" Kili chuckled, turning it into a cough when Thorin glared at him.

"She cannot even fight!" He continued, ignoring Eve's protests. Gandalf raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so? Have you tried her yet?" Thorin ground his teeth then turned to Fili.

"See if she can beat you." he commanded; a smirk on his face. "Only then will she be allowed to join us." Kili got up to protest. Fili was one of the best swordsmen around, and she wouldn't stand a chance. Fili didn't seem too happy either. He walked into a clear area and pulled out his sword, getting into a starting stance. Kili moved so he could get a good view, and intervene if necessary. Bilbo kept wringing his hands, looking worried. Eve walked towards Fili, pulling out her sword. A spark shot down it and the blade flashed red, but then turned to normal. It happened so quickly, Kili wasn't sure if the others had noticed. She copied Fili's stance and waited for him to attack. He ran towards her and she did a move Kili had never seen before. She dodged to the side, flicking her sword up, making Fili's sword slam flat into his forehead. Rolling to avoid his next blow, she kicked the back of his leg, and he fell over backwards. Standing in front of him, she pointed the sword at his neck, laughing at the expression on his face. Kili gazed at her in amazement, whilst Gandalf chuckled.

"Is that enough proof for you Thorin?" he asked. Thorin glared at him.

"We have no spare horses." he said. "There won't be enough room."

Kili however, was fed up with his uncle's protests, and called, "She can ride with me and Fili. We can take it in turns."

Gandalf smiled. "That's settled then!" he said. "We had better get the horses ready. Kili, Fili, Eve, could you do that?" The three of them nodded, and headed to where the horses were tied.

Fili rubbed his forehead, where a big bruise was starting to appear. Eve glanced at him, noticing the purplish lump.

"I'm sorry about that." Eve said apologetically, her face red.

Fili laughed. "Don't worry about it! It's more wounded pride than anything. Where did you learn to fight like that?" She turned away, and Kili was surprised to see her burst into tears. Fili looked shocked; he obviously hadn't thought the memory would upset her. Kili walked over to her and nervously put a hand on her shoulder. She turned and gazed at him, their eyes meeting, before she looked down at the ground. Kili had never liked seeing girls upset, but this felt different.

"We didn't mean to upset you…" he said cautiously. Eve shook her head.

"I'm sorry; it's me, being silly," She coughed, and wiped the tears off her face before continuing.

"My friend and I used to play around with sticks, and pretend we were fighting in a battle to save the world." Eve smile faintly, as though the memory was amusing, but then her face fell, as she added, "But I don't know if I'll see her again. She was the only person there for me, and now, she's gone."

"What about your family?" asked Kili, before he could stop himself. He immediately regretted it. Eve made a choking sound, and turned away from him. He had to strain his ears to hear her whisper,

"They're dead."

A/N Sorry its short... I'm not very good at writing about the dwarves... ah well. Hope you liked it, and please review!

Thank you crystal-roses13 for writing my first review!

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