A/N: Thank you so much to laurabambyjones and Mint Julips for their lovely reviews - very much appreciated! Any comments are welcome like I said, feedback is always important when trying to write something!

Chapter 2:- Recruitment

Runa watched as Gandalf made his way to the door, and at once the dwarves seemed to straighten their backs and lose their smiles. It was clear that whoever had arrived held much respect amongst the company; a leader perhaps. The youngest brother, the one who had so quickly and dreadfully attempted to flirt with her, seemed an entirely different person, as did his kin beside him. He and his brother appeared the most noticeably changed, their backs were the straightest and they held a determined look of maturity that had been missing only moments before. They looked at each other before hesitantly glancing in her direction, clearly concerned of her presence. She could tell that this new addition was of special importance to them and she laughed inside at the possibilities; leaders were always the hardest catch.

She wore her loveliest smile as the door opened; a perfect maiden in a company of males. The mask was a seamless fit after decades of rehearsal, the huntress within becoming endlessly smothered by the automatic need to play at innocence. The first look was always the most crucial, as she always knew how to play the opponent after she saw their reaction to her demure smile and pretty face. She could not allow them to see her weak. She could be enchanting and enthralling, or sharp tongued and vulgar, but she could never be weak. She cocked her head to the side as she danced over the features of his face with her eyes. His hair was long and unkempt, with grey streaks emphasising the years otherwise concealed in his face. He was a warrior; that she could easily deduce. But the weight of responsibility evident in the faint lines across his face, eyes that had seen loss and heartbreak and pain, was something she was not expecting. This was a leader that had overcome hardship.

"Gandalf. You said this place would be easy to find. I would not have found it at all had it not been for the mark on the door."

His voice was thick with authority. It was deep and harsh and touched something inside of Runa that had not been touched for an age. She had not come by one with such a voice that could stir up these sensations for over three decades. Who was this man? He was tall, for a dwarf. He would reach just two inches shorter than her, but broader, much broader. He did not look like one who would be easily swayed by her prettiest smile and charming manners. She shook off the passing moment with an ease that she had mastered over the long years of isolation, her intuition telling her that this was a leader that she needed to watch. She thought to herself whether he would be very easy to provoke or would prove more of a challenge; she hoped for the latter, it was always the challenge that was the most rewarding. She swapped her innocent smile for a challenging look and made her way to the front of the gathering.

"A leader who cannot follow simple directions? In his own language no less?"

He turned to her with a look of fury and incredulity, but as he looked upon whom had spoken he was left for lack of words. Her beauty struck him like a thousand arrows to the chest, her wild hair pouring down her back and her eyes a striking shade of silver and grey. Yet the moment passed with speed and he rounded on her with the fury of a wild boar.

"You offer me insult, woman? I will not stand here and be spoken to by a travelling wench like a blundering imbecile unable to find his way."

His eyes were cold with aversion and his stance commanding. Gandalf rolled his eyes at the impossible introduction and held out his hand in front of Runa.

"Thorin, allow me to apologise for Runa. Again." He shot a menacing glare in her direction. "Do not take offence to her words, she is tactless at best and is only here upon my request. She has been in isolation for many years and thus I am only now coming to understand the full impact this may have had on her…social interactions… Excuse her, please. And come, sit. We have much to discuss."

Thorin watched Runa for a sign of challenge, but none came. Instead, the woman held his gaze for what seemed like eternity, and instead flashed him a smile that could melt all the gold in Erebor, taking off her heavy cloak. She was small in stature, and she had curves in all the right places, radiating sexuality. Who was this woman? What business did she have with the company? He watched as she made her way past him to take a seat at the table with the rest of his kin, hips swaying causing her hair to move in way that brought to it a life of its own. What purpose did she serve? Her insolence had taken him by surprise; it had been a long time since anyone had challenged him forthright. She had nerve he had to admit. But her demeanour had changed so suddenly and effortlessly that he was left as confused as the day was long – was she cunning and defiant, or was she simply a master of illusion; a maiden playing with ferocity. As he pondered this thought, he saw, stood at the side of the table, a small being looking exceedingly more flustered the more his kin made their way through the food on the table. The sight of this extra presence wrought with vexation brought him out of his thoughts and he sighed to himself.

"Is this him?" pointing at Bilbo with a defeated look upon his face. He turned to him and said "Tell me Master Burglar: axe or sword? What is your weapon of choice?"

Bilbo looked both confused by his title as burglar and alarmed at the very mention of weaponry, and could think of nothing but conkers as an honest reply. The dwarves shared an exasperated look and Thorin narrowed his eyes at Gandalf. Runa could see the disappointment in each of the dwarves' patronising eyes and was enraged. One of the dwarves, the most menacing and laden with tattoos shook his illustrated head.

"He will be nothing but a burden! The wild is no place for gentlefolk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves."

At this Runa raised herself out of her seat with indignation, turned on the dwarf and snapped "Who are you to decide who is ready for the Wild or not? What right do you have to pass judgement on those you have known for mere hours?" She turned now to Thorin and bore straight into his soul as she spoke. "I have seen the Wild. I know what evil lurks in the shadows, what the threat of death can cause a person to do. But not all evils are on the battlefield Master Dwarf; some lie in waiting and only show themselves when confronted with a choice between morality and their own selfish desire. There are few people in this world that can say that they have seen evil in its truest form and defeated it. Leave Master Baggins alone and think of your own troubles next time." With this she strode into the other room, leaving an incensed Thorin in her wake.

"Be gone then!" he roared. "We do not need nor want your judgement". The latter statement was declared with enough venom to kill.

Thorin watched the space from where she had been stood. Throughout her outburst he had been unable to break from her gaze as she challenged him with her stare. He was both intrigued and furious at once. Her contempt was unrivalled before in his lifetime, and as she continued to assault his authority the more he wished he could strike her down and silence her disrespect, but he could not. He would never strike a woman, not outside self-defence or battle, no matter how audacious they were. He had not interrupted her, yet he had listened carefully to her choice of words – some hidden meaning lay behind him but he had not the time to search for it now. He took a moment to calm himself, then looked to Gandalf, a faint look of mystification remaining behind his eyes.

"Gandalf. I will not allow her in this discussion, she is a disruption and a distraction." He shook his irritation away for the passing moment. "Now, let us begin, we have much to discuss."

Runa sat watching the fire as she listened to the dwarves bicker amongst themselves about a quest to slay a dragon and retake a homeland. The more she listened the more she understood. It couldn't be? Was this the same leader that she had defended from those sickening orc scouts on their journey across the Misty Mountains? Memories flooded her as she recounted the masses of dwarves uprooted from their homeland, journeying in multitudes across the harsh landscape of the mountains. She remembered their leader: strong, loyal, and determined, even from a great distance. The same dwarf that dismissed her not a half hour before. She was buried deep in her memories when Gandalf came around the corner and looked her straight in the eye.

"Bilbo will be on this quest. He does not think it now, but before the journey begins he will come, I know it. And he will need your protection."

Runa looked up at the wizard, uncertainty clear in her expression.

"Too long have you wandered the plains of Eriador, protecting the innocent, the Shire folk, from a distance. Take this chance to protect Bilbo on this quest from next to his side. He is naïve and he does not know what the darker places of this world can hide, but you do, you can watch over him and protect him in ways that the dwarves cannot. Runa, this will be very good for him, and, I believe, for you."

Runa's mind ran through a thousand fields of possibilities at rapid speed. Her eyes were narrowed and her hands unknowingly clenched into fists as she thought of what dangers lay ahead for the little hobbit. She wasn't part of a company, and she had left what remnants of family she had behind when she set out away from her village and became a Ranger. She had little to care for in this world and so the protection of the innocent had become her primary task, the slaying of enemy blood and the deception of tormentors her chief distraction. Could she join this noble quest? Did she have a choice? She had little interest in making friends, but she must protect those cannot protect themselves, this she had sworn to herself all those long years ago. Plus, the leader presented a challenge she had not faced before, she had not encountered someone with such authority and true virility as he. He proposed a match even for herself.

She lowered her gaze in both resignation and determination. "Gandalf, I will accompany this quest if only for the protection of Master Baggins. I believe the dwarves will not be pleased but that bothers me not. I will be accountable for his fate alone, and I shall travel with only that in mind. The claiming of a homeland once lost, although admirable, seems unattainable in my mind, but if it the desire of Bilbo then I shall help in which way I can – through strength of arm. My Gift shall remain unknown for I will not harness it for the pleasure of a company of dwarves. I have seen dwarvish greed before and if this King under the Mountain suffers from the same affliction of his grandfather then I will not risk his desire." She bowed her head as finality to her speech and went to seek out the hobbit to promise him her protection.

Thorin stood behind the wall, his mind reeling from the promise overheard between the hobbit and the woman. He wished not for her to accompany them on this quest but they were in need of a burglar, and if the two came as a package then there was nothing more he could do. He wondered heavily on the reasoning behind her decision and mistrust lingered in his thoughts as he recalled her words from earlier. What evils had she defeated and where had she encountered them? She spoke as if they were not in battle but in some solitary encounter with neither orc nor goblin, but with some other being of this earth that had wronged her greatly. If she was to join the quest then he would need to keep her in check, as her fiery temperament could lead to their downfall, to his downfall as the rightful King under the Mountain, and he would not allow the whims of a fluctuating Ranger to threaten their victory, no matter how resilient she may be.

He beckoned her over to him with a nod of his head.

"I will not welcome you on this quest but if your presence is necessary to recruit our burglar then so be it. But I will not allow you to distract the company. Keep your distance and I shall permit you to travel alongside us."

He saw her eyes widen with challenge and then close with intent. Her shoulders slackened and she leaned forwards towards him, so close that he could feel her breath on his cheek. Every word was dripping with seduction as she purred:

"It is not your company that will be distracted, your majesty. Look to your own mind when you sleep at night, for it will be filled with my image." And with that she turned on the spot and slunk outside to gather her thoughts before the night's end.

A/N: I'm sorry about the shorter chapters - I don't know if I prefer working on a chapter for a few days and posting it, or whether to work on a chapter for a week or so and it be a lot longer. If you have any requests as to chapter length please let me know as I write whilst I'm at work (naughty) so longer chapters would mean less frequent updates.

Please please review to tell me if you like it so far and whatnot. Thank you everyone who has read it so far!

Mol