They had been traveling for a couple hours now and there had been some light chatter amongst the dwarves during that time. No one had spoken to Thessa as she had fallen asleep soon after they had hit the road and had only just awoke. She was very tired and she was easily able to drift off to sleep while leaning against Fili. The swaying motion of the pony almost reminded her of the soft waves of the water back home. She still didn't know where they were, but she did know that it was at least past midday.

"Thessalia, if you don't mind my asking, how did you come to be in that man's sack?" Ori asked from the pony beside her. She glanced back to where the voice had come from and rested her eyes on the young dwarf on her left. He was obviously the youngest, with light red hair and a short beard to match. He was quiet and polite, but he had a little spunk to him.

"Well- I'm sorry I don't know names very well yet, what's your name?" Thessa asked the young dwarf.

"Oh! Ori, my lady" Ori responded. All the dwarves then started introducing themselves since they had forgotten to earlier with all the commotion.

"Well, Ori," Thessa said, "that man had kidnapped me from my home some months ago. I actually do not know how long ago it was, but it was not the best experience I've had in a while." The other dwarves chuckled at her answer. She had been through quite an ordeal but she still had a sense of humor about her. Ori was a young dwarf and he was very kind, Thessa noted. She also noted how Dori and Nori kept a close eye on him. The three of them were probably brothers, she noted to herself.

"And where is your home, my lady?" Fili asked from behind her.

"I am from a small village by the sea of Rhûn. Where are we now? I have no idea where that horrid man was taking me," Thessa asked.

"We are travelling on the Great East road toward the Misty Mountains, miss." Dori, the dwarf with shorter grey hair that was decorated with many intricate braids, said. Thessa had no idea what that meant, but she nodded anyway. She felt she could at least partially trust these dwarves and as long as they could help her find a way back home, so she would stick with them. Although, she was too embarrassed to ask where the Misty Mountains were or where the sea of Rhûn was in relation to that. The company rode on in relative silence for a few more hours until the sun was close to setting in the west. Thorin let them pass some bread and jerky down the line since he did not want to halt their progress to eat. He figured they had wasted enough time as it was and looked for any opportunity to catch up on those missed minutes.

"We'll make camp there for the night," Thorin called from the front of the group as he pointed to a small area lined with trees just a little way away. The company made their way to the place Thorin had selected and dismounted their ponies and went about setting up camp. Fili hopped down from the pony he had rode with Thessa and then promptly reached up to help her dismount the pony as well.

"Thank you, Fili" Thessa said with a soft smile, although as soon as her feet hit the ground, the rest of her body did as well.

"Thessalia!" Fili said as reached down to help her up again. The rest of the company gathered around at the commotion to see if Thessa was alright. Thorin made his way to where Thessa and Fili were.

"What's going on here?" Thorin demanded. He glared at Thessa as she was being supported by his nephew. It definitely didn't look good on her part, needing to be supported all the time.

"There's nothing wrong, Uncle, her legs are still just a little weak from not using them for quite some time," Fili explained. Thessa shot him a grateful smile, but it disappeared when she looked back to Thorin.

"You better regain your strength, woman. We do not have a nanny to carry you around." Thorin turned his back and went to go speak with Gandalf. He did not want any member of the company distracted by her or unable to defend themselves if they had to carry her around everywhere. He would also need to keep an eye on his nephews, they seemed to gravitate toward that woman and that did not sit well with him.

Thessa turned to Kili who had been standing beside her and Fili, "I don't think he likes me very much." Kili looked at the woman and gave her a reassuring smile.

"He's not as bad as he seems," Kili said lightheartedly as Fili helped her to sit on a log by the fire while he joined his brother to take care of their mounts. Thessa directed her attention to the dwarves moving around her and her gaze connected with Thorin's from across the fire where he stood by Gandalf. He frowned at her and turned away, leaving Thessa wondering what she had done to upset him.

Thorin had been keeping an eye on the quiet woman they had rescued. He had to admit, she was beautiful, in a homely sort of way. Her hair was tied back within the white kerchief and she was still wearing the tattered clothes they found her wearing. She was obviously a common woman that came from a poor family. Farmers most likely, he thought. She had a dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks, and he noticed that her eyes were a bright cerulean blue, not unlike the waters of the shallow seas. She was fairly thin, most likely because her kidnapper had been starving her for months on end. When her eyes met his, his breath caught in his throat for a moment. They stared into each other's eyes for but a moment and Thorin could not look away from her. He frowned though and turned away from her after what felt like an eternity, but was probably more like a few seconds. Why did he react like that? He shook his head to clear his thoughts and walked off away from the fire.

"How are you feeling, lass?" Óin asked as he sat down beside Thessa on the log, turning his trumpet toward her.

"I'm feeling fine, thank you Óin" Thessa smiled, "but I feel like I've upset your leader" she sighed, looking down at her hands in her lap. If she didn't warm u to him quick, he might make good on his threat and leave her on the side of the road.

"Don't worry about him, lass. How about you tell me something about yourself, just so I can get to know you a little better. But you'll have to speak up!" Óin showed her his trumpet that he used to hear.

Thessa giggled at the older dwarf and thought about his request. What should she tell him? She didn't like sharing too much information with people she didn't know very well. But she had to tell him something.

"Hmm... well let's see. I hate the cold. Summer is my favorite season and I can't stand the winter time" she said with a laugh. Óin chuckled as well and patted her on the shoulder as he moved to stand.

"Aye, me too lass, me too" he smiled at Thessa as he moved to help his brother, Gloin, with something. Fili and Kili had returned to sit by the fire, one on each side of her. The rest of the company also seemed to have finished their tasks and were gathering by the flames. Suddenly there was a cry in the distance. A shrill cry that she had never heard before. The small dwarf, which did not really appear like a dwarf to her at all, but something else entirely, jerked his head up and asked,

"What was that?"

"Orcs," Kili responded with a devious grin. "Throat cutters, they come in the wee small hours, no screams just lots of blood." Kili was obviously trying to scare Bilbo a bit, but Thessa was scared as well. She had only ever heard of Orcs and had never actually seen one since they didn't like water too much.

"You think a night raid of orcs is funny?" Thorin growled as he walked up to the group. Kili suddenly felt terrible and tried to explain to his uncle that he was only jesting and meant nothing by it.

"No, you know nothing of the world," Thorin said, obviously disappointed in his youngest nephew. Thessa glanced over to Kili and saw his sad expression. He had the same dark hair as Thorin and he had no beard, unlike his brother. He was also fairly handsome, Thessa thought, it must run in the family. Just then Balin spoke up. Thessa looked across the small fire to the old dwarf with his long white beard as he addressed Kili.

"Don't mid him laddie, Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs." They all gazed after their leader as he moved to stand away from the group by a small cliff ledge, the moon illuminating is regal stature. They turned their attention back to Balin as he continued speaking.

"After the dragon took the lonely mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken by legions of orcs lead by the most vile of all their race, Azog the Defiler." Everyone looked around at each other, those who knew of the pale orc shuddered with either memories of the beast or stories they had heard. Thessa had never heard of Azog, but if his name frightened the other dwarves, then she wanted nothing to do with him.

"The giant, Gundabad orc," Balin continued, "Had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began… by beheading the king." Thessa's eyes went wide, she had put together that Thorin was of the royal line, which must be Durin's line based on the story, and so the king must have been Thorin's father or grandfather.

"Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing, taken prisoner or killed, we did not know. We were leaderless, defeat and death were upon us. That is when I saw him." Thessa glanced over to Thorin again, both pity and sadness in her heart for the dwarf. She could barely imagine what it would be like to lose her mother.

"A young dwarf prince facing down the pale orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe. His armor rent, wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield. Azog the Defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken."

Thessa and the others were looking to Balin with rapt attention. Thessa was learning so much about the company's leader, as was Bilbo, and the rest of the company had heard the story before, but leaned forward from their spots by the fire to hear Balin nonetheless.

"Our forces rallied and drove the orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast nor song that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived, and I thought to myself then, there is one who I could follow, there is one... I could call king," Balin finished. Most of the company was standing now and all eyes were on Thorin as he turned back to face the company.

Thorin had heard Balin's recounting of the battle and he felt the loss rise up from the depths of his memories once more. He pushed them back down, however, and turned toward his company. He glanced over them and saw their looks of admiration, including the awestruck look on Thessalia's face. He didn't know why, but he felt a sense of pride when he saw her reaction to the tale. He strode back over to the fire and took a seat across from said woman.

Bombur had prepared their dinner while Balin told his story and was now passing bowls around to the company. Thessa accepted a bowl of the soup from Kili and smiled softly at him. She saw that there was some type of meat in the stew and so she decided to forego dinner that night. Her kind did not eat other creatures, it was horrid and barbaric to her. Thorin saw her set the bowl down and a confused look passed across his face. She was skinny enough as it was, why was she not eating? Was their meager soup not good enough for her? Thorin tried to banish all thoughts of the woman from his mind as he went to finish his share of the soup. Somehow thoughts of her wiggled their way into his mind, despite his best efforts to remain focused on the task at hand.

"So Thessalia," Bofur started.

"Please, call me Thessa, Thessalia can be a mouthful," Thessa offered with a smile. She had not spoke with Bofur yet, but he seemed to be the comedian of the group and always wore a silly looking hat that made Thessa laugh when she thought about it. It was easily to tell the dwarves apart when she organized them by hair color and beard length in her mind.

"So, Thessa," Bofur amended with a smile, "Tell us about your home. Do you have a family waiting for you?" Thessa glanced around the company for she was now the center of attention once more and she had to think carefully about her answer. She obviously couldn't reveal to them where she truly lived, so she thought to make it close enough to the truth to be believable. She missed her home greatly, and she knew her mother was probably in a panic now that she was gone. She needed to make her way home soon, she didn't want her people to believe her to be dead.

"Home for me is a small village by the sea, and I have only a mother, no siblings," she smiled sadly. She had always wanted a sister, but siblings were rare amongst her people. Valenia was the closest thing she had to a sister, she was her sister-in-arms and fought loyally beside Thessa for many years.

"What about your father?" Gloin asked. Thessa had always wondered about that herself, actually. No men lived in their kingdom, it was only women, so she never knew who her father was. All she knew was that he had brown hair like hers since her mother's hair was strawberry blonde.

"I don't know," she replied honestly, "I've never met him." The company seemed a little surprised by her answer, but didn't want to press her for more information.

"How about a song to cheer everyone up!" Kili asked her just then. Oh no, she thought, anything but that. Nothing good ever happened when she sang.

"I'm sorry," Thessa said with a small smile, "but I'm a terrible singer, trust me, you wouldn't want to hear it at all." She glanced over to the wizard who was looking at her with a knowing smile. She thought for a moment that Gandalf might know something more about her, and that worried her greatly. But, how could he? She hadn't done or said anything to reveal herself. She brushed off the thought though as she heard protests coming from all around her.

"Come on, please?" Ori said

"All women can sing!" Dwalin added.

"We promise not to laugh if you sing for us! No matter how bad you think you might sound!" Fili stated from beside her.

"Oh, I really don't think so, after all, I'm quite tired—" Thessa tried.

"Nonsense! One little song, lassie!" Gloin interrupted.

"Please, I—" Thessa tried again.

"Song, song, song…" the company began to chant. But Thessa had had enough. Why couldn't they just take no for an answer?

"No!" she shouted. She moved to stand on her still wobbly legs and staggered away from the group to sit by the cliffside where she could no longer hear their chattering.

"I think we offended the lass," Gloin said, looking down at his feet. The company all looked to the woman sitting alone and felt terrible for demanding she sing for them. None of them had heard her raise her voice yet, and they had just assumed that she was a common girl with a quiet demeanor.

Thorin looked over to Thessa and decided that she needed to be put in her place. He got up and strode over to where she sat.

"Woman, I have had enough of you attitude," Thorin stated as he stood behind her. Thessa jumped a little, not hearing him come up behind her.

"Attitude? What attitude?" she asked, genuinely confused. What was he talking about? She had made sure not to step on any toes and to remain nice and cordial to the group, less they decide to kick her to curb and leave her in the wilds.

"You disrespect Bombur by refusing to eat the meal he has cooked for us, and then you yell at the company for no reason. You do not have the luxury of fine dining in the wilds and I will not tolerate you speaking to the company in that manner," Thorin's deep baritone firmly stated as he glanced down to the woman who looked shocked by his accusation.

"I wasn't trying to be rude to Bombur, I just wasn't hungry," Thessa covered, angry that she could not fully explain herself. "And I did not intend to yell either. I do not enjoy singing and I would rather not sing if I can avoid it."

Thorin thought about her answer for a moment. He gave a firm look and moved back to sit by the other dwarves. He didn't want to argue with her.

"He hasn't been too kind to me either," a small voice said from behind her. "Bilbo Baggins." The small dwarf stuck his hand out to hers and she shook it gently.

"Thessa," she offered with a smile, she had yet to have an actual conversation with Bilbo thus far.

"I'm still trying to get Thorin to warm up to me as well. I don't think he trusts me yet," Bilbo gave her a sheepish grin as he took a seat next to her.

"Forgive me," Thessa said, "But you don't look like the other dwarves, are you truly a dwarf?" Bilbo gave a hearty laugh, and this caused Thessa to chuckle as well.

"Oh no, my dear! I am a hobbit! Much nicer, cleaner, and more polite than those dwarves." Bilbo pointed behind him towards where the company was gathered around the fire.

"Well that's good to finally know then!" Thessa laughed. He wasn't a dwarf at all, but a hobbit! Whatever that meant. Bilbo glanced down at Thessa's bare feet that hung from the ledge they were sitting on.

"I don't suppose you're part hobbit," Bilbo said with a smile as he indicated to her bare feet.

"Oh no, the man who captured me forced me to wear this ratty tunic and breeches, but he had no shoes to offer me," she said with a frown. Now that she thought about it, her feet did have a few small cuts on them from walking around on rocks and twigs. But how did one find shoes? Would she have to make some, or was there a place she could buy some?

"I bet that we can find you something to cover them," Bilbo said as he smiled up at the woman. "Why do you keep your hair up in that kerchief, if I may ask." Thessa didn't know how to respond. Her hair would definitely give her away, should any of the company see it. Its why that man had forced her to hide it as well. She had pearls and small shells braided into some parts of it, as well as her family's crest carved into a small bead that hung from one strand on the right side of her head but under a few layers of hair. She loved her hair though, it was a chestnut brown that hung down in waves and loose curls all the way to her hips. It was soft as silk and very thick as well. Just brushing it took a lot of time and energy. She had nearly lost herself in her thoughts and forced her mind to return to Bilbos question.

"It's very tangled and hard to manage," she said. "So, I keep it in a tight bun to prevent it from becoming even more tangled. I do hate this hideous kerchief though, that man made me wear it and I guess I just haven't had a reason to take it off since then," Thessa shrugged.

"Come with me," Bilbo said as he reached for Thessa's hand and pulled her back in the direction of the company, "I have an idea." Bilbo stood in front of the group and glanced around at the dwarves. "I have noticed that many of you have braids in your beards and hair, Thessa has long hair that tangles easily, and I thought one of you might be willing to braid her hair for her," Bilbo inquired. Gloin suddenly started coughing as he had choked on some of his soup and other members began to blush slightly. Fili and Kili elbowed each other with a smirk on their faces.

"I don't think that would be appropriate, laddie" Balin said with a chuckle.

"Why not?" Bilbo questioned, looking around the group.

"You see, laddie," Dwalin stood up as he addressed the hobbit, "when a dwarf braids a lassie's hair, it is a symbol of courtship, and I don't believe anyone here be courting that lass." Everyone glanced over to Thessa as her cheeks turned a violent shade of red. Bilbo dropped her hand and quietly apologized with a blush of his own.

"Enough," Thorin said as he stood, "Bifur and Fili, you take the first watch, Kili and Gloin the second, and Balin and I will take the third." Thorin stated his instructions resolutely and everyone knew that it meant it was time for bed. Thessa glanced around nervously, she didn't have a place to sleep. She hobbled over to a boulder and sat down with her back against it. This would have to do for now. She tried to make herself comfortable, but nothing compared to sleeping in her kelp bed back home.

Thorin glanced over at the woman who obviously lacked a bedroll. He wanted to ignore it, but his parents raised him to be a gentleman. He begrudgingly got up and made his way toward Thessa.

"Here," Thorin said as he tossed the bedroll down in front of her. Thessa looked up, confused. Why is he giving me his bedroll, she pondered.

"Thank you," she said softly, looking up at the dwarf king. He nodded and walked back over to where he had been and laid down on the soft grass. He thought about how innocent and confused she looked when he offered her the bedroll. He also blushed slightly when he remembered how the shoulder of her large tunic ad slipped down revealing the skin of her shoulder. It had freckles across the skin there and Thorin wanted to reach out and feel if it was as soft as it looked. Stop it, he thought to himself. Where are these thoughts coming from? This woman would be nothing but a distraction to him, so he must avoid her at all costs if he wanted to focus on this quest. He closed his eyes and tried his best fall asleep quickly so that he may get some rest before his watch.

Meanwhile, Bifur and Fili had watched the interaction with grins on their faces. Bifur signed something with his hands to Fili, making the young dwarf smile and nod. He found a piece of paper and started writing, both dwarves grinning mischievously.

Thorin was shaken awake hours later by his nephew, Kili, for his watch, and he stiffly rose from his place on the grass. He watched Gloin and Kili lay down for the rest of the night, and Balin joined him by a large boulder.

"Quite the beauty, isn't she?" Balin asked while glancing over to where Thessa lay asleep on Thorin's bedroll.

"What?" Thorin looked over to his old friend.

"And mighty generous too, to give up your bedroll for the lass," Balin winked at him.

"I was raised as a gentleman, Balin" Thorin said with an annoyed look. An hour or two passed in silence, the sun would rise soon. Thorin glanced over the members of the company. His eyes lingered over Thessa, whom he noticed was tossing and turning. He could faintly hear her mumbling, but it didn't sound any language he'd ever heard. It was probably just gibberish, he concluded. He went back to surveying the group when he glanced back to Thessa when he heard her cry out.

Thessa awoke with a start, tears streaming down her face as she recalled her dream. They had been fighting off the men that were attacking her kingdom. She was their military leader, and so she lead the charge against the men. Her sister-in-arms, Valenia, was struck through the chest with a rusty harpoon by one of the men. She screamed for her sister and was distracted momentarily. One of the men capitalized on her lack of attention and scooped her up into their net, retreating once they had what they came for. She watched Valenia's body sink beneath the waves, red pooling around where she had just been.

She sat up from her bedroll, shaking and gasping for breath. She glanced around and caught the eyes of Thorin. He looked at her, confused, and she tried to stand up so that she could find a quiet place to be alone, away from the company. She pushed herself up with her hands onto her knees and then tried her best to get her uncooperative legs underneath her. She stood up and began to head in the opposite direction of Thorin when her legs gave out and hit the ground. She began crying once more, partly for the loss of her best friend and partly because she was angry and frustrated with herself. She felt hands come up under her arms and pull her to her feet. She glanced behind her and was inches away from the face of the dwarf king. She held her breath, not knowing what to do.

Thorin didn't know what came over him. He saw her crumple to the ground and rushed to pick her up off the ground. Their faces were only inches apart as she turned her head around to face him. He looked into her sad eyes and wondered what she had dreamed of to make her so distraught. He turned her around to fully face him and held her at arm's length.

"What happened?" Thorin asked, gentler than he had ever spoken to her. Thessa was surprised by his tone, but didn't have the energy to question it.

"Nothing, it was just a bad dream," Thessa sighed, "I just want to find a place to sit and be alone, away from the company." Thorin could understand the need to be alone, so he made sure she was balanced enough on her feet and led her over to a boulder at the edge of the camp. He turned to leave her when he heard her voice.

"Thorin?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" he turned around slightly.

"Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?" Thessa looked up at the dwarf king. Thorin was shocked by her question. Had he really given the young woman the impression that he inherently disliked her? He just wanted her to understand that he had important matters to deal with and didn't need to be distracted.

"I do not hate you, Thessalia. You are new to the company and I don't not go around giving trust freely to people I've only just met," Thorin supplied, turning back around and heading towards Balin, who gave him a small smirk.

Thessa watched the dwarf king walk away, her heart beating a little quicker than normal. She admitted to herself a while ago that she thought he was attractive, but the way he said her name sent chills up her spine. The two braids down the sides of his face suited him well and his bright, sapphire blue eyes intrigued her.

Her thoughts soon turned back to her dream. She missed Valenia greatly, as well as her mother and her people. She had known that the men that had attacked them had been after her. She had only heard snippets of the men's conversations once they had stuffed her into that accursed sack, but she knew they planned to hold her for ransom, and if that didn't work, they planned on selling her to a buyer in Bree who was desperate to get his hands on one of her kind.

She was glad to be free of that terrible pig of a man, but she had to return home, she had duties to attend to and her mother would be worried sick. She was the heir to her mother's throne and it wouldn't do to have the princess gallivanting around Middle Earth with a company of dwarves, hobbits and wizards, she thought. She rubbed her upper arm absentmindedly and her hand moved over the golden arm band she wore. At least no one had seen it yet, she thought, that would be a hard one to explain. She sat on that boulder until the sun started to peek over the horizon, signaling that it was time for them get moving again.