„Wake up," the deep voice grumbled and Kate felt he nudged her boot. She mumbled and turned around; her eyes were still closed. He sighed heavily and walked away. Kate bit back a smile for she loved to provoke him. Finally she got up and saw that everyone seemed to be up already.
"Finally decided to join us?" Thorin grumbled as she stepped into the hallway where they were already gathered together.
"Good morning to you as well, Thorin," she said with her sweetest voice and teased him.
Gandalf once again stepped between them. "We should move now. Are you ready for an adventure?" He watched the girls. The sisters exchanged a look and both remembered the cab driver back in London.
'Going on an adventure?' he had asked. How much time passed by since then? Did they somehow travel in time and space?
"Yes, we're ready," Kate finally replied and the Company stepped out of the house and together they walked along a cobblestone path which led them to a huge field where a group of ponies was waiting for them.
"Look, Kate! Ponies!" Lindsey called amazed. Kate chuckled while she watched her sister who stroked the neck of a grey and white pony.
"That's mine. She's a good girl," Fili said as he approached Lindsey. He started to tighten his bags to the saddle.
"Where is Bilbo?" Kate asked and cast a glance around.
"He won't come. He, at least, knew what's best for him," Thorin replied as he walked past her towards his own chestnut colored pony.
Before she could reply to that, she felt Gandalf's hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and he sent her a warm smile. "He will come. I'm certain about that," he said reassuringly. She nodded and turned to watch the ponies again.
"Can you ride on those?" Kili asked while he mounted his pony.
"Yes, I'm familiar with riding. Which one's for us?"
"I'd like to share a pony with Fili for a while. If that's alright?" Lindsey said and caused Kate to frown.
"Fine," she said in defeat and knew that she could not protect her the entire time. Fili helped Lindsey to mount his pony behind him. She placed her hands around his waist and he exchanged a cheeky grin with his brother.
Kate mounted the pony which Balin had given her and the Company started to move off into the wild.
The Company rode down a path which led them through a wooded area.
"Wait! Wait for me!" a voice called from behind and Kate cast a glance back, but before that she saw Thorin who turned around on his pony. The rays of the sun lighted him up and he looked quite surprised.
Bilbo caught up with them and handed Balin the contract. "I signed it!" he breathed.
Balin took the contract and examined it with a pocket-glass. Finally he smiled at Bilbo and said,
"Everything seems to be in order. Welcome, Master Baggins, to the Company of Thorin Oakenshield."
The dwarves cheered but Thorin did not look impressed. "Give him a pony," he simply stated, turned around again and moved on.
Kate chuckled as she saw the face of Bilbo as he began to protest. "No, no, no, no! That—that won't be necessary, thank you, but I—I'm sure I can keep up on foot! I—I—I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know. I even got as far as Frogmorton once—Argh!"
He got cut off as Kili and Fili rode alongside him, picked him up from behind and placed him on top of a pony.
Lindsey and Kate couldn't help but laugh. Lindsey watched Bibo while he was riding next to Fili and her. The Hobbit looked quite terrified and uncertain. His pony neighed and tossed its head back which made him even more uncomfortable.
"Stay calm, Bilbo. Ponies are no monster," the young girl said and sent him an encouraging smile. He returned that smile, but he was still uncertain what he should think about all this.
"Come on, Nori! Pay up!" Oin called and Nori tossed a sack of gold to Oin. More sacks of gold began to pass between them.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Oin cheered merrily and the dwarves laughed.
"What's that about?" Kate asked curiously.
"Oh, they took wagers on whether or not Bilbo would turn up. Most he them bet he wouldn't," Gandalf explained. She saw how Bilbo's face fell a little as he overheard this.
"What did you think?" he asked.
"Hmmm," Gandalf caught a sack of money which was tossed to him and put it in his bag. "My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second."
Suddenly Bilbo sneezed loudly. "Oh! All this horse hair. I'm having a reaction," he said and began to rummage for his handkerchief. He couldn't find it and looked up in shock. "No, no! Wait, wait! Stop! We have to turn around!"
The entire Company came to a halt again and the dwarves started objecting and asking what the problem was.
"What on earth is the matter?" Thorin called impatiently.
"I forgot my handkerchief!" Bilbo stated.
Kate shook her head in disbelief. Bofur teared a strip of cloth from his clothing and tossed it to Bilbo. "Here! Use this!" he called with a smile.
Bilbo caught the rag and watched it in disgust. The dwarves laughed loudly and rode on.
"Move on!" Thorin commanded.
"You'll have to manage without pocket-handkerchiefs and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins, before we reach our journey's end. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you; the world is ahead," Gandalf explained.
His words touched Kate deeply and she cast a glance at her sister. She seemed to have not heard what Gandalf just had said because she was in a deep conversation with Kili and Fili again.
'Yes—home is behind us now,' she thought and her gaze drifted along the landscape. They travelled through many beautiful areas including forests, hills and plains.
She frowned for she seemed to realize something.
All this looked exactly like the pictures of New Zealand she had seen.
"So, Lindsey—tell me about yourself," Fili said while they rode at the end of the group.
"What would you like to know?"
"Where are you from?"
"Oh, I'm from London," she replied with a smile.
"Where is that? In Rohan?"
"Ro—what? No, it's the Capital of the United Kingdom."
"You're from a kingdom?"
"Well, yes, we have a Queen. Queen Elizabeth the Second. She has two nephews as well. Prince William and Prince Harry," Lindsey explained.
Fili chuckled.
"What's so funny?"
"Harry—I like how you said that. Do you like him?"
"Uhm—yes, but there's no way to be with a Prince for someone like me," she admitted quietly.
"You're beautiful, funny and clever. What's so wrong about that?"
Lindsey blushed and was more than thankful to sit behind him. "I'm a commoner and not a girl for a Prince. I'm not royal."
"Sounds strange to me. If a dwarf meets a girl he loves—well, he courts her and marries her. No matter if royal or not."
"What about your uncle? Has he a wife? Kids?"
Fili chuckled while his gaze drifted to the front where Thorin was riding in silence.
"No, he never had and I doubt he ever will. Though I would be very happy if he would meet a lovely lady someday. Maybe once we reclaimed our kingdom. He did so much for our people. He built a new home for us in the Ered Luin. We could live in peace again. And, if you'd ask me, he would be a wonderful father."
"What about your father?"
He fell silent for a second before he replied, "He died long ago. Kili and I were still little dwarflings. Thorin was like a father for us since then. We love him very much."
"We lost our parents as well. Our mother and our father. They died when I was twelve. Kate was eighteen and already living on her own. I moved to her flat. Though it was a hard time for both of us, she was always the best big sister I could wish for. She made sure that I finished my school education with good marks. As a gift for my graduation she promised to go on a long vacation to New Zealand with me. She said it would be the best to get out of the busy city and into the wild. So, I have no idea what happened, why the plane crashed and why we're here but—we're on a vacation now, right?" she chuckled and Fili laughed softly.
"Aye, indeed! And I'm sorry for your loss," he said and his hand gently stroked hers for a second. Her heart leaped and she blushed once more.
In the evening, the Company set their camp on a rock outcropping overlooking the landscape below. Kate cast a glance along the group of sleeping dwarves while she leaned with her back against a rock. She did not care that Thorin was sitting on this rock with his eyes closed.
Bilbo got up and approached his pony. The only others awake were Gandalf, Fili, Kili and Balin. Lindsey was sleeping close next to Fili. He had covered her with his cloak and Kate smiled as she was aware that he seemed to care for her sister a lot. And yet she was still careful.
Bilbo just gave his pony an apple and whispered something to her when suddenly a loud cry broke the silence of the night. The hobbit winced and came back to the fire.
"What was that?" he asked highly concerned.
"Orcs," Kili replied and another cry filled the air.
Kate had felt a sudden movement behind her as Thorin jerked awake upon hearing the word 'Orc'.
"Orcs?" Bilbo asked more frightened now.
"Throat-cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them," Fili explained.
"They strike in the wee small hours, when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet. No screams, just lots of blood," Kili added with a low voice.
Bilbo cast a glance back towards the edge of the cliff and Kate could see that the brothers exchanged an amused look and began to snicker. A coat brushed her as Thorin passed by and growled,
"You think that's funny? You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?"
"We didn't mean anything by it," Kili said quietly and lowered his gaze down to his hands.
"No, you didn't! You know nothing of the world!" Thorin walked towards the edge of the cliff and looked out over the valley.
Balin approached the fire and Lindsey slowly woke up and mumbled, "Hhmmmm—what?" Fili stroked her hair and whispered, "It's fine. Sleep."
She nodded and turned around again to continue sleeping. Balin began to tell them a story about a battle in which Thorin had lost his grandfather. His father went missing afterwards. If dead or captured, no one knew.
Kate felt her heart sink a little while her gaze lay on Thorin who stood with his back facing them.
"And I thought to myself then: There is one I could follow. There is one I could call King," Balin finished his story.
Thorin turned around and watched his Company. The dwarves were all awake, stood and watched him in awe. He walked back towards the fire.
"But the pale orc? What happened to him?" Kate whispered curiously.
Thorin stopped close next to her, looked down at her before he replied sternly, "He slunk back into the hole whence he came from. That filth died of his wounds long ago."
He lowered down on the rock again and closed his eyes. The rest of the Company went back to sleep as well. Kate was the only one who noticed the exchanged look between Gandalf and Balin as Thorin mentioned Azog's death.
She sighed, turned her head a bit to catch another look of Thorin who seemed to be asleep now. Her gaze drifted to Lindsey again who had been asleep the entire time.
Kate smiled and lowered down to try and catch some sleep as well.
