- 4 -

Travel arrangements were made and I was given a satchel the good dwarfs had stuffed with little bits and pieces everybody had to spare. In the end I was the proud owner of such useful items as a hairbrush, flint stones, a blanket, a tiny pouch holding a sewing kit, knitted mittens and my very own wooden spoon!

It was decided that we should leave by the first light of day and one by one the company settled in Bilbo's living room. I thanked everybody for their kindness and retreated to my room. My head was spinning, from everything I had lived through that day. On the bed I found a pretty blue cape, most likely another item from great great aunt Baggins's wardrobe. That came in handy. I did not want to but it was probably best not to be seen wearing Kili's coat and I should give it back to it's rightful owner before our departure. Only then I realized that I had worn his tunic all this time. Luckily no one had noticed.

I woke even before dawn and waited for the knock on the door. When it came I was already there to open. The knocker was not, as I had hoped Kili but his brother.

"Oh," I took a step back which he saw as invitation to come in and close the door.

"Been expecting somebody else?" Fili teased mildly.

"Was hoping for room service," I mumbled.

Fili laughed silently into his beard and shook his head, sending the braids in his hair and beard flying. "You are one strange lady if I have ever seen one."

"You are not exactly what I am used to yourself, you know!" Sporting hair like that and calling me strange.

"I did not mean to offend you." He rubbed his hands together, searching for the right words. "I had a long talk with my little brother the night we left you with Gandalf. Truth be told, I did the talking. Then I had another long talk with Gandalf last night, where he did most of the talking. And last but not least I had another long talk with Kili again, this time I actually allowed him to get a few words in, too." He smiled. "And even after all this talk, I am still not sure what to think of this story but I want you to know that even though I am not entirely sure it is the right thing to do, I am willing to give it a try if that is your wish as well." That said he leaned back against the door.

"Kili is the most important thing in the world to me." What else could I say.

"And if you remember your other world?" Fili inquired sensibly.

At this I could only shake my head. "It is hard to imagine I could care about anything as much as I do about your brother."

He studied his hands for a moment then turned his blue gaze on me. "I love my uncle Thorin. I do not like having secrets from him. He is my leader and my king. But I love my brother more. You can count on me."

I was blown away by his speech. He did not seem the type but then Gandalf had said he was the appointed heir, in case anything should happen to Thorin. It might not be always visible under his goofball exterior but I was convinced he would make a pretty decent king, come the time.

"I don't know how to thank you." I offered weakly.

With a wink he shoved himself off the door. "Make my brother happy and keep him out of trouble!"

"Let's start with this. " I turned and grabbed Kili's coat from the bed where I had slept in it one last time and put into Fili's arms. He nodded and left. I hoped the first part of what he had asked of me would ensure the second but from what I had already seen I kind of doubted it. And little did I know that I ain't seen nothing yet.

Thirteen dwarfs, a wizard and a very excited girl gathered at he paddock and got their horses/ponies ready. Bilbo was nowhere to be seen.

"He ain't coming!" the fierce looking type with the tattooed head snapped.

"No, no. He will show up, you wait and see!" Ancient white hair with Santa Claus beard disagreed.

"I wager fifty coins against it!" droned another broad shouldered warrior with thick red hair and beard. Bets and sums were flying back and forth from dwarf to dwarf and even Gandalf put a hefty sum in. Him firmly believing that Bilbo Baggins would not be able to resist joining in an adventure like the one he had been offered.

Me, not being the gambling type, I was instead making friends with the sturdy little horse the resourceful wizard had presented me with. She was a lovely looking mare with a chocolate brown body and white fringe and ankles. When I sneaked her an apple she instantly warmed to me and I took her to meet Windstalker. The tall stallion greeted me with a few friendly puffs of hot breath and eyed the newcomer with interest.

"You two are going to be best friends, ok, kids?" They sniffed each other a little and seemed alright with the idea. If only people were that easy.

I jumped into the saddle to see how the little mare and I would get along and was not surprised to find that she was easy going and receptive to my commands. Then, looking over the gathering of characters around me I had a moment of doubt. Was this really all happening? Dwarfs, wizards and elves...yes, I sort of knew about them but they were not supposed to be real, or were they? And yet, here I was, right in the middle of them and what was more, the whole scene seemed oddly familiar, as if I had been in a similar position before….I met Kili's smile over the back of several horses and all doubt was gone with the wind. Boldly I smiled back. Just then Thorin gave the sign to depart and we slowly trotted out of Hobbiton.

That early in the morning no one was in the mood for much talk. We left the fine hobbit acres behind us and ascended one of the tree speckled hills surrounding the peaceful little valley when shouts from behind made the convoy stop and look back. In a flurry of arms and legs and wildly waving a long piece of paper no one else but Bilbo Baggins came after us. He ran to the white haired Balin and and breathlessly held out the paper to him

"Here, I signed it!" Hands on knees and trying to catch his breath Bilbo waited until Balin had checked the signature.

"All seems in order!" the old dwarf declared.

Thorin, who had sat through the episode like a statue, couldn't have cared less. "Give him a pony," he ordered with thinly veiled contempt and rode on.

"No, no! That won't be necessary!" Bilbo protested found himself unceremoniously lifted from his feet by passing Fili and Kili and was being sat on the last riderless pony, a sweet little thing called Myrtle, where he did his best to stay in the saddle and was about as comfortable as a fish out of water.

A minute later little pouches of money were flying through the air. The dwarfs were paying up or collecting their winnings. Gandalf told a confused hobbit why and expertly caught his share out of the blue.

We rode without much of a break until late afternoon. Kili and Fili had been sent ahead to scout for a good place to make camp and they led us to a sheltered plateau overlooking a deep ravine on one side and shielded by a huge disc like formation of rock on the other.

I volunteered to help with the horses and for the first time that day found myself almost alone with Kili. Almost, because Fili was there with us. But he turned a blind eye and I was dragged behind a bush and assaulted in the most exciting manner by a very agitated Kili. The butterflies somersaulted in my stomach and I wondered; would his kisses ever stop to taste so sweet? Would I ever not turn to mush the moment he had his hands on me? I would have loved to rip his clothes of right there and then but of course that was out of question. Frustrated with the amount of protective garments that were between us I pulled him in for another kiss.

"That ain't no way to treat a lady," I scolded him. His face fell.

"I know you deserve so much better than a few stolen kisses behind ….." I shut him up by stealing another kiss.

"That's not what I meant silly. I'd choose stolen kisses behind shrubbery above no kisses at all at any given time! I only wish I could get through your clothes in like under an hour!"

The smile was back on. "You shall have your wicked ways with me again, I promise!"

Just then Fili whistled and fast as lightning Kili was on the appropriate side of the bush and I would have given a lot for a cold shower.

Fili thought my flushed face and silent swearing hilarious. I balled my hands to fists and stamped a foot on the ground. "Tell me you whistled just for the fun of it and I will set your braids on fire!"

He raised his hands in defense and pointed to where Kili was having an argument with the fierce looking warrior dwarf I had learned was called Dwalin. "Sorry," I huffed, " I had not meant to be mad at you. I should thank you instead."

"At your service," he bowed mockingly and winked, still laughing.

We unsaddled the ponies and that's when I noticed a bow being strapped to Fili's bags. Unlike Kili, who always kept his bow and arrows as close by as possible, I had never seen Fili carry one before.

I took it, not even the string had been tightened. Without having to think about it, my fingers moved to get the fine looking weapon ready for action. Fili, who had been rubbing down Thorin's ride with bundles of dry grass stopped what he was doing. "Got any more surprises for us?"

I made a face to say, let's find out, and pulled the string. It was hard but doable and I let it snap from my fingers, imitating the sound of a flying arrow. A feather tickled my cheek and a real arrow slowly appeared in my line of vision over my shoulder.

"Come on, love. Show us what you got," Kili's voice vibrated low in my ear, his hair caressing the side of my face. My knees went weak but I took the arrow and scanned the area for a target. I found it in form of a pine cone hanging from a tree not too far away.

Aim, inhale, shoot, strike, exhale, grin like an idiot. Yep, that works!

When I looked back, Kili had gone to stand with his brother. They were whispering furiously, then having come to a decision presented me with it.

"You keep the bow as I am a lousy shot." Fili announced. "Now we have two archers in the company. Uncle will be pleased." With that he hung the quiver over my shoulder and went on with his job at hand. I doubted that anything having to do with me would please "uncle" but Kili's proud smile was all the reward I wanted anyway.

Leaving the horses grazing contently we returned to the campsite where the enormous Bombur was in charge of preparing dinner. To pass the time I suggested a little game of "name the dwarf" to help me remember their names. The guys, well, most of them anyway, obliged happily. One would shout a name and I had to point at the right dwarf. My score went up considerably after the first few rounds and it was good fun. The dwarfs were a merry bunch and jokes and good natured teasing had to be endured by and from everyone until dinner was finally ready.

After dinner everybody tried to get comfortable around the low burning fire. I longed to be close to Kili but remembering how we had woken up the first morning in the woods I did not trust myself and choose a spot near Gandalf and Bilbo.

The hobbit was unusually quiet. He soon fell asleep but I was still wide awake, listening to quiet conversations, the crackling of the fire and not always remote snoring. Also, from where I was lying, I could watch Kili and Fili who were still up, smoking and chatting quietly. My heart went out to them. The strong bond between the brothers so obvious it was almost visible.

An extra loud snore startled Bilbo and he sat up, looking about him as if to remember where he was and how he'd gotten there. I sure did know how that felt...

Suddenly a horrible howl pierced the night, causing everybody to freeze and listen. "What was that?!" the hobbit asked alarmed.

"Orcs," Kili told him gravely.

"Orcs?" Bilbo seemed shaken.

"Throat cutters," Fili kindly enlightened him further. Personally I thought he was not helping.

"There must be dozens out there. The lowlands are swarming with them." No, he definitely wasn't helping but they were not quite done yet.

"They strike in the wee small hours when everyone's asleep. Quiet and quick. No screams, just lot's of blood." And thank you, too, Kili. The love of my life turned to his brother, hiding his laugh behind a curtain of hair.

"You think that is funny?" Thorin clearly did not think so. "You think a night raid by Orcs is a joke?" he raised his voice and glared angrily at his nephews.

Kili's expression turned to one of shame. "We did not mean anything by it," he apologized.

"Of course you didn't. You know nothing of the world," Thorin spat and went to gaze over the ravine.

"Don't mind him laddie," Balin's kind voice broke the ensuing silence. "Thorin has more cause than most to hate Orcs." And he retold the story of how a pale orc named Azog had slain Thorin's grandfather and had driven his father mad with grieve and how in the course of the same battle Thorin, protected only by a thick branch of oak, managed to hack of the orc's hand with his sword. His bravery had turned the battle around, made the already retreating dwarfs attack anew and drive the army of orcs back that day. From that day on, Balin explained, he had know that if there was one man we could follow, one man that he could still call king, it was Thorin Oakenshield.

The story could not have been news to anyone but Bilbo and me and yet all of the men listened in great earnest.

The man in question had remained still. Only when Balin had finished he turned and faced the company. The story had moved me and I looked at Thorin with new respect but it still sounded like a fairytale to me. I could not really picture any of my companions on a battlefield, hacking away at enemies, chopping off arms and legs and heads. A few words were exchanged between Bilbo and Thorin and the latter wandered off into the night.

I tried to catch Kili's attention and when I did he sent an encouraging smile but the vibes I got were more of concern. More than ever I longed to be enfolded in his arms and with a sigh I mouthed a silent 'good night' and tried to get some sleep at last. Thankfully there were no more disturbances that night.

After a frugal breakfast we packed and continued on our way. Half an hour into the day's journey heavy rain started to fall and darkened everybody's mood, to put it politely.

By afternoon the rain had stopped and soaking wet we reached an abandoned homestead, where Thorin decided we should stay for the night, against Gandalf's firm advise to carry on to the hidden valley, where we could expect to find shelter, food and advise from Lord Elrond.

A shouting match between the Gandalf and Thorin resulted in an enraged wizard storming off on Windstalker, "To seek the company of the only one with some sense around here!" allegedly himself. He must have forgotten that I was around...

"Will he come back?" Bilbo asked timidly, nobody risked even an educated guess.

Thorin did not seem fazed by any of it. He ordered Bombur to start cooking.

Fili and Kili were on horse duty again and when Bilbo was asked to "bring the lads" their share I went with him. We found the brothers standing stock still, staring at the place where the ponies had been left. "What's the matter?" the hobbit asked. They kept on staring.

"We were supposed to be looking after the ponies," Kili explained.

"Only we have encountered a small problem," Fili continued. Fact was, they were two ponies short. And what was more, some of the trees seemed to have been knocked over, as if they had a serious run in with a tornado.

They moved closer to investigate. Bilbo, bowls still in hand, followed them. I stayed put and could not help but wonder how exactly they could have missed something that uprooted half a dozen trees and made two ponies disappear. What on earth had they been doing?

That's when I heard it. Something huge moved through the forest, grunted disgustingly , accompanied by the terrified whinnying of horses. I could not move. I could not scream, I could not even breathe. An enormous, monstrously ugly being shoved past me, carrying an unlucky pony under each arm. Paralyzed by shock I was still frozen to the spot when Kili appeared next to me. "Dalan! Dalan!" he snapped his fingers in front of my face. Mouth hanging open I slowly turned to him. "D-d-d-did you s-s-s-see that?!"

"Of course I saw it, it's a bit too big to miss. You have to go and alert the others. Now!" Still unblinking I stared at him. "Dalan," he shook me. "Please, run! I need you to go now!" He kissed me hard and quick and was gone.

Kili's kiss had stunned me out of my stupor somehow, at least to a point where the body was functioning again, even if my mind was a bit late. I dashed back to the camp. Stumbling over a rock I landed gracelessly at the feet of Thorin Oakenshield.

"There..." I gasped and pointed in the direction from which i'd come. "Huge, ugly things...stealing ponies! Bilbo, Fili...Kili...!" Not very eloquent but it did the trick.

"Dwalin, get the men together!" he shouted and in mere seconds everyone was ready and armed. I scramble up to follow them but Thorin held me back. "Find Gandalf!" he hissed. "Quick!" Not waiting to see that I did but sure that I would follow his order he ran after his men.

"Go and find Gandalf, right." A wizard seemed a good idea in this situation but where for crying out loud was I supposed to find one?

I looked around the deserted camp, suddenly feeling very lonely. What if one of those creatures showed up here? Hiding was no option, I had to find Gandalf and 'quick'. My gaze fell on the bow Fili had given me. Was I to defend myself with tiny arrows against those giants? A piece of wood exploded in the fire and I jumped. Then I looked at the bow again and back at the fire and I knew what I had to do.

A few minutes later I was shooting the first burning arrow into the night sky. It's tip I had wrapped in pieces of cloth and dipped into the frying pan to make the flames as big as possible. I had pulled the bow with all my strength and watched the arrow ascend, urging it to fly higher and higher. All too quick it reached it's zenith and fell back to earth. Up went the next. If I was to cause a forest fire, all the better.

I forced myself to wait a little between arrows but thinking of the danger everybody must be in my patience wore thin. Way too soon I was holding the last of my burning missiles in hand. I followed it's progress through the darkness and then there was nothing left for me to do but wait. So hard was I wishing to hear the pounding of hooves indicating that help was on it's way that at first I did not even realize it was real. Gandalf had returned.

Sobbing with relieve I ran to him and told him what I knew. He did not take the time to answer but raced off, leaving me behind, too. Not daring to stumble through the night alone I huddled close to the fire, hugged my knees and tried to convince myself that everything was going to be alright. An eternity seemed to have gone by when I heard Kili calling my name and then he was beside me and pulled me into his arms, almost crushing my ribcage again.

"You are alright," he whispered again and again, stroking my hair, kissing my face and rocking me back and forth. A moment later Fili was there, too, crouching down beside us, his eyes glimmering with concern for me and for Kili's strong reaction to my state.

"Is everybody ok?" I asked. "Are you all well and save?"

"Still all in one piece," Fili grinned.

"Where are the others? Shouldn't we be more careful?" I asked Kili even though I was not ready to let go of him yet.

"They went to check out the troll cave, they will be a while," Fili explained.

"What happened back there? What are those creatures?" Taking turns they filled me in and more than once I wished I had not asked. But now that the danger was over they seemed delighted to relive their close encounter with death.

"And so we all shouted that we were riddled with huge parasites and they got really mad but at that moment Gandalf appeared at the scene." Fili was excited like a child on Christmas eve.

"And he hit a rock with his staff, causing it to split and a large beam of light turned the trolls to stone." Kili finished the story.

"And even if he had not come, I was just about to break free and finish them off myself!" Fili needed to have the last word. I had not thought it possible but he actually made me laugh.

I elbowed him lightly. "I am sure you'd have!"

My head hurt from trying to process what I'd seen, my arm and shoulder hurt from pulling the bow so hard and I was exhausted from anguish but more than anything I was glad that Kili was unharmed and had his arms around me, while his brother was trying to cheer me up. In the middle of all this madness, I felt happy.