Disclaimer: I still don't own anything but Marie...maybe next week!

Chapter 4: The Trolls

"He's been gone a long time." Bilbo commented, walking past Marie as she stirred the stew that Bombur had made them for dinner.

"Who?" Bofur questioned from her other side, taking the spoon from her and ladling some of it into a couple bowls.

"Gandalf..."

"He's a wizard. He does as he chooses." Bofur dismissed Bilbo's concern as he pushed the two bowls into his hands. "Here, do us a favor and take these to the lads."

"I'll go with you." Marie told him as she took one of the bowls from the Hobbit, ignoring the pointed look Bofur shot her way as she followed Bilbo into the darkness. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but as much as she liked everyone she missed Kili's playful manner.

They came through the trees, to the area they knew the ponies were being kept, and she almost ran straight into Fili. The brothers stood, motionless, staring out over the ponies. Neither turned to acknowledge their arrival. She moved to stand between them as she looked out over the ponies cautiously, not sure what she expected to see.

"What's wrong?" She asked after a few seconds of quiet.

"We're supposed to be looking after the ponies." Kili told her. She nodded, waiting for him to tell her something that she didn't know already.

Fili spoke from her other side. "Only we've encountered a slight problem."

"Which is?"

"We had 16..."

"Now there's 14."

Marie looked over the ponies, doing a quick tally in her head. Sure enough, 2 of the docile animals were missing. "Maybe they wandered off somewhere?" She suggested. "It looks like Daisy and Bungo are missing." She had grown fond of the sweet creatures in the short time she had spent with the group.

Kili looked at her sadly, confirming her fears as he shook his head. "They didn't leave of their own desire. We think they were taken." Fili nodded, leading them over to an overturned tree, roots exposed with clumps of soft soil still clinging to them.

"Well, that's not good" Bilbo nervously tittered. "That's not good at all. Shouldn't we tell Thorin about this?"

"Uh, no. Let's not worry him. As our official burglar we thought you might like to look into it."

Fili guided Bilbo over to inspect the fallen tree, Kili trailing after them. Marie stood rooted were she was, the world that she knew crashing down around her as she digested what Fili had said. These kind men who had saved, comforted and protected her...what were they doing? Traveling through the countryside with weapons and a wizard, and apparently a burglar. She hadn't thought to question it until now.

"Marie?" Kili took a slow step toward her, no doubt noticing her change in mood and the frightened look she was sure was written on her face. He approached her, reaching out with one hand as if she would either faint or dash off, the latter option holding some appeal.

"Burglar?" She gasped out.

Realization dawned on his face before he opened and closed his mouth a few times, apparently at a loss for words. Bilbo supplied an explanation in a slightly heated tone. "I'm not a burglar! I've told these people about a hundred times, but they don't seem to believe me. I'm beginning to think they use the term purely to get on my nerves."

Not a burglar? Could she believe him? Did she really have a choice? They hadn't hurt her, even though they were more than capable of it. They were all stronger than her, had they wanted to take advantage of her in any way they certainly could have. She had nowhere to go, and no one to turn to for help. Instead they had been nothing but kind to her.

She took a moment to look at the three men ahead of her. Bilbo's obvious frustration, the beseeching look in Kili's eyes, begging for her to trust him, and Fili's total ignorance to the situation as he continued to examine the destroyed tree. The cat-like eye of a dragon buried under a mountain of gold flashed before her eyes, causing a sharp pain to burst through her head that left as quickly as it had come. She didn't understand what it meant, or even how she knew so certainly what it had been, but the fear and suspicion she had felt melted away. The uncomfortable feeling had been replaced with the warm heat of trust, she knew that she was in safe company.

"It looks like something knocked this tree over." She commented as she moved up to stand with them around the tree. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Kili relaxed as he came up to stand beside her. "Something big..."

"That was our thinking"

"Something very big and possibly quite dangerous." Bilbo squeaked out. Marie was beginning to get the impression that Hobbits were nervous creatures by nature.

"Hey, there's a light over there." Fili called out from where he crouched by the tree. The flickering light of a camp fire could be seen through the trees as deep voices drifted toward them.

"Keep down."

"What is it?" She whispered.

Kili's face twisted into a disgusted sneer as he spit his answer out. "Trolls." The brothers had leapt over the tree trunk and were running toward the fire light before she knew what had happened. Marie and Bilbo shared a surprised glance before she set the untouched bowl of stew on the log and ran off after them. A hand reached out of a bush and pulled her down just as a giant lumbering creature walked toward the campsite, two more of their ponies tucked under it's arms. Marie looked at the giant creature before turning her gaze back to the brothers.

"How, exactly, did THAT get past the two of you in the first place?!" She whispered, gesturing wildly at the creature.

The brothers had the decency to look abashed as Fili answered. "We only looked away for a moment, really! Trolls may be large, but they can be quite sneaky as well."

"He's got Myrtle and Minty!" Bilbo exclaimed, distressed that his pony was being hauled around. "I think they're going to eat them, we have to do something!"

Kili looked to Bilbo as if he had just said the most ingenious thing he had ever heard. "Yes you should." He nodded enthusiastically when Bilbo shook his head furiously. "Mountain Trolls are slow and stupid, and you're so small, they'll never see you. It's perfectly safe, we'll be right behind you!"

The urge to go in Bilbo's stead was so strong and unexpected it shocked Marie even as she spoke out. "No, I'll go." She got to her feet and took a step toward the fire light, unsure of what she'd do when she got to the Troll's camp.

"No!" Kili almost shouted out as he grabbed onto her arm, pulling her back into the cover of the foliage. "Bilbo is smaller, he'll be harder to detect."

"He may be smaller in height, but I'm pretty sure I'm lighter on my feet. Besides, you just said it would be perfectly safe."

He threw a pleading look to his brother, no doubt wanting him to back his decision, but Fili said nothing. He only stared at her, eyebrow quirked, probably as curious as she was about her decision. He finally nodded his consent to her.

Kili threw a frustrated punch into the side of a nearby tree, before heaving a deep sigh of resignation. "Fine. Just be careful and stay hidden. Fili, Bilbo, you go get the others and bring them back here as quickly as you can. I'll keep watch here."

Marie stopped Fili as he moved to leave, an idea springing to her head. "Do you have a knife or something I can borrow? That way I can just cut them lose and let them run back on their own. Quick and silent."

"Be careful." He told her seriously as he pulled a dagger from one of the folds of his tunic, handing it to her. He turned to Kili, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "We'll be as quick as we can." And they were gone, disappearing through the trees.

Marie drew in a deep breath, turning to Kili. He looked back at her, his eyebrows drawn together in concern. She smiled slightly at him, pleased that he was concerned for her, even just a little bit. "I'll be as safe as I can."

He nodded, still obviously nervous for her. "I'll be watching."

She reached out to give his hand a small squeeze before turning toward the light. She paid close attention to where she placed each footstep, careful not to make any noise. She came to the edge of the clearing just as the Troll was finishing setting the ponies into a crudely made corral. Two other Trolls sat around the fire, one complaining about have to eat "old nags", and sneezing into the pot that the third Troll was stirring. Slowly Marie snuck up to the ponies, trying to stay to the shadows as much as possible, stopping every time one of the giants shifted on it's stump-seat. Finally, she made it close enough to begin sawing at the ropes, trying to quiet the ponies as they snorted and whinnied excitedly.

"Hey!" The sound of the thundering voice made her jump as she whirled around, just in time to see one of the Trolls hit another in the face with his soup spoon. "That's my grog!"

Marie sighed, shaking her head as the Trolls fought amongst themselves behind her, before turning back to her work. The rope snapped under the blade with a sharp sound and pandemonium broke out around her. The ponies, now free from the corral, galloped past her, knocking into her and catching the Trolls' attentions.

"What's that?!" The Troll who seemed to have a cold shrieked, pointing at her.

"Well, if it isn't another little farmer person." The one in the apron said, as he reached out to grab her. Before she could decide what she wanted to do, her body took over and she swung wildly at the Troll, catching his finger. He bellowed in rage as he pulled his hand back quickly. She didn't she the other hand fly toward her until it was too late to do anything to prevent it form sending her flying through the air. The last thing she saw was the looming, face of a Troll before the darkness came upon her.

Kili's heart leapt into his throat as he watched the ugly Troll hit Marie, knocking her off of her feet. He held his breath as he watched her, praying that she get up, but she remained motionless where she had fallen.

"What is it?" One of the Trolls asked. "It doesn't look like a farmer. Too small!"

"Can we eat it?" Another asked, as the leader bent and picked Marie's limp form off the ground, examining her closely.

"There's not much meat on it, especially after it's been skinned and boned. We could toss it in the stew, that would probably work."

Fury blinded him as he rushed toward them, sword drawn. He could hear crashing through the trees behind him and didn't need to turn and look to know that his kin was not far behind him. He charged into the Troll camp, slashing at a leg as he ran past. He ignored the high pitched squeal that it released as he spun to the one still holding Marie.

"Drop her!" He shouted up at it, pointing his sword at the giant. The dumb creature looked from his fallen companion to Kili, mouth hanging open.

"You what?"

"I said, drop her."

The Troll looked at him for a moment longer, before his hideous face transformed into a snarl and he sent Marie flying through the air towards him. Kili dropped his sword just in time to catch her without accidentally running her through. He staggered slightly under her small frame, righting himself just as his uncle came crashing through the trees behind him. Sword raised and a war cry bellowing through the camp, the rest of the company came crashing after him in a similar manner.

Kili stepped back slightly, allowing the others to begin the fight while he took a moment to lay Marie down on the ground away from the fighting. He looked over her quickly, running his hands quickly behind her head and down her arms and legs, trying to feel for any obvious injuries. Satisfied that she seemed to be whole and relatively unharmed he turned to the fray, sword in hand.

The ensuing battle seemed to last for hours as he ran around, slashing and stabbing any Troll parts that he were within reach of his sword, although he knew that the fight hadn't lasted for much more than a few minutes. He noticed Ori being grabbed around his head by a massive hand and moved to free him, Fili got to him first and slashed the hand, sending poor Ori sailing through the air. He landed roughly next to where Thorin was slashing Troll legs, the poor Dwarf only had his slingshot to fight with and was not fairing well. Kili ran over to him, pulling on his arm to help him stand once again.

"Come on," He shouted over the noise of the fight. "get up!"

Thorin bumped into his side causing Kili to look up, spinning around to face the enemy. He followed his uncle's gaze toward the Trolls, and Bilbo. Two of the Trolls held Bilbo between them, each with an arm and a leg held tightly. "Bilbo!" He cried, taking a step toward them, sword raised once more to continue the fight and save the poor Hobbit. Thorin's strong arm slammed against his chest, stopping him in his tracks.

"Lay down your arms, or we'll rip his off." The Troll leader snarled down at them, The two holding onto Bilbo pulled slightly, causing the Halfling to whimper slightly. Thorin stood for a moment, obviously weighing his options and chances, before turning his sword and plunging it into the ground in surrender. Kili and the rest of the men threw their weapons down as well, accompanied by various huffs and grunts of displeasure. It seemed that Gandalf was their last hope. Wherever he was.

"Get the sacks, boys."

A/N: Hello everyone! I'm working away, on this story. I have to horrible habit of getting distracted when I write a fanfic, so this story has pretty much taken up every spare second of my life!

I'd like to thank everyone for the reviews, it has been very encouraging! If anyone notices any mistakes or anything feel free to mention it in a review, but PLEASE be specific! I enjoy constructive criticism very much, but to fix something I must first know exactly what's wrong.

Thanks again everyone. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, next one will be uploaded on Sunday!