Chapter Four: Argo

Leopara: Thanks for your review! I know I should have gone for suspense, but for some reason this just seemed to work better (hopefully you'll see why as you read :) ) but on another note I'm taking Khayl to Ered Luin so there should be plenty of interactions. I'm actually hoping to build on the story before the quest starts looming over everything. I hope I provide however when it comes to all of our dwarf friends! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Also, thanks Marina Oakenshield for your consistent pokes on each chapter. They actually mean quite a lot to me :D

Travelling with Gandalf the Grey was boring. At least, that's what Mikhayla thought. When the old wizard had been able to provide a solution for them he had insisted that the two young women travel with him. Like they really had a choice in the matter.

They were going to a town called Oldernoff, which was probably the weirdest name for a place that Khayl had ever heard. Nevertheless she rode in silence whilst her cousin chatted amiably with the wizard. Gandalf had promised to teach Katie magic, which Khayl though was most certainly strange since he had made no promises regarding her own humanity. But maybe she was just being bitter.

Years, Gandalf had told her. That was how long it might take to find them a way home. That was how long she might be a dwarf. But that wasn't what bothered her the most. It wasn't that her family was so far out of reach it hurt think about, or that she may never see them again. It wasn't that she was a dwarf or that they were in some kind of other world.

What bothered her most was that her world was now filled with if's, maybe's and might's. That sense of insecurity, of an ever changing future, that was what bothered her most. Everything in this world was unfamiliar. Everything set her teeth on edge when she looked at it.

At the moment she was missing the birds.

It was raining and she was missing the birds that flocked about her home in this type of weather. It was probably sad that she no longer cared about being wet through to her bones or that the clothes she wore seemed to trap water better than it warded it off. Even her boots were filled with water. And still it kept raining. Back to the birds, Mikhayla told herself, trying to keep her mind off the damp that squished under her backside with every step Prour took. The birds in Australia are bright and full of song and colour, even in the rain, especially in the rain. They squawked and keened and laughed; no chirruping or tweeting there. In this damp, fungus strewn hellhole the only bird was a singular raven that crowed mournfully from somewhere above.

They been travelling for four days and had scarcely seen a soul. One of the nights had been spent at an inn on the side of the road. Ironically that had been the only night it hadn't rained. They had bought some saddles when they arrived; two heavy old things that would have been more at home in a museum. That night though they had managed to scrounge up some clothes that fitted the new Mikhayla, as well as pair of heavy dwarven boots that didn't pinch her feet like her others. The belted tunic and leather coat had supposedly belonged to some long dead patron of the inn who had gotten into a fight only to be stabbed. It wasn't the best story to go with her new clothes but she felt that maybe she could turn their luck around. Gandalf had said they were necessary as they disguised any of her … femininity when coupled with a hood. She hadn't cared. They were clothes, and they were warm and comfortable. Plus, they were free since Gandalf had paid for everything.

"Khayl! Stop trying to fry the rain with you glare and get over here! We've finally arrived." Katie's young voice carried on the eager wind and the she-dwarf looked up, scowling, only to realise she had fallen a ways behind the others. She spurred Prour on up the muddy slope. "Pretty, isn't it?" Oldernoff looked like a sparkling nest of fireflies through the rain.

"Anything that speaks of warmth and shelter is considered pretty at the moment." Khayl reminded her as she rode after Gandalf who had taken to ignoring her since she apparently had nothing constructive to say. She nearly jumped straight out of her new saddle when he addressed her directly.

"Khayl, I've been thinking long and hard about what to do with you." He said, turning in his saddle to look at her.

"Sounds like you're about to palm me off to a babysitter." She found herself grumbling in reply. Gandalf merely took on an innocent expression and continued talking as though he'd hadn't heard her.

"And I remembered a discussion I had with a fellow not too long ago. He's a dwarf you see, and a very knowledgeable and well-respected one at that."

"You are sending me to a babysitter!" Mikhayla exclaimed, outraged. This time Gandalf scowled at her.

"It's for your own benefit. I told you, we might never find a way to send either of you home. In which case you will need to learn about the ways of your new people. I will teach Katie what I can and then I will find her a place of her own among to elves." Khayl couldn't help but feel like they were being punished for something they hadn't done.

"Why can't I go with you?" she found herself whining. Instantly she felt ashamed. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, promising herself not to let the situation overwhelm her. "I'm sorry. You know this world and magic etcetera whilst we are just strangers here. If you say this is what must happen, than it must happen."

"Thankyou, Khayl," Gandalf nodded his appreciation. "Come, let us hasten for dinner."

"Amen to that!" Katie exclaimed, having watched the exchange between the dwarf and the wizard with unease. She had always had Khayl to protect her and teach her. Now they were just going to be separated? The days ahead were beginning to seem hollow already.

Khayl and Katie silently followed Gandalf up the winding stairs of the inn and along a long corridor, eyeing the number on each door as they passed.

"Ah! Here we are, number fourteen," Gandalf said happily before knocking on the door with the end of his staff. There was a sudden silence inside the room before the person huffed and moved to the door, stomping loudly. The door creaked agonisingly as it opened and they were soon faced with their first real look at a normal dwarf.

"Gandalf," he said sullenly. Khayl couldn't tell if the attitude came from this meeting or if he was usually like this. His thick silver and black beard covered half his face like a bear that had gotten lost down there. His eyes however were small and dark, glittering as they danced among the three of them, not missing a thing.

"May we come in, Argo?" Gandalf said with a little force, seemingly to remind the dwarf of his manners.

"If you must."

The inside of the room was dingy but warm and Mikhayla couldn't help but notice that this dwarf was even shorter than she was by a good inch or two. His limbs were all thickly muscled and he moved with a kind of strength that made Khayl uneasy. Her father had moved like that when he was younger, back when he been exclusively sheering rams on the stations. It was a strength born of hard labour and a powerful character.

"Typically, the visitor introduces themselves first." Came Argo's rough voice, though Khayl sensed a slight smile behind it.

"Apologies, Master Argo, I am Katie Coulter." Katie firmly dug her elbow into Mikhayla's side as she stepped forward to introduce herself, though as she was now several inches taller it was all the more uncomfortable.

"And I am Khayl-" She forced herself to stop, realising that she couldn't in fact introduce herself as Katie's relative. She bit back the words, leaving a sour taste in her mouth.

"Argo. Son of Burgo at your service," he said, bowing low with a practiced ease that made Khayl suddenly feel inadequate. She hid it though and looked at Gandalf fleetingly. "How can I help you, Gandalf?" The dwarf asked, also turning his attention to the wizard.

"I need ask of you an immense favour, my friend." With that he went and sat with Argo on the far end of the room, but not before the dwarf offered the women food which was gladly accepted.

"I'll miss you, you know," Katie said after a moment as she tore apart a bread roll. "It'll be weird not having you there to watch out for me."

"I'm sure by now you can watch out for yourself, Katie. You're more than capable." Khayl didn't want to admit how much she would also miss her cousin, her best link to home. If she did it would make the separation nigh unbearable.

"So, what story is Gandalf telling this guy?" Katie asked. "I mean he can't exactly tell him the truth – can he?"

"He sort of is. He's telling him that I was raised by a human family which, in essence, is the truth. But we're not telling him that I was human." Khayl informed her, picking at the stew. "What do you think of him?"

"He scares me a little," Katie admitted quietly, fixating her gaze upon the food. Khayl snorted quietly.

"You're not the one who's going to be stuck with him. But he doesn't seem scary, just different."

They both stopped talking as Gandalf and Argo stood and moved back over to them. Khayl raised her eyebrows as the dwarf stopped in front of her and seemed to ponder his words carefully. Trying to avoid the awkwardness she focused instead on the beads and clasps that were braided into his beard and hair. They were fascinating and Khayl couldn't help but hope it was a dwarf thing and not an individuality statement.

"So you were raised by humans…" he began, almost awkwardly.

"Yes…"

"And know nothing about your dwarf roots?"

"…yes…" She replied. Argo growled beneath his breath and turned to Gandalf sharply. The old wizard watched him with hooded eyes.

"And you want me to teach her everything? Everything that a dwarf would spend their entire lives learning?"

"She's a fast learner,"

"How do you know?" Khayl interjected, only to be silenced by a glance from Gandalf who otherwise ignored her.

"Besides, she will work hard to earn her keep," the old wizard shot a long stern look at Argo. "I need you to do this, both her and for me, Argo. She cannot survive in this world on her own." Khayl tried to restrain the scowl that splashed across her face and merely leaned back in her chair haughtily.

"I do need a new apprentice," The other dwarf mused quietly for a moment. "I will take her on as an apprentice and teach whatever she needs to know. However I must know how long she is to remain with me?"

"However long you deem fit so that she is capable of living a true dwarf's life. Perhaps less if something crops up between now and then." Khayl resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands as her life looked as though it was taking even more unpredictable and uncontrollable turns. Instead she glanced at Katie who shot her a weak but encouraging smile. Instantly, Khayl felt horrible. She had been so caught up in her own life and her own troubles that she hadn't given a moment's consideration to what was going to happen to Katie. But she couldn't very well ask about it at that moment with Argo hovering about looking increasingly grumpy.

They ate the rest of the meal in virtual silence before Gandalf stood and beckoned to Katie. Khayl realised with a sudden jolt that the time had come for goodbyes and yet all she could do was stare absently at her cousin.

"I'll see you soon?" Katie said uncertainly, though it came out as more of a question.

"Of course," Khayl was painfully aware of how Argo was watching the young women standing at the door awkwardly and knew she couldn't move to embrace her cousin tightly, to hold onto her as if that would make everything seem more real. Instead they smiled sadly at each other and Katie placed a hand on Khayl's shoulder, gripping it tightly for a moment before she turned and left the room, trying to conceal the tears that sprang to her eyes unbidden. Khayl stared after her even after that door had closed, wondering all the while if she would ever see any member of her family again.

When she turned back around she saw a pile of heavy woollen blankets had been placed in the corner on a bare stretch of floor. A pillow was haphazardly tossed across the room to thump on top of the pile.

"Appreciate what rest yeh can get," Argo grumbled. "From now on you'll do your learning from dawn, then work, then more learning until I say stop." Khayl merely nodded in agreement as the older dwarf laid down the laws.

"When you're working you'll stay in the back of the forge where I put yeh. Always wear your hood in public and give no indication that you're female-"

"Why not?"

"Because most people don't know of the existence of female dwarves and since there're so few of yeh we'd like to keep it that way." Argo seemed to be taking his mentoring role with a pinch of salt as her responded to her without so much as blinking an eyelid.

"Why're there so few female dwarfs?" Khayl asked, the question springing to her lips unbidden.

"It's just the way it's always been. No one really knows why." Argo looked marginally perturbed at the thought, as though he had never wondered such a thing before. Mikhayla, on the other hand, was thinking back to those biology lessons about X and Y chromosomes and wondered if she had changed in many other ways than could be seen. "Now, sleep."

With a willing heart, Khayl tossed out the blankets and succeeded in making some sort of nest in the corner while Argo lay down in his bed with a huff. Khayl thought it weird that she was sleeping not two metres from a complete stranger, a grown man nonetheless, and she didn't feel the slightest bit uncomfortable. Argo, though older and crotchety, had presence about him that made the newly-made she-dwarf feel secure. Despite his grizzled appearance and not-so-endearing manner he had taken her in when he had no reason to whatsoever. He took her babyish questions and so far hadn't ridiculed her once. He reminded her of her father with his stern words and salt and pepper beard.

Nestling into the scratchy woollen blankets, Khayl smiled at the thought that she might actually have a place in this world for the time being, that someone could finally give her answers.

A/N Well, this chapter couldn't have been more painful to write if I actually tried. I'm really sorry that this actually took pretty much forever. School kind of just grabbed me in a headlock with mid-year exams etc and then I was writing out the story in a notebook and never actually got around to typing them up… I know, I suck, but here it is at last! And hopefully with none of the simply atrocious spelling mistakes that littered the previous chapters.

Anyway, thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review. (Pretty please?)

XO

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