Ok, I am so sorry that I took so long to update.
Um, not a lot to say...
Please check out the poll on my profile!

As always, please review!

~ Rachel


Bofur and Bifur joined Malonna in cleaning up from breakfast while the rest of the company headed outside to find the girl. It did not take long for the men to find her mucking out the stalls of the barn. She straightened and wiped the sweat off her forehead with the sleeve of her long-sleeved, plaid shirt when she saw them approach. Kili and Fili reached her first and said, "It would appear that we will be here for a while."

"Good," Raena said with a smirk. She tossed a shovel to Kili and a pitchfork to Fili and pointed to the stalls. The boys began to grumble but moved to do the work anyway. Raena couldn't help but smile at their antics. She turned to the rest of the men and grinned. Before long, she had all of the men working. I could get used to having help with these chores, she thought as she moved to the chore she enjoyed most. She grabbed her splitting maul and moved to the pile of wood that needed to be split. She had made it through half of the pile before she stopped to take a break. She had just turned to take a seat in the shade when the splitting maul was taken from her hands. She looked up to find Thorin smiling at her and motioning for her to sit. Raena willingly obeyed him and reached for the water bottle she had brought out with her.

Leaning her head back against the tree, Raena listened to the sound of approaching feet. Glancing up, she met her mother's gaze and motioned for Malonna to join her. Malonna sank down beside her daughter and tried to find where she should begin. "Raena," she said, drawing her daughter's attention, "do you remember those stories I used to tell you when you were a child about a place called Middle Earth and the kingdoms of Mirkwood, Erebor, and Dale?"

"Of course, what about them?"

"I know this is going to sound insane, but please hear me out. Those stories are all true. Middle Earth is a real place. That's where we are from. I brought us to this world before you were born." Malonna looked at her daughter and flinched. Raena was staring at her like she had grown a second head. She shook her head and slowly stood to her feet. Malonna stood and said, "Raena, I know it's hard to believe but you have to. I am what they call an Istari. Gandalf is just like me. We possess magical abilities and I believe that you possess them as well."

Raena squeezed her eyes shut and tried to understand. Thorin mentioned Gandalf was a wizard but I didn't believe him. How is it that other worlds exist? If it's true, everything I've ever known is a lie. Raena felt the hurt begin to well up in her heart and turned away. She walked away and ignored her mother's calls. She disappeared around the corner and ran to the front her home where she saw a familiar blue Mustang with its owner leaning against the hood.

"I'm not in the mood for this, Alex," she said as she ran a hand down her face. "What do you want?"

"Come on, babe," Alex said as he ran his hand though his chocolate brown hair. "I didn't think you meant what you said last night. I came to apologize for what I did. I know it was wrong and I'm really sorry."

Raena let out a disgusted scoff. "I caught you with another girl, Alex!" she yelled. "I meant every word I said last night and I mean what I'm saying now. Get off my land and don't come back!"

"Who do you think you are?" Alex shouted back as he stood to his full height. He leaned over her and said, "Do you realize what you're doing?"

"Yes," Raena sneered, "I'm doing what I should have done a long time ago. Get out of my face and get back in your stupid car before I call the police and have you arrested for trespassing!"

Alex reached for her but his hand was caught by someone else's. Raena looked up to see Fili push Alex back against the car and say, "I believe she told you to leave."

Alex jerked his hand away and sneered, "You little slut, this is why you broke up with me?"

Before the sentence had completely left his lips, Raena's right hook met with his jaw. "He's my cousin, you jerk!" she bellowed as Fili wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her away from Alex. He held onto her until Alex was in his car and speeding down the gravel driveway.

"Are you alright?" Fili asked as he released her.

Raena sighed, "I'm fine."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Raena blew a stray piece of hair out of her face and said, "Alex and I were a couple for a few months until last night when I found him with another woman. I broke it off with him and humiliated him in front of everyone at the diner. He tried to tell me that it wasn't what it looked like and I asked him what exactly what it was because it looked a lot like he was cheating on me. He told me I was just jealous and I punched him and left."

Raena felt better after she told Fili this and turned to study him. He was dressed as if he had stepped out of the pages of one of her old history books. That didn't even begin to explain why he was absolutely covered in weapons. She sighed and asked, "Is it true that you all came here from another world?"

Fili chuckled and nodded. "I realize that this is hard for you. In our world we have magic and even though this seems impossible, it is easier to accept knowing that it was because of one of our Istari that it happened. Your mother was quite the legend while she was in Middle Earth. Although, I didn't know that she was married to my uncle and that I had a cousin."

Raena groaned and said, "My whole life has been a lie. Everything I once thought has been turned upside down in the short time since you all arrived."

"Not everything was a lie," Fili said with a nudge of his shoulder. "Your mother still loves you. Does anything else really matter? Besides, it's not every day you find out that your royalty."

"Royalty?" Raena sputtered as she whirled to face him.

Fili smiled and said, "Yes, Uncle is to be King under the Mountain when we reclaim Erebor. That would make you a princess."

Raena stared at Fili for a few seconds before turning and walking inside without another word. Fili chuckled and thought of how much fun they were going to have while teaching Raena of Middle Earth. He smiled as he watched her flop down on a couch and cover her eyes with her forearm. "By the way," he began as he picked up her legs and sat down, "do you do all of those chores by yourself every day?"

"Not every day," she said as she propped herself up on her elbows. "Most of them I do by myself, but things like chopping wood, I usually don't have to do very often. So, have you been introduced to technology yet?"

Fili squinted and slowly shook his head. The mischievous look on Raena's face didn't put him at ease. She smiled and hopped off the couch. She pulled him to his feet and said, "Go get your brother and meet me out back. I'm going to introduce you to one of my favorite things to do."

Raena rushed back to her room and walked over to her gun rack. She grabbed her .22 rifle and a box of ammo. Grabbing a few targets on the way out, she made her way to the backyard. Fili and Kili stood waiting for her. She set her things down and went to set up the target on a post that was placed in front of a tall hill. After tacking the target in place, she returned to the boys and smiled. "Ok, so what is it you use for hunting in Middle Earth?"

"Bows, mostly, and some traps," Kili supplied as he gave her a quizzical look.

With a smile, Raena picked up her gun and said, "This is what we use. This is pretty easy to use and doesn't have much of a recoil."

The boys looked at the wood and metal stick Raena was holding and then at each other. Raena explained to them gun safety and how to load the gun. She then showed them how to hold it properly. She then handed the gun to Kili and sat back to watch their reactions. Kili held the gun like Raena showed them and looked down the sights. He slowly squeezed the trigger like she said and the gun went off. Both boys jumped back at the loud bang that came from the gun and Kili almost dropped it.

Raena fell back to the grass and laughed until her stomach hurt. The boys gave each other a glance before they pounced on Raena. One moment she was on the ground laughing and the next she was being held down by Fili while Kili tickled her unrelentingly. She yelped and shrieked for them to stop all the while she was laughing and giggling. The rest of the company came running up just then, having heard the gun go off and Raena's shrieks. Many chuckled at the sight before them. They were still in somewhat of a shock to find that their leader had a daughter that none of them knew about, but watching the youngest of the group getting along, they knew that it wouldn't be long before they were all comfortable with the idea.