A/N: There is one more chapter after this. But if you enjoyed so far there will be three more installments to come, longer than this one as I will be following the Hobbit and Lord of The Rings. Please Review, they bring me great joy! :3

Katy had never felt better about her life than she did after the summer festival. In her mind it had been an awakening for her and she found herself accepting the fact that she was changing with an open mind and an open heart. She may one day out live her family, yes, but she had also gained another family in Rivendell and that steadied her heart because the fear of being alone was what had driven her to hysteria that night so long ago at her father's wake. After the festival she had walked the halls of Rivendell in a deep sense of content and joy, marveling at how well everything had turned out in the end. She was still in the gown Elleniya had made for because she was so loathe to take it off. For once in her life she did not prefer jeans over a dress. She stepped out into the gardens, now vacant of any elves, and wiggled her bare toes in the grass absently. She just felt right.

She sat down on a bench some ways down a garden path and let out a sigh. The Mirkwood elves would be returning to their home in a week and she as well as the twins would be seeing them home, the thought saddened her, but she was glad she had gotten a chance to see the fabled forest and meet the Elven King and his people. After that it had been decided that Estel was to be sent to the Dunadain to be raised in their ways like his father had been. He had not taken kindly to the news but Elrond had given him the option of staying but the thought of traveling was too tempting to the young adventurer and so he had agreed to go in the end. Then Katy would go back to her studies of Middle Earth and she would one day follow Gandalf on his adventures to see more of the world.

But for that very moment she was free to just simply sit and enjoy the peace she felt.

She refused to think about anymore of the negatives in her situation.

The next week went by quickly, Katy spent it catching up with Erestor, and listening to whatever new things he had thought of to teach her. Since she had now seen Mirkwood and some of the Misty Mountains he focused the majority of his lectures on the history of the area. She spent a lot of time practicing with her new bow in the practice fields and was often joined by Glorfindel himself who enjoyed trading witty banter with her as they fired arrow after arrow. Afterwards she would run off with Estel to tell him of her escapades with Goblins and spiders, which he enjoyed quite a lot more than Katy thought he should, but who was she to judge?

Every night of that week she found herself dinning with Elrond, the twins, Thranduil, Legolas, and the few advisors and close friends of both. The table was set up on a large balcony overlooking the numerous falls that led into Rivendell's creeks and rivers. She had feared it would be a stuffy event but there was much laughter at the table. Elrond was in good spirits and the elven King was always ready to dish out a sarcastic comment whenever he thought it was needed. While his son was still rather stoic, Katy noted that he had loosened up along with his father, something that she was to glad see.

The first night she had not known she would be dining with them all. She had just gotten back from playing with Estel down by their favorite creek when the twins knocked on her door and asked her if she was ready. The look that had come over her face was priceless. She was muddy and covered in leaves and grass and they expected her to dine with the Lord and King? She had frantically pulled on her turquoise dress and washed her face in an effort to clean herself up.

Katy had sat down at the table, feeling nervous and guilty, and could tell that the twins were secretly laughing at her because she had missed a spot of dirt on her jaw. She only knew this because Elladan and tapped at his jaw in the same spot with a significant look in her direction.

She frantically rubbed at the dirt and paused when Elrond cleared his throat. He gave her one of his stern but secretly amused looks and she dropped her hand in her lap with a sigh.

"I know this was not meant to be a formal event, Katelyn, but it surprises me that even Estel managed to clean up better than you," he said. He gestured with his eyes at the boy who was sitting across from her.

"I'm sorry," she apologized dutifully and turned to the goblet of wine in front of her. She caught sight of Estel hiding his smile behind a hand and she scrunched her nose at him in response, ignoring the cooling blush across her cheeks.

"Tell us a story, Katelyn!" Glorfindel demanded from across the table. He wore what she would describe as a shit eating grin. He had actually removed his armor for the occasion and was dressed in a grey tunic and dark breeches, his hair was loose from it usual braids.

"What kind of story?" she asked with a resigned note of irritation. They always wanted her to tell them a story, or sing a song, or describe some aspect of her culture. Ugh. Elves. She smothered the bout of irritation and gave the blond elf her undivided attention as best she could.

"Something with adventure and a good ending?" he offered.

"Hmm," she moved a grape around her plate with her fork while she thought. "Once upon a time there was a strange man from another world. He traveled through time and space in a big blue box that was much bigger on the inside . . ." She told them about The Doctor and as many of his crazy adventures as she could remember. It was probably the most irritating and at the same time entertaining night of her life. While she enjoyed telling the story of one of the greatest beings of fiction she did not enjoy the twenty million questions that came along with it. She did not expect the struggle of explaining what a sonic screw driver was.

As the upcoming departure for Mirkwood drew nearer, Estel grew more and more restless, he wanted to go with. Simple as that. He wanted to go out and have an adventure like Katelyn had and no matter how many times she said no he just knew that he had to go along. He begged and begged her until she finally snapped and told him to ask Lord Elrond himself, if he wanted to go so badly. The elf had of course said no, and Katy assumed that the discussion was over after that, luckily Estel had been sufficiently deflated. He spent the next day moping by the creek, angrily kicking at the water in frustration.

Katy had repacked her bags the next morning. She once again found herself pulling on a pair of jeans and a tunic, boots, and her cloak. She paused, staring down at her attire, and felt a strange sense of nostalgia wash over her. For a second she admired where she was and how far she had come. She admitted to wanting to see her mother again but pushed the thought aside. Whether it was real or not she had gotten to see her mother during the summer festival. She sighed and threw her bag over her shoulder and headed for the door. This time she had remembered to bring her bow, as well as a dagger, and a healthy amount of previous experience with what dangers may lurk ahead on their path to Mirkwood.

Once again she walked down the steps to the stables where she saddled the same dark brown, almost black, mare that she had ridden home on. She had not been told her name but in her mind she called her Celeste, not for any deep meaning, but she simply reminded her of her Mom's old friend who used to come around the house when she was still in school. She was kind as could be but she had a feisty streak to her.

She saw other elves preparing their mounts and when she led Celeste out of the stables and into the morning light she realized that, despite her best efforts, she was still not as early as she wanted to be because both twins had still beaten her. At least she wasn't last this time.

They watched from beside their horses as the King stood at the top of the steps, speaking with Elrond quietly, and grasped each other's forearms in farewell. The two descended together but of course, Elrond stopped at the last step and Thranduil continued on to his grand elk that had already been saddled, and mounted with no hesitation.

The rest of the group followed his lead and Katy was excited to be in the saddle once more, the prospect of going out to see the world once again, and smiled at Elrond who nodded once with a kind smile of his own.

"Safe journey," Elrond called as they departed.

Their group was a bit larger this time, as Glorfindel had taken it upon himself to join, determined to see that everyone who will be returning to Rivendell does so safely and in one piece. The Goblins weren't much of a threat with the King in their mists, but the returning trip to Rivendell may yet be filled with danger without the presence of Thranduil to protect them.

The sun was still rising over the sky and Katy watched the sunlight streaming through the leaves as they left of the valley and passed over the river. The group was mostly quiet, sometimes singing soft songs of friendship and hope, and other times talking softly amongst each other. There was a lack of the excitement and joy that had accompanied them when they first left Mirkwood that Katy dearly missed, for she was a happy and joyful creature, and the lack of it dampened her mood just a tad. She pulled out her phone and gave a quick glance around before, without removing her ring, she rubbed it across the back quickly.

"What are you doing?"

She scowled and turned to look at Elladan, "Charging my phone."

"With your ring?" he questioned.

"Yes, it works," she muttered defensively.

"Why?" he said.

"So I can play fruit ninja," she shot back and said no more.

As it turned out, playing fruit ninja on a horse was really hard, but she took the challenge in stride and perfected the skill. No one paid her any mind, content to let her do her own thing, and she was grateful.

That night, as they made camp and sat around two fires, there had been a bit more laughter than during the day. Katy had sat down next to Glorfindel and shut her eyes, not quite ready to turn in for the night, but tired enough to warrant a quick rest of the eyes. There were several other elves around her, she could tell, and she stiffened when the soft but commanding voice of Thranduil rose above the din of casual chatter.

"I have noticed that we have been followed for the last half of the day," he began from his seat at the fire between two Mirkwood elves whose names Katy did not know "Would you not come forth, little one?"

Legolas, who had been standing with arms crossed and his back to the fire, turned curiously to his father, before lifting his gaze to a cluster of trees off to the right of the group.

A sense of hush fell over the group as all eyes turned to the same spot at the figure that pushed his way through the leaves. Estel stood straight in defiance and stared at the group with as much of a stern expression he could muster on his seven year old face.

"Estel," Glorfindel let out a sigh and stood.

"I don't know what in the world you were thinking," Katy snapped, poking the boy in the chest. Indeed, she was leering over him like a wild cat ready to pounce. "Elrond will have my hide for this. I bet you he probably thinks I helped you." She scowled.

"He does not, I told him you told me no," Estel defended, crossing his arms.

"Thanks for that," she deadpanned and turned away. "There's really no point in lecturing you because you clearly know this is wrong and yet you don't seem to care."

Estel did not quite know how to feel about that and found himself at a loss for words. He scowled and turned away, heading over to the nearest of the two fires and dropping to the ground with legs crossed. There was silence from the surrounding elves as they watched him take a seat and stare angrily into the fire. Nothing was said for there was nothing to be done about the situation and they returned to their previous conversations if a bit more quietly.

Katy returned to her own spot with a sigh, "That little brat is going to be the death of me," she muttered. At the time she did not know how close to the truth she had been, but I digress. Little else happened that night, Katy finally gave in to her exhaustion and went to bed only after she was certain that Estel was comfortable and taken care of, and admitted that she would not mind his company on the journey.

The next day a summer shower dropped down on them with little warning, causing everyone's mood to plummet and tighten their cloaks around them, but Katy rode with Estel sitting in front of her and she found it hard to be in low spirits with the little guy keeping her company. Rain wasn't all that bad when you had someone to laugh with and crack jokes. Funny that she found herself having more in common with a seven year old then an elf who was more likely to be over seven hundred years old. Or maybe it wasn't, she didn't know, and refused to dwell on it anyways.

Estel was well behaved for the rest of the trip, he sat quietly and did not fidget all too much, and if he wanted something he would ask her in the politest of ways. Though Katy knew this was because he was kissing ass more than anything. She still liked it over his usual impish self.

Even when they passed through the mountains, carefully leading their mounts, he did not complain. Not even a squeak, she would later tell Lord Elrond.

They arrived in Mirkwood five days after setting out from Rivendell, and though the forest was just as foreboding as before, Katy once again found herself drawn to the wilderness and her eyes would often stray but she was confident Celeste would follow the others. Estel was curious and scanned the surroundings constantly, ever eager to catch sight of some kind of dark creature and point it out to Katy, before naming it of course. He always chose boring names, Katy noted some time later. He had spotted a giant praying mantis and had dubbed it Timothy, of all things. She could not stop the derisive snort after that incident and he had stuck his tongue out at her, refusing to look at her since.

When they made camp in the woods that night Katy had insisted they tell ghost stories because that was the best fire side tradition. She started out with her own tale about her aunt's funeral, as it was a good one, and she was certain any ghost stories the elves would tell would be less terrifying and more or less just ominous.

"So there I was, curled up in a ball in my late aunt's living room, pretending to sleep so that whatever it was would leave me alone. There was silence and a suffocating atmosphere, like the house was holding its breath, waiting. And then, I heard it," she trailed off, waggling her fingers at Estel in a spooky way.

"Hear what?" he asked, not sounding as terrified as she had hoped.

She leaned forward and cupped a hand around his ear and whispered, "Don't go near daddy's room."

"Ugh, get away!" Estel cried, pushing her out of his bubble and rubbing at the goose bumps on his arms.

Katy cackled and nearly fell back, "To this day my mom says that it was her sister trying to warn her that their dad was having another drunken fit and she mistook me for her." Katy stared off into the woods in a daze before turning to Estel, "Who knows, she might still be following me around, waiting until night to sneak out and take me away."

"Stop it!" Estel shouted.

His shout scared off an owl, which had been perched near their clearing, and the ruckus of the panicked creature sent Estel running over to Glorfindel. The blond elf laughed merrily and welcomed the boy into his arms, happy to oblige in his seeking of comfort.

Katy laughed again, delighted by his reaction, and happy to hear that her story telling skills were still on par with the best.

"You are quite the evil little thing," Elrohir commented from his spot by the fire.

"You're just mad because you were scared too," Katy defended.

"If it is a true story then why are you taking such delight in it, should you not be frightened as well?" The twin shot back.

"Because scary things are fun, it's good to get your heart pumping every once in a while," she pounded her chest in demonstration and laughed at the confused look the elf wore. "In my time, we have a whole Holiday devoted to scaring the pants off each other. Whole theme parks will set up haunted houses filled with people dressed like monsters to jump out at you and chase you."

"That is morbid and strange," Elladan muttered.

"Life is short, might as well get as much out of it as you can," she shot back. "Well," she stuttered upon realizing her mistake, "I guess not for you guys, huh?" She had grown so used to the presence of the elves that she had trouble differentiating them from her own people. The realization left her feeling a bit out of place and she shifted uncomfortably.

"What would your mortality have to do with the want to be terrorized?" Elrohir questioned curiously. He spoke in that tone Katy was familiar with. It generally meant that something had caught his interest and he would not let the matter drop until he was satisfied with her answer. It sometimes foreshadowed hours of irritating questions.

"Well, we . . ." she trailed off in thought. "Okay, it's like this, we are born knowing that we will one day die. As we get older we get a clearer understanding of how limited our life really is and spending that life day in and day out doing the same old thing all the time: going to school, working, going out for a few drinks. It gets boring, there is nothing interesting in our lives, any news of war is brought to us over media. You feel as if you're stuck in a rut, disconnect from reality after a while, so we make scary movies and haunted houses to knock us out of that mind set." She explained lamely, waving her hand about in the air. "So you can understand why this," she gestured to the forest around her, "with all its dark creatures and threats of danger, is the most awesome thing I have ever come across."

"You are not well," Glorfindel said through a chuckle, still resting an arm around Estel's shoulders.

"I am twisted and warped, but very much sane," she defended with a smile.

"You're just crazy," Estel muttered.

"You named a pray mantis, Timothy," she shot back.

Thranduil had listened to the conversation but tuned it out once it turned into a petty argument between Katy and Estel. How interesting the humans of her time were, in a strange removed sort of way, he found himself interested how someone like her had been produced by the lackluster world she described. His gaze lingered on her frequently throughout the rest of their travels until they reached his halls and even then he found his mind preoccupied with the far future, wondering what the age of man would be like, what horrors and wonders would come of it?

Katy noticed many things on their trip back to Mirkwood and chief among them was that the king never slept. At first she did not find this odd because elves did not need to rest like humans, they could go days without so much as a cat nap and be perfectly fine, but then she began to realize that everyone was in fact sleeping. So perturbed was she that she would spend the nights fighting exhaustion to watch him stand against the darkness, far away from the camp fires, and watch for danger. He never moved from his chosen spot, and she quickly noticed there was a pattern to where he stood for when the first started their journey and were still within the mountains he would find a large rock to stand upon and when they had left them he would stand west facing them, then the further they got he would face north, and once they had caught sight of the distant forest his eyes would not leave its borders. When they were within Mirkwood forest he would stand sentry over them from the branches of a tall tree directly over top of them. He would sit ever so gracefully amongst the foliage and even those knobbly dark branches looked like a throne surrounding him. He was quite literally placing himself in paths of danger to guard them.

She smiled and turned over on her blankets and pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders. The fire was still crackling despite the late hour, lending her plenty of light to see by so it was no surprise to her when Estel crawled over to her from his spot on the other side of the twins. She had seen him tossing and turning in frustration, he probably was having trouble getting to sleep, and push his blankets aside to sit up and search her out in the glow of the fire. She chuckled when he dragged his blankets to her and settled down just in front of her. He lay facing her, head resting on one arm, and looked at her in concern.

"Why does he do that?" he whispered to her, his eyes lingering on the figure over her shoulder.

Katy stared at him blankly, knowing the Thranduil could no doubt hear him whispering loudly to her. She wiggled on top of her blankets, attempting to settle into a comfortable position, before responding, "He's watching for danger."

"What kind of danger?" he asked, sounding skeptical. He had yet to see any of the creatures that Katy had first described when she returned from Mirkwood.

"Goblins, spiders, and my Aunt Sally," she took on a playfully grave tone and wiggled her fingers at him again like she had done not two hours before.

"Stop it," he laughed, pushing her hands away.

"Never," she whispered and poked at his belly.

"So that big bug that I saw today, what did you say it was called again?" Estel changed the subject, finding his curiosity on the creatures of Mirkwood growing the deeper they traversed into the forest.

"A Praying mantis, they're a lot smaller in my time, but they're still pretty cool," she explained. "The females actually bite the heads off of the males after mating."

"They do not," he shot back with a scowl.

"Do to!" she responded. "Lots of bugs do it, the black widow spider sucks out all her mates insides."

"That's gross, why?" he scrunched his nose.

"Probably to build up strength to be mommies," she answered with a shrug.

"So their kids grow up never knowing their father?" he asked.

Uh oh, she could sense where this was going, she realized, and examined him for a moment before responding, "They know of their father's and what they sacrificed so that they could live."

"But it's not the same," he whispered back, fiddling with the corner of his blanket.

"No," she agreed just as quietly, "but he loved them so much that he was happy to suffer through whatever it would take to make them safe."

Estel did not meet her eyes after that and instead pulled the blanket up to his ears in obvious distress. Katy watched him for a moment before tussling his dark curls and patting his cheek, "Cheer up little one, you have so much ahead of you." After a moment of thought she reached an arm around him and pulled him closer to her, continuing to run her fingers through his hair with a smile, she liked being able to play the parenting role every once in a while. He wiggled closer before finally settling down.

"Hey, Jude, Don't make it bad . . ." she sang the song softly, not wanting to wake any of the elves. They could no doubt hear her in their sleep but she figured if she sang in soft enough tones it would only help to lull them deeper into slumber. "Take a sad song and make it better."

The fire continued to pop and crackle behind her and besides her voice it was the only sound in their little camp. There were no crickets chirping in the depths of Mirkwood, she noticed, and she had the feeling that it was the lack of the common creatures in exchange for the grotesque that really lent the woods a terrifying feel. Not the layers of spells and magic heaped over the trees to lead intruders astray, nor the darkness threatening to encroach of the king's domain, but the alien feeling the monsters lent the trees. It was the this sort of feeling that steadied her nerves and calmed whatever fears she had towards the wood.

"Remember to let her into your heart, and you can start to make it better," she continued. She was certain that Estel had yet to fall asleep if his constant shifting was anything to go by. She smiled down at the boy and poked his nose, unable to resist the temptation, and laughed threw her singing when he scrunched it up and rubbed at it playfully. She knew she should be focused on trying to get him to sleep so she refrained from further pestering him and returned to playing with his hair. "Hey Jude, don't be afraid, you were made to go out and get her. The minute you let her under your skin, then you begin to make it better." She traced the shell of his ear, remembering that her mother used to do the same for her when she was child.

She glanced at the ring on her finger, finding that it was once again glowing softly against the darkness, and smiled. It filled her with such warmth and compassion that she felt as if she could not contain herself, although, what she would have done if she hadn't she did not know. She'd probably squish Estel in a death hug out of excitement. It seemed to approve of her actions and this pleased her, for long had she begun to view it as a guide and mentor when it came to her duties in Middle Earth and as a friend when it came to her emotions. Strange that she would think of it in such a way but she had yet to fully realize that there was a piece of someone's very soul laced throughout the silver band and it was always reaching for her encouragingly.

Above her, the trees rustled in a strong wind, causing her to look up into the eyes of the woodland king. She dropped her gaze back to Estel. He was not intently watching the two, at least not obviously, but his casual and aloof gaze unsettled her.

"And any time you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain, don't carry the world upon your shoulders." She noticed that the little tike had, if not fallen asleep, was well on his way to. "Don't you know that it's a fool who plays it cool by making his world a little colder." Across the fire she heard one of the others shift in their sleep and she paused, worried that she had woken someone. She lifted her head from where it was propped against her hand and squinted through the flames.

"He will not wake," Thranduil spoke from his perch in a gentle tone.

Katy glanced up at him and then back down at Estel, "Hey Jude, don't let me down, you have found her, go out and get her. Remember to let her into your heart, then you can start to make it better."

Thranduil made no other comment that night. He leaned back against the trunk of the tree he sat in, one leg dangling above the ground and the other resting against another branch. His eyes drifted up to the canopy where starlight was just able to spill in through the clustered treetops.

They stayed in Mirkwood no more than two days, long enough to recover from the trip, before preparing to leave. But during those two days Katy found herself often in the presence of the king. He was eager to learn of her time, she realized, and she discovered that he was quite the knowledge seeker like herself. He was practically glutinous when it came to the inventions and devices she described. He would shoot off question after question, clearly as perplexed by his curiosity as she was, and would often remain silent for extended periods of time after each answer she gave him debating on whether it would be appropriate to ask another. He was particularly shocked when she mentioned war.

Katy had stood in the library, book in hand and scanning its pages curiously, when Thranduil had spoken up and asked, "What is an atom bomb?"

"Do you know what a firework is?" she began absently, not taking her eyes away from the pages in front of her. The day before she would have given him her undivided attention but even he had admitted his questions were too frequent to demand that much of her for every one that he had, even if he was a King.

"Yes," he responded with a quirk of a brow.

Okay mister sassy pants, she thought. "A bomb in essence, is an explosive weapon using the same idea, but with much more lethal force," she explained. She gazed about, searching for a way to explain it to him but she found that she could not lest she go into detailed explanation of what an atom was exactly and she refused to open that can of worms. "The atom bomb was created during a great war, they wanted an end-all, and it had gone on for far too long and wanted a way to finally put a stop to it. It is literally an annihilator, it wipes out everything, buildings are decimated and people are nothing but vaporized scorch marks against the ground. It has not been used since that war seventy years ago and I hope it is never used again." She snapped the book shut and placed it back on the shelf.

"It seems very effective," he observed. "Why not use it?"

"Life is not black and white anymore," she explained with a sigh, "There are no monsters and goblins, evil wizards and war lords. Now there are men fighting over separate views and they paint each other evil to justify their actions. Those bombs were dropped on civilians, not the military, but on cities filled with innocent people. For the good of the cause, they said, to finally put a stop to this madness, "She muttered the end and snorted. "People are disgusting, war is a disgusting thing now, there is no honor in it," she muttered and sat down in front of the fire like she so often did in the library and sighed.

"Dark are the days of men, I see," Thranduil observed. He thought then to leave her be but felt a certain amount of guilt at being the indirect cause of her sour mood and so changed the topic instead. "How is the Little Lady Emma since your last adventures with her?"

"I don't know," she admitted, "I have not gone back to visit my family." She dropped her gaze to her lap and picked at the frayed jeans absently. "You met her as a four year old but she's probably almost eleven now."

"How peculiar," he murmured thoughtfully and noticed that rather than cheer her his question had darkened her sour mood even further.

"And now I suddenly just realized why she's been so obsessed with fairy tales," she thought out loud. "Oops," she muttered.

Thranduil had moved over to a shelf of books and was currently flipping through the pages of a well-worn tome while his mind wandered through thoughts of Katelyn's time. He was marveling at her ability to speak so strait forward with him and how she had the tendency to see the very simple core of every conversation and problem, though he suspected this was more to do with her upbringing then her own personal charm, he assumed that every human had similar traits in her time. Alhough he was not exactly correct in his assumptions, because there are always those handfuls lacking in intelligence, he wasn't that far off.

"Sir?" an adviser of the king spoke from the library doorway, an arm load of parchment in tow.

"Yes, I know, my dear friend. I was just finishing here," he spoke in such a patronizing tone that Katy turned to give Thranduil an admiring look. It took all her will power not to laugh.

"I will just leave everything in your study then," the adviser nodded. "The council will be taking place this evening, the last of the captains arrived this morning, activity has been low he reported." He continued to ramble on about the politics and nature of the spider and goblin situation and other such things that Katy grew rather bored with but could not concentrate to read because of.

Thranduil snapped his book shut with a heavy sigh, effectively shutting up one of his few trusted advisers, before sliding the book back into place on the shelf. It had been one of many that he had struggled to finish over the years, but his schedule was so clustered with important meetings and events that he had yet to find the time to do so. He gave it one last longing look before straightening his shoulders and turning on the spot to follow the elf to his study.

"In case I am not freed before you depart tomorrow morn, which I very well might not be," he cast a pointed glance at the adviser, "I bid you a safe journey."

"See you later," she said with a wave from her spot by the fire and returned to her book with a content sigh.

They departed the next morning and Thranduil had indeed been held within counsel for long into the night and well into morning, elves don't need to sleep as much as we do after all, and he was not able to see off the small group returning to Rivendell. They understood of course and gladly accepted Legolas' well wishes in his place and as they rode off on their horses Katy looked back at the prince and received a hesitant smile and a nod. She smiled back, teeth and all, glad to see that his spirits were not as low that day.

The group of four and a half elves and one human rode at a fast pace, determined to return home as soon as possible, and Katy would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy it. The feel of racing through the forest was something that could not be explained though she did try at one point, but never successfully. Imagine that, the story teller unable to describe something!

The rode for much of the day and they were soon able to see streams of sunlight peeking through the dense foliage suggesting that they were reaching the edge of Mirkwood but it was Glorfindel who reined his horse in and glanced about the clearing they had arrived in.

"Something is wrong," he warned darkly. "This is not where we should be." He turned his mount about in a circle, antsy and confused.

The others had slid to a stop next to him and the twins shared a nervous glance before taking up position on either side of Katy and Estel.

Katy watched Glrofindel, concerned, until she tensed and spun in the saddle to look behind her. Something felt terribly off and she scowled at the panic that bubbled up in her chest. She reached for her dagger sheathed at her side and handed it over to Estel who looked up at her worriedly. She drew her bow and notched an arrow just as the twins did.

"We are being watched," Elladan muttered.

As if that was the signal a hoard of disgusting creatures jumped out of the trees and filled the clearing at such an alarming rate that Katy did not have time to fire a single arrow before she was overrun by the disturbingly familiar creatures.

"Goblins," Glorfindel spat and drew his sword.

Elrohir tossed another dagger to Katy who caught it and threw her bow over her shoulder, she was far too deep within the horde of creatures to use her bow and protect Estel at the same time. She pulled on the reins of her horse and Celeste reared in fright, nearly screaming in terror, and lunged forward.

"Take the reins, Estel," she shouted.

The boy fumbled to as she said and she reached around to latch one hand onto the pommel of the saddle and used the other to stab at a goblin that had latched onto the side of the horse. Her dagger pierced its neck where it met at the shoulder and it squealed before letting go only to be trampled by the horse's hooves a second later as she reared back again. Katy stabbed at another and another, feeling their claws and teeth on her legs and thighs and watching as Celeste's flanks were torn practically to shreds.

This is dumb! She thought, she did not have a long enough blade to fight from horseback and she was too surrounded to use an arrow without being attacked from right under her feet. She glanced over at Glorfindel who was faring far better than she was with his long blade. She grunted and snatched the reins from Estels hands and pulled Celeste towards the blond elf. Katy kicked her into a gallop and she leaped, bucking and stamping, over to Glorfindel who did not see them until Celeste had surged into a group of goblins piling up against his own mount, and sent them sprawling.

"Take him," she shouted.

Glorfindel nodded and reached a hand out for Estel who quickly obliged and slid into the saddle in front of him.

Katy did not bother wasting time after that. There were still a good thirty or so of the monsters surrounding them. And there was no telling how many were in the trees. She jumped from the saddle and into the fray, noting that Elladan had done the same, and fell into a rhythm of slicing and stabbing with her dagger. It was a dance, she realized, for every parry and stab followed a rhythm that she caught onto. Whether this was because of the ring or natural instinct she did not know, but it felt as if everything had slowed down. Goblins jabbed and cackled and she simply flew around them, lifting her dagger to catch a sword here, shoving it forward to stab a goblin there. She kept moving and ignored all else. It did not last for long though, one goblin caught her from behind and whacked her back with the flat of his sword, sending her flying to the ground. She turned onto her back just as he moved to strike her and rolled out of the way. He was trampled by someone's horse and she jumped to her feet, stumbling to catch herself, feeling the adrenalin leave her in a rush. She gasped for breath and turned just as Glorfindel was knocked from his horse. The horse fell over on top of him, kicking and screaming, and Estel was sent flying into the trees.

"No!" she lunged forward but found her path blocked by more of the pieces of filth and she growled. "Get out of my way!"

They decided then, that the fight was not worth it, and scrambling they dispersed within the trees cackling and chattering away in their dark tongue and dragging a screaming Estel with them. Katy tried to run after them but she staggered, feeling her ankle give out. They were all injured, she realized, and cried out in frustration. Elladan was sporting a cut above is forward that bled into his eyes and holding his left arm limply at his side while his brother had taken a glancing blow to the side with a sword. She turned and found Glorfindel struggling out from under the prone form of his horse, he grunted and cursed, and she spotted several patches of blood across his clothing as well as a disgusting bruise forming across his jaw.

"We have to go," she said, picking up her dagger that she had dropped and searched the clearing for Celeste only to discover that she had long since escaped. They only had one horse, they realized, for Elrohir's had also been killed.

"Elladan, ride back and inform the king of what has transpired," Glorfindel ordered. "The rest of us will follow them on foot. Go!"

Eladan nodded and jumped up onto the nervous creature and sprung into a full on gallop back the way they had come. The three left standing in the clearing shared a glance before setting off at a run after the goblins.

They ran for hours it felt like, though none of them were sure, struggling against their injuries. Thankfully they were elves, for the most part, and could endure. There were obvious tracks for them to follow and they had no trouble with keeping pace but they quickly grew confused when they concluded that the goblins were not heading towards the mountains, but rather, in the opposite direction.

Estel was confused. He had never before been kidnapped the realization that he was in serious danger frightened him beyond belief but it also angered him. He struggled with all his might against the goblin carrying him but all it got him was a few more bruises and an earful of jabbering dark speech that he did not understand.

The goblins ran well into the night where they split into two smaller groups, the one carrying Estel followed the smaller of the two groups and headed further east. They continued running for hours after that and they had long since left the forest behind. They were surrounded by grass lands and clusters of trees that offered little to no cover against the elements. Night had fallen by the time they came to a stop at the edge of a large body of water, this was Long Lake, though Estel did not know this. They stopped under a grouping of trees, hidden out of sight, and talked among each other for a few moments. Estel could not understand them but just so you are made aware, the goblins often captured humans and used them as slaves or ate them. Estel was too small to really do either with and in this case they had settled on trading him for food and money. They often took the children that they captured to the shadier side of Lake Town where men were less honorable and turned them over for whatever slimy things they desired.

Estel sat in the middle of the clustering of stinking creatures and pulled his knees up to his chin with a sigh. There was not much he could do in the situation, he was far too small to fight and the dagger Katy had given him had been lost in the original scuffle back in Mirkwood.

They waited for another hour or so until a light appeared above the water separate from the lights of the town. A boat with two men, one fat and the other skinny, slid across the water towards the group.

The goblins chattered excitedly when the boat had pulled up onto shore and dragged Estel to his feet and thrust him towards the men eagerly. The skinny one grabbed him by his shoulders while the fat one threw a small bag of coins at the little monsters. They laughed and chittered and shook the bag, passing it from one to the other, before deciding it was a worthy trade and scampered back into the trees and out of sight.

Estel did not try to reason with the men, he knew what had just transpired and realized that he would spend the rest of his life as a slave if he did not do something. While the men went about pushing the boat back into the water, a dumb move on their part, Estel cast his eyes about his surroundings and paused. If he ran the men would follow him no matter where he went, except maybe for that place. He stared off to his left at the figure of a mountain silhouetted against the full moon. It would be a days run but he was young and he had no doubt he could outrun the two men, especially the fat one.

He bolted. No warning. The two did not even know he was gone until he had passed the group of trees that goblins had originally been hiding in, that had been all the head start he needed. He was not bound and relatively free of serious injury and so he found himself leaping across the field in great strides for his small body. He ran and ran and ran and when he looked back the men were mere figures in the distance. Little did he know that this was the exact reason he would later earn the title Strider. He laughed and turned back to face the mountain. There was a dragon in there somewhere, he realized, and the curiosity quickly overwhelmed his fear.

If it had not been for Glorfindel, they would have never known which group of goblins to follow when they split in Mirkwood. His keen eyes detected the heaviest of the goblins, the one carrying Estel, and sprinted after it like a wolf on the hunt.

Elrohir's side had bled much longer than they were comfortable with but he assured them that it was just a scratch and they pressed on, heedless of their injuries after that. Despite their best efforts though, they had fallen behind. Glorfindel did not stop when they broke through the last line of trees of the forest but sprang out into the open and continued. He would not allow Estel to fall to any harm if he could help it.

Katy never fell more than a few feet behind the two and when they had slid to a stop at the edge of the lake they found the forgotten boat and accompanying tracks. All three gasped for air and glanced about their surroundings frantically.

"He got away," Glorfindel let out a triumphant laugh and turned left after the three sets of prints. "They must have sold him to slave traders and dumb ones at that, thank the stars," he panted.

It quickly became apparent where he had been heading but they continued on with grim determination. They passed the two men, huffing and puffing after they had given up pursuit and had turned to head back to their boat, but spared them little more than a glance.

The men watched the three elves pass in surprise for they were obviously not Mirkwood elves and the female was wearing strange pants?

"Do you think he would have gone in?" Elrohir panted and winced as he ran.

"I do not know," Glorfindel muttered. "I only hope not, but he is a fearless one."

They ran far into the morning of that day, until noon, where they came upon the foot of the lonely mountain and watched as Estel's clumsy little footsteps marched directly through the front gates of Erebor. They slid to a stop, panting and gasping for breath, before turning to crouch behind a few sparse bushes.

Smoke billowed out of the front gates and with it came the of awful smell of decay and reptile.

"We cannot all go in," Glorfindel began, "This will require stealth. I am afraid that Estel alone will be enough to wake the dragon and no weapon will save the one who goes in." He glanced at the gate through the dried leaves of their hide out and then dropped his eyes to the gravel beneath them in frustration.

"You're saying it's a suicide mission," Katy commented. It was not a question. They all fell silent, staring at each other wearily.

Glorfindel eyed her for a moment before nodding once in confirmation. His lips formed a tight line and he let out a breath through his nose, trying to get his breathing under control. A lock of his hair fell over his shoulder, trailing passed his smudged face and giving him a wild look she was not accustomed to seeing him wear.

"Elrohir should not go in, I fear the smell of his blood will only drive the dragon mad," he said. "He has lost too much as it is."

"So that counts you out as well," she glanced down at his tunic soaked through with blood in several places.

Glorfindel looked down as if surprised to find himself injured and winced, "I am sorry Katelyn. I will go and risk it." He stood and made to step out from behind the bushes but Katy grabbed his sleeve.

"No, I will go," she cried. "Get in get out, easy as pie." She stood and brushed the dirt of her jeans before meeting the eyes of the captain of the Rivendell guard with a determined nod. "Besides, all I need is a door and I can slip into another time, remember?" She grinned but it was really more of a grimace.

"You have two hours, if you are not back by then I will go to get reinforcements," he stated. It was an order, given by the captain and not her friend.

Katy shook her head with a ironic smile, "You and I both know that no amount of reinforcements will help against Smaug."

Glorfindel sighed again and turned away, fists on his hips, and shook his head.

Elrohir reached for Katy's hand and pulled her into a tight hug before quickly moving away. He did not want to risk getting blood on her and awakening a hungry dragon with the smell. She herself had several lacerations but she had not bled as much as the two ellon had.

Katy sighed and squared her shoulders before nodding to herself, "Let's do this." She turned and faced the entrance to the mountain and scowled, trying to work herself up for the fight. She never thought she would ever find herself walking into a dragon's lair. She never thought she would find herself anywhere but Tommy's Bar and Grill for the rest of her life, in all honesty, but I digress. At that moment she really was wishing that the most of her worries were upcoming bills and exams. How the times have changed.

She looked back at the two briefly. They wore mixed expressions of concern, panic, and resignation that did nothing but send her heart a flutter and cause a bubble of fear to blossom in her stomach. She turned away and looked at the gates to the lonely mountain, they stood like the mouth of some great beast, ready to gobble her up. She let out a shaky breath and pushed her way through the sparse bushes they had taken shelter behind and stepped on to the gravely dirt path that led up to the bridge. The worst part about her impending doom was that she knew what awaited her through that dark doorway and it terrified her.

Her feet traveled silently over the stone bridge and into the dark, she did not hesitate, Estel was in their by himself and he needed someone to get him out of there. She squared her shoulders and wondered deep into the halls of Erebor. The air was stale and stank of years of decay and smoke and it choked her the deeper she went. Stairway after stairway after stairway she traveled and the further she went the more her determination grew.

She was heedless of the dimmed beauty and history of the hollowed halls.

Eventually she began to see a deep yellow glow spilling out from another hall and as she made her way towards it she slowed. She was tempted to unsheathe her knife, but she knew that it would do no good against a dragon, and so she peeked around the corner of the wall and gasped. The mountains of gold that spilled from every doorway of the immense cavern were quite literally breathtaking but she struggled past the awe and scanned the large room to the best of her ability. There was little light besides what seemed to emanate from the gold itself but if she listened closely she could hear the sound of coins sliding against coins. She worked to pinpoint the sound, her eyes roving over every hill and doorway until at last she spotted the boy.

Estel was crouched in an archway, leaning forward as if he had found something in the distance and was caught in a state of awe. Katy could only guess but she knew what he had found, for she too could see it after a bit of searching: the red gold scaled snout of the dragon Smaug. The rest of him was buried under a mountain of treasure but she could still make out his nostrils flaring, drawing deep slumbering breaths.

Katy pushed herself away from the wall and stood, feeling every scrape and bruise from the previous battle, and scampered down the stairs to the bottom floor. Estel must have heard her for he turned his head sharply in her direction and when his eyes landed on her they widened in both fear and joy. Fear because he was obviously going to get an earful and joy because she was there to help him for the second he had spotted the dragon he knew that he should not have come. She gestured for him to move towards her and he stood slowly, obediently making his way closer to her as quietly as he could. Gold coins and trinkets slid away beneath him and they both froze, hearts pounding, before once again moving forwards. When they were ten feet a part they heard a noise, worse than the sound of moving gold, and Katy felt the telltale signs of tears.

A deep and growling chuckle that had them frozen to the spot.

"I can smell you, thieves," Smaug rumbled.

All around them gold slid away, sending waves of the precious metal deeper into the doorways and crevices of the room as the dragon lifted his imposing head and opened his gleaming orange eyes to take in the room.

Katy grabbed Estel and threw him behind a particularly high mound of treasure and gestured for him to run. He fumbled, wanting to stay and help but knowing there was nothing he could do, before scrambling away, deep within Erebor to find his way out.

"I have not smelt your kind in nearly two centuries, elf." The dragon purred and slithered from his bed, swinging his head to take in the sight of her and smiled a frightful grin. "Where is the other? I know there are two of you."

"There is only I, oh great one," Katy called up to the beast, her voice sounding shaky even to her own ears. In her mind she ran through every curse word she could recall.

Smaug laughed, "Very well, I will play along, but do tell me, what is it that you seek? What great treasure have you come in search of?" He moved, slithering at first but then lifted himself to his full height and curled around her, his great head level with her. "For I have many here within my mountain."

"I seek nothing, except your image, as I have never before seen a dragon and I wished to say that I had. I see now that it was foolish of me, for you are much more magnificent and powerful than I could have ever imagined and I know now that I have come to my death." She feared that if she took her eyes away from his that he would sense her lie and snap her up between his jaws without a second thought, she imagined what it would feel like as his fangs pierced her flesh and ripped her to shreds.

"Hmm," he hummed and sniffed at her, his great snout pulling in heaping amounts of air, before he cocked his head. "You smell strange, like fire and stone, and . . . lightning," he tightened the circle around her and she took a step back but could go no further for she was resting against is leg.

"I will admit that I am not from here, I am from another time all together," she began, her voice growing a bit more steady as she continued, "I have no need for treasure for I drift from time to time and gather, not gold, but knowledge. The physical loses meaning once you yourself struggle to remain in one time let alone one place."

"Interesting," he snorted and a plume of fire shot out.

Katy lifted her arms to cover her face but that did little good against the fire that licked at the undersides of her arms and stomach. She cried out and fell against his rough and scaly leg.

"Perhaps I should keep you here as one of my own treasures then," he said thoughtfully.

"I would be glad to stay, to tell you all that I have learned if it would mean that I could remain in this time without being pulled into another," she admitted. She did not know how long she could run with the lie that she was spinning but the dragon seemed convinced of her tale.

"Then tell me some of your tales and I shall decide whether or not I should just eat you and save myself the trouble," he growled and rested his head on the ground.

"What would you like to hear?" she asked, fighting the strange sense of da javu and remembering the night so long ago in Rivendell when Glorfindel had asked the same thing of her. She winced, feeling her burning flesh rub against her clothing and gasped.

"Tell me a tale of darkness and blood, I do love carnage and chaos," he rumbled.

"Alright," she hissed in pain and made herself comfortable against his leg. She cast about her mind, trying to recall all the stories that she could, remembering every movie or show she had ever watched, and settled on something very bloody indeed. "There once was a boy, his name was Vlad Dracula, and his father was the ruler of a small kingdom in a far off land. This kingdom was so small that they depended on another for protection and every few years they would come to collect all the young boys to train them into killing machines. One day they came for Vlad himself and his father let them take him and he was beaten and broken down until he could be rebuilt as a war machine. He became the most deadly human to ever walk the Earth, just the mere sight of him sent entire armies in retreat, and when there was finally an era of peace he returned home, disgusted with all that he had done. They said that Dracula meant The Son of The Devil and no matter how many times he told them that it was not so, that his name meant Son of The Dragon, no one would listen. So he cast off his past and took his father's place and ruled for years until one day they came to take his own son away. But he would not let them and so began the war between the two kingdoms. . ." she told the tale to the best of her abilities, relishing in the dragon's rapt attention as she weaved the story of tragedy. "And so, in the end, he told him that yes, his name did mean The Son of The Devil, and he himself became a monster to save his son. . . ."

She did not know if anyone would come to rescue her and she only hoped that Estel had made it out safely. It would be foolish for them to come down after her because there was no way for them to fend off the dragon, he was simply to formidable a foe. She was on her own, she decided, and forced herself not to show the fear that took hold of her heart. Or the tears that threatened to spill.

She had always loved dragons, she thought drearily, collecting models and pictures and plastering her room in the scaly creatures. She had never delved too deep into fantasy, preferring science fiction over anything, but she had always had a soft spot for the fire breathing lizards. Now as she sat surrounded by the great and powerful Smaug she realized that he was not a mythical figure to be admired with wonder. He was dangerous and venomous, and he snorted and belched fire with no regard for manners, and when his tongue flicked out and he blinked his great fiery eyes it was a snake that she saw. Yet still, she found herself in awe of him, even as he eyed her suspiciously and listened to her stories with a doubtful air. Because here in front of her was a true myth of legend, capable of reaching far into even her own time, and he was terrifying and beautiful. If the past seven years of her life had felt like a dream than Smaug was the last straw in shattering that perspective like so much fragile glass. Even the goblins had been laughable in their yammering, chattering, disarray and antics. The Elves were breath taking and mesmerizing to watch in their surreal and otherworldly grace and beauty. Wizards were amusing and grave at the same time, filled with knowledge and charm. But living amongst them had made her feel more like an observer, as if she were participating in a role playing game and simply reacting how she thought was best, and not fully allowing herself to accept what was in front of her. But Smaug, there was no denying him, for he reared his great scaly head in her direction and laughed at her existence, taunted her, and threatened her with his fire and claws amused by her fear. He smirked and snickered, flicking his tongue, and asked her 'why'? Why should he spare her? Why did she deserve to live? Why struggle to figure out her purpose if she was not fully devoted to it? It was pointless to fight against the turn of the Earth when one day the last vestige of wonder will be sucked dry from the very air of the world and when it had all at last been absorbed by humanity they would fall into decline and the world would wither and die.

"Because there is magic."

The words sprung forth in her mind, heedless of her dark thoughts, and sent a bolt of electricity through her spine. It was not her voice, it was young and full of spirit and determination, something ageless and not solely hers but without a doubt correct.

She stared at the great dragon, took in his face and curving scales, his bright eyes, and smiled. He was not an evil creature, she realized, but only a beast of darker magic. His sole purpose was not to be evil, it was to collect gold, and feel the warmth its riches brought him. He craved satisfaction and joy just like any other living thing. And he was magical. Something her world so desperately lacked.

So even as his fire burned her skin, licking away layers at a time, she found him so utterly beautiful that it brought tears to her eyes. He of course did not pay attention, so caught up in the story was he, and even when her voice began to tremble he only settled further into the piles of gold and made himself comfortable. His chest rose and fell slowly, taking time to fill the great lungs within it, slowing as he was lulled into an entranced state by her story.

She was still filled with fear but it had long since become more of an alert weariness than terror. Here was a creature that had a high level of intelligence and though he was mostly malignant she was confident he could be reasoned with and if not, then at least tricked.

Smaug demanded many stories of her, one after the other she told, until her throat grew dry and her mind weary and her burns oozed with puss and scabbed. She quickly realized that the dragon did not care for her well being, for he constantly belched and snorted out flames, not minding where they were directed. She gained several more burns until she could not find a part of her that was not somehow scorched or charred and she smelt terribly of brunt flesh and hair. But still he demanded more. Hour after hour she spoke until she noticed, with a start of surprise, that the dragon's eyes were growing heavy and so she spoke in softer lilting tones until they fell shut. Even still, she continued to weave tales until she eventually ran out of things to say so she began to tell the only tale she had left.

"In a hole in a ground there lived a hobbit . . ."

She had long since fallen silent, too tired and thirsty to continue talking, until she realized that she had not spoken for an hour yet Smaug had not stirred. She leaned forward, pulling herself away from his leg, and struggled not to cry out in pain. When he did not move she pushed herself to her feet, thankful that she was standing on a bare patch of stone and moved to step over his tale but paused. The thought struck her then, and though it was crazy and incredibly stupid, she followed through with it.

While her wounds burned and moving alone caused her agony she quietly shuffled around gold and treasure, heedless of the immense wealth that glittered and winked around her, tempting her, she sidled up to his great head. Heeding his scales and spikes she bent over, for the top of his crown came to her chest, and laid a kiss upon his brow. The ring glowed warmly, sending out a comforting glow of light that rivaled the gold around her, and she felt her lips grow warm against his cold scales. He did not stir. But something in her heart settled then, something she had not known was in distress, and she let out a soft sigh. He would never be good, she knew, he would never relinquish his love of the gold he horded. The instinct was far to ingrained within his species. But maybe he would one day pass on the simple kind gesture with his own in some small way.

She did not know what she had just done of course, for few ever rarely do when they affect the outcomes of the future, but her deed would later prove to have more value than she could have ever hoped for. But we are not at that part of the tale yet and as such we must refocus on Katy and her soon to be escape.

When she found herself safely removed from the dragon's circle she quietly stumbled away. She had made it half way up the steps leading out of the cavern when he snorted and shifted more tightly in on himself before falling quiet again. She let out the breath she had been holding before scampering out of the cavern and down a hall.

She would make it out of Erebor even if it killed her. Which was likely.