Hello, dear readers. So yes, I did make it. I hope you'll enjoy the chapter!

And I wanted to say thank you for the guest reviews, since I can't do so by PM. I may not say it each chapter, but they are also very much appreciated!

Anyway, enough of my rambling and on with the story. Enjoy!


Chapter 12

Into the Valley

I knew of course exactly what was lying at the end of the path and unless I was very much mistaken, Thorin did too. The scowl on his face spoke volumes, as did Gandalf's altogether smug expression. No doubt they would start arguing again first chance they got, but for now Gandalf wisely kept some distance between him and the vexed dwarf king.

The rest of the company seemed wholly unsuspecting of the grey wizard's ulterior motives and so we merrily walked, or in my case stumbled, along. From all the members of the company it would seem I had had the worst luck. My trip halfway down the rabbit hole, no matter how fortunate, had twisted my ankle and the wounds caused by the Warg started burning as well. Add the pain I was already experiencing and you get one very short-tempered Kate. I am afraid to say that I once again took it out on my companions, although I seriously doubt Dori would have stopped his bloody fussing even if I called him every foul name I could think of. I had tried to explain that I hadn't been trying to be the heroine, that me pushing Ori out of the way was just dumb luck and had nothing to do with me whatsoever. I don't think he even heard a word I said. He patiently supported me throughout the walk, ignoring my protests. He should have become a doctor for all the patience he had with me, even when I was being downright impossible.

It was only when we finally caught sight of our destination that I managed to snap myself out of my bad mood. The sight of the hidden elven city made me forget about my physical discomfort for a while and I just stared at the almost unearthly beauty of it all. There were however some people who did not appreciate the sight…

Thorin

Thorin had suspected where they were going already, but when they reached the end of the path and the high rock walls gave way to a peaceful valley he knew for sure. Gandalf had led them right into the arms of his enemy.

He hang back a bit, even as the rest of the company was staring open-mouthed at the elven city. Most of them admired the beauty of it and Thorin would be the last one to deny that the hidden valley was indeed very beautiful to behold. It was only its occupants he had a problem with. His companions would not think of that immediately and Thorin couldn't even blame them. More than half of them were not even born yet when the elves so horribly betrayed them. They did not remember what had happened then; they had never even seen a real elf. But Thorin had and the thought of his worst enemies living here spoiled even its magnificent beauty for him.

'The valley of Imladris,' Gandalf announced with that too pleased smile on his face. 'But in the common tongue it is known by a different name.'

'Rivendell,' Mr Baggins breathed. The hobbit was deeply in awe of the scene in front of him. There was an amazed smile on his face. He for one surely did not have a problem with where they had gone.

'Here lies the Last Homely House east of the sea,' Gandalf said. The wizard was leaning on his staff. He looked far too harmless and innocent for such a scheming man. For some reason this enraged Thorin even more.

'This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy!' he accused him. At least that wiped that annoyingly innocent smile off his face. The wizard knew that he had done something that the leader of the company did not approve of. And if Thorin had anything to say in the matter, he would give this man a piece of his mind, making him think twice about pulling such a stunt ever again.

'You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield.' Gandalf reminded him a lot of a stern parent chastising his headstrong child and the fact that he was looking down on him did not help, not at all. 'The only ill will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself!' The tone became more irritated now than anything else.

Keep on dreaming, old man, Thorin thought, but he knew better than to say that. 'You think the elves will give our quest their blessing?' he demanded in a low growl. Kate had phrased it perfectly: right now he swore he wanted to do nothing more than hit the wizard. 'They will try to stop us.' And Gandalf should be well aware of that.

The reasons for this were as easy to guess as they were unfair. Some, mostly those from Thranduil's realm, feared that if Smaug were to be chased out of Erebor he would come to Mirkwood and burn it to the ground. Thorin could not care less about that scenario. He would even point the drake in the right direction if it were to come to that. Others simply had no love of dwarves and would prevent them from rebuilding their most powerful kingdom if they could. A strong and thriving Erebor would be a political power to be reckoned with and especially the elves had no ambition to have to take the dwarves into consideration. The way they had lived for years now was the way they liked the dwarves best: scattered and powerless, incapable of presenting a strong united front. If, no when, Erebor was reclaimed the dwarves would be strong again and there was more than one elf who feared that day. No, he did not think they would receive any kind of help here, no matter how much Gandalf wished for it.

Said wizard seemed wholly unconcerned. 'Of course they will,' he said calmly.

'Then it's probably best that we don't tell them about it.'

Both men turned as one in the direction of the voice, only to see their professional adviser hop over to them. The woman was still unhealthily pale, limping and visibly exhausted, but the determined look was back in her eyes and it was clear that her condition did not mean that her wits had abandoned her. Or maybe they had. Because did she really think they would be allowed to stay here if they didn't tell the elves how they had come to be here in the first place?

Gandalf favoured her with as stern a look as he had just unleashed on the dwarf king. 'We have questions that need answering,' he told her.

Kate's eyebrows seemed to knit together as she frowned. 'No, we don't!' she replied forcefully. There was also some annoyance in her voice, no doubt caused by her physical condition and her anger at the wizard's behaviour. 'We already know what is on that map. We sure as hell don't need to ask Lord Elrond about it.' She snorted. 'And even if we want to check if that text is really on that map, we can just wait for Midsummer to come around and hold that map against the moonlight ourselves.'

Thorin was with her on that one. He would, of course, ascertain for himself that Kate's book had given him the truth, but even if it hadn't he would never show something that sensitive to an elf who wouldn't think a second about trying to stop him the moment he learned of the true purpose of their journey. But he also knew that it would be almost impossible to hide why they were travelling east. So he folded his arms over his chest and challenged her. 'What would you have us do then?'

Kate shrugged. 'We lie, of course.'

It took Thorin some seconds to convince himself that he in fact had heard this proposal come out of Miss Andrews's mouth and then he could only just stop his jaw from dropping wide open. The casual ease with which she launched this proposition seemed so out of character for her. Kate always struck him as a hothead, someone who excelled in yelling at people – and hitting them whenever she got really mad – but who lacked the cold determination it took to lie to others. In the weeks he had been in her company he had learned that the woman could not lie to save her own life, let alone the lives of others.

Kate misinterpreted his, and Gandalf's, silence as an unspoken request to explain herself. 'We can say you lot travel east to visit your kin in the Iron Hills for some kind of trade agreement or whatever it is that you think would make for a believable reason to travel in that direction.'

Thorin frowned. He could hardly even believe that he was having this conversation, let alone that he had this conversation with Kate Andrews. Her proposal went against everything he had always been taught about how one should behave. But there was something strangely exciting about doing this. The next question had already left his mouth before he had given himself permission to do so. 'And how would you fit yourself and Mr Baggins in this company, Miss Andrews?'

If he had been hoping to silence her with this, he was being disappointed. The response was almost immediate. 'Oh, I am from Bree. I have kin living east of the Misty Mountains, but my family thought it too dangerous to let me travel alone, so I joined your company to have companions on the journey.' She looked thoughtful for a moment. 'And as for Bilbo, well, it is not unheard of for hobbits, especially when they have Took blood running in their veins, to go and have adventures every now and then, is it?'

Gandalf nodded, albeit reluctantly. He made it no secret he was absolutely opposed to this course of action.

Kate ignored him. 'Well then, Bilbo just wanted to see the world and you agreed to let him come with you as long as he didn't make a nuisance of himself,' she finished with a casual shrug of the shoulder, as if this was the most normal thing to do in the world.

Thorin once again found himself lost for words. The lies came tumbling from her lips as if it were nothing. There was something deeply disturbing about that and it was maybe even more so that, had he not known better, he might have even believed them. The stories were plausible. This would not be the first time a delegation of dwarves crossed the Misty Mountains to get some kind of agreement done with the Iron Hills, nor would it be strange for a lonely woman to travel in a bigger group and who would be surprised at a small hobbit wanting to see the world? So yes, that last one would be frowned upon maybe, but Thorin was fairly sure no one would question it. Gandalf's presence was also easily explained, because a wizard was a good one to have for company on the roads, especially in the wilderness.

The longer he thought about it, the more he started to see the merits of this plan, even though he'd never admit that when called on it. It was becoming rather alarming how often he seemed to agree with the advisor, and that on one single day. He even started to notice a pattern, because they only ever seemed to be on the same side when they were in some kind of immediate danger or where Gandalf was concerned. It was remarkable how one wizard's scheming behaviour managed to get them on the same side. He briefly wondered whether that was intentional. Thorin certainly wouldn't put it past the old man.

Speaking of which, he certainly didn't seem to be too enthusiastic about the prospect of lying to one he considered his friend. 'Lord Elrond is a friend of mine,' he pointed out. 'There will be no need for lies in this valley.'

'There will be,' Kate disagreed immediately. 'If the movie is right, then there is a need to lie about our purpose in the east.' She caught Thorin's confused glance and added: 'The other version of the story.' She turned back to Gandalf. Thorin saw the tell-tale signs of an approaching anger attack, even when she still had to hold on to the nearest rock for support. During the argument that had started between them the dwarf had almost lost sight of her weakened state. Her sharp words and fiery glares made it sometimes far too easy to overlook everything else. 'And you know that very well, because you know the movie, probably just as well as I do. And then you will also know that the real events seem to be following the movie's an alarming amount of the time.'

Thorin was still wary where her story was concerned, but the fact that Gandalf looked at least a bit ashamed dispelled that for just a short while. But unfortunately Gandalf's ashamed state lasted only for a few seconds. 'Then you will also know that no matter what this quest will continue.'

Kate's jaw set. 'And we will leave this place like thieves in the night,' she countered easily. 'No, thanks very much.'

The dwarf king could see there was another counterargument coming on from Gandalf, but he had heard enough. Kate was all but dead on her feet, and the rest of the company was just plain exhausted. They had lingered here far too long and by now Thorin had accepted that they would at least have to ask for help here, if only to have a place where they could see to their injuries and restock their supplies. No matter how much he hated the elves, to turn back now would be foolish indeed. But they were going to do it his way this time, not Gandalf's, and so he finally decided to pull his weight. 'Very well,' he said. 'We'll do it your way.'

Gandalf for one second seemed to think that Thorin was talking to him, but then noticed that his gaze was actually pointed in Kate's direction. 'Thorin…' he tried.

But Thorin cut him off. He had tolerated the wizard's overbearing behaviour for far too long and he had just about enough of it. 'No,' he said. Anyone who knew him knew that that tone meant that the subject was not up for discussion. 'We'll do this Kate's way.'

Two pairs of eyebrows shot up at the mention of Kate's first name, something he hadn't been known to do much before, even though she kept insisting, but Thorin pretended not to take notice of their reactions. If he made this look completely natural, then he might prevent them from asking questions he did not want to answer, because he wasn't sure he had an actual answer to them.

'We have lingered here far too long already,' he went on. 'We should continue now. Some of us have injuries that need medical attention.'

Gandalf took a deep breath and fixed both Thorin and Kate with his most disapproving stare, muttering something about the stubbornness of dwarves, but then nodded. 'If this is to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me.'

Thorin was not enthusiastic about that last proposal, but he knew he had to pick his battles and this wasn't worth getting into another fight for. So he gave the smallest and curtest of nods. 'Agreed.'

Gandalf was already on his way before the last syllable had even left his mouth, which left him with Kate, who was smiling, if only a little. 'Unless I am very much mistaken, he just called himself charming,' she muttered.

That hadn't yet occurred to him and he needed to stifle a smirk at that particular idea. The wizard was a lot of things, but charming wasn't one of his qualities, not as far as Thorin knew anyway. 'You are not mistaken,' he told her. He glanced around him, but the others were already following Gandalf. Even Dori was too busy fussing over his youngest brother's injuries to remember Kate. He sighed. But then, they seemed to have some kind of truce, maybe even alliance, so he figured it wouldn't be offensive to offer his assistance. After all, Miss Andrews had still difficulty walking. She wouldn't get down to the valley all on her own and certainly not with the pace Gandalf was currently maintaining. And so he offered her his arm to lean on.

She eyed it warily, but also with some confusion as if she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with it. 'Is this you showing off your magnificent armour or…?' Her voice trailed off hesitantly.

Surprised he had to even answer that question, he replied with a curt: 'You need the help, Miss Andrews. You can't walk on your own.'

He received the full benefits of her most annoyed glance. 'Now don't you start as well!' she complained.

What was this? He was actually trying to make an effort to be kind to her. Mahal knew she deserved it after her brave actions today, and here she was, insulting him. 'You do not wish for my assistance?' The question was asked in a voice that Kíli used to call dangerously low.

Kate snorted. 'I have the entire company fretting over my health already,' she clarified. 'I thought I could at least rely on you not to fuss.'

A small smile tugged at his lips. He had known already that Miss Andrews hated to be in the centre of all the attention, lashing out at those that tried to give her more attention than she liked. He had just not realised this attitude also extended to when she was injured, but now that he came to think of it, it made some kind of sense. He recognised that same hate of fussing in his own character.

'This is not fussing,' he informed her.

She snorted again. 'That's right,' she muttered. 'You don't do fussing. You just snap and order and make us all go on till we drop onto the ground in exhaustion, but you certainly do not fuss.'

For a moment he thought she was insulting him again and he was fully prepared to react to that, when he saw the teasing smile on her face. So he favoured her with a guff look, but no a tongue-lashing. The events of the past day had made that fragile truce into something a little stronger, a frail alliance if you liked. She was still too weak to hold her own in battle, but she had saved the life of one of the members of his company when he himself had been unable to and for that he owed her. She may not want to be here, but she had gotten herself injured whilst saving a life and that had to count for something. He may not like her book or her very presence in this company, but after today he had to be more civil to her than he had been before. He would be to anyone after they had proven their worth and Miss Andrews could not be the exception to that rule.

'And you would rather die from exhaustion and injury than let anyone take care of you,' he countered.

Kate gave him a mocking glance. 'Is that the pot I hear, calling the kettle black?' she inquired sweetly.

This wasn't their usual exchange of witticisms, not quite. It missed the harsh tones, but Thorin found that in this very moment he could not really care about those things. He blamed the exhaustion and relief at having successfully escaped their attackers. No doubt they would resume their usual arguments after they had rested.

For now they just followed the others, albeit at a slower pace because of Kate's ankle. The woman was obviously in pain judging by the expression on her face, but he knew better than to ask if she needed assistance. No matter how weak and injured she might be, she would still bite off his head for having the guts to fuss over her, even if he was not really fussing at all.

The solution to this problem presented itself about five minutes later. They were slowly descending into the valley and there were trees now on either side of the road. It wasn't long before Thorin spotted a relatively long thin branch lying beside the path. A storm might have blown it from the tree. It wouldn't be too heavy and it seemed to be of the right size.

He picked it up, examined it for a moment and then all but shoved it into Kate's hands. 'Take this,' he told her.

Her eyebrows shot up. 'And what am I supposed to do with this?' she questioned.

The dwarf was severely tempted to roll his eyes. 'Use it as a walking stick,' he instructed her impatiently. 'With the pace you're maintaining we will not reach the end of this path before nightfall.' The stick would be able to make her move faster than she had until now. She would go even quicker if he had been allowed to help her, but as it was, he did value his head.

Kate took it and let her eyes wander over it. 'An oaken branch,' she muttered, amused. 'How appropriate.'

Thorin refrained from commenting on this, merely raising an eyebrow at her. 'If you are quite finished talking to yourself, perhaps we can move on,' he told her brusquely.

She shot him an irritated glance. 'I never asked for your company, you know.' The tone was a bit snappy, but blessedly deprived of the usual sharp edge. Nevertheless she did as he had advised and started moving again. And they indeed proceeded faster now. They were still a long way behind the rest of the company – they could see their backs somewhere in the distance – but they weren't falling further behind either.

And that made Thorin feel slightly more at ease, if only slightly so. The further they went into the elven territory, the more he wanted to make a run in the opposite direction. He had the unnerving feeling that he was being watched by hostile eyes, even making him feel like he could be pierced by an arrow from behind at any moment. Why in Durin's name had he even agreed to Gandalf's latest foolish scheme? They should never have come here at all!

So when there was noise coming from the forest around them it took all the self-control he possessed not to jump and swivel around to see where it was coming from. Kate too seemed to be ill at ease, although that might be the natural result of her condition as well. But then she tilted her head and started to smile.

'Why are you laughing?' he demanded.

'They're singing,' she said in an amazed voice. 'Listen.'

He felt hardly inclined to do as she asked, but he obeyed nonetheless, and found that she was right.

'O! What are you doing?

And where are you going?

What goal are you pursuing?

We have no way of knowing!

O! Tra-la-la-lally,

Here in the valley!'

Thorin could make out the words and the melody now that he strained his ears, even though he had still no clue as to where the song was coming from. Maybe it was this blasted forest or even this entire valley. There was magic here. He could feel it in his bones and if anything, that only unsettled him more. This place wasn't natural.

And the song went on.

'O! Where are you going

With beards all a-wagging?

Your pace is slowing

And your steps are dragging

Into the valley

In June

Ha! Ha!'

Kate frowned. 'Is it just my imagination or are they actually insulting us?' It was a small wonder this got to her since she was obviously the one slowing them down, even if Thorin didn't really blame her for it.

'They are elves,' he therefore told her. 'That is what they do.' And this completely ridiculous song was the very least of their offences. Thorin had no trouble in naming at least ten other ones.

The young woman only huffed. 'And to think that I actually thought I would like them when I met them,' she muttered under her breath.

That had him frowning. 'Why in Durin's name would you like them?'

Miss Andrews shrugged. 'The author of the book wrote about them as if they were very interesting,' she replied. 'But I guess that if they think they should greet us with insult, I might need to change my mind.'

Somehow he quite liked the sound of that. They didn't speak anymore as they preceded further into the elven realm, the song still audible in the forest around them. It varied from those minor insults to downright nonsense. To other people it might have been beautiful, peaceful and cheerful, but to Thorin it served only as a firm reminder that he was deep inside his enemy's territory, where he should expect no warm welcome whatsoever. He walked faster, ignoring the fact that his companion was not quite able to move so fast with her injured ankle.

'Slow down, will you?' came the indignant protest in the end. 'You may be perfectly able to walk as if the devil himself was at your heels, but I am not.'

He slowed his pace, but only a little. 'I remember you saying you hadn't asked for company,' he countered.

She deflected that with ease. 'But I'm not exactly refusing it either.' She rolled her eyes. 'And like you, I'm not really anxious to be here out on my own.' When he gave her a quizzical look, she added: 'Well, it is a bit weird, isn't it? The singing?'

He realised that if Miss Andrews had noticed his behaviour it must be far too obvious and so he resigned himself to falling into step with her, wiping all expressions from his face. He was the leader of the company and he did not show fear.

Kate gave him the smallest of smiles before her face twisted in pain again as she made a wrong movement. She bit her lip. 'And all those insults are getting really on my nerves. How about we give them a taste of their own medicine?' The pain was still there, but it was mingled with a mischievous twinkle that he could not remember ever seeing there before.

'What do you mean?' he demanded.

'Well, if they keep serenading us, it seems only fair we return the favour, don't you think?' She didn't wait for an answer, but sang a verse of her own as soon as the singers in the woods had finished one of theirs.

'O! What are you going on about

With that song we're not enjoying?

You lot are too loud

And downright annoying

Right here in the valley

Ha! Ha!'

Thorin tried and failed to stifle a smirk at her bold words. The elves fell silent and somewhere down the road the company skidded to a stop as Gandalf turned around to send her a glare that could well be described as deadly. But after a few moments the elves in the woods started to laugh and then Gandalf relaxed as well.

And somehow, for the first time since they had entered this accursed place, it seemed to Thorin that maybe this was not as bad as he had feared.

Kate

Rivendell was a marvel, Kate pondered as they crossed the bridge leading to some kind of round terrace. Thorin and she had caught up to the rest shortly after her singing. Apparently they had only become aware of their absence then and Dori had made it his personal responsibility to apologise to her for not thinking about her sooner. In tenfold.

It wasn't that she disliked the dwarf. She appreciated his caring, she really did, but the idea that his fussing could be too much for some people seemed not to have occurred to him yet. Kate was actually grateful for the stick Thorin had found for her. It was easy to handle and allowed her to walk on her own. If she didn't know better she would have said Thorin understood her better than any other in this company. But all their arguments in the past week were evidence to the contrary, so she quickly dismissed that thought. No doubt the dwarf was grateful that he didn't have to support her again like he had when they were running from the Wargs.

He of course had left her to Dori and his fussing first chance he got, too preoccupied with looking around him in suspicion, hands dangerously close to his weapon. He wasn't the only dwarf ill at ease; most of the company was glancing around them, giving every impression of wanting to be somewhere else. Kate was a bit surprised to find that she was no real exception to this. Rivendell was beautiful and peaceful, that was undeniable, but it was unearthly so. Something about the light, the buildings and even the very air made her feel like this place was not meant for mortals. She did not belong here.

For the first time since being thrown into Middle Earth she really felt like she was in another world. Dwarves, hobbits and wizards were not races that were known in her own world, but in a way they felt as normal human beings with all their good and bad sides. The elves, she felt, would be vastly different.

Gandalf was the only one who behaved as if he were at home here. He leaned on his staff casually, a smile on his face. No doubt he was congratulating himself on getting them all here, despite Thorin's continued protests. She shook her head, trying to determine what on earth she was supposed to think about him. He had abducted her, tricked her and forced her to go on a quest that might just get her killed, yet she found it almost impossible to remain cross with him. Maybe that was because she knew deep down that the wizard meant well. He stood guard over this world, but she would really appreciate it if he at least told her why she was here.

'You all right, lass?' Dwalin asked her.

Kate could only just refrain from raising an eyebrow in surprise. The warrior was never that talkative, and definitely not to her. He thought her a nuisance and a liability and if today hadn't proved him right, she wouldn't know what would.

'I'll be all right, thanks,' she told him. As soon as I can have a bath, some clean clothes, some food and some real good painkillers. The headache was bearable now, faded to a dull throbbing in the back of her head which she could easily ignored. Her other injuries were another matter entirely. The cuts on her shoulders hurt, even if they had stopped bleeding now, her ankle protested loudly against every step she forced it to take and her belly was worst of all. It had been doable up to the point that she had been running to the tunnel with Ori, but then she had fallen on it, sending stabs of pain from the already sore spot to the rest of her body, making walking a complete nightmare. Ranting against Dori's bloody fussing and arguing with Thorin and Gandalf had kept her mind away from it, but Dwalin asking about it made it somehow all the worse. 'And tanks so much for reminding me,' she added in a low growl.

He ignored that. 'Kíli told me what you did out there,' he said.

Kate sent him a glare. 'Except that I didn't,' she retorted. Much as she would like to get some measure of respect from him – because it would make life in the company so much easier – she didn't want to get it by lying. 'I stepped down a rabbit hole and tripped, taking him down with me. It wasn't intentional and it wasn't heroic. It was a stupid bloody accident!'

Her voice had been rising throughout that speech, but only when she had finished it she realised that the entire company was staring at her. She quickly looked down at her boots to avoid their inquisitive stares.

Fortunately for her, help was coming. An elf was descending the stairs with more grace than any real person had a right to have. He exchanged some words with Gandalf, but Kate was too far away to hear what was being said. She had noticed that her companions were grouping together and that once again she ended up with Ori and Bilbo, the other weak ones, forced into the middle of the group.

'Honestly, do they think that one elf is going to kill us all the moment they let us out of their sight?' she mumbled under her breath, so softly only her fellow victims-of-fussing could hear her.

The next moment she wished she hadn't spoken. A horn sounded behind them and that seemed to send the dwarves into full battle mode. They formed a circle, squashing the three of them together in a way that would have been considered extremely compromising in normal situations, but now sent pain through her entire body as someone poked something against her sore abdomen.

Of course it had to be the pain in the arse king as well. 'Get off me!' she hissed at him. 'You're hurting me!'

She only got another glare for her troubles. 'You could get hurt if we break ranks,' he hissed at her.

She tried to shove him, but it took more than that to get him to move. She could have been pushing against a solid wall for all the good it did. 'You're hurting me now, you big oaf!' she shot back. 'And they're not going to hurt us. Now will you kindly just bugger off?' She hit her fist against his armour, which only succeeded in bruising her own hand. The dwarf probably hadn't felt a thing.

He did the thing he clearly did best: he ignored her. The elves had surrounded them by now and he had clearly more important thing to do than to argue with her. And even Kate had to admit that there was something very unnerving about these elves on their horses. Her height had not really been an issue in the company where only Gandalf was really taller than she was, but right now, she felt strangely small and insignificant. Maybe it had not been such a good idea to insult them with her song after all…

But as it was Lord Elrond didn't even look at them. He started a conversation with Gandalf in his own language, plainly ignoring the fact that there were more people here than just his warriors and the grey wizard. It seemed downright rude to Kate.

It was only when Elrond remarked on the presence of Orcs so close to the border that they switched to the common tongue again.

'Ah, that may have been us,' Gandalf admitted, even though if Elrond had half a brain he would have arrived at that conclusion approximately five minutes earlier.

The elf now turned to face them – finally – and the dwarves lowered their weapon and broke the formation, for which Kate was grateful. The irony, so she now saw, was that Thorin had poked her with her own backpack, that he for some reason was still carrying. How strange things could be every now and then.

She was about to exhale in relief when she was startled by a hand slipping around her wrist.

'What are you doing?' she hissed.

The owner of that hand did not even bother with an answer. 'Stay close,' he ordered her.

She couldn't suppress another snort. 'And here I was just about to go and explore the place.'

Thorin ignored that too, all but dragging her with him a few steps closer to the elf lord. His grip was rather firm and she was sure it would leave some kind of bruising, but telling him that would probably be just as useful as her attempts to shove him away.

Elrond glanced at her, but then his gaze shifted towards Thorin. 'Welcome Thorin, son of Thráin,' he said, more courteous now.

But Thorin was not in the mood for being courteous now, it would seem. 'I do not believe we have met,' he told Elrond bluntly. Kate would have kicked him if she thought he would actually feel that and she would be sure she would not injure herself any further in the process.

'You have your grandfather's bearing,' Elrond replied calmly. 'I knew Thrór when he ruled under the Mountain.'

Thorin's most icy stare never as much as wavered, even if it failed to have the desired effect on the elf. 'Indeed?' he asked in a disbelieving voice. 'He made no mention of you.'

Elrond ignored the words as well as the stare, returning his attention to Kate. 'I do not believe I know your name, my lady.'

'My name is Catherine,' she replied automatically. She didn't really know why she used her full name. She hated hearing it most of the time, because she thought it both too long and too aristocratic to fit her. In her world she only ever used it for those people she didn't really like. But that was strange, because she didn't really dislike the elf. But it just came out that way, so she stuck with it, hoping Thorin wouldn't act too surprised. 'I am from Bree, my lord.'

Elrond nodded slowly, although she did think there was a hint of confusion in his eyes. But she could not be sure. The elf's face was practically unreadable, which was frustrating in and out of itself. He gave her the impression he saw far more than she was prepared to let him see. Why on earth had lying seemed like a good idea again?

But it didn't last long. Thorin took over the conversation again. 'The Lady Catherine was injured on the road,' he said. Nothing in either his tone or his face betrayed that he was the least surprised about the name she had given to Lord Elrond.

Kate could only just stop herself from raising a quizzical eyebrow when Thorin referred to her as a lady. Maybe it was just one of those customs here and after all Elrond had started this himself by calling her my lady. She let it go for now. She wasn't in the mood to correct him now.

Elrond was quick to offer them both food and the services of his healers and Thorin accepted, albeit grudgingly. He really was a proud dwarf, Kate had come to learn. It must have cost him a great deal to swallow his pride and ask for help, never mind asking help from those he considered enemies. But she had also come to learn that he cared for his company above everything else. He was a true leader in that respect and it made it easier for her to see why these dwarves had all followed him on a near impossible quest. Good grief, he even cared for her even though he hated her with a passion. That had to be saying something.

'If you would follow me, my lady?' the other elf – Lindir? – asked. He seemed a nice enough fellow, even though his manners were a bit stiff.

Kate nodded. 'Of course,' she replied, making to hop over to him, only to discover that Thorin had yet to let go of her hand. 'Ehm…'

But the dwarf wasn't even looking at her. He stared at the elf with his most icy look, the one that might even have Gandalf look away. 'She travels under my protection. Treat her ill and you will answer to me,' he warned.

The elf simply nodded, even if he did look rather uncomfortable under Thorin's intense gaze. 'No harm will come to her here, Thorin Oakenshield,' he promised, holding a hand over his heart.

It was only then that Kate's hand was released. She rolled her eyes at the dwarf and then followed the elf to the healers.


From Thorin's notes: This is worse than I could possibly have imagined.


That's it for today. I hope I didn't mess up the song completely. I'm bad enough at rhyming in my own language, so I'm not sure how bad it was in English.

I do hope the reasons why the elves don't like the idea of dwarves taking back Erebor make some sense. It is mentioned that they don't like the idea, but if I remember correctly it is never explained why.

Anyway, the next chapter should be up Sunday. Until then, please review?