CHAPTER 24 - THE MISTY MOUNTAINS

Here is the first chapter with some action and adventure! I am staying as faithful to the book as I can but you never know... it is a very unexpected journey...

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hobbit or any of the characters/story lines that belong to it, all credit goes to J.R.R. Tolkien, in all his glory.

As soon as they had stepped into the Wild Hayden immediately noticed a change in the dwarves she had grown to know and love. They were no longer lighthearted and merry, but looked constantly worried and on their guard. Even Fili and Kili were not cracking their usual jokes or pranks, which was most disconcerting for Hayden.

Thorin and Hayden rode at the front of the group, which had now spread out over a few metres.

No one talked much as they rode onwards for what felt like a lifetime, only stopping a few minutes at a time to give the ponies a rest and have a small bite to eat.

If she had been anywhere else Hayden would have been bored out of her mind. But being the land of her dreams, she spent the day looking in awe at the lands that surrounded her: the beautiful vast paddocks of grass and the rocky terrains that England had so lacked.

Besides the fact that the scenery was utterly breathtaking, she tried to use it as a distraction that she was pushed up so close against Thorin. Yet another reason why she disliked horse riding was the movement one tended to make while on one, and it wasn't making her situation any easier.

It was hard enough to resist the dwarf as it was, but with being so close to him and subconsciously feeling the movement of his chest and thighs, she felt close to exploding from sexual frustration.

At midday, after they had stopped for another short rest, Hayden reluctantly swapped to riding with Kili, as it was not fair if one pony had to bear the weight of two passengers for the entire trip.

What made Hayden so reluctant in riding behind the young dwarf was the fact that Fili and Kili had not stopped teasing her for her fear of horses the entire day – and that she would not be so close to Thorin anymore.

But she was surprised however just how comfortable she was with Kili. She felt no awkwardness at all when she wrapped her arms around his waist and held on for dear life. After all, he was more like the annoying little brother she never had, despite the fact he was about 50 years older than her.

Now she didn't have Thorin's body to entertain her, she spent the time teaching Fili and Kili how to play eye-spy – because who's kidding? Everyone loves this game during long car rides no matter how old you are.

"Eye-spy with my little eye, something beginning with… H," Hayden said in a sign-song voice.

"Hmm…" the two dwarves thought it over.

"Hair?"

"Nope."

"Hide?"

"What?"

"Hide," Fili grinned, "As in ass."

"Definitely not."

"Land!"

"Kili, that begins with an L."

"Oh, right."

They thought it over for even longer, there faces scrunched in concentration.

"Give up?" Hayden asked them in triumph.

"Never!"

"Hooves," Thorin said from in front of them, his face showing no emotion.

Hayden stared at him and smiled.

"That's not fair, he wasn't playing," Kili growled.

"He guessed it right though, so it counts," Hayden grinned.

Fili and Kili continued to mumble in anger that they had been cheated, and Thorin turned around on his pony to grin and wink at Hayden, before continuing on to the front of the group.

Hayden laughed out loud and shook her head in disbelief.

"If it had been anyone else who had guessed that you would have called it cheating too," Kili mumbled to her.

Hayden smirked at him but didn't say a word, and for that Kili nudged the pony in the side, causing it to rear up on its hind legs and give Hayden a heart attack.

"Kili! You asshole!" she gasped, clutching him tighter, "Don't-do-that!"

"That's what you get for cheating," he grinned.

"What's that you got there, Hayden?" Fili asked when she had calmed down, nodding towards her chest.

Frowning, she looked to where Fili was gesturing and saw that Thror's key had slipped over her top while the pony had reared and had become visible.

"Oh, it's nothing," she said quickly, hiding the key beneath her shirt again.

"The key?" Kili asked, turning around to look before Hayden could cover it in time.

Hayden pretended to be too distracted by a lose threads on her pants to answer.

"He gave you Thror's key?"" Fili asked in an un-characteristically hushed voice.

"Maybe," Hayden mumbled, still not making eye contact with them.

"Do you know what that means?" Fili continued in a serious tone, which worried her.

"What?" she frowned, finally looking up.

"When dwarves, uh, well when dwarves court we do not do it in ways you may be aware of," Fili explained.

"Go on…"

"When we find our right partner, soul mate, whatever you want to call it, we present them an offering," he continued.

"How romantic," Hayden scoffed.

"It can be! It has to be done while the pair are alone," he said, lowering his voice even further, "And then the dwarf will offer something to their chosen partner."

"Just anything?"

"No, not just anything," Fili frowned, "Something that is worth a great deal to them, that has a significance in their life."

"Oh…" Hayden said slowly, finally understanding where Fili was going with this, "And what exactly does it mean – this 'offering'?"

"It's got some corny meaning," Kili shrugged, who not surprisingly had not caught on to the direction of the conversation, "Something like: in offering them this gift they are offering you their heart or their life, something rather."

Hayden's mouth dropped, "Is he serious?" she asked Fili, who nodded, "So you think-?"

Fili nodded once again, "I think that was Thorin's offering to you."

Hayden bit her lip, unsure of what to make of this, "But what if it's not that? What if he just meant it as… oh, I don't know…"

"Hayden, he gave you the key to the Hidden Mountain Pass, which is crucial to our quest," Fili said, "It's hardly a gesture to be taken lightly."

"Oh!" Kili gasped, apparently a light bulb finally clicking in his head as to what they were talking about and Hayden and Fili rolled their eyes, "So he is going to marry her-!"

"Shh!"

"Shut up!"

"Oh, sorry."

While Fili smacked his brother hard on the back of the head for his stupidity, Hayden thought about what they had told her.

She had just figured Thorin giving her the key had been some sort of a romantic gesture, not a traditional dwarf courting custom. She knew she couldn't possibly talk to him about it – what if Fili and Kili were wrong and it didn't mean what they thought it did?

But still, she couldn't help but feel a little joy at the fact that Thorin Oakenshield had offered her his heart, which was strange for her. She would have thought receiving this offering would have freaked her out. But it didn't… she found the idea of being tied to Thorin, in the symbolic sense, extremely pleasing, and for the first time she actually imagined what her future might be like with him and she unconsciously smiled at the thought.

"Oh, look Kili," Fili grinned at his brother, nodding towards Hayden, "She's actually considering it."

"What-?" Hayden was brutally snapped out of her reverie, "No! No I wasn't-"

"Haha!" Kili laughed brightly, "You are aren't you? You're considering what it would be like to be married to Thorin?"

I swear to God sometimes it's like they read my mind, she thought bitterly.

Hayden tried to think of a witty retort or a sarcastic comment to throw at them, but for some reason her brain just wasn't generating them as fast as it usually would.

What was even more disconcerting was the fact that they didn't laugh or continue to tease her. The young dwarves were looking at Hayden with a consideration she had never seen them have before. It was as if they were almost glad Hayden was thinking of a future with Thorin, like they actually cared about it…

"What are you two doing to her now?" Thorin growled suspiciously, turning his pony around to face them.

"Nothing uncle," Kili smiled sweetly, "Just chatting…"

Thorin looked from Kili and Fili's innocent smiles to where Hayden sat a little too quiet than normal and he huffed disapprovingly.

"Come, Hayden," Thorin said, "You will ride with me now."

Still too deep in thought to argue with his demanding tone, Hayden nodded absentmindedly and slipped off the pony, only stopping on her way to Thorin when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Fili leant down on his pony so that his face was inches from Hayden's and lowered his voice.

"We will not tell a soul," he said sincerely.

"What? Oh, thank you," she smiled, "Though I was expecting a much different reaction from you both."

"Usually we would have taken a different approach," he shrugged, "But our uncle's happiness is one of the rare topics we take seriously – and for him to be happy, he needs you. And we will do anything to see that happen."

"Oh, Fili-" she smiled, beginning to say something sweet, but he cut her off.

"Don't think we've gone soft now," he said quickly, "And don't think our joke oath is off, because that has only just begun."

"Of course not!" she laughed, "I'm looking forward to see who you bribe next."

"You really have no idea," he joined in her laughter.

With a smile on her face, Hayden walked over to where Thorin sat on his pony waiting for her. He held out a hand to help her on, only nudging the pony forward again once she was fully settled on and had wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Is everything alright?" Thorin asked her, noticing Hayden's strange silence, for she was still thinking over what Fili and Kili had said.

"Hmm? Oh, yes fine," she said, flinching when she heard how distracted she sounded.

"It does not sound as if that is the case," he observed, "What did they say to you?"

"It's nothing, honestly," she said, trying to keep her voice casual, "We were just talking."

"That is never a good sign when Fili and Kili are involved," he grumbled, "You are sure nothing is wrong?"

She laughed quietly and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Everything's fine," she sighed, a small smile forming as she felt the cold metal of Thror's key beneath her shirt… more than fine.

It was only until the sky began to darken and rain started to pour down on them heavily did they fully stop – they had reached the edges of the Misty Mountains.

Hayden was surprised that it had only taken them a day to get to their destination, though admittedly the ponies did cut out a lot of time.

Before they went any further, they parted with the ponies, sending them on their way back to Rivendell. And they seemed to know exactly where they were going.

The Company began climbing a steep rocky hill that led to the unsteady edge of a Mountain.

"Hold on!" Thorin called back to them as thunder crashed in the sky above them.

Uncertainly, they followed Thorin onto the Mountain's edge, carefully watching where they stepped.

When it seemed like they were making no progress at all and the rain was now coming down even harder, she heard Thorin's voice, "We must find shelter!"

Thanks, Captain Obvious, she thought bitterly.

They kept moving along the edge that was becoming even more unstable and slippery, when Bilbo stood onto a loose edge and slipped. Dwalin quickly grabbed the hobbit and pulled him back up onto the ledge, which Bilbo clung to in shock.

Just as Hayden had let out a sigh of relief, her heart sunk to her stomach. She knew what was to happen next, and she was not looking forward to it at all.

They continued their way across the side of the Mountain, Hayden waiting with growing anticipation to here the warning cry of a dwarf or the sound of a large rock smashing against another – but it never came.

They were able to make their journey over the High Pass without incident and into a dry cave hidden in the crevice of a large rock, which worried Hayden more than the idea of the Storm Giants.

Why hadn't the Storm Giants attacked? Why had they passed unnoticed through the High Pass?

This should not have been happening. And Hayden began to feel anxious that her and Gandalf's worst fears were about to come true.

"So, you see, if Bilbo isn't in Middle Earth to find the Ring, Gollum will never lose it. And when it comes the time when the Ring Wraiths are sent to find the ring, they will find it with Gollum, and Middle Earth will fall to the power of Sauron…"

What if Bilbo never found the Ring? What if they were too late for the events of The Hobbit to take place…?

"Search to the back, Dwalin," Thorin commanded to the burly dwarf next to him, "Caves in the Mountain are seldom unoccupied."

The dwarves searched all the corners to make sure the cave was safe, and began to settle down when Dwalin had declared it was empty.

"No fires here, we don't want to draw any unwanted guests," Thorin told Nori warningly as the dwarf laid out firewood, "Get some sleep. We are starting at the first light. Bofur, you take the first watch!"

Bofur nodded stiffly at Thorin, but Hayden saw his look of revulsion at the idea of keeping watch while the others slept.

"We will wait here for Gandalf," said Thorin, and then stalked off from the other dwarves.

Rolling her eyes, Hayden took off her backpack and sat down on the ground. She found herself hoping that they were captured by the Goblins, as in the book. At least it would mean their quest was on track and that Middle Earth was not totally doomed.

Her stomach crawled with nervousness as she thought about the creatures that lived in the mountains, but she knew that she could not interfere with anything – and that included warning the Company of the danger they were in.

When Thorin was satisfied that the Company had settled down and that Bofur was on guard, he dodged through the sleeping mounds to where Hayden sat against the wall.

"You should get some sleep," he whispered, sitting down next to her.

"I don't think I will be able to sleep much," she whispered back, trying to sound more confident than she felt.

Thorin took her hand in his and smiled and she sighed, feeling a lot safer with him next to her. She tilted her head up to kiss him, and then rested her head on his shoulder.

Thorin kissed the top of her head and layed his head on hers, still holding her hand in her lap and breathing in the sweet smell of her hair. He was about to drift off to sleep too, when he saw a glowing light appear from across the room.

"What's that?" Bofur's voice echoed from his duty post.

The sound of a sword unsheathing and a bright blue light filled the room, highlighting where Bilbo lay white in the face as he looked down at his glowing sword.

Thorin sat up straight slowly and looked around him. The sand on the floor was beginning to move unnaturally.

"Wake up! Wake up!" he yelled, and felt Hayden jump awake next to him, "Hayden-"

But he was cut off as the floor fell beneath their feet and they dropped through a brightly lit tunnel. Hayden instinctively reached out and grasped Thorin's arm, and she felt him grip her hand as they rolled down a tunnel and landed hard on the ground after a long drop.

Still gripping Thorin's hand tight, she groaned and sat up, looking around in confusion. Next to her, Thorin let out a cry of warning and her heart sunk and she felt close to vomiting in disgust.

Hundreds of hunched Goblins were running towards them, and Hayden found herself thinking that the Company had most certainly been right about Jim Henson's puppet Goblins – they looked nothing like the real thing.

Thorin pulled her quickly towards him but it was too late. She felt the grimy sticky hands of Goblins grab her and lift her up and she was forced to break her grip on Thorin's hand. The dwarves tried their hardest to fight back, and Hayden kicked and clawed and punched as hard as she could, making her way to the back of the group.

"Thorin!" she cried, looking around in panic.

"Hayden!" Thorin's desperate voice bellowed back to her.

Just as the rest of the dwarves were shuffled forward by the Goblins, Hayden heard a cry from behind her. A stray Goblin had begun to attack Bilbo – that definitely wasn't supposed to be happening, either!

Dodging past all the Goblins she drew the sword Thorin had given her and launched herself at the Goblin, stabbing it hard in the back.

Bilbo looked up in shock and he sighed in relief when he saw Hayden, but that did not last for long.

The Goblin fell forward limply, pushing Bilbo over the edge with him. Hayden, who was still tightly gripping her sword in the Goblin's back, was also pulled over the edge, and the three fell into the darkness below.

Stay tuned to see what happens next in Chapter 25 of An Unexpected Journey!