Disclaimer: I don't own any familiar characters, and or anything pertaining to the world of the Hobbit. All, but my ocs, are owned by J.R.R Tolkien (who probably hates us for doing this to his work).

Chapter 2

Grabbing her wallet she headed out the door. Their apartment was small but fit the three of them perfectly. It was only a short walk to the campus, the Library, and The Chug. It sat above a bookstore, which Maggie worked at part-time. And had a small balcony that overlooked storefronts, which was great for people watching on hot days when the AC didn't work and they needed to set their feet in the tiny kiddy pool they had bought from the convenience store across the street. Magdalen remembers when she found their apartment. She had been working at The Red Rabbit for about two years, Emma had come in one day with a handful of flyers of apartments for rent.

-"I don't know how we are going to chose one, Maggie." Emma bit into her apple, continuing to speak with her bitten apple in her cheeks. She pointed to a neon green flyer with a small animation of a home.

"This one's nice, it's on College Row." Magdalen shoved books into their place while listening. "Yes because I want freshmen wandering through our backyard at 3 in the morning," she said, glancing back at Emma

Emma shrugged jumping onto to the counter. "Felicity and I looked at a place near Oaken Drive, but the guy that showed us the place was a creep. Course Felicity said he was just being nice, but I don't know anyone who looks at my ass for the sake of being nice."

Magdalen rolled her eyes making her way behind the counter. "We'll find a place, eventually."

"Emma get your hind off my counter." The voice of Miss. Jean grumbled behind them. Emma straightened her back, jumping off the counter; it was not the first time she had been told that by Miss Jean, She was the owner of The Red Rabbit; it had been in her family for generations. Miss Jean was not known for her award-winning personality, but she was nice to Magdalen. And Magdalen found her grumpy persona quite funny, mostly because of the fact that the sixty-five-year-old scared Emma.

Miss Jean swatted at Emma with her rolled Newspaper. Magdalen snickered as Emma jumped, grumbling about the 'old bat'.

Magdalen smiled at the elder women "Morning Miss Jean." The women didn't offer a smile, but then again she never did. Instead, she waved her hand moving about the bookstore while making her morning coffee.

She nodded her head, "Morning Magdalen, Emma."

Emma mumbled a 'morning' not making eye contact with the women. "I'm going to go and meet Felicity for lunch to see if she found a place."

"Looking for a place?" Miss Jean asked sipping at her black coffee.

Magdalen nodded and offered a yes. Miss Jean hummed picking up a stack of books Magdalen had laid out. "You know you could look at the place above the shop. I use to live there with Ronald when we first got married. No one's lived in it since then, now it's just an attic. Might need a little work, but you three could make it work"

Emma looked at Magdalen and shrugged "It's worth a look, how much would rent be?" Miss Jean gave Emma a once over, looking at her through half-moon glasses. "For you, I'm not sure, you're a lot of trouble. But for Magdalen, two hundred and thirty dollars should be fine."

Magdalen blinked that was far cheaper than any other place they looked. Emma huffed at Miss Jean's jab, but Magdalen nudged her ribs.

"That would be wonderful!" Magdalen exclaimed-

Magdalen quickly locked the door and walked down the stairs that lead to the street below. The sidewalks were quiet, the sounds of her feet shuffling across the pavement echoed in the relatively empty streets. The street lamps that lined the road illuminated the black storefronts with an orange glow. Mel Street usually looked like a ghost town this time of night. A glowing white sign shined brightly against the darkness, written in red was 'The Village". It was the only thing open on Mel Street, and Magdalen was thankful for that. She didn't want to go far, and she needed food now.

Looking both ways Magdalen crossed the street heading toward the storefront. She noticed out of the corner of her eye a couple staggered down the sidewalk rounding the corner that led to the bars a couple of streets over. Watching them disappear Magdalen found herself alone. Above her, the bells chimed alerting whoever was working that she had arrived. Fluorescent lights hummed above her, a bad redemption of Whitney Houston's 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody' crackled through the overhead radio.

To her right sitting behind a counter full of lottery tickets, cheap toys, and candies sat David, a student at Dane University. Magdalen had seen him around campus and had known him since she began working across the street from his dad's store. David was a good enough kid. He was scrawny, and his thick-rimmed glasses took up most of his small face. Which also hid acne scars that dotted his cheeks, this made him very quiet when it came to people. So he was often found with his face in his phone rather than speaking to the customers.

David didn't bother to look up when Magdalen greeted him, waving her off not taking his eyes off whatever video enamored him tonight. Magdalen set her course, weaving through the brightly colored isles filled with processed foods, and sugary treats. She had done this a thousand times before. Tonight was nothing out of the ordinary for her. Passing the drinks Magdalen snatched a bottle of Sprite, before going after some Instant made Mac & Cheese, Kraft, of course. Magdalen was a creature of habit this had been her meal many nights when she found nothing in their fridge or worked late at The Red Rabbit.

Magdalen felt her phone buzz in her the band of her leggings. Pulling it she found Felicity had sent her a text and a video of Emma dancing after they won trivia night. 'All Hail the queens of trivia!' it read, Magdalen smiled listening as Emma drunkenly bragged to someone off camera. She would be doing that for the next couple of days. The text was soon followed by another: 'You okay? Need us to come back, we could watch something scary... :)' Magdalen snorted, Felicity looked after others even when she was having a night to herself.

Magdalen felt her face collide with something hard, knocking herself off balance. She fell on her rear, and her Mac & Cheese rolled away. A hand appeared in front of her offering to help her up. Three thick fingers were covered silver and gold bands, small gems of green and yellow dotted their edges. Magdalen took the hand hesitantly, it felt powerful wrapped around her tiny hand as if they could snap her bones with a mere squeeze. She looked up to meet the face of the hands' owner. He was an older gentleman, wrinkled skin told stories of his long years. His hair was black and well kept. A streak of white hair lined the side of his head. He wore a grey suit that caught her off guard, it wasn't the tweed, stained suits her professors wore. This one was well made, and tailored for his tall frame. His nose was long and pointed. His eyes were light brown, bright gold specks illuminated them. A small golden circle was pinned to his lapel. Dane was a small university everyone knew everyone. She would have certainly recognized someone like him.

Magdalen blinked and realized she had been staring. "I'm sorry, I was texting and wasn't looking where I was going."

The man stared at her for a moment, making Magdalen shift uncomfortably. Something about him felt off, but she couldn't put her finger on it. He smiled letting out a deep chuckle, his voice boomed over the fickle radio station that played above them, "It is no matter, my dear."

His accent was strange, yet oddly familiar to her. He wasn't from around here, that much was obvious. Who comes to Avalon, if they don't have too? Dane was a good college but it wasn't like they were known for anything. They had no great alumni to name. So why was this moneybags here?

"Quiet night in, Miss?" He questioned holding out her forgotten Mac & Cheese. Magdalen felt flushed grabbing the plastic bowl. An uneasiness rushed through her. She looked down at the sad meal in her arms.

She cleared her throat, "Umm yeah, it's been a long week. You know with school and all, I just need a night in."

The old man chuckled. "You are young… There are many long nights ahead of you. The weeks here are long and seem to drag. No matter how we feel the world continues to spin, even if we wish it to stop."

Magdalen smiled nervously, she wished this man would stop talking to her. The man seemed to sense her discomfort, turning to grab a silver wrapped candy bar from one of the shelves. He tilted his head before heading down the aisle toward the counter. Magdalen stood there for a moment, what did he mean by here? She heard the bells chime, peaking around the aisle to see the man in the grey suit disappear out the doors and into the dark street.

Magdalen wandered over to the counter, David no longer looking at his phone but staring at the door. Maggie cleared her throat gaining David's attention. He turned to Magdalen than back at the door. "He paid with a hundred dollars, paid for your food and then told me to keep the change." Was all David could muster as he placed her items in the bag.

Magdalen put away her wallet looking from David to the door where the man disappeared from. "Did you know him?" She questioned picking up her bag. David shook his head, "Never seen him before, think I would remember someone like him."

David was right, there were quite a few characters in Avalon and the University. She would surely remember a six' seven Scottish man. Magdalen thanked David and headed back to her apartment, ready to curl into the couch. Much to her surprise, David smiled at her waving goodbye. That's a first, Magdalen thought stepping out into the emptied sidewalk.

Her phone buzzed once again, Emma sent a blurred picture of her grinning pointing over to Felicity hanging over Christian Roberts, her crush since freshman year. Magdalen smiled shaking her head at her friend's antics. She was sure Emma had somehow gotten them together, she didn't know what it meant to mind her own business. Magdalen didn't look up from her phone as she stepped onto Mel Street, she didn't look up until a loud beep burst only feet from her. Magdalen let out a scream watching as two bright head beams raced toward her. Falling backward Magdalen squeezed her eyes shut praying to whatever gods would hear her pathetic prayer, she was sure she was going to die. The car raced past her, roaring it's horn as it barreled down the street. She felt her heart palpitate, adrenaline pumping through her veins, causing her hands to tremble in fear.

Magdalen inhaled looking around. She had about died and no one would have known. A chill raced down her spine, she shook herself gathering her dropped bag holding it to her chest. Hoping that her heart would slow before it burst. Cautiously Magdalen looked both ways twice, making sure she would not have another encounter with death. Seeing no one Magdalen dashed across the emptied street as fast as she could. She slowed coming to the door that led up to her apartment, Magdalen fiddled with her keys trying to find the right ones.

Magdalen never left her door unlocked, not even to walk across the street. As a child, her grandfather instilled in his granddaughters that the world was a dangerous place, and they need to know how to protect themselves. Magdalen never found it odd that she and Susan were taught to handle a knife before they could write, not until she got to elementary school. There she found that the other kids did not know how to throw a punch or string a bow. Though Bobby Gibson later regretted teasing her for her unusual skills, when she left him with a black eye. She had never seen her grandfather prouder than that day, of course, he scolded her in front of her principal. Taking her out of school only to reward her with ice cream for a job well done.

"Magdalen" a voice whispered in her ear. She froze, her hands tensed on her door lock.

Slowly Magdalen looked over her shoulder trying to prepare her for whatever awaited her. Magdalen exhaled when she saw nothing was there. She turned her back pressing into the cool metal of the door. For a moment she saw nothing, only the shadows of the tree that stood in front of the Red Rabbit. Something trashed from the alley on the other side of the bookstore. Magdalen positioned herself ready to fight, she relaxed watching the dark figure dart across the road. Just a cat. She tried to ration. Cats don't whisper names. Another chill burst through her body. Magdalen closed her eyes pressing the pads of her fingers into her lids. The stress was finally getting to her. I've got to go see a therapist. Magdalen told herself sighing turning back to the door.

She tensed once again, in her peripheral a tall dark figure stood a few yards away from her. Magdalen looked up staring at her door, her fist tight around the doorknob. Her chest burned as she swallowed her screams. She watched as he raised his hand, Magdalen nearly doubled over watching as a glowing gold liquid poured from his hand. Did she hit her head when she fell? Her eyes couldn't believe themselves watching the glowing liquid snake down his hands onto the pavement toward her person.

She could help but yelped, fiddling with her keys fast desperately wanting to be inside her apartment and away from whatever was happening here. The man stepped toward her the gold liquid flowing through the air disappearing like mist from a waterfall. Snaking bodies of gold growing closer.

"Wait!" The man commanded. His voice boomed through the air, the wind suddenly picked up nearly knocking Magdalen off her feet. The tree above her rattled tapping violently on her apartment windows. The covers of the streetlamp shook the glass threatening to break any moment. Their poles swaying back and forth. The flower pots in front of the bookstore broke, purple and blue petals were carried off in the wind. The sign for a coffee shop a few stores down flew off the hinges and skidded across the road breaking a parked car window. It's alarm blared, only heightening Magdalen's anxiety more.

She tried her first two keys to no avail. She almost cried when she jammed in a silver key, hearing the door click open. Magdalen dashed inside slamming the door behind her, snapping the lock together before rushing up the steps. Magdalen squealed coming through the front door slumping against the wooden door. Trying to catch her breath, crossing her body she locked the door for extra measure. Though a part of her thought they couldn't protect her from whatever that man was. What was he exactly? What was the gold stuff that came from his hand? And what did he want from her? Magdalen stared at the window that overlooked the street debating whether she wanted to look or not. Better to find out now if I have a supernatural stalker rather than later. Pushing herself off the door slowly she crept over to the window. Leaning forward she looked over the street.

Below Mel Street was calm. Everything was still. Magdalen leaned forward in amazement, it looked as if nothing had happened only seconds ago. The flower pots were below her, intact. The car across the street sat still, unbroken and quiet. She pressed her face to the window finding the sign for the coffee shop preached where it normally was. Everything was perfect, and there was not a sole insight.

Magdalen raised a hand to her head, feeling for a bump. I must have hit my head. She rationed in her mind. It was the only way to explain what she had witnessed. Or rather hallucinated. Yes, that is it I hit my head. She thought, walking back to the kitchen retrieving some medicine and a glass of water. Her head was pounding, tilting her head back she consumed the three pills. Chasing it with her water. Magdalen huffed leaning her weight against the counter for a moment, allowing herself to breathe.

Her stomach growled, hungrier than it had been before. Magdalen grabbed the bag she had left forgotten on the floor. Pouring water into her mac & cheese, and tossing it in the microwave. She pushed herself up on the counter listening to the soft buzz of the microwave. Magdalen had been wrong when she looked out onto the street, not everything was perfect. In fact, Magdalen didn't notice the tiny chip in the corner of her window. She didn't notice the man standing under the canopy of leaves. Or the melted gold inching up her window seal. She didn't notice it leak through snaking toward her. Or the air shifting in the room.

She listened as the Microwave counted down. Magdalen felt something burn her hand, snatching it away she saw familiar gold liquid pooling around her body. She let out a scream as the microwave beeped. The windows in her living room burst, shards of glass dug into her skin. The wind swirled around her, rivers of gold scorching her skin. She covered her face, crying out as her body writhed with pain. Tears soaked her skin as the world around her began to sway to and fro. Blackness danced at the edges of her vision, she fought to stay conscious but found her lids heavier by the second. A warm light enveloped her and the floor beneath her disappeared. She fell into the void below her, slipping away into nothingness as she felt her body collide with something firm.

Sleep my child, a feminine voice whispered gently. A hand brushed against her forehead. Though she could see nothing, Magdalen felt her eyes shut letting out one last painful breath. And so she did sleep, unknowingly leaving her world behind.