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 9

"I've never seen Fili look so mad," Kili's laugh echoed outside his mother's chamber.

"Oh Mahal, his face" Kili wheezed.

Magdalen rolled her eyes letting go of Kili's arm swiftly. It wasn't her intention to get Fili so riled up. But how dare he assume that her family abandoned her? Magdalen was twenty-one and had been on her own for quite some time. She knew how to handle herself. Her grandfather was a wonderful person and had taught her and Susan how to take care of themselves. He wanted to raise strong women, who didn't need a man to protect them. She wasn't about to let some hot-shot prince scold her like a child in trouble. It wasn't her fault Fili brought out the absolute worst in her.

The burly looking guards set at the end of the hall looked behind at the young prince, who was bent in half his hands resting on his knees. Magdalen flashed them a small grin pushing Kili's shoulder. Kili let out a breath, wiping away a stray tear. His smug looked remained as he stood at his full height, straightening his blue tunic. He waved his hand as if to tell Magdalen to follow him, he began down the long hall of the royal wing and away from Fili.

Magdalen stood in front of Dis's apartment, her feet unmoving. She wanted to run back to her small healing room, and find a way in her bed. She felt somewhat embarrassed after their interaction. Magdalen had lost her temper when people talked down to her before. And she always felt the guilt afterward. Magdalen hated the waved of shame that washed over her. Dis had been so hospitable to her, and in return, she had a screaming match with her son. Magdalen didn't feel guilty for putting Fili in his place, no she had dealt with judgemental people like him before. There had been more than enough condescending jerks encounters than Magdalen cared too think about.

"I knew there was a reason; I liked you so much." Kili teased, leaning against the wall watching as Magdalen stood unmoving from her stop.

"Kili, can we please not talk about your brother right now," Magdalen mumbled moving to Kili's side.

Kili grinned at her before giving a wink; he turned his head setting out on a mission he had set in his head.

"Come on; there's something I want to show you," Kili said mysterious, turning the corner of the royal balcony down the steps.

Magdalen picked up her hefty skirt rushing to catch up with the prince. The guards eyed her as she skipped down the steps after Kili.

Her eyes wandered over halls as they passed through them. Kili seemed not to mind the things around him. Magdalen, however, took her time analyzing the elaborate structures that made up the Erebor. Her fingers ran over the carved runes in the stone, her eyes fixated on the lights that hung from the walls of the mountains and the glowing from the bustling market below. It was just as grand as her grandfather described it to be.

Kili chuckled checking on Magdalen over his shoulder. He turned to wait for the girl to break from her dreamy gaze. Magdalen met his amused gaze, his hands resting on his hips. He raised his eyebrows.

"That's how I was when we first reclaimed the mountain, after the battle," He thought aloud. He joined Magdalen side looking over the railing watching as dwarves moved about their day.

"When we first arrived, I didn't have much time, but when the battle was over, I finally stood in the halls of my grandfather. The halls I had been told all my life about. For weeks I didn't want to leave, I wanted to treasure my home as it had never been before."

"I don't blame you; we don't have anything nearly as beautiful as this where I'm from." Magdalen smiled at the unusual sight of the mountain the words of her grandfather echoing in her head.

"You know my grandfather would read us the story of your adventure, every night before we slept. He told us so many stories about Erebor; it's so surreal to be standing here. He would die if he saw this."

Kili stared at the girl "I'm sorry I thought your grandfather passed already?"

Magdalen broke her gaze beside her Kili's nose scrunched and his lips tilted to the right. Magdalen let out a breathy laugh " It's an expression in my world, it means he would be impressed."

Kili hummed trying to grasp her words, before letting his shoulder shrug in defeat. "Come along, Miss Maggie. The library calls our names."

They had made it out of the noble living quarters into the more common areas of Erebor. The halls disappeared into long open strips of walk aways connecting different regions of the mountain. They emerged into the open part of the mountain. Above them, Magdalen could see the interweaving bridges and stairs. Her eyes wandered to the top finding one of the bridges. In her mind, she replayed the night she had almost fall. That would have hurt; she winced at the thought.

Angular building jetted from the sides of the stone; archways greeted them as they walked through crowded corridors. Windows looked down at them from the structures above. Shop windows displayed fresh pastries, fine jewelry, and scents of fresh beard, and pastries filled the air as they passed by a few shop windows though it was covered by the protruding smell of wet rock that settled in the lower part of Erebor.

As the pair traveled deeper into the heart of Erebor, Magdalen encountered more and more dwarves. At first, many didn't take heed of the girl on the arm of their prince. Many simple bowed and greeted Kili with a 'good morning' or 'how are you.' Though as the more people they passed, the more people seemed to notice her. Some watched her as if she were Godzilla come to destroy their city.

The dwarves were not like Magdalen had imagined them when she was younger. She had always imagined short, fat, ugly men covered in tattoos with beards that touched the floor. Iron axes, and delicate instruments on their person. When in reality, well this reality anyways, dwarves came in various shapes and sizes. There were even dwarven women who that inhabited the streets, who were almost as tall as Magdalen. While some of the dwarven men were tiny and only came to her shoulder, some were lean, with sorrow faces. Some were bulks and looked like they were carved from stone. Some of the women's hair and beards adorn with beautiful jewels that sparkled under the lights from above. Some wore simple clothing as they herded families through the thick sea of dwarves.

The children didn't seem bothered by her presences as their parents had been. The bearded kids called to Kili, showing off toothy grins as the prince waved at them. Children were the same no matter what world you were in, it seemed. Dwarves dodged out of the way of their prince, a group of dwarven woman watched Magdalen with icy glares leaning into one another whispering and pointing at her. A few laughed at the sight of her. Magdalen glared at them, which made them abruptly stop their gossiping looking anywhere but the pair.

An elder dwarf, with bright white hair like Balin's and a long beard that reached past his round belly, narrowed his eyes at her. She heard the words "Men," hissed at her as they came to the end of the shops.

"Why are people staring, Kili?" Magdalen gritted through a tightened jaw. She wasn't use to such attention.

Kili glanced around them, winking at a few bearded women. Who turned red as beets, snapping their heads away from the prince.

"Miss Maggie you are with the prince of Erebor, people are going to stare."

Magdalen grunted, "You are full of yourself, prince."

Kili smiled at her endearingly as they made their way out of the crowded street. "I only speak the truth, Miss Maggie."

"Stop calling me that," Magdalen objected turning the corner to a hall.

Kili pulled back looking at Magdalen confused. "You told me to call you Maggie."

"Yes just Maggie, not Miss Maggie. That makes me sound like I'm a kindergarten teacher."

"You say strange things… Maggie. "

Magdalen smiled in satisfaction. Silence fell between the two friends, the crowds deluged. Kili turned down a quiet hallway no dwarves, no guards, just the two of them. The entrance reflected the healer's foyer and the other halls of the noble quarters. The hall was lined with a deep blue carpet, trimmed with gold lining. A small metal chandelier lit the corridor. At the end of the hall a door took up the whole wall, it's dark wood was adorn with runes. Stone carving sat at either side of the wall.

Magdalen's arm slipped from Kili's grasp. He pushed past her his hand pressing into the wood. The wood groaned as they slowly swung open to reveal the library. The room was filled with thousands of books; its shelves circled the room. The room was divided up into three levels, and all could be seen from the ocean green floor. The three levels connected were by staircases. In the middle of the room was a massive statue of a king, his hand was stretched out toward the wall near them. A thick circlet sat on top of his long hair; Magdalen noticed it looked a bit like Thorin. Kili floated into the room, leaving to Magdalen catch up behind him.

"This is my great-grandfather, King Thror. He was a great warrior and lover books. He had this built when he was king. He believes we needed to preserve the tales of our people and the history of Middle Earth." Kili stated aloud staring at the man.

"Sounds like a smart man,"

Kili nodded "That he was, and he was a good king. His people loved him."

Magdalen hummed her gaze drifting to the books surrounding them. She inhaled the smell of old books filled her lung. It was a familiar smell; if she closed her eyes, she almost felt like she was back in the Red Rabbit.

"I'm going to look for Ori, try not to punch anyone while I'm gone," Kili called over his shoulder.

Magdalen let out a fake laugh watching as Kili headed down one of the rows leaving her to her own devices. Magdalen let her head fall back looking up at the high ceiling. The feeling of craziness had not worn on her yet. She still expected that at any moment she would wake up, rolling her head on her right shoulder she looked at the rear shelf. A small wall separated the floor surrounding the statute and the bottom row of shelves. She looked around finding no one in sight. The soft padding of her oversized boots echoed in the space as Magdalen slipped around the small wall, that only came to her hip.

With her outstretched hand, the pads of her fingertips brushed along the leather-bound spines. The thought of the thousands of stories that were in the pages on these books made her heart leap with giddy. Magdalen bites her lip checking over her shoulder, her finger landing on a worn green dyed book cover. Carefully she pulled the thin book out; the edges were stretched and torn. A faded golden leaf sat in the middle of the cover, strange markings were written along the bottom. Magdalen opened the book flicking through the crispy yellowed pages. Though she could not understand the different writings, she was studying the inked drawing that decorated the pages. She smiled at the delicate illustrations of a rabbit playing the harp, and small children dancing around it. It must have been a children's book.

"Oh!"

The clattering of books echoing in the room caught her attention, making herself jump. She snapped the book and held it behind her back. To her far left, emerging from one of the rows, was a brassy-haired dwarf. His cart seemed to have tipped; books slide on the floor around her. Magdalen quickly came to his side; she began stacking them in her arms. The dwarf stared at her, his mouth opened and slightly lopsided. His bowl cut hair framed his long face, like most dwarves he had braids in his hair. His warm skin was blanketed with a blush highlighting the freckles on his cheeks. Magdalen met his gaze; he quickly dropped it standing up and hastily pulling the cart up on to its wheel.

"H-hello," the dwarf stuttered.

Magdalen held out a few of the books to the dwarf. He blinked looking at Magdalen dumbfound. She grinned at the bashful dwarf; she shook it in the air. He muttered a 'thank you' taking the books from her hand.

"There you are Ori; I've been looking everywhere for you" Kili voiced called.

Kili stood looking at the scene before him. He grinned laying his hands on his hips. "I've been gone for a few minutes, and you already got the girl tripping over you." He snickered.

Ori's face became beet red, his dark eyes meeting with Magdalen's for only a second.

"Oh hello Kili, n-no she was helping me. I was the one tripping." Ori admitted, still red-faced.

Magdalen stood up laying the rest of the books onto the cart with care. The book she had picked up still in her hand. Kili came over and swung his arm around Magdalen's shoulder, shaking her slightly.

"Ori I want to introduce you to my friend, Miss Magdalen Kathan. She is a bookworm-"

"Hey!" Magdalen shoved her hand on Kili. This did not deter him as he continued.

"- like you, she wanted to see our grand library."

Magdalen glared at the dwarf shrugging him off. Magdalen stepped forward, her hand twitched. She had learned that dwarves didn't seem to understand the greeting of a handshake, so she awkwardly dips bowing at the dwarf. Kili snickered at the sight; Magdalen kicked his leg. Ori didn't seem to mind, taking her hand pressing it to his forward as Balin had when she first met him.

"Hello Miss Magdalen Kathan, I am Ori son of Jori," Ori spoke quietly letting her hand fall back to her side.

"Please just call me Maggie, Ori."

The dwarf grew a goofy grin across his face. His eyes wandered to the book in her grip; Magdalen quickly handed it back to the dwarf. She grinned sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, I was just looking through it." Ori took the book reading the cover.

"It's alright; this is quite a good book you've found here. It's the story of Hod the Hare." His eyes lite up as he told her the story of the musical gift hare and how he saved dwarven children from the evil nymph, Myla.

"If you like that, there are more like this one upstairs," Ori told her not able to meet her gaze.

Magdalen nodded following Ori as he continued to become more animated about the books he thought she would enjoy. Kili shuffled along behind them, not caring what his friend had to say.

"We have thousands of books here. We have anything you could want to know in Middle Earth." Ori said proudly.

"What language was the Hob the Hare, written in I don't recognize it." Magdalen tilted her head walking in sync with Ori.

"It is written in Khuduzl; it's the language of our people. But we have many books written in Common as well."

They arrived on the third level to a small area set between two large rows of books. It overlooked the rest of the library, the statue of King Thror sat in the very center. From here she could make out the patterns of the floor below. Marking the cold stone floor were the figures of soldiers around the King as if they were protecting him. Magdalen stood at the railing taking in the marvelous library around her. Behind her, the small area was filled with three tables piles of books, inkwells, and papers cover the top of the table. It must have been Ori's work area, similar carts that Ori had been pushing around filled the space.

"Do many people in Middle Earth know Khuduzl?" Magdalen inquired looking over the pile of books.

Ori rubbed his hands together as he moved around the room. Stacking books onto trays. He grinned showing off his lopsided smile. He was adorable; Magdalen felt the overwhelming feeling to protect him like a stray kitten. Felicity's had rubbed off on her it let out a soft laugh at herself.

Ori shook his head turning back to face Magdalen. "No, no one outside of the dwarven race is allowed to know Khuduzl. It is sacred to us."

"That's fascinating," Magdalen whispered holding up a dull purple leather book flipping through the pages. A crude drawing of plants painted each page.

"As much as I love talking about books, I have princely duties to do today I'm afraid. Can I leave Maggie with you, Ori?"

"I'm not a child, Kili, I don't need a babysitter. I told you that earlier." Magdalen glared at the dark-haired prince from the book in her hand.

Kili smirked, giving Magdalen a pointed look. "My dearest Magdalen, I'm just trying to make sure you don't end up in front of my uncle again. I don't want to have to visit you in the dungeons."

Magdalen opened her mouth to retort to Kili's comment when Ori spoke up.

"I think that would be lovely, Miss Magdalen. That is if it's okay with you, of course. I have lots of books I could show you."

Ori stood at one of the carts looking over to the human women. There weren't many dwarves that came to the library; King Thorin visited once or twice a week. He usually spoke and listened to Ori, about he discovers or his latest drawings of Erebor. And that was nice. But others who did visit the royal library, only spoke to him trying to find a specific document or book and then left him to his own devices. Growing up other dwarves thought he was odd, Ori spent most of his days drawing or with his nose in his books. Kili and Fili played with him from time to time, but his books were always there for him. So now as Chief Royal Scrib he spent most of his days sorting and looking through these books. They were only companions. He welcomed the girl's company; she seems to be excited by the books just like he was.

Magdalen grinned, "Of course I would love to. But I don't want just to sit around, I'm going to help you."

Ori felt a hand clasp around his shoulder, Kili spoke "I wouldn't argue with her, Ori. She seems always to get her way."

Magdalen held her middle finger up to Kili as he waved the two bookworms goodbye, leaving them to their books. True to her word, Magdalen did not just sit around. Ori explained to her how he sorted the different papers and the various sections of the library.

"Why are you visiting Erebor, if I may ask?" Ori spoke up looking up from his book stake.

Magdalen flipped through the books she had been given. The words of Thorin echoing through her head. She could not tell him, or anyone, of where she came from. Magdalen, in her spare time she had, had come up with an airtight story that had seemed to work on Deamra.

"Prince Kili and Fili found me on the side of the road, beaten and bruised. I can't remember much before that, only bits a piece of my life. King Thorin has been kind enough to let me stay in Erebor until I can find my way home." Those words stilled ached. It reminded her of the nights she stayed up thinking of home, longing to be where she belonged.

Ori didn't seem taken with the idea that his king would let a stranger stay in his halls, but if he was suspicious he didn't press any further. Magdalen didn't imagine he would, Ori had been one of the more friendly dwarves she had met in Erebor. He was patient with her as he showed her around the library as Kili had been. And he kept her engaged in conversations like Deamra. The pair discussed their favorite books as they sorted through yellow binder pages. Ori found the stories of Moby Dick, and The Old Man and the Sea fascinating as Magdalen explained the meanings behind the pieces of literature that she could 'remember.'

Magdalen sat on at the table above the library; Ori had gone off trying to find a book that he thought would entertain her. Adding to the stack of books he had already accumulated for dwarf was excited to have someone who was just as passionate about books as he was. Her eyes wandered to the ceiling studying the diamonds that shined like those stars. In her head, she imagined what Susan would think of the Lonely Mountain. Magdalen almost laughed at the idea of her elder sisters face. Susan was always the more sensible one; she would probably refuse to believe that this was nothing more than a dream. Though being there sitting in a chair looking down on the grand library, Magdalen sighed; there was in Erebor there was no denying it. She was going to have to come to terms with that, for the next few months she was going to have to keep up the facade of a lost girl in the world. For now, she would have to try and fit into the world that was not her own.

Thank you to everyone for the wonderful comments!