Shayla's legs felt as though they were going to crumble from underneath her.

Just one step at a time, she whispered to herself between laboured pants. Just one step at a time.

She had been jogging for hours, and she felt every moment of it. Her muscles ached with the strenuous journey, her lungs feeling as though they were filling up with water once more. From below the fur coat she still wore, sweat covered every inch of her body and dripped down from her damp hair as though she had been standing out in a mild shower of rain.

There was no end to it; each time the men slowed in front of her and she thought they had made it to wherever they were taking the girls, they picked up their pace again, tracking out the best possible route through the undergrowth.

Her feet were beginning to falter with each movement though, and she knew that she couldn't keep up forever. A strangled sob escaped her lips at the pain and at the thought of Riley's injuries. Shayla had no idea where they were going, and she was worried that they wouldn't be able to make it to a hospital in time.

What is wrong with these people that they didn't have cars?

Shayla stumbled over a tree root unseen to her eyes, falling to her knees with a loud cry. She couldn't keep up and she couldn't keep going. It was too much for her. With another defeated sob, Shayla was moments from falling onto her side and completely giving up, when a gruff voice spoke from above her.

"Quickly lass. We are not far from Erebor's Halls now." Dwalin stood in front of her with an arm outstretched towards Shayla. She glanced behind Dwalin to see Gimli taking hold of Riley where the bald man had vacated; Riley's head was slumped downwards, and Kili was looking between Shayla and the girl he held onto with an anxious, almost scared look on his face.

Shayla couldn't comprehend properly what he was saying, but all she knew was that if she didn't move now, then Riley wouldn't make it.

With arms like concrete, she took Dwalin's hand and he lifted Shayla to her feet swiftly.

"Night will fall soon, and we must not linger with two injured humans. These forests have become treacherous." Dwalin gave Shayla a stiff nod of the head, but put a large hand on her shoulder in a bid to lightly urge her forward.

Dwalin didn't leave her side as they continued to run through the forest. Night had indeed begun to fall, and the crisp chill of evening air once again began to whip at Shayla's hot skin. She found it harder and harder to see through the darkness and her feet slipped and tripped many times, yet the man at her side steadied her each time, as though he knew when she was about to fall.

The sound of her own frantically beating heart echoed in her ears, and she could have sworn that it was about to gnaw its way out of her chest. The nerves at her legs felt as though they were beginning to dissipate into the earth with each step she took, and the aching emptiness in her stomach reminded her that she had not eaten for over a full day.

She had run for another period of time in which she didn't want to consider, as she felt like the confirmation of the hours her body had spent laboriously putting one step in front of another would be enough to cause her to stop in exhaustion.

It was as she stumbled once more, a moment away from giving up, when she felt a strong gust of wind on her damp skin. Looking up, she realised that they had come to the edge of the forest.

Thank goodness, she thought in relief. Now we can flag down a car!

It took her several moments to actually realise that there was no road in front of her like she expected there to be, not even a single street light. What she saw instead caused her to plant her feet firmly where she stood in complete shock and refusal to continue on.

She was far, far from home.

Kili and Gimli continued to jog with Riley in tow, with Ranár and Gloin leading them, their eyes searching each direction surrounding them as though they expected something to jump out from the shadows. Even Shayla could see their weapons glint in the dim moonlight.

The behemoth that shone slightly lay before them all, towering above as though it had risen straight out of the ground below in an attempt to reach the moon.

It was a mountain, unlike any Shayla had seen before. Not on her reserve, nor any nearby; it even dwarfed anything she had seen in pictures or on the internet.

This was truly magnificent and dreadful; its onyx stone illuminated in the white light that shone from the moon, radiating an intense and impenetrable beauty.

"Lass! Keep moving!" Dwalin yelled impatiently from in front of her, his body half turned between Kili and Shayla as though he was torn between following his younger counterpart and staying with the girl.

Shayla moved forward as if in a trance, her eyes locked on the mountain. She was terrified yet mesmerised; surely she would have known about this place if it had been on or anywhere near the reserve. This was too strange, too.. Impossible.

"Where are we?" She made out weakly, her eyes moving to Dwalin's. His expression softened for a moment as he looked at her confused features, her brown eyes beginning to tear up once more.

"If you are who you seem to be, then your questions will be answered if you come with us. It is too dangerous out here, Miss Shayla. Your only chance is to follow." Shayla opened her mouth to begin an argument as Riley would have done, yet a piercing sound filled the air, which in turn filled Dwalin's expression with anger and dread.

"Run!" He roared, pulling Shayla forcibly by the arm away from the noise that had come from the woods behind them.

A howl.

Shayla's mind quickly shot back to her close call with the wolf the night before, and that was all it took to run at a pace much faster than what she thought possible of herself. Even Dwalin fell several steps behind Shayla as she sprinted to catch up to Riley, their movements bringing them quickly to the foot of the enormous mountain.

She heard many words that were shouted in the foreign language that the men spoke previously, before a number of orange lights became visible and moved towards the group of seven.

It felt like seconds before the orange lights reached them, illuminating a number of men who wielded axes and spears of various sorts. Shayla couldn't help but feel completely dumbfounded at not only the attire and weapons of the new men, but only their short stature and hairiness that was similar to the men she had met already.

The observations ran through her mind at lightning speed, filling her thoughts and leaving them within an instant as she was forced to run again. Glancing behind as her bushy brown hair whipped around in the air, she saw several of the men with torches move towards the tree line with weapons drawn. Two of them didn't run towards the piercing sounds, but instead guided them further towards the mountain.

Another howl filled the air, its defeaning screech causing Shayla's stomach to drop and heart to hammer in fear.

It took but a minute for Shayla to lay her eyes upon something foreign but desired by her more than anything in that moment. There was a door, triple to height of her and four times the width; it was opened part way, and she could see an orange glow coming from inside.

Despite every ounce of herself telling her that she shouldn't go inside, that she shouldn't follow them, she couldn't bring herself to face the shrieks that rung from behind her. She couldn't do it. So she bit down her fear for herself and Riley, and followed the men as they ran through the open door and into the orange light of the dark, smooth walls surrounding them.

Even when they had moved inside the warmness of the carved stone hallway, they didn't stop despite Shayla's internal protest. She didn't know how to voice her fears or yell at the men to stop and take her and Riley to a hospital.

She wasn't the voice out of the two; it was Riley with the quick tongue and fiery temper to lash out and question everything even if it were against the actions of a stranger. Shayla didn't have the courage to confront someone that she didn't know in the slightest; she just couldn't do it.

Biting down on her lower lip, she followed quickly after Kili and Gloin, whose movements were becoming more erratic and hurried. Riley's body hung limp in between the two, and Shayla gasped in fear.

Was Riley.. She didn't even want to think the words, let alone verbalise them. She just wanted to know where they were going, and if her friend was going to be okay!

Clutching at her chest in pain and fear, a now familiar voice sounded from next to her.

"We must take your friend to Lady Amelia; it is all we can do at present, and pray to Mahal that our queen can heal Miss Riley." Dwalin's voice was grim, and Shayla sobbed slightly, her fear clutching at her ribs and ripping at her chest with dark, jagged teeth.

Her deep anxiety for Riley's health overtook and made Shayla overlook the strange words that Dwalin spoke and the foreign walls that passed by her vision in a blur.

What was she going to do? Riley was sick, and Shayla didn't believe that she had the strength to do anything to help.

"Do not go through any halls but the passageways, Kili." Dwalin called out as they turned another corner, the corridors still lit with orange torches that lined the walls.

"What of it?" Kili yelled out harshly, his head turning back for a moment as they continued jogging. Shayla saw beads of sweat beginning to drip down his forehead and the dark hair of his half-headed braid had come lose and stuck to his cheeks.

"It would be better for Miss Shayla to see Lady Amelia before taking her through the halls of our forefathers." Dwalin's words were rough, but they conveyed a double meaning that Shayla didn't understand.

Kili and Gimli slowed down their pace so that Kili could turn to face Dwalin and gauge his expression more thoroughly. After a moment of watching the bald man, he nodded sharply and yelled a number of words.

Again, the group were moving, turning around corners, winding up and down stairs and around halls. Shayla lagged behind the men, yet her eyes never left the back of Riley's head. It was the only thing that kept her going, though that determination was even beginning to falter.

"We're almost there Miss Riley, do not fall asleep." Shayla heard Kili speak, his voice strained as though he were trying his hardest to reassure the near unconscious girl as well as himself.

They turned another corner, and it took Shayla but a few seconds to see where they were heading.

Within the set of the stone, a large wooden door stood tall and strong; Ranár and Gloin were still leading the group with the two other men, and quickly rapped their knuckles across the door. Once more their strange language was spoken, and after several moments the door swung open with such suddenness that even Gloin stepped back in shock.

Both men bowed deeply to whoever stood in the door, before Kili spoke quickly and pushed his way through with an almost reluctant Gimli.

"There is no time for pleasantries. Amelia, we need your help." Ranar and Gloin didn't enter through the door, though Dwalin pushed Shayla forward after Kili, Gimli and Riley.

Shayla entered through the door and was immediately engulfed with incredible warmth and the smell of roasting meat and baked bread. She looked around, her eyes glancing all around in an attempt to digest her surroundings.

They were in a large room filled with various lounges covered in deep blue fabrics and beautifully crafted wooden chairs. To the right, a fireplace stood with light coloured bricks framing it into the wall. The remnants of an orange fire illuminated the otherwise dark room, causing an almost eerie orange glow to light the faces that filled the room.

Shayla's eyes were wide as she tried her hardest to take everything in, but it all moved in fast forward from that moment onwards.

A woman with long, wavy brown hair stood with tense shoulders as she took one look at Riley and ordered Kili and Gimli to lay her down on the longer lounge that was close to the fire place.

"Kils, re-light the fire. Gimli, I need you to fill a kettle of water to bring to the boil. Dwalin, can you find the King and tell him what has happened." The woman had sharp green eyes that didn't leave Riley as she ordered the men around. She took her lengthy hair within her hands and quickly tied it in a ponytail out of her face as she bent down in front of Riley.

The woman's hands moved quickly from Riley's pale forehead, to her neck and then to the pants that were still seeping through with dark liquid from her thigh. Turning to look between Shayla and Riley, the woman looked at the clothes Shayla was wearing. Within two seconds, she called out to Gimli who had hurried back into the lounge from another room with a large metal pot.

"Go and wake your uncle, tell him to come here. We shall need his help." She glanced at Shayla again with an odd expression, before grabbing a small knife from a wooden table and slicing Riley's pants all the way up.

"What are you doing?" Shayla finally managed to stammer out, her voice quivering with fear. "We need to get her to a hospital!" The woman looked back quickly at Shayla, and then continued working on un-bandaging Riley's leg while she spoke.

"What is your name?" Shayla was almost too surprised and generally confused as to where the hell she was and why these hermits were living in a random mountain, for her to reply. After a few moments to collect her thoughts, she did.

"I'm Shayla, and that's.. That's Riley.." The woman nodded, finally revealing the wound on Riley's leg.

It looked even worse, if it were possible. The blood oozed black from the exposed flesh, and the lady moved even quicker then.

"Kili, is the water boiled? Yes, yes bring a basin of it here. Go and grab a number of towels from the drawers in our bedroom. Don't give me that look, Kili. I swear you are more of a child than you were thirty years ago. It's just a bedroom, now hurry up. Don't wake the twins or Bilbo; I don't want the lounge crowded while Oin and I work."

Kili gave the woman a small pout that was tempered with humour through the mischievous glint in his dark eyes. Shayla looked at him with fear as he watched her while walking past; no one had answered her questions and she was beginning to panic about what was happening.

Once the man had left the room, the woman stood up and moved in front of Shayla. She was slightly shorter than the woman though in the now roaring orange firelight, Shayla could study her more closely.

Her eyes had become warm and knowing as she watched Shayla in return. There were a number of braids in her hair, which were tied with glimmers of silver. Almost unperceivable lines formed in the corners of her eyes, though the woman seemed to only be late-twenties. She held herself well, as though she was very self-assured and confident. Shayla felt anything but that right now. She felt utterly and completely at a loss. As if she could read Shayla's mind, the woman spoke.

"I know how you are feeling right now Shayla, and I'm sorry that this has happened to you. It's overwhelming and incomprehensible to say the least." Shayla frowned, not understanding a word this strange woman was saying. It must have shown, because she smiled slightly as she watched with eyes full of emotion.

"My name is Amelia, and welcome to Middle Earth."

Hello again! I'm so sorry for such a late update, but I've finally finished it. I went to Oz Comic Con on the weekend and had such an amazing time- I met/got photos with Orlando, Dean (again) and Jason Momoa, so I am a very happy lady right now :') If you want to see the pictures, check out my instagram (thefinalriotxx) :)

Anyway, back to the chapter- so we have finally made it to Erebor. There will be more detailed parts of what Erebor has become like, though obviously Shayla was too worried about Riley to focus very much on what was going on around her. Angst will ensue in the next few chapters, though you will get to meet some old faces (Evakarina- Bofur may just make an appearance! ;)) and more shall be explained (yes, this chapter left a few questions and I will make sure I answer them, but not straight away! :P)

Thanks so much for the reviews and follows/favourites! Let me know what you think of this chapter :) Have a great week.