Disclaimer: I own nothing but Esme :) The world/characters etc are belong to Tolkien.

The Orc Pack

Esme's POV

Esme was feeling thoroughly miserable. She had tried her best to help the dwarves out of what had seemed a hopeless situation and she had gotten no thanks for it at all. Well that wasn't entirely true, Nori said thank you before he also gave out to her for putting herself in danger just to help them. His admonishment had been only half hearted though as he seemed to be more relieved that she hadn't been hurt than anything. That was more than she could say for Dwalin. It seemed that nothing she did would ever be right in his eyes and that hurt more than Esme cared to admit.

Sitting on a large boulder outside the troll horde while they waited for the others to come back outside Esme couldn't help but feel entirely alone. It seemed like she was nothing more than a burden to the dwarves, even Thorin had been annoyed with her. Perhaps Dwalin was right, maybe she was a foolish girl, foolish enough to have thought he could ever have feelings for her and foolish enough to have come along on this ridiculous journey in the first place. Maybe she would have been better off remaining in the Shire. She could have tried to find a way back to her old world instead of traipsing across this new world with a bunch of strangers who were idiotic enough to go seek out a real live fire-breathing dragon. At least in her old world she had friends. Well ok she only had one friend but it was better than being with people who so clearly thought her useless. She missed Jenna so much that it hurt. Tears began to spill from her eyes and she wiped them away angrily. The last thing she needed right now was for the dwarves to think her even weaker than they already did. Esme was so deep in thought that the hand on her shoulder startled her. Balin offered her a pocket handkerchief and smiled kindly at her.

"Pay him no heed lass. He doesn't mean to be like that. Always was hot-headed, even as a child. He cares about you is all."

She couldn't help but scoff at that. Balin had to be joking with her. If she had ever entertained the idea that Dwalin cared about her even slightly it was well and truly dashed at this point. He thought of her as nothing but a silly girl who was an inconvenience at best.

"He cares about me? What makes you think that? Was it the shouting at me or the fact he seems constantly annoyed by my very presence? Do you really think I'm going to believe that rubbish?"

She knew that she sounded like a petulant child but she couldn't help it. The last thing she needed right now was to be placated with lies even if it was done to make her feel better. Balin raised his eyebrows and chuckled.

"You two are as stubborn as each other and as oblivious as each other too it seems."

"What do you mean by that?"

Balin was about to answer her when Thorin reappeared from the troll horde followed closely by Dwalin, Gloin, Bofur and Nori. Instead the elderly dwarf simply smiled at her again, gave her shoulder a quick squeeze and wandered off to speak with Dori. It turned out that while they had found some good swords in the horde there was no food that was anyway edible so they would have to continue on without breakfast and hope that they would make it to the next town quickly. Thorin had ruled out stopping in Rivendell, much to Gandalf's annoyance, so they would have to continue on even further before they would be able to eat and rest. Esme didn't like the sounds of travelling on an empty stomach but there was little she could do about it, she supposed that this would be an all too common occurrence over the course of their journey so she would have to get used to it. She was just getting up to go speak to Bilbo when Dwalin caught her by the arm. She looked at him crossly, fully expecting him to reprimand her again and she was in no mood for it. Instead he looked at her with concern. He brought his hand up to her face as he brushed away another tear that had fallen down her cheek. He stepped closer to her and was looking at her now the same way he had that morning on the cliff.

"You're crying. Are you well?"

He had to be kidding! Had he already forgotten that he had shouted at her only moments before? How did he expect her to feel after that? Maybe Balin had been right, maybe this was simply how he behaved and though his words had hurt her he didn't see the harm in them at all. Did he have any idea how upset she was by his harsh words? Probably not. Deciding she wasn't going to explain it to him either she instead settled on denial.

"I'm fine."

Dwalin frowned at her response. She was sure he knew she wasn't fine but he let it go. Instead he pushed a silver dagger with a jeweled handle into her hand. It really was beautiful; she had never seen anything like it before. She had no use for such things though and even if she had she wouldn't have had the slightest idea of how to go about using it. She didn't know why he would give her a gift like this. Her confusion must have shown on her face as he stepped closer to her and showed her how to attach it to her belt.

"In case you need it. If we're ever in a situation where I can't get to you again you'll at least have a weapon. I'll teach you to use it so I know you're safe."

Esme decided that Dwalin was probably the most confusing person she had ever met. One minute he acted like he hated her and made her feel miserable but the next he was acting like he cared for her and being rather sweet. She looked up at him, smiled and gave him a hug to thank him for the beautiful gift. He stiffened for a second before he wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her back. Pulling back slightly he smiled at her; they were so close that she could feel his breath on her face. Their eyes locked and his hand came up again to rest on her cheek. It would have been so easy to just allow their lips to meet and Esme realised that she had never wanted anything more than she wanted him to kiss her right then. Instead though; something else caught his attention and he suddenly stepped away from her and drew his axes.

"Something's coming."

Dwalin's POV

Dwalin was beginning to think the Valar didn't want him to be happy. Every time he got close to Esme and was about to tell her how he felt there was some sort of distraction or interruption which prevented him from doing so. It would have been laughable if it weren't so frustrating. This time the interruption had come in the form of another wizard; Radagast the Brown. He had burst into the clearing shouting about thieves, fire and murder. He seemed like an odd sort of man, even for a wizard, but Gandalf seemed to hold him in high regard. Right now the two of them were deep in conversation while the dwarves sat around waiting for them to finish so they could carry on to the next town. Dwalin had been hoping it would be Rivendell but Thorin's hatred of the elves had the leader insisting he didn't want to stop there. He supposed it didn't matter much where they stopped once they could eat, rest and hopefully restock their supplies. Rivendell would have been safer to leave Esme in though. He didn't relish the idea of leaving her behind in a town of men. Perhaps they would meet some of Elrond's people on the road and they could take her to Rivendell with them. He looked over at Esme now, he would have given anything to hold her again right then and tell her how he felt but she was currently deep in conversation with the hobbit and Nori. Instead, he chose to stand with Thorin who was busy glaring at the two wizards. Their leader was clearly annoyed by the delay.

"We need to be moving on from this place."

Dwalin nodded his agreement. He was eager to get off the open road for a while so that Esme would be safe. There were plenty of unsavory characters in these parts aside from trolls and it was best to get moving as soon as possible. Standing around waiting was really starting to get on his nerves. Just at that moment however, the two wizards rejoined them. Gandalf was clearly troubled by whatever this brown wizard had told him. He was frowning deeply as the wizards bade each other goodbye and Radagast readied his sleigh to leave. Just as the wizard was about to embark however, he noticed Esme where she was sitting with the hobbit. His eyes widened and he immediately stepped away from his sleigh.

"Child? What are you doing here? How did you get back? You weren't supposed to come back. You must come with me."

The wizard hurried closer to Esme but Dwalin stepped in front of her quickly blocking his way. He didn't know who this wizard thought he was but over his dead body would he be taking her anywhere with him. Frowning, the wizard made to reach around him towards Esme but she caught onto Dwalin's tunic and hid herself even more behind him.

"I don't even know you. I want to stay with Dwalin."

Dwalin continued to glare at the wizard who eventually sighed and stepped back away from them.

"Very well, stay if you wish but your mother wouldn't have wanted you to be with these dwarves, it was the very reason she ran away from this world Esmeralda."

At the mention of her mother Esme gasped and released her hold on Dwalin's tunic, taking a step towards the wizard.

"My mother? Have you..."

Esme didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as a loud howling rang through the air. The dwarves drew their weapons immediately as the hobbit glanced around at the trees surrounding them with a look of panic on his face.

"Was that a wolf? Are there…are there wolves out there?"

Dwalin pulled Esme back behind him quickly as he braced for the attack he knew was coming.

"You stay behind me no matter what happens lass. You hear me?"

She tensed at his words but nodded at him as Bofur explained to Bilbo that what they had heard was not a wolf. He had no sooner finished his sentence when a large warg burst through the trees knocking Dori to the ground. Thorin killed it immediately but it was followed swiftly by another. Kili fired an arrow at the creature and Dwalin stepped forward to finish it with his axe before it had a chance to do any damage to any of them.

"Warg scouts! Which means an orc pack is not far behind."

Dwalin saw Esme pale immediately at Thorin's statement. Gandalf stating that they were being hunted did little to help ease her panic. He really hoped she could hold it together until they were out of danger. If she panicked during an orc attack she may not make it out alive. Stepping close to her again he caught her by the arm.

"Look at me lass! You're going to be ok, I'll protect you. You need to stay with me ok?"

She nodded again but he wasn't sure if what he was saying was really sinking in. He doubted that she would be able to hold it together for what was about to happen. He needed to get her out of here and fast.

"We have to get out of here."

Ori rushed back into the clearing then with a look of panic on his face.

"We can't! We have no ponies. They bolted."

Any hopes that Dwalin had of getting away swiftly were now gone. Without the ponies they hadn't got a chance of getting away from an orc pack. Just when he thought they were going to have to stand and fight the brown wizard said he would create a diversion so that they could get away. Jumping on his sleigh he made his way through the trees and towards the sounds of howling wargs. Just before he disappeared out of sight Esme snapped out of her panic.

"Wait! My mother, where is she?"

The wizard shouted to her without as much as a backwards glance.

"I'm sorry, I have no idea."

Esme's POV

Esme's heart sank at the wizard's reply. She had hoped that he would know where her mother was. Radagast had known her; he had to have been the wizard that helped her mother to escape from this world. Surely if her mother had come back here then she would have gone straight to Radagast so that she could have returned to Esme. Thorin had been insistent that her mother would have done anything to return to her if she could have. The thought suddenly occurred to her that if her mother did return here and hadn't searched for the wizard, maybe it was because she couldn't. Esme herself had been so lucky that Dwalin had been camping by the stream the night she arrived here. If he hadn't been there then she would never have been able to get out of the water. Had her mother been as lucky as she was? Had she made it out of that river? The crushing weight of that thought hurt more than she ever could have imagined. No, she couldn't believe it, she wouldn't. There were so many other things that could have happened. She may not have been able to find the wizard. Or maybe she had never come back here at all, if this world existed then there were probably other worlds too. Her mother could have ended up in any one of them. A safer one she hoped. She was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts by Dwalin's strong hand on her shoulder.

"Lass we need to run. Right now. Let's go. Move!"

Esme had never been sporty, she wasn't fit and certainly wasn't used to running. Her legs ached and her lungs burned as she tried to keep pace with the dwarves. They ran from rock to rock, hiding any time the orc pack drew near. Just when she felt as if she couldn't run anymore they stopped at a large rock. She could hear something above them on the rock. Something was sniffing. She was afraid to breathe in case whatever it was would hear her. Her hands were starting to shake from fear. Standing beside her Dwalin caught her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. It helped to know that he was there beside her, protecting her just like he'd promised. Something about the muscular dwarf had a calming effect on her no matter what was going on. Kili suddenly stepped back and shot an arrow at the creature above them. The warg fell from the rock with the orc rider and the dwarves finished them both off but not before it was able to shriek and give away their hiding place. Thorin shouted at them to run quickly but Esme suddenly found her legs just wouldn't work. She was frozen to the spot staring at the strange creatures that lay dead on the ground before her. She vaguely registered that Dwalin was tugging on her arm but she just couldn't snap out of it. They were hideous looking things, like some sort of disgusting monsters from the horror films she was fond of watching in her own world. This time though she couldn't simply hide behind her pillow until the nasty looking thing disappeared. All of this was very much real and far more terrifying.

"Dwalin get her moving! They're coming!"

Suddenly Esme found herself being lifted off the ground as Dwalin threw her over his shoulder and began to run. Looking up she saw more of the disgusting creatures following them. There were so many of them and they were all riding on wargs. To her horror, she realised that there was no way they could outrun them. The wargs were much faster than the dwarves and were gaining ground quickly. These things were going to catch them and kill them all. Suddenly the dwarves came to another large rock and they stopped running and turned to face their pursuers. Dwalin dropped her beside him and pulled out his axes. She thought about the dagger Dwalin had given her, it wouldn't be much use against these horrid things even if she did know how to use it. She started to cry as the beasts began to close in around them. She didn't want to die, not here, not like this.

"Kili, shoot them!"

"We're surrounded! Where's Gandalf?"

With tears rolling down her cheeks, Esme looked around in panic. Gandalf was indeed missing. Where had he gone? Had he really just abandoned them? Left them to be killed by these creatures? Kili began to let arrow after arrow fly bringing down several of the riders and any of them that managed to get close were finished off by the other dwarves. They were getting closer now though and Esme wasn't sure how much longer the dwarves could keep this up. Kili was almost out of arrows too. Just as things were really starting to look hopeless Gandalf reappeared from behind the rock they were standing beside.

"This way, you fools!"

As Thorin shouted at them all to move and follow Gandalf, Esme found herself in Dwalin's arms once again as he picked her up and slid down into a cave that had been hidden behind the rock. When they reached the bottom she buried her head in Dwalin's chest as the other dwarves followed one by one. A feeling of relief surged through her just as horns sounded from above. Suddenly one of the orc riders tumbled down into the cave with an arrow embedded in it. Thorin pulled it free and looked at it with clear distaste.

"Elves!"

Dwalin let her down now as he walked further into the cave towards a pathway at the back inspecting it for any sign of more enemies. Frowning he turned back to the others.

"I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or not?"

"Follow it of course!" replied Bofur.

Esme, whose legs had finally remembered how to work, followed the dwarves now into the narrow walkway. Gandalf was looking particularly pleased that they had chosen to follow this path.

"I think that would be wise."

The pathway was so narrow in parts that Esme was surprised Bombur had managed to squeeze through it. It was long and winding but suddenly opened out onto a large ledge. Looking down, she could see the most beautiful city she could ever have imagined nestled in a valley of trees. It looked like something out of a fairy tale and there seemed to be something magical about it. Thorin, she noticed, didn't look at all pleased to be here but judging by the relief on some of the other's faces this valley must have been a safe place to be.

"The Valley of Imladris. In the common tongue, it's known by another name."

Bilbo seemed to be in as much awe of the place as she was. Smiling at Gandalf's words, he looked over at Esme, excitement visible on his face.

"Rivendell. We're going to see the elves."

TBC

A/N: Thanks to everyone who favourited, followed and left reviews. I appreciate all the feedback so much.