My dreams were not fun, as one would expect after nearly being kidnapped. One dream would just carry on into the next. In some I felt myself being dragged away and unable to stop it. Or there was blood staining my hands that never seemed to wash away. The worst one was where Thorin never showed up and they dragged me away to who knows where. Each time I woke up with a start, only to fall back asleep a second later. It meant that I wasn't the happiest person when I finally woke up.
The fire was reduced to a simmering ash. Thorin kicked dirt over it and effectively smothered the flames. A light drizzle started to fall once we started walking again. I was very grateful that my coat had a hood.
I decided to tell Thorin about Earth to pass the time. He was very intrigued about the differences between our two worlds. Every now and then he would laugh when I told him a fact. Apparently Kili gave wildly inaccurate accounts of things from my world. You couldn't really blame him though, he was only there a few months.
"There is something that I need to ask you," said Thorin, his voice now serious.
"What's that?"
Thorin stopped walking momentarily, scanning the horizons before finally looking back towards me. "When Kili came home he described many things about your world that I struggled to believe. The main one I struggled with was the knowledge of this world being present in yours."
How much had Kili told him? Did he know about his potential death?
"Yes, your world's history is written as a story in mine. No one ever thought they were real," I said.
"The way Kili explained it, it's not just history that is written is it?" his eyes were intense when he looked at me.
"No," I said, shaking my head. "The stories told of things that happen in the future too."
"You do see why that is very difficult to believe don't you?"
I nodded my head, not knowing what else to say. Did he want proof or something? To tell him knowledge that I shouldn't know unless I knew the future?
"It is true. I'll try and prove it," Thorin crossed his arms across his chest, an eyebrow raised as if to say 'I'm waiting'.
"Well I assume that you're journeying on your quest for Erebor right now," his eyes widened at the mention of the quest but he stays resolutely silent. "So that must mean that we're travelling to the shire. Where Gandalf has found a burglar for you. He's a hobbit by the name of Bilbo baggins."
Thorin's gaze burned a hole right through to my soul as if he was weighing me up, assessing me. "Gandalf only informed me of the identity of the burglar a month ago. So the fact that you know it, must mean that you do in fact possess some foreknowledge."
Thorin looked pensieve, staring into the distance. "So that means you know how this journey could end. Well one version at least."
I gulped and nodded. "I don't think I can tell you too much. It could change things for the worse."
A flash of anger flitted across his face "You could risk the safety of my company?"
I stepped backwards slightly at the anger in his face. "I don't want to," I stammered. I searched my mind for anything I could tell him, something that wouldn't change things too much. "I can tell you something. Uh, the company is going to be followed. By a group of orcs. They want to stop you so they can take the mountain for themselves."
Thorin's face remained impassive. "Kili has told me much the same."
He did? It was obvious that he hadn't told Thorin about their deaths though.
"Seeing as this threat has come from two parties I have no choice but to treat it as genuine," he relinquished. His anger was now gone, replaced with a more solemn expression. "And Leah, what you know could be highly dangerous in the wrong hands. You must tell no one about this."
"Of course," I said very quickly. I don't know who I'd tell anyway.
We continued walking after that. At first the silence was heavy and awkward. After a little while though, Thorin started to return the conversation. I'm not sure whether he had forgiven me for holding back information or not. His friendly conversation seemed to indicate that there were no hard feelings.
We spent the next few days trekking across forests and fields. It was arduous work but thanks to my new and improved body I could handle it. A routine had formed over the days. Thorin would find us a place to rest and I'd help set up camp. He was better at getting a fire started than I was. Granted he had way more experience than I did. Though he was a fan of the phosphorus fire starter I had found in one of the pockets of my bag. Apparently it was easier to get a spark with than the one he had.
One night we were sitting around the fire when I tried to broach a difficult subject.
"Thorin?" I asked, timidly.
"Yes," he said, sharpening his sword as he spoke. The whetstone made a metallic *Shheen* noise as it was brought down the blade. I would probably need to learn how to sharpen my own sword at some point.
"What will happen to me once we get to the Shire?" I said, hand fretting with my bracelet.
I knew he didn't want me on the quest. I was too much of a liability, an unknown.
His hand stopped momentarily as his thoughts turned inwards. "I am not certain," he said after a while "Perhaps we can find you lodgings amongst the hobbits. I've heard that they are an amenable race."
"Okay," I said, not quite looking at him.
We drifted into silence again. His sharpening re-commenced and I just stared into the fire. The flames danced in the darkening forest. Wood popped and a branch dropped, sending a swirl of spark into the air.
I needed to go with them on this quest. There was no way that I was going to sit on my arse in Hobbiton while they potentially died. Maybe I could get Gandalf to convince Thorin to let me go. He could be quite a persuasive wizard.
I was so entranced by the flames that when a huge ass moth flew directly in front of me I screamed, falling backwards off my perch on a small log.
"What was that?" I could hear amusement in his voice.
"A moth attacked me."
"Ah a moth, that's serious business," sarcasm dripped from his voice. "I've heard that they can be quite deadly. You're lucky you made it out unscathed."
I narrowed my eyes and gave him an unimpressed frown as I clambered back onto my log.
After nearly a week of travelling we finally made it to the Shire. However, my relief was short lived when I realised just how big the Shire was. It would still take us all day to reach Bag End. The Shire so far was mostly farmland with a few sprawling hills in the distance.
We got yelled at by a grizzled old hobbit for using his land as a path but Thorin simply ignored him and carried on walking. I mumbled a quick apology and followed along after him.
A good trek later and we were in Hobbiton. It was like a dream. The sprawling hills and hobbit holes, so many flowers overflowing from every garden. It was a place I had longed to visit my whole life and somehow I had made it. Up until this point I knew logically that I was now in Middle Earth but a part of me was still not entirely convinced. But now I was faced with the irrefutable of where I now existed. It made me feel more than a little emotional.
Thorin lost his way at some point. Nothing I hadn't expected, after all, he said he got lost twice in the film. However, as seemed to be the case with most males, he refused to ask for directions. There were still a few hobbits out and about. We could have asked any of them. But noooo, that's too easy.
"The directions Gandalf gave me are useless," he moaned "We turned left back there and there should be a fork in the road but there isn't."
He'd been going on like that for a while. I leaned against a tree and let him rant. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a young hobbit couple making their way up the path.
"I'm asking for help," I said, already pushing off the tree.
"I said no."
I ignored him and walked over to them. They were a little shocked to see me.
"Hello, I'm lost and I was wondering if you could help,"I said
"Of course, where did you need to be going?" One asked
"Bag End. There's a party I'm supposed to be going to."
Their eyebrows raised at that "Mr Bilbo's having a party eh, with elves no less? He kept that quiet," the other joked.
I could feel the gossip spreading already. Sorry Bilbo. "Yeah."
"Oh well, you're not too far away. If you go back up this hill, turn right and then left again you should be there," he said, pointing.
"Thank you so much," I said.
"Oh, no worries Miss. You have a good night now."
"You too" I called after them as they walked on by.
I walked back over to Thorin who was moodily leaning against a tree.
"See that wasn't so hard was it,"
"Just keep walking," he grumbled
The directions they gave us held true and Bag End revealed itself with its famous round green door. Gandalf's rune glowed almost blue in the dim light, a beacon telling us we had found the right place.
Happy shouts and singing came from inside the hobbit hole. For a moment I was frozen. Kili was right there. Almost within reach. Only a wall of wood and earth separated us now and my body did not know how to react. There was the obvious happiness that burst through me like a firework but then my stomach was also twisting itself into knots so tight it would take an expert to untangle them.
I hadn't actually thought about what would happen when I saw him again. What would I even say? My hands drifted up to my pointed ears.
"What's wrong?" I heard Thorin ask.
"Kili's in there. What am I going to say? I've been turned into an elf. What if he doesn't like me anymore?" I was being stupid I know I was. If the movie was anything to go by, Kili had no qualms against liking elves. But this was real life now. Everything could be different.
"Stop worrying. It will be fine," he sighed.
Still feeling self-conscious, I lifted my hood up to cover my ears. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing and made his way up to the door. I stood directly behind him, feeling nervous about being seen. A big cheer erupted from the centre of the hobbit hole signalling the end of their song.
"Right," said Thorin, "Time to break up the party."
