Chapter 14

Though the entire Company was thankful to have Fili, Kili, and Lori safe and alive, along with Daisy the feisty pony, supply demand had decreased rapidly ever since the river incident.

That night, everyone was recovering in the camp from the rain under a thick canopy of trees. There was a small supper for everyone. Lori fell asleep near the fire, changed into her pink pajamas for her wet clothes to dry, bundled in three much larger sweaters that Ori gave to her to stay warm. Grateful, Maia told Ori that he was a lifesaver, making the young scribe blush.

For the first time in more than a week, Maia and Kyle also changed discreetly out of their dirty wet clothes, hanging them to dry near the fire next to Fili and Kili's soaked overcoats and boots. Maia used this time put on her Shire clothes, which were much drier: her purple skirt, long sleeved blouse, and jerkin vest (she put on her yoga pants underneath to keep her legs warm until the rain stopped). Kyle took off his jeans and sneakers to place on his trousers and boots (which were still too big on him), also putting back on his Punisher t-shirt for the night while his other t-shirt dried near the fire.

In the morning, Lori would be putting on one of her little hobbit dresses Maia packed for her, but would keep on her leggings until the weather cleared away.

What I wouldn't give for a cheeseburger and a hot shower! Maia thought, tiredly. She knew she stank! Kyle and Lori already had their "bath" in the freezing river, but Maia knew it was going to take more than a little rain to fully feel clean. If she were a boy, she wouldn't have minded. Wouldn't she?

After recovering himself with Thorin, Kili later came up to the Dainsons with a worried Fili in tow. Despite his older brother's comforts, he was layered with guilt.

The dark haired dwarf kept apologizing to Maia and Kyle over and over for allowing to place their baby sister in danger, explaining that he should have had better control on his pony, that Lori shouldn't have rode with him, that she would have been safer riding with Gandalf, Bilbo, Maia, or...

Maia was the one who had cut Kili off with a bear hug and kissed him on the cheek, surprising him. "Kili, it wasn't your fault, okay?" she told him. "You had no control over the situation, and it was an accident. You saved our sister's life and you almost died! We're not gonna let you apologize for that."

When she pulled back, Kili was blushing, looking at her with surprise and confusion, then at Kyle. "But––"

"Dude, she's right," Kyle said. "The whole thing was insane, but I don't know what we could have done if we lost Lori. You risked your life for her, even when you didn't have to!"

Kili opened his mouth to speak, but Maia spoke first, "Kili...thank you! Thank you so much for saving our sister!"

"Fili did the saving," Kili said quietly.

"But you saved her first! The moment you guys fell in the river, she would have drowned if you hadn't held on to her and––Kili, just accept our thanks and promise that you guys won't scare us like that again!"

"We owe you, man," said Kyle, patting Kili's arm with a grateful smile, "and we're glad you're okay! You really freaked us out there, you know!"

Fili placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and squeezed it. Kili looked at them both for a moment...and then grinned, the twinkle in his eyes returning. "I'll try my best, but I cannot promise anything."

"He really can't," Fili told them with a knowing smirk. "You can ask Thorin."

"Yeah, I think we'll just take your word for it," echoed Kyle, eying at Thorin across the fire. "Your uncle looks kind of tense right now. Not that it's a new thing or anything," he added with a shrug, causing Fili and Kili to laugh a little.

"Did you guys talk to him?" said Maia. "Everything's okay now?"

Fili and Kili exchanged a knowing glance and both nodded. "I think we'll be fine," said Fili.

Kili had also lost his bedroll and most of his arrows, having to start all over with spare wood from the wilderness to make more.

It had eventually stopped raining and days had cleared again. Still playing a rookie in the hunting squad (a.k.a. Fili and Kili), Kyle had used that time to learn how Kili managed to attach the arrowheads to the carved out sticks, which had to be half the size of the bow and made out of dried wood. Then they had to heat the shaft over their camp fire before carving out the nock (the notch at the tip of the arrow), before sharpening the other ends with the whittling of carving knives.

Then there was more heating; Maia did the heating with Bofur, while Kyle did the carving with Kili and Fili. Maia and Kyle ended up burning and snapping five soon-to-be-arrows before they finally were able to complete a perfect arrow.

Then came the arrowheads. They went into the notch carved at the sharper ends, but they had to be knotted with from a chord thin leather string. Kili just happened to have a whole roll of them, just like he contained a large pouch full of arrow heads in his coat pockets. He had lost many more with the supplies, but it seemed they had enough for now.

Kyle noticed the arrowheads were mixed, either made from metal or stone that were roughly the size of his thumb. All of them had the symbol of Durin on them, matching the crests in Fili and Kili's hair and the beads in Thorin's. Having learned that all dwarves crafted their own weapons, Kyle had to admit that their handiwork was impressive.

He growled in frustration when he struggled tying the first arrowhead with his fumbling fingers. Kili, who was able to wrap up the chords of his arrowheads effortlessly under ten seconds, watched with amusement before saying, "So, you never fired a bow in your life? Wielded a sword, or even carved with a knife?"

"Whoa, slow down," protested Kyle, defensively, still concentrating on his arrow. "I used a knife before." In a kitchen. "So, okay, I never did archery––or held a real sword, technically––but I get the whole idea of using one. It looks kind of like swinging a baseball bat...except you're trying to kill someone with it, right?"

Kili grimaced. "Have you ever used a weapon before?"

"I can do some killer punches and kicks. I can swing and throw stuff pretty good, but I guess the only real weapon I ever used was my BB gun."

"Oh, right!" Kili said suddenly. "I remember Maia telling me that, but I forgot. What is a BB gun, anyway?"

"There's different types. Mine's like a rifle, except way less deadly. Instead of bullets, it has these little plastic balls that'll give you a bruise at best. No, scratch that! They can still shoot your eye out if they bounce off a target. That's why I always have to wear goggles. You know, to protect my eyes."

"Slow down. What is a rifle? And bullets?"

"A rifle is a gun, usually used for hunting. Like instead of bow and arrows, we use guns. At our generation, anyway. They're like like these...tubes, but we call them barrels. A rifle has, like, this handle with a little trigger you place your index finger on. When you pull the trigger, the barrel shoots out a bullet, which are like these little metal, um...things that load into the rifle. They look harmless, but when you shoot it, BAM!" Kyle demonstrated an imaginary rifle aimed from his one eye with raised elbows, aiming at Kili's head, before closing his trigger finger. "You're dead. Just like an arrow, but with much louder noise. Where I come from, Texas is the king-state of guns! My family has our old rifle in the farmhouse. My dad...my dad was gonna take me out hunting when I turned thirteen," he said quietly, thinking back on the times when his father played sword fights with him using sticks and plastic swords, practicing baseball and playing with a wooden boomerang instead of a frisbee (Kyle wondered if practicing all that was how he was able to catch the plate in Bag End).

It was even his dad who personally taught him a few things about fighting…..and it was one hell of a class.

Then he scoffed and returned to his arrowhead. "If you ask me, I should have started when I was ten. Hell, I was up for it when I was eight, but the gun was too heavy."

"Swords are heavy," said Kili, "and so is using a bow for the first time."

"Yeah, my shoulders are still hurting from pulling back that string over and over again," Kyle pointed out, rolling his shoulders. "When am I actually going to start shooting some real arrows?"

"I was going to get to that the next time we hunted, but as you can see now, I am a little short on my arrows at the moment and we have lost some of our food to the river, no thanks to Yours Truly. We'll get started once we have these prepared and find some good hunting grounds." Kili then paused, as if something occurred to him and looked at Kyle. "Just out of curiosity, how old are you?"

"Thirteen."

Kili's eyes widened. "Really?"

Kyle scoffed. "Don't be so shocked, dude. I'm not that short. I'm still trying to hit my growth spurt, that's all. My doctor says I'll probably end up being as tall as my dad."

"No, I mean...we don't know much about how the race of Men age, but for a dwarf, that's still a small child."

"Really?" Kyle looked up in surprise. Then he remembered how old Bilbo Baggins was, that the hobbit looked younger than he was in human years, and that Drogo Baggins was the same, turning thirty-three when he was only entering his adult years. If hobbits lived longer than humans, then it would make sense that dwarves were the same. "How does that work?"

"I told you, I don't know much about Men," shrugged Kili. "Only that they have much shorter lifespans. Although, I think it is well known that a dwarf can age at the same pace of Men for the first five years before slowing. You can ask my brother. He should have hit that mark around the time I was born."

"He's five years older than you?"

"Aye. Five years and four months."

"So's my sister! She's five years older than me, too. Talk about coincidence!"

Kili's mouth dropped, his face draining slightly. "Nain's Bearded Ass! She only eighteen?"

He snorted at Kili's choice of curse words. "Let me guess. Still a child for y'all?" teased Kyle. "She's turning nineteen in a few more months...I think. November 27. Hey, what's the month now?"

"Just passing though June, I believe. I think Gandalf knows."

"Sounds like around the same time as my world, only it was nighttime there and daytime here when we dropped in Middle Earth. It was like a twelve hour difference in daylight savings…..WHOA, wait! Back up!" Kyle held up his hands, the arrowhead still in one of them. "If you're implying that Maia and I are still little kids in dwarf years…then how old are you?"

Kili smirked. "Seventy-seven."

"Seventy…Holy shit!" Kyle's eyes bulged, feeling the arrowhead drop out of his hand. "So, that makes Fili-"

"Eighty-two."

Shut the front door!

"You're both older than my grandparents!" he blurted out in disbelief. "How is it even possible than you're still...what, look like you're still in your early twenties, or something? This is insane! I'm probably not even ready to hear how old your uncle is!"

"One hundred and seventy-two. Still in his middle years."

"Gah!" Kyle gripped the side of his head. "Crap, my mind's officially blown right now! I think I get why Thorin keeps calling me a child."

"You are a child," Kili pointed out. "Man years don't seem that different from dwarves at your age."

"Please. I'm a teenager. Like Maia, just younger. It's a big difference!" Kyle protested defensively.

Kili held up his hands, an arrow balanced over his thumbs. "Alright, alright! Whatever you say, I meant no offense! It's just hard to process the age differences, that's all."

"You're telling me!" They both ended up laughing and went back to their arrows.

"You say that your da was going to take you on your first hunt when you turned thirteen," said Kili, slowly, not realizing Kyle tensed up but kept his eyes down on his arrow. "You're thirteen now, and yet you still have never hunted before you came in our world."

"Yeah..."

"I have to ask, Kyle...Fili told me that Maia told him that you lived with your grandparents, right?"

Kyle gave one-shoulder shrug. He figured Maia had been talking to Fili. For some reason, those two had become really close friends...too close. It made Kyle feel twitchy every time he was around Fili.

Kili studied Kyle with worry. "Are your parents...I mean, what happened to them?"

Kyle blew his bangs out of his eyes irritably. Damn it, Maia! He hated this topic, but what he hated even more was how much it still effected him. It was no big secret back at home, so why should it be now?

So, as his usual reaction was, he shrugged as though indifferent and said blandly, "My dad ditched us a year and half ago. My mom...she's in a coma. Car accident."

He didn't care to mention that his father was also kidnapped, possibly presumed dead. The thought brought up bad memories of the night it happened...when Kyle heard the kidnapper's breathing over the phone...remembered hearing Arthur Dainson screaming at Maia over the phone to not come over at the farmhouse...knowing those were the last words Kyle had ever heard from his father, knowing the guilt he felt afterwards that he wouldn't even speak to the man before it all happened...

"I'm sorry," Kili said quietly. "I'm sorry about your mum, and your da. It must be hard for you."

Again, Kyle shrugged glumly, but his fingers worked heatedly with the coils around the arrowhead. In spite of his lingering guilt, he was reminded again of the bitter anger he still felt towards the man who raised him…..who wassupposed to be raising him. "It's old news," he mumbled. "S'no big deal. We're doing just fine."

"But if your da promised to take you hunting, then why would he leave you?" Kili pressed, clearly not one for leaving matters alone like his brother. "Did he go on a quest? An expedition? Did he have any reason at all?"

"I don't know, okay?" snapped Kyle, glaring at the dwarf. "Maybe he just got sick of us, or maybe he was with some other woman and lied about it. Or worse yet, he could have been dealing drugs! Look, all I know is that he's out of the picture and I don't want to know what he's doing now! I don't want anything to do with that bastard! End of the story!"

Miraculously, when Kyle got back to his work after he finished speaking, his string managed to tie perfectly around the arrowhead to the stick, staying where it was. His anger turned to triumph. "Ha!" He held out the arrow for Kili to see. "One down, and a dozen to go!"

Smirking, Kili shook his head with a tsking noise. He pointed at the pile next to him. "You mean two dozen, and I'm already ahead of you, mate!"

Seeing the large pile of arrows, Kyle dropped his arm, dumbfounded. "Oh, come on!" he shouted, while Kili burst out laughing. "Nobody can make all those that fast!"

"I have been making my own arrows since I was twenty years old," claimed Kili, as he proudly added an extra arrow to his pile. "In dwarf years, that should be a little younger than you. In a matter of speaking. Over fifty years of doing this, it's no surprise I have more skill than you!"

"Okay, Mister Arrow-Diva!" Kyle berated while mimicking Kili's deeper accented voice, carelessly tossing his own arrow over in the dwarf's pile. "Just you wait and see me shoot an arrow! I bet in less than a few weeks, I can reach your level."

"I already met this level when I was seven," said Kili.

"You're joking!"

"Nope. Thorin gave me my first bow when I was three. I didn't use it until I was seven years old, though, when I had a better grip. My first shot had hit the center target. Ask anyone."

"I thought Thorin didn't like you using a bow."

"No, he doesn't like me climbing trees. There's a huge difference between risking a fall for stunts or taking a shot for defense. He just worries, that's all. Anyway, my mother told me he used to do both back then, when they were children in Erebor."

"Really?" This piqued Kyle's interest.

"Well, it was mostly my mum and Uncle Frerin, whenever they were allowed outside while Thorin usually led a hunting expedition. Thorin usually climbed the trees to get them down, but something tells me Thorin enjoyed it himself back then. It's his pride that won't admit it."

Kyle raised his eyebrows. "Oh, and you're not worried about pride?"

"Whoa, I have pride," Kili defended. "It's just a different sort of pride. You had only a taste of it before."

"Ah, man, please don't tell me it's as bad as Thorin," groaned Kyle, dropping his face in his hands. "One's more than enough!"

"Worse."

"Grrrrrr..."

"I'm joking! Well, partially. Everyone else who knows me says I've inherited that trait from him...which is not a particularly good thing, but I'm proud of it," he said, in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Good for you!" stated Kyle darkly. He was tempted to compete with Kili on that topic. People always said he inherited his dad's looks and dark moods, but his mother's feisty and humorous personality.

"Oh, and Kyle?"

"Yeah?" He looked up, and was surprised to see Kili's teasing mood turn into a solemn one. His twinkling eyes had dimmed to sincerity when he spoke, "I think it was wrong for your father to leave you, whatever it may have been...but..." He then looked down, suddenly shrinking back into himself like a lost child. "At least you got to know him. Mine had been killed the day I was born."

This was the first time Kyle heard of this. He had suspected it before, but he never asked. He bit his lip and looked down, picking the grass they sat in. He didn't know what to say. He had no words of comfort, or true understanding, but there was one thing he did understand: loss.

The question was that he didn't know which was worse: for a father to die without being remembered by their child, or for him to live on while leaving them behind with the feeling of abandonment?

How could you? Kyle thought, feeling his eyes prickle as he thought of the rough, stoic but seemingly loving figure of Arthur Dainson. All that he had known of him, his elder image, his mysterious scars, and those icy gray eyes that melted every time he looked at him, his mom, or his siblings...

Daddy says to tell you that he loves you, Lori told him, that very night he disappeared. The night of the phone call.

Kyle wanted to believe it, but neither did he let himself hope. He was afraid of feeling more pain and dispointment. He didn't know what to think, or how to react.

His father was still gone.

Damn it! Kyle's eyes prickled, but clenched his jaw to force back tears. He didn't cry when he realized his father left him behind, and he wasn't going to cry now.

Kyle stood up, his stance rigid and fists clenched. The hot anger burned in his veins, something he was eager to let show. Kili was watching him warily until the boy said, "I wanna have a go at those arrows! I just want to shoot something! You in?"

The blue mood wiped away, Kili smiled wickedly and nodded, before standing. "I couldn't have said it better myself, Master Dainson! I think we both feel like we need to shoot something. Let's go find a target!"

During the passing days while crossing the lone lands, they passed the other side of the Weather Hills at the Edge of the Wild. Gandalf played few parts in the group of dwarves. He was their wizard, their guide, and their last resort if the dangers should become too catastrophic. He was also a silent observer among them. The old man in gray would sit in the background, quietly smoking his pipe, in a distance enough where he would be able to keep his ancient but sharp eyes on the whole Company of Thorin Oakenshield...including those who were not.

Most of all, his eyes wandered over to the outsiders of the Company. He would see Bilbo Baggins, a small and timid being trying to fit in despite his discomforts, mostly socializing with Bofur, Balin, Bifur, Bombur, or Fili and Kili. Half of this side of the Company seemed to have already grown fond of their hobbit. Just as they had toward the Dainson children.

As they had reached more grassier outskirts of the lone lands, he watched Kyle and Kili practicing archery, using coupled trees as their targets. The boy looked more determined than Kili, angrier even, his eyes flashing like silver steel reflecting from fire. Something must have fueled the lad, Gandalf mused. Though Kyle kept missing the center target continuously, there was no better way for him to let off some steam. He seemed to be doing fine for a beginner.

Maia was seated in a separate distance with Ori, Lori, and Bifur, who was presently carving a wooden dwarf figurine in his lap.

Wearing her hobbit dress with her little red cowgirl boots, Lori was watching with wide-eyed interest. She had been warming up to the scary axe-headed dwarf who spoke gibberish lately, ever since she first watched him carve toy fugures. "Do ya think you can make me one, too?" she asked hopefully.

Bifur grunted in Khuzdul, but nodded. Lori beamed. "Can I have a fairy?" He nodded again, and gave her a sign in Iglishmek that meant "As you wish." Lori mimicked his sign with her little hand. Bofur gave her a rare proud smile under his messy beard, making the little girl giggle at the funny sight.

While Bifur and Lori were occupied, Maia and Ori sat side by side with their journals in their lap, working as drawing partners, complimenting and critiquing each other's sketches. Gandalf wondered what they were drawing, but after observing Maia, her legs crisscrossed under her skirt as she focused directly on her drawing, her gray eyes held the same silver sharpness that Kyle had.

Gray eyes. Lori had no such eyes, but her hair was a similar color to Kyle's, though slightly lighter and more curly.

Their features alone were not what sparked Gandalf's curiosity about them. Other than the fact that these three young humans were from another world beyond the Valar, Gandalf couldn't help but notice a few things about them he witnessed:

Gray eyes. Horse whisperer. Kyle had even caught a plate during the first night in Bilbo's hole.

Did Lori not mention once that she could hear the birds speak? Dainson...a peculiar last name, Gandalf thought. If these young ones were truly from a different world, how is it that they are here?

Fili had come back with conies and squirrels from his traps. After placing them on the ground, he over to join them, sneaking up quietly behind Maia, who was still focused on her drawing. Lori looked up and saw him, but Fili smiled and put a finger on his lips. Hand covering a smile, Lori nodded and turned back to Bifur.

Fili then seized her shoulders.

"GAH!" Maia jumped and turned around, wide-eyed. "Fili, you-" She swung her drawing pad at him, which he dodged, laughing. He held up his hands in surrender before sitting himself beside her.

"What's this?" He tried to peer over her shoulder at her drawing, but she covered it with her arm while fighting a smile, "It's private!"

"Private? It looks like Bifur carving wood in front of us!" Fili pointed out. Bifur looked up at that, puzzled.

"Shhh," Maia shushed, but giggles escaped her. "Now you've done it!"

"What? Is it a crime to compliment on how well the image portrays a life of its own?" said Fili, smiling flirtatiously. "I've never seen your drawings before!"

"Aww, Fili, leave the poor girl alone!" Ori moaned. "Art shouldn't be spoiled with before it's finished!"

"Why, did you see any of me in there?" teased Fili.

"Don't answer that, Ori!" warned Maia, shooting the young dwarf look.

"Ha! There are, aren't there?"

"No," scoffed Maia, though she blushed. "Not a chance. You couldn't even stand still for it."

Fili blinked at her, all-so-innocently. "I can stand still if I wanted to." They were so close that it was almost as if they truly were one person. "What about now?"

"Hm...Think you can manage it for more than ten minutes?" teased Maia, a smile curving her lips, not bothered by his closeness at all.

Before Fili could reply, they were interrupted by Thorin. "Fili!"

The golden-haired heir of Durin pulled back from Maia suddenly, the moment broken as Thorin had approached them, his dark sword still out from sparring with Dwalin on the field some distance away, its sharpness still glittering from the sunlight. "Shouldn't you be preparing the conies for our meal?" His tone was hard-edged.

Fili winced, clearly reluctant. Maia gulped, but managed a small, nervous smile and nudged Fili. "How about later, then?"

He nodded tensely and picked up the string of dead rabbits, making sure Lori didn't see them, before marching past Thorin, not looking back. Gandalf could see the brief anger and slight panic in the dwarf lad's eyes.

Thorin nodded to Ori and Bifur in greeting, before his eyes narrowed slightly when seeing Maia. The girl swallowed, but held his icy gaze and kept her smile, though it was tight. Gandalf thought about interfering, but he was curious to see how this played out.

Finally, Thorin turned and walked away. Maia's smile dropped and became a helpless expression; Ori squirmed uncomfortably, but he looked sympathetic. "That could have gone better," he said, weakly.

"He hates me," groaned Maia, still staring after Thorin, who was walking over to watch Kili and Kyle shoot. "He totally hates me."

"He doesn't hate you," Ori shook his head. "He just doesn't know you well enough. Consider this his first step in interacting with you."

"Oh yeah, eying me like I'm a piece of trash really makes a difference!" muttered Maia.

"I think he knows that you like Fili, Maia," Lori told her in a loud whisper.

"Lori!" Maia looked mortified, but Bifur and Ori didn't look surprised. "I-I-I really don't think that's-"

Bifur signed in Iglishmek, and Ori translated, "No need to worry, Miss Maia. We already know you and Fili are quite taken with each other. I think it's rather nice."

Maia face was red as she struggled for the right words to say, "But...hold on...Really, guys, I wasn't trying to––I mean, Fili––he––Gah!" Then she groaned and dropped her head heavily on her open sketchpad. "I got nothing! Can we just pretend we didn't talk about this?"

As the two dwarves assured her that they will respect their wishes (although by the eager look on their faces, there will be more gossip about Fili and Maia Dainson's closeness), Gandalf chuckled to himself while watching the scene with amusement. He had already guessed long ago that Fili and Maia had struck like lightning ever since Bag End, even when they hadn't known it yet.

Maia was, after all, a woman, but still young, just as Master Fili is still a young dwarf.

Maia, he thought, Kyle, and Lori Dainson. Who are you? How is it that you are here?

I believe I know what you are, my dear children….

The real question that remains is…how do you not?

The first sign of civilization they had seen since the village of Bree was of an abandoned farmhouse.

As they approached the area, one side surrounded by the endless grassy terrain of Weather Hills and the other by trees and a jagged, rocky mountain, they were able to get a better look at the house...or what was left of it. Maia thought it looked like a construction site, only all the wooden boards and tiles were punched in, causing the house to tilt slightly to the side, on the verge of collapse, like something big had sat on it. Wood splints, crumpled rocks, and over grown weeds surrounded the site, an empty pail tossed aside near an empty wood-fire chimney, covered in white ash and cobwebs.

There was nothing left over here. Whoever had lived here was long gone.

Maybe it was a big storm, thought Maia. Still, it seemed like a good place to sleep in. The remaining farmhouse looked cozy compared to sleeping outside for a whole week in the rain before it cleared.

Gandalf got off his horse and started observing the place, while Thorin halted his pony and announced, "We'll camp here for the night."

"Thank God," grunted Kyle, rolling his neck as he got off his pony, Maia following him. They had shared a pony for the day, while Bilbo and Lori rode together. Bilbo was getting better at his riding, which pleased Maia. It had to be because the hobbit was finally making friends in the Company.

Thorin was giving out orders as everyone started to get off their ponies. "Fili, Kili, look after the ponies! Make sure you stay with them!"

"Already on it!" called Kili.

"Oin, Gloin, get a fire going!"

"Right you are!" said Gloin.

Meanwhile, Gandalf was wandering around the open inside of the battered structure, looking very grave. Taking this as a bad sign, Maia bit her lip and went over to the wizard.

Seeing her questioning look, he said, "A farmer and his family used to live here..."

"Maybe they just moved out," suggested Maia, not really liking the wariness in Gandalf's tone. "The place looks abandoned anyway, so..." But the wizard shook his head, eying at the crumpled wood boards suspiciously. That alone had her unease grow.

"Tell me, Miss Maia," he said. "What do you really make of this house? Do not tell me that you haven't noticed the condition of this wreckage?"

Gandalf did have a point. There was no use in denying that the place looked more like it was attacked and chewed up, not winded and battered by some random storm.

"Honestly, it looks like something big totaled this place," she admitted, "though it looks like it happened a while ago and the people managed to get out in time….I hope. There's weeds all over the place, but they looked trampled on. I don't know, but something chaotic definitely happened here."

Gandalf nodded in approval. "Good, good. We may make a tracker out of you yet."

Maia gave him a weird smile. "Thanks...I think."

As Thorin kept giving orders, Gandalf turned around and announced cautiously, "I think it would be wiser to move on! We could make for the Hidden Valley."

Thorin scowled and walked past Gandalf and Maia into the farmhouse. "I have told you already," he said stiffly, "I will not go near that place!"

"Why not?" demanded Gandalf. "The Elves could help us! We could get food, rest, advice..."

"Wait! Elves?" Maia glanced back and forth between them for an explanation, but she was ignored when Thorin whipped around and hissed with pure hatred in his expression, "I do not need their advice!"

Gandalf tried to remain calm and reasonable. "We have a map we cannot read. Lord Elrond can help us..."

"Help?" Thorin gave a dry laugh. "A dragon attacks Erebor...what help came from the elves?" he sneered. Then, a flash of pain showed in his eyes as he continued with a growl, "Orcs plunder Moria, desecrate our sacred halls...the elves looked on and did nothing!"

Maia flinched as the venom in Thorin's voice as he talked about these elves, almost swearing she could feel his hate radiate from his body, enough to extend over a mile long. Was it only sheer ignorance that fueled this kind of hatred? If so, she was shocked at how much it affected this dwarf, especially when hardly anything else seemed to touch him.

Thorin stepped up to Gandalf, looking the wizard in the eye as he said softly, "You ask me to seek out the very people who betrayed my grandfather...who betrayed my father..."

"You are neither of them!" said Gandalf sternly. "I did not give you that map and key for you to hold onto the past!"

"I did not know that they were yours to keep!" snapped Thorin back.

"Whoa, whoa, guys! Guys!" Since things were starting to heat up on dangerous grounds, Maia chose this moment to step in between them, holding up her hands cautiously. "Maybe this is none of my business, since I don't know what this is all about, but maybe we should just think about this for a minute..."

"This is none of your concern, girl!" said Thorin, heatedly.

Maia shied from him a little, before saying nervously, "A-Actually, it kind of is. For me, and my brother and sister. We're all still going to the Lonely Mountain together, and if it were up to me, I would be trying to find the first opportunity-"

"I will take my chances," said Thorin, both to Maia and to Gandalf. "My mind will not change. I would sooner delve into the rock with my bare hands than rely on the services of an elf!" He spat out the word like it was a curse. Again, Maia flinched.

Gandalf scowled at Thorin. He looked like he was going to argue further, but seeing it was clear that Thorin was not going to budge, the wizard turned around and started storming away.

Bilbo was unloading his supplies with Balin and Lori when he saw Gandalf's angry outlook. "Everything alright?" He grew worried as the old man passed them, not stopping. "Gandalf, where are you going?"

"Too seek the company of the only one who's got any sense," announced Gandalf angrily.

"And who's that?"

"Myself, Master Baggins!" They could hear him mutter under his breath, "I had enough of dwarves for one day."

Don't leave me with him! Maia stared after the wizard desperately, feeling just as surprised as everyone else looked.

All except Thorin, who showed the tiniest bit of reluctance in his stubborn demeanor, but his anger was still barely contained when he announced, "Come on, Bombur, we're hungry!"

"Is he coming back?" Bilbo whispered to Balin in slight panic, but the white-haired dwarf only shrugged.

"But-" Maia tried protesting, but Thorin brushed her aside and went to join the Company. Frustrated now, she tried again, calling after Thorin, "Was that really necessary?" Her tone was mixed with incredulity.

"This discussion is finished, Miss Maia," he said, not looking at her. "You can go help Bombur with his cooking."

"But, just wait a minute!" Maia circled around him to meet his face, ignoring the warning in her gut when she met the leader's glare. "You gotta explain to me what just happened back there! If there are really elves out there, Gandalf seemed pretty sure that they could help us with the map, but you totally just shut him out! Why are you so determined to ignore this? You couldn't possibly hate elves that much, right?"

"There's elves?" She heard Lori pipe up in excitement. "Like Santa's elves?"

"Who is this Santa?" Dwalin muttered, having heard his brother once being called that by the little girl.

"Tell me, Miss Dainson, if you truly are from another world as you claim," said Thorin darkly, "are there any elves from where you came from? Have you ever met one, spoke to one, or even seen one?"

"No," said Maia, knowing this was not helping her argument. "Only in stories."

"Then what do these stories tell you, exactly?"

"Um, well...there's different versions, but they're mostly good. They love nature, cause mischief, and...and are magical?" She winced at how childish the last part sounded, recalling the little kid within her. Yeah, he's really gonna take me seriously now! she thought sarcastically.

The Dwarf leader scoffed. "Three of them I will not argue with, but good, they are certainly not!"

Thorin stepped closer with clenched fists, and Maia resisted the urge to take a step back, her stomach tightening, while the dwarves watched on warily. Shorter than her, Thorin may be, but it was nothing compared to how he seemed to be the tallest and most intimidating person within the Company when he had that blizzard of a look on his face.

"When Erebor was attacked, the dragon Smaug had broke into the main gates of our kingdom," he said, eyes burning into her's. "He burned alive and trampled many who stood within his eyesight, destroying and usurping all that was rightfully ours. Few of us barely made it out. I was fortunate enough that my family survived, but we had lost our home. Charging out of gates, running for our lives, an army of elves stood at our doorstep, watching as my people were killed or driven out of their own home by fire and smoke.

"Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm, looked on with his army in tow. I was even desperate enough to cry out for his help," he gritted, his eyes narrowing from the memory.

"But no. He turned away. Turned away from the destruction, the fire, and the pleas of my people. Thranduil and the entire elf army turned their back on us, let us rot from where we were left off, and still do to this day! There is not a generous bone in an Elf's body, Maia Dainson, not without payment in riches. They are greedy, ignorant, wicked creatures with little care for the wellbeing of others. They are the reason we have lost everything, that we had struggled to rebuild ourselves in the wilderness, that most of my family..." He broke off when he started shouting and then took a deep breath before continuing calmly, "You ask me why I am so determined to ignore this, Miss Maia? It is because I do not trustthem...and I never will."

Everyone was silent. All that was heard was the birds chirping nearby.

As Maia listened to Thorin, the anger and the hidden despair causing her bones to chill with strong remorse, she was so stunned from hearing the dwarf leader's suffering from his own words that she had nearly forgotten what she was going to say. She had even wondered how long ago this all happened. Decades, most likely, since she was already told by a few fellow dwarves, including Fili, that they lived longer than humans and hobbits combined. She wondered how long elves lived for...or were they immortal?

As Thorin turned away, she finally said, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for what happened and for what the elves did to you. I couldn't even imagine what you've been through...but this is a different elf we're talking about. Whoever Gandalf was talking about is from a different place. He couldn't have had anything to do with your people's suffering..."

"An elf is an elf, Miss Dainson! I will never forgive, nor will I ever forget, that an elf need not do anything for them to ruin the lives of many. Even if they did help us...it would be for the gold in the Mountain, not for the sake of goodwill, so forgive me if my side of the truth breaks your dazzling imagery of them," said Thorin, not sounding sorry at all.

It sounded like the closing of that conversation. There was no doubt that it was terrible thing these elves did to the dwarves by doing nothing at all, but she refused to believe Thorin's words: that all elves did not have a good bone in their body.

They were her childhood favorite mythical beings. It was hard to process, and even harder to accept.

Maia opened her mouth to argue when a hand closed around her arm. She looked to see Bombur escorting her away. "Come on, lass. Seems that you'll be stuck with me on cooking duty."

His tone was kind, but tight. Did Bombur hold a grudge against the elves? Did everyone? Surely not Fili and Kili? They weren't even born yet when Erebor had been taken. Fili had told her himself. But he did get fueled up with anger every time he mentioned that Kili was insulted by others, called an elfling...

Great, thought Maia. We've crash landed into a world of elf-haters! She expected a fiercely protective Lori arguing all evening once the little girl heard this piece of news. No doubt the kid overheard Thorin, and was probably crushed that elves were not the goody two-shoes she always thought them to be. I know how you feel, sis.

Lori was crushed.

She was sitting on the grassy ground with her legs wrapped in her arms, hugging her teddy bear. She was pouting, tears from earlier still running down her cheeks, sticking to her hair strands.

She was so mad at Thorin right now. Mad at all the dwarves. Mad at Maia and Kyle for trying to calm her down. How can they say that elves were bad people?Elves were good! They were cute, happy, and make toys for kids, like dwarves do. They were magical and everyone's best friend. Just like Santa's elves, the Shoemakers, and warrior ones from the fantasy books and video games Kyle and Maia showed her. The ones Daddy had told her about in his stories, and even drew for her one time, saying they were tall and wise and lived a long time, like watchful guardians. Like archangels.

She had been arguing and denying straight through the sunset after she overheard Thorin and Maia. First she had been in shock, not saying anything for a long while. It wasn't until Bilbo was the first one to notice that Lori had been unusually quiet for a long time, asking if she was okay.

Then she had exploded. It had mostly been endless complaining that "elves are good people" versus "elves are greedy and ignorant." They tried to calm the little girl down, but like the dwarves, she was stubborn and would not give in.

Afterwards, Thorin looked like he was going to explode in his temper, which definitely was never a good sign, so Maia beat him to it and gave Lori a timeout. So here she was, sitting on the far side of the camp, facing away from everyone else, fuming. Nori was not far away, sharpening his knife with a whetstone. Then he dug into his pockets and pulled out a pouch, dumping out a few lovely trinkets to count. Lori wondered if he stole those. Kili did tell her he was the Company's smuggler, while Bilbo was the burglar, even tough he hadn't stole anything yet. Lori was confused about why these two titles made such a big difference. Smuggler and burglar were the same thing, right?

Lori sighed and looked at the forest. It looked dark, but she still wanted to climb a tree. Both she and Teddy. If anyone got mad at her for it, that was their problem. She can pretend to be an elf right in their faces. In Thorin's face. The very thought made her smirk. But Nori had sharp eyes. He would catch her before she even attempted to sneak off. Unless...

"I gotta go," said Lori, standing up.

"What?" Nori looked up.

"I gotta go," repeated Lori, squeezing her legs together to make it look convincing. She has done this many times in preschool to avoid boring activities. She pointed at the nearby rocks surrounding the farmhouse. "I'm gonna go over there." She started scrambling over the rocks.

Nori called after her, "Wait! I should probably come with you!"

"What? No! I'm a girl!" squeaked Lori, turning briefly to face him before running. "You stay there! I won't take long!"

Without another word, the little girl scrambled across the field and disappeared circled around the grass covered boulders. After waiting around a minute, she peeked around to see if Nori was looking out for her...but to her surprise and relief, the dwarf thief was caught trying to bat away a giant moth that was circling his starfish ginger hair. He seemed eager to cut the moth his half with his knife.

The rest of the company seemed occupied. They were sitting around the fire in their own conversation, Maia was helping add ingredients with Bombur as they made yet another rabbit stew, and Bilbo was facing the other direction, looking worried. The hobbit had been twitchy ever since Gandalf stormed away, wondering when he would be coming back. The wizard was, after all, their guide and the Dainsons' connection to the Company. They were technically supposed to go with him...but he will come back. Gandalf would never abandon them, Lori was sure of it. Just like she was sure that elves were not bad people.

I'll show 'em, she thought. Lori then ran quietly from the rock with her head kept down, the grass softening her trodding and her black hair a good blend in the darkening night. Normally, she would be scared of the dark, especially with the darkness of a forest looming before her, looking even creepier than the Old Forest, but she had nearly drowned in a river over two weeks ago and she was too full of spite to be scared. Plus, she had Teddy and felt safe when holding him.

For some reason, Teddy made her feel brave tonight. She could hear him whisper comforting words to her, like he did back at the farmhouse. Her family always said she had a great imagination...maybe that's what it was...but it seemed real to her and that was good enough.

This type of forest seemed like a more wild and tangled place, grim and forbidding, dank and dark. It looked haunted, the roots of the trees all curled up, covered completely in bog and moss that made the outlook all more bleaker and miserable looking. Lori gulped and hugged her bear tighter, suddenly feeling small and alone. She thought about going back, but her adventurous side got the best of her and she continued onward. If she was going to be brave like everyone else, like her big brother Sparky, she was going to climb at least one tree before they moved on.

"Which tree should I climb, Teddy?" she whispered to her bear.

Go back.

Her blood chilled. "But I don't wanna," she told the bear. "I'm scouting. Like Fili and Kili. They keep everyone safe 'cause they do this all the time."

A darkness is spreading these lands.

"Teddy?" She held up her bear and looked at its face in confusion. This was definitely unexpected. Teddy hadn't said a word to her in weeks, not since they were in Texas. Like he had run out of batteries, even though she was very aware that Teddy had no speaker. Teddy was over twenty years old, passed from her mommy to Maia, from Maia to Kyle, and Kyle to Lori, but the bear had been practically mutilated with age, so her daddy had Teddy fixed and gave the bear to her.

He will be there to protect you, he had told her, the night before he left, whenever I cannot.

But you a'ways pwotect me. Wight, Daddy?

Always, my little star. Always. Whenever I'm not around, hold your bear, and know that I am there by your side, watching over you. Always.

A creaking, tromping noise interrupted her memories. Heart beating, Lori clutched her bear to her chest and looked in the direction of the noise. Warmth seeped from the bear and instead of feeling fear, she felt braver. She was starting to believe her daddy now, and wondered why she hadn't felt this in the past few weeks in Middle Earth.

She heard a sound of whinnying from ponies. She gasped. The ponies were in trouble! Running around a few trees, brushing by bushes and twigs, out the dark appeared a bright red-glow of light. There was a fire lit in the forest. Then she heard raspy cackling, followed by snorts and grunts.

"Somebody else's here, Teddy," she squeaked.

Breathing loudly, she followed the light, scrambling and jumping over roots and rocks until the trees started to break apart and the light started to hit her face, lighting her brown eyes into a bright hazel. The area was warm and gave a very comfortable feeling compared to the cold darkness that lured behind her, but it stank. It smelled like a mixture of raw meat and fart. Fart-meat. Groaning, she pinched her nose and held her breath.

Rough, gruff voices came from the light, followed by extremely large shapes that stomped heavily in Lori's view from the bushes. "Never a blinkin' bit of manflesh had we had for long enough!" spoke the giant thing. She gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth before she screamed when she first looked upon two enormous, beefy-looking monsters. "What the 'ell you was a-thinkin' of to bring us into these parts beats me! And me drink is runnin' short! What's more?"

Trolls, she thought right away. What else would they be? Not boogiemen or ogres. They were too deformed and flabby-skinned to be just plain-looking giants. But holy cow, they were huge!

"Shut yer mouth! Wait 'ere for more, and ye'll get yer meat done!" snapped one of the trolls, before stomping away back into the forest. The other one grunted in annoyance and continued stirring the stewing pot that was partly the cause of that fart-meat stench. Lori thought about Bombur and knew the dwarf was a hundred times better than this big, mean old troll.

Gandalf or someone else might have mentioned something about this place being called Trollshaw. At first, she thought there were trolls around, like in Three Billy Goats Gruff, or Harry Potter, but the wizard assured her that it has been an age since trolls had ventured in these parts of the lone lands, despite its name. Mostly in fear of the sunlight. This got Lori thinking: why were trolls so afraid of sunlight? Were they nocturnal? How big were they, and what did they look like?

Well, now she knew! And they had two of their ponies, she thought with horror when spotting two shaggy shapes pacing in circle while trapped in a small, sorry-looking pen.

This was more than what Lori could handle. She wanted to rescue the ponies, but she needed help. The dwarves would know what to do! Her heart pacing loudly, she turned around to run back to camp...and ended up colliding with a heavy set of thick elephant skin that stank worse than cow poo.

A small squeak escaping her, the little girl slowly looked up. The third troll loomed above her, giving her an ugly smirk. "'Ello, Mousy!" His voice was more high-pitched than the other two.

Lori started to scream, but the troll pulled something behind his back and threw it over her, swallowing her and her high-pitched screams into the pitch-black of a greasy sack. One that smelled as badly as the troll. Through her screaming, she felt her body tumble around the bag as ground disappeared bellow her and the world started to swing in the troll's tight grip. Now she knew what it felt like to be stuffed and jingled around in a money pouch...and it was SCARY! She had no idea was it was like to be claustrophobic until now.

"Here! Lookie what I caught, Bert! An appetizer!"

APPETIZER?! I'M GONNA BE TROLL FOOD! I DON'T WANNA BE TROLL FOOD!

"HELP!" she screamed, though it was clear that no one can hear her muffled voice under the sack. She wished she stayed at the camp.

To Be Continued