Hey guys! I am so sorry for the late update, I have no excuse other than losing depression kicking my motivation out of my head, but thankfully, after a little vacation, the motivation has come back to stay. . .I hope. Thank you all for being so patient with me xx

Review responses;

Dinosaur Imperial Soldier – Violet will definitely find her way back to the dwarves, as for whether she'll be staying in Lake Town. . .you will find out in a couple of chaters.

SilverLark25 – Tauriel with come to Kili's aid in the end, so not to worry about that and nothing will come between the two, not even Thorin. Violet will find her dwarves again and luckily, nothing happens to her, so thank Mahal for that.

MonkeyGirl13 – Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying this!

Guest – I'm glad you're so excited! And don't worry, you didn't spell excited or heirs wrong, got them both spot on! I'm going to have it in this, that even though Violet is one of Isildur's heirs and is older than Aragorn, that the ruling will go through the males in the family, so it would be Aragorn who will still rule when he's older, giving Violet the freedom to stay with Kili.

For the moment, I'm not too sure if I am going to have Violet join the Fellowship as I haven't got that far yet. But I will be giving it some thought.

Yes, Violet does know about Estel/Aragorn being her cousin and that both of them are heirs of Isildur, but she's always known that the throne would go to Aragorn when he is ready.

Violet will be thiry years old, thanks to her royal Dunedain blood, she will live to be up to three hundred years old, so her and Kili can live a nice long life together. Violet looked more like her mother before she died, as well as her baby sister. She has brown hair and brown eyes with tanned skin. I hope that conjures a good picture in your mind of how she looks.

As for Thorin, Fili and Kili. . .we'll have to see about that later. Hehe, I love being evil!

Misslesmis13 – Thank you! I'm glad you think so!

UniKatFox – I love the title as well! I do love Tauriel, so I couldn't not put her in as a possible friend for Violet. Thank you!


Bard the Bowman

The river has finally calmed down, and the dwarves paddle along in their barrels with their hands.

"Anything behind us?" Thorin asks the others behind him.

"Not that I can see." Balin replies.

Popping up out of his barrel, Bofur spits out some water as he looks around. "I think we've outrun the orcs."

"Not for long; we've lost the current." Thorin points out.

"Bombur is half drown." Dwalin informs Thorin.

"Make for the shore! Come on, let's go!"

The dwarves and Bilbo paddle to the riverbank; they climb out onto a slab of rock jutting out a bit into the river. The dwarves help each other out of the barrels. When Kili is on the rocks, he falls to his knees in pain from the arrow wound in his thigh; it has been bound with cloth, but blood is seeping through. Bofur looks to him in concern.

"I'm fine, it's nothing." Kili says stubbornly, when he notices Bofur watching him.

Fili rushes over to his brother to look over his wound.

"On your feet." Thorin orders.

"Kili's wounded. His leg needs binding." Fili informs his Uncle.

"There's an orc pack on our tail; we keep moving."

"To where?" Balin asks.

"To the mountain; we're so close." Bilbo says as he walks past the old dwarf.

"A lake lies between us and that mountain. We have no way to cross it."

"So then we go around."

"The orcs will run us down, as sure as daylight. We have no weapons to defend ourselves." Dwalin indicates.

Thorin looks to his youngest nephew, his eyes drifting down to the wound on his leg. "Bind his leg, quickly. You have two minutes."

"Where's Violet?" Nori asks after looking around at everyone.

The dwarves look up instantly, especially Kili, they all notice the same that their Skin Changer is missing.

"Do you think she's been captured?" Ori asks worryingly.

Fili shakes his head as he continues binding Kili's wound. "I don't think so. She wouldn't give them a chance knowing we're out here. She'll be here soon, I know it."

As he says this, he keeps watching Kili, reassuring him more than the others. Kili says nothing as he just watches the woods they came from, hoping for any sign of his one.

Ori then kneels by the river to empty his boot of water. Unbeknownst to all of them, a man, sneaks up over the pile of rocks and aims an arrow at Ori. As the dwarves realize a man is there, they jump up, and Dwalin, holding a branch, leaps in front of Ori. He raises the branch and begins to charge the man, but the man shoots his arrow and it embeds itself right in the middle of the branch, between Dwalin's hands. Kili raises a rock to throw, but the man shoots the rock out of his hand too.

"Do it again, and you're dead."

Everyone suddenly freezes as a growl sounds from behind the dwarves. Before they can have a chance to look around, a grey blur leaps over the dwarves, landing in between them and the man, who instantly aims his arrow on the wolf, ready to fire.

"Violet!"


After a while of leading Bolg and his orcs away from the river, I manage to lose them and find my way back, hoping that I have given the dwarves, Bilbo and I some time and distance between us and them.

I take a quick drink from the river, lapping at the cool water before walking on, lifting my nose into the air hoping to get a scent of my friends. After sometime, I hear voices coming from ahead and smile as I recognise them as my friends. Darting through the trees, I arrive at the rocks where they are resting in time to see a man aiming his arrow at the others after shooting a rock from Kili's hand. I instantly feel my blood boiling at the thought of anyone shooting at Kili.

"Do it again, and you're dead." the man says.

I let out a growl before leaping over the others and landing in front of them, snarling at the man in front of me. The man aims his arrow at me, but it doesn't faze me.

"Violet!" The others cry out.

The man falters slightly as he realises I'm with the dwarves, but his arrow is still pointing at me, ready and waiting.

"Excuse me, but, uh, you're from Laketown, if I'm not mistaken?" I hear Balin ask as he slowly moves closer.

The man now aims the arrow at the dwarf, causing me to jump in the way and growl back at him. Balin lays his hand on me as he steps beside me.

"That barge over there, it wouldn't be available for hire, by any chance?"

The man lowers his bow as he looks to the dwarf, before he walks off to the barge, strapping his bow on his back and putting the arrow away as he begins loading the barrels on the barge.

We all gather around as Balin talks with him. I sit next to Kili, allowing him to rest some of his weight on me if he needs to, all the while keeping a close eye on the human.

"What makes you think I will help you?" The man asks Balin.

"Those boots have seen better days. As has that coat. No doubt you have some hungry mouths to feed. How many bairns?"

"A boy and two girls."

"And your wife, I'd imagine she's a beauty."

The man stops. "Aye. She was."

Balin's smile fades. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

He is interrupted by Dwalin whispering loudly to Thorin. "Oh, come on, come on, enough with the niceties."

The man turns to Dwalin. "What's your hurry?"

"What's it to you?"

"I would like to know who you are and what you are doing in these lands."

"We are simple merchants from the Blue Mountains journeying to see our kin in the Iron Hills." Balin answers.

"Simple merchants, you say? And the wolf?"

"She's our friend and protector." Balin explains.

Before anything more can be said, Thorin speaks up. "We'll need food, supplies, weapons. Can you help us?"

The man looks at the barrels and examines the various dents and nicks they received during the fight with the orcs.

"I know where these barrels came from."

"What of it?"

"I don't know what business you had with the elves, but I don't think it ended well." He boards his barge and unties the rope tying the front end to the post on shore. "No one enters Laketown but by leave of the Master. All his wealth comes from trade with the Woodland Realm. He will see you in irons before risking the wrath of King Thranduil."

The man tosses a rope to Balin. Thorin mouths to Balin.

"Offer him more."

"I'll wager there are ways to enter that town unseen."

"Aye. But for that, you will need a smuggler."

"For which we will pay double."

Bard looks at him suspiciously for a moment before nodding. "Alright. I'll take you. But, I'm not taking the wolf. She'll be dead the moment she's found."

Bilbo and the dwarves all look to me at this. The man is right. With me looking like some wild animal, I would be shot dead the moment I am seen and not given the chance to prove I am not wild. Glancing over at Thorin, I see him nod slightly before I change back to my human form, thankful I keep my clothes unlike my father.

I look to the man as I hear him gasp and step back in surprise and see him looking at me with wide eyes.

"What are you?"

I just smile at the man. "I am a Skin-Changer."

"A Skin-Changer? I thought you were just myths?"

I shake my head as the dwarves and Bilbo get on the barge. "I assure you, we are not. It only seems that way as there are only two of us in existence."

A sad and solemn expression appears on his face as I climb on. "I am sorry."

I just give a small smile. "Thank you. But it is not necessary."

He nods as he pushes off from shore once we are all settled and ride along the lake. I walk over to the front where Kili is sitting and sit next to him, looking at his pale face.

"Are you alright?" I ask him.

He smiles, although I can see the pain behind it. "I am fine, don't worry about me."

I lay a hand on his arm. "Kili, I'll always worry about you. It's my job now, don't forget."

He gives a small chuckle as he squeezes my hand before we fall into a comfortable silence, with me keeping a close watch on him.


Later that night, we're still on the barge with Bard paddling us across the lake. The weather has turned very foggy as the barge pushes aside ice floes.

"Watch out!" Bofur suddenly shouts as large stone formations appear out of the fog.

Bard expertly poles the barge between the rock formations, which turn out to be ancient ruins.

"What are you trying to do, drown us?" Thorin asks, frustration and annoyance clear in his voice.

"I was born and bred on these waters, Master Dwarf. If I wanted to drown you, I would not do it here." Bard informs him.

Dwalin starts grumbling. "Oh I have enough of this lippy lakeman. I say we throw him over the side and be done with him."

"Ohh, Bard, his name's Bard." Bilbo answer him slightly angrily.

Bofur turns to the hobbit. "How do you know?"

"Uh, I asked him."

Dwalin scoffs. "I don't care what he calls himself, I don't like him."

Balin, who is sitting by a crate with some coins in front of him speaks up. "We do not have to like him, we simply have to pay him. Come on now, lads, turn out your pockets."

The dwarves begin pulling out their money and valuables. Dwalin whispers to Thorin, but with my heightened hearing I can hear him.

"How do we know he won't betray us?"

"We don't."

"There's, um, just a problem: we're ten coins short." Balin states after counting the money,

Thorin doesn't look amused. "Gloin. Come on. Give us what you have."

"Don't look to me. I have been bled dry by this venture! And what have I seen for my investment? Naught but misery and grief and-"

Half way through talking, I notice the other dwarves looking behind Kili and I. Looking around, I gape in surprise as I see the Lonely Mountain through the mist. All the dwarves stand and stare at the mountain, at their home. I smile at Kili as I take his hand, causing him to smile back and give my hand a squeeze.

"Bless my beard. Take it. Take all of it." I hear Gloin say in the background, as he passes a pouch of gold to Balin. Bilbo clears his throat and gestures his head toward Bard, who is approaching us.

"The money, quick, give it to me."

"We'll pay you when we get our provisions, but not before." Thorin says to him.

"If you value your freedom, you'll do as I say. There are guards ahead."

We turn to look ahead and see the rooftops of Laketown in the distance, as well as hearing the voices of men in the distance.


Well, there's that chapter done. Violet has made her way back to her dwarves, met Bard and almost torn him apart for threatening her friends. . .not a great first meeting. . .oh well. Please stay tuned for the next chapter xx