Chapter One, Mountains…

For not the first time since she left the comfort and safety of Rivendell, Estrein found herself wondering why. The figure of the half human, and half elf girl turned around to look behind her shoulder. The valley lay below, safely hidden by passages, and strictly protected by skilled guardsmen.
Gandalf's voice rang loud in her ears. The slight point at the tip, indicating the elven blood running through her veins. "This quest needs you Estrein. They will not succeed without your help. Your father would have wished it this way."

Estrein closed her eyes, willing to turn her head away from the home which housed her since she was born. Once her icy blue eyes were open again, Estrein stepped forward, hoping to set her eyes upon her home once more.
"You didn't have to come" a voice spoke to her right. Estrein looked down, smiling gently at the kind look of the dwarf who walked beside her. Black hair and beard, clearly much younger than the majority of his companions.

"Gandalf wished me to come Kili" Estrein answered, looking forwards. The dwarf beside her nodded his head, moving alongside, in silence. "Besides, a bit of fresh air never done anyone any harm. Right?" said the girl.
Kilis lips played a sense of a smile at the edge.

It had been a while since Estrein stepped out of the comforting lands of Rivendell. The land beyond terrified her enough, that she was hesitant to leave it any time of the day without the company of another elf beside her. However, Gandalf's words were truthful. There was only so much Estrein would accomplish, with her prolonged life if she stayed and never went out there into the Blue.

Estrein argued, saying Rivendell was always enough for her. There she had friends, a family, and she felt happy. But nevertheless, Gandalf had good reasoning, and the white haired Estrein found herself trudging alongside dwarves on their extraordinary quest.

As the mountains grew higher, and the paths grew steeper and slipper, the days grew darker. Estrein had positioned herself at the beginning of the party, by Thorins side. They occasionally exchanged a few words, but otherwise Thorins party walked in silence, preferring to not disturb the silence.
One afternoon, the day was increasingly worse than any of the others. Estrein huddled underneath her hood, her snow white hair tucked underneath, yet somehow completely soaked through.

Small drips of water were cascading down her back, sending an eternal shiver through her body. Estrein brushed rain from her eyes, blinking and trying to focus through the stormy night. She stepped forward, slipping on a loose stone which went hurdling down below. Her hands reached for the stone wall beside her, fingers digging into wet mud, and scraping against sharp edges of the mountain.

A steady and firm hand lay rest on Estreins waist. Securing her to the safety of the mountain. "We must find shelter!" Thorin roared over the loud wind. Estrein blinked the drips away once more, her hand catching against some rocks before her, and the half elf moved forward.
"Look out!" Dwalin yelled. Estrein looked up, her heart racing as the image of the boulder flying at the mountain above their heads came into view. She shrieked, pressing her body against the wall of the mountain again and covering her head with her hands. The boulder smashed into the mountain, shattering into smaller rocks and raining down on top of them.

"This is no thunderstorm. It's a thunder battle!" came the sound of Balins voice. Estrein looked forwards, as the shadows of two stone giants came into view. Their bodies were made entirely of stone, and they seemed to be hurdling parts of the mountain at each other.
"Oh bless me. The legends are true!" Bofur cried. "Giants! Stone giants!"
"Take cover you fool!" Thorin ordered. Estrein gasped as the mountain around them began to move. She swayed sideways, clutching tightly to a ridge from the mountain, her eyes closed from fear. There were the muffled voices from her fellow companions, all shouting in fear and surprise at the new events. When the half elves eyes were open again, the second half of their party was stuck on the pathway of another part of the mountain.

"Estrein! Move!" Thorin yelled, giving the petrified girl a slight push forwards. Estrein jumped, but her instincts began to kick in and the girl's feet rushed forward, onto a safer part of the mountain which did not move. The dwarves jumped onto the safely steady mountain, spinning around to watch the fate of the rest of their group.
Estreins eyes locked with the hobbits, watching as the part of the mountain which they were on fell straight into the Misty Mountain. "No!" she screamed. Stumbling over her own feet, the girl ran forwards until the pile of dwarves came into view. They moved, and talked. They were alive.

"It's alright! Were alive!" one of them called, pushing Bomburs frame off. Estrein laughed incredulously, moving forward to help them get back onto their feet.
"Where's the hobbit?! Where's Bilbo?" Bofur yelled.
"Help!" came the meek voice of the hobbit who was hanging over the edge. The girls mouth went dry as she watched Thorin grab onto the edge of the mountain, swinging from it and raising the poor hobbit to his feet. Estrein bounded forwards to help, taking hold of the fur on Thorins coat and dragging the dwarf king up onto the mountain.

"I thought we lost our burglar" Bofur breathed, patting Bilbos small back.

"He's been lost ever since he left home. He should never have come. He has no place among us" Thorin growled. Estrein frowned, stumbling to get onto her feet and stand up for the hobbit before her intentions of speaking were interrupted.
"Here!"

The shelter was dry and safe enough. Thorin walked to the back of it, as Bofur settled beside a pile of sticks, ready to start a fire. However, Thorin ordered it otherwise stating starting a fire in these parts was much too dangerous. The dwarves took off their wet clothes and exchanged them for dry ones, ordering Estrein to look away while they did so. Meanwhile the female changed under her cape, exchanging her soaking night blue shirt and trousers for forest green ones. Her cape, made from the finest silks in Rivendell brushed all water from it and remained dry.

As the night wore in, Estrein lay in between the groups of dwarves. Her eyes were closed attempting to sleep but the slim escape the group made from death still hung on her mind. She knew, she risked her life when leaving Rivendell, but the thing which bothered the half elf girl the most was the sheer strength and determination it was taking for the group to reach their home. It was almost as though Thorin was being drawn by something into the mountain, and he wasn't ready to give in and give up. Her heart rate slowed, and her mind relaxed more at the thought of Rivdendell.

Warm fires, hot food, and the most important thing, a dry and comfortable bed. Curse Gandalf for making her go on this rotten journey. Just as Estrein was about to succumb into sleep, Thorins loud bark woke her up, startling the elven girl. The feeling of startled fear was quickly replaced by the feeling of falling and Estrein closed her eyes, her mouth open into a loud and shrill scream.