Sorry for the late update guys! College sucks and everything like that! But i hope you enjoy this!

"Let go Kili!"

"Never!"

"NO! KILI! BLOSSOM!"

When Blossom opened her eyes, she briefly wondered how she had survived. It was after all a mighty fall. She seemed to have landed in a pile of mushrooms, though she was worried by the fact that the ground beneath her was moving. Yet it did not feel like any ground she had felt before. Kili! The Hobbit quickly scampered off his chest and reached to check for his injuries. A hiss had her pausing, pressing back into the young Dwarf that seemed to be unconscious for the moment.

"Yes. Yes. Yes! Yes! Gollum. Gollum." Blossom watched as creature entered the little area that they had landed in. She quickly ensured that they were obscured by the mushrooms, watching the thing carefully. It did not look like a Man; Yavanna this thing did not look like any creature that Blossom had seen in the world so far. Perhaps Kili would know what it was when he woke up? Blossom flinched when the Goblin that took them over the edge suddenly flailed around, trying to scare off the creature. She buried her head into Kili's chest when the thing picked up a rock and beat the Goblin over the head with it until he ceased movement. In her horror, she does not see the bit of shiny metal that fall from the thing. In another life this particular item, my dear readers, would have made its presence known to our beloved Hobbit.

"Nasty Goblinses. Better than old bones, Precious; better than nothing" the thing continued to speak, taking his meal away from the landing site and Blossom took the opportunity to check Kili over, her hands instantly going through his thick locks to check for blood. If he had a head injury than his being unconscious was going to be a problem. After finding no blood she checked his body over next, almost crying when she found a pulse on him. Sure she had seen his chest moving up and down with his breaths, but his pulse was strong and it reassured her greatly. She does not know what she would have done if Kili had not survived the fall and she did. How could she ever face the company again? Especially Fili? Oh her poor blond prince was probably besides himself! Hopefully none of the other Dwarves had allowed him to follow after their 'fallen' members.

"Oh Kili, you silly, stupid Dwarf…" she whispered to his body, knowing that the others were probably worried sick about them. Perhaps Thorin was actually showing something on his face besides distaste. Blossom continued her search, wincing when she felt his left ankle and it was rather swollen. Sprained or twisted. Surely not broken, at least that is what Blossom kept repeating to herself. She took stock of what they had, Kili's sword, the Elven blade, her daggers and her bow and a quiver. They could surely use all of this to get out. Blossom sat back, planning to just wait for Kili to wake up. She knew it was not reasonable since the others were probably going to get too far ahead and with Kili's ankle it was going to take them forever to find a way out of the mountain. Her plan did not last long when something caught her eye across the way, glittering even in the dark cave. Casting a look to Kili, she grabbed the Elven blade and her daggers before stepping out of the mushroom patch.

"Shut up!" Her head looked towards where the thing went before quickly hurrying to the glint she had saw. Picking it up, her eyebrows furrowed at the sight of a ring. A simple plain gold ring. Why would that creature have such an item? Hearing the thing singing, besides her best judgement, Blossom pocketed the ring and moved to the mouth of the cave, following the singing. As she walked, the singing grew louder and she gripped her dagger tighter to her waist. Soon enough she reached a small lake within the mountain, the creature upon a rock in the middle. She grimaced as she watched the thing eat the Goblin. She looked down at her Elven blade, biting her lip when the blue hue went out signaling there were no Orcs nearby. She looked back up, her heart dropping when the thing was no longer up on the rock. She looked around for it, not even noticing until they are almost face to face. The thing jumps down and began to advance on Blossom.

"Bless us and splash us, Precious! That's a meaty mouthful." The creature cheers, moving closer to her. Blossom rapidly thrusts out her blade in front of her, not wanting to deal with this right now. "Aaahh. Gollum. Gollum." Maybe the creature was named Gollum? Blossom decided that it was better than calling it a thing, though she was still unsure of its gender.

"Back. Stay back. I'm warning you, don't come any closer!" She watched Gollum carefully, his bulbous eyes taking her in as well. It knew about Elves… Perhaps it had once been something. But that did not explain what it was now. "My name is Blossom Baggins." She introduced, not sure exactly why she did so, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

"Bagginses? What is a Bagginses, Precious?" She scrunched her nose at the word, though she was almost positive it was not calling her such a name.

"I'm a Hobbit from the Shire."

"Oh! We like Goblinses, batses, and fishes, but we hasn't tried Hobbitses before. Is it soft? Is it juicy?" Blossom's blade came back up when Gollum made for her again, this time actually slicing a bit of his cheek, but he did not seem to notice.

"Now, now, keep your distance! I'll use this if I have to!" She tried to keep her voice steady remembering Frerin's lessons to not let your opponent see weakness. Only she was afraid because this creature did not seem to feel pain. "I don't want any trouble; do you understand? Just show me the way to get out of here, and I'll be on my way." She said sternly, knowing it was a lie because she would have to go and get Kili and hope that he was awake enough to shoulder some of his weight. She couldn't carry him by herself.

"Why, is it lost?"

"Yes, yes, and I want to get unlost as soon as possible." Finally, now she was getting somewhere with this creature. Maybe she could actually find a way to get out and then come back for Kili. Frerin had always said she was good as memorization.

"Ooh! We knows! We knows safe paths for Hobbitses. Safe paths in the dark." Gollum said, a somewhat childish aspect to him, reminding Blossom of the Hobbits that had just hit their maturity. That cusp between adulthood and childhood. Blossom pushed away the longing for hope, focusing on the creature before him that seemed to be having a two-way conversation with itself.

"Look, uh, I don't know what your game is, but I," Blossom was cut off when Gollum suddenly perked up, looking at her with his big eyes.

"Games? We love games, doesn't we, Precious? Does it like games? Does it? Does it? Does it like to play?" Perhaps not at the maturity after all… Gollum was like an energetic fauntling, though not at all cute and adorable.

"Maybe?" She answered, wondering what game they could possibly play. She hoped it did not involve anymore Goblins and/or their head being smashed open.

"What has roots as nobody see, is taller than tress. Up, up, up it goes, and yet, never grows." Gollum recited, Blossom's confidence shooting up when she realized that he wanted to play a game of riddles. A game that many Hobbits enjoyed immensely though you could only really win against fauntlings since they did not know the riddles by heart like most of the grown Hobbits.

"The mountain." She said confidently, having told this one multiple times to the fauntlings that would play with her at parties.

"Yes, yess, oh, let's have another one, eh?" Gollum encouraged, though his other personality was quick to take over, the joyous look on the creature's face morphing into one of anger. "No! No more riddles! Finish it off. Finish it now. Gollum! Gollum!" The creature snarls and begins to charge at Blossom, but she quickly stepped back, her mind whirling.

"No! No, no, no. I want to play. I do. I want to play. I can see you are very good at this. Why don't we have a game of riddles? Just you and me," She crouches low so she is eye level with Gollum, resisting the urge to back away when it shuffles towards her.

"Yes! Yes, just us,"

"Yes. And if I win, you show me the way out." Blossom said, truly hoping that the creature was honorable. The creature morphed back into its angry personality, causing Blossom to sweat a bit as she listened to the topic it was discussing.

"If Baggins loses, we eats it whole." It said to her, as if there was nothing wrong with that statement. Blossom pauses, thinking it over carefully.

"Fair enough," Blossom stands and sheaths her blade. Gollum gestures for her to go first and she thinks carefully for a difficult one.

"Thirty white horses on a red hill. First they champ, then they stamp, then they stand still." She recalls easily, mentally grinning at her cleverness. This riddle had stumped her for years when she was younger and surely Gollum had not heard it before as he looks unsure with himself.

"Teeth?" Blossom's face slumps, upset that Gollum had gotten in so easily. Her unset face solidified the answer for the creature as he started to bounce around with a laugh of "Teeth! Yes, my Precious. But we – we – we only have nine." Blossom frowns in disgust when she finds that indeed there are only nine teeth in the creatures mouth and they are all jagged to suggest carnivore. "Our turn. Voiceless it cries, wingless flutters, toothless bites, mouthless mutters." Blossom starts to think, biting her lip nervously. Gollum had begun to advance on her, but she made sure to keep a rock between them and her hand firmly on her daggers.

"Just a minute!" She insisted when Gollum began to rush her. She started to look around the cave, her eyes settling on the water. She notices the breeze is creating small ripples in the water on the surface. "Wind. It's wind! Of course it is!" At Gollum's slumped face, she had been right.

"Very clever, Hobbitses, very clever." He grumbled, getting too close to her and she quickly scuttled around the rock.

"A box without hinges, key, or lid; yet golden treasure inside is hid." She said, her voice quivering slightly though from fear or the chill of the cave, she was not sure. Gollum continued with his muttering, but Blossom was starting to get impatient. She wanted to get back to Kili and make sure that he is okay. "Well? Give up?" She asked, clutching her dagger as the creature banged on the cave floor.

"Give us a chance, Precious, give us a chance!" He shouted, his banging continuing before suddenly stopping and turning to look at her. "Eggses! Eggses!" He laughs, Blossom sighing softly hoping that it would have stumped him. She really needed to check on the Dwarf and make sure no Goblins found him. Though it seemed no other being came down here. Blossom looked up, only to see that Gollum was gone. Her sword was out instantly, looking for him without trying to look fearful. But if truth be told she was horrified that she had not noticed.

"All things it devours, birds, beasts, trees, flowers. Gnaws iron, bites steel, grinds hard stones to meal. Answer us." His voice echoed through the cave, dread settling in her stomach.

"Give me a moment, please, I gave you a good long while," she insisted, her sword drawn as she tried to think and defend herself. She didn't know this one.

"Is it tasty? Is it scrumptious? Is it crunchable?" Blossom gasped as pale hands attempted to strangle her from behind, but she quickly whirled around with her sword and backed away.

"Let me think. Let me think." She mumbled, mostly to herself, knowing that she needed to think and quick.

"It's stuck. Bagginses is stuck." The creature taunted her as she paced near the water. She did not see his shrug or his smile at her. "Time's up." He said, rocks falling that indicate that he was moving. With that phrase, it finally clicked in place for her.

"Time. The answer is time!" She said, letting out a little cheeky smile, relieved to have figured it out. "Actually, it wasn't that hard."

"Last question. Last chance. Ask us." The nice personality was talking now, but like always it did not take look for the harsher on to appear. "ASK US!" He growled, his eyes wide and stance menacing.

"Yes, yes, alright." She placated, thinking carefully. He said question, not riddle. She could ask him any a number of things to stump him. Blossom remembered the ring she found and ever her mother's daughter, decided to ask about that. "What have I got in my pocket?" The effect was instantons, Gollum hollering at the top of his lungs.

"That's not fair! It's against the rules!" Blossom jumped when a rock came flying at her feet, surprised to find that he had been holding it for a while. He had planned to hit her like the Goblin! "Ask us another one." The way he said it sounded as if he was pouting.

"No, no, no. You said 'Ask me a question.' Well, that is my question. What have I got in my pocket?" She persisted, having a feeling that he would not be able to figure it out. He jumped off the rock and she quickly moved to put some distance behind them, not wanting him to surprise her and attack.

"Three guesses, Precious. It must give us three." Gollum practically whined at her, Blossom's fear leaving slightly since all she could think of right now was him being a pouty fauntling who had not gotten his way. And I can assure you dear readers that Blossom has described Gollum correctly.

"Three guesses. Very well, guess away." She said, dismissively. She itched to get out of this cave, even if it meant leaving Kili behind for a while. She was sure that if she could catch the company, they could come back for him.

"Handses!" He shouted, whining in despair when Blossom showed that both her hands were not in her pocket.

"Wrong, guess again." She watched Gollum search through the bones on the floor and mutter to himself almost insanely.

"Knife!" He grinned, pointing at her.

"Wrong again. Last guess." She prompted, feeling hope for the first time since they fell. She would get out of here and get help for Kili.

"String! Or nothing." Gollum finally answered after slapping the floor and muttering.

"Two guesses at once; wrong both times," she felt an ounce of sympathy when the creature fell over and begun to sob on the ground. But she had won fair and square and she wanted to get out of this damned cave. "So, come them, I won the game, you promised to show me the way out." She said, wishing she was dealing with an intelligent creature instead of one with a blood lust.

"What has it got in its pocketses?"

"That's not concern of yours. You lost." She said, feeling her heart drop as he started to approach her once more. He was reaching for something, but when he could not find what he wanted, his angry expression morphs into shock and he turns frantic.

"Where is it? Where is it? No! Ahh! Where is it? No! No!" He cries, splashing through the lake as he searched for something. "Lost! Curses and splashes, my precious is lost!" He sobs at the edge of the lake. Blossom's eyes widened realizing what he had 'lost', but made no move to touch it. If it was sending him into such a frenzy, perhaps it was no good.

"What have you lost?" She asked, flinching when he yelled back at her. She watched him cry at the edge of the lake. Her grip on the sword tightened when his sobs suddenly ceased and he straightened up.

"What has it got in its nasty little pocketses?" His voice is dangerous as he turns to look at Blossom. "She stole it. She stole it! Ahh! SHE STOLE IT!" He snarls, racing towards her. Blossom turns to run, but stumbles over the rocks. She falls, the rocks digging into her tender palms as she tries to shuffle across the ground and get up at the same time. She braces herself for death when she feels Gollum tackle her. The blow never comes, though her back does get rather wet with something.

"Namad…" She could almost cry at Kili's voice, turning her head to look up at the Dwarf. He was standing to her right, sword held in his hands. It was covered in blood and she realized that meant that the wetness she felt was blood. She scrunched her nose in disgust and shook herself off Gollum's corpse. She turned around to face him and suddenly had an armful of Dwarf.

"Shhh," she soothed, running her fingers through his hair as she let her own tears fall. He buried his face into her chest, his strong arms holding her tightly.

"I thought I lost you. We fell and you weren't there and then that – that thing! Mahal, I could have lost you!" He cried, pulling back slightly so she could see his watery eyes and guilt striken face. Although he was putting on a bit of a tough face, she could see the underlying pain in his movements.

"I'm here Kili. Though you are so foolish," she whispered, her voice cracking with emotion. Kili laughed at her words, causing Blossom to copy him. The two rested their foreheads together, laughing as seemingly nothing funny.

"You have been around uncle too long." He grinned, his face still wet, but he was quickly wiping them away. "But I couldn't let you go over. No Fili would never forgive me. I couldn't leave you to get hurt again," Blossom could see just how young Kili was in that moment and she smiled sadly at him.

"No, you couldn't could you?" She whispered, him nodding his head at her question. "But you just had to get hurt along the way?" She teased, gesturing at his ankle. Kili blushed just slightly, looking up at her with his puppy dog eyes.

"Sorry, next time we fall off a cliff, I'll use you as a shield," he teased back, grinning when she let out a surprise laugh and pushed his face away from her with her hand. Blossom slowly got up and looked down at Kili on the ground. "We should get moving. You killed our guide, but it should not be too hard to figure it out," She said, grabbing her blade and daggers before gently helping him up. She noticed that the archer had her little bow slung over his shoulders with her quiver. "Can you walk?" She asked, holding his hands as he took a few unsteady steps. "Slowly then." She commented, tucking herself under his left arm to support his sprained ankle.

Together the Dwarf and Hobbit made their way through the caves, hobbling along and being quiet as to not attract the attention of any Goblins or things lurking in the dark. Blossom longed to get out of the mountain and hopefully see the sunshine again. She had not seen the sun since they left Rivendell. She also wanted to see Fili desperately, but she had a feeling that he would never forgive her. She had led to his brother going over the edge of a chasm. Though something in her told her that her thoughts were not Fili's. About an hour into their hobbling, Blossom decided to take a break for Kili. She helped the Dwarf sit down and sat at his feet, gently massaging his ankle in hopes of helping the pain. Sadly, all the medical supplies were lost and she did not have her pack so she could not wrap his ankle to give him some support.

"Kili?" She asked softly, finally disturbing the silence that they had been walking in. They had been so focused on finding a way out and being quiet that no conversation passed between them for the hour. He hummed, letting her know that he had heard her without verbally answering. Looking at him, he looked quite happy to be off his feet. He had been struggling for the last five minutes. "Why did you call me sister?" She asked curiously, remembering the Khuzdul that he had taught her. Kili stiffened at the mention of the word. He had hoped that she had been too distracted to hear it and then to remember it. But Kili had never been too lucky with things so how could think that he would be lucky in that fact.

"I'm not supposed to tell you," he whispered honestly, feeling his gut twist in guilt. Guilt for hiding the secret from Blossom and for betraying his brother and even mentioning it. Blossom looked up at him confused, her brows furrowed. "Fili told me not to," he elaborated, staring at the cave wall. Kili was making a decision for both Blossom and Fili now. They were on a perilous journey and Fili could have almost lost both of them. Kili was not going to watch his brother deny himself some happiness while they were risking their lives. And Blossom too! She could die without even knowing that her soulmate was right there with her the entire time. "But after our near death experience, I believe you should know," Kili decided, reaching forward to tuck her hair behind her ear, exposing her mark.

"What are you talking about Kili?" She whispered, flinching slightly when he touched her, but allowed him to push her hair back and stroke the mark behind her ear. It felt strange, but something in her said that it was okay for Kili to do this. "What are you hiding?" She asked, not really like secrets, especially if they were about her. Her pocket felt heavy with the mention of secrets, but she quickly shoved it down. Now was not the time to think of the ring. Kili did not answer her for a few seconds, his fingers tracing the mark gently.

"F," he said out loud, tracing one of the letters behind her ear. Her eyes widened, her heart racing in her chest. Was Kili finally going to tell her who her heart was? "I. L. I." Kili finished, tracing out each letter for her. Her heart stopped in her chest. It could not be. Could it?

"Fili? You are saying my heart is Fili?" She whispered to him, not wanting to get her hopes up. Then again the blond Dwarf had called her his heart when they were close to death on the stone giants. Kili nodded his head and Blossom felt ready to cry. Only she would find her heart on a quest where she could lose him. "Why didn't you guys tell me?" She asked softly, her voice breaking Kili's heart. She sounded so betrayed.

"I wanted to, Mahal I did Blossom. Frerin wanted Fili to tell you though and Fili has his own reasons I suppose, but he would not listen to me," Blossom quickly pulled Kili into her, trying to stave off his tears.

"Shh, it is alright Kili. Thank you for telling me now," she whispered to him, gently soothing the young Dwarf in her arms. She had no clue why Fili would want to keep this from her, but now was not the time to think about that. Now they needed to get out of this cave and back to Fili and the rest of them. Then she can worry about why Fili did not tell her who her heart. But Yavanna was she so stupid! She could have figured it out when she read her name on his forearm! Her mother was going to laugh forever when Blossom met her again. "Come on we should continue on before it gets too late," she said, helping him up and off they were again. She knew the comment was a bit false since there was no way to tell time in the mountain, but it seemed to get Kili up once more and moving.

Another hour had passed when they finally saw light, torch light, but it was light nonetheless. Meaning they were close to the Goblins once more. They paused once more for a break, Kili getting a bit pale from the exertion. Blossom rested her own head against his thigh, wishing that Kili had not gotten hurt. As selfish as it was, he was not light and she could feel her own energy waning because she had to help him through the mountain.

"Blossom?" Kili whispered softly, nudging her with his thigh gently. She copied his hum from earlier, looking up at him questioningly. "I was watching you two play riddles and you won, how come that creature went to attack you?" Kili asked, his brows furrowed in confusion. Blossom's hand instinctively went to the ring in her pocket, almost protectively. Though something felt different now. Maybe it was because she no longer wanted to hide it from Gollum or because she now knew that Kili was going to be her family one day and she could trust him. Little did she know, dear readers, that this ring cannot corrupt a being whose heart is not their own. Yes, our beloved Hobbit is already in love with the blond prince. Though look at how close they were over the last couple of months, it was understandable. Their bond was what Mahal and Yavanna had in mind when they put soulmate marks on their creations.

"He wanted this," she answered, pulling from her thoughts. She reached into her pocket and held the ring in between two of her fingers. "I do not know why he was so interested in it, threw quite a fit as you can tell.

"Quite the burglar huh, namad?" He teased, knocking her a bit to roughly, sending her to the side. By a chance of fate, the ring bounced out of her fingers and when she went to grab it ended up on her right index finger. Imagine Kili's surprise when one minute his Hobbit friend was there and suddenly she disappeared. This ring was a magic ring, owned long ago by a dark Maia who wanted to conquer all of Arda. Not that many remember the story other than the Elf lords who fought the war against him. This ring has the power to make the wearer turn almost invisible, leaving behind only a shadow in direct light. "Blossom?" He hissed, his eyes squinting as he tried to see in the dark. Had he really be hallucinating this entire time? She was just here!
"I'm right here," she replied, watching the archer's head snap towards her voice, but the confusion only got greater.

"No you are not," he insisted, reaching out blindly to try and find her. Blossom looked back with confusion, reaching out to grab his hand and gasped when she saw, well that was the problem she did not see anything at all! Where was her hand? Looking down at her hand, Blossom was very confused by the fact that her appendage was missing. She quickly pulled off the ring and flinched back with Kili when she appeared once more. "Bloody hell, a magic ring…" Kili whispered, his eyes looking at the ring. But fear not readers, it was not in any kind of desire or lust, more of a wonder and shock. Blossom nodded her head, once more holding the ring in between her fingers.

"I have got a plan," she said, after a couple of minutes, looking up at Kili. The Dwarf grinned at the mischievous look in her eyes.

"Let's hear it then," he insisted, the pain in his ankle suddenly disappearing at the idea of getting into trouble.

"You wear the ring and take the bow. I'm smaller and can move faster. Plus, you are a better archer." That is all that Blossom had told him before they were moving from where they were and getting in position. Kili had slipped the ring on his finger, confused why it had suddenly sized to fit his own hand. Though Kili's thoughts on the matter had abruptly come to a halt when Blossom began to holler a bit further down the mountain. Instantly Goblins were flocking towards them, but Kili was there to pick them off with the bow. She had come up with the idea to lure them away from the cave opening when they had found it and he would shoot all that came his way and if they got past him, she was the second line of defense. Once all the Goblins dead in front of him, he began to run as fast as he could to the entrance of the mountain, his ankle throbbing painfully within his boots.

"Blossom!" He shouted back, turning to face into the mountain. He was not leaving her behind again. He let out a relieved breath when he saw her running towards him, but she had a couple of Goblins following behind her. He picked them off one by one before pushing himself through the narrow opening. He breathed in relieve when was finally in fresh air, but his relieve did not last long because Blossom had yet to exit the cave. He turned and saw that she was a bit stuck in the opening and the Goblins were coming up fast. He reached in and yanked her towards him. He was briefly aware of the buttons of her jacket going flying everywhere, but he did not stop there. He knew the foul beasts would be right behind them. He held her hand tightly as they ran through the trees, both of their breaths coming out hard and rapid.

The Goblins chased them for a bit, but the sunshine made them uncomfortable and they turned back to seek shelter in their mountain. They had escaped.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Comments and criticisms are welcome! I would love to hear your ideas and thoughts! I was wondering if you guys wanted to see an specific side scenes in the upcoming chapters! Especially in when they get to Beorn! Let me know below!

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