Note: Italics is thoughts, unless specified otherwise i.e flashbacks or visions. / is timeskip


ALEXA'S POV

Her feet swung back and forth as they dangled over the river. A sigh left her. Did she do the right thing? Was it right to let Kili get shot? Whilst her head agreed with letting her vision happen, her heart said otherwise. An overwhelming sense of guilt enveloped her; she could've done something but she didn't. A sigh left her, It's all part of a much bigger picture

She glanced over her shoulder at Kili who was currently getting his leg bandaged by Oin. Not that it would do much overall; but it was the best they could do, with what little they had.

Breathing softly, Alexa looked back to her feet and peered down at the icy water beneath them. Her reflection stared right back at her. Why did the fate of Middle Earth rest on her shoulders? If the Valar had the power to teleport her and Ben from her galaxy to wherever this was; why couldn't they save the line of Durin? Why did she have to? And if she was unsuccessful what then? Would she be forced to watch those she had gotten close to over the past year die? Unable to do a thing as they succumbed to their wounds? The young woman was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't even notice Ori had joined her until he spoke.

"Alexa, are you alright?" He questioned, his voice a low murmur.

"Oh, Ori. Yes, yes, I'm fine, just thinking," Alexa replied, peering up from her under her eyelashes at the ginger Dwarf before averting her eyes to her feet once more.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, his voice soft. Alexa peered up at the young Dwarf who was currently emptying the water from his boots. Oh, Ori. Kind, sweet Ori if only I could.

"Ori I-" Alexa began, but the words died in her mouth as an uneasy feeling washed over her. They were being watched.

Turning her head, her eyes moved along the riverbank, searching for the disturbance; hoping the Orcs hadn't caught up with them. As she scanned the area, she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary; though her senses were telling her otherwise.

"Alexa?" Ori said, a worried expression on his face as he looked at the suddenly on edge woman.

"Shh! There's somebody here," Alexa whispered; her eyes darted around the river bank; searching. At her words, Ori stiffened and his grip on his boot tightened.

The familiar sound of an arrow notching sounded behind the two. Slowly, Alexa and Ori turned towards the noise and came face-to-face with a man. Alexa eyes ran over the stoic man; he had long black hair, drawn back in what she assumed was a tie, he was also sporting a goatee. The man stood tall, above them all. His form was strong as he held a yew longbow with an arrow aiming right at the company.

After spotting the man, it wasn't long before the rest of the company did too. Dwalin moved in front of Alexa and Ori, blocking their view of the man. He held a piece of driftwood up in defence. Alexa appreciated that Dwalin jumped in the line of fire protecting her and Ori. But there was no way that he would be able to do anything with that stick before the man shot an arrow at him.

And she was right. No sooner had the burly Dwarf lifted the piece of wood, an arrow flew towards him; embedding itself into the driftwood he was holding.

In the time frame, it took for Alexa to get herself and Ori to their feet. Another arrow had been shot, this time at Kili. Whose arm was still raised after the rock he was previously about to throw got shot out of his hands. Like damn threat or not, that man had skill with a bow.

"Do it again, and you're dead," said man threatened, already having another arrow notched at the ready to fire if need be.

Shortly after the threat, Alexa had joined Dwalin's side. She spared a glance at the Dwarf, who motioned down to her lightsaber; which dangled from her belt. Nodding subtly, Alexa's fingers danced over her weapon; prepared to strike the man down if he attacked. Well posed a threat. Before tensions could rise any higher, Balin - ever the diplomat - walked towards the armed man.

Alexa sucked in a breath as the man pointed his bow at Balin, following his movements. Her fingers clutched her lightsaber, ready to remove it from her belt. She watched as the white-haired Dwarf held up his hands in surrender; meaning no harm.

"Excuse me, but you're from Lake-town if I'm not mistaken. That barge over there it wouldn't be available for hire, by any chance?" Balin asked, nodding behind the man. Barge? What barge? Alexa thought, puzzled.

At his words, the man lowered his bow and glanced behind him; then he walked away from the company. Exchanging a confused look with the burly Dwarf beside her, Alexa released her lightsaber and shrugged at him. Then followed in the footsteps of Balin who had gone after the man.

As Alexa walked past the trees on the bank of the Mirkwood river. Her eyes flickered over a boat; the man was on it, loading the barrels they had used to escape. No wonder the company hadn't seen his approach Alexa thought His boat is in a blind spot!

Alexa looked over the boat, it was a lot different from the ones she had seen back home. A lot. For one thing, most of the 'boats' back home were more like submarines; with some even having blasters on them. The boat before her was made of wood? And had no weapons or artillery of any kind; nothing like the 'boats' back home. Force, this one even had a lone post in the middle, with a sheet attached? Alexa shook her head; this world was weird.

THIRD POV

"What makes you think I would help you?" the man asked, his back facing the company as he moved the barrels on board.

"Those boots have seen better days. As has that coat. No doubt you have some hungry mouths to feed. How many bairns?" Balin asked, a cheery tone in his voice.

"A boy and two girls," he replied as he grasped the rim of another barrel.

"And your wife, I imagine she's a beauty," Balin said, a smile on his face.

"Aye. She was," He replied, a wistful look on his face.

Alexa's heartstrings tugged painfully and an empathic look overcame her greeny-grey eyes at the man's words. The three words, simple as they were; caused a thump to form in her throat. The loss of a loved one was always gut-wrenching.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Balin sighed, his smile instantly disappearing at the man's words.

"Oh, come on, come on. Enough of teh niceties." Dwalin muttered, rather loudly.

At his unnecessarily rough words, Alexa elbowed him in the side and gave him a knowing look which just screamed 'you deserved that'. If she had done that a month ago, she would've gotten more than the grumble and half-assed glare she received from the Dwarf. But after their time together in the cell, something had changed between the two. If asked, they would indefinitely deny it, but they both knew; that somewhere along the way their view of one another had been altered.

"What's your hurry?" The man asked, directing his gaze to the rougher of the two brothers.

"Wha's it te yer?" Dwalin grunted, glancing back to the man; posing his own question.

"I would like to know who you are and what you are doing in these lands," The man replied,

"We are simple merchants from the Blue Mountains journeying to see our kin in the Iron Hills," Balin answered, taking over the talking once more.

"And the woman?" He asked, motioning to Alexa.

"She is none of yer business," Dwalin grunted, moving to stand protectively in front of Alexa. He crossed his thick arms across his chest and glared at the man; almost egging him to try something.

Hearing his words, the company did a double-take. They all stared at the suddenly defensive Dwarf like he had grown a second head. The same question floated around their heads. What in Mahal had happened in that cell?

While the company was still reeling from the protective stance Dwalin had taken over Alexa. Thorin had been observing the latter move closer to Dwalin, a dark look in his eyes. A scowl formed on the Dwarf's face as he watched Alexa grasp his friend's arm and lean in to whisper something into his ear; the scene far too intimate for his liking.

"We need food, supplies, weapons. Can you help us?" Thorin interjected, his voice gruff as he averted his gaze from the two; and got back to the task at hand.

"I know where these barrels came from," the man said, changing the subject; his fingers picked at the splinted edges of a barrel.

"What of it?" Thorin asked, his scowl only deepening as he heard Alexa giggle behind him.

"I don't know what business you had with the Elves, but I don't think it ended well. No one enters Lake-town but by leave of the Master. All his wealth comes from trade with the Woodland Realm. He would see you in irons before risking the wrath of King Thranduil," The man replied as he boarded his boat.

"Offer him more," Thorin whispered to Balin as the man tugged the rope from the dock and threw it at the white-haired Dwarf; ready to leave.

"I'll wager there are ways to enter that town unseen," Balin piped up.

"Aye. But for that, you would need a smuggler," He replied.

"For which we would pay double," Balin said,

— TimeSkip: A Few Minutes —

While Thorin and Balin were discussing things over with the man. Alexa and the rest of the company had moved onto the barge and got themselves comfortable. Well as comfortable as they could be on a boat, in soaking, wet clothes. The company bar Balin and Thorin had all taken their designated spots on the boat; silently waiting for the negotiating to be over.

Not wanting to sit for force knows how long, Alexa decided to explore the boat. She ran her hands over the wood, her eyebrows scrunching together as she examined the post before her. A confused expression took over her face as she looked at the lone post, positioned in the middle of the barge. Sensing eyes on her, she glanced at the person staring at her.

"It's rude to stare you know," Alexa said her eyes full of mirth, she crossed her arms as she stared at the Dwarf.

"I wasn't staring," Dwalin grumbled, crossing his own arms.

"Riight," Alexa drawled, a smirk on her lips. Her teasing caused Dwalin to grunt, pfft he wasn't staring!

"Wha' are yer doing? Touching teh wood aye? Never been on a boat before?" he asked, swiftly changing the subject; and unknowingly hitting the nail on the head.

"No, I-I haven't," Alexa whispered, her arms falling to her sides as she looked away from Dwalin. Preferring to stare at the wood beneath her boots instead; all of a sudden timid.

"Wha-?" Dwalin breathed, uncrossing his arms in shock. Surely, he had misheard.

"Wait you've never been on a boat before? Who would've thought!" Nori jested, his comment gaining a few laughs from the company.

Alexa huffed a laugh, of course, the company was listening in to their conversation. She crossed her arms once more and turned towards the company.

"Actually Nori, I have been on a boat before. Just not one like this,"

"What do you mean 'just not one like this'?" Ori asked, a curious look on his face.

"Well, for starters the boats back home don't have this post here," Alexa sighed, patting the post beside her. The company's eye's widened as she touched the mast. Surely, she was pulling their beards, there's no way!

"What? How is that possible? The mast is one of the most important parts of a boat, without it, you can't sail!" Ori remarked; the rest of the company nodding along with his words.

"Don't need a… Mast you call it?" Alexa asked,

After getting several confirming nods from the company she continued. "Yeah, don't need a mast when the boat is underwater," Alexa smirked; she was about to blow their minds.

"Un-under wat-wate-er?" Bofur choked, clearly shocked. Alexa's eyebrows rose as the Dwarf uncharacteristically stuttered. Well, that's new

"Yeah, you know; underwater. Kind of like a submarine," Alexa said, her words confusing them even further; seeing this she continued.

"Okay so, this boat here, which is er 'open', like you can easily get in and out of it just by jumping off and whatnot. The ones back home are 'closed', like a container or a box if that helps. Anyway, since it's 'closed' you can't simply jump out of it, instead, you have to open up a door to get out. And because they are closed off, they can go underwater," the woman explained, trying to refrain from using any technical words and keeping it as simple as possible; so, they could understand.

"But-but," Ori stuttered, looking to his fellow counterparts for help, for anything. They had never heard of such a thing.

"What can I say," she begun,

"My home is a lot different to Middle Earth," she finished, a cocky smirk on her face.

"Yeah, no kidding," Nori muttered; his eyebrows still raised in shock.

"I mean you guys don't even have any form of aircraft!" Alexa scoffed, her hands thumping against the rim of a barrel.If they did, we would've finished this quest ages ago!

"Aircraft? What's that?" Bilbo stammered, caught between wanting to know and not. The word alone sounded dangerous; he could only imagine what it consisted of.

"A story for another time," Alexa promised, ending the conversation and just in time too. As the discussions had finally ended, with Balin and Thorin joining the rest of the company on the boat. The man following after them and stood at the back of the barge next to what Alexa assumed was the yoke of the boat.

/

A thick fog covered the icy water of the lake, making it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead of the barge.

Alexa shivered and her teeth clattered, it was cold; very cold. It didn't help that not too long ago she was drenched from head to toe. Unfortunately, her tunic and pants were woollen and therefore soaked up the water like a sponge. Due to this they clung tightly to her body and offered little to no heat. Even after squeezing out as much water as she could, it was useless. She'd just have to have faith in the force that the boat ride would not be too long and that they would be supplied with dry clothes afterwards.

She stood, leaned up against the side of the boat, near the front; Bilbo next to her. Other than a few exchanged looks and a smile or two, the two friends did not talk; this was mostly due to the cold.

The man, who Alexa had found out was called Bard. Stood at the stern of the barge, both hands on the rudder as he controlled the direction of the boat. After briefly talking with the man, Alexa had concluded that he was a generally nice guy and more importantly no threat to herself or the company.

As she stared out at the white mist before them, she suddenly sensed large objects heading straight towards them. Or better yet, the boat going straight towards it.

"There's something out there," Alexa breathed, her breath showing clearly in the cold air.

"Wha-" Bilbo began but was cut off by a frantic Bofur.

"Watch out!" Bofur shouted as the fog cleared and revealed old stone ruins dangerously close to the boat.

Calmly, Bard tugged on the rudder and avoided the rocks; navigating the boat through the fog with practised ease.

A sigh of relief passed Alexa's lips as Bard expertly guides them safely through the ruins. She sent a thankful look at Bard whose lips turned up slightly in a smile. Though not everyone felt the same.

"What are you trying to do, drown us?" Thorin spat, his expression dark as he glared at Bard. Guess the stress finally got to him. Alexa thought, a frown on her face as she looked at the usually level-headed Dwarf. I'll have to ask him about it later.

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

"Oh, I've had enough of tis lippy Lakeman. I say we throw him over teh side an' be done with it," Dwalin muttered, glancing over his shoulder towards the rest of the company; his eyes fell upon an unamused Alexa.

"Come on Dwalin, he's done nothing wrong now," Alexa reasoned, staring at the stubborn Dwarf who huffed in response.

"And his name is Bard," She finished a smile upon her lips at seeing Dwalin's scowl grow deeper. The stubbornness is strong with this one.

She watched as he went back to his previous position, leaning against a barrel facing Bard. Poor Bard's going to be incinerated by his glare. She thought, stifling a laugh. Unaware of the Durin blue eyes on her.

"How do ya know? Did ya use the force?" Bofur asked, surprised that she knew the man's name.

"That's not how the force works, Bofur," Alexa chuckled, moving her eyes from a glaring Dwalin to the hatted Dwarf.

"Then how?" He asked her, curious.

"Uh, we asked him," Bilbo piped in, his tone nonchalant.

"They wouldn't understand Bilbo," Alexa whispered to her friend, causing the Hobbit to laugh before he started to cough; to stifle it.

"I do naut care wha' he calls himself. I do naut like him," Dwalin said his voice gravelly and glare unrelenting as he looked at the man.

"We do not have to like him. We simply have to pay him. Come on now, lads. Turn out your pockets," Balin said, smiling at Alexa as she gave him what little coin she had left from the bet at the start of the journey.

"There's just a wee problem. We're ten coins short," Balin said, after counting the coins before him.

"Gloin. Come on. Give us what you have," Thorin sighed, his arms crossed as he stared at the Dwarf.

"Don't look to me. I have been bled dry by this venture. What have I seen for my investment? Naught but misery and grief and-" Gloin drowned off, as he noticed his kin standing around him; all staring intently at something.

Also seeing the Dwarves stand and the expressions on their faces, Alexa and Bilbo followed their eye line. As the mist cleared, a single solitary peak came into view; the lonely mountain. Erebor.

"Bless my beard. Take it. Take all of it," Gloin muttered, not taking his eyes off their home as he passed Balin a sack full of coins.

"Ahem," Bilbo coughed, breaking most of the Dwarves from their staring. The Hobbit nodded over towards Bard, who was watching them carefully.

"The money quick, give it to me," Bard demanded; his words snapping Thorin back to reality.

"We will pay you when we get our provisions but not before," Thorin growled.

"If you value your freedom, you'll do as I say. There are guards ahead," Bard said, at his words, Alexa turned back to the frozen town in the distance; that was coming closer with every moment.

"What should we do Bard?" She asked, now facing the man.

"Get in the barrels, all of you. Now!"