BOO for slow update! I'm sorry, I have been really bad about this, haven't I? I started writing this chapter right after I published the last one, all those months ago, but then I went on vacation, had no internet, etc...long story short everything was erased so I didn't have anything to post for you. Then I did my schools musical, and I had no time at all for anything. And then the night I told you I was going to update there was a really bad storm in my area and I had no internet connection. But it's back now, summer is here and updates should be coming much, much quicker! Anyways I wanted to make this one longer to make up for the length of the last one, and the extremely long wait. I do hope you guys enjoyed hearing about the less known stories of Tolkien's world, it was fun to include them :) However if you see anything that I may have gotten wrong, please let me know so that I can fix it! I do my studying before including anything, but accidents happen.

KiliandFiliGirl: I'm glad as well! Thank you, I'm so glad you loved the last chapter, it means so much to hear you say that!

Padfootette: Thank you for your kind words! I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Onward!


"To answer your question, Master Nori," Gandalf interjected, fixing Bilbo with a frown, "Tom Bombadil is, simply put, an ambiguous entity that has allegedly been around since the beginning of the First Age. He is believed to live in the Old Forest with his wife, where they keep watch over the Barrow-downs, keeping them in balance."

"Of course, he's nothing more than a story," Bilbo yawned, spreading out onto his bedroll beside his sleeping children. "No one's actually seen him. Right, Gandalf?"

The wizard kept quiet, his eyes meeting Bilbo's over the heated ashes in his pipe in such a way that made the hobbit begin to doubt his words.

"I will say this, Bilbo Baggins; there are many things in this world that are unknown to a myriad of people, but not unfamiliar to all. There are secrets lying in every shadowed corner; you must simply open your eyes to discover them."

The hobbit sighed in mild irritation. Confound the old man. Why must wizards always speak in riddles?

"Goodnight, Gandalf."

"Goodnight Bilbo."

The last thing the hobbit saw before drifting off to sleep was the sky, a dark canvas of black and blue dotted with the twinkling silver light of stars.

The World Ahead:

So began the daily routine of Thorin Oakenshield's company. Long days of riding passed into night, always with a few tales from Bofur to lighten the mood as they sat around in the fire smoking their pipes and eating their supper. The irony of having an everyday pattern on an adventure, no less, was not lost on them, though the familiarity of knowing what the day ahead would bring was comforting. As the person last on watch woke his companions with the first rays of morning glimmer illuminating their path, the company would rise and trudge on, their tired and sore bodies loath of the cheerful birds that began singing as the sun first crested over the hills, spilling warm light over the nature below. A few weeks of relative jovial camaraderie passed before the inevitable and abysmal day appeared. With only apples consisting of their breakfast, a foul mood had found its way into each dwarf, hobbit and wizard alike, only to be furthered as a dark sky announced the arrival of rain. Pulling hoods and cloaks about them, the usual banter that helped the time go by was non-existent.

"Fee, will it be like this the entire journey? I don't like the rain." Lenorah asked, her voice muffled by Fili's back where her head was burrowed. Fili sighed, reaching behind him to poke her side.

"I know you don't, Lee; just don't think about it." Then an idea popped into his head, and he smiled. "Lee, would you like to have a battle?"

Lenorah sat up quickly, grinning. "Yes!"

"Kili, would you like to join?"

"Of course!" Kili smiled wickedly. "Anything to show my superior knowledge."

Fili snorted while Lenorah scoffed. "Kee, last time we battled, you could only answer one question, and even then you got it wrong!"

Kili's cheeks quickly turned dark with blush. "It was a trick question, and you cheated." He huffed indignantly. Bilbo laughed, making his youngest son turn to glare at him. He quickly suppressed his chuckles, though he could not help but smile at the young dwarf.

"What exactly are you doing?" Ori's timorous voice piped up. He was looking at them curiously, his eyes alight with interest. Lenorah smiled, happy to be including one of their new acquaintances in one of her favorite games. She noticed that he seemed to be quieter than the others, a bit more shy. Nodding to herself, she silently declared that it would become her duty on this journey to help him out of his shell. If they were to accomplish their goal and win back the mountain, she guessed that a great deal of attention would soon turn to him, and it would be easier to handle when he wasn't trying to hide within himself.

"It's a game we like to play, when we're bored, or when it's raining." She explained. "It helps pass the time along, and it's great fun! We make up categories, whatever we want, and then we ask each other questions that go along with that topic. You could say it's a battle of knowledge, which is why Kee is so bad at it. He hardly ever pays attention when Papa is teaching us our lessons." She grinned as her brother's cheeks grew even darker, though he didn't speak up to contradict her. Ori nodded, the gray woolen scarf wrapped around his neck bobbing with him. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the burly, ginger dwarf riding beside him.

"Battle is no game, lass. It is a serious and dangerous thing. Your little way of passing the time cannot be compared to the gruesome truth that is war. It would be best you remember that." Gloin scolded, sending a scathing look to Bilbo as if to question why he allowed such an offensive thing to occur. Lenorah shrunk away from the dwarf, avoiding his gaze by looking down at her lap.

"Is war not a battle between two or more forces hoping to achieve the same goal?" Fili's cold voice questioned. He was glaring at the dwarf, his hazel eyes stony. Gloin huffed, stumbling to find words, before agreeing. While Fili had not been raised as one, he was still a prince, and Gloin knew better than to cross a Durin.

"Well, yes, simply put, but that is-"

"Then that is what we are doing. Testing one another's intelligence in the hopes of winning the game. It may not be the same as your definition, but I doubt we will ever agree on things such as this. The Shire is a peaceful place, Master Gloin. The worst thing to have ever happened that I can remember resulted in the two companies eventually getting married. We were not raised to fear fighting and war; it has never been something to worry about. Lenorah may call our game whatever she likes, and I will ask that you not reprimand her as a parent would. That is Bilbo's job, and not yours. You, Master Gloin, would be best to remember that."

Gloin gaped at the blonde dwarf, shocked at just how much he resembled his uncle, before he finally turned in his saddle, finding it best to not say anything at all. More than one pair of eyes shifted towards the front of the line, where a bemused wizard sat next to an irritated dwarf king. Fili relaxed slightly, happy that the attention had turned away from them; only then did he notice the little hand grasping his shirt.

"Thank you, Fee." Lenorah's voice was small and muffled; she had buried her head again into her brother's back in shame as Gloin scolded her. Fili reached back and poked her side, eliciting a giggle as he intended.

They continued on in silence, their game forgotten. The rain began to slowly ease up, until it was only a slight drizzle; birds started to sing as they came out of their hiding places, and the nature around them seemed to come alive with the departure of the clouds. A mother doe and her fawn grazed on the dewy grass, ignoring the company as they passed by. As they exited the cover of the trees, more than one member could be heard sighing aloud at the warm sun that beat down on their faces, eventually drying their soaked clothes. Everyone was in a much better mood by the time afternoon turned to evening. Thorin called for them to halt and make camp, finding shelter in the burnt down remnants of a house that sat on the edge of the trees. As Bombur set about preparing supper, the others relieving their rides of their packs, Bilbo came up behind his eldest son, quietly leading him away from the group. They walked in silence until they were out of earshot of the company, but before Bilbo had the chance to say what was on his mind, Fili cut him off, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry for my outburst, Papa. It won't happen again."

"Fili, you cannot keep doing this. It will kill you before we even reach the mountain."

Fili's brow furrowed as he frowned in confusion at the worried look Bilbo was giving him.

"Doing what? Defending my sister from an unnecessary attack from someone who hardly knows us? I don't care what the consequences are, I wont allow it!"

Realizing he was nearly yelling, and attracting the attention of the others, he lowered his voice. It was Bilbo's turn to frown.

"It is not your job to allow it! Fili, listen to me. I didn't say that what you did earlier for Lenorah was wrong. It gladdens my heart to see you looking out for one another. However, I do not condone your attitude towards the members of this company. I know what happened to you. I understand what you're feeling, but the others don't; they don't have a clue. That is your family, Fili, whether you accept that or not. No, let me finish." Fili had opened his mouth to object, but Bilbo would not be interrupted. "I know this is all very hard for you, and I wish there were some way for me to make it better, but there isn't. However, there is something you could do, to make it easier on yourself; don't be so hard on everyone and push them away. It will make this entire journey simpler for all of us. This is not how I raised you, and it does not become you. Please, Fili, will you try to make an effort?"

Fili sighed, feeling his anger and frustration slowly subside and turn to weariness. Looking back, he supposed he had been rather...rough, towards the other members of the company. It was really very trying on him to be cold and aloof to the other dwarves for so long, but it made it easier for him to remember why he had left in the first place in the long run. He could not afford to become close again. That, however, did not mean he couldn't be at least civil towards the others. It would be hard for him to adjust, but it needed to be done. For everyone's sakes, and more importantly his sanity. Sighing resignedly, he nodded, and Bilbo smiled, relieved he had come through to his son successfully, before clapping a hand on his shoulder with a melodramatic sigh.

"Good. Now, let's be done with all this drama; it is starting to take a toll on your poor father's nerves."

"Or you're just getting old, Papa." Fili smirked, accepting the change in mood and discussion gratefully. Chuckling and taking the playful retort in stride, Bilbo lead them back towards the camp.

"Fili!"

The dwarf being called immediately became stiff, the smile sliding off of his face. As Thorin came over to where his nephew and burglar stood, he didn't notice the small squeeze pass from the hobbit's hand to the younger dwarf's shoulder.

"Fili, I've asked your brother and...sister, to watch over the ponies. It seemed time that you had some responsibilities as part of this company."

Fili's eyes flashed with anger, but he held his tongue, choosing not to remark on the difficulty Thorin had in acknowledging Lenorah as his sister. He hoped Bilbo knew how hard he was trying to change. Nodding that he understood, he sent one last look towards his father before making his way towards the small clearing just inside the trees that was housing the ponies. Up ahead, amongst the grazing ponies, Lenorah and Kili sat on a fell tree, laughing at something he couldn't see; when they noticed he was approaching, they quickly stifled their snickers, Kili shoving his hands behind his back.

"What are you two up to?" He asked, a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. Lenorah could hardly contain her giggles; she was never a very good liar. Kili, however, had learned from the very best-his brother. A mask of innocence on his face, Kili shrugged.

"Why would we be up to something, big brother?"

"Because, little brother, you always are."

"We have no idea what you're talking about, do we, Lee?" More giggles.

"Really? Lenorah, you would tell me if you were up to something, wouldn't you?" Fili's raised eyebrow brought the young hobbit's laughter to an abrupt halt. Panic rising in her eyes as she pulled Kili in front of her, she shook her head.

"Fee, don't you dare."

Before she could do more than blink, Fili darted forward, grabbing her round the middle and beginning to tickle her mercilessly. Her shrieks so loud they startled the ponies, causing them to trot away from the noise, Fili couldn't help but smile as she gasped for breath.

"Fee...stop! Please...I'll tell you...just stop!"

Fili paused his hands, quirking his brow once more at Lenorah as she attempted to catch her breath.

"We were...going to...Papa! Help me!"

Taking advantage of his distraction, Lenorah made a mad dash from her brothers grasp, running to hide behind Bilbo, nearly knocking over the bowls in his hands.

"Lenorah, careful!" Bilbo chided, though there was a smile on his lips. "Bombur would have my head if he heard any of his soup was wasted. Now, take a bowl and hush; Fili, leave your sister alone."

Bilbo passed Fili and Kili their supper, leading them all to sit on the log that they had been occupying earlier. They ate in comfortable silence, as they often did, listening to the sounds of the night and the occasional bark of laughter from the dwarves as Bofur recounted a long tale.

Lenorah enjoyed his stories; they weren't like the ones her papa had told her when she was younger. They had been of the Valar and the beginning of time, of the elves and the special things they had done. He found as much as he could in his countless books that he collected over the years (he had a love of reading from a young age, and his mother always made sure that he had something to pore over).

Every night before bed, Bilbo would tell her a new story, using different voices for the different people and, when she got extremely lucky, occasionally even dressed up. Lenorah had loved their nightly ritual, looked forward to going to bed just for it; but somewhere along the line, she had grown too old for them. 'I'm not a baby anymore, Papa,' she had said as explanation. However, as she listened to Bofur while he told of mighty dwarves in battle and terrible foes being conquered, she realized that perhaps she wasn't too old. Making her second promise of the day to herself, she promised that as soon as they returned to the Shire-if, they returned-she would ask Bilbo to take up his books and start again their ritual.

She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice at first when the herd of ponies began agitatedly nickering and pawing the ground. However, she quickly came to the present when a sharp crack resounded in the small clearing, almost as though a large tree were being snapped in half. Jumping up at the sound, she found herself once again behind Bilbo, who had also leapt from his seat.

"What was that?" Kili was looking towards where the noise seemed to come from, peering into the dark to see what had caused it.

"I'm sure it was nothing; probably just an old, dead tree finally falling over." Fili assured them, knowing full well that was not the case. "Lenorah, would you take our bowls back to camp and have Balin come here, please? Maybe you could get Bofur to tell something other than dwarves saving the day for once."

Lenorah nodded at Fili's smile and gathered up their forgotten dishes, sending one last glance into the dark before making her way back to camp. Once he was sure she was out of earshot, Fili turned back to his brother and father, a grim look settling on his features.

"Whatever that was, it sounds very...big," Bilbo commented, his voice quivering slightly. He was accustomed to taller and larger beings than he; Fili and Kili swamped him in height, and then of course there were Dwalin and Gandalf who made him feel like a child in retrospect. However, whatever thing that caused that noise seemed much, much bigger than anything he had seen before.

"Do you suppose we should tell Thorin and the others?" Kili glanced the way Lenorah had gone, then back towards the dark trees before them.

A loud, chilling scream was all that answered him.


So not exactly where I wanted to end; I know I promised trolls, but I couldn't get there this chapter. I didn't want to make you wait any longer. I don't have my laptop (currently using my sisters) but I will start on the next chapter immediately. Sorry for this filler chapter, but I hope you enjoyed the Fili/Bilbo angst! Until next time!