Hey guuys, another chapter for you! I am already working on chapter 5 and they should be in Rivendell by chapter 6. Reviews very much appreciated and any questions answered will always be replied to by PM.

As usual nothing of Tolkien's work belongs to me, all recognized characters, places and quotes are just being borrowed.

Chapter 4

Despite knowing the voice, my hand instinctually reaching for my dagger. I relaxed slightly when I saw the familiar face, holding the very dagger I had been reaching for. He walked closer to me, pulling his pony behind him and handed it to me.

I took it quickly and slipped it into my belt. "Thank you," I said, although I wasn't sure if I was thanking him for returning the dagger or for staying behind and waiting for me. "You bet I would come back?" I asked and he nodded although he didn't say anything else.

"Are you ready to go? Everyone else left hours ago and we are way behind." Although I hadn't fully made up my mind whether I wanted to travel with them, I nodded. If I disliked the kingdoms so much, I could always come back here, back home.

He began tacking his pony up, while I went to retrieve the small amount of belongings I owned. Truth be told I had most of my items on my person already, I had really just wanted to say goodbye to my small homely cave. I grabbed the bag and stuffed the blankets inside along with the water skins. I didn't own a bed roll like the rest of them, but I hoped the blankets would keep me from freezing at night. I was already wearing all the clothes I owned so I slipped the bag over my shoulder and looked around one last time before heading back out.

Thorin was leaning against the side of a tree when I returned, his head to the sky with the tiniest smile on his face. When I came out of the trees he looked towards me and his face returned to its normal stony expression. He mounted his pony and held his hand out to me. I must have looked confused because he was quick to explain. "We do not have any spare ponies, you will have to ride with me until we reach the rest of the Company." I nodded and took his arm and he lifted me easily into the saddle behind him.

He told me to wrap my arms around me as we were to be riding at a fast pace in order to catch up with the rest of the Company. I did so, only just in time before he spurred his pony into a canter.

We rode throughout the day, stopping for a drop of water and a crumb of bread and nothing more. We barely spoke on the journey, he preferred the silence and I preferred the views. My legs and backside ached badly but I bit my lip and refrained from complaining, because something told me that if I complained Thorin might dump me off the back of the pony and ride off without me. We were riding on the edge of the forest, following some non-existent pathway Thorin seemed to know.

Just before the sun set we reached the camp of the rest of the company, who seemed to be as energised as ever. Kili and Fili where seemed to be having a duel of some sort shouting words I didn't understand, Bomfur was setting out pots and pans and bowls and one of the dwarves I had yet to meet had his head buried deeply in a book of some sort. Thorin dismounted easily and went behind me and began unpacking our things. He stopped after a minute and looked at me pointedly; I was still sitting in the saddle.

Whilst the pony was undoubtedly short and quite close to the ground, I had no idea how to get down. The 'over and out' leg movement that Thorin had done in order to get down seemed ridiculous as he was slightly taller than me and had the ponies neck to lean on. Before I could embarrass myself further by asking the grumpy dwarf to help me down, he had grasped my waist and lifted me to the ground with ease before returning to his previous task.

"Thank you" I said quickly before making my way over to the group. I barely heard him grunt in response.

Kili and Fili stopped fighting and came over with large smiles upon their faces. "We knew we would see you again," Fili said and Kili nodded.

There was a tall man who came over with a smile on his face. "Hello my dear," He said "I am Gandalf the Grey," I noticed he held a large stick in his hand, much taller than me and he seemed to be leaning on it quite heavily.

"You were not here before?" I questioned. No one had mentioned him either- did he just turn up whenever he pleased?

"I had gone on a wander," He said with a smile "You can only take so much from Dwarves before you need to rely on more intelligent conversation" He added in a whisper. I could barely contain my laughter.

I had barely spent time in the dwarves company, and while I knew they were not stupid creatures, they seemed to enjoy the little things in life. I had heard the constant chatter of food and pipe weed and ale when I had been in the camp yesterday, and now, as the camp settled down slightly I could hear more talk of food and what was for dinner.

Gandalf removed his large, grey pointy hat and looked up towards the sky. The sky was not visible through the trees so I was surprised when he predicted that it was going to rain.

I moved over to where Bilbo was sitting and he smiled at me. Bilbo, it seemed, was one of the happiest of the group and seemed to be a pleasure to be around, I intended to stay close to him. We were both outsiders after all.

I was still looking over to Gandalf, I wasn't sure who he was or what he was, he was certainly tall and he had even predicted the weather, the occasional water droplets where coming through the trees and wetting the ground. I was glad we were under cover because when Gandalf said it would rain, he meant it.

The wind was howling and several of the dwarves had to huddle close to the fire in order to keep the wind from blowing the fire out. Oin, it seemed had gotten a little too close to the fire and screeched when his beard caught alight. Kili and fili could barely contain their laughter as Oin ran about, waving at his beard. I giggled and downright laughed out loud when Kili all but threw his open water skin on Oins face, effectively killing the fire and soaking the dwarf at the same time. Beside me, Bilbo also had a grin on his face. He explained that I should expect some antics from the younger Durin brothers.

Dinner was much the same as yesterday, some sort of lovely stew, again prepared and cooked by Bomfur.

As everyone was setting out their bedroll, it was suggested that myself and Bilbo lie closer to the fire. With the forest open behind us and the open river ahead of us we were quite open and vulnerable. I settled down close to Bilbo, putting my crumbled up and frankly filthy blankets on the floor. I only had 3, and I used them to lie on the uncomfortable ground. I hoped the fire would last the night and keep me warm otherwise I might end up frozen in the morning.

Thorin volunteered to take the first watch, explaining he would wake up Fili in three hours. As I lay down, I watched Thorin go and stand by Gandalf and the quietly began chatting. The dwarves seemed to fall asleep quickly and easily around me as I shifted this way and that. Despite the fire, I was chilly and I had to wrap one of the blankets that were lying underneath me around my legs. I hadn't even dared to take my boots off for fear my feet would fall off.

I finally felt the edges of my vision go fuzzy to the sounds of Thorin and Gandalf's voices and I was barely conscious when I felt someone drape a heavy blanket of some sort onto my body.

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