Gandalf continued to lead them the following morning. Thorin was starting to dread the wizard's leaving. Things seemed to runner smoother when Gandalf was around. Much to his dismay, that night as they settled into the remains of a farmer's house, the wizard left. It probably was more personal, seeing as they had argued about seeking the elves for help before but Thorin had stood his ground. He did not want to go anywhere near them.

Annie slightly panicked when she saw that Gandalf was leaving. This would be her first night alone with the Dwarves and she felt her anxiety rising. "Please don't let anything happened!" she thought desperately, "please please please." But, her prayers were unanswered. That night she found herself standing next to Fili and Kili, watching the firelight of three cave trolls and trying to gather up her courage to go investigate.

Fifteen minutes later, wrapped up tightly in a sack, she wished she never had left Bilbo's comfortable little hobbit hole. She watched helplessly as the trolls roasted her fellow companions and wracked her brains on what could be done to save them. One of the trolls then murmured, "Better cook them before the sun rises, Idon't fancy being turned to stone." She had an idea. She cast a desperate glance towards Thorin, and the others,who fairly defeated, struggling in their own sacks, then shouted "Wait!"! Standing up in her sack, she tried to make herself look more confident than she felt. The trolls looked at her with interest, "What now? We're a little busy here." one of them grumbled. "You're um, not cooking them right!" she told them, making it up on the spot. "Really? What do you suppose we do?" the troll asked her, annoyed.

"Before...before you cook them, don't you think you should make the sauce first?" Annie asked, trying to reason for time, for the morning wasn't far away. The sky was already beginning to lighten.

"The sauce? What kind of sauce goes well with Dwarf?" he asked, Annie shrugged, "Well you could um use a rosemary sauce for one. I saw a lovely patch not too far from here."

Unfortunately for her, the trolls didn't buy it, the leader stomped up to her. "Dont think that I don't know what your doing, little Burrahobbit." he spat, poking her in the chest. She fell down onto to Bifur with a grunt. "Just stay quiet while we cook." he told her.

"No! You should squish them first, into jelly! It would be quite lovely on toast, wouldn't it?" she asked, and ignored the protests of her fellow companions. It must of been fairly frightening for them, hearing that they may be squished into jelly. The trolls just laughed.

"I'd rather just eat them whole!" the second one laughed, then picked up Bombur by his feet.

"Nice and crunchy!" the troll screeched, and as Bombur's head swung dangerously close to the trolls mouth, Annie saw Gandalf dart between the trees. "Don't! Don't eat him!" she shouted, the troll paused.

"And why not?"

"Well, he has um parasites. Yes, very large ones in his um stomach. Actually, they are all infested with parasites. I wouldn't risk it." She lied, hoping that it would work. The dwarves did not take this kindly. Who would want anybody to know that? They protested and Annie rolled her eyes, shooting a look at Thorin, who was the only one not protesting. He caught her glance and realized what she was up to, and quickly he nudged the others and then they figured it out.

"oh yes!"

"I have parasites too! Big ones!"

"Nasty little buggers, they are!"

And then there was a very bright flash of light. Finally Gandalf had returned! Annie watched in wonder as the trolls turned to stone and smiled. Thorin wasn't as pleased, when he was unwrapped and clothed again he said grumpily to Gandalf, "You showed up in the nick of time, but if it hadn't been for your burglar we wouldn't have been caught."

Gandalf nodded, "Yes, but she also bargained for time. None of you had thought of that." He told him, then turned away, leaving Thorin with his thoughts.

Annie was very relieved that they had not been eaten for supper, as were the rest of the dwarves. Infact, with the exception of Thorin, the company was very grateful that Annie had thought to stall the trolls until morning. Annie thought of her act of bravery, and for the first time in a long while felt pleased with herself

"You should do that more often." Kili told her, nudging her playfully with his elbow.

"What?" she asked,a little confused.

"Smile. You look so lovely." he answered, smiling himself. Annie felt her cheeks redden, she didnt even realize her mouth was capable of smiling anymore. It had been so long since she had a reason to, but it felt nice, she smiled shyly and murmured, "Thanks"

Kili nodded, then moved on to help his brother up. As the company arranged themselves, and Galndalf spoke softly to Thorin, Annie inspected the now stone trolls. Their clothes hadn't frozen with them, so she decided to finish what she started, and reached into the first one's pocket. In it, she found a large bag of gold coins, and a key. She pulled it out, curious as to what it was. Maybe it opened secret hideaway of food? They had lost most of theirs earlier, when the ponies had bolted. As she examined it in her, she felt someone gazing over her shoulder, she turned and saw Gandalf smiling at her.

"Well done, Miss Annie. It seems that you found the key to a cave troll. A very good find indeed." he told her, very pleased. She smiled at him, "I'm glad." she told him. Then Gandalf wandered back over to Thorin.

Several minutes late, Annie was standing outside a very nasty looking hole. It reminded her too much of her past, so she stayed out, but the rest of the company went in. A moment later, Gandalf reemerged from the cave and handed her a small sword.

"This seems just about right." he told her, but she shook her head. "Im no stranger to the blade, Gandalf but holding this scares me more than anything in this world." she told him, eyes pleading. Gandalf just nodded, "Good. Lets pray that you never have to use it."

He then turned to the company, who had gathered outside the cave, waiting for instruction. "Come! It is a few days walk towards Rivedale, and Elrond will be expecting you!" he told them. Thorin was especially upset with this news, he did not think kindly of the elves, but Gandalfs words were set in stone. They did not sing or tell stories that day, even though the weather improved; nor the next day, nor the day after. Annie was beginning to feel that danger was not far away from, so she remained still and silent. The dwarves took little notice of her, since she took up so little space. All except Kili, who found the hobbit somewhat fascinating but he found that his loyalties laid far too close to his brother, and to Erebor to act upon this new feeling of infatuation.

They arrived in Rivendale early in the morning on their third day of travel with Gandalf, and Annie was overjoyed to see that they would be resting in a place of comfort. She too was weary of the elves, but for different reasons than Thorin. They had helped her, but also witnessed her own self destruction, and to prayed that they would not bring that matter up with the dwarves. The elves were kind enough to let her change and bathe before dinner, seeing how dirty she was, and Annie was very grateful. When she took off her travelers clothes to step into the steaming tub, she ignored all the mirrors that showed her back. She couldn't bare to see what had become of her chokeberry tree. She could still hear the sounds of the whips, the jeers of the men that surrounded her and held her down. And the pain, she still felt it even though the scar tissue ran so deep she could no longer feel the clothes that touched her skin, or the warm water that surrounded her as she entered the bath. As she rested, she felt herself sinking into painful memories of her life before she set herself free by escaping. She sighed, the price of her freedom was a heavy one and it still haunted her after all these years. Then it found her, the red chill of wind swept over the room and made the water glow. "It was the only way." she whispered, "I stopped him." She tried to explain, "I put you where you would be safe." she told it, but it didn't listen. It never did.

The grand hall where the company dined was truly beautiful,and Kili felt very blessed to be there, unlike Thorin who's dislike of the elves shown even brighter in his eyes than before. Kili had to do a double take when Annie entered the dining hall, for he barely recognized her. She looked so elegant, that he forgot that she was a hobbit. She smiled shyly, very aware that she had thirteen eyes on her. Kili stood up and drew open a chair for her, and she nodded thanks. When Annie sat, Kili saw the beginning of it, a vine of thorns, underneath her long brown hair. It made him sad, for he was old enough to recognize whipping scars, but never before had he seen them on such a young thing. It reminded him of his own scars but he forbade himself to think about it. Now was not the time for that tin to be opened.

Annie heard the thump thump thump of stocking feet first, she turned around just in time to see a small child, barely past his toddler years running towards Elrond, with a maiden elf running behind him. Elrond smiled in spite of his company, and opened his arms towards the little boy. "Estel! Could you not wait to see your Ada until after dinner?" as asked the child. But Annie didn't hear any of this. Her eyes had frozen on the child, her face blanched white and her hands trembled. A child. Not hers, but another. Her heart ached and she felt the wisp of the ghost pass through her hair. It was too much, too soon. She could still remember her little hands clinging onto her dress, the tiny shoes on her feet, the way she smiled. And the look, the last look her eyes had ever given. It haunted Annie, that look. No longer Annie saw the table at Rivendale, nor any of the dwarves, she only saw her child's eyes as they pleaded with her, full of confusion.

"Miss Annie?"

She felt suddenly jolted out of her trance, and then she felt all eyes on her, and unlike before, these looks were heavy.

"I-I have- to um-go" to stumbled over the hem of her dress slightly as she backed out of her chair, and then bolted away. She wanted to run and run until the memories faded and the hurt left her heart. But that didn't happen. Instead, she ran until she was out of breath, and then sat down on a bench far from the dining hall. Then, for the first time in five years, she let herself cry. She cried until her eyes felt as swollen as her heart, her tears stained red from the baby that haunted her.

She would have felt the hand on her back if the tree hadn't been there, she was very much surprised when she heard a voice say "Miss Annie? Are you alright?" She looked up through her hair and tears and saw Kili, face full of concern. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. He reached to touch her arm, and she flinched away from his fingers. She was still afraid to be touched by another, for the only touches she knew were the sting of the whip, the slap of the hand, or the bite of cold metal.

Kili withdrew his hand immediately, and for the second time that night wondered what on earth had happened to this hobbit to make her so afraid.

"May I sit?" he asked softly, and waited for the nod until he did. He didn't know what to say next, or how to be a comfort. So they just sat for a while, until Annie's tears ran out, and then, finally, she whispered, "I'm sorry."

"No, you don't have to be sorry." he told her, then asked "Are you alright?"

Annie hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook her head, touching her locket she sobbed, "She left me."

"Who?"

"My beloved." Annie answered, touching her locket. "She was my best thing."

"What happened to her?"

She looked at him with dark eyes full of shame, "That is story that can never be passed on."

Then she looked away, down at her hands that were laying there empty in her lap. Kili sighed, he had never seen anyone so lost, or lonely. He tentatively reached out and gently put his hands in hers.

"Look at me." he told her, and he held his gaze until her eyes met his.

"We have all done bad things, but it doesn't make us bad people. I don't care about every detail form your past. All I care about it you."

She shook her head, "I am beyond repair. I am done with my graceless heart."

He smiled sadly, squeezing her hand, he told her "You and I, we've got more yesterday than anybody. Don't loose hope, Annie. It's always darkest before the dawn."

Stay tuned for the next chapter, it should be up soon! Thanks for reading! And for all the favorites, follows and reviews!