"Well, well, well," Alys looked up to see five all-too familiar faces; "It's our little Alys, isn't it?" They snickered.

"I'm not little," she mumbled into the pages of her book, not allowing herself to look up, for fear of pushing them too far. She'd done it previously and it had not ended well. "All dwarves are, anyway."

"What? Get your nose out of those books and speak to us properly!" they demanded.

She kept her head down and silently prayed that by some miracle they would leave her in peace. She had been quite content, reading in the midsummer heat of noon by the lake. It was not the first time the five large dwarves had targeted her specifically – they were not the most kind, by far. Alys had been easy pickings from the start – she was short, even for a dwarf and never seemed to have her nose out of a book.

"I said get your nose out of that book!" he shouted, and grabbed the book from her hands.

Alys yelped, scrambling to her feet in an attempt to retrieve it, but it was held high above her head. She jumped, arms outstretched in an attempt to get it back, but it was always inches out of her reach. Soon, everyone was whooping and cheering around the two of them as he teased her, jerking it up and down, all the while out of range.

"Stop it!" she yelled, getting tired, but she refused to relent, that book meant a whole lot more than they could ever know. "Give it back!"

"You want it back?" he laughed. "Then go get it!" and with that, he tossed it into the lake.

She yelped in horror and pushed her way through the thronging crowds towards the lake. She scrambled down the bank to the edge of the rushing waters. She looked up and down, scanning for her book. After a few moments she caught sight of it, lodged in a branch that was stationary enough – it seemed to be lodged in the bank below the surface and reached a good few metres into the water. Instantly, she began to run for it, hitching her skirts up so as not to trip. She scaled it briefly before clambering onto the thick foot of the branch and beginning to crawl along it.

Fili ruffled the hair on his brother head, much to Kili's disdain. Fili laughed as Kili tried to push him (unsuccessfully) down the bank and into the lake.

"Nice try," Fili chuckled, and ruffled his hair again.

Kili slammed into him from the side, and sent them both skidding down the bank, landing just inches from the water.

"You were asking for that," Kili said defensively as he picked himself up.

"Yeah, well done, Kili. How do you expect us to get back home now?" he muttered, looking up at the steep bank behind them.

His brother had already begun searching the area for an easier way out when something caught his eye.

"What's that?" he said aloud and instantly began to move towards it. Fili walked beside him, each with a similar confused expression fixed on their faces. As they neared it, they realised it was not an it, but a she. And that she was knelt on the sturdiest part of a precarious branch, reaching for a leather-bound book that was lodged in the thinnest part of the branch that was furthest out into the rushing waters. She was struggling to keep herself steady and looked extremely likely to topple over and into the lake.

The two brothers glanced at each other before approaching her.

"Excuse me, miss?" Fili began.

Alys jumped practically out of her skin with a loud yelp and almost feel off the branch. In her flustered hurry to not drown she had lost a shoe to the water and cursed under her breath. When she had finally regained herself, she turned to face them?

"Yes?" she replied breathlessly.

"Do you need a hand?" Fili asked with apprehension readable in his voice.

"While I appreciate you concern, kindly get lost. I can do this." Alys snapped in reply.

Kili gave a loud guffaw. "No offense, princess, but it really doesn't appear that way."

That much was true. Her hair was a tangled mess of assorted leaves, she only had one shoe and her dress had caught on a branch and had torn, leaving a huge rip in the side. Fair to say she had been trying for what felt like ages, some would say longer than necessary but no. It was extremely important to her that she retrieved that book, and no amount of time was too long.

"Did I ask for your opinion?" she called, not looking at either of them. She had focused again on the book.

"Kili," his brother hissed, elbowing him in the ribs, "You're not getting anywhere insulting her."

"Listen to your brother, Kili!" Alys shouted. She had sharp ears after years of hiding from bullies.

Fili hid a smirk behind his hand and Kili's smile dropped from his face. They moved closer to the edge of the water together and they both eyed the branch. It would be much easier for either of them to obtain the book for her, for a start they were much larger than she was and far more athletic. Plus the risk of drowning was reduced by the fact that the two of them could actually swim.

"You're clearly getting nowhere, just let us help-"

"No."

Kili rolled his eyes and stood on the start of the branch, closely followed by Fili.

"Why are you so determined to help me when I did not ask for nor need it?" she turned to face them with one brow raised.

"Because as sarcastic and disdainful as you are, we'd rather not see you drown." And with that she was being lifted into the air by two powerful arms, and plonked down behind them at the start of the branch. She squirmed against their grip until she was released and even then tried to get back. She was far too small to make any impact on them; they blocked the branch completely as she struggled to get past them. They turned their back on her and she pummelled at their backs with as much force as she could muster, but had absolutely no effect.

In a few seconds, the book had been safely swept up into Kili's hand and they were both lifting her back to the shore. She snatched the book from his hands the moment they set down on the dry land and glared at them both. She turned on her heel and stalked off.

"You're welcome!" Fili called after her and she snapped her head around to fix him with another death stare.

They both laughed and ran after her.

"We just saved you from potential death and you've not so much as told us your name," Kili grinned from her right.

"I'm Fili," Fili grinned from her left.

"I'm wondering why you won't leave me alone," she snapped.

"And I'm Kili," he laughed.

She rolled her eyes and tried to outstep them, but of course they were quicker.

"Why do you refuse to tell us your name?" Fili enquired.

"I'm Alys, okay? Will you leave me alone now?" she turned and looked at them directly for the first time.

They laughed.

"Of course not."