As ever, none of this has been spell-checked.

The Dwarves had indeed very nearly eaten all the food offered to us, luckily Gandalf had kindly thought to save some back for Bilbo and myself. It was not half bad either, he had definitely accounted for two Hobbitish appetites. There was, however, a distinct lack of meat of any kind which disappointed my cousin far more than he would have liked to voice. Nonetheless, we ate and ate quickly for we were the only ones holding the others up for their meeting. I could not join their hurry, surely whatever had been written would still be there later into the night. Though none of the Dwarves were particularly happy about spending a large portion of their night amongst Elves and yet they were all undeniably anxious not to be late. Perhaps they were eager to get the whole ordeal over and done with, or perhaps they were secretly excited to learn from these creatures. The first was the more likely scenario.

"Welcome," Greeted Lord Elrond in his solar, the circular room was framed by tall columns covered with vines and soft coloured flowers and a long balcony that overlooked the now sleeping valley in all its beauty. A long, heavy oaken table ornamented with silver candles, whose wax dripped down languidly into the golden bowls each one sat in, dominated the clean white stone of the room, demanding attention. The Elf gestured for us all to sit in the chairs provided around the table and we did, albeit some of us (Thorin mainly) a little reluctantly.

"The map, if I may," Elrond requested of the Dwarf leader, a hand extended to him expectantly.

Thorin bristled, "Why should I present my property to you? Cannot you instruct me on how to read it?" He clutched the map tightly, as I knew he would. It would take the very Jaws of Life to take it from him when he did not wish to relinquish it.

Elrond's gentle smile became infinitesimally strained, he held his composure far better than I would have done.

"Give him the map," Instructed Gandalf sternly.

Thorin grumbled a great long string of curses under his breath that I presumed were in Khuzdul, not that I could really make them out. Nevertheless, he did hand over the map to Lord Elrond, even if it was with a grumpy scowl. "As it pleases you," He grunted.

The Elf plucked it from the Dwarf's outstretched palm, "Many thanks," He carefully unfolded the map, smoothing out the creases with soft sweeping motions. "You mentioned these were moon letters?" He questioned, to a curt nod of assent from Thorin. "Then it is best that we read them outside in the light of the moon." He strode out on to the balcony, a wave of his hand informed us that we should follow.

All eyes fell upon the map and, much as I tried to hide it outwardly, I could not help my eyes staring intently at the left hand side where I had spied the markings. I did not exactly know what to expect, having never seen the runes before, except in the Old Took's drawings; which were of little help.

As soon as the moonlight hit the parchment, the most spectacular thing happened: nothing. The Dwarves breathed a collective sigh of disappointment, evidently they were far more excited about these hidden runes than they had previously shown. Nori even began to leave the balcony, muttering that he was going to find himself some more food. Before he did reach the inside, though, something actually did happen. Spindles of thin molten sliver threaded themselves together, weaving and curving into straight lines and sharp corners. They spread and thickened into the shapes I had learned this morning to be the Dwarven runes of Khuzdul. The letters reflected a shining moonlight onto the faces of the Dwarves, wizard and Elf-lord, enveloping them (and I suppose me too) in a bright white cloak against the now very stark darkness that filled the balcony, dulling the valley below in a blackening blanket of night.

"Lucky for us, these runes were written on a night with the exact moon and season as the one tonight, else we would not be reading them," Elrond commented in a thoughtful tone, his eyes rolling over the silvered letters lazily over and over again.

Even though I could not read the runes, I was just as transfixed as the rest of them; the letters were so beautiful and it must be a marvellously difficult task to create them, for they indeed looked like whoever had made this map had used the very moonlight itself as ink for these words. For the longest time it did not even occur to me to contemplate what the runes actually alluded to, but eventually the moment called and I was forced to consider being the uneducated one of our group and ask what the words read.

"What exactly does it say?" I heard Bilbo venture as I had opened my mouth, I had almost forgotten my cousin was here at all, which was terribly rude of me scolded a small part of my mind. He did look awfully confused with the whole situation; eyebrows knitted together and his mouth in the worried frown he sometimes wore when he felt as though he were missing out on something.

Elrond looked to the Dwarves to explain, but none did; they were too distracted, I doubt any had even heard Bilbo's request. "They read: 'Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks, and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the key-hole.'" The Elf-lord elucidated with a small smile to the Hobbit. Thorin clearly disapproved of an Elf filling the Hobbit in, but he could have done so himself. I could see his Dwarven brain ticking over, he seemed to be hoping that the Elf did not ask any questions of his own.

This was helpful in that it shed some insight into what the Dwarves could already see, but I was still at a loss as to what it would mean to someone, anyone in the know. It just did not make sense! First of all: a Thrush has no hands and so cannot knock properly, it can peck with its beak though, is that what it meant? Secondly, which stone do we stand by? There are sure to be at least a few grey stones on every mountain. I doubt I will be too useful in finding this 'key-hole'.

"The key!" Balin beamed excitedly, the other Dwarves nodding in agreement. Of course it would refer to whatever Thorin's key would open, that much was obvious even to me and I knew virtually nothing.

Thorin hushed him, granting him a warning nudge to the ribs to remind him not to give anymore away. The Dwarven leader was clearly still not willing to share any scrap of his plans with the Elf, though Elrond's knowing eye landed right upon Thorin. His face, for the first time since I had known him, held the slightest hint of contempt. "So the rumours are proven true," He calmly voiced, "The King Under the Mountain seeks to reclaim his throne?" The cold way he used Thorin's title expressed disapproval beyond words, this journey was not going to have the Elrond's blessing.

Thorin glared at the Elf-Lord in a stony silence, which seemed only to confirm Lord Elrond's suspicions. "I must advise against this, I cannot allow you to continue, for the good of the realm." He announced. His voice still and clam, with a sharp edge to his words.

How could it be a bad thing for the realm if the Dwarves were to get back their home? I certainly did not know, and by the looks of the expressions on the faces of the others; they did not either. It was their home after all, surely they had a right to take it back whenever they so fancied. The rest of Middle-Earth would not be affected so badly as Elrond was suggesting, it just could not; there was no reason for it.

Thorin seemed positively outraged, and for once I could see his side of things; he had provided a life for is people in the Blue Mountains (or so Kili had told me) and now that they are safe, he wants to take back the home that was coveted from his people – I do not blame him for wanting to give his people their home back and neither should Elrond. I would have voiced this opinion had I not received warning glances from both Gandalf and Thorin himself that seemed to say 'keep quiet', it was a wonder how the two of them had even noticed I was still present let alone that they had both managed to guess my thought pattern, especially the Dwarf who seemed as though he would take ill should he ever agree with me on anything. Having said that, whilst Gandalf's warning was one forged with kindness and protective instincts, Thorin's seemed to project that he thought I would blabber on and give away more of their plans – though I barely knew any plans at all!

Thorin snatched away his map he had been itching to take away ever since he had pressed it into the Elf's hands, proudly turning his back on the Elf. The Dwarf gave a guttural grunt in his mother tongue and the others began to follow him out in silence, Kili taking me by the arm when I took a moment too long to move after the apparent order, Fili did the same with Bilbo. I suppose the Hobbit must have felt horribly guilty in having not said farewell to their host, his inability to follow his polite instincts must have been almost painful; I knew how much the Hobbit hated leaving with no parting words. There was nothing he could do about it in this circumstance though, there was obviously no way Thorin was going to allow any contact with any Elves from now on in. I did not imagine I would see an Elf again until our adventure was at an end. I only regretted that I had not heard them singing whilst I had been here, it would have been nice.

Back at the lodgings, as soon as the doors closed behind us, there was an explosion of voices from all the Dwarves. They were all clamouring to have their ideas and opinions heard before everyone else's, as though we only had a few brief moments in which we could reflect upon the meeting's happenings. Gandalf remained in quiet contemplation, as though he could not hear the din of the rowdy group. Bilbo kept muttering to himself, but I could never quite make out his words over the noise of the others. It was bound to be some comment on the rudeness of the Dwarves or his confusion of the situation.

"SILENCE!" Barked Thorin, and all sound fell at his order, even the breeze outside the cabin seemed to obey his word. "We have much to discuss, but it is better we only speak one at a time." There was a muttering of assent from the Dwarves. "The map alluded to the door,"

"But the front door is guarded by the worm!" Oin complained.

Thorin rolled his eyes, "There is a hidden door, you fool!" He showed them the map once more, "It is on this side of the mountain; my Grandfather forged it in case of an emergency." He explained.

"So that is how some were able to escape the flames," Bofur murmured to no one in particular. It must have been how Thorin and his family were able to escape the Dragon once the mountain had been breached all those years ago.

Thorin nodded, "We will need to find and open it before night fall on Durin's Day."

"That is very soon." Frowned Fili.

The Dwarves were quiet, evidently it was too soon for their liking. "How long do we have?" It was my first piece of real input or interest I had actually shown in their plans and it obviously surprised some of the Dwarves to find that I was not just going to tag along without contributing as I had done up to now.

"That's the problem," Kili answered, his eyebrows drawn together over his darkening eyes and his face tight, "No one knows when that will be exactly."

"It will be before the winter's dawning, that much we know." Balin contributed, "It has been many years since anyone has been able to calculate to the very day, but we can be sure, lassie, it will fall before the last day of autumn."

That was not exactly helpful. If no one knew when the day fell, how could we know if we were there in time or not? It was almost autumn now, we really would need to hurry up about it if we were serious about finding this door or else we would be forced to try another way in. From what they were saying, it sounded like the only other door happened to be the front gate and that was extremely dangerous; what with it being Smaug's main guarding post. This hidden door was our only fully plausible option, and it was the only one I could actually see Thorin taking; surely, he would not risk his friends taking on the Dragon from the main entrance?

Another question tugged at the back of my mind. "And what is the meaning of Durin's Day? Is it a celebration amongst Dwarves?" I knew I probably sounded incredibly ignorant, but I had to learn about this at some point. From not on, I refused to follow this Company blindly; I would fully know what I was getting into and why, even if it probably annoyed the socks off of Thorin. In fact, especially if it annoyed the socks off of Thorin.

"Durin's Day is the mark of the Dwarven New Year. Durin the Deathless was created by Aulë in the First Age and he was the First One, the first Dwarf," Thorin explained, he actually appeared to be pleased that I was finally taking an interest, though he certainly was not about to be friends with me just yet.

"So," I thought aloud, remembering something Bofur had once said, "You are his direct descendant?"

"I am of the Line of Durin, yes." He bowed his head as though I should be honoured to be in his presence, his heritage was pure from start to end. Somehow that was not impressive to me; he protruded an air of superiority in being pure of blood, yet I knew as well as anyone that you could be just as noble without the hassle of pedigree.

Despite my thoughts, I bobbed my head in understanding. At least now I should be up to speed with the others – or so I had hoped. Thorin showed no sign of my having missed a question as he lapsed back into his dilemma. "It would seem that we have little enough time to dally in this place," He looked more relieved saying so than I would bet he was willing to admit to, "We will leave at first light, so I advise you all to pack your things before you lay down to sleep this night." Thorin had said it was advice and yet it felt more like an order than anything else, it did not matter; everyone set about doing as he had 'suggested' I any case.

To my lucky advantage, I had the entirety of my things already packed away thanks to the events earlier in the day. All I needed to do before climbing into bed was unclasp my cloak. I folded it and lay it over my bag. Kili, however, had not kept a single item in his bag and was hurriedly trying to find all of his belongings. I had to suppress a giggle when he suddenly dove underneath his bed in the hopes of retrieving an escaped sock that had almost found its liberation. Fili, on the other hand, did not.

He let out a raucous blast of mirth at his brother's expense. Much to Kili's annoyance; he muttered a Dwarvish curse to his brother, who only laughed harder at Kili as he tried to scramble out from the underside of the bed too quickly and hit his head on the solid wooden bottom. This was too much for my already waning resolve; I laughed, freely and unashamedly.

I covered my mouth to stifle the sound and hoped the youngest Dwarf would not be quite as angry with me in my attempts to conceal my laughter, as he had been at Fili. He threw me a dirty look, but at least I did not receive the same cursing that Fili had. Although I had a strong feeling that I only got away without him using such language in my direction was because I am a female, or perhaps it was purely because of the fact that any Dwarvish curse would be wasted on me for I would not understand it in any case.

"You've done it now." Fili informed me with a wink and a nudge. "He will probably sulk awhile now."

I accidentally let out a small squeak of a giggle, causing Kili to give me an accusatory glare of betrayal. I reached over and ruffled his hair (he was still knelt on the floor so I could actually reach his head) to which he huffed and batted my arm away moodily and turned his back on us.

"Don't be like that, Kili," I begged, placing a hand on his shoulder, to which he shrugged and dislodged the gesture. "We didn't mean to laugh, I promise."

"I did," Fili argued, to which I gave him a firm punch of his arm, "I mean, of course we did not mean it, brother."

Kili still did not turn to face us. "Fine, sulk all you should like, but it was funny and you would have laughed if it were one of us." I reasoned.

The youngest Dwarf merely finished stuffing his things into his bag and climbed into bed without a word to anyone else. It was rather strange to see the youngest heir of Durin behaving quite so stroppy, it did not suit his usually charming, bubbly persona that I had become so familiar with. Fili left him to it, choosing to go to his bed at the other end of the room and pack away his remaining belongings instead of cajoling his brother out of his grump.

"Come on, Kee," I pleaded.

Kili's head rose slightly. "What did you just call me?" He questioned. I was not sure whether he was offended or had just not been expecting the nickname, in all honesty even I had not expected it.

"Sorry," I hurried out, I hoped I really had not offended him; that would make things all the worse. "I didn't think, it just came out. Sorry." I apologised again.

This time Kili rolled over, his face had softened a great deal, "No," He smiled, "Don't be. I just have never had a nickname before, what with my name already being so short."

"Oh," Was all I could say, everyone I had ever known had had a nickname of some sort, though perhaps Dwarves were different, maybe they did not have them so often as Hobbits; after all, the Old Took had been called as such for so long that even he forgot his right name was Gerontius sometimes.

"I like it," Kili assured me with a warm grin, his expression settling into one I recognised as Kili's. It was much better to see him cheerful than moody.

"Good," I returned the smile to my Kee – I mean Kili. At some point I really must decide what, if anything, I actually felt for this Dwarf. Though it probably would not matter the slightest anyway, he could not possibly see me as anything other than a mere member of the Company. Besides, once this quest was over, I would have to return to the Shire; my rose bushes were probably getting out of control by now.

I climbed into my own bed, wrapping the clanked closely around me even though it was not cold. I faced the young Dwarf, whom was smirking a me in a way which sent waves of butterflies through me, I had never experienced this beforehand and it was both incredibly uncomfortable and thrilling at the same time, I was not quite sure that I wanted the feeling to go away entirely. Sleep did not take long to overcome me and I did not fight it; the last thing I saw as my eyes drifted shut was Kili still smiling at me from the bed next to mine.

The next morning was very hurried. The sun had yet to make an appearance and Balin was already doing the rounds of waking everyone. We did not have time to change from the clothes we had slept in, but that did not matter to me so much as it had at our journey's outset, I was used to wearing the same thing for days at a time now, though I noticed I still changed more regularly than the Dwarves. There was only Bilbo whom complained about tiny things such as that now. Gandalf had smuggled us enough food supplies and water skins to last us a fair few weeks if we were a=careful. At this stage they decided it safer that Bombur did not carry any food with him, for Bifur had caught him trying to snack on a large wheel of cheese before we had even set off. Sadly, Gandalf had not managed to filch any meat, which disheartened more than a few of us; if I had known the day before that I would not be getting bacon for a good while, I would have eaten a fair share more of it.

Our meagre breakfast that morning consisted of nought but Elven bread cakes, which were dry and flat and did not taste of anything much at all. The Dwarves were rather vocal in their distaste for the foreign food, but Bilbo enthused that they were quite satisfactory for 'foreign muck', at any rate. I imagine Bilbo would have much preferred one of his home-cooked dinners, or even one of mine and I am no great chef. The Elf-food was not too bad, but I would have given my right leg for a handful of crispy golden chips.

We left the valley by a different exit to the one by which we had entered; a magnificent marble archway, carved with the Elven script of words I could never imagine knowing, opening out into a thick band of towering pine trees that disappeared into grassy lands that stretched all the way to the base of the Misty Mountains. This did not disappoint the Dwarves though, as we had emerged much closer to the Misty Mountains than we were before. They seemed oddly ominous to me now; whereas they had been a sign of hope beforehand, now they were a glaring reminder of the mountain we were headed for and the dangerous dragon that lay in there, waiting for us to make our move. I could not tell you how much the very thought terrified me.

Gandalf had said himself that he could not ensure my safety and yet a tiny part of me remembered that Kili had once promised that he would if Gandalf would not. I did not quite know how to feel about that; it was probably just empty words, meant to encourage a young girl he had only just met, to make me feel like I would be safe if I went with them because they needed me to go, because they thought I would be useful.

Setting out on foot was a little more tiresome than riding had been, though the lack of saddle sores was greatly appreciated by all. The hills were green and rolling as we made our way, there was the occasional root you had to remember to dodge in time, else you would fall flat on your face into the mud. An occurrence that happened once or twice amongst the Company, poor Bombur haven fallen three times now.

I had only fallen once. The tree root had twisted up my ankle, snaring it unescapably tight and then shrivelling away when I had hit the ground. Fili and Kili had found that extremely amusing. At least Kili did until he tripped over the same sneaky root mid-chuckle. Something that made Fili guffaw even further. Not to worry, when he offered his hand to help me up I 'accidentally' staggered, pulling him to the ground to join us. He landed in a particularly large pile of dirt and the three of us were in stitches for leagues afterwards.

The Misty Mountains grew taller and taller; and the winds grew colder and colder. I drew my cloak tighter around me to keep out the chill and put the sheep-skin lined leather gloves I had found at the bottom of my bag on, luckily I had thick socks on beneath my boots else they would be freezing. The three peaks were all drowned in snow that came most of the way down the mountains, it was sure to be a slippery way over them; which would ensure a great deal of falling over for me, I could barely stop myself from tripping up when the ground was dry, sheer ice would be a whole other ordeal entirely.

Orc calls could be heard every now and then, but they came from further and further away each time they sounded; nonetheless, Thorin still ensured that everyone stayed in a tightly packed cluster as we neared the base of the first mountain. Kili and Fili forced me into the middle, obviously cautious for my safety which was a little annoying – it felt as though they thought me incapable of defending myself. I did not mind so much, however, once I realised it was far warmer here in the middle of the pack than it had been on the edge, though I did miss the brothers joking as we walked.

Our pace had slowed in traveling as such, which only went to irritate the already frustrated Thorin. Evidently, he wished to be over the mountains as soon as possible. Gandalf too, frowned more often than not; I could only think that the journey over the mountains gave him some troubles. If they were worried about taking on this portion of the quest, then perhaps I ought to be cautious too. Although, I believe Thorin's really concern was that we would not reach the Lonely Mountain in time; whereas Gandalf was sure to fear for our safety first and then the success of the mission.

The base of the mountain was a steep incline of sharp grey rocks, which I could still feel through the thick sole of my boots, I had no idea how in the world poor Bilbo was not limping and yelling at every step. I know his Hobbit feet and they were thick soled so as he would not have normally needed shoes, but honestly, these stones and pebbles were razor sharp. Despite this, he never made a sound nor a grumble to imply he was suffering, nor did his feet show any sign of damage that I was able to see.

The mountain pass took us up slowly and steadily, and so the ascent of the first misty mountain began.

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The song is A Prophecy - Asking Alexandria