Disclaimer: I don't own anything - Tolkien gets all the credit.

A/N: There isn't a whole lot of Thorin in this chapter, but I'll be making up for that next time … & thank you all for the follows and the reviews! Please continue with the feedback! :)

Chapter 2

As the company of Dwarves began settling down for the evening, Hilde found herself once again seated between the young Dwarven brothers Fili and Kili. Being around ones so young made Hilde feel unaccountably old. They were excitedly asking questions about her magic – "Can you really make lances of ice?" "Are you truly able to shoot dragonfire from your staff?" Hilde laughed off their questions with the promise that would likely have many opportunities to see her magic during their quest.

"Do you think you could make us one of those fancy mithril rings? Our Uncle has never taken his ring off and we've always wondered where it came from." Kili said in a hushed whisper, looking around to make sure that his Uncle wasn't in the room… and this cleared up Hilde's confusion over the relationship between the young dwarves and Thorin Oakenshield. Nephews – not sons.

"And with good reason!" Fili said from Hilde's other side, "A gift from Hilde the Long-Lived is a precious thing!" Laughter seemed to blossom from Hilde's mouth more on this evening than in all of the century before.

"You flatter me, Fili, Kili. Perhaps I will gift you with a token one day, but today is not the day." They each looked a little crestfallen, so Hilde did something she usually reserved for special friends, smiling slightly at the fact that her fondness for the two was growing quickly. Raising both hands Hilde began to mummer quietly under her breath. A white glow emanated from her finger tips and thin objects of blue formed. Growing quickly, the blue began to take the shape of arrows – ice arrows. Fili and Kili shouted in appreciation as Kili ran off to grab is bow from the hall.

"That's amazing!" Fili said excitedly like a little boy, drawing the attention of the other dwarves. Kili made his way back to Hilde, who extended the arrows out to him. Fili immediately ran off to the window on the other side of the room and opened it quickly – Kili took aim, shooting one of the arrows into a fence post on the far side of Bilbo's garden. The arrow shattered the fence post and continued into the night, lodging itself at the base of the hill, imbedded deep into a rock.

"Fantastic!" Kili raced away again, this time to presumably retrieve the arrow. Hilde heard her father laugh and she couldn't help but think that this journey would be good for him. He'd grown ever so glum in recent years, feeling the weight of the growing shadow pulling on his heart. The other dwarves murmured low comments about the scene they'd just watched – she heard Ori ask one of his brothers if they thought she might be willing to make rocks of ice for his slingshot. Dwalin was glancing at her with a look that showed her he might be reconsidering his apparent dislike of her, though she couldn't be sure.

Hilde could see Balin and Thorin in the hallway, speaking in low voices. Those two hadn't spoken to anyone but each other in the past hour… as if sensing her eyes on him, Thorin glanced away from his old friend and locked eyes with Hilde. The disarming nature of his stare once again made her feel on edge. Balin noticed their exchange and patted Thorin's shoulder before walking away. Taking this as a sign, Hilde stood and made her way over to him.

"Your nephews are quite charming, Thorin, son of Thrain." This made the older dwarf smile. It wasn't a wide smile, but the look in his eye told her the he agreed with her.

"They are young and know little of the world. I fear that they will be greatly altered by this quest." Hilde nodded, glancing to the open door of the Hobbit hole, seeing the young dwarves in question racing down the small country lane to glowing blue arrow at the base of the hill.

"All young men grow out of their youth eventually - Some earlier than others." Turning back to Thorin, she could tell that he knew she was speaking of him. "I hope that you will welcome my help on this quest. You have my loyalty and whatever help I can offer, Thorin, son of Thrain. I will follow you, in honor of your father and the love I hold for the line of Durin."

"This loyalty," Hilde heard her father say from directly behind her, "Is not lightly given. Hilde has never declared allegiance to any Dwarven King is such a way – I do hope you accept her, as she will be of value in the days to come." Thorin's gaze held fast to Hilde as he took measure of her. Blue eyes locked with grey, both becoming lost in each other for the briefest of moments.

"I have no doubt that this loyalty will be tested during our quest. I hope that the legends of your power a true, Hilde of Khazad-dum, as we will likely need it in great measure."

The following morning dawned sooner than any of the company had hoped. Hilde had spent the night outside of the Hobbit hole with her father, speaking of times past, as neither required much sleep. With sun nearing the horizon, Hilde reentered the home of Bilbo Baggins to begin preparations to depart. The group would be heading towards the town of Bree today to pick up ponies that Gandalf purchased the morning before. Then they would head east, towards the Misty Mountains.

Their host was nowhere to be seen, causing Gandalf a bit of disappointment. Hilde had little time during the evening to speak with Bilbo at length but she did think her father's faith in the creature may have been misplaced. Several of the dwarves were grumbling about the lack of food, but none spoke out too loudly. All in all, the group seemed much altered from the prior night's merriment.

Once again on horseback, Hilde rode near the middle of the group, following just behind Fili and Kili. She enjoyed listening in on their conversations – they seemed to travel from subject to subject without much thought. With a smile, Hilde noticed that her enchanted arrows had been placed with care into the quiver that Kili wore on his back. They would last for several weeks if he was careful with them.

Reaching Bree in the early afternoon, Hilde saw that her father was still not happy about the absence of the company's burglar. "He will not be able to catch up if he has not left Beg End by now." Gandalf said in a low tone as the rest of the group loaded up their ponies. Hilde put a hand on her father's arm and gave him a small smile.

"Let us hope that he is already on his way, then." And it was that only a mere hour after they departed from Bree that a shout could be heard from behind them.

"Wait!" The small Hobbit ran past Hilde as he made his way to Balin, "I've signed it!" Bilbo gave the long contract to the dwarf, who looked to Thorin briefly before assenting that everything was in order. Bilbo was then forcibly placed on a pony, awkwardly, and the group was off.

They continued at a steady pace for several more hours before coming to stop in a glade with tall grass and the pleasant smell of lavender. While setting up camp, Fili insisted on tending to Hilde's horse, a pretty white mare named Laurel. The attention the young dwarf paid her reminded her of the fact that her small gifts from the night before seemed to only suit the younger of the two brothers – she would need to correct that error and come up with a small present for the blonde man in gratitude for his kindness.

Bofur was at the center of their camp, arguing with Bombur about the quickest way to start a fire. "No, no – we'll need drier grass than this otherwise it'll never get started."

"Might I be of assistance, my lords?" When fire suddenly burse out of the grass and wood Bombur had gathered, the two dwarves stood back a little and looked at the small blaze with a little awe.

"Well, that about takes care of that, now doesn't it?" Bofur said with a smile, "You wouldn't happen to know how to cook too, would you lass? Bombur and I can make stew, but it does tend to taste a bit like boot after a while."

Hilde was about to respond when she felt someone approaching them from behind her. "We all serve a purpose on this journey, so we'll all do our part. It's your duty to cook tonight, so try to not shove off all the work on the only lady in our midst. She's already made a fire for you." Thorin's voice, deep and smooth, distracted Hilde to no end. The longer she spent in his company, the more confused she was over his effect on her. No man had made her feel this was since she was young… and the fact that these feelings were arising so suddenly made Hilde feel abundantly uncomfortable.

Nodding to Thorin and throwing a small smile to Bofur and Bombur, Hilde walked to the side of the camp to sit with her father as he smoked his pipe.

"There's nothing wrong with caring about our companions, young one." Her father said cryptically as she came to rest beside him.

"I've already found myself drawing close to several of them and I know that the closer I get, the more pain there will be when their fate comes calling." Gandalf turned to his daughter then, grasping one of her small hands in his.

"None of them have a fate that is certain just yet."

"They all do. They're mortal. They will all die one day." Hilde voice was soft, not wanting their companions to overhear them.

"You've known many mortals in your years, but I've never seen this hesitation in you before. What is it about the company of Thorin Oakenshield that troubles you so?" Hilde looked to her father, locking eyes and staring into the sea of stars held in them.

"I don't know, Olórin. I've never felt this way before." Gandalf smiled widely at her use of his ancient name. In all of Middle Earth, she was the only one outside of his order to know the name gifted to him on the day of his birth. Her troubled thoughts weighed on him though, taking the smile off of his face quickly. He'd sensed her unease since the evening before, and he had been shocked when she pledged loyalty to Thorin Oakenshield. His daughter had fought in many battles with dwarf, elf and man, but always has a friend to the good folk – never as one of them.

"Follow your heart, dear one. It will lead you down the right path."

Nodding her head and looking back to the group of dwarves around them, Hilde saw the young brothers shooting her enchanted arrows into the trees, seeing how many trees the arrows would puncture before coming to a stop far into the forest. Laughing lightly, she left her father and went to Fili as he waited for his brother to return with the arrows.

"The arrows seem to fit your brother well." She said when she stepped up next to him. He smiled widely at that and nodded in agreement.

"Kili has always been gifted with a bow." Fili continued to glance into the wood, looking for the returning figure of his younger brother.

"I have been thinking that perhaps you deserve something more tailored to your gifts." Fili looked to her suddenly, wide eyes and a large smile plastered his face, highlighting his dimples. He had a pleasant face and Hilde knew he'd make a dwarven woman very happy one day.

"I should love a sword! Or fighting knives!" Hilde laughed at the excitement in his voice and she nodded a little before sitting down at the base of a nearby tree. Ice wouldn't do for a knife or sword, and she knew that this particular group had no love for fire, so she set out to use earthen magic to form a slightly curved blade of rock, with a handle of wood. Magic such as this wasn't easy, like the arrows had been, and this weapon would stand the test of time. Perhaps it was presumptuous to gift the young dwarf with it, but seeing that he was the heir of Durin, maybe the others would overlook it.

Earthen magic did not glow as her powers of water did, so none of their companions saw the creation of the blade. Fili watched as the odd looking knife formed in the hands of the lady, seeing a dark grey blade that lacked any shine and a deep black wooden pommel. When it was done, after only a moment or two, Hilde held the blade up to look at her work. It was small– not so much for fighting hand to hand as it was for throwing and fight at a distance.

Fili took the offered blade and ran his hands over it. The smile on his face nearly blinded Hilde, and this was how Kili found them upon his return. The young dwarves seemed oblivious to the importance of their gifts, though the elderly wizard on the far side of the camp knew that his daughter's favor to the line of Durin could be her downfall if this quest did not end well.

A/N: Thought? Please review!