Hello :D It's the third chapter for you guys. I want to thank Katherine for correcting my mistakes. I wouldn't publish it without it, so third is here because of her. :D Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Tolkien's characters or places, only Taraeil is mine.

"Fili" smaller introduce himself and his brother (at least I thought they were brothers, because of their matching names) added "and Kili." Both bowed, saying "at your service".

"Táraëil Anárion, same to you and your families." I responded and turned to archer "I'm sorry for what I said earlier about your archery skills. I was just teasing you." He laughed out loud and smiled brightly.

"Don't even apologise, Tára. It's fine." They wanted to sit beside me, but Thorin called one of them, so the blonde rushed to his king and archer stayed with me. "I am really happy that a woman will travel with us, but I don't think you are aware of what you are up to. It'll be dangerous, miss."

I nodded, grinning. "I will be fine, master dwarf." He smiled to me, looking into my eyes and I felt my cheeks turning red. He was really handsome.

"You are under mine and my brother's protection from now on." He promised me and I blushed, whispering thanks. "Would you like to try now and we could see who would win?"

"Tomorrow, after breakfast we can make our little competition. Now I need to help Gandalf convince Bilbo to go with us." He nodded hearing my words and asked me if we need help, but I refused. "I think he won't want to see any dwarves for now."

I came back to the room where we were before, when Bilbo was telling wizard "Sorry Gandalf. I can't sign this. You've got the wrong hobbit." I wanted to talk to him, but Mithrandir stopped me and cover his mouth with finger, trying to keep me quiet to hear talking Thorin and Balin outside the room. The oldest sighed and stated that we had lost our burglar.

"Probably for the best. The odds were always against us. After all... what are we? Merchants, miners, tinkers, toy makers. Hardy the stuff of legend" Balin looked at his feet. Myself and Gandalf came to them and I put my hand on his shoulder to cheer him up, but it didn't help. I wanted to say something, breaking the silence, but Thorin was first.

"There are a few warriors among us" Thorin recalled and I saw, for the first time, his smile. Corners of his mouth floated up, but this didn't help either. White haired murmured that they are old warriors and king spoke again. "I'll take each and every one of these dwarves over an army of the Iron Hills for when I call upon them, they answered." And then he said something beautiful and I fell in love with his words. "Loyalty, honour and a willing heart, I can ask no more than that."

"You don't have to do this. You have a choice. You have done honourably by our people. You have built a new life for us in the blue mountains. A life of peace and plenty. A life that is worth more than all the gold in Erebor."

The king showed him the key he got from Mithrandir. "From my father to my grandfather, this has come to me. They dreamt of the day when the dwarves of Erebor will reclaim their homeland." I stared at him. He was powerful, majestic, and loyal to his friends and traditions. He was a real king. A smile appeared on my face, because I felt pride that I'll go with them on that journey... even if it can be my last one. "There is no choice, Balin. Not for me."

"Then, we are with you, laddie." Balin nodded his head, looking into his king's eyes. "We will see it done" he added and slapped his friend's arm lightly.

I sniffled and felt that me staying there and hearing them talking would make me cry, so I bowed my head and left the room, going to the living room, where most of the dwarves sat. I took a free pillow from the sofa and threw it on the floor beside the window. I sat on it and started to stare into the fire burning in the fireplace. Flames were raising, warming whole place and lighting it up. The light was jumping on the walls making unique, moving pictures.

Few minutes after, rest of our company joined us and I decided to break the silence. "I beg for your forgiveness, my lords, but I don't know names of most of you. Would you like to help me with that?" I smirked shyly and all of them who were sitting got up.

Two dwarves came to me. One of them had an ear trumpet and the second had this thick, ginger beard. The one with trumpet introduce himself as Oin and the second one did it earlier, so I knew his name – it was Gloin. They added "at your service" and bowed deeply. I smiled and did the same thing. Then a bald one said his name to me – Dwalin and with his older brother, Balin they bowed at me. Next was Bifur, who had axe in his head, Bofur, the one with cute hat, who upset Bilbo and Bombur, who was the fattest of them all. Those names... it was hard to remembered, especially when Dori, Nori and Ori bowed. The king only nodded as we met earlier and my favourite brothers came to me.

"Kili at your service."

"And Fili!"

"I know your names, silly dwarves." I jested and we all chuckled. When I started laughing I saw that the youngest were looking at me. "What?" They said nothing, so I shrugged my shoulders.

Thorin stood nigh fireplace and before I could even thought about what is going on, he started to sing with his very deep and kind of dark voice. I was hypnotized by this beautiful voice and the song.

"Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day,
To find our long-forgotten gold
The pines were roaring on the height
The winds were moaning in the night
The fire was red, it flaming spread
The trees like torches blazed with light."

In the middle of it, Balin started singing as well and soon all of joined in. It was something I had never heard before.

"Táraëil, come here!" Gandalf called me, standing on the other side of the room. I got up, took my pillow and in few seconds, I was in front of him. "Sit down, I need to talk to you." he ordered and I glimpsed at the company who were here, but he nodded seeing my astonishment. "Sit, Táraëil." he told me in elvish language and few of them glared at us, especially when I replied to him, using the same language as my friend.

"What is wrong, Gandalf?" I looked at his worried face. "Gandalf... what is wrong, my friend?" I insisted to get my answer, but I thought I knew what he wanted to say.

"I feel that something is wrong" he stated and I heard hesitation in his voice. He didn't know if he should explain it to me, but before I said something he sniffed. "I don't know, Tára, but I need to know what it is. I think I will leave you with dwarves and hobbit one day."

"Wait, what?" I fumed and all eyes in the room were on me, but I didn't care about it. I felt my eyes started to change. They were black now and I felt power flowing in my veins. "Are you serious, Mithrandir?" I demanded answer. He moaned and tried to stop me yelling in elvish. I moved away when he wanted to catch my hand. "You ARE serious, oh my..." I couldn't help it, because fury overtook my body and it started... Sometimes it couldn't be easily stopped. Even if my friend taught me how to control my power, at times it can't be just turned off. In this moment, the angrier I was, the more things started to happen. Two glasses were lying on the table few seconds earlier, but I accidently broke them even when I stand few meters from them. Then the fire put out. Most of the dwarves looked pretty terrified.

"Calm down" he roared and I took a deep breath and stopped screaming at him. As I was cooling down, flames showed up in the fireplace again. "I need to, my dear. I will explain it all to you later. For now, I need you to promise that no one will hear about it. I trust you." I looked away and sighed with feeling that my eyes are back to normal, deep green colour and I nodded my head. "I care about you, sweetheart, you now that, right? Don't be mad at me. You know that I am wizard and I have some responsibilities."

"I know it, Gandalf... Just want to be sure that you won't act like my father and won't abandon me." I trembled and he pulled me closer to hug me tight.

"I will never be like your father. Never, I promise you. But you need to believe in me and in my words. Something is terribly wrong and I'll need to check it someday. Also, I know that someone will take care of you and possibly will become more important than I ever was." He smirked and I punched him lightly. We both laughed and he kissed my forehead. "You will always be more important than anything in this world, but I trust them and know that they will take care of you."

He put strand of my hair behind my ear and giggled.

"I beg your pardon? Who is 'somebody'?" I inquired.

He couldn't stop his laughing when I asked about that. "Silly girl you are. An archer, I heard his promise. He is a nephew of Thorin, as well as Fili, so I trust them both. You can rely on them."

I shook my head and I left the room, heading to the door. When I was outside I ran to Ineár and found him lying on the grass. I sat on the ground and leant on him. Horse patted my arm with his nose and I smiled. "I don't want to lose him, In. He is all I've got besides you" I murmured, hugging to his neck.

Kili's POV

'We are here for the few hours and still I hadn't had chance to talk to her for more than couple of seconds. I really fancy her and its kind of weird for me. I never wanted to know somebody like I wanted to know her.

When she sat with us in dining room it was hard to look somewhere else than at her. The girl looked like she wasn't older than twenty two or twenty three years old. Tára was maybe an inch or two taller than mister Dwalin and she had big scar by her left ear, so most of the time she covered it with her ginger hair. I never saw someone with hair as long and as curly as hers. Back to her face, it was very pale and covered with freckles. Her eyes were in deep green colour and body was slender and slim. While the woman started her conversation with Gandalf when we were eating I fell in love with her warm, gentle voice. I think I could listen to her for hours and it would make me happy. Then they talked in tongue of Elves and her voice sounded even more beautiful than before.

She and the wizard looked like a daughter and a father, despite of his height. He was much taller than me or her, but their body-language and gestures were almost the same. I could see pride in his eyes when he was looking at her and a trust in hers when she was looking at him.

But I couldn't figure out who she was. Maybe just a small woman and maybe she really is a Gandalf's daughter... She broke two cups just because she was angry! It would be normal if she were... I don't know, maybe holding them and throw them at wall, but she was on other side of the room. And her eyes... her eyes turned black.' I thought while I was watching her fight with the wizard.

She left after they hugged so I ran after her. I heard door opens so few seconds later I stepped outside but she was nowhere to be seen. But then my ears where full of quietly sobbing and muttering something about losing someone. 'She must talk about Gandalf and his earlier promise that he will vouch his life for her.' I wondered and went to the place where the sobbing came from. I saw her lying on the ground and hugging a white horse.

"Táraëil?" I asked silently and she turned, quickly wiping her tears. She got up and bowed at me apologizing for her earlier behaviour, because she didn't know that I am a prince. "Please, stop. I am no more than my fellows, so just stop." She nodded and sat in the same spot where she was sitting before. I asked if she need to talk with someone.

"No, thank you. I am fine and if you may, I'd like to stay alone for a couple of minutes. Is it alright?" I nodded and asked her to knock the window if she would need company. She agreed and I go to the hobbit-hole and enter the living room of Bilbo's house.

Thorin questioned Gandalf about what had happened. "Nothing had happened. We had a fight, that's all."

Uncle hissed "We all saw what she did! Want to tell me about what you two were talking about in tongue of Elves?"

"She knows few tricks" wizard answered. "She can help you with those tricks when you will be in danger. And no, I don't want to. She will if she wants to. I can say no more. But... we talked in elvish, because that was conversation about something designed only for her ears, so we use language you don't know."

Thorin nodded and yelled to us, that we should go to sleep, because tomorrow will be our first day of journey.

I sat in a big chair and waited for Táraëil to come back.

Gandalf approached to me and sat near me whispering something only for me. "I believe you were speaking the truth earlier and you will protect her, Kili. She needs someone, her past... Anyway, master dwarf, please, help her if she will need someone." I nodded and promise him the same as I promised her. And I keep my promises, so he can trust me. He showed me where she could be sleeping, because Bilbo prepared separated room for the only woman in the company so I wished him good night and he left the room.

I thought about my promise and why I said that to her. That girl... She is really lonely and it was easy to saw that in her. When she sat there, thinking and her eyes were watering... My mind just ordered me to protect her and I will.

All of them were sleeping and when she appeared, I sat alone, smiling cheerfully to her and she smiled back. It was too hard to take my eyes from her. Perhaps because she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. The woman stepped inside and asked me if I knew where she could sleep, so I nodded and led her to small bedroom. She thanked me and spoke to me once again, asking where I'd be sleeping. Smirking, I replied that we are used to sleep on the floor on one or two mats. She moaned, shivering and after few seconds she proposed me to stay here with her, because the bed was really big. I peered at her flabbergasted, but the woman insisted, so I agreed. 'Uncle is going to kill me' I thought and left the room for a while, when she wanted to change her clothes. When Táraëil called me I had only my brown tunic and trousers on myself. I left the rest of my clothes and my weapons in the corner of the room and I slowly entered the bed. Luckily, I didn't forget to bring my own blanket and pillow.

"Thank you" she muttered and soon fell asleep and then it hit me. She asked me to stay with her at night, because she didn't want to be alone.