Hello! I'm sorry I haven't been updating more frequently. I've still been dealing with writer's block, and I've been a bit busy as of late. I'll try my best to update sooner, but I can't make any promises.

Anyway, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!

Even though every part of me ached, we ran continuously through the forest. We were near enough to Rivendell now that we could get there in a matter of a few hours if we kept going. Somehow we were able to find the road that would lead us into a crevice between two mountains that would lead us to the Hidden Valley.

Bilbo had been holding my hand the whole time we were running, possibly because he was making sure I wouldn't falter or slow us down. I had stumbled quite a few times over some brush and twigs, and I was starting to get a bit light headed. That man had really done a number on me back there.

After running for what must have been twenty solid minutes, Bilbo finally pulled me off the side of the road to rest for a bit. I guess he had heard me wheezing behind him. We were behind a huge oak tree, so there was no way anyone could see us. We were both afraid that the two henchmen would be looking for us, and undoubtedly kill us once they would find the state of their master.

Both Bilbo and I were breathing very heavily from the running, but I seemed to be more affected by it than him. It took me several minutes for me to catch my breath. Once Bilbo had caught his, however, he took it upon himself to inspect me for any serious injury.

"Is there anywhere that you think might be broken?" he asked me as he felt my arms with his hands for any impurities.

"No," I gasped. "I think my bones are still intact for the most part. I'm just bruised and sore, that's all."

We were crouching down on the ground, and Bilbo had been wearing the same worried expression on his face the entire time we had been resting.

"Bilbo," I started, still gasping for air. He motioned for me to not talk, but I continued anyway. "No, you have to listen. I'm sorry I wandered off and got captured. I know I should have just told you but, again, I didn't want to wake you up. I didn't think going to the bathroom would be so dangerous."

"Samantha, it's alright, I don't blame you," he responded right away. He grabbed both of my hands in his and stared right into my eyes. "Neither of us would have known that someone was prowling you that night. Thank goodness I saw your necklace on the ground when I was searching for you the next morning. If it wouldn't have been for that, I would have never known you had been kidnapped."

"My necklace?" My hand instinctively went to my throat, and sure enough, my heart pendant that I always wore was gone. I hadn't even noticed.

"Here," Bilbo said, then pulled something out of his waistcoat pocket and held it out to me. It was my necklace, and the chain was broken. The pendant was still in good shape, so I could get a new chain whenever I would get the chance.

I took the necklace from Bilbo and put it into my own pocket. "Thank you," I said. By this time my breathing had mostly turned back to being normal. I still wanted to wait for another minute or so. My body just wasn't used to running around for so much or so long.

"Bilbo," I said suddenly. "Who exactly were those men?"

"I don't know," he said. "They're probably rangers. Freelancers. Some have good intent, while others, like these blokes, obviously don't."

"They know I'm from another world," I said quietly. "How is that possible? How would they know that? They said they had been following us for a whole week. What do they want with me?"

Bilbo frowned. "I don't know, Samantha. But I'm sure we can seek help and shelter from the elves. Lord Elrond might know who they might be."

"You killed the leader," I said. "The two henchmen might find other reinforcements to avenge him or something. This could start a whole war!"

"Calm down," Bilbo said, grabbing my shoulders. "Don't worry about that right now. We need to focus on getting to Rivendell, and in doing so, finding Gandalf."

I nodded. I needed to stop being so pessimistic all the time.

We both stood up, then checked the road to see if it was clear. We didn't see anyone, or anything, so we continued on, but we didn't run like before. We were walking very briskly, though.

We walked for about an hour, until we started to climb some rocky hills into one of the mountains. There was a crevice somewhere above us that would lead us to Rivendell. How far it was from us, I didn't know.

I found it impossible to climb quickly. I had tried rock climbing a few years back, and I constantly slipped on the hand and foot holds. Climbing just wasn't my thing. Luckily, we weren't climbing at a really steep angle, so I was able to at least hold onto things and not fall. But my arms and legs just didn't want to move hastily so we took our time.

Bilbo was ahead of me, and he would end up going a few yards up, notice I wasn't right behind him, then wait until I got to where he was. Apparently he was a more experienced climber than I was. I found this quite odd, since he was a hobbit, and hobbits don't usually climb anything. They even find stairs a challenge for them. I didn't say anything about it to him, though.

My hands were starting to go raw from constantly grabbing stone and rock. My muscles were still sore, and getting more and more so by the minute. I didn't want to complain. I had caused enough trouble as it was.

At one point, after we had climbed about thirty feet up, my hands were feeling pretty numb, and when I went to grab a piece of rock for a hand hold, I lost the grip and slipped. I screamed, thinking I was about to plummet to my death.

Bilbo was above me in an instant. He grabbed my hand, pulling me up as gently and quickly as he could. He was able to grab my other hand, and hoisted me up onto the ledge. I almost started sobbing from the fright. I took a few deep breaths, and we resumed climbing.

"Why don't you go first, that way, if you fall, I'll be right behind you to catch you," Bilbo suggested.

"Alright. But I'm warning you, I move at a snail's pace," I said as I continued to climb.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm already aware of that," I heard him mutter behind me.

"Hey!" I turned my head around to him, and when he saw my expression of mock hurt, he laughed loudly. I couldn't help but laugh with him myself.

I was true to my word, and we climbed at a snail's pace. Bilbo seemed like he didn't mind, but I could tell that he wanted to go faster. Well, tough. He was the one who wanted to stay behind me.

It was turning to dusk by the time we spotted the entrance to the crevice. I asked Bilbo how long it would take to get to Rivendell once we entered the mountain. He told me a few hours, so we decided to camp within the mountain before entering the elven town.

You could not measure my relief when I finally grabbed onto the last piece of rock and hoisted myself into the hole in the side of the mountain. I had to sit and catch my breath for a minute or two as Bilbo pulled up next to me.

We sat together, just the two of us, silently looking out at the wilderness we had already seen on our journey. The forest had seemed like it went on forever, but seeing it from this angle, it actually looked quite small. I swallowed when I realized that there were two dangerous men out there possibly looking for me.

I stood up, and we made our way into the crevice. It was a lot like a cave in some ways, with the occasional dripping noise off in the distance. We found a good enough spot, and settled down go to sleep.

Bilbo said we shouldn't light a fire, lest we be seen. It was cold, so even though I valued our safety, I could have really done for a warm fire right then.

After I had settled into my pajamas and laid down to sleep, I saw that Bilbo was still in his clothes and sitting several feet away, as if he was waiting for something.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"I'm keeping watch," he announced without turning toward me.

"But, aren't you tired?" I sat up, looking at him.

"I am, but our safety is more important than sleep," he said, and his voice echoed around me in the shallow cave.

"Well, should I take over for you sometime later?" I asked.

I saw him shake his head. "No, you go ahead and sleep. I'll just stay up. It won't take us long to reach Rivendell tomorrow, so I could rest when we get there."

I was silent for a few seconds. For a hobbit, Bilbo seemed to be something pretty extraordinary. I couldn't imagine any of the other hobbits in The Shire to do anything like this. Those adventures he had must have really changed him.

"Alright," I finally said, then laid back down. It sure felt good to be laying on the ground instead of tied to a tree. Within a few minutes, I was fast asleep.

Bilbo woke me up by shaking my shoulder gently.

"We need to go," he said. I opened my eyes and saw that he had dark circles under his. He really did stay up the whole night.

I quickly got up, got dressed, and we were ready to go within a few minutes. We continued on through the crevice, going at a steady pace. I felt sorry for Bilbo. I hoped that we would get to Rivendell soon so that he could get some rest.

"So how did it go last night?" I asked him. "Any intruders?"

"No," he said wearily. "I thought I saw some movement at the edge of the forest, but I think it was just a squirrel."

"We should still be careful," I said, and Bilbo just nodded his head in agreement.

We stayed silent for most of the time while walking through the cave. I figured it would be easier on Bilbo. I know for a fact when I'm lacking sleep I tend to be really cranky and the slightest noise could set me off. I didn't know if Bilbo was the same way, but I was careful not to make him angry nonetheless.

The crevice didn't go on for long, and before I knew it, we were approaching an opening up ahead. My heart beat increased. I would get to see Rivendell, one of my all time favorite places in Middle-earth. Anytime I would think of it, I would hear the music that plays whenever you see it, both in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Thank you, Howard Shore.

With this anticipation in mind, I started to move faster. I passed Bilbo, and he eyed me in an odd way. Before long I was practically running. I wanted to see Rivendell so badly. I was almost at the entrance, and I could see the bright light shining through.

"Samantha, wait!" I heard Bilbo shout, but I took no heed. I had to see the sight on the other side at all costs.

I reached the entrance, and took one step outside. That is when I felt a blow to my head.

I fell to the ground, and my face had hit a jagged piece of rock pretty harshly. This didn't matter however, since I had to turn around and defend myself. I did, and only had a second to see two hooded figures advancing toward me before they hit me on the head again.

Before they could do any more damage, Bilbo came running out of the cave, wielding his sword.

"Leave her alone!" he shouted, swinging Sting threateningly at them.

"Ah, look, her little boyfriend is here to save the day," one of the men said tauntingly. The other laughed.

"You let her go right now, and leave us be, or I will kill you where you stand!" Bilbo said confidently. He had his sword pointed and fixed at them, daring them to make a move. I have to say, it was a pretty sad sight, with two large men towering over one lone hobbit with a little sword. I had to help him.

I quietly stumbled to my feet, and pulled out my own sword. I snuck up behind the both of them; neither of them seemed to realize I was there.

"We know what you did to our master," one of the men was saying to Bilbo. "And we don't really appreciate that. So we're going to take you and your little girlfriend to our fellow comrades, and you will be sorry you ever killed one of us."

Comrades? What comrades? Did he mean other rangers?

"I just want you to leave us alone," Bilbo responded, rather weakly now.

The men laughed again, and started advancing toward him.

I took my chance and leaped forward, slicing my sword every which way until it met with flesh.

They quickly noticed my presence behind them, and at the same time, Bilbo started to slash away with Sting. They didn't know which one of us to attack, and it took them forever to figure out that they could split off and have them fight us one to one. Not very bright, these men were.

Even though they had about three feet on us and bigger swords, Bilbo and I kept on defending ourselves against these miscreants. I was grateful that now that I was a hobbit, I could move very quickly and lightly to avoid being slashed by my attacker's sword. Before long I had cut his left calf, his right forearm, and almost stabbed him in the torso. Of course he blocked me from that.

I noticed that Bilbo was doing a good job as well. Neither of us had been injured from them, and we were both slowly inching our way towards the trail that would lead us to Rivendell.

At one point, Bilbo and I made eye contact, and we both instantly knew what the other was thinking.

At the same time, we both sliced our attacker's torso, and they miraculously didn't defend themselves. They both doubled over in pain, and we took that chance to start bolting.

We were running as fast as we could down the hill that would take us into Rivendell. I looked behind me and saw that our attackers were still up where we left them. We must have injured them pretty badly. I looked back in front of me and saw the sight I had longed to see for quite some time now.

There, below us was Rivendell, in all its beauty and glory. It nearly took my breath away to see it in person. It looked exactly like in the movies, though I should have expected that by now.

I didn't have much time to marvel at the town's beauty, since we were still running at top speed down the side of the mountain. There was a thin trail jutting out from the side of the mountain, and I was afraid that one wrong step would mean the death of either of us.

We seemed to make it down okay, but when we were nearing the bottom, I heard shouting from behind me. I turned and saw the two men, running as fast as they could after us. They were gaining on us pretty quickly.

"Bilbo, they're getting closer!" I shouted to Bilbo, and he turned to see them too. He then grabbed my hand.

"Move, Samantha!" he yelled back to me, and we increased our pace. We were almost there. I'm sure if we got close enough, the elves would defend us.

We reached the bottom of the mountain and the winding trail, and sprinted for our lives for the entrance into Rivendell. The men were still gaining on us, and they seemed mere yards away. I inwardly prayed that they wouldn't catch us.

We were just about to cross into the entrance when I felt something pull on my foot. I hit the ground, and looked behind me to see that one of the men had leaped and grabbed my foot. Bilbo had continued running for a few feet before realizing what had happened, and started coming back to help me.

"Let me go!" I shouted, shaking my foot as hard as I could, but his grasp didn't loosen.

"You're mine now, missy," I heard him grunt as he started to pull me away from Rivendell and Bilbo.

I started screaming now, and Bilbo was coming to attack them with his sword, but the other man had now caught up, and knocked Bilbo to the ground with his elbow. We were doomed.

Just then, the sound of a horn rang out and echoed against the hills. Within seconds, I heard the sound of horse's hooves getting louder and louder. I couldn't turn around to look, but I was pretty sure I knew who was coming to help.

The man holding onto me let go and stood up, brandishing his sword. Bilbo's attacker also got into a defensive stance, and that's when I was able to turn around and see about a dozen manned horses charging towards us. I had never felt so relieved in my life.

The horses started to circle around the men, and I saw the elves who were riding had their bows and arrows ready and aimed at them. The two men looked quite frightened, to say the least.

Then one single manned horse came up to the men, and I instantly recognized the rider as Lord Elrond.

"You will leave these hobbits be and go on your way from this place," he said in a booming, authoritative voice.

The men were silent. I could tell they were debating if they should challenge them or not.

"These hobbits killed our master!" one of them shouted.

Lord Elrond seemed to eye them, as if trying to recognize them.

"Ah, so these hobbits killed Tiranius, did they? Well even though I'm sure there was a logical reason why they did so, I can understand why you would be angry. It is pointless to try to avenge your master now, especially since he was so corrupt in his dealings with my kinsfolk. I suggest you leave now, while you still have a chance."

There was silence all around us; the elves were poised to release their arrows, the men were conflicted with what they should do, and Bilbo and I held our breath to see what would happen. The last thing I wanted to witness was a blood bath.

The men looked at each other, and subtly nodded.

"We will retreat," one of them growled. "But know this: we will be meeting with our fellow comrades, and we can raise hell against you elves."

"I suggest you hold your tongue, else you lose it," Lord Elrond said cooly, and the men fell silent again. Then, without another word, they turned on their heels and ran back up into the mountain. I released the breath I had been holding. Thank God they were gone.

Lord Elrond hopped off his horse and came over to where Bilbo and I stood.

"Are you alright?" he asked. He had a very soothing voice when he wanted to use it. Otherwise, he could sound extremely terrifying as well.

"I'm alright, but my friend here might be in need of some medical attention," said Bilbo.

"I'm fine," I argued, but Elrond bent down to look into my eyes intensely.

"It looks as though she might have a concussion," Elrond said. "Come, we will tend to you."

"How does he know that I have a concussion?" I whispered to Bilbo, but he just shrugged his shoulders.

Without warning, I was lifted off the ground, and placed onto a horse. It was Lord Elrond, and he had placed me in front of him on the saddle. I felt like a child riding with her dad.

Then I saw that Bilbo had been lifted onto a horse as well, and he looked just as confused as I was.

"Onward," Lord Elrond called from behind me, and the elves on their horses fell into formation perfectly and with ease as we rode into the beautiful and glittering town of Rivendell.