So, here I am again, with yet another chapter! I think I should say thank you for the reviews (even if some of them made me feel a bit guilty) and that I'm not going to remove this story.

Chapter 7

We had been travelling for one day, and I began to wonder how far from Rivendell we were. Gloin had made a sparkling, warm fire and most of the company was sitting around it. For once they were eating in silence. "Rosie", Bilbo called. "You should come and eat." I glanced over my shoulder, toward the fire, the dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf.

"I'm not hungry", I muttered before I turned my attention back to the darkness laying around us. The silence lay upon the company again. "Thorin", I suddenly whispered. "I-I think I spotted something."

"What?" Thorin asked, aware.

"I don't know. It looked like pale eyes." I swallowed and took a tentatively step into the darkness. It was as if it laid itself around me and removed every sound. It was then I heard it. A growl, followed by a pain in my upper arm. I let out a cry of shock and pain as I stumbled backwards, into the firelight. I fell over something – maybe one of the bags – and landed on my back. Another growl and the head of a huge, grey and black wolf appeared. I lifted a trembling arm to protect my face.

I had been too put out by the wolf to notice the others getting to their feet and pulling out their weapons. Suddenly Thorin threw himself in front of me and attacked the warg. "Kili, shoot it!" he yelled as he dodged around the wolf, taking it's attention away from me. An arrow flew over my head, followed by a second one. The wolf fell to the ground, dead. "A scout!" Thorin growled. "That means an orc pack isn't far behind."

"Rosie!" someone shouted, and a second later I had three persons around me. Fili and Kili at one side, and Bilbo at the other. "Are you okay?" I nodded in reply to Kili, who was the one asking.

"You're bleeding!" Fili and Bilbo exclaimed at nearly the same time. I swallowed and glanced down at my upper, left arm. They were right. Three, deep scars ran across the arm. Warm, crimson blood ran down to my elbow and made my once white shirt red. After noticing all of this in a matter of seconds, I glanced up at Fili and Kili. Kili was staring at it with shock printed across his face, while Fili seemed a bit calmer. At my other side, Bilbo hadn't seen the scars. "Let me take a look at it", he demanded. I peered down at the arm, and then at Bilbo again. Then I shook my head. It had began to hurt. I winced and pressed the palm of my right hand over the three scars.

"Rosie, don't be stubborn. Let me see!" I shook my head again.

"You have never tended anything worse than small grazes", I reminded him. "You would panic if I allowed you to see this." Bilbo frowned and I could see he wasn't happy with my answer, but to my relief he accepted it and pulled away, mumbling something I didn't catch.

The dwarves had began to pack the camp so we could get moving again, and Fili had gone to get Oin so he could take a look at it. The only left together with me was Kili. He was pale and his eyes were wide. "Does it hurt very much?" he asked with a small shiver in his voice. I swallowed. At first I had been in shock and hadn't felt much of it, but now when I calmed down, it hurt like hell. I nodded. Kili bit his lower lip. I winced again, just as Fili and Oin returned.

"Hold her", Oin commanded. At first I hoped Kili would hold me, but then Fili was the one to do that. Kili only stared at my arm with wide eyes as Oin carefully removed my hand from the wound. "We'll have to cut off the sleeve", he said with a frown. "Your knife, lad." He reached out his hand to Kili, but Kili didn't move. I swallowed again and tried to fight back the tears which were making their way into my eyes.

"Kili!" Fili called. Kili snapped for air and turned his eyes away from the wound. "Your knife!" With fumbling hands Kili found the knife in a pocket. It slipped out of his hands and fell to the ground. With a sigh Oin picked it up and began cutting in the nice fabric of the shirt. Well, it wasn't really that nice any longer. It had got green and brown spots, and the dress wasn't much to look at either. I didn't care. All I knew was that it felt as if a dozen blacksmiths were hammering on my upper arm. Oin removed the sleeve. I didn't look at the wound, 'cause I knew it would hurt even more if I could see it. I groaned when Oin dried away the blood, and buried my face in Fili's arm.

"Is it possible to hurry up?" I heard Thorin ask. "The orcs aren't far away, and in this thick darkness they have better eyes than us."

"You should be thankful to her", Balin said. "If it hadn't been for her, one of us could've died." A small sniff escaped me. Something – probably the rest of my sleeve – was tied around my upper arm.

"It's okay", Fili whispered in a soothing voice. That voice of an older brother. I pulled away from him. I glanced down at my arm. It was light red from the blood, but the worst was gone. Then I glanced toward Kili. He wasn't looking at me, but his own hands which were laying open in his lap, and were shivering. I wondered why he hadn't been there for me, just as he used to. Then I suddenly understood. I moved toward him, but winced when I put pressure on my arm. Finally I sat in front of Kili. Gently I took his shivering hands in mine. He lifted his head a bit, but didn't look at me. Somehow he seemed ashamed.

"I'm sorry", he muttered.

"For what?" I asked with a frown. "You wasn't the one asking the wolf to attack me." He barely shook his head.

"No, but I should've been there to help you!" This time his eyes met mine. In those dark brown eyes I could see shame, pain and shock.

"Come on!" Thorin commanded. "We have to get moving!" I nodded and tried to rise. I hadn't managed it if it wasn't for Kili who supported me and helped me over to Caramel. Then he lifted me up on her back just as easily as he had done the first day back in Hobbiton. For a few seconds his hand rested on mine, and I realized how pale I was. I glazed into his eyes which seemed black in the darkness. It was then I knew I had lost myself in those eyes. I had been lost in them since I opened the door back in Hobbiton. Then Kili let go of me and hurried over to his own pony. I swallowed and pulled myself back to the reality, and the reality was that we had began moving into the darkness.

My arm ached as I steered Caramel after the others. Somehow I had ended up in the middle of the company, and even if I didn't see them in the thick darkness, I could hear them. The problem was that it wasn't the only thing I could hear. All around us wolves were howling and growling, while orcs were laughing and shouting in their own language. "This way!" Gandalf shouted. I turned Caramel so she would follow the wizard's voice, and before I knew what happened, I had slipped out. The relief washed over me.

Other sounds mixed with the orcs' shouts and the wolves' howling. The sound of a horn I knew I had heard before. Once long, long ago. Then I heard the clear voices of elves. My eyes widened as I recognized one of those voices, even if I didn't remember the name of the elf. Only that I had met him once, and that he had taken care of me for some while.

Without neither thinking nor wanting it, I had stopped Caramel and was staring into the darkness, toward the elves who had saved us. Someone took the reins out of my hands. I let out a small yelp and held on to Caramel's mane. She shook her head, and the next second we were in gallop again, but this time led by one of the dwarves.

I had no idea of how long we had been travelling like that, all I knew was that the sky was slowly lightening in east, and that we finally were slowing down. In the dim morning light I spotted Kili beside me, holding both his own pony's reins, and Caramel's.

"Welcome", Gandalf suddenly announced, "to Rivendell." I straightened in the saddle and tried to look past the dwarves. To my disappointment I didn't see anything else than dwarves and more dwarves. Seriously. Sometimes I got the feeling that there didn't exist any other kinds than dwarves. I sighed and slunk back into the saddle.

"Here", Kili said beside me and reached me the reins. "I suppose it's okay now." He smiled, but then suddenly became serious again. "Why did you stop?" I blinked in confusion, but then I remembered why he had taken the reins.

"I don't know..." I replied as we began making our way down toward something which looked like a small village. The elven houses standing around the road we followed, were high and made of light wood and stone. The road itself followed a river which cut the village in two. On the side we were on, there stood what I supposed were normal elven houses, but at the other side a great house was standing. There were balconies, small rivers and both huge and small waterfalls. But the most beautiful were the gardens. The bushes and trees were all filled with flowers, the colours were bright and heart warming, and it all seemed magical and unreal.

Around us the elves were singing a merry song with their clear voices. To me it didn't make much sense, and I was sure the dwarves didn't understand much either, but when I glanced at Fili and Kili, I got the feeling that they slowly had began to change their mind about elves.

"O! What are you seeking,

And what are you making?

The faggots are reeking,

The bannocks are baking!

O! Tril-lil-lil-lolly

The valley is jolly,

Ha! Ha!

O! Where are you going,

With beard all a-wagging?

No knowing, no knowing,

What brings Mister Baggins

And Balin and Dwalin,

Down into the valley

In June

Ha! Ha!"

I smiled at the song, and even if the other dwarves seemed unhappy with being there, Fili and Kili were grinning. "Maybe they're not that bad, after all", Fili muttered and I smiled. Then the elves began teasing and laughing of them because of the beard. Fili and Kili's smiles disappeared. "But on the other hand..." Fili said and gave the elves a look which only made them laugh even more.

"Hey look at this one!" an elf suddenly said, and carelessly he lifted Kili off the pony. "He looks elvish! Are you sure you're a dwarf?" The last was meant to Kili who had froze. His jaw had tightened. I exchanged a look with Fili, then we got off our ponies. Fili dragged Kili away from the elves, and I glared up at them.

"That was really rude of you", I said with my hands on my hips. "You should say sorry to him!"

"But we were only being honest", the elf said. I narrowed my eyes at him. "He do look elvish!" When he said that, I pulled out the dagger Kili had given me, and pointed it at the elf.

"Take. That. Back", I hissed. The elf took a step backward with shock painted over his face. Then I spun around, sheathed the dagger and hurried over to Fili who was standing there with his hands on Kili's shoulders. Kili was staring to the ground. "Kili?" I whispered when I reached them. He only shook his head. I sighed and gave the elves a furious look before I turned my attention back to Kili. Carefully I moved in between the two brothers. I lifted Kili's head, but he closed his eyes. Then a tear ran down his cheek. One single tear, but that was enough to make the compassion awake inside me. I stroke it away with my thumb and then hugged him. "Shhh, it's going to be all right", I whispered into his ear while trying to keep my arms around his neck. "You don'tlook elvish. You look dwarfish, but yet you're different. You're special, so don't think about it any longer."

"But..." he muttered. "They're right!" At those words I sighed, released myself from him, put my hands on each side of his face and made him bow his head so our foreheads touched.

"Look at me and listen to what I'm saying", I told him. His dark brown chocolate eyes were lifted, and then they locked with mine. He didn't look away, only gazed into my eyes. "You are a dwarf. Your beard will grow longer as you grow older. Girls will fall for you, and you will be free to chose." He swallowed. "Remember this, and remember that no matter what, you will always have Fili, your mother, Thorin and me here for you." Again he swallowed, and then he nodded. His forehead lingered against mine a few seconds longer, then he gently released himself and a small smile appeared on his face.

"Thanks", he muttered. I smiled and glanced back at Fili with an arched eyebrow. He returned my glance with an expression which clearly said "thank you". Easily I patted his arm, and then returned to the rest of the company. The elves pulled away from me when I glared at them, and I knew I had scared them.

Fili and Kili returned to their ponies, and the silence became even deeper. Then one of the other elves stepped in front of the others, toward Gandalf and Thorin. "Welcome to the valley", he said with a deep bow.

"Thanks", Thorin replied, but didn't really sound neither happy nor grateful. Gandalf got off his horse, and the dwarves soon followed. The wizard, however, began talking with the elves, and their merry voices quickly returned to the valley.

"I think you've came a bit astray", another elf said. "That is, if it was in your intentions to get over the river and to the house at the other side. I shall show you the way until you pass the bridge, but can't you stay with us for a short while and sing together with us, or do you have to move quickly? And I think they're making breakfast for you over there." He smiled, and I got the feeling that he was the first elf who didn't want to hurt any of the dwarves. "I can smell it."

We were hungry and tired, and even if staying with the elves was something you shouldn't say no to, Gandalf friendly refused and explained to the elves why. They only smiled and said that we could do it another time. So we led our ponies to the bridge with an amount elves escorting us, and when we were about to cross the river, one of them carefully placed a hand on my shoulder. I spun around and glared up at him. He quickly backed up, but then he took a deep breath and glanced at first me, then Kili who stood together with Fili, waiting for me. I recognized the elf as the one insulting Kili.

"I just wanted to say that I'm actually sorry for what I told to your friend", he said. "I think dwarves and elves are quite different, and we might have different views on what's rude and what's not rude." He bowed his head. "That's all." I raised my eyebrows and glanced at Kili. He was looking at the elf with narrowed eyes, and for a few seconds I wondered if he didn't want to accept the apology. Then he nodded.

"Apology accepted", he replied before turning his back to the elves and walking out on the bridge together with his pony. I sighed and then nodded to the elf who smiled nervously. So I followed Kili who had crossed and was waiting at the other side of the river. When I had passed, I turned to watch the others follow. When Thorin went over, the elves smiled and laughed. Not that they hadn't been doing it before, but this time it was a bit more intense.

"Watch out so your beard don't get wet, grandpa!" they shouted after him. "You don't need to water it, it's long enough from before!"

"And watch out so Bilbo don't eat all the cakes! He's already too thick to escape through a key hole!" They broke down laughing, and Gandalf had to hush at them, even if it was with a smile.

Finally all of us got over the bridge, and we could approach the House of Elrond where the door was open, only waiting for us. Elves came and led the ponies away, and the others were showed the way to the bathroom. I was told to way for another elf who would show me the way to the ladies bathroom. As I waited I got a lot of time to look at the small details carved into the stone the House of Elrond was made of. It looked as small animals, and yet they weren't.

I was trying to decide what one of the... things were, when someone chocked behind me. I spun around and glanced at the woman standing there. She smiled. "Sorry if I startled you", she said with a soft accent. "Please, follow me and I'll show you the way to the bathroom." I smiled.

"Thank you", I said as I followed her. For a while we only walked in silence and I could admire the flowers, the colours and the small rivers and waterfalls we passed on our way.

"Tell me", the woman said, "how is it to travel with dwarves? Aren't they... stubborn and hard to deal with?" I smiled and laughed lightly.

"In a way they are, but when you get used to it, and you get to know them, you learn how to deal with them." The elf nodded and I glanced up at her. She seemed young – but all of the elves seemed young, had long, wavy and brown hair, and she was dressed in a light blue dress. She twisted a lock of her hair around one of her slender fingers and didn't look at me.

"They're really cute", she said after a few seconds of silence. "I guess you're really close to the two youngest, aren't you?"

"Well, I wouldn't say they're cute. They're friendly enough, but quite dangerous if you're at their bad side", I replied. "And when you say the two youngest I suppose you mean Fili and Kili." I smiled. "They're like the brothers I never had. I don't really understand how we became that close. It was just something that happened during a few hours, and most of the hours I slept." I laughed again and then glanced up at the elf. "Why did you ask?" She blushed.

"N-nothing", she whispered, and I laughed even more.

"You like them, don't you?" I asked. She blushed more and didn't answer at all. As I laughed, something inside me told me that I didn't like her liking Fili and Kili. They were mine brothers, and the idea of them spending time with her... I didn't like it.

"But it doesn't matter anyway", she said silently as she stopped in front of a small house and pushed up the door. "My parents would never allow me to become that close with any dwarf." She smiled sadly at me, and I felt relief wash over me. She wouldn't try to get close to Fili and Kili. "Please, enjoy your bath." She stepped aside and let me in. "Oh, and before I forget it", she added when she was about to close the door. "I can get you a new dress and-" Her voice turned into a gasp when she spotted my upper arm. "What happened to you?" I glanced down at the arm I just had taken the sleeve off. It didn't hurt that much any longer, but I supposed that was only because of the white liniment Oin had put on it.

"I was attached by a wolf", I replied and frowned. The woman swallowed.

"I'll get you a new dress, and something to tend it with", she said, and before I could say anything more she had disappeared out of the door and left me in the dim light inside the bathroom. I sighed as I carefully undressed and then slipped into the pool. I was very aware that I didn't get the upper arm wet, and always kept it above the water. When I washed the dirt out of my face, I only used my right arm. Otherwise the water would've ran into the scars and it would've began to hurt.

I glanced up when the door opened and the woman entered. She looked at me with worried eyes as she approached, put the dress at a small chair and sat down at the floor. "Do you want help washing your hair?" she asked. I smiled.

"That would've been nice", I replied. "By the way, my name is Rosie." She returned the smile.

"I'm Liana." As she washed my hair, we talked about everything that appeared in our minds. She told me about Rivendell and how it was to live there, and in return I told her about Hobbiton and how it was there. I also found myself telling her about Merry. "You must be really happy to know that there's someone who want to spend the rest of his life with you", she said with that sad smile of her.

"Yes, I suppose", I sighed, and then winced when she carefully began to wash my arm.

"Sorry", she quickly apologized, but I only shook my head.

"Get finished with it", I said through gritted teeth. She nodded, and after a few minutes with pain the arm was bandaged with clean bandages, and I could get up from the pool. The feeling of being totally clean after so long time was so good. I hadn't known how covered in dirt I actually had been, but now... Better than a refreshing night of sleep.

I dried myself and pulled on the clean dress. It was light red and white, and the shoes were cream coloured. I smiled and made a pirouette. Liana laughed and beamed at me. "You look fantastic", she commented. "Let me dry your hair."

"Fine", I replied surprised. I hadn't expected her to be so helpful, but on the other hand it felt good just to be able to relax and do nearly nothing. "But can't we go out and sit in the sunshine?" She laughed again.

"If that's your wish", she said, picked up the hairbrush and went outside. I followed her. The air was warm and the sun shone bright down at me. I closed my eyes and turned my face up toward the warming sun.

"Where are the others?" I asked, still with my eyes closed. "Bilbo, Fili, Kili, Gandalf and the rest of the company."

"I don't know", Liana replied with a giggle, even if there was something sad about it when she said it.

"Hello", a voice said just behind me. I jumped and turned to look at Bilbo. He smiled, and for the first time on two months he was totally clean. "Something I can do for you, miladies?" He bowed deeply, and I laughed.

"Uncle Bilbo!" I chided, still laughing.

"Maybe I should leave you two", Liana suddenly said, and before I could tell her to stay, she had disappeared, only leaving the hairbrush at the bench she had been sitting at. I sighed, went over to the bench and sank down at it. Bilbo followed me and sat down beside me. Then he picked up at hair brush, and began brushing my wet hair. We sat there for about one hour, not talking very much, only admiring the trees, flowers and small rivers around us. Finally Bilbo put down the brush and rose.

"The others are waiting for us", he said. I nodded and rose. Bilbo went first, so I followed him. Even if I was tired, it was impossible to let the eyes and the head rest. Bilbo opened a door. Inside I could hear the dwarves talking and laughing, and I nearly didn't hear the elves who played soft music. I didn't enter just after Bilbo. Instead I stay outside. Instead I glanced down at myself and frowned. For the first time in my entire life I found myself wondering what other thought about my outfit. I swallowed and laid a hand on the door. Then I pushed it up and entered.

The silence fell upon the room when I appeared in the doorway. All eyes were turned toward me, but my eyes only searched for one pair of eyes. Dark brown chocolate eyes which made me melt, just as they always had. Ever since the first day I spotted them. I quickly found them.

"Hi", I whispered and bowed my head so I didn't need to look at the rest of the room. I had no idea where to put my hands. The dress felt too long and too thin, and I just wanted to disappear. Silence.

"You look... beautiful." At this, my head snapped up. Fili was grinning, and Kili's ears were red after what he just said. I felt the heat stream into my cheeks and quickly bowed my head again so they wouldn't see how terribly I was blushing.

Thank you for reading, and I have one small question for you. Do you want me to put the first-kiss moment in the next chapter?

Please, leave a review and tell me what you think.