Author's Note: Okay, funny story about this chapter. As I said at the end the last chapter, I was getting a little tired of the movie, so I decided to write a scene that was more like the book (but put my own twist on it). So anyway, I wrote this chapter. And then, two days after I wrote the 'final' draft of this, we watched the Desolation of Smaug extended edition. (And if you haven't seen it, you must!) And I realized that, by complete coincidence, I had written a scene that was very closely resembled the added/extended one in the movie. Complete coincidence. I had never seen that scene before or read a transcript of it or anything. So I decided not to rewrite it to fit the movie and just post it as is, just because.

Chapter 20-Into Mirkwood

The room seemed empty. Karra opened her eyes and slowly scanned the hay-covered floor. Where was everyone? Sitting up, she peeked into the next room. It was empty too. With a sigh and a yawn, she crawled out of her bedroll. It was so quiet here. It was obvious there was no one anywhere near; the dwarves would have been making at least some noise. Surely they hadn't…no. They wouldn't pull a trick like they had at Rivendell again. She was one of the company now. They were probably just eating breakfast. Not that she was too happy about the fact that they hadn't woken her for breakfast, either.

She stood and tiptoed out of the room, heading in the direction of the table they had eaten dinner at last night. She walked quietly down a hallway and began to hear muffled voices. Turning and walking the direction of the sound, she found herself at a window. Were the voices coming from outside? She stood on her tiptoes and peeked through bottom of the window. What she saw made her draw back in surprise.

Gandalf and another figure stood talking in the garden. About half the company surrounded them. The stranger was tall, taller than anyone Karra had ever seen. She was sure he must be at least seven feet, if not more. The loose tunic he wore barely covered his muscular chest, and a longish scruffy beard spread over most of his face. He looks like…Karra tensed as the realization hit her. He looks like a bear! This must be Beorn.

She stepped back and considered her options. Should she just find a door and step outside? It seemed the rest of the company was already out there. Well…not the rest of the company, only about half. What was up with that? What if…no, she wouldn't think that. Gandalf wouldn't be conversing so casually with Beorn if he had killed half their company.

She tiptoed back down the hallway, hoping to find a somewhat unobtrusive entrance to the garden. Maybe she could just quietly slip out and join the company without anyone—least of all the bear-man—noticing. She was glancing around in search of a door when she ran right smack into something.

She gasped a little and stepped back, rubbing her elbow where she had hit it. Thinking at first that she had run into a wall, she turned and started the other direction, when the wall grunted. She jumped again and turned back. It wasn't a wall—it was a dwarf! And Fili no less.

She apologized quickly, feeling slightly relieved to find him standing here alive and unhurt in the hallway. She hadn't seen him or Kili in the group outside, and she had to admit she had been a little bit worried. "So what exactly is going on?" she asked after both had recovered from the impact.

"Beorn is here," Fili replied. "Gandalf's talking to him now."

"I know that; I saw them out in the garden," Karra replied. "But why isn't everyone out there?"

"Gandalf told us to come out in groups of twos and threes," Kili said, stepping out of nowhere. "So as not to shock him with the large number of our company all at once, he says," he continued, making an almost perfect imitation of Gandalf speaking. Karra giggled.

"Okay, I was wondering why only half the company was out there," she said. "So where are we? Are we next or anything?" She narrowed her eyes. "And why didn't you wake me up?"

"We weren't all awake when he came. And," Fili shrugged, "you looked tired."

"We were to come out next," Kili answered her other question. "But Fili was hoping to find you." There was a glint of something mischievous in his eye and Karra glared at him. Fili opened his mouth to say something and Kili cut him off. "That's what you said," he said, trying to sound innocent. "You said you wanted to find Karra."

"Anyway," Karra said, changing the subject. "Are we still coming out next?"

"I believe so." Fili led her and Kili further down the hallway. Karra couldn't swallow her nervousness. What would Beorn think of them? From the brief glimpse she had gotten, he had seemed fine with the rest of the company, but…she tried not the think about it. Eventually they reached another door that seemed to lead out into the garden. Fili put his hand on the doorknob and turned.

"….as I was saying," she heard Gandalf as they entered the garden from the back, "they were traveling through the Misty Mountains. Well, everyone knows how dangerous some of those passes can be during a thunderstorm, and this was not only a thunderstorm. It was a thunder battle." He paused momentarily, then continued. "And with such a large company traveling together, and the risk of getting separated in the dark on those cliffs—"

"I would hardly call five a large company," Beorn rumbled. At that moment, Fili, Kili, and Karra stepped forward. All heads turned towards them.

"Fili at your service," Fili said with a bow.

"And Kili," said Kili, following suit. "At your service."

"Karra," Karra said shyly. "At…at your service." She gave a neat little curtsy and congratulated herself on well she had handled that.

"There, you see?" Gandalf said. "A large company indeed."

"I suppose," the large man said, examining the three newly introduced dwarves thoroughly. Karra wanted to shrink back from his gaze, but tried to stand confidently. She didn't want him thinking that dwarf women were cowards. All the same, she felt legs getting wobbly when his eyes rested on her and stopped. "You travel with a woman in your company?" he asked slowly.

Karra resisted the urge to slap her hand to her forehead. Not this again! How many times had they gone over this exact same thing with just about every stranger they met? What was so weird about a dwarf woman, for goodness sakes?

"That, I'm afraid," Gandalf said, "is a tale of its own, and one we must tell another time. As I was saying," he continued, and Karra let out a sigh of relief, glad they weren't going to keep talking about her, "the thunderstorm. The company did not wish to risk getting separated on the mountain passes, so they decided it would be best to find shelter. But it is often hard to find caves in those mountains that are safe and large enough to hold a dozen dwarves—"

Karra couldn't keep her mouth shut. "A dozen?" she spoke up. "But—"

"Quiet, girl," Gandalf snapped, waving a hand at her. Karra was half surprised to find that he hadn't put some spell on her. "I know my numbers." She snapped her mouth shut and stepped to the back of the group. Maybe she could just disappear now.

But before Gandalf could continue speaking, Beorn began to laugh, a great, rolling laugh that was surprisingly pleasant. "You say you know your numbers," he said, still laughing. "But I have never heard eight called a dozen!"

"Ah, well, you see—" Gandalf began, but was interrupted by the entrance of a couple more dwarves—the rest of the company excluding Thorin, actually. The wizard looked at them in surprise.

"I have never heard fourteen called a dozen either," the great man said. Gandalf closed his eyes momentarily and looked away. Save me from the impatience of dwarves, he seemed to be saying. He had obviously not intended the rest of the company to show up so quickly. Karra stifled a little nervous giggle. She caught Fili and Kili grinning.

"It was only a rough estimate, you see," Gandalf said, a little uncomfortably it seemed. "One dozen, two dozen, these things are sometimes easier to say then fourteen, fifteen." He looked at the newly arrived dwarves. "Well, now that you're here," he said impatiently, "you might as well introduce yourselves."

One by one the dwarves stepped forward and introduced themselves, each with a bow and an "At your service." Beorn watched sternly, but Karra thought he could see the corners of his mouth twitching in a slight smile. This man was certainly a surprising contrast to the giant bear that had nearly attacked them yesterday.

"Well, as I was saying," Gandalf continued, "Thorin was leading them through the mountain passes—"

"Thorin you say?" Beorn interrupted him again. Karra grinned at Gandalf's look of mild irritation. Everyone else seemed to be messing up his plan, whatever his plan was. "I do not recall being introduced to a Thorin," Beorn said.

At that moment, Thorin appeared in the garden. Karra couldn't help marveling at how he managed to make a grand entrance in the most unlikely of circumstances. She could just imagine some sort of royal music playing as he stepped out the door and presented himself proudly to the large man.

"Allow me to introduce you to our leader, Thorin Oakenshield," Gandalf said, seeming glad that all the dwarves were finally here and not hiding in the house trying to mess up his plan. Thorin gave a slight bow and didn't say anything about being 'at your service'.

"And now, I presume, I have finally met all of your company," Beorn said, and this time the twitching at the corners of his mouth was unmistakable. "Go on, go on with your tale."

And Gandalf did. With no further interruptions, he followed the dwarves through the goblin tunnels, onto the backs of the eagles, and through the orc chase. "And so," he concluded, "being pursued by orcs as we were, and needing rest and sustenance, we stopped here, knowing no orc dared approach this house while you lived here." He looked up at the bear-man, as if to say, and that's that.

"I do not usually take kindly to strangers showing up at my home unannounced," Beorn said. "For usually such strangers are not of the friendly kind. But you say you were being pursued by orcs. I am not overly fond of dwarves, but I am considerably less fond of orcs." He turned and began to walk towards his door. "Come in. You will have a good breakfast here."

Just like we had a good dinner yesterday, Karra thought. I wonder if he knows. But this time she kept her mouth shut and followed him inside. Gandalf seemed to have done a good job of getting them in Beorn's good graces, and she wouldn't want to be the one to mess that up. Not that she hadn't done that before.

About an hour later, they were all seated at the table in the bear's house, being served by the bear himself—still in human form, of course. Karra had to admit, she was a little curious about what this shape-shifting thing looked like when he did it, but she didn't really want him to actually do it, because that would probably mean he was angry at them. She had been nervous the entire meal that one of the dwarves would say something wrong and make him mad, and she had a bit of trouble actually enjoying the good food that was being given to them. So far everything had gone well, and Beorn didn't seem to be an unreasonable sort of person, but still. Karra was half glad she was sitting on the corner of the table farthest from him.

Gandalf and Thorin had led the main conversation. Being pursued by orcs was apparently to their benefit now. The bear-man seemed much more likely to help them since his enemies were their enemies. Karra somehow managed to be simultaneously relieved and disappointed when the meal was over. She found Beorn interesting and fascinating, even if she was a little afraid of him.

"No, thank you," Karra said firmly. "This time I get my own pony." She shook her head and grinned at Fili. "But thanks for the offer."

"I only wanted to make sure you were safe," he said, but his words held a hint of teasing. "After all, you've never ridden alone before."

"Pff." Karra cut him off with a wave of her hand. "You think my riding my own pony wouldn't be safe? You have a low opinion of my riding skills." She glanced at Beorn, who stood in the background watching their preparations for departure and chatting with Gandalf. "I have to say," she said in a low voice, "I'm kind of sorry to be leaving so soon. I mean, don't you think we could have at least stayed and rested for at least one day?"

"My uncle is anxious to get going," Fili said, looking away. "Every day is one day closer to Durin's day."

Karra nodded and continued saddling the pony that she was to ride. After a minute of fumbling with the cords, she realized she didn't know how the saddle worked. "Um…Fili?" she asked, flushing slightly. "I need some help here…"

He grinned at her and walked over. He had the pony saddled within a couple of seconds. She sighed. How was he so good at everything? All the same, she smiled and nodded her thanks. Everyone seemed to be mounting their ponies.

"Go now, and go quickly," Beorn said. "Your hunters are not far behind." Karra made an attempt to swing up into the saddle—and failed.

"Umm…a little help over here?" she said, wincing at her own awkwardness. Fili rode by and grabbed her hand, and before she knew what was happening, she found herself sitting in the saddle behind him. "I needed help mounting my own pony, thank you very much!" she exclaimed. "Not yours." But they were already riding off, leaving her little already saddled pony behind. She sighed. She had just lost her only chance to have her own pony for once. Oh well.

They rode faster than Karra had ever remembered riding before. Their little ponies galloped across the plains and through much scenery that she didn't have much time to admire, though she was sure it was pretty. After a while she began to find bouncing along on the back of a pony nearly unbearable, as her neck was still very stiff and very sore, though some of the pain was beginning to subside. She looped her arms around Fili's waist and buried her head in his shoulder in an attempt to soften some of the impact; it didn't really work. But he didn't seem to mind, so they rode along like that for a good while.

The air was pleasant and rather cool, and even the wind rushing past them didn't really bother Karra. It was easy to forget for the moment that they were on a dangerous quest and would soon be entering an enchanted forest. Until they began to see that borders of the forest, and even from a distance it looked ominous. Finally, they rode almost directly up to the edge of the trees. "Here lies our path through Mirkwood," Gandalf called out, and the company came to a stop.

Karra resisted Fili's attempt to help her down off the pony. "No thanks, I can do this myself," she retorted, sliding off the saddle and promptly catching her foot on a rock. Fili grinned. She glared at him. He turned, and she followed his gaze to see the silhouette of a large bear sitting on a distant cliff.

"Let the ponies loose," ordered Gandalf. "Let them return to their master."

Karra was just beginning to unload their supplies off their pony when Kili walked over. "Let me help you with that," he said with a smirk, and without so much as asking her permission, cut in and did it for her.

"What was that about?" she exclaimed.

"Well, you didn't know how to saddle it, so I thought…" He shrugged and grinned, leaving the sentence unfinished. "You're always having trouble with ponies, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Karra said with a glare. "And you're always having trouble quitting teasing me, aren't you?" Well, it wasn't the best comeback, but it was the best she could think of at the moment.

"I will help her with the ponies, little brother," Fili cut in. Karra was a little grateful that for once Fili wasn't teasing her too. Kili gave them both a little mock glare and walked away. Karra glanced at Fili and then at the forest.

"So we're actually going in there?" she asked, changing the subject. "I mean, it doesn't look too friendly…"

"We've traveled through less friendly places than a forest," Fili pointed out, and Karra acknowledged him with a grin. Like the goblin tunnels, maybe? But still…this forest looked creepy, like it was watching all of them and laughing at them for daring to enter it. Great, like she needed that thought in her head. She sort of wished they could take the ponies with them on their trip through the forest. It might make it more bearable, somehow less creepy, and maybe quicker. But it was no use wishing for something she couldn't have. Fili had finished unloading their supplies and was letting the pony go. It galloped away across the plain as if it were glad to get away from the dark mass of trees. Karra sighed and looked away from the branches overhanging the path—if that entrance could be considered a path. If they had to go in there, at least she wouldn't make a big deal of being nervous about it.

"Not my horse," Gandalf's voice interrupted her thoughts. She glanced his direction and saw him beginning to mount his horse.

"But surely you won't be taking your horse with you?" one of the dwarves exclaimed. "We were to return them—all of them—to their owner!"

"No, I won't be taking my horse with me through Mirkwood," Gandalf said. "Because I won't be going through Mirkwood."

"You're leaving?" cried Karra. "You aren't going with us?"

"I would not do this unless I had to," Gandalf said, and there seemed to be a hint of regret in his voice. "Be on your guard." His eyes swept over the group of dwarves, all of whom were watching him now. "This is not the Greenwood of old. The air is heavy with enchantment and illusion. Do not leave the path, or you will never find it again. And do stay clear of a certain river, dark and deep; it is enchanted also, and if you drink of it or touch the water, it will send you into a deep sleep from which you may never wake. Beorn warned me of this but neglected to warn you. Farewell," he finished, turning his horse. "Don't forget!" he called back as he rode away. "Stay on the path!" And with that, he was gone.

The company turned towards the foreboding forest. No wizard, no ponies, nothing but a group of dwarves and one small hobbit. Karra squared her shoulders and tried to look confident. Whatever happened, she was ready. Maybe if she thought that enough, she actually would be ready.

I have got to stop putting these author's notes at the end of chapters. I'm running out of things to say.