Gaia watched Dis at the head of the caravan. She was so much like Thorin, but Gaia could see much of Fili and Kili in her, too. It were little things, like a smile or a look which remembered Gaia of the nephews of her love. Fili and Kili. Never Gaia had thought to become so close to others again, she had considered the company as her family during the quest. She had jested around with the two young dwarves, while Balin and Oin had been more the grandfather figures to her. She had accepted Ori like a kind of little brother and scolded Dori and Nori for always beeing so overprotective. Gloin had talked alot about his wife and son and Gaia would have loved to meet them both one day and find out if they were really so great as in Gloins stories. Gaia had only talked little to Bifur, Bofur and Bombur, but only because Bifur did not speek Westron and Bombur was always busy eating. Bofur had always been at Bilbos side and Gaia never had the chance to really talk to him. Dwalin was her favorite - well beside Thorin. For some reason Dwalin had been very fatherly towards her and Gaia had adored his rough shell, for she knew that he was truly warmhearted and loyal to his friends and family. Silently following the caravan, Gaia wondered if she would ever see one of Thorins company ever again.

Three days later the caravan was attacked. The orcs had followed the dwarves to the crossing and hunted them down. They were only few, but they rode wargs and attacked the end of the caravan in a furious speed. Gaia and the rangers lunged out of the forest and losened their arrows on the orcs, killing half of them before the dwarven soldiers reacted. It was a bloody attack, but thankfully no dwarf or ranger had died. After the attack Dis walked over to Gaia.

'Thank you, master ranger. Your help and the help of your fellow men are much appreciated, but we would rather have you accompany us in the open and not in hiding.' Dis was diplomatical, completely the opposite of Thorin. Thorin would have snapped at her for sneaking after themithout his knowledge. Gaia smiled under her cloak and the piece of cloth which covered her face. She only nodded and bowed as an answer and quickly left before Dis could guess why she did not speak. She did not want the dwarves to know that she was a woman. There were only few female rangers and Gaia did not want any of the dwarves to know where she was. But then again, who should ask.

Dis frowned as the ranger she had been talking to walked away. There was something about him which awoke her interest. But she could not put a finger on it. Following the ranger with her gaze Dis, daughter of Thrain, daughter of Thror, decided that she would watch this one closely.

Thorin and his small company stared at the abandonned carts in shock. They were from the Blue Mountains, some still had bags and food on them. The king of Erebor and his companions needed to know why they had been abandonned. There was no sign for a fight, but Thorin and his dwarves wer worried nevertheless.

'This is the fastest way to Erebor.' Dwalin looked ahead. 'There had to be a resaon why they left the carts behind.'

'There are no foot prints heading north.' Nori looked at the road beneath them. 'But there are prints leading back to the crossing.'

'Why did they turn around?' Ori asked timidly. 'The other road leads far into the East and it takes weeks longer to reach home.'

'There.' Nori pointed to the side of the road. Dead animals carcass and destroyed trees and bushes were a clear sign. 'Orcs. They must have followed them, thats why our kin had to turn around and leave the heavy carts behind.'

'Orcs. Thorin we need to hurry.' Bilbo was no warrior, but these dwarves were Thorins kin. He would fight alonside with his king to protect them.

'Du bekar! We need to find them before night time!' Thorin kicked his pony to a fast galopp and his company follow their king down the road to hunt down the orcs who threatened their people.

Bilbo had difficulties to stay in the saddle. He was no rider and the pony he rode this time was not the soft Myrtle had had ridden last time. He grabbed the ponies hair for dear life, not daring to show his panic. He did not want to slow them down and the hobbit felt like a burden once again. He winced as he remembered how their last journey had started.

'The orcs have followed us! They are fast and they will gain on us quickly.' one of Gaias rangers reported to her in the evening. She had sent him behind as a scout, for she knew that the orcs would move faster than them.

'We cannot outrun them.' Gaia mused and looked at the dwarves, moving slowly. 'There are caves a few hours from here. We need to reach them. We have no other choice.'

'You need to talk to the dwarf lady. She looks as if she does not want to let her people walk anoter step. The females and the young are exhausted.' the ranger told Gaia, who winced. But he was right. She had to talk to Dis and Dis had no idea who she was.

The dwarven princess slowed down as she saw the ranger clad in black leather walk over to her. He always had his cloak pulled deep into his face and a piece of cloth was covering his face. The way he walked and moved showed her that he was still young and strong. He moved very much like one of the mountains wildcats, very elegant and swiftly. Dis wondered why he covered his face. Maybe he was shy? Or he had scars over his face? Or he was even ugly? Dis frowned as she thought about what bothered her about this man. Then she took a closer look. And knew. He was no man.

'Lady Dis.' the ranger spoke to her quietly as he reached her. His voice could have been the voice of a younger man, but Dis could guess that it was not.

'My people need rest, master ranger.' Dis stated determinately. 'We have been walking all day and we are carrying all our belongings on our backs.'

Even the princess carried a lot of weight on her back. She was all the leader, like her brother.

'I apologise, my lady.' Gaia apologised. The princess had not said anything about her voice, so maybe she had not noticed. Or maybe she did not care. 'But we need to reach the caves a few miles ahead. The orcs follow our trail. We cannot fight them on the road and in the caves we are safe. My rangers and I will hide your trail, maybe the orcs will pass the caves without noticing us.'

Dis nodded and took a deep breath. She looked at her people and frowned. She did not know how much more some of them could take.

'My lady, I understand that you worry about your people. I can see that they are exhausted and tired.' Gaia told Dis firmly. 'But we have no other choice. If we stay on the road we risk losses.'

Dis nodded and smiled at the rangers honesty and forwardness. It was not rude to say so, it was the truth and necessary. She tilted her head and looked at the rangers eyes. It was the only part of his face which she could see. Warm brown eyes looked back at her, straight into her own eyes, not looking down or away. There was something in these eyes, a dark shadow, a shadow Dis had often seen in her own kinsmen's eyes.

'I understand. We will reach the caves, I will see to it.' Dis walked back to her people and told them to carry on. Gaia saw no objection or opposition in the dwarves eyes and behaviour and once again she admired the strength of leadership in the Durin line. She saw one of the older dwarves stumble under the weight of his baggage and winced. The rangers were strong, but they had to stay flexible to react to attacks and had to scout their surroundings. None of her rangers could help the dwarves with the weight they carried. Gaia prayed that the stubborness of the dwarves would lead them to the caves safely. They could not afford to lose any more time.

The dwarves reached the caves after nightfall. While the exhausted dwarves collapsed on the ground, Dis told the soldiers to watch the entrance to the caves. Fires would only be lightened in the deep of the caves, to not attract the orcs with light. Gaia and her rangers covered their tracks, set new ones into the opposite direction and kept watch outside of the caves. If the orcs would try to scout for the dwarves in direction of the caves, they would be killed instantly. After a while Gaia decided to look after the dwarves. Apparently the orcs had been taken in by their trick. Dis looked at her in alarm as the female ranger entered the caves.

'Everything is alright.' Gaia told her. 'It seems that the orcs follow the tracks we have laid out for them. It will be morning until they realise that they follow the wrong tracks.'

'Thank you.' Dis let out the breath she was holding. 'Thank you for your help. We are not used to support from men and elves.'

'I know.' Gaia answered, but she quickly bit her lip. Of course she knew what had happened to the dwarves of Erebor after their home had been taken from them. Thorin had told her how they had been let down by their former allies and how they had been treatened by the men whose villages they had passed. The former proud and strong folk of Durin had been treatened like wild people, without any respect or even trust. Thorin himself had labored as a mere blacksmith in the villages of men and many other dwarves had taken work to finance their new home in the Blue Mountains. Gaia was ashamed of the behaviour of the men back then, but now, she and her rangers had the chance to make things right. 'We are the rangers of the West and it is our duty to help those who are in need.'

Gaia wanted to leave, but Dis held her back. 'Please, sit with me for a while. I do have some questions.'

It was not a request, it was an order. Gaia knew that tone in her voice from Thorin. She thought about ignoring it, but then she sat down at the dwarf lady´s side with a sigh.

'At first, I want to know why you are hiding.' Dis asked her straight forward. Gaia froze at her question, she hated lying, but in this case she did not have much of a choice.

'I was unsure of how the dwarves would react to a female ranger. Many men react...taken aback when they see a female warrior.' Gaia told Dis. It was only half a lie. Gaia never revealed her true gender, it made her life more easy. 'Our gender often complicates things. But I am sure that you know what I am talking about.'

'What makes you think that?' of course Dis knew what the ranger was talking about, but she was curious.

'Please correct me if I am wrong, but don´t dwarven females stay behind, hidden in their mountains and if they travel they chose to do so in male clothes?' Gaia smiled and looked down at Dis, who was wearing men´s clothes as well. 'In succession to the thrones of your people, females are ignored, they are not even an option. And, I heard that you introduce yourself as Dis, daughter of Thrain, son of Thror. Aren´t you your mothers daughter as well?'

Gaia bit her lip as soon as her words had left her mouth. She hoped that Dis would not judge her for her open words, but the dwarf princess only looked at her with an amused expression.

'You are correct, mistress ranger. Females only have an inferior role to males in our culture, but thats an official statement. I am considered a leader of my people, as well as my brother Thorin, king under the mountain.' Gaias heart began to sting violently at the mentionning of Thorin. 'I may not be able to sit on the throne, but I can assure you that I can rule as well as any other male member of my family.'

'What would have happened, if all of the male members of your family would...not be able to succeed on the throne?' Gaia knew that it was an insensitive thing to ask, but she was curious. She knew that Thorin, Fili and Kili had only barely escaped death and as far as she knew they had been all the male relatives Dis had left.

'In that case the throne would have fallen into my cousins hands. He is the lord of the Iron Hills and next in Durins line.' Dis sighed. 'I would have had no right to succeed the throne of my father. In this case, you are right, mistress ranger. We females have no official right to rule.'

Gaia nodded and suddenly realised that she was still wearing her cloak and her mask. She struggled for a while, but she did feel ridiculous hiding her face before Dis, know that the dwarf knew about her gender. The female ranger pulled back her cloak and her mask with a sigh.

'I was already wondering if you were deformed or scared for not showing your face, my dear.' Dis smirked at the supposed younger woman. 'You have no need to hide your face.'

'Yes, I do.' Gaia sighed. 'It brings me nothing but trouble.'

Dis nodded in understanding. Beauty could be a blessing for a woman, but also her doom. And the ranger sitting beside her was beautiful. Dis tilted her head and looked at Gaia.

'You would be exactly my brother´s type.' she smirked, but quickly regretted her words as she saw an excrutiating pain in the rangers eyes. The dwarven princess bit her lip and decided to quickly change the subject. 'Do you need reinforcement to take over some the night watch?'

'No.' Gaia cleared her throat. 'Thank you, lady Dis. But your people are exhausted, they will need their rest. My rangers and I will take over the watch. Good night.'

Gaia pulled her cloak deep into her face and left the lady of the dwarves in hurry. Dis frowned as she looked after her. Then, she realised that she had not asked for the name of the female ranger.