'They have to be here, somewhere!' Thorin was tired and irritated. They had followed the tracks until they had lead to the East. But that did not make any sense. Taking this road was already a delay, moving eastwards would only delay them further for no reason. Thorin was afraid that the orcs had driven his kin into the Misty Mountains and felt helpless. He was their king, he should assure them a safe passage home. But Middle Earth was far from safe at the moment. Dark powers schemed and worked in the shadows, powers Thorin did not understand.

'The tracks are leading to the east and there are orc tracks, too!' Nori informed his king. 'But they do not make any sense. The tracks before were deep and broad, resulting from heavily packed dwarves. These tracks are more slim and they are not deep enough. The person who made them was lighter. Looks like tracks from men.'

'How could the tracks of dwarves turn into tracks of men?' Dwalin asked irritatedly. 'This makes no sense!'

'They can´t just fade to thin air.' Bilbo tried to stay calm. They had to think and not jump to conclusions. 'Maybe they covered their tracks. The rangers use to do this when they do not want to be found.'

The rangers. Gaia. Bilbo had wanted to say that covering the tracks had been something Gaia had done various times during their journey, but he quickly bit his tongue. Nevertheless he could see the painful look in Thorins eyes and it hurt him almost as much as it hurt the king.

The next morning the dwarves continued their journey. Madril and about tree dozen rangers had joined them and they had brought horses. The dwarves could dispense some of the baggage onto the horses and could move more quickly while the rangers secured their flanks. Sooner or later they would run into the orcs again, but this time they had the element of surprise because they would run into the orc´s back and this time they were stronger in number. Gaia looked forward to battle. Being near Dis tortured her and she was reminded of Thorin everytime she looked at the dwarf woman. Little did she know, that her torture would soon be at an end and would be replaced by new pain.

'Orcs!' the scout's alarm made the dwarves and rangers jump and jerk out of their thoughts. The rangers going ahead had attacked the orcs from behind and had managed to kill many, but the remaining ones turned towards the dwarves in this moment. The rangers and the dwarven soldiers formed a protecting line in front of the females and children and stood their ground against the filthy creatures immediately. But there was one thing nobody had expected. Wild men from Dunland had joined the orcs and charged at the Dunedain and the dwarves with full force. Their number was not high, but high enough to endanger the soldiers protecting their family and kin.

The rangers losened one arrow after the other on the attacking men and orcs, but soon they were all engaged in an ugly skirmish. Gaia fought off two orcs at once as she saw Dis grab a sword from a fallen dwarf soldier and throw herself into battle. Moving closer to Thorins sister, Gaia fought as hard as she could, but she already saw the orcs gain on Dis. Now she was sure that the orcs were from Azogs pack. The orcs went for Dis like the moths to a flame. Their order was to destroy the line of Durin and that included Dis.

'Over my dead body.' Gaia snarled and fought her way to Dis´side. She kicked one orc and swung her sword against another as she heard a loud battle cry emerging from the hills around them. Her heart stopped as she recognised the voice. Only one could send shivers down one´s spine in the mist of the battle with his war cry. Thorin. Gaia turned around and saw the king under the mountain, as well as Dwalin, Bofur and the brothers Ri charge at the orcs on ponies. Completely frozen, Gaia stared at the attacking dwarves in shock. None of the scouts had reported that the king under the mountain was currently on a journey through Middle Earth. Why had he left his newly reclaimed mountain?

Gaias heart wrenched painfully in her chest as she saw that Bilbo Baggins was riding at the kings side. The poor hobbit grabbed his reins in panic, but he managed to stay on his pony and he swung his letter opener at every orc he passed. So this was why Thorin was here. He had traveled to the Shire to get his burglar back. He had traveled through all of Middle Earth for the hobbit. Gaia could feel her heart turn to stone. She was reminded once again that the friendship between Thorin and Bilbo was stronger than the kings love for her.

Thorin heard the fighting noise before he could even see the battle. As his pony rode over the hill he laid eyes upon his kin, fighting a band of orcs...and wild men. Thorin felt a burning rage boiling in his blood and drew his sword. He would not let anyone attack his kin unpunished. He let out a furious war cry and charged at the orcs with his company. As he rode down the hill he could hear Dwalin roar at his side and could hear Bilbo yelp as his pony followed the other in a murderous speed. In their charge Thorin scanned the battlefield. He realised that the dwarves had help against the orcs and wild men. Dark clad men looking like rangers fought at the side of his kin. Rangers...Thorin felt a sting in his heart as he thought about Gaia for a moment. But he could not let his memory distract him. He had spotted Dis instantly. His sister was fighting many orcs, but they were too many. As Dis was about to be overrun, one of the rangers rushed to her side and protected her flank. Thorin sighed in relief and concentrated on the nearest orcs. He sliced heads of their bodies, hands of their arms and his company followed his lead. After an endless struggle, the dwarves and rangers had won the fight. The surviving orcs fled, leaving behind their wounded. The rangers ended their miserable lives with quick cuts over their throats. Gaia saw Dis reunited with her dwarves and her family. With Thorin. The dwarf king took his sister into his arms and closed his eyes in relief. As he turned to the ranger who had fought as his sisters side, the ranger was gone.

Gaia was breathing heavily as she ran into the woods. As soon as she had realised that she was only moments away from her discovery by Thorin or his company she ran. She was not ready to face Thorin. Or Bilbo. Or the two of them together. They had not been close from the beginning, in fact Gaia had scolded Thorin for the way he had treated the hobbit as they had first met. He had been arrogant, proud and ignorant, impolite and insensitive. He had called Bilbo a grocer and his company had overrun Bilbos home like a horde of oliphants. They had brought mud into the neat and clean home, destroyed the plumming and had eaten everything the hobbit had in his pantry. Gaia had been the only one who had apologised to Bilbo for bringing chaos into his life. The hired burglar had only smiled at her and had thanked her for her sentiment. The woman and the hobbit had gotten along greatly from the beginning of teir journey. Gaia had helped Bilbo to prepare breakfast and to pack some supplies. There was not much left in Bilbos pantry, but it would suffice for the trip to Bree. There, the company would get new supplies. While the dwarves still slept, Bilbo and Gaia had talked.

'How could prince Thorin get lost twice on his way here? I thought that you and him have come here together? And you should know your way around, you are a ranger.' Bilbo had asked with a cocked brow.

'We traveled together for a short while, but...' Gaia smirked. 'We had a fight and I left him.'

'About what?' Bilbo asked.

'Nothing in particular.' Gaia sighed. 'We met on the road again, after Thorin came back from this meeting in Ered Luin. As you know, this meeting did not go well. They would not follow him. Thorin was hurt and disappointed and snapped at me a few times, so I left him. Of course, I did not really leave him, I walked away, but followed him in secret. I have never met anyone up until now who had a worse sense for direction. After I had to follow him around Hobbiton for the second time I decided to bring him here.'

'And why are you here?' Bilbo could not understand why Gaia accompanied the dwarves. Erebor was not her home, she did not need to risk her life for these dwarves.

'Why have you decided to help them?' Gaia asked back. 'These dwarves are good people. They have lost their home, it was taken from them. Nobody deserves to wander the wild without calling a place their why I decided to help them.'

'And where is your home?' Bilbo looked at the beautiful ranger and frowned worriedly as he saw her frown.

'I am still searching.' was all Gaia answered.