*Thorin Oakenshield's Perspective*

She had taken that naive look from when we had found her during that one episode the day before. Her eyes were wide when she looked up at me, and, although it was somewhat precious the way she began to toy with my hand and settle contently against my chest, it was disconcerting to have Aurora, that brilliant little girl, reduced to a seemingly mindless infant.

"Easy, Lass, easy," I murmured, shushing her gently as I eased her up into my arms. "Kili, Fili, fetch Oin."

"Mahal, did we do this, Uncle?"

"No, Fili."

"Are- Are you sure?"

I looked up at Kili's shaking voice and gave his arm a gentle squeeze in reassurance. "Aurora had one of these episodes earlier; they appear to happen randomly without any form of warning. Now go get Oin, Lads. She needs the medicine he was preparing."

Once the boys were gone, I was left to caring for the little girl in my arms, cradling her unnaturally small form close to my chest and humming nonsensical, soothing thoughts in her ear as I had whenever my nephews were ill.

She smiled up at me, and I took the opportunity to memorize what her true smile looked like, not that fake one she would occasionally allow. It was a beautiful smile, and I swore to myself that I would find out what had caused that brilliant little lass to turn into that formal girl who had seen far too many hardships for her young life. Mahal, she was only eight, nothing more than a child, and she had cleaned off the head of an Orc. No child should be forced into that.

"Aurora, you need to stop your squirming now, Lassie," I tried to soothe, pressing a calm hand to her chest as she tried to escape my lap upon Oin's presence. At the mere sight of the medicine in our healer's hands, Aurora had begun to cry, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I don't want it!"

"Aurora, Lass, it will make you feel better," I tried to soothe, cupping her cheek in my palm and brushing away her tears with my thumb. "There's nothing to fear."

"Don't- Don't want it."

"If you take it, I'll see to it that you get something very special, Lass," I offered, internally kicking myself over that pathetic lie, but it seemed to do the trick. She sat still, letting Oin spoon feed her.

It wasn't long before our Aurora was with us again, blinking and staring up at me with confusion. Then she practically crumbled, whimpering, "It happened again, didn't it? With the others in the room too?"

"I'm afraid so, Lass. What do you remember?"

"I-" She shook her head, and I helped her out of my lap, sharing a concerned look with Oin as she immediately took to work yet again. "I was showing you the blueprints, I think."

"Aurora, perhaps you should rest-?"

"Rest? No, no. Far too much work for that," was all she muttered, dismissing it with a wave. She tucked something (a pencil, I think she called it) behind her ear, holding up another sheet of blue parchment to the light. "After all, I am not certain if I can send you back at the exact moment from which you came, or even the very same place. I need to get you back to Middle Earth as quickly as possible so you can reach Erebor by Durin's Day."

"How do you know-?"

She cast me a tired smile. "I'm sorry, Sir, but it's for the same reason I know who you are. Questioning it will only bring more confusion for you, I'm afraid."

She cleared her throat, an honestly adorable sound coming from such a small child, and said, "Well, anyways, I've set the forge up in the other room, and I think I've explained everything properly. If you need my assistance for anything, show no hesitance in giving me a call."

With that, she headed back to that structure she had single-handedly created and began fiddling with some unknown forms of technology. They looked like rope but thinner and more refined. She had mentioned the name before… Wire, perhaps?

"I'd protest it, but I'm afraid she's right," I whispered to Oin upon seeing his upset look. He was still watching Little Aurora, his expression pained as he watched her go about business. "Fetch Kili and Fili. I'll have one of them help Aurora and watch over her in case she injures herself further."

He stilled seemed hesitant to leave, but I merely placed a hand on his shoulder, and his resolve seemed to weaken.

"I'll leave this with you then," Oin eventually relented, setting the bowl of medicine down atop a stool. "If she needs it-"

"I know." I cast Aurora a sad look, my heart clenching uncomfortably at the sight of her hissing in pain, rubbing her hand painfully and complaining about a 'live circuit' of some sort. "I won't let her hurt herself, Oin. Any further, I mean."

It wasn't long before the dear lass was being kept company by my youngest nephew and being occupied by explaining quite literally everything to Kili. I overheard some snippets of conversations between the two, and it brought a smile to my lips that I shared with my heir as we worked.

"Aurora, what are you doing?"

"Attempting to reverse a current of electricity through this arc you see before you. I am hoping that I may be able to cause enough atomically disastrous chaos that, with the help of Gandalf's magic, I can reverse the process that brought you lot here. Thus, this arc had to be wide enough to fit thirteen dwarves, a hobbit, and a wizard."

"Ah… What's electricity?"

I heard Fili snicker at the mere tone of his brother's voice, but I gave him an amused look, asking, "Do you know what it is?"

He blushed in embarrassment at that, and I couldn't help but chuckle in response, still attempting to overhear more of their conversations over the obnoxious noise of the forge.

"Electricity… Well, that's tough to describe. Do you know what energy is?"

"Yes."

"Good, good. Electricity is a form of energy, you see, and it results from these charged particles called electrons and protons. Basically, these electrons and protons are everywhere, but you can't see them. They have charges, though, and if manipulated in the right way, you can use that energy to do anything. Like these lights above you? Electricity."

"…Alright."

"You didn't understand a word, did you? Well, my very shoddy description probably didn't help either."

"No, but that's okay. It's just enjoyable to listen to your voice use such big words. Really though, have you ever just taken a break and been a kid? You shouldn't have had to grow up so fast."

I set down my hammer with interest, moving to the door and pressing my ear against it to ensure that I didn't miss a word.

"I- I had to grow up fast, Master Kili. If I hadn't, I would have been dead four years ago."

"By Mahal, it's alright; I am so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's- It's alright. I just want to tell someone, but I can't! Every time I try, I just- I feel like I'm choking, and I just can't! All of this- It's why I'm not right, why I'm not normal!" I heard crying, and I was about to go out there just to hold her, but Fili put a hand on my shoulder, shaking his head in warning.

"Please don't cry, Aurora. It's alright. I understand; I promise. I understand, and you don't have to say anymore. It's alright …" There was silence for a few minutes besides the return of Fili's hammer against a piece of metal, but then Kili spoke again.

"You know, I used to feel the exact same way."

"R-Really?"

His tone was a bit lighter, and I could practically see his smile directed at Aurora. "Really. When I was little, other dwarflings and their families would get mad at me for not being all proper like I was supposed to be as a prince. I had a lot of problems with what they said, and they never seemed to go away until one day I stood up and faced my problem head on."

"All you had was a couple of dwarflings. I have literally everyone that's ever known me in this realm…"

"Just stand up to what they say. Once you accept that what they say isn't true, everything is so much easier. I promise."

Aurora was finally opening up, something I had prayed she would do. She had become an honorary member of our company, and I hated seeing her hurt in such a way and not being able to help her. We were all ready to listen; if she'd let us, we'd be more than happy to assist her.

If only she'd let us.

Author's Note: I do hate to sound rude, and I don't mean to come off needy, but a review would be absolutely lovely. I would just like to know your opinions on the story, and I will gratefully accept criticism (although a lack of profanity would be preferred). In reality, I suppose I would just like to ensure I am doing something right with this story. Once again, I am so sorry if I come off rude! I just wish to know if people truly like this or have any recommendations.