I feel like I only update on Holidays, which I guess isn't bad. I hope you all have a safe and happy Thanksgiving. The Desolation of Smaug comes out soon and I'm so excited to see it! I'm pretty sure you are all as well. Anyway, here is a new chapter. Thank you's to NaffyOo and Immortal Horse for the Favorite and Follows! Greatly appreciated!

Once again, I don't own anything. I'm pretty poor so you can't get anything from me. :/

If you see any mistakes - please let me know. I really am awful at proofreading and would love some help.

So please read, review, and enjoy!

Wishing Well

*Six*

Quiet, complaint, and absolutely annoying. The girl wouldn't talk. She followed most commands, holding her hands out to be bound, following Thorin back to camp without any problems, and taking a seat when ordered to. She followed just about command except to talk when Thorin asked her to. For a while he thought she had some kind of mental problem. Maybe she wasn't fully there and that's why she didn't talk. Thorin began to believe it till Ori and Bilbo said that she told them she was lost. She wasn't slow – she was terrified.

And she should be.

Half of the group was murmuring to each other about a spy or thief being found. The hobbit was running around, trying to hush those rumors while the other part of the group were trying to ease drop on Thorin and the girl. A few times he would look over and see the occasional few looking at them and then hurriedly getting back to their duties. They acted like they've never seen a human girl before.

"Why don't you take a break and let me and Ori handle this." Gandalf stated as he made his way up to Thorin and Ori nervously following behind him.

"What makes you think you can get her to speak?" The King under the Mountain asked. He hadn't really threatened her in any form except for earlier but everything was way past that. He asked her a few questions earlier but all she did was sit with a distant look in her eyes.

"She spoke with Ori earlier, maybe she'll speak to him again."

"And if she doesn't?"

"Then she doesn't speak." The wizard stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Thorin closed his eyes in an attempt to not roll them at the wizard and to help ease the headache that was forming. He didn't want to deal with the pending problems of a stranger being found along with the deaths of nephews.

"I'll let Ori talk to her, but I'm not leaving him alone with her." He didn't want to leave the youngest dwarf alone with the stranger. Ori wasn't an interrogator and probably wouldn't know what to do. Gandalf made an agitated noise in response to Thorin's statement. He obviously wasn't happy.

"Why? To just keep glaring at her and scaring her even more?"

"To make sure I hear everything I need to hear and make sure nothing happens."

"It's a little girl, Thorin. What threat is she to you?"

"Her names Wendy." Ori's voice chirped, interrupting the two. Thorin and Gandalf glanced around, not noticing that the youngest dwarf had snuck off a bit with the captive. They were a few more yards away from where Thorin had placed her. The young dwarf was sitting across from her, looking completely fine as if he was just chatting with an old friend. The girl, Wendy, was staring at them for a moment but looked away when Thorin looked at her. "She said doesn't want to talk to strangers."

"Then why is she talking to you?" Thorin asked back. His headache became worse and he tried to not think why she'd talk to Ori and Ori only. It wasn't as if they became friends in the two seconds they knew each other. Maybe that rock actually hit her harder than what Ori claimed. There were some quiet words exchanged that Thorin couldn't hear as he waited for a response. Ori made an uncomfortable face and turned back to them.

"She…" he began, looking and sounding embarrassed "doesn't like you. She said you scare her and make her uncomfortable." Gandalf chuckled a bit at the statement.

"Looks like Ori is doing just fine on his own." The wizard stated, making his way over to the two. Thorin went to follow but Gandalf turned around and used his staff as a block to keep him from passing. "You better stay over here. Don't want to make her uncomfortable again."

Thorin let a growl of frustration and let the wizard walk over to the two. Gandalf didn't take a seat but seemed to just stand there and facilitate the conversation. Everything was hushed so he only had their facial expressions to go from. Occasionally Thorin had to look back to camp to make sure everyone was doing their duties and waste time while he impatiently waited.

Thorin couldn't accurately judge how things were going. The girl kept a neutral look on her face while Ori just seemed nervous. Gandalf looked like his usual self, always like he was deep in thought which left Thorin to only guess what they could be mumbling about. Every so often he'd catch Wendy looking over to him then quickly looking away when he casted a stern look in her direction.

It seemed like they had been talking for eternity before Gandalf motioned for him to come over to them. Thorin could see a shocked look on Ori's face as the dwarf stared at the girl.

"What's wrong?" Thorin asked, hoping the information wasn't bad. A small group of humans he could handle. He knew if his company had to fight, they would fight and that they'd win too. If she knew something about their quest, about Erebor being unguarded by the dragon Smaug then maybe other people knew about it too. He didn't want to hear that others knew the riches of Erebor were possibly unguarded.

"Wendy. She." Ori fumbled, trying to find the right words to string together. "I don't know how to answer her question."

She was asking questions? This was to be an interrogation of her not of Ori. Thorin glanced at Gandalf who shrugged his shoulders in response.

"I think you'd be better equipped to answer it." Gandalf stated, "She told us she was traveling with three others but wouldn't say who or where she last saw them."

That was expected.

"She said that one of them kind of looked like you." Ori added after Gandalf finished. Thorin's eyes widened in surprise a bit as Ori turned his attention towards him. He had the same look on his face, confused as if he wanted to know if they were thinking the same thing about Wendy's statement. "She wanted to know if I knew anyone who looked like you and wore the same blue colored clothes as you."

Kíli.

He wore the same blue coat and tunic as him. It was the color that only immediate members of the Royal family wore. Very rarely would a dwarf outside the line of Durin wear that color. It wasn't possible that Wendy had seen Kíli. She couldn't have.

"What was your companion's name?" Thorin asked. Wendy stared at him for a moment, giving him a thorough look over. He didn't know if she was trying to find some hint that he couldn't be trusted or if she wanted to make sure the image of him matched the image of whoever she was with.

"You won't hurt them if they aren't who you think they are, will you?"

Them? Was Fíli with him? It had always been Fíli and Kíli. One wouldn't be without the other.

"Are they a threat to my group?" Thorin asked. Everything seemed to be hinting at that she had been with Fíli and Kíli. But how was that possible? They didn't find any tracks by the water saying the surfaced and gotten back on land. If they did surface – they couldn't have gone far. Everyone had scouted the area thoroughly – searching for any sign of the two.

Wendy bit her lip as if contemplating what to say next.

"Both brothers have been nice since we found them by the river." It seemed as if everyone held their breath as time stopped. Wendy didn't want to say their names. It was obvious she was scared that he and his group would do something to hurt them. "I don't think Fíli or Kíli would hurt you."

Fíli and Kíli.

She had seen Fíli and Kíli.

Wendy was the last person to see his nephews.

(Elli and the Apple Tree)

I don't know how long I sat by the apple tree just waiting for Wendy to show up. I couldn't tell if it had been minutes or hours but I got the feeling it had been hours when the dwarf brothers stumbled upon me.

"What are you doing out here, Elli?" Kíli asked as he approached me. I tossed him one of the more ripe apples I had picked earlier and he easily caught it.

"Nothing, just sitting here and eating apples." I lied, flashing a weak smile as Kíli bit into the fruit. I tossed one over to Fíli that he also caught with ease but didn't seem too interested in it. Instead he glanced around the area and picked up what was amiss instantly.

"Where's Wendy?" Dang it! I knew Fíli would ask that. I let out a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts. I knew he was going to be livid. The poor guy was trying to be nice and helpful by letting us stay with him but we were making it quite difficult. Well, Wendy was. I listened and stayed put. The blonde dwarf stared at me, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know." I managed to say and waited for the yelling to begin. I sat there waiting for the freak out – the big temper tantrum – the yelling of a lifetime but didn't get it. Instead, Fíli let out an exasperated sigh and I wondered how he even still had air in him to do that. I felt like we made him sigh like that multiple times already and should be completely deflated by now.

"What happened?" Poor guy sounded frustrated.

"Nothing, she just got all mad and walked away." I stated, not fully lying or telling the truth. No point in letting them know my little secret and them getting all angry too. Fíli gave me a look like he knew that wasn't it.

"I don't know. We were just talking about being here and she said she didn't want to be in Middle Earth and wanted to go home so….." I trailed off, wondering what I could say without getting into too much trouble.

"Do you know where she could have gone?" Kíli asked between bites of his apple. I shrugged my shoulders and stood up from my spot.

"No. I mean, she walked off in that direction and that's about as far as I got." I followed after Fíli as he wandered off in the direction I pointed to. Kíli followed after us and we kind of just trailed behind our leader. When he glanced down, I glanced down too just to see if there was anything he saw that I didn't. He frowned and continued marching on. I was completely lost to what was happening.

"No trail?" Kíli asked, moving further up with his brother. I stared at the two as they began talking in their dwarfish language thing. I felt left out as they continued talking, pointing to spots here and there and surveying the area. There wasn't anything I could do. I wasn't skilled at tracking and felt bad when I couldn't contribute.

We continued on as the day faded and the sky slowly began to darken. Fíli made the comment to head back towards the apple tree and set up camp there in case Wendy was trying to get back to it. I protested, asking what was going to happen to her if we didn't find her tonight and he stated that he didn't know. I sulked as we headed back towards the apple tree and made camp. I was thankful that the guys made a fire to keep us warm but couldn't help but worry about Wendy. Lost and probably cold out in the wilderness.

"Do you think she'll be okay out there on her own?" I asked.

"If she's smart she'll find or make a safe spot to stay for the night." Kíli stated, tossing a twig into the fire. Wendy was one of the smartest people I knew but that didn't make me feel any better. She wasn't outdoorsy. She liked being indoors, reading books and doing science stuff. Being alone, in the woods, in the dark probably wasn't the best thing for her.

"Last time she was upset, she went to the river. Maybe she'll return to the apple tree when she realizes that she shouldn't be alone." Fíli still sounded annoyed but I really couldn't blame him. I'd be mad if I were in his shoes. Erm, boots. I'd be mad if I were in his boots.

Fíli was trying to help us out, to repay us, but we were making it difficult. Well, Wendy was. We sat in silence, every now and then the sound of someone biting into an apple would break the quiet. When there was the sound of a twig snapping off somewhere in the distance, we all knew we weren't alone anymore. Both brothers glanced and nodded to each other as if sharing some secret message mentally. I looked between the two and stood when they did but Fíli pointed at me and motioned for me to sit and stay put. I was about to say something to him but there was the sound of another twig snapping that caught our attention. Fíli gave me a stern look and mouthed, 'stay put' to me. I was about to oblige that time but when I saw the hazy shadow of a figure between the trees in the distance I ran towards it. Fíli and Kíli shouted something at me as I passed by them. I weaved between trees and hopped over fallen limbs to reach the figure.

"Wendy?" I called out, catching its attention. When it stopped and waved its arms I shouted out in joy. "It's Wen!" Although it was dark I could see Wendy's outline take better shape as I got closer. Once she was in good view, I pretty much tackled her to the ground.

"Where did you go?!" I yelled, squeezing the air out of her. I could literally hear the air escape from her as I crushed her with my death hug. With all the tackles and hugs I'd given to her over the years, I'd think she'd develop some kind of defense again it.

"Eres…Fee…lee. Kee…lee?" She managed to wheeze out against my shoulder.

"They're behind me." Thanks for worrying about me Wendy. Love you too. "They'll be here in a moment." I stated. The footsteps of the two behind me came closer and I suddenly noticed that something else was going on. The sound of hurried steps came also from the area behind Wendy and I suddenly tensed up. I sat up and pulled her up with me, hugging her close.

A small person came through the darkness and greenery and I yelped in surprise. He was short, like Wendy and had light brown hair and scruffy facial hair that was braided into two braid. He was dressed in a dark knitted sweater and pants and the next thing I knew, I was yelling for Fíli and Kíli. The person in front of me started yelling for someone and the world just went into chaos after that. A man with long, dark hair and short beard seemed to come out of nowhere to back up SweaterBoy. The man was scary – freaking scary. Like when a bear comes out of nowhere and chases you kind of scary. That's what it was like. Friggen, Bear came out of nowhere, with a sword – I repeat – a sword in his hands. I began stumbling back, pulling Wendy along as she tried to wriggle away from me.

"Fíli! Kíli!" I shouted again as the two brothers finally appeared. I expected a giant fight. A brawl. Fists to be flung and someone's butt to get kicked. Bear had a freakin' sword and I knew that someone was gonna get cut. Hopefully Fíli and Kíli could beat him without any weapons but fat chance – Bear looked pretty skilled.

Instead of the giant fight and blood bath I imaged, everyone just kind of stood there. Bear had his sword ready in his hands but looked more surprised than ready to kill like he did two seconds ago. Sweaterboy had a slingshot in his hand and seemed to be a little confused at what was going on. Fíli and Kíli looked like Bear – minus the sword. The two brothers looked at the two in front of them as if they couldn't believe their eyes.

I finally let go of Wendy and she pulled away, backing up towards Sweaterboy and Bear. That traitor! Everything was a tense and awkward moment till Fíli and Kíli yelled something and flung themselves at Bear. I seriously didn't expect him to drop his sword and all of a sudden things turn into a hug-fest.

(Reunion)

Dwarves! Dwarves as far as the eye could see! Well, it was actually dark so I couldn't actually see far. There were thirteen dwarves, one hobbit, and an old man. Creepy.

Everyone seemed so excited when Fíli and Kíli came back with Thorin and Ori – previously deemed Bear and Sweaterboy. Before we left to join this huge group of dwarves, the four dwarves spent a moment questioning each other what happened. What happened in the river? Where did the brothers vanish to? How did they find Wendy and me? And tons of other stuff. Everything was a jumbled mess of us trying to get our story straight. Wendy let me know during the men's conversation that Thorin, was Fíli and Kíli's uncle. She had 'bumped' into the group and what not and just left it at that. Eventually we had to move out so we tagged along.

So now we were in a large group of dwarves, eating some of the most awesome stew I've ever had and chatting with everyone. Well not chatting, more like being interrogated.

"Where did the two of you go?" I think his name was Bilbo or something who asked the question. He had light brown, curly hair and had huge feet. I. Mean. Huge. His feet were also covered in light brown hair and I couldn't help but just stare at them from time to time. It was so weird.

Fíli and Kíli stuffed some food into their mouth to keep form answering the question so Bilbo then turned his attention towards me and Wendy. I opened and closed my mouth trying to think of what to say that wouldn't lead them onto what really happened. But…his feet…

"They stayed with us for the night when Elli found them in the river," Wendy stated drawing me back to Middle Earth. Fíli, Kíli and I looked at her as she played around with her food.

"We had searched the place thoroughly though. We couldn't find any signs that you came out of the water or that anyone found you. There weren't any signs of a town or village nearby." Ori added. I looked to Wendy who nodded in agreement with Ori.

"They went pretty far down river. The…community…we were in isn't big at all. It's pretty insignificant with only a handful of people." I made a confused face at Wendy as she continued talking. "Unless you know it's there and are looking for it, you won't see it." Fíli and Kíli just seemed to nod in agreement as the few who were talking with us watched us curiously.

"So why are you two in the woods with Fíli and Kíli then?" What was his name? It rhymed with Ori. Mori? Cori? Dori! It was Dori! Wendy looked to me, Fíli and Kíli and we pretty much gave her the look that she was in this alone. Hey, she was on a roll and we weren't about to ruin it.

"Our little community was attacked. During the mess Fíli and Kíli saved us from two men trying to hurt us." There was a chorus of noise, everyone asking by what, who, why and such. Fíli started saying things, trying to get everyone to hush.

"They just lost their home." He said. Everyone looked at us sympathetically as the blonde dwarf continued. "Since Elli and Wendy helped us earlier, we told them they could stay with us till we found a safe place for them to permanently stay." Kíli nodded in confirmation to his brother's statement. Thorin and the old man seemed to appear a little skeptical of our story and eyed us curiously. There were more statements that were being made and the old man made everyone hush.

"Did you not hear what he said? Both girls just lost their home." I didn't expect and old man to have so much sass in him as he silenced everyone. "Maybe you two should rest for the night. You must be tired from everything that's happened." Wendy and I both nodded and I caught the old man giving Thorin a look who nodded his head in return.

"Let's see if I have an extra blanket or something for you two to borrow." Bilbo stated getting up from his spot.

"I'll help you. See if I've got anything." Ori added, trailing along after the hobbit. Wendy said thanks to everyone in the group and we followed after the two. We dragged a little further behind the two and I grabbed ahold of my friend.

"Eee! What is going on?" I whispered to Wendy as I clung to her. "This is so cool but you totally lied to them back there!" I was shaking Wendy excitedly. Thankfully the two short-stacks in front of us didn't notice me being weird. They were talking about a few things like what they were going to give us but I wasn't really listening. I received an elbow to my side and winced. It really didn't hurt but I didn't feel good either.

"It wasn't a total lie. We need to get our story straight and tell Fíli and Kíli what they need to know." She whispered back. I nodded and tried to keep quiet as we followed our hosts.

"How was that not a total lie?" I asked.

"Springhill, Indiana is tiny and insignificant." She stated. Our hometown was small and out there. No one really knew about it or heard of it, and if they did, they'd say they didn't know that there was anything out there but corn fields.

"And it being attacked?"

"Eddie and Darrel did attack us."

Oooh, crafty lying Wen. I liked this.

Middle Earth was good for her!

(Fíli and the Dwarvves)

"Is that true?"

Fíli nodded towards his uncle in response. Everything had died down pretty quickly when Elli and Wendy left. The other dwarves were curious, asking them all about where Fíli and Kíli were. Both brothers barely gave any description of the area and kept it simple, saying it was a tiny town with only a handful of people like Wendy stated. They wanted to blurt out what they actually saw – the crazy towers called skyscrapers and carriages called cars that moved on their own. They wanted to tell them about the black roads, oddly built houses, the number of people inhabiting the city and how crazy the place was. Both dwarves also didn't want to be considered insane.

"When Elli found us, Kíli was still unconscious. She took us back to her and Wendy's home and gave us food and shelter."

"And the other residents in the area?" Thorin asked.

"Avoided us." Kíli answered. There was some murmuring amongst the group members.

"And you asked them to stay with you till you found a safe place for them?" Fíli nodded at his uncle's question and waited for him to continue. He knew his uncle was glad to see him and Kíli again. He knew his uncle had worried about them and feared the worst when they weren't found. He also knew that his uncle didn't like was how the girls' presence were going to complicate their journey.

"How much do they know about our quest?"

The King under the Mountain finally asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. They think we were traveling to visit relatives." Fíli stated. It wasn't a total unbelievable lie. He knew his uncle was uncomfortable having the girls with them. They all to a degree were uncomfortable but they couldn't just leave them.

"As long as they don't know about Erebor, I don't see the harm in the coming along" Gandalf stated, earning a look from Thorin. "Till they find a safe place."

"They are going to be burden." Thorin replied back.

"Aye, they can't protect themselves. That means we'll have to keep an eye on them." Dwalin added. "Just means more trouble for us."

"They could slow us down." Gloin stated, getting words of agreement from a few members.

"But they helped Fíli and Kíli." Bilbo stated in the girls' defense.

"If Wendy didn't run into us, we may have never found Fíli and Kíli."

"You mean if you didn't hit Wendy with your slingshot, we wouldn't have found her or the lads." Bofur added, causing a few of the dwarves to chuckle with him. Fíli and Kíli gave Bofur confused looks while Ori looked upset. "Don't worry about it. Just a little mishap where Ori hit Wendy."

"So you'll let them stay till we can leave them in a safe town?" Fíli asked, hoping to get everyone focused again. Everyone turned to Thorin, waiting for an answer. The leader of the company kept a stoic face, no one knowing what he was really thinking.

"They can stay," he began as everyone let out some form or relief of protest to the thought, "but if they ask too many questions, threaten the safety of this group in any way, we will leave them. Understood?"

"Yes, Uncle." Both dwarves stated. Part of Fíli was relieved, knowing that Wendy and Elli would stay and be safe. The other half was worried. Neither had a good history of listening or staying out of trouble.

In fact, it felt like ever since he bumped into them, bad things had been happening.

(Later)

Fíli tossed a stick into the fire, watching it catch fire and burn. He couldn't stay asleep. Every few hours he'd wake up and lay there, looking up at the stars till he could fall asleep only to wake up again. Bofur had been on watch earlier, nearly falling asleep himself so Fíli relieved him from his spot. Now it was just him, throwing twigs into the fire. Everyone else had been sleeping soundly, except for Wendy who seemed to toss and turn in her sleep most of the night. She was curled up next to Elli who seemed un-phased by her friend's restlessness. Eventually Wendy woke up, sitting up and sighing unhappily.

"Can't sleep?" He asked.

"Bad dream, that's all." Wendy replied back, "What about you?"

"Couldn't stay asleep." The crackling of the fire filled the silence between the two as they sat quietly. Wendy stood up and wrapped her blanket around her shoulders as she made her way over to him.

"Mind if I sit with you for a minute?"

Fíli patted a spot on the ground for her to sit which she took. They were quiet again for the moment, both of them just watching the fire.

"Did they ask you about where we came from?" Fíli nodded in response to Wendy's question. "What did you tell them?"

"Same thing you did."

"Did they believe you?"

"I guess. Eventually they got bored and stopped asking."

Wendy nodded her head in understanding and tossed a tiny twig she found on the floor into the fire. She seemed slightly relieved by the answer.

"The boring the better. Is the plan still the same? Elli and I stay with you until we find a safe place?"

"Yes."

"Anything else I should know?" There was another quiet pause as Fíli thought of the nicest way to say what he was thinking.

"Don't ask too many questions and don't make Thorin mad." That was the simplest way he could say it. Wendy chuckled a bit to herself and smiled.

"I will definitely steer clear of Thorin."

"I take it he didn't make a good first impression with you did he?" Fíli knew his uncle could be scary. He wasn't a dwarf you wanted to make angry and he couldn't think of what Wendy would have done to make him mad. Wendy was quiet, something he knew his uncle liked so Fíli couldn't figure out why his uncle sent so many glares her way.

"He pulled out a sword on me. I don't think we're going to be good friends any time soon." She was still smiling a little bit so Fíli figured she wasn't too upset about it.

"Is that how you got that cut on the side of your head?" He motioned to Wendy's temple where a small cut was. She gingerly touched it with her finger and winced in pain.

"Oh no. That was Ori." That surprised Fíli.

"I didn't believe them when they said Ori hit you. Never pegged him as a dwarf who'd hit a girl."

"Aw, don't be mean to him. It was an accident."

"Is this another weird custom of yours? You make friends with people who try to attack you or kill you?"

"Those weren't my friends. Those were Elli's." Wendy stated, lightly elbowing him. Fíli barely elbowed back, hoping he didn't hurt her. Wendy was tiny and looked like she'd bruise easily.

"Is violence a sign of friendship? Since Ori hit you, you're both friends now?"

"I like Ori. I wouldn't mind being his friend if he wanted me to." The comment made Fíli tense and uncomfortable and the atmosphere changed between the two. Fíli could feel how uncomfortable Wendy was and the silence between them didn't help. Minutes ticked by and neither said anything to each other as they watched the fire.

"Well, thank you again," Wendy stated as she got up to leave, "for everything. Get some sleep tonight." Fíli nodded in her direction as she left

(The Morning)

(Elli)

I woke up that morning, stretching and feeling all my joints pop. I felt amazing! Granted I felt a tiny bit sore for sleeping outside on the ground but remembering last night I really could've cared less. I rolled over to wake up Wendy but she wasn't there. Big surprise…

I glanced around to see what was going on and if she was nearby. Two dwarves were rolling up their cots and packing their things a few yards away from me. One of them had a black stash and his hair was braided into some form of pigtails. Creepy. He also had on a cool looking hat so I'd let it slide. The guy he was with though was pretty heavy set, had a full thick black beard with braids and some grey streaks in it. He also appeared to be a tiny piece of an axe caught in his head. That instantly got me up.

When they turned in my direction I busied myself by folding up the spare blankets that were given to me and Wendy last night. When I glanced back to the two I saw that they were now helping some of the other dwarves pack their things. I gathered up the folded blankets and began looking for the two who loaned them to us. I got a few 'good mornings' from the dwarves to which I replied back to while others just seemed to ignore me as I passed by. Eventually I found someone I recognized.

"Good morning Ori! Have you seen Wendy?" I greeted. The poor guy nearly jumped out of his skin from fright - I didn't mean to sneak up on him and scare him like that.

"She's finishing up breakfast over there." Ori stated, finally calming down a bit. He pointed over to where Wendy was and I could see her sitting on a fallen log by herself.

"Cool beans, thank you Ori."

The poor boy looked confused at my statement.

"Cool beans?"

"It's an expression. Don't worry about it." I said as I was about to walk off. I remembered the blankets in my hands and turned back to him again. "Oh! Here's you blanket back! Thanks again for it!" Ori took his blankets and let me know it wasn't a problem and if we needed it again to just ask. The guy was a sweetheart. I wanted to just hug him but then that would be a whole new level of weird for him and me.

I made my way towards Wendy, practically bouncing over to her. There was just something about today that was going to be good. Something in the air was making me giddy.

"Good morning." I greeted, taking a seat by my friend. "How'd you sleep last night?" She shrugged her shoulders and handed me the plate that was in her hands. There were two pieces of bread with butter on it, some pieces of fruit, and what looked like bacon. Where she got this, I had no clue or cared.

"Okay I guess. Couldn't really sleep." I took a bite of the bacon and nodded my head, signaling for her to continue. "I already spoke with Fíli and Kíli this morning in case anyone questions them about the place we came from or what happened."

"So they're on board with our tiny town was attacked and raided by some men?" Wendy nodded as a reply. "Anything else I need to know?"

"Don't make anyone here angry, especially Thorin." Wendy stated. I looked around at all the dwarves trying to remember which one was him.

"He'd be?" Wendy pointed to Bear and then I remembered. In my head he'd always be Bear. "And say we make him mad on accident. What happens then?"

"We get kicked out and wander Middle Earth alone." Oh, well that sucked. I finished off my breakfast and handed the empty plate back to Wendy. She pouted at me and I instantly knew what she was going to say.

"Elli, don't do anything weird. Don't do anything like search for fairy rings or start chanting spells. Please don't do anything Wiccan-ish here. Please." She whined as I rolled my eyes at her.

"Were in Middle Earth where there are dwarves, hobbits, and elves. What are they going to do when they found out I'm a Wiccan? Burn me?"

"Probably. They did it in colonial and medieval times, they can do it now." She kind of had a point there and I eyed her, trying to gauge her seriousness. She continued giving me a pleading look and I caved in.

"I'll try. No guarantees though." Wendy shook her head at me and got up.

"Please, Elli. Please don't make this anymore awful then what it already is." I was about to say something but Kíli came up to us. I went wide eyed as I noticed he had a bow and a quiver with arrows in it on his back.

"We're almost done packing," Kíli stated, motioning to everyone. "Are you two almost ready?" I didn't say anything, just nodded my head and eyed his bow and arrows.

"Yes. Just let me get this cleaned off and back to Bombur and we'll be ready to go." Wendy stated as she followed after Kíli. Bombur? Bombur? Which one was Bombur? It didn't really matter because Wendy when walked off in the mass of dwarves, I lost sight of her and I followed Kíli instead. Did she not see the bow and arrows he was carrying? That was the coolest thing ever!

"Why didn't you say you were an archer?" I asked as we made our way to Fíli. The blond dwarf greeted us as he began packing up a horse. Erm, 'pony'. The creatures where nowhere near as big as a horse.

"You never asked." I pouted while Kíli just grinned.

"That's so cool." I whined. Both dwarves glanced at each other confused. "It's an expression. I guess, I meant to say: that's amazing. Do you do archery, Fíli?" The blond dwarf shook his head no.

"Not my weapon of choice." He got up onto his pony and I noticed that he actually was carrying a sword in a sheath. In fact, he had quite a few weapons on him that fell into the 'sharp and pointy' category. Well, if I ever need protection in close range combat – hide behind Fíli. He was armed to the teeth with weapons.

I did a quick count of 16 ponies and then counted that there were 17 of us. One of the ponies looked like they were specifically for supplies only and I began wondering what Wendy and I were going to do. Two people were going to have to buddy up and since all the ponies seemed taken, Wendy and I weren't going to be with each other.

"Do you want to ride with me?" Kíli asked, holding his hand out for me. Praise the Goddess for him – he was just too cool.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not going to make you walk." I took Kíli's hand and he helped me up. I gave him a quick thanks and had to resituate myself behind him. It felt super awkward being close behind him and also didn't help that I was feeling a bit self-conscious about wearing the same clothes for a couple of days now. Gross. I mean, Fíli and Kíli didn't appear to be wearing different clothes so maybe I wasn't the only icky one here. Maybe. Also I was a couple inches taller than him that's always weird.

"Are you ready?" Kíli asked, looking back at me. I nodded and when the pony started moving I grabbed onto him in surprise. I didn't expect the sudden lurch and Fíli and Kíli started laughing.

"Have you ever been on a pony before?"

"Have you ever been inside a car?" I asked Kíli back. Kíli was about to say something but Fíli shot us a look. I momentarily forgot that we needed to keep a low profile and gave him the best, 'I'm sorry' look I could. We continued moving and I glanced around for Wendy, hoping she didn't wander off. A good majority of us were on ponies now and were looking around to make sure everything was packed up.

"Is everything alright Wendy?" I heard Fíli ask and saw that she was on the other side of him and his pony. "Did you need someone to ride with?" I was hoping she'd say yes. Fíli and Kíli were always close to each other, if she rode with Fíli most likely she'd be close too.

"Oh no, I'm fine. Ori asked me to ride with him so I'm just waiting for him." I heard her reply back. Fíli pointed out to where Ori was, hanging towards the back of the group with his brothers. Before Wendy walked off and completely left my line of sight she shot me one of her famous, 'don't-you-dare-do-anything-bad' mom looks. I stuck my tongue out at her as she disappeared – knowing she didn't see it.

Thorin shouted something, getting everyone's' attention and telling us we were moving out. Of course Thorin took the lead being the leader of the group. I noticed that the old man was close behind him, riding on a white horse. I knew I wasn't supposed to ask too many questions but something about having an old man around was weird. He didn't look like the regular everyday cranky old folk you'd bump into but instead kind of like a wizard with his pointy hat.

"Hey Kíli," I whispered, holding onto the guy, "can I ask you something?"

"Depends."

"That guy riding behind Be-Thorin, whose he?" Nice save – couldn't call Thorin 'Bear' anymore. He wouldn't like that one bit.

"Him?" Kíli pointed to the man in grey and I nodded. "That's Gandalf."

"He looks like a wizard."

"He is a wizard." Kíli replied back. I could feel my eyebrows shoot up and my jaw drop. A wizard? A legit for real-z-real wizard? Interesting!

"Oh really." I managed to say as I eyed Gandalf. Kíli began saying something but my mind tuned him out.

A wizard. A real life wizard. I glanced back at Wendy to see if she was looking my way and noticed she wasn't. A smile started forming on my face as the wheels in my head began turning.

If I was a good little Wiccan, maybe I could learn something from him.

Wendy said don't be weird. Don't do anything Wiccan here.

She didn't say don't attempt to learn anything from a wizard while were here.

So that's it so far. Hope you enjoyed and hope you'll stick around. I really do want to hear from you all - what you think, what you like, dislike, what you want to see. Once again, happy Thanksgiving everyone! Be careful and have fun!