Long time no see XD

DISCLAIMER-SAME AS BEFORE GUYS SAME AS BEFORE

Chapter 6-Back to Where I Began

"See you later Dwalin!"

"Bye Nori!"

The two girls waved at their friends and family as they followed after Thorin, Bifur, Holis and Molis. They kept close to the axe-headed dwarf rather than the two grumpy grey-haired dwarves. Thorin stayed to the front of the group, his sword hanging by his side. Daisy's hand kept drifting onto her knives whilst Anne's rested on top of her broad-sword- presents from the dwarves they knew and loved. After an hours walk they'd reached the edges of the forest. The bustle of the market drifted on the breeze and caught the braids in Daisy's hair. Anne tucked a strand of her own dark locks behind her ear and looked up at the gloomy trees.

"Right move on!"

Thorin plunged into the wood first and everyone tailed at his heels. The forest seemed darker beneath the canopy of the trees and the girls looked around with wide eyes. Anne nudged Daisy's arm and smiled. Daisy returned the grin and felt her heart beat with excitement. As they walked the dark of the forest seemed to increase, with only a few stray beams of light actually breaking the gloom. Anne crashed into Holis' back when Thorin stopped abruptly. The grouchy dwarf growled lowly and Anne shuffled back to where Daisy was chuckling quietly. The dwarf-king bent and stroked the ground before rising.

"A deer was here not to long ago. If we split we might be able to surround it. I'll go with Molis and we'll continue on this path. Bifur..."

The dwarf grunted and did some hand gestures.

"..You go with Holis and go westward. Girls stay close together and take the eastern way."

"Sure thing."

"Will do!"

"Right let's split."

Thorin and Molis went straight, Bifur and Holis took off to the left and the girls went to the right. Anne kept next to Daisy. The beams from the sun seemed to break through the branches more and more, as the trees thinned out. Daisy sighed as she heard the faint sounds of their companions finally die away. Then they heard some leaves rustling ahead of them.

"Did you hear that Anne?"

"Yup!"

"The deer?"

"I think so."

Picking up the pace, the two girls hurried, as silently as possible, they journeyed forward. Daisy tripped over Anne when her friend suddenly ducked to the ground.

"What the..?!"

"Shhhh! Look!"

There, not fourty feet away stood a grazing stag. His antlers were a fine rack and his coat gleamed as some rays hit his back. They shuffled forward a bit more before CRACK! A branch stapped under Daisy's foot and the deer's head shot up before the animal took off. Anne growled.

"Oh great!"

"Sorry, c'mon!"

The pair ran after the animal. They didn't notice as the light grew around them, the trees thinned out until they ran through a clearing, the weight of their weapons vanished and soon it appeared that they'd lost the animal. Anne and Daisy looked about...they jumped together when they heard a crashing coming towards them.

"Thorin? Bifur?"

"Holis? Molis?"

It was none of the above. Out of the trees staggered Anne's mum. Her clothes were slightly muddy and she didn't look happy. Daisy's jaw dropped and Anne stared.

"Mum?"

Anne's mum narrowed her eyes.

"Yes...who else? I've been calling you for half an hour. Your dinner's on the table."

"...What?"

Anne's mum sighed and crouched down.

"Oh look at that t-shirt...I won't have time to wash it before we leave tomorrow. Ah well...Daisy you're mum said she'd call again around 8 in the morning before we start for home ok?"

The two nine-year olds stared at her.

"What?..."

"Uh..."

"Nothing.."

"Ok? Well come on you two munchkins, otherwise those sausages and beans will be cold."

She started walking back through the trees and Anne and Daisy trailed after her seriously confused. They were once again wearing their jeans and mucky t-shirts. Their hair was shorter and caked with mud as were their shoes. Casting a glance back to the forest, they saw no sign of any dwarf...or any life for that matter. Anne shoved her hands in her pocket and gasped when she felt something. Pulling out her hands, she opened her palms and saw three beads nestled in them. Daisy gaped and too felt in her pockets, in them was a pair of woollen fingerless gloves and several beads. Anne put the beads back in her pocket and scratched the back of her neck, there was a chain round it. Daisy looked at her friend.

"The necklace?"

Anne nodded. Had it all been just a dream?

…

Anne lay in her bead and stared at the dark green bead. She was now washed, fed and wearing her floral nighty. In the faint light of her room she saw Daisy creep over from her bed and sit down. The blonde fiddled with her shark pyjammas and looked at her friend.

"So did it happen?"

Anne shook her head.

"Mum said that when she was little her imagination went crazy..."

Daisy sighed and played with the fingerless gloves she now wore. When she inhaled the smell from them she detected the hint of pipe tobacco and parchment...

"It all felt so real though..."

Anne nodded and yawned.

"Guess we'll never know..."

Daisy sighed and cast a glance towards the bookcase. Then she remembered a book.

"Anne I know where we got the names from..."

"Where?"

The blonde jumped off the bed and tiptoed across the room, a floorboard creaked under her foot. She retrieved the book and jumped back on the bed. The pair buried themselves under the duvet and Anne clicked on her camping torch that had been under her pillow. The book that Daisy held looked really tattered and well-read. It was called 'The Hobbit' by a man called J.R. ...Daisy had been flicking through it a few days before. Her friend opened the book.

"See look the dwarves are called Thorin Oakenshield, Dwalin, Kili, Ori...and look it's about a hobbit who helps them reclaim their mountain!"

"Erebor!"

"Yeah.."

The pair sighed and looked at the book which lay open in the middle of the bed. They wished it to be real. They wished that it hadn't been their imaginations due to a book. After a long silence Daisy took the book, put it back in the shelf and went to her own bed. Anne heard the rustle of her covers and her bedside light went out.

"It wasn't real...none of it. Night Anne!"

Then silence fell from Daisy's side of the room. Anne rolled onto her side and thought of everything that they'd imagined. She though of Dwalin...Fili and Kili...Bombur...she felt tears rolled down her face and whispered to no one.

"It's not fair...it should've been real."

It was hours later when Anne's mum went up to her bed and Anne still lay awake. She couldn't sleep, not after everything she'd thought had happened. Sliding out from under her blankets, the brunette crept to the bookcase and took 'The Hobbit' from the shelf. Tiptoeing back to her bed, she put the beads gently in her rucksack, before climbing under the covers. She clicked on her torch and directed the light away from where Daisy slept. Pointing the light at the book she started to read...

Ok...please don't hurt me! Please review! TTFN xx