It was two nights later that we had began to get wary about the food disappearing and the water running low. That amount of food shared between five people would have been fine, or maybe if we could have hunted - but there had been more than five people, and we couldn't hunt. On top of that, the nights had been getting chillier the more than we moved into the forest. We didn't light fires though, not with the creatures that wandered through the vines.

'Do you hear that?' asked Dwalin from the front of the company. Him stopping resulted in everyone else stopping, including Thorin. He'd shared a long look with the King, before saying, 'A river'.

'Aye,' said Gloin. 'I hear it. Up ahead?'

The river had only been a short distance walk from where we had stumbled along. It was fast moving, and was nearly black with the gloom of the place. I remembered Beorn's words of dark waters being both dangerous to drink and to touch.

'Do we have to cross it?' I'd asked, stepping forward to peer at the rush below.

Thorin stood on the brink of the river, glaring down at it. 'We will have to, if we want to get to the other side,' he mused. Right. Duh. 'Is there no way to pass it that anyone can see?'

There was only a short pause, and then Bilbo said, 'Well, there's a boat. Just there, on the far bank'. The Hobbit waved a finger to the shadows of the river where, sure enough, there was a small, wooden boat. 'I think if we threw some rope at it, we could drag it to this side of the river. It looks about twelve yards, or so'.

'Fili,' said Thorin, unraveling a length of rope from his pack. 'Do as Bilbo said - the Hobbit's eyes are far sharper than ours'.

Now, back in Year 10 (back when we were forced to take part in things such as school Sports Day. Ew) I'd been raffled into doing the javelin sport, the one that no one else had wanted to do. Surprisingly, I'd actually been quite good at it, and had taken part in about ten meetings at the Javelin Club before quitting out of pure boredom, and the fact that I had been losing opportunities to laze around after school.

But still, I'd been good at it.

'I'll do it,' I'd voiced up, cutting over the conversation of where to aim the rope and what was on the other side of the river. 'I'm quite good at javelin, won a round of it at my school Sports Day-' I cut myself off. 'I can throw well,' I deadpanned simply.

Thorin looked uneasily at me. I looked seriously back at him until my face crumpled into an offended look.

'Plus, I'm about seventy years younger than Fili, so I've got that on my side too'.

In the end, they all allowed me to have a go at throwing the rope. Fili looked quite entertained at the notion of me doing anything athletic, while Dori whispered to Nori, 'Two silver pennies that she misses entirely'.

'I can hear you,' I'd stressed, stepping forward and running the rope through my grasp. They'd attached a hook to the end of it, and the idea was to get it on the grip of the wooden boat. I'd stared for a moment, determined not to make a complete idiot out of myself. With one swift throw, I'd sent the rope and hook flying for the boat.

With a great splash, it'd missed.

'Almost,' said Bilbo, leaning round on his hands and knees to spy out the boat. 'A little further to the right, and forward some more'.

I did as he asked but, once again, I missed. I'd felt my cheeks heat up with the idea of proving them right and giving the rope back to Fili, but then Kili had stepped closer to me, his finger running against the side of my elbow.

And, just like in those tacky films about she-warrior women, I'd pulled it back, grabbed the hook and tossed the rope once again (using so much force that I'd nearly hurled myself into the river) and there was a thunk as the hook found the edge of the boat.

'Oh, I actually did it'.

'Not bad, lass!'

'Pull on it,' said Thorin, crouching. 'But not hard enough to detach the hook from the boat,' he reasoned. I pulled on it as gently as I could, but this only resulted in nothing happening. 'Harder,' insisted Thorin.

It took every ounce of willpower I had within me not to laugh.

Once again, I pulled and nothing happened. 'I think it's tied up or something,' I groaned. Kili took the rope from me and I gave it willingly, glad to not have the responsibility any more. Next, Oin and Gloin came to help out. All three tugged as hard as they could, but this only resulted in them falling over and me letting out a sharp cackle.

'Oh, that was mean, I'm sorry,' I rushed, going to help them up.

Of course, I'd forgotten about the fact that the rope was still loose and that the boat had suddenly come free of whatever was holding onto it. Bilbo scrambled for it, his large feet slipping on the ground as he tried to keep his hold on the boat that was now being yanked along by the current. 'Well, help!' he called to the group of very slow Dwarves. Myself included.

Balin, in the end, managed to help Bilbo keep the pull of the rope at bay. 'It was tied up,' he declared. 'That was a good pull, lads. An equally good set of throws too, Millie'.

I'd smiled quite proudly and pointedly at that.

'Myself, Bilbo, Balin and Millie will be the first to cross,' said Thorin, looking down at the deathtrap of a boat. The thing looked like it was rotting. 'Fili, Kili - grab some branches large enough to act as ores'.

The two did as they were told, and soon enough I was being helped into the boat by Bilbo. On the journey so far, the Hobbit had already grown much braver than I had, which is probably very obvious to you all. It was also very obvious as we stepped carefully against the bank and onto the boat.

'If I fall and die because of a bloody river - after everything - I'm gonna be so annoyed,' I moaned, thankful for the Hobbits hand clasped safely in mine. With a great, dangerous jump, I had found myself being pushed into the rickety boat, Bilbo falling in after me.

'Bilbo, Millie?'

'We're fine!' called Bilbo, a little breathlessly. 'That was dangerous,' he said, a little but too sassily for my liking.

'I fell,' I lied, noticing how he checked his person quite quickly, his pocket especially. I had decided against saying anything at that moment, but don't worry, I hadn't forgotten.

Next, Thorin and Balin came into the boat. Truth be told, it was all a little awkward seeing as the boat was quite small. This only resulted in having my knees pressed tightly up against Thorin's, who sat in front of me. He passed a branch to Bilbo and they both pushed us out into the river, using the branches to guide us (rather uneasily) to the opposite bank.

The whole ride was horrible, let me tell you. We kept losing our way, and every time I opened my eyes I was met with the rushing, black water and Thorin's grunts of impatience.

After us, came Ori, Nori, Bifur and Bofur. Then, after much kerfuffle (Bombur didn't like the idea of being last, and had to have the fewest people on his boat due to the side of him) came Bombur and Dwalin.

Lastly, once the boat was pushed up against the opposite bank, we hooked it up again and threw the rope to Fili, who caught it. It was then pulled back, and Fili, Kili, Oin and Gloin made their way across with 'oars' of their own.

'Do you hear that?' asked Bilbo, just as the four on the boat pushed themselves up against our own bank. The Dwarves drew their weapons (minus the ones who were climbing out of the boat), as did Bilbo. They glared out into the winding trees and it was only then that I realized I had a weapon of my own. Just as I was about to draw Snowthorn, something came hurtling out of the forests twisting branches.

All that I managed to get a glimpse of were the antlers, before something was behind me and, quite suddenly, my back hit the trunk of a tree that I had been flung into by a fast grip at the back of my cloak.

Kili hurtled himself ahead with Thorin and Balin, all swords drawn to hack at the wild, obviously troubled deer. It was Kili who drew the arrow, and Fili who dug his sword straight into the beats stomach.

'What a shot-'

It had been Kili to pull me away from the deer's charge, though you probably guessed that. He who had scrambled up the river bank before Fili, Oin or Gloin had the chance to even draw their swords.

It always was Kili though, wasn't it?

I had pushed myself from the tree, breaking through the mess of heaving and rejoicing Dwarves, grabbed Kili's jacket and yanked him back, his bow still in hand. His dark eyes were on me in a second, but they saw what I was doing, what I had planned to do. In the mess of Dwarves and Hobbit, his hand was grasping my waist, and I had said, 'Quit saving me, you-'

'Bombur's fallen in!'

Bloody Bombur.

It had seemed that in the chaos of the charging deer, Bombur had taken a swift and clumsy tumble into the dark, swirling water beneath us. The Dwarf's head and arms splashed madly above the inky looking depths, his great mouth opening and closing like a mad fish.

'He's drowning - throw him a branch and pull him in!'

'Oh my God!' I'd yelped, dancing from foot to foot at the edge of the river. 'Bombur overboard!'

Kili was one of the few who stretched out a branch to the obviously struggling Bombur, who grasped onto it quickly, and it then took six of the Dwarves, plus Bilbo, to pull the heavy man back to the safety of the river bank. All of us had to pull his sleepy, wet, lazy body up the side and onto the even ground. The moment he hit the bank, he'd collapsed.

'He's asleep!'

Perfect time for a slow clap and a 'no, really?'

'The water here makes you drowsy, doesn't it? Drowsy and forgetful, that's what Beorn said,' Bofur replied, crouching beside the snoring lump that was his brother. 'You great dope,' he muttered, giving Bombur's red cheek a swift pat. He continued to snore softly.

I exchanged an uneasy glance with Kili, who had his hands pressed against his knees and was breathing hard. It had been a rush, to be fair. We couldn't have risked waiting another second for Bombur to be swept away with the current.

'Do we risk feasting on the deer?' asked Dwalin, giving the still, large beast a prod with his dirty boot.

Thorin angrily shoved his sword back into his scabbard. 'No. It was mad, driven to charging at anything it saw with some forest disease. It's whole body may be addled with it'. I'd sidestepped as nonchalantly as I could away from the deer.

'What are we going to do about Bombur?' Fili had inquired, rounding the deer to nod at the snoozing Dwarf - the Dwarf who I'd envied, honestly. He'd slept with a smile on his pudgy face, and his sword cradled close to his chest. 'Do we carry him until he wakes up?'

'He shouldn't sleep for so long,' said Thorin, taking his gaze away from Bombur and instead began looking about at our surroundings. 'Come, we will camp upon the edge of the path and eat the last of our food, and in the morning will we walk once again. It is growing dark'.

We did as we were told, though there weren't any complaints. Bombur was half dragged and half carried along with us, and we set up camp just off the path, between two thick and twisting trees. Upon dropping Bombur to the ground, little, fast things scuttled into holes beneath the tree. Most of us pretended not to notice.

Although no one said anything about it, it was obvious what had happened between Kili and I, after the deer had attacked and before Bombur had fallen into the river. I had thanked God that no one said anything about it. That is, until Kili leaned over quietly to me, while everyone else scraped up the last crumbs of food and spoke of how far the forest stretched.

'I suppose that you were quite grateful for me saving you earlier,' he commented lightly, crossing his legs and tipping his head back to take the last scraps of bread. 'Again,' he added, cheekily.

Despite the gloom and the darkness and coldness that was seeping into the forest, I had smiled down at my dried fruit. 'You're an arrogant Dwarf, you know that?'

We'd looked at each other out of the corners of our gazes, lips tugged back in knowing, near shy smiles. 'One of the many things that you admire about me,' he'd said, straightening his back and brushing away the crumbs with hands. He peered at me through the curtain of his brown hair, white teeth on show.

I paused and tilted my head sideways, slowly. 'I don't know what you mean-' My smile only grew bigger at his amused, affronted look.

I didn't want to be alone in the depths and darkness of Mirkwood. Despite the fact that I was surrounded by others, I think that without Kili or Fili I would have felt out of place, especially with the absence of Gandalf. For then, I had him, I had Kili. That was enough.

'Dori, take first watch. Then Fili'.

That nights sleep was different with Kili. Sure, we'd cuddled, we'd held hands before. But there something in the way that his hand crept up my arm and my foot found its way between his. There was something known, something of an embrace stuck between a desperate need for warmth, for light in the gloom of twisting trees and scuttling feet.

'Will you two stop fidgeting?' muttered Fili, kicking Kili's shin. 'I've gotta be up in an hour for first watch'.

The next morning, we woke up to Bombur's moans of, 'Why did I have to wake up? I was having such good dreams of food, ale, wine-' He was quickly shut up by the rest of us, stating that we did not want to know about the dreams that he'd had, not when we had no food left ourselves, and hardly any water. Thorin's retorts were especially moody and angry, 'Focus on the present, Bombur. Not on your dreams inspired by falling into a poisoned river'.

And so, we walked.

Later that day, I was forced to tighten my belt around my waist due to the weight that I had lost since my time in Middle Earth. I would have gladly piled it all back on with a family sized portion of Dominoes pizza.

'I am tired-' Bombur had moaned, as we continued through the darkening forest. He was cut off quite promptly by Bofur's great whack to his shoulder. This great whack only sent the sleepy and weak Bombur tumbling to the ground. As per-usual, it was Kili and I who were forced to hide our great guffaws.

Thorin and Dwalin turned around angrily, ready to give Bombur a mighty telling off (admittedly, he was being a little childish. Even I wouldn't have done something like this, but I still guess that it was the black water of the river making him all odd) but, at that moment, Balin's curious and kind voice said,

'Did you see that? There's a light in the forest, some way off-' He turned, at the head of the line with Thorin and Dwalin. 'Did no one see it?'

I was about to do a turning motion with my finger, beside my head ('Someones letting the isolation get to them') but as we had all looked into to darkness of the gnarled trees of Mirkwood, I had seen something. It was kind of like a...twinkle, I guess. Red and white, like little candles that came and then went out.

'I saw it,' I'd announced.

'As did I,' said Kili, quite importantly. He brushed off my pointed look with a step forward. Soon, the whole company announced that they could see the twinkles, but I had suddenly become more interested in Bilbo's hand, which fiddled with something in his pocket, quite nervously. 'Should we go forward?'

'Yes,' decided Thorin. 'We should'. With that, he was half jogging forward, pushing the branches out of the way and pressing his palms against the stickiness of the tree trunks. Ahead, on the path, the lights had become clearer as we followed Thorin. Heck, I'd just wished that Gandalf was still with us. As we bumbled through the forest, Bombur began making replies of,

'If we don't have a feast soon, Dori, then we will die anyway, won't we?'

'Unless we resort to cannibalism,' I piped up, moving out of the way of a branch that Fili had not held back for me. It had flung directly at my face, though I had not seen it with the lacking of light. 'I give you all permission to eat my body if I am the first to die from starvation'. Even Thorin slowed up a little then, and Bilbo looked about ready to bolt in the other direction. I rolled my eyes, tripping on a tree root. 'I was joking'.

'Sh!' hissed Thorin, as he and Dwalin fell into a crouch. Kili and Fili were soon following suite, finding their places beside their Uncle. We had all then crouched just off the path, behind some bushes and trees. 'Torches have been lit, just off the track'.

I'd always known Thorin to be reasonably level headed, and to think before he did anything stupid. But, upon whispering out a growl of, '...Elves', he had abandoned any sense of rationality and pushed out of his crouch and forward, onto the flatter ground where the trees were sparse. And, before the torches were blown out and we were thrown into darkness, I had seen the Elves. They were tall, wore blue and had barely even looked at Thorin as he fell into their presence.

The moment darkness had enveloped us, I had been half way standing to start after Thorin, just as Bilbo had. These two facts combined (and the fact that I am, as you know, a total klutz) had me tripping rather ungainly after Thorin and over who I presumed was Dwalin, falling straight on top of the gruff and tough Dwarf.

'What in Durin's-?'

'It's dark!' I'd announced, alarmed, thinking that this was just the right thing to say.

'Where did Thorin go? And Bilbo - he ran after him!'

'Bilbo?'

'Where are the Elves?'

'Thorin?'

I'd scrambled awkwardly off of Dwalin, though this only resulted in me landing into the writhing and grumbling pile of Dwarves. After a moment of startled ponderings and complaining, Dwalin shouted roughly to us all, telling us all, quite simply, to, 'shut our bleedin' mouths'.

Still, we could not see and it was affecting all of us quite badly. That, and the fact that Thorin's and Bilbo's voices were not with us. We soon discovered that they were the only two missing, and that-

No, that was all that we had discovered. I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself. It's just...the next part of my story. Ugh.

The fear of being so unaware of my surroundings, as well as the fear of not knowing what had happened to my friends caused my paranoia and my senses to go on red alert. 'Beorn said we shouldn't stray from the path, didn't he?' I said quietly. For some reason, I'd felt like we should whisper, like we would disturb anything in the forest - like we already had.

There was a pause in which they clambered to their feet around me. We were completely leaderless - lost. 'Aye,' said Bofur. 'And that is exactly what we have done'.

'We'll never find it in this dark. I can't see my own nose!' declared Ori.

I shushed him, too scared to make too much noise. 'We need to find it,' I'd urged them. 'It was this way - er, left. Oh, bugger, one of you could be facing another way and think that I mean your left-'

'Lass,' soothed Balin.

'Sorry,' I had whispered.

It was then that I had started to think about the Blair Witch Project, a film that had, for some odd reason, scared the heck out of me. Mirkwood was scary, it was full of monsters, Elves who had left us, taken Thorin and maybe even Bilbo, the Hobbit who had gone after the King. The Hobbit who may be out there now, lost and alone.

I'd closed my eyes and breathed in deeply.

You're Millie Fournier. Grow a pair.

'Right,' I said. 'Er, follow my voice'. I took three steps back, my hands at my back in case I backed into anything. 'You guys know which way my voice is? Someone grab Oin and drag him along. You got him? This left,' I explained, as footsteps approached me against the twig strewn ground. 'Er, Dwalin-' I grabbed onto where I thought the Dwarf was. 'It's me, you take the lead. I'll be useless if I run into anything'.

The Dwarf took my hand from him and patted my shoulder awkwardly. With that, we walked almost painfully slowly, too wary of being separated from one another. It was only when a hand touched my hip and a voice whispered, 'It is me', that I realized how relieved I was to feel and to hear Kili.

I scooped his hand into mine, so relieved to feel his warmth and his- him.

The whole world froze into a split second of horror when Fili said a quick and sharp, 'What is that sound?'

It only made it worse that we couldn't see what scuttled from the darkness with sounds of clicking, snipping and stepping. Kili's hand only grew tighter in mine as the whole company stopped and pressed against one another, swords being drawn and growls of warning toward this new attacker.

'Stay close to me,' Kili whispered into my ear, his lips brushing my skin, his hair against my shoulder. He let go of my hand and I felt the edge of his bow against my cheek, the string stretching as he strung an arrow. I had pulled out Snowthorn as the scuttling stopped and silence fell once again. The only sound was the heavy breathing of my friends and the shuffling of their feet.

You could die. You really want to leave it like this?

It was quiet, as I've said. All of the Dwarves will have heard my words, and perhaps it wasn't the right time, who knows? But I needed to tell him. After everything, after almost dying too many times to count, after him being there for me 24/7, after hiding it for so long, between Bombur's interruptions and my general awkwardness - it would have been stupid for me not to tell him, don't you think? Unrealistic to keep it for so long. And heck, I was a Dwarven Lady, gotta grab life by the balls, eh?

'Kili. I fancy you, quite a lot actually'.

And then all hell broke loose. The scuttling came back full force and something jabbed into my legs, knocking me sideways and onto my back. A creature ('Spiders!' shouted Dwalin) had then crawled over my waist (Millie?!' shouted Kili. 'Fili?!'), just as a sharp something dug into my calve, causing me yelp along with the alarmed shouts of the other Dwarves. As the world slipped into fog and sleepiness, I raised my arm (which took a lot of effort) and jabbed Snowthorn back into my scabbard, before my head lolled to the dirty ground.

And I slept.

Oh, yes I did.

I always knew that Millie would tell him at a time where nothing could actually happen between them and it would be at a time where they couldn't do anything about it. I mean, think about what's coming next. They're not going to have a lot of time to talk about her rather unromantic announcement, are they? So, really, nothing's changed all that much. They'll be forced to keep on going until-

Yes, I am evil.

If you've read the book then you'll notice that I've changed things. I'll continue to do this, just so I'm not basically writing the book out.

The reviews, oh the reviews! Thank you so much for you kind words, my lovely readers. I love each and every one of you.