No matter the amount of fighting that had gone on in the kitchen, dinner had tasted amazing. Possibly a tad heavy on the amount of bay leaves that Ali had picked out of her stew but she had picked leaves out of food before. There was laughing, drinking, singing, and food, this time without the threat to Bilbo's dishes.

As Ali began her meander back to her room her heart felt light, and she didn't even bother to try and remove the now permanent smile on her face. These guys were rough there was no doubt about that, but they were also kind, happy, and honest. They had pulled her right into their group at dinner instead of talking amongst themselves.

Dwalin had continued to bark over advice on how to fight, little tid bits he thought might come in handy. Fili sat beside her and thanked her for teaching him Jazz Hands, saying it was most effective against his brother. Kili sported a red cheek, but had to admit that there was something to be said about tourist defense tactics. Bifur had yanked Kili off his seat on her other side and had taken his place, shoving the bird toy into her hands. Nori had tried on several occasions to make a pass behind her and steal something, but each time she swatted his hand until defeated he returned to his brothers. Dori and Ori handed out their scarves, handing Ali a pair of velvety blue mittens, Ali pulled them both into a hug. Bofur chided into everyone's conversation at one point or another. Bombur…well Bombur ate, as Bombur's often do. Oin and Gloin sat together, making less of a racket with the others and more of a racket just trying to communicate to each other.

Then there was Thorin and Balin. Thorin sat at the head of the table, which Ali was sure any king would sit if given the choice. Tonight Thorin was relaxed in his chair, leaning against the arm closest to Balin they exchanged quiet words every so often. Every once in a while a smile would play on his lips as he looked at his company.

It took everything Ali had not to just stare at him at dinner and wait for one of those little smiles. Once when he glanced over she was sure he caught her watching him, and she had done her best to not blush. Their talk still played through her mind, Ali a bit unsure of what to make of it. Did that mean that they were cool now? Or was this some sort of dwarf mind trick to make her feel like everything was okay? It was all sorts of complicated that Ali didn't really have the experience to handle.

Ali had given that dinner her all though, chatting, singing, yelling with the rest of them. She had sat through the longest speech about Gimli, Gloin's son. She even got up on the table and locked arms with Bofur and danced around in circles. She did feel torn, part of her wanted to hide in the corner like normal, but the other part was actually happy for once.

Even still it was something. As Ali wandered to her room she ran her hand along the smooth stone wall. It was still all so surreal, being in a different world where mythical creatures existed. Though she couldn't find it in herself to feel sad, she had left nothing behind, and moved on to find that she could make something of herself.

The thought made her feel all warm and fluttery inside without even needing to drink anything.

The next morning Ali stretched awake on her oversized bed, the first rays of sunshine not yet peaking over the hills outside her window. She was too excited to stay in bed though as she gracelessly rolled off and landed on the floor. Last night when she had arrived at her room there was a new set of clothes folded neatly on her bed along with her old clothes. Apparently they had seen her struggle with the last set and changed it up a bit.

So now Ali yanked on a pair of black trousers and pulled a similar green tunic over her head. Hopping she tried to affix her belt and pull her boots on at the same time only to fall on her butt.

"Why am I rushing?" Ali asked herself, it just felt as though she should be and she couldn't explain it. Doing her best she slowed it down, pulling on her last boot and lacing it up when someone knocked at her door. Before she even had the chance to stand up they were pounding against the wood again.

"Hold your horses," Ali yelled. Pulling the door open she was surprised to see Gandalf standing there.

As she opened her mouth he held up a hand to cut her off. "No time, we have to leave at once." Then turned and strode off before she could say anything.

It was strange enough that Ali snapped her mouth shut, turned around and grabbed her sweater before running off down the hall after him pulling her scarf around her neck. They continued in silence while moving through the halls, the questions began to burn in her chest. Where were they going? When would the others be joining them? Was something wrong?

"Quiet you're thought for now, we will talk in a bit," Gandalf almost snapped at her, though she could tell there was something that was putting him on edge. This time she placed her fingers on her lips to make sure they remained still. Though as they walked across the bridge and back to the trail Ali could feel her panic tightening in her chest.

She couldn't hold it in any longer, "where's everyone else?"

"Huh?" Gandalf glanced behind him as if he had forgotten she was even there.

"Where are the dwarves? Where's Bilbo," Ali repeated.

"They went on ahead, don't fret we will catch up in no time," Gandalf said with a forced cheerful tone.

"Why didn't they wake us up?" Ali asked, jogging along behind trying to keep up with the surprisingly fast pace he had set.

"I was in a meeting with the council," Gandalf answered.

"I wasn't, why didn't they come get me?" Ali asked again, tripping over a rock.

"Well…I suppose they assumed you would be better suited to travel with me?" Gandalf sounded like he was asking now.

"But they took Bilbo, why would he travel with them and I travel with you?" Ali could tell he was becoming annoyed but continued anyways.

"Perhaps they thought he would be of more use with them," Gandalf huffed.

"So they thought I wouldn't be useful?" Ali asked, a voice in the back of her mind telling her not to be too surprised. They had only spent like one or two really good days together, what had she expected really.

"That's not what I meant," Gandalf muttered, picking up his pace.

It was alright, sure it hurt a little, made her feel a little sick, but was she surprised, no. In all fairness they didn't know her, didn't even know why she was here, or what she could do. This certainly wasn't an end all be all of her confidence. It would just take a bit more time to prove to them that she was worth dragging around.

Ali picked up her pace again, concentrating on not falling down the cliff face. This was the time to think of something that she was actually good at, something that might come in handy.

It had been dark for a little while when Gandalf finally stepped into the small cave. This was where the dwarves had entered the mountain, it stank of goblins. Nothing these dwarves did was ever easy was it? As it was the large gaping hole in the floor was going to be difficult enough to maneuver.

Then there was Ali, after her interrogation earlier she had spent the rest of the day in silence. It was an odd sort of silence, one that was hard for him to read properly. Though to be fair everything about her was shrouded by the veil to him. It made him uncomfortable to know that she may be capable of things beyond even his own abilities, capable of things she wasn't even aware of yet.

He had spoken to Galadriel about her, learned why she was here. The whole situation didn't feel right to him, asking her to choose life or death when she was at such a young age. Then those blasted dwarves had left her, most likely due to Thorin's growing feelings. Yes Gandalf knew, any magical user could feel the raw power of a bond. Now she stood behind him peering down into the abyss with what looked more like curiosity than fear.

"Are we going down there?" Ali asked leaning over the edge.

"I'm afraid we are," Gandalf sighed, this would be so much easier if he were alone.

To his surprise she turned and began to shimmy down the hole without another word. If there was nothing else this girl had determination. It must have been that that Galadriel had seen when she chose Ali, though Gandalf still wondered what fate Ali would choose at the end.

Oh holy month this has been!

Work has been crazy, my internet wasn't working and no one knew why, and writers block.

But no more! I'm back to begin adding more chapters to Ali's tale! Yay!

Please rate and review as always, I just loving seeing what you guys have to say :)

Thank you all for reading, muah!