A/N: Hello guys! Sorry for not updating but I haven't had the time to write since it has been Christmas, New Years, work and other stuff in my private life that has gotten in the way. I try to update as often as I can but for now not more than one chapter a month, hope you understand. Again thank you for all the reviews, follows and favs, it really makes me happy. Here we go with chapter 3!

Chapter 3

Next morning

The next day the company left a few hours after sunrise, everyone except Bilbo who was still sleeping. When Dany stepped up on Mist and then came riding towards the others, they were looking at her and the mare with awe. Of course she wasn't the only one in the company with a big horse since Gandalf also had one, but the dwarves had never seen such a beautiful woman on such a beautiful horse before.

When they had ridden for a while, they heard someone shouting behind them:

"Wait, wait!" It was Bilbo, he had changed his mind after all.

"I have signed the contract." he said looking proud of himself. The white haired dwarf, Balin, took it and looked at it. He stated that everything seemed to be in order and Bilbo was soon given a pony of his own. To everyone's delight, he had some problems with learning how to handle the reins.

They rode for several hours only taking a few short breaks. Dany didn't mind though, she loved riding and it was a lovely day, neither too hot nor to chilly. In the beginning she rode next to Gandalf at the front but the longer the ride went, the more she fell back and rode more among the dwarves. She was riding in silence when Kili suddenly rode up next to her.

"Hey Daenerys, how are you today? You look very lost in thought." he said while looking up at Dany smiling a boyish smile, no doubt trying to impress her.

"I am fine, thank you. It's just so many thoughts going around in my head. All this is still so new to me; this world, all the different people, this quest. I just do not know whether I will ever feel welcome in this group."

"Oh do not worry, why wouldn't they accept such a beautiful woman in their company?" Dany blushed at this, she didn't know whether to feel fluttered or offended by what he said. She knew that he probably meant no harm but she still couldn't help but react.

"I do not want them to accept me because of the way I look, I want them to accept me because I am worthy."

"Of course, I'm sorry. Also, I am sorry for my uncle's behaviour towards you. I know he can be a bit difficult sometimes but you just have to get used to it I guess."

Dany looked around just to see if Thorin was close to them. He was thankfully riding next to Gandalf at the front of the group so there was no chance he would hear them if they spoke quiet enough.

"So, Thorin is your uncle?"

Kili's smile suddenly disappeared and his face became more serious. "Yes, my maternal uncle. My father died when I was very young and he and my mother has taken care of me and my brother Fili ever since. Fili is the one riding over there with the blonde hair." He pointed towards a dwarf who was riding just behind Gandalf whose hair was very blonde compared to the other dwarves. She remembered seeing him at Bilbo's house as well but could never guess that he and Kili were brothers, they didn't look alike at all.

"I am sorry to hear about your father's death. My parents died when I was very young too." After saying this, Dany for the first time since arriving felt a strong sense of longing, back to the house with the Red door. She was overcome by emotion and stared straight forward, trying to keep a neutral face until she felt Kili nudge her left shoulder.

"Hey, you alright?"

"Yes, sorry. I just got lost in thought." Dany shook her head, she couldn't show herself so vulnerable, not now. If she did, she knew the others, or at least Thorin, would probably consider her weak. Luckily, Kili seemed to sense her discomfort so he changed the subject:

"This horse you have, she is very beautiful." The boyish smile was back in an instant. Dany felt her self lighten up again.

"Thank you. Yes she is indeed. Her name is Mist and I bought her just before I took the boat over here. Hopefully she can stay with us but I trust her, it feels like we have a special bond." Daenerys bent forward and patted and scratched Mist's neck slightly and the mare let out a sound of satisfaction.

"One might not think it, but we dwarves are actually rather good with horses."

Dany smirked, "Really? Well to be honest I would never think that."

"Aye, there are lots of things you will learn from and about us that you would never think of. You know what else I am good at? Handling a bow and arrow. Actually I am the best archer of this company. If you want to, I would love to show you some of my skills and teach you archery..."

"Kili! That's enough!"

Both Dany and Kili looked up to see Thorin riding slightly in front of them. When did he get there? For how long had he been listening to their conversation? Had he heard anything at all? They both became nervous.

"But uncle, I was just trying to make our guest feel welcome. Cannot possibly be anything wrong with that? Just because you don't appear to like her doesn't mean that us other dwarves must show the same attitude…"

"I said enough, do you understand?" Thorin stared his nephew right in the eyes.

"Yes uncle, sorry." With those words Kili followed Thorin to the front. Right before they set of, Thorin's and Dany's eyes met. Despite what she just had watched and despite that it was only for a split second, Dany still felt the same thing as before when she made eye contact with him. What is this? Why am I feeling this way? This man is not nice, or is he really? Daenerys thought about this for the rest of the day without being able to find an answer.

Evening came and the company set up a camp near some big rocks. Thorin and both of his nephews had found a group of stags and managed to kill five of them, finding enough food to feed the whole group. Bofur and a round, red haired dwarf named Bombur prepared the food. Now Daenerys was rather sure she had learnt what all the dwarves were called. There was one who only spoke Dwarvish, he had an axe stuck in his head and Gandalf told her that it was because of that he didn't speak the common tongue. Then there was Ori, Nori and Dori, three brothers where Ori was the youngest. Bombur and Bofur were brothers and Bifur was their cousin. Dwalin, the bald one with the many tattoos, and Balin, the white haired one, were brothers. Lastly there was Óin and Glóin, another pair of brothers. Óin always had an ear trumpet with him because of slight impairment of hearing. All of them had now spoken to Dany in one way or another and while some still seemed hesitant, like Dwalin and of course Thorin, most of them had opened up and acted friendly towards her.

After they had eaten, Daenerys decided that she wanted to be alone for a while to think. Since they left Hobbiton she hadn't had the chance to be alone and now she felt the need was extra big since the dwarves were all extremely loud and most of them could never keep their mouths closed. She went up to Gandalf to tell him.

"Sir Gandalf, I need to walk away for a little while, just to have some time for myself. The dwarves are so noisy and I cannot think straight in their company right now."

Gandalf looked at her with suspicious and worried eyes, the bushy eyebrows making his expression more prominent. "I don't know if I want to let you go out there on your own, Daenerys. There could be many dangers."

"Do not worry, I won't go that far, just enough so I won't be able to hear the dwarves shouting too much. I can take care of myself, if I get into danger I will scream the loudest I can. A woman sometimes needs her privacy." She said the last sentence with a smirk, hoping to convince the grey wizard.

"All right, but take your sword with you. If you are gone for too long then we will come looking for you." Though he obliged to her request, the worry still did not leave his eyes.

"Thank you Gandalf! I promise I will be back soon." With those words, Dany went to take her sword and then into a small forest nearby. The sword was given to her just before they left Bag End and while she had handled a sword before, it still felt foreign to her. When she left Essos, her only weapon had been a dagger and a small shield. There was no doubt she would have to use the sword on the journey so from now on she decided to always have it with her wherever she went.

The dwarves had watched Daenerys talk to Gandalf and when she went away the asked several questions at once:

"Where is she going?"

"Why did you let her go out there on her own?"

"A woman cannot defend herself, she needs someone with her!"

"She's so young, we have to go after her!"

"SILENCE!" Gandalf roared. "Daenerys needed some time on her own. These days have been full of new impressions and there are many thoughts going around in her head. Please, let her be. I trust that she can take care of herself. I told her to bring her sword and she would scream if something is about to happen. If she doesn't come back in half an hour, we will go looking for her."

The dwarves mumbled among them selves and nodded in agreement to what Gandalf said. What neither them nor Daenerys had noticed was that one dwarf in particular hadn't said a thing during the whole time but instead watched Daenerys the whole way as she left the camp until she was nowhere in sight.

As Daenerys went into the forest she soon came to a glade, the moon and the stars shone on it making it almost look like daylight. A slight breeze made the trees and high grass wave. Aside from a couple of bird sounds and the sound of trees, it was silent. Dany closed her eyes, took a couple of deep breaths and felt the scent of lush green nature fill her nostrils. When she opened her eyes again she was able to fully take in the sight before her. It was so beautiful and all the surroundings along with Dany's heavy mind made her cry, she couldn't hold back anymore. She slowly sank down on her knees on the soft, slightly damp ground. Several things and several people went through her head at once; Viserys and his abuse, the house with the red door, the dwarves and their judging looks, Jorah and his protectiveness. Jorah. Right now she missed her former knight and wished he had come with her. He was always there for her and gave her advice when she needed it the most, he had been her rock and now she didn't have him anymore, she felt like she had no one

"Why does it have to be so difficult?" she sniffled quietly, "Why does being a woman have to be so difficult? If I hadn't been a woman then they would accept me right away." Suddenly, Dany straightened herself and shook her head, "No, you are Daenerys Targaryen and a mother of dragons to be. Stand up for yourself, show him that you are capable of this."

Him. That was all she could muster until she saw Thorin's piercing eyes in her mind and sank to the ground again, all energy suddenly gone. She didn't know if it was because of the intensity of those eyes or if it was his nature that made her feel like this. It was so strange, sometimes she felt scared of him and sometimes she felt like she wanted nothing more than getting to know him and to understand him. There was no doubt that this particular dwarf affected her more than the others. She found herself going back and forth in her mind, just like after her and Kili's conversation, making her cry harder again.

Dany sat in the glade for she did not know how long, it almost felt like time had stopped. She cried and cried, feeling the tension in her body leave for every big sob. What she did not know was that she was being watched.