A/N Thank you to all of those of you who have taken the time to read my story and write a review or follow or favourite or whatever! It is because of you that I find the energy to continue to fight through my writer's block to produce the chapters you wait for. This story started out as something I did for my own pleasure, but because of you lovelies, it is now for you and your enjoyment. I hope this next instalment is enjoyable

P.S. I do apologise for the late update. I haven't had internet for three weeks and I also made a goof and broke my computer, but it's been fixed!

The night past quickly for Camellia. The past several nights, she was forced to sleep on the hard rocky earth of the path she travelled down from Forodwaith. The soft green grass of The Shire was a nice change. Her comfortable night was cut short when the sunlight had placed itself on her eye lids. Her eyes opened to the vast expanse of blue sky before her. She looked around to see that even the watch had dozed off. She was surprised that the snores of the dwarves haven't woken her up earlier. She threw her blanket off and stretched.

"Oi, it's time to get up," she said to the dwarf next to her. She believed his name was Fili. She shook him lightly. "Oi." He stirred. His eyes opened slightly. "It's time to get up." Fili groaned and turned away from her. She sighed and tried again on the dwarf on her other side. It was the dark haired brother, Kili. "Don't fall back asleep. It's time to get up." Their eyes connected again for a moment. Her cheeks turned red and she looked away, trying to make it seem like she needed to fold up her things. "Get the others up, will you?" He grunted and slowly got up.

Waking up a bunch of dwarves was a lot harder than Camellia thought it would be. She believed that not even the cry of a Nazgûl would wake them. Shaking didn't work. Raising her voice didn't work. She even tried kicking them, but she hurt herself more than them. Kili was barely making more headway than she was. A doe crossing Camellia's vision sparked an idea. Grabbing her bow and one arrow, she took aim and pierced the deer's eye. Quick and easy. She took off toward her kill, apologizing along the way for ending such an innocent life.

Kili watched as Camellia hurdled over something he could not see. She seemed to be pulling something along behind her; her left arm was behind her and she was slightly hunched over as she walked back to camp. She dropped the carcass next to the barely burning fire.

"It's gutted and skinned; you just have to cook it. I assume the smell should wake them," she addressed Kili as she removed the pelt from her shoulder.

"How did you…" he began. She tossed a bloodied arrow at his feet. She looked up, but she was unable to make eye contact.

"Straight through the eye," she said as she pointed to her own. "Instant kill." She turned around and continued packing her things. "You might want to start cooking that soon before vultures come and take it."

The smell of cooking meat was a much better alarm than the small ginger girl. She was much better with packing up the camp and loading it onto the backs of the ponies then trying to wake up a bunch of stubborn dwarves. It took less than ten minutes for the dwarven company to devour the deer, and that was more than enough time to clean up the mess left behind.

"Oi! Don't you want to eat some?" Bofur asked when she reappeared by the camp fire.

"Oh no, that's alright. Eat as much as you want. I've already eaten," she lied. The truth was that Camellia was bothered by eating meat. She didn't view it proper to end another living creature's life when they weren't threatening her. Fili was quite right, she is a flower child. Camellia was just about to take a seat in the only open space when the sound of horse hooves trotting on the ground reached her ears. All eyes were draw to were the sound originated. A large solid white horse was approaching the camp fast. "Alesdair," she addressed the horse as he shortened the distance between them. He was nearly twice her height.

"He's yours?!"

"Yes. I raised him from a colt. Much easier to saddle then…" she muttered and she placed a thick woollen blanket on his back. The tall white beast kneeled, allowing the placement of a heavy leather saddle on his back.

"How are you supposed to ride when you can't even mount your horse?"

"Alesdair is very smart. When I'm having trouble, he kneels, just like this, so I don't have to find something to stand on." She pulled the straps on the saddle snug and Alesdair knew it was okay to stand again. He trotted over to a patch of grass and began grazing. A snigger escaped her lips. "Always eating," she muttered as she reclaimed the empty space by the fire.

"Are all the horses that big where you're from?" Ori asked, a sparkle of curiosity in his eyes.

"Yeah. Everything is pretty big in Forodwaith, but I'm pretty short. Everything seems big to me," she laughed.

"Why?"

"Why is everything so big, or why am I so short?"

"Both…?"

"My father's a dwarf. My mother was the princess of Forodwaith. It wasn't until my parents had met that anyone in Forodwaith had seen anyone shorter than the adolescents. I'm really glad that the only thing I had inherited from my dad was his height, oh, and his hair. I don't think I could live with a beard," she joked again as she grabbed her cheeks.

"What was your mother?"

"A princess."

"I meant - "

"I know, but that's irrelevant," her tone was light, "She wasn't short so it doesn't tie into my height." Before anyone else could speak, Thorin stood and addressed the company.

"It's time to leave." His and Camellia's eyes met for just a moment, and she saw a dislike for her presence in the company. She didn't expect anything less, but she thought he wouldn't have been so obvious about it. That wasn't going to stop her adventure though. If anything, it was going to drive her to prove her worth, for someone other than her mother.

Shortly after they had departed the Shire, a voice caught their attention. Bilbo was running after them, contract in hand. A smile overtook almost everyone's face. Their burglar was joining them at last.

The little hobbit didn't seem to like the idea of riding a pony all that great. He had sneezed a few times.

"We need to go back!" Bilbo called, "I've forgotten my handkerchief." Camellia snickered. Bofur ripped a small part of his tunic and threw it at him.

"Here, use this!" Bilbo looked at it in disgust.

"You will have to do without pocket handkerchiefs and a vast number of other things," Gandalf told Bilbo as they continued on.

The day passed slowly. The sun hot as it sat on Camellia's face. She had removed several layers of clothing to cool herself down. Her body was used to the frigid cold, sharp winds, and sunless days. Though it was beautiful here, she wished it was colder. Camellia was one layer away from being in her undergarments.

"Not used to this weather, eh?" Bofur asked.

"No," she responded with a chuckle. "It's a lot colder where I'm from. This is the first time I've seen the sun in years."

"You're joking, right?" Fili asked.

"No. It's always storming up in Forodwaith." She looked toward the sun. "I never imagined the sun could get so warm…"

The company continued north east until the sun began its descent behind the horizon. They set up camp next to a small stone mountain. The fire was started immediately and dinner was being served shortly afterwards.

"Where's that girl off to now?" Gloin questioned the group when he had noticed that she was not present by the fire.

"Maybe she's gone to find water?" Someone offered, but no one really knew. Her bow and quiver were missing so they felt no need to worry about her, until a cry call out into the night.

"What was that?" Bilbo asked.

"Orcs," Kili answered.

"Orcs?"

"Throat cutters. They'll be dozens of them out there," Fili stated, "The lowlands are crawling with them."

"They strike in the wee small hours when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet. No screams, just lots of blood…" Kili continued. Bilbo's eyes held fear as he looked off in the distance. Fili and Kili chuckled.

"You think that's funny?" Thorin asked. "You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?"

"We didn't mean anything by it," Kili said quickly as he looked down.

"No you didn't. You know nothing of the world." Fili and Kili knew that they had taken their joke a little too far as they watched their uncle storm away. Camellia and Thorin crossed paths. She knew he was angry so she kept her head down and rushed passed him. She sat by the fire.

She hadn't bothered to ask any question even though she was confused throughout all of Balin's explanation.

'What provoked Thorin?' she thought to herself. She stared into the fire as she contemplated things that could have angered the company's leader.

"Your hair's wet," Fili said, knocking Camellia out of her head.

"Hmm?"

"Your hair, it's wet," Fili repeated.

"Oh, yeah, there's a river over there," she pointed. "I hadn't been able to bathe in two weeks. I figured now would be better than later."

"Two weeks?" Kili questioned, a bit alarmed.

"But it you looked like you'd never been outside."

"Lemongrass. Helps eliminate smell and grease and keeps the bugs away. It's also a wonderful addition to any dish."

"I thought you said Forodwaith was barren…?"

"It is, completely, but I picked it up in a small village a day and a half's journey from home. It's surprising abundant. I have found it growing wild nearly everywhere the weather has been fair. I'm trying to dry out some of my supply so I can make a tea out of it."

"What else can it be used for?"

"A lot of things, I assume. It's an herb so the possibilities are endless. I just like it for the smell."

"That's why you bought it?" Kili asked, intrigued. She thought about it for a moment.

"Yeah. Basically." Camellia stifled a yawn. "I'm going to head to bed. See you in the morning." She walked off toward a lone tree and set out her bed next to it. She was out in minutes, the smell of the lemongrass in her hair helping her drift off to sleep.