Okay here is another chapter! Enjoy it.

I barely accomplished three hours of sleep that night. When I awoke to the sound of a bustling city outside my window, I knew it was the earliest of hours. I hated mornings. Even if it was work mornings. The worst thing in life is having to pull yourself out of bed after a good nights sleep and step out into the cold air. The moment my feet hit the cold wood flooring I wanted to jump back in bed and stay there for the rest of my life.

The sudden shock of cold air woke me up immediately and I rushed to put on my clothing. I glanced over to the hearth with a sigh. The fire had burned out by then and small embers glowed in it's wake. It's warmth no longer kept me company through my long lonely night.

When I grabbed for the door handle, I had to tug hard to pull it open. Apparently I had slammed the door hard enough to get it stuck...huh.

The moment I opened the door a body tumbled in after it. Someone had been sitting against my door, probably sleeping, by the looks of it. What the hell?...And the culprit of course, was Fili.

Didn't this guy have better things to do? Like dig for gold or kill a fucking dragon. Seriously.

"Fili, what the hell are you doing sleeping against my door?" I put my hands on my hips and would have kicked him had I not noticed Kili standing in the doorway.

Fili was rubbing the back of his head, which he had effectively bumped on the floor when he fell backwards.

"Don't worry lass. No one was peeking on you." Kili leaned against the frame and crossed his arms. "We all took turns watching your door. Didn't want something happening to you while you were all the way down here." He smirked and chuckled at the pained expression on Fili's face. Fili raised a hand before Kili could say something.

"Shut it." Fili stood up carefully and stepped toward his brother. He couldn't even look up at me...though I don't blame him, it was a very embarrassing thing to witness on my part.

"You guys really did that? Wow, thank you." A wide smile spread across my face. I didn't think they all cared for my well-being that much.

"Of course we did, Emma. You're just a woman. If something was to happen to you in our care then what would that speak of us?" Kili smirked. He knew that would piss me off.

"God you are such an ass Kili." I thought I had just thought it, but the way Kili chuckled said otherwise. I was glad he was on this trip. He would probably keep me entertained the entire time.

Then I turned to Fili. "And you." He kept his eyes averted, but stood a bit straighter. "I'm sorry you had to find time away from your barmaid to keep watch over me. It must have been a very difficult situation to get away from." I was teasing him, hoping to dissolve the strange tension that was built up between us. I was embarrassed about staring and the way I acted...and him...well I don't know what was up with him.

Fili blushed and finally made eye contact with me. It was the most intense look I had ever gotten from him. "It wasn't like that.." And then he walked out the door to the hall. I heard his footsteps fade as he moved farther and farther away from us.

Weird.

"What was that all about?" Kili asked curiously.

I was still staring at the empty space where Fili had been. What was the matter with him? I was just joking..

"I'm not sure...Oh. Wait, last night I saw him with some bar maid and he happened to see me too...it was really embarrassing." I blushed even thinking about it.

"Oh is that all? He has been acting so very strange lately.." We both sat there quietly before Kili finally broke the silence and shifted his position.

"We're not leaving for another few hours. Would you like me to escort you around town so you may gather what you need?" Kili, ever the gentlemen, held out an arm for me.

I rolled my eyes and shoved him playfully out of my way. "I think I'll take someone more capable of protecting me." It felt good to have a friend. Bilbo was nice and all, but Kili reminded me of my older brother and we got along better than most siblings.

"Miss Emma, you wound me!" Kili mocked a hurt expression, to which I rolled my eyes again.

"Alright, alright. Don't get your knickers in a bunch." I teased with a small smile.

He smirked and looped my arm around his carefully before leading me away from the bedroom and down the hall. As we passed the rooms the had slept in, I could see only one that was open. Thorin was within it, packing the rest of his belongings. He probably wanted to be alone, God only knew what was going on in his mind.

When he heard our footsteps he stopped and looked up to the doorway. I knew he saw the smile on my face when I looked at him. For some unknown reason I knew it must have been him that ordered the dwarves who took turns outside my room. I nodded to him, trying to smile as much as I could and, surprisingly, he smiled back with a small nod in return. The moment was short lived, however, because Kili was then ushering me down the stairs to the bar below.

In the bar I could see that it was most definitely just as dark as it was last night. A few candles were lit here and there while patrons who had spent the night were quietly mulling over their hangover with bread and water. This is where we found our company. They had found themselves a nice spot in the corner of the room eating a hearty breakfast, most unaffected by the nights events, if there had been any at all.

"Mornin' lass! Did you sleep well?" Asked a fairly amused Bofur. He handed me a cup of what I assumed was water and moved over to let me sit.

By then I had parted from Kili just long enough to get something to eat. I sat beside Bofur with a small smile.

"I slept just fine Master Dwarf. Thank you.." I took a sip from the cup I was given and was thankful that this time, it actually was water and not ale.

Someone had slide over a plate of food and I was promptly told to 'eat'. There was definitely no debate over that. I spent the time at the table in silence, mostly due to the fact that I was stuffing my face, but I also was a little embarrassed that they all had to spend their night, at some point, watching over me. Once I had finished I looked up to see the rest were still eating and chatting away...of course there was a brooding blonde dwarf in the corner who didn't seem to be doing much except for staring into his cup.

I wanted to say something. A thank you perhaps...but every time I opened my mouth I would chicken out. Nori, who was on the other side of me, noticed and nudged me soflty.

"What is it, lass?" He asked concerned.

I turned to him and leaned in. "I just wanted to thank you all for last night..for watching over my door and all that..."

Nori smirked and leaned back from me a bit. "I'm sorry, lass! You're going to have to speak up! I can't hear you!" He said it so loud that the entire company looked at him like he was crazy and then turned to me to see what I was going to say.

Wow, thanks Nori. I was already embarrassed.

I cleared my throat and shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "I just wanted to say thank you." I started as I glanced around the table. "You will all need your rest for this journey..and to take time out of it to sit at my door so nothing would happen was more than kind. So I...just wanted to thank you all.."

By the end of the speech I was looking into my lap at my fidgeting hands and could barely make eye contact with the dwarves that were looking at me. Seriously, it was very intimidating...kind of made me uneasy. I was hardly prepared for the clap on my shoulder and a few chuckles and smiles that came my way. There were even a few hardy 'Anytime, lass!' and 'You're welcome!'

I blushed. I didn't want this to be one big moment, but it had turned into just that. Then just like that they had went back to eating and talking. I sighed when the attention was drawn away from me.

"Come on, lass. We have little time this morning." Kili was then tugging at my arm and pulling me away from the table.

"Jeez Kili, hold on.." I grabbed a piece of bread from my plate and trailed after him as he made his way to the door.

"That was a very touching speech, Miss Emma." Kili smirked with his thumbs looped into his belt. He walked slowly so I could keep up.

"It wasn't supposed to come out all mushy, you know. I just wanted to thank you all." I took a bite of my bread and chewed quickly.

Kili chuckled and shook his head. "I know, it was just fun to watch is all." Of course it would be.

Changing the subject before I hit him. "So where exactly are we going?"

"Well what you're wearing hardly seems fit for a quest, so I'm going to take you to a dress shop." Kili was looking around for exactly that. He wasn't too familiar with the place, but knew one couldn't be too far off.

"A dress shop? Kili I don't need a dress, I need-"

"It wont just be dresses there. All you have to do is ask them- Aha! Here it is!" Kili announced proudly as he strolled over to the store window. "Alright in you go. See what you cane find with what you have."

"You're coming in aren't you?" Kili seemed to shy away from that idea.

"I, um, will be getting you the other things a woman will need for this journey..like soap...and you know...other things. I will be back in 15 minutes." Then he was gone.

I sighed rather loudly and looked at the shop. It was nothing like I had thought it would be...though I was used to department stores that showed off their clothes on mannequins and had a large variety. I pushed the door open slowly. I small bell atop the door went off, startling me, and prompting a middle aged woman to come flowing out the door in a long dress. She saw me and smiled brightly.

"Ah, welcome little miss. How may I be of service today?" She seemed very nice.

"Um...I am looking for traveling clothes.." I said almost too shyly for my liking.

The older woman practically beamed with excitement and skipped over to me with a long measuring tape. Once she got up to my face, she smiled and motioned for me to follow her. She disappeared behind a curtain and I trailed behind slowly. The shop was small, but I could tell she had a lot of customer. There were pieces of clothing everywhere and a pile of papers on the counter that looked like orders.

I pulled aside the curtain and saw she was getting an abundance of material together with pins at the ready. I cringed at the idea of someone planting a sharp needle anywhere on my person. Sharp things did not agree with me. Ever.

"Here you go miss. Up on the box." The woman pointed to a box raised about a foot off the floor.

I wasn't sure what she had in mind because I barely had time as it was. I hope she didn't mean to make me something...that might take too long.

"Ma'am, I don't mean to be rude, but I only have about an hour or so before we have to leave."

"An hour!? I can't make anything in that time!" She was a little more than biffed about it, but within seconds she relaxed and looked at me with a disappointed smile. "Such a pity. You are such a pretty little thing, I had hoped to put you in one of my finest traveling dresses."

Blushing I looked at my boots (that were entirely too long for my feet) like I had just let my mother down. The lady giggled and walked over to me.

"We'll just have to see what we can do with what I have Miss?"

"Emma.."

The lady smiled warmly and grabbed my hand to lead me to the box. "Well Miss Emma, my name is Geogiana. Do no fret dear, I've done miracles before and I can do them again!"

Georgiana set out to measuring me and bustled about the room like a mad woman, grabbing clothes that she already had done. By the end of the experience, she had a pair of clothes for me. I was adamant about keeping my jeans, because the thought of wearing something else didn't sit well. I almost cried when I had to depart from my tank top and cardigan, but they were not warm enough nor would they fair well in a fight, if I ever got in one...which I was more than positive I would by the end of this journey. I had been lucky enough that one of the dwarves at let me borrow a coat, but finally I would have my own.

The lady let me wear my new clothes. A white long sleeve undershirt that I conveniently rolled up to my elbows, a dark green bodice, which felt like it was made by some animal hide (it was just a guess, I really had no idea...and the idea actually grossed me out), new boots that fit perfectly, and a hooded coat that would keep me warm in the chilled nights.

I had also been offered a pair of traveling pants, that she insisted I take. I wasn't going to argue. Georgiana was more than happy to sell them to me. She spoke the entire time of how well her business was doing and how she loved sewing. I smiled at her continuous chatter about the subject. She was a very nice woman.

"Alright deary, that will be thirteen gold for the lot." Georgiana said with a pleasant smile.

Shit. All I had was ten. I guess I would just have to give something back. I opened my mouth to say something, but the sound of the door bell ringing caught both our ears. I thought for sure it would be Kili, since he had not returned yet, and was almost excited about the idea. He would loan me the three extra coin for the clothes.

"Hey Kili, could I borrow three...coins..." But it had not been Kili. In the doorway stood three very shady looking men. All smirking at me like they had some very dark things on their minds.

Georgiana behind the counter immediately came around and put herself in front of me. "How can I help you fine gentlemen today? New belts? Coin purses? We have a sale for-"

"Quiet yourself woman! We're here for the girl." One of them with dark brown hair said. He had a missing eye and held out a knife to the shop lady. They all carried a small dagger or a short sword attached to their belts.

"You may not have her. She is not for sale!" I almost chocked on the air in my lungs at what just came out of Georgiana's mouth. I commend her for the effort making light of the situation and try to humor the thugs.

However, the joke had not worked on them. The three men dragged Georgiana and myself up the stairs into her home. The thugs threw us down onto the floor next to the hearth and took seats in one of Georgiana's fine chairs. One had been watching out the window, looking impatient at the street below.

Georgiana made sure to pull me close to her. She was being so protective of me, I felt so bad I had got her into this situation...but I had no idea what I was in this situation for in the first place.

"What do you want with me?" I had to speak up and figure out what was going on.

"Don't worry little miss. We're only going to hold you over for a couple hours." The smallest of the group spoke up. He had red hair and wore lose clothing.

What? That didn't make any sense... "Why? Did someone ask you to do this?"

"Asked? Nay, paid us more like it. We keep you here a few hours and then let you go. That was all she wanted us to do." The smaller one replied.

What? She?

"Shut it. Someone is coming." The one at the window said. He was the one with one eye and dark hair. He walked over to me and held the knife at my throat. "Speak and I'll kill you."

Gulp. I didn't doubt he would do it either. The look in his eyes was that of someone who cared very little for the life of another person. Someone who was greedy and hateful.

The door downstairs made the bell ring and we all froze. Someone walked around downstairs before I heard a voice that almost made me gasp.

"Miss Emma? Miss Emma are you here?"

"Fili..." I whispered. I didn't know what he had come to find me, but I knew there was concern in his voice. Shit I couldn't call out to him.

"I said be quiet!" The one eyed man said almost too loudly. Then he slammed me across the face, causing me to throw my hands down onto the floor to catch myself.

The door downstairs opened again and we all tensed once again. The silence was heartbreaking. I thought for sure Fili would come upstairs and do something. We had been loud enough, I had thought, and he would have been able to hear it...but I guess I was wrong. He must not have heard.

Not ten minutes had gone by when one of the men had shifted and stood. I had not moved from my place, too afraid that I might be hit again.

"I'm already tired of this. Let's just kill the bitch and go. No one will know." The fat one who had not spoke the entire time spoke up. He was dirtier than the other two and had been watching me the whole time.

The one eyed man who was looking down at me grinned menacingly. His green teeth made me quiver with fear and I pulled myself up to move away. He took a step toward me and twirled his knife in his hand.

"Alright, I say we have some fun before we take care of 'em."

The look in his eyes told me exactly what he was planning to do...and it was not something I could go through again. Not again.

THIRD PERSON

Fili was bored out of his mind. He had been sitting amongst the rest of his company in the bar for nearly an hour. He was used to always being around his younger brother, but at the moment Kili was escorting Miss Emma about. Emma. His thoughts could barely leave the brown hair beauty. This journey he would be seeing much of her and it was becoming quite hard to keep his mind off her.

Even Fili's ill attempt at using another woman to rid himself of Emma's haunting image did not work. The moment he thought he had succeeded, she had been there, staring at him with disbelief. He immediately felt regret and disappointment for being with the hobbit woman. He didn't understand why he felt like that. It was the worst feeling in the world to watch her run from him after witnessing something like that. The hobbit girl was less than thrilled when he walked away from her. She screamed at him the entire way up the stairs until she gave up and probably found some other customer to please.

All morning he had heard of nothing, but Emma's name. How sweet she was, how very pretty she looked now that her bruises were starting to fade, and how useful she could be on this journey. The rest seemed to take a liking to her, though they did seem to have a small doubt on her abilities as a seer, but none the less they adored the troubled girl.

Fili pushed himself out of the chair he had been sitting in and made his way out the door. He would find his brother and hopefully not make a bigger fool of himself in front of Emma. Making his way to the door suddenly turned out to be more difficult than he had thought. The moment he passed the counter he was dragged into a small, dark closet.

"Oi, what's this!?" Fili had to hold off the hands that were on him.

"Fili, don't be such a tease! You left me last night in such a rush that we never got to finish what we started." The sultry voice of Petunia floated in the air. Her hands were trying harder than ever to get under his shirt.

"Listen lass, I told you last night that I wasn't interested any longer." Fili grabbed her hands and held her off.

"Why!? Because of that girl!?" Petunia's attitude did a one-eighty. The anger in her voice was like venom dripping from a snakes fang.

"It has nothing to do with her! Now stop this nonsense!" Fili was finally able to push her away and get out the door as fast as he could.

"What does she have that I don't?!" The question remained unanswered as Fili was already out the door and looking for Kili. Petunia glared at the retreating back of Fili before the door slammed shut and he was gone for good.

Fili walked quickly down the dirt road. He didn't know where he was going, but he had to get away from that crazy hobbit barmaid and her insane infatuation with him. He head no idea why Petunia was upset over Emma. It was like she became a jealous wife as soon as Fili rejected her.

Shaking his head he continued down the street until he saw Kili stroll out of a shop with a knapsack on his arm and an apple in his hand.

"Brother! Where is Miss Emma?" Fili noted that the girl was no where in sight.

Kili was chewing on a bite of apple. He pointed up the street. "I left her in the dress shop about a half hour ago. Thought she'd need something more appropriate for the quest."

"I see. Well have you checked on her lately?" Fili had a bad feeling about leaving Emma anywhere by herself for too long. He didn't know he very long, but he could tell that she was a careless girl and it made him uneasy.

"Nah, the lass is fine. I was just going to head over there anyway."

"Don't worry brother, I will go fetch her. Go meet the others and prepare." Fili pat his brother on the shoulder and made for the dress shop.

As he came up to the shop he noticed a dark figure on the second floor, but it slowly disappeared from view. He thought it was odd, but shrugged and walked inside. The bell rang loudly and he had fully expected to see the shop owner and Emma bustling about, but there was no one there.

"Miss Emma?..." Fili walked in a bit further, looking behind a curtain to see if she was in the back. "Miss Emma are you here?"

From above he heard someone yell something, then a smack that was followed by a thud on the floor above. He narrowed his eyes and ran out the door to get help. If he went up there alone, he might run into trouble.

Fili had never run so fast in his life. He knew if there was really any trouble, Emma would be in danger and something very mad might happen to her...and he could never forgive himself for that. He practically stumbled through the door getting the attention of the dwarves packing their bags in the otherwise empty bar.

"Fili? What is the matter, lad? You look terrible." Balin walked up to him concerned. Kili came up beside him.

"Where is Emma?" Kili asked with his hands on his hips.

Gandalf walked up next to Fili and gripped his shoulder. "Speak Master Dwarf. What has happened to the girl?

Fili was breathing hard. He swallowed to get some moisture in his throat so he could talk. "Emma...I think she's in trouble.."

The look everyone had on their faces was that of distress and in a split second, they were all running out the door.

EMMA POV

I was more than terrified when the one eyed man had made to grab me. He was able to yank me to my feet and drag me into the bedroom of the shop owner. The poor woman was in fright herself. She could do little to help me as she was held at sword point.

The one eyed man threw me onto the bed. I scrambled to get better footing as he descended on me. There was no contest when it came to strength. The man had me pinned against the bed without much fight. Men in this time were far stronger than where I came from.

He ripped at my clothes and moved quick to remove his trousers. I kicked, screamed, and tried hard to get away from him. The tears in my eyes almost blinded me from the scene. The way he smelled of booze when he tried to kiss me, the way he sounded when he spoke...it all brought back memories of Oliver in my apartment.

I had almost given up to my fate when I felt something sharp near my hand. It was the knife he had brought with him. I grabbed it quickly and as soon as he removed a hand from my wrist to rip off my shirt, I brought it to his throat.

The one eyed man stilled instantly and gulped when he glanced at the sharp iron against his skin.

"Move." My voice was entirely not my own. I had never sounded so demanding in my life, but I was seeing red and I was not getting raped again. Not ever. No man would ever touch me like that.

The man moved and began backing up to the door as I followed him, making sure to hold the knife tight against his throat.

"You're making a huge mistake girl." The man said angrily.

"Talk again and I'll put a new whole on that face." I was pissed. I just wanted to get out of there and run as far as I could.

When we made it back into the main room, the other two men stood quickly from their spot, but stopped when the one eyed man motioned for them not to do anything stupid. I glanced at Georgiana and was thankful she was okay. A bit shaken, but none the less she was alive.

"Georgiana, make for the stairs." The shop owner didn't hesitate as she ran through the door and plummeted down the stairs.

When I felt she was a good ways down there I made a break for the door, shutting it fast and racing down the stairs. Behind me I could here the men yell and run after us. I knew they had weapons and if they caught up to us they would surely kill us.

Georgiana was slower than I had anticipated and I caught up to her halfway through the shop. She managed to trip on one of the many boxes of fabric on the floor and I had to avoid doing the same by jumping over her rather ungracefully. When I turned back around I saw the thugs running out the stairway and toward us. Georgiana let out a loud scream just as the door to the shop opened.

I didn't look to see who it was coming in because the one eyed man had a sword coming at Georgiana. I ran to her and as the man was bringing a sword down us, I pushed the knife in my hand forward.

I felt it sink into the body of the man. The sickening sheathing into his skin was something I would always remember. It had stuck into his chest, the blood staining his shirt. He had paused mid strike and looked down at the knife. His eyes found mine and all I saw was fear.

The man fell to the ground with a thud. His lifeless body unmoving from its position. I stood there feeling numb. The rush of adrenaline had begun to leave my body and everything was starting to swirl in the room. I glanced up from the body and saw the dozen bodies within the shop.

It was the company. They had come to save me. Through my tears I saw them all standing there looking at me. I couldn't tell what expressions they had on their face, but it was probably not good. Once again, I had killed someone.

Suddenly I felt light headed and I swayed in place. A pair of hands gripped me to keep me steady, but the darkness took me. My last thought was that I was probably going to wake up in some other world. It was happening again.

When I woke up it had only been about an hour, from what I was told. Gandalf sat at the end of my bed again, which was back at the The Prancing Pony. I sat up slowly while rubbing my head. It heard tremendously.

"Gandalf?"

He smiled kindly and shifted in his chair. "It's alright Emma, you're safe."

"What happened?.."

"You're lucky we had got there when we did. The other men would have surely cut you down after killing their companion, but now the proper authorities have the other two. Seems someone paid them to hold you captive."

"Why would someone do that?"

Gandalf chuckled and lit a pipe. "That is a very good question. Regardless, the problem is taken care of and Thorin thought it might be best to wait another night before we journey."

Well that wasn't fair. They needed to get going soon. Durin's Day would be upon them quicker than they would expect and I would not be the cause for delay.

I shook my head. "No Gandalf, we need to leave soon."

He seemed to weigh my answer before nodding. "Very well. If you are sure you can continue.."

"I can. I just need a few minutes...if I need more rest I will sleep on the way."

"As you wish Miss Emma. I will inform Thorin of your decision." Gandalf slowly got up taking a few puffs of his pipe and leaving me to get ready.

I had no idea what had actually happened, but I knew that I had killed someone else. I let out a sigh and pushed myself from the bed. I was still in the clothes the shop owner had given me. Had I paid for them?

Opening the door I took a peek out. No one was around. I walked slowly down the hall and down the stairs to the bar below. Once again the company was sitting in the corner eating. It must have been lunch time. They noticed me immediately and turned to look at me.

The look on most of their faces was unreadable. These damn dwarves were good at hiding their feelings. Kili was the first one to run over me. I let out a surprised squeak when he lifted me from the ground in a bear hug and spun me around.

"Emma we were so worried!" I was so confused.

"Kili what's going on? What happened?"

Kili put me down carefully and smiled warmly. "Fili went to look for you after I ran into him. He came back saying you were in trouble and by the time we all made it over there you had already killed the guy. The other two tried to run, but we got them. Oh! And the dress shop lady said she was so thankful that you saved her life that she wanted you to have your attire at no charge! Isn't that great!" Kili was far too excited about all of this for my liking.

"But...Kili I killed a man..."

"Yea? But he was going to kill you! Why are you so worried about it?" Kili looked as confused as I was. "You've killed before haven't you?"

"I think was Kili means is you had a right to kill him, lass. Otherwise you wouldn't be here with us right now." I glanced up to see Balin turned in his chair with a smile.

I guess I had forgot how things were so different here. People were killed for lesser reason and obviously no one saw any problem with the man being killed for a good reason. It still set me on edge, but made me feel a tad bit better knowing they weren't appalled.

I smiled as Kili led me over to the table where lunch was waiting. The company was welcoming as I joined them. The smile on my face didn't leave the entire time. I was so happy that they were encouraging about the situation.

At some point I had made eye contact with Fili. He paused from eating when our gazes locked. I would have to thank him personally before we set off. He was the reason I was here. He had heard us back at the shop and for that I was grateful. Grateful that he was smarter than he seemed and that he cared enough to get help right away.

His head had lifted slightly as I continued to smile at him. The surprised look on his face slowly turned to a returning smile and after another moment, we were both back to eating.

Things were so strange in this world, but I was glad to be in the company of men who would help me as much as I would help them.

PLEASE REVIEW!