Chapter 7

Later that day as the sun was beginning to set, Thorin and Gandalf declared that the spot they had reached would be their camp for the night. Everyone dismounted and began getting things ready for the night.

Annelise had spent the day riding next to Bilbo, asking him questions about the Shire and in turn answering questions he had about her life amongst the dwarves. As the day drew on, Annelise grew more and more attached to the strange creature that was accompanying them on their adventure.

Annelise showed Bilbo how to lay out his bed roll before going to help with preparing dinner.

Soon after the sun was finally down, everyone was slowly getting ready to sleep. Annelise could hear someone snoring already and heard someone moving next to her. She turned and saw Bilbo getting up from his bedroll. She looked around the rest of the camp and saw Gandalf smoking his pipe while keeping watch.

Annelise decided to lay back down to try to sleep after checking on Bilbo and seeing him standing next to his pony, Myrtle.

Just as she laid her head down, a screech echoed through night in the distance.

She quickly sat up and noticed that Kili had stood up and begun to move closer to her with Fili right behind him.

"What was that?" Bilbo said frantically, walking quietly to where Fili and Kili stood near Annelise.

"Orcs," Kili replied ominously.

"Orcs?" Bilbo asked.

Annelise looked over to her father and saw him awaken suddenly at the sound of the hobbit's voice.

"Throatcutters," Fili added. "There'll be dozens of them out there. The Lone Lands are crawling with them."

Annelise could tell he was teasing Bilbo and reached up and smacked him on the back of the leg. Fili seemed to get the hint but Kili continued on.

"They strike in the wee small hours when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet, no screams. Just lots of blood."

Annelise looked up to glare at her cousin. 'How could they be joking about something like that?' she thought to herself.

Bilbo turned to look out toward where the noises were coming from and Annelise saw Kili turned to Fili and chuckle.

She shook her head and was about to scold him when she heard her father speak.

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

"We didn't mean anything by it," Kili said looking down, properly humbled by his uncle.

"No you didn't. You know nothing of the world."

With this, Annelise watched as her father went to stand on the edge of the cliff they had set up camp on, and stare across the land below.

"Don't mind him, Laddie," Balin said walking up to the group. "Thorin has more cause than most to hate Orcs."

At this, Fili and Kili looked at Annelise before looking to their uncle, confused by the older dwarf's words.

"After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient Dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs, led by the most vile of all their race. Azog the Defiler."

At this name, Annelise shuddered. She had heard that name spoken many times. When she would travel with her father, sometimes he would wake in the middle of the night from nightmares. Nearly every time, she would here him say the word Azog but she never knew what it meant. She couldn't believe that her father had never told her the story Balin was telling now.

"The giant Gundabad orc had sworn to wipe out the Line of Durin. He began... by beheading the King," Balin continued sadly. At this, Annelise realised why her father had never told her the story. Anytime she would try to talk about what happened to his father and grandfather he would shut down and either change the subject or walk away. To know that it was something this horrid, she could understand why he never told her of it.

"Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing. Taken prisoner or killed, we did not know."

Annelise looked toward her father, who had his back turned to the camp. She could tell by his rigid posture that he could hear Balin recounting the story of what happened that day. As she stared at her father, her eyes began to flood with tears for everything he had gone through.

"We were leaderless," Balin continued sombrely. "Defeat and death were upon us. That is when I saw him," he said, with a proud smile suddenly showing on his face before he turned to look at Thorin. Annelise couldn't help but smile proudly at her father's back as well. After everything he had gone through, he was still able to be strong and lead his people.

"A young dwarf prince facing down the Pale Orc." At this, Annelise looked to Balin astonished and he simply smiled and nodded at her to confirm what he had just said. "He stood alone against this terrible foe. His armour rent, wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield. Azog the Defiler learned that day that the Line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied and drove the orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast, nor song that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived. And I thought to myself then, 'There is one who I could follow. There is one I could call King.'"

At this Annelise turned to look back at her father and saw that he had turned around and that the rest of the Company had woken up and were standing before him, watching him.

Annelise watched as her father looked into her eyes before slowly beginning to walk toward her.

"And the pale Orc?" Bilbo asked, interrupting her thoughts. "What happened to him?"

Her father was the one to answer this question. "He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago."

Annelise looked to Balin for confirmation that what her father had said was true but he was looking worriedly at Gandalf, who still sat in his original place away from the group. The look he gave she and Balin caused her blood to run cold. Gandalf couldn't really be telling her that such a cruel creature could still be alive.

The wizard must have read the question in her eyes, because his look changed to one of sadness and regret as he subtly nodded his head, confirming her thoughts.

Annelise looked sadly down at her hands before getting up to move to sit next to her father a little way away from her bedroll that lay next to Bilbo's.

Her father was sitting on a small rock leaning up against a bigger rock so Annelise sat on the ground next to him. This position put her head next to his shoulder, so she leaned over and laid her head against it.

At this, she noticed her father let go of some of the tension in his body before he laid his head down on top of hers.

"I am sorry for what happened. I know that doesn't make it better but it's true," Annelise said quietly, trying to cheer her father up a bit.

"It is not your fault, my dear. You weren't even alive yet. Thank you all the same. Your presence is enough to cheer me up," he said smiling down at her, reaching a hand up to clasp one of hers. "I am sorry I never told you the story. I know you always wanted to know what happened to my father and grandfather."

"It's alright, father. I understand now why you didn't want to tell me. It is very hard for you," Annelise said before yawning suddenly.

Thorin chuckled next to her before gently pushing her head off his shoulder. "You should rest, dear one. We have another long day ahead of us tomorrow."

Annelise yawned one more time before saying, "Goodnight Father. I love you."

"I love you too, Annelise."

With that, Annelise walked back over to her bedroll and laid down. She saw that Bilbo was already laying back down and had finally been able to fall asleep this time.

Just before she closed her eyes, she saw Gandalf holding his pipe to his mouth with one hand, while messing with something glowing in his other. That night she dreamt of a crystal sculpture of a rose rising from the midst of flames and a small boy who watched over her as she played with the trinket.

The next day was absolute misery compared to the day before. Soon after leaving camp, the dark clouds above them had opened up and spilled rain the entire day. Annelise was very glad she had thought to wear her scarf to use as a hood. She had also grabbed her cloak out of bag that morning after seeing the sky. Not that either of them were any use now, for they had been completely soaked through within an hour.

Annelise was currently riding near the front by herself between Gandalf, who had taken the lead, and Bilbo.

Silmë seemed to startle a bit when the thunder rolled a bit louder than it had been all day. She reached forward and patted her on the side of neck, whispering a few words of comfort and encouragement.

As she did this, she heard Dori yell up to the wizard leading their Company. "Here, Mr. Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge?"

"It is raining, Master Dwarf," Gandalf yelled back. "And it will continue to rain until the rain is done."

Annelise chuckled quietly at the wizard's response before looking up to the sky annoyed, as another roll of thunder sounded.

"If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard," Gandalf continued.

"Are there any?" Bilbo asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Other wizards?" This question peaked Annelise's interest and she waited rather excitedly to hear the answer the wizard gave.

"There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman the White. Then there are the two Blue wizards... Do you know, I've quite forgotten their names."

This caused Annelise to chuckle again at hearing the tone of Gandalf's voice.

"And who is the fifth?"

"Well, that would be Radagast the Brown."

"Is he a great wizard? Or is he... more like you?" Bilbo asked curiously. At this, Annelise tried to hold in her laugh lest Gandalf should hear her, but all that accomplished was to make her snort loudly before she coughed to try to cover it up. Gandalf turned back slightly and smiled at her with a sparkle in his eye before answering the Hobbit's question.

"I think he's a very great wizard, in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the east. And a good thing too, for always evil will look to find a foothold in this world."

After a few days, the Company found themselves coming upon what looked to be an abandoned farm house.

"We'll camp here for the night," Thorin announced from the head of the line. "Fili, Kili, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them. Annelise, go with them." At this, Annelise nodded as her father continued to give instructions to the others.

After searching a bit, she and her cousins found an old pen that was still in good enough condition to hold the ponies, Silmë, and Gandalf's horse.

She and her cousins went to collect the ponies and horses and Annelise noticed that Gandalf was missing, along with his horse.

She pulled Bilbo to the side and asked where the wizard had gone.

"I don't know. He and Thorin were speaking together and suddenly Gandalf was leaving. He seemed rather angry though. He and Thorin must have been arguing about the path ahead."

"Oh dear. Well hopefully he will be back before night falls. Goodnight, Master Burglar," Annelise said with a smile before leading Silmë and some of the ponies back toward the pen.

After putting up the ponies and Silmë, Annelise went to sit next to Kili to keep watch with him as Fili checked that the animals had sufficient food.

"So how are you enjoying our journey, Annelise?," Kili asked, while inspecting his arrows.

"I have enjoyed it so far. Mr. Baggins has told me wonderful stories of the Shire. He seems to miss it very much."

"Yes, I'm sure he misses his pocket handkerchiefs and feather pillows," Fili said teasingly as he walked up to sit on the other side of her.

"Oh hush," Annelise scolded lightly with a smile, before bumping his shoulder with hers.

"And what do you think of this wizard we have in our company?" Kili asked absently, focusing on one of the arrows he was holding in his hand.

"I don't know what to think. He seems very secretive, but he also seems very wise," Annelise said trailing off, trying to decided whether or not to tell her cousins what the wizard had spoken to her about during their night in Bag End.

Kili heard the uncertainty in her voice as she spoke of the wizard. He could tell by the look on her face that something was bothering her. "What is the matter, Annelise?"

At this question, Fili quickly looked away from the animals to study the young woman sitting next to him. "You look like something is on your mind," he added, staring into her eyes as she looked toward him.

Annelise sighed before saying, "If I tell you, you must promise not to tell my father. He has enough to worry about already."

Fili and Kili looked at each other hesitantly before slowly nodding their heads in agreement.

"Very well," Annelise said, sighing in defeat. "The night we stayed in Bag End, I couldn't sleep. I decided to clean in the kitchen and dining room a bit to tire myself out. As I was walking back to my room, I saw Gandalf sitting in front of the fireplace. When I first saw him earlier that evening, I thought he looked familiar and I stood there for a moment looking at him trying to figure out where I recognised him from. He noticed me there and we began speaking. I asked if we had met before and he told me that we had."

Fili and Kili seemed surprised at this information, but were not too concerned about it until Annelise continued.

"He said we had met many times before I came to live with Thorin."

This caused both Fili and Kili's mouths to drop open in astonishment. That the wizard would know who Annelise really was had never crossed their minds. Now they could understand why she didn't want them to tell their uncle.

"Did he tell you how he knew you?" Kili asked finally. Annelise could tell by his tone that he was surprised, but what shocked her most was the deep sadness she could also hear.

"No, he did not. He said the time for me to know had not yet come, but that it would be soon," Annelise answered hesitantly, not wanting to hurt the two men she thought of as brothers.

"That's good," Kili said, trying to cover up his sadness and smile for her a little. It turned out to be more of a grimace.

Annelise looked at her dark haired cousin for a long time before turning to his brother. Fili wore nearly the same expression as his younger brother, though he was better at concealing the sadness in his eyes.

"I know it is hard for you, but I promise you no matter what I find out you with always be my brothers. And Thorin will always be my father." At this Annelise reached around and hugged Kili tightly before moving to do the same to Fili.

Kili soon reached over and hugged her as she was hugging Fili so that she was sandwiched between the two of them. She had always felt so safe in the arms of her two protectors and now was no different.

The brothers soon let her go and sat back against the trees they had been leaning on.

After a few minutes, Fili got up and touched the side of Annelise's face before moving to check on the animals again.

Annelise decided to lean her head on Kili's shoulder for a bit until Fili came back.

She had just started to drift off to sleep when Fili came running frantically back to them.

Kili quickly jumped up with Annelise right behind him and asked what was wrong.

"Two of the ponies are missing," he said quickly.

Kili and Annelise were soon running behind him toward the rest of the animals. Annelise saw that Silmë was still exactly where she left her but two of the ponies that had been next to her were gone.

She and her cousins simply stood there for a moment before Annelise heard footsteps coming up from behind them. She turned to see Bilbo Baggins walking up with three bowls of soup perched precariously in his hands.

She quickly grabbed one of the bowls from him and set it on a nearby fallen tree before going back to looking at her cousins as they stared at the remaining ponies and Silme.

Bilbo then stepped up to hand the two remaining bowls to the brothers, but they didn't even seem to notice him standing between them, holding the bowls out to them.

The Hobbit looked between the two of them before asking, "What's the matter?"

Kili quickly said, "We're supposed to be looking after the ponies."

Fili continued after him, "Only we've encountered a slight problem. We had 17. Now there's 15. Daisy and Bungo are missing."

"Well that's not good," Bilbo said chuckling nervously, "and that's not good at all," he finished looking at a tree that had been uprooted. "Shouldn't we tell Thorin?"

"Uh, no. Let's not worry him," Kili said quickly. Annelise snickered to herself. 'You just don't want to get in trouble again,' she thought to herself smirking at the back of Kili's head. "As our official burglar," Kili continued, "we thought you might like to look into it."

Annelise couldn't help but shake her head in pity for the poor Hobbit.

"Well, uh, look, something big uprooted these trees," he said pointing at one of the big trees that was thrown across the ground.

"That was our thinking," Fili said.

"Something very big and possibly quite dangerous," Bilbo finished as he followed behind Fili around the uprooted tree.

"Hey," Fili said crouching down and looking to his left. "There's a light. Over here," he finished waving Annelise and Kili over before getting lower and moving toward it.

"Stay down," Kili said to Annelise and Bilbo as they followed behind the brothers.

Annelise could hear grunting and laughing coming from the direction of the light and she couldn't help but feel a bit afraid.

"What is it?" Bilbo asked Fili quietly.

Kili was the one to answer the Hobbit. "Trolls." As he said this, he stood and began running towards the fire light with Fili next to him. Annelise and Bilbo followed behind and Annelise couldn't help but roll her eyes when she saw Bilbo stop and run back to grab Fili and Kili's soup bowls.

She and Bilbo had to quickly duck behind a tree as they saw a troll walking by carrying two more ponies.

"He's got Myrtle and Minty," Bilbo exclaimed quietly but angrily. "I think they're going to eat them. We have to do something."

At these words, Annelise seemed a bit apprehensive. Surely nothing good could come of taking on such huge trolls.