Authoress Note: Welcome to Chapter 1 of Seven Wonders. I am happy that I'm finally posting this very first chapter of this story. I hope to do this rewrite some justice and fix whatever mistakes that I have in this story. There will be things about Artemis that will show up throughout the story, I don't want you guys to think of her as a Mary Sue. I'm trying my best to avoid the Mary Sue bit of the story. There are also spoilers in this if you haven't seen The Battle of the Five Armies. So don't get mad at me for the spoilers. But I hope that you guys enjoy this next chapter of the story. Without further ado Chapter 1.
Chapter 1
Artemis soon awoke feeling damp grass underneath her body. She slowly lifted herself off of the ground to a sitting position. She looked around in confusion. Where on earth was she? She looked around trying to see if she could find her car, but there was no car around. She had found her bag which held her clothes and books as well as her cloak lying on the ground beside her. Where the hell was she? She had no idea where this place was. This was almost out of a book or even that of a movie.
She turned her head sharply when she heard someone humming a tune. She quickly took notice of who it was. "No fucking way." She said to herself. "Oh, my moon and stars. Gandalf the Grey."
The old man smiled at her. "Glad to see that you are awake Miss Houston. Surely you remember our conversation." His eyes twinkled with amusement.
Artemis looked at him in confusion. "Why am I here and what conversation?" She demanded to know what was going on. This was too weird in her book. And she had seen some very strange things. But this so far had to be the strangest thing that she had ever seen.
"Come on my dear we do not have much time. We have a meeting to get to. We have quite a long way to go to get there tonight." He told her.
"Tell me why I am here." She said softly hoping that this was a dream and that she wasn't where she thought she was, in Middle-Earth where she knew nothing and was unsure that she would be able to protect herself from the horrors that were in this world.
"The conversation we had. Surely you remember it. About how you would change the story."
"Change the story? Tolkien wrote it that way for a reason." Artemis said her anger began to spike. "This was not the way that I wanted to spend my 25th birthday being dragged to another world altogether. By moon and stars, I would not be able to do much on this journey." She shook her head. "How do you know if I am the right person for the job?"
Gandalf's blue eyes twinkled with a knowing look. He had of course brought this young woman here for a reason. He knew that she was something special. Perhaps he thought right when he chose this young woman to help on this quest. He knew that she wanted to change the outcome of the story, but she seemed reluctant to do so. Which was of course something that he was not planning on. He could sense that there was a form of magic inside of her. A rare kind of magic that he was willing to get her here and change the outcome. The deaths of Kili, Fili, and Thorin would weigh heavily on his mind if he could not stop this from happening. "You are the right person for the job Miss Houston and we can not fail with this. Three deaths can be prevented with your help. You are fond of the line of Durin are you not?"
Artemis looked wearily at him. Of course, she was fond of the line of Durin. She was fond of Thorin, Kili, and Fili. But helping to prevent the deaths of those three men was not going to be some kind of walk in the park. "Yes, I am fond of them, but how is my being here going to help change the outcome of the story? Surely I won't be able to save all three of them."
Gandalf winked at her. "That my dear will be the very thing that you find out. Now come we mustn't be late for our meeting."
Artemis got up off of the ground quickly. She slung her bag that had her clothes and books in it over her shoulders. Then she slipped her blue cloak over her thin form. She pulled the hood over her head covering her brown hair. She began to follow Gandalf towards the Shire. "Did you already alert the rest of the company?"
"I have. I haven't given them the idea that you are arriving with me." He said as if it was the simplest thing in the world for them not knowing that she was arriving to help them.
Artemis looked at him quizzingly. "They have no idea that I am joining in. Thirteen dwarves, a wizard, and a hobbit. Adding me into the fray will be sixteen. Are you certain that he will approve of this?" She questioned softly unsure if Thorin would be so accepting of her being there to help them on this journey.
Gandalf pulled something out from his robes and handed them to her. "He will accept you." He told her, as she took the dual swords from him.
She looked at him in confusion. "What are these for?" She knew fencing from her world, but having two swords like this, she was unsure if it would be as well balanced as the times that she used two fencing swords.
"You will need them." He told her with a smile. "Do you know how to use them?"
Artemis slowly nodded her head. "But I am rusty. I haven't used a sword since I was 18." She said, looking at him. She just hoped that she wasn't too rusty to cause trouble.
"It will come back to you no doubt."
"If he asks about what I can do. What am I to tell him? Besides knowing how to use a sword."
"You are gifted when it comes to healing, no?" He asked with a knowing look.
She gasped. How did he even know about her skill of being a healer? She was a Wiccan witch who used healing spells to help heal a person. Perhaps he knew more than what he had let on when he had first met her at that gas station in her world. "How did you know about that?" She questioned him. It was candle magic, nothing special. Unless this world was something else to them.
"You have a rare kind of magic than most humans from your world. You are different. I knew because I could tell when I met you in that gas station in your world. Surely you think that there is more to who you are."
Artemis looked down at the ground. She watched her step to make sure that her ankle-high two-inch boots would not sink into the ground. "I think there is more to me Gandalf, but I am not sure if it is what you think that I am meant for. This quest is a dangerous one. If I can stop this from happening would I have the choice of staying here or returning home?"
Gandalf's blue eyes twinkled with knowledge. "My dear, that will be up to you in the end. You will be able to make that choice when this journey is all over. But you already know that you can not stray from the path until the very end. You are only here to change the outcome of what happens at the end of the book. Only you can stop Thorin from going into dragon sickness. You have to be willing to prove yourself to him."
Artemis nodded her head in understanding knowing that Gandalf was right about what he said. She was going to have to befriend THorin and it wouldn't be an easy task. She had read the book and had watched the first film and was going to run into a huge problem with the moody dwarf. "I will try my best Gandalf, but I am not sure he will like me."
Gandalf laughed. "My dear girl, you are a strong woman and know how to stand your ground. You'll know what to do when the time comes."
The two of them had arrived at Bag-End and it had grown very dark. It had been a long walk for the 25-year-old because she wasn't used to walking that far in that amount of time even though Gandalf had given her breaks to rest her sore and tired feet. ANd there of course were eight dwarves ahead of them.
The door opened and the eight dwarves fell in. They soon got up and walked past the hobbit that had answered the door.
"Gandalf," Bilbo said tiredly.
Gandalf merely came inside. He turned and motioned with his head to Artemis. "Come on now. No need to stand out there."
Artemis looked sadly at the hobbit and came into the hobbit's hole.
"Now stay close to me dear. Wouldn't want you lost in the fray. I will introduce you to the company once Thorin arrives." He told her softly.
Artemis nodded her head. She watched Bilbo's failed attempt to stop the dwarves from eating him out of his house and home.
A dwarf with white hair with a tray came up to them. "Excuse me, Mr. Gandalf, can I tempt you with a nice cup of chamomile tea?"
"Oh, no thank you, Dori. A little red wine for me, I think." Gandalf said before walking out of the dining room with Artemis right behind him to avoid being bumped into by other dwarves. He began to count the dwarves. "Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori… Ori…"
Bifur came up to Gandalf and said something to him in Khuzdul and body language.
"Yes, you're quite right, Bifur. We appear to be one dwarf short." Gandalf said.
"He is late is all. He traveled North to a meeting with our kin. He will come." Dwalin said to Gandalf.
"Mr. Gandalf?" Dori said, coming back over to him.
"Hm?"
"A little glass of red wine, as requested. It's, eh, got a fruity bouquet."
Gandalf took it from him. "Ah. Cheers." He said drinking from the tiny cup. He looked at it sadly.
Artemis looked at Gandalf. "Maybe it's best that I stay out of the way."
"My dear girl, you should eat something. Can't have you starving."
Artemis looked at the dwarves who were already eating. "I think it is wise that I don't eat. I already lost my appetite." She told him softly.
"Gandalf, who is with you?" Asked Kili looking at them away from his meal.
Everyone seemed to go silent at Kili's question.
"Oh dear. I wasn't expecting to introduce you so early my dear." He said looking down at her.
She looked up at him and let out a sigh. "It's fine." She told him. She looked at the group of 12 dwarves and let out another sigh and removed the blue hood from her head. "Artemis Houston at your service." She said with a small smile.
The group introduced themselves to her even though she already knew who they were.
"Miss Houston, why don't you sit with us and eat with us?" Fili asked with a charming smile.
Artemis shook her head. "Sorry, I am not hungry." She said with a small smile. She removed her cloak and bag, placing them out of the way. She stood beside her things leaning against the wall. She already felt out of place with being here with people who ate more than she did.
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This is the end of chapter one. I know that I said that I would update it within the day and I kept to my word and here it is. Please let me know what you think so far. I hope it isn't too choppy. I tend to have that problem when I write fanfiction. I promise I will update you soon. So please leave a review and I will be happy to see kind reviews and constructive reviews as well. Anything to help me become better in my writing. Until next time.
