Authoress Note: Welcome to Chapter 4 of Seven Wonders. I want to thank those who have left reviews. It truly does mean a lot to me that you guys are enjoying this story. I hope that I don't have many chapters to split up any time soon. I hope that you guys enjoy this next chapter. Without further ado Chapter 4. ENJOY!

Chapter 4

The next morning Artemis woke up feeling about as refreshed as she could. She slowly got up running her fingers through her hair and saw Gandalf standing there.

"Come on my dear girl. We must move along. We have a long trip ahead of us. We are to pick up some supplies near the Green Dragon." Gandalf told her with a smile.

"Do I have enough time to change?" She asked yawning stretching out and popping a few of her joints as she did so.

"Of course my dear girl. You have enough time to change your clothes."

Artemis got into her bag and grabbed her black pants. She slipped into the bathroom and changed into them. She came back out and put her black dye skirt into her bag. She slipped her boots onto her feet. She put her blue cloak on and then grabbed her bag. She came out and saw the dwarves were loading up their ponies which they had just gotten.

"Good morning lass," Balin said looking at her. "This is your pony."

She looked at the black and white pony Now this was something that she could handle. She strapped her pack onto the pony. "Thank you, Balin." She said as she put her swords on the horse as well. She looked nervously at it.

"You never rode a pony have you lass?" Kili asked in a tone that he thought that she knew how to ride one.

Artemis looked at Kili. "No, I've never ridden one before." She stated. "My sister had the knack for riding." She rubbed the back of her neck shyly. She hated to admit that she hadn't ridden a horse before, but her younger sister had been able to ride a horse without any problems.

Kili's eyes widened. "I was only joking."

"And I am not. I don't even know how to get up on one."

"Let me help you." He told her, as he came over to her. He helped her up onto her pony.

Artemis looked down at him. "Thank you, Kili." She said with a small smile.

Kili smiled. "Anything to help our special healer." He said before going to his horse and getting onto it.

They began their journey towards Bree where they would get supplies that they needed for their journey.

"Lady Artemis do you know any songs?" Bofur asked curiously looking at the dark-haired woman that travelled with them.

Artemis looked at the hat-wearing dwarf. "Of course, I know many songs."

"Do you sing?"

Artemis slowly nodded her head.

"Please sing us something."

"Oh no, I couldn't," Artemis said softly.

"Oh come one please," Kili said, giving her a pout. "You heard us sing. A happy tune?"

"I don't know many happy tunes. Perhaps this one will work." She said softly after figuring a song out that would kind of lift the spirits of the dwarves who were currently traveling without their burglar.

The dwarves had gone silent to listen to her sing.

Green finch and linnet bird,

Nightingale, blackbird,

How is it you sing?

How can you jubilate,

Sitting in cages,

Never taking wing?

Outside the sky waits,

Beckoning, beckoning,

Just beyond the bars.

How can you remain

Staring at the rain,

Maddened by the stars?

How is it you sing

Anything?

How is it you sing?

Green finch and linnet bird

Nightingale, Blackbird,

How is it you sing?

Whence come this melody constantly

Flowing?

Is it rejoicing or merely halloing?

Are you crowing?

Are you screaming?

Ring dove and robinet

Is it for wages,

Singing to be sold?

Have you decided it's

Safer in cages,

Singing when you're told?

My cage has many rooms

Damask and dark

Nothing there sings,

Not even my lark

Larks never will, you know

When they're captive.

Teach me to be more adaptive.

Green finch and linnet bird

Nightingale, blackbird,

Teach me how to sing.

If I cannot fly

Let me sing.

"My word," Fili said in surprise.

Artemis looked confused at him. "What?"

"You sing beautifully." He complimented.

Artemis felt her face grow warm. It had been the first time that she had sung since high school. Now she was here in Middle-Earth singing one song and getting a compliment on her singing something that she was not used to.

"Lady Artemis?" Ori said looking at her.

"Yes, Ori?"

"Would you like to place a bet to see if Mr. Baggins will be joining us or not?"

Artemis shook her head. "No, thank you, Ori. I have no money to bet anyway." She said with a small smile. It was true she had no money on her so there was no way that she could place a bet.

Ori nodded his head in understanding.

Artemis let out a sigh as they continued. She could only hope that her being here was not going to change the time that Bilbo showed up at the company.

Just like Gandalf had said they had stopped at the Green Dragon. They needed as many supplies as they could gather.

"Rest as much as you can. We will be leaving here at eleven." Thorin told them.

Artemis needed some help to get off of the pony and she was thankful that Fili had helped her get off. "Thanks." She said softly tucking a strand of her loose curled brown hair behind her ear.

Fili smiled. "Anything to help, Lady Artemis."

Artemis smiled softly.

Gandalf came up to her. He handed her a small pouch.

Artemis looked at him in confusion. "What's this for?" She asked him softly, trying not to alert the others that were around her.

Gandalf smiled and winked. "You'll need it. You'll need to buy supplies while you are here. Riding gloves perhaps?"

Artemis smiled. "Thank you, Gandalf."

Gandalf nodded his head.

Artemis went to go and buy what she needed for this journey. She bought some fingerless riding gloves, some food that she knew she could eat on her own since she had some food allergies that she had to make sure that would not happen, and a few other things. She had bought a ribbon for her curly locks to keep them away from her face.

She braided her hair and tied it off with the ribbon. She came back to the group and noticed that they were loading up their ponies with supplies. She tied her supplies to her pony.

"Lass you might want to eat before we leave here. Haven't seen you eat a thing since you got here in the company." Balin said, showing his concern for the young woman who was now part of their company. He reminded her of a father. A father that she never really had and she was somewhat thankful for one of the dwarves who was concerned about her wellbeing.

A small smile came to her lips. "I'll eat once I load up my pony." She said as she finished tying her goods to her pony.

Balin nodded his head still concerned about the young woman of their company.

Soon enough they were on their way again after eating and drinking and getting the supplies that they needed.

Kili helped Artemis onto her pony again so she would not injure herself.

Artemis rode between Kili and Fili. Since at the moment those two were the ones that had taken a liking to her besides Balin who was more of a father figure to her.

"Lady Artemis?" Fili asked, looking at her.

"Hm?" Artemis hummed looking over at him. "Yes, Fili?"

"I was wondering. Well, Kili and I were wondering what race are you exactly. We haven't quite figured it out."

Artemis laughed lightly which sounded like little bells. "I am the race of man." She told them with a small smile.

Kili looked at her in surprise. "Man?! You are too small to be a man. You are about the height of a dwarf."

Artemis shook her head. A smile was on her lips. "Yes, I am short and I know it, but it isn't unheard of for a man or woman to be short where I am from." She laughed lightly.

"You are almost like a fairy," Kili said blushing a little.

Artemis laughed and used her hand to cover her laughing. "More like a pixie." She told him with a grin.

"Then how old are you? You can't be no more than 16 summers old." Fili said looking at her.

Artemis' eyes widened. She groaned. "Not here too."

"What?" Fili asked, confused. He wasn't sure what was wrong. Had he said something wrong to her?

"How old do you think I am Fili?" She questioned. Her brown eyes were locked with his blue ones. She was curious about what age he would guess.

"16 summers." He guessed.

Artemis laughed. She looked at Kili. "And how old do you think I am?"

"16 summers," Kili said looking at her with a small smile.

"I hope that you two are not betting dwarves."

"Why?" Kili asked, confused about why she would say that.

"Because I am not a child in the standards of man." She said with a knowing look. She had always known that she hadn't looked like an adult since she had turned 18 years old. "I am 25."

"25 summers. In dwarf standards, you would still be a child." Fili said.

Artemis laughed lightly. "Perhaps, but I am an adult by the standards of man."

"Tell me is it normal for a woman from your world to protect themselves?" Fili asked curiously.

Artemis looked at Fili confused. "What?"

"You told our Uncle that you could use dual swords." Said Kili with a smile.

Artemis' face flushed. "Well, no it's not normal for a woman to protect themselves, but those who do are well taught. I was well taught, but sadly I am rusty."

"Rusty. Well, Fili can help you out there. We wouldn't want you to be rusty in swordplay."

"He's right," Fili said with a smile. "Were you taught in any other forms of weapons?"

Artemis shook her head. "Sadly no. I always wanted to try archery, but my parents would not allow me. They thought it was bad enough that their eldest daughter, middle child wanted to know swordplay." The thought of her older brother and little sister ran through her mind. She of course missed them a lot. She didn't know if they had thought she was kidnapped or worse off dead because she remembered how she had gotten here. A car accident that could have very well killed her. She could only hope that it didn't kill her because it would still have a link into her mind most likely since she had been gifted with sight in her dreams. That was a gift that she wished that she never had because it always put her into a rotten mood or even a depressed mood. Something that was not good for others. They would not know how to deal with her.

"Lady Artemis are you alright?" Fili asked concerned about the young woman because she was silent for far too long. He was worried about her.

Artemis blinked a few times. "Huh? Oh sorry. I kind of got lost in my thoughts." She said softly, her face flushing red.

"That is alright Lady Artemis. As long as you are alright." Both brothers said with a smile.

"And if you want to learn archery I can teach you," Kili said with a wink.

Artemis smiled. "I would like that." She said as she gripped the reins tighter in her hands.

"Do you think that Mr. Boggins will show up?" Kili asked curiously.

Artemis smiled. "He probably will. He has a side of him that loves adventure."

"He was a waste of time, Miss Houston. We will not be seeing that hobbit on this journey and part of this company." Thorin said, glaring at her.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "You have so little faith in other creatures. He'll show." She said firmly.

"Wait! Wait!" A voice yelled.

"Woah," Artemis called to her pony halting it. A smile came to her lips when she saw Bilbo running up to them. She smiled even more when she saw Bilbo handing the contract over to Balin.

"I signed it," Bilbo said.

Balin pulled out his pocket glad to look at it. He smiled at Bilbo. "Everything appears to be in order. Welcome Master Baggins to the company of Thorin Oakenshield."

The dwarves cheered.

Thorin didn't look impressed. He glared at the young woman who sat on her pony. He didn't like it when someone talked back to him like she had. He didn't care if she had gifts or not. "Give him a pony."

"No, no, no, no, that that won't be necessary, thank you, but I-I-I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know. I even got as far as Frogmorton once. WAGH!" Bilbo yelped, as Kili and Fili lifted him onto the other pony that didn't have a rider.

They began on their journey again.

Sacks of money was being passed between the dwarves.

Artemis shook her head as she rode next to Gandalf.

"What's that about?" Bilbo asked Gandalf confused.

"Oh, they took wages on whether or not you'd turn up. Most of them bet you wouldn't. Artemis here didn't even bet." Gandalf stated.

"What did you think?"

"Hm." Gandalf caught the sack of money that was thrown his way. "My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second."

Bilbo sneezed loudly. "Oh. All this horse hair. I'm reacting." Bilbo said as he searched his pockets for his handkerchief. "No, no, wait, wait, stop! Stop! We have to turn around."

Artemis rolled her eyes.

"What on Earth is the matter?" Gandalf asked.

"I forgot my handkerchief." Bilbo said.

Artemis pulled out a blue handkerchief that had a moon on it. Something that was part of her faith. She moved her pony around Gandalf and came up beside him. "Here." She said handing it to him.

His face flushed. "Thank you, Miss Artemis."

Artemis smiled. "You're welcome. Keep it. I won't need it. Wouldn't want your allergies to get you." She said as she scratched her palms.

"Move on," Thorin said commanding them to continue on their way.

"You'll have to manage without pocket handkerchiefs and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins before we reach our journey's end. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you, the world is ahead." Gandalf said looking at him. "And Artemis won't have everything that you need on this journey either."

Artemis rode ahead of them occasionally scratching her palms. She wasn't listening to what Gandalf had said about her. She was thinking about what was to come ahead of them on this journey.

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This is the end of Chapter 4. I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter. This is one of the longer chapters that I've written and edited. I hope that it turned out well with all of the editing that I've done with this chapter. I know that there are probably things out of place with this story, but if there is a mistake please let me know so I can fix it. Please leave a review and let me know what you think of this chapter. Reviews help me keep going when it comes to writing stories. It helps keep the muse going as I write. I hope to have the next chapter out soon. Until next time.