Hello dear readers, here's the next one-shot. It's a missing moment/deleted scene this time and it would fit in between chapter five and six of The Journal.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Prejudice

"The dwarf race did not seem to have it easy. (…) She had seen it for herself when they had stayed in Bree for the night. There were whispers and barely concealed hostility. She had to do her shopping by herself, because most shop owners would not allow dwarves into their shops for fear they would steal something, which admittedly was probably wholly justified where Nori was concerned. But the others were all honest and trustworthy, not that the town's people acted like it. Clearly it was all right to have dwarves as workers in town, but they were about as welcome as orcs when they were guests in it.

And then there had been the worried glances people had sent in her direction that had set her teeth on edge. The innkeeper had even gone as far as to discreetly suggest that she was welcome to stay in Bree if she needed to escape. The man's concern had been genuine, she could tell, and at that time she had wanted to go home more than anything, but staying in Bree was hardly going to get her there and so she had politely declined, telling him that she was travelling with the dwarves out of her own free will. That wasn't quite the truth, but it at least put the man's nerves to rest, even if he had been staring at her as if he thought she had lost her mind."

The Journal, Chapter 33: Plans

Kate could feel it the moment they entered the town of Bree. She was not sure what it even was that she felt, but that it was unpleasant, that was rather clear. Bilbo was ill at ease, which was nothing to new, because he was not yet accustomed to the idea of even going on an adventure, never mind the notion that he liked to be on one. He might even be longing for his nice hobbit-hole already for as far as she knew. The burglar was not used to horse-riding, even when it was only a pony he was riding, and he looked like a little ball of misery curled up on Myrtle's back.

Kate could relate to that. The horse-riding was causing her muscles to ache, making it difficult to sleep at night. But her physical discomfort paled in comparison with the matters that were haunting her mind. The realisation that she was neither insane nor dreaming had more or less sunk in now, so she was quite convinced that she had for some stupid bloody reason ended up in The Hobbit after all and that she was now enlisted to go with the company as their advisor for reasons as of yet unspecified. This did however not mean she had to like it and if she would get her way, she'd be home today rather than tomorrow, but that choice was not up to her, it would seem. She was not powerful enough to magic herself from one world to another. That she needed Gandalf for and he seemed oddly determined for her to stay, also for reasons as of yet unspecified, even when he could not have missed out on the fact that the dwarves wanted Kate in their midst about as much as she wanted to be there.

So, the hobbit didn't like being here and neither did she, but the dwarves were ill at ease as well, which was something new. They had been excited about the prospect of going on this quest and while they were still in the Shire, they had been loud and overly cheerful, even if Kate often found herself receiving the cold shoulder treatment. Ori, Thorin's nephews, Balin and Bofur to a lesser extent seemed to somewhat like her and heaven only knew what Bifur thought, but with the rest of them it was quite obvious that they did not want her here. They thought her a burden, much like they thought about Bilbo, and she was only here because of the wizard and no one seemed to quite know what he had been thinking when he brought Kate Andrews into the mix.

But when she was not concerned, this group was the school example of Robin Hood's merry men, with the emphasis on the merry part. There was nothing merry about them now that they came near Bree. It had started around midday, Kate thought, when Thorin had announced that they would spend the night in the inn before they would make their way into the wild. There had been a few worried glances exchanged between some of the dwarves and after that it had only gone downhill. The cheer had disappeared and by the time they rode through the town's gates, that in all honesty looked like they could not even keep out a hobbit when closed and would probably fall apart in the first strong gust of wind, the company was cloaked in silence. Only Gandalf seemed perfectly calm and cheerful, but that was hardly a surprise to anyone. He was always like that, much to most people's endless annoyance.

What the hell is going on here? That thought settled in Kate's brain and made itself comfortable there. Because it wasn't just the dwarves that appeared to be highly uncomfortable here, the town's people did not seem too happy with their arrival either. She might have put that down to the fear of their pantries being raided the way Bilbo's had been, but the barely concealed suspicion in their eyes was too malicious for that. People did not look like that just because their food stores might be in some form of danger. That was not the way the world worked.

She briefly contemplated asking Balin about it. He was what seemed to be her self-appointed personal guide to Middle Earth. Thus far he had been kind to her. He was the kind and patient grandfather of the group. Balin liked everyone, it seemed, and nobody disliked him in turn. And Kate was grateful for that, because she sometimes liked to have someone to talk to who was not showering her in questions about her world and took the time to answer some of hers.

But even Balin was now alert and taciturn and she decided against it, instead opting on observing, hoping she could might be able to learn a few things that way.

Her observations did not make her any happier though. People got quickly out of their way when they approached, but it didn't seem out of respect. Kate spotted a young mother who ushered her two children, who had been playing on the street, back inside with a worried expression on her face. Well, maybe the obvious display of arms made the people nervous, the supposed advisor thought, looking at Dwalin, who indeed looked rather threatening. It did however not account for the dwarves' uneasiness.

And that uneasiness only increased – in tenfold – when they reached the inn. Some of the company were downright jumpy and that was something unexpected for her. The innkeeper seemed polite enough when Thorin asked for rooms and, with a glare that would have gotten him arrested for murder if looks had that power, paid for them in advance when it was asked of him. Gandalf's presence and familiarity with the owner of the inn seemed to help with that, because he kept the suspicious glances to a bare minimum, so unlike the other guests. Kate even saw a few of them leave the moment they saw who it were that were coming in.

What the hell is going on here? She feared that she was for some reason missing some very vital information about race relations here. The idea of not welcome was conveyed well enough by the town's people, but what she didn't know was why. If her memory served her right, then she had heard quite a few things of dwarves working as tradesmen, smiths, tinkers and the like all over Eriador. Bofur especially liked to share his stories of his fortunes and misfortunes on the road at the campfire at night. Why would people be opposed to having skilled craftsmen in town? It seemed rather foolish to her.

Again she contemplated asking, but one look at the faces around her told her to not get her hopes up. It was all rather doom and gloom around her, even though the sun was shining and her own thoughts were not very good company either these days, most of them revolving around what her family must be thinking when she would not come home when she was supposed to and her own strong objections to being here. When the adventure was in a novel it was all good and well, but doom and gloom was far easier to take when it was printed on paper than when one found oneself in the middle of it.

'I'm going out,' she announced as soon as she had dumped her bags in her room. She still had the money she had won from Thorin and in the past few days it had become quite clear to her that her own clothes were never going to do for a journey such as the one they were going to make. Purchasing clothes from this world felt remarkably like accepting that she was going to be here for quite a while and that was not something she wanted to be planning for, but to not do it now she had the chance, that would not only be unwise, but even downright foolish. She could only hope she would not be needing the clothes for too long. 'Buying necessities.'

She still had a few hours before the sun would go down and she assumed the shops would be open until roughly around that time. At least she hoped they would be, because she needed them to be.

'Alone?' Bofur asked. 'I don't think that's wise, lass.'

Kate felt the need to point out that a) it was still day and not even nearly dark yet and b) she was a grown woman who didn't need anyone to chaperone her when she went into town alone. She suppressed the urge. Bofur was one of the few to be kind to her thus far and she was not going to ruin that if she could. Only heaven knew how long she still had to put up with this lot. It would be nice if she didn't have all of them against her.

'I think so,' she therefore replied. 'Although some directions would be nice.' Bree was not all that big, but all the streets looked alike to her and she could really do without losing her way.

'Fíli, Kíli, go with Miss Andrews.' Thorin did not even look up from the maps he had been studying when he barked his command. 'Make sure she's back here before sundown.' The dwarf sounded both weary and annoyed, both of those emotions caused by her decision to go out and make his life yet a little more difficult, Kate imagined. She made a mental note to stay far, far away from him for the duration of this quest, or as far away from him as she could manage anyway.

That didn't mean she liked his assumption that she could not look after herself though. In fact, she was on the verge of launching into a tongue-lashing that Bree would remember for years, but something told her she might regret that later. Best let it be for the time being perhaps. Pick your battles, girl. This was not worth getting into a fight over, especially not with tempers being as short as they apparently were.

So instead of losing hers, she settled for a 'Fine' that nevertheless managed to convey perfectly what she thought about the matter. It would have to do for now and at least she had made sure Thorin knew what she was thinking, not that he could particularly care about that, she wagered. It was more for her own peace of mind that she had put up some very mild form of resistance for the sake of putting up resistance.

Fíli and Kíli themselves did not seem to be too happy about going out. Fíli's hand was remarkably close to his weapon, although he never really touched it and Kíli kept shooting glances around him as if he was afraid someone could sneak up on them any minute. It spelled the situation out quite clearly for Kate. Relations with the people of Bree were tense. She got that. The reason was still not any clearer.

'Where did you want to go?' Fíli was the first one to get a grip on himself and go back to pretending that everything was completely normal.

'Somewhere I can buy some decent clothes for on the road,' Kate replied. 'A good cloak too, if my budget's sufficient.' She glanced down at her hiking shoes. They were great for hiking trips, but the first rainfall two days ago had made it clear that they could not keep out the water indefinitely. The shoes were waterproof enough, but they did nothing to prevent the rain from leaking in via drops falling from the ends of her trousers. 'And boots too if I can find them.'

Kíli merely nodded. 'This way.'

Not even one single quip about how that's necessary after the wet socks? Now it was official that something was not quite right. She was once again tempted to just ask, but she did not know her companions quite well enough yet to be sure if they would appreciate her asking about such possibly quite painful things very much. She somehow doubted that they would appreciate it.

She would find out, she swore, just not by asking. She had always been rather curious and it annoyed her that she did not know everything about this. There was nothing like an unsolved mystery to keep her up at night, which was part of the reason why she didn't read any detective novels before going to bed, and at the moment she would probably take anything that would distract her from the rather unpleasant and frustrating topic of how to get out of this world as soon as she could.

She followed the brothers, who kept up a pace that made Kate almost forced to run after them, to a small tailor's shop three streets away from the inn. It looked old and dark, but it was neat and well looked after, Kate decided on first glance. The dark should not surprise her, she supposed. There were no houses bathed in light around here, not even when the sun was shining.

Kate was already on her way to the door when she realised that the brothers were not following her. 'You're not coming?' She turned around.

Fíli shook his head. 'No, that would not be a very good idea. Just go, Miss Andrews. We'll wait here.'

He almost seemed nervous and it took Kate a lot of self-restraint to not demand an explanation on the spot. It wouldn't work anyway. Dwarves were stubborn oysters when it came to sharing information and, like the oysters, they remained completely unmoved in the face of the pearl catcher's – or information seeker's – frustration as they refused to open up a bit. She could only hope that the town's people were a little more talkative.

'If you're sure?' It came out as a question. Going into a shop in a strange world alone was hardly the worst thing that could happen here, but it did make her nervous. She had no idea how things were done around here and she did not know about prices and the cost of things either. This could very well end up in disaster, but trying to convince Thorin's nephews to come with her and help out was a battle she would be doomed to lose.

The shop was not empty. There was one man in his fifties in the back of it working on what looked like a tunic. Well, it did mean that she was in the right place. That was something. Now she just had to get what she needed.

'Good afternoon?' she called.

The man looked up. 'Good afternoon, miss. How can I help you?' The tailor got up from his stool and moved a little closer. The expression on his face was puzzled, Kate decided. Another mystery, it would seem.

'I am looking for decent clothes for travelling,' Kate replied. 'You do have them, don't you?' She tried to make it sound like she knew what she was doing perfectly, but she had the idea she was failing rather badly at that, because she did not have a clue what the customs around here were.

'Yes, yes, I do,' the tailor said. He was looking more confused with each passing second. 'I may need to have a few things adjusted, miss. It's not every day a young woman such as yourself comes asking for these things.'

I would imagine not. No gender equality in these parts, that's for sure. Kate watched as the man bustled around the shop to look for things she had been asking for. If she looked over her shoulder through the window, she could see her companions-gone-glorified-bodyguards looking highly uncomfortable, trying and failing to make it look like they had every right to be where they were. They were not fooling Kate and they were not fooling any passers-by either. This might well turn into the most awkward experience I've had in years.

The shop owner returned to her with some garments that looked like they had been made for a man at least twice her size as if to confirm her thought. 'I am afraid I do not have anything smaller, miss,' he told her.

Kate bit her lip. If she was going to walk in those trousers she would surely trip over the garment multiple times within the minute. 'Could you possibly adjust them a little?' she inquired, hoping that she did not sound too hopeful. If this was the best she could hope for, then maybe sticking with her own clothes was not such a bad idea after all.

The tailor nodded. 'Naturally. When will you be needing them?' He was undoubtedly polite, too polite. Kate suspected it was just a mask to hide his own confusion behind.

'I'll be leaving tomorrow at first light,' she replied. 'Could you do that?'

Another nod was her reply, although only a blind man could have missed out on the not very happy expression that went with it. And if he was going to work all night, then that was understandable, she imagined. Well, at least he got to stay in his house with a hearth while she would soon have to trek through the wilderness.

'I'll have to take your measurements, miss. You will be able to collect the clothes before you leave.' The reply was curt now.

'I would be very grateful,' Kate said. And she was, even if it was currently overshadowed by confusion and awkwardness. Oh, go ahead, just ask. 'I may be bold to ask, sir, but is there something amiss?'

The tailor looked like he was not going to answer that question for a second, but then he changed his mind. 'I would feel more at ease if I knew that a young woman such as yourself would not venture out into the wild on her own,' he admitted, being equally frank with her as she had been with him.

Ah, that was the matter. Well, at least she could put his mind at rest about that one. 'I won't be going alone. I am with a group of dwarves currently staying at the inn.'

Or maybe not, she observed as the tailor's eyes all but popped out of their sockets in shock. 'Dwarves?'

Did I speak Chinese? 'Yes,' she said, sensing an opportunity to ask a few more questions. He looked properly horrified now and in her experience people didn't really think much about their words when they had just had a good fright. This tailor had just gotten one. 'Is something the matter with that?'

She may have asked that a little too sharply, because the man instantly realised that he may have crossed a line that was not supposed to be crossed. 'Nothing much, miss,' he replied.

Nothing much always means that there's very much. Kate was no fool, no matter what her new companions seemed to think. 'So, there is something,' she probed. 'Sir, please. I'd like to know what I can before I venture off into the wild with them.' That might help him to loosen his tongue a bit.

He looked every inch as uncomfortable as Kate felt. 'I'd just advise you to keep a close eye on your valuables,' he said after a lengthy period of hesitation in which he pretended to be busy with her yet to be purchased clothes. 'And to keep a knife close at night,' he added after another half-minute.

That was all she got out of him. He too seemed to be practising his oyster skills and no amount of probing could tempt him into saying another word on the matter, keeping the conversation, such as it was, on strictly the clothes and the payment. That would dent her budget rather badly, but at least she would get what she needed and she would have enough left to buy a pair of boots at his neighbour's shop.

She ventured there next. Fíli and Kíli remained outside again, the shopkeeper was shocked that she seemed of a mind to travel with dwarves – Kate left out the involuntary part of the journey for fear he would drop dead; he did not look very healthy already – but would not say more about the reason why he was so shocked, effectively making sure that by the time the dwarves and the advisor returned to the inn, she was in a right foul mood, even though she had been able to get what she had set out to get. Fíli and Kíli were not much happier and seemed to have turned into younger versions of their uncle when it came to talking habits.

What a mess. Kate dumped her purchases in her room. She had never been the kind of woman who actually liked shopping and admiring her new clothes and she was now in even less of a mood for such nonsense than she normally was.

At least she had gotten some clues as to why the people here disliked dwarves so much. Just plain old prejudice caused by not knowing anything about another people at all. Racism was obviously not something her world had the monopoly on. The people here seemed to think that the dwarves were greedy – although that might be true to some extent, especially when Nori came into the picture – and would take advantage of her at the earliest opportunity, hence the advice to keep a knife on her person at night.

People were hypocrites, she had to conclude. Dwarves were apparently welcome enough when they came to fix a farmer's equipment or forge a good sword for a man, but when they came as guests, they were about as welcome as orcs because of some apparently deeply rooted prejudices about stealing, which would explain why Thorin had been asked to pay in advance. Was the innkeeper really afraid they would leave without paying?

Was it just something that was caused by ignorance? Kate had no idea, but it was starting to annoy her. Of course it didn't take much for her to be annoyed these days. Her temper had been short ever since she had come to realise that her hiking trip would involve a lot more kilometres than she had anticipated and was unlikely to be concluded in the two weeks the brochure had offered, never mind the fact that aforementioned hiking trip was not even taking place in her own world.

She rubbed her forehead, fighting the beginnings of a mild headache. She wanted to be home more than anything, but that was unlikely to happen, much as she tried to keep that rather unwelcome notion out of her mind. The longer she stayed her, the more realism was starting to sink in. Kate wished it didn't.

She left her things in her room and went down to get something to eat when her stomach started growling so loudly it could no longer be ignored. And she would be a fool not to eat a decent meal when she had a chance for it, even if that meant she had to seek out the company again. There was just no helping it. Well, if they were being unsociable, she saw no reason why she would try and make small talk.

The inn was slowly starting to fill with people, but it was not very busy and all the guests seemed to keep their distance from the large table in the corner, where Thorin's company had assembled. They were already eating, so Kate supposed she would need to make sure she got some supper by herself. Oh well, what had she been expecting? That Thorin would be as considerate as to make sure she ate? Hell would have to freeze over before that happened.

And so she made her way to the innkeeper. He was washing some of the empty tankards, but he looked up when he caught sight of her. 'How may I help you, miss?' he asked politely. He sounded and looked almost exact the same as the tailor. Kate sincerely hoped he didn't share his concerns.

'My friends seem to have started dinner without me,' she observed. 'I was wondering if you would have something for me?' And please save me from any sodding worries about my company. Kate may be none too eager to travel with a company of loud, usually far too cheerful, prejudiced and arrogant dwarves, but that didn't mean she liked all these looks either. The dwarves were a lot of things, but Kate didn't think she was in danger of having her possessions stolen and getting killed. That was just plain ridiculous and the notion that prejudices here were just as strong as they were at home, did not make her like this place any better.

At first the man seemed to comply with her wishes. He turned around and got her a plate of steaming hot stew that made Kate's stomach growl even louder in a rather embarrassing way. 'There you go, lass,' he told her. 'And don't hesitate to ask if there's anything you need.'

His friendliness tempted Kate into a smile. 'I'll be fine,' she informed him. 'But I'll keep it in mind. Thank you. You are very kind.' She was still pissed off, but it would be very bad manners indeed if she were to take that out on this man. It was not as if he could help her problems and he wasn't the cause of them either. That honour was Gandalf's and his alone.

He shook his head at her. 'Do you have to go with them dwarves, lass?' he asked. 'If you need a place to stay, I am sure we could find something for you in town.'

Kate frowned. 'Why would I want to stay here?' she asked bluntly. It may be too blunt, but she did not like the direction this conversation was taking.

'They're dwarves, miss.' The sentence was spoken as if it was an explanation in and out of itself, which to him perhaps it was. 'You don't know what they're like.'

As a matter of fact, I think I do. Arrogant, taciturn, unsociable and at least as prejudiced against women and hobbits as you lot are against them. Same old, same old.

The innkeeper looked at her intently with what appeared to be fatherly concern. 'I want you to know that you have a choice. Gandalf is a good fellow, but I don't know about his companions.'

That makes two of us, Kate thought wryly. Some stupid sentimental part of her was touched at the concern of a complete stranger and tempted too. Heaven knew that she wanted a way out of this and that seemed to be what was offered here. She wouldn't have to go through an entire quest that she had not even chosen herself. She might get out of it before it had even properly started.

But then how will you get home? As it was, she had a deal with Gandalf that he would let her return to her world as soon as the quest was done. And she wanted to get home even more than she wanted to get out of this blasted quest. Staying here in Bree would not get her home. Even worse, it might just ensure that she never got anywhere near home again. That was not what she wanted. So you take one day at a time, set one foot in front of the other and eventually this will be over. Stop being such an enormous coward, Andrews.

'They're decent,' she therefore replied. Depending on what your definition of decent was, that was not entirely a lie. 'Don't worry. I'm travelling with them of my own free will. I do have a choice.' She didn't, but it would not do to burden him with all the ins and outs of her tale. Provided he didn't get a heart attack first, she was not sure how much he would believe of it. It sounded insane even to Kate, and she had been the one to whom it had all happened.

'I just wanted to make sure if you're certain,' the innkeeper said. He was staring at her as if he thought she had lost her mind though.

Maybe she had. 'I am,' she said. 'But thank you for your concern.'

She took up her plate and left, feeling a little bad with herself for lying to someone who had been trying to be kind to her. But what other choice did she have if she ever wanted to see her family and friends again? There was none and so she took a deep breath and marched over to the company's table. Time to face the music. Who knows, if the dwarves kept consuming alcohol at that rate, that might even be literally.

The reaction to this story has completely taken me by surprise, really! I'll try to do something about the kids next and I am working on something from Kate's past as well (thanks to Ifbookswerefood for the suggestion) but if you have suggestions, don't be afraid to throw them my way.

And reviews would mean the world, so if you have a moment, I'd love to hear what you thought about this one.