I'm sorry it's taken me awhile to upload this chapter! This one's a little slow but the next one will be full of giggles! ;) Thanks for reading! I hope you like this chapter and thank you for all of the awesome reviews! They make me so happy!
My head throbbed and I groaned, rolling onto my side. I was lying on a bed of tall grass. It was dark except for the warm glow of a fire. Grandpa was a few feet off idling endlessly. I stared at it in confusion. When had I managed to get myself out of the car? The fact that I didn't recall the action frightened me. What had happened? What was going on? Where was I? My eyes darted around my line of vision frantically, trying to place my situation.
A rustling noise had me flipping over in panic. Just next to me was a pair of men, very short men. They sat in silence starring with furrowed brows. Their features were dimmed from the darkness. I could only make out stark details. The one on the right was blond with long hair and a braided mustache. The second was rugged looking with long brown hair and short stubble across his face.
I jumped up in surprise preparing for a scream. The two, noticing my intent, jumped across the gap between us and clapped their hands over my mouth.
"Screaming in these parts tends to bring about bad things, milady," The blond one whispered warningly, worry creasing his brow.
"Promise you won't scream?" asked the one with brown hair, staring into my eyes intensely. I nodded my head hesitantly and the hands covering my mouth slowly pulled away. Before any other words could be exchanged a third figure came up beside the two.
I knew who this dwarf was. His aura alone was enough to make his presence known. It was Thorin Oakenshield. I gasped and took a small step back in surprise. He looked at me with slight curiosity before he began to speak.
"Well," he sighed, " Now that you're awake, you can tell us your name," he stated bluntly. I had been expecting an entourage of arduous questions so the simple statement startled me slightly and I was slow to respond.
"M… My name is Sharae… uh, Sharae Galloway. Nice to meet you," I nodded my head as a kind of bow. I noticed the two brothers grinning immensely. Thorin gestured to them.
"My name is Thorin Oakenshield," He stated with a hard gaze, "And these are my nephews, Fili and Kili," he introduced while the two brothers bowed deeply with an "At your service". I smiled shyly and nodded my head at them.
"It's nice to meet you as well," I added. The boys' grins widened. Thorin interrupted our exchanges.
"On behalf of me and my company, I would like to thank you for helping us in our previous predicament," he didn't look me in the eyes while saying it and from what I knew of the Hobbit story, Thorin wasn't one to thank people, especially when he didn't trust them. I figured the consideration was due, in great part, to Gandalf. I smiled warmly at the gesture.
"You're welcome, I suppose, but it looks I blacked out while driving which must have been frightening," I apologized sheepishly. The dwarves looked at each other with knowing faces, Thorin's appearing a bit miffed.
"I'm sorry that I caused so much alarm, I'm not sure why I blacked out like that," I apologized, reaching up to the injury on my head. I never passed out when I hurt myself so the fact that I'd fainted today worried me. I'd obviously been injured worse than I had originally believed. I figured that I'd received a concussion from the accident.
Thorin mumbled to himself and made his way back to the group at the mention of the incident. The two brothers simply grinned and came over, grabbing my arms, and half dragged me to the fire.
"It wasn't that bad, Gandalf knew what to do and we all got out in one piece… well, except for Thorin," they laughed mischievously. Kili leaned in closer telling me how Thorin had face planted into the dashboard and received a lovely welt on his forehead. He whispered everything so Thorin wouldn't hear and scold him. I giggled quietly at the story, which made Kili brim with smiles.
Once we'd made our way to the fire at the center of the camp a friendly dwarf made his way toward us. His funny little hat stuck out at the sides and his toothy grin beamed in our direction.
"Bofur, my lady, at your service!" he took a grand bow then stood and looked me in the eyes, smiling all the time. I quickly realized that he wanted me to introduce myself.
"Oh, um, well… I'm Sharae Galloway, at yours?" I questioned, hoping that that was the correct response. He seemed to be pleased with my introduction.
"Ah, miss Sharae, a pleasure to make your acquaintance and what a lovely voice you have!" He chirped pleasantly while holding out his hand. I blushed immensely and noticed the bothers at my side giving each other a playful smile. So that's why they'd been grinning at each other so much when I'd introduced myself. I felt the blush on my cheeks deepen. Bofur's hand remained extended and I presumed he wanted me to take it. I reached up and he grabbed my hand, happily leading me around the camp and having all the dwarves introduce themselves to me. I introduced myself in return.
Most of the dwarves welcomed me warmly. I received a few gruff introductions, which made me feel quite aware of suspicion held against me.
Two others in the group took more of an interest in me and treated me very kindly. The first one had been the dwarf Ori. Right after we'd introduced ourselves he'd reached into his bag and pulled out a knitted scarf.
"It's cold out, miss," he'd stated politely, handing me the scarf, "Don't want you catching a cold," he gave me a goofy grin. I beamed at him.
"Thank you very much," I took the scarf and wrapped it around my neck. The fabric was a bit scratchy but it would keep me warm and on this chilly night, I was very grateful for it.
The other kind soul among the company was that of Bilbo Baggins himself. He greeted me kindly and took it upon himself to make me feel like I fit in. He almost treated me like one would treat a niece or grandchild, which was a comical thing that made me feel quite odd due to the fact that he was about two feet shorter than I was. I was grateful for the kindness all the same.
Most of the other dwarfs treated me like a little sister or a young kid. It was a little odd but I was glad that they were at least considering me more of a friend than someone who was so obviously an outsider. While I was thinking about this Fili and Kili came up to me, looking me up and down with obvious confusion.
"The question I am most stumped on is why you are wearing such unusual attire," mused Fili while the two of them took hold of the sleeves of my jacket, examining the fabric closely. Bofur joined in the musings, poking at the ribbon tied into my hair. Even Ori and Nori became interested in the whole ordeal, kneeling down to examine my snow boots.
"What a strange material," Kili wondered, feeling the texture of my coat. "What is it made of?" he asked.
"It's actually made chemically. It's flame resistant and waterproof. I don't really know how to explain it any better than that," I answered carefully. I had no idea how to explain out advanced fabric making to these simple dwarves. They were already staring at me wide eyed.
"You just keep getting stranger and stranger!" They laughed happily. "And you're wearing trousers of all things!" stated Fili questioningly.
"And they're so close fitting…" Kili finished Fili's thought, "What on Middle Earth drove you to wear such clothing?" He asked, taken aback. I simply laughed at their expressions thinking about how they would have reacted to seeing some of the more extreme fashion statements from where I came from.
"This is normal attire where I'm from," I giggled, "To me you're the ones wearing strange clothes!" They raised their eyebrows looking at each others clothing, checking for any signs of "strangeness". Seeing none they wondered how in the world she found their clothes abnormal. They were wearing typical attire for anyone in Middle Earth. Questions started piling up in their minds. Bofur spoke up first.
"So, where are you from lass? An' what're ya doing way out here in the middle o' nowhere?" he grinned. I paused to consider his question, not quite sure of the answer myself. I started by confirming a very important point.
"So, I am in Middle Earth right now aren't I?" I questioned hesitantly. I just needed it to be said, confirmed, so I knew without a doubt that I was not in Kansas anymore. As the expression goes.
"Of course you are, lass! Where else would ya be?" He joked, others joining in with his laughter. It soon faded when they noticed the serious expression on my face. Bofur glanced over at me with a look of cautious confusion, "Where are you from then…" He asked half to himself, half to me. By now the entire company had been drawn in by the seriousness of what was being discussed. Curiosity and unease etched on their faces.
Why in Arda's name was she worried about whether or not she was in Middle Earth? Thorin grew cautious once again. She began to speak.
"Well, if that's true… Then I am a very long way from home."