Gandalf were back again, the dwarves cheered and were unhurt. The three trolls turning to stone, by the bright sunlight. Valerie dropped to the ground with one leg, holding her hand to her ribs, still holding herself up and controlling her breathing. But, the pain which was becoming rougher, made it harder for her to fight it back.

The dwarfs who're left walk to the two humans and kept silent when worry fell upon them. "Is she going to die?" Ori asked aloud, eyes lend on him which were sharp like daggers, and no one said a thing as a reply to his question. Thorin was the first who walked to them as he watched the assassin who's in pain. By seeing her in this condition, Thorin felt the anxiety that he had sent her out alone, to watch over the ponies. When he knew there were the trolls nearby, much bigger and stronger than her. Bilbo was next to the two, and Gandalf made his way to the group. "She will be alright, she will." Bilbo looked up at the wizard, biting down his thumb. Gandalf rests a hand on the small hobbit's shoulders.

Athelas.

Oín helped Kili to find the herb and they were running back again to Rash, who knew what he was doing, the woman had fainted due to her broken ribcage and getting a low fever, spoke, while he They were worried at this point, to see her condition this bad. Gandalf could use his power to slow the fever down. But he watched what Rash know about Athelas, and to gain some trust from the dwarfs. The wizard small smiled behind his long grey beard and let the man handle this.

Rash started grinding the flowers & leaves together, forming it into a gooey mass. He pulled the mass apart & forcibly put some in Valerie's mouth. "Swallow." He said to the barely conscious girl, while he lifted her head backwards so that the mass would slip down her throat. Then he moved his hands down to her bosom & ripped her leather outfit down to her ribs, exposing her skin. Every dwarf went red-faced & turned their heads, and the young Kili gave a confused & annoyed look at the titanic man that was taking care of the girl.

Rash flattened out the rest of the Athelas mass & smeared it over the part of her ribcage that was damaged. There was a visible wound which helped the juices of the herb to reach Valerie's bloodstream. During all of this, Rash was repeating a phrase over & over again. The words sounded elven but weren't. Gandalf recognized the phrase, as it was used by Numenorian kings to heal the wounds of their companions.

As the dwarves stood in wonder, Valerie slowly slipped away into an ethereal sleep. The sounds of the forest went silent & the rustling of the dwarves was gone.

Then she felt something. A warmth. Then, soft sheets & the feeling of sunshine on her skin. Her eyelids were heavy & the only sounds she heard were that of songbirds.

Rivendell.

Valerie was healing her wounds since they arrived at House of Elrond, she was soon up on her feet and moving, dressed in a fine gown for the evening and to join the company's feast. Elrond has always been kind, and Valerie always felt at home when she stayed in Rivendell.

Valerie dressed and her hair styled she walked to the courtyard finding everyone in the company, they were sitting down by a table and waited for her. Bilbo was sitting next to the old and wise dwarf, Ballin then Kili and Fili next to each other along with the others. Gandalf was sitting at another table with Elrond, Rash, and Thorin.

It went completely silent by the dwarves when the woman approached. And so were eyes lend on her. Valerie shyly smiled and took her seat in front of the table, which soon was filled with food and wine. Music began to play, by the elven in the background. Some of the dwarves didn't really enjoy the music, they felt they were like on a funeral, so some of them tugged in their fingers in their ears. "How are you feeling?" Bilbo asked, who was sitting in front of her by the dining table. "I'm better, thank you," Valerie replied, she saw that Bilbo and the others showed they're relieved, and the dwarves too.

Soon after, the company were again greeted by Elrond the elven-king. He looked upon all the dwarven brethren with a smile on his lips & a joy in his eyes, which seldom happened when it came to Elves. It was widely known that most elves despised dwarves & the feelings were mutual by the dwarves. The two races were like polar opposites, rarely interacting but when they did, they often clashed.

Thorin & his company were surprised to feel so welcome in Rivendell, and the dwarves could eat & drink as much as they could muster.

Kili had taken his seat next to Valerie & kept her company. He tried not to stare at her beauty as not to seem desperate. When a large, grilled chicken next to an enormous plate of roastbeef was served close to Valerie's seat, her delicate hand went quickly to one leg of the chicken & she tore it off with brutal efficiency. Then, she gnawed the surrounding meat down to the bone of the leg. Then, gently, she put the bone down on her plate - and reached for another leg.

Kili was taken aback by the girl's appetite & was almost completely stiff from being surprised. However, when she reached for the second leg of the large chicken, the young dwarf reacted quickly & almost threw himself on the table, grabbing the end of the chicken leg before Valerie reached it. He yanked the piece hard & sat comfortably on the table. Valerie, with her hand still stretched out, glared at Kili with an annoyed expression. Then, she used both her hands to grab each meaty wing of the chicken & yanked them to herself, then grinned mischievously. Now, Kili made an annoyed face.

Thundering steps almost made the table shake, and with a large thud, the armored man known as Rash took a seat right next to Valerie. Kili looked down on his chicken leg & started to gnaw on it. Rash turned his head & looked down on Valerie next to him, then held out his giant hand. Valerie hesitated for a second with a slightly irritated face, then handed one chicken-wing to the man.

He nodded to her, turned his face to Kili then nodded to him too.

"Say, Rash? I don't mean any disrespect, but if you're not a bodyguard..what are you?" The young dwarf sat on the table, his legs dangling on the edge of the table while gnawing at his chickenleg.

Rash was silent, eyeing the chickenwing. He started to pull off parts of meat from the large portion of mass situated in the elbow of the wing.

Gandalf, sitting far away, at the edge of the other side of the table, turned his face a little to the trio. The other dwarves were singing & eating & drinking, but Gandalf was distracted by Kili's question. "What does his armor & sword tell you, my young dwarf?"

The old wizards words spoke loud & true. For the size, appearance & strength of the man said everything, yet none in the company had ever thought about it. Kili looked at the details in Rash's armor. There were insignias & the plating seemed to be made thick & heavy, seemingly impenetrable. His giant sword hanging at his side seemed to indicate that it was a two-handed sword. But after a second glance, one could see that he wielded it with one hand. The sword was especially forged for this man. It had runes on each edge that seemed to glow faintly green whenever Rash touched it.

"Master Rash, you're a...knight? A king's knight, no less?" Kili's eyes widened as he questioned the titanic man.

Rash stopped picking his comparatively small chickenwing & gazed at Kili. "You are not as stupid as everyone would have you believe. You're right about me, yet i belong to no king." The dwarves had stopped dancing and started glancing over to Rash. He had started to speak freely among the company.

Valerie had figured out by this time that Rash was some sort of a knight. As the man spoke the dwarves stopped dancing and singing, their attention was on him. Even Gandalf had spoken, while he and Elrond were listening to the trio when they spoke. When Rash mockingly answered the youngest dwarf and said people might find him stupid. Kili's older brother Fili laughed out loud at the comment. He almost spits his wine out, and over the table but holds himself.

"Who are you fighting for, a King or Lord?" Her eyes lend on Rash, as she had asked where his loyalty laid. His past most have been fighting for someone, not for a King but maybe someone or something else. "Or do you only fight for yourself?" Valerie had herself been fighting for her freedom, and she was just lucky that Gandalf had indeed found her in rags and blood from the mad lord's castle and of course with the help of Lord Elrond who healed her wounds from losing too much blood.

As Valerie walked away to the balcony, Kili sat still, looking at his meaty chickenleg. Rash, who was facing Kili on a chair, stared at the young dwarf for a long while. Then he switched his eyes to Valerie, then back to Kili. Kili looked back at Rash, seemingly confused. The man did the same thing again, watching Valerie for quick second, then looking at Kili again.

Now Kili contorted his face to show his confusion. Rash rose up from his chair, grabbed Kili under his arms & lifted the young dwarf from the table like a child. He turned Kili around & set him down on the floor, facing the balcony that Valerie stood on. "You really need to learn how to take a hint." The knight said with a hushed voice. He then pushed Kili so he almost fell forward. The company snickered silently & Kili turned to his sides to glare at his dwarven brethren. They all started singing & eating again, as Kili went up to the balcony & took his place besides Valerie.

"Beautiful view, don't you think?" He said as he leaned on the balcony railing. Valerie peeked at him & smiled in confirmation. Kili made a small, shy smirk as he looked down into the river running through the elven woods beneath the sun. He couldn't help it, and he tried his best at putting on a neutral face, but his cheeks still wouldn't relax.

Gandalf sat next to Bilbo at the table, smoking his pipe as he looked over the dwarves dancing & singing & eating. "You think it's possible for them..?" Bilbo said as he turned his head & looked at Gandalf. The old wizard turned his eyes in a slow fashion.

"Possible for what?" He asked, looking at Bilbo questioningly. The young Hobbit never spoke about such things, so he had a hard time with the subject. "To, you know.." Then he looked over at Valerie & Kili standing in the distance.

"There is always time for everything." A deep voice was heard, as thundering steps approached Bilbo from behind. Bilbo felt an enormous hand covering his back, then the knight came into view. He took his seat next to Bilbo, opposite Gandalf. The old wizard nodded in agreement & puffed his pipe. Bilbo smiled sheeply. "I guess there is." He uttered, as the trio watched the sunset from across the room, keeping their eyes on Valerie & Kili.

As the trio watched the sunset over Rivendell, and have their eyes on the beautiful lands. The son of Durin walked up to the table where they was sitting, and took a seat. He had over heard Bilbo, Gandalf and Rash conversation over if Thorin's nephew could have a real and working relationship with the daughter of Valyria.

Thorin had seen that his sister son had gotten closer to the blonde, their friendship was blooming and he knew that Kili and Fili find it easier to talk with women, as for their flirting in the Blue Mountains. But, the King himself couldn't but feel a small amount of jealousy, a pang hit his chest from only looking at the two together. She had always been beautiful, kind, and loyal, but there was something else lingering in the Kings heart, a feeling he yet could not come to grips with.

He didn't say anything, but the old wizard could see that Thorin was changing too. Gandalf's eyes slowly turned to Thorin, he had never seen the dwarf's eyes turn in that way before.

Rivendell was peaceful, a land that wasn't foreign to her. "It really is." She turned her eyes to Kili, who at the time took out something from his pocket. It seems to be a dark green stone. "What is that?" Her eyes watched the stone.

Bilbo felt a strange sensation, akin to safety when he was looking at Thorin across the room. As he had never seen the would-be king smile before, he suddenly became more comfortable knowing that Thorin actually seemed to care about people. Rash, whom sat behind Bilbo, also noted the dwarf king's sudden change of facial expression. Bilbo turned his head to face Gandalf, and at the same time he caught a glimpse of Rash who was now also observing Thorin. The young Hobbit believed he also saw a small smile from the knight, but as he turned wholly to face him, his mouth was in a neutral position.

"Huh.." Bilbo said aloud, thinking that for once, the two brooding men were having a good time. Rash turned his head to look at Bilbo, with an expression not unlike a statue. Bilbo felt a sudden panic & tried to find words as he desperately tried finding some food to put in his mouth. He found a small potato on Gandalf's plate & quickly ate it.

"Huuuh, that potato is surprisingly delicious! Have you tried them? You have to try them!" The young hobbit said with a mouth full of mashed potato, his voice shaking while switching his eyes from the plate to Rash, trying not to act awkward & panicked.

Kili stared at the stone for a moment before tossing it to Valerie. As she caught it, he gave a sly smile. “It is a talisman, a powerful spell lies upon it. If any but a dwarf reads the runes on the stone, they will be forever cursed, or not. Depending on whether you believe that kind of thing. It’s just a token - a rune-stone. My mother gave it to me so I’d remember my promise." He said, while keeping his eyes on the stone, then switched his eyes to Valerie.

Valerie caught the stone with her hand, her reflections never fails her, when Kili had tossed it over to her. She looked at the rune, which was craved in the dwarven tongue, except for the fact she couldn't read it. Valerie smiled at the comment there was no curse upon it, she would be quite surprised if that was true.

"I almost fell for it." A sly smirk tugged at her lips, while she stroked her thumb over the rune-stone. She could see a hint of green, almost teal in it when she looked closer and let the sun hit upon the colors. Kili then told them he had made a promise to his mother, over the rune-stone. Valerie tilted her head to the side, and rose her eyebrow, and looked at him. "What kind of promise?" She asked, reached her hand out to Kili, with the stone in her palm giving it back to him. And he told her; she smiled at the tenderness between son and mother. It made her miss and think back on her own family.

The old and wise Wizard looked at Bilbo, who filled his mouth full of potato, and commented it was delicious. He laughed at the young hobbit while smoking his pipe. Thorin was quiet and sipped his wine, his eyes lend on the hobbit, then they were in the distance.

When Gandalf and Elrond spoke more in private, Galadriel and Saruman were already there waiting for the white council. Gandalf told them there was dark magic lingering in the woods, and trolls were back to the lands. Something was not right, and together the five need to stop whatever it's and send it back to where it comes from.

"So, knight. I take it you'd rather stay here as a guardian for the elves instead of following us all the way to the Lonely Mountain?" The dwarf king scratched his boots on the floor while walking over to the man, still towering over Thorin even if he was sitting down.

Rash nodded slightly while looking at Thorin as he approached. "Who doesn't enjoy the calm." The knight said with a voice that almost had Thorin vibrate to the core. Thorin stopped just about a few feet from the knight.

"So i take it this is goodbye then? I have to thank you for all you've done, sir Rash." Thorin stretched out his hand as to shake Rash's. The knight, however, just stood up - making Thorin look like a child as he looked down upon the dwarf.

"We're not done yet, master dwarf. There's a storm coming & i intend to stand against it when it arrives to obliterate your home." Thorin stared up at Rash with an anger in his eyes. "I have no home. None of us dwarves do. Don't lecture me."

Rash calmly raised his hand & places it upon Thorin's shoulder. "Yes you do, we're just going to kick your tenant out. His rent is overdue."

Thorin looked questioningly at Rash, then realized what he meant. The dwarf changed his frown into a grin & brought his own hand upon Rash's, now inspired by the knight. "Yes, yes we will!" He shouted with a great ferocity in his voice. The dwarf king seemed to be motivated beyond compare.

Rash looked to their sides, there were elven maids collecting the dishes & garbage that the dwarves had left behind. They had all stopped mid-work as Thorin had shouted. They were all staring at the pair, one of the maids couldn't help herself from snickering.

Then Rash & Thorin realized how it looked with Rash's hand placed upon Thorins, and Thorins hand placed upon Rash's hand. "Uhm.." Thorin silently mumbled. Rash pulled his hand away quickly, but still did a thumbs up gesture to Thorin.

Thorin looked confused but did the same gesture anyway, as to show he was on the same page as Rash.

Kili looked at the sun setting it's final rays upon the landscape. The wind blew slightly and one could see the grassy plains beyond the forest, wave in the sun.

"I made her a promise, that i would get back to her. I intend to hold that promise, as any other." He then turned his face to Valerie, stretched his hand to hers & pulled it to him. He opened her palm, and lightly put the runestone in her hand again. He then closed her fingers around it.

"Hold it for me, will you?" He stared at Valerie's eyes for a few seconds, then gave away a rosy smile.

Valerie felt bad for keeping the runestone that was promise a promise from his mother and dear to him, but the prince had wanted her to hold it for him, "I will keep it safe."

The next morning come by quickly and the company of Thorin Oakenshield was ready to march on, the wizard wasn't coming with them, as they needed to hurry and the white council didn't truly want them to re-take Erebor, due to the fact waking a Dragon was not something they wanted, and the evil that grew and awoken on Middle-Earth was nothing to be too worried about. At least, that is what Saruman thought and not Gandalf, nor Galadriel.

As morning grew, the mountain of a man called Rash opened his eyes & bat his eyes several times. While laying on his back, he turned his head to the side. He had heard stumbling & grunting earlier in the morning & he suspected that the dwarves were getting ready to leave. Now, nothing could be heard except a silent wind blowing through leaves outside.

Rash rose up slowly, almost hitting his head in the ceiling as he had forgotten how low it was. The elves were often seen as the tallest of races in middle-earth, but next to Rash, they were not unlike humans since he towered over them too, only with sharper ears & each one of them was beautiful to look at.

The knight started walking towards the relatively small door & opened it by kicking it a little with the front end of his boot. The door swung open almost violently, even if Rash didn't put any effort into it. Rash rotated his head to the left outside the door once he could actually stand normally. The roof in the great hall was several stories tall. A gasp could be heard & a plate could be heard crashing into the floor.

"Oh i am so deeply sorry my lord, you just appeared out of nowhere and i-i.." An elven maid was still working with putting all the plates & cups away. Rash had spooked her when kicking the bedroom door open & she had dropped a collections of small plates.

Rash walked easily up to the maid, only needing to take three steps to do so. The elf was only half his length & one could very much understand her shock from seeing a half-naked giant kicking a door open. She looked up on Rash as she looked like she was fainting. Her eyes were rolling up & down and she seemed to be swaying. Then, she fell to the side, seemingly losing control over her balance.

The half-naked knight stretched his right arm out & caught her mid-fall. He kneeled for a bit then used his left arm to pick her up by the legs as he supported her upper body with his right arm. The elf girl seemed to have a hard time coping with being so close to a human. Especially a human of such titanic size & a human whom she was so close to that her lips actually brused against his naked shoulder. Then, she lost all sight & faded.

Rash had pulled her close & carried her over to a large, soft seat. He put her down with delicate care & felt her forehead. "No fever. She must have worked too hard during the night." Rash thought to himself, as he rose up.

"You certainly have your way with females, my friend." A raspy old voice could be heard from behind the knight. With sweeping steps, the wandering wizard approached Rash. He chuckled for a couple of seconds & took his seat on a chair next to Rash & the sleeping elf maid.

"Gandalf. She was still working when i got out of the bedroom." The knight answered bluntly, taking a chair next to the table nearby. The wizard looked with joyful eyes at the elf, then at Rash. "You think too little of yourself, master knight. You ought to not miss out on your opportunities."

Rash stared at Gandalf for a moment. "I am no such creature." He said with an annoyance in his voice. Gandalf then rose up from his chair, walked up past Rash & knocked him lightly on the back of his head with the staff.

"That's not what i meant, you fool. But she clearly was swooned by your presence." The wizard grunted as he kept walking around slowly.

Rash only reacted by scratching the back of his head. He turned around to look at Gandalf behind him. The old wizard was in deep thought, walking around in small circles.

"The dwarves already left, yes?" The knight said. Gandalf kept walking. "Yes." Rash looked at the elf maid sleeping on the couch-like structure. She was a beauty to behold. "Shan't we catch up with them?"

Gandalf stopped in his walking, now staring with focus at a floorplate. "No, not yet. We have other things to investigate. You remember the presence i told you about? The one that i've felt during our journey to Bilbo's house?"

Rash turned his face slowly to face Gandalf. "Yes. What of it?"

Gandalf turned his face to Rash. "Not only have i felt this darkness, but we've seen how organized the orcs have been. They're working for something. We might have a clue to what." The wizard kept staring at Rash with a growing worry in his eyes.

"My friend & collegue, Radagast the Brown, has found evidence that there is a very strong spiritual presence in Dol Guldur." Gandalf said with a steady voice, still staring at Rash, as if he was waiting for an answer.

Rash understood what it meant. He also saw what Gandalf saw. Something was definately returning to Middle-Earth. "Then, let's deal with this as quickly as possible so that we can catch up to our little friendly band of dwarves, a girl & a hobbit." The knight said with a thunderous voice as he rose up from his chair.

Gandalf looked at his companion with a light in his eyes & smiled with confidence.

The Thunder Battle

As the company forced their way along the high pass, that ran through the misty mountains the thunderstorm that had erupted in the dark sky above them seemed determined to force them back. Valerie’s hair was plastered to her face, her clothing soaking wet and her hands kept slipping on the rocks. She didn't dare look down to the right, the knowledge of the sheer drop was enough for her. She kept close as possible and making sure Bilbo was safe behind her.

”We must find shelter!” Thorin roared, his voice almost lost in the wind. Behind Valerie, she heard Bilbo cry out and she flung her arm out to grab him and pull him away from the edge and close to her again. Looking down she saw the narrow pass was starting to crumble and her stomach lurched at the thought of plunging several thousand feet to their death.

”Watch out!” Thorin yelled, their eyes all lend to see a giant boulder crash into the mountain slope above them. She grabbed Kili’s shoulder, who stood in front of her, and reached behind to make sure Bilbo had something to hold onto as well.

”This isn’t a thunderstorm!” Balin got to his feet, ”It’s a thunder battle. Look!” Everyone followed the old and wise dwarf's finger, in time to see a massive figure breaking free from the mountainside. Behind Valerie saw Bofur get to his feet, fear, and awe written all over him. ”Bless me,” He cried, ”The legends are true. Giants, stone giants!”

”We need to find shelter!” Thorin pushed his way forward, as the stone giant pulled yet another large stone and threw it towards where the company was. As it crashed above them, showering them with debris, they could feel the ground beneath their feet shake and crumble. Looking over where Kili and his bother stood, Valerie saw a large gap was starting to form in the past, separating her from Kili.

”Grab my hand, Valerie!” Kili reached out in desperation but the gap grew wider between them. Kili looked at her with worry, while they were being pulled further and further away from each other. The large walking gaint smashed into the stone giant's head, knocking it from its body. Valerie’s stomach lurched as the head fell into the darkness below when she looked up and found herself pitching towards a wall of sheer rock. Valerie looked up when something large collided with her and the others, before they knew it everything was pitch black.

Meanwhile, the dwarves who had been lucky enough to escape the stone giant, watched now with horror as the body of the other gains that had carried their friends fell away into the darkness.

”No!” Thorin screamed, Kili and Fili were right next to their uncle, while they all were watching with horror what had become of their friends.

”It’s alright, they are alive!” Balin cried out, as Thorin and Kili turned to see the rest of the company in one huge heap.

Kili’s eyes widen when he didn't find Valerie by the last one of them. He started to panic. ”Where is Valerie and where is Bilbo?” He was quick to spoke aloud from the storm, looking around themselves they found no woman or the hobbit. ”Bilbo and Valerie are missing!” Fili shouted and the attention was taken to find the two.

”We are here!” Valerie's voice cried out, she had heard their names from above and wished that her voice could be heard from the thunderstorm, the dwarves all run to the edge, where they saw Valerie hanging, with one hand holding on, and her other holding Bilbo’s hand. Valerie couldn’t hold on for too long, but from the corner of her eyes, she saw someone coming and first pulling the poor hobbit up to safety. When Thorin had just saved Bilbo’s life, Valerie’s grip becomes weaker, and she lost her grip. But Thorin had grabbed her by her waist just in time, they got up with help from Dwalin, Fili, Kili and Gloiun, Bofur, Bombur helped to push them up.

As fast as the two were safe on the ground, Valerie’s heart was still pounding like a drum. But her eyes never left Thorin, who also had his eyes on her. For a second he actually thought they would lose their assassin and the burglar. Kili soon approached Valerie, with his arm around her waist and he helped her to stand up on her feet.

”For a second I thought we'd lost our burglar.” Dwalin said with a sad smile, and rest a hand on Bilbo's shoulder.

”He’s been lost ever since he comes.” Thorin spat, ”He almost made us lose a life today.” Thorin spoke about Valerie. She narrowed her eyes, she clearly didn't like to hear that. ”He should never have come. He had no place among us.” Thorin turned away and walked into the cave, the others didn't dare to say a word.

Thorin told his dwarven brethren to not start a campfire in the cave. They all were quiet and Thorin was sitting by himself and sharpened his swords with a flint.

"Why do you have to be so heartless against our Burglar?" Valerie walks up to him, ”I didn't recall your opinion, Valerie.” Thorin turned to look at her, arms crossed as she approched him. ”Answer me; why do you always say those things about Bilbo?” She had enough of the way he treated the hobbit. ”Why should he always be the subject to abuse for you? When he has been loyal to this company from the very beginning.”

”It was the same Bilbo Baggins that got us into all this mess, and you almost fell off the cliff.” Thorin spoke and looked at her. ”At least he has tried to do things for all of us.” She had enough of the way to call Bilbo useless. ”Bilbo had gone out of his way to show you that he isn’t a burden. But all of your time you've done nothing more than to make him feel like an outcast. You never showed him any kind of respect or loyalty."

”You dare mention loyalty?” Thorin barked at her this time, his voice echoed in the small cave. Valerie stood her ground as the dwarf to-be king walked towards her. Anger was clear in him as he stood taller than her. ”What right have you to talk about loyalty? You seem to forget you are nothing more than an assassin, who worked for those who took your freedom from you. You don't understand what royalty are.” He hissed, but soon as Valerie blinked away the forthcoming tears. She pushed the forthcoming tears but these words hit her hard.

"Don't let me remind you that I have nothing left! You have a home you can take back, you have your family who is all alive! Mine was murdered in cold blood, right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything to stop it, or prevent it from happening.” She yelled and the word you, stabbed Thorin right in his heart. She was right, her family was gone, she had no one to protect her, no family or loved ones.

"I have lost everything, you do not have the right to tell me what I know of loyalty!" Thorin couldn't let his words out from his mouth. He reached his hand out to her, but as he did she shivered back and turned her heel as she walked out from the cave. The dwarves were quiet and eyes followed the woman while she left, and some eyes were still on Thorin who was frozen like a statue. Unable to move a muscle.

Kili was watching Valerie & Thorin arguing. He could feel the anger boiling inside of him. Still, he loved Thorin like a brother - but he couldn't help but feel Valerie was right about everything. Thorin was too hard on Bilbo, and speaking of loyalty, Valerie absolutely had a point.

As Valerie marched off in an almost violent fury, Kili stood still for a second, observing Thorin whom was frozen like a statue. The girl's words had torn on Thorin's soul, one could see from a mile away how he didn't know how to respond.

Kili then snapped out of his fixed stare then ran after Valerie, catching up to her eventually. "Valerie, wait!" He almost shouted, although he was almost close enough to touch her. "Valerie, stop! I said stop!"

He caught up to her, grabbed her by one side of her hip & jumped up infront of her. Then he put his hand on her stomach as she tried walking past. He held her back.

"Let me walk with you, just... Take it easy, alright?" Kili said with a soft voice, making complete eye contact with Valerie as she was so angry that she was almost shaking. Her eyes were unfocused, moving around in a hectic manner but still looking at Kili time & time again.

The knight called Rash was walking besides the grey wizard, readying his armor while doing so. "We leave in an hour." Gandalf spoke with a solemn & calm voice.

Rash looked surprised. "Will we not notify the council before?" The old wizard looked back at the knight.

"I would prefer not. They will only hinder us from our objective." Gandalf was now stroking his beard, then stopping dead in his tracks.

Rash stopped aswell, turning around & looking at his old friend. "What now?" The knight asked. Gandalf answered by smirking & looking up at the knight.

"Excuse me! Mithrandir! Master knight!" A soft, female voice could be heard shouting from across the hall, from where Rash & Gandalf had left. Delicate feet on the floor could be heard, approaching quicky from behind Gandalf.

"I'm so sorry!" The maiden came running, then almost fell down on the floor out of exhaustion. She knelt down for a minute, panting as she did so.

The knight wandered stepped out from infront of Gandalf & walked up to the girl Kneeling down to reach her, he lightly grabbed her by the chin and pulled her face up towards him. "Breathe upwards, you will get better airflow & more oxygen to your lungs." He said bluntly, staring into the elven eyes before him. Her eyes were like oceans, so blue you could almost drown in them. As he kept his eyes on her, mezmerized, he thought that he could see small stars flickering in her irises.

Rash didn't understand this odd feeling. He couldn't look away from her eyes, and as she was panting, he could feel her warm breath reaching him. He couldn't back away.

"Maiden, who are you?" The knight asked, with wonder & intrigue in his voice.

Gandalf, who was still standing behind the pair, couldn't help it. He gleefully chuckled as he watched the giant knight be put under the spell of a beautiful girl not even half his size.

The adrenaline which ran in her boiled blood slowed down, but she needed to be out of sight from Thorin. She couldn't look at him, or bear to hear his voice at this point.

Kili called out her name behind her as she walked her way out, but she didn't dare to stop. She marched out with steps that told everyone to stay back from her. Bilbo turned his eyes from Thorin to Valerie who just had walked pass him. He wanted to talk to her right away, about how thankful he was to her and her words were meaningful to him. But he saved it for later. The rest of the dwarves was quiet, and watched their king with widened eyes. When they saw how Thorin looked like his heart had just been ripped out from his chest, and the pain was written in his eyes.

Kili once again shouted her name, and when Valerie didn't recall he yelled out for her to stop and as he caught up to her, he grabbed her by one side of her hip and was standing in front of her. Her eyes didn't look at him, they were frozen in a place far away. He held her back when she tried to walk past, but Kili then spoke to her but her frozen glare would look at him.

Out from the cave, she felt more at ease. they rest their backs against the mountain wall, while both of them were watching out over the dark night sky. The rain was still pouring down, and the storm was still rough. She was tired and all she wanted to do was to get some sleep for the night and to avoid Thorin if she could.

The elven maid felt her cheeks become warmer, by that Rash yet again had touched her pure skin. She looked him in the eyes, while she took a steady deep breath as he told her, she rose her chin up a little and collected her words, before she would speak out. "My name is Lilian. I have lived here in Rivendell since I was little, with my family who're close allies to Elrond." She spoke and didn't look away from the knights gaze.

"I am thankful that you took care of me when I suddenly just passed out." She smiled weakly, but there was more she wanted to say.

"If I am not a burden, I would like to go with you." Her voice was firm when she spoke. "I am not used to fighting, but I have my ways." She spoke proudly, Gandalf stood quiet as he looked at Rash who was the one he thought would decide if he wanted her with them. As he could see how the knight was taken aback by this elven girl.

Lilian had long black hair, she wore it loose with two small braids from her bangs, tied in the back. Her skin is pale and she has a few small freckles over her nose. She wore clothing of dark brown leggings, a teal jacket, leather brown boots, matching corset. Under the corset she had a green sleeveless top, that is showing under her corset. She also wore a pair dark brown leather bags, she had tied from her belt, which are around her hips.

"Let me go with you, please," Lilian begged and bowed her upper body to the two. While she stood then quiet and let the knight decide if she would come or not.

Rash stood still for a moment, regarding the beauty that Lilian possessed. It was as if he hadn't really listened to her speak as he stared into her eyes. The girl was patiently waiting for an answer, still standing still, not moving a fin because of the sheer suspense she was feeling, standing just feet from a man unlike she'd ever laid her eyes upon. Lilian was carefully observing the knight's facial features. He had strong cheekbones, a square chin & fine but thick eyebrows that often made him look very serious.

The girl was caught completely off-guard as she kept analyzing his face. He was extremely alluring & attractive to her, which was unusual since he was a human. Humans never caught Lilian's attention before, but the knights sheer titanic presence made her feel warm & safe, while his fine features made her heart beat twice as fast as usual.

"This is not becoming of an elf." She said, bluntly. She then gasped as her hands flew up to cover her mouth. She spun around & made a confused face, as if she hadn't meant to say such a thing.

Rash turned his head & looked at Gandalf behind him, and the wizard didn't react more than giving his friend a confused shrug combined with his eyebrows raised. Then, the wizard had to keep himself from chuckling.

Rash looked back at the girl & took a deep breath, one that sounded like wind blowing through trees. The girl spun around again, her hair flowing in the air as she did. Her scent reached Rash, standing just a couple of feet away from her. It hit him like a wall, dazzling him & making him feel more allured to be close to her.

"You are to stay by my side at all times. Never leave my sight, don't ever take off on your own. Should any danger come to us, i want you to hide behind me completely. That is my condition." The knight had collected himself as he spoke to her with a deciding tone.

Gandalf, standing in the background, creaked his head to look past Rash & gaze at the girl. Rash could feel the wizards eyes penetrating him, as if all the conditions had not been mentioned.

"Also, you will need to carry different necessities for us. Do you agree?" Rash finished, now concentrating by looking directly into Lilian's eyes.

Lilian spun around, making a complete spin. "My lord! Yes! I mean yes! My lord!" The girl shouted with joy, almost rupturing Rash's eardrum.

Kili was not one to know women, he was not even experienced in the art of love. But he knew, sitting against the stone wall, hiding from the downpour, that this girl had his heart in a tight grip.

He couldn't look away, her eyes had caught his & his neck was starting to ache as he strained himself from getting a more comfortable position.

Valerie however, couldn't hold herself back & almost fell with her face flat into Kili's. Although she was quick, Kili reacted by instinct & caught her by the shoulders as he touched her lips with his.

Lilian was very thankful that she was accepted to join the knight and the wizard. The elven maid knew very little about this journey, but she would like to help and reach her hand out for anyone who needed it. She would also not cause any problem to the wizard, nor to the knight.

While the trio left Rivendell Lilian had all her things gathered. The three were on their way where the dwarves, the human woman, and the hobbit had taken off.

Lilian was always sided by side with the knight. She looked up at him, and then again forward, then up at him once more before she spoke, "I have never left Rivendell before."

"I am sure a bit nervous to see the outside world." There was a hint of excitement in her voice.

"What's your name, my lord?" Lilian was not told by the man about his real name.

The kiss was quick, and it just happened. Valerie drew back with her head, she was blushing and the emotions she felt would she rather wanted to fight against than to feel, however, the dwarf prince drew her in his embrace, he knew her heart was aching and that she needed time.

Morning grew & the sun was breaking through almost every corner of Middle-Earth. The dwarves & Bilbo had set up camp just a mile away from the treacherous mountains they had just survived during the night. Bilbo was early awake, sitting on his bag, looking to the mountainside. A worried look was spread across his face.

Thorin was also awake, and as he saw Bilbo sitting alone, outside of the company's radius, he walked up from behind Bilbo. "They will be back soon." Thorin said bluntly, unfeeling.

The hobbit didn't answer, but just kept looking at the mountainpath stretching from the pitfalls. He rose up, dusted off his trousers & started wandering back to the mountains. His anger at Thorin was now real, he couldn't stand being close to him.

"If none of you get back before the sun is at it's highest point in the sky, we'll continue without you." The stubborn dwarf shouted after Bilbo.

The hobbit wouldn't have none of it, he kept walking, now focused on finding his friends.

Kili's eyes opened slightly to the burning light of the sun. The small cave that he & Valerie had taken shelter in didn't protect all that well from the rays of the sun. He could feel the heat covering his boots & feet, making it's way slowly up to his upper body. Valerie was still sleeping, lightly resting on Kili's shoulder.

Instantly, Kili felt motivated & excited, as he finally had someone that wanted him as much as he wanted her. Atleast, that's what he believed. And it made him happy.

Far away, in the distant countryside just a distance away from Rivendell, an elven maid, a knight & a wizard were lumbering through a lush, green forest. The night before, they had been resting before heading out into the trees & the leaves, but now so early on the morning, Gandalf thought it best they proceed with their journey so that they would get as much daylight as possible for their trip.

Lilian was following the knight, Rash, almost to his heels. She had trouble keeping up, since every step he took was a giant leap in her size. Rash noted this, however, and started taking slower steps, as to let her catch up to him. After this, every step he took seemed to be in slow motion because of how he conciously walked slower.

Lilian giggled silently for herself, noticing Rash slowing down in a humorous manner. She could however, not let her curiosity go. She wanted to know who this titan of a man was. She knew that he was called 'Rash' but that it wasn't his real name. Gandalf had told her that he was only called that because of how Gandalf thought that the knight was almost akin to a rash that never goes away, because he never left the wizard's side.

As she kept up with the knight, she had a good view of his body & face. He had a very powerful presence about him, as every move he made seemed almost to be mechanical but fluid. His armor plates didn't scramble because of how tight they were bound to his body & the only times they gave off any sound was when Rash was bending his joints in strained positions. His footsteps were pretty loud too, as he propably weighed as much as a horse, considering his gigantic size.

Lilian thought to herself judging his features. She noted again, how he wasn't ugly or unsightly for being so huge. He wasn't fat, nor skinny. Before, when she had seen his naked physique just for a few seconds before fainting, he looked like something resembling a god. It was the workings of her mind not comprehending the giant, muscular figure standing before her. She could still not get that picture out of her mind. Not that she wanted to.

As she kept analyzing the knight as they wandered together, Rash could feel her gaze upon him as he constantly saw her in his peripheral vision. He let his right side of his face up in a half grin or a big smirk, and kept the left side of his face relaxed as not to notify Lilian of him having a good time.

Gandalf was wandering infront of them, keeping his distance while letting the two people get to know eachother. Occasionally, he looked back as to look upon them, and each time, he smiled with glee when getting back to his wandering.

Bilbo had his backpack over his shoulders and left the stubborn dwarf. He made his way to find the two youngest in the group. He hasn't seen them since last night when the two had left. The hobbit wanted to thank Valerie for her kindness and for standing up for him ever since they meet in the Shire.

When it was the first time when Thorin was mocking and looking down on him. And last night she stood up for him again.

Bilbo actually has no clue where they had gone from last night, he knew they took shelter somewhere, and for distance from Thorin. But he didn't know where to look, he walked the small path on his way to find them. He didn't react when he had slipped over his own feet, and fallen down in a dark hole.

He fell flat onto the ground in pitch-black darkness. He took out his sword which Gandalf once gave him when they left the troll cave.

The sword was shining a bright light, and that was a sign there are orcs around here. His eyes widen and when he should move up from the ground he stopped himself from moving. Something was talking and dragged an orc with it.

When the pale figure walked on its fours with the orc dragging behind it. With what seemed to be a rock, the figure started beating mercilessly at the orc, killing it in a gruesome manner. The light shining from the sword faded away. This pale figure was no orc, nothing Bilbo had ever seen before.

When he looked to the ground where the pale creature had left, there was a golden shine on the ground. Bilbo silently moved down to the glimmering object, picked it up, and looked at it with awe. It was a golden ring that almost shone with golden inscription. He had seen nothing like this one before and kept it.

Now he just had to be unseen and get out of here.

Kili and Valerie were awake and decided to return to the others. She was still mad at Thorin, but she decided to just ignore him the best she could for now. When the two arrived at the small encampment with the dwarves, they were already ready to pack their things and leave.

"Where is Bilbo?" Valerie asked aloud, Bofur stopped and looked at her with a sad smile, and replied.

"Our hobbit left this morning. He told me he didn't want to be a burden." Her eyes lend on Thorin's back, who wasn't participating in the conversation, but she knew it was because of him that Bilbo had left. She said nothing, but she was angry with him.

Deep down by the dark water lived old Gollum, a small slimy creature. Noone knew where he came from, nor who or what he was. He was Gollum - as dark as darkness, except for two big round pale eyes in his face. He had a little boat, and he rowed about quietly on the lake; for a lake it was, wide and deep and deadly cold. He paddled it with large feet dangling over the side, singing his songs. He was looking out of his pale lamp-like eyes for blind fish, which he grabbed with his long fingers as quick as thinking. He liked meat too. Goblin he thought good, when he could get it; but he took care they never found him out. He just throttled them from behind, if they ever came down alone anywhere near the edge of the water, while he was prowling about. They very seldom did, for they had a feeling that something unpleasant was lurking down there, down at the very roots of the mountain. They had come on the lake, when they were tunnelling down long ago, and they found they could go no further; so there their road ended in that direction, and there was no reason to go that way - unless the Great Goblin sent them. Sometimes he took a fancy for fish from the lake, sometimes a goblin, as in before, when Bilbo was watching.

Actually Gollum lived on a slimy island of rock in the middle of the lake. He was watching Bilbo now from the distance with his pale eyes like telescopes. Bilbo could not see him anymore, but he was wondering a lot about Bilbo, for he could see that he was no goblin at all.

Gollum approached Bilbo from behind, almost invisibly so.

"Bless us and splash us, my precioussss! I guess it's a choice feast; atleast a tasty morsel it'd make us, gollum!" And when he said gollum he made a horrible swallowing noise in his throat. That is how he got his name, though he always called himself 'my precious.'

The hobbit jumped nearly out of his skin when the hiss came in his ears, and he suddenly saw the pale eyes sticking out at him.

"Who are you?" he said, thrusting his dagger in front of him.

"What iss he, my preciouss?" whispered Gollum (who always spoke to himself through never having anyone else to speak to). This is what he had come to find out, for he was not really very hungry at the moment, only curious; otherwise he would have grabbed first and whispered afterwards.

"I am Mr. Bilbo Baggins. I have my dwarven friends & human friend, and I don't know where I am; and I don't want to know, if only I can get back to my friends again."

Far, far away, in a lush forest that inhabited gigantic rabbits, deer, elk & other fascinating creatures, a trio of a certain kind was approaching Radagast the Brown's little shack. Gandalf the grey was wandering besides the Knight & the elf maiden by now; and both Gandalf & Lilian were now talking to eachother while walking with Rash in the middle.

"There's another wizard?" The young elf girl asked, flattering with eyelids rapidly. The excitement in her voice was clear as day. Gandalf looked upon the girl as he walked besides the knight next to him. "Ah yes. There are actually five of us. There is me, ofcourse. Then there's Radagast, whom we are now approaching. Saruman is our leader, the wisest & brightest of us, one whose council i greatly appreciate. Then, there are two blue wizards, but i haven't seen them in a long time. Huh." Gandalf sighed in the end, suddenly deep in thought.

"Anyhow," He continued. "We are spirits chosen by Manwë himself. The king of all spirits, so to say. Sauron is also one such spirit, but he betrayed us all long ago."

Lilian became so excited she was almost redfaced, she did not know these things about either wizards or the dark lord. How could both Sauron & Gandalf be of the same kind?

"Does not that mean that you could defeat Sauron anytime you wanted? Are you not as powerful?" The girl excitedly asked, but her wonder was hinted with concern. Gandalf then turned his eyes back to the road, looking forward towards the house they were approaching slowly.

"Dear girl, Sauron was once the most powerful, beautiful & kind spirit there ever was. However, when Melkor's darkness takes you, there is no turning back. He is like his former master now, cruel, evil & manipulative. He has no regard for life anymore. Sauron was all that i wished to be once, but wise, he was not. That is why i am called Gandalf the Wise, because after all, i have that one thing over him."

The wizard said in a solemn voice, then turned his eyes to the girl again & smiled.