"Place your hand here." I followed the instructions carefully, letting the soft hand guide mine in the air. "Focus your energy, feel it in your body and bring it to your fingertips." My brow creased but I felt my grandmother behind me. "You can do it Val, if you did it before you can do it again."

The air around my hand twisted and I could see the red and golden tendrils glow into existence, pulsating with my faltering focus. The hand pressed my other four fingers to my palm, letting all the energy draw to my pointer finger. She guided my hand through the air, etching the glowing rune – a rune of flames – hanging in the air, suspended by the energy that kept it afloat.

The rune hung there until I leaned forward, my lips parting and I breathed a puff of hot air onto the rune. It flickered and drifted into the stone fireplace, igniting the kindling that lay in the hearth. The flames bloomed like a lotus flower in the wood, burning the dry branches with its petals of flaming tongues.

"I did it!" I exclaimed and jumped on my toes, pointing at the fire that flickered with a wild passion.

"Of course you did my ûr alfirin." My grandmother spoke, and I turned to face her. Her face was freckled and her skin tanned from years of yard work. Her hair was caramel with salt and pepper strands that framed her face, her green eyes flecked with gold and emerald hues. My own hazel eyes stared back into hers and an expression of self-disappointment crossed my face, and grandma frowned, touching my arms gently her hands sliding down to my own

"What's wrong alfirin?" she asked, and I shrugged lightly.

"I couldn't do it without you Naneth ada. How am I to do it on my own?" I asked, eyes drifting to my unexperienced hands.

"You have a gift, Valerie, it is in your blood." She lifted my chin so I could look into her loving eyes. "Once you use this magic, you never forget how to use it, it is a part of you as much as you are of it." She smiled. "Never forget that. Muin nín."

I closed my eyes as she kissed my forehead lovingly. "I love you too gran." I whispered, sinking into the embrace and the warmth she offered with her kind arms.

My eyes drifted open, and I possessed the dream that had sung songs of longing in my head. I was not in Gondor, or in my little shack, but I was laying on an oriental rug under a wooden table. I then realized what had awoken me, dwarves were moving through the house, packing up and buttoning cloaks and jackets around them. I lifted my head off my hand, and realized my whole left arm was sleep and I shook it as much as I could, trying to regain feeling in it, but it stayed limp.

I did my best to drag myself out from under the table with one arm and I stood up – among the packing dwarves – making my way to the coat rack. I quickly dressed in my cloak, and hooked my swords onto my belt as best I could with a limp arm.

"What's wrong?" I looked up to see Fili leaning in the doorway, eating an apple.

"What? Oh- my arm?" I asked, tripping over my words, "my arm is asleep." I said, and tried to move it again but it was too stiff still. "It wears off after a few minutes." I dismissed it and shrugged my pack on my shoulders.

"Ah, Valerie. Finally awake I see." Gandalf bent through the door and I looked up at him indignantly. "Hungry?" He asked, holding out a green apple towards me and I nodded.

"Yes please." I said and took a bite, chewing as I shook a finger at him. "And I was walking all day yesterday as I recall so I have a perfectly sound alibi for my extensive slumber." I mumbled as I swallowed and Gandalf nodded.

"Indeed." He said, and I shook my arm out again, finding feeling slowly creeping back into the senses of my arm.

Within the hour of early morning, we had cleaned up the house before leaving, walking out the door and I found that sixteen ponies were out in the sun, tied to the fence post. I worried that I might have to go into Bree and buy a pony for myself but Balin lead me to a white and grey pony, its tangled mane covering its brown eyes.

"This is Milquetoast, he's one of the packing ponies, but your light enough for him to bear." Balin said, patting his soft fuzzy neck. I moved in front of the pony and held up my half-finished apple, handing it to him, palm flat and fingers outstretched as to avoid his velvety lips as they took hold of the apple in front of his teeth and he began to chew it.

"Thank you Balin." I said giving me a grateful smile and he nodded, and took my pack so that I might get the pony used to me while he strapped it on. I stroked his neck and cheek and found his nuzzling me, and pressing his forehead to my face as he snuffled at my scarf. Using a clip, I had in my pocket, I clipped his mane back away from his eyes so he might see.

"Hi there, Milquetoast, handsome name that is." I said, and he nickered softly, completely ignoring my compliments and continued to search my person for more treats. "Only in it for the snacks, are we?" I asked playfully and moved around him, gripping the reins. I had ridden a horse once, my father's war horse that my mother kept. My father named him Callon, meaning 'a hero' in the Sindarian language of the elves. My grandmother taught me a few phrases, but knew not of the language and I couldn't speak it fluently or understand it; save a few words.

I set my foot in the stirrup – finding it much easier to mount a pony when I was taller and older, rather than climbing onto a beast of a horse when I was nine years old, not knowing how to ride one alone. Callon had passed away a few years after bearing me to Bree, and I was left alone, but no I had thirteen dwarves and one wizard to surround me.

I sat upon the back of Milquetoast and rode him at a saunter near the front of the group next to Gandalf. Hobbits weren't wake yet, sparing a few that went to work the fields.

"Miss Valerie?" I turned my head over my shoulder to see Gloin, a red bearded dwarf beckoning me to slow down. I eased up on Milquetoast and came to ride beside him. "The lads and I are placing bets on our little hobbit friend." Gloin said and Fili nodded at me to confirm this.

"Do you think he'll come?" Kili asked from beside his brother. I pondered this for a moment and shrugged.

"I suppose so, Gandalf has faith in him." I said and Gloin held up a pouch. Knowing what he was after I dug my hand into my bag and sifted through the items, using my legs to steer Milquetoast as I searched until I found a coin pouch. I produced six silvers and let them slide from my hand into the bag.

It didn't seem too long before we were riding comfortably through the woods, tall trees reaching towards the sky, and bright green moss growing on the damp bark from the rain that fell briefly during the night. The sky was bright blue and framed with clouds, birds sang high notes in the canopy above as the sun rose steadily and burned away the most that hovered a foot or two above the ground.

"Balin, Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur..." I listed off, pointing to the faces that came with the names, earning nods from the others. "Fili, Kili, Oin and Gloin, Ori, Nori, Dori..." I added, evening more nods and chuckles. "Thorin." I pointed lastly to the leader of the company.

"Well done lass!" Dwalin chuckled loudly. "If all else fails, you could be our new burglar." He said and I waved a dismissive hand.

"The best I can do for silence is trick your mind with illusion." I said, and Dori turned to look at me with a raised brow.

"Trick our minds?" I nodded once. "How?" he asked.

I held up my hand, taking his question as a volunteer. I felt the formless tendrils wrap around my fingers and I felt the tendrils as an extended myself as they drifted forward to Dori, and grasped his mind, feeling my head throb with the irritation of merging my thoughts into another. I willed him to be bold to me – removing myself from his sight, even though he could see Milquetoast – and I watched as he started.

"Where did Valerie go?" He asked quickly and strained to keep the connection.

"She's still there Dori." Dwalin said, looking amused as well as impressed.

I let go and immediately felt exhausted and I felt something cold dribble down my brow, sweat from the strain. Dori looked at me surprised before clapping a hand. "Brilliant." He remarked.

"You could hear me, yet you could not see me. I fear that may be useless in the presence of a creature such as Smaug, seeing as his senses are stronger than ours by the hundreds, he would be able to feel my heat, see where I stepped and hear any movement I made." I informed the group.

This went on for only another minute while I regained my energy and removed my cloak from my shoulders to relieve myself of the heat and felt immensely cooler, and much more relaxed.

The dwarves chattered on and criticized Gandalf's choice in burglar, saying things like: "who's idea was it anyway?" someone said. "Use a hobbit?" said others with chuckles.

I felt a hum of a voice ring through the air and I straightened up, straining to hear better. "Wait! Wait!" someone called. I turned around and halted Milquetoast, seeing a familiar head of curls bobbing between the trees followed by a long trail of parchment paper. Bilbo! The company halted and a breathless Mr Baggins walked up to us, taking a few deep breaths and holding up the contract.

"I signed it." He said happily and I couldn't help by grin as he handed it to Balin who gave him a small look accompanied by a smile and he put a little monocle to his left eye and examined the contract and Bilbo looked at the horses, a flash of anxiety playing in his eyes but it soon disappeared.

"Everything appears to be in order." Balin said and held out an arm towards us. "Welcome Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakensheild." Balin said, and there were chuckles and even a few short and soft cheers.

"Give him a pony." Thorin said gruffly and Bilbo started.

"No, no, that won't be necessary, I'm sure I can keep up on foot," Bilbo was saying as the company started on again. "I've had my fair share of walking holidays," he said as Fili and Kili rode up on either side of him. "even got as far as Frogmorton once -ah!" he squeaked as the brothers took hold of his arms and lifted him up onto a pony...