"Someone is coming."

I broke away from whatever daze that I had been in, blinking at an Elyse that was sitting up straight upon Primrose, Kili's mare, as she pushed slightly away from Kili's back that she had been dozing on with her nose twitching comically. We were on a beautiful path with pines bigger than my arm span surrounding us. Little birds sang cheerfully and, above us, squirrels hopped between branches with constant chatter. Sunlight beams shined through the branches that were above us almost sweetly. It was so relaxing, especially after such a hectic morning.

When we had left the Shire, the dwarves had fallen into basically a long conga line with their ponies without a single word or worry. I had followed them in the very back of the line as had Gandalf, who settled into the middle with his staff and conversing calmly with them. While they talked, I mostly kept to myself. I spent my time studying the bearded short men that claimed to be dwarves as they rode on their adorable ponies that snorted and tossed their heads in excitement to be going somewhere. Sydnee hadn't stopped talking the second that we had started moving and Elyse had snuggled into Kili's back, slipping between sleep and being awake constantly. Thorin lead us all. He sat straight upon his pony stallion (which I have a hard thinking since I picture this gorgeous beast that, in reality, is a hairy pony with big, fuzzy ears and frizzy forelocks that fell down its long face) and never looked behind him to see what was going on. He appeared to be completely focused upon the road itself; the only way that I even knew that he was alive was because his shoulders tensed whenever someone laughed.

What was his problem anyways? He could at least live a little. We weren't killing anyone or giving away our position anymore than what we already were by laughing a little. The other dwarves didn't seem to mind talking loud or laughing until they almost slid off the sides of their ponies. Even Dwalin had almost fallen off at least once; Fili had purposely rode under a tree with low branches that had almost knocked Sydnee clean off his pony and the warrior dwarf had found her face absolutely hilarious. Thorin, however, never turned at any joke. It was tempting for me to jog up with my horse, grab a nearby branch, and whack him across the back of his head to see what he would do. Something told me he would hardly react besides from scowling at me. It seemed like that it was all he ever did when I was involved. I had noticed it at the market. Either he completely despised kids or he thought that I was easily distracted by anything on the planet... which is somewhat true.

"How do you know?" Thorin barked out, pulling his pony to a stop and turning him to face Elyse and Kili, already yanking his sword free as the other dwarves did the same. "Where?"

While the others freaked out, I frowned. Thorin finally had done something besides from doing nothing.

"It's just-" Elyse started.

"Wait! Wait!"

I turned on my pony, Myrtle, to see a curly haired hobbit with large feet running through the forest that we were in. A smile touched my features as I saw his flustered face and a long paper flying behind him. He was climbing up the little hill that we had just ascended and had now stopped, watching him. "It's just Bilbo guys," I called out to them as I glanced back with a smile. A few moans of disappointment from the dwarves that had gambled that he wouldn't come sounded and Sydnee, who had verbally bet, cheered. "No reason to panic, everyone."

Weapons were sheathed and dwarves grumbled about not being able to use them as Bilbo Baggins raced up to Balin, who was trying not to smile and watched as the little hobbit raced up to him. "I've signed it," the hobbit huffed as he handed the white-haired dwarf the contract.

The old dwarf, most likely the oldest in the Company, pulled free a pocket-glass similar to the ones that the bankers would inspect minerals with, and placed it against his eye as he lifted the contract up to his face. A minute passes as Balin examines the paper and I tried to lean over Dwalin's shoulder to look at it. He was taking longer than what he had when he had looked over mine, Sydnee, and Elyse's and I was curious. Myrtle snorted at me, tossing her fluffy mane, and I petted her neck comfortingly.

"Everything appears to be in order. Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield," Balin said, his smile in his voice as he gathered the contract and slipped it into his coat.

A cheer went up around us; even I did a little fist pump in the back without raising my voice like the others with a smile touching my lips. Even despite everything, my gaze drifted over to the solemn dwarf King. He hardly looked impressed as he sat regally upon his pony and watched the others as they talked and congratulated Bilbo in coming. Not even a small smile had appeared across his face and I frowned as my arm lowered, ignoring the glare that he had shot my way. What? Was I not allowed to have any fun, any feelings?

"We do not have enough ponies for the hobbit," Thorin announced in a matter-of-fact tone. "Someone is going to have to ride with someone."

The cheer that the dwarves had given earlier dissolved into a groan. Bilbo immediately began shaking his head frantically as the dwarves bickered over who would ride with who. "No, no, no!" he tried calling over them. "That won't be necessary! I'm sure that I can keep up on foot! I-I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know!" His hands were waving back and forth and there was a small panic in his voice. Rolling my eyes, I slid off my pony, practically feeling the hole Thorin was trying to burn through my forehead with his heated glare. Seriously though; what's up with this guy? "I even got as far as Frogmorton once-!" Bilbo fell silent quickly when I shoved Myrtle's reins in his hands and he stared at me, eyes wide and shock in his face.

"Here." I petted Myrtle's side. "You can ride Myrtle, okay? Hey, I'll even help you up on there," I added as I sank down onto a knee and cupped my hands together. When he stared at me blankly long enough for the dwarves to begin laughing, I rolled my eyes and explained for him. "You step in my hands and get on the pony, Master Baggins."

"Oh dear," he spluttered. "I won't hurt you, will I?"

Cutting my eyes at him, I sighed and shook my head. Thorin huffed and I heard his feet hit the ground with a dull thump. "I can deal with it."

"This is taking too long," Thorin snapped as he marched over furiously, literally tossing Bilbo upon Myrtle's back into her saddle when he was close enough. Bilbo squeaked in fright and hunched up like a scared animal as Myrtle tossed her head around, eyes wide as his hands grasped at the reins tightly. Thorin's ice blue eyes locked onto mine and he grabbed my wrist. His grip was tight and I couldn't help but to admire the thousands of callouses that were upon his hands, even as I narrowed my eyes at him. "You'll ride with me. We do not have time to waste upon such little problems."

"Okay, mister grumpy, you don't have to pull me to your royal high horse," I commented sourly, not helping but to smirk when he frowned at me and Gandalf chuckled softly. He offered me a hand to get up on his pony but I pushed it away, leaping up on the animal as gracefully as I possibly could without slipping off the side. The King under the Mountain gave me another glare before he joined me on his pony, landing smoothly and immediately ignoring me as if I was a package behind him. He was moving before I was ready and I yelped a little, wrapping my arms about him in order not to fall off. He tensed a little and I smiled slightly at how uptight he was.

"So...." I said softly, attempting to make conversation as I loosened my grip and leaned back away from him slightly. "What's your pony's name?"

Hey, it was the only thing that I could think of at the moment. I had my arms wrapped about the stomach of a dwarf King -dwarves are so much different than a regular human man and Thorin was the tallest out of the Company. They have at least three times the muscles that men have. Even through the furs and clothes that he was wearing, I could feel his muscles bunching tensely. I was short enough to where my face hardly reached his shoulder and I found myself biting my lip, absolutely refusing to rest my chin upon his shoulder to keep some of my dignity. It was hard though; his hair was blowing into my face and the only spot that looked like I wouldn't have to worry about his stupid hair was his shoulder.

Thorin snorted. "He does not have a name. And nor does he need one," he quickly added before I could say anything else.

I fell silent for a moment, thinking. "Of course he needs one. If you won't give him a name, then I will," I huffed and then accidentally placed my chin onto Thorin's shoulder without thinking. He tensed and the large knuckles on his hands turned pale white, his pony slowing down with a small toss of his head. "Every good battle pony needs a good, strong name."

Thorin shook his head with a loud sigh. Behind us, gold is being tossed to the dwarves who had won the bets that had been placed upon rather or not Bilbo would join us. Thorin, just like I had thought, had never bet anything, but Gandalf even caught a rather large coin purse. "If that's what you wish. But normally the ponies are named by the children of the villages. Us adults do not normally name anything besides from our children. Ponies do not matter that much."

"Then who named these ponies? Your children?"

A choking noise and Thorin shaking violently caused me to release the King as I leaned back, wondering what in the world was happening. It didn't occur to me that the other dwarves might even be listening until a chuckling Balin trotted up beside us. "Lass, Thorin doesn't have children. The only ones in the Company with children are Bombur and Gloin." Balin paused, then added, "And don't start Gloin on that boy of his; he'll talk seven hours straight by how amazin' that he is."

"That just means that he loves his son," I laughed, gathering some of my loose hair and pushing it behind my ear. "But that doesn't mean that his pony can't have a name!"

"What are you going to name him lass?" Balin chuckled when Thorin shot him a glare.

I tapped my finger against my lips and yelped a little when Thorin snapped his reins and had his pony pick up his pace. Instantly my arms threw themselves around him and I heard Balin laughing at me again, probably because of the shocked facial expression I had a moment ago. "I like Rocky! He looks like a Rocky to me."

The pony tilted its head and gave me an 'are you serious' look almost the second that Thorin did too. I tried to keep from laughing and instead a laugh smile grew on my face that the King frowned at before turning back around, pulling Rocky's head with him. "As you wish," he simply said, no emotion whatsoever in his voice.

"Rocky," Balin spoke up and I glanced at him hopefully for approval. "That's a... a wonderful name for a pony."

"What's your pony's name?" I heard Thorin sigh and knew that he was rolling his eyes in annoyance. I loved animals -except for snakes and insects- and would often choose their company over fellow human beings -except for snakes and insects.

Balin's eyes flickered to mine and I received another questioning look. "His name is Bungo. Why so interested in their names, lass?"

"Everything deserves a name."

oOoOoOoOo

I was in a barn.

Sometime during the day after we ate lunch with Thorin's Company, I had fallen asleep on his back. So I was dreaming. It felt real though as I sat there before a man in hay with a newborn foal that looked similar as my father had back in... or on earth. The only difference that I could see was that he could grow a beard. It was long and pitch black, just like my own hair color, with silver and gold beads and braids. Most of the braids had white streaks in them, bunching heavily where his mouth could just be seen through all of the hair. My father had never had a lot of hair on his head; if there was a bald spot on his head now, it was hidden by hair riddled with gray and white that had been pulled back into a small pony tail that had been braided back, probably by the hands of my two little sisters. He was dressed in nothing fancy but in simple dark clothes that I had seen some of the poorer people that we had traveled by so far. And I knew that he was my father when he looked up at me, that silly, lopsided grin on his face with his dark brown eyes smiling. And, to top things off, he chuckled the strangest chuckle that I had ever heard.

"Winifred," he said, still laughing. "Baby, I didn't scar you, did I by having ya watch that pony give birth to this little foal?"

Me, a smaller, chubbier version of me anyways at only six years old by the looks of it, looked up at my father. I was sitting cross-legged in the stall, surrounded by hay as my father stood as the foal that I had apparently watched being born shakily got to its feet. It was a gorgeous thing; it had white spots in its brown fur and had a white mane and tail. "No, daddy," I replied. "You didn't."

"Good." Once the foal was nursing by its mother, my father walked over and lifted me up onto his shoulders. My hands instantly laced into his hair; a small crown that I hadn't noticed before was resting upon his head. "Ya know, baby, you're gonna be a mother one day too."

"I know! I wanna have..." I counted my fingers slowly. "Seven kids!"

A chuckle rumbled through my father. "Seven? Ya don't think that's a tad bit too much, now do ya?" The younger me pouted and my father laughed. "Ya've gotta leave some room for your brother and sisters to have some kids too! Now," he said as he placed me onto the stall door, pulling at his beard thoughtfully. "What do you wanna name this little pony?"

"Pony!"

"Yeah, it's a little pony! What do you wanna name him? Thunder? Lightning, maybe? I've always like Rocky..."

I pouted again. "I like Pony. Let's name him Pony!"

My father laughed again and the little foal flicked its ears up at us as his mother neighed at us. "He's gonna be your pony one day; ya better name him somethin' that you'll always like."

"Pony."

Sighing, my father leaned up against the stall door. "A real name, Winifred. Like Rose or something' like that."

"Why do we have to name him anyways, Daddy?"

He didn't look at me for a moment, his fingers running down his speckled beard as he watched the little pony. It definitely hadn't been there before, back when I was in what I still considered as the real world- Earth- but there was a scar on his head. The hair hadn't grown there and a slightly paler mark on the right side of his forehead stared at me blankly. From the middle of his forehead to the space right above his ear, there was a long, deadly scar. The story that he had told me where he had gotten it from suddenly rang through my mind. An Orc. He said that he had gotten it from an Orc and, if he didn't have a nameless war pony rear up in front of the Orc, he would be dead toward.

"Baby girl, everything deserves a name." His voice was soft then, too lost in his thoughts to say anything else.

I looked at the pony and then stuck out my bottom lip. "Then I name him Spots."

oOoOoOoOo

I woke up with a start against Thorin's back, my breath catching slightly in my throat as my grip tightened on his fur coat. If he noticed that I was awake, he didn't say anything even as I shot up straight, looking around frantically. My head was pounding against my skull and I squinted slightly at wherever we were. I wasn't familiar with the place, but, then again, I didn't seem to know any of Middle-Earth.

Sometime during the period that I had been asleep, we had entered a small town. It didn't seem too big; just from riding on the narrow path that we were on I could see the forest that we had been traveling through. What houses that were there were wooden and creaked as the breeze blew through them. Candles sat in windows and maybe one person stood at their doorway, watching us with a tired expression as they cradled a clothes basket in their hands. This village was very different than the one that Bilbo had lived in. Without realizing it until after I had done it, I tightened my grip on Thorin as I continued to examined the place.

"I see that you are awake now," the dwarf King rumbled in front of me.

Still looking over the rather empty village, I nodded even though he couldn't see me. "Where are we?" I asked silently. We finally passed another person as I spoke quietly. He was definitely drunk though; he ignored our very presence as we rode by, singing some song and waving about a tankard of beer.

"A village of man," Thorin said and then gestured to the only lively building in the only village so far. "We are staying at an inn tonight. It will be the last time that any of us will sleep in beds for a while, most likely."

I fell quiet, being too tired to ask anything else. Thorin seemed to like my silence and also didn't say anything as we approached a stable where a human boy was fast asleep on a stool. Here Thorin dismounted Rocky and simply tossed a coin at the boy, who woke with a start. The other dwarves did the same and it wasn't long before the ponies were each in their own stall. The boy, blonde and skinny with baggy clothing, ran about, feeding and watering the horses. Thorin still didn't say anything as he slipped the bridle off of Rocky and then glanced at me still sitting in Rocky's saddle, eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"Come. The inn will have food and water," he announced as he finally reached up for me to help me off Rocky.

It took everything that I had not to comment on how Thorin didn't seem to want to help me down. But I held my tongue as he caught me, removing his hands just as quickly as he had caught me with them. It didn't work though. His hands left my waist with little sparks and my cheeks flushed bright red anyways. Before he could notice, I was already particularly hopped out of the stall as he removed Rocky's saddle and I nervously began shifting my sword on my hip. Even through his coat his arms bulged and I found myself staring a little.

"Would Milday like an escort into the inn?" I turned to see Dwalin bowing dramatically, an arm offered out to me with a large, goofy smile on his face. Torches caused the metal that was on his hands to flash for a minute and I saw that he had brass knuckles. Clever dwarf, I couldn't help but to think as I laid my hand in his, doing my best to act as well. I was always pitiful at it.

"Of course, my warrior! I cannot seem to walk a few hundred steps to find where this inn is!" I exclaimed with a roll of my eyes and my best princess voice as Dwalin pulled me into his side to 'escort' me.

The dwarf warrior shook his head in laughter as some of the other dwarves that were near us chuckled as well. "Funny," Dwalin commented as we all waited for Thorin to finish with his pony. Gandalf was already walking up, trying to comfort a Bilbo that was rubbing at his sore bottom. Granted, my was too, but I wasn't about to massage it in front of all of these dwarves. "How do like our adventure so far?"

"I don't know what to expect," I said truthfully as Thorin marched by, looking somewhat annoyed. Was it just my imagination or did he shot me and Dwalin a nasty glare? "But I like it so far."

"She's a traveler lads!" Dwalin suddenly roared out beside me and the other dwarves gave a cheer, both Elyse and Sydnee's laughter ringing out with them as well. "Haha! These lassies are some of the damn toughest dwarf women that I know of! And they ain't got beards!"

"Do what?" Sydnee squeaked out. She and Fili had their arms locked again and her face had a touch of confusion on it.

"Dwarf women have beards too!" Gloin called out, waving about a necklace above everyone's heads. "Just like at me gorgeous wife and little boy!"

"Mahal! Ya've gotten him started now!" complained Bofur as he stepped out of the way to keep from being ran over as Gloin rushed over to Sydnee to steal her from Fili to show her his family. "Now he ain't gonna be quiet all night long!"

A chorus of moans came from the rest of the dwarves. Thorin barked out a command in a different language and they fell silent immediately. "Eat and rest here, men," he called out from where he was standing by the door. "But do not cause any trouble." His eyes flickered to Dwalin, who gave him a large smirk, and then to me, which caused me to frown. He then turned his back to us and went into the inn without another word.

Dwalin pulled me in right after him. The laughter and the smell of the inn both hit me at once and I couldn't help but to wonder how Elyse was going to react when she walked in. Men and women both drank happily in an old fashioned bar. Instead of candles, there were torches that had been hung up on the walls for light and it danced happily around the merry people. Waitresses walked about, handing people drinks and food, and I spotted Gandalf and a shocked Bilbo being served food. Dwalin dragged me to a table where Thorin was already sitting at and plopped me down in the seat without taking consideration of my sword hanging on my hip right across from the King, who looked up at me and cracked a tiny, split-second smile from he saw my frazzled appearance. Balin, Gloin, Oin, and Dori all joined us at the table while the others mostly went for either food or drink. Kili, Elyse, Fili, and Sydnee took another table near us, laughing and jesting at each other.

"Inns," Oin spoke up first from the very end of the table. "I hate 'em. Too loud."

"If I couldn't hear anythin' but through that horn of yours, then I would too," Gloin exclaimed, nudging his older brother.

"We must rent rooms soon. I fear that these people might have already taken them all," Thorin announced from across of me, already fiddling with the key that Gandalf had given him that he had placed around his neck. "While everyone is busy with food and drink, I think that I shall get our rooms."

Almost the second that Thorin had left, Dwalin nudged me with his large shoulder and winked. "Watch him get these rooms. He'll get 'em half off for us without even tryin'."

I shook my head, a light smile touching my lips. "No thank you, Dwalin. I think that I'll just get me some food. What? I'm hungry!" I scowled at him as he burst at laughing at me. "Do any of y'all want anything?"

"What sort of question is that, Milday?" Dori stated with a smile.

Once the dwarves had told me what they wanted, I slipped through the crowd of people until I got to the bar. I looked at it for a moment, studying at how I literally only reached the bar's counter, and huffed as I stood on my tippy-toes and waved at the man behind it. He curiously walked over and I gave him my best smile in my tired state. I gave him the food orders -after I got past two plates, he began giving me these strange looks because he probably believed that I was eating this much alone. It took a while for the food to come and, about after twenty minutes of waiting, I clambered up onto one of the stools and waited for it. I may or not have dozed off once or twice before the man brought out the food. At that point Thorin appeared beside me.

"What are you doing?" he asked over the noise of the inn, looking at me strangely as I tried to figure out how to take all of this food over to the dwarves. It was nothing compared to what I had seen them eat over at Bilbo's and during lunch today, but it was still a lot.

I returned his strange look. "I'm taking food over to your dwarves, King Oakenshield," I said sarcastically. "What's it look like?"

His ice blue eyes rolled and he grabbed two of the plates. "Just Thorin, please."

"Okay, Oakenshield," I smirked. Instead of the glare that I was expecting from him, he returmed the light-hearted smirk that I had just given him. It was so much better than mine that it sort of unnerved me. He definitely had to have practiced with that smirk. I don't know why that bothered me so much; of course he had time to perfect that, he's a King, I reminded myself bitterly as I started through weaving through the crowd with Thorin still smirking behind me. And he's attractive. He's easily at least three times better looking than what I am, which is weird to think about since I'm a girl and he's a guy.

As I slipped through the last big group of people, my thoughts still on Thorin, I felt someone grab my wrist. It wasn't tight or anything and when I whipped around to see who it was, I was greeted by the drunk face of a scruffy drunk man. He was so drunk, his fingers were already sliding from my wrist. "Lemme go," I said just above the noise level, glaring at him. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Thorin giving the dwarves their food, his back turned turned to me.

"Why would I want to do that, sweetheart?" slurred the man as I struggled to get out of his grasp without spilling the food. "You're a very pretty dwarf." His pals laughed behind them, drunk as well.

"Let me go." My voice had dropped to an angry tone, my eyes narrowing, but the drunkard didn't seem to notice.

Again the man smiled and, just as he was starting to pull me toward him and I felt the first signs of ice beginning to freeze my hand to the plate, another hand slapped onto the man's and I was pulled back behind someone. I was surprised to find that the person was Thorin; he looked mad as he glared at the man and pushed me in behind him to safety. "The lady asked you to let her go," he growled as he threw the man's arm away. "You should respect her wishes that she doesn't want to see your pathetic face anywhere near her."

While the man's face fell, some of his buddies stood. It was here that I realized how short us dwarves were. Thorin was tall for a dwarf but even he hardly reached their collarbones in height. I only reached the bottom of their chests and I almost jumped out of my skin when someone took the food plates away. Dwalin, who had just tossed the food on the table, moved beside Thorin while Gloin joined him on the other side. "I wouldn't do that, if I was ya," Dwalin snarled when one of the men raised a fist as if to hit them.

Most of the activities that were in the inn had screeched to a slow, whispering halt. I wasn't that surprised when Thorin grabbed my arm -which was no where near as scary as what the man had been like- and pulled me past the men. "I think that you should eat in a room."

"I like that idea," I agreed.

Let's say that later, when I woke up in the middle of the night and I peeked out of the door for fresh air, I found that Nori was outside of our room, keeping guard for us.