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"You!" You stammered, shock and irritation coursing through you. You'd been caught out.

"Yes, me," Gandalf spoke, what could be a small smirk on his face. "It is good to see you again, Y/N."

You looked at your boots, feeling like a naughty child. Gandalf shifted, leaning on his staff.

"Arent you going to do something about-" you gestured toward the camp "that?"

The wizard chuckled. "I think Master Baggins can manage to keep them from being eaten for some time yet."

"It is good to see you have decided to join the Company. I had feared you would not come."

His tone became slightly more severe. "But why are you hiding in the shadows?"

An accusing thought sang something to the tune of fear, but you pushed it away. "I'm not entirely sure," you confessed openly, eyes still low.

"But why?" Asked Gandalf, one unruly grey eyebrow raised. "I personally requested you come on this quest. You have every right to be here."

"Although," the wizard added, struck by a thought. "I realise now that I know very little about you, Y/N, apart from what the old tales say."

He captures your eyes in his piercing blue ones, which seemed to see right through you. "Might you tell an simple old man your story, Y/N?"

"And don't worry about time," he continued, seeing your mouth open in protest, "We have several hours until sunrise."

So you sat on the rock ledge and told Gandalf everything, from your childhood until your encounter with him only a few weeks past. He had many questions.

"So Y/N, you are half human, half dwarf?" he confirmed, shifting from foot to foot.

"It's a quarter human, actually," you correct him, feeling more alienated than ever next to the towering wizard. It had always been a sore point for you, not being fully dwarven like the rest of your kind.

"Hmmm.... very well," Gandalf conceded. "But you realise you did not have to wait so long, don't you? Thorin would've accepted you regardless. He loves you, Y/N, no matter how he reacts to your return. He has always loved you".

You lift your head toward the troll's camp, where they were tying the dwarves up in bags. You could see him from here, grumpily tied into a bag. And you wished you had done it sooner, revealed yourself to him before this. You should have done it years ago.

"I doubt he will forgive me," you murmur, staring at the ground. "He may love me, but his anger and pain may counter that. Which is another reason why I did not pursue him until you forced my hand."

"It may take some time, but I do believe he will see the reasoning behind your choices soon enough". Gandalf smiled faintly at you, and you grimaced back.

"And I believe your presence will do him some good. It will do you both good, I pray. It's about time this mess was cleaned up," he added.

"Ah, but can it be cleaned?" Was your cryptic response. Gandalf just looked at you until you squirmed.

"As of mentioning it to him, I will do no such thing." Relief flooded through you, and you let out a sigh, unaware you had been holding your breath.

"However," the wizard continued, " I can no longer allow you to hide in the shadows. He has the right to know you are here, watching his every move. You will reveal yourself to him at the next available opportunity."

"That's not fair," you began to exclaim hotly, but Gandalf silences you with a steely glance from his blue eyes.

"You will show yourself to him, or I will reveal your presence myself!"

He continued in a softer tone "I know you had been meaning to for some time, hadn't you? I spotted you hiding outside Bag End, when Thorin first arrived."

You nod dejectedly. The game was up, it seemed.

"Now," he turns on his heel and clambers toward the edge of the rock wall, and you follow behind. "Let us save our companions from being roasted, skinned or squashed into jelly. Dawn has arrived!"

He brings his staff down upon the rock, and it gives an almighty crack, causing the two of you to step to the side as it split down the middle.

"May the dawn take you all!" Gandalf bellows at the trolls, who scream in agony as they turn to stone, faces contorted painfully.

All was quiet for a moment, and then an almighty cheer rises up from the dwarves. Even Thorin was smiling. A little older, with grey streaks in those luscious locks, and some lines on his face that you didn't remember. But that smile was timeless. You marveled at the sight of him, his handsome face filled with light.

And then he sees you. And his mouth drops open like a fish. He turns pale, and no sound comes out, before his eyes harden and his mouth closes abruptly, jaw clenched tightly. The feeling of the eye contact between you makes your stomach churn and cramp, and you feel like your heart has stopped beating. He sees you.

"Who's that with Gandalf?" You hear the Fili ask Balin, a dwarf you remember, but you are too caught up in Thorin's gaze.

"That, laddie, is Y/N . Thorin's long-lost betrothed".