It is nighttime; Bofur has prepared a dinner of soup, and the dwarves are eating it. I stare at my bowl contemplating whether or not to eat it when I see Bilbo grab two bowls from Bofur to take to Fili and Kili. Before he leaves the camp I jump to my feet and jogging up to the hobbit say, "Here let me help you." He gives me a thankful smile as he hands me a bowl. When we reach where Fili and Kili are watching the ponies I look forward to see that they are staring out into the dark and don't take the soup from us when we hand it to them.

"What's the matter?" Bilbo says as we follow their gaze toward the ponies.

"We're supposed to be looking out for the ponies." Kili says and I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Only we've encountered a slight problem." Fili says and I take a deep breath instantly annoyed at their back and forth exclamations.

"We had sixteen."

"Now there's fourteen."

We all examine the group of ponies and I raise an eyebrow as I say, "Daisy and Bungo are missing." Bilbo shifts on his feet as he says, "Well, that's not good. That is not good at all. Shouldn't we tell Thorin?"

Fili instantly shakes his head as he says, "Uhh, no. Let's not worry him. As our official burglar, we thought you might like to look into it." Bilbo and I look around to see some trees recently uprooted and laying on the ground. "Well, uh...look, something big uprooted these trees." Bilbo says and anger fills my body as I realize what it is.

"That was our thinking." Kili says and grit my teeth. "Something very big, and possibly quite dangerous." Bilbo says and I whisper out, "You have no idea." "Hey! There's a light. Over here! Stay down." Fili says as he and Kili rush out after the light. I mentally face palm as I instantly follow after them followed closely behind by Bilbo. As we quietly run through the forest toward the light Fili has seen, we hide behind a log and as Harsh laughter sounds from near the fire. I reach down and grab the hilt of my sword.

"What is it?" Bilbo asks in a whisper. "Trolls." Kili says as he and Fili run off toward the fire. I let out a groan of irritation as I follow after them once again. Suddenly I turn to see a massive mountain troll walking toward the fire, carrying a pony under each arm. "He's got Myrtle and Minty! I think they're going to eat them, we have to do something." Bilbo whisper yells out and I look over at the two dwarves and instantly want to smack them upside their heads.

"Yes; you should. Mountain trolls are slow and stupid, and you're so small." Kili says as he hides behind a tree.

"Nnno" Bilbo says as he holds the bowls of soup up in the air.

"They'll never see you." Kili says reassuringly.

"No, no, no..."

"It's perfectly safe! We'll be right behind you."

"If you run into trouble, hoot twice like a barn owl, once like a brown owl." Fili says as he and Kili push Bilbo toward the fire and take their bowls of soup from him. I follow closely behind him even after they disappear. "Don't worry Bilbo, I'm here if you need me." I say as the two of us slowly stalk toward the Trolls. I listen as they groan about eating Mutton and debating on how they are going to eat the ponies. Out of the corner of my eyes I see Bilbo reach the ponies and then groan in annoyance that I hadn't given him a knife to cut the ropes. One of the trolls is about to sneeze, and as he reaches behind him for his handkerchief, but accidentally grabs Bilbo instead, and sneezes all over him. He then realizes that he's not holding any ordinary booger.

"Argh!!! Blimey! Bert! Bert! Look what's come out of me 'ooter! It's got arms and legs and everything." The other trolls gather around to look. I groan inwardly as I pull Ithildin from his sheathe.

"What is it?"

"I don't know, but I don't like the way it wriggles around!"

The Troll shakes Bilbo, covered in snot, off the napkin and onto the ground as another says, "What are you then? An oversized squirrel?"

"I'm a burglar-uhh, Hobbit." Bilbo says as he almost puts his foot in his mouth.

"A BurglaHobbit?"

"Can we cook 'im?

"We can try!" One of the trolls tries to grab Bilbo, but he dodges, only to be cornered by another.

"He wouldn't make more than a mouthful, not when he's skinned and boned!"

"Perhaps there's more BurglarHobbits around these parts. Might be enough for a pie."

"Grab him!"

"It's too quick!" One of the trolls says as he once again tries to catch Bilbo. As the trolls try to catch Bilbo, he runs around trying to dodge them. Bert accidentally hits William with his ladle while trying to hit Bilbo. Bilbo is eventually caught by the legs by Tom, and held upside down in the air. "Come here, you little... Gotcha! Are there any more of you little fellas 'iding where you shouldn't?"

"Nope." Bilbo lies and I smile at his courage.

"He's lying."

"No I'm not!" Bilbo says as he wriggles in the trolls grasp. I suddenly feel Kili standing next to me and I quickly glance over at him.

"Hold his toes over the fire. Make him squeal." One of the trolls says and we both suddenly run out of the bushes and while I go for the Troll holding Bilbo; Kili cuts another in the leg, making him howl and fall down. After a few seconds I hear Kili say, "Drop him!"

"You what?" One of the trolls says and I smile as I drop my voice an octave and say, "You heard him Troll." They all turn toward me and I watch as the leader smiles and says, "Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes, look Bart it's an elf." My heart drops but I keep my composure as Kili says once again, "I said, drop him." As the troll throws Bilbo at Kili I lunge at them and then realize that I am soon joined by the rest of the Company as they come charging out of the bushes yelling and brandishing their weapons.

We begin fighting the trolls, hacking, slashing, and hammering their legs. I move like a gazelle as I stealthily slice away at each troll fighting side by side with the dwarves. Suddenly the trolls hold Bilbo up in the air by his arms and legs and we all stop fighting. "Bilbo!" Kili cries out as he tries to rush them only to be grabbed by Thorin as he yells out, "No!"

"Lay down your arms, or we'll rip his off." I toss Ithildin down and glance out of the corner of my eye to see Thorin look at Bilbo in frustration, then plant his sword in the ground. The others drop their swords and weapons as well. I try not to vomit in disgust as one of the trolls grabs me and places me in a burlap sack. I grit my teeth as I think about how I was going to be eaten by a troll. I watch as they tie Dwalin, Bofur, Dori, Ori, and Nori onto a spit; and begin to roast them over the fire.

The rest of us are tied up in sacks nearby. I look at the dwarves on the spit and decide that I had lived long enough anyway. I push myself to my feet and say, "Wait!" They all turned to me curiosity in their eyes. "You don't want to eat them, dwarves are gamey. If you want something more delectable might I suggest you eat me?" I hear the dwarves whisper behind me but ignore them.

"Why would we eat you instead of them?" The troll I take as the youngest asks and I clear my face of any emotion as I say, "Elves are like a fine wine, we only get better the longer we are alive and I am centuries old." The Trolls look at each other like they are contemplating my offer but my heart drops when they decide against it. "Then we'll save you for last."

"Never mind the seasoning; We ain't got all night! Dawn ain't far away, so let's get a move on. I don't fancy being turned to stone." Suddenly Bilbo is standing next to me saying, "Wait! You are making a terrible mistake."

"You can't reason with them, they're halfwits!" Dori says and I am about to say something when Bofur chimes in with, "Halfwits? What does that make us?" I bite my lip as I try not to laugh. Bilbo faces the trolls his head held high as he says, "Uh, I meant with the, uh, with, uh, with the seasoning." I raise an eyebrow as I slowly look toward him. I think to myself as one of the trolls that I now know as Bert says, "What about the seasoning?"

"Well have you smelt them? You're going to need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot up." I bury my face in my shoulder as I once again try to hold back my laughter as the dwarves yell at Bilbo calling him a traitor.

"What do you know about cooking dwarf?" The Troll named Tom says curiously.

"Shut up, and let the, uh, flurgaburburrahobbit talk." Bert says as he turns his full attention to Bilbo.

"Uh, th-the secret to cooking dwarf is, um" I glance at Bilbo to see a look of pure astonishment on his face that he is thinking about what seasonings would go good with dwarf.

"Yes? Come on." Bert says getting antsy.

"It's, uh" I smile inwardly as I realize Bilbo is trying to stall till dawn.

"Tell us the secret." Bert says and I sense irritation in his voice.

"Ye-yes, I'm telling you, the secret is ... to skin them first!" Bilbo says getting ahead of himself.

"Tom, get me the filleting knife." Bert says as he nudges his companion.

I hear the dwarves on the spike yell at Bilbo angrily and I roll my eyes. "What a load of rubbish! I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scuff them, I say, boots and all." Tom says and I happen to catch a glance of Gandalf slipping behind some trees nearby.

"'e's right! Nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf! Nice and crunchy." William says as he grabs Bombur, who is in a sack, and dangles him upside down over his mouth, about to eat him. I yell out "Stop!" As Bilbo yells out, "Not-not that one, he-he's infected!"

"You what?" Tom says as he stares at Bilbo. "Yeah, He's got worms in his ... tubes." Bilbo says and I once again try not to laugh at Bilbo's words. William drops Bombur back into the pile of Dwarves in disgust. "In-in fact they all have, they're in-infested with parasites. It's a terrible business; I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't."

"Parasites, did he say parasites?" Oin says as Kili rebuts, "We don't have parasites! You have parasites!" causing me and Bilbo to roll our eyes. The rest of the dwarves chime in about how they don't have parasites and how Bilbo is a fool. I glance back at Thorin and I see the suddenly realization hit him and he kicks Kili making all the dwarves understand and go along with it. All the dwarves begin proclaiming about how they're "riddled" with parasites making me once again try not to laugh when Tom chimes in, "What would you have us do, then, let 'em all go?" I nod as Bilbo says, "Well..."

"You think I don't know what you're up to? This little ferret is taking us for fools!" My mouth gapes open in shock as I hear Bilbo say, "Ferret?"

Suddenly Gandalf appears on top of a large rock above the clearing and yells out, "The dawn will take you all!"

"Who's that?"

"No idea."

"Can we eat 'im too?"

Gandalf strikes the rock with his staff, splitting it in half, allowing the sunlight behind it to pour into the clearing. When the sunlight touches the trolls' skin, they begin turning into stone amidst loud screams and howls of pain. Within seconds, there are three stone statues of trolls in the clearing. All the dwarves cheer for Gandalf. Of course, the dwarves on the spit, including Dwalin, still look uncomfortable. I smile at Bilbo as I say, "Good thinking there."

It is morning; the dwarves have been freed from the spit and from the sacks. Gandalf walks to one of the troll statues and thumps it with his staff, with a pleased smile on his face. I suddenly notice that the dwarves are avoiding me and my stomach drops. "So you're an Elf?" I hear Bilbo say and I smile softly as I say, "I was once, not anymore."

"What happened if you don't mind me asking?" He says and I notice that he's not the only one listening. Fili, Kili, Dwalin, and Balin all are now even though their eyes are not on me I can still feel their curiosity hit me like a wave. I feel my throat close up and I force my eyes closed as I say, "I..." Suddenly my heart starts to race causing my breath to catch causing a feeling of not being able to breathe fill my body. I force my eyes to open as I say, "I need some air!"

As I walk away I hear Balin say, "Some histories are hard for some to remember young Bilbo. Give her some time and she'll tell you though she may not know it yet." Thorin suddenly orders us all to look for a cave and upon finding it we all walk in to see that it is full of treasures the trolls have been hoarding. Suddenly a putrid smell hits me making me scowl. "Oh, what's that stench?!" Nori says causing Gandalf to reply, "It's a troll hoard. Be careful what you touch."

As they enter the cave, many of the dwarves cough and retch at the pungency. Inside, they find piles of gold coins and other treasure in caskets. I follow closely behind Thorin while he explores. I watch as he finds two swords covered in cobwebs. My heart catches as Gandalf approaches him. "These swords were not made by any troll." Thorin says as he hands one sword to Gandalf and keeps the other one.

"Nor were they made by any smith among men." "They were made by my kin," I say barely above a whisper. Gandalf draws the sword in his hand out of its sheath a few inches. "These were forged in Gondolin by the High Elves of the First Age." I watch as Thorin, realizing that they are Elven swords, starts to put his away in disgust. "You could not wish for a finer blade." Gandalf says and I walk away from them trying not to think about the Elf that made them.

"Let's get out of this foul place. Come on, let's go. Bofur! Gloin! Nori!" Thorin says as he quickly exits the cave. I follow closely behind him until the sunlight and fresh air hit my face making me relax. I sense something coming and turning to my company say, "Something's coming!"

"Stay together! Hurry now. Arm yourselves." Gandalf says as we all run off into the woods. Suddenly Radagast rides at full speed through the forest on his rabbit drawn sled. He pulls up short by the Company yelling, "Thieves! Fire! Murder!" I roll my eyes as Gandalf walks up to him and says, "Radagast! Radagast the Brown. Ah. What on earth are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong."

"Yes?"

Radagast opens his mouth to speak, but shuts it. He opens his mouth again, but closes it again. He has forgotten what he was going to say. "Oh, just give me a minute. Um, oh, I had a thought, and now I've lost it. It was, it was right there, on the tip of my tongue." He curls up his tongue, and looks surprised. "Oh, it's not a thought at all; it's a silly old..." Gandalf pulls a stick insect out of Radagast's mouth. "Stick insect!"

The dwarves and Bilbo look flustered. Radagast and Gandalf go off a few paces and speak privately. I sit down in the grass and taking a deep breath let the woods welcome me into their home. "Randír, do you mind if I join you?" I hear Bilbo say and I smile softly as I say, "Have a seat Bilbo." As he sits beside me I find myself saying, "You asked me what happened to me and I ran. I am sorry; I just don't like reliving my past."

"That's completely understandable." He says and I smile softly. "My father was a great elven lord I do not know if you know his name but he was called, Celebrimbor."

"I don't think I've heard of him." I feel my heart clench as I tell him about what had happened to my father and my past. As I do, I leave nothing out save for my history with Thranduil. When I am done talking I suddenly notice that all the dwarves including Thorin are listening to me. My heart drops. I think to myself as I suddenly have the urge to run.

"Is that why you no longer claim to be an elf?" I hear Bilbo ask and I nod slowly as I say, "I have no right to be one. If I could, I'd be a mortal."

"I wouldn't say you have no right," I smile softly at him as I say, "You're a good friend Bilbo." Suddenly, a howl is heard in the distance. "Was that a wolf? Are there wolves out there?"

"Wolves? No, that is not a wolf." Bofur says as the color drains from every ones faces. From behind a nearby crag, a Warg appears; it leaps into the midst of the Company, knocking down one of the dwarves. Thorin strikes and kills it using Orcrist. Another Warg attacks from the other side; Kili shoots it with an arrow, bringing it down. However, it gets back up, only to be killed by Dwalin.

"Warg Scouts! Which means an Orc pack is not far behind." I grab Ithildin and pulling him from his sheathe jump to my feet as Bilbo says, "Orc pack?"

"Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" Gandalf says angrily to Thorin who replies, "No one."

"Who did you tell?"

"No one, I swear. What in Durin's name is going on?"

"You are being hunted." I grip tightly to Ithildin as Dwalin says, "We have to get out of here." "We can't! We have no ponies; they bolted." Ori says and I suddenly feel a whole fill my body. "I'll draw them off." Radagast says to Gandalf and I raise an eyebrow.

"These are Gundabad Wargs; they will outrun you."

"These are Rhosgobel Rabbits; I'd like to see them try."

Gandalf watches from behind a rock as Radagast and the Wargs disappear in the distance before he says, "Come on!" The Company rushes across a rocky plain. In the distance, Radagast is being chased by the Wargs. One of them crashes while trying to catch him. As we run across the plain, we see the Wargs not too far from us, so we hide behind the rocks. "Stay together." Gandalf says and nod as I place myself at the back of our company.

As we run, Radagast drives his sled beneath an overhanging projection of rock; he ducks, but the Orc on the Warg behind him gets knocked off. As the chase continues, Thorin stops behind a rock so that he is not seen by the Wargs. Ori starts to run out of the cover. "Ori, no! Come back!" Thorin yells and I grab him pulling him back behind cover.

"Come on! Quick!" Gandalf whisper yells and as the dwarves continue running, Thorin turns to Gandalf and says, "Where are you leading us?" Gandalf doesn't answer. As the Warg scouts chase Radagast, one of them stops and scents the air. The dwarves take cover behind an outcropping of rock. The scout and his Warg appear on top of the outcropping, scenting the air. Thorin looks at Kili and nods; readying an arrow, Kili quickly steps out and shoots the Warg. The Warg and the Orc on it fall near the dwarves, and the dwarves kill them. The sounds of their fight carries quite far; the other Wargs and Orcs stop chasing Radagast as they hear roars and screams from behind the rocks.

The Warg scouts howl as they stop pursuing Radagast and begin pursuing the Company. "Move. Run!" Gandalf yells causing us to run through a grassy plain; Wargs begin to surround us from all sides. "This way! Quickly!" Gandalf yells again and I keep myself behind all of them to make sure no one is left behind. We run for a while longer, then halt in a clearing as we see Wargs on all sides. "There's more coming!" Kili yells and I sheathe Ithildin and running up to Kili say, "Hand me your bow." He gives me a quick glance before he reluctantly hands it over along with his quiver. I take a deep breath as I grab an arrow and pulling the bowstring back release it hitting an Orc in the face between his eyes.