I suppose there should be some sort of disclaimer here. Alright, fine! Kokonoa & Faela solemly swear that we do not own The Hobbit, nor any of the characters created by Tolkien and Peter Jackson. Yet...

Chapter 1

Look for my signal upon the door, Gandalf had said before. The hobbit hole had been easy enough to find. After all, Bag End was famous in Hobbiton, being set in one of the highest hills in the Shire.

Hobbiton had not changed a great deal from the last time Vallen had seen it, and that had been at least a century ago. Yet, this time she hadn't returned to wander and seek a new temporary home. She had returned for a purpose.

Vallen released a short sigh of irritation. It was not too late to turn back. The forest surrounding the Blue Mountains had kept her hidden safely for many a year. Yet, somehow, the meddling wizard had managed to find her there, and he had managed to convince her to leave her safe haven and join in this mad quest.

The circular green door loomed over the road up ahead on its perch on the Hill. Bright blue runes shone out into the darkness. Burglar wants a job, plenty of excitement and reasonable reward. It didn't necessarily seem encouraging to Vallen, but she had made up her mind. She had come all this way, and now was not the time to reconsider. That time had long since passed.

Slowly, Vallen reached up and rang the doorbell. A moment later, a slightly flustered hobbit opened the door and froze. Standing in his pajamas and a robe, and gaping at her, he had to have been the most unprepared looking host Vallen had ever seen. For a split second, Vallen wondered if she had come to the right place, but then the loud voices and the scent of dwarves reached her, and her doubt quickly faded. Gandalf, being the odd creature that he was, had probably not told the hobbit that there were going to be thirteen dwarves and herself on his doorstep that night.

A small yet polite smile spread on Vallen's face and she inclined her head in a slight bow. There was no reason not to be civil. Especially since the poor hobbit seemed to have absolutely no idea what was occurring, or what was about to occur.

"Greetings, Mr. Baggins," she said. Her voice seemed to have snapped him out of his daze, and he jumped ever so slightly.

"Good evening," he squeaked.

"Yes, I suppose it is. Perfect for a gathering of eleven more dwarves," Vallen replied slyly, and then strode past the pale and confused hobbit and into the entry hall. "And a wizard," she added over her shoulder, almost as an after-thought.

"More dwarves?! What do you mean?" Mr. Baggins yelped. Vallen rolled her eyes underneath her hood and continued walking. The hobbit trailed behind, spouting off questions and complaints, all of which were ignored. The two dwarves Vallen had sensed were busy examining the mold on a wedge of blue cheese, and they did not notice her before she ducked into the nearby sitting room.

The doorbell rang again, drawing Mr. Baggins away from Vallen and back towards the door. He swung the door open, and there in the doorway, stood two of the most attractive dwarves Vallen had seen in a while. They were as different looking as night and day. One was blond, blue-eyed, and he carried himself like a prince. The other was dark haired, brown-eyed, and he had an overly cheerful and excited countenance that reminded Vallen of a puppy. Yet despite these differences, they appeared to be closely related.

"Fili," the blonde one began. "And Kili," the dark one ended.

"At your service!" they both cried as they bowed in unison.

"You must be Mr. Boggins!" Kili greeted, a bright smile on his face.

Apparently, Mr. Baggins wasn't too pleased that there were two more visitors on his doorstep, and he then proceeded to slam the door in their faces, claiming that they had come to the wrong house. The dark-haired one, Kili, quickly pushed the door back open. The look of panic and utter heartbreak that had replaced his bright smile almost made Vallen chuckle. Dwarves were so easy to read at times.

"What! It hasn't been canceled, has it?" Kili asked, almost pleadingly.

"No one told us," his brother, Fili, added. He did not appear as emotionally affected as Kili.

"Cancelled? No, nothing's been cancelled!" Mr. Baggins replied, confusion was evident on his face.

"Well that's a relief!" Kili exclaimed excitedly, pushing his way past Mr. Baggins and into the entry hall, closely followed by Fili.

At this point, Vallen had decided that she had seen enough and she retreated into a shadowy corner of the sitting room. It would cause only unnecessary questions if she was seen by the dwarves before Gandalf arrived. Questions that Vallen was not sure she could answer. Until then, it was best to stay out of sight, and that was no problem. Vallen was good at hiding. She had been doing it for a long, long time.

There was a small, padded stool next to a desk that was covered with maps and drawings strewn haphazardly all over. Vallen pulled the stool away from the desk and drew it into the corner, and there she sat. Drawing her dark cloak about herself and pulling up her hood, the dark-haired woman was practically invisible to all but the most eyes.

In the other rooms, Vallen could hear the dwarves moving about and talking amongst themselves, ignoring their host's flustered objections. The doorbell rang again. Apparently the prospect of more visitors seemed to enrage the poor hobbit, if his shouting as he padded over to the door was any indication.

The sounds of hinges creaking as a door opened quickly, bodies falling heavily against each other, and the annoyed groans of several people reached Vallen's sensitive ears. She stood up, curious as to what had transpired, and sneaked a glance into the hallway. The scent of several sweaty dwarves attacked her nose when she began to peek around the corner, and she grimaced ever so slightly.

There, on the doormat, lying on top of each other in a huge dog pile were the other dwarves, minus one. And behind the writhing pile of bodies, stood the grey wizard in the pointed hat. The comical sight tugged at the corners of Vallen's mouth, bringing a faint smile to her lips.

"Gandalf!" Mr. Baggins exclaimed, his tone held a small note of relief but it was overshadowed with irritation as well.

It did not take long for the dwarves to recover from their fall. Once they did, they joined the others in the pantry and dining room, barely acknowledging their host and failing to notice Vallen, as she strode past them, towards Gandalf.

The old wizard, having been the only one who knew of Vallen's arrival, brightened up at the sight of her and exclaimed:

"Ah, Vallen! How fortunate for you to show up - I was almost afraid you would change your mind!" He laughed nervously, and Vallen could detect the same hint of fear and confusion in his voice as the first time they had met. Gandalf had never come across her kind before, and therefore he was not entirely sure how to act or speak in her presence. The fact that her mysterious nature brought slight fear to the heart of a powerful wizard filled Vallen with satisfaction, but she swallowed her pride and scowled at him.

"You didn't tell the hobbit about the meeting," she said, as he entered the home and took off his hat.

"Well, no." Gandalf replied. "I thought it best to wait until all the dwarves have arrived and the meeting has begun. I would prefer to explain everything, then, if that is alright with you."

"This is not really my quest, it is the dwarves'. I don't care what you plan, as long as it will take us to our destination. But you could have at least told Mr. Baggins that he would be having more visitors than usual this evening." A slight smirk appeared on her lips and she gazed in Bilbo's direction. "He seems somewhat...distressed."

The wizard laughed again, a real laugh this time, and answered, "He will understand in good time. Everything shall be explained once the meeting has started. The same goes for you, Vallen. But first, the table must be set, and...are all the dwarves here?"

As the dwarves hurried about, getting the food and setting the table, with Bilbo all the while telling them to "put that back!", Vallen got to know each of their names, for Gandalf said their names as he saw them, counting on his fingers. Finally, he said, "We seem to be one dwarf short."

"I'm surprised you can keep track of this rabble." Vallen said, stepping to the side to let one of the dwarves carrying a plate of turkey on his head pass by. Vallen remembered Gandalf having called him Bofur.

"Who're you?" Bofur asked, stopping in the middle of the room. Before Vallen could reply, another dwarf, carrying four blocks of cheese, walked straight into Bofur and they both fell to the ground in an explosion of food.

"I think I will just have a seat until things have become more organized." she mumbled, casting one last amused glance at the grumbling dwarves on the ground and then headed back to her corner.

"Are you certain, my dear?" Gandalf asked. "You could join in the festivities."

Vallen shook her head gently. "I'd rather not. But thank you for the offer, nonetheless."

The rest went by like a blur. Bilbo became more disgruntled by the minute, and none of the dwarves paid him any heed. Finally, Vallen saw both Bilbo and Gandalf leaving the chaotic dining room, with Bilbo complaining about what the dwarves had done with his home in this short time. She tried to listen in on what he was saying, but she couldn't concentrate, for there was a thumping coming from the dining room and it was increasing in volume. Then she could hear the sound of metal clinking and she quickly realized that the dwarves were trying to make musical beat with some sort of metallic object. Most likely the kitchen utensils. She had a feeling that a song would follow. Dwarves had a tendency to do just about everything with a song.

Curious, she stood up and quietly walked over to the doorway, peeking inside just as Bilbo stuttered at Bofur: "A-and c-can you not do that? You'll blunt them!"

"Ooh! Did you hear that, lads? He says we'll blunt the knives!" Came the dwarf's mocking reply, and that was when Vallen's suspicion was proven correct, and the dwarves broke into song, all the while flinging dishes throughout the halls. Vallen was not very much surprised by this, nor was she at all concerned. Dwarves have excellent hand-eye coordination. But judging from the look of utter terror on Bilbo's face, he did not know that.

"Blunt the knives, bend the forks!

Smash the bottles and burn the corks!

Chip the glasses and crack the plates!

That's what Bilbo Baggins hates -

Cut the cloth, tread the fat!

Leave the bones on the bedroom mat!

Pour the milk on the pantry floor!

Splash the wine on every door!

Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl;

Pound them up with a thumping pole;

When you've finished, if any are whole,

Send them down the hall to roll!

That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!"

The dwarves finished their unusual song with a great deal of laughter. Every bowl, cup, and plate had been cleaned and were all neatly stacked on the dining room table. As she watched the merry dwarves, a genuine smile of amusement spread across her face for the first time in a long while. She had a feeling she wouldn't mind travelling with these people. Not one bit.

Suddenly, a loud knocking came from the front door, and the dwarves quickly became quiet, casting nervous gazes towards the door. Vallen used the momentary silence to listen. The loud thumps of a strong heartbeat emanated from the other side of the door.

"He is here." Gandalf announced in a dramatic whisper. In any other circumstance, Vallen would have rolled her eyes at his tone. She almost did, in fact, but she was stopped by her curiosity over who stood outside.

A/N: For those of you who have ventured thus far and are interested. This story is being written by two people, the Crazen Kokonoa and the Eccentric Faela. Because of that, it might take a while to update our chapters because we do a great deal of revising and editing. And it takes a while.

Anyway, both of us would like to encourage you to review our story and tell us your opinion. Constructive criticism is welcome, but not flames. Please guys! Life is too short for hate.

And by the way, feel free to guess what Vallen is. (Hint: She's not human)