Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nope, Hobbit is not mine. If it were than Thorin, Kili, and Fili would not die. They would live! THEY WOULD LIVE! But sadly, I don't own Hobbit. But I write this fanfic for amusement, and I hope all you will enjoy it.

Summary: A mistake as a child leaves Elizabeth cursed, and if she does not find a way to break her curse, she will fall. And if she falls, so shall the Line of Durin. "Endure. It is all you can do. You have to endure, because if you fall…they will all fall."

Pairings: Eventual Thorin/OC, Biblo/? (I am open to suggestions on Bilbo's pairing since I haven't anything in mind yet.)

Verse: It will be a mixture of the book and movie, but probably will lean more towards the movie since it's the one I know most about. I've only read half of the book so far.

Warning: Nightmares, torture, sexual themes and more

There is unfortunately only one Tolkien character in this chapter, but you can't miss him.

ONE

Curiosity Killed the Cat

Connected.

That is what is what the Grey Wizard told me once upon a time…we were connected, through stings of chance and fate. Weaved together for some ultimate designs that none of us could have foreseen. Perhaps I should start at the beginning, it is after all the best place to start a story. My story started before even I knew that it had started…it started with a stone. A jewel unlike any other, or so everyone believed. It was a globe with a thousand facets shining like silver in the firelight, like water in the sun, like snow under the stars, like rain upon the Moon! It was naught, but a stone at first glance I had thought…then I touched it and everything changed.

I became cursed.

Earth

Waycross, Kentucky

April 26th, 2013

The morning had started like any other for Elizabeth Morgan, who at the tender age of eight had become quite the wanderer. At least, in her make believe world she was world worn. She had slain monsters, taken down fierce dragons and had saved a few Prince Charmings along the way. Quite magnificent feats for someone her age. Pulling her auburn hair back into a messy bun because her mother was not awake yet, and adventurer's couldn't always rely on their mother's to take care of their hair. No, adventurer's needed to be able to take care of themselves, Elizabeth thought with a stern nod. After heating up a quick breakfast of ravioli in the microwave because the stove was forbidden territory guarded the most fierce some of foes…her father. She'd rather take on a thousand dragons that tangle with him. He'd put her in the corner. Elizabeth hated the corner.

Hastily eating her breakfast, she down a glass of milk that was foul but it made the bones strong. Weak bones did no wanderer any good. With her green eyes, she glanced around the quiet home. It was barely five in the morning and the sun had yet to gleam over the horizon. Her siblings and parents were still safely tucked away in bed. It was natural that Elizabeth would already be up when they were not. She had always been the "early bird", her mother had teasingly called her and as soon as she could crawl, she had been venturing off into parts unknown. Her father worried often, but had found there was little stopping her. There was a groan behind her and she turned around seeing her father stumbling into the kitchen.

Charlie Morgan shouldn't be an intimidating man by any means, standing only at five foot four. He had deep rich brown hair, and he was lean almost to the point of scrawny. Deep wrinkles were set in face by the years that had come and gone, and his green eyes stared down at her in mirth. "Good morning," he said, grabbing his coffee cup from the cabinet above her.

"What do you mean by good morning?" Elizabeth grinned broadly. "Do you mean to wish me a good morning? Or that it's a good morning whether I wish or not? Or that this is a morning to be good on."

Her dad paused, and eyed her with an arched eyebrow. "You've been spending way too much with Mr. Grey, little mocking bird," he mused, filing his cup with water and putting it into the microwave. "Perhaps you should stay home more often…"

"No way! Mr. Grey is awesome!" Elizabeth pouted.

Her dad chuckled. Her father didn't always approve of her wandering off on little adventure, but relented when he had discovered that no matter what he did, Elizabeth always found a way to have her adventures. "She has a Wanderer's heart, just like her great-great grandfather," she had overheard her mother tell her father one day. "She goes where her heart bids her to. There is nothing much we can do."

She headed towards the door, but her dad said, "Hold on."

Elizabeth turned to look at him, a pout on her lips that made her dad chuckle ever so lightly. He placed his hands on his hips, and asked, "Food?" He asked.

"Made me a PB and J, and I have a bag of jerky," she replied, with a sharp nod.

"Water?" Charlie raised an eyebrow.

"Canteen is full," Elizabeth nodded, wandering over towards the pile of her father's things that he gathered for work.

His wallet, his pocket knife, and her face split into a grin when she saw the glint of gold in the morning light. Her hand slipped around the golden pocket watch, and she snuck into her pocket like she did nearly every morning. She knew her father saw her every time, but he always kept quiet to humor her. Charlie studied her for a long moment, before nodding satisfied. "Alright. You can go," he allowed, as the microwave beeped loudly. "I need you home by noon. Your mother is going grocery shopping, and I have to go to work, so your either stuck with shopping with your mom or working in the Hunting store with me."

"Hunting store," Elizabeth said quickly then bolted out the door with her father's fond laughter trailing behind her. Her father was a hunter, and taught survival training which is why he was constantly making sure Elizabeth was prepared before she went out on her adventures. He also put up strict rules about how far she was allowed to venture into the woods and how long she could be out there. If Elizabeth broke either of those rules then she would be an adventure no more. So she took those rules very serious because she would miss her trips down to Mr. Grey's house, an old man who lived in a cabin. He told the best stories of elves, and dwarves, and made the best smoke rings though she still told him every time that smoking was nasty. He'd laugh with a merry twinkle in his eye, and put away the pipe to pacify the little adventurer. It was kind of strange how Mr. Grey showed up. She had learned the woods like the back of her hand, she mused as she trudged across the dewy ground with her child sized compound bow and quiver of arrows her dad had made over her shoulder. Pulling her scarf tighter around her face as a cold breeze made her shudder, she remembered how she had stumbled upon Mr. Grey's house that she was certain hadn't been there the day before.

She mentioned it to her parents, but both of them said Mr. Grey had been in Waycross for years so Elizabeth shrugged it off. She walked the familiar path down Trash Hill, a place where everyone had dumped their junk. Everything from washer and dryers to old pieces of roofing and much more. Elizabeth had built a sturdy shack around the base of a large oak tree where on her lazy days she would go sit and read her favorite books. About what you may ask? Why, adventurers! What else? Grey clouds billowed above, and she wondered if it were to rain. That would be a horrible way to start an adventure.

But even rain could not diminish the gleeful wonder as she marched around, racing around tree hoping to spy an elf or two. She leapt over the tree roots, releasing a cry as she sent an arrow throw the air. It hit it's target, a picture of her twin brother who was the biggest butt in the universe that she had taped to a nearby tree. A cry of victor escaped her lips, and she crowed with a loud laugh, "The ugly troll has been slain!"

And she did her happy dance with consisted of jumping up and down, and a poorly attempted moon walk which ended up with her on her bum for she tripped of a tree root. Elizabeth the Great Dragonslayer had conquered another villain and would live to see another day. She sighed happily, lost in her own little world of pretend when she felt it.

A pulse…not unlike a heartbeat, but instead it trembled through the earth beneath her feet. Elizabeth frowned, which looked more like pout on the eight years old face. Curiosity sparked within her heart, as she knelt down pressing her palm flat against the ground. A gasp torn through her lips as her eyes lit up in wonder. There it was it again! But stronger this time! Wonder filled her, whatever could it be? An earthquake perhaps? No, not an earthquake, she knew instinctively. It feels like a…song? She didn't know why she thought that. It was a silly thought, but she could feel this electric hum in the air that moved in a slow, mournful rhythm. It crackled against her skin and all the hair on her body stood up, as her green eyes scanned the forest around her.

In all her adventures, she had never felt such a sensation like this one before. In all her life, she had never felt anything like that before! It was strange. It was new. It was exciting! Biting her lip as she literally bounced through the forest trying to find the source of all this energy, she had the biggest grin on her face. She raced through the forest chasing that strange song, completely unaware of the events that she would set into motion. The trees suddenly gave way to a clearing and Elizabeth halted in step. The smile on her face slipped off and she found herself staring at the old railroad tracks. Trains rarely passed here anymore, but it was still the barrier she was never meant to cross.

Her father had told her the railroad tracks weren't not a playground, and she would not cross it. Ever. But she felt the tremble through the ground once more, and she looked helpless at the woods on the other side of the railroad tracks. Surely, if she was quick and hurried then nothing would happen? Maybe rules were sometimes meant to be broken? She stood there torn between listening and giving into her curiosity. And as any natural child would, she gave into the curiosity a split second later. After all, she would only get in trouble if she got caught. All she had to was make sure that like the day she dyed all her brother's clothes pink, that she didn't get caught. A mischievous grin made its way across her face, and slowly and cautiously she made her way across the railroad tracks.

Once she reached the other side, she shot a glance over her shoulder as if her father would magically appear and catch her. After a long moment, when nothing happened she turned back around. Straining she fought hard to keep listening to the song that was dancing in the air, and follow the trembles of the earth. She carefully climbed down a steep hill, using a nearby tree to guide her. She couldn't help, but give little breathless giggles each ever steps. This was the best adventure ever! Oh, what was she going to call it? The Mysterious Song? No, that was so uninspired. It had to be something better than that, she thought with a laugh.

She let out a small yelp of shout when she stepped out of the tree line only to stumble into a shallow creek. The cold water made her shudder, and let out a very unladylike word that her momma would have smacked her butt clean off if she had heard Elizabeth use it. She looked around, trying to figure out where the mysterious song and tremble came from. That's when she saw it, standing there like a mouth in the earth ready to swallow anyone who passed by whole.

A cave? She thought, blinking hard. Then when it did not disappear, her face broke into a wide grin. She started towards it before pausing. "Oh, please tell me I grabbed it?" She shoved her hands into her pockets, desperately searching before giving a shout of triumphant at finding the flashlight. It was one of her dad's that she nicked when she caught sight of it. Her father had never commented, though she was sure that he knew exactly where it had 'disappeared'. Clicking the flashlight on, she pointed it at the cave. The beam of light cut through the darkness, and Elizabeth started forward once more. She was chewing her bottom lip, a nervous habit of hers as her thought went over all the things that she could encounter in the cave. Imaginary or not.

The further she got into the cave, the more the temperature dropped and she found her clothes did little to protect her from the chill. However that didn't deter her for she had come too far now. It would do her shame if she came back empty handed. Her heartbeat was poundin like drums in her ears, drowning out the ambient noise from around her. She turned a corner losing sight of the exit of the cave, and she pressed a hand to the cavern wall. They were cold, and hard beneath her palm. Her breaths came in sharp, uneven gasps the further she got into the cave. The world that wasn't in the flashlight was pitch black, and anything could be there.

There's nothing in the dark that isn't there during the day, she reminded herself, even though she didn't fully believe in that saying. Elizabeth swallowed thickly, and just kept following the song. Finally the tunnel ended, and she found herself in a circular room. The shape of it made her wonder if this was a natural cave. Maybe it was manmade. Like a mine or something. Maybe she'd find treasure. A nugget of gold or block of silver. The thrill of a treasure hunt made her already racing heart beat a little faster and she looked around the room before her gaze finally rested in the center. In the middle of the floor, it dipped in and there was a shallow pool of water that glowed with some kind of strange light. Elizabeth knelt down, her green eyes wide and she gently reached out. Her fingers prodded the pool gently and she gasped as rippled cascaded out from her touch in shimmering bands of light.

A half smile cross her lips when she saw something in the water. Tilting her head, she leaned forward slightly a feeling of bemusement blossoming in her chest.

It was a rock.

But not an ordinary rock. It was the most beautiful rock that she had ever seen, gleaming underneath the water and she knew in her heart that it was responsible for the song and the trembles. It was a small globe shaped rock, flawless. It gleamed with the intensity of thousand bolts of lightning and with a brightness that put the sun to shame. In the center of the stone was a dark core, beautifully obsidian stems reaching out like an imperfection and yet it was perfection at the same time. "Wow…" she breathed out, and slowly reached down through the cold water. Her fingers brushed the stone, the surface of it so smooth unlike anything else she had ever felt. She curled her fingers around it, and picked it up.

She gave a small grunt, startled by the weight of the stone. A heaviness settled across her shoulders, but she paid it no heed. Instead, she rolled the stone between her palms looking at it in undisguised awe. "So…beautiful…" she breathed out, admiring the stone with a broad smile. The stone felt pleasantly cool in her palm…then suddenly it wasn't so cool. Elizabeth's smile slipped off her face and her brows furrowed.

No, it was not cool at all.

It was hot. It was burning. And the burning moved from the stone into her veins, and visions burst forth across her eyes. She saw smoke so black that it blinded her, she could feel people slam into her in their haste to escape but when she turned to look at them all she saw were flickers of light as they were nothing more than ghosts. Her heart throbbed inside of her chest, and she heard the sound of children crying out for their parents. Dread coiled itself around her heart, as she found it hard to breath. It felt as if the world was coming down around and she had no way to escape. Flames of an invisible fire snaked up her arms, and she could feel her skin char and crack. A painful whimper came from her throat, as hot tears rolled down her chest. And that's when terrible beast that turned straight towards her, giving a deafening roar.

And all Elizabeth could do was scream.

RRs are appreciated and always answered.