A/N: Hello all and welcome to my story. I hope you enjoy it. This will be a multi-chapter fic and I will be trying to combine movie and bookverse. I will probably be relying a bit more on book though since I have it ready to read. My updates tend to be sporatic, but I will try to do at least one per week, two if possible. Please comment with constructive criticism, I am striving to always be better.

EDIT 7/17/13; I have revised the entire chapter and I plan to do so with the rest of the chapters before continuing to write.

Here goes chapter 1 of many;

Kiralyn Arwald sat in a pub in a run-down village that the day's travels had led her to. She wandered like this, without a home in sight. Many a night, she found herself in a new inn, new faces, but they would all look at her the same. Judging her; a young inexperienced woman here for some unknown reason. Even so, she knew what she had to do. She was waiting, waiting for her chance.

She sat at the bar and looked around; analyzing whom all was inside the bar that night. It was then she was asked, "Would you like anything to drink miss?"

She looked up at the bartender and a warm smile appeared on his face as his crooked nose showed he had been through much. She replied calmly, "An ale would be fair, sir."

His blue eyes sparkled with amusement as he got her a mug of ale. She took a sip and listened carefully as the two men next to her began talking loudly. One looked as though he was telling something exciting, perhaps a story. He asked jovially, "Did you hear about the dwarves?"

This caught her attention. The other looked at him curiously and replied, "What dwarves are you talking of? I know a few myself, what does it matter?"

The first smiled knowingly, "I will take that as you have not heard then. Just earlier this night, groups between two and five dwarves have been passing town after town, all going in the same direction, but never quite catching up with the ones in front of them. They're headed in the direction of the Shire." Here the woman eaves dropping leaned in a little closer to hear better.

"Odd place for a crew of dwarves to go, eh?" The second man laughed drunkenly before questioning, "You have any idea why?

Kiralyn took another sip of her ale. This was the first interesting news she had heard about for nights though the amount of conversations she has heard should prove otherwise. The first man said, "I don't know, but…" He motioned for the other man to move a bit closer and with that, she did as well. The first continued, "I heard they're on some kind of quest. Got Thorin Oakenshield coming with them, or so I have heard. You know, the would-be King of Erebor. Mighty suspicious if you ask me."

Not catching the last part of the sentence, Kiralyn leaned in just a bit too close for gravity's liking. She then fell onto the back of the second man. The two of them toppled to the floor with a resounding crash and the man looked at her. He condescendingly spoke as he got up, "You know, little lady, you shouldn't be meddling in men's business; especially when you are already lost in a pub. Need someone to escort you back out so you don't get lost once more?"

Helping herself off of the floor, the human woman sent a venomous glare straight at the rude man. Naturally, he was belittling her. She spoke caustically, "I'll be going thank you, but I don't need any man's help. I am perfectly fine on my own and I can do whatever I set out to. In fact, I'm better off without help from men like you. Now if you'll excuse me."

The man grabbed her arm and sent a disgusting smile, "You have a fire in you, would you prefer staying with me?"

She felt the anger sweep over her and she slapped him across the face before grabbing her money bag and putting it back upon her belt. She countered, "Why don't you ask another pig-headed male? You might need someone to protect yourself."

She sent him one last glare before exiting the pub for good that night. Her thoughts ran loose, 'How dare he? How dare he question me in that manner? I've been through worse than anything he has surely seen.'

The brunette mulled over this thought for just a moment, before her mind bounced elsewhere, 'At least he has some home to go to at the end of his night. My own home was deserted long ago, when my lineage ruled the city. Now, all I have is the money in my bag that seems to disappear more every night. Soon enough, I'll be out and left to find any work I can. Unless… unless I try to find these dwarves. Erebor, that was the dwarf city that was just beside Dale. If one of them was the would-be king, he might know a thing or two. I have to find them. They are the only hope I have at the moment.'

Her amber gaze turned back toward the moon and remembered that the man had said they move from town to town. And toward the hobbits' homes. In other words, she was headed to the Shire, land of green and pleasant folk.

Honestly, she hadn't heard too much about this place. It wasn't exactly a conversation starter, but it seemed nice enough. Then she tried recalling what she knew about hobbits. Rather calm creatures, taken with gardening and easy lifestyles. Why in the world would some rough and tough dwarves be interested in a simpleton hobbit? Or perhaps, there was something else the land had to offer. She would never know until she set out.

With that, she said a small prayer, following by finding her horse and mounting it. She had passed Bree not too long ago, which meant she had another full day of travel. Maybe less if she didn't stop. She was near the Old Forest, she would have to go on the Brandywine Bridge, and then she'd be right in Hobbiton. Stroking her horse, Rhedwr Tân, she took up the route going westward.

Immediately, the horse was in a gallop and the rider hoped for the best as she adjusted to the pace. The only ones to keep her company were the moon and stars, but they had been long time companions. They always were the ones that she shared many memories with as well as the ones that lit her way.

She had ridden for nearly 4 hours, on and off between a gallop and a trot, when Rhedwr finally decided he needed a drink. She led him to a small stream when she saw a little light in the distance, probably a fire. They had to be at least an hour's ride from the nearest town, which means it was travelers. And if luck was on her side tonight, dwarf travelers.

Rhedwr drank quickly and she whispered, "Just a little bit longer boy, then we can rest."

She mounted the chocolate Noric horse and went at a fast walk; even so it was slow, but quiet. A moment later, she spied four dwarves all around a campfire. She led her horse behind some trees and tried her hardest to get a better look at them.

From her vantage point atop the horse, she could spot one that was facing the fire; he had striking ginger hair in one of the oddest styles she has ever seen, braided in a necklace type of layout with a bald spot on his scalp. He was also rather corpulent. The man, next to him seemed tall, comparatively, and looked very serious. He had black hair save for the top of his head where markings laid claim and there was something intriguing about him. They didn't seem too short as a whole, but she wasn't one to judge. Being only 5' tall, the ground was a little too close for her to be a relatively fair judge on height.

Refocusing, she looked on as they extinguished the fire. With the momentary burst of light, she saw the top of another's head, which was covered in a hat that had two ends sticking out. The only distinguishable thing of the final figure was long and poorly kept black hair.

As the fire went out, they group got comfortable on the ground. She took this as a signal to get some rest herself and dismounted from Rhedwr. Quickly and quietly, she curled up on the ground with her pack under her head and closed her eyes. Visions of what might happen concerning these dwarves plagued her dreams. Even so, she needed what they had to offer.