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"Maggie! Maggie!"
At the sound of her name being called, a young Magauna Litercash whipped her head up from the book she was looking at closely.
She must've been only fifteen, or maybe even fourteen at that time, but she could still read as well as anyone educated in their village. Her mother had made sure of that.
In fact, it was her mother who was calling her.
"Maggie, come! Come quick!" The older woman called.
Magauna closed the book and jumped up from where she sat with her legs crossed on the floor, and ran into the other room that her mother was in.
Her mother was frantic, shoving clothes, food, and whatever money they had into bags.
"What are you doing?" Magauna asked in her unmatured voice, watching her mother confused and curiously.
Her mother looked up. "Quick, pack a bag. Fill it with your clothes. Don't take anything you won't absolutely need."
"Why?"
"Just do it! Please, Maggie, we don't have much time to waste!"
Anxious now, Magauna ran out of the room and into her own, and began to throw the few clothes she owned into the biggest pack she could find.
"Maggie! Quickly, come on!"
Closing her pack, Magauna dragged it out of her tiny room, and watched as her mother grabbed the dusty sword that had sat in the corner of the hall for the entirety of her short life.
Her mother grabbed Magauna's hand as she rushed past, towards the door.
"Where're we going?" Magauna asked, her voice wavering.
"Home." Her mother answered as they walked out of the door.
Magauna furrowed her eyebrows in both confusion and uncertainty. "What d'you mean? This is home! Mother, I think you've gone a bit mad-"
"Maggie, please, you've got to understand!" Her mother pleaded. "Don't ask anymore questions, just do as I say."
Magauna looked at her mother with a startled expression on her face, before nodding. "Alright, I will."
Her mother nodded too. "Good, get the horse then."
Still uncertain, the young Half-Elf pulled her pack over her shoulder and headed for the back of the house. She ran to where their steed was reined to the wooden fence, and freed him, leading him back to the front if the house.
Her mother motioned for her to get on the horse, and she did so with ease; she was already tall enough at the age of fifteen to reach in many far away places.
Magauna had started to make space for her mother to join her on the horse, when the older woman stopped her.
"No, just you." She said.
Magauna paused and looked down at her mother. "What? What do you mean?"
Her mother fastened her own bag to the horse's saddle behind her daughter. "You'll go faster with just one person. I'll only slow you down."
"Slow me down?" Magauna's voice cracked. "Why do I need to be fast?"
"It doesn't matter, just listen, Maggie." Her mother reached up and placed her hands on both sides of Magauna's face. "Don't stop riding until you reach Gondor-"
"Gondor?" Magauna repeated, her voice cracking again.
"Yes, you must reach Gondor. Don't stop for anything."
"No, I'm not going to leave you here-"
"Maggie, you must." Her mother said softly. "I promise you this, Magauna, I will meet you there. I will not leave you by yourself."
Magauna opened her mouth to object, by her mother backed away, removing her hands from her daughter's face.
"Go, and whatever you do, do not stop." She whispered. "You cannot let then catch you."
"Who? Mother, don't let who catch me?" Magauna asked, becoming even more upset than she was before.
Her mother ignored the question. "Go, get to Gondor, I'll find you there."
Magauna opened her mouth to try and speak again, but she never got as her mother sent the horse off. The last thing Magauna saw of her mother for a very long time was her frame shrinking as she galloped away from her village, with no idea what was ahead of her.
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"Magauna... Maggie, wake-"
"Shh, let her be laddie, she's been through a lot."
Half asleep, Magauna could recognize the voices of Bilbo and Balin, but disregarded them as another part of her dream.
Then, she heard a new voice, who she knew belonged to Thorin. "As may be, but we're not staying for long, and she needs to eat. Go on and wake her up."
Magauna was more awake by now, and sat up before anyone could make her. When she opened her eyes, she saw Bilbo standing beside her, and the dwarves were all huddled around a window by the door, talking nervously among themselves.
With a yawn, the Half-Elf threw off her blanket, which covered only half of her legs, due to her height, and stood up. Her hair was surprisingly unruffled and unknotted, as it always was in the mornings, but the darkness around her eyes clearly showed how restless she'd been that night.
"There's no need, Thorin..." Magauna mumbled as she stood up and walked passed Bilbo, patting him on the shoulder slightly. "I was bound to wake up soon."
She walked up to where the dwarves had all gathered by window, and looked out with them. Outside, there was a very strong looking man using an axe to split logs in half. It looked as though it came easy to him.
"Morning, Maggie." Kili said to Magauna, looking over at her when she walked up beside him. "How's your arm?"
The Half-Elf looked away from the window to glare down at him. "It'd be doing a lot better if you'd stop asking about it." The dwarf only grinned and looked back out the window. "And why are you all the sudden calling me Maggie?"
Kili shrugged. "It's easier to say. And it suits you better, I think."
Magauna wanted to respond, but wasn't ever able to because Nori spun away from the window and made a suggestion. "I say we leg' it! Slip out the back way!" He said.
"I'm not running from anyone." Dwalin said stubbornly. "Beast or not."
Nori tried to object, but Gandalf cut in. "There's no point in arguing. We cannot pass through the woodland without Beorn's help. We'll be hunted down! Before we even get to the forest!."
Gandalf turned his gaze up from the dwarves and to where Magauna was now standing, next to Kili and Fili.
"Ah, Magauna, finally awake. Now, this will require delicate handling." The wizard said, walking towards the door, which was cracked open. "We must tread very carefully. The last person to startle him was torn to shreds..."
Everyone looked among themselves nervously, and Magauna looked very irritated with Gandalf.
"I will go first," Gandalf informed. "And uh, Bilbo, Magauna, you two come with me."
Magauna sighed, clearly annoyed, while Bilbo glanced up at her and then around before approaching the wizard. "Is-is this a good idea?" He questioned.
Gandalf nodded. "Oh, yes." He assured in a somewhat unconvincing tone. He looked at the dwarves in the room. "Now the rest of you just wait here, and don't come out until I give the signal."
Bofur nodded, understanding. "Wait for the signal."
"No loud noises, and don't over crowd him!" Gandalf added. "And only come out in pairs!" He started out the door, but then paused, and turned back. "Oh, uh, actually, Bombur, you count as two, so you should come out alone."
The over sized dwarf nodded, seeing what the wizard was getting at.
Before Gandalf walked out, he held up a finger. "Remember; wait for the signal!" Then he motioned for Bilbo and Magauna to follow him out of the door, and they did so warily.
Magauna wasn't one to deny when she was nervous, and anyone could tell that she then, but she was also annoyed. If things went wrong, she didn't fancy getting ripped to pieces by a Skinchanger.
As the odd trio cautiously approached Beorn, who had yet to notice them and was still chopping wood, Gandalf seemed uncharacteristically jittery.
Magauna looked over at him with a her eyes narrowed. "You're nervous."
Gandalf looked over at her as well, seeming almost shocked that she would suggest such a thing. He whipped his head back up when Beorn split another log in half. "Nonsense." The wizard said to the Half-Elf.
But he was definitely nervous.
Gandalf cleared his throat as they neared the Skinchanger. "Morning!" He called. Beorn, if he heard him, ignored Gandalf, and brought his axe down on more wood. They flinched back as he brought the axe up over his shoulder, nearly hitting them. "Morning..." Gandalf announced again.
The muscular man finally paused his wood chopping, and sighed. "Who are you?" He asked, not yet facing them.
"This is Magauna Litercash, and I'm Gandalf." The wizard answered. "Gandalf the Grey."
At that, Beorn turned around, revealing how muscular he really was. "Never heard of him." He said, and Magauna fought back a smirk. "I have however, heard of her." He nodded towards Magauna. "The Half-Elf, Peredhel. You are quite famous in these parts, and all the others, of course."
Not knowing whether to take this as a compliment, Magauna offered a small smile and raised her eyebrows.
Bilbo, obviously intimidated by the situation (or nervous, it could've been either one), hid behind Magauna, who reached back and patted his arm reassuringly.
"Ah, yes, well, as for me, I'm a wizard." Gandalf said, replying to Beorn's earlier statement. "I'm sure you've heard of my colleague, Radagast the Brown? He resides in the southern boarders of Mirkwood." He pointed into the distance with his thumb, as if to show where he was talking about.
"What do you want?" Beorn said, ignoring the statement.
"To simply thank you for your hospitality. You may have noticed that we took refuge in your lodgings here, last night."
Bilbo chose that moment to peek his head out from behind Magauna, who was also standing slightly behind Gandalf. Beorn noticed the small person's presence, and gripped his axe in alarm.
"Who is this little fellow?" He demanded.
Gandalf turned. "Ah, this would be Mr Baggins, or the Shire."
Beorn lifted his axe slightly. "He's not a dwarf is he?"
"Wha- no," Gandalf said, pretending to be amused by his claim. "He's a Hobbit. Good family, and an unimpeachable reputation." He patted Bilbo's back, and the Hobbit smiled proudly.
"A Halfling, a Half-Elf, and a Wizard." Beorn said, observing them all. "How come you here?"
"Oh, um, well the fact is, we've had a bad time of it, from goblins in the mountains." Gandalf said, not entirely lying.
"What did you go bear goblins for? Stupid thing to do."
Magauna scoffed quietly. "You've got that right..." She muttered.
"You are absolutely right!" Gandalf said, moving his arm up and down like sounding a point.
"Almost got me decapitated." Magauna mumbled again.
Before Beorn could question them any further, they heard footsteps behind them. Gandalf and the other two turned around, seeing Dwalin and Balin coming out of the door. Beorn raised his axe fully, scowling.
Gandalf turned back to him, stuttering a bit. "And uh, I must confess that several of our group are in fact...dwarves."
"You call two several?" Beorn questioned furiously.
Magauna grimaced and turned to look at Gandalf accusingly. "When you say it like that..."
The wizard nodded nervously. "I - uh - yes, yes there could be more than two..." He stuttered, and started counting out on his fingers how many there were.
Then two more dwarves came stumbling out; Gloin and Oin.
"Ah, yes, there's some more of our...happy trope..." Gandalf said.
"And do you call six a trope?!" Beorn said, his voice rising. "What are you a travelling circus?!"
Next, out came Ori and Dori, who introduced themselves with wavering voices. "Ori, and Dori, at your service." They said.
Beorn snarled at their appearance. "I don't want your service!"
Gandalf held a hand out, as if trying to hold him back from attacking. "Absolutely understandable."
Then, the two brothers came out, not looking as nervous as the others.
"Ah, Fili and Kili." Ganalf introduced. "...quite forgotten..."
By now, Beorn was seething.
Then, four more dwarves came tumbling out, joining the other eight.
"Nori, Bofur, Bifur...Bombur..."
Beorn glared at them. "Is that it?" He asked. "Are there anymore?"
Then, the last remaining dwarf came out; Thorin.
Beorn looked up as he arrived his eyes widening ever so slightly. He knew who he was.
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"So you are the one they call Oakenshield. Tell me, why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?" Beorn said, as the Company now sat around his large table, being served breakfast by the strong man.
"You know of Azog?" Thorin asked, caught off guard. "How?"
"My people were the first to live in the mountains, before the Orcs came down from the north." The Skinchanger answered. "The Defiler killed most of my family, but some he enslaved. Not for work, you understand, but for sport. Caging Skinchangers and torturing them seemed to amuse him." No one, except for Gandalf, noticed Magauna shift uncomfortably in her seat, for they were listening closely to Beorn.
"Are there other like you?" Bilbo asked curiously.
"Once, there were many."
"And now?"
"Now there's only one." Beron said, regarding himself, before changing to a different topic. "You need to reach the mountain before the last days of Autumn."
Gandalf nodded. "Before Durin's Day falls, yes."
"You are running out of time." The skinchanger pointed out.
"Which is why we must go through Mirkwood." Gandalf said.
Most of the dwarves, including Bilbo, glanced over at Magauna, who had dejectedly started unwrapping the cloth she had tightened around the wound in her forearm. Magauna knew it might come to this, and now that it had, she didn't know whether to appreciate the chance, or to dread it.
"A darkness lies upon that forest, fell things creep beneath those trees." Beorn said warningly. "There is an alliance between the Orcs of Moria and The Necromancer in Dol Guldur. I would not venture there, except in great need."
"We will take the Elvin Road, their path is still safe." Gandalf assured.
"Safe? The Wood Elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin. They're less wise and more dangerous. But it matters not."
Magauna had furrowed her eyebrows, looking up from her arm by now. "What do you mean?" Her voice wavered slightly. The thought of someone claiming her father was dangerous made her uneasy.
Beorn had looked over at her. "These lands are crawling with Orcs, their numbers are growing and you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive."
That was not the answer Magauna had been looking for, and she couldn't keep from a stuffed sigh from leaving her mouth
"I don’t like dwarves, they’re greedy and blind, blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own." Beorn continued. "But I hate Orcs more." He now turned to Thorin. "What do you need?"
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Author's Note
Um...confusion?
This story just got ranked 1 in #legolasfanfiction...
I'm very confused...
He hasn't even showed up yet😅
I mean it's good ig but like huh?!?
:/