«Andy», a voice called the sleeping Hobbit. With a grumble Andy turned to the side, trying to ignore the dwarf shaking her shoulder. "Come on, Andy, uncle wants to leave. "
"Tell him, I'll catch up", she muttered.
"No, you're coming with us", a second voice spoke and someone pulled away her cover. Andy jolted up; her daggers pressed against the throats of two dwarves. Not having a hand free to rum her eyes, Andy tried blinking the sleepiness away.
"Would you mind...", Kili asked and pointed to the dagger at his throat. As an answer she glared at him.
"Next time you wake me up, make sure you have a good deal to offer for me to wake up." She put her daggers away again and stood up. The astonished brothers rubbed their necks.
"Noted", Fili muttered. Andy walked around the place with a bad mood, muttering under her breath. She packed all her things together and forcefully threw it over her shoulders. The dwarves were smart enough, to get out of her way, not wanting to be the one she snapped at. All except Dwalin, that was. As she called out to him, because he was in her way, he turned around and snapped back at her. Not expecting that, Andy only looked at him baffled. That gave him more fuel and he continued his rant until he backed her up against the wall. After that, she was quiet until they set off. Just before she mounted her pony, Beorn called her back. Curious about what he wanted Andy walked over to him.
"Are you ready, little beast?", he asked her. She just shrugged, not knowing the answer.
"I guess. Well, as long nothing goes wrong and we don't meet any Elves. "
The tall man nodded in understanding. "You must be careful after entering the forest, little beast. It is not the same as you remember it. "
"I know, big guy. I know. Darker, fouler and all that", Andy repeated his and Gandalf's words.
"That is not what I meant", Beorn shook his head and crouched down, to be on her eyelevel. Andy knew it was serious. A person as tall as him would never crouch down to a person as short as she was. They normally lift them up. So, this was really important to him. "The magic of the forest attacks your mind, not your body. I am aware, that you are strongminded, you must not remind me of that." She closed her mouth again and listened. "But the nightmares will come. And depending on how long you'll need to cross over, the nightmares will start to appear real. Illusions will hunt you while you're awake. Don't let them break you. Hold on to the things you know, and the thought of the people you love. "
Andy's mouth suddenly felt dry. That was no good news. She used to have nightmares. sometimes she still had them but not so often, since she travelled with the company. And if they worsened, she didn't know what she would do, while she was still dreaming. It could be screaming. But it could also be stabbing one of the dwarves to death, because they tried to wake her up.
"I'll keep it in mind, thank you", she spoke and nodded her head. Beorn mirrored that movement and stood up again.
"You should go. We'd better not keep your dwarves waiting. "
After everyone sat on top of their ponies, they moved out. As they passed through the gates, Andy turned around one last time. Beorn stood beneath the trees, keeping his eyes on them. As he saw her look back, he lifted his arm and waved. Andy waved back, a sad smile on her face. She enjoyed the few days they spent there. She had a great time bonding with Fili and Kili and felt better, that at least two knew her secrets.
They rode throughout the day. Against the evening, they started to feel it. Even though they were grateful, that they didn't have to walk, a whole day in the saddle wasn't very comfortable. Andy missed her Stallion she left behind in Rivendell. On there, she could sit how she wished and even lie down. That wasn't possible on the little Pony she was riding on now.
"Thorin, how long must we go on?", Gloin complained. He wasn't the first, and probably wouldn't be the last. Thorin, being stubborn as always, didn't even turn his head.
"Just a little further. We need to put as much distance between us and Azog as possible." He was saying that since short past lunch. Which they missed, because he wouldn't let them take a break. As the sun began to set, and Thorin's still made no attempt in stopping for the night any time soon, Andy decided to intervene. She caught up to Thorin at the front of the group and blocked his way with her pony. As Thorin glared at her, she gave him a stern look.
"Listen up, Princess. We are all tired and aching from a whole day of riding. You didn't grant us a lunchbreak and it's about to get dark. So, instead you want your company in a bad mood for the rest of the journey, I'd suggest to you, to slow down a little and... stop everything for a moment. Look at them", Andy pointed behind him and Thorin turned his head. The company had stopped behind him, some hanging in their saddles, bent over the necks of their ponies. A few were yawning like they wanted to swallow the whole world and Ori and Oin were hardly awake anymore. A sting of guilt hit Thorin as he saw them like that.
"Alright, let's stop for the night", he finally spoke. The words worked like a miracle; the company was awake again. The Camp was up rather fast and Bombur was cocking supper over a fire. By the time all daylight was gone, the most of the company were already sleeping. To everyone's surprise, Andy was the first who called it a day and went to bed.
By the time the company reached the Mirkwood boarders, Andy managed to get on everyone's nerves. The last time they travelled that long and nothing live threatening happened, was before they got attacked by the trolls. And that was a quite a while back. The dwarves have forgotten, why they were annoyed of her over the last weeks. But the following two days brought it back to their minds.
When she was not singing along with the dwarves, she spent a lot of time telling bad jokes. At one point on their journey, she got off her pony and walked. Well, she called it walking. It was more like running around and making the ponies nervous. She somehow managed to push a pony over and set all the others in a panic. As they tried to bolt, the dwarves had their difficulties with calming them down again. Andy laid next to them on the ground and laughed. Not, because she was sadistic or didn't feel bad for scaring the poor animals but because the faces of the dwarves were priceless. And Gandalf's! He already looked a little ridiculous being the tall man he was on the small pony. But as he actually fell over, she couldn't hold it. He sat back up, his hat next to him, his grey hair a mess and the most confused look on his face she ever saw. How did this little thing throw him off so easily?, it seemed to say.
Not even Thorin and Dwalin barking at her to stop acting like a child actually made her stop. She wasn't able to stop laughing for minutes. And the more they told her off for it, the worst it got. As she finally did get back onto her pony, she was bent over and a small groan escaped her still grinning lips.
"If I keep up like this, I'll have abs by the end of the week. "
Kili, Ori and to her surprise Gloin chuckled.
"Lassie, it is an advantage, that you don't immediately look like a strong girl. It keeps the element of surprise on your side", Gloin assured her. "Believe me, you don't want to look like those pointy eared elves. They're so skinny, a storm could knock them over. But we dwarves are built resilient. We are not knocked off our feet so easily." Though the topic changed rather quickly, Andy didn't mind.
"I don't know, Gloin. I think, the elves are less fragile than you think. And strong. "
Gloin stared at her grinning person with his mouth agape. "Please, the most don't even look like they had a day of hard work in teir life! Not like we dwarves. We live for hard work like craftmanship and mining. "
"I'm perfectly aware, big guy. I'm just saying, the things you say might be a bit stereotypical, don't you think?"
"No, in fact I don't", Gloin grumbled, his stubborn pout appearing on his face.
"Well, people say, that dwarves are uncultured cavemen."
A few gasps were heard and more than one head spun around to her, enraged to hear that.
"Or, that you have no idea what manners and respect are, because you live under a rock your entire life. So, once you actually surface, it's kind of a miracle. "
"Who said that?", an angry Gloin demanded to know.
"No one particular. But that are the stereotypes said about your race. Are they true?"
"Most certainly not!", Gloin called out, his pride forcing him to defend his race. "We are a respectable and loyal folk and most defiantly not uncultured!"
"So, who says, the things you've heard about the elves are true?"
That actually silenced him for a moment. He understood what she was implying and thought about it.
"I suppose, it could be wrong", he than admitted sheepishly and looked ahead again. Andy had to smile at that.
"Don't worry about it. I can assure you, most of them are pricks, just as everyone says." That made him grin again. "But not all. Maybe one day you'll meet one, that's actually decent. "
"What about Lord Elrond?", Bofur caught Andy's attention. "He seemed decent." Andy rolled her eyes and turned her head to him.
"That is true but he can also be a prick at times, you must know. However, what I'm trying to say is; not everyone is everyone's cup of tea. For example, I liked Ivasaar more, than Elrond or Lindir. "
"Who's Ivasaar?", Fili asked curiously.
"What "Who is Ivasaar"? You've met him. He was the elf in charge of my healing process", Andy questioned their memory.
The boys exchanged a glance. "You like the healer?", Kili asked. Andy, only listening with half an ear answered without thinking.
"Yes, I like Saar. He's actually really funny, even though he doesn't even try. And he was the one who helped me get myself together again, after Princess told me, you'll leaving without me. "
"Oh, he has a nickname as well", Fili mussed and wiggled with his eyebrows. Only now Andy realised what the boys were implying and her eyes went wide.
"No! I don't like him like that", she cried out with a high-pitched voice. Louder, than necessary. But she couldn't control it. Bifur and Bofur laughed up at that.
"Who would have guessed, that the Lassie fell in love with an elf", Bofur snickered, making Andy's face turn red in embarrassment.
"I don't like him like that", she repeated herself. The dwarves wouldn't let it go anymore. For the rest of the day, they kept bringing it up and teasing her with it. They thought her reactions were most amusing. As they settled down for the night, they were still on it. Andy was talking to Oin about her foot and they're discussion came down to the herbs he was given in Rivendell. Of course, Kili couldn't resist.
"You mean the herbs, that Ivasaar gave him? Probably because he knew, you'd get hurt again and was worried about you. What a thoughtful "friend"."
And just like that, it all started from the top.
Thorn caught himself, not finding it as amusing as it should be. Why was he bothered by this joke?
Dwalin sat down next to him, making it himself comfortable.
"Don't say anything", Thorin grumbled.
"I'm not", Dwalin said, grinning on the inside.
"But you were about to."
"Seems like I didn't need to. You're thinking about it by yourself already. "
Thorin wanted to cuss. His friend was right. Noticing that moment of realisation, Dwalin actually started grinning.
"Shut up", Thorin grumbled.
"I didn't say anything", Dwalin grinned. But to leave Thorin some peace, he stood up again and walked over to his brother. Not before giving Andy a random push. With a surprised squeak she fell against Bifur, who caught her with a laugh.
"What was that for?", she demanded to know, regaining her balance. Dwalin sat down, the grin still on his face.
"I don't need a reason", was the only answer he gave. She was about to throw herself at him, her hands ready for a brawl, as he gave her a stern look. She immediately sat back down again.
"You know, on second thought, I need to save my energy on the journey, so I won't start a fight with you right now."
Not long after, they all went to sleep, satisfied with that joyous day they had without any trouble close on their tail.
As they finally did reach the forest, Andy was as nervous as the rest of them. She was appalled, how different the woods actually looked. She knew, it was a dark place, but actually seeing it, made the darkness feel real. Not a single sound was heard. No wind blowing through the branches, no bird singing its song, no crawling of animals or insects. For a moment Andy felt like a character in one of her beloved books, about to enter a dark enchanted forest, with her bunch of friends that were about to get killed. Normally, the main character would live, so she should feel safe. But she was quite sure, she was not the main character of this story, but Thorin bloody Oakenshield.
"We are so dead", she muttered to herself, her eyes not leaving the forest.
"Release the ponies", Thorin ordered.
"Wouldn't it be smarter to keep them?", Bofur piped up. "With the ponies we'd be much faster."
Andy gave him a wide-eyed waring look. "I wouldn't if I was you. Except you wasn't an angry bear on our heels."
That convinced the dwarves and they started unloading the ponies.
"These woods feel... sick" Ori said, examining the trees. Andy silently agreed. She looked up, as she noticed an unusually silent Gandalf nearing an overgrown statue. As he flinched back, Andy knew, something was wrong.
"Not my horse!", he shouted, just as Bofur was about to release it. Andy's heart dropped. No... no, no, no! He couldn't do this to her!
She rushed over and grabbed the reins as he was about to head off again.
"Please, don't do this to me", she begged in a low voice, not wanting to worry the dwarves. "I need you to make sure, I don't hurt them in there!"
Last night, as the dwarves where asleep, Andy sat over to Gandalf and they discussed the effect the forest could have on her. He agreed, to keep an eye on her, so she didn't accidentally hurt one of them caught up in illusions or stuff like that.
"I wouldn't do this unless I had to", he said, regret in his voice. "I would also not leave, except I was sure, you have everything under control. "
"I don't, Gandalf!", she hissed, not wanting to let him go. "Barley now, and definitely not in there."
With a pleading look in her eyes she looked up to him. His eyes softened and he gave her a reassuring smile.
"You've changed, Andrey. You are not the same Hobbit who left the comfort of the Shire. "
"Yes, because you killed her off. And now you're leaving me alone, the moment I need you the most." She snapped, trying to appeal to his conscious to make him stay. His smile widened and he gently took the reins out of her hands.
"I believe in you, Fayeth", he said. Defeated Andy stepped back, letting him go. After a few words to the Company, he took off in a dash, not once looking back. Andy stared after him.
Fili came up to her and laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you okay, Andy?", he asked her worried.
"I will be", was all she answered, her voice not sounding very convincing. She took her bag pack he reached her and swung it over her shoulder. With a deep breath she turned to the forest, a stern look on her face, ready to go.
"Come on", Thorin called them together. "We must reach the mountain before the sun sets on Durin's day."
"Oh really?", Andy asked sarcastically. "Hadn't heard." She pulled a mocking grimace before stepping forward and entering the dark and creepy forest.