(Elvish is in italics) (Dwarvish is in bold)
Shadow's POV
I woke up the next morning to find Kili shaking me gently. I sat up, noticing I was in the house, not the garden. I sighed and packed my things. I followed the others outside, and we went to our ponies and horses. Gandalf looked at me and smiled.
"Ten coins says he won't come," Kili said.
"I say he will," I told him.
Soon, the bet was set. Both sides had a ten coin gain or loss, depending on what side you were on. We were entering the forest when I heard a shout. As an Elf, I heard it before the others.
"Kili, give me my money," I said, hand out.
"He's not here," he told me.
"Wait! Wait!" Bilbo shouted out.
"Oh, really?" I asked, smirking.
Grumbling, he and Fili pulled out a bag of coins and handed them to me. Bilbo was given a pony, and we continued riding. When Bilbo started sneezing, I handed him one of my handkerchiefs. I carried at least two every time we went on a trip. He thanked me and rode on. The Dwarves weren't riding in their usual semicircle around me, but they were always on guard.
"I always win, don't I?" I asked.
"Yes, you do. Why do we try to go against you?" Kili replied, not looking at me.
I laughed, knowing he was upset about losing. He never liked losing. I had my hood and mask up to hide my face for the journey. Whenever I was out of the mountains, I had my hood and mask up to hide myself. It helped my reputation as a 'rogue Elf who never reveals herself.' I also found it funny that many people think I fought Smaug. I wasn't stupid enough to do that, but I found it helped persuade people to leave me alone. I hoped no one else tried to take me to Thranduil. I never wanted to go back home, nor did I intend to.
"Sis, you okay? You're awfully quiet," Fili asked.
"I'm fine. Just thinking," I answered.
"Shadow, could you come here?" Gandalf called to me.
I spurred my horse to walk next to him, waiting for him to speak.
"When are you going to tell them your real name?" the Wizard asked.
"What do you mean?" I replied, genuinely confused.
"Come now, Tavelier," he said.
I stiffened upon hearing my old name. Gandalf noticed the change and sighed.
"No one has called me that for years. I left it behind me, along with my old life as the Princess of the Woodland Realm. That girl is now gone, replaced by me. I killed Tavelier the day she ran away. I took her place, Mithrandir," I said stiffly.
"You must get over what your father said to you. You cannot keep this from who you are."
"I know who I am, Mithrandir. I am Shadow, the rogue Elf. The one who was deemed weak by her own father. I am the elleth that ran away from home due to the harsh words and actions of the King of Mirkwood. I am not Tavelier, not anymore. I will not speak of this any longer. Tell the others, and I will make sure you will regret saying a word."
I spurred my horse past him and continued. Thorin reached out and stopped the horse by grabbing the reins.
"Are you okay, my daughter?" he asked.
"I think so. Mithrandir is getting on my nerves, though," I answered.
"He's a Wizard. It's their job to annoy people."
"Maybe. I'm not entirely sure that he will leave me alone on a particular subject."
"And what subject is that?"
"My past. Before I came to Erebor, to you."
"If you ever need to talk to anyone about it, I'm here for you. So are Fili and Kili. We will always be here for you. You are part of our family."
"Thank you, Father."
I was smiling again, thanks to him. Thorin managed to make me feel better, at least a bit. I sighed and looked at the open stretch ahead of us. I smirked, looking at Thorin. He knew what I was thinking and shook his head with an amused smile. I turned to see the twins coming up, matching grins on their faces. I suddenly spurred my horse into a gallop. The three of us raced across the ground, quickly joined by Thorin. We were laughing as the wind ripped through our hair and clothes. I pulled the horse around and went back to the group, the others doing the same.
"Will you stop playing around? You will get us in trouble," Gandalf hissed.
"Relax. You need to have some fun, Mithrandir," I chided him.
Later, we reached a worn down house. We started setting up camp, while Gandalf tried to urge Thorin to move on. Gandalf eventually left us, heading off to seek solitude. Fili and Kili were to look over the ponies as I ate my dinner. Setting the bowl to the side, I fell asleep. I woke up thirty minutes later to find the camp deserted. I shot to my feet, weapons out. I wandered into the forest and saw a light. I caught a whiff of some horrible stench and knew it was Trolls. I sighed.
'They always get themselves into trouble. When will I not have to save them?' I thought.
I followed the fire and found the clearing where the Trolls were. I cursed in Khudzul when I realized there were three. One I could handle. Two, with luck. Three, not a chance. At least Trolls were stupid. I frowned, seeing some of the Dwarves tied up, and the rest on the spit turning over the fire. I growled lowly. One of the Trolls stopped, looking in my direction. I quickly moved to a different spot, blending into the shadows as I always do with ease.
"Bert, there's something else out there," one of them said.
"Don't trick us, Will," the one called Bert snapped.
"I'm not tryin' to trick ya. There's somethin' out there," Will told him.
"Tom, go look for this somethin' that Will keeps babbling about," Bert ordered.
I saw the Dwarves go quiet, exchanging worried looks. I saw that they knew it was me. The Trolls noticed the sudden quiet and turned to the Dwarves.
"Do you know who this is?" Bert asked.
No one answered, refusing to give me away. Thorin caught sight of me in the shadows and smiled slightly. I gave him a look that told him to act as though I wasn't there. He gave a very small nod and returned his attention to the Trolls. Only one problem: they had all seen Thorin's reactions. Bert walked over and grabbed him.
"Talk!" he spat in Thorin's face.
The Dwarf merely glared at Bert, not saying a word.
"If he won't talk, hang him over the fire till he does," Will suggested.
Thorin was slowly lowered to the flames, the others calling out for him. Still, he didn't say anything. I admired his loyalty to me but knew it wouldn't last much longer. Thorin's life, I mean. Not his loyalty. That would live on until he died. I gritted my teeth and shot an arrow at Tom. He howled in pain, and all eyes turned to my direction. Thorin was thrown down and landed hard. He grunted in pain but brushed it off.
"I think it's me that you are looking for," I snarled, stepping out of the shadows. "I most definitely do not appreciate the way you are intending to eat my family. If you would kindly put them down, I will let you live."
"An Elf with a Dwarf family? That's never been heard of," Bert said, observing me.
"Well, there's a first time for everything," I shrugged.
"Get her!" Tom ordered.
As an Elf, I was quick and light on my feet. I dodged all their attacks, making them accidentally hit each other. I was stalling for time, but I knew it wouldn't hold. I saw Bilbo struggling to move and threw a dagger at him, making him freeze up. The blade sliced the bag near his hands and imbedded itself in the tree behind him. He quickly got the message and untied the bag. He untied the others and retrieved the dagger. The Dwarves that weren't tied to the spit came to my aid, attacking once again. Gandalf came out on top of a rock, staff in hand.
"The dawn will take you all!" the Wizard said.
"Who's that?" Bert asked.
"No idea," Tom answered.
"Can we eat him too?" Will queried.
Gandalf brought the staff down on the rock, splitting it down the middle. The sunlight streamed in, causing the Trolls to wail in pain. Slowly, their skin hardened and turned to stone. All the Dwarves cheered, letting the ones on the spit down. They all turned to me and smiled.
"Thank you, Shadow," Balin said.
"You didn't really think I would let you get eaten, did you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
They laughed and shook their heads. I turned to the Trolls, frowning. Thoughts swirled around my head, making me zone out a bit.
"Shadow," Thorin said, snapping his fingers in front of my face.
"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking. These Trolls came from the Ettenmoors, though they haven't traveled this far south for an age. Not since a darker power ruled these lands. They could not have moved in daylight. There must be a cave nearby," I mused, more to myself than the others.
They all heard and started looking for the cave. They found it pretty quickly, ignoring the smell as best they could. I pulled my mask up over my face, which helped diminish the smell a bit. I looked around and caught sight of something shimmering in a dark corner. Walking over, I realized it was a brand-new, unused bow and a quiver full of arrows. Beside them, were double daggers that gleamed silver. Double swords rested against the wall. I discarded Legolas's stolen weapons and grabbed these new ones. I strapped them one and smiled. Something else caught my eye as well. Turning back, I noticed a gleaming necklace. The jewels seemed to be glowing with a white color. I picked it up and instantly gasped. I had been transported back in my memories.
"There are gems in the Mountain that I want to have back. They are the White Gems of Lasgalen. They were stolen, and I will get them back," Thranduil hissed angrily.
I was watching Thranduil pace back and forth, the rest of the family watching him warily. I saw myself, a little younger. I seemed bored out of my mind, not paying any attention to what was being said. It was no concern of mine. When Thranduil explained the gems, however, my head picked up and looked at him in interest. I imagined those gems for myself, wondering what they would look like. I saw gleaming white gems, looking like stars amongst a mound of gold. I realized that they were in Erebor. I frowned. How did Elf gems get in the Mountain? I realized that if he wanted them back, I should do it. Maybe he would see me differently then. Something in my mind told me that he wouldn't care in the slightest if I got them back or someone else. It seemed similar to dragon sickness with the gold. Only this was, I guess, gem sickness. If that even exists. I wasn't paying any more attention, lost in my own thoughts.
"Shadow!"
A voice snapped me back to reality. My head whipped around to see the Dwarves watching me carefully. I realized I was covered in sweat, shaking like a leaf. They had never seen me like this before, which caused them to worry. I shook my head, regaining my breath. I fastened the necklace around my neck and walked out of the cave. The gems on the necklace were hidden beneath the black cloth I was wearing. The clean air refreshed me and drove the memories out of my mind.
"Are you okay?" Kili asked, sitting next to me.
Fili sat on the other side off me. I nodded slowly, staring ahead. The twins shared a glance, clearly not believing me. They didn't say a word, though. I was grateful for that. The others soon came out, Thorin carrying a new sword. I raised an eyebrow at him, recognizing the blade to be of Elvish make. Gandalf was the last to exit, carrying to new swords. One was for him, another Elven made one. The other was shorter and clearly made for Bilbo to have. I drowned out their conversation, keeping an eye out for danger. I heard a snapping noise, standing up in an instant, readying my bow. Thorin saw this and drew his sword.
"There's something coming!" he shouted.
We all gathered around and drew our weapons as a sled pulled by rabbits burst out of the trees. A rather wild-looking man was riding the sled.
"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" he screamed.
Gandalf seemed surprised to say the least. He seemed to know this man, so I sheathed my weapons. The Dwarves copied me, knowing if I was standing down, they should too.
"Radagast. Radagast the Brown. What on earth are you doing here?" Gandalf asked.
While they talked, I drifted off into the world of memories.