The King and Dragon Lord

Ch. 1

The evening was nice. Stars lit the sky and the land along with the moon. It was also the beginning of Spring so the breeze didn't make it too hot nor too cold.

I was on my way to the City of Dale to meet with someone who wanted to talk to me about work. Occasionally I would stop my horse and check my map to make sure I was going the right way.

"Woahh." I tightened the reins to let my horse know to stop. Once it did, I reached in my satchel and pulled out my map. "So just over the hill." After I put the map back in my satchel, I hopped off of my horse because I figured I would walk the rest of the way.

Once I got to the top of the hill, the lights of Dale and Erebor showed brightly. A grin formed on my face. I couldn't be any happier to see The Lonely Mountain in person. Or at least from a distance.

As I got closer to Dale, I kept deciding whether or not to put my hood on until I was already in the city. They had some houses built outside of the city walls. Or what just looked like a whole village.

Once I found a place to stay in, I settled down for the night and rested.

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"Do you need anything else, ma'am?" A young lady came over to my table.

"Oh, no thank you." I smiled at her and she nodded and went on to another. The letter I was sent was resting on my leg, with one of my hands holding it open. My eyes were fixed on it for a few minutes until I heard someone clear their throat. I looked up and saw someone standing there smiling. "H..hi," I said confusingly.

"Oh yes, my bad." He laughed. "I'm Balin." He held his hand out for me to shake and I did.

"I'm uh." I was hesitant to say my actual name.

"You don't have to say your name yet if you don't want to." He stood there with a grin on his face.

I laughed and gestured for him to sit down. "So, you're the one who sent me the letter."

"Indeed. I think you'll find it nice considering you're.... upbringing."

"Or a bit more freeing." We both chuckled a bit.

"Shall we get going?"

"Now?" He nodded. "Okay then." I got up as he did and once I got my horse he started leading me out of the city. I was looking around confused and then realized where we were going. "Erebor? Why here?" Then the realization hit. "Oh my gosh, you're a dwarf." I shook my head and laughed. "I thought dwarves would be a bit shorter."

"We still grow a bit. The rest far more. Me, not so much since I'm old."

Once we got there the doors opened. I stood there in awe. "Wait about my horse." Balin was already a bit ahead of me.

"We have a place inside for it." He smiled at me, giving reassurance. I nodded and followed him in.

"Kili!" Balin called out. Another dwarf came up to us. "Kili, this is her." We both shook hands and said hello. "Take her horse to the stable in the lower level." Kili nodded and I was hesitant at first to hand him the reins. "It'll be okay," Kili said smiling. I handed him the reins and he took my horse away.

I continued to follow Balin ahead and when I turned my focus from Kili and my horse, Thorin stood up from his thrown.

"Thorin. I found us a new lead archer." Balin said happily. I immediately knelt.

"No need," Thorin said.

I stood up and glanced at him. "Sorry."

He held up his hand. "No worries." We locked eyes for a few seconds. "Although, I do admire your respect." He shifted his focus to Balin. "Show her where she'll be sleeping along with everything else." Balin nodded and I started following him. "Oh, and Balin." We stopped and looked at Thorin. "Make sure to show her where her horse is being kept." Balin nodded once again and I followed him.

Balin led me to a part of Erebor that had separate rooms, almost like an inn. "So, this is where you'll be sleeping." Balin stopped me in front of a set of doors. He gestured for me to open them and I did.

"Oh wow." The room was stone gold linings. There was a bed in the corner and a closet to the left. I walked around the room a bit and then I looked above the doorway. "Is this mine?" I pointed up to it. Balin nodded and I took it down.

"We had a bow made just for you." He was smiling at how happy I was. He let me look at it for a bit before deciding to take me to dinner.

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"So, what's your upbringing as Balin called it," Fili said sitting down at the table. Everyone was here except Thorin. They were all very cheerful.

"Fili," Kili said hitting his brother in his arm.

"What," Fili said laughing.

"No, it's fine." I paused for a second to breathe. Everyone looked very interested. "I uh. I was raised in Rivendell for a bit."

"You don't look like an Elf," Bofur responded.

"Oh, that's because I'm not. Or at least not fully."

"Huh?" They all responded at the same time.

I laughed. "My parents sent me to Rivendell to live with Elrond for a while."

"Why's that?" We all heard a deep voice and saw it was Thorin. He was standing by the entrance of the room.

"Uh." I paused for a second. "They uh. They both wanted me to experience elven life for a bit." I scratched the back of my head while staring at my food. "Anyways I should go, feed my horse for the night." I got up and pushed by Thorin and headed to where my horse was being kept.