Where She Went

New Sights and Curiosity

It was beautiful. The young woman opened her eyes to see a blue sky, rolling green hills, and clear, flowing rivers. The sight nearly took her breath away. She almost thought she'd been taken into the past. Everything appeared the way it did when she was little. It was almost as if she were reliving her little adventures, and nothing had changed.

Her thoughts immediately took her to what she would've done as a child if she'd lived here. She would have climbed every eligible tree before she reached maturity. She would have gone swimming in the rivers in the areas that would've been claimed dangerous because of fast currents. She would have gone into the trees to build the largest bonfires and dance around them all night. This was the Shire. This was Middle Earth. Her guests were in fact, telling her the truth.

"Well, now that we're all here, ​let us gather the ponies and move out!" Gandalf announced happily. Talia nearly felt sad at this. She didn't exactly want to leave this place. She could've lived the rest of her days out here and be perfectly content.

But then, she remembered what she'd signed up for. She had a job to do. She made a promise, and she would die before she broke it. The young woman looked around her to see the Dwarves making their way towards the Wizard and herself. Huh, one would think that he'd be able to bring everyone to the same place. she thought. Luckily, no one was too far away, although the company did have to wait a minute or two before Bombur could catch up.

The company walked a small distance across the Shire to an inn called "The Green Dragon". Talia didn't bother making conversation with anyone, if they were leaving this place immediately, she was going to take in the view. She actually liked how she had to tilt her head up to look up into the trees, and to see a river that was so large to her. It was almost as if the old Talia Russo had never gone away. Well, most of the old Talia Russo, at least.

The Dwarves immediately took off to the stables where they kept their ponies, along with Gandalf's horse. When Talia saw them being brought out, she noted their beauty, but a nerve also struck her, and she took a hesitant step back.

"You alright, lass?" Oin asked, noting her wide-eyed face.

Talia immediately snapped out of it. "Oh, yeah, I was just thinking about something else." she quickly said as she tried to walk away unnoticed.

"Someone give the burglar a pony!" Thorin barked as he mounted his own pony. The poor girl looked away from everyone, taking deep breaths as she tried to hide her nerves.

"I have one here for you Miss Talisa!" Kili cheerfully announced.

Talia couldn't help but giggle as she heard Kili's voice. He sounded so excited about everything he talked about, and he seemed to really enjoy her company, unlike some members of the group.

She turned around to see Kili on his pony, bringing along with him another. She was brown with a white stripe on her face. She was a beautiful pony, but Talia still stepped towards it slowly. Her pulse calmed down a little as she stroked the pony's nose. Kili saw her looking into the eye of the animal, her own eyes narrowed, as if she were searching for something.

"Have you never ridden a pony before?" he asked with curiosity and a hint of concern.

"Uh, yeah, but that was years ago." she answered, still a little distracted. Before she knew it, Talia saw that everyone was mounting their ponies, and soon they'd be waiting on just her. Gandalf approached her on his horse and gave her a knowing look.

"You may ride with me, if you wish." he offered.

The girl immediately shook her head. "No. I can't, not if I wanna be taken seriously."