Finally, Thorin and Company, alongside with Samantha, Judith and Merrilee took off, meeting up at the Green Dragon with ponies. "Samantha, you will share a pony with me! Judith, you with Fili, and Merrilee with Kili!" said Thorin. "Yes!" said Judith softly, as she mounted the pony, sitting in front of FIli Fili smiled. "I heard that yes, and I like the sound of that yes!" said Fii. They waited for a while, and during the wait, the dwarves placed bets if Bilbo would show up or not. It didn't take long when they saw Bilbo running towards them, contract in hand. Bilbo handed over the contract to Balin, and Balin looked it over. "Well, looks like everything is in place! Welcome to the Company of Thorin Oakenshield!" smiled Balin. "Give him a pony!" mumbled Thorin. Suddenly, Fili and Kili grabbed Bilbo, placing him on a pony. Fili managed to pull Bilbo up without knocking Judith off his pony.
And they begin their journey. Judith and Merrilee had been busy telling Fili, Kili and several other dwarves stories of their world. They told them of their music, the entertainment, and the lifestyles of their world. "Sounds very exciting!" said Kili, grinning. "What about books? Do you read books?" asked Ori. "Oh, yes! We read books, lots of books!" Judith repllied. Judith wanted to mention a book that she had been carrying with her, but she decided not too. She didn't want to scare or worry the dwarves, making them think they are witches of some sort. And so she decided to remain quiet. Meanwhile, Samantha and Thorin hardly spoken, and if they did speak, it was mainly small talk, mostly about the weather, and Thorin complaining about Bilbo tagging along. Samantha didn't understand what Thorin's beef against Bilbo was, and she was tired of hearing the unkind words said about Bilbo from Thorin.
But Samantha felt confused as well. The kiss Thorin gave her the night before stunned her. Thorin gave her the kiss without a word, taking her by surprise. She wanted to bring up the kiss thing, but she didn't feel like it at the time as they rode that day. Later that evening, Thorin called to everyone to stop and make camp. Judith and Merrilee remained close to their Aunt when it came to where they sleep. But in the meantime, the twins sat with Fili and Kili, as usual, because they enjoyed the young dwarves company. Samantha could sense that Judith and Fili started to have a fling going on. She could tell by the way they looked at each other, and Judith's constant flirting moves towards the dwarf. Samantha felt quite concerned of this, because she knew if Thorin found out if Judith and Fili are a couple, he would get angry. It was not because of Judith being a human, and Fili being a dwarf. It was their age difference.
Samantha didn't mind that Judith is with Fili, as long as he made her happy, and it made Samantha happy. Samantha sat alone, and she noticed not that many of the dwarves had spoken to her, not even Bilbo or Thorin. Am I that boring that no one is not wanting to talk to me? Samantha thought. Samantha reached in her bag, and took out her crossword puzzle for something to do. Judith noticed that no one was talking to Samantha. "Aunt Sam, why isn't anyone talking to you, or asking you questions?" asked Judith, approaching her. "I don't know. I suppose that I'm a very dull and boring person, I guess." said Samantha grumpily. "Don't worry, Auntie. They'll warm up to you." said Judith patting her Aunt on the back. "Where are you going?" asked Samantha, as she noticed Judith turning away. "I'm teaching Fili how to play hang man. I was wonder if you have an extra pen and paper I can borrow?" said Judith. "Well, I suppose." sighed Samantha, and she handed over the paper and pen to Judith. "Thanks!" said Judith and she went back to sit with Fili, Kili and Merrilee. Samantha sadly sighed, and she decided to stretch her legs.
Samantha decided to walk away from the company for a little bit to find some water to fill her canteen. When she found a river, she filled up her bottle. When she had finished, she saw two rugged looking men staring at her. "Hey little miss. What's a pretty thing like you doing out here alone?" purred the man evilly. "Its none of your damn business, creep." said Samantha. And as she was about to walk away to go back to the campsite, the two men jumped out in front of her, blocking her way. "You really think you can get away so easily, woman? You're not from around here! You know what we do to women who aren't from around here?!" snarled the first man. "I really don't care, and I really don't want to know! Now move out of my way!" snapped Samantha. Suddenly, the second man grabbed Samantha roughly by the shoulders. Then he punched her in the eye. Samantha screamed. "Take her clothes, Hammon." said the first man. "Oh HELL NO!" shouted Samantha, and she kicked the first man in the groin. The man yelled.
Then, Samantha punched the second man,and she tried to run from the men, but the second man grabbed her, this time by the hair, pulling it hard. "LET HER GO!!" roared a familiar deep voice. Samantha looked up, and she saw Thorin jumping out from the trees, brandishing his sword. Thorin killed both men, and he quickly ran over to Samantha, who was sitting down, with her hand over her right eye, where she had been punched. "Samantha, are you alright?!" asked Thorin quickly. "Yes and no. I had no idea men would come out here in the wild." snarled Samantha. "Come, lets take you back to camp, and have Master Oin look at your eye." said Thorin, helping a overwhelmed and frightened Samantha stand up. They walked back to the campsite, and Oin right away, began working on the woman's eye. "Who done that to her?!" cried out Judith. "Two unknown men, who had no business being out here." said Thorin grumpily.
Fili sighed. "She had no business leaving the company anyway, so part of it, is her fault." snarled Dwalin. Dwalin's remark angered Samantha, and she wanted to jump up and slap the bald dwarf in the face for it. She nearly was raped, but she defended herself well, before the men even tried stripping her clothes. But Oin held her down. "Stay calm." said Oin gently, as he wiped salve on Samantha's eye. "Yes, I have to agree with Dwalin on this. You left the company without even telling us. So part of this is your fault, Samantha! Why didn't you tell us that you were going to fill your water bottle?" said Thorin sharply. Samantha couldn't take this no longer. She was getting lectured over something that wasn't her fault. All she wanted was water, and she nearly got raped during the process. "How dare you? You have no idea what happened to me back there at the river! Those two men nearly raped me, damn it! Some support you are!" screamed Samantha, and she quickly stood up, marching away from the company. "Sam!" began Kili. "Just leave me alone! All of you!" screamed Samantha.
The company fell silent from this. Dwalin bowed his head. "I wish I never said anything." said Dwalin, quietly. Thorin stood watching Samantha walking away from them. He wanted to follow her and talk to her, but he decided to give her a few minutes to cool down from her anger. Finally, Thorin went to follow Samantha. He shortly found Sam sititng on the ground with her back against the tree, with her head buried in her hands. "Samantha--I'm sorry--I didn't know." began Thorin softly, sitting down next to Samantha. "Don't you dare touch me!" Samantha quickly said, backing away from Thorin. "Samantha, I didn't come to yell and scream at you. I came to apologize for earlier. Even Dwalin is sorry." said Thorin, taking Samantha's hand. "You have no idea what its like to be a victim do you? Is this what you do all the time? Blame the victim?!" said Samantha. "Sam, I said I am sorry. We was just worried about you that's all." said Thorin, brushing his hand on Samantha's cheek.
Samantha sighed. "Thank you, Thorin." said Samantha. Thorin took Samantha into his arms, pulling her close to his chest. "No harm will come to you anymore, Sam. I promise you that." whispered Thorin, as he began caressing Samantha's hair. "Thorin, there is something I need to tell you, a little something of my past, which is why I got upset the way I did earlier." said Samantha. "What is it, Sam?" asked Thorin gently. Samantha had a difficult time to begin the story, because it involved her being raped a couple years befre arriving in Middle Earth.
