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Stone Giants and Mountain Perils

"Mäetharanel, wait", said Galadriel in elvish.

"My Lady, I must-", she did not wish to hear what Galadriel had to say. She feared the contents of the conversation greatly.

"Leave us, please", and Elrond, Saruman and the Grey began leaving, "I will call for you, Mithrandir", the man nodded and resumed his path. Watching as they went away, Mäetharanel saw Elrond speaking with Lindir in whispers, "What I must tell you is of great importance", the blonde began walking closer to her, "You shall be queen, Mäetharanel", and that made her look up at Galadriel's eyes, "And well you shall rule alongside a king with your many heirs", now it was her turn to be baffled.

"What do you mean?", and then, she remembered the mirror, "You saw a vision...", whispered Mäetharanel, "It will change with time, my Lady", Galadriel closed the distance between them and caressed her face before leaning her forehead against Mäetharanel's, "I cannot be... My father-"

"Mäetharanel, how long has it been since you have had any news from your home?", she couldn't go away, and it was not because the lady of Lórien held her arms with her hands, "The time when you heard news from the one you left your responsibilities to is long gone. But not us, the man has kept us warned", when looking at the other became too much, she closed her eyes with forrowed eyebrows, "King Donovan was an excellent man, but above that, he was a great monarch and an outstanding father", she would rather stay ignorant to the fact that everyone spoke about the man that gave her life in the past. He could not have left her, he would not, she would know by now, someone would've told her, right? "And having high duties is nothing new to you", finally, she gave her space to breath, but once more, she couldn't, "Do not fear responsibility, princess. You will be a wondrous ruler, I am certain of it."

"Let us not rush the future, Lady Galadriel. Let it come on its own accord", the panic inside her rouse and so did she.
Donovan had elves with him, and certainly Thranduil would have intervened should anything happen to the other king . The thought of not having her father's arms around her once she got back home was painful, oh so painful...

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With the rest of the Company, everything was as if nothing had happened. All the dwarves were packed, hiking along the path leaving Rivendell.

"Be on your guard; we're about to step over the edge of the wild", advised their king, "Balin, you know these paths, lead on."

"Aye", nodded the other dwarf. Bilbo turned around, looking back at Rivendell in longing.

"Master Baggins, I suggest you keep up", Thorin looked at him with a stern gaze and, reluctantly, Bilbo pulled away from Rivendell and followed behind the dwarves.

The dwarves trudged through the wilderness of Eriador, with the Misty Mountains plain in the distance, capped with snow. Over ranges, rivers, and waterfalls theypassed, silent with determination. Slowly, their path became higher and higher, looming overthe fields below. The Misty Mountains grew nearer with everystep.

Finally, the Company found themselves climbing the vast mountain range, through rock and snow, framed against theblue sky behind them. A fierce storm raged in the air with lightning striking here and there, and rain poured down on them without mercy. Thorin lead the dwarves across a narrow, dangerous trail on the side of the mountain. A cliff lied on one side of the path, with a sheer drop on the other.

"Hold on!", yelled their leader over the sound of the thunder. The dwarves carefully made their way across the ridge, half-drowned in rain. As Bilbo walked, the stone beneath him gave away, but Dwalin managed to catch the hobbit in the nick of time, "We must find shelter!", Dwalin pointed up, looking at something in thedistance.