Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, except for the ones I made up. Everything that is from The Hobbit series belongs to JRR Tolkien. I am merely borrowing them for my own amusement. There are a few changes with timeline I made to make the story fit better with the movie, so I suppose this is a slight AU. I'm aware of the flaws in the story when it comes to matching up with books.

It had been just another day for Arathorn, Chieftain of the Dúnedain. It was rather uneventful and nothing was out of the ordinary. So when Arathorn laid down to sleep that night after telling his wife and son goodnight, he had no idea what was waiting for him in his dreams.

It started off like any other dream he had ever had. He was training a teenage Aragorn and everything was as it should have been. Then, out of the blue, came a young girl with light brown hair carrying twin blades. He was surprised when she came up and hugged him before she began training with the two of them. While she and Aragorn were sparing, Arathorn looked and saw his dear friend Thorondil walking towards him and observing the two adolescents. The young woman suddenly stepped away from Aragorn and ran towards Thorondil with a shout of 'Papa!' before throwing her arms around him. "Hello, my darling Annelise! Now get back to your sparring match and show the lad how it's done," Thorondil said to his daughter with a wink. 'So that is who the girl is', thought Arathorn. After speaking with her father for a moment, he kissed her forehead before she turned back to Aragorn to continue training. As the training was coming to an end, Arathorn heard a light, feminine voice say to him, "This would have been her future with the Dúnedain. She would have known the love of her parents. You would have loved her as your own daughter and she would have felt like she belonged. But that is not the path that has been set before her."

After this was said, Arathorn's surroundings changed, and he was standing in what looked to be a blacksmith's forge. He heard a cry and turned to see a baby wrapped in a blanket, laying on a short work bench. Just as he was moving to look at the child, the door behind the bench opened and a dwarf walked into the forge. The scene changed again and Arathorn saw three dwarves teaching Annelise how to use a sword and bow. Then images began flashing before his eyes quickly. Arathorn caught glimpses of Mithrandir and Annelise, a small hobbit, a company of dwarves, and multiple elves. He saw Lord Elrond and was shocked when he caught a glimpse of a dragon. He saw more figures of men, elves, dwarves, and hobbits. He saw what looked to be the aftermath of battles and the bodies of men and orcs strewn across fields of grass. Suddenly, the scene changed and a much older Aragorn and Annelise were standing back-to-back in front of huge black gates, fighting off legions of orcs as far as he could see. Then he heard the voice again speaking to him, "Her path is not an easy one, and she will have many doubts about herself. But take heart, Arathorn of the Dúnedain, her life will not always be filled with war and death. She will not be alone and she will be loved by all who know her. She is one of the most important women in all of Arda, and she will help to shape the future of this world."

When Arathorn woke the next morning, the dream weighed heavily on his mind. Why was he given this dream? Who was this girl, Annelise? His friend, Thorondil and his wife Evelyn had no children, though they had been married for almost thirty years.

As Arathorn thought more about what the woman in his dream said and the events that he saw, he became worried and scared for the young girl who would experience it all. If what the woman said was true, that this girl would become like a daughter to him, how could he allow those things to happen to her? He could not forget about any of it.

It had been two months since Arathorn had his dream, and still it plagued his thoughts. That day, Thorondil had called a meeting of all the Dúnedain in their camp with some exciting news. His wife Evelyn was finally pregnant with their first child. Although Arathorn was happy for two of his dearest friends, he could not help but feel uneasy because of the child's future. Later that evening, Thorondil came to speak to Arathorn and his wife, Gilraen. He asked them to be his child's godmother and godfather, and to take care of the child if anything happened to himself or Evelyn. They agreed, of course, seeing as how Thorondil and Evelyn had made the same promise to them at the announcement of Gilraen's pregnancy with Aragorn.

Soon after the announcement of Evelyn's pregnancy, Arathorn sent word to Elrond of Rivendell to ask that a pair of twin blades be made for the Daughter of Thorondil as a gift to be given to her by Arathorn when she was old enough. It was decided that Evelyn would give birth to the child in Rivendell, where they would raise her for a time before travelling to Rohan to be with Evelyn's family.

When Evelyn was five months pregnant, Arathorn II, Chieftain of the Dúnedain, was killed. Thorondil decided that it was time to take Evelyn to Rivendell, and Gilraen decided to go with them, along with her two year old son, Aragorn.

Gilraen's sorrow was great and her friends and the elves of Rivendell had a difficult time keeping her from dying of grief. As it came closer to the time for Evelyn to deliver her child, Gilraen was able to gather her spirits in anticipation for the child. A beautiful little girl was born early in the morning, with the light of the day's first rays blazing on her pale skin. She had big, bright blue eyes just like her mother and dark hair like her father that would shine a dark golden red in the sun.

The baby girl named Annelise, meaning graceful light, quickly became the doll of Rivendell. She and her parents lived in Imladris for two years. In those two years, she had managed to worm her way into the hearts of even the sternest elves. Lord Elrond saw her as another daughter and showered her with love. Gilraen was able to set aside her grief for Arathorn for a time and watch Annelise and Aragorn grow together happily. She knew Arathorn would have adored the sweet child, who always seemed to have a smile on her face and a laugh just waiting to burst from her lips.

After two years in Rivendell, Thorondil received a letter from King Thranduil asking him and his family to visit the Greenwood before travelling to Rohan. It had been years since Thorondil had seen Thranduil and he knew the Elvenking had been grieved by the death of Arathorn, who had been a good friend to him. Evelyn agreed to the visit and preparations were made. On the morning of their departure, Elrond presented Annelise with a gift to remember him and all of Rivendell. It was a beautiful necklace on an unbreakable golden chain. The gold pendant was identical to his daughter, Arwen's, Evenstar but had deep ruby red gems. As Elrond draped the chain around Annelise's neck, he spoke. "Annelise was born with the fiery light of dawn blazing on her face. There is a fire inside of her that has the potential to shape the course of this age. She will be a jewel among Men, a light in the darkness, a diamond in the rough. She will be adored by all who meet her and sorely missed when it comes time for her to move on to other places. She has taken a piece of my heart and I look forward to the day when I will see her again. Travel safely, my dear friends, and may the Light of the Eldar guide your steps."

With those last words, Thorondil mounted his horse and looked his last on the House of Elrond before turning to lead his family to the Greenwood, along with the few guards Elrond sent with them to protect them on their journey.

It took nearly a week for the travelers to reach the home of the Elvenking and his son, Legolas. Once there, they were greeted with open arms and Annelise quickly captured the hearts of both elves. As Annelise was still learning to speak, she had a difficult time saying their names and took to calling them 'Ego and 'Dil. Legolas soon became like an older brother to her, spending his spare time playing games with her or reading stories to help her sleep. Anytime she was in Thranduil's presence, he would absentmindedly pick her up and rub her back. She was often found curled up in the Elvenking's arms, fast asleep.

After spending a year in the Elvenking's castle, the time came for the family to depart for Rohan. The wizard, Gandalf, was in the Greenwood and planned to travel with Thorondil and his family. Thranduil provided six guards to go with them to escort them out of the Greenwood and safely to Edoras. After saying goodbye to Thranduil and Legolas, the company made their way toward Rohan.

The trip was rather uneventful for the most part. After a week of travelling, the group stopped for the night to rest. They were still three days from Edoras. Thorondil woke just past midnight to one of the Elven guards shaking him awake. A company of orcs had been heard not far from their camp by the elf keeping watch. Silently, they packed up camp and saddled their horses in case they needed to leave suddenly. Luckily they had not had a fire going that evening as the air that night was pleasantly warm.

The leader of the guard sent a scout to see how many orcs there were and how far away their camp was. When the scout still was not back an hour later, the company began to get worried. Just when they were about to decide what they should do, one of the guards was shot with an arrow and the company was ambushed by almost fifty orcs. Gandalf quickly made Evelyn mount her horse with Annelise, and told her to get to safety. Thorondil soon shouted at Gandalf to go with her and protect her and the child. With that, Gandalf turned and left Thorondil and the five remaining guards to deal with the orcs. When he finally reached Evelyn, he realized that something was terribly wrong. As he got closer, he saw the arrow protruding from her back and knew that she would not last much longer.

"Gandalf…Mithrandir, please take her," she said to him, holding a crying Annelise out toward him while gasping for breath. "I know I am not long for this world. Take my daughter and give her to her father. Tell… tell him I love him a-and that this was not his f-fault."

Gandalf took the child from her mother's arms and cradled her into his chest, trying to soothe her sobs. He then turned to Evelyn and tried to reassure her. "I will do everything in my power to look after your husband and your daughter. You do not need to worry about them. Now be still, my dear friend. You have done well."

With tears in his eyes, Gandalf watched Evelyn take her last breaths before he reached and closed her eyes, before leaving to find Thorondil.

What the wizard found upon reentering the clearing where they had camped was absolutely horrifying. The orcs had completely mutilated the elven guards' bodies to the point that they were almost unidentifiable. When Gandalf did not see Thorondil among the bodies, he allowed a glimmer of hope to grow in his heart. That hope was soon destroyed when he moved into the ring of trees around the clearing. He found his friend slumped against one of the trees with an arrow straight through his heart and at least ten orcs dead around him. His sword was still clutched in his hand and Gandalf knew he had been killed while engaged with other orcs.

With grief in his heart for the loss of two of his dearest friends, Gandalf turned to look at the three year old girl in his arms. Annelise had fallen asleep while Gandalf had been deep in his thoughts. Gandalf went to the packs that were still on the ground and was able to fashion a sling like he had seen Evelyn do many times to hold the child to him so he could set to work burying his fallen companions, without disturbing Annelise. By noon the next day, Gandalf had buried the eight bodies and made markers, as well as burned the orc corpses. Annelise slept most of the time, which did not concern Gandalf after everything the child had gone through.

He was able to find the group's horses close by and salvage some food before allowing all but his horse to go free. He planned to return to Rivendell to tell Elrond of the events and to decide what to do with Annelise. Just as Gandalf was about to turn his horse toward Rivendell, he heard the Lady Galadriel's voice in his mind. "Wait Mithrandir. The child cannot be taken to Rivendell."

"Where am I to take her then? Mirkwood? Or shall I raise her as my own?"

"I know that she is dear to thee, Mithrandir, as she is to many others. But that is not her path. You must take her to Gondor. In Minas Tirith, there is a young dwarf lord who is well known to you. Thorin Oakenshield is working in a forge in the city as a blacksmith. That is where you must leave the child. She cannot know who she is or how she came to be there. And no one can know that she is alive. Thorin cannot know it was you who brought her to him. That is her destiny."

"With all due respect, my lady, I cannot simply leave her in a blacksmith shop with a dwarf who has no knowledge of who she is or where she came from. And I certainly cannot lie to Lord Elrond and King Thranduil and allow them to grieve for Annelise, when she is perfectly safe," Gandalf replied quickly. 'How can I leave her behind? She will have no idea who she is or how loved she is by so many. I cannot just pretend that she is dead.'

"I know that this decision troubles your heart, Mithrandir. But you will see Annelise again and one day both you and she will understand why things need to be this way," Galadriel said reassuringly.

With great reluctance, Gandalf turned his horse toward Gondor and began his journey toward Minas Tirith, with Annelise tucked close to his heart.