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Prologue

Natalia looked at Tu in horror. "You cannot be serious," Natalia told him as she leaned away from him on the bench where they were both seated.

"I assure you, Talia, I'm perfectly serious," Tu told the Dwarrowdam before him. She was pretty for a dwarf. Strangely hairless but Tu found that spurred his attraction rather than deterring it. Natalia flinched at the sound of the shortened name her mother used to call her by coming from his lips. She missed her family terribly but they were gone. There was no one who could rescue her from her current predicament.

He took her hand again pulling Talia away from the thoughts of her family. "No," she told him standing and freeing her hand from his hold as she did. "I'm sorry but I will not marry you. I cannot tie myself to man who is not of my race when there is still every chance I could find my One."

Tu's demeanour changed then, his expression turning dark. "Is that so?" he demanded harshly as he stood towering over her. Was she foolish enough to think he would let her simply leave to find another after refusing him? "Well let us see how you will find your One when you are no longer a Dwarf, shall we?"

Natalia's eyes widened in horror as the Maiar formed a ball of magic between his hands. Natalia backed away from his on instinct knowing already that there was no way to escape whatever fate he had decided on for her. As she watched waiting for him to make his move she knew she had made the right choice in refusing him. Tu cast his magic at her. It hit her directly in the stomach and she staggered back from the force of it. Natalia raised her head looking at him, her eyes silently questioning what he had done as she felt the magic begin to course through her. A wind picked up, it whipped up leaves and debris from the ground. It swirled around her enclosing her in a cocoon as his magic took hold. Natalia gasped, sinking to her knees with the force of it.

When the wind died away and the leaves settled back on the ground Natalia raised her head again meeting his eyes. She noted that her vision had changed, the world around her seemed to be lacking some of its colour and this disoriented Natalia. She strained her neck looking up at him, he stood much taller than he had before. Natalia recalled falling to her knees but she was she was sure she was no longer in the same position. She dared not take her eyes off him to investigate what had happened to her at that moment.

Tu dropped to a crouch in front of her taking her chin in his hands. Talia intended to tell him to release her but instead what came out was a warning snarl. Her eyes widened and Tu laughed with glee at the horror and confusion in them. "I wonder what your One will think of you now when you do find him, Natalia. You shall take this form with each sunrise and only by the light of the moon will you true self be revealed. Your curse can only be lifted by your One. If he accepts you as you are and as his One then your curse will be lifted." He chuckled at her mercilessly and turned to walk away from her. "Good luck with that, Natalia," he called over his shoulder.

Without any hesitation Natalia turned and ran. She was aware she was on four legs and she barrelled through the forest. What in Mahal's name had he turned her into? Natalia only came to a stop when she knew she was well beyond Tu's reach, not even his magic could reach her at this distance. Not that it mattered now, she suspected he'd already inflicted a terrible fate on her. Natalia moved towards a stream she could hear nearby. She hesitated at the edge of it for a moment before she steeled herself and forced herself to look over the edge into the water. Natalia felt tears fill her eyes as she looked at her new reflection. A large red wolf stared back at her. She turned away from the water and set off running, putting even more distance between her and the evil creature who had done this to her. She refused to let the tears fall as she weaved her way through the trees. She had to be tougher than that, this was her reality and she needed to face it.

A/N: So I wanted to do something different with a Hobbit story and this idea popped into my head. Please review. Thanks, Violet.