Hello, this is my first Hobbit fanfiction, so I ask that you be gentle with the reviews. I hope you enjoy this story, as I will try to update as much as possible. And to fans of the Lord of the Rings...I will be posting a story for that soon, so please look forward to that as well. Thank you and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but my OC.

Chapter 1: Welcome to Café Mint

The aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans filled the musty air of the hole in the wall coffee house, "Café Mint". Although stuffed in the back of a sketchy alley, the place had a charm about it. The walls were a rusty red, peeling in some places revealing light brown wood panels, and were decorated with a few hanging book cases and few odd paintings. The floors were a deep mahogany color and creaked in several places, dim yellow lights were scattered around the café, and a few vintage wall lamps lit it up. A few tables and chairs were scattered sparingly around the center of the room and a couple larger tables were placed against the wall at the very back. The counter was not only equipped with everything a barista needs, but it was also stocked full of delicious and odd pastries and cakes.

It was like any other day at Café Mint, a few regulars sat quietly as they sipped their lattes and such. And the barista, Phera (pronounced fair-ah) sat lazily on her stool, flipping through the morning paper, and smoking a cigarette. She had long, wavy honey brown hair, bangs clipped to the side by a couple bobby pins, hazy brown eyes, a very fair complexion, and a small build; Phera stood just above 5 feet and had a small pear shaped figure.

"Good morning Phera." Phera looked up from her newspaper to find Gandalf, a regular at the café. The gentle elderly man had been coming around the café for a couple of months and always had some tale to tell her.

"Morning…so the usual spiced ice tea with two pumps of liquid sugar?" She slowly put out her cigarette and walked to the cash register, where he stood.

"Hmmm, how about I give the pumpkin spice latte a try." He replied taking out a 5 dollar bill.

"Oh, adventurous today I see. No, no Gandalf today is free of charge." Gandalf raised a brow towards the woman.

"And I see someone is quite generous today." He laughed, sticking his money back into his tweed jacket pocket. Phera only gave a shrug as she hummed a happy tune while making his order. "You seem happy this morning, may I ask why?"

"Well, I'm taking a short trip up to the lake for the weekend." She stated, putting the finishing touches on the latte, creating a simple leaf with the warm cream.

"Oh that does sound lovely." Gandalf took a seat at one of the bar stools that had been across where Phera had been sitting behind the counter. Phera placed the cup in front of Gandalf and took her seat lighting another cigarette and taking a long drag.

"Yup, my family has a small cottage on the lake. I figure since it's a long thanksgiving weekend and I don't really have any plans per say…" Phera sighed, she really did not have any family to share such holiday since she moved up to Washington state. Her father and mother both lived in California and were incredibly busy people; Phera was lucky enough to get a phone call from them every now and then. However, she did not mind at all, she accepted this is how her parents were and she was no child either, she was a full grown woman; 26 years old.

"Well, my dear friend I am sure you will have a wonderful time at the lake." Gandalf smiled at her and took a sip of his latte. "Oh, this is delicious Phera! I think this may very well be my new usual." He mused patting her shoulder and taking another sip.

"So Gandalf, we never got to finish that story yesterday…you know the one with that dwarves and their King, Thorin." Phera smiled at the old man, he was such a kind man, and she enjoyed his tales of a place called 'middle earth'. Gandalf's eyes twinkled, 'Please, let this plan work.' He thought, finishing up his latte.

"Sorry my dear Phera I have to leave right now. But, do not fret I shall return later this afternoon and have another one of those lovely pumpkin lattes." He rose from his seat and started towards the door, Phera leaned over the counter and shouted at him,

"Whaaaat? Gandalf you tease! *chuckle* Alright, see you soon!" She chuckled again, 'What a peculiar old man.'

Phera waited all day for the old man to return, but sadly there was no sign of him. She was already starting to close up the café when the door creaked open.

"Good evening Phera, my apologies for being so late, but may I come in?" Phera whipped around to find her friend Gandalf, standing at the entrance way.

"Took you long enough! Come in and have a seat, just let me finish up closing…" Phera teased and pulled out Gandalf's usual seat at the bar and proceeded to push in chairs and sweep. Gandalf watched his young friend move about the café in hurry; she seemed eager to hear the rest of the tale. Just as he was about to comment on her hastiness, the old man noticed she had pulled her hair into a high pony tail, revealing some sort of rune tattoo on the back of her slender neck. 'Interesting…'

"Phera, what is this tattoo on your neck of?" he questioned, lighting his pipe. The woman looked up at him and gestured towards the back wall of the café where a large painting was hung. The painting was of a large Celtic knot of greys, blues, and green hues and beneath is was an inscription in another language.

"I had several dreams where I saw that passage and thought the lettering was beautiful…so I decided to paint it. And eventually I got a tattoo of my favorite word…why? Have you seen this before?" She had just put away the last glass mug and made her way over to Gandalf taking a seat and lighting her cigarette, taking a long drag. Phera lightly rubbed the tattoo with her fingertips; she was fascinated with the beautiful lettering.

"Why yes I have, they are ancient rune symbols…of the Dwarves…." Gandalf pointed out.

"Really?! Do you know what the whole thing says?" She asked with hopeful eyes. Those frequent dreams about the runes were often hazy, confusing, and making them quite frightening at times.

"Sorry, I only know so much…however, I do know of someone that does. Although, he's a long ways from here…quite far."

"Well, that's just disappointing…anyways what about the story, Gandalf?" Phera, had finished off her cigarette and leaned forward.

"Oh, yes the tale…" Gandalf shifted on his stool, "Phera…before I begin…what if I told you this tale was real?"

"Oh come on Gandalf, get on with it!" She gave him a smirk and slapped his arm playfully, " Really now, it's just a story…such things as elves, dwarves, and wiz-" The woman stopped mid-sentence, she was shocked to see her new friend Gandalf raising his hand and holding a floating blue orb. Within the orb magnificent oranges, reds, purples, and greens swirled and mixed together, giving off a bright, white glow, that started to fill the room.

"I'm sorry Phera, but the time has come. My past self will explain everything to you in due time. I wish you luck my dear friend!" He then gave his wrist a quick flick, causing the orb to come straight at Phera's chest. She stepped back in pain, the orb melting into her chest, the searing hot pain slowly dulled to a tingle as she felt herself fall back. Expecting to fall on to the counter tops behind her, she braced herself, but instead of a hard wood she fell on something soft and warm…