I See Fire

Chapter 1

The Voice

I had a life, before. But now, it doesn't seem like it was more than a dream. I don't know if I'll ever return to it or what will happen, but I know where I stand now. I stand a fighter.

I always was, I suppose. A fighter. Since I was young, my father had enrolled me into wrestling training so I could learn to defend myself. It was either that or karate, which I was never particularly interested in, so I went for the former. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, it was a good way to vent as a child. As someone who grew up loving medieval and fantasy, I wasn't seen as a popular one. I didn't get along well or join in with other kids. They liked to run around in the playground, playing games and talking to each other. I liked to sit on the grass and read stories, draw pictures of things I dreamed. I was often picked on by everyone else because of it, called the weird girl who was with the faeries. One time I was drawing a picture and one of the other kids, Tony, snatched it off me. He saw it was a picture of me and dwarves from my favourite book, The Hobbit. In my mind, I thought of them as friends, even if they were just people in a book. Tony laughed at me and ripped the picture right in front of me. The tears immediately filled my eyes and I began to cry loudly as the pieces fell to the ground. Kids really can be cruel. And my wrestling gave me an outlet. It did get me into trouble at school, sometimes, if I couldn't take the name calling any more.

Wrestling became more intense as I grew up. I lived in the UK, Northern Ireland to be precise, and in the UK we didn't train for the entertainment side like in America, we trained to learn proper fighting and brawling tactics. It was good skills to know, especially when drunken men think they could have their way with you and don't know when to take no for an answer.

As I grew up, I started taking up other hobbies. The two I started were archery and fencing. I had always wanted to take up archery, it was something I had always found really cool and that I felt a complete desire to learn. Fencing I got bored with very easily, because it didn't feel challenging enough. Then when I was old enough, I took up proper swordsmanship, wanting to know the proper way to wield a blade. I loved it. I grew up with these things bringing me comfort in books, and to be able to do them, myself… it brought me happiness, even when others found me weird for it. But I can't please everyone. I know that, now.

It was when I turned twenty when it all happened. I didn't have many friends, but I was used to it by now. I had spent my whole life being rejected by others, which has caused me to develop severe anxiety and depression issues. You could say I was bitter at times, since unfortunately the effects of such treatment growing up stayed with me and effected my daily life, but that didn't mean I was horrible to people, just shy and reserved. I wouldn't become the people who couldn't accept me. Which is mainly why I filled my time with hobbies. I did still hang out with people, like my three best friends Louise, Jade and Alex, as well as my cousin, Thomas. And I had dated before, not much, but out of the few guys I had dated they would end up being either someone who I eventually went back to seeing as just a friend or a total jackass who was just using me and left when I didn't give them what they wanted. So to keep myself occupied and my mind off those things, I liked to keep myself busy.

It had been a normal day, the day everything happened. I woke up, went to wrestling training, first, then archery after, finishing with sword fighting in the afternoon, leaving me with the rest of the day free, since I didn't have work. I had a late hours job at a fashion retail store, nothing fancy, but it paid well, so I could afford all my lessons. I lived by myself, I couldn't have left home sooner. I couldn't stay at home any more, not after Dad… but I'm not going to get into that.

Normally, after my lessons I would go home and sit in my flat for the rest of the day reading, playing music or watching movies. But not that day. That day was different. I had felt so tired from training that I went straight for my bed as soon as I got into my apartment. Nothing out of the ordinary about that, I know. It was what happened as I slept, that was unusual. It wasn't long until I fell into a deep sleep. That's when it started.

-x-

A young girl, hair as black as obsidian, walked through a dark forest. She had no idea where she was or how she got there, and to say she was scared would be a major understatement. She whimpered, lightly, not wanting to alert anything that could be lingering in the darkness ahead. It didn't help, as she could hear the snapping of twigs, the rustling of the leaves. Something was out there. As it got closer, she started to panic. The whimpering from her became louder and she started to pick up speed. She ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, until her feet stumbling over tree roots caused her to fall flat on her front. Her head shot up and spun around, looking behind her, tears forming in her eye. She could feel the set of evil eyes watching her, before she saw them. Then, it emerged, the moonlight hitting it, so she could finally see the terrible creature, black skin, jagged teeth. A screamed pierced the air from the child, as the creature sprang forward, towards it pray. But he never made it.

A giant blade slashed at the creature, held by a man with long dark hair and wearing fur. The girl covered her head, not wanting to see what was to come. It didn't take long, before she heard the dying cries of the creature. She hesitantly looked up, to see the man standing above the now dead monster. He looked over at the girl, which cause slight worry, causing her to sit up.

"Do not fear, child. I will not harm you". He could clearly sense her lingering fear. He slowly made his way over to the girl and knelt down beside her. "Why are you in such a place, all alone? Where are your parents?" A few tears fell for her eyes, not knowing if she had the courage to speak. It was clear the man meant no harm, but after what she experienced, which no child should, she wasn't able to think clearly.

"I don't- I don't know… I don't have-". She couldn't finish. Her voice kept trembling, and eventually turned into a sob. Unexpectedly, the man wrapped his arms around the girl, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Calm yourself, child. I will keep you safe. The worst is over". He pulled away from the girl slightly and held her face in his hands, so he could look her in the eyes. "You have no-one? No-where to go". She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak without breaking down crying again. "Then I have no choice. You shall come stay with me. I will not abandon a child". He raised to his feet, taking the hands of the child and bringing her to stand with him. "What is your name, girl?"

"Kallian".

-x-

I shot up from my bed, breathing heavily. What the hell was that? It had been years since I had a dream like that. Why-

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by my phone starting to ring, causing me to jump, slightly. I took a deep breathe out as I got up from my bed and walked over to where my phone was sitting on my desk.

"Hello?", I answered. I was greeted with the voice of one of my best friends, Louise.

"Hey, you up for camping, tonight?" Camping normally meant party in the woods. And if it's the crowd that normally start these, it'd be crazy.

"Camping? Ugh, I dunno, who all is going?"

"There's a big group, mostly people we know from Craigavon, it'll be fun". Knew it.

"I dunno, I'm kinda tired from training-"

"Kallian, you're always tired. I haven't seen you in ages. Please! It'll be fun, I can't go if you aren't. You know what my mom and step-dad are like". She had the most anal parents. Basically her step-dad was the most paranoid man in the world and insisted she and her sister were escorted everywhere, when they left the house because, and I quote "Women can't defend themselves". I made sure to prove him wrong one day, won't go into detail, but now I'm the only person he trusts to be with Louise when she goes out, that isn't one of her older brothers.

"Dude, you're 22! You really should just move out, so you don't have to follow their rules".

"I'm getting to it, can't afford it right now. Now please! Please, please, please-"

"Fine, give me an hour". I had to pull back the phone from her shouting thanks to me down the phone. I rolled my eyes and when I heard her quieten down, I told her I'd pick her later and hung up. Well, this could only go well.

-x-

When I arrived to pick up Louise, she ran out the second she heard my car pull up.

"Driiiiiiive!" I had to laugh, as she jumped into the car and I sped off as she said, "Go, go, go!"

"Must you do that almost every time you're allowed to leave the house?"

"Yes! I have freedom! Finally! And they aren't even making Ben come to keep an eye on me. I needed to leave before they had time to change their mind". I shook my head, while my eyes stayed on the road. Louise threw her bag into the back seat and noticed something that made her raise her brow. "Kallian, why do you have your weapons in the car? You aren't planning on killing anyone, are you?"

"No", I replied, laughing. "I just forgot to take them out of the car before I left. Don't plan on using them, they're staying in the car".

"Damn. Would have been funny for you to shoot Jack, if he gets pervy on me, like he did last time he got drunk".

"Now there's an idea".

It surprisingly didn't take that long to get there, but with Louise directing me to where it was, we made it, and she wasn't exaggerating when she said it was a big group going. There must have been a hundred people here, all drinking around a massive bonfire. You could hear music blasting out of one of the many cars parked near. I pulled in where I saw a space and turned off the engine. I didn't want to chance anything, so I threw a blanket over my weapons. Wasn't gonna have some drunk idiot seeing them and trying to break into my car, so they can play with them and possibly injure or kill someone. They were sharp, I know because I sharpened them regularly.

"Right, let's get a drink", Louise said, getting out of the car and heading towards the people. I didn't get out just yet. I felt slightly out of place, here. I wanted to try and socialise with everyone, I just… also didn't. This constant fear of being hated was really holding me back, I needed to let it go. I just didn't know how. The only time I ever felt comfortable with socialising was with the imaginary friends in my head that I based off my favourite books as a kid, but I was too old for something like that, now. I couldn't live my life with figments of my imagination as my only friend. But they seemed like such wonderful people. I guess that's why they're fictional.

I looked over to where Louise was and she seemed to be fine, talking to a few people I recognised from back at school, so I figured I could just slip away, maybe practise my archery away from everyone else, it's not like anyone would notice. I got out of the car and took my weapons, still keeping them concealed with the blanket and grabbed my bag, before locking my car and heading out, keeping away from everyone else.

I kept walking until I came to a secluded spot, next to a lake. It was a full moon, so the place was well lit enough, that I didn't need to take out a torch. I set my stuff down and got a marker from my bag, walking over to the trees, to mark out targets on a few of them for practising. Once set up, I walked back over to my stuff and tied my long, black hair back in a half pony tail, to keep it out of my face, then I unwrapped my weapons. What lay there was my bow, quiver, and twin blades. I attached them to myself, so as to make sure they wouldn't get swiped by a drunk, when I wasn't looking. Couldn't be too careful, right?

I took up my bow and pulled an arrow from my quiver, placing it in my bow and pulling back the string. I aimed for the bull's eye I had drawn out, but something behind me was distracting me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a bright shine of something. I turned, to see it was just the reflection of the moon. But it was… brighter than I would expect a reflection to be. I slowly walked over to it, placing the arrow back in my quiver. Curiosity getting the better of me, I knelt down beside the lake and stared out at the light, almost hypnotised by it. It was truly a sight to be marvelled. I rarely got to see such natural beauty, living in the middle of a city. I couldn't recall how long I sat there, it felt like hours.

It was then I noticed something. In the water, I could swear I saw a face. At first I thought it was just my own reflection, but as I looked closer, I saw a woman, beautiful, fare, golden locks staring back at me. She simply smiled at me. I felt myself being drawn closer to her, still in a trance like state. Before I knew it, I was sinking into the water. There was no panic, no struggle, it was like I was simply being guided to lean more forward, towards the woman. Before I knew it, I was completely submerged in water, being gently dragged away by the glittering water. It didn't take long for everything to fade to black.

-x-

When I came to, I felt strange. I took a minute or two for me to fully come around and begin to sit up. I rubbed my eyes, before looking around me. It was still dark and I was completely soaked. I could feel water splashing against my feet, as I was laying on a river side, still half in the river. What had happened to me that I just fell in like that? I couldn't fully understand what had happened or what I was thinking. Well, I wasn't really thinking, that's the point. I still had my swords attached to me, but they seemed a lot bigger than they did before, and I mean a significant amount. My belt that held them felt like it was falling off me. Same with my quiver, I could barely keep it over my shoulder, it kept sliding off. My bow that was lying beside me had grown in size, as well. That's odd. I went out to reach it and was in shock, when I saw what was reaching out for it. My hand. It had shrunk. It was tiny, like a child's hand. What in the hell was going on?

Panicking, I stood up and had a proper look at myself. It wasn't just my hand, my entire body was the size of a child. I wanted to scream, what had happened to me? Did I fall into the fountain of youth or something? Why was I so small?! I looked into the water, hoping I could see my reflection, with the little light there was. Luckily, there was enough to get a good look at myself. My long black hair was damp and sticking to my face and body, which looked like how I they were when I was 10 or so. It was like I was staring back at my childhood self. What was going on? Am I dead? Did I drown and this is the afterlife? That's the only thing I could think of that made some kind of sense, at that moment.

"Do not be afraid, selda. I will explain everything", I heard the voice of a woman saying. It echoed through my head and I spun around, trying to see where the voice was coming from.

"Who's there? Who are you?", I said. It was then, did I notice my voice sounded like my younger self, as well. My hand slapped over my mouth. What was happening?

"I am the one who brought you here. You were brought here for a purpose, which you will discover when the time is right. For now, I am to explain what I can". I started to concentrate on my breathing. I felt like I was going to have a panic attack, at this rate. This was too weird. It couldn't be real. I had to be dreaming or dead or something. This couldn't really be happening!

"What's happened to me? Why am I like this? I'm not supposed to be a child, I'm 20 years old!", I said to the voice. It was obvious whoever was speaking to me wasn't here. There was no-one around that I could see. Merely a voice. Was I losing my mind?

"When I brought you to this world, you were changed into the race you needed to be to serve your purpose. You are no longer human. You are still 20, however, your body had converted to how a 20 year old of your race would be. You are still a child. And this way, you can learn the skills you need to serve your purpose".

"What purpose? And why me? Is this even happening? This can't be real!" I was getting frustrated. The more this voice said, the more questions came to my mind.

"You are not dreaming, selda. You are not dead. You are not losing sanity. This is truly happening. You can try to deny what is happening, but it will change nothing. You will face real dangers, you will meet real people and one day, you will need to be ready to serve the purpose that you have been brought here to accomplish".

"Who are you?"

"When the time is right, you will know. For now, go forward into the forest. There, you will meet a man who will take you in. Whatever he asks, you are to act as if you don't know anything. You are an innocent child who has been abandoned in the woods, with nothing but weapons you don't know how to use. You have no parents, you have no place to call home. He or anyone else is not to know of your previous life. Your life in your home world is gone. This must be done, in order for everything to go as planned". I couldn't think straight. This was all far too much to take in at once. My life at home is gone? And I'm to act like I've had no life before? Like I've never picked up a weapon in my life? I suppose, being a child now, it would appear strange to anyone, if I could. But why did I have to lie?

"But… I'm so confused. I'm scared. What do I do? What do I say?"

"I will guide you, until you are taken in by the man of which I speak. You will be safe with him. All you must do is be yourself and forget your previous life. It will take time to adjust, but you will in time and it must be done". I wasn't sure what to think about this. A voice in my head telling me I was brought here to do things and not explaining why? How was I supposed to trust that? But there was something about her, the voice, that was comforting and genuine. She seemed like she truly trying to help me.

"Where do I go?"

"Follow the path, to your left. Take your things with you. The man will find you along this path. Be careful of orcs, they infest this place". Orcs? Weren't they- "Go, selda, danger approaches".

As confused as I was, I felt as though I had no choice but to follow what the voice had instructed. I walked down the path, barely being able to see it, with how dim the moonlight had gotten, being hidden by the trees that now surrounded me.

I had no idea where I was or how I got here, and to say I was scared would be a major understatement. I whimpered, lightly, not wanting to alert anything that could be lingering in the darkness ahead.

Wait a second. This felt incredibly like deja-vu. I continued walking, looking all around me, trying to place it. It was like a dream. The dream I had before, since I was a child. But how?

I could hear the snapping of twigs, the rustling of the leaves. Something was out there. As it got closer, I started to panic. My whimpering became louder and I started to pick up speed. I ran as fast as my little legs could carry me, until my feet stumbling over tree roots, not used to having these length of legs, causing me to fall flat on my front. My head shot up and spun around, looking behind me, tears forming in my eyes. I could feel the set of evil eyes watching me, before I saw them. Then, it emerged, the moonlight hitting it, so I could finally see the terrible creature, black skin, jagged teeth. Oh my god, it really was like my dream, exactly like it. I was the little dwarf girl being chased by the monster. By the orc. I screamed as it jumped towards me, like an animal pouncing towards it's pray.

But it never came.

A giant blade slashed at the creature, held by a man with long dark hair and wearing fur. I covered my head, not wanting to see what was to come. It didn't take long, before I heard the dying cries of the creature. I hesitantly looked up, to see the man standing above the now dead orc. He looked over at me, which made me worry, causing me to sit up.

"Do not fear, child. I will not harm you". It was obvious he could tell how scared I was. He had a look of sympathy on his face as he slowly made his way over to the me and knelt down beside me. "Why are you in such a place, all alone? Where are your parents?" A few tears fell from my eyes. This was all so much to take. Not knowing where I was, being transformed into a child of a different race of which I was still unclear of which race that was, hearing voices in my head, being chased by orcs in a dark forest and strangest of all, I had dreamt everything that had just happened to me, before. I was terrified. I didn't know if I had the courage to speak. It was clear the man meant no harm, but after what I'd been through since I awoke, I was unsure of what to say.

"Just be honest. You don't know where you are. You don't have parents here", I heard the voice say. She was clearly making sure I didn't say anything that could cause this man suspicion.

"I don't- I don't know… I don't have-". I couldn't finish. My voice kept trembling from all the stress and fear that I was experiencing and eventually turned into a sob. Unexpectedly, the man wrapped his arms around me, laying my head on his shoulder.

"Calm yourself, child. I will keep you safe. The worst is over". He pulled away from me slightly and held my face in his hands, so he could look my in the eyes. "You have no-one? No-where to go". I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak without breaking down crying again. "Then I have no choice. You shall come stay with me. I will not abandon a child". With his words, I felt a sense of relief flood over me. It was obvious this man meant me no harm, and that look in his eyes, I saw something... caring about him. He raised to his feet, taking my hands and bringing me to stand with him. "What is your name, girl?"

"Just be yourself, selda".

"Kallian", I answered. The man smiled at me.

"An unusual name. How old are you?"

"20", I simply stated. He looked at me sadly.

"So young. Why do you have weapons?" I averted my eyes, slightly worried of what I should say. But then I remembered what the voice told me before.

"I don't know. I was left here with them. I can't remember who or why. I just-", my voice started to quiver again. The man nodded, as if understanding.

"You were abandoned. Such a cowardly thing for anyone to do, leaving a child alone to fend for themselves in orc infested lands", he said, a hint of anger in his voice. I was afraid that moment that I'd maybe caused the man who saved me to not like me. I always had this fear, but why did my bad luck of meeting people have to follow me here? However, he took a finger under my chin and turned my head to look at him. "I swear to you, I will not do such a thing to you. I take you under my care. A son of Durin always keeps his word. I will never abandon you". He took his hand from me and started to walk. "Come. We must meet with my traveling companions, then we will be heading back to Ered Luin. Your new home, where I will watch over you". I smiled and followed the man, childlike joy running through me. It wasn't something I was expecting, for someone not to turn me away. I wasn't completely used to it at all, but it was nice.

"You will be safe with him, selda. This is where I leave you. We will meet again, some day. Just be yourself and put your past life behind you. Live this new life and when the time is right, you will serve the purpose you were brought here for. Until then, farewell".

"Thank you, whoever you are", I said in my head, hoping the voice could hear me. I heard nothing more from her. She was gone. I turned my attention back to my saviour, staying right by his side, feeling safe for the first time since arriving. "I don't know what to call you", I wondered aloud. The man looked down at me, as he continued to guide me out of the forest.

"I am Thorin, Son of Thrain, Son of Thror". I smiled. I remembered that name. I also remembered the place he mentioned. It was like a childhood dream come true, when the realisation hit me of where I was. I was in Middle Earth.

Hey everyone! So this is the first chapter of my Hobbit fan fiction. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Had a really hard time trying to think of a creative way to bring my OC to Middle Earth without being really cheesy, so hopefully, this wasn't too bad of an idea.

Some of you may already be able to guess who the voice is, but if not, you'll find out in later chapters.

I wanted to have a bit of an original twist to what happens when my character got to Middle Earth, because I wanted her to not originally be from there, but have a relationship with the Durin line, as well as the rest of the company before the events of the Hobbit, so this idea popped into my head. Loved it, so I had to go through with it.

I have rewritten this chapter and reuploaded it as I was not satisfied with the original draft that I posted. I realised for the concept I had for this story, some of the things I had previously written wouldn't work, so I changed a few things, including the main characters name. I realise it has been a long time since I updated this story and I apologise for that. I had a lot of issues that got in the way from personal stuff to my laptop breaking and having to save up to replace it, but I want to try and make it a regular thing that I work on. Please be patient with me and I hope to have chapter 2 up within the next week or two.

Let me know what you think, by reviewing. Please, no flames! Constructive criticism is welcome, but nothing rude or unnecessary.

Translation: Selda = Child (Elvish)

See you all next chapter!

HyruleHarley xoxo :)