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It had been close to three months since (Y/n) found herself stuck in Middle-Earth. She had been found by the dwarves at the edge of Shire passed out half-way in a stream. With Gandalf's sound reasoning she was taken along with them and once awakening she had joined the company of Thorin Oakenshield. It had been a big deal having her join for all of them thought she was going to be a burden and couldn't defend herself. Boy, had she shown them up on that accusation.
Dwalin had done decided that (Y/n) needed to be taught how to fight. She had tried to tell him that she was fine, but with Thorin's agreement, she was being forced into a makeshift training ring. She merely sighed and rolled her eyes. Her barefeet - she had been adamant that she does this without shoes- scuffed the ground and her toes dug into the dirt. This was going to be the easiest training session of her life. For, this was not the first time she was to be fighting.
"You can not train someone without gauging and deciding how much they already know." She said before Dwalin could start. A smirk was on her lips as she stared at the warrior. She was taller than him but not by a lot. Height had never been her department of things.
"Aye, I'll give you that." Dwalin studied her for a moment before settling into an open defensive. "Show me what you know."
"I'd rather you attacked me first." She kept her body loose and unbothered, even though they were about to spar. "Don't hold anything back either. For I won't."
It was silent around the camp as they stared at each other. (Y/n) didn't waver in her smirk. There was a grunt from Dwalin before he was charging at her. She let him advance at her and just before his fist rammed into her chest she sidestepped. Using his momentum, her arm came up to push up on his to move his fist out of her way, and she spun around quickly to bring up her leg to slam her barefoot into between his shoulder blades. With the entirety of the strength in her swing combined with his forward momentum, Dwalin went sprawling to the dirt.
She put her leg down and basked in the shocked silence of the camp. It always gave her pleasure to show up those that believed her useless. Dwalin pushed himself up from the ground and turned to her. She smirked at him again and waited for his response; either be it words or another attack.
"Let's see how you do on the offensive." Was his only reply. (Y/n) actually grinned at him before giving him a nod. She may not need to be trained, but she was going to have fun sparing with these dwarves.
With her not needing hand to hand combat training, it left time for weapon's training. She didn't know anything about wielding a sword or axe and was more than willing to learn. Surprisingly, using a spear was what she found the easiest to get down. Dwalin and the others helped her along in her learning by calling out encouragements or some rather sexist things to her sparing partner. It made her blood boil at their words even though they weren't aimed at her. Why would losing to a girl that bad of a thing?
When she voiced this question everyone got quiet. They were sitting by the fire eating dinner after she had proven victorious over Nori in a spar. It didn't involve weapons for he thought he could win with his own quick movements. It ended with him lying on his back with her barefoot pressed to his neck.
"It's not that it's a bad thing, lass." Her gaze moved to where Gloin was sitting across from her. "It is only unheard of for a dwarf to lose to a woman."
"And why is that? Are women here not prone to fighting?" Back in her world woman fought along side the men in battle, but that didn't make them equals in the men's eyes. They were still viewed as the lesser sex.
"Not really," Kili said.
"Very few do," Dwalin stepped in. (Y/n)'s eyes turned to the warrior for him to go on. "Most woman in our race don't enjoy fighting."
"Well neither do the ones in my world. But that doesn't make us less capable of doing it." She felt anger start to creep up on her. If every man was the same in both worlds she was going to have to step in and do something about it.
"We're not sayin' they're not. It's just uncommon for them to do so," Gloin said. She looked back to him with a glower settling onto her face. This conversation was getting old and repetitive fast.
"And of other races? Do their women fight and train?" Her question was met with enough silence for her to get an accurate guess. "Apparently not."
"It is only common for females of the elven races to join battle," Gandalf said. She turned her gaze on the wizard but didn't glare at him. He was the only one to give her a straight answer. If it wasn't one she was hoping for.
"What a waste then. We are very capable fighters," she muttered.
That conversation went quiet and lead to another. About the woman of other races and males of the same races. (Y/n) kept quiet as the dwarves went on about how they were the best race compared to the others. She didn't have much of an opinion on it, men were men. It really got interesting when they started going on about why they were the best to court.
She sat back and watched them bicker back and forth. It was entertaining to watch them go on about the best attributes of dwarves. Then they turned to her and argued about what race was best to suit her for marriage. They were so wildly off course that she couldn't help but laugh at them.
"Well how about you be quiet and let her tell you? Instead of putting words in her mouth," Bilbo said. He hadn't joined in the conversation, but was tired of the bickering. (Y/n) looked down at him with a grin growing on her lips. Oh, this was going to be fun.
"How about it, lass? Which race attracts you?" Bofur asked. She turned her gaze to him and then the rest of the dwarves. Her arms went to cross behind her head as she leaned back against air.
"Doesn't matter to me. A race is a race." Her answer drew outraged cries from the dwarves; saying that wasn't a real answer. She looked over the dwarves, and Bilbo, to catch Balin's eye. He wasn't a part of the conversation much like Thorin, but he was watching on with interest. Once meeting his gaze, she gave a wink and sly grin.
"You guys have it all wrong," she laughed. They fell into silence at her words, waiting for her to explain. "It doesn't where you come from or what you have to offer."
"How can it not?" Fili asked, looking just as confused as his brother. Before she could answer the dwarves started bickering again; trying to find out what she meant. She continued to watch them in silence, waiting for them to let her explain.
"Well, then what is your preference?" Kili asked. (Y/n) turned her eyes to him and paused. She had one specific person in mind for her ideal lover. The only problem was that they were the wrong gender. Ever since she was in middle school she knew she was attracted to girls, more so than the boys. While she could appreciate good looks on a man, she really had a thing the soft features of girls. For their long hair and soft skin, and their adorable laughs when something is found funny. But that didn't stop her from having dated a few guys in the past. She was still attracted to men, just not nearly as much as she was to women. And she could never find it in herself to be sexually attracted to a man.
Now with all of this in mind, she couldn't not believe she fell hard for a certain someone in the company. It was quick and hard. His shining eyes, exciting take on the world, lovely laugh, skills in just about anything he did, and more just drew her in. When she first set eyes on him she knew something was different about him. Her heart went out for him and she knew she wasn't attracted for his looks; even if they weren't bad for a male. It brought a dilemma to her thoughts. She knew she loved him for him, but she wasn't sexually attracted to him. She wanted to kiss and get to know him more, but not be with him more intimately than kissing. Something in her brain couldn't cross wires to make her more than warm and fuzzy when watching him. There was no burning lust that she normally strives for in a lover. It all made her very confused and upset; not being able to fully love him like she wanted to.
"Well," she started. She would love him from afar and up close if she could; and hopefully work around her odd dilemma. "They've got to be fun. I can't spend the rest of my life someone who is a stick in the mud. Have good morals and not do any unnecessary harm to anyone. I have to know that they'll stay loyal even I frustrate them. And they have to be able to love me no matter what problems may arise." She made sure her eyes didn't stay on anyone for too long. "And some nice looks aren't too far of course either. I have a thing for long hair in my partners."
"And of the looks?" Bilbo asked, curious as to what she liked. She hummed and looked around the fire.
"What about beards? Ye gotta have a preference on your man's facial hair," Bofur said. He twirled his mustache as if to entice her. She merely stared back at him blankly. Beards weren't really her area; some scruff was all she had experienced in her past men.
"Or long and well groomed?" Gloin had a wife and family, but that didn't stop him from throwing out suggests.
"Braided?" Ori's voice had her looking over to him. She smiled down at him; he was so young and adorable.
"I don't really care. It's just facial hair. I much prefer the hair on somebody's head," she said. It cause another uproar in disagreement. She sat back and let them argue over how wrong she was. When a comment about her not knowing what she was talking about passed her ears, she felt a spike of irritation. She exactly what she was talking about. Her likes and dislikes were for her to decided; not someone else. If it was one thing that she couldn't stand, it was someone deciding for her.
"I very well know what I'm talking about." The anger in her voice had everyone shutting up. "What I find attractive is for me to decide. It isn't up for someone else to question and tell me I'm wrong. And quite frankly, I'm done with this conversation." She got up from her spot by the fire and started for where she normally slept beside Bilbo.
"We didn't mean it like that," Kili said. The others started saying things along the same line, but she didn't care.
"I quite agree with, Lady (Y/n). This discussion is over," Thorin said. It wasn't often he agreed with her, but it didn't surprise her as much anymore.
With the leader's opinion voiced, the dwarves dropped the talk. Like herself, they started getting ready to settle down for the night. (Y/n) wandered off into the trees to do her business only to pause at the blood. She really didn't want to deal with this again. The last two times had been torture on both her and the others. And she really didn't feel like stopping every couple of hours to clean her underwear and pants; because she didn't have any typical period products and neither did the others.
She cursed and grumbled to herself to try and find a good solution to her problem. Maybe she could convince Gandalf to just make her uterus and ovaries disappear. With a sigh she started back for camp to look for the wizard. She wasn't going to sleep without at least asking. Inside the camp was quiet except for the crackle of a dying fire. (Y/e/c) eyes searched the area before landing on who she wanted to find. Gandalf was smoking his pipe while watching something in the trees. When she came to stand next to him he brought his gaze to her with raised eyebrows.
"Do you a have a spell or something to get rid of my organs? I don't want to have to deal with this period crap again," she said. If she was back in her world she wouldn't have so much of a problem. But out in the wilds of a strange world was not the place she wanted to be bleeding out in.
Her question got the wizard choking on the smoke in his lungs. She stared at him as she waited for him to stop spluttering out smoke. She was completely serious in her question; and more than ready to do what was possible to get rid of the problem.
"Well, Lady (Y/n), I don't believe I know any spell to remove one's insides." Gandalf said, taking another hit off his pipe.
"Is there anything you can do? It doesn't have to be a permanent solution, though that would be gratefully appreciated." She crossed her arms and looked off to the side. Anything to stop her period would be great; short of someone cutting her open. It was quiet for a moment as she waited for him to answer her.
"There might be something I can do to help. I cannot do it now, but I will see," he said.
"Oh thank god!" She dropped her arms and stretched out her back with a bend. "Thank you so much." She gave him a short bow with her hands pressed against her mouth in a prayer. This was amazing news. Hopefully no more period for her.
With her thanks done and her questions answered, she made back for her spot next to Bilbo. Her eyes searched out for the one she loved and was glad to find him already sleeping. She nodded to herself and laid down; quickly falling asleep despite her discomfort.
The next morning, (Y/n) was quick to disappear from the camp and find a stream or creek. It was just before dawn, her period making her an earlier riser than usual, which left the woods still in the dark. It didn't take long to follow her ears and come across a small creek not too far from camp. She stripped of her clothes and hopped into the water; not only to wash herself but her clothes as well. Shirt, pants, and underwear were brought into the cold water with her. She scrubbed at the clothes to clean them of dirt and blood before laying them out on the grass to dry.
For close to an hour she stayed in the water. And she would have stayed longer if not for the shouting coming from camp. It wasn't battle cries or anything, just very angry. She sighed and pulled herself from the water. Taking note of the fact that she was no longer bleeding out, she dressed in her still damp clothes with a thank you sent to Gandalf for his work. Whatever he had done in the night had seemingly worked. She could still hear the dwarves shouting at each other and sighed as she picked her way back to camp. What could be so wrong to have them arguing so loud?
Stepping back into camp, she came to a dead stop. A flush crawled up her face at finding what they were so angry about. Every single one of them, besides Gandalf, were now of the female sex. She felt her face growing warmer the longer she stood staring at them. Her eyes searched out for the one that held her affection and sucked in a breath. He was no longer a he, and that was very apparent. Everything was different about his features, yet there was very little change besides the nice rack he now sported. It made her chest constrict and made breathing just the slightest bit harder. At catching those shining eyes, she coughed and turned away. This was going to be the death of her.
"What happened?" She asked, finally finding her voice. She stepped fully into the camp and did her best to not stare at any of them. The ones that had been attractive as men were no less beautiful as women. Even more so to her now.
"Ah, Lady (Y/n), I am glad you have remained the same." Gandalf's voice had everyone looking to him. "It appears I miss calculated the spell I used last night."
"You are the one responsible for this?" Thorin said, his voice dark and demanding.
"It's hardly something to worry yourselves over. It is just going to take some time for me to figure out how to fix this. But I do hope it did it's intended purposes, my Lady?" (Y/n) shuffled her feet as everyone's eyes trained on her. She rubbed the back of her head and looked down to the ground.
"Yeah, I'm no longer cursing being a female," she said. "Thank you for at least helping me."
"Yes, well, I now must be off to find a cure for this predicament." Gandalf started for his horse despite the protesting of the dwarves. "Lady (Y/n) will be able to answer any question you might have." With the attention shifted to her, the wizard was disappearing into the trees.
The dwarves had several questions. (Y/n) did her best to answer them and when it came to ones that she didn't know the answer to she gave one to the best of her abilities. She didn't know everything about the female anatomy of dwarves. Though from what she could guess, everything was pretty similar. Thorin was furious but would not let the day go to waste, and so they had to continue on with their travels. Several of the dwarves complained about how uncomfortable and weird it was to ride a pony now, but others took the change in stride.
Fili, Kili, and Bofur were seemingly the only ones that enjoyed the change. They went on and on about the differences and flounced their new assets. It had the others grumbling and telling them to act like adults, and had her blushing like crazy. If anyone was going to die from this new change it was going to be her. She could hardly meet anyone's eyes and had to stop herself from following their movements; it was so odd to see them as women. It made her laugh to see them walking different, but she could understand the reason behind it. All of them were used to having to work around an extra package.
One of the only things she found herself liking about this situation was the fact that she was needed for the real first time since being with them. Most of them had questions and things they wanted to know that couldn't be answered by a male. Of course, Thorin made sure to keep their inquiries decent considering they were still men on the inside. But that didn't stop them from asking.
When they came to a stop for the night, the others were more than ready to be rid of their ponies. They complained about how their thighs hurt from the harsh treatment of riding a pony. (Y/n) merely listened to them with a laugh and smirk, oh did she know the pain. She helped set up camp and make dinner with Bombur. Sparing and training was put on hold according to Dwalin; all of them still had to get used to their new bodies and how they worked before they would be at fighting capacity. It made for a tame night as Thorin's glare kept the more indecent and blush worthy question out of discussion. She answered whatever they asked until it was decided that sleep was needed.
And as she lay there in between the now female dwarves, and Hobbit, she resigned herself possibly never working through her muddled and confusing feelings for a certain someone for it was all so different yet the same. As of now she was just trying to not burst from nerves about him now being female and instead forced herself to sleep.