~~ Celia ~~
It was strange if she thought about it. One minute, she was soaking wet, and sure she had just pulled Fíli and Elena into the water with her, which could have all sorts of unfortunate ramifications for the quest. The next, she was watching them stumbling through the forest, their eyes glazed and their actions uncoordinated. She could see the others in the Company doing the same, all staggering about, as if they had been drugged. It was almost as if she were watching it on a film, where she was standing there with them, but unable to interact with them.
It all seemed familiar to her, like she had seen it before, but something seemed off, as well. There was something - someone? - missing. Several people, in fact, although the dwarves were all milling around, so she couldn't quite make out who was missing. They seemed to notice their missing members as well, for several of them bore worried looks on their faces, and Fíli made sure to keep Elena close, occasionally dropping his hand to the hilt of his sword defensively and moving in front of her, as though seeing a threat she was unable to see. Then, he would shake his head and drop it again.
It was like they were all wandering in and out of lucidity, though they managed to still maintain some small level of watchfulness, and tried to keep going in one straight direction. Celia frowned, feeling the memories dangling teasingly at the edge of her mind, almost able to grasp them, but not quite. It wasn't until Thorin finally stopped and yelled sharply, bringing everyone to a halt, that she drew in a sudden breath with her intangible body as though she had been struck, starting to remember where they were as as sweet, refreshing scent came trickling by, clearing up the cobwebs fogging her mind.
She drew closer to the Company, wincing instinctively when Dwalin seemed to walk right through her, though neither of them seemed to be affected by it. But nothing came of it, so she shrugged it off, frowning when she noticed that Bilbo was gone as well, though she had noted him stumbling around earlier. She swung her head around, scanning the murky forest for signs of her adopted uncle, and spotted him clambering up a tree, his expression determined. Her eyes narrowed, and she began to scan the clearing again, this time warily, recalling this to be the time when the spiders attacked.
She didn't know what had really happened to her, that she was only able to watch, and not interact, nor what had happened to the other missing members. Everything seemed shrouded in mist, and she wasn't sure if that was a result of what had happened to her, or if it was actual mist in the forest, as she was unable to clear it away either way. Still, she kept watch, trying to see whether or not the spiders were coming, her heart starting to pound in her chest at the thought of seeing one of her worst fears - and memories - come to life.
She wasn't the first to see one, though. A shrill scream made her spin around in time to see a horrifying sight. Elena had spotted something in one of the bushes, and, perhaps influenced by whatever enchantment lay on the forest, had moved closer to inspect it, heedless of the possible dangers and what their memories told them lay waiting. Now, she lay defenseless on the ground, trying futilely to scramble backwards as a giant tarantula-like creature sprang out from the bush and towered over her, hissing menacingly, waving its two front legs in the air threateningly as it reared above her.
Celia screamed her sister's name at the same time Fíli did, and was just as useless at trying to reach her in time. Elena screamed again, terror filling her voice as she managed to flip over and onto her feet, trying to run away, only to come face to face with another spider as it dropped from above, knocking her back down to the ground as it stabbed her in the shoulder and injected her with its venom. Fíli shouted her name again, but was unable to reach her, as more spiders began dropping from the trees, attacking the Company and quickly subduing them, wrapping them in silk before dragging them off into the forest.
Bilbo dropped from the tree right as the last spider disappeared, though Celia could make out several more hiding in the shadows and branches around him, waiting to pounce. He had his hand on his hilt as he looked around the clearing with worry, calling out their names. She clenched her fists, wishing she had something she could do to warn him. Knowing it would be useless in the end, she ran towards him anyways, hoping that at least he wouldn't be alone when they attacked. But she mistimed her run, and skidded to a stop past him when he moved suddenly, slipping on some mud.
Unfortunately for her, that meant she came face to face with a hissing arachnid right as it dropped from a tree, and before she could stop herself, she ran right into it, screaming and cringing, covering her face in a futile attempt at protection as she fell to the ground, though she never actually touched the sider. When she finally dared to open her eyes, Bilbo was being wrapped in spider silk, and hauled up into the trees. She swallowed hard, fighting the urge to throw up, but felt herself follow them, essentially hovering in mid-air in the midst of the trees, cobwebs spread everywhere, though she was thankfully unable to feel them.
Bilbo's cocoon was laid on top of a large branch, before the spider hauling him turned around, preparing to inject him with its poison. She barely had time to whisper a prayer before his sword suddenly swung straight up through the webbing, and into the spider above him, gutting it and flipping it off the branch to the ground far below. Bilbo quickly stood up and pulled off as much of the webbing as he was able, looking around and taking in his new surroundings with a determined look on his face. His fist clenched tighter around his sword as he noticed the cocoons hanging from various branches, bits of their beards, or weapons poking through.
He quickly ducked behind the trunk of the tree as another spider came crawling up, bearing another one of the dwarves, snugly wrapped up in its webbing. He pulled something out of his pocket and stuck it on his finger, Celia's eyes immediately drawn to the flash of pure gold in the midst of the dull greens and browns. She staggered backwards as much as she was able when she was floating in mid-air, feeling a strong sense of revulsion wash over her as her vision changed to what was presumably his.
Everything seemed shrouded in mist, and she could hear faint whispers at the edge of her mind, that only filled her with a dark sense of foreboding, slowly growing louder, though never any clearer. She clutched her hands over her ears and closed her eyes in an attempt to block out the darkness she felt all around her, from the spiders, the forest itself, and the evil ring her uncle wore unknowingly on his finger. It grew closer and closer, seeming to overwhelm her as she curled in on herself, trying to block it out, begging for it to stop.
Just when she thought it was never going to stop, that her family and everyone she had grown to care for on the quest, were going to be lost to the spiders and the threatening darkness, she felt the whispers stop, and felt a dim ray of light pierce through the gloom to find her face, giving her new hope as she slowly uncurled and opened her eyes.
She was on the ground again, and most of the dwarves had been freed from their cocoons, although they were all still covered with cobwebs, and fighting fiercely against the spiders, who were furious that they might lose their meal. Bilbo was some distance away, sword in hand and his hand covering his mouth as he stared at his other hand in shock and disgust, covered in cobwebs and gore. The dwarves managed to fight off the spiders, and began running through the forest again, chased by the spiders.
They jerked to a halt when more spiders dropped from silk threads in front of them, hissing threateningly. Thorin, at the front of the group, raised his sword to fight, but stopped and peered upwards. A blond elf, immediately recognizable as the Mirkwood prince, ran through the treetops and swung down a spider's silk, killing it, before flipping to the ground and sliding underneath the spider threatening Thorin, slicing it in half before coming up kneeling, an arrow aimed directly at Thorin as more elves swung down to join them, taking on the other spiders and quickly killing them as the dwarves watched with various emotions.
"Do not think I won't kill you, dwarf," Legolas spat. "It would be my pleasure." Thorin glared at him, but did nothing, the Company now almost completely surrounded by elves, all with their bows aimed at them. A cry for help made them spin around to see Elena being dragged away by the foot by another spider.
"El!" Fíli cried, starting to run to her, but jerking backwards when an arrow was pointed alarmingly close to his face. He was forced to watch helplessly with Celia as a red-haired elf, Tauriel, ran gracefully along the trees, killing three more spiders before slaying the one pulling Elena. She spun to attack another spider, but that meant Elena was left defenseless, backed up against a tree as yet another spider rushed her, trying desperately to reach one of her knives.
Tauriel spun around to help her, but it wasn't needed. Finding a last bit of courage, Elena finally managed to reach one of her knives and drop, right as the spider reached her, sliding underneath it and jamming her knife upward into its head, forcing it through the spider's body as she slid.
She scrambled to her feet once she was clear of the spider and turned around to face it, her knife held shakily in her hand as adrenaline coursed through her body. It wasn't needed, though, as an arrow whistled through the air and pierced the spider's head, finishing it off. Elena slid to the ground, looking extremely pale and nauseous all of a sudden, her knife sliding limply out of her hand. She was jerked to her feet roughly a moment later, as one of the elves hauled her up, then began to search her for her weapons, before pushing her towards the rest of the Company, who had been watching worriedly.
"Watch it!" she snapped, wrenching her arm out of the elf's grip. "I was just almost killed twice by a creature from my nightmares, and I barely escaped with my life, and I can still feel the venom coursing through me, which means I feel extremely nauseous right now. So, by all means, be rough with an innocent victim who's done no harm to you, as long as you're fine with me throwing up all over your shoes. Because if you keep jerking me like that, I'm going to."
The guard glared at her, but eased his grip slightly. "There are no innocent victims in your party, dwarf," he sneered, before continuing with his search. He stopped and pulled out her locket, but was unable to pull it off her neck, as it was too small. He glared at it, then tried to open it. "What's inside here?" he demanded.
Elena slapped his hand away and clutched her locket protectively, ignoring the arrow that was immediately pointed at her. "None of your business! It's bad enough that you assault us for no reason, are you going to rob us as well?" The guard opened his mouth to retort, his hand falling to the hilt of his sword, when Legolas intervened.
"Tírgon!" The guard looked up at him, then reluctantly backed off, still angry as Legolas approached, his eyes fixed on Elena. She glared up at him defiantly, still clutching her locket. "What is in your hand, dwarf?" he asked, his eyes narrowed. She only maintained her angry gaze and refused to answer, probably afraid she would say something that would only get them in even more trouble.
"My lord, it looked to be a locket of some kind. I was unable to remove it, and he refused to let me open it," Tírgon explained, evidently believing Elena to be yet another male.
Legolas frowned, examining Elena more closely before his eyes widened. "What is one of your kind doing here? And so young?" She looked disconcerted at the unexpected line of questioning, but still refused to answer, though she looked slightly less nauseous now. He asked her a few more questions before turning away in frustration, though still confused.
Celia frowned, watching as Legolas ordered Tauriel to restrain her sister, but to take care, before speaking in elvish. Tauriel's eyes widened, but she nodded, going to stand by her sister, the other dwarves watching in worry. There was still no sign of Bilbo, and as she watched, Celia realized that Kíli and Ori were missing as well, which would explain the stressed looks that Thorin, Fíli, Elena, and the Ri brothers were wearing.
But she couldn't really do anything in her condition - whatever that may be - and she could only watch helplessly as the Company was marched off, eventually arriving at a long bridge that led to the Woodland Realm, before being pushed through. For some reason, she was unable to follow them, and the gates shut in her face, leaving her alone on the bridge, before her vision began to blur again. When it cleared, she was no longer in the forest.
Instead, she was standing in the middle of a battlefield, where Kíli was desperately fighting to save his life from Bolg, Azog's second in command. There was no sign of Tauriel, and from the heartbreak on his face, Azog had already slain his brother. She flinched as Bolg suddenly pinned Kíli to the ground, raising his sword menacingly, before stabbing him through the heart, killing him. The next instant, she was on the ice with Thorin, who cut off Azog's head before falling to the ground, succumbing to his wounds.
Celia shook her head, tears filling her eyes. "Why are you showing me this?" she shouted into the emptiness, turning away from the sight of her uncle kneeling over the dwarf who had become one of his close friends. "I already know they're supposed to die! I don't need to see it again."
"Because they are not." A tall male, with the appearance of royalty appeared to her side, a dark blue cape swirling around his shoulders, a gold crown resting on his black curls. "You knew what was supposed to happen in the original telling of this tale. But this," he waved his hand out at the frozen scene in front of them. "Is not the original tale. Surely you have noticed differences by now?"
She stared up at him, eyes wide. "I, I guess," she stammered. "But nothing too different, and it usually followed one of the two storylines. But, uh, who are you?"
"Who I am, is not important at this time," the man said calmly. "Suffice to say, I was able to contact you once you fell asleep, and this is how I may tell you what you need to know."
"Alright, then. What do I need to know? And why are you showing it to me again?" she asked, peering up at him warily and edging away a few steps. "I already knew they were going to die, I've seen it before."
"But they are not supposed to die," he repeated, staring off into the distance. "When you and your sister were sent to your other world, it was to both save your lives, for otherwise you would both have been slain that day, and to familiarize yourself with what was to come. But because of your presence here, the tapestry has been changed."
"I'm... sorry?" Celia said, furrowing her brow. "Tapestry?"
The man waved his hand, and a rich tapestry depicting the battle appeared in front of them, replacing the still-frozen scene of her uncle and Thorin. "The tapestry of life. Each life is a thread, weaving and interacting with others to form a story. He waved a hand again, and the tapestry changed to show the Durin's funerals, their weapons laid out in front of them, and Thorin holding the Arkenstone.
"In the tales of your world, the Durins died, and that was how it was meant to be. But here, there is a different flow to the tapestry. The threads of you and your sister changed the weave of the thread." The tapestry changed, blue and purple weaving themselves into the design. "The Durins' threads were cut too early, leaving their part in the tapestry unfinished, and changing the weave of other threads." The tapestry unrolled further, depicting Erebor, as it used to be, only this time there were several blank spaces glaring throughout the tapestry at key points, and leading to a collapsed Erebor at the next scene.
"Because of this, Erebor was unable to reach the needed strength when Sauron returned to power. Weakened within by those greedy for power, all claiming the right to the throne of Erebor, there was no strong leader. And when it became known that there were two randir present, who knew of what was to come, they sought to use you and your sister as well. But Saruman learned of it, and took you, thus letting Sauron know you lived as well. Your threads were cut short." The tapestry became overwhelmed with red and black colors, filled with gaps, and stopping short, the edges ragged and burned, flapping as a harsh wind suddenly blew through, chilling her to the bone.
The man turned and studied her, dark blue eyes determined. "But that is not what is meant to happen. That is what awaits you should you fail."
"Great. No pressure," Celia deadpanned. "But why did the whole tapestry thing burn? Did that mean that Sauron won? And if so, why would he win just because we died? There's no way that we're important enough that everything fell apart without us."
"Tell me, Celestiel," he commented, using her birth name and startling her. "How long do you think you could last under the wrath of the dark lord determined to find out what you know? Determined to know who could possibly stop him? Determined to find the heir of Isildur? What would happen if Sauron were to find out all you know?" She blanched, unable to come up with a good answer. He nodded, though without satisfaction.
"In Tolkien's tale, it was a group of nine of the free folk who defeated Sauron. Of those nine, two made it to Mordor, and yet the ringbearer was unable to give up his burden. The world was only saved because of the creature Gollum, and his own greed for the Ring. Do not underestimate what impact you may have on others." He paused, his brow furrowing. "And yet, I did not call you out of your sleep to tell you this. Only to tell you the cost."
"The... cost?" Celia ventured nervously, feeling more and more lost as the conversation went on. His gaze seemed to see right through her, pinning her to the spot, as if he could read her very thoughts and memories.
"The tapestry can be rewoven, just as clothes can be mended, though they're never quite the same after. Mended, whole perhaps, even, but not unchanged. Blood cannot be saved without blood being spilled. The cost of a life is high."
"I'm not sure I follow you," Celia admitted. "Do you mean that someone else is going to have to die in their place?"
He gestured at the tapestry again. The holes were gone, filled in by the blue and purple threads. The tapestry was woven again, and the design visible and complete. It was changed, marked in a way that could not be forgotten. But it was no longer fading and worn. Rather, the tapestry seemed to stretch on for miles, now, an intricate story being played out as each new thread entered the tapestry.
"Blood must be shed. That is what must be done, whether it be the Durins', or the blood of others. It is up to you to decide whose. It does not necessarily have to be lifeblood, but if you step in their place, you will not step out unchanged." He stopped talking and stepped backwards, bowing his head slightly as he disappeared into the darkness, the tapestry slowly fading out of sight.
"Wait! I still don't -" Celia stretched her hand out futilely in his direction, then dropped it, staring at the ground. "That was about as clear as mud," she muttered. "And I still don't know where I am, or even how to get out of here. Or who he was, or if I just dreamed up this whole thing." She shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself for comfort. "He must have been an elf. Or possibly a wizard. All vague hints, and gloom and doom if we fail. Yay, me. Can't even hallucinate properly."
She looked around at her empty surroundings, where only a dull light from somewhere beyond the fog surrounding her enabled her to see where she was, then plopped down on the ground and sat cross-legged. She put her elbows on her knees, then rested her head on her hands, closing her eyes and taking the chance to properly think things through, as it seemed that she wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon. After almost an hour of this - or however much time had passed in whatever this place was - she sighed and sat up straight, flipping her hair out of her face.
"Okay, well, I'm not going to let myself panic over this. We've been planning from the beginning to try and save them, now we just know that we can't fail, or we're all doomed to a horrible death. So, nothing's changed, really, there's just been a little bit more pressure added. That's all, nothing to freak out about." She groaned and hung her head. "Okay, I'm freaking out a little bit. But there's nothing I can do about it, except keep an eye on them, and try and stop it when the time comes."
She grimaced. "Wish I could actually sit down and talk to Elena without worrying about being overheard, or having to get on the run. But I have no idea where anyone is. Well, that solves that problem. Now I just need to figure out how to get out of here." She got to her feet and picked a random direction, wandering aimlessly, her mind constantly ruminating on what she had learned that day - whether it was from a figment of her imagination, or not.
By the time she noticed that it had been getting gradually lighter, she had come to the decision that she would step into the Durins' place, and try to save all of them, if possible, no matter the possible cost. After all, if she died then, there would be no possible way for Sauron to find out what she knew, and the Durins would hopefully be alive, and able to bring Erebor back to a stable and prosperous kingdom.
It was a win-win situation, with the only downside being that she might be dead. But, that was the worst case scenario for a best-case scenario. And she was always the optimist in the family, choosing to look at the bright side of things whenever possible, as opposed to Elena's more logical approach.
Her thoughts trailed off when she noticed the light in the area growing darker - even though she hadn't noticed it growing brighter - and slowed to a stop, her eyelids growing heavy. Her muscles seemed to be growing weaker, and she wondered vaguely if she should just lay down and take a nap. A few more slow steps, and she wasn't sure if the lack of light was coming from outside, or from her repeatedly closing eyelids. She swayed where she stood, then felt herself pitch forward, her mind going blank.
She stirred, drawn out of her heavy sleep by something shaking her shoulder tentatively. She grumbled, and the shaking stopped, then resumed with greater frequency. She grumbled again, lifting up her hand and trying to push away whatever was shaking her. She felt her hand connect with something soft, then heard quiet laughter.
"Celia. Celia! Can you hear me?" She furrowed her brow and tried to snuggle deeper into the surface she was laying on.
"Mm, go away," she mumbled. "'M sleepy."
But the voice was relentless, and kept on trying until she opened her eyes, and made out the blurry shape of the dark-haired prince bending over her. His face lit up with a relieved grin as soon as he saw her eyes were open and she was looking at him.
"Celia! Thank goodness you're awake! I was beginning to think you'd never wake up! Are you feeling all right?"
"I was," she whined. "Until someone decided to wake me up. What'd you do that for?" She was too awake now to go back to sleep, so she grumpily sat up, rubbing her bleary eyes and yawning, unsure why Kíli seemed to be stifling laughter.
"Because you've been asleep for the last six days," he said at last. She jerked upright and stared at him with wide eyes.
"Six days? What was I - " she stopped and slumped down again. "Shoot. I fell in the river, didn't I? And dragged Fíli and Elena down with me. Are they still asleep? Where are they?" She twisted to look around, realizing for the first time that she was lying in a cocoon of blankets in the middle of the path. What was evidently Kíli's blanket lay next to hers, and there was another on the other side of her. But other than that, there was no sign of the rest of the Company. "In fact, where's everyone else?"
"Celia..." Kíli hesitated. "Fíli never fell in the river. And Elena woke up about two days after you both fell in. We think that because she only barely fell in, she didn't sleep as long. But you were completely submerged, so we haven't been able to wake you up at all until today. And everyone else is... well," his shoulders slumped. "Well, we don't know where anyone else is. It's just me, you, and Ori, though he's down the path a bit, trying to see if he can spot anyone else."
"They're gone?" she repeated disbelievingly. "Where did they go? What happened?"
Kíli shrugged unhappily. "We don't know. About two days ago, I think all of us were starting to get a little affected by the forest. Ori and I were a little bit better off than the rest, we think because of the athelas we pinned to our tunics." Celia blinked, just now noticing the small plant pinned to his tunic, and the similar one on hers. "We thought it might help Elena wake up, due to its healing properties, and it seemed to work, so we tried it on you," Kíli continued.
"At any rate, both of us seemed to be a bit more clear-headed then the rest of the group. We focused on staying on the path, while I carried you, and then, halfway through the day about two days ago, I looked up, and Ori was the only one in sight. We doubled back, and then tried moving forward again, trying to catch any sign of them. But we couldn't find anything, so we kept going, focusing on staying on the path. Hopefully we'll meet them at the end of the path, and they just moved too fast for us, and weren't paying attention to keeping us in the group."
Celia grimaced as memories of her dream came back to her. She was pretty sure it was just that - a dream, but she was also willing to bet that something similar to that had also happened to them.
"I don't think they're still on the path, Kíli," she said reluctantly, feeling more awake as the minutes passed.
He looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"Remember when Elena and I told you that we knew what was going to happen, and that some bad things had to happen so that good things could happen?" she hedged. He nodded, looking confused. "Well, one of the things that had to happen included the Company getting lost in the forest when they wandered off the path. They ended up being captured by Thranduil's guards, then escaped to Laketown. So, if we keep going, we should hopefully reach Laketown, and we can reunite with them there."
"Can we just leave the path and try to find them?" Kíli offered. She shook her head immediately.
"If we left the path now, we could get caught by spiders, and die before we found them, assuming they haven't been caught by now. And assuming we don't die immediately, or get caught, we could just wander in the forest aimlessly for days, with no direction to follow. Besides." She scrunched her nose, trying to remember. "I think we're actually pretty close to the end of the forest, anyways. If we keep going, we should reach it fairly soon, although I can't give you an exact estimate in days, or whatever."
Kíli nodded, then glanced around behind her. "What do you think, Ori? Should we keep going, head for the end of the path?"
She froze, feeling for all the world she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar as she turned around to see Ori, coming up towards them calmly.
"It's all right," Kíli assured her, catching on quickly what she had been worried about. "He knows. He'd started to figure it out on his own, a few key comments apparently, and once he asked me about it," he shrugged. "I couldn't exactly deny it."
"We should keep going," Ori said softly, sitting by them and not looking at all startled or unhappy about her knowledge, although he did smile gently and tell her he was glad to see her awake. "We're still on the path, and the athelas seems to be working, so we might as well keep going. And you said the Company would escape, right? Are they all safe?" he directed his question at Celia, revealing a bit of the stress both he and Kíli had been under since their family and friends disappeared.
She nodded, a bit taken aback at his casual acceptance. "Yeah. Thranduil may be a pretentious jerk, but he won't actually mistreat his prisoners. They'll get food and water, and most likely medical treatment if they need it. But I'm just not sure when we'll meet up. But if we keep going, we'll reach the end of the forest eventually, and we should be able to reach Lake-town from there, and then choose what to do from there, see whether or not anyone's heard from a group of grumpy dwarves."
Ori glanced at Kíli, who nodded. Despite being younger than the scribe, Kíli had more experience with leading, and thus unconsciously took on the role of leader. They put their bedrolls away, then got to their feet, all of them stretching and wincing after another night spent sleeping on the ground. On the bright side, Celia was feeling wide awake, and fairly energized, and was thus able to walk for most of the day before succumbing to her still-tired body, and had to be carried pig-a-back by Kíli and Ori until they stopped for the night.
They traveled through the forest for another three days, all of them growing wearier as it seemed that their journey would never end, even as they grew closer to their goal. Their food was growing low, and they had all had to tighten their belts a few notches, while still trying to stay on the path. Their spirits were low, and they were all losing a bit of hope when they noticed that trees were growing less dense, and the light more clear.
The sight gave all their spirits a much needed boost, and on the fourth day, they stumbled out of the forest into a rocky clearing by a wide river, and decided to camp there for the night. Overall, it was definitely good to get the chance to refill their water bottles, and they finally got to see the sky in its full beauty, looking even more resplendent to them after going without seeing it for so long. And it looked like the best place in the world the next day when they heard faint shouts and splashes coming down the river, followed by a sudden surge of barrels into the calm waters around the rocks, filled with a sight even more welcome than the sun: their families.
A/N: Whelp. That happened. Celia hallucinates a wise man who tells her absolutely nothing, Elena sasses an elf who apparently has vision problems, Ori knows all, and Kíli brings a whole new meaning to the term, 'natural leader.' But on the bright side, they're all together now, right? It's not like some of them would have been unable to escape, or anything...
Special thanks to everyone who's favorited and followed, and shout-out to Outofthisworldgal, Lady Silverstar2, PugLife4Ever, and E for reviewing!
Outofthisworldgal: *Shrugs* What can I say, you read my mind and knew my diabolical plot before I could post it... Nothing too much out of the ordinary happened while they were on the path, same old forest filled with spiders the size of trees that want to kill you, you know, the usual. :D Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you enjoyed! :)
Lady Silverstar2: Yay! Haha, yep! Sleepy Elena is a cuddly Elena. And I'm glad I was able to provide a needed break! School can be exhausting sometimes. :/ Bit more "dreams" this chapter... thanks for reviewing, and I hope you enjoyed! :D
PugLife4Ever: Well, I'm always glad to hear it, so that's all right! :D Hopefully you're still interested after this chapter, there was a bit more vague hinting that says absolutely nothing... Hope you like this chapter! :D
E: In a surprising plot twist, Kíli, Celia, and Ori are the only ones not lost! :D Little bit of information leaked, and though it's incredibly vague and hidden in between a whole lot more vague stuff, I did hint at what's going to happen in the end... briefly. :D Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you liked it! :)
Thanks for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed! :)
General Disclaimer: I don't own the Hobbit, regretfully, just Celia and Elena.
