.
IV
WHEN TO KILL A CROSSOVER
Chapter 4 – Ghosts, Wraiths, Dementors
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"Wild Ones" Bahari
Danika was lost in the ocean of chaos surrounding her—Fili and Thorin lifted Kili from the floor and were carrying him as Eomer led them to a guest chamber. She was aware that someone was leading her along with them because she could feel their hand on her arm. Her eyes were locked onto Kili's face, watching his eyelids twitch and his lips move in indiscernible mutterings as they passed through the doorway. But as she slowly came back to her senses, Danika saw that it was Bilbo who was guiding her.
They lowered Kili into a bed and Wren immediately appeared by his side, checking him over for the second time.
"Take off his boots," Danika whispered in a haze as the room tilting sideways—though something told her it wasn't the room tilting so much as her own head. "He doesn't like to sleep with his shoes on." A few heads turned to look at her incredulously, but their puzzlement turned into concern, obviously wondering if she was losing her mind or about to faint.
All right, then, she thought. Fainting it is.
But before Danika could make it far, someone reached out and caught her by the shoulders, lifting her up and helping her into a padded chair by the fireplace.
Ugh, she inwardly moaned. I can't even black out and escape all of this without someone arguing.
"Liss—Danika." The person said in front of her face, but the image was mottled and blurry.
Who's that? Danika could feel her head loll. Whoever it is, they're rude. Just want to sleep.
"Danika, come back." The speaker said. "He's not dead. Do you hear me? The dwarf is not dead."
The dwarf? Danika wondered. Wait, which one? There's a lot of 'em to keep track of—are you talking about Dopey, Sneezy, or Grumpy? Aw, jeez… wrong story. How am I supposed to 'come back' if I don't even know where I am right now?
"Danika." The caller said a little louder, his blonde-haired and tan-skinned picture becoming clearer.
"She's in shock," said someone from beside him. "Can't you do something?"
And then something smacked against her face and she gasped, snapping back to the present with a start as her internal compass suddenly righted itself.
"I didn't mean that," Bilbo hissed sharply, looking from Eomer to Danika.
"Ow," She winced, cradling her stinging jaw.
Eomer's intense face was trained on Danika's. "Now is not a time for despair. You need to gather your wits and—"
"Did you hit me?" Danika realized it could have been much worse than the slap she'd received, having seen the power of this horseman during their story together and knowing full-well he would never strike her with a true blow.
"You were in shock," He said, raising himself from his knees on the floor and standing to look down at her.
Only a small percentage of Danika wanted to thank him for bringing her back to reality, but she was still angry with him for something else, and that slap had only added to things.
"You lied to me." Danika spat as she stood to face him, though her height wasn't enough to be imposing. "You didn't tell me they took my sister."
At first, the King's face was sour, but then he shook his head. "I didn't lie to you. And I didn't tell you because you denied being Lisswyn—and that included her relations. I was respecting your wishes…"
Danika's anger ebbed; what he said made sense. But Brynwyn— Danika's heart was stirred to pity and hurt at the thought of the girl being in captivity. Bilbo looked uncomfortable in the middle of such a conversation and crept away, stopping at the foot of Kili's bed before finding a chair in the corner of the room.
"When Lisswyn was taken," Danika felt her eyes filling up with tears "how did Brynwyn fare?"
Eomer looked at Danika with nothing but sympathy. "She was very brave. She understood there was nothing I could do and even took up some of your—" he shook his head, "—Lisswyn's duties." And then he put his hands on Danika's shoulders and peered into her face. "But, as I said before, now is not a time for despair. We can help none of them if we lose our heads."
Danika nodded, taking in a shaky breath and turning her head to look at the bed where Kili lay.
"This sorcerer wants you to fear him." He said in reference to Voldemort, and Eomer's face had suddenly turned dark, his brows lowering in a battle-ready glare and his eyes half busy looking at her and half inwardly planning strategies. "He craves it—he feeds on it. But you must not give him that satisfaction."
"How? How do I fight this?" Danika looked at him with pleading eyes. "Voldemort wants to unravel me and I feel like I'm tearing at the edges."
"Resist his lies with truth. Does he truly own this world?"
Danika bit her lip. "I don't… no. No, he doesn't."
"The arrogant tyrant tries to make you believe his lies by slipping them in quietly. But you are stronger than that. You know for certain that he is not from this world and can be overthrown."
"Yes," Danika nodded, closing her eyes and branding these words into her mind.
"We will regain our lost people, we will defeat this force and drive it out, and we will make peace reign again in Middle-Earth."
"How can you be so hopeful?"
"That wasn't hope." Eomer grunted. "That was a goal." Something clicked in Danika's head and she understood how he was thinking. To press on as if there was any chance of failure would only allow fear to creep into her head and prevent her from doing as well as she could. "There is no one else to keep that goal, save us. Keep your courage, Danika, so that others may keep theirs."
She glanced again at the bed to see that Fili was kneeling beside it, gripping one of Kili's hands while Sigrid stood behind him with a hand on the blond dwarf's shoulder. Thorin's feet looked planted where they were as he stood at the foot of the bed, arms crossed and brow creased in desperate frustration as he looked down at his nephew's sleeping form. Moving about the room with a purpose, Wren had directed and questioned the healers and finally came to stand beside Thorin, slipping her hand through his unmoving arm. Poor Bilbo didn't seem to know what to do and had crumpled into a chair in the corner of the room, taking his face in his hands.
"I need your help," Danika said to Eomer with sudden determination, hating to see her family like this and knowing that the horseman was right. She couldn't give in to despair, not when she was the only one that could put an end to this. She needed to be clear-headed and do whatever was necessary. "I'm sure you remember trying to play chess with Lisswyn."
Eomer snorted. "Trying. You weren't—she wasn't much interested."
"Then you'll understand when I say that she was skilled in comparison to me." Danika knew it wasn't entirely true—she had Lisswyn's memories, so she could call upon whatever strategy had been learned—but the analogy served its purpose and Eomer sighed through his nose.
"I'll have a board brought in," He said with a wince, striding out of the room.
Danika sighed, watching him leave. She would much rather have practiced with Kili, but unfortunately…
"How is he?" Danika wrapped her arms around herself as she stepped closer to the bed.
"Sleeping," Wren said with a hardened face. Danika had seen that face before—she knew the nurse only wore it when she was trying to figure something out. "There's nothing wrong in a medical sense, but this is…"
"…magic." Thorin finished for her in a low grumble.
Danika scanned her husband's features. His eyes were moving slowly beneath the lids, long lashes fluttering as they twitched, and his lips softly opened and closed as though he might call out at any moment. His fingers and legs contracted likewise, as though Kili were trapped inside of a dream he couldn't wake from. It tore at Danika's heart as she watched, coming around the other side of the bed and sitting beside him to take the hand that wasn't in Fili's possession.
Fili's frantic eyes met hers for a moment and unspoken words passed between the two: we will do whatever is necessary.
Her fingers swept through Kili's bangs, pulling them back as she leaned to kiss his forehead. "Why can't they just leave you alone?" she whispered.
"Nightsky featuring John LaMonica" Robot Koch, John LaMonica
Kili was swimming in black, murky waters, and clawing for the surface. As soon as he found it, he hacked and coughed until his lungs didn't sting. There was a grey shelf of rock just beside him and he climbed out of the water to survey the new land.
Black sky and grey stone, featureless and smooth— Kili took a moment to look out at the black ocean behind him to get a sense of where he was when a dull green and grey billow of smoke erupted from the land before him. Shielding his face from the sudden wind, Kili squinted to see that there were ghostly figures standing within the pillar of smoke.
"Kili," One of them spoke, and on further inspection, Kili realized it was Thorin. "You're such a disappointment." The figure standing beside him was a dimly shaded Wren, who narrowed her eyes at Kili in disgust. "So many stories and this is what you've been reduced to? You're not a fighter, you're a useless coward!"
"I can't believe I ever thought you were attractive." The hazy Wren spoke. "Danika was right when she said Thorin was better-looking."
Kili's eyes widened and he could scarcely believe his ears. This was a dream. It had to be.
Both of the figures turned their backs to him and walked away when Fili and Sigrid appeared in the rolls of grey smoke.
"Kili," The Fili ghost said with a lick of his lips. "All those stories we had together were a lot more fun when the writers let me have my way with you."
A sting of revulsion and fear ran through Kili's innards and he shook his head, denying the strange look of lust he saw in his brother's eyes.
"He only married me to keep up appearances," Sigrid said with a look of despair. "His child will be the perfect cover-up for his interest in you."
"No," Kili's brows came together in indignation. "I don't believe that for a moment."
The Fili and Sigrid specters turned their backs to him and disappeared, only to have Eomer and Danika take their place.
"No, no, no," Kili shook his head and he threw his hands over his ears, not interested in hearing what this hellish place would cause his beloved to say. But it did him no good because he heard her just as clearly as if his palms weren't covering his ears.
"I remember, Kili," The Danika ghost said with a look of sympathy. "I remember my life with him from before. I remember being Lisswyn." Her voice haunted him because these were the exact words she'd said before this nightmare began. "And I cannot abandon him, not when he was my first husband."
But she hadn't said those last words in reality and Kili knew it. As much as this dream was trying to strike uncertainty into his heart, he knew what was real. "You never said that to me. It isn't true."
"I might not have said it to you, but it was what I was thinking." The Danika said with an expression so similar to his wife's that his faith started to waver. "This is what really want."
The Eomer ghost put his arm around her and Kili didn't resist the growl that left his upturned lip. "That's not true," the dwarf tried to remind himself, but what happened next would be burned into his mind like a fire-brand.
The ghost of Eomer began to kiss Danika heatedly and she let him, allowing his hands to roam over the curves that had suddenly become undressed. Kili's heart sped up and his blood heated, wanting nothing less than Eomer's broken and bleeding body on the ground before him, but no matter how fast he ran toward them, all the while screaming for the man to keep his hands to himself, the land beneath his feet kept him at the same distance from the smoke as he had been before.
He realized the only other way to keep himself from watching the intimate display of the ghosts was to throw himself into the black water again, crying out as he did. And as soon as he hit the water, his eyes snapped open to the waking world.
Gasping for breath, Kili bolted upright and looked about the room. Wooden panels adorned the walls, with a flag here and there bearing the symbol of the House of Eorl, the lords of Rohan. The four poster bed must have been filled with horsehair because it shifted strangely under his weight.
Bilbo had fallen asleep on a chair in the corner to his right, and to his left was a fireplace that had been lit to a blaze, filling the room with enough heat to fend off the chill of evening. And there, before the fireplace, sat Danika and Eomer opposite each other over a chessboard.
"Kili?" Danika's head turned until their eyes met. "Kili!" She burst from her chair and threw her arms around him, her familiar weight comforting him and confirming that this was real and not imaginary.
"You, it's really you," He said with a relieved groan, squeezing his arms around her tightly and ducking his head into the crook of her neck. Breathing in her scent and nuzzling the warmth of her skin, Kili anchored himself in this moment, letting his hands trail downward and grip her waist. Yes, the give of her young flesh underneath the dress, that was real. The softness of her hair and the slightly oily smell of it, that was real. And the way her chest heaved against his when she took a breath in such a tight embrace, that was real.
"Are you all right?" Danika asked him worriedly, and Kili was about to answer her when he lifted his head from her shoulder, seeing the waiting Eomer behind her.
"What's he doing here?" Kili said in a low growl, the lingering memories of the dream still fresh in his mind.
"I'm complete crap at chess," Danika said with a roll of her eyes.
"She needs practice and instruction," Eomer spoke up, warily eyeing the dwarf that was glaring.
"She doesn't need practice," The dwarf objected as he clutched her closer. "She won't be going to this absurd meeting—the Doctor and I are going to find a way around it. We'll come up with an alternative."
"And if you fail?" Eomer stood from his chair, hands clenched. "Then your pride dooms her to an uneven match."
"It's already uneven! You think too highly of yourself if you believe you can teach her what she doesn't already know in only a day."
"It's three days," Eomer reminded him curtly. "And I don't consider myself a master of chess, but I am a man of war and I know how to resist an enemy."
"I'm sure you do," Kili snapped, taking the comment personally.
"Will both of you shut up?" Danika jumped from the bed to stand between them, looking back and forth between the two with a scowl that matched theirs. "She can speak for herself and she thinks that both of you have the right idea." Putting her hands on her hips, she seemed to be summoning her patience. "This whole love triangle thing is getting on my nerves! Can't you guys see how ridiculous this is?"
While Eomer murmured an apology to her, Kili could only stare at the floor in shock. He'd been doing it again—listening to the deeper part of his doubt and letting it go too far. The dream hadn't instigated that doubt, but it certainly fed it— and this was no time for pointing fingers, not when every minute counted!
Kili brought up his head and jolted, startled to find Danika standing directly in front of him.
"Kili," she said in a low whisper that was both tired and relenting. "I understand if you're uncomfortable with Eomer teaching me how to play chess, and… if you don't want me to learn from him, then I won't."
The dwarf's eyes darted to her face, trying to read it in utter confusion. "You'd do that?"
"I'd like to practice with someone, but if you don't like the thought of him and I spending time together then I won't do it with him. I love you..."
Eomer shifted uncomfortably, as though pretending not to listen was below him, but Kili took a moment to look over the man for what seemed like the hundredth time since they met. The King of Rohan looked like a calculating sort, and his tanned skin and muscled features were enough proof that his trade had been warfare from an early age—and where before these things had made Kili uncomfortable with Eomer being so near to Danika, now they lent him some favor.
"As much as I hate to say it," Kili sighed. "Eomer is probably the best chance you have at learning quickly." He rolled his eyes. "And I doubt you'll be in better care—no one will be more concerned about your success than him and I."
"Don't just say that because it's logical," Danika pressed her eyebrows together seriously. "If you really don't want—"
"I've got to let this go," Kili whispered as he bowed his head. "Distrusting him is… it doesn't reflect that I trust you, either." Kili lifted his head up to look at her, searching her eyes for the solidity he needed so badly. "I'm sorry. I dreamt—"
But he wasn't able to tell her about the dream before a terrified scream came from a distant room in the Golden Hall.
"The Son of Flynn (Remixed by Ki: Theory)" Daft Punk, Ki: Theory
"What was that?" Danika inched closer to Kili and he thrust his arms protectively around her as he looked toward the door. Eomer had drawn his sword in a fluidic motion, but at the next scream, he lowered it.
"Bema," Eomer cursed, sheathing his sword. "They've come."
"Who's come?" Bilbo said from the corner, clearly awake now.
"The wraiths." The King of Rohan muttered as he opened the door to the room. "Danika, stay here with Kili."
"Don't tell me what to do," Danika said from within Kili's hold in what sounded like a whimper rather than a threat.
"What can we do against them?" Bilbo wrung his hands together, obviously disturbed by the shrieks of surprise and shouts of anger that came more frequently.
"Nothing," Eomer snapped before he marched through the door.
Danika was torn between following his advice to stay in the room and giving in to her curiosity for what was happening all around the Golden Hall. She imagined it wasn't just the hall that was filled with the cries, but also the huts below it…
"You're not going anywhere," Kili told her, grabbing her wrist as she tried to pull away from him. "I don't often agree with—" but his words were cut short by a loud shout coming from the room beside them.
"That was Fili," Danika breathed, knowing Kili recognized it too by the horror-struck look in his eye. Using the lapse in concentration, she tugged away from his hand and bolted toward the door connecting the two rooms, throwing it open and gaping at what she saw.
"That's not a wraith," She said as Kili followed from behind, staring at the black-cloaked figure hovering above Fili and Sigrid while they lay in the bed. "It's a Dementor!"
The Dementor waved its hand above its head and a line of glowing light appeared as though it had opened a crack in the space above it, and a tendril of light crept from the crack of light, reaching downward toward Sigrid where she crawled away from it. The light struck her, causing her to become silent and unmoving, wrapping around her and pulling her toward the crack.
"Sigrid!" Fili clamped a hand on her wrist—or tried to, but he was too late and she was hoisted into the air beyond his reach. The frantic dwarf leapt to his feet to try and catch her hand again, but she had passed through the rip of light and was nowhere to be seen.
"No!" He cried out, reaching for the blade that lay on the table beside the bed and jabbing it in the direction of the Dementor. "Let her go!"
But the Dementor was not amused and pointed a sharp, black finger at Fili, causing him to drop the sword and grip his throat as though he were choking.
"Fili, no!" Kili pushed past Danika, who was petrified where she stood. What could she do? What could any of them do?
Kili leapt at the Dementor, throwing back its hand with his clenched fist as he cursed at it, but it only raised its other hand and pointed at him as well, holding both of the dwarves in a choke hold.
Danika wasn't sure what good it would do, but she picked up a chair and threw it in the direction of the Dementor, hitting it in its middle and hoping that at least it would buy her husband and his brother another breath. If that was all her actions would accomplish, then it was worth it.
A brilliant light filled the room and all were flung backward as if by a strong wind, and the Dementor cried out in a high-pitched shriek that stung Danika's ears painfully.
"Begone, servant of Voldemort!" An older voice called out to the Dementor, and Danika looked up from where she had fallen to the ground to see a white cloak and staff—Gandalf had come! "Release those whom you have taken and return to your master or I shall send you to the eternal light!"
The Dementor swept itself from the room at an astonishing speed and the air in the room seemed to shudder. The light reappeared for a moment before Sigrid began to drop as if from the ceiling! Fili had enough wits about him and before she hit the ground, he rolled to cushion her fall with his body, groaning as she landed heavily on him. She looked as though she woke from a doze and then realized where she was and who she had fallen on, but Fili was tearfully clinging to her with strong arms, caging her in his hold.
"Gandalf," Kili breathed in relief. "Gandalf, you came!"
"And not too soon, it appears," Gandalf said wearily. "But I must save others if I can—I will return!" And sweeping his cloak behind him, the wizard left the room hurriedly.
"Kili, are you hurt?" Danika crept toward him on hands and knees, reaching out for him at the same time that he held his arms out to her.
"I'm fine," He answered quickly, pulling at her and bringing her closer as he helped her to stand with him. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, looking around the room as though he expected danger to appear again, but Danika knew that Gandalf would not have left them if there had been any more danger. And she couldn't stop staring at Fili and Sigrid.
"Fili?" Sigrid whispered fearfully, trembling visibly in her husband's hold.
"Sig," Fili had ducked his head into her neck and refused to come out, his muscles and veins prominent as his arms tightened around her. "Sig, I thought I'd lost you. Both of you."
"I'm all right," Her voice broke as tears descended to her cheeks. "And our lad's all right, too." Sigrid suddenly tried to pull back, but Fili's strong grip didn't allow for much, and she weakly beat her fist against his shoulder. "What were you thinking, trying to fend a ghost off with a sword?" She exclaimed in an angry sob. "You could have been killed!"
"I couldn't let it take you." The blond dwarf muttered quietly in what sounded like an apologetic voice, still refusing to leave the safety of her neck, as though she might disappear if he lifted his head.
Her struggles against him went unnoticed, as did her anger, and Fili only kept his arms around her while she shouted at him. But her words were blurred by her weeping and soon her voice died down into crying, obviously more terrified that she'd almost watched her husband die instead of angry with him for coming against a Dementor.
Danika's heart was in her throat and she ducked her head into Kili's chest, pulling herself closer to him, grateful that Gandalf had come to their aid at the last minute. Fili and Sigrid's reunion was a calming source of hope and fueled a resolve inside of Danika.
"I have to win this game," She raised her head to look into Kili's eyes, his determined expression similar to hers. "I have to find a way to beat him."
Kili was scanning her face, as though looking for something, and then nodded in fierce resolution. "You don't need to do it alone."
She looked down at the shuddering form of Sigrid, still clinging to Fili as he rocked her in his lap, before Danika returned her gaze to Kili. "Voldemort's bothered Middle-Earth for the last time. Let's take the bastard down."
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Next chapter: the rules for Amended Wizard's Chess and a reveal of some of the live player game-pieces! Story still open to a few prompts! If there are characters from other fandoms and stories you'd like to see on the board, leave me a review with your suggestions!
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By the way, the reference I'm using for the previous Eomer/OC relationship is one of my favorite stories- Heart of The Horselord by rynogeny. Please be sure to give that story a read, it's fantastic!
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Want some Thorin/OC romance/angst? Try JEWELS AND DAGGERS
Just as Thorin becomes engaged to be married, the dragon attacks Erebor and all is thrown into chaos! Men with wicked intent take captive some of the wandering dwarves- will Thorin, Frerin, and Dwalin be able to rescue the enslaved dwarves, including Runa, Thorin's beloved?
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Want someKili/Tauriel romance/adventure? Try STARS AND HAMMERS
Fluff, Drama, Romance, Hurt/Comfort - This is a compilation of one-shots following Kili and Tauriel's one-year adventure as they accompany Bilbo back to The Shire (after the Battle of Five Armies) and then return to Erebor.
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Want some Fili/OC romance/adventure? Try GOLD AND FIRE
Fili and Nur marry in secret just before he leaves for Erebor, but what is a lonely wife to do while her husband is braving life and death for their future? Covers the Battle of Five Armies and afterward.Explanations for some of the actions within the movies as well as some behind the scenes! A sequel to GEMS AND POISON