Beauty and the Warg

Chapter Ten: Human Again

A/N: Some of my reviewers are very smart and are beginning to catch on to my twist. In case you haven't learned the secret yet, you will find out in this chapter. This is the final chapter, unless you want me to add an epilogue. Replies to my lovely reviewers can be found amongst the other reviews.

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Legolas took a step back. His hands remained on her face. He smiled at her, and Wendy was reminded of the way her older brother often smiled at her when she did something cute as a little girl. She was hit with a sudden realization, the impact of which struck her with such force that she would have fallen down if she stood on only two legs, rather than four.

Wendy loved Gimli.

Gimli was the key to becoming human again.

Not that she didn't love Legolas. He was very attractive, and she loved being with him. But if she had to choose one person out of the entire world –out of either world, her own or Middle-earth –that person would be Gimli son of Gloin, the dwarf whose axe hew more Orc-necks than Legolas at Helm's Deep, the Dwarf who was afraid to take the Paths of the Dead, the Dwarf who fell in love with Galadriel…

…and the Dwarf who was currently nowhere in sight.

Sudden panic seized Wendy. Where was Gimli? Why was he not with Legolas? What if he had fallen in battle? She rose up suddenly on her hind legs, putting her forelegs on Legolas' shoulders. Frantically she tried to communicate with her eyes, but Legolas did not understand. He thought she was being playful and simply ruffled her fur, laughing. In desperation she cried out,

"Where is Gimli? I must find him!"

To the surprise of all around her, the words came out not in the strange language of Wargs but in the Common Tongue. People stared in shock at the Warg who had just spoken words they understood. A few edged away uneasily, thinking some trickery or devilry was upon them. Legolas looked shell-shocked and couldn't seem to speak.

"Lady Draugwen!" a beautifully familiar voice yelled. "Out of my way, please, move, sorry about that, please move, come on, GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

The crowd parted to make way for the loud Dwarf. Wendy dropped back onto all fours, pushing Legolas out of the way, not gently. The last few people shifted aside and a clear path lay between Gimli and Wendy. They stood for an instant as if frozen before both rushed forward until the gap between them was closed.

"Wish he had run that fast when we were chasing the Hobbits," Legolas muttered to no one but himself.

"Gimli! Oh, Gimli, I was so worried!" Wendy said, a few tears leaking out of her eyes in her joy.

"Lady Draugwen, I do not understand… how is it that you are speaking our language?" Gimli asked in disbelief.

"Let's not question it," Wendy replied. With that, conversation ceased. Gimli took her face in his hands. They were not smooth; they had calluses from many days of hard work. His face was not pale and smooth; it was hairy and creased with wrinkles. His lips were not pink and perfect, but they were puckered, and Wendy's eyes closed once more in anticipation. Gimli placed a kiss on her right cheek, then turned her head and placed a kiss on her left cheek.

At first, there was nothing.

Then, there was tingling. Wendy stepped back, trembling with excitement. The crowd gave her a large berth.

Then, there was prickling. It felt like a million needles were poking Wendy all over. Her forelegs began to shorten and hair started to fall in clumps. Her claws retracted and her paw became a hand once more. Her huge, slavering fangs became teeth once more, perfect in spite of their yellow tinge. She felt the tail reduce until there was nothing. Her spine straightened so she could stand on her hind legs again. Only now they weren't hind legs, they were just legs, her plain beautiful smooth legs with nice womanly feet at the bottom, not huge hairy paws designed for killing.

There was one problem that became evident fairly soon. As the hair dropped away to reveal her womanly curves, there was nothing to hide those curves from the world. A kind old woman stepped forward and draped a cloak around her, which Wendy accepted gratefully.

One other problem arose. As Wendy's head transformed back into a smaller, human head, the hair did not fall off. She waited and waited, but the hair did not fall. Her face was still mostly covered by thick, coarse, dark brown hair. From her scalp her normal light brown hair emerged, thicker than before. But the facial hair remained.

Wendy also noticed that her height had not returned to normal. In her normal state, she would only be a few inches shorter than Legolas. But currently she was a scant few inches taller than Gimli, and nearly a foot shorter than Legolas. She certainly wasn't complaining. Wendy had often been teased as a young girl about her height.

"L…Lady… Lady Draugwen…" Gimli gasped¸ staring at the girl in front of him in amazement. "You are… you are… you are a…"

"I am a girl, Gimli. A human girl," she said in a whisper.

"How is this possible?" Legolas asked, coming towards her. He raised his hand as if to touch her hair, then withdrew quickly.

"It's all right. I'm not going to burn you," Wendy giggled. "It's… well… it's a rather complicated story. It would be difficult for you to believe if I told you how I ended up as a Warg. Maybe we can go inside and discuss it over tea. After I find some clothes to wear."

"Yes… yes, tea would be… nice… and clothes, you need clothes," Gimli said, speaking slowly as if he was in a trance. He was apparently completely dumbfounded, and who could blame him? He had just seen a hideous Warg transform into an okay-looking woman. He was allowed to be a little shaken up.

Legolas nudged Gimli's shoulder, pushing him gently towards Wendy. Before he knew it, Gimli's feet were carrying him closer to Wendy.

"Go on, kiss her! Kiss her!" someone called from amidst the crowd.

"Yes, do!" shouted a woman.

The crowd took up the chant, with Legolas the loudest of all. "Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!"

Wendy blushed bright red, hiding her face in embarrassment. Gimli reached for her hands, pulling them away. "Why do you cover up your beautiful face?"

"Beautiful? Gimli, do you not see this? I'm still hairy! How can you say I'm beautiful? I'm still so ugly!" Wendy cried. She rubbed her face as hard as she could, causing some hair to fall off her forehead. Yet the hair around her mouth, her "beard," if you will, stayed stubbornly in place.

"Do ye mean to say, lass, that facial hair is not attractive?" Gimli asked, twirling the end of his beard around his finger.

Wendy looked at him for a moment. Slowly, she began to understand. Gimli was used to women with beards. All Dwarf-women had them. Beards were attractive to Dwarves, and the longer the beard, the more noble the person. Wendy began to laugh, and she seized Gimli in a great hug.

"Oh Gimli, forgive me for being so stupid and petty! Who cares about a stupid beard! I love you, Gimli, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you!" Wendy declared.

"Then so be it!" Gimli agreed, but all other words were silenced when Wendy planted a big kiss right on his lips.

A cheer went up in the crowd, but Gimli and Wendy were totally oblivious. When the kiss ended, they lost themselves in each other's eyes until Legolas politely coughed and nudged Gimli, successfully bringing their attention back to the matter at hand. They both blushed bright pink (though it was hard to tell through all the hair on both faces) when they noticed how large the crowd of spectators had grown to. Even other warriors had stopped their victory parade to see what was going on.

"Perhaps we should take this inside," Legolas murmured.

"Yes, that sounds like a brilliant idea. Let's go. Now. Quickly. Hurry! Come on!" Wendy urged, pulling on Gimli's hand. Legolas led the way, pushing his way through the crowd. When they saw who was behind him, they immediately parted, leaving a wide path for Gimli and Wendy to take. As they strolled hand-in-hand, a few people began to clap, and then a few more, and soon the entire city seemed to be cheering them on. Still blushing, but with wide smiles, Gimli and Wendy turned around just before going inside a building and waved to the crowd a little before closing the door firmly behind themselves.

The room they were in was a currently unoccupied room of the Houses of Healing. Legolas found a white robe that Wendy gladly slipped on (shielded by a privacy partition in the corner of the room) before sitting next to Gimli on the edge of the bed. Legolas pulled over a wooden chair and sat in front of them.

Gimli took Wendy's hand, turning so he could see her face. Gently, he brushed away a few stray strands of hair from her face, looking at her in amazement. "I still do not understand," he said quietly. "How can a Warg become human?"

Wendy sighed, a small smile playing at her lips. "It's a long story. Half of it you won't believe, and the other half you won't understand. I think maybe Gandalf would be the better person to explain…"

Just then, there was a knock at the door. The three looked at the door in surprise before Legolas got up to see who it was.

"Hurry up, hurry up, we haven't got all day," said an impatient voice they all recognized as that of the old Wizard Wendy had just mentioned. Legolas laughed and pulled open the door, allowing Gandalf entrance. He pulled the remaining wooden chair beside Legolas' and settled himself comfortably.

"Well, Lady Wendy, I see that you have lifted the spell. Gimli, congratulations, you have found yourself a very good woman to settle down with," Gandalf smiled.

"Wendy?" Gimli and Legolas questioned curiously at the same time.

"Yes, Wendy. That is her proper name. You did not truly think her name was Draugwen, did you?" Gandalf asked.

"No, of course not, but… Wendy? I have never heard such a name. Where does it come from?" Legolas asked curiously.

"Please, call me Draugwen. I like it so much more than Wendy. I've always hated my name," Wendy said, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

"As you wish, milady," Gimli said, patting her hand. Legolas smiled at them, chuckling a little.

"It is amusing to see you be so affectionate, my friend. Only a few days ago I saw you slaughtering Orcs with a wild fury," Legolas said. Gimli laughed.

"That is what happens to you when you fall in love. Perhaps someday you will see what it is like, Master Elf," Gimli teased his friend. Wendy, or Draugwen as she was to be called until the end of her days, laughed at the look on Legolas' face, a mixture of outrage and amusement. The mock anger melted away and Legolas began to laugh along with Draugwen.

"Gandalf, you seem to know more about this than I. Please tell me what you know, for my mind cannot begin to comprehend how this wonderful woman came into my life," Gimli said to the wise old Wizard.

Gandalf sighed, giving a little shrug of the shoulders. "Master Gimli, I am not sure anyone will ever fully comprehend how Wendy –excuse me, Draugwen –became a Warg."

Gandalf quickly summarized what he had already told Draugwen. Gimli and Legolas listened in silence, their faces almost identical images of intrigue and disbelief. Draugwen also told her story, how she had been an avid Lord of the Rings fan for so long and had always dreamed of going to Middle-earth. She explained how Tolkien's works had created a phenomenon throughout the world and how so many little girls dreamed about romancing with the tall, fair, skilled Prince of Mirkwood. When that sparked their interest, she delved briefly into the topic of fan fiction, explaining how according to the authors Legolas had been with everyone from a random elleth to the King of Gondor himself.

But when they finally got back on topic, Gandalf admitted, "Indeed, for some time I thought it would be Legolas, not Gimli, that would break the spell." He looked questioningly at the other three. "How did it come to pass that Gimli was the one, not this tall, fair, skilled Prince of Mirkwood?"

"To tell you the truth, Gandalf," Legolas sighed, the corners of his mouth twitching, "I've always secretly harbored feelings for Aragorn."

Gandalf, Gimli, and Draugwen burst out laughing.

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There you have it! That's the final chapter! But if you want an epilogue, let me know in a review. I have one half-written already, but it's very short. If you want me to leave the story as is, tell me so. Thank you all so very, very much for reading my silly little story. It means so much to me to know that people actually enjoyed my writing. : - ) See you around!