"Liars, thieves, the lot of you! I'm sure your filthy brethren bragged about the taking of my Ailee. I'm sure that you killed her with your dirty hands and stained weapons. For that, I will stick this Dwarven pig and laugh as you kill each other off!"

Kili choked as Iree jabbed him with the point of the knife. The viscous liquid that dripped from the blade stung at his skin and he clutched her arm in surprise. She gave a loud, sudden cough and the back of his neck was splattered with fluid. Her body jolted and her grip loosened from his neck. He dared not look as slowly her pale arm unwound itself from his body and she fell crumpled to the ground.

He turned around, neck smarting, and saw from beyond the window Nadi perched magnificently in a tree. His bow was held straight and proud in her strong arms. By the look in her eye, he could tell that she had unleashed a well-aimed arrow. All archers held that look of rising pride when they met their mark. He smiled in relief then, neck throbbing, fell to the cold, stone floor.

X

Bilbo, Gandalf, and Nadi rushed into the castle. At first, they tried opening the door but it would not budge so Gandalf blasted it away with his staff.

The sight that met them was worse than any nightmare they had ever faced. For there, before them, the Company had been spread out upon the foyer with raging fires surrounding them on all sides. As she watched, the Dwarves pounced upon each other with vicious intent, their brows sweaty and contorted in rage. Several raging squirrels the size of small dogs burst from the flame, their wicked teeth gnashing and large claws scraping against the ground. Nadi lifted her bow and fired an arrow at a burning overhead beam. It came crashing down upon the squirrels and they dissolved into smoke.

"What is this?" Nadi cried in alarm and raised her bow to fire at a large Orc that came running in from a side chamber. Her vision wobbled and the Orc changed into a Dwarve. "Nori?"

"This is some cursed and black magic," Gandalf said, "and it won't end until the Witch is dead."

Nadi turned to Bilbo. "Kili," she said and he nodded, pulling out his small sword.

"Go."

The look in his eye was frighteningly calm and Nadi knew then that she was no longer looking at a mere Grocer but a Warrior Hobbit. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her towards the winding staircase. A Pale Orc appeared from the flames and rushed towards her, its jaws wide with devious intent but she quickly balanced both hands on the railings, lifted herself, and kicked him backward with both feet. The Pale Orc revealed himself to be Dwalin staring angrily at her with a singed beard but she muttered, 'sorry' and continued her ascent.

Once upon the top of the staircase, a gaggle of Goblins came giggling and chittering from the doorway to her left and she hopped over them. She would not allow herself to strike at any of the creatures, for she did not know which of them were actually her Company. Someone screamed from the landing below her and she grit her teeth at the sound of it. She could only hope that the rest had retained sense enough to not fatally wound each other. But judging by the mad gleam that she had seen in their eyes, they would all soon slay each other by their own hands.

She found Kili laying on his back beneath the window where she had fired. The headless arrow was there, she noticed, but Iree was not. She must have broken it off and made away. Damn it all, Nadi thought as she knelt down beside Kili, my shot hadn't been as fatal as I meant it.

His chest heaved sporadically as he looked up at her. Fresh blood was smeared across his face. It glinted on his skin as he swallowed and raised a shaking hand.

"My prince," she said. She quickly grabbed his hand between both of hers and kissed his palm. Tears were falling from her face again and she hated that he should see her so weak. Shaking, she kissed his hand again and spoke in a voice that threatened to desert her at any moment. "What-what happened?"

Kili coughed and spat up a bubble of blood. She encircled his back with her arm and lifted him to a weak sitting position. He rested his head against her chest and closed his eyes as she buried her face in his black locks.

"Women," he said, with a laugh, "they just can't keep their hands off of me. Jealous?"

"Very. If any woman sticks you with a blade, it should be me for all that you've put me through." She turned his head gently and groaned at the sight of the blackened skin upon his neck.

"I have put you through?!" He said indignantly and coughed. "Why-"

"Silence!" She said peering closer at his wound.

"If I make it out of this alive, promise me that you will-"

"Be quiet," she took out a dagger and traced it along his skin. There, she found it. The actual puncture wound was much smaller than she thought. All of the blood surrounding him had been drawn by the superficial scratches he had received before the actual wound. She took the tip of her dagger and lifted the skin gently. It must have been a knife coated in a poison that Iree had used. And yet she could clearly see the path that the poison had taken. It moved slow and thickly and had only spread about an inch in diameter from where the point of entry was.

She knew what she would have to do then. Long ago, she had been bitten by a snake during her journeys through the woods. With no one around and no medical equipment, she had cut the wound open, sucked the venom, and spat it out. She had fallen grievously ill upon her return but she had lived.

It was a long shot, but there was nothing else that she could do.

And yet…

This too had been in a dream. She remembered straddling Kili, pressing the heavy blade to his throat. She had stabbed him and he had cried out in pain. But the dream had ended there: she didn't know if she had killed him or simply wounded him. Perhaps that was it, perhaps she never really killed him. Perhaps she only assumed it had been that way. Perhaps her dreams really never-

"Kili," she said, moving the dagger so that it was face-down in her hand. "Forget what I said earlier. Looks like I will have to stick you with my dagger after all."

"What-"

She leaned down and made a quick slash at his neck. He screamed and grabbed her shoulders in alarm.

"What are you doing?! Have you gone insane?"

"Hold still, I'm trying to save you, you imbecile," she made another slash in the opposite direction, right on top of the first one. He cringed and closed his eyes but he did not scream. She leaned down and began to suck at the exposed wound with all of her might. The taste that filled her mouth was more foul than anything that she could have imagined. But it was working! The thick, syrupy substance was retreating from Kili's wound and entering her mouth, where she held it at the back of her throat.

Just then, Iree appeared behind her.

X

The Witch raised her hands, dagger held between them. She recognized Nadi's curly hair and golden-brown skin. How fitting that she should meet her end there, by Iree's hand once more. Curled up, too, with the very lover that Iree had set to torment her dreams.

It was perfect.

She raised the dagger higher and suddenly was blown forward by an electrifying blow. She fell to the floor with a gasp and lay there twitching. Nadi jumped and looked up at her. Their eyes met for the first time in years and this time Nadi was not afraid or entranced. Her brow furrowed and she clutched the black-haired Dwarve tighter. Her cheeks ballooned for a second and then she spat out a mouthful of black fluid at the floor before Iree's face.

"You bitch," Nadi muttered, wiping her mouth. Kili laughed and grabbed her arms with renewed strength.

"That was foul," he said.

"You don't understand," she said, scrubbing harder at her lips and glaring at Iree. "I've been waiting years to do something like that."

"When you lovebirds are quite ready."

Gandalf appeared behind him. His staff glowed a bright, pretty blue for a moment before returning to its normal color. At the same time, a spot on Iree's back faded from the same shade to its regular color. It was Gandalf who had struck the final blow upon her, for his craft was more ancient and concentrated than her own. He nudged Iree with his foot and though she did not move, her eyes were open and she was breathing.

"Well…" Gandalf said.

"Gandalf! Nadi! Bilbo!" Dori exclaimed from below them. One by one the Dwarves climbed the staircase and crowded around them. "What are you doing here?"

"I…" Nadi started. Fili cleared his throat and Nadi realized that she was still straddling Kili.

"What are you doing here?" Thorin asked, stepping towards them. Nadi's mouth clamped shut in a thin line and it was Bilbo who spoke up.

"She knew the Witch. She encountered her years ago in the forest, back when she was searching for your hunting party. She wanted to warn you about her, but she couldn't. It was part of a curse that the Witch had put upon her. She's the one who shot the Witch through the window before Gandalf struck his blow."

"And she saved me by sucking the poison out of my neck," Kili added.

"Is this true? Were you really cursed by the Witch?" Thorin asked her and she nodded. She swallowed hard. She pointed first at her throat and then at Iree still laying upon the ground. "That's why you didn't want us to enter the castle. That's why you never spoke of your ordeal for all those years." Thorin stepped closer to her, still surveying her eyes carefully. "Why exactly did she curse you thus? What did she not want you to speak on?"

Nadi glanced at Kili, but none but Bilbo saw. She pointed to her throat, raised her eyebrows, and shrugged regretfully.

"No matter," Gandalf said slowly, watching her. "All is well and we are safe."

It was true. The fires had dwindled once more back to their infancy and the few imaginary beasts that prowled the house were small and weak of limb. It seemed as if Iree's power of persuasion had weakened with her frozen state. Thorin embraced Nadi and pressed her forehead against his. None could hear what he was saying but Nadi closed her eyes and smiled in response. As Gandalf spoke to a foul-faced Iree, the Company embraced each other and apologized for the things that they had done whilst under a spell. They were bruised, battered, and tired but they were alive.

"You know who she reminds me of," Bilbo said in reference to Iree. As the Company watched, he pulled a small golden locket from his pocket.

"By my beard!" Bofur exclaimed as he snatched it away from him. "Where did you get that?"

"It must have fallen from someone's pocket," Bilbo said defensively for he had begun to like the locket and the picture inside it very much."

"See here, I wasn't lying," Bofur said, approaching Iree. Suddenly a piercing whistle echoed through the house and Bombur pushed Bofur away from the speeding projectile just in time. A small kitchen knife embedded itself in Iree's chest and she gasped. Her eyes went blank and her body fell still. As the Company watched, she breathed in her last breath and died with a look of pure hatred upon her face. Bofur stood there staring at her, the locket swinging pathetically in his hands.

"Ailee was her daughter," Bofur explained in response to Nadi's confused expression. He bent down and placed the locket gently before her waxen face. "They both died never knowing the truth of the other's existence."

"She must have used her remaining strength to stab herself with the knife. She'd rather die than face the mercy of Dwarves. I wonder why." Gandalf said. He bent down and pressed her eyelids closed, before muttering a few words in a foreign tongue.

"Uh, believe you me, it's quite the tale," Fili said.

"Right. We're all accounted for," Thorin said, looking around. "Gather your weapons. We must g-"

Right at that moment Nadi's mouth filled with the aftertaste of poison and she vomited all over Thorin's vest.