Two weeks until the Desolation of Smaug, so here it is :)
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"May I ask you something?" Thorin asked.
"Depends what it is."
They had camped out in the forest for the night, getting as far away from the witches as they could after Kellain had dropped off Zephira.
Niobe and Kellain had left immediately after, promising to find them later.
"Well, how will you know what it is before I ask you?"
Zephira paused. "Fair enough, ask away."
"Do witches have control over the elements?"
Her head snapped up from the soup she was helping cook. "No!"
He looked confused. "You don't?"
"No! Of course not! That would be too much power for someone to possess." She threw the spoon into the pot with a /splash!/
"But then... How did Krayna use fire to light up those pinecones? When we were attacked by..." He let his voice trail off.
He didn't need to finish his sentence. The memory was burned into both their minds.
Zephira's eyes widened. "You saw that?" She whispered.
"Yes."
"Well, damn."
"Zephira, you'd better start telling the truth, or-"
"Or what?" She asked boldly.
He gave her a hard look, which she returned.
"Oh, Thorin. I lie about more things than you'll ever know." She said, an almost disdainful tone in her voice.
His jaw clenched. "Watch yourself, Zephira."
"I can watch myself just fine. Can you say the same?"
"How did Krayna use fire?"
She said nothing for a long time. They stared at each other, daring each other to be the first to look away.
Thorin told himself that he would /not/ be the first this time.
He wasn't.
Zephira's shoulders sagged slightly. "She's the last one of us to have that power. It's a dying gene. She can't make real fire, only sparks and heat mostly."
"Is that the truth?"
"Yes,"
"Are you lying?"
"No,"
"Are you sure?"
"No," she said with a small smirk.
Thorin bit his tongue to keep from yelling. "Alright." He walked away.
Zephira's eyes narrowed. "Take that stick out of your ass, Thorin." She called.
"Get your head out of yours!"
"At least I /have/ an ass!"
He turned around, eyes flashing. He was /done/ with her. "At least I have my own sanity!"
By now the whole company was watching them.
Zephira stood up. Her eyes flashed as well, but they quite literally flashed red. "At least when I call for help, someone answers." She said, referring to the elves.
His face reddened. "Are you sure? No one came to help you when you were being Broken."
Her lip curled. "Watch it, Thorin."
ČTEŠ
Insanity | A Hobbit Fanfiction
FanfikceWhile at his cousin Dains, Thorin finds a Broken witch in his dungeons. She tells him that he needs her for his journey to be successful. She joins the company, adding perils and defeating some, all while trying to cling to her own sanity.
