Insanity | A Hobbit Fanfiction

Chapter 25

"What is it?" Zephira asked, blinking.

Everyone around her lurched back.

"Mahal above!" Fili cried. He grabbed her by the shoulders. "You're alive!"

"Well of course I'm alive. You didn't think a little thing like that would kill me, would you?" She sounded cocky, but her breath was shaky.

He wrapped her up in a hug, Kili laughing and joining in.

They barely noticed when they ended up hugging each other as well.

Zephira cried out as she was tackled by the brothers, and let out a strangled, "What the hell?!"

"Gods, we thought we'd lost you!" Bilbo said quietly, still staring at the witch.

She looked around, once she'd untangled herself from the boys, and frowned. "Why're you all looking at me funny?" She turned to Bilbo. "And why've you gone all pink?"

"Well... You... You look..." Bilbo licked his lips, blushing more. "Different," he finally got out, just as Fili said, "Pretty,", Kili said "Delicate,", Gandalf said, "Comely," and Thorin said "Beautiful,".

She blushed at their words, then said, "Oi, haven't I always been pretty?" To Fili.

"Well, more so now. It's like... You almost look like a different person. /Almost/."

"That's odd." She said. "I feel different too." She raised her hands to her face to feel at her features.

Same high cheekbones, same jawline and chin, same small nose... Her eyes felt bigger, rounder... Her lips fuller, but still dry... Her hair was slightly tamer. She pulled at it and it sprung back into curls when she let go. It was longer, lighter. Much lighter, actually, it looked nearly white-blonde.

She looked down at herself and frowned. She was still stick-thin.

Gandalf gave her a stern look. "You need to eat something."

"Let me go find something in the woods then, I can-"

"No, you'll eat a proper meal with the rest of us."

"I-I can't, Gandalf."

"Why not?" Thorin asked her.

She looked over at him and her breath caught in her throat. "I'm sorry." She said softly. "By all the gods and goddesses, I'm so sorry."

"I... Sorry for what?"

Fili stifled a gasp. "Oh... Oh, Zephira... Don't tell me this is about what I said all those months ago, is it?"

"Said what?" Kili asked, blinking.

"I..." Fili swallowed, dread sitting like a boulder in his stomach. "I told her... I said that... That she had done nothing except scare Ori and..." His voice was barely audible. "... And eat our rations."

Thorin's jaw clenched. "Why would you say that?"

"It-it was when we didn't get along-"

Thorin had already turned back to the witch. "Is that why you haven't been eating? You've been starving yourself so you won't take some of our rations?"

She nodded, wiping at her face although she hasn't been crying.

"Zephira, you are a part of this Company. You have every right to eat our food."

"But- but you don't-"

"No, I don't want to hear it." Thorin said sternly. "You /starved/ yourself, Zephira! You could have di-" he choked on his words. "You /did/ die."