#edit in the tags: it's also about love just fyi. u know when u burn ur popcorn n ur like.

[inkskinned]

it's not always going to make sense, and it's going to be hard, and the way that you feel her push through your ribs will make the rest of you ravenous. you will be standing in your tiny kitchen looking down at your feet and the loneliness will spray in buckshot over your whole life until you are a crimescene and you will still have to remember to get groceries. you will think about her hair, the wheat, how she has stained your life in yellow, and how before her you were almost-happy but now somehow you are starving. you will think of her weight in your hands and over your skin and her impossible grin. you will want to force your entire fist into your hand and bite down, but you won't, because you're an adult, and you only cry at funerals. so much of her reminds you of fire; the shock of her hair and the swordblade of her laughter - so you sigh and drink water instead. you have emails to send around the shape of her. you have chores to do that avoid remembering the last time she held you. you have to take the trash out and avoid the sensation that she is hanging in the air, all that desire in the back of your throat. you will have to apologize to your dog. i promise. i'm trying. the way you want her is almost reverent, an amber crescent. she has annexed the whole apartment, has made her way under your fingernails. and yet you still have to pay rent. you still have to pay bills.

[dragons-and-dwarves-are-nice]

To the Shadows that Cry Witch /// Chapter 13

Okay so I lied about posting earlier, turns out I had a lot more stuff to do in very little time, and this residential trip I’m on is keeping me far too busy to post this chapter. But here we are! You guys now get to finally discover what was in the chest. Also fyi I’ve had to write this out on mobile, so the layout may be a little weird. Enjoy! (Edit from Monday me: So the first post of this chapter was atrocious, and I apologise lol, but everything has been sorted out, parts have been rewritten and all links should be there.)

Summary: Magic was real, but it came at a price. So when two girls end up in the one place they never thought they could reach, strange things began to happen. Good or bad? That's up to them to find out.

Tags: Kili x oc/reader - Fili x oc (POV to be written soon) - Thorin's company × ocs/reader (platonic) - fluff - angst - EXTREME slow burn - crack - Bagginshield

Word Count: 2624

Warnings: Descriptions of EXTREME PAIN and being UNABLE TO BREATHE, Mentions of Minor and Major Injuries from last chapter.

A/N: PARTS OF CHAPTERS HAVE BEEN REWRITTEN

Taglist - comment or message to be added!

PLEASE START FROM THE BEGINNING IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY OK LOVE U

Want some background music? Check out my Soundtrack Playlist!

Now available on Wattpad and AO3 (please let me know if links aren't working)

< Chapter 12 // Chapter 13 // Chapter 14 >

Part 2: Chapter 13 -

Item: Suspicion

Conundrum (Definition): A problem or puzzle which is difficult or impossible to solve. (Noun / Origin: Pseudo-Latin / kuh·nuhn·druhm)

“Since when did you bring your suitcase?” I said as we both stared at the rectangular object.

“Since when did you bring your suitcase?” I said as we both stared at the rectangular object.

“I didn’t!” Kay exclaimed, “I went to put the stuff from my rucksack in the chest and it was just there!”

“Huh.” Was all I said, rather perplexed, as I kicked at the plastic.

Kay swatted my foot away with her own, darting her eyes back and forth between me and the suitcase, before quickly kneeling down and grabbing the zips. Pulling them around she then hauled the top half open, laying it down to reveal her belongings cramped inside. It was everything she had packed for the trip but had left at the hostel when we were sucked through the portal. Clothes, makeup, wash bag and books all piled up. The relief on her face was obvious when she pulled out her toothbrush and toothpaste, but all was forgotten as she snatched up a set of clean underwear and her pyjamas, sprinting out the door to the bathroom on the other side of the hallway. I snorted at her antics and knelt down myself, checking out what was there whilst I waited. Barely a minute passed and Kay had returned, stuffing the dirty clothes and underwear she had reluctantly been wearing since we got here under her bed.

“These are getting set on fire later.”

I laughed out loud, whilst also relieved that one of us could feel somewhat nicer. Bilbo had kindly offered us baths, which we desperately agreed to. We also recycled the left over water to wash our clothes in, but only the smell seemed to leave temporarily – the mud and blood stains had practically cemented themselves into the fabric. Standing back up, I checked the chest once again, seeing if anything had been missed in the dim candlelight. Not spying anything, I returned to the suitcase and unzipped the flap that was currently hiding half of Kay’s belongings. Lifting the material up, I was met with a familiar face.

Picking it up I flung it in Kay’s direction, watching in amusement as it bounced off her head, causing her to whip her head around, and we both watched as it landed on the duvet. Letting out an eager gasp, she leapt on the bed, snatching it up.

“HELLO KITTY!!” she shrieked. Embracing the teddy with a grip tight enough to strangle a man, she buried her face into the short felt fur. “Ohhh I’ve missed you so much.” She mumbled.

“Everything alright in there?”

We both froze at the sound of Bilbo’s voice calling through the door. Looking at the stuff that had appeared, I got to my feet as quickly as possible, despite my ankle, and beckoned for Kay to put the stuff back in the chest, which she began straight away. I turned towards the door and called out to Bilbo.

“We’re fine! Kay just uhhhh..-” I scanned the room, spotting the teddy on the bed, “She thought she saw a cat outside!”

It was silent for a moment before Bilbo responded.

“Ok then… As long as you’re both alright!”

“Yeah! Yea, it’s chill.” I went to go help Kay before he spoke up again.

“Chill?” He questioned, “Are you both cold? Don’t tell me I forgot to put your blankets back in there?”

I looked at Kay, who was busy gripping the chest in an attempt to stop herself from laughing out loud. I took a breath to calm myself.

“No it’s ok! We’re both fine, there’s nothing to worry about!” I called back, slapping Kay lightly on the shoulder when she snorted slightly.

“Oh ok then, call for me if you do need anything.” Bilbo replied.

We both called out our thanks as we listened to his footsteps fade away, and we waited a beat before speaking again.

“Why don’t you check your room to see if your stuff has appeared?” Kay piped up from behind me.

I shot up in realisation. “Oh yeah!”

Swinging Kay’s door open, I sped-walked to the other side of the hobbit hole, past a very surprised Bilbo as I ducked and weaved under beams and chandeliers. Barging into my room, I looked around for anything that could potentially hide a large and very overpacked suitcase. I rummaged through drawers, opened chests, and even stuck my head under the bed, but I felt disappointment dawn on me as I realised that nothing of my own had appeared. Feeling disheartened, I brought myself out from underneath the bed frame and sat slumped on the floor. Looking around for anywhere I could’ve missed in my search, nothing revealed itself, causing my mood to lower even further.

With a sigh, I decided to go with my last resort, and pushed myself to my feet. Opening the door, I trudged disappointingly through the house, ducking my head into each archway as I searched for our host. As I bent to look into the kitchen, I finally spotted Bilbo as he stirred his evening cup of tea.

Hesitating a little, I took a small breath before knocking gently on the doorframe. Though not gently enough apparently – the noise still sent a jolt through the hobbit, but he managed to gather himself soon after.

“Ah, Kate! I was just about to bring these to you two.” He gestured to two steaming cups of fresh tea on the table. “Thought you could use something to warm you two up.”

I felt a smile make its way onto my face at the adorable thought of him worrying about us, and I swiftly ducked through the arch.

“Oh, thank you!”

He pushed a cup towards me with a warm smile, taking his own cup as he sat down. Remembering what I came here for, I sat myself down on one of the small chairs. Placing my elbows on the table and resting my chin on my hands, I looked around nervously and hesitantly opened my mouth to say something. I eventually looked back at Bilbo, who was now staring curiously at my behaviour.

“I… don’t suppose you’ve seen anything a little strange appear out of nowhere?”

Bilbo blinked a few times before replying.

“…What?”

I shuffled in my spot as I thought of what I was going to say next.

“Ok so, really weird question, but,” I clasped my hands together and pointed two fingers at him. “Do youuu, somewhat, believe in magic?”

Bilbo just stared for some time, his eyes squinted in confusion, until he slowly began to nod slightly.

“I – I suppose, to a certain degree?” He replied with a strained voice. I took that as enough of an answer.

“Right. So I think that’s how, we got – you know..” I gestured around, “– here. Anddd, some of our stuff that we left behind may have also appeared –” I pointed at the table, “– here.”

“I’m sorry?”

I tried to come up with the words to explain, but when nothing came, I stood up from my chair and grabbed both mine and Kay’s tea.

“Follow me.”

Bilbo quickly scrambled up from his own chair, gripping his own tea as if it was all that was left of his sanity, and followed suit. As we neared Kay’s room, I turned to him.

“I know it’s a little much, but I wanna make sure it doesn’t seem like we’re trying to keep secrets from you.” I said in an attempt to reassure him.

He blinked up at me a little surprised. “Oh! Well uh, I’m glad to hear it.”

I smiled at him, of which he returned albeit a little wobbly, and I turned back around as we finally reached Kay’s door.

Passing Kay’s tea to Bilbo, I knocked on the wood. We both listened to the shuffling from inside, and the door eventually swung open. Kay grinned at us both, though she was soon distracted by the extra cup in Bilbo’s hand.

“Oo, you made tea!”

Bilbo went to pass the cup over, but froze halfway as he caught sight of what Kay’s fresh pyjamas.

“I uh, see what you mean by new stuff.” He said.

Kay looked down at her clothes, before sheepishly looking back up at us.

“Yeaaa, about that.” She began nervously.

“I’ve already began explaining part of it.” I intervened

Kay let out a small breath of relief and opened the door wider, gesturing us both inside.

“I guess that means we can show him?” She asked. I nodded.

“Show me? Show me what?” Bilbo exclaimed, looking between us a little fearfully.

“Nothing bad!” Kay tried to assure.

We brought him over to the chest and opened it up. The hobbit stared in wonder as I hauled the suitcase back out and Kay unzipped it. He took a step back slightly at the unusual sound of the zip, but was stepping back in half the time as the contents poured out.

“Are those supposed to be.. clothes?” He asked incredulously, kneeling down to join us. He eyed at us both with his hand hovering above the case, and went to pick up a top when Kay nodded.

The first half of the case was emptied, the clothes pile next to Bilbo growing as he inspected each piece with equal intrigue, though he had a different expression for each. Some were confused, like when he took a minute staring at one of Kay’s Batman t-shirts, but some were a little shocked, like when he unravelled a roll of fabric to reveal a lacy vest top, of which, in a flash, he had neatly folded up and placed on the pile. Luckily Kay had already stored away her underwear, which would’ve sent poor Bilbo into a coma if he had seen.

The hobbit soon moved onto the second half, using a zip for the first time to remove the material I had closed back up earlier. He opened the flap, but soon jolted backwards.

“What in Yavanna’s name is that?!” He cried, and I looked down to see he was pointing at a portable hairdryer.

“Oh that’s where I put it.” Kay said, picking the electronic up.

Bilbo stared with wide eyes, but it seemed that his Took side encouraged him to reach out at prod at the object. He tapped a fingernail against it, listening to the sound.

“What is it made of?” He pondered.

“It’s called plastic.” I explained. “You see anyone trying to invent it here, assassinate them. Immediately.”

Bilbo stared at me. “…Ok?”

He began to eye some other things, and picked out a sketchbook. He asked Kay if he could take a peek. Shuffling next to him, she took the sketchbook and flipped through the pages, stopping at the drawings she wanted to show.

Looking back down at the suitcase, I observed the objects left over, and saw a few things that would be unexplainable to anyone born in Middle Earth, such as a phone charger, and an electronic toothbrush. So whilst Bilbo was distracted, I zipped up everything and lifted it back into the chest, knowing we were too tired to even try explaining.

“Did you have any luck with your stuff?” I heard Kay from behind me.

I turned around and gave her an annoyed shake of my head. She pouted mockingly at my inconvenience.

“Is that why you asked if I had seen anything earlier?” Bilbo questioned as he helped tidy away Kay’s clothes into the chest of drawers adjacent to the bed. I nodded once again. “Well I can’t say I’ve seen anything I’m afraid.”

My shoulders slumped dejectedly and I picked up my tea.

“HA!” Blurted Kay.

I frowned in return. “You’re not the one who’s permanently dirty!”

“Well you’re saving Bilbo from turning his room into a hoarders den.” She retaliated.

“I’m not a hoarder! I’m –”

“A collector with a maximalist aesthetic.” She finished, “I’m well aware.”

“Plus, I haven’t brought any trinkets, so you can’t accuse me of that.”

“Yea but you’re a chronic over packer, so you would’ve done so with out realising anyway.”

I grunted a noise in frustration, taking a sip of my tea with a grumpy expression. Kay just laughed at my surrender, so I shuffled around to face away from her. Bilbo on the other hand was just switching his eyes between us, a weirded out look on his face.

“Well, it should come soon?” Kay suggested through her laughter, changing the subject in an attempt to get me to turn back around. “If my stuff’s here, then so should yours. Maybe it’s delayed?”

I perked up at that, an idea coming to mind, and I quickly spun back round.

“You went through first, then I did a little later, so that could mean the same for this!” I said eagerly.

Kay nodded excitedly in agreement.

“I’m sorry, went – went through what?”

We both froze as we realised Bilbo was still in the room with us. And that we had definitely not told him exactly what had transpired before we ended up in his garden. I turned towards him, my mouth slightly open, but nothing but a drawn out ‘uhhhhh’ came out. The longer we spent in silence the more unease we could see develop on the hobbits face. Kay turned back towards me, her face scrunched with uncertainty.

“I think we should tell him.” She said sheepishly.

“Tell me what?” Bilbo demanded, now visibly troubled at the enigma of a conversation going on in front of him.

I nodded at Kay, and we both faced ourselves, with serious faces, back towards Bilbo, who looked a little frightened at the sudden change in mood. Kay sat up straight, placed her tea to the side, and began to speak.

“We’re not f–”

She quickly doubled over with a shriek, her hands flying up to claw and grab at her hair. We watched in horror as she contorted, attempting to stop whatever was causing her pain. Bilbo and I were over in a flash, both of us calling out for her. I went to reach out, when her screaming stopped. But it wasn’t over.

She looked up at us with glassy eyes, her face strained from the pain and glistening with fallen tears. But I soon noticed that her hands were gone from her head and were not clawing and gesturing to her throat. Her mouth gaped open and shut, and we both realised that she wasn’t breathing.

I shot up in panic, crying out her name. I knew what to do if someone was choking, but Kay hadn’t eaten anything? She just couldn't breathe. Bilbo on the other hand, had scrambled to his feet in fright, too in shock to do anything. Though he didn’t get far, the rug underneath his feet giving way and he crashed to the ground with a thud. The noise from his impact did something – and Kay’s frantic ordeal stopped as quickly as it started.

It was as if the noise had snapped her out of it, as she now sat on the floor heaving, whilst watching Bilbo flail around on the floor, the rug still half-wrapped around his ankle. He eventually calmed down and pushed himself up from lying on his back into a sitting position, rubbing his lower back with a slightly reddened face.

I placed a hand on Kay’s back, lowering myself to her level where she had rested her forehead on her knees, her hands on the back of her head as she tried to calm herself down. I whispered, asking if she was alright. I got a minute nod in return. Bilbo crawled over, leaning down slightly himself, to see if he could peek at Kay’s face, then leaned back up to face me.

“What in Yavanna’s name was that?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please let me know if you want to be added to the Taglist!

< Chapter 12 // Chapter 13 // Chapter 14 >

Return to Fic Masterlist

Return to Navigation

Can't wait to see you soon for Chapter 14! Also please comment if you want to be added to the Taglist <3

Taglist:

@opheliasdrowningg @mrsdurin @g1gglef1t @qmabailor @jupiterrdarling @emstar07 @geewoo-ko @phanryesworld

(Message me if your tag isn’t working)