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Chapter 55 - The Fall of Lake-town

~~ Celia ~~

Celia averted her eyes as the two princes came to sit down across from them. "I don't suppose we can just pass this off as our most recent nightmare?"

Kíli raised an eyebrow. "Our? And no. Sorry. I've heard too many hints alluding to this to believe that."

"Yeah, I've heard a few along that line, too," Fíli added, narrowing his eyes at Elena, who resolutely refused to meet his. "But what do you mean, 'our?' Does that have anything to do with the nightmares you've been having the last few days?"

Celia and her twin exchanged glances, trying to figure it out without giving anything else away beforehand. At last she shrugged and gave in. "We were just talking about this. Maybe they'll be able to help. Or at least have some sort of idea to offer. But I think they should know."

Elena shrugged back, wrinkling her nose. "I guess." She shifted on her seat, wincing when her left arm brushed up against the blanket. She rubbed it lightly with her good arm, then sighed, looking Fíli and Kíli in the eyes for the first time that morning. "Celia and I have been sharing dreams." She hesitated, and then amended, "We think."

Kíli frowned, his dark eyes curious. "And not good dreams, I'm guessing, considering how little sleep Celia's gotten this week? And, possibly, about this upcoming battle?"

Elena nodded. "Usually one of us dies in some form of battle. Sometimes alone, sometimes with others. This morning, it was me and Fíli who were killed by orcs, while Celia and Kíli were forced to watch. Yesterday, I dreamed that Azog found out who we were and captured us. He said that his master would want to know about us."

"I remember that," Fíli interrupted in a low voice, his gaze distant. "I had to wake you up when you started thrashing, and you said it was something about being taken prisoner with Celia."

Elena looked away. "Yeah, Azog wasn't very nice. But that wasn't the worst of it. I woke up before Celia."

"It just got worse from there," Celia whispered, images and whispers of the dream flitting through her mind. "He used us against each other to get what he wanted, then killed me. Kíli had to forcibly stop me from screaming before we attracted Thorin's attention."

"How long has this been going on?" Kíli interrupted, looking between the two sisters. "It can't have been before we were separated, or we would have figured it out sooner."

Celia shrugged, picking at a loose thread in her blanket. "I don't know. I mean, I had one the night before we left Lake-town, where I got captured by Smaug. But I didn't have any more nightmares after that until right after Smaug attacked Lake-town. I dreamed that Fíli drowned, and that Elena got..." She shifted uncomfortably, eyes resolutely focused on the blanket. "Eaten," she mumbled at last. "That was the first one I noticed, and it just got worse from there. They didn't stop after that."

Elena and Fíli stiffened, the blood draining from Elena's face. Kíli was the first to notice, and he narrowed his eyes at them. "What?"

Elena swallowed hard. "I thought it was just a regular nightmare, completely understandable after what had happened. But... Celia, what I dreamed that night... was what almost happened. I did almost get - killed," she managed with difficulty, "by the dragon. Fíli did almost drown. But if you dreamed it too..."

"But what does that mean?" Celia complained, fiddling with the end of her braid. "Everything else I've dreamed since then was about the battle. Why did we dream about Lake-town?"

"Maybe they're related," Kíli said slowly, trying to figure it out. "It might help if we knew what actually happened first. We can see what changed, and then, if you tell us - at least a little bit - about this upcoming battle, maybe we can use it to see a possible connection."