Returning Home: A Hobbit Fanfiction

Chapter 66 - The Shadow's Touch

~~ Celia ~~

Celia awoke to someone's hand over her mouth. Still half asleep, she only saw a figure bending over her and panicked, kicking out wildly and attempting to scramble backwards.

Grabbing her by the shoulders, he hissed her name and kept her from moving any further until she managed to focus on him, only then realizing that it was Kíli. As soon as he saw awareness come into her eyes, he released her, but didn't step back entirely, moving his hand up to her temple and placing the back of his hand against it. 

"By Durin, Celia, you're cold as ice!" he hissed, drawing his hand back and rubbing it. "Are you all right?"

She tried to respond, but found that no words came out of her mouth, leaving her staring up at him with wide, frightened eyes. She swallowed hard, the motion hurting her dry throat, and tried again to no avail.

Shaking her head and trying to shove down her fright, she pushed herself up to a sitting position with shaking hands. She shivered when the motion allowed her blanket to drop from her shoulders, exposing her to the cold wind where her blood chilled and her breath turned into fog in the air. 

Unnoticed went the fact that Kíli's breath hadn't.

Hastily grabbing the blanket, she wrapped it around her shoulders and felt around for her pack, wincing when her fingers made contact with the cold ground in her search. Looking worried, Kíli reached over and grabbed it from the ground next to her pillow and handed it to her.

She mouthed her thanks to him, her breath once again fogging the air. Digging in her pack, she grabbed her water bottle and tried to untwist the cap with shaking hands. After her fourth failed attempt, Kíli gently took it from her and unscrewed the lid, handing it back to her.

She drank thirstily, water trickling down the sides of her mouth in her haste. Putting it down with a gasp, she tried again to speak, this time the words coming out in a rusty croak.

"Th-thank you. Where's Elena?"

"Fíli woke her up. She was having trouble breathing, so he took her outside to help her calm down," Kíli whispered, grabbing his blanket and wrapping it around her shoulders as well when she continued to shiver. "He'll take care of her, he's seen a panic attack before."

"A p-panic attack?" Celia tried to stand up, but caught her feet on the blankets wrapped around her legs and would have hit the ground if Kíli hadn't scrambled to his feet to catch her. "Wha-at happ-happ-en-ed?"

She grimaced when her words came out all stuttery and shaky, and tried to say them again only to meet with the same result. Letting go of Kíli, she reached down to grab her water bottle, only for her shaking fingers to nearly tip the still open bottle over and spill all over the floor until Kíli caught it.

Glóin let out a grumble in his sleep and turned over, both of them freezing until it became apparent that he was still asleep.

"I don't think we should talk here," Kíli whispered, glancing around. "If this conversation is heading where I think it is, we don't want the others waking up and possibly finding out something they shouldn't. Can you walk by yourself?"

Celia shot him a dirty look at the insinuation. Slinging her pack over her shoulder with one hand, and grabbing her water bottle with the other - although careful to balance it in the crook of her elbow rather than trust it to her traitorous fingers - she took off for the Great Hall with him close behind, the blankets swishing around her ankles with every step.

She regretted turning him down halfway there when her legs started to tremble, but kept going, stubbornly determined to not faceplant until they got there.