If I Had a Heart
Chapter 1: This Will Never End Cause I Want More
"What will you give me in return, dwarfling? There is little else I will take in return." Smaug stood tall before the dwarf and gave a deadly smile. "It is clear that you are fond of gold," Thorin said slowly, trying to entice the dragon. "It makes me wonder if you would be just as fond of golden hair." The dragon's gargantuan head lowered to Thorin's level, the beast intrigued. "Go on, then. I'm listening." The dwarf king smirked, thinking he had the upper hand. "Down in the town of the men on the lake, my nephew Fili resides with his brother and two others of my company in the house of the bargeman Bard. I say that you may have him." The dragon grins in surprise, "Really? Is this boy not the Crown Prince of Erebor? You would so easily trade him for all of this?"
Thorin shrugged and stated, "I have another nephew." Smaug chuckles and shakes his massive head. "And what if it is a female I desire?" the dragon taunts. "What then, Oakenshield?" Thorin is at a temporary loss, a golden-haired female. He had not the time to find one. He quickly thought back to all the people he had seen in Laketown and tried to remember the hair color of all he and the company had met. Confound it all! All he could recall had dark hair! No, he thought, all but one. A pretty girl with a simple dress and dirty blonde hair pulled away from her face came to the forefront of his mind. "There is one," he finally says. "Oh?" the dragon inquired. "There is one such female in Laketown. The only one with golden hair, I would say. The eldest daughter of Bard, Sigrid I believe her name to be, has the very hair you seek," Thorin said quickly.
Smaug's head rose and he turned, seemingly considering the offer. After a moment, the great beast faces the dwarf and replies, "And if I wanted them both?" Thorin is briefly shocked but it fades quickly as he says, "Then you will have them both." The dragon grins, knowing that he's probably just gotten the better end of the deal. "Alright then, King under the Mountain," he says after a quite lengthy pause. "Direct me to the house of this bargeman and you may have your mountain and everything in it." Thorin is quick to give directions to the feral beast before him and grins when Smaug leaves the way he came. The rest of the company sits just inside the secret door and so they do see the great dragon leaving the mountain, flying toward Laketown.
Smaug lands on the bank and shrinks after whispering a few words, finally resting in a man-sized form. He knows that his eyes are gold from the use of his magic but also that they will soon fade to the strange blue-green-gold combination that enticed any who saw them. Another whispered word and he was clothed as a lake dweller would to avoid suspicion. He used one of the boats that were ashore and calmly paddled his way to the town. A quick cloaking spell and he slipped into the mock streets on his way to his prize. It didn't take long to find the bargeman's house. From the looks of the home and the bustle of activity, he knows that he has found the right place. His eyes close and he summons his new pets to him.
It's a dangerous thing, giving a person's name to a dragon. It could be used for a great number of things, such as slipping said person under your control. Movement in the doorway makes him turn and he sees the two slipping on their coats as they slipped outside and down the steps to him. He steps out of the boat and they stop before him, eyes glazed over with magic, and he grins. Almost unconsciously, his hands rose to touch first their hair, then their faces. Sigrid's, as he knew it would be, was smooth and soft. Fili was her opposite. Both are beautiful, he surmises, and all mine. He pulls a few thick blankets from a boat nearby to hide his cargo and smirks when he comes back to see them curled in the bottom of his boat. Smaug climbs in with them, throwing the blankets over them and begins to paddle away. He relished in the fact that even though he had been in his dragon form for centuries, his magic was still as strong as it had ever been.
He thought it amusing that they passed by an elf unnoticed as they rowed out of Laketown. His little captives were silent as they exited the water-based town. After a while, they reached the shore with ease. Smaug quickly exited the boat, pulling Fili and Sigrid with him, and headed into the forest. As the group got farther away from the water and into the woods, he slowly relinquished his hold over their will. They eventually came to a clearing that was far away from the shore where he released their wills completely and stood back to watch them. Smaug watched, amused, as they seemed to come out of a daze and glanced at each other before looking around.
Sigrid, who had been closer to him, spotted him and gasped as she instinctively backed away. Fili immediately came to stand between her and their strange captor. "You won't get away with this," he stated with nary a tremble in his voice. "My uncle will come for me and Bard will come for her." At this, Smaug laughed heartily. His captives gave each other and inquisitive look, believing him to be mad. "My dear princeling," he said when his laughter subsided. "Who do you think handed your will over to me?" The young dwarf's eyes widened but otherwise gave him no reaction. The dragon continued, "He didn't just give me your name, he gave me your very being to do with as I please. Why, he even gave me the name of a not unattractive daughter of men."
Hearing this, Sigrid's eyes filled with tears and a hand flew to cover her mouth. "She was not his to give," the dwarven prince was quick to defend. "Nevertheless," Smaug said nonchalantly, "she has been freely given and now you are both mine." Fili's eyes lit in a fiery rage that he had not seen in a pet in so very long. Oh, this was going to be so much fun. "Like hell we are," he growled, rage shadowing his features and flowing through his body like adrenaline. He turned and uttered a single word to the frightened girl behind him,
"Run!"
