A great roar was heard from the mountain. With her elf ears, Faedra could hear the beating of wings growing closer and closer by the second. Suddenly a rain of fire hit the town, making cries for help pierce the air.
"We need to leave," Faedra ordered, "Get him up."
"Come on brother," Fili said, but an angry Kili, obviously tired of feeling weak, shook him off.
"I'm fine," he said, "I can walk."
The door burst open and Tara stood there, a small red cut on her forehead, followed by Tauriel and Lia.
"Tara!" Faedra said, running up to hug her, "You're alright."
"Yes, I'm fine," she said, giving her a quick hug back, "Where's Kili?"
Faedra moved out of the way and she ran towards Kili. She gave him a sweet kiss, happy he's still alive.
"Quickly now," Lia said, breaking apart the couple, "We need to hurry."
"Into the boat," Tauriel ordered, gesturing to the stairs that led to the boat.
"We're not leaving," Bain said stubbornly," Not without our father and mother."
Autumn had left the children in search of Bard, but had not yet returned.
"If you stay here your sisters will die," Faedra said, wrapping Tilda in a blanket, "Is that what your father would want?"
Bain nodded his head and rushed to pick up Amber, who was still sleeping soundly. They quickly loaded themselves on the boat and set off. Tauriel grabbed one of the paddles to help the dwarves paddle the boat quickly. As they moved through the town Lia, being the only one there who was a mother, hugged the children to try and keep them from the terrible sights of Laketown.
"Look out!" Bain yelled.
Faedra looked up just in time to collide with a giant boat piled high with gold. Everyone screamed at the sudden jerk and Faedra glared at the man who was yelling at the guards to hurry up.
"Stop," Faedra said calmly and put her hand up to stop the boat under a bridge.
She looked around then pushed forward when it was safe to go. She heard the sound of an arrow flying through the air and bouncing off the dragon. Looking up she noticed a man on the bell tower shooting the dragon.
"Da!" Bain called out.
"Da!" Tilda yelled.
"He hit it!" Kili yelled over the commotion after Bard shot another arrow, "He hit the dragon!"
Faedra looked at Kili and Tara, who had determined looks in their eyes.
"He did!" Tara yelled at her, "He hit his mark, we saw!"
"His arrows cannot pierce its hide," Faedra said, looking away, "I fear nothing will."
As their boat passed under a hanging hook, Bain lept up and grabbed it, swinging towards the docks. The other reach to grab at him, but miss.
"What are you doing?!" Bofur yelled after him.
"Come back!" Fili called, "Bain, come back!"
"Leave him!" Tauriel said as she continued to paddle the boat, "We cannot go back!"
"Bain!" Tilda said, tears dotting her eyes.
Tara gave her a hug and she curled up in her chest.
Autumn walked through the town, calling out Bard's name. She felt as if she was walking for hours in circles. She took a right in a narrow alley where crates and food lay everywhere. She continued walking, until she felt a cold hand grab her arm. She spun around and came face to face with Alfrid.
She yanked her arm from his grasp, "What do you want, Alfrid?"
"Sorry love," he said, "But Master's orders."
Before she could register what he said, something hard hit her in the back of the head, knocking her out. When she woke up, she found her wrists chained to a wall. The house looked vaguely familiar and she recognized it as the Master's house. She yanked at the chains, but no use. Her weapons were sitting across from her at the other side of the room, taunting her. The door opened and Alfrid stepped in, smiling down at her.
"Why am I here?" She spat.
He put a hand under her chin, lifting it so he could look at her face.
"Perhaps you didn't hear me the first time," Autumn said a little louder, "Why am I here?!"
"Haven't you heard?" Alfrid asked, "You and the Master are to be married tonight."
"I would never marry him," Autumn screamed, "You snake."
"Ah but you have to," Alfrid said, pulling out a piece of paper, "It states here that the Master can choose whoever he wishes to be his bride whether she be married to another or not."
"My only love is to Bard and Bard alone," Autumn said, "There is nothing you can do to change that."
"We shall see," Alfrid smiled and walked away, slamming the door.
Autumn pulled at the chains again, before she heard screams from outside. There was a bright orange color like the sun outside the house.
"Faster now!" she heard the voice of the Master yell through the house, "I'm trying to evacuate myself here! Careful, men. Never mind the books! Get on, get the rest of it!"
"But Sire," an unknown voice said, "Should we not try to save the town?"
"The town is lost!" the Master cried, "Save the gold!"
"You heard him," another voice yelled.
Autumn felt disgusted at the moment. She wished she could beat that man to a pulp, but she was still chained to the wall. The house made a sudden lurch to one side, making her groan as she hit her head against the wall. Her weapons came tumbling to the wall next to her and she reached for the dagger that had imbedded itself right above her right hand. She started trying to pick the lock, slipping every few time giving her small cuts. Finally, she undid both chains and strapped her weapons back onto her body.
Before she could take a step, the house started to fall. She ran and jumped through the window, shattering the glass. She rolled onto a house that was currently on fire. In the distance she could see the Master on a boat full of gold, bumping into a smaller boat. She could see Tilda, Sigrid, Tara, Faedra, Lia, Tauriel, the dwarves, and Amber. She was about to regroup with them when she heard a shrill scream. Looking to her right, the orphanage was currently on fire with children still inside.
She ran to their aid, jumping onto houses and landing by the entrance. She ran in, running up the crumbling steps. She burst through one of the doors and found three children, cowering in the corner. She pulled them up and was about to lead them back down the steps when they fell. Instead, Autumn led them, up the steps finding more children along the way. They burst through the roof and she looked around before her eyes caught sight of Bard and Bain on the bell tower.
"Bard!" Autumn yelled and he glanced at her before looking back at the dragon, who had currently landed.
"Is that your wife as well?" the dragon, Smaug asked, "You cannot save her from the fire. She will burn with you and your son!"
Bard looked scared and started to rethink what he was about to do.
"Bard don't listen to him!" Autumn yelled, "Block him out. He is trying to strike fear in your heart."
Bard's expression didn't change and he loosened the bow a little.
"Bard! Look at me!" Autumn tried one last time making him look her in the eyes, "I love you."
Bard's senses seemed to come back as he directed his attention back on the dragon and pulled back the bowstring again. She heard a child scream and she looked to see that the fire had grown more rapidly. She ran to the edge of the house, looking down at the murky waters.
"Grab each other's hands," Autumn yelled.
The children obeyed, some crying, and linked hands and arms.
"On the count of three we are going to jump," Autumn said.
She could feel the heat beneath her feet, showing that the fire was on the floor just beneath her.
"One….Two…" She yelled, "Three!"
She jumped, pulling all the children with her. The fire just burst through the roof when the last child was pulled off. They landed with a giant splash into the water. The world seemed to have slowed for a second when Autumn went under. She could see all the children swimming upwards, some getting help from older orphans. Under the water it felt so calm. No sounds of screams, no burning houses, no dragons, no danger.
She wished she could just float down to the bottom and rest. Her eyelids started to close when she was snapped out of her daze. No, her children needed her, Bard needed her. She swam up and her head burst above the freezing water. She gasped for air and helped some of the children load into some boats by the docks.
As soon as they started to row the boats, a yell of pain was heard high above their heads. Looking up all they could see was smoke, but out of the smoke the bell tower tumbled in the water. Autumn leaned over the boat and Bard and Bain appeared above the water. She helped them up as the sounds of Smaug's wheezing and crying died down.
The sun was just starting to peak over the mountain and they rowed towards the docks. As soon as they exit the boats, Autumn hugged Bard tightly making sure he didn't leave her again. She then hugged Bain and a few of the orphans. She looked up at the sun that had now risen over the mountains and for the first time that day she smiled.