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Chapter 3 – An Unexpected Proposition -
"Do not meddle in the affairs of Wizards. For they are subtle and quick to anger." J.R.R Tolkien – The Fellowship of the Ring
Gandalf smiled broadly. He stood on the edge of the cliff outside their cave entrance. Kathryn couldn't understand how on earth he'd managed to get there as there were no paths or ways to easily climb that cliff. But the old man was just there as if he'd appeared out of thin air.
His voice was cheery as he stepped towards her. "Ah, Kathryn, my dear, so good to see you."
Smaug stomped a foot in between Kathryn and Gandalf, a hiss slowly erupting out of his gigantic chest. The wizard wisely stopped in his tracks.
The dragon curled his lip and narrowed his eyes. "He who believes that he can waltz into a dragon's lair, unannounced, has a death wish."
"Oh, come now, Smaug," Gandalf said good naturedly. "You're not exactly the easiest serpent to get a hold of. And you should know that wizards never arrive when they are expected."
"Then wizards should learn some manners when concerned with dragons."
Kathryn stepped around Smaug's leg, rolling her eyes as she brought the conversation to focus. "Gandalf, what are you doing here? How did you find us?"
"I must commend the pair of you," Gandalf said as he nodded to her. "You covered your tracks fairly well. It was only through mere chance that I happened to find you – due in large part to spotting Smaug on my way here."
"What is your business, magician?" Smaug snapped.
Gandalf's eyes became steely cold as he glared up at the red dragon. He pointed his staff at him. "Do not insult me, Smaug, for I am no conjurer of cheap tricks. As you yourself should well remember."
Smaug growled.
Kathryn chose that moment to step forward and relieve the building tension. "What is it you want of me, Gandalf?"
"Actually, I came in search of both of you," Gandalf said, a more professional manner coming over him. "There is an urgent matter that I must discuss with you. It is of the utmost importance."
"No. Leave." Smaug said immediately.
Kathryn began, "Smaug–"
Gandalf finished. "Be reasonable–"
"I am. You made your request, I denied it. That was politeness." His golden eyes blazed in warning as he narrowed them on the wizard. "If I have to repeat myself, I will not be so generous…"
Gandalf saw the very evident threat in the dragon's words and decided not to test him. Believing himself the victor, Smaug turned to saunter back into his cave dismissively. He thought the threat to his stability was over. Now he would give it the greatest insult that could be dealt: to be ignored. But then, the wizard's voice stopped him in his footsteps.
"It's not working, is it?"
"What?" Smaug looked back over his shoulder at Gandalf. "Speak clearly, old fool."
"Hiding," he said, a knowing look in his grey eyes. "You can feel it, can't you. He's closing in every day."
"What do you mean?" Kathryn asked.
"The visions are worse, aren't they."
"How do you know?"
"My presence here concerns you just as much as it is for business."
There was a tense silence. Until Smaug eventually broke it with a frustrated growl. "Very well."
Kathryn could feel Smaug anger at letting someone into their den, it must have gone against every instinct in his body. The walk down the cave tunnel was an awkward one, with Kathryn and Gandalf following behind the seething dragon. His ire seemed to emanate in a heat wave that poured out of him, growing with every step.
When they reached the main chamber, Gandalf positioned himself in one of the few seats they owned. Smaug struggled to repress a growl when the wizard made himself right at home, lighting his pipe and letting the soothing sent of tobacco waft around the room. The wizard seemed perfectly happy to ignore the dragon that was glaring murderously down at him.
Kathryn placed a gentle hand on her mate's foreleg. His gaze snapped down to her. She gave him a small yet grateful smile, to sooth him with thanks for his efforts. He responded by immediately curling around her in a wide circle. The message was clear. Though Kathryn could see and speak to Gandalf from where she was sat, there was still a wall of scales between them. To Smaug, the wizard was not welcome.
They waited patiently (though for Smaug, rather impatiently) for Gandalf to begin.
"It's begun in the east," he said, his tone deep and ominous. "Massive gatherings of Orcs and all foul creatures have been migrating to the borders of Mordor. The fires on the east of Gondor have been lit. There is no doubt of it. Sauron is making his return."
Smaug snorted. "A bold accusation."
"It is more than an accusation. A poison is sweeping into this world, a dark shadow that will not cease until it eclipses all goodness. And it is gathering strength with each day."
Kathryn shivered as she remembered her dreams. It felt too eerily close to what Gandalf was describing. She shifted in her seat, hand drifting protectively to her stomach. Gandalf's eyes landed on her.
"I know you've seen it, Kathryn. The visions haunt your dreams."
She wrung her hands, the confession already on the tip of her tongue. "I can't stop it. Even the ones of Fankil and Morgoth will not cease. How do I escape it?"
"I'm afraid you can't," Gandalf sighed regretfully. "The dark magic of Sauron and Morgoth calls to your own, with or without their conscious effort, I cannot say. The only way this will end is–"
"With his death." She finished for him.
"Did you not banish the shadow from Dol Goldur?" Smaug asked.
"We believed we did. But all it was, was a reprieve. The calm before the storm. Sauron was testing the waters. Now, he is prepared and ready for a fight."
"His efforts are in vain. All know that he cannot return without the use of the One-Ring. Morgoth is our bigger concern."
"I'm afraid you're wrong, Smaug. Those two problems are one and the same."
Kathryn leaned forward, a ball of dread forming in her stomach. "Gandalf? What do you mean?"
The wizard's eyes shifted between the two of them. They lingered the longest on Smaug, narrowing suspiciously for a moment. When he eventually answered, it was slow and careful. "Very recently… the One-Ring… was found."
Kathryn stiffened. Every muscle in her body was frozen, every hair standing on end. A memory of a dream came floating back to her. A dark and maddening pulse of power, a shadow with the touch of ice. It seeped out into the world and sucked away all life and goodness. It was the power of cruelty, of domination, of hate, and it had terrified her all those years ago, as it terrified her now. It took her a moment to regain control of her heartbeat and focus again on what Gandalf was saying.
"I dare not tell you where, but it is our only chance to defeat this evil once and for all. Believe it or not, you two are now tied to this more than anyone. I believe the One-Ring is vital to Morgoth's return."
"How?" she tried to pretend her voice didn't shake when she blurted her question.
"Sauron poured into it all his hatred, his malice, his power, his very soul into that ring. It is one of the most powerful objects in this world, able to control all of the rings of power. Sauron has been searching for the other rings for years. Imagine if he had the One-Ring to rule them… The combined might and power could be the key to unlocking the Door of Night."
"How do you know this?"
"I don't. It is mere speculation. But Fankil has not set himself apart from Sauron, as far as we know. So we must assume that they could be working together. If so, this may be why."
Kathryn swallowed a lump in her throat. "So you want us to fight him?"
Gandalf sighed tiredly. "Not directly – I would never ask that of you. But we will need your help in this fight against evil, a last true alliance, between all free-peoples."
Smaug's answer was immediate. "No."
"Smaug–" Gandalf tried to say but was cut off short with Smaug's insistent snort.
"No. Absolutely not."
"But you must consider–"
"In case it has slipped your notice, Wizard, I will not put my mate and young at such risk. Fight your own war. I will not stupidly risk my own possessions for a worthless battle."
Gandalf looked to Kathryn desperately. "Kathryn, surely you can see why we must do this?"
"Gandalf, I… I'm not so sure," came her conflicted answer. "I want to help, truly, I do. But… to do this, we would reveal ourselves to Sauron. We aren't ready for that."
"He will find you eventually, whether you're ready then, or not."
"I know, but Gandalf, look at me." She gestured down to her swollen stomach. "I'm with child, I can't be putting a baby at risk like that. I wish I could do something… but I can't."
"But you can," he stressed, leaning forward. His eyes were pleading with her, begging her, insisting with her. She found it hard to look at him, her insides twisting each way with indecision. "Please, at least come to Rivendell."
Her eyes snapped to his. "Rivendell?"
"We are holding a meeting. Representatives of every race will be there to discuss what we must do to vanquish Sauron. At least come to the council of Lord Elrond, hear what we have to say, and then decide."
"That would not be wise," said Smaug. "I went through a lot of trouble to convince the world I was dead. I cannot imagine these representatives would be overly keen to see me."
Gandalf hummed thoughtfully as he puffed on his pipe. "You could always come disguised. No one would expect your human form."
"It matters not. Our answer is 'no'."
"Think on it," he murmured, seeing he was getting nowhere. Kathryn felt a stab of guilt shoot through her. Gandalf stood, placing his pipe back in his robes as he gathered his things to go. "This war is not some skirmish, you know. This is the war to end all wars. It will come for everything and everyone, sooner or later. Not even here in the east, will it be safe. And who knows… this may be your only chance to set things right." With his last words, his eyes lingered on Smaug. When the dragon did nothing but curl his lip, the wizard tipped his hat to them and walked away. "Think on it."
They watched him leave, and even when he was out of Kathryn's sight, she knew that Smaug's eyes were constantly following the wizard. She knew when he was truly gone, for Smaug's shoulders relaxed considerably. Watching her mate, she wondered briefly if he was feeling her guilt at not doing anything to help. But that was a ridiculous notion to consider.
Smaug must have caught her staring, for he simply said, "Don't say it."
"I wasn't going to, but–"
"Don't."
"You know it's the right thing to do."
"No I do not." He snapped his eyes down at her, and she was surprised to see that his patience was already close to the breaking point. "I see it as a foolhardy decision made by panicked sheep blindly running for any escape."
She tried to keep her voice level and calm. "You heard Gandalf, this will be our problem sooner or later."
"No, we're staying out of this. I am not putting you in any danger."
"We won't be in danger."
He snorted. "With your mortal luck, that's all that ever happens."
"We could at least attend the meeting," she folded her arms, finding it increasingly difficult rather quickly to not show her frustrations.
"And if it is a trap?"
"I know Lord Elrond, I trust him."
"You will forgive me, if I am not so forthcoming with elves," Smaug tone was dripping with condescension. "We're not going anywhere. We're staying home and we will survive. Even if we must burrow down or move from place to place. We will wait it out."
"And what if there's something we could've done?" she pressed.
"I'm sure they'll get alone perfectly fine without us."
"For goodness sake, Smaug!" She practically shouted. Smaug opened his mouth to fire back at her, but she spoke over him. "We can at least attend the meeting! We can know what we're up against, learn what is coming. We can still refuse and then come right back home. We have nothing to lose!"
He was about to shout at her again, but paused and slowly closed his mouth. He'd expected mindless sentimentality from her. But her logical reasoning left him out of sorts with how to respond. He still didn't want to go, that much was obvious. But from the look on Kathryn's face, it was evident that she was not going to give up this argument either. Smaug had learned early on that it was sometimes easier to go along with certain things Kathryn wanted just to make life easier.
Besides, as even Kathryn had put it, they would go, attend the meeting and come back. He would still get his own way.
Eventually, he growled. "Fine."
