Remember when I told you that it was going to be the last chapter? Well, I lied. I have to split it in two because it was getting too long. In a few days I promise you that it'll be ended. Thanks to my awesome beta DONOVAN94 and those reviews follows and favorites. Enjoy the chapter!
Everything had happened so fast, neither the dwarves, Bilbo, Smaug, not even Bard knew how they had come to that situation. The last thing the archer remembered was pointing the Windlance at the gigantic beast, and with a feather touch on the release, the Black Arrow had gone soaring through the air. And then a small lavender coloured flying creature had come between them at a speed that rivalled even the arrow's. Now, that small creature, which now he could call dragon, fell half dead to the lake.
Smaug roared with all the anguish he could must and launched himself to catch her before she hit the ground. Panic had arisen in him, and the town was forgotten. Now, his only priority was his daughter.
Bilbo saw the monstrosity that was approaching them at great speed. He didn't want Kalaana to suffer alone, but he knew that if he stayed on her back, he could die because of the fall or hypothermia or even the crushing strength of Smaug's claws. Every second that passed they were closer to the lake, the dragoness' hot and hard skin would save her from the cold, however his soft hobbit skin wouldn't help him much. Reluctantly, he took an impulse and jumped from his friends' back to one of the town's stables. Fortunately, there were enough pigs for him to land safely.
From his position, he saw with fear how his falling companion, his best friend, sank into the water with the arrow piercing her chest. Seconds later a huge shadow covered a ratio of over three hundred feet and plunged into the depths of the lake, forming a tsunami that threatened to submerge the Lake Town.
The people of Lake Town, more scared now of the gigantic wave than the creature that had created it, ran to hide in the multiple alleys and nooks that the town provided, trying to avoid the deadly wave and failing miserably. The strength of the wave was a thousand times higher than the usual soft waves that cradled the town that emerged over the water. The wooden buildings, rotten and half broken because of the constant moisture, didn't stand a chance. The cloves were shot out, the windows broke and the wooden planks and boats were dragged to the other side of the lake.
Even Bilbo was dragged by the great strength of the wave, the water pulled him out roughly from the stables and dragged him until he was almost crushed against one of the posts.
"Ouch!" Bilbo whined in pain, he probably would have the post imprint in a big purplish bruise come the morning. The water kept flowing violently and threatened to tear the post with the hobbit and send them to the ends of the earth. Even so, Bilbo hung on bravely with a tight hold on the post, not willing to let himself be dragged like a rag doll.
The same way Bilbo was having a hard time, Bard had also had his share of suffering. The wave had almost thrown him out of the tower, coming away from the Windlance until he could only snatch at the railing. With his left hand he clutched the edge desperately, while with his right hand he held his bow.
With a great effort, he managed to get himself up again onto the tower. He could hear the water flowing with great speed and ferocity, but he didn't have enough strength to care, he was exhausted by that day's events. Dwarves, treasures, dragons, orcs, prisons and escaping them were too many things for a single man to handle in one day.
When he peered to see the state of the town, he wished he had not. Almost everything was destroyed by the power of the wave. Fortunately there were a lot of survivors, but he couldn't find his children.
Panic rose within him. His children, whom he had vowed to his wife to cherish and protect until his last breath, where nowhere to be seen.
Desperation soon showed its ugly head and with one of its cold hands clutched tightly at his heart. He felt out of breath and that he was going to faint anytime soon. The water seemed to have dragged away everyone he knew and loved. His children were no exception.
From the debris, on one of the buildings that didn't seem to be completely destroyed, appeared a red head. A few seconds later more blonde, brunette and grey hair appeared too. Bard felt his pulse return back to normality and felt a moment of apprehension come over him. The dwarves and the she-elf were safe and sound, and had protected his children. Bard could have screamed to the heavens in joy, and he beamed at the adults who had saved his most precious children; he was indebted to them, now the only thing they had to do is to go to somewhere safe.
Bard looked around again at the Town on the lake, the dragon had almost sunk it. Why?
He was utterly sure that he hadn't intended to create such a wave, what he would have wanted was to make the town burn – that was his preferred choice of killing. At least, that was what the prophecy said: "The Lake will Shine and Burn…"
He couldn't hope that Smaug the Terrible had drowned. Despite water being one of the most important weaknesses of the dragons, Smaug had endured every kind of injury and he would probably have also survived this.
However, what Bard really feared was the subject of the 'small' dragon. If they were blood related (which was the most possible hypothesis) and he had killed it, Smaug was going to get angrier and maybe he wouldn't only destroy the Lake Town, but the entire country or even the world. Bard was also a father, he would have done the same if he had been put in that situation.
It didn't matter how much they ran, because when Smaug got out from the water, he would kill them all.
Smaug shook his powerful tail, sinking deeper into the lake. The water was incredibly cold and despite his hard armour, it didn't allow him to feel more than a slight discomfort from the drop in temperature, but the soft and smooth skin of his baby would make her die of hypothermia.
If the arrow hadn't killed her yet… He thought with dread. Smaug snarled mentally and his vision began to turn red with rage, however the small and pale body of his daughter encouraged him to calm down and to continue plunging into the water.
When he was near enough he grabbed her with his claws, careful of not hurting her more than she already was. She was so small, so fragile in his arms, that the rage that he felt towards that damned bowman was multiplied by a thousand on that moment. If Kalaana died he would make sure that every child from Lake Town had the same luck. He wold rip their small limbs apart and then he would eat them, in front of their weeping parents.
When he got out from the lake... Blood would flow...
Kalaana couldn't remember feeling weaker than now in all her frustratingly short life. She remembered that time, when she was five years old, while trying to reach a sparrow nest in a tree, the branch where she was standing had broken under her weight and she had fallen from a height of sixteen feet to the ground. She had broken several ribs and her left ulna and radius. Furthermore, her ankle was twisted at a weird angle. At that moment, between sobs and tears, she had thought that there wasn't a worse pain than the one she had been experiencing. Now however, it was obvious that she was wrong.
She could feel with each heartbeat how her heart was growing weaker and weaker as it tried to pump her poisoned blood that now was emanating freely from her wound. The arrow was embedded deeply into her chest, and it didn't mattered that they could get it out of her, she doubted she could survive this. On the other hand, every drop of frozen water was like a small knife that pierced her skin. She was still a young dragoness, at sixteen years old she didn't have the armour as developed as an adult dragon. If the arrow didn't end her life, the cold water would do it.
The only thing she regretted was not being able to say goodbye to Radagast and her friends, and not being able to spend more time with her father… to know him better.
Thinking about her father nearly broke her heart. If he had suffered with her mother's death, this would completely destroy him. But what she really was worried about was what he would do if she died. Dragons, being huge creatures, felt such emotions at higher levels than other creatures. What a tantrum was for a human, for a dragon was pure rage that encouraged him to destroy everything in his path. Only a few could manage to control their rage. It was clear that Smaug wasn't one of them.
She felt something warm and rough wrap around her body and began pulling her up. For some bizarre reason, she knew what and who was holding her, but she hadn't enough strength to remember its name.
The cold air was worse than the water, it was like soft needles that pricked at her skin and finished the process of freezing her. Not even her warm blood could keep her heated. Kalaana felt gigantic claws shaking her softly.
"Open your eyes Kalaana!" A deep voice commanded, but it seemed to be far away from her.
"Daaad..." She tried to say. Opening her eyes a little, she saw her father's shiny golden ones. They were full of rage, fear, despair and many things more. He didn't want to lose her, he couldn't. And she didn't want to lose him too. But she had to go, nobody could save her now.
"I'm sorry... please... don't be angry... they... they were... scared..." She said weakly.
"Foolish girl! Why did you put yourself between the arrow and me?" Smaug asked angrily, though his heart was breaking all over again. Kalaana's eyes were filled with tears.
"I'm sorry."
Smaug's black heart clenched, feeling that the worst was about to come.
"No! Stay with me!" He ordered her, but it sounded more like a plea.
"I'm sorry..." She said again, her breathing began to hiccup and become irregular, her eyes fearful and full of tears as she looked up at her father; a few convulsions and her body went still and unmoving. She had died.
Smaug nuzzled her small body with his snout to see if he could revive her somehow but it was useless. His scales were too cold from the water, despite the heat inside of him, and his fire would do more damage than good seeing as Kalaana's scales were too soft to be fireproof. A solitary tear rolled down Smaug's scaly skin onto her face. Nobody could bring back his little girl. She was gone, just like her mother, and he would never have the chance to have a life with her. He had failed her and Yaileen. But it wasn't his fault.
Smaug raised his eyes to find that the bowman looking at him. It had been his fault, he was the only one to blame for this! And he would make sure he paid. Everyone that was foolish enough to be at twenty five feet from the dragon could see how his eyes and demeanour changed from ' angry dragon' to ' sadistic god of death' in an instant. He had nothing to lose, he could perfectly die in that battle, he didn't care as long as he got his revenge on the bowman.
With a dangerously slow pace, he approached Bard the bowman with eyes that screamed murder. He could see him gulp in fear, but stood bravely and defiantly from his position on the tower.
A brave rival. Good. It'll make my revenge more enjoyable. He thought grimly, thinking of all the uses his bones, blood and skin could have.
"Dragon! You almost killed my family!" Bard shouted boldly, although he could feel himself shaking with fear as he gazed into those hate-filled eyes as the dragon glared at him, stalking closer towards him.
Smaug let out a low, dark chuckle from the deep within his throat.
"And you have killed mine."