Chapter X: Words of Truth

It took another full night before Smaug completely thawed out from his disappointment in me. We were both inside the gold chamber, sitting about thirty feet away from each other. The gold coins all around us had sucked in the cold night air and I could not stop shivering as their metallic surfaces touched my bare legs. I pulled the thin red material of my dress over my legs, though this achieved very little in containing the warmth.

"Come closer, child," Smaug called me over after watching me for a long time.

I gladly made my way over, relieved Smaug was speaking to me again. I had to admit that it was infinitely better to remain on the good side of a dragon who was notoriously volatile and dangerous. Even as I walked closer, I felt the tingling of warmth on my forearm from the heat radiating out of Smaug. Smaug wrapped his tail around my hips, drawing me into him. I tried not to shudder as his rough scales grazed my skin.

"My Storyteller," Smaug nuzzled my neck with thick smoke from his nostrils.

He spoke no more, but from just those two words I knew I had been forgiven. We sat still for a long time, listening to the soft chatter of the coins at our feet. It felt like never-ending days had passed since I had last seen Bard, and I felt unusually exhausted.

"What are you thinking?" Smaug asked, finally breaking the silence between us.

"I am trying to decide," I began hesitantly and in my tiredness I let my guard slip, "whether you are the flame that warms me in the cold, or the fire that will consume me in the night."

At my words, Smaug boomed with laughter. It caused his whole body to rock, and I had to grab at the scales of his tail where I was sitting on, to avoid being flung across the room.

"You are a brave creature," Smaug said in amusement when he eventually finished laughing, "Some would say bravery is a fatal flaw."

"And is it?" I asked, hoping that keeping up a conversation would hide my discomfort.

Smaug purred as he dug is claws deep into the sea of jewels.

"Words are better than silence. Truth is treasured more than lies. And your bravery is appreciated over the fear you have of me," he answered.

I simply nodded at his words, unsure of what to say. I curled up into a fetus position inside Smaug's tail, the same strange, bewitching drowsiness I had felt earlier now bleeding into me slowly. Smaug cradled me gently, the light in his orange eyes encouraging me to relax.

"Did the girl care for the boy?" Smaug asked suddenly.

It took me a moment to break out of my trance and realize he was referring to the story. I sat with my elbows propping my body up.

"Of course," I answered with a nod, she still does. "More than anyone else."

"When did she start caring?" Smaug asked, a genuine interest reflected in his eyes which glowed a shade brighter.

I paused for a while, a small smile cracking on my lips as my mind travelled to older and fonder memories that had not been forgotten.

"I believe she was just shy of turning nine years old," I said softly as I fidgeted with the crease on my dress.

"And what happened?" Smaug probed me curiously.

The smile on my lips lingered a moment longer as I began the story once more.

"She longed to go beyond the lake
and see what beauty the Valar had made.
She wanted to walk through grass that grew up to her knees,
and at night she dreamt of climbing the tallest tree."

I heard a chuckle vibrate out of Smaug as amusement danced around in his eyes. I however felt oddly intoxicated, the drowsiness still lingering heavy over my head.

"Boy and girl, fletching and head.
Hand in hand, they walked through the path that was windy and untrodden," my voice was thick and as if it was not mine.

"Sleep."

My voice sounded unnaturally deep and booming this time, only I realized it was not my voice at all. Smaug blew a ring of white smoke over my head as his orange eyes glittered stunningly.

"Close your eyes. Fall into a slumber with my diamonds. Dream about my mountain of gold."

His voice was smoother than the finest silk. I felt so comfortable. If I had to describe the feeling, it was like the crisp warmth that spreads through your body as you lie in bed on a rainy evening. What is happening, I questioned silently, but even thinking was physically tiring and it cost too much of an effort to force my eyelids open. My head swam lethargically around Smaug's enchanting words, and I fell into a drunken sleep long before his voice ceased to speak.

Nobody made it clear to me that mama had passed away. I don't mean to say that her death was kept a secret from me, but more in the sense that it was never discussed. Adults kept telling me mama was 'gone' and that she was 'in a better place' which left me even more confused. How could a person simply be gone?

Asking father for an explanation was not an option, for his heart was broken and any mention of mother was like reopening painful wounds. The only person I trusted enough to tell this to at the time was Bard. Over the months we had become good friends, and the fact that I managed to climb up the roof of Mr. Trad's glassware store faster than he could strengthened the bond between us.

We would sit at the end of the wharf as our fathers worked on the barges, the toes of our boots barely touching the water as our legs dangled over the edge. Bard was always patient, listening to my wild theories about the world and questions with an earnestness I felt from nobody else. To him I confided my longing to escape from the suffocating misery that shrouded our house ever since mother left.

"Where would you go?" He would ask each time this conversation popped up, although we both knew my answer remained unchanged.

"Somewhere warm," I would always reply with a grin that only appeared in front of him.

I remember one particular afternoon where Bard conveniently forgot to tie up his father's barge after helping him unload the morning's barrel of fish. The naughty excitement had made my skin tingle as we boarded the barge. I barely remember where the barge sailed, perhaps it travelled no further than the end of the wharf. It was the child anticipation and nervous excitement that I remember the most as we rode out together into the unknown.

Even when Bard eventually had to row us back to the wharf, a part of me felt complete and free for a short time afterwards. Our escape had been like an unplanned adventure and Bard being there made me feel fearless.

I felt like I was swimming in warm water when I finally awoke from my slumber. My legs were heavy to lift and my arms felt stiff. All my muscles ached and I massaged my throbbing temples with my knuckles rhythmically as I tried to remember what I had been thinking before falling asleep. For a moment I felt nothing but a thick and syrupy drowsiness. And then all of a sudden, a dreadful feeling collapsed inside of me.

"How long have I slept?" I asked aloud in panic, "How long?"

Smaug, whose tail was still wrapped around my body, did not answer. Instead, he looked away from me and stared in the direction of the entrance of the tunnel at the end of the room. My eyes followed and I saw two unopened parcels lying at the foot of the slide.

My heart hammered nervously as I forced myself free from the dragon's tail, the throbbing in my head worsening as I stood up too quickly. Ignoring the dizziness, I made my way towards the two lumps wrapped in brown paper. I placed my hand on one of the parcels carrying the bread which were by this time stone-cold.

"New stars are born every nightfall," Smaug spoke behind my back, his voice musing, "but what value is its light when time cannot reach below the mountain?"

I picked up the two parcels before turning around.

"May I take my leave?" I asked with as much control I could muster in my voice.

Smaug edged closer towards me, his eyes orange and bright.

"Always so curious," he said, bearing his white teeth at me, "perhaps the starlight may be waiting for you tonight."

He said nothing more but touched my forehead ever so gently with his snout. Even though his body radiated continuous heat, I shivered at the contact, my forehead feeling like it was burning.

I began my way up the stairs of the gold chamber, eyes kept straight ahead in case I gave away any impatience. I was not sure how long I had been missing, it could have been days or even weeks. Whatever must Bard be thinking, I thought to myself nervously. He must be worried sick, if he did not already believe me to be dead.

The corridor seemed to stretch on forever. I sprinted down, clutching my side as my breathing became sharper. Finally the walls moved away and the empty courtroom came into view. I could hear the soft trickling of water running down the outer wall and the cold winter air push through the crevice. There was nobody on the other side, which was not surprising. I sat down at the foot of the crevice and waited patiently. After about an hour I heard the unmistakable sound of boots trudging through snow and as I looked out excitedly, Bard appeared from behind the mountain mist. There was obvious relief on his face when he saw me.

"What happened? Why did you not come? Are you alright?" Bard asked the stream of questions as soon as he arrived on the other side of the wall where I was sitting, slightly breathless from walking uphill.

I spent the next few minutes explaining to Bard about how I had fallen into the strange, enchanted sleep that kept me unconscious.

"So that is how the dragon preserves long life," Bard said in understanding after I had finished my recount of what had happened.

"Which explains why time affects me differently under the mountain," I filled in the gaps and Bard nodded in agreement.

"When you did not turn up, I feared the worst. But I couldn't give up on you that easily," he admitted, his light brown eyes shining slightly.

Bard smiled but there was a nagging feeling inside of me that I had to get out.

"He asked me if I hated him," I said as I stared at the ground where my feet were, "I...I'm not sure of my answer anymore."

Bard did not say anything for a while. I trusted him with my thoughts, for I knew he would never laugh at me.

"You are getting too attached to that dragon," he warned eventually in a strained voice.

"You say it like it's a bad thing," I said, strangely irritated that he did not understand me like he always did, "Is it so wrong that at times I feel sorry for him?"

"You're lonely, Lari," Bard reasoned gently.

"So is he."

Bard let out an impatient sigh at my stubborn response.

"It's not the same. He's a monster that can't be trusted. You do know that," he said.

He was right, I did know that. At least, in my head that was true. My heart was now a completely different matter. It all felt like a muddle of feelings inside of me.

We talked about other things after that. Addy, school, the boats at the wharf. But nothing more on the matter of dragons and the Lonely Mountain were mentioned. We avoided the subject for the remainder of our time together, neither of us wishing to acknowledge the strange tension in the air. When Bard eventually had to make his descent down the mountain again, the loneliness inside of me grew deeper.

However, I feel the need to mention that this all occurred before I discovered a particular room inside Erebor. Perhaps if I had stumbled across this place earlier, my conversation with Bard may had turned out quite differently.

I was still thinking about what Bard had told me and why I had reacted so defensively. He was only trying to help me and I didn't care enough about Smaug the way Bard thought I did. Do you truly not? I heard my own voice question me dubiously. Yes, I answered to myself annoyingly. I pity him, which is not the same as caring.

I was so deeply lost inside my head that I missed turning the corner that led to the gold chamber. As I turned back to leave, a strange odor hit my senses, causing me to stop moving. It smelt of rotting fish and was most unpleasant, to put mildly. With a growing nervousness I walked towards the stench, my feet stopping in front of a large wooden door. It was unlocked and the door was opened by the smallest of cracks, emitting a sunless grey light. I found myself taking a sharp breath as I pushed the door wide open.

What I saw before me that day is a sight I can never erase from my mind.

Bones. Piles of bones scattered carelessly all around the room like shells at the edge of the lake. There were long bones and skulls, some smashed to one side. The fishy smell thickened and pierced my nostrils as I stared around at the massacre in horror. Some of the bones were still connected to each other, their slim skeleton giving the ghost structure of a human, not dwarf. Red fabric caught my eyes, stuck to the bones like blood.

With a horrible lump sitting inside my throat, I bent down to pick up a shred from the floor. The material was identical to the red dress I was wearing. All these skeletons must have belonged to the girls who had been chosen before me. I couldn't understand how or why Smaug would put their bodies together in one room. The idea of killing his offerings in the same room every time sickened me. I felt a lurching in my stomach and blind spots blotched my vision like ink stains on paper. A sudden impulse to leave rushed through my veins and I ran out the door with my hand covering my mouth. I barely stumbled out of the room before I was on my hands and knees on the ground, vomiting and gagging all over the cold marble stone.

It was him, he ate them all and let the remains of their corpses rot without a grave. My nose stung as tears formed in my eyes.

'He's a monster that can't be trusted'.

Bard is right, I thought as I forced myself to stand up. I am an idiot to trust a dragon. He is a dragon. A soulless, bloodthirsty and insane beast, nothing more.

"You are disappointed in me."

Those were the words Smaug said aloud as he watched me drag myself down the steps of the gold chamber. I kept my head down, unable to look at him in the eye. I felt sick to the bone and a newfound hatred against the dragon grew inside of me. I stopped at the bottom of the stone steps, standing twenty feet away from his front paw.

"It could not be hidden from you forever," Smaug spoke almost absent mindedly, as if he had been expecting my discovery all along.

"You...you are a murderer," I blurted out as I struggled to find the right words, my eyes still focusing on the gold coins at my feet.

Smaug did not answer and in his silence, he denied none of the crimes accused against him.

"Those poor girls...you killed every single one of them. You did not care, you still do not care about anyone else," I continued bitterly, "You are a monster! A cruel, selfish monster."

A deathly silence filled the chamber once I stopped yelling. Smaug stared at me intensely, his eyes which were at first amused, became annoyed and a nasty sneer appeared on his face. He sat up taller so that his upper body almost touched the stone bridge way built over our heads. From such a height, he appeared even more menacing and dangerous. There was no sunlight, but he seemed to emit his own red glow.

"You, child of men, of mortal flesh. Do not call me such names when your own race is riddled with the same flaws you drape over me!" Smaug snapped in a loud and scornful voice that caused the coins to rattle, "Mortals are just as guilty! They try to possess everything - wealth, reputation, even the things they claim to be most valuable and human of qualities, such as love."

He spat the word 'love' out as if it was distasteful in his mouth. Smaug's rage was building up to a dangerous level, but at this point I was too angry and disgusted to care.

"Is that not what I am to you? Nothing more than another object for your collection, another rock in your chamber," I argued back, "To you I am without feeling and am always ready at your disposal."

I must have struck a nerve there because I saw a wave of fury cut across Smaug's face at my words. His eyes looked more hurt than angry though as he scowled down at me.

"Is that what you think of me, girl?" He questioned me angrily.

However, his rage no longer frightened me and I glared back at his fuming face. Minutes passed as we glared at each other, a strange sight it would have been if not for the resentment filling the air. I looked away eventually, unable to stare at the gleaming yellow pupil of Smaug's eyes any moment longer.

"I am never going to be able to leave this place, am I?" I asked quietly instead as a wave of sad realization washed over me.

Smaug grew silent as his fiery anger died down to ashes at my words. The orange glow returned to his eyes but his pupils were now shiny and moist. His tail swam through the sea of gold surrounding us as he wrapped it around my waist gently. I did not bother trying to escape from his hold and I let Smaug draw me in closer.

"Finish the story," he said in a clear voice that barely gave away any emotion.

I said nothing as I closed my eyes, tears spilling down my cheeks. Smaug spoke again, in a softer and what sounded like a more hesitant voice.

"Finish the story, child. If you do that, I shall grant you your freedom."

Hello! Wow it seems like forever since the last time I updated. I'm very sorry about that. Exams, life and procrastination caught up to me. I shall try to update faster next time. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! Thanks~