Thranduil watch as the night sky light up as Smaug descended onto LakeTown. He barely heard the gasp of horror from his men over the sound of the dragon wings thumping through the night sky, his mind filled with the screams from long ago. They were too late. Damn that selfish Thorin, he was dense as the rocks he craved. His anger was thick in his voice as he spoke.

"We must move quickly, Legolas take the army down to Dale. You are to wait for my return, move like the night, let no one see you." Legolas looked confused for a moment but regained his composure.

"What if you don't return." Legolas's voice was low, Thranduil could see the fear in his eye's, he pulled his sons head close to his.

"You are to do what you need to then, do I make myself clear?"

Legolas nodded. Thranduil signaled for his personal guard to come with him, thirty elves stepped out and followed the king towards Laketown.

He turned to face the army that he was left with, there were thousands of his people here. Panic started to rise in his throat, he did his best to push the panic back.

"We are to march to Dale as fast as we can." He spurred his horse to a faster pace. He could hear the faster march of his people, they matched his heartbeat that also seemed to move up to his throat. He looked at the dragon getting ever closer to the town, he cursed himself for not being able to kill the dwarves when he had the chance. And now his father was running head long into dragon fire. He shook his head he needed to focus or he was going to get everyone killed.

Chaos had rained down on Laketown, the first blast from the dragon cut the town in half with fire. Bard dragged his children to the small fishing boat paddling as fast as he could through the maze of the other trying to do the same. He muttered every curse he could think of towards anyone that came to mind. The children screamed as the dragon passed above, knocking a roof off the house near them.

"Stay down." He told them pushing the boat as fast as he could.

"Bain I need you to paddle."

Bain was fixated on the dragon passing back and forth above them. Bard gave his son a little shove. "Bain!"

Before the boy could answer a voice called out from one of the piers. "You there, are you an archer?" Bard looked to see an elf dressed in sliver armor.

"Yes." Bard answered, the elf signaled to one of other elves.

"My guard will protect your children, you need to come with me." the guard pulled Bard off the boat, the elf dressed in sliver grabbed his arm and started to drag him.

"Now just wait, I need to be with my childern." Bard said pulling away.

"They are safe with my guard," the elf turned to face him and Bard noticed the circlet on his head. "I need your skills."

Bard turned to see Tilda and Sigird crying out. He faced the king. "Where do you need me?"

Bain watched his father running off with the sliver elf, the was moving them fast through the burning town.

"MOVE MOVE MOVE!" a nasally voice screeched at them. The barge that the Laketown Master was on was overfilling with gold as it knocked as ran over the smaller boats in the way. But what Bain's eyes landed on was not the gold but the large black bow resting on the piles of gold. The elf they were with muttered something Bain could only imagine was a curse as the knocked into the side of the large barge.

Bain took his chance and jumped out of the their little boat on top the barge shocking the Master's guards and grabbing the Black bow and jumping to the other side of the pier. He tucked the bow, nearly two heads taller then him, and raced to where he last saw his Da.

Thranduil moved through the burning rubble, he need to get up high. Smaug burned through the town again, knocked though the town like it was nothing.
"There!" Bard pointed to the high bell tower as he ran towards. Thranduil followed him, he hoped the man had a steady hand.

As they climbed the bell tower, Thranduil could see the carnage that was unleashed upon them. Homes had been turned to ash….

I smell fire

Scatha was in full force in his mind, the white wyrm was thrashing causing his head to spin constantly. He was only going to have one chance to do this correctly but he needed the man to have a true aim.

"You will get your chance."

The man looked at him oddly. "You ok, elf king."

Thranduil chided himself. "I am fine."

Bard pulled his bow and took a shot after shot at the dragon. Each arrow hit it's mark but the hide of the beast was impenetrable just as he feared.

Let me free Let me free Let me free Let me free

The damn thing was going to drive him insane, last thing he wanted was to live out the rest of his life with Elrond hovering over him.

"Da!"

Thranduil and Bard turned around to see Bain climbing onto the platform they were on.

"Bain what are you doing here!" Bard grabbed his son by his shoulders, his eyes filled with tears. "Why aren't you with your sisters!"

Bain showed his father the Black Bow, it glistened with an otherworldly light, "Because you need this." the boy was definitely his child.

As the dragon made another pass the tips of it's great wings cut off the top of the bell tower, landing on multiple home the gaze of the dragon caught sight of the three.

"A Bowman, a boy, and-" it took a deep breathe, seeming to savor the flavor on the air. "Elf King. I have smelled your kind in my mountain."

Bard attempted to pull the great bow. It wasn't able to pull back for it's full flight. He just wasn't tall enough to use it neither was the king who only stood a few inches taller then him.

"Damnnit, do something elf! I need time."

Do something

Thranduil's could feel the dizziness over taking him, quickly he held the opal in his palm feeling the cool stone. Scatha bashed and twisted inside his mind.

"Like a cross bow." Thranduil huffed.

"What!"

"Shoot the damn thing like a crossbow!" Thranduil whipped around, Bard could see the sweat rolling down his face. Quickly he unstrung the bow and shoved it over two of the support posts. Bard restrung the bow as fast as he could.

Thranduil turned to the Dragon.

You only have one chance to do this right

Do you doubt me? LET ME FREE!

The shout caused Thranduil to drop to his knees clutching his head.

"After this rubble has burned perhaps I should pay the elves a visit."

Each step Smaug took shook the little tower back and forth. "I can't get the shot, he is moving too much!"

Thranduil took one last look at the opal and tossed it in the air, striking it with his blade as it came down. For him time seemed to slow down and almost stop entirely as the form of the Great White Wyrm pulsed to form towards Smaug. Scatha glowed with a otherworldly aura slithering to and fro nearing the fire drake. Smaug stopped moving and reared up to meet the what once and been Scatha.

Bard saw his chance and let the Black arrow fly true to it's mark. Smaug let out a screech and thrashed.

"DECIVERS! CONJURERS!" Smaug leaped into the air croaking out it's last breath and fell.

Free

The spirit of the wyrm faded from Thranduil's mind and the elf king passed out. The tower they stood on toppled over, and they crashed through a nearby home that was somehow intact. Bard grasped for his son checking him over making sure the boy wasn't injured.

"Bain you wonderful idiot!" he plated kisses on his sons face causing his son to squirm in protest.

Bard looked around for the elf king, he saw a flash of the blonde hair underneath some of the rubble. Quickly he and his son pushed the rubble off of him, Bard checked the kings pulse. He was alive thank the heavens.

"Quick Bain help me get him up." Bard and his son lifted the king up and headed out the broken house.