"We need to get the kids out of here now" I say to Tauriel before walking back into the house.
"Right everyone, pack up! We need to leave now! The Dragon is heading this way" I say to everyone in the room.
They don't move and I clap my hands impatiently "Let's go, go, go. You're wasting time!"
"We're not leaving here without our father" Bain says to me.
Tauriel comes up behind me and says "If you stay here your sisters will die. Is that what you want?"
He steps back "Right to the boat!" I say shepherding them out the door and into a boat.
Fili and Bofur paddle the boat. We only get out a couple of feet when the Dragon flies close over head. I jump about a foot in the air.
"Oh, that dragon is big!" I say, with a hint of fear in my voice and to think I laughed at Gandalf for saying they existed. Well I'm eating my damn words now!
I spin around as fire ignites behind us, narrowly missing a young girl and her mother. I stand up in the boat angrily and aim my hands at the Dragon and try to blast it but it's moving to fast. I'm just going to end up hurting someone. Damn it!
I sit back down in my seat when I hear. "Look out" As we are pummelled by a huge boat. I nearly fall out of ours on the impact.
I look up and glare angrily at the man in the boat. It's the bloody master! He doesn't even acknowledge us! I lift my hands but drop them immediately. I don't use my magic on humans for revenge. It's a downward slop from there. The master's boat sails past us and we keep going. By this point the entire town is on fire and people are dying around us. The guilt I feel is immense.
I'm pulled from my thoughts when Bain says "Da"
I look up at the bell tower and true enough there's Bard, shooting normal arrows at the Dragon. The girls scream for their father.
"He hit it! He hit the Dragon!" Kili shouts.
Tauriel shakes her head "No"
"He did, he hit his mark! I saw" Kili argues.
"His arrows can not pierce its hide, I fear nothing will" Tauriel says.
Bain stands up suddenly and jumps from the boat and onto a hook. I grab for him "Kid! No!"
He's already gone. "Damn it, kid!" I shout standing up and I'm about to jump into the water when Tauriel wraps her arm around my waist.
"No! Jenni! Leave him, we can not go back" She says.
I look at the two girls and drop back down. It takes a while but we get out of the town and as we do the Dragon falls from the sky, dead. He did it, Bard actually did it!
The sun had risen by the time we reach dry land and I jump out of the boat. I help the girls out and they tackle me into a hug, crying their hearts out over their father and brother. I hold them and over their shoulders I see the Dwarves pushing the boat back into the lake.
"Jenni! Let's go!" Bofur calls.
"I'm not going with you" I reply.
"What do you mean?" He asks surprised
"Look around, Bofur. My job is to help the innocent. Clearly I did a really shitty job of it. So, I'm going to make up for it and help out" I reply.
He looks at me with sad eyes "But Thorin…"
"Has no say in what I do or don't do. He's not my King" I tell him.
He nods and walks away. I let go of the girls and stand up and listen to what Kili is saying to Tauriel.
"Come with me!" He calls to her "I know how I feel, I'm not afraid. You make me feel alive" My heart melts.
Clearly Tauriel's does too though she won't admit it! "I can't" She says and turns away.
I'm nod from the side lines, yes you can!
Kili stops her and says something in Dwarvish. My heart skips a beat as I watch the scene unfold. Tauriel's eyes widen at Kili's proclamation but she looks away quickly.
"I don't know what that means" Tauriel says. Yeah you do. He loves you!
"I think you do" Kili says with a smile. I swear I'm tearing up.
Tauriel suddenly freezes and I raise an eyebrow, what the hell? She says something in Elvish and I know what she says. I spin around and Legolas is standing right behind me. How long has he been there? Legolas says something to Kili and Kili looks heartbroken. I whip my hand back and smack Legolas in the chest. Why did he have to go and ruin it!
Kili turns and walks away but stops and storms back. He takes Tauriel's hand and presses something into it. I grab onto Legolas's tunic with the hand I hit him with and bite my lip in anticipation.
"Keep it, as a promise" He says to her.
He leaves and Tauriel starts crying which makes me start crying. Oh my God she loves him too! I rush forward and grab her.
"What are you playing at? You should be with him." I tell her
She looks over my shoulder at Legolas "I can't"
"You know its okay to follow your heart. I did" I turn to Legolas and say "If I didn't I wouldn't be with you"
He looks at me shocked. He moves forward quickly and pulls me into a hug. "I saw the town on fire and I came back. I thought you were dead"
"It takes more than a Dragon to kill me" I say with a smile.
He pulls back and smirks down at me "I am not surprised"
He leans down and kisses me. I respond enthusiastically. It may be 60 years to early but the Elf sure knows me. I pull away earning a grunt of disappointment.
"You are aware that I'm technically not born yet right? And that I can't stay here. I have to go back to the future" I say
He looks surprised "How old are you?"
"24" I reply.
He pulls the same face he did when I compared myself to a child in comparison to him. I didn't mean it literally, obviously.
I sigh "You'll go over it. It's not as bad as you think"
"What do you mean?" He asks
I shrug "I can't tell you, spoilers"
I pull away from him completely "What will you do now?" He asks
"Stay and help" I say. "There is still something I have to find out before I leave"
"What?" He asks, taking my hand
I shake my head "I'm not sure yet"
That's when I hear the girls scream happily "Da!"
I spin around happily "He's alive!"
I rush forward and push through the crowd and hug Bard "You did it! You killed the Dragon!"
He hugs me back and I feel a pressure on my leg and my waist. I look down and I'm in a Bard family group hug. I pull away with a smile to Bard. The crowd of survivors around us cheer for Bard, calling him a hero and telling him how amazing he is. The same people who, not a day ago, was shunning him. I roll my eyes at how flaky people are.
I'm suddenly pushed away from Bard and to the ground on my hands and knees. I turn around and see that mono-browed worm from before lifting Bard's arm into the air shouting
"All hail Bard, the Dragon Slayer! All hail, King Bard" He is met with silence and Bard snatches his arm back and pulls me to my feet.
The worm continues "I have said it many times: this is a man of noble stock. A born leader!"
"Do not call me that!" Bard snaps. "I'm not the master of this town!" He looks around and yells "Where is he? Where's the master?"
A woman answers "Half way down the Auguman with all our coin no doubt"
The woman turns to worm and points in his face "You would know! You helped him empty the treasury"
"No, I tried to stop him!" Worm pleads.
The crowd doesn't believe him and neither do I. He tries to hide behind Bard as he says "I begged! I pleaded. I said Master, no!" The crowd is really not pleased and he says "Think of the children!" and he grabs Tilda.
That pisses me off, using an innocent child as a shield. The kid impresses me though by slamming her foot into his and breaking away from him and she runs up to me and wraps her arms around my waist. I place my hands on her shoulders.
The towns people attack worm and pick him up, threatening to hang him from a tree… I think they're actually going to do it.
Bard interrupts "No, let him go! Let him go!" He yells at them.
The people drop worm and step away as bard continues "Look around you! Have you not had your fill of death? Winter is upon us, we must look to our own, to the sick and the helpless. Those who can stand, tend to the wounded, those who have strength left, follow me, we must salvage what we can"
"And what then?" The woman from before asks, looking scared.
"We find shelter" Bard says kindly. He turns to me "What of you my Lady? Will you return home?"
I shake my head "I can't yet, I can't help but get the feeling there is something else I have to do here." I look around to see if people are paying attention, there not. I turn back to Bard and whisper "Look, I'm a Witch and I'm here to rid your world of an evil that has come through from mine. It's too much to explain but I won't leave and allow more innocents to die because of my negligence."
He smiles and nods. He looks down at my bare legs and a blush creeps onto his cheeks. I look down at myself and pull at the short, frayed skirt.
"I forgot about that" I laugh
"Are you not cold?" He asks.
I shrug "The cold doesn't bother me."
"Even so, you might get ill" He begins to shrug off his jacket when something warm is placed over my shoulders.
I look up and Legolas is glaring at Bard in full force. "Thank you for your concern, dragon slayer but I can look after my wife."
Bard looks shocked, confused and a little upset "You two are married"
I glare at Legolas and pull away from him "Technically, yes but not yet" I reply. I look at Bard "I'm married to him in the future, where I'm from, he barely knows me"
Legolas turns on me sharply "I do know you, those dreams were visions!"
I take a deep breath to calm the anger that has reached boiling point and turn away from him. He said not to think any less of him and my God I am trying. I turn back with a smile.
"Sweetie, visions are not even close to the real thing, ask my sister, she has the power of premonition. The real thing is different and usually better, so why don't you try and get to know the real thing before you start marking your territory every five minutes" I snap the last few words before looking between the two men and giving a mock curtsey before storming off.