Author's Note: I'm so sorry this chapter is late, and that it's so short, but for dramatic effect, I wanted to cut it here, and I wanted to get something out for you guys this week. So... yeah. Sorry.
Extra brownie points if someone can spot what I did with the titles of the previous chapter and this one.
I hope you guys enjoy this one anyway, and someone mentioned in the reviews that only a few chapters are left, but that is incorrect. We probably have 7/8 chapters left after this one. So we've still got a way to go. But please don't forget to review!
Chapter 25 – Water –
There was an awful moment of stillness as time seemed to freeze around them.
Smaug's eyes bulged in his head as a sudden scream burst from his throat, his body contorting in the air with his obvious pain. Saphira screamed with him in panic, and dove towards him, not sure what she would do, but she could not stand by and be useless. But Smaug thrashed about, his wings slicing through the air that coincidentally kept her at bay as he whirled around. He roared, throwing his head back as he stretched his neck to the sky, and Saphira could feel the agony coming off of him in waves. From what she could see, the Black Arrow was slightly off centre, digging into his chest but she didn't know if it had pierced his heart, though it must have been perilously close.
With his eyes scrunched shut as he roared against the pain, Smaug seemed completely unaware of the fact that he began to lose altitude. Though his wings were thrusting through the air, they were not synchronised, and were not catching enough air in order to keep him aloft. And to her horror, she watched him as he began to fall.
Saphira roared, but was unable to stop it as Smaug fell down towards the lake, his huge bulk crushing onto the buildings below and smashing them to kindling under his massive weight. Though there were few souls left in the town as most had been evacuated, there was still a few screams as the wooden town completely shattered and fell apart as the great dragon crashed through it. Saphira thought Smaug would thrash and fight his way out of the water, but his contorting body merely helped him to sink faster as the crashing waves made by his movements began to swallow him up as his heavy body sank.
"Surely he must be dead!" She heard Eragon's mind from where he was still stood with Murtagh on the shore.
"NO!" Saphira snarled angrily. Roaring, she realised with absolute horror what his would mean, and immediately tucked her wings close to her sides and dived.
"What are you doing?!" Eragon demanded in panic in those few seconds where she fell through the air.
"I will not allow it!" She proclaimed. "I owe him enough to not let him die as he always feared."
She broke through the surface of the icy water, her lungs filled with air as she brushed aside the debris of the lake. Her eyes were covered with her second lids, protecting them from the water as she looked around the inky black depths. Finally she spotted him, a dark shadow sinking further into the abyss. Using her wings like flippers and her tail like a rudder, Saphira swam down towards him, quickly catching up to the thrashing dragon.
A dark trail of blood floated from his wound, but as she approached, Saphira had to back away a moment to avoid his tail knocking her aside. Smaug was still thrashing wildly, his mouth was open and she could see the bubbles of his breath as he screamed though no one could hear him. His eyes were wide and filled with uncomprehending panic like that of a cornered animal.
Saphira instantly felt anxious for the terror that must be consuming him. Smaug would never admit to such weakness, but she knew his fear of the water, how he didn't want to die drowned, starved of oxygen in a slow death, as he had almost done years ago. To him, this must have been a living nightmare, and she knew that he at least didn't deserve to die in this way.
Worming her way around his thrashing body, she managed to get behind him and reached around with her forelegs to hook her claws into the flesh of his shoulders and chest as she tried to then use her wings, pumping them, to pull him back towards the surface. But as she heaved to strain her wings to push them through the water, Smaug continued to thrash, completely uncomprehending of what was happening in his panic. So in an attempt to calm him, Saphira pushed her mind into his, sending soothing emotions into him and trying to make him calm enough to think clearly, or at least help her as she aided him.
But she was not prepared for his mind violently crashing against hers in an attempt to defend itself against any threat. Saphira was blasted out of him with a rush of pain, and she gritted her teeth before putting all of her strength behind her next mental push. Smaug's mind was too scattered and panicked to put up much of a resistance against her might, and she quickly blasted past his defences and wormed her way deeper in order to avoid being uprooted again. Quickly, she considered the idea of controlling his thoughts in order to force him to calm, and so wormed her way deeper still. She went further then she had ever gone before, right into the very centre of his being. As she went, stray thoughts, memories, sensations and feelings flittered through Smaug's mind, assaulting her and trying to distract her. Saphira found herself bombarded with information, and tried to push past it to go deeper still, to find some reprieve.
But perhaps she went further than she ever meant to. For suddenly, she found herself at Smaug's very core, the true heart of his soul. She was suddenly struck with information, more then she could bare, a flood overwhelming her, not much different from when she had shared memories with him. She received a torrent of memory and emotion and thought, and Saphira found herself being given the very essence of who Smaug truly was.
Her mind was so dazzled by such an onslaught that she tried to make sense of it all, and without seeming to realise, her mind whispered words of the Ancient Language as she gave name to each new thing that was presented to her. It was such a mad rush, that she didn't even realise what she was doing, until she struck upon a word in the Ancient Language and suddenly, Smaug's entire being froze. Confused, she thought the word again, and Smaug's mind around her rippled, as if bending to listen attentively to her every whim. With her real eyes widening, Saphira realised what she had done.
She had discovered Smaug's true name. His name in the Ancient Language, the summary of his entire being, the name that now known could give power over him as it was the command of his very personality.
But before she could act on this, Smaug's physical body began to thrash about in earnest. As he bucked and writhed, his head smacked into hers, and Saphira felt the pain eclipse across her skull as she foolishly let out a hiss. It was enough to distract her, and her position in his mind was usurped as she came crashing back into her own consciousness, her claws involuntarily letting go as she reeled back from the pain.
She felt dizzy for a moment, but shook her head to clear it. When she had recovered her senses, she saw that Smaug had sunken further, but to her horror, his movements were becoming slower, and the light in his eyes was growing ever weaker. Pushing herself through the icy-cold water, Saphira swam to him, and once again managed to get a hold on him. His limbs grew still and their movements weak. The dragoness wondered what ailed her mate more, the lack of oxygen or the steady trickle of blood-loss from his wound.
There was one last exhale of bubbles, before Smaug's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he became limp. Saphira felt her heart crash against her ribs in panic, and she desperately hoped there was still enough air in his gigantic lungs to afford him just a little more time. Desperately, she beat her wings in an attempt to have them both pushed towards the surface as she attempted to pull them out of the water. But Smaug was still far larger than her, almost twice her size, though she had grown larger and stronger since her time in the mountain, though it didn't make much of a difference in the water. His unresponsive weight was a huge hindrance to her efforts, and she found that he only managed to drag her down further as her muscles burned from the effort.
Saphira felt her strength begin to wane, but she refused to give up, and continued to fight. She would not abandon him, she wouldn't allow him to die in the cold and dark. But then her own lungs began to burn with the need for air, and through her lids, Saphira spied the surface, seemingly so close but so far away. She desperately tried to pull on her last reserves of strength, trying her hardest to make that one last final attempt. But it didn't seem to make a difference, her wings were too tired, too heavy… blackness tinted at the edge of her vision, spots dancing in front of her eyes as her lungs begged for air.
But then, she felt warmth flood through her, and her eyes widened when she felt renewed strength flow into her muscles, giving her a second-wind, as it were. Confused, she almost didn't notice the fact that this energy was pouring into her. Saphira was astonished and touched to feel the mind of Eragon as he gave her all the strength he could, from himself as well as his many caches of stored energy he carried with him. Then she felt another, and was extremely surprised to feel the mind of Thorn as he gave her whatever he could spare of his own energy. Saphira already felt renewed, and began to work her way towards the surface once more.
Yet strangely, she felt another little beam of light connect to her as it gave her more energy, fuelling her strength. Saphira was most confused as to who it could be. And when her mind touched that of the ones who this energy belonged to, she was astonished to feel her children! She felt Mithriel, Calvar and Aurye, all three of them pouring energy into her. But this energy did not belong to them, for surely they did not have this kind of strength. It wasn't normal what they were giving her, for she felt strength like she had never known pour through her veins, giving her such a boost that she moved through the water almost with ease, even when dragging Smaug along with her. How could they even reach her mind from this far away?
Concerned, she went across the mental link to them, and saw through their eyes. All three of them were huddled around a stone in the treasure chamber, a large white jewel that glowed from within as if with its own light, fracturing out all colours of the rainbow. The three hatchlings were huddled around it, pulling the energy from it and pushing it into their mother. Saphira seemed to instinctively know that what they tampered with was dangerous, but couldn't reprimand them for it, and so focused on her own situation.
Dragging them both upwards, Saphira and Smaug broke the surface of the water, and she gasped as she gulped in air through her gaping jaws. The dragoness tried to keep her mate's head above the water, putting her forehead beneath his chin and pushing him up so that at least his snout was out of the water. Saphira felt the others disconnect from her, having apparently given her as much as they could. Instantly she felt the fatigue set through her, and quickly made up her mind as she moved whilst she still had the energy.
Looking about, she saw that they were surrounded by the debris of the town, some of which was still smouldering or even on fire. Through it all, Saphira saw the southern shore of the lake, the closest to her, and that it was empty of any living creature. Without hesitation, she quickly made her way towards it, carrying Smaug awkwardly as she forced herself to keep him up above the lapping waves. It was almost more difficult to keep them buoyant as she swam for the shore, more so then it had been to drag him to the surface. But Saphira pushed on. She was a warrior, she was not weak, she would overcome this.
When they reached shallow water and Saphira could place her feet down into the silt of the lakebed whilst still keeping them above level, she shrugged Smaug off of her. She clamped her teeth into the scruff of his neck behind his crown of spikes, pulling his head up above the water as she dragged him the rest of the way. The water made him a little lighter, but the further he came out of it, the heavier he became, until Saphira tasted his blood in her mouth from where she was biting him so hard to keep her hold on him. She felt so exhausted her legs were shaking, and her breathing was ragged as she tried to keep a clear head. Finally, she could take it no more, and seeing as Smaug was mostly out of the lake, she allowed her aching jaws to loosen as she let Smaug drop, his head falling to the floor to rest in the mud of the bank with a dull 'thud'.
Unable to keep herself standing a second longer, Saphira wobbled, and succumbed to the exhaustion as she first collapsed to her knees, and then flopped down beside Smaug. She managed to keep her head up, her eyes heavy and her tongue lolling as she panted heavily. She looked down at Smaug, completely unresponsive as he lay limp and lifeless beside her. The arrow was still stuck in his chest, and Saphira didn't know if she should remove it or not. She wondered if she could heal him, but knew that such magic would kill her in this state.
A soft whine escaped her jaws as she nudged Smaug's head, trying to get him to even twitch to show her that he was still somehow living. There was nothing, his head simply rolled slightly. Whimpering, her talons digging through the dirt in anxiety, she tenderly licked his face, nuzzling herself closer, her soft gurgles and rumbles and keening sounds trying to coax her mate back to her. Her jaws shivered on a rattling breath, and when he still did not respond, Saphira felt a soft, quiet, high pitched cry escape her jaws as such overwhelming sadness consumed her. Grief eclipsed through her being, and she wondered if she could truly shed tears like humans could.
With the last of her energy, Saphira tucked herself underneath Smaug's wing pressing her side against his chest, as if he were holding her close like he used to do. She nuzzled the softer underside of his neck, inching as close to him as she could possibly get, the whimpers in her throat continuing as her heart began to break. She lay beside him, and despite everything, her mind whispered out a silent prayer to whatever gods and deities would listen to her, whether they be from Alagaesia or here in Middle-Earth, and begged them with the last of her dignity for Smaug's survival. Her grief stricken heart did not care for the consequences, for she knew that Smaug was a wretched creature, and many would say that he didn't deserve it. But she didn't care. He was her mate and the father of her children, and she didn't want him to die like this.
Just one more day… just one last chance to see the sun… one last chance to feel his warmth… please…
She didn't know what happened after that, for as she tucked herself against him, her lonely and grieving whimpers echoing through the night, her eyes slowly closed. Exhaustion of both the body and the mind overcame her, pulling her into the deep sleep of unconsciousness, and she knew no more.