The Hobbit: The desolation of Smaug

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hobbit, I only own Nàin.

Chapter 28


It was dead-quiet as Thorin pushed open the hidden door. The door was finally open. The Dwarves could finally see Erebor from the inside.

The emotions that the Dwarves had could not be described with words for there were no words to describe what they were feeling at that very moment. Happiness? Relief? Excitement? All of these emotions could be found in the Dwarves along with many others. Even the younger Dwarves, who only ever had heard of the greatness of Erebor in stories or songs, had just as much emotions running through them as the older Dwarves who had lived here before. After all, the younger Dwarves could now see what they had heard from stories with their own eyes.

Thorin was the first one to enter even though everyone wanted to simply run inside and look upon the halls of their ancestors. He walked with quiet and careful steps, almost afraid that he might wake up from this dream if he in fact did move too fast.

Balin followed him a moment later together with Dwalin. They had both lived here for a long time in the past and couldn't do anything but sigh in relief and smile widely as they entered the Lonely Mountain. Dwalin put a hand on his brother's shoulder as they both shared a look of pure joy over being back home again.

Nàin and Bilbo, followed by the rest, entered soon after Dwalin and Balin. Bilbo looked around him with wide eyes, curiosity and amazement filling his soul. Nàin did the same as Bilbo, only she had a couple of tears in her eyes that were threatening to spill out over her cheeks. She put a hand on the stone wall and let the coolness of the mountain touch her palm. Ori did the same thing, putting his hand next to hers. They both shared a smile before turning their attention to Thorin.

He was standing with his back towards the company, his fingertips brushing over the wall while saying "These walls… the stone… you remember it Balin. Chambers filled with golden light."

Thorin turned around again, facing the company who all were looking at him in awe. Balin took a step forward, nodding his head slowly. "I remember."

"Here in lies the seventh kingdom of Durin's folk. May the heart of the mountain unite all Dwarves in defense of this home," said Gloin making everybody turn towards the door which was where he was looking.

He had been reading the rune inscription above the hidden door. The two sentences had been inscribed above and underneath the image of the throne carved into the stone. Above the image of the throne there was a small stone from which multiple lines, representing light beams, erupted out from. The small stone was the heart of the mountain, named the Arkenstone. Whoever has this stone can call himself the true king of Erebor, this Nàin had heard of.

"The throne of the king," said Balin to Bilbo who looked at the inscription with awe.

"And what's that above it?" asked Bilbo.

"The Arkenstone," replied Nàin before Balin could.

She looked at Bilbo with a serious look on her face as she knew that this was the stone that he was supposed to take from the treasure that the dragon was guarding.

"Arkenstone…" said Bilbo, nodding his head as he looked at the image again. "And what's that?"

"That, master burglar, is why you are here," said Thorin with a low voice.

A slight worry came over Nàin as Thorin said this. She didn't want Bilbo to get hurt and if that dragon would find him, he'd be in great danger.

..::**::..

"I'll go with you for a while, laddie. I know the way better than anyone else," said Balin right before Bilbo was about to start walking.

He didn't have a clue where he was supposed to search for this stone neither did he have a clue of what the stone looked like. He felt slightly relieved when Balin walked over to him, smiling. At least he wouldn't have to go all alone and he wouldn't get lost.

"I'll go too. Just for company," said Nàin, ignoring the harsh look that Thorin gave her as she walked up to Bilbo and Balin.

"Thanks," said Bilbo before he turned around and started walking.

The halls were dark yet not dark enough for them to not be able to see anything at all. Exactly where the light came from, Nàin did not know and she dared not to ask either. She didn't know if they were close to the dragon or not and if so, her voice might awaken the beast. They turned right a couple of times and Nàin was sure that she wouldn't have too much trouble with finding her way back. However, she paid no attention to where they turned right and where they didn't since she knew that Balin would be by her side on the way back to the rest of the company.

Suddenly, Balin stopped and looked at Bilbo. "This is where I bid you good luck, Master Baggins. You are nearly there. Just turn right at the end of this hall and you'll be by the treasure soon."

"Thank you for coming with me," said Bilbo in a hushed voice. "Both of you. I appreciate it a lot."

"You are my friend," said Nàin, smiling at the Hobbit. "What else should I have done? Let you walk these halls all alone with only Balin to keep you company?"

Bilbo chuckled quietly while Balin simply smiled.

"There's just one thing I need to ask… you want me to find a jewel?" asked Bilbo, looking between Balin and Nàin as he waited for a reply.

"A large white jewel, yes," said Balin, nodding his head.

"And… that's it? I imagine there are quite a few down there," said Bilbo, making Nàin smirk.

"There is only one Arkenstone," said Nàin, making Balin nod. "At least… that's what I've heard."

"You'll know it when you see it," said Balin, giving Bilbo a reassuring look before Bilbo turned his head towards the hall that would lead him to the treasure.

"Right," said Bilbo.

"In truth lad, I don't know what you will find down there," said Balin, making Bilbo blink a couple of times before he raised his eyebrows at him.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to," said Nàin putting a hand on his upper arm. "There's no dishonor in turning back-"

"No, Nàin. I promised I would do this. And I think I must try," said Bilbo, looking Nàin in the eyes while not blinking even once, indicating that what he said, he said from the heart.

Nàin's lips formed a smile which Bilbo returned with a small smile as well. A quiet chuckle escaped Balin which made both Nàin and Bilbo turn their heads towards him.

"It never ceases to amaze me!" said Balin, shaking his head with a large smile on his face.

"What?" asked Bilbo, confusion written all over his face.

"The courage of Hobbits," said Balin, making Nàin squeeze Bilbo's arm, gently, in a way of saying that she agreed. "Go now, with as much luck as you can muster."

Bilbo nodded before starting to walk along the hallway, Nàin following him as she didn't want to let go of him.

"Oh, and Bilbo," said Balin, making him and Nàin stop. "If there is in fact a… 'live dragon down there. Don't 'waken it."

Bilbo nodded before continuing to walk again. Nàin still holding on to his sleeve. This time, however, Bilbo noticed. He stopped again and turned his head towards Nàin, giving her a confused look.

"Oh… I should probably… follow Balin back," said Nàin, letting go of Bilbo's sleeve, slowly.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry," said Bilbo, smiling a reassuring smile at Nàin before continuing to walk.

Nàin watched him for a couple of seconds before turning around and start the walk back again. At the first corner, she turned left and expected to see Balin walking there or waiting for her. However, all she saw was an empty hallway.

For a moment, she simply stood there, confused and worried, before she cursed out loud. She should've paid attention to where Balin had turned and where he hadn't. Nàin had no clue as to how she was supposed to find the way back on her own! A small voice in her head told her to follow Bilbo. But she knew she couldn't do that. The dragon knew her scent since she was a Dwarf. It would ruin everything and probably be the death of her.

Instead, she started walking. She turned where she thought they had turned before as well but it was hard to know where she had to turn since every hallway looked practically the same.

..::**::..

She wandered about for a while until she reached a hallway that had a small door at the end of it. For a moment she thought about turning around and turning to the right instead of the left like she had done, but curiosity took a hold of her and dragged her towards the door.

It looked like a basic door. There were no decorations around it or on it. It was made of plain wood which spiked Nàin's curiosity even more. What was behind it?

Without hesitating, Nàin opened the door. It made no sounds as it slowly opened and revealed what it had been hiding.

A small room with almost no furniture nor decorations was behind the door. With curious eyes, Nàin stepped inside the room and turned around on the spot as she inspected everything she saw from a distance. Her eyes caught sight of something peculiar. A small iron box no larger than a small jewelry box could be seen standing on a lonely chair that had been placed in the room for some reason. She walked over to it, accidentally stumbling over a large stone that probably had fallen down from the roof when Smaug had attacked Erebor all those years ago. She looked up and got her suspicions confirmed as she saw that a large piece of the roof was missing. However, that didn't make Nàin see the sky. Instead, she saw the roof of another room that was placed above this one.

The iron box wasn't decorated in a special way, either. However, it did have a large diamond on the lid which made Nàin look at it with awe. It was her favorite color, red.

As she opened the box, she was met by the sight of a small dagger that just managed to fit inside the box. The dagger was decorated with three diamonds on the hilt while the blade itself was beautifully decorated with a small rune inscription that read "Nàrvil".

Nàin's heartbeat sped up as she read the name that was engraved into the dagger's blade. It was her father's name! Though, he couldn't have owned such a beautiful dagger, could he?

Next to the dagger, there was a piece of paper. She took it in her hands and unfolded the piece of brownish paper.

From my grandfather it passed on to my father and then to me. Now, I give this dagger to you. Keep it safe and use it well, my son. It has belonged to our family for many generations and one day, you will pass it on to your son.

Your father, Nár

With wide eyes, Nàin put the piece of paper back in the box. This dagger had indeed belonged to her father. Or maybe he never had gotten the chance to get it. Why would it otherwise be laying around here?

"Don't worry, grandfather. I'll pass it on to my son," whispered Nàin as she took the dagger in her hands and smiled.

..::**::..

With her new dagger attached to her belt around her waist, she started to wander around again. This time, however, she recognized herself. She was a hundred percent sure that she had walked this way when she still was with Balin and Bilbo.

A smile appeared on her lips as she started walking faster, turning right at the points where she recognized herself at.

However, as she turned right at the last corner, her smile disappeared. She had been walking where she had walked before and had she given more attention to what she actually was doing, she would've noticed that she was turning right, which was precisely what she had done with Balin and Bilbo when they walked towards the treasure.

Before her, she saw the entire treasure. She was standing at the beginning of the stairs that led to the very treasure where Bilbo had to find the Arkenstone. And she was in plain shock as she gazed over the treasure and saw nothing else but a dragon.

Luckily for Nàin, the dragon had its back towards her and she could, while keeping her breath, slowly sneak behind the wall so that neither Bilbo nor the dragon could see her.

She was shocked because the dragon Smaug could've seen her and killed her right there on the spot. But she was also shocked by the fact that Bilbo was talking to the dragon. After she had managed to calm her beating heart down, she managed to listen to their conversation and she was shocked as to what she heard.

"Barrels? Now that is interesting! And what about your little Dwarf friends? Where are they hiding?" asked the dark voice that Nàin knew only could belong to Smaug.

"D-dwarves? No, no. No Dwarves here," said Bilbo, sounding awfully calm considering who he was talking to. "You've got that all wrong."

"Oh, I don't think so, barrel rider… They sent you in here to do their dirty work while they skulk about outside," said Smaug again.

"Truly, you are mistaking-" said Bilbo but was cut off by Smaug.

"And… Men? Is that the scent of Men I smell? No, it isn't. Oh, but it is. A very faint smell, yet it's there," said Smaug, making Nàin frown and furrow her brow. "Have the Dwarves really allied with Men?"

A chuckle escaped Smaug making Nàin shiver.

"Men? No… you've got that all wrong!" said Bilbo's voice which was the last thing that Nàin heard before she walked away.

Her mind swirled with thoughts. What had the dragon meant with the smell of Men? There were no Men in their company. Unless the explanation to Nàin being different from the other Dwarves was that she only was part Dwarf. However, that couldn't be true since both her mother and father were Dwarves. Weren't they?


Thanks for reading!