Chapter 37: Inside information

As Allie stared into the darkness of the mountain she swallowed loudly. Ever since they had left the Shire she had known that there would be a day in which she would have to enter the mountain and face Smaug, if the dragon was still alive. Because they had heard the dragon, they knew that he was inside there somewhere possibly waiting for someone. She had been dreading this moment for a long time.

"Is there no other way?" Bilbo asked quietly. He too was just as uncomfortable as Allie was. They both knew what this meant.

"I am afraid not," Thorin responded with a quirked brow. "From everyone in this company the two of you stand the most chance of not being detected by Smaug. We dwarves would never make it out there alive, but there is every chance that the two of you can."

That still didn't reassure Allie at all. She had never encountered a dragon before, but she knew well enough what they could do and that wasn't a pleasant thought. If Smaug would be able to detect them he would roast them without a moment's hesitation. Their weapons would stand no chance against such a mighty beast.

"I suggest that we eat dinner first," Bombur intervened.

"We cannot delay this much longer," Thorin countered, crossing his arms. "We have to know what this dragon is up to if we want to take the mountain back from him."

"I am sorry that it has to be the two of you," Balin chimed in. "But the dragon doesn't know your scent and that is something that we have to use to our advantage. You can sneak in there unnoticed."

Allie exhaled deeply. "Alright then. We'll do this." Bilbo immediately turned his head to meet her gaze, his eyes widened slightly at her words. "They are right, Bilbo. I am afraid that we are the only ones who can do this. It will be alright." At least that what she hoped, but she tried not to show it to him.

Bilbo took a moment to consider what she said and then slowly nodded. "I signed the contract as the company's burglar after all," he replied. "I guess this is where I have to prove my worth."

Thorin took a step closer to Allie, placing a kiss against her forehead. "Stay together and keep on that ring no matter what happens," he warned them. "I will see you shortly."

"Thank you," Allie said with a small smile as she stepped away from him and turned to Bilbo. She gave the Halfling a nod and grabbed his hand. Bilbo picked the ring from his pocket and put it on, making both of them disappear in front of the dwarves who gasped loudly.

They descended and Allie saw how the dwarves remained on the outside, trying to keep themselves together. Bilbo and Allie silently walked through the tunnel, making sure that they would trip over anything in the dark. Such a sound would surely let Smaug know that he wasn't alone in the mountain and they had to prevent that from happening. The passage that they went through was made for dwarves and smooth-floured. It was excellent craftsmanship.

"Are you scared, Allie?" Bilbo asked with a hushed voice.

"I am," Allie replied honestly. "Aren't you?"

"Absolutely terrified," Bilbo confirmed. He gently squeezed into her hand. "Still I am glad that you are here with me, even though I don't like the thought of you being so close to danger."

"Don't worry too much, Bilbo," Allie tried to comfort him. "I know that Smaug can easily kill us, should he find us. I believe that we can make it out of here alive. You should keep faith." Even in the darkness of this tunnel she was able to see him smiling.

The further they went down the tunnel the warmer the air grew and more humid. Within minutes beads of sweat were forming on their foreheads. It was becoming more than obvious that the dragon was down there somewhere and they were getting close to his den.

As they kept going they heard it, a sort of gurgling noise of some sort of huge animal that was snoring in its sleep down there in the red glow in front of them. At this Bilbo stopped dead in his tracks, causing Allie to crash into his back. She too stopped and exchanged another fearful look with Bilbo as they listened to the sound.

Allie wondered what she had gotten herself into. She had never dared to imagine to that she would one day be this close to a dragon, but yet here she was. From the sounds of its snoring she knew that Smaug was near and she felt a pit of anxiety grew inside her stomach, becoming fearful.

"We can do this," Allie whispered positively. Bilbo seemed to appreciate her reassuring words. He took another deep breath as they stepped forwards again, continuing their way.

They were nearing the end of the tunnel. Allie wiped the sweat from her brow as she and Bilbo craned their heads through the doorway. From where they stood they were able to see gold and jewels as far as the eye could see. The enormous hall didn't seem to end in any direction. What they saw in the middle of the gold took their breaths away and left them speechless.

Smaug was lying fast asleep on top of the gold. A thrumming noise came from his jaws and wisps of smoke from his nostrils, but his fires were low in slumber. Beneath the dragon, under all his limbs and his huge coiled tail, lay more jewels, gems and gold. Dragons were incredibly fond of treasure after all.

Allie was amazed by the size of the dragon, which make her feel like nothing. Smaug would be able to kill her by simply standing on top of her, crushing her like a bug. There would be nothing that she could do to fight against such an enormous opponent and she prayed to the Valar that they would remain undetected.

As she slightly turned her head she saw that Bilbo was in a similar state. He too seemed blown away by the sight of the dragon, not believing that this wasn't a part of his imagination but reality.

Silently they crept from the shadows of the doorway to the treasure mouth. Allie made sure that they wouldn't get too close to the dragon and would accidentally wake him. She anxiously held her breath as Bilbo carefully grabbed a goblet from the treasury, but he did it without making any noise. Allie then picked up a golden bracelet herself, stuffing it inside her pocket.

They never removed their gaze from Smaug as they hurried out of the chamber and back into the tunnel. Allie felt her heart beating frantically inside her chest as they practically started to run back. She simply couldn't believe that this had actually happened and she knew that the amount of adrenaline in her blood was high at the moment.

Together they had made it back to the company within the matter of minutes. Allie still felt her heart beating loudly because she had just stood face to face with a live dragon and she wasn't completely convinced yet that this had been the truth.

"What of Smaug?" Thorin asked as Bilbo took off the Ring and let go off Allie's hand.

"The dragon sleeps," Allie answered, crossing her arms.

Bilbo handed Thorin the cup that he had taken. "There are mountains of treasures inside."

Allie gazed at the father and for the faintest of a second she saw a strange gleam in his eyes, one that she had never seen before. Allie bit her lip as she looked away, hoping that she had just imagined it and that it was merely the moonlight in his eyes.

"I have to admit that I was rather worried that the two of you wouldn't return," Kili then said as he took a step closer towards his cousin and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But it brings me relief to know that you're alright."

Allie flashed him a small smile. "We couldn't have done it without Bilbo," she replied honestly. "He truly is that stealthy burglar that Gandalf claimed that he was."

The entire company was now looking at Bilbo who was becoming a tad uncomfortable from all the attention. He scratched the back of his head. "I—I wouldn't say that," he stammered in disagreement.

"Don't be so humble, Bilbo," Allie said fondly. "You deserve some credit for all that you've done. I for one know that I am grateful for it." She got closer to him and tugged an auburn curl of his hair behind his pointed ear. "You truly are a fine burglar, Bilbo Baggins." With that she softly pressed her lips against his, silencing Bilbo so that he couldn't reply. Instead of shoving her away he tenderly savored the kiss. Allie loved the feeling of his lips on hers and didn't want to break away.

Their moment came to an end when someone cleared his throat behind them. Caught in the act they abruptly broke apart, both their cheeks flushed as they saw that the whole company had just witnessed this intimate moment between them. Allie had simply forgotten that they had been there.

Thorin seemed to show little emotions about the situation as if it hadn't bothered him at all. In fact he seemed to have a small smile lingering on his lips, but he remained quiet about the matter. The rest of the company on the other hand, didn't.

"Youngsters in love," Oin grumbled.

"Clearly my cousin isn't so innocent anymore," Fili added.

"Unbelievable," Kili supplied.

Allie simply snickered quietly. "Oi, don't need to be sour about it."

"Don't mind them, lass," Balin said with a wink.

After that the dwarves settled around the fire to prepare dinner. Allie was about to join them so that she could aid them, but Bilbo grabbed hold of her wrist and gently pulled her back to him against his chest this time. Allie was a bit amazed by this sudden action and blushed slightly because of it.

"Are you alright?" Bilbo asked her, kissing the back of her hand.

Allie smiled up at him. "Yes, why shouldn't I be?"

He returned the smile. "I just meant with the dwarves teasing and –"

"Bilbo, that doesn't bother me at all," Allie gently cut him off. She leaned a bit forward until their noses were touching. She was able to feel his hot breath against her skin. "They mean nothing of it and its innocent teasing. Besides if that means I've got you in the end then it's all fine."

His hand rested on the small of her back while Allie's arms went around his neck. "Are you sure about that, Allie?" Bilbo asked hesitantly.

Slowly, Allie nodded. "Very sure. Aren't you?"

His smile enlarged. "You are worth all the teasing, Allie Fairchild." To let her know that he meant what he said he gently brought their mouths together. Allie closed her eyes and returned it, taking Bilbo's bottom lip into her slightly parted mouth for a moment, running her tongue along it gently. This time they were aware that they weren't alone and that the company might be watching their moment, so Bilbo did his best not to get carried away. It was incredibly hard when his tongues lazily swirled together with Allie's, but he carefully pulled his head back and met her confused gaze. "It's not appropriate," he said with a whisper, gesturing to the dwarves.

Allie saw what he meant and chuckled. "Hmm, yes. We don't want them to see all that." She adjusted the collar of his coat as she did so. She really wished that they were able to continue this privately without the curious eyes of the company, but they wouldn't be alone for a while. She placed a final peck on his lips.

Bilbo continued to gaze into Allie's warm eyes until a loud rumbling shook the mountain beneath their feet. One of the dwarves let out a shriek. Smaug had woken up.

The entire company sprang to their feet. They anxiously listened in silence to find out what was happening. Every single one of them froze when dragon-footsteps echoed across the passage. After a few seconds the sound grew fainter, letting them know that the dragon was going the other way.

"He's coming here!" Dwalin said in utter shock.

Within a couple of seconds Smaug emerged from the front gate and took a flight. The mountain shook in return as the dragon breathed a flame or orange and yellow at the mountain top. Allie steadied Bilbo so that he wouldn't fall over from the commotion.

"We have to get inside! Now!" Thorin yelled, grabbing hold of Allie's wrist and pushing her ahead of him into the tunnel. He waited until everyone had safely made it inside. They descended deeper into the tunnel, feeling the air becoming more humid as they went. Behind them they were able to see the faint colors of flames chasing them. It was Thorin who pushed Allie aside and shielded his daughter from the flames that went past them.

For a few moments nothing happened. The entire company was completely silent as they tried to catch their breaths and listened to any sounds of the dragon.

"Are you all alright?" Allie asked them when she realized that Smaug must've moved on. Because it was pitch black inside the tunnel she wasn't able to see everyone, but she assumed that they were all here.

"Yes, we are, lass," Bofur replied fearful. "We're missing Bombur and Bifur. My poor cousins are in the valley. They will be slain."

Allie swallowed a lump away from her throat. She knew that Bofur was right. Two dwarves stood no change against an enormous dragon. They would be roasted on the spot, but she didn't dare to tell him. For now they had plenty of things to worry about. They were stuck inside the mountain and Smaug could return any time.