Yes, I'm still alive :-D
And I really hope you like the idea I got for this story now! I know it's impossible according to the time-line of the book but I recognized that Peter Jackson also changed the time-line a lot and so I thought to myself if HE can do it...I can definately do it in my fanfiction :-D
/
"Kate, wake up..."
Thorin patted her cheek. Oin prepared a cold cloth and placed it on her forehead. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked up at Thorin. "What...what happened?", she whispered and Thorin gave her some water. As she sat up again, she looked around. "Lindsey...", she breathed and tears started running down her cheeks. She buried her face in her hands and let her head drop against Thorins chest. He was holding her close, gently stroked her back. "Ssssh, my love...we will get her back" he whispered and she looked up again. "How? How will you get her back without being killed yourself?", she asked and let her eyes drift along the group. She saw Bilbo standing in the corner, he looked miserable. Kate managed to get up being backed by Thorin and she stepped closer to the Hobbit.
"Bilbo...", she said but he avoided to look at her. He felt guilty that he was not able to help Lindsey. "Bilbo, look at me. It's not your fault, do you hear me?", she added and now he looked up at her. She gave him a tired smile and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry Kate..."
"Tell me, what exactly happened", she said and Bilbo cleared his throat and began to tell them everything.
"And then he placed her down on a pile of gold and sent me back to tell you he got one of us as his hostage.", he ended his story.
They all fell silent for a while. Legolas stepped closer. "A hostage means he wants something. What could he want from you?"
"The mountain? The gold?", Kili replied but Thorin shook his head. "He got all that already."
"He might want something so invaluable so he thinks if he takes Lindsey he will get it...", Balin thought and suddenly they all looked at Kate.
"What?", she asked confused.
"He wants you", Dwalin said quietly. Her eyes grew wide in shock.
"No!", Thorin stepped closer to her, pulled her into his arms. "He won't get her or my child!", he growled.
"And what if Lindsey dies?", Fili cried out. Kili tried to calm him down but he shrugged his brother off and walked closer to the edge of the cliff.
"You want me to give my wife and unborn child to that dragon in exchange for your girlfriend?", Thorin growled and glared angrily at his nephew. Kate looked at both of them.
"STOP!", she yelled at them, causing them to look at her quite startled. She approached Fili.
"I want her back as much as you do. Even more, I suppose. If he wants me...", she turned to Thorin whose eyes were filled with shock.
"No...no, no, no NO!", he said over and over again. "I can't allow you to go inside and...and...he will kill you, Kate!"
"There has to be another plan!", Ori called out.
"We should try bring him out...some of us try to distract him while the others go and rescue Lindsey", Kili said and earned some strange looks.
"Well...that might work...", Dwalin began but Legolas cut him off: "How much time do you think you have? My father will be here soon with an army of Mirkwood soldiers! We have to act quickly!"
Thorin watched Kate. He knew how she must feel. He had lost his brother in battle. He lost his grandfather. And his father? No one knew what happend to him since he left the Blue Mountains some years ago without a word. He sighed and pulled her closer again.
"I was not able to protect her once...the day she got attacked by that warg before we reached Rivendell. And now I should leave her alone in there with a dangerous dragon? I will never forgive myself if she...she...", but she was unable to finish that sentence. More tears filled her eyes and they stood silent, deep in their own thoughts until the ground started shaking for a second.
"You have not yet answered my question, lady"
Lindsey looked up into the dark eyes of the dragon who was watching her. Clouds of smoke wafted out of his nostrils. She had to cough as she took a deep breath. The chuckling of the dragon was a loud, rumbling sound that shook the ground for a second.
"I thought people like you are used to smoke?" the dragon asked lowering his head slightly.
"I never liked any kind of smoke. Oh why am I talking to you, you filthy creature?!" she cried out causing Smaug to shift a little, more smoke wafting out of his nostrils. Lindsey was afraid that she angered him and he might burn her to death. Instead he fell silent, and it seemed as if he was thinking about what she just had said. She could see that he was still watching her.
"Your name, lady?" he asked again after a long while. She sighed and slowly got up on her feet.
"Lindsey..."
He huffed. "Lindseeey...such a strange name. What is the name of your sister?"
"How do you know about my sister?" she called in shock and inhaled too much smoke again, making her cough. She had to prevent herself from throwing up as well as she smelled the foul scent of the dragon.
"Why do you think you're here?" he asked her teasingly.
"Because I was stupid..."
The dragon chuckled again. "I think you are clever. Not as clever as I am, of course."
She huffed and turned away from him. A shriek left her throat as she felt his scaly nose nudging her, making her stumble on her knees.
"What was that for?" she yelled at him. It was as if he grinned at her. "Do you think your friends will come and help you?"
She glared angrily and hissed "Of course they will come! And they will kill you!"
"Kill me? Oh, sweet Lindseeey...no one will ever be able to kill me! My armour is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws are spears, the shock of my tail is a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death! Tell me again they will come and kill me!"
"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!"
He snapped at her tunic with his teeth, lifted her up. She cried out and was aware that he was carrying her out of the treasure hall.
"WHERE DO YOU TAKE ME?!" she cried out, tears ran down her cheeks while she hang a few feet above the ground. She was praying that her tunic won't rip apart, or she would fall down and be dead. Of course, Smaug could not answer her without releasing her and so she had to resign to her fate.
They reached another huge hall, most of it was destroyed but as she took a closer look she could see something like cells. 'Oh no, not again. Not again locked up in a cell', she thought and her mind wandered back to the Mirkwood prison.
"Let me down!" she called angrily trying to hide her immense fear. She screamed as the dragon slung her down into one of the cells. With his nose he closed the cell door and with a spell he sealed the keyhole.
"You will stay in here until your friends do what I expect them to do. I thought having some company might be fun, but you're just annoying!"
"I will starve to death!"
"Then better pray they help you fast"
His head turned to look at the cell across from hers. "Now you have some company, old man" he said and finally left the hall. Lindsey tried to take a look at the person Smaug had spoken to just a minute ago but the cell was dark and she couldn't see anyone. She shifted closer to the door. "Is someone in there?" she asked and could hear someone shifting in the darkness.
"Who are you?" the husky voice of an elder man asked quietly. Her heart was banging hard in her chest.
"Lindsey...I-I'm here with...with other dwarves. And my sister, Kate"
"Other dwarves? Where are they?"
"Outside..up at a secret tunnel entrance."
Silence fell over them for some moments. "Who is with you?" he suddenly asked.
"Well, there is...Balin, Dwalin...Bifur and Bofur...Bombur, Dori, Ori...Oin, Gloin...Kili and Fili. A hobbit called Bilbo. And then there's Kate, my sister. She is engaged to the leader of our Company and she's also carrying his child which makes all this so dangerous for her", she sobbed.
"The leader...who is the leader of your Company?" the man asked and Lindsey sensed his voice was shaking slightly.
"Thorin...Thorin Oakenshield, the rightful King under the Mountain."
Once again there was silence when suddenly she heard someone shifting closer to the other cell door.
"He...he is here?" the man asked and now she could see a glimpse of his face. He was old, she could tell from his grey hear and beard as well as his face looked like a friendly grandfather, but something was strange. As he shifted even closer to the door to take a better look at her as well she saw it.
He had only one eye.
Fine I wanted to create a little cliffhanger again and that's all I came up with haha...^^