The world was a blur
Bard fell away from me. His nails tried to grip my armour but he was no match for gravity. It dragged us down like a vengeful death god trying to pull us into hell.
There were screams.
It could have been me. It could have been the wind whistling past my ears as I plummeted.
My hands clamoured wildly. Seeking any handhold. Any semblance of safety.
There was no safety to be found. Instead all I received was intense pain. A wooden beam collided with me in mid air. Crashing into my arm and splintering against my head. Fire exploded against my temple. I didn't even have time to cry out.
My vision went black. Time lost all meaning
I couldn't see the moment that I crashed into the ground. But I certainly felt it. Even in my half unconscious state I could feel it.
The shock of landing must have overloaded my brain. For one agonising moment I was fully awake again. All I could feel was agony. I couldn't see as my vision was overtaken by white and black spots. The pain was all encompassing and I couldn't breathe. Couldn't get my muscles to move. It felt like the world was spinning and my mind was too disorientated to keep up.
The rest of the tower fell around me. Burying me in it's ruins. It felt like I was being buried in a grave of my own making.
I was only conscious for a few more seconds before the darkness swallowed me up.
Everything was black and cold-and thick. Like my mind was swimming. Trying to find the surface.
Where was I?
What was happening?
Whenever I felt like I was close to the surface an intense pain would envelope me. I would shy away from it and my mind would grow dark once more.
"Leah"
"Liriel"
I could hear something. But it was like a breath against my ears. It slipped away before I could focus on it again.
I was floating.
All at once the darkness was broken by a pulse of golden light. Like a beacon.
I could feel.
It wasn't the pain of consciousness. But a soft caress. Of someone reaching out. Touching my very essence; my very soul. The sensation would have made me gasp if I was fully conscious.
Another flash of gold. I felt it once more.
It was like a hand in the dark, pulling me out. It drew me closer to the surface. A cry bubbled up as the pain awakened once more. Like someone had taken a white hot poker and rammed it into the side of my head.
"LIRIEL"
My body was lead.
So heavy.
A crushing weight lay on me. I could barely breathe.
I cried out again as something shifted above me. Jostling my wounds.
One moment I was suffocating under great pressure and the next it was gone.
"I'm here Liriel. I've got you."
Something reached out, grasping my weakened body. Lifting me up. I let out another whimper at the movement.
"I've got you"
My head lolled back against something. Consciousness losing out once again.
Awareness trickled in slowly.
The first thing that I noticed was that I was no longer in pain. My mind didn't rebel when I drew myself closer to the surface. No more did agony threaten to pull me back under. Instead I felt the darkness thinning. Parting like a thick curtain.
I could feel my body. My limbs no longer felt like they were lead weights. The burning pain in my temple had all but vanished. Only a dull ache and a strange numbness remained. My heart beat steadily against my chest. A stark contrast to the other pulse I could feel alongside it. Beating like a butterfly's wing.
The second thing I noticed was a hand in my hair. Gently gliding through the strands. A soft voice accompanied it.
I'll keep you safe
Try hard to concentrate
Hold out your hand
Can you feel the weight of it
Mum's voice was barely above a whisper as she sang. Thick with emotion. The sound of it roused me further.
The whole world at your fingertips
Don't be, don't be afraid
Our mistakes they were bound to be made
But I promise you I'll keep you safe
My eyelids refused to listen to me at first. It took a few tries before they opened fully. Mum's face hovered closely above mine. Blurry at first but she quickly swam into focus. There were tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. When she saw my eyes open, she visibly sagged in relief. Tension left her body
"Oh Leah," she gasped "You're okay"
Mum hooked one arm under my head and the other around my shoulder. She lifted me up and hugged me to her. Cradling my head against her chest. Her gentle heart beat was a comfort. I just let myself be held.
There was a slight tremor in her hands as she held me. A quiet sniff was the only indicator that Mum was crying.
I managed to get myself into a seated position without too much effort. Mum held one of my shoulders to support me but I didn't really need it.
It was still dark and the only light was coming from a couple of lanterns. I mustn't have been out cold for that long then if the sun hadn't risen yet. Looking around, I could see that I was in a tent of some kind. It was small and definitely not the tent I had slept in the previous day. Boxes of supplies were scattered across the ground. Most looked like they were thrown in here in a rush. One crate had tipped on its side with it's lid half open. The contents threatening to spill out.
I could detect the thick scent of smoke in the air. Taste a hint of ash on my tongue.
"Smaug" I started. My throat was dry and my voice cracked "What happened?"
My head twinged as I tried to remember. My hand covered my temple to stifle the ache.
I remembered Smaug leaving the mountain, following the pyres. Then I remembered screams and fire. Smaug had turned his flames towards us but I couldn't understand why.
"Don't push yourself too much, darling. You've only just come to" Mum paused before saying "You've been through quite an ordeal"
My mind thought back to the pain I had been feeling before. There was a reason for it but I couldn't quite remember how it had happened. It was like trying to grasp a shadow.
I looked down at my limbs, surprised to see that they were all in working order. They weren't black and blue or broken. I had a distinct feeling that I'd felt something snap before. But I saw no mention of that now.
A strange feeling of vertigo rushed through me as the memory of falling was suddenly pushed to the front of my mind. The terrible feeling of helplessness. The air that swallowed me up.
"I..I fell?" I asked, unsure.
Mum nodded solemnly. "You somehow made it to Bard and used your power to distract Smaug."
The memory resurfaced as she said it. The brightness of the light from my hands. The horror I felt under the eye of that dragon.
"Bard's arrow struck true but Smaug managed to destroy the platform you were on in an attempt to flee" A cry caught in Mum's throat "Your Adar found you buried beneath the rubble"
"Ada found me?"
Mum nodded.
There had been a voice. As I moved in and out of consciousness. It must have been him trying to search for me.
He must have found me bleeding and bruised. I wasn't even conscious. Oh god he was the last person I wanted to see me like that. What must have been going through his head when he found me? The last time he had seen me in such a state I had died in his arms. He'd probably thought that he had lost me again.
"When I saw you in your Adar's arms, for a horrifying moment, I thought you were gone" Mum's voice cracked. A hand covered her mouth. "My mind didn't even think about the fact that Kili was still here. All I could see was you lying lifeless and covered in blood"
I felt the sting of tears build up at the corner of my eyes. The fact that I'd caused Mum such pain hurt.
"I'm sorry" my voice was thick.
Mum gave me a watery smile. Before capturing me in another hug. "Oh Leah you don't need to be sorry. It wasn't your fault"
I mean technically it was. If I wasn't nearly buried alive then she wouldn't be in tears right now. But I could also see what she meant. It was Smaug that caused all the destruction after all. It wasn't my fault that the tower was destroyed.
Mum leaned back once more. Her hands cradled my face and wiped an errant tear. "You saved us Leah. Without you I dread to think about what further destruction there could have been. How many more lives lost"
People had died then.
I mean of course they did. There would have had to have been a thousand miracles at play for everyone to have made it out of that mess.
Even so, hearing it felt like a blow.
"How bad was it?"
"If it weren't for the skilled healers it would have been a lot worse. We were able to get to most of the injured before they succumbed to their wounds. And most had managed to evade Smaug's fire. The trees were able to mask them from sight so Smaug was effectively firing blind." Mum sighed deeply "We lost around 70 humans and 3 of our own"
Out of the thousands that this camp was holding it was quite a small number. Yet their deaths still felt like a mighty blow. Even if it was a small number of casualties, they shouldn't have happened at all. We had changed things to save everyone. No one should have been hurt. No one should have died.
They wouldn't have died if there hadn't been a fire blazing in the middle of the camp.
"I saw a fire. In camp. It's what turned Smaug towards us. How did that even happen? All of the torches were put out" An anger was building in my voice as I spoke. I just didn't understand.
Mum's expression closed off and her jaw tightened. A look of pure rage glistened in her eyes. "That" Mum spat "Would be the Master of Laketown"
The Master?
What had that bastard done?
"He and your Adar had been at odds all of yesterday. About his stupid gold. He didn't care at all about his people only about what he saw as his. He refused to have his gold 'out in the open for all to steal' and tried to demand us to move it. We ignored him. There were more important tasks at hand. We didn't have time to mess about with that treasure any longer. It had already cost us precious evacuation time.
"The Master left and we thought that was the last of it. But it wasn't.
"He came back when night had fallen with a group of men that were loyal to him. They had lanterns and torches even though we had told everyone of the danger. He was going to use Smaug's attack as a cover while he stole the treasure. He was going to steal all of his people's gold and run away, like the coward he was.
"But he had forgotten that your Adar had stationed guards around the treasure. There was a fight and the Master would have surely lost. But someone had left a barrel of oil close by. Sometime during the fight it must have been knocked over and one of the Master's torches had set it alight. The entire surrounding area went up instantly"
A sick, seething anger curled in my gut. My hands curled into tight fists. The nails bit into my palms.
It was all his fault.
The reason that anyone was hurt was because of the Master and his greed. I remembered in the films that the Master had tried to abscond with the treasure when Smaug attacked. But I thought that was because it was going to be destroyed. Yet even when the treasure was safe it still wasn't enough. He still wanted to take it all for himself.
If it wasn't for him no one would have died. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have had to climb up that god forsaken tower and face Smaug's wrath. I wouldn't have been buried beneath the rubble.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to rage. It left a bad taste in my mouth.
A ripple of energy simmered beneath my hands. The magic was still accessible despite how injured I'd been. My hands shook with the effort to store it away once more. To draw it away from the surface.
"Where is he now?" I was just about ready to go kill the man myself.
"He was one of the people that died." said Mum "He succumbed to a fire of his own making"
I didn't know how I felt about that. Was I happy that he had died? Or was I angry that it felt like an easy way out for him? He wouldn't be punished for what he'd done. Wouldn't get to answer to all the people whose lives he'd ruined. He was just gone. Taken to wherever men go when they die.
"I should go and tell people that you're awake" Mum made to get up.
"I would tread carefully around your Adar, Leah. I know a part of him is proud of what you did but his judgement is clouded by fear. Don't think too harshly of him" She patted my shoulder and left the tent.
Leaving me to anxiously wait. To Ada I had basically done the exact thing he had wanted to keep me away from. I'd risked my life against a dragon. Somehow I had come out on top but only just. In Ada's eyes I'd only confirmed his suspicions that me being here was a danger.
I swung my legs around and planted my feet on the ground. The limbs didn't feel weak and I knew they would be able to take my weight. Healers must have patched me up at some point. Otherwise I would just be one giant bruise. With only a little effort, I pushed myself into a standing position.
Just in time to see the door of the tent fly open.
Legolas came in first. His expression was a mixture of relief and exasperation. He strode over to me and enveloped me in a hug. His grip was tight but I didn't mind.
"What you did was incredibly stupid and incredibly brave" he murmured.
"High praise" I let out a small laugh.
I think we both knew that if he was in the same position he would have done the same thing. We were two sides to the same stupid and brave coin.
When Legolas let me go, he moved to the side. Giving me a full view of Ada.
He held so much emotion in his eyes I couldn't bear to look at him for long. My gaze drifted to the ground. He looked distraught and angry and terrified. All of his thoughts and fears were displayed clearly on his face. No holding back.
"Liriel what were you thinking?" Ada snapped "You should not have been up there!"
I realised then that I was going to let Ada vent. Let him get all of his emotions out. His feelings were valid after all. I turned my eyes back towards him.
"I thought I'd lost you. Again. I'm supposed to keep you safe. I had to find your body beneath the dust and ash" a tear had gathered at the corner of his eye but he refused to let it fall. He walked forward a few steps. Closing the distance between the two of us.
"What if Bard's arrow had not found its mark? Hmm. You would have faced the full force of a fire drake's breath. Do you know that pain? Do you know what you could have become"
A gasp fell out of me.
The skin of Ada's face appeared to be melting away. Twisted tissue and sinew below the surface became visible. It started in a small patch on his cheek and spread rapidly. Like a fire eating away at his healthy flesh. All across the left side of his face and down his neck. His eye became cloudy and unseeing. His teeth became exposed through a hole in his cheek. Ada's jaw tightened as if the process was painful.
"This. This is what you would have become" Ada's voice was tight. "A shell of what you used to be"
I had never seen Ada's injuries before. I wasn't sure if I was even told about them when I was younger. The only reason I knew about them was because of the films. Legolas was also surprised. If his gasp was any indication I would say that he had never seen these injuries either. This was the first time Ada had shown any of his children the damage he had taken.
I felt a lump form in my throat. He must have been in such pain.
My hand reached up towards his face. He flinched as I moved closer but didn't move away. Ada let out a small gasp as my hand made contact with his sunken cheek. The skin beneath my hand was delicate. I could feel every twitch of the muscle.
Then I willed my hands to glow. Urged my magic to seek out the damaged tissue. To build. To reform.
"I know your scared Ada" my own voice was thick as I spoke "Scared that I'll get hurt and that you'll lose me again"
Ada's breath trembled as layer upon layer of cells were rebuilding. Capillaries and muscle knitted back together. It was a lot harder than when I had healed before. I had to push more energy into the wound. Like something was fighting against it. I grit my teeth and pushed on.
"But you can't protect me from everything. Smaug had turned on our people. He was going to kill all of us. We had run out of options and the only thing left was me. My magic was one of the only things that would have distracted Smaug for long enough." I looked up at Ada with a watery smile "I think you know that too"
My hand started to shake against his cheek. Each breath felt like it was harder than the last. But I didn't stop. I kept pouring more magic into the wound. There was only the top layer of skin left to go.
"If I hadn't done something then countless others could have been hurt or killed. And it would have been my fault for not acting when I could" The world was losing focus and going black around the edges. "I can't stand there while people get hurt. Not if I can do something about it"
Ada's left eye was the last thing to heal. Going from cloudy and sightless to clear and alert. We both gasped as the healing finished. My hand dropped away. It hung at my side like a lead weight.
Tears began to flow freely from both of his eyes. Ada patted his face frantically " ? ...They said it couldn't be done"
Gone was the anger from before. Instead his eyes only held astonishment.
The astonishment turned to shock as the world turned black and he only just caught me. Stopping me from slamming face first onto the floor.
I'd used too much energy in a small space of time. I'm surprised I was able to completely heal Ada's face before I passed out. When I came to again I was a little disorientated. It took me a few moments to recognise the tent that I was in. It was the same one I had fainted in earlier.
I startled an elf woman-who must have been told to watch over me-when I woke up. She seemed a little weary but otherwise uninjured. When I tried to sit up she rushed over to help me. "Here let me help you, your highness"
Her help wasn't strictly necessary but I accepted it all the same. When I was sat up fully she moved out of the way. I rubbed my eyes to try and wake myself up some more. My mouth was also monstrously dry. I attempted to ask for water but it came out as more of a husk. Thankfully she gathered what I was asking for and handed me a small cup of water.
It took a lot of willpower not to just neck the whole thing. But I needed to be sensible. There would be no point in downing all the water if I ended up throwing it back up again. So I took smaller sips. It was like ambrosia to my parched mouth.
"What time is it?" I asked. The sun was definitely out now. It streamed in from gaps in the side of the tent. I must have been out for at least a few hours. There was also a weaker scent of smoke on the breeze.
"It's just past midday, your highness"
Midday. That wasn't too bad.
"Midday of the 21st, your highness" she continued.
I nearly spat out my water. Durin's day was on the 19th. I had been in and out of consciousness for over a day and a half. Was that some new record?
The elf woman left, with a bow, to inform people that I was awake. It was Mum who made her way through the doors. She had a bowl of soup in her hand. The steam rose in the air.
"Darling, I'm glad your awake" her voice was less strained than when I was last awake.
She handed me the bowl and I took it from her happily. My stomach demanded that I tuck in. I wasn't one to ignore that instinct. The soup itself was actually rather bland. But it was warm and hearty and that's all I needed.
Mum sat next to me on the cot. Making it dip slightly as she sat down. I had to readjust the bowl to prevent it from spilling.
I was halfway through my bowl when Mum finally spoke. "Leah do you have any idea what you did for your Adar?"
I paused around a spoonful of spoon "Healed him?"
I hope she wasn't about to tell me that I'd done something wrong. I hadn't accidentally disfigured him further had I?
"Yes" she breathed a laugh
"Yes you healed him but it shouldn't have been possible. The dragon your Adar was burned by was heavily imbued with dark magic. More so than Smaug was. Wounds like that are notoriously hard to treat. The best our healers could do was seal the injured skin. He had to wear a glamour to cover it." Mum shook her head, eyes wide "But you broke through all of that and healed him anyway"
So that's why his injuries were still there. I had been a bit confused that a healer hadn't already tried to help him.
"Is that why I've been asleep for a day and a half?" I must have used quite a bit of power to heal him.
"Yes, I imagine that's probably why. You were weakened by your fall anyway, I'm surprised your use of magic didn't knock you out for a week" Mum quipped.
Once I finished my soup, my mind started to wander. About what had been happening while I was out cold. How were the humans coping? Did all of the company make it?
And where was Kili?
I realised then that I hadn't seen him at all. The last time I saw him was just before I ran off towards Bard. I had thought that he would have been here when I woke up. But there was no sign of him.
"Mum, where's Kili?"
Was he okay? He hadn't been injured had he?
The nervous look on Mum's face wasn't helping my panicked thoughts. "He's in his own tent, Leah. I think he needed some room to think"
Room to think?
"You should probably have a talk with him, darling. He hasn't been in the best state of mind"
My mind drifted down towards the bond. It ran ahead of me, somewhere outside of the tent. I gave it a very tentative pull. When there wasn't an immediate reply I felt my breath grow shaky. A lump formed in my throat.
Was he angry with me?
After what felt like an eternity I got a delayed reply down the bond. I let out a sigh. He wasn't completely ignoring me then.
"I'll take you to him"
Mum led the way out of the tent. She held the flap open for me to walk through. It finally gave me the chance to see the damage. The tents had been moved and erected further away from the forest. Parts of the ground were scorched and covered in ash. Anything that had been in Smaug's path had been burned away. Several trees were nothing more than blackened stumps.
There were also a lot less people than I had been expecting.
"Where is everyone?" I asked Mum.
"Most of the humans are being evacuated to Mirkwood. A good chunk of our army has gone with them to ensure that no orcs follow them. But our scouts say that they are likely several days away so we have time for the guard to return and regroup" Mum said as she led me through the new camp.
There were still several people milling about. Performing some duty or another. I saw a few humans as well. Some of them must have decided to stay and fight.
"What happened to Bard?" Looking into the faces of men I realised I hadn't asked about him. He'd fallen just as far as I did and he wasn't as hardy as an elf.
"He survived" said Mum "The healers got to him in time. He's still a bit weak but he's alive"
I let out a breath. That was good news.
Mum reached the front of a tent and lingered in front of it. I cast my eyes down to the bond and found it lay directly behind the door. A nervous energy began to build up in me. Mum said that he was inside and that she would give us some space. She left with what I assume was supposed to be a comforting pat on the shoulder.
I took a deep breath and steeled myself before pushing my way through.
"Leah" There was relief in his voice but it was also tight as if he was in pain.
Kili was already standing there. He must have heard us outside of the tent. I loosed a breath when I saw him. My first instinct was to run to him. To reach out. I only managed one step. Kili took a step back from me. Hurt clear in his eyes. It caused me to freeze, my arm hanging in the air where I had gone to reach for him.
My heart stuttered when he backed away.
Kili raised his hands up. "I just.. I just need to say something first"
He paused, his gaze flicking around my face. Unshed tears gleamed in his eyes. The moment of silence felt like forever. I wasn't sure I was breathing.
"Leah you left me" his voice was hoarse and broke on the word left "I was stood there screaming your name. All I could do was watch while you ran. I had to watch as Smaug turned towards you. Had to watch while he threatened the person I love more than anything. I couldn't reach you, I couldn't get to you. I was powerless, again."
He closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath. When he opened them back up again the pain in them nearly made me gasp. "When I saw the tower collapse I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. I've never been as terrified as I was when I saw you fall"
His hand began shaking and he closed it into a fist. "We couldn't find you-not at first. I pulled on the bond and got..nothing. I wanted to scream. There was so much destruction and you could have been anywhere. It was your Adad that found you. He said that he heard a cry. We had to unearth you from the ruins."
A tear ran down his face. "You looked so small when he dragged you out. Your armour was half crushed and there was all this blood. It was one of the worst things I've ever had to see"
"I'm sorry" I gasped, my own tears ran freely now. "I'm so sorry Kili. But I couldn't see any other way"
Kili sighed down his nose and another tear fell "I know"
Then he strode forward and gathered me in his arms. He buried his head in my neck. I held onto him like he was a lifeline.
"I know that there wasn't any other option. But seeing you like that just hurt so much" He said.
I apologised once more. My hand found its way into his hair and I held him closer. I didn't want to give him the chance to back away again. We both stood there just holding onto the other.
I wasn't sure how much time had passed when Kili spoke up again.
"I'm sorry for getting angry, Leah. And please don't mistake me and think that I'm not proud of you. You faced a dragon for all of us and saved so many"
Kili leaned back so that he could see me. His hands reached up to cradle my face. "I am so proud of you Leah but next time I don't want you facing danger on your own. We go together or not at all okay?"
"Okay" I nodded. I could deal with that.
Kili gave me a smile and leaned in for a kiss.
I'll keep you safe-Sleeping at last
This chapter was just the chance for all the characters to deal with Leah's little stunt.
Also if your wondering why Leah was so effected by this fall when she fell down a mountain and was mostly okay, it's because this time she got hit around the head and got buried by wooden beams. Also I did it for the drama lol.
I don't think I've really written angry Kili before but it felt right. She had left him to go face a dragon alone I think he has a right to be a bit upset.
