Chapter Twenty-Five: Don't Wake the Sleeping Dragon
Bella winced as she listened to the wind howling outside. She couldn't remember a late snowstorm this bad since the fell winter. They had been fortunate that this winter had been fairly mild by all accounts. This storm however was reminding them that winter was not over yet. She tossed another log on the fire before snuggling back into the thick quilt she had wrapped around herself. She didn't know if it was the storm or memories of Erebor causing her chill.
Wrapping her left hand around her steaming mug of cocoa, she opened the journal on her lap and started to write.
After several minutes of hushed excitement, the dwarves had made their way back out onto the doorstep. They quickly set up a camp, their spirits higher than they had been in weeks. That told her that even though they had gone through with the quest, deep in their hearts they had never truly expected to succeed. That made her heart soften. How hard must it be to leave everything behind in such a desperate journey? One that you embarked on to save your people but didn't truly believe would succeed? She studied the company idly, at least half if not more were old enough to remember when Smaug took Erebor. They would've seen the full might of Smaug, but still they had come anyway, which showed true courage in Bella's mind.
Sighing, she crept away from the group while they were busy preparing supper. Right now, they were in high spirits from finding the door into Erebor. But soon they would remember the task that lay before the course of the journey, she had grown very fond of the dwarves and they had softened towards her as well. But she had signed a contract and she still had a job to do. Having come to understand dwarven culture better over the journey, she had the suspicion that it would not sit well with most, if not all, of the company to send a female alone into danger. However, that was the sole reason that she had been included in the company and that had not changed, despite the changing nature of her relationship with the rest of the company.
Pausing at the door, she peered back at the company gathered cheerfully around the fire. Even with all the dangers and trials that they had come through, she couldn't bring herself to regret joining the quest. She hadn't realized how dull and colorless her life in the Shire had become, how lonely, until an unlikely group of dwarves had burst into her smial and brought it back to life. Despite everything that people had said about dwarves, all of it ignorance, she had found a family in this diverse group. So even if she was most likely facing her own death, she couldn't regret it. She had seen more and done more in the past few months, found a family and found love, then she had done in the entirety of her life before. She was at peace, with whatever happened.
Slipping on her ring, she turned away and made her way into the tunnel. Before she'd even gone half a dozen steps, the voices of the dwarves had faded away to almost nothing. She marveled at the dwarven architecture as she walked. The sheer amount of care and detail that had gone into the creation and carving of this, a forgotten back hall, was mind boggling. It made her wonder what the rest of Erebor was like. If she was very quick and quiet and Yavanna blessed her, she might even someday find out.
She very carefully made her way through the hall, not having the eyesight of dwarves in the dark. She wished that Fili was there with her, encouraging her quietly as they walked towards the dragon. He wouldn't have been able to come all the way, because Smaug would smell dwarf, but he would've come at least part of the way. She could understand Thorin's anxiety and drive, but one thing that she did regret was not kissing Fili goodbye at the dock. If she died, it would've been nice to have had at least one final kiss from her heart.
She pushed that train of thought aside as unproductive. Instead, she tried to remember everything that they had told her about the Arkenstone, pulling up every tiny detail that she could remember. Thorin had described it minutely with awe and longing in his voice, Balin with practicality, and Dwalin with ill masked loathing, surprisingly. Still, she had the feeling that she would recognize it when she actually saw it. But first she had to establish was whether or not Smaug was still alive.
As she crept slowly through the dark, she gradually began to see a golden glow ahead. Gradually she rounded a corner and froze in shock. When Thorin and the others had talked about the treasury, she hadn't been able to picture much beyond a large chamber filled with gold and some jewels, maybe the size of Bag End. But this chamber could easily fit all of Hobbiton and then some. There were mountains of gold dotted with jewels, weapons and armor, and other mathoms. And she was supposed to find the Arkenstone somehow in all of this? Thorin and Gandalf were both mad!
Creeping down a set of stairs, she peered about cautiously in the gloom for any sign of Smaug. She couldn't see him, but that didn't mean that he was dead or gone. A strange rhythmic sound echoed through the chamber and she froze, holding her breath as she tried to figure out what the sound was. It was only after several repetitions and nearly passing out from lack of oxygen that she realized that it was the sound of something very large breathing. She cursed internally, several months of traveling with dwarves having greatly expanded her vocabulary.
That left her with only one option, she had to find the Arkenstone so that Thorin could call an army. Her dwarves were most valiant and brave and they would die to the last one if they tried to go against Smaug as things currently stood. Taking a deep breath and grabbing her courage with both hands, she carefully stepped onto the gold, wincing at the quiet clinking as the coins shifted under her feet.
She clenched her fists as a sickness akin to that of Mirkwood swept through her. However, where Mirkwood had felt like damp and decay to her, this was different, almost hot and scorching with a bitter metallic after tang. Still, sickness lay heavily on the treasure, no doubt because of Smaug. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to take another step and then another. She could do this, she could find the Arkenstone and save her dwarves, give them their home back. She hadn't come all this way to flee at the final test. For once, both her Took and Baggins sides were in agreement, tied together by her natural stubbornness.
She climbed carefully over the mountains of treasure, closely examining every white stone she came across only to set them aside as not the Arkenstone. She moved slowly, trying to make no noise and disturb none of the mountains of gold and gems. The last thing she wanted or needed was to wake the dragon, especially where she had taken off the ring to see the colors of the gems instead of the greyed out world of the ring.
What she hadn't factored in though was her fatigue. She had been running on empty for days, little food and little sleep. She should've rested and come in fresh during the morning. She knew herself well enough to know that she wouldn't have slept though with the prospect of facing the dragon looming over her, so it wouldn't have helped anyway. She had been searching for a couple of hours, growing increasingly clumsier in her exhaustion. Finally she made the mistake that would be her undoing.
Setting aside a large whitish gem, very nice but not the Arkenstone, she took a step without testing the firmness of her footing. She slipped slightly, just the barest of wobbles, but this triggered a landslide of coins that unearthed the sleeping dragon only mere feet away from where she stood. She clamped a hand firmly over her mouth, hastily smothering the squeak of surprise that escaped her. She dodged behind the nearest pillar, praying that Smaug hadn't woken. When she heard the sound of a waterfall of coins falling, she knew that her hope had been in vain and she had managed to wake the dragon.
Knowing that she only had a moment or two before he discovered her, she frantically fished out her ring and pushed it roughly onto her finger. She had barely vanished from sight when Smaug's head rounded the pillar, his reptilian eyes glowing with menace. He spoke and the words reverberated unpleasantly against her skin, "Well, thief! I smell you. I hear your breath. I feel your air. Where are you?"
She propped her hands on her hips, indignation coursing through her. Of course he could smell her, she hadn't had a proper bath in days unless one counted the dunking in the river, which she most certainly didn't. Not to mention that she had spent most of the day sweating and scrambling after dwarves who were most certainly made of stone like they claimed to be. Still, it was rude to tell a lady that she smelled.
He hissed again, "Where are you?"
Bella realized that he was much too close to her actual hiding spot and darted away, looking for a different bit of cover, one not so close to an upset dragon. In her haste to give herself space, she had forgotten about the coins and the ones displaced by her feet alerted Smaug to her actual location. He charged after her and only her smaller size allowed her to escape him and the avalanche of coins stirred by his passage masked her own, allowing her to dart to safety behind another pillar.
He cast about for her fruitlessly and she carefully held her breath. A minute passed, then two, before he called, his voice coaxing, "Come into the light, little thief, and help yourself to the treasure. There is plenty and even some to spare."
She snorted silently at that, Smaug reminding her of nothing so much as Lobelia when she invited guests to tea. She always urged them to eat their fill, but after they had left and she had bullied Bella into helping her clean up, she would complain nonstop about how inconsiderate the guests were and how they always ate too much. Still, she had to figure out a way to get around Smaug and escape from the treasury, she could always try to find the Arkenstone another day, but she would be of no use if she were dead.
Keeping Lobelia firmly in her mind, Bella called in her sweetest, most polite voice, "I must decline, O Smaug the Tremendous, for I did not come to steal from you." Only to reclaim the Arkenstone, her mind insisted quietly. Carefully pulling off the ring, she stepped out from behind the pillar, taking care that she could dive back behind it if need be.
Smaug growled with satisfaction, "There you are, thief, I see you."
She dipped the best curtsy that she could in her pair of rather ratty trousers and reiterated, keeping her voice even and calm, "I did not come to steal from you. I only wanted to look upon you and see if you were as great as the old tales say." She shifted her tone into one of polite disbelief, one of society's greatest weapons. "In all honesty, I did not believe them to be true."
This irritated him and he stormed away several feet, rearing back and flaring his wings wide to display himself and roared, "And do you believe them now?"
A thrush peeped at her shoulder as she stared at Smaug in dismay. She muttered quietly to the tiny, brave bird. "Fly away, little one, save yourself. He has no weakness save a missing scale on his chest and we are both too tiny to take advantage of it. Live another day, for I fear that I shall not see the dawn."
Moistening her suddenly dry lips, she turned to Smaug who was waiting impatiently for her answer, not waiting to see if the bird heeded her or not. Striving to balance the right amount of deference and awe in her tone, she said calmly, "Truly, songs and tales fall utterly short of the truth that is you, O Smaug, the Greatest of Calamities."
Smaug settled back onto all four of his legs, his temper apparently soothed by her words. He studied her closely, "You have rather nice manners, for a thief and a liar."
Bella had to hide a grimace at this and bite her tongue, but he didn't seem to notice her grimace or the tiny glances she was stealing, trying to find a way out that wouldn't involve her getting roasted. She thought that she spotted a white gem of surpassing beauty, but Smaug was still talking, distracting her.
He inhaled deeply, "You seem familiar with my name, but I don't seem to remember ever smelling you before. Who are you and where do you come from, may I ask?"
Hiding another flare of irritation at the mention of smell as well as the tiny glimmer of hope that she might actually make it out of this, she said brightly, "You may indeed!" However, she didn't want to give her name to the dragon any more than she would've given it to the creature that was under the mountain that wanted to eat her. The memory sparked an idea as well as a bit of dragon lore that she remembered hearing about. It was said that dragons were as curious as cats, so maybe riddles would help her survive for a little bit longer. She said slowly, "I come from under the hill. And under hills and over hills has my path led me. As well as through the air, I suppose. I am she that walks unseen."
This seemed to intrigue Smaug and it was all Bella could do not to sigh in relief. Settling even more, he grumbled, his eyes intent upon her, "I can well believe that, but that is all hardly a name."
She shrugged and offered, "I am the clue finder, the web cutter, the stinging fly. I was chosen as the lucky number."
Smaug sneered, "Lovely titles! But lucky numbers are not always so."
Bella sighed, "I am she that drowns her friends and draws them alive again from the water. I came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over me." Just great, she was babbling nonsense now.
Smaug apparently agreed because he snorted and said, "Those don't sound as credible."
She scoured her brain, trying not to fidget, "I am a friend of bears and have flown on eagles. I am ring winner and luck wearer. Barrel rider."
At this, a nasty grin crossed Smaug's face and she froze, thinking that she had overplayed her hand. However, he merely said, "Very well, O Barrel rider, very interesting. But I have a question for you. Where are your little dwarven friends hiding?"
She immediately blanked her face, keeping her emotions under control. She repeated slowly, her expression puzzled, "Dwarves? There are no dwarves around here."
Smaug snapped, his temper immediately reignited, "Don't lie to me! They sent you in here to do their dirty work while they lurk outside, waiting for my treasure. I know the smell and taste of dwarf. No one knows better than I do those things! The gold draws them, like flies to dead flesh."
She didn't bother to stand still and listen to the rest of his tirade. Although what she caught was an impressive mixture or bombastic boasting of his prowess and threats against those that would take his treasure. But she was too busy running and trying to avoid the the flying treasure to listen to his vitriol. He tried to convince her that the dwarves only saw her as disposable, but she shrugged it aside, trying to find a safe hiding place and scoop up the gem that she was convinced was the Arkenstone. The dwarves might very well be using her, especially if Thorin's behavior of the past few days had been anything to go by.
However, with Fili's braid and bead tapping against her temple, she couldn't bring herself to buy into Smaug's lies. Fili loved her and wanted to marry her. If he had just wanted to make sure that she went after the Arkenstone, she doubted that he would've carried the charade so far as to kiss her and propose marriage to her. That just wasn't who Fili was, she knew it in her heart. So she would stay strong in her belief in the company and do her best to help them reclaim their home. That and survive her encounter with Smaug.
Bella groaned as she got knocked into a pillar. That last one was going to be hardest to accomplish. If she survived this, she was going to be black and blue all over come the morning. She scrambled to her feet, trying to keep her wits about her as she cast about for the Arkenstone. Smaug saw what she was looking for and said lowly, menace roiling through his voice, "I'm almost tempted to let you take it, if only to see Oakenshield suffer. Watch it destroy him. Watch it corrupt his heart and drive him mad!"
He seemed to consider it for several seconds while her stomach churned with terror and disgust, before shaking his head, "But I think not. Our little game ends here. Tell me, O Barrel Rider, how do you chose to die?" His chest started to glow with the heat of his flame.
Foolishness gripped her and she rolled her eyes. Reaching for her ring, she said boldly, "I choose to live another day, you egotistical windbag."
She slipped on the ring and disappeared from view, scooped up the Arkenstone and slid it into her pocket, and ran like mad for the tunnel that she had come from. She felt the heat of the dragon fire lick at her heels, but somehow, miraculously, she managed to make it to the tunnel alive. Breathing hard, she pulled of the ring and focused on putting as much distance between her and the rampaging dragon as she could. She needed to get back to the doorstep and warn the dwarves that Smaug was awake and undoubtedly out for blood.
She was running up yet another set of stairs when she ran into Thorin making his way down. He cried, "You're alive."
She panted, "Not for much longer."
He asked her urgently, "Did you find the Arkenstone?"
She pushed the question aside, focused on a more immediate issue, "The dragon's coming."
He insisted, "The Arkenstone. Did you find it?"
She stared at him in disbelief, "No! We have to get out of here."
He blocked her way with Orcrist and she protested, "Thorin? We need to go. Thorin!"
There was a fey gleam in his eyes and he didn't lower his sword. Before he could say anything though, or she could smack some sense into him, the rest of the company and Smaug decided to join the party. Thorin's weird behavior was pushed aside as sanity returned to his eyes and then they were all running for their lives.
Later, Bella could never exactly figure out the order of events, only that Erebor was a very large place and that Smaug rampaged mindlessly through it in his quest to kill all of the dwarves. Thorin's troubling behavior of the past several days had disappeared and the capable leader that she knew he was reemerged. Still, she wondered how well his plan to drown Smaug in molten gold was thought through. After all, if his fire was hot enough to light the forges that melted the gold, there was little chance that the hot metal would actually hurt him. But it was better than the plan that Bella had, which was precisely none, and she prayed to all the Valar that it would actually work.
She could've wept when the dragon burst from the lake of burning gold, screaming about revenge and leaving Erebor to take his revenge on Laketown. She went to run after Smaug but Dwalin grabbed her arm and dragged her after him up to the battlements so they could see what was going on. Her hands scrabbled for purchase on the rough stone and the screams remained locked in her throat as she watched fire rain down upon Laketown.
Eventually the dragon fell but her mind screamed, "Too late, too late, the cost is too high."
Dwalin tried to tug her away, but she shook her head. She would watch the results of her mistake, bear witness to what she had set into motion. He said quietly, his voice gruff but gentle, "Don't give up, lass. The boys are resilient and someone down there still lives, they shot down the dragon, after all."
She just shook her head, unable to speak. This was all because of her, she was the one who had awoken the dragon. Her heart wept bitter tears as she watched Laketown burn, dry eyed. She was the one who had killed her love, this was her fault.
The next few days passed in a gray blur of despair. Bella neither ate nor slept, just wandering through the halls of Erebor like a ghost. Each of the company except for Thorin tried to coax her to eat or sleep, but Thorin was riding them hard to find the Arkenstone in the treasury. She could've told him that she had it, but she couldn't muster up the energy to deal with his odd behavior and there was no way that she was going to hand it over while he was behaving like a lunatic. Soon, she promised herself, she would talk to him soon. She just needed a little bit longer to grieve her cheerful, blond beloved.
Thorin hadn't even inquired about his nephews and when several of the company wanted to head to Laketown to offer aid, he refused to let anyone leave the mountain until that cursed stone was found. She was highly tempted to spike the stone at his head when he said that and scream like a common fishwife, but her rage swiftly drained away, grief leaving no room for her to feel anything else.
It was the morning of the fourth day as she was wandering near the great hall, debating ignoring Thorin's orders, her contract was completed after all and he had no say over her anymore beyond that of friendship, when she heard it. At first, she thought that she was going mad, hearing the voices she wanted to hear, those of her companions left behind in Laketown to perish. However, she couldn't stop her foolish heart from hoping and her feet swiftly carried her towards the voice she was now certain that she heard.
She discovered the missing party right as they exited the great hall in search of the company. She froze, counting as one, two, three, four dwarves passed through the archway. They were all alive, they had all somehow survived. She tried to call their names, but all that came out was a hoarse croak. But the sight of Fili filled her with strength and she forced her body to move, screaming, "Fili!"
His head whipped around, his eyes meeting hers, and then he was running too. They met in the middle and he scooped her up into a tight embrace, burying his face in her hair. She reveled in the warmth of his arms around her, the steady beat of his heart, the rise and fall of his breathing, all things that she'd never thought she'd get to experience again. She clung to him, murmuring, "You're alive, love. I can't believe it. I thought you were dead, Fili. You're alive!"
He pulled back and claimed her lips in a fierce kiss, one filled with desperation, devotion, and love. She kissed him back just as fiercely, reassuring herself that this wasn't a dream, that he was really here with her. After a minute, he gentled the kiss, softened it into one of reassurance and affirmation of their love.
It was Bofur's gentle teasing that finally broke through her focus and she pulled away, burying her face in Fili's chest as she laughed and shook, unable to help her reaction to the shock of finding him alive. He stroked his hand up and down her back reassuringly and she had the feeling that he was glaring at Bofur from the way the miner chortled merrily.
Rejoicing in the fact that they were all here and alive, she forced herself to pull away from Fili enough that she could see all of them. Fili was looking down at her, love and relief shining clearly in his gaze. Cupping his cheek, she traced a thumb over his cheekbone, noting the dark circles under his eyes. Clearly she had not been the only one thinking the worst. Brushing a brief kiss over his lips, she forced herself to turn away and look at the rest of the company.
Suddenly her wits returned and she realized that Kili was standing there, whole and hale. Grinning, she pulled away from Fili and hugged Kili hard. "You're all right, nadad! I was so worried about you. But how is your wound healed so well? It's been less than a week since we've parted.
"Kili hugged her tightly, relief and happiness shining brightly in his eyes. "I'm so relieved that you're alive, namad. We truly feared the worst. As for my injury, Tauriel healed it."
Bella raised an eyebrow, "The red headed elf lass, you mean?"
Kili nodded, his smile turning besotted, "Aye. She's my One, I just know that she is. I have never met another as beautiful, as incredible, as perfect as she is."
Bella just shook her head and pulled away from him, knowing that he would happily prattle on about his elf all day. Tucking away the unfamiliar term, One, to ask Fili about later, she quickly hugged Bofur and Oin in turn. Unable to help herself, she returned to Fili, sighing happily when he pulled her back into his arms. "I can't believe that all of you are alive and well. We feared you lost to the dragon."
Bofur was nervously twisting his hat in his hands as he asked, "What about the others, lass?"
She beamed at him, "Everyone's alive! Now that you've returned, we're all accounted for and the mountain has been reclaimed."
The dwarves all broke into relieved grins at that news, a burden falling off their shoulders. She wished that she didn't have to ruin their good cheer, but they needed to know what they were heading into. She said softly, unable to keep the quiver from her voice, "There's something you should know, first, before we join the others."
Fili lifted her chin so that she met his bright blue eyes, "What is it, amralime?"
She stared at him, trying to find the words to break it to him gently. "It's your uncle, it's Thorin."
Kili paled, his face tightening as he exclaimed, "What about uncle?"
Bella took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "He's not himself. He's become obsessed with finding the Arkenstone. He will neither sleep nor eat, insisting that he will do both when the gem is found. It is like he can think of nothing else, even though your home has been reclaimed."
Bofur said slowly, "I don't understand what you're saying, lass."
Bella grimaced, her eyes pleading to Fili to be careful, "You'll understand of what I speak when you see him. I cannot explain it any more than I just did. There is nothing that I can pinpoint, he's just not himself, not anymore."
Fili pressed his forehead to hers. "We'll sort it together, love. The hard part is done, the dragon is dead and we all survived, thank Mahal. Everything else we can make do. Now come, show us to our kin."
Bella nodded reluctantly, apprehension weighing heavily on her. Still, weaving her fingers together with Fili, her heart was lighter than it had been for days. Leading them towards the treasury, she allowed herself to hope, just a little bit, that everything would be all right after all.
Bella set aside the notebook and stared into the crackling fire. Nothing on the journey had truly prepared her for Erebor and Smaug. Someday, should Gandalf ever show his face to her again, she would scold him most heartily for thinking it a wise idea for a hobbit to face down a dragon. She chuckled, suddenly certain that Gandalf had never thought that she would actually face Smaug herself. He had expected her to creep in like a wee mouse and determine that yes, the dragon was still alive and then use her common sense and flee.
She sighed. Things had gone awry on the quest, more than anyone, even a wizard, could've ever anticipated. There had been circumstances and items in play that no one truly recognized the seriousness of until much too late. That they had all survived was truly a Valar given miracle. But she had been such a fool, thinking that a dragon was the worst possible thing that she could face. There were other, much more insidious dangers that she did not know existed. These were the ones that would eventually break her heart.
Tracing the rim of her empty mug, she chewed her lip as she remembered how much she grieved what she had thought was Fili's death. It had been unbearable, unendurable she had thought at the time. The relief that she had felt when she'd seen him had removed the last bit of doubt lingering from Smaug's poisonous words, reassuring her that it was love for both of them and not just necessity or convenience. Still, it was amazing how one can adapt and endure what one once thought impossible to survive. She had believed, truly believed, that she would never survive losing Fili. She was both wrong and right, she had not lost him to death as she once feared, but she would never see him again in this life. Was that better or worse than the pain that she had felt upon thinking him lost in Laketown.
Setting the mug aside, she stood resolutely to head to bed. She was being maudlin. It was definitely better, because he was still alive. That was worth all of the pain on her part. Besides, she smiled tiredly, even if they didn't meet in this life, they would still meet in the next.
Fili chafed at being stuck in Rivendell. Although it was pleasant in the hidden valley, a blizzard raged beyond it's borders. Elrond had told them that it would last a week and would be another few days until they could travel safely. Bored out of his mind and worried about the lack of soul dreams, on the third day he begged the use of the elven forges. At least while he waited, he could work on Bella's first gift.
The rest of the group left him alone, knowing the importance of the gift. He was pleased with how it was coming together as he worked carefully, making sure that every little detail was correct.
It was on the fifth night in Rivendell when he got another soul dream and Kili awoke in the middle of the night to find him sketching feverishly. Pulling himself reluctantly from the bed, he made his way over to the tall desk were Fili was. Yawning, he asked, "So, what was this dream about? What's the charm?"
Fili held it up briefly so that Kili could see. "Smaug. The dream was how she riddled with him and found the Arkenstone."
Kili leaned tiredly against the desk, "She riddled with the wyrm? You're beloved is either brilliantly brave or insane, nadad."
Fili scowled, "She is brave beyond belief but she has no care for her own safety. I swear, when I find her, I'm going to wrap her in wool to keep her safe."
Kili's eyes widened at this and he teased, "If she faced down trolls and a dragon, I don't think that she's going to be willing to be wrapped in wool."
Finally setting aside the pencil, Fili faced him and said plaintively, "I just want to know that she's safe, that she's alive and happy. I want to hold her in my arms and never let her go. I want her to hold me back and tell me that everything's going to be ok and that she loves me." He ran a hand tiredly over his face. "Am I expecting too much? I don't even know why she left."
Kili reached out and squeezed Fili's shoulder gently. "You're not asking too much, it's what every dwarf longs for. But I do know three things, Fee. One, your Bella is alive. Two, she still loves you and wants you. If neither of these things were true, you wouldn't be having the soul dreams."
Feeling his heart lighten, when had his baby brother gotten so wise, he asked, "What's the third thing?"
Kili tugged him up and led him back over to his bed, "That whatever happened, whatever caused her to leave and return to the Shire, she didn't want to leave you. I don't know what happened, only that something did. But from everything you've dreamt about and told me, I can't see her voluntarily leaving you. Ever. Now get some sleep, you need to finish your first gift before this storm lets up enough to travel."
Fili grumbled but obediently lay down, pulling the covers back over himself. Remembering how tightly she had held him when he had reached Erebor, the shock and relief in her eyes, he knew that Kili was speaking the truth when he said that she would never leave him on her own. Closing his eyes, he prayed for happier dreams, of dreams of him and Bella reunited once again, before allowing sleep to claim him entirely.
Notes:
This chapter contains large parts of the movie and the book for Smaug, which belongs entirely to Tolkien and Peter Jackson. I'm just privileged to dabble around in the fantastic world they created.
Next Chapter - The final charm revealed, Fili finally learns about the depth of Thorin's gold madness, and the end is nigh (although still a few chapters off, lol)