Smaug passed away a few hours later.
The discoloration spread until every speck of russet red was drained and the dragon was the color of a dried out corpse.
His breathing became harsh and his movements sluggish. Eventually he curled into a ball and closed his eyes.
He would not open them again.
It was probably not the death he had envisioned. There would be no songs or ballads about the final moments of Smaug, Terror of the Third Age.
He did not die in a titanic battle over his ill-gotten gold like Scatha.
No mountains were crushed with the force of his fall as with Ancalagon the Black.
He did not, with his final words, bring utter ruin to his foes as Glaurung did.
Smaug, the last of the great worms, usurper of the throne of Erebor, false King under the Mountain…
Died in his sleep.
Kili was the one who noticed.
"Bilba," he grabbed her shoulder and shook it lightly. "I think he's dead."
Bilba ignored him. She was currently curled on her side with her head in his lap having a crisis.
Was she even ready to be a mother? Her grandfather didn't think she was ready to handle her own money. Priscilla had chided her in the letter she'd written as though she were a wayward faunt.
She was almost thirty-one years old, very near to her maturity, but she was treated as though she were still a child, incapable of making responsible decisions let alone taking care of another, helpless life.
What if they were right?
Priscilla's oldest son was about her age and he was already married with an infant daughter. She couldn't imagine Priscilla scolding Adalgrim in a letter like she had Bilba. What was the difference? Why did no one believe in her?
What if they had reason? What if there was something wrong with her that everyone but she could see?
"Bilba!"
Kili's voice broke through again. She twitched, and then rolled just enough to glare at him. Couldn't he see she was busy having a mental breakdown?
"Come on," he ordered, urging her up. "Smaug's dead and I think I've been hearing noise from the doorway."
She muttered something uncharitable but allowed him to help her to her feet and went with him toward the blocked off doorway. Once they arrived Kili leaned against the rocks with his ear pressed to the stone.
Bilba stood next to him, facing back into the Treasury. Smaug's corpse dominated the immediate area; past him were mounds and mounds of gold and precious jewels.
Riches beyond measure but not a single coin could be used to stave off hunger or slake thirst.
A shiver ran through her. She didn't want to be pregnant. Not when she was trapped in a room with no exit and no food or water.
Kili straightened, his face tense. "I can't be sure," he said. "Sometimes I think I hear something and other times I don't."
Bilba shuffled forward and pressed her ear to the rock, resting one hand on it. Distantly she thought she heard sound but, as Kili said, it was so muffled and far away she couldn't be sure if it was real or just her mind playing tricks on her.
She moved back and sighed. "I don't know. How deep do you think Smaug buried the entrance?"
Kili shrugged. "It was a big column."
And it was highly unlikely Smaug would have made it quick to tunnel through, he wanted them dead not inconvenienced. Tears pricked at the back of her eyes. If what he had said was true, if she truly was pregnant, then she'd doomed her own children to death before they were even born.
She'd be no better than her mother leaving her to fend for herself in the wild with three trolls at the doorstep.
Kili was looking at her with the classic look of horror males of all races got when faced with a crying woman.
"I'm sure it'll be alright!" he said quickly. "Smaug didn't take into account how dedicated Uncle is. He'll get through in time, you'll see!"
Bilba forced a watery grin. He was almost as bad a liar as she was. Dedication alone wouldn't get Thorin through layers of rock any faster, not with the limited number of people and resources he had at his disposal.
Kili started to look around, chewing on his lower lip as he did. "There should be water," he mumbled, almost to himself. "There's a natural river running through the mountain, they rerouted it when they founded Erebor. The main section ran through the Treasury." He gave her a slight grin. "See? Fili thinks I just ignored all the lessons Uncle was always giving us."
Bilba gave a watery nod and clasped her hands in front of her. Kili was younger than her, maturity wise, but was doing a far better job with keeping it together.
"Alright," she scrubbed at her eyes and face, "let's find it."
Kili looked relieved. He held his hand out and Bilba obediently took it, pretending she didn't feel how cold it was or how it shook slightly in her grip.
"Ok," Kili whispered to himself. He pointed off to the left. "I think it's that way."
He started walking and off they went. Kili cast a sidelong look at Smaug's corpse. "You know, since we don't have any food…"
"No," Bilba cut in instantly. "I'm not eating anything I had an argument with."
Kili grimaced, his mouth twisting in disgust. "Right."
"Not to mention we sort of poisoned him," Bilba continued, "we also don't know if he had any parasites or other infections and we have no fire to cook him." Nausea roiled in her gut as she said that and she swallowed.
"Bad idea," Kili agreed.
Bilba nodded. She didn't mention it but there was also the fact that Smaug was a servant and creation of Morgoth. She wasn't sure such a creature could be eaten.
They traveled slowly through the Treasury, moving over massive piles of gold and jewelry.
"Just exactly what was anyone thinking? It would take years to find the Arken-whatever." Bilba grumbled as they made their way over yet another pile. Her legs sunk in to her knees with every step, making it feel like she was slogging through mud. The ground constantly shifted and slipped under her feet, making her jump and flinch every time with the fear she was going to fall.
"I don't know." Kili answered. He had an almost death grip on her hand, holding her up as they went. They'd gone so far that they could no longer see Smaug, suggesting the Treasury was a truly ridiculous size. She couldn't even imagine the depth. "Bilba," Kili said slowly, "about what Smaug said-"
"We don't know it's true," Bilba cut in. A cold feeling shot through her as her mind went back over the symptoms she'd been experiencing. One hand went to her stomach, resting lightly on the small bump. "We don't know," she insisted again, trying to convince herself. "I'll have to find out, after we get out of here." She'd heard tale that human women would often go to Rivendell and the elves would be able to tell them if they were pregnant, sometimes even what gender the baby would be. She hoped the elves in Mirkwood might be able to do the same.
Kili's eyes narrowed but he graciously kept his mouth shut. That fact alone gained him her eternal trust and loyalty, not that he hadn't had it already.
His eyes widened suddenly and he held a hand up. "Listen."
Bilba frowned then felt her own eyes widen as her ears registered the unmistakable, distant sound of running water.
"See?" Kili shouted in excitement, "What did I tell you? Come on!"
He dragged on her hand and they sloughed as fast as they could through piles of loose treasure.
The sound of water grew louder and clearer until, finally, they rounded a corner and found themselves facing the source.
"Wow," Bilba said, the word slipping out on its own.
When Kili had said a water source she'd imagined a small, simple pool or fountain.
She should have realized dwarves didn't do anything by halves.
The fountain dominated the wall, slim and narrow but reaching up nearly to the ceiling. It was comprised of delicate, intricately carved tubes and bowls, leading down to a basin probably wide enough and deep enough to swim in. The water came out at the top and followed the lines of the fountain down, splitting as it did until it was a cascade, streams of water sparkling off the polished metal.
Metal that appeared to be solid silver and, even left alone this long, was still so highly polished she could see her own reflection in it.
Kili beamed with pride. "All the main fountains in Erebor are like that," he explained, "there's one on every level. Uncle says people would come from all over Middle Earth to see them. They would call Grandfather the Lord of the Silver Fountains."
"I can believe it." Bilba continued to stare at the massive structure, such a work of art she had trouble accepting it served a practical purpose. "I wonder why Smaug bothered keeping it clear." He certainly hadn't bothered with the rest of the Treasury, treasure littering it in piles and heaps from corner to corner.
Kili shrugged. "He had to drink too."
He stepped forward and Bilba followed. The water was cool, crisp and delicious and she sighed as it hit her parched throat.
After they'd both had their fill they turned to survey the silent room.
"Now what?" Bilba asked.
Kili chewed on his lower lip. "I don't know. The rocks in front of the two passages are huge, we couldn't move them and we don't have any tools to try and dig through them."
"What about secret passages?" Bilba studied the walls, trying futilely to spot evidence of a dwarven door. "Thorin said the entire mountain is riddled with them."
"Not the Treasury," Kili answered. "If there were Uncle would have already used it to get in here."
Bilba sighed and sat down on the edge of the wide lip of the fountain. She propped an elbow on her knee and put her chin in her hand, studying the stupid gold.
"So," Kili started to say slowly, sitting next to her, "do you think that-"
Bilba leapt to her feet. "Let's look for the Arken-whatever!"
Kili blinked at her in confusion. "The Arkenstone? I thought we already established we'll never find it."
"Well," Bilba flapped her hands, wringing them nervously. "I don't know. I mean, it's not like we have anything better to do, right?"
She turned to assess the gold, an idea forming. "Do you think Smaug had a favorite place?"
"I guess," Kili said, trying to figure out where she was going. "He was probably as much a creature of habit as anyone."
"Okay." Bilba stepped forward, the coins clinking as her feet hit them. "So if he had a favorite place maybe he surrounded it with his favorite things?"
Kili stood up and walked to her side. "It's possible. You think the Arkenstone was one of his favorite things?"
"Maybe." If the rock was as amazing as everyone kept claiming it was wouldn't it tempt a dragon as well? She moved out into the gold, grimacing at the cool feel against her feet. "Ok, we know the direction he came from. Let's start looking. Maybe there will be a depression or disturbance showing where he was sleeping."
Kili didn't argue. It wasn't like there was anything else to do aside from sit and wait to starve to death.
Not that she felt Thorin would feel particularly mollified to find the Arkenstone next to their corpses once he finally broke through.
Finding Smaug's resting spot proved to be remarkably simple. Kili remembered Smaug as coming from the same direction Bilba did so it was a small matter to trace the track backward. They soon found an area where the gold had clearly been arranged to form a bowl in the center, perfect for a sleeping dragon. Ranging the edges were massive statues, mountains of precious gems and mounds of uncut mithril.
"Alright," Kili said. "Assuming he felt the same way we do about the Arkenstone, then it would probably be here."
Bilba nodded. Smaug had arrayed his bed with his most precious objects and, according to the dwarves, the Arkenstone had been the most precious of them all.
So it should be here.
She frowned, speaking of precious things…
"Do you still have my ring?"
Kili had been studying the gold but now looked at her in surprise. "What?"
"My ring," Bilba repeated, "the one you so brilliantly took off even though it made you invisible so the dragon couldn't catch you."
His eyes narrowed. "I was trying to distract him from you!" Muttering he dug in a pocket and pulled the ring out, holding it up between his fingers.
Bilba felt a jolt and put her hand out, palm up. "Give it here."
"Gladly," Kili muttered, placing it in her hand. As he did a shudder seemed to pass over his frame. When he pulled his hand back he suddenly seemed straighter, a light returning to his eyes she hadn't realized was missing. "I'm glad to be rid of the thing."
"Why?" Bilba asked in confusion. "It's just a ring." As she spoke a feeling of relief washed over her. She wasn't trained or wearing armor and she wasn't as strong or courageous as the others. She was a small hobbit from Bag End who had stepped out her door and wound up in situations far over her head. Having a ring that allowed her to become invisible, gave her a chance to escape when things got rough, helped. It didn't help the present situation, granted, but it helped her peace of mind. Especially if what the cursed dragon said was true. She couldn't fight if she was pregnant but she could run and her chances would be a thousand times better if she were invisible.
Kili's eyes were fixed on the ring, an odd look in his eyes, and she shoved it in a pocket. The ring was hers. He could look all he wanted but she wasn't giving it up ever again.
"Come on," she stated, a little more sharply than she'd intended. "Let's start looking."
She stalked forward and dropped to her knees, hands digging through a pile of gold. The beginnings of hunger pangs started to gnaw at her stomach and fear coursed through her. Her hands trembled and sweat beaded her forehead. She didn't want to be hungry. Being hungry forced her to acknowledge her circumstances and she didn't want to do that.
Kili knelt next to her, his own hands moving through the gold.
"Bilba," he started to say, only to stop as she snarled at him.
He was silent a moment longer and then sighed. "Do you think we should try and tell him?"
"Tell who what?" Bilba said, her voice sharp.
He barely flinched. "Uncle. What Smaug said, about…you know."
Bilba swallowed. "Should we find a way to leave word that not only did we die but possibly his unborn children as well? His unborn children who may or may not exist depending on if Smaug was telling the truth? No, Kili, we shouldn't."
He put his head down, hair falling over his face. She hadn't noticed before but it had come loose from the clasp he usually used to keep it off his face. It made him look young and she could feel the anger draining out of her.
Bilba focused on her own mound. "I don't know even know if he wants children," she mumbled. "What if he's angry?"
The sound of coins moving under Kili's hands stopped.
"Did you know that Uncle had a brother?"
Bilba frowned at him, trying to figure out what he was talking about. "Yes. He's mentioned it before."
Kili nodded. "Counting my mother that's three children. For dwarves that's a huge family."
"It is?" Bilba asked in surprise. Back in the Shire her family had been considered the oddity for only having her and Bungo. Most families with six or more children were considered average if not a bit on the small side.
"Dwarves don't have children easily," Kili continued. "There aren't a lot of dwarf women and many of the ones that do exist don't want to be pregnant for two years."
Bilba nearly fell over. "Two years?"
He looked startled and then stammered. "Not that I think you'll be pregnant that long. They'd only be half dwarf, so surely that would be a shorter pregnancy, right?"
Bilba had no idea. Hobbits were generally pregnant around a year, humans she knew were pregnant for less than that and Elves, if she recalled correctly, were pregnant about a year. How long would she be pregnant? It wasn't as though there were a lot of half dwarf half hobbit children running around she could ask.
"Anyway," Kili cut into her musings, "what I was trying to get at is children are an enormous blessing to dwarves. Fili and I were considered blessings from Mahal, gifted to the exiles of Erebor as a promise the kingdom would one day be reclaimed."
He recited the words by rote and Bilba raised an eyebrow. "Heard that a lot have you?"
He ducked his head, an embarrassed smile on his lips. "Once or twice." He reached over and grabbed her shoulder. "Regardless, though, Uncle would be beside himself with excitement if he knew."
Bilba felt her own smile start to fade. She looked around the room, the enormous, sealed off room. Her stomach rumbled again, wanting food she couldn't give it. She put her palm flat over the slight bulge in her stomach.
"Yeah," she whispered.
Kili squeezed her shoulder and then pulled his hand away.
They resumed searching in silence.
The days passed.
The only way they knew was the light, already dim, would slowly fade and almost go out for a time and then return, suggesting it was keeping track of days and nights.
When it grew too dark to see the two of them would go to the fountain and spend the night there before resuming the search in the morning.
The hunger pangs only grew worse until she felt as though her stomach were chewing on her spine. She knew Kili felt the same, he didn't say anything about it but his face grew more and more serious, the lines of his body more tense. Bilba had always thought he looked like a younger version of his Uncle but the resemblance was even clearer without the happy expression he normally wore.
Neither of them spoke about her possible pregnancy. Bilba tried her best not to think about it but she found her hand straying almost constantly to her stomach. All she could imagine were two little lives slowly fading away before she ever had the chance to meet them. Several times her vision would blur and she would freeze in place, watching tears fall on her hands where they had been shifting through the gold.
For some reason she was convinced she carried twin boys. She could even picture them, dark hair and crystal blue eyes they'd inherited from their father.
She almost felt as thought she'd already met them...somehow.
She wanted to meet them.
Valar, please let her get to meet them.
Kili wasn't sure what happened at first.
One second he was asleep, dreaming of his brother bursting into the room with a huge platter of pulled pork.
The next second adrenaline was racing through his veins and he was on his feet without realizing he'd gotten up. One hand clutched the hilt of a sword he'd found in the trove and his body was already in the stance Dwalin had spent decades drilling into him and the other trainees.
It took him a second for his mind to catch up to his body and actually register what was happening.
Bilba was screaming.
The sound was awful. Horrible, anguished screams as though she'd been gutted and turned inside out.
He turned and saw her a few feet away. She was on her knees, curled over until her forehead nearly touched the ground, arms wrapped around her stomach.
"Bilba." Kili threw the sword away and dropped down next to her, hands reaching for her. "What is it? What's wrong?" He put a hand on her back, feeling the sharp points of her shoulder blades through her shirt. His gut clenched, she was so much smaller than him, had so much less to lose as the days passed.
Her screams died away into gut wrenching, choked, sobs, so intense it was a wonder she could breathe.
"Bilba," Kili pled, his voice desperate, "please, what is it?"
Carefully he grabbed her arms and gently started to pull her upright. She barely resisted and he soon had her in a sitting position.
He opened his mouth to talk to her again but then his attention was caught by something on her pants and he looked down.
The material on the tops of her thighs was drenched, the wet fabric vanishing down the inner sides of her legs.
"Bilba," he gasped, panic spiking. Red, his mind supplied, the fabric was scarlet, it was blood, oh Mahal she was drenched in blood. "Bilba what…"
He didn't get any further as she wrapped her arms around his chest and buried her head against his neck, her entire body shuddering with the force of her sobs. He wrapped his arms around her instantly, his mind reeling in horror. Her frame was slight, so incredibly slight he thought she might shatter if he held to tight.
She cried a long time. He didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. Fili would know. He always knew what to say and do at any given time.
Kili didn't. He wasn't the heir. He was just the spare. Nothing was expected of him, no one looked to him.
Except Bilba.
She'd come to him about the plan to deal with the dragon. Not to Fili or Uncle or Dwalin or any of the others, but him. He could still remember the feeling of pride, of actually being needed for something by someone.
And look where it had gotten her.
He looked down at her. She'd finally stopped crying and was simply sitting slumped in his arms, one hand clutching at his now sodden shirt.
Mahal, but he was useless. He hadn't been able to save her from Smaug, couldn't find food for them, and couldn't find a way out of the Valar forsaken Treasury.
And he couldn't think of how to comfort her now.
"Kili."
Her voice was muffled against his shirt, so soft he barely heard her.
"What?"
She was silent a moment. "Don't tell him."
He floundered. "What?"
She shifted in his arms, turning her gaze to look out aimlessly into the room. The look in her eyes was empty, her expression blank. "Don't tell him I lost his children."
Kili flinched and he tightened his grip on her. "You don't-" He stopped. He'd been about to tell her she didn't know for sure what happened but, really, what did he know? Who was he to raise her hopes when he couldn't be sure? He swallowed and tried again. "None of this was your fault."
"It was my plan," she said, her voice hoarse from screaming.
"You didn't know you were pregnant," Kili insisted, "and being locked in here is Smaug's fault, not yours."
She didn't answer him but merely buried her head back against his shoulder.
They stayed like that a long time.
Finally, Kili gently moved her away from him. "I think I saw some chests the other day," he explained. "There might be clothes, you could-" He trailed off but she gave a simple nod to show she understood. She moved back against the fountain and drew her legs up, wrapping her arms around them.
"Okay," Kili said helplessly, rising to his feet. "I'll be right back."
She didn't answer him so he turned and headed into the Treasury. They hadn't been out much in the past few days. Both were far too weak to do much searching or to handle the trek over the piles of gold.
Not only that but the dragon had begun to rot and the smell was slowly making its way into all corners of the Treasury, staying as far as possible was the only option to try and avoid at least some of the increasingly foul odor.
He found the trunk where he remembered seeing it though he took longer than he would have liked getting to it. Each time he set his foot down it sank in the gold nearly up to his knee and lifting it out again felt like trying to pick up an enormous weight. His body was exhausted on top of that, wavering from side to side and threatening to drop him at any moment.
He didn't dare go down. He doubted he would be able to get up again.
When he reached the chest he bent over and promptly had to brace himself on the lid lest he fall. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing the dizziness away.
Fili probably wouldn't be dizzy. He would have already designed and built some kind of battering ram to get him and Bilba out of the Treasury days ago.
He found the locks and released them, sending a prayer to Mahal as he did.
For once it seemed Mahal was on his side as the lid lifted to reveal mounds of bejeweled clothing, many of the garments threaded with gold, silver or mithril. He dug through quickly, locating a dress he thought Bilba could wear. He also found a few things that might fit him and pulled them out as well.
He threw them over his shoulder and turned back, his shoulders slumping at the realization of how far he would have to go to return.
The thought of simply giving up and staying where he was never occurred to him. Bilba needed him so he would make it back if he had to crawl on his hands and knees.
He didn't have to crawl, in the end, though it was a very near thing.
Bilba hadn't moved aside from putting her head down on her knees.
"Hey," Kili stood in front of her. "I got you something to wear."
She raised her head and he flinched at the hollow look in her eyes. She pushed herself to her feet and stood quietly as he laid the dress out on the edge of the fountain. It was ridiculous for the circumstances, a deep royal blue with gold trim and emeralds sewn in along the hem and collar, but it was better than what she currently wore.
He made his way to around a nearby mound of gold and slowly changed into his own new clothing. He could hear the occasional splash of water and movement so he waited until it stopped. He called out but received no answer so finally, steeling himself; he peeked around the edge, ready to quickly avert his eyes if necessary.
Bilba stood in front of the fountain, staring down at the water. She had put the dress on, it was far too large and hung off her body, making her appear even smaller and younger though he knew, maturity wise, she was closer to Fili's age than his own.
He went forward and saw her old clothes in a pile on the ground. He managed to pick them up without falling and went to the back of the fountain. There was a slight crack in the ground, probably from the idiot dragon, and he dropped the clothes in, watching dispassionately as they fell into darkness.
He then went back around and sat down with his back to the fountain, letting it hold him up. Bilba continued to stare at the fountain until he put a hand up. She took it and let him pull her down onto his lap.
She curled into a ball, one hand tangled in the fabric of his shirt and her head on his shoulder. He put both arms loosely around her.
"Kili?"
"Yes?"
"Promise you won't tell him."
"I promise." He didn't think he'd be alive to tell Uncle one way or the other.
He wasn't quite sure how long they sat there. Things seemed to shift in and out, one moment clear and the next hazy. He thought it might have been dark and then light again but, really, he just didn't know and couldn't manage to find the strength to care.
His mind pictured Fili finding his corpse and he grimaced. The last thing he ever wanted to do was cause his brother pain.
He sent a mental apology to his Fili and Uncle, the words going sluggish in his mind.
His head fell back, resting against the fountain.
He drifted. His eyes, more or less open, watched as the world went in and out of focus.
He didn't feel hungry anymore.
He didn't feel much of anything anymore to be honest.
In his arms Bilba had gone still and silent. He wanted to talk to her but couldn't seem to find the energy. He managed to get his mouth open but his tongue felt wooden and the only sound to come out was an odd mumble.
A powerful sense of fatigue settled over him and he felt his body relax, muscles loosening and going lax. His head lolled forward slightly, resting lightly against Bilba's.
Shadow rushed in like an oncoming wave, swallowing everything in his path.
Vaguely, so, so vaguely he thought he heard a noise. The sound of it was familiar, so familiar in fact it sparked something inside him. An awareness that instantly tried to respond, to claw up the sides of the well he suddenly found himself at the bottom of.
But it was so deep and he was so incredibly tired.
He allowed his eyes to close.
The shadows deepened.
He heard the noise again but it was as though a massive gulf separated him from it, he couldn't cross it no matter how hard he tried.
The sound faded.
Shadows lengthened.
Darkness reigned.
