It was the faint smell of lilies that made Smaug open his golden eyes. It was a long day full of scaring foolish dwarves and men, burning down any structure close the mountain and just solidifying his claim to Erebor. He had been dozing off that time when he caught the scent of lilies. He pushed it off as a passing thought and maybe even a hallucination, but it didn't disappear. He gave it another moment and then pulled his head out of the pile of gold. With a tilt of his head, he contemplated on what course of action to take and if it would be worth the effort. At the same time, he was curious.
Dwarf? No. Definitely not. The dragon took another whiff, detecting the soft aroma of lilies. Elf? Nope. Elves might smell of flowers, but it would be mixed of the forest and the river… a general smell of the outside. Men? Never. He had scared them time and again that no one would be foolish enough to come close his mountain. It was also impossible for any type of lily that he knew to grow under the mountain, unless… Smaug paused for thought. Could there be an opening somewhere the side of the mountain that could let the scent in? Maybe, but he had explored the mountain and he had never seen any.
Then there was a sound. Smaug started, his head moving higher and his golden eyes squinting in focus. The sound was soft and the vibrations barely reached where he laid but he felt it. It was a small sound, short in length and a little high-pitched. He decided that this definitely needed some investigation.
Standing in all fours, he shook the gold that stuck on his scales and straightened up. The sound echoed again, a little louder and more high-pitched. The frequency of the sound was bothersome, like an inch to the side that you cannot reach but should scratch. A stray animal? He thought as he stretched his limbs awake. If so, then food or a chase would be a welcome entertainment tonight.
Smaug moved, his body changing with each careful step. His first step on the ledge leading to the hallways, his wings had gone and all that was left as evidence that he was a dragon, other than his still golden eyes, were the scales on his shoulder blades. In this form, he could pass as a Man, maybe even an Elf of Rivendell if he let his hair grow longer.
It was time to search for the cause of the sound and the sudden aroma of lilies. It was time to satiate his curiosity.
There it went again.
Weaving through hallways and stepping over debris, he followed the sound that increased in frequency. He didn't stop, using his superior sense of smell to track down the scent of lilies when the sound was absent. It was dark enough that a Man would need a torch to navigate the way. The darkness loomed over him like storm clouds threatening rain and disaster. But Smaug was a dragon and he barely cared of his circumstances. He carried on, his eyes steady looking onward.
The sound came again, louder, closer and clearer. A voice.
"Mum?" Smaug moved to the shadows when he spotted the object of his search. Ten strides ahead him, was a child. A young girl in a billowing nightgown and a head of flaxen gold. She was standing on the edge of a much brighter hallway, staring in the darkness with wide blue eyes. Her hands were fisted around her nightgown and her face was scrunched in internal argument. She was pale, so pale that she was glowing and could easily be an elf child. "Mum?"
She took a step closer to the darkness, her eyes squinted as if trying to see what was there. She was barefoot and he saw that she was careful in her step. "Is anyone there?"
The sound echoed, rejected by the walls and passed on to others until it faded. Smaug retreated, his eyes glued on her little form. He moved inside a room and tore the curtains, covering his naked form. What? Surely you didn't think he would transform clothed? He had thought that it was of little consequence when he started the search since if it was a dwarf or someone who would wish his death, he would've turned back to a dragon and burned him. He had the same plans if it was a stray animal. He never expected that it was a little girl. He quickly, but silently moved returning to his post and satisfied that the lass was still there. She was still looking at the darkness but her face was more relaxed than before, curiosity painting her pale face. He watched her carefully, wondering why a girl such as her would be in a place like this. By her nightgown, it was clear she was well taken care of and there was a family in the picture. She started looking around, picking a rock and then throwing it to the dark hallway. He could see her listening carefully and thinking hard. The emotions in her eyes racing like fire dancing.
He smothered a chuckle when she took a piece of wood and turned it on her hand. What does she think? That such small piece of wood would protect her from what laid in the darkness? Did it mean that she wanted to venture this darkness? He wondered if he would call her brave or foolish. She held the wood like a sword, her stance all wrong. She took a step closer and another, determined. Did she ever thought how long the darkness is? Foolish little girl.
He decided to cut this foolishness short, taking an abandoned torch on the wall and lighting it up with his fire breath. There was a squeal and he turned his head lazily to the girl, catching her shocked expression and her two hand grip around her sword. He grinned.
"Who are you little girl?" He raised his brow and tilted his head. "Why are you here in my lair?"
Her sword lowered and she also observed him from head to toe. "Lair? Shouldn't it be called a home?"
"My home is long gone." He waited a few beats before continuing. "You didn't answer my question girl."
She tensed and red dusted her cheeks in embarrassment. "I am sorry sir. You see I just woke up in this place and I am sure that I am dreaming this place. I am sure you are part of my dream too."
"How can you say?" He was intrigued. Him? A dream? This place? A dream to wake up to? Preposterous. But when he thought of it, who was dreaming who? Was she a dream of his then?
"Well…" She lowered her sword completely and patted her nightgown. "I have pinched myself and felt pain, but places like this are only in Mum's stories. And I have not met anyone with golden eyes like you." She took a deep breath. "If this is not a dream, then I should wake up in my bed."
How logical, Smaug mused. "You have felt pain, but still you deem this a dream. How foolish you are little girl. What could've happened if you were hurt?"
"I wouldn't. This is just a dream after all. My dream too." Stubborn. "Who are you sir?"
Well, if this was a dream then this little girl would hardly remember it when she wakes up. Or, if this was his dream, then it would be nothing but a passing thought. "Smaug. Put down that useless sword of yours, girl, and follow me. As long as you are with me, no harm will come to you."
He turned around and started walking, not caring if the girl would be scared of following him when she was sure in venturing the darkness before. He heard the clatter of wood and the whisper of moving cloth. Soon enough, he saw her catching up on his side. "Just Smaug?" Her question made him pause and look at her with a raised brow. She blinked and continued in explanation. "Well, do you not have a last name?"
"Like a title?"
She bit her lip in thought. "Could be?"
"They call me Smaug the Stupendous." He stopped and turned again, waiting as she maneuvered her way around the debris. She was such a small child, barely reaching his waist. Her blonde hair fell around her in a mess of waves. If it wasn't for her ears, he would've deemed her an elf. Maybe even one of Thranduil's. He pushed the thought since it was useless to dwell on it any longer when the child was clearly human. "Among others."
"Mr. Stupendous?" She halted, looking at him with such a sour expression that he laughed. He laughed loud and it echoed through the hallways. The red on her cheeks returned and her hands gripped her nightgown. She also looked like she was trying not to cry.
"Smaug is fine." He held out his hand. "Who are you little lass?"
She took deep breaths and sniffled a bit. When she met his gaze with her lips in a straight line, he admired her courage and stomped down the little voice that expressed the wish to see her cry. "Susan Pevensie."
"Come, Susan Pevensie. Let me show you my lair." Her hand was so small around his and it was warm. It was real, so real.
He helped her through the obstacles on the way to the treasury and when the darkness faded away, he abandoned the torch. Susan Pevensie was a quiet and observant girl, with her blue eyes jumping and taking in every detail. She was also a curious lass and what he found amusing was that she asked the right questions.
"Why do you live alone here?"
"How can you say?"
"Well, you call this place 'my lair'."
"Correct."
"So why do you live alone?"
"Because there's no one else."
"Dead?"
"Yes."
"Are you sad?"
He thought long and hard on how to answer such query.
"Maybe."
"Oh. Why?"
"Why are they dead?"
"Uh-huh."
"War killed them."
"Oh." She was quiet taking and processing the information he easily gave her. "Dad told us that war is an ugly thing."
"Us?"
"Pete and I. Mum doesn't like Dad telling Ed and Lu things like that yet." She smiled proud. "Mum said they aren't old enough."
He helped her jump over a ledge, and then took her in his arms so that they could easily bolt over a fallen column.
"Why aren't you finding someone to live with you?"
"Do I need someone?"
"Well, someone to take care of you."
"I can take care of myself."
"Someone to love you then." She just smiled, proud once more with her words. "Mum said we all need someone to be happy."
"There is no one to search for."
"Why?"
"There is no one left like me."
She tilted her head and watched his face. He could feel it like a waves splashing against the shore. They made their trek in silence after that. Her hand in his and their bare footsteps echoing faintly.
"Come, Susan Pevensie." He led her to the treasury and watched as her mouth formed an 'O'. Her eyes widened and reflected the gold that littered around them. "Here is where I stay."
"Gold?" She couldn't believe it. It was clear on how she turned to him, on how her voice was shy a whisper and on how she gripped his hand.
"Yes."
"Why?" Her face was scrunched again and he found himself smiling at seeing it once more. "I can't see a bed and it doesn't look comfortable."
"Because, my dear Susan Pevensie, I am a dragon."
Why would he show her his dragon form? Simple, (and quite foolish if you ask him afterward) he wanted to see Susan's reaction. The fear that he expected was fleeting, replaced by wonder and curiosity (always curiosity). He relished the expression, something surprising and rare. Such a strange child.
"Do you not fear me? Do you not fear that I will hurt you?" He asked as he leveled his large face to where she was. He laid there like he always did, his tail moving to and fro in expression of his intrigue. Susan Pevensie just sat on a boulder watching him as he did to her. She had expressed her awe in words a few moments ago, before she quieted down enough for him to ask.
"You said that as long as I am with you, no harm will come to me." She mimicked his words simply, as if it was truth. "Why would I fear you then?"
"What if I lied back then?" His voice rumbled as he tried to break this little girl's logic.
"You're a good dragon." She shrugged, as if that statement explained everything. Him? Smaug the Destroyer, a good dragon. What would the world say if they heard such statement, from a little innocent girl nonetheless. "And this is my dream, so I wouldn't let you hurt me."
He sighed, his breath making her hair and her nightgown flutter. He held his paw(? Hand?) out to her the second time in invitation. She readily accepted, moving to sit on his palm and holding on one of his talons.
What a trusting young child Susan Pevensie was. A curious mix of logic and imagination.
He showed her toys and trinkets. He laughed when she wore the gaudy necklaces and tried to stuff her fingers full of rings. He watched as she chucked them all off because it was too heavy. He made sure to stop her when she asked if he would wear the jewels. He followed her with his gaze as she made her way carefully through the mounts of gold in exploration. Her exclamations of glee and interest was something he found entertaining. His tail was there hovering nearby whenever she was close to slipping, or when her feet buried easily through the gold. She would laugh when his tail would pull her out and place her steady again and again. She never forgot to thank him too.
She was a quiet child, but when she starts speaking, it was something interesting.
"Have you stolen princesses?" She quipped suddenly when she found a small crown that fit her head perfectly. The crown was made of sapphires and diamonds, imitating that of the waves of the sea.
"No." He helped her make her way to him with his tail, her arms full of her new discoveries. Previously, she had shown him a golden sculpture of a horse the size of her palm. With that trinket came a story of how her brother Peter almost fell off a horse in one of their trips outside of town.
"Do you know a dragon who had stolen a princess?"
"No."
"Hmm. Well that's something the stories got wrong."
Then, she told him of stories where dragons stole princesses and how knights or princes would come to rescue them. Smaug scoffed at this, telling her that never could one man defeat a dragon, especially of his size and power. Susan shrugged and told him again that maybe it was something that the stories got wrong.
"Never trust the stories Susan Pevensie."
"Maybe I won't. I have never heard a princess' side of the story."
Then she went back in exploring, his tail always hovering to assist her.
"Are you really not going to find someone?" She asked when she returned, her arms holding fewer trinkets than before.
"I already told you there are no others like me."
"Maybe not a dragon." For a young girl, she spoke and thought advanced than any child he had encountered in a while.
"People fear dragons."
"Well… that is something the stories got right." She smiled as she sorted her new findings. "I'm not scared of you though."
She looked meticulously at each trinket, as if memorizing each detail that was on it. A keen eye that he found himself interested in. Would she know that they were made by the dwarves? Would she know that this was once their dwelling? That as her stories told, dragons stealing gold was another truth?
"How about you stay here with me then?" She paused for a moment, then placed the trinket in her hand down.
"What?"
"Do you want to stay here?"
"With all these toys?"
"Yes. The trinkets too."
"Really?" Doubt colored her blue eyes and turned her lips down.
"Yes."
"I can't."
He saw her sorrow and he wondered if it was because she wanted to agree to his offer but couldn't, or because she was afraid of offending him. "Why?"
"Ed would need someone to play with when Peter doesn't want to. Mum needs some help with taking care of Lucy. Dad was planning we go to the park when weekend comes. Peter will need help making bedtime stories."
"And you?"
"I don't want them to worry."
She was such a mature child, one that made Smaug think if her childhood way of thinking was stolen or was neglected at will. He studied the girl as she once again made another exploration and was startled when she squealed. Her face was carved with a smile as she staggered her way to him, her hands gripping tight on something. The moment she stopped, she held it out to him with all excitement.
"What is it?"
"You don't know?"
"Which is why I am asking."
She huffed and clambered on the ledge so that she could place it there. Carefully, she opened the lid and music filled the room in the next moment. Her eyes fluttered close and her excited smile softened. A music box. She found a music box and had discarded everything for this. Smaug observed her expressions and found himself taken by her childhood awe and curiosity. The way her eyes took everything in consideration and how her thoughts worked. They listened as the music carried on in signature dwarf fashion of deep tones and hollow echoes, punctuated by lovely twinkling of bells.
"Isn't it beautiful?"
"Indeed. You will make a fine treasure hunter." She chuckled at the compliment, hiding the blush on her cheeks by looking away.
It was cut short though when she suddenly looked up and listened to something he couldn't hear. It spanned a few moments before she spoke to him. "Can't you hear that?"
"No." Not even his superior senses could.
"Peter's calling me for breakfast. I should go."
She stood up and straightened her nightgown, wrinkling her nose at the dust and soot that it acquired. He, on the other hand, was confused at what she was speaking of. Clearly, it was something that was exclusive to her and that he would never hear it. So with a few moments of having Susan close her eyes, he changed once more so that he could escort her to wherever she must go. Words were few as he helped her once more up the steps and the debris, when they were past the column, she said she needed to go on alone.
"Till next time Smaug." She waved her hand.
"Dream of me when that happens." He joked, his own hand in a wave.
She turned and he witnessed when the darkness engulfed her nightgown. He was witness when Susan Pevensie disappeared in thin air. He wondered, whose dream was this?