25. HOPE IS NEVER SO LOST THAT IT CANNOT BE FOUND
Hanna stopped short.
He retraced his steps and looked out into the corridor.
He was not mistaken, it was Thranduil who had just entered the twins' room.
He followed him and nearly bumped into Calien who was hurrying out of the room.
"Forgive me my lady!" She apologized terribly embarrassed.
Hanna made a face trying to hide a smile. The mere presence of the King made his subjects in awe!
The handmaid was gone before she could answer, so she decided to go inside.
Thranduil watched the twins play quietly.
He was seated in a large armchair, wearing a rich dark robe and a silver diadem adorned his head.
Watching him, Hanna could see a hint of melancholy in his eyes, which upset her. She decided to ignore the fears given by the situation, her mistakes and anything that could have distracted her from her goal.
If they were to go to war, the war he had seen, the one Tolkien predicted, he wished were different.
Without arguing to divide them even though she was sure that this would not hinder the complicity they had always had on the battlefield!
"Still angry?" She asked as she approached, knowing that he had heard her come in and not at all surprised that she had been ignored.
He did not answer, as if diverting attention from the children could put them in grave danger.
"I take it for a yes!" Hanna sighed "Sorry, but I had to do it!" He said sitting on the ground on the opposite side of the companion, so as not to unnecessarily alarm the children with their rigid posture.
"You could have told me! Instead you lied to me ... and I believed you!" Thranduil said with reproach.
"Now you are unfair!" As expected he was making him weigh it.
"It's true! You're right...I had to tell you!" He had to grudgingly acknowledge Hanna.
"And why didn't you do it?" He asked looking up, making their eyes meet.
"I was afraid ... that you would ... say no!" He looked hurt and Hanna cursed Sara because she was always right. He had acted rashly, letting feelings take over.
Apparently he hadn't learned the lesson!
She didn't want to give up and get depressed like the first time, but acting like a hysterical mother was much worse!
"It was certain!" He said coldly.
"We are not talking about the Romans! But of dwarves! And they have our daughter! Why do you delay?!" The dwarves had surely reached the shores of the lake by now.
"And why do you give yourself answers instead of asking them?" He asked reminding her of the small detail that represented the crown she wore on her head.
If that gave her the certainty that she was doing everything possible, it also gave her a double-edged sword.
"Because the King has no time for a useless human! You excluded me from the preparations, hiding your moves from me, letting me drown in worry!" She accused him, explaining in a whisper what had hurt her most.
"You don't really think so!" He stated.
"What makes you say that!?" She growled.
"I know you!" Thranduil replied with irritating calm.
"Do you really think it was my intention to keep you in the dark? I was going to talk to you before meeting you in the stables!" Unveiled.
"If we had left immediately, perhaps we would have prevented them from taking it to laketown!" Hanna said more to herself than to him.
"They followed the course of the river. There was no way to stop them!" He said quietly.
"They're going to awaken a dragon..." Hanna's voice cracked as the image of pontelagolungo she'd seen thousands of times on her television screen flashed before her eyes, only awakening a great fear.
Aware that this time it wasn't going to be special effects.
"Hanna!" Opening her eyes she saw that he had knelt beside her, welcoming Galador who had run into her arms.
"I will do everything in my power to free Aranel! I'll bring it back!" He reassured her before giving her a tender kiss on the forehead and then turning her attention to her son.
"I believe you! But I'm still very afraid!" Hanna admitted as Elanor, eager to receive the same attention as her brother, sat down on her lap.
The children were silent, aware of the suffering of their parents.
"Nobody knows the future!" Thranduil whispered as Hanna leaned against his chest "We can only enjoy the time we have with the people we love and make our choices based on strength, not fear!"
They stayed together for a few minutes, both wishing that moment of peace would last forever.
This is how Thranduil had progressed during the war years. While she only understood the real danger when her daughter had risked her life.
"You have to be prepared. The army is ready to leave..." that sentence, which appeared out of nowhere, made her jump and straighten, full of new and strong hope.
"Wait..." "Has the desire to hug your daughter suddenly faded?" He scoffed slightly irritably.
"I'd like to ask you one last thing before I go!" She replied happy not to have forgotten.
A thick fog descended on the lake, obscuring the view. The mood was not the best, the mistrust was mutual and the child was crying silently sitting in a corner of the boat.
"Is everything okay?" Fili asked, realizing how much the little girl was overshadowed.
"When can I go home?" Aranel asked with tears in his eyes.
Fili sighed, not knowing how to give an answer, but wanting so much to do it. He realized more and more, that despite the dangerous situation, he had been cruel, mean and cowardly to kidnap her.
"I saw a moon of fire once!" Kili began to tell, smiling when he saw in those eyes as deep as the sea, full of sadness and anguish, a little spark of curiosity lit up.
"For real?!" Aranel asked in a broken voice, wiping his tears with one hand.
"She had risen on a pass near Dunland. Huge, red and gold, it filled the sky.
We escorted some merchants, they exchanged gold for furs…...we took the green path to the south, keeping the mountain to the left. And then she appeared..." Kili raised a hand pointing to the sky "A huge moon of fire, lit up the path...".
The dwarves whispered to each other dissatisfied as they did not trust the archer at all.
"Enough with this cheeky man of the lake, let's throw him off the boat and get it over with!" Dwalin complained for the umpteenth time.
"Bard! His name is Bard!" Bilbo pointed out.
"How do you know it?" Bofur asked trying to figure out when they might have met if the hobbit had never left the backyard.
"Aah, I asked him!" Bilbo gave the obvious answer by holding back his friend's thoughts.
"I don't care what it's called, I don't like that!" Dwalin said he had a natural tendency not to trust anyone who wasn't a dwarf.
"I do not like!" Dwalin whispered suspiciously.
"We don't have to like it. We just have to pay for it! Come on guys, empty your pockets!" Balin shouted impatiently.
"I pay my new friend's share!" Bilbo said smiling in the direction of Aranel but she was too busy with the young dwarf's story to listen to him.
"No need!" Bard stopped the half-man's good intentions by gaining even more distrust from the dwarves.
"How do we know he won't betray us?!" Dwalin asked Thorin.
"We do not know!" The dwarf replied looking at the man as if his suspicions increased with each question.
"There is only one small problem...we are missing ten coins!" Balin observed after counting the money several times.
"Glóin! Come on, give us everything you have!" Thorin ordered crossing his arms over his chest as soon as he noticed that he was the most agitated of all.
"Don't look at me!" shouted in difficulty the questioned "I was bled out of this adventure! And what did I get from my investment ?! Nothing but misery, pain and… "
His hesitation was interrupted by a sight that made him desist from any material attachment he still possessed: the Lonely Mountain appeared before them!
"For my beard...Take it! Take it all!" Glóin whispered moved, giving Balin all the coins he still owned.
"The money, give it to me soon!" Bard said reaching them with excitement.
"We will pay you when we have our supplies, not before!" Thorin growled.
"If you appreciate freedom you will do as I tell you!" The man answered strangely calm in the face of the distrust of the dwarves but appearing tense as he watched the skyline of the city silhouetted in the fog.
"There are guards ahead!" He managed to convince them in the end.
Thorin peered out of the barrel when he saw him hiding Aranel under a tarp near the bow, and the little girl, more comfortable with men than with dwarves, obeyed without protest. The dwarf was forced into hiding as soon as he spotted the lookouts stationed near a house on the lake.
"What is he doing?" Dwalin asked suspiciously from inside a barrel.
"Talk to someone!" Bilbo answered in a whisper, peering through the small hole in the barrel he was in.
"And what happens?" Insisted the dwarf.
"He's pointing his finger at us!" The Hobbit answered again.
"They are shaking hands!" Bilbo said, seeing Bard implement the gesture and fearing that they were condemned.
"What?!" Thorin growled.
"What a scoundrel!" exclaimed Dwalin full of anger "He has beautiful that betrayed us!" He concluded.
But before anyone could even think of what to do, something strange was poured into the barrels, without their presence being noticed.
The dwarves found themselves covered in dead fish and judging by the smell, they didn't have to be fresh!
The barge began to move slowly.
"Silence!" Bard hissed interrupting their moans by kicking one of the barrels "We're at the toll barrier!" he informed them.
"Alt. Goods inspection!" A voice came, anticipating the appearance of the man "Documents please. Ooh it's you Bard!" He marveled at the bargeman.
"Day Percy!" He greeted Bard.
"Nothing to declare?!" Percy asked friendly.
"Nothing, except that I am frozen and tired. And I want home!" Bard answered sincerely.
"I equal you!" Percy replied placing the stamp on the documents "That's it. All in order!" He said happily handing it to his friend.
But one hand stopped the gesture in half.
"Not so in a hurry!" Alfrid had arrived, the faithful adviser of the Governor of Pontelagolungo. Greedy, cowardly, cruel and arrogant.
"Delivery of empty barrels...from the wooded realm..." he read as if he did not know the habits of his fellow citizen.
"Only...they're not empty...aren't they Bard?" He asked looking at the barrels with disgust due to the strong smell of the fish "If I remember correctly, you are licensed as a bargeman, not as a fisherman..." he pointed out, feeling satisfaction in creating problems.
"None of your business!" Bard hissed as his anxiety increased.
"Wrong. It's the governor's business so it's my business!" Alfrid didn't give up.
"Oh come on Alfrid, have heart people must eat!" He tried Bard again.
"This fish is illegal!" He specified, nodding to the guards.
"Empty the barrels off the boat!" he ordered, amused in annoying the honest fellow citizen.
The guards obeyed the orders and one of them landed on the boat slightly pushing aside the cloth under which the little girl was hidden, who peeped out curiously.
Bard moved fast, the movement could be seen as a futile attempt to stop the guard.
"People in this city struggle. Times are tough. Food is scarce!" He began to speak staring Alfrid in the eye, so as to prevent him from dwelling on things he should not have seen, while with one hand he made a gesture behind his back to order the child to remain hidden.
"It's not my problem!" Alfrid replied, not giving in to the contest of glances.
"But when people find out that the governor throws the fish back into the lake..." Bard staked everything on the councilor's cowardice, knowing full well that he had fertile ground in which to disseminate fears and doubts "...when the revolt begins…it will be your problem then!" He whispered with satisfaction.
"Stop!" The other ordered "Always the benefactor of the people, eh Bard?" murmured Alfrid, contemptuous "The protector of ordinary people. You'll get their favor as a barge, too, but it won't last!" He promised with malice.
"Lift the lock!" Percy yelled less tensely to see that his friend had managed to get away with the tedious adviser.
"The Governor is keeping an eye on you, you would do well to remind you. We know where you live!" Alfrid went on quite happy.
"It's a little Alfrid Town!" Bard answered rowing "Everyone knows where everyone lives!".
Pontelagolungo was a City of Men entirely built on wooden stilts placed on the lake. Thanks to its favorable position, it had become a center dedicated to the trade of food, gold and other materials.
But the most important trade was with the Wood Elves of Mirkwood.
After a long moment of silence, disturbed only by the faint noises of the inhabitants, Bard emptied the barrels one after the other.
Kili and Dori fell to the floor with the fish, while Bifur stormed out. Containing their anger only because they risked being discovered.
"Don't you dare touch me!" Dwalin growled as he jerked out from under the fish.
Shy Bilbo peeked out, with a disgusted grimace on his face at the ploy devised by the bargeman to get them in.
"You haven't seen them, they've never been here!" Bard said paying the warden of that pier who willingly accepted that certain price for his silence.
"You can have fish for free!" Bard added to make sure he had her sympathy.
"Stay close to me! Follow me!" He then said to the dwarves.
Seeing Aranel tremble, he put his cloak on her, covering her too recognizable hair and pointy ears, before letting her into a basket that he put on his shoulder.
"Follow me!" he said in a low voice "Stay close to me and get a move on!" He ordered by guiding them to his home.
Hanna nimbly climbed onto Aegnor's back after helping clear the road of some pesky spiders.
She wanted to appear more confident than she felt.
That horse was stubborn and far too lively for her. But he had found nothing to object to when Thranduil decided he had to ride him.
It was the horse the King himself had trained.
Smart, strong and fast, he was the best companion he could wish for on the battlefield.
As evidence of this, he was the only steed apart from the King's Megacero to have staked its hooves in front of spiders.
While that of Sara had reared up, causing her to capitulate to the ground.
The war she knew about would soon come.
The elves were agitated. It could be seen from the rigid but elegant postures assumed by both the infantry and the knights.
Never in their history had a child, what they considered most sacred, fell into dwarven hands. The outrage against King Thingol paled in comparison.
Such a vile and cruel action, besides representing a serious offense to the King, risked making them vulnerable to enemies, showing weakness and ineptitude to protect the kingdom.
The trip proved to be a real torture.
The girls were used to riding, even for many days in a row.
But for the first time, an uncomfortable silence had fallen between the two.
Sara continued to ponder whether it was wise to reveal the presence of Bolg's army, not Azog, knowing that she would have to explain this unusual knowledge.
Hanna was in pain for her daughter and despite the words of her partner she found it extremely difficult to ignore it and hide the feelings that powerful, created a great confusion in her head.
Strangely, the vast forest, which despite being broad daylight was still imprisoned in the dark, took her back to many years ago, when the weight of her choices was not so heavy as to make her hesitate.
Hanna slashed one after the other in an attempt to find a breach in the opponent's defense.
He had tried various techniques, but until then he had failed against Azrael.
They had camped in a grove and always took advantage of the moments of respite to train.
The trees provided a good hiding place and an advantage for the lookouts who, thanks to their height, could see dangers a few miles away.
Hanna lunged, but not yet very familiar with the sword, miscalculated strength, finding herself stumbling forward trying not to fall from his attack.
Azrael took advantage and tripped her, making her efforts useless.
"Vous essayez de vous débarrasser de votre tête!" (You try to take your head off your neck!) He said holding out his hand to her.
Hanna accepted it feeling impatient and nervous knowing it was the third time she hit the floor in a matter of minutes.
"Mais il ya des barres obliques qui tuent avec moins d'effort!" (But there are slashes that kill with less effort!)
"Eh alors apprends-moi!" (So teach me!) Hanna shouted as she went off to attack.
Shortly thereafter, enthusiastic voices terminated the training.
"The Romans wailed like females while all around their blood bathed the earth!" Speaking was one of the gladiators who, together with them, had brought down the house of Batiatus.
Only the former gladiators of that damned house dared to get so close to the tent of the angel of death, where a precious treasure was kept, whose existence was concealed with morbid care.
"The wind has certainly carried that stench of smoke and death, right into the rotten heart of Rome!" The man said with macraphous enthusiasm as he raised a bottle of wine, heedless that this gesture had pushed a large quantity out.
"Ce sont des gens très bruyants!" (They are very noisy people!) He recognized Thranduil sharpening his sword.
"Parfois un peu de vin et quelques rires aident...à fortifier les amitiés!" (Sometimes a little wine and a few laughs help...to fortify friendships!) Hanna explained.
"Ce n'est pas le moment de se laisser distrraire!" (This is no time for distraction!) The elf pointed out.
"Azrael! Spartacus vous demande!" (Azrael! Spartacus asks for you!) Atticus called him as he came running.
"Attic, Milo, restez sur vos gardes!" (Atticus, Milo, stay on guard!) Azrael said, getting up knowing she had to hurry.
"Vous venez avec moi!" (You, come with me!) He called the two men who arrived with their son.
"We have to ..." "Move your ass!" Tigris yelled at Proximo "You're always in a great mood!" The other made fun of him.
"It will be an honor! A pleasure!" Hagen pointed out with his head down.
"Um, ass licker!" Milo was keen to clarify.
Haldir rode proudly behind the girls who flanked the King.
Some things hadn't changed!
The elf, having learned the sad news, had wasted no time in volunteering to follow them on their journey to the lonely mountain.
Showing no hesitation, deciding to leave without waiting for his lord's response, the captain of Lorien had strengthened the relationship between the two kingdoms thanks to his sense of duty and courage.
An elven horn announced the arrival of further trouble.
Thranduil stopped the advance of his army by starting to harbor suspicions.
The route chosen was the fastest.
Avoiding the pitfalls and darkness that poisoned the Woods was the only way to reach the dwarves and cut their way.
Yet a strange feeling had not left him since they left the castle walls.
"Everything good?" Hanna asked noticing the disappointment on the king's face.
"Let's proceed!" He ordered, pretending not to hear her.
"Everything good?" Sara asked seeing her friend looking at the fallen ground.
"I have to learn to recognize the sovereign!" Hanna said despondently.
"Come on ... will he have to keep his reputation?!" Whispered her friend trying to cheer her up.
Hanna knew Sara was right, but it didn't hurt any less.
Bilbo peeked out from a corner observing the place with fear mixed with confusion and curiosity "What is this place?!".
"This, Master Baggins, is the world of men!" Thorin replied without particular enthusiasm, signs that he had lived in it longer than a dwarf should have.
"Head down and move!" Bard took them back "Be quick!" He urged them further.
"Alt! Hey!" Shouted a guard as soon as he saw them. Too numerous and too diverse to go unnoticed.
"Power! Let's move!" Thorin whispered as he shoved several companions.
"In the name of the governor I told you halt! Alt! Alt! Stop them!" The guard insisted and was ignored.
"You!" The dwarves retraced their steps as another guard appeared in their path.
Citizens watched curiously without doing anything to intervene, appearing amused to see the governor's guards in distress.
"Back!" Thorin called them back, barely holding back their run.
"This way!" He called someone, not identifiable in the confusion created.
"What's going on here?!" Asked the head of the city guards appearing invisible to the eyes of the citizens who resumed doing what they had interrupted, intrigued by all that agitation
"Stay where you are! Nobody move!" The man ordered being heard only by the guards who accompanied him.
But Alfrid was right. Bard was well-liked among his people and no one shrank from helping him even without knowing the reasons behind his choices, hiding the unconscious guards and allowing the dwarves to get away.
"Pa! Our house...is under surveillance!" Bain, the barge's eldest son, once again made the dwarves change course.
Bard climbed the stairs to her house looking around without finding any difficulty in spotting the spies surrounding her.
With a whistle he attracted the attention of the closest "Tell the governor I'm done for today!" Throwing him a fruit as a kind payment.
"Pa, where have you been?!" Tilda welcomed him warmly into the house.
"Here you are! I was worried!" Her older sister Sigrid joined her.
The father placed the large basket on the ground that he carried on his back and when he pulled out the little girl, all the children stared in rapture at being able to see an elf so young and so close.
"But you are an elf!" Bain only said the obvious, but gave his father a questioning look. But didn't dwarves and elves hate each other?
The elf's gaze moved fearfully on each of the family members, then stopped on the younger one.
"Who are you?" Tilda asked the little girl.
"My name is Aranel! What's your name?" The elf asked timidly. Feeling more comfortable talking to a little girl, even if a little older than her.
"I'm Tilda, and they're my older brothers, Sigrid and Bain!" Tilda introduced them.
"One moment please!" Bard said kneeling in front of the little girl.
"Aranel, where are your parents?" He asked trying to be as kind and reassuring as possible.
"Where's Bilbo?" The frightened elf asked. The boys seemed nice, but the dwarves didn't trust the mysterious man. Even if it was the dwarves who had driven her away from home. Would that man help her get back to her Ada?!
There were many doubts and questions in the little girl's head, but she was too afraid to give them a voice.
"Let them in!" Bard gave up, deciding to give her time to settle in so that she could open up and, if necessary, help her.
Bain went downstairs and hit the toilet above the lake hard.
"If you talk about it with someone..." Dwalin announced as soon as he peeked his head out "...I'll tear off those arms!".
Bain held out a hand, forcing himself to remember his manners, though he had to admit that it was hard with this dwarf.
"Get out of the way!" Dwalin refused help, finding the situation far too embarrassing without a brat getting in the way with an intrusive and unnecessary act of kindness.
"Up there!" He pointed to the boy to send them inside the house, away from prying eyes.
"Pa, why do the dwarves come out of our toilet?!" Sigrid asked, uncomfortably looking out from the top of the stairs.
"Will they bring us luck?" Tilda asked, observing the entrance of the guests with the elf.
"You want to play?" Tilda asked excitedly "To the fight?" Aranel asked enthusiastically.
Who died as soon as she noticed the many perplexed eyes staring at her, of dwarves and humans.
"I want to be a great warrior like my dad! That's why I have to train hard!" He explained with naturalness and surprising pride.
"Who is your father?" Bard asked, taking the opportunity to clear up his doubts.
"None of your business!" Thorin growled between the two and Aranel ran to hide under the table.
"Since I am offering you asylum, I really believe they are!" The man answered in kind.
"No instead!" Thorin closed the speech.
Bard forced himself to be patient, deciding to do something else to distract himself from the anger he felt bubbling up inside.
"They won't fit you perfectly, but they'll keep you warm!" He said handing several blankets to the dwarves.
"A dwarven wind spear!" Thorin whispered as he glimpsed the ancient weapon from the window.
"You look like someone who has seen a ghost!" He looked at Bilbo, driven by curiosity.
"That's it! The last time we saw such a weapon. A city was on fire!" Balin said in a grim voice.
"It was the day the dragon arrived. The day Smaug destroyed Dale!" He announced in a melancholy tone.
"Girion, the lord of the city, gathered his archers to strike the beast. But the dragon's skin is tough. More than the strongest armor!" He narrated "Only a black arrow, launched from a wind lance, could pierce the skin. And few of those arrows were made. The supply was dwindling when Girion tried the last stand!" He said remembering well the cries of the city of men as it was being destroyed.
"If the men's aim had hit..." Thorin slowly turned.
"Many things would have turned out differently!" He had to acknowledge.
"You talk as if you've been there!" Bard said, amazed and suspicious.
"All dwarves know the tale!" Thorin immediately replied as if it were the most obvious thing.
"Then you will know that Girion struck the dragon. He loosened a scale under his right wing!" Bain broke in fervently, wanting to defend the honor of his ancestors "One more shot and he would have killed the beast!" Tale.
"That's a fairy tale young man! Nothing more!" Dwalin said mockingly, laughing.
Everyone in that room, except for Bilbo and Aranel, knew the legend of the Lord of Dale who had put up the last stand against Smaug many years ago and who had died burned by the dragon's fire.
"You took our money! Where are the weapons?" Thorin changed the subject again.
"Wait here!" Bard ordered them to wait and disappeared.
"Tomorrow begins the last day of autumn!" Thorin said to his companions, informing them.
"Durin's day begins the day after tomorrow!" Balin realized "We must reach the Mountain before then!" Announcement.
"What if we can't?" Kili asked doubtfully "What if we fail to find the door before that time? So…" "The enterprise will have been useless!" Fili concluded in his place.
"This will not happen, I am sure!" Thorin reassured them.
The weapons Bard gave them were strange tools that angry peasants would use.
The man replied that the best weapons forged in iron were found only in the armory of the city and, given the circumstances, the only choice fell on those.
"I would say move now!" Balin said but Bard stopped them, more and more convinced that the child should not be there.
"You're not going anywhere. Spies guard this house and perhaps every pier and quay in the city!" he warned them, having the opportunity to stop them without making them more suspicious than they already were "You will wait for the night to fall...it's safer!".
Having said this Bard led Bain to the door of the house "Hold them! They must not set foot outside! I'm afraid that little girl is in grave danger, I see what I can find out!" He said before setting off.
But it wasn't just the elf who worried the archer.
He had heard one of the dwarves call their leader Thorin and he swore he had heard that name before!
"What's your name?" Bain asked the little girl who was listening intently to Tilda as he introduced her to the various tools with which she had recently learned to sew.
"Bain, this is the third time you repeat the same question!" Sigrid took it back.
"I'm aware of that, but what my faults if his name is not common and I have a bad memory!" He joked.
"Aranel!" The elf replied reluctantly.
"Is it true that in the language of the elves every name has a meaning?" Bain asked curiously.
"Yes, mine means Star of the King!" Aranel answered, turning to Tilda, however, as if she had asked the question.
"So ... You are a Princess!" Bain wondered. "That's why your name is!"
"I do not tell lies!" Aranel said plaintively, staring at his hands.
"Your father ... is he the King?!" Bain had to admit that his father's intuition had proved correct again this time "But of which kingdom!?" He felt compelled to ask.
"Why do you want to know it?! And why are you afraid of me?l Aranel asked, frightened too seeing the shocked expression on the human's face.
"It's not fear ... it's disbelief!" Bain explained to her.
"You do not believe me?" Aranel asked offended.
"It is not referring to you...you... Princess!" Bain corrected himself.
"Sister, I'm hungry!" Tilda broke off the discussion at the right moment.
Sigrid seemed to wake up with her brother and started to please her little sister, only to change her mind "Bain would you go to the baker to get some fresh bread?".
"It's late now. And we have bread!" Bain replied not understanding why he made such a fuss about a piece of bread.
"Yes, but it's not fresh!" Arguing with her brother, Sigrid did not notice her younger sister who had decided to get it herself "Tilda!" he took it back when he was about to cut a slice of the loaf of a few days ago.
This was made difficult by the fact that the dough was old and therefore harder than the one just made.
"What's up?" The little girl answered innocently as the elf held up the plate impatient for a good meal.
It was long past dinner time and she still hadn't eaten anything.
The present calm was swept away by the entrance of a furious dwarf.
"We have to go!" Thorin said as he began to collect the still damp jackets and distribute them to urge his companions to hurry.
"No! Pa said you can't go out!" Bain objected.
"Do you think I care about what the bargeman says?" Thorin attacked him, hating that a human brat would stand against him.
"You come!" He growled at the little girl.
Aranel walked away protesting "But I want to stay with Tilda!".
"Obey!" The dwarf insisted advancing, but seeing her escape his grip he called for reinforcements "Bilbo!".
"No!" "Like?" The dwarf didn't seem offended, just furious at the hobbit's negative response.
"We are going to a mountain inhabited by a dragon!" Bilbo replied looking for someone's support "I'll just be a burglar, but I'm aware it's not the right place for a girl!".
"Keep your considerations to yourself!" Thorin yelled trying to grab Aranel who managed to avoid the grab by running to the opposite side of the table.
Sigrid exchanged a quick glance with her brother and they stepped between the dwarf and the child.
"Why is he with you?" Bain asked again, now aware that the Princess shouldn't have been there.
"None of your boy's business!" Dwalin replied threateningly.
"She doesn't want to come with you!" Sigrid answered without backing away.
"You don't decide what to do or not to do ... it's me!" That said Thorin pushed the boy aside and unceremoniously grabbed and dragged the heavy elf out, ignoring the kicks and protests she made at being handled so roughly.
Bilbo didn't want to be around the others, especially to come face to face with Thorin again.
Before it was curiosity that pushed him to speak to him but after the last discussion, it was gone.
They were stationed under the house, waiting to act undisturbed and steal real weapons with which they would then immediately head towards the mountain.
The hobbit mentally retraced the entire journey from Mirkwood, not understanding how the situation could have become so critical.
It was not the King's wrath he feared, but having to watch helplessly!
Being the only one opposed to the kidnapping, there wasn't much, at the moment, he could do.
He winced tensely as someone sat down beside him, but he relaxed when he saw Bofur.
The friend handed a piece of dried meat to the little girl who looked at him suspiciously, getting closer to the hobbit.
The dwarf sighed in resignation. Why should the little girl trust her kidnappers ?!
"What happened to you? You have never been so silent!" she asked, deciding to go straight to the point.
The hobbit couldn't hold back a hostile glance "I'm not in the mood for conversation!"
"I don't agree with Thorin's latest decisions either, but it's not just that, is it?" Bofur asked, appearing sincere and eager to listen, as opposed to the boisterous and exuberant dwarf he had always shown.
"You wouldn't believe me!" Bilbo replied timidly.
"That let me decide. What happened, Bilbo?" Bofur asked him again.
"I don't think so, in fact I'm sure that the dwarf I met in the county would not have done such a mean deed!" The hobbit answered without masking his anxiety.
"He was wrong, but remember he is an honor dwarf, he will never do anything to this little girl!" Balin said not seeming to believe it, but to hope for it.
"It's too late! Kidnapping someone, where I come from is not a courtesy!" Said the angry hobbit.
"For Durin's beard, we had the goddamn elven bows aimed in the backside! Not to mention the orcs!" Gloin exploded and then looked around in alarm, remembering only then that they were uncovered and moving cautiously without making a noise, which included yelling, was the only way not to be detected.
"That doesn't justify it at all!" Bofur ruled, and the hobbi felt relieved to be supported by someone.
Byblos sighed in bewilderment "How should I behave with him now? I saw him in the dungeons and he no longer looked like him...Aranel needs help!"
"Who?" Bofur asked bewildered.
"The child!" The resigned hobbit replied "Oh!" The dwarf lit up.
"Stop plotting behind his back!" Balin reprimanded them. "Remember that a curse is upon all that treasure. I'm afraid for him!" He confessed in distress "He doesn't need all this noise but let us stick together!".
"Thorin needs a lot of kicks in the ass!" Bofur exploded, whispering furiously "I would never have believed him capable of such a thing!".
Bilbo gave yet another sigh, before standing up firmly.
"I'll do my best to make him change his mind..." she said, pointing at the little girl with her eyes.
"That? Don't you really want to go talk to Thorin? Or don't you remember how it ended last time ?!" His amazed and worried friend asked him.
"I have no other choice! If I can do anything to stem the damage from this tragedy, it is my duty to do so. I don't want an innocent child to get involved!" Bilbo said firmly.
Meanwhile, the dwarf in question reappeared with clothes in hand.
Where he got them was a mystery.
"Change your clothes!" He ordered the little girl "Nobody has to see that you are an elf!" He explained.
Seeing that the little girl remained motionless clinging to Bilbo, she turned to him "It's for your safety!" He insisted.
"Thorin...we're going into the jaws of a dragon!" She tried to remind him of the Hobbit.
"Make her dress as I say or the dragon will be the least of her problems!" The dwarf hissed, throwing his clothes at him.
"Please..." Bilbo insisted not knowing how to convince him.
The dwarf stopped, staring at him dazed and a moment later a look full of anger overwhelmed the hobbit "Why did it take you so long to free us? I'm starting to believe you don't want to help us!" She hissed at him.
"What are you saying...?!" Asked the Hobbit, not understanding.
"DO NOT LIE TO ME!" the dwarf yelled again, rushing at him.
Aranel began to cry and Kili took her aside trying to calm her down by gently stroking her back.
The dwarves looked around in alarm that this quarrel might attract unwanted attention.
Thorin violently pulled the hobbit to his feet. "How can you do this to us, after all we've been through! After I gave you my trust! What did he promise you?!" he accused him, seeing nothing but enemies everywhere.
"Who?" Bilbo managed to ask in anguish.
"That snooty elf!" That answer confused not only the hobbit, but the rest of the company.
They had kidnapped the Princess, even if Bilbo made any kind of deal, it had dissolved like dust in the wind.
"Nothing...how can you only think..." "Then do as I order because I will not spare anyone who stands in my way and you my dear burglar are boring me with your good heart and good manners homemade!" He growled at Thorin and then turned around intending to continue with his plans.
"You will have my support. Only if you leave it here!" That sentence, although spoken in a trembling voice, stopped him instantly.
"Do you think me cruel?" He asked with dark satisfaction "Well, Master Burglar, know that there are people much worse than me!" He said pounding his fists on his chest.
"You have no idea what others would have done with her! Or what...they would have done to her!" Thorin grimaced as he saw that although he was scared, Bilbo hadn't moved and despite his body betraying him, his eyes were full of determination.
"Good!" He finally gave in. "He'll stay with Kili and Oin!" Decree.
"I'll leave it to you to bring it back to me once the danger is over!" He ordered "Make sure you don't let me down!" He said in a voice that didn't bode well.
Oin, he was perplexed, but being a dwarf, he trusted his Prince and believed that he just wanted to make sure they would obey his orders.
"What?" The aching but stubborn nephew protested.
"You are too weak!" Thorin said that he had noticed only then the pallor of his face "I do not risk the mission for a single dwarf!".
"Then I'll stay too!" Fili intruded and went towards his brother but was intercepted by his uncle.
"No, your place is with the company!" He stopped him.
"My place ... is next to my brother!" Fili said stubbornly, pushing his uncle aside.
Thorin decided not to insist, but wanted to further test the Hobbit "And you Master Baggins?" He asked looking at him "Will you hide in a hole?".
Bilbo not wanting to say unpleasant things, he replied with a shake of his head.
Bard wasn't wrong! That dwarf was a descendant of the King under the mountain!
And his presence meant only that the ancient prophecy was in danger of being opposed: "The Lord of the Silvery Springs, the King of the Hollowed Rocks, the King who is under the Mountain will have the things snatched from him back, and the bell will ring with joy when the King of the Mountain will return; but everything will unravel with sadness, and the lake will shine and burn!".
Realizing fully the risk the village was running and the dwarves' intention to take with them a child so small that they had probably kidnapped, she made him run fast home.
After parting, cautious and silent, the dwarves moved between the houses, intending to steal more decent weapons and then aim straight for the mountain.
The darkness hid them from the sight of any guards but the weapons, built to human size, were too much for the dwarves and one of them made a few fall, creating a great noise, revealing their position.
The dwarves were dragged to a clearing in front of the Governor behind whom Alfrid was standing. The former was not at all happy that his dinner had been interrupted.
As if that were not enough, a crowd of onlookers had gathered around the unusual intruders: old men, men, women and children who whispered to each other who knows what theories and stories to explain that absurd presence!
The rumors of a possible fulfillment of Durin's people's prophecy, born of Bard's hasty search, had made their way around the City in no time.
"What does this mean?!" The governor asked, annoyed by having been disturbed at that hour.
"We caught them stealing weapons sir!" The chief of the guard answered.
"Ah, enemies of the state ... eh?" The Governor mocked them, standing at the top of the stairs at the entrance to his house.
"A desperate bunch of mercenaries like never in life, sir!" His adviser supported him as always.
"Hold that tongue!" Dwalin silenced him taking a step forward, always ready to take the defense of his Prince.
"You don't know who you're talking to. He is no ordinary criminal. He is Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thrór!" He screamed so that everyone could hear him clearly.
The Governor stared at him with his mouth open in disbelief.
The crowd whispered even more than before, though the tones remained low as if they feared annoying Durin's heir.
"We are the Dwarves of Erebor!" Thorin proudly proclaimed, placing a hand on Dwalin's shoulder and advancing towards his interlocutor "We have come to reclaim our homeland!" He said firmly.
"I remember this city at the time of its greatness!" Thorin continued, turning to the men gathered around the company.
"Fleets of ships docked at the port, filled with silks and precious gems...This was not an abandoned City on the Lake, this was the center of all Northern trade!" He remembered awakening the ancient pride of men.
"I would guarantee the return of those days!" He promised Oakenshield, turning to the Governor, aware that he was a man greedy for power and precious treasures. "I would rekindle the great furnaces of the Dwarves, and let wealth and wealth flow again from the halls of Erebor!" He continued seeing the man's eyes light up at the promise of mountains of gold.
The inhabitants of Pontelagolungo also rejoiced, but not all shared the same enthusiasm.
"Death! This is what you will bring us!" said a voice rising powerful above the others.
The inhabitants fell silent. Bard pushed his way through the guards to stop in front of Thorin "Dragonfire and doom. If you awaken that beast, it will destroy us all!" He said not hiding his fear.
"You can listen to this opponent, but I promise you one thing…" Thorin insisted "… if we can, everyone will share the riches of the Mountain.
"You will have enough gold..." he said waving his hands "...to rebuild Esgaroth at least ten times!" He shouted enthusiastically to the crowd.
"Why should we take your word for it? Eh?" Alfrid asked, again calming the general euphoria "We don't know anything about you ... who can vouch for your honesty?" He asked suspiciously.
The silence was broken by a timid and hesitant voice "Me!" Bilbo said, raising his hand uncertainly, "I'll vouch for him. I have traveled extensively with these Dwarves, facing grave dangers. And if Thorin Oakenshield gives his word, he'll keep it!" He said and for the first time he wasn't sure he was doing the right thing.
He wasn't sure Thorin would keep that promise, but the priority now was to keep him away from the Princess as much as possible! Bilbo's conscience continued to cling to that excuse for shamelessly lying.
"All of you, listen to me!" Bard shouted furiously, addressing the people who had regained their joy.
"You have to listen to me! Have you forgotten what happened to Dale?! Forgotten those who died in the firestorm ?! And for what reason?" He turned to Thorin looking at him with contempt "The blind ambition of a King of the Mountain, so engrossed in greed that he cannot see beyond his own desire!" He remembered letting a dead silence fall, interrupted only by a voice "I'll kill him! I'll kill him!" An out of his mind Dwalin was barely held back by his companions.
"Come on!" The Governor interjected "We must not be too hasty to blame!" He said knowing full well that he had a trump card to put on the table "Let's not forget that it was Girion, Lord of Dale, your ancestor, who failed to kill the beast!" He said pointing his finger at the archer.
"It is true, sir. We all know the story..." Alfrid humored him, seizing the opportunity to mock him "Arrow after arrow shot, each one missed the target!" Tale.
Bard clenched his fists angrily and gave Thorin a cold look.
"You have no right, no right to enter that Mountain!" he murmured.
"I'm the only one who has it!" Thorin replied proudly.
"I address the governor of the men of the lake. Do you want to see the prophecy come true? Do you want to share the great wealth of our people?! What do you reply?" Thorin asked not doubting the answer.
"And I say to you!...welcome!" The crowd, for the first time in a long time, agreed with the governor. The first is happy to satisfy his greed and the others are convinced that they no longer have to beg for stinking fish, living cold and hungry.
All convinced that the distance that separated them from the mountain would have been enough to protect them.
The door swung open and the bargeman, who already looked nervous, flared with rage at the sight of the dwarves he hoped never to see again.
"No! I'm done with the dwarves, go away!" He said chasing them away unceremoniously.
"Hey, no no!" Bofur, desperate, blocked the closing of the door with his whole body, hurting himself badly "Please!" He gasped. "Nobody will give us a hand. Kili is sick!".
The man opened the door to see with his own eyes "He is very sick!" Bofur insisted with a pleading look.
They had reunited with their friends as soon as the danger had passed and amidst the great celebrations of that evening, going unnoticed had not been difficult, finding a place to rest. But when the company left, they were driven out as if they were lepers.
Bard seemed on the point of not giving up when a little voice stopped him.
"What's wrong?" Asked her frightened daughter.
Tilda, despite her youth, was very alert and must have sensed the anxiety in the dwarf's voice.
The man realized that his children too had been worried about hearing this and as much as he hated them, he knew in his heart that he could not turn his back on someone in distress, elf or dwarf.
Returning his gaze to the dwarves, while he was still undecided, his eyes fell on the little elf who, drowsy, rubbed her eyes.
His son had revealed the discovery made the night before!
The archer saw another opportunity to help her and decided to take it.
Evening came and the dwarf's condition only worsened.
Despite the dwarf's heartbreaking cries, Aranel had fallen asleep exhausted from the previous night spent almost sleepless.
"Da, what are you going to do with her?" Asked Bain who had briefed his father on what he had discovered in his absence.
"We have to bring her back to her people! He's in danger here!" He said, approaching to observe her with emotion ..
"Furthermore, his presence risks provoking a war!" He thought uncertain how to move.
"But we weren't the ones who kidnapped her!" He looked at Bain in offense.
"It does not matter!" His father silenced him. "We must act cautiously. Or the wrath of King Thranduil could destroy us!".
As if the idea of an impending confrontation with the elves wasn't enough to think about, the earth shook, shaking the waters and rocking every inch of the house.
"Mani marte?" (What happened?) Asked Aranel who had woken up suddenly, looking around in fear.
"Da!?" Sigrid was perhaps more frightened than she was as she hugged her little sister.
"It comes from the mountain!" Bain realized with terror.
Bard sighed tensely. His worst fears had come true.
"You should go!" Fili said excitedly "Take your children and go away!" He urged him.
"And go where?! There is nowhere to go!" Bard replied knowing it was too late to find safe shelter.
"Are we going to die Pa?" Tilda asked with tears in her eyes.
"No, darling!" Bard tried to appear confident, but his daughter's next question made him realize he hadn't succeeded. "The dragon, will he kill us?"
The archer felt something inside him move.
No, he wouldn't let that beast hurt his family without doing anything!
He raised one hand and quickly pulled out a huge arrow.
It wasn't just the grinding wheel that made it look tough, but also the material it was made of: dwarven steel!
A black arrow.
"Not if I kill him first!" Bard assured them firmly.
The night seemed to have calmed down.
The cold was bitter and in addition to the lights of the houses, a moon illuminated the black sky.
Taking advantage of the darkness, some figures of darkness made their way between the roofs of the city.
Sigrid watched the surrounding docks in hopes of seeing the figure of her father returning to them, but it didn't.
If the governor had had him arrested there wasn't much they could do to help him out ...
She felt lost. She knew she had to take care of her little sister, and she knew she had to do something to help the elf.
But if the governor had discovered them with that little girl who knows what he could have done to her, having deprived them of her father's protection.
A noise rekindled the hope "Da, are you Da ?!" Sigrid asked, scanning the darkness.
An orc jumped onto the balcony next to her and Sigrid reacted by screaming back in, narrowly shutting the door.
Bain and Tilda get up in fright as Aranel hid under the bed.
But Sigrid hadn't been fast enough!
The abominable creature's sword had blocked the door before it could be closed completely, and now the beast was pushing hard, hungry for blood and death.
The girl gave in after a while and was thrown to the ground. She wasted no time rubbing under the table, desperate to get something between her and the ogre.
The dwarves were unprepared for the sudden attack, unarmed and outnumbered.
Fili flung himself on the orc he had just entered, trying to steal his long sword.
Another of his kind entered through the back door, receiving as a welcome various cookware thrown right in his face.
Tilda imitated Oin, before her brother pushed her under the table next to Sigrid.
As if that wasn't enough, another orc smashed through the roof, growling with pleasure at the sight of a delicious meal to be enjoyed.
Bain broke his glee by throwing him on the bench at the table.
One of the intruders, having no opponents, was able to concentrate fully on the smell he had smelled all day. He was not a dwarf or human, but an elf, the little creature he saw huddled under the bed where a weak dwarf lay, who shivered as soon as he realized he had been spotted.
A risen smile spread across the ogre's face and he let out a sound of appreciation.
The young and inexperienced elves were easy to catch, their flesh tasted better than that of the dwarves, and he could have enjoyed hearing her scream in agony.
Aranel screamed as the ogre moved the bed she was hiding under, attracting the attention of Oin, who helplessly could only scream "The Princess!" knowing full well that his death would condemn them all as well!
Kili, despite her weakness, was quick to throw herself on the ogre to prevent him from hurting her.
The orcs overturned the table, but when all seemed lost, a mysterious warrior appeared at the door, killing the orc who was about to enter.
Tauriel drew his daggers. He advanced slowly, studying the number of enemies and their position.
The orcs did not hesitate to attack and died one after the other.
Moving in a deadly dance, Tauriel had no problems in the fight and was quick to throw a dagger, thus depriving himself of a weapon, but freeing Kili from a death grip.
Other of those creatures entered the house, ending up with the same terrible fate as their fellow creatures. Frightened by both the elf and the accumulating corpses, the remaining orcs fled.
Not wanting to die and realizing their goal wasn't there, they were quick to fall back.
Kili used the elven dagger to kill an orc behind Tauriel who was struck by the gesture before finishing the last one left.
The young dwarf was dragged to the ground by the corpse of that abominable creature, screaming in agony when the blow also involved the injured leg.
An ogre reached the chief who was observing the scene from above a roof, in front of the house "Oakenshield is not here!" Bolg growled in anger, his anger tripled as he saw that only three dwarves were left, the others must already be on the slopes of the mountain!
"But the elf is here! She is a Princess! " That information made the imposing ogre return to a good mood, and he stopped to observe his prey.
His right eye narrowed as he saw the young elf he had seen during the river fight.
Bain looked around the room "You killed them all!" He said in amazement.
"There are others!" Tauriel warned him, as if his help had been of little consequence.
"Aranel!" Sigrid peered under the bed "The orcs are gone you can get out!" He urged her without being surprised when the little girl shook her head and retreated against the wall.
Tauriel looked at the scene with revulsion. The half-elf was tainting the King's good name with her cowardice. An elf would have acted differently.
She would have acted differently.
He was regretting having protected her, but it was her loyalty to her King that prompted her to act.
The mother had shown herself no better. Indeed, upon reflection, perhaps it was because of him that the King had not returned earlier.
As painful as it might be, perhaps her death would alienate the human, making her desist from her plans to seize power over an elven realm.
She started to leave, more than determined to ignore the Princess when a dwarf appeared in front of her "We're losing him!" He said desperately.
Tauriel, for the first time, hesitated. She had witnessed the confrontation at the border, deciding to pursue them as soon as she realized what affront they had brought to the venerable elf who had raised her.
But that dwarf seemed different to her ...
He had risked his life to save his fellow men. And he had helped her ...
As she pondered how to act, she was joined by a fourth dwarf who had just returned.
She took what she was carrying from his hands, amazed that he had managed to find that rare plant in a city of men "Athelas!" He whispered taking it from Bofur's hands.
"What are you doing?" He asked, too amazed by her presence to remember the ancient hatred present among their races.
"I'm going to save him!" He revealed Tauriel that he had made up his mind.
Quiet had returned to the house on the lake.
The danger for Kili now seemed to be just a bad memory and his brother, together with his friend were relieved to see him stop writhing from the pain and the color return to his face.
Tauriel carefully dressed the wound, reserving quick glances to the young dwarf.
He looked different than his peers.
He was very tall for a dwarf and his features were firm but soft at the same time.
"I had heard of the wonders of elven medicine. It was a privilege to assist you! "
Tauriel ignored the dwarf's compliments. He didn't expect or wanted anything from them!
"May I know the name of the one to whom I owe my life?" The young man's voice was able to calm his restless soul.
Confused, she reacted coldly, not wanting her actions to be misunderstood. "You don't owe me anything. It is I who acted, returning help that was not absolutely necessary!".
"In this case, thank you!" Kili said ignoring the elf's rude tone.
"I don't need your gratitude!" Tauriel replied annoyed.
"You have a lot of ardor inside you!" To stop in front of the umpteenth kindness. Because that dwarf persisted in being friendly if she had shown that she was of a different opinion.
"One can have a burning hearth in the soul and yet no one could see it, but only see a wisp of smoke rising from the chimney!" Tauriel froze upon hearing unexpected wisdom manifest in the dwarf's words.
A rare thing among his fellows.
Or maybe not?
Tauriel realized that the hatred between their races had never allowed anyone to establish a relationship without suspicion or contempt.
"You know, in my long travels I have met few people like you!" He began to tell Kili.
"Watch out dwarf, don't put me on the level of greedy humans!" Tauriel growled as he felt his wounded pride protest at that completely inappropriate comparison.
"I'm not talking about races. You don't have much esteem for the people of men, do you?" Kili asked who seemed amused by the daring of that splendid creature.
"No, actually I appreciate your insight!" Tauriel replied as a smile lit up her face.
The first in a long time!
Bilbo would never have believed what he had seen and heard if someone had told him.
The dragon was able to speak! He had shown himself to be intelligent and arrogant.
Knowing that he could not escape the hunger that surely that snake had had after years spent in the mountain, he had played with cunning, trying to flatter it as long as possible, while trying to approach an exit or a safe shelter.
The dragon seemed to appreciate the enigmatic conversation the burglar had begun.
But what distracted the Hobbit's survival instinct was a bright white stone that appeared before him at the least opportune moment: the Arkenghem!
The dragon had taken little to discover his deception and the Hobbit had been quick to resort to a help that he would always guard with possessive jealousy.
Smaug was furious at the possibility of being deprived of even a single jewel.
Being very familiar with each of the goods kept in his gigantic treasure, he could have noticed the theft of the smallest or less valuable piece!
The dwarves had blocked his escape and Thorin, for the umpteenth time, had shown himself changed. And not for good!
The prince who had swooped into his house was reserved, cold and suspicious, but he found it more comforting than the one with an empty and bordering on madness gaze.
Perhaps he would have killed him if Smaug hadn't arrived in time to distract him.
He didn't want to think about it!
Together with the company, thanks to a ruse, they had managed to take refuge in the forges, convinced that they had a plan to take down the beast.
"You ... do you think you can fool me, riders!?" Smaug asked, blocking the Hobbit's escape.
"You came from laketown!" That awareness-filled sentence made Bilbo freeze.
"This...is a sordid plot hatched by these filthy dwarves and those wretched men of the lake!" The dragon reflected "Those whining cowards with their long bows...and black arrows!" Smaug seemed to think carefully about the next move and finally made up his mind.
He made the worst choice.
"Maybe it's time..." he began to speak, turning his gaze towards the entrance of the mountain "... that I pay them...a visit!" He said increasing the pace.
"Oh no...!" Bilbo despaired deciding to get out of his hiding place "But it's not their fault!".
"STOPPED!" He couldn't think to himself in the face of such a disastrous eventuality "You can't go to laketown!" Bilbo couldn't find a solution to avoid the impending tragedy ...
The dragon stopped, turning quickly "Oh you care about them...don't you !?" He asked with wicked satisfaction "Well...then you can watch them die!"
To Bilbo's relief, Thorin had distracted the dragon from his destructive intentions, provoking him to fall into the trap.
The plan was successful. The beast was engulfed in a cascade of molten gold, emitting a surprised growl.
The dwarves cheered. Happy with the success of a company believed to be impossible.
But the enthusiasm was short-lived.
With a terrifying sound, Smaug emerged from the boiling liquid, stirring furiously.
Despite its size, it was quick to get out and vibrate in flight, heading towards the city.
Bilbo ran after him, tormented, only to see that the dragon was already halfway there.
"What have I done..?" he whispered distraught, taking responsibility for the devastation that would soon befall hundreds of innocent people "Will you forgive me, great King?".
Here I am! Sorry for the late!
I warn you that the next update will probably also arrive late!
We are finally heading towards a pivotal moment for each of the characters!
Hanna and Thranduil have made peace and Sara begins to orient herself.
Aranel is terrified, what will happen to her ?!
Kili and Bilbo are the only two who don't notice the differences and they seem to have taken her in favor!
But now comes Smaug!
Hope the story continues to please, opinions and comments are welcome!
Soon,
X-98