How foolish Katniss felt for ever having doubted dragons existed in the first place. Never in her wildest dreams had she conceived the existence of a creature so monstrous and deadly as Smaug. His colossal figure, as big as an aeroplane; his nails and teeth, sharper than a dwarrow warrior's sword; two yellowish reptilian throbbing eyes that sparkled pure malice.

She still remembered the first time she had caught a glimpse of the enormous reptile. Thorin had his sharp sword pressed against poor Bilbo's neck. Katniss went berserk when she realised what her Thorin was doing.

"Are you out of your damn mind?" she raised her voice as she tried her best to shield Bilbo with her own body.

However, Smaug's abrupt appearance, zooming faster than a Capitol's army jet and spraying fire towards them, made her realise that was probably not a good time to pick an argument with her husband about his deranged actions. So she forced herself to let it slide, and without saying another word, she joined the other company members as they ran for their lives.

Amid their escape, she tried in vain to shoot a few arrows against the dragon, only to watch each one of them bouncing back on Smaug's iron scales. The dragon did not even blink. It was as if her sharp arrows were made from something softer than wool. The frustration, and the helpless feeling that came along with it, was making her stomach twirl and her blood boil.

As she followed Thorin around, she was greeted by the sight of the many decorated chambers and vast halls with sculptures carved and adorned with the mountain's own stone, and the rubble of the place that was his birthright kingdom. Even though it looked like a cold and dismal place, it was nonetheless astonishing. If they hadn't been running for their lives, she would have stopped to gape at the splendour and grandeur of Erebor's magnificence .

Completely drenched in sweat and out of breath, they ran for a long time until Smaug seemingly ceased going after them. With an unspoken agreement, they slowed down and tried to be as stealthy as their small burglar .

"If only I had Beetee's bow here with me… that thing would've been dead hours ago," she whispered to herself, but Thorin, who was just in front of her, turned back and squeezed her hand. They quietly moved forwards, with Thorin in the lead.

"We've given him the slip," Dori said with a hint of relief in his voice as he walked through an archway.

"No, he's too cunning for that," Dwalin said from the back of their pack.

"So where to now?" their hobbit asked, looking up at both Katniss and Thorin.

"The western guardroom. There may be a way out," Thorin answered, facing forward.

"It's too high. There's no chance that way." Balin said with a frown.

"It's our only chance. We have to try." Thorin said, at last looking back, determination filling his eyes.

Trying their best to remain as quiet as possible, they followed Thorin closely. Katniss was right behind Thorin as they sneaked around the wreckage of their lost home. When they crossed a high narrow archway bridge, the clinking of a coin drew everyone's attention to Bilbo, who looked both worried and puzzled, as he ran his hands all over his waistcoat pockets.

Suddenly more coins started falling, and they all looked up just in time to see the vast colossal figure of Smaug, silently hovering above them. Katniss instinctively held her breath and brought one hand on her own month, while the other squeezed Thorin's, who in his turn, pulled Katniss' close to him. He then guided her to the other side of the bridge and gave orders for the others to follow them closely.

Soon they were back on the inner part of Erebor, where Smaug would never be able to reach them. Once there, they walked through a handful of narrow corridors. Katniss could tell that Thorin had got lost at one point, as he turned around when he opened a door that gave way to a larger corridor that he seemed to recognise, but it clearly wasn't the place he was trying to reach.

When they were back on track, he finally found a large spiral staircase, which he climbed in at an almost jogging pace, such was his eagerness to find the guardroom, and a way out of the mountain. However, when they approached their destination, their nostrils were hit by a peculiar dusty scent that made some of them frown, and Oin declared that was a bad omen. Soon enough, they were greeted with the sight of a mouthful of skeletons. They all held their breaths as they were forced to take in that distressing scene.

"That's it, then. There's no way out," Dwalin voiced what they all were silently thinking.

"The exit is blocked. They were all trapped inside the mountain," Fili concluded as he got closer and closer from the small pile of dwarven corpses, Kili tailing his brother closely.

Katniss also went along with them until she stepped onto something. She then kneeled down and grabbed a small doll that was lying on the floor, next to the corpse of what clearly had once been a young dwarfling girl. She shared a small meaningful glance with Thorin before she adjusted the doll near to the girl before she stood up again.

"The last of our kin. They must have come here, hoping beyond hope. We could try to reach the Mines. We might last a few days," Balin said, and Katniss was pale white when she glared at him. Mines.

All Katniss could suddenly think about was her father dying on that mine explosion back on Twelve. No. She couldn't bear the thought of dying like this.

"No. I will not die like this. Cowering, clawing for breath. We make for the forges," Thorin said with fire in his eyes.

Katniss looked at him with astonished shock imprinted in her eyes. It felt like Thorin had just read her mind.

"He'll see us, sure as death," Dwalin said.

"Not if we split up," Thorin urged.

"Thorin, we'll never make it," Balin shook his head sceptically.

"Anything is better than dying like this," Katniss said, moving her eyes from the dead corpses to the company members and then back to Thorin. "Thorin is right. If we have to die, I'd rather die fighting."

Thorin nodded at her before he addressed the others.

"Some of us might make it. I think I have a plan. Let's lead the beast to the forges. We will kill that dragon. If this is to end in fire, then we will all burn together."

Katniss smiled back at him before she said.

"If we burn, we will make Smaug burn with us!"

Kili and Fili cheered, but not many of the others seemed to share their enthusiasm. Though there were more than a handful of solemn nods, the fear of their imminent death by either Smaug's fire or his sharp teeth and claws was way too vivid on their minds.

"What is the plan, Uncle?" Kili said, a bit too cheerfully for someone who was about to face a dragon again.

Katniss raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms in expectancy. Thorin took a deep breath.

Thorin divided them into two groups. Needless to say, Katniss was in his group. Balin and Bilbo were the ones who he had chosen to go with them. One thing that had changed, was that instead of being tiptoeing in the darkness, they were now trying to actively be loud to catch the dragon's attention. Every time Smaug got dangerously near one of the groups, another one would try to get the dragon to go after their own group instead.

There was no way for Katniss to know for sure how well the other three groups were doing, she was surprised at how well Thorin's plan had been working so far. She had been certain that Smaug would have realised they were all leading him to the same place by now. However, if the monstrous beast noticed, it did not care. They were all running closely together when Balin suddenly stopped behind Katniss and shouted.

"It's this way! This way! Come on!" Balin called them as he pointed to a smaller door that would clearly lead to one of the inner chambers where Smaug would never be able to follow them.

Katniss quickly stopped running to join Balin, but Bilbo and Thorin both remained in the open as Smaug just appeared behind them. Katniss immediately knew that Thorin was now too far ahead to turn back. She was about to start running to join him, but Balin was quick to hold her back.

"Thorin!" Bilbo screamed, not far from the stoned doorway where Balin was restraining the only female of their small trope.

As he heard his name, Thorin turned back to face them. He spotted Smaug emerging at the entrance of the chamber they were in. He saw Bilbo in the open, but not too far from the others, and at last, he saw Balin trying to prevent Katniss from going after him. He looked at her and then at Bilbo as he shouted.

"Follow Balin!"

"NO!" Katniss shouted back, trying to escape with even more determination now she was sure that Thorin was trying to sacrifice himself for them.

"Thorin!" Bilbo shouted.

Balin pushed Katniss to the floor, making her fall on her fours as he moved forward to get hold of Bilbo and force him back to the side doorway.

"Come on!" Balin said, making Bilbo walk as he lunged forward to prevent Katniss from the narrow corridor where he knew she would be safe.

Seconds after Balin and Bilbo were safe inside it, they saw a large jet of orange flames zooming through the doorway.

"Balin, he is going to die!" Katniss said falling down on her knees again, the despair growing heavier on her chest, as they all witnessed Samug flying through the doorway, not even stopping to glance at the three of them.

"Thorin is not dead, Lassie. Have faith in him. Now stand up. Let's join the others. We are almost there."

Balin offered her a hand. She brushed her watery eyes with her arm, and before she knew it, they were running once more, following Balin through the complex maze that was Erebor. Before they even managed to get back to the open space where the others were, they heard Dwalin shouting Thorin's name. Katniss held her breath and forced herself to sprint.

Not even during the games did she run so fast. The mere thought that maybe, just maybe, she could do something, anything to save him was enough to keep her going. By the time they left the tunnel they were in, the first thing she saw was Thorin shouting, as he and Nori were dodging another jet blaze together.

Without giving it a second thought, she immediately lunged against her lover, both their foreheads briefly touching, as they took in the comforting news that the other was still alive. The moment didn't last even half a second, though, as Dwalin's voice brought them back to reality, making her step out of Thorin's way at once.

"The plan's not going to work. These furnaces are stone cold."

"He's right; there's no fire hot enough to set them ablaze," Balin said glaring at the furnaces with a heavy heart.

"Have we not? I did not look to see you so easily outwitted!" Thorin said with a glint in his eyes.

Katniss immediately knew what he meant. He wanted to use Smaug's fire breath to alight the fire of Erebor's old furnaces.

Thorin glared at the chiasm, as they all witnessed the colossal reptilian figure struggling to emerge back from the abyss.

"You have grown slow and fat in your dotage." Thorin said, looking at the beast straight in its eyes. "Slug."

Katniss' eyes widened in shock at the words she heard coming out of his mouth. She was running after Thorin, ready to tell him to shut up when he grabbed her by the waist the took her to a pilar as he shouted at the others.

"Take cover. Go!"

She didn't have time to protest as he pressed her small figure against one of the pillars. Both their foreheads were touching, his eyes locked on hers. But they couldn't keep it open as they were engulfed by the flames coming out from Smaug's fire breath.

The heat emanating from it was almost unbearable to her soft human skin. Everything she could think of was that if they were to die now, at least they would die together. Thorin seemed to be thinking the same thing, as he did his best to endure the pressure and the heat of the fire as he tenderly stroked her face as if they were back at the privacy of their nuptial bedroom in Laketown.

When the fire ceased, they immediately opened their eyes. Katniss took in his face, and then she hastily moved her gaze to catch a glimpse of the now lit furnace. There was a loud explosion coming from within it.

"It worked," she whispered, moving her attention back to him.

As if he woke up from a trance, Thorin turned around and moved out of his hideout, bringing Katniss alongside him, their hands entwined, just as Smaug growled in rage and hit the solid iron pillars where all the dwarves had sought shelter.

"Bombur! Get those bellows working. Go!" Thorin ordered after a quick glance at the heavy dwarf.

"Alright!" Bombur said before he ran to do Thorin's bidding.

Thorin was looking at Smaug, who was struggling to break the columns and go to the place where they were.

"Bilbo! Up there, on my mark, pull that lever," Thorin said, pointing at the place he wanted Bilbo to go. He then grabbed Balin's shoulders.

"Balin, can you still make some flash-flame?"

"Aye. It'll only take a jiffy," Balin said before he quickly picked some other dwarves to aid him on that task.

"Katniss, Kili. Go follow him," Thorin said, giving a last squeeze on her hands before pulling her away.

Katniss was not surprised by that. From what she had understood from his plan, Balin was going to create some sort of explosives. Kili and she would try to fire some arrows covered by whatever it was that Balin was going to make. They were to aim at the beast's eyes and at a soft spot that Bilbo told them Smaug possessed on his left breast. Katniss wasn't sure how that would affect the arrow's weight, but it was clear as water that they wouldn't have time to test it.

They followed Balin up to another spiral staircase. The elderly dwarf had taken them to one of the inner chambers that Smaug couldn't reach, and as soon as they got there, Balin and the others that he had picked to aid him began mixing contents from different clay pots. Sometimes he would stop to ask if anyone had seen a particular ingredient.

Kili had got hold of some of their arrows and was attaching a small pouch full of the powder that Balin and the others were putting on their arrowheads. Katniss did the best she could to stay out of the way of the dwarrowmen who were working as fast as they could. She went to a narrow window and caught a glimpse of Thorin standing there, alone, Smaug snarling at him full of rage. She covered her mouth with both of her hands. There was nothing she could do to help him now.

"Now!" Thorin shouted.

Moments later, enormous jets of water erupted from stone carved statues, hitting the dragon straight in his monstrous reptilian face, just as he was about to blow more flames towards Thorin. The would-be fire immediately turned into smoke, and old Smaug was wobbling on his feet, the glowing amber light inside his chest dying off..

"Aunty, your arrows!" Kili shouted, bringing her back to the task at hand.

He handed her back her quiver before he placed his own on his back. "Up to the top of the staircase; go to the third door on the left, then use the window to get to the archways."

Balin shouted instructions at them as they approached the door, without stopping making more flash-flames. Both Katniss and Kili nodded before they began racing upstairs, following Balin's direction.

As together they were the two fastest runners in the Company, it didn't take them too long to get to the room that Balin had ordered them to go. The same smell they had felt at the guarding room invaded their nostrils. When Katniss opened the room, they saw two corpses lying on the floor, with an empty jar alongside them. They both tried to ignore that sight as they went to the window, just as Balin instructed. The room looked like it had once been an office of some sort, full of ancient books and a large oak desk.

Kili quickly broke the window glass with the back of his sword, and soon they were both walking on the narrow pathway at the top of a huge archway. Kili offered his hand to Katniss to aid her out of the room. She looked down and knew that if she fell, she would certainly die.

"Are you okay?" Kili asked, looking back from his shoulders as they hastily moved forwards.

"Yes."

They had a clear view of everything that was going on. They could see Balin, Dori and Ori already throwing some of their handmade flash-bombs at Smaug, though the beast didn't seem to be much bothered by it.

Kili was the one who shot his arrow first, straight at Smaug's snake-like nose. The dragon shook its head in annoyance but still did not slow down.

Katniss loaded her bow, and as she looked down to straighten her aim. She realised the dragon was quickly approaching Thorin. She held her breath, aiming directly at Smaug's yellowish eyes. She released her arrow, hitting exactly where she had aimed. That seemed to bother the dragon slightly more than a blow on the other parts of his body.

"Aim two heads higher," Katniss told Kili as she loaded her bow again.

Kili did as she said, and moments later, he let go another explosive arrow on the very same eye Katniss had already hit. The dragon began to wiggle and shake his head frenetically. She held her gaze at Smaug, waiting for another opportunity to get the same eye again.

However, many carts from a conveyor belt above them fell down on the dragon at that exact moment, making the huge creature fall down on the ground as he both grunted from the pain he was still feeling from his eye injury and tried to get free from the ropes of the conveyor belt. Both Katniss and Kili fired one more arrow each, at the same eye, as they seized the same opportunity. Smaug was now rolling on the floor, twisting his body and growling in pain. They heard Thorin shouting from below.

"Can you hit the other eye?"

Both Katniss and Kili bows were ready, but the dragon kept wiggling more than a worm that had been poked with a stick, so it was hard to find a clear shot. It was then that the dragon was laying down on its tummy. That gave them a clear view of the spot Bilbo had told them beforehand.

"Quick, the left breast!" she said, without daring to look away from the dragon.

"On the count of three…" Kili said.

"Three…" she whispered.

"Two…" Kili continued.

But instead of saying one, they held their breath and shot it at once. Both arrows found their target simultaneously. Smaug howled, writhing in pure agony. The creature let out a hoarse cough. She and Kili lowered their respective bows.

For a brief, hopeful moment, Katniss believed they were defeating this monster. But then, suddenly, the beast found its second wind, one it didn't even know about, spat fire at the ceiling, and started staggering toward Katniss and Kili, his yellow eyes filled with murderous, primal rage.

"Kili, Katniss, get away from there!" Thorin urged from the ground.

But instead of following his orders, she got her bow ready with her last arrow and pointed it at the beast.

"Get her away from there!" Thorin shouted at Kili.

"You have come from Laketown," Smaug talked straight at Katniss that time. She opened her mouth, and her eyes widened open with the surprise of being addressed by the dragon.

She noticed that the eye she and Kili had hit was bruised and closed, as if they had given the dragon a particularly nasty punch on his face.

"There is some sort of scheme hatched between these filthy dwarves and those miserable cup-trading Lakemen. Those snivelling cowards with their longbows and black arrows!"

She released her arrow, aiming it at Smaug's healthy eye, but the creature blocked it with his right wing.

"Kili, the chains!" Thorin shouted.

"Perhaps it is time I paid them a visit." Smaug snarled at her.

Everything she could think about was the wooden houses in the middle of the lake and all the innocent people who lived there.

"No!" she said, panic clear in her voice. "Your fight is with us. Leave them alone!"

"You care about them, do you? Good. Then you can watch them burn."

Smaug took a deep breath, but before he could let go of his mortal blow, Kili snagged Katniss of the ground and jumped with her on his shoulders to some strong iron chains that were hanging from the ceiling. They barely managed to escape the fire blow, when they heard Smaug staggering and slowly flying away from them.

"Where is it going off to?" Dwalin asked as Katniss and Kili finished climbing down the iron chain.

"Laketown," Bilbo answered, with dread in his eyes.

"What came over you? I told you to get off that place. You didn't move!" Thorin shouted at her, scowling, as she landed on the floor just after Kili.

"I love you too," she said, carefree, running over to him, ready to hug her lover.

"Are you ever going to learn to do as you are told? We could have led him to the Gallery of the Kings. The dragon could have died!" he said, with a severe frown on his face, dodging her embrace.

"We should go to the main gate and get out before the beast returns." Balin told the others. Many company members nodded in agreement.

"We can make to Ravenhill," Dwalin said, looking at Thorin expectantly, waiting for his decision on the matter.

Thorin gave him a short nod.

"Aye. Take as much gold as you can carry in your pockets."

Katniss felt a sting on the inside of her heart as she threw a last glance at her husband. It did not feel nice to be pushed away and ignored like that.

It turned out they weren't too far away from Erebor main gates. This time, it had been Balin and Dwalin who were leading their group. Thorin had been quiet and bearing a funny expression on his semblance most of the time, as he constantly threw glances at everything they were leaving behind. Katniss could tell straight away that something wasn't entirely right with him.

When they climbed part of Ravenhill, they could see the extent of the desolation that Smaug was inflicting upon Laketown. Katniss was completely taken aback by that. She was shaking as silent tears were streaming down her delicate face. Bilbo offered his handkerchief for her, who just shook her head.

"This is all my fault," she said without taking her eyes from the small town which had been set ablaze.

"No, it is not. It is Smaug's fault, Miss Katniss. It is the dragon who is doing that, not you."

She gave a small, dry laugh.

"He's only destroying their village because he thought I was from Laketown."

Bilbo looked behind him, trying to see if he could spot Thorin anywhere near, but their leader was away from all the others, as he couldn't stop staring at Erebor, even though it was Laketown that was now suffering the wrath of the dragon.

"Everything I touch… no matter what I do… I'm always bringing destruction wherever I go," she carried on mumbling as silent tears carried on marrying her face.

Bilbo turned his back to her again, his eyes fixed on Thorin, who still held a fixed gaze at Erebor's main gate. The hobbit was turning his head from Katniss to Thorin, as if he was trying to reach a decision, when a loud bang coming from Laketown got everybody's attention. Thorin immediately came out of his trance and rushed to join the others.

"What was that? What happened?" Ori squeaked.

"Someone killed it. They did what we couldn't. The dragon is dead," Katniss stated in a heavy, sombre tone.

Thorin's lips struggled to hide the grin that already had reached his eyes. He was unable to remove the signs of excitement from his bearing.

"By my beard! I think he's right! Look there! The ravens of Erebor are returning to the mountain!" Gloin pointed at the birds who were loudly flocking Ravenhill, and the rest of the Lonely Mountain.

"Aye - Word will spread. Before long, every soul in Middle-earth will know - The dragon is dead!" Oin said, and the dwarves cheered.

That was enough to make Katniss finally gaze away from the burning town and clench both hands and snap at them.

"Don't you lot have no shame? Their city's crumbled into ashes! They were destroyed by that - that monster, which we woken up!"

The ones that cheered suddenly seemed to look down to their own feet, embarrassed by their actions. Thorin turned his back to her and was the first to climb down Ravenhill, unable to look her in the eyes.

Katniss, however, remained there, shaking in rage. Bilbo stayed there with her, looking from her to his dwarrow friends. It was Kili who went at them and patted her gently on the shoulders.

"Come on, Aunty Katy, Mr Baggins. Let's go home."

And with Bilbo patting her back from one side, and Kili guarding her from the other, she slowly began to descend Ravenhill.

She turned her head back again to give one last glance at the destroyed town that had aided them at a great cost to themselves. She sighed and silently pleaded to do anything in her power to aid all those who had survived Smaug's wrath.