THE BEAST BENEATH THE GOLD
"We're going to die." Bilbo's words held no strength in them, withering in confidence upon the belief that they could actually deceive Smaug and reclaim the stone. Being in the halls now though, only a few steps away from the great golden floods of wealth, diminished their faith in more ways than one.
This was it, the young Bilbo thought. This was the moment of truth. Months of painstaking traveling had got them to this point in time. The reason for them being here.
Bilbo made like the many golden statues in the glorious halls and stood absolutely still, not so much of a twitch or even a blink coming from him. Then again, Jeanne was in the same circumstances as Bilbo, daring to believe that she actually might be more frightened than him.
If worst comes to worst and the dragon does find them, then she'll have to be the one to either fool it...or kill it, which the young Fireborn doesn't see happening at all! Not once in her life did she think she possessed the will, the power, or the confidence to pull off such a task. To her, moving the mountain itself seemed more possible than killing the dragon. A harbinger of death, the origins of fear.
Jeanne believed herself to be nothing but a small ember compared to Smaug, a raging inferno.
Nevertheless, she placed her best-quivering smile forward and patted Bilbo on the back, startling him a bit on accident. "Nonsense. Did you know it's bad to think that way? If we stay quiet...then perhaps he won't find us," she said, though it sounded more like a pep-talk for herself.
With their company lying in wait for their expected return, Jeanne and Bilbo locked hands together and ventured out of the safety of the halls.
The wide-open space lacked the light to see anything properly and the smell of mountain musk perforated the air, traces of iron and the odd smell of gold mixing together. Strange to believe that gold actually had a distinguishing smell if left alone for too long. They didn't see any gold though since everything was still dark. Jeanne had better eyes out of everyone in the company and even she couldn't pierce through the shroud of darkness. Then again, she wasn't sure if any source of light would alert the beast to their presence.
"Should we knock?" Bilbo asked, his overly polite manners bleeding through the fear out of habit.
Jeanne snapped her head down towards him. "Knock? You must be teasing me, right?"
"Well, I just want to make sure about what we'll be doing. That's all."
"You look for the stone while I keep an eye out for the dragon," she said. "If he is here, I want you to go and hide immediately."
Bilbo didn't complain and just nodded his head sharply. "Good. Good, good."
They walked out to the platform that overlooked the whole inside of the mountain, and before their eyes held the shimmering golden galore of treasure. A mass wealth that went as far as the eye could see with gems of all colors mixed in. There were rubies, diamonds, and emeralds that could make up all the stars in the sky. But above all, what truly made this wealth grand was the overwhelming plentiful piles of pure gold. It was a sea of gold colliding with mountains of gold. Gold that could even run Gondor for years to come.
It was a moment of complete awe that froze Jeanne and Bilbo stiff. Dread struck them harder though instead of the findings of Middle-earth's wealth. They soon realized the magnitude of their situation and it made their confidence vanish from their bodies.
The priceless white gem, The Arkenstone...was somewhere within the sea of gold.
Jeanne's face fell all the way to the ground. "This...might be a bit harder than I first anticipated."
Bilbo held tightly onto Jeanne's hand as they stepped lightly, their feet shaking upon the loose sea of gold coins, everything vibrating beneath them. Even the slightest sound of a coin cascading downhill set them on edge and made them jump out of fright, soon finding it hard to trust any kind of noise.
It was a challenge but Jeanne made sure her ears were sharply listening to any audible sound that was different from the rest. She was looking for heavy and heated breathing, the sound of grinding teeth, claws scraping across the ground, wings flapping, and a louder and prominent heartbeat.
She wasn't foolish enough to believe that Smaug wasn't here. The proof was in her burning veins and eyes watering like smoke was drying them out.
Smaug was here, but where in fact? It was that thought that terrified her to her very bones.
She can't kill a dragon!
That's impossible!
That's too big of a task for someone as small as her!
Taking in a deep breath, Jeanne felt herself shudder while tugging down the sleeves of her dress. She stood around and just waited as Bilbo made good use of the time they had, searching through the treasures to find a jewel. Naturally, it was hard since there were more coins and gems then people in Middle-earth.
He pulled out small gems, clear ones, giant ones, and accessories that had jewels in them. Minutes went by though and they were all starting to look the same to him now. Annoyed, he haphazardly tossed a giant jewel aside when he deduced it wasn't the one. It crashed hard against the floor though and ended up making much more noise then he anticipated.
"Shh, shhh, shhh." Bilbo pleated as the noise settled once more.
Jeanne appeared like she was going to pass out from all the pent up stress and anxiety that was crushing her. She wanted to turn around and yell at Bilbo to find the cursed stone already, but she knew he was just as pressured as she was at the moment. The fact of the matter was, that she didn't want to stay there anymore. She wanted to hurry up and get out as fast as she could. Instead of yelling at Bilbo to hurry up, she just might cry and plead with him to hasten his pace.
"Arkenstone, Arkenstone. A large white jewel." Bilbo muttered under his breath. "Very helpful."
The minutes climbed and climbed on till they weren't even sure of how long they've been searching, within the unsettling peace and quiet. Jeanne sit down and just took the time to look around the room, seeing if she could spot the stone herself, while Bilbo continued his own search behind her.
He dug a goblet out of the pile which caused the coins above it to cascade down, and beneath the gold was the closed and sleeping eye of a dragon, still blissfully unaware to their presence.
Bilbo didn't say anything and only stared wide-eyed. He acted like he was going to say something to Jeanne, who still hasn't noticed, but no words fell from his dry mouth, only small gasps of air. Instead, he grabbed her by her shoulder and yanked her back behind cover and away from the dragon's line of few.
"Bilbo? What is the-" Jeanne did herself a favor and shut her mouth tight when she saw the lack of color in his face. She blinked in confusion at what spooked him and decided to peek around the corner. It was a single three-second glance but her eyes immediately honed in on the beast beneath the gold. Asleep, unaware, but still no less dangerous. Jeanne made a small whimpering sound and yanked her head away, breaking out into a cold sweat with earthquake-like tremors vibrating her whole body.
The dreaded sound of falling and rattling coins filled their ears as the nose and tail moved around under the wealth, revealing themselves and the true size of the fire drake. His body stretched wall to wall.
More and more coins began to fall as Jeanne stood up, walking out from behind cover but now as white as a corpse. Her voice was rattling just as much as the gold did. "Bilbo...go and hide," she ordered in a silky voice, cold and smooth.
"Are you insane?" Bilbo whispered in a hissing tone, stumbling to his feet and slipping on the gold too.
"Yes. In fact, I am. Foolish," her voice trembled and breathless, "...and beyond scared."
Bilbo couldn't move for a moment as the dragon became more and more visible as it rose from the sea of wealth, slowly waking up from his long slumber. He reached into the pocket of his coat and felt around the cold metal ring that was inside it. A spark rippled through his body that finally urged him to run, turning around on his heel so fast and flying down the hill. He was out of sight in moments.
Jeanne stood perfectly still, lying in wait within her despair, gazing upon the dragon with wide eyes. He was as big as she imagined him to be. Covered in dark scales that resembled armor, claws that could dig into the earth, and wings that could level mountains. He was terrifying but there was a vision of elegance that came from his form that was tall and mighty.
He was the last great dragon of his kind.
With a smooth motion, the dragon glided his massive body down at eye level with her and finally opened his eyes to glare into her soul. His reptilian pupils were heavy and intense. Filled with malice, strength, power, and the overwhelming sense of arrogance, all in which were swimming in the lava pools of his eyes. Being this close, Jeanne could at least make out over a thousand shades of yellow.
"You smell...like ash, Fireborn." His voice had the deepness of an ocean and the heat that could rival Mt. Doom. He sniffed the air and his lips curled, eyes glowing with curiosity at the small scarlet woman, standing before him like she was his equal.
"And you smell like gold, dragon." She made an attempt to match his voice with her own high sense of authority, cranking her neck all the way up to stare at the dragon's towering frame. His overall presence was overwhelming and made Jeanne want to curl up into a ball and hide away.
Smaug glided about smoothly as he walked around the grand halls, keeping his eyes on Jeanne and beyond. "I know your voice," he said while chuckling deeply, truly amused by her presence. "And...I know your face...but it's not your own face."
Jeanne's jaw tightened, trying to not make it obvious that she was scared for herself and worried for Bilbo. "I suppose you can say I'm borrowing this body."
"Without the intention of giving it back, right? That's quite a bold move, Fireborn." His footsteps made the whole room quake and the ceiling groan like it was going to fall upon them at any moment.
It was hard to breathe and her lungs felt as heavy as pure led. It weighed her down and stuck her to the floor with this dreaded sense of peril. She had to stay strong, not show weakness and not give it away that she was absolutely terrified. She's sure the color would've have drained from her face if she wasn't already pale near the start of all this.
Jeanne steadied her battered breath and very subtly glanced around the room to look for Bilbo, heart shuddering in her chest when she caught a very small glimpse of him a few feet away. He was hiding behind a column and peeking. She knew he was trapped there since Smaug was blocking the exit, though Jeanne seemed to be in a graver spot.
"Does it..." Jeanne looked back up to the detrimental and prideful dragon, "bother you?"
He gave a deep and vibrating growl, his lips curling once again but with annoyance coming from his voice. "I don't care about such matters. They are not my concern...and neither are you," he spat harshly
Jeanne struggled to think of more things to say to give Bilbo time to find another way around. "Well...It's not like I expected you to care. You bow to no man, after all. Not even to someone like me." she gave a weak smile that was so forced it made her cheeks ache.
"Indeed," he muttered, lifting his long neck high to look around the room. "So if you are not who you appear to be...then what shall I call you then? Nameless King? Fireborn? Bad Omen? Red?"
"For the last 400 years, I've been called 'Jeanne'," she answered.
"Jeanne?" he laughed at the unbelievably simple name. It didn't have any spark, no life, no meaning. It didn't make men's hearts shutter, terrify children, and make women faint. The name didn't even match her overall appearance. "Such a strange and unimpressive title."
Jeanne sighed softly. "I don't care for such a grand and bold name. The one I use right now is quite fitting for a nobody, such as myself. Not one such as yours: the great Smaug." She saw the dragon rise up to the very peak of his height to show himself in all his blazing brilliance, puffed up with pride. Within the crevices of his scaly armor though, Jeanne noticed something odd upon his gigantic body, staring at it with a peculiar look on her face.
There was a nick.
Utterly astonished, Jeanne sucked in a deep breath and was speechless.
"Then you would know that Girion hit the dragon. He loosened a scale under the left-wing. One more shot and he would have killed the beast."
This was news for Jeanne and she generally looked taken back, probably a little hopeful as well if Dwalin hadn't shut down the theory.
"That's a fairy story. Nothing more," he spoke.
"You are an entertaining one." Once again he gave this deep chuckle that came straight from his burning stomach. "I was almost tempted to call you a thief." He stretched out his words and curled around her as Jeanne tried to avoid being trapped.
"A thief? Do you hear my pockets rattling with coins? I don't care for your treasures." She tried to act like she was hurt and purposely looked away, stealing a glance back to the column that Bilbo was supposed to be hiding behind, but he wasn't there. Jeanne blinked a couple of times because it only been a minute since she first looked. How could he have slipped away in such a short amount of time?
"Oh?" Smaug's voice made Jeanne snap back to attention. He suddenly lowered his head nearly to the ground and pushed his wide ember eye right up close to her, glaring with suspicion. She felt the heat upon her skin and her body shaking when he spoke. "Then why are you here?"
Jeanne swallowed hard. "I've...come to talk." The words fell from her mouth faster then she could even think of a lie. That was the truth, asking for answers she knew she could never get from Gandalf. There was something she needed to know desperately and she will find out one way or another.
Smaug rose back up to his grand height with an exceedingly confused look stretching to his face. Surely he wasn't expecting that so the demand made him pause for a bit to process. "Talk?" he spoke to make sure, growing more and more curious with every second.
"That...that's right." Jeanne gasped sharply when a sudden painful thought crossed her mind. In an instant, her throat felt parched and sore. Fire seeped into her veins as they started to grow a dull gray color, eyes flashing a wild gold like molten lava. "Recently, or maybe you're already aware but...I believe Sauron has come back."
Her wild appearance and overall reaction to the cursed name even made Smaug stop moving, staring in silence and pondering her words. He actually snickered. "Oh? And why do you believe that?" he said, pacing around the room as the coins rattled below him.
Jeanne blinked the gold away from her eyes. "It's because my body feels cold now. A conflict of some kind, like I'm being pulled in a different direction and I don't know why."
"It's because it's not your body," Smaug reminded her, his voice making the air cold and spiking. "You stole it out from under the one true master of those ashen veins."
Jeanne's eyes went wide. "I'm in control of this body but it's still trying to find it's way back to Sauron?" Panic began to swell up in her voice.
"It's not the body that's trying to find it's way back, it's what the body was built around to give you your youthful and red appearance. It's a fragment of Sauron's soul." He hissed his words gleefully like he was entertained. "It's quite interesting though."
Jeanne crossed her arms over her chest and dug her nails in her skin tightly. It hurt but not as much as his words did. "What is?"
"Your existence of course. Born without a purpose or greater good. You're an oddity. Yet...it's because that you exist that the world shakes." Smaug dipped down low. "Tell me, have you really thought it over...what will happen to you when all is said and done?" His voice was like a drum that struck her hard in the gut, and immediately she felt sick.
There was a kind of honesty in his voice that made Jeanne feel startled. A thought like that never crossing her mind, not once in her whole life. Breathless and lacking the right kind of words to even ask a proper question, only a single word fell from her mouth. "What?" Terror clouded her eyes like a gathering storm.
Smaug appeared to give a wicked type of grin, haven't to of been this interested in a long time. "Now, this is baffling...because your reaction tells me you haven't," he said, chuckling darkly. "I don't think you've grasped the situation you were thrown in. From what I see...you're options are limited. If Sauron claims the duplicate body, then you will perish. No questions asked. But if Sauron is defeated, then that possesses a different outlook. Will you live or will you die? If you die...then so be it. If you live...will you really be able to accept your reality and move on?" He was a dragon but his words were as venomous as a snake.
The fire in her veins was immediately replaced with a lightning shock of adrenaline. Her stomach dropped and it suddenly got extremely hard to breathe, like claws against her throat with tears welling up in her eyes, made of shimmering glass. She opened her mouth to speak but gasped sharply instead, quivering and afraid. "Oh..." is all she could really manage. She didn't dare speak anymore, knowing her voice would crack. As painfully terrifying as his words were, Jeanne made a solid effort to not break down in front of the dragon.
"Now, I think it's about time for you to tell me the truth, Fireborn." Smaug's deeply low voice made her draw her attention back. He growled out his words and stood tall, glaring with this deep intensity that made her skin feel like ice. "Where are the Dwarves that sent you here?"
Jeanne's eyes shot wide open and the obvious shock was present on her face, telling Smaug the truth even when she hadn't said anything yet. "What are you...talking about?" She made an attempt to lie.
He snorted and turned away briefly like he was searching for something. No doubt in her mind that he was aware of Bilbo still being in the room. "Don't try to trick me when you can't. You're old, I understand, but you appear to not know how to deceive people yet."
Jeanne was screaming inside her head and she was contemplating where to run, knowing the time will come at any moment. She studied her surroundings to make out a few exits that she could get too if she was swift enough and if Smaug didn't cut her off.
"I know the smell and taste of Dwarf. No one better. It is the gold, they are drawn to treasure like flies to dead flesh." His voice grew with anger.
Jeanne finally took her chance and ran straight through his open legs and out the other side. She didn't look back while fumbling her way through the heaps of golden coins, hearing the heavy footsteps approaching fast behind her, his voice like white-hot iron against her ears and confidence. Jeanne only felt panic now. Nothing more, nothing less.
"Did you think I did not know this day will come? That a pack of canting Dwarves would come crawling back to the mountain!" Smaug chased after her as the woman made sharp turns into narrow places he couldn't reach. "The King Under the Mountain is dead. I took his throne, I ate his people like a wolf among sheep. I will kill where I wish, when I wish. my armor is iron. No blade can pierce me!"
Diving for cover, she hunched down under a platform supported by pillars and sat quivering, covering her ears with her hands and closing her eyes tightly. Jeanne's hands were shaking so much against her ears that she could feel her heartbeat rattling and shattering, unable to shut out Smaug's hateful words that were made of poison.
The Dwarves waited anxiously but there was no sign of Bilbo or Jeanne. The sounds coming from within the mountain were getting louder and more aggressive too. They didn't doubt it anymore that the two had woken the dragon, knowing the sound of heavy footsteps anywhere, as it was burned into their memories from long ago.
"What about Bilbo and Miss Jeanne?" Ori asked, growing ghostly pale.
Thorin's face was stern and unreadable. "Give them more time."
"Time to do what? To be killed?" Balin stared at him, a bit surprised that he wasn't moving or doing anything to help them.
"You're afraid," Thorin said.
"Yes, I'm afraid. I fear for you. A sickness lies upon that treasure horde. A sickness which drove your grandfather mad," Balin said firmly, eyes tense with worry for their two companions that were out there, facing the dragon alone. He was especially worried for Jeanne, knowing how she would react if frightened enough. At times, she could be as skittish and hopeless as a wounded animal.
Thorin's jaw tightened. "I am not my grandfather."
"You're not yourself. The Thorin I know would not hesitate to go in there, but I'm more surprised that you could let Jeanne go in."
"What of it?" Thorin's eyes sharpened. "I will not risk this quest for the life of one burglar or a woman.
This made Balin's eyes widen, astonished completely at who he was looking at, not even sure if it was the same man who would go above and beyond to protect that woman. "They have names that you seemed to have forgotten about."
Thorin's sharp eyes stormed with at least a million kinds of emotions. He stood quiet as Balin's words circled through is head, repeating themselves constantly like a new kind of torture. His needs collided with his wants but an image flashed into his mind that settled the chaotic storm inside his head. He saw Jeanne's uneasy face and fierce red hair, practically feeling the warmth of her hands when they intertwined with his. It then suddenly dawned on him as the clouds vanished from his eyes. Balin was right.
Instead of bitterness, a horror surged within Thorin's gaze at what he had just done. He then swiftly turned on his heel and made for the great halls where the dragon was. "Jeanne...!"
"It's Oakenshield. That filthy Dwarvish usurper. He sent you in here for the Arkenstone, didn't he?" Smaug leaned his head down and made sure his voice was loud enough for her to hear. "I guessed his foul purpose some time ago. But it matters not. Oakenshield's quest will fail." His deep yet smooth voice made Jeanne continue to hunch down with panic. "You're right about one thing though. A darkness is coming. It will spread to every corner of the lands."
She wanted it to stop. She prayed for him to stop, to cease telling lies because Jeanne physically couldn't take it anymore. Every inch of her body was crawling and cramping, poking her with his words. Sharp as swords and as evil as shuddering shadows.
The tears managed to seep through her closed eyes despite shutting them tightly, streaking down her face and leaving marks. She couldn't breathe because her lungs were made of fire, and she couldn't move because her legs were made of stone. Sitting within her own growing fear, she did nothing as Smaug continued to mock her.
"You're being used, Fireborn. You were only ever a means to an end. The coward Oakensheild has weighed the value of your life and found it worth...nothing!
He's lying.
"What did he promise you? A share of the treasure? As if it was his to give. I will not part with a single coin. Not one piece!"
Enough already!
"My teeth are swords, my claws are spears, my wings are a hurricane!" His voice made the whole mountain vibrate.
Quiet!
"I'm actually almost tempted to let you take it, if only to see Oakenshield suffer. Watch it destroy him, watch it corrupt his heart and drive him mad."
Jeanne's eyes shot open and shimmered in this deadly golden color made of hellfire. Her mouth fell open and her voice burst out deep from her fierce lungs, desperate and angry. "SHUT UP!" Her voice was so powerful that it even made the dragon stopped taunting her. "You're words hold no truth nor power anymore! Absolutely empty and desperate! Pitiful serpent, your age is over and you know it!" she seethed through her teeth, panic leaving her body and flowing with anger instead.
This ungodly silence rolled over the hills of gold as Jeanne waited for him to speak. She heard him shifting around and making the platform groan with his heavy weight, but he was still quiet. There was no doubt in her mind though that she might've angered him, and he didn't have to speak for her to know that.
He talked, finally, but his voice was growling. Smaug snarled and curled up his lips as an intense heat beginning to escape from them as fire bubbled up in his stomach. "I think it's time for you to return to the fires you crawled out from."
The mighty dragon leaned his head back before unhinging his mouth and spewing the fire from his jaw. It swept under the platform and scorched it, burning with all the intensity of Mt. Doom. It clawed at the floor like a thousand demons, reaching their fiery hands out to the frozen woman. Her blue eyes acted like gems and reflected the brilliant colors of fire that flung towards her.
Author's Note:
Damn, this story took a lot of freaking motivation and to get through, but at long lost...we have one more chapter left for this story until we get to the last Hobbit movie. Stay tuned for the next chapter for what my plans will be!
