Chapter Forty-Two: The Loaded Gun

"Shit!"

Hannah Montgomery would be ashamed at the range of Emelia's vocabulary. Emelia imagined there were a lot of things her mother would be ashamed of, but realized that that moment was perhaps the worst possible time to be thinking about it.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit on a stick." Emelia looked around frantically, running her hands through her hair, ignoring the way they got trapped in her wild curls.

She didn't know where she was, or where she should go. Her first thought was of Kili, and then of Fili, and Bofur and Oin. She should go running back to them so that they could all escape the dragon and its hellfire together, but she didn't have any idea where they were, or where she was for that matter. Her eyes bounced from building to building, realizing that beyond their shared shabbiness, they had their overall sameness in common, making it impossible for her to distinguish them from one another.

A roar from above, louder than all the others before it, seemed to make the city come alive with panic. The lights from the houses that illuminated the ice covered walkways and water were broken up by the shadows of the people of Lake-town flooding out of their homes like bugs. They all looked up to the sky, eyes wide and mouths open, screams spilling from their throats, although the sound died before it reached her. Emelia thought they looked like fish, but she kept that thought to herself and went back to work deciding which direction Bard's house was. It would have helped if she actually bothered to pay any attention to where she was going the first time around. Her only thought had been finding poppy seeds and she hadn't even been able to do that properly without getting attacked. Her uselessness burned, although the irony of that particular metaphor was lost on her at the moment.

"Sound the alarm!"

She chanced a glance over her shoulder, just briefly enough to perhaps see what the dragon looked like, and instantly regretted it. She wasn't really sure what she imagined when the dwarves spoke of Smaug, but the mental images she had formed hardly did him any justice. Even in all the darkness she could see his teeth, glistening in the moonlight like a thousand swords. His eyes glowed like orbs, shining out of his skull like horrible homicidal gems. Even so far away, she could see the hate, the fire that meant to burn them all where they stood. She felt suddenly very small and insignificant and alone.

It would be like shooting fish in a barrel and that dragon was nothing more than a loaded gun.

Emelia only needed to look at Smaug for a moment to know just how little time she had to get out. Perhaps there was none at all and everything she was about to do was for nothing, but she started running away regardless, deciding that she wasn't going to look back at him again.

Lake-town was in chaos. She felt removed from it somehow, like it was all some horrible nightmare that she would be able to wake up from if she just tried hard enough. That didn't seem quite right to her, however. She was in the middle of it, part of it, surrounded by the panic. She felt it seep into her bones, despite her best efforts to ignore it and the people screaming and crying around her. The callousness of her attempts to push their fear out of her mind, and the people for that matter, made her feel slightly sick to her stomach, but she didn't stop running. She could make peace with it later, if there was a later.

Vaulting over an overturned barrel of fish, she slipped on the black ice when she landed. Her knee slammed into the ground with a crack, making her cry out involuntarily. Hardly anyone paid her any attention, but she thought it was better that way. She ducked her head underneath a sign and used the nearby pile of moldy fabrics to keep from crashing into the freezing water. Her boots, which were all but tractionless by that point, did nothing to stop her from slipping all over the ice. She felt like an idiot, sliding all over the place like she was trying to run on butter, but it was better than the alternative that involved her swimming her way out.

"Look out!"

Emelia didn't have time to look back before the town behind her erupted in flames. The heat of it fanned across her, making the spot on her back feel like it was being cut all over again. The blast of fire sent her flying forward, just like in the movies. It was remarkably less exciting when it was happening to her and not some hunky action here, she realized. She threw her hands in front of her face to prevent any more damage, earning even more bruises on her already black and blue skin for her efforts. The wood splintered upon impact, the thousands of tiny pieces feeling like knifes when they found their way into her skin. She hissed and touched them gingerly, pulling out some of the larger pieces before they could dig further in. Cuts that would eventually fester were the last things she needed at the moment, although the universe seemed inclined to give them to her anyway.

"Okay, that stings." Emelia rolled onto her back and immediately berated herself for the stupid action. The splintered wood dug into the cut, making even more pain shoot down her back and all the way up to a spot somewhere behind her eyes. "Son of a bitch, that hurts." She tried to roll onto her side and discovered that that position hurt as well. Everything hurt. She wondered, briefly, why everything always seemed to be hurting. "Ow ow ow."

Gritting her teeth, she sat up, leaning heavily on her splinter-ridden forearms for half a moment before she stood up and started running again, the ground shaking worse than ever. She only had minutes, perhaps less, before the entire town would be engulfed in flames, her along with it. The mental image of her body on fire, the skin melting off her bones and her hair burning to a crisp, assaulted her. She thought she could smell it for a moment before she realized that she was making the entire situation worse for herself.

People bumped into her as they attempted to flee. A few paused when they saw her, a small look of recognition lighting up their eyes before it passed quickly and was replaced by self-preservation induced panic. They didn't bother to look back when they jumped in their boats and started rowing away from her, away from the flames. The desire to get into one of those boats flared up in her chest for a brief moment, before it quickly dissipated when she realized that it would mean leaving without the dwarves.

Emelia thought she might be getting close, though she really had no idea. It was starting to look vaguely familiar to her and the smell of burning wood was less powerful in this part of town. Despite telling herself that she wasn't going to look back, she peered over her shoulder, her own morbid curiosity getting the best of her. The part of the city she had just been in was on fire. She couldn't even make out a part that was still intact. The flames licked at the water, setting the floating boats, and some of the people in them, ablaze. The fire was moving through the city, destroying it quicker than Emelia would have thought possible. It made her feel sick to look at that part of town for too long so she turned her gaze towards the sky, squinting against the brightness of the flames to see where the dragon had gone. Perhaps he had grown tired of toying with them, but she seriously doubted that.

She ran her hands through her hair again, looking around frantically. People were screaming, making it hard for her to focus. It all looked the same. Everything was the same and now that it was on fire it was even less distinct. She felt tears pricking her eyes, making them burn from both the heat and the effort to keep from outright bawling like a baby.

It occurred to her that she might not even be able to make it back to the dwarves at all, that perhaps they would leave without her. It would be logical, even if it hurt her to think about.

"Watch it!"

By some stroke of luck that she wasn't going to question, Emelia was able to throw herself out of the path of a falling piece of building just in time to avoid being squished by it. She slid underneath a table, which had been part of the market mere hours before hand, and threw her hands above her head out of reflex. It looked like a fireball falling in front of her, setting things on fire as it crashed through the walkway and into the freezing water below. The wooden planks, which were now nothing more than splintered shards, teetered for a moment before they snapped off and fell into the water as well, leaving being a gaping whole where she had just been standing. She blinked rapidly, staring at the newly formed hole and black water beneath it.

She couldn't have picked a worse time to space out. She should probably work on that.

"Emelia?"

She didn't know whether it was the heat or some horrible figment of her imagination, but Emelia thought she heard Fili calling her name. Carefully, so cautious to the point she hardly moved at all, she stuck her head out from underneath the stall, hands still covering her head. The smoke, which was quickly building up to the level that made it almost impossible to see and breathe, clouded her vision. She squinted her eyes and moved a little further out from the shelter. Even if it wasn't Fili, she would need to move on.

"Thank Mahal." A pair of hands wrapped around her shoulders and hauled her all the way out from underneath her small shelter. Before she could see who had found her, although she thought and hoped it was Fili, she was engulfed in a tight hug. A large amount of hair found its way into her mouth, forcing her to try and lean back to spit it out. The person only hugged her tighter, squeezing out the minimal amount of non-smoky air she had left in her lungs.

"Can't breathe." The person finally let her go, although they immediately grabbed her hand and started dragging her down a path that wasn't on fire. It was Fili. Even without his distinctive braids, which were a mess at the moment, she would know it was him.

Her situation, which had been dire, suddenly seemed less scary.

"We almost left without you."

"You would do that?" Emelia asked, noticing that her voice had taken on that needy tone that she hated so much. She immediately backtracked. "I mean…"

"Don't be daft, Emmy. I wouldn't leave you. That's why I'm here. We were just loading up when Oin saw you take cover under that table. It was a stroke of luck really." Fili cut her off.

A rush of affection filled her chest. She pushed it down before she could do or say anything embarrassing and asked him the next question that popped into her mind. "Where are the others?" She wanted to say Kili but she figured Fili knew what she meant without her needing to say it.

Her question was answered when Fili pointed to a small boat, filled to the brim with the dwarves and Bard's daughters, sitting not fifty yards in front of them. Bofur saw them first and immediately started shouting, waving frantically at them. Oin noticed them next, followed by both Bard's daughters. Tauriel, looking as annoying perfect as ever, noticed them last. She even allowed a smile to crack her smooth face, although Emelia didn't know whether that was at seeing her or knowing that she wouldn't have to wait any more. Kili, who was sitting in front of her, finally turned around when Tauriel leaned down to whisper to him, pointing with a dainty hand to Fili and Emelia. He smiled so widely at her, and in the way that made it impossible for Emelia to breathe properly, her insides immediately turned to an embarrassing mush that she was thankful no one could tell from the outside.

"He looks good." Emelia whispered when she got a good look at his face. He had his color back, most of it at least, and the circles under his eyes weren't nearly as bad. She couldn't see his leg, even with craning her neck, but she had the feeling it was better looking as well. "How did that happen? Not that I'm going to look a gift horse in the mouth, but he looks good though, doesn't he? Handsome."

Fili stopped jogging towards their companions and turned to look at her over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow at her.

"What are you looking at? There's a dragon circling above us, remember? Stop dawdling." Emelia looked away, suddenly finding her feet quite fascinating. She smirked and glanced up at him through her eyelashes. "It is true though."

"Get in the boat."

"Rude."

"Rude? I just saved your life."

"I had it handled." Emelia said, allowing Fili to use her arm as an anchor to step into the rocking boat.

"I'm sure." Emelia stuck out her tongue at him, earning a chuckle from the the blonde dwarf.

The only spot left on the boat was in the back next to Bofur, who was holding a moldy oar steady in the dirty water. Fili held out her hand to help her into the boat, doing his best to keep it from rocking too much. Bofur did the same and helped her into the empty spot next to him, slapping her shoulder happily. Doing her best not to show the pain that flared up on her back from the slap, she forced her grimace down. She wanted to hug him, but she decided it could wait until after they were safe and sound. She turned around, looking at the others in the boat, only to instantly wish she hadn't accidentally shown Fili and Bofur her back.

"What happened to you?" Fili asked, grabbing her by the shoulders. He turned her body in the boat so that she was facing away. She felt him push the layers of fabric back and touch the skin around the wound gingerly. His fingers were cold and she disliked the way he drew the attention of all of the other people in the boat. "You're bleeding." He pushed the fabric back even more, exposing more of her skin to the cold. She turned around and swatted his hands away before he could draw any more attention, although it was in vain. Everyone in the boat was staring at her. Kili, who was leaning on a makeshift cane that looked like a broken piece of railing, stared at her, face a mask of concern.

"You're hurt?" Kili asked, attempting, and failing, to move closer to her. Tauriel held out a hand to keep him from moving too much, from disturbing the boat. Emelia tried not to glare at her for the gesture. The red-headed elf was only being logical, only thinking about keeping the boat steady, but Emelia couldn't help but find it annoying.

"I'm fine. It doesn't really even hurt anymore." Emelia said, shoving Fili away only enough to get him to stop looking at her back. "Seriously, we can handle it later."

"Emelia..."

She held up her hand to silence Kili, expression softening when she saw the look on his face. "You can worry about me when there isn't a dragon. I'm not about to keel over, I swear."

"That sounds familiar." Kili said, glancing down at his own leg.

"Yea well, you're a terrible influence on me."

"We cannot delay any longer. We are already fighting the current. We'll be pulled back towards the center of town if we wait." Tauriel said with an assessing look on her face. She seemed to think that if Emelia was well enough to argue and push Fili off, she was well enough to make it out of Lake-town without keeling over. It didn't seem to hurt as badly, but she thought that might have something to do with the cold rather than her getting better. "Emelia, I will help you once we reach safety."

Emelia nodded and attempted to smile at Tauriel, although she had the distinct feeling it came across as more cross than she intended, and elbowed Fili when he looked like he was about to say something else again. She glanced at Kili once more before she sat back down, hands gripping the side of the boat just in case.

Fili grabbed the other oar, seeming hesitant to let the subject go. His eyes trailed over her back for a moment longer before he let out a heavy sigh and readjusted the oar in his hands. He finally started pushing the boat forward when Emelia glared at him again with much more intensity than before. She reached a hand back to try and cover her damaged skin with the cut fabric, but every time she tried she only managed to cause a blinding sting to flare up again. When she caught Kili staring at her, she dropped her hands and didn't touch her back again.

It was awkward, she realized, with him sitting on opposite sides of the boat. There was something off between them that she wanted nothing more than to talk about. She had felt it ever since she kissed him. It only got worse when he kissed her and didn't bother to explain why. There were more important things, a lot of them by her count, that came before them and their undefined relationship, but she still wanted to speak with him. She was being a middle school girl again, she acknowledged, but for once she didn't fault herself for that. She chanced a glance at Kili again and instantly blushed and looked down at her shoes. Thinking about him and her in relationship, even if it was a hypothetical situation that her mind liked to think about, was enough to make a warm feeling settle in her stomach that was in no way unpleasant or bothersome.

To avoid thinking too much about Kili she turned her attention to the other people in the boat. Bain was missing, she realized, and Bard as well. She hoped they were together and safe, although it seemed almost impossible when she looked around at the destruction of Lake-town. Emelia wished they could move faster, but with only two rowers that was impossible. All she could do was watch the water and try not to notice the dead fish. It could be worse. She could be trying to avoid looking at dead people floating past them.

It was all a matter of perspective. Or some bullshit like that. The person who said that had obviously never been attacked by a dragon.

It took them another couple of minutes to reach the busiest part of town. Boats were heading in all directions, making Emelia wonder if there was a safer route, if those people knew something they didn't. She leaned over the edge of the boat hoping to see that they were going to right way. When she realized she couldn't see anything, she sat back and looked towards the sky. There was supposed to be a dragon. Not that she was complaining about it missing, but she would have preferred to at least know where it was.

"What was that?" Bofur said suddenly, looking up at the causeway above them. It was smoldering, sending flurries of hot ash falling over them like snow. As they moved slowly beneath it, the wood groaned audibly. Emelia narrowed her eyes at it, almost daring it fall. "That can't be good."

Fili and Bofur started rowing faster, although it was a bit too late to prevent the wooden beam from falling and snapping the boat in half.

Emelia fell backwards, arms and legs flailing. Her knees hooked around the edge of the boat in a desperate way that did nothing to keep her from falling into the freezing water. Her head smacked against a floating piece of ice, sending little stars across her vision that did nothing to help her already foggy state of mind. The sheet of ice supported her weight and kept her above the water only long enough to see that she wasn't the only one dumped into the water. She caught a glimpse of Tilda being dragged under before the ice she was balanced on broke in half, sending her sinking like a stone into the frigid water.

The water flooded into her mouth, the taste making her gag. She tried to spit it out, but only caused more to rush in. She immediately swam back to the surface, kicking her feet harder than she normally would have to. Her boots were making it hard for her to swim, putting more pressure on her arms and injured back to keep her from sinking back down. Additionally, there was an undercurrent in the water that tried to drag her backwards with every stroke she took. The muscles in her back screamed in protest every time she tried to tread water.

"Emelia, grab my hand."

Fili and Oin were clinging to one half of the boat, soaking wet and miserable looking. Oin had given up on keeping his ear trumpet in favor of using both of his arms to hold onto the small part of the boat that was left. Bofur was in the water, like Emelia, but he had at least managed to grab hold of the side of the boat. She started swimming towards Fili's outstretched hand, glad to see that those three were okay, at least. He seemed more panicked than before, as evidenced by the shaking in his hand.

"Sigrid!"

"Was that Tilda?" Emelia asked, pulling her hand back from Fili's. Her head immediately slipped back under the water, forcing her to kick her legs and pump her arms harder. "Do you see her?"Fili wrapped his arm around the end of the boat and looked behind him. Emelia felt panic building when he didn't immediately respond. "Is she with Kili? Tauriel?"

"I only see Sigrid."

"Where are the others?" Emelia asked sharply, voice taking on a shrill tone that she didn't consider herself to be responsible for. "Where's Kili? Can he swim with his leg?"

"I don't kn…"

"There's Kili!" Bofur pointed excitedly to somewhere Emelia couldn't see. "He's with Tauriel on the other half of the boat."

"Are they hurt?" Emelia asked, trying, and failing, to lift herself out of the water enough to see them.

"No, I don't think so. Tauriel is grabbing Sigrid."

"Where is Tilda?" Emelia asked again, fighting against the current."Is she with them?"

"Help!"

"That was her again."

Not entirely sure where she was going, Emelia started swimming in the direction of the voice. She ignored Fili shouting at her to come back, along with the iciness of the water that soaked through her clothing all the way down to her bones, it felt like. The current of the choppy water pulled her further away from the wreckage of their boat. She was thankful for that, for the time being, as it lessened the work required of her already aching back and arms.

"Emelia, get back here!"

Emelia lifted one hand out of the water to wave at Fili, indicating that she was fine. Truly, she was. At least, she was determined to be. The last time she had been in water she drowned, or that was the scenario she had settled on, and ended up here. She didn't think it was possible for something like that to happen again, but she was more wrong than right, generally speaking. She was determined to find Tilda and get back to others. No drowning. No alternate worlds. No surprises. Pushing the feeling of the cold water to the back of her mind, she followed the sound of the young girl's frantic shouts for help. Tilda couldn't have gotten far, but even as Emelia thought that she realized that even if she was only ten feet away that could mean the worst. The dragon was still circling overhead and it was only a matter of time before she decided it was time to finish what he had started, that he had grown tired of watching them scurry around like ants.

"Tilda, can you hear me?"

Nothing.

"Tilda?" Emelia called again, using a mangled barrel that passed by her to stay afloat. "Tilda, answer me. Please."

"Emelia, over here!" Emelia didn't bother to cover up her sound of joy. Launching herself away from the barrel, she swam in the direction of the voice.

"Keep talking, Tilda."

"What should I say?" Emelia smirked and waited for her to continue. She knew she was close but it was hard to tell with all the other noise surrounding her. People were screaming less, making her wonder if they had all gotten out, or worse.

"Tell me your favorite color." Emelia paused, treading water and looking at all the possible places Tilda could be. The current pulled her body back towards the worst part of town, forcing her to kick harder to stay in one spot and to avoid the flames shooting off the buildings on either side of her.

"I don't know."

"I like white."

"White isn't a color." Emelia smirked again and followed the voice, feeling closer than ever. "Emelia!"

Tilda looked like a drowned rat. Her hair had come out of the neat updo she had been sporting since they met and hung around her face in limp, water-logged strands. She was wrapped around one of the large logs that held up Lake-town, shivering through her layers. She wasn't even wearing a proper jacket. Emelia swam towards her, grabbing the support log with her own arm and Tilda with the other. "How did you end up here?"

"I got caught up in the current. It was always so helpful."

"What?"

"This is the current that allowed the boats to travel through the center of town with ease." Emelia didn't even bother to question the logical fallacy of their being a current in a lake.

"Can you swim?" Emelia asked, eyes doing a quick assessment of Tilda. She seemed fine. Freezing, but fine. She grabbed her around the waist and pulled her closer, looking towards the direction she thought the others were.

"I can, but they can't."

Emelia looked down at her sharply, almost losing her grip on the slippery log. "Who?"

Tilda pointed behind her. Emelia followed the path of her finger, not entirely sure what she was going to find. Twin boys, not older than five, stared back at her. They were perched on a piece of wood, holding onto the edges for dear life. One of them, the one with the green eyes, burst into tears at the sight of her. "Oh my god." She immediately let go of Tilda and swam towards them, kicking hard against the current. She didn't understand how it was possible, but the situation kept managing to get worse and worse. "Are you hurt? Where are your parents?"

"I found them like that. It looks like their stuck, otherwise the current would have pushed them away."

Emelia looked back at the other girl, noticing how, rather suddenly, Tilda seemed much older and more mature. Perhaps it was because she wasn't crying, despite the fact that there was a dragon circling above their heads. Or maybe it was because those two boys were so tiny. "We'll figure it out later. We need to go."

"What about Sigrid?" Tilda asked. "Where is she?"

"She's with the others. We should get back to them."

"They won't wait."

"How do you know that?"

"The lady elf…"

"Tauriel." Emelia said without thinking. "Sorry, continue."

"She wouldn't let us wait for Bain or Da."

That seemed very cold to Emelia, although it wasn't altogether unsurprising. Tauriel had always seemed very practical, even with what little time they spent together in Mirkwood. She supposed this was a case of the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few, but it still felt wrong. Perhaps if it had just been her in the water she could justify it, but not with Tilda. She knew, however awful it made her feel in her chest, that she needed to try and get Tilda, and now the two little boys, out of Lake-town.

"They'll be fine, Tilda. They'll be fine and we'll be fine, but we have to go."

Tilda nodded, seeming to understand what Emelia was saying. Emelia turned back to the twin boys, plastering a horribly fake smile on her face. She swam up to them and grabbed onto the flimsy plank of wood they clung to. She pulled it out of the nook it was lodged in, jostling the two boys horribly. "Come help me." Tilda did as she was told and came to grab the other side. "What's the best way out?" Tilda pointed to her left. Emelia peered down it, noticing with no small amount of panic that it was already on fire. She glanced back at the boys and then at Tilda, weighing her options. She couldn't swim against the current, especially not with their two new editions, so going back the other way seemed to be out. She glanced back, feeling the separation from the dwarves already weighing heavily on her, but she pushed those feelings down and turned her attention back to the children who were now, alarmingly and suddenly, her responsibility. "Are you sure?"

"Maybe. Da only just started teaching me the routes. Sigrid and Bain are better at it." Her tone took on one of despair towards the end.

"It's okay. I trust you." She had no other choice, but she wasn't about to tell Tilda that. "We'll go that way."

"Emelia, I don't know."

"Tilda, look at me. We're going to be fine, but we have to trust each other. I won't let anything bad happen to you." She glanced down at the two little boys, noticing for the first time that they had red hair, shockingly red actually. It was a wonder she didn't notice it immediately. The familiarity of the situation washed over her once again. "Any of you. Are you ready?" Tilda nodded, tears finally showing in her roared above them once again, appearing in her periphery suddenly and terrifyingly. He was closer than the last time. She could see the glow of his chest and the reflection of the town in his eyes.

It seemed he had decided it was time to pull the trigger.

"Let's go."

Hello! So I am back! It feels so good to be able to say that. I am sorry for the delay in getting this out, but for some reason this gave me fits. I think it was the combination of being gone so long and fatigue from the semester. I'm still not entirely happy with it, but it will have to do. After seeing BOTFA, I have decided that this plot is going to diverge quite a bit, so be prepared for that. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and thanks for sticking out the hiatus!