To think that after so many weeks, they had finally reached the Lonely Mountain. Bilbo stood with his arms wrapped tight around his chest, his nose prickling at the biting wind that lifted his hair and tugged at his clothes. He was relieved to have finally made it but, in a way, disappointed. Once, long ago, the idea of actually making it to the Lonely Mountain was a faraway thought meant for future him to deal with. He had actually come to enjoy his time with the Dwarves. Sure, he still missed his Hobbit hole back in the Shire. But the crusade had changed him, planted in him a dreamy sense of wanderlust that he wasn't ready to let go of. But now there they were. At the end of all things.

Upon dismounting their boat on the shores of Erebor, it had occurred to him that something was missing. He had turned and counted the Dwarves: ten and no Nadi in sight. He had been dismayed and asked Thorin if they had accidentally left her behind. The King smirked and responded in a way that was uncharacteristically humorous for those days.

"Do you miss your sweetheart already?"

"She's not my sweetheart! Although she is quite sweet. Though perhaps not of late."

"So you've noticed," was the King's response. Bilbo had shrugged.

"Is that why she stayed back? Does she have some type of illness or something?"

"Of sorts."

This was a surprise to Bilbo, as the Nadi he knew would not have slunk away to succumb quietly to sickness. He assumed that she wanted to stay with Kili and, though he respected her loyalty, he had already begun to miss her playful jabs and incessant chattering. He had in his mind this idea. It had begun to grow in him over the course of their quest. He wanted to throw a party after all was said and done, back home in the Shire. He figured that the Dwarves and the Hobbits would get along well enough. They were both fond of a drink, a good story, and kicking their feet up around a fire. It would be a celebration of the retaking of the Dwarve's homeland and all would be invited. But it wouldn't be a celebration without a little mischievousness.

The plan was this: he'd gather them all around the garden near the pond at night. There would be dancing and music and livelihood. He'd serve the Dwarves what he would call 'the finest, and most potent brandy that the Shire had to offer.' But instead, he'd hand them all regular mugs of ale. All except for Nadi: he'd give her a plain mug of water and insist that it was the Shire's absolute strongest and to be careful. He'd get Fili and Kili in on the joke, and have them pretend that they were having trouble getting their brandy down by coughing and sputtering and choking (perhaps he could reel Thorin into the game as well?). Meanwhile, Nadi would sip her water and be confused at its bland taste. They'd insist that it was the strong and mysterious brandy, all while serving her mug after mug of water. Then, after a few rounds had been served, he'd fill everybody's cup with water and give her a mug of actual potent brandy, claiming that this mug only contained pure spring water. She'd watch everybody down their drinks with extreme ease and then...when she went to drink hers-

He was already laughing at the imagined look on her face when she went to take a swallow. It would be the same look of surprised outrage that she often gave him when he asked her something that he should have known the answer to.

"How did you all drink that so fast?" She'd ask.

And, laughing, they'd admit to their trickery. He could already see the smiles on everybody's faces: Kili and Fili grabbing onto each other as they laughed, Thorin shaking his head, Oin tapping at his earpiece as fireworks exploded above them all. A good end to a harrowing journey.

He'd told the Company of his plans. They found it in extremely good taste and asked if, perhaps, he was actually a Dwarve beneath his grocer costume.

But the merriment had been short-lived.

They had climbed to the top of the overlook and had come face-to-face with the Lonely Mountain. It was here that they were supposed to wait for Gandalf, but Thorin would not hear of it. They were losing the light of Durin's day, which they needed to find the keyhole in the mountain.

And so, anxious and quivering with excitement, they had crossed through the desecrated city of Dale and made their way up the mountain's face. Once there, they struggled to find the hidden keyhole as the sun sank lower and lower beyond the mountains. But it would seem as if luck was not on their side as the sun withdrew her final rays and the misty evening moonlight swept over the land. Forlorn and broken, the Dwarves had turned away. But Bilbo was not one to give up so easily. He paced, muttering to himself and feeling along the wall.

"The last light of Durin's day...when the thrush knocks...the last light of Durin's day…"

Of course! Why didn't he think of it before? Moonlight! The moon would cast the last light upon the keyhole!

Ecstatic, he had called the others back. When they arrived, they were shocked and then relieved to find the tiny hole in the rock illuminated by the silver light. Thorin inserted the large key and they walked, slowly at first, through the doorway. There, Balin had been unable to control himself and had fallen into a fit of tears. It was here that Bilbo was to take over. After all, they hadn't brought him along for nothing.

After being ushered through the stone hall and warned not to incur the wrath of the dragon - or, better yet, not to wake it at all - he found himself suddenly very alone. He thrust his head up high and walked with balled fists down the staircase. It was simple, he reckoned: find the Arkenstone and get out with all of his limbs attached.

But he soon came to find that all would not be so easy. For, as he turned the last corner, his eyes were assaulted by the light cast from the ever-reaching carpets of gold spread throughout the mountain. There had to have been billions of treasure pieces spread out before him. So much wealth, and yet no dragon in sight! Perhaps there is no dragon, he thought to himself as he placed his foot tentatively upon a pile of gold, perhaps he's gone and taken up residence in some other mountain.

It was wishful and furtive thinking. Bilbo was correct in assuming that there were many halls and secret caves within the mountain. The dragon could have been slumbering there, deeper within. This thought comforted him and he began to move quickly throughout the cavern.

A large white jewel, he thought to himself as he sifted through a handful of gold, unmistakable in its luminosity.

He picked up one large white jewel and held it up to another. Not it. He cast it aside and immediately regretted his decision as it went clattering in the distance. Then, as he watched in horror, a pile of gold was dislodged from its mound and went clattering to the ground like a waterfall, exposing a single, closed reptilian eye.

"Oh, now you've done it," he croaked before ducking beneath a large stone pillar. As he listened above the sound of his beating heart, the mountains of treasure on either side of him began to rumble and jingle as they slid away. A putrid smell reached his nose and he closed his eyes as something giant and awful unfurled itself from beneath the gold.

"Well, thief…" came a thick, reverberating voice. "I hear you. I smell you. I feel your air. Where are you?"

It was the dragon, the damned dragon Smaug. There was a loud crunch as the dragon placed one of its heavy claws upon the pillar that Bilbo was standing beneath. Shards of stones rained down upon Bilbo and he quickly tucked his head between his shoulders.

"Come, now. Don't be shy," Smaug slithered around him like a snake, his fiery-orange eyes sweeping around the cavern. "There is something about you. You carry something. Something...precious."

Precious, precious, precious. The word bounced around his head, made him dizzy. For some reason, all that he could think about was the golden ring buried deep within his pocket. So disoriented was he that he stumbled forward, right into the gaze of the slithering dragon.

"There you are," Smaug said with relish, his nostrils flaring. "Thief in the shadows."

"No, no, no! I did not come to steal from you, O Magnificent One! I-I merely wanted to see if the tales were true. I'll admit, I did not believe them at first-"

"And do you now?" Smaug rushed around to face Bilbo. He lifted himself upon his mighty hind legs and spread his wings out. They were so long that they curled around the walls on either end of the cavern. Bilbo squeaked in fright and then quickly covered his mouth.

"T-truly you are a sight to behold, O Smaug the Stupendous," he said between his fingers. Did his eyes deceive him or did he see a glittering of blue and white to the left of Smaug's foot?

"Ah," the dragon snarled. "You seem familiar with my name but I don't recall smelling your kind before."

"I come from Underhill," Bilbo said distractedly. Yes, he was sure of it. There was something bright buried beneath the gold. "And Overhill...I am Luck Wearer and Barrel Rider-"

"Barrel Rider," Smaug said with some amusement. "Now that is very interesting. And what about your little Dwarven friends? Where are they hiding? Where is the coward Thorin Oakensheild?"

Smaug lowered his head until it was right in front of Bilbo's face. The smell leaking from between his teeth was rancid and Bilbo scrunched up his face, keeping one eye open and upon the stone in the distance. That was it! It had to be! Surely, no jewel would shine as bright. But how to get to it? He'd have to keep Smaug distracted, just long enough to get his hands on the Arkenstone.

"Coward?" He repeated as if he had never heard the word before. "Not sure that I know any, especially not any named...Tho-rin Oa-ken-sheild, did you say?"

"FOOL!" Smaug cried. He launched himself in the air with a mighty roar that shook the very walls of the cavern. Bilbo watched in alarm as the Arkenstone went flying through the air and then landed a few feet in front of him. Smaug began to writhe and twist angrily, his strong limbs and leathery wings beating against the ancient stone as he thrashed about. Bilbo lunged towards the Arkenstone but Smaug swung his head into the gold mountain, sending both Bilbo and the Arkenstone flying.

"Did you think I did not know this day would come?!" The giant roared. "That a pack of canting Dwarves would come crawling back to the mountain - it's Oakensheild, that filthy Dwarvish usurper! He sent you for the Arkenstone, didn't he?!"

A miraculous thing happened, then. Bilbo landed, with the Arkenstone tumbling only a few inches away from his nose. He gasped, enthralled by its brilliance. It was within reach, but Smaug had fallen still, watching him, his sliver of a pupil dancing back and forth between Bilbo and the jewel.

"I am almost tempted to let you take it," Smaug purred. Bilbo's nose prickled. The smell of something dead and rotting wafted through the air, but it was not coming from Smaug. A terrible image of slain and decaying bodies becoming unearthed beneath the gold flashed through his mind. It was no doubt a smell that Smaug was familiar with, for he seemed to not have noticed. "-if only to see Oakensheild suffer...watch it destroy him, watch it corrupt his mind and heart. But I think not. Our little games end here."

Smaug rose upon his hind legs, his bulging chest glowing red like embers. The decaying smell was getting closer, it was coming from Bilbo's left. There was a sound like footsteps ringing across the gold. It caught Bilbo off guard. He turned, Smaug fell into a crouch, and fire erupted all around him.

X

"Damn it all."

Nadi's boat thumped gently upon the broken dock. She slid out carefully, climbing hand over foot with her tongue between her teeth. A little while earlier she had stopped upon a particularly swampy section of the river. It was there that she had gathered handfuls of the yellow-green sludge - infamous for its smell of rotting meat and spoiled eggs - and, after stripping down to her underclothes, slathered herself in the foul mixture until her body was completely coated.

If Smaug truly did reside within the Lonely Mountain, he would have had to feed every once in a while. Thus, she reasoned, the smell of rotting corpses would not be out of the ordinary. The smell of a Dwarve, however, would stand out. So she had cloaked her scent with the essence of the smelly sludge and, though every step made her gag and retch, this would aid her in her attempt to infiltrate the mountain.

"Damn every little thing that moves upon this earth."

Now, she heaved her body along the craggy face of the Lonely Mountain. She had tracked the Company to this very place. The wind whipped her hair around her face and slung shards of rocks across her cheeks. But she was almost to the doorway. She could hear the voices of her fellow travelers only a few paces above her. The climb had winded her terribly and her limbs threatened to lock on her at any second, but the sound of the Company vivified her and she climbed on.

"What is that smell?" She heard Thorin say from above her. The stone that she had levered her foot upon cracked in two and she gasped.

"Probably Bombur," another voice said. "I'll wager that's what happens when you swallow your food whole instead of chewing it."

"Nay, that's the smell of something rotten," Dwalin said. "There's something dead nearby."

Another rock dislodged itself beneath her feet, throwing her off balance. But she was almost there. She reached her hand up to grope the platform that they were standing on when suddenly the voice in her head stopped her.

Wait.

The sound of it was so shocking that she stepped haphazardly upon a weakened ledge. The rock began to splinter and she threw herself back into a small alcove just as it fell apart and dashed to pieces miles below her. The Company fell silent at the sound.

"What was that?" Dori asked. A scattering of broken stones rained down upon the alcove as someone leaned over the ledge. She was on the verge of calling out when suddenly the voice in her head stopped her again.

Wait! Be still, damn you.

"Probably a bird or some small creature scampering about in its home," Dwalin called out. A shadow descended upon her as the person above her leaned farther out. She could just barely make out the edge of a grey beard.

"There's nothing living upon this mountain. Beast and man alike are afraid of the dragon."

"You'd be surprised. Come, hurry back before you fall over the ledge."

After a tense moment, the figure withdrew and Nadi was left alone in the alcove with her beating heart. She realized that she had been holding her breath and she gave a heavy albeit silent sigh. She wasn't sure why the thought of being found troubled her. After all, she had tracked the Dwarves down with the intent of reuniting with them.

"What is it, you wench?" She whispered in annoyance, her eyes glued to the lip of the alcove. "Get out of my head. I have no need for you here. My business is my own."

No, came Ana's voice, I am in your head. Your business is mine. Don't join the others.

"Why not?!"

Lower your voice. What makes you think that they want you?

"What makes you think that they don't?"

Silly girl. Thorin cast you away, or do you not remember? He's probably told the others that you were too weak to be of any use to them anymore.

Nadi shook her head then pounded the palm of her hand against her brow. "Nay, your dirty, no-good whisperings made me doubt myself. And him. I was the one who chose to stay in Lake-Town."

And before that? When you came upon my mother's castle? You doubt yourself because you know that he doubts you. He thinks you ill, unfit. You've seen it in his eyes, haven't you?

Nadi had nothing to say to this. It was true: she had always wondered at her king's judgment of her. But now she wasn't sure if it was her own doubt over her abilities that made her hesitate or if Ana was right. It was also true that Thorin had turned her away twice - once by force and then, in Lake-Town, by soft insinuation. Maybe he truly didn't want her around, maybe he saw weakness in her where once she had only seen strength.

The Dwarve in the forest, Bahn. He knows your strength. That's why he urged you to find the Arkenstone and take it. You are a worthy wielder, Nadi. He knows this to be true.

"...so what do I do?"

You continue upon your own quest, unhindered by those who have no faith in you. You can do it, woodland warrior. Distract them. Make your way into Erebor. Find the Arkenstone.

"But how do I distract them? They're all there-"

Fire.

Ana's voice fell silent, whipped away as if by a sudden gust. Nadi swept her boot across the shards of stone beneath her. She didn't like the idea of fire, it reminded her too much of the dragon, but it would have to do. She dug her coat out of her bag, tore it in half, and then wrapped it around two sturdy branches that she found lodged in the back of the cave. Then, she picked up two thin slabs of stone and knocked them against each other. There was a shy spark that died out quickly. She knelt above the swathed branches and tried again and again until a small flame sprung to life upon the fabric. She knelt and blew on it softly until the glowing embers began to spread across the cloth. She listened nervously as the Dwarves conversed amongst themselves only a few feet above her, oblivious to the treachery unfolding beneath them.

"Come on, come on - yes!" The fire flared to life and she separated the two branches. She'd have to be quick or else the Dwarves would smell the smoke, or she'd lose her courage. She picked up the first branch, swung her arm back, and then sent it flying with spear-like precision. It soared beneath the Dwarves and then buried itself between a grouping of boulders to their left. Perfect, she thought, they'll have to climb down to find it.

"What's that?" Came Dwalin's voice.

"Is there a fire? Over there, look!"

She listened, mapping out their footsteps as they moved away from the doorway. When they were an acceptable distance away, she swung her arm back and slung the other branch even lower. The flame on it caught in a patch of dry brush and sprang even higher than the first.

"By my beard…" someone said.

"Are we under attack?!"

"By whom? If anyone but us were here, we would have heard or seen them by now."

"You know, I've heard of something like this happening before. It's a sort of...spontaneous combustion caused by the vapors in the air."

"And who made you an expert, Dori?"

"Why...myself! I'd like to consider myself a self-taught gentleman."

"Self-taught, my arse-"

"Silence!" Came Thorin's thunderous voice. "Even if it is some sort of spontaneous combustion, there's something strange about that fire. Come, grab your weapons. We shall see."

He said something to Ori and though she strained her ears, she could not hear it. She listened as their voices began to fade away. When she was sure that they had descended far enough, she scurried from beneath the alcove and swung herself bodily onto the platform. It was a clumsy move that she regretted immediately. She stood up on aching legs and ran a hand over the cut on her forehead.

Well done, you graceful thing, came Ana's voice.

"Shut it." Nadi moved her hand away from her face and froze. "Ori?!"

"Nadi?! What are you doing h-"

She rushed forward and clamped her hand over the surprised Dwarve's lips. "Shh, shh, shhh, shhh!" She could hear the other Dwarves some ways away, but she wasn't sure if they had found the source of the fire or not. Ori grabbed her wrist and pushed her away.

"Get off of me. You smell awful," he said with a mighty pout. And then, "What are you doing here? Thorin said that you stayed back-"

"Aye, aye, I did," she said quickly. "And now I'm here. And we're going to keep it a secret because...because…" he watched her, his mouth hung slack with anticipation. Such an expression was endearing and she was reminded of the fact that he was still quite a young Dwarve. "Because….it's a surprise!" She exclaimed in a grand whisper.

"A surprise? I don't like surprises..."

"Ah, but Thorin does! And so do the rest! So that's why I'm going to...go in the mountain and...wait 'til they get inside and when they do, I'm going to pop out and...surprise them!"

"But Bilbo already went inside the mountain."

"He did? Why?"

"To get the Arkenstone, silly!"

Right! She could have smacked herself for forgetting the sole purpose of Bilbo joining in on their trip. There, she had been faced with yet another flaw in her plan. But there had to be some way for her to get her hands on the Arkenstone before Bilbo did.

Now, time truly was of the essence. "I have to go-" she said and turned towards the gaping doorway leading into the mountain. Ori was busy rummaging around in his pockets. He called out to her just as she was about to enter the doorway and she turned around.

"Wait! Wait, I have something for you. Curses, where is it…"

"Ori, I don't-"

"Here it is!" He produced a small stone from the pocket of his trousers and held it out shyly. She stared at it in confusion. "It's amber," he said, implying that he was quite knowledgeable on the subject and that she should be impressed.

"Aye, I know what it is," she said, accepting the stone and slipping it into the pocket beneath her belt. Then, in a softer voice, "thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. Thank Kili. We stopped by a marketplace on our way to Bilbo's house. They had stones and jewels of all kinds and he asked me to help him pick one out for you. He was very excited when he heard that you were joining the quest, you see."

"Uh-huh…" Nadi said, a bit impatiently. She was half-listening to Ori's story and half-listening to the sounds of the Dwarves below her. A relic of lost love, Ana whispered nastily. The stone suddenly felt very heavy in her pocket. Ori was fiddling with his fingers and trying his very best to recall the memory.

"He wanted to get you a stone the color of ice. He said that it would match your heart because girls like it when things match...I didn't understand his meaning, though. I've never had a girl fall in love with me."

Do you know what female predators do out in the wild when they've given birth to a litter? Ana asked. They root out the weakest link - the runt - and they kill it. Having a small, weak thing would only slow them down when faced with a predator.

"What are you saying," Nadi muttered beneath her breath.

"-and so I asked him, I did, I said 'why would Nadi want a stone to remind her of her heart?' She can already hear it bumpity-bump-bumping beneath her chest all the time. She doesn't need a reminder that it's there-"

Kill the runt, Ori. Slit his throat. Do them all a favor. They'd never know it was you. Nadi moaned and squeezed her head between her hands. She could feel her dagger hanging heavy in her belt. The voices of the others were growing louder. They had begun their ascent to the platform. She could do it, quick. No one would even know that she had been there. An image of the knife flying through the air and piercing Ori's throat played out in her mind. Her hand moved towards her belt, seemingly of its own accord

Kill him kill him kill him do it fast do it now.

"-and I said, 'well, she has pretty eyes, doesn't she? Why not get her the amber one? Since she can't see her eyes, it would be a reminder of how beautiful they are.' And he said-"

Her fingers brushed the handle of the blade. She grabbed hold, swung her hand back, and threw the object as hard as she could. Ori gave a strangled yelp as the amber stone exploded into a hundred tiny pieces on the wall behind him. They stared at each other in shock, her hand still in the air. Her heart was beating tremulously and her breath was coming out of her in ragged gasps.

She hadn't thrown the dagger, she had only flung the amber stone in its place. But she had been so very close to killing him and this frightened her tremendously.

She couldn't bear to be in the same space as him anymore. He said something in alarmed protest as she shoved him aside and squeezed through the doorway. Once in the stone hall, she began to run as fast as she could, trying to outrun her thoughts and the grievous sin that she had almost committed against her fellow Dwarve.

X

The sound of gold jangling and trinkets tumbling reached her first. She stopped at the top of a grand staircase and pressed her back against a pillar. The sound was enormous: it was all around her. It was as if something huge and terrible was rising from beneath the carpet of gold whose soft yellow glow spread throughout the cavern below her. Only Smaug could have made the sea of treasure shift like that. It was then that she realized that it was true: there was a dragon and he had been awakened. And Bilbo was down there with him.

"Coward," she heard a small voice from below her, and her heart gave a suffocating leap. "Not sure that I know any, especially not any named...Tho-rin Oa-ken-sheild, did you say?"

"FOOL!" A deep, scathing voice rang out through the cavern, making the very walls tremble beneath its reverberating echo. She squealed and quickly put her hand over her mouth as she sank to her knees. There was a terrific cacophony as the dragon raged through the cavern. The end of its scaly red tail whipped past the pillar, almost taking her out in the process. Judging by the size of it, the dragon was big, much bigger than tales spoke of. She had been present in Erebor many years ago when the dragon had laid waste to the lands. But she had only seen the firestorms and glimpses of its shadow before she was whisked away by Sadi. To think that now, many years later, she was here again facing the same beast on what felt like a trivial whim. She could feel a fainting spell tugging at her body and snapped her eyes shut, willing herself to stay awake.

"Did you think I did not know this day would come?!" Smaug cried. "That a pack of canting Dwarves would come crawling back to the mountain - it's Oakensheild, that filthy Dwarvish usurper! He sent you for the Arkenstone, didn't he?!"

There was a final, grand smash before all fell still again. She wondered if that was it: if Bilbo had been dashed to pieces against a stone wall and if she would have to face the dragon on her own. A deep rumbling sound came from within the dragon's chest. She could hear the swish of its wings as it wound itself around the cavern. Unable to resist her curiosity, she fell onto her hands and knees and crawled around the pillar. There he was! Such a terrible sight to behold as he padded around on taloned feet. Never before had she encountered such a large, living thing in nature. The very size of Smaug overwhelmed the logical part of her mind and she felt dizzy beneath the pull of the fainting smell again.

But then! She noticed Bilbo standing a few paces away, staring at something on the ground between him and Smaug. His bravery was heartwarming. If he, with his small size and polite grocer demeanor, could stand on two legs before a fire-breathing dragon then she had no right to cower in the shadows.

She crept along on her hands and knees. There, to Bilbo's right, stood a shield half-buried in a pile of gold. She recognized the type immediately, having watched the old blacksmiths of Dale craft items of the very same material. It was a sturdy sort of medal engraved heavily with runes. It was known for withstanding high temperatures, though if it would withstand the fire of a dragon, she did not know. All the same, she reasoned, cloaking her scent would not do well on its own. She'd need to be armed in some shape or form.

She slunk down the staircase. If either Bilbo or the dragon were to look up, they would have spotted her immediately. But the two seemed to have come to a standstill. She set her feet upon the carpet of goal. She was level with them now - they were only a stone's throw away. Her eyes remained trained on the shield. It was in arm's reach now. She reached her hand out, her fingers brushing the cold surface as slowly, Smaug began to slink backward like a feline beast seconds from pouncing upon its prey. His chest began to glow from deep beneath his scales.

"I am almost tempted to let you take it," he gargled, his eyes riveted on Bilbo. Her fingers wrapped around the edge of the shield. "-if only to see Oakensheild suffer...watch it destroy him, watch it corrupt his mind and heart. But I think not. Our little games end here."

There was no time left. She yanked the strap along her arm and rushed towards Bilbo. Fire gushed from within Smaug's throat as she threw herself over Bilbo and thrust the shield in front of them. There was a deafening roar and heat all around them as the stream of fire caught the shield in its middlemost part. The temperature of the shield began to rise and she whined in pain. Her nose was buried deep in the Hobbit's hair and she focused on the smell of it to keep her from going mad with pain. Red hot pieces of gold singed their skin as they flew past, burying them in a glowing heap.

Then, just like that, it was over. She didn't know where Smaug was or if he knew that they were still alive but concealed beneath a small pile of dislodged gold. Bilbo yanked his head and looked up at her wide eyes.

"Nadi," he mouthed silently. "What are you doing here?!"

"I missed you," she mouthed back. The metal was still burning her arm but she refused to let go of the shield. Any movement would incur the scrutiny of the dragon. The poor Hobbit was quivering all over and she gave him a homely grimace.

"I have an idea," he whispered tonelessly. He pulled something out of his pocket and held it up to her. It was the small gold ring that she had seen him toying with in Beorn's house. He seemed to be struggling with something. He pursed his lips until they were white, wiped the sweat from his face, and then pushed the ring against her chest until she was forced to grip it. "Put this on. Run. To the pillar over there. Once you're hidden, toss it back."

"Wha-"

"Nadi please, just...trust me, alright? If you want to get out of this alive."

"But a ring-?!"

"Thief in the shadows," Smaug hissed. The ground creaked beneath his feet as he sidled to their left. "Talking to yourself will do you no good. Or perhaps you've met a friend. Why don't you send them out, let me have a look at them." Smaug lifted his head and sniffed the air. "They do smell...familiar."

"Nadi please," Bilbo whispered. She bit her lip, held his eye, and then nodded. The ring fit perfectly on her middle finger. Eyes closed, she slid from beneath the shield, careful to place her steps so that they would not disrupt the gold beneath her feet. By chance, she opened one eye and almost screamed. Smaug's terrible glowing eye was aimed right at her, the thin black slit dilating slightly. At any moment she expected him to slither towards her and entrap her beneath his terrible teeth. But he didn't. Much to her relief, he turned and swept his gaze along the opposite wall.

It was as if he hadn't seen her at all!

The surface of the pillar felt cool and reassuring against her back when she threw herself against it. The edge of it cast a shadow over a small indent at its base which she tucked herself into. There was a buzzing in her ear, as if several people were speaking to her in a different language. It only stopped when she yanked the ring off.

Oh…came Ana's voice. Nadi paused and squinted at the ring. She saw Bilbo gesturing frantically at her from beneath the shield, but she was too preoccupied to notice. It was a simple band with a mysterious engraving wrapping around it. It glowed ever so faintly, but she attributed this to the natural glow of the cavern. She held the ring up to the light slanting through the cavern and moved it around.

What a...precious thing…

"Yes," Nadi said slowly, enraptured. "It is, isn't it?"

"Nadi!" Bilbo hissed. The dragon lurched his head towards the sound.

"There you are, thief." Smaug raked his talon across the piles of gold surrounding Bilbo. He pulled the shield lower over his body as his cover began to slip away all around him. "Where is your luck now, Barrel Rider?"

His chest expanded and began to glow again. Bilbo cursed and struck the ground beneath his feet. And still, Nadi held the ring before her, turning it slowly in the light. Something about it was mesmerizing. It called to her in an indecipherably delicious tongue, reminding her that it belonged to her and her alone.

"Nadi, please…"

She was back in the canyon with the Company. Her fingers were shuffling around the edges of Bilbo's head. His hair was powdery-soft and ever so slightly oily. He was pulling away, looking back at her, his pout turning into a smile at the sight of the unfurling braid in her hands. The smell of dinner wafted from the wooden bowls that Bofur carried to them. Balin was laughing and patting her back while Thorin admonished her in a jesting tone...Fili and Kili had locked hands and were struggling to bring the other one down...Kili looked back, smiled at her...had he mouthed 'Sili' or was it a trick of the sun...she placed a wilted yellow flower behind Bilbo's ear and watched it flutter into his palms upturned on his lap…

She snapped out of it, closed her fingers over the ring, and tossed it to Bilbo. Smaug unhinged his jaws, fire broiling at the back of his mouth. As she watched in fear and then surprise, Bilbo slipped the ring on his finger-

-and disappeared!

Smaug snapped his jaws shut and thrust his head back and forth as he searched the grounds for the disappeared Hobbit who had suddenly reappeared beside her. She wanted to ask if he had any other magic devices in his pants that he'd be willing to surprise and dazzle her with, but figured that then wasn't the best time to make jokes.

Smaug was enraged: he dashed his head against the stone walls in fury, he slashed his thick tail through the piles of treasure, he crushed statues to pieces beneath his claws. All the while, he spat forth fountains of fires that quivered in the air around them. They huddled closer together in the small space, listening in terror to the wrath of the dragon.

Nadi gripped the fabric of Bilbo's shirt and shook him until he turned to her. Grasping his chin between her pointer finger and thumb, she maneuvered his ear close to her lips.

"Did you find the Arkenstone," she whispered, her tone sharp with desperation.

"Yes, yes I did," Bilbo said distractedly. He tried to look around the edge of the pillar but she pulled him back.

"Where is it?"

"I have it here, in my pocket. Don't worry, I'll keep it safe-"

"Can I see it?" Something large went crashing to the ground, sending waves of gold coins spraying around them. He cast an annoyed look at her over his shoulder.

"Nadi. Now's not really the time-"

"Nay, I have to make sure that it's the right one."

"You've seen the original?"

"Shhh-"

"Don't shush me! I'm being quiet!"

"Yes, yes, I've seen the real one, a long time ago. I remember what it looks like. Let me see it." This was a bald-faced lie but luckily for her Bilbo didn't know to question it. He reached into his pocket and handed her the illustrious white jewel. It was heavy in her hands and seemingly cold as ice. She took a sharp inhale as she turned it about in her hands. There was no doubt about it: here, at last, was the stone that bestowed upon its wielder the right to rule. Bilbo reached for it and she yanked her hands back, shooting him a dirty look.

"I can't tell in this light," she whispered. The dragon roared and she shivered. "Let's get out of here. I don't fancy getting incinerated, do you?"

"Well, I suppose it'd be hard to tell if it's the right one if your eyes are burned out of your head," he said.

"Good man," she said, patting his thigh. She slipped the Arkenstone in her pocket and peered over the edge of the pillar. "I see a way out. Follow me. Careful, now, while the dragon's distracted."

Her plan was simple. Make it to the door alive, give Bilbo and the rest of the Company the slip, take the Arkenstone to the forest.

And find Bahn.