Author's Note: I own nothing.

32 Drowned In Gold

If she'd had more time Bella would have marveled more at the city, especially since she and Balin were not pursued by the dragon for long. Thorin was separated from them by the dragon shortly after they left the western guardroom and Bella could barely breath from the worry. They were the second group to reach the forge, Dori and Nori had gotten there first.

"Where's Thorin?" Dori asked glancing between them.

"We were separated." Balin called, just as a loud boom echoed through the room and Bofur and Bombur rushed up to them, quickly followed by Dwalin and Thorin. Bella breathed out a little before Dwalin shook his head as he ran past them to one of the contraptions here.

"The plans not going to work, these forges are stone cold. We've no fire hot enough to light them." The rumble of the dragon's growling echoed back up the passage as a look passed over Thorin's face.

"Do we not?" He asked a ghost of a smile on his face as he stepped back to the entrance leaning on the gate. It was not big enough to keep the dwarves out and Bella shook her head.

"Thorin no!" She cried but not fast enough. Thorin was already calling out to the dragon.

"I did not think to see you so easily outwitted. You've grown fat and slow in your dotage. Slug." He called and an angry roar was his only answer. He dodged behind one of the massive struts of the gate. "Take cover!" He cried pulling Bella to him as heat bloomed. Fire rushed past them. Bella screamed holding Thorin tighter.

"You're mad!" She cried out and felt him laugh lightly.

"I am not the first person here to aggravate a dragon today." He said as the fire calmed momentarily. He grabbed her hand and they ran. Thorin's plan must have worked for everywhere the glow of dragon fire was filling the room. Bella didn't have names for any of these things. "Bombur get those bellows going!" Thorin called and Bombur nodded running with a surprising speed to a great chain and leaping down onto it. "Bella, that lever up there, I need you and Bofur to pull it on my mark." She nodded and both of them ran as Smaug bashed himself against the gate. It trembled.

"Balin can you still mix a flash flame?" Thorin asked pulling his sword.

"Aye it'll only take a jiffy. Dori, Nori with me!" He called running for a small room set off the main forge.

"We don't have a jiffy!" Dwalin called as the gate began to buckle under the dragon's assault.

"Go help him Dwalin! Now!" Thorin called and Dwalin nodded racing after his brother as the gate broke away, nearly sending Bella tumbling down the stairs it shook the mountain so. Smaug snarled at Thorin, he could see the fire building in the dragon's throat and chest. "Bella. Now!" He called just as Bella and Bofur reached the lever. They pulled hard and water rushed out of carved figureheads on the wall, drenching Smaug. Steam plumed as his fire was extinguished and the force of the water shoved him back across the forge. Bella wasn't sure what happened next, a great grinding sounded and dust flew as everything began to move. Flashing blue light drew her attention back to the fight. Balin seemed to have made his flash flame after all and he, Nori, Dori and Dwalin were throwing them at the dragon. It advanced but was stymied with another frustrated roar by Bifur, Oin and Gloin above it cutting ropes on several of the massive buckets of what must have been once freshly mined gold. Roaring tangled and enraged Smaug missed Thorin running past him and yanking on a chain. It opened some kind of system to the massive steaming vats of new melted gold which rushed into a canal like construction.

The smell of molten metal and burning dust was making Bella choke, but she and Bofur both screamed as the dragon's tail swung into the platform they were standing on sending it crumbling. They both tumbled through the air, Bofur catching Bella as they hit the ground, taking the brunt of the fall which didn't seem to phase him at all. Over the din of the dragon Thorin shouted something, but Bella couldn't really hear him as Bofur seized her hand and they ran. Bella cried out in fear as they raced to the edge of the forge platform but Bofur seemed to know something she didn't as he kept going skidding and sliding down a support. He pulled her through a door on the walkway at the bottom of this construction then up a set of stairs.

"Where are we going?" Bella called, the heat on her heels telling her that she didn't need to worry about stealth right now.

"Gallery of the kings! Thorin has a plan!" Bofur called practically dragging Bella down the hall. She didn't really mind, if the sound of rending stone behind them was any tell the dragon was kicking up a rage fit to bring the mountain down on their heads. They ran through a doorway just as the wall above it crumbled under the dragon's fury. Somehow they avoided the falling stone but the tapestry landed on top of them and Bella slapped a hand to Bofur's mouth as they fell. He seemed to get the message and lay still as the dragon stepped over the debris surrounding them.

"You think you can deceive me Barrel Rider!?" Smaug called and Bofur quirked an eyebrow at Bella who's eyes flashed with guilt and panic. "You have come from Lake Town! This is some sordid scheme hatched between these filthy dwarves and those miserable tub trading Lake men!" The dragon seemed to be having some difficulty in finding them with the dust clogging his nose and them remaining still as death, barely daring to breathe.

"Those sniveling cowards with their long bows and black arrows!" For a moment Smaug sounded almost afraid, as though he knew how close he had come to death the day he'd destroyed Dale and taken Erebor. But he shook it quickly. "Perhaps it is time I paid them a visit." At that Bella moved before he could stop her. He caught a glimpse of something like fear and regret in her eyes.

"No!" She called throwing off the tapestry and standing before the dragon seemingly without regard for her own life. "You cannot go to Lake Town!" There was something commanding in her voice, and something that sounded like a plea. "This isn't their fault!" The dragon turned, burning gold eyes staring at her, missing Bofur entirely but she held her ground and in that moment Bofur had more respect for this little Hobbit than he'd had for anyone else he'd ever met.

"You care about them?" It was a question, Smaug tilted his head at her but did not wait for her to answer. "Good, then you can watch them die!" At that the massive wyrm turned from Bella and began to make for the main gate.

"Here!" Thorin's voice called from the other side of the room. Distracted Smaug growled and turned to face Thorin. Bofur tossed off the tapestry and seized Bella's hand yanking her into an alcove set above the main floor of the hall here. He'd spotted the mold that had been in progress when Erebor was first attacked. He thought he knew now what Thorin was planning. He was right too the still molten statue only held for a moment before collapsing forward onto the dragon which screamed, it sounded near human. Silence fell as he vanished under the molten gold.

But it had barely settled when it erupted sending molten gold flying. Smaug screamed roaring and raging as he rushed half blind half drowned in gold out of Erebor shrieking his vengeance. Bella was the first of them to move as the sound of the barricaded front gate shattering rang through the silent halls. She ran, pulling herself from Bofur's grip and racing alongside the running golden metal out of the Gallery of Kings, out of Erebor and into the crisp night air. Smaug was already a blot on the horizon when Bofur caught up to Bella. She was standing still as a statue, tears streaming down her face.

"What have we done?" It was a near silent question as her eyes followed the dragon towards the town on the lake.