Fíli watches Bilba enter the treasure chamber with a feeling of dread coiling deep in his stomach. He doesn't like the idea of sending her in at all but sending her in alone seems even worse. Unfortunately, no one else seems to have any better ideas.
"It should be me," Nori mutters.
"The dragon would roast you in a second," Dwalin objects. "But we shouldn't have sent her in there alone." He adds with a glare at Thorin and Gandalf who are arguing in angry whispers.
Fíli drifts closer to the entrance, more because he wants to keep an eye on Bilba than because he wants to see the treasure. Odd as it sounds for a dwarf, gold has never held any real interest for him. His life is full of hard work, true, but Adra has told him that even the wealthiest dwarrow are expected to train regularly and practice their craft. Fíli cannot imagine an idle life, nor has he any desire for one. He moves that way because if Bilba runs into trouble he doesn't want to waste any time that could be used to help her.
The gold is magnificent, though.
"It is too dangerous," Gandalf states and Fíli shrinks away from the door, fearful of the dragon's attention being drawn their way. "If we fail we will both die."
"If we don't do it, we'll very likely die anyway," Thorin replies. "You can hear the dragon as well as I, the one who stole the Jewel is alive and this is our last chance to get answers and find the truth."
"And if it is not what you think?" The wizard demands. "What sort of creature will we find if it is as you wish? After years as a captive bent to the will of the White Wizard he cannot be as you remember. It is a foolish hope, Thorin. You can carry the Jewel home and much as I wish it otherwise your wishes cannot possibly be."
"You've forgotten Bilba," Fíli cuts in. The wizard and his uncle glare at him. "She may not know if whoever took the Jewel means her harm, but she'll try to find him if he's alive."
"She will," Thorin agrees, "and there is still the matter of extracting her to consider."
"It is a great risk, Thorin," Gandalf warns, "and it will drain both of our energy for some time. The mountain will be vulnerable."
"Dáin will come, if I send for him," Thorin replies confidently. "And the mountain is as much his birthright as it is that of any other."
"I dislike it," a roar makes them all look towards the treasury, "but it appears we may have little choice."
"Can you do the spell?" Thorin demands.
"Yes, but I will have to channel it through you, and if you do not strike at the perfect moment-"
"Then it will fail with no second attempt," Thorin finishes. "I understand, have we another option?"
"None."
"Then there is little sense in discussing it further," Thorin grumbles. "Dwalin, Nori, I need you to keep Smaug's attention on you until I am ready. Fíli and Adra I want you to get Bilba, and the thief if he is with her, and get them out of the treasury."
"What if your plan fails, Thorin?" Dwalin demands.
"If it fails, take the others and get out of the mountain. Take shelter in the Iron Hills until spring and then take Fíli and Bilba home," Thorin orders.
"But, the ceremony-" Adra objects.
"If we lose that Jewel the ceremony and the wait for Durin's heir are pointless anyway. We will have failed," Gandalf shakes his head. "Thorin is correct, if we fail here there is no point in returning to Moria except to give the news that the younger line should be given the throne. There will be no Arkenstone to wield or protect any longer."
"I don't need any of you to like the plan," Thorin points out. "I need you to do it." For a moment Fíli thinks that the others are going to object, then one by one they nod and Thorin takes a breath. "Dwalin and Nori you go in first, Fíli and Adra next."
As plans go, Fíli dislikes it. It feels too vague, although Thorin and Gandalf seem to know what they are talking about. Honestly, he isn't certain which part of the plane he hates more: the part where Thorin and Gandalf do something mysterious to kill Smaug, the part where Dwalin and Nori keep the dragon distracted or the part where he and Adra have to split up to find Bilba and get her out of harm's way. Better yet, the third part but where they also somehow manage to get hold of the one who stole the Arkenstone in the first place and convince him to come with them as well. All so that Thorin, if he survives the insane plan, can get his answers. Fíli has no idea what answers could possibly be so important that his uncle would risk all of their necks to get them, but he follows the plan and slips through the door, Adra hot on his heels, after Dwalin and Nori who quickly take off bellowing insults.
Predictably, Bilba is nowhere to be seen and it occurs to Fíli that if she is using whatever magical thing she has in her possession that grants invisibility he won't find her unless he happens to stumble upon her. Literally. Fortunately, Smaug's search of the great treasure chamber is creating enough noise to cover the steady trickle and slide of gold under Fíli's feel as he makes his way to the rear of the chamber. Adra had raced down the stairs two at a time as Fíli had slid down a great mountain of gold coins and gems that had reached nearly the top of the walkway the corridor emerged upon. He has lost sight of her now and his heart thunders in his chest as he worries for her and for their other companions. The heat emitted by the dragon is tremendous and he wonders how Bilba has been able to stand it when she is that much more sensitive to the temperature than he is.
She must have found somewhere to hide he thinks hopefully as he stumbles through the gold. His bones seem to hum, as though trying to vibrate out of his skin, and the closer he gets to the back of the massive room the more pronounced it seems to become. It is a distraction he cannot afford, and he grits his teeth against it as he searches desperately for any sign of a hobbit in the vicinity.
"Smaug!" He hears Thorin bellow and he spins to look.
His uncle stands by the entrance to the narrow corridor, his sword raised above his head. It glows with a light that is almost blinding, and the dragon turns.
"We meet at last, Thorin son of Durin," the dragon purrs. "I will take pleasure in burning the meat from your bones."
Fíli takes an aborted step towards his uncle as Thorin dives to the side to avoid the flames that suddenly pour from Smaug's mouth. A noise behind him makes him pause and he turns to see Bilba next to a hooded figure, a large hand gripped tightly in her delicate one. He races to her, hardly daring to look behind him as he hears a crash.
"We have to go!" He yells, skidding to a halt in front of them and gasping when the hum in his bones intensifies to an almost unbearable level.
The hooded one, however, shrinks away.
"It's alright," Bilba says to the stranger. "He won't hurt you."
"I can't" the hooded dwarf replies and the sound of his voice strikes a chord in Fíli's memory, though he cannot place it.
"You can," Bilba assures him. "I promise Fíli will listen."
"It's Thorin," comes the reply after a moment of hesitation. "Thorin – he won't wait to listen."
"He will," Fíli insists. "He wants to know who you are and why you did it. He won't-"
"No!" Dwalin's scream cuts him off, drawing their attention back to the battle between Thorin and Smaug.
Fíli spins to see that his uncle has lost his grip on his sword with Smaug grinning down at him.
"Take it," abruptly there is a shine to his side and Fíli tears his eyes away from what might be Thorin's final moments to look at the Arkenstone for the first time. "Take it," the stranger says again. "It will draw the dragon's attention."
Even as the stranger speaks, his voice still too familiar, the dragon's attention has turned and fixed upon them. His expression, however, is not the smug glee that Fíli had expected, instead Smaug seems almost panicked, something that becomes more apparent as he reaches for the stone, unable to help himself even though he has been warned against it by others. His hand hovers over the Jewel, hesitant to touch it, and he glances at the dragon to see that Thorin has managed to grab his sword. His uncle throws the blade with both hands, the sword spins through the air and he has to squeeze his eyes shut. Then there is a shriek and when he opens his eyes, he can see the dragon staring down at the hilt of the sword embedded in his chest. There is silence. Then Smaug falls, collapsing into the gold and sending a shock wave through it hard enough to knock them all from their feet and the Arkenstone to the floor.
It is the sound of the stranger scrabbling through the gold that makes Fíli look away from the corpse of the dragon. His hood has fallen down to reveal a head that is unevenly shorn and covered in scars. It makes something like pity fill him, the small tufts that remain are dark and it is very clear that this is not something that he has chosen to have done, or that has happened as part of a ritual shearing as punishment. It has clearly happened repeatedly and brutally. The dwarf must hear his sharp intake of breath because he turns to look and Fíli sees dark eyes in a face that he knows, though he had long given up on seeing it again.
"Kíli?" He whispers.
A.N: Yeah, I'm mean to my poor Kili. I love him really. I love him lots and lots, but it was necessary to the plot. There is actually a plot here...
And it's early, because I lost track of days and have loads to do over the coming ones. Such is life
