Happy Sunday with chapter 25! Hope you enjoy this one!
She woke up with a slight start, her eyes fluttering open slowly. Her limbs felt heavy and she could feel a light painful throbbing at the back of her thigh. Dim firelight lit the room and it took Arinna a moment to realise that she was lying down, still in Bard's house.
"Arinna," someone spoke beside her and the druid turned her head in the direction of the familiar voice, a headache stinging her temples. Fili was sat beside her, one hand gripping hers tightly as he tried to give her a smile, which was overshadowed by the worry on his face. His nose was swollen, traces of dried blood still on his upper lip. "Thank Durin, you're awake! You had us worried sick."
The druid opened her mouth to say something as she tried to sit up, though instead of words, a painful hiss escaped her at the movement. Her eyes flew to her leg, seeing a tight bandage wrapped around her thigh.
"We bandaged your leg," Fili explained quickly, following her gaze. "You had a nasty gash at the back of your thigh."
"Where's Kili?"
It was the first thing that had popped into her mind, remembering the brunet dwarf lying down on the floor before her as she had tried to let her magic flow into him, using the Athelas to heal his infection.
"I'm right here." She turned at the young prince's voice, seeing him sat a few feet away with Bofur and Bard's children beside him. She let out a sigh of relief. He still looked a little pale, but was breathing and talking normally, and sitting upright in a seemingly painless position. Kili was looking at her worriedly. "You saved me and then you fell unconscious. You've been out for almost an hour, what happened?"
Arinna inclined her head slightly. She had a fairly good idea of what had happened, still feeling drained as Fili helped her into an upright position. "I'm alright," she muttered, though even her voice was still weak. She felt Fili give her hand a small, concerned squeeze. "Just… exhausted myself, I suppose. I've never…It's difficult to use so much magic all at once."
"I've never seen anything like it," Fili muttered from beside her, and the druid looked around to find him looking at her with admiration. "You've always spoken of your magic as something benign… When we first asked you about it, I remember you said that you had none to speak of. I didn't know you could do something like this… something so powerful."
Arinna let out a small sigh, shaking her head to herself as she avoided Fili's gaze, though as she looked at the others, they seemed just as impressed as the blond dwarf. She let out a soft hum. "Yes… neither did I."
"But you'll be alright?" Bofur reiterated and Arinna smiled slightly as she looked up at him, giving her friend a slow nod. He let out a breath of relief. "Thank Mahal. My poor heart can't handle much more."
Arinna was about to say something else, when the house suddenly shook once more, though this quake was much stronger than any of the ones before. Small objects fell to the ground around them, filling the room with clanks and thuds when suddenly, a great roar sounded through the air over the lake. The small group exchanged wide-eyed glances and Fili quickly got up and moved over to one of the small windows, Bain right behind him.
He felt his heart drop at what he saw. Out in the distance a giant shadow darkened the moon, great wings spread wide as a fiery red and golden glow illuminated the belly of the beast that was fast approaching the town.
"I'm afraid your heart will need to prove its strength tonight, Bofur," the blond dwarf finally spoke, exchanging a small look with the boy beside him as he turned around to his companions. "The dragon is coming."
For a few long moments, a dreadful heavy silence hung over the room as Fili's words sank into their minds.
"We need to leave," Kili finally said, his voice tense and dark as he looked at his brother urgently. Fili nodded, though it was Sigrid who spoke next.
"There is a boat at the back of the house," she muttered, fear evident in her small voice, though she was trying to put on a brave face. Fili gave her another small nod, trying not to lose his head. They had to be rational now, if they were to survive this night.
"Gather what you need," he said then, his voice sounding strangely authoritarian even to himself, but the others were quick to oblige. The children swiftly grabbed what bare necessities they thought important, while Fili moved and looped one of Arinna's arms around his shoulders, lifting her up onto her legs. She was leaning heavily against his side and he put his free arm around her waist to support her, as they moved quickly to the door. Sigrid led the way to the back of the house, where indeed a small boat was tied up.
Arinna jumped at the sound of another deafening roar echoing over the lake and she looked up just in time to see Smaug swooping directly over the roofs of the town. Cries rose up from the houses around them, as lights began to fill the windows, the people suddenly becoming aware of the horror they were about to face as they were ripped out of their sleep. The dragon was taunting them, circling back around at the far edge of the lake to descend upon the town once more.
"Quickly!" Fili urged as he motioned for the children to get into the boat. Sigrid and Tilda obliged, and Bain had one leg already in the boat when he turned back around, the fear on his face mixing with determination.
"What about Da?" he asked urgently, looking at Fili for what to do.
"Where is your father?" Fili replied quickly, sending the boy a tense look. He had thought that Bard had gone to kill the beast with the black arrow but looking at Bain, that did not seem to be the case.
"The guards collared him and took him away!" Bain explained with a sudden panic, realising that his father was probably locked in a cell somewhere, completely at the dragon's mercy. If the town was destroyed, so would he be. "I hid his bow and arrow inside a boat by the square. I came back to alert you, to get help, but the house was filled with orcs."
Kili shot the boy an incredulous look. "Why would they do that?"
"Probably on the Master's orders," Bofur answered him, the hatted dwarf keeping a good hold on Kili's shoulder to help him stand upright on his still healing leg. "I wouldn't put it past him to lock away the only person brave enough to speak out against him openly."
Bain just nodded his agreement, while Fili let out a frustrated growl. And then the earth suddenly shook again as Smaug swooped over the far end of the town, releasing fire from his mouth. They turned their heads, seeing the flames rise up toward the night sky. People screamed in the distance, while the dragon laughed an inhuman, dark laugh above. Fili pressed his lips together, unsure of what to do as he looked over at Arinna. She was returning his gaze out of exhausted, but fearful eyes, and it was then that he made up his mind.
"I will find your father. And the black arrow. And then we will kill that blasted dragon once and for all. Now get in the boat," he said, motioning for Bain to do as he said. His voice did not tolerate protest and the boy obeyed, though with obvious hesitation. Fili moved Arinna to the edge of the boat, and he could feel her begin to resist as he was handing her over to Bain, to help her in. He shot her an urgent look. "Arinna, get into the damned boat."
The druid shook her head, one hand coming up to grab the furs on his collar. Fili felt a sting in his heart at the fearful look she gave him. "No," she breathed, twitching fearfully as Smaug lit more of the town on fire. "I'm not leaving you behind. You cannot do this alone, Fili, it is madness!"
"Arinna," the blond dwarf muttered tensely, trying to convey the urgency he felt in his heart. They needed to leave, now. He grabbed hold of her hands, squeezing them tightly in front of his chest as he held her gaze. "You are in no state to face any of this. Take the children, get them to safety. I must find Bard."
She stared at him, unable to move as her eyes filled with tears. Fili let out a sigh, releasing her hands to grab her face instead, his thumbs tracing lovingly over her cheekbones as he gave her a small smile, faking a confidence that he did not truly feel. "I know it is madness," he whispered. "And I promise you that I will return to you. But I need you to be safe, I need you to be as far away from here as possible, do you understand me?"
Arinna pressed her lids together for a second, a tear falling down her cheek, and Fili repeated himself urgently when she did not speak. "Do you understand?"
"Yes," she finally breathed, her voice breaking as she gave him the tiniest of nods. Fili leaned in then, pressing a short but passionate kiss to her lips before he gave her a nudge, and Arinna let herself be helped into the boat by Bain, who tried to give her a reassuring look.
Fili turned to his brother. "Now you," he ordered, giving Kili a stern look when the dwarf opened his mouth to protest. He snapped it shut, knowing that he would not be of help to anyone with his injured leg. He could barely stand upright still, never mind hobble through the streets trying to save Bard. He gave Fili a short, unwilling nod, before he gruffly moved toward the boat. Fili grabbed his shoulder, halting him in his steps for a moment as he walked past him. He leaned in, muttering into his brother's ear.
"Promise me, you'll keep her safe," Fili said, and his little brother shot him a short, determined look. "I need both of you to be safe, Kili."
"Always," was all Kili said in return, giving his big brother a nod before he climbed into the boat. He quickly helped Bain untie it from the small dock, before he looked up and waited for Bofur to get in.
The hatted dwarf moved forward, but instead of getting into the boat, he gave it a swift, hard kick, driving it a few feet out into the water. He turned around when Fili cried out.
"Bofur, what are you doing?!"
The older dwarf just gave him a pointed look, before he glanced back to the boat. His voice was loud enough for everyone to hear him. "The lass is right," he said. "You cannot do this on your own, Fili, and you won't."
His gaze met Kili and Arinna's, who both gave him a shocked but grateful nod, before Bain and Kili grabbed the oars and began to row away from the dock. Bofur watched them for a few seconds, his attention only drawn away when another deafening roar sounded over their heads. He looked up, seeing the dragon swoop down only a little distance away, its claws tearing the roof off of several houses at once, before he flew further up, letting them drop down into the burning town.
"Time to go," the hatted dwarf exclaimed, as he turned back to Fili, who was still stood in shock at Bofur's decision. He did not have time to express his feelings though, as Bofur rushed past him, grabbing him by the collar to pull him along. Fili stumbled after him through the alleyway back to the front of the house.
"Where are you going?" Fili called out as Bofur dragged him further along, away from Bard's house. They swiftly ducked into another alley as the dragon flew overhead once more, and both of them looked up to see the underside of Smaug's belly glow red with fire.
Bofur waited until the dragon was circling around to the other side of the town before he finally answered, getting back into motion. Fili followed, now without having to be dragged. "I came past the jail cells when I was looking for the Kingsfoil," he explained, raising his voice to call over the sound of screams and roaring fire around them. "That's where they must have taken Bard!"
Fili just nodded as he followed after his friend, feeling the wood of the town's foundation vibrate beneath his feet as the dragon attacked another part of the town. Not long and the whole of Esgaroth would sink to the very bottom of this lake, the blond dwarf thought, dread filling his stomach. The two dwarves made their way through the streets as fast as they could, though their path was impeded again and again by rubble and walls of burning wood, forcing them to take a much longer route to the jail cells than they would have liked.
People were running through the streets away from the dragon, though the beast kept circling around, making it hard to tell which part of the town he would descend upon next. They were trying to get to boats, any boat would do, to get out of the town. Fili's head was spinning slightly as he tried to keep his thoughts fixed on their goal, but the screams of the town and the heat of the fire were impossible to ignore. He felt sweat and grime gather on his skin as he ran after Bofur, slowly losing hope that they would reach the jail cells in time before Lake Town would fall.
"Over there!" Bofur called out as they reached a small square at the other side of which stood the small prison of the town. The two dwarves' eyes widened as they saw its walls already going up in flames. Half of the building had collapsed under one of Smaug's attacks, the roof having caved in. Fili and Bofur quickly glanced toward the sky, but for the moment, Smaug was nowhere to be seen, no doubt lurking somewhere above the town.
"Come on," Fili said as he gave the hatted dwarf a stern nod, and together they quickly made their way across the square, not wanting to remain in open terrain for any prolonged amount of time. There were no guards left at the prison, not alive anyway. Fili felt his heart sink to his stomach as he saw two men lying dead by the half-collapsed entrance, their bodies hidden beneath their charred armour.
He swallowed the fear bubbling in his stomach and instead silently helped Bofur as they lifted a fallen pillar of wood out of the way so that they could get inside the jail.
"Bard!" Fili called as they entered, smoke filling his lungs and tears filling his eyes as he looked through the falling ashes for the Lakeman. "Bard, are you in here? Bard!"
"Hello?" Bofur exclaimed behind him. "Anybody here? Bard!"
Fili took careful steps over the fallen rubble, his throat feeling more and more scratchy as he breathed in the grime and smoke. He called out again, and again, without an answer. And once more, the dwarf felt a panic fill his heart, a fear that they would not find Bard and that he was risking his and Bofur's life for nothing. That they would not make it out and he would never see his brother or Arinna again, even though he had promised to return.
"BARD!" he called again, his loud voice cracking slightly. And it was then, when they were almost at the far end of the jail cells, that he finally got an answer.
"Over here! I'm in here!"
The two dwarves rushed toward the origin of the voice, stumbling over the uneven ground. They found Bard locked into a small cell, most of which was still intact, though it mattered very little, as the whole roof would collapse onto their heads if they did not get out soon.
"I don't think I've ever been so happy to see a dwarf in my entire life," Bard half-laughed. The Lakeman's face showed shock but genuine relief as he looked at them and while Bofur gave him a small nod in appreciation, Fili was looking around, trying to figure out how to get him out of his cell.
"The door is broken," he finally said, looking at the upper right corner of the iron jail door, which had been knocked out of its hinge by a bit of the wall that had fallen.
"I've already tried to bust it open. I could not get it to budge," Bard exclaimed and Fili gave a short nod, though he quickly directed his gaze toward Bofur who was studying the door with a small frown. Large pieces of stone wall had bent and damaged the side of the door, effectively blocking the lower hinge from moving.
"What do you think?" Fili asked.
"It's shoddy work. Should be doable," answered Bofur. "If we both try."
The blond dwarf nodded and Bard could only stare as the two dwarves stepped up to the door, and suddenly Bofur lifted up one of the large pieces of stone that was blocking the door with his bare hands. The Lakeman's eyes widened as he saw the dwarf lift it with little effort, Fili following suit with another huge piece. The pieces had barely budged when he had thrown himself against the door with all his weight, proving that he had underestimated these dwarves in more than one way. It only took a few moments until the door was laid free and Bard kept watching nervously as Bofur bent down and grasped the bottom bar of the door, while Fili did the same, grabbing hold of the iron right next to the lower hinge.
"Ready?" Bofur asked and waited for Fili's nod before they began to lift the door in unison. The iron screeched slightly beneath the force of their pull, trying to get the second hinge to pop out. The roof groaned above them and Bard glanced up only momentarily before he suddenly heard a loud clank followed by a sharp outcry.
"Fili!" Bofur cried out, letting go of the door as it had finally given way, and while Bard pushed his way through the now open gap between broken wall and door, he pulled the blond dwarf to his feet. Fili was gritting his teeth, using his right arm to hold his other close to his body. A sharp pain had stung his shoulder just as the door had given way, and he could feel his arm throb now, pain running from his left shoulder all the way to his fingertips.
"I'm alright!" he urged, feeling the whole building rumble around them, as another of Smaug's terrible snarls filled the air. "Let's go! Let's go!"
They didn't hesitate. Though Fili was hurt, there was no time to take care of that now. They rushed out of the collapsing building, hearing bits of the roof cave in behind them as the fire kept eating away at it. They ran across the small square, ducking as Smaug once again swooped over them, breathing fire on the streets just beside the jail.
"I have to kill it!" Bard called loudly as they ran through the narrow streets. The dwarves rushed after him as he steered them through the streets, expertly ducking into alleyways between burning houses. "Where is the black arrow?"
Fili couldn't bring up the strength to answer while running after Bard and Bofur, still trying to hold his left arm close to his body as further pain shot through it with every step he ran. He tried to keep his breathing even as he heard Bofur call out in reply to the Lakeman, saying that his son had told them that he'd hidden the arrow in a boat by the town square. Bard said nothing in reply, or if he did, Fili couldn't make it out over the noise of the chaos around them. Instead, they kept running and as the blond dwarf looked up, he realised that the Lakeman had managed to lead them to the town square unharmed within only a few minutes.
He was breathing heavily as they came to a halt by the end of an alley, looking up to the sky to make sure that it was safe to leave cover. Fili couldn't see Smaug, but as he let his gaze wander, he also realised that there were hardly any boats left by the square, having been taken by the people fleeing the town. What if the arrow was no longer here? He didn't have time to dwell on his thoughts as Bard ran out of cover and both dwarves followed on his heels, the small group dispersing without a word to search the few remaining boats as quickly as possible.
It was in the second boat he searched that Fili found the large black arrow along with Bard's bow. "Over here!" he yelled as loudly as he could, picking up both items clumsily in his right hand while his left arm hung limply at his side. The other two rushed over to him instantly and it was at the same time that a screech filled the air, making a fearful shiver run down the blond dwarf's spine. He looked up to the night sky, which was illuminated by the light of the burning town, and saw the dragon rush down toward them, his open mouth glowing with red fire.
"DUCK!"
Fili wasn't sure who was shouting but he did not hesitate as the wall of fire descended upon the square. He jumped as far as he could, feeling the heat of the fire scorch his furs before he hit the ground with a painful thud, landing on his already injured arm with a pained outcry that was drowned out in the noise of the dragon's blast. He looked up and glanced around frantically, finding Bofur lying only a few feet away from him, already struggling back to his feet. The hatted dwarf was quick to help him up, pulling Fili onto his feet by his uninjured arm. It was only when they turned back around to find Bard, that they realised that the Lakeman was further away, though also on his feet again, on the other side of a wall of fire that now cut right through the middle of the square.
"BARD!" Fili called, while Bofur waved toward the man. "Are you alright?!"
"Yes!" The Lakeman shouted over the fire, and Fili squinted to see him hold something up over his head. "I have the arrow! I will end this once and for all!"
Bofur shook his head, his fearful voice ringing out over the square. "Bard, no!" he called. "Not by yourself! We'll go around –"
"No! You must go!" Bard answered, his stern voice silencing Bofur as it cut through the cracking of the burning wood beneath their feet. Through the fire, Fili could see that the Lakeman's eyes were fierce and determined, he would not have them help him any further. "There is nothing more you can do now! Go! Flee!"
And before either of the dwarves could say anything else, Bard had turned away and was running to the other end of the square, before he disappeared in another alleyway. Fili stared in disbelief at the spot where he had vanished for a few moments, before he suddenly felt a hard tug on his sleeve.
"We need to go! The beast is circling back around!" Bofur yelled, pointing at the sky, as Fili turned his head toward him. The prince just nodded, not bothering to look up to the sky to confirm Bofur's words. Instead, they began running once more, throwing themselves into a half-collapsed alley as Smaug's roar filled the air.
