At the end of the hall it opened up and I bit my lip to stop the gasp. My senses had told me that this place was huge, but not how huge! The cavern was enormous, pillars holding up up with magnificent carvings. It was beautiful, until I looked down. Squinting I wondered why the floor looked so odd until I realized that the floor was covered in mountains of treasure. Gulping down my unease on finding the Arkenstone in that, I squared my shoulders and descended down.

Trying to be as quiet as possible while trying to climb over the treasure was nearly impossible. Having no idea where the dragon was, not seeing it, I tried to keep one eye open for him while I searched for the stone. The gold coins and jewels were worse to transcend over than sand, always slipping out from under foot. A few times I nearly toppled down the mountain because the treasure slipped out from under my feet.

I looked for a while, growing more frustrated when I found nearly every other kind of jewel except one that could possibly be the Arkenstone. I wasn't sure how far I had gotten in my search when I tried to look in a chest and sent a pile of coins sliding down. Looking up to see if that had unearthed the stone, I was shocked to see a huge red eyelid still closed. Dashing behind a pillar as a nostril blasted coins away to take a breath I realized with dread that the dragon was under all this gold! What was I going to do now?

0o0

My heart pounding I wondered what to do as I heard more treasure move, rushing down as I heard a rumble. I pressed my back to the pillar as a mountain of gold moved to my left and I realized that it was Smaug's tail! He was huge! Needing to move, needing to get out of here, I tried to creep away, keeping on eye on Smaug's eye. When it suddenly opened I nearly had a heart attack, putting all my energy into my misdirection. It's eye slid over me and then the head moved, completely becoming unearthed and I heard his deep voice, worse than thunder and whirlwinds, "Hmmm. Thief. I smell you."

It began to come closer and I dashed away, hiding behind another pillar as it followed the trail of disturbed treasure, "I hear your breathe. I feel your air. Where are you!?"

Smaug slithered and dove under the treasure, trying to come up under me but I dashed behind yet another pillar as he missed. Smaug growled, "Come now, don't be shy."

I knew I had to distract it somehow. Taking a deep breath I called, "Why should I?"

Smaug swung his head sharply, "Because I said so!" He was trying to find me as I gripped the pillar and looked for my chance. Only to loose it when Smaug's tail hit the pillar and I hit the gold with a thud, concentration lost. Gasping I jumped to my feet as Smaug grinned, showing massive teeth, "There you are."

Only for me to disappear again. He snarled and lunged at where I had been. But his movement had caused enough noise with the treasure that he didn't hear me dive underneath him and come out on the other side, "Not very polite Smaug, O Greatest of Calamaties."

Smaug looked around carefully and asked, "What are you?"

I had jumped up and grabbed hold of another pillar and managed to shimmy up it enough to not get swept up by the rushing gold as Smaug swished his tail in irritation. I called, "No one worthy of your notice."

He turned his head and I said softly, trying to keep him distracted before he blew flames., "I had come to gaze upon your brilliance, hearing of your great nobility. I had not believed the stories."

I could hardly believe it when he backed up and actually posed, neck up and wings out, "Do you believe them now?" That's when I knew I was only alive because I was entertaining to him.

I squeaked, seeing to true size and power of him, "Truly. The stories do you no justice. Smaug the Stupendous."

He sneered, head swaying side to side, "You seem familiar with my name. But I don't recall smelling your kind before." He was slithering closer, "Who are you and where do you come from, may I ask?"

About to come up with something I happened to glance over by his feet and that's when I saw it. A white jewel that glowed with a bluish color. That had to be the Arkenstone!

I braced my feet on the pillar, gauging the distance from me to the stone, "I am no one of importance and come from the earth."

Smaug whisked around a different pillar, breathing deep through his nose, "Interesting. Like your Dwarf friends outside?"

"No, no Dwarves." I saw it coming. I leaped as his claws lunged and he snapped the pillar I had been on in two and missed me by a fraction. I hit and rolled towards the jewel, only for Smaug's tail to cause a land slide and it tumbled after. Smaug laughed, "Do you think I do not know the taste and smell of Dwarves? They want my gold! Their greed will be their undoing! Did you think I did not know this day would come?!"

He was lunging after me and I toppled down the hill, visible and trying to get back on my feet, and away from Smaug, unable to stay invisible and do all that at the same time. "That a pack of canting Dwarves will come crawling back to the mountain!?" He hit a pillar hard enough to make the whole thing topple and shake the whole mountain when it hit.

I managed to tumble to some stairs that lead still lower to where the jewel had gone. Smaug was playing with me as he weaved between the pillars but I guessed he just wanted to be heard. He boomed, "The King Under the Mountain is dead. I took his throne. I ate his people like a wolf among sheep."

I raced down the stairs, tumbling off to dodge claws and hit the gold so hard it knocked my breath out of my lungs. Gasping I choked as I got my feet under me and ran once more. "I kill what I wish, when I wish. My armor is iron."

I nearly got the jewel before it bounced out of my grasp and I glanced back to see Smaug flying towards me! I dove under some sort of podium that was buried but the top still intact. Smaug landed on it and continued his speech, "No blade can pierce me."

I managed to hide under it as Smaug circled it. He snarled, "It's Oakenshield, that filthy Dwarvish usurper. He sent you in here for the Arkenstone, didn't he?"

That's when I spotted the stone, but it was close to where Smaug was. I called, "No. No idea what your talking about." He curled back towards me, "No use denying it. I guessed his purpose long ago. But it matters not. Oakenshield's quest will fail." I paused, for once listening to him as he said, "A darkness is coming. It will spread to ever corner of the land."

Fear pulsed through me as he continued, "You are being used, Thief from the Earth. You were only ever a means to an end. That coward Oakenshield has weighed the value of your life and found it worth nothing."

Hitting a nerve I snapped, "No! Your lying!" He chuckled, "What did he promise you? A piece of the treasure? When it is not his to give! I will not give up a single coin!" Hearing enough I dove for the jewel.

Smaug saw that and smacked the treasure with his tail, causing it to become a wave. It hit me and threw me like a rag doll and I lost the jewel again. Smaug nearly purred, "My teeth are swords. My claws are spears. My wings are a hurricane!"

I slid and hit a pillar with my shoulder. Wincing I spun and saw Smaug pose once more and that's when I saw it. A scale was missing under the left wing! Filing that info away for later I jumped to my feet and looked around frantically for something that will help me. That's when I saw the jewel just a few feet away. Smaug saw me looking and sneered, "I'm almost tempted to let you take it, if only to see Oakenshield suffer."

I looked way up at him and demanded, "What do you mean?"

He chuckled, "Watch it destroy him. Watch it corrupt his heart and drive him mad!" I stared at him, mind racing and then everything froze when Smaug backed up and said, "But I think not. I think our little game ends here. So tell me thief, how do you choose to die?"

My whole body kicked into overdrive as he lunged and I disappeared in an instant. He reared back startled and I managed to grab the stone and race up the nearby steps before Smaug knew what had happened. Then Smaug roared an earsplitting roar and the heat at my back and the flash of light told me I had just missed being barbeque. Gasping for air I stopped the misdirection now that I was back and out of sight of the room where Smaug was obviously having a temper tantrum. Looking down at the jewel in my hand I thought it was beautiful, but not breathtakingly so. Smaug's words rang through my head and I decided to wait and see what came next before giving this to Thorin. Just in case.

So I shoved it down my shirt and it sat snugly between my breasts in my breast band. My pendant sat over the top of it under my tunic. Then I sprinted to get back to the others as quickly as I could. Praying that I wasn't on the menu!