Anything to Stop It
It had been two minutes from the moment Bilbo had disappeared into Erebor, when Fili first became restless. He would have thought that the years of lessons on patience, keeping a level head, and making good decisions would cause him to be a reserved and logical dwarf, but something about him would never stay quite focused. While the hobbit had never really fit in as a dwarf in the group, he was close to many, including the prince. They had developed a rather sarcastic relationship, both throwing half-hearted complaints at one another every now and again, before stealing a grin with the other soon after. His mind instantly jumped to the worst-case scenario, wondering if the hobbit was no more than a pile of ashes, and that the dragon had turned their burglar into a crisp. Emotions were running high in the Company as well. He watched as Ori twiddled with his thumbs, leaning on the wall while Dori was whispering nervous words of comfort into his younger brother's ear. One hand rested on Ori's shoulder, with the other on Nori's, who sat next to the pair, his eyes twinkling with anxiety. Fili gulped, watching the other members of the Company as they each engaged in their own tense habits, separated into their usual clumps. Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur. Balin and Dwalin. Oin and Gloin. That left Fili with Thorin, the only dwarf who seemed to be completely unconcerned.
For the first time in years, the exiled king looked completely peaceful, staring into the entrance to Erebor with a wistful look in his eyes. Fili had gotten used to being the steady member of his family. In earlier years, it had been him and Dis who had been the calm and logical ones, while Kili and Thorin were more driven by their emotions. Now, his mother went back and forth between peace and depression, and Thorin was as erratic as ever. That left the prince to keep everyone grounded, and the quest had been no exception. His uncle had struggled to decide what exactly he was feeling, between aggression, impatience, frustration, and the very rare moments of clarity. No matter what anyone said, the heir felt that it was up to him to keep their leader somewhat normal. Yet there was Thorin, not even looking concerned about the events going on within the dwarven halls, and there was Fili, jittery and panicky.
More minutes forced themselves to pass. He lost count of how long they waited. Everyone was too tense to have side conversations. Instead, some whispered choice words to one another while the rest of them stood, and watched, and prayed for Bilbo to return from Erebor with a shining Arkenstone in one hand, and a dragon scale in the other, declaring that he had not only thieved the Arkenstone, but had killed the dragon. The prince sighed. Some things were too good to be true. For a few minutes he amused himself with imaginative scenes of Bilbo Baggins the dragon slayer. It didn't last forever, as soon the ground beneath their feet rumbled, and echoing sounds escaped the dark expanse of Erebor. Immediately on guard, Fili drew his sword, turning to Thorin.
"Dragon," the king confirmed. There was a collective inhalation in the group. The dwarves' already high anxiety levels were climbing. The blonde dwarf adjusted his grip on his sword over and over again, though there was no purpose to it. No matter how many distant growls emerged from the passageways, he was unable to adapt to it, jumping every time any sort of noise occurred. Fili wanted to say something, but kept biting his lip. Who would support his uncle, if not his heir? He could see the doubt in the other dwarves' faces. It didn't matter if Thorin was wrong, the prince was sworn to protect him, and he would take that responsibility as far as he could.
"What about Bilbo?" Ori finally asked, after a particularly violent roar from the mountain chambers. The young dwarf's forehead was riddled with wrinkles, and he seemed to be on the verge of tears. "If Smaug is awake, then we have to go help him!" Thorin looked away, his lip curling at the very thought. Fili stiffened, sheathing the weapon.
"No one is going into that mountain until he have confirmation that there is truly something wrong." As if on cue, a bright red light and flash of heat sprang from the opened door. The prince's hands clenched into fists, but Ori seemed to be the one truly upset.
"I think it's safe to say that we need to do something. For everyone's sake, I'll go after him if I have to!" He seemed shocked at his own bravery. Fili could only remember one other time when the quiet brother of Ri. The entire Company had drunken far too much and the younger member of the Company had declared that he would be the one to slay the dragon. Under different circumstances, the heir of Durin would have probably cheered, but the intensity was getting to him, and he almost felt grateful went the elder Dori butted into the conversation before Throin could retaliate.
"You will stay right here until we decide to what to do as a group." The younger shut his mouth, and for a mere moment it seemed like the brief argument had been resolved. Sure, Ori threw his elder a dirty look, crossed his arms and leaned further against the mountain, but other than that, the rest of the Company seemed to be content sitting in edged quietness. That was, until, Thorin spoke.
"You will stay right here until I decide what the group is going to do." His voice was steely and sharp. Fili could feel his eyes bug out of his head. The dwarf king often gave orders, but had never demanded that no other input be added once he gave instructions. It was a level of stubbornness and insanity that the prince didn't know how to deal with. Desperate, he looked to Balin, hoping that the wisest of the dwarves would have something to say that could sway Thorin's mind. The white-haired dwarf barely nodded.
"Why don't we hear what Fili has to say on this? It could be good practice for him. Don't you think?" It felt like the blonde dwarves heart had sunken through his body and fallen still beating on the ground. He had nothing to say. He didn't want to cross his uncle, but he also couldn't leave Bilbo in Erebor with a living, fire-breathing dragon. Thorin turned to look at his nephew, an expectant look on his face. Fili knew that he couldn't back up his king forever, but he was expected to do so.
"I think that it…could possibly be…a risk," the prince started, and saw Thorin's eyes light up. He took a deep breath. "But, we brought him into this, and we threw him into that kingdom knowing exactly what was in there. It's our fault that he's in danger and I think that we're responsible for his safety." In one sentence, his uncle's mood completely changed. His face darkened and lips became one hard line.
"He signed a contract understanding the dangers of this quest." Fili bit his lip. He had already dug himself into a hole. It wouldn't be much worse if it were a little deeper.
"He signed a contract making him part of a Company to then go on a quest. What is a Company for if not to protect the other members?" Off to the side, he could see Balin nodded slowly. Half of him wanted to be proud that he had finally spoken his mind, but the other half was sore and aching as Thorin turned his back and walked toward the entrance to the mountain. "Where are you going?" The king stopped in his tracks.
"To protect the other member." The words stung. Fili watched his uncle enter Erebor with his mouth slightly open and head buzzing. Before he could say anything, another dwarf took the words from his mouth.
"Well that could have gone over better," mumbled Bofur, from where he sat perched on a rock. There was a mutter of agreement from the rest of the Company. The prince shook his head slightly, his eyes continuing to flit at the entrance. He counted seconds once again. It seemed wrong to have their leader be the person who ran in after Bilbo. Thorin was someone they desperately needed to guarantee success, and letting him walk into a kiln that had possibly killed their burglar felt horrifically wrong.
"I have to go after him," Fili rushed, before he ran into the same doorway that his family member had disappeared into only moments before. He could hear several responses as his slipped into the mountain, shouts of protest and several calls of his name. Still, he worked his way into the dim corridor and out of the moonlight. As the darkness surrounded him, he slowed his pace to a walk.
The inside of Erebor was dusty and dank, the air that entered his lungs musty and thick. Every step that he took was careful as his heavy feet and boots were anything but stealthy. His breathing was shallow and quick, as he tried to be as quiet as possible. Even with the dwarf's best efforts, he was still rather clunky and loud, yet somehow managed to round several corners and make his way down further into the mountain without too much cacophony. An anticipation that had built in him since childhood seemed to have already burst as he pressed his back to the wall, listening for signs of life. Fili had spent his entire life groomed to rule the Lonely Mountain, and now that he was there, something inside him felt empty. He panted. The years of isolation made the environment feel like heavy clay, and the very presence of air weighed him down. Through it, he could hear muffled voices.
"We need to go…now!"
"We can't lose it. You can't leave without it." The racket of shifting metal drowned out the reply of what the prince could only assume was the hobbit. The burglar had the familiar tone of panic in his voice. Such movement in the horde could only mean the dragon was approaching. Why were they not already out at the entrance? The gold-haired dwarf unsheathed the sword he had been given in Laketown, and gulped down a few more mouthfuls of air. He spun around the corner with the force of the warrior he was trained to be, weapon at the ready and eyes flashing.
He stopped in his tracks as those flashing eyes came upon the treasure of Erebor. The words he had heard used to describe it were so useless that he couldn't imagine why they had ever been uttered. Everything fell so utterly short of the absolute sea of riches he saw before him that he was unable to complete the motion he had started. Columns reached higher than he thought a room could be. Carved statues of his ancestors, though slightly crumbling and covered in talon rakes, were still a monstrous masterpiece. And through the dwarven kingdom he could see a writhing red creature headed through the horde directly towards the landing where they stood. Fili blinked as he began to comprehend what he was looking at.
The slanted corridor he stood in opened up into a platform through a large arch. After that, the brilliant stonework made its way into a smooth and slightly damaged or eroded staircase. In the archway was Thorin, and across it, the elvish sword that the king had found in the troll's cave back when their adventure began. On the other side of the safe area, was a frazzled and terrified Bilbo, eyes as wide as the coins that filled the room. It didn't make sense. His uncle had gone to assure their halfling's safety, not to forbid him from exiting.
"Fili?" Thorin shouted. "You were supposed to be back at the-"
"Let him come back!" His nephew cut him off. "We haven't much time!" His adrenaline directed his eyes to the approaching dragon.
"We haven't the Arkenstone!" The renewed king hollered. Bilbo attempted to move past the sword, but was stopped by Thorin's firm grip. Fili's brain felt almost swollen in his skull, as if his thoughts were being crushed against the bone. Everything was muddled. Dragon. Bilbo. Safe. Fast. It was a decision that a young Kili would have made, and for a trained prince he knew it was rash and terrible, but Fili raised his own sword. Thorin's eyebrows jumped into the expanse of his forehead. By catching the end of the elvish blade with the center of the manmade weapon, he was able to push it down so the tip of his uncle's sword touched the floor. Understanding the motion, the hobbit leaped over the fallen barrier, and ran further into the corridor, putting his back to the wall so the arch protected him from the dragon's flame.
"Run!" Fili ordered. As he did so, Smaug curled around a pillar placed next to a nearby staircase, mouth snapping. Thorin jerked his sword back just as Fili turned to sprint back to safety with the burglar. The prince's weapon sent him off balance, his foot slipping on a stray coin as he tried to regain his balance. Instead of helping, it sent the dwarf falling onto his back, and sliding onto the exposed platform.
"Fili!" Thorin yelled at the top of his lungs, ducking back behind the protective stone barrier. The heir tumbled off the landing just as Smaug's mouth erupted in flames, scorching the stone where he had just lain. He landed hard into the piles of treasure, scrambling to get his bearings, safety, anything. A sizzling heat clung to his jacket, and he twisted around, trying to put out the flames that still burned in the fabric. A searing bit at his shoulders as he tore the burning coat off of his back. His shoulders and upper arms throbbed and stung like little he had felt before; he was singed. But it was the cry that filled his ears as he slumped against the bottom of the staircase made something inside of him snap. He realized he had only ever heard Thorin scream like that once before.
It was on the day they found the snow soaked with blood.
He hunched against the piles of treasure and his shoulder blades pressed up against the damaged skin on his back. Gritting his teeth, Fili fell forward, grasping with all his strength for his sword that laid only a few paces away. His arm was extended as far as it could go, fingers curling as he tried to find the hilt. The great worm was moving from its spot and wove through the gold like it was fabric. It rumbled with great laughter, drowning out the sound of Thorin's shouting. "Who is he, Oakenshield?" The booming voice taunted as Smaug approached the landing. The prince's fingertips were on the base of the weapon, but he was still forced to drag himself towards it to get a hold of it. Every patch of skin that had touched the jacket resisted him, and cried out for mercy. "An heir? Your son, perhaps?" An intense heat rushed towards the gold-headed dwarf, and as his palm finally closed around his sword, he felt something completely different close around his torso. Fili was jerked upwards between steely talons in the muscular and scaled claws of the last of the firedrakes. "He seems like it. He smells like it." Before either the hobbit or the king could react, his reflexes kicked in, and he immediately began hacking at the dragon's grip with the sword. Instead of damage to the beast, each blow caused sparks to fly and dents to form within the hard metal. After only a couple of good swings he found his shoulders shrieking in agony and his weapon crumpled against the dragon's armor. Fili had never appreciated how small he really was. That was, until he stared down the face of the dragon that had crumbled his birthright and slaughtered his people. His breath was trapped within his throat.
"Stop! Put him down!" The prince's attention changed from the monster to its absolute opposite, as the hobbit scuttled out of the arch. Thorin stood among the shadows, Orcrist raised above his head, ready for attack. Bilbo Baggins was practically shaking as the hollow gaze of Smaug landed upon him. The beast's nostrils flared, and through the scales on his throat and chest, a glow rose towards its mouth. Fili ducked, bracing himself for more fire. He barely glimpsed his uncle backing out of the corridor and into the pathway that led to the thrush's entrance. The prince prayed the dragon hadn't seen it as well. It seemed that the dragon was content with watching the hobbit, as the flames in its breast died down.
"Well luck-wearer," it growled, fiery breathe drying out Fili's skin. "Convince me." The dwarf had a sense that the dragon had no interest in listening to the burglar, but was rather amusing itself with the poor creature's struggle. Bilbo gulped, stuttering as he spoke.
"I think, Smaug, Greatest of the Horde of Erebor," he sputtered, "that you should find this particular dwarf of interest to you, and would regret ridding yourself of him so quickly." The top of the worm's head drew together so that its eyes squinted and nose came back.
"If you plan to distract me like you have seemingly done so many other creatures of lower intelligence, I would recommend that you give up and crawl back to your precious group of dwarves. I will not listen to your fabricated lies any longer than is entertaining. That is the amount of time I give you." Fili slumped within its claws. The talons were squeezing his legs to the point that they began to go numb. If the dragon released any more stress on the heir's body, he would be pushed to the point of losing consciousness. He tried to communicate to Bilbo that they had to move quicker, but the hobbit was preoccupied as he began to speak.
"A child of Durin who left the warmth of home for the cold life," the burglar stated, stepping further away from his safety and towards the firedrake. "One who wandered into the hands of an unknown force for years, until he was recovered from uncertainty by his ancestors enemy." Kili, the prince realized. He's describing Kili. "There he lived his life as a race that was not his, until he was discovered once again by familiar faces." Bilbo bowed his head slightly towards Smaug. Fili squirmed, and let the hobbit continue. "He was brought back with us to this mountain to regain his status of which he was before." The halfling paused, looking expectantly up at the dragon, his breath harsh and nerves clear. The worm greeted it with a toothy grin, almost worthy of being described as a snarl. A rumbling laugh escaped from its expanse for a mouth, as it gripped Fili harder and pulled him farther away from the ground.
"Then I know exactly who you are," it grinned. "The elven dwarf of Mirkwood forest." The prince's response was caught between his teeth. His eyes widened and mouth opened slightly.
"That's impossible. You've been here ever since the fall of Erebor. How could have heard of such a thing?" The skin-crawling laugh returned once more, making Fili flinch. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bilbo sneak a look over one shoulder back into the corridor.
"Just because they are whispers," seethed Smaug, "does not mean they don't echo." The claws gripping the dwarf's torso released and let him fall back down into the gold. The impact knocked the breath out of him, and he lay face down, drawing in as much air as he could to make up for the loss. The beast slunk forward, passing over him like a discarded handkerchief, rounding on Bilbo, eyes bright with malice, teeth barred, and the large spines on his head perked up in attention. "You think you have stalled me, don't you, thief? You think you have made time for your grimy little dwarven friends to sneak in here to attack from hidden places." The hobbit's eyebrows jumped up. "Oh, don't act as though you do not know!" Smaug roared, closing in on the creature. "You think I didn't notice Oakenshield sneaking out of here and your dwarves tiptoeing in here all around me as you told your little story? Do you take me for a fool, riddle-maker?" The burglar stiffened and closed his eyes as the mouth of the dragon drew closer and closer to his tiny body. Fili pushed himself slightly out of the goblets and jewels, and stole a look to his left. Sure enough, within the shadows he could barely see the highlighted face of Nori and the glint of the knives he carried. Realizing he had been seen, the brother of Ri put a finger to his lips, mouthing 'Don't move' before stepping back into a darker area.
"Of course not! Oh…oh…"
"You have run out of pleasantries, thief!" Smaug spit. "And through your naivety you have revealed yourself. To save your friend and find time for your company you have confirmed the phrase you called yourself earlier. Didn't think I would notice it, did you? Barrel-rider! And then you tell me of a dwarf raised by the elves in Mirkwood and didn't realize that you were exposing your journey here." Fili could see poor Bilbo shaking so hard he feared he would crumble. "The way to approach this mountain from those dark forests where the elves dwell is through Laketown. Is it not?" The dragon bellowed. The underside of its hide glowed once again, more ominously this time. "You received help from those wretched men to come and challenge my place here!"
"No no no no. Of course not-"
"No need to lie any longer. I know!" it howled, rearing up on its legs, its wings and therefore arms spreading. "I have no time to search this kingdom for a couple of measly, gold-loving dwarves. I can however, punish the creatures who helped you here to take my horde away from me." Fili tried to pull himself out of the way and bent onto his back as he watched in horror. Smaug turned on the hobbit and flapped its wings so it rose slightly off the ground; just enough to roughly maneuver through the columns and away from the group.
"You can't!" Fili yelled. The firedrake caught itself on a pillar, arching its great neck around it so it could look back at the burglar and prince.
"Try me!" Smaug twisted off the stone, continuing out of view. A crash was heard after a moment of dismayed waiting. The shriek and roar from the monster only confirmed its escape from the mountain. Something inside him broke as Fili let himself lie back into the sea of wealth, and held back tears. He could hear the others as they ran from their hiding places out into the dim light. It was Balin's face that appeared over him first, and the elder dwarf's hand that rested on his shoulder.
"We didn't do anything to stop it!" The prince cried, still not letting the water leak from his eyes. His uncle's advisor didn't look at him.
"We never could do anything to stop it. We had simply hoped the worm had not lived to see this day." Fili could hear the others approaching.
"Smaug will raze Laketown until it is no more than ashes on the waves. Everyone there will die." His body ached and his mind stung, but it did not stop the thought that finally sent a tear rolling down his cheek from entering his brain. He jolted up, supported by Balin's steady hands. "Everyone there will die," Fili repeated and choked on his own words. "Kili was staying in Laketown."
So…I rewrote this chapter about a thousand times, but it never worked out right (Until this draft. Yay!) My Muse sort of flew out of the window for a week or so, and I am really sorry about it. Smaug is really hard to write. _ Regardless, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and have liked reading this little story of mine. If you like this story and want to know when I do update, please follow it. If you really enjoyed it, then please favorite it. Also, as always, I love hearing from you guys so please leave a review with your comments, critiques, predictions, etc. Until next time…