Disclaimer: The Hobbit and its characters belong to J. R. R. Tolkien.
Thank you for your reviews! I'm so happy you are enjoying it. Keep them coming! x0x0x
(to DONOVAN94) Thank you so much! Glad you like it, and LOL! I didn't even realize that I had inserted a How to Train Your Dragon reference. That was purely by coincidence haha! But thank you for your support xoxo
(to Fuchsia Grasshopper) Wow, thank you! And haha yes, he does look like a wyvern. I noticed they did that with the dragons in Harry Potter as well. xD I might go back to a couple chapters just to revise and fix a few grammatical errors and add some detail, but other than that they will stay the same! Thank you for the love! Xoxo
Chapter#8: Battle of the Five Armies
Evangeline had been surprised when a small thrush appeared by her head, its wings flapping rapidly as it zipped around, chirping incoherently. Smaug turned his head towards the bird, seeming surprised it would willingly come so close to him, and he eyed it suspiciously as it buzzed around Evangeline's face like a hummingbird.
"A thrush," she said, with quiet curiosity. "A messenger bird."
"Messenger?" he inquired.
She leaned in to the small creature with attentive eyes. "What is it? What have you come to tell me?"
It fluttered around in front of her, and to Smaug it looked alarmed, but he did not understand a word the tiny creature was saying. Apparently Evangeline could understand just fine, however, and with the way her eyes suddenly widened he realized what the bird had said hadn't been anything good.
"What?" she gasped. "When?"
More chirping.
"How many are there?" she demanded. "How many Orcs?"
That caught Smaug's attention. In a flash, he was standing bolt upright, startling the thrush momentarily. "What about Orcs?" he hissed venomously.
"They've attacked Erebor!" Evangeline exclaimed, she, too, having jumped to her feet.
His eyes snapped to her. Orcs? Attacking the mountain? He felt his blood boil, but before he could get a word in, Evangeline was already talking.
"I need to go to them!" she blurted in a panic.
"You are in alliance with the Dwarves?" he asked in blatant disgust and disbelief.
"No, the Elves! They have traveled to Erebor to claim their share of the treasure—"
"Ha!"
"Smaug, listen to me! I have to help them!"
He looked down at her. "Do not tell me you're asking for my help to rescue Elves."
"I am asking for your help to kill an army of Orcs!"
"Are you suggesting I go back to the mountain?" There was a hint of sly mockery in his tone that made her blood run cold. "I must admit, lamb… I'm shocked."
"THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU AND YOUR PRECIOUS GOLD!" she boomed, taking him aback. "I can't believe you just said that!"
"What did you think?" he snapped back at her. "That because you saved me I wouldn't eventually go back to the mountain? I remain thankful towards you, but those Dwarves and Lake Men are an entirely different story! They shot me with a black arrow!"
"You demolished their town! You destroyed the city of Dale! You took away Erebor! Of course they are going to try and kill you when given the chance!" she yelled. "What, did you think that you wouldn't acquire any bitter enemies?"
"Now you sound like that insufferable barrel rider!"
"Barrel rider?"
"Never mind!" He turned away from her suddenly, and her eyes widened when she realized he was about to spread wing. He was going to leave her!
"HEY!" Quickly, she picked up a rock, and she boldly chucked it at his head. It hit its mark, and he released a roar of fury before turning back to her with enraged eyes. "DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME HERE!" she screamed.
"What did you think was going to happen?" he snarled at her. "That I would go soft? That your tender eyes and kind smile would manipulate my mind and transform my heart? Those fools deserve their fate! You speak of greed many a time. They are all guilty of it! Dwarves are famous for it, in fact! Even your kin would go to war for their share, as they have. They banished you from your homeland! Why should you risk your life for any of them?"
She stared at him, and there was something in her eyes that made him pause. Her eyes could have turned the fires of Hell to ice.
"You're right," she said after a moment, and his gaze reflected his surprise. "Why should I help them? After all… all any of them are is thieves. And how foolish of me to put my life on the line for a fire-breathing dragon, knowing that he is, in fact, a famously merciless killer of countless villages and cities—murderinghundreds of innocent men, women, and children for his own selfish, petty indulgences." Her words dropped in degrees with each syllable she uttered, and she continued, completely unfazed by the glare he was drilling down on her with. "I knew who you were the second I saw you," she continued, voice a cold hiss. "I remember it clear as day… the great and terrible dragon… seeing you weak, bleeding, and helpless on the cold floor of the cave… barely able to lift your head to face me. Smaug the Magnificent, not even able to conjure up a single spit of flame to ward off a weak little female the size of his eye."
"ENOUGH!" he snarled. He snapped his jaws in her face menacingly, but she boldly stood her ground, holding her head high in defiance; for she knew his threats were empty.
"I could have killed you, Smaug!" she yelled back at him, silencing him once more. "All it would have taken was a simple push against that arrow, and it would have fatally pierced your heart beyond aid. I could have watched you gradually bleed out internally—watching as the life slowly… painfully… drained from your eyes until you were lying dead on the floor of that cave. I knew what horrors you had committed, and I was well aware of what you may do to me and others once I had healed you."
"Then why did you help me?" he growled viciously, angered by her defiant and taunting words. His eyes glowed bright golden and orange flame, promising death if she so much as dared to utter another bold string of mockery in his face.
"Because I'm not like you," she said frigidly, voice having lowered to a low, wintry tone. "I don't kill those who are weaker than me. You may be stronger than me now, Smaug, but when I found you, you were barely clinging to life. I spared you because you asked me to—even though you did not ask verbally," she said the last part promptly, holding a hand up for silence when he went to interject. "The eyes are what give every creature away."
"You helped me because you were afraid," he sneered.
"I helped you because I saw you needed it!" she yelled. "Just like you defended me from those Orcs! I needed your help!"
He silenced.
"I know you're a dragon. I know what you're capable of! I know what you have done! But I also know what else you're capable of."
He snorted. "Are you seriously trying to reach—"
"All I ask of you is that you help me. Help me save the only family I have! Help me take revenge on the ones who burned down my home and attempted to rape me!"
He narrowed his eyes at the last part.
"Please, Smaug!"
He did not like this at all. His heart felt like it was being torn two ways for the first time in his life, and he abhorred her for it. Damn her, he hated her for it. If anything, it only made him want to kill more.
Meanwhile, the Orcs had reached Erebor, and the five armies clashed in a bloody, raging slaughter that already left many casualties lying unmoving on the battlefield. Thorin Oakenshield did not pass an Orc without impaling it with his blade, cutting down the enemy left and right. At last, after over sixty years, he had managed to reclaim his homeland, and he would be damned if it were to be taken over by an army of goblins. As he drove his blade through a warg's skull, he took a moment to scan his eyes over the battlefield, ensuring the safety of all the Dwarves from the party. For a moment his eyes had lingered on his two nephews, Fili and Kili, as they fought gallantly side-by-side.
The Great Eagles let out high-pitched screeches as they snatched Orcs from the ground and tossed them off the cliffs and mountainside, and they fell shrieking to the jagged rocks below. Upon the kill, Thranduil the Elvenking and the lords kept the goblins at bay, firing their arrows with acute precision while others danced with their blades, their motions seemingly effortless as they cut down the enemy. Crimson and black blood stained the grass and hillside as the battle raged on. The Men of Lake Town proved worthy of battle even without training for such carnage, brandishing their straight swords proudly as Bard the Bowman bravely lead them in battle. Elf, Dwarf, eagle, and man fought alongside each other in a merciless charge against the enemy. From the forest, a massive bear had burst through the trees, which released a deafening roar that sent goblins running with their tales tucked. Others quickly dodged Beorn, as the skin-changer viciously tore apart his most hated enemy.
Then suddenly an outlandishly strong wind billowed over the land, causing the trees to groan and the grass to lash about like whips. The great pines leaned, moaning with the strain against their roots, and a few looked up in question, including Thorin. His eyes scanned the skies inquisitively and with no fair amount of alarm. Then all at once he heard screams that somehow differed from the piercing cries of the fallen. These were screams of pure fright, and it was at hearing these shrieks of terror that others turned their eyes to the sky. Any who had ever had an encounter with the beasts knew the telltale signs of their arrival—to tell the difference between hurricane and wing wind. Oakenshield felt his heart take a plummet into his stomach, as the most terrible dread settled within his gut and froze his blood in his veins.
"No…"
"DRAGOOONNN!" a voice screamed over them all.
Heads shot up, Dwarf, Elf, man, and Orc alike at the announcement, and Thorin stared in utter horror as the beast came flying overhead from above the pines, wings causing a fierce wind in his wake. Many came to a standstill as they watched in barefaced terror and awe, as the dragon soared overhead.
"NOO!" Thorin and Bard had yelled in unison.
Evangeline scanned the ground below with keen, narrowed eyes from her position seated on Smaug's shoulders. Orcs continued to pile in from over the hill, brandishing malevolent scimitars and catapults of flame. Just looking at them made her blood boil with uncontainable hate. As she witnessed the sight of her fallen kin, her gentle nature was eliminated completely, and she gave Smaug's shoulder a firm pat to gain his full attention.
"What do you say to butchering some Orcs?" she asked, with a cold enthusiasm.
He smiled back at her. With a great flap of his wings, he rounded about across the battlefield to where the Orcs were piling in. He landed his feet against the mountain side, and with his immense strength he ripped free a huge boulder before taking off towards the hill. Once he was clear of the other four armies, he released his grip, sending the boulder plummeting downwards on top of the Orcs. They screeched and knocked each other over in their scramble to get away, and as the massive rock hit the ground many of them were knocked off their feet from the impact. It rolled, taking out many more as it went, and they rounded back over the field. Smaug's wings alone knocked the goblins off their feet, as he snatched them from the ground with his claws, much like the eagles, while Evangeline shot her bow and arrow from atop his back. The others, having had no choice but to continue fighting, watched on in a mixture of fear and confusion, wondering as to why the great dragon was not attacking them as well.
Arrows shot passed them as Orcs fired their bows, aiming for both Evangeline and Smaug. She was shielded by his body, however, and their arrows were useless against Smaug's impenetrable armor. He let out dark laugh at their sad attempts.
"That's rich. Your arrows cannot pierce me!" he bellowed.
"Smaug!" Evangeline called over the volume of his wings. When she saw him glance back at her, she yelled, "Take out the fire catapults!"
"I'll do more than take them out." Swooping down, the goblins surrounding the catapults flee like ants as the dragon assaulted them with clawed feet. Gripping one between his toes, he ripped it from its post and used his bodyweight to turn in the air and throw it over the battlefield. As it landed, its fired erupted in a burst of flames, torching the enemy. During this maneuver, his back was exposed during the turn, and Evangeline barely dodged an arrow that was shot at her. This did not go unnoticed by Smaug, and he turned about with an angered snarl.
"Never mind them!" Evangeline shouted. "Fly me over the lords!"
"Why?"
"I came here to kill Orc, and that's exactly what I'm going to do!" Setting her bow over her shoulder, she reached back and removed her blades. "Kill as many as you can! That shouldn't be hard for you! Pick me up at the top of the mountain!"
Silence.
"Smaug!"
"All right!" Growling, he took a steep swoop towards the ground, and Orcs ducked sharply to avoid being hit by his belly as he flew overhead. The moment he was low enough, Evangeline leapt from his back, flipping in the air as she brought forth her blades. She lashed her arms out upon landing, beheading two goblins in the process, and then cutting down two more in her path after she was on her feet. Others had watched in amazement as the She-Elf jumped from the dragon's shoulders, some staring after the dragon in obvious confusion. Smaug watched as Evangeline disappeared into the crowd, blades swinging as their ring blended in with the others. If she was harmed, it would not just be the Orcs who suffered his wrath. Blowing a puff of air from his nostrils, he turned back to his slaughter with an even greater intensity.
Evangeline ran up a boulder as she brought her bow from behind her back, and she leapt off with a fierce battle cry, firing an arrow into the skull of a goblin. She landed in a summersault, where she cut off a few at the knees, basking in their cries of pain as onlookers speculated between swings of their own. Her motions were fluid as water, looking as if she were dancing a ballet as she turned and twisted, blades swinging with lethal grace. Unbeknownst to her, she was being watched from afar by a pair of stormy blue eyes.
Thorin had witnessed the Elven woman leap from Smaug's back, and he was left staring in awe whenever he gained the chance to glance her way. He hadn't known what to think when he saw her perched on the beast's shoulders whilst shooting arrows at their foe, a possibly even fiercer hatred in her eyes for the goblins that he himself had. It had become apparent to him that she was the cause for the dragon attacking where the Orcs were piling in, but why would Smaug listen to her? Did she have him under some sort of spell? He wasn't the only one gawking at the female Elf. Atop the hill she was gradually making her way towards, the Elvenking was watching her with equal disbelief, a look of shock consuming his ice blue eyes. She did not notice him as she arrived at the top of the kill, cutting down a goblin that ran at her and sending his lifeless corpse toppling down the slope.
"Evangeline!" he called to her sharply.
She whipped about, and when her eyes met his, her lips parted in disbelief. "Lord Thranduil!"
"What are you doing here?" he exclaimed loudly in the Elven tongue.
"A thrush alerted me to the war. I'm here to aid my kin in battle." She smiled at him, but all he had time to do was blink at her before they were assaulted by another slew of goblins.
Many of the goblins had begun to flee, mainly because of Smaug's unbeatable fury, but also because their numbers had begun to dwindle dangerously due to the combined forces of the other armies. Evangeline looked towards the sky and brought her fingers to her mouth to emit a loud whistle. Her call was answered a moment later, as one of the great eagles swooped down, and she leapt onto its back.
"Get back, Uncle!" Fili shouted, the sword in his hands dripping with Orc blood. Together he and his brother Kili defended Thorin from assault, but they were quickly being overpowered. Kili was knocked back by a blow, staggering into his brother with a shout. Then, just as the Orc was going in for the kill an arrow rocketed through the back of his skull, protruding out from the front with a spurt of blackened blood. Kili, eyes wide, looked towards the sky to see Evangeline atop the eagle, and as they circled in the air she fired more arrows around them. Her dark waves whipped wildly in the wind, her eyes dark and filled with a strangely beautiful bloodlust as she cleared the goblins around them. For a moment he found himself admiring her, but she suddenly turned her head over her shoulder and yelled:
"SMAUG!"
The eagle gained altitude, and the next thing they were aware of Smaug was flying passed, the wind of his wings nearly knocking them off their feet. Evangeline leapt from the eagle's back and landed below on his, and he swiftly carried her off.
"Who is she?" Fili yelled.
"I have no idea!"
Evangeline peered down to where the three Dwarves fought, watching as the black haired archer stared up at her with wondering eyes. "We have to help them!" she called to Smaug.
"I did not come here to rescue my enemy!" he snarled.
"Well, I did! Either help me or drop me off!" she snapped back.
"They deserve their fate!"
"SAVE THEM!"
"Or what?" he mocked her.
"Or I will jump off your back!" she threatened.
Releasing a roar of fury, he turned back. Fine. If she wanted him to save them he would, but that didn't mean he wouldn't hesitate to destroy them once this battle was over. A vast clearing formed as he landed in front of Oakenshield and his nephews—all except the Dwarves of his party, who ran forward to his aid. Their expressions morphed into disbelief as they witnessed the She-Elf atop the great dragon.
"Come!" she called to them. "Hurry!"
Not one of them moved.
"Why should we trust you?" Thorin yelled at her.
"YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS, DWARF!" Smaug boomed, before Evangeline could so much as think of an answer.
"Bloody hell, why the hell not!" said Balin, and he was the first to run forward and climb on. The others almost immediately followed, knowing they did not have much of a choice aside from death. Thorin, who was the last to board, barely had time to find a grip before Smaug was taking back to the air. He landed upon the front entrance to the mountain, and the moment his feet touched the ground the Dwarves leapt off, not wanting to stay on longer than they had to. They quickly backed away from the massive dragon in caution, watching as Evangeline descended from his shoulders. Smaug then came to stand at the edge of the cliff, and he released a deafening roar, its volume so great that shook the land below. The war abruptly came to a standstill, even the goblins, as a million heads snapping up towards the dragon in a mixture of terror and alarm.
"ENOUGH!" Smaug boomed. "YOU FIGHT FOR WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN CLAIMED!"
The roar of battle had ceased completely as if death had claimed them all, Orc, Elf, Dwarf, man, and even eagle having frozen to stare up at Smaug with large eyes. Not one dared to speak against this massive foe. Smaug emitted a low growl, his huge bulk casting an ominous shadow over the battlefield. Behind him, Thorin glared at his back with darkened eyes.
"I speak to all!" Smaug continued. "This is your one and only chance. Leave now, and I shall not pursue you. Should you stay and attempt to continue battle, I will take much pleasure in slaughtering you," he hissed darkly. His golden eyes continued to scan over them through a calculative, narrowed gaze. "You have until sundown. That is my final word. Any who remain after sunset will die."
"This is not your kingdom!" Thorin shouted in his pride and rage.
Evangeline's head snapped back at him at the same moment Smaug's did, only her eyes read alarm while Smaug's read fury.
"Smaug—" Evangeline attempted to talk him down, but he merely stepped over her and slowly stalked towards the group of Dwarves, much like a panther stalking its prey just before it pounced.
"I plucked you from the battlefield for one reason only, Dwarf," he said lowly. "And now that reason has expired."
Evangeline's eyes widened, and as she watched the group of Dwarves slowly back up—and the bloodlust in Smaug's eyes—she knew that if she didn't do something now they were all going to die. Almost without thinking, she dashed forward just as Smaug opened his jaws, and she threw herself in front of Thorin and his party right as Smaug was about to clamp his jaws down. Even the least of the wise knew not to step in-between a dragon and his kill.
Because we all know Thorin is slightly stupid like that. If it wasn't obvious who would come out bigger, I would suggest those two just lay them out and measure 'em already. xD And for those who might be wondering, our little Hobbit will be along soon! Keep the reviews coming! I love seeing your responses xoxo