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Chapter#10: Heart of Gold

Evangeline was the first to respond, running forward and pushing her way through the others in haste. She walked straight passed Thorin, whose eyes remained glued to Smaug in absolute shock. They all barely moved an inch as she knelt by the dragon's head and checked him for signs of life, pushing up his eyelid to try his dilation. His eyes were rolled back in his head, but the faint rising of his chest told her he was still alive. A movement caught the corner of her eye, and she lifted her head in alert. The first thing she saw was the hem of frayed, grey robes, and the butt of a staff came to rest on the ground at the person's feet. Slowly, her eyes scanned upwards, and she was met with the face of an old man with a long grey beard and pointy hat.

"Gandalf!" Bilbo exclaimed.

Thorin took a step forward. "What have you done?" he asked, having recovered from his shock for the most part.

"It looks to me like I just saved your life; though, I am not too sure as to why," Gandalf replied curtly.

"Well, it is nice to know there are such spells!" Thorin growled aggressively. "It would have been good to know before the beast burned down Lake Town—before we sent in Master Baggins!"

"If I recall," said Gandalf none too patiently, "I told you to wait. To not enter the mountain without me."

"You were not there!"

"Quiet!" Dwalin cut in sharply. "The beast stirs!"

Evangeline had been stroking the bridge of Smaug's nose when his eyes had suddenly snapped open, causing her to retract her hand sharply—startled. Smaug couldn't have been more confused if he'd woken up in the cave. Blinking, he stared up at the woman knelt beside him, who he realized was Evangeline, but she looked different. It was after another moment or so that he realized he was looking up at her. Evangeline saw it in his eyes that he had come to some sort of realization of what had happened, and she winced before jumping to her feet in alarm. She backed up a few feet as she began to move, and she swiftly turned to usher the Dwarves back with haste. They did, putting a fair distance between themselves and Smaug as he clumsily staggered to his feet. At first he was horribly uncoordinated, as he looked around at his surroundings with wide eyes.

Everything was huge, as if he were staring through a magnifying glass. The ceiling seemed to stretch up for miles, and he stumbled back a bit as he peered upwards. His whole body felt unnaturally light, causing him to fumble with his movements as he stepped about on uncoordinated legs like a newborn colt. He jumped when he felt a hand on him, and he whipped about sharply.

"Steady, Smaug!" Evangeline said, eyeing him warily.

He stared at her wide-eyed at seeing she was standing just two heads shorter than him. Her eyes were large and cautious, her hands held up before her like a person trying to calm a spooked animal. A quick glance behind her at the Dwarves made him freeze where he was, his already wide eyes growing even more in size. Even they were bigger, staring at him like he had sprouted two extra heads. That was when he lost it.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING?!" he practically screamed.

"Go outside!" Evangeline ordered the party, and they hastily did as she said without complaint nor argument.

She approached him slowly, wary despite his shrunken size. Downsized or not, he was still the size of a huge grizzly bear with two equally powerful wings, strong tail, razor sharp claws, and a mouthful of teeth. He was yelling at her, demanding to be changed back as she continued her attempts to calm him down.

"Smaug, easy—easy! Shhh—hey!" Taking a chance, she took a daring step closer to him and grabbed his head in her hands by gripping the two larger, horn-like spikes to keep him steady. This stilled him momentarily, and he stopped fidgeting as her voice reached his ears, speaking to him in the Elven tongue. Her voice was calm and soothing, and he found himself listening despite his rage and panic. When he had stilled enough, she had rested her forehead against his, her hand moving to rub under his jaw.

"Easy. Your heart is still tender. Relax, Smaug… relax…"

Thorin was pacing restlessly, hands clamped together behind his back. The others were no acceptation, fidgeting about while constantly glancing back towards the mountain's entrance with trepid eyes. The only one who stood in complete stillness was Gandalf, puffing idly on his pipe as he stared at the entrance with calculative eyes. Beside him stood Bilbo, who appeared the most timid out of all of them. Dirt covered his face like the others from battle. He craved to take a bath, but that would have to wait. The moment he had seen Smaug carry the others to the mountain, he had rushed towards them as fast as his little legs could take him, and what a situation he had walked into. Briefly, he wondered to himself why Gandalf simply hadn't just killed Smaug. If he could shrink such a massive creature, certainly he should be capable of finishing him off? It became clear he was not the only one contemplating this.

"What are we doing?" said Thorin, as he turned to face them all. "These are our lands! The beast is weakened. We should take our chance and finish him!"

"Don't be a fool," said Gandalf dismissively, as if he were talking to a rowdy teenager. "He may not be able to destroy cities with as much ease, but he most certainly can still take you, and probably a small village."

"Oi! The She-Elf approaches!" Dwalin announced.

They turned their heads to see Evangeline walking towards them, unharmed but strict in the eyes. Thorin was the first to stride up to her, his own eyes containing the obvious desire to grab her by her pretty throat, but before he could so much as open his mouth to speak she had her blade out and held across his throat. He froze when he felt the cool metal touch his jugular, but she made no move to make a lethal blow.

"I suggest you keep your voices down; for if I can hear you so can he," Evangeline said, her voice foreboding.

"Why does he show you lenience?" Thorin demanded.

She shifted her eyes to his coldly. "Maybe because I haven't insisted on humiliating him or shot a black arrow through his chest," she purred, a bit scornfully.

"The beast deserved it!" growled Kili.

Her eyes snapped to him sharply. "What part of keep your voice down is so hard for you to understand, Dwarf?"

"Are you his pet or something?" asked Thorin.

"I am not his, nor he mine," she answered evenly. "I came to aid my kin in battle. He had a score to settle with the Orcs, as did I."

"It appears more than that to me," he sneered.

Scoffing, she removed her blade from his throat. "I don't really care what you think of me, to be quite honest." She nodded back to the mountain. "You may go inside now. I suggest you tend to your wounds and clean yourselves up."

"Where is Smaug?" asked Ori.

"He's gone to the upper towers of the mountain. As you can assume, he is under a bit of stress. If I were you, I would consider it a blessing he hasn't run out to kill all of you."

"Which you have done a miracle of a job keeping him from doing." Balin stepped forward and gave her a small nod. "You have my thanks, lass. If you would care to, could I have a word?"

Evangeline eyed him carefully.

"Your leader needs to learn to measure his pride," she mused, as she walked through the halls with Balin at her side. "I can only imagine what other troubles it has gotten him in."

"Thorin can be a wee bit thickheaded, aye." He nodded. "But nevertheless, I am proud to have him as a leader. Once you get to know him, you will see his intentions are good."

"I did not come here to speak badly of Dwarves. I understand where Thorin is coming from. However, he might want to rethink his methods when dealing with his enemies."

Balin sighed but nodded. "Aye, it has put us in a few rough spots, but he is still our leader. He has dug us out of many sticky situations." He looked up at her then. "May I ask you a question, if it isn't too bold of me?"

"You want to know how I have managed to tame Smaug." Turning her head, she looked down at him knowingly. She had been expecting this. "He is not tamed in the slightest, so don't grow too brave. I cannot keep guaranteeing your safety around him."

"But why does he show you lenience?"

"I saved his life. I removed the arrow and nursed him back to strength. In return, I have earned his respect, but I cannot say how long that will last should I keep throwing myself between him and you." Her tone was grave.

"What possessed you to help such a monstrosity?" he asked with disbelief. "No offense, lass, but that is one of the last things I would expect from an Elf."

"I am a guardian of life. I do not kill unless in self defense. The dragon was not attacking me." A lengthy silence followed after that, but then she returned her eyes to him, a softer glint swimming in her green orbs. "Have you ever taken the time to just look into a creature's eyes? They can tell you so much—more than you could ever know by simply talking to or interacting with them."

He stared. "And, uh… did you see something? In Smaug?"

"It may not seem so now, but I sincerely believe I have made the right decision in letting him live."

"With all due respect, lass… I'm not so sure."

Her eyes fell.

The sun had gradually receded beneath the treetops, casting great shadows over the land as the golden glow of the sunset bathed the mountain in a gentle aura. Standing at the mountain's front entrance, Gandalf gazed over the abandoned battlefield with unreadable eyes, pipe emitting rings of smoke that slowly drifted over the trees.

"Can she be trusted?" he asked through means of the mind.

There was a lengthy silence.

"She is a loyal friend, but beware the dragon," replied the voice of Galadriel. "His loyalty lies in her, and her only."

He looked up curiously, briefly removing his lips from the pipe. "Loyalty?"

"She spared the beast from certain death. She is a protector of life. The dragon has grown protective of her."

Evangeline walked slowly through the halls of the mountain in search of Smaug. So far, the dragon was nowhere to be found, but she was about to stumble upon the horde that had caused the feud between he and the Dwarves for nearly over sixty years. Turning a corner, she descended a set of stairs, but the sight she was presented with upon reaching the bottom was one that would forever be tattooed to her memory. Gold. Piles upon piles of it covered the huge room's floor in glinting, magnificent dunes. Diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, crystals, rubies, and just about every other type of gem lay in a vast gathering, and it seemed to never end. The utterly glorious gleam from the gold reflected against her skin like the sunset, the sparkle mirroring in her gem eyes. Because she was so shocked from the sight before her, she didn't notice the Hobbit turning the corner behind her, watching her from a safe distance. His eyes watched her a moment, and then darted around, as if he were scared the dragon would suddenly appear.

"Is he here?" he asked timidly.

She turned to him. "What?"

"Smaug."

"No…. Not that I'm aware of."

He cautiously emerged from his hiding spot and walked over to join her, staring out at the treasure horde. "I was overwhelmed myself."

She glanced down at him, and then returned her eyes to the horde, shaking her head. "It's too much. Nothing good could possibly come from it."

He sighed. "In truth, it has caused many dilemmas."

She looked back to him. "Bilbo Baggins, correct?"

"Yes." He held out his hand. "The… burglar."

She smiled and took his hand briefly. "I thought your name was Barrel Rider."

He smiled back weakly. "How much has he said to you?"

"Not as much as you would think."

"…Why would you save him?"

Her eyes fell briefly, and then shifted to him. "There are many things in this world we do not understand… and one of the greatest is dragons."

"Well, what is there to understand, really? Smaug… destroys cities…. He robs and murders—"

"I know what happened between you and Thorin, Master Baggins."

He silenced.

"Imagine Thorin in the form of a dragon. They are not so different. You saw what happened. His greed started a war. Even if the Orcs did not come, the battle with my kin would have been inevitable."

His eyes fell, defeated. What sounded like an inward sigh left him, and after a moment he nodded his head with a frank shrug of his shoulders. "I suppose you're right. Do you really believe Smaug has the ability to be good? Thorin may be foolish at times, but he's honorable."

"I believe everyone is just as capable of good as they are bad." She smiled faintly. "Time will tell, I suppose. As of right now, I need to go find our dragon before he finds your Dwarf friends."

She found him towards the top of the mountain, laying in the opening of one of the stakeout ledges. His scales shimmered gently in the glow of the setting sun, eyes scanning over the land with a hawk-like vigilance. A quiet puff left his nostrils, eyes shifting back at the sound of her footsteps, and he turned his head as she approached. Just by looking at him, she could tell he was a level beyond humiliated. Despite their earlier quarrel, she smiled softly.

"Don't look so shamed. You're still a force to be reckoned with."

All she received in response was a dark, withering stare, and he turned his head back forward. Stepping forward, she stood beside his shoulder and placed her hand on his neck, looking out over the land briefly.

"Remember what I said to you when you asked why I spared you?"

He looked down at her.

"True courage is knowing, now when to take a life, but when to spare one." Her eyes held soft wisdom, but he could have sworn he saw a twinge of pride. "You didn't kill them. You helped me. I still don't know why you did it… but thank you, Smaug."

The way she was looking at him was like nothing he had ever seen before, and he realized she was proud of him. Amongst her pride lingered traces of relief and gratitude as well. He didn't speak, not quite sure what to say.

"I made you something."

He perked up in interest, and looked down as she brought forth a small bundle of cloth. Holding it with one hand, she undid the folds with the other, and he was presented with a beautiful, shimmering gold piece. It only took him a moment to realize it was an exact replica of a scale—of his scales. His eyes shifted up to her, at a loss for words. She smiled at him.

"May I put it on?" she asked.

Unable to find his words, he just nodded vaguely after a moment. Her response was to smile, and she stepped towards him. Now he understood why she had brought the sealant with her. He wasn't sure what to feel as she fitted the golden scale to the vulnerable spot on his chest, or why he suddenly felt the urge to smile.

"It's fitting. Smaug the Golden Heart." She smiled up at him.

He rolled his eyes, which earned a chuckle from her. For a moment all she did was stare up at him, and he stared back with indecipherable eyes. She knew he was attempting to analyze her, but she said nothing of it. Instead, she just lifted her hand and waited, and when he moved his head into her touch she feared her smile would tear her skin.

"I was worried I was making a mistake when I chose to save you," she said softly.

He stared into her eyes, waiting for her to continue.

"Now I couldn't be more glad." She smiled gently, and he could see it in her eyes that she meant every word. "I see a greatness in you that has yet to be discovered, Smaug. In time, I hope you will see it for yourself."

Sorry for the long wait. I've been consumed with college, work, and preparing my book to be published. Hope you like this chapter, and thank you to those who still follow this story. xoxo