Gold shimmered in Sylwen's vision, glittering coins and treasures strewn around her carelessly. She could have never imagined such an abundance of gold was hidden behind the great walls of Erabor. Clearly she had been mistaken.
Hours turned into days, and days quickly turned into months; To an elf though, time did not mean much. It was just days and nights, one after the other. Due to that train of though, Sylwen had lost count of how long she had been within the mountain. It was something after a few months of course, and even now she wasn't sure how she was still living.
The coins beneath her became a waterfall, creating a musical sound as they rolled down the mountain of treasures that the dragon had created around itself.
"Must you?" The deep thrum of Smaug's voice echoed loudly, his eyes watching as the woman jumped in her spot, finding her fear rather amusing. She was like a mouse trapped in a corner with no where to go.
"Have I anything else to do?" Sylwen replied after a moment of regaining her composure. In the beginning, she had stayed quiet and counted her blessings that the dragon hadn't killed her yet. But as the days dragged on, she began to step out of her comfort zone, exploring the immediate area. If he were to have wanted to kill her, he would have done so already.
A low growl rumbled in the beasts chest, trembling through the horde of treasure, but he did not move from his spot. "You are a curious girl." He continued, his gaze following her timid movements as she stepped across the coins.
"How so?" Sylwen asked, kneeling down as she made a small nest in the coins for her to sit. Considering how large and open the mountain was, she hadn't had to worry about being cold once. She supposed that was the perks of living with a fire drake. The heat rolled off him in waves, keeping her toasty warm.
"You are scared, yet you refuse to show it. Nor have you made any attempt of escape." Smaug lifted his head, watching the young elf.
Pulling her knees up to her chest, Sylwen wrapped her arms around her legs, hugging them. "I figured, if you wanted to kill me you would have done so already. So even though I'm scared, I would rather tread cautiously than sit in one corner and hide." She explained, picking up a chalice from beside her as she examined it. "I'm also not so stupid as to try and escape. I doubt I'd be able to get far before you were upon me." She lifted her head, meeting his gaze head on. "Though I don't know much about your species, from what I witnessed on your attack on Dale, I doubt I'd have a second chance at your leniency."
Smaug was pleasantly surprised at her response, finding himself continuing to be glad that he spared her life. She was proving to be more and more interesting than he first expected.
"Oh, and please don't treat me as a child." Sylwen added in after a moment. "I'm older than I may appear."
Sylwen was rudely awoken from her sleep when the sound of something heavy was thrown down onto the ground, causing the coins to rustle in an unpleasant way.
"What in Eru's name.." She mumbled, raising up from her comfortable nest as she found the great beast landing gracefully amongst his treasure horde, a charred animal lay at his feet.
Sylwen sat up as she stared at him for a few moments, taking in the scene before her. "What is this?" She inquired, raising her gaze to meet Smaug's.
Tucking his wings into his side, he eyed the woman for a few moments. "What does it look like." He asked, lowering himself down onto his treasure.
Sylwen stood up, approaching Smaug slowly. "A dead animal." She observed.
If she could have made a rough estimate of how long she had been here by now, she'd have to guess almost a year, if not already. That being said, the longer she stayed, the further she was able to explore the mountain. Outside of Smaug's immediate line of vision. Granted the dragon had inhuman hearing, so he could hear her whereabouts.
True, it could have been a prime escape opportunity, but she knew the moment she was outside the mountain walls, she was free game for the dragon to swoop in and catch her once again. So sticking to her wiser choices, she stayed within the mountain walls. On top of her findings, she never did come across the few Dwarves that had been left behind that day so long ago. And for the sake of her guilty conscious, she told herself that they had escaped the mountain and reunited with their loved ones.
During her explorations, she had stumbled upon what the Dwarves had left behind. Mostly clothes, of which she had to work with in order to make anything fit her. Along with food. She had thanked Eru when she found the kitchens of the mountain, stock full of food. Not so much fresh, but enough to feed her for awhile.
A wave of hot air washed over her, a low growl emanating from Smaug. "You need food do you not?" He spoke, the irritation clear in his voice. "You're a weaker life form than myself, and-" He stopped when a sound reached his ears.
Laughter.
To say he was caught off guard, was an understatement. The dragon was befuddled at her apparent amusement, not quite seeing what was so funny. Narrowing his eyes, he lowered his head down to her level. "I fail to see what is so funny."
Sylwen was not expecting to find the dragon's head in front of her, letting out a squeak as she fell back into the gold coins, holding her side as she tried to breathe. "I-I'm sorry.." She choked out, letting out a breath of air before she rubbed her eyes. "I mean, I know you're a dragon and all, and you can probably swallow an animal in one gulp, but how in the world do you expect me to eat this? I mean, the meats probably still raw!" She exclaimed, rocking herself into a sitting position as she looked up at the dragon.
Smaug withdrew from her, looking rather offended as he let out a low growl. "Then you can starve." He snarled, clearly miffed as he turned around, returning to his spot as he laid down once again.
Sylwen let out a sigh as she sat there, standing up as she poked the animal with her foot before looking at Smaug. "Dragon's have too much pride." She shook her head, trekking across the gold as she walked up to the dragon. "Smaug.." She reached out a hand, pausing for a moment before pressing her palm against his leg.
Her words her lost as she felt the hard scales beneath her skin, finding it almost mesmerizing. She could bet she was probably the only one to ever touch a dragon and walk away alive. Though right now she shouldn't be so confident. When she raised her gaze finally, her gaze locked with his.
She froze in her spot, like a child caught taking something they shouldn't be. Silence lingered between the two, neither moving. "I didn't mean to offend you.." Sylwen started carefully, removing her hand from his body.
Smaug stared at the woman, her eyes boring into his own. He didn't understand her. He could end her life at a moments notice, and yet she stood before him laughing. He growled in frustration, his tail wrapping around her body as it elicited a screech from her lips. Paying no heed to it, and rather indulging in her fear, he held her in front of his face.
"You are mine." Smaug stated, his gaze taking in her form as she hung loosely against his tail. "Forever."
As the months turned into years, time slowly began to matter naught to Sylwen. The fear she had once held for the dragon slowly began to ebb away, replaced by quite the polar opposite emotion. Though she dared not speak it.
The rhythmic thrum of a heartbeat drew her from her sleep, though the warmth that encircled her made her want to fall right back into her stupor. Emerald eyes slowly opened, feeling the light rise and fall of the dragon beside her.
Sylwen slowly sat up, feeling the reptiles tail tighten around her in response to her movements, a small smile pulling at her lips as she dropped her gaze, running her hands across his tail. Smaug was somewhere in between a heavy and a light sleeper. She couldn't quite tell just where though.
Somewhere along the way, something blossomed between dragon and elf, leaving the woman with thousands of questions running through her mind that she was far too afraid of voicing. The dragon was the epitome of pride, to what extent though, she did not want to know. With the fear of ruining whatever good was sprouting here, she kept her thoughts and feelings to herself, instead enjoying the company of the fire drake.
Smaug's eyes slowly slid open, his fiery orbs glancing around the hall once. They then shifted to the sleeping elf that lay tucked against his side.
A slow growl rumbled in his chest, his tail tightening around her as he pulled her tighter against him. He could have sworn he heard movement somewhere inside the mountain. The possible threat loomed in the air, lighting a fire deep in the dragon's chest.
Were they were to steal from him?
His gaze once again shifted to Sylwen, who was fast asleep, unaware of the danger that lurked somewhere in the halls. His eye's burned possessively at the thought of someone taking her from him.
"Over my dead body!" He roared suddenly, startling Sylwen from her sleep.
"What in Valar's name are you howling about?" Sylwen mumbled sleepily, wiggling her arms free of Smaug's giant tail, rubbing her eyes.
The looked up at the dragon in question, who's gaze darted around the vast hall.
"Someone is hear." His voice was low, eyes peeled for any movement.
"Smaug, there's no one here." Sylwen said softly beneath a yawn.
A low hiss emanated from between his teeth.
"I can hear any noise that may resound from the ends of this kingdom." He snarled out. "I would know the sound of footsteps." His gaze swiveled to rest on her.
"Just as I hear when you entered the mountain. Those canty Dwarves have much heavier footsteps than that of an elf. I paid no heed to the rushing footsteps that lead out of the mountain, until I heard the soft sound of footsteps, leading inside."
Sylwen listened to him gloat about his senses, rolling her eyes a bit.
"Okay, show off." She muttered under her breath, as she could have sworn she saw a smirk curl at his reptilian lips. She then squeezed out from under his tail, standing up and stretched.
"What are you doing?" Smaug was quick to react as he watched her get up, stretching her slim body.
"I'm going to investigate your intruder." Sylwen replied easily, pushing her hair over her shoulder.
"No." Smaug's voice was stiff, his tail curling around her midsection once again, pulling her against him.
Sylwen was caught off guard by the act, her jewel-like eyes widening in surprise.
"What has gotten into you tonight?" She asked in exasperation.
Smaug growled lowly, lifting her off the ground as he held her close to his face, her gaze burning into her own.
"Have you forgotten? You are mine. I will not allow some petty thief to steal that which is mine!"
Sylwen had to cover her ears to prevent herself from going deaf from the force of his voice, her gaze never leaving his. Only did she remove her hands when he settled again, letting out a quiet laugh as she reached her hands forward, placing them on the muzzle of his nose.
She watched the emotion flash behind the fire in his eyes, clearly confused and slightly offended by her actions. Other than sleeping at his side, she had never quite had much physical contact with the dragon. Nothing to this much of affection either.
"They cannot steal that of which does not want to be stolen." She told him softly, spreading her fingers open as she gently stroked the scales of his nose.
Unbeknownst to Smaug, the tension slowly lifted from his body, finding himself relaxing against her touch. Ht wasn't quite sure what it was, but the way her soft hands caressed his skin..
"This is just as much my home now." Sylwen continued, watching as he began to relax much to her surprise.
Smaug's gaze locked with hers once again, his grip loosening around her small frame. "You should know of the consequences if you are to leave these walls." He told her, his claws unraveling from around her as he placed her amongst the gold horde once again.
Sylwen wasn't expecting him to give in so easily, but she felt her heart leap in her chest. Despite his warning, he was actually putting his trust in her that she would not leave. She couldn't help but smile softly, lifting her hands as she gently placed them on his mouth.
He stirred slightly at her touch, clearly not used to physical contact. His eyes watched her, curious of her actions. It was then he felt the soft touch of her lips against his skin, his eyes burning brightly at the action.
"I'll be back." Sylwen turned from the dragon, quick to escape the room after her actions. On the wall near the hall entrance, hung her bow and arrows that she had left behind all those years ago. She did not want any blood shed, but if it had to come to that to chase the intruder from the mountain, then so be it.
Slowly her eyes fluttered open, bringing her back from the abyss of sleep. It was dark, shifting slightly as her consciousness came back to her, hearing the ring of coins beneath her.
The reminder of where she was, and more importantly, what she was.
Slowly and carefully, Sylwen sat up as she looked down at the horde of gold coins and treasure beneath her.
The constant reminder that she was just like every other piece of gold in Erabor.
The pride of 1000 years filled the great dragon before her. The emotion was so strongly wired into the beast, that no other emotion could ever be stronger that his pride.
This, was the painful realization that Sylwen had come to.
After spending so many years in the mountain with Smaug, she had grown to love the beast. Although she knew Smaug could never love her as she did him, she had foolishly put what little hope she could muster, into the dragon that he could find some part of him that could love her back, even if just a little.
Her emerald orbs flickered to the horde of gold she stood upon. But this. In the dragon's eyes, this was worth more to him than she was.
No matter how much her home laid within the warmth in the corner of his heart, she couldn't forgive him.
And so, when night fell and the dragon fell into his slumber, the elf escaped the mountain, broken hearted and alone.
Authors Note: And here in ends the Smaug arc! So much emotions. Next chapter will be regrouping on the shore and Sylwen dealing with her new feelings and regained memories. Stay tuned for more ;)