A new chapter already? Yes, thanks to a sick author who has to busy herself somehow in bed as to not die of boredom. So I had enough time to spend it on this story :)
kaia: That's an interesting question, I'd imagine Thranduil will not be very pleased with it, especially considering the situation :) Maybe you'll find an answer to it in the upcoming chapters as the story continues :D
Akilah Swiftblade: The plot will do another thing in this chapter… I'm wondering what you'll think of that *hides behind a dwarf*
Hiding in the Shadow: Yeah, I know, I'm just too mean to let them have a good time without interruptions by a dragon or some orcs :D But, well, a good story needs bad things...
DGfleetfox: I'm glad you enjoyed it! And the direwolfs from GoT were actually part of what inspired the thought of Amaroks, so you're quite alright to imagine them a bit like them :D
Thanks also to Veyrona, AryaNimera, superhyperjan, ZabuzasGirl, Daybreak96 and MidnightTales357 for your reviews! I enjoyed reading them!
And thanks to the people who followed and favorited! I highly appreciate it!
So, now, read the chapter and let me know what you think!
And let me just say one thing in advance… Oh god, I'm so sorry!
"I suggest we move," Kili said urgently as he finally tore his eyes away from the dragon's approaching silhouette in the night sky, his heart thumping fast in his chest as he looked around the group. His eyes fell on Bard's three children that stood amongst them, pure fear written all over their youthful features and Kili felt a surge of protectiveness rush through him. It didn't even take a second for the others to react and they quickly gathered what little things they had before they moved to the door.
Arkin was the first out and Fili and Kili waited at the door as Bofur, Oin and Bain had moved outside already. Tilda followed her big brother shortly after, leaving only Sigrid and Tarya in the room with them. The Amarok was ready to go, standing closely beside the brunet Durin brother, only Bard's oldest daughter was still hurrying through the room, grabbing a few things here and there and putting them back as she was apparently thinking of what she needed to take with her, her eyes wide with fear. The three companions watched the girl for a few short moments before Fili spoke up, his voice firm and yet not harsh as he approached her.
"We cannot lose time," the blond dwarf said, grabbing the girl by the arm and pulling her towards the door as gently as he could in this situation. Time was running against them and he still tried not to be too harsh with her. Though his patience snapped when Sigrid slightly struggled against his hold and Fili turned around, his jaw set firmly as he squeezed her arm a bit tighter to get some sense into her. "Nothing in here is worth your life! A dragon is advancing the town and it will burn! So you either leave these things behind or you will burn with them!"
Sigrid shortly stared at the blond dwarf with wide eyes before she nodded, though she quickly reached out and grabbed a long bow from beneath a table. Holding it tightly in her hand, she then let the blond dwarf pull her out of the house without any more objections, Kili and Tarya following on their heels as they hurried along the back of the house, stopping abruptly when Bard's small fishing boat came into view, neatly tied to a pillar. Tilda and Bain were already seated within it, looking up at their sister with wide eyes. They could hear the dragon's roar once more, closer this time, and they all looked up as Smaug covered the moon with its large wings.
"Get in," Fili ordered quickly, his voice strained as he almost shoved Sigrid into the boat. "Oin, you go with them. Paddle to the shore, get as far away from the lake as you can."
The old healer just nodded as he climbed into the boat, already reaching for the paddles.
"What about Da?!" Sigrid called out, eyes wide and unbelieving as she stared at the little group before her. "He'll die!"
"He won't," Tarya said, her voice trembling but determined as she glanced up to the sky nervously before she brought her gaze to Sigrid who still held onto her father's longbow tightly. "We'll find him."
There was a short moment in which the girl and the Amarok just stared at each other before Sigrid hesitantly nodded and she reached out, putting the bow into Fili's hands who only shot her a surprised look before she sat down in the boat, apparently seeing something in Tarya's eyes that she trusted. The Amarok nodded at the three children before her gaze wandered around, looking for Arkin but not finding him. He had disappeared all of a sudden and with a frown Tarya found herself wondering where he had gotten off to as Bofur untied the rope around the pillar. Fili gave the boat a hard push with his boot, sending it out into the lake with a few small waves.
The little group watched for a second as Oin started to row before they hurried back around the house. It was just as the four rounded the corner that the dragon's massive figure darkened the sky right above the town and a loud crash could be heard, shaking the ground beneath their feet as Smaug let his massive tail smash into a group of houses.
Chaos erupted immediately and Kili pulled Tarya down with him as they ducked behind a wall as the dragon swept over them. Screams and shouting erupted over the whole town in an instant as the people of Laketown finally became aware of what was happening.
"We need to find Bard!" Tarya called over Smaug's booming roar as he made a turn in the sky, coming down on them again from the other side of the lake. Kili put one of his arms protectively over her head as the dragon's tail dragged over the other side of the town, ripping roofs off houses and breaking through walls. There was a devastating noise filling the air around them as they heard the dragon laugh high above them.
Kili felt a shiver run down his spine. The beast was just playing cat and mouse with them, destroying bits and pieces of the town as he went along, before he started his true assault. It was only a matter of time until Laketown would be burning beneath the starlit sky.
"We need to get out of here!" he replied in a yell to Tarya over the noise of the dragon's attack but the Amarok shook her head, determination clear to see in her eyes as she glanced at all of her companions. Bofur and Fili were huddled next to them, glancing up at the sky in expectation of Smaug's next attack.
"No! We cannot leave without Bard! And we cannot leave this town to burn!" Tarya growled loudly, pushing Kili's arm from her form as she stood up on shaking legs. "They are innocent people! It is not their fault that our company woke the dragon!"
The three dwarfs shot each other short glances upon her words, knowing them to be true, before she continued, her voice firm and hard amongst the noise of a city in uproar. "We brought this down on them and we will take responsibility! We either fight now or we die a death of flames!"
Bofur was the first to stand up beside her, his face set in a grim expression as they heard the dragon's roar coming again, a shadow passing over the lake once more. Kili and Fili followed his example swiftly, nodding at the Amarok.
"We need to get the black arrow and reach the wind lance," Fili said, casting a short glance at Tarya. "And we need to find Bard. And for that we have to split up. Kili and I will go find the arrow, Bofur and Tarya, you try and find Bard."
His companions nodded curtly and were already about to part when Kili quickly reached out and pulled Tarya flush against him for a short moment, pressing his lips to hers in a deep, scorching kiss. Both Fili and Bofur glanced away to give them at least some privacy, knowing that it might be the last time, as Tarya's fingers dug into his shoulders in search of something to hold on to before the brunet dwarf released her, eyes boring into her golden orbs.
"Don't let yourself get killed," Kili whispered against her lips, waiting until she nodded before he fully let go of her.
"Back at you, minn máni," she breathed, looking deep into his eyes for a moment before she abruptly turned away and grabbed Bofur by the arm, pulling him along as they set to run down the alleys towards where Bard might be.
Kili watched with a heavy heart until they had rounded the corner before he turned to Fili and followed him as they made their way towards the wind lance on the other side of the town.
Tarya and Bofur had not come very far when the first wave of fire hit the town like lightning and the Amarok felt Bofur practically tackle her to the ground as the flames washed over the roofs. Never before in her life had Tarya ever heard so many different deafening noises at once. The dragon's roars, growls and hisses above them were loud enough to make her ears hurt while the screams and shrieks of the townsfolk were piercing loudly through the clouds of noise. She could hear the cracking sounds around her as the first house walls gave in beneath the flames that licked them, she could feel the heat of the dragon's fire on her skin and she could smell the smoke that was reaching up into the sky like giant black snakes.
It was impossible to find Bard's scent in all this chaos, Tarya knew, and so she could only rely on what seemed to be the most logical place for him to be. Bain had told them that the guards had chased after them, and so the only place they could have put him were the cells they kept for criminals. Tarya had a vague idea of where those cells were, though it was a whole other matter to get there without dying beforehand.
"Quick! Quick!" Bofur yelled as he pulled her to her feet again, his hat askew on his head. "He's coming back!"
And they ran, around corners and along alleys as Smaug released more of his deadly fire on the town. Pillars fell and houses collapsed beneath the dragon's wrath. Tarya's breathing was heavy and ragged as she sprinted along the pathways beside Bofur, trying not to fall into the ice-cold water beside the narrow bridges as she moved. It seemed like an eternity until they finally reached the place where the cells were. No guards were left there, all of them fighting – or at least trying to fight Smaug with their arrows, though none of their efforts proved to be of use against the firedrake.
Tarya rushed forward into a small corridor, Bofur following closely behind her as she moved along the small cells quickly.
"Bard?" the Amarok called loudly over the noise that had enveloped the town. "Are you here? Bard!"
"I'm here! Over here!" Someone suddenly answered from further down the corridor and they quickly hurried towards Bard's voice. "Tarya?"
The Amarok smiled feebly at the imprisoned Lakeman that shot her a disbelieving look from the other side of the bars. Tarya did not respond, as she looked the door over for a lock, though as she found it, she suddenly realized that they did not have the keys. She glanced over her shoulder at Bofur who looked just as helpless as she felt.
"They took it with them," Bard said from within the cell, realizing the problem and sending them a rueful look. "One of the guards had it around his belt."
It was Bofur who reacted after that and Tarya watched him as he shortly looked around, his gaze suddenly falling on a large hammer that lay scattered on the floor amongst a few other rather useless tools. The hatted dwarf quickly rushed over and retrieved the hammer, weighing it in his hand before he stepped before the cell as Tarya moved aside. The dwarf shot Bard a small look as he swivelled the hammer once in his hand before he brought it down on the lock with all the precision and force he could muster.
The noise of the lock breaking was lost in the deafening riot that surrounded them.
"And they made Bilbo the burglar," Bofur snorted, a crooked grin on his face, before throwing the tool over his shoulder carelessly. Tarya shot him a short disbelieving look and the dwarf just raised his eyebrows at her, sending her a cheeky smile as Bard scrambled out of his cell.
The three then quickly moved towards the entrance of the corridor again. Bofur was in front of the line, Tarya second and Bard right behind her. The hatted dwarf glanced out of the corridor for a moment as the coat seemed clear, Smaug nowhere in immediate sight. He quickly motioned for the others to follow him as he stepped out onto the narrow bridge before the cell department. He made a few steps down the path where they had come from and Tarya was just about to follow when they heard it, an ear-splitting roar that vibrated through the air as Smaug dove over them, fire preceding his wake.
Tarya heard herself scream just as the hatted dwarf before her turned his head in the direction the dragon was coming from.
"BOFUR!"
The Amarok felt herself being pulled back roughly into the safety of the corridor by two large hands, though she struggled against Bard's hold like a maniac as she tried to reach her friend. Everything went too fast. She saw Bofur move, though she couldn't make out where his action was leading. And then she felt an agonized scream ripping painfully through her own throat as Smaug's fire washed over the narrow pathway before them and the few houses that adorned it to both sides, and she watched her friend getting swallowed by the flames.
"NO!" Her own voice seemed unfamiliar to her as she heard herself scream desperately at the top of her lungs, not even aware of the tears that were streaming down her face, darkened by the grime that hung in the air or Bard's hand that pressed painfully onto her injured arm. She shook her head furiously as she watched the flames reach up to the sky before her. "NO! BOFUR! BOFUR!"
She could feel the scorching heat of the fire before her as she tried to rush forward, only held back by Bard's firm and unrelenting grip around her arms. And then, as the wall of fire slowly shrank before her eyes, Tarya's voice broke in the middle of her screaming.
A broken noise left her throat and she felt her heart rip to pieces, as Bofur was nowhere to be seen anymore.
Bard forced himself to stay calm as he held the trembling Amarok in his hands that had now suddenly stopped her screaming and her struggle against him, instead falling limply on her knees as she stared at the spot where her friend had been just a few seconds ago. As he looked at Tarya, her face stained with dirt, ash and tears, Bard felt his heart go out to her in a way that he had never truly experienced before.
He pulled her to her feet, unable to form any words to say to her. There was nothing to say. No comfort to be given. Bofur was dead and there was nothing he or she could do to change that.
"Tarya," Bard muttered as he stepped in front of her, looking into her eyes that were overflowing with tears. He shook her urgently, yet still as gently as he could. It took a few seconds before her eyes switched to him and she looked as if she was seeing him for the first time. "We have to go on," Bard said as he looked at the Amarok even though it pained him to force her to do this. "We have to kill the dragon before it destroys us all!"
Tarya blinked a few times and Bard watched as she clenched her eyes shut and forced the tears back, shaking her head furiously as she did so. The Lakeman waited until she reopened her eyes and then pulled her with him, running in a ducked stance as they dodged fallen pillars and broken walls. The world was burning around them and they coughed as they made their way through the smoke-stained hot air towards where the old dwarven wind lance stood on the other end of the town. Bard shot a glance over his shoulder at the Amarok, seeing that she was following him swiftly, though he could see how much will power it cost her to go on.
With Bard's knowledge of shortcuts around the town, they made it through the alleys quickly, even though their paths were cut short several times by a wall of fire or broken piers.
It was when they could already see the old dwarven wind lance in a small distance that the dragon swept over them once more and Bard quickly grabbed Tarya and dove out of the way as Smaug's tail dragged through the town, bringing down walls and bridges as his claws pulled whole houses apart. Bard looked up as the dragon moved up towards the sky that was lit with the flames below again, smashing its tail right into the wind lance along the way. Large parts of the stone construction went flying through the air as if they had been catapulted as the large tower cracked beneath the dragon's force and collapsed, crashing to the floor with a deafening noise.
"No," Bard whispered desperately as he watched their last hope fail. He needed the wind lance to fire his black arrow, he thought frantically, only now realizing that he was in fact not currently in possession of the arrow.
It was then that suddenly loud voices rang over the noise of destruction and desolation over to them and Bard looked up, seeing two figures approaching as fast as they could through the treacherous flames.
"TARYA!"
Bard felt the Amarok's head jerk up at the voice that rang loud and clear over the noise that surrounded them and she quickly scrambled out of his hold as the two dwarf brothers arrived next to them. Kili – whose face was stained with grime and ash just as his brother's – immediately threw his arms around her, pulling her tightly against him as he reassured himself that she was still alive and well. Meanwhile Bard was looking at the blond dwarf with wide unbelieving eyes, as Fili held his own longbow in one hand and the long black arrow in the other.
"Where did you get these?"
"Does it matter?" Fili grunted in reply as he thrust both items in Bard's hands before he looked at Tarya as his brother released her. "Where's Bofur?" he asked, though he already knew the answer as he caught sight of her tear-stained face. The deeply tormented look that crossed the Amarok's face confirmed his thoughts painfully and he exchanged a short glance with Kili who looked completely gutted. But they all knew that they didn't have time for their grief now and so Fili pushed his emotions back into the darkest corner of his mind and concentrated his gaze on Bard who stood beside them, looking up at the sky.
"You only have one shot," Fili said to the Bowman, his heart feeling heavy with fear and desperation, though a tiny spark of hope still flickered somewhere within his chest. They had almost died retrieving that arrow and they had watched Smaug destroy the wind lance that was supposed to fire it, and Fili had held onto the bow Sigrid had given him for the whole time. And now here he was, Bard the Bowman, who was their last chance at surviving this night of terror.
"I know," Bard murmured, his voice almost lost in the noise around them. "You best go now as long as you still can."
Kili shook his head as he held Tarya closely to him, looking at the Lakeman over the Amarok's head. "It's too late now. There are no boats left. The only thing left to do is kill that dragon and bring it to the ground once and for all."
Bard stared at the brunet dwarf for a moment before he nodded slightly, feeling his throat go dry as he thought about what these people were ready to sacrifice. They could have fled with the first boat and left him and the rest of the town to their fate, yet they had stayed and were fighting for Esgaroth and against Smaug to the last breath. Bard clenched his teeth together determinedly before he spoke again, sending each of his small companions a hard look.
"There is a vulnerable spot on his scale, somewhere on his chest where Girion's arrow found its mark. If we can hit him there, we might have a chance for this to end without all of our deaths."
"Well then," Tarya breathed, her voice raw and dark from all her previous screaming as she looked up at the sky, the fire cracking the wood all around them. "Let's kill a dragon."
Bard followed her gaze, glancing up to where the dragon was drawing circles beneath the moon. Time was running short now. Parts of the town were already sinking in the depths of the lake and the fire was licking away mercilessly at everything that was still standing. Bard glanced at the Amarok before him, his face grim and his hands clamped tightly around arrow and bow. He nodded curtly at her, his gaze wandering around until he spotted a house a little distance away that was still more or less intact. If he managed to get onto the roof, he might have a chance to get a fair shot at Smaug.
"I'll get further up," he yelled over the noise of a falling city then as he glanced up at the dragon shortly that was still circling above the town, apparently enjoying the view of the destruction and desolation he'd caused. Without hesitating, Bard rushed forward towards the house, expecting the others to follow him, though as he advanced, he heard a loud cracking behind him. Turning around, he saw that a dilapidated post had fallen and was now blocking the way for the dwarves and Amarok to follow.
The brunet dwarf caught his gaze over the fallen pillar, his hand clamped tightly around Tarya's arm. Bard could only guess that Kili had pulled her back in time before she would have been crushed beneath the massive post.
"Go!" the dwarf shouted over the noise and Bard just nodded curtly before he turned away. Running towards the house before him, he could only hope that his little friends would be all right.