They left shortly after nightfall, before the moon could rise and give them away. Sìneag had packed what food she could without drawing her parents' suspicion along with clothes and a few camping materials. Tammara had brought her toy horse their mother had made for her, looking at it tearfully as they left.
It was the most painful departure Sìneag would ever have in her life. Looking back at the little cottage, the only place she had ever called home, leaving behind the only kin she had ever needed was more painful than any physical injury she had ever suffered. Tears ran down both her face and her sister's as they began to take slow, laborious steps away, trying to stay quiet and to keep from utterly breaking down until they were some distance away.
From the village's center they saw a flickering light and Sìneag paused for a moment to investigate, worried that perhaps the dragon had struck once again. Instead, she saw a crowd of men carrying torches, standing in a circle around another man who was poised on the pedestal of a statue that showcased the city's founder. Squinting in the dim light, Sìneag barely made out Damhàn calling out to the crowd around them.
"Are we going to let that worm devour our women, terrify our children, wreck our farmland, and dominate our lives?" Damhàn yelled.
"NEVER!" the crowd bellowed back. The very fury in their voices made the windows shake and Sìneag shuddered.
"Quickly, Tammara," she said softly. "We have to leave. Now."
"What's Damhàn doing?" Tammara asked.
"Something stupid, I assume," Sìneag sighed. "It can only end in tears."
The two girls continued to tiptoe their way through the quiet village and Sìneag raced to think about where they should spend the night. They could sleep by the lake, make a fire to keep animals away, and continue on the next morning. But where would they go? Follow the river south and hope to find a village that would take them in? Or follow the river in the other direction and wandering into Mirkwood? Sìneag had no idea what lay to the south, but Mirkwood was marked in her mind as a dangerous place, a forest one did not tread without a map or a guide. While Sìneag had a map and a decent knowledge of the lay of the land, she wasn't certain she trusted herself to get Tammara and her through the woods alone. She shoved these thoughts from her mind and forced herself to concentrate on just getting out of the village. She would worry about the rest in the morning.
Tammara and Sìneag had barely reached the forest when a terrible screech tore through the night air. Silhouetted in the starlight, Smaug flew overhead, unleashing his furious cry to the air. He skimmed down just above the rooftops and spouted a fiery breath that ignited the thatched straw like dry autumn leaves. Light as bright as the sun lit the sky as the houses went up in flames and the only home that Sìneag had ever known was ravaged before her very eyes. Sìneag tried to force away thoughts of her family trapped inside their home, of fire licking its way to their bed chambers, of it slowly incinerating the walls and floors and…
Sìneag collapsed to the ground and was violently ill. Tammara hardly noticed, both spellbound and appalled at the fire eating its way through their village. As their home was slowly destroyed, Sìneag wondered what could possibly lie ahead for her and her sister, what future they possibly had.
"Are you alright?" a voice said softly. It was a woman's voice, exceedingly gentle and slightly familiar. "I saw you when the village went up in flames. Are you alone?"
"I… I'm alright," Sìneag spluttered, attempting to clear her eyes of tears. "And yes, we're alone." Her vision cleared and she began to recognize the face of Mairead, the lord of Dale's wife. She was a tall woman, with golden-brown hair and yellow-brown eyes. With her was a small boy, around Tammara's age, named Grier, a masculine replica of his mother. For a moment Sìneag wondered what had become of his father and realized immediately where he must be.
"Is… is it just you then, Lady Mairead?" Sìneag asked, though she already knew the answer.
"Yes," Mairead said, her voice breaking. "Yes it is." A tear streaked down her cheek but she let it fall, unashamed. "My son and I were heading for Mirkwood, in the hopes of finding another village or perhaps even the elves to take us in. What are your plans?"
"Perhaps Mirkwood as well," Sìneag admitted. "Except that I would never attempt it alone."
"Come with us. Please," Mairead pleaed. "With four of us, we stand a better chance. Better than… here…" Her sorrow flooded her face and the four of them settled at the edge of the woods until sadness had cooled itself like the rubble of their village.