"iDragoni!"

Fili and Kili dashed back towards camp, screaming a warning as loud as they could. They'd been sneaking off to have a moment of privacy when they caught a glimpse of the enormous scarlet beast emerging from the Front Gate.

Fili's braids smacked against his face as he ran, Kili hot on his heels. He couldn't help but feel relieved as the other dwarves sprang into action, Thorin herding the Company into the safety of the stone tunnel. They could hear the dragon coming now, the sudden rushing of the wind making it more difficult to run across the narrow path, but Fili didn't dare waste a second.

The thing was that he iknew/i Kili was faster than him. Kili was built slender and tall for a dwarf, with slim fingers that made him an excellent marksmen and the lightness of feet that made him so great a hunter. And yet Kili was dogging on his brother's heels, determined to see Fili to safety. If Fili weren't so panicked at the moment, he would be touched at his little brother's concern for him.

It wasn't far to camp now, though the path narrowed dangerously. Usually the dwarves used ropes to maneuver this part of the mountain to avoid falling, but those had been lost in Smaug's last attack. The drop was a good fifteen feet of sheer cliff and very solid rock. Fili was terrified of heights, and his steps faltered slightly as he approached the thin path.

"Fili," called his brother's voice from behind him. Fili swallowed his fear and dashed forwards then.

It was going to be close. The rest of the dwarves were safely in the tunnel now, with Thorin waiting anxiously for his nephews, eyes scanning the skies. The now furious winds meant Smaug couldn't be far off. Fear choked in Fili's throat and he ran faster, forgetting for a moment the dangerous slim path he tread.

One foot came down hard on nothing..

Fili swallowed a scream as he felt himself start to fall, sliding downwards to what would surely be his death. If the fall didn't kill him, the dragon would. But then there was a sharp cry from his brother, and a hand closed tightly around his wrist. Kili had moved with sheer instinct, sliding down to his belly as soon as Fili started to fall and just barely catching him in time. He grasped his older brother's other wrist. Fili was vaguely aware of Thorin shouting something, presumably curses, in their native tongue.

"I've got you," Kili murmured. He struggled to pull Fili up, but the dead weight was too much for the slim archer to heave.

"Kili," Fili started to say, but his brother cut him off.

"Shut up, it'll be alright," he insisted. His dark eyes were wide with panic, and he tried yet again to pull Fili up, but to no avail. The winds were worse than ever now, battering the blond dwarf against the rock face.

Smaug was coming. If Kili didn't go now, the dragon would kill them both. Any left out in the open would die.

Fili was bleeding now, a gash drawn into his cheek from a particularly hard crash into the stone wall. His shoulders were aching from the strain of hanging on to Kili, and he could feel his grip starting to give. Kili couldn't pull him up, not at this angle, and the dragon was so close...

Fili's blue eyes met Kili's brown ones. "I'm sorry," he whispered, and jerked both hands down hard, shaking free of Kili's grasp.

X

Thorin had known what was coming, but nothing could prepare him for the sight of Fili slipping away. Even worse was Kili's cry of anguish, the howls of anger and fear and grief already ripping from his throat.

Thorin had to wrestle his nephew back into the safety of the tunnel. Kili fought and screamed for his brother, tears rolling unashamedly down his cheeks. It broke Thorin's heart to see him like this, but he would not lose both his nephews today. Fili's fate was uncertain. The odds were not in his favor, but there was a chance, a small one, that he was alive, and would still be when they returned for him. But Kili could most certainly be saved, even if he didn't want to be.

Thorin tossed Kili inside unceremoniously and pushed the stone door shut, sealing them in for now. That just made the young dwarf howl even more.

"You ileft/i him!" Kili screamed. "We can't leave him! You can't, you ican't/i, Thorin!"

"There was nothing we could have done without risking our own lives as well," Thorin said softly.

"Then we ishould have/i!" his nephew spat at him. "Fili could be d-"

Kili couldn't finish. The fight drained out of him in a moment and he collapsed into his uncle's chest, sobbing uncontrollably. The king's arms went around him immediately, muffling Kili's grief into his shoulder as his fingers stroked through the young dwarf's tangled mess of a mane. "I know," he murmured to him. "I know."

Thorin knew this pain too well. He could give anything to keep his nephew from having to bear it as well. Half a century after his death, Thorin still grieved for Frerin, his brother that he had lost in battle. He had carried that scar on his heart for most of his life. For sweet, carefree, mischievous Kili to carry that as well would change him beyond recognition. In losing one nephew, Thorin would, in a way, lose both.

He prayed fiercely to Mahal and every other god he knew to keep Fili safe.

X

What the dwarves did not realize was that Smaug did not come alone. The dragon landed with a thump that made the ground shudder, and a hobbit toppled off his back, caught quickly by the fold of a leathery wing. Smaug set the halfling down carefully, admiring his prize. The little creature was utterly under his spell now, bedecked in dwarvish finery with that elvish short sword at his hip. Sting, he had called it.

What a tiny little Sting it was!

Smaug settled in not far from the Porch, his mighty bulk resting quite comfortably on the ground. Bilbo pointed to where the door was, impossible to see or open from here. Ah well, not a problem. The dragon had all the leverage he needed right here.

"Come on out, little dwarflings," Smaug taunted.

There was no answer, unsurprisingly.

"Thorin Oakenshield." Perhaps names would have a better effect. "I believe I have something of yours here. Go on, my darling. Say hello."

Glassy blue eyes blinked up at Smaug uncomprehendingly. "Who am I saying hello to?" Bilbo asked, his voice dull and lifeless.

Oh. Hmm. How boring. Smaug had thought to receive more of a reaction after bringing the halfling here, so close to his beloved dwarves.

Nonetheless, it triggered a strangled dwarvish curse from the other side of the door.

"Yes, I have one Master Baggins with me," the dragon said lazily. "Though he's growing stupid and dull now. Until the son of Thrain comes out to speak with us, I think I shall have him hurt himself."

X

Kili had lain still and silent in Thorin's arms, trembling uncontrollably, but when he heard Bilbo's voice, he could take no longer. He jerked up with a cry of both horror and relief. Bilbo was ialive/i, but he was still very much Smaug's prisoner. Thorin's hand clamped over his mouth just a moment too late.

Smaug was speaking again from outside the mountain, and the dwarves strained to hear him.

"Oh no, darling, no maiming yourself. Just enough to-" The halfling cried out in pain, and Smaug chuckled. "Like that, yes."

Kili convulsed wildly in his uncle's arms, a half-scream slipping from his lips. He was near delirious with worry for Fili, and hearing Bilbo suffer was more than he could bear. Thorin hushed him as best he could, glancing around at the Company.

He was torn. Likely Smaug would kill him on the spot, and just continue to torture Bilbo. He'd be doing the dwarves no favors, and Kili could never get over the loss of two of his kin in the same day. On the other hand, this was his first chance to do something to help the hobbit since he was taken. Was it worth the risk?

A fresh scream spilled from the hobbit's lips on the other side of the wall, and Thorin knew there was no choice to be made. Kili was sobbing again, and at a nod from the king, Dwalin moved over to take his nephew from him. Kili curled into the tattooed dwarf's chest without any complaint.

"No one is to open the door until I give the word, is that understood?" Thorin said tersely. Without waiting for an answer, he got to his feet and pushed the heavy door open, blinking in the sunlight. Stone grated against stone as it closed behind him, sealing him out.

X

Bilbo was curled up on the grass and crying silently when the door opened. Thorin's eyes went first to the halfling, assessing the damage and feeling hot rage sear through his belly. A bandaged hand wrapped around Orcrist's hilt. It was impossible to see exactly ihow/i injured the once-burglar was, and after that scrutiny, the dwarf king raised his eyes to the dragon.

Smaug was immense. He could easily crush Thorin underfoot, just as he almost had all those many years ago. A tingle of fear ran down the dwarf's spine, but he ignored it. He raised his gaze defiantly, careful not to make actual eye contact. Many good people had lost their wills that way, and Thorin did not intend to join them.

"Thorin Oakenshield," Smaug rumbled, sounding far too smug. It only made Thorin's blood boil all the more. "How very kind of you to join us."

Thorin gripped Orcrist more tightly, paying no attention to the sharp pain in his palms as he did so. "Speak, beast. What is it that you want?"

Smaug lowered his neck, bringing his head down to the dwarf's level. Thorin resisted the urge to meet his eyes.

"I want to keep my prize," the dragon announced. "And I want you to leave."

"The halfling is no prize to be won!" Thorin shouted angrily, his temper getting the best of him for a moment before he remembered to stay level-headed. It wouldn't do to shout at a dragon. He'd end up dead if he kept that up.

A puff of smoke went out from the dragon's nostrils, and he nosed the hobbit gently. Bilbo stirred, looking up at the great creature with blank eyes. No words passed between them as Bilbo shakily stood, leaning on Smaug's mighty head for support. One hand stayed wrapped around his torso as he limped towards where Thorin stood, Smaug keeping him upright.

"Look into his eyes, Thorin. Tell me that he isn't mine," the dragon taunted.

The king-in-exile swallowed, showing his first signs of uncertainty as he glanced over at Bilbo. The hobbit's blue eyes were glazed over with pain, but behind that, he was empty. Smaug had hollowed him out and made him into something that did not even irecognize/i Thorin, and that hurt far more than the dwarf had anticipated.

His shoulders slumped, his grip on Orcrist's hilt loosening. "What are your terms?" he asked, defeated.

There was no rescuing that Bilbo. The hobbit he had known was long gone. Protecting his kin, then, was the priority. If they had to leave this mountain defeated, then...at least they were alive.

A chuckle rumbled out from the dragon's throat. "Bind the halfling's wounds. I will return for him in an hour. After that, I will allow you to leave my mountain. But you must swear to never return. If you attempt to leave with the halfling, I will slaughter you all. And if you do not leave, I will kill your Company slowly and make you bear witness to it."

Thorin gritted his teeth. His pride rebelled against all of this. After fighting so hard for Erebor, he was expected to simply turn tail and run?

But what choice did he have? To die in such a way was not noble or glorious, no matter what the stories said. Thorin understood now. The lives of those he loved were so very precious. Was he willing to see them all killed with no chance of victory because of his own stubborn pride?

"Well?" Smaug prompted.

They had lost their hobbit. Fili's fate was unknown. Thorin wouldn't risk any more innocent lives.

"Very well, dragon," he agreed wearily. "You have my word that I nor my kin will return to this mountain."

Triumph gleamed in Smaug's golden eyes, and he pushed the hobbit roughly towards the dwarf. "I will return in one hour," he announced, and launched himself back into the sky.

Thorin caught Bilbo by instinct, his arms wrapping around the small broken creature. The halfling fainted just a moment later and Thorin sank to the ground, holding Bilbo close and pressing a kiss to his brow.

"Open the door," he said to the other dwarves. "Our fate is decided for us."