Chapter 6

It was a warm summer day, Abigail had just arrived at Erebor for a visit. The guards let her past without a second glance. She ascended the jade staircase to the throne room, hoping that Thorin would be there. Luck was on her side for when she reached the top she saw him striding her direction though he did not seem to notice her at first. From the look on his face she could see that something was bothering him.

"Thorin?" Abigail called out, reaching out to grasp his arm.

He gave a start of surprise at the sudden contact. When he met her gaze, she could see how exhausted he was. She wondered if he had been fighting with his father or grandfather again.

"Ah, Abigail. It is nice to see a friendly face." He said, putting up a weak smile "Would you walk with me a while?"

"Yes of course." She said taking his arm.

It was a familiar gesture of comfort between the two and the people of Erebor no longer thought of it as strange.

"What happened now?" Abigail asked softly once they were in a deserted hall.

"More of the same, the king has stopped listening to any reason what so ever. All he cares about is his gold, not his people or his kingdom." He spoke tiredly.

She did not envy the position he was in, this past year the king's mind had taken a turn for the worst. She knew he was torn between his love for his family and his duty to his people.

"But I tire of speaking of my problems. How have you been? And your mother?"

She smiled, amazed that in the face of all of his problems, he still wished to know of her own mundane life. So she told him of her latest hunt, how she continued to practice the parry he'd been trying to teach her for weeks. She also told him that her mother wrote to her to say that she was adjusting well to life in the city. Eventually the two ended up on the wall overlooking the land, a comfortable silence laying over them. The warm summer air brushed against her cheek softly, making her slightly drowsy.

"Do you ever want to just leave? Go see the world out there?"

The questions were so sudden and full of eagerness, Abigail turned to stare at him. There was something glimmering in his eye that frightened her, yet also excited her in a strange way.

"Perhaps, when I was younger, but now-"

"We could do it you know." He interrupted.

"What leave?"

He watched her face closely.

"You are a dwarven prince," Abigail said "I'm a half-breed, considered an abomination by both of my parent races."

"You are far from an abomination Abigail." Thorin said firmly, taking her hand.

"I am grateful to you for believing that, but it doesn't change the fact that you are a prince and have a responsibility to your people. They need you now more than ever."

She tried to keep a calm face but underneath it all, a part of her was begging her to say yes. How wonderful it would be to travel the land with her best friend, to see all the things she only read of in books, to get away from the dreary solitude she found in the forest. However there was a greater part of her that couldn't stand the notion of taking Thorin away from his people when he seemed to be the only voice of reason. Besides she knew that he would come to regret the choice at some point or another.

Thorin looked down at her hand in his and shook his head.

"What?" Abigail asked, afraid she had offended him.

"How is it that you always know what to say to me to talk me down from stupid things?"

She smiled a bitter smile and turned to face Dale once more.

"Well, I have been stuck with you for a few years now, I suppose should." She teased.

Suddenly Abigail cocked her head to the side, listening to the wind with furrowed brows.

"What is it?" Thorin asked.

She threw her hand out to indicate to be silent. Within seconds she realized that this could not be the wind, there was a steady rhythm to it. Every moment the sound grew louder until even Thorin could hear it, soon the noise became deafening. The trees of the mountain seemed to tremble with fright as a powerful gust of hot wind hit them head on. Abigail looked at Thorin but his face had gone pale.

"What's happening Thorin?" Abigail asked over the wind.

"No, this cannot be." He said more to himself before turning away from her "Balin, sound the alarm. Call out the guard. Do it now!"

"Thorin, what is going on?" Abigail asked now scared.

"It's a dragon." He said simply, then ran to the other side and yelled a warning to his people.

Abigail stood frozen where she was for a moment. She heard Thorin yelling her name, she looked up just long enough to see a torrent of flames coming her way. Suddenly a hand on her arm pulled her backwards behind a pillar. Thorin stood over her, using his body to spare her from the worst of the heat. When it was over she darted out from under him, back to the wall just in time to see the hulking mass approaching Dale. The creature flew over the town with dizzying speed, spreading flames in every direction. She wanted to scream, wanted to run to her family, wanted to save them from what was happening but she remained rooted in place.

"Come, there is nothing you can do for them now. The beast will soon be upon us and we must be ready." His voice was calm, as if he were trying to sooth her, which only made her angrier.

Her family was in Dale, and yet he wanted to tell her that there was nothing she could do for them? How dare he? Finally she managed to escape his grasp, running back to the wall. The dragon had demolished most of the town by now, tears ran down her face making her vision blurry. Suddenly she felt Thorin touch the sides of her face, forcing her to turn her head. She came eye to eye with him, his look pleading, sympathetic but also frightened.

"Abigail, we need to get inside. There is nothing you can do for them now, and they would not want you to die because of them."

She looked into his eyes for a moment, feeling the desperation in his voice. She knew he was right so she took a deep breath and whipped her eyes. Seemingly satisfied with her composure, Thorin took her hand, leading her back down into the mountain.

Abigail had to admit that she was impressed with the defense the dwarves managed to put up in the past few minutes. At least a hundred dwarves stood, with weapons drawn, ready to fight whatever came through that door. Thorin turned to face her.

"Stay here." Thorin said.

Abigail grabbed his hand before he could leave.

"If you think I'm staying here while you're out there risking you life you're crazy."

"Abigail, please-"

"No! I care about this place and its people. I cannot just sit here and do nothing."

She thought of Dale and how she'd been helpless to do anything. She'd be damned before she let anything like that happen again, no matter what Thorin said. There must have been something written on her face because he didn't argue any more.

Abigail followed him to the front, they both pulled their weapons and waited. The doors which seemed impressive to her just this morning budged to the breaking point. Flames seeped from all the cracks. Thorin yelled words of encouragement but she could hear the fear in his voice just before the door burst the two shared one final look.

After that, all Hell broke loose.

The door gave way, smoke and fire clogged the air inside the mountain, making it almost impossible to see their foe, much lease try to fight it. The panicked cries of the people were drowned out momentarily by a horrid roar. A second later a shadow crossed Abigail's vision, she threw herself to the side just as a claw landed where she'd been standing. Although they did not know it, that was the last time Thorin and Abigail would see each other for a very long time.

Abigail scrambled to her feet trying to locate Thorin through the mayhem around her. After a moment, she gave up, trying instead to simply stay alive. She dodged the dragon's sweeping tail, as well as the frantic swinging of axes as the dwarves. Just then she saw the king leaving the hall with the Arkenstone clutched in his hands. She made to follow him, hoping Thorin might be with him. However, getting through the sea of confused dwarves proved very nearly impossible, and when she reached the passageway there was no one to be seen. Cautiously, with the full knowledge she was headed in the same direction the dragon was, she crept forward.

As she distance herself from the chaos of the Throne room, the noise faded away. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a dull glimmer, she paused to pick up a familiar looking ring, it was one of Thorin's. Her fingers closed over it tightly, with renewed vigor she moved on until she came to the treasure room. If she was hoping to find the king or Thorin, she was sadly mistaken. Fear spread through her as she inched forward. Through the sea of gold, she saw the unmistakable white light of the Arkenstone. Abigail knew there was no way the king would leave that of his own free will.

Suddenly the gold coins in front of her exploded upwards.

"This is my treasure dwarven swine." A voice unlike any she had heard before boomed.

It was the first time she'd been able to see the creature clearly. He towered over her as if she were an ant, his scales were dull red in color but each looked as sharp as a sword. The last thing she took in was his eyes, which burned bright as fire. Abigail knew she should turn and run but fear held her rooted in place.

"You are not a dwarf," it said moving closer, taking in her scent "I smell Elf…and Man flesh."

Abigail gripped the ring in her hand, reminding herself why she was there.

"What have you done with Thorin?" She asked, standing straighter.

"The little dwarven prince?" He laughed, the reverberations bouncing off the hard marble walls "He is dead."

Fear suddenly turned to anger.

"No, I don't believe you." She said, anger making her bolder.

"Believe what you will little half breed, it does not change the facts." He mocked.

His words hit her like a ton of bricks, the weight of all that had happened that day crashed down on her all at once making it difficult to breath. The dragon stayed completely still, allowing his words to fully sink in.

"My, my, I wonder if the little prince cared for you as much as you do for him." He mused.

"If you're going to kill me, go ahead and do it. I refuse to play this game any longer." She said through gritted teeth.

"I'm not going to kill you, I have no reason to. Every story needs a storyteller. Go, tell everyone of my greatness, my victory, my power. I am Smaug, and none shall defeat me!"

With the echoes of his roar at her feet, she fled the treasure room and the lonely mountain.

Hey everyone! Hope you liked this chapter, it was pretty challenging to write because of all the emotions tied in. I also wanted to show that Abigail was on the verge of having feelings for Thorin. Anyway we get to the start of the movie in the next Chapter! As always please let me know what you think!

P.S. Yes Smaug did lie, just to have a bit of fun I would imagine.