Author's Notes: Sorry this chapter was late, but I wanted it to be as close to perfect as I could get it, and its nice and long for you guys. So I hope I'm forgiven. :)
Couple of important announcements in the other A/N, so please read that!
WARNING: adult issues and themes and darkness in this chapter.
Lastly: Would like to Thank Dagdamor1 for Lord Gregorse's words and Smaug's name in this chapter. Also, for the song in this chapter, look up "The Voice" by Celtic Woman on youtube. And there is spoilers for the third film in this chapter so if you wish, skip ahead about the Battle of the Five Armies, to wear you see this (*). No spoilers from there. Thanks!
Chapter 8 – You're Mine
"Among all the kinds of serpents, there is none comparable to the Dragon." - Edward Topsell, 1658
Only a few days later, the city received word from the North: a great battle had taken place outside the Lonely Mountain, an event that people were calling "the Battle of the Five Armies".
Rumour had it that Thorin Oakenshield had taken back the mountain, for with the death of the Dragon Smaug at the hands of Bard the Bowmen, the mountain had been left unguarded and so the dwarves of Erebor had taken it for their own. However, the forces of the woodelves, led by King Thranduil, and the men of the Lake, led by Bard, who had miraculously survived his battle with the dragon, although wounded, and the people had named him their King as reward. These two factions had come to the Lonely Mountain, demanding a share of the treasure as compensation, but Oakenshield had refused.
Thorin and Company were then trapped in a bloodless siege, with Thranduil and Bard hoping to wait him out. However, Thorin had sent messages of his plight to his relative, Dain II Ironfoot, of the nearby Iron Hills, and he marched to Erebor with 500 heavily armed Dwarves. When Dain's forces arrived, the three armies prepared for battle, but at the last moment the Wizard Gandalf the Grey intervened between the two and revealed that an army of Goblins and Orcs were marching against them.
The three commanders agreed that the Goblins, Wargs, and Orcs were the true enemies, and so marched into battle together.
Soon the Goblins, Wargs, and Orcs arrived, and the great battle began, with the Free-Folk losing to the sheer onslaught of numbers in the Orc and Goblin forces. Thorin and his twelve Dwarf companions inside the mountain then charged out to join the battle, covered from head to toe in the finest armour and weapons contained in the treasure hoard of Erebor. It was then, that the Giant Eagles of the Misty Mountains arrived. With the support of the Giant Eagles, the battle turned back against the Goblins. Then Beorn, a great skin-changer, arrived at the battle, in his form like that of a gigantic bear. Beorn drove through the Goblin lines, but paused to carry the wounded Thorin out of the battle. With such might and renewed hope, the Free-Folk pushed back the tide of battle and the Goblins and Orcs eventually panicked and scattered. It wasn't until the battle was over that it was revealed that Thorin Oakenshield had been mortally wounded on the field, and his nephews Fili and Kili died defending him as he lay on the ground. Thorin died soon after the battle, but with his death, the throne of Erebor was passed down to his cousin, Dain 2nd Ironfoot of the Iron Hills, and the Lonely Mountain was once again back into dwarf command, the treasure in the mountain shared between all the Free Peoples who had fought in the battle.
Smaug was both rejoicing and seething at the news.
Andraya could tell, for when she told him of the rumours, his eyes had lit up at the prospect of the dwarf king's death, but when she told him that Erebor had been reclaimed by the free people, his mood had darkened to such a degree that the actual temperature of the room dropped by a few degrees. But whatever Smaug chose to do with this information, Andraya had no idea, for he seemed to become more reserved than usual, for she had no idea as to his plans as he never volunteered to share any information like that with her. In fact, he never spoke to her unless he was snapping at her as to ask the situation with the spell she was creating for him. The animosity he seemed to share for Andraya was actually coming to the point of being dangerous.
In fact, she was beginning to wonder as to his motives for a lot of things as of recently.
(*) The dragon-in-human-skin had become withdrawn, more so then usual. He was never seen by anyone during the day, though Andraya had a good idea as to where he went. He went to watch the girl, the seer. He was obsessed with her, to the point where Andraya was actually starting to become concerned, for if he became too focused upon this girl, would he veer from their agreement again? Andraya knew that a dragon like Smaug would never break from his promise, that was why she got him to spell out the deal for a second time lest he use the same verbal trickery to outsmart her again. Andraya knew that Smaug and Kathryn had history – as she had witnessed by what had happened at Lake-Town – but she didn't know how far that stretched. Would it be enough to take the dragon from her?
She realised that things had to come back under her control, before it was too late.
Her opportunity came when Smaug was within his bedchamber that he had been given, it was rather early in the morning as Andraya barged into the room with no knock or announcement. She was shocked for a moment by the sight before her: three chests and several bags and purses filled with coins of both gold and silver lay to one side of the room, and sitting before it was Smaug, his back to the door though she could tell that he knew she was there.
"What do you want, Witch?" his voice ground out testily, and Andraya thought that she heard his voice a little huskier than normal.
"My Lord," she bowed. "I came here to speak with you about urgent matters,"
"What is it?" he snapped impatiently.
"I wish to know of your plans and when you will keep up your end of our bargain," Andray said, cutting straight to the point. "Obviously you cannot lay with my daughter when you are changed back to your true form. So I must know: When?"
"Do you have the spell I requested?" his eyes finally met hers, blazing like real fires in the dimness of the room.
"Not exactly…" Andraya hesitated only slightly, turning her gaze away from his encase she would be sucked into his dragon-spell, a magic that she could feel becoming stronger day by day. "There are complications,"
"Well then," Smaug grinned wickedly, his voice dripping with a false and deadly sweetness like the stench of rotting meat. "I guess you and the 'bargain' will have to wait,"
"But my lord –"
"I told you I would give you what you wanted once you concocted that spell," Smaug snapped at her, squaring his shoulders as he stood up and came towards her like a tiger stalking its prey. "And until that happens, I will not lower myself to fraternise with your dirty human daughter!"
"The magic involved in this is tremendous; I would need your own magic to power it!"
"Your pleas would do a grand job of convincing any male." Smaug murmured before leaning in close to her until he was looming into her personal space. "But I have no empathy for you to plead to." He hissed.
He moved away, seemingly dismissing Andraya as she stood there in quiet outrage. He turned back to review his new treasure, his eyes lighting up with greed and dark pleasure as he ran his fingers across the precious metal.
"You will have the spell ready by the end of the lunar month," he told her, his voice dominating and holding no room for refusal. "I need that spell for my plans,"
"And the girl?" Andraya ground out between tightly clenched teeth. "The Seer?" she was almost satisfied to see Smaug turn to glare at her over his shoulder. "How does she fit into your plans?"
"Be very careful in what you say…" he growled.
"I am only suggesting that she has more than enough magical ability in order to power the spell. Perhaps you could lure her in, seeing as how you two seem so close,"
"What she is to me is none of your business." He hissed, lip curling to reveal his teeth in warning.
"Frankly I don't care what she is to you." Andraya replied coldly, her anger blinding her for a brief moment. "So long as you uphold your end of the bargain, you could kill her, use her, talk with her, eat her, or simply fuck her and leave her for dead –!"
With a vicious snarl Smaug leapt across the room, a blur of motion so fast that Andraya couldn't get her fists up in time. She had a fire spell primed and ready to use immediately in face of the threat of the angry dragon bearing down on her. But before she could release it, Smaug had his hand wrapped around her neck, lifting her into the air with a vicious snarl. Andraya choked, clawing at his hand that was wrapped around her throat. With another roar, Smaug slammed the Witch back down, her back hitting a wall as he pinned her against it. Andraya fought and struggled against him, her anger making her fight like a viper, but she became completely still in terror when Smaug brought forth his right hand and revealed to her not a human hand… but a monstrosity. Red scales came through the skin, the fingernails long and pointed into vicious eagle-like talons, the very structure of the hand seemed alien.
"Careful…" Smaug purred, his eyes lighting up with a psychopathic glee as he held the tip of his talon poised right before her eye, only a centimetre away. Andraya stared in horror at the appendage, whose deadly tip hovered above her eyeball, itching to twitch and blind her. "I would hate for you to exhaust your usefulness to me by your simple lack of manners, Andraya."
With a hard shove, Smaug sent Andraya reeling away to where she fell in a crumpled heap on the sitting room floor, holding her neck and massaging the tender and bruised flesh. Smaug turned away from her as if she were nothing more than a fly, locking the door to his chamber as he did so.
"If you try to control me again, I will not be so gentle." He smirked as he peered down his nose at her arrogantly. "Remember who your master is, Witch. You wouldn't wish for me to remind you again. Slaves do not question; they obey,"
And with that, he picked up his cloak and leather glove from where they were draped over a chair before the fireplace, and left.
Andraya sat there, shaking with rage, her lips pressed into a hard line, her fingers clenching around the fur rug beneath her. How dare he?! She thought to herself in vexation. She had been the one to awaken him, she had been the one to lead him here, she had done everything for him, and this was how he repaid her?! If she did not need him so badly, then Andraya fantasied how she would tear his skin from his body to see if he was still a dragon underneath!
She was only aware of Freyja's presence when the girl came to kneel in front of her and attempt to brush away her ruffled hair from her face and help her up. The girl's pale ice blue eyes were looking at her mother with concern, as if she might snap in half and die, her face was pale with anxiety and tears stained her cheeks as she saw her mother reduced to this. It only made Andraya's anger burn all the hotter.
"Mother?" she asked, eyes wide with fear and concern. "Are you well?"
Andraya said nothing, instead shaking off the girl's help and stood on her own, smoothing out the imaginary creases in her skirts, ignoring the hurt and dejected look on Freyja's face. Brushing her hair back into place with her fingers, Andraya allowed a perfectly calm façade to wash over her, erasing all traces of her previous anger before she could speak.
"I'm fine my dear," she said a little stiffly, before placing a smile upon her face and turning to her daughter.
"Were you working on the spell again?" the girl asked, almost hesitantly.
"Yes, there are a few setbacks, but fear not," she purred as she tapped her daughter's head lightly as if she were still a five year old. "Come the end of the lunar month, it will be finished, and we will have what we want."
"For him to lay with me..." Freyja whispered, and the small tremor in her voice did not skip Andraya's notice.
"You have something to say, dear?" she asked, raising a brow as she looked coldly at her daughter. "Well come on now girl, speak up."
"Mother… I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but…" she paused, gulping down loudly before her nerves could get the better of her, even as her limbs began to shake. "I'm afraid," she forced out in little more than a whisper.
"I know dear," Andraya said, her tone dripping with sweetness. "But think of the rewards! Everything comes at a price, and unfortunately the price for our happiness is this. It will all be fine darling, I promise."
"No mother, I just…" Freyja said, looking to her mother in fear, before pushing on, taking the risk. "I don't know what he could do. You've told me never to be so vulnerable, what if he hurts me? I can't bear to think of what he might... I'm sorry mother, I can't, I-I just – I can't!"
WHACK!
Freyja recoiled as her head snapped to the side as her mother smacked her right in the face. The two women stared at each other, one with absolute horror and terror, the other with barely contained fury. Andraya's eyes were little more than dangerous pinpricks that screamed of danger, even as she straightened her posture and dominated the small girl before her. Freyja shrunk away from her own mother, fearing that she might be hit again, and only seemed to become more terrified when Andraya smiled at her sweetly.
"Oh now look what you've done dear," she cooed softly as she came to embrace her daughter into her clutching arms. "My poor baby… I do not mean to hurt you dear, but you must understand: fear is a weakness that we cannot have." She bit out the last sentence icily, her nails digging into Freyja's flesh slightly until the young girl winced. "My precious girl… my beautiful girl… but your beauty is a curse that was placed upon you. If I could take it from you to keep you safe, I would. I hate that it is one of the few things you have inherited from me. A woman looks for soul, only a man looks for beauty,"
"It is what men use to single us out," Freyja murmured into her mother's shoulder, a slight quaver to her voice where she was trying to stop herself from crying. The words were mechanical, a product of her mother constantly drilling into her the same lesson over and over again.
"Exactly!" Andraya exclaimed, pulling back so that she could look into her daughter's face, which was slowly turning a bright red in the shape of a hand mark across her cheek and nose. "Beauty is a curse," the mother stressed as if it were a matter of life and death. "Men use it to find what they want, and then they take that happiness from us! They are wolves that stalk the dear: they hunt and they circle, picking out the ones they want, and then they corner her, and they rip her apart, they drain all the happiness out of her, the eat it and gobble it down their greedy throats just so that they might get a taste of the happiness we once had! Men are evil creatures, dear. Never has a woman been known to murder, rape or abuse the opposite sex, men do not know what we suffer. So what do we do to stop that?"
"We never let them catch us, and we break away from their touch as soon as we can," Freyja replied automatically, her voice void of all emotion.
"But sometimes we can become trapped…" Andraya prompted.
"They take us as their wives… but we are their slaves," Freyja said with that same dead tone, her eyes looking at anything but her mother's gaze. But Andraya was too enraptured by the words of their conversation in order to pay attention to anything anyway. "They fill us with their filthy seed and use us like breeding mares,"
"The only thing good that come from them is when they give us a daughter," Andraya smiled, stroking a strand of hair from Freyja's face, not noticing the involuntary shiver that ran down the girl's spine. Her eyes seemed to see right through the girl, holding a mad a gleam in their depths. "But… they want a son, another beast to add to their mindless pack, another to inflict more misery upon other women. So what do we do when we are forced to incubate their spawn?"
"We…" the girl hesitated, a lump of bile rising in her throat. She always choked at this part, but when her mother's eyes seemed to burn like frostbite into her soul with a warning, she quickly pushed ahead. "W-we… we smother them in their cribs. We do not allow their evil to take root. We do not let them infect our hearts to force us under their spell and care for them."
"That's right sweetie," Andraya smiled serenely again, all trace of her anger gone. "We have suffered enough at the hands of men… but no more. As soon as the dragon gives us what we want, we will leave. And this new baby that you will have… the power it will wield will free us from this terrible cycle,"
"But Smaug is a man…"
"No. He is of dragon-kind," Andraya corrected with a slight curl of her lip. "He only has the right anatomy now that we need. And besides, he is willing to leave us alone once this business is done."
"And what if the babe is…" Freyja hesitated again, but under her mother's impatient gaze she pushed ahead. "I-I mean… w-what if the child i-is m-male?"
"It won't," Andraya snapped. "And even should it be male, I will be sure to weed out any evil in its soul. It will be obedient and loyal. And we will be free. You just need to be brave for me, Freyja… be brave and all of our suffering will go away."
Freyja looked at her mother, uncertainty in her eyes. Her mother's teachings were all she had ever known, but with every time she recited the words back to her mother's enraged rants, she felt a part inside of her break and rot away into a shrivelled root: it was ugly and made her feel sick. But her mother's eyes, filled with fury and the promise of more pain… she feared that more. And if her mother promised that all this pain, everything in this horrible life would go away with the coming of this baby, then would that be so bad? If she needed to sacrifice for a better future with her mother… she would.
"Yes mother…"
"Human politics is more complicated than I thought it would be," Faervel said as he walked through the palace gardens, Kathryn at his side. The winter didn't leave much of a mark on Vathvael, only giving it a slight dew or frost in the early hours of the morning. But beautiful colours of yellows, reds, and purples were all in bloom in the flower beds, and Kathryn felt like she was walking through the garden of the Valar because of the unseasonable colour and life that was in the air.
"Oh?" Kathryn raised an eyebrow at the elf as she walked in step beside him. "How so?"
"Take for example, all of the Lord's and nobles fighting amongst themselves for the attention and preference of the King and Queen," Faervel explained, his voice drawing her in with its enthusiasm like a child talking about their favourite story. "One moment, one Lord is higher in status then the others, but in the next moment, he does something wrong and someone else is in favour. Human politics is little different then from a pack of starving wolves."
"One… Ouch," Kathryn winced, but the twinkle in her eye gave away her teasing tone. "And two…Well, humans are not all bad. There must be some in history that have not fallen to corruption or had some form of evil in them,"
"You're right," Faervel nodded. "There have been a few," she saw the teasing twinkle in his eye and couldn't help but smirk.
"Only a few?"
"I'm afraid so…"
"Forgive me for saying, but if I remember correctly we met when you helped me escape the servants of a corrupt and selfish Elven king,"
"And of course, you must point out the black sheep amongst the herd,"
"I'm just very observant and have a good memory,"
"My dear Kathryn," Faervel smiled at her as he raised a playful eyebrow. "Once you have lived as long as an elf, will you ever be able to make that claim. But I won't stretch your human mind, thinking about that long a life might hurt your brain,"
"Did you just try to make a joke?"
"It appears I did… though, considering how you are not laughing, I'm not too sure of its success,"
"You are not like other elves, Faervel," Kathryn said softly as she smiled at him.
"And so she points out the second black sheep," Faervel sighed dramatically.
This time, Kathryn did actually laugh. They walked on through the gardens, and Kathryn smiled when she heard the chirp of birdsong, looking up to see blue-tits and sparrows dancing around one another and their mates. Perhaps this is where they came to when they flew south for the winter, Kathrym thought to herself. But of course, thoughts of the north brought her to thoughts of Smaug, and Erebor, and the recent rumours and gossip.
"You have heard of what has happened in the north?" Kathryn asked finally.
"Yes, it would have been a remarkable event to immortalise in writing, but alas, I have much more important business here," he said with a warm smile to her. "It must be terribly stressful for you."
"Oh?"
"You wanted to go to Esgaroth did you not? But Lake-Town has been destroyed by the dragon… the one you wanted was there,"
"Oh… yes," Kathrym murmured, remembering the lie she had spoken to him when they had first met in Mirkwood.
"I wish there was a way for you to know if he lived or died,"
"I had thought he died…" Kathryn whispered, almost forgetting that Faervel was there as she spoke mainly to herself. "But it would seem that very recently I was proven wrong on the matter,"
"How do you know?" he asked.
"I had heard that some survived," Kathryn said vaguely, knowing that she couldn't lie to Faervel anymore then she already had, so decided that a half-truth was perhaps the best option for her to take. "And if you knew him then you would know that he is a tough man to kill,"
"Will you go after him? Surely if you know he lives you would want to resume your quest,"
"If you haven't noticed, I am currently chained to this place in more ways than one," Kathryn said with a slightly bitter edge in her voice. "And with Lake-Town gone and the mountain back in the dwarves possession, there is nothing keeping him there… and therefore nothing for me to go back to,"
Kathryn felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Faervel looking at her with sympathy and sadness in his eyes. He slid his hands to her upper arms, giving her a comforting squeeze. Kathryn felt the tension that had been building up in her over the past few days… simply evaporate. It was as if Faervel's warmth banished the cold, his easy presence made her settle and completely relax as she felt safe with him. She sighed, and Faervel gave her a small smile as he squeezed her shoulders tenderly.
"A'maelamin," He whispered in such a small voice that Kathryn barely heard it, even if she didn't understand what he said. He leaned in close, and for an agonising and frightening moment, Kathryn thought he might kiss her; but instead, he merely rested his forehead against hers, allowing her to rest against him as he closed his eyes. And after a moment… Kathryn allowed herself to surrender to the mere peace that he offered, nothing romantic she thought, just companionship. "I wish that you one day find what you seek,"
"She already has." Growled a voice.
Kathryn broke apart from Faervel to spin around and face what lay behind her. Smaug stood there, glaring at the elf with eyes like roaring infernos, a cloak draped over him and a leather glove upon his right hand – that was currently balled into a tight and shaking fist. To the whole world, Smaug's human face seemed only slightly annoyed, for his jaw was clenched, his brows pulled into a tight frown, with a slight twitch in one cheek. But Kathryn knew simply by his eyes that he was absolutely furious.
"Beg your pardon, sir?" Faervel asked, his voice losing all warmth and instead held great suspicion and a slight edge Kathryn had not heard before as if he already perceived the threat that now stood before him. Faervel narrowed his eyes at the man, who was glaring at him as if he could set him on fire.
"Don't do this," Kathryn murmured to Smaug, pleading as she discreetly placed herself in front of Faervel, shielding him from view. Smaug saw her movement though, his eyes lighting in his head as his slight frown turned into a scowl.
"I would speak with you Kathryn." Smaug said in a tight hiss. "So if you would remove your hands from her, Elf."
Kathryn hadn't even noticed that Faervel's hands were still on her arms, and she felt them clench only slightly on her flesh, protectively. Before she felt herself being moved as Faervel handled her to the side so that she was out of the way as he squared up to the human that he couldn't possibly know to be Smaug.
"I would watch your tone, stranger," Faervel's voice was cold but still held all of the manners Kathryn had come to expect in him, only the slightest hint of a threat as he stared at Smaug who was slightly taller than him. "I would not have you speak in such a way to my friend,"
"Faervel, don't –" Kathryn whispered, trying to stop the elf before he said or did something that could prove to be fatal.
"I will speak however I choose," Smaug growled menacingly. "Now you run along back to your forests where your filthy kind has sunk, and Kathryn will come with me. Now."
"Stop it!" Kathryn pleaded, but her words fell upon two pairs of deaf ears.
"She is not yours to command," Faervel bit out.
"I very much disagree," Smaug purred as his eyes danced wicked. "And if you value your life, you will refrain from touching what is mine again,"
"Oh! Eru, spare me the cockfights of males!" Kathryn hissed to herself.
"It is you," Faervel murmured, realisation dawning in his eyes. Smaug was silent for a moment, so the elf carried on. "The one she was going to, the one she wanted to save… the one who drove her away,"
Kathryn saw the building rage in Smaug's eyes, saw when his muscles twitched in preparing for an attack. The dragon-human was completely livid at what Faervel was saying, and would surely kill him! But Kathryn quickly leapt at him, her hands clenching on one of his arms as she brought her body against his side, feeling his heat that washed over her, stinging like a flame and making the fear inside of her rise like bile. But Kathryn pushed it aside for now, aware that Smaug had gone completely still, frozen in place by her close proximity.
"Would you excuse us for a few minutes," she said hurriedly over her shoulder to Faervel, before quickly pulling on Smaug's arm. He refused to move at first, instead glaring intently at the elf before him. But then, he slowly relinquished his hold on himself and followed her. Kathryn led him through the gardens, passing a few couples that gave them odd looks, but soon they reached the shadows as they came to stand within the shadows of an enclosed porch leading to an old door that did not look like it had been used in a while. There was no one around them for fifty yards in any direction, and Kathryn took that as an indication that they would not be overheard, and so turned to face Smaug who was glaring at her.
"So now you decide to grace me with your presence," he muttered bitterly, almost in a snarky manner. "I am so honoured,"
"What do you think you're doing?!" she demanded of him. "Are you stalking me? Following me?"
"I have every right to make sure that my belongings are safe," he told her as if this was the most obvious thing in the world, completely ignoring her eyes that were boring into him.
"You have no right!" She pointed a threatening finger at him, and his indifferent stare only made her all the more furious. "I've already told you of that!"
"Ah yes, your words the other day… did you expect me to listen?" he almost growled at her condescendingly. "Did you think your little attempts would throw me?"
"So following me and threatening strangers is your response?" Kathryn scowled at him.
"I will not allow that elvish filth to put his hands and sweet words all over you! And what are you doing encouraging him?!" Smaug seemed close to exploding with rage as he loomed in front of Kathryn.
"I'm not encouraging him!"
"I can see in his eyes that he wants you!" he snarled.
"Whether he wants something or not, it doesn't matter - because I don't! It takes two to dance and Faervel is a gentleman; so there will be nothing going on between us!"
"You'll have to forgive me if I'm a little sceptical, what with your rather childish attitude that you displayed when last we spoke," he sneered.
"Do you have ANY idea what you put me through the other day?" she hissed at him, wanting to scream in rage but kept her voice low so that they would not draw unwanted attention. "I thought you were dead! I grieved for you, I felt alone without you, and then you pop right back into my life out of nowhere! Then, not only do I find out that you're alive, but you've been alive all this time, and been close but chose to leave me all alone! Do you even realise how upset I was? Do you know how horrid you made me feel?"
"Do you know what it was like?" he retaliated; suddenly seeming vexed as he took a dangerous step towards her, eyes burning with anger and something else Kathryn couldn't quite place. "To watch you die trying to save me, to have you leave me alone in this world, to grieve you?! I, who has slaughtered a thousand armies, has laid waste to countless lives; I, who has left a trail of blood in my wake wherever I go… The bloodthirsty hunter that I am, and you left me weeping upon that bridge!"
"We're just going in circles," Kathryn muttered almost to herself. "You cannot just waltz back into my life and simply take me,"
"Oh yes I can," Smaug grinned evilly as he took another step closer, forcing Kathryn to take a small step back to try and maintain some distance between them warily. "I once told you that you belonged to me, and that if you ever came back to me, then I wouldn't let you go. You came back to me, Kathryn. You promised me that you would never leave me,"
"I made that promise if you left the people of Lake-Town alone," Kathryn whispered, her eyes looking from his burning orbs to his feet fearfully as she edged back, but Smaug kept coming forward. "I gave you that opportunity twice and you didn't take it,"
"Well, we were interrupted before any deal could be made,"
Kathryn scowled at him.
"You could still come with me, we could leave this place and never return. Everything could be just as it was before," he murmured, his voice almost husky as he tried to draw himself closer to her.
"I can't," Kathryn's voice trembled, the fear spiking through her as she turned her face away from him, even as he back came in contact with the wall behind her as Smaug trapped her with his body only inches from her own.
"Where is your fire Kathryn?" Smaug asked, and she could feel his gaze upon her face as his eyes narrowed to scrutinising her. "You were so much stronger, where did your nerve go?"
"You don't know what it is like," she whispered, afraid that if she said it any louder than her voice would break from the tension building within her chest. "When your mind turns against you. You feel as if you've been broken, and you need to rebuild yourself from the ground up, but you can't even trust your mind." She shuddered, thinking of all the waking hours she had spent tossing and turning in the night, frightened to sleep encase the madness would return. "And then I'm here, in this place, put on display. Not able to say one wrong word without that mistake resulting in my own death…"
"When I awoke, I was told that you were alive, but I did not want to believe it." he murmured softly, and Kathryn turned her head back to face him, purple eyes shining as her heart ached when she saw the raw emotion in his eyes. "I couldn't bear the thought of believing, of hoping, and then it be false. It would have crushed me. Even when I wanted nothing else in the world, I refused to accept that you were real. I hated living with that fear, that you could be truly dead, away from me forever. Not until I saw you with my own eyes. Until that moment, the maddening anxiety would not leave me. I lost you once, I couldn't do it again."
Kathryn looked at him, her heart breaking as she beheld him, all the emotion laid bare before her. He meant it, every word. She could feel through the bond they now shared once again, she felt every emotion as he spoke it, like the aftershock of the real thing. And in an odd way, she felt touched that this great dragon, a murderer and a creature she had thought previously beyond her reach, who had never showed such emotion before; he felt it all for her. Hesitantly, Kathryn reached up, her fingers trembling slightly, towards his face. She froze perhaps an inch or two away from his face, eyes searching his for permission, as if this was a boundary that had yet to be crossed. Kathryn realised that she had only ever touched Smaug like this on that fateful night on the bridge, and she swallowed back the lump in her throat as she tried to hold back the memories, focusing on the here and now. Smaug watched her, his eyes never leaving hers, her hand held ready between them. And then, deliberately slowly, he pushed his face forward until his cheek was cupped by her palm.
Releasing a breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding, Kathryn gave Smaug a small smile. She felt his human skin beneath her fingers, so odd compared to his tough and hard scales from before. He was still feverish hot, as if a furnace burned away inside of him, but his flesh was smooth and fit against her just perfectly. They stared into each other's eyes, and Kathryn felt Smaug's mind feeling along the bond between them, not invading her consciousness, but simply feeling at her centre with his, allowing their emotions to mix as he soared within her. Her smile grew as she remembered every good memory they had: riddle games, songs, dreams. And she even remembered the day she left him, although she skipped over many parts of that day, she remembered her last song, and how before she left, she had kissed his sleeping eyelid. It was such a bitter-sweet memory, and it pulled upon her heart as she thought of everything they had been through –
But suddenly, Smaug pushed against her hand, and rammed her body with his, trapping her against the stone behind her, his hands coming to grab at her shoulders, his head lowering so that he could stare into her eyes. Kathryn gasped in shock, her pulse suddenly racing as she looked at him fearfully; once the shock wore off, she tried to push him away, but his strength was too great as he pushed her shoulders and ground his hips into hers to keep her in place. A rumble began to grow within Smaug's chest, like the purr of a tiger but the warning of a thunder storm swirling inside of him.
"Smaug, what are you doing?" Kathryn demanded breathlessly, aware of how terrified her voice sounded, even to her own ears.
"Reminding you of who you belong to," Smaug ground it, his voice suddenly hoarse and guttural as he beheld her with eyes that burned into her soul, a gaze that was now dark and misted. "You're mine, Kathryn… Mind, body and soul…"
"What –?!"
But whatever she was about to say in protest next, was cut off as Smaug lunged for her and crashed his lips against hers. Kathryn was in such utter shock by this that she completely froze, eyes wide as her body went rigid, her mind going white and blank as she went numb. All she knew was that Smaug's human lips were pressing against hers, hungry and taking… and then realisation finally dawned: he was kissing her.
What in Middle-Earth is happening?! She could hardly comprehend anything, her world had just been flipped over onto its head and spun around until it was dizzy. Smaug was kissing her. If she could even call it a kiss, he was applying bruising pressure to her lips as he kissed her demandingly, dominating her as he pressed himself against her. Utter fear, shock and something else she refused to name coursed through her, crashing together as she felt his lips upon hers, trying to deepen the kiss further, his lips trying to coax hers to open to allow him entrance. She could feel his scolding hot breath against her face as he was breathing in heavily, taking in her scent. She felt his whole frame pushing against hers, the power within him held back in check by a mere thread, ready to be unleashed in a second's notice, and all of it primed and focused on her as she felt his body respond to the proximity of hers.
A fear from inexperience and confusion made her shaking hands fly to his shoulders in an attempt to push him away, turning her head in order to try and break the kiss. She barely managed to fight him off, but he did not seem to register her movements as resistance, more rather as encouragement as he broke from her mouth and turned his attention to her neck. Sweeping away her hair, Smaug pressed his mouth to the side of her throat, causing Kathryn to gasp as the sensation upon her sensitive skin made her flesh come alive, like forks of lightning were racing across it. Smaug brushed his teeth along the artery in her neck, his tongue lapping at her flesh, before his kissed it, again with that same bruising force. His arms slid around her waist, pulling her against his chest, and Kathryn became very aware of his body's reaction to her, feeling something prod against her navel causing a wave of heat to wash through her, pooling to a secret place as she felt herself becoming flushed –
Frightfully, she began to push at his shoulders again, but when he proved to be too strong and heavy, she began to beat her hands against him, trying desperately to get his attention.
"Stop!" She whispered, her voice a mere whisper that left her in a rush as she began to hyperventilate. "Stop-Stop-Stop!"
Smaug froze in place for a fraction of a second as her words broke through to him, his fingers tightening around her like claws. And then, as if with a tremendous amount of effort, he pushed himself away from her, stiffly uncurling from around her body as he snarled to himself; frustration written in every part of his face as he stared down at her. Kathryn almost wanted to shy away from those eyes that looked her over as if she were the helpless lamb before the lion, and he would gobble her up without a second thought.
"Wh-what…" Kathryn struggled for words as she tried to beat down the rush of emotions swirling within her and the blush that was blooming from her cheeks down. "What the hell was that?!" she did her best to growl at him, even if her voice shook and she was leaning against the stone wall behind her for support as if her knees would give out at any second.
"I was under the impression that that was what humans did when they claimed what is there's." Smaug told her, his voice soft and low, but still husky from his desire that threatened to darken his eyes, still hounding at the edge of his self-control.
Kathryn felt her breath freeze in her throat, her heart threatening to stop beating from the shock within her. This couldn't be happening… she tried to tell herself that it was just a dream, that this wasn't real. How long had she loved Smaug? The day she left him, she had realised that she loved him, and for sixty years since that love had not diminished. She had spent so long not knowing if he returned her feelings or if he just saw her as a possession, a living jewel to keep in his collection. They had both known that something was between them, only they had never openly discussed it, as if saying it somehow made it real and therefore they would have no choice but to confront it and they had both been wary of the results. What if they had not felt what they originally thought? Then, everything would be awkward between them from then on. But what if it was real? They had been human and dragon then, how would it have worked, would they be content with just each other's love? All this time that had been what Kathryn had told herself to justify the fact that she could never act upon her feelings. But she had imagined this human Smaug in her mind, loving her like he just had (albeit a little more gently), all without the real Smaug's knowledge encase he would be disgusted or angered by such a thing.
But now he was the one to act, suddenly confronting all of Kathryn's previous imaginings, fancies and longings, that she suddenly didn't know what to do or how to think.
"W-what… How…?... Why –" she couldn't even form words as she stared at him, wide eyed.
"Kathryn," Smaug murmured in a low voice, his eyes fixed upon hers with a gaze so intense that Kathryn thought he might be trying to use his dragon-spell upon her. "I spent sixty years asleep in order to wait for you in my dreams. I destroyed an entire town in revenge for you and to search for you. The only reason I allow myself to parade around in this filthy human skin is so that I can have you. If that doesn't tell you of my intentions, then what will…?"
Kathryn stared at him, mind going completely blank once again. She knew this, of course she did, she had known it all along; but to hear it suddenly made it all seem real. Standing there, her mouth open slightly, Kathryn didn't know what to do or what to say.
But fortunately for her, she didn't need to, as at that precise moment, they both heard a voice.
"Kathryn?" they heard Faervel's voice perhaps a few seconds before he came around the far corner, coming to within twenty feet of their hiding place. Smaug looked over his shoulder to glare murder at the approaching elf, his entire body tensed and ready to rip him apart. And for the second time that day, Kathryn leapt forward and grabbed Smaug's arm, hugging her body against his side as she reached up on her tip toes so that she could almost reach his ear.
"If you value anything of what we have left, you will not harm him." she whispered into his ear in a quick rush, so quiet that even with Faervel's acute elven hearing ability, only Smaug would be able to hear her. Smaug turned to glare at her for her audacity to threaten him, but Kathryn didn't meet his eyes as she stepped away from him and out of the porch and turned towards Faervel. "I'm here." She called to him, faintly aware of Smaug soundlessly stepping out to loom behind her, sending threatening glares over her shoulder towards the elf that approached.
"I was beginning to worry," Faervel murmured, the comment half directed towards Smaug as the elf cast him a suspicious and supposedly threatening glare.
"There is no need for you to worry," Kathryn gave him a small smile as she stepped towards him and away from Smaug. "What is it?"
"The King has sent guards to find you, apparently your presence has been requested in the throne room," the elf said almost apologetically. Kathryn felt her body seize as she thought of facing all of those people again, but quickly hid it beneath a calm face, though she was sue that both elf and dragon had seen it.
"Very well," she said quietly, stiffly. "I mustn't keep them waiting," she made to move past the elf towards the castle, where she could already see two guards waiting by the entrance ready to take her away. When she suddenly turned back to look at Smaug, who had not taken his eyes off of her. "I will speak with you later," she said, perhaps a little formerly, but Smaug merely nodded a promise in his eyes that he would hold her to her words. But as she passed him, Faervel turned back to look at Smaug.
"I did not catch your name, stranger," he asked, eyes narrowing. Kathryn paused, heart skipping a beat nervously as she looked over her shoulder just enough to see Smaug out of the corner of her eye. In a split second, Smaug's expression had turned from glaring murderously to an arrogant and smug smirk that tugged at his lips.
"Cail Agonn," he growled.
Smaug stalked through the halls towards the throne room, his anger still making his blood boil as he stormed down the halls.
He was more than angry, he was more than furious – he was absolutely livid! Not only had the Witch over stepped her bounds with him this morning, but he had found that elf-filth trying to… to… Smaug couldn't even think of it, if he did he thought that his human head might explode. The worst part was that Kathryn seemed oblivious, for she did not seem interested from what Smaug could tell, but then what the elf boy had called her… "A'maelamin", elvish for "my beloved"… Smaug had truly struggled to stay in control of his actions at that point, he knew that he couldn't make a scene with so many witnesses about. But he couldn't remain hidden any longer, and so decided to break apart the little 'friendly embrace' that he had observed. Oh, Smaug knew he couldn't make a scene in front of others lest he get caught… but he so planned on finding the elf in his bed wherever he slept and cutting him up into tiny... little... pieces.
Or he would have had Kathryn not threatened him. That was another factor to add to his anger, she had threatened him. Usually he would have laughed in her face and done as he pleased just to spite her, but her in her tone of voice there had been something that had made him stop and listen. And the fact that what she threatened him with was something that he desired –
He stopped the train of thought there. For thinking further along those lines would bring him to the kiss he had given to Kathryn, and then his rather aroused follow up. When he had first thought to kiss her, it had been as he explained to her: a claim, to show her that she was his and his alone. But as soon as their lips touched, her scent had swirled around him, intoxicating him and putting him into some form of enchantment, for his inner beast had roared at the challenge and his blood had sung in his veins. Smaug had been almost completely unprepared for the onslaught, the sheer magnitude of his reaction to her, the last shred of his iron will had been the only thing stopping him from taking her then and there. He had always known that he had felt for as he would for a life-mate, but his body had only previously hinted at wanting her physically – partly due to her being a human and him being a dragon for most of their time together. But as he had told her, his actions before had always said how he felt about her, why else would he do what he had done? Had she been clueless this entire time? Did he really have to say it, to spell it out for her to know? Her resistance pointed to that fact, but Smaug also knew that it was due to her inexperience, how she had never been sexually intimate before. And part of him was practically giddy with triumph that she was all there for him, that he would be the first and only male to ever touch her in such a way, and it also made him extremely jealous very easily, as if until he took her for his own and marked her as his, she could be stolen from him at any moment. Which is why he wanted to kill the elf.
But Smaug would do it in a clever way, oh yes! The plan was set in motion now, he only had to wait for the end of the lunar month in order to get the ball rolling, and then, things would be back to being as he wished. He would take Kathryn away, steal her in the night perhaps, the classic dragon kidnapping a maiden story. He would lay his claim on her for all the world to know, that she was his and belonged to no other and would never again leave his claws. Then, he and Kathryn would go north and take back the Lonely Mountain, together. Smaug did not know what had changed, but for some reason he could feel the power within her swell and build around her like a thunderstorm preparing to strike. The power was intoxicating, and that much Raw Magic – enough for her to use, nothing to cause her harm – would surely devastate any force that came into contact with it, especially if Smaug could teach her, or even harness it himself. They would take back Erebor together, and then Smaug would have everything: Kathryn, his gold, his mountain, and Dale, Mirkwood, the Iron Hills, Vathvael and everything else would be nothing but ash and blood and death –
Smaug locked his jaw to hold in a strangled cry that threatened to burst forth from his mouth as he felt a burning pain race through his right arm. He would never get used to the sensation, he thought to himself, as he unceremoniously pushed himself against the wall, left had going to cup his right shoulder, squeezing as if he could force the pain from his system like poison. The bones in his arm ached, the muscles cramping painfully and his skin felt like he had plunged his whole arm into a bowl of acid, until he thought that pulling his flesh from his bones would be a welcome relief. He struggled to maintain his even breathing, trying to seem for all the world as if he were lazily reclining against the wall, when in reality he was struggling not to scream as he fought the pain. After a few minutes, the edge of it began to fade, and Smaug quickly seized the opportunity to pull at the shoulder of his human clothes, feeling a rather unnatural irritation creep along his chest. Yanking the material back to his shoulder, Smaug's eyes widened to that the scales that had been on his hand, had spread up his arm to his shoulder, and was now creeping across his collar-bone towards his neck. He could see the very flesh beneath it did not look normal, as if his body was turning into a mutated hybrid monstrosity of human and dragon, stuck somewhere in the middle between the two. Quickly covering it back up, Smaug went back to his current objective with renewed sense of purpose. He needed that spell, and quickly. He needed control of this situation, for upon reflection, he seemed to realise that this transformation was being pushed by his more… draconic thoughts. The specifics he would think on later, right now, he needed to be in that throne room.
As he approached the great double doors leading to court, the two guards stationed at the entrance tried to step out to stop him, obviously not recognising him. But Smaug only had to give them one look of his fiery eyes, his dragon spell and magic lashing out at them even from a distance and beating them into submission as he made them slaves to his will. Even Smaug was surprised at the strength in which his magic attacked, like a viper, but did not complain as he left the guards little more than vegetables standing by the doors as he strode past them and into the throne room. He came into the courtroom, the nobles not looking at him as they were focused upon their King and Queen. Smaug made his way towards the large windows, one of which was open, standing beside it and feeling the breeze upon it soothed him somewhat as he watched the pathetic politics of mortals.
"The Dragon is gone," said a voice, projecting his words so that the whole room could hear, and Smaug saw that it was the administrator, Lord Gregorse. The little Lordling was strutting about the space in the centre of the Throne Room like a peacock, clearly in a debate with the other power figures before the King. "And with its death, the riches of Erebor, once given up for lost from the economy of Middle-Earth, are thrust back into the daylight. I propose, my King, that General Victis take his army north outnumbering the victorious dwarves fifteen-to-one… and humbly offer their services and protection, safeguarding the hoard for the good of all the Free Peoples. Then I will send the engineers, craftsmen and builders, a mix of Dwarven, Elven, Hobbit and Man to place minds at ease, rebuilding Esgaroth and Erebor to glory, but in DORWINION'S vision of glory, not their old, antiquated traditions."
"The dragon may be dead, but that does not mean that there is any likely less threat." General Victis argued back in a gruff voice. "What you propose is an underhanded attack that could easily fail. It would have done us better to either join the Battle at Erebor and then take it all or to have hoped the Goblins killed them all and then come in to clear out the vermin. Now we can do nothing, if we march north, we risk war."
"Only a few hundred men of Lake-Town remain, and scarcely any Dwarves, quite difficult enough to populate two revived cities, wouldn't you agree?" Gregorse raised a brow at the general with a smug smile creeping across his face. "Dorwinion will send thousands, tens of thousands of citizens to reawaken their glory. OUR glory. We will bring no fangs or roars or fire. But we will have conquered Erebor and reaped its reward. All without spilling a single drop of blood."
"It is a gamble," Victis barked.
"I thought you had built your reputation, my good general, on playing by your own rules. Why do you suddenly play by someone else's?" Lord Beronor narrowed his gaze at the veteran soldier, who bristled at the implication laying just beneath the surface of the words.
"Dorwinion's words have always been "Strong and Sure". We have had no need of such gold before, we have no need of it now. And I only gamble when I know that all the cards are in my favour!"
"Enough of this!" King Wilhelm snapped irritably. All fell silent, and the Lord's returned to their respected places around the steps of the leading to the thrones. Wilhelm then turned to look lazily at Kathryn, who was stood beside Lord Beronor, and Smaug allowed his eyes to latch onto her, his hunger for her rising at the memory of the taste of her flesh. "As you can see," Wilhelm said with a cat-like smile. "This heated debate is rather bothersome. Could our songbird sing us a tune in order to distract us all from such inconsequential thoughts?" There was a gentle chuckle that spread through the room, but neither Smaug nor Kathryn join in on it.
"As you wish, Your Grace," she said stiffly, dipping to curtsey, before making her way to the centre of the room. As she stood there, preparing herself as Smaug felt the fear and nervousness welling up inside her, she seemed to look up suddenly, as if feeling his gaze upon her, and their eyes met. Instantly, he felt her fear evaporate, and as she opened her mouth to sing, her eyes never left his for a single moment.
"I hear your voice on the wind...
And I hear you call out my name...
'Listen, my child,' you say to me.
'I am the voice of your history
Be not afraid, come follow me
Answer my call, and I'll set you free!'
I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice that always is calling you
I am the voice, I will remain
I am the voice in the fields when the summer's gone
The dance of the leaves when the autumn winds blow
Now do I sleep throughout all the cold winter long
I am the force that in springtime will grow
I am the voice of the past that will always be
Filled with my sorrow and blood in my fields
I am the voice of the future, bring me your peace
Bring me your peace, and my wounds, they will heal
I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice that always is calling you
I am the voice...
I am the voice of the past that will always be
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice of the future
I am the voice, I am the voice,
I am the voice, I am the voice!"
A great applause burst from the crowd, just like it had before. Smaug found himself smiling, a small part of him rejoicing at hearing Kathryn sing again, and how she had looked at him the entire time. That had been for him, and no matter what the elf-boy wanted, no matter how he tried to steal Kathryn away, her voice, that gift, that music she produced, was always Smaug's. Every time she sang, it was for him! Then, the crowd was moving, blocking Smaug's view of Kathryn, even as she went to turn away to return to the side of Lord Beronor like a whipped puppy. Smaug tried to see her, a part of him –
Suddenly, a scream split through the crowd as loud as a thunder strike. Smaug turned, instantly recognising that scream. The crowd suddenly moved, gasping, and Smaug saw through the gaps of people a tumble of red curls fall towards the floor. Instantly he was moving, pushing his way through the crowd towards the centre, using his superior strength as if he were a battering ram. But the throng of people closed in the closer he got, and soon it became difficult to move, halting Smaug so that not even his momentum could give him enough force to push people aside.
"MOVE!" he roared, his voice booming through the room and with such ferocity that people literally tripped over each other in order to get out of his way, allowing him through. As he came to the centre, he saw Lord Beronor crouched down with a few others beside the body of Kathryn. But Smaug had no time for this, and so, uncaring on what people thought or did to him, he clamped his hands upon the Lord's shoulder and with only a fraction of his strength, flung him aside, sending him flying back as Smaug quickly took his place as he knelt beside Kathryn, taking her head in his hands as he looked into her eyes.
She was struggling to breathe, whispers of the Deep Magic racing across her lips before being abruptly cut off, her body was convulsing, and Smaug could feel the charge of magic in her like a build-up of electricity, quickly rising to dangerous levels as it stewed and festered and grew around her with no way of release. Her eyes were flinching and seeming to latch onto anything in sight but not really seeing, her purple irises expanded and threatened to engulf her eyes before quickly retracting and going to normal. She was having a vision, but Smaug was completely stumped for what was happening to her; he only knew that something was wrong.
"Kathryn," he whispered lowly enough so that only she could hear but his voice cut through to her like a guillotine blade. Her fingers clutched at his clothes like claws, her eyes locking onto his, as if seeing him for the first time, desperation and fear all he could see in her.
"I-it won't c-come!" she hissed on an intake of breath, trying to take in any amount of air as if she were drowning. "I-it-it's stuck!"
Instantly knowing what to do, Smaug cared little for who was watching, for right now Kathryn needed him and that was all that mattered. He forced his eyes to expand and take in all of Kathryn as he allowed his magic to connect with hers. The rush of power that he felt was like nothing he had ever experienced before, he felt like he was made of a substance lighter than air, he felt the power of the sun itself contained within him, he felt like he could release such power for a year, shining like a lantern and still only exhaust a fraction of it. But he quickly pushed such feelings aside, knowing how easy it was to fall into the trap of magical power, becoming drunk on its effects before it tore its victim apart.
As he fell into Kathryn's mind, racing along the bond that they shared, he went to the secret place, her very connection to Raw Magic that he had repaired. The huge gate was spilling through tidal waves of magic, so strong Smaug was almost cut in half by it, the steady flood seemed to be so much that Kathryn could contain it enough in order to focus on the vision properly. He knew he had to force the vision upon her and then get her out of it. He went along the currents of magic, careful not to touch it, and found the blockage, like a blood clot it was condensed, almost physicalized within her. And with a huge force of will, he pushed his own magic into it, swinging it like a hammer as he crushed it, breaking it apart and allowing the flow of magic to go free once again.
And then the vision began.
Kathryn fell down towards a gigantic stone doorway, utterly black and huge against the deep-blue walls. Its pillars were made of the mightiest basalt and its lintel likewise, but around the edges of it, Great Dragons of black stone were carved thereon, standing as guards, and shadowy smoke poured slowly from their jaws. She fell right through the doorway, descending into a seemingly eternal black pit, with only the barest illumination coming from fires like the infernos of Hell that raged thousands of feet below. Kathryn fell upon a stone walkway, her limbs falling in a heap; she wanted to simply stay there, the exhaustion in her body overwhelming her. But the stone beneath her was almost hot enough to burn her skin, and she quickly helped herself up… until she realised that she was not alone.
A gigantic figure sat upon his knees before her, arms held up in the air by gigantic chains that stretched away into the nothingness of the ceiling. The figure, as if noticing her eyes upon him, slowly lifted his bowed head to stare at her with piercing, burning hot eyes that saw into her soul. Kathryn wanted to scream at the malicious intent, the hatred and fury that was held in those eyes. She had only ever been seen in a vision by Sauron, and this wasn't him…
"RELEASE ME!" it screeched in a voice that was both high and low, roaring until her ear drums would burst and growling softly. The very sound of it grated down Kathryn's spine, making her bones rattle and the power held within those wicked eyes was enough to make her blood turn to ice in her veins. She was filled with such terror that it was all she could do to turn around and run as fast as her legs could carry her, the fires far below her screaming and roaring, throwing heat up to her feet and making her sweat as she struggled to breathe through the fumes.
She ran for what felt like forever, hours and hours until she felt as if everything was dead inside of her body. But the fear that gripped her heart was enough to push her on further and further, as if she could never put enough distance between her and the chained figure.
But then, Kathryn saw a light ahead, a light as if it were coming through the crack of a doorway. Thinking it might be the way she had fallen in, Kathryn raced towards it, even as it opened and the silhouette of a figure she faintly recognised stepped through. He held out one armoured hand to her, offering her to take it, and although she couldn't see his face, she felt him smile affectionately.
"Tharŷliel," he said in a voice like silk, fatherly and yet commanding. "Tula amin…"
Kathryn reached out to take his hand, wanting nothing more than for it all to be over –
But suddenly her legs were swept out from under her, as she was hoisted into a pair of strong arms, cradled against a muscular chest as the one who held her turned from the figure in the light and carried Kathryn away into the dark. She didn't need to look to see that it was Smaug's human form that held her, and she huddled closer to him as she felt the fear and exhaustion well up within her. He was here, he would keep her safe, just as he always had…
"Don't leave me," she quietly begged him, knowing what awaited her the moment he would leave her in this desolate dungeon, she never wanted to feel alone as she had when she had thought him dead: she would rather die.
"Never." He vowed.
A/N: Right, quick important announcements: 1) As some of you will have noticed, the rating has been shifted to "M" due to the fact that from here on out there are themes and issues that are strictly for mature readers. I apologise for anyone who was offended or repulsed by Andraya's conversation with Freyja. I originally wanted Andraya to be a villain that could be liked... but I guess not.
2) We now have a working Devianart page! Mussymay14 has told me that there was a couple of things wrong with the settings before, but it is all working now and people can join and post art and what have you :)
3) Myself and Mussymay14 would like to announce that we are holding a "Heart Series" Competition! Basically, you can submit anything from fanart, fan-vids, music, whatever so long as it is to do with this series. Go to the Heart-of-Fire Devianart Page (link to that on my profile page) for all the rules, even though there's not many. Deadline will be 21st of April. First prize winner will have themselves/their OC feature as a guest star in this story! Woo-Hoo! :D I hope to see a lot of you in this!
And lastly, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter - again apologies for lateness but I hope the quality was back up to par with my usual stuff :) I didn't include the Battle of the Five Armies in this actual story, because oddly enough I had no idea how to tackle it, and I wanted to wait until the third film to see it. But please review, and tell me what you think of: Smaug and Andraya's little spat? Andraya and Freyja's discussion? Kathryn and Faervel spending time together? Smaug's jealousy? Smaug and Kathryn time? Smaug's whole POV bit in this chapter? And lastly, the vision: what did you all think?
Until next time my lovelies! x X x