Chapter 21 - Darkness Descends

"Such wanton death was dealt that day, for this city of men was nothing to Smaug. His eye was set on another prize." – Bilbo, The Hobbit

Smaug tucked his wings against his sides, tipping his body weight forward as he dived down from the sky, the wind howling in his ears as he quickly allowed his weight to speed him down towards the fast approaching ground. The sky held no light above him, the moon blocked, the stars obscured, to leave no witness in the heavens that could see what he was about to do. The lone city of Vathvael was abandoned with no one to see the dark hearted creature drop from the sky, a black leech attached to his soul that infected him with poisonous whispers of death and fire that he could rain down upon those below, and claim the souls of the ones whom he had come to collect as was his dues. He grinned at the prospect, but restrained the impulse; that time would come, but he wanted to make an impact first.

When he was but three hundred feet from the ground, the great dragon opened his massive wings, lurching him to a halt as the membranes gathered the air and stopped his momentum. With the thunderclap sound of his wings, all eyes were directed towards him from below, a chorus of screams erupting all around, awakening those that had been asleep in their homes to look outside and see the horror that had descended upon them. Smaug grinned wickedly as he soaked in their fear, feeding a twisted a joy inside of him before he roared, announcing his arrival like a fanfare that proclaimed to all his presence. Immediately, the city was in disarray as everyone was awoken and driven into action, most fleeing in a blind panic, whilst a brave few – mainly the city guard – tried to organise themselves into a military fashion, firing arrows and spears from ballista's at him. The normal arrows simply bounced off of his scales, causing Smaug to sneer at the pathetic attempts to harm him. With another flap of his wings he then sent himself soaring towards the great castle at the centre of the city, avoiding the spears as they sailed harmlessly away from him. As he reached the walls surrounding the castle, Smaug smashed his tail into the watch tower on one side of the main gate, the debris falling onto the gates and blocking it, leaving all within the castle grounds to be trapped inside.

His fun now over, Smaug then focused his mind on his task for being here: finding his precious Kathryn. He even ignored the whispers that wanted him to finish what he started, to make all the occupants of this city pay in such a manner that all of Middle Earth would remember it in the centuries to come. But he pushed such thoughts aside; that was not his purpose here, so such fantasies would need to be ignored.

He quickly flew over the castle, casting his eyes about for any sign of Kathryn, though he saw nothing. He then felt along the bond to see where she was, but she was moving too quickly for him to exactly pinpoint her location, not to mention he felt as if something was blocking his signal to her. It caused him to worry somewhat, but he knew this wouldn't be easy, it wouldn't be interesting otherwise, and so he resorted to his next plan.

With a flap of his wings, Smaug rose upwards towards the towers of the great castle, allowing all to see his magnificence as he soared and twisted in the air between the tower-tops. Then, hovering for a second, Smaug landed upon the roofs of the towers, the talons of his back legs gripping the tiles of the roof that crumbled away beneath him, his hands on his forelegs gripping the spires as he reared into a more bipedal looking position, the wings on his back flaring out to keep his balance and to catch the air to make him lighter on his feet. He roared, once again announcing his presence for all the world to take notice, appearing like the mighty conqueror he was, even though the city had not even put up a good fight against him, so quick and precise had been his strike.

But the game had only just begun…

And so, with a leer, he prepared to make the first move and await the response.

Kathryn was panting as she followed Gandalf as fast as she was able, stumbling and almost tripping several times as her feet caught in the long white night-dress and her muscles were screaming at her to stop. But she couldn't, no matter how much she whimpered from the pain, no matter how much she felt the pull of unconsciousness threaten to engulf her. Her heart was pounding too hard and fast, her panic and fear striking too deeply, spurring her on and making her move even though she would have given anything for rest. But the demon at their heels was enough of a motivator.

After having escaped the infirmary and locking Fankil inside, Gandalf had run with Kathryn through the Castle in an attempt to find Elrond or to find any form of help. Fankil had tried to break the door down to get to them, but Gandalf had already made them sprint in the direction of the nearest exit. They'd not stopped running down many flights of stairs and down long corridors, the adrenaline in their veins enough to keep them going as the terror of the fate that was now hunting them pushed them beyond their previously thought limits. But now, Kathryn was exhausted, almost collapsing in the very hallway as they came to a door that would lead them outside.

She wondered what would have happened if Gandalf had stayed to fight the demon, but she knew that Gandalf would not whilst there was a chance of her getting hurt and distracting him, giving the demon the advantage. She'd more then readily agreed that she needed to be kept as far away from that beast as possible. But then, another thought crossed her mind as they momentarily paused for Gandalf to mutter a spell that would unlock the door. Why hadn't they already been caught by Fankil already? Why had they not seen him since he broke out of the infirmary? Why had he let them get away?

Feeling Gandalf take hold of her wrist once more, Kathryn was literally pulled from her thoughts as the wizard began to drag her through the door and into the outside world… and she really wished he hadn't.

They walked out onto utter chaos. Bells were ringing an alarm loudly, people were screaming beyond the castle walls, and in the grounds of the castle, Kathryn's eyes widened to see people running and screaming in panic. Soldiers were pushing through, trying to bark out orders, Kathryn even saw one or two elves dressed in Elrond's armour making their way through. Kathryn could only wonder at what had put the city into a state of panic… and then she saw the destruction of the castle gate, heard the fated word 'dragon' as someone was wailing as they ran by.

And then she heard the thundering roar from above, causing Kathryn to turn and look up into the tall towers of the castle she had just exited, a hand going to her neck instinctively to feel for the golden chain and scale necklace; entwined around the spires, was the great form of Smaug, shadows almost claiming his form to make him look almost invisible as he blended in with the dark sky above, only the glow of his eyes standing out like burning fires. Kathryn couldn't look away, even though he had not spotted her, she couldn't look away because she was frozen with fear…

Then, she felt Gandalf take hold of her arm once again and begin to drag her in another direction before the dragon could notice the seer on the ground far below. Kathryn obediently followed him, her mind drawing a blank as all thoughts were erased from her mind, only a numbness coming over her, blocking her from feeling or thinking or doing anything for herself. She was simply a puppet on strings now. They soon fell into the throng of a crowd that all seemed to be heading to the same destination like a flock of sheep. She only saw images of soldiers and a few of Elrond's elves directing people towards two double doors that led back into the castle, and Kathryn was still too numb to think of a protest. She saw Queen Lalemwen standing beside the doors, in her own night clothes, hand protectively resting on her slightly swollen belly, calling out to people and directing them into the doors.

Gandalf lead Kathryn through, and they were immediately swallowed by the dark. Kathryn's numb mind could only conjure up images of the dark that had wanted to swallow her alive, and she instinctively managed to put up some form of protest, before Gandalf leaned in to whisper soft reassurances in her ear. Then, torches on the walls were ignited, allowing for the darkness to be banished and for the already panicked people to calm somewhat as they could finally see. Kathryn managed to register that they were all on stairs and heading downwards into the dark, until finally they came across a large cavernous space where everyone was squashing together to sit somewhere on the floor. The room echoed everyone's whispers, whimpers and frightened sobs, creating a cacophony of sound that assaulted ones hearing without mercy. Gandalf led Kathryn into the cavern, even as they all felt the rumble as something large and heavy struck the foundations of the castle above them, and they all heard the muffled roar of the dragon outside, dust raining down from the ceiling in time with the tremors caused by his movements on the castle. Kathryn realised that this must have been some emergency bunker, one which was now being used to hopefully hide all the trapped souls from the dragon's wrath. There was a thunderous boom behind them all as the doors to the bunker were closed when the last of the people were inside; this causing a few people to yelp in fright, their echoes making the sounds seem much larger than they were. Gandalf then managed to find a free space as he helped Kathryn to sit down, even as she whimpered as her leg muscles screamed in protest at the burning movement.

"You need to stay here and rest," he murmured to her softly and soothingly. "I need to find Elrond and the Queen, then I will be back for you, I promise," Kathryn was still to numb to respond other than nod her head, and without another word, the wizard was gone.

Kathryn sat there in silence, closing her eyes and allowing the heaviness of sleep to threaten to claim her, her heart aching for reasons that her blank mind couldn't or wouldn't try to fathom at this moment. Everything had become too much, when had it all gone wrong? But then, in the quietness and relative calm that had settled over the crowd, it was then that they all heard it.

"Well done," Kathryn gasped, flinching when she heard the voice in her head but could also hear the muffled words of the dragon as he roared them outside. She suddenly felt the scale necklace - which was still around her neck, miraculously - begin to grow burning hot, making her hiss as she clutched at it with slippery fingers. Several people screamed in fright as they too heard the words: both roaring and hissing, whispering and shouting, deep and resonated with a growl puncturing the words. Kathryn realised that Smaug must be speaking the words but also using some magic to broadcast his words to the minds of all those in the castle, possibly the city. But how? She had never witnessed him use such magic before!

She looked around and saw the others in the bunker, everyone who were assembled down in the depths, cowering from the destruction above, they all held their heads in their hands, some muttering against the pain. The intrusion of another presence in their mind was new, alien and painful as Smaug ripped his way through the walls around their minds, his words slithering against their thoughts, smashing against their protests until all they could comprehend was him.

"The sheep have hidden themselves well from the wolf," he continued in their minds, his words dripping with scorn. "And though some have fought, they have died all the same, but there need not be any more wasted death. I am therefore withdrawing from the city, and allowing you to regroup and to find your dead… what little is left of them. You all know of the destruction that I wrought upon Dale, now you too will have the wrath of Smaug rained down upon you. But, obey my commands and that fate shall be avoided. I demand that you give to me the Seer. Bring her to me at the plains outside of the City within one hour, alive. Do this, and I will leave your crumbling city and no further harm shall befall you at my hands. Refuse me, and you cannot even imagine the consequences!

"Kathryn…" whispered that voice, and Kathryn felt her soul compelled to such a sound, something deep within her wanting to curl up beside it, her heart igniting in a fire of affection that soon turned to crumbling ash at the memories it brought. It seemed impossible that such a majestic and beautiful voice could cause such evil, she wanted to deny it, but at the same time she felt revulsion at what the voice was doing. "Kathryn, I now speak directly to you."

"Smaug…" Kathryn whispered, the numb blank slate in her mind washing away to be left with dawning horror.

"Kathryn…" the voice chuckled inside her head, a cold and viscous sound that sent a shiver down her spine. "What wonderful games you wish to play,"

"Smaug –" Kathryn began, though quickly looked around to see if anyone had heard her, realising that she mustn't speak to him aloud if she didn't want to draw attention to herself. She then squeezed her eyes shut, trying to think the words clearly in this new form of communication which was unnervingly alien to her. "Smaug, what are you doing?"

"I am simply taking what is mine." His hissed in her mind, causing her to whimper involuntarily. "You should have known that this would happen before you acted so foolishly!"

"These are innocent people!"

"Worthless worms!"

"You would kill them to get to me?" she whispered, an old fear surfacing in her mind.

"It is in your power to stop this. You are the only one that can decide their fate," he told her cruelly.

"You can't do this!" she begged him, tears gathering in her eyes at the hopelessness she felt. "I can't let you!"

"Then you will hear their screams as you run from me again! Wherever you run, the screams of the dying will follow!" he roared at her furiously.

"I am NOT going to run!" she screamed at him, tears of anger and hurt running down her face as her voice grew hoarse from the emotion caught inside of her. "I will not run from you anymore! I am going to stand here and WATCH you do this! Every one you kill, every thing you destroy… each and every blow will cut into my heart and tell me who and WHAT you are!"

There was suddenly the sound of a muffled roar of fury from outside, the booming crashes of the castle, perhaps as Smaug struck out at it in his anger, causing the ceiling to shake and dust to rain down, several people screaming in response. There was then a long silence that went on seemingly forever, and Kathryn felt her insides churn as she thought of the anger that was coming for her. As the silence continued, she thought that perhaps Smaug had left her alone to await her response to his demands, but then she heard his serpentine voice slither back into her mind, echoing in her thoughts until it was all she could focus on.

"Come to me, as I have demanded, you belong to me – I know you know this. I have tolerated your games up until now, but NO MORE! You will come to me willingly, and if you do not… I will kill every last man, woman and child who tries to conceal you from me," the voice hissed, and Kathryn felt herself shake with terror. "And do not think I won't because I have killed more for less! Either way, I always get what I want.

"I give you one hour, Kathryn. One hour…"

And with that, he was gone. A tremor passed through the castle and into the bunker as the dragon pushed away from the castle and leapt into the air, giving one final roar as he left to await the city's verdict.

Kathryn sat there in stunned silence, the numbness that had once been over her mind completely gone, and in its place her mind was flooded with activity of questions that burned for answers. What was she to do? Should she go to Smaug? Should she run from him? Could she somehow convince him to leave? She had never succeeded with these tactics before, so there was no reason for her to believe that she could prevent any form of destruction and still manage to come out of this as she had when she went in. Despite the fact that they had been lovers, they had spent sixty years together, they had died together, despite all of this, Kathryn was sure that his pride would not let him listen to her. No matter how much she wanted to try.

So why did it hurt that he was doing this? Why did it make her heart clench and tremble as if it would give out at the thought of him hurting her, or worse at the thought of sneakily running away from him again? She had almost detected a hint of hurt in his voice when he had foretold she would run from him forever. Some part of him was hurting over this, a part that just wanted her back; his intentions were just to have her with him again, as he had more or less told her that he truly cared for her. But the means he used to reach his ends, Kathryn could not justify it. Not even to her aching heart. She knew he would stop at nothing to get her back, she had practically foreseen it.

Looking around at the many faces in the bunker, and thinking of those still in the city above, Kathryn was bone chillingly aware that this was very similar to her vision she had had back in the Mountain all those years ago. She being trapped in some city whilst Smaug tore it apart in an attempt to get to her and protect her. She'd been disgusted at the death toll Smaug had wrought in her name, and that had been the reason why she had left him in the mountain, to avoid unnecessary death. Surely she would be a coward if she didn't try to save those lives again, to prevent that vision before it could come true.

If nothing else, Kathryn knew that she had to at least try to persuade Smaug from this course of action. Not only was she not willing to watch him do this, but she realised that she had no choice. Smaug was absolutely right when he said that he would follow her wherever she went, and that death and destruction would follow. Kathryn couldn't put those innocent lives at risk just because she had passed them in her escape from the beast. And what of Fankil? He was after her, and Kathryn knew she didn't know the full story to his motives, but if there was anyone who could protect her from him, it was Smaug. Kathryn truly had no choice but to return to him, to protect herself as well as others. But she also found… despite everything, despite the lies, the death, Freyja's murder, this destruction… Kathryn knew that she still loved Smaug. Her heart longed for him, even if it was hurt by what he had done. She remembered all the times he had been tender, almost loving, how he had wanted her, how they had been together… there was potential in Smaug to be something decent if not good. Could she ever possibly make that happen?

But then she remembered… she'd realised long ago what Smaug was: a killer, a murderer, a conqueror, a predator, yet one fateful day, one fateful song… She'd loved him then, and knew that she still loved him now.

"Till then, one day when the sun is gone,

With you I will always hold on

With love both bitter and sweet

Until, in dreams we meet..."

She sang the words softly under her breath, but with those uttered words, she knew her mind was made up.

Standing up quickly, ignoring the shaky feeling in her legs, Kathryn tried to edge her way towards the entrance of the bunker, hoping to slip by unnoticed. She didn't know what she planned to do, but she knew that Gandalf and Elrond would not let her go, they would try to get her to safety and deal with Smaug themselves. But without Black Arrows, Smaug would be very tough to kill and many would be hurt in the process. And besides, with the pair of them linked once again, if Smaug were to die, then Kathryn would die with him, it was simply another testament of how intricately their lives were intertwined now. She hoped no one would notice her as she edged closer towards the entrance of the long cavern, though everyone around her seemed to be too shaken by the mental message and weeping and moaning softly in their own self-pity.

Kathryn hadn't made it very far, when someone grabbed onto her wrist. She would have yelped in fright, a chill of fear spiking through her already nervous stomach. But whirling around, Kathryn was almost relieved to see that it was simply Andraya. The dark haired beautiful older woman was looking at her with wide and concerned eyes, nervousness plain on her features. Kathryn physically relaxed, before remembering that Andraya probably didn't know about her daughter's death, which caused her stomach to turn with guilt.

"Andraya," Kathryn murmured quietly, placing a hand over her rapidly beating heart. "You scared me for a moment,"

"Oh, my dear," Andraya said in an equally quiet voice. "I didn't realise that you were back! I only knew when the beast spoke to us in our minds! Oh, I'd feared the worst," she whispered as she quickly swept Kathryn into an embrace that seemed a little too tight, causing Kathryn to wince as her bones creaked.

"Thank you, Andraya," Kathryn murmured as she awkwardly tried to extract herself from the woman's arms. "But no, I'm fine. A little sore, but nothing life damaging," she hoped.

"Where are you going?" Andraya asked wide eyed. "Don't tell me you're going to meet with that beast are you?"

Kathryn had to pause in confusion at how the woman could possibly guess that, but quickly swept such thoughts aside, leaning closer to the woman to whisper so that none may overhear them.

"Andraya, I have to!" she whispered pleadingly. "No one can stop him! He'll tear this city apart until he gets what he wants. At least if I do this then I can try to stop him," she looked up into the older woman's eyes, imploring her to understand. "Please, if there is any chance that I can save these people, then I have to try,"

Andraya looked at her for the longest moment, ice blue eyes cold and unreadable as she studied her. Kathryn felt oddly like a bug under dissection, and tried to repress the shiver that ran down her spine. But then, rather unexpectedly, Andraya nodded.

"Alright," she murmured. "I trust you… but we can't leave through the main door, the Queen and her guards are there. But don't worry, I know another way up," she said as she grabbed hold of Kathryn's arm and began to pull her in the opposite direction.

Kathryn was about to protest, but decided that it was perhaps in her best interests to go along with the plan. After all, it was only common sense that the Bunker entrance was heavily guarded, it had been foolish of her to think that they would be getting out that way. So, she had no choice but to trust the older woman as she led her through the crowd, who all ignored them, once again too focused on their own problems to notice. As they reached the back, Kathryn spotted Andraya heading for a small hole in the cave wall, perhaps only four foot high yet five feet wide. Ducking and squeezing through, Andraya and Kathryn wriggled through and soon entered a narrow passage way. The ceiling was raised so that they could stand, though it was narrow, forcing them to go single file. The passage seemed to have been carved into the rock, a narrow stairway that gradually led them up and out for what seemed like forever.

As they walked quickly and silently, Kathryn had to wonder if Andraya knew of the fate of her daughter. Kathryn hadn't seen Faervel since she had awoken, so had he been trying to find Andraya to tell her the news? Andraya seemed a little reserved, her polite and pleasant smile a little false, which made Kathryn believe that she knew, but she acted not like one would expect a grieving mother to be. What had Kathryn been hoping for? Perhaps she wanted Andraya to curse her, blame her for her daughter's death, make her feel the guilt that Kathryn felt she so rightly deserved. But, Andraya was helping her, and not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Kathryn readily accepted it.

Eventually, the stairway levelled out into a narrow corridor, which led them to an opening. Squeezing through the thin crack, they quickly passed from the world below and out into the night. Kathryn was a little breathless, even as she looked around in slight surprise, seeing herself suddenly standing in an open field where a large boulder protruded from the ground, a visible crack in its side from where they had just come from. Not twenty feet away, the walls of the city stood, and Kathryn realised that they must have walked right underneath the entire city in order to get just outside the borders. She knew that this wasn't the planes that Smaug wanted to meet her on, as the forest that Smaug had escaped to only just over a month ago when he had first transformed back into a dragon, were not far off.

"Very good,"

Kathryn whirled around at the sound of the new voice, her eyes going up and wide as she saw the thin and tall figure standing on top of the boulder they had just came from. Piercing bright eyes locked onto her, the figure standing tall and proud, his skeletal thin body wrapped in leather and a cloak with a hood to hide his face. Instantly, Kathryn froze in terror, mouth going wide as she desperately tried to run for her life, but hissed painfully when someone snatched hold of her arm in a vice like grip.

"The girl as promised," Kathryn whirled around to see Andraya holding her arm, looking up coldly at the form of Fankil as the demon jumped down from on top of the boulder, as graceful and nimble as a cat, though as he walked forward towards them, a limp was ever present in his stride as if from an old wound.

"As promised," the demon echoed, black eyes shining out from beneath his hood as he produced a small scroll in his bone thin fingers. Andraya released Kathryn's arm in order to snatch up the piece of paper, quickly unravelling it to look over the contents with hungry and desperate eyes.

"What?!" Kathryn snarled as she whirled on Andraya, outrage, desperation and disbelief evident in her voice. "Andraya, why?!"

"An eye for an eye." Andraya looked at Kathryn, her eyes suddenly hollow and filled with hurt and hate. Kathryn was stunned into silence, a shadow of the former woman suddenly standing before her. So Andraya knew of Freyja's fate… and this was her vengeance…

Realising the danger she was in, and noticing how no one had a hold of her, Kathryn turned and bolted straight for the trees of the forest. She pumped her arms and moved her legs as fast as she could, ignoring her aching muscles from the movement –

A scream tore from her lips as Kathryn suddenly felt pain explode inside her skull, causing her to trip and fall to her knees, her mind writhing in a familiar agony as it felt as if liquid fire had just been poured into her mind. Kathryn fell face first into the ground, teeth clenched to fight against the pain as her hands cradled her temples. She was left breathless, body clenching and muscles shocking themselves as a familiar torture washed through her body, one that made pure terror swim into her veins, almost freezing her in place as the fire roasted her from the inside. Kathryn was vaguely aware of the uneven footfalls of leather boots as someone approached her, and working herself onto her back as the pain lessened slightly, Kathryn looked defiantly up into the emotionless eyes of the demon that cocked its head as it looked at her almost curiously.

"H-how?!" she managed to force out between clenched teeth, eyes blazing as she glared at the fiend before her. However, she was completely baffled at how he could exert such a hold over her, causing this pain as he tried to control her, hoping that his answer might provide a way to beat him.

"I have not been idle whilst I have been playing the humans games here," his high and wilting voice made her shiver as he reached out with a skeletal thin hand to trace a finger around her eye socket, his cold touch and acidic scent making her shiver in revulsion. "These past few weeks have been easy to place the seeds of my control,"

Kathryn briefly had images of all the times Lord Beronor and King Wilhelm had inquired into her health after she had awoken from her madness and whilst she had been kept as the court bard, all the times this "new physician" had tended to her and given her odd medicines. And then all the headaches, coincidental dreams and visions she had been having lately… she'd been a sitting duck this entire time and never known. Not even Smaug had known.

But then, Fankil raised his head and flexed his fingers, an artificial darkness immediately descending upon Kathryn's vision, one that had nothing to do with unconsciousness, and made her scream as she was suddenly there with the inky blackness from her madness that had tried to swallow her alive so many times. She tried to evade it, but its tentacles wound around her being and pulled her in. Before she was lost to it, Kathryn gave one last shout to the heavens, her mind screaming for the only one who could hear her, desperately begging him to save her.

SMAUG!

And then, the darkness claimed her.

"We cannot let him have her," Gandalf said firmly, staring hard at the queen before him, his patience waning as he'd been trying to convince the desperate woman for the past ten minutes.

"But Gandalf," Lalemwen pleaded, not entirely sure how to treat a wizard having only just known that one was in her capital city only a few hours ago. "I don't want to either, but I must think of this city, of my people! The beast will destroy us if he does not have her!"

"We will not allow that to happen," Elrond said as he stood tall and regal in his armour beside Gandalf. Lalemwen faltered, a part of her trusting the elven high-lord as if he were the royalty here and not her, though some part of her was still nervous. "We will meet with the dragon, and hopefully either convince him against this course of action, or else force him…" Elrod trailed off with an uncertain look at Gandalf. They both knew of their chances if it came down to a real fight.

"Allow me to come with you," said a new voice, and all turned to see the tall elven male known as Faervel, his brown hair messy and his eyes haunted with burning anger. "I can fight, and I have faced the beast before. And I would have a score to settle with him," he murmured angrily. Gandalf looked to Elrond, knowing that this was his situation to deal with.

"I have heard of your courage, Faervel," Elrond spoke to one of his former people, resting a comforting hand on the younger elf's shoulder as he looked into his eyes with brutal honesty. "You protected someone important to me whilst also facing a great enemy. That is impressive. But you are tired, and I would rather have you here to guard the Queen and Kathryn." Faervel was about to protest, when Elrond spoke over him in a commanding tone. "Do not be foolish, young one. You survived death once, do not think you will be so lucky once again."

Faervel stared hard at the elf lord, before breathing deeply and bowing to his superior, with the usual grace and elegance that all elves had. He then turned in order to blend into the crowd, presumably to go and find Kathryn.

"We shall distract Smaug whilst you get your people to safety as quickly as possible," Gandalf told the nervous queen as he turned back to her, who out of nervous habit had placed a protective hand over her stomach. Lalemwen looked between one male and then the other, hesitant, before finally nodding her agreement. Gandalf and Elrond walked towards the bunker entrance, the elven soldiers marching behind them; though when they were out of earshot of the human queen, Elrond leaned in to Gandalf.

"I'll have two of my men help Faervel find Kathryn and they can get her to safety, just to be on the safe side of caution," he murmured quietly, looking over his shoulder at two of his guards, who nodded obediently before turning around to stride back into the crowded bunker. Gandalf nodded his thanks, before moving on towards the great double doors as the wizard and elves prepared to leave, completely unaware that they were being watched and followed.

Bilbo stayed hidden in the shadows, watching the hushed discussions with a fluttering heart. Gandalf was going out to meet with the dragon, meaning that he would be in danger. Despite the fact that Elrond and Gandalf were much more "qualified" to deal with a dragon then Bilbo, neither of the older men had faced the monstrosity that was Smaug, at least not on a personal level that Bilbo had. Just thinking about the fiery serpent made Bilbo's side ache, the wound the dragon had inflicted upon him had been treated and was now closed up, but it was still very tender and the newly forming scar could easily tear back open. The little Hobbit would rather not repeat the incident of where he had once found himself in the dragon's jaws, even though Smaug had only thrown him, his teeth had still almost disembowelled the little creature. Yes, Bilbo was very much afraid of the dragon, those teeth, that fire, the eyes, the malicious voice, it all still haunted his nightmares on a regular basis… as did the fires on the lake, and the screams of the dying. It had all been his fault, he had opened his big mouth and allowed the clever and cunning dragon to discover Lake-Town's involvement with the dwarves quest.

Bilbo had a great guilt still upon his chest, the debt he owed those lost lives still needing to be repaid. It was now no longer about how frightened he was – which was quite a lot – it was now about what he needed to do. He didn't know if he would be much help to Gandalf and Elrond, but anything he could do, was worth it.

So, fingers twitching as his heart accelerated to that odd flutter as he reached inside his pocket, Bilbo pulled out the golden ring. His eyes caught on its shine in the eerie half-light of the cavern, and he felt his breathing hitch as he felt something possessive and addictive take hold of him. Taking a deep breath as he tried to steel himself, Bilbo placed the ring upon his finger, and disappeared.

It did not take them long to reach the plains that Smaug had set as a meeting place when he had broadcasted his message to the entire city, but by that time, the hour was almost up. As Bilbo followed the trail of the elves and wizard he reached the top of the hill that levelled out onto the chosen plain, laying himself flat on the ground as he watched the group a hundred yards away. Gandalf and Elrond were at the front of the small group, all of them on horseback apart from the one cart that held their weapons and the strange chain they had brought with them, now covered by the tarp to conceal it from view. The group was still, nothing moving around them, no whisper of wind no animal call in the dead of the night, even the stars were blocked from view. But something didn't seem right, Bilbo could feel it in his gut as he watched the eerily still scene. The hrses started to become nervous, sensing the same wrongness in the air that Bilbo did; they began panting, whining slightly as they stamped their hooves, shifting nervously in place though their riders tried to keep them calm.

And then, they all heard the voice that Bilbo had hoped to never hear again.

"How much like the arrogance of mortals to place themselves in the affairs of others," hissed a voice that echoed around them all in the still night, the growling rumble causing the horses to shy away in fright. "But it is not men that I see before me, but elves. Though I asked for neither!"

And then, out of nowhere, a gigantic shadow fell from the sky, seeming to materialise from the blackness of night itself. The dragon landed on the far side of the plain, all four legs smashing into the earth as his wings on his back flared in an impressive display, a tremor going through the ground upon his landing. The sudden sight of the ferocious predator sent the horses into a near panic, making them scream and rear and try to break formation, though the elves struggled to keep their trusted steeds in place. Bilbo huddled closer to the ground, his brown eyes going wide and his breath becoming frantic as he stared at the terrifying sight. It was as if he had forgotten how awesomely frightening Smaug could be with just his looks alone, standing at a gigantic height, his four legs strong and bulging with muscles, his long black talons gleaming, red scales seeming darker in the shadows of night, though his flame-bright eyes shone like lanterns, piercing all before him. Every tooth, spike and scale was gloriously depicted, and Bilbo was reminded of the paralysing fear he had once experienced in the creature's presence, feeling it grip him again now. The only difference between the dragon he had once faced, and the beast he saw now, was a long and twisted black scar upon the left breast above his heart, no lucky gap in the scales, it was now healed over, leaving nothing but thick and impenetrable skin. Though as Bilbo looked, he thought he saw the scar pulse and writhe, as if it were a cancerous infection, causing Smaug to twitch his eye…

"You have not brought me what I want," Smaug's hissing and deep voice brought Bilbo from his observations, the gigantic sound echoing across the landscape, making it feel as infinitely great as the one who wielded it. Bilbo knew that if the dragon's gaze could not put you under the dreaded dragon-spell, then surely his hypnotising and manipulating voice could.

"Smaug!" called out Gandalf in a large voice that commanded attention and instant respect, though the dragon looked at the wizard with a curiously raised brow. "We have come to implore you, please turn away from this path of destruction. Leave Vathvael and the realms of mortals in peace, and in return, you will not be harmed,"

"A wizard… how interesting…" Smaug purred out as he eyes the grey robed old man with mild curiosity, sensing the magic that emanated from him. "Yet your hilariously ludicrous demands are futile. You cannot harm me wizard, I am unbeatable!" he reared to his full and imposing height as his voice dripped with malice and scorn, fixing his blazing eyes on the party below, causing Bilbo to shrink further into the ground with a whimper of fear. "Give me the woman and I will happily leave this vermin infested pit,"

"We know of what you did, Smaug," Elrond called out. "You're cruelty and greed brought this fate upon yourself,"

"If she had stayed with me, then none of this would have happened!" The dragon roared furiously, and Bilbo seemed to notice how the scar was pulsing again, as the dragon quickly angered, though not in the same calculating way as Bilbo had once seen, now it just seemed to be mindless fury that was building inside of him with volcanic pressure.

"We will still not subject her to that!" Gandalf called back in his own mighty voice. "You cannot win her love by making her your prisoner!"

"Foolish mortal! Do not meddle with things that you cannot understand!" Smaug roared, stamping a hand into the ground, talons slicing up the earth and making the horses screech in fear.

"We will not sacrifice anymore lives for your cold heart! You shall not have her!" Gandalf roared back.

"Then I will take her!"

Smaug launched himself at the party, jaws wide with a roar as his teeth gleamed in the night. The horses screamed in terror as they bolted away, their masters leaping from their backs to the ground once they were clear of the beast that had landed where they had been moments before. Quickly the elves slung their bows from their backs, and began firing arrows at the dragon. Smaug growled as swept his long tail at them, most managing to roll aside, apart from the one who moved too late. The end of Smaug's tail smashed into the man's side, sending him flying into the air, and faster than lightning, Smaug snatched the elf out of the air, snapping his jaws around him and reducing him to kindling with a single chomp, blood spilling between his teeth and gore dripping down his jaws.

Elrond was shouting for his men to regroup and to fire, their arrows hitting Smaug's neck with heavy 'thunks' as they bounced off of his scales. Smaug turned his angry gaze upon the elves as he pulled in a heavy breath, his chest alighting with the fire he contained within himself, before unleashing a torrent of fire at the elves. The heat of the blaze could be felt even from Bilbo's 'hiding' place, squinting against the bright light of the flames. But the flames never touched the elves, the flames passing harmlessly around them as an invisible bubble surrounded them. Snapping his jaws shut with astonishment, Smaug quickly turned to see the grey wizard standing not far off, hat gone, staff at the ready as he wearily watched Smaug bring his full attention to the human-looking Miair. Barely contained fury was held in his fiery eyes, and Bilbo wondered at the fact that this was no longer the cunning and calculating anger that he had once seen, now it was a furious anger of someone who was barely holding on to their own sanity. Bilbo couldn't decide which was more frightening.

Smaug lunged with his open jaws towards the wizard, as if preparing to swallow him whole, a light dawning at the back of his throat so that one could every muscle in gory detail, exactly the way Bilbo remembered when those jaws had rushed towards him. At the last possible moment, Gandalf thrust his staff towards the dragon's approaching jaws, a sudden force pushing the creature's head back a few feet, causing Smaug to hiss in surprise. Staring hard at the wizard, Smaug reset his angry look of determination as he once again tried to swing his head towards the wizard, snapping his teeth at him. Gandalf stepped back several paces to give himself room as he swung his staff towards the dragon's head again. Once again, an invisible force field blocked Smaug's attack and pushed his head aside, leaving Gandalf unharmed. Growling with frustration, his scar pulsing a sickening black, Smaug tried to rush the wizard, who appeared to be so old that he could not possibly avoid the dragon's claws in time. Gandalf saw it too, and quickly slammed his staff into the ground, a huge crack appearing in the earth beneath Smaug's front legs, deep enough to make the dragon suddenly sink up to his elbows with a yelp. Smaug stumbled and fell over himself, elves and Gandalf moving quickly to avoid his falling limbs. The dragon growled dangerously as he pulled his arm free of the whole, his eyes glowing murderously.

Bilbo spotted a cunning gleam enter Smaug's eyes as he fixed the wizard with an approving and interested gaze. Perhaps he thought this all to be some game in his own mind and only now had he found himself a worth-while opponent. The intelligence seemed to beat back the unbridled fury for a moment as a plan formed in his quick mind, and Bilbo was trembling as he noticed that his good friend Gandalf was possibly in a lot of danger. Smaug lunged for Gandalf again, with greater speed and precision then before, talons out and ready to grasp at the wizard as he reared back onto his hind legs, wings opening on his back to balance him and to distract Gandalf as they swept by him. Gandalf saw the approaching hand, black talons ready to rip him to ribbons and brought his staff to block the blow as he had done so before. But what none of them had noticed, was Smaug's other hand come a millisecond after the first, coming around and out of direct sight to the side of the wizard. As Gandalf blocked the first claw with his staff, he wasn't fast enough to turn and stop the other as it hit him. The wizard was thrown against the ground, and Bilbo was sure that if Gandalf had been an ordinary man, then that blow alone would have crushed his ancient bones. As it was, Gandalf was pushed to the ground, pinned beneath Smaug's hand as the dragon reared above him with a smug smirk draped across his muzzle, a light beginning to shine in his chest as he prepared to fire –

"Gandalf!" Bilbo yelped out in fright, though he gasped as he quickly covered his mouth as if to catch the sound.

Too late.

Smaug froze in place, his body poised to render the killing blow to the wizard, when he had suddenly heard a new voice to the battle, one that was very familiar. Smaug raised his head in order to scent the air, nostrils flaring as he sucked in every scent within the area. And then he found it: earthy, like a garden, yet of woodsmoke and all the comforts of mortal homes.

"Barrel-Rider." Smaug growled out. He immediately abandoned his potential kill, despite the fact that the scar on his chest was pulsing painfully, as if trying to reprimand him for not completing his work, a foreign voice whispering in his ear to kill, to destroy, to loose himself to the anger that had almost drowned him. But Smaug turned a deaf ear to it, too engrossed in his current hunt. He walked away from the wizard, towards the hills that led away from the plain back the way the riders had come. Smaug cast his eyes upon the ground as he approached with slow steps, though he could see no one, yet he could scent the little creature and could hear him trying to muffle his whimpers of fright. This infuriatingly frustrating concealment was what confirmed it to Smaug: an old acquaintance had come to pay him a visit.

"Well, thief-barrel-rider? Where are you?" Smaug taunted out, enjoying the way his mocking coo made the little creature whimper again. "It appears that you and I have some unfinished business to attend to. Though I am surprised to find you here…" Smaug then licked his teeth as a hungry rumble echoed out from his chest, though his eyes continued to study the landscape. "It is not just dwarves that you keep company with, but wizards, how interesting you continue to become… but will die none the less. You owe me for all the grievances you have caused me Barrel-rider!" Smaug suddenly snarled out. "And I intend to collect on that debt… with your blood! It tasted so sweet the first time, a wine that I wish to taste once again and drain dry,"

Smaug couldn't have known that Bilbo was practically almost soiling himself, sweat dripping from his face as he shook with fear. At the dragon's words and a sadistic laugh that accompanied them, the hobbit consciously placed a hand protectively over his scar on his side, phantom pains of teeth slicing his flesh ripping through him.

When Smaug realised that his enemy would not reveal himself due to his taunts, Smaug tried another tactic. Subtly looking at the earth beneath him, churned up by the clawing of his talons, Smaug repressed a smirk as he grabbed a handful of the dirt, and breathed in the creatures scent again, the pores in his nose detecting the electrical currents in the air, telling him the general area of his prey. With a flick of his wrist, Smaug sprayed the earth on to the area where he believed his prey to be, hearing a shriek of surprise, and he watched closely as the seconds ticked by as the dirt settled… and lay upon the form of his enemy, revealing him to the predator.

"There you are!" Smaug gloated with a grin, pushing aside the curiosity that the creature was literally invisible with dirt on top of him being the only thing to make him stand out. Perhaps it was a natural defence mechanism; Smaug had seen camouflage of the sort before, though never to this standard. At Smaug's words, Bilbo looked at himself to realise what had been done, and removed his ring, knowing that there was no point in it as the dragon had already discovered him. Brown eyes met fiery ones, terror to vengeful rage as Smaug rolled his shoulders, preparing to pounce upon his motionlessly terrified prey.

It only took a split second for Smaug eyes to catch on something golden in the barrel-rider's hands, and unable to be detected by human ears, a metallic song echoed from a golden ring, accompanied by a powerful thrum of dark magic. Smaug's eyes instantly widened, breath gasping as he suddenly felt something tighten in his chest. He roared, rearing back as he clutched at his black scar was sending shooting pains through his body in time with the dark magic he could feel emanating from the ring. A force tried to penetrate into his mind, demanding to take the ring, to crush all who opposed him, to burn everything to the ground, to take the ring! The Ring!

Smaug fought against whatever was being done to him, choking on his own breath, gagging as he stumbled away, trying to distance himself from the cause of his affliction as the pain rocketed through his body. He felt as if swords were being poised around his frantically beating heart, causing him to tense and to claw at the black scar on his chest, hoping to force his own body back under his control. It felt as if his heart were about to give out, something twisting and mauling at him, threatening him with pain of death if he did not do as he was instructed. Smaug felt the heat of flames somewhere in his mind as he saw flashes behind his eyelids: an eye wreathed in flames that roared at him to come under control, to obtain the ring, to return it to its rightful master! Smaug roared, half in defiance and half in pain, shaking his head in order to try and be rid of the images that assaulted him. If he had been allowed to think, he would have made the connection easily and known what he was up against, but he was too focused on the pain, on his own body tormented in agony as he continued to resist, his pride forcing him to continue the battle of wills with the dark magic that had infected him.

Whilst the dragon was preoccupied, Elrond quickly came to Bilbo's side sword at the ready as he helped the hobbit to his feet, handing him to some of his remaining men as they tried to distance themselves from the roaring dragon – who's sudden pain confused them all. Elrond knew he needed to get to the chain in the cart not far off, as Smaug's current distraction was probably the best and only chance they might have and hey didn't know how long it would last.

But Gandalf watched as he sat on his knees, half recovered when the dragon had suddenly flown into his writhing state. He watched in fascination and horror as Smaug fought against something inside of him, gritting his teeth, clawing at his own chest as if he wanted to rip his own heart out. He shook his head, roars echoing across the plain in a cacophony of sound. Gandalf then saw the black scar on Smaug's chest, where the missing scale had been, where the black arrow had struck him, the scar that now appeared there was pulsing and moving as if it were not a scar but some parasite that was attached to the dragon, and with each of its sickly movements, Smaug roared and snarled anew. Gandalf could sense the black magic in the air, it was twisted around Smaug's own aura, as if trying to drown him in it.

Realising that something was very wrong, even beyond Smaug's own doing, Gandalf climbed stiffly to his feet, body aching from his fall as he quickly took a couple of steps to steady himself. He could not let this go on, for surely the outcomes in either way of this battle would not end well for himself and his friends. Though he was most interested to know why Bilbo was here…

"SMAUG!" Gandalf roared out as loud as he could, hoping that it would be enough to gain the dragon's attention over his own noise. Gandalf gathered together all the magic he could summon, hoping to drive it all in one last demanding spell.

Smaug heard the wizard, and even in his own personal struggle, the defiant tone of voice sent his pride into overdrive, causing him to turn to face the wizard, face bearing down upon the elderly-appearing man as he still fought against the magic that affected his heart and mind. He saw Gandalf standing defiantly with his staff raised towards the centre of his brow, between his eyes, a blinding light flashing and striking him before he could –

And Smaug was lost to the oblivion of unconsciousness.

Author's Note: So this Chapter came out a lot quicker then the last few (I'm quite proud of that) and this one is much longer in order to make up for the shortness of last chapter! :P I want people to be aware that over the next month, I will be focusing entirely on this story in order to complete it, seeing as we now only have 3 chapters to go! Which is both happy news and sad :( So keep an eye on this so you don't miss an update!

But please, review! Tell me what you thought of: Smaug kind of attacking Vathvael? Smaug's mental message and conversation with Kathryn? Kathryn's inner battle on what to do? Andraya's involvement? Kathryn kidnapped? Bilbo, Gandalf, Elrond and Faervel? Gandalf and Elrond vs Smaug? Smaug and Bilbo's "reunion"? Smaug's little affliction? As you can see there was quite a lot going on in this chapter :P So I hope everyone liked it! And where do you think this is heading in the final chapters?

I plan to have the next chapter up hopefully very soon, so I'll see you all then my lovelies!