Everything was black and cold and thick. Like my mind was swimming, trying to find the surface.

Where was I?

What was happening?

Whenever I felt like I was close to the surface, an intense pain enveloped me. I shied away from it, and my mind grew dark once more.

"Leah!"

"Liriel!"

I could hear something. But it was like a breath against my ears. It slipped away before I could focus on it again.

I was floating.

All at once, the darkness was broken by a pulse of golden light. Like a beacon.

I could feel.

It wasn't the pain of consciousness. But a soft caress. Of someone reaching out, touching my very essence. My very soul. The sensation would have made me gasp if I had been fully conscious.

Another flash of gold.

It was like a hand in the dark, pulling me out. It drew me closer to the surface. A cry bubbled up as the pain awakened once more. Like someone had taken a white-hot poker and rammed it into the side of my head.

"LIRIEL."

My body was lead.

So heavy.

A crushing weight lay on me. I could barely breathe.

I cried out again as something shifted above me, jostling my wounds.

The suffocating pressure lifted, and I felt burning breath rush into my lungs.

"I'm here, Liriel. I've got you."

Something reached out, grasping my weakened body and lifting me up. I let out another whimper at the movement.

"I've got you."

My head lolled back. Consciousness losing out once again.

Awareness trickled in slowly.

The first thing that I noticed was that I was no longer in pain. My mind didn't rebel when I drew myself closer to the surface. No more did agony threaten to pull me back under. Instead, I felt the darkness thinning, parting like a thick curtain.

My limbs no longer felt like dead weights. The burning pain in my temple had all but vanished. Only a dull ache and a strange numbness remained. My heart beat steadily against my chest. A stark contrast to the other pulse I could feel alongside it, beating like a butterfly's wing.

The second thing I noticed was a hand in my hair. Gently gliding through the strands. A soft voice accompanied it.

I'll keep you safe

Try hard to concentrate

Hold out your hand

Can you feel the weight of it

Mum's voice was barely above a whisper as she sang. Thick with emotion. The sound of it roused me further.

The whole world at your fingertips

Don't be, don't be afraid

Our mistakes they were bound to be made

But I promise you I'll keep you safe

My eyelids refused to listen to me at first. It took several tries before they opened fully. Mum's face hovered closely above mine. Blurry at first, but she quickly swam into focus. When she saw my eyes open, she visibly sagged in relief. The tension left her body.

"Oh, Leah," she gasped. "You're okay."

Mum hooked an arm around me and hugged me, cradling my head against her chest. There was a slight tremor in her hands as she held me. A quiet sniff was the only indicator that Mum was crying.

It was still dark, and the only light came from a couple of lanterns. I mustn't have been out cold for that long if the sun hadn't risen. Looking around, I could see that I was in a tent of some kind. It was small and definitely not the tent I had slept in the previous day. Boxes of supplies were scattered across the ground. Most looked like they were thrown in here in a rush. One crate had tipped on its side with its lid half open, the contents threatening to spill out.

I could detect the thick scent of smoke in the air. Taste a hint of ash on my tongue.

"Smaug," I started. My throat was dry, and my voice cracked. "What happened?"

My head twinged as I tried to remember. My hand covered my temple to stifle the ache.

I remembered Smaug leaving the mountain, following the pyres. Then I remembered screams and fire. Smaug had turned his flames towards us, but I couldn't understand why.

"Don't push yourself too much, darling. You've only just come to," Mum paused before saying, "You've been through quite an ordeal."

My mind thought back to the pain I had been feeling before. There was a reason for it, but I couldn't quite remember how it had happened. It was like trying to grasp a shadow.

I looked down at my limbs, surprised to see they were all in working order. They weren't black and blue or broken. I had a distinct feeling that something had snapped. But I saw no indication of it.

A strange feeling of vertigo rushed through me as the memory of falling pushed its way to the front of my mind. The terrible feeling of helplessness. The air that swallowed me up.

"I–I fell?" I asked, unsure.

Mum nodded solemnly. "You somehow made it to Bard and used your power to distract Smaug."

The memory resurfaced as she said it. The brightness of the light from my hands. The horror I felt under the eye of that dragon.

"Bard's arrow struck true, but Smaug managed to destroy the platform you were on in an attempt to flee," A cry caught in Mum's throat. "Your Adar found you buried beneath the rubble."

"Adar found me?"

Mum nodded. "Kili gathered the guards and your Adar and led them to you."

There had been voices as I moved in and out of consciousness. It must have been them trying to search for me.

Adar must have found me bleeding and bruised. Not even conscious. He was the last person I wanted to see me like that. What must have been going through his head when he found me? The last time he had seen me in such a state, I had died in his arms.

"When I saw you in your Adar's arms, for a horrifying moment, I thought you were gone," Mum's voice cracked. A hand covered her mouth. "My mind didn't even think about the fact that Kili was still here. All I could see was you lying lifeless and covered in blood."

I felt the sting of tears build up in the corner of my eyes.

"I'm sorry," my voice was thick.

Mum gave me a watery smile. Before capturing me in another hug. "Oh, Leah, you don't need to be sorry. It wasn't your fault."

I mean, technically, it was. If I wasn't nearly buried alive, she wouldn't be in tears. But I could also see what she meant. It was Smaug that caused all the destruction. It wasn't my fault that the tower was destroyed.

Mum leaned back once more. Her hands cradled my face and wiped an errant tear. "You saved us, Leah. Without you, I dread to think about what further destruction there could have been. How many more lives were lost."

People had died then.

Of course, they did. There would have had to be a thousand miracles at play for everyone to make it out of that mess alive.

Even so, it still hurt to hear.

"How bad was it?"

"If it weren't for the skilled healers, it would have been much worse. We got to most of the injured before they succumbed to their wounds, and most managed to evade Smaug's fire. The trees could mask them from sight, so Smaug was effectively firing blind," Mum sighed deeply. "We lost around 70 humans and 3 of our own."

Out of the thousands this camp was holding, it was quite a small number. Yet their deaths still felt like a mighty blow. They shouldn't have happened at all. We had changed things to save everyone. No one should have been hurt. No one should have died.

They wouldn't have died if there hadn't been a fire blazing in the middle of the camp.

"I saw a fire. In camp. It's what turned Smaug towards us. How did that even happen? All the torches were put out," Anger built in my voice as I spoke.

Mum's expression closed off, and her jaw tightened. A look of pure rage glistened in her eyes. "That would be the Master of Laketown," Mum spat.

The Master?

"He and your Adar had been at odds all of yesterday. About his stupid gold. He didn't care at all about his people, only about what he saw as his. He refused to have his gold 'out in the open for all to steal' and tried to demand us to move it. But we didn't have time to mess about with that treasure any longer. It had already cost us precious evacuation time."

"The Master left, and we thought that was the last of it. But it wasn't. He returned when night had fallen with a group of men loyal to him. Even though we had told everyone of the danger, they had lanterns and torches. He was going to use Smaug's attack as a cover to steal all of his people's gold and run away like the coward he was."

"But he had forgotten that your Adar had stationed guards around the treasure. There was a fight, and the Master would have surely lost. But someone left a barrel of oil close by. Sometime during the fight, it must have been knocked over, and one of the Master's torches set it alight. The entire surrounding area went up instantly."

Sick, seething anger curled in my gut, and my hands tightened fists.

It was all his fault.

The Master and his greed. If it wasn't for him, no one would have died. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have had to climb up that god-forsaken tower and face Smaug's wrath. I wouldn't have been buried beneath the rubble.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to rage. It left a bad taste in my mouth.

A ripple of energy simmered beneath my hands. The magic was still accessible despite how injured I'd been. My hands shook with the effort to store it away once more. To draw it away from the surface.

"Where is he now?" I was just about ready to go kill the man myself.

"He was one of the people that died," said Mum. "He succumbed to a fire of his own making."

I didn't know how I felt about that. Was I happy that he had died? Or was I angry that it felt like an easy way out for him? He wouldn't be punished for what he'd done. Wouldn't get to answer to all the people whose lives he'd ruined. He was just gone. Taken to wherever men go when they die.

"I should go and tell people that you're awake," Mum made to get up. "I would tread carefully around your Adar, Leah. I know a part of him is proud of what you did, but his judgement is clouded by fear. Don't think too harshly of him."

She patted my shoulder and left the tent, leaving me to wait anxiously. To Adar, I had done the exact thing he wanted to keep me away from. I'd risked my life against a dragon. Somehow I had come out on top but only just. In Adar's eyes, I had only confirmed his suspicions that my being here was a danger.

I swung my legs around and planted my feet on the ground. The limbs didn't feel weak, and I knew they could take my weight. Healers must have patched me up at some point. Otherwise, I would be one giant bruise. With only a little effort, I pushed myself into a standing position.

Just in time to see the door of the tent fly open.

Legolas came in first. His expression was a mixture of relief and exasperation. He strode over to me and enveloped me in a hug. His grip was tight, but I didn't mind.

"What you did was incredibly stupid and incredibly brave," he murmured.

"High praise," I let out a small laugh.

We both knew that he would have done the same thing if he was in the same position. We were two sides to the same stupid and brave coin.

When Legolas let me go, he moved to the side, giving me a full view of Adar.

He held so much emotion in his eyes I couldn't bear to look at him for long. He looked distraught and angry, and terrified. All of his thoughts and fears were displayed clearly on his face. No holding back.

"Liriel, what were you thinking?" Adar snapped, "You should not have been up there!"

I said nothing, letting him get all of his emotions out.

"I thought I'd lost you. Again. I'm supposed to keep you safe. I had to find your body beneath the dust and ash," a tear had gathered at the corner of his eye, but he refused to let it fall. He walked forward a few steps, closing the distance between the two of us.

"What if Bard's arrow had not found its mark? Hmm. You would have faced the full force of a fire drake's breath. Do you know that pain? Do you know what you could have become?"

A gasp fell out of me.

The skin of Adar's face appeared to be melting away. Twisted tissue and sinew below the surface became visible. It started in a small patch on his cheek and spread rapidly. Like a fire eating away at his healthy flesh. All across the left side of his face and down his neck. His left eye became cloudy and unseeing. His teeth became exposed through a hole in his cheek. Adar's jaw tightened as if the process was painful.

"This. This is what you would have become," Adar's voice was tight. "A shell of what you used to be."

I had never seen Adar's injuries before. I wasn't sure if I was even told about them when I was younger. The only reason I knew about them was because of the films. If Legolas' gasp was any indication, I would say he had never seen these injuries either. This was the first time Adar had shown any of his children the damage he had taken.

I felt a lump form in my throat. He must have been in such pain.

My hand reached up towards his face. He flinched as I moved closer but didn't move away. Adar inhaled sharply as my hand made contact with his sunken cheek. The skin beneath my hand was delicate. I could feel every twitch of the muscle.

I willed my hands to glow. Urged my magic to seek out the damaged tissue. To build. To reform.

"I know you're scared, Adar," I said, my own voice thick."Scared that I'll get hurt and that you'll lose me again."

Adar's breath trembled as layer upon layer of cells rebuilt. Capillaries and muscles knitted back together. It was a lot harder than anything I had consciously healed before. I had to push more energy into the wound like something was fighting against it. I gritted my teeth and pushed on.

"But you can't protect me from everything. Smaug turned on our people. He was going to kill all of us. We had run out of options, and my magic was one of the only things that would have distracted Smaug for long enough," I looked up at Adar with a watery smile. "I think you know that too."

My hand started to shake against his cheek. Each breath felt like it was harder than the last. But I didn't stop. I kept pouring more magic into the wound. There was only the top layer of skin left to go.

"If I hadn't done something, countless others could have been hurt or killed. And it would have been my fault for not acting when I could," The world lost focus and went black around the edges. "I can't stand there while people get hurt. Not if I can do something about it."

Adar's left eye was the last thing to heal. Going from cloudy and sightless to clear and alert. We both gasped as the healing finished. My hand dropped away, hanging limp at my side.

Tears began to flow freely from both of his eyes instead of just one. Adar patted his face frantically. "H–how?... They said it couldn't be done."

Gone was the anger from before. His eyes only held astonishment.

The astonishment turned to shock as the world turned black, and he only just caught me, stopping me from slamming face-first onto the floor.

I had used too much energy in a small space of time. I'm surprised I could completely heal Adar's face before I passed out. When I came to again, I was a little disorientated. It took me a few moments to recognise the tent that I was in. The same one I had fainted in earlier.

I startled an elleth who must have been told to watch over me when I woke up. She seemed a little weary but otherwise uninjured. When I tried to sit up, she rushed over to help me. "Here, let me help you, your highness."

Her help wasn't strictly necessary, but I accepted it, all the same, allowing her to prop me up on the bed. My mouth was monstrously dry, and I attempted to ask for water. Only the words came out as more of a husk. Thankfully, she gathered what I was asking for and handed me a small cup of water.

It took a lot of willpower not to just down the whole thing. But I knew I needed to be sensible. So I took smaller sips. It was like ambrosia to my parched mouth.

"What time is it?" I asked. The sun was definitely out now. It streamed in from gaps in the side of the tent. I must have been out for at least a few hours. There was also a weaker scent of smoke on the breeze.

"It's just past midday, your highness."

Midday. That wasn't too bad.

"Midday of the 21st, your highness," she continued.

I nearly spat out my water. Durin's day was on the 19th. I had been in and out of consciousness for over a day and a half. Was that some new record?

The elleth left with a bow to inform people that I was awake. Mum made her way through the doors with a bowl of soup. The steam rose in the air in tantalising twists, calling my name.

"Darling, I'm glad you're awake" her voice was less strained than before.

She handed me the bowl, and I took it from her happily. The soup was actually rather bland, but it was warm and hearty, and that's all I needed.

Mum sat next to me on the cot, making it dip slightly. I had to readjust the bowl to prevent it from spilling.

"Leah, do you have any idea what you did for your Adar?"

I paused around a spoonful of soup. "Healed him?"

"Yes," she breathed a laugh. "You healed him, but it shouldn't have been possible. The dragon your Adar was burned by was heavily imbued with dark magic. More so than Smaug was. Wounds like that are notoriously hard to treat. The best our healers could do was seal the injured skin. He had to wear a glamour to cover it," Mum shook her head, eyes wide. "But you broke through all of that and healed him anyway."

So that's why his injuries were still there. I had been confused that a healer hadn't already tried to help him.

"Is that why I've been asleep for a day and a half?" I must have used quite a bit of power to heal him.

"Yes, I imagine that's probably why. You were weakened by your fall anyway. I'm surprised your use of magic didn't knock you out for a week," Mum quipped.

Once I finished my soup, my mind wandered about what had been happening while I was out cold. How were the humans coping? Did all of the company make it?

And where was Kili?

I hadn't seen him at all. The last time I saw him was before I ran off towards Bard. The look of desolation on his face still painted the back of my eyelids. I had thought he would have been here when I woke up, but there was no sign of him.

"Mum, where's Kili?"

The nervous look on Mum's face did not help my panicked thoughts. "He's in his own tent, Leah. I think he needed some room to think."

Room to think?

"You should probably talk with him, darling. He hasn't been in the best state of mind."

My eyes drifted down towards the bond. It ran ahead of me, somewhere outside of the tent. I gave it a very tentative pull. When there wasn't an immediate reply, I felt my breath grow shaky. A lump formed in my throat.

Was he angry with me? I could not blame him if he was. I had put both our lives in danger when I recklessly ran to the mouth of the beast. But I hated the feelings that came with it nonetheless. Guilt, despair, self-conscious insecurity.

After what felt like an eternity, I got a delayed reply down the bond. I let out a sigh. He wasn't completely ignoring me then.

"I'll take you to him."

Mum led the way out of the tent, holding the door open for me to walk through. It finally gave me the chance to see the damage. The tents had been moved and erected further away from the forest. Parts of the ground were scorched and covered in ash. Anything that had been in Smaug's path had been burned away. Several trees were nothing more than blackened stumps.

There were also a lot fewer people than I had been expecting.

"Where is everyone?" I asked Mum.

"Most of the humans are being evacuated to the Elven Halls. A good chunk of our army has gone with them to ensure that no orcs follow. But our scouts say they are likely several days away, so we have time for the guard to return and regroup," Mum said as she led me through the new camp.

"What happened to Bard?" I said, looking into the faces of the men I passed. He'd fallen just as far as I did, and he wasn't as hardy as an elf.

"He survived," said Mum. "The healers got to him in time. He's still a bit weak, but he's alive."

I let out a breath. That was good news.

Mum reached the front of a tent and lingered in front of it. A nervous energy built up in me as Mum indicated towards the door and bid me farewell.

I took a deep breath and steeled myself before pushing my way through.

"Leah," there was relief in his voice mixed with other tight emotions.

My first instinct was to run to him. To reach out. I only managed one step as Kili took a step back from me. Hurt clear in his eyes. I froze, arm hanging in the air where I had gone to reach for him.

My heart stuttered as he backed away.

Kili raised his hands up. "I just…I need to say something first."

He paused, his eyes flicking around my face. They glistened in the low light, heavy with unshed tears. The moment of silence felt like forever. I wasn't sure I was breathing.

"Leah, you left me," his voice was hoarse. "I stood there screaming your name. All I could do was watch while you ran. I had to watch as Smaug turned towards you. Had to watch while he threatened the person I love more than anything. I couldn't reach you. I couldn't get to you. I was powerless again."

He closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath. When he opened them back up again, the pain in them was immeasurable. "When I saw the tower collapse, I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. I've never been as terrified as I was when I saw you fall."

His hand began shaking, and he closed it into a fist. "We couldn't find you at first. I pulled on the bond and got…nothing. I wanted to scream. There was so much destruction, and you could have been anywhere. It was your Adad that found you. He said that he heard a cry. We had to unearth you from the ruins."

A tear streaked down his face. "You looked so small when he dragged you out. Your armour was half crushed, and there was all this blood. It was one of the worst things I've ever had to see."

"I'm sorry," I choked out, throat tight. "I'm so sorry, Kili. But I couldn't see any other way."

Kili sighed down his nose. "I know."

Then he strode forward and gathered me in his arms. He buried his head in my neck, and I held onto him like he was a lifeline.

"I know that there wasn't any other option. But seeing you like that just hurt so much," he said.

I apologised again. Over and over. My hand found its way into his hair, and I held him closer. I didn't want to give him the chance to back away.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed when Kili spoke up again. "I'm sorry for getting angry, Leah. And please don't mistake me and think I'm not proud of you. You faced a dragon for all of us and saved so many."

Kili leaned back so that he could see me and cradle my face. "I am so proud of you, Leah, but next time I don't want you facing danger on your own. We go together or not at all. Okay?"

"Okay," I nodded. I could deal with that.

Kili gave me a smile and leaned in for a kiss.

I'll keep you safe - Sleeping at last