Life is Precious

AN: *sigh* RIP consistent update schedule, thou shalt be missed.

On a serious note, though, I had to skip a week of uploads because I had family from out of state visiting and didn't have the time to get these done. And I was busier this weekend than I expected, so I was going to finish them up yesterday, but I wasn't feeling good and didn't. I'm also going on a trip for a week, so I won't be able to post on the weekend after Easter, either. My solution to this is to post a chapter for all four of my concurrent fics on Easter. After my trip, things should be back to normal.

Hopefully, that'll make up a bit for the shorter chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings.

Chapter Five:

After her and Fulcred's trip to speak with Smaug, it was surprisingly easy to return to life as normal. Well...mostly. With their agreement, the overarching problem of Smaug being discovered come springtime was solved. Sure, the terms agreed upon meant she would be leaving Edoras, but that seemed so far away now. It was hard to worry about something that was so far away in both time and space.

She worried, of course. She worried about leaving her family and city for some strange place with only a dragon for a companion. Most of her worry, however, was reserved for her family and not for herself. What would her parents say? Her brother heavily disagreed with her decided course, and he was angry at her for even considering it.

He was just worried about her, she knew. Perhaps he was even more worried about her than she was about him. She was the one leaving for some strange place with only a dragon's word that she'd be safe. Dragons weren't exactly the most trustworthy of creatures, and Smaug even less so when compared with any other. Fulcred wouldn't be able to do anything to protect her, and he hated that.

Just as she'd noticed it with her husband, Cynewyn noticed how distant her son was becoming. The stress over both her husband and son's behavior, coupled with Holdred's continued absence was taking a toll on her. Sleep was illusive for the house matron. The deep bags under her eyes were evidence of how the exhaustion and stress was getting to her.

And Earyth remembered how her father had been before he left under the King's orders. He'd been quiet, brooding. His temper had been quick to flare because he was uncertain of what to do. His duties as a father and as the King's soldier were conflicting.

She'd noticed it before, how Smaug was indirectly tearing her family apart. She'd hoped another conversation with him would ease that burden, but it appeared to have made things much worse. And as the days continued to pass, things got much worse.

The cold weather coupled with her exhaustion had ended up making Cynewyn sick. Bedridden, she was unable to do anything except ride it out, leaving Earyth as the one who had to do everything around the house. Fulcred had been beside himself with worry and had confronted Earyth about it. "That dragon is killing us, Earyth! Mother is sick, possibly dying! It's time to tell the King."

"No!" Earyth had immediately argued for one reason only. "When the King learns we knew about Smaug and never told anyone, what do you think he'd do?" Fulcred hadn't answered, knowing she had a point. If Holdred told the King, perhaps he would have enough influence to have his family spared, but their father wasn't here.

"Then we tell mother the truth. She deserves to know." And she did. Earyth agreed with her brother on that...but not right now.

"When she recovers," Earyth compromised. "There's no need to cause her any more worry right now." Fulcred had relented, and that was that.

Days had passed since then. She and her brother had begun to mend things, to discuss the future and possible alternatives. Cynewyn's sickness passed, and upon seeing her son back to his old self, she had returned to hers.

It felt like things were finally looking up.

That illusion was shattered a week later, nearly three weeks after her and Fulcred had snuck off to speak with Smaug. She had gone to sleep early that night after finishing her chores. The nightmares persisted, but she was beginning to grow used to them, which was worrying itself. She'd been asleep when suddenly somebody shook her awake. Startling awake with a gasp, she saw her brother's frightened face in the darkness. "Have you heard the stories?" he whispered, keeping his voice low so as to not wake their mother. The scent of alcohol was on his breath, though he seemed mostly coherent.

"What? What stories?" What was so bad that it made Fulcred white as a sheet? "Is it about father's company?" Please, don't let it be true! The last thing any of them needed was that sort of dreadful news!

When he shook his head, she almost sighed in relief, though her feared only doubled when he spoke. "I forget the name of it, but someone stumbled across a village burned to ash. There were no people, not even corpses to be seen. People say they just vanished, but no one can say how. The strange thing, they say, is that there's gouges in the earth. Big ones, unlike anything they'd ever seen. And footprints. Ones bigger than any creature in Middle-Earth could make...except one. Earyth...I think we made a mistake." She stared at her brother, at a loss for what to say.

Her sleep forgotten, she tried to remember the entire conversation from three weeks ago in order to figure out what changed. A horrified gasp escaped her when she remembered. "I gave him permission to leave..."

"And you never told him to stay after," Fulcred nodded. "Get dressed. We're going to fix this now before anyone else gets hurt." She nodded, standing to prepare for the journey. Right when she was about to grab some clothes, Fulcred grabbed her arm and gave her a pointed look. "And Earyth...do not listen to anything that dragon says. He'll try to trick you, confuse you, make you doubt yourself. That's what he wants. Do not fall for it."

"Okay," she nodded hesitantly. Not for the first time, she wondered why she had to be bound to such an evil creature. What had she done to deserve this fate? "I'll try." Fulcred didn't appear too convinced by her response, but he didn't say anything about it. Rather, he just urged her to hurry.

They were out of the house within minutes. Winter had hit Rohan in full by now. Several inches of snow covered the ground, and the wind brought with it a biting chill that seemed to suck the warmth out of them despite their heavy clothes. The snow crunched underfoot as they snuck through the dark city, though it was a rather moot attempt. Their footprints were clearly visible, and the continuously falling snow wasn't heavy enough to mask them.

There would be no hiding this particular venture from their mother. All Cynewyn need do is take a look outside come dawn and see the twin pairs of footprints leading away from the house to know they had snuck out. And there was no point in lying about where they went since she could simply follow the tracks. She'd know they snuck out of the city and not down to the tavern, and there was only one place outside the city that they could be going, a place where they'd gone before.

Their mother would know they went to the mountains, but she wouldn't know why. Both Earyth and her brother were in agreement that they needed to tell her the truth, and tomorrow would be the day for that.

Once outside the city, things became much darker. Unlike the first time they snuck out, the moon was hidden by thick clouds, and though it was difficult to see, Fulcred would not risk lighting a torch. "It would attract too much attention. I'd rather not be caught out here with no way to defend ourselves."

Well...she wanted to believe that Smaug would hear if she screamed and would come rescue them, but that was probably a naïve and false hope. Besides, if those stories were true, that dragon was obviously no friend of theirs. Maybe, for reasons yet unknown to her, he would save her hide, but he'd most definitely leave her brother to die unless she ordered Smaug to save him, too.

This whole situation was as confusing as it was terrifying. She remembered the fear in his eyes when she tried to send him away and how he decided to listen when Fulcred mentioned a risk to her life. Why did Smaug care if she lived or died? Shouldn't he be glad for her death? Wouldn't that free him from her?

Her thoughts continued in such circles for a while in a desperate attempt to think on anything except how cold it was. Her body was wracked with shivers from the horrible chill, and her brother fared no better. "At least it'll be warmer in the valley," she tried to lighten the mood.

Fulcred didn't appreciate it, though. He simply glared at her for the remark and continued on silently. Maybe her remark had been in poor taste with them knowing what they did.

When they finally arrived at the mountain pass, Earyth was so cold she would be glad for the dragon's warmth no matter their original reason for coming here. What use was it to admonish Smaug if they simply froze to death before they could? Then again, how exactly were they, two defenseless humans, supposed to admonish the greatest dragon of the age? They were quite small compared to him, after all.

The pass grew warmer, much to their relief and trepidation, but once they turned into the valley itself a wave of heat hit them. Earyth instantly broke into a sweat, even taking off her heavy coat as she instantly noticed two things. First, there was no snow in this valley at all, unsurprising with this heat. Second, as if expecting that they would come, Smaug's gaze instantly locked on hers, and she could see the dark excitement in his eyes rather than the impatience or disgust from their previous two meetings.

There was only one reason for that.

"Finally!" the dragon grinned maliciously. "I was beginning to think a third village was needed to catch your attention, girl."

Wait...

"Third?" Fulcred asked, horrified. "We'd just heard of the one!"

"Oh?" he chuckled, lowering his massive head. "It would've been one, but you were taking so long, and I was so terribly bored. How could I sit idle when the first was so much fun?"

Both humans gaped at the great dragon in horror. Earyth's stomach roiled, and it was all she could do to keep from retching then and there. Worse than the admittance, however, was the sick pride in the dragon's voice. He was proud of the horrendous acts he committed, and he was amused by their reactions!

"You're a monster!" she shouted, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Not for the first time, she wondered what she had done to ever deserve being bound to such a foul and despicable creature.

He grinned, a spark of self-satisfaction causing the fire of his eyes to flow brighter. "Monster, you say? I'm afraid the truth is much worse, girl. I am no mere 'monster'." He raised his head again and stared down at them imperiously. "I'm a dragon!"

"How can you be so cruel!?" she shouted at him, ignoring Fulcred's attempts to get her attention. "How could you just burn all of those innocent people alive!? They did nothing to you!"

"Easily," was his simple reply to her first question. "It is in my very nature to be cruel. And I didn't burn all of those people, girl." She blinked, some flicker of hope that some of them had escaped ruthlessly quashed by what he said next. "Some of them I ate. They were quite deliciousss." His tongue flicked out of his mouth like a serpent before another malicious grin spread across his muzzle.

"I've heard enough!" Fulcred yelled, taking both of them by mild surprise. He spun to his sister and gripped her shoulder. "This has gone on long enough! I was just as excited as you when we first saw the dragon, so I share some of the blame for that. But we cannot allow anything like this to happen again. Order him to take his own life and be done with it!"

Rather than fear, Smaug's gaze and voice became angered. "Yes, by all means, girl, order me to end my own life! Let justice be done! And when I am dead, do not forget to end your own, as well, for you are just as guilty as I!"

"She did nothing! Don't try to turn this on her!" her brother shouted, completely unafraid of the massive dragon glaring at him with unbridled hate.

"She gave me permission to leave, or do you not remember that little detail? I am bound to her. The responsibility for my actions rests solely on her shoulders. She allowed me to burn those villages, to kill those people. I am at no fault for following my nature. Rather, she is at fault for not controlling me better." Fulcred growled, a very dragon-like reaction, but Smaug's interest in the boy was lost as soon as he was finished speaking. "So what shall it be, girl? Shall you blame me for your own mistake?"

"The only mistake she made was to let you live!" Fulcred roared.

Smaug growled as he turned back to her brother, baring his teeth in anger. Just before either of them could do anything, she shouted, "ENOUGH!"

Both her brother and the dragon turned to regard her. In Fulcred's gaze, she could see his fear and sorrow. She could see how he was silently urging her to listen to him. And in Smaug's gaze, she saw no pity, no empathy, and not a single shred of guilt or regret. Instead, he was once again regarding her with clear disgust and disdain. Now that they were past the initial reactions, the source of his amusement was gone.

No longer was she afraid. Instead, for the first time in her entire life, Earyth was genuinely furious. Furious at Smaug for killing innocent people. Furious at herself for letting it happen, even if unintentionally. And most of all, furious at whatever force had tied her to the dragon in the first place.

"Why me!?" she cried, to the dragon or to the winds, she knew not. "Why am I the one the wizard chose!?" Then, she shook her head furiously. "No...why did he let you live in the first place!? The world would've been better off with you!"

She turned and fled, uncaring of the dragon's derisive snort as she left. Fulcred chased after her, quickly catching her before she got too far. "Earyth, wait!" He grabbed her arm, spinning her around, and she ended up latching onto him as she sobbed into his coat. She felt his arms wrap around her as he sighed. "I'm sorry... I told you to keep your wits about you, but I didn't even follow my own advice."

"I c-can't kill him!" she wailed. Actually, that was a lie. She could. And she probably should. But she wouldn't. Maybe she was too soft, or maybe she was just a coward. Or maybe Smaug was right. She was partially to blame for what happened. If there was to be punishment dealt, by rights, she deserved to be punished, too.

Her brother sighed again. "I figured as much..." He clearly wasn't happy about her decision, but he didn't try to persuade her otherwise. "And call me a fool for believin', but if the dragon is bound to you, it must be for a reason."

"W-What reason?" she asked, pulling away just enough to look into his eyes and hoping desperately to find some answer in his face. He just shook his head after a moment.

"I don't know... I doubt anyone does except Gandalf, but...I've no idea where to even start looking for him." He pulled away, his expression indicating he was deep in thought. "Father's right. We can't ask the King to summon him as that would be too suspicious. I guess...we just have to hope those same stories we heard reaches the wizard, too."

"You think he'll come investigate?" She hadn't even considered the possibility.

"It's possible. I would in his position, especially after letting a dragon, of all things, live." He sighed once more. "I guess we just have to hope he'll be here before spring comes."

"And if he doesn't?" His expression said it all. They'd have to follow the original plan and allow Smaug to take her elsewhere to save all of their lives. "I guess I better order him to stay put, then..." she murmured dejectedly. Fulcred was probably right in saying Smaug was here for a reason. She just wished she knew what that reason was. What could cause the wizard to spare Smaug's life after everything that happened at the Lonely Mountain and Laketown?

Surprisingly, Smaug was right where they left him. Unsurprisingly, he was quite livid at being ordered to stay put again. They left him there, silently fuming, and headed back home through the cold and snow. Come morning, they'd be explaining their late-night trip to their mother, and neither of them were looking forward to that.

The walk back to Edoras seemed to be both longer and colder, a result of their burdened minds. Each step felt a league and each minute an hour. The stress of keeping Smaug's secret had been bad enough before, but now it was so much worse. The dragon had killed innocents, yet still Earyth was trying to protect him. Fulcred was angry, and he had every right to be, for that, but he knew this was her burden to bear.

Climbing up the cliff that Edoras was built upon was near deadly, especially in these conditions. Earyth nearly slipped and fell, her only fate being a broken neck if that had happened. Fulcred had caught her long enough for both to regain their footing, but they were both thankful to be back on solid ground after that.

With hands so cold they were mostly without feeling, Earyth opened the door and froze. Fulcred walked in behind her to shut the door, but once he turned around, he froze in place, as well. "And where have you two been?"

Their mother was awake, and she definitely wasn't happy.

AN: Yeah, it's short, but I'm hoping the next one will be a bit longer to make up for it.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22