The Dragonet's Burglar
There had been multiple accounts during his adventure that Bilbo feared his lucky ring of invisibility would not save him.
Running away from the mad creature Gollum was one such frightening occasion, not counting all the winding tunnels in the depths of the Misty Mountains; it was by sheer luck that he managed to outrun and outwit the creature.
Only that managed to get him surrounded by an army of Goblins guarding the only exit door with the Company and Gandalf nowhere in sight. By some cruel trick of the Ring, it slipped off his finger just to get him spotted, and he would have been swarmed had he not slipped it back on just in time. Again, it was by complete luck that escaped, only by a slim crack in the door and the loss of his waistcoat buttons.
Just after rejoining the Company, they were hunted by Warg scouts. It was thanks to the resolve of Gandalf, they managed to escape being mauled and burned alive on the backs of the Great Eagles.
After Gandalf left the Company before Mirkwood, they admittedly got lost in the heavy air infested with everything that was wrong about the beauty of nature. Because of that, they got captured as a meal by spiders, leaving Bilbo alone this time to take the role of rescuer. It was thanks to the luck of his ring that he fended off the spiders and saved all thirteen dwarves of the company.
It was just after that that the dwarves had all been captured by the Wood-Elves, and Bilbo was left on his own yet again to rescue them all. It was by complete luck that he snatched the keys from the drunken butler and keeper of the keys, and more blessed luck that none of the other wood-elves heard the loud grunting of the dwarves. He managed to get every single dwarf hidden in an empty clump of barrels ready to be returned to Lake-Town, except he had forgotten to get a barrel for himself.
It was thanks to his lucky ring that he kept hidden away from the lake-men and the wood-elves while also keeping up with the barge load of dwarf-filled barrels. Safe to say, they were all indignant about being stuffed in apple-filled barrels, but it was Thorin himself that praised Bilbo for his resolve and quick-witted thinking.
Finally, the biggest test came from when he slowly crept down into the lair of the dragon himself. Not once did he take the ring off as he clambered over the piles upon mountains in the endless ocean of gold and treasure. Smaug certainly would have caught and killed him—how, he dared not think—had he not kept the dragon distracted with riddling flattery. It was certainly the highest point of his newfound burgling career, and at the same time he had not felt so utterly terrified for his life and that of his friends in the Company.
Suffice to say, Bilbo had come to value his life on the little golden trinket that he found, quite by accident, lost within the depths of the Misty Mountains.
…which was precisely why he was praising the luck of his ring in his newfound predicament.
Instead of opening up to his freedom from his dragon captors, far away from the threat of being cooked alive for a meal, instead he found himself in the middle of a ring. Not like his own ring, but that of a large area surrounded by all kinds of different dragons, all looking down into the center of the ring, roaring and shouting with violent delight. Some were white, others were yellow or orange, some red, even purple and some green; all filled with anticipation for something grim and violent to happen.
Instead of opening up to his freedom from his dragon captors, far away from the threat of being cooked alive for a meal, instead he found himself in the middle of a ring. Not like his own ring, but that of a large area surrounded by all kinds of different dragons, all looking down into the center of the ring, roaring and shouting with violent delight. Some were white, others were yellow or orange, some red, even purple and some green; all filled with anticipation for something grim and violent to happen.
He stood frozen in the center of the ring, unable to comprehend the predicament he had been thrust into. Looking behind, he saw that there was an elevated platform just above the gate he entered. Next to it was another dragon chained to a tree; he couldn't tell if the dragon was male or female, but he could tell that the dragon was vibrant in their scale-colors yet depressed and made to suffer. Was that dragon one of those RainWings he saw in the forest? If so, it was like the SkyWings just loved being cruel to peaceful dragons.
Apparently, not everything changed when he was thrown through the vortex. Dragons hating other races of dragons for no apparent reason.
It was then he noticed the towering pillars surrounding the ring, each containing a dragon chained at the top while also being chained to the dragon on the next pillar. A sight of many that Bilbo never thought to see in his life. So dragons took other dragons as prisoners? For what purpose? Cruel and unusual punishment?
His mind was suddenly interrupted by the announcement of, who else, but Queen Scarlet; celebrating her Hatching Day; probably like having a birthday. There she appeared, looking twisted and regal as ever. Unexpectedly, another announcement was made: one SandWing Princess Burn. Yet another brand new species of dragons, this time another royal. Burn appeared right next to Scarlet, and a stark contrast to any dragon he had ever seen before. She stood taller than Scarlet, was more burly in size, and her dark-yellow shade of scales had visible scars all across her neck, muzzle, and body. Her eyes were pitch-black, as if they were piercing into his very soul…but, couldn't only golden eyes do that?
Her face remained stoic and fixed, looking over everything with a calculative expression, but there was a hint of amusement at being the guest of honor.
The hobbit assumed that she was the guest of honor, as the last two dragons to appear were terrified, depressed, and their wings were chained. One was large and orange, probably one of those MudWings he saw earlier. The other was small and black, with white spots dotted on the creases of his chained wings. At least their burly snouts and broad shoulders showed that they were definitely male dragons.
The most interesting part he noticed was that the black dragon had less luck at hiding his agitation than the MudWing. Were they scared of the two other dragons? Was it possible for dragons to feel afraid?
The whole processing of it all was disorienting; way too much for the hobbit to grapple his understanding all in the span of too few sudden moments stacked over each other.
It was at that precise moment that his feet decided to stumble over, right as the ring went flying off his finger. All of the sudden gasps from the crowd froze him to the very spot, every single gaping mouth filled his body with a crashing wave of terror.
Worst of the lot came from none other than Scarlet; Burn made a small smirk, definitely amused and nothing more.
"What's this?" he heard Scarlet exclaim for all to hear. "A scavenger that can turn invisible? Oh, what fun! The perfect appetizer for my hatching day!"
"It could provide…something," Burn sneered.
The moment he heard that one word sent Bilbo into a frenzy, scurrying through the small piles of sand, hoping that he would find his ring before it was too late.
Thankfully, he managed to find the special little trinket, blessing his luck to continue forward for him.
"Bring out the Mad SeaWing!"
But it looked as if he was too slow.
On instinct, he clutched the ring in his fist as he stood into a battle stance, with his other hand gripping the hilt of his special sword, Sting. He waited with baited breath as he watched the metal gate slowly creak open, with its little metallic song taunting him with each passing thump of a beat counting down the seconds to his doom.
It had not even completely opened when the monster emerged.
It was a dragon, with pale-green scales, webbed talons, and a pattern of scales different from the ones on his body. Like the other prisoners, his wings were also chained, not so much his legs. In fact, his body looked like a plant that had shriveled up in the sunlight without any water to sustain it. He definitely looked like something from the sea.
What Bilbo concerned himself more with was how the "Mad SeaWing" looked more than just mad; he looked crazed, snarling and whipping his head around like a rabid beast. He snapped his jaws at anything he felt came in his direction, much to the enjoyment of the crowd.
Soon, those monstrous eyes of a wild beast landed on the sight of the hobbit.
In an instant, the SeaWing dragon charged at its prey, right as Bilbo slipped the ring back onto his finger and ran out of the way. The dragon rammed his head into the stone wall, almost cracking the structure. Bilbo ducked out of the way of the swinging tail, only to get smacked in the back and be sent flying across the ring. The crowd remained silent, watching with bated breath. From the way that the SeaWing dragon whipped his body around the ring, never focusing in one place, the hobbit knew that his predator could not see him.
It was admittedly funny to see the dragon claw through the sand asif looking for a bone that it buried, and even trying to dig his head through the sand.
"You're supposed to kill the scavenger, not dig for bones like a mongrel!" Scarlet screamed.
At that moment, the SeaWing stopped digging and looked up, eyeing the very spot that Bilbo was standing in. In a split second, he darted back to the now closed gate, hoping to duck through a gap in the structure, only to find that the predator was faster on his feet. Bilbo jumped out of the way, just in time for the dragon to slam his head against the metal gate, emitting a loud ringing noise that echoed throughout the entire crowd. They all negatively exclaimed, shouting to "Get on With It!"
The crowd roared and cheered, enticing the dragon beast to continue, flapping their giant wings as if clapping their hands; some even blew small clouds of smoke and fire. Bilbo looked up to see the two chained dragons darting their eyes around the ring, lost and scared about what to find or to follow; the black dragon especially.
He could tell that Scarlet was getting impatient, and each passing second meant one less second closer to his impending doom. Then, he decided to make a run for it, only caring that he got away as soon as possible from the still dazed dragon. Said dragon had just recovered, snarling and roaring as he charged towards the hobbit's vicinity, clawing at the air and snapping his jaws. Bilbo's eyes darted from one claw to the other as well as the sharpened and bloodied teeth, his breath hitching in his throat and his blood growing cold. It was a split decision that proved fruitless.
And then everything happened at once.
He suddenly got painfully swiped by a swinging claw and sent flying through the air, tumbling against the sand, and almost into the stone wall. In an instant, he saw the dragon beast charging towards him, and without thinking he drew Sting, gripping the hilt in a panic. Then, the giant snout passed over him as he ran, as did the long neck, until he noticed the body was closing in on him. Without thinking, he shut his eyes and threw Sting in the first general direction he acted on: right above his head.
And everything stopped.
At first, the crowd cheered, and then they went silent.
Daringly, Bilbo peeked his eyes open, seeing a waterfall of red thick liquid oozing out from above him. He looked up to see Sting forcefully infused into the scales of the long neck, where a river of blood was pouring out in a flood. He suddenly drew out Sting and ran out of the way before he collapsed, growing green and nauseous.
When he looked up from his bloodied sword, he saw into the still and dull eyes of the dragon beast that was relentlessly hunting him; unmoving, with a pool of fresh thick blood gathering into the soaking sand. The stuff was overlapping the grains, encroaching closer and closer to his feet. He stood up and backed up as far as he could get from the small pool, without hitting the back of his head against the stone wall.
In the ringing silence in his ears, the world stood still around the hobbit. Hired as a burglar, he was thrust into an adventure that had come unexpectedly knocking at his door, and he joined up for it. Because of that, he outwitted trolls, got captured by goblins, outsmarted the creature Gollum, got captured by spiders, outwitted said spiders, and made it all the way to the treasure hoard of the Lonely Mountain, where he successfully outwitted and stole from the great dragon Smaug. Not once did he dare contemplate actually killing Smaug; he was not built for that. Dragon killing was the last thing on the hobbit's mind to have ever accomplished in all his life.
Yet it all came circling back: he had, in fact, accomplished that.
His hands and sword were stained with the blood of a slain dragon.
Hidden against the stone wall, he then became witness to the greatest uproar that he had seen in his life, at least up until that point. All of the dragons were either screaming in absolute confusion about what happened, or cheering that blood had been spilled.
"What happened?!" Scarlet shrieked. "How could the Mad SeaWing, of all dragons, be slain by a scavenger?!"
"Don't forget, it was a scavenger that killed my mother," Burn simply replied. "And they're all loving it. Pathetic."
"What am I to do now?" Scarlet continued to seethe.
"Well, you have the Dragonets."
At that, the SkyWing queen perked up, as a sinister sneer etched across her face. "Yes, yes…I have formed a plan."
Instead of feeling grateful, Bilbo recognized that his predicament had only worsened. He quickly sheathed Sting but kept a grip on the hilt, ready to once again fight for his life.
"But now it's time for the NightWing!" Scarlet announced to the jubilant crowd. "My Hatching Day present to me!"
At this, two guards unlocked the chain around the NightWings neck, which was anchored to the ground. Those two same guards flew out and removed the Mad SeaWing's bleeding corpse from the ring, never to be seen again. But that was not all: as the NightWing was shoved into the ring, Bilbo heard and saw the large MudWing shouting something, a pained fearful look on his face. The SkyWing queen and her SandWing guest of honor simply ignored his protesting.
From where he stood, Bilbo surveyed his newest opponent. He was smaller in stature compared to the SeaWing from before, and much more meek at being put into this predicament; he seemed to shrink away from all the sudden newfound attention. He was also darting his eyes around the ring, as if searching for something that was invisible to his eyes.
Wait…he looked scared, and he was looking all around him for something.
Was this NightWing dragon scared of Bilbo Baggins: the burgling hobbit?
Once again, Scarlet silenced the uproaring crowd with her grand but slithering voice. "The rarest of all dragons—a real live NightWing! But I'm not finished: let's see what happens when two Dragonets of Destiny fight each other! Bring out the SeaWing!"
At the sound of "SeaWing" Bilbo became frightened. Was this SeaWing going to be just as mad and beastly as the one from before? Even the NightWing was terrified at the same announcement.
Soon, the large gate groaned open yet again, but this time the newcomer waited until it was fully open. Like the Mad SeaWing, the dragon had scales of a shade of blue, except more so rich blue instead of green, and he could tell that the SeaWing was female, but also larger than the NightWing. She also appeared stronger than the somewhat scrawny NightWing. But what set the female SeaWing apart from the Mad SeaWing was that the former kept a contemporary face, regal even; there were evident emotions visible, filled with worry. The NightWing gave her a look that was both relieved and worried. The SeaWing gave him a comforting friendly smile, though she was successful in hiding.
Perhaps they knew each other?
"Tsunami of the SeaWings and Starflight of the NightWings! To win this round, one of you must find and kill the invisible scavenger! The loser will be forced into the mercy of the winner! Claws up, teeth ready! FIGHT!"
So now he knew their names: Tsunami the SeaWing and Starflight the NightWing. Even though he was unfamiliar with dragon naming conventions, they sounded fitting to their species. Despite this, Bilbo still had two dragons fighting to eat him alive, and that one of these friendly dragons would have to kill the other…
…
…
…
…they just embraced each other, in a friendly hug.
Just when I thought I was done with anything unexpected, Bilbo grumbled and gawked at the same time.
For the first time in a long time since his adventure began, the hobbit became conflicted. Here he was, watching two dragons, forced together into a situation where they would risk the life of the other, and were scared. Scared at the thought of killing their friend, and yet decided to risk themselves in the process by remaining loyal to their friendship. It was what the dwarves would have done: lay themselves on the line for their kin.
Dragons were fierce and dangerous creatures, who cared for nothing and no creature other than themselves and guarding their treasure hoard for as long as they lived. That was the story he had always heard regarding the great monsters. Smaug was certainly the epitome of that story, and he had sacked a kingdom all on his own without the need for an army. Bilbo remembered seeing the great fire-serpent swim through the mountains and valleys of gold, and how the scales on his underbelly had become infused with the gems and gold he had been sleeping on for decades.
Doubtless, he was amused at the feeble attempts from the dwarves to take him on, or at the little burglar who stumbled into his hoard, hiding under his great snout. He would have incinerated the little thief had he found him.
And yet…
"I don't want to fight you, Tsunami," Starflight whimpered.
"Don't worry, Starflight," Tsunami comforted. "I promise it won't come to that."
He saw that Tsunami was trying her best to comfort her friend, who was trembling in every place, and yet he saw that it was easily broken, shattered like glass. To anyone in the crowd, her façade was as evident as the grains of sand littering the ring, but to the hidden hobbit…
Meek, little Starflight looked exactly like Bilbo: torn from his home into an unexpected adventure and thrust into the wild dangerous outside world; a little speck lost on his journey. The last time he ever saw that face was when…
Leaving behind Gollum in the goblin tunnels. The pitiful creature, full of despair, who had chased and tried to kill him for stealing his precious…and he took pity on him, sparing his life.
"True courage is knowing not when to take a life, but to spare one."
As much as the gray wizard was confusing, and a terrible inconvenience, he always knew what he was talking about, even when speaking in riddles.
In that moment, Bilbo formulated a plan of his own, one that surely would risk his life if he was not careful. He sheathed Sting, realizing he had kept it out for all to see; thankfully his opponents had not noticed the floating little dagger. He made sure to get to a far enough distance, and waited until the crowd had quieted down, speaking as if back in the echoing caverns of the goblin tunnels.
"Here me now, you,
Who are chained to the ground!
Answer my riddles
And I will be found."
As expected, he got a reaction from his opponents, splashing their faces with clear unexpectedness.
"What…what was that? W-Where did it come from?!" Starflight panicked, nearly shrieking.
"I don't know, Starflight, but calm down," Tsunami replied.
"W-Was…was that the scavenger?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Tsunami immediately shot back. "Everyone knows scavengers can't talk."
As he thought, Starflight was, as the dwarves called Bilbo, book-smart. Someone who's strength relied on the words in the pages of the books and papers they read and wrote, an intellectual. Tsunami was the complete opposite: she wore her aggressiveness on her scales like an invisible coat, yet also quick to anger and impatient.
"We've got to find that scavenger," Tsunami frowned, determined.
"You didn't see it turn invisible," Starflight countered.
"So it's got animus magic, so what? Big deal."
"It is a big deal because it killed the Mad SeaWing, while invisible! No one saw it coming!"
"And you're worried about it killing you? We'll just find it before it kills us. It's that simple."
Starflight kept close to his friend, protectively, shrinking his chained wings against him.
Yet again, Bilbo became stricken with guilt. He had no intention of killing these dragons, or any dragons for that matter, and yet here he was: facing a dragon, one of the mightiest creatures to exist, was afraid of a little hobbit.
An idea came to him: a very dangerous idea, one that assuredly would go horribly, horribly wrong if he was not more careful than he had ever been. He thought that his situation was more life-threatening than that of Smaug, but perhaps he could reason with both Starflight and Tsunami at the same time; if not the latter, than the former.
From his hiding spot, he heard Scarlet impatiently huff. "This is boring. I want to see some action, some blood spurting!"
"Wait," Burn calmly spoke up. "I want to see where this is going. The battle is not won with brawn alone."
Scarlet growled, but reluctantly relented. "Fine, since you are the guest of honor, I will honor it."
The last thing he wanted was for the two dragon royals getting on him, doing something too drastic that would for sure spell doom for himself, and the two dragonets. Taking in the biggest breath of his life, Bilbo prepared for the worst as he spoke.
"From wherever you hear me, Starflight and Tsunami, I give you my word: I will not to spill blood from either of you, but will reveal myself if, and only if, you answer my three riddles correctly."
The ensuing silence was deafening. He could not think about anything else but the silence. He put his faith in his pitying of the dragonets, forced to fight as enemies when they were friends, for the twisted amusement of the SkyWing queen. Truly, she was just like the dragons of Middle-Earth, and could pass for Smaug. He mostly waited for Tsunami to shout something obscene, or rash, or even snap at Starflight's idiocy…but nothing. She remained frozen still, in shock but in deep thinking. Perhaps this was the one moment in her life when she truly did not know what to do with the unexpected information given to her.
Were scavengers men, or elves? Maybe even hobbits? Unlikely, since he was "unlike" other scavengers.
I am truly not a home, he thought.
"Uh…scavenger?" Starflight spoke up. "Wherever you are, I accept your challenge."
"What?!" Tsunami snapped around. "Starflight, are you serious?!"
"You know I can't fight you, Tsunami! But maybe I can win in a game of riddles!" the NightWing argued. "This scavenger isn't like other scavengers: it's smart."
"And how are you going to win against this 'smart scavenger,' hmm?"
Starflight became unusually calm. "I'm the one who's always reading the scrolls, remember?"
Bilbo was quite impressed with the NightWing's witty remark, especially how it left Tsunami stammering for a response, even burying her face into her claws, growling loudly. She was like a grumpy dwarf.
Starflight took it as the response to continue. Yet again, he looked around the ring for a face that could not be seen. "Okay…I'm ready."
Bilbo waited, anticipating yet another unexpected thing to happen. He shook his head, cursing his paranoia at what he had come to after so much adventuring. Ridiculous, he thought. He then spoke his first riddle.
"I hide in the shadows,
Unheard and unseen.
My goal is to pick
Your treasure clean."
It was a very simple riddle, but just challenging enough to get his opponent thinking deeply about any red herrings. He kept his focus on Tsunami, who was instead scowling around the ring, eyeing for anything that would give away the hobbit's hiding place. He saw that Starflight was instead pacing around the ring, mumbling under his breath while deep in thought. Hopefully him being distracted in his mind would take him off the impatient roaring of the crowd, and especially Scarlet.
He then looked above Tsunami, noticing the RainWing chained to a tree. Now he could see that the dragon was female, and being displayed as a trophy. For a moment, he saw that her tail suddenly became invisible, to his shock and surprise, then visible again. He then noticed that Starflight had looked up to her, and that Scarlet had yet to have noticed.
"RainWing!" he exclaimed. "Wait, no no, no no no no no, that's not it!"
"Come on, Starflight! You're not doing anything! Help me find the little thief!" Tsunami growled.
Instead of talking back, Starflight came to a realization. "Wait, that's it!"
"What's it?" Tsunami asked, surprised.
"Thief! The answer is thief!"
Admittingly, Bilbo was amused by Starflight's bright face of joy at guessing the correct answer, and could not help himself at Tsunami's expense.
"That is the correct answer, Starflight," he said.
"Are you kidding me?!" Tsunami exasperated.
"You only have two riddles left. Here is the second:
"Thirty white animals are on a red hill.
First they champ,
Then they stamp,
And then they stand still."
Again, Tsunami stamped around in a huff while Starflight went back to thinking. Just in case, he snuck away from where Tsunami came close to crushing him to where Starflight was pacing. Not exactly safer, more so less perilous, and all around risky. Again, he saw that Scarlet was becoming more and more impatient, and Burn was still unreadable. The MudWing, however, was shaking with agitation. Bilbo also recognized his look: the dwarves shared it during the scramble up the burning fir trees.
With nothing else to do but wait for Starflight to think, the invisible hobbit did some thinking of his own: these Dragonets of Destiny, most definitely a company of different species of dragons, regarded each other in high respects, ready to put themselves on the line for each other. The dwarves were like that as well, but to each other and no one else. All these dragons he kept meeting were both different and just like what he already knew.
"'Thirty white animals'…'thirty white animals'…'on a red hill'…"
"Starflight, can you hurry it up?" Tsunami interjected.
"I'm trying to think," he replied.
"Ugh…Starflight the scroll-worm: outsmarted by a scavenger," the SeaWing mocked.
The NightWing ignored his friend, trying to focus on thinking. He tapped his talons, thumped his tail, and licked his lips; embarrassing but true: Bilbo would have done the same. Probably have done, on numerous occasions and never bothered to notice.
"What hills are red?" Starflight asked aloud.
"I don't know, mud?" Tsunami unhelpfully offered.
"You're not helping, you know. And that's not it either."
"Ugh! I don't know why I am even doing this! It's just a scavenger, for crying out loud—!"
"I got it!"
"AAHH!" For his sake, Bilbo just barely managed to smother his laugh at Tsunami's antics. "Starflight!"
"What?"
"What was that for?!"
"I solved it: teeth."
Tsunami looked like she had been hit on the head with a rock. "Teeth."
"Yeah," Starflight nodded. "'Thirty white animals on a red hill'…'champ and stamp'…it was a riddle of metaphors."
Bilbo took this opportunity to speak. "I must say I am very impressed, Starflight. You have but only one riddle left to solve:
"A box with hinges
Key or lid,
Yet golden treasure
Inside is hid."
It was one of his favorite riddles, and he chose that particular one because he remembered nearly stumping Gollum with it. He did not doubt Starflight's definite intelligence, and rather hoped that would have finally stumped someone with that riddle. Admittingly he was enjoying a rather worthy opponent in a game of riddles, though he was assuredly not Gollum: he was not devious, but genuine and friendly. Despite Starflight being a dragon, the hobbit could not bring himself to hate the bookish NightWing.
As Bilbo waited in hiding, he saw the metal gate closed shut, and realized that he could probably fit through the gaps. None of them would even notice that he had disappeared forever, and he would have much longer to live.
But he stopped, and continued no further. One thing kept him from simply running away like a rat: his word and promise. Not once had a Baggins ever not kept his word, and Bilbo's dearly departed family would be ashamed of him had he broken that in the moment. Just because he was thrust away from the comfort of home did not mean that he would have to forget all that he knew and was taught: that was what kept him going throughout his adventures.
A conflict was raging in an angry storm from within the burgling hobbit: was his life truly worth less compared to his honor as a Baggins of Bag End? The dwarves put their honor on the line to get their home back from the great fiery serpent of the north, but they were dwarves, and the little hobbit was battling against dragons. But the dragons had honor of their own: protecting the lives of their friends above and as well as their own. That was the most honoring thing he had ever seen in his life, and it had come from dragons of all creatures. There were dragons that were alike Smaug in many ways, but there were dragons so unlike him in so many other ways. Starflight was smart but not cunning, and both Tsunami and Starflight were caring to each other; their banter proved that to him, he had seen so much of that banter from the dwarves.
His mind was cracking between two strong crushing boulders, pinning his decisions at a hard standstill, but his word to Starflight remained strong. So he patiently waited. Patience was a virtue to the career of a burglar, not so much to a bloodthirsty queen, or an aggressive impatient SeaWing who was putting herself and her friend over her shoulders to carry all on her own.
Thorin did the same thing with all of the dwarves of the Company. He laid his life down if it meant his kin would live.
Comparing dwarves to dragons. Oh how the mighty have fallen, Bilbo chuckled to himself.
He chose to distract himself from his plight, by listening to Starflight's processing of his riddle. "'Box without hinges…or lid.' What kind of box doesn't have a lid? It has to be another metaphor, but what has 'golden treasure' if it's not in a box or chest?"
"I swear, that scavenger will make a run for it anyway," Tsunami loudly grumbled.
She could not see it, but Bilbo was greatly insulted by that remark. He had a cheeky idea of throwing a rock at her head, only there were no rocks anywhere in the ring, and throwing said object at an already agitated and frustrated dragon was one of the dumbest ideas he had ever thought of.
Starflight paid no attention to his friend's frustrations. "A scroll? Maybe…but what about…maybe it's a piece of food? Food…food…"
From up above, Bilbo saw Scarlet's snout exhale smoking entrails. "This has gone on far enough. My patience is wearing thin as it is with you pathetic Dragonets of Destiny."
The last thing Bilbo wanted was for Tsunami and Starflight to be put on a time limit, but he was a hobbit of his word, and he had not given Starflight an ultimatum with his challenge. But could that mean had an opportunity to make an escape? Wait…that would mean leaving the two dragons behind. Did he want that? They did not deserve this fate, none of the dragons imprisoned by the will of Scarlet did.
If he could help them all escape he could, but he was just one little hobbit, lost in a world of dragons. It had taken him weeks of memorization to help the Company of dwarves escape from the dungeons of the Wood-Elves; he stood no chance against the SkyWing palace guards, especially Scarlet and Burn themselves.
"Starflight, you might want to hurry up," Tsunami mumbled.
"Wait…wait, I think I almost got it," Starflight interrupted.
"I swear, if it has something to do with eggs—"
"Eggs!"
"Seriously?!"
"The answer is eggs!"
"I was kidding, Starflight!"
Suddenly, the entire world came to a crashing stop around that of Bilbo. By keeping to his word, he had offered himself to be slain at the claws of either Starflight or Tsunami, but that also meant one would have to kill the other. If one was not killed, then no doubt Scarlet would do something drastic that would kill one or both of them. Either way, he would be dead, and his adventuring would end at the claws and teeth of dragons: ones he took mercy on, who deserved better than at the merciless claws of a monster.
He had the opportunity to run, escape through the gaps of the metal gate, but leave behind Starflight and Tsunami to suffer more.
Whatever choice he made would have devastating consequences, not just for himself.
The word of a hobbit, the most peaceful creature imaginable, the kind of person who valued all that was good in life…he could not remember the last time he had put so much faith into himself.
"As I thought, it ran away," Tsunami growled.
"You don't know that," Starflight countered.
"And you don't know if it's still here, either!" she shot back.
"Oh, what fun! What joy!" Scarlet praised mockingly. "There's nothing quite as entertaining as the banter between friends!" She violently hissed the last word with such malice it might as well have melted through her fangs.
Starflight shrank at Scarlet's fury, fear splattered across his body shaking up and down his tail, claws, arms, and neck. Bilbo recognized that look: Starflight had pulled the exact same face from before, the one that was an exact replica of Gollum.
Tsunami was still angry and frustrated, but she became more scared. "Face it, Starflight," she said, calmly quelling her anger. "That scavenger's gone."
So, it had all come down to this: the honor of a hobbit over running away from the dangers of dragons, because he had pitied them and promised to spare their lives. This was not at all he had ever expected, in the longest time, to happen. He had dreams of returning home to his books, sitting in his armchair by the warmth of his hearth, cooking good food, and tending to his beloved garden…to finally sleep in his own bed after so long.
Is this what he would throw it all away for?
…
…
…
…
At last, he made up his mind. He stood still, letting go of his grip on the hilt of Sting, and slipped the ring off, letting the comfort wash off his body.
"No," he announced. "He has not."
As he expected, everything happened at once.
One moment, Tsunami and Starflight were comforting each other, the next moment the SeaWing bounded right over the hobbit, pinning him to his back against the sand while being squeezed between another pair of sharp claws. Staring him down was the aggressive bared teeth of Tsunami, with meek but curious Starflight looking over him as well.
"He really does look different than other scavengers," he noted.
"Who cares? We caught him and that's it," Tsunami rebuffed.
"How did he turn invisible? Why does he look smaller? And…why didn't he put up a fight?"
Tsunami was clearly not comfortable with thinking things through. And yet her friend's inquiries had left her without anything to say.
"Uh…well, maybe…"
When it felt appropriate to speak, Bilbo spoke as if someone he greatly cared about had passed away. It certainly felt like that was going to happen.
"Why didn't he run away?" Starflight asked yet again.
"Because I kept my word," Bilbo replied.
Both dragons halted, pale as white snow.
He took that to continue. "I am nothing if not a hobbit of my word. I made a promise, a promise that I would reveal myself if you answered correctly. And you did, Starflight. I congratulate you. It's been a long time since I have had a worthy opponent in a game of riddles."
Starflight actually smiled at his praise; it was subtle, but he saw it.
"And Tsunami, I'm sorry." He sniffled, almost crying. "I'm sorry that you and Starflight are in this position. No one deserves this, let alone yourselves."
Slowly, he saw as the SeaWing's face became full of emotion, tragedy on top of confusion.
"You…you really…"
"I have kept my promise, and I have kept my word. If it means that you, hopefully you both, live in happiness, then…then…"
He could not bring himself to finish his sentence. There was not much more he could say, having surrendered to his fate, other than to close his eyes and wait for the inevitable to come to pass.
Eaten by a dragon; thus ends the adventures of Bilbo Baggins the burglar.