Luck finally seemed to smile down on Terrence, Shane, Beth, Tadeusz, Kamilla, Frieda, Ophelia and Bertha. Just ahead they saw an opening towards the open water with another boat just ahead of them and a few more behind. By now most people had managed to get into boats and were loading injured people into some of the larger boats. The snow still blew through the air, mixing with the embers and ash from the fire, creating an almost surrealist experience for them. The smoke was now billowing almost a mile into the sky, obscuring many of the buildings.
Except one.
Beth just happened to look to her left and saw the bell tower two blocks away. And there at it's top was her father firing arrows at Smaug as he passed by. A strange mixture of joy and shock went through her when she saw her father.
"Dad!" she called out.
Everyone else in the boat quickly turned towards the tower in surprise and Terrence gasped in shock.
"Dad!" he called out "We're over here!"
"Be quiet!" Ophelia demanded sharply "You're father can't hear you!"
"What is he doing?!" Kamilla demanded.
The answer came when Smaug soared towards the direction of the tower and they watched as Bard fired another arrow, this one aimed at Smaug's chest. The arrow disappeared into the smoke as Smaug soared through it just missing the tower as Bard reloaded his bow.
"Those arrows are too small!" Taduesz said "What does he aim to achieve?!"
"At least he's doing something!" Shane said "We have to help him!"
"And how are we going to do that?!" Bertha asked, "It's too dangerous!"
While they were busy arguing, Beth glanced towards the boats left again and noticed in a clearing between some buildings was the statue of the Lake-town master. Or rather what was left of it, with the entire top half of the statue entirely gone with only everything below the knees remaining. What remained of it either had sunk or was floating in the water, being covered with snow. She noticed that the snow in particular had collected onto three boats that lined the boardwalk, the one in the middle looking as if some coats and nets were being buried in snowfall.
The boat she remembered stuffing the Black Arrow in.
It then clicked in her brain what she had to do. She decided then and there that her father needed her help rather than the inverse. She turned directly to her brothers who had just stopped arguing at Frieda's insistence.
"Terrence." Beth said.
"What?" her little brother replied, turning towards her with Shane.
"You stay with Shane, okay?" Beth continued.
"Why?" Terrence asked "Beth, what you plan-"
Beth didn't answer and before Terrence could finish, she jumped out of the boat and managed to grab onto a nearby cargo lift and swung towards the boardwalk.
"Beth, what are you doing?!" Bertha called out in horror.
"Beth!" Shane and Terrence barked.
Beth didn't answer, instead landing on the boardwalk and running towards the place where the boats were at dock, dodging some debris while she was at it. Her brothers, on the other hand, were beyond distraught.
"We have to go back for her!" Shane demanded.
"We can't!" Taduesz responded "It's too dangerous!"
"But she's our sister!" Terrence insisted.
"I'm sorry but he's right!" Ophelia said "We can't go back for her!"
"But we can't!" Terrence all but screamed with tears in his eyes as he looked to where Beth used to be on the boardwalk "Beth!"
/
At this point, Bard was on his last legs. Every single arrow he'd shot at Smaug had bounced off his skin like a pebble skipping off the surface of the water. This hit him hard when he turned to re-load (having put his quiver down next to his feet) only to discover had only one arrow left. He hesitated for a few seconds as if he was afraid to reach out to it. But he decided he was being ridiculous and grasped the arrow just as he looked towards the skyline in front of him and saw Smaug circling towards the tower and towards him. Bard readied his bow as he drew it with the dragon drawing ever closer. He mentally counted from ten downwards and then fired the arrow. It went through the air like a bullet and then scraped the skin just under Smaug's eye before falling away and disappearing into the smoke and fire. Smaug snarled in irritation just as he passed the tower with the tip of his wing brushing against it. It wasn't much but it was enough to knock Bard to his feet, chip a hole in the roof which allowed the snow to get in and to cause the bell to clang louder than before, swinging a lot faster as well. Bard turned to look as Smaug roared loudly as he soared into the sky.
And so, for the first time in his life since the death of his wife, Bard started to lose all hope. He had now fired every single one of his arrows at this dragon to no avail. It was like shooting a mountain that floated in the air at 120 miles an hour. Now he'd undoubtedly incinerated his children and possibly half the town. There seemed to be no end to his barrage of fire. Bard could only watch as the fire raged with seemingly no end. His whole body trembled like there was an earthquake going on as the cold air started to get to him with the snow falling like white rain that sought to quench the fire. Then as Bard was about to surrender herself to fate, Beth clambered up the staircase behind him and poked her head and shoulders up.
"Dad!" she called out.
Bard whipped his head around towards his daughter with Beth gasping softly at the sorry state her father was in.
"Beth!" Bard said "What are you doing?! You were supposed to leave with your brothers!"
"Father, I came to help you!" Beth replied.
"It's no use." Bard responded as his voice broke "Nothing can stop that cursed thing now."
"But this might." Beth said as she held up the black arrow.
Bard blinked in surprise as he gazed at the giant weapon. Beth then made her way to where her father was with her feet at the edge of the trap door. Bard grasped the black arrow with his right hand while he placed his left hand on his daughter's shoulder.
"Thank you, but you must go." he insisted "Go back to your brothers."
Beth was about to say something when she happened to look out behind her father to see Smaug appear from the smoke, heading directly for the tower and his feet were raised like eagle talons.
"DAD, LOOK OUT!" she screamed.
She ducked her father's head down just seconds before Smaug's claws crashed into the tower as he soared above it. His claws wrenched the bell from it's holding place and ripped the entire roof off, spreading snow and wooden debris everywhere. The tower shook and shuddered but surprisingly didn't topple over. Bard and Beth then lifted their heads up towards the clouded sky dropping snow gently on top of them like a blanket. They then looked to each other with relief until Bard noticed the blood on Beth's right arm just as Beth winced in pain.
"Oh Beth, you're bleeding!" Bard said.
Beth quickly looked to her right arm and sure enough she had a nasty cut on her arm that now stained her blue dress with blood. Luckily, it wasn't a deep cut but that didn't make it hurt any less. But as the two would soon find out, the grazed arm was the least of their worries. Bard happened to turn to his left and saw Smaug lurch his body forward as he glided about three and a half blocks away and landed on top of some already charred up buildings with his claws digging into the boardwalk as the buildings collapsed under his weight. Bard took a deep breath then exhaled as he began to stand up on his legs with the Black Arrow slipping out of Beth's hands as Bard grasped the weapon tightly. He then stood up all the way, proud and tall with the spear in his right hand and snow starting to collect on the now roofless tower, with his daughter looking up at him as her left hand clenched her injury.
"Beth, stay behind me." Bard said boldly.
He looked defiantly at Smaug, who suddenly turned his head towards him with his fierce eyes glowing as red, orange and yellow as the fire. His eyesight was also amazingly keen for his size and he could make out Bard even from far away.
"Who are you that would stand against me?!" he demanded in his bellowing voice.
Bard didn't answer but instead reached down and picked up his bow. But when he looked down he was shocked to discover that save for the string, the bow was cut in half, with the bottom part just dangling lifelessly. Smaug apparently found this very amusing, as he slowly turned and began creeping towards the tower, step by step, with a sadistic, tooth filled grin on his face as he used the roofs of houses to balance his weight.
"Well, well. What will you do now, man of the lake?" he gloated "You are forsaken. No help will come. I have seen to that."
Bard looked around the platform looking for anything to tie the bow back together, as Smaug drew ever closer with the falling snow collecting on his body. It was then that he caught sight of Beth whose face was as white as a sheet.
"Oh dear, is that your child?" Smaug asked wickedly "You cannot save her from the fire. You cannot save anyone. After tonight, the world will know my wrath!"
At first, Bard didn't know how to respond, thinking briefly of just grabbing Beth and leaving. But then he remembered his ancestor, Girion. Everyone else had run from the fight but he didn't. He stayed at his post, fighting the dragon even if in the end to no avail. And now here was Bard in an eerily similar situation. He knew what he had to do. It then clicked in his brain when he glanced back to Beth for a few moments and then turned back to Smaug, with his courage suddenly building.
"Hear me, foul creature! As long as I draw breath.." he called out as loud as he could "I will continue to fight you for as long as I am able!"
"If that's what you wish." Smaug laughed, "Then so be it."
Bard immediately looked to his daughter and got down to his knees as he grasped both what was left of the bow and also the Black Arrow. Beth was perplexed by this as sweat dripped down her head. Bard then tilted his head up to his daughter and placed his right hand on his daughter's left shoulder.
"Beth, I need you to move to where I was standing!" he ordered "But you have to be on your knees, understand?"
Beth nodded and quickly the two switched sides on the platform as Beth was now three feet from the edge of the platform with her father then taking the two halves of the bow and jamming them into the support beams on either side of his daughter. He then motioned for Beth to grab onto the bow halves and she did so as, to her surprise, Bard rested the Black Arrow directly on Beth's left shoulder, with both them down on their knees facing each other as he drew the bowstring and adjusted his aim as Smaug roared loudly as he got closer.
"Stay still, darling." Bard ordered "It's alright."
Beth nodded, doing her best to remain calm as Bard returned his attention to Smaug, whose whole body was now balancing on more sturdier buildings.
"Tell me, you mewling wretch!" he snarled "How now do you challenge me?!"
And it was then that Smaug made a fatal mistake. He lifted up his chest ever so slightly, but as he did so his chest started to glow and it was then that he inadvertently revealed the exposed flesh near his heart that Brianna had seen hours ago. His weakness was exposed. Bard almost felt like shouting for joy but instead stayed silent with a smug grin coming across his face.
"You have nothing left but you're death!" Smaug bellowed.
And with that, he roared loudly with it cutting through the ash, smoke, ember and snow filled air like a knife as he then launched himself forward and actually started running atop the roofs. Beth couldn't help but turn her head to see the titanic dragon moving ever closer.
"Sweetheart!" Bard barked suddenly "Beth!"
Beth zipped her head back to look at her father, with the fire casting a glow on him and Beth's faces, with Bard seeing his daughter's eyes filled with tears.
"You look at me." he said softly "Just look at me, okay?"
Beth couldn't give an answer but instead nodded as she shut her eyes. When she did this a single tear slipped out of her right eye. Beth had never been in a sorrier state. Along with the cut on her right arm, she also had bruises on her face and it was covered in sot. Her hair got in front of her face with her father's face being partially obscured by her hair as she opened her eyes.
"Now Beth, you need to move a little to your left." Bard said softly.
Beth did as commanded and leaned ever so slightly to her left, with the sounds of Smaug's thundering steps getting louder.
"That's it." Bard replied "Now hold still."
Just seconds before he launched the arrow, Bard inhaled one more time then exhaled as Smaug snarled and then launched himself into the air when he was just a block away, exposing his weak point even more. With no time left, Bard let go of the arrow and it flew out of his hands, off of Beth's shoulder and speeded through the air like a massive bullet, cutting through the air before finally hitting Smaug directly in his weak point, causing some dragon blood to spill out upon impact. The moment the arrow hit it's mark, an explosive burst of agonizing pain shot through Smaug. His eyes grew bigger then they had before as the air suddenly started escaping his lungs. This sudden cardiac arrest caused him to swerve to the left side of the tower and to crash into all the nearby buildings, with his feet practically ripping the support for the tower apart. As it fell downwards, Bard and Beth grabbed onto each other just before it hit the water.
Smaug on the other hand couldn't stop himself as he bulldozed through the buildings, destroying them and sending debris flying through the air before he grasped onto two buildings near the water's edge with his wing claws and propelled himself into the air. But, unlike before, his flying was erratic and agonized. He roared in pain as he soon attempted to break through the smoke lair, his pain only getting worse and worse by the second. But what he didn't know was where exactly the arrow had struck him. It didn't just rip a hole into his heart causing blood to fill his lungs, it impaled the organ he used to make and contain his fire. He was literally being both burned alive and drowning in his own blood from the inside out.
The smoke only made it worse with his flowing into his chest causing him to hack and cough once he cleared the smoke screen. His roar was now a raspy, out of breath one as he attempted in vain to clear his lungs. Instead, he coughed up blood which dripped down out of his lips and nose as he turned his head toward the sky with the glow of the moon emanating from behind the clouds as his own mortality dawned on him.
And finally the last of Smaug's breath left him and he coughed one more salvo of blood as his body seized up and the fiery glow left his eyes. His lifeless body then fell down towards the lake as if it were weightless, joining the snow in it's descent towards the burning wreckage of Esgaroth. And with a mighty whoosh the dragon's body fell through the smoke screen and crashed onto the dock side of town, destroying any buildings under or next to him, crushing anyone unfortunate enough to be standing there and sending small tidal waves of ice cold water onto that section of town.
After terrorizing the area for sixty years, Smaug the Dragon was dead.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Finally an update! COVID pandemic has really fucked my writing schedule so that's why there's been a supreme lack of updates. Also planning on moving story to archive of our own (AO3) so I'll notify readers when that starts. Till then, thanks for sticking with the story.
