The Hobbit Imagines

#5.3~ Bard

PROMPT: Part three to imagine #5; you’re trusted with Bard’s children while he goes to fill the barrels.

The sky was completely dark by the time that you were woken up by the loud screech of what could only be a dragon. You thought that it must have been your imagination, but then-when you looked out the window-you could see the gigantic blob of red in the sky (that was coming closer and closer quickly) that you had only heard about in tales from your mother. The sight was so terrifying; you could feel your heart threatening to beat out of your chest while you stood there. There was the ever present urge to scream with the sudden surprise, but you managed to suppress it. Then, something very important ran through your mind:

Bard and the kids.

Without even bothering to grab a coat, you ran out of your small shack of a home and to Bard’s house. You were quick on your feet, but the dragon in the sky was much quicker. A strong gust of wind managed to knock you into a railing on one of the connecting bridges and the air was pushed from your lungs. The deafening sound of wings snapping against the air was all around while your head was swimming with different emotions and an abundance of adrenaline.

Deep and booming laughter came from the sky before fire was raining down on a part of the lake town that wasn’t too far from you. Struggling to regain your breath, you stumbled onto your feet and continued on the way to Bard’s house. You managed to get there even though you were panting heavily, but you were dismayed at the sight that greeted you; the children and Bard were nowhere in sight. You could only hope that Bard had taken them and the boat and left the village quickly, but hoping wouldn’t put you at ease.

You looked around you quickly; there was little that you could do unless you saw the children or Bard. So, you hurried back to your shack so that you could get into the small boat that you kept in case of emergencies (this definitely could be called an emergency). The way back was harder than you had been expecting; the bridge you had taken to get to Bard’s house had caught on fire and was soon collapsing into the water. That forced you to take another route in order to get to your place.

“Y/N!” a familiar and small voice called out your name and made your gaze quickly snapped in their direction. There, sitting in a boat with her sister and a few people that you had never seen before, was Tilda. She was desperately trying to get your attention and everyone else in the boat was turning to look at you. They were coming your way, and Tilda quickly called out for you to get onto the boat with them as quickly as possible. You were considering telling her that you didn’t want to slow the boat down with any extra weight so that they could leave quickly, but then you took another look at everyone on the boat. You didn’t recognize any of them and Bard was nowhere to be found (Bain wasn’t even there). So, you jumped into the boat quickly and immediately brought both of the girls into a hug that they were eager to return.

“Where is Bain?” you questioned with the deathly serious tone in your voice.

“He went to help Da kill the dragon,” Sigrid told you, though, she didn’t sound too happy about it. There was little hope in thinking that the dragon could be killed; it was far too large to kill with a simple arrow. You wouldn’t say that, though; you pulled them closer to you while assuring them that their brother and father would be okay. Your eyes focused on the rest of the company in the boat after that; you were hardly in a situation where small talk was permitted, but you needed to know the answer to one particular question.

“Who are you?”

The beautiful woman with the reddish hair was the first to answer question. She was so vague, but her words were sincere enough that you didn’t question them, “we’re friends.” And with that, the conversation ceased. You kept your eyes on the others when you weren’t too busy watching the destruction around you. There were many moments where the boat had almost been engulfed by the flames or crashed into by collapsing houses. However, it managed to stay afloat and you all reached the edge of Lake Town safely. You were a good distance away when the sudden roar of the dragon filled the air; it was the sound of it dying that excited you yet scared you at the same time. Then, your mood was soon one of despair when the dragon’s body fell upon what was left of Lake Town. If anyone had still been there (and many people had) then there was little chance that they were living.

You tried to get Sigrid and Tilda to look away, but you knew that they were smart; they would figure out that the chances of their brother and father being alive were slim to none at that point. So, the whole boat had fallen into a solemn silence after that. Even when you reached the safety of the shore line that everyone who had escaped was heading to, all of the expressions seemed glum. All around you there were people who were wounded and those who were desperately searching for a loved one. You stayed with the girls as you helped them search for their brother and father, but your hopes weren’t exactly high.

The sun was making its climb back into the sky when a crowd had started form around a small fight that had broken out. The girls pulled you towards it so that you could push towards the front and see who the attention was on this time. However, you froze in your spot when you saw who it was and the girls let out happy little yells. “Da!” they both exclaimed while pushing through to get to him and their brother. After you had found your ability to move, you joined them and called out Bard and Bain’s names.

Bain hugged both you and his sisters quickly and with a happy little laugh. When he had let you go you turned towards Bard. Once he had finished hugging his girls (it looked like he was close to squeezing the life out of them with happiness) he looked at you. The crowd hadn’t dispersed yet, but that didn’t stop Bard from doing what he had planned to do since he had first seen you burst through the crowd. When you approached him for a hug, he gently took both of your cheeks in his hands and then pressed his lips to yours.

You were surprised to say the least, but you welcomed the kiss until it was interrupted by Alfrid’s voice speaking up from the crowd. You didn’t even have time to think about what had just happened, but you did keep your eyes on Bard when he pulled away from you. “Wonderful reunion, but what are we going to do? Stay here? Starve?” Alfrid spat out bitterly which only made Bard groan. He told the people of the different options that they had, and in the end everyone agreed on going to the Lonely Mountain. It seemed like the only option.

Everyone was quick to pack up the posessions that they still had so that they could start the long hike to up the mountain. You stayed by Bard’s side, waiting until he was done arguing with Alfrid and keeping the children close to you so that they wouldn’t get lost in the crowd of people who were dispersing. Eventually, Alfrid left with a huff, and Bard put all of his attention on his children and you. “I’m so glad you’re all safe,” Bard smiled whilst ruffling each child’s hair and then looking into your eyes, “thank you for staying with the girls, Y/N.”

“They were the ones that found me, but I wouldn’t have left them for anything,” you assured him. He couldn’t help but to look back at the four in front of him; he didn’t think that anything else would have been more of a welcomed sight. Seeing you, standing there with his children while you all smiled, was something that just seemed right. He was eager to get you all to the Lonely Mountain where he hoped you would all be safe. That was all that he wanted.

Okay, I give you all permission to kill me now. I have no idea what happened with this; I was supposed to update a really long time ago. I honestly have no excuse for it other than I had lost the momentum that I usually have with writing this and I got pulled into something containing dragons and I really got caught up in it. I hope that this was an enjoyable update though; there is one more part in the Bard series and then it will be done. I am hoping to update again tonight but don’t hold me to it.

Sadly, Wattpad went and erased all of my inbox messages without my knowledge. So, if I had promised you a personal imagine and never came through with it, please contact me again and I will get to it. Sorry for the inconvenience. Please have a great day!

-cow_queen