Chapter 1 - Smaug is Dead

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Chapter 1

The Dwarves and I stood at the highest peak we could get to, just watching Smaug destroy Laketown. I had urged Thorin to let me go down to help, but he quickly denied that request.

"Poor souls," I heard Balin mutter and my heart ached for all of the innocent people who were dying. Worry clouded my mind as I thought about Kili being down there in the midst of all of it. Turning, I saw Thorin standing off by himself, looking down upon the front gates of Erebor. My Elf ears picked up on an animalistic cry and I turned, looking out towards Laketown. There was a loud crash and the Earth beneath us shook.

"What was that? What happened?" Ori asked, standing.

"It fell. I saw it. It's dead," I muttered, seeing that Laketown had gone still and the screaming had ceased slightly. I turned towards the others, "Smaug is dead."

"By my beard, I think she's right," Gloin commented. "Look there! The ravens of Erebor are returning to the mountain." We all turned, seeing that he was right.

"Word will spread. Before long every soul in Middle-earth will know the dragon is dead!" The Dwarves around me started to cheer and I wanted to do the same, but not knowing whether Kili was alive or dead kept me from it.

*3rd Person*

Tauriel wandered the shore with Tilda and Sigrid helping them look for Bard. Kili, Bofur, and Oin tried to push the boat back into the water so they could make their way to Erebor to join the rest of the Dwarves. Fili saw Tauriel walking closer, so he split away to go talk to her.

"Tauriel," he muttered, catching her attention.

"Fili, come on. We're leaving!" Kili called, trying to get his brother's attention.

"They are your people. You must go," Tauriel told him, walking past him.

Fili quickly turned, "Come with me. I know how I feel. I'm not afraid. You make me feel alive."

"I can't."

"Tauriel," Fili said, grabbing her before she could walk away. He spoke in Dwarvish and she looked up at him, surprised.

"I don't know what that means," she lied.

"I think you do," Fili smiled. Tauriel went to respond, but quickly straightened up.

"My Lord, Legolas," she said as Fili's gaze flickered between the two.

"Take your leave of the Dwarf. You are needed elsewhere," Legolas commanded. Tauriel gave Fili an apologetic look and he nodded before turning and walking away. Climbing into the boat, he helped row them out, stopping to look back to shore at the Elf he had fallen for.

*Almithara's POV*

"We can't just stand here and wait around, Balin! We have to go out there and look for them! What if they're still alive? They could be wounded and in need of our help!" I fumed, pacing back and forth in front of Balin.

"And I agree with you, my dear, but it's not our decision to make. Thorin wants us here, looking for the Arkenstone, not out there, looking for the others."

"So he would much rather have all the fortune and power he can get over his own family? Does he not care if they live or die?" I asked softly, a sad look making its way onto my face. Balin stood, patting my shoulder and giving me a sad smile before leaving the room. I sat there for a moment by myself before my ears picked up on a voice coming from the front gate. Closing my eyes, I shifted to my wolf hearing as the voice called out again. This time, I recognized it as Bofur. He was alive. Shooting up, I made my way towards the door, changing into a hawk. As I flew, I caught a glimpse of four Dwarves running down a staircase and I changed back, running towards them. "Wait! Stop!" I came to a halt in front of them, eyes sweeping over them. My heart swelled with happiness as I saw that Kili looked healthy again. "You need to leave," I told them. "We all need to leave."

"We only just got here," Bofur responded, confused.

"I've tried talking to him, but he won't listen."

"What do you mean, laddie?" Oin asked as the rest of them looked at me, confused.

"Thorin!" I said quite loudly and I looked behind me to make sure I hadn't caught anyone's attention. "Thorin. He's been down there for days. He doesn't sleep. He barely eats. He's not been himself. Not at all. It's this place. I think a sickness lies on it."

"Sickness? What kind of sickness?" Kili asked as Fili moved around us to get to the stairs.

"Fili!" I yelled, following him down the stairs. I stopped running after him as the others pushed past me, looking at the gold around them. Thorin came out from under an arch, catching our attention.

"Gold. Gold beyond measure," my jaw tightened as the others looked at each other. "Beyond sorrow and grief." Thorin looked up, seeing us all there. "Behold, the great treasure hoard of Thror." He threw a gem at us, which Fili caught. "Welcome my sister-sons to the Kingdom of Erebor."

I turned away, seeing that Thorin wasn't himself, "Come. The others will want to see you." I led the four Dwarves to a chamber, where the rest of the Company was sitting and talking. As soon as they saw us, they jumped up and started hugging each other. I smiled, glad to have the Company back together again as I moved over to a table and sat down.

"Something is bothering you," I heard a soft voice say in my ear. Lifting my head, I looked up to see Kili standing next to me.

I sighed, "its Thorin. He hasn't been himself since we opened that door. I don't know what is it, but I can tell...He's different."

"You said that you think this place is making him sick? How?" Kili asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"I think it's all the gold. Having this much of it is changing him. And the fact that he can't find the Arkenstone is driving him mad as well. He had us searching day and night for that thing instead of out looking for you. He shouldn't be in this place. None of us should," I muttered, looking around the chamber.

"Maybe things will change now that the dragon is dead," Kili suggested.

"I don't know, but I think that may have made things worse," I mumbled, more to myself since Kili had his attention elsewhere.

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Author's Note:

GUYS!! IT'S HERE!! THE FIRST CHAPTER TO THE THIRD BOOK!!!

I really hope you guys enjoy this book! I worked my ass off this week to get it done and now here it is.

Just so you guys know, this will be the shortest book in the trilogy. I tried to spread out the chapters a little bit, but I still only ended up with like 15 chapters.

I OWN NOTHING BUT MY CHARACTER!!

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