Rue (A Thorin Oakenshield/Hobbit Fanfiction)

38

"An unspeakable horror." Talia was the first to answer Bilbo after a long, pregnant pause. She knew of the havoc this dragon would wreak. It had taken her home, her mother, nearly her own life from her. And as she watched Smaug soar off into the distance, she knew she could not bear to watch that same chaos occur again; not when she could do something about it.

"What are you doing?" Fili asked, watching her unsheathe her sword.

"Going to Lake-Town. He surely ingested some gold during his fall; it will slow his descent. I'll have enough time to get there."

"And what on earth do you plan on doing once you do?" Dwalin asked, ever the voice of reason. "Talia, you cannot kill a dragon with one blade."

"I can try." She retorted, looking amongst her Company. "I do not ask any of you to follow me, for I know what you set out to do is done. The mountain is won; we have reclaimed our homeland. But this fight," She said, pointing her sword to the town, "Is about theirs. I know the pain of dragon fire much too well, and I cannot bear to allow another people to experience it."

"We saw the Wind-Lace, Talia." Balin interjected, stepping forward. "Surely there is an archer capable of slaying such a beast."

"What if he fails? If there is one thing I learned from all of my years in Dol Guldur, it is that Smaug the Terrible cannot live. I am sure of it."

Talia stood, breathing heavily from the adrenaline coursing through her veins. She smiled as Fili and Kili walked to stand alongside her, nodding to their aunt. Dwalin and Balin stayed back with the others, which she respected all the same. Knowing there was no time for more discussion, she broke off into a run after the dragon with her nephews in tow. The city was not yet in flames, but they all knew that the desolation of Smaug would soon begin.

The remaining members of the Company could only watch them go, knowing they had to stay with their other leader. Then, the thought dawned upon them—why had Thorin remained silent? Why hadn't he gone with them, or at least entertained an opposing argument?

As soon as they turned to him, they knew. Thorin's gaze was no longer fixated on the dragon. Instead, from his perch a little ways off from the Company, his eyes were narrowed on the front gate of the mountain. He was so deep in thought that he had missed the departure of his wife and nephews, who were running towards a city that was surely lost. What could be more important than them?

Balin and Dwalin exchanged a look. It was as Beorn had said—dwarves were greedy. Except they both knew that this was no ordinary greed that Thorin had succumbed to, for he was above that. His mind was beginning to conjure a fierce lust for gold, one that would consume him just as it had his grandfather. They had both seen what had become of Thror.

They could only hope that the dragon sickness would not take Thorin too.

...

Talia, Fili, and Kili skidded to a halt on one of the boardwalks, surveying their surroundings. By the time they had reached Lake-Town, Smaug's wrath had long begun. People raced around, screaming and helpless. Some managed to huddle with their children on barges, hauling their families to the shore for safety. Others were not so lucky; bodies fell into the frigid water, burned beyond repair. The buildings roared with the heat, crumbling into ash as the flame continued to spread. The wooden town was almost completely overtaken by dragon fire, and the dwarves knew that their plan wasn't going to protect all the Lakemen. Still, they would be damned if they didn't try, even if it only saved one.

Before the trio could react to anything else, the cries of children caught their attention. Something about their voices was familiar. "Da! Da!"

Then, Bard's children rounded the corner, accompanied by a She-Elf that guided their boat along. Their eyes widened in recognition at the dwarves, but Kili was not enthralled with the children.