Chaos.
And destruction.
Although... I do not believe any words in the written or spoken tongue could begin to summarize the events that took place thereafter.
The sound of bells and the terrified chatter of civilians broke through the tension in the air, which was as thick as porridge. People were frantically loading their belongings into boats and rowing away at the fastest speed they could manage. Seeing that there was no time to waste, I quickly opened the door and entered Bard's home once more. Fili and Bofur were fussing over Kili, while Tauriel attempted to comfort the girls.
"We have no time." I said. "We must leave."
"Get him up." Bofur muttered, taking one of the dwarf's arms as Fili got the other. As they helped the young dwarven prince stand to his feet, Bain exchanged glances with Tauriel and I.
"We're not leaving." He said as his jaw hardened. "Not without our father." Tauriel, who had been curiously examining Indie, released a sigh. "If you stay here, your sisters will die. Is that what your father would want?" Personally I viewed the elf's statement to be a bit harsh- partially being because she was an elf. Nevertheless, Tauriel's statement had some truth.
"She's right." I growled. "You three are your father's pride and joy. You need to get to a safe place. We will be looking out for him...." My voice trailed off when I spotted Tilda's face. It seemed familiar. She wore an expression of fear. Fear that her Da would not make it out alive. Fear that all of Laketown would be destroyed. At the same time, however... there was an indescribable glint in her eyes. I had seen it before in my Mira. Children had a way of experiencing a completely horrific environment and being afraid, yet, at the same time, a part of them never fully cowered. I gently set my hand on the girl's shoulder and cracked a smile. "Please." Visibly reluctant, Tilda nodded as Tauriel instructed everyone to go to the back of the house where the boat was.
After making sure that everyone was safe inside, I went in last and took a pole that Tauriel handed my way. Bursts of red and orange and yellow fire flashed before my eyes as it consumed everything around it in a living, breathing hell. Tilda and Sigrid screamed as Smaug swept right over the villager's heads and sent another wave of flames onto a solitary house. It was my first real look at the dragon, and I could honestly admit that it was one of the most terrifying creatures I had ever witnessed. Acknowledging something I feared was never a good thing, but in this case, it could not be denied. "Do not fear!" I told the sisters over the hysteric screams of villagers. It was at that moment I noticed something... where had Indie gone? I saw a glimpse of a thin figure dashing away from Bard's home, and I couldn't help but wonder if I would see the stranger's face again.
"Come on, come on!" A voice exclaimed. "Faster! Faster!" To my utter horror and disgust, a few yards ahead of us was the Master of Laketown himself, Alfrid, and roughly four guards all in a boat filled to the brim with gold. It seemed as if there was more than one dragon wanting to protect its hoard. I gripped the sides of our boat as we were slammed into, causing our ride to jostle about. "Move it, move it! Come on! Faster!" The Master screamed, anxiously rocking his bulbous body back and forth as if it would increase their speed. He became increasingly upset as gold coins started to spill over the sides. "My gold!"
"We're carrying too much weight!" Alfrid cried out. "We need to dump something!" As Tauriel began to maneuver us away from them along with possible deteriorating wood, an idea came to mind. It was more like an inner desire, in all actuality. A desire that I had dreamt of for many days and nights to come... a desire that was now possible.
"May I offer an idea?" I snarled, rising to my feet. My gaze settled on the Master of Laketown, and I could feel the edges of my teeth developing a sharper edge. "I hope you can swim, dearie!" The man let out a shrill cry, Tilda simultaneously calling my name as I leapt from our boat onto theirs, grabbing the Master by his collar and tackling him from the boat and into the water. A wave of coldness rushed over my body, almost strengthening my actions as I swiped and bit and scratched and punched him with all my might. Large bubbles escaped the Master's lips as he tried to fight my grip- but there was no use. I was giving no mercy on this occasion. What I had not noticed was that in my tackling the man, I had overturned the entire boat. The scene before me didn't seem real- the frequent trembling of the water's surface as Smaug reaked havoc on the world above, the undulating appearance of the flames beneath the lake, the gold coins slowly sinking around me like petals from a cherry blossom tree in the springtime. I could feel the pressure on my lungs as they begged for air but I wasn't done, I had to get more, the blood spilling from the incisions where I had dragged my nails down his face wasn't enough.
That is when I realized....
No amount of injuries could ever equal what had been done to me. And no amount of revenge would solve my problems. It was something that I had to figure out on my own. Therefore, I wrapped my hands around the Master's neck and squeezed with all my strength until my knuckles turned white. He thrashed in protest and attempted to strike me, his face turning a deep shade of purple. Just as black spots started to dance in my vision, the Master's body became limp. His head lulled forward as I kicked him in the chest and desperately swam to the top which was no easy feat, considering the clothing and partial armor I was wearing.
I quickly took in a breath of air once my head had broke the surface of the water. My chest felt as if someone had repeatedly stepped on it, while the freezing wind mixed with the warmth of the flames was not doing anything to comfort my body. Coughing up water, I weakly swam to a deck that hadn't been encompassed in fire yet and barely managed to pull myself up. I allowed my legs to dangle off the side as I laid back on the uneven planks and caught my breath. It felt as if someone was inserting tiny little needles into every free point on my body. Glancing to my left, I saw that a bottle of rum had been knocked over with- luckily, that is- its cork still in place.
I made no hesitation to grab the bottle, break the edge of it against the wooden planks, and took a swig. It turned out not to be the wisest idea, for it stung my throat worse than smoking a pipe with a fever, but my stomach was soon filled with the bittersweet bubbling of heat. "Kyja!" Novalee cried out, limping over to me with a worried expression on her face. Her gray hair stuck out of its bun in every direction, her face and hands stained with soot while her clothes had been ripped and tattered more than their previous state. "What on earth are you doing, sitting here and drinking rum?"
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Daughter of Beorn is BACK, baby!
Guys, holy moly! It's been so long, I don't even know what to say anymore... my goodness. Not to mention this book is at about 140,000 reads currently. That's amazing!
As I've said before, I'm a terrible procrastinator, but there truly were real issues that were preventing me from starting this chapter. A good portion of those reasons included school- specifically AP English- my family over in Northern Ireland, the mission trip I'll be going on in July, Prom {although that's really not important} and more.
By the way- MASTER OF LAKETOWN FREAKING DIED! I wasn't about to let him go innocent! I'm not that merciful. I do hope you enjoyed that as much as I did.
All in all, thank you readers- both new and old- for putting up with this inconsistent author as well as voting and commenting. Some of you guys are so weird, but I love ya.
~ Orla