Bilbo POV
I reach into my pocket and pull out the Ring. I look at it, then look up at Smaug. I put the Ring on, Smaug raises his head and sniffs the air.
"Well, thief, I smell you. I hear your breath. I feel your air. Where are you?" Smaug says.
He moves his head back and forth around where I am. I have to duck down to avoid being knocked over.
I am starting to panic and run down the mountain of treasure. Even though I am invisible, Smaug can tell where I am going because of the coins I am dislodging with my feet while running. I hide behind a stone.
"Come now, don't be shy. Step into the light. Mmm, there is something about you, something you carry. Something made of gold, but far more...PRECIOUSSSSS." Smaug hisses to me and I start to feel dizzy. A flaming eye bursts into my vision, and I yank the Ring off, feeling confused and scared. "There you are, thief in the shadows."
"I did not come to steal from you, O Smaug the Unassessably Wealthy. I merely wanted to gaze upon your magnificence, to see if you really were as great as the old tales say. I did not believe them." I say, terrified.
Smaug walks a little away so his entire body is now visible to me. He is a massive dragon with two back legs, two massive, bat-like wings with claws, and both his neck and tail are incredibly long. His head alone is huge.
"And, do you you now?!" Smaug questions.
I reply, "Truly, the tales and songs fall utterly short of your enormity, O Smaug the Stupendous."
"Do you think flattery will keep you alive?" He asks.
"No- no, no." I stutter.
"No, indeed. You seem familiar with my name, but I don't remember smelling your kind before. Who are you, and where do you come from, may I ask?"
Smaug moves his head closer to me. I open my mouth to speak but then I see something off to the side. It is the Arkenstone. A white gem glowing with an unnatural light, buried under one layer of coins.
"I- I come from under the hill."
"Underhill?"
I nod, and sneak a peek at the Arkenstone. It is not too far away from me.
"And under hills and over hills my path has led. And, and, through the air. I am he who walks unseen."
"Impressive. What else do you claim to be?" Smaug asks as he moves his head very close to my face.
I can see his teeth and he exhales. I grimace at his breath, whipping my hand back and forth in front of my face.
"I am...luck-wearer. Riddle-maker." I continue.
"Lovely titles. Go on."
"Barrel-rider."
This catches his attention. "Barrels? Now that is interesting. And what about your little Dwarf friends? Where are they hiding?"
"Dw- Dwarves? No, no, no dwarves here. You've got that all wrong." I tell him, pretending I don't know what he's talking about.
"Oh, I don't think so, Barrel-rider. They sent you in here to do their dirty work while they skulk about outside."
"Truly, you are mistaken, O Smaug, Chiefest and Greatest of calamities." I say.
"You have nice manners...for a thief and a liar! I know the smell and taste of Dwarf. No one better. It is the gold! They are drawn to treasure like flies to dead flesh."
Smaug stomps about, I watch as his claws knock the Arkenstone away from where it had been, and I gasp. The Arkenstone bounces down the mountain, and I rush after it.
"Did you think I did not know this day would come, when a pack of canting Dwarves would come crawling back to the mountain?!" Smaug booms.
I trip and slide down the gold. Smaug is following after me, knocking over a stone pillar.
"The King under the mountain is dead. I took his throne."
I get out of a pile of gold beneath Smaug's claw and run down a staircase. I leap off the side as Smaug's head swings at me.
"I ate his people like a wolf among sheep."
The Arkenstone is bouncing rapidly down the mountain of gold, I slide down after it.
"I kill where I wish, when I wish. My armor is iron." Smaug says as I slide under a stone structure. "No blade can pierce me! It's Oakenshield. That filthy Dwarvish usurper! He sent you in here for the Arkenstone, didn't he?"
I hide under it, and look over to see the Arkenstone at the other end of the structure.
"No, no, no. I don't know what you're talking about." I tell him.
I try to sneak over to the Arkenstone, but I'm forced to hide behind a pillar as Smaug looks beneath the structure.
"Don't bother denying it. I guessed his foul purpose some time ago. But it matters not. Oakenshield's quest will fail. The darkness is coming, it will spread to every corner of the land."
The Arkenstone lying a few feet away from the structure and I make a run for it. But, Smaug sees me and whips his tail, sending the Arkenstone, me, and gold flying. I tumble and land against a pillar.
"My teeth are swords! My claws are spears! My wings are a hurricane!" Smaug says and I notice a scale missing on the left side of Smaug's chest.
I whisper to myself, "So it is true. The black arrow found its mark."
"What did you say??" Smaug asks angrily.
I try to think of something to say, "Uh, uh, I was just saying your reputation precedes you, oh Smaug the tyrannical. Truly, you have no equal on this earth."
I slowly start to back up. Smaug faces me. Look down and see the Arkenstone lying just a few feet from me.
"I am almost tempted to let you take it, if only to see Oakenshield suffer, watch it destroy him, watch it corrupt his heart and drive him mad. But I think not. I think our little game ends here. So tell me, thief, how do you choose to die?"
Smaug's chest glows, and his head is coming towards me. He opens his mouth, but I put on my ring before he can get me. I then grab the Arkenstone and run.
Smaug roars and bellows out a wall of flames over the area where I had been standing. I keep running away and go up some stairs. Reaching a hallway, I pull off the ring and continue running. I then see Thorin.
"You're alive!" He exclaims.
"Not for much longer!" I tell him.
"Did you find the Arkenstone?" He asks.
"The dragon's coming!" I try to avoid his question.
"The Arkenstone!" Thorin says again. "Did you find it?"
"No." I lie. I don't think it would be good idea to let him have it. "We have to get out."
I try to enter the tunnel to exit the mountain, but Thorin swings his sword across it, blocking the entrance. He then presses the blade against me, and I stumble back, the sword still touching me.
"Thorin. Thorin!"
Thorin steps forward, forcing me to step back. I look off to the side, Smaug is approaching us over the mountain of treasure.
Suddenly, the remaining Dwarves run out in front of Thorin and I and face Smaug, their weapons out. Smaug roars and rushes at us. His chest and neck glow orange.
"You will burn!" He snarls at us.
Just as Smaug bellows fire at us, the Dwarves and I turn and jump off the staircase. We tumble down the pile of treasure and land near an entrance to another tunnel, which we run into.
"Come on, Bilbo!" Dori shouts to me.
Thorin is the last one in the door, and is pushed in by the force of the flames. The back of his coat is on fire, and he throws himself on the ground and rolls to extinguish the flames. He takes the coat off and jumps up.
"Come on." He says to us.
Smaug roars as we continue to run.
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I hope that you guys enjoyed reading this chapter! I hope to update a couple more times this week! :) Also, if any of you would be interested in making me a trailer for Aerlinniel's Secret, or know someone who would, please let me know.
Love you my elves from the realm of llamas,
~Ellethwen <3