I sat back at the top of the stairs where the Arken stone was last seen. I did not look for it as it would be futile. After all the disarray done by Smaug, the stone could be anywhere. It also held no meaning or use, at least not to me. No longer did I feel the need to get out of the fallen kingdom.
Smaug was hunting for survivors deep within the mountain. Was I bothered? I don't know. Somewhere inside me was telling me to help the ones trapped in the endless halls and rooms, but, a hushed whisper in my head tells me that one day no matter how much light I may give, darkness will take it away.
I cared for my dwarf friends, but they left me behind. Yes, it is understandable not to go back for a human after only knowing her for a few weeks after your home was just ransacked by a fire dragon. Maybe it is for the best.
The ground shakes and a faint glow lights up at the corner of my eyes, deep down the endless hills of gold. With an overwhelmed sigh, I laid on my side and closed my eyes. My hope was for this all to be a dream, where when I wake up, I would be home, able to hug my mother and listen to her stories of middle earth. However, this was only but a hopeless, unattainable dream. One that would only exist in my mind.
When I woke up, everything looked the same, but everything felt different. My limbs were stiff and my throat was dry. My eyes were crusty and hard to open. The endless waves of gold coins and goblets still remained, but the one that caused such a mess was nowhere to be seen.
I stood up after a handful of times, either being too weak or falling down. My stomach rumbled as a reminder of how empty it was. Inside the massive hall, the only sound to reach my ears was of my own breathing.
Where did Smaug go?
With heavy, stuttering steps, I walked away from the golden hall, and in the direction of the front gate. There was rubble everywhere, littering the many overpasses and hallways. There was no more smoke or fire burning corpses, clothes, flags, or wood. In fact, I couldn't see corpses, as there were any, or at least, none that looked like I would've thought.
The few that lied down on the cold stone, were nothing more than bone and dried skin. Their wounds caused by the scorching flame of flying rock was nothing more than part of the many holes eaten by now dead maggots.
Poor light still poured into the empty halls from the broken entrance. It took longer than I would have prefered to reach the front gates with my languid steps. My legs did not work properly as before, even though I have only slept for a little while.
The view was black, the grass, tree trunks, statues, and the once city of Dale were burned into char or a layer of it.
A soft breeze blew against my face and I took a deep breath of it. There was no smell of smoke, but no pine scent, for they were all dead. The long walk tired me more than I expected, so I sat in the middle of the bridge, letting my eyes wander over the barren landscape.
The sun had fallen closer into the horizon and the air outside grew chill. I had not closed my eyes for a nap since I did not feel the need. A strong gust of wind caught my attention. It came from the direction of the sun, and its sunset light blocked my view of the cause of such strong winds.
A loud growl shook my body, scaring me as much as my mind told me to be afraid. I quickly got up to my feet but fell down when something heavy landed on the and the ground rocked. A large head covered the blinding sunset and I finally saw Smaug. He dropped from his mouth several elk and wolf carcasses in front of me before coming closer.
"You're finally awake, good," He moved his face away after sniffing the air around me, then, lazily made himself comfortable at the entrance. "I assumed you had passed. Yet, here you are, alive and breathing," His words puzzled me, even if my chest warmed at the thought that he worried for me.
"But I only slept for a couple of hours. I do not understand where your worry is placed," Perhaps my breathing was too quiet when I slept. It was a self taught skill I acquired in order to survive sleeping in the middle of nowhere with all kinds of beasts lurking.
"You were asleep for one year," The revelation shocked me.
One year? How is that possible?
"That doesn't make sense," I grasp my head in my hands to stop the headache from forming.
"I came back to find you for you to aid me in finding more dwarves that dove deep within the mountain. Your eyes were closed and your breathing shallow, so I let you be. But when you didn't wake the next day, or the one after that," His deep, rumbling voice grew lower, as if portraying his past concern. "This is not something a beast such as myself easily acknowledges, but I was afraid. I did not understand what happened, but you wouldn't wake up, no matter how much I called or moved you. So I left you there, always checking. Today I went out, as I do once full moon cycle, to hunt for food. And I came back to find you here, and here we are," His head drew closer to me once again as he explained what occurred. "I am grateful that you are well. The pull I felt pained me everyday when you were asleep."
My eyes water at his words. Although they weren't much, they spoke enough. I have only met Smaug for a day, and then fell asleep for an entire year while he, a fire dragon, who has no ability to aid a tiny human, was worried and tried his best to make sure I was still alive. A cold feeling filled my chest, almost like a frigid storm suddenly erupted from all the emotions. My hands move away from my head and clutch my chest. I cried in pain when the cold began to sting inside me. It started to spread further down my arms and stomach, creeping down my legs.
I looked up to Smaug to look for an answer for my pain. It was all so sudden. My body began to shiver immensely, and I couldn't stop the salty tear leaking from my eyes. His elongated body became blurry the more the cold spread and the more the pain grew. I suddenly saw his chest eyes glow, before a wall of hot white flames covered my entire body.
A frightened scream escaped my lip and in the one second I had, I prepared myself to be instantly turned into ash. However, the pain of turning into nothing but charred dust never came. Instead, the cold swiftly recoiled from my limbs and chest, before completely disappearing.
The blazing flames had dried up my tears but did not burn me, except for my clothes that no longer covered my body. Once the white fire stopped I looked at Smaug it fright and awe as he stared down at me with hopeful eyes whose glow slowly dimmed. Relief flooded the both of us. The cold was gone and I wasn't burned to the bone.
"What just happened?" I breathed out, as if I had been holding my breath the second the chills began. "Why was it so cold all of a sudden?" I wrapped my arms over my chest and crossed my legs to cover myself.
"I-I do not know," Smaug confesses, also breathing out in relief. "I just felt the urge to breathe fire when I saw the look of fear in your face. I knew it wouldn't hurt you, somehow," His voice grew distant in the end. I wonder if what he felt was the same as what I did before going to my year-long sleep. "It seems you are invulnerable to my fire. Good. If that cold ever comes back, I know what to do," He nodded to himself, proud of his finding. "Come, let us go inside. You can have one deer for food," He scooped the dead animals into his massive jaw and walked over me, going inside the ransacked dwarf kingdom.
The cold never did come back, and it was only years, almost a full decade that I knew what had happened. After the incident, Smaug would keep me under close watch, in case anything happened. Although we both knew his fire, or any fire, were incapable of hurting me, there was still the pretense that I was just as weak as any other human.
We couldn't be more wrong.
We made a simple routine: Smaug would go out to hunt every week for food for the both of us, but mostly me since I had to eat more regularly. I would stay in the endless, gold-filled halls to look for anything of value – aside from the gold – such as clothes, food, and anything that would solve my boredom. I used my room for the first couple of months, which I later changed to a more spacious one. It was possible it was from someone of the royal family or right beneath them. I also took the opportunity to read as many books as I could, although most were in languages I did not yet understand. My goal was to find out what happened to me, why do I have some sort of connection with a fire dragon, and why his deadly flames do not cause me any harm.
The days Smaug stayed inside, he would swim in the mountains of gold, relishing in his accomplishment. I would always hear him say 'this is my gold, my kingdom, and I will not anyone take a single coin,' as well as several repetitions of 'my gold. Mine, mine,'. I was surprisingly unaffected by the dragon sickness previously present and now more prevalent. I did not crave the gold or stared at its endless marvel in awe and hypnosis like Thror did, or bathed in it like Smaug.
I did take the most attractive goblets, bracelets and armor I found in smaller piles to my room for decoration purposes. Smaug did not protest.
One day, I decided to satiate a growing curiosity. I took notice that whenever I parted from Smaug for long periods, I would grow sick. Either weak in mood or physical strength, I felt unwell. And when I reunited with him, after his hunt or his scavenging for more gold, the sickness would leave. It was more obvious that the pull we had affected me when he breathed fire.
Whenever I had to cook meat, to eat it then, or later, Smaug, with much practice, was able to breathe a small gust of fire, instead of the massive wall of flame. If I were to be close or let the flames lick my skin, I would feel a surge of strength, both in the mind and body.
After I made my final decision of how my experiment would go, I made a cut down my arm. The cut was not deep enough to be life threatening, but still drew quite some blood and the recovery would be lengthy. Smaug came rushing from another hall when I came out of the kitchen area I made for myself. The smell of the blood that dripped all the way from the room I was in, through the corridor, and onto a pile of coins.
"Where is the scum that injured you?!" He roared loudly. Waves of coins flew up and over as his massive body came to a stop before me. His head snapped in every direction in search of my assailant and whoever dared to intrude onto his hoard..
"No one, I did it to myself," I calmly explained.
"To what purpose is injuring your frail human body worth? A wound like that getting infected is a death sentence," His anger was then directed at me, though, less murderous.
"I simply wish to test something. If it goes wrong I already have medicine and wrappings to tend to my wound," I reassure him. As reckless as it looked, I did make sure to organize the things I needed in order to heal and cover the cut.
"It is highly doubtful anything is worth coming such injury to yourself," He snarled, still very against my idea. I rolled my eyes at him. For a dragon he was being rather dramatic.
"I want to see if your fire heals me. I have tested with normal flames but they only warmed my skin and did not heal the smaller cuts I made," He quietly listened to what I had to say, however, a snarl was very visible as he tried his best to hold his scolding back.
"It is still a wonder of how long you have managed to survive this harsh world," He mutters under his warm breath before nodding. "Let us get this done with," He reeled back and waited for me to take off my clothes and place them behind a wall so they didn't get burned.
"I'm ready," I stand on the golden coins and close my eyes so as to not be blinded by the bright flames. A wave of heat hits my skin as I know Smaug's chest and eyes glow just before his flames are unleashed. Until then, the pain in my arm was a dull one with the occasional pained stings, but as soon as the fire touched me, I could feel the skin healing itself and my blood burning away. Once the fire stopped, I opened my eyes and saw I was healed, not even a scar to be seen. "This is amazing," I gasped in awe. I could heal with dragon fire.
"Fascinating," Smaug hummed as he stared at my once bloodied arm.
The day I learned what Smaug and I had was a rainy day. The capital city of Gondor looked gloomy from the cloudy skies. Inside their library I was able to seek refuge from the rain, as well as find an answer to my bond with Smaug. I had been there for the past week, searching.
During our time together, not only did I learn how to fight – which is a whole other story – but I also gained knowledge of other languages, one of which being Black Speech. A language of dark origins, but the one which held the answer I was seeking.
There was only one section on an ancient-looking parchment that mentioned our predicament. Though possible, it reported that it had never occurred before, a bond between men and beasts as mighty as a fire dragon. There had been accounts of men bonding with beasts such as Skin-changers and common animals like horses. Their bonds were described as a pull that would keep them together, and by staying together the stronger they became.
The few men bonded with skin-changers were believed to have lived as far as the beasts' life span and do not age like humans, but more like elves. There were no other creatures mentioned, only a thought left behind.
Should the bonded pull in a beast so mighty, their power they will share, their life they will share, until death tears them down.
I returned to Erebor with the new information, excited to share it with Smaug. We grew extremely close to one another, like family. Sometimes he was like a father I never had, teaching me about the world, scolding me for simple or dangerous mistakes, and even listening to whatever I had to say. And sometimes he was like a brother I wish I had, teasing me, pushing me around – literally – burying me in the gold. And overall, he was my protector and provider.
He was the one to do the hunting, which became less regular with my sudden lack of need to eat frequently as before. It went from food every day to once a week. Our guess was that I was gaining his strength to be able to sustain myself with food less regularly. It was like this until I perfected my hunting skills, and did my best to also bring food home. Since going in and out as a large dragon wasn't the most efficient and practical manner.
Still, I don't know who or where I would be without him.
Over the many decades, Smaug grew larger and lazier, as much as he denies the latter, it is true. Due to my growing resistance to most weathers, overall strength, fighting, and hunting abilities, Smaug allowed me, without worry, to wander more around Middle Earth, see new places and meet new people.
I'd wandered through the entirety of Rohan for a decade, and the next Gondor, the following the Iron Hills, and so on. I avoided Mirkwood so as to not encounter the elves once again. There is no doubt some might remember me and would question how it is possible for a woman to look the same after many decades. However, I could only avoid it for so long, and that was when my whole world fell apart.
"I heard of this place, quite isolated from other beings, where there are these small people called Hobbits. And I wish to go there," It was six months since my last adventure, and like always, I was informing Smaug of the next place I would be. He was aware that some took me long months, and a few took me a couple of years to complete, but I would always update him with crows I befriended. Their ability to imitate common speech came quite useful.
"Never heard of hobbits before. Are they civilized orc?" Smaug questioned, resting his head over his front paws. He laid on the lower ground of the massive hall decorated with tall columns and lengthy flags. I sat with my back leaning on his cheek, playing with the very top of his tail and its flaps and spike.
"From what I caught word of, they are like dwarves, but smaller, and live in holes instead of mountains and mines," I explained some more. "However, I did hear they have a noticeable difference other than their height but was unable to clearly listen to it. I'm curious what it is," I pondered.
"Perhaps a horn or feathers," He suggested, and I know if he were a man he would shrug.
"I doubt that is the case," We both chuckled. "Once I'm back I'll share with you their uniqueness," My body vibrated when he responded with a low hum.
"I'll be asleep when you return," He said. I leaned away from him to stare at his large, fiery eye. "Call for me when you come home," He stared right into me, and along with his heated body, his words warmed me up even more.
Home. He is my home.
"I will," I moved closer, he closed his eyes so I kissed over his eyelid. Like I always did before I left. "Be safe. There were rumors of the dwarves coming to reclaim their kingdom," I whispered against his soft scales.
"They are nothing but words in the air and no source. Let them come, I'll burn them all," When I stepped back he opened his eye and I could see the promise in it. "Wind of growing darkness has reached deep into the mountain. Be aware of that. As strong and powerful as you are with me, there are some dangers, if they appear, that you may not be able to face. Be cautious, and come home."
The next day I left with one last kiss on both eyes. Much begrudgingly, he again shared some gold coins, enough for me to survive. The journey was a long one, stopping at every settlement on the way for rest, drinks, and food, as well as to meet those who lived there. Places I've already stayed before, I would pass by them, unless the next place was over a week away.
I met with all kinds of people, men, dwarves, and the occasional elves with their own stories and adventures to share from all parts of Middle Earth. My stories were distorted so as to not share the fact that I live with the last living fire dragon. Our relationship would be taken advantage of, if they were able to best me, which would be unlikely.
However, I would still share the places I have been since not everyone has the chance and means to travel far and wide. The look in their eyes as I tell them all the different places in Middle Earth warms and encourages me to share even more.
The way home was rather eventful. There were more orcs out than normal. In one of my recent stops I caught wind of the rumor that a group of dwarves passed through Rivendell and were in the direction of the Iron Hills. There is great doubt that it is the truth. I think they are the ones set to return to Erebor, and the ones the orcs are after.
Even if I was not their main target, I did my best to keep hidden and out of their sight. My last path close to their threat ended as soon as I entered Mirkwood. It was much different from when I first crossed it. There were only a couple of signs of decay, but now, the forest seemed like it was dying. It was saddening.
The air as I walked down the elven path made me feel hazy, but I was aware enough not to leave it. Not that it would matter much, my heightened sense would allow me to travel through the forest down to the lake with ease.
Although the sky was blocked by the thick tree tops, the farther I walked, I sensed the sun was setting. I would be able to reach the lake a few hours after sun down, less if I quickened my step. As I walked down the path, I noticed a significant amount of spider webs covering several rows of trees.
I skimmed my finger down a thick strand, careful not to set it off, when from behind me, I heard twigs snap and leaves ruffle. I swiftly turned around and took out my blade then got into position. Behind me was a large spider, many times my size. I was ready to defend myself when it attacked me, but it never did. It just stood there.
My stance did not change as I stared at it, looking it over, but faltered when I noticed one of its legs was off-colored, starting from the same place that little spider I helped all those years ago was injured.
"Little one?" I was unsure. it couldn't be. Did giant spiders live this long?
"Yes," It responded in a raspy, grimmy voice.
"Is it really you? H-How?" I lowered my stance, sheathing my sword.
"Eat, hide," It answered in short words, clicking its mandibles.
"This is incredible," I stepped closer, raising my hands to show I meant no harm. It didn't react in a hostile way, but lowered its body and relaxed its legs. I extended my hand forward and touched its ugly face. "You're so big now. It's amazing you lived this long," The exoskeleton was smooth but tough when I applied a bit of pressure on my hand to test it. I noticed several small scratches all over its body, most likely from other spiders or its prey – those weak and unfortunate enough to come into paths with this predator.
"Save my life. Thank," Its many eyes closed as it made soft clicks, leaning into my hand.
"I was only doing what was right," I caressed my hand over its head.
"Elves kill. Elves no allow others in Mirkwood," It said before it opened its many eyes, confusing me.
"I don't understand. Are the elves not allowing others in their borders?" Was it because of the dwarves? I know both don't see each other eye to eye, and not because of their height difference. Dwarves are too stubborn and elves are too high and mighty up their own arses to think of any other race as equal. Especially the King of Mirkwood, Thranduil.
Despite his views, his beauty, the way he carries himself with the uttermost elegance and power, will always have a place in my heart, even if we will never be. Perhaps it is for the best. Rumors and hidden texts say he lost half his face with dragons from the North. He would kill me before he saw reason. A woman – in his eyes – cursed by the dragon that hoards his wife's jewels.
"Come me. Safe way to lake," It steps back to turn in one direction. I look down at the path and follow with my eyes as it leads further into the decaying forest. My eyes return to the spider and I nod. I followed the giant spider in silence as I grew anxious and with joy to see Smaug again.
We had been separated for close to two years. I had so much to tell him about what I've seen, who I've met, things I ate, stories I heard. He will be awake for as long as he was asleep, listening to me share my travels.
The sky went dark by the time the giant spider stopped, short of the lake, but not breaking through into the rocky shore. It would take me only a handful. of minutes to escape the dying forest and find a floating, abandoned to cross to Lake Town. My legs deserve a good rest.
"Thank you, little one. Please take care," I place my hand over its head once more.
"Safe," It's the only thing the spider says before it walks back into the dark forest, my eyes only leaving its large figure once it's out of sight. A smile formed up my lips at the encounter. My chest suddenly warms up, but I brush off the feeling as seeing the spider again was a warming occurrence. Reunions such as these are never to be expected, even more so between a giant spider and a woman. It might have saved my life or at minimum a lot of hassle with the elves. Mirkwood elves are not very friendly, and now with dwarves and possibly orcs coming into their land could've turned them more hostile.
With a sigh I resumed my walk in the direction of the water. Once I was close enough, I noticed a strange brightness in the night sky.
Did the sun not already set?
As I marched between the trees, the strange glow did not seem to come from behind the mountain, but from the lake. I finally exited the tree line and got my answer, Lake Town was on fire. Smaug flew over the burning town and spit his wall of fire onto it and its inhabitants. Their screams barely reached my ears from how far it was, but they were or terror and death. The warmth I felt was from Smaug using his fire.
Smaug continued to fly away, dive back down, and rain fire onto the town. All I did was watch from the far shore that I stood while my mind raced to think of why he was doing that.
Did the dwarves wake him up? Did he kill them? But why would he attack Lake Town?
He saw those men less than insects, not worth his acknowledgment, much less his hot flames. After several flyovers, I saw him land on top of the burning wooden houses and face the bell tower. From the distance and with the black smoke it was hard to see if anyone was there on top of it. It's not like they would be able to do anything against Smaug.
The fire drake roared with might and anger before charging. He stretched his winged arms before a piercing pain went straight into my heart. I crumbled to the ground, unable to form words from how painful it felt. Tears formed in my eyes as I gasped for air. I look up when I hear the pained roar from Smaug. With blurry vision I watched as he flew up, clawing the air as he too gasped for the escaping air.
My body collapsed onto the rocky shore as my vision darkened, and the last thing I saw was Smaug take one last breath before the glow in his chest dimmed, and he fell into the burning down. Before it all went dark I heard a piercing, most painful, and heartbreaking scream.
I do not know how much time passed by the time I woke up, but part of Lake Town was still in flames. But only small ones slowly crumbling into smoldering embers. My throat was dry and hurt when I swallowed as if I had been screaming. I was cold, so very cold. The heat I once had was gone. My chest felt empty as if something was missing.
Ash fell on my face as I stared numbly into the burning city.
"Smaug," I called, barely over a whisper. I hoped he would fly from the burnt town and take me home. But he never did. I didn't see him rise from the icy cold water. My muscles ached when I pushed myself from the ground. With much difficulty I stood up and limped down the shore.
A boat. I need a boat.
If I did not find a boat, I would swim to him. He couldn't be dead. It was just not possible. He couldn't be.
I walked and walked, tripping endlessly, until I found a small boat and a man unconscious on the lake bank. Part of clothes were burned, along with his exposed skin. The man would not survive, especially going to the other side of the lake where no one would aid him.
Not even me.
I took his boat, which thankfully had both rows, and with all the strength I had left, rowed to Lake Town. There was no more fire when I finally arrived at was left of it. Only smoldering, black wood remained. I attempted to walk to him, but the burnt wood was too brittle, so I rowed further inside, pushing the blackened planks with my hand, until I made it.
His head laid on top of a crumpled house, with his massive wings sprawled over more destroyed homes. His chest laid motionless. When I reached him I stayed still, intently staring at his chest in hopes for it to move, for him to breathe. But he never did.
I rowed until the boat touched him, and with barely any strength I jumped onto him, using his cold, rough scales to climb up his chest. He was so cold. He shouldn't have been that cold. He was so warm before I left.
And there, on his left side, sticking into his chest was a black arrow. My body vibrated with rage when my eye landed on it. Those disgusting men stuck it in him, taking him from me.
How dare they!
I growled in anger and rushed to it, then tightly gripped it and with all of my might I ripped it off his chest. And with strength I did not know I still possessed, I broke it in half, hitting it on my knee as hard as I could. The strength was fleeting, and soon, I crumpled to Smaug's cold chest and tears flowed non-stop.
"Why did you leave me?" My voice broke. I sniffed and swallowed as my throat began to clot. "You were supposed to be asleep, waiting for me. Not here, in the cold water," My vision blurred completely and my chest burned, but not from his flames, but from pain. Unimaginable pain that only grew. It felt as if my heart was tearing apart. "WHY!" I screamed a shrill so loud my throat felt like it was bleeding. Sobs wrecked my body. "Take me with you," It was barely an audible rasp.
My body gave up and I went limp. There was no reason to hold on to anything. My home was gone. Not Erebor. No, there aren't more lonely mountains with dunes of gold lying inside and endless good memories. Smaug was my home. My safe place. And he was gone, forever.
I still held onto the damned black arrow. On my right hand I held the tip, the same one that took the life of the one that I loved the most. It was only fitting if it took my life as well. I was nothing but a woman, lucky enough to encounter and befriend one of the last fire dragons and earn my place by his side. He wasn't supposed to die. If only I had stayed.
Laying on my back, I let go of the end of the black arrow and with both hands holding the front half above my chest, the tip pointing at it.
"Thank you, for everything, Smaug," I closed my eyes and let one last tear roll down my face. And with my final words, I pierced my chest.
It hurt, a lot. It hurt much more than I would've expected. My whole chest was on fire, both in pain and in flames. Actual fire shot off where the arrow was embedded in my body. Its heat began to spread to my whole body, down my arms and legs, all the way to my back, Then I felt another heat, and not from myself, but from below me.
I turn my head and see Smaug's chest begin to glow.
What is happening?
Our bodies grow warmer, but I do not know if this is what happens when both of the bonded die. Either way, the physical pain does not compare to the tear in my heart.
But when I thought I would take my last breath, the arrow melted right before my eyes and my wound healed. My weak hands felt for the gaping hole but found nothing but molten metal. I sat up and looked down at Smaug. His chest glowed, and it continued up his long neck, throat, and to his eyes.
They looked so alive, but they couldn't be. Or so I thought. I was ready to go into rage once more for being alive when I saw his left eye move. His vertical pupil dilated and constricted, then his glowing eyeball moved.
How is this possible? Am I dead and this is my punishment?
His head then moved, and his chest rumbled in a low, pained groan. His body began moving, twisting to the side. I stood on my fours, tumbling over my hands and feet as I crawled my way up his long neck. The scales under my hands were warm, so very warm. They were no longer icy cold.
I fell on my knees when I reached his cheek with his face sideways. His mouth was wide open but I could see his tongue twitching and his eyes slowly moving around, until they landed on me. His mouth closed and he blinked.
"Smaug?" My hands clenched over his warm scales. He groaned and winced in pain.
"What... happened?" His voice is much deeper and raspy from his cries of pain before his death fall.
"You're alive!" I cried, stretching my arms over his cheek and sobbing.
It was a rollercoaster of emotions. My mind was all over the place while my heart beat out of control. Smaug was sore from the hard fall on the water, taking a longer time to be able to move. After recollecting myself, I went back to the boat, tears still rolling down my cheeks, but they were happy tears.
Smaug tucked his wings close and rolled over. The injury the black arrow caused was no longer on him, yet, he was just as weak as when he was when it struck him. Along with his gone strength and power, so was his dragon sickness.
It seemed that death had swept it away. Neither of us wished to return to Erebor. Even if decades of our lives, heartfelt memories, and lessons were made there, we knew we had to let it go. Our home was with one another. So, we left. Smaug stayed over the burnt home for as long as they held before swimming away. I sat on his back and he swam opposite of Lake Town, Dale, and Mirkwood.
Once out of the lake, we stuck to the ground, away from the five army battle, and into an abandoned fortress. And decades later, here we stayed, at Dol Guldur, untouched and unheard of.
Until evil called.
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This update does not mean the book will return to regular updates. I still have a lot of work to do. I had this chapter done for a while.
I haven't edited it so if there are any mistakes feel free to point them out.
I hope you guys enjoyed it. There will be more of them and Middle Earth.
Please don't forget to vote and comment on what you thought, and 'see' you in the next chapter.