A sad story about a family I no longer have

Chapter 9: prison

Caerwyn made sure to have the hood of her cloak up the whole time, pressing her back into the buildings she passed when she wanted to remain unseen. Every so often, Caerwyn would look to The Lonely Mountain, expecting at any moment to see Smaug break free from it, but she tried to keep her mind on the task at hand. It would do Bard no good for her to get shaky at the thought of impending doom, and so Caerwyn went about her business with as little thought devoted to the dragon as possible.

Caerwyn assumed that the Orcs from earlier had fled the town, which led her to wonder why they had been there in the first place. They had come with a mission in their minds, only to leave after a relatively short while...why? Caerwyn was just glad that she didn't have to worry about hiding from them, although her sword's presence at her hip made her feel confident about her odds, if it were to come to that.

Soon, Caerwyn could see the prison suspended above the water, and Caerwyn watched the barred window for any signs of Bard. Soon, she could hear him calling out to the guards to let him out, and Caerwyn breathed a sigh of relief. At least they hadn't roughed him up to the point of unconsciousness...or so she hoped. She spied the entrance to the prison and did her best to look every inch the concerned wife of a prisoner. Caerwyn lowered her hood as she approached the desk, where a couple of men were drinking on the job and folded my hands in front of her demurely.

"Excuse me, kind sirs," Caerwyn addressed them, making myself sound the right amount of uncertain. "I heard from a neighbour that my husband was taken in tonight. I was wondering if I might be able to visit him?" One of the taller men turned to address me, a sneer on his face. "An' what would be yer husband's name?"

"My husband is Bard," Caerwyn lied.

The man laughed with his friends when Caerwyn said the name, and Caerwyn tried to act like she didn't want to punch them all in the face. "His children are worried, you see," Caerwyn added. "They only want to know that their father is alright, and I hoped I could hear from him why he was put in a cell."

They stopped laughing, seeming to buy her story. "Maybe ye'll make an honest man out'a yer 'usband, miss," the taller one said, slurring his words. "Right this way." Caerwyn followed him up the stairs to the cells, and could hear him say something snide to Bard before turning to Caerwyn and indicating which cell Bard was in. "'Ere ye are, here's your husband." he said with a scowl. "Will be back in ten, I will."

"Thank you, good sir," Caerwyn said bowing her head respectfully.

Caerwyn made sure he was down the stairs and out of earshot before going to the bars of Bard's cell, where he stood with a confused expression on his face before recognising her. "Caerwyn, what are you doing here? Husband?" He whispered, looking back in the direction Caerwyn had come from with the guard. "Why do you think? And I had to pretend that you were my husband so I could come in here." Caerwyn whispered back, lifting her cloak just enough to show him that she had her sword with her. He understood what she meant, but still had a look of concern on his face. "You were feverish before I left," Bard said. "What are you doing up and about?"

"The short story is, your son mentioned something about a black arrow, and if you using it has anything to do with killing the dragon, my guess was that it would be smart to retrieve the man for the job," Caerwyn said with a one-sided smile. "Oh, and Orcs attacked. The children are fine, I was stabbed in the leg as I stood infront of Tilda and Sigrid... oh and Kíli is on the mend, but I have a feeling we're running out of time on the more important issue," Caerwyn added. "You'll have to be quick," he whispered, seeming to resign himself to the fact that Caerwyn wasn't going away to lie down or rest. "You were stabbed?" He muttered just realising what she said. "Let's not worry about that we need to worry about getting you out."

Caerwyn nodded, then looked once more over her shoulder before retrieving a small piece of metal, the size of a paper clip, from her pocket. It wasn't large, and Caerwyn had made sure it was unbent for this exact purpose. She inserted one end of the metal into the lock, then began to carefully work it to open the lock. "What will I tell our children?" Caerwyn said a bit louder, but not by much so as not to arouse the guards' suspicions. "I do not know," Bard said, seeming to understand what she was doing---buying time. "I should be out by morning, but I'm not sure."

"I had to find out from our neighbour, you know," Caerwyn said, sounding concerned as she continued trying to pick the lock. "Imagine, my first full day in our home, and I hear that you've been arrested."

"I am truly sorry," Bard said, casting a look at the stairs. "I will make it up to you and the children, I promise." Click!  Caerwyn covered up the small sound with a cough, pocketing the tiny piece of metal before easing the lock open. "Perhaps you should return home," Bard said in a concerned way. "It gets colder here at night than what you are accustomed to. I wouldn't want you to catch cold." Caerwyn carefully took the lock off and adjusted the hinge clasp just enough to make it easier for him to open the door. "That would probably be best," Caerwyn agreed. "I hope to see you soon."

"I hope the same," Bard replied. Before Caerwyn could turn to leave, he caught her attention again, beckoning her close. "Make sure my children leave with the others," he whispered. "I want them out of harm's way." Caerwyn nodded. "I will make sure of it, you can count on me." she whispered. In less time than it took to get to the prison, Caerwyn was back at Bard's house, knocking three times before entering to let those inside know that she wasn't an enemy. She shut the door behind her, then acted quickly.

"We all need to leave," Caerwyn said to those gathered. "We must go now, before the dragon escapes."

"What do you mean, before the dragon escapes?" Tauriel asked, brow furrowed.

"I mean that Smaug is prophesied to leave the mountain with a vengeance tonight, and Bard has instructed me to get his children to safety before destruction hits, along with everyone here," Caerwyn specified, choosing her words carefully so she wouldn't scare the younger children, yet relay the importance to those who could handle it. "We're not leaving without Da!" Tilda cried. Caerwyn knelt down to her level. "I've helped your Da escape, and he'll be along soon," Caerwyn assured her. "However, he was adamant that I'd get you and your siblings to safety, alright? You will be safe, I promise you that." After a moment, the little girl nodded her understanding. From that moment on, they all made ready to leave. There was a quake of the ground just as we were ready to descend the stairs, and every hair on my neck stood up. It had come from the mountain, Caerwyn was sure of it. "We need to hurry," Tauriel rightly reminded them all and Caerywn rolled her eyes.

With that, the group of nine went down to the little boat docked on the lower level. Somehow, they were all able to fit without causing the vessel to sink, which Caerwyn took to mean fate was smiling upon us so far. They untied the boat from the dock, and the Dwarves began to row us through the water to the outskirts of town.

Suddenly, a terrible crashing noise split the silence, and Caerwyn heard a voice on the wind that was unlike any she had ever heard. It was a low, guttural voice sounding from above them, and Caerwyn realised with a spike of fear that it was done---Smaug had broken out of Erebor. However, the Dwarves did not stop rowing, not even when the first flames shot down and began to incinerate Laketown.