✓ | Forget-Me-Not ~ Fili FanFiction / Hobbit FanFiction / Fili FF

「 Chapter 38 」

Ilèyn ran into the middle of a swath of smoke. A violent coughing attack shook her as she inhaled the smoke. Her eyes burned because of the heat of the flames around her.
"Bain!" she called and tried to orientate herself.
She had lost sight of the boy. There was screaming, which was almost drowned out by the crash of the houses collapsing into one another. Ilèyn pulled her scarf over her nose and narrowed her eyes. There was a loud creak above her, and the dwarf immediately looked up and saw the large wooden beam that came down on her. Ilèyn dived forward, she landed roughly on the jetty, behind her the burning beam punched a huge hole in the way. When Ilèyn quickly got to her feet, she discovered a familiar figure in front of her, crouching in a boat and searching wildly for something.
"Bain!" she called again and another cough attack seized her. When the boy heard his name, he looked up and saw Ilèyn.
"What are you doing here?" he shouted against the noise around him as Ilèyn came running to him.
"Bain, we have to get out of town, do you hear?" Ilèyn called out to him.
"No!" the boy contradicted loudly "My father..."
"Your father has no chance against this beast!" interrupted Ilèyn. She jumped down to him on the boat and pulled on his arm. Bain tore himself free, crouched down again, and pulled a black iron rod from under one of the gathered fishing nets.
The black arrow.
"On the other hand..." Ilèyn said to herself and Bain jumped off the boat and back onto the jetty. She followed him and held him back one more time.
"Let go of me!" Bain shouted and freed himself from her grip. "I have to try!"
Ilèyn's gaze fell up the tower on which Bard continued to shoot the dragon. Bain took advantage of this moment and ran away.
"Bain!" Ilèyn ran after him.
The way over the wooden planks quickly turned into a dangerous course run. Falling, burning objects forced Ilèyn to dive several times to the side. Then a beam on fire collapsed next to her and almost hit her, but Ilèyn slammed the brakes just in time and the wooden beam smashed the footbridge in front of her. Bain kept running without looking back. Ilèyn wanted to call for him one more time, but saw that it was absolutely pointless. He wouldn't hear her, let alone turn around.
"Damn it...!" Ilèyn hissed and looked around helplessly. She had no boat, no chance against a dragon, swimming would be suicide. The flames ate their way through the city in a chaos of destruction and suffering, the people screamed in agony.

"That was a seldom stupid idea of ​​you." she scolded herself, completely out of breath, for the idea of ​​getting off the other's boat, while she was pulling herself up on a not-yet-burning balcony of one of the houses. She landed behind the balustrade and ducked through the broken door of the house. Through the window the dwarf saw that one side of the building was already on fire and was beginning to fall apart. The glowing heat hit her when the fire broke through the house wall which collapsed completely. Ilèyn jumped forward and reached a ladder that led to the roof. She quickly climbed the rungs and pressed herself against the locked attic flap that blocked her way. The wood splintered and the way up was free. Ilèyn reached the attic and heard a loud crash beneath her. The house would soon collapse for good and drag her with it if she couldn't make it onto the roofs. The dwarf hastily reached for an ax that was lying on the ground and punched a hole in the roof. She dropped the ax again and forced herself outside. Breathing heavily in the hot air, she looked around and her gaze fell again on the shadow of the dragon in the sky. Smaug was preparing for another attack on the city.
Ilèyn ran along the roof of the house and headed straight for the neighboring hut. She made a big leap and landed with a racket on the edge of the next roof, rowing her arms so as not to lose her balance.
She leaned forward, regained her balance, and ran on. If Ilèyn was being honest with herself, she really had no idea how to get out of town or how to survive Smaug's attack at all. Her goal was to reach the outskirts of the city and somehow get to the mainland from there. How exactly would be shown on site.
Another jump and she overcame the next, not quite as wide gap between two roofs. In the corner of her eye she always tried not to lose sight of the dragon. She saw how he lowered himself further and further towards the city, as if he wanted to land in the middle of the houses. As soon as Ilèyn had thought through this thought, she suddenly saw Smaug land on the burning houses of Lake Town with a huge explosion of ashes, flames and embers. With the huge claws on his wing he leaned on the roofs, which for the most part gave way under his enormous weight. Smaug didn't seem to be after Ilèyn or the residents of Lake Town. He steered purposefully towards the tower in which the alarm bell was hanging. Bard and his son, they still had to be there. Ilèyn stopped immediately and tried to look through the flames and shimmering air over to the tower.
Smaug moved towards the tower, leaving a trail of destruction. He spoke, hissed, and roared, eyes glaring at the archer and his son. With every step he took, the earth seemed to shake, his roar echoing over the lake. Ilèyn crouched down and continued scurrying along the roof. As much as she wanted to keep Bain and his father from being eaten by this beast, there was absolutely nothing she could do about it except make it across the lake alive.