The Valar Child: The Desolation of Smaug

Chapter 16 - Inside Information

Hildar

The gold seemed to give off its own light, and I quietly came down the stairs. Nothing stirred in the masses of treasure lying before me. Without making a sound, I ran down the stairs, until I reached the treasure. That was when I began to tiptoe across it, the gold crunching beneath my feet. The dragon was here, somewhere, and I would not be the one to wake it. That was when I heard a crash and somebody going, "Sssssh! Sssssh!"

"Silence Halfling! You'll kill us all!" I heard Beren's voice echo off the walls, even as he whispered.

"It's really hard to find a white gem, in a hoard of white gems!" I heard Bilbo complain. I had to smile to myself as I made my way toward their voices. However, that was when the treasure beneath me started shifting. I almost slipped, but I was able to grab a pillar and save myself. Another movement, and I slid down the pillar, landing on my bottom in the gold. My heart stopped in my chest. Only one thing would be large enough to move this much gold. I quickly rose and began to move toward where I last heard Bilbo speaking. As I was coming up from around a pillar, Beren came down. He caught me in his arms, pressed me to his chest, and flung himself against the pillar.

"Where's Bilbo?!" I asked as quietly as I could, but Beren only tightened his grip on me. The gold altered its course again, and I became very still. That was when we both saw a tail. It was curling around the pillar, and only a few yards away. I could feel Beren's heart beating against my skull. It was rapid, and his breath stirred my hair. That was when we heard the sound of gold sliding off something, and we dared to look around the pillar. The head of the dragon appeared from the treasure. His eyes were luminous, and they seemed to see everything. We pressed ourselves to the stone, and I closed my eyes.

"Well. Thief! I smell you. I hear your breath. I feel your air." His voice! He spoke! I had heard of such drakes that had the ability of speech, but I never thought that Smaug was one of them! "Come now. Don't be shy. Step into the light!" we heard him challenge. Was he talking to us? Or Bilbo?! I pushed Beren away and appeared from behind the pillar. At the exact same time Bilbo removed his magic ring. "There you are!" the dragon said as he observed us. I stood beside Bilbo, putting him behind me. "Where is your third partner of crime?" Smaug queried as he looked at us, his golden eyes shifting from Bilbo to me. Beren came running up a moment later. He stood next to me, and I took his hand. I could feel him shaking beside me. After all these years of hearing about the dragon, and knowing it had destroyed the world he would have lived in, he was finally meeting it. Smaug's lips seemed to pull up, and I guessed that he was smiling. "Well! Aren't you all audacious! Or foolish!" the dragon told us as he stretched his neck towards us, causing us to back up.

"We did not come to steal from you. Oh, Smaug the Tremendously Wealthy, we only came to gaze upon your magnificence. We only wished to look at you, and see if you were as great as the old tales say. We did not believe them." Bilbo's last sentence came out sounding like a squeak. Smaug seemed amused by this, and turned around, going to a higher area of the cavern. Whirling around, he positioned himself so that he was giving us a broadside view of his splendor.

"Do you now?!" he asked, his voice causing the chamber to shake. My voice caught in my throat. Luckily, Bilbo seemed to be the one who kept his wits.

"Truly, the tales fall short of your enormity. Oh, Smaug, the Stupendous!" Bilbo gasped.

"You have nice manners for a thief, and a liar!" Smaug said, and we could all hear the suspicion in his voice. I stepped forward at that moment, no longer afraid.

"We will be whatever you make us, oh powerful Smaug! We will be thieves, or liars at your whim!" I challenged. Beren tried to pull me back, but I was just out of reach. The dragon eyed me, obviously curious about my statement. "You are strong, and mighty, and you can make almost anything possible! What are we to you? Ants!" I snapped. The anger I felt toward him for killing the people of Durin, for driving Thorin from his home and his birthright, began to appear.