An Unexpected Addition (Fili Fiction)

Part Two : Chapter 21

~+ Part Two +~

"Was that what I thought it was, Bofur? Tell me I'm wrong!" After bursting out of the bedroom and from a rather calming slumber, I shook with fear that I'd just heard the dragon. It was Smaug and he was coming for the town. Why would the creature do such a terrible thing? But more importantly, how was I going to save myself? We had little to no time before the beast would be breathing down it's flames upon our heads and then the place would roast like crackling wood in a fire. Planks of smoldering tree would crumble, falling into the water and making a hissing noise, making all of us rattle with fear. I tried to keep the image out of my head but everytime I blinked, I would see my nearing future. 

"I can't tell you you're wrong." Bofur gave me a sorry look before grabbing my arm and dragging me along beside him to the boat. I knew where the lot of us would go because it was the only safe place around us. Away. We just had to get the hell away from here before the thundering wing's of Smaug were swooping above us. I imagined him landing in front of our boat, in our tracks or soaring above our heads, raining fire down on us, like a storm. That's what he would make; a storm. Or would it be much worse than a storm? 

Tauriel had a paddle in her hand as i lept into the small wooden boat, barely able to support the people it held within it and as I felt the urge to vomit once more, I felt a warm hand slip itself in to mine. I looked over, expecting to see Tilda or whoever but my eyes met Fili's. Of course. 

He always seemed to be there when I was quaking with fear which seemed to present itself quite often on my journey. Should I say our journey. He gave my hand a light squeeze and it hurt one of the many calluses I had on my finger but I winced through the pain, much more content to have his hand holding mine, even if it meant a bit of torture. 

 "We're not leaving. Not without our father." Bain's voice came out of the blue, almost cutting an empty silence that was ringing in my ears. 

"If you stay here, your sisters will die. Is that what your father would want?" Bain made a face as if he was trying to throttle her with his eyes and Tauriel kept a stern gaze on the boy. It made me think that perhaps this woman would make a good mother... Letting the children learn their lessons while not holding them back from mistakes, in my view, I'd want my children raised like that. Not that I plan on having children in the future at all because I've never been a fan of whinny kids that need attention all of the time. I wouldn't risk being stuck with one of those, not even for the good kids out there. 

All of a sudden I saw red clouds that swirled together, almost like art cover the sky and an ironic chill was sent down through my spine. It seemed to run through the core of my body and I wanted to hold my breath of cower into someone's shoulder, maybe a protector? Who was I kidding? I am the protector! Assassins protect the people who hire them and take down the threat... That's the way it is and always will be. 

I've been trying to escape telling myself to be an assassin. Telling myself that I am an assassin. Instead, replacing those words with the past tense. I've said it many times and I'll say it again that I don't enjoy my work but admitting I had enough strength to be a killer gives me a little extra power to use. I don't mind that. 

The dreaded dragon was here and he was setting the town ablaze. 

After a few shaking minutes of trying to get the boat out of the burning city and away, I let my eyes close for just a few seconds, not because i was tired, much the opposite of that. I had to calm myself down because my heart was beating out of my chest. 

In that moment I wondered what Bilbo was doing and if he was even alive. I'd been so selfish lately, putting people I barely knew before family and I only hoped to reverse that, at least for the time being. My miniature moment of peace in a world gone mad was interrupted with an aggressive jolt as a much larger wooden boat slammed into ours and I clasped onto our boat with all of my might. Thank god we stayed afloat. 

The master. It was the master of laketown and as I saw the glittering gold piled high upon the boat within my grasp, i reached out a hand and used my whole arm to slop as many coins and trinkets I could both into our boat and the water as I could. Damn that selfish pig to hell and back! He howled and tried to give me a kick with his extended leg, hoping to punish me for taking so much of his wealth but I only grabbed his foot with within the palm of my hand, pulling him to the very edge of the boat as he fell hard onto the gold, more of it tumbling into the water. He landed right on his arse and I let go, almost satisfied with what I'd done but in an ideal world I'd have him with a broken limb, flailing under our boat for air. It may be cruel but he was much worse than myself for hoarding such wealth from the people. His position fell into place in my eyes when I saw him here with his coin. Greedy snake.

Soon enough the lot of us saw Bard hit the dragon square in it's mark with a nice shot from the bell tower. Kili was announcing the moment as if he's saved the world but as the dragon brushed off the arrow, Tauriel put Kili in his place. No arrow can pierce its hide...

As the boat passed under a hanging hook, Bain leaped up and grabbed it, swinging clear of the boat.  My breath caught as we all clawed for him, some of us yelling for the boy to come but but he was gone before I could even call for him. Where was he gone? What was he going to do? I knew. Die. He would die. 

"Leave him! We cannot go back!" Tauriel commanded and moved the paddle with a little more force. The motherly image evaporated with her threat and I sat, remembering how I had leapt off the boat before tonight. At the time I knew what I was doing and I had a purpose... What did he have in mind? 

"His father. He will go to his father."

"But what for? There is no point! He will die with his dad up in that tower if he ever makes it." Kili snarled at me and I gave him a nasty glare. 

"Do not underestimate what this boy can do. He might be what his father needs..." 

Kili scoffed and tried to stretch his legs against the boat, worry clearly coating his features but I barely felt sympathy. I never really do.

~+~ 

Time passed as we neared the gates where piles of boats pushed roughly out of the narrow exit, not made for a time like this. People were everywhere on the docks around the passing boats, taking wild leaps on to their sinking boats. They were the people who didn't have their own shit and refused to swim from the town to the land which, I will admit is a long distance for a non experienced swimmer but how could one feel comfortable living in a city that sits upon water without knowledge on how to swim? We approached the people and the crowd, most people just leaping and bounding into boats but we were too full already and couldn't take another soul. Perhaps a baby at the most but even then...

In a swift moment that scared us all, a terrible hissing noise came from the sky and all of us took notice that somehow, someway the dragon had been hit. I didn't know how to feel. I simply felt. 

Bard had done it! He'd killed the dragon! As Smaug soared into the sky, hissing and roaring, clawing for breath, he rose and rose up and up. He looked like he was drowning in air until soon enough he started to fall down. Slow at first and then he grew faster, like a stone plummeting for earth. There was a great bang and crash. Smaug was finally dead. 

The dragon was dead and I was not.