Mystical One-Shots

The Last Black Arrow

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.