Chapter
One
Kili awoke
from a restless sleep to find his leg no longer felt as if lightning was
running through it. He lifted himself up
on his elbows and looked around to find himself still in Bard’s home. Catching Fili’s eye he smiled wanly. “How long was I out? I had the strangest dream that Tauriel had
come to save me and I said foolish things to her after she healed me.”
Fili tucked
his hands into his armpits and ambled over to where his brother lay on Bard’s
table. “Well the thing is…Tauriel did
come. She came with Legolas and stayed
to heal you after Bofur found the herbs she needed. And you may very well have said the foolish
things you think you said to her. So if
I were you I’d think of some very nice way to say thank you as she saved your
life, little brother. Tauriel was there
when one of the orcs said the arrow that hit you was poisoned. You would not have survived without her skill
in healing.” Fili gave Kili a grave look
as the younger dwarf wore a look of horrified dismay. “What did you say to her that was so very
foolish?”
Kili
swallowed and replied, “I did not think it could have been her because we left
the elves so far way from here. So I
spoke to the girl I thought was standing by my side and spoke of Tauriel as I
imagined her, walking in starlight. I
asked if she thought Tauriel could have ever loved me, and probably offended
her mightily with those words.” How in Durin’s name am I supposed to face
her again? We talked of starlight and
the Fire Moon before, but elves and dwarves have been enemies for years. And I go and run my fool mouth off to her in
my delirium. This cannot bode well.
Fili shot a
grim smile toward his younger brother before saying “I don’t think your words
are heavy on her mind right now. Tauriel
fears the dragon is on its way here and the fool townspeople have locked Bard
away. She’s gone with Oin, Bofur, and
Bard’s children to do what she can to free him as he has the last black arrow
that might pierce the beast before Smaug ruins the town. Can you walk?”
Kili slowly
raised himself into a sitting position and looked around the home of Bard. “I think I might be able to. What happened here?” He gingerly got off the table and Fili put an
arm around him to help him to the door.
“Those orcs
from the river came after us looking for Thorin. When they saw he wasn’t with us they took off
after him. It seems in giving in to the
gold sickness our uncle may have helped to save you. Legolas and Tauriel came to put an end to the
orcs, and once Bard is free I’m sure she’ll be off after Legolas. Last we saw of him he was going after the orc
pack by himself. But before they left to
go after Thorin the orcs wrecked Bard’s house, so if we all manage to survive
what’s coming, we’ll be needing to help him fix it.”
~~~*~~~
Bofur stood
by the cell Bard was locked in and looked on while Tauriel spoke to the Master
and other members of Lake Town regarding her suspicions of Smaug being on his way to them. He took in her grace and composure even while
one of her fists clenched in frustration.
It appeared that her elven heritage had little impact on these men of
Lake Town and they intended to leave Bard in the cage he currently occupied.
“Did you
manage to stash that other black arrow before they nabbed you?” Bofur asked Bard with a sympathetic
smile. Bard was in a highly anxious
state knowing the deadly force of Smaug from his grandfather’s account of the attack
on Dale. He spared a glance for the
dwarf before replying “My son hid it after we split. Why don’t the two of you go and retrieve it
and hopefully by the time you’ve got it I’ll be out of this mess and we can
prepare Lake Town for the dragon.”
“Not a bad
plan, I’ll find your lad and we’ll secure the arrow where the Master can’t
reach it. How long do you think we
have?”
Bard shook his head in frustration. “I don’t know. They should already be preparing. If Tauriel can’t get them to release me, you must ask her to get as many as she can to begin watering everything in Lake Town down. If it’s already soaked it won’t burn. Every barrel and container without holes needs to be filled to fight off the fire the dragon will bring.”
Bard shook his head in frustration. “I don’t know. They should already be preparing. If Tauriel can’t get them to release me, you must ask her to get as many as she can to begin watering everything in Lake Town down. If it’s already soaked it won’t burn. Every barrel and container without holes needs to be filled to fight off the fire the dragon will bring.”
Bofur gave a
slight bow in Bard’s direction before approaching Tauriel and the men of Lake
Town gathered around her. She turned her
head toward him and he gestured for a moment.
Looking toward the Master, Tauriel murmured for a moment alone then
walked over to Bofur. “Yes, master
dwarf?”
“Bard has
asked that we begin to soak as much of the town as possible if the Master
refuses to let him out. His thinking is
that if it’s soaked it won’t burn in the dragon’s fire. He also directed me to search out his boy so
we might have our hands on the last black arrow when he does get out. Seems like a better plan to me than wasting
time talking to this lot,” he indicated the Master’s crowd with a nod of his
head.
Tauriel
inclined her head at his words and sent a small smile in his direction. “It is indeed a better plan. These men are fools. If you can find the son I will begin to
saturate the town with as much help as I can find.” The two parted ways with Tauriel heading back
towards Bard’s home to gather the remaining dwarves and Bard’s daughters. Her hope was the daughters might rally enough
townspeople to their aid to make a small dent in the drenching Bard advised.
~~~*~~~
Oin and
Bard’s daughters intercepted Fili and Kili as the pair walked to the Master’s
house. A small conference was held and
the lot of them headed to the Master’s.
Before long they came upon Tauriel and Bofur who were looking for them
to pass on Bard’s advice on how to deal with the dragon. Kili was walking without help by this time
and angled himself a bit behind his brother so as to attract less notice. The perceptive elf noticed his slight
movement and enquired as to how his leg was.
“It is much
better now that the poison is gone,” Kili stated after taking a startled
breath. “I owe you a great deal for
saving my life,” he began, but was cut off by Tauriel’s wry smile. “If we live through the dragon’s retaliation
you and I can talk of any debt between us.
For now we must ready all we can or my saving you will have been for
nothing. Are you able to run yet, Kili?”
An answering
negative shake of his head was enough and Bofur asked the daughters if they
knew of where their brother might be so they could fetch the black arrow for
Bard. They gave the best of his hiding
places to the dwarf, and off Bofur went to find Baird and the last hope to slay
the dragon. After another brief
discussion Oin, Fili, and the girls began running from home to home asking the
Lake Town people to help prepare for the dragon’s onslaught. “I will join you in a few moments,” Tauriel
called after them. She looked at Kili
with some speculation before murmuring, “you may come with me, if you
like. There is one other thing I can do
that may help these people more than banging on doors.”
She turned
and headed toward part of Lake Town that was less occupied by the
townspeople. Kili was able to stay a few
paces behind her as she shortened her stride to accommodate his injury. She stopped at a point where there was little
around but the lake itself and knelt down on the dock. Holding a hand out to Kili to keep him from
getting too near, she looked down into the water and began speaking in the
Elvish tongue. While Kili stayed out of
the arms length she requested, he was curious enough to want to see what was
happening. Edging silently closer to the
edge he saw a ripple in the water near Tauriel.
As he stared in that direction Kili thought he saw a face in the water
for a few moments, gazing up at Tauriel while she spoke. His eyes widened and he must have made some
noise because those watery eyes glanced over at him before again focusing on
Tauriel. After another few moments the
face seemed to vanish and Tauriel took in a deep breath.
“I have
spoken to the Water elementals that live in the lake. They have a vested interest in keeping this
lake wholesome and the filth of a dragon’s destruction would be harmful to
them. They will help in their own way,
but they will do little to defend the lives of the people who live here. Thank you for not crowding me. The Water folk are shy and would not have
come if you had been too close.”
Kili gazed
back at the water where nothing was stirring.
“I thought I saw a face when you were speaking. I’ve never seen anything like that
before. Are there spirits like this
everywhere, or is it just being near you that brings them?”
Tauriel
gracefully rose from her sitting position and began walking back toward the
populated areas of Lake Town. “The
elementals are everywhere, but dwarves cannot usually see or hear them. It may well be that you have a closer
connection to the land and water than the other dwarves, Kili. That the elemental did not leave as soon as
it sensed you is very unusual. But I am
learning that you are not like other dwarves I have met. You notice much more than just gold and
jewels where most of your kind does not.
It has been…interesting to meet you,” she continued after a slight
pause. “You have shown me that I may
judge your kind too harshly, and that is an unexpected welcome.”
Kili thought
about her words as they continued to walk as quickly as his leg would
allow. “Before we ran into your guard in
Mirkwood I had never met an elf. The
stories I had been told painted all of you as enemies of my people and nothing
else. I love my family and my people,
but the longer I am on this quest, the more I wonder how much of what we have
been told is true.”
“We can speak
more on this should we all survive the dragon,” Tauriel replied with a taut
smile. After this exchange the two began
to bang on the doors nearest to them.
Most of the townspeople by this time knew of Smaug’s imminent arrival and
were doing all they could to prepare for the fire drake. Boats were being readied for women and
children to cast off in, men were gathering what weapons they had, and
everything that could hold water was now holding it. The only thing left to do was await the
arrival of Smaug.
