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XI. Dragon

"No!" Thorin cried out in despair, walking towards the door and opening up the map to see if there was anything that they had missed, desperately clinging onto the hope that there was something else on the ragged piece of parchment that could show them all had not been lost. "The last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole. That's what it says," he recited, his voice broken and dejected as the realisation overcame him. "What did we miss? What did we miss, Balin?"

"We've lost the light. There's no more to be done. We had but one chance. Come away. It's over."

The rest of the Dwarves turned their backs on the hidden door and made way for the stairs that had brought them up here, their heads hung low and their spirits deflated. None of them wanted to leave, but they believed staying would not yield any results.

Regardless of Bilbo's objections they continued to head back down the mountain, even Thorin had given up all hope and he allowed the key to slide between his fingers and fall to the ground beneath, crashing to the stone below with a clang that broke Athena's heart.

"Thorin, you can't give up now," Bilbo tried to reason with him but he only thrust the map into the Hobbit's chest before following after the Dwarves.

Athena was the only one who stayed behind. It was not because she had any hope left, in fact she had none left at all, but it was because she didn't want to leave Bilbo by himself. She sat defeatedly down on one of the rocks that lay on the edge of the cliff, her elbow resting on her knees with her chin in one of her hands as she absentmindedly stared out at the wasteland below.

"Stand by the grey stone. When the thrush knocks. The setting sun, and the last light of Durin's Day will shine. The last light," she closed her eyes when hearing his ramblings behind her, it didn't matter how much he repeated the words that they had been told, it would make no difference to their outcome.

Athena watched as the moon appeared from behind the clouds, shining upon the clearing where her and Bilbo remained. At first it felt to her that the world was mocking them for not finding the door in time by showcasing further that the sun had fallen, but then she heard the constant tapping behind her. She widened her eyes and turned her head to witness a thrush perched by the wall and using its beak to create a steady rhythm by the hidden door.

"The moon," she whispered to herself when the white light shone against the door, pushing herself to stand as hope renewed itself inside her.

"The last light," Bilbo breathlessly responded with a laugh of relief escaping him at the revelation that not all had been lost

And then they saw the keyhole.

"Come back! Come back! It's the light of the moon, the last moon of autumn!" He yelled down to where the Dwarves had disappeared, but they had gone out of sight and there was no guarantee they had even heard his bellowing voice. For a small person he had a large voice when needed.

"We need to find the key," she urged him, knowing that they might not have the time to wait to see if the others had heard.

"Where's the— where's the key? Where's the— it was here... but it was here, it was here! It was just..." in his frantic haste to find the key he had not noticed it was right underneath him until his foot collided with the cold metal.

Athena watched in horror as it began to topple off the edge of the clearing, rushing forwards to try and catch it in time but there was no need for her efforts. Apparently the Dwarves had heard the cries of their burglar and had made their way back, and just in the nick of time. Thorin's boot stopped the key in its tracks which sent relief through Bilbo and Athena. The King under the Mountain slowly knelt down and carefully gathered the key back into his hands before approaching the hidden door. The key slid effortlessly into the hole and as it was turned a deep clicking sound resounded behind the stone — the door had been unlocked.