Burning it Down: Smaug/Reader

Part 19

The minutes felt like hours and the hours felt like days as you paced back and forth on the balcony, with one eye always fixed towards the east. You and Smaug had watched the army ride away, and eventually you would watch an army return. Whether it would be the one lead by the new King of Gondor, victorious in spite of insurmountable odds, or the one lead by the Lord of Mordor, coming to establish himself as the supreme ruler of Middle-Earth, only time would tell. And time was currently standing still, holding onto its secrets for as long as it could.

The two of you remained silent. Smaug sat, his now dark gray eyes watching you pace, wearing an expression that appeared unnaturally collected, given the circumstances. But inside his mind raced, calculating the odds of success for the various strategies he was concocting. The city was emptied except for women, children, injured soldiers, and old men. If Aragorn's army failed, there was no chance of stopping Sauron's path of destruction. Evacuating would be the only option, but that was a short term solution, buying only a few months at most. If the race of Men failed, there was no one else to defend Middle-Earth. The dwarves would fight, of course, but were they scattered across the earth, unprepared to make one large final stand against Mordor's armies. They would be whittled away, one small fight after another, until the blood of their people was totally spent. His impression of Hobbits, from the few he had encountered, was that they were a hardy breed capable of more than meets the eye. But they were also untrained and wouldn't be a match for Sauron's vicious forces. And the elves...they were leaving Middle-Earth. With the exception of Legolas, Helms Deep had been the last battle the Elves would fight on this land. As for his own species, even if they did not immediately reject him in his now permanent form, they would never offer aid. The dragons would rejoice and openly embrace the new age of darkness, as he himself would have almost a century ago.

For the first time, Smaug wondered if the jewel he had bestowed upon you in Erebor that day had not indeed been a curse in disguise. He had always told himself that he gifted you with unnaturally long life out of pure love, but perhaps it had really been born of his own selfish need. He had always been selfish. If not for him, you could have grown old and perhaps died peacefully in your sleep beside the husband you loved so dearly, as opposed to waiting to be slaughtered.

Yes, Smaug knew how much you still loved Bilbo. Lately he had been understanding your feelings far better than you yourself had. When you told Smaug you loved him, when you kissed him, when you had worried over his injured body, he had never doubted the sincerity of it. You truly loved him, and not as a pet or even as a very dear friend, but as a partner and a mate. But he also knew that it was a love formed in the midst of conflict. In the face of war and death, there had been no planning for the future or dwelling on the past. There had only been the moment. If by some miracle Sauron was defeated, he knew reality would rear its ugly head and the emotional fallout that followed would have to be dealt with.

Smaug's thoughts were interrupted by you bolting past him without saying a word. Quickly looking out to where you had previously been watching, he saw the reason for your hasty departure. An army was approaching, and even from that distance it was obvious that it was no orc army.