Tauriel finally relaxed as she felt Kili's fever go down. She had done all she could for him and she had feared that it hadn't been enough.

But now that she saw the calm expression on his face she knew that he would be alright.

"Is he going to live?"
Fili asked nervously.
"He will, he just needs to rest."
Fili sighed in relief as he gripped his brother's hand.

The other two dwarves, Oin and Bofur, looked on in silence. Both were wondering why she had bothered to help them in the first place.

She had been one of the elves to capture them after all, why did she help them?

Tauriel was wondering the same thing. Why had she stayed and helped someone, who was mortal and going to die anyway, when she should have gone with-

"Legolas!"
She jumped to her feet, startling the three children and the dwarves.

"What did you say?"
The boy, whose name was Bain, asked in confusion.
"I need to go."
Tauriel turned to grab her bow when a shocking sight appeared in front of her.

A man was walking into the house, and leaning on his shoulder was Legolas.

Tauriel knew at once that he was injured and she immediately ran over to check his wounds.

"Legolas what happened?"
"He was attacked by orcs."
The man explained as he helped sit Legolas down against the wall.

Tauriel carefully inspected the wound on his shoulder. It was deep, and still bleeding.

"I need bandages, water, and some clean rags."
The girls, Sigrid and Tilda, quickly got what she needed. They had both been a great help to Tauriel in treating Kili and she was glad to have them to help her.

Once she had what she needed Tauriel began to clean the wound. Her hands were gentle and Legolas felt no pain as she treated him.

"Where were you father? We were getting worried."
Sigrid said hugging her father.

Father?
Tauriel pushed her surprise out of the way and focused on cleaning and dressing Legolas' wound.

"I was watching the mountain."
Bard's voice became edged with anger and frustration as he held all three of his children close.
"I told them what would happen if they entered that mountain but they did not listen."

"What has happened?"
Bofur asked, worry for his friends was evident in his voice.

As if to answer his question a monsterous roar split the air. The dragon was coming.

»»»»

Legolas stifened as the roar of the dragon thundered in his ears. The dwarves had awakened the dragon, and now he was coming here.

"We have to leave, now."
Legolas began to get up only to be stopped by Tauriel.
"You are unwell Legolas."

"If we wait any longer we will die."
Bard told her firmly.
"He is right Tauriel."
Legolas resumed standing, his legs shook under him as he struggled to regain his balance.

"Alright."
Tauriel conceded.
Turning to Bard she asked,
"How are we going to escape?"

"There is a boat you can take."
Bard ushered his children in front of him while Fili and the other two dwarves helped Kili. Tauriel was about to help Legolas, but he refused her assistance.

"It is my shoulder that is injured not my legs. I can walk myself."
Tauriel narrowed her eyes at him but said nothing.

Legolas let her go in front of him and they followed Bard towards the small boat he had mentioned.

He helped his children get in first, then the dwarves went in next, and finally Tauriel.

She noticed as soon as she entered the boat that there wouldn't be enough room for Legolas and Bard.

That's when she realized that they had never intended to get in at all.

The children realized it to and quickly turned to their father to protest, only to lurch backward as Bard pushed the boat away from the dock.

The children were screaming and crying for their father, and Tauriel was looking back at Legolas in shock.

He met her gaze with sorrow in his eyes, Bard watched his children with pain in his own eyes.

The children were desperately trying to get the dwarves to turn the boat around, but at the moment a blast of fire came between them and where Bard and Legolas stood.

It was too late now, they couldn't go back for them.

»»»»

Legolas and Bard just managed to leap out of the way of the oncoming flames. Any chance Tauriel and the others had of coming back for them was gone.

He had already known that Smaug was coming. Bard had told him when he was bringing him back to his home.

Legolas' first thoughts had gone to Tauriel. He had to get her out of there, and Bard had provided a way for him to so.

But that would mean that he would be trapped to face the wrath of the dragon.

"Legolas! We cannot stay here!"
Bard grabbed Legolas by the arm, his uninjured one, and pulled him to his feet.

Bard ran with Legolas following close behind. The screams of terrified people, the crashings of destroyed houses, combined with the roars of Smaug, threatened to drive Legolas mad.

Oh Elbereth help us.

Smaug continued to fly overhead, burning everything in sight. A man whose clothes had caught on fire fell into the water, yelling in agony.

Other men were fighting over a boat, puncing and clawing at each other in order to get into the boat first.

A young child was crying for her parents as fire blazed around her.

Legolas froze midstride and looked at the chaos in horror. He had never seen anything like this before, so much death....

So much pain....

"Legolas!"
The elf had barely anytime to react as Bard crashed into him, tackling him to ground just as a beam of buring wood fell onto the dock, shattering the wood into pieces.

"What is wrong with you?"
Bard demanded pulling Legolas back to his feet.
"So much death."
Legolas whispered under his breath.

Bard didn't know what he said but he could see the pain in the elf's eyes. Not fear, only pain.

"There has to be a way to kill that dragon."
Bard looked up just as Smaug flew overhead.
Legolas noticed that Bard still had his bow and quiver.

The only weapons Legolas had at the moment were his knives and Orcrist.

"Can you shoot him down?"
Legolas asked nodding towards Bard's bow.
"My arrows could not pierce that dragon's hide."
Bard answered grimly.

"What about that one?"
"Which one?"
"The black arrow. Could that kill it?"

Bard took out the arrow in question and held it in front of Legolas.

"I have used this arrow for years. Not once has it failed me, yet I doubt that it could pierce through the dragon's scales."

Smaug roared as he flew over once again, unleashing his fire straight at Legolas and Bard.

The elf went one way and Bard went the other. Now they were seperated by a wall of flame.

"Get somehwere high!"
Legolas shouted, only hoping that Bard could hear him over the noise.

Bard did hear him and he ran to find a roof he could climb onto.
Once he was ontop of one he found Legolas standing nearby.

Smaug flew by again, about to set the roof whereLegolas was standing on fire.

Legolas ran and jumped just as the flame set the house ablaze behind him.

He narrowly missed the roof he had been aiming for, and it was only because of Bard grabbing him and pulling him to safety that he didn't fall to his death.

"Are you alright?"
Bard's question went unanswered as Legolas watched Smaug fly past them.
He noticed that there was a scale missing under the dragon's left wing.

Maybe....
Just maybe....

"The dragon has a weak spot. Just below his left wing."
Bard looked at Legolas dumbfounded, wondering how he had managed to notice that.

"If we can hit him in that spot with your black arrow it may kill him."

Bard nodded and took out the black arrow, nocking it into the bowstring he waited for Smaug to fly by again.

What if he misses? You only have one chance to kill the dragon! If he fails you will all die!

Legolas glanced at the man nervously. He knew that he was far more skilled with a bow than Bard was.

He should be the one to fire the arrow, he wouldn't miss.

But you are injured, you have just as much chance of missing the shot as Bard does. Yet he has already proven himself skilled with a bow, and he is not injured.

Legolas was torn between the desperation his fear was causing to kill the dragon himself, and to back down and let Bard do it.

You have to trust him Legolas. This is something you cannot do.

Legolas backed away from Bard, giving him a clear shot at the dragon. Suddenly the roof gave way under Legolas' feet.

He fell into the house landing hard on his back. He looked up in horror as the rest of the roof came falling down on him.

»»»»

Tauriel blocked out the screams of people as they rowed away from the doomed town.

The children were crying for their father, and the dwarves were somberly rowing towards land.

Tauriel kept all of her emotions hidden as they neared land. The dragon's wrath continued to rage on as smoke filled the air above what was once Laketown.

Another roar came from the dragon, only this time it was a roar of pain, not fury.

Tauriel turned her gaze back to the town and watched in disbelief as Smaug flew straight up into the air, twisting, turning, and roaring in pain.

Then he went still. His body stifened as he fell down towards the water below.

A massive wave was caused by the dragon's fall. Tauriel clutched the sides of the boat firmly and Tilda, the youngest of the three, held tightly onto Tauriel's arm as the boat lurched under them.

The wave passed and the dwarves continued rowing towards shore. By the time they reached land dawn was beginning to peak over the horizon.

As they left the boat the children huddled around Tauriel as men, women, and children scrambled out of the boats they had managed to escape in and onto land.

Tauriel pain none of them heed. Her eyes were only searching for two people in particular.

Legolas and Bard, they had to have escaped. They just had to....

The dwarves, horrified by what they had just witnessed, were desperate to reach Erebor and see what had become of their friends.

As they pushed the boat back into the water, Fili turned around and ran over to Tauriel.

"Thank you, for saving my brother's life."
Tauriel didn't know what to say, she hadn't expected any of the dwarves to thank her.

"Fili! Let's go!"
Oin shouted.
"I'm coming!"
He turned back to Tauriel and said, "I won't forget what you did for us, I promise that I will pay you back in some way."

He turned to leave but before he did he added, "I'm sure your friend is alright, he seemed strong to me. I doubt that the dragon would have been able to kill him."

Tauriel couldn't belive what she was hearing. Why was he, a dwarf, being so kind to her?

Were these the beings she had always been told were greedy and untrustworthy? Terrible selfish beings who cared nothing for anyone else?

Perhaps we were wrong about dwarves.

"Father!"
Tilda shouted as she ran foward. Sigrid and Bain followed after her amd Tauriel watched as Bard wrapped his arms around his children.

Tears were in his eyes as he kissed each one on the head.
"I am so glad you're safe."
He said as he held his children even tighter.

Tauriel watched the scene with a pang of sadness, she'd never had a family that she could remember.

Was that what it was like to have one?

Her thoughts were interupted as another familiar voice sounded from behind her.

"Tauriel? Are you alright?"
Tauriel spun around and saw Legolas standing behind her. His face was pale and his shoulder was bleeding once again.

Black ash and soot stained his hair and clothes, but none of that mattered to Tauriel.

He was alive, that was all that mattered to her. Without thinking she threw her arms around him and leaned her head against his chest.

"I thought I lost you."
Legolas put his arms around her as well, holding her tightly as he placed his chin on her head.
"I'm not going anywhere."