Bilbo Starts A Conversation with Smaug

I waited for something to happen. Smaug didn't look asleep to me. I was worried about Bilbo. Suddenly, Bilbo was next to me but kept his ring on.

"He's not sleeping! What am I going to do Fawn?" Bilbo whispered.

"Whatever you were supposed to, Bilbo," I whispered back. Bilbo left but then we shrunk down as we heard a deep voice speak.

"Welcome, thief! I know you are here for I feel, smell, and hear your breath. Come and help yourself! There is still plenty to spare," he said. I got very frightened but stayed where I was. I knew Bilbo wouldn't leave so neither would I. Smaug had tried to lure Bilbo in but he didn't win.

"No thank you, O Smaug the Magnificent! I did not come to take your treasure but to have a look at your tremendous self. I did not believe how great the tales said about you,"Bilbo replied.

"Do you believe now?" said Smaug. He sounded somewhat complimented but I was sure he didn't believe it.

"Surely, the stories and poems come to nothing compared to the reality of your dazzling self, Smaug the Chiefest of Calamities," Bilbo answered.

"You are very polite for a liar and a thief. You appear to be familiar with my name, but I don't remember smelling you before. Who are you? And where do you come from, might I ask?" the dragon asked. 

"Yes, you may! I come from under a hill. My paths have led over and under the many hills. Through the air also my path has been made. I am the one who walks unseen," Bilbo riddled.

"I can believe that. But that is not your normal name," Smaug replied.

"I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, and the stinging fly. I was chosen to be the lucky number," Bilbo continued.

"Flattering titles! But they will not get you anywhere," Smaug sneered.

"I am he that buries my friends alive by drowning them, but draws them alive from the water. I came from the end of a bag, although no bag went over me," Bilbo went on.

"That doesn't sound so commendable," the dragon scoffed. I was starting to get uncomfortable. I didn't know where Bilbo was but it wasn't getting out of hand so I stayed put.

"I am the friend of bears and the guest of eagles. I am the Ringwinner and the Luck-wearer. I am the Barrel-rider," Bilbo said cheerfully.

"That sounds much better! But don't let your imagining get away from you!" Smaug snickered. He did not understand all of this but, of course, we do! They were all of his, well OUR, adventures.

"What's going to happen now? Smaug can't stay occupied forever!" I thought.

I Wait in the Dark for Bilbo

The next morning, the dwarves weren't so afraid anymore. Actually, they had the audacity to blame Bilbo for taking the cup and upsetting Smaug! I got upset but slightly more to the angry side.

"What else was he supposed to do?! He couldn't have killed Smaug! No offense, Bilbo," I said.

"No it's true! Fawnabelle is right. I'm not a warrior. I couldn't have killed Smaug even if I wanted to! If there's anyone to complain about something, it should be me! You should have brought five hundred burglars instead of just one if you wanted me to take all of that treasure. It would take hundreds of years to remove all of those riches. And I would have to be fifty times bigger and Smaug would have to be as tame as a rabbit!" Bilbo explained angrily. 

"Begging your pardon, Mister Baggins. What are you suggesting we are to do?" the dwarves asked.

"I have no idea at the moment if you're referring to your treasure. That is going to depend on if we can get rid of the dragon. And that would need an exceedingly amount of luck which we currently do not have. Getting rid of dragons is not in my line at all and I personally do not have any more hope for our success of this journey. Oh, do I solely wish to be safe at home!" Bilbo sighed.

"Never mind the treasure! What are we going to do today?" Thorin asked.

"Well, I suppose the smartest thing to do is stay where we are for the moment. During the day, we can attempt to go out and have some fresh air. Maybe as the time goes, one or two of us could go back to our original stores by the river and replenish our supplies. But everyone should stay inside the tunnel by night. I have my ring and I will offer to go down the tunnel again and see what HE is up to. 'Every worm has its weak spot' as my father used to say. Though I am positive it was not from his personal experience," he whispered. 

The dwarves accepted thankfully and I noticed that they had learned to respect Bilbo. I was glad they didn't treat him like a doorbell anymore. They wouldn't call him to do something and then tell him to leave. He wasn't just following the crowd anymore. Now Bilbo was the leader of the adventure and he began to feel good about himself. He was more confident and less fearful of the unknown. And he didn't let it go to his head either. He started having ideas and back-up plans that he would act upon if something should happen. About midday, he began to get ready to go down the tunnel once again.

"Do you know anything about taming dragons, Fawnabelle?" he asked.

"Um... I don't think so, Bilbo. I've never confronted a dragon before. I wonder if it's the same as a lizard? But I don't think we should take any chances," I answered.

"You're right. Let's go," Bilbo sighed. He knew I would follow so he didn't bother to ask me. I followed him down the tunnel and stopped before the opening came. I was suspicious of Smaug sleeping.

"I'll wait here, Bilbo. I don't like the look of him sleeping like that. Something isn't right. Be careful, Bilbo," I said.

"I will. If anything happens, you go on ahead without me," he whispered. I nodded and he slipped on his ring. I watched carefully in the darkness where I couldn't be seen.

Bilbo and I Find Smaug

As we walked further down, it began to feel hot and stuffy.

"Is it getting hot or is it just me?" I asked in whispers.

"It's hot, Fawnabelle. And I don't think it could be a fire," Bilbo whispered in reply.

"Then what are you suggesting it is?" I asked. He was going to answer but instead he put his arm across my chest to stop me. I had almost walked over the edge of a staircase.

"That was a close one," I sighed quietly. He nodded.

"I'm suggesting that it's coming from him," Bilbo finished. I gasped at the enormous heaps of riches. And most of all, I gasped at the sleeping Smaug. He was humongous! Much bigger than I had imagined.

"Okay, what do we do next?" I asked.

"I'm going to put on my ring and you're going to stay right here, Fawnabelle," he explained quietly.

"Fine," I sighed. We held our breath as Smaug let out a loud snore. But he remained in his slumber and kept snoozing away. We breathed again and Bilbo slipped on his ring. He became invisible and walked silently down the stairs. I waited there, for what seemed like hours, and soon he came back with a two-handled cup in his hands.

"Okay, let's go!" Bilbo whispered. He kept his ring on and we speed-walked to Balin. Bilbo took off his ring before we reached the door.

"Well done, Master Burglar!" Balin said. Bilbo and I sat down against what was left of the wall and closed our eyes. I was surprisingly tired. I was drifting into a beautiful sleep when the ground shook. I stood up quickly and we heard roaring.

"The door! Into the tunnel! Quick!" Bilbo cried.

"Bombur and Bofur are down there! And our ponies and stores! It will all be gone!" the dwarves moaned.

"Nonsense!" Thorin exclaimed. "We have to do what we can. We won't leave everything there for Smaug to steal. Get inside Miss Baggins! And Mister Baggins and Balin! You too, Fili and Kili! Smaug won't have all of us." I tried to help bring in some things but those few minutes were extremely hectic. I hardly remember any of it now that I think of it. I wondered what made the dragon wake up and what he was thinking. Eventuallay, it all cooled down and almost everything went back to normal. Like I said, ALMOST everything cooled down. Unfortunately, we had NO idea what we had done to the poor people of Esgaroth. It had not happened yet but the anger had just begun to heat up in Smaug.

The Thrush Knocked!

The next morning, the dwarves walked in all directions to kill time. Bilbo and I remained on the "doorstep" and waited for a sign. Bilbo hardly talked that day. I suppose his mind was on other things. I felt as if something were going to happen today. I waited all the live-long day and nothing happened. Well, Bifur and Bombur sent fish to Bilbo and I for dinner that evening. But other than that nothing happened. There were no birds to watch, animals to see, or singing to hear. Soon, the sun sank and the moon started to take its place.

"At least I have the starry sky to look at tonight," I sighed gratefully. But my silent moment was interrupted by a faint "Crack!".

"What on earth was that?!" I asked Bilbo. I walked towards the back wall.

"It's a... thrush?! A big thrush with a snail in its beak," he answered. Then we looked at each other with wide eyes. We ran to the edge of the mountain and hollered down to the dwarves, where they were relaxing under the stars.

"What do you want?!" they yelled back.

"A thrush came and knocked on the wall! Bring the key quickly!" we explained. We watched as they ran up as quickly as they could. The first one to come was Thorin.

"Quickly! Have the key ready, Thorin!" Bilbo exclaimed. We all waited patiently. Well, to be honest, Bilbo and I waited patiently. The dwarves were the most impatient I had ever seen. The thrush made a chirp and then the wall made a loud cracking noise. A slice of rock split and fell out of the wall. Thorin shoved the key in and turned. Snap! It unlocked! The dwarves pushed forward and the door moved inward silently. We looked into the darkness and saw more darkness. The dwarves debated whether "someone" should go in and check it out. Of course, they were referring to Bilbo. And Bilbo caught on quite quickly. Thorin decided it was time for "our esteemed, Mister Baggins" to go into the mountain and spy on the dragon. Obviously, he said this in his "royal we" talk, as I referred to it. Using his fancy schmancy terms and words to sound official and important. Bilbo did not let him lead on and on and drive us to sleep. He interrupted and said he would go in and have a look 'round.

"Would anyone like to come with me?" he asked politely. You and I both know that he would not get very many volunteers. And you and I also know that I promised Bilbo I would stick by him. And that is precisely what I did.

"I'll go with you, Bilbo," I said. Balin also came in with us. He had taken a liking to Bilbo and I and he was rather interested in our little lives. Bilbo agreed and led the way into the dark passage. Balin stopped at the faintest light of the doorway and told us to mind our words and sounds. So the two of us walked down, alone and in the dark.

Waiting on the Doorstep

Bifur and Bombur agreed to stay on the ground to take care of the stores and the ponies. We could not take any packs with us and had rope tied around our waists just in case one of us fell. Which we didn't and we all got to the door safe and sound. We made a small camp and hauled up the things we needed by the ropes that was tied around our waists. Some of the dwarves explored beyond the bay and found a path that went higher and higher. There was no point to climbing higher so they went no further. Bilbo and I were the ones who waited on the doorstep. Well, technically, there was no doorstep but it was a good enough job for me. We spoke quietly to one another and tried not to make any noise. They were anxious to get it opened and even though I reminded them of the moon runes they still tried. They had tools from Lake-town that they took and tried to use them to find the key-hole. They had no success and waited for Bilbo or Thorin to tell them what to do next. The dwarves would ask him what he was doing and he would simply say: "You said sitting and thinking would be my job, not to mention getting inside, so I am sitting and thinking." And with his response, they left him to his sitting and thinking. Bilbo confessed that he was not thinking of his job at all but what lay beyond the vast blue sky.

"Home," I sighed. "How wonderful it will be to be back again!" The dwarves got more bored as the days went by. They had nothing left to do so all of us ended up sitting on the doorstep and thinking of what to do next. One day, the dwarves were out on the rocks and they were talking about a variety of things that I was not interested in. But then they started talking behind Bilbo's back.

"What nerve! WE'RE SITTING RIGHT UNDER YOU, YA KNOW!" my thoughts yelled. Anyway, they were talking amongst each other and started saying that time is going by and nothing is happening. AND thinking that they should send Bilbo to spy things out through the Front Gate. Bilbo heard this and had a horrified look on his face.

"My goodness! I don't like the sound of that at all! Haven't I already done enough for them since Gandalf left? It's always poor me that has to do all the saving. I don't want to go out there again if I don't have to. I had a feeling that it would come to this. What am I going to do?" he sighed.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Bilbo! It hasn't happened so you shouldn't waste energy thinking about something that hasn't happened. And even if it did, you should know that you wouldn't be going alone. I'm not going to settle waiting around for you to get back. I'll stick by your side no matter the cost!" I whispered. I didn't want the dwarves to hear that we overheard their conversation.

"Thank you, Fawnabelle! You sure know how to cheer someone up," Bilbo complimented.

"It's what I do best!" I smiled. I knew I did a good thing. I would go with Bilbo to check out the dragon even if I didn't have an invisible ring. I wouldn't want one anyway because I knew what power it had and I knew that I wasn't strong enough. That night I was kept awake by the thoughts running through my head. So I stood up and walked to the edge of the floor and looked down. It was a long way! But then I looked up at the starry sky and felt happy. It was such a memorable moment and I savored every second of it. I went to the back wall, sat against it, and fell asleep.

WE FOUND THE DOOR!

It was lonely at camp. I was all alone and by myself. But it wasn't too bad. Bilbo was always looking at Thorin's map and saying to himself: "Don't worry. We'll find the door soon enough." and the moon rune message that Elrond had found. I had to do something. They wouldn't let me go with them on the expeditions. Everyday, I proposed that I should go with them.

"Can I go have a look around today?" I asked. Actually, I begged. Eventually, Thorin gave in.

"Fine. Fili! Kili! Go with Miss Baggins and let her have her fill of adventure for the day," he ordered. I smiled; I knew it would work one of these days.

"Can I come with you, Fawn?" Bilbo peeped from behind me. I didn't see him so I jumped.

"Yes! Of course, you can come!" I said excitedly. He walked away smiling and grabbed his bag.

"Come on, Miss Baggins. We don't have all day," Fili groaned.

"We're waiting on Bilbo, Mister... never mind. We're not leaving without him," I explained. They agreed to wait and soon Bilbo was ready to leave.

"You can lead Miss Baggins. Since it was YOUR idea to come," Kili suggested.

"You can call me Fawn, you know," I said as I led the way.

"This is strictly a business relationship," Fili said. Bilbo laughed but then cleared his throat.

"You've called me Fawn before," I answered.

"That was in Mirkwood. It's different now. And I don't think Thorin would appreciate us calling you 'Fawn' if he calls you 'Miss Baggins'," Kili explained.

"Fawn is much more convenient than Miss Baggins," Bilbo said from behind.

"Everyone else calls me Fawn. And I don't like you calling me Miss Baggins anyway," I complained.

"Can we please drop the topic? We're not getting anywhere," Fili sighed.

"Only if you promise to call me Fawn again," I offered.

"Fine. May we please walk faster, Miss Ba-- I mean, Fawn?" Kili asked.

"Yes. Yes we may, Kili," I said as I picked up the pace. Soon, I bumped into a flight of stairs.

"What the hay? What is this?" I asked aloud.

"It probably leads to a dead end. Let's keep walking," Fili blurted.

"Did you follow this one before?" I asked.

"Well--" Kili started.

"Then stop your pessimism! Come on! Bilbo? You're coming with me right?" I asked.

"Well--" he started.

"Great! Can you give me a boost? It's too high for me to jump," I explained.

"Sure, Fawn," he said. He took off his pack and got down on one knee. He put his hands on his knee and I put my foot on his hands. I got ready to stand up.

"1, 2, 3!" I counted. I stood up on three and from there he lifted his hands as much as he could. Then I scrambled on the first step and pulled him up.

"Fine! We'll go with you," they said. They put their arms out for Bilbo and I to grab them.

"I knew you would," I heaved.

"How could you possibly know that we would give in?" Fili asked as he used all of his strength to get up.

"Because Thorin told you to "go with me" and by that he meant "follow her and don't let her out of your sight"," I explained simply.

"Well, Fawn. You guessed right. Now all I have to say is... lead on!" Kili said. I nodded and climbed the stairs as far as they would go. I almost fell once or twice but I definitely tripped on a couple of stairs. But they couldn't laugh because it happened to them too. Bilbo was the one who had the least trips. We walked for a LONG time (it seemed like forever) until finally... BAM! I spotted a little bay (as one might describe it). It was grassy on the floor and had one smooth wall with NO marks whatsoever. Fili and Kili beat on the door and even tried saying bits of opening spells. But none of it worked because it wasn't Durin's Day yet! DUH! We rested until sundown and then we started to walk back to our camp. When we got there at nightfall, we hurried everyone to the same tent where we exclaimed: "WE FOUND THE DOOR!". Soon, everyone was getting ready to move to the place we had found. I was feeling down because no one came to thank us. But then Bilbo said something to everyone.

"Thank you for listening everyone! I just wanted to thank Fawnabelle for going out and finding the door. Well, not the door yet. But she found the wall where the door is... which is better than nothing. I also wanted to thank Fili and Kili for going with her too and staying with us. Thank you all! Now we're getting somewhere!" he shouted. I held back tears of joy and everyone came to the three of us to thank us. Well, everyone except Thorin. I thanked Fili and Kili for taking me even though they thought it was a mistake. And they apologized for not believing in me and putting up with their hard-headedness. I forgave them and I spent the rest of the night sleeping. It was a busy day!

We Camp, Spy on the Front Gate, and I Hear Smaug

We reached the skirts of the Lonely Mountain without meeting any danger. We made a camp by Ravenhill and on it there was an old watch-post that had been abandoned. The dwarves didn't want to climb it for the watch-post was out in the open and didn't want to risk being seen. Thorin sent out Balin, Fili, and Kili to go spy on the Front Gate. Bilbo and I decided to go with them to keep them company. We followed the river and came to a ledge where we saw a burnt valley.

"There lies the old and forgotten city of Dale. When the bells rang in those pleasant days, the mountain sides were full of green trees and the valley was rich," Balin said sadly. His face was filled with remorse and remembered that day when the dragon came. He was one of Thorin's companions on that cursed day. I felt sorry for him; he never should have witnessed that. Then again, nobody should have witnessed that. One creature's actions affected hundreds of others. It was very selfish of Smaug to do this to these poor souls.

"Just wait until I get my hands on that dragon!" I thought. I wanted to march right into that gate. But my thought was disturbed by the croaking of a large, black crow. The dwarves and Bilbo did not want to get close to the gate but that didn't stop me. I walked all the way right up to the gate doors and put my ear against it and listened. The crows kept cawing at me which made me very annoyed and a little cross.

"Would you stop that? You're blowing my cover!" I whispered. They stopped making noise and flew away. I put my ear against the door again and heard a quiet rumbling.

"What is that noise?" I thought. "Maybe it's old Smaug napping," I muttered. I went back to the dwarves and Bilbo.

"What did you hear? Did you see anything? Fawnabelle! Are you listening to me?" Bilbo whispered.

"Why do you want to know Bilbo?" I asked.

"Well, they might send me in there and I want to know what I'm up against. And I have a slight case of curiosity," he explained.

"Oh all right! I suppose it wouldn't hurt. All I heard was a low rumbling and the croaking of crows. I told them to go away so I could hear better. I think the rumbling was Smaug snoring," I explained.

"That's it? You didn't see him? Well then, I guess I'm not getting any answers after all," Bilbo sighed.

"No Bilbo. I guess you're not," I replied. The five of us went back to Thorin and told him what they had seen and done and about how I went to the gate even though they told me not to. But he really didn't care. Nobody cared... so I went about my business and told no one else about what I had heard.